#YAY VH ART!

[virtualfolder]

inspired by dilara findikoglu fw24 @driflloon

[superstarpixelations]

kamen rider star cuz. Kinda wanted to mix magical girl aesthetics with kamen rider ones. When I was a kid i used to watch a lot of power rangers on vhs alongside sailor moon, so its fun to kinda combine the concepts. yay for self indulgent art.

[scruffyplayssonic]

Are the ArchieSonic comics actually an 80's/90's syndicated cartoon? Episodes 1 - 5: The Origin Story!

It’s been awhile since I first teased this, huh? Sorry, but this ended up taking me a lot longer than I expected. Life got in the way. And Sonic Frontiers. And Pokemon Violet. And I only have up to episode 13 or so actually written up at this stage. But I wanted to start getting this out there, and considering I’ve already written so much on this, I thought it might be easier for everyone to enjoy in smaller segments. So I’m going to attempt to release this one episode at a time on a daily basis and see how that goes.

So, to business. Are the ArchieSonic comics actually an 80’s/90’s syndicated cartoon? Obviously the answer to this question is, “What? No, of course not. ArchieSonic was a comic book, not a cartoon. Are you thinking of SatAM? Or Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog? Are you just high? How did you come to this ridiculous conclusion?” And okay, that’s fair. But consider this  - syndicated cartoons from the 80’s and 90’s shared a lot of the same story tropes. Gotta pad out those 65 episodes, right? And interestingly, the ArchieSonic series happens to have used a lot of those same tropes across the 20 plus years it was running. I refer you to the following Discord conversation:

Well, that sounded like a challenge to me. When I first saw this I replied with yays or nays to each item on the list just off the top of my head, but I thought it would be fun to do a more in depth analysis. So let’s have a look at our list here, shall we?

There’s a lot to go through, so let’s get straight into it with today’s episode! Or in this case, episodes.

1 - 5: Origin story. Make it a week-long event. Really pad it out. Can sell it later on VHS as The Movie.

There’s actually several instances that explore the origins of Sonic and the Freedom Fighters. Naturally, the first instance is the very beginning of the comic series.

Issue 0 was released in November 1992 - holy crap, that’s now more than 30 years ago! - and was essentially the pilot episode for ArchieSonic. It was the first issue of a four issue mini series with the main series later launched in April 1993 with Sonic the Hedgehog #1. The mini series isn’t a continuous story arc, like this trope suggests the first five episodes of 80’s and 90’s syndicated cartoons were, but it did introduce Sonic, Robotnik, and the Freedom Fighters (except for Bunnie, she wasn’t brought in until issue #3 of the main series). The second story of issue 0, “Oh no, Robo! No Mo’ Mobo’!”  explained in a flashback how Robotnik took over the planet and Sonic joined up with Princess Sally and the other Freedom Fighters. 

This history would be eventually retconned in the main series, but I’ll get into that later. This story by itself doesn’t fit the multi-episode requirement, but if you include the entire mini-series as the origin story then I think it works well enough. There’s also a story in mini #3 that recounts Sonic and Robotnik being raised together as kids…

…but that turned out to be a dream, so let’s not dwell on it.

Interestingly, when the ArchieSonic series was cancelled after Sonic #290 in December 2016 - over 24 years after issue 0 was released - the final issue was also telling the origins of that world. When ArchieSonic underwent a soft reboot in issue 252 the entire backstory of the world saw a lot of changes, and this was explored in the “Genesis of a Hero” arc that was supposed to run from Sonic the Hedgehog issues 288 - 291.

As you can probably tell from the covers, the post-reboot comics’ backstory was much more heavily linked to the story of the games. The first three issues explored how the events of Sonic the Hedgehog (Mega Drive/Genesis version), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Mega Drive/Genesis version), and Sonic CD happened in the comics. 

The final issue of this arc would have been about Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but to the despair of many a fan (including myself), the series was cancelled after issue 290 and so issue 291 was never released. There’s some incomplete art of the issue over at the Sonic News Network if you’d like to see it for yourself though.

As sad as it is that the ArchieSonic series was cancelled after lasting for so many years, it’s interesting to note that both the first and the last comics that were published both told part of Sonic’s origin story. It actually makes for a pretty neat bookend.

There’s an argument to be made that the Sonic Genesis arc that ran from issues 226 - 229 also counts as an origin story.

This story was the result of Dr. Eggman rewriting the world with the first Genesis Wave. Like Genesis of a Hero, this arc also showed what the world of ArchieSonic could look like if it was more heavily influenced by the games.

This history re-write was undone by Super Sonic in issue 229, but it’s still worth mentioning for this category, I think. 

There are two other instances I can think of that explore the origins of the characters, but I’m going to save those for another episode. I think this one is beefy enough already. But for the record, I’m thinking of Sonic #43 and the two Sonic Kids super specials. 

Tomorrow’s episode: body swap! Stay tuned for the chaos and shenanigans!

