#and lestat soon after abandoned him. INTERESTING.

[platoapproved]

Never say 'I love you' to a raging narcissist.

[murfpersonalblog]

I don’t really interact with the fandom very often due to the racism that’s portrayed, but thank you for posting this because you just put into words something that I’ve been struggling to articulate regarding how Louis is perceived and treated by the fandom. Recently, some white woman on TikTok posted some “analysis” of sorts about Louis and Claudia and basically she came to the conclusion that if Claudia was not turned by Lestat, that if she survived as a human and grew older, eventually she would’ve turned out to become one of Louis’ girls/prostitutes because according to this creator, Louis has no regard for women and girls and only sees them as commodities. I wish I could find that TikTok for you, but I pressed “Not Interested” so quickly after I heard that. She phrased it like “if Claudia survived as a human, how long would it be until she would become one of Louis’ girls?”

Something about that just made me so deeply uncomfortable. It really opened my eyes up to how both Louis and Claudia as the leading black characters are perceived by the white fandom. It sort of is a reflection of how they see us as black people in real life too, but we won’t get into that lol.

Because why is THAT the first thing that comes to mind when wondering about what Claudia hypothetically could’ve been if she had the chance to grow up? She could be a wife, a mother, anything else and THAT is where their minds go? And why is Louis the only character that has his past held against him by the fandom? There is so much grace given to Lestat and Armand, but none to Louis.

I’m not saying that Louis is perfect and that he has no faults, but yeah. Thank you for making that post because it really articulated what I’ve been feeling and trying to say.

@autumn-slaves Thank you so much for sending me this! ❤️ I'm so glad that you like my metas, and that my long-winded tirades are actually articulating people's thoughts about IWTV, AMC!Louis, and receptions by this wild AF fandom.

Recently, some white woman on TikTok posted some “analysis” of sorts about Louis and Claudia and basically she came to the conclusion that if Claudia was not turned by Lestat, that if she survived as a human and grew older, eventually she would’ve turned out to become one of Louis’ girls/prostitutes because according to this creator, Louis has no regard for women and girls and only sees them as commodities.... why is THAT the first thing that comes to mind when wondering about what Claudia hypothetically could’ve been if she had the chance to grow up? She could be a wife, a mother, anything else and THAT is where their minds go?

Yeah, there's something crucial that people don't seem to realize:

Claudia is arguably the best & most tragic character AR ever created, cuz she was always DOOMED by the narrative.

Woulda coulda shouldas are absolutely pointless. Claudia was NEVER meant to grow up, cuz Anne Rice's daughter Michelle never got to grow up, either.

Book!Claudia was abandoned by her biological father, who ditched her & her sickly mom when they contracted the plague. Her mom died & she was left in the house all alone, and would've soon died of plague, even if book!Louis hadn't found her & drained her nearly dry; and Lestat Turned her to babytrap Louis.

Likewise, AMC! Claudia was abandoned by her biological father “whose daddy gave her away to a mean old auntie” after her mom died in childbirth. She was trapped in the house all alone when it caught fire, and would've soon died in the fire, even if AMC!Louis hadn't found her & caused the riots and Lestat Turned her to babytrap Louis.

Either way, Claudia was destined to die.

AMC even takes it a step further, to have Claudia be a twisted & more tragic version of book!Loustat's 2nd daughter, Rose.

AMC!Claudia was NEVER gonna get to grow old enough to be a prostitute, cuz the race riots & fires that burned down her home were gonna happen in 1917 (when she was 14) anyway.

AMC based the race riots on IRL events that happened when the racist Ordinances segregated NOLA & shut down Storyville in 1917 (the year Claudia died/Turned); kicking all the black people out of their homes & businesses to gentrify it for rich white people. AMC changes things so it looks like Louis' solely to blame for the riots burning down Storyville cuz HE blames himself (for everything). But even if Lou was never a vampire & never killed the Alderman, he'd've never been able to keep the Azalea; and Claudia wouldn't survived the fires that broke out as white people burned down Storyville to force ALL the Black people who refused to leave out of the area. Where would Claudia have gone?

"And why is Louis the only character that has his past held against him by the fandom? There is so much grace given to Lestat and Armand, but none to Louis."

Exactly. People act like Louis was the ONLY man in NOLA running a whorehouse; it's ridiculous how bad people don't pay attention.

Finn O'Shea was the one who helped burn the Azalea down, and it's HIGHLY likely that his "supper club" (ie: underground whorehouse) across the street was JUST FINE once all the Darkies were gone.

Another thing about the fire is Claudia's own dreams/what-if scenario about what could've happened if she'd never been Turned.

The whole hospital argument is moot, cuz we see half her face covered in burns in 1x4/2x7, and Lou said "she's going cold." Burns even in 2024 are dangerous, let alone 1917. She ranted about having a husband & raising babies, but IF she survived & not been Turned, she'd've been a half burned/scarred; and her throat/lungs would probably be effed up from all that smoke inhalation. Marriage & children seems highly unlikely for someone who'd've been a (possibly comatose/bedridden) hospital inmate for YEARS, slowly recovering from SEVERE burns "her body's all charred" with 1917 treatments.

