#tulane library

[thecactifindahome]

From the early notes for The Vampire Armand in the Anne Rice collection at Tulane University.

[petsincollections]

La Polka des Chats, 1894

Hogan Jazz Archives Sheet Music Collection, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University

Louisiana Sheet Music

Tulane University Digital Library

[somevagrantchild]

Missing Loustat scene discovered in Anne Rice's diaries

I HAVE SOMETHING AMAZING TO SHARE WITH YOU!!

As I was reading Anne Rice's diaries in the special collection library at Tulane University while I was in New Orleans for the Vampire Ball, I discovered this intensely sexy scene she wrote between Louis and Lestat that never made it into her books. This is Anne Rice's original writing, never before shared anywhere online.

Anne Rice wrote this scene by hand in her diary dated November 6, 2015 (which she mentions is the day before Stan's birthday. He would have been 73😭). I have deduced that it is her very first (and very rough) draft of the scene that eventually became chapter 4 in Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis, aka the scene where Louis agrees to move into the chateau and be Lestat's partner/companion again. The final version of the scene in the book reads like wedding vows, serving as the beginning of their marriage in the modern era. As you'll see, the first draft was rather different. 

In Prince Lestat, Louis and Lestat's interactions are extremely brief, and they aren't able to talk beyond one stolen moment to reassure each other of their love. It would seem that in the six months between the end of Prince Lestat (when Louis thinks to himself that he will be with Lestat very soon), and the beginning of Atlantis (when that finally ends up happening), Louis and Lestat do not have any intimate conversation. They may have talked somewhat, but only briefly about superficial matters, or they may have not even spoken to each other once over those six months until Lestat asks Louis to meet him in New Orleans for chapter 4.

In an earlier diary entry, I found a note where Anne said she wanted their first reunion conversation to begin by finally addressing Louis dumping Lestat's body in the swamp after Claudia tried to kill him—something they have never once discussed. So when I came across this scene in a later diary, I could tell it was a direct follow-through on that idea. 

The scene begins with Lestat speaking to Louis, and it seems they are outside on the streets of New Orleans, but someplace private where they aren't being observed by mortals. This is different from the final book version with them sitting at a sticky table at the Café Du Monde (though it is similar to how Lestat tells us they walked around the city streets together for hours after the reunion scene was over). 

Anne headed this part of the diary entry with: Early on: L+L quarrel—

“I can forgive her for what she did. She was never a human being. She went from being an infant to a monster. But you—you stood there and watched. You carried my body into the swamps and dumped me there as if I were trash—you were the one I hated! How could you do that to me? Decades we’d been together!”

He stared at me for the longest time—not defensive, not angry.

“I could do it because I was afraid,” he said. “I didn’t know how I was going to live without you.”

“I don’t believe you. You were fine without me. You were preparing to sail to Europe. You were making plans.”

A torrent of words.

“Stop!” he said. “I’m here now. I love you! I thought you wanted me here! I thought you’d forgiven me. I thought we had a second chance, now, you and I. And miles to travel together!”

I nodded.

“A second chance!”

I nodded.

Then I took hold of him as if I was going to kill him. I threw him up against the wall and bit into his neck for the first time in two hundred years—the first time since the first time—and when the blood gushed into my mouth, I saw again—for the first time in two hundred years—his soul, his heart.

I was lost in his mind, his thoughts, his dreams, flashes…

I drew back—I’d drunk too much. He was being held there by me, his head bowed. I slapped him hard and when he opened his eyes, I pushed his open mouth against my neck. I forced his fangs into me.

And we were together, wrapped in one another’s arms…

Finally I pushed him back.

He was sitting on the paving stones, hair in his face, back to the wall. I took his hand and helped him up.

“Kiss me,” I said. “No, really kiss me.”

Finally I let him go.

“I can’t live without you! “ he said. “I swear, you wander off on me again, I…”

“I won’t. I won’t ever.”

We walked along in silence.

“He loves you too,” he said.

“Who?”

“The silent one, the one who’s never spoken to me, the one inside you.”

It was time. I could have lingered a half hour more in the old times, but the time was now.

The End 

------------------------------------

Above is the clean version, which I have corrected for missing punctuation, missing letters/words, and necessary dialogue tags.

Below is the original rough version as I have transcribed exactly from Anne Rice's handwritten diary.

------------------------------------

“I can forgive her for what she did. She was never a human being. She went from being an infant to a monster. But you—you stood there & watched. You carried my body in the swamps & dumped me there as if I were trash—you were the one I hated! How could you do that to me? Decades we’d been together!

He stared at me for the longest time—not defensive, not angry.

I could do it because I was afraid, he said. “I didn’t know how I was going to live without you.”

“I don’t believe. You were fine without me. You were preparing to sail to Europe. You were making plans.”

—A torrent of words.

“Stop! I’m here now. I love you! I thought you ’d wanted me here! I thought you’d forgive me. I thought we had a second chance, now, you & I. And miles to travel together!”

I nodded—

“A second chance!”

I nodded—

Then I took hold of him as if I was going to kill him. I threw him up against the wall & bit into his neck for the first time in 200 years—the first time since the first time—and when the blood gushed into my mouth I saw again—for the first time in 200 years—his soul, his heart—

I was lost in his mind, his thoughts, his dreams, flashes — (more)

I drew back—I’d drunk too much He was being held there by me, his head bowed. I slapped him hard & when he opened his eyes I pushed his open mouth against my neck. I forced his fangs into me.

