#mock trial rants

[mocktrialanger]

About Kirby Doolittle and Avery Bancroft:

Will contain spoilers for the 2024-25 AMTA case. And also a gender for Kirby.

Why did Kirby Doolittle buy two tickets for the train? One as himself and one as Casey? And why does he only check into one?

These three questions have haunted me for a while. But! I believe I have found a plausible story. (it is not plausible. this case is making me mentally ill).

Kirby Doolittle (aged 25) was working at the annual charity gala as a security guard. Then he sees his uncle's old boss. He overhears the boss is looking for a new assistand and smoothly insets himself into the conversation and sinches the job for himself.

Avery Bancroft (beekeeping age) needs a new secritary. Then a young guy who looks great in uniform (Avery is straight probably... he just likes having attractive secretaries) approaches him awkwardly about being his new secretary. Avery accepts.

Blah blah blah, he gets ill, blah blah blah, kirby gets a crush on his hot new emotionally unavailable boss, blah blah blah, they travel the world together and there's definitely tension.

Then:

Kirby Doolittle books two tickets for the Midlands Rivera Express, one for his boss Avery Bancroft in the fancy room, and one under his legal name Casey French in the shitty room. (transgender? i have thoughts).

But then Bancroft gets mistaken and thinks the train is full and is very much like "Oh no, Kirby! I guess I have to sleep in the same luxurious bed with my assistant!" And so obviously boycrushing, Kirby buys a second ticket for himself in Avery's room.

But then of course they get on the train and Avery examines if it makes him gay to appreciate personal assistants physically, regardless of gender. I mean he did it once with Kirbys uncle, but that was in the early 90's and doesn't count. He decides it would make him gay and so he tells Kirby that he has to find his own sleeping arrangements.

And that is my headcannon about Kirby and Avery Doolittle and the Casey French Debacle.

[felt-squirrels]

So a few people (nobody) wanted to know (nobody wanted to know) what the mock trials at that day camp I went to are like (I reliving the summer because I don’t want to go back to school) ANYWAY

Basically we’d assign roles to people, such as prosecutor, attorneys, jury members, ect. Whoever was the LIT counselor that week was the judge. We called it Kiki court and the best explanation I got why it was called that that it was associated with LGBT+ people and was sort like a hot mess which made sense because our mock trials were a hot mess. Instead of saying “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, ect” we’d say “Do you swear to spill the tea, the whole tea, and nothing but the tea, so help me sis?” And you’d say “Yassss”

The last trial I was a part of, I was accusing another LIT who we’re going to call Jonathan. (not actually his name) I was accusing Jonathan of Black Magic. (His card tricks were terrible)

(Fun fact: My friend couldn’t be there because she was leaving to go on a trip but we got permission to FaceTime them and one of the Jury members who FaceTimed her just held his phone up so she could hear everything.)

I lost the case against Jonathan even though he caused me horrible mental pain (They didn’t his card tricks were really bad) and then there was this whole other thing with him eating a witness’s dog (wasn’t expecting that) but yeah

I also wrote down some of the funnier quotes because why not

Judge: Witness, what is your name?

Witness: Your, Mom.

Judge: Mom, Your?

Jury Member: There are no takesie backsies in court!

Jonathan: Miss Kiss, the dog was dead when I ate him!

Jonathan: Actually, that was my twin brother, let me go get him. *Goes back inside and comes out without a hat*

Judge: Fo shizzle wizzle, you are dismissed.

Judge: When did these delusions occur?

Witness: When I was putting wheels on a canoe.

Sorry for the really long post

[contraryclock]

stupid ass Don Quixote ramblings

hi this is my first tumblr post but i really wanted a good place to put this

spoilers for all of current limbus company, including Murder on the warp Express, the Don Quixote book (( kinda )), and a musical (( i'll get there ))

please humor this deranged rant about a character i havent read the source book of

so basically ive had a theory since Don was even teased that she's less so based on book Don Quixote and moreso based on the Man of La Mancha musical which is. an insane thing to suggest but hear me out here (( ive since changed how i word my stance to the much more mild "it will most likely delve into the themes of both works and reference both" because suggesting they would discount the book entirely is TRUE insanity ))

her quote (( from teaser tweets that i cannot find anymore? they seem like they were deleted which sucks )) was "To reach the unreachable star!" or something which is notably not a quote from the original book ((as far as im aware at least?)), and suggests. a lot i think!

One of the most notable differences between Man of La Mancha and the original Don Quixote is their tone and attitude towards Quixote. In the original text, he's shown to be a fool who is ignorant to the vastly more interesting world around him, and prefers to instead sink deeper into his delusions of reality equating to chivalric literature. This makes sense as Don Quixote was written as a parody and mockery of the genre

La Mancha is, notably, much more forgiving on Quixote's character, showing that while still a fool, and his insanity often detrimental to those around him, he is still a good person at heart and that he truly wishes to pursue this justice he posits

I usually say it as "Don Quixote is about how reality is beautiful, and La Mancha is about how sometimes one should strive to make reality a little more fantastical" although i dont know if that. is the most accurate comparison. both Don Quixote and La Mancha have a lot of themes and stuff going on

one of the things that made me scream was learning about "Miguel" being written on don's LCB combat spritesheet instead of her listed name

which if you've seen or read a summary of la mancha is a huge alarm bell

In La Mancha, the whole thing is shown as a Play within a Play

Miguel de Cerventes is sent to prison, awaiting trial by the inquisition, and is tasked with defending himself in a mock trial with the other prisoners so they dont take his belongings. His defense is Don Quixote, Man of La Mancha! With the prisoners acting out the various roles he assigns them, and him acting as the leading man, Don Quixote himself!

that was most of the things that made me think "Oh, maybe it'll be La Mancha!" and then this happened

and i sort of lost my god damned mind

because like what if this is miguel... what if shes simultaneously playing out her life as don quixote as a her delusion, and as her dream, but also as a statement...

idk but this isnt JUST about Man of La Mancha bc i think this has a few implications for how don's canto is going to go

In both don quixote and la mancha, they send someone to cure quixote of his delusions

The final thing they try is setting up an act where a "Knight of Mirrors" duels with Quixote, which ends up working.

