#your DVR

[meeedeee]

When is a library not a library? When it’s online, apparently

"If you buy a physical book, you are allowed to sell or lend it because of a legal principle known as the “first sale doctrine,” which gives the owner of a (physical) object the right to dispose of that object in whatever way they wish, regardless of copyright. The Archive argued that the same principle should protect the sale or lending of a legally purchased digital copy, pointing out that all the copies of books it lent out had previously been acquired lawfully by libraries.'...

The Internet Archive’s lawyers also pointed to a Supreme Court decision, from the nineteen eighties, ruling that using a Sony Betamax video-cassette recorder to make a copy of a TV show was fair use. The Archive argued that its digital copies of print books similarly “improved the efficiency of delivering content to one entitled to receive the content” in a way that didn’t “unreasonably encroach on the commercial entitlements of the rights holder.” "

[bluebelleisabelle]

Free G3 Monster High Episodes (to be continued)

SEASON 1

1. The Monstering or option 2 (for those who may not have access to the Nick website)

2. Food Fight or option 2 (for those who may not have access to the YouTube channel)

3. Unfinished Brain-ness or option 2 (for those who may not have access to the YouTube channel)

4. Case of the Moondays or option 2

5. Portrait of a Monster or option 2

6. Witch Hitch

7. Part of the Pack

8. That Thing You Deuce or option 2 (preferred option, as it’s through an official medium)

9. Werewolf Weekend or option 2 (same information as #8)

10. Paw-zzle Pieces or option 2 (same information as #8)

11. Nightmare Nightmore or option 2 (same information as #8)

12. Out of Step or option 2 (same information as #8)

13. Pyramid Scheme or option 2 (same information as #8)

14. What’s Up, Watzie?

15. So Familiar

16. Crushed

17. Over Bro-tective

18. Horoscare

19. Flaunt Your Skeleton

20. Creepover Party

21. Creature Clash

22. Monster Movie

23. Earworm

24. Spell the Beans

25. Growing Ghoulia

26. Casketball Jinx (same link as above)

27. Cleo in the Kitchen

28. Case of the Missing Squeak (same link as above)

29. Pet Problems

30. License to Rock (same link as above)

31. Power Heist

32. Monster Midterms

33. Fur-mergency

34. Boogey Nightmare (same link as above)

35. Best Fiends

36: Scareer Day (same link as above)

37. Stone Alone

38. Horsin’ Around (same link as above)

39. Moonlit Fieldtrip

40. A Little Boost (same link as above)

41. Fresh Waters Run Deep

42. Sew Fierce

43. Witchful Thinking

44. Monster Match

45. The Monster Way

SEASON 2

1. Rule School

2. New Witch in Town

3. Play It Again, Clawd (same link as above)

4. Mummy in the Mirror (part of the beginning is missing; the first few minutes can be found in this video)

5. How to Scare a Banshee (same link as above)

6. So Chill

7. Mixed Up Meowlody

8. The Haunted Sand Castle Caper

9. Fangs for the Memories

10. Two-Riffic

11. Monster High-Jinks

12. Vamps Just Wanna Have Fun (same link as above)

[natandacat]

Incredible what a day out of bed does to my morale. I'm never gonna die and I could take on god

[ponds-of-ink]

Would y’all forgive me if I say that I’ve been kicking around another FNAF fangame idea? One that might combine snippets of my previous suggestions and then some?

[jothehat]

Thrilled they're doing this. Am greedy and want Nye as well, though.

[adorkabledemon]

I better not see untagged spoilers for the new episode tonight. Remember, not everyone can watch it live! Please and thank you!

[prolech]

2023 NEW 7-inch motorcycle carplay, dual-lens recorder 1080P+1080P

[dameronology]

we can't be friends (steve rogers)

summary: based on we can't be friends by ariana grande

warnings: angst, swearing

sorry for being absent for six months. even more sorry that this is what i came back with. enjoy!

Being loved by Steve Rogers was like sunlight on a stormy day. Peaking through the clouds, encouraging you to come out of whatever shelter you'd chosen; letting you smell the fresh rain on the pavement as the light finally came through, taking back the water until next time. It was warm on your skin, right through to your bones and your heart and to your very soul. You could have basked in it forever.

The mornings were your favourite, waking up to golden alabaster skin, carved into his muscles. They were slightly scarred, with jagged pink marks of stab wounds and bullet skims and far too many near misses for you to be comfortable. Of course, he healed faster than most but when you were as trigger happy as Steve Rogers was, barely a mission went by when he didn't come home with some minor wound or another. Still, him being there was the most important part. He'd let out a sleepy little yawn and subconsciously roll over to hold you, taking him in his arms and pulling you to his chest. That was where you felt safest.

No matter how busy he was or how demanding work became, Steve always showed up. Flowers waiting for you on the counter after a bad day; ordering take out when you were ill and always making sure your favourite show was recorded on the DVR. You never even had to ask. He'd buy you new roses before your old ones had even began to wilt; had your busiest work days recorded in your phone calendar so that he could step up, even when his own job was pulling him across the country. That was the thing about Steve Rogers: he always showed up.

Until he didn't.

