#Remove pirated content service

[unboundprompts]

Pirate Terms and Phrases

-> Pirate Lingo

-> A Pirate's Glossary

Batten Down The Hatches - tie everything down and put stuff away for a coming storm.

Brig - a prison on a ship.

Bring a Spring Upon 'er - turn the ship in a different direction

Broadside - the most vulnerable angle of a ship that runs the length of the boat.

Cutlass - a thick, heavy and rather short sword blade.

Dance with Jack Ketch - to hang; death at the hands of the law (Jack Ketch was a famed English executioner).

Davy Jones's Locker - a mythical place at the bottom of the ocean where drowned sailors are said to go.

Dead Men Tell No Tales - the reason given for leaving no survivors.

Flogging - severe beating of a person.

Gangplank - removable ramp between the pier and ship.

Give No Quarter - show no mercy.

Jack - flag flown at the front of the ship to show nationality.

Jolly Roger - black pirate flag with a white skull and crossbones.

Keelhaul - a punishment where someone is dragged under the ship. They are cut by the planks and barnacles on the bottom of the ship.

Landlubber - an inexperienced or clumsy person who doesn't have any sailing skills.

Letters of Marque - government-issued letters allowing privateers the right to piracy of another ship during wartime.

Man-O-War - a pirate ship that is decked out and prepared for battle.

Maroon - to leave someone stranded on a. deserted island with no supplies, typically a punishment for any crew members who disrespected the captain.

Mutiny - a situation in which the crew chooses a new captain, sometimes by forcibly removing the old one.

No Prey, No Pay - a common pirate law that meant crew members were not paid, but rather received a share of whatever loot was taken.

Old Salt - experienced pirate or sailor.

Pillage - to steal/rob a place using violence.

Powder Monkeys - men that performed the most dangerous work on the ship. They were treated harshly, rarely paid, and were expendable.

Privateer - government-appointed pirates.

Run A Shot Across the Bow - fire a warning shot at another boat's Captain.

Scurvy - a disease caused by Vitamin C Deficiency.

Sea Legs - when a sailor adjusts his balance from riding on a boat for a long time.

Strike Colors - lower a ship's flag to indicate surrender.

Weigh Anchor and Hoist the Mizzen - an order to the crew to pull up the anchor and get the ship sailing.

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[mrkestis]

Star Wars: The Living Force - John Jackson Miller

A Star Wars Book Review

(Spoiler-free with spoiler section)

Summary: The members of the Jedi council devote their lives to serving the cosmic force, working for the good of the galaxy as a whole. But some Jedi, like master Qui-Gon Jinn, suggest that they have become too isolated on Coruscant, too far removed from the living force and the individuals the Republic is supposed to protect.

Taking Qui-Gon’s claims into consideration, the entire Jedi council travels to Kwenn, a planet at the edge of the Republic which the Jedi saved from ecological collapse 200 years ago. There they will hold a great celebration, connect with the people once more, and maybe fight some pirates along the way.

Rating: 3,75⭐️

My thoughts (spoiler-free):

Characters, characters and more characters! This book follows every single member of the Jedi council one year before the Phantom Menace, as well as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. I finally got my Yaddle and Oppo Rancissis content which made me incredibly happy. There were also a lot of cameos and mentions of characters, even super small ones like a background officer from the Empire Strikes back.

The only council member POV I could’ve done without is Ki-Adi-Mundi. His ego is so bloated, his worldview is so narrow and every time he opens his mouth I just get more annoyed.

Surprisingly, this was a quiet Depa Billaba centric book. And Mace Windu is just always in the background missing his daughter…uh I mean former Padawan. The unexpected highlight was Yarael Poof, because he’s absolutely hilarious. He’s just old and bored, so now he’s decided that playing pranks on his fellow Jedi and always engaging in sarcastic banter is the will of the Force. I absolutely loved it when he was around Ki-Adi-Mundi, because he’s always nagging Mundi for shits and giggles.

It was fun to see what Jedi actually do on a day to day basis during peace time. Their shenanigans include, but are not limited to: teaching art class, running a taxi service, wildlife preservation, therapy (including couples counselling), flirting, swimming with whales and cleaning horder houses. Absolutely amazing content give me ten more.

When it comes to new characters most of them are pirates, and they’re the main antagonists of the story. I found that part of plot just fine, but it’s not what I was here for. During some pirate scenes I was just wishing that I could spend more time reading about Yarael Poof making fun of Ki-Adi-Mundi’s head shape. One little detail I loved about the pirate character Zilastra though, was that she used a Sabbacc deck almost as tarot cards.

I liked the conversation about the cosmic vs living force. The Jedi council wants to be out there, connecting with individuals, but they have a responsibility to the wider galaxy that keeps them from doing that. And that’s fine!