The Knight forces Quixote to see how he is perceived by others, to see the truth that he is no knight.

ignoring the stuff with vampires and mirrors for a second, i feel like this could be more mirror world shenanigans, where either the knight IS a mirror world don quixote, or is someone who will show her mirror worlds. Whatever that will imply!!! i dont know its exciting!!!!!

Her being absurdly old and powerful, plus bloodfiends having a whole familial adjacent hierarchy makes me think theres a LOT of bloodfiends out there that would want her back

I dunno!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

im insane!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! i just wanted to get my thoughts out before her canto actually happened so i can say that i did indeed have an opinion on this

-limbus assets taken form Lunartique's asset google drive go look at it -text written by me and not proofread

ok thanks bye dont follow me byeee byeeeeee

[nalyra-dreaming]

Do you think that, at the beginning of the episode, Armand kept Louis asleep so he could spin his little yarn about Lestat without the latter there with the express hope of selling Daniel on the telenovela? As well as maybe making peace/having some quiet time with the Daniel (read: his boy from SF) he kind of tried to protect from Louis' cruel Alice-rant last episode? Daniel has been continuously mocking Louis with the notion of Loumand being "a story that is being sold to him" so maybe this way, Lestat appears to be the bad guy yet again and further Lestat discussions are tabled except explaining how Louis got his groove back (and learned to forget about the 'ever-thinking-about-himself' Lestat)?

I'm a Loustater who was ready to live with Loumand because we have to, and thought I was willing to give Armand some trust that he's trying to protect Louis from doing something terrible in Dubai, but it seems that, with that fiction about Lestat, he's been withholding more than Louis ever did. And whether that's to save Louis or himself and likely both, I can't tell. I can't even imagine how we're going to have a walk-down-memory-lane discussion about the trial if Armand can't be remotely honest, even now, about Lestat.

Lastly, all that talk in theatre about the coven wanting Louis dead if he's not joining etc. Is all that telepathic murder plotting being freely discussed in Dubai?

Need help! Want to understand!!!!!!!!

Oh, I think Louis being asleep when the interview continues is a massive red flag, indeed. He was up during the day before, so why will he rise at sundown now? And why does Armand launch into a little fanfic version of Lestat while Daniel asks him a very different question?

And why did the Mac not record that one sentence?

The thing is... I think Armand is doing precisely what he was doing with Louis at the end of the IWTV book, namely a) lie to him about a few specific things, b) keep a kind of veil over Louis and c) protect him (from others and himself).

It's Armand! He's the coven master. He does what he thinks is best.

And of course he loves Louis, too, but... you know. At this point it should be very clear that Louis did not love him back as much as he seemed to do (before). Louis invited Armand in (and into a relationship with him) to not get killed. And to keep Claudia safe, too. THAT is their actual relationship start and fuck how bitter is that?????

The Louis in Dubai... has lived decades with whatever happened after that event in San Francisco. And whatever happened with the Devil's Minion arc there. And Armand... is still lying to him.

I said it in another ask, but by now I'm leaning towards Louis going to NOLA at the end of the season - and either finding Lestat there ... or NOT. And if he does not find him I can see him go and do the Merrick ending in the Merrick ending place.

I think episode 7 and 8 will shift a LOT of things, and no matter how the trial is narrated we already know it likely won't be how it went. It will be interesting to see if they break the narrative once more - or let Daniel read them to filth.

Because I can see Daniel do that. Because allll the little things, all the Talamasca files, all that background information he has now will click into place for him. Because he is very good at his job.

[theres-a-body-here]

Ghostface with Creep!reader

A new killer has been snatched by the Entity. Something about their cheap Halloween werewolf mask and casual clothing made some of the realms residents uneasy

Was drawn to you from the beginning

Not in the way you'd expect

He was offended

He saw you as a cheap imitation. A copycat

A masked killer that stalks their victims and records their last moments?

You were basically begging to be stabbed

The Entity shut that down real quick before he could push his blade into your liver

He made sure to downright ignore you after that event

That was until he spectated your trials

As the Entity's favorite, he had many "perks". Being able to spectate matches as they happened was one of them

You weren't bad, but you weren't great

He'd grit his teeth whenever you'd prioritize filming the survivors with your video camera instead of injuring them

He'd facepalm whenever you'd swing at a vaulting survivor, only to hit the wall

He needed to intervene

Don't get it wrong. Not for your sake, but for his

Danny hates copycats, but he hates it even more when said copycat is shit at it

Makes him look bad

After your trial, he grabs you by your arm and pulls you deep into the forest

The Entity hasn't stopped him yet, so you guess he isn't trying to kill you again. You let yourself get dragged along

Get ready for a long rant followed by an even longer lesson in stalking

"What the fuck was that? You didn't even bring one slowdown perk. Come on now. If you're going to imitate me, at least do it with finesse." Behind his mask, Danny's lips twisted into a snarl.

You occupied a spot on a toppled tree trunk, engrossed in reviewing recordings on your video camcorder. Evidently, his lecture failed to captivate your attention.

"The Entity seems to be pleased with my performance. If I was doing bad she would've let it be known. Get off my back"

Your voice retained an air of calmness, though the underlying hint of a threat was unmistakable.

Despite how it appeared, you and Danny have started to "hang out" more after that

It usually goes like this: you exit a trial and Ghostface begins to hound you over your mistakes. However, he always gives a few pointers before he leaves for his own trials

He would never admit it, but he slowly started warming up to you

Not even 2 months later, Danny shares his perks with you

"Here you faker. Maybe now you'll finally get more than one kill per trial"

He still criticizes and taunts you as you both sit near the fire with the other killers within hearing range

But it's more friendly than malicious

Amidst the silence around the campfire, Danny couldn't resist taking a playful jab at your looping skills, a smirk playing on his lips. "You know, I've seen toddlers with better footwork when it comes to catching survivors."

You shot him a mock glare. "Hey, not all of us can be stealthy killers with years of practice."

A chuckle escaped from Danny's masked lips, but before the moment could settle, Frank chimed in with a taunt of his own. "Yeah, Danny's right. I've seen snails with better chasing skills."

