♛Well there is the obvious issue with his… arson at the end of the 18th century, that was more than a little embarrassing for me. *heavy sigh*
[X] And it never seemed to embarrass him in the slightest, which is even more infuriating.
Currently, he embarrasses me with his fashion sense, or lack thereof. How can I take him anywhere when I’m in a D&G suit and he’s in threadbare jeans and a thick sweater? In the summer!
♛Oh yes, definitely! It’s quite beautiful, the glaciers, the animals you see there, and the excellent sledding, of course.
[X]
♛Darling, you are good enough *embraces gently* Do we criticize a rose as it begins to bloom? No! You are a work in progress. Do not give others your permission to drag you down or crush your spirit, if that’s what they’re really doing. I’ve been there, I can recog
Of course, sometimes, that’s not what they’re doing. They might actually have something valuable to offer, but when there are so many voices, or it’s the heat of the moment, it feels so unbearably stifling. I know.
Failure is a part of life. I fail more than I succeed, even in things I’ve put an incredible amount of effort into. Some things can’t be achieved on effort alone, some can’t be achieved at all. Some require different tactics. Each failure is a chance to lay it all out and strategize, whether to keep aiming for that goal, and if so, what steps might better achieve it. Perhaps advice from others is needed, perhaps not.
Whether these people in your life are right or wrong, I’ve always found nourishment of spirit in inspiration. Seek out that which inspires you and consume it, let it nourish you in the face of negativity. Is it music? Art? Fashion? An indulgent bubble bath with candles and a good book? Do it.
As for your beauty:
“How to describe what humans look like to us! … you can’t imagine what it’s like for us to look on living flesh. There are those billions of colors and tiny configurations of movement, yes, that make up a living creature on whom we concentrate.
But the radiance mingles totally with the carnal scent. Beautiful, that’s what any human being is to us, if we stop to consider it, even the old and the diseased, the downtrodden that one doesn’t really “see” in the street. They are all like that, like flowers ever in the process of opening, butterflies ever unfolding out of the cocoon.” (TVL)
You are in my thoughts, anon, and I hope you found some strength in my words. If anyone finds you less than beautiful, that is their own limited view of beauty.
//ooc; As introspective as he can be, I don’t think Lestat is necessarily the best at giving advice on this subject, and then, my own headcanon of him will vary from other Lestats. My Lestat doesn’t like to get down deeply into emotional details (which is why he didn’t address your specific examples, which I will address in an ooc post). Other Lestats are welcome to add to this, but you might want to ask them separately, too.
Also, I’m just another blogger sharing my own experience, and I wouldn’t want to mislead you, I don’t know your situation and I am not trained in life coaching. If you are having real issues, please seek a professional, a guidance counselor or therapist, etc.
♛You may say so. He has no idea how delicious he is. No matter how many times he’s told. Probably for the best.
He’s actually very sensitive about being objectified like this, so I try to keep my appreciation of him to my physical expression of love, when he invites it, rather than verbal praise *winks*
(//ooc: I doubt that that could have happened, but I’m going to indulge anon bc I know who they are and I know their intentions are good, they just want a little fluff so here it is 😉 )
♛In a perfect world, ma petite, Louis would have returned to New Orleans with me, and I would have opened all the floodgates, given him everything, I would have told him everything he ever wanted to know. I know now that he was strong enough for it then. I was also in terrible physical and emotional shape at the time, and knowing him the way I do now, I know he would have helped me to heal in every way he could. This kind of open communication and support would have brought us closer together at a time when we were both wounded and needed it so badly.
And then of course I would have done my best to romance him from the beginning, better than I’d done before.
♛Trinity Gate. Whatever goes on there, they can only ever have the palest shadow of the love we shared at Rue Royale. The two are hardly comparable.
♛Ah, the creative blocks! They happen to us all. When I lose musical inspiration, I turn to listening to – or doing my own – variations on existing works.
I might try a song and sing it in another singer’s style. Have you ever heard of Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine? Lounge applied to any other song, preferably one in a very different genre, is almost a guarantee of comic relief, and that can be the first crack in breaking through my creative block.
Collaboration with others can help, too. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been creatively stifled, I’ll call my mortal band to meet at a karaoke place and we’ll just go through our favorites, works very well.
But there are going to be times in your life where the muse won’t speak to you for no apparent reason, and other times when you can’t shut her up, ebbs and flows are normal. I hope your muse returns to you, post-haste *winks*
[//ooc; If you are in fact deathly ill, please seek medical attention! This is just a fandom blog.]
