#Ann Talbot

[heycupcake]

Headcanon that, some time after leaving the Tardis, Tegan visited a very old Ann Cranleigh, both to reminisce the good times and to give that part of her life a new, bigger perspective.

Out of everyone on Earth in the 80s, the Cranleighs (if they were still alive, which wouldn't be too much of a stretch), were the only ones who met the original celery crew. They knew Nyssa, Adric and a much brighter Doctor. Black Orchid was also the peak story in terms of happy memories, right before everything started going wrong (I mean, murder and kidnapping were part of the story, but, for the first and only time in the 5th Doctor's run, nobody in the crew got their minds messed with, or fainted, or died. Results).

[headcanonsandmore]

Good gawd, that young ladeh name-ah Ann Talbot appears to be the exact double-gang-ha of Miss Nyssa of Trahken! Ah do declare that somethang very strange is a-goin' ohn in this here nineteen-twenehs mansion, Mister Doctah. Although ah do not ba-lieve that Miss Jovankah seems to be complainin', if yoh understand mah meanin'-

[junkyardbluebox]

Black Orchid Episode 1 Screencaps, Part 10

[gaia-mix-nicolosi]

I remade the original pic of my old fic!

This was the original from 2017:

[lifewithaview]

Jessica Lange and Armin Mueller-Stahl in Music Box (1989)

Dir.Costa Gavras

Hungarian immigrant Mike Laszlo has done well for himself since arriving in the USA over 40 years ago after WWII's end. He is particularly proud of his daughter, Ann, a successful lawyer. Following the release of some secret WWII records by the Russians, Mike finds himself accused of being a notorious war criminal. He's convinced it's a Communist plot to discredit him and insists that Ann defend him in court.

*After the movie was released, screenwriter Joe Eszterhas' own father, Istvan Eszterhas, was accused of war crimes in Hungary for printing anti-Semitic editorials, and even organizing a book burning. When Istvan admitted the charges were accurate, Joe responded by publicly condemning his father, and disowning him as a parent, later writing that he never reconciled with Istvan, and refused to let him see his grandchildren right up to the point where Istvan died of natural causes.

[leliosinking]

“Marius and David not welcome” is sort of funny to me in the grand scheme of this series, like I get the basis of this argument is “well they’re both creeps” but to that point I’d recommend a reevaluation of the entire series, particularly its cast of characters.

They are all guilty of some manner of abuse. They all commit horrific atrocities. And they moralize over these atrocities. Like. That is the principle upon which the entire series is built. Can these literal monsters ever be redeemed?

When you read Interview with the Vampire did you feel some extreme discomfort with the father/lover dynamic between Louis and Claudia? (which was excised from the show I might add) That locked-door uneasiness is the essence of southern/gothic fiction. Read V.C. Andrews. Read Shirley Jackson. Read William Faulkner. The taboos, the ick if you will, is the foundation of gothic horror. You are meant to feel this. It is an essential function of the genre.

Like- every one of Anne’s books that followed IwtV had to essentially compete with the gothic genius that is the invention of Claudia and the sickness that is her story. It’s not all effective, but it’s there in almost every work. TVL has Lestat and Gabrielle’s incestuous relationship, QotD has Armand’s abuse (yes, abuse) of Daniel. For god’s sake, TTotBT features Lestat committing a rape, and I know that you all know this. Yet no matter how you try to headcanon that scene away, it will always be significant because its very function is to service the larger themes of bodily autonomy and consent within that specific novel.

Killing in fiction is benign. We are desensitized to it. And we know this. Killing means nothing, so the narrative must work harder to find a violence that can demonstrate evil to a desensitized audience. There is a reason that these books are shelved in fiction as opposed to genre. By design, their difficulty is inherently literary. You’re uncomfortable? Good. Then Anne achieved her goal.

But if you’re looking to proselytize and transform the work into something with a black and white morality system then you have come to the wrong series. You are gatekeeping yourself from a nuanced understanding of the material. David and Marius are as bad as everyone else. The main trio are not exempt from this reading. That was the point. They are all bad. They are all complex. It is meant to be difficult to parse. Engage with it or don’t, but you are deluding yourself if you think that these two main characters are somehow going to vanish from the tv show.

(And again, AMC is going to strip away the most challenging character traits anyway)

[sizeofyoursoul]

Anne Rice's Personal Fancasts for The Vampire Chronicles

(Important Disclaimer: I gathered this together as a curiosity, not as a comment on any past, current, or future actors playing these characters, and if you feel the need to use any of this to make anything other than positive comments on any past, current, or future actors playing any of these characters, I don't agree with you and I don't endorse it, and I hope Lestat comes and yells at you about it in your dreams)

Looking for her thoughts on a few things from her novels, I stumbled upon the weird fact that Anne Rice has a huge digital footprint of which actors she at some point had as her own mental image or ideal casting of her characters. I've collected as much as I could, and so, for fun, here they are! Unless otherwise specified, these were all posted on Facebook between 2009 and 2018.

