“He wore his favorite old dark coat, a little threadbare but so comfortable, and his favorite old flannel trousers and a fine white shirt Armand had forced upon him with buttons of pearl and outrageous lace. But Louis had never really minded lace.”
— Louis de Pointe du Lac; “It’s Hour Come at Last,” PrinceLestat.
or
Louis happily wearing the slut shirt Armand bought him. not slut shaming, tho. i’m sure he be looking like a snACK.
oh my god check @covenofthearticulate’s tags yo LMAO ikr. When I first read this, I pictured flannel-patterned pj bottoms and was like super horrified. But then I remembered that flannel is also a material, and became relieved when I realized he was probably wearing like classic gray pants made of flannel……but then I remembered we’re talking about Louis here…..and we all know how he is with clothes, so there’s like a 50/50 chance it is plaid flannel….and yeah the horror came book tenfold.
JUST SEEING IT I DON’T WANT HIM IN EITHER. JUST TAKE THE PANTS OFF, BABE, GIVE ’EM BACK TO DAVID LMAO. I HATE IT.
Okay but I invite you to reconsider your stance on flannel trousers and argue that Louis would look hella good in them and they’re cool af (and because he looks good in everthing obvs)
Do I want to see Louis in ^^^^?
Yes, yes I do XD
YA’LL HOLD THE FUCK UP HOOOOLD UP WHERE ARE MY GLASSES—I NEED TO DO SOMETHING NO ONE REBLOG THIS ANYMORE UNTIL I COME BACK.
OK YEAH YA’LL JUST CONFUSED ME IDK ANYMORE I HATE THIS BOOK FR NOW (and yes kacy imma go reblog the glasses post bc i had to do this all w/o them; also, @sangriche, get in here my friend, i saw that reblog!! join the train wreck) AND YEAH PICK YOUR POISON. I’M DONE.
JESUS CHRIST I DID NOT EXPECT TO START AN ENTIRE THREAD ON THIS BUT I’M CACKLING AT Y’ALLS RESPONSES 😂 God damn it, Louis, why can’t we have one nice thing???
I love that model above. Handsome. I’ve seen him several times, especially in relation to VC/Louis and I am happyier for it. Pretty men make me happy!
@princelesthottie your fanart is lovely thank u! Proof once again that, in fact, Louis looks great in everything.
@terryfphanatics, Yes Miles McMillan is lovely and a fandom fave Louis faceclaim ❤
I’m with @wicked-felina Louis ain’t no #briefcase wanker, that is highly unacceptable.
@covenofthearticulate I’m glad your tags sparked this serious discussion, I love it!
@theraphaellus I appreciate your trouser suggestions but MIGHT I SUGGEST (these are similar to your 1st pic but tighter and softer-looking, I think)(Also possibly these are lower-riding on the waist, which, yes plz):
^These might be wool but I they could also be flannel. Louis could rock the whole outfit PLUS UNDERCUT. [X model is Mariano Di Vaio]
BUT I, for one, really love the idea of Louis wearing pajama flannels and giving no fucks, too. I mean if he hangs around at home curled up with a book or some other sedentary activity 90% of the time, why bother putting on outside pants??
Daniel has gotten him some ridiculous pajama bottoms with silly pics on them like Hello Kittys and Louis loves them.
If he was aware he was being watched, he gave no indication as he searched the well stocked shelves filled with classics and pulp junk alike. While he often humored Lestat by wearing the finery bought for him, he still preferred worn sweaters and tattered trousers. The cuffs of his sleeves were frayed and his pants were baggy and soft, something he must have stashed away and wore when alone.
Lestat couldn’t help the smile as he watched Louis pluck a thin paperback from the shelf and toss himself into a plush armchair. A picture perfect moment of thought and calm.
“I’ve been praying for you.” Louis said, not looking up from his book, startling Lestat from his place in the door way.
“Oh? Since when do you pray?”
“Occasionally, when there is something of significance to be concerned about.”
Lestat walked to the other armchair and plopped across from his lover.
“And what,” he rested his elbow on the arm of the chair and chin in palm, “are you concerned about?” He almost laughed at Louis’ raised eyebrow.
“What don’t I have to be concerned about with you?” he allowed a small smirk over the top of his book.
Curbing his giggles, Lestat rested his head in his palm and asked, “who do you pray to?”
Louis idly flipped a page, “no one. I just,” he struggled to put it into words and flipped another page, “talk to the universe. A basic plea to whatever there may be for peace.”
Lestat pondered, “does it ever talk back?”
Louis shrugged, “no. I just like to do it. Like when a person repeats please when playing a game of chance. They aren’t really talking to someone and no one is listening, but they do it anyway.”
