#Armand watches Twilight and points it out to him

[once-delight]

Bella Swan-ass behavior

i can see 1980/1981 (around the time daniel turns 27/28) as being the catalyst for his relationship with armand starting to splinter, his resentment over armand withholding the gift coming to a head, the occasional running off and wandering starting before it starts ramping up in frequency. because it's when it really hits him that's where armand is frozen — 27 forever — and daniel's past that now. he's always been younger than armand both physically and mentally but now daniel's the one who's older physically. suddenly it's way more real that one day he'll be turning grey and armand won't and it fucks with him badly

[cbrownjc]

Hi, Fun question I had while waiting for episode 6

Do you think Lestat, Daniel, Armand and Louis would like the twilight movies? Why and to which character would they relate the most?

Have a nice day!

Hi!

Well, first I should admit to you that I don't like Twilight. I've always disliked it since I read the first book before the first movie even came out. (And that is the only book in the series I've read BTW, though I have seen all 4 films -- only the first one in theaters though). So I actually don't know how objective I can be about this question . . . but I'll try. 🤔

And oh, you know what? I think Anne Rice herself commented on what Lestat and Louis thought about Twilight in a Facebook post back in the day, even though I don't have a copy of it. Which probably has a nicer reaction to it than I would give them about it. Or, at least what their book versions think about the series.

But I'm assuming you asking about the show versions of the characters and what they think, and with that? Well --! 😈

IMO, Lestat, and Louis both would find the whole movie series mostly hilarious IMO, just like they did Nosferatu. I can also see Lestat needling Louis a little bit wrt the whole "Bella has visions of Edward" thing if Lestat knows about Louis having visions of him during his first few years in Paris, and Louis being annoyed by that and insisting it was a totally different thing when it came to him -- given that, for one he was an actual vampire at the time unlike her and "vampire bond" and all of that -- and he is nothing like Bella Swann thank you! Anyway, Lestat saves most of his snark and laughter for The Volturi however because, as far as a coven that is supposed to be the head of the vampire world, how ineffective are they!?

Louis is also the only one out of the four who's even bothered to read all of the books in the series, even the most recent ones like Midnight Sun. He thinks they are less funny than the movies, but that's more because he didn't have Lestat in his ear making comments or laughing along with him as he read them. And hey, he can admit he does relate to the "not wanting to eat humans" thing of the Cullens though, sadly, the way that works in their world doesn't in the real one. 😔 Louis also knows that if Jasper Hale was real, he would purposefully antagonize the hell out of him on sight for that Confederate Army stuff (because if you think the issue of slavery wouldn't come up at some point --!)

Armand, being the true cinephile of the group would, IMO, find the films terrible just as films. And he thinks Bill Condon fell off as a director once he did that series, which is sad because Condon's Gods and Monsters is a film he greatly likes. However, he couldn't help but wonder if Stephenie Meyer was used by some ancient vampire -- via the Mind Gift -- to write this series of stories for the mortal world that gets so much of real vampire lore so very wrong on purpose (he read the first book and that was enough); and that maybe she was used by some ancient vampires to do so to hide something from the mortal world about something that was going on in the actual vampire world at the time. He looked into that idea very much at the time and, even though he didn't find anything, he still looks into it on occasion from time to time still, years later. But look, as far as the main story itself goes, Armand gets Edward not wanting to turn Bella. He just thinks Edward went about it all wrong. And he lowkey also gets Jacob obsessing over Bella too -- but he doesn't want to look at why he does too much.

Daniel was forced to watch all 4 movies with his younger daughter -- one of the few things as a deadbeat dad he did do with her when she would spend time with him after the divorce. (Same reason he's seen all the Harry Potter movies as well.) He thinks they're okay -- not the best thing he's ever seen, but not the worst. And he weirdly understands Bella's obsession with Edward for some reason -- he even feels a kind of sympathy toward her about it, though he of course logically knows she should just get over it because it would be the healthier thing to do.

If you are a fan of the Twilight series I hope you weren't too offended by this answer to the question. Because yeah, I can't pretend to like that series, and so my answer was going to have the characters snarking and critiquing it in some way, if not just mostly indifferent about it (in the case of Daniel).

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hello! I love your blog! I watched the show when it came out last year and am getting prepared for season 2 by coming here and watching all the promos and such. I read the books years ago, so I am no expert. I have a tons of questions, but please forgive me if you have answered them before. At the end of the first season, when Armand was revealed, I assumed the love of my life line was for Daniel. To get a reaction out of Daniel, Louis did not seem Ok. But all the promo information seems to imply they have been happy for the most part all these years. Or if not happy, then content.  I get that there has been tinkering, I get they are putting on a performance for Daniel, but they seem to have elevated their relationship from the book. It has been years since I read the book, but I always thought in Paris, Armand was mind controlling Louis to some degree. They barely knew each other; it was only a couple of months I think before Claudia was killed. It wasn’t some grand romance. Just manipulation to get at Lestat. I know Armand fell in love with Louis, but I felt that Louis did not fall in love with Armand. He was infatuated. Then they travel around for 100 years, but just because Louis can’t be alone and there was no one left. They are not happy or even pretending to be.  Louis didn’t even notice when Armand left him. Did I interpret this wrong? I have seen that some are spectating that Dubai is Trinity Gate. But again, maybe I am wrong, but Trinity Gate never felt super romantic to me. Just two people waiting around for the people they really wanted to be with to get their crap together and come back. I know that they are polyamorous in the books, but their main romantic relationships are with other people. When Lestat and Daniel show up, they just get back with them, no drama or anything. It just feels like the show is trying to elevate Armand and Louis’s relationship to create some kind of love triangle, which just feels cheap to me. Very Twilight and Hunger Games. There are people have shipping wars over these relationships. I am also confused how people have such strong feelings about Louis and Armand when we haven’t even seen them on screen yet. Anyways, I guess I am feeling turned off by this season. Hardly any Louis and Lestat or Daniel and Armand and some love triangle with a ghost.  Part of the reason season 1 was so great was the chemistry between Louis and Lestat. I think an entire season with little interaction between them and a new Claudia just will feel like a whole new show.  Do you think the show is just completely diverting from the book with all of the stuff in Duabi? It seems obvious from comments made by the actors that Devils Minion happened in the past. But did it happen with Louis there? I can’t see that making any of these shippers happy on either side. Louis would very much be thrown aside for Daniel. Daniel and Armand were so intense about each other in the books and can’t see Louis not being ignored regularly if they were in a throple. I just don’t see it working because Louis in the show does not seem numb. He would care if his partner was deeply in love with someone else even if just for the principle of it. The show has already shown how well Louis handles cheating.  So I am assuming the broke up but then why did Louis say they had been together for 77 years? Also, Louis keeps giving side eye to Daniel and Armand when they are having moments. Does he not know about them? It seems like he does from his poking, but I am very confused by the whole thing. Why do you think they are trying so hard to manipulate Daniel? Taking journal pages out and such. What is the point of all of this. I just cannot see a way for any of this to make sense that at all keep in line with the books. Also do you think the show will do polyamory? They went so hard on the cheating aspect in season 1, which makes me think they can’t go there on the show. You can’t make it such a deal breaker for Louis for me to ever believe that he would ok with it later.  

Hey!

Glad you like!

So, first off, the last line, the "Love of my life", was revealed to be inspired by "The Graduate", and was played as such, which... changes the meaning quite a lot, imho. Here is a good post on that.

I think the Loumand we see is very much presenting a united front (something the reviews have been pointing at as well). That said, the extended look the other day made clear that the pages were not removed for Daniel - Armand removed them (at least the straight cut out ones imho), and Louis does not have access to them either. And whatever they reveal will be a catalyst for sure (I'm thinking Merrick reveal, as that book is where the diary entries are from after all).

Louis definitely knows about Armand and Daniel, in fact I believe he is trying to bring them back together.

I think that parts of the Devil's Minion happened with Louis there, or Louis at least aware. I also think Louis tried to break up with Armand in Paris (as he does in the book) and probably drifted away from him later on too (also as in the book) but maybe... that is the part where things get very muddy re memory. And tinkering.

I do not think we'll have love triangles in the sense of the word.

This is not about cheating, whether that be Loustat, Loumand or Devil's Minion, it never was.

It was presented to be, for reasons.

But these relationships just don't work that way, and one of the very hard to stomach realizations will be that Louis stayed with Armand (and especially if there were no full break-ups!) despite what Armand does to Claudia. And him.

