#and honestly maybe it would have been better if we were

[moonstruckme]

hi mae!! hope you’re well and warm and cozy!!

I saw your post that requests are open and saw you talk about bodyguard!sirius/james and it made me think of reader going out with friends maybe in not weather appropriate clothes (hot girl don’t get cold and all that) and after making bodyguard‘s (you should decide if sirius or james) life hell all night by being all over the place and hard to keep an eye on but also dancy and fun and hot, reader insist on walking a bit later but gets cold and I see our bodyguard marauder giving reader his jacket, maybe making a comment, maybe hugging, maybe they kiss, maybe rain is involved maybe not (clearly I can’t keep a thought), so I came to you with the request.

I just realized this was so long and rambly, and honestly I’m not offended at all if it doesn’t spark that creative spark just thought you could make something fun with it.

xxx 🫶🫶

Hi baby! I hope you're well and warm and cozy too, and thank you for your request :)

cw: alcohol

bodyguard!Sirius x fem!reader ♡ 865 words

Sirius is watching you with a smug knowingness in his gaze, and you decide upon seeing it that you’d rather freeze than admit he was right. 

“Can I have some more?” you ask your friend. She hands you a thermos full of gin, and you take a hearty glug. Sirius comes up behind you as you pass it back to her. 

“Staying warm?” he murmurs close to your ear. 

“Mhm. Toasty.” 

“Yeah? These aren’t goosebumps, then?”

Sirius skims a knuckle down your bare arm, and you shiver for more than one reason. “You must be seeing things.” 

When you’d been getting ready back home, your bodyguard had taken one look at your outfit and grinned sharply. 

Babe, you look killer, but you’re gonna be frozen solid in ten minutes if you go out like that.

Maybe, you’d replied, perhaps enjoying too much the feeling of his eyes on you. But that’s the price I’ll have to pay. Anyway, alcohol will keep me warm.

Better than a coat? Sirius wasn’t shy about letting his eyes dip down to your legs, dark lashes drooping where he leaned against your doorway. Or pants?

Probably. You weren’t truly as confident as you sounded, but you were wearing this outfit one way or another. And you could never be reasonable when Sirius was around. Once I get a few drinks in me, I won’t even notice.

You’re definitely noticing. But all night, you’ve seen Sirius noticing you as well. It’s his job to look at you, to look after you, but there’s little professionalism in the way his gaze darkens as it skims over the soft, exposed parts of your body, from your calves to your clavicle. The shapes of your nipples showing through your top, pert from the cold. 

“I’m getting another drink as soon as we get to the next bar,” you reassure him, or possibly yourself. Sirius’ expression doesn’t change. 

“Actually,” one of your friends pipes up, “I was just thinking of heading home.” 

There’s a chorus of agreement to which you eventually succumb, though you really would have liked at least one last stop in a warm place before you have to make the trek home. As your friends disperse, Sirius starts walking you in the direction of your place, his presence a steady solidness at your side. 

“Still not cold?” he asks you. 

You wrap your arms around yourself. “Nope.” 

“I think your kneecaps are shivering.” 

“They do that all the time.” 

“Oh, yeah?” You can hear the laughter in his tone. “You look cold, dollface. I could give you my jacket if you want.” 

You glance at him. Sirius isn’t looking at you but around you, keeping an eye on street corners and monitoring passerby with a giant stupid grin on his face. His jacket looks really warm. 

“Thanks, but I don’t need it.” 

His grin only spreads. He loves when you get contrary, it’s his favorite form of entertainment. You’re coming to the realization that this may be a lose-lose situation for you. “Because you’re not cold, huh?” 

“Uh-huh.” 

“Alright.” He continues strolling along beside you, hands comfortably fitted in his pockets, gait the unhurried ease of someone not currently forming ice crystals on their nose. 

Then it starts to rain. 

Sirius tilts his face up, looking at the sky as though in curiosity. “Shame I didn’t think to bring my umbrella,” he says. “You feeling cold yet, gorgeous?” 

“No,” you grind out. Your teeth are chattering. 

“No? I’d hate for you to get hypothermia.” 

“I’m good. It’s actually cooling me off.” 

“Good god.” Sirius huffs a laugh, and a second later his jacket is settling heavily over your shoulders. “You win, fine, but wear it for me, yeah? I can’t have you coming home half blue. It wouldn’t look like I was doing my job very well.” 

The warmth actually makes your shivering worsen. You try not to look too eager as you put it on, but the zipper nearly breaks from how hard you tug it up. 

“Thanks,” you say to Sirius. He grins, and you notice he was only wearing a fitted long-sleeve underneath. Your eyes stick to the places where it tightens over his shoulders and biceps. “Shit, sorry, now you’ll be cold.” 

“I thought you were never cold, though?” 

You roll your eyes, and he snickers. 

“I’ll be fine, we’re not far. Anyway, no one cares if I come home half blue.” He pinches your nose between his thumb and forefinger. Looks torturously fond as he pouts. “Poor girl, you really are freezing. C’mere.” 

