#also last names are inherently more badass
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What it feels like to call authors by their last name: In 1956 Shakespeare was at a severe crisis regarding his career and private life. Just three months after his son Hamlet’s death, a restraining order is issued against Shakespeare and several others by one William Wayte, “for fear of death,” a context we are to this day unsure of. Had Shakespeare quarreled physically and even violently with Wayte? Had our sweet Swan of Avon struggled with that which had ruined the lives and fortunes of lesser men? Have we caught a glimpse of the flesh and blood man beyond the legend? Even in this clear documented instance, Shakespeare is still as remote and mysterious than ever before.
What it feels like to call authors by their first name: So Homeboy called me up and was like, “What up bitch, you’ll never guess what just happened” and I’m like “ooh what bitch give me that ☕️” and he’s like “I threw hands with some bitch ass Puritan and now he’s put a restraining order on me” and I’m like “whaa no fucking way!!!!” and he’s like “yeah lol i’m just crazy that way I guess 🤣 I dunno I guess I’m sad because my son died” and I’m like “your son just what” and Will’s like “yeah, Hamlet’s dead, so my mental health is not all there if you know what i mean” so of course I tell Homeboy “Booooo you whore stop fighting and go get therapy” and Will’s like “I know” and then he just cried for like seven hours straight but that’s Will for you he’s Like That
#shakespeare#william shakespeare#cristina is silly#the second is so cringe#when i was editing student papers the students always referred to the authors by their first names#and i would always highlight it because yeah cringe#also last names are inherently more badass#with first names there is that fake ass intimacy#this is in the context of a student paper ofc#biographies and fictional treatises are different
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Ranting about how JP is not a good critique of capitalism made me want to talk about a sci-fi monster movie that is an excellent AND highly relevant exploration of anticapitalistic themes: Alien (1979).
First I want to say that if you haven’t seen Alien, please do so before I spoil it for you. It’s not just one of my all time favourites, but also one of the greatest pieces of science fiction ever created. For real, please go watch it.
The biological aspects of Alien are often the most talked about themes in the movie, which is fair, because they’re simultaneously very interesting and in-your-face. Most viewers remember the movie for the gory sexual imagery, not for an authentic depiction of class struggle. I actually wrote a video essay a while back that I never made about how our innate disgust and resulting fear of parasites/parasitoids is the primary driver behind the xenomorph’s ongoing popularity. I’m not immune to this aspect of Alien’s eternal intrigue, that’s for sure.
However, there’s one narrative element that makes Alien ripe for class analysis, especially today, and that is the film’s portrayal of artificial intelligence.
AI in Alien is consistently shown to be hostile to the crew, but not because of a glitch, like HAL in 2001: Space Odyssey, or because they decide to rise up against their oppressors, like in Terminator. No, what makes Ash, the android, and MOTHER, the ship’s AI, so threatening is that they are doing exactly what they were programmed to do — whatever it takes to ensure corporate interests. In this case, they are programmed to ensure the survival of an extraterrestrial monster at the cost of the crew.
The audience isn’t privy to all the things that Ash does to meet this goal, but at the very least he breaks quarantine protocols, does a shitty job of watching the facehugger, lets Kane join the rest of the crew for a meal (when they still don’t know what it did to him!), plays dumb once the xenomorph is on the loose, and attempts to murder Ripley when she discovers his mandate. If it weren’t for Ripley being a determined badass, Ash might’ve gone unnoticed until the whole crew was dead and the Weyland-Yutani Corporation had their mitts on the alien so they can cause another catastrophe.
This horror, that you will encounter AI whose programming doesn’t care if you live or die, is what makes Alien’s take on the subject so relevant. Dipshits like Elon Musk or some shitty tech journalist might try and convince us that ChatGBT scary because it can fake being human, as if Skynet is right around the corner.
No, the real horror of AI is that the people in power (our bosses, our politicians, etc.) are going to use it to exploit us, just like how they use everything else.
In the end, it takes being skeptical of things that seem trustworthy for Ripley to defeat Ash. The audience finds out from the Nostromo’s captain, Dallas, that Ash was a last minute addition to the crew, as chief science officer. This is a role that inherently engenders trustworthiness in the face of the unknown, especially for a crew that is basically a bunch of working joes. It’s not unbelievable to conceive this was purposeful by Weyland-Yutani to make Ash above suspicion. That, combined with literally naming the ship’s AI MOTHER, of all things, shows that the company is deliberately weaponizing aesthetics to foster a positive relationship between the crew and their AI agents.
Alien serves as a reminder to be vigilant as we enter the AI boom, because these programs will be used to exploit us, and corporations WILL try to cloak this purpose behind relatability, convenience, and trust. The AI we encounter is more likely to be Ash or MOTHER than it is to be Data or Skynet.
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aitsf
guessing it's for the fandom section lol
001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:
Favorite character:
at this point i can admit that's gonna be. date. mr sex himself. he's the reason i dyed my hair blond last year. chewing on him. such a good character but by god he needs his ass beat posthaste
Least Favorite character:
shoko lol she's just. Bad. well-written but acknowledging that does not make me hate her less
5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon):
uhh that's gonna be datomi. and. that's it. i don't really care much about other ships. i guess jupewter is neat? and boss/tokiko is some sexy evil yuri? dunno
Character I find most attractive:
boss.... what can i say. women. they are good. would love a milf that'd spank me and call me a nasty little b- *is dragged offstage*
Character I would marry:
hitomi!!! she's so sweet and kind but has that streak of fire in her that'd make me lose it lol
Character I would be best friends with:
iris would be my girl bestie But. i would get wasted on cheap beer and vodka with date lol
A random thought:
wish they weren't all cops... sad. but i guess that's the inherent flaw of most detective fiction :/ plus i can't see any of them (maybe except mizuki and mayyybeee ryuki) quitting
An unpopular opinion:
speaking of, it'd be so sexy if boss used her sexy blackmail powers to do Some Good & not seeing that was kind of a waste :/
My canon OTP:
datomi <3 they're so married
Non-canon OTP:
ok this one's. super not canon but mizuki and the gf i gave her in sunshowers lol
Most badass character:
mizuki!!!!!!!!!! GET EM GIRL
Pairing I am not a fan of:
ryu//date 🤢 a) date is definitely into men but he's super married, b) ryuki needs therapy and some taste before getting into a relationship, c) i think it's more interesting if this remains unrequited
Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another):
uh mama i guess?? especially in aini. like she's not a flat character but her transness could've been written much better. and then there's that change in design 🫣
Favourite friendship:
boss & date <3 there's so much there that we don't know, but what we do makes me crazyinsane like. "all she did, she did for you", she's the one who gave him the name, the way they bicker but also care about each other... AUGH
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what ac students would get piercings, and or tattoos? and if so, what would they get? 
*pulls out the roster*
Okay.
Piercings
Standard piercings: Okano, Okuda, Kataoka, Hara, Fuwa, Kayano, Kanzaki, Nagisa (but he doesn't wear anything; it was because of his mom they're even pierced)
Double piercings: Yada, Kurahashi
One side pierced: Chiba, Muramatsu, Takebayashi (he was going through a phase)
Gauges: Hazama, Yoshida
Double piercings with a bar: Nakamura
Belly button piercing: Nakamura, Yada
Tattoos
Sugaya I think would have the most, full sleeves and his whole back and chest done. I had a friend, also an artist, who only did black and white tattoos because they aged better and if she was bored, she could color them in temporarily. I totally see Sugaya being that way too, and whoever his significant other ends up being would probably get a kick out of it. XD
Nakamura has a tramp stamp and maybe a few other small ones like a ladybug next to a galaxy or something random, but also unique and somewhat mesmerizing.
Maehara has at least two, one he really regrets while he was drunk, and one he worships more than anything.
I don't think Nagisa ever would (unless Karma got him drunk enough one night and Nagisa would probably hate him for it) but I love the idea that he has one of those massive tattoos of a snake wrapped around his side, across the back, and then under him arm going up around the shoulder. He'd look so badass! But I don't think he's inherently a tattoo guy.
Karma probably only has one and he makes it sound like it was a random last second decision, but it actually means a lot to him. And it's in a secret, well hidden place that only the highest caliber of SOs get to see. 😏
Chiba. I can see him rocking a sleeve. Probably a dragon, a play on his name, but I can also see some random ones of various art. Also, he strikes me as the guy that would write a song for a girl (Hayami) and then get the sheet music of a part of it on his back right over where his heart is. 💙
Maehara convinces Isogai to get one for his father. This is probably the one Maehara has too, because I totally hc that he likes Isogai's dad deeply as well.
Kimura has one or two. He was peer pressured. He doesn't hate them though. Maybe one is a Flash symbol and the other is a running rabbit or something. Both related to his speed.
Kurahashi totally has a butterfly or 30 somewhere on her body. XD
Kanzaki. Still trying to be defiant… I imagine she regrets it though and later has it removed.
Hayami. I think she has one she secretly dedicates to Chiba, but explains it as something else. It's a sight (like when you look through the scope) on her back and it's placed over her heart like Chiba's sheet music for her. 💙💙 I will die with this ship.
I think Terasaka tried to get a sleeve done, but he didn't know what to put on it and just picked random stuff and gave up halfway through. He likes it all, but there isn't much of a story behind any of it.
Yoshida has a back tattoo of something important to him. I'm not entirely sure what, but I imagine it's mostly black and white with some red highlights in just the right places. And it's a massive tattoo, the largest of anyone else's. Probably had Sugaya design it.
Muramatsu caved and got a tattoo of his favorite noodle dish. It's really small and probably somewhere like on the back of his hand so he can easily show it off. He thought it was cool, okay?
Itona I think has a few, but they're random and spread out. They're all meaningful though, and in some form or fashion represent strength.
Fuwa has a tattoo or two of a notorious symbol from One Piece. I haven't seen the anime, but something as prominent as Luffy's hat.
Bonus!
Ren has a single piercing and a few tattoos on his arms.
Seo got his ears pierced, one of which got infected and closed up, and then he didn't want to put it in the wrong ear and be considered gay, so he never wore anything. Argues it's what all the cool Americans do. XD He also has a stupid tattoo or two. Or five. He regrets all of them, but refuses to get them removed.
Koyama is most likely to have the long extravagant anime piece, probably something from Hayao Miyazaki's films, like Howl's, tattooed around his leg. He's very proud of it.
Araki has a tattoo he also greatly regrets. He got it because of Seo. XD
Shuu wouldn't dare sully his body my making such unnecessary modifications to it. You would be idiotic to think he would. XD
Thanks Blessed-Arson for the ask! It was a long one. XD But I enjoyed it a lot!
I may have forgotten some of them, so feel free to ask if I didn't mention a character you think would have piercings/tattoos/both. Have a great day!
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Thoughts on Uprising Episode 5, Identity
- Beck continuing the trend of getting into trouble with Wrong Place, Wrong Time stuffs. poor kid…
- love that Tron is in this episode more, being the same Grouch as always.
- the disc theft is……. Interesting. We know from Legacy that there is such thing as a forged disc (Zuse mentions it in the list of things Sam needs to get to the Portal); perhaps stolen discs is where those come from? And stray programs are mentioned in Legacy as well, though not expanded upon. Honestly, TRON is FULL of Unexplained Worldbuilding Things that I would give my right hand to know. UGH
- stray programs are such an interesting concept. Like the disc is the program, apparently?? It’s like…. well actually thinking about it, it makes sense?? Kind of???? The program is made of fairly basic code; the disc holds that code and its log of activities, while the body is just a physical manifestation of the code itself. Unlike Users/humans, whose code is an inherent part of them/us, and thus can’t be memory-wiped by swiping an activity log. It’s interesting as fuck, is what I’m saying. Like the philosophical implications of the program being the disc and not the physical person—so Interesting!!!!!
- also the glitches are scary as Fuck. One moment you know what’s going on and then the next you don’t know anything?? Terrifying. And well portrayed by the episode, too, with the fisheye effect on Beck’s closeups and the general blurriness from his PoV.
- could have sworn Cobol was voiced by Ron Perlman, but it was some person I’ve not heard of instead. Doing one heck of a Perlman impression, tbqh.
- Lux is EXTREMELY INTERESTING TO ME. Siren who’s gotten caught up in the black market?? INTERESTING. Also she’s a whole hell of a lot more principled than Cobol, because when she sees Tron it’s like everything changes for her. Also the shaved head is just badass looking.
- meanwhile, a three scene B plot with Zed and Mara!! That took up like six minutes of episode time. Like okayyyyy. Turns out I didn’t need to be so worried about Zed joining the anti-Renegade taskforce, because it turns out Mara kind of guilted him into doing the right thing!!! Good for him I guess.
- Also someone commented on my last commentary post that Bartik here and Bartik in Legacy are the same character/program, and uh. Wonder how THAT happens, because damn. How does one go from happily helping Clu’s forces to hoping a revolution against Clu can be sparked into existence???? Color me intrigued as fuck.