Not to mention, which hospital?? 🤨 In the middle of a race riot/racial PURGE; when the whole effing district was under siege, hundreds if not thousands of people would've been all kinds of injured & dying, or just in need of shelter.

Like, I know nothing about NOLA hospitals, but Google told me:

The Flint Goodridge Hospital was for Black people (cuz segregation, and most private hospitals refused to serve Black patients), but in 1916 only had 50-60 beds. They charged "1 Penny A Day" for hospitalization, which was crazy cheap even for that time, so that poor Black folk could afford to be seen.

Maybe Charity Hospital? They had a "colored ward," but by the 1930s was notoriously racist & kept the ward in terrible conditions, with Black patients as their lowest priority & left to wait HOURS just to be seen.

"Private hospitals such as Ochsner, Mercy, Touro, and Southern Baptist" refused to integrate before the gov't forced them in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement (x x). Same with Tulane (Medical Center/School/whatever), which didn't even accept Black students till the 1960s, so I doubt they'd've taken her either.

Maybe Hotel Dieu? I don't think it was private, so maybe they would've taken in Black folk?

The French Hospital only had 60ish beds even by the 1940s (when it got shut down). IDK if they were anything like NOLA's French Opera House, which was hella segregated.

The Marine Hospital was for sailors/etc; but had a ward for kids, but only took in the mentally ill. They charged $1 per day for hospitalization.

So yeah, the odds of Claudia being seen, let alone successfully treated long-term, are rather low, esp. when so many other people would've needed care, too, and there were VERY few beds in NOLA hospitals at the time.

But even if Claudia hadn't died that night, the dream she wanted would've died, too. Granted, I'm not saying we should THANK Louis for "saving"/damning her (just like we shouldn't THANK him for taking in girls as prostitutes). Vampirism IS inherently evil. But she definitely needed a bit of reality check, too. Louis wasn't gonna risk wasting time finding a hospital that could/wouls take her, when she was "barely breathing," cuz he knew Turning her was a quicker & surer way of having someone heal her ASAP--Lestat.

Like, YES, Louis saved her for selfish reasons--his ego was SHOT, and he just needed to help save SOMEONE, to feel like he wasn't a FAILURE anymore (he'd JUST lost the Azalea & been kicked out of his home by Grace/Florence & was ready to divorce his husband Lestat who was busy cheating on him with a white woman).

It didn't matter to Louis if she was a girl or a dude ("a family of my own...no sons, no daughters"), so long as he had someone he could FINALLY feel like he "did right by."

"according to this [Tik Tok] creator, Louis has no regard for women and girls and only sees them as commodities.... "

Jfc. Oh, I'm sure Louis only ever saw his mother & Grace as commodities, yup! XD ZERO regard for women, yeees, which is why he stood up for Bricktop when she nearly killed the Alderman for raping her, when plenty of other guys would've fired her for jeopardizing his business~! And why Louis DIDN'T allow Tom Anderson to sleep with his girls for FREE so they couldn't earn any money whatsoever, the way Tom did at the Fairplay, where he treated prostitutes like fleshlights; cuz Louis disregards women SO MANY TIMES~! 🙄 Nevermind that Louis let Bricktop be in charge of the books, cuz he trusted her with his money & the legalese of running his businesses in a sexist world that thought women were only ever useful on their backs!

Nevermind that Louis was openly sobbing about how much he HATED being a pimp, cuz all he wanted was to be RESPECTED as a respectable man with a respectable business; and that he DIDN'T want to exploit women, and he KNEW it was wrong to exploit women--the show NEVER glamorized prostitution as if human exploitation of any kind is a GOOD thing. Lou turns a blind eye in the hopes of pleasing his rotten MOTHER & taking care of his spoiled SISTER; who still HATED him even as they took his dirty money. What was it all for, if not even his own family respected him?! But Lou doesn't have regard or respect or care for women at allll~!

We can acknowledge what a deeply flawed & selfish & naive idiot Louis can be; while still acknowledging that he HATES hurting people. He's NOT a sadist, and has never been comfortable or OK with being put in a position where he has to hurt people for his own benefit--hence his whole issue with vampirism & his confession booth scene. His whole thing is STRUGGLE; fighting to do the right thing in bad circumstances, when it's already too late--they're all already DAMNED. Keep up, y'all. XD

"It really opened my eyes up to how both Louis and Claudia as the leading black characters are perceived by the white fandom. It sort of is a reflection of how they see us as black people in real life too...."

FACTS. That's really all it is--antiblack racism plain & simple. You can tell every time they get PISSED whenever Black people get on their case for being insensitive, demeaning, microaggressive, hypocritical, etc. Cuz art imitates life, so if you're THAT quick to demonize the characters that the show's deliberately going to great lengths to show as sympathetic & genuine--ESPECIALLY Louis' love for Claudia--and you're saying Louis DGAF about women & only ever commodifies them, you're deliberately being obtuse & refusing to see the MULTIFACTED aspects of his character.

[savagewildnerness]

What an idiot - I meant to post this to my blog, not in the community!