He grabs you around the shoulders to tug you into his side, and you go happily. His hand rubs up and down on your arm. You think that this may be pointless, seeing as his shirt is already growing damp from the rain and you’re now the one with the coat, but you’re hardly about to contradict him. 

“I care if you come home half blue,” you say, your voice half muffled from how he has your face squished against his side. 

“Awe, really?” Sirius plants his lips happily on the cold top of your head, still rubbing diligently at your arm. “Thanks, doll.”

[cyten0]

A Symphony In Crimson

Act 1: A Movement in Black

Chapter 17

… You can’t sleep. Still worrying about Sif. Their alone right now, dealing with… whatever is happening to them. Crab. You wish you had stuck it out a little longer, saw if you couldn’t get through to them. Helped them, somehow. It’s tearing you up inside, thinking about it.

You tried sleeping, and ended up with a nightmare. Sif crying blood, as something rips them apart from the inside. Not quite how it played out, but pretty close to the mark as far as nightmares go...

Maybe you need some fresh air. You quietly get out of bed, so not to wake the others. And head out-!!!

You’re greeted with a message written in blood right outside the door!!!

I am sorry.

The king will be dead by morning.

My final act.

Farewell.

Oh. Oh No. Crab NO.

▲ “Everyone wake up! We have to go, NOW!!!”

✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸���✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸

You’re resting at the tree. You don’t need sleep, but your mind still wants it. At least rest. Trying to process this. Trying to figure out what to do. You haven't even checked on Stardust. Why bother? They won’t want your help anyways. Not anymore.

You don’t feel bad about doing it. Never did. But blind it all. They shouldn’t have had to know. Not yet.

You’re awoken from your musings by a familiar voice, approaching the tree.

▲ “Sif?! SIF?!!! Where are you!!!!”

The fighter? Up this early? They look desperate. What’s happened?

✸ “Oh, dear, What has dear stardust done now?”

▲ “H-Huh?!? Who’s that?!”

You shift yourself outside your realm, right in front of them.

✸ “A friendly helper of our local white cloaked Traveler~”

▲ “W-Wait really?!?”

✸ “Of course! Was quite frankly made for that purpose~”

You take off your mask, briefly, showing the fighter your face. He seems surprised! You suppose wearing the same face as stardust has SOME perks! No need to spend time convincing them~

✸ “With that in mind, I assume they’ve gotten into some extra trouble, if your searching so frantically!”

▲ “I! He left a note, outside our room and-”

✸ “Oh? Let me see really quick~”

You shift your eyes towards the clocktower… Oh.

✸ “Oh dear, that’s not good. They’re probably already at the house then. Hm.”

▲ “Crab, I thought so. I better get the others. We have to do something.”

You can’t sit idly by at this point. It’s all coming to a head. And if Stardust's mental state is this bad, the house might be...

✸ “Allow me to help! I’ll round up the others quickly, and I’ll help guide you through the house. You’re going to need it~”

▲ “Alright, I’ll start heading over!”

✸ “...Actually, could you do something first? Something that might give us an edge.”

▲ “Huh?”

✸ “You want to save stardust, right? With all your heart?”

They look at you. And nod.

✸ “Then… Let me teach you a ritual. To make the favor tree help grant that wish…”

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You’ve been searching around for a bit when the strange person showed up, and told you what’s happening. You’re now just waiting for the others. Oh, Siffrin…

You can’t leave them to do this. Not when their going to risk their life for you all…

There they all are!

◉ “O-Okay! We’re all here! It’s… Earlier then expected, but we were planning to fight through the house anyways!”

✸ “I’m going to stop you there, dear housemaiden~ Don’t be expecting this to be ANYTHING like what you were preparing for!”

◆ “What does that mean?”

✸ “Stardust wasn’t just dealing with 'being a horror monster' issues. If they had been, things would honestly have been fine! No, the real issue is the Timecraft at play.”

▲ “More timecraft? Did the king do something to them?”

✸ “No, I will explain as we go, but Stardust has gone through this house many times. What we need to worry about now are the seeds he’s planted in the sadnesses in prior attempts.”

Seeds? Did he do something to the sadnesses?

✿ “Wait… Is that why that sadness before was movin funny?”

✸ “Very observant, Kid! Yes, stardust can control any living thing he puts a piece of himself inside, like a living virus.”

◆ “Should we be worried about infection?”

✸ “Oh no, don’t worry, they won’t! It has to be done manually, and even if it they did for SOME reason, you’d be able to know and remove it quickly, at least early on. Honestly a bit of Pineapple juice works just fine, and the Kid has plenty!”

✿ “...Why pineapple?”

✸ “Stardust is Allergic!”

✿ “Oh okay!…. Crab, that means I can’t make pineapple stuff for them.”

Hehe, kind of relieving a little to hear such a normal answer to something scary like this! Just allergies! Helps remind you this is still Siffrin… Feels bad, thinking about that? You didn't even see the worst of it, and you're still struggling with all this.

