murfpersonalblog - Tumblr blog

murfpersonalblog · 2 days ago

Text

IWTV Musings - Can Amel LEARN new Dark Gifts?

#what a lovely lovely post omg #thank you op this is so well-done !!! much to think about #also marius/avicus/mael/tesk/eudoxia/b&g mention <3 #akashas blood is vamp steroids !!! with sll this tho i do wonder where amel comes into play if he does at all #prev —>#justice for claudia #<— yup lol

@stylosha thanks for liking my post! VERY good question about Amel. Same answer:

YES. And NO.

Amel learns & progresses, too, absolutely. But it's different from vamps, and in some ways the development of their Dark Gifts are surprisingly independent of Amel.

Amel's Connection to Vampires

🪄 The Dark Gifts & Magic

The Dark Gifts are a happy BYPRODUCT of the alchemical magic that accidentally created vamps. They can do "magic" (telekinesis/pyrokinesis/telepathy/etc), cuz AR's vamps are technically corporeal spirits/ghosts--they're undead. They can do anything spirits/ghosts can do, within certain earthbound/corporeal limits--they're not shapeshfters like Lasher & Gremt, and don't need summonings. But peak vamps can fly, bespell/bewitch, start winds & fires, kill--the Dark Gifts. And so can the strongest ghosts/spirits & their strongest witches (a la QotD & Mayfair Witches).

AR's vamps are upgraded versions of her witches, cuz the source of their power literally stems from communion with the dead, getting spirits/ghosts to control the elements for them. But whereas witches have to ask the spirit for help & wait for results, vamps can autonomously do anything witches can do, but better, cuz vamp magic's internal (Akasha's Amel), not external (The Twins' Amel). The fusion causes vamp corpses to irrevocably change, which is why when Dr Fareed finally cut their link to Amel (The Great Disconnection), the Elder vamps were relieved to realize that they still had ALL of their Dark Gifts.

It was because of Amel that they had the Gifts to begin with--his magic is what made them vampires--but Amel did not CONTROL vamp access to the Dark Gifts. And as long as they were all connected to him (via Akasha), they needed his Sacred Core to survive. But the ELDERS had outgrown him--in QotD when Mekare ate Akasha's brain, that window of time nearly knocked out Daniel & Louis (younger/weaker vamps), but the older vamps were fine. And after the Great Disconnection, being connected to Amel or not didn't affect the Gifts of them at all.

🧠 The Silver Cord

I've actually started using Ymir Fritz from Attack on Titan to help me understand how the vampires' link to Amel works (x). (Louis' "simple explanation" of etheric bodies in PLatRoA confuses TF outta me.)

Long story short: Ymir, the Founding Titan, is the source of ALL Titans. Every time a Titan heals from an injury, Ymir's in the Paths resculpting their bodies from sand & water. The Paths are removed from our space-time, so even though it takes her FOREVER to build each Titan in the Paths, it only takes mere MOMENTS for Titans to heal out in the real/corporeal world. Ymir painstakingly creates everything the Titans can use/make/do (inc Titan Shifter powers), with her own two hands. She's GOD, but she's also just a little girl, the Paths are endless, her bucket of water is HEAVY, and there's millions of Titans, so she STRUGGLES; it's HARD for her to make/support the Titans as the Founder. But the Titans Shifters don't know/realize this, cuz in their world their abilities manifest thru (what they assume is) pure instinct/thoughts. Titan Shifters know their power resides in their spinal fluid, but they don't know why. The Paths are just a manifestation of Ymir's body/corpse--cuz Aot's Ymir Fritz was directly inspired by the primordial giant Ymir from Norse Mythology, whose body created the world, the giants, gods, dwarves, etc.

Amel works a vaguely similar way to Ymir--but instead of AoT's sand & water, it's AR's Silver Cord and Blood (a la TotBT & PLatRoA). The Silver Cord is a spiritual/neural link between material & immaterial bodies. It allows humans & vampires to use Astral Projection to connect/remove one's etheric spirit/soul in the Astral Plane to a corporeal body in the real world. Hence: possession (Raglan James & Amel).

As the Sacred Core, Amel's the source of ALL vampires. Every time a vamp heals from an injury, Amel's silver cord connecting vamps to Akasha rebuilds their bodies from blood. The Astral Plane is removed from our space-time, so even though time stretches FOREVER for spirits/ghosts as they lose their connection to reality, it only takes mere MOMENTS for vampires to heal out in the real/corporeal world. Amel painstakingly attaches every vampire to his etheric body, and they all tap into his magic to produce the Dark Gifts. He's the SACRED Core, but he's also just the ghost of a dead alien, the Silver Cord is a spiderweb of tentacles that stretches outwards from him PAINFULLY, and there's thousands of vampires, so he STRUGGLES; it's HARD for him to make/support the vamps as the Core. But the vampires don't know/realize this, cuz in their world their abilities manifest thru (what they assume is) pure instinct/thoughts. Vamps know their power resides in their brain, but they don't know why (x x). The Silver Cord is a manifestation of Amel's link to Akasha, spreading like an infection to each of their children: all vampires.

