#fresh fledgling

(Got both your asks, Anon, just answering once) 

In movie!Interview With Vampire, Lestat says that line at 14 min, 22 seconds into the movie, on the NTSC (US) version. I don’t know when that would be for PAL. Anyone out there with a PAL copy can reblog/comment what it would be for that version.

So basically, start the movie at 11:45 pm New Year’s Eve your time, to begin 2018 w/ Louis’ freshly minted vampire eyes *u*

Don’t you know tho? The Dark Gift comes with a free perm….

… there’s also the humidity to consider, NOLA is a pretty humid place, other VC locations might also be humid. 

As always, #Your Headcanon May Vary, these are just my own opinions, and I am SURE other ppl have other excellent answers for this. 

I’m focusing on Louis’s strength at turning and the first few years after, since he does grow more powerful over time on his own (and he also gets *~upgraded~* later in canon, idk whether you accept later canon but it happens!).

TL;DR: I don’t think Lestat purposely made Louis weak, it was a combination of factors, but mostly that the procedure isn’t an exact science*, Lestat was a young maker and turned Louis too soon after making two fledglings before, and the fact that Louis was malnourished** (refusal to kill ppl) for those first few years might have been a contributing factor.

**So Lestat does talk about Louis being weak in IWTV, but not that he purposely made him that way, just that he allowed it to go uncorrected; he didn’t force Louis to kill ppl, or force Louis to embrace his vampiric gifts and learn how to use them:

“Lestat looked at me. ‘I expected you to feel these thingsinstinctually, as I did,’ he said. When I gave you that first kill, Ithought you would hunger for the next and the next, that you wouldgo to each human life as if to a full cup, the way I had. But you didn’t.And all this time I suppose I kept from straightening you out becauseyou were best weaker. I’d watch you playing shadow in the night,staring at the falling rain, and I’d think, He’s easy to manage, he’ssimple. But you’re weak, Louis. You’re a mark. For vampires andnow for humans alike. This thing with Babette has exposed us both.It’s as if you want us both to be destroyed.‘”

^Lestat is saying Louis is weak by choice, and he’s describing weakness of character more than physical strength, so I believe he was physically weak bc of the Dark Gift. The Dark Gift is not an exact science*, despite all good/bad intentions, it’s the vampiric form of pregnancy. But there are things about the procedure that can affect the strength of the fledgling: 

Whether the blood is transferred once (for Louis) or multiple times (for Marius) between maker and fledgling - Multiple times seems to make a stronger fledgling. Why didn’t Lestat do it multiple times for Louis? I think Louis was already in such bad physical shape that Lestat didn’t want to risk it. Plus, he had already turned 2 fledglings using the single transfer procedure, he probably felt like that was good enough.

Age, power, and timing of making previous fledglings of the maker -  it seems like power is outweighed by the other two factors.

The fledgling’s diet after turning - Louis was feeding on animals for the first 4-ish years of vampiring, which is like bad junk food, and probably not drinking the volume of blood he needed, either. 

Yes, post-QOTD (and pre-Merrick), Louis refused to drink Lestat’s blood. I headcanon that that felt like a rejection of Lestat bc blood-sharing is a major expression of intimacy for vampires. He might have refused it bc he saw how it had changed Lestat and he didn’t want that to happen to himself, but I think he also wanted to preserve his own vulnerability, in case he wanted to suicide ;A; 

Hit the jump for more, cut for length.

Yum, we can always use fresh blood! >;}

Why couldn’t Claudia access the full extent of her vampire powers? Are they really that biologically discriminate? 

^They don’t all automatically get all the vampiric powers, and some powers are only “earned” over time (like the cloud gift, which is flight). Some vampires automatically do get certain gifts upon being turned, like Lestat and the mind gift, but Louis didn’t get that one (debatable somewhat, as Armand notes in TVA that Louis can spellbind others inadvertently but that might also be bc Louis is just too adorable and dreamy for anyone to handle). 

We don’t know just how strong/gifted Claudia was, I don’t think there are any scenes that explicitly talk about her abilities. She was most likely stronger than her mortal self, even if she was weak compared to other vampires. Even if she had the mind gift, she would not have been able to read Lestat’s mind, and he wouldn’t be able to read hers, due to the barrier between fledglings and makers. But she might have been able to read Louis’ mind, since she’s his sibling. We don’t know.

Not sure where you’re at now, but in TVL there’s some discussion about fledglings and strength when Armand tells Lestat what he knows about the Dark Trick, and later, Marius that tells Lestat what he knows about it. Claudia is not specifically mentioned at the time, bc she doesn’t exist yet in the story.

The Dark Gift is not an exact science, and even makers with gifts cannot purposely give/withhold them to/from their fledglings :-\ Armand mentions in TVL: 

But let Armand understand here also that the effect of the Dark Trick is unpredictable, even when passed on by the very young vampire and with all due care. For reasons no one knows, some mortals when Born to Darkness become as powerful as Titans, others may be no more than corpses that move. That is why mortals must be chosen with skill. Those with great passion and indomitable will should be avoided as well as those who have none.

The Dark Gift in unpredictable, despite all good/bad intentions; it’s the vampiric form of pregnancy. But there are things about the procedure that can affect the strength of the fledgling:

Whether the blood is transferred between maker and fledglingonce (for Louis and Claudia) or multiple times (for Marius) - IIRC, Marius doesn’t tell Lestat this in TVL, but multiple times seems to make for a stronger fledgling. Why didn’t Lestat do it multiple times for Claudia? I think Claudia was already in such bad physical shape that Lestat didn’t want to risk it. Plus, he had already turned 3 fledglings using the single transfer procedure, he probably felt like that was good enough.

Age and/or power of the maker - Lestat was only ~15 yo vampire himself when he turns Claudia. That’s still almost a fledgling himself, even tho he had been turned with powerful blood from a 300+ yo vampire.

Timing of making previous fledglings of the maker - Marius tells Lestat that the gift is weaker from the Maker to fledglings if given close in time period. Lestat had already made 3 vampires in his 15 year time, each one was weaker in strength than the last. It seems like whatever the Maker’s power, it’s outweighed by this timing issue.

The fledgling’s diet after turning - Louis was feeding on animals for the first 4-ish years of vampiring, which is like bad junk food, and probably not drinking the volume of blood he needed, either. Claudia seemed to have a voracious appetite, but she did have the body of a child, so it’s possible that she was physically unable to consume the amount of blood needed for the vampiric parasite to really transform her body properly. Possibly another reason why vampires generally don’t approve of turning children.

@vinceaddams replied to your photo “Found this on pinterest (actual source is Bloody Vampire Fangs...”

It always annoys me when I see fang marks placed like that instead of vertically. Just picture how awkward the position of vampire's head would be!

S A M E.

In the movie when fledgling!Louis is really trying to vampire properly and he’s looking for a good spot to bite, you can almost seem him go, “Yeah no, this angle? Bad spot, no, um maybe this angle? Nope...” It’s like someone learning how to kiss, poor Louis ;A; and it’s even funnier bc it’s Brad frickin’ Pitt who you would assume would be a professional at Making Out and hickey delivery, but the character is hella uncomfortable having to do this at all so none of that applies!