♠ *a smile tugs at his lips, considering his responses*
*writing:*“By now, after decades of his antics, he hardly has any new tricks to pull, just variations on the old ones. And I know how to firmly put him in his place when necessary. So, I’d say, not terribly hard.”
*Louis stretches, glances at Lestat across the room* “It has been a learning experience, shall we say? I had to learn his noises, his expressions. He doesn’t always say what he means, or mean what he says. He also knows how far he can push me before I’ll snap. Still, he has to test that boundary.”
“One might think that needing to learn his language renders him unlovable. On the contrary, I understand now that his pestering about my fashion choices, and the like, it isn’t simple berating, it’s more that he wants my attention, like a puppy nipping at the fingers of his human companion. No harm is actually intended, it’s merely a less vulnerable means of begging for attention and care.”
“ ‘Putting up with’ also includes the situations he hurls himself into despite my advice, and I do fear for his safety more often than I’d like. Strong as he is… I don’t want to think of him truly in peril. Yet. He insists on testing those boundaries, too. That’s when it’s the most hard, for me.”
Ah, yes, I can do that… books or movie? Probably both, I assume. That’ll take awhile to compile. Can’t promise I can do that very soon but maybe someone reading this wants to take it on? Hmmm? Volunteers? I still have the other proj of pulling ridiculous Lestat quotes from the rest of canon, which I have yet to sit down and do.
For now, try my #rue royale / #Another typical night at the Rue Royale tags, which have posts that I feel like are typical affectionate and/or arguing old couple™ stuff, not necessarily canon, but still… like this right here:
“Daddy issues” is an unfair term in real life bc it’s a judgment that carries different implications, either that someone is functioning badly bc of a bad relationship with their father, or that they had too good ofa relationship with their father and are spoiled; etc.; there is a wide range, but it basically all boils down to the cheap jab: “That person has daddy issues.”
When I see that term used on fictional characters, it’s more about people outright shitposting or having a touch of dark humor (sometimes more than a touch!) because we know these characters are not real people, they’ll never actually hear us insulting them. And what’s intriguing to me about that term used in analysis or in canon about these characters is that sometimes it’s considered a huge fault, something you say to put a character down; but at other times, it’s a badge of honor that a character can function so well even carrying the burden of “daddy issues.”
[^ source unknown]
(530): THAT GUY IS NOTHING BUT TROUBLE. HE’S 40% PRETTY HAIR AND 60% DADDY ISSUES.
Loki and Tony Stark are great examples of fictional characters w/ “daddy issues,” bc they both had unhealthy relationships with their fathers and it was a very formative experience for them. They are very layered and intellectually stimulating characters, would they be this way if they’d had the benefit of better relationships with their fathers? Isn’t there a kind of catharsis in watching them struggle and battle through their demons in order to reach their goals? Isn’t there extra reward when we see them succeed despite the emotional burdens they bear? And especially when others taunt them about their “daddy issues” and they are strong in the face of that adversity, too?
Google gives the definition of “Daddy issues” as:
“a pejorative for a lot of social, psychological or behavioral issues that may OR MAY NOT stem from an unhealthy relationship with one’s father. It’s usually used to marginalize issues women are having, though to be honest men are perfectly capable of having “daddy issues” too.”
I was asked this a few months ago and it’s a delicate subject bc, again, “daddy issues” is a pejorative, and therefore it can belittle/marginalize real people who have ‘social, psychological or behavioral issues that may OR MAY NOT stem from an unhealthy relationship with one’s father.’
But since these are fictional characters I feel like we can discuss it without causing harm, and I would agree with @vampires-and-witches who had made commentary that Claudia would probably be the fictional character with the most daddy issues in VC [X].
^And yet, in spite of her “daddy issues,” Claudia had persevered (at least, temporarily) when she thought she had killed her own dad/maker. As much as I love Lestat, he did have that coming to him, he deserved it, and he doesn’t even blame her for doing it. So when Claudia rose up and attacked the one who had wronged her the most? 12 year old me was thrilled, cheering her on! I wasn’t about to copy her and kill my parents *eyeroll* but what it showed me was the immense strength of character, someone who was at a great physical disadvantage, AND burdened with “daddy issues,” and yet she executed her plan entirely on her own and succeeded!
I will add that I think VC has a ton of terrible fictional parents (mortal/biological and vampiric/makers). Many are neglectful, abusive, manipulative, etc. or a combination. A terrible or absent parent/maker can affect someone’s future relationships with everyone they interact with. It’s those fictional characters who bear that burden and rise up and succeed (or at least keep trying!) despite it, those are some of the best characters in the series, in my opinion.
So I’ll open this up, anyone can reblog/comment about the characters with the most “daddy/maker issues”!
I met a photographer in New Orleans who said Anne Rice told him she started dressing flashier because Elvis came to her in a dream and told her to. God bless Anne Rice.
You can really see the before and after of Ghost-Elvis fashion advice
#Fanfic and #Fanfictiontags (unfortunately they include commentary ABOUT fanfic as well as links to fanfic but oh well… someday I’ll organize it further).
There’s also some fine stuff in the@vcsecretgiftsarchive ❤
There’s good stuff right here on tumblr, too. VC RPers write threads and answer asks in character, which you might like, and some of them also write drabbles from time to time, try these links/tags to find them:
I really dislike that movie as a whole, but I know many ppl enjoy it for what it is and/or find it nostalgic, so I try to keep my negative opinions about it to myself.
(by textsfromthevampire ^This meme actually works in reference to Lestat and Stuart Townsend AS Lestat.)
The long answer is:
I didn’t hate Townsend. I don’t like to throw hate on actors for their acting. I’d say ST did the best he could with what he was given. His failure as Lestat was a group effort (makeup, costume, script writer, dialogue coach, director, editor, sfx, etc. all had a hand in what we got on the screen) much as Cruise’s success was a group effort (wherein all those things previously mentioned came together so perfectly).
The actor is one part of the machine in creating that character. The failure or success of the character can ultimately be placed on the director since s/he’s the one who coordinates and makes all the aesthetic choices for the entire film.
But again, some ppl really enjoyed him as Lestat, maybe for the same reasons I /disliked/ his performance! Everyone has their own taste, ppl frequently disagree with the Academy Awards (why hasn’t Tom Cruise gotten one yet???!!), it’s all very subjective.
I-want-my-IWTV 