- love Tron’s comments about Beck being his friend at the end there. Especially the bit about trusting someone as a friend and being betrayed, bc from what I know of later episodes, that could be like three different programs!!!! (Clu, like Beck assumes; Dyson I have heard was a friend turned enemy; and then Cyrus as well!! Again I have not watched the whole series and my last dip in was 10 years ago, but from what Discussion I have seen I am making some Assumptions.) also love the comment that he “made the right choice this time”, because that is just dripping with implications that I imagine pay off in future episodes…..
- other details: Purgos as the name of the black market district is interesting, with the obvious name tie to Xtian (or at least Catholic) Purgatory; wonder what the creators meant for us to take from that… // Galt was an interesting one off character; total sleazeball of course, but interesting nonetheless // ngl when they were surrounded by all of Cobol’s goons, I was kinda cackling because like. It’s Tron. Even scarred all to hell he’s gonna kick most of y’all’s asses.
- I am probably gonna watch this episode again with captions on so I can get helpful juicy deets for my TRON horror story fic idea. I gotta do some brainstorming on stuffs tonight for sure.
- that said the brainstorming might have to wait bc the next episode has Paige Backstory and also QUORRA sooooooooo…….. yeah
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Wanna know about Reylo ? 👀
(Spoilers ahead)
So, in the new trilogy, the main character is Rey (no last name), an feral gremlin of an orphan who lives ona desert planet and has learned about the rebellion in ancient texts and loves them. One day she meets Finn (ex stormtrooper) and bb8 (adorable nb droid) and they both say they have to bring bb8 to The Rebellion. Rey, being an adorable nerd, absolutly beams with joy and does this, with adventures along the way. There's also Poe Dameron, super cool pilots and best bud with bb8, who keeps doing heart eyes to Finn and has helped him escape. The bad guy of the story is Kylo Ren aka Quiche Lorraine aka the poser emo son of Han and Leia, who idolizes Darth Vador and wants to rebuild the Space Nazi Dictatorship (it's not subtle : theit logo is black thing in white circle on a red background).
So what kind of ship do we have, here ? Rey(white woman) with Finn (black man), about overcoming what you're born into and being your own hero. There's Finn (black man) and Poe (latino man), about being bickering best friend and saving eachother. Or, there's the white man (Kylo Ren), and you can ship him with Rey to make the Heterosexual White Couple where the woman has to redeem the man.
Please note that during the first film, Kylo tortured Rey (and Poe), and they fought a lot. And Kyle was like "uh maybe i can be saved... SIKE it was a ruse to kill my dad".
In large, the internet flocked to FinnPoe... or to Reylo. The Reylo stan were *unsufferable*, attacking people who were saying that the SpaceDictator was a bad man (one unironically said that people should be nicebeing seeing his dad die in frontof hiseyes surely traumatized him, forgetting that he *killed* him) and making up Tumblr Fake Stories about recieving free crepes by a fellow Reylo shipper, The Most Opressed Group Of All time. Dont get me wrong, there was definetly a large anti-reylo movement, because of the inherent mysoginy of the "she can can save him from himself" trope, the "shipping a woman with her abuser" and the obvious need to thirst on the single white man when John Boyega and Oscar Isaac here here, but the Reylo were sooo much more vocal.
The 2nd movie was super divisive for a lot of reasons, mostly that it didnt look like any other star wars film and subverted a lot of expectations. I wont get into,but i really liked it. There was this whole thing about a secret bad guy forming a mental bond between Rey and Kylo, and Kylo trying to manipulate her to come to the dark side and Rey thinking "Leia is nice, i will do all i can to bring her son back to her and save him". But at the end of the film she realizes he can't be saved if he doesn't *want* to be saved and she cuts the connection bc she's badass. She has empathy for him but she cares about *the million of people he opresses and kill* more. The reactionto the film were EXPLOSIVE, and the Reylo shipper kind of harassed everyone (to be fqire they werent the only one, Mary Tran, the only asian woman of the whole star wars universe, had to delete her social media in part bc he character kissed Finn and in partbc she dared to be an asianwomanin a star wars)
The the 3rd film arrived, and it was... a shit show. Jj abraams retconned all the interesting bits of the 2nd film, Mary Tran character basically disappeared, the latino man was revealed to be a drug dealer, palpatine (bad guy from trilogy 1 and 2) arrived out of NOWHERE, i cant emphasize enough how he was dead and not even metionned before that film, Rey was revealed to be a Super Special hereditary mc guffin and she can bring people back to life now, Finn says "Rey i have something to say to you!" and never says what it is, and Kylo Ren said "mh maybe palpatine is evil, i should repent and be a good guy now". So him and Rey join force in a (granted, impressively choreographed) fight scene, and he dies and she kisses him (which does not bring him back to life despite the tchekov's gun before) and the good guys whin. Jj abraams said later that they should have written a 3 movie scenario instead of making things up as they go. A lot of people theorize that the retcon and the reylo change of heart/redemption arc had come bc of the reylo stan outcry online.
So, there. A brief history of Reylo and why a lot of people (me included) think it sucks. I'm gonna be honest, the Reylo stans are a big part of it.
THANK YOU, I'VE BEEN TOLD IN DM BY TWO PEOPLE AND ALSO SORRY I'M NOT READING ALL THAT
#I WILL NOT READ MORE THAN TEN WORDS ABOUT STAR WARS#BISES#journaskliteuse#Also lmao deactivating reblogs because if people find this and decide to make fandom drama on va pas s'en sortir 🤙 please people
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i finally had brainrots for my don:
i like the idea of him having a soft sounding name, a name that has a feeling of false security. like when you'd first hear it, it doesn't sound completely threatening and it deters you away from his true self: a ruthless piece of shit. it doesn't work on everyone of course but it works on certain people, depending on their level of naivety. i'm thinking about calling him lauro.
still thinking about a last name for him, but i like the sound of colella. don colella.
what also plays into his kind sounding name, is how well he looks. he is well groomed, well dressed, dresses in warm toned clothes, a lot of blacks, navy red, navy blue, dark greys. he gesticulates, focuses on people when he's talking to them or listening to them. if you don't know him his behaviour makes you feel noticed and welcome in the conversation. but if you do know him his mannerisms seem more like threats than anything else, he is focusing on you and your surroundings, he's keeping track of your every move.
he's a warm character. he has a deep, smokey voice. a warm complexion. strong arms, scarred hands, a soft stomach.
born in 1907, that would make him 45 years old currently in 1952 (i'm assuming we could start off here, things would've settled by then), and it's at this age he was approved to start building his own crime family.
his main business is a well loved jazz lounge, where he has his family meetings upstairs, and it's also where he spends most of his down time. the people he has here are people he trusts the most and wants to keep safe (the place is heavily guarded). it has a warm, welcoming vibe. dark spruce walls, orange lights, red rugs, whiskey, wine, champagne, fireplaces, giant red and gold curtains.
probably has another business though to help launder more money. like a restaurant or something.
he just isn't allowed to drive, he's awful. he has a personal driver. probably owns a really nice limo, like a lassiter in game, but he's not allowed anywhere near the drivers seat.
surprisingly a really good singer.
bisexual. he wants to hold every man and woman's hand.
^ i like to think he's sweet on one of the singers in his jazz lounge.
he's awfully romantic and it's really only where his 'kindness' truly shows. he's awkward, he's lost. flirting? he does not know how, he's a bit unnerving. (i think he's the type of guy to take some poor woman into the middle of the woods and be like 'isn't it so pretty out here :D?' without realising that woman is probably terrified).
that being said he is nice to his crime family, he's just, not great with affection and praise at all. good intentions, poor execution. it ties into his romantic heart too, he wants to impress people, but he won't really do anything anyone finds traditionally romantic. he won't buy flowers, he'll buy alcohol and if they won't drink it he will.
hearts in the wrong place, desensitised to gore, too insane and selfish for all the innocent people he keeps falling for. he's not completely nor inherently evil, he's just, rude, and uptight, and, oddly caring sometimes. he's weird.
so, so far: a handsome, badass gentleman who is a trained ruthless killer.. but to level it out he's also a dumbass who falls for people too easily, and he is awfully terrible at trying to be romantic, and he's just a weirdo.
#its 3am#it's been so long i hope people are still interested omg#i can't believe i was originally going to make him a lost youngster who needed to be fixed... who was going to be good in the end..#NO. MAKE HIM BROKEN AND HOT AND EVIL#um.#blorbo family#lauro
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Introducing Bravo
Stats:
Name: Bravo
Serial Number: B93
Gender/Pronouns: Trans Female She/Her
Height: 6ft 2in
Species: Unmodified Delphtean
Sexuality: ?* It’s nuanced
Romance: ?* More nuance
Birthday: Oct. 30
Age: 50s
Occupation: Bravo has held a few jobs in her life: ringmaster, badass leader of a highly specialized cover forces unit for purposes of getting rare materials for the Delphtean Kingdom, public figure, hero, role model, and overall exceptionally famous.
She was never interested in being a princess. So when she was old enough to declare her passions, she jumped into the circus and started as a trapeze artist. Eventually due to her strong voice (and a little bit of her inherent fame due to her parents), she got promoted to ringmaster. This was where she met Dozer and Nightstalker: a lesbian pair consisting of a Delphtean cannon ball and a magician/tight rope walker.
When times grew tight for the Kingdom due to some interspecies and interplanetary conflict, the circus was contacted for recruits and Bravo, Nightstalker, and Dozer volunteered. Bravo was given the leadership role to fill the rest of the positions of the squad.
The squad consisted of:
Bravo - Leader, wingsuiter, and general badass
Nightstalker - Helicopter and small-craft pilot
Dozer - Frontlines and AI specialist
Several unnamed but dead members that have cycled in and out over the years.
Foxtrot Uniform (Original) - Mad scientist, surgeon, and medic (in that order)
KaBoom - Explosives Expert
TZ - Penetration specialist and hacker.
Their job was to bust into bunkers and stockpiles of enemy encampments to steal as many resources as possible to help the Kingdom thrive and also help their allies gain an upper hand. And they were a massive success!
This is where Bravo gets her distinctive scars (and same with most of the others with the exception of TZ). On mission, she caught a missile mid-air to save Nightstalker.
However, eventually, the Bravo squad failed a mission leaving only herself and TZ. Bravo, in the moment, disappears and is believed dead for 4 years. She doesn’t have a real occupation beyond being a public nuisance.
Weapons: Fists, hookshot, pistol, unending apathetic rage
Personality: Bravo struggles to feel close with others and has always done so since she was a baby. For a large portion of her life she was able to mask with enough bravado and self-importance to fit the roles placed on her shoulders. Lately, she’s too burnt out, tired, angry, and suspicious to pretend anymore. Befriending her is like befriending a feral cat- a process of patience that might get you bit and scratched. She also has a tendency to take things too far- tell her about someone who’s bothering you and now you’re 1. adopted and 2. the other person is definitely going to regret their decision to bother you. However, if you cross her, you might as well be dead to her.. or at least wish you were dead to her. Internally, the grief has consumed her and she is struggling to figure out anything that makes her feel anything.
Bravo is intensely sentimental- to the point that she advocated for her crew to end up in the memory bank and purposefully selected TZ as he was the last survivor of his product line. (And she views him as a son)
But she’ll never admit it.
#MerMay#Bravo#original character#original species#death mention#alcohol cw#cigarette cw#However she's always depicted smoking holocigs because current FU gets on her case if she smokes regular cigs.#They're intensely bad for the gills.
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Okay Hades and Persephone au lore/exposition bc I’m in love with this atm
Zuko is basically Hades, god of the dead, but it’s basically a government job and he doesn’t get time off so he’s a ball of stress and anxiety
Toph’s mother, Poppy is Demeter, harvest goddess. She’s incredibly overprotective of Toph
Toph is Persephone; still blind and sees through the Earth. Her connection to plants/wildlife is stronger so she’s basically a Disney princess but way more open to murder
She doesn’t get kidnapped, she kidnaps herself. She meets Zuko one day when he’s out for a walk (ie. running away from the underworld to have a panic attack in peace for ten minutes) and decides that they’re friends now whether he likes it or not
He ends up coming up from the underworld to hang out with her a lot, until Poppy finds out and tries to stop Toph from ever seeing him again, thinking he’ll hurt her
Toph says ‘fuck that’, breaks out and kidnaps herself to the underworld. Zuko is very anxious about the whole thing but eventually realises that the whole ruling hell thing is 100x easier with help, especially if that help is named Toph and willing to fight people for him
She eats pomegranate seeds and refuses to leave, but Poppy refuses to let her go and curses the mortal world, creating winter and won’t let summer return. The other gods intervene, and Toph agrees to stay half of the year in the underworld and go back for the other half. She doesn’t forgive her mother for a long time, but they come to a sort of peace
She platonically marries Zuko because ‘queen of hell’ is a badass title and they have an awesome qpr (aro ace solidarity!). When her mother is around, she pretends it’s actually a romantic relationship to piss her off
I just have a lot of feelings about their friendship okay
Anyway, plot
Sokka and Katara are both technically demigod children of Kya, a sea nymph, but only Katara got water control abilities
Sokka got wit and wisdom, and, he insists, mythically good looks
Aang is a demigod, and his father is Gyatso, god of the southern wind. He pretty much still has airbending (and his dope tattoos lol) but not the other elements
He’s sent on 12 quests (ripoff 12 labours of Heracles) and the last one is to capture the three headed guardian of the underworld
Which is a dragon
Which is Ran, Shaw and Druk (Zuko refuses to give them all one name because it seems unfair because they all have their own personalities and he’s an absolute softie for his dragons)
[the fic is in progress!!]