The campfire's atmosphere shifted instantaneously. Danny's chuckles ceased, replaced by a tense stillness. His masked gaze settled on Frank with an intensity that sent shivers down the spines of those around.

Danny's voice was low and controlled, his anger barely contained. "You've got a death wish, asshole?"

Frank seemed to realize his mistake too late, his face paling behind his own mask under the weight of Danny's glare. He stammered, trying to backtrack, "I... I didn't mean..."

But Danny's patience had worn thin. He stood abruptly, the menace radiating from him unmistakable. "You listen, and you listen well. You don't get to insult them. Only I do."

Frank swallowed hard, his bravado evaporating. "I... I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean anything by it."

Danny's gaze didn't waver, his message conveyed without a need for further words. Frank nodded frantically, looking as though he'd just escaped a close encounter with the Entity itself.

Danny's shoulders visibly relaxed as he resumed his seat by the fire, his attention returning to you. His voice regained its familiar tone of teasing, but there was an undertone of possessiveness. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes, talking about how you managed to lose a survivor while they were practically walking backward."

You and Danny didn't exactly exemplify the poster image of a perfect and conventional friendship dynamic, but it worked out well enough

Masterlist here

[frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe]

video stores, shopping malls, and ren faires

remember that post about getting three whole ideas from listening to my soundtrack playlist? uh..yeah, so here's part 1 of 3!

on AO3: video stores, shopping malls, and ren faires | song for this chapter

Working at one of the last remaining Family Video stores in America has its highs and lows. 

High: going days without seeing a customer. Low: no idea when the hammer will fall and you’ll be laid off when this branch closes too. High: usually on shift all day by yourself. Low: you’re usually on shift all day by yourself. 

(Un?)luckily for Robin, she found herself inundated with four visitors on her shift today.

The first two arrivals were the newest addition to their trauma bonded group (and subject of her best friend’s affections) Eddie Munson, along with his closest non-inducted friend Gareth Emerson.

She glances up at the two as they enter. “Hey, Gareth…what’s up fucker?” she says to each of them in turn.

“Rude.” Eddie says, mock offended, “We go through hell together and all I get is ‘fucker’.” he shakes his head and tsks, leaning his weight on the counter in front of her.

Robin just shrugs, straightening up to stand instead of being hunched over the counter like a shrimp. “That’s how it goes, Munson. Y’all here to rent something, or just bother me?” she asks, rubbing her elbows where they had been pressed to the linoleum countertop.

“Bother you. It’s not like you were busy anyway.”

She acknowledges that with a nonchalant frown and raise of her brow, and hunches back over her twitter feed.

“What’s gonna be the subject of today’s Munson Rant, Emerson?” she asks in his direction.

“Why’d you ask hi–”

“Steve Harrington, what else?” Gareth shrugs, coming around the counter to sit on the spare stool with her.

“Ah, the tried and true favorite.” She nods in understanding. “Let’s hear it then, Munson, what indiscretion has our beloved mother hen done that you’ve latched onto this time?”

Eddie’s quiet, so she looks up from her screen. He’s gaping at the two of them like a fish, eyes darting between her and Gareth. 

“Oh! Sorry,” Robin puts her phone face down on the counter and pillows her face on one hand and gesturing for him to continue with her other “You have my full attention.”

Eddie still doesn’t continue, so she turns to Gareth with a sigh, “Care to start us off, Gare-bear?”

“Gladly. This time it was ‘Does he even know what he’s doing when he looks like that?’--don’t ask me what ‘that’ is, I have no clue,” Robin nods along, leaning on her left arm to turn towards Gareth. “Then: ‘Does he know how attractive and unfair he’s being?’ and ‘I can't let myself get suckered in, Gare.’.”

“Oh, you’d love to get suckered in by Steve Harrington.” Robin rolls her head side to look at an  incredulous Eddie, waggling her brows.

“What I want and what is theoretically possible are two very different things, Birdie.”

“He speaks!”

“Shut up, Gareth, you two are the worst. I come to you in confidence about my trials and tribulations and all you do is mock me. Mock me!”

“Trials and tribulations..” Robin shakes her head at him. “Two things you wouldn’t be going through if you just admitted your feelings for him!”

“I don’t have feelings for Steve Harrington!”

“Yes you do!” Gareth and Robin both answer.

“I can’t have feelings for that airhead. (“Hey! Take it easy on that poor sweet Dingus!”) I just can’t okay?”

“‘Can’t’ doesn’t mean ‘Don’t’, Eddie.”

“Semantics won’t get you anywhere in this argument, Gare. I do not have feelings for King Steve.”

Robin clenches her jaw at Steve’s old nickname, but stays quiet.

“Here, let me continue for him,” Gareth also seems pissed, “‘Ooh, I’m eddie and I’ve had the hots for Steve sinc—“

“I can’t do it again!”

Robin and Gareth both look over at Eddie at his outburst

“I can’t fall for another straight guy. I don’t have it in me to keep it going, so I’m trying to reverse psychiatry myself into dropping the feelings, okay?”

“…It’s reverse psychology.”

“Semantics, Gare, I thought we already talked about this.” Eddie waves him off, already pacing and chewing on the end of a lock of his hair absentmindedly (‘Ew’, Robin thinks.).

“Look, we all know he’s hot and perfect (“If you say so.” mumbles Gareth); All those damn freckles and moles that are just begging to be kissed, his stupid perfect face with those kind, dreamy eyes, his gorgeous body and hmm that chest hair…” (“Ew..” Robin says, aloud this time.).

He shakes himself out of the thought and continues on. “He loves those kids like they’re his, puts everyone else first to a fault, he pulled me out of literal hell!” He stops his tirade and turns to face her and his friend behind the counter. “I need you to tell me everything you can that he’s ever done that’s gross, or or shitty, just.. anything, Robin, please. I can’t deal with a crush on another unattainable straight man. I won’t survive it. Especially not if it’s Steve Fucking Harrington.”

Robin is quiet, glancing at Gareth briefly before turning her attention back to Eddie. “Sounds like you’re already in love with him Munson.”