✸ “Regardless, the problem is control isn’t all they can do. If they just eat the sadnesses for strength, we should be fine. But if they made those seeds sprout… be prepared for this house to be far, FAR more horrifying.”

Okay, so you’ve read enough horror stories to get the idea. Kind of a zombie hivemind thing? Um.

◉ “I-I mean! If Siffrin’s controlling them, we should be fine! They’d never hurt us!”

Right? They shouted a bit yesterday, and got upset, but never actually hurt?

✸ “Yes, that was the reason they infected the sadnesses in the first place~ But their still sadnesses, and stardust’s not consciously controlling them right now… Just. Be wary?”

◆ “...The warning is welcome, thank you… I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name?”

✸ “Call me Loop! It’s not a very creative title, as you’ll find out, but it’s what I have!”

You nod. And head towards the Houses gate. It’s been closed behind itself, but not locked. You use a little craft to trigger it and…

…You stare down the corridor. The walls are darkened with the King’s curse, yet living flesh seems to creep through the cracks of the stone, growing out of it like mold, yet beating like a heart. You see eyes stare out at you from the growths, looking around erratically but with the majority focused directly at you all, staring you down. The air seems to shudder within, with a rhythm you can feel but not hear.

You feel the others shaking. Even you are surprised. But. You can’t afford to hesitate. You HAVE to press on.

◉ “… Let’s go. We can do this.”

The others steel themselves, and you march in.

… The strange growths continue, all the way inside. The eyes follow your movements, and it kind of makes you worry a little. But then… You hear music?

You look for the source of the sound. And see something moving up ahead, in the darkness.

✸ “Looks like I was right. Get ready everyone.”

The creature starts shuffling towards you. As it approaches you can see it more clearly. It looks like a sadness at first. But… There is a pale white mask, fused onto it’s face. The openings for it’s eyes are a lightless void. And it’s body… dark tendrils seem to peek out from it’s edges, it’s limbs seem skinned the way flesh has fused itself onto it’s liquid body, it’s hands are formed into cutting blades of bone and sinew, and it moves like it’s being picked up by invisible strings. Yet it doesn’t stop singing.

You ready your rapier. The others follow suit.

You charge forwards, piercing it’s heart, and filling it with craft power. You watch as it barely flinches, even as the injury rips it apart. You back off, as it takes a swing towards you. It’s blow cracks the ground as it hits, but Isa takes the opening to knock it off it’s feet. It falls to the ground, unmoving. But then lifts off the ground, and it’s body twists around towards him. Odile then fires off a paper craft to blast it into the wall.

◆ “Please let that be it.”

You watch as it doesn’t move for a bit.

Before suddenly raising it’s head and charging at you all like a feral beast! It’s so fast, you don’t have time to-

BANG

A hole pierces through the creatures mask, and it stops dead, before dissolving into water and blood.

You turn, and see Bonnie holding a strange device.

✿ “… Eyes glowed funny whenever it got up. Gotta be a weak spot.”

◆ “...Huh. Good eye, Boniface. But also. What was that?”

✿ “Oh, yeah, Frin gave it to me. Said it’s a craft revolver. I wanted to help fight, so...”

▲ “Huh. Sif gave you that huh?”

✸ “That they did. You’re a good shot, Kid.”

✿ “H-Huh!? No, I… I hit Frin last time I used it. I didn’t wanna use it but…”

✸ “You only did that because you were scared!… Look, you might not know it, but you have a very good track record with that thing! You once went through the entire house without ever missing a single shot~”

✿ “Huh? What’s that mean?”

✸ “Like I said, Timecraft~ This day has happened a few times!”

Bonnie looks at the craft revolver.

You look at the stain where the sadness was. Even for horror stuff, that was...

◉ “S-Sorry to change topics but… Did Siffrin… Really do that? Did they… make that thing?”

✸ “Yes~ I hope you’ve gotten used to it! There’s almost CERTAINLY more where that came from!”

▲ “Well, at least we know their weakness. Hit them in the face!”

✸ “Fire would also probably work. Stardust had that fear for a reason, after all!”

◆ “Not that we have much access to that right now. But worth knowing, I suppose.”

You nod. Alright. You have a plan! So. Let’s keep moving.

You go a little further, and- Wait, something’s moving above you!

A sadness drops down next you you, and starts to make a swing!

…? It. Stops. Inches from your face.

It stumbles backwards, and starts to twitch and writhe. It’s singing devolves into screeching!

And then it… stabs itself. Over and over. Until… it drops dead….

✸ “… It seems Stardust is still subconsciously controlling them. Good!”

▲ “That… Crab. That was… brutal.”

✸ “Still, too close for comfort! Best not drop your guard, anyways~”

You can’t move. You… heard something. While screeching. Just for a second… it…

◉ “It sounded. Almost like Siffrin…”

✸ “… At this point, I’d say these things are basically half Stardust… Don’t let that stop you! They’ll still try to kill you, even if part of them will try and hold back~”

You… Nod. And keep moving on… What could have pushed things this far?