“And you do this for me?” Lestat pulled himself out of his chair and slid over to Louis, kneeling at his feet, crossed his arms and rested them on the other’s lap. Louis pretended not to notice Lestat though he did smile.
“Occasionally,” he let one hand fall off the book and into Lestat’s hair, “especially when you refuse to behave.”
Lestat snorted, and tilted his head to get more of Louis’ fingers against his scalp.
“I know, I can be just awful sometimes.”
He could feel Louis sigh and made a point to exaggerate a pout when Louis finally looked down, earning a laugh and a tug to his hair.
“Yes, you can be an outright bastard sometimes.” Louis regarded him before cupping his cheek, “but you try.” He bent at the waist and place a tender kiss to Lestat’s forehead.
“Ah, beautiful one, thank you for loving me anyway.”
Aw thank you! Yes, I am doing well. Hope you’re doing well, too. I took a decent break from tumblr, and now I’m getting back into the swing of things, there are fanworks to reblog here ❤ and I have my own fic ideas percolating.
(I’m sorry that this response got kind of long, there are things in here I’ve expressed before, and some I may not have, or haven’t mentioned in awhile, and I kind of want to have these things out there for ppl to see where I’m coming from.)
Your message really means a lot, bc I feel like, if I have any responsibility to the fandom as a somewhat popular blog, that I have to stand up for shippers and creators of fanworks. Fanworks are the lifeblood of the fandom, both for the creators and the consumers. Fanworks are made for free (or on commission) by smaller creators who need the encouragement more. Being smaller and more accessible, they’re also easy & more responsive targets for harassment than the published creators 😛
And so when you see it from that perspective, you can understand that when I reblog those fiction =/= reality, pro-shipping, and anti anti posts, it’s coming from a place of good intention. I identify with those easy targets who are criticized for their creation/consumption of published works and fanworks. I was bullied for pretty superficial reasons in my formative years, not an unusual amount/degree of bullying, but it hurt. “Oh, but words can’t hurt you!” <– this is pretty insensitive, and I shouldn’t have to convince anyone that bullying is painful, but there are those who would compare injuries and say that being bullied was less suffering compared to other things (like abuse, PTSD, mental illness, etc.), and therefore invalid. Should we be comparing injuries to validate ownership to fiction? I don’t know, but the bullying was real to me and it hurt.
And this part of the story is my own attachment to canon (and, later, fandom), before I was even aware of others. Do we sever our attachment to something bc smne else says that their connection to it is more valid? I feel like fandom is limitless, it’s big enough for all of us.
Media/Fiction was an escape from reality for me. It was a place I could find inspiration, could see characters beaten down (by antagonists and/or their own faults) and rise up again and again, in so many variations! Even the same plot points can yield different emotions when told in different ways, and/or involving different characters. Characters refusing to lay down and submit to their obstacles/antagonists was inspiring and helped me rebuild the self-confidence the bullies had crushed.
So that was my story, as valid as any. I love stories of how ppl got into VC (or any fandoms/media really!), and there are so many. I don’t think that any reason is more valid than any other.
There are those who saw themselves reflected in the fact that there are queer/LGBT+ characters, that they existed and had depth and could love and be loved in return.
Someone told me that they shared a love of history with their father, especially of Rome. The father passed away when the person was young, and so they loved the historical explorations in canon, it seemed to bring them closer to that lost parent. In fact, the act of pointing out historical inaccuracies in canon was enjoyable to this person.
There are those who passionately adore Armand, for all his beauty, strength, and sass, the fact that he is a survivor of so much tragedy. “We must be beautiful, powerful, and without regret.”
There are those who love the quiet and dignified manner of Louis and how he burns everything down handles situations.
There are those who live for the ~purple prose~ and ~wealth porn~, in the loving descriptions of luxury, the declarations of love and 3 pages of describing how pretty a character is.
… etc. etc.
^And fanworks based on the media consumed may relate to the fans’ reasons for getting into that fandom in the first place. I like to think my memes and fanfic show the same refusal to quit that I valued so much in the characters when I read canon. I would think that other writers/artists/etc. would say smtg similar, that their fanworks are their way of engaging with canon, whether it’s to have more of what they enjoy about it, fix and/or explore a character/ship/situation, or take the characters into different situations (like AU) and see how they might fare within changed parameters. Ppl analyze canon and critique it, comparing it to other fiction/non-fiction to lay out their ideas. Ppl might want to dress like the characters and act like them in cosplay! So many ways to engage with canon. And then you have comments on works and works inspired by fanworks and that’s p. much the definition of fandom, to my mind.
