#Which I'm a huge fan of now

[creativecuteness]

One of a Kind Vamp Chapter 1: Multi-fandom Madness

Summary: A Rainy day at White Chapel is perfect for a lazy day of watching TV and indulging in hobbies with a good friend. Or Dakota wants to know what other interests Rory has other than Sci-fi.

(I know nothing about Star Wars and Star Trek so that's why this chapter doesn't follow the full prompt.)

“Hey, Rory, what are you into?”

Rory’s focus on the TV was shattered as he turned his attention to his best friend, Dakota Natalie. It was a mundane afternoon, a calming rainy day where Rory didn’t feel like leaving the house; not even Benny or Ethan felt like leaving the comfort of their warm beds. deciding today was a perfect lazy Saturday, and for once, Rory agreed peace and quiet was a rarity in Whitechapel. It was insane that the supernatural was living under their noses this entire time, and now that they got a taste of it, it seems it’s became unable to leave them alone—not that he minded. Becoming a vampire was one of the best things that has ever happened to him; however, that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten what it’s like to be normal like today.

Watching TV mindlessly: Check.

Popcorn and other snacks nearby: Check.

A best friend by his side who loves him more than anything: Check.

Dakota recently moved into town a few weeks ago and has become glued to Rory’s side since day one. He was very well aware of the younger girl’s crush on him, and if he was being honest with himself, he was thrilled to finally capture a girl’s heart with his irresistible personality, even if there was a ton the two didn’t know about each other yet.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you. What did you say?”

Dakota, who was lying upside down, righted herself and looked at him. “I asked, What are you into?”

“Oh, that’s easy. I’m a huge Star Trek fan, though Star Wars is pretty cool too.”

“Well, that I know, you and Benny debate about it all the time; I rarely hear you talk about anything else. Surely you have other things you’re into.”

Rory smiled; he knew Dakota wasn’t a sci-fi fan or a Marvel or DC Comics fan. (To be fair, she always gave the blond Magical Girl vibes. He had to ask if she’s a fan of that genre.) But the fact she was interested in knowing what he was into made him grin ear to ear. It felt amazing having a friend who generally cared about his interests, even if she didn’t hold the same opinion.

Sure, Ethan and Benny did care; they’re best friends for a reason; however, they’ve known each other for so long that they know the ins and outs about their hobbies, favorite games, favorite shows, and even music tastes. So, it was nice to indulge in his latest obsessions with someone new, plus he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t interested in the things that caught Dakota’s eye.

“Well, you already know some of my top picks. I love sci-fi, superheroes, comic books, and video games. What else do you want to know?”

“What type of video games are you into? Shoot ‘em ups, RPG’s, racing games?”

“All of the above, really.” Rory replied, “Depends on the theme and controls, and I guess an engaging story helps too. But I’m normally cool with anything that catches my eye. What about you?”

“Well, as you know, I am a huge Kingdom Hearts fan, but I also love the classics like Mario, Kirby, and Pokémon. I never really got into Zelda and don’t like shoot-em-ups. However, I guess I’m like you; I like whatever catches my eye, regardless of genre.”

“What about TV shows? Have you ever engaged in any fandoms?” Rory wondered,

Dakota shook her head. “I lurk around at times and have dabbled in the fanfiction side of things, but I’ve never actively engaged in conversation over it. In fact, I tend to stay away from shows that have toxic fanbases. It ruins the show to the point where I can’t even touch it. As for the types of shows I like, it depends, but I prefer comedies. I hate crying in front of people, so I tend to stay away from anything that might be sad. The same goes for movies.”

“I feel you on the toxic fanbase thing; I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten into arguments online over the stupidest things. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t chat on those sites anymore.”

“What about fanfiction?”

Rory tilted his head side to side, “Sort of, I wrote a few self-insert fic’s when I was younger, but I’ve never posted anything. You should see my old stuff; it’s pretty cringe I don’t think I have the skills to write anything better. Plus, all my energy is focused on school right now.” The teenage vampire looked around to make sure his mother wasn’t in earshot and leaned close to whisper, “Not to mention keeping my vampire ninja identity a secret.”

Dakota burst out laughing. She knew how much Rory loved his new quote on quote superpowers; it was fun seeing all the creative ways he could take advantage of them. Not to mention, extremely adorable.

“Hey, do you know what cosplay is?” Rory questioned, forcing Dakota to calm her laughing fit.

“Yeah, I think I’ve heard of it; it’s like dress up but more detailed and expensive; do you do it?”

“No,” he stated simply, “I wish, but money for the material is way too expensive. Plus, with the DIY aspect of it, I could never I can’t even sew.”

“Emily or Cindy could help you with that. Emily’s really good at making clothes, and Cindy’s been known to dabble with it too; she’s great at the finer details, like smaller stitches.”

