#vampirism the very height of eroticism

[rapha-reads]

To those of you wondering (aka no one), I finished both The Vampire Armand and Merrick and I have a lot of thoughts and feels. I'm skipping Blood and Gold for now to go directly to Blackwood Farm (I'll read B&G later), but first I'm going to read something else, just to take a break.

TVA thoughts: man, Armand is messed up. And extremely compelling. But so messed up. As always, the theme of faith crisis, which seriously reaches new heights with these bitchy vampires, is not something I can fully immerse myself in, but it was fascinating to see his numerous metamorphosis. I liked how he bridges Western and Eastern Christianisme, especially through art. Now I'm thinking that if Rolin Jones makes him originally Muslim in the show, that could expand even more the conversation on how faith, and especially Abrahamic faith, has been in conversation for thousands of years and could be such a rich, diverse and spiritual, intellectual and artistic theme. I can already imagine some fascinating discussions comparing (not in a superior way but in a complementary way) coming from Muslim faith to Roman Catholic faith, the way book!Armand talks about the richness of his life in Kiev Rus despite the poverty and ascetism, and the richness of his life in Venecia despite the luxury and abundance.

As for Benamin and Sybille... I don't have much thoughts about them. Sybille is one of those female characters AR seemingly favors, not so much human as a nymph or a dryad, "perfectly splendid". And Benji is a caricature of an Arab child. Nuance? 401 not found.

Merrick thoughts: David for the love if everything, shut. The. Fuck. Up. Holy moly. I like David, I do, but damn the entire recollection of his history with Merrick was looooooong. I'm here to see Louis haunted by Claudia and haunting Lestat's coma, not how hard you're pining for the kid you practically raised! Also. ALSO. You're just going to leave that whole thing with the Olmec or possibly another more ancient Mesoamerican civilisation without ever giving us more? That was the most interesting part of it all! The vodoo history, the connection between Louisiana and Caribbean vodoo and old Native South-American religions! More about this, less about Merrick's perfect breasts, I am begging you. (It is at this point that the reader of this post realises OP is 100% definitely ace and more interested in books and witchcraft than breasts and whether a 70yo man can still get it up - also, hey, Anne Rice's vampires are practically asexual and their lust and pleasure is mostly derivated from blood, with some notable exceptions like Armand and Marius, and a love relationship between two vampires is then based on romantic love and blood sharing, so can I hear a hell yeah for some ace representation or are we still conflating eroticism with sex)

Another thing I kept thinking about throughout the book is how Louis is perceived by his fellow vampires. Since basically the second book, since we've lost his own POV, everybody who's ever said anything about him (so Lestat, Armand and David) have insisted on two points: how very weak and meek Louis is, and also how irresistible, beautiful and charming. Granted, I've known Louis first through his portrayal on the show (hi Jacob you're so fiiiiiiine), and then through his own narration in the first book, but I've never had the impression that he was weak. Beautiful and seductive, yes. Weak? I see a human man going through tragedies and still enduring, going through vampiric transformation and then suffering for decades the loss of his humanity, struggling with reconciliating both sides of himself, but mostly I see a vampire who rebuilt himself after losing everything without sacrificing his sense of self. I see Louis as very strong actually (up to the point where resilience breaks, because resilience cannot be sustained on a long term, but that's another debate). He knows who he is, and don't you know how hard that is? He doesn't cling to faith or pride. He knows he's doomed, he knows he's monstrous, he knows there's nothing he can do to change that, and instead of railing against his fate, he goes on about his undead life. He gets his books and he reads them, he surrounds himself with literature and what little comforts he thinks in his shattered self-esteem he deserves (his ragged sweaters and soft trousers); let's not lie to ourselves tho, Louis doesn't like himself, or more exactly he doesn't care about his corporeal body - what matters to him is his mind, and once again, this author is extremely ace and also very aro and very nonbinary, so Louis to me is very much ace and agender coded, though really not aro, because his love for Lestat (and sometimes his fondness, shall we say, for Armand) is the only thing that can rouse him up from his literary slumber.

...

Oh, man, I have a lot to say about Louis, for how little he appears in the books so far. Still have BF, BC and the PL trilogy to devour. So I guess you can say, for as much as Lestat is occupying my entire brain, very much like him, my favorite is Louis? Yeah, that tracks. Melancholy, quiet, dark-haired green-eyed monster with more humanity than humans, preferring his solitude and the company of books to anyone else, hopelessly and helplessly devoted to one person, expert in brooding and grieving, literature specialist, not very attached to his physical self. Yeah. I'm not surprised.

[shadystranger]

Implicit voyeurism with samdean is pretty recurring and is actually fascinating, combined with the underlying incestuous nature of it.

The most explicit instance of metonymical voyeurism was the vampire-turning scene in s7.

This scene is sexy to no end because it's practically rape but also, it's not. The rapists are both the vampire and Dean's own brother, who makes it so that Dean's violation is enacted.

