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I had a daughter.

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Claudia asks Louis to make Madeleine into a vampire, so that Madeleine can become a "lady" doll of sorts. In this way they would be preserved together in vampirism as a never-dying mother and daughter pair. It is clear that Claudia has become a substitute for Madeleine’s dolls, which initially were a substitute for Madeleine’s lost child. When Madeleine becomes a vampire, she burns her doll shop, she is letting go of her dolls now that she has Claudia - The Vampire Companion

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This post is effing incredible, OP, brilliant work! 💯 This is why I always lose my mind when people insist that S2 didn't talk about race & racism, like omfg read a history book PLEASE.

Just a little additional context on the African American side though:

Louis' statement reflects more than just the writers critiquing the revisionist history about 20th century France. For African Americans born & raised during the Jim Crow era (1877-1965), Europe really was seen as a progressive utopia, compared to the horrors Black people suffered in their own busted country. Same with Canada being called "the Promised Land," cuz it was the main destination for the Underground Railroad, even though Canadian white folk were racist AF, too! But tens of thousands of slaves ran to Canada; ANYWHERE was better than here, in America. Which was Jonah Macon's point, too, when he enlisted just to get AWAY from here:

In Europe "they care LESS," not they don't care AT ALL. This was a positive--darn near naive/mythologized ("He ain't white, he French!")--sentiment Black AND White people had about Europe, WAY before the 1940s and the Algerian war. Louis said it all the way back in 1917, how it's better to get treated like crap in a foreign country rather than the one you're a frikkin citizen in; pay taxes in; fought & died for your country in, that STILL "makes you use the side entrance;" gay bashes you, lynches & discriminates against you, etc.

That's why Louis keeps raving about R-26 in 2x4 so much; that's where Josephine Baker performed; Black artists like her and James Baldwin famously left America and saw immense success in France that they'd've NEVER had in America. That's not revisionist history; it's historical fact. Sure, Europe & France were still racist AF. But many Black people really went to Europe and thrived over there. And that was how Louis wanted to thrive, too.

Black people being American (being born here) meant nothing to white people, cuz n*****s & slaves =/= citizens (human beings with civil rights). The Civil Rights Movement happened 10-20 YEARS AFTER Louis was in Paris. Louis was born in 1877--if he'd stayed human, he'd've never even lived to witness the CRM or ever see Martin Luther King Jr. & Malcolm X in action. My grandma--even my mom--constantly told me how different things were for them growing up than it is for my generation, and esp. for the younger generations--my mom was SHOCKED when Obama was elected. Even though Obama is problematic even in the Black community, his election STILL had Black people in tears. Cuz a few decades ago that would've been UNFATHOMABLE. So yes, for someone born the exact same year that Jim Crow started, for Louis, in his perspective, what Europe was doing really was better than America--segregation wasn't as strict in France as it was in America. And NOLA was considered VERY progressive compared to a lot of other Southern states, esp. for lightskinned Creoles like Louis. And he STILL said France was better. Esp. since he's STILL not living in America in the modern era of "progress/inclusion/etc"--he's in Dubai. Loumand was in NYC and SanFran for a few years, then they were right back overseas, and lived overseas ever since. That matters, too. 👀

Black African American perspectives are way too layered & nuanced & complex--and yes, even contradictory--to be simplified to Louis not reacting to the Algerian crisis the way someone else would; or him arguing positively in favor of France against America when the reality was much more negative for other Black people in the diaspora.

Armand being misperceived as Romani does impact his backstory (analysis/ theory) :

Maybe it's just the history buff in me. But you're telling me that Armand was enslaved in the EXACT SAME TIME PERIOD that the Romani were also enslaved in Europe. In Paris, he was mistaken as Romani by Nicki- who immediately looks at him with disgust and calls him a slur for Romani people. And Armand (who is mistaken as Romani) lived in N@zi occupied Paris for 4 years! When Romani were targeted by N@zis all over Europe during WW2 (and 25% of their population were exterminated in the war)! Am I’m really supposed to believe none of this is relevant to his character!???

Maybe, that's part of the reason he freaked out when he saw the sw@stika on Madeleine's store-front: and literally dragged Claudia out and forbade her from seeing her.

Perhaps he incorrectly assumed Madeleine had similar beliefs to the N@zis? Viewers could argue Armand is just a hypocrite for banning her from having a human friend: because he hung out with Louis' "human friends" in Paris, and even had his own human friend ( John Paul Sartre). But maybe Armand's reasoning for trying to keep the 2 apart -isn't as black & white as it first appeared? When Madeleine and Armand first meet, and Madeleine's first response is to say " go f*ck yourself". What does Armand say in response:"they always think they're different, stronger... superior." Interesting choice of words...

