#kaitlyn x ryan x dylan

[gabiisfield]

I think the quarry fandom forgets that Kaitlyn actually likes Ryan.

On my first playthrough I got the "encouraging" dialogue with Jacob where he supports Kaitlyn to stay with Ryan and she responds that it's too late in the same way that Abi talks about Nick. But the bonfire scene I interpreted that Kaitlyn seemed to not like Ryan's kiss because she saw that Dyaln was upset since the update status appears "Dylan is a little disappointed" Not only her but everyone shows that they prefer Dylan's kiss, and even though a status doesn't appear, it shows that Kaitlyn was sad about not being chosen with Dyaln getting up and then returning to her seat.

That's what I admire about Kaitlyn, unlike Dylan, she gives up her feelings and Ryan's to support Dylan, which is quite sad, but makes sense since Dylan seems to be in love with Ryan while Kaitlyn seems to have a crush.

I don't like people invalidating Kaytlin's feelings because it's canon and it's in the game even though it doesn't lead anywhere (same goes for dyaln) Since Ryan talks to Laura that he knows about her passions but maybe he doesn't like any of them. (I've seen people saying that Justine confirmed that Ryan likes Laura, but I don't know if it's true.)

[dicentrasterisk]

Happy New Year!!

Cheers to another year of hyperfixating on The Quarry <3

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[moesthoughts]

Would love to see first kiss headcannons for the camp counselors

How would your first kiss be?

camp councilors x gen neu reader

warnings . . . fluff, suggestive if you squint

for the sake of max and laura’s hcs they aren’t together

dylan lenivy

Behind all the jokes and surprisingly smooth pick up lines, Dylan isn’t the most confident of people. Socially awkward is the word to describe him.

It’s you who makes the first move, the constant flirting and tension between you both practically drove you insane, you couldn’t wait any longer.

It was like any normal day, Dylan talking your ear off, making jokes to attempt to make you laugh. The way you hit his shoulder when he manages to get a chuckle out of you fills his stomach with butterflies.

“You just can’t keep your hands off of me can you?” Comes from his mouth, you’re not sure who’s face lit up brighter. You stare at him, and he instantly waves his hands around. Trying to play it off as a joke.

In the middle of his sentence you cut him off by pressing your lips against his, retreating away instantly, you scan his face for any discomfort.

To say he was taken off guard was an understatement, though once he regained consciousness from his dazed state. He chased you back down, lips crashing against yours. You kissed him back, your arms wrapping around his neck to deepen it.

He was pressed against the wall, sheepish arms snake around you. Your head was dizzy, your thoughts were clouded by Dylan.

You two would’ve gone further if it wasn’t for the “oh shit!” from kaitlyn, walking in on you two in the radio shack. You weren’t living this down.

nick furcillo

You and Nick had a pretty tight knit relationship, you both work in the kitchen so it wasn’t surprising that you are practically attached at the hip.

There was strong mutual attraction between you two, though both failed to recognize one another’s feelings.

It was the end of dinner time, and clean up was finished half an hour ago. Still, You and Nick were idle in the kitchen talking about whatever crossed your minds.

“Hey Nick, I have a question.” You spoke up, he hummed in response, raising an eyebrow. The way his name fell out of your mouth was perfect.

“Do you.. like anyone so far at camp?— Romantically.” Your feet acted on their own, slowly approaching the other. You lean on the counter near him, he seemed nervous.

“Well..” He started, his accent strong. You didn’t expect to feel a tug on your wrist, pulling you closer to him. His brown eyes were focused on your hand, his thumb caressing your knuckles. “I like you, a lot. I don’t think anyone else here interests me as much as you.”

Your cheeks tinted a soft hue of red. Out of every councilor, you weren’t expecting your name to roll off his tongue.

“That’s good to know. Yknow I feel the same way—“ before you could finish, Nick’s lips found yours, pulling you into a delicate kiss. His lips were soft and tasted like mint chapstick, your fingers wormed around his to interlock your hands.

You pull away to catch air, you opened your eyes to meet his. He was so enamored with you, it made you melt even more.

“Why don’t we go down to the campfire?” You interrupted the moment, Nick hurriedly nodded in agreement.

ryan erzahler

Ryan didn’t go out of his way to talk to the other councilors, they usually went to him. Which is exactly what you did, made an effort to talk to him. His loner persona was alluring, you never could take your eyes off of him.

You two became close surprisingly quickly, Ryan enjoys talking to you, and of course you feel the same. Conversation flows smoothly between you guys. The others quickly noticed.

Neither of you can think of a time where you haven’t been together, quality time is important in your relationship. Whether it was walking, hanging out silently, or simple quiet chit chatter.

The small things matter the most, it didn’t need to be any bigger than it already was.

You two were sitting on a log in the forest, watching the view in front of you, your eyes fixate on the view in front of you, Ryan’s rest on your face, examining your facial features.

His hand rested on yours, causing you to look over with a smile. The way he looks at you always makes you nervous.

You liked each other, it’s was obvious even to you. You lean closer to him, your eyes do the communicating. Ryan scoots closer, and pecks you on the lips, one, two, three times before going in for an actual kiss.

Your free hand cups his cheek, he leans into it with a small hum. Thank god for silent communication.

jacob custos

Jacob is a pretty open person, if he’s attracted to someone he will pursue them straight away. What can he say, he’s a charming guy!

From the start of camp, Jacob had a little “hallway crush” on you. Orientation was where it started, He couldn’t take his eyes off you. You’re attractive, and have a certain energy to you that just pulls him in.

You find yourself getting close to Jacob over the first month of camp, you two just couldn’t stop bumping into each other! of course it was on purpose, he just adores talking with you.

At one point he asked you to sneak out, of course you agree. Which brings you to the present, sitting at the dock with your legs dangling over the water. Talking about who knows what, Jacob sure knows how to keep a conversation alive.

“Hey I actually do have something important to ask you—“ Jacob suddenly switched the conversation, you look at him with curiosity. “Sure. What’s up?”

“So I actually am very into you, like very. I was wondering if yknow.. you, me? would be work out?” Jacob points his fingers back and forth between you both, you snort.

“Yeah duh, I’m into you too.” You respond, scooting closer to him. You can tell he got the hint, by the way he wraps his arm around you and pulls you in for a nice slow kiss.

You slowly bring you and him down, your back is on the dock and he’s half on top of you. The kiss breaks off then comes back alive, more passion blooming.

This has to be the best night so far.

max brinly

Max is a bit clueless, especially when it comes to romance. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have natural charm, he’s had previous experience in the dating world after all.

Infact, that’s what you’re attracted to about him. Clueless guys are cute, the way he looks at you when he’s confused makes you smile, it’s just so adorable.

You both happened to get paired up during cleaning duty one fateful lunch, you were scared to speak with him at first. Once you did though, you two hit it off instantly. Chatter curing the usual boredom of cleaning.

From that day, you both couldn’t stay away from each other. Max would go out of his way to visit your station (even if you’re actively teaching the kids something) You don’t mind though.

Today, you happened to get some free time in the afternoon. You were quick to tell Max and he seemed happy, you planned to go on a walk with him. So you were in a good mood all day.

On the walk you both chat about your days, though you both stop once you come across two camper’s names etched in the wood, a heart surrounding it. Your heart practically explodes in your chest.

“Cute kids, huh? Hey, why don’t we do the same thing?” You feel heat rise to your cheeks, but you accept either way. Max happened to have a pocket knife on him.