I think the book had a good balance between criticism of the Jedi and showing exactly why they’re good an necessary. And to people who think Jedi criticism shouldn’t exist at all…that’s the point of the prequels! They chronicle the fall of the Republic, the Jedi and Anakin Skywalker. It doesn’t matter how good the Jedi are, because the Sith spend hundreds of years orchestrating a masterplan to bring them down. They manipulated the corporations, the senate and the populace, until Palpatine was the litteral chancellor and could influence the Jedi’s actions. The Clone Wars were led by Sith on both sides, designed to make the dark side cloud the Force and the Jedi bend their morals. Even when they fight for a good cause it plays right into Sith’s plan. The negative public opinion was also part of the scheme, because it would make order 66 go over more smoothly. When order 66 happens and the empire rises it’s a tragedy, and things aren’t set completely right again until the Empire is brought down and the Jedi return. Criticism and Jedi goodness can coexist. Besides, if the Jedi were 100% perfect the entire time the story wouldn’t be as interesting.

I also have to mention the absolutely stunning cover. 10/10, no notes.

My thoughts (SPOILERS AHEAD!):

I got my Sifo-Dyas content…but why did it have to be that he didn’t follow recruiting procedures and caused undue harm? It’s just another symptom of his visions of doom that he didn’t get enough help for. Can someone please save him from the horrors?

On another note, here comes a recollection of some scenes I found absolutely hilarious. Firstly, the scene where Eeth Koth has to take a call from a criminal he gave his number to, and he just says it’s a woman he knows because he doesn’t want to say she’s a pirate. Yarael Poof answers with: ”Eeth Koth knows a woman?!” and tries to eavesdrop on the call. I love that he’s just an old man messing with the youth. I can picture his long neck rounding a corner to listen in on the conversation. Peak characterisation, give me more.

Secondly I have to mention Ki-Adi-Mundi and his flavourless ice cream cone. If there ever was a better metaphor for his character I haven’t found it. Also, someone needs to draw his disguise with metal studs around his head. Preferably with him looking grumpy and Yarael laughing and pointing in the background.

On the topic of what people need to draw, please can someone draw Yaddle on a speeder bike that looks like a Harley Davidson motorcycle, as well as Even Piel with rats hanging from his ears.

Lastly, I can’t get over the fact that the Jedi foiled the pirate’s schemes with Yoda’s backwards talking. I laughed out loud on the bus.

[aziraphales-library]

Hey! Thank you so much for all the amazing you do…!

I just wondered if you had any good recommendations for fics with audio options?

Thanks!!

Hello! I assume by audio options you mean podfics? We have a #podfic tag with a few. I don't listen to them myself, but here are some fics I've read and loved that have podfics available...

[Podfic] Petrichor & Parchment by Literarion (E)

“Mr. Crowley, I presume?” Aziraphale asked in lieu of an introduction, which was not forthcoming. The guy hadn’t even removed his sunglasses. Oh God, he had a tattoo on his face. Aziraphale wasn’t one to judge, but… what kind of gardener had a snake tattoo on his face?

[Podfic] Summer's End by Literarion (E)

2095. Britain is a post-apocalyptic wasteland ravaged by droughts, the collapse of civilisation, and hordes of the undead. Despite that, Aziraphale’s life is actually pretty good. He has his caravan, his books, and his work, offering his services to the men who stop by Tadfield on their arduous journey north. One day, a mysterious stranger knocks on his door. Crowley is charming and handsome and he appears to know his way around a vegetable garden. He comes with the tempting offer of a mutually beneficial arrangement. But it’s in Aziraphale’s best interest not to get too attached. A dystopian cottagecore sex worker AU.

[Multivoice Podfic] Choose Your Princes Wisely by Multiple (T)

“There’s an enchanted castle West in the Hellian slopes, and apparently it comes with a prince looking for a bride or bridegroom to free him from a dark fae’s curse.” “I see,” Aziraphale says finally, when he realizes both Gabriel and Uriel are staring at him expectantly. “You want me to marry a beast?” Gabriel's mouth flattens. “I want you to take this gods’ blessed opportunity to secure your family’s future for good." OR Aziraphale is a professional quest hero who just wants to sit by the fire and read a book, if his overbearing family will ever let him; Crowley is a serpent demon who needs a gullible hero he can con into gathering some critical ingredients for a human corporation spell. Hijinks and a lot of terribly inconvenient feelings ensue.

[Podfic] Something to do with these sacred words by nantook (T)

Crowley confesses early, and Crowley confesses often. Aziraphale never knows quite what to say.

[Podfic] Right Here by Im_Not_Occult (E)

Although Aziraphale has sensed Crowley's love for millennia, after their trials he decides to be honest about his own feelings. So desperate to finally be close, Aziraphale doesn't anticipate that physical intimacy might be rather overwhelming for an ethereal being in a human body. He has wonderfully transcendent celestial experiences that take him away from the moment with Crowley. Together, he and Crowley discover a new level of intimacy as they try to work out this issue--and the shape of their new Arrangement. Featuring: 16k words of unrepentant softness, open conversations about sex, ethereal and human intimacy, a certain promised picnic, and a little bit of bickering between hereditary enemies.