Being loved by Steve Rogers was like sunlight on a rainy day, but waiting for him to love you back was a never-ending storm. Rain pelting down, hammering onto your clothes and seeping through to your skin and your bones and eventually drowning your heart. There was no dry escape. No shelter to hide from the rain. You always felt it - the wet, the cold, the shivering - no matter how hard you tried to escape. There was no getaway from the realisation that he no longer loved you back, or from the 19 miscalled waiting on his phone, or from the dead roses wilted on your kitchen windowsill.

Long conversations about your future had turned into silent, screaming pauses. The arguments felt pointless. You could only beat a dead horse so many times before you realised it wasn't coming back to life.

You sat on opposite ends of the sofa now. Slept on different sides of the bed. Watched your favourite show in silence whilst he tapped away at his laptop, barely even bothered by your presence. He'd sat too a high standard for himself. It was one he couldn't keep, but even the bare minimum was a golden standard compared to what he was giving you these days.

"I'm done."

You'd surprised yourself more than anyone with the words. Steve had come home from work late again. The fourth time that week, twelfth time that month and countless times overall. You'd made dinner. It was cold now, like the stony expression on his face and the watery one on yours.

"What?"

Steve glanced up from his phone, brow furrowed.

"I'm done," you said.

"With what?"

You sighed deeply, regathering yourself for a moment. Pushed down the lump in your throat, shoulders raised to try and show whatever tatters of your pride you had left.

"I'm leaving you," you said. "I can't...I don't want to sit around and wait for you to love me again."

Steve put his phone down, pausing for a moment. It looked like he was going to say something...maybe anything. Even though your mind was made up, part of you wanted him to beg. To get on his knees, take your hands and plead for your heart back. God knows that this time a year ago, he would have pleaded with you in person and with writing in the sky.

Instead, he just sniffed.

He sniffed, and you left. Keys to your shared apartment thrown into the dish on the side, never to be taken again. At least the Lego heart keys chain you had together would be together again - you know, when he was actually home.

Whatever time you had previously put into your relationship, you now put into yourself. Found a nice little loft on the other side of the river - it felt like the wrong side, but everything felt wrong without him - and decorated it with everything but photos of you together. There was a nice rug, and a beautiful sofa, and your marble counters were a nice welcome home.

Still, the bed felt cold. Not as cold as it had when he'd lovelessly laid beside you, but still. Cold. It felt strange only having one tooth brush in the holder, and only one bottle of shower gel on the edge of your bath. The toilet seat was always down now (Steve had had only one flaw, and that was it) and you always tripped over the shoes that you left by the door because he no longer tidied them away.

It felt like half your heart was missing, but eventually it grew back.

You forgot about Steve, and the Avengers, and that entire world until Natasha Romanoff texted you. It had been six months since your break-up by that point, and even though you missed them all dearly, it had been natural for Steve to get them in the break-up. You had your friends. He had his. But, it was nice that Natasha still thought of you.

Hey, hope you're doing well. I'm having my birthday party next week at my apartment. 7pm, same building as always. It would be nice if you came. Steve may or may not be but he's been annoying lately so I'd rather have you. Let me know <3

At first, it had been an immediate no. Then you thought about it some more, and it was a definitive no. Then, you found yourself calling Nat and talking for three hours straight.

Apparently Morgan was in her One Direction era, and had thrown an hour long tantrum when she found out they weren't together anymore. Pepper and Tony had tried to pay for a reunion, but they weren't interested. Bruce was doing an assignment in France and Clint and his family had moved a little closer to the city. Sam and Bucky were still working for the government and naturally, that had brought Natasha onto the subject of Steve.

Doing better. That's what she said. Apparently he wasn't working as late anymore and he'd cut down his hours. He was going to therapy, drinking less and working out more. She'd lingered on the last sentence, but ended it with he's more like your Steve again.

That made you want to go to the party even less, and yet the following weekend you found yourself stood outside Natasha's high-rise apartment building at 7:35PM. You'd put more effort into your appearance than usual; a more expensive fragrance, spent a little longer on your hair and worn the outfit Steve had always thought you looked best in. Maybe it was a calculated move, but you'd never been all that good at maths.

Your entrance was met with four or five hugs. Natasha looked amazing as ever, and Bucky was brighter now. Tony was elated to see you and you didn't ask about Pepper's little baby bump, but you could see it was there. Your mind was kept too occupied by all them to even think about Steve.

That - naturally - all came crashing down when you saw him across the room. He was leant against a pillar, hair longer now but fluffed up and a 5 o'clock shadow gathered on his chin. Not like the man with long hair and a beard that you'd left, but not quite the squeaky clean looking Steve you'd fallen in love with either. Still though, it was closer. He was showing through the cracks.

The question of whether or not you would approach him answered itself, because you blinked and suddenly he was stood in front of you.

"I owe you an apology."

Straight to the fucking chase.

You faltered slightly, but didn't let it show. "Yeah, I think you do."

Steve glanced around you at all your friends - naturally, they were all staring at you. They might have been superheroes but that didn't stop them being nosey fuckers.

"Let's go to the roof," he said. "I mean...if you want. You don't owe me anything."

You nodded your head. "Let's go to the roof."

The climb up the stairs to Natasha's terrace was awkward, but not as bad as the silence that quickly filled the cold air as soon as you got up there. Steve might have been one of the bravest men you'd ever met, but vulnerability scared the shit out of him. You suspected that was the case now.

