With 'Breaking Dawn -- Part 2' coming out this weekend, should you shell out $15 for a ticket, or  just stay home and have a massive TiVo 'Vampire Diaries' party in your sweatpants? We support the latter decision. And not just because we love sweatpants.  Here are ten reasons why 'Vampire Diaries' is definitively better than 'Twilight.'

1. Katherine Pierce

Katherine Pierce
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While 'Twilight' has many cool plot twists and glitter and stuff, 'The Vampire Diaries' has the fierce and lovely Katerina Petrova, better known to loyal fans as the first doppleganger turned vampire, Katherine Pierce. She's selfish, vicious, dangerous, bloody, and yet charming and complex. Complex characters. Oh snap! Point one.

2. Origin Story

The Mikaelson Family
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While Stephanie Meyer doesn't give an origin story to why her vampires (also known as the cold ones) exist, 'The Vampire Diaries' writing team has been having a field day investigating how their vamps came to be. They introduced us to the Originals, a family who lived back in the 10th Century Viking era; their witch mother Esther turned her husband Mikael and their five children into vampires using a magical ritual that involved blood in order to protect them from werewolves, so the Originals are immune to daylight, are stronger than other vampires, can compel both humans and vampires alike, and can take on a werewolf with ease. The only way to kill them is to stake them with a dagger made of an ancient white oak tree and burn the body. Super-awesome unmurderable vampires = booyakasha, Cullens!

3. Damon Salvatore

Damon Salvatore
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Okay ladies, while Robert Pattinson's Edward Cullen and Paul Wesley's Stefan Salvatore do have some charm--after all, who wouldn't want an attentive boyfriend who does what he can to protect you, it's still Damon Salvatore, bad boy extraordinaire who takes the cake (made of blood, because he is a vampire). We will not be accepting discussion or arguments on this point.

4. Friendship

Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline
Vampirediaries.wikia.com
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While Bella and Jacob have a cute little friendship-type thing going on in the 'Twilight' movies, it is marred by the fact that he's madly in love with her, which makes it basically the worst kind of friendship. 'The Vampire Diaries' proudly shows how strong Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie's bonds of friendship are. No supernatural menace can break their feelings of friendship and affection towards one another, and it is refreshing to see positive female interactions on television too. Sorry, Taylor Lautner. So sorry.

5. Werewolves
Werewolves
Gawker.com
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While the Twi-wolves are cool -- who doesn't enjoy horse-sized wolves who when human enjoy being shirtless and showing off their hot bods, the 'Vampire Diaries' werewolves are just a little cooler. While Tyler Lockwood is just as hot-headed as Jacob Black, as a wolf he holds it in a little better. Plus, the show creators used actual wolves in most of the shots and while Jake's wolf form is cute, it doesn't compare to real wolves. Please don't eat us cursed Native American werewolves, but you lose.

6. Klaus Mikaelson

Klaus Mikaelson
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While the Volturi are scary, and Jasper Cullen has the charming anti-hero vibe going on, they don't compare to Joseph Morgan's Original vampire-werewolf hybrid, Klaus Mikaelson. Although he's a villain, Klaus will make you love him since he's only trying to make a hybrid army because his adopted father hates him and he's looking for love. Don't worry, you can fix him. Plus he has a charming British accent. Damaged British hottie we *know* we could "fix" beats dandified secret vampire tribunal, hands down.

7. Witches

Bonnie Bennet
Tvfanatic.com/
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Here's a race of beings that is never even touched upon in 'Twilight': witches. While the Twi-vamps sometimes have powers such as clairvoyance and telepathy, the witches in 'The Vampire Diaries' have a whole host of magical spells and powers to aid them in their work. Bonnie Bennett, can take down weaker vampires by basically giving them a killer migraine. She can defeat vampires by giving them headaches. Amazing.

8. Strong Female Characters

Elena Gilbert
Fanpop.com
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One of the many critiques about 'Twilight' is that Kristen Stewart's Bella is basically useless. She lets Edward and Jake make all the decisions, becomes lifeless when her boyfriend leaves her, and blinks way too much. On the other hand, Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, and Katherine all take charge when the situation calls for it and do not wait around for their menfolk to make a call. Or to give them a ride on their dirt bike because they looooove "danger." Point: 'Vampire Diaries.'

9. Period Costumes

Katherine Pierce in 1864
Shessmart.com
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On a purely shallow note, look at this amazing dress. Nina Dobrev in particular had gorgeous dresses that could make a LARPer cry. The CW would make a fortune if they allowed licensed replicas of those dresses; we are just sayin'.

10. Sparkle-Free Vampires

Edward Cullen Sparkling in the Sun
Squidoo.com
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The best and final reason for why 'The Vampire Diaries' is far better than 'Twilight' is due to the simple fact that their vampires don't sparkle. Because they're vampires. When it comes to vampire mythology and the Sun, the clear winner will always be the vampire mythos that doesn't take its inspiration from the '70s disco era.

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