For me it all makes a lot of sense, tbh.

It's a tale. A version of the story presented for a reason, from a specific POV. In season 2 we will get more POVs. And we already know they will revisit things. Likely in the last episodes, if the reviews are any indication.

And then... the tale will shift.

[apoptoses]

Devil’s minion Armand loved blade runner and time bandits, but do you think there’s any newer movies or just ones he found out about later that he took a liking too? And of course i have to bring Daniel into this so what are some of your movie hcs for him?

Oh man, I think Armand is someone who will watch just about anything, but specifically-

-Weird A24 movies, the more psychological and shocking the better. He's 500 years old so he's got a high bar for being surprised, and I think stuff like the Lighthouse would really grab him. It's weird, it's homoerotic, it has undertones of greek mythology he can explain at Daniel. He's into it.

-All those period pieces that came out in the 90s/early 2000s. Daniel finds watching them with him insufferable because Armand sits there and picks at the inaccuracies ("Paris was hardly ever so clean, and no one wore snow white wigs in such a fashion-" "Yeah, yeah, I get it, the costumes suck, we've been over this a thousand fucking times"). But his nitpicking is just a cover to keep it from being obvious that even he is weak for a good Mr. Darcy declaration of love.

-He loves a modern retelling of a classic. Baz Lurhmann's Romeo + Juliet? He was obsessed, seeing Shakespeare molded into something which a modern audience could identify with thrilled him. 10 Things I Hate About You? Daniel spent hours listening to how it was a retelling of Taming of the Shrew. Clueless? "Daniel, did you realize this is based on a Jane Austen novel which was quite popular when it debuted-" "Armand there's literally a thousand articles on the internet pointing that out."

(Lestat joins them on modern Shakespeare nights, much to their mutual delight, and commentates through the entire film)

-He's still a sci-fi fan, he likes things that explore technology humans have yet to develop. He spent time watching Star Trek with Daniel in the 70s and got tickets to the premiere of Star Trek Beyond for him and Daniel in 2016.

-Both of them are Cronenberg weirdos, it's just facts. Videodrome? Crash? The Brood? Dead Ringers? They're into his psychosexual weirdness.

-Daniel specifically enjoys film adaptations of books, for better or worse. Kubrick's The Shining he had mixed feelings on (they changed the ending!!), Lord of the Rings he read as a child and he loved the film version. The Hobbit? Hated. Too much CGI, his vampire senses make CGI so obvious and he'll always prefer a film with practical effects. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? Solid, very fun.

-The sap in Daniel likes movies where the protagonist falls for the monster. The Shape of Water? Edward Scissorhands? He can relate.

-Daniel also has a secret thing for watching vampire movies, the worse the better. He and Lestat had an excellent night in which they drank off some very inebriated club goers, put Twilight on at Trinity Gate and spent the night howling at vampires that sparkle in the sun.

-Pretty much he's in the same stuff as Armand, but Armand has a stronger stomach for horror than him. Put on a Junji Ito movie or something gratuitously painful like Saw and Daniel is tapping out, sorry.

(if anyone else has specific films, feel free to reblog and add them on!)

[the-vagabond-angel]

Certified Vagabond Angel book headcanons and these are mostly just Armand hcs cause I miss my reach

Armand would be one of those guys who scream random stuff out in the middle of class, you know who I’m talking about

If Claudia was able to live until modern times, I feel like she’d be really into platforms, she likes the extra height

Louis would be the type to wear those turtleneck-cardigan-long skirt combos

Marius would own the ugliest pair of Birkenstocks EVER

I feel like when Armand and Lestat forget they hate each other, they have a really fun time together like I’m talking they go out shopping, have lunch you know, listen to music while dancing then they remember they hate each other and they start fighting about something

Claudia’s first coffin had little doodles all over it trust, it absolutely did

Armand’s current coffin also has little doodles over it lol and stickers, there’s stickers everywhere on it

Lestat would be the type to have a “just girly things” blog in like 2013 or one of those blogs dedicated to emo guys cause let’s be fr

Armand would spend $100 that he got that day in 30 minutes in a visual novel game

When I was 13-14, I started my own cult that was dedicated to that guy who ran CNN 10, I called myself “The High Priest” and everybody had to call me that (I had this black like long cardigan with hella long sleeves that I wore). I had an assistant who was called the Communicator or something weird like that, we had rules and a whole symbol and had about 25 or so people in it, like I would go up to people like “hey, wanna join my cult, it’s really fun” anyways my point is Armand would do that cause he literally did that

Armand probably holds everyone hostage to drink his horrible little smoothies (same boo boo bear holding my whole family hostage to eat my devil’s food cake that I made in my easy bake oven but it’s the old one that used a light bulb)

Armand sleeps with a little night light cuz I get the feeling he wouldn’t like to sleep in the dark (alternatively, he does what I did as a kid and sleeps with a bright ass lamp that lights up his entire room)

Lestat and Armand probably paint their nails together (sometimes they paint Louis’ nails too)

They all watched Twilight together like a big weird family, Armand is team Jacob until breaking dawn then he’s team Bella should’ve dated Alice, Lestat wants to sparkle too now, Marius probably hated it cause he’s an old loser, Louis read the books beforehand and did not in any way understand the movies better, and Daniel probably fell asleep.

Lestat and Armand will describe the blood they drink like it’s wine (“mmhmm yes a vintage 1967 with a very oaky and smokey taste to it” meanwhile they just ate 2 guys who were camping in the woods)

I’m from the era of the internet of like Slenderman’s mansion so I imagine all the vampires who matter live in one huge ass mansion in the woods together

Lestat can’t swim I don’t care if it’s canon that he can, no he can’t, he just looks like someone who can’t swim

Lestat watches beauty guru videos to sleep

After Armand’s basically dadification, he spoils Benji and Sybelle like this man physically cannot say no to these kids, he tried to but it just ended with him convulsing on the floor.

Armand are those pictures on the internet of that lady laying in her room and her walls are entirely covered with crosses and then the other one of that nun just sitting between those 2 women

I’ll add more if I feel like it lol

[crimsonblackrose]

.

I knew Johnny taught the students how to get out of a choke hold when Kreese was there, I forgot he did it with Miguel before he had any other students. He truly made sure that was an early lesson for everyone.

It's also cute that he teaches it via giving it a name so that Miguel doesn't forget. What does a cobra do when it's got an arm around it's neck? Slither.

I always wait for Miguel's hit to the head/ear to be a fake out for him to knock Johnny down and instead it's just a big ow.

"it's five o'clock twilight is upon us." "Love is here to Namaste"

The dojo keeps moving, now it's on Victory Boulevard.

Shannon: I can't get that kid to do anything, not even go to school. Robby: Hi mom I got the frozen pizzas you like from Vons.

Mean texts make sense but mean e-mails? How old are these teens?

I love how Aisha just lights up after Johnny listens to her and gives her a solution. Even if maybe it's not the best one.

Daniel's office.

Sometimes I wonder about a route where Daniel successfully buys the strip mall. Like what would he even do with it? Just jack up Johnny's rent only rather than everyone's?

Aisha being the "girl's a natural cobra' is my fav.

The guy who runs the mini mart has run it for 10 years. Armand also doubles the rent which is ridiculous. But also it shows that mini mart guy and Johnny no longer truly hate each other.

Lyle being willing to give Johnny $10 for the Atari even though his own rent went up is 1. kind and 2. shows that Johnny hasn't met Lyle before this point as like a strip mall neighbor.

The coins are kind of sad, it shows that Johnny was saving those in hopes that it'd be fall back money, not knowing they weren't worth much at all. Which I think probably was a trick a lot of people fell for with those coins.

Daniel showing up to see Johnny's reaction to his rent going up is such a...messed up choice.

I love that Amanda goes straight to Daniel started a war with Tom Cole, not messed with Johnny's financial livelihood and that of an entire strip malls.

Amanda is 100% right. I also love her solutions are like acupuncture and cross country motorcycle trip. Daniel and the surviving cobras motorcycle trip when?

The fact the cafeteria staff just watched and didn't do anything for the fight. lol. Also a bit unfair that counselor Blatt just grabbed Miguel and not like all of them.

Robby going to see his dad and seeing his dad hugging Miguel and then immediately giving up on his dad feels like such a bad soap opera choice. Clearly you can hear Miguel say sensei. And if another kid is giving your dad a hug, maybe think ah, Miguel got to be a test run so he can actually maybe take care of me now. But nope. Gotta do soap opera.

