To All My Vampire Friends...

[paragraphs]

Okay...

As some of you know, that darn vampire kit has lodged into my mind and will not let go. The big problem with this thing, is that I am not a vampire fan, and so know very little about the creatures.

I like them well enough...I am absolutely in love with Bill (TRUE BLOOD) for instance, but I never watched Angel (I might though--but then again, maybe I won't so I won't be influenced by him lol), I wallbanged Twilight (is Edward REALLY a vampire? I wonder), I've not read anything but Interview with a Vampire and not sure that counts...okay so I did read Dracula years ago, but I assume times have changed, and, well, vampirism is something I've never really sunk my teeth into.

It will NOT be a romance, TYVM. My POV is not going to fall into the arms of her dark love...uh...no thanks.

So...

What do YOU guys like in your vampires? And dislike, too--like sparkles. Sparkly vampires do not do a thing for me.

Comments

[la-localfreak.livejournal.com]

Jeremy Capello from My Best Friend is A Vampire (yes. It is Robert Sean Leonard.) It's a crack-film from the 80s but, again, its ideas about vampires are interesting. In this one vampires are made by being bitten by a vampire, although it is never actually explained if this happens to everyone who gets bitten, or if there are other circumstances that make this possible. Vampires are part of a huge underground network and can buy Vampire-related products (Pigs blood beer, Pigs blood Wine etc) Mudoc, the 'Vampire Guidance Counciller' who helps Jeremy come to terms with his vampirism describes taking the blood as "like taking your vitamins" in this case (and in the case of Duckula's relatives, above) there's nothing about the idea that vampires can't drink blood unless it's 'live'- quite the contrary. Jeremy can also go out in sunlight although becomes sensitive to it and loses his reflecation and develops an allergy to garlic. Vampires can also turn into wolves (think Dracula and The Black Dog at Whitby) despite the fact that werewolves are mentioned offhand as existing. Whilst this is a cracky comedy and not exactly well-thought out in terms of 'what stays and what goes' in the list of vampire staples, it's interesting both for its ideas about vampires being able to live reasonably normal lives (they are not immortal either, though for every 10 human years, they age only 1) seeing their vampirism as a kind of vague medical condition and the links the film makes between vampirism and homosexuality during the time period.

Things I don't Like in Vampires
Superhuman. A few supernatural talents are fine (like Lestat's mind tricks, or Dracula's shape shifting abilities...and couldn't Varney the Vampire turn into steam and go through locks- or was that another penny dreadful vampire?) , but if they can do anything at all ever it's just a pain in the bum, I like them to have disadvantages. In 'My Best Friend Is A Vampire' Jeremy has to do stuff like paint over his window and sleep under the bed away from the dawning light, and cuts himself shaving because he's lost his reflection, but then he can climb really well and do mind tricks- although he messes them up and they don't really work.- it kind of balences out)

Ugly!Vamp (Y Hallo Ther Buffy's Vamps) I don't mean that they all have to be stunningly attractive, that's just as bad. Vampires, if you're not having them as a seperate species are basically humans. Some might be hot, some not that attractive but most would be just normal average looking people. Their ability to turn on the charm (if kept) might set them apart, but I don't like it when they're either Evil-therefore-Ugly or Not-Evil-and-Sex-Gods. I don't like the way in Buffy when the Vampires are going to drink from someone their faces shift all demonic-looking, because it's just...it makes them less like humans. I suppose it works for Buffy fans, but I don't like it that much.

I'm not that keen on Soulless vampires. However there is an epic Harry Potter fanfic by Maeglin Yedi ('To See the HUman Soul Take Wing') in which a vampire has a soul but his aura is broken, as if half his soul has died and the other half lived. The vampire in that is still a person, not a demon or an undead monster, simply some of him has gone (incidentally it's a very good fic).

Perfect!Vamps. I like them when they muck stuff up and make mistakes. You could live for a thousand years and not be perfect. I think Anne Rice's vampires show that perfectly, cos all of them (although I'm particularly thinking about Lestat at the moment) do some phenomenally stupid/reckless/daft things over the series.

Basically I don't like them to be devils nor Gods, not modern day vampires (it works for like Dracula's era, because I can read them in context, but, even from a religious perspective it doesn't work so well in my brain)

Er. I've now no idea about what I've covered or if I've missed anything important so if you have any questions or you think I've left something out then do ask me and I'll do my best to furnish you with an answer, I realise this might be rather babbly and disorganised.

[paragraphs.livejournal.com]

All this is really great stuff, Mike. I am printing it out, along with everyone else's responses. Such great thoughts on vampires...I am confident I will be able to make _________ a good one.

Still no book, dammit... ARGH! I want it, NOW!! I need to check and see when it is slated to arrive, since I had to get it used.

I may snag your time for more questions later.

[la-localfreak.livejournal.com]

Well I hope some of it can be of use! Looking at the other responses they're all rather more succinct and readable than mine, I'm afraid my brain obviously just went "Vampires- what do I know about vampires? *SPLURGE*" and this was the result. It of course doesn't help that I've written my own vampires in the past (unfinished. To date my Nano novel is the only long piece I've ever finished and that had nothing to do with vampires at all) so I kind of did the whole 'hmming' and 'ahh'ing about vampire phisiology and mythology and orgins of myth and stuff....it all just gets tangled up in my brain!