"So?" you asked. "What could you possibly have to say?"

"I'll only say that I'm sorry once," Steve began. "So: I'm sorry. For pushing you out, for not trying, for letting work consume me. Even more for the fact I didn't even try to stop you leaving, because as soon as you shut the door, all I wanted to do was run after you, but I'm not stupid. I knew your mind was made up."

"Where are you going with this?"

"You leaving was like a bucket of cold water," he continued. "It made me realise a lot of things - about how much I'd left myself go, mostly. I've stopped drinking and started going to therapy, and I have my work hours capped."

You smiled. "Well done, Steve. That's really great."

"I'm better now. Not fully, but...I'm getting there," Steve replied. "I asked Natasha to invite you tonight. She wanted to anyways but it was sort of my idea."

"Why?"

"So I could apologise, but mostly because I want you back in my life," he explained. "As friends, as something more. Hell, I'll take you as my enemy if it means I get to see you again."

You sighed, eyes falling to the ground. What could you even say to that? Enemies sounded pretty good - and definitely well deserved - but you didn't hate Steve. You'd moved on, but that didn't mean you'd lost all capability to love him.

"How do I know you won't do it again?" you asked.

"You don't," he replied. "I don't know that either, but what if it doesn't happen again? What if...what if things were really good?"

You glanced away, eyes staring at the distant Manhattan skyline for a moment. It glittered and glimmered, mostly rebuilt after the 2012 incident. You could see Stark Tower as well. Steve had told you he loved you for the first time on that roof top. Now, here he was, begging for you back on another.

"Friends," you muttered. "We can be friends. I don't know after that. I've waited six fucking months for you to decide that you love me again-"

" - I never stopped -"

" - not the point, Steve!" you cut him off. "We'll start with friends, then go from there."

"I'll wait ten years if I have to," he said. His smile suggested he was joking, but you knew he wasn't.

With that, Steve pulled you into a hug. In your soul, you knew you couldn't be friends. Enemies was worst but strangers was horrible too. The answer was inevitable, but you just had to make him wait a little while.

maybe a part 2?

[inkskinned]

you know, the light that fades at the end of Goncharov isn't light.

i am not a very good person to talk to about movies. i haven't seen most of the "official" american canon - jaws, psycho, citizen kane. i have seen sharknado, though. like so much in my childhood, what i knew was a little jar on a long shelf of gallons; my world was a catholic desert in new england weather.

my father had gotten his snout up about something; so we had to watch it. he was mad we hadn't seen it, the way people are going to be mad i haven't seen those three up i named there, as if i me having-not-seen-the-movie was because i was making some kind of political statement or argument. i just haven't seen them yet, i have no opinion about it. i'll eventually get around to it, god be willing.

during that time, i was doing bad in school and worse in taking care of my body. i sat on the floor on this green pillow, one of the ones my dog eventually tears up. my dad typed g-o-n into the DVR with that slow methodical passion, the remote tilted so the "rays" or whatever would somehow find the ever-smaller input.

he was excited. "you need to understand the light." he didn't look at me while he did it, focused.

"are you spelling gonorrhea." my brother, the eldest, was 17 in this memory. he was sitting on the chair in the corner, playing a game i can't remember the name of. (starfleet? star invaders? it was online, i know that. lots of clicking.)

my dad is used to this. we talk over each other all the time. "when they made it, scorsese wanted this specific hue over everything." my father looks over his shoulder at me, but i'm on the floor, stretching. i don't have a smart phone yet. i'm just watching with the anxious-restless feeling we all get when your father is painstakingly typing something into a virtual keyboard at an eighth of the speed you could have managed. "you'd like this, raquel. what color do you think he wanted?"

my mom comes in from the kitchen. "do we want salt or butter on the popcorn?" she has a handful she pops into her mouth. "wait for your sister to come upstairs. she'll be mad if she misses a part."

"salt," i say, while my brother says "butter."

"spruce." my dad is undeterred. he finally clicks the v, and then navigates over the red tiles to enter. "Spruce."

"okay?" i like dark green too. to be honest, i have no idea who Scorsese is or why he is important. (this is, by the way, still true.)

"here's the thing." my father doesn't actually click the "enter." he just looks at me, adjusting his glasses. "it doesn't exist."

okay. he's right. i do like this. i squint up at him, the signal to go on.

"it came to him in a dream. it's not a real color." my brother monotones, flat. he's heard this story before, and he's 17.

"i still say it's green," my mother says. she comes in holding the salt-and-buttered popcorn, fluffy in an orange bowl. "he just never painted a house, is all."

"it's a candle smell," i say.

"a tree." i don't know when my little sister came upstairs. she's braiding her hair, frowning. "i thought we were going to watch psych."

"it's old movie night," my mother answers. there's something there, in the cant of her smile, which i won't understand until i am much older. if you are over 25, you know what i saw. my mother, seeing her family settle like tired birds around a movie screen, for the moment placid, not-fighting. none of the children are happy about the selection - why would we be?

"Scorsese says it's not green." my father finally clicks rent for 2.99. "he was looking for this specific color, the one from his dreams. the color he had been told was called spruce, through someone in the dream." he looks to me again, his poet. "you know how dreams always feel... different. when you look back on them in your memories, they don't color in all the way. and he wanted that dream tinge."

the memories of my dreams are covered in colored static. sometimes i nightmare in black and white. i did not share this information, thinking it was too private. (forgive me. i was 14. everything was too-private for me.)

