I have many obsessions including - Vampire Chronicles, Interview with the Vampire (2022), The Vampire Lestat (2026!) Lestat de Lioncourt, romantic art, Outlander and David Berry. My posts and reblogs will reflect those. I shall also use this page to post links to my fanfiction (Torchwood, Outlander, Lord John Grey, IWTV) posted on AO3 under the same name. For my own sanity, I shall follow/unfollow to suit the demands of my obsessions and what I want to see or not see at any particular time - please don't take this personally. She/her and bi. Spiritual but not religious. No longer on Twitter/X but was @Ptyranosaur. On Bluesky as Angstosaur.
All of my IWTV fics focus on the relationship between Louis and Lestat. Other pairings feature strongly - especially Daniel/Armand and Claudia/Madeleine. Loumand and Lesmand also crop up.
Mostly vampire, mostly based on canon events, a few human au - and those also reflect canon events.
Summaries and links to all are in this post:
💬 0 🔁 0 ❤️ 0 · My Vampire Chronicle (IWTV, TVL) Fics · In chronological order, all the stories I have posted on AO3 concerning mainly Les
Outlander fics
Link here to all of my Outlander fics - pairings are Jamie/John or Jamie/Claire/John.
💬 0 🔁 9 ❤️ 33 · My Outlander stories · A list of all the stories I’ve written for Outlander.
All feature Lord John Grey - to me, the most
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
From Istanbul to Lyons and on to the Auvergne ...
Trying to unravel what they've discovered so far, Lestat and Louis are in for a shock when the return to Lyon.
And Louis finally meets Lestat's mother… under less than ideal circumstances.
fanfiction is a rare gem and a solid, living proof that, in a world of tiktok, influencers and content posting, not everything is about money and going viral. art can still be art just for the sake of the artists’ pure love, joy and passion for the art they create. fanfic writers write 100k words and more about the characters they love for free. just because they love these characters and the art of writing so much. art is not dead and the world is still beautiful.
Thanking all the fanfic writers whose stories have kept me company, entertained me, and inspired me to write my own for the past 30 years.
From fandom to fandom, platform to platform - from storyboards on voy forums to LJ, Dreamwidth, fanficnet and AO3 ...
Thank you ❤️❤️❤️
Urging anyone who reads and enjoys fanfic to leave kudos, a comment maybe and perhaps don't always filter by number of kudos or hits - find the overlooked gems and be surprised!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
From Istanbul to Lyons and on to the Auvergne ...
Trying to unravel what they've discovered so far, Lestat and Louis are in for a shock when the return to Lyon.
And Louis finally meets Lestat's mother… under less than ideal circumstances.
This is wonderful! I have to be able to hear the characters in my head to be able to write them ... I have to see them moving around and interacting as themselves in whichever type of story I write, whether it's au, canon-convergent or canon- divergent.
Whether I manage to keep them in character or not is another matter, but many comments on AO3 reckon I do.
A walk in the park (IWTV/TVL flashfic ~2600 words)
For the #dontburnaloneexchange a flashfic for @educatedinyellow who asked for some sweet Loustat reconnecting between S2 and S3, before Lestat found out about the book.
I hope this fits the description! Here's to positive vibes for our star-crossed lovers ❤️❤️❤️
Also on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/85205296
A walk in the park
Having found Lestat, in a condition that had shocked him, Louis had been reluctant to leave as soon as he did. But there were matters to be sorted out back in Dubai. Not least of all a disturbing text message from Daniel:
‘What advice would you give to a recent recipients of the gift that can’t be returned? Asking for a friend. Giver of said gift gone AWOL.’
Therefore it had been longer than he’d planned before he managed to catch up with Lestat in person. Sure, they’d kept in touch on FaceTime, but he itched to have his … his what? Lover? Ex? Friend? Husband? All of the above? He just wanted Lestat back in his arms.
After Odette had wreaked havoc on the more vulnerable dwellings in New Orleans, including the shack where he’d found Lestat, he’d stayed a couple of days and then given Lestat one of his own credit cards so he could either stay in his hotel suite, or find other accommodation. During the time they’d shared the room, Lestat had slept in the coffin while Louis had made use of the bed. It was too soon for anything else. Neither had needed to say as much, but at the time they were just glad to be in each other’s company again.
Two months had passed when Lestat informed him that he was looking into purchasing property in Montreal. For reasons that Louis understood, he did not want to remain in New Orleans. The only reason it had taken him two months to consider moving was that he needed his solicitor in Paris to arrange new papers to be sent to him, such as visas and passports on account of his previous documentation being several decades out of date.
