And on the topic of vampire musicals...

[winter]

Lestat is closing this Sunday

With 39 "official" performances, I believe it did even worse than Crawford's version of Dance of the Vampires. Considering Elton John's comments about a new kind of vampire musical with "no garlic, no crosses, absolutely no dancing vampires", I can't help but chuckle a little. Like von Krolock in my icon.

I pity the cast, though. They assembled such a lot of talented people, it's not their fault the music was trite...

Comments

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

Sounds about right. She really wasn't the nicest of young woman.

[winter]

That... explains a lot, actually. I shudder to think what would have happened, had she lived.

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

Makes me appreciate my Elisabeth (or however it was going to be spelled. I'll write it eventually) and the fact she and Johannes were so well suited. The number of times she had to gently tug him out of the library was ridiculous :)

[winter]

Incidentally, it's interesting that we both ended up with Elisabeth-variants as our VK-wifelet names :) Even if they are polar opposites.

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

I'm also amused how different our kidlet Herbie backstories went as well :D Isn't it fun? :D

[winter]

Well, we do have somewhat different VKs and Herberts too ;) Mostly because my VK is more emo with less grr, and my Herbert is... more delicate, I guess, and maybe more monstrous at once, in the end.

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

My VK is grr? Hee! I didn't even notice. *pets the vampie* And more delicate? Seriously? :D I suppose mine was broken into messiness early, so yes, although emotionally, when he shatters... *eyes the piano and sighs*

[winter]

Well, he does go feral occasionally ;) My VK, not so much. He's more about the pride, and going feral Is Undignified. Hubris is his defining characteristic - from the way he thought he could cheat death, then cheat vampirism, then raise Herbert to be normal despite being a monster...

And my Herbert's broken into messiness early too, but he doesn't build quite that emotional shell. It's who he is - that dancing-with-the-devil mentality, let the bad times roll and to hell with everything else. He would be quite puzzled if anyone started looking for his hidden depths.

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

*pets VK* He claims that is entirely not his fault. There are some aspects of his nature which are just beyond his control. (Personally, I blame Barton and that clawing, crawling, screaming-with-rage creature in one of the Unstillbare videos...)

And Herbert... oh, Herbert. Why did he have to go and stop being my resident puddle? It was so much easier on my fragile little heart that way.

[winter]

My VK breaks occasionally, and can be poisonous, but it takes a hell of a lot to get him to let go. Later on, when the darkness draws him in and the shadows obey his will, it gets easier, but it's still a cold and proud fury that he wields. (Not much of an explanation, you'll have to come and see Dziedzic writhing on the floor at the end of Tanzsaal to get it :P)

I think the main difference is that your Herbert is aware of his hidden depths, though he'd prefer not to have any. Mine's a creature of instinct, very puzzled as to what other people see in his personality (as opposed to his stunning looks). Quietly, he thinks everyone from dad to Lucifer must be a little touched in the head.

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

*pokes VK* Silly feral vampie on this end. And oh, he gets cranky at me calling him that :D And I really, really want to find a good profile shot of Barton as Krolock, because oh, he was a beautiful man. (HEE! 3 weeks!)

A lot of this comes from Herbert being so very loved and raised to be loved so passionately. Dad gave everything for the boy - everything he did was for Herbert, right up to being turned. Though dad didn't realise, those early childhood losses of his have stuck with him so fiercely, because the people he lost were those who loved him dearly. He'd definitely prefer to be just pretty, witty and gay, but some things can't be helped.

(And seriously, it was meant to be a one shot for fun! GAH!)

[winter]

3 weeks yay :D

I think one of the differences is that your Herbert retained the capacity for simple, innocent love. Mine, only for dad. The rest of the world is very unlucky when Herbert decides he loves them.

(So was Todesglocken. Dammit.)

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

Retained the capacity for it, but spent 4 centuries pushing it away, because he was terrified of what it could do to him. Oh, I hart him so.