After it was done, you two were crouched in front of it. You equally had red faces. You turn your head towards him and reach your hand out, running your fingers through his hair. You slowly got closer to each other, before connecting with a kiss. Max places his hand on your knee and deepens the kiss.

You break off the kiss, nervous laughter spilling from you both. Once your able to think properly again, you look around you. “Shit— we need to get back for dinner.” You two quickly ran off towards the lodge.

emma mountebank

You and Emma became close pretty quickly, having a shared love for theatre really helped secure that bond. Other than her extroverted personality, you guys clicked easily.

Conversations include gossiping, rambling about your lives outside of summer camp, and complaining about how rowdy the kids could get. Emma is glad she has someone close to talk to about whatever, and You’re just glad you have a friend.

You two happened to also quickly develop feelings for one another, Emma was smitten. You were kind, funny, good with kids, and pretty good looking. You couldn’t get your mind off of her, just speaking with her now made your heart race.

Backstage is where you two were usually hiding from kids, so it wasn’t a surprise that’s where you reside currently. Emma groans, rolling her eyes as you complain about Nick and Abi dancing around their feelings for each other.

“Holy shit, I know! She’s always talking about him and not making a move, I really do love Abi but she’s gotta grow some balls.” She said, resting her head in her hand.

“I don’t think it’s her who needs to grow balls.” There’s a beat before you both break into loud giggles, Emma hit you on the shoulder.

“Hey actually speaking of crushes, do you have the hots for anyone?” Emma readjusts herself, that familiar smirk coming onto her face. It’s always when she’s getting nosey.

“Well it so happens that I actually do.” It’s your turn to smirk, Emma purses her lips and squints at you. Under your poker face, your hearts’ practically beating out of your chest.

“She wouldn’t happen to be right in front of you would she?” She asks, your face heats up.

“And what if she was?” You don’t have time to think, Emma is already pulling you into a kiss. It’s passionate right away, you don’t hesitate before pressing back into her. A satisfied whine is pulled from her.

You guys practically made out for an hour, if it wasn’t for Dylan coming in and forcing you both to help with lunch. You would’ve spent more time together.

abi blyg

Abi is a shy girl, anyone could tell that from miles away. Though that didn’t stop you guys from becoming really close at the beginning of camp, your personalities mix together really well.

You have an appreciation for any kind of art, Which is why you mean so much to Abi. You both bond majorly over your love for art, even if it might be different things you are interested in.

You sit in to watch some of her classes. The first time you decided to observe, she was pretty nervous to have an extra set of eyes on her. But overtime she got back into the flow of things again, her being so passionate made you fall in love then and there.

Abi fell in love the moment you actually made an effort to be her friend and seem genuinely interested in her hobbies, she’s never had someone like that.

Today, Abi invited you over her cabin. She found nail polish in her bag and wanted to paint for nails, you accepted straight away.

“—And I was like, Jacob you can’t just say that about a kid. I mean the lowest you can ever go is shit talk a kid. Especially when you’re at a table next to them!” Gossip spills from your mouth, earning multiple giggles from Abi.

“I’ve been waiting for someone to say something! I thought it was just me who thought it was weird.” She responds, painting your nails with caution. The way she gently holds your hand and puts effort into making your nails look good, it just makes butterflies swirl in your stomach.

Once she finishes your nails you compliment her work, making her a bit bashful.

“Hey Abi.. This is really random but, You’re practically my best friend and I don’t want to ruin what we have. But, I really like you. I want to try to have something more than just friendship.” You notice you catch her off guard, her face lights up as her eyes dart around the room.

“I.. I feel the same, I was also nervous about telling you.” She responds, taking your hands in hers. “Can I.. kiss you?” The question rolls off her tongue oh so beautifully. You instantly nod slowly closing the space between you.

kaitlyn ka

Kaitlyn is a chill girl, her vibes were what attracted you. At first her constant teasing was frustrating. You two had a rocky start, disagreeing a ton.

Though, once you injured yourself in a climbing accident. You both had a chance to finally sit down and get to know each other. Your defensive wall lowered immediately and you both genuinely enjoyed the company.

From then on, You and Kaitlyn formed a tight bond. You found yourself making constant excuses for why you needed to go to the nurses office, retreating from your task just to talk with her.

She always scolds you, but in reality she loves your presence. She adores your personality, and your face is really— fuck she likes you.

You started falling for her as well, the way she handles you so gently, caressing the small bruises you use as an excuse to see her. It makes you feel all fuzzy inside.

For the second time today, you go to the nurses office. You assume that Kaitlyn always expects you to come in, when you enter the doorway and she’s facing the medicine cabinet, she calls out your name without looking.

“Hey Kait’, No injuries this time. I just have a genuine question to ask.” A serious tone fills your voice as you sit on the cot next to her. “You never have an actual injury, dude.” Kaitlyn sasses you, effectively causing you to roll your eyes.

“Anyways, what’s up buttercup?” She turns to you with her eyebrow raised, you exhale out the anxiety that’s festering inside of you. “How do you feel about me? Like genuinely.”

“Are you serious?” Kaitlyn asks, you bite your lip with a sheepish head nod. She laughs a bit before sitting next to you on the cot, her hand resting on your thigh.

“I don’t think i’ve felt this way about someone ever since middle school, I’m so into you it’s no joke. You make me feel so different in the best way.” She looks at you in a way you can tell she’s serious, a smile creeps its way onto your lips.

“You haven’t had bitches since middle school?” You laugh nervously as her eyebrows furrow. “Kidding! Kidding! I feel the exact same way I just didn’t—“ You are cut off from her lips crashing onto yours. You kiss her back, slightly pushing her into the mattress as you do.

You break it off once your lungs start to burn, you both stare at each other with love in your eyes.

laura kearney

Laura is a hardcore animal lover, it was the field she wants to go into anyway. Taking care of animals makes her happy, which is why when she saw you feeding a squirrel a nut stolen from the cafeteria, she instantly had a small attraction to you.

She started speaking to you first, asking about how you feel about animals and mentioning how she saw you feeding a squirrel a nut. You rambled on about your favorite animals and your love for nature.

From then on, You and Laura made an effort to observe the wildlife around you as much as you could. Due to that you two are always together during your free time.

Overtime you developed mutual feelings for each other, You subtly flirted with each other every nature walk you took. Which in turn made you both fall harder.

Both of you are sitting on the steps in front of your cabin, Laura’s head is resting on your shoulder while you write in your shared log about the different types of birds you saw.

She lifts her head off of your shoulder, causing you to glance over at her to see if anything was up. Her eyes stare into yours, it looks like she’s hesitant to say something.

“I just wanted to say, Thank you so much for doing this with me. I mean, I can’t even be more grateful that such a.. lovely person decided to pick up a hobby with me.” Her words turn into mumbles as Laura approaches the end of her sentence, it happens when she’s nervous.

You smile softly, fidgeting with the pen in your hand. “..Yeah?” You feel tension in the air, though it doesn’t feel wrong. It feels so right.

“Yeah.” She responds, you two look at each other for a good minute before she cups your cheek. You set down the notebook knowingly and meet Laura half way, sharing a kiss with her.

You could stay in this moment forever.

FINALLY FINISHED THIS!! I started yapping when i got to the women so excuse that (i’m a lesbian). Also sorry for Laura’s part being lowkey rushed my sleeping meds kicked in towards the end of writing it.

