#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)

[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. 

[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.

[forbiddenvc]

1990's

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

[thenightling]

Interview with The vampire TV series

I have a theory... It's a weird theory mind you so bear with me. In season 2 of Interview with The vampire Raglan James is introduced. Those of us who read the books know Raglan to be The Body Thief. He tricks Lestat into switching bodies with him and than runs off with Lestat's powerful and immortal body so Lestat is forced to rely on his mortal friend, and head of the Talamasca, David Talbot, to help him get his body back. There's an odd line in season 2 of Interview with The vampire where Raglan James says to Daniel Molloy "If I had your body I'd be running The Talamasca by now." What? Why? Do the Talamasca find seventy-one-year-old Eric Bogosian hot? What does Daniel's body have to do with anything?

This awkward line was probably just to throw the hint that Raglan is the body thief but it's still an odd way to do it. Daniel, in this version of the story, seems to have an understanding of Lestat that Louis and Armand lack. This version of Daniel is intuitive and now a powerful psychic (thanks to vampirism). David Talbot was a mind reader. I'm wondering if Daniel is going to be merged with the character of David Talbot the way Ciprien Grieve is a combo of Arron Lightner and Michael Curry in The Mayfair Witches show.

I suspect if the show makes it to the Tale of the Body thief story (as they seem to want to do for season 4 or 5) that Daniel Molloy might be the one who helps Lestat get his body back instead of David Talbot. This also adds to the reasoning of having Daniel Molloy be older in this version (David Talbot was eighty) instead of just having him get the interview for first and only time. I also wonder if "Real Rashid" is the young body Lestat gets tempted with and who David Talbot's (possibly Daniel's) soul ends up in by the end of the story. This would also lead to him being re-vampirized by Lestat and could mess with the Armand / Daniel ship of the books. By the way, I'm pretty sure Louis and Armand were going to make Daniel into their fledging that night before Daniel exposed Armand's dark, dirty, little secret. That's what the special dinner was going to be, and part of why Armand turned him anyway. It wasn't spite, it was love.

[junkyardbluebox]

Black Orchid Episode 1 Screencaps, Part 7

[shilsvampsinger]

I'm almost finished with The Vampire Armand and I don't want it to end. It's so good. It's sad but a little hopeful. Does that make sense?

[rebel-revenant]

Pardon if this is already a fan theory circulating I live under a rock, but while Real Rashid fucked off and Armand was in his place, I suspect perhaps Raglan James and David performed the swap.

With all the Talamasca stuff, what if Real Rashid is David? RR fits the description of the Body Thief's initial body, which later becomes David's.

Raglan James may have sought proximity to Armand and Louis, hopeful he might receive the Dark Gift.

The swap may have occurred because David may also want that intel. The opportunity to plant himself in close proximity to them.

Though David wouldn't necessarily do this unless under some great duress, he's far too clever. HM.

Raglan James might want access to the Talamasca in David's body and with his authority so as to further his own aims.

[kaelio]

Also, you know that bit where Armand is mad in Blood Communion because he'd wanted to speak to Maharet before she died? That was mutual! And perhaps he'd gotten an invite by then, or knew she'd once intended to extend it.

(David Talbot talking to Maharet in the David Talbot novel draft from the Anne Rice volumes in Tulane University's Special Collections)

[hekateinhell]

In some of the earlier drafts of Memnoch the Devil, David Talbot was supposed to die, NOT Armand:

From what I saw, a lot of Anne's drafts and notes at Tulane for MtD where more heavily focused on developing the whole religious aspect and the lore that she wanted to follow, but this really caught my attention in a big way for obvious reasons. In an another world, David would've self-immolated instead of Armand, and the book would've ended with Armand and Lestat walking together in Central Park!

"Almost Claudia, but not"... Ouch.

I will say that I understand why ultimately Anne decided to go the route that she did with Armand in actual canon (aka what's literally on the page)—I think it does make sense for his arc given his background and religious trauma. I understand it, but also as a reader and an Armand girlie, I would have been much more satisfied by this ending 🥲 (no surprise there!). Alas, I am not Anne Rice, and I'm just so grateful that she thought ahead to make her notes, drafts, and diaries accessible to us after her passing so we can have fun trying to understand her creative process and considering all the possibilities!

Lastly:

"I do think David has go to to go. Maybe he should go instead of Armand." just takes me right out.

ANNE.