(*g* On the plus side, together we've created the biggest Tanz fics in the history of ever and will soon be able to aim for world domination :D)

[winter]

I'm wondering whether my Herbert could ever have anyone longterm, apart from the symbiotic relationship with dad. And I'm really, really drawing a blank.

(We need to get that site up once I'm done with thesis :) Then we'll be BNFs by definition!)

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

No way. No way at all. Unless he kept them in chains so they couldn't run away.

(HEE! We can play with designs and stuff while I'm over :D I could even paint for it, if you want :D)

[winter]

I wrote that and realised there's still Alfred. But gah, my Alfred grows so much, so fast - Bangkok, when Herbert sees it clearly for the first time, may be the one time Herbert's heart is broken the way VK's usually is.

(And hey, we can break out Mother's artsy supplies :D Maybe that'll finally start her painting at home - I bought her acrylics and pastels for Christmas and she still hasn't had the inclination to open them.)

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

So he's Herbert's long-term love affair, but Herbert will never be his, because he's always the same and Alfred changes so.

(*g* You know, I fear the mess I could make now :D I suspect I'll be bringing my prismas with me anyway, because I love them to bits :))

[winter]

Precisely :) He also loves Draculea, but that's an even more complicated affair.

(Yay! Artsy things are fun :D)

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

Makes me glad that Draculea wasn't around long enough for Herbert to be completely smitten with him. Plus, while he does fanboy him like a fiend, there's a big part of him that hates him for what he puts dad through.

[winter]

Btw, why wasn't he around?

My Herbert's mostly grateful for the chance to live - since the vampire thing had no part in his death (other than general influence on his personality), he knows that without it all he'd be rotting six feet under, with VK in an asylum somewhere, driven mad by his visions. VK's doing the hating for both of them, I think ;)

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

He was off doing Order-overlord-type-stuff, which meant he wasn't around as much as he could have been. He's still around a lot more than VK would like him to be, but some things, you have to suffer for the cause.

Mine too, but it doesn't mean he won't dislike some aspects of the way Draculea handled his dad. He hates anyone hurting his old man, even when he's small, so there's always going to be that grudge there, because he realises he was the bargaining chip. That's why he's so willing to risk his neck to help dad get his own back and take out some of Draculea's less-loyal-but-very-useful minions. Not much of a blow to strike, but its something.

[winter]

Same as mine, then. And I assume you're also going with opium as his downfall? ;)

*nods* That makes sense. For my Herbert, the vampire thing is just so natural, except for one moment (his attack on Draculea), he's never, ever scared of it as a concept. He's quietly assertive and doesn't let himself be ordered around too much (I really need to write that last scene for the debut fic), but on the whole, Draculea and his quest gives both him and VK a purpose in life.

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

It's probably the easiest way to go for him. Especially after seeing the Dracula that showed up in Buffy-verse (and Spike's still grumbling that "the bugger owes me 12 quid").

I think that's the big difference - my Herbert still remembers a time when dad used to take him out by daylight. He used to get lifted up in front of dad on the horse and get taken for rides across their land and he loved it. Dad was so often busy with research and work, but on nice days, he would always make time for his boy.

[winter]

I need to watch that episode in full sometime ~_~

Yes, those memories of human happiness would make a great difference. My Herbert doesn't remember his childhood pre-vampires, but if he did it would be VK clinging to him whenever the visions assailed him, Izabela's weekly brusque visits, and how quiet the castle was every time Johannes and Izabela clashed. I think this unhappiness is the reason both my boys are much happier than yours about being vampires ;)

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

Oh, Herbert would like to make it known that he loves being a vampire. He just misses lying in the sun and kissing his lover's freckles. And this tells me he had a lover who wasn't Draculea pre-turning, but he's being coy about it. He has his little weakness and fond memories.

Plus, I think my VK was older when he was turned, wasn't he? Or that depends on which VK you're writing. Roses-wise, he was younger than my Vienna!Krolock, I think...