In AoT, Ymir controlled Titan access to their powers. Which is why once the Founding Titan was killed, all Titans were exterminated for good--Titan Shifters couldn't become Titans anymore or use their powers, and the Curse of Ymir ended.

But in TVC, Amel never controlled vamp access to their powers. The Great Disconnection didn't exterminate the vamps or cut them off from the Dark Gifts or the ability to keep making new vampires. The Dark Trick still worked--they were all still Damned, just no one was connected to Amel anymore. Every vamp became their own independent Sacred Core instead; and Amel was given his own synthetic body to latch onto, completely detached & blocked off from all vamps. 🎉

👻 Possession

According to Raglan James, the body can only host ONE active spirit at a time--he tried to force/push Lestat's spirit out and failed; he had to get Lestat to AGREE to be possessed. Otherwise, he used comatose drugged up vegetables who couldn't fight back, cuz their brain AND spirit was already damaged & vulnerable to be overridden.

Same with Amel--Akasha was dying when he went into her body & took over. BUT! Once Amel bonded with her body, HE was the one who went to sleep. Cuz she was alive again, her spirit was revitalized. He got STUCK, like a loser. 😅

It became a battle of wills--and Akasha's naturally won out, so Amel was "no more"--he went dormant, he couldn't speak/move through her (the way Lasher briefly could control corpses). In PL Lestat even mentioned how in the 1980s he'd noticed Amel try to wake up & take over Akasha's body, but he couldn't, still too weak back then.

So Amel's ghostly possession doesn't work the same way as typical ghosts--he can't puppet the body he resides in, or anyone else's. With The Voice, he could psychologically pester/torment people, driving vamps mad to get them to do things FOR him, but he can't take control of the wheel & drive the body himself. While he was just The Voice he could never physically compel/force anyone to do anything. When Les became his host in PL/PLatRoA, Les had to agree before he let Amel do anything with his body (write in Atlantis' language), and apparently the puppetry/possession caused Les intense pain--either that, or Amel was just making it hurt to be spiteful. (It never hurt Julien Mayfair to be possessed by Lasher--but Julien always blacked out & never remembered wtf happened afterwards, anyway, so who knows. Lestat even said: "Yes, he’d tried to move my limbs more than once, and I’d felt a tingling and cramping in the limb. But that had not been pain.")

Amel endured, but couldn't LIVE or GROW in his hosts, which is why he HATED being stuck in Akasha & Mekare--their spirits are vulnerable enough for him to reside in them (non-communicative/asleep/mentally ill), but unfortunately for him their spirits are also still active in their bodies, with an active will that naturally rejects anything his foreign presence tries to compel. He couldn't get them to agree to back down & let him take over, the way he could with Les--which is why Les saw Akasha seize up, forcing Amel back down.

🧛 Amel's Stunted Growth

Inside Akasha, Amel was held back from growing/developing, cuz there were TOO many vamps--hence Akasha's purges in the 1980s & the PL Trilogy's Great Burnings in the 20teens to cull the herd. His vampiric network grew at the detriment to Amel's development--the vampiric species was DRAINING him--vampires are parasites TO Amel, ironically.

Amel is ephemeral but still material, and all matter has limits. He's not infinite; he can't infinitely support all the vamps; he's stretched too thin. He gets older & the blood gets stronger, but HE can't handle it. He's the vampiric scaffold, but he's tired.

So, because Amel's STUCK in his hosts, he cannot FULLY reach his potential in any of them, not even Lestat. It literally bleeds out, down into his vampires, instead of staying in Amel and making him powerful, cuz he can't contain it all. As the Voice, he lashes out, throwing tantrums, tryna break lose & find a host dumb enough to let him in so he can exert more autonomy over THEIR body. Which is why Dr Fareed finally snapped the Silver Cord & Kapetria gave Amel a body of his own, so he could be free--but still corporeal.

However, we can see much more concrete examples of how ghosts in TVC really can grow/evolve to reach their full potential:

TVC Ghosts/Spirits

Amel & Goblin

This is AR's scientific definition of ghosts (a la Dr Fareed):

Goblin from Blackwood Farm is the perfect comparison for Amel. Amel, pre-Akasha, was a poltergeist just like Goblin eventually became.

As Quinn Blackwood learned & developed (human AND vampire), so did Goblin. Of all the ghosts in TVC, Goblin's the oddest one--he doesn't reside WITHIN Quinn the way Amel does with Akasha; he's a ghostly poltergeist (external), NOT a ghostly possession (internal).

As Quinn grew up & aged, so did Goblin. Quinn learned to talk, and so did Goblin. Quinn reached puberty/maturity & wanted to have sex, and chiiiiile.... 🤦 So did Goblin--don't ask. 🫣😅 And when Quinn became a vampire & started drinking blood, so did Goblin.

Goblin's increasing taste for blood in BwF almost EXACTLY matches Amel's in QotD.

