well in my opimion, vamps don't neccesarily have pale skin unless they were already light in complexion before the transformation. I also believe that they can reprodue and those who were born vampires are more magically powerful, while those transformed are more physically powerful.
They're all beautiful, irresistably so. Although they are sensitive to sunlight, they dont neccesarily burn, but they are just greatly weakened by the sun. (like superman and Kryptonite... sort of) And of course they need to drink blood to survive, but they aren't limited to human blood (although, to them, it tastes the best)
If a human and a vampire were to create a child, the child would be just like a vamp except with decreased sensitivity to sunlight, and they can survive longer without blood if they eat human food.

O.o i typed way more than i thought i would

oh and Vampires do not sparkle. That's totally ridiculous. >.>

I love talking about vampires! I agree that taking away the weakness to sunlight takes away a core part of the vampire, just like taking away drinking human blood. I do not want to offend anyone, but the vampires in Twilight really just do not really cut it vampire-wise. This is what Dracula does to those vampires:



Dracula rules! Also:



I think that all vampires, regardless of skin colour, have flawless, smooth skin that seems almost non-human. Their fangs are retractable but are still slightly longer than a human's. Their eyes look sharper than a human's, and turn red when feeding or in the presense of blood. Vampires are always physically appealling, but do not all dress the same way, and behave according to their own personality. I think most of us vamp fans think of them as giving off an air of sexiness and charm, or mystery. They are also not all weathly or aristocratic. When exposed to the sun, they begin to burn; not burst into flames, but to burn slowly and they must get away or be destroyed. They are much stronger than humans with keener senses, which get stronger with time, but they will never become immune to the sun. I do not believe they can shapeshift, especially not into wolves; that would make them a lot like werewolves.

This.. I like this - you described me, aahaha.. apart from the hair (Alopecia ). I do have cold skin too, apart from my torso and legs. I have bad circulation so me extremities decide that they don't need any warmth.

Anyways.. This is how I see vampire, cause pale white skin is a little racist.. Don't you get Asian or African Vampires? Huh?

Plus:
- Heightened senses (all) so, being able to go out in the sun is fine, just a little uncomfortable. (With regards to this idea destroying the image of struggle a vampire has, how about constantly wanting to feed on the people around them? That has to be quite a struggle, to hold back.)
- Vampires don't necessarily have to be rakes and they would eat food (To sustain a body for however many years they'd live, even if they were immortal, they'd need some substance to renew wear and tear which blood alone wouldn't be able to do. So just like humans you'd get some porkers as well as those who eat a healthy and balanced diet. They'd need to drink blood to keep up their supply, being somewhat anaemic and unable to produce their own blood - or able to but only at a very slow rate. They'd prefer to drink from a human because it could be easily processed by their body at that temperature.)
- Fangs! (doubles, subtle, lateral incisor and canine)
- Any eye colour, DOES NOT CHANGE COLOUR!! The pupil would dilate to the extreme (more than arousal or dim light causes) when feeding or about to or thinking about it. This would also cover why atleast you never see vamps feeding in the sun, 'cause they'd let in too much light and damage their eyes. "What about sunglasses?" Well, have you ever tried to get your head into someone neck with glasses on..? it doesn't work.
- Slightly stronger/faster than their human equivalent.. So you wouldn't have a scrawny teen vampire being stronger that a champion shot putter or faster than Bolt. But the Bolt equivalent of a vampire would run the 100m in 8 seconds.



Unless they're going to a disco!

But tbh, I hate the whole romantic, magical idea of a vampire (floating on a altar? puhlease!) and all the magic and psycic ability needed to convince someone to give up their blood to you. Surely trying to get the blood would be a better struggle than worrying about the sun.

I prefer the idea that they could be absolutely anyone and you wouldn't know until you were lying in a pool of your own blood. And I also like the idea that you can only be born with it and turning is impossible, like the traits that make you a vampire are inheritable and not transferable. If you wanted to be a vampire so bad then you'd have to insert those genes into every cell of your body which would require a kind of gene therapy that doesn't even exist yet, or may not even be discovered.



Like Vampires aren't, anyway?
lol.

What is interesting is that many folkloric depictions of vampires specfically states that they have ruddy, bloated skin, not pale at all. But as time went on, and really pale skin became romanticized, as did vampires themselves, the two were put together.