[howdyfriend]

1, 8, 3 and 12 :3c <3

yay I love asks :)

1. Favourite colour to work with?

RED I love using red. I sketch in red. I gravitate to warmer colour palletes so I get to use red. A lot of my personal art is gore or gorey so I get to use red. Red is such a good colour I just want to eat it nomnomnomnom.

3. What songs do you listen to while you work?

I do not usually share what music I like so listen close. Comprehensive guide here. Current go-to songs:

Bad Habits- Goreshit

Hole Dwelling- Kikuo

Sony- VHS LOGOS

Honey I'm Home- GHOST

Athoth a Go!! Go!!- Machine Girl

These are go to's but I have two playlists on my spotify I tend to listen to, at the very least while I sketch. Once I get into colouring amd stuff though its free reign. Playlists are here and here

8. Show us at least 2-3 drawings from at least 1-2 years ago.

Had to go through them anyways so here ya go!

I like the last one. It's usually followed by a chant of "eyeball soup"

12. Draw one of your favourite characters in 15 seconds.

I am a master artist.

[dolliesrot]

Yeah, even at their best the public is exhausting. And honestly how often are they at their best? :/ You're in the service industry too, right? I don't know much about art but I figure if you keep looking at the world, trying things, and having fun with it that's what it's about.

You could tell I was hoping you'd ask what movies, right?

Sunday

Dracula (The Dirty Old Man) (1969, William Edwards) Pretty repugnant, but it was amusing how they saw their movie was shit and then MST3Ked themselves recording the voiceover narration.

Devil Story (1986, Bernard Launois) I was deliberately trying to pick "fever dream" stuff and this qualified. Devil horses are hard to shoot.

Monday

Calamity of Snakes (1982, Chi Chang) Kind of a dud. I watched the "cruelty free" version, which doesn't show snakes being killed on camera but supposes that they don't mind being sprayed with fire extinguishers. Captures Taiwan (?) at a truly unfortunate moment for fashion. Morbid curiosity was not rewarded.

Viy (1967, Konstantin Ershov & Georgiy Kropachyov) Banger! Magic and witches and state-of-the-art Soviet special effects courtesy of Aleksandr Ptushko.

A Virgin Among the Living Dead (1973, Jesus Franco) Rewatch, but I previously had only seen the Wizard VHS version with the alternate clothed takes and the added terrible slow motion zombie scenes. Much better in this version.

Conquest (1983, Lucio Fulci) Vivid in its gruesome derivative patchwork brutality, in spite of looking like it was shot through cheesecloth.

Tuesday

Kuroneko (1968, Kaneto Shindō) Awesome. Spooky and atmospheric and features a kitty.

The Empire Strikes Back Uncut (2012, Casey Pugh) Warm and cuddly fun starring multiple dogs as Chewbacca.

Wednesday

Blonde Ambition (1980, John and Lem Amero) Easily the most charming and effervescent porno I've ever seen. Also deserving of praise that isn't so faint as to be backhanded!

The Cassandra Cat (1963, Vojtěch Jasný) Pretty terrific and beautiful fable. The cat had little wee glasses!

Lord of Illusions (1995, Clive Barker) Enjoyed the LA scenery and stage magic milieu. Unexpectedly terrifying turn from George's boss Mr. Kruger from Seinfeld. (Daniel von Bargen RIP)

Torture Dungeon (1969, Andy Milligan) What can one say about an Andy Milligan movie?

Thursday

The Boogey Man (1980, Ulli Lommel) I was unprepared for how great this was. A slasher ghost story about how childhood trauma follows you through life. John Carradine, couples therapist. I wept. Watch this one, Anna!

Shogun Assassin (1980, Kenji Misumi and Robert Houston) Finally got to hear all the skits from Liquid Swordz in their proper context!

Friday

Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988, RJ Kizer & Donald G. Jackson) Total male fantasy about how hot it would be if Sandahl Bergman wore glasses and had a bomb she could use to blow up your cock whenever she so chose.

The Night of the Hunter (1955, Charles Laughton) Rewatch. Classic. Needs no introduction. It is so good!

The Night of the Hunted (1980, Jean Rollin) Eerily quiet time capsule of a particular era of Parisian architecture. Also weirdly prefigures Memento, but with more nudity.

Perversion Story (1969, Lucio Fulci) Total male fantasy about how hot it would be if Marisa Mell did anything, in this case send you to the gas chamber by framing you for her murder. Really amazing time capsule footage of San Francisco, too. And there's a photographer character, those are always fun.

Oh and I watched a bunch of old Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies in there, too.

Yay The Fly! I've never seen The Hunt. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you watched the one Mads Mikkelsen is in. :D Am I right?

Hope you're feeling better soon! Enjoy that time away from work.

Oh wowowow you managed to get through a lot! I have a hard time multitasking, which makes it hard to watch movies and paint :,c wish it wasn't either or, but god scrambled me that way so whatyyagonnado. DUDE I watched Night of the Hunter for the first time like two months ago and am pretty pissed off that I haven't watched it sooner! I wish the song about the pretty fly and the spider was on spotify 🕸️Also!! Thank you! You totally gave me some bangers I need to put on my list! (Probably gonna try and get to Viy, A Virgin Among the Living Dead, and The Boogey Man first!).

