Jane

More About Me (Because I Know You Want to Know)

Jane, Patreon

I figured, after my rather abrupt debut, I should offer some background on my relationships with Ella and Erica as well as some reasons why I decided to begin contributing to this blog.

I moved into this building a year before Ella and Erica. I was attracted to the historical features, the price, and the unpredictable schedules of the other tenants. No one here would notice that I rarely left my apartment during the day and work mostly nights. They would assume I was a nurse when I left the building in scrubs. And I could feel in the energy of the building that I might one day have a supernatural companion if someone moved there for the same reasons.

Ella is the one who found me out. That should not be a surprise. She is a wise and experienced witch. And she is the one who introduced me to Erica. I think she saw an us a common inability to accept a fate we had not chosen for ourselves. She saw a potential for friendship, and she was right.

Despite the vast difference in our ages, I have almost 200 years on Erica, my personality seems to have locked in at the age I was transformed. I also hail from New England, although it has been so long since I’ve been back. And I, too, have found I truly enjoy my life, or non-life, in the Midwest.

I’m ashamed to admit that Erica and Ella were my first friends in more than 70 years. I had forgotten what it was like to be able to be my full self around other people. Because of that newfound confidence, I was able to make another terrible friendship that nearly destroyed me. I do not blame either Erica or Ella. Without them, I doubt I would have survived.

And that is the story I want to tell. That first wave of shock and grief and despair has passed over me. I have emerged changed but not weakened, and I can finally relay what happened.

-Jane

Why Vampires Make The Best Depression Buddies

Free, Jane

I waffled back-and-forth over whether or not I should write this, but with Erica prioritizing herself through this mild depression, as she should, I felt I us sad folks were rather underrepresented. Ella does her best to try to understand Erica, and it is helpful to have someone who is willing to give you the space you need and can demonstrate what it will be like on the other side. But sometimes, you also need someone who knows exactly what you’re going through, from the anxiety to the depression and the exhaustion. Someone who understands without hesitation. So I am here to explain my role as Erica’s emotional support vampire.

I’ve known Erica for a while, and Ella for just a bit longer. I was drawn to the building independently about a year before Ella and Erica moved in. I was delighted to have some supernatural company and became fast friends with both of them. Which is how I ended up as Erica’s emotional support monster during this latest wave of depression.

It was only fitting that I be there for her as she helped me through my last particularly rough bout with depression. I had endured a rather tragic event and came to a traumatic realization that nearly paralyzed me and Erica was with me every step of the way. Although you wouldn’t know because both she and Ella have done wonders to protect my privacy until this time. And no, this particular tragedy was not my transformation into a vampire. While tragic, I was transformed nearly 200 years ago and for the most part have accepted my fate as a vampire.

One overlooked benefit of vampirism is that it makes it easy to be there for the people you care about when they need you. We are largely inactive during the day so we make great binge watching buddies. When we do venture out, we must stay out of the sun which makes us great companions for the trip to IKEA or Home Depot that has been weighing on you but right now seems to overwhelming.

Some reasons might be more specific to me, but are still heavily influenced by my vampirism. I love listening to people, and hearing what human life is like, even the bad stuff. Just to know what I missed out on. And I know exactly what it feels like wake up wonder why on earth you were dealt this lot, and that there are certain problems that you have to deal with no matter how difficult and exhausting and complicated they are. And I know the feeling of hopelessness when you cannot immediately change your circumstances. And I know the feeling of waking up one morning and, even though your circumstances have not changed, something has clicked in your brain and you have found the world once again full of joy and wonder. And I will never stand in your way when that morning comes when that morning comes arrives. I know so intimately what it is like to be robbed of the joys of human life that I would never, in my own indulgence, drag someone back into a depression keep myself company.

So get yourself an emotional support vampire. Unless you are not magical. Then we might try to eat you.

-Jane