One thing I love about TVL book club is how afterwards your mind continues to think about things in a new way, sparked by the fascinating conversation. Now, I am aware I can overthink myself into madness. But that said...

I was thinking about Marius-Lestat-Armand...

And about how Marius immediately (well... not quite immediately, but... comparatively so) comes to Lestat's rescue, soon after he goes into The Earth, whereas he abandons Armand for centuries... It is a thing I always found hard to forgive Marius for.

But thinking on it makes me wonder whether some of leaving Armand to his own devices might not be in love for him? (If we can call the twisted thing Marius is to Armand truly love??)

Anyway, first of all, Marius clearly does see some of his self in Lestat. Secondly, had Marius not rescued Lestat at this point, Lestat may actually have died (???) he was such a young vampire to go into The Earth, that would he have ever been able to rise again without some being saving him?

But at the same time... Marius literally pulls Lestat from The Earth. He can read Lestat's thoughts, so he very well knows the level of grief and despair and aloneness and existential crisis and loss that led Lestat to Go Into The Earth. But what does Marius do? Yes, he takes him home and gives him knowledge, as curious Lestat has been requesting... but also, he shows him Those Who Must Be Kept with no warning to Lestat about what he is about to be confronted by; with zero prior explanation... and when Lestat is indeed horrified and desperate to escape, Marius forces him to stay and to greet Those Who Must Be Kept more fully and more personally/intimately and reverently; almost as if knowing he once stirred Akasha, he may hope his mini-me (as he perceives Lestat) might do similarly?

Maybe Marius is desperate by this point? None of us can truly imagine existing for 1800 years, let alone caring for the sentient but unresponsive beings that are Those Who Must Be Kept for all of that time, and the challenge/burden of that. And maybe Marius is so accustomed to them that he cannot himself comprehend the full horror of them. Maybe in seeing himself in Lestat e forgets that Lestat at this time has still only existed for 30 mortal years - not as long as Marius had when he was first made a vampire?

But anyway - Armand. What would it have done to Armand's mind to see Those Who Must Be Kept. Armand has a very different mind to Lestat and Maruis (and I do not believe Lestat and Marius are as alike as Marius would like to believe, or would like Lestat to believe either, but that aside...). I was thinking how to Know Those Who Must Be Kept might have driven Armand to a scenario like in Memnoch The Devil, potentially. And so, perhaps in part, keeping Armand away from that *was* a protection. Not all minds can bear the vast *unknowing* that is what Those Who Must Be Kept are. Lestat is always questioning until he reaches the level of existential crisis and even he can barely cope.

I'm not sure exactly what I'm asking/saying here. It's as simple as that really I guess - in staying away from Armand, is Marius in part actually trying to protect him? In bringing Lestat to see Those Who Must Be Kept, is Marius in part actually not doing Lestat a kindness, but rather doing damage - either as he simply sees himself too much in Lestat or as he doesn't personally know Lestat yet, so he can be curious about him without worrying about him as he must one he already loves?

I have MANY confused thoughts on Marius. Including how he likes to portray himself as a lover of humans as Lestat does... yet even as a mortal he doesn't actually talk about any love in his life, or anyone loving him or being close emotionally to anyone. Rather he gets joy from intellectually observing humans and collecting interesting people who he keeps at arm's length... That couldn't be less Lestat. And Lestat loves that Marius is A Immortal Man... yet, actually this is way less human than vampires Lestat has been around - it's a way less human position than Armand or Nicki, really - no? Where he currently resides, the way he is connected to the humans there is that they think Marius A God. That's not in any way existing amid society in how Lestat desires.

And yet, Marius is SO old, could he be another way?

I also wonder, with the themes in Rolin's adaption of IWTV, the ways they could like Marius being born at literally the start of Western Civilisation with the fact that had Events at that time gone differently, Civilisation as we know it would literally have been ENTIRELY different than it is now. It would be so interesting, I feel if they could. Though I cannot quite think how they could do it.

HMM... I started on Is Marius actually trying to protect Armand by staying away from him and ended on Let's think about how The Entire Centre of Modern Civilisation would be utterly different if things had been different in Marius' mortal days....

And it isn't even 8am yet on a Monday morning... hahahahahaha!

Well... NOW it is 7am on Wednesday and you can tell HOW TIRED I AM AT THIS POINT IN THE YEAR in that it took me 48 hours to even notice I posted this in the wrong place.

When can I go into The Earth and simply sleep. Rest. ????? *shame bell*

[doriansredroses]

I didn’t do much for Lestat’s birthday. I’ve been sick and this week has sucked because of it. I’d planned to do art of him plus a fanfic, but I’ll do that when I get better.

This is an appreciation post. I love him so much. Not only that, I relate to him a bit. I first read Interview with the Vampire in 2021, a few months after my mom told me to read Twilight. Anne Rice is superior (but I still like Twilight). She also loved Rice’s books and told me I’d love them. I haven’t finished the book series or am anywhere close, but I fell head over heels for Lestat as soon as I was introduced to him. I then got my hands on The Vampire Lestat, and there was no going back. He began to mean so much to me. He helped me stay alive during depression. I even made my old Animal Crossing character share his birthday because I loved him so much. I can’t find the quote right now but it’s from The Vampire Lestat and I almost cried when I read it. He was talking about how being onstage felt like an execution but once he got into character there was confidence. This is a paraphrase in my own words but damn Lestat, are we the same person? I felt the same way when I did theatre in high school. I felt exactly the same.

