It could be wrong in EVERY possible way. *hugs* It will definitely be wrong in SOME WAY to SOMEONE bc we all have different headcanons.
BUT, that said, and having cuddled you warmly, it’s just a movie! Your headcanons are yours and you can retreat into fanfic 😉 That’s what I did re: movie!QOTD which I have like 12% care for (and most of that goes to Aaliyah).
Just bc the cover of the script had “Interview with the Vampire” as the title for this project, that doesn’t mean he’s redoing that movie.
It’s possible that Josh Boone & Co. don’t want people to confuse this project with the musical!TVL. And IWTV is the more recognizable title to sell it on. They intend to make a trilogy and spinoff series, and in order to do that, they need to at least include some of the first book.
I think @firelight-fading put it really well in their post here, which I will quote some lines from, (I bolded a few things for emphasis):
I think everyone needs to keep in mind that everyone doesn’t share a collective mind- everyone read these books individually so everyone is going to have a different opinion on how certain plot events happened and how certain characters look. Boone is one of those people and he’s the one in control of how this film will look and develop…
#Your headcanon may vary😉
On that note, just because a new film is coming out doesn’t mean that the values of past productions, like the IWTV movie with Tom Cruise, decrease. You can still enjoy it. You can still view Tom Cruise as the “perfect” Lestat. You can still choose to ignore the new film. What the new film does mean for the fandom is possible growth. Old loves for the books series will be rekindled and people will hopefully return. New fans will emerge who enjoy the film or are curious about the books. Considering Rice has lessened her hold on fanfiction restriction, that means more fanworks will possibly be generated. Lots of good things on the way even if the film is a flop.
So all in all, stay positive, go see the film to support Rice and the series if anything and if you don’t like it then it’s a done deal and you can fall back on other VC-related works. We’ll get through this irregardless.
I’m not sure if you’re referring to Antonio!Armand specifically but u probably are, and I know, I know… he is the fandom’s punching bag, I KNOW.
But consider perusing my #defending Antonio tag, where you will find my theories as to why they cast smne who isn’t remotely trying to be physically similar to the character described in the book (except for his wardrobe maybe?). His acting was still very true to the character so give him some credit for that. Very seductive of Louis. But yeah, Denis (played by
Louis Xavier Lewis-Smith) looks more like Armand should have looked:
The biggest reason for Antonio!Armand being that I think AR merged Santino and Armand for that movie bc of reasons. So treat him like Santino and that should lessen the pain *hugs*
i’m more talking about louis (havent encountered armand yet lol). louis’s acting is perfect but like appearance and voice wise he’s just not what i pictured in my head at all. im kinda iffy on lestat too, although he’s growing on me as the movie goes on.
I think that’s a valid theory! I’m not sure I would use the word “concubine,” since that would imply that she was coerced into it due to her status on the plantation. My headcanon is that if she was in a relationship w/ him, she was willing, and not coerced into it, based on fanon that she was raised w/ him, and they were always very close and mutually respectful, even though he was her plantation master in title.*
We see little of their interaction in the movie, so it’s impossible to say definitively, but it appears that she was not afraid of him before he was turned, could sense the change in him, and was genuinely concerned about him with more than a servant’s required amount of care.
Unfortunately we can’t talk about Louis/Yvette w/o bringing up the way he ended that relationship – rather badly (and I’m using a little levity in the pic below bc it’s very grim, upsetting, so many other words for how awful it is, but if anyone is offended, I apologize in advance. This is the way I choose to engage w/ the material, so Unfollow if you need to, I understand)
After he kills her, Louis carries Yvette out of the house bridal-style, a reversal of the carrying-over-the-threshold tradition that newlywed men do w/ their living wives to signify that she is welcome and a necessary part of their home and life together.
Louis carries Yvette OUT before he burns down the big house, so that she can be returned to her people (and family members, probably) and given the proper religious rites, funeral arrangements, etc. Conversely, he knows he doesn’t deserve any of that since he’s going straight to Hell; he intends to pay for her life (really, taking her life is the worst thing he’s done so far, especially considering their implied ship and the way he took her life) with his own. He knows that killing an innocent is terrible, even worse that she was someone he loved! He succumbed to desire, fed his vampire nature, and that finally sealed his damnation: “This place is cursed. Damned! And yes your master is the Devil!”