Not to mention, s2e1 shows all vampires have fake documentation (which soldiers called Louis & Claudia out for). Armand would probably have fake papers too . And many Romani at the time didn't have "their papers". It's even possible that (theoretically) soldiers would just assume he's Romani with forged paperwork (and trying to pass as a different race). Obviously, Armand has supernatural gifts to assist him, but his time during the war would have been ...rough to say the least. He would have most likely been a target (which is why he was probably placed right in front of the sw@stika and called a romani slur).

We see also through Louis and Claudia that even as vampires they were affected by the war. Louis says after the war he isn’t sure God exists . And (before they arrived in France) we are told through Louis & Claudia that due to the war -the blood of humans isn’t as satiating , it tastes like bone , and they can’t get warm after drinking it. This theoretically would have been an issue for most vampires in Europe.

"During the occupation of France, Germans seized about 80 percent of French food production, which caused starvation and undernourishment for Parisians.What remained for the Parisians was strictly rationed." Even post-occupation: Louis says “no butter , no eggs , can’t have milk unless you have a newborn. A record of broken boys due to … undernourishment."During the occupation, Parisians were also under a strict curfew and couldn’t leave their houses between 9pm - 5am. And in 1940, the French imposed a 6 month house arrest for all Romani (or suspected Romani) . Hunting wouldn't be impossible for Armand -but certainly more difficult . Which makes me have a lot of questions. Did Armand freeze time/mind wipe to hunt both with and without his coven? Were any of the vamps really eating properly (when even the locals were starving and they had very little time to actually find a target)? Did some of the Parisian coven 'pull a Lestat' and just hibernate for a few years until the war was over? I need answers!

Why Daniel brought up Algeria : it symbolically illustrates the racism Claudia, Louis, and Armand went through in Paris

I haven't seen this scene discussed in fandom circles . So I really wanted to break it down.

Now with this scene . I’ll be the first to admit Daniel phrased this insensitively and condescendingly to Louis (and put words in Louis' mouth) . When Louis mentions that , in Paris, he and Claudia were “astonished” that they were not discriminated against in the same way they were in the States . Armand takes a large breath in. And Daniel interjects saying : “yeah, cause there was no racism in 20th century France. Your Algerian inferiors of the time would likely disagree.” For those unaware Daniel is bringing up the 132y French occupation of Algeria (1830-1962). The French shortly after ww2 also started a war against Algeria (1954-1962)which according to Algerian historians: caused the deaths of 1.5 million Algerians!!! The French shortly after suffering their own occupation, continued theirs and then after ww2- put 2 million Algerians in internment camps!!!!

Daniel (horrible delivery aside) is pointing out that despite the French being historically kinder to African Americans who chose to live there in the 20th century ( were still racist to many others). And their racist imperialism wasn’t that dissimilar to the ww2 Germans .

Both the Romani/Algerians suffered through military occupation, internment camps, and genocide . And the French even called Algerians "inferior" , similar to the N@zis calling Romani "inferior." Armand: "They always think they're ... superior."

When Daniel brought up the Algerians (Armand almost appears to smile at them being acknowledged) . But Louis’ response to Daniel’s Algerian comment was to cavalierly say: “But , I wasn’t an Algerian . I was an American.” Armand's smirk drops, and Daniel then turns and stares at Armand for a LONG time (while Louis continues to speak) . Because Armand wasn’t “an American” . And, this (along with other factors) may have impacted how Armand was treated by the French. The very next episode Armand admits to Daniel, while in France he was discriminated against because he was mistaken as Roma.

PS: I also understand why Louis was so jovial recounting his time in Paris with Claudia (especially given their hardships they faced in the States). But, him dismissing a genocide still kind of floored me on my 1st watch, not going to lie 😅. To be fair, he probably didn't even know the details of the occupation .Because the sad truth is the French ALSO did treat Louis (and Claudia) , like they treated Algerians!!!!!!!! The Algerian comment was foreshadowing for the Trial. And was also more than likely a critique (by the writers) about the 'revisionist history': which often depicts 20th century France as some progressive utopia.

Louis at the end of his positive comments about Paris says : “I’m just glad no one wanted to lynch me .” The ironic thing is the French military systemically LYNCHED Algerians (for the 132 year occupation- and the incidents of lynchings done by the French government actually increased post ww2)!!!!

So the Parisian trial having lynching undertones , probably symbolically illustrates that Paris wasn’t as idealic as it first appeared to Louis and Claudia . Because "the French military, police, and authorities, were involved in LYNCHINGS".