He became a comfort character for me. He still is. I watched the 1994 film and went crazy for Tom Cruise’s portrayal. I am not interested in the tv show right now and that’s okay. Lestat is a special vampire to me and I love him dearly. I also relate to his loneliness and his abandonment issues. Don’t ask but I empathize with him because of that.

I know this wasn’t much for his birthday but I wanted to show appreciation for my favorite vampire. He’s been there for me during tough times and I love him so dang much.

[nalyra-dreaming]

The tower scene being rumoured to be being film soon 👀👀👀

I’ve seen some people really excited to see lestat get a sort of comeuppance when armand does what he does to him which I do understand since it’s so vital to lestat’s progression but I don’t necessarily see it anymore ‘funny’ than his murder scene for example, it’s a really traumatic moment.

Narratively it’s a bit of karma for lestat but admand isn’t meant to be justified, yeah? Admand is in pain buts it’s irrational pain, no more justified than the scenario of lestat dropping Louis from the sky because lestat was in emotional distress, it’s an evil thing to do. And I don’t see them changing if so armand hurts lestat to get venagnce for Louis’ sake(which I have seen a couple people suggesting), that’s just over-riding Armand’s personal motivations and relationship with lestat entirely, if it had anything to do with Louis it was because he wanted lestat out the picture for a while like he wanted Claudia out the picture permanently so he could have Louis’ focus, right?

I suppose it depends what POV we get for the tower scene, and if it would be revisited in season 3, but how do you want the lestat-armand tower scene to be handled?

Yesss!!!

And while I cannot wait to see it either I do agree that it... is not meant to be "funny" or as revenge for Louis at all. Armand couldn't care less about that, tbh.

The thing with Armand and Louis and Lestat then is, that... it is about Lestat. Lestat who rejected Armand, Lestat who destroyed Armand's life/coven then, Lestat who came to Armand but not for Armand... Lestat who then told Armand about Louis and what Louis means to Lestat. Lestat, who made Armand interested in Louis.

Armand drops Lestat there (at least in the books), because he is hurting (still). And he wants Lestat to hurt, too. (Which is why so many have pointed out that the scene in episode 5 is so eerily close to what Armand does to Lestat...) Armand could kill Lestat there, easily, but he doesn't.

The thing with the "Lestat eating the humble pie" is... that it is actually after.

It's when Lestat has time to reflect, and heal, and go to earth. When he is alone, abandoned and thinks both Louis and Claudia dead (that is vastly different to the state he is in after NOLA because then he is panicking and wants to get to Paris as soon as possible in order to reach them and get Armand's blood). After is when he has time to change.

And so... while I get why some people are rubbing their hands in glee for the scene... I think they might end up being disappointed. Because it is not about that. It's not about revenge, or the famous humble pie.

I mean, I am not sure how they'll spin it. I have theorized that it might be Louis who will throw Lestat off the tower this time... or tell us he did at least. (That depends heavily how they'll spin the theater imho.)

We'll see. I would prefer it if it was Armand, because Armand's and Lestat's relationship is such an important one for the Chronicles as well, and for season 3. And it could be made so beautifully into some kind of echo for / to Daniel.

But.... whatever they'll do - I bet it will be at the end of another episode 5. 😈

[indelicateink]

Is it genuine when lestat says i have loved you with all myself because if that was true Antoinette wouldn’t have been a part of their lives

interesting question!

this is one of my favorite lines from lestat because i find it h e a r t b r e a k i n g.

“I have loved you with all myself.” = I did my best. I’m not perfect but I gave it everything I had. i.e., he is a fuckup, he knows he’s a fuckup, it ended in tragedy, but this fuckup nonetheless was ride or die for ldpdl. To me, yes: it’s genuine.

Neither Louis or Lestat comes out looking great in their relationship skills here, I’m not placing blame ANYWHERE: Louis came to this relationship with an avoidant attachment style; Lestat, an anxious attachment style, and we know why based on their histories. That combo’s a likely recipe for pain, especially when you don’t even Talk About Your Relationship.

I’m understanding from your question that you feel Lestat’s infidelity negates the intensity of his love, in which case (no judgment) I infer you bring a specific view of love and commitment to the question?

For these two queer men in the early 20th C USA (especially being AR characters) I personally suspect physical monogamy is perhaps not…wholly sacred. Louis wants (and was presumably raised to want) monogamy. Lestat also seems to want monogamy from Louis and is hypocritical in his jealousy over Louis’ body and Louis’ attentions, but! to be with Louis he’s down for a MMF threesome with Lily to help give Louis plausible deniability; the first Antoinette seduction scene (on the same damn couch lol) kinda felt to me like Lestat was down for whichever of his fantasies might play out in his bid for attention: Louis killing Antoinette in a jealous rage, another MMF threesome, Louis throwing out Antoinette and jumping Lestat’s bones, Louis being refreshingly jealous and possessive after the fact, something-something-Lestat-finally-gets-attention. When it didn’t play out as hoped I feel like Lestat stubbornly/desperately doubled down, which was just tossing a gas can on the nascent fire. (too soon for fire references lol?) And Louis was down to rub Lestat’s face in Lestat’s dumbassery by having sex with an old flame. (The sex, incidentally, he was not having with Lestat lol.)

