.lovelysweet.

I never wanted to be this. I didn't want to hunt every night, seeking my prey as the world sleeps. I didn't ask for it. The night I died, I was just a girl. In the wrong place, at the wrong time. The vampyr that witnessed my dying found me just before I had crossed over to the Light. His powerful bite, his blood, his essence, infused into me. And when I woke, I was like him. Vampyr. Monster. Reviled and hated. He took me in, cared for me, and showed me what I had become. I hated it and loved it. Despised it and craved it. In my anger and disgust I dove deeper into the darkness, a witness to the unspeakable.  I decided that if I was a monster, then I was going to BE the monster. Taking my pleasure in the hunt, the chase, the look of horror in my victims eyes when they realized what was about to happen... and then the pure extasy as I drank their life essence. Warm, delicious and oh so alive. But deep down, I knew I was not that. And so I came back to him, my Vampire ...

This was not going to be a statement, but as I worked, more and more, this image became so much more than just a blog post. I will credit the creators, of course. But this is, for me, my statement of Womankind. I am not a shrinking violet. I will not apologize for who I am. The symbols in this image speak to a truth of hatred and violence towards women that has been propagated for millennia. We are were once Goddesses, then fell from grace because we dared to ask questions, we dared to ask for more.. because we DARED.  Fear drove the witch trials. Fear of losing power drives governments to force women to cover up, to prevent them from driving, to keep them uneducated, to take away their inherent rights to make a choice in their reproductive lives, to keep them from accessing healthcare. The cycle continues still. Across the world, the fear and hate continues. And yet, we rise. We are your caregivers, your Mothers, your sisters, your lovers. We are your daughters. We are your f...