We watch as another man overpowers Dean, forcing him in an overwhelming state of vulnerability. Sam walks in on them, sees them, as Dean is being violated; instead of intervening to stop it, he takes pleasure in watching Dean be did. We are shown the incident from Sam's perspective as he relishes and participates in this invasion of his brother. This stranger man is towering over Dean, virtually pinning him, Dean's being metaphorically molested and Dean doesn't know he's being watched by his own brother. The voyeuristic connotation of it is almost textual because of how it's visually portrayed.

The height of the scene is prominently shown through Sam's eyes once he moves into frame. Sam's look motivates the action. It's his lead, whether action or inaction, that we follow throughout. This shifting disparates their positions: Sam is categorized as the scene's acting aggressor and Dean's the antithesis of it.

The fact that Meg/Lucifer/Crowley took possession of Sam's body and then used the sexual implication of having been "inside" as penetrating and "we're particularly family" to refer to Dean paired up with Lucifer's explicit use of the word rape, shows that "rape" in the spn universe refers to the invasion of a man's body by another as much as it's sexual assault. The story's recurring eroticism of whumping the brothers—with Sam primarily the object of this, with occasional instances of Dean— is called back to the predominant morbid fascination we have of being voyeurs through the alternating shots we get here of Sam's triumphant and almost aroused reaction contrasted with shots of Dean's unsettlingly limp figure. Marking them in opposite positions with one brother "doing" and the other being "done."

Sam's gaze roves over Dean's body while Dean is forcefully drove into voluntary reception of the assault by the vampire's physical overpowering. This arrangement figuratively emphasizes soulless Sam's moral depravity, better, it also eases Dean's allegorical rape by leaving his body exposed to Sam's voyeurism, enticing him to partake in the violation with his penetrating gaze.

A comparable scene with very distinct tones is the one in Inside Man when the camera pans over Dean's body and pauses and lingers once Sam enters the room. Dean was plainly shaken and vulnerable in that moment —both because he's dreaming and because he is powerless and a passive recipient of the mark's impluses. Even though it does not strictly follow Sam's point of view, the objectification done to Dean through Sam's presence is a crucial part of this scene, it's triggered by Sam hearing Dean's plea and of knowing/walking in. Whether it's Sam's own soul-crushing death that leaves Dean profoundly rattled in his nightmare or his lack of action to help Dean in the actual world, he is the one that Dean cries out to for help and the one that unintentionally causes Dean that much mental violation/vulnerability. In this framework of mental rape Dean is experiencing, Sam is both the perpetrator and the savior who once again chooses not to intervene.

There's actually other scenes where the framing is the authors thinly disguised fraternal nc fetish but all in all it's an interesting read.

[stardewsnail]

Could you do sfw and nsfw headcanons for Harvey with a partner who’s a vampire?? (Maybe not the type that burns in the sun, I don’t know if a vampire like that would be a very good farmer lol)

Tysm!

This request is a DELIGHT

Okay we’re gonna go with an adventure time style vampire where the farmer wears gloves and a big hat when they’re outside. This farmer has a collection of parasols. They’re always in long sleeves, gardening gloves, overalls, boots, and a big sun hat.

Sfw

Harvey is going to intensely study his partner. Not in a creepy government lab way but in a “holy shit medical school never prepared me for this” kind of way

Will help figure out a way to keep his partner fed sans murder. The murder is a hard line though, being pro murder would be a deal breaker. Something about a Hippocratic Oath

Harvey being so stressed out about his partner getting hurt in the mines only to find out that they are in fact one of the monsters down there

That’s a relief for him, honestly.

Of course the big question here would be if he also wanted to be a vampire…I think he would. I think he’d be totally fine with it as long as there was a murderless path. A little like Carlisle Cullen, he’d want to keep being a doctor. (None of the weird Mormonism or forever high school or weird cult stuff though)

He will do research into the best possible sunscreen and spf clothing.

This vampire can fly, and will carry Harvey through the air. It’s really helped his fear of heights knowing he’ll never fall when he’s with his partner.

NSFW

Okay if nobody is going to say it then I will YOU WOULDN’T DATE A VAMPIRE UNLESS YOU HAD A VAMPIRE KINK

Harvey was very, very into classic monster movies and vampire flicks during some very impressionable teen years, alright?

He already loves having his neck kissed or nipped—having an actual vampire romancing him and pressing their lips to his throat would drive him insane.

whimpering and needy, he’d throw back his head so they would have full access

If it was medically safe to do (or at least not completely medically risky) he would let his partner feed on him and he would find it a little sexy. Like he would never have any kind of blood kink except in this scenario (pathogens! Yikes!) but the pain and eroticism of his partner kissing only to bite and suck or gently lap at the wound. To know that he is the one nurturing his partner’s body in this most intimate of ways? He’s into it. Let the man live.

He’s more submissive as it is—and having a partner who is stronger and faster and magical to take care of him or dominate him means his sex life just improved exponentially. He’s a big, tall guy who’s wants to be manhandled and thrown around.

Want his partner to please pin him against the wall and hoist him up by his thighs so he can wrap his legs around their hips.

