@eliestela! As per request~ pics of my vampiry mug and a rare partial selfie bc reasons, got it for my birthday last year from the lovely @gairid/@vampchronfic! It’s got 2 sides w/ text: “FAN OF THE FANG” and “Start your day off positive… A Positive” <– har har vampire puns. It’s perfect and I use it p much every day at home bc ppl at the office already think I’m iffy when I occasionally wear my 3-finger ring *eyeroll* bc FAVE MUG.
BTW, if you want one, I found it on eBay, there’s a few listings there.
Also felt like including: Lestat pillow by @sheepskeleton (@sheepskeleton-art) which I had to buy for reasons (now I sleep w/ him every night har har) ❤ Pillow can be bought in several sizes at sheep’s store,
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!
Inspired by this post and @i-want-my-iwtv ’s thought that Lestat got his “Kiss The Cook” apron on and makes cookie or something.
(These Lestat’s words are also her idea and I love them: “I make your heart toasty, don’t I?” “I add spice to your life, don’t I?”)
SINCE I was just discussing this w/ someone last night, and noticed I hadn’t mentioned it before… (and btw most of the above pics are from http://www.hansonhouse.com/taylor.htm)
Taylor Hanson from the 90′s is part of my headcanon for Lestat *u*
Yes, I know, he’s too old now. I KNOW. But one of my fave fic writers had used him as a face claim (they had cropped that first pic for their avatar) and the way they wrote him, the vulnerability, tenderness, the way he behaved, it was so perfectly meshed with how young Taylor looked and idk it just aligned perfectly for me. Lestat was only ~20 when he was turned ;A; and Taylor is like, right at that transition where the adult features are starting to take hold but the boyishness is still there, too. Taylor’s appearance is definitely in mind when I write my Lestat. I look at that first pic and I see a young man lost in his own music, drinking up the attention from the audience, loving the heat of the spotlights on him, his band supporting him, it’s just so touching and I love it.
Let me admit here that I liked MMMBop as a song! But was not a HANSON fan beyond that. The fact is that Taylor can/could sing, and play guitar, and looking the way he looked, I buy it.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so I’m not trying to sell this vision to anyone else, but I’m sharing it anyway bc thinking about it makes me happy ❤
Happy birthday Taylor
Right, 3/14 is his birthday! Happy birthday Taylor!
Yes! A whole week is plenty of time to wedge in VC location visits around the work-related stuff ;D
FYI in my list, I have things in the French Quarter, the Garden District (you can take the streetcar to get there, or walk, if you have the time/interest, it’s 2.5 miles away), and then outside the city are swamp tours (which I really want to do next time I visit) and the plantation houses (Pointe du Lac!).
These aren’t in any geographical order, just the order I’m thinking of them:
+ Gallier House –A must-visit, this is the flat AR based Rue Royale on. They give tours bc it’s a historical site. It’s not expensive, book in advance. They also have a gift shop and I got a nice necklace there.
^My estimation of the room assignments bc reasons. Re: “slave quarters,” that’s unfortunately part of the history of that building 😛 but I think by the time L/L were there, those rooms were used for storage bc there’s little closet space in the living quarters, and the maids they hire don’t live with them.
Note:@gairid considers the flat across the street (1127) to be the true home of L/L bc the balcony is much more verdant, and you know Lestat would have all kinds of flora on their balcony! It’s a private residence, though.
+ Oak Alley Plantation – this was used for Pointe du Lac plantation in the movie. It’s a ways away, like 45 min outside NOLA? Maybe more, but worth the trip! You can pay for the bus tickets and tour package, get there and wander around, there’s food and historical info, highly recommend. Allegedly, Brad Pitt still visits and he stays in one of the guest houses.
Note: They also filmed at neighboring Destrehan Plantation, but I haven’t been there, idk if it’s worth going.
+ Madame John’s Legacy –
632 Dumaine St, this is the scene in which a family’s worth of coffins are carried out; Lestat & Claudia had been so gluttonous. This building is sometimes open to the public, the last time I was there they had a cool ceramics exhibition.