Also,,,, I think i'd bang him </3 religious psychosis and murderous nature be damned mans got a way with werds.

[snazzamazing]

I've been watching those creepy fnaf vhs videos by squimpus mcgrimpus over and over and holy frick-

THEY MADE FNAF SCARIER FOR ME I LEGIT HAD A HARD TIME GOING TO SLEEP LAST NIGHT BECAUSE THOSE VIDEOS SPOOKED ME OUT THAT MUCH ITS AWESOME

I love fnaf vhs styled videos especially from them because it's so unsettling, creepy and suspicious. They make me uncomfortably creeped out WHICH IS AWESOME CAUSE THATS WHAT FNAF IS SUPPOSED TO BE

MY LOVE FOR FNAF JUST FRICKIN EXPLODED AND IM INSPIRED JUST HOLY FRICK I LOVE THESE VIDEOS SO MUCH THEY'RE TERRIFYING AND AMAZING PLEASE CHECK THEM OUT, SQUIMPUS DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB DHDHDJ

[step0ffbitch]

On my way to steal ya bitch

[4li3nqueen-blog]

🥀

[c-is-for-circinate]

For a long, large part of my life, being queer in a media landscape--finding queerness in a media landscape--has meant theft.

I'm a Fandom Old, somehow, these days, older than most and younger than some, in that way that's grown associated with grumpy crotchetyness and shotguns on porches and back in my day, we had to wade through our Yahoo Groups mailing lists uphill both ways, boring and irrelevant anecdotes from Back In Those Days when homophobia clearly worked differently than it does now, probably because we weren't trying hard enough. I've seen a lot of stories through the years. I've read a lot of fanfic. (More days than not, for the past twenty years. I've read a lot of fanfic.)

When people my age start groaning and sighing at conversations about representation and queerbaiting, when we roll our eyes and drag all the old war stories out again in the face of AO3 is terrible and Not Good Enough, so often what we say is: you Young Folks Today have no idea how hard, how scary, how limiting it was to be queer anywhere Back In Those Days. Including online, maybe especially online, including in a media landscape that hated us so much more than any one you've ever known. And that is true. Always and everywhere, again and again, it's true, we remember, it's true.

We don't talk so much about the joy of it.

Online fan spaces were my very first queer communities, ever. I was thirteen, I was fourteen, I was fifteen--I was a lonely, over-precocious "gifted kid" two years too young for my grade level in an all-girls' Catholic school in the suburbs--I lived in a world where gay people were a rumor and an insult and a news story about murder. I was straight, of course, obviously, because real people were straight and anyway I was weird enough already--I couldn't be two things strange, couldn't be gay too, but--well, I could read the stories. I could feel things about that. I would have those stories to help me, a few years later, when I knew I couldn't call myself straight any more.

And those stories were theft. There was never any doubt about that. We wrote disclaimers at the top of every fic, with the specter of Anne Rice's lawyers around every corner. We hid in back-corners of the internet, places you could only find through a link from a link from a link on somebody else's recs page, being grateful for the tiny single-fandom archives when you found them, grateful for the webrings where they existed. It was theft, all of it, the stories about characters we did not own, the videotaped episodes on your best friend's VHS player, one single episode pulled off of Limewire over the course of three days.

It was theft, we knew, to even try and find ourselves in these stories to begin with. How many fics did I read in those days about two men who'd always been straight, except for each other, in this one case, when love was stronger than sexual orientation? We stole our characters away from the heterosexual lives they were destined to have. We stole them away from writers and producers and TV networks who work overtime to shower them in Babes of the Week, to pretend that queerness was never even an option. This wasn't given to us. This wasn't meant for us. This wasn't ours to have, ever, ever in the first place. But we took it anyway.

And oh, my friends, it was glorious.

We took it. We stole. And again and again, for years and years and years, we turned that theft into an art. We looked for every opening, every crack in every sidewalk where a little sprout of queerness might grow, and we claimed it for our own and we grew whole gardens. We grew so sly and so skilled with it, learning to spot the hints of oh, this could be slashy in every new show and movie to come our way. Do you see how they left these character dynamics here, unattended on the table? How ripe they are for the pocketing. Here, I'll help you carry them. We'll make off with these so-called straight boys, and we only have to look back if somebody sets out another scene we want for our own.

We were thieves, all of us, and that was fine and that was fair, because to exist as queer in the world was theft to begin with. Stolen time, stolen moments--grand larceny of the institution of marriage, breaking and entering to rob my mother's hopes for grandchildren. Every shoplifted glance at the wrong person in the locker room (and it didn't matter if we never peeked, never dared, they called us out on it anyway). Every character in every fic whose queerness became a crime against this ex-wife, that new love interest. Every time we dared steal ourselves away from the good straight partners we didn't want to date.