There’s also an element of bringing pleasure to such a beautiful and supernatural creature—that in their entire immortal life he gets to have his face between their thighs making them feel so good. And I don’t care how long the vampire has been alive—Harvey is the best head they’ve ever had.

[che2rybomb]

Weighing on this as a semi-professional medievalist with a BA and MA in Medieval Studies, I have to say this interpretation is absolutely spot-on — because as the OP says, to be an anchorite (in the Middle Ages when the practice was at the height of its popularity) quite literally equated with your death to this world. By secluding yourself from the society, you declare yourself dead in the eyes of the world/society and spend the rest of your life in this kind of half-dead, limbo state in your anchorhold, which, remarkably, was also quite literally considered to be the anchorite’s coffin. And it was traditional that when the anchorites die, they get buried in that very spot, making the anchorhold your literal tomb. Now all I can think of is Louis saying ‘you’re standing in it’ when asked by Daniel where his coffin was.

I’ve already talked a bit about this in another post of mine but I believe much of the scandalousness of vampirism derives from the fact that vampirism with all its profanity and blasphemy actually resembles in many aspects (or it intentionally mimics) a lot of Christian traditions and religious imageries, but because it mirrors them in inverse, it has an effect of highlighting the morbidity and/or eroticism that already exists in Christianity on a subtextual level. This image of ‘Saint Louis’ quietly dying in his coffin-anchorhold really goes on to show that further.

everyone wake up louis is an anchorite .

[givemearmstopraywith]

hello! 😳 (after reading and being moved by your last text post about it) i’d love to know... are there any particular examples of enemies to lovers in fiction you like?

part of the issue with enemies to lovers in fiction is that very few are explicit; in a great many cases one is forced into subtext to find the narrow space between enemies where love exists. to be enemies with someone is to form an obsession: all obsession has a sharp point of love hidden within it. we stop loving people when we simply have no opinion on them. as long as we have some strong feeling- well, i would argue that’s love. love is inherently transgressive: hatred is erotic. (short caveat that is not directed towards the person asking this because there is altogether too much discourse on this website: there is a difference between what i am talking about and abuse, which as an abuse survivor i am simply not going to expound on because i shouldn’t have to. develop critical thinking skills.)

i think first and foremost is catherine and heathcliff from wuthering heights, which is a curious example because they move from enemies to friends to enemies to lovers, and repeat this cycle eternally. wuthering heights was formative to me: i read it when i was very young, and it’s informed my life ever since. catherine and heathcliff are both enemies and lovers, they are each other’s angel and demon, death and salvation. their relationship also highlights a fascinating geographical tension: heathcliff, repeatedly referred to in terms of otherness (at times a lascar’s child, a romani orphan, or the son of a chinese princess), but is able to become a spiritual and geographical master of a space from which he does not originate but which has utterly, completely absorbed him: he is part of wuthering heights, and that is personified by the fact that he is part of catherine, as catherine is a part of him. this quote from fred botting’s gothic, i think, sums up that dichotomy better than i can:

The relationship between Heathcliff and Cathy is the most powerful example of doubling: one constituting the others narcissistic image of his or her own unified self. The powerful desire for unity, however, disturbs all social and familial relations: Heathcliff’s desire demands the transgression of all rules, and casts him in the figure of a fiend, a devil and a vampire. He is also associated with natural wildness, his temperament the mirror of the hostile and stormy environment he occupies.

The distinctions between nature and culture, between individual passions and social rules do not simply distinguish the artificial repressiveness of social forms from the irruption of primitive desires. They are as artificial as the constructions of an originary and natural Gothic world to which they allude, a legacy of eighteenth-century and Romantic distinctions between civilisation and wildness. (Botting 84-85)

it is not only hatred of the other that marks this relationship, but hatred of the self: so to love the other, one must learn to also love the self- a cruel twist of the poetic knife, since so much of heathcliff’s story is, really, centered on his own self-hatred, something he adopted because of his treatment by others. wuthering heights knows that to be an other in a hegemonic society is to become an enemy of the self. it also knows that this is an unnecessary enmity. recognition of the self through the other. the kind of enemies-to-lovers story that takes hold of someone and doesn’t really let go.

you might conceivably read dracula as enemies-to-lovers, depending on your definition of eroticism and transgression: there are, of course, undeniable overtones of repressed sexuality between the male characters throughout the novel, and sedgwick’s theory of the homosocial triangle is exemplified nowhere better than through the relationship between lucy’s suitors, dracula, and lucy herself- the very act of quincey stabbing dracula with his bowie knife and then both of them dying is, in a lot of ways, a subversive homosexual act. even the fact that lucy is staked and dies, after having such a bizarrely and unusually close bond with mina, can be seen as a kind of reckoning. there are elements of an enemies-to-lovers story that are exceptionally fascinating and a little disturbing, but it is only under a queer analysis that those traits begin to reveal themselves. 

not strictly fiction but both killing eve and hannibal follow this kind of implied enemies-to-lovers scenario, and are both excellent shows in their own right; the killing eve novellas by luke jennings are very good, though i will allow that thomas harris’ hannibal books are riddled with a homophobia that is markedly absent from the tv series.