+ Jackson Square – mentioned in canon pretty often, you can’t really go to NOLA and not visit.
+ The Cabildo at Jackson Square – I didn’t go in, I think you can. This is where Lestat watches Claudia kill, that same gate is there, you can go hang out in front of it and pretend to watch your vampire daughter kill a victim.
+
Court of Two Sisters
–
613 Royal St, I really enjoyed the Sunday brunch, there’s a cute little courtyard with fountains, and live music sometimes. They had this oreo pie that like… dangerous.
+ Cafe Du Monde – mentioned in canon, they serve like 2 things, beignets and coffee (nothing super fancy), very affordable, and are almost always crowded, but totally worth it. If you go around the back there’s a window where you can see them making the beignets!
+ Arnaud’s – very good restaurant in the French Quarter
+ Port of Call – 838 Esplanade Ave, stardustschild, I see in your profile that you’re not over 21, but for OTHER ppl reading this post, this is a good place for a go-cup drink ~$10, it’s large and 1 is enough to catch a good buzz.
+ NAPOLEON HOUSE – Muffalettas, po’ boys & other Creole staples in a circa-1914 house with a palm-filled courtyard. @gairid recs the SAZERAC (for the 21+ people reading this post, not you, stardustchild) here.
+ French Market – that’s a pretty standard suggestion so I have to include it but I didn’t think it was all that big of a deal.
+ Trashy Diva clothing boutique –
537 Royal St, they have a few locations. I got a great little black velvet jacket here!
+ 2301 and
2524
St. Charles Ave, Garden District
– AR’s childhood homes
– (Not a location really) 1233 COLISEUM ST. – where the Coliseum theatre was in the scene when Louis goes to the movies, it burned down ;A; But that neighborhood is kind of fun to walk around and just look at the nice houses on your way to Lafayette Cemetery.
+ Commander’s Palace, Garden District
– good restaurant but pricey. I had an elder flower liqueur cocktail that was pretty special there. This restaurant is a favorite of the Mayfair family.
+ 1239 First Street, Garden District – This historic property was for many years Anne Rice’s primary residence.
– 3711 St Charles Ave. Not really as crucial on my own list of locations but still. @cloudsinvenice had posted: “Anne Rice’s former New Orleans home is back on the market again, as per this Curbed.com article, from which I’ve selected some photos. This is the house that inspired the Mayfair witches’ haunted family home…”
+ Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, Garden District
– mentioned in canon, free but only open during daylight hours tho!
+
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 – There are tours and I think Nicolas Cage’s very weird pyramid tomb is there, he’s paid for it, and that’s where he plans to be when he’s shuffled off this mortal coil…
+ Bourbon French Parfums –
805 Royal St. bc Louis was all about the jasmine and stuff, they have great sets of perfumes and their own concoctions.
+ DeVille Coffee House & Creperie – 2045 Magazine St, I just really like their crepe suzettes ❤
+ New Orleans Pharmacy Museum – I didn’t get to go here but it was on my list. I think it’s like $5 to go.
+ Marie Leveau’s Grave and Voodoo Shop – has cool stuff, like coffin nails!
+ Boutique du Vampyre – 709 ½ St. Anne Street, IIRC I got a cool poison ring here, they have vampiry wares.
… A few additions!
@nixsrebellionoflies added: may i add that you can go into port of call if youre not 21 and over? they have great burgers and a very interesting aesthetic. you might have to wait a while tho to get in
^Thanks for that! I haven’t tried their burgers myself, now I have to be sure to put that on my list for my next trip 😉
@jeezycreezysuperstar added: Some of the cemeteries are now only open to the public via tour group, just fyi
^RIGHT I forgot about that, it’s a relatively recent rule, within the last few years I think? Partly bc of the vandalism that was happening, and offerings/graffiti on some of the famous tombs like Marie Laveau’s Tomb. But do take a tour if you have the time/money/interest, bc they are informative and spoopy.
I-want-my-IWTV 