#Calliope Stories

[calliope-stories]

"Calliope is doggone great" - Indiana, Chief Barketing Officer at Calliope✨✨

Check out our cool interactive reads on Calliope — available for Android and IOS!

[calliopesdiary]

“you’re too sweet for me” part two

read part 1 here!

wc: 693

summary; you partially own your mums coffee & flower shop, so it’s no secret that you’d have a little (big) work crush on a boy whom you only know from his signature on the receipts.

ships; poly!marauders x fem!barista!reader

contents; mild language, sirius is a flirt, slight gilmore girls reference

*ring, ring.*

“hello?”

“hey, darling.”

oh gods… that familiar voice… he called you… didn’t he?

“o-oh, hi.”

“you sound surprised, was i not supposed to call the cute girl who works at my favorite coffee shop?”

fuck, here comes the blush.

“i-i just.. didn’t expect you to want too.”

“well, i did want too.”

you could almost hear his cocky grin.

“so, since we’re calling, i was just wondering if we could go out sometime? just casual, getting to know eachother?”

he sounded so confident.

“m-me? you want to go out with.. me?”

“you are the person i’m asking, love.”

“…”

“so.. is that a yes—“

“yes! yes! i mean— sure… that sounds…. fun?”

“great— oh! and i’m sure you won’t mind my boyfriends joining, hm?”

“boyfriends…? fuck! i knew he wasn’t single—“

“they’d like to get to know you as much as i would.”

“… they would?”

“mmmhm.”

“that’s fine.”

“perfect, i’ll pick you up from the shop at eight, will your mum mind?”

“i don’t think so— no.”

“perfect, see you then. love.”

“s-see you!”

“…mum!!! i’ve got a date with my favorite customer.”

you raced upstairs.

shaking your nerves out was a bit more difficult than it seemed, you had dreamed of this moment ever since Sirius had merely stepped into your shop.

though you never expected to go on a date with him and his two boyfriends.

"what's the hand shaking for, sweetheart?" your mum lovingly placed her hands on your shoulders to try and ease any anxiety.

"mum... its not... just Sirius."

"Oh, is it those two other boys aswell?"

"...how do you know about Remus and James?"

"They come into the florist section of the shop every saturday to purchase flowers for Sirius.

"Oh."

"Sweetie, you do not need to be nervous. you look so beautiful."

"thanks, mum."

You smiled sweetly up to your mum, before you heard a knock on the door of your apartment.

"Go get em', sweetie."

you smiled back at her, as you turned the door knob anxiously.

"hi, Sirius.'

"Hi... y-y/n"

poor thing might've been just as nervous as you were.

"y-you look... very nice..."

he smiled.

"thank you."

"Remus and James are in the car, are you ready to go?"

you nodded lightly, and he led you to the car. you felt your stomach flutter as he opened the car door for you, motioning for you to get in.

you were sat next to Remus, he put his book down and greeted you politely.

"you look lovely, Y/N."

"thank you, Remus. so do you."

you could tell James was nervous, he smiled back to you and complimented your looks.

after a small debate on where to go and what to do, you ultimately decided on going to an old library (you loved reading, so it was up your alley)

the date was so lovely, it almost felt like you guys had known eachother for years.

was it just your imagination? or did they really like you back? was it too good to be true? you couldn't decide, and you found yourself dreading the date ever ending.

but all things come to an end, but hopefully this was the start of something life changing.

you pulled into your apartments parking lot, and you were helped out of the car by James.

"it was lovely, tonight."

he smiled at your slightly flustered expression.

"i really enjoyed it..."

you met his gaze, and you yearned for more than just eye contact.

you stopped at your front door, he faced you with a slight blush on his face.

"..can i kiss you?"

"James-"

"please?"

"o-okay..."

he leaned down, pressing his plump lips against your soft ones. basking in the glory of finally kissing you.

his lips tasted like straight heaven, and his hand crept to the small of your back. leaning into your lips until you both broke off.

"t-thank you..."

he chuckled softly at your chosen words.

"have a goodnight, love."

he smiled, and left you at the front door.

suddenly, your mum swung the door open, causing you to jolt.

"mum!"

"you said thank you? sweetheart he kissed you, don't say thank you."

taglist~ @wednesdaynn @imobsessedwitholiviarodrigo @here-am-i-sitting-in-a-tin-can @glamourbabe17 @carolinexkpop @imdoingbetternow @wildwild64 @ellecdc @messylxve

[writing-for-life]

Ok, I’m not going to get involved in a certain thread because I don’t want any drama and the line of argumentation leans too much to one side already (the views of the vocal majority in this fandom) for it to make much sense to contribute, but I had a few thoughts today:

In a fandom where people write AUs full of cows and merpeople and other shenanigans that have nothing to do with canon (or the actual characters, to be frank), they can’t do that for Calliope (or any other female character, for that matter)?