[veksen]

😔 I literally killed ryan yesterday by accident i cant cope

[bisexualmultifandommess]

Dylan and Kaitlyn thinking that Ryan and Laura are hitting off and having an adventure in the walk to the scrapyard scene and then showing Ryan and Laura fighting for their lives and completely stressed is so funny to me

[ravennmad]

the quarry (2022)

chapter 2: truth or dare

“okay, ryan. your dare comes with a choice.”

“can she do that?”

“i can do whatever i want.”

19:00 | AUGUST 22 - DYLAN

okay formatting over but HEAR ME OUT. dylan pov here. we get to see his leg bouncing away as he listens to emma. holy SHIT she just said his name, oh fuck, take another drink because lord knows he needs it—

“i mean— i guess both is off the table?”

both?! the fuck does he mean, both, how is that gonna-

"i don't make the rules."

"you literally just did, but okay-"

oh, okay, he can’t do both. fuck. dylan might be having heart palpitations. don’t look at ryan.

“dylan. let’s go.”

oh lord. jacob is laughing, emma whistled— dylan has to make a split second decision. why is ryan so far away. what is he supposed to do with his hands.

BOLD (this is his shot.) | SAFE (peck him and get out of there)

BOLD

dylan should have set his beer down. he doesn’t stumble on his couple of steps over, he curls his toes in his shoes, and he kisses ryan like his life depends on it.

ryan has been the asshole acting all confident this whole time, but he was definitely surprised that dylan was being so— dylan’s hand was braced extremely close to ryan’s leg. dylan feels like he might die but he presses on and—

ryan is kissing him back. ryan is- RYAN. dylan has to set the glass down because holy shit ryan’s tongue is in his mouth and he can’t tell how long it’s been and he’s about to have a serious problem being hunched over like this while making out with fucking ryan erzahler when ryan pulls away.

with the fastest reaction time dylan thinks he's ever had, he smirks at ryan, who is-- also smiling? oh shit. and walks right back to his seat everyone explodes into cheers and jokes and dylan, bringing his fingers up to touch his lip, thinks that if he were to die right then it would be alright with him.

[erika111111]

The Quarry and queer-baiting

It's a pretty known issue within The Quarry fanbase that this game basically set us up with two gay couples for them to just... not happen. In fact, it's almost as if the game rubs it in the players' faces that they don't, won't, and can't happen, besides the first half of the game setting them up rather clearly. It feels like the writers completely abandoned the idea halfway through, or for some reason just wanted to draw players in with the concept of queer relationships/characters just to rip it away in the end.

Disclaimer: This topic has been in my rough drafts for like, nearly two years at this point. I updated and added some stuff, but forgive me if I missed any crucial details.

So in the beginning, a lot of people wind up shipping both Ryan x Dylan (Rylan) and Emma x Abigail (Blygbank). Let's start with Blygbank since it's the shorter of the two.

So we do establish that Emma had a boyfriend, but the keyword is "had." To be fair, Jacob and Kaitlyn talk about it for the entire first section and that's the whole reason this game even happens, since Jacob wants another shot with Emma. So this straight couple is obviously very prominent. But, throughout the entire game, from multiple characters (Emma herself, Kaitlyn, Dylan, Ryan), it's repeatedly stated that Emma wants to move on from Jacob. Then we're introduced to Abigail, who's first scene is of her drawing a sketch of Emma. It's established that Emma and Abi are good friends. Maybe Emma and Abi will start a relationship? But, then we're introduced to Abi's crush on Nick. So I guess that idea just got blown out of the water...

To be fair, Emma's lack of interest in Jacob and Abi sketching Emma all happens very quickly within the first chapter. Perhaps it's the players' fault for jumping to that conclusion so quickly... but still.

What's more disappointing is that Abi and Nick are basically useless after chapter 6. There is actually yet another opportunity to develop some Blygbank relationship, but once again, it goes nowhere. Nick is bit and infected and starts acting absolutely horrible toward Abi, which very noticeably turns Abi off from him. Then Nick disappears for the rest of the game. But given Abi survives, she'll have another opportunity to have some alone time with Emma. Yet nothing of actual importance is discussed here. Not Emma kissing Nick. Not how Nick treated Abi. Not where Abi and Emma's relationship stands. Not where Emma and Jacob's relationship stands. We do get a moment where Emma reveals some of her true colors and she says that she needs Abi and she's been great to her, but once again, this goes nowhere. I guess we could see this as romantic, but Abi kind of seems just tired of and annoyed with Emma at this point and doesn't comment much about any of it. Basically there's just no conclusion. We have literally no idea where their relationship stands, romantically or otherwise. It's a huge missed opportunity.

While you can't get both of these scenes in the same playthrough, they do also push the Blygbank agenda. If you can get the "Nobody's Fool" route where Emma and Jacob reunite and Jacob tells her the truth, Emma will be completely and entirely done with Jacob. No more joking, no more mixed signals, she's just done. Which is kind of where the entire game was leading to from the beginning anyway, but this route gives it to us loud and clear. This accompanied with Abi and Nick going south again leaves us with a Blygbank option, but obviously, we get none of it. I know there's not much time left in the game by the time any of these scenes happen; maybe this is something else that could've been developed if we got any post-credits scenes, police interviews, I don't know. Again, maybe I'm reaching way too far with this one, but I think there's pretty good reason to ship Blygbank and assume maybe that's the direction they planned on going in. But I digress...

Onto part two, we have Rylan. And... Ryka? I have no idea what the ship name for Ryan x Kaitlyn is and I don't know if shippers for this couple even exist, so I'll just call them Ryka. And they're not a queer couple, but it's necessary to talk about the two at the same time.

I'll be honest, during my first several playthoughs/watchthroughs of The Quarry, I had no idea Kaitlyn was interested in Ryan. They do not do a good job of establishing that at all, and you can very easily miss every single opportunity for it to be brought up until chapter freaking nine. So honestly, Kaitlyn is pretty much a non-factor here. Dylan's crush on Ryan is very vocal and obvious, and the two are paired up very often throughout the game. Even if Kaitlyn's crush on Ryan was more well-known, Dylan is still the more obvious one between the two because, again, Dylan and Ryan are always paired up together.

Ryan is rather... uninterested in everything and everyone. But between everyone, he seems closest to Dylan. Of course, this can depend on how you play as both characters. You can make them argue A LOT, and Ryan won't always say the "I'm a bit closer to Dylan, I guess" line, but regardless, there's some scenes with them being close that will always happen. The most prominent scene between them is when they're walking to the radio hut and Dylan actually opens up to Ryan about who he is and what he likes to do. Ryan will have unwavering, non-negotiable interest in Dylan as a person here. Sure, they CAN kiss at the firepit, but Ryan can also choose to kiss Kaitlyn. They can joke around about the Bizarre Yet Bonafide podcast name, or they can't. They can agree over the gun, or they can argue instead. Ryan can cheer Dylan on or rush him. They can grab the phones and go or Dylan can annoy Ryan so much, he'll yell at him. Point being, there's a lot of options you can take with their relationship. You can make them close or you can make them bicker. Regardless, Dylan will remain interested. And regardless, they will have this intimate moment together on the way to the radio hut. Point being again, it's veryyyy obvious this a queer relationship in the making. Justice Smith is even a queer actor, and Miles Robbins is a very vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.

Then Laura comes and fucks the whole thing up. And I love Laura, mind you, but for some reason the writers decided to take this whole ship and spin it on its head when Laura arrives.

