#ship: the devil you know

[ncafterdark]

--- “I think your patience deserves a reward. What would you like?” “You.”

[therealnightcity]

(shots by @a-pirate 🥰🥰❤️❤️)

[koszmarnybudyn]

I found a really good refrence... So Kayne.

Oh also the og refrence under the cut cause i did use it for the background:

[lottieshaunism]

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: - 2.05 - Don't be afraid, just start the tape

[kittyloft]

thinking about how we’re introduced to Daniel Molloy as a washed up reporter with a permanent five o’clock shadow and then the minute he’s in Dubai, he’s clean shaved for the Entire interview.

which could mean nothing

[whatshehassaid]

People thinking it’s wild that Louis knew Lestat was watching him get sucked off by Jonah… yall ain’t ready for Armand and Daniel bringing people back for Daniel to fuck in front of Armand while Armand sits and watches and directs from his cuck chair (yes this is canon in the books)

[starliteonearth]

I swear the funniest thing antis will do is say "how can you ship Ghoulcy when he did xyz to her" and then in the next breath will turn and be like "anyways he sees/treats her as a daughter and he's gonna be her father figure." Oh I'm sorry, The Ghoul? You mean the same person you were just saying was so horrible to her? That Ghoul? You're cool with his actions now?

Like the things he did only get brought up when we ship them, as if it's not the same person they champion as her new dad. I understand if personally you don't like it when one half hurts the other in a ship (or when both do), that's completely fair, but I'm pretty sure no likes it either when a parent/parental figure does the same to their (surrogate) child, so like what's the math here 🤨

[nerdmutant]

i may be wrong but doesn't it feel like turning daniel is armand's first "free" decision?

like think about it

at first he was an enslaved child

turned by marius

the cult comes along

then lestat happens (and maybe he gets some sort of agency there, but we know how dominant lestat's personality is)

then he is acting in favor of the théâtre (even through his relationship with louis)

the play, the trial, everything surrounding claudia, he did to keep his place, to maintain a certain status quo because he's terrified to live outside of it

after this he feels guilty, he gives himself to louis as a way of maintaining the same power dynamic he had been living under even in this new environment

he goes from master to master, that's the way he has always lived, everything he does is for the sake of maintaining control -which he can only do if there are specific rules he has to follow

enter twenty-year old daniel molloy

the structure he has (re)created for himself is falling apart in one night -no doubt the consequence of many other things going wrong, but it's easy to blame daniel because he is right there

and louis -who calls him boring in contrast to this fascinating boy- is crumbling down along with their relationship, along with the structure (which, just like louis, just like all his "masters" before, has always been unstable)

armand is only barely able to keep all of this from crashing down in the 70's (thanks to mind control and how powerful he is as a vampire)

but the problem™ comes back to bite him in the ass -again, because this structure is as stable as his mental stability- again in the shape of daniel molloy

and when louis finds out the truth and kicks him out, armand has no more master, no more structure, no more safety

he is terrifyingly free for the first time in his life

and what is the first thing he does with that freedom?

turn daniel

and -again, in my opinion- this is not revenge

daniel wanted to be turned, he saw it as a gift, he had wanted to be turned back then and he wanted to be turned now

back then armand would've killed him (he almost did) but now he is free, alone and scared, but free

and the first thing he chooses to do with that freedom is give daniel the gift he has wanted for the most part of his life

[wizardpink]

Hi! Random question, but do you think the show will have Daniel call Armand "boss" now that the Maître thing happened? I know it's very prevalent in the books, but it might have different and/or interesting Implications™ in the show.

This question reminded me of one of my favorite episodes of the It's Always Sunny podcast. Stay with me here because we are going on a journey.

If there's any journalist in the world, living right now, who doesn't have a boss, it's Daniel Molloy.

