Movie!IWTV sorta gives the impression that Louis was born in New Orleans and only briefly has Lestat admitting to coming from France. They are actually both from France! (and BTW, New Orleans is a city in Louisiana, which is a state in the USA).
The Pointe du Lacs came to the US from France at some unspecified point in his life, but most people headcanon it was when Louis was a young child, too young to remember.
“We’d received a land grant and settled two indigo plantations on the Mississippi very near New Orleans… You see, we lived far better there than we could have ever lived in France.” – Louis de Pointe du Lac, IWTV
The de Lioncourts* lived in a poor provincial town in the middle of nowhere, aka the Auvergne region, in France:
“…my father’s land in the Auvergne in France, and these were the last decades before the French Revolution.” – Lestat de Lioncourt, TVL
*Note that Lestat’s mother was Italian (she grew up in Naples) so he and his brothers are all technically half-French, half-Italian.
“My eyes are gray, but they absorb the colors blue or violet easily from surfaces around them.” – TVL
His first study of his own reflection after being turned: “and my eyes had been transformed from their usual blue to a mingling of violet and cobalt that was softly iridescent.” – TVL
Magnus, in TVL: “…and the blue sky fixed forever in your eyes.” Magnus, TVL
So Lestat’s eyes:
had this effect as a mortal and looked blue to Magnus; or
were actually blue as a mortal and not gray-blue-violet-magical until he was turned; or
really were always closer to gray-blue than just gray.
This is if we trust Magnus, do we really? IIRC, it’s the only description we have of mortal!Lestat’s eye color. IDK! Lestat supposedly shares his mother’s features
and coloring
(”In fact I resemble her at least superficially.” –TVL) and she is described as having blue eyes:
Lestat, in TVL about mortal!Gabrielle: “And she had very clear cobalt blue eyes fringed with thick ashen lashes.”
Khayman, in QOTD: “There wasn’t a particle of fear in her cold blue eyes…”
Lestat, in TVL about vampire!Gabrielle: “Her eyes opened. Violet blue and glittering,”
Okay so I can’t dig up every single quote about Lestat’s eyes from other’s POVs bc c’mon I am human, so here’s a few:
Marius, in QOTD: “The ice-blue eyes, darkening with laughter…”
Khayman, in QOTD: “… [Lestat’s] violet blue eyes.”
Jesse, in QOTD: “[Lestat’s] pale crystalline blue eyes…”
Akasha, in QOTD:“to see the light in your blue eyes,”
Bonsoir à toi, aussi, mon avocat gris 😀 Rereading the whole series, my gosh what a challenge and what fun! oh if only i could lay around reading books all day and sipping iced tea or an adult beverage that would be heaven siiiiigh…..
#pffffft Shut up Gaston #you’re like illiterate ok #Augustin de Lioncourt
Not sure which specific book you’re referring to, or if you meant that as kind of a silly observation, but I really enjoy how she jumps around! When you really consider these breaks in the “main” story, they’re like side dishes to a meal. When you really consider them you’ll find that those breaks are not so “random” after all, even if they are not connected to the actual plot. Not every piece of a story needs to be connected to the actual plot in order to make a story enjoyable. In fact it can keep you guessing, wondering whether you should keep this information in mind as the tale unfolds, or whether it was put there to throw you off the trail a bit!
Of course, #your headcanon may vary. If you choose not to accept some of these side stories, that’s fine, too.
There are alot of stories-within-stories in the VC. Characters tend to dig deeper and interview eachother. At one point, we have Lestat telling us what Marius told Lestat about what an Egyptian vampire told Marius about the origin story of the vampires written down in archives! That’s like 4 levels?! Interviewception.
In QotD,
from the beginning
Lestat tells us straightup that the story will be laid out like that:
“So we will move out of the narrow, lyrical confines of the first person singular; we will jump as a thousand mortal writers have done into the brains and souls of “many characters.” We will gallop into the world of “third person” and “multiple point of view.”
And by the way, when these other characters think or say of me that I am beautiful or irresistible, etc., don’t think I put these words in their heads. I didn’t! It’s what was told to me after, or what I drew out of their minds with infallible telepathic power; I wouldn’t lie about that or anything else.
I can’t help being a gorgeous fiend. It’s just the card I drew.
The bastard monster who made me what I am picked me on account of my good looks. That’s the long and short of it.
And accidents like that occur all the time.
Now, be assured: though I am leaving you, I will return with full flair at the appropriate moment.”
(I struggle to describe it to ppl, I usually cater the length and depth of my description based on my audience, for example, to describe it to my 7 yr old cousin (who loves vampires and was a vampire princess fairy for Halloween): “It’s mostly about a happy vampire family with 2 dads, and they don’t always get along with eachother or the world.”)