Misc things
Mai is Thanatos (death). She’s dating Ty Lee, who is Elpis (hope) and it’s very symbolic and romantic
Jet is Hermes, and just a casual agent of chaos
Ozai was a Titan, and so was Azula. Zuko fought and defeated Ozai, who was sent to Tartarus. Azula is held elsewhere in the underworld, but Zuko hopes he can help/rehabilitate her instead of locking her up. Lo and Li are the furies and basically her carers/therapists
Iroh was also a Titan who took the side of the gods when they fought them, and basically retired afterwards to hang out in the mortal world and hand out tea and advice. Zuko visits him every year and still can’t understand his tea or his advice
Lu Ten was a god, killed by Ozai
Yue is Selene, Suki is Artemis, and the Kyoshi Warriors are her huntresses. The moon is inherently sapphic so Yueki
Zuko feels terrible about the Orpheus Incident™️
This universe’s version of Secret Tunnel is about Toph building the tunnel to the underworld so she can hang out with Zuko, then marrying him for tax purposes (Toph loudly sings it at any given opportunity)
#avatar au#atla au#greek mythology au#Zuko#Toph#toph beifong#zuko and toph#koi talks carp#atla#avatar the last airbender#Aang#Katara#Sokka#Mai#ty lee#Jet#Ozai#Azula#Iroh#Lu ten#Yue#suki#poppy beifong#mailee#yueki#aro toph#ace Zuko#platonic toko#secret tunnel#SECRET TUNNEL
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Spring 2021 anime overview: Quick Takes
Now for my Spring 2021 anime thoughts! I’ve decided from now on if a season’s like, 20- to-24 episodes I’m just going to wait ‘til it’s done to review it unless I feels super passionately, so though I watched To Your Eternity (it’s good!) and MHA (eh), I’ll comment on them next time. Also, for the record, I watched the first eight eps of Joran: Princess and Snow of Blood but I dropped it because it had clearly crossed the line from entertainingly dumb to boring dumb.
I will probably give Supercub and some other stuff a shot later, this was a stacked season! May give updates on all that later, but this is what I have for now.
ODDTAXI
Quick Summary: A mild mannered middle-aged walrus taxi driver is drawn into a case involving a missing girl, yakuza, Youtube clout-chasers, manzai comedians and idols with big secrets.
It’s rare to walk away from media and be like “that is a singular experience I will definitely never see repeated again” but ODDTAXI is definitely one of those. A tense noir thriller murder mystery starring cartoon animals that spends an entire episode detailing the one (cat)man’s very fall into darkness triggered by addiction to gacha games and an online auction for a novelty eraser? Also there’s a porcupine Yakuza who speaks entirely in rap? Also there’s tons of meandering conversations about stuff like manzai comedy and the struggle to go viral on Twitter?
Admittedly, I had a hard time getting into the first episode, the dry meandering humor not being enough to hold my attention while I was sitting still, but once I watched this while I was working out at the end of the season, I found it an easy binge. A ton of characters with dark secrets or dangerous ambitions, each with their own part to play in a tableau of intersecting events- and it all actually comes together really well.(As for the female characters, it’s a pretty dude driven story, but they do get nuanced characterization and even some good heroic moments from one of them.)
It’s a great example of a carefully planned narrative paying off, with all the twists appropriately seeded and foreshadowed to reward viewers who paid attention. Even when it ended on a perfect “OH SHIT” moment and denied me closure, I couldn’t help but respect it. If you that all sounds interesting to you, definitely check out the first couple episodes and see if you like it- you’re likely to have a memorable, satisfying experience!
Shadows House
Quick Summary: Emilyko is a ‘living doll’ who’s told she was created to act as the ‘face’ of her shadow master, Kate. The shadows and their ‘dolls’ all reside on the mansion and are required to pass a ‘debut’ to prove they’re a good pairing. If they don’t pass, they might be disposed of. And so the mystery of the Shadow mansion grows...
This slice of gothic intrigue was my favorite of the season, tied with ODDTAXI. With an interesting premise, slightly tense undertones and a strong focus on character building and relationships, it kept me hooked the whole way through. And for any squeamish fans put off by the hype about it, don’t worry, while there are some suspenseful elements, I wouldn’t qualify it as horror. I thought the relationship between Kate and Emilyko might end up being a completely sinister one, but it’s thankfully a lot more complex than that and it’s really interesting to follow how both their characters and relationship grow. The focus of the show is, unsurprisingly, on the “dolls” slowly discovering their autonomy and personhood as they struggle under the rigid system imposed on them by the mysterious elders of this weird Victorian mansion. Can they develop a more equitable relationship with their shadow “masters” (who are also shown to suffer under this system)? There’s a lot to dig into there, and the show has the characters develop through learning to understand and appreciate each other, which is pretty heartwarming. Our hero, Emilyko, is the typical plucky ball of sunshine (they even nickname her sunshine), but she’s also shown to be clever in her own off-the-wall way and she bounces off the far more subdued and cynical Kate well, not to mention the other ‘dolls’ she ends up befriending.
What’s more, the show spends plenty of time to developing several other character pairings and combinations, and they all have their own interesting dynamic that makes you want to see more of them. Same-gender bonds are at the forefront of this show, and many of them are ripe for queer readings (I definitely appreciated the healthy helping of ladies carrying ladies), but even outside that it’s nice to see a show where a strong, complex bond between girls is at the forefront. My only real complaints about the show are the anime original ending is noticeably a bit rushed (though it’s not too bad, and leaves room for a season 2) and I wish the animation used the whole “shadow” theme more strikingly (like the opening and endings do)- instead the colors are a bit washed out which makes the shadows blend into the background sometimes. The “debut” arc also drags a bit in places, but it makes up for it by having a lot of good character integration.
I hope to check out the (full color)! manga soon and see more of this quirky, shadowy story. There’s some physical abuse depicted, sad things happening to characters and naturally the whole “oppressive familial system” thing, but otherwise not much I can think of to warn about. I give this one a big rec, especially If you’re a fan of gothic fairytales and stories of self discovery.
Zombie Land Saga Revenge
Quickest summary: In this sequel season, everyone’s favorite zombie idol group must claw their way back into prominence after a disastrous show- the fate of the Saga prefecture LITERALLY depends on it!
This was a fun follow-up to the first season- if you liked the first zombie-girl romp, you’ll probably enjoy this one. In fact, there were a couple areas it improved on- namely, Kotaro failed, ate crow and embarrassed himself a lot more this season, which made him more likeable (as did the fact the girls gained a lot of independence from him). This season also shed more light on what the ‘goal’ of this zombie raising project is and what kind of shit Kotaro got involved with to make this happen, and it’s appropriately off-the-wall and ridiculous. We finally got some backstory for Yugiri too! I wish it had focused on more of her interiority, but she got to be a badass in it, and it was a treat to see this zombie idol show turn into a period piece for a couple episodes (also her song ruled).
Tae also got a cute focus episode and there was a particular SMASHING performance early on! Also That revelation last season that had the potential to turn creepy hasn’t yet, and hopefully never will. The finale was heartwarming with big hints of more drama to come- I’m definitely down for more zombie hijinks!
Vivy: Flourite Eye’s Song
Quickest Summary: A songstress AI named DIVA (nicknamed Vivy) is approached by another AI named Matsumoto, who says he’s from the future and they must work together to prevent AI exterminating all of humankind 100 years from now.
This show is absolutely gorgeous visually with some really nice action scenes, but when it comes to the story my feelings basically amount to a shrug. It’s fine! I guess! Vivy starts out as an interesting layered character- and I guess still is by the end- with her stoic but stubborn determination bouncing off her fast-talking bossy partner Matsumoto well. She never listens to him, which is delightful. The way the show took place over the course of 100 years was an interesting conceit as well. However, it bought up a lot of themes and then sort of... dropped them. For instance, Vivy interprets her mission (PRIME DIRECTIVE if you will) as protecting humans at all costs, no matter how destructive said humans are or what their fate is supposed to be, and is perfectly willing to murder her fellow androids to do this, showing she inherently thinks of androids (herself and her own people!) as less worthy. Which is a little alarming! There’s a very dramatic point in the show where they bring this up as a potential conflict for her character but then it’s sort of...dropped. Pretty much.
Actually, despite the premise, the show doesn’t dip into the “AI rights” as much as you think it would with the main theme being more about Vivy’s search to find her own creativity and discover what it means to ‘pour your heart into something’. Vivy herself doesn’t actually care if she has rights or anything. Which is in some ways fine, because ‘AI as an oppressed class’ has been done to death, but IT’S ALSO KIND OF IN THE PREMISE, so that means that the show just shrugs really hard at a lot of the questions it brings up basically just going “humans and AI should work together probably” and that’s it. There’s a lot that feels underexplored. The antagonists in the show also either have motivations that don’t really make sense or have boring hackneyed motivations. In the finale in particular, it feels like a lot of things happen “just because” and it falls a little flat.
I also have to warn that one of the arcs focus on a robot ‘pairing’ where the dude-coded robots actions toward his partner are straight up awful and rob her of her autonomy, but it’s played like a tragic love story. I suppose you could read it differently too, but it definitely made me go ‘ew’ the story seemed to want me to sympathize with this robo dude,
Overall, I wouldn’t anti-recommend this show, it’s an all right little sci-fic romp (and definitely SUPER pretty). My favorite element was definitely the episodes where Vivy develops an entirely new (an loveable) personality, because it played with the idea of of an AI getting “rebooted” really well and interplay between her two “selves” was done really well. But there are a lot of other parts of the show that just feel...a little underexplored and empty, making me have an ‘eh’ feeling on the show overall. It’s definitely an ambitious project, and while it didn’t quite stick the landing, there’s something to be said for a show that shoots for the stars and falls short over a show that just languishes in mediocrity.
Fruits Basket The Final
Quick summary: The final season of that dramatic drama about that weird family with a zodiac curse and the girl who loves them.
It’s very weird that after not cutting a lot out, they kinda sped through some material for, you know, the finale. I guess they thought they couldn’t stretch this final arc to 26 episodes? Or weren’t cleared for another double cour? However, though there were a couple places that felt awkward, despite being a bit condensed it mostly held together pretty well for a D R A M A T I C and ultimately heartwarming conclusion. I was really disappointed they kept the part where Ritsu cut their hair for the ‘happy ending’, I thought their intro episode not showing them in men’s clothes meant the anime had decided their presentation didn’t need to be “fixed” but WELL I GUESS NOT. That was the only big upset for me though, otherwise the adaptation went about how I expected, sticking to the source material. Furuba has a lot of bumps, from weird age gap stuff to ...gender, but it also has a lot of important feels and great character arcs. It was a gateway shoujo for many and has its important place in animanga history, so I’m glad it finally got a shiny, full adaptation.
#anime overview#spring 2021 anime#shadows house#oddtaxi#zombie land saga#fruits basket#vivy: fluorite eye's song#zombie land saga revenge#fruits basket the final#anime#my reviews#long post
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My HTTYD3 Script Notes
-First of all, thanks to whoever posted the original transcript in the HTTYD wiki and all the people in the httyd criticism and httyd salt tag for their constructive criticism. Also, this contents some MILD SPOILERS.
-This movie is like the others, this movie has to start with narration and a view of Berk.
-Forget that “they’re useless without their dragons nonsense”. We’ve seen them fight together in the second movie.
-Hiccup being an “okay” chief. He’s struggling a lot but he’s doing his best. Also, he’s not afraid of asking for help to the Chieftess-to-be.
-Everybody’s arc has changed. Hiccup wants to be a good chief while getting rid of the Dragon Hunters and coming to terms with the new Night Fury and what that means for his relationship with Toothless. Astrid wants to help him, of course, but it’s also inmersed in her General duties and getting ready to be a Chieftess. Fishlegs is thinking about his future, Ruffnut doesn’t want to decide between two guys and she’s trying to find herself, Snotlout is not sure about anything anymore and Tuffnut wants to honor his friendship with Chicken in an unique way.
-Of course Hiccup is tired of fighting. And Grimmel is just another Hunter. He’s not special (even though he thinks so).
-Narrowed the Dragon Hunters to three. And changed the name because Warlord means something way different to me.
-Tuffnut and Snotlout having “bro time”. Hiccup and Fishlegs spending time together, Ruffnut and Astrid actually having a conversation (yes, it starts being about guys, but that’s the problem inherited from the last movie).
-Hiccup and Fishlegs discovering the other Night Fury together as a nod of the first book. They’re best friends.
-She’s a Night Fury. She’s slightly bigger than Toothless, with pointier “horns” in her forehead and longer and pointier nubs. She also has lots of scars.
-Valka being afraid of being in a society again. I took the idea of “feral Valka” from Tumblr (if you ever talked about this, consider yourself tagged and thank you) and made it a little less extreme. She feels nervous when there’s a lot of people around and she has problems for getting along with Hiccup.