HOWEVER.
In my zeal for reblogging posts (and writing my own) about defending shippers and creators/consumers of published media and fanworks, I can be too blunt, and unintentionally injure others. I trust ppl to inform me privately if a post goes over the line in that regard, and I have responded by editing/deleting posts. This blog isn’t sacred, editing/deleting a post is not a sign of weakness, but of curating it to better serve my needs and those who come to it for whatever reason.
Bc my blog really is at its core about entertainment and encouragement/sharing of fanworks.
It’s hard for me to sit in silence about attacks on shippers and creators/consumers of published media and fanworks
when I feel like if I don’t speak up, silence is tacit agreement when ppl state, “Don’t draw/write/talk about X bc it is harmful to Y” I understand that some ppl do have real triggers and some fictional characters/ships are painful to them, but on the other hand, is it fair to restrict everyone else who wants to explore those characters/ships?
We have to find ways to coexist, and that may mean everyone taking on some responsibility for their fandom experience and extending respect towards others. Someone asked me to tag a certain ship, and now I do, so that they can block it. I can’t tag every possible thing, but within reason, I will add tags on request.
I don’t believe in censorship when it comes to fiction, for many reasons, there are blogs out there who are much more eloquent than I am in their defense of it. I don’t have their rhetoric. But I feel like I need to defend those who are easy targets for bullying (as I had been).
^^^With all that said, I think it would be best for me to refrain from too much of this type of posting so as not to trample others. Instead, I want to focus on encouraging fanworks, reblogging posts about writing/art and advice about that.
(If you are looking for more blogs that defend fanfiction, I can recommend more to you privately, or in a separate post.)
Thank you for appreciating that [post is here]! It always feels like I’m going out in front of a firing squad when I say that “creating/consuming dark fiction is not endorsement of it in real life” because people who do conflate those will insist that I’m an x,y,z-apologist. No. That’s incorrect.
ANOTHER WALL OF TEXT™ what is happening to me? I just miss you guys a lot, that’s what 😉
“Why did this person say/do this thing?”
I support the creation and consumption of dark content in media, in fic/art/music/etc. as a means of exploring it, as a means of unpacking it, as a means of trying to figure out where it comes from and how to recognize it. Sometimes it’s not so easy to pick out the “bad guy.” Sometimes the “abuser” seems to be a “good” person. Sometimes the “abuser” is reenacting their own trauma. Finding reasons for a behavior are not excuses for that behavior, but it can help provide answers for those of us who want them.
~Story time~
My grandmother was a tough old lady, what we call a “battle-axe.” She was blunt and tactless, and downright MEAN most of the time. She raised her children through terror and bullying, held grudges for decades, was short-tempered with her in-laws and grandchildren.
She was also very smart in her role as a professor in a college, and had a sweetness to her that very few people in my family experienced bc they were so deterred by her tough exterior. I was one of the few who got close to her, and I wanted to know why she behaved the way she did to others.
Seeing movies like Mommie Dearest, in which Joan Crawford was portrayed as somewhat of battle-axe to everyone in her life, too, I could see similarities between her and my grandmother.
Could my grandmother have had the kind of pressure in her life that Joan did, competing with the misogyny in her career? I thought so.
Both of these women set incredibly high expectations for themselves and others, and then reacted badly if reality didn’t meet their expectations. They were not good at handling disappointment and would take it out on others.
In other media, I would see “only” children worshiped by their parents and then these women were dissatisfied, bitter adults, who would never get that kind of attention again. (Not sure about Joan Crawford, but that was my grandmother’s childhood.)
^What I’m saying is that media (fic/movies/books/music/etc.) gave me insights as to why my grandmother behaved the way she did. It provided reasons for the behavior. I didn’t take these as excuses, but it increased my empathy for her and others I met who were like her. Rather than do as the rest of my family did, by writing her off as “a mean old lady,” I could understand her and navigate my way into a better relationship with her. They missed out on her good parts because of her bruises.
^The first time I saw this graphic, I felt that expression in my soul. These are fictional characters. They are not real.
Writers write them. What is “writing” anyway, but speculative reality? We used to call fanfiction “specs,” short for “speculative fiction.” It’s thoughts. Not all writing is for idealized versions of life and/or wish-fulfillment.
I’ve heard from VC fans who are survivors of child abuse, sexual abuse, etc. who said that VC helped them in some way,
whether it was recognizing that the abuse they suffered really was abuse (and not normal!),
or whether they have since made fanworks with VC characters that helped them explore their own past and examine it from a place of safety,
or in consuming other fanworks, they got some closure on their own experiences in some way and were able to heal or begin to do so,
or just in making friends here that have helped them through difficult times,
I could go on and on… there is enormous value in creating/consuming dark fiction.
