Tag Archives: Lestat de Lioncourt

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FQL: Social Justice Edition

Lestat here. I want to answer this question from Mike Chandler: “Lestat, my question is simple. What would you do to fix the world?” —- Mike, I would not do anything because I don’t believe the world is “broken” or in need of fixing. I am aware of the age old belief of many that this is a “fallen” or “broken” world, but I’ve never accepted those ideas. At the present time, more than ever, I’m convinced the world is evolving. There never was any Golden Age or Garden of Eden. We are all evolving, physically and morally as the universe unfolds according to discernible scientific laws. And I’m fascinated by the process. As I explained earlier in another answer, I am by nature optimistic and confident, convinced that we can do much to make this world better for us and others. We vampires face essentially the same challenge as humans: how do we live with our own fallibility, our own greed, our own ruthlessness, yet co-exist with other creatures? That’s why just about every vampire story is essentially a human story. We acknowledge the same dilemma.

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FQL:

Lestat here. I want to answer Scott Hunsucker: “Lestat, I would like to know how you feel about music. You’ve been around long enough to hear some of the greats play and sing. Do you have a personal preference for a certain genre or style of music. If so, does the music move you, does it take you back or evoke memories of your past as it does with some of us mortals?” Scott, I love music. I have to be careful with it; music intoxicates me; I can become completely taken over by music, to where I don’t want to do much else but listen to it. It’s like a powerful drug. I love music of all periods, especially my own century — Mozart in particular. And some French composers who were earlier favorites at the French Royal Court. Vivaldi energizes me, as do many of the Italians. But I can be overpowered easily by Beethoven and Brahms, and 19th century opera as well. Verdi and Puccini and Saint Saens especially delight me. Of course I am enchanted by popular music of all kinds — Jim Morrison, Tina Turner, Bon Jovi, Joan Jett. I find myself highly susceptible to the most emotional and intense music. But I can be hypnotized by the gentle melodies of Eric Satie or Chopin as well. I am consumed from time to time with the desire to make music, to sneak off to some little tavern in the French Quarter of New Orleans and take to the stage with an electric guitar. I do this from time to time, actually. Though not as much as I would like. Thanks for the question. There are many more composers and performers I could name, but you get the idea. —– Now, if anyone has a new question for me, by all means post it in this thread.

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FQL:

Lestat here. I want to answer this question from Amanda Rice: Lestat, is it hard for you to watch humankind tear each other apart over social issues such as marriage equality or freedom of religion? After living so long, I am sure you realize that most of the fighting between us mortals is absurd and pointless, but I am curious to know what you make of all of it? Do you think humans will ever learn to do better?—- Amanda, you’re assuming we vampires, due to our long lives, are somehow emotionally and morally superior to humans and wiser than humans. I’m not so sure that we are. We are after all monsters with human brains and human hearts. We engage in a lot of struggle ourselves that is “absurd and pointless.” —- Actually when I witness humans struggling over social issues and religion, I marvel at their courage and stamina and determination to live meaningful, fruitful and compassionate lives. I marvel at their patience as they struggle to persuade others through reason and reasonable argument, rather than violence. And yes, over the centuries, humans, in my opinion, are certainly doing “better.” They are making great progress, particularly in the West, towards maintaining a secular humanist society in which no blood is shed over race, color, or creed. This is historically remarkable. I can understand your frustration, Amanda. But history, as I’ve lived it, supports a steady advance in human rights in the West that is not only inspiring, but beyond the wildest dreams of those born when I was born. Thanks for a marvelous question.

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The longest answer to a Fan Question for Lestat yet omg, of course bc it’s about FASHION, gdi Lestat.