And: we built ourselves a den, we thieves, wallpapered in stolen images and filled to the brim with all the words we'd written ourselves. We built ourselves a home, and we filled it with joy. Every vid and art and fic, every ship, every squee. Over and over, every straight boy protagonist who abandoned all womankind for just this one exception with his straight boy protagonist partner found gay orgasms and true love at the end.

Over and over, we said: this isn't ours, this isn't meant to be ours, you did not give this to us--but we are taking it anyway. We will burglarize you for building blocks and build ourselves a palace. These stories and this place in the world is not for us, but we exist, and you can't stop us. It's ours now, full of color and noise, a thousand peoples' ideas mosaic'ed together in celebration. We made this, and it will never be just yours again. You won't ever truly get it back, no matter how many lawyers you send, not completely. We keep what we steal.

.

Things shifted over time, of course. That's good. That's to be celebrated. Nobody should have to steal to survive. It should not be a crime, should not feel like a crime, to find yourself and your space in the world.

There were always content creators who could slip a little wink in when they laid out their wares, oh what's this over here, silly me leaving this unattended where anybody could grab it, of course there might be more over by the side door if you come around the alleyway (but if anybody asks, you didn't get this from ME). We all watched Xena marry Gabrielle, in body language and between the lines. We sat around and traded theories and rumors about whether the people writing Due South knew what they were doing when they sent their buddy cops off into the frozen north alone together at the end of the show, if they'd done it on purpose, if they knew. But over the years, slowly, thankfully, the winks became less sly.

A teenage boy put his hand on another teenage boy's hand and said, you move me, and they kissed on network TV, in a prime-time show, on FOX, and the world didn't burn down. Here and there, where they wanted to, where they could without getting caught by their bosses and managers, content creators stopped subtly nudging people around the back door and started saying, "Here. This is on offer here too, on purpose. You get to have this, too."

And of course, of course that came with a whole host of problems too. Slide around to the back door but you didn't get this from me turned into it's an item on our special menu, totally legit, you've just got to ask because the boss throws a fit if we put it out front. Shopkeepers and content creators started advertising on the sly, come buy your fix here!, hiding the fine print that says you still have to take what you've purchased home and rebuild it with your semi-legal IKEA hacks. Maybe they'll consider listing that Destiel or Sterek as a full-service menu item next year. Is that Crowley/Aziraphale the real thing or is it lite?

And those problems are real and the conversations are worth having, and it's absolutely fair to be frustrated that you can't find the ship you want on sale in anything like your color and size in a vast media landscape packed full of discount hetships and fast-fashion m/f. It's fair to be angry. It's fair to be frustrated. Queerbait is a word that exists for a reason.

There's a part of me that hurts, though, every time the topic comes up. It's a confusing, bad-mannered part of me, but it's still very real. And it's not because I'm fawning for crumbs, trying to be the Good, Non-Threatening Gay. It's not that I'm scared and traumatized by the thought of what might happen if we dare raise our voices and ask for attention. (Well. Not mostly. I'll always remember being quiet and scared and fifteen, but it's been a long two decades since then. I know how to ask for a hell of a lot more now.)

It's because I remember that cozy, plush-wallpapered den of joyful thieves. I remember you keep what you steal.

Every single time--every time--when a story I love sets a couple of characters out on a low, unguarded table, perfectly placed to be pilfered on the sly and taken home and smushed together like a couple of dolls, my very first thought is always, always joy. Always, that instinct says, yay! Says, this is ours now. As soon as I go home and crawl into that pillow-fort den, my instincts say, I will surely find people already at work combing through spoils and finding new ways to combine them, new ways to make them our own. I know there's fic for that. I've already seen fic for that, and I wasn't really interested last time, but the new store display's got my brain churning, and I can't wait to see what the crew back at the hideout does with this.

Every time, that's where my brain goes. And oh, when I realize the display's put out on purpose, that somebody snuck in a legitimate special menu item, when the proprietor gives me the nod and wink and says, you don't have to come around the side, I know it's not much but here--there is so much joy and relief and hope in me from that! Oh, what we can make with these beautiful building blocks. Oh what a story we can craft from the pieces. Oh, the things we can cobble together. Look at that, this one's a little skimpy on parts but we can supplement it, this one's got a whole outline we can fill in however we want. This one technically comes semi-preassembled, and that's boring as shit and a pain to take back apart, but that's fine, we'll manage. We're artists and thieves. I bet someone's pulling out the AU saw to cut it to pieces already.