Amel's thirst for blood was the prime mobile that pushed vampiric bloodlust forward--a vampire in & of itself doesn't crave blood, it's AMEL. He never needed it to survive, but it made him feel better--"slow" & heavy--more real/alive. (x) Goblin doesn't NEED food/blood, but he's a mimic and parasitically codependent on Quinn; so if vamp!Quinn drinks blood, so will Goblin; feeding off of Quinn to get stronger as Quinn gets stronger.

Goblin was far more codependent on Quinn than Amel ever was to The Twins, cuz they never let him get too close. But Quinn & Goblin were attached from the womb--literally. There was never a Quinn without his Goblin. Codependency turned into entitlement/parasitism, where Goblin refused to exist without Quinn, come hell or high water. But because this wasn't possession, just a haunting, there was no way for Quinn to beat back Goblin the way Akasha & Mekare inherently could--the confines of the body only allowing 1 active spirit didn't apply. Thus: exorcism.

But if Goblin had survived longer & Merrick Mayfair had never exorcised him, I'm 100% convinced he would've become the next Amel, and Quinn would've become his Akasha, creating a whole new Sacred Core and a whole new line of vamps. I'm DEAD serious. But whether their symbiotic relationship would've worked the same way--cuz Akasha was HUMAN when she was possessed, while Quinn was already a vampire already attached to Amel--who's to say? 🤷

TL;DR: Like Lasher, Gremt & AR's other powerful ghosts, Amel grows & learns & develops & gets stronger, YES. But at what cost?! 😩

As for Magnus, I have a post dedicated to him & his evolution from mortal-human to vamp to ghost to immortal-human. I haven't done one for Gremt yet, but I might later on, depending on what the AMC's Talamasca does.

#the vampire chronicles #lestat de lioncourt #amc immortal universe #iwtv tvc metas #vampires #prince lestat trilogy & the chateau era

3 notes · View notes

murfpersonalblog · 2 days ago

Text

IWTV S2 Ep3 & Ep8 Musings - Loustat's Fire Gift, and Withholding (Pt3)

(Part 1 is my discussion about whether or not AMC!Lestat is fireproof/sunproof as of the S3 promo. Part 2 is my gifset of the first time we see the Fire Gift used in S1.)

I've noticed how many folks were surprised to see Lestat use the Fire Gift in 2x8, so I just want this series of posts to help break it all down.

This scene is the first time (AFAWK) that Louis has ever seen Lestat use TFG in their 30/100+ years. But this is NOT the first time WE the audience has seen Lestat use TFG.

The whole point of Lestat revealing his Fire Gift to Louis in 2x8 is multilayered, but it all boils down to an important main theme:

Withholding

Lestat deliberately withholds A LOT of information from Louis (& Claudia), about his/their nature as a vampire, and esp. about his past (TVL).

Lestat Withholding his True Nature/Powers/Gifts

book!Lestat never wanted to scare Louis, by letting him know exactly what powers Les had, and exactly what he could do, and how monstrous he was ("how things will never be right between monstrous us"). But contrary to popular opinion, this goes FAR beyond him knowing Akasha's blood is in him--and lord don't even get me started on the braindead Amel takes.

Lestat says exactly why he hid his true powers & gifts from Louis: cuz Louis "shrank in guilt and self-loathing from using even half of his own powers."

(Catholic) Guilt & self-loathing is a HUGE theme in TVC. It's why so many vamps yeet themselves into the sun/fire, thinking they should die. They hate themselves, and find it impossible to carpe diem in the Savage Garden, or see any reason to endure--and "if you can't love yourself, how are you gonna love anyone else, can I get an amen!" Self-loathing vamps like Nicki, Daciana, the Children of Satan/Darkness, Armand, and ofc Louis don't treat the Dark Gift like a GIFT, but as a CURSE. They have no "Vampire Pride." 🏳️‍🌈

Lestat revealing his Fire Gift to Louis was on one hand an act of honesty, honoring Louis by being transparent with him: "Here's all of me, I'm not gonna hide things from you anymore, look at what I can do." But it was also an admission of guilt: "I really was hiding stuff & lying; I am a monster; but you already hate me, so there's no point keeping up pretenses."

However. Some vamps hide in the shadows not cuz they're ashamed of what they are, but cuz they know it's not SAFE; that if people knew certain secrets about them, it could get them literally killed. (Istg Anne Rice snapped with all the queer parallels in vampirism. 😤🤌)

Lestat Withholding His Past (TVL)

Some of Les' withholding IS excusable/forgivable: Marius ordered Les to never say a word about TWMBK, cuz whatever happens to them/Akasha happens to ALL vampires: if she burns/dies, ALL vamps die. Some self-loathing vamp extremists WANT all of them to die, so They Must Be Kept SECRET from as many people as possible. So it's 100% valid for Les to never tell Lou about Akasha.