Lestat

General Comments:

He is a "man", not a "boy"

He's a "big guy, quite tall and strong" (she emphasized this a lot)

He should be a guy in his late 20's so the actor doesn't change too much and can play a 250 year old immortal

He could be played by an unknown

He should not have dark hair or a five o'clock shadow

He should be good looking, because "Lestat's beauty is part of him, part of his self-assurance, his arrogance, his confidence and his seductive power"

First actor she thought looked like Lestat: a young Rutgar Hauer

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Chris Hemsworth (Mentioned at least x 3, said when she watched movies with him she could only see him as Lestat)

Richard Armitage (Mentioned at least x 3)

Anson Mount (Mentioned at least x 2)

Stephen Amell (Mentioned at least x 2)

Charlie Hunnam

Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ

Leonardo Dicaprio (late 90's, mentioned at least x 2)

Actors She Responded Positively to Being Suggested

Travis Fimmel

Harry Lloyd

Wes Bently (2000, was apparently considered for Queen of the Damned)

Louis

General Comments

Mentioned the idea of Louis and Nicholas being played by the same actor

Originally inspired by actor Alain Delon

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Matt Bomer (Mentioned at least x 7, mentioned a lot outside of fancasting, she was really in love with Matt Bomer)

Richard Armitage

Hugh Dancy

Marius

General Comments

"At least 40"

She did not care if he wasn't blonde (see her suggestions below for why)

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Matthew MacFayden (Mentioned a least x 7 but I eventually stopped counting)

Gary Oldman (late 90's)

Actors She Responded Positively to Being Suggested

Paul Bettany

Armand

General Comments

Has to be someone in his 20's (also specified 25 or 30), a "baby faced man, a boyish man"

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Simon Woods (Mentioned at least x 2)

Johnny Depp (Late 90's)

Gabrielle

General Comments

Past 40, closer to 50

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Cher (Mentioned at least x 2, was a suggestion for Louis in the 80's when the idea of gender swapping the character was in the mix for IWTV)

Judy Davis (late 90's)

Eva Green

Actors She Responded Positively to Being Suggested

Claire Danes

Evan Rachel Wood

Kirsten Dunst

Akasha

General Comments

Should be played by a black actress in tribute to Aaliyah's performance in Queen of the Damned being such an entry point for black fans of the series

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Lupita Nyong'o

Tiana Benjamin

Memnoch

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Russell Crowe

Pandora

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Eva Green

David Talbot

General Comments

Should be British

Actors She Specifically Suggested

Jeremy Irons

Anthony Hopkins

[zatsydrawings]

Drama queen.

[hekateinhell]

@monstersinthecosmos and I were talking and she dug up this exchange Anne had with someone on Fanpop back in the day, concerning vampires' love and sexuality. There were quite a few fascinating tidbits but these are my favorites:

I see them [vampires] as transcending matters of gender or age. Lestat loves Louis. Louis loves Claudia. Armand loves Lestat. Lestat loves Gabrielle. There is no distinct difference in the quality of any of these loves. This has also been described as polymorphous sensuality.

"--- Armand is desperately in love with Lestat but it has nothing to do with sex. Armand feels Marius failed him and Marius feels Armand failed him, and that part has nothing to do with sex. Marius and Pandora, that is a love affair, but again sex has nothing to do with it. So they are all capable of loving people of their own gender and the other gender; gender doesn't matter. It's the essence. Lestat loves David Talbot as a lover, a friend, a mentor, a father, etc. --- It goes on like that. The act of dominating and drinking blood can happen between any two characters regardless of gender. They cannot be pinned down. They see all life as potentially beautiful and all forms of love as rewarding."

X

I'm verklempt at the fact Anne mentioned Armand and Lestat in the same vein as Armand and Marius and Marius and Pandora, but also I love how much she emphasizes that they can cannot be pinned down and all that forms of love are rewarding!

It's just such a revolutionary way of thinking especially when you consider that she was a woman born in the 1940s in the American South. She may have missed the beat on some things but on others, she was right on the fucking money. 

[vkylociferart]

Some sketches of my beloved David Talbot 🥰 💖

[lesmandshooter]

Just got my period call that a memnoch the devil reference

[classiccvnt]

I get why every vampire wanted this guy, he's adorable. He's just a sweet crytpid that kills the evil in New Orleans and then picks flowers in the moonlight.

[gilberttheboy]

So much time devoted to Armand's agenda to Fuck That Old Man (as is deserved), yet I see NOTHING on Lestat's desire to Fuck A Different Old Man in Tale of the Body Thief. AMC better follow through on this insane energy or they're cowards. Let Lestat fuck a hot 74 year old in Curacao.

In which Lestat is human again and realises he wants to bang his sexy bestie.

In which Lestat needs David so.

In which Lestat loudly daydreams about making sweet love to David (noted powerful psychic)

In which Lestat is scolded for his mentally deafening sexy daydreams (by the object of said sexy daydreams) and told to pull himself together and act straight (or something)

In which they desperately need to catch a plane but Lestat is STILL distracted by the idea of throwing David down and having his way with him.

In which Lestat pulls the classic, 'if it's our last night on earth....' ploy.

In which Lestat likes men.

[junkyardbluebox]

Black Orchid Episode 1 Screencaps, Part 7

[xxdrowninglessonsxx]

“Was it fun to kill the tiger?” I asked.

He hesitated. Then forced himself to answer. “It was a man eater. It feasted on children. Yes, I suppose it was fun.”

I laughed softly. “Ah, well, then we have that in common, me and the tiger. And Claudia is waiting for me.”

“You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“No. I guess if I did, I’d be afraid to die.” I saw Claudia quite vividly … a tiny oval portrait on porcelain—golden hair, blue eyes. Something fierce and true in the expression, in spite of the saccharine colors and the oval frame. Have I ever possessed such a locket, for that is what it is surely. A locket. A chill came over me. I remembered the texture of her hair. Once again, it was as if she were very near to me. Were I to turn, I might see her beside me in the shadows , with her hand on the back of my chair. I did turn around. Nothing. I was going to lose my nerve if I didn’t get out of here.

- The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice

[forbiddenvc]

1990's

Who remembers these wonderful but now defunct Vampire Chronicles fanfic support sites, webrings, and spec compilation sites?