painting of St. Sebastian by Guido Reni used for the cover of Violin.* And I know not every dude-w/-his-hands-tied-above-his-head counts as a St. Sebastian reference but still, it’s interesting to consider whether it might be.
“St Sebastian (feast day January 20th)has become something of a gay icon, as saints go. Partly, perhaps, because it’s an opportunity to depict a curly-haired semi-nude youth in light bondage. It has to be said this isn’t how Sebastian died, or how he was originally depicted. Sebastian miraculously survived being shot with arrows and was healed by Irene of Rome. He continued to denounce the emperor Diocletian, who had him clubbed to death in the year 288.
The tendency to depict Sebastian as a handsome youth pierced with arrows began in the 14th Century when Europe was being ravaged by the plague of the Black Death.
See how the two ‘Sebastians’ in the modern version above look entirely unperturbed by the arrows protruding from their torsos?There is a long tradition of Sebastian looking unaffected by his plight: corruption fails to touch him and that made him proof against plague. Sebastian occupied an important place in medieval religion as a protector against plague. He was seen as a saint whose prayers would work.”[X]
*The lighting on the cover may be distorting the colors and contrast of the original painting, and I’m not even sure that’s the original painting, got that from here [X]… but these changes seem obvious:
changed the trees in the BG,
blended the nips in a little more by changing their color,
rounded his face somewhat (tho, that O could be just making it look rounder)
moved the armpit arrow,
added a tummy arrow,
changed the angle of Left Ribcage Arrow a little bit,
lengthened his hair a little,
reduced the shadows in the Adonis muscle area, too sexy?
That’s a good one for Armand, too! Yeah, he seems preternaturally chill considering he’s riddled with arrows…how does he not feel them??! (I mean yes he’s an illustration but still)
Sandro Botticelli: Saint Sebastian, 1474.
With his martyrdom in progress, the young saint fixes the viewer with a firm, serene gaze. The facial expression, conveying belief in victory over Death, underscores the trust placed at the time in Saint Sebastian that he would protect people from the Bubonic plague.
There are many depictions of this subject, apparently! I really like Reni’s here.
Guido Reni’s Saint Sebastian, “probably one of the most famous, probably because the martyr’s placid expression conveys the idea that he’s already halfway in Heaven. [X] This looks more angelic to me, more like my headcanon of Armand. BTW, who shoots a guy in the armpit?? Gross. RUDE. Gross and rude.
^And I knew that looked familiar, the Reni version was used for the cover of Violin! Which I didn’t read… but I should, right?
^[X] Similarly, here’s one by Andrea Mantegna. Who shoots a guy in the head like this??? Like, at first I thought it was one arrow going thru his face, but there are two arrows there, a forehead arrow and an under-the-chin arrow, it’s just awkward, gross, and rude.
^[X] Sculpture of Saint Sebastian by Antonio Giorgetti (1672). One of my faaaave fanfic writers used this re: their Lestat, and I hope they write more, as they’ve said they are trying to! But anyway, this reminds me of when Lestat was in a coma ;A;
There’s a painting that looks like this and they used it for the cover of Blood & Gold and I know I’m going to have to post about that.
Full shot of Botticelli’s St. Seb under the cut, cut for length.
^He doesn’t look like he’s in any pain at all, really. More like he’s really proud of himself. Very Armand. #CONCEAL DONT FEEL.
I’m not sure if this is as debatable of a topic as she claims it is, but I thought this was interesting for those who have read, or are reading, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis. @i-want-my-iwtv
I don’t really need to cut this or do a spoiler alert, since AR is now telling us this isn’t the definitive answer for what Memnoch is, but I’ll do a cut just in case.
From PLROA, Lestat’s POV:
^I didn’t know this was even a debate, but Magnus says this pretty definitively, he even claims to have escaped Memnoch’s realm. So… should be interesting to see what AR does with Memnoch. I almost feel like she’s hanging onto him to spite everyone who gave Memnoch the Devil bad reviews way back when, but for whatever reason, I think she may be setting him up as a major player in the next book: (Is this Kapetria narrating? I think so…)
The start of our new (and small, we plan on doing 8 at most) series of lost chapters for our Signature Blend collab 😉 by yours truly and @wicked-felina (Rebness).
Oh gawdz well, this is the best I can do w/o such an idea and I spent ages on it so I hope you like it!!! There was more than one Tom Cruise in Oblivion, but I’d love a movie where he plays an entire cast.
Tom as Lestat and as Daniel: this actually works pretty well…
Claudia: This actually is surprisingly cute and kinda terrifying, imagine that little guy chasing you down in the middle of the night and then that one big fang plunging into your neck!
Akasha: this one is a little too real… IS THIS WHAT THEY’RE PLANNING?
as Lestat and Louis: do you know how hard it is to find a decent size gif of Tom Cruise crying? It’s hard. So have this again.
Armand: hey don’t look at me like that, at least the hair color is closer to canon than Antonio!Armand. The outfit works, too.
Tom as Khayman when Akasha is attacking: (tbh this gif of Tom getting thrown against a car will always make me happy, sorry Tom, idk why, schadenfreude probably)
♛Did he break your heart? I assume you didn’t break his and are asking about putting him out of his misery, but if you did break his heart physically beyond repair, by all means finish the job. It won’t cure him, but it will make him dead. I prefer not to extend physical suffering in my victims unless they’re truly evil and I’m really offended… or really bored that night.
It’s terrible when we trust people with our hearts and they fail us so badly. It’s happened to me. And I’ve broken hearts, too. Love is truly a battlefield, but it’s worth the fight.
Be glad he did it now rather than string you along for any longer, wasting more of your precious time. There are worse punishments than death, and ignoring him, just cutting him right out of your life, should be a living punishment for him. You’re not his plaything to break when he feels like it.
You’re free. Pick up the pieces and mend them yourself, don’t rush into having someone else take his place. You have to love yourself before you can love anyone else. At least, that’s how it’s been for me. I still don’t have that first part down completely, but I break all the rules, even my own…
Cure for a broken heart – what they call “self-care” these days, which is specific to each person, do whatever gives you life again, and confidence in yourself.
I wish you the best, but as you know, this could happen again. Emotionally, hearts can break and heal, over and over again, I know from experience. It’s a durable little thing! The love I’ve shared with others has been worth the heartbreak. If it’s worth it to you, don’t be afraid to put your heart out there again, when you’re ready *hugs*
I-want-my-IWTV 