During the 132 y occupation: It was also common for the French to burry Algerians alive (hm, that sounds familiar doesn't it?) And again (for emphasis)... these awful acts persisted AFTER WW2 !

Roma (pre & post ww2)

Post-n@zism , France was STILL very racist to Romani people (and still had laws in place to discriminate against them for decades after the war). These were the SAME Laws that were initially placed during the n@zis occupation. And the French actually kept the roma in camps (2 years post n@zi occupation)! Unlike their white counterparts who were freed earlier from the camps. A lot of Europe today is still infamous for its anti-roma biases/practices to this day. And no... I'm not generalizing ALL Europeans in this post (that would be ignorant) .

Also, I know someone will probably say - 'but Armand isn't Romani so all of this is null and void' . You're right, he's not Romani. But, we saw in the show: ignorant racists in Europe took 1 look at Armand and immediately made the assumption he was Romani and treated him as such (*cough Nicki ). Similar to how Daniel (even though there was no malicious intent) incorrectly assumed 'Rashid' was a 'native' to Dubai despite 85% of Dubai being non natives. It's show canon that Armand has been mistaken for other races/ethnicities before. So why not Romani as well (like we saw in Paris)?

Plus… where did the Romani slur "gyp*y" come from? The slur was based on the misconception by Europeans that Romani were from Egypt (aka they initially thought Romani were North africans - similar to the Algerians). Romani technically originated from India approximately 1000 years ago - BUT Roma have their own distinct cultures ,customs , dialects, and also often mixed with European & middle eastern populations as well). Roma and Indians are not the same, obviously .But, I doubt bigots 100s of years ago would really care about the distinction of Armand being Indian rather than Romani.So yes, I don't find it hard to believe that racists (100s of years ago) mistook him for Romani -and that shaped how he was treated in Europe for centuries.

You could also argue that technically Armand leaving India and being forced all over Europe (is symbolically similar to how many Roma left India and while in Europe due to persecution often had to migrate around the continent).

There's also the old stereotype , " of Romani people being servants to vampires . In some interpretations, Romani people were depicted as bound (and enslaved) to vampires like Dracula ( marius). The association of Romani people with vampires often stemmed from Anti-roma prejudice."

Romani individuals were often owned by Churches or nobleman (such as Marius) . It was even common among noble man to “donate their Romani slaves as gifts” to fellow nobleman and religious institutions. Making Armand being “donated” to Marius’ friends (for Christian paintings ) have a possibly darker context than it already did.

We also have the fact that , in the books, Marius punished Amadeo by whipping him. And in the show, when Armand age-regresses he says: "Are you asking or telling me , (master)?” who do you think he initially said that to?Marius, I'll never like you. If the age difference , and powers weren’t enough of a power imbalance - Armand’s race and being owned by him certainly expounds on it. In many European countries people were rarely punished if they k*lled their Romani (or non-romani) slaves . So Armand may have perceived Marius’ supposed “mercy ” very differently than the general audience.

And in the books, Amadeo (understandably) appreciated being given gifts like Venetian clothes , and being educated via Marius. But, in the books, Marius was obsessed with “the west” and made negative comments about “the east” to Amadeo (which now gives an even more sinister connotation to their dynamic) . Marius giving him a western name and wanting to educate Amadeo on western culture and languages-could have much darker undertones now that Armand is South East Asian.

Even without Armand being mistaken as Romani. Armand’s back story personifies the negative ramifications of western imperialism on poc. He’s uprooted from his homeland and stripped of his identity : his name , language, culture, religion, personhood, and even memories of his birth family are gone . He suffers through enslavement and $exual exploitation. Until all that remains of his dark past is a white-washed Christian image of him. His true identity and racial trauma are erased from history (just like his memories of his family, the boat , and br*thel are hard to recall) . And just like how many atrocities that impact people of color are often erased or ‘pushed under the rug’ . Because let’s be honest… most of the audience was probably much more aware of the N@zi occupation of France (more so than the French occupation of Algeria -or the treatment of the Romani in Europe). That's sadly by design...

Maybe I have too much faith in the writers, but if they can respectively tackle themes of racism in the Jim Crow south (without sugar coating the history). I would find it BIZARRE for them to just ignore how Armand being a racial minority in Europe would obviously impact his life. I feel like his past treatment will probably be explored later in the series (and that's why we've primarily only been given subtle hints alluding to it so far).

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PREACH @crazykuroneko 💯

See, this is my issue; how the fandom's more caught up on DreamStat calling Louis "you little whore" and calling Armand a "c*nt/bookbinder's wife;" but no one focuses on Louis wanting someone to play in his hair the way Lestat did, just like I said before.

And what's so dang sad is how in the very next Loumand scene, someone in Louis' hair is paired with a DEATH THREAT, as Armand tells Louis he's gonna kill him & Claudia.

