Vampires vs. Nukes

I’m sure someone has put this into their post-apocalyptic young adult series by now, but I have to wonder with everything going on in the world:

How would Vampires fare in a nuclear holocaust?

Vampires aren’t going to survive a nuclear attack if any of us were at ground zero. Total destruction is total destruction; we’re not Wolverine or Deadpool. All the stories I can find are neo-Vampire fiefdoms or after-the-war worldbuilding details… but nothing about how Vampires survive. Has no one taken the time to think this through yet, or is that just the dull part of the story?

This means we’re really talking about everything irradiated that Vampires come into contact with, whether it be dust or people. Radiation breaks things down, but we’re already mystically animated corpses. We can take damage and can fully heal it with blood and rest; can we heal faster than our dead bodies can be cooked or corrupted?

Damage in humans isn’t just limited to being cooked alive; it’s also cancers causing unravelling DNA and abnormal cell duplication to form tumors. Vampire cells regenerate but don’t replace themselves in a biological way, so my guess is neither external nor internal fallout should be a particular danger to us.

There is the question of whether we’d retain radiation, but that still wouldn’t be a threat to Vampires specifically. That said, unless Vampires plan to hibernate underground until topsoil is safe to be planted again, we might want to consider preserving any source of sustenance, and that wouldn’t work if exposure could destroy any “willing volunteers.”

My final thought is this: unless the post-apocalyptic remnants of humanity want to trade their blood for the ever-popular Vampire protection, maybe keep your fingers off those buttons. There are far fewer of us than there are of you, but if those numbers ever flip… well, options become rather limited.

Just say no to nukes.

Trust me; I’m a Vampire.

Take your power seriously. Keep each other safe. Be indomitable.
~ Janiss

Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
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Meet Tlaloc, Our “Metal” God

Visitors to Cedarcrest Sanctum often notice (but don’t always ask about) the metallic tiles with the weird face. Big eyes, fangs, and looking a bit South-of-the-Border.

Our founder Louisa Newcomb had many interests, one regarding Aztec culture, specifically a rain deity bearing more than a few similarities to one of our favorite longevity subjects. She was so enamored with the idea of it, she commissioned a local artist to create an image engraved into metal which was later duplicated all over our facility… a watcher, if you will.

Meet Tlaloc.

Appeased with ritual sacrifice, the god (small “g”) was both revered and feared. From the Encyclopedia Britanica:

“Tlaloc was not only highly revered, but he was also greatly feared. He could send out the rain or provoke drought and hunger. He hurled the lightning upon the earth and unleashed the devastating hurricanes. The Tlaloque, it was believed, could send down to the earth different kinds of rain, beneficent or crop-destroying.

“Certain illnesses, such as dropsy, leprosy, and rheumatism, were said to be caused by Tlaloc and his fellow deities. Although the dead were generally cremated, those who had died from one of the special illnesses or who had drowned or who had been struck by lightning were buried. Tlaloc bestowed on them an eternal and blissful life in his paradise, Tlalocan.”

While there’s no proof of an actual being by this name, the legend dates back to the third century as an agricultural deity before later being elevated into the Aztec pantheon. A preference for the blood of the young, an ability to control the elements, and eternal life bestowed upon the chosen?

Oh, and fangs.

Sounds like someone I know, but I tell everyone he’s our “metal” god.

It’s funny, damn it.

Trust me; I’m a Vampire.

Take your power seriously. Keep each other safe. Be indomitable.
~ Janiss

Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
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Be a Superb Owl Super Host

It’s that time: to see whose owl will be crowned superb this year!

This is your annual reminder that, even if you don’t have a favorite owl — maybe you prefer ravens, eagles, or even cardinals — not to post all over social media how much you “despise owls.” It’s cool to let others enjoy things.

If you’ve been invited by like-minded enthusiasts to gather around the television to root for your favorite, remember to be friendly and civil.

Of course, you can always host your own! As suggested by USA Today and “What We Do in the Shadows,” snacks are a big part of any such celebration, so play it smart. Follow these great snack tips when planning your own party!