As Tom Cruise put it so eloquently, “The movie is not for everyone.” No value judgement there; it’s just not everyone’s cup of tea, so I don’t try to sell it.
I will try to describe the story in the language of tumblrland:
“How would you describe IWTV to someone who has not read the book…?”
“How would you describe IWTV to someone who has not read the book or seen the movie?”
“How would you describe IWTV to someone who has not read the book or seen the movie?”
“How would you describe IWTV to someone who has not read the book or seen the movie?”
“How would you describe IWTV to someone who has not read the book or seen the movie?”
You can also try my vc synopsis tag, but there be spoilers there!
….That last gif is also tribute to antoineandthepiano who loves that gif! And it’s appropriate here, bc if I think the person might actually like it, I do tell them to #READ THE BOOK in the hopes that I can make them one of us ❤
Thank you I love my blog tooooo *u* heh so humble, too
Yes, READ THE BOOK!
antoineandthepiano made this lovely aesthetic pic set and description about Merrick for a Merrick RPer, forgotten-mayfair. You might want to ask them both about the book for more detail, any Children of Darkness (that’s what VC Fandom ppl are calling oureselves now) can also feel free to reblog this and add comments. I didn’t want to steal antoineandthepiano’s description from their post, go check that out!
Basically, if you love Louis, this is definitely a novel with alot of him in it, doing alot of serious stuff. It will hit you right in the feels. You might need to take breaks while reading it.
I don’t remember if it spoils any other major plot points from books that come before it, but I seem to recall it as being almost a standalone novel. It does spoil the fact that certain characters in the novel were not vampires in previous novels.
me: So do you have recommendations for novels on vampires? Good ones? Not kiddie ones? Ones I haven’t read twice?
bookstore/librarian: The Historian, Dracula, Anne Rice’s original trilogy, Dark Dance, Fevre Dream, A Taste of Blood Wine, Sunshine, Anno Dracula, Carmilla—
me: ok good but I read them all
them: cool! How about–
me: I read it.
them: then there’s–
me: I read it.
them: ….
me: *sad bat noises*…………I have read them ALL.
Awww thank u for the compliments! I’m such a successful drug dealer, addicted a fresh victim to our beloved drug of choice, lovable dysfunctional vampires ♥u♥
shut up Claudia you know you love it you helped him WRITE that monologue…
Yes, I read all the books. Should you read all the books?
Well, if, for example, you’re not so interested in Armand as a character, I would recommend skipping TVA, bc it’s largely his story. BUT, you may miss good moments with other characters that you do like. Same goes for the other books past TVA.
Short answer is: give it all a chance, skim if you must, and decide for yourself, it’s meant to be fun, it’s not a religion, there are no chants to memorize, you will not be quizzed next Monday ;]
Not a silly question! There are 11 VC books now (13 if you include the New Tales’Pandora and Vittorio) THATS A LOT OF STORY (just imagine this gif 11-13 times bc I don’t wanna actually throw it in 11-13 times not aesthetically pleasing)
What is being part of a fandom?
Everyone’s idea of this is different.
The short answer is simply: You’ve read enough to be part of the fandom! Welcome! I, Mater Fabuloso, decree you worthy.
As far as the later books having a bad reputation…
Yes! Some of them are so crazy and wildly cracky! That’s why we also call them the #Vampire Crackicles. It’s a term of endearment. The crazy is a big part of why we enjoy it. Dysfunctional vampires! The first 3-4 books in the series seem to be the more highly regarded, VC-fandom-wide, maybe bc the crazy was better woven in.
If you liked the first 3 – and some others – enough to reread them, you must also enjoy the sense of humor that’s mixed in with the angst, the love, the overall crazy! The bad-reputation VC have some silly/angsty/etc. quotes and scenes that are not to be missed (like that quote about Lestat’s foot size insecurity pfffft).
Short answer is: give it all a chance, skim if you must, and decide for yourself, it’s meant to be fun, it’s not a religion, there are no chants to memorize, you will not be quizzed next Monday ;]
Personally, and I hope this goes for others, I welcome anyone into the fandom who loves any of the characters. Maybe someone’s gateway drug was movie!IWTV. Maybe it was Claudia’s Story (graphic novel). Any combination of VC books/media counts!
I sound like a broken record bc I write this SO OFTEN: my idea of being “part of the fandom” just means engaging in discussions about the series, making fanworks, and making friendships with ppl who share your interests. I don’t know how other fandoms behave, but that’s a summary of my positive experiences in the VC fandom.
I-want-my-IWTV 