Louis' about to burst into tears, he's so scared for his daughter--he's accepted his own death, but he's pleading Claudia's case, as this uber-powerful vampire caresses his hair whispering in his ear about how doomed they are.

It's a complete & total bastardization of Loustat's fondest times--but also a direct parallel with Loustat's darkest times, as Louis tried his best to placate the beast that was threatening his child with the only tools/weapons he had left: sex; a la the femme fatale. 😔

So actually, Armand DOES run his fingers thru Louis hair the way Lestat does--or rather, the way Lestat eventually started to. 😭💔

Hi, it's hair anon. Thank you for the detailed answer and kudos to Jacob for his dedication to the role.

Had another question : would it be possible for Lestat to run his hand through Louis' hair or to touch it (like during sex or making out)? Would it ruin Louis' hairstyle (past and present)? Is there a risk of pulling on the sponge twirls?

NP. Lmao, yes he can run his hand through Louis's hair in the past, it will probably be wet and mess it up because Louis uses something to make his hair wet and slicked down too also, so kind of gel or fat. Perm doesn't moisturize your hair and really dries it out, so that shiny luster we see is some additive. Lestat does play with Louis's hair when they are in a coffin together in episode 6. He pulls out a strand and rubs it between his fingers. Louis has no problem with it, when you're in a relationship you get hair-rubbing/touching privileges.

I like the idea of Lestat fucking up Louis's hair during sex before an event or party. I joked on the blog before that Lestat is sweating out Louis's perm daily. Sweating out a hairstyle, perm, or slick press is a common fear growing up for us, or getting rained on. Louis's wet hair in episode 1 after he goes to the church is the end result.

It's also why I knew his hair was permed, jacob doesn't have the kind of hair that looks like this when wet, he's mixed, but his hair texture is closer to 4C and would kind of puff up when wet. In summary, in the modern day, he would not be able to run his hands cleanly through Louis's hair, in the sense white people are used to, he would still play with it, rub the twists in between his fingers, tug on them, and do other fun stuff. Louis's twists are long. Like he does in the coffin in episode 6.

In this video attached, a woman shows a similar style of how Louis gets his natural hair sponge twists/curls and tugs on it, and plays with it, as a reference in case you're writing fanfiction.

Black thick natural hair feels amazing, lmao, dry it is like a sponge or wool whilst on the sheep. I cope sometimes by playing with my hair.

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Hi there. So, I know you've read The Lives of the Mayfair Witches and I remember you ranking them as The Witching Hour > Taltos > Lasher and how you love Anne's ghost stories. I'm still meaning to read them at some point, and right now I'm trying to organize the order of my next reading list... My question is, are there any emotional moments on that? Because my favorite moment of TVC/New Tales was Armand reuniting/having his final goodbye with his family. I've never cried that much, and as bittersweet as it was, it was extremely beautiful. Because I remember stuff you said about the Mayfair family and I'm not sure they're very affectionate or the type of characters you root for lol. Like I said, I will read the trilogy, but I'm just looking for more info to know where I'll place it on my list, because I'm trying to experience the kind of emotion I had with TVA again lmao. Thanks for answering.

@thesizeofyoursoul Yup, The Witching Hour (TWH) is my favorite book Anne Rice ever wrote, and TVA is my #2. (Omg Armand getting his dad to stop drinking; and wondering what ever happened to the egg his mother gave him! 😭💔) TVA was peak TVC, agreed; it rewired my entire brain. IMO, Armand is the best/most complex character Anne Rice ever created, period.

IMO, the emotional moments in TVA are so good cuz they're heartfelt & bittersweet, from the perspective of a very poetic & tortured soul, who's been struggling to find his identity; and what it means for him to be a Child of God--a literal child tryna grow up & become a righteous man devoted to God, but who keeps getting snatched away; pushed further & further onto the Devil's Road that's determined to keep back, keep him from progressing; eternally 17; his faith constantly tested & shaken. (He's the opposite of Lestat, a Peter Pan who revels in childishness.)

