The Fang Debate

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Okay, it's your turn to decide.

Vampires through the ages have stalked their prey with fangs that arrived along with their immortality, more or less instantly and permanently stuck in place.

But some of them seem to have the ability to retract their fangs, thus allowing them to bum around bars and alleyways, passing for regular human beings until the time is ripe to strike.

Which way do you prefer your bloodsuckers?

Comments

Adele said…
It depends, if we are going for all out evil predators then I prefer all fang all the time. For your "Vampires are people too" kind of vamps (so most urban fantasy I guess) then retractable is fine.
May 18, 2009 at 10:48 AM
Holly said…
I haven't read any books where they have them showing all the time. So I suppose I prefer the retractable ones.

FYI- I just did a review of Dead Until Dark and tied it into the True Blood 1st Season which comes out tomorrow over at www.bellasnovella.com
May 18, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Heather B. said…
I've read books both ways but I think I like the retractable fangs. I know the Vamps in Lynsay Sands books have them and I love her books.

Heather
May 18, 2009 at 11:11 AM
Anonymous said…
With their fangs flashing in the moonlight. Let's be honest; retractible fangs would look mechanical. They might even make a sound like a garage door while pulling in.
May 18, 2009 at 11:28 AM
Anonymous said…
In these days, in most environments, vamps could flash fangs all the time and people would think they were dental appliances. So I'd say they shouldn't need to have retractable ones, unless vampire legends start evolving to include that the fangs are hollow and inject venom.
May 18, 2009 at 11:50 AM
Vickie said…
Retractable, por favor.....
May 18, 2009 at 12:48 PM
Michelle said…
While I love the shot of Gary Oldman looking up at the camera while his fangs grow, I'd normally go with "fangs all the time" any day. I just find this whole "fangs in, fangs out" business rather strange.
May 18, 2009 at 12:54 PM
Daelith said…
I'm kind of partial to the retractable myself.
May 18, 2009 at 1:29 PM
Jen said…
Retractable. Lisps aren't all that sexy. ;-)
May 18, 2009 at 2:27 PM
Kelly Meding/Kelly Meade said…
Protruding fangs can cut the hell out of your lips if you aren't careful. Makes retractable nice and handy.

Just sayin'. ;)
May 18, 2009 at 2:31 PM
Anonymous said…
I've only wrote permanent fangs. A lot of the novels I read though have them retractable. I'm working on a new UF novel, and I'm seriously considering making them retractable.

My main reason for making them permanently out all the time before was due to the old "make it as hard as possible for the MC" thoughts. All of my UF have been first person vampire, so I wanted to make it harder for the vamps to blend in, and they try real hard to do so, too.

But I see advantages of retractable, too. But please, no sound affects like in True Blood. Aaaggghhh.

I think retractable fangs should slide out slow and menacingly, or morph slowly into fangs. Scarier.
May 18, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Nicole Peeler said…
I've heard from my more sanguinary friends that if your fangs don't retract after four hours, you're supposed to contact your physician.
May 18, 2009 at 2:45 PM
Anonymous said…
I like the stories where their fangs come out when they are anger or aroused. So i'm for retractable

delitealex
May 18, 2009 at 3:37 PM
Anonymous said…
its the live and love forever





gypsywitch36@yahoo.com
May 18, 2009 at 10:12 PM
Mark Henry said…
I'm going to be in the minority and say no fangs. Ritual knives or full on bites. The less sharp, the more violence required to tear into the skin.

It's my thing. Of course, I right flesh eaters.
May 18, 2009 at 10:18 PM
Anonymous said…
Putting aside retractible, do you like your fangs in or out? Small fangs that hide behind the lips with the mouth shut, or outer fangs on the scale of a sabertooth tiger?
May 19, 2009 at 12:01 AM
writtenwyrdd said…
I write them retractable because they are a good bit of 'stage business' indicating the vampire's state of arousal; but as a reader I don't care either way so long as the fangs aren't always in the way.

Seems to me that in reality the fangs likely wouldn't be that big, merely elongated canines.

What really seems contrived to me is the bite wound healing issue. It can be difficult to swallow how some vampires just lick a wound shut with no mark, scar or sign of a hickey. (Of course, if youc an believe a vampire changes form or sprouts fangs on demand, it's not that big of a stretch.)
May 19, 2009 at 3:34 AM
Leslee said…
Have you ever back handed your friend when they make a stupid remark. It would be really bad if you did that and their fangs were out. Just saying, it'd turn into an IV or something...
May 19, 2009 at 3:50 AM
Emma said…
I would have to say retractable.
Primarily for the fact that it's beter to hide in plain sight if you don't have fangs sticking out all the time. It's got to be hard to try and conceal WHAT you are if you aren't able to smile without people thinking you're some kind of vampire wannabe.
May 19, 2009 at 5:16 AM
Jennifer Rardin said…
Excellent points, all!
May 19, 2009 at 5:17 AM
Mark Henry said…
I find it incredibly amusing that the word I misspelled in my comment was right/write.
May 19, 2009 at 6:25 AM
Falcata Times said…
I dunno, I think it could be interesting, for example would the retractable fangs be an evolutionary stage so that when they're "out", the vamp killers would leave them alone?

Personally I think it depends on the author and the type of character that theyre writing.
May 19, 2009 at 8:51 AM
Kait Nolan said…
I prefer retractable. Sort of makes it feel like they're higher on the evolutionary scale because it ups their ability to be able to get near and stalk their prey.
May 19, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Nicole Peeler said…
Mine retract cause I can't have a bunch of lisping, metrosexual vamps running around spitting on people. And talk about overbite! Their profiles would be allll wrong.
May 19, 2009 at 2:36 PM
Thom said…
I actually like the Eastern Europe thing where it's not fangs at all, but this weird ass feeding tube in their tounges that they stick in people like a great big mosquito.

So I guess that counts as retractable.
May 20, 2009 at 8:41 AM
Thom said…
I meant "tongues", not "tounges".

A tounge is a type of Canadian hat and it would be pretty bizarre for vampires to be using those to feed.
May 20, 2009 at 8:43 AM
Eve C-Mauri said…
As long as they bite me. I can have them both ways.
May 20, 2009 at 10:46 AM
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