A Vampire's Etiquette
I recently was talking with a friend the notion of personal etiquette, the notion that everyone has specific rules of conduct they use in their dealings with others, sometimes with odd results.
I described my etiquette rules as "A Vampire's Etiquette", off the top of my head. Why? Let me explain.
A vampire cannot enter a building unless invited. I do not presume people want me in their lives unless the ask me in. I honor requests for me to stay out of things (having been a well meaning meddler most of my life). This extends even to my "rule of two". This rule is that, if I make contact with a person twice, by email or voice mail and hear nothing back after two messages, I presume they are either too busy to respond or wish to end the conversation. Passive? Yes. But not wishing to be the bully or the bore, it takes the control out of the hands of the passive-aggressive sorts who use the "pocket veto".
A vampire does not drink "polluted" blood. They avoid those who have been drugged. I have made it a rule to not wittingly sleep with a woman who is drugged or drinking (I am transposing sex with the drinking of blood, as that is what sustains me, as it was with Marie, played by the always delightful Anne Parillaud in "Innocent Blood" when she seduced Anthony LaPaglia by shedding her clothes and announcing "I need this more than blood, right now"). To me, intimacy with a person impaired chemically, this is rape. To others it is foreplay. I am right, they are wrong.
A vampire, in keeping with Eastern European tradition, does not volunteer detailed answers to indirect questions, but will answer a direct question completely and accurately. I have actually found myself, on more than one occasion, compromised because the right question was asked, or another party was telling an untruth and hoped I would back their story.
There are other elements I am evolving, but this seems to be the gist. I don't invite myself into people's lives, I don't sleep with impaired women, I answer direct questions honestly and completely.
And they call me a monster? No, but some do. It is the curse of having any power, any impact, there are those who agendae are different from your own, who perceive you the bad guy, sometimes on hearsay evidence, sometimes without asking you if the rumour they heard was true.
Remember, not all vampires are evil. They are just trapped in their curse.
1 comments:
Sex with chemically induced people equals rape. Glad you mentioned that. I was surprised one evening while sitting with a group of actors that I had to back up an actress who made this same point. Even the writer of the drama they were all in, a female, did not immediately see the actress was correct when she said her character would have lots of internal issues because of the "date rape." She was speaking of an incident in the script in which her character's boyfriend introduced her to cocaine. When her characgter was high and out of it, he not only had sex with her but invited his roommate to do so as well. I was surprised how many people, all young, believed that since she tried the cocaine and was willing to do that, then the males having sex with her while she was unconscious was also consensual.
I had to explain, even if she realized her boyfriend had taken advantage of her and she let that go, do you honestly think she would've agreed to have sex with the roommate if she'd been conscious and in her right mind. I told them if it happened in real life it would be a legally a chargeable offense. And then they seemed to get it.
What you mention, having sex with a partner while she is intoxicated would be a blurry line that many men would cross, I think. But I think those who refuse to cross it are the ones who honestly want relationships and not just sex. Thanks, William. :-)
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