For me, the emotional moments in the Mayfair trilogy are much darker, coming from a place of horror/terror, hopelessness, and despair. It's a ghost story & mystery story, so it has a different tone/vibe than TVC. 🤔 Reading TVA, you're kinda in medias res, already knowing what eventually happens to Armand--he's in the present day, telling us about all the horrible stuff he's already been thru long ago in the past, and how he managed to keep enduring despite all of it--thus making his suicide attempt in Memnoch the Devil that much more poignant, since THAT was his final breaking point. But with TWH, the story slowly unravels and the layers are peeled back to get to the core mystery of wtF is going on with Lasher. The tension & suspense is crazy--it's like a thriller, with the really high moments coming as you're SLOWLY drip-fed crucial new info about Lasher; slowly realizing what he is & what he wants, and then finally confronting him face-to-face at the end of Book 1 and then for good at the end of Book 2. 👀

Rowan & Michael are the deuteragonists, but tbh, idgaf about Rowan until Book 2 (Lasher) (and then I was right back to not GAF about her in Book 3 (Taltos)). What happened to Rowan in Lasher didn't make me cry, so much as it made me sick to my stomach; it was sheer HORROR, absolutely horrific. Michael's emotional journey was key. That's where you really see ANNE's mentality--Rowan/Marius/Lestat is who AR wanted to be, but Michael/Armand/Louis is who she really was; her biography talks about this A LOT. And the same way so much of LDPDL's story is centered in loving & losing Claudia and having to confront the monster that is a child vampire; is the way Michael's story centers on wanting but losing Little Chris, and having to confront the monster that is a Taltos (Lasher). IWTV/TVC is Anne's ode to her daughter Michelle (Claudia); but Mayfairs is Anne's ode to her son Christopher (Little Chris).

Which is why I effing HATE AMC's Mayfair Witches

Esta keeps crowing about how AMC!Michael/Ciprien's story is all about family, but that's the biggest load of bullcrap I ever heard. AMC!Mayfair Witches completely OBLITERATED every iota of emotional weight & depth & meaning; and the whole point of WHY Anne Rice keeps writing books about tragic kids & deeply flawed parents & dysfunctional families. There's zero introspection or psychological nuance to AMC!MW. No effort in adapting the narrative thread weaving together WHY Michael was so emotionally distraught when Lasher was (re)born. And WHY Anne reimagined the Taltos as childlike gentle giants; WHY Ashlar was obsessed with making dolls (a la book!Madeleine); WHY AR emphasized the monstrosity of Walking Babies. Cuz Rowan is COLD. She's CLINICAL; even in the books, she always tries to approach everything rationally, the cool calm collected big-brained doctor who's always in control. Michael is the WARMTH, the bleeding heart who wears his emotions on his sleeves and just get tossed around in Lasher's hurricane.

But every emotional peak that Michael possessed in the books is totally stripped from Ciprien on the show--he's a great actor, but he's given NOTHING to work with; no emotional highs or lows. He's FLAT the entire time--except for the ONE (1) moment where his actor Tongayi ingeniously improvised his outburst in 2x4 after losing Lasher's trail. He just started screaming his head off. And Esta was shocked, cuz EMOTIONAL DISTRESS wasn't what they'd planned in the script. 🤦

And even Esta had to admit that Tongayi's improv was BETTER than her trash writing! 🤦

AMC made a garbage adaptation, cuz Esta's writing has the emotional range of beige. 😒 I was stunned speechless in S1--the highlights from the books got NOTHING on the show--Michael/Ciprien finally using the powers he'd been so scared of, that nearly drive him crazy at the beginning of the story; only to find the rancid jars filled with the body parts of Lasher's victims he'd possessed & mutated. Cip just STOOD there; cuz Esta swapped out the mad scientist jars for a generic dusty attic. 🤦 Michael/Cip being stuck in the thrall of Oncle Julien's victrola and forced to have sex with these Mayfair witches. Michael/Ciprien watching Lasher grow before his eyes and what that meant for Little Chris--NOTHING. book!Michael was physically ill when he touched those jars and took the body parts out. Cip just STOOD there. 🤦 Michael had a full emotional breakdown seeing Lasher in the flesh; and ended up in the hospital! Cip just STOOD there. 🤦 It's not his acting that's the problem, it's the WRITING & directing--Esta just expects characters to stand around bug-eyed & slack-jawed (*cough* ROWAN *cough*), not reacting to the wild ish going on at all, even though there's literal paranormal activity happening. 🤦🤦🤦

I've been pissed since jump how S2 REFUSES to acknowledge that Lasher's even Ciprien's biological son! But we're supposed to believe Esta's bullsh!te about her wanting to give Cip an arc about family?! 🤨 When Rowan had the nerve to SCOLD his sister about being a surrogate? (Family who never even shows up in S2 BTW) When S2 never even bothered to reveal that Oncle Julien is Michael/Ciprien's ancestor too--that Cip's part of the Mayfair family tree, and how THAT'S why Lasher was even able to be born? FAMILY?! 🤨

