Weekly Horse-riding

As I really enjoyed the horse-riding we did on holiday, and also because I really need to do some exercise *laughs*, my parents allowed my sister and I to join a local horse-riding group in Halsall, called Halsall Riding and Livery Centre. It's so much fun, and we go every Friday after school! The horses and instructors are so nice and down-to-earth, as there's a rumor that horse-y people are very stuck-up and snobby, but this is not the case at all!

We're learning the basics in private sessions before we join the rest of the members, and so far it's going excellently! My horse is called Pride, and my instructor is called June. Abi has Roxy and Karl, the instructor. 

The other week we were let off the reign to control the horses ourselves (which is a lot harder than I initially thought, as horses have a strong mind and willpower of their own!) and we began to go into a really fast trot. At one point Pride started going so fast - following Roxy - that I thought I was going to slip off. I wasn't scared though, it was more fun than scary, so I just laughed really loudly until I could get him under control. As well as trying to get the horse to do what we want, we also have to do a lot of trotting, which isn't very kind on the back and legs, but that's good exercise, I suppose. It's very hard to stand up and down on the stirrups when Pride is going so fast, but I enjoy it all!

Abi, Roxy and Karl.

Pride and I.

Pride is very tall, isn't he?

Abi and Roxy.

Pride looking extremely elegant.

Interview with the Vampire film review

Finally, I've gotten round to watching this film! I've been dying to watch it for ages, but only watched it yesterday as my dad bought it as a surprise, which I'm really grateful for.

First of all, my initial thoughts:

• It's nowhere near as excellent as the book, but still absolutely marvelous! 
• I love the characters of Lestat and Claudia, like in the book, but I found Louis a little disappointing for some reason...
• They've changed parts - a lot of parts, actually - like Louis' past, making out that his wife and child died rather than his brother (I can't even remember if Louis was a widower in the book), the way that Louis became a vampire, i.e. I can't remember him hanging around brothels, where Lestat found him in the film, and even the ending part! 

Despite those thoughts, I still really enjoyed it. As for the rest of the movie, I think it follows the story line quite adequately. Lestat was charming as always, and Louis was very angst-ridden, just like the book.

I was very impressed by the performance of Kirsten Dunst, who portrayed Claudia amazingly! The rage she expressed towards Lestat was so powerful that I actually felt a little bit scared of her for a moment, and the way she screamed when she cut off her hair only to have it grow back moments later was terrifying! All that rage in such a little body! Also, the manner in which she acted out being dissatisfied with the way she will never grow up was very moving... Basically, I loved her, and her costumes were to die for, especially those gorgeous bonnets in jewel colours (I particularly drooled over her emerald green frock and bonnet)!  

One happy family! (or maybe not)

Her auburn curls are stunning!

Abstract

Looking into the “real world”

all I see is warped.

Elongated faces, meaningless

scribbles and dabs of ochre, ebony

paint.

My surface ripples, sending dull

colour into deeper black.

Looking into my “dream world” is where

I live.

Inside my head.

I like to dream.

Locked up inside, I stare into

The lonely, pitch black cornfield,

black like coal. Just like my heart.

Placing a trembling hand to where my ear used

to be,

I drop my paintbrush.

Gazing into the sky, crows mock

me, crying down at me.

My path ends here.

Silent Siamese Twin

Blood flowers, blooms beyond reach

into pure white.

Sinking deeper, deeper

into sin.

Why does it stare? Hasn’t it anything

to say for itself?

Slowly I smile. Eyes open

and you’re staring dreamily

into my dark void.

Lights will extinguish

just as droplets form inside

the crystal snow.

Why does it stare? Hasn’t it anything

to say for itself?

Now you know my exact feelings,

twin.

You, it; the bloodsucker leeching off of me:

I was the only thing keeping you alive and well,

conscious.

Lumbering around, tied to one another was

never much fun.

Don’t you agree?

Grasping my new found freedom,

I take off into the scarlet night.

Close my eyes.

Feel the gaping hole on my left side,

the oppressive chill.

The vortex of our shared conscience is

shattered.

Bleeding, hopeless;

What am I now?

Freedom

was what I desired.

Now I’m

ruined.

Our sacred bond should never have been severed;

Surgical knife, hacking — your suffering,

my intense agony mingled with ecstasy.

I wanted, desired

Fruit from the forbidden tree.

High out of reach.

Out of sight,

yet at the same time,

all I could dream of.