“Don’t curse me with that, there’s no way I’m in love with him.” he starts pacing again.

“Uh, yeah way? Did you not just hear yourself? You just went on for like 10 minutes about all the shit you love about Steve!” Gareth points out.

Eddie stops just to blink at him.

“Also, I’m not about to slander my best friend just to make you less horny for him.” Robin cuts back in.

“Not…slander…just—“

“Sorry man, you gotta face facts. You’re head over heels for him.” Gareth cuts him off.

Eddie’s frown deepens. “Nope, no way, I’m not in love with King Steve��

“Stop calling him that you little—“ Robin explodes at him, but takes a breath and continues. “You know damn well he hates that nickname, especially with all the work he’s done to put that part of him behind him.

“And as much as you want to deny it Munson, you are also his friend—or at least he thinks you are—and his friend wouldn’t go around calling him shit he doesn’t like!” She can’t hold back by the last word and shouts it into the empty store.

The other half of her unexpected visitors arrive then.

Robin takes a calming breath at the sound of the jingle above the door, and turns to face her pseudo nephews. Her beloved Dingus’ first-born son, and his youngest, Dustin Henderson and Will Byers.

“Hey kiddos, whatcha need?” Robin checks in first, making sure there’s nothing actually wrong before stepping into her half annoying older sister, half cool uncle role.

“Nothing,” Dustin shrugs, “Just supposed to meet Steve here so he can give us a ride home.” he gestures over his shoulder towards the arcade.

“In that case, welcome to Family Video! We are doing a two for one rental deal right now, your father is bemoaning his feelings about your mother in the corner,” Eddie sputters nonsense at that implication (“Their father?? What the hell, Buckley?!”) but she ignores him and barrels on “and no you can’t have any free candy.”

“Aw man.” Dustin says, at the same time Will asks “Eddie has feelings for Steve?”

Robin and Gareth both groan as Eddie goes back into his rant.

“No! …No matter how good of a guy he might be or how hot he is, that’s just a curse I need to learn to live with if I’m going to stick around you goblins and…”

She has an epiphany then; his almost unhinged levels of ranting about how he very much “does not” have feelings for her best friend reminds her of something. So she pulls out her phone and opens YouTube.

“Hold that thought Munson,” she interrupts him mid-soliloquy about Steve’s arms or chest or something, “You three, you’re all theater kids right? Or musically adjacent?” She addresses Dustin, Will, and Gareth.

“What the hell’s happening right now..” Eddie tries.

“Uh yeah?” Dustin says, confusedly looking at the other two for confirmation, who also nod.

“Okay, back me up on this then.”

Robin starts playing the song over the bluetooth speaker she has behind the counter and immediately the four boys catch on, Eddie groaning in frustration and dropping himself face down on the counter.

‘If there’s a prize for rotten judgment, I guess I've already won that.’

“Sounds like Eddie.” Robin states to nods from the other boys, sans Eddie, who responds with a muffled “Fuck. You.”.

‘No man is worth the aggravation,’

“Steve is!” Will yells over the music, Robin pointing at him in emphasis, and catching Eddie’s expression softening already when he turns his head to smile minutely at Baby Byers.

‘That’s ancient history, been there, done that!’ to which Eddie gestures annoyingly towards the speaker, head still on his elbows.

Robin rolls her eyes at him, but starts singing along with the muses; Gareth, Will, and Dustin catch on quickly, adding onto the tune. “Who d'ya think you’re kidding? He’s the earth and heaven to you, try to keep it hidden…”

“C’mon munson, I know you’ve got some pipes on you!” Robin goads good-naturedly at Eddie.

–

Watching his friends (and his children, apparently) tease him and dance around through his bangs wins him over, and Eddie starts singing along with Meg.

“No chance, no way, I won’t say it, no, no..” he waves his arm out with a shake of his head, standing up from the counter to stalk across the floor.

His friends grin manically, Dustin and Will start over-performing the lyrics as they sing along with the muses, Will catching Dustin in a dramatic swoon. “You swoon, you sigh, why deny it? Uh-Oh!”

“It's too cliche! I won't say I'm in love!”

Eddie lets himself get into singing along; well, half singing, half speaking along to the lyrics as he keeps going, especially with the next set of lyrics hitting a little too close to home.

“I thought my heart had learned its lesson, It feels so good when you start out…My head is screaming, ‘get a grip’, UGH!” he grabs hold of his hair at the root in half-mock frustration. “Unless I’m dying to cry my heart out!”

He bellows out lungfuls of frustration along with Meg’s longer notes as his friends poke holes in his already shaky denial of his feelings in time with the muses.

“You keep on denying who you are and how you're feeling, baby, we're not buying. Hon, we saw ya hit the ceiling!”

Okay, singing long and loud aloud like this is starting to help, actually.

“Face it like a grown-up, when ya gonna own up that ya got, got, got it bad?!” He almost loses it when the four of them do exaggerated jazz hands at him. 

“No chance, no way, I won't say it, no, no.” He shakes his head again and turns away from them towards the front window.

Of course, because the universe hates him, Steve arrives just then with Max in the passenger seat, in time for the song and his friends to tease him with the perfectly timed line: “..check the grin, you’re in love!”

Damn, he was actually fucking grinning like an idiot just seeing Steve’s car pull into in the parking lot.

He scrubs the grin off his face with his hands, grabbing onto his hair like a crutch and turning his back to the window.

At this point, he’s fully into the performance. “This scene won't play, I won't say I'm in love!”

“You're doing flips, read our lips, you're in love!”

“You're way off base, I won't say it (“He won’t say it, no)!

“Get off my case, I won't say it!” he spins back around…and what a mistake that was.

His (horrible, traitorous) friends continue on as he watches the scene unfolding in front of him: Steve has carefully unfolded Max’s wheelchair, making sure each part is locked into place,  before moving to help her stand and take the couple shaky steps to her seat with a kind, patient smile.

“...It's okay, you're in love…” 

Oh.

He has to catch himself on the counter in front of him, knees suddenly weak.

Oh.

