Tag Archives: vampchronfic

I haven’t finished the VC yet but I read this quote about Lestat and was curious about what it meant. I know it’s talking about Louis and Claudia, but who else? Quote: “One will hate you for taking his life, another will run to excesses that you scorn. A third will emerge mad and raving, another a monster you cannot control. One will be jealous of your superiority, another shut you out… And the veil will always come down between you. Make a legion, you will be, always and forever alone!” (TVL)

Leave a comment

That’s a great quote, anon, and a very good question *u*

image

[^by @garama and the illustration is more appropriate than you think; they are probably slinging insults back and forth telepathically!]

This quote was actually Armand talking to Lestat about Gabrielle and Nicolas (Lestat had not even met Louis and Claudia yet), and how foolish it was for Lestat to expect either of them to actually want to stay with him. AS IF?! We as readers also add in the fact that it could apply to Louis and Claudia, since we already know that further down the line, yes, they will choose to leave their maker.

Armand’s point is that no matter carefully chosen, every fledgling will inevitably leave their maker. The quote actually begins with: “Each time the death and the awakening will ravage the mortal spirit,” and then he goes into more reasons why the fledglings and makers end up parting. Gabrielle left because she wanted something Lestat couldn’t give her. Nicolas left for a number of reasons, some variation of madness could be part of it. Armand speaks with the knowledge of seeing many fledglings made, and he might even feel like he would not have chosen to stay with his own maker forever, if he had had the choice. 

When Armand says “And the veil will always come down between you,” that’s about the fact that the telepathic connection that can exist between vampires and mortals

(vampire!Lestat could communicate telepathically with mortal!Gabrielle before she was turned)

will be lost with the Dark Gift*

Armand had it with mortal!Daniel.

It’s a deeply intimate connection and many makers and fledglings mourn its loss. 

Armand is basically saying that you can turn however many mortals into vampires you want, but due to the act of turning a new vampire, you can’t keep them as a companion. The best and most true companionship is in finding other vampires who were turned by others. There are many reasons for finding a prefabricated vampire to love, but a major one is that the telepathic connection with them will still be possible!

*At least one fic writer, @vampchronfic, has L/L finding ways to chip away and even dissolve this limitation, and it’s bound them closer together, unlike any other ship in VC.

We Are Our Own Saviors – by Gairid, Leshan – Vampire Chronicles fic – Anne Rice [Archive of Our Own]

Link

gairid:

**Chapters 3, 4 and 5 now posted**

Summary:

Part 3 of the series Torn, Frayed & Mended – Lestat and Louis continue to mend their relationship and to explore the past. Brian takes some time to consider his life and to complete some arrangements he’s had in the works.

We Are Our Own Saviors – by Gairid, Leshan – Vampire Chronicles fic – Anne Rice [Archive of Our Own]

Hey!!! I was just wondering what do u think lestat means by his quote “I love myself I’m devoted to myself but I don’t like myself” or something like that plsss is just that I didn’t understand that:P

Leave a comment

 "I don’t like myself, you know. I love myself, of course, I’m
committed to myself till my dying day. But I don’t like myself.“ – Lestat, Memnoch the Devil

image

In context, Lestat’s saying this to Dora, and she doesn’t really address it. He’ll do this occasionally, verbally toss out some bit of raw self-reflection and it goes dismissed or ignored by whoever is with him at the time, but we as readers grasp it and hold onto it bc we know he’s just given us something valuable! 

TL;DR: Lestat is a survivor of a lot of crap which has made him somewhat bitter and underdeveloped in some areas, but he takes all the negativity he experiences and uses it as fuel towards a more productive purpose. This makes life worth living for him, and it’s one of the major reasons why those of us who love him, love him ❤

I think Lestat’s admitting something powerful here, that yes, he’s flawed, to the point of being truly unlikable. His family treated him like crap for most of his childhood, and he had to give himself all the positive attention that they wouldn’t. He parented himself for the most part, so he understandably has issues asking for and accepting affection. He had to build up his ego from the very little positive attention he got. Much of that famous bravado he displays is a performance, but he’s been doing it so long and so well that he’s usually able to convince himself it’s authentic. 

