kingcharley17

[kingcharley17]

Honestly this is so good! I'm glad you could make something very interesting out of a joke essay title I made (which yeah is actually an interesting topic now that you think about it.)

Vampirism and Nudity: Correlation or Causation?

(shoutout to @kingcharley17 for helping with points and inspiring this essay in the first place!!)

First, we must consider why a vampire would want to be in a state of undress in the first place. This includes both full nudity and scant clothing, such as lingerie. If a vampire is less dressed, it may encourage others around them to similarly strip. This may suggest that it is an evolutionary development, as less clothing on prey would likely make it easier for the vampire to feed on them as there would be easier access to the skin – and therefore blood – of the prey. Furthermore, if the human is wearing less clothes, it is more likely that they will have similarly discarded any potential weapons that they may have been carrying. Even if they had not discarded everything that may be of risk to the vampire, it would be more visible as there would be less clothing to obstruct it, such as other vampire teeth on a necklace that may have previously been hidden under a shirt. This would make the feeding much safer for the vampire, as it allows them to assess and mitigate threats easier. 

Additionally, more clothing could be a hindrance to the vampire in a fight, as it could be grabbed and pulled or get in the way. 

Similarly, dressing more revealingly may encourage sexual encounters, which is attractive to vampires for two main reasons. First and arguably most important, sexual encounters can result in feeding. This is beneficial for the reasons explained previously, but also for further reasoning as the prey may be allowed to survive, and may even enjoy the encounter if the vampire plays into the prey’s potential masochism correctly. This may therefore continue to suggest that nudity is an evolutionary advancement, as prey surviving and enjoying the encounter makes it less likely that the vampire will be caught and subsequently hunted.

The second reason is that many vampires are likely very isolated. Most are forced to isolate themselves for fear of being exposed as a vampire and being endangered, or because they have outlived everyone that they used to care about. This means that vampires may be craving familiarity and intimacy, which can be provided with sexual contact. Sexual encounters also supply simple pleasure for the vampire, which they may otherwise be lacking. It can be assumed that because vampires are functionally immortal beings in some cases, they will become listless and bored with life and may develop depression over time. In this instance, the pleasure of sexual encounters may break up this monotony and give the vampire some excitement and enjoyment that they may have been previously missing. 

Furthermore, this could be used to manipulate others. Nudity and sex can be used to attract people, but also to distract them. In this way, nudity could be seen as a tactical practice rather than a specifically vampiric one. 

Continuing down the route of biology, vampires are much less vulnerable to natural elements than their human counterparts. They do not seem to be affected by cold to the same degree as humans, save when they get so cold that their bodies physically freeze. But even then, they are likely to survive when they thaw. They are not invincible but they are not as affected as humans may be by other natural occurrences such as rocks underfoot or prolonged exposure to rain giving them a cold. This often negates the need for clothing as a form of protection, even meaning that they can often forgo shoes if they wish. 

Nevertheless, they do have one glaring vulnerability – the sun. This is a huge weakness, and easily avoided for the most part by covering up more. However, many vampires instead choose to avoid the sun by switching to an exclusively nocturnal lifestyle. This is favourable as it has less potential for danger than simply covering up. Clothing can easily slip and expose the vampire to dangerous UV, as well as the fact that completely covering up – including hands and entire face – can draw suspicion. Additionally, this nocturnal lifestyle works perfectly in tandem with points previously made about sexual encounters, as most establishments that cater to activities of that nature open during nights rather than days. 

On a personal level, most vampires are very old when considered on the scale of human life. As previously mentioned, vampires will lose their tether to humanity as the people they knew slowly die out. In this context, it can be assumed that many human values may eventually be forgone in favour of more beneficial new opinions for the vampire, such as a lack of shame pertaining to nudity. It can also be assumed that alongside losing their “human” values, as vampires lose their tether to mortals they may begin to stop caring about everything, including nudity. Therefore, it may be construed that the older a vampire is, the more likely they are to favour revealing clothing. 

However, there is still the question of when that line is. At what point does a vampire lose their shame? It can be assumed that this point will be different for each individual, but that then raises the question of whether it is an age that many vampires actually achieve. The oldest vampires are centuries (if not millenia) old, but the youngest have only been around for decades, and many die before they even make it past the span of an average human lifetime.

There are several similarly selfish reasons that a vampire may wish to show more skin. Many vampires are beautiful, and some have been known to be worshipped as a sort of deity. Again, this display of beauty could encourage positive attention, but specifically of the more egotistical type, feeding into the vampire’s possible notions of being godlike. Having humans enthralled and infatuated with them may help the vampire to feel wanted or as though they belong. This is important as many likely hold insecurities about these topics, as they are forced to be cast out from society to stay alive.

Likewise, vampires do not scar easily. They only retain scars from injuries pre-turning, and any injuries they may have gotten from other vampires, such as the actual act of their turning. This smooth, unblemished skin could play into this “godlike” idea, as they appear to be invincible. If the only scar they have is their turning mark it may also contribute, as they may begin to see this mark as holy in itself. 

Alternatively, nudity may fulfill the complete opposite intentions, depending on the vampire’s sentiments. Their body constantly being in view and on display may serve to remind them that they were human, once, and they still mostly have their human body. This may help them to feel connected with the human race in general, or to feel more “alive”. Humans are either alive or dead without a doubt, but vampires tend to have more nuanced opinions on whether they are alive, dead, not quite alive or not quite dead. 