And we were together, wrapped in one another arms — (more)

Finally I pushed him back.

He was sitting on the paving stones, hair in his face, back to the wall. I took his hand & helped him up.

Kiss me. No really kiss me.

Finally I let him go.

I can’t live without you! I swear, you wander off on me again, I … I ”

“I won’t. I won’t ever.”

We walked along in silence —

He loves you too

Who

The silent one, the one who’s never spoken to me, the one inside you.

It was time. I could have linger a half hour more in the old times, but was now —

The End 

------------------------------------

The spots where she wrote (more) are clearly areas where she intended to expound upon all Lestat was seeing and feeling in Louis's mind, soul, and blood, and then what he felt and saw as Louis was drinking from him. How I wish we could know what she would have written there! Also the lines that start or end with a — make me wonder if she intended to add more to those bits as well. Would she have actually written out Lestat's torrent of words?

Lestat's line "Kiss me. No really kiss me." isn't in quotation marks in Anne's diary. I chose to add them, because there were many other obviously spoken-aloud dialogue lines also without quotes. But it is possible that Lestat only thinks these words as he and Louis are kissing each other. It reminds me of in Queen of the Damned, when Daniel thinks, "I like kissing. And suggling with dead things, yes, hold me." The narration doesn't tell us Armand actually starts holding him, but Anne's style of using internal monologue makes it clear that's what happens in the action. So the "Kiss me." could be similar in this instance as well. And in that case it might mean Louis is the one who initiates the kiss, and this is Lestat’s internal “yes, yes!!” reaction to it. But I do suspect he is actually meant to be saying it aloud.

With the em dash at the end of it, the very last line could have been meant to continue: "but was now ______" was now...something. But considering she wrote "The End" after it, it seems like it was meant to be a final statement, so that is why I added the missing words I chose in my edited clean version.

Although this conversation is very different from the one we get in the final version of Atlantis, I do still see elements of it in the book's scene:

Louis's line "I can’t live without you! I swear, you wander off on me again, I …" became "so I'll come. And when you tire of me and want me gone, I'll hate you of course."

They still kiss, really kiss. In the book, it is moved to before their conversation, when Lestat first sees Louis in their Rue Royal flat, wearing the new clothes he ordered for him and Louis says, "This is what you wanted, isn't it?" and Lestat is so shocked, he's unable to respond.

They do still discuss Amel in the book version, in much more depth than he is mentioned here. Louis having never heard Amel's voice in his own head remains consistent. 

They do still go walking around the streets of the Garden District, though it happens after the conversation, not during it. Lestat does say they talked for hours during that walk, but about Amel and what's been happening to Lestat as Prince. Not about themselves or their past. 

MY THOUGHTS!

The confirmation here that Lestat never tasted Louis's blood before their new marriage begins in Atlantis is one of the most amazing parts to me, when combined with the offhand way that Lestat mentions what Louis's vampire blood tastes like in Blood Communion. Even though the final version of Atlantis never shows us Lestat drinking Louis's blood (either forcefully like this scene, or consensually in other ways), the mention in Blood Communion does confirm that it DOES happen off the page at some point during the years between Atlantis chapter 4 and the beginning of Blood Communion. 

We know that Louis drank much of Lestat's blood at the end of Merrick, and this was his first time doing it because we were told in previous books how much he resisted his powers being increased by drinking ANY other vampire's blood. It is nice to have it confirmed that Lestat never bit Louis or drank any of his blood in return either before or after Merrick. But now, after Lestat becomes Prince, this is now a new element to their relationship. It makes me consider more strongly that Anne perhaps meant to imply that they then for the first time began to engage in blood sharing the same romantic way Lestat did with Akasha in Queen of the Damned, and then in the even more explicit way she shows us with Rhoshamandes and Benedict in Prince Lestat. 

I don't take all Anne wrote in her diaries as canon. It is clear that much of what she wrote there were spitball ideas that she later chose to absolutely reject (as opposed to deciding they were true but she just didn't mention them in the books). But I do not see anything in this scene that the final versions of the books contradict. So even though this scene didn't actually happen in canon, we can believe that the feelings and emotions that drive this scene are still canon. And I love that for us 🥰

I have cross-posted this on ao3 to give us a good place to talk back and forth to each other about it in the comments section there. Reblog and reply to this post as much as you like, but if you want to have some conversations and share your own thoughts on what she wrote, ao3 will give us a much more organized place to do it, where other people will be able to easily find and read your meta as well.

[monstersinthecosmos]

Some Marius/Pandora content from the Pandora draft at Tulane:

He set me down in the middle of this library, amid its couches and racks of scrolls. He stared at me. Beautiful Marius. I realized he was looking right at my nipples, at how pink they were, and then shamelessly he let his eyes wander over my entire form. I didn't realize yet that all wrinkles of age had been smoothed away. I knew only that I intoxicated with my new vision and that he desired me so much his heart was quivering in him. I reached over and pulled at his tunic. I pulled at the buckle he wore on his shoulder. "What are you doing." "I want to see you as well," I said. "I want to see this marvelous Osirian phallus, that is now no more than an ornament." He rebuckled his tunic. "Why do you cause me pain like this? Why?" "Because you treat me badly," I said. He stepped forward and clasped my face. He meant to kiss me. I wouldn't have it. "Look, master magician. Conjure up a tunic for me. It's not my habit to launch into religious debates while stark naked." He was poisoned by my words. It broke my heart to see how I had hurt him. I did not want to see the blood film rise in his eyes. But I knew his pain as if it had tentacles and they could surround me and draw me deeper and deeper to the core.

