This page of the website is going to contain an essay that I will be working on periodically until I decide it's finished. It's that simple. It will contain what I think about vampires, both real and fictional, and all sorts of things like that. Nothing too brilliant, but writing is what I do, it's what I've always done. There is no changing that, nor is there any changing me. The essay will be divided into sections to make it easier for you to follow. Comments can be emailed to me (my address is on the contact page) or left for me in the message board, take your pick.

NOTE: This essay contains my own opinion and views. And it is copyrighted by me.It may not be copied reproduced on any other website without my expressed written consent. Period.

Part One

I almost hate to admit it, but when I first heard of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (not the movie, that was just cheesy) I thought it was pretty far-fetched. I mean seriously, to a logical mind, even one that revels in make-believe and always has, vampires and demons and slayers and hellmouths is going a bit too far in the way of fantasy. It doesn't exist, it can't exist, it's just a stupid TV show. And a heroine named "Buffy"? Who in their right mind would name their child Buffy? A nickname, sure, after all Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was nicknamed Buffy as a child. For a nickname, it's okay. But for her actual, honest-to-goodness name? The one her parents gave to her? Get real.

So okay, in the beginning I was a little overly-logical and more than a little skeptical. I still don't get most of it, although I'm much more tolerant of the whole demon thing. But more about that later. I'm still talking about Buffy. The Slayer. The Chosen One. See, that right there adds to my skepticism of the show. Oh I know Joss and his co-creators are brilliant and have a great idea here. But they're not being exactly fluent in the ideas. Here's what I mean.

Buffy is supposed to be THE SLAYER. The Chosen One. The only girl in her entire generation with the power to destroy the evil vampires and other demons. That is the whole gist behind it. However, what doesn't make sense to me is the fact that she is NOT the only one. She is not THE SLAYER, she is one of THE MANY SLAYERS and she sure as heck isn't the only one of her generation. If she is, then Faith is a lot older than she looks. Given the fact that Angel is over 240 years old and looks 30 that very well could be the case. But it doesn't look it. Angel's a vampire. Faith and Buffy aren't. They are slayers.

I didn't think it was supposed to be plural.

At any rate, I like the show. The Buffy show, I mean. I'm not the world's biggest fan of it, and it doesn't bother me if I have to miss an episode due to work. I've been watching more often lately, and I must say it's still a little far-fetched. I have some opinions of the characters that I'd like to share with you.

Are we sure Buffy isn't the witch of the group? Seriously the way she treats Angel is horrid and I'm glad he got angry and slapped her. I don't usually like things like that (those things being guys hitting girls, on TV or otherwise) but he had his own personal cheering squad when that fight happened. She deserved it.

Willow is cool. She's still in this "finding-herself" thing and I like that. She's very much like a typical first year university student (minus the fact that she's a witch). The lesbian thing is a little freaky but sexuality is a part of everyday life and it's nice that the show's writers are exploring that. I also like the fact that she's the computer nerd of the group. That's wonderful, seeing a female get a role that would normally be given to a male even five or ten years ago.

I'm not entirely sure what to think about Xander and Anya. Oh I know Anya was a demon, or is a demon or whatever, but I haven't seen her often enough to form an opinion of her. And as for Xander...he reminds me of a tag-along who always states the obvious. I wouldn't mind seeing him have a more active role next season, either in or out of the Scooby Gang.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am not one of the people who thinks Giles is good-looking! I'm sorry, but no. And I think he better start acting more like the Watcher he is instead of the school librarian. Buffy should not be able to walk all over him, I'm sorry. He's older than she is, he should know by now he has to stand up for himself if he wants to be taken seriously. But I love the musician part. Music has always been a big part of my life, so it makes sense that I like it when TV characters have musical qualities.

Where on earth did they get Riley, anyway? What was up with all that army crap, too? That was nuts. Much as I don't like Riley and wish he had never come on the scene (I'm sorry, but if Angel can't move on, then Buffy shouldn't be allowed to either...it's not like Angel just isn't moving on because he doesn't want to, he literally can't move on. Buffy can and is, and it's not fair. I know, I know, life's not fair, but this is fiction, not life!) I am really proud of him for getting out of that army thing. The Initiative or whatever it was called. Finally showed he has some brains when he did that. Took him long enough.

Saved the best for last: I love Spike. Seeing as though my website is about him and Angel and Drusilla, that shouldn't surprise you. I think Spike is the funniest of all the characters. He is witty and cunning and smart and I love the fact that he tells it like it is. I wish he didn't have that chip in his head, because he'd probably be even better without it, but then Buffy would be trying to slay him all the time because he'd be killing people again, no doubt. Ah well. Long as he doesn't change, I'll be happy.