The ONLY credit I'll give S1 is how they switched the emotional fallout of Michael/Cip being raped, forced to have sex under the thrall. They're given very little reaction time, but it almost doesn't matter, cuz Carlotta shows up and nearly stabs Cip to death. 😅 And that led to one of the coolest scenes in MW S1, when Cip is magically healed. The one thjing S1 got right was how effing unhinged Carlotta Mayfair was--cuz to answer your other question, NO, the Mayfairs are NOT people you should root for. They're inbred psychopaths. But they're also victims being ruthlessly preyed on by Lasher for centuries--in the sequel, you really see how vulnerable the Mayfairs are, as they start dropping like flies; and I thought that was really emotionally intense & an interesting conundrum, when you think about what's "deserved" or not when bad things happen to bad people--even Rowan, and everything that happened to her in the seqiuel, all cuz she refused to listen to everyone's warnings. 🤔 But the One TRUE Victim is Michael/Ciprien--almost everything he does is strictly reactionary, as he's forced to respond to the nonsense happening around him and make really tough personal decisions--AR called him passive/submissive, where Rowan is active/dominant.

But AMC takes this too far; thoroughly removing not only Cip's agency, but also his dynamism. Cip just observes, but is never allowed to REACT, cuz the writers aren't capable of writing characters as fully realized people. Esta took the Talamasca's motto FAR too literally; "Record and observe, but never interfere." AR's books are GOTHIC HORROR, but Esta wrote it like a crime show instead; like this is CSI: NOLA! 🤦 Which is why I'm scared for the Talamasca show--at least they admitted that they're not interested in the supernatural, they're interested in Spy Thrillers. 🙄 If I wanted paranormal agents, I'd watch Shadowhunters! (At least it had Malec, and a bunch of cool monsters, to keep me interested, ffs.)

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Cheese and crust this was SUCH a good point! 👏 Imma have to check out your podcast ASAP!

I've hated Daniel more than everyone else on this show; but I'm glad that after 2x5 he finally got his reality check that the way he'd been treating Louis for 2 whole seasons was wildly out of pocket. But he's still a p.o.s. who doesn't respect Louis' wishes, cuz he STILL got the interview published even after Louis set his pc on fire, mad that so much of his story (so many decades wasted hating Lestat) had been based on Armand's seismic lie about "Banishment." And now it's being picked apart by the Talamasca to discredit it and make Daniel AND Louis look like fools. 🤦 So idk how much room Daniel will have to be perched on his high horse reading anyone for filth anymore, when his own reputation's in the crapper--defeating the whole purpose of why he wrote books in the first place.

But with Lestat, I'm not sure what to expect--if the S3 promo teaser's any indication, Lestat's pissed about Daniel's book. (And Daniel's still a closeted homophobe who called Loustat "whiny existentialist queens.") So I guess it depends on who called whom--did Lestat reach out to Daniel asking for an interview/documentary, the way Louis did in 1x1? So Daniel feels he has "the right" to be the one calling the shots and being rude AF? OR, did Daniel go looking for Lestat (a la the books), and bite off more than he can chew as Lestat refuses to cooperate? 🤔

Either way, I can't imagine Lestat will make things easy/smooth-sailing for Daniel. I hope they kill each other--verbally, ofc.

oh i don't care for dm either so i don't mind your theories lmao. but yeah, with daniel already interviewing louis and lestat, i'd like to see the show try something different with armand. having this backstory be revealed to other characters like sybelle or louis, etc. could be interesting. part of me would love to see woc bianca too, but i'm not expecting much from this show.

the idea of daniel interjecting with his snarky commentary and racial microaggressions... ugh no thank you. also notice the way he talked to lestat vs how he was with louis, armand, real rashid. 😒

i’m glad 😭 i know a lot of armand fans are also dm fans but i am not so i just like to be upfront about that just to give a heads up lmao.

but yeah, i’m always torn on how many ppl of color amadeo/armand should’ve interacted w in venice and the children of darkness bc he really strikes me as having the mentality of a lot of transracial adoptees whose adoptive parents made no effort to ensure their child maintained a connection to their culture. so having him as a brown skinned man of color moving white spaces, esp heavily white supremacist spaces, to me explains his willingness to align himself w whiteness and utilize antiblackness in order to maintain that tenuous proximity to white structures (the coven). and so i always go back and forth on my feelings about bianca or riccardo being ppl of color or not. like just observing his behavior on the show, i don’t know if he’s ever had meaningful relationships w other ppl of color before louis honestly. and i think it’s only after having that relationship w louis that he starts to reconnect to islam and parts of his culture.

also not to shamelessly plug but me and my friend have a podcast where we’ve been talking about iwtv and our first ep is about fandom racism and we talk EXTENSIVELY about daniel’s racist comments towards the men of color (it’s called straight from the coffin and it’s available on spotify and apple podcasts just saying in case you wanna listen to, our next ep is coming out in july and will be about armand soooo)

but thank you for your messages i love talking about armand 🖤

[murfpersonalblog]

wanting to kill your dad is literally normal every girl has thought about this

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Bruh, I spun THREE EFFING TIMES and it just got worse. 😩🤦

I wanna be a vampire so dang bad, but I REFUSE to be part of the Children of Satan. I'm spinning again gosh darnit!