“Doesn’t Emily hate me?”

“She doesn’t hate you; she just hates the fact I have a crush on you."

“That doesn’t really help, but good to know.”

“Sorry.” She smiled sheepishly.

“Don’t worry about it; hey want to head up to my room and rock out to some music?”

“Sure! Whatchu got?” Dakota sang with a wink,

“Have you heard of the band Single Tear? They’re a heavy metal band I’m super into.”

Dakota grimaced, “Oh, I know them. Emily accidentally blasted one of their songs at three a.m. She was editing her vlog when the headphone wire fell out of the jack. Scared the living daylight out of us. Can’t say I’m a fan.”

And Rory couldn’t blame her in the slightest. “Yeah, their stuff isn’t for everyone. Do you have an artist in mind? I mean, aside from Alvin and the Chipmunks, which I’ll totally listen to if it means I can see more of your dance routines.”

Dakota blushed, feeling touched that Rory was becoming their biggest fan, but there was a different band she had in mind. “There is one band I wouldn’t mind listening to. You ever heard of the band Gorillaz? Emily and I stumbled upon them a while ago, and I’m obsessed. I cannot stop listening to them; they’re so good, man!”

Rory’s eyes lit up. How could he not know them? they were a favorite of his too. “Yeah, I know them; I didn’t think you’d be into that style of music.”

“Honestly, I didn’t either. But they’re so addictive, I can’t stop drumming on my knees whenever I listen to them.”

“Well, what are we doing sitting around here for? Ready to rock?” Rory asked, holding his hand out,

“Am I?! I’m ready to rock roll and lose control, my beloved.” She grinned, taking Rory’s hand, and he led her upstairs.

Sure, the two had different interests and may not have had the most in common, but Dakota never judged him for his geeky hobbies or brushed them off as weird or a waste of time. And for that, Rory was grateful to have such a chill and easy-going bestie.

Not to mention, knowing him better gives Dakota more reasons to add to her ever-growing list as to why she loves him.

[lunarharp]

played dragon age 2...just simple scribbles

[minty-bunni]

Liking Astarion is an incredibly slippery slope into simping for Drizzt Do'Urden

[necrotic-nephilim]

re: your thoughts on new52 version of jayroy because roy harper was done so dirty that I can’t stand that ship, but you can make it good and I appreciate it

I have a vague idea for a jayroy/outlaws rewrite that leans into roy’s pre52 characterization because honestly I think they could have a decent friendship, like you said Roy isn’t a stranger to working with people he morally disagrees with. Roy also has a habit of taking people under his wing when he think they need support (I miss grant) and I think that if he saw Jason at his worst, angry, violent and hurting, then he’d still try and help him even if he wasn’t his best friend’s little brother.

I think that a romantic relationship between them would be a little harder to justify when you keep to Roy’s original character, he knows a lot about trying to fix people with love and just how much it doesn’t work. sleeping together casually is one thing but dating is another, and rule number 2 for recovering addicts is don’t get into a new relationship, is it the same for recovering villains? He can’t be that person who takes advantage of someone at their lowest Or be a conscience for someone, talking them down from bad decisions. I imagine that Roy sets pretty firm boundaries early on, and Jason doesn’t push him on this since it’s supposedly just causal.

The best way to shake things up between the two of them is to add a third person to the mix lmao, things would never progress past the fuckbuddies stage without some drama. You’ve gotta add Dick or Tim or Helena or Donna or Bruce for some spice

first of all, for you to just passingly mention the idea of HelenaJayRoy without any further thoughts how DARE you anon that was the most enlightened thing you could've said- /lh

BUT YES I AGREE. i think Outlaws *could* have worked, which is the most frustrating thing about it. i don't think Kori was the right pick, simply bc *why was she there* but i do agree, you *could've* made Roy work. there's this belief in Outlaws that somehow Jason is the one saving and helping Roy get back on his feet and Roy is leaning on Jason. but for me to make it work, it'd *have* to be other way around. like you said, with Roy being the one trying to take Jason under his wing and set him on the right path.

