Was watching movie!Queen of the Damned w/ @roselioncourt yesterday and we caught this little thing… Mojo made it into the movie! Different form than in canon, but hey, it counts.
Got through most of the movie and then had to pause it with 30 min left, but you know, each time I watch it there are things that I begrudgingly admit that I really like, ok?? I do. Reblog/comment on this post with love for movie!Queen of the Damned, it’s what Mojo would want ❤
// It was a good day. I’ve got on the polka dots. This is taken before the torture of Queen of the Damned.
You don’t want to see the After picture of me… lol j/k! Like I said, it improves every time I see it, also, we’d just had Ethiopian food and I got to eat with my fingers and gross poor @roselioncourt out, so technically I tortured her first >;}
…And isn’t that what real friendship is about? Being annoying and torturing eachother? Lestat taught me that ❤
Also our makeup game was on point, look at those brows on fleek, oui?
💖💖💖) and was super flattered! Selfies are haaard bc IDK ~Beauty Standards~ and all, so you get a dump of them and probably no more for a long long time:
(1) overly brightened version of me wearing my hoodie up a la Children of Satan style, (2) bathroom selfie bc y’know (btw I made that necklace I’m wearing in top right), (3) a TINY smile, bc St. Patrick’s cathedral is in the bg and classing things up, (4) blue-filtered nonsense in front of another church to look like a frame from an indie movie about whether or not the Manic Pixie Dream girl will accept Loser Dude and the church message is encouraging a yes? IDK. (5) Felt like posing with this model showing her my hand modeling game is better than hers so there, (6) Got a pic with Gaspard Ulliel and NO the fact that he’s 5 times bigger than me won’t be a problem for us we are in LOVE. (7) #45 in fact is a neighbor of mine, not next door thank goodness, but a walkable number of avenue blocks away OH WELL.
Bonus:
Yes that is 100% real plastic diamond I’m wearing.
Tagging ppl who have tagged me in a get-to-know-me-meme recently (I’m flattered that you tagged me, not sure if I’ll answer)(I’m sorry sometimes I get shy and don’t want to #be social #on a social network) or in the past, or just been in my activity feed recently, but please, consider yourself tagged, I’d love to see more of your faces!
No pressure if you are tagged, you can post a selfie or give me 5 things that make you happy. If you’re an RP blog, you can do it in character ;}
You sweet thing, thank u! Since I’m sort of clawing my way back up to the real world from being sick, this was especially good timing ❤
*~5 things that make me happy~*… in no special order…
1. Retail therapy – not necessarily buying anything, sometimes just the hunt is plenty. But of course, if you find that one amazing jacket/dress/top, you gotta buy it, bc when you’re looking for an amazing jacket/dress/top for a specific event, suddenly no one makes good things anymore!!!
2. 80s and 90s music – mostly the hits, one-hit wonders, and also other songs by artists from that time period that didn’t get as much radio play. I think I love it bc it reminds me of when I was riding the bus to/from school, the idea of being in that liminal space, no seatbelts, dappled sunlight, kids chattering around, the smell of the sunshine cooking the green faux-leather seats, being in transit, clutching a book in my hands, and these songs being so optimistic, even when they were angry (Nine Inch Nails) and/or miserable (Smashing Pumpkins). There was always a sparkle of hope that things could be learned from the darkness. Or maybe that was just my own interpretation.
Among which: I love Duncan Sheik, apparently? Good writing music. I had a friend who was obsessed with his music in high school and kept looking for secret messages in the first letters of the track names, and kept trying to get me to listen to his non-hit stuff, and I just… I think I was refusing to do it, just to keep the game of it up with her. That push-pull. I have to reach out to her and admit that I might be as big a fan now as she was then!
3. My oil lamp – I used to buy candles and that gets so expensive and messy, and it’s wasteful, bc I end up unable to burn through all the wax (unless it’s tealights but those burn so fast), and I hate putting so much trash in the landfills. This is much more efficient bc I can have that friendly little flame and the clear kerosene isn’t too expensive. I like the historical feeling of it, and that ppl had to clean the glass just like I’m doing. I like the smell of the kerosene but some ppl don’t like it.
4. Comfy shoes – I used to have giant pumpkin-shaped slippers and I wore them to their destruction… I wear slippers around the house. I have 3 pairs of slippers now! Not slippers but: my fave black leather boots are comfy, too, and they make me feel like a BAMF. I’ll have to take pics. They fit my calf muscles perfectly, like a hug. Which is special bc my calf muscles are pretty big.
5. Short film viewings/art gallery crawls – I like going to gatherings and meeting new ppl, watch short films, see a bunch of art for a few hours. The variety of it all. I like picking out faves, and meeting the artists and asking them about their process and inspiration.
^I think this last one also applies to my role in fandom, I really love encouraging fanartists and writers, even in other fandoms. I’m not rich by any means, but I scrape together money for commissions now and then. Fanworks are the lifeblood of a fandom and I like to add my applause to the mix. Sometimes I feel like the one in the audience who starts the applause, and that’s fine, too!
Does any one else think of the vampire chronicles characters, or any of their favorite characters, perhaps their own, when they are facing something daunting or extremely stressful? Kind of like a fantasy or a daydream, it just keeps you calm so you can get through the moment. If so, can you share some of those instances? I’m just curious if I’m the only one. Sometimes it feels like I am.
Definitely for me! There are times when I imagine certain characters just walking beside me on my way home from a rough day, offering advice or being quietly supportive, maybe giving reassurance telepathically or just by being present, like any close friend can give.
They let me set the pace, and their presence wards off anyone from messing with me, bc they can intimidate with a glare, or just by having that essence of danger they all carry 😉
(I also like to imagine Lestat promising me a night of retail therapy the next time he’s in town!)