-Hiccup’s nightmare is how the ending of The Hidden World clashed with lifelong fans. The Berkians would be crying their eyes out. That wasn’t a happy ending.
-Yes, neutral pronouns is more 2020 than 2019, but if it’s difficult to tell some males from female dragons, this should be the case with Night Furies too.
-Since Hiccup was with Fishlegs when they discovered the other Night Fury, he’s going to scout the area with Astrid and her tracking dragon.
-Yes, Eret is here just for exposition, but that’s what you get when you add new characters to an already established group of friends.
-You can’t have a dragon without a name. “Evenfall” means “dusk”.
-Toothless would never accept an automatic tail.
-In this world, having an inherently bad dragon species is all kinds of wrong. The Deathgrippers are just being used by a bad person.
-Astrid is the one who saves Hiccup, not Valka. Also, they use their nicknames.
-The Hunters armada is supposed to be huge. Maybe they can fight it alone with all the dragons they brought to New Berk, but since there’s no New Berk in this version, they need some allies. And who better than some old friends?
-No, I don’t like Hiccup having a beard.
-I’ve never liked the fact of Fishlegs nor Snotlout ending with Ruffnut. Fishlegs is too soft and naive for Ruffnut’s strong personality (as seen in an episode of the series) and Snotlout has a strong personality too, so they would clash a lot. I like Fishlegs ending with Heather because they make a good couple and truly care about each other.
-Even though Minden is sort of mentioned (I liked her with Snotlout) their ending is up to the reader. Personally, I think they tried but didn’t work and Snotlout then realized he’s bi (I’ll dig deeper on this headcanon in the Drago version of the script).
-Also, Snotlout drinking “respect women juice”.
-Yes, the A-Team is here too. This may look as fanservice, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
-Everybody fighting together as the badass they are.
-Grimmel had to be gone forever. They needed to know it was over.
-Sorry for the other death, but HTTYD is about bitersweet endings and that was supposed to be a big battle.
-Astrid’s parents looking like her.
-Hiccup needed to acknowledge that the war was over, but also that they’ll always protect dragons.
-The wedding wasn’t a big part of the story, but the finale. And no flower crowns and Astrid is wearing a mighty braid.
-Night Furies. The thing we were promised since Riders of Berk.
-And since this is a tale of friendship, there has to be a happy ending.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/30176451
#httyd3#httyd#httyd the hidden world#the hidden world#ao3#fanfic#archive of our own#fanfiction#hiccup#toothless#astrid#snotlout#fishlegs#ruffnut#tuffnut#eret#valka#riders of berk#defenders of berk#race to the edge#httyd criticism
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Zenith: Chapter 76-79
Chapter 76
Andi has a nice little poetic nightmare. It’s irrelevant. The next morning has the girls preparing for the ball, complete with dresses and makeup.
Some things to note include Lira saying that in Adhiran religion (which is global, I guess), one has to mourn for three days before “letting” the souls of the dead pass on into ... everything.
Andi tries to say that it’ll take time to heal from it all, but Lira is having none of it.
“It will take time to move past what happened on Adhira,” Andi started, but Lira held up a hand.
“My three days of mourning have passed. Lon’s and my aunt’s, too. Now we, and the others who lost loved ones during the attack, must give the lost spirits to the stars, to the trees, to the wind.”
Which basically means that she’s done feeling bad about the unexpected and brutal attack on her home planet, so that’s convenient. Well, if one of our main characters doesn’t care about her people getting senselessly murdered, then why should we?
She also lets us know that her aunt has fixed up the Marauder and brought it here, because of course. Lira wants to arrange for Lon to be transferred to the Marauder, and though she has a logical reason for it (taking him home personally), it’s only a setup so we know why he’s on there at the end of the book when Andi’s bleeding out and needs a universal donor.
Spoilers, I guess.
Andi’s mother, Glorya, intercepts Andi as she tries to leave her crew to their makeover montages, just so we can move into a scene where her mom is brushing her hair and babbling on about gossip and vapid high society stuff.
But Andi, of course, gets lost in a flashback that’s so amateurishly written it’s honestly embarrassing and only highlights Shinsay’s helpless reliance on flashbacks as a storytelling device.
Observe:
Her words faded away as memories took their place. Andi lost herself to them.
The whole flashback is written in italics for some inexplicable reason, even though it would’ve been fine as just regular text since we’re clearly told what’s happening now and what’s a memory.
Also, there’s one bit where the memory “fast-forwards” to a different one. Shinsay, this isn’t a fucking movie. This isn’t a screenplay. What the fuck are you DOING.
The flashback and the mother’s inane babbling are all there to illustrate how vapid and brainless Glorya is and how she only ever cared about her status and not about her kid. Glorya pretends that everything is back to the way it was but Andi curses her out for abandoning her when she needed them most and how “the way it was” was actually always shit.
I mean it’s fine. It’s all right. I see what they’re going for, it’s melodramatic as all fuck but it works for what they’re trying to do? I can see this as being a realistic way for an emotionally neglectful family to look like. I wish it was more nuanced and wasn’t just shoe-horned in here (Glorya doesn’t show up before or after this bit, this is the only time she’s ever present or even mentioned in this book in any meaningful capacity) for the sake of making Andi’s friends look better and for her to not have anything that anchors her to Arcardius, but like, I won’t say this isn’t realistic.
And then Shinsay can’t stop themselves and it’s back to silly time:
“Really, Androma...”
[...]
“That is not my name,” Andi whispered. She allowed the darkness to come up into her voice, the mask of shadow and steel to sweep across her face. “My name is the Bloody Baroness. And if you or Commander Racella ever so much as utter a single word toward me or my crew again, I will personally strip the skin from your body and wave it like a flag from my starship.”
Glorya let out a soft squeak. Andi snarled with all of her teeth.
Guys I can’t breathe this is too fucking funny. And not in a good “woo vindication!” sort of way, but in a “they really put this right after an emotional confrontation about parental emotional neglect/abuse huh?” way. They really thought this was ... badass? Revenge? Andi, sweetie, you’re, like, traumatized? Presumably? I can’t really tell. But maybe get some therapy?
Do Shinsay think this is somehow a win and that Andi’s threat means she’s fully released from the hurt and pain her parents have caused her through their neglect? It’s honestly written as if Andi just confronted her mother and her own hopes of coming back to her family in this one short scene, and then upon realizing her parents never loved her, she scares her mom a little and then is all smug and satisfied at the end.
That ain’t how it works, darlings.
Then the annoying Marketable Space Pet runs in and starts biting Glorya’s toes and she runs away shrieking like a defeated Disney villain.
Way to undercut your own drama, Shinsay.
The chapter ends with Andi thinking about how her crew is her True Family for the bajillionth time. Because we’re all idiots and Shinsay wants us to remember that.
Chapter 77
It’s the evening of the ball and Andi thinks about how she missed Bavista, which is apparently your generic coming-of-age ball held at Arcardius for every 16-year-old. I’m guessing it’s a yearly thing? The book never clarifies. Not sure why the fuck it’s here tbh.
Actually, it’s a pretty good demonstration of how the worldbuilding in this book is presented so here, have at thee:
She could still remember seeing the otherworldly dresses and suits float by her on the feeds as she watched the girls and boys glide into the A’Vianna House in the Glass Sector. They seemed light as air, full of pride, bursting at the seams with excitement. Once inside, they would be greeted by members of the Priest Guild, who would award each young person three items.
The first was a vial of water from the Northern Ocean, symbolizing strength. For growth, they accepted a single leaf from the oldest tree on Arcardius, known as The Mother, which was said to have been planted when the Ancients first arrived. Lastly, they were given a single floating pebble, no larger than a child’s fingernail, chiseled from the very gravarock where the Cortas estate was. It represented the wisdom of rising above.
Is this relevant to anything? Does this help you understand this world or its inhabitants? Does it tell you anything of the culture of Arcardius or its youth and what’s expected of them? No? It’s just a really generic list of things thrown together using Mystical Proper Nouns as glue? Weeell heeell.
Also what does “it represented the wisdom of rising above” mean? This is utterly generic and means fuck-all, that’s what.
Anyway, Andi’s admiring herself in the mirror. Her dress is very sexy, trust me, I can’t be bothered to include it so just imagine your favorite My Immortal outfit description. It does include sword holsters at the back, which are Andi’s favorite part, because she’s a strong independent woman who don’t need no man. She never actually uses them or brings the swords to the ball so ... Idk what the point of this was.
We also get some shit about how Andi actually LOVES dresses and being pretty but she never admitted it to anyone. But don’t you worry, this badass space criminal LOVES all things girly, because that’s feminism! Can someone check in on Shinsay? I’m not sure they’re getting enough air with their heads so far up Sarah J Maas’ asshole.
Admitting to herself that she looked pretty was something Andi kept private. She didn’t want to give her crew the satisfaction of knowing her true thoughts about fashion. How even though she was a fierce, hardened criminal, she could still appreciate the joy of a beautiful, impractical ball gown.
Huh. And here I thought they were your family. That’s weird that you’d keep this information from them, especially considering all of them seemed pretty excited to be prettied up in the last chapter. I guess they’d really just haaate the idea of sharing this joy with their captain, huh? Why aren’t you admitting this to them, Andi?
You’re saying shit about how “even though” you’re a hardened criminal, you can “still” appreciate beautiful gowns, like those two are somehow contradictory. Are you, mayhaps, ashamed of having this traditionally girly interest? Hmm! Interesting. Why could that be, I wonder? Why would having traditionally feminine interests or even caring about one’s appearance be seen as something inherently shameful or embarrassing, as inherently contradictory to being fierce and “hardened?”
This is all just so *clenches fist* feminist.
Forreal though, somehow Shinsay managed to take their entire made up GALAXY and make it subtly and not-so-subtly sexist. Good job, morons. Really girlbossed that one, huh?
The only bit I like about this whole mess is this:
The dressmaker had also accented her gown with a sparkling necklace full of jewels that Andi didn’t plan on giving back.
This is the one and only space pirate-y thing Andi does -- sorry, considers doing -- in the whole book and honestly could’ve been used to build her character more, but it’s just a one-off joke here. Wasted.
Valen comes to fetch her and we get some subtle foreshadowing.
“Valen the Resurrected.”
He stopped to look at her, brows raised. “What?”
She shrugged. “It’s what the press is calling you in all the feeds.” Valen let out a deep chuckle.
[...]
“Something tells me things are about to change for the better,” he said. “I’m ready to see it all happen.”
Andi wondered what he would do now that he was home with a whole planet at his disposal.
He deserved to have some fun.
Is it bad that I’m rooting for Valen to destroy everything? And this isn’t my villain-fucker coming out, I just want this poor bastard to absolutely annihilate Andi and her gang of acolytes.
Chapter 78
Andi and Valen arrive at the ball. It’s all very pretty and space-y and aesthetic. There’s a bunch of aliens everywhere. Andi sees a woman with funky eyes and assumes it’s a body mod, because I guess she knows the genetic characteristics of every species by heart and can tell when something is real or not.
An old classmate of theirs comes up to talk to Valen and congratulate him on being alive, then Andi reminds him of who she is just to be a smug asshole and the guy fucks off in a panic. She’s just so cool and badass, you guys.
Then it’s time for Valen and Andi to dance, and of course General Cortas looks like he’s about to lose his marbles because these darn kids! >:(
The chapter ends on Andi noticing Dex pouting in the distance.
“Relax,” Andi whispered. “Let’s give them something to talk about.”
She flashed him a wicked grin as the music began.
And as Valen spun her into the first move of the dance, Andi saw Dex standing on the fringes of the crowd, an expression of longing clear on his face.
Chapter 79
This chapter is exactly 298 words of Dex moping around about how he’s actually not over Andi at all when he thought he’d done such a good job of repressing his feelings, and how he should be the one dancing with Andi instead of Valen. If you’re surprised, you’re clinically dead.
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Lovestruck in The City: Love Is Messy
Year: 2020-2021
Channel: Kakao TV
Streaming Service: Netflix
Cast: Ji Chang Wook, Kim Ji Won, Soo Joo Yeon, Kim Min Soek, Han Ji Eun, Ryu Kyung Soo
Lovestruck in the City is an unusual drama for more reasons than one. It ditches the sixteen episode one hour each format for a thirty minute seventeen episode format. Additionally, it employs the “mockumentary” style à la Office and Parks and Recreation, and unlike other dramas, which release their episodes on two consecutive days each week, Lovestruck in the City aired on Tuesdays and Friday. It boasts an ensemble cast composed of Ji Chang Wook, Park Ji Won, Soo Joo Yeon, Kim Min Soek, Han Ji Eun, and Ryu Kyung Soo. Lovestruck in The City has a very Friends-esque appeal with a story of six individuals, whose lives are interconnected with each other.
