All art is at once surface and symbol

So, I think I have enough songs for a fanmix (we called 'em "FSTs" in the ol' days of Livejournal) so I'm checking out how 8tracks works to see if I can get one ready. Which leads me to a rant about something that annoys me about 8tracks.

The biggest problem I have with 8tracks is I can't see the tracklist. I have to listen to the entire fanmix first, and I'm only allowed a certain number of skips. What if there's an artist I don't like? I wouldn't know they're there until it's too late. Sometimes I want to look at what other songs people have for Frisk, Chara, etc. So that I, a fanmixer, don't end up using the same songs everyone and their mother already uses and associates with Frisk, Chara, etc.

I don't have time to listen to entire soundtracks. JUST GIVE ME THE DAMN TRACKLIST AND I'LL DECIDE IF I WANT TO LISTEN OR NOT. This is what I really miss from the FST days on Livejournal. YOU HAD A DAMN TRACKLIST. At least some 8tracks fanmixes are advertised on tumblr posts with a tracklist included, saving me a lot of time. Still, it's extremely frustrating.

"But Puri, the whole point of 8tracks is to discover new music! You can't do that if you have immediate access to tracklists!"

DON'T TELL ME HOW I SHOULD LISTEN TO MUSIC.

Sometimes, if I see artists I like on the fanmix? I may be encouraged to listen to the others. And I haven't heard every single song by my favorite artists, especially if they've got a HUGE library like say, Tori Amos or The Beatles. So finding songs that remind me of a character or pairing by an artist I like that got buried beneath Archive Panic is a cool thing. Ex. I hadn't registered "For Good" from the Wicked musical as a Friskriel song until someone pointed it out and sang a cover for it. Even if it's a song I already have, I could agree with the fanmixer's choices and I'd want to know what else they've got. Back when fst was still active, I used to comb the archive for FSTs that had at least one song by an artist I liked, such as Patrick Wolf or AniDiFranco or Bjork. That's how I got into their music, from little trickles that people would include on FSTs. Didn't matter if I didn't know the fandom. I'd look up, see they have a song by Garbage or Say Anything I hadn't heard yet, and pounce on it like a cat with a new ball of yarn or a laser pointer dot.

And this way, I have something to associate the song with to remember it by, as opposed to aimlessly wandering iTunes. Ex. I have this gorgeous male cover of "I Hope You Dance" (done by Ronan Keating) I got it off of some random shippy Iruka/Sakura FST or something. I wouldn't know anything about the fandom or pairing at all, but I'd go, "Oh hey, I got that song from a random Naruto FST! :D"

Hell, I can tell you the FST I was introduced to Patrick Wolf from. It was for Ken Ichijouji from the second season of Digimon. Looking through the tracklist, I saw "Magpie" along with a few sample lyrics. I thought, "Hey, that looks pretty" and downloaded it. I was blown away. Like, from the first note.

( Reaction .gifs? Oh yeah. Required. )

Where was I? Oh, right. I can't really do that anymore on 8tracks. I'm forced to go blind with the exceptions of a few artist names in the tags instead. THANKS 8TRACKS.

Class doesn't start until 10 AM, but I can't sleep again anyway. So here's pictures I took of my homemade Raggedys. :D

( Taken with my 2DS, hence the lower quality )

You can read the heartwarming story of how I got 'em here. :)

I just finished reading and listening to a really awesome creepypasta based off the NES Godzilla. Sure, it's had its corny moments ("I KILLED SPOILER MUFASA") and cliches common in crappypastas ("ZOMG THE GAMEZ ALIVE AND TALKING TO ME!!!11!1"), but the spritework and the way the author sets up the atmosphere is so good, I can forgive them. I was invested in this from beginning to end, and though a lot of people would disagree with me, I thought the ending was satisfying and well-deserved. There's a lot of legitimately creepy parts in this, particularly the Entropy level. :o

The dramatic reading is great too, it plays music from the original game and such, and has a few bonus jumpscares. Plus the reader kinda sounds like James Rolfe at points. :o Someone recommended it over the original blog, but your call.

Retsupurae did a dramatic reading of a SMB3 crappypasta called BLOOD WHISTLE. I gotta give my hand in riffing that one when I get some spare time. XD

I've been browsing through old entries at id_smash_that, the Smash Bros. Kink Meme. So many memories! Ness/Lucas and Red/Lucas were very popular requests, which makes me a happy duck. Here's some old fills I've liked~ ♥