(But conversely, AMC!Les is a effing brat who broke that rule, blabbing about them to Lou & Claud in S1, AND Lou & Armand in S2; but y'all wanna convince me that Les GAF about obeying the Great Laws in that scripted AF Ep4 revist? Sure, Jan. Les had ONE job and failed at it TWICE. 🙄😒)

However, Marius' command has ZERO bearings on why Lestat never told Louis about himself. Les was perfectly safe & free to tell his NOLA fledglings about Magnus & Nicki (a la 1x6), Gabrielle, AND the Children of Darkness, cuz none of them had any effing clue that Akasha existed.

The ONE name I can excuse is Armand, since Marius is his Maker--but Marius never told Armand who TWMBK were either, for a VERY good reason: it's LITERALLY a matter of life & death for ALL of them.

Knowledge is Power

AMC including the element of domestic abuse to Loustat's already canonically toxic AF dynamic implies several things about both the implications and ramifications of Lestat's tendency to withhold.

It adds an insidious element of danger and fear that Les' NOLA fledglings feel about about him, where they live with him in constant insecurity--unsure, unsafe, and above all: UNEQUAL. This whole show is about power imbalances. It's so bonkers to try dismissing the abuse in Ep5 just cuz Lou & Claudia didn't act scared enough, when Ep6 & Ep7 had them repeatedly explain how uncomfortable they--esp. Louis--felt, not knowing eff all what Lestat was capable of doing to them! Just cuz they're not cowering in a corner doesn't mean they don't fear the unknown or verbalize about those fears:

Claudia jumps in to ask a very good question ("Who made you?"), but notice how Lestat deflected & never actually addressed Louis' point: TELL US *WHAT ELSE* YOU CAN DO. (It's moot whether or not Lestat had already used the Cloud Gift while they had sex in Ep1--Louis was reeling, so he likely wasn't paying attention--people OFTEN describe sexual pleasure as feeling like they're floating.) Lou is telling Les that what he did in Ep5 SHOCKED them--floating an inch off the ground/bed is NOTHING compared to soaring into effing outer space. ("He got tricks, is all.")

Louis repeatedly emphasized the raw difference in weight class b/t immortals like him & Claudia, and immortals like Lestat specifically.

LOUIS: "But he's not mortal. No illness can touch him. You threaten a life which will endure till the end of the world!" CLAUDIA: "I'm done enduring!"

In 1x6 Lou stresses that when it comes to killing Lestat, "HE" is not mortal. Not "WE, as undead vampires, in general," but THIS dude in particular. Even in his total ignorance about Akasha, Louis still knows there's something special about LESTAT specifically that separates him from other vamps; not just cuz of what he experienced firsthand in Ep5, but also from the Spell/Mind Gifts he knows Les often uses (poker in 1x1, the soldiers in 1x3, the bar in 1x5, etc).

As I've repeatedly pointed out, AMC loves putting Louis & Claudia at the same level, stressing that their position/status/experiences are the same, esp. wrt where Lestat gets positioned. Louis & Claudia are Lestat's "diminished" progeny, who can't do anything Les can do.

Louis was deadset convinced that the answer was a resounding NO. He begged Claudia not to even try, not to even think of trying, cuz she'd be "destroyed," a la what book!/AMC!Les himself warned her.

Louis has no idea what else Lestat can do, but he's seen enough to know that Lestat is sitting on way more than he's letting on. However, unlike Claudia, he blindly accepts that it must be a simple matter of some vamps just being "born" better--a total role reversal from his ambitious spirit in 1x1-1x3. Lou's been beaten down (literally) to the point that he's internalized the same racist eugenics determinism nonsense that had taught his generation & the generations before him that some people (*cough*) were born lesser and could never rise above their stations or lot in life and MUST be stopped if they got too "uppity." So Lou' swallowed the Kool Aid, but S2!Claudia proves that this IS a lie, just like she said it was in 1x6.

Vampires CAN learn advanced Gifts--but the important thing is that they MUST already have the scaffolding to support those powers:

the experience of age/practice

the benefits of a strong Maker who can pass the abilities down,

access to an Ancient vamp whose blood they can drink

Loustat Learning the Fire Gift

Lestat's Fire Gift

AMC!Les already has TFG in 1x1, so it's safe to assume he got it from Akasha the first time he drank her blood (TVL). However, book!Lestat didn't acquire the Cloud Gift (& astral projection) & Killing Gift & "probably" TFG until QotD, after he'd guzzled a metric ton of Akasha's blood; way more than the sip he got in TVL.

He knew about TFG for centuries, cuz Marius swore to torch Les if he ever blabbed about TWMBK. But despite this knowledge, Les COULDN'T use the Fire Gift--he didn't have the right scaffolding yet.

Even in the PL Trilogy, almost 40yrs after Akasha was dead, even knowing what Marius revealed in Blood & Gold (that you can repel the Fire Gift even if you don't know wtf's happening), Les was unsure of how well he could survive TFG if he fought an Ancient--

But apparently he did have it in PL, and definitely in PLAtRoA--

And ofc Les had it in BC (2017) when he finally killed Rhoshamandes; he was able to send TFG right back at Rhosh the way Marius said to.