Park Jae Won is an architect who meets Yoon Seon Ah during his vacation on Yamyang Island. Both have a passionate summer fling that abruptly ends when Park Jae Won returns to Seoul. Jae Won is left heartbroken when he is unable to reunite with Seon Ah. On the other hand, Yoon Seon Ah, whose real name is really Lee Eun Oh, is a marketer, who hides her feelings for Jae Won, because of her guilt of lying to him about her real identity and for pretending to be someone she’s not. Lee Eun Oh also happens to be Kang Geon’s roommate, a novel writer, who has had a tumultous relationship with the eccentric Sun Young. Kang Geon and Lee Eun Oh are also best friends with Sun Ri-ni who is in a stable long term relationship with Choi Kyeong Jun,who also just happens to Park Jae Won’s cousin and co-worker. Pretty crazy and confusing right? Here’s a diagram that I made to better visualize the relationship:
Park Jae Won is perhaps Ji Chang Wook’s career best role.This was my first time watching a Ji Chang Wook drama to completion and from the clips that I’ve seen of him in other drams, I’m convinced that what he did in Lovestruck in The City was something that was outside of his comfort zone and yet he played the role so effortlessly. There was something so inherently powerful and moving about watching a man express his vulnerability so openly. We see Jae Won struggle with his inability to completely let go of the Yoon Seon Ah and the memories that he cherished with her even at the cost of mockery by his friends and family. We see him drunkenly visiting police stations to file a complaint against the “camera thief” that didn’t just steal his camera, but also his heart. Jae Won’s character is what in many ways what allow us to appreciate the complexity of Eun Oh’s character. She’s a character that the audience incredibly detests for leaving Jae Won stranded and yet she makes us wonder if we judge women too quickly. Through the course of the show, we see Eun Oh as a wonderfully messy woman trying to navigate her own identity after undergoing one of the lowest points in her life. Eun Oh is a woman crawling out of an identity crisis as she reconciles her constructed identity of Yoon Seon Ah with who she was and wants to be. Seeing thes two fall apart then reunite and find their happiness is where the show’s true purpose lies.
As hinted in the last sentence of the paragraph, the show is definitely more centered on Park Jae Won and Lee Eun Oh’s relationship than the other two couples and the writing surrounding the other characters feel weak at times. We never truly understand why Kang Geon and Sun Young liked each other in the first place and why she felt like she needed to let him go even though they were already broken up. Suh Rini and Kyeong Jun’s relationship felt like it abruptly ended and I don’t think the argument they had warrants enough for a breakup. For some reason, the stories of these two feels very incomplete and is only exacerbated with the last episode focusing on a completely different couple that was not part of the show. I also want to add that I felt like Sun Young’s character was extremely underdeveloped with her coming off as nothing other than the “psycho bitch” trope who’s here for the dark humor - a woman who’s badass with no cause or direction.
Regardless, I applaud Lovestruck in the City for adopting a new inventive format and managing to successfully pull it through. Perhaps the biggest lesson that Lovestruck in the City teaches us is that love doesn’t cause everything to fall in the right place. It’s a tornado that sometimes makes our life a jumbled mess. However, the pursuit of putting those pieces back together with your significant other is what offers us the true contentment in our relationships.
#lovestruck in the city#ji chang wook#kim ji won#park jae won#lee eun oh#kakao tv#choi min ho#soo joo yeon#kim min soek#han ji eun#ryu kyung soo#kdrama#kdrama reviews#netflix#kakao
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Final Fantasy V Review
Year: 1992
Original Platform: Super Nintendo
Also available on: PlayStation One (Final Fantasy Anthology), Game Boy Advance, Steam (updated graphics)
Version I Played: Game Boy Advance
Synopsis:
Bartz is a drifter, riding across the world with his chocobo – Boko. One day, the wind seems to fall. Lenna’s father, the king of Tycoon, goes off to make sure the Wind Crystal is all right, but doesn’t return. Meanwhile, a meteorite falls. Lenna and Bartz check it out separately, where they find each other and a man named Galuf with amnesia. Together they figure out that the world is falling apart – the crystals that drive wind, fire, earth and water are dying out. They stumble upon a pirate hideout led by Faris, and together they seek to restore the world and uncover the mysterious forces behind the destruction of the crystals.
Background:
Once again, this Final Fantasy game was originally unreleased outside of Japan. Unlike II and III, the developers thought that the game was a different tone than the others and the vast job system would be too complicated for Western audiences. The West didn’t experience Final Fantasy V until 1999 with Playstation One’s Final Fantasy Anthology; a compilation of both V and VI. One notable change from the Japanese version is the name Bartz. The original name for Bartz in the Japanese release was translated as Butz, but because Americans are immature and laugh at such a name, they changed it in the localization to Bartz.
Gameplay:
Holy capitalism, Batman – so many jobs!
Not only that, but each job has abilities that you can mix and match! Every time you level up a job, you earn a new ability for that job. You can switch those abilities across jobs.
The possibilities are seemingly endless!
The gameplay is the most fun I had with customization in a while in any video game RPG. The best part is that the Job System is so rewarding by the time you reach the third act of the game. It gives you such a variety that it allows you to approach battles from many different angles. There’s no one way to be a badass and deal destructive damage.
It’s so much fun that once a year, Final Fantasy V gamers join in “Final Fantasy Five Four Job Fiesta”. It’s a challenge where you are randomly assigned four jobs in the game and have to finish the game ONLY with those four jobs. I’ve joined in the challenge myself and it’s a great way to come together with Final Fantasy players.
I had fun unlocking the legendary weapons and hunting down the most powerful summons - this time naturally without looking anything up. I find it interesting to say that I had legit fun hunting down all the extras. Sometimes in other Final Fantasy games I get weary over hunting for some extra, higher powered spells and summons. I sometimes even wonder if I should bother going after them. The vast Job System in Final Fantasy V keeps you occupied for the entire game and more. I finished the game and there are still some jobs that I haven't even touched. Luckily, the Game Boy Advance version adds some extra dungeons after you complete the game.
Graphics:
The sprites in this game look a bit rough around the edges. They also come off as too small in my opinion. The same is said of the Game Boy Advance version. Regardless, it now looks like an actual SNES game. Unlike Final Fantasy IV, it has more color, structure, and doesn’t look faded.
Something irked me though about the sounds. I never have anything bad to say about the sound effects, but for some reason, in this game, the battle sound effects were meek. Even when someone had a sword, the attack sounded puny.
The PlayStation One version has an FMV sequence that look awkward and ugly as fuck, just like the FMV sequence for the PlayStation One version of Final Fantasy IV. As much as I love Yoshitaka Amano, trying to transplant his style into 3D is not a good idea.
Story:
The story transcends that of Final Fantasy IV. Where Final Fantasy IV can feel weak or simple at times, Final Fantasy V delivers a strong, emotionally charged storyline.
It starts simple. Once again, the world is in danger because the crystals are in danger – but this time because humans are misusing their power and breaking them. So this is a rare Final Fantasy game without any evil empires or rebellions.
Out of all the Final Fantasy games, I had heard the least about what happens in V. Heck – I knew more about II before going into it, mostly because of what people said about the Star Wars parallels. It’s been a long time since I went into a Final Fantasy game completely blind. I kept it that way and was very pleasantly surprised.
I can see what the developers meant by a “change in tone.” Final Fantasy V is probably the funniest of them all. It’s not campy – just humorous. Galuf loves to share puns. Bartz can be a klutz. The characters bicker a lot during their journey. One part actually made me genuinely laugh out loud when you are in a certain underground place searching for clues:
Despite the lighter tone, each character has a pretty sensitive, delicate backstory. I cared for Bartz’s personal history with his parents. I worried about whether Lenna’s father would die or not. I wondered what Galuf forgot and who Faris really was. There are dashes of tropes here but none of them stand out too much. You have to remember that tropes themselves are not inherently bad – what matters is how you utilize them. There’s no hokey romantic subplot thrown in either, which is extremely rare in a JRPG.
It was so rewarding to go into it blind because there was even a shocking death. I thought maybe they would be all right in the end through some Disney cop out.
No. That person is dead. Dead as a door nail. Never coming back. I also enjoyed the bit where they tried to revive said dead person with spells and phoenix downs. They finally imply that there can be a point where someone can go beyond and it’s too late to bring them back.
The henchman Gilgamesh is very memorable and lovable, probably the most memorable character of the entire game. He serves as great comic relief while not being at all annoying. I kept hoping he would show up.
My only real complaint, if I’m ever forced to say anything bad, is that Boko wasn’t really an asset in the story, at least not as much as I assumed he would be.
The story is unfortunately very overlooked. I can understand that maybe at the time American and other Western gamers may have found the third act strange – especially after learning about the villain Exdeath’s true nature. Compared to the other Final Fantasy backstories, it’s a little out there, and something tells me it relates to Japanese mythology. But today? You’d be sorry to miss out on it.
Music:
Final Fantasy V’s main theme is somewhat reminiscent of Final Fantasy IV’s main theme. They have this melodic soaring feel with a continuous beat. “The Four Warriors of Dawn” in Final Fantasy V is reminiscent of “Red Wings” in IV. Meanwhile, the biggest and most interesting display is “Battle with Gilgamesh”. (sometimes titled “Clash/Battle on the Big Bridge”). The piece opens up with some intense drumming. While the later orchestrations and adaptations of “Battle with Gilgamesh” are pretty good, nothing seems to capture the tempo and umph of the original.
“Dear Friends” is probably the most endearing tune in the soundtrack. It’s played at the end and gives a really bittersweet feel. The Distant Worlds concert version is extremely bittersweet. It has a sweet, gentle guitar, and it reminds me of how Uematsu said one of his inspirations was Simon and Garfunkel. “Dear Friends” definitely has that folk tune.
Exdeath’s theme song gives a heavy rock vibe. That heavy rock vibe was last heard in the opening segment of the final boss fight in Final Fantasy IV. The rest of the score has a lot of drumming incorporated, partially due to the fact that pirates are involved in most of the plot. Ultimately, this Final Fantasy score broke out all of Uematsu’s classic and hard rock inspirations – and it’s fucking awesome.
Notable Theme:
“Battle with Gilgamesh”
I have replayed this song over a thousand times by now.
youtube
Verdict:
Definite must-play. It’s the most underrated Final Fantasy game. The Kob System can be overwhelming, especially if you have never played a Final Fantasy game before. I wouldn’t suggest playing this for beginners – more after you get your hands wet.
Direct Sequel?
Yes. And No.
While not a video game, Final Fantasy V did receive an anime sequel titled Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals. It’s technically the first sequel to a Final Fantasy game. The anime is set 200 years in the future, with the heroes of the original game having become legend. Critical reception of the miniseries was mixed.
#final fantasy#final fantasy v#square enix#super nintendo#nintendo#underrated video games#video games#onvideogames#fantasy#rpg#jrpg#rpg game#video game rpg#chocobo#four job fiesta#final fantasy five four job fiesta
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The Flame-Soaked City, part 1
Now there’s been a lot of talk about “mastersonas” and their “origin stories” lately totally haven’t been inspired by @haspaulbunyandoneanythingwrong or anything what are you talking about, and so I thought I’d take a crack at one. We’re starting smack in Fuyuki, because who doesn’t love in medias res? Sadly Spartacus isn’t in this part, we’ll see if we can’t squeeze him in by part 2.
Part 2 here!
Tags I hope work: @hasereshdoneanythingwrong @hasishtardoneanythingwrong @hasabbydoneanythingwrong @hasastolfodoneanythingwrong @hasquetzdoneanythingwrong these are really long blog names
This is pr much my first time writing fanfic, or trying to write longform in quite a while, so here’s hoping it’s readable!
“Master, please wake up. If you don’t wake up, I will kill you.”
Those words cut through my unconsciousness as I slowly, painfully came to. I groaned and tried to roll onto our side.
“Thank goodness. What I meant to say was, ‘if you don’t wake up, you will be killed’.”
I had a split second to think, that voice sounds familiar, before something hit the ground hard where we were laying a second ago. I scrambled backwards and damn near impaled ourself on something jutting out of the ground. Our eyesight still hasn’t come back after the explosion, and god am I missing it right now.
The voice rang out again, “Master, your orders please!”
“U-uhm, Defend me?”
“Good enough!”
A solid impact, and whoever just attacked me goes flying.
<Ooh, do you think she’s cute?> Of course she picks now to start a conversation.
<<<Kind of in the middle of something right now, Kat! We don’t know what’s going on, there could be more people attacking us!>>> The other person I was talking to is taking care of the enemy in front of us, but we know nothing about the surrounding area.
<Why don’t you do the magic again, Jeanne? It worked last time.>
<<<That’s… a really good idea. Hang on.>>> The one spell I know required I be able to see an object to scan any magic attached to it, but I’m starting to think that’s a requirement of its range, not anything inherent to its casting. If that’s true, then…
A flare of my circuits, and one point in front of me reacts-a humanoid figure-a servant. Our servant, apparently. She’s a… knight class? I think? Servant classes are weird at the best of times, and having to figure one out by directly looking at their spirit origin is awkward. Nothing else pops up though, so that means-
“All enemies have been defeated, Master.”
“Excellent,” I said, and then mostly to ourself, “Okay, what do we know so far?”
<Pros! We have a servant, and she’s a badass!>
<<Cons: We’re standing at ground zero for a bombing, and there’s clearly people who want us dead. Also, we’re still blind.>>
<Yeah, but we’ve got a servant! That’s worth like, 30 people, easy.>
Then the servant spoke up. “We’ve successfully rayshifted to the city of Fuyuki in the year 2004. Currently, it appears we are the only ones who have done so.”