It's kind of weird now that I think about it that Mr. Miyagi is buried by himself. Not near his wife and son. I don't know what happened to the bodies of people who died in Manzanar but you'd think Mr. Miyagi would've wanted them nearby.

Do you think Daniel dug up Mr. Miyagi's bonsai again and that's the several thousand dollar bonsai planted at his grave?

Some of the stuff in storage Daniel is removing are literally baby toys. Why are you holding onto that still Daniel?

[thenightling]

Interview with the vampire episode 4 review

I just watched Interview with the vampire episode 4.

More changes to the lore that don’t entirely sit right for me. They added a new reason to never make a child into a vampire.  Her “Child’s metabolism” is permeant, explaining away why she feels hungry at lot more than Louis and Lestat.

Also in the book Claudia’s mind still matured into a grown woman.  Now she’ll forever have the extreme emotions and hormones of a teenager.  This feels more like it is borrowing from True Blood and earlier Twilight more than The Vampire Chronicles.  In fact this version of Claudia is a lot like Jessica of the True Blood TV show and much more like her than Claudia of the Interview with the vampire novel.   

Also her and Lestat nicknamed blood “Kill juice.” That... doesn’t feel like something Lestat of the novel would make up.  They also made Lestat entirely accountable for turning Claudia instead of Louis and Lestat.  This time Louis didn’t feed on her at all. He pulled her from a fire and she was dying.  She was dying in the novel too (starved and exposed to the plague) but now Lestat is the only one who has a hand in her vampiric creation.  There’s no symbolic dual parental conception. 

This version of Claudia doesn’t seem to know how to even act human most of the time.  She’s ...not too bright.  I was fourteen-years-old the first time I read The Vampire Chronicles and this character is supposed to be fourteen and she mentally never matures past that and this was one dumb fourteen-year-old.  Claudia of the novel, even as a small child (mentally and physically before she mentally grew up) knew how to pretend and play a part.  She knew how to fake being a sickly and dying child for the coffin maker in the novel.  In this one she squeals with delight and can’t carry the pretense that she’s a dying little girl.  She doesn’t even try. In fact she’s ungrateful and self-absorbed pretty early on for a poor, orphaned, fourteen-year-old taken in by powerful, immortal, strangers.    

Yes, in the novel, her and Lestat did kill the coffin maker later (if I recall) but she played the part in front of Louis.  

This episode solidified my theory / belief that Rashied is Armand.  He’s pretty, youthful, curly haired, and they made it a point to show that during the daylight scene he strategically stood away from the direct sunlight. 

He’s religious, but they made him as Muslim instead of Catholic.   He also views Dubai as a “child”.  Also having Daniel suspicious of him makes it a bit obvious that he’s more than he seems.  Also he refers to E-mail as Electronic Mail, which is a bit archaic.  

 It is cute that Lestat and Louis speak in French when they’re arguing.  But also it’s odd that it’s Claudia who asks about Lestat’s maker and Louis never asked any questions about other vampires.

 There was a weird line in this episode about the bad after taste that would be in Claudia’s mouth after eating a cop.  ...Why would there be a bad after taste later?  I know blood spoils after a few hours but do these vampires not comprehend brushing their teeth?  And Anne Rice never claimed there was an aftertaste at all. 

  I don’t like Lestat dehumanizing his victims by calling them “The meat.”  It doesn’t feel right.  There’s no real class or tact with this version of Lestat.  Dracula with is fifteenth century sensibilities in Fred Saberhagen’s vampire novels shouldn’t be more humane and yet he is.      

I liked that Cluadia figured out how to block her thoughts from Louis.

I’m glad they have an adult woman playing Claudia because letting her have a sex life is... weird.  

The fact that Lestat forced her to watch the burning of the body of the boy she was in love with was really f--ked up.  This is nothing like the Lestat of Anne Rice’s novel. In the novel, perhaps, he would make her watch the body burn only so she would never accidentally kill someone she loves again, not to keep her from getting attached to mortals at all- which is why he seemed to do this.

Also it’s a bit uncomfortable that Claudia burns herself with sunlight as a metaphor for “cutting” and self-mutilation.   

I checked out what Maven of the Eventide thought of the episode and in her video she pointed out that Daniel’s Parkinson disease would not be treated with a transfusion of any kind.  An infusion treatment is given for end stage Parkinsons for patients who can’t use their mouth.  But Daniel is no where near end stage and an infusion is not a transfusion.  I, personally, suspect this medical treatment might be tampered with anyway otherwise why mention this kind of treatment at all?  This show is full of lazy writing. Nothing is said for no reason. Likely he’ll be given someone’s vampiric blood (likely Armand) during one of his treatments there, if not the very first.    

Something else odd that Maven pointed out in her video is that Claudia asks when she’ll grow while holding up the jewel pendant given to her by Lestat.  The actress playing her is a grown woman.  And she’s not even that short of a grown woman. All they did was put her in a binder to hide her breasts. Judy Garland looked younger in The Wizard of Oz.  They don’t bother to hide this actress’s size.  She’s a moderately sized woman.  Louis claims she took down a cop who was double her size but the kill scene shows she’s only a few inches shorter than him. She’s taller than me.  

 I just checked.  Bailey Bass, the actress who plays Claudia, is five feet and five inches tall.  That’s one inch above average height for most women.  And I’m only five feet tall, maybe five feet and one inch.  And yet this show keeps trying to convince us that this girl is tiny.  She’s not.  And they don’t make any efforts to try to make her look tiny other than the chest binder.  

Also this version of Claudia was made a vampire at fourteen and the character wants to keep growing. ...Are the show writers aware that many fourteen-year-old girls have already reached the height they’re going to be as grown ups?  Girls tend to grow faster than boys in that regard.  I was already the height I am now at fourteen-years-old.   

I still don’t understand the trope of leaving blood on the face or around the mouth when they feed.  Anne Rice, herself, used to talk about how ridiculous that was in movies and yet they do that here.  Do we, humans, walk around with soup on our faces all day? Why should vampires?  Real animals that drink blood (and they do exist in nature) don’t do that.  Why is this lazy thing done so often in TV and movies?   

The show again brought up the fact that vampire and fledgling cannot read each other’s minds or project their thoughts to each other... again contradicting Lestat guiding Louis’s first feeding psychically when he was first made a vampire. 

Maven of the Eventide also pointed out that the show seemed to forget there were supposed to be race riots that night...

It’s weird to me to see Louis feed on a fish. I know an alligator and chickens get fed on in the book but I always figured vampires prefer mammalian blood as it is closer to human blood and usually warm. I don’t imagine amphibian, reptile, or fish tasting good to him, especially when the blood is cold or at least not close to human blood temperature.       

It’s also weird that the show even bothered to let them able to eat human food.  There’s no point to it.  

I can accept the retractable fangs even though they were not retractable in the books.  But the eating of human food feels completely unnecessary.  

I do like that the horse belonging to the boy Claudia has a crush on reacts to her vampirism with fear.  Animals should be afraid of vampires unless enthralled / hypnotized.  

 I’m not really enjoying this but I can’t say this episode was the worst of them.  even though the “hints” of who Armand is has become pretty blatant...

Also it appears Maven of the Eventide agrees with me that Rashied is Armand.  She noticed that he hides his hands under gloves, so you never see his fingernails.  I’m pretty certain he IS Armand.  The hints are pretty big. Update:  I’ve had an entire night to think it over and the more I think about this episode the more what they did with Claudia angers me. Having Lestat explain away all her emotions as the result of permeant teenage metabolism and teenage “histrionics” annoys me.  It doesn’t feel like it’s just Lestat’s opinion. It feels like it’s meant to be a fact conveyed by her actions. Not only does this Claudia feel less intelligent and more vapid than her literary counterpart (who was a coping mechanism for the death of Anne Rice’s real-life daughter, Michelle) but also we’re apparently not supposed to feel any sympathy toward her. Even her own journal entries make her feel self-absorbed, selfish, and indifferent. 

If the fourteen-year-old girl version of me, the version of me that was obsessed with these novels, saw this version of Claudia, I would be very, very insulted. I think the implication that her emotions are just the result of permanently unstable hormones bothers me because of the nineteenth century notion of hysteria being used to dismiss the emotional needs of women, like it’s invalid and should be ignored. 