There was a post recently that said something about how the point in the story where the timeline shifts the most dramatically from the books to the show is in the early 80s, when Armand DOESN'T turn Daniel into a vampire. I think that is a major part of why the Devil's Minion storyline in the show scared and angered so many fans in the finale. It's so different from the story we fell in love with! But we were so focused on Armand being different (possibly turning Daniel out of spite) that we forgot that Daniel is the one who is really different, in a really genius and wonderful departure from the books.

In the books we know human Daniel primarily as a man in his early 20s through his early 30s, but who he is in his early 30s is extremely heavily influenced by all the things that happened to him in that previous decade. Meeting Louis, meeting Armand, being pursued by Armand, and finally becoming Armand's lover.

But show Daniel had a great big reset button pressed on his life either at the end of the interview or at the end of his and Armand's romance, and he got to experience a life that book Daniel never did, and as a result it shaped him into a man that I think book Daniel always would have become, until he got derailed. And it's fascinating how BOTH paths make perfect sense even though they start at the same pivotal point!

Book Daniel meets vampires and then immediately is sucked into their world permanently. It becomes his realm as well. And in that realm are hierarchies and power dynamics that he has to exist within. He becomes subservient in ways to Armand, to Marius, etc etc. I could go on but you know what I mean.

Show Daniel however! Show Daniel meets vampires and gets pushed OUT of their world back into the world of humanity. And yes, in that realm are hierarchies and power dynamics that he has to exist within. But they're upheld by human beings! People who are no better than Daniel himself, and certainly no more frightening than the shit he's already been through whether he can remember it or not. Show Daniel pursues any story, any lead he wants no matter how dangerous or powerful the subject matter may be. He writes what he wants when he wants, and it works because he's fucking good at it. And it doesn't always work out for him! He says he's been fired and rehired, he's been nearly killed when an interview subject gets skittish or tired of his bullshit. But the point is, he went out and he made his own damn rules. He's brash and opinionated and has zero filter. He'll say whatever he wants to anyone, demand answers and truth from anyone. And no one is gonna tell him he can't. They're gonna have to drag him out of here or kill him to shut him up.

Armand and Daniel's maker/fledgling, devil/minion dynamic is going to be SO DIFFERENT from the books and yet JUST as juicy because the important things -- the love, the longing, the passion, the understanding, the recognition -- that is all still there. But I don't see 69 year old Daniel Molloy falling over himself to worship and cowtow to Armand. My DREAM is we see BOTH dynamics just to juxtapose the two, and the strife it creates as two people who once loved each other try to get back to that place now that they aren't those people anymore.

So tl;dr, yes and no. If he says it, it's going to be like, one time and so dripping with sarcasm Armand will be fighting his fangs again. If we get an earnest pet name it'll be very private I feel (as opposed to Armand who would call Daniel his beloved in line at the post office).

Also on a personal note, "boss" is so deeply unsexy. Goons and henchmen call the Joker boss, I don't want that haha. Oh and also I have like zero recollection of him calling Armand "boss" in the books, that's a detail that my brain mulched up and ate years ago I guess. So I was the wrong person to ask this. Thanks for reading though! 😂

[crimeronan]

ultimately i think the appeal of daniel and armand to me is that it's very much a typical dark romance storyline where the heroine is kidnapped and tortured by an evil monster but using her wits she manages to seduce him and make him emotionally vulnerable to her, because she is More Special and More Clever than all of his other victims, and because of this she enjoys a level of dangerous favor and protection from him, except in This version of the dark romance it's two toxic old men who both have the worst fucking personalities imaginable. who truly just fucking suck beyond measure. like no pun intended, they are Garbage, one is the actual literal immortal devil and the other is just kind of a deadbeat with no moral compass, neither of them is willing to work on himself and neither of them has ANY reason to want to rail the other as bad as they do.

and yet. There They Are,

[ncafterdark]

Kinktober 2023

Day 6: Avi/Mr. Blue Eyes--Chastity

*****

“You’ve been very patient today.” 

The message flickers across his datapad, number encrypted as usual. There’s only a single person who would be messaging him like that, let alone who he’d want to be discussing matters with. 