And then I get back to our den, which has moved addresses a dozen times over the years and mostly hangs out on Tumblr now (and the roof leaks and the landlord's sketchy as fuck but at least they don't charge rent, and we've made worse places our own). And I show up, ready for joy--ready for a dozen other people who saw that low-hanging fruit on that unguarded table, who got the nod and wink about the special menu item, who're ready to get so excited about this newest haul. Did you see what we picked up? The theft was so easy, practically begging to be stolen. The last owner was an idiot with no idea what to do with it. The last owner knew exactly what it could become, bless their heart, under a craftsman with more time on their hands, so they looked away on purpose at just the right time to let me take it home. I show up every time ready for our space, the place that fed me on joy and self-confidence when I was fifteen and starving. The place that taught me, yes, we are thieves, because it is RIGHT to take what we need, and the beautiful things we create are their own justification. We are thieves, and that's wonderful, because nothing is handed to us and that means we get to build our own palaces. We get to keep everything we steal.

I go home, and even knowing the world is different, my instincts and heart are waiting for that. And I walk in the door, and I look at my dash, and I glance over at twitter, and--

And people are angry, again. Angry at the slim pickings from the hidden special menu. So, so tired and angry, at once again having to steal.

And they're right to be! Sometimes (often, maybe) I think they're angry at the wrong people--more angry with the shopkeeper who offers the bite-sized sampler platter of side characters or sneaks their queer content in on the special menu than the ones who don't include it at all. But it's not wrong to be mad that Disney's once again advertising their First Gay Character only to find out it's a tiny sprinkle of a one-line extra on an otherwise straight sundae. It's not wrong to be furious at the world because you've spent your whole life needing to be a thief to survive. It's far from wrong. I'm angry about it too.

But this was my den of thieves, my chop shop, my makerspace. Growing up in fandom, I learned to pick the locks on stories and crack the safes of subtext at the very same time I learned to create. They were the same thing, the same art. We are thieves, my heart says, we are thieves, and that's what makes us better than the people we steal from. We deconstruct every time we create. We build better things out of the pieces.

And people are angry that the pre-fab materials are too hard to find, the pickings too slim, the items on sale too limited? Yes, of course they are, of course they should be--but my heart. Oh, my heart. Every single time, just a little bit, it breaks.

Of course the stories are terrible (they have always been terrible). Of course they are, but we are thieves. We steal the best parts and cobble them back together and what we make is better than it was before. The craftsman's eye that cases a story for weak points, for blank spaces, for anywhere we can fit a crowbar and pry apart this casing--that's skill and art and joy. Of course we shouldn't have to, of course we shouldn't have to, but I still love it. I still want it, crave it. I still thrill every time I see it, a story with hairline cracks that we can work open with clever hands to let the queer in.

That used to be cause for celebration, around here. I ask him to go back to the ruins of Aeor with me, two men together alone on an expedition in the frozen north, it feels like a gift. And I understand why some people take it as an insult. I understand not good enough. I understand how something can feel like a few drops of water to someone dying of thirst, like a slap in the face. If it was so easy to sneak it hidden onto the special menu, to place it on the unguarded side table for someone else to run off to, why not let it sit out front and center in the first place? I know it's frustrating. It should be. We should fight. We should always fight. I know why.

But my heart, oh, my heart. My heart only knows what it's been taught. My heart sees, this thing right here, the proprietor left it there for you with a nod and a wink because they Get It. It's not put together yet, but it's better that way anyway. It's so full of pieces to pull apart and reassemble. I bet they've got a whole mosaic wall going up at home already. We can bring it home and make it OURS, more than it was ever theirs, forget half of what it came from and grow a new garden in what remains.

And I go home to find anger, and my heart breaks instead.

[needlefox-blr]

FICTIVES! NOT IRL/KIN/WHATEVER OTHER TERM!

This blog is probably gonna contain a shit ton of Needlemouse Spoilers, blood, repeated phrases, and other triggering content.

Intros

Uhhhh we got a carrd now https://needlefox.carrd.co

Tags

🐁 - Sarah Post

🧣 - Luther Post

🫠 - Michael Post

[VHS] - Season 1 posts

[2008] - Season 2 posts

[Together Forever] - Sarah based posts

[Broken Promises] - Luther based posts

[He’s So Happy Now] - Michael based posts

[Hopeless] - Martin based posts

[SpeedDuo64] - Kyle & Tom based posts

[Needlesys] - System Discussion

[Needleart] - Art

[SarahFav] - Sarah’s saving these posts for later, or just really likes them

[LutherFav] - Luther version of SarahFav

[MichaelFav] - Yay Michael version

DNI!

General DNI, NSFW, Needleheads(those weird ass stans not regular Needlemouse fans), Anti Neo/Xeno, Ripped Luther Antis /j, Exclusionists(I’m looking at you ace-exclusionists), Proshippers/MAPS/All that other weird shit

[raeloganthesonic06fangirl]

Shirt acquired!

Dang, this art ink is crisp and the colors are vivid

I recognize all the clip art here, but it's really got a nice presentation.