Fun fact: Brad Pitt and Thandie Newton (Yvette) were dating during the filming of IWTV. They are both professionals, but if my boyfriend had to basically act like he metaphorically raped and murdered me, or I had to do the same to him, pretty sure it’d kill the romance somewhat. [X]
Hit the jump for moar, cut for length.
There is some fanon out there that Yvette was raised along with Louis, that they had real history together and cared deeply for each other ❤ So the idea of them becoming closer than that would make sense. Yvette NOTICED his daytime absence in the fields, and seemed to want him back out there. She seems to genuinely care about him: “Are you still our master at all? You must send away this friend of yours… they’re frightened of him. And they’re frightened of you.” I headcanon that they had a good relationship prior to his turning, maybe the best possible relationship between two ppl of such different stations at that time.
This doesn’t seem like the face of someone required to be concerned for her boss, it seems like the face of a lover or family member, someone very close who senses something is very “off” about Louis, more even than when he was drinking and throwing himself at whores; she wants to help and probably thinks she knows him well enough to be able to talk some sense into him ;A;
In movie!IWTV: Louis’ killing of Yvette seems to also be a metaphor for giving in to sexual urges, basically a metaphorical rape in how it’s nonconsensual :[
We see him struggling with it and trying to make Yvette leave him alone, even ordering her to leave: “That will be all, Yvette.” (which he can barely even say, so consumed w/ hunger) but she deliberately disobeys: “I will not go unless you listen to me!” Again, does not seem like the kind of interaction between a plantation owner and his servant.
He looks like he’s about to receive Holy Communion in the shot above, his eyes closed almost in prayer, he’s probably thinking about everything Lestat’s told him, and How wrong can this be when it seems so right? VERY WRONG.
*So my answer is based on their 100% consensual relationship, but books could be (and have been!) written on the pressures of a slave being coerced into a relationship with the plantation’s owner, and I’m not going there.
Will a doge twinkie appease you a little? As a peace offering! I offer it in all seriousness, no sarcasm at all. He’s much twinkier than Armand, and delishus, too ❤
I thought I answered very thoughtfully here, and I guess I’m having trouble reconciling your statements here in yellow, (my own comments in blue):
I totally managed to misunderstand you, and then I got exactly what you meant? Are you concerned bc I put those opinions in blue under the cut? I do that to keep the post from going on too long, as ppl have told me that my responses can clutter their dash, so it’s more respectful, but for this post, I’ll just let it all hang out and go long, ok?
TL;DR: Hopefully we can agree that text sometimes sounds more or less emotional than it was intended when written, I certainly did not intend to be at all offensive or act like my opinion is any way the definitive authority on the matter, nor was I trying to be rude in the slightest, and I’m sorry that it came across that way, if it did.
Does it really suck for Armand to be in a position of being treated like a sex object? Yes, I bet it does. But he is aware, he is a student of sexuality, he’s interested in it and uses ppl’s perceptions to his advantage.
However, I recognize that this is a hot-button kind of topic in our fandom, so, okay, it’s worth delving into it a little deeper! Re: Armand being a “twink,” Part 2:
Yes, it must suck to be forever seen as a sex object and having ppl throw themselves at you. And yet! There are all kinds of genders and ages of ppl who experience that on a daily or weekly basis.
Look at this recent story, just a few months ago (sorry I picked what appears to be a “pretty” cishet white girl, it’s just the most recent example I could think of and find an article for):
“A young woman is hitting back at the idea that women ‘invite’ catcalling by showing how it ‘doesn’t matter’ what you are wearing, it still happens.” [Source]
There are so many of these stories on a daily basis, all over the world, right in your face. It’s very disheartening. Sometimes it goes a lot farther than it did w/ Ms. Brandt. No matter how the victim is dressed. No matter what the victim looks like or acts like.
How does this apply to Armand tho??
I went over this with a fandom friend who preferred not to be credited, and they said some very smart things, which I’ll include below.
