#but seriously i think this thinking claudia is 'still 14 mentally' comes from the same mentality of people

[claudiasescapesubmarine]

A question for the fans:

Do many people actually think that Claudia has both the mind and body of a child here? Because I thought that Claudia made it clear that while she'd be stuck in a babydoll body, her mind would age just fine. But I still see people who really think this. Considering that Claudia also has the metabolism of a 14 year old, you could make the philosophical argument that since the mind and body are connected and inseparable from one another, if the body is 14 then the mind is 14. But like still....we see Claudia mentally and emotionally grow throughout the series, despite her body remaining the same, so that defeats that argument. Louis once says to Daniel that Claudia spent every night for half a decade locked in the emotional storm of puberty, but that's Louis's perspective.

People will really point to Claudia's supposed temper tantrums, self-centredness, and occasional recklessness and think yeah she's really stuck in the mind of a 14 year old no grown up would act like that! (never mind that the immense trauma she's suffered might have something to do with it). But then what does a "typical" 14 year old versus grown up mind even look like? Like there's no concrete answer to that without potentially getting into an ableist/eugenics area. Just because Claudia has different requirements than other vampires doesn't mean she's ACTUALLY mentally 14. Which explains why she's pissed when she's regulated to the role of a child despite being 18, 20, 33, 42, etc.

Like I really thought people thought the quote "picked someone else over me" meant Louis was leaving her at risk of danger by choosing a romantic companion who could hurt her in the future, NOT that Louis should stay single to look after Claudia for the rest of his life. Like do people think Claudia needs so much care to the point that Louis shouldn't romantically be with another person, even if they're a nice one, or do people think Claudia is hurt because Louis didn't choose her to be his companion, his equal, even though they couldn't be romantic anyways?

[nalyra-dreaming]

I like referencing book canon to make predictions but let's not forget that the show is a separate thing. The changes they made, however surface level they may appear at first (age, race, time period), still significantly alter the characters and the story.

In the book, Claudia is 5 years old in appearance and she can't survive on her own or even move through the world without a guardian. She says in Merrick that she basically did a coin toss on which of her daddies she was gonna kill and went with Louis because he was easier to manipulate. And she stays with him out of necessity despite her resentment towards him.

That's not the same for show Claudia who is 14 and could pass for 16, in a time period when girls could already marry and work at that age. She can more or less survive on her own, and she was ready to leave without Louis until Lestat forced her back.

Another thing that her age changes is that on the show, Lestat eventually stops seeing her as his child and starts viewing her as a romantic rival who wants to steal Louis away from him and that's not something that is really present in the books.

There's also the race aspect to consider. The bond Claudia has with Louis is deeper from the very beginning because they are of the same race (daddy Lou vs uncle Les) and Lestat is resentful of that. Not to mention the mental connection they share, from which Lestat is also excluded because he is their maker.

Show Claudia does not return to Louis for convenience, she does it out of love (and that's directly from her own diaries and not Louis's unreliable memories). And here Claudia doesn't just kill Lestat because she hates him for turning her or for being controlling, she kills him because of how he treats Louis (she comes to her decision shortly after they witness his ongoing affair).

I think show Lestat still cares for Claudia in his own twisted way, and he thinks what he does is for her own good, but he also resents her and sees her as a rival for Louis's affection which explains some of the decisions he makes on the show. I believe Lestat genuinely intended to hurt her the night of the ball because he was that desperate to keep Louis.

My point is, we can't just transpose book canon on the show characters without taking into account how they are, in many aspects, drastically different and have totally different dynamics as a result.

(sorry if this is too long)

All good re length.

But please actually take a look at the link I shared before to the post which draws most of its conclusions from show canon, informed by book knowledge, yes, but based on the show.

I … really don’t know where this need to tell me of the books and background comes from (not just by you). I don’t mean this in any mean way, you seem to want to help, but have you (they) actually looked at my blog? My background? My posts?!!?

I honestly feel a bit belittled here, and while that may not be your intention, but seriously??? WTF.

I literally do (almost) nothing else on this blog than look at the show with background knowledge.

The show ticks all the important boxes - wildly loyal. It is its own thing but… not separate.