He knows he can be a bastard, most of that is a defense mechanism against being hurt further. People have tried to kill him on more than one occasion! It’s one thing for enemies to try to kill you, but it really hurts when the ppl you love try to kill you.

He’s a survivor of child abuse (the beatings from his father and brothers whenever he tried to improve his life), neglect (his mother was not very motherly to say the least), was abandoned as a fledgling vampire (and @vampchronfic suggests in a recent fic that the bond between maker and fledgling is deeper than I had previously considered in the form of a physiological bond) and he had to figure everything out on his own – including whether he could survive making a vampire companion,… I could go on, but it depends on where canon stops for you. He parented himself as a vampire, too. 

So why be devoted to himself? Even though he was an innocent victim of all this abuse and neglect, when he was mortal, he became the provider for his family. He was the one who could hunt and he literally put food on the table. He was the one who had to save the village from the wolves. So I think it’s deeply ingrained in him to take all the negativity he experiences and use it as fuel towards a more productive purpose. Hunting was something he was praised for, but more importantly, the act itself gave him pleasure, asserting control over nature in this way. Every kill was something earned. 

He carried this through to vampiring immediately, choosing to hunt the evildoer, taking them down brings him the same good feelings that hunting for his family and protecting the village did. 

Occasionally he does still kill innocents, and he does hurt those he loves. He has issues with consent and accepting affection. Deep down, he does love ppl and wants love in return. He’s definitely at a better place now than when we first met him in IWTV. 

Gallery

Leave a comment

loustat:

Anne is so cute and sweet.

YES WE WANT ACTION FIGURES PLZ *grabby hands*

She wants “mass produced and readily available action figures …that might pass for Lestat, so that anyone could have one for a few bucks” !!! Anne, do you know how much Barbies cost these days? More than “a few bucks” but still, I like where she’s going with this.

There was a post that went around about a month ago re: VC action figures, here are some of the responses on it:

[^from an i09 article]

@gothiccharmschool added:

I WANT A MOPING LOUIS FIGURE!

@cloudsinvenice added:

I WANT MOPING LOUIS ACTION FIGURE, THAT STILL COUNTS AS ACTION and he comes with a few dead rat accessories… and a few tattered books. Also:

  • Claudia w/ little gold scissors, mini-doll, and dagger-stabby action
  • Lestat w/ violet shades, multiple outfits sold separately
  • Santiago w/ scythe

@vampchronfic added:

  • Maharet and sets of different colored eyes.

@octoberreads added:

  • And a Lestat with a pull string that says “still whining 

@audacityinblack added:

  • A Daniel figure though…
  • Would come with tiny tape recorder, notebook, magically “emptying” bottles, and real clinging-to-Armand action.

@annabellioncourt added:

  • I mean, come on, not just the Hot Toys figures or the standard five inch figures, but the funko pops, and all those other novelty vinyl figures.

@phantomseptember added:

  • Imagine how many wardrobe extensions they could sell for a Lestat action figure!

@redversaillesrose added:

  • Nicki w/ violin. Hands sold separately. 

Do you think these bitches are like, punctual? Sure, they don’t have the bussiest agendas, but when they do have commitments or something, do they get there on time? Can you like, make a list? Most to least punctual? Weird question, but I’m curious.

Leave a comment

I agree, weird question, but honey, ucametotherightplace ^________^

Vampiring can be very busy! All the entertainment (concerts, galleries, fashion shows), the charity balls, the netflix & chills, and they still have to wedge murder in, too. 

image

[@vampchronfic​ helped out on this answer! Much appreciated *u*]

Jesse and Pandora arrive early and always ask the host(ess) if they need any help setting anything up.