So here’s the great big YMMV issue, and it’s super personal: you are wedded to someone for literally eternity. You have a high sex drive. They have recently decided the amazing sex life you guys shared is on hiatus for the foreseeable future—possibly also even any kind of physical affection. It has proven impossible for you two to discuss this productively or even directly. You love each other too much to end the relationship. But you still need sex and physical affection. What do you do? What does sex mean to you? To your partner? To the society you live in? What weight do you give to needing sex?

Lestat—ruled by jealously and a fear of abandonment, in addition to that high sex drive—he chose to get his sexual needs met quietly (at first) elsewhere. Everyone’s going to judge that differently based on their personal feelings about sex drives and definitions of/feelings abt monogamy.

I feel like when the Antoinette jealousy ploy didn’t work out, he just transitioned to using her as low-maintenance sex on the side, and she then progressed to being a secret outlet for him outside the household where he was the odd man out in the Louis-Claudia Club. (And then much later there’s the offhand comment at the Mardi Gras party about him dragging some socialite under the stairs years ago, so who knows where he was dipping his wick during the Depression Years and the Separation Years.) I feel like by the late ‘30s Antoinette was still a familiar crutch because fundamental conflicts in Lestat and Louis’ relationship were still unsolved, and Lestat was no less insecure. What started out early on for Lestat as a band-aid became a major septic mess that only helped accelerate loustat’s descent into crazytown.

I’m not blaming Louis, not blaming Lestat; this is the conflict of valid needs they find themselves in.

Lestat loved Louis too much to end their relationship (and those years of Louis’ deep post-claudia depression—both of their depressions—looked Super Grueling). So, being who he is, I feel like he did what he had to do to stay, messy as it was; I’m not saying he handled it well in my opinion. But we each get to decide how important a sex drive is, if celibacy for an indefinite period of time was ever really an option for Lestat, how long this character should have been willing to wait for withheld intimacy, could someone so insecure and needy ever possibly gracefully navigate secret infidelity, if he should’ve raw dogged a thousand randos in the greater New Orleans area instead of settling on mostly one person (who was a sore point), how much compassion if any do we grant the dysfunctional.

So back to your question—is it genuine? For me it is genuine. For me “with all myself” means with everything he had to work with, imperfections and all, it was all for Louis.

idk, it’s an interesting question and this apparently is my novel on my perspective on it lol

lol caveat: all i’m saying here is based on the story as we know it so far in S1, as told from Louis’ unreliable memory lol. good times!

[lestats-wild-child]

~ABOUT~

Character bio:

Christine was born in Paris, France in 1992 and moved to New Orleans with her parents when she was ten year's old. From a very young age she was passionate about music and soon she learned to play the violin and piano. As an only child, her parents gave her all their attention but she never took it for granted and was thankful for their love and care.

As a teenager she was friendly and open minded, often being called impulsive and "wild" by her friends and peers. Her first major heartache came when she was 22 year's old, one year after losing her parents, when someone she thought a life-long friend betrayed her, showing how she had only used Christine to gain what she wanted and then abandoned her. The shock and the disappointment were so great that Christine felt she could never trust anyone again except herself. Her trust issues only got stronger when she saw her peers, one after the other, treating others like she had been treated. Always taking what they needed before leaving people behind. Little by litte, that transformed her into a cold person, who used her sarcasm as a defense mechanism in order to never get hurt again. The only solution was to get thick-skinned.

One humid summer night in New Orleans she met a man who introduced himself as Lestat de Lioncourt. Also French. A vampire. Wanting to be careful and not let anyone betray her again, Christine was distant at first but soon their friendship bloomed. Even though there were many times that their opinions clashed, the two saw a bit of themselves in the other, making a deeper friendship innevitable. Christine took pleasure in teasing Lestat, sometimes ending in a bickering between the two; a bickering that both knew was good natured and only added interest and fascination to their friendship.

Two years into their friendship, Christine went to live with Lestat. He told her all about vampires, his fledglings, vampire laws, the Coven in Paris. She was an avid listener and eager to learn more. It was a few years later, when Christine turned 32 year's old that Lestat turned her into a vampire, making her his last fledgling to date. Her cunning nature, along with her trauma, her fear of abandonement, mixed with her impulsive nature and the way she often got angry, almost feral, got her the nickname "the wild one". Her killings matched Lestat's in viciousness; she was a predator Lestat had not seen in a long time, and even though he admired her roughness, the two often argued, with Christine using past sadnesses to provoke her maker and Lestat having to restrain her or even lock her up in a room for days.

But no matter what, the two always loved each other and deep down, even if she rarely showed it, Christine admired her maker, his own roughness, his tenderness, his wisdom and his power. And she saw herself in him with everything they had in common. And even though Christine never told him, she chose to be his life-long companion, if he'd have her.

