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victorluvsalice · 2 years

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-->Oh, they got their fair share of the love, don’t worry. Having shared some kisses with Alice, Victor gave her the salmon he’d caught so she could grill it up and eat it (girl was feeling the hunger -- and the stink, as you can see; fortunate the public bathrooms in the forest also include showers!), then went inside to play chess with Smiler, who favored him with a serenade (after kicking his butt). This led to embraces, kisses --

-->And selfies! And THIS is where I discovered all the fun goofy poses that Sims can pull in selfies thanks to Moschino Stuff adding all those emotional poses. XD I wish I could have shown you more of them (especially the sillier poses), but I was using filters to brighten up some of these, and those basically bleach out the damn screenshots, unfortunately. But these I feel are a good selection -- Victor and Smiler took theirs at the “station” in the forest, while Alice and Smiler and Victor and Alice took theirs at the cabin. Gotta experiment with these and photography in general more!

-->Anyway, yes, as the darkness and the clouds set in again, the gang headed home to chill out. Victor caught some zzzs, while Alice indulged in some beastly boogies and howled her way to another ability point -- I had her pick up the Somber Howl, which will allow her to occasionally lower her Fury in exchange for a sad moodlet. Good for preventing more rampages! And Smiler did some more fishing, using Baconite to catch a bass and a perch they caught to then grab a trout or two. It’s all good plasma packs!

And that is the second day of their camping vacation sorted! Next time, the third and final day -- with more rain, sadly, but also a few more adventures! See you then!

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andypantsx3 · 11 months

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i've read ab intra like 5 times bc it's GREAT but there's something weird about it like... EVERY SINGLE TIME i forget that it was written by you and then i look for it EVERYWHERE like i check every single xreader author i know and then i see ab intra and go wow what is this (i SUCK at reading summaries im sorry) and then?????? THIS WAS ITTTT what makes it even weirder is that i check your account regularly to read even the shortest drabbles!!! i think you are an AMAZING author. i dont even write myself but i read your answers to ppl asking for advice on writing bc im so curious about what it is that you put in these stories

and also since this is already very rambly i also wanted to add how much i love unconventional?????? ive read it an EMBARRASSING amount of times and it never gets boring!!!!! my favorite part is towards the end where bakugou makes fun of the reader like yeah!!! how couldnt they realize it was real, actual deku!!!! in general i LOVE how in each story you write the reader is smart but also. VERY VERY VERY oblivious!!!!

i wish i could write a very detailed and i guess eloquent??? thing about how much i adore the way you tell stories and what it is that makes them so.... good idk how else to say.. but instead it turned into this lol hope you dont mind the long ask<3

Omg you absolute angel!! 🥺 This message single-handedly gave me the energy to write again this evening so thank you for that!! 😭

Maybe ab intra doesn't feel like one of my fics because it has real plot and like, some slight kink lmfao, when normally I'm out here doing goofier stuff. I was reading a bunch of really bleak Japanese police thrillers at the time and so I was in a ~mood~ lmfao. I am so beyond grateful that you go looking for it though!! I already get way more support than I know what to do with, but ab intra is like, possibly my most underrated, least appreciated fic, and so I'm very very happy you love it.

Ahhhhh and thank you for loving unconventional too!! I love smart idiot readers and unconventional was like the pinnacle of intelligent idiocy and so I had the time of my life writing it. No eloquence needed, this message is already so unbelievably appreciated in the level of detail and kindness you've shown. I am over the moon about this and I will be running off to write now that you have given me the human equivalent of the zoomies!! Thank you so so so much. 🥺

#ask andie

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pluto-art · 4 years

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Pinky and the Brain - Animation Studios: An Essay

Howdy kids,

During production of Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and other shows, animation was outsourced to various studios -- TMS Entertainment in Japan, Wang Film Productions (also known as Cuckoo’s Nest) in Taiwan, and AKOM Productions in South Korea being a few. The quality, style, and fluidity of the animation varied per episode depending on who was given the work. The studios that had a hand in Pinky and the Brain, specifically, are as follows: - TMS Entertainment (Japan) - Wang Film Productions (Taiwan) - AKOM Productions (South Korea) - Rough Draft (South Korea)

For Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain, only Wang and Rough Draft contributed. On the Pinky and the Brain segments in Animaniacs, StarToons (USA, Illinois) was also given work along with the other studios. For this essay, however, we shall only be reviewing the studios that worked on the Pinky and the Brain spin-off.

Although a post or two has gone around detailing the differences in studio styles (I give credit to @mx-sid-warner for creating one of these posts), I wanted to submit a more comprehensive list, complete with a plethora of screenshots for better comparison purposes. My apologies in advance for the low resolution of many of the images. Had to work with what was available to me.