It was only then that Louis realised Lestat hadn’t been out of New Orleans since he’d returned there after the trial. He suspected that Lestat would have treated that as a form of penance, staying in the city where they had once shared so much … enduring squalor where they had once had a family.
Naturally, when Lestat announced his intention to move away, Louis understood. New Orleans held too many memories, good, bad and downright ugly. And then, when Lestat asked if Louis would accompany him to Montreal to find a suitable residence, Louis had barely managed to supress his excitement.
“Sure. I can do that.”
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to impose on you … after all, you are a busy- ”
“Nothing would give me greater pleasure. Where are you planning on staying in the city?”
“The Ville-Marie Borough. It is close to the areas I am interested in and is close to both the Museum of Fine Arts and the Opéra de Montréal, and not far from a park I want to check out.”
Louis did a quick search of luxury hotels in the area and smiled as he saw the Ritz Carlton was midway between the opera house and the art gallery. “Let’s stay at the Ritz Carlton. They’ve got a gallery or local artists – I can combine business and pleasure that way.”
“That’s an excellent idea. I’ll text you my travel arrangements and see you there.”
~~~
Lestat was in the lobby of the hotel when Louis arrived, readily identifiable by his glossy fair hair that caught the lights of the chandeliers above him.
“Hi there,” said Louis, walking over to meet him. They embraced as if they’d been parted for decades again, each rejoicing in the closeness of the other. After a kiss on each cheek, they parted slightly.
The lobby was buzzing with people gathering to go into dinner or out on the town and yet Lestat cut a lonely figure, sat on his own, watching the revolving doors for Louis’s arrival.
“Hey, you didn’t have to wait down here for me, you couldha just texted me your room number.”
“My room number?” Lestat looked panicky. “Mais, Louis – you implied you would arrange the accommodation.”
Thinking back on their conversation, Louis realised he hadn’t made it clear he’d just be booking for himself. He’d suggested the hotel and not stopped to consider that Lestat wouldn’t book his own room. “That’s fine, we’ll ask reception what’s available.”
There were no other rooms.
“You can share my suite – I think it’s got two beds,” said Louis, awkwardly. He still didn’t know exactly where they stood with each other.
There weren’t two beds. Just the one, albeit a king sized bed.
“It’s alright, Louis,” muttered Lestat, gesturing at the sofa. “There are plenty of pillows and there will be spare blankets. I can sleep in here- ”
“No!” protested Louis. “There’s no need … unless… well unless you’d rather not share with me…”
“Never!” exclaimed Lestat, before sighing and picking up his suitcase. “However, if it would make you uncomfortable, I can enquire about vacancies at another hotel.”
The look of desolation on Lestat’s face was unbearable. Shaking his head, Louis took the case off Lestat and put it down and then wrapped his arms around him. “I want to be close to you… that OK?”
“More than OK…” said Lestat, although the crooked smile indicated he was uncertain of Louis’s true feelings. “But you want to take it slow? Yes?”
“Hey, it’s not you, hon… it’s just me, I need time.” After eight decades with Armand, sharing a bed, yet hardly ever an affectionate touch, he was still adjusting to the new reality. The fact that the slightest of touches from Lestat was sufficient to have his heart racing could be down to being starved of the kind of passionate affection that Lestat exuded. He felt the need to pace himself and not to binge on what he could tell was on offer if only he gave the word.
~~~
They decided to take a night time walk around the city on their first night, to determine which area had the best vibe for nocturnal inhabitants. Criminal elements were of no concern to them as they just provided additional feeding opportunities.
Lestat had already identified two main neighbourhoods that he was interested in – the Mile End and Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, both described as artistic communities, hubs for musicians and artists alike. As they wandered from one district to another, they identified the neighbourhoods that had a vibrant nightlife, with live music spilling out from bars and clubs. Seeing the multicultural, multiethnic nature of the communities and clear indications of a tolerant society had both of them feeling relaxed. They were also well fed, having found a belligerent visitor preaching that anyone waving a rainbow flag would be condemned to an eternity burning in hell.
Having scoped out the streets with properties for sale that appealed to Lestat the most, they ended up in Mount Royal Park, strolling along pathways between trees, their hands linked. For the longest while they walked in silence, just listening to the night sounds of birds settling down amongst occasional squabbles, a few honks from Canada geese as they escorted troops of golden goslings towards their roosts and the distant sound of traffic.
