all made up with nowhere to go

Another question from mr_gent today: What do you like about vampires, and which tropes do you dislike intensely? (You could also do this for the World of Darkness types, instead of generally)

NB: Any spelling mistakes re: WoD stuff is because I can't be bothered to look it up because I am lazy fart!

OH VAMPIRES. I do not love them as much as I once did, but I do still love them.

I've been trying to think about what I like about them (dislikes are so much easier, but I'll get to that), and the thing I keep coming back to is immortality. I mean, there's the fact that it's scary to imagine being alive for, conceivably, forever because everyone you ever know will die (unless they too are vampires). But also imagine being alive all that time, and experiencing all those things, and maybe many different cultures and things like that. That's pretty cool to me. (One reason I like Wrex in Mass Effect is that he's ancient, by humans terms. When he was born, the Normans (? I think? this post isn't about him so I'm not fact checking right now) were invading England. THAT WAS AGES AGO EVEN NOW. Don't even get me started on how Reapers break my brain re: age).

I suppose the time abyss thing is one of my favourite tropes, so it plays into that.

With regard to WoD vampires, I like the different powers thing, and I sort of like the clans (I'm talking OWoD because I'm not familiar with the new stuff at all). I like that White Wolf picked up an idea Anne Rice had and ran with it (I imprinted on Anne Rice, so I still watch Interview With a Vampire from time to time, although I haven't reread the books since I was a teenager). I think it's great that some powers overlap from clan to clan, but there's some clan specific in some really interesting ways (I especially like how the Tremere can use magic, but the Mages say it isn't "real" magic, whatever the hell that is; I also like the idea of Vissitude that the Tzsimice have).

I tell you what else: I also like the variety of vampire myths in the world. Like, there's one with only one leg that hops about in some country, or one with only one nostril (and that's how you know they're a vampire). I think it's solely a British myth that red-headed people would become vampires after death, but I don't know. I haven't done a lot of reading on the subject in a while.

(On neither a like or a dislike, apparently a distant relative had a run in with a vampire in Cumbria. I kid ye not when I say MY DAD would geek out about it if I found things in vampire books about it for him. And I did. More than once!)

(here's a story about it | what wikipedia says - it's allegedly a myth, but who the hell cares? It was one of the rare occasions me and my dad shared something in common).

Things I don't like: wangsty vampires (see: Anne Rice because I think Louis is the Ur-wangster. I actually think Brad Pitt kind of nails that, actually). I am SICK TO THE BACK TEETH of wangsty vampires. (I know WoD gears itself towards the wangst if you let it, but I'd love to see examples where that isn't the case. I want happy vampires, who enjoy being AEONS OLD and whatnot).

I also do not like the politics in the OWod, to be perfectly honest and all the books pretty much lean towards a political struggle and...it's just not my thing (another thing I think, that put me off from ever running a game). Again, I don't know how it goes in the NWoD, but politics are not for me (I watch Game of Thrones for the costumes and some actors, and I play FFXII for the pretty and also IVALICE).

Oh I am DONE with werewolves versus vampires (which is the other huge thing in WoD). I can take it in Van Helsing because that's how Dracula can be killed (which is a different twist from garlic and sunlight), but other than that, I'm not interested.

Sparkly vampires can sod off, too (although again, a twist on why they can't go out in sunlight but god almighty is it the stupidest reason ever).

And curing vampirism, too. I know it's within the mythos, and it's used to good effect in The Lost Boys, but mostly I don't think it is or should be a thing that can be cured.

So it seems there are more things I dislike than like, but take it as read that anything I didn't mention that I probably don't mind (or I forgot irritates me, but more than likely that I don't mind). So here is a thing, this is it! I hope it was satisfactory!

(It honestly doesn't feel finished to me, so I might come back to this at a later date when my laptop doesn't need charging/I've thought about it better).

~

I'll have you know the entire time I was typing this, I kept hitting the C key, and so we had a bunch of campires in here... :D