- TMS Entertainment (Japan) -

• Expressive, bouncy, fluid

TMS is undeniably one of the best, if not the best, studio that Warner Bros. turned to for outsourcing work, as they provided the most dynamic animation, shots, and expressions. Oftentimes, they would push the characters to their limit when it came to squash and stretch, compromising keeping them on-model for impactful poses. They were a “no holds barred” company and have stood the test of time, still churning out animation to this day.

Going for a cuter, goofier look, TMS didn’t always draw Pinky on-model, but it didn’t matter... ‘cause he looks so darn adorable in their style:

With Brain, TMS always ensured that his large cranium was kept as such, and, as with Pinky, they weren’t afraid to eschew correct proportions for the sake of making a character really ‘pop’ emotionally.

Depending on what worked better emotionally, they’d either set Brain’s eyes further apart or bring them really close in.

When it came to squash and stretch, TMS were masters at their craft. The following screen shots are from the short Brain Meets Brawn.

They didn’t have to animate him swallowing the potion like that, but they freakin’ did, and it’s much more impactful as a result. Even the thimble is pliable. I really like this angle and background, as well. It was probably done by an artist at the Burbank studio instead of at TMS, but it’s still worth pointing out.

Extreme stretches to emphasize the character’s current emotional state. They pushed that neck and held it, helping you feel the moment.

Another fun bit is when he turns into a rather beastly state after having drunk a potion that turns him into a Mr. Hyde version of himself:

These are some GREAT poses -- very bold, fun, and hilarious.

TMS is also known for having worked on the Christmas special, which had some wonderful moments in which Brain confronts his sentimental side:

Bonus screenshot ‘cause, I dunno, I like this shot:

Even these images don’t quite do TMS justice. They’re my favorite in regards to animation for just how bouncy and expressive it gets. It’s a good example of how veering way off model can work in your favor if done correctly.

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- Wang Film Productions (Taiwan) -

• Cute, sentimental, pliable

Although not as risk-taking as TMS when it came to animation, Wang is my absolute favorite of the studios for one thing alone: style. I can’t describe how they draw these characters as anything other than adorable, and when drawing Pinky and Brain myself I tend to take a leaf out of Wang’s book in particular.

Instead of following the standard when drawing Brain’s skull, they opted instead for a softer, cuter touch, slimming down his cranium a little and giving him a more pronounced forehead that gave him a sweeter, “babier” look.

Pinky gets a similar treatment, keeping his proportions cute, albeit more solidified:

Like TMS, Wang had a penchant for strong, palpable emotions in their work, and seemed to have a blast portraying everything from fear to smarminess:

Wang kept the proportions of the characters more petite, with their heads and limbs closer to their bodies. They would stretch them now and again, albeit not as often as TMS would, and the characters were given a lot of leeway and pliability in regards to expressions. They also seemed to have been given the more saccharine episodes that pushed the relationship between the characters and that explored the more tender sides of themselves -- episodes such as The Pink Candidate, This Old Mouse, Megalomaniacs Anonymous, Brain’s Night Off, and Broadway Malady.

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- AKOM Productions (South Korea) -

• Minimalist, direct, metamorphose

AKOM is... interesting. They are altogether simple in their performances of the characters, keeping the animation fairly direct and unmalleable, while at the same time being somewhat metamorphose in style. They seem to have had a difficult time sticking to a specific design, with the characters ranging in size and shape from short-to-short and sometimes even within one episode:

Brain is generally given a head quite a bit larger than his body (this is standard, of course, but as opposed to TMS and Wang, AKOM pushes it even further; it’s almost bobble head-ish at times), along with a more pug-nosed look and eyes set farther apart:

Pinky varies, going anywhere from his general form and big-nosed profile...

... to a literal pixie:

Occasionally, you get a cute pose that has a nice little spurt of emotion in it, but, generally, Brain is kept very straight-faced and dull against Pinky’s boisterous demeanor.

AKOM is known for animating the Brinky episode, which featured Brain and Pinky’s son/clone, Romy. I’ll give them credit in that there are some sweet Romy poses to be found throughout the episode:

That being said, I do wish that they’d pushed the emotional element more. Take this shot from The Maze, for instance:

Had TMS or Wang been in charge, we probably would have gotten much more dynamic expressions here. Not that these are bad, but they could have been pushed more than this.

AKOM is by no means the worst, but they’re not the best either.

