#i think he fits the trifecta he just isn't very kind to the people he has to fight | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

gumy-shark · 10 months

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okayh okay HI you said you wanted to know about the freedom/passion dichotomy thing? ive got the graph and i am going to do my best to explain this to you despite me barely having a grasp of it on myself. THIS IS VERY LONG IM SORRY.

so the first thing you need to know is this just started as a way to split my ocs and help me make character arcs and motivations, and it became a little bit of a habit to categorize my favorite characters this way as well. its is in no means a perfect dichotomy, and im constantly looking for ways to refine it, but for now the best way ive found to illustrate it is this:

basically its which think they represent most... or what they value the most? idk its kind of a case-by-case basis and is dictated by Vibe. like I said THIS IS VERY FLAWED so bare with me pls

when i first started watching lmk i sorted all of the characters i knew into either category. this was within the first four/five days are watching so some of it might be.. off? but i think its still worth something as my first impression of the characters, and it'll probably help illustrate what i mean

Wukong -> Freedom Macaque -> Passion Wukong and Macaque have this thing where one has too much freedom and is learning to temper that with passion (wukong) and the other has too MUCH emotion and is trying everything he can to gain true freedom (macaque) (this is true even when he isn't under LBD's control but is esp prevalent then). they each value the opposite thing they stand for and are trying to be more like the other, without even realizing it. MK -> Freedom Dont get me wrong! He very much has passion! He holds a lot of emotion in that body! but a lot of that passion is the passion for freedom. he just wants to be able to be himself and hang out with his friends, he doesn't do well with all this responsibility :C Mei -> Passion Does this need defending? High sense of duty (mainly towards her ancestors and her friends), and so incredibly passionate. and impulsive. She spits fire when angry! Nothing more to be said honestly. Red Son -> Passion Is a really good parallel to Mei, has too much passion to fit in his body. [In the original notes, I noted that he was 'scared of true freedom, but doesn't know that yet. I'm pretty sure this references his relationship to his parents? Smth smth he's too scared of making them angry so he doesn't explore who he is outside of his relation and loyalty to them?] Pigsy -> Passion this man doesn't need freedom when he as his passion for food. what does he need to be free from? he has everything he wants HEART EMOJI! Tang -> ...Its complicated The thing with tang is that he kind of gets like a character arc with like. Responsibility and his care for his friends? He goes from low passion/high freedom to low freedom/high passion over the course of the show. please note that i am insane about him and if i really wanted i could write a whole essay about him. Sandy -> ??? ONCE AGAIN ITS WEIRD. I WISH THE SHOW FOCUSED MORE ON HIS CHARACTER AND BACKSTORY BC I CANT GET A READ ON HIM.

okay thats the main cast, and HERES THE ALIGNMENT CHART ACCORDING TO THAT. WITH OTHERS AS WELL.

theres not a lot of people without any value of freedom and passion at the same time so the grey area is pretty empty LMAO.

ANYWAYS. I BROUGHT THIS UP TO BEGIN WITH BECAUSE OF THE CHARACTERS WITH EYE SCARS TRIFECTA!!! Basically i see them all of how i described macaque earlier. He's trapped in a situation that he doesn't want to be in, whether it be LBD's control or his situation wiht wukong or his own creepy and standoffish persona/his trust issues making it hard to make real connections with others.

(in contrast wukong loves doing his own thing and just Hanging Out and never stopping his own momentum, but he also has trouble caring about... a lot of things actually. he's just soo easygoing! responsibility harshes his vibe!)

But anyways, macaque's problems are very similar to quackity and tempest's, i feel. Quackity constantly feels trapped by physical threats like techno or dream, and also his own circumstances and trauma (a lot of it from schlatt and manburg). a lot of his actions are him trying to reclaim the freedom he used to feel when he was younger. tempest felt she couldn't be truly herself without her horn, but in trying to get it she got herself in a really bad situation where any wrong move could get her killed.