Also, I finally got an official QuackerJack item that isn't comic, DVD, VHS or a stamp, yay

[chuckaroonee]

Yay, 1st lunch, then Soarin'! (at Epcot International Festival of the Arts) https://www.instagram.com/p/B84QRH2h5T3Ki-VH-S6SJNh5MGtdSyKlMG87Co0/?igshid=eh63n9geirht

[thewheezingwyvern]

Headcanon meme ^^'

Hello ^_^/ How are you doing ? Is it too late to send a submission ? (I have great timing -_-’ yay)

■ - Bedroom for the Yu Yu hakusho gang and Midori(well Hiei is a tricky one :p), because I often hear that a bedroom reflect its owner state of mind) please :3

This is probably the most random question but do you like pastries ? Which is your favourite? (Because I’m a food nerd so *go find Oreos*) (Also I see that you have vodka near you XD so don’t mind me if you’re not in the mood ^^’)

Take care, have a nice day :)

xxxx

I’m doing alright!  And not at all, love!  I got your headcanons right here~

Kurama’s room: Minimalistic.  Definitely has a large bookshelf filled with books although they are more of an academic nature.  Contrary to what a lot of people believe, the fox does actually work for his grades and does spend time outside of class expanding  his knowledge so he can continue to maintain them.  It’s a welcome distraction from unpleasant memories and makes his human mother happy.

Kuwabara’s room: Surprisingly to many it is neat.  But it’s really because his mother and Shizuru stay on him to make sure he keeps it clean.  If he lived on his own it would be more messy.  Kuwabara has a lot of magazines about martial arts and other styles of fighting (his attempt in his early days on how he was going to beat Yusuke).  He also has a whole box of toys to play with his cat stashed under his bed.

Yusuke’s room: An utter disaster.  This boy doesn’t keep his room clean and he doesn’t care to fix it.  But this was pretty much from the fact that he had to work to keep the rest of the house from being a huge dumpster due to his mother.  He has clothes all over the floor and he has vhs tapes with recorded fights from martial arts tournaments.  But he just likes watching fights as a whole.

Hiei’s room: His bedroom is the nearest tree branch.  Ok I’ll be serious.  Hiei’s bedroom is damn near empty.  Honestly if he ever had a bedroom it would be one that was granted to him by someone (like Mukuro while he’s in Demon World).  But he doesn’t even sleep on the bed, he sleeps in the window.  Hiei’s idea of getting comfortable is taking off the flowing part of his robes and he tosses it anywhere.

Midori’s room: Slightly messy.  She has her text books and school work scattered across her desk.  Eventually she’ll have potted plants in her room from Kurama as well.  She has a stereo system so she can play some music.  She’s grown quite fond of orchestral pieces in this time.  Midori had also hung up a few paintings of forests and mountains as well.

Pastries....I like them but I rarely crave them.  Like, if they are available I’ll eat them but I rarely seek them out.  However, I can kill me some Nutella.  xD

[step0ffbitch]

Trekking to the rave last night 💫

[evenstevensranked]

#35: Season 1, Episode 4 - “What’ll Idol Do?”

Ren gets a pre-high school mentor (is that really necessary? lol) named June Marie. She’s clearly evil and fake as a 3 dollar bill, but Ren thinks she’s the cat’s pajamas because of her scholastic accomplishments. Meanwhile, Louis is obsessing over someone stealing one of his beloved VHS tapes of an SNL episode. And you know how much I love Louis The Aspiring Comedian... :) 

The episode opens with Louis reading a book called "The Art of the Joke." Wait a minute... Louis Stevens... READING?! Yep. When I was younger, Season 3 Louis was always my fave. But, looking back.. Season 1 Louis was amazing. He had so much ambition and a real goal to become a comic, much like Shia. So much so, he was actually reading and researching about it!! That pretty much tapers off eventually and he just becomes a little zany -- Also like Shia...? lol. It's not a bad thing by any means. I'm just realizing exactly how much I miss this more restrained, "real," smart and subtly sarcastic Louis. He retains these qualities throughout the series, they’re just highlighted more/better in the early episodes.

He’s literally skipping dinner to read here. Incredible. He’s also seen reading this book in “All About Yvette.” I think it must’ve been Season 1 Louis’ bible.

Anyway, Louis takes a break from reading and goes to watch a VHS tape of a 1995 Saturday Night Live episode ft. Mike Myers... when he discovers it’s missing! We see the rest of the family at dinner downstairs, being forced to listen to Ren talking up some chick June Marie like she’s the second coming of Jesus. She explains that June is her ~idol~ and will be acting as her “Pre-High School mentor.” Right away you get the sense that this is sketchy. Even though Ren Stevens is, well... Ren Stevens... We see her relying SO MUCH on June to help elevate her status once she gets to High School. Obviously Ren could easily achieve high ranking status herself -- And would most likely take pride in that. It feels a little bit out of character. Even Eileen seems very suspicious about it. We also find out that June is in Geometry class with Donnie. This is important information!