Also this lore feels weird for another reason.  WHY are her emotions and metabolism still like this?  The vampires are supposed to be “fixed” in the physical state they were at the time they turned into vampires.  In Dracula they age if they don’t feed and can revert to about middle aged or prime when well fed.  In Anne Rice’s lore they stay exactly the age they were when they became a vampire, right down to the hairstyle.  That means nothing about the body changes.  Whatever her hormonal level was at the time of her transformation is what the hormones should be. Her body isn’t growing anymore so there’s no need for a ridiculous “child’s metabolism.”  

And part of Claudia’s tragedy in the book is that her mind did mature even though her body did not.  Implying that her mind cannot mature is right out of Twilight and ignores things like life experience and memory effecting how you think and feel.  And frankly I find it stupid and dismissive and thus ruins any significance for what the character goes through in the story.             

[themightyaliendwarf]

On Casting Actors (new Interview with a Vampire)

So, I'm not a huge expert on Vampire Chronicles. I'm only familiar with the first 3 books (Vampire Lestat being obviously my favourite) and I have vague knowledge on the later books. A knowledge about the stuff I didn't need to know, may I add - for example, the scene with Lestat and Dora + the whole Realm of Atlantis.

But I really enjoy those books and a movie! (yes, movie, singular). So, I was very happy when I saw they are announcing new series that would cover more of the stories. And then more announcements have been made...

Now, alright, I don't feel like everything has to be a 1:1 copy of the source material. Absolutely not! Forrest Gump is a perfect example of a movie being very different from the novel and, in result, being waaay better. But you have to be careful with what you change. Especially if the changes you are making, even if they are interesting, break worldbuilding.

So, lemme address the elephant in the room. Jacob Andreson has been cast to play Louis. While he might be a fantastic actor, it's a rather odd choice to pick a man of colour to play a French slave owner from the XVIII century. There, I said it! And, alright, I do think your capabilities as an actor are overall more important than how you look. But! I feel like in this case it looks more as a rewriting the history than picking your best option.

Obviously, I'm not saying people of colour shouldn't play major parts in media that are set in the past. But if the show you are making at least try to be somewhat historically accurate, I feel like it is your job, as a filmmaker, to approach this subject in a respectful and careful way.

A good example I can think of is The Musketeers by BBC In this show Porthos is a man of colour. Okay, how would a man of colour become a musketeer in the XVII France? They address it! They actually give him a backstory that explains it. They use this casting choice as a way to add something new in this story and, in my opinion, it went really well + let's now forget that Dumas had a black ancestor. So, making one of his character a person of colour is, in a way, a nod to the author.

So will dark-skinned Louis work? I honestly have a hard time imaging it. When I read the book, I would constantly find myself thinking "this guy is so white". And that's purely because who is was and how he would behave. I mean, this guy is so arogant and he constantly looks down on everybody + the historical context only leads me to one conclusion: of all the characters from the Vampire Chronicles, Louis is the most white. I think Armand or Nicolas would be perfect with darker skin, but not Louis.

Ok, so let's put some good stuff here too. Sam Reid as Lestat. I honestly find it hilarious that Lestat will be played by an Aussie. Don't know why, I just do :D I think my only criticism would be that he is way older than Lestat should be, but Tom Cruise was also about the same age as Reid. I don't think anybody would say that Cruise did a bad job as Lestat, so all good here. And Lestat is the best character (it's not an opinion, it's a fact), so as long as we have a good actor here, we are golden.

And now onto the news that made me write this already long post. Bailey Bass will play Claudia. So, Claudia is 5 when she is turned in the book. Obviously, it's not really possible to cast a 5-year-old in a role like this. You would have to use a creepy CGI baby from Twilight and I don't think we want that! In the movie, they cast a 11-year-old actress. I think she was fantastic and still true to the book. After all, 11-year-old-girl is still a child. Bass is 18. Now, I think she kinda looks like how I would imagine Claudia - the golden hair. But having Claudia this old is massively changing the story. I mean, really! Two of the main aspects of Claudia character are:

a) she uses her innocent looks to lure her victims, b) she is frustrated with her fragile and small body, and she blames Lestat&Louis for turning her at such a young age.

I don't think it works with a 18-year-old! At this point I can accept dark-skinned Louis, but this one is a bit too much. I feel like they are putting themselves into a place when they will have to make huge changes to the story. Yes, they might turn out to be alright, but there are reasons why I stopped watching American TV shows.

Overall, I'm still hoping it will turn out to be okeish as Netflix's Witcher (so, very different from books but still kinda enjoyable ~but only with Polish dubbing~), but I'm setting my expectations to be low.

[ilikethemwings]

Intro: “welcome to Interview with the Vampire”, the movie about the saddest vampires in the world

Amanda: already snorting

Welcome to: Erin and @deityofdeception watch Interview with the Vampire (her first time)

I’m so excited

Amanda: *looks at Anne Rice*: “she looks like she would write this book”

*Antonio appears onscreen* me: “I love him so much”

A: “why are we in San Francisco? Me: “..... that’s where he lives?” A: “but I thought. okay. I’m just gonna go with it”

me explaining why it’s the 90s:

“it’s...

the interview....

with the vampire”

*looking at interviewer* A: “hm. he’s gonna get murdered.”

“told ya he’s gonna get murdered” (he has not been murdered)

A: “that’s how they show he moves fast? using a whiplash sound?”

A: “uck, they did the thing. with the hands.” (talking about their bad nails)

Louis talking, Amanda *quietly*: “Oh please”

once again: “he’s gonna kill him”

Louis: “I couldn’t bear the pain of their loss” A: “So I hung out in a graveyard”

A: “I feel very defeated” Me: “Why?!” A: *offers no explanation*

A: *faking incredulity* is that Lestat?

A: “there’s no way that’s not Lestat”

*whore drops to her knees* A: Oh! *pushes hands to cheeks*

Lestat pulls Louis into the air, A: “what? this is very homoerotic. also why are they flying”

A: “wait, you said he had to drink the other guy’s blood” me: “he’s not turnt yet!”

A: “uck. what a drama boy.” (I forget which one this was about)

general facial expression: dismayed skepticism

Me: “they love the light but they can’t be in it anymore” A: “kay. that’s kind of sad I guess”

A: “there’s nothing about this that is not homoerotic”

A:“he just wanted a vampire boyfriend that’s literally it”

me: “he’s so gross. he bleeds all over his lace.”

A: “good makeup though.”

A: “he’s secreting. just not, on screen.”

*angel statue opens eyes* A: “ooh, ooh, don’t like that”

A: *about Louis*: “Don’t be so dramatic, this is stupid!”

me, @ Lestat: “Gross. brush your teeth.”

A: “ew, no, that is entirely too much tongue.” Me: “I don’t think it’s the tongue we’re worried about.”

insert snapchat video i sent to @branchlikeatree

A: “was he squeezing the rat? that’s not! that’s not how anatomy works! i don’t know, maybe for a rat it is”

Lestat: read her thoughts, Amanda: what? , Lestat: read her thoughts, A: *sighs*

A: “oh there’s that stupid thumb thing again”

A: “why did she kiss his nose??” 

A: *poodle dies* What?! *hides in blanket*

A: “oh, look at that flyline”

A: “what an ASShole”

Lestat: “life without me would be even more unbearable”, Amanda: “yeah, i stand by my statement”

“the nails!”

A: “is he gonna murder all of them? he’s gonna murder all of them”

A: “uck, those sleeves! honestly it’s a miracle he doesn’t set himself on fire on this scene”

A: *about Lestat* ooh, he mad, me: *chokes on donut*

sorry, multiple minutes of snapchat videos

“there’s no movie that’s too serious for bloopers”

A: “oh look at all those rats, capri suns..... oh no, I was kidding!”

A: “why is he walking like he’s injured?” Me: “because his heart hurts” “oh...okay”

A: “so they’re her dads”

A: “he has a gif-- hnnnnn the gift is the kid”

more snapchat videos, general dismay

Me, about Lestat/Tom Cruise: “I love... his hands. I really like... his hands.” A: “it’s a Good Look”

A: “she handled that a lot better than Louis did” A: “well Louis is a big baby”

A: “he makes a good dad but that was super manipulative” Me: “hhheee’s a bad person, amanda”

A: “that’s why he made you too, he wanted a boyfriend” “he... wanted a boyfriend?” “........yes” (post-movie: Still confused. She’s not explaining herself well)

A: “oh he’s so proud. he’s so proud of his little, murder child”

A: “character development! not for the better, but okay!”