The passion part comes in play in different ways for them all. Quackity tried not to care about people for a while, but still can never stop being extremely loyal and protective of his friends. Tempest had lots of rage inside her and was so intensely driven to get to her goal. And Macaque canNOT stop obsessing over wukong honestly. All three of them are very passionate, and all three of them are constantly trying to gain more freedom.

This is a super long ask, but thank you for inviting me to ramble about this lmao. I think everyone represents freedom or passion in their own way, and this dichotomy really only matters for characters BUT I THINK ITS FUN. THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TEDTALK!!!!!

i had a whole Thing written out and i was so proud of it and then my phone decided to delete it before i could post and not save as draft. but yeah im putting this chart in the microwave and then eating it and then putting it in the fridge so i can keep it overnight and microwave and eat it again. this is so fucking Good. in their attempts for freedom macaque cquack and tempest all disown the people they were when they Were free, bc they want to be unbound entirely, but they Feel too deeply for that to ever be a possibility for them. so they do the next best thing and try to pass those "lessons" they've learned on to others OUGH it makes me sick!!!

#ask!!#astro!!#also i do wonder if wukong's 500 years of Get Mountain'd Idiot caused his tendency to choose freedom over people #or if it just kinda Solidified what was already there #also interesting in this context is the fact that the journey to the west #while being probably the happiest time of wukong's life #was also the part where he had the least freedom and was forced to truly rely on and care about the people around him #or smth

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lizziestudieshistory · 3 years

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Books of 2021 - March

I had a very strange reading month in March, I read more than I usually do when studying but then fell into a reading slump in the last 10 days or so... It was all a certain book's fault!

The Burning God - R.F. Kuang (Poppy War #3)

I've already got a post somewhere explaining how I felt about The Burning God. I had a wonderful(? feels like the wrong word but I'm sticking with it) time with this series, in a morbid kind of way. It was highly worth the read and The Poppy War is one of the best debut fantasy stories I've read to date! I was slightly disappointed in some of the elements (the Trifecta still spring to mind, I was expecting so much more...) but it was a great series. Highly recommended if you haven't given them a go.

Shadow and Bone/Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo (This includes all three books, plus the Demon in the Woods)

I read this entire series back to back in the space of about 10 days... I haven't read a series this fast since I was in high school! And I LOVED it! The Grisha Trilogy is a stereotypical YA as you can get - it's clichéd, tropey, and predictable. However, I still had a fantastic time reading them, much to my surprise.

Unfortunately, I loathed Mal (don't kill me), he was one of the most toxic "heroes" I've met in YA fantasy and I'm not over the infuriating conclusion with him and Alina (if Alina had to have a partner she should have married Nikolai, come on! Roguish pirate AND a dashing prince in one man!) I'm genuinely angry that the message Bardugo gave young girls with the conclusion to Alina and Mal's relationship arc was 'sacrifice everything, including your identity, to be play housewife with a boy with such a fragile ego he ignored you for an entire book'.

I really hope the TV series removes some of his controlling and manipulative behaviour - and yes I can stomach it with the Darkling because HE IS THE VILLAIN and not framed as the paragon of virtue Mal is... I did very much like the Darkling as a hot villain, and I'm looking forward to seeing my childhood crush, Ben Barnes, do him justice ;) Seriously though, the Darkling was the most interesting character in the series, maybe tied with Nikolai, and I'm sad we didn't see more of him in the second and third books.

The Hatmakers - Tamzin Merchant

I ADORED this book! I was expecting to enjoy it but not love it, however, I fell in love. This is a debut middle grade novel set in an alternate version of 18th century London. We follow Cordelia Hatmaker, the youngest Hatmaker, attempt to find her father after he's lost at sea. The Hatmakers are an old family of magic users who make hats to effect people's mood and behaviour.