Louis barges into dinner, turning the missing tape situation into a major mystery case. He’s basically accusing someone in the family of stealing it. Aside from this scene going on just a tad too long, I still think it’s entertaining. Louis says a great line: “I’m not a detective. But I did watch 10 whole minutes of Nash Bridges once” which I freaking love. The entire family claims to have no idea what he’s talking about and they’re so fed up with him and his Dramatics™ -- it’s kinda hilarious. With every overly serious thing he says, they’re all just groaning like “oh my god.....” It gets me. The scene ends with Ren saying “Mother, may I please have permission to FedEx Louis to Timbuktu before June Marie gets here?!” And Eileen says “Absolutely not! ........UPS is so much cheaper.” I’m only mentioning this because I caught a rerun of the episode on Freeform recently, and this bit was mysteriously missing! I’m assuming it was cut out for “FedEx” and “UPS” copyright reasons? No idea. Idk man. I always kinda liked that part, and I was like ???????? Where’d it go?!

Ren practices in the mirror how she’s gonna greet June before she gets there and it’s too much. We finally see this June Marie character and her personality is so ugly. She seems like a rich, entitled snob. (Trust me on this, I have very good judgement.) Ren is in awe though and desperate for June to like her. Again, this seems a little out of character. But she wants to achieve flawless academic success in high school and believes June can help her do that. Ren is a perfectionist, sooooo. 

June is seriously the fakest person I’ve ever seen and Ren is looking at her like she is her savior. I’m sad. 

Oh yeah.. Did I mention that June Marie is also a creep? It almost seems like she's coming onto Ren at one point. I'm actually uncomfortable watching this. She’s so clearly up to something.

She’s saying “Could you imagine what we could accomplish on the high school yearbook staff together?” in a suggestive voice. Tell me this isn’t creepy as hell. Run, Ren... Run for the hills. 

At school the next day, Louis is complaining to Tawny about the missing tape now. She, too, is so done with his drama lol. I love this bit because he actually references the sketch “The Whiners” as a major influence of his and that the missing tape is what made him want to be funny. Awwwwww! Dear, god. I seriously love this so much. Even though according to Wiki, “The Whiners” was a skit from 1982-84. So, this tape definitely doesn’t exist irl. But, still! Tom overhears the crisis and offers to set up an audio/video home surveillance system in Louis’ house in an attempt to catch the possible tape thief. Tom is the best. He always has great lines and actor Fred Meyers’ delivery always makes me smile. Later that day, he ultimately sets up the system for Louis! He offers to set up one for Tawny as well and Louis says “Tawny doesn’t have a home. She lives on her bike. It’s a long story. It’s very tragic.” I always loved this. 

lol at Tom listening in. Also, I love how Louis and Tawny are such a couple’a outcasts honestly. They’re so perfect! 

Ren tells her placeholder best friend Jewel about June.. and I swear it’s like everyone somehow knows that June is trash, but they don’t want to burst Ren’s bubble. Jewel is clearly thinking “.....yikes! not gonna say anything”:

The “yikes” face is even punctuated by a suspicious dominant chord... just so there’s no confusion. What is UP with that hair, btw??? The Early 2000s were a mystical time in history...

While spying on the family from his room, (see cover image) Louis ends up overhearing the real juicy drama. Forget the tape! June Marie is over and meticulously quizzing Ren about high school stuff (”Details, woman! This ain’t junior high!!!” lol chill) when suddenly Donnie walks in and tells Ren she has a phone call -- which ends up leaving June and Donnie alone. Remember how I said they have geometry class together? Yeah. They have a small talk conversation about class - and as soon as Donnie leaves the room, June whips out a bulky Y2K cell phone (I knew she was rich) and calls her friend freaking out over talking to THE Donnie Stevens. She admits to having a plan to make Donnie ask her out, and that’s the only reason she’s hanging out with “his lame sister.” What a loser, for real. Thank the lawwd for Louis’ hidden cameras.

Louis is upset and tries subtly telling Ren by warning her that June “isn’t as cool as you think she is.” But of course Ren is all “JUNE MARIE IS THE COOLEST PERSON I KNOW!!!!!!!” - I hate when people refuse to listen to other people like their own family members when they're trying to help them. I wanna slap Ren. 

We get a mirror talk mid-episode from Louis in the bathroom about how he has to find some clever way to tell Ren to make her believe him. Yay! Caring Louis looking out for his big sis! His deep speech (accompanied by sad piano) ends with a curveball joke. (”...The worst part is........ I got a zit the size of a volkswagen.”) Shia's phrasing is always on point. I laughed. The joke helps saves the scene from becoming an overly sentimental, cheesy parody of itself.

We find out that Steve and Eileen have Louis’ tape and....... they accidentally taped over it. THE HORROR!!! If you lived through the era of VHS tapes, you understand. There's no "undo" option, people! This scene gets me so mad every time. Of course Louis is asleep when this is revealed on hidden camera. Louis is so smart, but he spends the rest of the episode completely oblivious to the fact that the tape is right under his nose. It’s cute.

Louis decides to write June Marie a note signed “Donnie” asking her to come over for a date. She shows up right on time, overly eager and dressed for the Oscars -- coming onto Donnie full-force. 