[Fic & Podfic] Press L in the Chat (for Love) by Multiple (E)

Bickering fan-content creators Aziraphale and Crowley only have three things in common — they are both avid fans of a new revolutionary TV series about pirates, they are popular for their fantastic fanfiction and fanart… and they are members of the same discord server. Neither of them likes the other, but across the chaotic virtual world of a discord chatroom, who knows what can happen when these two unlikely fans are paired up for an exciting collaboration? Us. We know ;) Discord Server AU — a collaboration between Phoenix_Soar (fic) and Djapchan (multivoice podfic organization & editing) for Pod-Together 2022

- Mod D

[cherryaire]

The point of piracy is not making money off someone's content. It's about preserving media. The internet is NOT forever and companies of all sizes refuse to make physical media anymore because then that means they can't charge you to keep watching or listening to whatever it is. They can also remove whatever the hell they want from your access whether you've paid for it or not. The Playstation store can just make games you've paid for nonaccessible anymore and because you don't have the physical copy, congrats. They just stole the game you paid for out of your hands.

Unless it's a very small company who relies on things like backers to fund projects or they're a small one man operation, piracy is always ethical.

Without piracy, thousands upon thousands of things would have been lost, especially with the way streaming services are just straight up deleting shows. It's to the point that the actual creators of these shows (the owl house comes to mind) are telling you to pirate it because they don't want it to be lost ever.

The multimillion dollar corporation is going to be just fine if you pirate that thing. Stop giving money to companies that can and will fuck you over for an extra buck.

[wildfire-society]

alright! we've got a new blog here, so i wanted to start things out by saying i'm dedicating the month of May to be my own little Piracy Month!

i hate how dependent the average joe schmoe is on multi-billion dollar corps just to get a chance at enjoying the media he wants to enjoy. even if you pay to use the service, you are by no means guaranteed access to what you pay for all the time. streaming services like netflix and disney+ sunset and vault content all the time, with no consideration for the end user at all. even with gamers, you can pay $70 for a game and if steam decides to remove that game from steam's library, you're now down $70 AND you don't have the game.

fuck these corporations for essentially forcing us to be dependent on them just to enjoy things. i'm gonna take things into my own hands and start building up my own storage of PHYSICAL media, and these corpos aren't getting a cent outta me for it. i'm gonna pirate my favorite shows, movies, games, etc. and give my money to those who actually deserve it, like if i bought an artist's album off bandcamp or smth like that. and i'm gonna put em on physical media: mp3 players, cd's, etc. so that way, even if these twats decide to sunset EVERYTHING and fuck everyone over, i'll still have my own little slice of physical enjoyment, that NO ONE can take from me!

it's time to sail the high seas

[thefloatingstone]

How would you reconcile being OK with piracy and wanting to support actors and writers?

Actors and writers constantly tell people to pirate their work because, unlike streaming services, they actually want you to SEE their work.

Actors get paid by the studios who hire them and, thanks to how fucked up the streaming industry is, they don't get residuals because streaming services purposefully remove shows before they have to pay the actors so they don't have to PAY those residuals. And then the show is killed in the process. So even if you watch the show legally you're not contributing to the actors or writers financially. They've already been paid.

The only reason to watch a show legally is to show the streaming service you are interested in that particular content which encourages them to consider making more.

As for me personally;

1: I live in Africa where 90% of these streaming services are not available. I can't even access fucking Tubi.

2: one dollar is worth R18 meaning I can afford to subscribe to one streaming service but I literally do not have the income to commit to more because they are priced for countries that have money.

Watching a show, talking about it, saying how much you liked it on social media, making art, making fanfics, making videos and whatever else you do to spread the word of mouth about a show or movie or game is a thousand times more valuable than making sure Netflix shareholders are still getting their 70 year record profit margin while you have to figure out how to pay for HBO+ and also afford food this month.

Don't set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.

[c1trvswurld]

Pirating media is like sooooooo bad bro why would anyone want to pirate their favorite TV shows and books and stuff. Especially if the creator(s) is a pos why would you NOT suck it up and pay for that content. Why would you NOT just accept the fact that even if you pay you don't actually have the content and that these streaming services can just...like, remove your fave shows despite the fact that you got it just to watch that show in the first place.

[rydengg]

Legitimate question coming from honest cluelessness...what's the difference between reblogging studio porn gifs and reblogging gifs from any movie or TV show?

it really isn't a comparable thing.

like think about seeing a movie/TV gif. even if there's no source or tagging or anything, the nature of popular media being standardly credited to the people who've worked on that piece of media make it far easier to source. every tv show and movie you watch has extensive credits. there are a number of things you could search just about the gif that would inherently link back to the source material either by context or by the folks that made whatever was so eye-catching about that gif special. you will inherently be able to credit most of the film and tv gifs you see. even small time actors enjoy a level of recognition by the public so they will likely always be shown proper credit for their work.

