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Sangi's Corner

By Sari

This is a stage all blood vamps go through (and I'm pretty sure psi-vamps do, too), and it's sorta like puberty -- except that you have blood desires, not sex desires. When I recently went through my awakening, I discovered it was HELL. Insomnia, being unable to be in light without pain or discomfort, and the constant desire to suck your friends' blood were just a few of the things that changed. I decided to write this guide so you will know what's going on when it happens.

Here are some very important things to remember during the awakening (besides the Ethics for the Recently Awakened Vampire article):

- Being a vampire does not make you an all-mighty being.
In fact, 'bloodist' or 'sanguinarian' would be a more accurate term. The term 'vampire' just kinda stuck around so we would have something cool to call ourselves, and to be able to group sangs and psi-vamps together (there probably are other reasons, but these I believe play a big role).

- You CANNOT be 'turned' by another vampire.
This is impossible, as vampires have no superpowers what-so-ever (aside from increased senses. But come on! Would you run around wearing a black cape and sunglasses yelling, "Never fear, Super-Sense is here!!!"). However, if you were a vampire from the beginning (un-awakened, of course) your awakening can be assisted.

- It's OK not to be a vampire.
It's really nothing like Hollywood makes it seem. Being a real-life Lestat? Forget about it. If I had to rate vampirism 1 (worst) to 10 (best), I'd give it a 3 or a 4 (except when the school has a blackout. Then I'd give it a 7). You crave blood constantly (a very disturbing, yet oddly satisfying thought in the beginning), it burns like fire to be in the sun, it feels like red-hot pokers (okay, maybe not that bad -- just pretty bad) to look in the light, you hardly give off much body heat... I could go on and on and on... but I'll do that later.

- Friends who know/have found out about your secret have no right to tease and/or harm you.
Well, duh!!! There's another one for the 'Feel good about yourself' pile! Nor do you have the right to tease them about not being a vamp. Be careful, people who know about your secret can turn bad on you and try to harm you. If this happens, GO STRAIGHT TO THE AUTHORITIES! Do not try to handle this yourself if you've already talked this over with the person, and they still haven't stopped.

[Sanguinarius adds: You do not tell the authorities that you are a vampire, merely that So-and-So has gotten it into his/her head that you are, and that he/she/they have done or said such and such. If they have not specifically done anything yet, tell the officials that you do not feel safe around them, or are afraid of what they might do. Be honest but be accurate.]

- It's okay for the awakening to scare you.
It scares the crap out of a lot of us, and that's perfectly normal. Blood cravings can be a frightening thing in today's society.

It's an odd feeling to be happily sitting on the beach eating sandwiches one day, then huddling under the sun umbrella the next day, wondering what the hell happened. What happened was that a classic awakening symptom has shown it's ugly head: Pain/discomfort in sunlight.

Now, the pain itself isn't just a feeling inside your head. Chances are (if you're not caucasian), your skin is a pasty-white color (or slowly turning that way) and when you go in the sun, it starts turning pink. This is because the pain is telling you to get out of the sun because it burns. Literally. 'Normal' people do get sunburned, sometimes, and this usually takes a while. Depending upon how hot the sun was at the time, I begin to burn anywhere from seven minutes to an hour. So, word to the wise, kiddies: Get those sunglasses, and pile on that sunscreen! No more short sleeves for you!

A few more less severe changes I've noticed include:

- Night Insomnia
Boy! You can sure sleep the day away, but when it gets dark, you're ready to get active! This is a particularly annoying issue come exam week. The solution? Watch TV (boring shows) or read by bright light. This will force your eyes to close and you will soon get sleepy (the bright light does this).

- Not Being Hungry, But Very Thirsty
Gahh! It's so annoying!! You're not hungry, but you are, then your mom tells you to eat, but the only thing you want is liquid. So you go and drink things, but that still doesn't satisfy it, so you drink more, and that still doesn't do anything, but now you've got to pee like a racehorse (don't ask where I get these expressions). The solution to not being hungry for solids? Drink smoothies, then everybody's happy because you got the right amount of nutrition (yippety-skip). I know this still doesn't solve the 'can't get enought liquid' thing, but I'm getting to that!!

- Lactose Intolerance
Okay, so a lot of people are lactose intolerant, but that's just one less thing you can try to use to calm the Thirst.

- Looking Very Dead
This one can be used as a great prank, but I wouldn't recommend it, because it can scare people very badly. Having generally low body heat ("But, mom!! 97 IS a high temperature for me!"), pasty/pale skin (only for some people), and quiet heartbeat is not exactly to your advantage. You have a chance of scaring the crap out of a friend and/or loved one at a sleepover. Especially because once you do get to sleep, it'll be morning and you'll be sleeping like a rock. And if people fail to wake you up (they generally need to shake you hard enough), they may believe you to be dead, and that will cause havoc for you as well as everybody else if you wake up to see people crying and standing over you. This is especially bad if you fall asleep during class.

There are more symptoms, but I feel that it is very important to deal with the major problem right now: Blood cravings. Blood letting and blood drinking is NOTHING to fool around with. People can get hurt, or catch diseases if feeding is not taken care of with the MOST CAUTION POSSIBLE! I'm not going just to sit around here right now and lecture about safety; you can learn about it in the Guide, Tips, & Advice section. Right now, I'm going to discuss dealing with the Thirst.

The Thirst is nothing to fool around with. You want blood more than anything else in the world. It gets VERY intense when you vamp-out (a.k.a. 'twoof'). You will know when this is happening. Trust me. There are several methods to easing the Thirst, though the Thirst has yet to be halted all together. Try some of the following foods:

- Bananas
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Spicy Foods
- Beef Broth (canned, preferably)
- Rare Steak
- Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
- NesQuick Powdered Strawberry Milk Mix
- Apples
- Iceburg Lettuce

There are more foods that you can use, so experiment with different ones. We always need new ideas.

Be careful when you vamp-out. Get away from people and animals and sit in a dark corner. If you are at school, go to the bathroom and wait there until it passes (which may take a while), put your head down on your desk, or say you're sick and go home.

Whatever you do, just keep this phrase in mind (Whenever I vamp-out, I must remember this): "PEOPLE AND SHARP OBJECTS DON'T MIX!"

Remember that and you will either laugh so hard at the stupidity of it that your butt will fall off, keeping you from attacking somebody, or you will take it seriously and try to re-gain control of yourself.

I hope this brief guide had helped you a bit, and explained a few things. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or post on the messageboard.

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