bc when it comes to superhero teams, a lot of times you can shove just about anyone together under the right justification or circumstances. so Jason and Roy working together could *easily* be pulled off, i just think they needed another more grounded, street-level vigilante/anti-hero to balance them out instead of someone like Kori who either feels like the deus ex machina solving everything *or* incredibly nerfed so the plot doesn't just revolve her fixing things instantly. really a lot of picks could've worked, but i *love* the idea of Helena. just bc i'd give anything for DC to give us a proper comic team-up between Helena and Jason. on a surface they *seem* like they should work well- lethal justice, protector of the marginalized, driven by vengeance. but i could see them heavily clashing and arguing over schematics and each other's methodologies. so putting someone who doesn't believe in murder at all like Roy in the middle is fun. especially with Roy finally having some semblance of adult stability after his addiction and having a child, he'd naturally fall into the role of being the one in charge, trying to guide the others. he has a habit of wanting to help others get their lives back on track bc well, he knows how it feels to be at rock bottom and feel like everyone gave up on you. there's definitely levels where Roy could sympathize with Jason, and possibly even agree with him. Roy's storyline with addiction existed to be meta-commentary on how parents fail their children going through addiction by not providing communal support, so a lot of Jason's feelings on how he was failed by Bruce (and adult heroes fail their sidekicks as a whole) can be reflected in Roy's experiences. Jason's beliefs on how sidekicks shouldn't exist and superheroes don't do enough is something Roy could possibly even agree with. i would've *loved* to see an Outlaws run acknowledging that Roy is far more emotionally mature than Jason and trying to help Jason out as Jason doesn't want it.

and like the said, that makes the relationship more fun. bc even if feelings develop, Roy's not going to jump on them for fear of taking advantage of Jason and potentially backsliding Jason's progress they've made inch by inch. it makes their friendship and relationship far more slow and careful. and adding Helena, imo, is a lot of fun. bc while she agrees with Jason's lethality, she'd have a bit more emotional stability going into the team. this is a woman who has a full time day job as a teacher and has worked on the Birds of Prey. while she doesn't have the teenage sidekick experience, she certainly has a level of "real world" experience, and a closeness to growing up around crime and tragedy. while Helena also has her emotional misgivings, they're very different from Jason's. a lot of Helena's character is driven by feeling trapped as a little girl, paralyzed by fear, witnessing a tragedy she can't stop. and Huntress is her way to try and break free of that. she's running from her trauma in a way, where as Jason is running *at* it. that's the difference. Jason wants to boldly face his trauma in bloody ways and force everyone else to face it too, even if it means that's all he'll be, bc that's all he sees himself as anyway. Helena wants to escape it and prove she's bigger than it. she doesn't want it to be her defining trait. sure she got her vengeance, but she tried to move on from it and make her identity something more.

so i think she could provide a level of stability to the relationship in that she'd try to force Jason to move on from the worst of his feelings. his trauma is always going to follow him a little, but he can't keep letting it define him. especially when they're all trying to work together on a team. it makes the three of them getting together a lot of fun bc there's balance in all directions. Roy cares about them both and has getting very comfortable with working with them, and they all have clear, unspoken feelings. i think it's fun if Roy is trying so hard not to take advantage of Jason while Jason is pissed that Roy thinks Jason isn't in the mindspace to make his own decisions about what he wants. i think he'd make a move on Helena just to prove his point and get Roy to finally cave and join in. Roy knows Helena won't take Jason's shit and won't let Jason go off the deep end just bc he's upset, she's very no-nonsense about it all to contrast Roy's more gentle attempts to reasoning.

anyway now i have a new rarepair idea ty anon i'm in love with you. i usually say i don't ship Helena/Jason just bc i think they're too intense for each other, but with Roy in the mix there's a really good balance that makes it work *so* well. i'm going to be thinking about this forever.

[tatekane]

Bdubs!!!!!

[justplaggin]

current obsession: cdramas that feel like anime

[burningcomputerpersona]

i met a new therapist today and I'm feeling pretty positive about it. i think it's gonna work out okay.

[creamecream]

Babes, wake up, new Monster High character refs dropped.

[abyssembraced]

Perhaps surprisingly, Ghost is actually quite merciful in a fight!

In general, they're a lot more reactive than they are proactive.

They do always give it their all in battle, and I suppose in that sense they could be considered rather ruthless. They'll never "go easy" on an opponent, since they don't actually know how to. They've never been in a situation before where doing such a thing would be relevant or useful. Everything they've fought during their life has either been Infected, a lesser creature that they're hunting for SOUL, or a highly skilled warrior that warrants them using their full capabilities. If someone asked Ghost to go easy on them in a spar, they'd probably just be confused about what that even meant?

The closest thing they've experienced to "going easy" on someone is simply not wasting unnecessary resources on a weak opponent. For example, if a lone, regular Vengefly has decided to harass them, Ghost isn't going to bother expending their gathered SOUL and Void with a spell when it'll fall in one hit from their nail.

Though, they are also cautious about how Void affects non-Void beings when they're around someone they care about not killing. Hornet has probably drilled it into them enough that the substance their body is made of is extremely dangerous to regular bugs dgshshfs. Plus they've seen examples of what Void can do to a bug from sources other than themself. Fortunately though, their Void infused spells (Abyss Shriek, Shade Soul, Descending Dark) are generally still safe enough to use in spars!

But, whether they fight and how long the fight lasts actually depends entirely on the other person. Ghost doesn't typically make the first strike or initiate a battle, and in cases where they do (such as the Mantis Lords fight), they make their intentions very clear with a challenge first. They aren't one for sneak attacks.