My 4th spin: I'm cursed. 😭

My 5th spin: effing FINALLY! Free at last~! 🎉

Click the Wheel to find your Maker!

[murfpersonalblog]

on twitter in 2022 i said “fandom likes to baby white villains and excuse their behavior, like with kylo ren and snape and izzy hands” and i got torn to absolute shreds even though i wasnt saying anything new and now people are coming out of a black-ass vampire movie doting on the white villain

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Omg!? I haven't watched since Trebek passed away. @onegiantmeep I had to look this up, and yes, the episode aired July 15, 2025, in the Double Jeopardy! round:

It was a Triple Stumper, cuz no one knew the answer--this fandom is SO EFFING NICHE! 😭😅

Apparently this is the 4th time Jeopardy! featured questions about Armand:

2/8/2017:

7/20/2007:

11/9/2001:

😂 Susan's a Loumand Truther frfr! 😂

☝️ All fax no printer! ☝️ Jeopardy! actually had MULTIPLE Anne Rice related questions over the decades:

111 naming AR directly:

Including SIX (6) since 2022 (when AMC!IWTV aired):

Questions about Lestat were featured 34 times since 1993 (right around the IWTV movie's release):

Including FOUR (4) since AMC!IWTV aired:

And questions about Akasha were asked FOUR (4) times since the QotD movie released:

But questions about Marius were only asked ONCE, lol (way back in 2022, after the QotD movie released):

I can't accurately search for Louis, since his name is even more common than Armand's & Marius', and pulls up way too many results, unless I specify Louis + Vampire:

12/14/2023:

5/21/1997:

Literally no one cares but Armand the vampire was part of a clue on Jeopardy recently

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@ryn-holt I made a post about my own take on Lestat's bad attitude towards race here, as well as my breakdown of Lestat vs Remmick on "solving" racism here, and I'm curious what your thoughts are! 👉 👈 Because you're so right, there really does need to be a serious conversation, but I see so few people willing to actually engage in one, especially not in the IWTV fandom, and especially not if it's critical of Lestat's behavior towards his Black fledglings.

😂😂😂😂😂

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A capitalist society requires a culture based on images. It needs to furnish vast amounts of entertainment in order to stimulate buying and anesthetize the injuries of class, race, and sex. And it needs to gather unlimited amounts of information, the better to exploit natural resources, increase productivity, keep order, make war, give jobs to bureaucrats. The camera’s twin capacities, to subjectivize reality and to objectify it, ideally serve these needs and strengthen them. Cameras define reality in the two ways essential to the workings of an advanced industrial society: as a spectacle (for masses) and as an object of surveillance (for rulers). The production of images also furnishes a ruling ideology. Social change is replaced by a change in images. The freedom to consume a plurality of images and goods is equated with freedom itself. The narrowing of free political choice to free economic consumptions requires the unlimited production and consumption of images. - Susan Sontag, On Photography

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AMC!IWTV fanfiction has a seriously antiblack problem. I've read hundreds of AMC!Loustat fanfics, but if I were to just go by fics alone, I'd have no idea what AMC!Louis even looks like. Whether it's from Lestat's or Louis' POV, 90% of the time, fic author refuse to provide a single solitary descriptor detailing what Louis looks like. At best, there'll be a cursory mention that Louis is beautiful/pretty. If lucky, Lestat will praise Louis' petite hands & big butt. If it's a human AU maybe the author will say he has Jacob Anderson's natural brown eyes instead of vamp!Louis' green eyes. That's about it though. But istg not a fic goes by where Lestat isn't described in vivid detail; from his blue eyes to his long blonde hair & waist:shoulder ratio & lip scar & big hands/jaw/etc & the cadence of his voice & the way he walks, & what he smells like, etc. I know exactly what that white man looks like from head to toe, and precisely how hot & attractive he is. I don't think I've read a single Loustat fic where Louis isn't running his hands thru Lestat's silky hair. But eff if I can list enough fics on both hands where Lestat does the same for Louis--despite alllll the onscreen scenes showing Lestat playing in Louis' curls. But Louis is a non-entity--you wouldn't even know he's a Black man. And that's the problem. Cuz the vast majority of AMC!fandom fics never mention Louis'' race, skin color, hair texture, or phenotype AT ALL.