Before we get into the Laura segment, let me point a few more things out. I personally thought that Ryan was maybe oblivious to Dylan and Kaitlyn's feelings, didn't really know which one he liked more, or most prominently, maybe he was asexual. When Emma tells him to kiss either Dylan or Kaitlyn, he asks if he can kiss both. I thought that was kind of an odd thing to say unless he either liked both or just didn't care. Also, he can ask Laura, "You're doing all of this for a boy?" He really seems like he doesn't understand this kind of love or investment in another person romantically. Upon discovering that line, I pretty much accepted Ryan as asexual.

But then he's not asexual. And he's not oblivious to Dylan and Kaitlyn's feelings. And he's not interested in either of them. According to Justice Smith himself, when Laura asks Ryan who he likes more and he answers with "Maybe neither," it means that Ryan has a crush on Laura. And I truly don't get this, for several reasons. For starters, yes, Laura is doing all of this for a boy--her boyfriend, Max. She literally has a boyfriend already. And Ryan already had a thing going with Dylan. So why, seven whole chapters through this entire game, giving us LauraMax and Rylan, do they suddenly pair together Lyan? It's just a creative decision I will never understand. Maybe if Laura and Max had broken up, but still. She's not reintroduced until chapter 7 so we've already had six chapters of Rylan still. Maybe they could have made it more obvious from the beginning that Ryan wasn't interested in Dylan or Kaitlyn, but they just didn't do that. They particularly paired Ryan and Dylan up all the time and made them close. So, I call queer-baiting.

Of course, Lyan never goes anywhere. The only ending you can get that involves any kind of romance is actually Laura and Max reuniting. Laura and Ryan's romance happens in basically two seconds and there's barely any romance to even speak of. Laura does flirt with him a lot, but I believe that's due to the werewolf curse, as she stops that kind of behavior after her curse is lifted. They do seem to be close friends by then, she just doesn't flirt anymore or make weird comments. And really neither does Ryan. Sure, you don't always get the "maybe neither" line and you can choose less flirty options sometimes, but then they have a whole ass The Lovers card. So it's extremely obvious what the developers were going for. I just don't understand why suddenly go for this couple eight chapters through after already establishing a gay couple with Ryan himself and Dylan.

The only other thing we get on this matter is Dylan and Kaitlyn discussing Ryan's relationship with Laura on their way to the scrapyard. The most positive outcome for Rylan here is when Dylan says he and Ryan got close and Kaitlyn tells him "There's always next year." So it does give a bit of hope to this ship, leaving it open-ended despite the sudden occurrence of Lyan. Of course, you might not always get these lines, and Dylan and Kaitlyn can both agree "screw Ryan" and move on. So... I don't fucking know. It's like they purposefully set players up to support this clearly laid out queer ship of Rylan to then make it all insanely confusing and open-ended and piss people off. I think they really fumbled the bag with this one, and it's why I have a hard time shipping Ryan with literally anyone. It's all just a confusing mess.

I'd definitely say that the whole Supermassive Games chain of video games definitely got less queer-baity and more queer accepting over time. Just a few months later, The Devil in Me is released and they give us a Lesbian ship with Jamie and Erin. Also, with the Until Dawn remake, they cranked up the Jemily and Climbing Class. Not by much, mind you, but regardless, they acknowledged the popularity of these queer couples in the fanbase and added some crumbs for the players. It makes me wonder if they'll ever delve on Blygbank or Rylan in the future. I'm doubting The Quarry will ever get a remaster/remake with added content like Until Dawn, but who knows, I guess. As I said, both ships are pretty much left open-ended. But for now, I think The Quarry has a serious problem with queer-baiting, or maybe they just had no idea how to handle writing queer characters. I really don't know.

Lastly, none of this was supposed to be negative or attacking any single one of the ships mentioned in this post. I don't know how anything I said could be interpreted that way, but you never know. This post was just supposed to be informative. I hear a lot of people criticizing the queer-baiting within this game, as they should, and I decided to make an informative post covering all of the points and how I believe they screwed up the opportunities to put in these queer couples and somewhat alienate their queer audience.

Link to part two here.

[infin1ty-garden]

So I just finished the quarry and fell in love max brinly 😅 do you think you can do a max brinly x reader? Weather they were already in a relationship or met at camp, but max makes it to camp and is there the whole summer. Something happens to where the reader get attacked/bit that night and he does whatever he can to save her? Preferably a happy ending together, but your discretion! Thank you for whatever you can do!!

I WOULD DIE FOR HER

༊*·˚ summary: [ in request ] ༊*·˚ pairing: max brinly x fem! reader ༊*·˚ warnings: werewolf attack? injury, guns, blood & curse words ༊*·˚ word count: 1180 ༊*·˚ author note: it's been a while since i played the quarry. canon divergent

masterlist.

"A werewolf? Great! What's next? Dracula?" It was the last day of summer camp. They were suppose to be on the road already but their car didn't start. Instead of eating junk food and belting songs, they were stuck here. At best until tomorrow morning.

And now, apparently a wolf or werewolf attacked Nick and Abby. Max didn't doubt Abby or Nick's words but a werewolf is something harder to believe in. An escaped science experiment would have been more believable.

No matter how believable it is or not. One thing was for certain, something was out there to get them. Dylan and Ryan try to get help via the radio shack as the others stay back in the lodge, including Max and you. But while there you hear something on the roof.

Sounding way too heavy to be a bird. Then Abby and Nick's statement proves to be right as a werewolf crashes through the roof. It starts chasing each of you, trying to see which one will catch it first. Right as you think you managed to find a good place to hide.

It charges at your hiding place. It's claws sinking into your shoulder. Max rips the gun out of Kaitlyn's arms and aims it for the creature. Shoot it in the arm then stomach. It turns its attention away from you and to Max as shots it in the head. It backs off running into the woods.

"How did you know how to do that?" Max hands the gun back to Kaitlyn and rushes over to you. "It's a gun. It's not that difficult," he assesses the wound. It's deep and without some treatment you could bleed out. He refuses to show any panic. Knowing it'll only make the situation worse.

Max knows there's some medical stuff in the lodge 'just in case something happens'. This is something. He tells Kaitlyn to keep you awake as he goes to find the supplies. He's not a medical student or anything but he will try his best.

"Don't let her die," is all Max could think about and when he gets back he makes quick work of the wound with the help of Kaitlyn. He has you bite on a cloth as they sow up the wound and wrap a lot of gauze around it. It's not perfect but it's the best they could do.

By the time they are done. Ryan and Dylan are back. They bombard them with questions on what happened. You look pale and Max, the worried boyfriend that he is, keeps sending you concerned looks. The first time you try to take a step, you almost faceplant.

But you need to leave the lodge as there is now a hole in the roof. The group decided to go to the pool house and hunker down there. Max helps you walk all the way there. Once you arrive, Nick starts acting really weird. Max and you separate from the group.

He lets you rest but does everything so you don't close your eyes. He goes back to check on the others. The next thing you hear is a lot of yelling and the sound of a gunshot. Max comes rushing back. He's in a state of shock. That much is obvious.

Quickly picks you up bridal style and runs out of the pool house. On your way out you notice the room was drenched in blood. You're left in the dark as to what happened. What you do notice is Laura, one of Max's friends and a counsellor that went missing, showed up.

She explains where she'd been this whole time. The group makes the ultimate decision to split up again. Laura and Ryan go to the Heckett's house, Emma and Abby to the basement of the lodge and Dylan, Kaitlyn, Max and you try to find a spare part to fix the car.

