Jun 13
The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice / Bloodbound 2
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The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice / Bloodbound 2
kind of stopped thinking of bloodbound: origins as strictly within the lens of it being timeline compliant with the og trilogy and more of a thematic extension of the og (the og was never very good at keeping with the established timeline anyway). i think this is best applied to with jax's chapter especially, where it deviates a lot from his backstory and how he was Turned in nyc. i think jax's story still builds on his character and the major political themes of the series, i.e. how institutions pave the way for abuse of power. in his chapter, "peace keepers" in the usamerican south hunt down rogue vampires in the name of "keeping the peace", which just means keeping the status quo hidden behind protective and safe language. it's made explicit in jax's chapter that the peace keepers were initially founded as way to protect vampires but then became a lynch mob for those who refused their authority. this is inline with everything seen in the og, where political systems initially founded to bring on "better worlds" also provided the mechanisms for abuse and conquest, see: rheya's kingdom, the clan system, the unchained.
very important to Me that in the dark solstice epilogue gaius says he will be returned to full glory and specifically have kamilah by his side. & when he comes back he doesnt team up with baron or lester he teams up with priya. patriarch who cannot live without owning a woman
@loreofyore my theory for why jax's brand is a tree is that it's a reference to the jubokko tree in japanese folklore!
what's funny is that the tree works a lot like the tree of life in canon; rheya was absorbed by the tree of life after all and its sap also saved her. i think they planned on using this story to give jax a bigger role in the in-game vampire lore but eventually decided against it. the tree of life and b2 plot of carving a stake from it also seems to be influenced by the vampire diaries' own white oak wood stake so that might also be it?
the jubokko tree particularly being on a battlefield makes me think of takeshi's background as a warmongerer. i think the tree was originally takeshi's brand that jax eventually adopted as his own.
overall i just think they originally intended to do more with jax and in-game vampire lore because it cannot be a coincidence that 3 characters get turned into trees while jax's tree tattoo has no significance... but andrew forgot why they chose that so lol 😭
bloodbound's 1001 app version "with a bite as an oath" gives jax's last name in kanji as "松尾"; 松 meaning pine tree and 尾 meaning tail end/the slope at the foot of the mountain. his matsuo means pine tree at the end of the mountain (which is my guess - i don't speak japanese so feel free to correct me if that's not it).
"jax" isn't really a japanese name so in katakana it's just ジャックス (jakkusu)
1001 being a chinese app reads 松尾 differently though, ignoring kanji pronunciations in favor of the mandarin pronunciation. jax has a different last name and the only one with a drastically different one, songwei.
bloodbound mc being reborn as a vampire after four days. four days because in jewish belief the soul still hovers around the body for three days (and bb had a jewish book lead). but in the new testament jesus raises lazarus from the dead after four days, with some christians interpreting it to be his mastery over death. something something bb mc taking four days to come back being religiously significant/referential.
roman sat on a throne about to kill someone with a weapon shaped like a cross and his victim will rise again from the dead after a few days.. hm. anyway look at these works of jesus being presented to pontius pilate who is seated on a throne
thinking of bb male characs and swords. jax and his katana (and takeshi) ofc is most obvious, and gaius' gladius is at best a two-time thing, but sometimes i forget that adrian also used a sword. revolutionary war era soldier sword. he always uses his fists but during the 2nd scene we see him as a vampire (& using/embracing his vampire powers) its with a sword. for gaius. just thinking