Lestat here. Answering yet another question, this one from Sandra Evans Johnson: “Lestat how to you feel about clothing from the past as apposed to clothing from today?” Great question, Sandra, because I am mad for clothing and always have been. As you know I was born into a world of ornate and flaring frock coats, breeches and high heeled slippers, silks, satins, embroidery and the like, and stunning lace trimmed shirts with magnificent sleeves. It was an era in which well-to-do Parisian men wore as much powder and paint as any woman, along with powdered wigs and ribbons and jewels. And I loved it. But I grew up loving it with bitterness, longing, and desperate greed — as all of this high fashion belonged to the moneyed classes, and my family was penniless, rural, and threadbare. In sum, ever since experiencing the first flush of wealth, I’ve cared too much about being well dressed, gone to embarrassing lengths to obtain the most alluring fabrics and the most seductive designs, and spent entirely too much time admiring myself in mirrors. For long periods I have tried to make do with plainer clothes, especially when the times so decreed, but inevitably, both in despair and in joy, I return to baroque and extravagant fashions. I am too comforted by admiring glances. I enjoy too much entering a theater or opera house or public square and creating something of a sensation. And it delights me no end that in these nights of the Twenty-first century, I can dress almost as elaborately as I did in the 1700’s and people accept this. I appear to be eccentric but never mad. I adore close fitting small waisted and flaring coats, slim fitting pants, velvet, satin, glorious tweeds, leather and glimmering synthetics, finely woven shirts with heaps of delicate lace, pearl and cameo buttons, and the finest handmade boots I can procure. I glory in my thick and long blond hair which is part of the “costume.” And I can’t get enough of jeweled rings, fine gold watches, and dazzling cufflinks. I’m shameless with all this. It’s beautiful to me. I want to be beautiful. I’m fascinated by others who see dress and costume in the same way. I discard and abandon clothes all over the world simply because I want new clothes. And I go for the modern designers who most effectively capture the “frock coat” look, such as Ralph Lauren. But I also delight in exquisitely made double breasted blazers from Brooks Brothers, such superb work, and now and then I go for the Italian designers….but it’s always for well constructed clothes. The loose, formless, easy fashions so popular now are for other men. T shirts and bill caps? Never. Thanks for the question and I am personally ashamed that this is one of the longest answers I’ve ever given here.

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Another Fan Question for Lestat answered:

Lestat here. This question is from Federica DarkMoon: “Lestat, would you be give the Dark Gift to someone is ugly, but with a powerful attitude and a brilliant brain, and who loves the same kind of music, look and art you love?” Absolutely, I would, Federica. In theory and in principle and in fact, I would. But it is a fact of the Undead world — to be respected — that vampires give the Dark Gift to those whom they feel are physically as well as mentally and spiritual attractive. But could such a person be physically ugly? Yes. Could the person be old? Yes. Could the person be plain? Yes. Could the person be disfigured? Yes. What matters more than anything is the spirit infusing the person, and for me that would and should involve the person’s curiosity, intensity, love and respect for all life, and desire for knowledge. What matters to me more than anything in selecting candidates for the Dark Gift is whether or not I love them, or think that I will grow to love them, whether or not I desperately want them to share eternity with me, and whether or not they engage me sufficiently that I can count on myself to spend the requisite time with them needed to prepare them for immortality. Of course I’m a creature of wild impulse. I made my beloved child, Claudia, into a vampire just to see what would happen, and hoping that she would help prevent my companion, Louis, from leaving me. And to be quite candid about that, I had no idea Claudia would be so exquisite once transformed or so interesting. She was after all a tiny, malnourished creature, covered in dirt and rags, and on the brink of death. —- Does this cover it? I hope so.

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FQL re: Memnoch the Devil:

Lestat here. I want to answer this question from Cassandra Porter: “You’ve said that you’re absolutely sure that Memnoch is not the Devil. What do you think he is? An Amel type spirit that conjured up imagery that was familiar to you in order to toy with you?” — Yes, Cassandra, that is exactly what I think Memnoch is — a discarnate entity, like Amel in origin — who can conjure, spellbind, deceive. And I fear and distrust such spirits mightily. I think they wreak havoc with human beings and have throughout history — pretending to be deities, spirit “guides,” familiars, fairies, demons, gods answering prayers, guardian angels, oracular voices, and so forth. I think they can possess people; and mislead people. I don’t fully understand them, where they come from, or what they want. I have no idea how many of them there are. But I fear them and I don’t like them. I do not think they are of necessity “evil,” or “good.” And I’m not sure they know whether or not they’re “evil” or “good.” I’m not even sure they know who or what they are. But I think they make trouble. Understand, I don’t rule out that there may also be actual gods and angels. But I fear that much of the activity we attribute to such beings may be the deceitful and playful work of spirits. Maybe in time we’ll know more about them — whether they’ve always been bound in some way to our world, whether they come from another world, whether they have any connection with anything beyond this world. For now, I’m leery of them and the harm they can do. I have a great reverence and respect and love for the material world in which we live, and for what we learn as flesh and blood creatures. I fear anything purely discarnate. —– Thanks for that question. —– If any of you have questions for me to answer tomorrow, by all means post them here.

