#vampire etiquette

[vampire-scripture]

Vampires dressing each other in TVC - book quote compilation

This is not an exhaustive list, if you find any others and are willing to share, I'd be eternally grateful ^^.

Claudia, Louis and Lestat

An endless train of dressmakers and shoemakers and tailors came to our at to outfit Claudia in the best of children’s fashions, so that she was always a vision, not just of child beauty, with her curling lashes and her glorious yellow hair (...) Lestat played with her as if she were a magnicent doll, and I played with her as if she were a magnicent doll - Interview with the Vampire

Louis and Lestat

[Louis] was outfitted entirely in the new clothes I’d ordered for him (...). “This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” [Louis] asked. Nothing mocking or mean in the tone. Shocked. Unable to respond. “Well, I figured you could use some new clothes, that you always can.” I was stammering, clinging to a shred of dignity, trivializing the moment with ridiculous words. “A whole room full of clothes?” he asked. “Lestat, the century will be ended before I can wear all that.” – Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis

Louis sat in a chair nearby, quietly resplendent in his Lestat-chosen clothes. – Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis

Louis and Armand

[Louis] wore his favorite old dark coat, a little threadbare but so comfortable, and his favorite old fannel trousers and a fine white shirt Armand had forced upon him with buttons of pearl and outrageous lace. - Prince Lestat

Gabrielle and Lestat

I helped to peel off the old taffeta and to dress [Gabrielle] up in pink velvet, gathering her hair in tidy curls under an ostrich-plume hat. - The Vampire Lestat

Daniel and Armand

Armand would push [Daniel] into the shower, soap him all over, rinse him off, (...) and finally dress him after carefully selecting from Daniel's wardrobe of dirty and neglected clothes. || At sunset when Daniel awoke, his clothes had already been laid out for him. Heaven help him if he were to change a single item, from the linen handkerchief to the black silk socks. - Queen of the Damned

Armand and Lestat

"That's what you always want," [Armand] said softly (...)."When you found me under Les Innocents," he said, "you wanted to bathe me with perfume and dress me in velvet with great embroidered sleeves." "Yes," I said, "and comb your hair, your beautiful russet hair." - Memnoch the Devil

Armand and Marius

I was combed, trimmed and dressed in the colors [Marius] would forever choose for me, sky blue for the stockings, a darker midnight blue velvet for a short belted jacket, and a tunic of an even fairer shade of azure embroidered with tiny French fleur-de-lis in thick gold thread. A bit of burgundy there might be for trimming and fur - The Vampire Armand

Benji and Armand

I in turn have the supreme pleasure of carrying Benji about like a doll and getting him to wear all the Western finery I purchase, at least now and then, for an hour or two - The Vampire Armand

Bonus:

"One thing, Louis, " [Lestat] said. "Yes? " "Those clothes. Impossible." - The Vampire Lestat

[ingridverse]

Why do vampires always have to get the entire bottom half of their faces smeared with blood when they feed? I mean honestly, you're supposed to be the classy monsters! Have some table manners, or bedside manner, or whatever. You don't see me with gravy all over my face when I eat stew. And also use a napkin ffs.

@marzipanandminutiae

[thewhyldeone]

Kisses on the Wrist

I dropped Hubbard a curtsy and moved to step past him. His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. I looked down at his cold fingers.

[later]

Matthew froze, his nostrils flaring. He put the wine carefully on the table and took my hand, pressing his lips to my wrist in a seeming gesture of affection. His eyes went black.

“you saw Hubbard,” He said...

- Part III: London, The Blackfriars        

         - Chapter 22, Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (All Souls Trilogy)

-

Touch, scent, and taste. All of these senses are a big deal to the vampires of the All Souls universe, they get a lot of information from just those three things alone.

For taste it is the memories or where things have been.

But touch and scent are bound up tightly for these vampires.

In A Discovery of Witches, the book, and partially the TV show, Matthew and other vampires are very very mindful of what and who they do and don’t touch. Respect may be a factor, but the main reason is that touch leaves a scent that they can pick up. Intentionally touching someone or something means they wanted to leave a trace of their presence, maybe warning or claiming, but whatever the reason it is never without purpose.

Matthew reacts strongly when Marcus moves in to close and sniffs Diana, and Marcus knew he was on thin ice. The “oh shit, oh shit” look that crossed his face when Matthew came at him said it all. Miriam barley touches her when she tries to take Diana’s blood. Domenico never touches her. I can't remember if Gebert does at La Pierre, it wouldn’t matter then anyway, the message was already sent. And Juliette is to far gone to care either way in the end. Gallowglass and Jack are very careful about it and have very strong reactions to others touching her too.

Matthew does seem to be making a conscious decision in that scene. He hesitates before and after he picks up her wrist and his eyes go wide when he kisses her skin. He gets a lot of information from this kiss, such as who may have upset her and how she feels. 

I also think he makes a choice there that this is not going to be a casual friendship/relationship, he is becoming serious in his feelings about her (I think this scene comes right after he gets back from seeing Hamish). He kisses her wrist probably to show her how he feels, but also to send a message to other creatures. 

I don’t know, though. I’m not the expert! The show is different and I have only seen each of the episodes once. This is just what I think is going on in that moment, and wanted to share...I don’t want to ruin the romance, it is pretty swoon worthy.

But having read the books more than a couple times, I just knew there was another layer to this gesture from him and it just kind of baffled me.

[thatsbelievable]

Vampire Etiquette: Shoes

May a vampire enter your home without first receiving your invitation? No, no, they may not. That is good manners. But what to do about their shoes? Before the vampire comes through your doors and trods upon your floors, you must insist they remove their shoes. There are two reasons for this:

1) You have no idea where those shoes have been. Crypts, swamps, ballrooms, muddy puddles, it's a panoply of filth and it's on their soles.

2) Speaking of soles, most vampire shoes have fangs on the bottoms (see picture, below). Why? Science has no answer. Perhaps vampires are prone to slipping. Regardless, unless you desire a beautiful hardwood floor covered in tiny bite marks, ask the vampires to lose the shoes.

Figure 7319. Vampire shoe, circa 1902. Note fangs in front.

Source: Vampire Etiquette For People (and Vampires) by Childress Butte, 1904.