Who else returns to old shows or fandoms for comfort? Been watching a lot of Doctor Who recently

RTD IS RETUNING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS FUCK YES HIT ME WITH THAT TENROSE CONTENT I BEG YOU

The biggest crime of the later books is how Anne Rice completely threw away what would’ve been far more profound for Louis (and of course, Claudia was dead) because of her rampant author’s pet blind spot. Ironically, Louis was her self-insert, while Lestat was her husband and Claudia was her dead daughter.

It’s like it never occurred to her that the “Human Nature” trope (see Clark in Superman II, Angel in Angel: the Series, Clark again in Smallville, the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, Castiel in Supernatural, etc…) is so much more profound for the tragic inhuman character who actually desires most to be human, is at odds with their own species or wants to experience human belonging/family/love, rather than the one who would happily throw away that humanity they never really wanted (Lestat in The Tale of the Body Thief). Funnily enough, Brad Pitt’s Meet Joe Black is also this trope. Louis, not Lestat, is the character who belonged with this trope as it is in every other piece of fiction that uses it. Those medias understood it’s best used as a heartbreaking gut punch instead of a comedy romp. It’s something that hurts when it is cruelly snatched away or must be given up for the sake of a duty larger than oneself. The only Vampire Chronicles character who would prefer even more to be human than Louis because of the profound unhappiness in their physical form would be Claudia. It’s the thing they most have in common together.

Merrick was yet another time when these characters’ potential to continue on the center stage was woefully misused and under-realized in favor of endless new OCs and Lestat. Louis was written out of the starring role that put Anne Rice’s career on the map the second she and the fandom wrote him off as a liar, despite never being able to fully retcon out Lestat’s actions during Interview with the Vampire. There were certainly better uses for Claudia’s ghost than as a cruel manipulation that then never gets closure for her or Louis’ obviously continuing feelings for her. Given that he’s still not over her death more than a century later, it’s always the elephant in the room in regards to Louis in the present. It’s the storyline that keeps Louis frozen in time, unable to continue his own story beyond the 19th century except as a series of vignettes and observations by other characters. Merrick completely failed both Louis and Claudia. He’s as much of a ghost in the present story as she is.

Because of this, Louis’ story now will always be incomplete; a profoundly influential character used as little more than a prop in the background of other characters’ narration. And of course, Claudia’s tragedy was being incomplete from the start.

Characters like Angel and many copycats (not only vampire characters either–Russell T Davies has fully admitted Buffy and Angel’s influence on his Doctor Who revival and Torchwood spinoff, while the entire Fanged Four are Anne Rice’s archetypal lineup) would directly not exist without Louis. And yet, Angel got the center stage as the deeply-flawed inhuman protagonist with a “human soul” that Louis never got again. Louis is Anne Rice’s archetype (a massive influence on all inhuman creatures with human feelings ostracized from their own kinds, doomed to never belong to either world and the outsider looking in on a life they can never have) that has actually inspired more leads than Lestat ever did. Other media, in Interview with the Vampire’s image, knew that the flashier, funnier, cooler Lestat archetype (which was likewise influential, but rarely an initial lead) is instead an antagonistic, often villainous foil to a more serious, introspective character’s existential crisis and the greater philosophical and moral depth that this brings a story.

Anne Rice stumbled upon that when she wrote Interview with the Vampire, but seemingly didn’t understand it. Or perhaps it was easier for her to avoid her personal trauma by focusing instead on an object of fantasy and fancy.

Unfortunately, she denigrated Louis to make Lestat palatable as an antihero instead of a villain or even antivillain. He and his POV became inconvenient to the change in narrative and Lestat’s POV became rarely challenged, despite him being the more likely of the two to fit as the unreliable narrator with far more reasons to lie and make himself look better. His verifiable actions contradict lies like him only killing evildoers. Claudia being the most glaring refutation, but also the fact that Louis was targeted not because he was evil, but rather because he had wealth Lestat wanted. Louis was telling his story as a cautionary tale in which he wasn’t sugarcoating himself (quite the opposite–he’s the king of self-loathing) or anyone else, not a narcissistic ego trip disguised as a rebuttal.