Furthermore, if a vampire has got a lot of scars, they may wish to show these scars off as trophies, reminders, threats, etc. A vampire with a lot of scars is generally one that has survived a lot of violent encounters with other vampires. Therefore, displaying these scars warn other vampires to stay away. This would make nudity a protection for the vampire, as it allows them to avoid further violence.

However, it may make more sense for a vampire to wish to cover up more for these very same reasons. They may feel shame over looking like a human, either because they feel unworthy of looking like part of the species any more, or because they see humans as beneath them. They may not like their scars or lack thereof and wish to hide themselves for that reason. However, this may only be applicable to younger vampires, who still have an attachment to the idea of being and appearing human. In contrast, it can be assumed that older vampires do not care about appearing human, save for circumstances where it may benefit them to blend in. Even so, in this case they do it out of necessity rather than shame or fear. Moreover, negative feelings about vampirism may be individual rather than an opinion held by all young vampires, as there is evidence of younger and older vampires alike dressing in revealing clothes. However, this does raise the question of how sexual these vampires were pre-turning, and whether their affinity for nudity is influenced by vampirism at all or whether it is just who they are.

Additionally, the act of turning a vampire and the subsequent actions that have to be taken to stay alive are traumatic, the actions that are often taken against the vampire afterwards equally so. This could make sexualising oneself a trauma response as a consequence of vampirism, rather than the vampirism itself.

Finally, a vampire may prefer to show their body more in an attempt to stay modern. This is especially applicable to older vampires that have survived many generations of trends. Throughout years of fashion and life and tastes changing, one thing always stays constant: sex. Sexual desire is something that has always been a driving force for a large part of humanity, not necessarily as an intention but it has always been present. It is an animalistic and natural urge. Therefore, vampires can capitalise on this desire and always stay modern, despite ignoring general trends. They can wear whatever the underwear is of the time rather than dressing up fully, as underwear tends to have much less nuance with what is popular, especially with more sexual scenes. 

In conclusion, I believe that there is some correlation between the two, although it is not generally a direct path. Vampires become more open and less shameful as they age, which leads them to be bolder in topics such as nudity and sexuality. They may choose to embrace these topics in situations that benefit them which are similarly brought about by vampirism, but aren't a direct product of. 

[kingcharley17]

Not Quite Dead is a podcast

[kingcharley17]

Modern vampire who has spent the last 70-ish years of their immortality primarily being slutty in nightclubs and non-lethal snacking on hookups shocked and uncomfortable that most vampires older than the lightbulb are really into torture and cruelty and eating babies alive. Super excited to finally meet his own kind and then oh no. oh fuck. time out wtf are they doing. this is profoundly unsexy they bit that guy’s arm off and are letting him crawl around screaming and crying. there’s not even any kissing or grinding or club music. is this normal?? i am Going to throw up i’ve gotta get these poor ppl out of here. askjeeves how to smuggle 30 naked prisoners (assorted genders) out of vampire mansion time sensitive.

[kingcharley17]

Do you guys like my drawing of a Vampire?

[kingcharley17]

wow, I sure love this Neige guy. I sure hope that something bad doesn't happen to him or Alphie during the next episodes I have left til I catch up.

...

(something fucking horrid is going to happen to Neige, isn't it.)

i'm on episode 25 rn and woah are they killing eachother or fucking i'm confused

[kingcharley17]

Relisting to the first season of a Not Quite Dead now has me sitting with my face in my hands after every episode. Like first time listening? Walk in the park gay horny vampires and guy telling you about his life while he is actively dying. Neat, great, no more thoughts. And the relistens has me like this:

[kingcharley17]

I would give so much to listen to Not Quite Dead for the first time again. It had me in a chokehold. I told the dentist about it.

I mean I tried to tell the dentist but it is rather hard to speak with tools in your mouth.

[kingcharley17]

chat if casper and alfie arent endgame its over for me

[kingcharley17]

I always find it so funny when my NQD posts get dug out of the grave, that being said: Casper is a smoothie.

What type of smoothie do you think all the characters are? (I'll take milkshakes too).

[kingcharley17]

Hooray!!! NQD S4 is officially fully funded!!!

Thank you so much to everyone for showing up for this show, it means so much to me, thank you ❤️

tiny.cc/nqd4

[kingcharley17]

A Selection of Celebratory Crowdfunder Vampancakes!

I was making these yesterday to celebrate every £100 in the pot on the Not Quite Dead Season Four crowdfund! This is only a selection - tumblr started Freaking Out so I deleted my failures and the ones which I did not personally make (we got up to 19 pancakes I needed to call in back up!)

[kingcharley17]

what if i go wild and post the NQD patreon bonus story today

as a treat

[kingcharley17]

Has anyone listened to the remnants podcast? Can you tell me if It is a good listen I don't wanna start another podcast if it might not be the best </3

[kingcharley17]

Neige, Alfie, and Casper from Not Quite Dead :)

[kingcharley17]

A little Casper for your day. I think I've improved a lot since my last few! It's been a while, I was busy writing.

[kingcharley17]

i do need to compliment not quite dead bc it took me three episodes plus listening to the credits to realize it’s just been the one actor this whole time. i can see this whole story and all these characters so vividly in my head and it’s literally just been alfie talking and describing everything singlehanded

[kingcharley17]

I have to sit and live with the knowledge that as a child I believed to be gay you had to pay a monthly fee.

Of course, I couldn't be gay I couldn't afford it!

"Oh sorry, honey, I'm tight on cash this month I'll have to be straight."