And don’t forget, cute!Armand is a widdle evil cupcake-cherub *u*

Awww thank u for the compliments! I’m such a successful drug dealer, addicted a fresh victim to our beloved drug of choice, lovable dysfunctional vampires ♥u♥

shut up Claudia you know you love it you helped him WRITE that monologue…
Yes, I read all the books. Should you read all the books?
Well, if, for example, you’re not so interested in Armand as a character, I would recommend skipping TVA, bc it’s largely his story. BUT, you may miss good moments with other characters that you do like. Same goes for the other books past TVA.
Short answer is: give it all a chance, skim if you must, and decide for yourself, it’s meant to be fun, it’s not a religion, there are no chants to memorize, you will not be quizzed next Monday ;]

Y’know, that is a good question but also a tough one to answer. I’m sure there are academic articles on it (here’s one I skimmed, looks intriguing, thanks to takemetocoffin-or-losemeforever for the link!), and I did a movie!IWTV kill tally (according to the tally, 73% of the on-screen mortals killed were Caucasian).
I percolated on this with coldinhumanity, and the short answer is: Maybe, but if so, it’s unintentional. These are 200+ yr old vampires, and they have outdated conceptions of things.
In movie!IWTV: Louis kills Yvette, a poc, it was accidental. We see him struggling with it and trying to make Yvette leave him alone, but she seems to actually care about him, “Are you still our master at all? You must send away this friend of yours… they’re frightened of him. And they’re frightened of you.” I headcanon that they had a good relationship prior to his turning, maybe the best possible relationship under the circumstances.
Not saying that Louis was a fantastic slave owner, but we aren’t told negative things about him in that role, only that movie!Yvette (and I think it’s in book!IWTV, too) NOTICED his daytime absence in the fields, and seemed to want him back out there.
I think Anne Rice attempts to consider political concepts and weave them into her work if possible, but it’s not her main focus. Akasha’s idea for world peace was presented, and refuted. Was Akasha a misandrist? That’s not racism, but it’s hatred of a group of people who all share a certain characteristic having and/or being a dick, and AR strove to show us how impractical it was to try to remove them, 40% of the world’s population, in order to “improve” the remainder.
In the books, I’d say that:
I don’t think she intends to be racist, and her characters rarely have dialogue that would explicitly state such. In the narration, however, one could argue that there are implied racial opinions.
((My blog is perfect, indeed. Pffft must pretend to have some level of humility! Thank u *u* ))

Starting TOBT, you’re still on the more sane side of canon. JUST YOU WAIT.
When to read Pandora and Vittorio? That’s a good question. Other ppl may have different answers for you, so anyone feel free to reblog this w/ commentary or send me a message on this.
This is the story of Pandora, who was with Marius for quite some time, so I would read this one right before Blood and Gold (which is Marius’ story) so that her perspective is fresh in your mind when Marius starts talking smack about her. AR wrote Blood and Gold after Pandora, so she had to keep that information in mind, too.
HONESTLY, I don’t see that Vittorio really fits into canon at all, I think the Coven of the Articulate are mentioned briefly in his book? His story won’t spoil any of the other books, bc it’s completely separate from theirs, so I’d leave it till later. After Blood and Gold. Maybe even after Prince Lestat, since he’s not in that book, either.
When I started the series, the first 4 had already been published, and I read the fresh VC in the order they were released. This meant that I read Pandora between MtD and TVA, not really ideal placement, as, if I recall correctly, she has only brief cameos in those. I read Vittorio between TVA and Merrick, and I don’t think he appears in either.
Back then we read everything immediately, fearing every VC novel would be the last; trying times. Hope this helped ^______^
Not a silly question! There are 11 VC books now (13 if you include the New Tales’ Pandora and Vittorio) THATS A LOT OF STORY (just imagine this gif 11-13 times bc I don’t wanna actually throw it in 11-13 times not aesthetically pleasing)