General Info:

Full name: Christine Gaelle de Lioncourt

Nicknames: The wild one; the feral; the pianist; Miss C.

Age: 32 year's old (at the time she was turned)

Place of birth: Paris, France

Date of birth: May 28th, 1992

Maker: Lestat de Lioncourt

Date of transformation: November 25th, 2024

Place of transformation: New Orleans, Louisiana

Physical trademarks: Long, burgundy-colored curly hair, honey-green hazel eyes, heart-shaped lips, eyes turn a bright golden-yellow color when angry or when she's feeling strong emotions

Personality characteristics: short-temper, often feral, deep down soft and caring towards those who care for her, rebellious spirit (resembling Lestat's rebellious nature), whitty, cunning, strong, independent

Powers: mind-reading, the "cloud gift", vampiric hypnotism

General warnings: If she loves you, she loves you for eternity. If she hates you, she hates you for eternity. There's no in between with her. If you become her target, brace yourself for the worst. If she likes you, she will try to persuade Lestat to either keep you as her "pet" or she might try to turn you into a vampire for herself.

Misc: she has a love and hate relationship with her vampiric brother Louis de Pointe du Lac; she loves Claudia (even if she killed Lestat); she has great respect for Marius de Romanus whom she loves calling "Uncle Marius". They often have deep discussions together and she laps up all knowledge that he can give her; she also has a love and hate relationship with Armand, loving to tease him any chance she gets and loving it when he chases her around; the first time she met Armand, he called her "Lestat's bastard". She loved it and smirked. She actually adores Lestat. She respects him and even fears him sometimes and the reason why she provokes him is because she is unable to control her temper and her anger. Also because she really enjoys calling out people on their shit. If they do something wrong and they know it (or don't know it) she is the first to point that out. After every fight, she feels horrible and always brings Lestat victims for him to kill as an apology. He loves it when she does.

~~~~~~~~~~

(This is a side blog. I can only follow you back from my main: @tina-hewitt-largo)

[hekateinhell]

I hope you feel better soon!! <3 🫂

For fluffy lesmand thoughts, I will never stop thinking about their interaction at the park in memnoch, I think that if that whole plot wasn’t going down then they would’ve just sat together and people watched, or even gotten some bread to feed the birds!!

Also I desperately want Armand to meet Mojo! I can’t remember rn if he has any canon interactions with dogs but I think he would really enjoy running his fingers through his fur or playfully scolding him when he tries to eat his rings (bonus if he and Lestat take turns throwing his toys for him)!!

awww thanks babe! 🫂🖤

this is so sweet!!!

i wanna see them people watch, i wanna see them spellbound in the latest ridiculous stores the 2020s have to offer, i wanna see armand remind this man that is 300 years younger than him how to use an iPhone! and then i want vampire smut because i'm simple creature who ultimately just wants to rub her barbies together

AND MOJO MY BOY!!!! 😭

it's interesting because during armand's turning scene in TVA, he's hallucinating and he makes a passing mention to his father's horses and dogs, but he never mentions them before or after! is it real? did he grow up with dogs too, like lestat did? IDK.

but like mojo is so special because most animals instinctively avoid vampires because they recognize the danger they pose, but mojo LOVED lestat and lestat was crazy about him!! 😭

i always wonder though because mojo flips out around louis in totbt, but louis does knock him out and he does step on lestat's throat (he doesn't know it's lestat because of the body switch, but would louis have done it anyway? yes)... so would mojo have reacted as he did if he didn't perceive louis as being an immediate threat to himself and lestat?

i think if an animal showed any appreciation or interest in him, armand would bond so hard!! trinity gate would become an animal shelter for all lost furry souls with no sense of self-preservation (i ask you to please refrain from making daniel molloy jokes)

all this to say, i desperately want louis and lestat to visit trinity gate and for lestat to go out on a walk alone in the rain and then show up soaked at 4am with a tiny abandoned puppy in his coat like- "look what i found out there in the storm 🥺 we're keeping him, yes? 🥺 excellent, he can sleep in our bed 🥺"

[blueiight]

Maybe Anne didn't even intend it that way but TVL read like a manfiesto of why everyone dumps Lestat aslkjfskf I mean its undoubtedly tragic what happens to him but he's also unbearable and I totally got why Nicki and Gab and Louis&Claudia would wanna get away from him, I didn't read it thinking how sad he's being abandoned, more like GOOD FOR THEM go on and ditch him. The post-QOTD books are much more in line with what anon is describing and I would just advise them to not read that shit. I think what's very underdeveloped is why Louis suddenly wants to go back to him but pretty much all of Louis's choices are underbaked after Interview.

