#lestst

[lananakay]

Have you been watching AMC's adaptation of "Interview With the Vampire?" Have you read the book(s)? If not, you may not know that Anne's vampires are on the Asexual spectrum! You also may have noticed that in AMC's adaptation...them vampires be F***in on the regs! This is one part of the adaptation that I don't mind, but don't necessarily love. You may be thinking "but Lana! I read the books and those vampires are NOT asexual, they have sex all the time!" Are you sure about that? Are. You. Sure. About. That?

Like everything in this world, asexuality is on a spectrum. Different orientations fall under the asexual umbrella. If you are interested, here is a short introduction. If you would like to see a more in-depth list of orientations, you can find it HERE.

Pictured Above: Lestat Rejecting the sexual advances of groupies before draining them. (Circa the 2002 adaptation of "Queen Of The Damned")

I am Graysexual.

Sometimes referred to as “gray ace” people who are greysexual are primarily asexual. However, these members of the asexual community may enjoy sexual behavior under very specific circumstances, or they might experience sexual interest on rare occasions.

IMPORTANT: Please Read Below

“Asexuality is different from abstinence, where someone chooses to not have sexual contact regardless of their sexual urges. Someone with an asexual identity is not necessarily someone who has never engaged in sex...(asexuality)is also considered a type of sexual orientation. It is important to clarify that asexuality is not a medical or mental condition or diagnosis. It is a sexual orientation in the same way that homosexuality, bisexuality, and pansexuality are.” – Talkspace therapist Bisma Anwar, LMHC

I've gotta work on having long ass intros. Anyway...I've always loved that Anne's vampires were on the spectrum. I loved how the connections, romances, and intimacies weren't predicated on sex.

I find it surprising whenever I run into VC readers who've missed or not picked up on the asexual themes in the series because 1. it's explicitly stated in almost all the books in one form or another, and 2. It makes me realize how many people don't fully understand what Asexuality is as an orientation.

May times people will cite that there is sex in the books and thus negates that the vampires are Asexual. What they are forgetting is that not having sexual desire does not mean you can not or do not have sex. I know we've all heard of people having sex when they don't feel like it. Just because you consent and willingly participate does not mean you are aroused or even want to.

Some asexual people have allosexual partners and engage in physical intimacies up to and including intercourse to satisfy their partners. On the flip side of that, others may not enjoy intercourse but enjoy other forms of physical intimacy that don't include genitalia. Again, it's a spectrum. I like the idea of sex but don't like engaging in it. I enjoy watching, reading, and listening to porn, and any sexual satisfaction need I'd prefer to address on my own.

It also seems that a lot of people don't know the difference between sex and romance. Sexual orientation and romantic orientation are two different things. Just because a person is asexual does not mean that they aromantic. I am Hetero-romantic. Most of the vampires in the books are Bi/Pan-romantic.

Romantic Orientation: also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender which a person experiences romantic attraction towards.

Romantic Attraction: attraction that makes people desire romantic contact or interaction with another person or persons.

Going back to people not knowing the difference between sex and romance, this is one of the reasons why I loved the asexuality of the vampires in this world. For me, when reading the books there was an extra layer of truth in their emotions knowing they weren't forged in lust, but something deeper. It made them seem that much more non-human. More, in control. More above a mortal life. It also deeply enhanced the physical displays of affection that did happen.

Also, It really frustrated me soooo much when Claudia was raped by Bruce. It broke some of the fantasy of the VC world in my view...That there was at least one thing you wouldn't have to worry about with a vampire. Yeh, they might kill you, but they would never violate you. Plus it's lazy writing. You can have a female character go out into the world and be traumatize without raping her. It reinforces the whole "you need a man around to stop other men from hurting you" thing and it's kindaicky.

It also kind of...cheapened the love between Lestat and Louis. At times it made Lestat's actions seem sexually motivated, which isn't how he operates. Especially when he did the whole "Let's have an open relationship so I can screw who I want but when you do it I'm going to get jealous and have a problem with it." thing. It reduced Lestat to a stereotypical asshole that thinks with his dick. Mixing love and sex always leaves you wondering if the love is true.

