The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

It has officially been a decade since the first Twilight film came out and the phenomenon it was becoming took full force. It repulsed most of the vampire community while a small secretive part of it did not mind it much. I was a part of that, particularly cause I am a sucker for big movie series, but because I am a sucker for vampires and I do not mind guilty pleasure flicks. However defending Twilight at the time was hard given how much hate and heat it generated, therefore I kept quiet and played along. But now it has been 10 years, and I am willing to look back on it and speak my mind about Twilight and mention the good it did.
First of all it unified the vampire community. I don't recall the vampire community having something to hate so much apart from that horrid Queen of The Damned movie(now that is a true insult to the vampire fans). Secondly it was a true gateway for a new vampire renaissance. Thanks to the hype of Twilight making vampires the new it thing again, we managed to get so much vampire content everywhere. We got new Dracula stories, True Blood, a new Underworld movie, a Fright Night remake and The Vampire Diaries(which apart from Buffy is probably the best vampire show ever). It was such a great time to be a vampire fan cause we were bathe in new vampire books, films, tv shows constantly and still to this day we have some remnants of it. All thanks to Twilight as the backbone.
And third, the story has its merits that are overlooked or denied. One of the wonderful things about vampires as a literary tool is that it can embody many themes, topics and forms when it comes to story telling. Because of this vampire literature tends to tackle a lot of taboo topics and complex thematic stories more often than not. This for some people can be an issue when interested in vampires who as a person carries certain values regarding sexuality and relationships because of aspect such as a religion you partake in. Stephenie Meyer is a mormon. Because of this she wrote a vampire story that carries her values at the core of the story but that it also alludes to her sensibilities as a conservative woman. When reading Twilight it really is about whether Bella and Edward will wait to get married to have sex or not. The climax of the story is so perfect and happy and almost nothing serious or disastrous happens that would be considered ridiculous in any other story. Its all so lush and beautiful(which is carried to the films, more on that soon). This spoke to so many people who were like her. It is the modern fairy tale. Like Beauty and The Beast or The Little Mermaid, but with vampires! Even the sparkling situation speaks to this. It is so feminine and conservative that it distinguishes itself apart from other teenage vampire soup operas such as Buffy and The Vampire Diaries. And this is a wonderful thing; finally these type of people who could not enjoy the regular form of vampire stories have one to call their own.
The films add to this even more so. While yes they are poorly acted for the most part, they are self aware at how ridiculous they are and play up on their strong qualities, specially by the later movies. The cinematography, the clothing, the locations and the soundtrack(which was always great) are so lush and pretty and comfortable and cozy that they are the ultimate chill out flicks and absolute guilty pleasure, cause when they were good, they weren't just decent, they were pretty good!
And lets be honest, if we can have the Underworld series as every vampire fan's favorite guilty pleasure, why not let Twilight be a part of the scene. The black sheep of the family, but the one who achieved greatness in its time.

COMMENTS

-

---

AntiChrist616
12:49 Mar 27 2018

Aww, you sound cut up, are you upset vampires don't sparkle.

---

POST COMMENT

Sensuality in vampires is a prevalent(and necessary thing) as is spirituality(which is almost a must) and while I don't plan on getting on those two things on this night, I will speak about the relationships in the vampire world.
Its important to understand that the vampires are old. Ancient at times, and they tend to act as such given their superior intellect and their countless experiences that us mortals could only hope to achieve. This isn't shown much on the teen vampire dramas such as The Vampire Diaries and Twilight(even though those have their merits), we do see it fully on display in Only Lovers Left Alive and The Vampire Chronicles. Only Lovers Left Alive shows two vampires who have been in a relationship for hundreds of years and act as such. In the films we only spend a few days with them and through them we see people who have known each other well as only time can offer and who have learned to love and appreciate the differences between them. They can live for a long time without each other and when together again, its like little time has passed and offer. The films(and characters) show a unique sense of companionship and intimacy which little love stories do. Their romance is past the mundane everyday relationship we on our lives tend to encounter.
With Anne Rice's vampires it is the sensuality that plays such a crucial part in the relationships. Given the fact that vampires do not reproduce like humans do, the sex is at times pointless(though they do indulge in it). Its the savoring of the moments that is played up in them. The appreciation of beauty and environment, the sensual tension and flirtation, the realization that intimacy of any kind with anyone is a gift. All of this is important to them because as immortals, they spend a lot of time alone wandering the earth, and small moments like this have profound emotional effects on them. And these qualities are so wasted on today's ephemeral relationships.
We should appreciate the things these vampires appreciate for they have lived longer than us and know the value of such. In a world where we can swipe left on tinder, and the young ones are raised on shows like "Next", we have lost touch with these romantic and valuable aspects to our relationships of any kind. We do not need to be everyday with our paramours, as long as those moments we are with them, we truly are there, and we embrace all aspects of the moment to let them know that it is a companionship worth the time and indulgence. Like the vampires, lets make our romances, exquisite experiences for our mind and senses, and is lucky we find ourselves, heart.

I used to not understand well role playing. I started trying it in Warcraft as an elvish character and I must say I was quite impressed with how much fun it was, though I was not all that great at the endeavor. I was also, not all that much of a fun of keeping to the lore and not being able to go more full on it.
As I grew older and started reading Anne Rice and other vampire books, and eventually discovered Vampire: The Masquerade while frequenting goth parties, I decided to get more and more in tune with my vampire side that has always been there since my father showed me vampire flicks.
Somewhere in my teenage years I installed IMVU on my computer and as of late I have returned to it to explore the vampire community.
While not a very profound community, it is not small and the role playing is strong. I have found myself enjoying different types of vampire role play, and while most of the time sexual activities take part sooner or later, it never is any less interesting exploring the sexuality of vampires and their different perspectives with other players.

COMMENTS

-

---

Dakotah
15:41 Mar 17 2018

What is IMVU? I am a long time role-player and started my first MMO at 12. I love role-playing its like a creative outlet... I would love to chat with you sometime about this in more dept. Message me sometime when you have some free time.
-Sean

---

Carnivoar
03:06 Mar 25 2018

I apologize for late response, I have been quite busy and distracted. IMVU is a 3D chat service. You create and customize an avatar(who you can endlessly customize as you keep buying items) and you go through different themed chat rooms with ever varying environments and locations and different types of people. It almost feels like a game, but it is a glorified chat service through and through.

---

POST COMMENT

The first of multiple journals I have an interest in writing in which I long to explore on how the immortal undead help us as individuals cope and deal with our lively mortality we are faced with in our time.
It was probably in Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire, which I first noticed this. It is that moment where Lestat, Claudia and Louis are decorating their new home in New Orleans. He lays himself in a couch of velvet. There he meditates on how much he is appreciating the moment. He loves the sent of the flower bouquet, the softness of the velvet, and in love with Lestat and Claudia, he falls entranced with the endless and complex patterns of the french carpet they had placed on the floor.
We have to remember that vampires are humans who have died; and for whatever reason, they have returned to live again, and in that immortality they have to learn to find what makes them wake up every night, and apart from the thirst of blood, find what is worth living for. And these small details, the little pleasures and treasures of life can be it. The constant reminder that yes, we are alive, and we are going to die and not come back. If an immortal being can prevent being jaded from life two hundred years into the world, why can't we?