Hm, I mean, I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, I can see where you’re coming from… sometimes I’ll start reading a fic from a new writer and feel like they might not have read very much canon, or they’ve only seen the movie(s), so they don’t really have a take on the characters that meshes well enough with mine, so it makes it a little hard for me to suspend disbelief, but other times, I’m really impressed with their ideas! It’s pretty subjective but I like to be surprised *u*

^Kitty by @berrym [X] 

For specifics, it depends what you’re looking for, which characters, pairings, time period, longfic/one-shots/drabbles, angst, fluff. So many!

I have a huge list of faves. HUGE. But the thing about VC fanfic is that we still have to be sort of careful about sharing it bc of reasons (under the cut).

Also, the danger of recommending any fic runs the same risk of doing those Follow Forever posts, which I don’t do, because I’ve seen ppl who were left out feel hurt and excluded. I like fluff and angst, and I ship L/L so most of my faves are L/L specific, and I also really love one-shots from the IWTV-era and TVL-era, and other “missing scenes” from canon books 3-5 and #current vampire happenings which could take place anywhere from 1986 to now. There are alot of good fics that don’t fall into those rubrics, which are very subjective, so ppl are free to reblog/comment with other stuff. 

One of my most fave VC fanfics is an L/L-specific one, it’s incomplete but I recommend it whenever I have the opportunity: Gulfport: A British Petroleum Fanfic (Part One) by hw_campbell_jnr – There are 2 parts and, again, it’s incomplete, but this is devastatingly beautiful long!fic. Hipster modern Lestat and Louis, Lestat going by a pseudonym, politics woven in, it’s just too good. It annoys me how good it is. I am annoyed. I would be less annoyed if it were COMPLETED. 

Since I’m on the GULFPORT (in caps bc I am just that passionate about it) subject I’ll elaborate a little. Not a lot happens plot-wise, but this is the kind of angst and fluff I really love. It offers an insight into their characters that hits me just right, I haven’t seen anything quite like it. It plays forwards and backwards in the established timeline, Lestat makes these strong statements and then immediately backtracks and scratches them out, harshly, it’s more of a train of thought sometimes than a narrative, it sprinkles in some headcanons, a peek into L/L email exchanges, and a little of Lestat’s recovery from his coma which just… really hurt my heart, in such a good way. It basically killed my muse for any creative fanworks for months after I first read it, bc I felt like, Why bother, if this exists? BC we always need more fanworks, we’re insatiable, fanworks are the lifeblood of a fandom, and even the person who wrote GULFPORT enjoys other’s fresh fanworks 😉

ANYWAY. We all know that there is fic in secret places and I don’t broadcast those places on my blog, in case certain ppl change their mind about their stance on it. However! Archive of Our Own (aka AO3) has a mission statement about protecting fanworks from copyright infringement arguments, so I feel pretty safe recc’ing stuff that’s on there (in no special order):

• Retail Therapy by Rebness (@wicked-felina) –  what I love about this, among other things, is that it really is retail therapy for Lestat without that needing to be explained, and has a sweet ending ❤
• First Light by Rebness (@wicked-felina)

  – Such feels, Claudia’s POV on her final night ;A;

• The Grim Brothers by Rebness (@wicked-felina​) – incomplete but it’s a fun little werewolf AU! I hope the author picks it up again someday *NUDGES*
• The Hostile Takeover by StellaMachiavelli (@stellamachiavelliici) – is a legendary fic. “Lestat de Lioncourt is a high-flying businessman out for revenge on ruthless boss Santino, with the help of his best friend David Talbot. There’s just one complication: on Santino’s side is Lestat’s ex, Louis de Pointe du Lac.”
• The Sexting Caper by Gairid – because sexting!
• The Haunting by Gairid – A haunted object.
• Gairid (@gairid, @vampchronfic) also has some excellent long!fics and collaborations with Leshan that are worth checking out, too many to list here.
• My stuff… see Burnadette_dpdL. De Motu Cordis is not my fave but has one of the highest hit counts. L/L lovey fluff *blushes*
• One Night in New Orleans by iskra667 – L/L angst, fluff, warning: it explores some darker themes and contains dubious consent.
• Childhood memory – a harsh lesson is learned (not the official title) @devilsfool – not L/L but I always have to rec it, a response to an Ask, a first kiss, child!Lestat.
• Lestat’s actual birthday (not the official title) by @viaticumforthemarquise – not L/L but I always have to rec it, Gabrielle’s POV on the day Lestat is born oh gawds! Baby!Lestat

Anyone is welcome to reblog/comment with recs!

Hit the jump for a teensy fanfic history lesson.

In short, Anne Rice had waged war on VC fanfic in the mid-90s, sic’ing her lawyers on many fanfic writers, eventually breaking apart fanfic sites (“speculative fiction” or “spec” archives/communities) and driving many of these writers to stop writing altogether or do so in a more underground way ;A;

Currently, she’s had conflicting stances on fanfic, but hasn’t made outright war at nearly that level. I try not to tag her in discussions of it, basically, I don’t try to provoke her by making our caches of VC fanfic known. Especially on Facebook, where she’s very active and might see it. She posted this on her FB in 2014 (I think):