With that report, what little grip I had on the situation left entirely. “We… actually time traveled? Like, I know that’s what the director said was going to happen, but to other people, and it’s… oh no. Oh, nonono no.” One of us was hyperventilating, I think it might have been me.
“Are you okay, Master?”
“Just give me a second, I think I’m having two panic attacks at once. Please tell me we at least have contact with Chaldea.”
As if on cue, there was a crackle of static, and then… “Right, I finally got through! Hello? This is Doctor Romani, in the Chaldea Command Room. Do you read me?”
“Thank goodness, a doctor! This is Master Candidate #48, Hannah [REDACTED]! There was another survivor with me before the rayshift, Mash Kyrielight! I don’t know how much longer she has, please, you have to do something!”
The doctor went completely silent. I knew it was a lost cause, but I couldn’t not try. I didn’t know what state Mash’s body was in, but her magical circuits had been almost completely destroyed. Her surviving long enough to hold our hand was a miracle. Then, our servant spoke up.
“Master... No, Senpai, I’m right here.”
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Baron Helmut Zemo Tropes
Taken from Here and Here
Anti-Villain: Sometimes verges on this, though it's a case of Depending on the Writer.
Arch-Enemy: After his father's death, he takes this role to Captain America and leads the Masters of Evil after inheriting the title.
Aristocrats Are Evil: He's a baron after all, and believes his aristocratic heritage entitles him to rule.
Avenging the Villain: Helmut's original motive was to kill Captain America because he killed his father. Eventually, Helmut came to the realization that actually, Heinrich was an awful father and an even worse person.
Badass Normal: Has no powers, but regularly fights the likes of Captain America and the Avengers. He usually has a contingency that will allow him to deal with his opponent's plans anyway; it's only when these contingencies fail (as happened during his battle with Moonstone at the end of the initial run on Thunderbolts) that he's in trouble.
The Big Bad: Of his fare share of arcs, particularly those involving the Masters of Evil.
Brain Uploading: He only survived being decapitated because Techno uploaded his consciousness to a computer.
Butter Face: A Rare Male Example. He has the body you'd expect of somebody who can keep up with Captain America in terms of physique... but that handsome form is contrasted by a hideously malformed visage. For a while, he had a young, dashing look again after hijacking the body of the Helmut from another Earth, but only two years later his face got disfigured again. When he got Carla Sofen's Moonstone, he used it to fix that, but when Melissa broke it again...
Calling the Old Man Out: During his trip back in time, he ran into his father while the latter was gleefully doing mad science for the Nazis. Helmut had long since discarded any Nazi prejudices he had once had, and was fuming watching his father put down other races, the handicapped, etc. Finally he had enough and started beating the hell out of him while giving a "Reason You Suck" Speech. Quite the sign of Character Development for the guy who started out worshiping and avenging his father's memory.
Captain Patriotic: At the beginning of the Thunderbolts, he disguised himself as Citizen V, supposedly the son of a previous hero who'd gone by that name, whom Zemo had killed. Zemo went the whole hog, even decking himself in a cape designed after the American flag.
The Chessmaster: Zemo has a plan for everything, and lays them out months in advance.
Cool Mask: Wears a tighter fitting version of his father's mask.
The Cynic: Has a generally negative view of humanity.
Daddy Issues: He loved his father, and his father loved him... until the Adhesive X incident, where he became outright abusive in every way. Originally, Helmut blamed Captain America. Now, he acknowledges that his father was just a horrible human being.
Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: He once shot the Grandmaster, one of the Elders of the Universe and a being way outside his normal weight class, through the head. Admittedly, there were mitigating circustances that allowed him to do this, and the Grandmaster did get better (because, hey, comics).
Disney Villain Death: Many, many times (see Never Found the Body below).
Even Evil Has Standards: Arranged the death of one of his ancestors during a time-travel jaunt, after he found out the man was a rapist and a mass-murderer who did it all For the Evulz. He later clashed with another ancestor when he thought he was harassing a girl (the two were actually in love, and he quickly apologised).
Evil Genius
Evil Is Petty:
The Faceless: He rarely ever removes his mask, due to his face being horribly scarred in a accident.
Facial Horror: His head has been slashed up so badly that it's practically a skull, with ribbons of flesh draping over his eyes and sliced-off cheeks and lips. The sight of his face visibly disgusts everyone in the original Thunderbolts.
Freudian Excuse: Raised by his father to believe in his inherent superiority. There wasn't a lot of dad hugs down in that South American jungle, mostly just rants and lectures.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Hideously disfigured beneath his mask.
Grand Theft Me: After becoming a "ghost", his mind was transferred to the actual son of Citizen V (Techno noted it was basically him playing a joke). That is, until an energy conflict - the V-Batallion tried to teleport Citizen V as the body was being sucked into a portal - made his mind be expelled into Techno's machinery. But given he arrived at Counter-Earth, this meant Zemo could do a literal case of the trope, and took the body of his self from this world.
Heel–Face Revolving Door: Cannot make up his mind which side he is supposed to be on. He even once took a bullet for Cap despite being his sworn enemy.
In the Blood: The arrogance and the drive for control certainly are.
Joker Immunity: Unlike his father, he can never seem to be put down for long.
The Leader: Of the Masters of Evil and the Thunderbolts.
Legacy Character: To his father, Baron Heinrich Zemo XII.
Manipulative Bastard: Zemo's very good at getting other people to do what he wants, playing on their emotions and desires.
Master Swordsman: One of the best in the Marvel Universe. Zemo's dueled the likes of Captain America and survived several decades worth of warfare on a time travel jaunt.
Nazi Nobleman: Started out as one, though he's moved away from fascism in recent years. Nowadays his goals align more with Dirty Communists.
Never Found the Body: During the run of Thunderbolts alone he was declared dead on four separate occasions, all of which turned out to be false. In each instance, his body was never found. By the fourth time, most of the team just assume he'll turn up eventually (not that they want him to).
Noble Demon: He's much more noble than his father,for sure.
Purple Is Powerful: Signifies his aristocratic leanings.
Secondary Color Nemesis: Purple, to oppose Cap's blue and red.
Take Over the World: He insists it's to save it. Some people (like Songbird) aren't convinced.
Taking the Bullet: Once leapt in the way of an energy blast an insane Moonstone aimed at Captain America. Messed his face up bad.
There Are No Therapists: This guy is seriously messed up and would probably have turned out differently if he got professional help.
Token Evil Teammate: Alongside Techno, he serves as this for the first iteration of Thunderbolts. While most members of the team fall somewhere between The Hero and the Anti-Hero, Zemo shows no signs of having softened whilst playing-hero, and alongside Techno manages to almost conquer the world and turn it into a Darwinist nightmare. He also constantly mocks his teammates for wanting to be heroes, calling them "weak" and "traitors to the cause" when they show the smallest signs of heroism outside of their pubic duties.
Unlucky Thirteen: He's the thirteenth Baron Zemo.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: In his mind, at any rate, after some Character Development, he becomes determined to take over the world for its own good. That doesn't mean that he's not an Axe-Crazy terrorist who's willing to perform some truly heinous actions for the sake of the "greater good." Zemo: I would never have hurt a world I worked so hard to save.
Western Terrorists: More like this than a Nazi.
Wicked Cultured: When being held at swordpoint by his worst ancestor, an evil aristocrat who believed only in the absolute of power, said ancestor's son (who'd struck up a friendship with Zemo) asked what was more absolute than power. Zemo's answer? "To be, or not to be."
Worthy Opponent: Sometimes sees Captain America this way, and definitely sees Sharon Carter this way.
Xanatos Speed Chess: He's good at incorporating the gambits of others into his plans, as evidenced by his deft manipulation of Moonstone when they were both members of the Thunderbolts.
One of his nastiest acts of spite was destroying a box of Cap's treasured belongings, including some of his last links to the past, right in front of his eyes.
What was his initial plan in founding the Thunderbolts? Pretend to be heroes, earn America and the world's trust, become famous and respected, and then gather knowledge on the other heroes to... sell to the criminal underworld? Eventually, Moonstone points out this is a freaking stupid plan.
Taken to the highest extreme possible. When he actually did have the power to implement whatever change he might have wanted, Songbird shut him down with the intention of killing him out of not trusting him. What were what he believed could have been his last words?
MCU Zemo Tropes
Adaptational Attractiveness: He's quite handsome here, while his comic counterpart usually has to wear a mask to hide his hideously charred, disfigured face. This is true to his first appearance in the comics as a one-shot villain, before he was scarred upon becoming a recurring character.
Adaptational Heroism: In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, when he does don his iconic comic book alter ego, unlike in the comics where he was a straight-up one-note supervillain, Zemo here is depicted so far as an Ambiguously Evil Anti-Hero ally of Avengers Sam and Bucky without mostly ever betraying them until his escape from the hotel in the fourth episode with most of his redeeming and justifiable qualities shown upfront more than his villainous qualities that Civil War mostly showcased, but still likely an on-and-off antagonist simultaneously during his Enemy Mine with the two superheroes.
Adaptational Nationality: In the comics Helmut Zemo is German, but here he is a Sokovian. Ironically, his actor actually is German, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier sees a bit of his German accent creep in. He also has a vast array of vehicles and a private plane in Germany, and seems very familiar with both Berlin and the German language. Whether this is a Retcon into making him part German or just a Mythology Gag is yet to be seen, though he does identify Sokovia as "his country".
Adaptational Nice Guy: His comic counterpart and that of his father were literal Nazis who wanted mass genocide and world domination, and while the Helmut of the comics did grow out of the former, he still tends to try the latter. This version of Zemo, despite being on a black ops killing team, has a much simpler and more sympathetic motivation, while his father was merely a civilian. Neither have any ties to HYDRA (aside from Helmut's exploitation of HYDRA's Winter Soldier project), while the versions from the comics are both prominent members of that organisation.
Adaptational Wimp: In the comics Zemo is a major adversary of Captain America and the Avengers, with a particular emphasis on his skills at fencing and manipulation. While this version retains his cunning, he is also presented as much less of a direct threat to anyone despite being a former black operative; when Black Panther decides to bring him in alive, he goes down with barely a struggle. Most of his success ties into this, with him exploiting his lack of obvious supervillainous affect to stay under the heroes' radar until his plan requires him to show his hand, then relying on Steve and Tony's flaws and personal issues to do most of the work for him. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier shows that he hasn't forgotten how to do his own dirty work, however, putting his soldier skills to use alongside his usual guile and strategizing once he gets back into the fray.
Adaptation Personality Change: In the comics, Zemo is generally depicted as an unapologetic villain who is primarily driven by a selfish desire to rule over others. His film version, on the other hand, has a much more sympathetic motive for his villainous actions, as he's just a victim of the Avengers' collateral damage in Sokovia seeking revenge for the death of his entire family.
Affably Evil:
Alas, Poor Villain: His defeat in Civil War is treated as an utterly somber affair, with him having nothing left after completing his plan and hoping to commit Suicide by Cop at T'Challa's hands before trying to kill himself when T'Challa refuses to be consumed by vengeance as Zemo has. Even though he got what he wanted (up to a point), it doesn't change the fact that his family is gone forever.
The Alcoholic: Following his escape from prison in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Zemo reveals himself to be a little bit of a tippler, partaking in shots, champagne, helping himself to Sharon's expensive liquor collection, then taking more shots at a club. He apparently approves of the way they party in Madripoor.
All for Nothing: He wanted to destroy the Avengers and was content with them dividing. Thanos's arrival and the events of Endgame undo all of that. In fact, the Avengers are no doubt more beloved than ever as a result.
Anti-Villain: Despite the grim and often hypocritical in hindsight actions he resorts to, he does have some good traits and was hoping for a cleaner way to get what he wanted first. Also, his motive — revenge for the collateral damage-induced loss of his family — is at least a little sympathetic.
Apple of Discord: His Evil Plan is to find evidence that Bucky Barnes murdered Tony Stark's parents while under HYDRA control and show it to Stark, so Bucky's friend Steve Rogers and Tony will turn on each other over whether to spare or kill Bucky, and the Avengers will be ripped apart as they side with one leader or the other.
Arch-Enemy: Since the death of Ulysses Klaue, it seems Zemo has taken his seat as Wakanda's most wanted for the death of King T'Chaka. Not a day after he breaks out of prison, Ayo is already hot on his trail to capture him.
Aristocrats Are Evil: It's revealed in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that he is a nobleman like his comic counterpart. Though unlike said counterpart, his upbringing had nothing to do with him becoming a villain since his father was by all accounts a decent man in this universe.
Badass Longcoat: The events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier have Zemo wearing a stylish winter coat, complete with Conspicuous Gloves.
Badass Normal: Unlike most of the Avengers, he's just a plain old human. But, through sheer patience and ingenuity, he still managed to tear them apart. During the trip to Madripoor he proves to be no slouch in combat either, reminding everyone he was former special forces. He also comes much closer to permanently stopping Morgenthau than Falcon or Bucky have ever managed so far, largely because he's fully willing to kill.
The Bad Guy Wins: Downplayed. Zemo has achieved his goals but with never with the fully desired outcome.