>>>

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You all have been making good progress through the house. The deeper in you go, the more odd growths there are, and the more twisted the sadnesses. You’ve even seen entire hands and maws growing out of the walls. This cannot be healthy. Moreover, that eerie rythmic feel in the air just keeps getting worse. The sadnesses singing seems to keep to that invisible tune.... But despite everything, Loop has been guiding you through the paths well.

Loop. Strange character, they are. Oddly cheerful during all this, or at least faking it. They know far more about all of this then you. Best get information, while you all are making your way towards Siffrin.

◆ “So, Loop. You said you were here to help Siffrin? I presume with this?”

✸ “Sort of! I wouldn’t need to exist if the monster stuff was the only problem~ But a different issue exasperated it significantly.”

▲ “Really? Mind telling us?”

✸ “Of course! First of all, I should mention the forces at play~ The first being wishcraft! It’s the power to turn desires into reality, with the right rituals~

▲ "Like that favor tree thing you asked me to do?"

✸ "Correct! There’s more to it, but The king used a different ritual to gain their powers over time. But their not the only one! Another desire gave stardust the power to turn back time in desperate situations~”

✿ “Woah, Really?!?”

✸ “Yes! Stardust knew the rituals of course, they were born in the land that made wishcraft~ But a simple wish they made on a favor tree acted as a lightning rod for a much bigger wish!”

◉ “W-What wish was that?”

✸ “...The wish of all of Vaugarde. To be saved from the king~ A desire as strong as that was more then powerful enough to turn back time many, many times! I think we’re a little over a hundred at this point?”

A hundred?! Awfully casual about that.

▲ “That many times?!? Did we never beat the king?!?”

✸ “That’s the Issue. You did! But something went wrong. By that point, a little flaw turned the whole situation on it’s head~”

◆ “What would that be?”

✸ “Two things. One, Stardust's hunger carried over attempts. And they have a much bigger appetite then the Kid's snacks can do~ I could mitigate that somewhat, pulling in prey for them from elsewhere, even if options were limited.”

Loop rounds a corner, and snaps his fingers, as a sadnesses falls down, it’s head vanished from it’s shoulders, only to appear at Loops feet, who promptly crushes it. Efficient, aren’t they?

✸ “Sadnesses aren’t nutritious, but it’s not exactly like there was a lot of wildlife in Vaugarde to hunt~ Which led to the other issue! By the time Siffrin beat the king, they were too weak to keep up their human disguise for much longer.”

▲ “Disguise? Were they always like… this?”

✸ “Indeed! Their face and name is borrowed from before they swore off their more… Disastrous tendencies.”

◆ “Disastrous? Compared to this?!...How bad was it?!”

✸ “Well, Their old home was a certain Island north of Vaugarde~”

You all take a moment. Hunting your memory for anything… Wait. You. DON’T remember it. But. You remember that’s a thing, isn’t it? That everyone forgot?!...Were they-?

✸ “I see it just clicked~ They most likely didn’t make people forget, probably! But It WAS likely done to stop our dear traveler~ ...But what we do know is that, from what little they remember..."

Loop turns towards you all. Eyes grim. Voice cold.

✸ "Everyone there is dead. Every. Last. One.”

T-that... no way!!!

◉ “Change!”

▲ “Crab!”

◆ “Gems!”

✿ "...h-huh?"

No wonder Siffrin hid this! They're a walking Calamity! An entire COUNTRY wiped out overnight?!?!!

✸ “They don’t remember why they did it. But they’ve held that guilt ever since.”

...None of you know how to respond to that. It’s terrifying, thinking little Siffrin is capable of that. Would ever do something like that. But more then that… How that must hurt…

You remember your mother. How when you were younger, you sometimes felt it was your fault they left. You can’t imagine how that must feel for your entire home…

✿ “...But frin wouldn’t hurt anyone now, right?”

✸ “Not willingly, no~ And it would take a LOT to push them past that point!"

You figured not, but it's still a relief to hear.

✸ "Again, over a hundred loops, and only NOW are they even willing to do anything like this, even to the KING! They’d rather just be human… Which gets to the issue we’re dealing with now.”

◉ “O-Oh, right. You said… they were weak, after the king? What happened then?”

✸ “Stardust’s own wish kicked in! I can’t remember quite what it was! It wouldn’t be my place to say even if I did~ But they believe they’d need to be human after this all in order to do it. And because that wasn’t an option, The wish forced Siffrin back, to try again~”

Believe they would? Worth looking into. But you can see how that turned out.

◆ “I see. But since they only ended up like that because of going back so much…”

✸ “You catch on quick, Researcher! For the past two days, Stardust has been in an unending loop of the same two days, slowly starving to death~ We only recently figured out the cause!"

Not a lot of time to test options then.

✸ "And now? ...Stardust is desperate. So their making a last ditch effort to end things.”

▲ “Does it have something to do with the king? Is that why they came here?”

✸ “Correct! The king can stop time, prevent it from going forwards. And potentially, backwards! What would happen if Stardust stole the King’s wish, and shoved it into their own?”

Hm. There’s a certain logic to that. But that sounds tricky.