Even Laura suggested that Max go with her but he declined. Refusing to leave your side. Cute, considering you'll turn into one of those creatures before the night is over. At the junkyard, Dylan and Kaitlyn are working on the crane.

Dylan starts rapidly honking the horn. "There's something coming!" Max and you find a hiding place hoping that the creature doesn't find you. That hope is squashed as it's now only a few feet away from you. You feel anger bubbling up in you.

You've been through shit this whole night. Two of your friends could be dead and Max's missing ex girlfriend is now back. Is he going to dump you and get back together with her? Were you just a summer fling to him? You feel as if your insides are being ripped out.

Were you dying? Max jumps from the hiding place and shoots the creature. He aims to take another shot but the gun's empty. It runs to your hiding place. You feel as if something is trying to burst out of your chest. Excruciating pain as your bones break than a burst of blood.

You can't control your movements anymore. Attack the werewolf charging at you, killing it. Max can't believe what he's seeing. He knew it was a matter of time before you turned but this is terrifying. If he is to die by your hand so be it but to his surprise you run away.

Leaving the junkyard to go to God knows where. He goes to find Kaitlyn and Dylan, tells them what had happened. All three of them go back to the lodge with the part in hand to meet up with the other counsellors. Laura and Ryan return with Travis Hackett.

"It's over. We killed Silas," the first thought in Max's head is 'Who?' and the second how the hell is he going to find you. Laura offers to go with him and this time he obliges. If there's a possibility they find your dead body, he needs someone he trust there when he breaks down.

Instead of finding a dead body, they find you walking. Probably trying to find a way back to the lodge. Max is overwhelmed with relife and envelopes you in a bone crushing hug. "You're okay. Thank God! You're okay." He peppers your face with kisses.

"Never do that again," he rests his head on your shoulder. "What do you mean? I turn into a werewolf on a regular basis," he laughs but soon tears start falling from his eyes. Laura interrupts the moment.

"We should get back. I don't wanna spend another second in this forest," she starts walking. "Laura's back. So, when's your date planned?" Max's back straightens and his eyes look as if they'll fall out of his sockets. "What?"

"With Laura. I would assume you guys will pick up where you left off." He aggressively shakes his head. "No! I mean we didn't break up but the night before she left we realised we're just not working. To me you're like a breath of fresh air. Okay that's a cheesy metaphor but I love you and nothing will change that."

Thanks for reading!

[taylorshope]

Watch out for the bears, y'all

[blubary]

Second post for @sargeantsarmy !!!!! Happy birthday again!! (Abi’s dog is sarg’s headcanon btw 🫶🫶)

[fullmoonhijinks]

Dylan, sadly: Ryan and Laura make a great couple, don't they?

Kaitlyn: They certainly are standing next to each other

[gabiisfield]

Games that should have a polyamorous option

[lying-on-floors]

Hear me out...

246/120 + Thanos Team + 333/222 as The Quarry video game.

Hyun-ju/Gyeong-seok (246/120) - Laura/Max

Su-bong/Thanos - Dylan

Nam-gyu - Ryan

Se-mi - Kaitlyn

Min-su - Abi

Gyeong-su - Nick

Myung-gi (333) - Jacob

Jun-hee (222) - Emma

I did this purely based on who matched the game characters vibes.

Might write a fic, but if someone beats me to it, tag me!

I WROTE THE FIC

[notcryingtoday]

On chapter 8 of the Quarry and why the fuck Laura and Ryan are flirting together. I worked my ass off so that Laura and Max were on good terms so that she could save him knight-style, Ryan and and Dylan have this flirting-thing going on since chapter 1, they've meet ten minutes ago and while they DO have a chemistry why the fuck this is happening??

Like... No I don't want Laura to flirt with this man when she has been desesperate about saving her boyfriend since the beginning. It makes no fucking sense 😭 I mean yeah, why not if I HAD fucked up their relationship but I didn't?

Anyway this is just weird. I wished the game could have been properly finished because some stuff are kinda weird

Maybe I misinterpreted too because like, Laura is so worried about Max? But she could still be without liking him? I wish there was more chapters so that Ryan and Laura made kinda more sense because they definitely have chemistry and their banter was fun but I just don't get it 👍

I also think they should have hidden the hunters from us, the players. Leave us with only the clues and shit to understand, it would have been so interesting

[wolfawaycamp]

Hello! I would like to request a realistic aftermath of the shotgun amputation ;)

🐰 Okay, so, this was discussed on Discord prior to Torch's request (thank you Torch!) and Cas really thought we should get to see Kaitlyn plucking buckshot out of Dylan's arm. You're not actually supposed to do that, but it IS realistic that a bunch of teens/young adults might not know that. This is another long one from me because I'm incapable of being brief, but so far I've I've gotten positive feedback on my 'ficlets' that are so long they're basically just one-shots. I started my Quarry fanfic writing career with chainsaw hurt/comfort, so of course I had to inject some of that here! Hope you enjoy! :3

*******

When Ryan shoots Dylan’s hand off with his shotgun on the floor of the radio hut, he really doesn’t have time to panic. Some kind of black venom is visibly spreading up Dylan’s arm and, at that moment, Ryan agrees that it needs to be stopped. So, he stops it. He doesn’t second guess that decision at the time, because something huge and ugly is stalking the two of them and their fellow counselors. The fact that he’s just blown the left hand off the boy he’s spent the better part of the evening casually flirting with, the one he kissed for the first time a few hours before, can barely sink in because he’s trying so hard to finish engineering the feedback loop and keep them all alive. But once he’s sounded that earsplitting noise and chased the immediate danger away, Ryan’s better able to take in the horror of the scene that remains.

Dylan lies in a pool of his own blood, and the unrecognizable lump of tissue that used to be a hand sits inches from the mutilated end of his wrist. There are holes in the floor where buckshot has passed through Dylan’s flesh and bone entirely and into the aged wood. Ryan, still fueled by adrenaline, tells him his plan worked. He is genuinely impressed with Dylan’s ingenuity.

“It did the trick,” he says, “Nice work, Dylan.”

The bloodied boy on the floor begins laughing in a way Ryan finds deeply concerning, as if he’s completely delirious, before the chaos in front of him seems to sober him up. “Oh fuck, my hand!” Dylan exclaims, like he’s just noticed it. “Why did you do that?!”

“You told me to!” Ryan bites back in disbelief.

Does he really not remember?

“That was a bad idea,” Dylan admits, still holding pressure to the bleeding stump of his left arm, “aw fuck.”

At that very moment, the door bursts open, scaring the absolute shit out of both the boys. It’s Kaitlyn, likely having heard the gunshot and certainly the sound that followed. She’s come to see what’s become of the two of them. 

Kaitlyn manages to get out the words, “You guys all right… in… here?” before she begins processing the gruesome scene in front of her. Ryan watches her take in the handless Dylan, the pool of blood, and the detached former hand in silence, her mouth hanging slightly open for a moment.

“‘Sup Kaitlyn?” Dylan drawls from the pool of blood he’s lying in. He gives her a slight nod as a greeting since his one remaining hand is busy holding back arterial spray from where his other hand was once attached.

“What the fuck?!” Kaitlyn says breathlessly, “what the fuck happened here?!” 

“I—he—that thing bit Dylan’s hand and I, uh…” Ryan struggles to explain the situation, struggles to even understand it himself. 

Kaitlyn looks from Dylan to Ryan and back again, over and over, finally clocking Ryan’s bloodied face and the shotgun in his hand. Her shock gives way to fury. “Oh—oh my god, Ryan, what the fuck have you done?!”