"a regular hitchcock," my mom mutters. we don't know, yet, not really, about what hitchcock did.

"he revolutionized the lighting industry. raquel, you have to look for the light in this thing. it's only in a few frames per scene. he didn't want it to be overwhelming."

"he fired like 10 people while he was doing it." my brother doesn't look up from his screen, clicking feverishly. "in order to get the color, he had to develop a software to switch lighting past human speed." he sends a glance towards the TV, kind of relenting. "it was cool, actually. he didn't actually light the room with that speed, he used one set of colors on the set and then another set specifically over the film. we're basically seeing two films: one that has the regular lighting, and then just this lighting track playing on top."

"like a sound list - ah, what's that called?" my father's remote hovers over play. i am trying to figure out what color i think spruce is going to be. "soundtrack," he amends. "are we all ready?"

"i still don't think it's real," my mother says. "i think he made it up for PR." my mother is good at colors. my mother would be right about that kind of thing.

"hon, he spent thousands of dollars on this." my father isn't angry, for once, he's smiling. "i'm telling you, it happens."

she shrugs. "i'll believe it when i see it."

we are not ready. we have to each find places to sit. i've been lying about how bad my eyesight is getting, so i keep my seat on the floor, close to the television. my mother, father, and sister take the couch. i make sure i am within reaching distance of the popcorn. my brother even kind-of closes his monstrosity of a laptop. then my mother has to use the bathroom, so we all do, so we won't have to pause later. then my sister remembers her homework, so i get mine too, spreading it uselessly in front of me. i slide open my verizon sidekick keyboard phone to text Dean who the fuck is scorkayze? [sic] and then we are ready.

my mom falls asleep by the end of the first 15 minutes. my father misses most of it, since he's already seen it, going downstairs to play World Civ instead. my sister doesn't get it, so she ends up at the dining room table, doing homework instead. my brother goes back to the video game.

i stare really, really, really hard at the film, trying to figure out where the spruce happens. a few frames per scene.

i don't like the film. like most movies i saw at the time, i found it boring. i had undiagnosed adhd. i spend most of my time stretching and texting and not-doing my homework. again, i'm sorry - i was 14.

when the "gun" finally goes off - if you've seen the movie, you know the scene, and i won't spoil it here for other readers - i looked back over my shoulder towards my family. all of us, quiet in our own little seats. satellites. did i want this memory to be different? that i would turn and see my family, happily crowded chickadees, our wings brushing? or is this just the real-life, the type of love where we are not nesting birds, but foxes. prowling the edges of our comfort with our jaws open. snapping at the shadows, wishing for the closeness we don't allow ourselves to get. tomorrow we will watch psych. this is the last year of my life that all of us will live under the same roof. my brother goes off to college, and my sister and i follow suit. it is the last year my grades don't matter. it is my sister's first year of middle school. it is 2007; and in 2008, in the recession, we will no longer be able to afford to turn on the heat.

behind me, on the television, the light was fading.

sometimes, when i think back to it, shifting through the memory: it appears out of the thin air. a frame of spruce. it's never around the movie. my father's hands on the remote. my brother's low voice. the sound of my sister walking up the stairs. the popcorn smell hanging in the air. for a moment, the sense - everything is easy. and you know? i think i see it, mr. scorsese.

[itshype]

Navigate any storm, with nothing but the stars to guide you (DC x DP)

Hello! My other dc x dp notfic blew up overnight so here’s another one (this is not a part 2 but here is the link to Kingmaker, Kingbreaker, Crowntaker, Realmshaker where Danny is an important political ghost figure)

So, there are only a few Astronaut!Danny fics and most of them don’t quite land with me. They’re really good, but a lot of them have Danny getting his job at NASA because of his ghost powers. And like, nothing about Danny’s arc/s ever hints to me that he would show up to a government agency and give them a full rundown of his abilities – even for his dream job.

So instead of a protection-obsessed Danny, his Obsession develops as wanting to go to space. So, he’ll still fight the ghosts because he’s not a psycho with no regard for human life, but these fights aren’t a priority to him the same way in canon. Instead, Danny fights a lot dirtier, goes to 10 a lot faster – instead of it being a rarely used ability, his go-to is the Ghostly Wail in round one of a fight because it’ll get everything over nice and quick. He needs great grades to even enter the space program let alone astronaut training.

Because of this, Danny isn’t getting involved in problems just because ghosts are involved.

Did he turn the portal on for the first time? Yes.

Is it his responsibility because his parents refuse to add security or even just turn it off when not in use? Absolutely not!

There’ll definitely be a short-term dip in Danny’s grades but he plays up the “I was in a lab accident” thing to his school (actually more like he just didn’t cover it up) and can get extra credit or whatever (in Australia they’d just ignore the assignments you missed/failed and make your average from everything else but Teen Wolf fics often go on about extra credit so lets whack that in for Cultural Authenticity). But after that, Danny only gets involved if it’s getting really dangerous out there because he can’t skip this test/miss this homework etc.

Because of this, Phantom would probably be a lot more popular. Instead of running around and chasing ghosts and causing damage, he shows up like a Deus ex Machina when people are terrified, and lives are at risk. Downside is probably that Amity calls him Invis-o-bill for a while longer – he still wants to go by Phantom but correcting people isn’t his priority.