Batman Gambit: He's good at finding ways to make other people do things for him by exploiting their predictable behavior.
Beard of Evil: He has grown a beard during his eight years in prison as seen in Episode 2 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Beware the Superman: His return in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier reveals his own take on the idea. While he is against the idea of a Super Soldier on principle, he is not specifically against them as people, but more how they are precisely put on a pedestal, their flaws washed away/ignored and subsequently inspire Blind Obedience. He specifically notes how the personal loyalty inspired by Steve Rogers to Sam and Bucky (then, even now) precisely drives them to such extremes—even breaking the law much like they did to free him. Sam and Bucky do not protest the point. He admits that Steve was not corrupted by the power he was given but points out there was only one of him compared to the many who would abuse it. He is proven right on this point by John Walker taking the super soldier serum and going off the deep end.
Big Bad: Of Captain America: Civil War. He exploits and exacerbates the ideological differences between Captain America and Iron Man, resulting in the eponymous Good vs Good conflict that threatens to destroy the Avengers.
Big Damn Villains: As Sam, Bucky, and Sharon are pinned down by bounty hunters in the Madripoor shipyard, Zemo suddenly makes a grandiose entrance in full villain garb on a ledge, killing several assassins by shooting a nearby gas tank with his pistol before going to ground and taking down the rest in close combat, opening up the heroes' window of escape.
Blue Blood: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier reveals that he was always a baron. While the fall of Sokovia took away most of the power of the title he still has a lot of money and connections as a result of his position.
Breaking the Fellowship: Thanks to his efforts, the Avengers are severely compromised, with several of the foundational friendships that held them together torn apart and anyone who sided with Cap imprisoned or branded a fugitive. Even Tony and his supporters still bear physical and mental scars caused by fighting their friends.
The Bus Came Back: After being imprisoned at the end of Civil War, Zemo returns in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, with the title characters seeking his assistance in tracking down the source of the Flag Smashers's Super Soldier powers.
Cape Busters: Has a personal grudge against the Avengers and plots to destroy them by pitting them against one another. By the time of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he has apparently narrowed his vendetta to all super soldiers, stating that they "cannot be allowed to exist." At the same time, as stated above in Beware the Superman, his is more nuanced compared to other versions of this trope.
Character Tic: He has a habit of tilting his head whenever he's attempting to manipulate someone. It seems to be a subconscious thing he does, as he immediately stops doing it when Sam notices and lampshades it in Episode 4 of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
The Chessmaster: He plays all the Avengers like pawns. He frames Bucky for a crime, to have the world hunt him and lure him out of hiding. This partially causes the Avengers to turn on each other, divided over Bucky's innocence. He takes the UN interrogator's place, extorting information out of Bucky and using the trigger words to activate Bucky's soldier conditioning. Before finally showing Tony the tape of what really happened to his parents, sending him into a murderous rage to kill Bucky.
Colonel Badass: He used to be a Colonel in the Sokovian Special Forces, and he is one of the most effective foes the Avengers have faced — though not because of his combat abilities, but because of how effective he is about executing his plans.
Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: In Civil War, he's never called "Baron Zemo", the title he goes by in the comics, and is instead referred to by his military rank Colonel. This is subverted in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which reveals that he was Sokovian royalty and has several characters address him as "Baron".
The Comically Serious: His stoic demeanour tends to stick out when he's in the same room as Sam and Bucky, like when he awkwardly jumps to the defense of Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man" soundtrack, or his crappy dancing in Sharon's nightclub.
Composite Character: He takes Klaue's role as the man who murders King T'Chaka.
Cool Car: He actually has a lot of these. His family owned an impressive collection of classics, with plenty of Rolls' and Bentleys in his garage. It's a taste he himself had acquired, as he, Sam, Bucky and Sharon make their getaway out of Madripoor in a super-charged muscle car he had stashed in the docks.
Crusading Widower: His wife was among the civilian casualties in Sokovia. He keeps a recording of her last voice message on his phone.
Cunning Linguist: Zemo's multilingualism allows him to assume different identities. Aside from his native Sokovian, he speaks English, German, Russian, and presumably French, given that he was able to convincingly impersonate a French-speaking psychologist.
Death Seeker: Once he has put Iron Man against Bucky and Cap, he first attempts to persuade Black Panther into killing him, then decides to shoot himself. Black Panther catches the bullet before snagging him a headlock so he can face justice.
Determinator: He manages to find new resolve after Civil War, and Iron Man's sacrifice has done little to change his views. With Iron Man dead and Captain America retired, he decides he will stop the creation of any and all super soldiers in the world no matter what happens.
Divide and Conquer: His plan against the Avengers, seeing that there's absolutely no chance he can fight them on his own. He even compares the Avengers to some sort of a mighty empire, which can only be felled by using this tactic.
Driven to Suicide: Tries to goad T'Challa into killing him, and then to shoot himself when he refuses. Neither works out for him; making enemies of a guy with Super Strength and a bulletproof suit was a bad idea, evidently.
Elites Are More Glamorous: His family is Sokovian nobility and he was colonel in EKO Scorpion, Sokovia's black ops kill squad. Even if Sokovia was a developing Balkans country, that still makes him pretty dangerous.
Enemy Mine: Downplayed Trope. Despite not personally hating Sam and Bucky, the latter two consider their alliance with Zemo this due to Civil War and the damage he caused; the only reason they tolerate him is that he can accomodate them with the resources they need to take down the Flag-Smashers. To his credit, Zemo doesn't hesitate in helping their cause because of his Beware the Superman beliefs, even expressing interest in facing Karli Morgenthau herself.
Even Evil Has Standards:
Evil Genius: While he has combat training, his greatest strength is his intellect. Aside from his abilities as The Chessmaster, Zemo was able to crack the encrypted HYDRA files on the Winter Soldier program that Black Widow released to the Internet and build a very effective EMP bomb in his hotel room.
Face Death with Dignity: When T'Challa finally catches up with him at the end of Civil War, he's completely calm and fully prepared for T'Challa to kill him to avenge his father, even seeming to acknowledge that in his mind T'Challa's revenge against him is just as justified as his own revenge against the Avengers. Later, in episode 5 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he's completely calm and accepting when it looks like Bucky is going to execute him, and later he calmly walks away with the Dora Milaje when they show up to take him into custody, knowing there's a decent chance he's going to be executed in a spectacular fashion in Wakanda for killing the king (for some reason the Dora Milaje went to all that trouble just to turn him over to the U.N. where he'll be held in the same prison that used to hold Captain America's half of the Avengers, but he's got no way of knowing that).
Facial Scruff: His brief appearance in the second episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has Zemo with this due to his time spent in prison. Downplayed in that it looks relatively thin despite having been locked up for eight years at this point, and he shaves it off shortly after.
Fantastic Racism: He has a distaste for enhanced individuals in general, and super soldiers in specific. Specially if such super soldiers are put on pedestals he deems completely unearned.
Flaw Exploitation: He turns the Avengers, particularly Steve and Tony, against each other through a series of Batman Gambits with the ultimate goal of making them fight each other to the death — or if not that, at least to the point of no longer being a cohesive unit. In particular, he reveals to Tony the truth of what happened to his parents knowing that he'll go into an Unstoppable Rage against Bucky and that Cap will prioritise keeping Bucky alive even at Tony's expense.
Friend to All Children: Invoked in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In the fourth episode, Zemo earns the trust of a few children in Latvia by offering them sweets in exchange for information. But he also uses to opportunity to manipulate them into thinking Bucky and Sam aren't to be trusted.
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: When he infiltrates the UN compound to activate the Winter Soldier, he wears a pair of glasses as part of his disguise.
From Nobody to Nightmare:
Gambit Roulette: The final part his master plan relies on little other than his assumptions on the personalities and capabilities of various characters after studying thousands of pieces of intel from HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. that Black Widow dumped online back in Winter Soldier. The whole thing would have fallen apart if...
Godzilla Threshold: Sam and Bucky see recruiting him to stop the Flag-Smashers at this...and ultimately cross it when they run out of options.
Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: Even if any of the above had happened, Zemo still would’ve won because his entire goal was for the Avengers to disband - whether through an amicable parting-of-ways or a bloodbath - it was always a matter of how big his win would be. The only real flaw in his plan was the interference of Black Panther, and the creation of the Sokovia Accords, both of which he’d have no way to account for.
He Who Fights Monsters: He wants to take revenge for the death of his family, which he blames on the Avengers for causing collateral damage in the Battle of Sokovia. In doing so, he is responsible for the deaths of dozens of innocent people himself. He even earns someone coming after him for revenge in T'Challa.
Hidden Agenda Villain: His motives remain unclear for much of Civil War and are only revealed as the final battle is taking place.
Hidden Depths: Like Sam, he's a fan of Marvin Gaye and considers "Trouble Man" a masterpiece.
High Collar of Doom: He does the Marquee Alter Ego and Not Wearing Tights through the whole of Civil War, but his winter gear in the third act features a large collar turned up, giving off this vibe. His supervillain gear in Falcon and the Winter Soldier also features one of these, albeit with his comic self's fur trim included.
Human Shield: Thanks to his EKO Scorpion training, is fully capable of taking hostages to hide and shoot behind, as a group of assassins in Madripoor discovered.
Hypocrite:
Interrupted Suicide: After explaining his motivations to T'Challa and apologizing for the death of his father, Zemo tries to shoot himself in the head. T'Challa, however, has none of that, and stops him to make sure he pays for his crimes and turns him over to the authorities.T'Challa: The living are not done with you yet.
It's Personal: Zemo has a personal vendetta against the Avengers. His family was killed during the Battle of Sokovia and he simply wants revenge on those he holds responsible. As pointed out in Beware the Superman, he extends this to any Super Soldier held in such high regard, which is why he has no problem teaming up with Sam (who's more or less Badass Normal like himself) and Bucky (who is a Super Soldier, but isn't exactly held in high regard). When he, Sam, Bucky, and Sharon come across the HYDRA scientist responsible for creating more Super Soldiers after the failed Siberian Winter Soldiers, Zemo quietly and stoically shoots the man before the team is attacked.
Jerkass Has a Point: In episode 4 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Zemo explains why he doesn’t believe that super soldiers should be allowed to exist. By his own previous statements, Sam would probably agree with much of what he says, and John Walker spends the rest of the episode illustrating his arguments.
Kick the Son of a Bitch:
Kill and Replace: Murders the psychologist who was supposed to be evaluating Bucky and takes his place, taking the opportunity to activate Bucky's brainwashing during the evaluation.
Knight of Cerebus: He's a Villainous Underdog, but he manages to tear the Avengers apart through tactics. Unlike previous villains, his methods includes manipulating Tony into trying to execute Bucky to avenge the deaths of his parents and turning on Steve in the process. Averted in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier when his Laughably Evil side lightens the mood.
Know When to Fold 'Em:
Laser-Guided Karma:
Laughably Evil: Downplayed the next time he makes an appearance as he becomes The Comically Serious in an Endearingly Dorky kind of way when he joins in Sam's conversation with Bucky to praise Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man" soundtrack, or his lame dancing in Sharon's nightclub.
Manipulative Bastard: He is very skilled at manipulation, having studied the Avengers' psychological profiles in order to exploit their individual weaknesses and play them against each other.
Man of Wealth and Taste: Zemo is a baron and more than loaded, owning a private jet, a fleet of classic cars, a personal retainer, and plenty of money and stashed resources.
Marquee Alter Ego: In Civil War, Zemo does not wear a mask — or any kind of costume at all, unlike his comic book counterpart. This changes in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Master of Disguise: Zemo uses prosthetics and heavy makeup in order to convincingly make himself look like Bucky Barnes in the security cameras, fooling just about everyone into thinking the latter was responsible for the UN explosion. He later pulls a Kill and Replace on the psychiatrist who was intended to interview a contained Bucky with no one none the wiser until things start going wrong. Although the latter example is downplayed as when Tony finally discovers the real psychiatrist's body, he looks decidedly nothing like Zemo's impersonation of him.
Misplaced Retribution: Zemo holds the Avengers responsible for all the damage Ultron caused; while Tony and Bruce did create Ultron (after the former was influenced by Wanda), the "end all human life" thing was still his idea. The rest of the Avengers, however didn't know about Tony's plan, and did their best to stop Ultron once he went rogue.
Moral Myopia: He seeks to avenge his family, but he ends up killing multiple innocents who surely had family of their own. He acknowledges this, seeing as how he apologizes to Black Panther for killing his father but by that time he’s hoping to be killed so he can join his family, either by T’Challa or his own hand, so it’s more about easing his conscience rather than remorse for what his actions indirectly caused.
Movie Superheroes Wear Black: Instead of the purple and gold costume he had in the comics, he sticks to dark civilian clothes. Near the end of Civil War, he has a pitch-black coat with a large collar. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier trailers and promo images however reveal he’ll be getting a new costume featuring his signature purple mask and even incorporating the classic ermine trim on his collar.
Nazi Hunter: As part of his Adaptational Nice Guy he's no longer a member of the Nazi-affiliated and fascistic HYDRA group, but is shown to despite and openly oppose them, telling Karpov that "HYDRA deserves its place on the ash heap". The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has him openly despise Nazis and reveals that he'd been hunting down and killing HYDRA members for years as part of his quest to destroy the Super Serum, long before the destruction of Sokovia.