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- Rough Draft (South Korea) -

• On-model, solid, sketchy (occasionally)

Of the four studios involved in the Pinky and the Brain show, the one that kept the characters most on-model was probably Rough Draft. They were somewhat conservative when utilizing squashes and stretches, rarely deviating from the model sheet and pushing the characters only so far animation-wise. While this resulting in stiffer performances, particularly in regards to Brain, they didn’t deprive their audience of cute expressions either.

The following screenshots are from Two Mice and a Baby, It’s Only a Paper World, and Pinky at the Bat.

Rough Draft harbored a couple of cute little ticks that, while not necessarily unique to them, tended to show up in their work.

One is that, when Brain was ruffled, they’d appropriately ruff up his fur, as well:

It’s a cute look that I wish had been put into play more often.

Another is what I call the “squirrel paws” pose, in which Pinky brings his hands up to his chest like a squirrel would do. They did this a lot, and it’s adorable:

When it comes to squashes and stretches, Rough Draft certainly didn’t take advantage of it as much as TMS or even Wang did, but the poses would still be expressive:

Animation-wise, Rough Draft kept it limited, but sweet and very on-model.

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So what’s the tally? That’s entirely up to you. Everyone is going to have their own, personal preference, depending on which style they favor. Speaking for myself, TMS is, in my opinion, the best studio overall, but Wang remains my favorite for how charming their drawings of Brain were and how emotive their facial expressions would get. Here’s my final ranking in terms of skill:

TMS: 10/10 Wang: 9/10 AKOM: 6/10 Rough Draft: 7/10

How about you? Which studio is your favorite?

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Episodes shown:

A Pinky and the Brain Christmas (TMS) Brain Meets Brawn (TMS) Megalomaniacs Anonymous (Wang) This Old Mouse (Wang) Fly (AKOM) The Maze (AKOM) Brinky (AKOM) Two Mice and a Baby (Rough Draft) It’s Only a Paper World (Rough Draft) Pinky at the Bat (Rough Draft)

#pinky and the brain #animation #studios #animation studios #pinky #brain #animaniacs #warner bros #analysis #essay

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jordanthatblondegirl · 5 years

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Jo’s Notes: Four

“You’re the one that has to live with your choice.”

Four: A Divergent Story Collection gives readers insight into the origins of Tris’ sometimes mysterious training instructor. This story collection delves into Tobias’ life in Abnegation, how he handled the Dauntless initiation process, and reveals the motives behind some of his perplexing actions in the main trilogy.

Tobias is one of my favorite characters, not because of who he is, but because of his narrative arch. In the original trilogy, we start out by seeing him as this super serious instructor. Then, he opens up and shows his goofier side; he can’t talk to girls, has a sharp wit and a sarcastic streak. He’s also a great example of how even people with strong moral compasses can be lead to do things they would have originally disagreed with.

Veronica Roth said she had first tried to write the Divergent story from Tobias’ point of view, but ultimately made Tris the main character in order to best tell the story of the factions. After reading this collection of stories, I think that was a very good change to make; it would have been a completely different story, though probably not a bad one.

I’ve always been fascinated with Tobias’ ability to appear divergent without actually being divergent. I feel like it wasn’t addressed enough in the original novels, but it almost makes a return when we learn the story of Tobias’ faction test. He was a kid with a shown aptitude for Abnegation, but he chose Dauntless; I don’t think the element of choice was demonstrated enough in Tris’ selection ritual. It showed us not only more possibilities for Roth’s world, but also that you don’t have to have an aptitude for something in order to excel at it.

There was a moment in Insurgent where Tobias off-handedly mentions that he wanted to work in the control room so he would know how to get out of the Dauntless compound. That was the first time I realized how wired Tobias’ mind was for survival. Having grown up in Abnegation, I wondered what baked that response into him. This book not only delivered on that character development, but also gave readers a look into how he transformed from the meager boy who tried to hide himself away as a defense into the capable, confident leader he was in the main trilogy. It gave me hope for a lot of people.

The one thing I really didn’t like was how, for Tobias’ initiate class, the leadership moved the fear simulation to the first day - before they even got dinner! I get that this was sort of needed in order for Tobias to receive his new name, but other than that it didn’t serve the story much. In fact, I could argue that it took away from some epic tension between Tobias and Eric. I can see it almost perfectly: Tobias would have introduced himself as ‘Nobody’ on the train, then all of his training he would have been underestimated in addition to Eric being nosy and wanting to figure out his true identity, and it ends with the final fear simulation where the instructors introduce “Four” to the entire faction - from Nobody to to Dauntless legend. Beyond my wishing for a more compelling origin story for Four, I really doubt moving the simulation to the very first night would really tell the Erudite which initiate was the best puppet. You can’t prepare for it, so I guess it might have given the Erudite a look at who kids are before joining Dauntless. Except the physical training and living with the other initiates has the potential to completely rewire a person’s belief system, so I had a hard time accepting the motives for this change in training procedure.