A: “mercy kill!” Me: “What?” A: “this is leading to nothing but a mercy kill!” *me snorting*

A: “oh no is lestat gonna kill her???” insert me snorting more

A: *sees dead body in Claudia’s bed* “UH”

A: “Her hair’s never gonna grow back is it”

lmao

vaguely serious scenes, Amanda: “I’m mad I’m having feelings”

A: *Claudia runs off* “is she never seen again?” me: “... no” A: “wait, are you saying that she’s never seen again or that she’s seen again with skunk boy” SKUNK BOY

A: “oh there she is”

A: “are they gonna burn another house down?” me: *snorts again*

Lestat playing piano, Amanda: “I fully expected journey to start playing”

Lestat: “we forgive each other then?” Amanda: “aw”

Lestat: *actively bleeding out* me: “he’s fine”

*putting Lestat’s body in the swamp* Amanda: ew, ew, ew, ew, ew

A: “what, no, crocodiles? what the hell is going on?”

me, matter-of-factly: “they’re alligators”

A: “hnnn does Armand live in the swamp? (he should)

A: “I mean, is Lestat actually dead? Me: “I mean, did he look alive to you?” A: “no, but I don’t trust him”

A: “ope, there he is. I told you he wasn’t dead”

A: “do they light him on fire?” Me: “Louis does have a penchant for lighting things on fire” A: “I noticed”

Me: “sounds like the intro to a muse song” A: “it does”

A: *sarcastically*: “oh poor baby, you had to drink the blood of animals” A: “yeah like reptiles” A: *higher pitched* “he looks like the cRyPt KeEpEr!” (Amanda later explained this is from Freaky Friday)

A: “they lit him on fire! I told you they were gonna light him on fire!”

*Lestat, on fire, crawling on the ceiling* Amanda: “oh shut up, drama baby, you’re fine”

A: *uncertainly* “He’s not dead. *more insistently* He’s not dead!”

ME: “it’s like RENT, everyone is a terrible person but they kind of have a point”

A: “if i was one of the theatre vampires (she is) I think I would hate Lestat” Me: “oh yeah no, Armand detests Lestat”

PART 2 GO

“I had to like, psych myself up” (she later admits she was worried that Lestat wouldn’t be involved. She is in love)

me: “lookit him in that fur coat” A: “okay, Lestat rubbed off on you, buddy.”

A: *about Louis and Claudia* “are they like, in weird vampire love?” “...no”

Me: “I wonder how they did this [Santiago under the bridge], probably a camera on the ceiling” Amanda (at the same time): “he’s an actual vampire”

Santiago: “each one of you my clammy hands must touch”  Amanda: “don’t like that”

*Armand appears* Amanda, who didn’t see him rise from the background: “oh, shut up”

A: “why are his eyes red? this isn’t Twilight” Me: “they’re gold, so it is twilight” A *whiny, indignant*: “nuh UH! Because in Twilight--” *woman runs to Armand* “--aw”

A: *vampire play ends* “is no one gonna talk about this?”

Me, bitterly, about Armand: “He is NOT redeemable”

Also me, three seconds later: “I love him”

*Armand runs his fingers through fire* A: “Oh” (mood)

A: “I don’t know what you’re complaining about, his wig is fine” me, indignant: “okay, no, they should have given him a shorter ponytail with a ribbon. If he turned into his most beautiful form [originally], that ain’t it”

*shot of Armand and Louis two inches apart* A: “KISS!”

*Armand leaning up on the pillar like he hasn’t been there for the last four hours* me: he looks sO GoOd

me, rapidly: “my hair doesn’t look like his anymore so I’m free. I’m free!”

A: “so is Lestat like, actually dead?” Me, eyebrows raised: “Seems like it!”

A: “is Lestat about to like, rip everybody to shreds? because that’s what I want to happen”

*Louis, trapped in the coffin in the wall* A: “LoUiS!”

A: “He can PERISH! I’M MAD! Like actually mad!”

A @ Louis: “are you setting ANOTHER HOUSE on fire?” me: “..... no this one’s a theatre” A: .......*glares*

A: “there are other ways to deal with your problems, *fire spreads through wine* oh, that’s effective, though. Really effective.”

A: “Is this how Lestat finds Louis? He just looks for the biggest fire?” me: “It’s a good process. It’s like geo-tagging.”

me: [Louis] has his divorce coat on”

me: “the 80s were NOT a good time for suits” (I comment on Louis’ suit there EVERY TIME I watch this movie)

A: “It’s Lestat. It’s the stinky boy.” Me: “It’s Lestank”

me: “look rats” A: “juice boxes”

Lestat: *painstakingly turning in his spinny chair*, A: “take your time”

A: “Aw, he has PTSD, poor thing. ... Ah, dammit.” Me: “I knew it. You like the villains. *mutters* called that a mile away”

me, suddenly turning southern: “Tom Cruise has a Twitter. I ain’t gonna tweet ‘im, cuz this would be an embarrassing reason to.” (spoilers: I tweeted him)

this is it we’re coming up on the end

the drops in narrative are due to the videos that were taken but the point is made

THE END GOODBYE

also I’m sorry

[lostinfic]

6 | Biting

Mercier x Betty British Raj AU

Calcutta, 1902. The word ‘dance’ comes to mind, their own choreography of gazes exchanged across the room, brushes of hands and half-spoken confessions. They orbit around each other, destined never to collide it seems; Mercier is upper class, Betty is a governess. And he’s spying on the family whose children she swore to protect. But in this foreign land of spices and silk, of golden gods and lush forests, where cultural norms clash and wane, even destinies must yield to desire.

Rating: Mature Word count: 2.8k CW: predatory behaviour from a man You don’t need to have seen either show. Tumblr   |   Ao3   |    This chapter on Ao3

Mercier scratched the back of his head, ruffling his hair in frustration. His hand followed the curve of his neck, and he rested his fingers at the base of his throat, where Betty had kissed him.

Today was her day off, but Mercier wasn’t in Calcutta.

He loosened his necktie, sighed and returned to the legal documents in front of him.

When he’d last seen Betty, with her braid and nightgown, holding a book of pressed flowers. She’d looked young, innocent. But then to find The Kama Sutra hidden in her book and that teasing kiss. There was so much about her he had yet to discover.

As a rule, he avoided women who tried to play these kinds of games of seduction: tempting, then withdrawing, suggesting then playing coy. He preferred straightforward, honest affairs. But he couldn’t blame Betty for doing this; he’d pursued her in the house of her employer, and he’d suggested they secretly write to each other. What else was she supposed to think?

All of this would be much easier were she his equal. It was madness for a man of his standing to pursue a governess. A governess working for a man suspected of fraud by the French government. Madness. And yet, he intended to persevere.

Mercier sipped some tea and looked out the window at the vast indigo plantation. Under the watchful eyes of soldiers, native men in white turbans, carried loads of blue flowers on their spindly backs.

Monsieur Lelievre, the owner of the plantation, entered the study, arms full of large books. A cloud of dust burst from the pages when he dropped them on the desk. “The plantation’s bookkeeping from the beginning,” he announced. He brushed his waistcoat and trousers, then sat opposite Mercier.

Not long ago, Mercier would have jumped at this chance for a real mission outside Calcutta. The negotiations between European tradesmen and local authorities often required skills of the military and diplomatic kind. But in this case, not only did he have more interesting duties in the city, Mercier suspected he’d been sent on a wild goose chase. He’d been here two weeks without making any progress.

Mercier cursed de Brem under his breath. Only a few days after landing on the shores of India, the man had taken over the investigation on Lord Wigram and had sent Mercier away from Calcutta. What if there was more to it than the old rivalry between them?

*

Gabrielle whistled as she entered her home, removing her hat and gloves. It had been a wonderful promenade, and she gave each dog a treat for their good behaviour. She’d met Miss Salinger in the park, it was her day off. To make up for her brother’s absence, Gabrielle had done her best to cheer her up, with some success. She was a bright young woman, no wonder Jean-François was so taken with her.

“It’s lovely to see you so happy, Miss Mercier,” de Brem said in French.

At the sight of the blond, mustachioed man, Gabrielle stiffened. “It seems you have gotten lost in the house Mr. de Brem. Again. Let me show you the way back to the consulate wing.”