The author’s retcon and fandom buying into the narrative of Louis as the unreliable narrator is a huge mistake and it goes a long way to explain the fall in quality of the later series. Louis should never have been consigned to the role of Antonio Salieri.

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Disillusioned (Tenth Doctor x reader)

Synopsis: You’ve reunited with the Doctor after a long time apart, and his new companion reminds you a little too much of your old self.

Content Warning: Injury, severe burns

DOCTOR WHO MASTERLIST|GENERAL MASTERLIST

“She must be utterly heartbroken,” you remarked delightedly, elbowing the Doctor in the ribs as you regarded his companion snidely. She was eager, far too eager for just a casual friend, and all too similar to how you had been.

“Stop it,” he warned, glancing over the top of his glasses from where he was fiddling with some mechanics. As you continued to marvel at the chaos around you, the Doctor rolled his eyes and groaned. “Are you going to help or just continue to stand there?”

“Ah, well, I thought I might just continue to notice the puppy-dog eyes your companion keeps giving you. It must be soul-destroying, knowing that you’re still hung up on Rose.” You held back a bitter laugh, turning to face the fried circuitry. Frayed copper wires poked out of the grate, and you hissed as a spark landed on your skin, marvelling at how quickly the red mark disappeared.

“Don’t mention her name. And at least she can love,” he murmured, pulling on a blue-cased wire with a triumphant aha! “This should disable the central neural network. If we reroute the power to the-”

“Seal on the doors, we can permanently deadlock all the exits and therefore the entrances so they can’t get in. I’m not stupid, Doctor.” You protested, trying to create a spark to hotwire the energy router so that the Doctor could carry out the complex plan he undoubtedly had. “Also, ouch, harsh. I don’t need to love; enough people love me that it makes up for it.”

“I know.” He peered over the top of his glasses at his wire, barely paying attention to his surrounding. You had expected more amusement, but you weren’t surprised that he was finally sick of you. It had been a long time coming. “You’ve made that abundantly clear in the past.”

You scoffed. Sure, Doc, take the moral high ground here. You’d been there at that intergalactic brothel a couple hundred years ago and, boy, did he go wild.

“Behave.” He warned, as if he knew what was going on in your head. To be honest, you wouldn’t be surprised if he somehow did. Time Lord magic or whatever.

You hissed as the energy coursed through the wires, glowing white hot as you held them tightly together. They seared into your skin, marking a path as they burned brightly in your grip.

“I’ve got power!” The Doctor cheered and his companion joined in, rushing over to see what he was fiddling with. He had power.

“Oh, wow, Doctor, you’re so clever!” She gushed and you couldn’t hold back from rolling your eyes. It made you sick to even listen to. Where was your inundation of praise?

“Right, so I’m going to link these two bits, and then just this needs doing,” he sonic-ed it with his screwdriver, “and then, Y/N, you’re going to have to whack that big button on the wall.”

You stared at him in disbelief. “Why can’t she do it?”

“Because if Martha gets shot, she’ll actually get hurt. If you get shot, you’ll just complain.” He was unbelievably patronising, and you huffed bitterly. When you didn’t move, he actually turned to look at you for the first time and raised an eyebrow. “Why aren’t you going?

He really hadn’t noticed. God, he was losing his touch. You gritted your teeth as your vision began to grow fuzzy at the edges, trying your hardest to blink away the dancing black spots. “Because if I leave to press the button, you’ll lose all power. And, extra special bonus, if you don’t fucking hurry up, I am going to pass out.”

The Doctor sniffed the air, catching the scent of burning flesh, and glanced at your hands. His eyes widened as they found the source of the smell.

“What are you doing?”

“Saving us. Now hurry the fuck up!”

“Martha, you need to do it.”

His companion jumped up, ready to obey his every order. As the Doctor turned away, you let a nostalgic smile flicker across your face. Once, you had been so naïve and hopeful, and the world had shown you its true colours.

She smacked the button and doors slid shut, sealing with a heavy pop. As angry faces in helmets appeared at the porthole, your vision swam to and fro. You gagged silently, bile rising to the back of your throat as your muscles finally forced you to release and slip quietly to the floor.

And he didn’t even notice.

-

there will be a part 2

-

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