porn has never gotten the same respect due to the vicious cycle the devaluation of the service has created. the countless names who've put work into the studio porn you love will never have the same crediting no matter how good the studio is about it. people who believe the hard work of sex workers should be a free service always have pirated studio content knowing the rampant ignorance toward porn piracy will pretty much guarantee they'll get away with it. then, that pirated chopped up sliver of the film gets taken and reposted over and over and over again until the source is impossible to find. that has set a standard where people see pirated content and just assume it being sourceless is the nature of the industry and perpetuate it further. most mainstream porn studios have done absolutely nothing to stop this in the past because they'll always make their money back anyway. the performer in the pirated video/gif will likely never get credit on a majority of the pirated content featuring them. we do not enjoy a wide level of public recognition or even recognition by many of the people who gleefully consume our content. the few folks that actually DO respect the labor put in often cannot find us because everything is 15 layers removed from the source.

when you share an unsourced movie gif, you aren't doing anything to distance that media that far from the source. it's inherently respected and credited well. every time you reblog a stolen porn video or gif, you're actively participating in distancing the content from the source. piracy from adult content creators is, for some reason, seen as the norm. as long as well-meaning folks remain ignorant of the truth of how truly undercredited adult content is, it's never going to get any better.

[satansapostle6]

love and blood | killian jones

The course of history is changed forever when a ruggedly charming pirate’s fate is intertwined with that of a dark sorceress more powerful than any he had ever encountered.

Warnings: Violence. Mature themes/language. Sexual content.

IV. Dark Ones

V. The Witch’s Champion

Killian Jones watched with curiosity as Gorgon the supposedly Invincible rose to his feet as he offered his services to the Blood Queen.

“Thank you for your allegiance, Gorgon,” her silky voice responded. “It will not go unrewarded.”

The sorceress slowly waved two bejeweled fingers in front of the man, as, just for a split second, all of the veins in his body seemingly glowed bright red with magic. Gorgon gasped in surprise, looking upon his savior with an almost naive sense of wonder.

“What have you done?” he asked her.

“It would appear I’ve removed that nasty blood curse of yours,” she provided, only to be met with confusion. “I have a knack for that sort of magic,” she explained.

“I don’t understand,” Gorgon breathed, “No sorcerer, or sorceress, of course, has eved been able to find a cure for the curse placed upon me.”

“Like I said; blood magic is kind of my specialty,” Carmilla remarked coyly.

“An understatement,” the man stared. “Your gift is quite remarkable.”

“And now, you, too, are free to use your gift,” she reminded him.

Hook instinctively looked to his companion for an explanation, not knowing much about this Gorgon character.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Gorgon told her.

“Back when those hunters were stalking you… You took the form of a pheasant. That blood curse that was placed upon you, it made it so that you were unable to control what form you take, or when. I’ve made it so that not only are you free of that curse, but you’re free to harness your ability to take whatever shape you desire,” she answered.

“My fair lady!” Gorgon gasped. “If what you say is true, I owe you more than I could ever repay!”

“As I said before. You owe me nothing,” Carmilla promised, “Except, of course, your services as my champion.”

“Anything,” he nodded quickly. “Now. Tell me more about this for that plagues you.”

Hook stood by Carmilla’s side as the bird remained perched on her shoulder, anxiously awaiting the development of this particular endeavor. He was slowly growing tired of Gorgon and his relentless flattery.

“The man I wish to defeat is a very powerful sorcerer; the most powerful,” she replied. “He holds the title of ‘Dark One’.”

Hook watched Gorgon’s reaction and realized this meant nothing to him. This should be interesting, he thought.

“His powers are unique?” Gorgon considered.

Carmilla nodded. “Very much so. He is, as you’ve probably gathered, a conduit of darkness itself. He’s powerful, immortal, and can only be killed by one weapon.”

“And where do we find this weapon?” Gorgon asked readily.

Hook could tell Carmilla was loving his vigilance on her behalf. It was very convenient.

“That’s the tricky part; he keeps it safely guarded,” she stated, “He’s never far from it.”

“And there’s no other weapon that can kill him?”

“Even if there was, it’s imperative you kill him with his dagger,” she emphasized, “Because if you kill him with that dagger, you take his place as Dark One.”

Gorgon considered this for a moment, processing everything he’d just heard.

“I’d be immortal?” he asked her.

Carmilla nodded. “You’d be more powerful than any sorcerer in all the realms. Including myself.”

“Forgive me for asking, my lady,” he began, “But I don’t quite see why you need me. Would it not be better if you simply killed this ‘Dark One’ yourself, and took his place?”

Hook raised an eyebrow as he turned to Carmilla, fully aware that whatever she was about to tell this man was a complete lie; Carmilla needed a champion to kill Dunstan for her and take the mantle of Dark One purely because even she knew, in all her vindictive and power-hungry glory, that the title of Dark one was not one to be coveted.

“You see, Gorgon, I’ve already come quite close to achieving immortality, as well as eternal youth,” she explained, not yet lying. “I’m over a thousand years old, for starters.”

Gorgon was at the point of shamelessly open-mouth staring at her.

“Y-You’re a thousand years old?!” he blurted out.

“Yes, I am,” she nodded, “You see, I chose to seek out a knight in shining armor, so to speak, because I have already harnessed my power. Now, it’s your turn. To become the fearsome shapeshifter you were always meant to be, and to fulfill your destiny as the next and final Dark One,” she finished with a sweet, deceptive smile.