This book was so heartwarming - it was fun, sweet, and enchanting to read. I wasn't sure of Merchant's writing style at first, it was a bit too much! She's very lyrical in her style, for a children's author, and I thought it was going to grate. But it fits the tone of her world and characters so well I didn't notice it after the first few chapters. It's honestly beautifully written. Characters were great, the plot was predictable but hilarious (I'm not the target audience so that's fine), and the world was well realised, if small. Overall, it was a wonderful novel and I'd highly recommend it to everyone - I enjoyed it as much as I did Nevermoor!

There's also the BEST tiny side story about a couple of young fops who want hats to help them duel! Absolutely AMAZING and I hope they turn up in the second book!

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Here is where the month fell down for me and I fell into a slump... So A Thousand Splendid Suns is the story of two women in Afghanistan during the late 20th century. We see the Russian occupation and the rise of the Taliban through their eyes, as well as the devastating effects the almost constant warfare had on Kabul and their lives. However, this is more the background to exploring these women's lives, starting with Mariam as a child in the 1950s and following her life after she's married off by her father to Rasheed. We also follow Laila, who's literally the girl next door, and how their lives intersect during the course of the novel. It is a powerful story about the strength of women, the bonds they form, and the consequences the attitudes of men have on their lives.

So I'm conflicted about this book, on the one hand I can very much see its merit. It's a beautifully written, engaging, and thought provoking novel. It's one of those reads that stick with you and you mull over for weeks afterwards. It makes you think and I am glad I've read it.

On the other hand, I HATED every second I was reading it. On top of the general misery you'd expect (given the description above), this book discusses domestic violence, marital rape, forced child abandonment, miscarriages, imprisonment, etc. You name it, it'll be here. I could see the reason for this but it made for such a miserable reading experience that I could barely keep myself going at times. I seriously considered DNFing it at the end of part 2 and the only reason I didn't is because it's my book club book.

It's one of those reads that are immensely powerful and worth while, they open your eyes and make you think. However, it's reading experience is so miserable it's hard to see whether it was actually worth it while you'rein the book. I would say give it a go if you're interested because it really is a masterpiece and beautifully achieves what it set out to do. But please do go into it having done your research and aware of the trigger warnings.

On the Currently Reading Stack

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Technically on the pile, if we're dating this to 31st March. Although as of writing this (3rd April) I've finished this. I had fun but still don't like heist stories... Great characters though!

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

I'm dipping in and out of this, as it's my 5th time reading it... I will finish it eventually but don't hold your breath because I'm only picking it up when I'm REALLY in the mood for Sanderson or feeling slumpy.

The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien

Another long term read, I'm slowly finishing off my annotation reread of the Lord of the Rings. Very much enjoying this read but I'm taking it slowly so I can do my annotations justice.

Bleak House - Charles Dickens

Still going, it's just an enormous and slow book... I'm going to try and finish it in April but this isn't a promise...

#books of 2021 #reading #mini reviews #books #r.f. kuang #the burning god #leigh bardugo #grisha trilogy #shadow and bone #seige and storm #ruin and rising #tamzin merchant #the hatmakers #khaled hosseini #a thousand splendid suns #not proof read

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fly-pow-bye · 7 years

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Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “Mini Golf Madness“

Written by: Haley Mancini

Written & Storyboarded by: Alicia Chan, Grace Kraft

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

Mulligans are not necessary here.

The episode starts with an establishing shot of Wooly’s Ragtime Mini Golf, the Wooly’s clearly being a replaced word. Totally Not Old Man McGucket, or Wooly for short, tells everyone to have a “golf-tastic time”. Then he gets hit by the Wooly’s sign, revealing that it used to be owned by Rico. Is there a point to this? There might be, but it's never outright stated.

The golf course is filled with animatronics of 1930′s cartoon characters...and Top Cat! A very rare appearance of a Hanna-Barbera character not named Scooby Doo on modern Cartoon Network. I wish it was less rare. Unforunately, these robots are breaking down too easy, which could be our first hint that’s something is not quite right about this place. Bubbles doesn’t seem to mind, though. It’s still cute to her.