David and Marius are always on time. Perfectly. 

Louis is on time when he is not being dragged into lateness by Lestat.

Armand is variable; sometimes on time, sometimes fashionably late, but he always leaves first. His reasons are never questioned.

Daniel is on time when he goes with Marius or Armand, but on his own, always late (still consistently arrives before Lestat).

Lestat is always late bc he takes forever to dress up and dress Louis up and is easily distracted. It’s gotten to the point where Brian* has to lie that an event is an hour earlier than it really is just to get Lestat there /close/ to the starting time.

David chastises Lestat every time, Lestat laughs and laughs. David sends Lestat fancy watches with alarms set, accompanied by notes like, “So you’ll know the time. At ANY altitude.”

(*Brian Callahan is one of @vampchronfic‘s OC’s that I have come to aggressively accept into my headcanon.)

Gabrielle is never expected to go to anything (she moves around too much to be sent an invite and pays no attention anyway) unless she is in the presence of someone who got an invitation. She has little tolerance for mingling, but she does like David. They swap travel stories and he can usually impress her with his depth of knowledge of ancient ruins and natural wonders.

Gallery

Leave a comment

i-want-my-iwtv:

vampchronfic:

Those who have read my fic are acquainted with my OC, Brian. Here’s a few pictures of hm (well, his FC, anyway.)  Bottom pic is pretty much what he looked like when he first crossed paths with them.

#perfect cinnamon roll too good for this world

Happy birthday Brian! ❤

Source: vampchronfic

Leave a comment

annabellioncourt:

vampchronfic:

mylittleinferno:

firelight-fading:

mylittleinferno:

Does anyone else feel that the quality of the Vampire Chronicles books goes downhill the further you read into the series? 

I mean, I love Anne Rice and her novels but sometimes I get the feeling she put out a book because of contractual obligations. Some of the VC books are just.. meh. 

(If you don’t mind my input) I feel like the quality kind of slopes downward, comes up again just a little bit and then goes down even further. I actually enjoyed The Vampire Armand (despite the weird shit that went on), but as for the 2 books that preceded it, I really didn’t care for them at all. I haven’t read on-ward since because I’ve heard things regarding the other half of the series so, I can’t attest to that half.

I don’t mind 🙂

I’ve heard that some of the books are better but after I read TOBT it really killed my enjoyment of the series and I’ve only recently gotten back into it.

You’re not wrong—there are a lot of people who have the same general opinion (YMMV on which book began the downward spiral). #i-want-my-iwtv — you need to weigh in on this one!

I have argued to doctorate holders that IWTV is a true work of literary genius. TVL is my favorite for its unrepentant hedonism and introspection–I think Lestat is more self aware than Louis is, and more aware of how others think than Louis is, and I love his narration (despite the fact that I am literally Louis). 

Queen of the Damned is well on par with TVL in its quality–and its a high quality straddling the line between good popular fiction and high brow literature……Armand, Blood and Gold, Pandora, Vittorio: they’re right below it in literary quality for me. The rest seem to be just good popular fiction, not great, but good. 

I love them all to bits, and will defend Anne and her work, and continue to read whatever she writes, but….you are right, there really is a change in her writing.

*Officially weighing in*

Lots of good points above, I absolutely agree that IWTV is a true work of literary genius. Agreed on everything annabellioncourt wrote. For me, none of the later books remotely approaches the richness and intensity of IWTV, TVL, or QOTD, but yes, I’d say TVA was very good, and shouldn’t be lumped into the lesser VC simply bc of its post-MtD publishing date. 

I would agree w/ firelight-fading that it’s not a sharp downward slide in quality, but more that “the quality kind of slopes downward, comes up again just a little bit and then goes down even further.” Blood Canticle would have ended this series, and for what it’s worth, I would say that Prince Lestat begins to get things back on a better track plot-wise and emotion-wise than it nearly ended on.