I've mentioned my irritation about the self-insert tendencies of non-Black women when writing about Louis as generally/vaguely as possible. And I've seen excuses about why this happens--how if a story's told from one character's pov (1st or 3rd person), they wouldn't bother describing themselves; the attention would naturally be put on their love interest, who's being seen (and thus heavily described) thru their adoring eyes. But coming from the IWTV fandom of all places, that is patent bullcrap--Anne Rice is (in)famously known for TVL's opening page, where Lestat can't shut up describing himself and what he looks like, let alone Louis. And I know this is even bigger bullcrap, cuz I've read thousands of fics from dozens of other fandoms that NEVER have this problem of describing BOTH characters in a ship. In the sea of white m/m pairings, interracial gay pairings are RARE, even in the fantasy/period genre--you get Malec, Nagron, and a handful of others--but their authors almost NEVER whitewash their Bipoc characters, especially not to the degree that the IWTV fandom whitewashes Louis, as if his Creole Blackness & Black features are something undesirable or non-beautiful (which is ironic AF, since Jacob Anderson's biological mother is a white woman).

And I KNOW this is a specifically antiblack issue in the IWTV fandon, cuz with the advent of Kaysanova fics in The Old Guard fandom following the recent release of its movie sequel, it just made it clear to me how these fandoms really are night & day from one another. ITYOOL 2025, it's wild how different predominately white fans choose to engage with Bipoc characters or not, when the fandoms are or aren't steeped in toxic racism & antiblackness.

Kaysanova's a canonical interracial gay ship with a white man (Nicky) and a melanated/Brown/MENA/diasporic Black/etc man (Joe/Yusuf). Nicky gets mountains of praise for being gorgeous, but Joe gets just as much praise, too! Darn near every fic I've read WORSHIPS Joe's features, from his soft teddy bear brown eyes to the exact shade his skin darkens when he tans in the Mediterranean sun, to his physique, to the texture of his beard, and especially his head of dark curly hair--the entire fandom was PISSED that in the sequel Joe's actor grew his hair out, but it was kept in a manbun for the entire movie, depriving us of seeing that mane in all its glory. 😩The Old Guard's fandom is LEAGUES ahead of the IWTV fandom wrt racial sensitivity & awareness. They not only respect Joe/Yusuf's racially distinct personhood & ethnicity, but they actively LOVE him for it.

But I've never seen AMC!Louis receive half the treatment from his fandom that allegedly loves the Loustat ship so much, compared to what Joe receives from TOG's Kaysanova fandom--let alone other interracial ships.

[murfpersonalblog]

More of Louis' Hair Appreciation, cuz Lestat loved Louis' curls:

Hi, it's hair anon. Thank you for the detailed answer and kudos to Jacob for his dedication to the role.

Had another question : would it be possible for Lestat to run his hand through Louis' hair or to touch it (like during sex or making out)? Would it ruin Louis' hairstyle (past and present)? Is there a risk of pulling on the sponge twirls?

NP. Lmao, yes he can run his hand through Louis's hair in the past, it will probably be wet and mess it up because Louis uses something to make his hair wet and slicked down too also, so kind of gel or fat. Perm doesn't moisturize your hair and really dries it out, so that shiny luster we see is some additive. Lestat does play with Louis's hair when they are in a coffin together in episode 6. He pulls out a strand and rubs it between his fingers. Louis has no problem with it, when you're in a relationship you get hair-rubbing/touching privileges.

I like the idea of Lestat fucking up Louis's hair during sex before an event or party. I joked on the blog before that Lestat is sweating out Louis's perm daily. Sweating out a hairstyle, perm, or slick press is a common fear growing up for us, or getting rained on. Louis's wet hair in episode 1 after he goes to the church is the end result.

It's also why I knew his hair was permed, jacob doesn't have the kind of hair that looks like this when wet, he's mixed, but his hair texture is closer to 4C and would kind of puff up when wet. In summary, in the modern day, he would not be able to run his hands cleanly through Louis's hair, in the sense white people are used to, he would still play with it, rub the twists in between his fingers, tug on them, and do other fun stuff. Louis's twists are long. Like he does in the coffin in episode 6.

In this video attached, a woman shows a similar style of how Louis gets his natural hair sponge twists/curls and tugs on it, and plays with it, as a reference in case you're writing fanfiction.

Black thick natural hair feels amazing, lmao, dry it is like a sponge or wool whilst on the sheep. I cope sometimes by playing with my hair.

[murfpersonalblog]

Louis and Raglan's profiles with better photos and their respective assigned bible verse

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*Kill Bill sirens start*

NEW PHOTO !! Justin Kirk as Raglan James in Talamasca: The Secret Order