Lastly, a minor thing that bugged me was how Roth didn’t make Amar gay enough. That may be a harsh way to put it. What I mean is that, when we were introduced to Amar in Allegiant, my gaydar was pinging him before he admitted it to Tris. We saw that he was interested in George, and he alluded to being equally attracted to Tobias. However, in Four, we don’t get anything like that. We only witness his faked death. I wanted to chalk it up to Tobias being oblivious to it, but that would actually be a super weak argument. We see in the original trilogy and in his interactions with Marcus in Four’s earlier stories that Tobias is very attuned to ulterior motives and micro-expression. The fact that we don’t even get a throw away line where Tobias is maybe even confused by Amar’s actions toward him, disappointed me.

While the stories in Four were entertaining to read, it felt inconsistent with the original trilogy. There isn’t one thing I can point to that makes them feel unrelated, but it’s the feeling I get as I walk away from the novella. The collection is an interesting development of the original story, but one that I don’t feel I gained anything from reading.

Rating: 3/5

#Four #Four: A Divergent Story Collection #Tobias Eaton #Divergent #Book #Book Review #Review #Jo's Notes #Jo Post

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regnigt · 5 years

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Got Vivi (One Piece) for the character questions meme from over on Twitter, to my delight!!

favourite thing about her While she's warmhearted and idealistic when it comes to the good of others, both close friends and her whole kingdom, she also doesn't hesitate to get her own hands dirty if need be, thus her whole two-year undercover stint in the Baroque Works as a bountyhunter. She will abandon pride and withstand insults if necessary, but also doesn't hesitate to deal out would-be fatal blows to a clear enemy (like when she decapitated Crocodile at Rain Base... if only it hadn't been for his powers). I love that whole combination. Her will and determination is tremendous, and I don't know if I can say she gets enough credit for that.

least favourite thing about her I don't really mind that she's not the strongest fighter, but I do wish she was a little stronger than we've seen in canon, and that for a very specific reason! Namely that Oda's said that Usopp will always be the weakest of the Strawhats. Since Vivi still counts as an honorary Strawhat, that must mean among the regular ones. But I want her to become a regular Strawhat! Somehow! I know, I know, the country of Alabasta would disagree, but... (I guess it's also possible Oda doesn't hold onto that old statement any more, but in case he does...) Okay, there's also another least favourite thing: she does have her moments, but she could stand to be goofier.

favourite line "...In that dark storm, I encountered a small ship. While pushing me forward, the ship said, 'Can’t you see that light?' This wondrous ship, which never lost its way even in the darkness, danced its way across the huge waves. The ship didn’t resist the tides, instead it sailed ahead despite the strong headwinds. Then, the ship pointed out and said, 'Look! There’s the light!'"

brOTP with all the Strawhats from Luffy to Chopper, with Kohza, and with Karoo of course

OTP Naaami!!! My favourite shipping option for them both, and one of my top ships in the fandom as a whole. It's so subtexty it's crazy. And it's not just that one flirty couple of panels (although they were flirty!), but the whole of their interactions, and not the least that neither of them have been shown to take interest in any guy. Not even in a passing "huh, he's kind of handsome" way, at least not that I can recall. I also like Vivi with Usopp and with Kohza! And with Robin, allowing for some frank discussions between them first.

Vivi's position as a crown princess does make it hard to think of plausible endgame couples for her, alas. Honestly I'm not even sure if Kohza would be politically possible for her to marry, let alone any pirate... But who knows how things may change in the future?

nOTP None in particular.

random headcanon I want to see her meet Jimbei soon because for some reason I think they could become great buddies. They have similar attitudes to duty and leadership, they're both earnest and determined yet pragmatic; and they're both fiercely loyal. And they just... seem like they could be on the same wavelength. I could be proven wrong, but that's how I see it right now!

unpopular opinion She might well have been more in the right than Luffy in their fight in the desert when it came to which route they should take, even if Luffy was more emotionally right in that she could trust the Strawhats to do more. Since they chose Luffy's option (which hinged on attacking Crocodile directly and beating him before he could do more damage, something that failed badly the first time and caused a big delay), we don't know if choosing Vivi's option and going to the rebels' new camp would have saved more lives in the end. But it's notable that it's what Crocodile feared more.