Well that's it. My opinions of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the show) and the characters in the show. I have nothing to say about the actors except they're all brilliant. For all of the fact that I still watch it thinking "this is about as real as the ewoks in Star Wars" I tend to think of it now more as entertainment (however mindless) instead of just something I watched because my boyfriend watched it. Who would have known?

In keeping with that whole human terms thing, I have recently tried to figure out just WHO created Spike, anyway. I had assumed from what I'd read on most websites and in the books that Angel created Dru, then Dru created Spike. But there was this one website that insisted that Angel created both Dru and Spike, with "proof", which partially destroyed the theory. However, thanks to my friend Albrecht, I have the truth, straight from a reliable source (i.e. Joss himself). The following is a direct quote from All Things Philosophical on BtVS and it tells it just like it is. Drusilla is, indeed the one who turned Spike into a vampire, not Angel.

"Giles tells the gang that Spike is barely 200. Spike tells Angel, "You were my sire, man!" (he calls him this again in In The Dark). This would imply a 200-year old Angelus-bit William the Bloody. But according to Joss: "Angel made Dru who made Spike. SIRE means you came from their line, not just that they made you." (Jan 17 1998) We know that Dru was vamped around 1860, which means Spike can't be 200. In "The Initiative", Spike claims to be 126. This would have made the date of his birth (as human or demon?) 1873. A continuity flub. The explanation?

"I suck at math" (joss, Oct 13 22:27 1998).

It is likely 1873 was the date of Spike's vamping, not his human birth. Otherwise, he would not have reached the age he appears to be now before Angelus was cursed, and he would never have met his grand-sire before 1997, which he obviously has."

So there you have it folks, exactly who made Spike a vampire and when. Any questions? Go ask Joss. But be careful, he does claim to suck at math (and he's not the only one...!)

Part Two

Life goes on. Angel left Buffy and moved to Los Angeles to find himself. So to speak. And that's not such a bad thing, of course. Everyone needs to find themselves, but one would think a 240 year old vampire already would have figured out who he really is. Then again, Angel's not your typical vampire.

I am a huge fan of the series "Angel", and as I work on this website I am learning more and more about both "Angel" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". I guess researching a site is the best way to gather information.

I thought the Angel-Cordelia-Doyle group was a good team, I really did. I especially thought the whole idea of Doyle being a half-demon was cool because it showed that Angel wasn't the only "good" demon on the planet. However, I must admit that I love how Wesley is fitting in. He, Angel and Cordy are "family", which is something I don't think any of them have really had for a long time. I love how they take care of each other and worry about each other, especially how Angel worries about Wes and Cordy. This makes sense to me, after all, Angel's the immortal (so to speak) vampire and the other two are just human mortals.

The "Watcher-turned-rogue-demon-hunter" part is a little weird though. Wesley, I know, was a watcher, Faith's Watcher, in fact, but she turned bad for awhile, so he didn't really do a great job. I guess the Watcher's Council kicked him out or something, I can't remember right off-hand. So he turned himself into a "rogue-demon-hunter", which is all fine and dandy, but he's not exactly the bravest, strongest or swiftest person on the planet. Thank goodness he has Angel to help him, or he probably would have ended up dead by now. And I certainly don't wish that on him. After all, we already lost one side-kick, we don't need to lose another. At least not yet.

Doyle was a neat guy, and the demon make-up was cool. I don't really have a lot to say about him, except I think he was very brave and gallant to give up his life to save his fellow demons. He was a true hero and I know he will never be forgotten by either Angel or Cordy (maybe especially Cordy, but more about that in a minute), no matter how close they become with his "replacement", Wesley.

I never saw any of the episodes of "Buffy" when Cordelia was still on that show, so I have no real idea of exactly what she was like before the move to LA, but I've gotten the impression that she was a spoiled, self-centered person who didn't place much emphasis on non-material things. Maybe I have it wrong, but that's just what I've gotten out of her personality from watching her on "Angel". However, I think she's changed a great deal since moving to LA, and it's all for the better. She, I believe, thinks more of the non-material things, even though the material stuff is still important to her (and should be, after all, we can't have her changing too much, or she wouldn't be Queen C). She realizes now that she does have "family", people she can trust and rely on more than anyone else, Angel and Wesley. And she values that. I'm actually quite fond of Cordy, because she provides a type of humor in the show that makes me crack up laughing every episode. It's not like Angel's dark, sadistic humor, it's much more open. And I like it. Comic relief, Cordelia Chase-style.