The enticing look on her face was completely foreign to Hook. He even started to wonder if Carmella truly was completely honest with him solely because it seemed this is what it looked like when she lied.

“‘Fearsome’?” he wondered. “I could truly become Gorgon the Invincible?”

“You can, mate,” Hook nodded. “All you have to do is come with us.”

Gorgon thought for a moment, never having been faced with such a choice in his life.

“These shapeshifting powers… They’ve never made the others see me as any sort of champion,” he thought. “I’ve only ever been an outcast; a monster, or a weakling.”

“That all changes today,” Carmilla promised. “Now that your curse is lifted, you don’t have to live in fear. You don’t have to be the helpless pheasant anymore; you could choose to be whatever you like. A flighty hawk, a noble steed, or even a fire-breathing wart hog; whatever it is your heart desires.”

“A fire-breathing wart hog?” Gorgon pondered.

“Sky’s the limit,” Hook nodded.

It only took him a moment to side with Carmilla.

“I will do as you ask, my lady,” Gorgon announced with resolved, hand over his heart. “I will become the next Dark One.”

“Oh, I know you will,” Carmilla agreed, grinning uncontrollably.

*****

After a bit of coaching, Gorgon was able to used his newly discovered magical abilities to transport himself, Carmilla, and Hook to his home in the blink of an eye in a cloud of emerald green smoke. He had insisted upon preparing a meal for her his guests, which left Hook and Carmilla to sit at his table, which was large enough for four but was used to sitting one.

“Might I ask you something, Carmilla?” Hook piped up after a moment.

“If I said no, I’m sure you’d just ask anyway,” she reasoned pointedly.

“Fair enough.”

“So ask,” she said impatiently.

“Back there, in the forest,” he began, having been contemplating for a while. “You were able to rid Gorgon, a shapeshifter, of his curse.”

“I was.”

“So, why were you never able to cure Col?” Hook wondered.

He watched Carmilla’s jaw clench as the raven cawed quietly, head turned towards her. This was one of the moments where Hook particularly wished he could understand the bird. Carmilla lightly cleared her throat before speaking.

“The witch who cursed him knew my magic well,” she answered, surprising earnestly.

There was no petty irritation or sarcasm in her words.

“She knew that if she cursed him using blood magic, I would never be able to undo it. No matter what I did. The magic she was able to do was, admittedly, impressive. Even to me. Powerful stuff,” she confessed. “Not only did she make the curse impermeable, but… she managed to tether it to his life force.”

“How do you mean?” Killian asked quietly.

He watched the discomfort appear on her face for a split second before she composed herself.

“Even if I did find a way to break Col’s curse…” Carmilla told him.

He frowned sympathetically.

“He’d die.”

Her story finally made everything make sense to Hook. Now, it made even more sense to him. Carmilla, the all-powerful blood magic practitioner, couldn’t break the curse that plagued her husband because he’d die if she did. She kept him alive in his cursed raven form only because it was better than losing him altogether. The story, he thought, truly was a tragic one.

“So now you understand,” Carmilla read the expression of pity on his face, “Why his curse is the only one I cannot break.”

He nodded sadly, trying to come up with something better to offer. He looked at her, with Col sitting perched on her shoulder. The bird refused to look at her now, and even though to him it was just a bird, Killian Jones still knew the look of a man who resented his wife.

“How about we digress,” he suggested, his demeanor more playful once again, “And I ask you the other question on my mind.”

“By all means,” Carmilla allowed, seeming somewhat withdrawn.

“Why, pray tell,” Hook leaned in as he stared into her dark eyes, “Wouldn’t you, a powerful sorceress, jump at the opportunity to become the Dark One?” he murmured.

Carmilla just laughed at the idea. “Why, pirate?” she said mockingly. “Do I not frighten you enough?”

“Oh, you frighten me plenty,” he assured her. “I just don’t understand why that kind of unlimited power, and unbridled dark magic wouldn’t appeal to you.”

“Simple,” she murmured, careful to make sure Gorgon wasn’t in earshot. “I’m powerful; perhaps one of the most powerful practitioners of magic in all the realms. I’ve lived for over a thousand years all on my own. Becoming the Dark One would make the dagger my weakness, and I simply don’t need one of those,” she replied simply.

Hook understood her point, agreeing that it was prudent of her not to choose to become the Dark One, as convenient as it would be for him in his quest to exact his revenge upon the current Dark One in their time, Rumplestiltskin.

-

[bountiesofkian]

who?: open to all where?: some dark back alley on caribella when?: during all that aventia stuff you know kian didn’t give a shit

When someone drowned themselves in liquor, it was only natural to help them out. The Dreadnought was familiar with drunk pirates and how to heal them. With Dr. Blythe hovering out from beneath his cloak, restoring the liver was hardly a challenge, however his services weren't. The poor man was too drunk to consent to care and was in no position to negotiate pricing, so The Dreadnought collected what he thought was fair all on his own. Bladder, intestines, kidney, lungs, each organ removed surgically and placed into his mysterious case while Dr. Blythe kept the drunken pirate alive through the entire operation even as his internal cavity became barren.