Louis' Fire Gift

However, book!Louis never even knew the Fire Gift was a thing until the 1980s (reading TVL). Pyromaniac du Lac always set ish on fire manually. Even in PLatRoA it was still a guestimate--even for Amel--if Louis (knew he) had TFG yet, let alone if he'd ever bother using it:

AMC leaned into this, as Louis himself says his Fire Gift only works when he Hulks out--

--and we all saw what happened to that Theatre. 🔥

Another big difference is that this time Les KNOWS Lou has TFG, and Armand taught him how to use it, cuz Les sure AF didn't.

Armand teaching Louis how to hone/use the Fire Gift is one thing, but HOW did Armand know Louis could even BE taught? Did he just assume that cuz he knew Les had the Fire Gift, that his fledgling MUST be able to use it, too? But what about Louis' diet?

ARMAND: I understand you supplement your diet. LOUIS: I feast human every other night.

Louis was still eating pigeons & crap in Paris, so how would he have been strong enough to have TFG already? Esp. cuz we know in Eastern Europe Lou kept complaining about how cold he was, so I assume he didn't have TFG then either.

Meaning Louis must have been GUZZLING Armand's blood in Paris. Sadly, we never see them do this or even talk about it.

So I wonder who initiated the convo to have Louis learn TFG? It could've been Lou, just curious how TF Armand could do that in 2x3.

But it makes HELLA sense for Armand to insist that Lou drink his blood & get TFG down--if only for protection, cuz the same scene where Lou's practicing with TFG is also while Loumand's talking about The Secret.

Armand knows it's Bad News Bears for Lou to stay in Paris and not join the coven, he warns Lou over & over again. And we know he's not above throwing his own coven in the literal flames--in TVL he torched his coven after Lestat arrived in Les Innocents.

So I'm convinced Armand was intentionally teaching Louis TFG, knowing good & daggone well this could only end badly, and hoping it could give Lou some way to defend himself.

Cuz who'd expect the coven to jump Lou during his cozy family dinner surrounded by humans at a public cafe with THE Armand standing right ther--oh wait. 😬💀

So maybe I'm wrong, and it really was just Louis being curious & wanting to learn the Fire Gift himself, and Armand DGAF either way.

Like, I was always suspicious of the scene where Louis drank from "Rashid," cuz we never actually saw the blood--Armand covers his neck wound so Daniel can't see anything. So I'm still wondering how much of Armand's blood Louis could've POSSIBLY even drunk, in Paris or Dubai. Cuz although Armand's a 400-500yo fireproof/sunproof vamp in Dubai, we KNOW Louis isn't. In the books, the vamps that can use the Fire Gift are also sun/fireproof. But AMC!Lou still burns in the sun in SanFran AND Dubai in 1x1, even though we KNOW he has TFG in Paris AND Dubai!

So WTF?

*sigh* AMC, I stick by my 1001 rants about y'all having effed up royally by making Armand a daywalker. Cuz this ish is confusing.

#interview with the vampire #the vampire chronicles #lestat de lioncourt #louis de pointe du lac #the vampire armand #justice for claudia #marius de romanus #iwtv tvc metas #vampires #pyromaniac du lac

7 notes · View notes

murfpersonalblog · 3 days ago

Text

IWTV Musings - Can vampires LEARN new Dark Gifts?

YES.

And NO.

Three things affect a vamp's Gifts: Time, Blood, & Akasha. ALL vampires have the ability to unlock ALL of the Dark Gifts as they age & drink & get stronger & practice. No one vampire is born with the ability to do things no other vampire can do, that's not how it works. Vampires are superhuman, and preternaturally strong & powerful, even at base level as bb!fledglings. For instance: mere minutes after she was Turned, Lestat's mother Gabrielle was able to shatter glass just with her voice (just as we see AMC!Claudia do); it's basic.

However, some vamps CAN be born naturally more adept at using the Gifts from the offset. Gabrielle's vampiric senses & instincts seemed to be naturally sharper than Lestat's:

And she needed ZERO direction figuring out how to scale walls (anti-gravity)--nothing but sheer youth/age kept her from the Cloud Gift.

A BAMF, AMC!Claudia seems to be teaching herself how to use the Cloud Gift--or at least anti-gravity (OG!Superman could only leap tall buildings in a single bound b4 DC said eff it and let him fly).

Ofc she has the potential for the Cloud Gift already, cuz AMC!Lestat already had it. book!Les didn't learn the Cloud Gift until QotD, after he drank copiously from Akasha. But book!Claudia never stood a chance--book!Les didn't have it yet to pass it down to her.

Another good example's Armand, who is THE best vamp with the Spell & Mind Gifts--a naturally talented savant; a child prodigy.

That's not to say that there aren't other skilled & powerful vamps who're really good at the Mind/Spell Gifts. It's just that from very early on, Armand was uncommonly good at it, and he just honed that talent over time, quicker than other vamps do.

But the Mind Gift is also THE default ability of vampires. Even basic AF young bb!fledglings can use it; and with practice, they can all get good at it--but most don't live long enough to get that good.

