So, I have a group of seven vampires living in an abandoned opera house. They can't go out in the sunlight, so during the day they're just kind of cooped up in the building. But I unfortunately seem to have written myself into a corner... because said vampires don't sleep.
So basically, what the heck do they DO during the daylight hours? Any ideas will be appreciated.
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Writing is like the evolution of some weird octupus. It starts out great, some cool camoflauge, then suddenly it's got eight legs and has stolen your pen and started writing. I wanted to write seriously, but the Plotpus took over and Then There Were Ninja
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Mei 7, 2008 - 18 30
I also had that with a bunch of vampires, they needed little to no sleep, but going out in the daylight aggravated the crap out of them (not exactly traditional walk outside and fry, but instant sunburn, extreme sensitivity to light and sunscreen didn't help), so I created an entire culture underground. They did things like well, people would do during daylight hours. They had jobs, but within the vampiric community, trained neophyte vampires, tortured or otherwise fed on any humans who were either smart enough or stupid enough to stumble upon their lair. Oh, and they liked playing their music really loud-- primarily because it annoyed their human neighbors, and if any of them were uh...foolish enough to complain, they'd be a mid-morning snack. tee hee.
60,560 / 50,000
Mei 7, 2008 - 19 40
Maybe you could shake up the lore a little bit more by making your vampires tolerant of sunlight. I mean, if it isn't crucial to your plot that they be vulnerable to the sun, maybe you could change that detail to make your vampires a little creepier. I mean, I coujdl tolerate the idea of vampries being nocturnal; at least that way there's a safe period for the victim to escape. But if they could go out at any time the victim could? There would be no rest, no safety.
----------The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everyone else.
- Umberto Eco
26,626 / 50,000
Mei 8, 2008 - 00 37
Depending on the situation (whether these are 'young' or 'old' vampires - in the sense of how long they've been that way, rather than their actual age) you could make some of the older ones tolerant to daylight (maybe only able to walk in the shade, thereby avoiding direct sunlight) and have the younger ones jealous of this ability. Perhaps the younger ones organise nightly raids of libraries, in an attempt to find old occult books that might teach them how to be the same way. Thus begins Vampire Day School *g*
----------2006 - Mesme
2007 - Wilds
55,005 / 50,000
Mei 9, 2008 - 12 17
I'm thinking more along the lines of Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly and Dr. Phil re-runs. If that wouldn't turn an otherwise civil vampire into a raging, bloodthirsty monster, I don't know what would.
Peace out,
----------Dharma
www.dharmashanti.com
****************
"Somedays the muse sings arias. Mostly she just belches the alphabet."
50,713 / 50,000
Mei 9, 2008 - 15 40
I should clarify - when I say they can't go out into sunlight, I mean direct sunlight. It doesn't kill them - the idea is, these vampires appear to be unnaturally, almost hypnotically beautiful - but direct sunlight reveals their true nature, which is hideous and terrifying and almost not human. Technically, my vampires COULD walk around in the sunlight, they'd just cause mayhem and probably call down all manner of trouble upon themselves. Also, the book revolves around the idea of (for lack of a better way to put it) vampire gang-wars, and none of my vampires would want to reveal their identity in the sunlight when it would make them easier to hunt by the other vampires.
So, it's not that they CAN'T go out, just that it would be a bit stupid of them. Hence being shut up in an opera house during the daylight hours. I would make them go outside if I could, or sleep if I could, but the fact that vampires don't sleep becomes a plot point later on...
And while I agree that watching Dr Phil re-runs might turn even a human non-vampire into a bloodthirsty beast, getting a television into Renaissance period Italy might be a bit difficult. (Sorry, I forgot to mention my time frame in the question. I might have to write a modern vampire story, though, it would be ridiculously fun).
----------Writing is like the evolution of some weird octupus. It starts out great, some cool camoflauge, then suddenly it's got eight legs and has stolen your pen and started writing. I wanted to write seriously, but the Plotpus took over and Then There Were Ninja
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Mei 12, 2008 - 10 20
You could just not say what they do during the day, just skip it and leave it up to the reader.
If you want to know what they do, maybe they can induce a sort of trance if they WANT to, which they might want to because they'd be so bored - and if they did, they could appear even more fresh, young, and human, which might be desireable.
Otherwise, they'd probably be so bored that they'd want to fight amongst themselves just to not die of boredom. Maybe when daylight starts, so does their internal war, which could be a subplot. They could fight about who is in charge or over females or something like that.
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Mei 12, 2008 - 13 12
Have them play chess.
A lot.
My vampires tend to do that.
*nods*
77,000 / 50,000
Mei 13, 2008 - 03 38
Heh, what they do while stuck in there during the day would be my favourite part of the book! Don't skip it!
How sadistic are they? Could they bring back victims during the night and toy with them/torture them during the day, before killing them?
They could certainly read a lot, maybe some very strange occult stuff and try experiments in spells and alchemy and stuff (even vampires probably want a load of gold, right?)
If all else fails, heck, they're in a theatre, they can put on plays! If you've ever been involved with an amateur dramatics company or even a school play, you know that can lead to delicious conflict.
56,894 / 50,000
Mei 13, 2008 - 15 59
hmm, given the time period, they could smoke opium or play around with the costumes and put on plays (or one after the other, it makes amateur night a lot more fun) they could also fiddle with their weapons if they have any or explore the attic and basement of the opera house, those always tend to have lots of space for . . . anything to happen, leading to scenes such as:
Dante: aha! I found you!
Lestat: I keep telling you, there is no one there. the phantom of the opera is not a real person, and you yelling "aha!" won't make him reveal himself.
Dante: *looks at his feet, embarrassed*
*phantom of the opera leaps from the ceiling*
phantom: aha! who is questioning my existence?!
Dante: *points at Lestat*
Lestat: (stammers) I . . . I . . . oh, I'm sorry, don't hurt me.
Phantom: *chuckles* *takes off mask*
Lestat: *scoffs* man, Mario, like I didn't know it was you.
Mario: I had you going there, didn't I? *he and Dante high-five*
Lestat: (to himself) oh, why can't we vampires sleep? (to no one in particular)I'm going to smoke some more opium *leaves*