He was content leaving the liver behind while keeping the remaining organs as payment. He would’ve removed the ribcage as well if not for sensing the approach of an observer. He wasn’t one for putting on a show so The Dreadnought slowly rose to his feet, ending the spell that conjured Dr. Blythe from his flesh as he slowly turned to face the onlooker. With the same careful, sluggish movements, he brought his fingers to his throat to modulate his voice. The Dreadnought didn’t take chances. “This poor man drank himself to death. How unfortunate,” he says, the temporary vocal cords he wove distorting the pitch of his words, making his voice impossible to recognize. “I did all I could for him, but I’m not a miracle worker. What a shame.”

[luigiblood]

Game Ownership

In sort of a response to the Ubisoft director of subscriptions where he said that we need to get more confortable not owning games...

Well, reading that interview from GamesIndustry.biz, turns out he never really said that. It's more of an observation of the gaming subscription services, and comparing different views. It's actually a pretty interesting read.

But the negative response to the more clickbait part where the gamers went very much against this from the get go was something that particularly striked me as how I really just didn't feel like I was part of those who responded like this.

I do not care about owning games that much. I may be a owner of retro consoles, games, and about 50 Switch physical games, but the reasons ranges from passion to just practical and economical.

Taking the example of the Switch, what currently makes me attached to physical games are more of how it's usually cheaper in my country (like, first party games day one tend to be 25% off brand new), and the practicality when you live in a household with 2 Switch systems, it's just easier to share the games that way with your family. If I could just buy digitally with the same advantages, I'd just do that.

This view on game ownership has mostly to do with my past of a guy who pirated games and movies like crazy before we got a little more comfortable paying for stuff. But this past also comes with a deeper importance on the presence of data locally. Cloud gaming is something I hate on passionately if the industry keeps going on that as a means to play games exclusively. It would be the kind of thing that would make my heart broken about modern gaming as a whole, but thankfully we're not even close to there, and I suspect we'll never be.

But I could also not need to pay for the games, I don't really see a lack of ownership as a problem on its own. The only thing that matters is if it's practical or not, and that's the part that feels like it tends to be skipped when explained. That's how it went about movies and music.

That practicality is critical, and that is the part that's the most in danger. The big reason why is how companies can decide on a whim what is accessible to suit their needs. That WILL be completely in the process of enshittification due to how companies have to keep growing until it makes no more sense. You don't even need to look very far to understand this, video streaming services are already very good at doing absolutely this, but I also dare say the Game Pass and PlayStation Plus are on a similar boat to a different extent, though.

One of the recent examples of how bad shit is HBO Max's removal of a huge amount of content just for a massive tax write down. There is financial incentive to fuck us all, and I consider the future to do absolutely that in the long term for gaming.

That kind of thing SUCKS. That is what we're actually scared of as a consumer. I hate seeing art being considered as a throwaway product.

I even saw a french article that was so complacent with this and kept saying complete bullshit things like "oh if they remove that game from the service, just take it as an opportunity to play another one" just, fuck off. That's not how I see this kind of service.

I love Nintendo Switch Online, despite a lot of its flaws, and hate on Virtual Console's overall legacy personally. I'm all for ways to allow discoverability and pick the curiosity of people. That's the kind of shit that I love in having some ease of access to catalogs, despite not owning them.

Wasn't it the dream to just access to everything with less money though? Don't tell me otherwise because I wouldn't believe you. I do think there's something nice in this kind of service, but we also need to figure how to keep companies from the inevitable enshittification that will ensue on the constant need for growth beyond any reasonable sense.

[thisbelongsto-nohbodys]

Hopefully by the time Marcy’s webcomic becomes a cartoon, streaming services will stop removing content for tax write offs.

Considering that it’d be in the 2030s by the time it airs, I’d hope that all this current bs of studios fucking over writers and fans would be over or at least at a pause.

Either way I could see Marcy pulling a Dana Terrance and pirate her own show. (Or what I did and downloaded all of Sym-Bionic Titan and keep it on a flash drive to later burn on a dvd so I can have it forever and there’s nothing CN/Zazlav can do about it)

She’d have seen all this bs and make sure to prepare and preserve

[mystwood-rp]

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[uniiiquehecrt]

Voltron is being removed from Netflix on December 7th. For some reason. Thought this show was a Netflix exclusive

TFW i said "good"

But honestly, thinking about it, that's really god-awful, and speaks volumes about how the streaming service standard is pretty flawed, all things considered. Streales of ming services were MEANT to be an avenue for people who didn't have the capacity to buy physical copies of a show or movie to still have access to it. But when a streaming service makes an original creation, and then proceeds to take it down, that means ALL access to that creation - at least through legal means - ceases to exist entirely.

This goes the same for content that is otherwise 'out of print', as it were. I've heard tales of some shows and movies going completely off the radar, and if it weren't for pirating and archival services, they'd have completely been lost from the record. There are STILL instances like that.

Luckily, VLD is at least popular enough that I'm sure it exists in a myriad of places, but I do feel bad for the audience that isn't able to get physical copies and who may not know much about archives or pirating to be able to get their mitts on it either.