Buttercup plays a round of mini-golf, with her sisters helping out. Bubbles is the wind checker, checking the wind using her pigtails. Blossom is keeping score, and because she’s a nerd, she also suddenly talks about the history of the golf course. It was based on the characters from an old 1930′s cartoon called Owly Boop, an obvious parody of Betty Boop. Before Blossom can talk more exposition than necessary, Buttercup shoos her away while she readies her shot.

It lands in in animatronic’s trumpet, which then breaks down, dropping the ball right into the hole. Blossom tells Buttercup that her score is a -7. Buttercup scoffs that her score is a negative number because she’s doing so great, but Blossom reminds her that negative scores in golf are a good thing.

Buttercup: Well, it’s time for Buttercup to do terrible!

Too easy. Also, running gag.

After a montage of Buttercup “doing terrible“, Buttercup faces a giant animatronic Owly Boop at the “Final Hole“. Buttercup has gained enough of a crowd to get the janitor to act as a commentator, because she’s the first person at this mini-golf place to ace every hole so far. Judging by, this is her first try, too.

She swings super hard at the golf ball, making it fly. It hits the animatronic’s ear, an airplane, and a generic sign that says “Generic Sign“. The animators couldn’t get rid of the placeholders in time. It lands right between Owly Boops’ legs, rolling right into the hole.

Bubbles, now acting like the reporter as the janitor is busy with this episode’s poop joke, congratulates Buttercup on her first time perfect game, and asks her what she’s going to do next. Unfortunately, since this is Cartoon Network and not something that owns world famous theme parks, they can’t complete the obvious reference. Instead, Buttercup says she’s going to take her game-winning lucky ball back home.

Wooly isn’t too fond of that plan, as this golf place was built before the concept of having a final hole that is essentially a glorified ball return place. He menacingly tells the girls that all balls must be returned...OR ELSE! Buttercup asks, but he’d rather keep it a secret. He then does a villain laugh, because he's the suspicious guy!

Buttercup goes up to the ball return place, assuring Blossom that she’s a good girl and that she’ll return it like the man says. Of course, Buttercup has a diffterent plan. She just happens to have a gumball in the same shape as one of the mini-golf balls...which she then starts chewing so she can think harder. I’ll admit, that’s an okay joke.

Buttercup’s actual plan is to steal one of Bubbles’ reboot pigtail beads and use one of the blue balls as the replacement. Hey, they finally made Bubbles’ new design useful! We get an ominous shot of the Owly Boop robot opening its eyes while the Powerpuff Girls talk about how creepy Wooly and his course is, making it a bit too obvious what’s going to happen next.

Buttercup cherishes her lucky golf ball, as she and her sisters go to bed. While sleeping, Blossom hears a big explosion. Apparently, even Blossom has gotten used to the lack of crimefighting in this series, as she thinks the explosion was Bubbles farting. Bubbles says it wasn’t her, and then she actually farts. Because this is a piece of children’s media in 2017. I’m surprised there isn’t a pee joke to complete the trifecta.

Blossom tells Buttercup to get out of bed, and she wakes up the other two to show them what she’s seeing:

A shadowy giant singing robot that looks oddly familiar destroying the city. The Powerpuff Girls get out of bed and tear off their pajamas, revealing their usual clothes. Yes, they do apparently shed off their bare feet to reveal their shoes. Don’t even ask how.

It turns out, it’s the giant robot Owly Boop that guarded the last hole on the golf course, tearing apart the city in search for something missing. In her words, which she sings in the style of Betty Boop:

Owly Boop: Hooty-hoot, who’s got it? Hooty-hoot, who’s got it?

She dances around, sings in a jazzy style, and there’s shots like the one above, which fits with the Betty Boop theme of the character. Mostly, she just lifts buildings, leading to jokes like comforting a man who felt his room was too stuffy with that pesky ceiling, and the classic “reveal a woman bathing, causing her to scream“ joke. This is a throwback episode, so it fits.