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FQL:

Lestat here. I want to answer a question from Areona May: “Lestat, when you laid unmoving on the chapel floor all those years, why was it only Armand who was allowed to approach you? to touch you? What was it about him that was so special to your heart? —– Areona, I’m not quite ready to discuss in depth what was happening during my ‘comatose’ years on the chapel floor in New Orleans, but I can tell you I was conscious all the while, and aware of what was happening around me. In general, I was essentially recovering from my great journey to "Heaven and Hell” with Memnoch, seeking to make sense of what had been “revealed” to me and what it meant, and whether or not any of it could be trusted. You could say I was roaming on another plane of existence. Some time in the future, I might be able to say more about it. I controlled who approached me and who didn’t. And I did allow Armand to come close for a specific reason. He had a deep anguished need to know whether Memnoch had been a truthful spirit or a lying spirit, whether my visions with Memnoch had been true glimpses of the Divine or delusion. His pain shone bright, brighter than the pain of anyone near me. And so I honored Armand’s intentions. You could say that Armand respected what happened to me with Memnoch more than any of my other immortal comrades. I love Armand deeply. My view of Armand has evolved over time. The less I fear him, the more I love him. And the more I suffer, the more I come to understand Armand’s suffering. I have never doubted Armand’s love for me. We are kith and kin, Armand and me. Areona, thanks for the question. —– I will return later to this page to answer another question and at that time, you all can leave more questions for me.

[fanart by garama]

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FQL of recent answerage:

Lestat here. Deb Chowning Thomas asks: “Lestat, i would love to meet your mother. Do you ever see her? I would love to hear of her adventures.” Trust me, Deb. You do not want to meet my mother. Meeting my mother is one of those ideas that sounds good, but isn’t. My mother isn’t calculatedly cruel but she is almost entirely indifferent to human beings, and even those immortals around her. And you’ll likely never hear a story of her adventures, but she will never take the trouble to tell such a tale, even to herself, let alone anyone else. I do love my mother and I do see her often of late, but I could never call it deeply satisfying or even a pleasure. Sentient and articulate beings bore my mother. She is truly more interested in the physical world, and the animal world than she is in human personality or art or culture. But who knows? Maybe I’m wrong about my mother. Maybe she does have some great story to tell about a love, a tragedy, a triumph or what mortals call “a learning experience.” But I see no indication of it. Let’s put it this way, she seems consistently annoyed when I’m around her, and eager to slip away. That’s the dominant theme with her. And that’s how she’s been since her first nights as an immortal. But maybe I need her too much to really understand her. Good question, Deb. Thanks. But if you do ever encounter my mother, run. I doubt she’s ever bothered to stalk or chase or hunt down an unwilling victim. Just doesn’t interest her.

viaticumforthemarquise, thoughts?

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Another FQL answered:

Lestat here. Answering two questions here. —- This question came from Anna Newbern: “Dear Lestat, if you could be reincarnated as any animal, which animal would you choose and why?” Ghastly thought, Anna. I would hate being reincarnated as an animal. I had a hard enough time being a human. But if this had to happen, I would choose to be a male lion. Of course I’d wish for splendid size, mane, and health, and would want to be free on the African plain, and to live a vigorous and murderous life, competing with other males for dominance of mates and hunting territories. —– Here’s the second question, from Aqeel Baksh: “Lestat – Question with all your gifts and time, is there any place you have yet to go to (on earth) that you would like to? and why?” — Truly, I want to see and explore every place on earth, and I have yet to explore India or Pakistan, or Australia and New Zealand, or the Andes Mountains or the world’s many tropical islands. Just have not gotten around to it. But I will in the future. I want to see the physical beauty of these places and all places, want to roam amongst the people, want to feel the air, and view the stars from these many places. —– Thanks for two excellent questions.

HEY liquorandptsdvarietyshow, prep your guest bedroom (or your own bed, hehehe), Lestat wants to visit NZ!