Do immortals need motivational posters?
You only live once; there’s no time like the present; don’t put off until tomorrow what you can blah, blah, blah.
Well, maybe.
There are two schools of thought behind immortality. One is that you live forever and cannot be killed — as if it’s a curse or a punishment. Then there’s no dying of natural causes — no aging, no changing, no expiration date — but you can still be destroyed, never to rise again. For better or for worse, Vampires fall into the second category. Yes, my late-night college-research genes are showing again.
Where am I going with this? I promise I’m coming to point…
Don’t assume there’s a tomorrow.
Go ahead and make plans…for where you’re going to go and what you’re going to do. Just be aware that some things aren’t worth the risk.
I’ve mentioned before that I know a few other Vampires now; a few have perished at my hand. As I’ve heard it’s said in Texas: they needed killin’. Those immortals didn’t live long past their rebirth; in fact, they might have lived longer if they hadn’t been turned, but they couldn’t be allowed to continue. If you’re wondering who am I to make that decision? I’ll save that for another time.
In contrast, I know Vampires who are much older than myself, and for all of their faults, they have one common trait: a sense of self-preservation. One is from New York City and was turned during the Depression Era; he saw human suffering first hand in the homeless tent cities…because he was one of them. Another is almost three centuries old and witnessed the birth of the United States; hers were among the lands that was stolen. Our founder was over a century and a half old, one of the first graduates at local Glenville State College. My own sire may have been over five centuries old, and as cruel as he was, he knew when to back down from a fight.
As the veteran soldier explained: “Remember I am old for a reason.”
Forever is an illusion, so don’t forget to live for today.
Keep each other safe.
~ Janiss
Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
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Sometimes they use names like Dracula, Lestat, Carmilla, or some other literary undead character. They may further claim they are old or even ancient…you know, however far back their social media settings will allow them to go. The bad part, however, is some folks argue and/or DEMAND that other users treat them as the real deal — even if the other users aren’t role-playing. My favorites are the ones trying to be mysterious using cryptic phases like “you don’t know me” or “pray we never meet.”
What is revealed in the film is not only how many such incidents are swept under the ivy branches but the motivations for doing so. Protecting students is secondary to protecting the integrity of the institution — everyone is told to be silent. This is fundamentally wrong, but it also fails to warn new students of the danger they are walking into.
The residents who are accepted have no family, no money, and nowhere else to go. In spite of these facts, the administrator of the facility still takes them in. If accepted into “the program,” they are removed from the public eye and are no longer permitted outside visitors.
But that’s not magic, you say. And no, I’m not saying you should run out and start shoving every extra dollar into a collection plate or handing out money to the homeless. Yes, you can do those things, but what I’m referring to is the power of making that choice: you make this happen as an act of sheer will.
2016 is an election year. This is the first you’ve probably heard about all this, right?
In terms of representation, it isn’t necessary for Vampires. In the HBO “True Blood” series, Vampires campaigned for the rights of the Undead with opponents making claims that wills and property legally didn’t apply to creatures that rose from the grave. The AVL — the American Vampire League — fought to get changes made so that known Vampires could enjoy the same rights and benefits they had in life. Crazy, right? It was a footnote in the TV show, but it also makes a lot of sense; there’s plenty of history in the US and around the world where significant portions of the population have been told they have no rights — that they aren’t really people — no more significant to be represented than would animals.
Don’t assume everyone else will do it for you. Voter turn-out is a problem; in 2012, only 129 million people voted for the US President, less than half of those eligible among the 314 million population of the country. That means if everyone who didn’t vote all decided to vote for someone else, none of the front-runners on that election would have stood a chance.
Don’t get me wrong: I like her, too. She’s gorgeous in a timeless way, looks bad-ass whenever she wants, and you WANT to believe in the character she’s playing. Yet at the same time, she’s a walking undead cliché: perfect dark hair, pale skin, the ethereal blue supernatural contacts, the custom-leather corset (accentuating whatever you have to work with) and, well, just all of it.
Here’s the truth: anyone can be a Vampire (assuming you survive the transformation), so Vampires can look like anyone; “True Blood” got this right. We should WANT to look like “anyone.” We need real living human blood to sustain us — blood that can’t have been outside of a body for more than an hour — so a source must be kept close by, and willing donors are always preferred to unthinkably trying to maintain a fully stocked dungeon. Never mind that the whole undead Cleopatra look attracts the worst donors: mortals who just want to become immortal.
Your undying love; till death do us part; for all eternity — these are mortal phrases, words people say to each other in spite of secretly knowing a simple truth: things change. People set different goals for themselves — the right job, a level of fame, children and grandchildren — and they surround themselves with others who can make those things happen. If not, well, it’s high time to make that aforementioned change you can believe in.
Cedarcrest Sanctum 