Why did it stare, that adjoining reflection of

me?

Juniper Hills

Am I the one to end up in Juniper Hills?

Why,

this is so ironic, darling.

He’ll bundle you into his arms.

The icy embrace of a sick, sick child.

Complacently he smiles. It

seems this smile is permanently

stuck on his pallid little face.

Don’t be fooled by his

perverse charm

and slow wits.

This boy is a killer.

I should know,

for I hear his voice from

the ghastly ghost moon.

Husky, soft,

just as I remember it on

that day.

The jagged-toothed clown

took him away

at sunset.

Footprints dragging in the dirt,

one missing trainer,

smeared scarlet,

oozing, oozing.

Eaten alive in the sewers,

torn into by that phantom clown,

delicious like candy on Halloween.

Curiosity, anger, regret.

Why did you push me away?

It’s your fault

I died;

and I shall blame you forever,

my darling.

Aurora's Bed

Warning: Slightly NSFW and really bad attempts at poetry.

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

 I think it's very obvious by now that Anne Rice is definitely one of my favourite writers. I just love the way she combines her Vampire Chronicles with lots of world history, such as the Georgian/Rococo period and the Ancient Egyptians, and erotica between characters, that sometimes verges on a homosexual theme. The historical parts even inspired me to do my own research into the Ancient Egyptians, as I used to do a lot when I was younger. Honestly, I think she is the best vampire writer out there, even trumping Bram Stoker and Le Fanu themselves.

As for Lestat, I just adore him and all his devilishness! Just as Marius said, "You are the darnedest creature!" In the Vampire Lestat I find it entertaining and thrilling that he is a famous rock star in the 80s! His band sounds very gothic and sometimes metal-y to me, which is so sweet and fitting for somebody like him, a vampire who seemingly goes out of his way to defy absolutely everyone.

The second novel of the Vampire Chronicles follows Lestat from his boyhood in the 18th Century to his immortality in the late 20th Century, which is absolutely refreshing in my opinion. Throughout, he gets into a lot of trouble with both mortals and immortals, as like I said before, he never follows the rules.

There are a lot of new characters in The Vampire Lestat, including; Nicolas, Gabrielle, Magnus, Marius, Akasha, Enkil and Armand (actually I think he was already in the series, but here he is shown in more light).

This is actually how I imagined him to look.

My favourite character early on was Nicki, as his mortal friendship with Lestat was very intense and promising, but it all fell to pieces when Lestat became immortal and must keep secrets, through no fault of his own, I must add. After that I kind of disliked him despite knowing why he would rage over somebody that he was close to going missing for ten years, and then coming back again although nothing had happened. It made me sad that they fell out so awfully, and then that Nicki was killed by Armand, as they just seemed so good together!


Also, I loved Gabrielle. She was Lestat's mother who was about to die of consumption, but as she was the only person (besides the aforementioned Nicolas) that the human Lestat loved, he made her into a vampire as she was passing away. There was something about this character that I really admired, the way that she was free when she became immortal and wanted to try everything all over again, after a lifetime of being trapped in a drafty castle in the French mountains. Again, it was terribly depressing when she left Lestat.

Throughout I was feeling very depressed for Lestat, as everybody he loved either left him or died, but in the end he meets up again with Louis and Gabrielle before his first live concert, which I was really really hoping would happen, as it seemed that these two were the people that he loved the most! *also, I think I may be shipping Louis and Lestat together*


Aaand finally, I couldn't resist these anti-Twilight images, they just made me laugh so much!

For some reason, this is how I imagined Louis to look...

Today's Co-ord: Psycho Cameo!

Sorry for the bad photo! I rarely wear gothic lolita co-ords, so I was pretty happy with this outfit I put together! With the necklace and hat I was hoping to go for a Disney villain theme; you probably can't tell from this photo, but the hat is Ariel themed, and the necklace has Alice on it.

Blouse: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

JSK: Psycho Cameo by Hell Bunny/Spin Doctor

Necklace: Disney

Earrings (not pictured): silver and amber fairy earrings

Fascinator: Disney

Boots: Hush Puppies

Claudia, Child of Darkness

Claudia from Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire! I really love this character, as she's so cute, but so deadly! This is how I imagined her to look, as I haven't seen the film yet. I wanted to make her seem as young and girly as possible! The stars were really relaxing to draw.
 This took me so long to colour, and I'm not even sure why. ;w; Also, I was going to add chrysanthemums to the picture, to represent death (or something along those lines).