But several things CAN hold a vampire back from getting stronger/better with the Dark Gifts--I've explained wtf Rhosh was up to b4.

As bad as Magnus was, he had NOTHING on Rhoshamandes (who deliberately didn't WANT his fledglings to know anything about their Gifts). Magnus was suicidal, and in a hurry to to die, so he told Lestat the barest of bones, but nothing more, then offed himself.

Cuz yes, even BEFORE book!Lestat met Armand & Marius/Akasha, he was ALREADY abnormally gifted (10x stronger than a fledgling his age)--cuz Magnus was old & strong AF thanks to having the blood of old AF Rhoshamandes (via Benedict).

But book!Louis was weak AF, and the WORST with the Mind Gift. AMC!Louis' below average with it, as Armand warned him in 2x2 that he's garbage at blocking his thoughts. But book!Louis couldn't use the Mind Gift AT ALL, he's shockingly bad.

But it's not that book!film!Louis could NEVER be taught how to use the Mind Gift--but Lestat certainly didn't know HOW to teach Louis, or connect with him on a level that could ease Louis into vampirism more considerately. He was a pisspoor teacher for Louis (but not for Claudia, who was more similar to Les & thrived under him--at first).

However, the fact that Lou was habitually starving himself meant he'd stunted his own growth--he CAN'T get stronger/better, cuz his body's too frail by design. Vamps need time, practice, and esp. HUMAN BLOOD, to feed the power within them. book!Lou never did; despite how old he got, it was only once he drank Lestat's super!Akasha!blood in Merrick that he finally unlocked all of the Gifts instantly, in one fell swoop, inc. the Fire Gift. Despite how weak & starved he was, the second Lou got access to Akasha's super!blood thru Les, he was off like a shot. (And I'd bet Monopoly money that if book!Claudia had drunk from Akasha, she'd have every Gift, too.) Speaking of--

Conversely, let's look at Akasha. According to Marius, it took her FOREVER to get the Fire Gift--several millennia. As strong as she was in Egypt, she was still young, and still developing, too. Khayman's Akasha =/=Marius' Akasha =/= Lestat's Akasha. She naturally got stronger & stronger with time.

Back in Egypt, Akasha had to use the Mind Gift (telekinesis) to lift oil lamps that were already lit, and throw them at people.

~500yrs later, Marius saw her kill Eudoxia just by lighting the wench on fire from thin air; with the Fire Gift (pyrokinesis). So it took Akasha thousands of years to acquire the Fire Gift.

But Akasha already had it in her--"lain dormant for centuries." Same as it lay dormant in Marius--he didn't even know he had the Fire Gift, or that it was even a thing--the first time he used it was an accident/surprise, when he was already ~500yrs old & fought Eudoxia's goons.

One could argue that mere time had given Marius the Fire Gift--and his Maker Teskhamen was old AF, strong enough to have survived the Great Burnings, so that was another bonus. BUT! Marius had drunk lots of Akasha's blood MORE RECENTLY than ANY of the Elders did. Her blood was aging while he alone had her, so as Marius drank, he gained access to older/better blood than the Elders before him. He was at the best advantage to get stronger quicker. Marius was better at every Dark Gift than the vampires FAR older than he was (Avicus was just as old as Teskhamen).

With the Killing Gift, Marius could make bodies literally explode. But Avicus, the eldest, could only give them a fatal aneurysm to make their brain bleed out. Mael could only cripple bodies, not kill them.

But the Fire Gift was something ONLY Marius could do, that the other vamps couldn't, younger or older.

Drinking Akasha's blood is vamp steroids, crack, Aim Bot, hax mode, deus ex machina, cutting the line, copying off the smart kid in class. But drinking from old AF vamps can also grant significant boosts. The Children of the Millennia begged book!Lou to take their ancient blood, to help him get strong pre-Merrick; but he always declined. We know from the Tulane drafts that he never drank book!Les' blood, or vice versa. And presumably, he never drank Armand's blood either. (I have reservations/doubts abt whether AMC!Loumand drank e/o's blood, but I'll talk about that in a separate post.) As for Lesmand....

We'll have to wait for S3 to confirm if 2x3 was bullsh!te or not. AMC!Lestat drank Armand blood (and presumably gained the power boost needed to get the Fire/Mind Gifts Armand then taught him to use), but this never happened in the books. book!Les already had the Mind Gift--he was able to read Eleni's mind and know she wanted Renaud's Theatre, which he told her take & run with Nicki. And in QotD Les said he used the Mind Gift "in the first few weeks after Magnus had made me" to telekinetically punch Nicki during one of their fights.

book!Armand drank LES' blood when they fought and Les kicked his arse, but he never drank from Armand in TVL, or asked him about the Mind/Fire Gift. It was Armand's strength that surprised Les--

--mostly cuz Les wondered if he was just as strong as Armand. Les had no idea what his powers were. Cuz barring extreme cases like using the Fire Gift while your life's in danger, vamps don't KNOW the Gifts that are out there, to even know to learn/practice with them--just like Everard said: Rhosh never told the de Landen Coven about the Dark Gifts, and he was 1000+ years old when he learned about them by reading TVL. Knowledge is power, and if you don't even know what your baseline is, how can you ever know your limits/potential?