  1. Keep food out of the danger zone. If someone is off limits, don’t invite them. Surprise screams tend to interrupt the event, and no one wants that.
  2. Ensure snacks are kept at a proper temperature before serving. 98.6°F or 37°C is ideal but can vary slightly from snack to snack.
  3. During the game, keep snacks at their proper temperatures. This is no time to be frugal with the thermostat, especially in a crypt or castle. A comfortable snack is a happy snack.
  4. Throw out snacks that sat out the whole game. It’s a party, not a hotel stay. Why’d they even accept your invitation, anyway? Party foul.
  5. Don’t let leftovers linger. See above. Take a hint, y’all.
  6. Reheat your snacks thoroughly. Especially if they go outside where it’s cold. A working fireplace is great, too. A room-temperature embrace from you isn’t sufficient for staving off hypothermia, you know?

Of course, there shouldn’t be any small children present where libations are being provided. Let’s not break any local or federal laws, and please keep cleanup to a minimum.

Follow these tips, and you’re sure to be the big winner at your Superb Owl party this year!

Trust me; I’m a Vampire.

Take your power seriously. Keep each other safe. Be indomitable.
~ Janiss

Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
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Lady Bat in Her Belfry

The day length for December 21st, 2020 was 9 hours, 26 minutes.

That also made it the longest night of the year… perfect for Vampires.

Happy Winter Solstice. I spent it on the rooftop of Cedarcrest Sanctum in my “lunarium” where I keep my telescopes. Cole refers to it as my belfry; he even hung up a little bell up to make it official. I was trying to watch the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn crossing paths, but overcast skies are thwarted my plans to see it live. I resisted cheating the weather patterns.

In facility news, we got the first round of our COVID vaccine fully distributed to residents and staff over the weekend. It doesn’t mean we’re safe; it means the end is in sight but we have to stay vigilant, remembering to mask up and keep social distancing.

And while “that guy” has less than thirty days before eviction from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C., a new round of stimulus checks will hopefully be going out to Americans soon.

I know we’ve been lucky, and I know many have not. I also know we’re all tired of “the new normal,” but things really are looking much more hopeful than they have for a long time.

Sorry for the late post. My New Year’s Resolution is to get back to a regular blogging schedule. Things have happened and been happening — you’ll find out more about them soon.

Trust me; I’m a Vampire.

Take your power seriously. Keep each other safe. Be indomitable.
~ Janiss

Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
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The Longest Night of the Year — Vampire Verisimilitude

Happy Winter Solstice to all! That was yesterday technically — last night for me — but I prefer to think my heart is still in the right place.

This post is going to sound cryptic, so fair warning.

Things have changed. No, I can’t go into details about it, and yes, it has something to do with our last evacuation drill.

On a sad note, we lost one of our own. On a positive note, others are now safe, even if we don’t know where they are.

I warned you it was cryptic.

Yes, I’m fine, for those who’ve been asking.

As we draw closer to Christmas and the New Year, here’s another reminder from your executive administrator and the entire staff of Cedarcrest Sanctum that to make the most of the time you have with the people you love, especially since none of us know how long that may be.

Trust me — I’m a Vampire.

Take your power seriously. Keep each other safe. Be indomitable.
~ Janiss

Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
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Early to Rise and Early to Vote — Vampire Verisimilitude

I wasn’t waiting to vote this year. I want it counted now. I want to push the damn buttons, not fill out a form.

Just a bit of a problem…

The early voting place in Glenville, West Virginia is the county courthouse on Howard Street. Their hours are 8am to 4 pm on Wednesdays, the first day of early voting.

Aaaaaaaaaand sunset is 6:31:57 pm.

This is where making a plan with my guys wins out.

I’ve mentioned before how horrible it feels to be out of my grave during the day — imagine what being dead and rotted feels like if you could still feel — in addition to the fact that direct sunlight shows me looking like a corpse to anyone who sees me. It’s cool enough for gloves and coat in the mid-sixties, but it’s partly cloudy and I’m not partial to hoodies.

Carrying an open umbrella would have looked ridiculous, but I was going to draw attention showing up no matter what I did.

I do, however, have an amazing London Fog trench coat… poppy red, my favorite color. On a whim a few months ago, I considered having a bit of fun before going all in.

