reading the vampire lestat in high school was such a serious affair to me like book lestat is no joke. this character finding the only solution to his deep and unabating existential dread in the hope that by making others forget their own sorrow, one can be good and give life meaning. that the quality of his art itself is not even all that important in and of itself as long as he achieves this goal of alleviating the dread of human existence and meaningless death for others. then to take this character who is so terribly young and has determined that this pursuit holds the meaning of life, that all one can do is try to cultivate that meaning, and have him irrevocably severed from society and turned against his will into something beyond the pale of humanity. LIKE GOOD LORD!! i remember that was so striking to me when I first read, that he finds this solution in making others forget their sorrow, argues for its validity so desperately against nicki, and in the end the means to that solution (his own humanity) is snatched away from him in the most cruel, sudden, and violating way possible. that part of the book always stuck with me as being so profoundly disturbing, especially his grasping attempts in the wake of it to remain connected to humanity and finding that it’s ultimately impossible. and how awful to have this character who is such a light, who expresses such terror at the meaninglessness of death, tell the reader absolutely emphatically (three times over) that he looked right at this terror and said no, i would rather have that than what you’re doing to me now. and his attempts to accept what’s happened to him, only one bad feature in an otherwise attractive face, that just crumble when he looks in the mirror and sees something that is simply not him. lestat de lioncourt i adore you. and the disturbing alienation after he’s turned that only worsens down the line in queen of the damned. so purely awful that i think about him all the time.

why are louis and armand both wearing little bangles was that the trendy thing for mentally ill vampires in 2025

im like 90% sure they're wearing a variation of the Cartier Love Bracelets and they're literally meant to be permanent and has to be removed using a screwdriver