Netflix continues to make dubious decisions and it shows every time I hear any sort of news about it.

[eucalyptus-gl0bulus]

predictions for 2024:

someone's gonna piss on white house property but not in the toilet

joe biden and trump die of old age mere months before the election and both of the single party that americans have two of have to scramble for new candidates. the democrats will ignore bernie for a borderline republican who will change their allegiance the moment they get into office (assuming a democrat win)

Ronald Dion Desantis and Greg Abbott get the Shinzo Abe Experience (and the republican party starts caring about gun violence over this) (but only removing the guns from the hands of the minority groups that did the shootings)

Anthony Albanese will eat a food wildly incorrectly (such as a raw onion) and Baldi's Basics in Running a Political Party will do a silly dance in parliament because he is defending a corporation. the news companies will only cover one of these.

Captain Ancap will actually try selling Argentina's president seat to Elon Musk and there's a coin flip chance of him accepting it and somehow running it about the same

At least 2 African nations will legalize slavery

Joe Biden actually tries to raise the minimum wage as a last minute fuck you to his party. it hits 9 us dollars per hour. this is still not enough to pay rent in any city.

Nintendo announces a new switch, but there is a glaring issue with the name that makes it sound like an accessory for the original (like the WII U being mistaken for a gamepad add on for the wii)

Another Ubisoft sandbox that's as boring as the last. It magically makes it into the game awards

There is a new indie game that's cool until it hits the elsagate market and becomes skibidi dop dop dop yes yes skibidi dop dop nyeem nyeem levels of dogshit. the developers lean into it and change things already in the game to fit this, leaving the ideal way to play as a pirated copy of the first release version.

Mario Kart 9 is announced for the Switch 2. The retro courses have a lot of MKDS and MKWII's courses (nitro and retro) and yoshi circuit gets the shortcut back from double dash

Valve makes an agreement with Epic to let Fortnite on Steam. They also release a major TF2 update with new Valve-made content that isn't a scrapped map from 2010 that they reskinned. It's got Cactus Canyon on top of the new map, with an extra few cacti because it will have gone through more versions. Beta Maps get added to the Casual map queue under their own. Player Destruction gets added to the core casual queue and the invasion maps get put into the right categories. Medieval Mode gets new maps. VSH is put into a new "arcade" mode.

TF2 Casual's Core Modes and Alternative Modes are combined, but the ultrawacky modes are shoved into arcade. There's a case for valve items and war paints, and a case for community items, and a community war paint case. This results in a bug with Unusual skins with the seasonal hat effects and Unusual hats with the skin effects. Competitive resets every year now and gives a badge for your rank.

This update also includes a Fortnite-Themed set for scout/heavy that comes in genuine for linking a Fortnite account subscribed to the Crew service. The entire update is actually a promotion for Fortnite coming to steam and the TF2 collab.

Additional Fortnite collabs include Guilty Gear (Asphalt/Brisket/Sol/Ky) and Touhou. The Nintendo Collab has Link and Samus (with zero suit style) and this causes news headlines to come out because gregor samsus has the bulge (suddenly this is an issue because they need clicks)

The Zero Suit style and the Skyward Sword link styles are locked behind playing on a Switch/Switch 2, depending on when they come out and the switches dont actually render the bulge on samus (cringe)

An Australian Politician (Male) will have to stop campaigning against trans people for a second because one of the women he sucked off recorded it and posted it on tiktok. He will then switch entirely to an anti-CCP angle to try and blast tiktok and distract from the fact he did the homophobic politician thing

Sussan Ley will have her office sign griefed to say SUS. The nearby Cafe's incredibly blank wall that needs a mural finally gets one (it's amongus)

There will be 3 Homestuck books donated to my local library and I will not know any of the people who did it.

a trans man comes 1st in a major competition and this is going to be ignored just like every other time because it doesnt fit the media narrative of "trans women upend their entire lives to get an advantage in sports and trans men simply do not exist"

One of those robot police dogs shoots an on duty officer and becomes the first good police dog.

Kamala Harris' Registeel falls onto train tracks and damages a train in the process of being destroyed.

Weed is federally legalized in the USA, Australia and Scotland, which secedes from the UK to rejoin Europe. Wales and Northern Ireland also secede from england and the Irelands reunite.

England becomes increasingly bad for trans people but scotland, wales, and the newly reunified ireland start going hard on the trans support, opening a new informed consent clinic every month.

Western australia sees the kingdom ununiting and tries to secede from the rest of australia. It almost gets through before someone remembers it exists and stops it.

Dr Egghead from one piece tells Luffy that he has autism right at the end of the Egghead Island arc, to nobody's surprise. Nami officially comes out as lesbian and this almost kills Brook and Sanji (i love brook until he does the sexual harassment. sanji is irredeemable.)

A new anime with a severely autistic girl in the main character slot comes out and is an instant hit again.