I fucking can't get over the concept of Marius as a fledgling trying to make sense of desire and thirst and sexuality. Pandora is so much more open about wanting to poke at it and figure it out and yet he's so burdened and traumatized already, so unable to be vulnerable. I wish we got more canon about this time phase of vampirism from other characters aside from David in the beginning of Merrick, it's really so underexplored!

[drowningyoursorrow]

PROM SONG (GONE WRONG)

(pre-death) kyle spencer x gn! reader

summary. - you always saw him in the hallways of the university the two of you shared, finding him cute. eventually your shared looks you both exchanged, turned into something more meaningful. w/c. - 3.1k

| heads up ! swearing, kissing, violence

YOU didn't enjoy much of what you were doing in the university you were attending. The dorm you were staying in was actually quite depressing, and you refused to join a house, eventually beginning to regret it. Maybe joining one would've expanded your social circle because all you do now is go to your classes, study, then do nothing. You already hardly slept, solely because the all-nighters that you believed were "useful" just got you accustomed to being awake. Which meant you surprisingly had a lot of free-time, and what did you do with that freedom?

Nothing. Well, not entirely nothing, sometimes you'd wander around in the halls acting as if you were going somewhere. Just to get a glimpse of him, Kyle Spencer, Tulane University's Kappa Lambda Gamma golden boy. You were sure that everybody had eyes for him, he was a sweetheart and honestly, there weren't many of those around. Hoping that he never caught on to you magically encountering you in the hallways.

Obviously, you never talked to him, he was always surrounded by big groups and girls. That was too much attention to draw to yourself, and you would prefer to keep yourself hidden. You had a small pattern with your routine, you'd work, eat, wander the halls to see Kyle, then go relax somewhere. Occasionally it was a coffee shop nearby, or sometimes just the library. You weren't that creative with your locations, but it was quiet wherever you went, so who cares?

You had just finished a short essay for one of your classes, that drained you entirely, and you even missed your scheduled meal. But the one thing you couldn't miss, was your scouting. So since you're already going to be out, might as well just get a glimpse then eat while you're at it. Quickly fixing yourself up, you headed out and on your walk to the coffee shop, you saw him. But this time, this time was different, usually he never picked up on you passing by.

So, it caught you extremely off guard when he paused his mini stride and looked at you. It was brief, and you wished you were hallucinating, but he actually scanned you. With his eyes. Totally unbelievable, out of instinct of the sudden look, you unconsciously gave a WTF face. And instant regret washed through you, immediately turning away and basically began to haul ass away from him.

You made it to the coffee shop and you just kind of sat at a booth, not ordering anything, just processing. Processing that, you kind of gave a disgusted look to your crush, up-front. Groaning, you shoved your face into your hands, you didn't really feel hungry anymore, just embarrassed. You recollected yourself and made your way back to your dorm, wallowing in your shame. He probably thought that you were judging him, him of all people.

You didn't bother changing into something more comfortable, too lazy at the moment. So you just crashed into your mattress, hitting your head on the wall as you did. That was perfect for ending your day. You laid restless as you thought of how he might have interpreted that moment, scared for some reason. As drowsiness eventually consumed you, you hoped that was just a one time thing.

You were wrong, entirely, you should never hope for anything again, ever. Because as the days passed, and you did your scouting, it began to worry you, that he may have caught on to what you were doing. Whenever the two of you crossed paths, he looked your way, and sometimes even tried to speak to you. But your cowardly self would pretend not to hear him and speed walk straight to the coffee shop. To save yourself from embarrassment, you decided to try to stop this unusual ritual you had.

So, today you took a different route, a longer route, just to avoid him and not seem like a total creep. Hoping this would save your ass from him and his frat brothers remarks about you. You stalled in an abandoned hallway until you felt that it was long enough that he wouldn't be nearby. Shamefully, you made your way to your designated spot, ordering a quick drink and sitting in a corner booth. It felt odd not doing what you've always done, but maybe this was better for your attempts at trying not to be stalkerish.

You were scrolling on social media as you heard sort of loud voices make its way near the coffee shop. Then silence, a muffled goodbye, then a welcome from one of the workers. Nosily, you sipped your coffee as you peered up from the cup, then you saw him. Spitting out your drink and coughing profusely as you looked down. And then you heard a snicker, a laugh that was too giddy, a laugh that makes you mad and happy at the same time in your pain.

Then you felt a patting on your back, and you know it's him because nobody but him would help someone choking from a liquid. Awkwardly, you just mutter a small "thank you," not really knowing what to do or say. "You're welcome, I'm sorry that I laughed, it was abrupt and kind of hilarious." He sat across from you and just talked to you, for hours, you didn't introduce yourselves. You two didn't need to and all you did was listen, you listened to what he had to say and he listened back.