My short answer:  I think AR can still capture that old quality we all fell in love with, albeit in slivers. Which is why I can’t disregard any of the books entirely. It’s still hard for me to accept Prince Lestat as canon, I might never, but there are moments and lines of dialogue in it that are SO VERY GOOD. Moments where I’ve had to pause and smile, because it was as if the old Lestat, from IWTV or TVL, actually graced us with his presence, if only for a moment.

However, in general, I would say that the VC began as a work of catharsis for her (we probably all know the Claudia = Michele Rice connection by now); she had real questions that needed answering, she had a powerful hunger to flex her storytelling muscles, steeped in all that older literature, she could still relate to us mere mortals, and she had her poet husband’s emotional and creative support. Don’t underestimate Stan’s contribution 😉

So I’d say that’s why the first few books (1-3 or 1-5 or whatever, depending on your cutoff point) are so strong, and why we mourn the loss of that passionate searching. Because as she got more successful, as she exorcised her demons, she might have lost touch with the emotions and questions she began the journey with. I’m happy she’s happy! I would probably still be a mess, if I had lost a child and a husband, both who still had a lot of life ahead of them ;A; 

But I’m glad she seems to be in a good place, and that she’s still writing, even though she is probably financially secure enough not to need to touch WordPerfect ever again!

Hit the jump for more. 

It’s easy to denounce a pile of books. It’s easy to just slam them down or make a gif of them on fire yes I did that before I finished reading it and it’s kind of a bonding experience to all agree to like or dislike a thing together. I get that. Hey, I actively dislike movie!QOTD. I immediately feel a little kinship w/ others who agree w/ me on that, and I am aware that’s mean to those who feel nostalgia for that movie, so I try to keep it to a minimum publicly. 

Why do people dislike the later VC books? Because they’re wild? (They are!), They are historically inaccurate? (Probably!) The characters seem “off” or present unreliable narration as to past events told by other characters…? (They are and they do!) 

^All of which are varying degrees of criminal acts that call for Fictional Character Protective Services™ but I advocate for the proverbial devil because that’s one of my things that I do so here we go:   

Wild stories:

  • Well, AR attempted to appease her POTP fanbase in some regard, merging the Mayfair Witch series into VC, and she acknowledged that it hasn’t “worn well.”
  • She’s trying to appease the POTP who have begged her to give Lestat a biological child (check that off the list), and get married with a ~ceremony~ (allegedly happening in the next installment, Blood Paradise) bc how can he be at all remotely happy w/out making an honest man out of Louis FFS like c’mon.
  • She’s always tried to push the envelope and TOBT was WILD for its time in this series, how incredible that she’s managed to make that seem so tame in comparison to later canon!
  • Not to mention the Dora scene in MtD. 

They are historically inaccurate:

  • Probably! But I’m not a history buff, so for me, to say the characters are wearing something that wasn’t invented until, idk, 50 yrs later, doesn’t bother me. 
  • I can understand why it might irritate the hell out of someone else, though. 

The characters seem “off” or present unreliable narration as to past events told by other characters… 

  • But that happens in real life, too! X might have one version of a story and Y, who also experienced it, might have a much different version. I enjoy seeing the perspectives, and consider for myself who’s version I believe. 
  • Louis and Lestat argue over whether Lestat was about to eat a baby at the end of IWTV “in a scene which we both know did not take place!”

In the last analysis, AR can still blow me away with a scene, or just a line of dialogue, even in the far less popular books in the series. She can still make me put the book down and stare off into space for a breather. 

BUT, as I mentioned above,

I think AR can still capture that old quality we all fell in love with, albeit in slivers. Which is why I can’t disregard any of the books entirely. It’s still hard for me to accept Prince Lestat as canon, I might never, but there are moments and lines of dialogue in it that are SO VERY GOOD. Moments where I’ve had to pause and smile, because it was as if the old Lestat, from IWTV or TVL, actually deigned to be present, if only for a moment.