“At least out loud, I won't say I'm in love…”

–

“Hey guys, what were you singing? It looked like fun!” Steve asks as soon as Max is inside and over the lip of the doorway.

“Uh, nothing, c’mon Gareth, we’ve got that…thing.” Eddie does a vague grabby motion towards Gareth, who’s coming around the front of the counter. “Cool t’see ya, Stevie, catch you later!” 

Eddie basically books it out the door, still held open by the handicap button, with Gareth trailing behind at a normal speed.

“Hey Steve, bye Steve.” he says as he strolls past.

Steve watches them go with gooey affection clear on his face, much to the delight of the gathered peanut gallery.

“You’re so mean to him” Max chides, “That shit was playing so loud even you could hear it from the parking lot.”

“You could!? Oh man, poor Eddie.” Dustin says with a gummy smile.

“Why poor Eddie?” he asks, keeping a straight face.

Dustin’s face falls and he and Will blurt “NOTHING.” and “NO REASON.” at the same time.

He lets them sweat for a bit, but Robin’s not-so-subtly-hidden laughter gets the best of him.

“Why are you laughing? Steve do you…do you already know?” Dustin asks, worried. 

Steve shrugs, “I've had my suspicions, but I want him to get there himself first before I fully put the moves on him.”

“Put—put the moves?? You like Eddie??”

“No.”

“Steve what the hell, that’s super shit—”

“I've basically been in love with him since my scoops era.”

The silence is somewhat expected, only Robin knows he’s bi officially, but there had to have been some hints or signs that they’ve picked up on right? Steve really hopes this doesn’t turn into losing any of them.

“…In love?” Will’s voice is quiet.

“Scoops era?” Max and Robin ask in unison.

Steve silently breathes a sigh of relief. “Yeah, back before the fire? Dusty, you were there, remember?”

It takes him a second, but sure enough: “Oh shit!!”

Part 2 here!

okay confession, this is fully self-indulgent. all the way down to the fake st gang twitter feed because they always make me die laughin

also, yes, the title is a spoiler for where the other two chapters will be set

hope you enjoyed this brainrot!

[chososcamgirl]

random ass rant because i need to get this out of my system. literally auditioned for my school play and im lowkey irked i did not get a callback. not tryna sound like entitled, but i know im not a shit actor (i got a callback last year) and litrly won an award in a mock trial competition this summer for my acting as witness. also, i literally get paid to voice act! but they barely ever cast poc for my school's plays. last year out of the 16 callbacks, it was 6 poc including me (37.5%), and this year out of the 24 callbacks, it was 4 poc (16.7%). that's literally got cut the amount of poc cut in half, despite there literally being more roles in the play?? last year, out of the 6 poc that got callbacks, only ONE made it to the final cast. last year the lead told me he literally thought i deserved a role because i did well in my callback, but im 99% sure the role went to this white girl over me because... well i wear hijab, and hijabis dont exactly fit in a play that takes place in the 1920s. even though i was a year ahead of her, and upperclassmen get priority over underclassmen for roles!! like im not tryna cry and be that one sjw thats like "diversity!!!" but i feel like im lowkey tweaking cause this can be coincidence. i cant even say nun because unlike the white kids that got cast i havent been taking theatre since i was 3 1/2 years old, so fuck do i know. you know the production is always gonna say "we dont cast based on race, just on talent", but shit like this always pisses me off bro. there is no way this is all just a coincidence chat anyways thanks for coming to my ted talk chososcamgirl. keep writing sjap, and being a sexy ass mofo. your smaus are my escapism.

oh anon i’m so sorry that happened to u 🙁 that literally sucks like it’s so shitty that they’re blatantly rejecting people just bc their poc like what the fuck? the casting director definitely is a racist idc because you obviously have a lot of experience in acting AND you literally have a paid voice acting job like ??? you clearly have the talent so smth is not adding up !!!!! argh it must be shitty like i can only imagine how u feel :( i’m sorry that the director is bitter and ugly and a cunt you so much better and i love you <3 also tysm angel im glad u like them 😭<33

[tootalltech]

intro post bc it's about time...

hi. my name is aylo, or roman. this is the only blog i really use which used to be just for the show the bad batch, but has now turned into a multifandom mess + whatever the hell i feel like posting/reblogging

i sometimes post rants about whatever i'm currently interested in! and if you're into the same thing as me then i'd love to talk to you/be mutuals. i'm not online a TON bc getting a social science major still takes some work but yk. i generally respond to people.

my special interest is u.s. law and i am rarely not thinking about it (mostly criminal law and trials). one might even say i have... lawtism (i cannot take credit for this term).

currently fixated on:

lab rats (disney xd)

not quite as obsessed with atm but still always willing to talk about:

the land of stories

the crucible

town of salem (the video game)

how to get away with murder

succession

legend of zelda

deadpool (the movies specifically)

ozark

the henry stickmin collection

a few good men

star wars

loot: how to steal a fortune

the darkest minds

the familiars

mock trial

the same level of obsession but for dc comics so it needs its own category:

gotham (tv)

young justice (tv)

justice league: animated series

justice league unlimited

wonder woman (2017)

batman vs. superman (2016)

the dark knight (2008)

green lantern: animated series

some shows that i have been fixated on before which now cause me great pain to discuss (but technically i can):

the bad batch

the umbrella academy

and then just some bands i like:

joywave (WOOOO)

fall out boy

led zeppelin

foreign air

missio

U2

oingo boingo

iamx

modest mouse

my kid brother

brick + mortar

that's pretty much it! feel free to reach out to me about any of my interests if you ever want. i'm pretty chill i think. unless you get something about law blatantly wrong in front of me (half joking).

[ollieoliveoboelo22]

Music of TURN

Round 6

Vote in round 5

Yankee Doodle

4.09: Reckoning

Yankee Doodle appears a few times. Caleb improving his own lyrics, Rivington singing a loyalist version in the coffee house, and then of course, Lafayette's moment at Yorktown. Which is based of true events!

I'll avoid going into a massive rant even though I have written a paper on it. But the historical premise is that it was often sung by British soldiers during the 7 years war to mock colonists. And in the most American tradition, American soldiers and militia men took the song and sang it at the retreating redcoats after Lexington and Concord.

