Yes, there are other VoCs in the series! I was trying to only mention a few so as not to spoil that anon, who is new in the fandom and has not read all the books yet!
I should have double-checked re: Benji’s race before posting. Pardon the error 😛
But I still disapprove of his unhealthy attachment to fedoras.
Yes, there are definitely more VoC (vampires of color!) in VC, I only made an example of one, so as not to spoil that anon too much, as they are just starting the series 😉
Decided to compile more facts here about David’s appearance for future reference, bolded mentions of his skin.
In
Tale of the Body Thief, David describes him:
“ ‘Mother an Anglo-Indian, which may
explain the exceptionally beautiful complexion you’re describing, and which I can see here plainly enough.
Father a London cabbie who died in jail.’ “
Lestat describes him AT LENGTH in TOBT so I just picked a few relevant bits:
“…thick, wavy brown hair.” … “…brown eyes and smooth youthful mouth.”
“The thick glossy hair, the
uncommonly smooth and satin like skin. The exceptional beauty.”“He was a little taller than I am, six feet two, I
figured, and he was extremely well built, as I’d seen before. I’d been right about the age. The body couldn’t
have been more than twenty-five years old.”“… The fabric of the
turtleneck shirt showed his muscles to great advantage, and the clean white cotton made his skin seem all
the more richly colored, almost a dark golden brown.”“… Indeed, late adolescence had only just completed itself in this young male form, though I hadn’t
thought about it before. It was in every sense only just finished, like a coin with the first clear impression
stamped upon it and not a single tiny scratch of true wear.”
The short answer is: Yes, there are PoC vampires in VC (”VoC,” right? Vampires of Color?). There aren’t many in the recurring character cast but they’re in the series! Here’s one in
Queen of the Damned:
“Davis was a black Dead guy and one damned good-looking black Dead guy,… His skin had a gold glow to it, the Dead glow which in the case of white Dead guys made them look like they were standing in a fluorescent light all the time.”
Have I ever imagined what they looked like? I think that was a pretty good description, because other than the “gold glow,” I would describe a PoC vampire like I would a PoC person, with the features that they have!
[^X] Akasha is an Egyptian VoC, described in the novels as having porcelain white skin, and this is a point of contention in the VC fandom, that AR has whitewashed her. I don’t have a stand on this but I very much like the way that it was handled in movie!QOTD.
It’s worth noting that there is a debate as to what color the Ancient Egyptians’ skin really was, and I added a bit from 2 articles under the cut which might be of interest to you.
Akasha is also very old, and Ricean vampire physiology involves the lightening of the skin over time. This is another point of contention in the VC fandom, again, it appears on the surface to be AR whitewashing a PoC.
I would suggest that the draining of pigmentation is due to the lack of exposure to sunlight, as we can see in examples in nature of subterranean animals who have evolved over time to be light-colored.
^LOOKIT THIS CUTIE A Namib desert golden mole [X]
From Wiki:
Subterranean fauna are animals that have adapted to live underground… troglofauna are associated with caves and spaces above the water table … Adaptations to the subterranean environment include a heightened sense of hearing, touch and smell[1]… and loss of under-used or unnecessary senses, apparent in the lack of pigmentation and eyesight of most subterranean fauna.
^So maybe AR drew a little from there. Why a lack of pigmentation? I found an interesting study/article (In the Light of Evolution: Volume IV: The Human Condition) on that, too, which points to the lack of sunlight as the cause:
Observers beginning with Hippocrates in the fifth century associated human traits and temperament with the environment and recognized that skin color was part of this package (Isaac, 2004). The association of dark skin pigmentation with intense sunshine and heat was further developed by Aristotle and his followers as part of a comprehensive “climatic theory,” which related human features, dispositions, and cultures to the environment.
…The evolution of light pigmentation at high latitudes has long been related to the significance of production of vitamin D in the skin under conditions of reduced sunlight (Murray, 1934; Loomis, 1967).
^I would suggest that the vampiric parasite is always working on converting its host into a better vampire (and less of a mortal) cell by cell, and the process is accelerated too much by the UV rays in sunlight, which causes their skin to burn. Being unable to tolerate the discomfort, the vampire skin gradually drains of color due to lack of exposure to sunlight.
The rate at which they lose pigmentation and how much pigment is lost varies by individual. It’s also possible that some vampires retain a skin color that is similar to their mortal skin color. It’s not an exact science.