As far as the later books having a bad reputation…

Yes! Some of them are so crazy and wildly cracky! That’s why we also call them the #Vampire Crackicles. It’s a term of endearment. The crazy is a big part of why we enjoy it. Dysfunctional vampires! The first 3-4 books in the series seem to be the more highly regarded, VC-fandom-wide, maybe bc the crazy was better woven in.
If you liked the first 3 – and some others – enough to reread them, you must also enjoy the sense of humor that’s mixed in with the angst, the love, the overall crazy! The bad-reputation VC have some silly/angsty/etc. quotes and scenes that are not to be missed (like that quote about Lestat’s foot size insecurity pfffft).
Short answer is: give it all a chance, skim if you must, and decide for yourself, it’s meant to be fun, it’s not a religion, there are no chants to memorize, you will not be quizzed next Monday ;]
Personally, and I hope this goes for others, I welcome anyone into the fandom who loves any of the characters. Maybe someone’s gateway drug was movie!IWTV. Maybe it was Claudia’s Story (graphic novel). Any combination of VC books/media counts!
I think the more VC you read, the better-informed your “headcanon” (let me explain you a thing about headcanon if you aren’t familiar with the concept) will be, as you choose which parts of (or scenes within) the series feel believable to you.
I sound like a broken record bc I write this SO OFTEN: my idea of being “part of the fandom” just means engaging in discussions about the series, making fanworks, and making friendships with ppl who share your interests. I don’t know how other fandoms behave, but that’s a summary of my positive experiences in the VC fandom.
OMG you like it that much??!! It took a week whut i need to get some more content on here STAT. Thank u, much flattered *u* This collection I’ve accumulated is addictive, isn’t it?
crap u probably noticed how poor my tagging was wayyyy back in the wayback OH WELL


Mojo is unfortunately dead. I don’t remember it said explicitly in canon, but he was already an adult dog in ToBT (published in 1992, story taking place in 1986?), and here we are, 23 yrs later, so… one can assume he’s passed on.
“Humans live as long as they do to learn to love with all their heart. Dogs are born with this ability, and that’s why they don’t live as long.” [X]
There was a beautiful little chapter in a long!fic in which Lestat puts him down humanely ;A;
They’ve since gotten a new dog (in fanon). His name is Murphy, I believe. He will never replace Mojo, and he isn’t meant to. As any dog owner might agree, every dog has its own life and relationship with its family.

♛ Dear anon – this is a painful question… when I reflect on my own parenting, I have to compare myself to my father. Certain things were, unfortunately, passed down. Even as I tried to be the father he couldn’t be. Interestingly, he had told me little of our family’s origins, for his own reasons, and I had to hold back alot of similar information from my “children.” In my case, however, it was for their own safety. And sanity. Never made that comparison before.
Father’s Day as we know it didn’t exist when they were alive…
Of course, Claudia and I would have special occasions at the slightest excuse, so we did share many nights in celebration of our bond as father and daughter, with and without Louis’ involvement. There were some things he just wouldn’t do!
One such night might include riding out on horseback to the old plantation, she loved the closeness of being held tight to me, the rush of the speed of the animal. We would pretend it was a haunted house, and would hunt for ghosts. I might hire performers in different rooms to play out a story for her. She knew it was an act, but she loved it anyway.
Dinner together, of course. Watching her play with her food was always entertaining, especially when she would look back at me, see that I was proud of her, and then grin wide enough to show her beautiful little fangs!
When I reflect on my father, I see him as mostly an angry presence… it seemed that there was little I could offer him to earn his affection. Even when I provided well for our family (and I use the term “family” loosely here), the most I could ever get from him was a grunt of disappointment in how long it had taken me to do it. One couldn’t simply waltz into a supermarket and just pick up a few packs of prepared meats, I had to chase these things down! With tactics! And weapons!
When we were together at Pointe du Lac, my father had mellowed somewhat by age and infirmity, and we did spend some pleasant evenings together. His hands trembled when we played chess. Those same hands that had struck me countless times for the most minor infractions; it seemed my whole body was allergic to them, even in my altered state. He wanted the comfort of touch in his blindness… but I could only bear to hold his hands in mine a few times. Fortunately, Louis’ family was kind to him, and they brought out a side of him that I hadn’t seen before. He spent hours listening to Louis’ sister play the spinet. She had lost a father, he had never really had a daughter, I was grateful to her for whatever bond they formed between them.

The Stark is strong in this one…
TBH I think they sometimes DO try out jobs for fun, Undercover Boss-style. They also challenge each other to take on crappy/difficult jobs and see who can last the longest…
(Armand doesn’t like doing this bc ppl assume he’s one of the bosses’ kids or an intern. He deliberately spills coffee on their workstations for such offensive thoughts.)
Lestat’s diary entry: “Night 3 at Jamba Juice, Armand shows no sign of weakness. I MUST NOT QUIT BEFORE HE DOES”
For serious thoughts on Lestat’s choice of serious jobs, hit the jump.
Lestat is curious about a lot of modern jobs, many of which didn’t even exist in his mortal life, and has probably charmed his way into many, just to try them out. Here’s a list of jobs he might like, if he chose to work (and I use the term “work” very loosely with him):