Every now and then, Lestat would brush his thumb across the pulse point in Louis’s wrist, as if tentatively requesting a deeper connection. Walking in step, Louis smiled. Focusing on their heart beats he could hear they were as in sync as their breathing. The connection was already being reforged.
“Wanna sit on that bench – the one by the lake?” he asked.
“I would like that very much,” replied Lestat, his voice catching slightly.
Louis waited for Lestat to sit down first and then sat next to him. Close enough that their thighs were pressed together. He didn’t want to leave Lestat in any doubt as to how close he wanted to be to him.
Looking out over the water, which sparkled as the moonlight caught the ripples from water birds wading across slowly it seemed that the night stood still. Out of nowhere, a couple of bats skimmed low over the water, feeding on bugs of some sort. He could imagine Lestat strolling around the park on his own when he moved to Montreal. That thought left him unsettled. He didn’t like to think of Lestat on his own. In the early years of their relationship he’d told Louis that loneliness was his greatest fear.
He was about to ask if Lestat thought he’d be able to make friends in Canada when he noticed that Lestat was holding his breath. His brow was furrowed, as if there were a question on his mind that he dared not ask.
“What’s on your mind, Les?” Taking one of Lestat’s hands, he clasped it in his lap. “You can ask me anything.”
“Of course. I can ask, but you may choose not to answer – and that’s what troubles me. How I may react to your withholding of the answer.”
“I promise I’ll answer.”
“When you were with … him… did you walk in the parks in moonlight? Did you sit together on a bench …?”
Louis sighed. “At first. In Paris … before… before… when I first knew him… we’d take walks in the city… along the river… around Sacre Coeur… we’d sometimes sit on a bench and talk- ”
Lestat pulled his hand away. “I see – ”
“No you don’t,” said Louis, quickly reaching out to capture the hand pulled away from him. “You were there too … it was you I wished was with me, even then.”
“Vraiment?”
“Really. And then… after… afterwards. No not just after. Before, during and after – it were never anything like it had been with you. Our hearts were never aligned… even when I was mad as hell with you, I wanted you. I never stopped loving you.”
Lestat turned to look at Louis, a blood tear gathering on his lashes. “You loved me…”
“Never stopped. Still do. You once called it a cord that binds maker to fledgling – but that don’t explain what it is that pulls us together.”
“You’re right, mon cher,” muttered Lestat. “When … with Nicolas it seemed that the love we once had mutated into something darker when he became a vampire. He resented me… I assumed that you also resented me.”
“Only on account of what I believed you’d done,” explained Louis. “Soon as I found out the truth, there was nothing on earth that was gonna get in the way of me finding my way back to you.”
Louis hadn’t realised that he, too, was crying until Lestat leaned over and gently brushed the tears from his cheeks.
“Oh mon cher… so much time lost.”
“They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“That’s a tired cliché, Louis – I can think of several individuals for whom that is far from the truth.”
Louis chuckled. “Yeah, me too.”
They were suddenly disturbed by the clanging sound of a waste bin. They spun around, as one, to see a raccoon burrowing into a pile of litter that had spilt onto the ground.
“That reminds me of the raccoon that took up residence in our home on Rue Royale.”
“Yeah – how the hell did that get in the house in the first place?”
“I brought it to you to eat, but you were in no mood for any offerings from me.”
“Claudia shooed it out,” said Louis, thinking fondly of how she had cleared up the mess that had accumulated in their home during her absence. “And then ended up bringing in pigeons for me to eat and they just shit on everything. And a goat.”
“A goat?” Lestat frowned.
“Yeah… you two were really much more alike than either of you would ever admit.”
“Hmmmm… perhaps that is why we argued so much.”
“Yeah … but I always knew you loved her.”
Lestat bit his lip. “I suspect the feeling was never mutual…”
“Don’t kid yourself. It was the situation she despised… and she blamed you for that… but that was on both of us.” Louis pressed his lips together, recalling the circumstances when he’d pleaded with Lestat to take a wounded young girl, severely burnt on account of his actions, and make a vampire of her. Closing his eyes, he recalled the rows he’d had with Claudia when they’d been travelling around Europe. “I guess she hated and loved us both, in different ways and at different times.”
“As a daughter?” prompted Lestat, cautiously.
“Yeah. Our daughter.”