He's seen you in the hallways, he always has, but he didn't want anyone to tease him in front of you. That would be embarrassing, nobody wants to talk to someone that gets teased over something like that. It wasn't middle school, so, he would try to not acknowledge you, and eventually he decided to take the routes you did too, by himself. In hopes for a chance to speak to you or something, he didn't really plan it out, he just hoped you two would say hi and fall in love. And his plan failed, a lot, because it felt like you began to avoid him whenever he tried to reach out.

It bummed him out, yeah, but he wasn't going to give up and so whenever you didn't take your shared route. He was confused, this was the only place he ever saw you, so finding you to try to actually make a move, was going to be difficult. But he can remember a few times when he had seen you sitting by yourself in the coffee shop. And this time he was determined he was going to speak to you, so he pushed away his nerves and on the way there. He was trying to think of anything that would help his situation, corny pickup lines, pretending to be smart, or even inviting you to a party.

He didn't really want to do the last option since you didn't seem like the type, and he didn't want to sound obnoxious. But when he was brainstorming, someone came up to him, and he was trying not to lose focus of what he was thinking about. And they were a talker, a loud one. Generally he was patient and listened, but right now was not the time, so when he finally made it to the café. He breathed a sigh of relief and said his goodbyes to the person.

Not wanting to see like a creep, he just decided to order something and not awkwardly stand around looking for you. But once he got his order, he heard an immediate series of coughing. It was you. And you were choking on something that wasn't solid, wow? He accidentally let out a laugh as he processed it, but he was ultimately worried.

So he hurriedly placed his drink on the counter and made his way toward you, patting your back in a way to soothe the pain. Which didn't really make sense, but he was in the moment.

You both realized that this was the perfect opportunity for the two of you to finally talk, so Kyle reacted on his instinct. He sat down across from you and decided to just go with it, he talked, since you looked you didn't have much to say. And that was fine for the both of you, because at the moment the both of you enjoyed the moment. You stayed across from each other until the place closed and Kyle offered to walk you back. Happily, you accepted and although it was silent on the way there, the two of you cherished it.

You gave him one last look before heading back inside, and the two of you went to the bed breathless. And that was how it started, you'd meet at the café, talk for hours, study together, and depart. He always wanted to walk you back, and who were you to deny? Throughout the months, the both of you grew closer and closer, Valentine's Day was when Kyle wanted to admit his feelings. It seemed more cherishable and more romantic in his mind, very original, but who says that's bad?

On the day, you two did your usual routine with each other, and you both had something to say but couldn't say it, Two cowards in love, who weren't even dating, yet. So when Kyle walked you back to your place, and you two stood in silence. Kyle immediately blurted, "will you be my valentine, it's like cool if you say no, yeah, just uh- wanted to ask you and stuff, and it's already over, which makes this kind of dumb. But why not shoot my shot, y'know? I didn't want to seem-" "Yes." And you hugged him, it felt like you were in middle school, but he happily reciprocated, and you laid in your bed, nerves kept you and him awake.

Boy, it's late, walk me home, put your hand in mine At the gate, stop and say, "be my valentine" You are, by far, the brightest star I've ever seen, and I never dreamed I'd be so happy that I could die

Overtime, you two did eventually tell each other about your feelings and became a thing, he both of you didn't care who knew. He always told you how beautiful, handsome, and pretty you were all the time, and you did the same. He loved watching you get ready whenever the two of you did go out, loving to kiss you as you did so. If you were to put your makeup on, he loved kissing you with your lipstick/lip gloss on, it appearing on him. It always made him feel as if showed that he was yours and that's all he really cared about, where you went, he followed.

You used to say that I was beautiful like Cleopatra But you the king too, so I would say, "back at ya" I flip my hair and make you stare and put my makeup on And make up stories 'bout my life and put on very cherry bomb And even then, I knew that we were something serious That you would dominate my thoughts like radio to Sirius I'd see you in the hall like "hello, hello" Up against the wall like "let's go, let's go"

Kyle loved driving you places, anywhere you wanted to go, he would happily take you. You two often drove anywhere you could reach and enjoyed it all because you two were with each other. Sometimes whenever you two left the dorms to explore cities, he could notice how you always enjoyed it more there than here. It started to make him wonder if you were really happy where you were, did you want to be somewhere else? He didn't want to think about the possibility of you leaving so he began to cherish your presence more and more, always abruptly hugging you.

Let me take you out of this town Let me do it right now, baby Dancing 'til dawn, staying forever young Let's get out of this place 'Cause you're starting to waste within this teenage wasteland You will never see my face If you don't get me out of this place now, baby, I'm not crazy I'm leaving, are you coming with me?

You knew how Kyle would get whenever he was on his own, he would overthink and become isolated. And he always knew how to deal with his fucked up things on his own, but when you held him. Comforting him, just wanting to hold him, he didn't know what to do with himself. The both of you would just watch movies to cheer each other up and it always worked, it was your thing. You never dreamed that you'd be watching shitty romcoms with Kyle crying into your shoulder over it, but this felt like heaven.

