La Noche Oscura del Alma

I feel like I haven't finished anything in AGES. I have been doing a lot of sketching, though... mostly of Claris's new vampire childe Simon. Because yum. Granted, I did start this one intending to "finish" it, although I have no idea how well I planned the composition. He makes good eye candy, plus I just like drawing him because he's so winsome. And pure.

The title, by the way, is the name of a very famous poem by St. John of the Cross, and the phrase "the dark night of the soul" refers to a stage in one's spiritual life defined by loneliness and desolation. From the Wikipedia article on the concept: "Typically for a believer in the dark night of the soul, spiritual disciplines (such as prayer and consistent devotion to God) suddenly seem to lose all their experiential value; traditional prayer is extremely difficult and unrewarding for an extended period of time during this "dark night." The individual may feel as though God has suddenly abandoned them or that his or her prayer life has collapsed."

I've wondered a lot whether Claris might have ruined Simon by Embracing him. I'm not totally convinced that's the case, but he's sure had a lot of trouble adjusting. He had such a sense of purpose before. And really, it's a bit of a bombshell that got dropped on this super-religious kid: "Satan, demons and monsters? Yeah, they all totally exist, and you might be one, no matter how good your intentions are. Jury's still out on God, though." If that's not going to prompt a dark night of the soul, I don't know what will.

Anyway, yeah, I'm rambling. Picture is basically part "me thinking" and part "me wanting to draw a nice pretty man". That's all.

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