She doesn’t get to play in the sandbox?

We don’t have the imagination to turn her into one of the two dolls that kiss?

We have to keep her in character while everyone else can be turned into… whatever person (certainly neither the one of the comics nor the show)?

We constantly have to remember her strife and trauma and can’t invent (!, that’s what writing is about!) a different or new side to her? Or a better future? One in which she gets to be happy?

Or we can’t turn her into someone she canonically isn’t?

While all of this always, always works for Dream? Or the hairy guy?

And speaking of said guy: Do we have any reason to think Dream would treat him better than Nada? We’re automatically assuming he’d do the same thing to Calliope, but not to him? Or: Why do we assume he would do what he did to Nada to any other love interest, because canonically, there’s no evidence for that (we wrote about this on here before)? So no, that line of argument just doesn’t fly in my view.

If Calliope and Dream have chemistry and people are able to acknowledge it (which most do), that on its own is enough to ship them. The chemistry argument works with every M/M ship. Why doesn’t it work with her?

Oh, she is allowed in gen fics (and I am a fan of those btw, but that’s past the point), or as a character with very little agency, or any personal or sexual desires. Even better if she serves the ship. That’s okay of course, I forgot. Reminds me of most of the women of the Sandman—I wonder why.

I just wish people would give the honest reason without going through all the mental gymnastics of why Dreamuse is not an interesting (or even bad or problematic) ship, and the other one is the best invention since sliced bread:

They want to see/imagine two guys together.

There, I said it, it wasn’t hard. It’s really as simple as that in fandom, it’s a predictable fantasy, and it’s the same in every fandom. The Sandman isn’t any different.

M/F ships are frowned upon because they’re “heteronormative”, and yet, (mostly) women proceed to project (mostly) heteronormative relationship dynamics on two guys of which they fancy at least one and use the other to project themselves on. Sometimes, they fancy both of them and get more of what they have the hots for. Good for them, there’s nothing wrong with it. We have oodles of research by now why some women prefer M/M porn; it’s not earth-shattering, groundbreaking or “queer-positive” (it sometimes fetishises homosexuality though, but that’s a different topic). It’s been like that since at least the times of Spirk, and probably longer. It’s actually a fairly (dare I utter the word on here?) straight female sexual fantasy. The queer-positivity everyone is so enamoured with is more than, and not singularly limited to, shipping M/M—as a bisexual woman, I personally can’t identify with that line of thinking at all, but other people’s mileage might vary…

If people are into smutty/explicit fanfic , that’s just how it works: Some women project on a female body while imagining to get railed by a guy, others prefer to imagine two guys because they fancy men. Again: Nothing wrong with it, but it’s also not as deep as people often pretend it is.

Yes, I wrote about that one before as well. That’s why I can do it again—“once your reputation is ruined” and all that 🤣

It’s ok to be horny for two guys without turning it into a brain-contorting statement every time.

It’s also okay to reflect on the wider implications of completely erasing women from EVERY fandom, especially if you identify as one.

Edited on May 27 since it’s obviously necessary:

If people’s main takeaway from this post is that it’s about criticising fetishising homosexuality, they clearly have a reading comprehension problem and should read it again. “Sometimes” doesn’t mean “always”, plus it wasn’t even a main point. I even said that fancying m/m is a fairly middle-of-the-road-fantasy, and that there’s nothing wrong with it. The internalised misogyny that shows in people who think they are “saving women from men” by completely erasing them from the narrative and only centering men is a different topic, but these two things aren’t the same.

If people’s main response to this post is, “Then write your own stuff,” they also have a reading comprehension problem and did not get at all what this is about. It’s also the slightly old getting standard response to anything that invites critical thinking, but that one isn’t all that surprising anymore. The assumption people aren’t writing their own stuff is also a bit… silly? But I imagine that misconception is down to the fact that those people never check any tags beyond one or two, and certainly never any that involve female characters. [And to say it quite frankly: That some people wrote verbatim, “If you want Dream and Calliope to fuck so badly, write it yourself,” just shows me that they’re incapable of viewing anything but through a sex/smut lens. Good for you, kids, your world sounds so exciting *slow clap*. But maybe don’t project your thirst on everyone else.]

Some people in the OP this was about even made good points, and I didn’t criticise any of those because they are true.

This post is about the double standards people apply when they say why one ship (m/m) is more successful than the other (m/f):

Trauma? Never a problem when it’s Dream.

Relationship that somehow “shouldn’t work”? Never a problem in tropes like enemies to lovers and many others that are totally used for thee ship. Or with two people (read: men) they really want to see together.