“He—” Ryan points at Dylan like a child tattling to an adult, “he told me to!”

“I would really like for the record to show,” Dylan says, entirely too steady for the state he’s in, “that I said ‘cut it off.’ Not shoot. Cut. There’s a perfectly good chainsaw right over there.” He jerks his head toward the workbench where the chainsaw sits along with the other power tools.

“Why?! Dylan, why on earth would you say that?!” Kaitlyn asks. She wheels around to face Ryan without giving Dylan a chance to answer, “and why would you listen to him?!”

Kaitlyn glares at Ryan like she might bite him. He thinks he would probably deserve that. He can’t seem to get a word out to explain why blasting a hand off with a shotgun seemed like a good idea at the time but, for better or worse, Dylan is still fairly talkative despite his devastating injury.

“Hey, it’s okay Kaitlyn,” Dylan says, trying his best to sound normal and not quite achieving it, “you kinda had to be here to get the full effect, I guess, but there was this black stuff going up my arm, and we had to stop it before it got any higher, and this did stop it! I’m okay, really… I mean, I’m not, but it doesn’t hurt. I don’t even feel it. Which is… weird, right? I feel like having your hand shot off should hurt more than this.”

“It’s probably the adrenaline,” Kaitlyn explains, “or else you’re going into shock. Either way you’re going to be in a world of hurt sooner or later. You’ve probably got a bunch of buckshot still in your arm. Jesus fucking Christ, I can’t leave the two of you alone for a minute.”

Ryan thinks this is a somewhat unfair assessment of what they’ve accomplished here, given that Dylan’s plan and Ryan’s execution of it saved Kaitlyn’s ass as well as theirs. Dylan, for his part, laughs at Kaitlyn, because he’s apparently gone insane and lost all fear of death. Kaitlyn looks like she’s considering snatching Ryan’s gun, blowing Dylan’s head off, and calling it a total loss instead of trying to patch him up. She inhales deeply and lets it back out, as if meditative breathing will repair the rift in reality they’re currently experiencing.

“Ryan get the first aid kit,” she says, her tone more measured now, “we have to stop the bleeding before we move him, but if we can get Dylan down to the poolhouse, we’ll at least have running water to rinse this wound off. That’s where I sent Abi and Nick when I headed up here.” Kaitlyn kneels next to Dylan, then she grabs his arm roughly and he cries out in pain. “Stop moving so much!” she snaps, though the boy with the shot-off hand has barely moved a muscle.

“Fucking hell, Kaitlyn, be careful!” Ryan barks at her, and Kaitlyn’s head whips to the side to face him with a challenging look.

“Oh, I’m sorry Ryan, should I be as careful as you were when you turned Dylan’s hand into raw fucking meatloaf?” The boys are speechless at her outburst.

Wow, Kaitlyn’s being a kind of a bitch, Ryan thinks, and then it clicks in Ryan’s head that she’s not actually angry, not at him or at Dylan, she’s afraid. This is what fear looks like on Kaitlyn Ka, who he’d mistakenly thought was fearless. It’s raw and ferocious. Other than Jacob, who she’s known most of her life, Dylan’s the person she’s closest to at camp. Kaitlyn expresses her concern like a mother bear and if Ryan isn’t careful he really might get mauled by her before whatever the fuck bit Dylan gets a chance to sink its teeth into him.

Kaitlyn fashions a tourniquet out of bandages and a screwdriver, warning Dylan that it’s going to hurt, and Dylan winces as she twists the metal tool over and over to tighten it around his forearm, just below his elbow. She hands him a bottle of what appears to be ibuprofen from the nurse’s station, saying it’s the last of the supply after she gave some to Nick. 

“Ooh, fun,” Dylan says, throwing back the pills and swallowing them dry, and Ryan can feel Kaitlyn rolling her eyes at him even if he can’t see it.

The bleeding appears to stop, though there’s so much blood already that it’s difficult to tell. It seems stable enough that the three of them can set out for the poolhouse. Dylan is a bit wobbly at first but once he gets a few steps in he seems steady on his feet. Kaitlyn and Ryan flank him with Kaitlyn on the left holding onto his injured arm. Ryan carries the first aid kit with him, even though there’s another one in the poolhouse. It can’t hurt to have more supplies.

On the way, they get into a minor argument about whether the pellets of buckshot from the shotgun shell should be removed from Dylan’s arm or left in. Ryan thinks they should come out, he’s seen that in a number of TV shows and movies and while he knows those aren’t always accurate, he doesn’t think it seems right to leave foreign bodies in a wound. Kaitlyn is more hesitant. She knows that doctors will remove pellets from wounds but if they’re deep they might do more damage trying to remove them. In the end, Dylan says it’s his arm and therefore they’re his buckshot pellets and he should get a say, and he thinks they should compromise and get the ones that seem close enough to the surface to grab with tweezers and leave the others.

When the three of them make it into the poolhouse, Abi has Nick laid out by the showers, resting on a stack of rolled towels. She turns to them, saying “I was wondering when you guys would…” and is cut off at the sight of Dylan’s bloody arm stump. She shrieks. “Oh my god, ohh my god Dylan, what happened?!” Abi is keeping her eyes off of Dylan’s arm. She looks like she might cry, or faint, and Ryan watches, stunned, as Dylan tries to comfort her instead of the other way around.

“It’s okay Abi,” he says, a little too jovially, “just a flesh wound.”

“It’s literally not,” Ryan corrects him, thinking of the bits of bright white bone he could see in the remains of Dylan’s obliterated hand, and Dylan shakes his head at him to keep him from saying anything else.

Kaitlyn explains the situation much more succinctly than either of the boys could, then she sends Abi to find the poolhouse first aid kit while she and Ryan drag Dylan over to the sinks to rinse his wound in warm water. Dylan flinches when they direct the flow of the water over the end of his wrist but he doesn’t pull away. As the coagulated blood is rinsed away, Ryan can see exposed bone at the end of Dylan’s arm and several perfectly round holes that, as Kaitlyn predicted, almost certainly contain pieces of buckshot. The sight of it makes his stomach clench with guilt and worry.

Kaitlyn sits on the floor, picking through the two first aid kits for what she needs. She assembles gauze, more bandages, a small set of forceps, only slightly larger than standard tweezers, that Ryan assumes were intended for pulling splinters out of campers, some rubbing alcohol, an empty glass bottle she’s found to corral the pellets in—Ryan thinks it likely once contained apple juice, though the label has been peeled off—and a lidocaine spray intended for sunburns. It’s the best they have, under the circumstances.

Kaitlyn tells Ryan to join her on the floor and instructs Dylan to essentially sit between Ryan’s legs. Dylan raises an eyebrow at this and Ryan sighs and gestures at him to hurry up. Dylan sits where he’s told.

“This is not going to be fun,” Kaitlyn warns Dylan, then she looks to Ryan and says, “you’re going to have to hold him down, hold his arm still so I don’t cause any more damage.” 

Ryan swallows and holds Dylan’s left arm down, pinning it between his own arm and his bent knee with his hand steadying the wounded forearm just below the wrist. He reaches over Dylan’s right shoulder with his right arm and presses his hand to the middle of the injured boy’s chest, encouraging Dylan to lean back against him. It’s already pretty intimate, with Dylan's head resting on Ryan’s shoulder, and then Dylan grabs Ryan’s hand with his and interlocks their fingers, needing something to hold onto.

“Okay,” Dylan tells Kaitlyn, “let’s get this over with.”