Another one of my friend group comes out as trans (it's the former mcdonalds worker)

I get the job at the place half my graduating class got a job at

Panera releases the Lemonade That Kills People internationally with half the caffeine. or i can stock up on that stuff at my local american/international stores because that's 5 coffees worth of caffeine in one drink and that saves me drinking 5 whole coffees per day when working.

Shrek 5 gets a trailer and there's a reference to one of Dreamworks' bad movies (like boss baby) in it. Death makes a background appearance in a scene where Puss is near death.

Shinzo Abe's assassination continues to be the most effective strategy for making politicians do things in favour of the average person.

At least one US Supreme Court member's house is bombed, killing them.

Illumination makes more Onceler content because they think that'll make money

Every country in the UN except the 5 with veto power try to take away the veto power and replace it with the value of 10 votes each.

A 6 foot 5 girl comes out in fiction and everybody starts calling them mommy and wanting her to step on them, making every 6'5" girl uncomfortable. I request that everyone stay normal during this.

YOLO and Epic come back into common use. Epic is now an insult.

Pokemon releases a new pair of DLC for Scarlet and Violet. Between the two, people will be able to get every pokemon ever released again, meaning we finally have an answer to whether revival blessing can be used in revivecats. There is a way to reduce IVs. there is a secret superboss at the end of that second half of the second dlc pass that comes with the world champion 2023/24 team but it's level 100. It's Carmine this time and she's just been curious about what's been going on around the regions.

This pokemon DLC lets you change your furfrou's cut and it will persist until you change it again. you can deposit it into home, frustrating the people who wanted the pharaoh cut and put high value legendaries for it. Ledian gets an evolution with an absurd base stat total and the stats are actually distributed correctly. It gets a new 70 power priority Bug Punch and is surprisingly busted. More complaints about gen 9 uu looking like gen 9 ou come in.

Gina Rinehardt gets fucking killed by one of her workers who got tired of her shit

[toonabby]

Welp... (#FireDavidZaslav)

I never though of making this, but a few hours ago, Coyote Vs Acme, the most highly anticipated movie to come out the Looney Tunes, has been shelved and would not be releasing at all.

When I heard this I was confused and disappointed: "Why would they cancel this movie?" I thought to myself. "Oh right, TAXES and MONEY!" I was already aware of Zaslav's mistreatment of animation but this made me sad in particular considering that the movie was completed by the time it was cancelled.

All of those animators that have put their sweat and guts into this film for over two years. Gone. By contrast, the universally-reviled Velma got green light for a second season, while 2023's The Flash not only somehow survived cancellation, but also kept Ezra Miller - who had a lot of criminal activity throughout 2022 - as the titular character in spite of the potential legal trouble they'll get for having a convicted criminal in a role of a mainstream film, let alone still continue acting.

As I said in a comment on a YT video, any hope I had with WB and especially Zaslav is pretty much gone. Hell, I would argue that any hope I had with this year is gone. Between the abysmal beginning (the aforementioned Velma, the career-destroying scandals of Justin Roiland and Elliot Gindi, with the latter having only stared voiced acting for five months before the allegations came out, and the widespread, messy but otherwise pointless Hogwarts Legacy drama), the doubling down of Hollywood and especially WB's maltreatment of animation, several formally revered people getting exposed left and right, and tech giants making inane decisions, most notable Elon's takeover of Twitter and Reddit's API Changes, its honestly not a hyperbole or an exaggeration to say I despise this year. Not to an extent of 2020, but still pretty bad, and 2023 sucking was something I've been genuinely dreading when December of last year came.

And speaking of last year, this day marks the unfortunate first anniversary of the controversy DeviantArt got into when they decided to implement AI into their platform known for art made by actual people, NOT machines. Is every Nov. 11 going forward gonna have a company screwing over their audience and employees?

If there's one silver lining to this devastating situation, it's that the producers of said film would be able to watch it on private screenings next week. That, and the potential content leaks of said film.

At this rate, WB is dangerously close to becoming the ActiBliz of animation - a company full of greedy scumbags who take delight in screwing over their audience and their people.

To close this post off, I will no longer be supporting WB and its related content from now on (at least legally). I'll be removing my profile off of HBO Max (or rather Max) and deleting the service on my TV. I'll also remove every video from the Cartoon Network YouTube channel off my watch history even though they had nothing to do with this situation, I just don't like associating myself with a scummy company regardless of how I feel about the products themselves. That obviously doesn't mean I automatically hate anything by WB nor do I want to remove them from my history, I'm just saying is that I don't want to support anything by WB if that means I'm profiting of from the company. I'll also delete/private my fan art commemorating the company's centennial, because as I said before, I'm not respecting a company that treats its own works like disposable tools while giving other works a slap on the wrist in spite of their abysmal quality. Talk about double standards...

TL;DR: WB cancels a film that has already been completed and everyone is restoring to pirating their content, including me.

EDIT: Okay, changed my mind. I'm ONLY going to delete everything from JUST Warner Bros., the company, not the products they own. That doesn't mean I WON'T be deleting anything that celebrates the company though.

EDIT 2: Even though I'm not supporting WB anymore, I'm keeping my 100th anniversary post (at least on this site) for "archival/historical" purposes.