First, tho, I want to mention the obvious: our canon has a lot of sexuality in it. ALOT. Whether you believe the vampires are asexual or fully sexual in terms of penetrative sexual intercourse? That’s up to each reader to decide. We know AR’s stance on it, that they express sensuality differently than penetrative sexual intercourse. I have no need to convince anyone of what my own headcanon is re: this set of fictional characters’ sex lives.
Secondly, a lot of VC RP and fandom discussion often brings up sex as it pertains to this set of fictional characters. I would guess that’s because humans in general are intrigued by sex for so many reasons, not the least of which is the younger fandom ppl coming in who are curious about the role that sex plays in a relationship. Is it the real glue that binds a ship together? Can a ship sail on sex alone? SEX!
How does this apply to Armand tho????
Okay! Now we can address this. Fandom Friend says:
“I think you do actually agree with each other, though [Anon’s] message is confusing in that they start off sounding like they are simplifying [Armand] (he’s ‘just’ a twink) but end up defending his own pov, [which you also pointed out in your response], that he is well-aware of how he is perceived and that he mocks that tendency, to reduce him to a beautiful, sexually attractive youth/boy.”
Armand is one of the characters in canon that we tend to tease about sex often (more in fandom spaces than in canon), bc he had a rich sexual history in his mortal life (first against his will, and then as part of his education and completing the experiences of a Full Life). In vampirism he maintained the appearance that drew so many to him sexually.
Fandom Friend continues:
“it’s true that [Armand] is wanted by everyone, there’s a very nice quote somewhere in QotD about it, but the sexual component in Armand’s character is such an integral part of his amazing mental manipulations, that it really has nothing to do with sex in the end.”
Here’s the quote, where we can see Armand “paying forward” his own education on Daniel:
“Men and women fell in love with Armand, of course, “so innocent, so passionate, so brilliant!” You don’t say. In fact, Armand’s power to seduce was almost beyond his control. And it was Daniel who must bed these unfortunates, if Armand could possibly arrange it, while he watched from a chair nearby, a dark-eyed Cupid with a tender approving smile. Hot, nerve-searing, this witnessed passion, Daniel working the other body with ever greater abandon, aroused by the dual purpose of every intimate gesture. Yet he lay empty afterwards, staring at Armand, resentful, cold.“ – Queen of the Damned
“This is not Armand being sexual, it’s him being manipulative and Danny knows, which is why he is so pissed off!”
Armand is just as interested in sex as we are! He’s interested in the physical mechanics, he’s interested in the emotional connections that can be forged, he’s interested in the mystery of the act performed in a multitude of ways.
He’s interested in it from the perspective of deriving dominance through the act. Marking one’s property. So many other things that I haven’t discovered myself yet about what sex is!
So what’s my point with all this? Like I said before, in general I don’t like to categorize characters as one thing, they’re multi-dimensional, and they evolve and change through canon, despite their physical appearances staying the same.
Anyway I don’t want to argue the point any further, #your headcanon may vary!
why would you ever think asexual characters would be boring like are you that centered around sex that you think people have no personality unless they’ve touched genitals with another person like oh boo hoo now you can’t masturbate to the thought of them having sex and you actually have to pay attention to them as a character cry me a fucking river and get over yourself
I, PERSONALLY, don’t need AR’s validation of my opinion on canon. We all have our own headcanon. We can all love the characters in our own way. A good story (or piece of music or art, or whatever) DOES make you “read between the lines,” it DOES make you curious. It leaves things open enough for you to fill in the blanks. It doesn’t need to explicitly state everything for you, and the author has no obligation to do so, either. This has been true ever since the very first story was ever told, the first artwork ever made.
Most of all, I’m forever grateful for the gift she has given us. I don’t have to agree with her to still feel that gratitude.
If you don’t like a character’s trajectory in canon, that’s what fanworks are for 😉 Just try to be respectful of each other, abide by the Fandom Laws and we can all enjoy it all together, which is what we all want, right?
Do u ever not realize how starved for affection u are till someone hugs u a bit tighter than normal and you find that you really don’t want to let go
I never thought about this scene in this context before, and I don’t know if you were going for seriousness or not, but by this point in the both the film and the novel, Lestat hadn’t had any real affection other than the baiting of the musician for some time.