loool lestat de lioncourt’s very terrible no good bad. century? year? decade. the one relevant non lou entity who wants les in tvl is armand + les is blueballing him mostly out of fear of what mand could become if they ever did vamp-fuck. nick couldnt give les what he wanted, gabi couldnt give les what he wanted.. i think book louis individual arc kinda straggles on post interview but it do make some sense but like. post qotd hes essentially lestat’s waifu cuz les other love interests was flops. so i will say it do make soooooome sense why hed go back w les?.. cuz one they were less intimate in the original interview book lew always expressed longing for les yk the whole id be christ’s disciple if he was an evil blonde frenchie bit.. generally compared to his show counterpart he knew significantly less about lestat and regretted that. u can argue the interview was lew himself tryna make sense of his own life, and where lestat fit in relation to himself. as well as who lestat was? tvl is in part the answer to that question.. also end of the first book mand was the one who dumped lew cuz lew wasnt giving him the passion the frenetic longing fizzled out lew buries mand symbolically in the dulac family tomb area then mand tried to get w les and when les curved him he went to go troll dan. tvl leads into qotd & thats like. the vampire mini apocalypse spearheaded by a genocidal controlling ancient god vamp whos defeated w/ lestat symbolically if not literally succeeding the old guard of vamps as the brat prince god mode soon to come. its to a point where les + lew ending back at the mansion where they all started out is very poetic almost… like i say in the house of horrors there was love there.

[murfpersonalblog]

I'm piggybacking offa @lynnenne in the tags

cuz saaaaame~! I like it, too.

Armand hadn't found the person he's willing to risk it all for yet.

People get so hung up on the romantic relationships, and miss the whole point of the platonic relationships. AR was writing these books to express her unconditional love for her DAUGHTER.

Vampire bonds--especially Maker/Fledgling bonds, are about FAMILY; from Amel on down.

But TVC's all about these effed up families, where blood is NOT thicker than water, and your own blood can let you down and even hate you; and the love of your life can kill you; and you and your Maker/Fledging can't even communicate (telepathically) with you anymore once that literal wall rises between your minds. (When pressed, AR had interesting things to say about her parents, AND her husband Stan; her inspo for Lestat.)

The strongest bond in the entire TVC is between Louis and his daughter Claudia. She wasn't actually his blood at all, but he felt more for her than ANYONE--his Maker (blood-father) Lestat and his Fledgling (blood-daughter) Madeleine combined. He could TALK to Claudia--his favorite thing to do; what he'd been missing ever since Paul died, and Miss Lily. He only gets a mere fraction of that back in SanFran, and again when he pays Daniel 10 million dollars to "sit in a room and talk to you." It's better when Grampire Oldmaniel becomes "something like an annoying little brother," as JA called him.

Someone he can talk to (telepathically) over miles, and who knows how he thinks & speaks & who can be 100% blunt & honest with him.

Claudia: We're a family? Louis: Yeah. But with no secrets.

And I think this show is primed to give Armand a similar treatment, as he too finally discovers what unconditional love means.

But I don't even think it'll be with his Fledgling Daniel, or even his Maker Marius.

I think/HOPE it'll be the bond Armand forms with Benji & Sybelle.

When they first met him, Benji called him a dybbuk (a demon), but they weren't afraid of him--they saw that he'd been burned alive and was in pain, so they HELPED/SAVED him. They brought him food & shelter, and nursed him back to health, when he could've killed them both. They stayed with him through thick & thin. And he helped them right back; getting Benji off the streets, and Sybelle away from her abusers; giving her a safe space to express herself (cuz she's clearly on the spectrum).

Marius turned them FOR Armand, explicitly to give him companions he could TALK to (telepathically); who knew & understood him, and most importantly: loved him unconditionally. The wall would never go up b/t them, like it had gone up b/t Marius & Armand, or b/t Armand & Daniel (who was mentally ill for a while after he Turned, and HATED being around Armand until he got better).

Marius' love for Armand was conditional: he left Armand with the Children of Satan cuz he was disappointed in him. And Daniel's love of Armand was traumatic & transactional from the very beginning; and took a massive blow as soon as Daniel turned; which required god knows how long to heal.

It's the same way Marius turned Viktor for Lestat, so they could always communicate (telepathically); and be completely open with each other, without the curse of the Masker/Fledgling bond getting in the way as it had with Les and everyone else he loved but couldn't 100% trust to not "abandon" him. Viktor was Les' blood SON; but he'd finally have family he could be 100% open with; without THE Blood Bond getting in the way & inevitably screwing things up.

Armand freaked TF out when Benji & Sybelle were turned, but eventually grew to appreciate just how precious the gift Marius gave him really was ("I didn't know it was a gift"); having not just one but TWO companions he COULD depend on to love him for 200+ years; without any resentment or white noise from being their Maker.

I'm really looking forward to that; for me that was the highlight of TVA; Armand finally getting a real family.

Rolin's interviews are even more confusing like wdym he really couldn't prevent it?

everything he's said is how i interpreted the show as well but i get the confusion. when he says i could not prevent it it's not in the sense that armand couldn't have overpowered the coven in response to their threats like he says in 2x06

he might've killed them or they might've kill him if it came down to a direct confrontation but he wasn't emotionally or intellectually ready to destroy the thing that gave his life meaning for 200 years. that's how i took the "i could not prevent it". rolin also said armand's first act of cowardice is in this moment not simply running away with louis because choosing louis over the coven means taking a huge risk w/ his heart. as he later says he couldn't count on louis's love lasting 200 years and he's not even wrong. even if he's the love of your life, it could all blow up in your face next week or next month. like loustat barely lasted 30 years after all and the final 20 of those years were held together by ducktape and claudia. it all ended in lestat's murder. that's the risk you take when it comes to love.