Bending a character beyond recognition or giving them a totally different backstory, because that would solve the “relationship has run its course”-issue? Never a problem with the two guys who can be anything from a cow to a mafia boss. But the women? Nope, we have to remember their trauma and strife, keep them exactly as in the source material and protect their sacredness by completely ignoring them.

Still don’t get that this is not about a ship per se but the erasure of all women from stories bar being cheerleaders for thee m/m ship in some way? Okay, then that one’s really beyond anything I can explain, although I think some people just like to consciously misrepresent stuff or really don’t do anything but skim-read. That’s not on me I guess…

[sammyshuno]

[bbbutterfingers]

90 minutes

[cream-and-tea]

[ID in alt]

compilation of a very specific kind of pallas and calliope interaction that i think is hilarious every time i write it. pallasvoice wow you’re like some kind of freak who can’t have a normal relationship. unlike me. who always has normal relationships.

[c-kiddo]

generally not vry interested in ships but something abt fearne/ashton makes me want to put it in my mouth and eat it

[podcastwizard]

hey i know it's been a while since podcastwizard has posted about podcasts but i think jake and emily should fully lean into a calder/calliope romance as a special gift for me personally

[callie-shifts-apparently]

I want shiftblr friends but I dont post on shiftblr. because i dont have shiftblr friends 😭

[arleniansdoodles]

I felt like drawing some more Sindri+Calliope feels, so here you go! Sindri never thought that he’d open his heart to someone ever again, but lo and behold, he was wrong XDD

[dingodad]

I think the most interesting thing there doing is showing that alt cal in a much more antagonististice light and I am starting to feel that stoping dirk , isn't gonna be the end because alt cal is planning something

i don't think hs2 could ever have been a straightforward quest to "stop dirk"; homestuck is a story about how evil the author is and beyond canon is about that torch being passed to an assemblage of new authors, so it wouldn't make sense for the endgame to be "the new author is also evil so let's stop them". but i do think this update drove that point home by emphasising the multitude of players at work here. calliope and dirk aren't the only two gods presiding over a black-and-white world, they're just two of a potentially infinite number of storytellers vying for control in a post-caliborn medium

[homestuckconfession]

Been needing to get this off my chest for a while. Sorry for the wall of text.

Being a hater for any of the female hs characters is a huge red flag to me. You dont have to like EVERY female character, but being a HATER is very sus. i feel like there is not a single female character that is worse than the worst male character. There isnt even a single female character more ANNOYING than the most annoying male character (especially since most of the male characters are kinda insufferable tbh). Beta girls? So fun and cool. Beta troll girls? I can’t think of a single one i dont at least have begrudging respect for (fef is my least favorite but even she is still pretty cool conceptually imo). Roxy? Her interactions with Callie are so cute and she’s just such a fun character in general. She was the highlight of the alpha kids section for me. Jane? she’s on fef level for me. I appreciate her story even if I don’t really vibe with her. Dancestor girls? Not my favorite bunch of characters in general but i cant think of a single female character i dislike out of them apart from meenah or Aranea, but that’s probably because they had the most screen-time.

A lot of the male characters are either groomers (doc scratch), pedos/otherwise disgusting and annoying (Cronus), hussie (hussie) or just plain boring (most of the male dancestors). I’m not saying I dont like ANY of the male characters. John and Dave are probably my favorite characters in homestuck! I just feel like male characters are given SO MUCH more grace to be annoying and shitty and ANNOYING. Like goddamn. Not to yuck anyone’s yums but I’ll never understand any hate on any of the female characters when the amporas exist. I cant think of a single enjoyable trait or moment that eridan had and Cronus is fucking CRONUS ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????!? AND YET they both still have so many fans and I hardly see any posts tearing into them like people have torn into vriska or Jane like DID WE READ THE SAME COMIC?!?!

I’ve NEVER seen ANY male character get hated on as vehemently as ive seen female characters get hated on. If you are a hater of any of the female characters then i do not trust you.

.

[ruvviks]

DEIANEIRA BLOODREAVER · HUMAN(?) STORM SORCERER · ENTERTAINER

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 09/05/2024

edge of a balcony

Season 8 Featured on: The Joke​-​Explainer 7000​™​'s Highest Quality Rips: Sunrise

Ripped by Emm Bee Sea

Requested by Fezaki! (Request Form)

Tentative rip name: A Balcony atop the Labyrinth of Lights

Remember back on guess what​?​?​?​?​?​?​?​?, when I talked about a "secret" recurring gag on the SiIvaGunner channel that I'd been completely oblivious to for the longest time? We're talking about another one of those today - only now, its one that I actually have noticed and been decently familiar with. On almost every April 4th since 2021, a certain Mori Calliope's birthday has been celebrated with a small bevvy of rips made in her honor. Funny enough, I've known of this joke since it started despite having no real attachment to Calliope or her music - but the rips themselves have been consistently good enough for me to always remember to check in on the channel on April 4th every year. It would seem as if my efforts paid off in spades this year: edge of a balcony, more than celebrating Calliope, doubles as a surprise celebration of SiIvaGunner itself, making it an incredibly rewarding and heartwarming listen to long-time fans like myself.

