4/21/2021 Pitching Woe
There is a particular personality type that I would like to discuss today. It is that of vampirism. I came across the concept in my readings on socio-pathy about 8 years ago. Now, I think there is a minority group of people who do perform literal sucking of others' blood. I find that kinda weird, but to each their own, I guess, and that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the type of person who weaves a web, or some other kind of trap, using self-pity and woe. They claim to be "stuck" in an emotional rut, and if only someone would hear their problems, maybe they could find the strength to claw their way out. There could be many different kinds of traps and lures set and cast by different vampires, but the one I'm going with today is injured mental health and adolescent friendships. Deep down, others are caring by nature and are drawn to this seemingly injured fawn, if you'll allow the imagery. Seeing the prey approach, the vampire's thirst grows as it knows it will soon feed. What happens here, outside the metaphor, in reality, is a type of friendship is struck, only it's not actually a friendship, remember. It's a trap that someone has fallen into. The prey offers comfort to the vampire in their moment of need. Keep in mind that, whether they know and accept it or not, both of them are in hell and perpetuating it in their own ways.
Next, after a quick but deep pull on the prey's soul, the vampire is quenched. The prey has given the vampire their undivided attention for a number of hours, a shoulder to cry on, a hug of support, and this makes the vampire feel good, but the vampire will soon become thirsty again. In the following days, the prey will give the vampire lots of little gifts such as notes of encouragement, waves as they pass one another in the halls at school, lots of smiles, and they have even already started to develop a sense of respect for the vampire. The vampire had the courage to be vulnerable with them, but what they don't realize is that it was mostly an act. The vampire's pain is real, for she is, in fact, in hell, but she is in hell because she chooses to stay, even when she knows the way out. Logic says it is puzzling why the vampire wants to stay there when there is a clear, well-lit path out. Perhaps she is too proud to admit that her vampirism is wrong. Too afraid of the pain that admitting that would induce. Perhaps, and this is the one I really hope against, it is too late for her, and she just likes it. As the friendship continues, the vampire becomes very charming. She knows that if the truth were revealed, about the trap, that the prey would become angry and leave. This does eventually happen, but not yet, for the vampire is cunning and knows how to heal the prey, restoring their soul so that there will be more to suck. The vampire is very cheery, considering their given mental state a mere two weeks prior. Just snapped right out of it! The vampire showers the prey with gifts in return: notes of encouragement, waves as they pass one another in the halls at school. The vampire has even planned a big birthday celebration for the prey. It's not a party with music and food and all the prey's friends. It's a private affair. The vampire must keep the prey close so as not to lose them to another vampire or the prey's own freewill. The vampire plans a whole day together, just the two of them. Homemade lunch, then a nice private bubble bath for the prey, a carriage ride downtown, a movie, then back to the vampire's house for some cake, all the vampire's treat. The cake is lopsided and the frosting is not quite even, but the vampire, caught up in her own trap, truly believed she made it with love, and it tastes good, so it is endearing. Sooner or later, with the natural ups and downs of life, the prey will come into some difficulty of their own for which they could really use some comfort. Having spent so much time with the vampire in the months prior, naturally, they believe the vampire is their best friend and someone they can count on for this much needed support. How mistaken they are. The vampire is only good at nurturing the soul to health for the purpose of their next feeding. For this reason, the vampire has developed the ability to give a very convincing pep-talk. It is so convincing that the vampire herself even believes that she means what she is saying and feels genuinely concerned for the well-being of the prey. People even tell the vampire how sweet and caring she is. These are two words that she will hear continuously throughout her life. She feeds on these as well. Compliments and flattery go over very well with the vampire. She chooses to believe this sweet and caring nature is her true self instead of the truth: that the sweetness and caring are tools she wields for her nefarious purposes. She wants to believe she is good, and so she does. This leads to the false sense that she has no faults, and so for years, she will ignore the faults whenever they are presented to her, arguing that other people say that she is sweet and caring, so how could there possibly be anything wrong with her ways? Eventually, being an individual with their own freewill, the prey will start to stray, little by little, farther from the vampire. The vampire seems to be doing really great, mental-health-wise. The sense of urgency for the vampire's well-being is long passed, so the prey does not feel the obligation to give so much of their attention to the vampire. They can get back to doing some of the things they enjoy doing on their own or with other people. This spells doom for the vampire, for who will fill the void that she will not fill herself? The vampire may then employ a variety of tactics to reel the prey back in. The vampire may talk about missing the prey, she may seek out a new molehill in her life to turn into a mountain, necessitating another round of hours of undivided attention, a shoulder to cry on, and a hug of support. She might pitch some self-deprecation, admitting that she hasn't been a good enough friend, presenting agony so that the prey is compelled to offer reassurance that, no, the vampire is a good friend. Sometimes the prey will have the sense to keep their distance, adding that, even though the vampire is a good friend, the prey just likes to do other things too. Other times, the prey is sucked right back in. This cycle continues until inevitably, the prey just cuts off the vampire completely. Sometimes the cutoff is eventful where the prey goes to the school counselor to express her feelings which leads to the school counselor telling the vampire exactly what she is doing and how it is unhealthy. Or maybe the prey invokes the power of a mutual friend and former prey to lecture the vampire on how she has wronged the prey. Other times, the cutoff is gradual and naturally occurring, such as when the vampire goes off to college, and former prey are younger, still in high school. The physical distance is conducive to emotional distance because when the relationship is one of vampire-prey, distance does not make the heart grow fonder. Depending on the emotional dependence of the prey, it can take a longer or shorter time for the relationship to fade out completely. So what becomes of the prey? What becomes of the vampire? The prey move forward, wounded, with experience under their belts. Hopefully, they have the wisdom to not "pay forward" the pain that was inflicted upon them by the vampire. Like I said, though, the vampire and the prey both live in hell and perpetuate it in their own ways. It is a very rare instance indeed when the prey moves forward, wounded, without the desire to pass their pain onto others. As for the vampire, it is surely her choice as to whether or not she wants to remain in hell or take that clear, well-lit path out. Comments are closed.
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