#somevagrantchild

Does Lestat take notes on actors playing him in adaptation and inspired works to experiment with others in real life? For example, Tom's artful kicking of the coffin box, Somerhalder's (Damon Salvatore) artful neck-breaking, and Pattinson's MTV award-winning fighting style.

This is a tough one! I waited a long time and I still don't have an elegant answer.

I think, overall, Yes, Lestat enjoys vampire media and is inspired to try certain things he sees fictional vampires doing. I'm a picky eater about my vampire media, so I don't have enough of a database to get specific*. I really enjoyed 30 Days of Night (Josh Hartnett's character infecting himself with vampirism to gain the powers to defend his human companions?? And then choosing to die in the sunrise in the arms of his ex?? Yes??) and I'm sure Lestat would think of the 30DoN vampires as more like sharks than vampires, not creatures he would want to emulate, but I think he'd love the authenticity of Only Lovers Left Alive, and Let the Right One In. I could see him holding back tears watching those two films, relating too much, thinking about Claudia and Nicki 😭

[^X by @horroredits] I bet Lestat thoroughly enjoys vampires that share some of his qualities like Colin Farrell as Jerry Dandridge in Fright Night (2011). Even if they get killed in the movie 😅

When it comes to vampires playing Lestat specifically, I'd think he feeds on the attention as it makes him feel relevant he's deeply flattered by having anyone portray him at all - all the way down to the cosplayers at the NOLA ball and online! There was definitely fic about Lestat being drawn to actors who have played him. But on the surface, he critiques all of them as inadequate because ultimately, there's only One True Vampire Lestat 😎

*Tagging in @gothiccharmschool, @wicked-felina, @hekateinhell, @covenofthearticulate, @monstersinthecosmos, @desertfangs, @nightislandnoveltymug, @annabellioncourt, @vampire-scripture, @cloudsinvenice, and @somevagrantchild for their more specific thoughts!

~~~

Bonus:

Anne Rice had posted her thoughts on this from time to time, here's one I found quickly, about Lestat's feelings about vampires in media who feed messily:

[X I don't have the date of her post, probably June, 2014]

Fanart by @devmin-art 💓

And here's a fic by the legendary @gairid/ @vampchronfic that explore Lestat's etiguette guide ideas!

From: @somevagrantchild To: @butchybats  Merry Christmas!! You asked for IWTV era Loustat intimacy and said you would love to see how Lestat might’ve cared for louis after he was made. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/76439361

Summary: It’s Louis’s first Christmas since receiving the dark gift and the last thing he wants to do is get ready to go to a ball with Lestat. What is a party full of people compared to the beauty of the night or the comfort of a book by the fireside? But Lestat has his own reasons for insisting and if he has to dress Louis up like a doll himself, he will.

aka: Louis discovers the power of dressing up for Lestat.

Maybe you enjoy looking at chuch ornaments after all, Lestat. Armand & Lestat for #ArmandShipFest!

Our contribution to the Théatre de Vampires: an IWTV Fanzine.

Costumes: Lestat – @somevagrantchild Louis – @mx-indrik

Excerpts Written Together: UnwillingDevil on AO3 | Let Me Have it All on AO3

to: @somevagrantchild

from: @romencken

Summary:

And although tales from those lucky fans that were in attendance paint the San Francisco show as one for the ages, very few clips of it are currently in circulation— believe us, we’ve tried. These days, The Vampire Lestat exists as a kind of time capsule fever dream, both for those fortunate enough to have witnessed them in their prime and for those of us looking back enviously, wishing that we did. Lestat is an enigma, and tons of us have driven ourselves crazy trying to figure out what the hell he and the band were all about.

Now, forty years on from San Francisco, we’ve managed to round up a select few The Vampire Lestat insiders and enthusiasts alike to give us their take on what made that show, the band as a whole, and Lestat himself, so memorable.

Notes:

this was written as part of the tvc secret santa exchange on tumblr. merry merry christmas to thescorpion - the prompt of yours i immediately felt drawn to was a bunch of people talking about lestat without him actually being there. as someone who fucking loves talking about lestat, i knew this was right up my alley. i hope you enjoy!!!

This was a gift fic I wrote for @elisaintime/ @somevagrantchild / @thescorpion (ao3) in 2022. I reread it today and I think it still holds up as one of my all-time faves 💕

Summary:

Set during the IWTV-era, Armand is pressured to choose between the vampire he has long desired for nearly a hundred years, and the fledgling of that same vampire - alluring in his inquisitive nature and tenderness. Time is running out for Armand to make his choice, while Lestat, who is at his mercy, is being held in a cell in the bowels of the Theatre des Vampires - also desperate to salvage what he can of what he once had.

The ~Happy~ Family

Costumes: Lestat – @somevagrantchild Claudia – @honeyed-bee Louis – @mx-indrik

Thank you for submitting your gift, @somevagrantchild!