Whatever Anne Rice’s agenda is/was in writing the Vampire Chronicles, it doesn’t matter to me, because of how much good I have witnessed that has come from it. If some of her inspiration for certain aspects seems relevant to me, I consider it, but it doesn’t really matter as far as I’m concerned.
It all really boils down to the old adage “Live and Let Live.”
You’re so welcome, glad you enjoyed it! Answering asks is so much fun for me, it makes me consider my own current and previous thoughts, sometimes I even ask around privately for more ideas… and try to write it out as best I can, it gives me an excuse to make fresh gifs/memes, sometimes it inspires others to make fanworks… and I always like to hear back from the original asker that the effort was appreciated *u* ((No, you only get one question per quarter. Pffft. Of course you can ask more!))
“in general, how do we as a base know what is unreliable information or not when it comes to our narrators because from what I’ve always gathered, they have the earnest desire to convey the truth as they can see it.”
You would think that, but just like in real life, people can narrate a story for their own motivations.
TL;DR:
The characters telling their stories don’t always have the earnest desire to convey the truth, so it’s not always clear what the reliable information is! When we have accounts of the same event where the details align, that seems to be the best way to confirm it’s canon, bc even Anne Rice can’t always answer fan’s questions about canon stuff to everyone’s satisfaction.
When there’s conflicting details, we have to rely on headcanons, which ppl can choose to agree on or not, hence the fandom phrase, #Your Headcanon May Vary.
For example of facts aligning: I think we can all agree that Armand was the unspoken leader at the Theatre des Vampires bc Lestat left him there in a position of authority in TVL, which is where Louis found him some 80 years later in IWTV, confirming that that was Armand’s role there.
In the scene above,
IDK at that point in canon whether Lestat believes in a God, but if not, he’s deliberately lying to Claudia, bc she’s never going to see her mother again. Even if he does believe in God, he still doesn’t know where his dead go! He’s trying to answer her in a way that will keep her calm and complacent. He knows Claudia’s mother is dead, he saw the corpse in the movie. But she is still a child and he doesn’t want to scare her or depress her, or make her feel guilty about killing, which she just did!
I also think he’s a little taken aback bc she’s asking him for the whereabouts of her biological mother just minutes after he turned her into a vampire, a process that’s been compared to birth. It’s the most intimate act a vampire can experience. His smile falls right after she asks bc in a way it seems like he’s a deflated that she wants her biological mother, it’s like she’s already saying, “You’re not my REAL dad!” It might also remind him of his own mother who abandoned him ;A;
Re: Lestat P.1: In TVL, Lestat tells Armand:
“I never lie,” I said offhand. “At least not to those I don’t love.”
I’m still not 100% clear on this, bc of the double negatives. Can we translate it to “I’m honest with those I don’t love.” –> “I lie to those I love.” ? He spent some 65 years lying by omission to Louis and Claudia about the other vampires, and all the secrets he knew. So who’s to say he doesn’t also lie to his readers, “those I don’t love” ? How much does he really love his readers?
Re: Louis: I’ve always felt, and there are others who share this opinion, who gave me this opinion, that IWTV was dictated to Daniel from Louis with the intention of pissing Lestat off enough that he would rise from wherever he was hiding and find Louis. While I don’t think Louis intentionallyLIED, I do think he might have embellished some things, exaggerated here and there, left out certain things, in order to achieve his goal. And it WORKED because…
Re: Lestat P.2: The Vampire Lestat was Lestat’s rebuttal to IWTV, containing all the secrets he couldn’t tell Louis during their time together, so I’m inclined to believe that Lestat earnestly wanted to correct the record and win Louis back, since he still loved Louis.
Re: Armand: TBH, I don’t know Armand’s story well enough, what I believe and what I don’t, in all of canon, to say that he’s a liar. I think, like Louis and Lestat, he embellishes, he lies by omission, and he tells people things when he wants a certain reaction out of them. He lied to his coven when he was a leader all those years since he never really believed in serving Satan. Or did he? It seems like he didn’t.
There is a particular scene that Armand describes in TVA that is questionable, as to whether it happened.
How he tried to “help” Claudia the night she died (fanart by @sheepskeletonhere, if you dare, it’s gorey). Personally, I sometimes believe it’s the truth bc Armand does like… experiments! But then I also remember how David was flirting excessively with Armand in that book, andso it’s possible that “this story was just something that Armand made up; somehow trying to intimidate the others, displaying the cruelty he could be capable of.” (quote from @annabellioncourt)
Hello! I have thought about this, probably thought about it TOO much… and while I don’t a clear answer, it’s a stimulating question:
Was this young ‘nurse’ vampire a fledgling of Lestat’s?