The most valuable thing book!Armand taught Lestat (and Louis) was information. KNOWLEDGE about the past. NOT about Dark Gifts.

Louis took Armand's word that there was no living vamp older than Armand (proof that God didn't exist), but Lestat took Armand's word that Marius was NOT a fake legend, and went looking for proof on his own.

But AMC!Armand teaches Lestat & Louis VERY important Dark Gifts, which changes their dynamics significantly (I'll make a separate post all about that).

So yeah, I just wanted to think out loud & mull over whether dogs really can learn new tricks or not.

#the vampire chronicles #interview with the vampire #lestat de lioncourt #the vampire lestat #marius de romanus #the vampire armand #louis de pointe du lac #justice for claudia #iwtv tvc metas #vampires

40 notes · View notes

murfpersonalblog · 3 days ago

Text

600+ hours and I still haven't finished the game yet, I'm just vibing.

This is one of the funniest news titles I have read in a long time.

#baldur's gate 3 #video games

15K notes · View notes

murfpersonalblog · 3 days ago

Text

The Great Laws: Book vs Adaptation

The Great Laws in the book were created by the medieval coven cult known as The Children of Satan (also known as the Children of Darkness).

Notable changes in the series include:

Omission of Law Three.

Splitting of Law Five into two separate laws.

The prohibition against destroying another vampire was moved to become the fifth and final law.

#interview with the vampire #the vampire armand #religion

20 notes · View notes

murfpersonalblog · 3 days ago

Text

More than 2000 years of desperate coping and seething from apologists and theologians and they still have not actually resolved the Epicurean Paradox

#religion

24K notes · View notes

murfpersonalblog · 3 days ago

Text

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE 1.05 / 2.07

#loustat

777 notes · View notes

murfpersonalblog · 3 days ago

Text

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (2022 - present) 1x1 | In Throes of Increasing Wonder

"The Fire Gift, in your honor."

#interview with the vampire #lestat de lioncourt #vampires #the hype is real #must see tv

7 notes · View notes

murfpersonalblog · 4 days ago

Text

What We Do In The Shadows: 6x11 "The Finale"

#what we do in the shadows #wwdits #marius de romanus #the vampire armand #the vampire chronicles #headcanon accepted #lmfao bye #must see tv

16 notes · View notes

murfpersonalblog · 4 days ago

Text

IWTV 2022 - My Top 10 Reactors (2024)

Disclosure: I'm a diehard Louis-stan & Claudia's self-appointed pro bono lawyer. I'm also Loustat OTP shipper, who loves giving Lestat a hard time, cuz he deserves it.

FrankFreezy (S1 & S2 complete)

Olurinatti Pop! (S1 & S2 complete)

What R U Doing Bree (S1 & S2 complete)

AvatarAdrian (S1 & S2 complete)

ShalayahHomebody TV (up to 2x6 as of Dec 2024)

PettyPumpkins (S1 & S2 complete)

Syntell (S1 & S2 complete)

Bird Calls (S1 & S2 complete)

FoxTaco (S1 & S2 complete)

Nikki and Amber TV (S1 & S2 complete)

#1: FrankFreezy (S1 & S2 complete)

My vibe check always looks at how reactors respond to Lestat (S1) & Armand (S2), vs Louis & Claudia. I deeply appreciate how Frank's videos are even longer than the eps themselves, cuz he actually takes time to THINK. He won my heart when he said he identifies with Louis the most (he even painted a beautifully sensitive portrait of LDPDL), cuz he'd seen abusive relationships IRL, and was able to recognize certain power imbalances & toxic behavior cuz of his personal experiences. He can equally defend Louis & Claudia, AND rightly call them out when they act out of pocket (esp. Louis); not from a place of hatred or racism or ageism or bad faith gotchas, but cuz he KNOWS. He likes Louis' moments of self reflection, cuz he himself has been hated by people he's mistreated in the past, too. Frank's introspective response to S2 (esp. 2x8) was the purest, rawest response I've ever seen from a reactor. You HAVE to rewatch this show, and PAY ATTENTION to the deeper meanings & messages & lessons. NO, Lou & Claud are not angels, they do problematic effed up things. But the show's not about crucifying them (a la the Trial); it's about exploring how trauma & abuse affects people, and affects relationship/family dynamics in complex & messy ways. Frank just has such emotionally mature takes, it's really refreshing, when so many reactors are surface-deep.