“I always am.” 

Even as he sends it, he know’s it’s a lie. He has other ways of making his needs known, insisting that they be seen to, and that both are in need of a break. The silence says it all, and he amends—

“Usually am.” 

It’s a game of theirs, seeing who relents first, and although the other wins more often than not, he can also claim a handful of victories. He’s a man like any other, with the same sorts of weaknesses, dents in the armor and he’s not above exploiting them. It almost seems to make him proud, something close to admiration glinting in his eyes. It’s the ability to see through people and he’s honed it well, as much of a weapon as anything else. 

“Wait for me at home. 8pm.” 

There’s no flowery words, only clipped, businesslike tones, and if he didn’t know better he’d say there was a hint of impatience. Or that he knew it was an order and would be carried out to the letter. It’s a quiet confidence and he finds it suits the man nicely. What might seem distasteful on another feels natural, like it’s always been that way. “Yes.” and then as an afterthought, rewrites it. 

“Yes, Sir.” 

An explored part of their dynamic, and one he’s still surprised he enjoys, even craves as much as he does. It’s a release of expectations, and a more simple way of thinking, in which he knows exactly what’s expected of him, everything laid out orderly. It’s a subtle sensation, feelings that he’s still learning to put the names too, but he thinks this one feels a lot like anticipation, a hot curl of fire in his core that leaves him wanting. He continues to work, scrolling through the data eyes unseeing. And he waits. 

** Not one to mislead, he’s there at 8, true to his word—and he allows himself to indulge, eyes trailing restlessly over his face, taking it in. He’s unruffled as usual, eyes with the faint, uncanny glow, stark in the soft light of the foyer, at first glance impassive. But he knows by now the small tells, the ever so slight shift of weight, the way his hands are aching to touch. 

“I think your patience deserves a reward, Avi. What would you like?”

“You.”

[therealnightcity]

WIP Whenever

Tagged by @gloryride--thanks!! 💕💕

I haven't has as much time to work on personal projects lately--classes just started for the semester, and very much living up to the stereotype that grad students have no life ✌️

That being said, I do have a couple things I've been chipping away at.

Virtual Photography: I haven't been taking many console shots lately because I've been waiting for PL to drop, and want to start a new playthrough with Hiro. In terms of modding, I've been playing around with one of the recent romance pose-packs, and trying to re-remember how to position/snap characters, and get more comfortable with framing shots nicely. I also downloaded a better photo editor, and have been experimenting with post-editing more/grudgingly accepting that it is nice, and makes for some really pretty photos.

--Ft. Avi and Mr. Blue Eyes--tastefully cropped so tumblr doesn't bonk me

---

Writing: I've been doing a lot of writing lately (more about this on my side account) and trying to finish the prompts before October. I'm going to be traveling most of the month, and probably not the most consistant between posting/classes. But I'm honestly realllyyyyy happy with how they've been turning out. I have trouble trying to write on a schedule, and this is the closest I've been to being able to write almost every day, and it's definitely made me more comfortable with solo writing (which I struggle with more than RP). My goal is to have the main body of the writing done by the end of the week, so I still have a couple days to make some edits too <3

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Tagging: @shinycorvidae, @dreamskug, @a-pirate, @wraithsoutlaws, @chevvy-yates, @dustymagpie, @ghostoffuturespast, @afterdark-vp, @imaginarycyberpunk2023, @spicyraeman, @depyotee, @vayneoc, @drunkchasind (and anyone else who sees this and wants to, zero pressure tho!)

[storekn1fe]

voting piece for round one of the @yuriolympics !

[thatgirlonstage]

You ever look at someone’s fandom playlist and know in your soul they looked at the title of a song and literally nothing else

[gildedmuse]

This is me calling Law out.

He is purposefully making his moves look sexy as possible, and that's the kind of bullshit we need to be calling out.

[hauntingblue]

Gear 5 luffy's laugh is so contagious I just hear the drums and go insane how does this work. What did he do to me