Now that last statement has gotten me in trouble a in the past so uh...

I do not think that relationships are diminished, illegitimate, or otherwise untrue inherently because they are sexual. I say this from an asexual point of view where I've regularly heard people say/post the following:

"if you're not having sex with them, then why are you with them?"

"If you're not having sex then you're nothing more than friends."

"if they stop having sex with me (or if the sex isn't good) I'll just divorce them or cheat."

"if you're not having sex with me, you don't love me"

As a person (specifically a woman) who has very low sexual interest but still has romantic interest, it makes me side-eye people a LOT. Movies/books/TV and even real life put sooo much emphasis on sex in relationships that it makes one question their authenticity. The books were a nice departure from that.

Now some people have suggested that there hasn't actually been any sex in the series thus far and that I'm just assuming there is based on context. But, no. It was said several times. Here are 3 examples:

annnnnd everybody's favorite!

Now, to cite my sources! Here are several references that brought me to my conclusion of asexuality in the books.

After drinking Akasha's blood in QOTD Lestat looks himself over and notes the following-

"And the organ, the organ we don't need poised as if ready for what it would never again know how to do, or want to do, marble, a Priapus at a gate."

Which means one of two things to me. Either strong vampires always have an erection 24/7 or it just happens after they feed because of the blood flowing through them...either way, it explains this quote from chapter 2 of "The Vampire Armand".

"I put my hand between his legs. Oh, he was so wonderfully hard." -(Human Armand about Marius) 

Then in chapter 3: when human Armand tries engaging in intercourse with the vampire Marius, Marius says:

"haven't you lain with me enough to know what I can and cannot enjoy?"

When first brining this up online, several people pointed out that in the book "Pandora", Marius and Pandora have penetrative sex, and thus dispelling the asexual theory. However, Anne Rice is quite consistent, even this novel. During this scene Pandora asks Marius to:

"Fill me and hold me".

Marius responds with

"This is stupid and superstitious"

She then very clearly states that it is not for pleasure but the symbolism of connection.

"it is symbolic and comforting"...our bodies were one, connected by this sterile organ which was no more to him now than his arm.

Others also point out that in "Tale of the Body Thief" one of the first things Lestat does is have sex. He also eats. lmao! My point is that the whole reason for switching bodies was to be mortal again and do mortal things. Sex for pleasure is a very mortal thing.

In conclusion. I'm ace and I think that's one reason why I loved Anne's vampires so much. I was a little disappointed that they didn't stick with that in the adapted series but whatevs, it doesn't ruin the show for me.!

[fishfishlove]

[reloha]

Hands to faces. Interesting that Dale and Louis moved on for the kiss, except Tim kisses Dale first, before their clip stats. Interesting that Tim and Louis both start the kissing, then.

I never noticed that the arms were reversed in the under/over in that LL bit (pointed out by @nalyra-dreaming of the discerning eye).

THE NEWSREADER (2021-) INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (2022-)

[neverswungonswingingstars]

Lestat in Season 2 trailer

[dykeofthedamned]

listening to long face like

[lizard-spams-your-dash-too]

Lestat accidentally drinks the blood of somebody on Adderall and is chill for a single night

[mostlyvampires]

Lestat, on seeing Akasha & Enkil

From The Vampire Lestat:

I was repeating the phrases I find you beautiful, I find you incomparably beautiful with the barest shape of real words. I was praying as I had when I was very very little and I would lie in the meadow on the side of the mountain and ask God please please to help me get away from my father's house.

[darkangel1791]

Does anyone know anything about this place? Is it active? No 9ne has put any info about the final 2 books in. And I don't know what, if anything, is in there about the series.

I did make an account, it is free, I just don't have time this week to go in and nose around, so I wondered if anyone was already there.

Thanks!

[karinyosa]

gay people with personality disorders who happen to be vampires tv show

[matrixwhore]

when louis is feeling frisky he spells lestat's name by grinding each letter on lestat. this only works when louis is on top and riding

he really took to being a perfect student for him! do they know morse code?? cause my mind is going to a place with this and i cant find the exit!!