Also, his obsession makes his crush for Paulina turn off because I never found that a fun storyline. Also, when he gets in trouble for Dash’s bad behaviour he fights back against Dash and/or the teachers because “There’s a new documentary about theoretical White Holes tonight and our DVR gained sentience and ran off, so I have to watch it live.”

Downside of all these great changes? Jazz. In canon it takes ages for Danny to find out she saw his death-event. But in this, Danny’s personality changes are a lot more evident and drastic. I still don’t think the parents would suspect anything because my opinion of them is so far down it popped out of the other side of the Earth and spun off into the cosmos.

Jazz wants to be a psychologist. ‘Drastic changes in behaviour and personality’ are the early warning signs for hundreds of things from bipolar disorder, to drugs, to schizophrenia, sexual assault or joining a gang. She would be less likely to blow this off I think than in canon where his personality changes can be explained a lot more easily with “moody teen being taught by teachers who are on the bully’s side.” She figures out what’s happening a lot earlier. She doesn’t love that her baby brother is a ghostly hero, but his grades are great and it’s pretty hard to say “No you should let the town be destroyed and get a part-time job instead.”

So then, when the GIW come to town to try and set up, everyone is like “oh yeah, sure, go for it, except for Phantom, he’s our little meow meow.”

The GIW try to attack him anyway and the responding retaliation from Casper high students and most adults is so violent and extreme that the GIW mark the town as being completely 100% possessed with the hopes that they’ll get carte blanche to attack anyone they want in Amity (mostly because they’re petty manchildren).

However, declaring open season on an entire town is a bit much and all this ecto-nonsense is pretty new so the fear hasn’t 100% set into the administration. So instead, the President contacts the Justice League who call in the Justice League Dark (the magic department of the Justice League).

They’re probably freaked out but then Oracle finds footage of the ‘Possession attack on government agents’ from a security camera or something and Constantine is immediately like “None of those people are possessed, hope that helps, I have to go I’m late for a booty call with Beelzebub.”

MEANWHILE!!! Jazz has started coming to fights when she can (dressed like a real Fenton ghosthunter – Dad is so proud) and loudly announcing their insecurities because we know that psychic damage can actually cause ghosts to physically change (i.e. when Cujo is threatened he goes Big, when Spectra is satiated she appears more human, Amorpho’s whole thing). Within weeks, the less-evil ghosts want to make deals. I mean skulker and walker probably won’t want to concede, but the others get day-passes from the ghost zone like:

Ember can throw a concert and hypnotise everyone attending or streaming online but she has to let them go when the show is over.

Maybe Kitty can possess Jazz for a few hours for a date, or Tucker can build her a robot body assuming ghosts that aren’t Technus, master of all technology can possess electronics if they want to.

Eventually, Danny goes “Why is coming here so important, why do you go to so much effort and constraints to leave the Ghost Zone?”

And that’s when he finds out that the Ghost Zone is a ruthless, desolate place that’s awful and dangerous.

So, he calls the Justice League (Tucker gets him the number and he dials right into the Watchtower PA). And he essentially goes:

“I am Phantom, bridge between worlds. The ghosts of Amity Park were interfering with my Ghostly Dream and I have recently discovered that this is because the Infinite Realms is a sucky place to be. Can you fix it?”

The Justice League are thinking ‘wow two birds one stone and we get free amazing publicity!’ Then they talk to Constantine for two-point-five seconds, and he is all “It’s infinite, you morons, you can’t patch it up one villain at a time. Anyways I have to go sell my soul to a sixth party to prevent a magical demon war, peace out.”

So then, the Justice League are in Amity and tell Phantom that they’re very sorry but what he asked isn’t really feasible. And immediately they figure out that something is slightly off.

Now I stand by my headcanon that the Justice League wouldn’t immediately figure out Danny’s secret because there’s no real reason to think a ghost would have a secret identity.  But just speaking to any of the halfas you can tell they’re different. Less obsessive, don’t go violent as fast etc.

Now, just because they don’t realise Danny is 50% human, does not mean they did no research. They looked him up and came across historical records made during his time travel jaunts and immediately reach the fairly reasonable conclusion that he’s special, more powerful and more human because he’s just that old. So they ask him why the ghost zone is like that and if it could be changed or fixed – even just a small portion of it for use by less aggressive ghosts.

Danny admits he has no idea, but they could all go find out because it was Sunday. None of the Justice League know why the day is relevant but through the combined powers of Sam, Tucker and Jazz, they manage to get his parents onto the other side of town while they enter the ghost zone.

They quickly find Ghost Writer, because he’s an under-utilised character. He explains that long, long ago the ghost zone was a much brighter place with a golden sunrise sky and an overflowing font of ectoplasm under the rule of the powerful King of the Infinite Realms – Inferna the Bright. But he was brutally overtaken by the disgusting Pariah Dark. Inferna never recovered and the entire zone changed, becoming dark and harsh like her master whose obsession was subjugation. Pariah was sealed away, but by a large group instead of in single combat. So technically he was still at the helm of the entire dimension.

If only there was another ghost, brave and powerful enough to defeat Pariah Dark. One strong enough to bear the helm of the Crown of Fire. One with an obsession that would transform the ghost realm into a place of wonder once more.