#2: Olurinatti Pop! (S1 & S2 complete)

My QUEEN. A criminal defense lawyer IRL, Olay takes not a drop of BS from Louis, his garbage family, Armand, and ESPECIALLY not from Lestat. Despite being the embodiment of Claudia's rage, Olay's HILARIOUS as she chews these ridiculous characters new arseholes, visibly trying to not strangle them through the frikkin screen. XD I fell in love with Olay when she swiftly pointed out the gendered/racial/power imbalances between Louis & everyone he interacts with as a closeted Black gay man during Jim Crow; and how Lestat's toxic AF color blindness inevitably led to gaslighting, manipulation, and abuse. I love Loustat, but I also appreciate having someone who can yank my rose-tinted glasses off & point out their flaws; urging us to be more critical of the BS being slung in our faces. Lestat Apologists vacate the premises immediately, cuz Olay is NOT playing with y'all.

#3: What R U Doing Bree (S1 & S2 complete)

Another Black female criminal justice/defense lawyer IRL (I have a type), Bree's a longtime Tumblrina with a very analytical way of processing the characters and episodes, that is equal parts smart and equal parts unhinged fangirl. She's a Daniel Molloy stan (complete with a lifesized cardboard cutout of Eric Bogosian, omfg, LOL), and lives for him calling out all the inconsistencies in Loumand's accounts. She also gives flowers to the other characters, meticulously allotting Brownie Points every time they do/say something she likes--which makes it fun to watch her and start knowing ahead of time what she'll give BPs to. Daniel & Claudia get the most flowers, and she enjoys Louis, which is crucial for me as a Loustan. Lestat had to grow on her after a few rewatches, and she now fondly calls him her "dumb son," LOL.

#4: AvatarAdrian (S1 & S2 complete)

I LOVE having a Black gay man's reactions to this show, omg. Adrian's recaps are so dang FUNNY--he lives for ALL the mess. Most importantly, he stays ready to clock Lestat and his busted "George Washington" colonizer behavior, and I'm here for it! Adrian's Team Loumand, so I can't, but I get it, cuz Lestat.

#5: ShalayahHomebody TV (up to 2x6 as of 11/20/24)

My original favorite IWTV reactor, Shalayah just calls ish out like she sees it. I love myself a good ranter who can just go AWF on fools (esp. Lestat), no holds barred. IRL/technical stuff slowed Shalayah down a lot, and she hasn't finished S2 yet, so I ended up lowering her on my list, but Shalaya's so freaking awesome awesome--funny & here for all the tea and mess. She even made watching Mayfair Witches fun, as she dragged everyone for filth.

#6: PettyPumpkins (S1 & S2 complete)

I've learned to avoid white reactors in this fandom, cuz too many of them are either complaining book purists or just blatant racists. But Petty Pumpkins are absolute darlings. They are funny and love mess & drama, but are also so sensitive & sweet; when they cry I cry. They absolutely love Claudia, and immediately clocked Armand as the snake he is--Armand Apologists beware, cuz they WILL call y'all out during their reactions.

#7: Syntell (S1 & S2 complete)

Two HBCU educated articulate Black reactors who know about the history of the Black experience in America, they immediately & authentically & candidly talk to the racial things Louis experiences in a way VERY FEW reactors ever do in this out-of-touch fandom--THAT PART! Their videos are longer cuz they talk more, with a dedicated commentary/discussion section after each ep. I like Syntell (the man--an Armand stan) way more than M.Claire (the lady--a Lestan, who hated the S3 promo). Syntell pays attention WAY more, and catches on to themes & messages & layers quicker, and his takes are so good. But they bounce well off of each other. Neither of them cared for S1 Claudia much, but M.Claire really didn't like her.

#8: Bird Calls (S1 & S2 complete)

These ladies are fun to watch--a bit lighter on the commentary, but heavy on the micro/macro-expressions. They were NOT here for Loustat, but the difference with their take on 1x5/1x6 that put them above FoxTaco for me is that they're here for CLAUDIA and her liberation, rather than being sour cuz it wasn't fun watching abused!Louis rather than BAMF!Lestat. I esp. like Resha (afro); she has that quick snazzy personality that I just really vibe with, as she catches things hella fast & has zero time for BS--she instantly clocked Armand as a p.o.s. in 1x7 and I was ROLLING. She talks more than Akaya (beanie), and mostly everything she says is exactly what I was thinking.

#9: FoxTaco (S1 & S2 complete)

TBH Taco makes me mad sometimes, cuz S1 was Louis' story, and in 1x6 he was way too callous & insensitive when he outright said he didn't care about seeing Louis' depression, like...? Wrong show, my guy. 😅 But when he's tuned in, he's on point a lot of the time, which makes his rich commentary valuable & insightful, even when I don't agree with his takes. I know I'll enjoy him more in S3, when his attitude as a Lestan fits better with a show focusing on Lestat's experiences & personality rather than Louis'.

#10: Nikki and Amber TV (S1 & S2 complete)

Entertaining and engaging, but it frustrates me sometimes when they miss things, but not bother to rewind and go back to better understand what they're watching. I get wanting to do blind 1st time watches/reactions, the show must go on, but I wish they spent more time afterwards/during on reviewing with commentary; cuz when they do talk more they have such good points to make, and I love hearing their perspectives as two parents.

#interview with the vampire #must see tv #videos #fandoms

2 notes · View notes