Since Jean-François had left for Dhaka, de Brem kept coming over, at all hours of the day. Since he was her brother’s boss, she couldn’t be as rude with him as she wished.

Gabrielle walked away, but he stepped between her and the door.

“I am not lost, I assure you. I wanted to see you.” He touched her arm, and Gabrielle recoiled. “I remember a time when you welcomed my attentions.”

“That was a long time ago. Before I met Armand.”

He stepped forward, she stepped backward.

“He’s a poor pianist,” de Brem said.

Forward, backward.

She clenched her fists, remembering her brother’s boxing lessons.

“I love him,” Gabrielle stated.

“I would give you anything you desire.”

“You are married. You have children. You have no honour.”

The back of her legs hit a writing desk. Her knees buckled and de Brem smiled. His breath ghosted over her face, she turned her head away.

“Unlike your brother, you mean? And what has his honour ever done for him? I am his superior now. When I want something, I take it.”

His tongue snaked out between his thin lips as he contemplated Gabrielle’s face. Then his gaze strayed to a point behind her shoulder, and he smirked. Gabrielle pushed him away. The front door opened, and de Brem retreated so as not to get caught.

“See you soon, Miss Mercier,” he said before leaving.

Gabrielle sat down and closed her eyes to steady her beating heart.

De Brem’s self-confidence had once seduced her, but something corrupt had festered in his soul. She reflected on how people who grow up with everything shall never be satisfied.

So far, she had not told her brother about his colleague’s behaviour, but now it had gone too far. When she turned to the writing desk, Gabrielle saw what had caught de Brem’s attention earlier: a letter from Miss Salinger to Jean-François.

*

On the porch of the Wigram’s house, Betty leaned against a doric column. Her feet ached from walking all day in cheap boots, but she would enjoy her free day until its last second.

The twilight hour had a peculiar stillness to it, even birds in the palms dozed off, tired from the day’s work. A hot wind chased dry coconut shells down the street and stirred the fragrant frangipanis. Warm hues filled the sky and painted white buildings with gold. A tabby cat curled at her feet.

With each breath, her chest pushed against Jean-François’ latest letter hidden in her corset; Gabrielle had passed it on to her during their promenade. She missed him. She missed how every step out of the house thrilled her with its chance to meet him. If only she’d given him a proper kiss goodbye. What if he’d met someone else in Dhaka? Another deep breath, and the envelope crinkled in her corset. No, he was still hers.

With the delay between letters— three days, sometimes four— their correspondence lacked the back and forth, akin to a conversation, it had before. But there was more of an openness to them, more daring and risque too. He remained a gentleman, and she a well-behaved young woman, but they chose each word carefully for their double meaning or reference to The Kama Sutra. Each sentence crafted to arouse the reader’s imagination.

She grazed the letter with her fingertips, and her skin goose-pimpled with excitement. Should she read it now or wait until she was alone in her room?

Knocks on the window decided for her. Her three pupils, Victoria, Winifred and Oliver, pressed their faces against the glass and slapped it to attract their governess’ attention. Betty waved at them, and they ran to the door to greet her. They jumped in her arms, talking one over the other about their day, as if they had been separated for weeks.

Lady Wigram stood nearby, always with that haughty set to her chin. She stared at the children’s display of affection. Hurt flickered in her hazy blue eyes, but she chased it away with a flippant remark about Betty’s appearance. Betty couldn’t help that she’d been in the children’s lives longer than their step-mother so they trusted her more. Still, she felt bad for Lady Wigram who obviously wished to be closer to the children.

“Where did you get those earrings?” Lady Wigram asked with narrowed eyes.

Betty touched the delicate pendants at her ears— a gift from Jean-François to apologise for his absence on her day off. “… Miss Mercier gave them to me.”

At the mention of Gabrielle, Lady Wigram perked up. “You know Miss Mercier? Why would she give you earrings?”

After some incoherent babbling, Betty explained she’d first met Gabrielle after Oliver had fallen in the river and Jean-François helped them out. She then made up a story about helping out with Gabrielle and Armand’s upcoming wedding. “She gave me the earrings as a thank you. They’re second-hand. Said she never wears them anyway.” She held her breath as Lady Wigram appraised her for long seconds. She nodded curtly, and let Betty go.

From her bedroom window, Betty had a good view of the tree in the backyard under which she’d met Jean-François before he left town. She couldn’t help but glance at it, hoping to see him there, leaning against the trunk, neck tie loose and smoldering eyes. But he wasn’t there.

She postponed reading his letter until after the children had gone to bed. She hid it at the bottom of a drawer along with the earrings, then changed into her grey governess dress. And thus she also slipped back into her governess persona: meek and unremarkable.

On the dinner table, a servant had set a plate down for Lord Wigram but his chair was empty. It remained untouched until the end of the meal, and Lady Wigram kept glancing at the clock and at the front door. It wasn’t Betty’s place to ask about his lordship’s whereabouts, but she worried. Thankfully, Victoria asked “Where is Papa? Won’t he be hungry?”

Lady Wigram’s hazy blue eyes settled on Betty even as she answered Victoria. “Your father said he was going out to meet a friend this morning.”

Betty focused all her attention on cutting her chicken into bits so as not to meet that unprovoked icy glare. She didn’t have anything to do with his absence.

Not ten minutes later, a great guffaw announced Lord Wigram’s return. He staggered into the dining room, arm in arm with an equally inebriated man. Wigram kissed his wife, then each children’s head, and Betty’s too. Laughing, Betty ushered the children out of the room before the men became too rowdy.

Samaira, Oliver’s nanny, joined them. As the children chose a story, the nanny and the governess chatted about their day. The conversation confirmed what Betty thought: Lady Wigram had tried to play with the children so they might warm up to her, but she’d suggested activities ill-suited to their age.

“Betty, I want to go out tonight,” Samaira whispered— she meant meet up with Rakesh, her boyfriend who worked next door.

“Of course, I’ll cover for you,” Betty answered. Someday, she might need Samaira’s help to sneak out and meet Jean-François.

Betty came up with a plan that would kill two birds with one stone: ensure Lady Wigram wouldn’t catch Samaira leaving the house, and make her feel appreciated by the children. Betty had been teaching the children a nursery rhyme, she asked the Victoria to write down the lyrics while Winifred drew flowers around the sheet. They practiced singing it with a simple choreography.

When Samaira was ready to leave, Betty took the children to the drawing room. Lady Wigram was alone, his lordship already snoring off the ale.

The children were nervous as they took place in front of their stepmother. Betty offered Lady Wigram the lyrics and encouraged her to sing along. There was much laughing and off-key singing, but they did splendidly.

At Betty’s behest, they hugged and kissed their stepmother goodnight. She seemed genuinely happy, more than she had ever seen her.

“It was their idea,” Betty lied. She hoped Lady Wigram would be nicer if she didn’t feel in competition with the governess.

“That’s very kind. Tell me Betty, you really were with Gabrielle Mercier this afternoon.”

“Yes, your ladyship.”

“Do you think… She is a very fashionable young woman. The talk of the town, one might say.”

“Yes, she is.”

“And her fiancé is a talented pianist. Their wedding is bound to be a grand event.”

“I suppose it will,” Betty replied carefully, wary of this unusual amiable tone.

“And of course, my husband is a close acquaintance of Colonel Mercier.”

The mention of Jean-François unsettled Betty, she panicked, until she realized what Lady Wigram was really after: an invitation. “I believe miss Mercier said you would be invited to her wedding.”

“As it should be,” she answered with a satisfied smile.

Maybe if she secured an invitation to the wedding for the Wigram, and made the children lover her ladyship, Betty wouldn’t be the target of the lady’s insecurities anymore. At least, Lord Wigram was nice to her, but it only made matters worse with his wife. Eventually, he might decide to grant his wife’s wish and fire Betty, instead of keeping an old promise made to her late father.

Back in her modest room, Betty put these thoughts behind her; she finally had time to read Jean-François’ letter, and she wouldn’t let anything distract her from his words.

She changed into her nightdress but put the earring back on, them climbed into bed with a candle.

Dearest, I am sorry to miss your day off. I trust you made the most of it, and followed your wonderful sense of adventure. I hope the gift pleases you. If I cannot be with you, at least let something from me be in your presence. The earrings are made of oxblood coral inlaid in white gold. Perhaps not the most luxurious of gemstones, but certainly more original. I believe you are far too unique to wear the same stone as everyone else. They reminded me of you.