If only…

(TBC??)

(IN CASE IT WASN’T OBVIOUS, each King makes one artifact: Inferna was obsessed with the Sun but expressed it healthily, Pariah Dark was obsessed with winning and beating other people and expressed it terribly)

Also, fyi Inferna doesn’t just sound like Inferno but is also Latin for the Underworld, so the implication is that they were king for FOREVER before Pariah.

[scary-lasagna]

How would jeff react to someone teasing him calling him Jeffery? (I saw a post abt it and it seemed like he didn't like being called that anymore, why dosen't he like being called that anymore?)

Jeffery Woods "Jeffery?" He ignored the initial call toward him, shaking it off. And if he pretended hard enough, maybe they didn't call him in the first place. "Jeffery, sweetheart, can you help Liu with the cookies?" Jeff didn't budge from in front of the television, his Gameboy clenched in his gummy fingers. He was waiting his turn to play in the N64, counting down the minutes on the DVR clock to be exact. He was so close to catching the damn Celebi. "Jeffery!" His mother shouted, and he nearly jumped out of his socks. "AlrIIGHT!" He hollered, roughly thumping his Gameboy onto the arm of the couch. On top of being interrupted from not only his Gameboy, but his N64 time, he nearly tripped on the crusty white dog and faceplanted into the kitchen counter. Liu idnd't need help with the cookies, his mother just wanted to sit on the couch unbothered by her two children. "Jeff?" Jeff blinked a few times, arising from his childhood home. He swallowed his pride and shook his head. "I told you not to call me that." He whispered. "I'm sorry…I just wanted to tease you a little-" You tried to save the situation, but it's well past slipping through your fingers and already plummetting to the pits. "Doesn't matter." He dismissed you immediately. He didn't even seem angry…only empty. He cleared his throat and stood up, "I think I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight." "Jeff…" "Love you." Your face dropped as the overwhelming guilt washed over your body like a blanket of ice. He knew you didn't mean any harm, and before he took his alone time he wanted you to know that in short words. But that doesn't make the sting of shame hurt any less.

[jwcartoonist]

How to Watch Looney Tunes

With hundreds of Looney Tunes cartoons leaving HBO Max recently, several of you are probably wondering how to get your Looney Tunes fix. Luckily JWCartoonist is here, with a guide on the best ways to find and watch the Looney Tunes in the modern day.

First option are the various DVD and Blu-Ray collections of the shorts. There have been a ton but the ones most recommended by fans are the Golden Collections, the Platinum Collections, and the Super Stars series (most of them, some of the discs feature repeats of previous sets). These sets feature the shorts remastered in the highest quality, and the Golden and Platinum collections include behind the scenes documentaries and features going into the making of the cartoons. A must for any Looney Tunes fan.

Important note about these sets: The cartoons in these releases are the versions completely uncut, which includes many of the jokes that haven't aged well such as the racist caricatures and stereotypes. Each of the sets with controversial content have a disclaimer at the beginning stating that while WB doesnt approve of these stereotypes, the cartoons are "presented they are originally created because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed."

Second option is the first streaming home for the Looney Tunes, Boomerang. This includes hundreds of cartoons (including several of the reboot series), though their organization of the classic cartoons is a tad confusing. You also get access to several other classic animated series from the Warner, MGM, and Hanna-Barbera libraries for only $4.99 a month.

The main con with watching Looney Tunes on Boomerang is that most of the copies of these cartoons are the unrestored versions that were airing on Cartoon Network since the early 90's, thus the picture quality varies from short to short. (Boomerang on left, HBO on right). The same issue apples to the Boomerang TV channel, which to make matters worse, also stretches out the cartoons to fit widescreen TVs.

Your best option to watch Looney Tunes on TV is MeTV. On weekdays they air as part of the show "Toon In With Me" (@tooninwithmetv) (along with cartoons from Tom and Jerry, Popeye, and Pink Panther), and on Saturdays they air for a full hour on "Bugs Bunny and Friends."

MeTV probably treats the Looney Tunes (and the other cartoon series they've shown) the best in terms of TV broadcasting, as the versions of the cartoons they've aired are the restored high definition versions found on Blu-Rays and formally HBO Max. DVR it if you have MeTV in your cable package, or if you're feeling nostalgic, get up early in the morning and watch them the old fashioned way.

Well, that's all the best ways to watch Looney Tunes in the modern day. Let me know if there's any other options I've forgotten (no pirating). Till next time...

[theresattrpgforthat]

Ok. This is a bizarre request and I apologize in advance, but it is 100% serious. Are there any ttrpgs that either take inspiration from King of the Hill, or that you would think run adjacent to the sort of themes/settings present in KOTH? (Think like semi-modern/late 90s, rural/texan setting, slice-of-life, etc?)

(Context: Me and a friend have been entertaining the idea of a KOTH podcast as something to do for fun, and I think it would be fun to do a live-play ttrpg interlude at some point, but I'm struggling to come up with something, and too tired to make my own ruleset haha.)

THEME: Rural Slice-of-Life.

Four games about everyday life or suburbia coming right up!

Dads and Decks, by CABBAGEHEAD.

Dads & Decks is a quick and easy-to-play roleplaying game about Dads and their Decks.