In the Days of My Youth

3.06: Many Mickles Make a Muckle

I learned quite a bit researching this one. It comes from The Beggar's Opera written by John Gay and Johann Pepusch in 1728 (Which funnily enough I studied in my music history course but never knew this. In essence it's a satirical Italian Opera (yes there are types of opera) that became extremely popular in London.

I think TURN did a masterful job at including this because one of the themes in the opera is a long triangle. Again I'm going to refrain from ranting, but it is GENIUS that they used this. The mor

I beg of you just glance through this theme analysis and tell me it doesn't suit Peggy, Andre, and Arnold.

Once again disappointed by AMC for not giving us a full version. TURN has so many beautiful covers that deserve to be released.

[jar-of-maise]

fontaine archon quest, furina story quest spoilers + brainrot

so after doing the 4.2 quest, i have to say that i really dislike the characterisation of the Traveller and Paimon. Obviously, there's a emotional appeal for the audience to see Furina's suffering but I don't like how we basically manipulate her, decieve her and then harass her straight after the main plot? Like girly says she doesn't want to return to acting and what do our beloved MC's do? Harass her until she agrees.

coming from a story writer's perspective, i can see how the story was done to further...idk character development but to be completely honest, i would have loved it if Furina died in the end, or even disliked the Traveller. Eitherway, I think that the reconciliation arc was so abrupt and quick for my liking. Of course, the question could always become, "if not now then when?" And my answer to that is, realistic forgiveness and closure is rarely present in real life. Yes, the game is fantasy and does not have to conform to reality but I can't help thinking that some depth has been missed/could've been added.

Furina doesn't get enough credit for her work - and maybe the tragedy and point of the quest was to highlight that. But like, I have to say the way everyone treated her during her trial (okay, I know, no one knew anything about shit at the time just let me rant), and worse, after the conclusion of the archon quest had me raging ngl.

Can you imagine playing this tortuous role for basically 500 years, staking your every hope upon a plan plotted by a "mirror you" you've only met once and never again? Not to mention that it might be all for naught?

And then the people you are trying to save isolateand ostracize you? You're tricked and fooled until the very "hope" you wish to maintain (the act) is basically destroyed? And when you've begun to finally find respite, you're forced back onto the stage and made fun of, called poor and mocked for ... not having a personality because you've been playing as someone else? Like, Traveller has their therapy, "makes character's better" moments but this was not one of them.

At the same time though, it makes the Traveller more realistic, which I can appreciate. They want answers, and the continuous theme of, "Archons not knowing jackshit or running away" is tiring. But like, you would have also thought that it could be a point of sympathy not just, making someone suffer????

Hello???

But Traveller and Paimon's extremely irritating actions aside, I can see it from everyone else's POV - that is, Fontaine is literally about to go under, and that for 500+ years the "god" they worship has been saying, "trust me," but hasn't done (in the eyes of the people) anything.

so idk, the archon quest makes me feel very conflicted, and honestly good for hoyoverse. but man, furina was quite literally dealt one of the worst cards to date.

TLDR; i rant about furina and how she deserved better but that tbf i would also be very confused if all i knew was a bratty archon doing nothing (seemingly) for the nation but....also, the injustice and unfair treatment furina got AFTER the archon quest - i could write a full essay about her character deadass x_x

[will80sbyers]

Oh my god I need to rant about this because I just saw a bunch of tweets about this but I was on Amber's "side" since day one and kept being on it and followed the trials too, fighting even with friends about this when the whole world was saying bullshit constantly and disregarding obvious red flags and documents from the trials and you can't imagine how happy I am that people seems to be opening their eyes about Johnny Deepshit holy hell the gigantic apology people owe that woman for mocking her statements in court about her rape and all the shit the people on tiktok gave her!!!! Many of those people were just fucking assholes that follow others like sheep instead of looking at things for themselves before speaking!!! I will also be vindicated when my ex friend admits they were wrong all this time and that man is an abuser and lies constantly. The truth always wins in the end no matter how long it takes!!!

[nalyra-dreaming]

Tbh I have seen a lot of takes and analysis over eps 7 and 8 and how it could make sense.

I have a sinking feeling it won't.

! Rant follows below:

The writers wanted it to be a rehearsed play in front of the audience for maximum shock and pain factor and didn't think that it doesn't make sense for lestat to be rehearsing for months and not be strong enough to find a way to stop it.

It all started in s01 when they wanted louis to be the one to cut lestat throat because it was more poetic this way (and considered to be justified since the drop) and didn't care that lestat being completely recovered would mean the plot from the book wouldn't work.

Because the plot from the book did make sense. Lestat was injured, armand wanted revenge on lestat and to get louis to himself and get rid of claudia and the coven and hence the mock trial made perfect sense.

This doesn't. The show has made it clear that while armand may lie and manipulate he mostly goes with the flow otherwise why let louis die? Why then go with louis after everything?

The showrunners have said that they don't consider armand to be the villain behind everything and have backed themselves into a corner with that. Book lovers of armand loved him because he was good at being the villain who wanted to be loved no matter what atrocities he committed ( with the choices the show made this now seems to apply more to lestat which is a far cry from book lestat).

There are things that fans speculated for months on, like the torn pages, which were never picked up.

Same way there was a lot of talk on revisiting murder night and lestats words being different and claudia and louis burning lestat but in the trial the murder night was never contradicted from lestat or claudias diaries.

I think rolin and the writers enjoy the campiness and drama too much and the books moral dilemmas and overall sense of gravitas does not interest them as much and the characters tend to suffer for it.

Apologies for the rant but I'm currently re-reading iwtv and tvl and the nonsensical changes have bothered me again 😅

I think we are both far from done with the trial, and the missing pages.

We are far from done with Armand's motivations - or Lestat's.

This show is a puzzle. And I don't think the writers care too much if we find it hard to find the pieces.

And they sometimes make those pieces hard to find, too. I shared a trial script analysis just earlier - there is a page, an important page, that can only be seen in blend-over, almost hidden by Louis' hand. The assholes (affectionate^^).