Betty smiled. The Kama Sutra described “the coral and the jewel” as a type of biting done by bringing together the teeth and the lips “the lip is the coral, and the teeth the jewel”. Every time Betty moved her head, the earrings brushed against her neck, evoking his mouth on her skin.

The thought of being bitten shouldn’t arouse her, but she imagined herself with Jean-François, in the throes of passion, sweaty, naked bodies, clawing fingers and head-spinning pleasure, a state so primal sharp teeth become an aphrodisiac.

Her heart ached with longing for this kind of liberation, the complete opposite of her daily life as a governess where every action and word was calculated so as not to attract attention but also set the perfect example for her pupils.

With a sigh, she sagged against her pillows. Her thighs rubbed together as she reread his first sentences, hearing them in his lightly-accented voice: “you are far too unique”.

He went on to talk about his work in Dhaka, and even if he didn’t say so, she sensed his exasperation.

*

“I think we should wait before requesting a meeting,” the owner of the indigo plantation, Mr. Lelievre, said.

Mercier narrowed his eyes at him and bit the inside of his cheeks. Not for the first time, Lelievre was postponing the execution of a solution to his problems. Lelievre was a young man and had recently inherited this domain and its history of conflict with the locals. So far, Mercier had attributed his reluctance to inexperience bordering on ineptitude. But after spending days looking through dozens of old accountancy books, he was running out of patience, and his suspicions had grown. Lelievre was purposefully stalling their work. But why?

“We will not wait before requesting a meeting,” Mercier stated. “In fact, we will go there first thing tomorrow.”

“But—”

A messenger entered the living room, “Some mail for you, sahib.”

Two letters, one from the French consulate, and one from Gabrielle which he knew concealed a message from Betty.

“First thing tomorrow morning,” Mercier repeated sternly. “Now if you will excuse me, this is a confidential matter.”

Mercier’s favourite spot on the property was an old stone bench underneath a canopy. He lit a cigarette, taking a moment to relax and clear his mind before opening Betty’s letter.

My hopes to have a whole day with you were shattered by your departure for Dhaka, but I nonetheless tried to make the most of it as you said. I ate food I had never tasted before: bhelpuri. I bought it from a street vendor thanks to a few Hurdu words Samaira taught me. I ate it directly from its newspaper cone! It was like an explosion of flavours! I tried a sort of ice cream too- kulfi. I met with your sister and we visited a park I had not seen before...

Mercier imagined himself, right alongside her, ambling hand in hand through the streets of Calcutta, savouring spicy food and sweet kisses. And when she shared her excitement about attending a play next week, for her eldest pupil’s birthday, again he pictured himself at her side, perhaps in a private box, the coral pear drops drawing his attention to her slender neck… they would miss the third act.

The sky turned to ink and the night bugs’ chant rose in the air. Mercier smoked the last of his tobacco, still lost in a world of his own, his eyes trained southward. Some 400 miles away, lay his heart.

He opened Gabrielle’s letter next.

De Brem keeps coming over to our side of the house to talk to me. I told him to stop, but he’s very insistent. I asked Armand to come over but he has concerts most nights. I really don’t like this, Jean-François, he scares me. Can you do anything about it?

Mercier clenched his fists. This mission to Dhaka was nothing more than de Brem getting rid of him to make a move on Gabrielle.

He’d wasted enough time here, he was going back to Calcutta as soon as possible.

Chapter 7: Kissing

[i-want-my-iwtv]

What do I do when my parents say I talk about VC too much?

(The temptation to drop this image and post is pretty strong but I’ll go on just a little more in the remote chance that you’re being serious.)(But really when you look at him, there’s pain there, in addition to the humor he’s trying to cover it up with, what he’s actually saying here is pretty flippant “We’re lucky to have such a home,” No honey, it’s not luck and you know it, but that’s a discussion for another time.)

NO CUTS WE LONGPOST LIKE MEN

I’ve been there, Anon, and at least in my case, I’m an adult and I don’t live with my parents, so I don’t need them to also like what I like, and I don’t need their approval to like the things that I like, but I remember feeling so validated when they DID like what I liked. I had a very good relationship with my parents over and above the fact that I admired them and respected their opinions on pretty much everything.

I talked about VC when I lived with them and they were receptive when I needed them to clarify things for me that I didn’t understand at 11 years old. But this is the case with every piece of media and every new thing that I came across as I was growing up and all the way to currently, they were and are a valuable resource and sounding board for my developing ideas.

Sometimes I brought up VC to illustrate a point. Like Armand’s line in the movie was pretty motivational and helped me immensely when I was a bullied kid and needed confidence:

~We must be powerful, beautiful, and without regret.~

^Which Louis rejects bc he knows that regret absolutely does have value, especially to him in that scene. But I think, isolated, I took it as: 

“You’re carrying too much regret, wallowing in guilt is not working for you, and you need to let go of those things that are out of your control now, past mistakes are in the past, try to learn from them and do better, move on and you can be happier.” 

And I think that while my parents may not have been thrilled that I loved a series that centered around murderers, they had no issue with it as long as I wasn’t taking inspiration from it out in the backyard sacrificing rats to Louis or whatever! We would watch reruns of the Twilight Zone, Unsolved Mysteries, the X-Files, plenty of shows with crazy shit happening, we liked the thrill of monster stories, murder mysteries, all that stuff that takes you to dark places safely. Stories that didn’t shy away from exploring the various aspects of crime, accidents, monsters, and we talked about all of it! As we did then and still do, the lively debates about these things were and are very intellectually stimulating.

I don’t know how old you are, but do you agree with your parents that you talk about VC too much? I think it depends on what you’re saying when you talk about VC. It’s a work of fiction, if it’s making you unhappy you can chuck it out the window. If it’s making you happy, then keep talking about it. 

There are those who have asked Anne Rice to denounce the VC. When she returned to religion, there were Christians who felt that writing about ghosts, witches, and vampires was very wrong and bad, with no consideration as to the actual content of her books. There are so many more reasons for censorship out there. Some ppl might want to censor her books for daring to suggest that the same gender person can love the same gender person, and I know from conversations with other fans that it was a heartbreaking epiphany, to find fictional characters who could do that, that simple and natural thing, those readers who identified with that felt validated and relieved that someone was writing about it, someone was finally accepting them. It helped some of them realize that they were not alone. 

VC brought people together for what it contains, it continues to bring people together, I have met some of my best friends through VC. One of them I have driven my claws into and will not release has stuck with me for over 20 years, my first Real Life VC friend, and we met because I saw her reading QOTD on the bus to school. How dark and miserable my life would be without her.  

Censorship, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. 

I have to bring it up for the millionth time, #sorry not sorry. I’ll bring it up until my dying breath.

Censorship has become a bat some fans use to bludgeon other fans. I can’t support the crusaders who on a daily basis want to shame other fans for liking fictional characters. Despite their flaws, there are characters that have inspired readers. There are characters who have saved lives by opening readers’ eyes to the beauty of living.

Knowing what I know now, I think it would be hard for me to decide whether to let a child of mine read these books at the age that I did, and yet, I started to read them when I was 11 and I loved them. I think as long as a reader of any age has someone(s) they can rely on for clarification, then the books can be read. They can be discussed. They can inspire.  

What is storytelling? In so many forms, whether it’s sculpture, painting, music, theatre, TV, movies, books, cave-painting…  It’s sharing one’s own experience, trying to spin straw into gold, trying to find the silver lining, trying to tell one’s story to exorcise one’s own demons, and maybe, to try to give others the tools to exorcise theirs, too.

I hope your parents can see that when you talk about it, you’re looking for a connection with them, whether to share your impressions or get their feedback and clarification as they have more life experience than you do. Many parents miss out on the best part of having kids, which is the mutual sharing of ideas and perspectives. Mine knew it. I hope you have the kind of parents who know that, too.