Angel is, of course, my favorite character on the show. I enjoy the fact that he's a vampire who helps people instead of killing them...and it makes me laugh when the humans on the show find out for the first time that he's not human. Their reactions are priceless. I like Angel's brooding qualities, and it's wonderfully refreshing that he does not fully understand living in the time he's in. He's lived through so much, and seen so much, that it must be difficult for him to comprehend it all. The world is much different from when he was alive, as Liam, in Ireland. He's searching for his place in the world, when he can't really be part of it, because he's not human. But he does have a place...and his job is to help people and fight the demons who hurt them. Noble, really. The idea that he can't have a relationship with a woman, for fear of experiencing true happiness (again) and turning back into the evil Angelus, is a bit of a pain in the neck, especially when the love of his life, Buffy, can (and is) just move on like nothing ever happened, but we'll deal with it. It's not the end of the world, at least he's allowed to have family in Wes and Cordy, and not turn evil again because he loves them.

One thing that makes me think is the whole Angelus-Drusilla-Spike triangle. Angelus sired Dru, who in turn sired Spike. Now knowing what I know, I can understand the jealousy Spike has towards Angelus. Drusilla is, in a sense, obsessed with Angelus, and from the looks of things, she loves him better than she loves Spike. Now I think that's just because he sired her and she has some sort of debt to him or something. But Spike has the same debt to Drusilla. I'm not sure that Spike really LOVES Dru, but he obviously cares about her quite a bit (at the very least) and I think when he sees Dru hanging all over Angelus, it bothers him, and who can blame him? I can't.

I think Spike is more upset that Dru left him than he lets on. His other half (whether she's his better half or his worse half, I have yet to determine, *grin*) is gone and chances are he does not know where she is or even if and/or when she's ever coming back. I know I would be devastated if my fiance left me for anything, so if Spike really does love Dru, I can kind of imagine what he's feeling and I feel for him.

Hey, someone has to, right? I mean, seriously, he's not getting a hell of a lot of support from Buffy, Giles and the rest of the Scooby Gang. Maybe he should find some new people to hang with...

Part Three

Why do I like vampires?

You'll recall from the start of this essay that I was rather skeptical about vampires actually existing. Even now, I really don't think they do. At least, not the in Buffy/Angel sense.

I like to think that there are vampires in the world, as some of the websites linked to this site attest to. I like to think those vampires are normal people who are much more like 'Angel' than his evil vampiric counterpart, 'Angelus'. Just for the fun of it, let's compare the two.

Angel is a vampire who has a soul, who does not kill human beings, whose fangs and ridged brow only show themselves when he is in extreme pain or is very, very angry at something or someone. He helps people, regrets what he did before he got his soul back.

Angelus on the other hand, does not have a soul, he kills people without thinking about it, he does not help people, his true face shows whenever the heck it wants to, he regrets nothing that he does, and you probably couldn't pay him to help anyone.

I realize that Angel/Angelus are fictional characters, created in the mind of Joss Whedon (or however his name is spelled). They (along with Spike and Drusilla, so far...Darla is coming...) are the only actual examples of vampires that I have to go by, and I hope that if there really are vampires in this world, they are more like Angel (and Spike, now that he has that chip in his head...when are they going to find someone who can take it out for him and give him his fangs back?) instead of like Angelus, Dru and Darla, who are downright evil.

Are there actual vampires in this world? Who knows? I don't. I've read some of those websites I mentioned before. If you believe them, there are vampires, and my hopes for what those vampires are like has come true. But I don't know whether to believe them or not, because I've never met a vampire. I wish I could (as long as it wasn't out to suck me dry, I like my blood right where it is, thank you very much!) because I think it would be cool.

Back to the question that started this section of the essay. Why do I like them? Well, I like Angel because he's a good person, and I like Angelus because he tells it like it is, and I like Spike because he's just so funny and sarcastic. I have never seen an episode with Drusilla in it, so I don't have an opinion of her. And I have yet to form an opinion of Darla, but I'm sure that's coming with the next season of "Angel".

I like the idea of vampires, because, keeping with the only things I know about them (which only comes from Buffy/Angel, and so isn't much) I think they are cool. I think it would be neat to have a built-in Halloween costume. I mean think about it: if you were a vampire, you'd have fangs and a ridged-brow pretty much anytime you wanted them. Unless, of course, real-life vampires don't have those things, in which case, just forget that part. It would also be cool to not get sick as often and to heal quicker when you get hurt. It would also be neat to have heightened senses. No pulse, heartbeat or reflection? That part, I could live without. I could also live without drinking blood. Ugh.

Other than that, I think it would be cool to be a vampire. For a day or two, at any rate. I wouldn't want to be one all the time, because it would probably get old real quick.

Unlike vampires themselves. LOL.