Armand isn't the villain either in the last books, though he of course is in the first ones. But this show doesn't do black and white, and I don't think the books do either, not really.

This show doesn't like to give answers, it asks questions, and hides the answers within the shifts of the narrative.

Personally I love that, even though I would have preferred a bit more clarity after season 2, as said before. Still.

I think we're far from done.

[bells-of-black-sunday]

@witchcraftandburialdirt asked:

"Tarhos … " Haruko's sonorous voice cut through the lingering silence of Shattered Square, his hands submerged in a bucket of red-tinted water, the foam spreading onto the fabric beneath, "D-do you think we're going to surviv -- !"

His eyes snapped open wide in surprise when his beloved husband interrupted him mid-question only to add another shirt being dropped into the tub in front of him, effectively splattering bubbles all across Haruko's curls. That simple act served to transport him back and reawaken memories of a bygone era, one full of bittersweet dealings. A time filled with the morning aubade of birds, their sweet music easily fluttering over the distant drums of war and hollers of men. Down by the river … away from their encampment and alone as the sun died and the moon rose to run her radiant fingers over their embraced bodies. Still then, his husband would drop laundry in front of him - ever the same … And before long his once solemn stare shifted into one of playful aggravation and pointed towards Tarhos; unable to keep his mouth shut he practically blurted:

"You are the most insufferable man I have ever met! Have you no decency? No shame? You brute --!" Wet laundry was hurled through the air, eagerly connecting to the back of Tarhos' head with a thwack! and a joyful titter from his wife, "Out of all the people here, why do I have to be stuck with you!" Slap! A sock! Whap! Alejandro's tunic! Haruko stood up and approached his husband, stifling his giggles as she playfully jabbed Tarhos in the chest with the tip of her finger, shifting his weight with a cock of his head and tilt of his hips, "And do not think you are going to be walking away. No no no, you are going to help me with all of this after dirtying my water!"

With a mocking sneer, his eyebrows drew together and his tongue peeked between his teeth, as he pressed yet another sopping shirt against Tarhos' chest before his brow rose challengingly, lips drawn in a wide grin. His smile was luminous, a delicate blush tinting his cheeks and growing up to reach the tips of his ears, and his eyes held the entirety of the night sky in their depths. A teasing swoon: "After all, O' Fair Knight, what is a naive and weak-willed maiden like me to do? I am not strong enough to carry the burden alone~"

 ━ Dead By Daylight

The square was cast in shadow, far was the blinding light he was once permitted and now the dim gloom enshrouded the old square. Still... Tarhos could see how his wife's brows knitted, his solemn gaze as he stared at the murky water he practically rubbing his fingers raw trying to get the stains out. The knight was aware of his faults, how he's failed him time and time again... at least outside of the trials they could pretend things were normal until they'd get interrupted again. He walked over slipping off his linen shirt and teasingly dropped it in the water if only to take his mind off of whatever question neither of them had answers to that was bothering him.

The amusement in Haru's voice almost made him laugh far before the wet linen it the back of his head forcing him to turn around and face the maiden who seemed to be well out of his own solemn head now. The knight forced a teasing huff placing his hands on his hips as he looked down at his wife, his pale eyes glittering with bemusement at the situation, but he let him "rant" on just like he would do in simpler times. How his rants would turn into fits of giggles until he couldn't finish his sentence, "Well maybe if you hadn't used up all your energy throwing things and ranting like mad-man over laundry you'd be able to finish it love." It was hard to even try to pretend to be serious.

He let his hands fall from his waist and reach for his wife's, his calloused fingers tracing every small nick and scar before he'd bring his knuckles up to his lips. It was sweet for a moment until he made a face and spit onto the ground, "Fucking hell- forgot about the soap."

[entiretorridaffair]

i know this 💌 is supposed to be like. you say a kinf thi g about me but i want to say nice things about you and i dontw ant to rb the ask game because im lazy so.

talia youre one the people ive clicked the fastes with on this dumb funny crazy weird website. i love your rants in my askbox about the randomist shit and how your queue is so full itd run till may if you just let it go and i love how funny you are so effortlessly and how everyone you know on here adores you and how youre such a little beam of light. i admire you for being so strong and for letting me in when youre feeling down. i love you for not getting tired of my bits and continuing to stick with the 'youre in her dms' and 'she __ on my ___ till i' meme formats, they are always bangers coming from you. i cannot believe archie marry me has been our invisible string all along. she literally mock on my trial till i practie c. ily talia <3

i love u sm omg!!!! amelie, you are one of my favorite people ever. you’re the kindest, sweetest, and most welcoming person i know. you bring a lightness to this website that is unparalleled! thank you for filling my askbox and never getting annoyed with the increasingly stupid things i say in your dms and askbox. as we all know you’re in her dms, i am listing fruit in her askbox, we are not the same!!!! you’ve been such a kind support system when i really needed a friend to talk to and you are just such a wonderful friend to have. thank you for generously bestowing your time, attention, and thoughts about jeopardy on me!!!!!

[attackedastoria]

In this rant essay I will be talking about entitlement in the new age of social media concerning the art fommunity and why It Is Bad

So. After witnessing an absolutely infuriating incident of a fellow artist being mocked, insulted, and generally dog-piled on for "gatekeeping", I really feel the need to address something becoming more and more prevalent in the artist community.

Artists are not here to hold your hand through learning their creative process. Full stop.

In this new, fast paced age of social media and everything being accesible at your fingertips, people want instant gratification for everything. Including art. I have witnessed, and personally experienced, time and time again, people asking artists for their exact process on how they created a piece of art. I'm not talking simple questions like, "Hi, what type of clay do you use?", or "What is your favorite brand of paint for this?"; I am seeing an increase of people demanding to know the EXACT process, step by step, and not only that, they expect the artist to give it to them freely, and hold their hand through it with a happy smile.

If an artist refuses, as is their right when it comes to the art they've likely spent a decade or more perfecting through means entirely self taught in most cases? Ah, I can hear the response now, like a screeching eagle upon the wind: "Stop gatekeeping! You're mean!"