[allowed2bloud]

A reaction post to this piece of trash 1. You felt great bc you just drank a junkie 2. The voice over is pissing me off, almost as much as pink haired girl fake southern accent 3.johnathan Davis should be ashamed his voice is coming out of that douchecanoe 4. He really looks like kiera knightly 5. His fake pale skin looks worse than Rosalie from twlight 6. The costume designer had to be about 15 and had an unhealthy obsession with hot topic, and had never been to a rock concert before 7. Why is it dawn and he's outside? 8. Hello. They are witches... didn't the screenwriters read the books??? 9. This David should be older.. like who cast this 10. The fucking voice over again.. I seriously hate Townsend voice 11. Again who the fuck cast these people.. 12. Ok I know I read this book when I was like 14.. so like 22 years ago, but I remember lestats creation story happening way differently... 13. Why does living lestat look like a drunk Joaquin Phoenix playing johnny cash.. 14. And why the hell is his fangs ALWAYS out... 15. Oh look.. let's take something that was a key plot point in why lestats so fucked up... except the violin player isn't a female.. uggg. Read the book 16. Oh wait... lestat doesn't play the violin... that would have been his lover 17. Why can't we stick with one color pallet for dead lestats skin? 18. Bc hiding the switch to the secret room in the wall under a trunk isn't obvious at all 19. And obviously who ever cast Townsend didn't remember that lestats is french... that accent is not French 20. I honestly think lestat has on more eyeshadow than I do 21. Awkward bdsm scene where murius says we have the same mother. 22. And murius gets jealous bc mommy didn't pick him 23. Why does Townsend accent keep changing? 24. That time Jessie was all of us, falling in love with a fictional character 25. Wtf why does Jessie get her own voice over 26. Given the sound track, why are we playing the song from ghostbusters.. 27. And then lestat looks like the genie head from pee wees playhouses 28. Well now we know where twilight stole that weird fast movement effect.. And why do vampires moving sound like snake rattles and skidding noises 29. Blending... omg his,face isn't the same shade as his neck... or his hands... 30. Again, 22 years later.. I'm pretty sure he couldn't fly until after he wakes akasha 31. And still not some gypsys violin. 32. Why is he listening to his own music? I mean yea he's a narassistic bastard 33. Why are they whispering... no one else is there. I'm seriously over changing the volume to watch this.. I'm having flash backs to 94 when I snuck out of bed to watch interview with the vampire in the middle of the night 34. His eye bruising is really bugging me.. like put some cucumbers on your eyes man. Maurius is older.. And his designer bags arent near as heavy 35. Why do the vampires all look like 90s euro trash? I mean yea they are in London so they are technically euro trash.. but it's like really bad euro trash 36. Akasha has eye teeth fangs... no one else does... why???? 37. Seriously forgot how much I love this album.. I should have just skipped this train wreck and listened to this cd.. 38. Not gonna lie kind wish i could set people on fire with the flick of my wrist.. 39. Oh johnathan Davis... you are a horrible scalper, nice cameo though, I mean it's the least they could do 40. Why do all these groupies keep volunteering to be killed.. And what happened to that girls face 41. A London goth... aka Jessie looks like a 13 year old MySpace scene girl trying to do her eye liner 42. Who the hell was the mua.. Seriously pick a foundation 43. Again.. lestat is not super man... he can't fly like that 44. Omg omg omg.. I just realized Townsend was the basis for Kristen Stewart's Bella swan.. emotionless and moody 45. Only thing the make up ppl can do continuously is make sure Jessie scratch is still there. 46. ANd seriously, disturbed would never settle for opening for this douchebag.. 47. So much manic panic 48. Townsend is not good at lip synching. Didn't he just spend a whole night listening to his own songs in his coffin? 49. Why do all the other vampires have cavemen foreheads? 50. Like were the speed movement effects done by the same people that did the matrix? 51. Hey akasha that's some pretty spiffy high school drama club stage entrance you got there. 52. Why does she sound like she's talking into a fan? 53. I know that akasha is Egyptian... but she's been a statue with out blood for how long? She really shouldn't be that tan. 54. Oh wait.. it's that one deftones song that is on everyone's bdsm dungeon play list... I loath that about this song 55. Can we please read a book.. in tale of the body thief lestats becomes human and has sex for the first time in hundreds of years... vampires don't have sex.. they are basically like the angels in dogma 56. Hey Jessie took the voice over microphone back.. 57. Why does maharets eyes glow.. she's a fucking witch... uggggg 58. Fire the make up artist... day walker lestat should not be that pink 59. Kingdom of corpses would be a great band name 60. Oh wait did lestat just realize the crazy vampire bitch is crazy and that's why she's been a statue for all these years... 61. I forget.. is that blonde baby faced thing supposed to be louis.. Bc no.. 62. Again.. 22 years ago.. is one of these chicks supposed to be Pandora or lestats mom.. is one of the guys supposed to be Armand... what was the point of having random vamps in the movie and never naming them. And if that grey haired guy or the blonde one are Armand or louis seriously read a fucking book 63. Everyone else gets bit on the neck.. Jessie why you trying to be sexy letting him bit your breasts.. 64. Townsends face looks like bad cgi. Like his eyes are black holes 65. Where the hell is maharets twin sister.. 66. Akasha has some serious ab muscles to be holding that arched back pose for so long damn girl. 67. Can we remake this and let Giles from Buffy be david.. 68. Yes bc when you become a vampire you automatically get bruises around your eyes... Seriously Jessie looks like she rubbed her eyes and forgot she had on make up 69. Maurius just seems like that creepy pedo dude.. 70. Oh and then the ending scene is totally stolen from that spice girls music video. Seriously I'm going to have to get my books and re read them all.. Bc I don't know why I wasted an hour on that piece of shit. 15 years clearly wasn't long enough.

[thenightling]

My review of episode 2 of Interview with the vampire

Episode 2 of Interview with the vampire is better but not great.  Yet again we get constant reminders of the pandemic.  Louis had human servants who wear face masks and serve him blood in wine glasses and tied up animals on silver trays.  One of them says he believes he serves a God.   

The pandemic stuff feels very dated already and is like watching a late 90s action moving going on and on about Y2K.   

There are name drops of other vampires. A painting by Marius is in Daniel’s room and Louis’s boy-toy calls out to Rashied before fainting.  One thing that rubs me the wrong way is Louis mentions a blood farm.  This feels very wrong for the character to take part in such a thing.

I think the best moments are between Louis and Lestat.  Lestat is actually very doting but ...much like his literary counterpart he’s a bit of an idiot.  He’s babbling about going to the opera and Louis whines “I almost ate my nephew, Lestat!”  I don’t know if this was meant to be comedic but I almost laughed.

And no, now that Louis is a vampire, Lestat cannot read his thoughts, just like in the novel.  However, yet again, when he quotes lines from the novel it’s very jarring because it does not match the lines written just for the show.

By the way, episode 2 confirms that Louis is gay (he uses the word queer) and Lestat is “indiscriminate.”  Yet again, Anne Rice’s vampires were all bi / pan in the novels.  So it’s weird seeing Daniel as straight.  

A little annoyingly the show feels the need to remind us every few minutes that Louis is black.  He deals with racism.  Daniel even tries to provoke him by mocking him for saying he and Lestat were equals. It gets uncomfortable and doesn’t feel like it’s addressing racism so much as it’s actually... a bit racist.

Even having Louis pose as Lestat’s valet when they go to the opera together, walking a pace behind him, taking his coat, etc.  

Louis cries blood tears, just like in the novel.  It’s a nice detail but one of the few I really appreciate.

 The show sometimes feels like it was written by someone who only saw the 1994 film, and didn’t actually read the novel. Yet again it’s implied that drinking blood of the dead will kill them when in the actual novel it would only weaken them and make them dizzy.

Lestat mentioned only feeding on those who deserve it but Louis describes a whole scene where Lestat goes after a singer for not being skilled enough in his vocal range. He severs the man’s vocal chords and then does a poor imitation of the prostitute death from the Interview with the vampire movie. It’s not comfortable and it’s not well done either.  It feels like a mockery of the movie scene. But now with a heavy set young male singer.

 Yes, Louis can eat human food. He doesn’t like the taste of it but he can eat it.  I don’t see the point of giving them the ability to eat human food in this.  It’s stupid.  In the novel (much like in Fred Saberhagen’s Dracula books) and What we do in the Shadows? they would vomit if they tried to eat human food. Their bodies cannot digest it. They don’t produce waste.  They burn all the components in the blood.  So allowing them to eat human food in this has no real rhyme or reason. I also get annoyed that Lestat claims all human thought is about food, sex, or wanting to go Home.   What is this?  Twilight?

And yet again, Lestat’s actor is probably the best thing about it...

I had heard they haven’t revealed who is playing Armand because it will be a “surprise twist” that doesn’t exist in the books.  But I think I’ll figure it out.  This show is pretty predictable.