Resting his head on Lestat’s shoulder, Louis felt an arm slide around his shoulders, drawing him in closer. The scent of Lestat filled his nostrils. He smelt of belonging. It was like coming home after a prolonged period spent away from all that grounded you and made you feel at peace.
“Shall we go back to the hotel now?” he whispered, almost afraid of breaking the spell that encompassed them.
There was a moment of silence and then Lestat leaned over to press a kiss to the top of Louis’s head. “Yes.”
~~~
Neither of them spoke a word as they walked back to the Ritz Carlton. No words were needed. They moved through the streets side by side, hand in hand, in harmony with one another. In the elevator, they turned to face each other, eyes meeting and seeing nothing else but adoration.
Entering their suite, Louis led Lestat to the bedroom, where they undressed each other slowly and with infinite care. Pausing before each button was unfastened, or zip eased down, ensuring that neither was moving too fast.
Small gasps of pleasure as fingertips caressed bare skin and sighs of delight as their bodies came together, from lip to hip … kisses were exchanged and became deeper as their mouths opened and breaths were shared.
It was Lestat who scooped Louis into his arms and carried him to the bed, settling him down gently on the thick eiderdown cover. They lay face to face, side by side, slowly fondling one another, reacquainting themselves with the curves of backs, buttocks, hips and thighs, while their hearts were closer than ever. Sliding his leg between Lestat’s thighs, Louis pulled him closer still, until their arousals came together, causing their hearts to beat faster.
They had not lain together since the night before the Mardi Gras Ball … and that thought made Louis’s heart ache. So much lay between them in the intervening decades and yet they were together again.
Making love with their whole being, body, heart and soul reminded Louis that it had only ever been making love with Lestat. It had been sex with Jonah and Armand. Fucking with the strangers he picked up in bars. But with Lestat, it transcended the physical and became a spiritual experience.
Without needing to ask, they drank from each other’s throats as they came, letting the blood flow from one to the other, as other fluids were spilt between them.
A sensation of euphoria flooded Louis’s senses as he held Lestat close, seeing in his blown pupils and smile of ecstasy that he was sharing the very same experience.
It had taken almost a century and thousands of miles to come back to where they had started. As Lestat had told him on that altar… ‘I send my love to you and you send it back around to me.’ He’d been right about the circle that kept bringing them back to each other.
Later that night, as the sky was starting to lighten over the city of Montreal, they lay in each other’s arms, at peace with the world and with each other.
I can’t believe I actually lived though the full transition from VHS to DVD. Like there are people alive who have never seen a VHS tape….I remember when we were still tryna figure out how the fuck they got a full movie onto a cd.
I recall box sets of videotapes taking up whole shelves, all on their own... plus all the videotapes of recordings from TV.
In the 1990s - working overseas, I depended on people posting me videotapes of a show I wanted to see and having to wait for over a week for each tape to arrive at the PO Box ... in Dubai, where customs checked tapes to make sure there was nothing on them that would be banned in the UAE.
Vampire Detectives - Case of the Missing Fledglings (IWTV/TVL Lestat/ Louis)
CHAPTER 10 - Lyon
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
I know it's a bad time to be posting an update - but this chapter does touch on an issue that was shown in the trailer released yesterday. I was hoping for images to use in the moodboard - and there they were!
Lestat and Louis have arrived in Lyon, and while discussing their findings to date and planning their next move, Louis asks an awkward question... and doesn't like the answer he gets...
After reviewing the status of their investigation, Louis and Lestat head for Rome, via an Easy Jet flight that tests Lestat’s patience. In Rome, they meet Santino …
Discussing what they know so far, then onto a quick tour of Rome, with ice cream, alcohol, sex and drugs (not necessarily in that order) and then to Istanbul - where they feel uneasy...
It’s been forever since I’ve ran an event, but be the change you want to see I guess?
In light of recent anon shenanigans, I really feel like this fandom could use a pick-me-up. So, here is a flash event about spreading positivity. If you’d like to join so I’m not on a one woman mission to try and fix the vibe here, here are the details:
THIS IS AN EXCHANGE EVENT. Be creative! GIFs, flash fics, scribbles in the margins of a notebook are all great! A letter to your favorite writer or artist counts. A video edit counts. The goal is to spread positivity and appreciation in this space.
CONTACT @THE-BEAUTIFUL-UNWELL VIA DM BY MAY 12 IF YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE. Let’s meet some new friends through this event! If you’d want to participate, let me know! I’ll match you with someone great. If not, that’s good too… but consider sending some love your favorite fan’s way?