Kaitlyn dunks the forceps in the rubbing alcohol and sprays around the wound and all the pellet holes she can find with the lidocaine spray. It’s not very strong, and she tells Dylan it’s only going to numb the surface, everything below that he’s going to feel. He nods, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth, and Kaitlyn gets to work.

The first pellet is close to the surface and Ryan watches it pop out of Dylan’s skin easily with the fascination some people feel for those pimple extraction videos online. Kaitlyn drops it into the glass bottle where it makes a satisfying plinking sound.

“Oh!” says Dylan, that wasn’t so—OW!” He’s spoken too soon, and before Dylan can finish his statement, Kaitlyn has gone back in for another pellet. This one must be deeper, she has to fish around where the anesthetic spray hasn’t been able to reach before it comes out. Dylan has a vice-grip on Ryan’s hand by the time this one joins the other in the glass bottle.

“Two down,” Kaitlyn says, “only… six or so to go?”

“Awesome,” Dylan says sarcastically, and even in the dim light of the poolhouse, Ryan thinks he looks paler than usual.

Dylan is clearly in pain now as Kaitlyn digs for buckshot in his forearm and Ryan feels terrible about the choices he’s made. He’d thought the shotgun would be cleaner than the chainsaw, leave less chance for infection than a rusty tool Chris Hackett uses to carve up firewood, but Kaitlyn doesn’t seem to think it would’ve make that big a difference. She had warned him about the shotgun’s spread earlier, and though he’d taken the shot pretty close to his target, they certainly wouldn’t be playing this very advanced game of Operation right now if he’d gone for the chainsaw instead. On top of everything, the light from Abi’s phone flashlight keeps wavering, making it difficult for Kaitlyn to see what she’s doing.

“For fuck’s sake, Abi, can’t you hold that thing steady?!” Ryan snaps before he can stop himself.

“Ryan!” Kaitlyn chastises him as another pellet of buckshot clinks into the glass bottle.  

“I’m trying! You know the sight of blood makes me nauseous!” Abi nearly sobs the words and Ryan immediately feels bad, realizes he can, in fact, feel even worse than he had a moment ago. He’d forgotten how much she hates blood. She’d nearly fainted earlier in the summer when one of her campers had a nosebleed. It’s a rough night for all of them, certainly roughest for Dylan and Nick, but Ryan finds some sympathy for Abi—it’s a particularly bad night for anyone who hates the sight of blood.

“Sorry,” he mutters lamely.

“It’s all right,” Abi says, “I’ll try to do better.”

Ryan doesn’t think of himself as having a particularly comforting presence, but for Dylan he does his best, murmuring a steady stream of reassuring nonsense like he might if his little sister crawled in bed with him after having a nightmare back home. “It’s okay,” he says, “it’s okay, you’re okay. Just hang on, all right?This’ll be over soon. I’ve got you. Just stay with me, Dylan. I’m here. I’m right here and I’ve got you.” 

It’s bullshit, he knows it and Dylan probably knows it too—his wounded friend is in bad shape and Ryan hasn’t got shit, nothing is under control and nothing is okay, but Dylan squeezes his hand, his head turned so the right side of his face is pressed against Ryan’s shoulder, and Ryan can tell he’s trying very hard to be brave. Dylan holds back from crying out for the most part, expressing his pain through bitten off groans that he tries but can’t quite silence. Occasionally, he sucks air through his teeth and swears. Dylan’s trembling a little and sweating and he sniffles from time to time because he can’t keep the tears from streaming down his face, dampening the fabric of Ryan’s Cult Damage t-shirt.

Kaitlyn digs for a pellet at the very end of Dylan’s wrist, and he’s completely quiet for a moment, then he goes limp in Ryan’s arms.

“Oh, shit. Dylan?” Ryan hears the panic in his own voice when he speaks.

“Fuck, he passed out.” Kaitlyn pats at Dylan’s cheek, not all that gently but not quite hard enough to qualify as a smack. It does nothing to rouse him. Her fingers press into the side of his neck to feel his pulse, but she doesn’t seem overly concerned with whatever she finds there. Ryan can feel Dylan breathing, but he’s terrified by this development just the same.

“What? Why would that happen?!” He demands of Kaitlyn. “Why now?”

“I don’t know!” Kaitlyn says, “Pain, I guess. Shock? Maybe that last pellet was near a nerve? I barely scraped a B in anatomy.”

“Blood loss?” Abi offers, her expression grave. She looks over at Nick, who adjusts his position a little, and then turns her attention back to Dylan.

“Let’s just get this finished,” Kaitlyn says, “then we can get him cleaned up.” 

She plucks three more pellets from Dylan’s arm, dropping them into the bottle, and then declares that if there are any more, he’ll need an x-ray to find them and trying to dig for them blindly would do way more harm than good. She sends Abi to the sink for a couple of wet washcloths and Kaitlyn wipes down Dylan’s arm while Abi dabs at his face.

Dylan begins to stir, finally, as Kaitlyn is working to bandage his wound. Ryan watches his face intently as he comes around, his brows scrunching and relaxing, eyes moving behind his closed lids. He groans softly before his eyes flutter open and he blinks up at Ryan, seeming to search Ryan’s face for clues as to what the fuck is even happening right now. 

“Dylan,” Ryan says, relief washing over him, “hey! You’re awake.” 

“G’morning Hacketteers,” Dylan rasps weakly, his voice a pale imitation of the one that has boomed out over the PA all summer. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Cap’n Crunch,” Kaitlyn says, rattling the bottle of pellets, “it’s the ‘Oops! All Buckshot’ flavor, unfortunately.”

“Oh, no thanks,” Dylan snorts, “I’m full.” He looks down at the bandaged end of his left forearm. “Though… less full than I used to be, apparently.”

Dylan’s jokes are as obnoxious as ever and Ryan is thanking the cosmic space gods that he’s coherent enough to make them.

As Kaitlyn finishes taping up the bandages, Dylan looks down at his remaining hand and seems to realize it’s still loosely entwined with Ryan’s. He grips Ryan’s hand and Ryan squeezes his right back.

“Thanks you guys,” Dylan says, almost uncharacteristically earnest, and Ryan is reminded of their conversation about his blasé persona and ‘Dylan-Dylan,’ which feels like it happened weeks ago.

“Don’t mention it,” Kaitlyn says with a smile, “just, never do anything this stupid again if you can help it, please.”

Dylan nods. Ryan doesn’t really need to hold onto him anymore, but he is just the same.

“I’m just glad you’re still with me, buddy,” Ryan says in a half whisper.

“Oh, I’m not going anywhere, Ryan. You know how the old saying goes, ‘hand a man a gun, he shoots for a day, shoot a man’s hand off with your gun and you have to, um, let him hold your hand in the hand that he has left. Forever. Or at least for one date. But probably forever.’”

“Yeah,” Ryan deadpans, “I can see how that became a proverb for sure. Real snappy.”

Kaitlyn bursts out laughing. Even Abi giggles at this, putting a hand on Dylan’s shoulder before hurrying back over to check on Nick.

“What? He can shoot my hand off but I can’t shoot my shot? Seems unfair. I—”

Dylan’s words are cut off when Ryan leans down and kisses him on the mouth, his hands pressing to either side of Dylan’s face. It’s the only thing he can think to do to express his relief and concern and gratitude at that moment, to say that he’s sorry but also not. And another feeling is in the mix there, something soft but undeniable and deeply unfamiliar, something that, Ryan’s terrified to realize, might actually be love.