If you're lonely, baby, hold me, you're my only one Watching television, kissing 'til we see the sun So far, we are a safe in the dark And I never dreamed that I'd be the queen And I'd be so happy that I could die

Your smile and blush was something Kyle loved pulling from you, his corny lines never worked on anyone. But they worked on you. He eventually showed you some of his favorite music, and you made fun of his old man's taste. And when Rosanna by Toto began to play as you two just happily stared at one another. It may be old music but you loved it now, you loved him.

You used to call yourself The Don and call me Queen Diana You always make me blush and say, "shut up boy, you bananas!" You pull my hair and push me down and chase me, make me run You played me Biggie Smalls, and then my first Nirvana song So even then, when no ones friends were really serious I knew you loved me by the way you looked in second period I'd see you in the hall like "hello, hello" Up against the wall like "let's go, let's go"

Kyle eventually invited you to tag along with him to some of the parties him and his frat brothers went to. But he always remained close to you and the both of you would just dance in the kitchen. He assumed the noise would bother you since you two lived in a quiet place. But instead he saw happiness, he saw longing as you lost yourself with the loud music. The suspicion that you wanted to be somewhere different and loud began to bother him, and suddenly he didn't feel like dancing anymore.

Let me take you out of this town Let me do it right now, baby Dancing 'til dawn, staying forever young Let's get out of this place 'Cause you're starting to waste within this teenage wasteland You will never see my face If you don't get me out of this place now, baby, I'm not crazy I'm leaving, are you coming with me?

You always loved going out with Kyle because he wasn't trying to solely get drunk. He wanted to show off his weirdly coordinated dance moves to you, to impress you. And especially whenever it was raining, he took you outside and he danced with you like it was your last day together. The both of you held each other and sang horribly to one another, while it downpoured. And for some reason deep down, it did feel like your last moment together.

I know that they say that all i want Is to have fun And get away for rainy days I know that they think I've come undone But I'm in love, I wanna run, run, run away I'm leaving, are you coming with me?

When the two of you were at another party, his nerves finally caught up to him and he asked you about staying. You finally said that you wanted to be somewhere different, somewhere bigger, somewhere louder. Neither of you agreed on where the two of you should stay and you couldn't meet each other halfway. So, you ran out, you left, you couldn't do it, you loved him you really did. But you wanted to be where you truly felt where you could fit in and be comfortable at.

Kyle didn't know how to take it, he knew you were leaving but he felt too defeated to say anything so he drank away his sorrows. He knew that he couldn't do anything, he couldn't change your mind, but his thoughts were interrupted when his friends were in a panicked state. They came rushing downstairs and dragged him along with them and he was partially too drunk and hazy to understand what was going on. When he was being rushed out of the house, he saw you down the street, walking by yourself, where? He tried calling out to you and even though the street was loud enough, you could hear Kyle from a thousand miles away.

You were confused about what his friends were doing and the sudden urgency into their bus. Kyle was trying to shout something, you could hardly hear him drunkenly sob, "I love you, I'm sorry!" You laughed at his effort still trying to reconcile even when he was nowhere close to being sober. Eventually they did board up the bus and drove off, but for some reason you felt as if you should've grabbed him yourself. One thing turned into another and you heard screaming from, you couldn't really tell who was chasing after the bus.

But they were yelling and you felt worried and as you were making your way to check it out. There was a loud bang, and it hit you. The bus had flipped over and before you even knew it, it burst into flames, and you felt everything crash in front of you. You wanted to believe that this was a dream and you couldn't feel the tears escaping you and that your legs weren't about to collapse. You shouldn't have argued with him over a stupid wish, a dream, maybe you should've held him and took him home.

Maybe this is all a dream and you're overthinking this whole situation, maybe Kyle is in bed next to you. Eventually you'll wake up and you'll find him in your shitty dorm, sleeping right beside you. And you'll tell him about it and he'll laugh and tell you how freaky your dreams are and everything will be okay. But as you do finally fall to the ground, sobs breaking through you and your voice turning hoarse from your screaming. You realize that this time, this wasn't a dream, and you weren't somewhere different, you were here and Kyle was there.

He's always been.

Let me take you out of this town Let me do it right now, baby Dancing 'til dawn, staying forever young Let's get out of this place 'Cause you're starting to waste within this teenage wasteland You will never see my face If you don't get me out of this place now, baby, I'm not crazy I'm leaving, are you coming with me?

..............................................................................................................................

- Inspired by Prom Song (Gone Wrong) by Lana Del Rey - Decided to do a little plot twist sort of - Halfway proofread?

Hope you enjoyed and if you have any requests or questions please dm!

[holespoles]

Mardi Gras, the Christian pre-Lenten celebration. In New Orleans, there is a huge parade, with several groups competing for the best floats. It used to be exclusively for wealthy white men, but it was actually women who designed the floats of the core group that gained such a reputation. She was a poet and writer, and her name was Jenny Wilde (1865-1913). As well as the float, she also designed costumes, invitations and memorabilia, and even directed the show. But Wilde's name was never mentioned anywhere and she was buried in history for a long time, but her artistry has been re-evaluated in recent years. Image from Tulane University Digital Library, etc.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

I'm piggybacking a bit off of the last ask of asking for writing tips but I have an odd question... Am I the only person that struggles actually PICKING a book? It's the absolute bane of my existence because I feel like I can be so picky... Don't get me wrong, I love being a bookworm, and I'm trying to get back into reading physical books but it's so difficult to find a real taste of what the book is like without being completely spoiled or something... I miss when backs of books had an actual summary and not just NO.1 NEW YORK BESTSELLER!!!! It's so frustrating... I've been trying to get back into it by re-reading fond chapter childhood books read to me (The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane & A Wrinkle In Time). But at the same time I'm also trying to get into more "adult" books that isn't... Well, you try googling "adult books" and see how that goes, I didn't think too hard about what a poor decision THAT was. But I'm working up the courage to read Cat's Cradle right now to start with "Classic Authors" I guess!

