(Blood Is Blood....) cont'd further

"Cold and detached" is rather accurate. Like any food, there is nourishment in blood... and because it is fresh and the donor is alive there is energy of sorts, but again, the need is not for that energy, it's for the blood... the taste, the nourishment, the texture.... (great, now you've got my mouth watering.)

Are people turnips to Vampires? Yes and no... depends on the Vampire. I see all living things as equal. With people, I ask first and pay the donor the price asked in exchange for blood. I don't have to kill the donor. With animals I give thanks to their spirit and to those who can kill animals... because I cannot without suffering with them. With turnips, I give thanks to their spirit and to the farmers who can detach from killing plants better than I can. Do I attach to my donors? Not unless that is part of the price they require for donating. They give me blood, I give them energy (in the form of attention) or whatever it is that they ask for that I can give. I don't attach to my food... even though I am thankful for it, but in the same respect, I attach to everything because I have compassion. If a creature died so that I might live, I feel a deep sense of gratitude and do mourn them. With drinking blood though, I'm not killing a person, I'm taking blood. The turnip was killed. The burger/cow was killed. The person was not. You can't compare the person to the turnip or cow. The person is still alive. Do you attach to the cow who gave you milk?

It depends on the Vampire though. I'm not a killer, it's not necessary to kill to get human blood, but I'm sure there are those who do kill... Vampires who do indeed just see people as turnips and who see turnips as things rather than beings. I'm not one of them though... at this point in time, I see all life as life and I do not enjoy killing for no reason other than to satisfy myself. I can't even mow a damn lawn without feeling horrible afterwards.

It's odd how the myths run with all of this and how the picture of what a Vampire is has mutated along with the invention of the motion picture... how it became a fashion and a lifestyle for people. I always thought it was just about what you ingest for nourishment. In the past, the lifestylers I deemed "Vampyres" and the "Real" Vamps I deemed "Vampires". True, it's all labels, but at the heart of it all is whether or not (what I've deemed) Vampires (other than myself) exist. That's why the first word I ever typed into a search engine was "Vampire". I suppose that I feel the need to connect with other (human) Vampires.

Fleas are Vampiric... does that make them sexy? I think not... but I do feel that I have more in common with them than I do a "Vampyre". In past topics I attempted to explain myself by saying that I was more "Nosferatu" and less "Dracula"... point being... to me, Vampires are indeed quite ugly to most... maybe not so much on the aesthetic level (depending on the Vampire), but most people do not understand emotional detachment... most people find it rather repulsive that another person could take their blood and not give the slightest crap about them... that they're often seen not as a donor, but as a turnip. It's the compassionate "human" part of the Vampire that asks first or turns it into an exchange... but it's not done to fulfill the Vampire, it's done to pacify the "donor".

Again... just my opinions and experiences talking here.

... there are just SO many sides to this topic that are well worth discussion.

Just to add this though... it's not that I'm NEVER attached to a donor. It's just that the attachment does not stem from the fact that I am drinking their blood. The attachment comes from the fact that they are my friend, lover, or just because they are a living being like I am (but that's more of a respect than an attachment). Until there's an AIDS vaccine, drinking the blood of strangers is not a wise practice if you desire to remain HIV negative. This makes it necessary to "feed" from people you can trust. In that, there is usually an attachment there already. This reality has definitely caused me to remain rather unsatisfied and I'm constantly trying to think up some solution to the problem.

When it comes to my own preferences, I'd prefer an AIDS vaccine and the ability to feed from strangers rather than those I am attached to. Depending on friends and lovers for blood sort of tilts the relationship... makes me too dependent on them and makes me feel constantly in debt. As well, just thinking about eating and sex together makes me nauseous... and drinking blood is eating (to me). Even with the strangers though, if I could avoid paying for it, I'd prefer that. Just give me the blood and go away. If I have to give something, it's not really adding to my overall energy... at best, it breaks even. I get nourishment/food energy from the blood, but I lose psi-energy from having to donate it to the donor... that leaves me needing to psi-feed to replace what I lost. If human blood could be bottled, kept fresh, and not turn into jello without adding chemicals, I'd have a well stocked pantry.