Kelly Jean roused me up at 2:30 in the afternoon with a midday cup of ambition (no, not coffee) before Cole and Travis met us in the garage. As we pulled up as close to the courthouse as they’d let us, as I donned my new custom “voting cap”: a poppy-red custom wool Fedora with a sombrero-wide brim and black-buckle accent.

Sorry, Agent Carter.

Collar popped and hat pulled down, I walked inside as full-on Carmen Isabela Sandiego… and voted.

We all three did. They had me back in my crypt before four.

Have you voted? It’s important, guys.

Trust me — I’m a Vampire.

Take your power seriously. Keep each other safe. Be indomitable.
~ Janiss

Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
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A Psycho-Sexual Fetish-Driven Delusional Person

So someone asked this question:

Who would need a psycho-sexual fetish-driven delusional person who believes they are a vampire?

I think this was in response to something I shared about “If you need me, I’ll be in my sarcophagus,” an obvious riff on the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Beep-Me meme.

And yet, an individual immediately launched into the notion that anyone saying such a thing came per-loaded with enough baggage to keep a psychiatrist busy for decades.

My first thought was, “Dude, who pissed in your cornflakes?!”

Look… I didn’t ask for this. I’m probably as vanilla as thinkable in the bedroom (good God, I dated the same guy in high school and college) and I never eat where I sleep. Fetish? I like red — poppy red, to be exact. I own one little black dress which I’ve worn exactly twice. Okay fine: I sleep naked, but that’s because it feels safe and comfortable inside my stone box and it’s also NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

Be thankful you don’t feel like death-warmed-over during the daytime, and no, it isn’t one of those “destroyed by sunlight” things. Half-truths and a lack of understanding have kept Vampires safe from non-believers for centuries, but listening to judgmental little shits over social media is more than a little annoying.

Fortunately, I don’t have to do a thing about it. You’ll keep getting older — I won’t.

Tiiiiiiiiiime, is on my side… yes it is!

But thanks for the writing prompt. You do you.

Trust me — I’m a Vampire.

Take your power seriously. Keep each other safe. Be indomitable.
~ Janiss

Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
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Respect Existence or Expect Resistance — Vampire Verisimilitude

The title of this post was paraphrased from one of my favorite posters seen during Women’s March 2.0.

Why do they always schedule these things during the day? #unfair2undead

It does, however, bring up a very good point: with all the talk of “America First” and nationalism, why does it never seem to dawn on these folks that life itself is symbiosis? We’re in this together. Quoting Anthony Douglas Williams: Not a single creature on Earth has more of less right to be here.

No one understands this more than a Vampire.

Sure, we’re equipped like the predators we are — low-light eyes, fangs, and talons — but we can’t feed one another. Guess who that leaves?

Delicious all of you.

Yes, we can take what we want… and then people would hunt us to extinction, so any benefit of having us around would be extinguished as well. You already know about the benefits.

The smarter among us ask to feed, make fair deals, and establish lasting relationships. While it may sound like a threat, Vampires are safer when satiated, and if we’re not healing from mortal combat, we need less blood to keep us docile and out of predator mode.

But if we’re denied, it’ll get bad. The longer we’re denied, the worse it’ll get — for everyone.

Again, not a threat. Just telling it like it is.

And if you’re being marginalized, shunned, moved aside, or in any way denied your right to be here (read: to exist), you need to make yourself known.

Trust me — I’m a Vampire.

Take your power seriously. Keep each other safe. Be indomitable.
~ Janiss

Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
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Myth of the Immortal Court — Vampire Verisimilitude

I came across this art for a Vampire MMO (read: video game) called Shadow’s Kiss, which admittedly sounds interesting. Believe me when I say Vampires should only meet on social media… because “reasons.” But this image makes me cringe — hear me out on this.

The crowned and corseted brunette with the opera gloves and thigh-highs; the blonde and blue-eyed blood doll worshiping at her feet desperate to be “kissed”; the goateed and coiffed confidant standing close — and all of them noticing you noticing them. Hell, event the gold and gem-encrusted skull throne is ridiculous. Image, image, image — no reasonably intelligent creature buys any of this, right? This is such a cliché and overdone idea that the subjects might as well be sparkling and swaying to looped trance music.