We aren't "gatekeeping" anything. No one is entitled to an artists methods, time, or knowledge, *especially* for free. Thanks to social media, everyone seems to want to continuously consume content, from artists in particular, FOR FREE. People now feel entitled to *demand* artists for walk-throughs, how-to's, in depth videos or tutorials, and by God, if you refuse, you're gonna be sorry!

I've been creating art seriously since I was twenty. I'm nearly forty now. I am entirely self-taught. If I wanted to learn something new, I looked it up and researched it, or figured it out myself. No one held my hand through any of this. I never asked another artist for expliciy details on their methods besides maybe a, "Hey, do you like this clay or that clay better?", and even then, I never got upset if I didn't get a response, because I'm not entitled to their time. Everything I make, I figured out through trial and error until I was satisfied. Honestly, it's part of the fun for me, figuring something out and having it work the way I want it to.

Now, there are of course plenty of artists happy to share their methods. They are happy to be teachers, mentors, guides for other people. I applaud them for this, because it's very hard to be a teacher. I could never do it. Most people can't.

I dont have the time, setup, money, motivation, or frankly the personality to teach people anything. My art is also my *job*; it is how I make a living, pay bills, get through life. There's nothing wrong, at all, with an artist not wanting to share methods they've perfected in their art, which puts food on their table. Despite what so many people think, not all art is just a DIY hobby. ART CAN BE, AND IS, A REAL JOB THAT PEOPLE RELY ON TO SURVIVE. So why would an artist want just give away their hard earned methods that help put food on the table for free?

Anyway... I hate the term "gatekeeping", now. I'm sick of watching friends be attacked because they don't want to give away their time and knowledge to every person that asks for free. I'm tired of getting chewed out in DM'S or comments because I won't troubleshoot every single question someone who is trying to replicate my pieces has. Google is free. YouTube is free. Do your research and figure out like so, so many people before you have done. I promise it's more rewarding than badgering someone to do all the legwork for you.

Anyway, thanks for coming to my TED talk

[chutkiandchotte]

The Alia/Ranbir Conversation

To begin with, I need to eye roll several times about how this entire issue has snowballed based on pure speculation. I personally believe this type of speculation is harmful - no matter what the truth is. I get that a few people are coming from a place of concern and good faith, but the majority seem to be participating in this discussion in a completely tactless and insensitive way, with no care that THESE ARE REAL PEOPLE not fictional characters, first of all, and secondly, the issue at hand is abuse which requires a certain amount of sensitivity to discuss. Even if you don't give two hoots about the trials and tribulations of rich, famous Bollywood stars...you are nevertheless participating in a conversation about abuse. Your thoughts on this topic have a good chance of reaching the ears of people in real life abusive situations; victims, abusers, and others who have the capacity to help. Your words on such topics are not merely words. They have a capacity to do harm or good that directly impacts people.

So keeping that in my mind, I want have a little rant today about why, in all of these conversations about toxic/abusive men in Bollywood and their partners, do we ALWAYS center the women and HER behavior, her flaws, her mistakes, again and again and again? What did SHE do, what is HER problem, WHY does she endure this...a hyper focus on HER character. And over and over again, the refrain of "why didn't she leave?".

There's barely any acknowledgement of the tremendous difficulties women in such relationships have to content with. If you are going to talk about abusive dynamics, then you damn well better talk from a place of information and understanding, not judgement and derision. Yet in the larger public discussions, there is zero empathy. Surviving a toxic relationship, with abusive dynamics, is extremely difficult for reasons that an outsider would not easily be able to understand. Remember, the view from inside out is WAY different from outside in. For example, many of these women now have kids with these toxic men. When kids get involved, they bring with them the weight of desi social conditioning, times ten, to keep a woman in a situation that is against her every personal happiness. It gets incredibly emotionally complicated to navigate. They might have had to weigh the happiness of their family against their own dignity, even safety, at so many different points in their life.

But none of this matters in front of the fact that she is a woman. And therefore MUST have done something to deserve it. ( /s) A popular blame thrown about is that she was "dumb" enough to fall in love with an obviously toxic, potentially abusive guy. So therefore, everything that happened subsequently, is her bed to lie in. A real psychopathic take IMO but really popular too! So, she made a mistake with her choice of husband and love; maybe she was "stupid" in love. But did the punishment fit the crime? A lifetime of heart break, emotional abuse, and tough choices! And all we can do is mock her, apparently. Yeah, not everybody is a perfect victim like we'd like them to be. Not everybody is on the same point in the angelic scale; some are more flawed, or self destructive, than others. That STILL doesn't make them worthy of blame for other people's controlling or abusive actions.

Why did they stay, why did they stay, why did they stay - society loves to scream this as an accusation, but are we ready to hear the real reason? It is a very emotionally loaded question and the answer might just be too devastating to comprehend for the majority of us. "Oh, she never once tried to get out" is lobbied as an insult - how on earth can you know this? What do you know about what they might have tried or not? What stopped them? What their partners might have done to stop them (for the kids custody, to avoid paying alimony etc etc).

That's part of the problem. The sad/pitying/mocking tone of talking about her, the focus on her as if she alone is to blame for all of this? Like this latest conversation about Ralia is all speculation. But even within that murky realm, it seems logical to focus on the flaws and mistakes of the person we all are imagining as the perpetrator, Ranbir. If you're so hell bent on speculation at all, why not speculate about the man, then??? We are always so very concerned with what SHE did wrong, as opposed to what HE did. But the attitude towards him is like OF COURSE he is like that (because boys will be boys), but SHE should have known better. If Ranbir got 25% of the mocking over this controversy that Alia did, maybe next time the next Bollywood asshole will think twice before acting in this way.

And I want to reiterate that it's really not about Ranbir Alia and whatever their relationship is actually like. Unfounded speculation serves no purpose. But for me, the more relevant matter is how this all has highlighted the way we talk about female abuse victims in this country. The derision and the subtle tone of "she deserved it" for her; and for him, unlimited forgiveness and unlimited chances to prove himself a better man.

If we can't give these women empathy - then at least let us not give them blame. If we can't understand them, at least let's not disrespect them.