Anyway I'm rambling here, I guess my question is... How do you pick out the books you read? I don't really have friends that read many books to recommend to me :')

Thank you in advance, Bog! I hope you get a callback from that interview soon!

no ok actually you've mentioned something that's been bothering me for a while - What The Hell Do Y'all Mea, Books Don't Have Summaries Anymore???? i have not once in my life found a book that didn't have a summary. i was in barnes & noble recently and everything i looked at had a summary. i have literally never seen a book without one in my life of reading & looking at new books on a regular basis

softcovers have theirs on the back. hardcovers are on the inside of the sleeve - lift the cover and it should be printed right there on the inside flap! summaries aren't legally required but both the author and Especially the publisher(s) know that no one's gonna buy a book without a summary. trust me, all books worth reading have a summary. if a book doesn't have one, it's probably not worth your time anyway. you just gotta know where to look!

so my answer to how i choose books... i read the summary lmao. if it seems interesting, ill either write it down to get later or ill get it there and then.

Before the summary though, i look for any titles that jump out at me from the shelf. then i look at the thickness. i like a bit of meat in my literature, so i tend to shy away from thinner books. thicker ones grab my attention more easily. then i look at the cover - if it interests me, then ill read the summary. i don't have specific tastes in title or cover. as long as it makes my brain "hm" thoughtfully, ill take a gander!

and really, if you have access to a bookstore (chain or not, ive found plenty of bangers in tiny used bookshops) or library, the best way to find a book is to physically browse. even if you dont buy anything, you can take pictures of books / write them down to buy online. but going to the store lets you search them out, examine the length, cover, title, summary - and easily put it back on the shelf or keep it. i hate shopping online bc there's ads, you can't examine the product, nothing really stands out since it's all portrayed similarly, there's limited pictures instead of the physical thing, and photos can lie.

plus, everything is (typically) meticulously sorted by genre & age range. when you go into a section with literature aimed at adults, you'll find exactly that instead of smut novels lmao. real life bookstores can be more accurate than online searches. & there's just something so good about walking through shelves, searching for that one book before you know it exists, smelling the paper... yeah...

[baby-bell-kyrie]

At Tulane University

Kyrie was at university when his brother callum had texted saying he was gonna be with his boyfriend again and won’t be home. The younger sighed, putting his phone away as he headed towards the school library. “I can’t believe my own brother ditched me, now I have nobody” he mumbles as he bumps into someone accidentally causing all the books and papers to fall down. “Oh my gosh I’m so sorry I wasn’t looking”

[ebookporn]

Floods, Fires and Humidity: How Climate Change Affects Book Preservation

As extreme weather events become more common, archivists and conservators are scrambling to protect their collections.

by Emmett Lindner

At Tulane University, 1.5 million books and manuscripts were drenched when Hurricane Katrina swept through Louisiana in 2005. In 2018, the University of California, Los Angeles was in talks to receive a donor’s collection when it was destroyed in the Woolsey fire. And the following year, the Getty fire sent up thick, black plumes of smoke that threatened to filter into U.C.L.A.’s libraries and damage the fragile materials housed inside.

“We were lucky” that day, recalled Chela Metzger, the school’s head of preservation and conservation. Acidic smoke and greasy soot are grave concerns for any conservator, but in this case, the winds held them at bay.

But luck is not a safeguard against the growing threat posed by extreme weather events such as wildfires and floods to book collections, even collections housed in professional facilities. As those events have become more common as a result of climate change, preservationists across the United States know they must adapt their practices to keep books and archives safe. But the solutions can raise their own set of sustainability issues.

Many experts feel they are in a race against time. A 2018 study published in the Climate Risk Management journal assessed 1,232 archival repositories in the United States and found that nearly 99 percent were “likely to be affected by at least one climate risk factor.”

READ MORE

[kaelio]

Of all the fucking reasons to follow Lestat, the way he talks about his mother is not one of the better ones.

Anne Rice Journals - Tulane Special Collections Library, 2017

[hekateinhell]

Wait there is drafts we have of VC books??

How'd we get the Lestat & Louis XV draft?

You would have to go to Tulane University in New Orleans! Their Anne Rice collection contains many drafts/notes/outlines of VC, as while as her personal diaries, and it's all freely accessible in person — you just have to make an appointment in advance!

The unfortunate part is that all of this is on paper only, some it even in her own handwriting (which I needed my friends to translate for me) and nothing else, so it cannot be accessed online.

I did ask the very kind librarian that we coordinated with why all of this can't just be digitized for ease of access, and he said that they simply don't have the resources for a project like that right now — apparently there's 400 boxes of Anne Rice stuff in their collection (but if they let me sleep in the library, I would get the vampire shit done in less than a month free of charge, no joke).