Thanks! I was indeed going for serious. They have actual irreconcilable differences, but they both still desperately miss how it was in the beginning, when they could both be free to live under the delusion that this setup was in any shape or form “natural" and sustainable. It was the honey-est of honeymoons, for all of them. One happy family.
Claudia was the glue that held them all together, so when she understood the truth of it all and severed ties with Lestat, that’s around when Louis must have, to some extent, as well. In the book, he seems to pull away from both of them emotionally as her frustration and disillusionment grows.
So yes, by this point, Lestat hadn’t had any real affection (aside from the flirting w/ strangers we all know he’s so talented at) other than the baiting of the musician for some time. It appeared that the love between Lestat and the musician was a pale shadow of what he had with Louis and Claudia. That musician seemed to give him the kind of unconditional love that Lestat’s dogs had given him back in the Auvergne. An unquestioning loyalty, which is good, but love from Louis and Claudia was worth more, which is why he didn’t just leave them immediately, but rather stay and taunt them with the idea that he might turn someone else. He was challenging them to fight for his love, in threatening to replace them, he wanted them to beg him to stay. They didn’t.
I really, really hate fandom policing. I hated it when I was twelve and was so afraid to read slash because OMG DICKS TOUCHING WHAT and I hated it when I was fifteen and was smuggling the yaois under my mattress so I would always have a supply of top notch garbage to read, and I am 24 and I hate it now.
Here is the thing: YOU CONTROL what you take in. I am not responsible for your consumption of Hydra Trash party noncon, I am not responsible for your consumption of pegging smut, and I am not responsible for your consumption of fluffy sickfic. I am not responsible for you consuming anything.
I might be responsible for writing that noncon or pegging or sickfic, but I did not make you read it. I did not hand it to you, I did not give it to you. I created it, and made it available for those who want to enjoy.
If you don’t like it, if you don’t want it, then you don’t have to read it.
That choice made, the choice not to consume a type of fic or art, also means you don’t get to drag the person who wrote it.
That is a damn slippery slope.
Fandom is a “safe space” but not in the way that it protects you from things that you don’t want to see or don’t like or are offended by. Fandom is, and has traditionally been, a space for people to create and explore with out being told “no” by outside media. Fandom is where you can find out if you don’t fit in the boxes society tells you to, or it you just really, really like reading about Bucky getting repeatedly rammed in the ass by Hydra agents sans lube.
And no matter how well-meaning you are, you don’t get to tell other fans what they can and cannot write, or draw, or enjoy.
When you start telling people what they can create or enjoy, you invalidate the purpose of fandom, and create a situation where instead of free exploration, we have something similar to mainstream media in which certain tropes or topics are not allowed. This limits the free expression, exploration and innovation so highly prized in fandom.
Maybe what they draw is illegal in five states, and highly restricted in several countries. Maybe it’s offensive, maybe it’s inaccurate, or just plain bad.
It doesn’t matter.
You don’t get to tell fans how to enjoy fandom. You mind your own path, your write your own fic, you write meta on why x trope is offensive/problematic/bad but you do not tell other fans how to enjoy fandom.
“Fandom is a “safe space” but not in the way that it protects you from things that you don’t want to see or don’t like or are offended by. Fandom is, and has traditionally been, a space for people to create and explore with out being told “no” by outside media.”
THIS!!! THIS is the TRUE definition of fandom as a ‘safe space’. It is a ‘safe space’ for creators.
“You do not tell other fans how to enjoy fandom.”
This needs 99,999,999 notes.
There comes a point where you, not your teachers and not your parents or guardians, are responsible for what media you consume. It’s not for others to censor themselves to protect you from what you don’t want.Heed warnings. If something doesn’t have warnings, either don’t read/watch/listen to it or search out reviews that will tell you if it’s something you would be OK reading/watching/listening to. Descending on a creator or creators and demanding they not create something or shaming them for doing so because you don’t approve is censorship and furthermore, it’s hubris of the highest order.
I-want-my-IWTV 