Why would anyone want to become any of these characters? How much court intrigue could justify it? Even “True Blood” character Eric Northman (read: still yummy) hated doing the whole bit at Fangtasia precisely because it’s ridiculous. And if you needed any fictional proof of vampire-court pointlessness, look no further than the ineffectiveness of Underworld. There’s no Italian Inquisitor Council and no secret cabal of hibernating immortals awakened whenever “Chuck the Vamp” steps out of line to deal with his Chuckiness.

I hope the game turns out to be cool, but let’s step into modern times and away from the Mushroom Ring Fairy Tale Demonic Vampire Court thing, okay?

Addendum: I should probably clarify my viewpoints. My father is a self-made man; he didn’t give me everything I wanted growing up and he worked hard so he could send me to college. He kept bettering himself even with setbacks, but while he was tough on me, he also had a few thoughts on “royalty.” I was three and had no memory of when Queen Elizabeth II visited America, but I do remember Princess Diana (no, not Wonder Woman) and her passing when I was almost nine.

Elizabeth served in the armed forces as a truck mechanic, and Diana wanted to be as far away from thrones and courts as she could get. I knew girls my age who wanted to be Disney princesses — and that’s okay — but I preferred a princess with quotes like, “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” Selfless and in service of others, not ruling over them and have them do for you.

While this Vampire Court image is a very pretty fantasy picture, nothing about it feels selfless or serving: it’s threatening. It looks like a gathering of wolves waiting for sheep to be served to them, and I cannot articulate just how much that pisses me off. How do I know? Look at the blue-eyed blood doll. If the courtesans were in any way benevolent, she wouldn’t be tethered to her mistress for snacking while looking wronged for it. They’re flaunting themselves and will likely be destroyed for it — not exactly the best way to plan for your immortality.

Trust me — I’m a Vampire.

Take your power seriously. Keep each other safe. Be indomitable.
~ Janiss

Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
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Cassidy from “Preacher” – Vampire Verisimilitude

I’m a Vampire who enjoys stories getting Vampires right.

“Preacher” is one of them. If you’re not familiar with this AMC show — spoiler! — Cassidy’s a Vampire but not the main character. While we’re shown he’s capable of blood-raging violence, most of the time he just wants to be left alone with his substance abuse. He’s a predator who avoids killing because of both the complications it brings — bodies don’t hide themselves — as a well as personal code of who deserves his wrath.

Every Vampire I’ve met has their own variation of this unwritten code with no two alike. None are more complicated than that of a sire and their progeny, and in the case of Cassidy — another surprise spoiler! — turning his actual son, Denis. Cassidy is over a century old, so it isn’t clear if he fathered Denis before being turned, only that he was there at the time of the child’s birth. I’m thinking he wasn’t a Vampire yet; newborn blood is intoxicating to a Vampire, even more so than in regular children.

But the real Cassidy is revealed in his attitude toward his fatherly-looking son. As Denis lays dying from heart failure, he begs the Vampire to show him mercy: to turn him. Cassidy has shown no forethought in being an immortal, living moment-to-moment from one distraction to the next. Yet here is his son whom he can save, but the Vampire clearly knows that turning him isn’t the same as saving him… not if it’s unleashing a new monster upon an unsuspecting world. Still, he wants to be the “good da” he promised, so…

Vampires are survivors, and in my experience, they keep their own numbers low all on their own. I laugh every time that meme goes around “proving” Vampires don’t exist or else they’d have infected the entire population now like mindless zombies. It isn’t humans Vampires fear; it’s other Vampires, and rightly so. While showing complete loyalty to preacher Jesse Custer, even killing for him unasked, Cassidy typically takes the path of least resistance, partying all night before making a withdraw from a blood bank rather than kill an innocent. Surviving off of stored blood isn’t exactly true for us, but the sentiment is appreciated.

Cassidy is as close to the Vampires I know as any, and seeing the pain of both wanting and having to deal with the son he couldn’t abandon, especially knowing the dangers, he also took personal responsibility for his part in it. Not perfect by any means — none of us are — but hitting very close to home. I wouldn’t go partying with Cassidy as his sort of debauchery isn’t my thing, but I also wouldn’t turn him away if he asked for my help… within reason.

Take your power seriously. Keep each other safe. Be indomitable.
~ Janiss

Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
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