There are also examples of vampire skin becoming darker after surviving exposure to sunlight.
Hope that helped! Hit the jump for stuff about Egyptian skin color.
From an Observation Deck article:
…ancient Egyptians didn’t really perceive themselves as either “black” or “white.” Just look at the above painting from Pharaoh Seti I’s tomb. The top right group, with the palest skin are Libyans (Berbers), the next one over to the left are Nubians, followed by “Asiatics” (Mesopotamians). The bottom central group are Egyptians. By their own perception Egyptians were neither particularly dark nor particularly pale, and given their xenophobic attitude towards outside cultures (which was fairly common for most ancient peoples) they would probably resent being sorted into either “race.”
So why does this matter? Why is it important that we acknowledge the Egyptians don’t fit into our constructed dichotomy of black vs. white, of European or African? Well, for one thing many modern Egyptians find it kind of offensive. Despite their modern self-identification as Arabs, most Egyptians still feel a strong claim to the historical legacy of their ancient forebears and find it pretty annoying when American scholars (and, black or white, it is mostly Americans) try to pigeonhole the pharaohs into one racial category or another for political purposes.
From Wiki:
The race and skin color of Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of the Greek Ptolomaic dynasty of Egypt, established in 323 BCE, has also caused frequent debate.[46] For example, the article Was Cleopatra Black? was published in Ebony magazine in 2012,[47] and an article about Afrocentrism from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch mentions the question, too.[48] Scholars generally identify Cleopatra as of Greek and Persian ancestry, based on fact that her Greek Macedonian family had intermingled with the Persian aristocracy of the time. However, her mother’s identity is uncertain,[49] and that of her paternal grandmother is also not known for certain.[50]
♛*stretches out on the couch* How I’ve missed answering questions for you darlings. Been nearly a month. Louis and I have been off the grid.
We’re back now, for the time being. He’s sitting beside me now rolling his eyes at your comment, but I’m defending you! His hair is absolutely – positively – amazingly beautiful, although not as gorgeous as mine, of course. Mine is more of an experience than a simple physical material.
You know, now that I’m reflecting on it, his hair looks most sexy when it’s wet, either damp from the misty rain we get in New Orleans, or when it’s made almost liquid in some secluded pool rigged with lighting under the surface. He likes to swim under water, and when his head rises above the surface, the way his hair sweeps forward around his neck… it’s almost as if it moves under his command, as part of his own personal brand of witchcraft. Very sexy when it’s sticking in vein-shapes to his flesh from bloodsweat… *flicks at his fang* Now you’ve got me drooling. How embarrassing…
*Adjusts position, wipes at his chin, composes himself* Of course he lets me brush his hair! Louis prefers a wide-toothed comb or finger-combing. He dislikes the chemical fragrances of your usual modern haircare products, but every so often I earn the reward of sharing a steaming hot bath in which I am permitted to lather his hair up with organic shampoo and conditioner. Lately, he prefers these almond or mint scented.
I tend not to brush my hair often, as it separates the twists, but I do love to have it pulled when we are engaged in that special kind of heated debate… And fortunately for me, he loves to pull it.
Glad that response clarified things and that you’re sticking with it. I really appreciate your followup message!
Just because you read something doesn’t mean you endorse it. When things get too squicky for me, I “eat around” them, like you’d eat around the bruised areas of a banana. A whole banana is not ruined by a few bruises for me, but I can understand and I don’t judge if it ruins it for others.
This is their one of their first hits, right? I can definitely see it on Louis’ Burning All Yo Shit Down playlist, so yeah, #headcanon accepted!
[X]
I actually don’t really track any tags *embarassment* I tracked #vampire chronicles when I started out here but there’s too much in that tag for me to keep up with. Same with all the character names 😛
But! Your ask has inspired me to track these tags below, and I encourage others to use them, respectfully:
^Why does this matter? Because fanworks and discussion are sometimes blamed for decreasing consumer interest in a given copyrighted work, and if someone has encouraged your interest in the
copyrighted work, it was essentially *~FREE ADVERTISING,~* which is the OPPOSITE of “decreasing consumer interest.” Good defense.
(You can also tag me as #iwantmyiwtv,
#i want my iwtv, and #i-want-my-iwtv, I track those and check sometimes.)
then I suggest they just stick to a lightweight bb cream and mascara
I-want-my-IWTV 