"Mom... dad.... I'm a vampire"

So I wanted on doing a post for World Goth Day, however I was not at home at the time. I was at Otafest, decked out in stripey tights, a poofy skirt with a pocket watch dangling from my belt, hanging out with a bunch of Goth/Raver-type guys who found great joy in party boying a man dressed like Captain Jack Sparrow. They gave me lots of hugs and were rather... interested in my parasol. Hhmm... (Pictured above is a photo of me taken on that day by a friend {Hakuuuu~♥}. Yes, yes. Photograph of a vampire. Yes it's very special and amazing. Oh, wait. No it isn't.)

Anyway, on to other important matters: Just yesterday myself and a few other teen fangs were having a serious discussion. Okay, so, maybe at the time it wasn't that serious, what with us giggling and all that. But after wards, relaxing in my coffin later that evening, I couldn't help but think of the magnitude of what we were talking about. And just what were we talking about, you may ask? Why, coming out of the coffin! Obviously, that phrase is used to describe the act of telling your friends, family, coworkers and any other morals close to you the truth about your vampiric identity (that you are, in fact, a vampire).

Ah, my coming out story. Naturally, I had a love for dark clothing and vampires since before I actually joined the ranks of the undead, so my parents weren't really surprised. At all. A little wary at first, but that's to be expected.

But what about the hordes of other fangs, whose parents may not be so ready to accept their coffins 'n' blood lifestyle, or who may worry that their friends may delete them from facebook because they no longer have the desire to get a tan? Because I am such a nice person (heh heh heh...) I've decided to put together a handy little guide line of things to do when coming out of the coffin:

1) Do your research There's a picture of me front and center in this post. Which means that, yes, we can be photographed. We have reflections, and though we are nocturnal and don't like sunlight doesn't mean we burst into flames in it. Spend some time learning; try to meet other vampires in your area (it's actually not that hard. Just fly around sometime after midnight. You're bound to run into someone). Spend some time outdoors to test your tolerance to sunlight (everyone differs), as well as other things such as garlic, bells and crosses. The more vampire myths that you can prove wrong, the better.

2) Prepare your supplies! Blood is, of course, mandatory. Whether you like it or not. Of course, hunting down humans on the street is very not commonplace today, and could get you into a heapload of trouble. So don't do it. Ties to the hospitals and butchers are good (if you aren't sure about how to go about doing this, ask a few other vampires for help. Chances are they have connections). Same goes for coffins. Coffins can be very expensive. I happen to know a few people who can hook me up with a new casket for a reasonable price. If anybody wants to know names, feel free to contact me.

3) Avoid Halloween This is obvious. Avoid coming out around or on Halloween, or they'll think it's just a joke. Same goes for April Fool's Day or after you've just watched a Twilight marathon.

4) Keep calm and compromise Yes, I know. It's scary. Just keep your voice calm, don't get your cape in a not and don't threaten to drain their blood and you should be fine. Explain that you're still their daughter/son/employee and that you are still the same person, just with fangs. You can set up rules: no drinking blood from your coffee cup except during break time, your coffin has to be kept out of sight of visitors, etc. Whatever makes everyone feel more comfortable with having a vampire in the family.

Well, that's about it. Hope some of you got some useful information from this (you should be thanking me for this!) Until next time...

You're weird... you deserve it

I had original planned to do a post on some of the different vampire legends from around the world, but a recent post at the Ultimate Goth Guide (a blog created by a very interesting mortal indeed) caught my attention.

The stories within that post got me thinking: I'm one of the lucky few. The 'weird one' who was never picked on, teased, bullied. Well, not completely. I've had people call me a 'freak' and an 'emo kid' (even though I never found those phrases to be all that insulting). I've had people stomp on my feet, very obviously start whispering about me when I was around, and others make comments about how I'm a witch and I sit in the corner of my bedroom contemplating suicide. While that doesn't exactly sound pleasant, those incidents are nowhere near to comparing to some of the things that happened to other little gothlings (I like to think that the reason I wasn't bullied much as a kid is because other people could somehow sense that I would one day become a ferocious blood-drinking monster, but that's probably not the case...).

It's a sad fact that many people respond to things that they don't like or don't understand with violence, whether it's to a different race, sexuality or unusual hair colour. It makes me sick. I have blue hair and multiple facial piercings; does that mean I deserve to have things thrown at me? I enjoy wearing velvet and corsets; does that mean it's my fault when people harass me? I'm nocturnal and sleep in a coffin; does that make me any less human? (Well, okay. You got me on that one. But you get my point.)

The other sad thing about all of this is that many people think it's the odd person's fault. "They should know by now that if they dress weird they're going to get unwanted attention!" And, you know what? That's true. We do know that our appearances are different and therefore not many people will understand us. And we do know that, again, many people respond in negative ways to things that they don't understand. But you know what else? We shouldn't have to worry about that. Everyone should have the freedom to dress however they want without fear of having their faces beaten in.

If a Muslim woman, who chooses to wear traditional garb, is the victim of a crime, is it her fault for choosing to "look that way"? No, not at all. If a Goth, who chooses to dress in a darker fashion, is a victim of a crime, is it his fault for choosing to "look that way"? No, not at all.

All this talk is really starting to make my blood boil. But you know what would stop it? Putting an end to this prejudice. The elation I feel when I see a 'normal person' standing up for a 'freak' is nothing short of amazing. We really need more of that in the world. We're all people; we all deserve to be treated the same.

Well, that's it for this post. Wow, ranting really makes me thirsty...