“Let’s save our strength with some quiet time, hm?” he says, still holding Dylan’s face in his hands.

Dylan looks back at him, awestruck. He nods, slowly, and then there’s a gunshot outside. A howl of inhuman agony follows and then a splash. 

Something big has just landed in the pool.

[erika111111]

The Quarry and queer-baiting, part 2, AKA things I forgot to mention the first time and it was so much I might as well just make another part

See the first part here (it makes more sense to read this first if you haven't already)

On the topic of there being some underlying feelings between Abi and Emma, after they return from their little ride and Nick asks where they've been, Emma mischievously answers, "Wouldn't you like to know," which causes an annoyed Abi to inject "Ignore her, please!" Maybe it's just me, but I swore that was Emma alluding/joking about her and Abi having some kind of romantic getaway in the woods. And maybe Abi got annoyed because she said this in front of Nick, who she's crushing on, and didn't want him to think there was something going on between her and Emma already; little did she know her repressed feelings for Emma would come out in full later on in the game. Maybe I'm reaching as far as the eye can see with this one, but that was just my interpretation from the scene.

Back to the Laura/Max/Ryan/Dylan/Kaitlyn chain, I can actually make a bit of a comparison between how they treat the straight couple of Abi and Nick and how they treat the gay couple of Ryan and Dylan. A lot of people say that Ryan seems uninterested in Dylan (and everybody else), but people always point out the "Ryan seems interested" pop-up when Dylan is teasing about asking him out on a date. I mean, that should be game, set, and match for Rylan, but apparently not... I'd like to point out that when Abi and Nick kiss, the pop-up very directly says "Nick is falling for you." Not "he seems to be falling for" or anything like that, he very matter of factly IS falling for you. Whereas Ryan only "seems" interested. Again, it gives me queer-baiting vibes, as the game is very straightforward with explaining the state of the straight couple to you, but then it only gives you all these mixed signals and unclear crumbs for the gay couple. Not to mention, from my playthroughs and watchthroughs, it's much harder to get the "Ryan seems interested" pop-up than the "Nick is falling for you" pop-up as well. It's like they shove these things in your face on purpose yet make it extremely difficult to actually get at the same time.

Some people do like to argue that the "Ryan seems interested" pop-up is just from Dylan's perspective and probably not true, but that seems like a bit of a reach to me. I really don't think the pop-ups are supposed to be from the characters' perspectives, I think they're just supposed to give the player some insight and foreshadowing. For instance, "Travis will kill you." There's literally zero reason for Laura to assume and know that Travis will indeed kill her later, so it really doesn't make sense for that pop-up to be from her perspective. So I think that's a pretty weak defense for the Rylan antis. However, even if you get the "Ryan seems interested," pop-up, the firepit kiss, and every other positive thing about Ryan and Dylan's relationship, when talking to Laura later, Ryan can still always say his "maybe neither" line. So... you got me.

And yes, he doesn't always say the "maybe neither" line, but I also think that's a weak defense for the Lyan antis. I kind of doubt that Ryan only developed feelings for Laura during that very conversation itself. Even if he doesn't say that line/have that conversation, it doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings for her. Again, I don't think that conversation itself is what made him fall for her. Although, to be completely fair, it's not like they have very many positive experiences with each other prior to that moment, but Dylan and Kaitlyn insist on the sexy sparks, so... I don't know. I think the whole thing is rushed and Ryan really needed more time/positive moments with Laura before he started crushing, but I digress. The game's pacing can be extremely wonky at the times and I guess they worked with what they had...

Another defense people have for Ryan seeming uninterested in Dylan at times is that he's autistic. And while I 100% believe this and headcanon it myself, I don't believe this is ever stated directly in the game, so again, it's a bit of a weak defense. Please correct me if I'm wrong, though. Either way, it's obvious that Ryan is socially awkward and has a hard time communicating his thoughts and feelings with everyone. But people saying he's autistic and that's the reason he's unclear with Dylan as a fact is a bit weird to me because, as far as I know, it's not true/confirmed. But again, correct me if I'm wrong. Although, either way, it's not just his relationship with Dylan that's affected by this, it's his relationship with literally everyone. Dylan, Kaitlyn, Laura, Chris, Jacob, Emma, literally everyone he communicates with, and that is pretty clear. So it's not something that can just be applied to Dylan either way. This is more of a fanbase thing than an actual game thing, but I felt it worth pointing out because I see it a lot.

I believe I mentioned in my previous post about this that I feel the biggest Rylan scene, even more than their kiss because it was partially forced by Emma, is their conversation on their way to the radio hut, because for once Ryan seems 100% interested in Dylan and what he has to say. However, I believe this conversation wasn't included in the original version of the game, you could only get it from the pausing glitch. I could be mistaken, but I remember all those pause glitch videos from back when the game first came out and that they were considered these secret or removed dialogues and that Miles Robbins even alluded to it himself. So... there goes the biggest Rylan moment. The developers deliberately cut this moment out. It's literally like they fear actually pleasing the LGBTQ+ with the content they themselves created. I imagine they decided to add this scene back in the DLC due to the popularity of the ship, but still.

Another thing that's brought up constantly is the camera angles between the Ryan and Dylan kiss and the Ryan and Kaitlyn kiss. The straight couple, Ryka, gets a close-up zoom-in of their kiss. But the gay couple, Rylan, only gets the faraway shot. Seriously, what is the reason for this besides to annoy/disappoint the LGBTQ+ audience? Again, it's like they do this stuff on purpose. On a similar note, if you kiss Kaitlyn, you'll get the pop-up "Dylan seems a little disappointed." But if you kiss Dylan, it won't say anything about Kaitlyn. So this would seem to emphasize that Dylan might actually like Ryan a little more than Kaitlyn does. Or maybe he just takes rejection harder, who knows. But I thought it was something worth pointing out.

I'd also like to bring up the huge missed opportunity during Dylan and Kaitlyn's conversation on their way to the scrapyard. They joke that they finally found out Ryan's type, and that it's "pirates," because Laura is heroic and has an eyepatch. But literally two seconds ago, Kaitlyn is making a joke that they'll attach a hook to Dylan's hand and call him "Hooky McHook Face." You know... like a pirate?? I get that you wouldn't always get this opportunity given you can choose not to cut Dylan's hand off, but come on now. They make such a huge point out of it if you do, including in this very same conversation about the pirates, so why did they not add something here? Kaitlyn could literally just have one little line like, "Well then, maybe you do still have a chance after all," and Dylan could let out a small laugh or something. I mean, maybe they just didn't think of the idea. Maybe they thought it'd be insensitive for Kaitlyn to keep joking about it. I don't know. I just think it's a missed opportunity.

Another thing I theorized about is if the writers intended to pull the trope of "the rejected love interests wind up together" and pair Dylan and Kaitlyn up together; Ryan goes off with Laura and then Dylan and Kaitlyn are the duo now opposed to Dylan and Ryan. But, correct me if I'm wrong, the developers confirmed that Dylan is gay so... can't be that either. Regardless, I do know some people still ship them together. What is there ship name? Do they even have one? I'm calling it LynLan until further notice.

Lastly, as I said before, this post isn't intended to insult any ships, characters, or shippers mentioned. I just wanted to give the facts and also explain some of my personal opinions. At the end of the day, there's actually no endgame ships in The Quarry, which I guess is a good thing? Every shipper can enjoy whatever they want since we get no aftermath and they left it open anyway. It's totally okay to ship non-canon/non-confirmed ships, trust me, I've been there.