Red/Lucas: Squishy cute awkwardness with the size difference is welcomed. (Fanart) (G)
Ness/Lucas: Cavity-inducing fluff. (Fanart) (G)
Meta Knight/Kirby: Scars and bittersweet fluff. (G)
Marth + Meta Knight + Ike: Oath of Fire (G)
Jeff + Lucas: Jeff teaches Lucas the finer points of aiming a bottle rocket. (G)
Peach/Zelda: Peach making a 'cake' on Zelda's body for her enjoyment. (R)
Red/Lucas: Dick in a Box (PG-13)
Olimar + Pikmin: Excerpt from Captain Olimar's Journal (G)
Ness/Lucas: Coming of Age (NC-17)
Captain Falcon/Snake: After being rejected by Samus in rapid succession, the two raid the liquor cabinet to drown their sorrows in alcohol...and end up drowning them in each other instead. (R)
Snake/Samus + Pit: Pit is Trojan Maaaaaaaaaaaaan! (R) (Skip second part)
Red + Jigglypuff + Leaf: Red recognizes one of Jigglypuff's alternate outfits is that of the female trainer back home. (G)
Mewtwo/Lucario: Purpose (G)
Meta Knight/Jigglypuff: Fool (G)
Meta Knight + Marth + Ike: For Our Friend (G)
Ness/Lucas: Changing Colors (G)
Lucas/Smashville boy: Lucas finally finds someone to protect, instead of being the protected one. (G)
Lucas/Ness/Claus: Outnumbered (NC-17) (Includes twincest)
Flint discovers his sons on the Kink Meme: It Doesn't Run in the Family (NC-17) (A couple of my fills got featured in this! :D)
Dedede + Zelda: Behind the Mask (G) (Vague spoilers for "Revenge of the King" from "Kirby Super Star Ultra")

Man, I remember that no one in Smash Bros. fandom could write Pit as anything other than an angelic uke who had no idea what sex was. Boy I bet they were in for a surprise when "Kid Icarus: Uprising" came out!

Someone requested Ness/Ninten/Loid fluff. I would've been happy to fill that. ;; And hardcore Meta Knight yaoi, but you didn't hear that from me.

I want fluffy fanart of Lucas and Madoka hugging. They'd be the best friends ever. ;;

Okay. Let's see if I can do this without sounding like a bitter tantrum-throwing manchild.

( Why this movie is a Berserk Button for Puri. )

( Why the Liar Revealed trope can eat a bag of dicks, especially in A Bug's Life. )

But let's be a little more fair. What would happen if I've seen "A Bug's Life" without all the emotional childhood baggage? What would I think?

( *dundundun* )

So yes. Whenever people complain about "Cars" and call it the first "sucky" or "mediocre" Pixar film, I shake my head and point them to "A Bug's Life." It's an okay movie and while I'd prefer it over the likes of trash like "Cool World" and "Shark Tale", it's ultimately forgettable. And looking at it through the lens of nostalgia? Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate.

Someday I'm gonna make my own ant story, and it'll take after real life biology and have the ant colony be a matriarchal society. Fuck yeah. 8)

On April 12, 2012, it was announced that Hasbro will be making a new line of Furbies, which will be released in September of 2012.

Confession Time: I used to love Furbies. As in, I was completely obsessed with them. I had two: Mee-Mee (Gray with black polka-dots and pink stomach) and Toh-Moh (a tiger one) and a red McDonald's one with a lime-green that I can't remember what the hell I named, if at all. I decided to make them children and families out of cotton-balls. I'd color the balls with marker, draw and color and cut out the parts, then glue them onto the body. I made children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters... I had a gigantic extended Furby family, you could say. And they all showed up on the couch on my eleventh birthday (to my joy), the same fateful surprise party where I received my copy of "Pokemon Blue."

My family put up with me and my love for Furbies. My parents complained about them, my relatives wanted them silenced, and my sister hated them. First the Tamagotchi craze (I even had a couple GigaPets and a Talking Nano), then the Furbies. I used to talk to them constantly.

Nowadays... Furbies remind me of robotic mutant owl eulogy statues. (If you don't know what eulogy statues are... look up Zelda: Majora's Mask. And stay far far away from a series of YouTube videos about a boy called "BEN")

What is my life, and why did I have such horrible tastes as a kid? I think all my Furbies are still stored away in a box somewhere. Like Tribbles, but Uncanny Valley. *hedgehog hiss forever*

I just found a video that has every episode of The Itchy & Scratchy Show ever made. This has led me to do things one would only do if they had spare time... writing my own episode summaries. Some based off my fandoms.

( Old fashioned cat-and-mouse gore. Some episodes are titled, others aren't. )

Feel free to makes your own "Itchy & Scratchy" episodes in the comments. :P

Johto Pokémon may not quite show up as much in our 100 Mon Countdown. Part of it has to do with a smaller selection compared to the other regions... less Pokémon, less favorites. :( There are a few that I like though, and today we'll be discussing one of them. Meet (Heart)/Gold and Crystal exclusive, Mantine. :)



( Commensalism? In MY Pokeymanz? )

We're two posts in, therefore two Pokémon will be sharing the spotlight today! Chilvary lives on... meet Gardevoir and Gallade!



( First person to mention porn or A Pokémon Story gets shot with so many holes you'll turn into bloody swiss cheese. With that out of the way... )

But in this brotherhood I still believe
And for the ones we've lost my soul will grieve
Yet through the world alone I wander for I know somewhere
I will find my brothers, by the sword I swear!

I wonder who #3 will be! Hmm...

Now that I'm older and more cynical, I appreciate this scene more than ever. Kudos to you, Wednesday! ;D

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope you all had nice nommy food.