I just noticed it looks like they’re actually at the real house for this shot??? Or that could just be a painting in the background. Probably. 

Louis set everything up so that he could show Ren the live stream of June being a [Raven Voice] ‘lil nasty. She’s curling into Donnie’s side on the couch saying “I’m so glad we finally got together. I only became Ren’s mentor to get to know you better.” 

Ren gets so heated, she marches downstairs and tells June Marie offffffff for being a two-faced liar and a terrible role model. Donnie’s caught in the middle of it and has absolutely no idea what’s going on: 

Same, Donnie.

But, yaaaaassss Louis for #exposing June Marie. And yaaaaaassss Ren for confronting her. (”I got news for you, Little Miss Pretentious... I can get that job on the yearbook without your help.”) The sass level is through the roof. I love it. It's always satisfying to see a snake like June get rightfully stepped on. 

Ren yells at Louis for not telling her about June but....... he did tell you, Ren!! That’s what you get for not listening to your family. 

The scene that follows feels like an ad-lib. Shia and Christy are genuinely laughing. I’ve mentioned this a million times before, but according to Shia they ad-lib’d quite a bit on this show. I think this is one of those instances. It’s great. 

The episode ends with Eileen telling Steve to burn Louis’ tape. Meanwhile, Louis is still hoping to get it back. It’s supposed to be funny, but it honestly makes my skin crawl. I'm so sad for him D:

And that’s it! I remembered not being all that crazy about this one simply because it’s clear in my memory due to it airing very frequently. But it's actually a pretty satisfying and slightly scandalous story, haha. My only issue is that this episode is incrediblyyy slow paced. In most cases, that’s one of the things I love about the first season. But, here it just kinda draaags on a bit. 

The best aspect, of course, is Louis wanting to help Ren. Whenever they focus on the brother/sister dynamic, the show really shines because that is the foundation! Like, hello! Louis and Ren are the Stevens who are constantly trying to... get Even! So, yeah. I like when their relationship is highlighted in some way. For a more Ren-Centric episode, this one is pretty good. Although, this is another episode that involves a one-off character. This is something we see a lot in the first season, which I don’t understand??? The freaking premiere episode was about a random guy. This episode is about some random chick. The next episode is about Yvette. The episode after that is about some random dude. Like..... who decided that a chunk of Season 1, a.k.a. everyone’s first exposure to Even Stevens, should basically not fully focus on the main characters? Idgi. Might just be a symptom of the show trying to find its legs.

At least this is a case where they found a seamless way to combine the two plot lines. A story like this also helps Louis come across as endearing. So that’s good. :)

Thanks for reading! Thoughts? Leave them below! 

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[dev-angeline]

THE EVOLUTION OF MEDIA: AN INFO GRAPHIC TIMELINE

Hello! Bonjour! Namaste! Kon’nichiwa! Ciao!

So I am here to explain the timeline of the EVOLUTION OF MEDIA! Of course we would never have the technology that we have today if it weren’t for these events! Let us go to the very beginning shall we!!

1) PRE-INDUSTRIAL STAGE

So in the beginning of time, or the stone age, the first means of communication was cave paintings which were created by cavemen to show us their inborn talent of art as well as telling us about their ways 30, 000 years ago. How convenient!

The “Code of Hammurabi.” is another proof of communication, this dated back to 1772 BCE, containing the laws and codes of the Babylonian king named Hammurabi!

2) INDUSTRIAL STAGE

We are finally in the Industrial stage, THE BEGINNING OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES!! YAY! As shown in the picture above, that is the start of newspapers, and the very first newspaper EVER was printed in the late 1590s in Western Europe. Feel old yet?! Besides this gigantic machine, there were also other invention created in this stage like;

THE VERY FIRST CAMERA,

THE TELEGRAPH,

AND THE VERY FIRST PHONOGRAPH! So be glad these things were invented, without them the technology we have today may or may not ever exist~

3) ELECTRONIC STAGE

OMG Chris Pratt!! I promise you, this picture is important in knowing the next stage of the evolution of media. Or to be more specific his Sony Walkman. One of the reasons why we could finally listen to music anywhere! This stage is what slowly made us lazy people! With also the use of these different inventions;

TELEVISION!

THE WORLD OF VHS!

AND OF COURSE THE FIRST COMPUTER!

5) DIGITAL AGE

Do I still need to explain? The age of Happiness has finally arrived, THE DIGITAL AGE! THE AGE OF THE MILLENNIALS! The reason why life is now made easier, from communication, and others. These gadgets are;

PHONES, LAPTOPS AND TABLETS;

SMART WATCHES;

AND OF COURSE THE NEWEST ADDITION THE VR!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These are just some of the ages that we have experienced and known about. Though we are still not sure about the future, how their ways of communicating would much different from what we have now.

Well that’s about everything! I do hope that each and every one of you are now well informed with the Evolution of Media! Though please inform me if there is anything I missed or if I made a mistake! Thank You and I hope you enjoyed and became well informed. BYEEEEE!!! (=^~^=)