so the "acts of cowardice" aren't necessarily about armand being afraid for himself physically but rather his dependence on structure and rules to define his life.

here are the direct quotes referenced:

i found it a very interesting choice for the character, although definitely a part of me thinks this change from the books was to ensure armand didn't encroach on lestat's oeuvre of being the guy who puts everything on the line for love/louis. like lestat's whole deal is even if it all blew up and louis killed him every 10 years he would still always choose to have louis than not. armand isn't able to take that risk (yet) but if you take rolin's assurances this is all building to something in 9 seasons lol

[fanatiquee]

for the ship thingy: david?

send me a character as a ship suggestion and I will divulge : accepting.

anon after my own heart! this is an interesting one, and of course, as I always say, it depends very much on the writer. I can see a lot of different possibilities. Louis becomes something of a surrogate maker with David, in part because Lestat takes his church-nap so soon after David is made, and its obvious he and David become... close. Louis feels responsible for him, he resents being made responsible for all of Lestat's abandoned fledglings, but David is so... different, and intellectually his equal, that things become complicated very quickly. In Merrick, they're living together at the Rue Royale, and this happens:

David kisses him, and in the following passage Louis is rather... well, placid. It doesn't say whether or not he reciprocates. We aren't given much a sense of his response, until he flinches from the wound he acquired in the previous scene. But, I'm inclined to think that Louis doesn't necessarily have romantic inclinations for David. Not pure ones, at any rate.

The way that I often imagine David/Louis working out, in romantic terms, is no good at all for David. It's obvious in Merrick, Louis is struggling, and he's regressing in terms of the hold he has won over himself. To put it simply, I think Louis would take advantage of the way David feels for him. He doesn't reciprocate, but he needs something to tether himself. It becomes more difficult, of course, because Louis does come to care about David, but it doesn't change the fact that he doesn't love him. And of course, David is the closest thing to Lestat he has, then. There is something of the impression of Lestat on David; David is in the body that was once Lestat's. And David has his blood. What's more, David is fiercely intelligent. So, there are many reasons why David becomes the unfortunate object of Louis' need, most important of all, at first, the convenience of David's own feeling for Louis. 

Louis uses.... his wiles... as they say. It’s as if Louis has ‘fixed’ him. (I mean that in the creole-voodoo sense of ‘fixing’ relating to the casting of a love-spell over someone.)

That isn't to say the dynamic couldn't play out differently, but that is the idea I've often toyed with in the back of my mind. 

[little-smartass]

Character Ask Game: Enjolras and also Lestat? (let's get the Hyper Extra Blond Brigade here XD)

ENJOLRAS

First impression: “oh wow, that cute blond guy looks nice in red. sure hope nothing bad happens to him :) :) :)”

Impression now: [ugly cries whilst yelling unintelligibly]

Favourite moment: gotta be the “entering a tomb all flooded with the dawn” speech I think

Idea for a story: idk about a story but I’ve got a half finished comic somewhere where he tries to leave his rooms in shirt+waistcoat+trousers and courfeyrac bodily drags him back and systematically dresses him properly :,)

Unpopular opinion: he is not in charge of anything LET’S BE REAL it’s all this post here

Favourite relationship: I love exR as a ship but you know what’s an underrated friendship that I LOVE so much??? enjolras and courf. cocojojo forever.

Favourite headcanon: making canon enjolras wear a hat is like putting booties on a cat. he walks around in a really weird way looking stiff and uncomfortable like >:( >:( >:( he will always abandon any hat he is forced to wear as SOON as humanly possible.

LESTAT

First impression: “wow, this guy is hilarious and so much more interesting than a sad brad pitt!”

Impression now: he’s a terrible terrible dumbass chaotic bisexual disaster and in the very specific bits that I accept as canon I love him OKAY

Favourite moment: difficult to pinpoint a moment but his reunion with louis in TVL is PEAK. OVERDRAMATIC. TENDER. ROMANCE. [it’s all coming back to me now by meatloaf playing in the background]. either that or the bit in TVL where he’s just been turned and he gets very very excited about a rat’s little toe beans!!!

Idea for a story: well I’m currently writing a “last scene of QOTD fixit” AU where instead of destroying any hope of character development he and louis stay the day together in the city instead :)

Unpopular opinion: bottom-leaning switch who loves it when louis takes charge and I cannot fucking believe that’s actually unpopular for monsieur “I thirst after older men in positions of authority who are smarter and richer than me and willing to tell me I’m ~ bad ~ ;) ;) ;)” de lioncourt but... here we are I guess.

Favourite relationship: y’all know

Favourite headcanon: LOW CUT SHIRT AT ALL TIMES IF HE CANNOT GET AWAY WITH BEING OUTRIGHT SHIRTLESS. still mourning louis’ Beard Of Sorrow 200 years later. definitely hung out with and probably slept with both elton and freddie in the 80s. legit feels very emotional any time louis allows/bestows PDA and/or refers to him as his husband.