◉ “Can that even work?!?”

✸ “Maybe! It could also permanently kill them, since their doing it by force! Which I suppose solves it either way~”

What!?!… So that’s what they meant by their final act! They aren’t planning to live through this!... Gems, your head is running a mile a minute, trying to take this all in.

◆ “… This is a lot to take at once. And we barely know you…”

Loops cheerful demeanor gives way to dead seriousness.

✸ “I was based on stardust. I showed you my face. I have a share of their memories. I was sent to help them through this mess, and I’ll happily die to get them out... But I also understand these actions. The alternative is far worse…”

✿ “No it’s not! Nothin would be worse then frin getting themselves killed! That’s dumb!”

You’d like to agree. Issues aside, Siffrin shouldn’t have to die for this.

✸ “You sure? Because if they kept going, eventually there’s only one food source left. Like I said, sadnesses won’t cut it, and there are no animals. Normal food isn’t enough, not unless supplemented with something bigger. Tell me, what do you think that leaves?”

You think. It’s a given it needs to be a living creature, at this point, given what you know of their diet and how meat based it is. But the only things living at this point are…

◆ “… People.”

The others stare at you. Not knowing what to say. You know who would have been on the menu eventually. And the very idea of that...

✸ “...You get the desperation now, don’t you?”

None of you know how to respond to that…

...They’ve been looking at you all this whole time, their body telling them to kill you all. Fighting it every second. Did they never give in?… No. Loop’s implied as much. That they never would.

◆ “… They never did it though, did they? The way you talk about it, they’ve had ample opportunity. Not like we would remember.”

✸ “But They would remember. They’d happily die before that.”

You look over the twisted house… Siffrin is willing to die to protect you from this…

They’ve been fighting themselves to not hurt you for who knows how long…. You would do horrible things for your allies here. But. It seems your not the only one. This twisted horror show that you stand in, it’s always been there, this entire journey. But Siffrin threw themselves through this hell for you all. And kept it all bottled up inside them, so you all would never see.

...If they’ve taken things this far… What can you do at this point?… They understand it far more then you do. And… They’ve already accepted death...

◉ “… We won’t let it come to that.”

You look at Mirabelle.

✿ “Yeah! Frin don’t gotta get hurt for this! T-They aren’t a bad person!”

▲ “Yeah! We aren’t letting anything happen to Sif!”

...Heh. Gems, despite everything... You believe them.

◆ “I daresay we can think of SOMETHING.”

You look at Loop... Hm? Are they… Crying?

✸ “… Stars, I half believe you when you say that... Well then~ First we have to go save them from the king!”

Right. Best pick up the pace! No idea how much time you have left. You start hunting your notes as you move, for any crafts that might help.

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You'll get Siffrin out of this! You WILL save them!

[my-pjo-stuff]

This is mainly a Luke Castellan blog, but also a TA blog… so I’m just going to share my thoughts about how underutilised Chris is because despite Luke being my favourite I find the character Chris could be is fun to think about.

Chris was only claimed after the war, and I don't know if its ever mentioned beforehand that he knew he was Hermes' son since some unclaimed (mainly of minor gods) do seem to know who their parent is without being claimed. But running off the assumption he didn't? He was inside Hermes' cabin the entire time, you'd think the guy would atleast have the decency to claim his kids so they're treated better in his own cabin, like surely his children being treated as guests would atleast be some sort of insult towards him but I guess I expected too much for a guy like him even if the bar was already in hell. He doesn’t even get to move cabins like he’d maybe imagined after being claimed because he’s always been inside his cabin, he just never realised it. Luke, the guy who most likely recruited him to the TA, has been his brother this entire time and he just didn’t know. I wouldn’t blame him if after the war he left camp as fast as possible, if it just wasn’t about leaving camp but leaving behind that cabin that seems to just remind and taunt him of the fact that his father didn’t want to claim him until he was forced to, of the siblings and life he could’ve had.

Also the entire execution of demigods in the titans army, if he knew about it? (Because I think it seems like the gods are keeping it hush-hush? And the other demigods just think they’ve gone into hiding after losing? Looks like it from what I’ve seen anyway but I’m not caught up on the newest books…) Imagine watching people you fought alongside with, most likely were atleast friends with some of them just be slaughtered and know the only reason you’re not right there dying with them is just because you got lucky and decided to switch sides. Because who’d save Chris if he was standing infront of the Olympians as their enemy? Certainly not the guy who forgot or didn’t care enough to claim him. Do you think he ever sometimes wishes that he hadn’t betrayed the TA? Sure, he wouldn’t have changed who won the war, but would it have been better to die for the cause, knowing he atleast pissed off the gods than to have to watch while they don’t even try to change?

Point being I think Chris is a character who has a lot of potential but nothing is done with him and I also think that after the war he (along with all of Hermes’ children tbh) should’ve been allowed to punch his pathetic excuse of a father in the face. (Luke was Hermes’ favourite, his so called pride and joy, and if Hermes treated his favourite child so badly… what does that say about how he treats the rest?)