If someone attacks them, then they will fight back with all their might. But, if their opponent stops fighting, then they will too.

Against Infected foes, this usually means a fight to the death anyway, since due to the Radiance's influence, the enemy will not stop trying to kill Ghost until they either succeed or die trying. But against uninfected opponents like Hornet and the Mantis Lords, they can surrender, retreat, or even talk to Ghost safely without Ghost trying to go in for the kill. Even if that opponent was intending to kill Ghost themself. And for Infected and uninfected opponents alike, if they stagger, then Ghost will stop and wait for them, just to see if the fight is done or not.

If their opponent insists on fighting, though, then Ghost will never retreat themself, no matter how badly they get hurt. They'll keep fighting until their mask breaks, and even beyond that once they have Void Heart and can survive without it. Even in simple sparring matches. Self-preservation... Is not their strong suit dhdhshf.

This also means that my Ghost would not have killed the non-aggressive Infected enemies under most circumstances. In particular, they definitely never killed the other maggots (False Knight's siblings). Not only were those guys non-aggressive; they were sapient, terrified of Ghost, did not want to fight and very clearly showed this by actively running away. Ghost did not kill them. There was no reason to. Hell, I always feel really bad killing them for the Hunter's Journal entries lmao.

Regarding the Hunter's Journal entries, actually, for the enemies that they wouldn't have killed many of (if any at all), and perhaps even just in general, I'm inclined to say that Ghost still has the entries written down, but did so after just observing the specimens rather than killing them? Plus maybe also by inspecting the bodies of already dead creatures, like how you get the Garpede entry.

At least the initial entries anyway, which I like to think were actually written by Ghost. They probably don't have any of the "second tier" entries physically in the journal, considering that some of them (e.g. The direct quotes from the Warrior Dreams) make no sense for Ghost to know. But for the ones written specifically by the Hunter, maybe Ghost would pop by to show him their journal from time to time, and that's when he'd give them his input on Hallownest's creatures?

[ehlnofay]

wip wsunday (night)

tagged by @wispstalk (thank you kindly!) tagging back @ervona and @everybodyknows-everybodydies if you so please.

I put my long-ish tes piece on the backburner to take a break and write shorter things featuring my best friends elder scrolls characters from my mind and then I put THAT on the backburner because my very sweet grandmother paid for me to buy bg3 and. alas. look I can't play a game of this nature without fleshing out my player character far more than necessary and then I get curious. so here's a very shoddily scribbled bit from my very first playing-around piece (a rambling description of my character's extremely abandoned house)

[smugraccoon137]

Celebrating Velma coming out by watching Mystery Inc

[pastafossa]

I will also be at Philly fan expo! I'm going by myself so I'm very nervous. But I really hope I get to meet you when I'm there on Saturday.

YESSSSSSSS, I'm always so so happy when I hear another one of us is going! 🎉🎉🎉 I'm hoping to make it easy to spot me (cosplay + my lanyard covered in buttons) and I'll be updating whenever I'm around DD stuff like the panel or in line for autographs/pics. I hope I get to see you too, I have my little bag of penguin charms to give out to any readers I bump into, so if you do see me and want one, don't be afraid to come say hi!

I also totally get being nervous - pre-covid, every year I went to this one con for yeeears (two days of driving to get to that one), and before I developed a pack of friends to meet up with, I felt the same way! It wound up being so worth it though, and ironically I made friends with a bunch of other people who ALSO came alone, some of whom are now very good friends of mine (IF YOU'RE READING THIS SHELLY, I LOVE YOU). I'm hoping the same thing happens with all of us headed there for DD!

[crickwater]

I don't have any strong feelings abt matt mercer dming for d20. I am enjoying seeing the intense reactions of everyone else tho

[nearisqueer]

i think my hottest one piece take is that oda's artstyle is really sexist and racist, even though the writing is fantastic and most of the messages of the story are great. i enjoy this story because of what it says and how the characters are written, as well as the worldbuilding and the magic system and what have you, but i cannot find it within myself to blame someone for being turned off of it by the fact that oda knows how to draw one woman and that he does the minstrel lips for every black or black-coded character. literally one of the straw hats has these lips and he's the one who, when oda was asked what country each of the straw hats would be from in the real world, was given the entire continent of africa. all the others have a country. so like oda definitely holds some racist and sexist biases and those will stop a lot of people from enjoying the series and i think actually that it's fine for those people to dislike those things and a lot of OP fans need to chill out about that

[icannotgetoverbirds]

Would the princess consider a vegetable if it was made into a sweet treat? I hear zucchini bread is quite nice and roasted brussels sprouts with maple syrup and bacon bits is something i personally really enjoy

Sweets and treats are all the nutrients a princess needs