So if you look on the Tulane Special Collections website, this is all that appears in the entry for Lestat and Louis XIV :(

I'm hoping to share more little stuff here and there, but also I want to be careful about possibly violating a copyright. So like I can share some quotes or a pic of a paragraph or a page, but I can't post the whole seven unpublished chapters of a novel. Ideally, I would love to transcribe it and email it to Tulane, and maybe they could share it on their site as a digitized document that anyone can access!

[sallysavestheday]

Explore my bookshelf!

Tagged by @antares0606 thank you very much!

An estimate of how many physical books I own: Somewhere between too many and ∞. They reproduce under cover of darkness, I swear. Every time I box some up to donate I find more on the shelves.

Favorite author: Hard one! In English, in my current mood: Mary Oliver and Annie Dillard.

A popular book I've never read and never intend to read: How to Win Friends and Influence People ;). I'll just keep trying to figure it out on my own, thanks very much Dale Carnegie.

A popular book I thought was just meh: Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. Marginal science AND purple prose.

Longest book I own: The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. One volume; makes an excellent step-stool when my gardening zest wears off.

Longest series I own all the books to: A to Z Mysteries, left over from my children's younger days.

Prettiest book I own: A gorgeous 1933 edition of the Arthur Rackham Fairy Book.

A book or series I wish more people knew about: I'm very fond of nonfiction that was well-regarded but has since lost its audience. Today's recommendation is Beautiful Swimmers, the 1977 Pulitzer winner for nonfiction by William W. Warner. Blue crabs, the Chesapeake Bay, disappearing ways of life on the water.

Book I'm reading now: Just finished another reread of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Still leaking tears...

Book that's been on my TBR list for a while but I still haven't got around to it: Everything Now, by Rosecrans Baldwin. Someday!

Do you have any books in a language other than English: Yes, in Arabic and Italian, for pleasure; in Russian, which I don't read, but which my son is ever hopeful I'll join him in learning, I guess by osmosis; and in a myriad of other non-dominant languages, for work.

Paperback, hardcover, or ebook?: If hardcover, then a library binding, for delightful crinkles and heft. If paperback, an older version that smells well-loved and is just starting to crumble around the edges. Never an ebook. I prefer my own voice in my head.

Tagging anyone who wants in, but in particular @cuarthol @polutrope @eilinelsghost @searchingforserendipity25

[apoptoses]

Happy birthday!! I’m so jealous you got to see the Anne rice stuff at Tulane— I was a student there until recently but I didn’t get into TVC until after I had graduated and moved away!!! I can’t believe I was in the same building as it like. Every day for MONTHS and didn’t even know it. And I was there while they were filming the show toooooo to think I could’ve gone and spied on everything if I had only known 😭😭 but I’m so glad it was seen by the person who can appreciate it best. You are a gift to vampire lovers and Armand girlies, truly.

aw anon!! The tulane stuff is so nice because it's really not gatekept at all, so long as you can go there you can apply and just look at it. And surprisingly a lot of it was just near-final drafts- the iwtv, actual tvl, qotd, body thief, and memnoch stuff was basically just typesetting and final editors checks for spelling and punctuation. Even in her journals Anne left so little about her writing process. It was mostly day to day life stuff with the random one page burst about a wip. TVA and early untitled TVL had, I think, the most 'wip' content of everything I saw.

And according to the library worker there's still a ton of her stuff that was never boxed up and still sits in some part of her estate. (which means queen of the damned early drafts exist if only someone boxes them up and sends them in, which drives me insane, since apparently she drafted armand as the villain in that one. but unless someone packages that up and donates it we just won't know).

But yeah!! It was super cool and I hope you get to go look through some stuff!! And I'm glad you think I deserve it even if I'm not sure I do lol I'm just prolific nerd who never stops thinking about Armand and his loves. Thank you!!! ♥

[tr4umaborn]

i think most canon-adjacent modern threads where louis is not with @spookypyre or @desiredprince (or...both) are set when louis and armand break up so that louis can go off and live a life on his own for the first time as a professor at tulane. he's living in new orleans, has his own home with a garden he likes to tend to that's full of beautiful things he can tend to in the moonlight. he has the best library. he's teaching history because he's lived so much of it. his students think he's so cool because he's got a mysterious air. he eats human more because he's learned the control necessary to eat to fill and wash the wound and the memory away. therefore he spends a lot of time in bars where he picks up men and gives them the orgasm of their life after feeding. it's a pretty good life. it's easy. he's enjoying easy.

[not-sure-what-im-feeling]

A list of things that inspire me:

— The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer. An extremely influential book series to me, as it was what got me into reading and eventually writing. It also sparked my fascination with fairy tales and fantasy.

— The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris. I’ve only read the first two books, but they mean a lot to me. Another one of those things that i read when i was younger and has since left a large mark on me. Probably sparked some of my love for found family lol. And queer representation.

— Nightmares by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller. Les me into some love of all things spooky and horrifying.

— Poetry.

— The Girl with The Ghost Machine by Lauren DeStefano. Oh my gods the *angst* in this book. I found it in the library one day and decided to give it a read. It permanently changed me.

— the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. Understandable due to my fairy tale passion.