song i associate with her this is random and obscure as hell, plus I have no idea if the lyrics are appropriate or not, but this old opening to the little-known anime "Strange Dawn" feels Vivi-esque in its feel to me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj9hvrZietQ

favourite picture of her Manga 1 (official coloured version) Manga 2 (colour spread detail) Anime Official art (I think) For fanart, sticking to Tumblr stuff I've reblogged which can be sourced to their original post (without digging through too far back): Fanart 1 (scroll down) Fanart 2 (part of this set) Fanart 3 Fanart 4 Fanart 5 Fanart 6

#nefertari vivi #nefeltari vivi #opmeta #character questions #my meta #alabasta arc #strawhats #so much love

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purplerakath · 7 years

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Degrassi What’s Next - Lola Pacini

Oh man, see I knew Lola would be good from S14, but I thought Imogen one scene wonder perfection. We got so lucky with her. The writers started giving Amanda stuff to work with outside of comedy, and she ran with it and didn’t look back. This has all been amazing. She’s also in the best overall space for anyone on the show right now when it comes to giving them screentime and ins on plots.

The Good - Lola’s had solid grounding moments and growth moments for the past three seasons. While NC2 had the issue of being a plot that was aimed well for the characters, but not for the demographics, all three seasons have kept Lola in a mostly forward momentum toward being a better character. Each time they put her with the right balance of agency and self, but with hints she’s actually afraid and uneasy (and working through that). Lola can effortlessly be written into any plot with any character for any reason. She’s in a good place.

The Bad - So the big issue with Lola is that a lot of her issues were told to us instead of shown. In S14 when they are peppering the ground with plot ideas to decide what to run with that’s fine, but in NC1-2 we really needed to see her mommy issues in the flesh (or lack of flesh) to really hit them home. Or at least smooth over the rougher edges in BuyMePizza getting to the reveal.

Lola’s doing the best so her complaint is nitpicking.

What Could Have Been - I will, always and forever, wish that Lola was secretly a brain tanking her own class scores to be cute. By the Gods the reveal and twist would have been fantastic. That Lola’s some ditzy airhead... who happens to be good at school. But since she fits in as ‘the dumb one’ she plays into her goofier thoughts and vanity. It would have been a great twist but they didn’t do it.

And I’m fine with who Lola is, don’t get me wrong. Just... it would have been great to have that in the air with her while she does have some flights of fancy and gaps in logic.

So that’s what Pansexual Means - So this plot likely needs a new fresh face to make it work, a Sophomore or Freshman girl who is just heart eyes about Lola. And while Lola is all about her boy Saad, this girl is all about Lola. Now from the framework this is a ‘gay girl falls for straight, heart crushing sadness ensues.’ The twist of course is... Lola’s flattered, and would totally be into it if she wasn’t already about someone else. Lola will do her best to not crush this young gays little heart because it’ll bring Lola around to the other side of her usual role.

She gets to be the one turning someone down, instead of... what happened with Tiny and Miles. This is what I think they tried to do with Vijay and Tris but just... botched, spectacularly. Anyway the other advantage is it allows for a pan character without any pan romances (yes that’s a thing, you can be demi/bi/ace, and totally open to the idea of nonstraight romance and then never have one), and also legitimize it. It’s a slightly different sour note than what Gracevas hit, but it has more room to be positive.

And is a good way to introduce a new character.

A Girl with Needs - So the second plot idea, as much as I choose a misleading header, is about education. So there are a few ways to go about this. The cutest and lightest touch would be ‘Lola needs glasses.’ That Lola’s been just labeling herself as ‘dumb’ (because it’s comfortable and everyone else puts her there) but she’s there because she’s got an actual issue with classroom learning. She has a need that isn’t being met, now this could be introducing a learning disability that isn’t dyslexia (although having Lola be dyslexic would make her addiction to emojis take a new light), or that she doesn’t learn well in classroom environments.

Or she just can’t handle work well because she can’t see because she needs glasses.

The glasses version is a lighter and softer as it’d just be about Lola feeing uneasy with how she’s treated because of them. The Learning Disability options are a lot deeper and had better involve hitting all the ableist language issues that come up in society. They defined Lola by her lack of school abilities, now to define why she’s like that.

Some Parents Don’t Come Back - So what they should NOT do is have Lola make up with her mom. Sorta like how Zoe’s mom had to be a homophobic bigot because that happens, estranged parents that leave don’t always come back. Sometimes parents that are jerks... are jerks. We haven’t really done that lately. They went out of their way to bury the abuse with Miles and his dad. Immy’s mom came back and that was good for her.

I mean they can have Lola’s mom come back and still not be there for her, still be the bad guy in her story. But... it makes more sense for her to just be absent, not evil.

#degrassi #degrassi next class #dnc4 reactions #degrassi what's next #lola pacini

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