^How does the old fandom joke go? Every time X sound occurs, Lestat makes another fledgling? *facepalm*
I agree w/ your point about re: Antoine, it seems like Lestat or Antoine would have confirmed that it was in fact Antoine who was the unnamed young vampire in that scene in IWTV.
TL;DR: We have unreliable narrators** in BOTH Lestat and Louis*. I personally don’t think that the unnamed ‘nurse’ vampire in this scene was made by Lestat, but it’s quite possible! Lestat has never mentioned him again in canon, but we might find out about him in the next novel.
Hit the jump for more, cut for length.
This is an excerpt from the scene
in IWTV (the book, not in the movie) w/ the unnamed young vampire @terryfphanatics is asking about:
“Because shortly after that I saw a vampire in New Orleans, a sleek white-faced young man walking alone on the broad sidewalks of St. Charles Avenue…” (this mystery vampire kills a woman and takes her baby to a shabby old house where he meets up with Lestat) “My eyes widened as I studied this stooped and shivering vampire whose rich blond hair hung down in loose waves covering his face…
… “ ‘You all leave me!’ [Lestat] whined now in a thin, high-pitched voice.
‘You can’t keep us with you!’ said the stiff young vampire sharply.”
(Louis taps at the window)
…“ ‘It’s Louis! Louis!’ [Lestat] said. `Let him in’ And he gestured frantically, like an invalid, for the young `nurse’ to obey. … and I could see the tears welling in his eyes…How baffling and awful it was, this smoothfaced, shimmering immortal man bent and rattled and whining like a crone.”
So yes, Lestat might have made this ‘nurse’ vampire as Marius made Bianca, a dedicated fledgling vampire to help him in his recovery.
As with the previously unnamed musician vampire in IWTV – who later became known as Antoine in PL – I used to headcanon that
Lestat couldn’t bear to even mention the musician vampire’s name in later canon bc he was either A) an embarrassment to Lestat or B) that they had broken up violently, C) both, D) the musician vampire had really been killed by Claudia, or E) other reasons. This unnamed young ‘nurse’ vampire might fall under A, B, C, or E. Or maybe someone else has killed him since then *shrugs*
When Lestat says: ‘You all leave me!’ – ;A; This could be about his fledglings, bc, yes, when you take TVL into account, up to this point in canon all four have chosen to leave him: Gabrielle, Nicolas, Louis & Claudia (at this point in canon, the unnamed musician vampire appeared to have been destroyed). Armand’s warnings to Lestat about making fledglings
in TVL are relevant:
“Oh, but it’s always a travesty, don’t you see?… And the veil will always come down between you. Make a legion. You will be, always and forever, alone!
If the ‘nurse’ vampire was not made by Lestat: It also would have been possible for a rogue vampire to find Lestat, perceive that he was an older vampire, and might have wisdom or power, or the rogue had heard of the legendary Lestat, and come in search of him purposely. I feel like this is more likely given how beaten down Lestat was from the assassination attempt and his survival of the Theatre des Vampires in such close proximity.
THEN we have THIS (also from IWTV, prior to the scene excerpted above):
“[Armand] told me something he’d concealed from me since the time we were in Paris.
“Lestat had not died in the Theatre des Vampires. I had believed him to be dead, and when I asked Armand about those vampires, he told me they all had perished. But he told me now that this wasn’t so. Lestat had left the theater the night I had run away from Armandand sought out the cemetery in Montmartre. Two vampires who had been made with Lestat by the same master had assisted him in booking passage to New Orleans.”
^Like…. WHAT?
Maybe Armand had heard it through the grapevine that Lestat had these two caretakers, but since Lestat never mentions having siblings in the blood from Magnus, it’s possible that Armand is lying so that Louis thinks Lestat already has enough support and doesn’t need a THIRD caretaker.
Or, of course, Anne Rice either A) forgot about these two sibling vampires or B) chose not to address them. They would probably both have been too old to be the “young nurse vampire” but… MAYBE WE’LL GET THEM IN THE NEXT BOOK WHO KNOWS? Anything! is possible!
*Further complicated by the fact that Louis’s story went through Daniel and Daniel’s publishers, who may have added misinformation of their own for a better story! Reprehensible that this young vampire would bring Lestat a baby as a victim, but in Lestat’s defense, he doesn’t want it: “ ‘You might have brought me something else!’ said Lestat bitterly.”
I-want-my-IWTV 