YOU ARE A GROUP OF DADS GETTING READY FOR THE ULTIMATE BARBECUE. But suddenly, a MUNDANE DECK-RELATED PROBLEM has occurred. Using your DADS and DECKS, you must solve this problem together or your WEEKEND will be ruined.

Solve the mystery of the creaky floorboard or journey through the dangerous lands of Home Depot to retrieve the Holy Grill. Play together, be the Dad you want to see in the world and have fun!

This is a quick, fun, Lasers and Feelings hack that I feel could really replicate the banter that goes on between Hank Hill and his buddies throughout King of the Hill. If you want to replace the Deck-related problem with a problem that rings more true to King of the Hill, it won’t take much to make a switch!

Every TV Show Ever, by rossum.

Don't touch that dial and remember to set the DVR!

This is meant to be a quick bare-bones way to construct any kind of tv show, from a historical drama, to a kids cartoon. Each character will take a different role, such as Matriarch, Patriarch, Craftsman or Clown. You spend some time building the world and then drop a problem into the player’s laps. You navigate a series of scenes represented via index cards, and use d6’s to determine how your characters do. There’s nothing fancy here, but if you want to have a basic rule set that you can expand upon, this might work out.

Kids on Bikes, by Hunters Entertainment.

Choose your OWN destiny in this storytelling rules-light tabletop role-playing game where adventure is a bike ride away. Kids on Bikes is a Collaborative World Building RPG set in small towns with big mysteries.

Kids on Bikes may look like an ill fit at first, but the game actually has mechanics for building adults! Additionally, there is a scenario in Strange Adventures: Volume One that posits you as Dads, a twist of the original premise. This module was originally called Dads on Mowers, but I think it’s currently called Garuda Lake. This is a game that’s designed to present you with rumours that turn into mysteries, and is especially designed for stories in which the paranormal and supernatural bleed into everyday life.

The Carter County PTA, by Minor Arcana Games.

Join the obsessive parents and desperate teachers of the PTA as each stands upon a hill they're willing to die on. Tonight is the long-awaited PTA meeting and everyone will vote on whatever passion project or much-needed reform you've added to the agenda. Along the way, you'll uncover the high-stakes backstory of each Agenda Item, revealing the personal politics, wacky hijinks and sordid stories that lurk behind the PTA's prim and polished exterior.

A diceless, GM-less game, this is a game for fans of Peggy Hill specifically. All of you have big plans for the local school and you will trample anyone who gets in the way of it. You’ll uncover personal politics and wacky backstories through a series of flashbacks, all the while pressuring the other parents and teachers to vote for your pet policy. Great for small-town drama and petty rivalries!

[lizardsfromspace]

The summer TV dead zone is one of those things that's hard to remember today, but until very recently, TV networks essentially paused between May and September. They didn't stagger out releases like they do today (or did from the late 2000s on), they followed the network schedule rigidly. Summer was for reruns, cheap game and reality shows, and sports. The only new shows airing were shows cancelled mid-season with unaired episodes, or ones likely to be cancelled (Seinfeld's first season is a famous example of a summer burn-off that worked out), having their episodes aired while no one was really watching. These reruns were important in a time before DVRs, home media, and online recaps, since they were your only chance to see a episode again if you missed it the first time

Part of this was comorbid with the rise of the summer blockbuster (once upon a time, pre-Jaws, summer was a similarly dead time for movies) but largely based on the logic that, well, during the summer people want to go outside and do things, and during the winter and fall it's too cold so they stay in and watch TV more

When this changed, it hurt writer's residuals, bc a lot of writers had become used to the money from summer repeats. At the same time, though, the reruns were being replaced with more scripted shows, which meant writing jobs that wouldn't have existed under the old model. And then Netflix came along and now shows drop all the time year round in a endless avalanche. So, uh, it's a thing that happened?

[doctorprofessorsong]

Destiel Fic Recs

Some more recs for your reading pleasure. This one is AU heavy, so enjoy the feast if that's what you crave.

First Response to Love by Briston and Whitster_lizzy @whitster-lizzy (Explicit, 98k)

This crack taken seriously rom com is an absolute delight. You will be giggling the entire time at this one.

Cas is stuck in a dead end reporter job at a failing station in the unfortunately or hilariously (depending on your level of middle school humor) named town of Uranus.

When Cas' cat gets stuck in a tree, his panicked call results in the fire department (and half of emergency services) showing up - including his wet-dream-slash-crush Dean Winchester. He recognizes Dean from a charity calendar, and he may be just a smidge obsessed with him. Like owns a bunch of merch with his picture obsessed. But what he doesn’t know is Dean also has a massive crush on Castiel. Like an embarrassing, watch DVR recordings of the man over and over crush. Dean manages to get it together enough to ask Cas to report on a public safety measure and what follows is a very public and adorable courtship that just might save the station.

Expect mutual disaster idiots, lots and lots of humor and a delightful cast of residents. But also this fic has an underlying softness that will have you unable to put it down. Also, a developing friendship between Balthazar, Gabriel and Crowley that is the best thing that has happened to me personally in a long time.

Seriously, it's a delight.

Linden by fleeceframe @tasteslikevelvet (Explicit, 76k)

Look, fleeceframe has this incredible ability to write gorgeous, gentle stories that take apart your heart like a 500 piece puzzle and put it back together. This one is both particularly soft and particularly beautiful.