No I totally agree with you! I think that for those who want vampires old fashioned then they can keep them that way, but for us who want the sparkle and sexy of twilight should have a mod that makes it that way!

30days of night Vamps. Blood thirsty, Mutated, human hating killing machines whose only concern is self preservation and overpowering humans and becoming the dominant species/race whatever you wanna call em. :3
Sorry.. twilight killed any Dracula fantasies i had. Hard to be all mm vampire when you see what they're being made into nowadays.
Scratch that..Alexander Skarsgard (I know i cant spell his name, Erik my Viking works<3) Oh baby does he fix everything meyer did.

Or if you prefer a more likeable vampire;

Fangs: would be ever present, I dont get how you could extend a tooth, but of course as long as you dont smile like a goof they'd be hidden.

Skin: would look sickly, like...y'know you've been dead. Not pale white cause i dont see a naturally dark person droppin their color for the sake of being a 'vampire'.

Features: Same as when they were turned.. you don't change bone structure when you die.. or maybe you do, What I mean is.. your cheekbones will not suddenyl become higher, your nose straight, your eyes change color, lips plump and kissable. You will be you with a subtle change. You'll look like you if you had te cold or flu. Or I suppose you would have the ability to wrap a glamour around yourself to appear flawless and sexy and blah blah yadda yadda. I'm guessing because most vampires in books or movies are old they all give off that aristocratic look/vibe because of their time period. I can see why people would say vampires would have elegant features and stuff. picture king arthur.. what do you picture.. or an old feudal lord. I duno.

Powers: Uhm..Lul,wut? Does a corpse develop super human strength? Or the ability to hypnotize? I suppose you could Sway their will and seduce them if you made eye contact or something. Of course those of you magickally inclined would either receive amplified sense or totally destroyed. Dunno if magick would favor a vamp or ignore it. You could maybe will suggestions their way, plant ideas , "send good vibes" deal. All depends on the mutation or w/e it is that triggers the vampirism. 30days of night strength where sunlight enrages you and Increases your strength tenfold or.. Anne rice strength where an ancient can increase it by.. omg a lot . Or.. just inc bone durability -shrug- hard to say.

Overall, as a vampire, you would Look like you, talk like you , walk like you. You would be you except dead, I dont get how blood would sustain you but whatever. You would have a more persausive air about you, but you would also give off very bad "vibes". People wouldn't think much of it but they would think .."Hmm.. something about them.. just doesn't seem right" . As for the sun.. I don't understand why exactly sun would damage you. Looking at it from a realistic point of view anyways. I know, i know, realisitc when they whole idea is bonkers. -giggle- So let's say jsut to be true to vampire folk lore the sun would irritate you, maybe cause you to turn to ash. The dark would be preferred because the daylight wouldnt quite show off your obvious difference from everyone else. Plus easier to commit a crime in dark than broad daylight no?

As for straight out fantasy types.... I has a thing for Vikings x;

I guess it has to be something like the pictures below... btw, all of the persons in the pics are vamps.
blood drinking beasts, some have strange almost magical power, and when thirsty have glowing red eyes... they're extreamly lazy during the day and hates sunlight. But they look amazingly good when they're composed (for example; not thirsty or angry or plainly sleepy), they also do not turn every human they bite, only a handful vampires accturly have the power to turn humans, most don't. They look like like humans and can live on regular food even if they crave blood. they also have blood in their vains and are living creatures, so they can die. also, just a thought, the reason that they drink blood is cause they need iron. And since blood contains a lot of iron it may work as a substitute for their own lack of the mineral.

You're assuming everyone views vampires as undead :3

While I accept a variety of theories about vampires and vampiric characters, I don't necessarily think you need to be dead to be a vampire.

Someone made up some rules based on folklore, put them in a collection of gothic works, and now a lot of people are taking these as the basic foundations of what a vampire 'should' be, when in fact the whole concept of vampire is up for discussion, like elves, fairies and whatever else fantasy/horror creatures out there.

For me there are core essentials that make a vampire what they are, and others may disagree with this, but in my personal opinion these are: The drinking of blood, some form of sensitivity (physical or psychological) or reaction to sunlight, longevity, lineage.

Now by lineage I mean they can pass on their vampirism to others. Whether this is by sexual means or blood transfusion is up in the air, but it's almost like a disease they can spread.