Which is oddly fitting, when you think about it: I learned in reading up for this post that Mori has been an open fan of the SiIvaGunner channel since a long time ago, and has referenced it openly from time to time. 2022's event for her was notable enough to get a page on the Wiki, and through this she eventually learned of the event's existence in 2023 and was overjoyed seeing all the rips made for it. I've made it clear before that I don't really follow the VTuber scene at all in posts like Shiny Smily TALE, but that mutual love between channels is just so fun to see from a distance - especially given that Morio's original music just so happens to work really well within rips. Given that distance from her channel, end of a life wasn't a tune I'd really heard before tuning in to edge of a balcony in particular, but it struck a chord with me that I genuinely wasn't expecting it to. I hate to say it - but it was like a repeat of the exact same feelings I had upon discovering Logan Paul's Shop - only now even moreso, given that it was from an artist I already knew had some genuine merit.

Because yeah, end of a life is a fantastic tune. It's a rather melancholy, reflective piece, where Mori reflects on how many things she's been through in life, her friendships, her opportunities, what she's grateful for, all that which led her to where she is now. That's befitting enough to be used for Balcony - a theme I've already spilled far too much love over back on Balcon Fusion Collab, but one that to summarize also hits those very same thematic beats within Cave Story itself. So that's a slam dunk of a rip concept right out the gate! But if there's anyone who I know knows her SiIvaGunner lore, it would be Emm Bee Sea, someone I've been seeing in the comment sections to just about half of the channel's uploads since way back in Season 2 - and one who's not shy to express her affection for what she loves through rips like Staff Roll (SM64) Fusion. And indeed, through that knowledge, through that love for the channel's life, Emm Bee Sea was able to turn edge of a balcony into a celebration of Balcony not just as a theme, but of its eight years worth of rips throughout SiIvaGunner's life.

It might not shock you to learn that Balcony Cruise was not the first rip of the song to be featured on the channel. Cave Story as a game is immensely popular for its music, how much it resonates with the exact kind of person who would also grow attached to SiIvaGunner - hell, Quote as a character in the King for Another Day Tournament was added specifically due to winning the MAGFest 2019 character ballot in vote popularity. And as the chorus begins in edge of a balcony, as Mori's vocals continue leading the melody of end of a life forward, keen-eared viewers will identify the melodies being played by Balcony's original lead instrument in the background - The Flintstones theme from Balcony - Cave Story, music by clipping. from balcony., Subwoofer Lullaby from Moog Island...its all remarkably understated, never taking attention away from the central focus of the rip, never turning it into another Fusion Collab. Yet I find that it plays to the theming of end of a life, and to the theming of small-scale celebration of the day as a whole, so beautifully. Not everyone who follows SiIvaGunner cares all that much about this VTuber girl - I myself am far out of my depth there - yet, for those who care to listen in, there's an unmistakable beating heart to edge of a balcony that makes listening an absolutely magical experience.

On a personal note...It's easy for me to worry sometimes, having ran this blog for so long, with so many words spilled on the most minute details, that I'm more invested in this whole thing than I should be. I still regularly meet people confused over how this channel could even HAVE "seasons", befuddled as to what there is to be taken seriously in its storytelling let alone that it has theming, and most importantly, unable to see the channel's beating heart of creativity as anything more than a tired running joke. I'm not going to act all superior over other people not "getting it", I know full well that SiIvaGunner is not a channel for everyone. But that's part of what makes getting rips like edge of a balcony feel so unbelievably reassuring - to see such unfiltered and pure expressions of love toward not just the entire SiIvaGunner channel, but toward a creator with just as loyal and undying of a fanbase, toward yet another part of the internet many simply "don't get". That the kind of love that I needlessly worry about being too open about is not just allowed to exist, but allowed to flourish, blossom, into something this beautiful. It's the kind of reminder I keep getting from the SiIvaGunner channel at a regular basis, and the kind that'll keep me coming back to this blog through thick and thin.

♫ We were singing at the top of our lungs to the numbness ♫ ♫ This city never died... ♫

[sammyshuno]

oh no she's hot

[b-plot-butch]

dghadkhlgd the tone shift of the calliope and dream reunion scene in the comics vs in the show. "oh. it's you" versus "you came." "you called." with the METRIC TON of MEANING and EMOTION in both their voices. thank you so much sandman netflix team