Not going to lie, considering he was BARELY there for Luke he props was a complete no-show for his kids. As for Chris, I honestly agree. We have nothing on him and his only function really is just "Clarisse loveintrest". Which, ngl- came outta nowhere if we are all honest. Personally, I would like to know why he switched sides in the first place. I mean you can assume it had something to do with going mad and being cured- but it's still relatively little. Chris was with Luke and the TA from the beginning, you'd expect him to hold some sort of grudge. Alas, Rick doesn't like fleshing him out ig T-T

[erika111111]

"Fun fact about that line. The line is supposed to imply I don't like either of them because I kind of like you" - Justice Smith about Ryan's "maybe neither" line when Laura asks if she likes Dylan or Kaitlyn more

As a rabid, hardcore Laura x Max shipper, this can't just be ignored. If anyone thinks that fan interpretation is somehow more canon than what the literal actors who studied and portrayed these characters and scenes say about them, then you have a bad case of shipper's delusion. The Quarry definitely did a lot of queer-baiting, both with Ryan and Dylan and Emma and Abi, and that's annoying and harmful, but we need to stop denying that Ryan was just not interested in Dylan. Or Kaitlyn, for that matter.

It's actually annoying to me that Ryan and Dylan have pretty much no fan content individually, especially Ryan, it's all just Rylan. I feel like Rylan overshadows Ryan as an individual character, his character development, and his involvement in the main story with Chris and the entire Hackett family and everything. You know, the Hacketts, the entire focus of this game. Ryan is basically the main character and all people pay attention to is the Rylan ship and it's exhausting and disappointing. I'm not a fan of this ship personally because Ryan is evidently uninterested in Dylan, and Dylan often seems put off or upset with that, so it just seems unhealthy/like it wouldn't work out. And same with Ryan and Kaitlyn. In fact, I didn't even know Kaitlyn liked Ryan for the first couple of playthroughs.

This is also only on Ryan's side, mind you. Although Laura is even more obvious with her flirting toward Ryan, I believe that's because of her infection, same like it was with Nick. I say this especially because there's still an ending you can get where Laura happily reunites with Max. Granted, Ryan is dead in this ending, but I kind of doubt Laura, who was immediately willing to kill both Travis and Chris just to save Max, would dump him for Ryan in a few hours. Laura and Max were already in a relationship, but Ryan and Dylan/Kaitlyn weren't as serious. (Also feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about Laura's feelings for Ryan, if the actors/developers said anything about it as well.)

I'm just tired of people saying stuff like "Laura and Ryan are so brother/sister, Laura and Ryan clearly weren't flirting," because obviously that's not true. Justice Smith said it himself. And by any of this do I mean to say that I like Lyan or think it should've been end game? No, like I said, I'm pro LauraMax, and I'm pretty sure Laura is pro Max herself. I honestly think it was pretty sloppy and rushed writing for Ryan to be so aggressive toward and suspicious of Laura basically up until her eye regenerates, then all of a sudden he seems to have a crush on her. I think the pacing could have been way better, and most of all, I just think they needed more time together for that to even be fleshed out, but they quite literally only had an hour.

Also, as someone who tends to be a fan of extremely hated, unpopular, or non-canon ships myself, this is not a post demanding anybody to not ship Rylan (or if there are Ryan x Kaitlyn shippers out there too). I really don't care what you ship, I only care when you start denying canon. I just don't get all the shipping wars, not just in The Quarry, but in general. I wish people would just acknowledge and accept canon, but still feel free to ship what they wanna ship anyway. No need to tear each other down.

EDIT: The Rylan shippers unfortunately wanted to get on my bad side and prove just how delusional and unnecessarily nasty they really are. In NO WAY does Justice saying "Looking back on that line now, I view it as Ryan is an asexual king" somehow miraculously manage to erase what Justice himself said was the original, canonical meaning given to him by the creators of that line. THAT is Justice's personal interpretation, but he literally said what the true meaning was, and that is that he's interested in Laura. Like it or not (I don't even like it because it's rushed and underdeveloped and I'm a LauraMax shipper to the grave), that's just what that line meant. The fact that Rylan shippers are so obsessed with that ship to the point where they must attack and be obnoxiously rude to anyone who ships Lyan or even MENTIONS it is just so unhealthy and bothersome. It really makes me not want to be a part of this community anymore because logic and canon apparently just gets ignored in favor of a ship that just doesn't and won't happen. I think people are just either misogynistic or have a fetish for gay men, especially seeing as it's literally the same way, only SLIGHTLY less aggressive, for Climbing Class in Until Dawn; most Climbing Class shippers vehemently deny the existence or even the idea of Jossam, and even Chrashley sometimes which is hilarious because it's ALSO literally canon, but whatever. I give up. Cue attacks on me in five...