— folklore

— Music

— Nature

— You guys 💙

— The Trifecta (Gravity Falls, The Owl House and Amphibia)

— Floriography

— The Miraculous Story of Edward Tulane by Kate Dicamello. Read this in grade two for our class’s novel study, and uh… You know, it’s okay for a seven year old to cry in the middle of reading a book with their class. That was something i did. I’m fine (genuine)

— The Night Gardener by Johnathan Auxier. Read it for a novel study also. I had actually read it before, though (only by a few weeks) and had a lovely interaction with my teacher when i saw it on the wall and went “oh my gosh, The Night Gardener? I read that book! It was great!” And she had a moment of. Shock. Anyway it was fine i just couldn’t make predictions.

— fan fiction

— fan art

— Percy Jackson

— Kipo and The Age of Wonderbeasts

— Avatar the Last Airbender

— a Series of Unfortunate Events

— and certainly more…

[my-own-walker]

Someone You've Never Seen Before

A Kyle Spencer Fan Fiction

frat!kyle AU, fem!main character, sexual themes, mature language, use of drugs and alcohol, frat boy antics

2.

I admit that there was an unfair, silent bias within me against frat guys. But, who could blame me? Their reputations preceded them. They always wore frat-branded clothes. They traveled in packs. They spoke and acted like idiots. They tended to be racist, homophobic, misogynistic, or some combination of all three. 

My first interaction with a frat guy during my freshman year at Tulane affirmed everything I had seen about them in the media. It was the first party Lily ever dragged me to. I wore my New England uniform; a sweater, docs, and loose-fitting jeans. 

Not even an hour into my time at Sig Chi, I heard a loud voice shout: "Yo! Who invited the lesbo?" right next to me. I turned in the direction of the voice and saw a Kappa Alpha brother staring right at me, laughing at my expense.

"Seriously?" I challenged him.

"Come on, Hannah," Lily spoke lowly into my ear, grabbing my hand to pull me away from the guy.

"Aw, the lesbian got mad at me!" the guy shouted. His comment was met with a cacophony of male laughter. Likely his Kappa Alpha brothers encouraging his bad behavior. 

From then on, I was wary of these males. I stayed clear of them, even at parties. I felt no remorse for stealing their alcohol, getting drunk, and leaving without getting to know a single one. I made sure to dress differently at parties after that, though. I couldn't risk another encounter of that nature.

My avoidance of these frat guys was directly challenged by the seating arrangement in my Calculus class, though. I had no idea that when Kyle Spencer sat next to me on the first day, that my fate would be sealed for the rest of the semester. There was something about Kyle that made me cringe. I knew nothing about him except for his frat status, and his tendency to act stupid.

He was willing to do anything to impress his frat brothers. He had been a human coat rack once at a party. At another, he got so belligerently drunk that he ended up asleep in the fountain outside the library --  2 miles from the party. This was all hearsay. I hadn't been there to witness those stunts, but there was photo evidence. I feared what he would do sitting just inches from me. What if a frat dare caused him to make some sort of mess in class, or ask me out as a joke? I felt funny just being near him. 

His egregious tendency to be late to class didn't help my case, either. By the time he arrived, there would be no other seat available than the one directly next to me. I had no choice but to have an obnoxious frat guy exist within my personal bubble. 

As it turns out, though, Kyle was impressively good at calculus. Like, inhuman. Despite barely paying attention during lectures, he finished the first weekly quiz with ease. I, on the other hand, was nearly the last person to hand in my paper. When we got the results the following Monday, I failed, while Kyle got a 90%. 

I decided it would be in my best interest to cheat on the next quiz by looking at his paper. We had a small quiz every Friday, testing our knowledge of what we had covered that week. The professor chose to do this in lieu of homework assignments. My notes were exhaustive and diligent, but still, I walked in on that Friday with an empty head, somehow having forgotten things I had learned just a day prior. 

Just as I suspected, the quiz got handed out, and I was hopelessly clueless. I didn't cheat often, so I wasn't used to looking inconspicuous. I feigned a stretch and looked over at Kyle's paper, for probably a touch too long. His head snapped in my direction. He let out a laugh and covered his quiz with his hand.

Oh, so we're the perfect little suck-up, are we, Spencer? I thought.

I struggled through the rest of the quiz. Kyle stood to hand his in. He was the first in the whole class. I shot a glare in his direction as he walked back to his seat to grab his bag. We were told we were dismissed as soon as we finished, so he smiled and left. I cursed him out in my thoughts and turned my attention back to my own quiz, which I was surely about to fail. 

I ended up leaving about half of the damn thing blank before time was called.  I slumped back in my seat with a huff and began to pack up my things. Almost the entire class had already filed out so I rushed to get out to get some lunch. I sighed, vowing to get as drunk as possible as soon as I could. I stepped out of the room into the bright daylight of the afternoon. The sun's light on the pavement was nearly blinding. I shaded my eyes with my hand as I walked in the direction of my apartment.

"You gotta be slicker than that," a voice called out behind me, followed by a chuckle. I turned and saw Kyle sitting on the half-wall outside the building with Archie. Both of them stared at me, smiling condescendingly. I spun on my heel and walked away, waiting until I was a good enough distance away to cry. I didn't want them to know they had gotten a rise out of me. 

Fuck you, Kyle Spencer, I thought, tears streaming down my face as I turned down my street.

Previous Part | Next Part