As always, I can only answer re: Ricean vampires, I’m not aware of any other vampires in other media having tatts… maybe in Twilight they can/do?
Definitively, it’s not addressed in VC canon, I don’t remember any of the vampires having tatts (whether they got them before or after they were turned) so it’s open to interpretation, #Your headcanon may vary.Personally, I have a bunch of thoughts on this mixed into my #tattoo tag, so check that out.
My headcanon is that vampires can get a tatt (and it will look permanent) but it will fade during the deathsleep, which is what @frankenlandinformed us that Anne Rice thinks about it, too:
If we accept the author’s words as canon, we can say definitively:
1) Tattoos that the vampire tries to get AFTER they have been turned: Will vanish in 24 hrs.
2) Tattoos that the vampire has BEFORE they have been turned: Will fade/lighten/change (see comment from @monstersinthecosmos on my post about this, below)
i remember Anne said on FB once that someone’s tattoos would probably go really light and lacey/elegant looking after they’re turned, but remain in a way that looks ~ethereal~ lolol
^I’d have to find the post but I would imagine that AR means that the tattoo will “go really light and lacey/elegant looking” over time, not at the moment of turning, but it could be interpreted either way.
@thebibliosphere added to one of my posts: “I treat vampires as just very long living humans, which means even tattoos fade over time as the skin cells regenerate.” [X] I’m inclined to agree. I also think a tattoo could be removed from vampire flesh “by scraping/cutting/etc. off the tattooed skin and letting it regenerate to its natural state).” as @skeletalroses put it [X].
i remember Anne said on FB once that someone’s tattoos would probably go really light and lacey/elegant looking after they’re turned, but remain in a way that looks ~ethereal~ lolol
^I’d have to find the post but I would imagine that AR means that the tattoo will “go really light and lacey/elegant looking” over time, not at the moment of turning, but it could be interpreted either way.
It would have been nice if she had answered your whole question and included whether any of them DO have tattoos, and maybe
Hello! This question, actually, is much deeper than it appears.
I’ve addressed it physiologically before, and originally, I was going to link you to that privately, but then I remembered a tattoo from years back (under the cut bc it was under a cut on the person’s blog), and it inspired me to make further considerations, more in the context of the purpose of a tattoo. In that secondary but equally meaningful aspect, I haven’t addressed what the tattoos represent to the ones who wear them, and why the erasing of a tattoo could be devastating to a fledgling vampire. (As always, this response is only about Ricean vampires.)
I’m answering this with good intentions, just the exploration of this deeper question and context. I’m not trained in the issues that I will touch on, but these are just my thoughts on the topic at hand, and not meant to be authoritative in any way, shape, or form. I invite anyone who has gotten tattoos or is thinking about getting them to share your thoughts on this, to get some more perspective.
PART I: The physical aspect:
I don’t remember any tattooed Ricean vampires in canon, so I can’t say definitively whether the tattoo ink would remain or not :- This may be a question for the author. For our purposes:
On the one hand, as @thebibliosphere added to one of my posts: “I treat vampires as just very long living humans, which means even tattoos fade over time as the skin cells regenerate.” [X] I’m inclined to agree. I also think a tattoo could be removed from vampire flesh “by scraping/cutting/etc. off the tattooed skin and letting it regenerate to its natural state).” as @skeletalroses put it [X].
HOWEVER! On the other hand, the ink could be flushed out along with anything else on the body that is incompatible* to the vampiric parasite at the time that the vampire is turned (*“incompatible” meaning “unnecessary,” like the bodily organs for solid food breakdown or whatever else that are flushed out). Is a tattoo, or the ink thereof, an “imperfection” also an “incompatible” thing? I don’t know. So would the vampiric blood erase a tattoo? It’s possible!
– PART II –
People get tattoos for a wide variety of reasons, here’s just a few (and the first three I’m asterisking & bolding bc I feel like those are the reasons that I didn’t address properly before, and I want to try do so, albeit in a limited way, further down).
*To change something about themselves bc they are unable to change a larger aspect of their lives, possibly they want to transition from one gender to another, and are not financially able to do so,
*They are in the process of changing
a larger aspect of their lives, maybe they are gathering more information about the processes in order to make informed decisions about transitioning, or are taking HRT and gradually seeing the changes, or they have a specific quote/motto that is helping them through the change,
*To show that they have MADE a change about themselves and want to commemorate/celebrate that change, maybe they transitioned genders, or accomplished a life-long goal,
For protection/good fortune/etc., – my cousin has a viking rune of protection
To be part of a group – symbols that indicate allegiance to a group or religion,
To advertise one’s interests – like getting a Superman logo might draw other fans of the character to you and strike up a friendship or more,
(Some ppl do get tatts purely bc they’re aesthetically pleasing)
Etc….