[shorthaltsjester]

honestly as someone who has been in various fandoms for a long time now and who also watched campaigns 1 and 2 without really getting into cr fandom it isn’t Shocking but it is annoying how often people will look at the stories that cr tells and make absolute claims about the goodness of characters (goodness here meaning Moral goodness, not I Like This character and think it’s well made goodness, which is a separate post entirely). particularly regarding the gods and pc parents. and honestly like, typically in fandom i get annoyed by people bending over backwards to woobify characters who are active in their choice to be unkind and generally horrible but in the cr fandom it’s tended to be the opposite where like. a character is just. a human being (in the sense of being Average not in the sense of Fantasy Races) and huge swaths of the fandom act like that’s the most unforgivable thing someone can be. and maybe it is, but one of the most powerful things about fiction is that it tends to encourage people to expand their empathy and exercise their ability to forgive. because fictional characters, no matter how much people like to project onto them, tend not to cause anyone harm, so it’s easier to learn how to forgive and accept things you don’t understand without also villainizing them.

this is mostly prompted by the recent 4sd and the fact that matt’s response to what’s up with the dawnfather was a very insistent “He’s not bad!” and also seeing the online reaction to the mention that the matron would punish vax for saving keyleth that has taken the as usual completely bonkers tune that the raven queen (Who When Met With A Brother Asking A God To Kill Him In Favour Of His Sister, Gave Him A Job, and Later Extended His Natural Life To Help Protect The World And Have More Time With His Family And Allowed Him To Visit His Sister On Her Wedding Day) is a horrible evil abusive bitch of a god. like. can we grow up? can we understand the world and fiction that represents the multitudes of experiences found in it in shades of grey? is that too much to ask (i know it is).

but also specifically the like Extremely Adamant way that both matt and laura were like no no no no relvin isn’t Horirble he’s average. he’s not good he’s just. he’s A father, not a good or bad one. and on the surface it’s hilarious that they’re both so like. enthused to point out that he’s Average because typically when people respond to a claim of a characters badness with the level of immediacy they both did it’s a rebuttal of “no, this character is good actually.” but it was just to affirm that relvin did harm imogen, but not because there’s some aspect of his character that is inherently cruel or especially Bad. and like. yeah actually. yeah you should react like that to a claim that this average person who Has hurt someone, the way that nearly every single person has hurt someone in a way they cannot repair, with immediacy to say this person is a Person and thus imperfect and capable of great harm, but that isn’t some all encompassing judgment on their morality or capability to also do good or be fine.

anyway this is kinda just a rant post but also is just me saying i’m very grateful that when surrounded by a fandom that tends to paint characters as Good or Bad and even while using a game that can encourage that with its alignment system, cr has always told stories that see goodness as a persistent choice that might sometimes falter and that can be chosen even after a lifetime of Badness. i can’t remember exactly what the quote was so forgive me if it’s incorrect but when jester is talking to caleb after he claims he’s not a very good person and she says “good people do bad things sometimes. even bad people do good things.” that’s it! that’s one of the most consistent themes across campaigns. and yet.

[cosmicterrorthe8th]

Another Grant headcanon:

I think he wrote love notes when in relationships, and he went all out with like making the paper scented and stuff. But like he had no good perfume so he ended up using his horrible body spray. So like the lucky boyfriend would like find a paper reeking of the body spray like every once in a while.

Also I think he was someone who fell deep into romance because having a crush and feeling butterflies in his stomach was better than numbness. So he would pursue every crush even if he knew it would not end well because of the thrill of it. I think this sucked but I think he atleast felt like this is a normal way for life to suck.

[alluralater]

super long rant incoming:

the joegoldbergification is super weird. like please please if you’re obsessed with me to an unhealthy and dangerous degree, just keep it to yourself. just don’t tell me, please. the amount of times someone has gotten like this with me and escalated things when i��ve told them to stop is seriously wild. and like wtf is this about saying how you didn’t want to have parasocial interactions like hello?? is my existence a performance to you? am i content created to be fed and consumed by you? and why WHY would you ever think it’s alright to take my kindness as an avenue to then start talking shit about femmes you had falling outs with?? what do you gain from that? certainly not respect from me and that’s why i called you out repeatedly on that shit. so so fucking weird. do you think you gain my pity or my sympathy?? you’re not a beaten dog so please stop. like oh my god the dog metaphor makes me wanna slam my head into a wall. like as someone who has literally been forced to watch animal cruelty take place, shut the fuck up. shut the hell up. your relationship ended and now you wanna demonize people and rewrite history thinking that if certain people don’t know the full story that they’ll just believe you. legitimately how the fuck and why the fuck would i do that when you position yourself as a blameless victim?? it’s so weird and odd. and on top of aaaaaall of that, to obsessively text me and try to like corral me into a corner and say all of this weird stuff like as if you’re spiraling about me when we’d only texted for three days (two of which i wasn’t even responding to you for) is seriously bonkers. like seriously thank fuck something told me not to sext you because i just know things would have gotten awful. it’s not normal and it’s not okay and it’s not healthy. please stop idolizing me. i’m just a person and i am no more interesting than the next person. your obsession is not my responsibility! to try and manipulate me with the way you talk about your ex is super super weird. like extremely weird. i have a mind of my own?? hello?? i make my own judgments myself and i use intuition for a great deal of that. took me all of five seconds after blocking you to check the femme discord and see that i should have already done so but i haven’t because i’ve been busy with family emergencies for like two months. very uncool. very weird, very strange behavior. not my job, not my problem. i am not all of these weird deified titles you like to call me. i don’t have to be ‘omnipotent’ to know that you are trying to bury her and scream your lungs out into the fucking grave as if she deserves it. god i fucking hate when people do this shit. like can toxic mutuals maybe just instead leave me alone?? ‘why are you mutuals with them if they’re toxic” BECAUSE I DIDNT KNOW AND I HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO BE SOCIAL AND FIND OUT UNTIL NOW. like fuck dude i hate it here sometimes. if you’re just haha obsessed with me, GREAT. but please don’t start dumping all this weird shit about how i *make* you feel when im not doing anything and i’ve stated that im not encouraging anything and ive communicated that’s a you thing. i literally told you to focus on yourself and stop talking shit about her and you just kept doing it. the whole obsessed with me thing can be what it is, at this point it’s so normal irl and on here that i’m too exhausted to try and do it all, but the decision to keep going and keep talking shit about her and demonizing them and making yourself a blameless victim is fucking gross and no i actually won’t just sit there and listen to it in exchange for your attention or some weird shit like that. i find it super super weird your constant asking of me to tell you what i think about you and what i think about ANYTHING and everything about you. what the actual fuck?? and then to be like ‘i want to take accountability’ after i’ve already told you everything you’re doing wrong and locked my boundaries and said how uncomfortable i am?? that’s hilarious. anyways ugh okay that’s it bye

[lameow-l]

so wait… furina is the name of the archon role that “furina” had to play

wouldn’t make more sense narrative wise to give her a name of her own?? like scara gets his own epic chapter about him ridding himself of his past and adopting a new name then proceed to ignore said name in favor of “hat guy” but the actress playing “furina” doesn’t get to be known for her own name?

like people of fontain (partly maybe) know the truth so why not let her free? let her enjoy the simple human life she so so longed for? even the other furina wouldn’t want this

[seaofreverie]

So busy with Sparkstember that I almost forgot that I go back to school on tuesday

[forcedhesitation]

oh? something mizora said actually being worth listening to??

this is an interesting bit of foreshadowing to ansur being dead/wyll being the true "heart of the gate!"

[dredshirtroberts]

feeling a lot more stable about everything, i decided to forego keeping a bandaid on because my fucking skin cannot take the adhesives for that long omg itches so bad around them

I have a plan in place to replace the bandaids should i require not needing to see my elbow again about it, but i also wanted to see for myself how bad it was.

BOY HOWDY do I bruise purty. That shit is dark where it's not already going greenyellow. looks like I put a sharpie in a chokehold and barely managed to wrangle it into submission like damn.

[timeisacephalopod]

I saw a post the other day that kinda pushed back on the way all coming of age movies are about sexuality and all high school stories basically center around who wants to fuck who and how that's like. Not really all coming of age and high school stories should offer since you know. Youth isn't about who you have a crush on and probably coming of age stories in particular should be far more diverse in subject matter than they are.

Honestly as someone who, when I was 'coming of age' age, hated coming of age stories and still do for the exact reason listed above (see the weird scene in It where we all sexualize a 13 year old girl because boys have crushes and surely there's no other way to portray this than feeling a child up with a camera to demonstrate boys have ~feelings~ Bev gets no equivalent scene because she's the object of affection rather than the subject feeling desire) I also wish there was diversity in those stories. And coming of age stories about adults- we don't stop going through huge life moments that change everything forever, but back to kids. When I was a kid I could have desperately used a coming of age story where the character has a sick and dying parent who does die by the end of the story and what happens after that. Granted I did just fine without it, but even without being asexual it's always irked me that coming of age stories don't seem to appreciate that kids have way larger problems and way better stories to tell then first crushes and first kisses for shit sake give kids who went through what I did as a kid some kind of story about what happens when your parent gets cancer and how complicated that is and stop assuming the biggest thing that happens around puberty is discovering sexuality that, if you were queer, you probably already noticed what you felt wasn't in a coming of age story anyway.

[melonpond]

I think it should be absolutely mandatory that people work at least a month in a blue collar job and take time to learn about their coworkers before making a statement about blue collar work. I simply think it would fix so many things.

[fingertipsmp3]

Full disclosure I do not care if someone copies me. I quite literally do not give a shit. Maybe it’s just because I’m 28 and getting mad about someone “copying” you is high school shit, maybe it’s genuinely not a big deal, I don’t know. I could run into someone who’s wearing the same thing, head to toe, that I am and I would neither notice nor care

[arolesbianism]

Y'know there already is such a nonexistent market for oni art in general so the fact that I wanna draw more au art is killing me. Like I draw for fun and don't need notes to be happy with a piece but also I need ppl to view my art and be curious and ask questions because while I may not desperately need approval I do desperately need excuses to gush abt the things I like