CREATE! Create May 13-20. It’s a fast window because this is a flash event.
GIVE AND RECEIVE GIFTS ON THE 20TH. Use the hashtag #dontburnaloneexchange so we can all find each other!
Tagging some people I talk to sometimes to feel less awkward @surrenderdorothea @madnessmaker @endiness @cinemxtography @sheherlestat
Vampire Detectives - Case of the Missing Fledglings (IWTV/TVL Lestat/ Louis)
CHAPTER 10 - Lyon
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
I know it's a bad time to be posting an update - but this chapter does touch on an issue that was shown in the trailer released yesterday. I was hoping for images to use in the moodboard - and there they were!
Lestat and Louis have arrived in Lyon, and while discussing their findings to date and planning their next move, Louis asks an awkward question... and doesn't like the answer he gets...
After reviewing the status of their investigation, Louis and Lestat head for Rome, via an Easy Jet flight that tests Lestat’s patience. In Rome, they meet Santino …
Gabrielle. She’s around now. She was around on The Night Island. Everyone hates her. She is Lestat’s Mother, and abandons him for centuries, and somehow doesn’t manage to heed Lestat’s periodic and inevitable frantic cries for help, which though she could not receive them, being his fledgling, could certainly learn of them from other vampiric minds which are on fire with the news round the world when Lestat is in trouble. Gabrielle, she looks just like him, except she’s a woman, totally a woman, that is, sharper of feature, small-waisted, big-breasted, sweet-eyed in the most unnerving and dishonest fashion, gorgeous in a black ball gown with her hair free, more often dusty, genderless, sheathed in supple leather or belted khaki, a steady walker, and a vampire so cunning and cold that she has forgotten what it ever meant to be human or in pain. Indeed, I think she forgot overnight, if she ever knew it. She was in mortal life one of those creatures who always wondered what the others were carrying on about. Gabrielle, low-voiced, unintentionally vicious, glacial, forbidding, ungiving, a wanderer through snowy forests of the far north, a slayer of giant white bears and white tigers, an indifferent legend to untamed tribes, something more akin to a prehistoric reptile than a human. Beautiful, naturally, blond hair in a braid down her back, almost regal in a chocolate-colored leather safari jacket and a small droopy brimmed rain hat, a stalker, a quick killer, a pitiless and seemingly thoughtful but eternally secretive thing. Gabrielle, virtually useless to anyone but herself. Some night she’ll say something to someone, I suppose.
Vampire Detectives - Case of the Missing Fledglings (IWTV/TVL Lestat/ Louis)
CHAPTER 10 - Lyon
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
I know it's a bad time to be posting an update - but this chapter does touch on an issue that was shown in the trailer released yesterday. I was hoping for images to use in the moodboard - and there they were!
Lestat and Louis have arrived in Lyon, and while discussing their findings to date and planning their next move, Louis asks an awkward question... and doesn't like the answer he gets...
this discussion keeps happening because some people decided to hate s3 the moment it was announced but this idea that iwtv is sidelining louis is completely untrue. if anything the writers are detaching from the books to give him more storelines, which is GOOD. louis doesn’t show up in tvl until the last 15 pages and he has an exclusive storeline this season. claudia is literally dead and they found a way to keep delainey in the show. the problem is that some people want them to be sidelined and they want this season to suck because it’s a season about lestat’s retelling. you had been told lestat is a main character since 2024 and y’all ignored it. now everyone it’s like “why are they shifting to lestat?” so there’s this one book called the vampire lestat that succeds interview with the vampire and has been out for over 40 years that could explain this to you.
they won’t skip his book just because you hate him and even if they did, the next one is still narrated by him, and the next, and the next, and 7 out of the 13 vampire chronicles books. you CANNOT interact with anything from the tvc/iwtv universe and say “there’s too much lestat in this” well fork found in the fucking kitchen. now lets wrap up this discussion it’s been two years
Louis is not being side-lined, but brought into the show in a way the source material failed to do so … Lestat is and always has been the main character of the Vampire Chronicles … People who don't read the labels on what they're consuming only have themselves to blame if it's not what they like. From the very beginning, it's been advertised as Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, and now Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat - for a reason. It is based on the source material.
If it's not the show, with the shipping you want, write fanfic - or read it. There's some great stuff on AO3 to satiate the need to read about pairings that aren't going to be on the show, or focus on your favourites.
But the show is doing the books.
Lestat is upfront and in the spotlight from now on. Get used to it, or watch something else. No one is being forced to watch this show.