♛Serious viral illness is one thing I definitely do not miss about being human. Although, the remedies for these, many of them didn’t exist in my time. Humidifiers! Detox baths! Electrolyte drinks in every color of the rainbow! Medications! We had bone broth and soup, herbal teas.
Art has long been a cure for many kinds of ailments, even if it only serves to provide mental pain relief. Advice on improving your art? Do what you love, explore it with an open mind, don’t criticize your progress too harshly. And share your drawings of us *smiles* Art has healing properties for those who view it, as well *winks*
You asked about hot blood, well, human blood is naturally the same as normal human body temperature at about 98.6°
Fahrenheit, which happens to be a perfectly palatable temperature for vampires. I think we sense it as hotter than that, since
mortals tend to enjoy coffee between 120°-140° Fahrenheit.
A little internet research tells me that:
I’ve never boiled blood or experimented with it to taste, but @roselioncourt certainly has been intrigued by working with blood in the kitchen. Any thoughts on this, ma cocotte? I bought her a cute little chef hat and apron, matching, of course.
♛Darling, I would jump at the chance to be mortal with Louis for even one day. When I first met him, I wanted so badly to at least draw out the time I could spend with him as a mortal, but that simply wasn’t possible.
There are many things we sacrifice when we become what we are and I’d be content to just lay out in the sunshine with him in some grassy and flowery field in the middle of nowhere with a picnic basket and a few chilled bottles of French white wine (I love soda, but it makes me burp, and that could put a real damper on the mood), plucking dandelions to make a chain… eventually he’d complain that it’s too bright and that he’s getting a sunburn. We’d find some shade under a tree and drink in the softer dappled light with our whole bodies. And then… who knows what we might be inspired to do together? *winks*
Louis answered this question, and I’ll consider his answers.
“Sunrise/sunset: Too obvious? Oh well. It’s the truth. I’d witness it, and feel that unique pleasure of sunlight climbing up my bare skin, that warmth spreading, not as a warning, but a loving embrace. That same feeling in reverse, as it slipped away at the end of the day.”
He fails to consider sunburn, but I’d slather him well with sunscreen. Oh yes. Slather him very well.
“Swim in the ocean, somewhere tropical, perhaps, and feel the tickle of the fish around my body. Maybe take one of those aqueous cameras to capture the composition of the scenery myself, as a memento. I don’t imagine wearing any cumbersome swimwear in this scenario. Maybe just diving equipment (Lestat and I are excellent divers).”
Sure. I’m with him on this. Creatures in the Octopus’s Savage Garden! Sea anemones, forests of coral… I’d also want to go looking for those smaller sharks that don’t have much interest nibbling on humans but are beautiful and dangerous to look at. Or dolphins! Dolphins speckled with webs of sunlight…
“Food and drink: it could be a gastronomic adventure. I was never what you call a “foodie” now, but I have some dishes that I would love to experience again. Crêpe Suzette, for breakfast. Fruits, apple juice, coffee. Black coffee, café au lait, jasmine green tea. Beignets from the Cafe du Monde. Gumbo (with alligator). Crawfish étouffée.”
I’m with Louis on all of this. Sounds delish. And then watch him have a stomach ache from too much indulgence! I’ll hold his hair back when he’s tossing his cookies, as they say. Poor Louis.
“Other drink: I wouldn’t want to become so drenched in liquor that it would limit my experience, so I would opt for a few classic mixed drinks, rather than my previous mortal fare of anything in large quantities. A few glasses of St. Germain 75. Or Mezcal. Perhaps something I never got to try as a mortal, Aszú Tokay. I’ve been told it’s very syrupy, but it may go well with vanilla ice cream.”
I’d carefully drench him in liquor in the evening, he is a lovable drunk.
“- Dancing
– Go listen to a string quartet or trio in a garden.
– Ride through my old plantation on horseback.”
That’s all fine by me.
♛I love Aerosmith. Just Push Play is an excellent album. The title song in particular is a guaranteed spirit-booster for me:
Other notable songs: Sunshine, Light Inside, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Avant Garden, Under My Skin… and the obvious ones: Dream On, Janie’s Got a Gun, Livin’ on the Edge, Dude Looks Like a Lady (which will forever be linked to Mrs. Doubtfire for me), I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing (I hum this at Louis sometimes as he’s drifting off to sleep *blows kiss*).
I read somewhere that Aerosmith tests each song by recording it to cassette or CD and then piling into a car together and blasting it out of the speakers. If it sounds good there, the song is done. If not? Back to the studio! I’ve adopted the same method, but I prefer to test songs on motorcycle *winks*
I-want-my-IWTV 