Practical Folklore, Monday 2nd period

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I'd like to begin by apologising for last week," Jon said, fidgeting at the front of the room. "Something came up, and... Well, never mind. But we're back this week, and I thank you all for coming. So, I thought we'd start with something fairly simple. Not the name of the class, that's probably a bit more nuanced. But there are plenty of other creatures out there. So, let's begin with vampires."

He rolled his eyes. "For one thing, they may not all be what you're thinking of. We've got one...well, at least one, anyway...here on the island. So some of them are certainly capable of both complex thought and self control. The ones in my world have neither of those, really. They're more like leeches than anything. And they don't talk - they just sort of project their thoughts to you and make you think they are. So that's one thing to watch out for, I suppose.

"All of the ones I'm aware of or that have passed through here do have one thing in common, and that's the need for blood. So if you spot someone focused on that, that might be a clue," he said wryly. "And there are weaknesses most of them have in common, too - sunlight is usually a good one, although apparently that's not quite true for all of them, so be aware of it but don't rely on it."

He stepped up to the whiteboard. "I thought we could begin by brainstorming weaknesses and dead giveaways, and then we can discuss how you might go about dealing with one. So, who would like to begin?"

Comments

Re: Class activity

[napking]

"Not everyone who drinks blood is a vampire, though," Gray said. "At least, not where I'm from. I drink blood." A very normal thing to say casually in class.

Re: Class activity

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Oh. Well, um. Right, perhaps we can't take that as a given, then. I don't suppose you mean like...like blood pudding or the like."

It was so hard not to ask questions when you really wanted to blurt out, What the hell do you mean??

Re: Class activity

[napking]

Gray made a face. "Gross," said the guy who'd just said he drank blood. "No. I mean, I don't have to drink blood. It's just...like a bonus?" Another extremely normal thing to say in class, Gray.

Oh! "Oh! I'm a Nephilim. Did I...did I not mention that? It wasn't a secret. I'm a Nephilim."

Re: Class activity

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I, um. I don't think you did. But I didn't know Nephilim drank blood, either. That's the child of an angel and a human, in my world. And fictional there, since angels are."

Re: Class activity

[napking]

"Fallen," Gray corrected. "A Nephilim is the child of a fallen angel and a human." Or, in his universe, the descendant of such a child, but Gray was the genuine first generation article. "I don't know what you would call the child of an angel and a human, since to the best of my knowledge that's never happened. Angels spend as little time mixing with the lower races as they can get away with. But they would be very different. They wouldn't drink blood, for one thing."

Re: Class activity

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Right." Jon frowned, mostly in thought. "So there's something in the difference between an angel and a fallen angel that makes drinking blood okay, then."

Re: Class activity

[napking]

"Well, the fallen have to drink blood," Gray said. "Because they're damned." Those were the rules as he knew them. "But they're not vampires. Vampires are their own thing. The Nephilim don't have to, but we can. It has some benefits. Like, it makes alcohol work on us, when it doesn't normally."

Re: Class activity

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Oh! Okay." That made more sense now. "Fallen angels drinking blood isn't a story I've ever encountered before. So I suppose it's good to know, if there are things that differentiate them from vampires. Or if there is an appreciable difference."