[oscartheghost]

Imagine having to relive your twenties as told to you by the hottest ppl you've ever met when you're that deep into adulthood with zero fucks left to give

daniel molloy kinda one of the most characters, twice divorced, sick and dying, at the end of his career he voluntarily flies to the other side of the world in the middle of a pandemic to bear witness to the crumbling of the messiest immortal polycule 100+ years in the making AND also to find out he’s been their third in his forgotten past and now he has to relive the Horrors in the middle of their marriage crisis?? and on top of that he’s still closeted???

[neverswungonswingingstars]

"It's OK. You can be on top"

*gulp*

Loustat in After Phantoms the Of Your Former Self

[linaxart]

now all i can think of is Joe meeting Louis and being like "my dude, you deserve a better white boy... and you shouldn't have to wait centuries to get it"

Hahahah I know very little about iwtv beyond the show but given the conditions in which Joe met his own white boy he might be more on the "can fix" side

[confusedkittensposts]

So I haven't read the books and I watched the show once with sometimes big gaps, and I don't know if I missed it but I can't make sence of a bunch of things

In 2x08, at first we learn Armand saved louis at the trial and the whole banishment things makes sence, cause it gave Armand a chance to swap cofins and save louis

Then we learn it was Lestat who changed the sentence for louis and Armand wanted him dead.

But both Armand and Lestat only did half of their objectives. Lestst wanted to save louis but then he didn't do anything about louis in the coffin, like I get he was probably still recovering, still given Armand directed the whole trial, would Lestat count on him to save louis??

I am not even questioning Armand's choices, that little shit does crazy thing the whole time, he directed the trial then had Sam guard him then saved louis, took undew credit and THEN takes louis to meet Lestat which could have gone very bad for him

[nalyra-dreaming]

Just wanted to add one more thing for the anon asking about the Madeleine scene and the love she felt inside Louis:

Right before Madeleine said what she said, Louis was literally quoting Lestat word for word, about the exact same thing Madeleine asked him about.

She told him that she cant hear his thoughts. In 1x02 Louis asks Lestat "You can't read my mind anymore?" And Lestst says "The architects of our kind meant to humble us."

And Louis quotes that word for word until he looks at Armand (who can read his thoughts), and he stops himself. And Armand looked ... not happy. Thin lips and all.

The scene was about makers and fledglings, like Nalyra said, and Louis was thinking of and quoting his own maker, when talking to his own fledgling about fledglings and makers.

Him quoting Lestat's exact words "architects" and all, clearly showed he was thinking about Lestat in that exact moment when Madeleine spoke about love.

And I think it ties really well with a theme we saw through s2: Louis felt deeply guilty for never telling Lestat he loves him. In 2x03 at the cafe, when Dreamstat aka Louis' subconscious/part of his mind says "I told you I love you and said NOTHING" or when Dreamstat mocked him and Armand exchanging I love yous in the bed in 2x04.

And like Nalyra said, Armand's face says it all, when Madeleine teases them and refers to that love as being Louis' love for Armand. Armand knows for a fact that it isnt about him. And he looks sad at that moment.

That is how I took it, yes. (And I literally gasped because he had told Armand he loved him and it clicked into place for me then).

But as just said in the other ask, we all have our perspectives^^ (and that’s fine).

[savagewildnerness]

“I wanted to be enclosed forever with people who believed I could be good if I wanted to be.”

Order felt like the opposite of chaos to 12-year-old Lestat, but I’m not sure I believe that’s true, personally.

In this one, I thought about:

- the chasms of inherent chaos within Lestat & within the world & life & everywhere - from inside our selves, through the vast stretch of The Universe

- times when Lestat creates an order by aesthetically curating a home just as he wishes

- Louis, as bringing a kind of internal order for Lestst; a different kind of home; an order for the heart.

Louis, Louis, Louis.

I was going to play with Daniel today, but Lestat & Louis said “think again!”

More literally, I thought:

1. Lestat feeling “good” in the monastery

2. Chaos

3. Louis

Ooops, Lestat kinda fell! He was more upright! CHAOS, I tell you!

Check out @toriangeli on tumblr or BlorboBoutique on Etsy to adopt vampire friends of your own!