A fairytale AU, this tells the story of Cas, a shy and lonely honey merchant who falls in love with one of the Swans, local celebrities, who as a result of a curse, turn into swans. There are wings. There is gorgeous worldbuilding. But most importantly, there is just this gorgeous love story between two very lonely men who feel invisible.

They don't just accept each other, they cherish each other. It’s gorgeous.

The Handyman's Special by Carrieosity @carrieosity (Explicit, 51k)

If you want a good laugh, this is the fic for you. I was cracking up the ENTIRE time.

Dean, a professor with minimal construction experience and a shoddy home inspection, buys a fixer upper that's more like a money pit. But he can’t face the "I told you so" from Sam, so he hires a contractor in secret. And then to keep that secret, he lies and says the contractor, Cas, is his boyfriend.

What follows is a disaster-Dean rom com with a lot of heart. The angst never gets too angsty. It's fun and sweet and hilarious.

Too Hot To Hunt by Englandwouldfall (Teen, 19k)

A canon fix-it case fic that reverses the fuck or die trope. Dean and Cas encounter a monster that attacks couples during intimacy. Which means two things: 1. Dean has to reveal to his brother that he and Cas have been an item since he came back, and 2. Dean and Cas may have to use their words instead of hiding behind sexual intimacy. So that’s not awkward at all.

This one is just immensely satisfying, digging into all of the things that make Dean and Cas so bad at communicating. It's soft, awkward, and mildly angsty in the best way.

Jurassicatural by anyrei and queerwerewolf @anyreiart @queerwerewolf @the-real-anywolf (Explicit, 34k)

A delightful mashup of Jurassic Park and SPN, this one is just really fun. Chuck Shurley had created a new theme park for long extinct monsters, but his investors have one requirement before opening: sign-off from experts on the creatures.

Enter the Winchester brothers, a Paleontologist and Paleobotanist, and Dr. Cas Novak, Historian. But life finds a way and so does trouble.

In addition to just being fun, this one features an instant obsession between Destiel that is really fun to watch, a delightfully moody Claire, a sunny Jack and some really fun monsters.

Fata morgana by orange_crushed (Teen, 6.6k)

This is a short read but woof. It really packs a punch. A canon adjacent story in Hell told from the perspective of Bela Talbot, it's the kind of fic that will make you want to munch on the shower door.

There's an angel in Hell and Bela is going to find him. The angel? Cas seeking out Dean, the King of Hell.

This one plays with the lore in an extremely satisfying way. It's justice for Bela, though not in a saccharine sweet way, and also some really lovely Cas stuff.

A Demon Like Him by EllenOfOz @ellen-of-oz (Explicit, 24k)

If you are looking for some fun worldbuilding, this fic has you. Set in a world powered by magic, Dean is on the cusp of graduating and becoming a warlock. It's everything his father has ever wanted…and now he has to admit nothing he actually wants. Dean is determined to fail the final exam - to summon and bind himself to a demon - so that he can finally be free. Unfortunately for Dean, he fails at failing and instead summons an incubus, Castiel.

This one has some gorgeous nods to canon and it's simply a fun, sizzling read. The angst isn't too angsty. Cas is basically a sex God. It’s good, dirty fun. On top of that, Dean and Cas have some absolutely gorgeous soft moments.

Dark Side of the Moon by imogenbynight @thevioletcaptain (Mature, 37k)

An astronaut AU similar in some aspects to the Martian: after Dean's crew is killed in an accident on the moon, he's left alone and traumatized. Cas volunteers to help retrieve him, but can they make it in time and what will they find when they get there?

This one has a nice balance of horror elements, trauma, and humor. It also has just really likeable cast of characters. Even though you know it will all end well, there are some delightfully tense moments and the immediate bond between Cas and Dean is a delight.

See my other fic recs on my new sideblog @riversrecs

Tag list

@varlysca @naturallyathief @greatbigbugger @fandoms-and-things @cascodedtech @you-cant-spell-subtext-without @deanwasalwaysbi @fellshish @valleydean @raspberry-tooth @the15yearhatecrime @sunglassesmish

[go-to-two]

Hi! I work in ad sales research for a TV network and your answer about demo ratings and everything you said was spot on! I would just like to add I ran the final numbers when they came in and last night's episode ranks among the top 5 lowest live same day ratings in PD history on key A18-49 demo. The important thing to note is this happened with no real entertainment broadcast competition happening on the night which is very telling! When competitive dramas come back in Feb and March we will have a better idea of how dire those low ratings are (I'm personally hoping to see PD drop out of the top 5 dramas). While far lower-rated dramas than PD are renewed, it's most likely because they are much cheaper to produce than PD. For example, FOX canceled 911, TV's #1 broadcast drama of the 22/23 season on A18-49 because of how expensive it is (although ABC picked it up). Also worth saying that advertisers buy commercial time on C7 ratings so if the ratings jump up significantly with later viewing (up to 7 days later on DVR or playback) then that would make the low live same day ratings a non-issue. I just wanted to say this because if people stopped watching PD they should be encouraged by this week's low ratings. Series low ratings on a night where there is no scripted competition is probably the best way for the network and/or powers to be to take notice.

🍻 Cheers, anon!