Highlighting one scene in particular, the robot lifts City Hall like one of those step-on garbage cans to find what she’s looking for, grabbing the Mayor. This leads to The Mayor commenting that she looks just like Ms. Bellum except for her face. I’m glad that Ms. Bellum isn’t completely forgotten, though comparing her to a Betty Boop parody tells me they still don't see her for her personality.

He then cries, because he misses her, with Bubbles having to comfort him. Later on, there’s a cutaway where Bubbles reads him a bedtime story in the same way Ms. Bellum did in one of the flashbacks in Bye Bye Bellum. A more obvious callback to a previous episode? Who would have thought that would happen?

Blossom immediately knows what’s going on, and tells Buttercup that this is happening because she stole the golf ball. Buttercup tells Blossom that she earned it by being "terrible", and says she would do the same thing in her position. To Blossom, she's the epitome of morality, and she would never steal a thing. Guess she forgot about those golf clubs.

Buttercup, not willing to give up her lucky golf ball, decides to do what she actually does worst: actually beating up monsters in this reboot. To be fair, even in the original, if it would break the story, the Powerpuff Girls could, and should, not defeat the Monster of the Week. Catastrophe? The slime monster keeps reforming. Uh Oh Dynamo? Better have that monster be suddenly invincible so they can get in the robot!

The main issue, and I've written this before, is the lack of contrast. There's very little Girls Punch, Monster Down to establish the Powerpuff Girl's powers in the reboot, unlike the original where episodes often open with Townsville under attack and the Powerpuff Girls saving the day. It's a good thing Cartoon Network's website has original episodes as well, or we might forget that the Powerpuff Girls are supposed to be ultra-super-powerful.

Of course, robot kick, girl down. Womp womp, hooty-hoot-hoo. The way she does it isn’t too bad, though: she telescopes her legs to the sky, and then while Buttercup is confused, she kicks him in a way resembling Betty Boop’s dance moves. I like the way the robot is animated in this episode; I wish I made more GIFs.

Wooly shows up, not really concerned that one of his animatronics is destroying the town, but is concerned that whippersnapper is a thief. He tells Buttercup robot will not stop until what she has stolen returns. Huh, he sure seems to know a lot for being an innocent golf guy. He does a lot of evil laughs, too.

Despite everything, Buttercup still feels that she doesn’t need to give up that golf ball that she earned. Besides, it’s not like the city is totally destroyed! Cue the ironic panorama shot!

Wah, wah, wah, waaah.

Buttercup, having no choice, goes on top of a ceiling. She asks Bubbles to check the wind speed, and it’s apparently so strong that it blows Bubbles away. I guess the Powerpuff Girls are now weaker than wind. Buttercup repeats the same golf ball bounces everywhere gag from before, and the ball lands right into her mouth, shutting her down.

They all get ready for the once-an-episode apology scene, until the robot comes back to life with the startling twist! I won't entirely spoil it here, but you can add this episode to the massive pile of episodes that make Blossom look foolish.

Foolish enough for a wah-wah trumpet!

I will give this episode credit: despite consantly making him seem that way, they never really out Wooly as the villain that's the cause of all of this. This episode actually leaves an interpretation to the viewer, and that’s actually nice in a reboot not familiar with the word “subtlety“.

Does the title fit?

Madness is caused by a stolen mini-golf ball.

How does it stack up?

I didn't come to this episode expecting much, but I left rather surprised. The Owly Boop robot is charming, some of the jokes actually work, and it's great to see an episode involving superheroics. In Buttercup's way of thinking, this episode is "terrible". In other words, it's good. Wrap your head around that one.

Next week, the Bro Sharks. Oh, (Man)boy.

← A Star Is Blossom ☆ Summer Bummer →

#fpb ppg 2016 #fpb reviews #powerpuff girls #ppg 2016 #cartoon network

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