Those first three are my focus right now, and I have not undergone a life change of that magnitude so I do not wish to offend anyone by presenting any misinformation.
But I can speculate that it is a deeply meaningful body modification. In some cases, it’s the only body modification that can be made and it has tremendous value to the person who chooses to have it. On a related note, when ppl ask about vampires and hair dye, I think this may be a similar kind of body modification, something that one can do if they are unable to do the larger desired change.
>>So a mortal gets a tattoo, or several, that help them feel like they’ve made at least that change to their bodies, and it helps them, whether it’s for a change desired, a change accomplished, or a change-in-progress.
If that mark is erased when they become a vampire, what does that mean about the change that the tattoo was about?
Is it erasing the change
desired/accomplished/-in-progress?
If that mark is erased, is being a vampire a sufficient replacement?
What are the consequences of erasing that mark as it pertains to the change desired/accomplished/-in-progress?
What emotional impact would it have on the vampire that that mark was erased?
So when this question is asked, it’s also about the fact that when someone chooses to get a tattoo for the sake of representing CHANGE, will that representation of change last into eternity? Would the mortal WANT it to? Would they be devastated that it was gone? These are all considerations and I don’t have the answers.
On the other hand, and on a lighter note,
Does this mortal really want that conversation-starter of a Superman logo on their thigh for ETERNITY?
How frustrating would that be to be stuck with something they’ve decided they DON’T like and/or support anymore, and keep getting asked about it repeatedly??
It could make for some intriguing vampire emotional exploration. #NO REGERTS indeed.
Again, a tattoo that I remembered from years back, which inspired me to make these considerations, is under the cut bc it was under a cut on the person’s blog originally.
For Ricean vampires (idk the rules with others), I don’t think dye would last forever bc they can cut their hair, and the dye would be effectively removed.
Dye is a color treatment on material that’s basically dead and outside their bodies. Even though their hair does not grow longer than the length it was when they were turned, it can be cut off and will grow back their natural color. I don’t think the dye would vanish during turning, either, like nailpolish wouldn’t vanish during turning. The nail underneath would change to that vampiry glassiness, but not be visible. The hair would change in texture inside the dye.
With something like a tattoo, I would think that it could be permanent, if the mortal had them before being turned, because the ink is under the skin, but maybe the vampiric parasite would reject the ink as being unnecessary. I don’t think we have any tattooed vampires in canon to know for sure.
I treat vampires as just very long living humans, which means even tattoos fade over time as the skin cells regenerate. Vlad has one (it features in the book) which he had done while alive, but after 400 years it has faded into a smude under his skin. In another few hundred it’ll be gone entirely. They’re undead not dead, with abnormally lengthened lives, so regeneration seems plausible, unlike a zombie who cannot heal.
So things like hair dye would grow and fade out too, in my universe too. Which means now I’m imagining hair dying parties with other vampires cause they can’t see whay they’re doing in the mirror.
For Ricean vampires however I’d say cutting the hair off would probably remove the dye and purge any tattoos from under the skin, especially the metals found in the ink.
I very much agree with “I treat vampires as just very long living humans, which means even tattoos fade over time as the skin cells regenerate.” and in fact, Ricean vampires do change, whatever animates them is working to convert their flesh; they can even accrue supernatural gifts over time*. I agree, then, re: your Vlad character, and it would probably be the same for Ricean vampires. Fading tattoos.
*Injury may also contribute to this, it’s implied that suffering damage will make them stronger (the old “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” thing, probably).
Which means now I’m imagining hair dying parties with other vampires cause they can’t see what they’re doing in the mirror.
For Ricean vampires (idk the rules with others), I don’t think dye would last forever bc they can cut their hair, and the dye would be effectively removed.
Dye is a color treatment on material that’s basically dead and outside their bodies. Even though their hair does not grow longer than the length it was when they were turned, it can be cut off and will grow back their natural color. I don’t think the dye would vanish during turning, either, like nailpolish wouldn’t vanish during turning. The nail underneath would change to that vampiry glassiness, but not be visible. The hair would change in texture inside the dye.
With something like a tattoo, I would think that it could be permanent, if the mortal had them before being turned, because the ink is under the skin, but maybe the vampiric parasite would reject the ink as being unnecessary. I don’t think we have any tattooed vampires in canon to know for sure.
I-want-my-IWTV 