Thank you for appreciating that [post is here]! It always feels like I’m going out in front of a firing squad when I say that “creating/consuming dark fiction is not endorsement of it in real life” because people who do conflate those will insist that I’m an x,y,z-apologist. No. That’s incorrect.
ANOTHER WALL OF TEXT™ what is happening to me? I just miss you guys a lot, that’s what 😉
“Why did this person say/do this thing?”
I support the creation and consumption of dark content in media, in fic/art/music/etc. as a means of exploring it, as a means of unpacking it, as a means of trying to figure out where it comes from and how to recognize it. Sometimes it’s not so easy to pick out the “bad guy.” Sometimes the “abuser” seems to be a “good” person. Sometimes the “abuser” is reenacting their own trauma. Finding reasons for a behavior are not excuses for that behavior, but it can help provide answers for those of us who want them.
~Story time~
My grandmother was a tough old lady, what we call a “battle-axe.” She was blunt and tactless, and downright MEAN most of the time. She raised her children through terror and bullying, held grudges for decades, was short-tempered with her in-laws and grandchildren.
She was also very smart in her role as a professor in a college, and had a sweetness to her that very few people in my family experienced bc they were so deterred by her tough exterior. I was one of the few who got close to her, and I wanted to know why she behaved the way she did to others.
Seeing movies like Mommie Dearest, in which Joan Crawford was portrayed as somewhat of battle-axe to everyone in her life, too, I could see similarities between her and my grandmother.
Could my grandmother have had the kind of pressure in her life that Joan did, competing with the misogyny in her career? I thought so.
Both of these women set incredibly high expectations for themselves and others, and then reacted badly if reality didn’t meet their expectations. They were not good at handling disappointment and would take it out on others.
In other media, I would see “only” children worshiped by their parents and then these women were dissatisfied, bitter adults, who would never get that kind of attention again. (Not sure about Joan Crawford, but that was my grandmother’s childhood.)
^What I’m saying is that media (fic/movies/books/music/etc.) gave me insights as to why my grandmother behaved the way she did. It provided reasons for the behavior. I didn’t take these as excuses, but it increased my empathy for her and others I met who were like her. Rather than do as the rest of my family did, by writing her off as “a mean old lady,” I could understand her and navigate my way into a better relationship with her. They missed out on her good parts because of her bruises.
^The first time I saw this graphic, I felt that expression in my soul. These are fictional characters. They are not real.
Writers write them. What is “writing” anyway, but speculative reality? We used to call fanfiction “specs,” short for “speculative fiction.” It’s thoughts. Not all writing is for idealized versions of life and/or wish-fulfillment.
I’ve heard from VC fans who are survivors of child abuse, sexual abuse, etc. who said that VC helped them in some way,
whether it was recognizing that the abuse they suffered really was abuse (and not normal!),
or whether they have since made fanworks with VC characters that helped them explore their own past and examine it from a place of safety,
or in consuming other fanworks, they got some closure on their own experiences in some way and were able to heal or begin to do so,
or just in making friends here that have helped them through difficult times,
I could go on and on… there is enormous value in creating/consuming dark fiction.
Whatever Anne Rice’s agenda is/was in writing the Vampire Chronicles, it doesn’t matter to me, because of how much good I have witnessed that has come from it. If some of her inspiration for certain aspects seems relevant to me, I consider it, but it doesn’t really matter as far as I’m concerned.
It all really boils down to the old adage “Live and Let Live.”
Fave type of witch? Um, are they all clearly defined into categories? I like all of them! All the witches! Fictional and real. In retrospect, I like Merrick Mayfair more and more, but I still wish that book had been written from her POV and that it would have included more actual witchcraft, but oh well, that’s what fanworks are for.
If I was going to be a witch myself, I would want to be a modern witch bc easier access to supplies and community, and I’d wear really loose comfy dresses, and crystal jewelry that all had functional purposes… I’d have some good vintage equipment like a knife with fancy filigree, good durable ankle boots.
AHS: 1st or 2nd season, I used to look forward to and watch episodes with a skype group and chat w/ ppl during the eps, but when that group stopped doing that I sorta lost interest in the series altogether.
I’ve seen bits of AHS since then, but not the coven season, which I should bc it takes place in NOLA. Those witches look like BAMFs for sure. I’ll give it another try, bc we got that great Surprise B*tch line from it 😉
Awww, you are very welcome to all of that! What a lovely message to send me. Notes like these keep this blog alive… and you made my night, I’m cry! ^______^ Come off anon!
I’m honored that ppl ask for my opinions on VC, it gives me the opportunity to dig around and find the information/resources, I have a nearly photographic memory for some of this stuff *laughs*… many asks make me sit back to reflect and remember what it is about this series that keeps me here… I can only speak to my own reasons, but I draw a lot of inspiration from these characters and their stories.
Am I a genuinely sweet and friendly person? I try to be the blogger and the person I want to see in the world, whether online or in the real world. Which means I still make mistakes, but I learn, and try to improve.
My tags! They used to be a lot sillier and I’ve toned them down, but I keep them as organized as I can so that I can find previous answers! It was just for my own organization originally but I’m so glad you appreciate the tags! I plan to have a legit ~Navigation~ page so that major tags are all lined up and easily accessible, so you can go right to, for example, the #VC News tag and see what the latest news is. I don’t reblog everything from the Official VC FB page since so much of it is teasing and fluff, so if I reblogged/posted smtg here, it’s bc I felt like it was ACTUALLY newsworthy, or there was smtg we could talk about specifically.
P.S. And thanks for reminding me, I have to catch up on my tagging, during the last two months I’ve been off-and-on-line, when you see #Tag later it’s bc I was on mobile cruising the dash ;D
Thanks again, Anon. Very sweet of you to say that *hugs*
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