Necessary Evil: How Bucky, and especially Sam, view him in their fight against the Flag-Smashers. No one knows more about the super-soldier serum and Hydra than Zemo, and fortunately for them, they have a common enemy in the Flag-Smashers.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain!: While his plan does succeed in its goal, it does allow Steve to find Bucky, after fruitlessly spending two years scouring the Earth for him, and gives them an ally who can get the brainwashing out of Bucky's head.
Nice to the Waiter: He is quite friendly and courteous to both a staff member of the hotel he stayed at for Civil War, and his old family butler.
No-Nonsense Nemesis: Zemo is an extremely pragmatic man who knows full well that he's just an ordinary person in an extraordinary world, and realizes that it will give him no quarter if he were to dally about with regards to his vengeance. He has no choice but to be utterly cutthroat if he wants to complete his goal. This is especially shown in his first full-blown action sequence in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, taking down assassins after himself and the heroes in a surprise attack that wouldn't be out of place in a first-person shooter game.
Non-Action Big Bad: Although he has military training, he never directly fights any of the Avengers in Civil War, acknowledging that he could never physically stand up to the likes of them. Instead, he relies more on subterfuge and deception. Becomes a Subverted Trope by the time of Falcon and the Winter Soldier, showing he's fully capable of taking down several assassins after the heroes, though all of them are still normal humans.
Not So Above It All: After being freed from prison in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Zemo shows that he isn't a stoic and unpleasant individual 24/7. Notably, he jumps in on Sam and Bucky's conversation about Marvin Gaye's Troubleman soundtrack to give his own thoughts on the record, and he can be seen thoroughly enjoying himself Madripoor, drinking quite a bit of hard liquor and awkwardly dancing at the Little Princess nightclub.
Nothing Left to Do but Die: After getting Tony to fight Steve and Bucky, Zemo decides to listen to his wife's voicemail one last time, before deleting it and attempting to commit suicide.
Nothing Personal: He tells T'Challa that he is sorry for killing his father and that he seemed like a good man in Civil War. While conversing with Bucky for the first time since the events of that film in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he says this verbatim about using him to tear apart the Avengers.
Not Wearing Tights: He doesn't wear anything remotely resembling a costume in Civil War. However, he dons the purple mask in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Outliving One's Offspring: His son was a casualty from the Avengers' fight with Ultron.
Old Money: He is generationally wealthy due to his family being Sokovian royalty.
Only Sane Man: In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it says a lot about Sam's present circle of associates that (other than Sharon Carter) Zemo is by far the most mentally well-balanced individual Sam has around him at his job.
Papa Wolf: The reason he's out to destroy the Avengers? His family was killed in their fight with Ultron.
Patriotic Fervor: Averted. As Zemo himself remarks ruefully, while he served in Sokovia's armed forces, his drive for vengeance isn't out of any love for the country, as he never actually had much patriotic feeling. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier shows that he does have some serious grievances over how it ended up, though, even chastising Sam and Bucky for not visiting the memorial.
Politically Correct Villain: As part of his Adaptational Nice Guy he's no longer a member of the Nazi-affiliated and fascistic HYDRA group, but is a fan of Marvin Gaye and understands Trouble Man (Sam's favorite album) to be a condensation of the African-American experience. Also berates Sam for stereotyping himself as a "pimp" just because he's flamboyantly dressed.
Purple Is Powerful: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier sees Zemo don a purple mask, coat, and gloves as he resurfaces to the criminal world.
Put on a Prison Bus: Zemo is taken to prison by Black Panther before he can commit suicide, ultimately sitting out the next few years until his return in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. And it happens again in Episode 5 of the aforementioned series, where he's taken by the Dora Milaje to the Raft.
Pyrrhic Victory: Zemo succeeds in fracturing the Avengers and getting the majority of them branded as fugitives, but he is also captured by Black Panther and still has to face prosecution for the murders he committed. It also works vice versa on his capture being a Pyrrhic Victory for the heroes. Best summarized by the following exchange:Everett K. Ross: So how does it feel? To spend all that time, all that effort, and to see it fail so spectacularly?
Helmut Zemo: ...Did it?
Revenge Myopia: Getting his revenge was worth anything — including inflicting upon others the same pain he complained about suffering. Lampshaded at the end of the movie, when T'Challa observes that the revenge he seeks has consumed him. Worse still, because he tore the Avengers apart, they had no gameplan and were unable to present a united front against Thanos, leading to even more families the universe over being devastated by the Snap.
Rogues Gallery Transplant: Downplayed. While Zemo is still an enemy of Captain America and The Falcon as he was in the comics, he also ends up becoming an enemy of Black Panther's, due to his involvement in King T'Chaka's death. It extends to the entire nation of Wakanda as well, as they immediately dispatch Ayo to apprehend him when he escapes from prison in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: His noble lineage while serving in the Sokovian special forces makes him this.
Secretly Wealthy: He may have been living the gritty villain life in Civil War (probably to fly under the radar), but The Falcon and the Winter Soldier reveals that he is a wealthy Baron like his comics counterpart. Sam even reacts with "So all this time, you've been rich?"
A Sinister Clue: Zemo is left-handed and is the Big Bad of Civil War. Shooting a gun with his left hand starts off his Big Damn Villains moment in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Sucks at Dancing: While the gang rests and spends the night at Sharon's club in Madripoor, Zemo's dancing moves leave him wanting. Let's just say he was channeling his inner Commander Shepard.
Suicide by Cop: After apologizing to T'Challa for killing his father, he says that he seemed like a good man "with a dutiful son", saying this last part with a meaningful glance, obviously hinting that he's fine with T'Challa taking vengeance upon him now. When T'Challa refuses to do so, Zemo attempts to just shoot himself, but T'Challa thwarts this effort as well.
Superhero Movie Villains Die: Subverted. After completing his plan to turn Iron Man and Captain America against each other, he first attempts Suicide by Black Panther. Attempts being the operative word, as T'Challa refuses when he realises how close he came to turning out like Zemo. As a result, Zemo attempts to shoot himself in the head, but Black Panther stops him and turns him into the authorities, leaving him incarcerated but very much alive.
Supporting Protagonist: Of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as most of Bucky's and Sam's story and dynamic are sometimes told from his viewpoint during his team-up with them.
They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: There's nothing from his looks that would suggest that he's more than just an everyday guy.
Took a Level in Cheerfulness: He's much more upbeat in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier than he was in Captain America: Civil War. Which makes sense: in the latter he had just lost his family and was on a revenge quest whereas in the former the stakes aren't as personal and he's had time to grieve for his family in prison, meaning he has the time and temperament to joke around, make fun of "allies" and dance badly.
Took a Level in Kindness: Downplayed, but in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he's much friendlier with Sam and Bucky than he was with Tony and Steve in Civil War. Justified, as this time around he's working together with them to take down the Flag-Smashers and even then he still takes the time to engage them in relatively civil conversations.
Tragic Villain: He pursues his vengeance purely because he feels he has nothing else to live for without his family. This is highlighted by his decision to goad Black Panther into killing him and, when that doesn't work, shoot himself.
Tritagonist: Of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, when he teams up with Sam and Bucky in their crusade to defeat the Flag Smashers, while being more developed as a character in contrast to his debut in Civil War along the way of the narrative.
Tranquil Fury: Despite spending the whole movie on a murderous crusade, Zemo avoids all the theatrics of Loki or Ultron and seldom even raises his voice. This includes when he finally spells out his motives to the heroes.
Troll: Even when he's not manipulating or killing everyone around him, he's kind of a dick, as seen in his reappearance in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, reciting Bucky's trigger phrase, knowing it doesn't work, just to upset him, needling Sam about his experience in the Raft, and later telling his retainer to serve Sam and Bucky them any food that's gone off.
Truer to the Text: Zemo in Civil War was a borderline In Name Only depiction of him. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier retroactively adds a lot more aspects of the original comic character, such as his noble status, his costume, and his physical prowess.
Unknown Rival: To the Flag-Smashers, particularly Karli Morgenthau. Do to being enhanced with the super-soldier serum, Zemo considers the Flag-Smashers to be dangerous individuals, and is more than willing to form an Enemy Mine with Sam and Bucky to take them down. Karli on the other hand, isn't even aware that Zemo exists until he shoots her and destroys the serum right in front of her. Even then, she seems more content to get up and run than to try to confront him for his actions.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He successfully managed to break up the Avengers, hoping to bring down the most powerful team of beings in the universe to avenge the deaths of his family. Unfortunately for him, it worked a little too well, as they don't stand on a united front when Thanos arrives and, despite putting up a good fight, get flattened by the Mad Titan. Said Mad Titan then uses the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life in the universe, turning the world into a total mess that it spends five years trying to recover from until the Avengers find a way to set things right. Even when they do undo the Snap, the world falls into utter chaos once again trying to handle those that were restored to life, leading to the Flag-Smashers taking rise and causing just enough trouble to force Bucky and Sam to bust Zemo out of jail to help them.
Villain Protagonist: So far of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, when he teams up with Sam and Bucky to take down the Flag Smashers, getting more screen time and more of his development unlike in Civil War.
Villain Respect: As of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Zemo develops this towards Sam Wilson due to his refusal to be ehnanced into being super soldier while maintaining his idealistic outlook. He also concedes that Steve Rogers was not corrupted by the power he held but holds him as an exception.
Villainous Underdog: He's not a Physical God, not an alien, nor a Super Soldier. He's just a former military colonel with patience, a simple yet effective plan, and The Power of Hate. This is exactly why Sam and Bucky decide to bring him into their crusade against the Flag-Smashers.
Weak, but Skilled: Invoked. Zemo is a professionally trained special ops colonel who has the combat skills to take down regular men with ease. However, he knows that no amount of skill can destroy a group of enhanced individuals like the Avengers, and so relies on his manipulation and espionage skills to turn them against each other instead.
Weapon of Choice: A Smith and Wesson 6906 pistol, which he uses to execute the other Winter Soldiers and attempt suicide.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Zemo's objective in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is to stop the creation of any and all super soldiers, believing that they create symbols of facism like the Red Skull once did. He accomplishes this in the fourth episode by shooting Karli Morgenthau multiple times and then smashing the remaining vials as Nico is helping her escape him.
What You Are in the Dark: When Zemo corners Karli and discovers the last of the Super Soldier Serum in her possession, rather than take it for himself, which would have made his mission a lot easier, he smashes the vials and would have successfully destroyed them all had Walker not intervened.
Wicked Cultured: He's a connoiseur of music and art, as revealed in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: He has quite a sympathetic motive for his mission of revenge against the Avengers, namely that he blames them for the death of his family.
Xanatos Speed Chess: He's not in control of everything that happens in Civil War (for one thing, he has nothing to do with the Sokovia Accords), but he's good at taking advantage of unexpected situations to further his plans.
Even more so in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In Civil War, at least he still instigates most of the events, but in the show, he's broken out of prison without having expected to and is more or less thrust into an ongoing conflict he has nothing to do with. He still manages to play the heroes and the villains—that he utterly disagrees with—and so far has gotten away completely unscathed, once again having succeeded at what he set out to do.
He's the Big Bad of Civil War and is more than willing to commit mass murder to achieve his ends, but the times he acts polite or remorseful are genuine. He states he'd rather avoid unnecessary deaths if he can, has a few standards, apologizes to T'Challa for killing his father, has regular courteous interactions with a staff member of the hotel he's staying at, and even eventually apologizes to Bucky for using him. Considering he's just a grieving man who's dedicated to avenging the deaths of his family, it makes sense he wouldn't act like a cackling maniac.
By The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, he is shown to be fairly courteous to those around him (who, apart from his family butler were his enemies before) and he is capable of holding civil conversations with Bucky, even offering him a genuine apology for his actions in Civil War. He also agrees to join Sam and Bucky's crusade against the Flag-Smashers, without the driving of a hard bargain one might expect from him. He is also fully willing to lend his resources from the criminal underground to Sam and Bucky to take the Flag-Smashers down, no questions asked.
While none of the Avengers die as a consequence of his plan in Captain America: Civil War, he accomplishes his main goal in dividing them and is content with this. While the looming threat of Thanos forces them back together in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the reunion turns out to be temporary — by the time of Spider-Man: Far From Home, WandaVision, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the Avengers are still very much defunct.
In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he successfully killed the man who recreated the super soldier formula and destroyed all but one of the remaining samples while inadvertently leading to John Walker gaining the Super Serum for himself. This turns in Zemo's favor after Walker brutally executes a defenseless Flag Smasher in broad daylight in front of civilians, corrupting the image of super soldiers in the public eye. He willing gives up a chance at pulling a Villain: Exit, Stage Left to visit a memorial and allows him self to be captured, his work done.
He framed Bucky Barnes for bombing the United Nations, then relied on everyone else including Captain America hunting him down for it, and further that no one but the Avengers would even be capable of killing Bucky, to get access to Barnes and his knowledge of HYDRA bases.
He arranges for his ruse to be discovered by the media, relying on Tony to find out and make amends with Captain America, so they'll both find the Siberian compound where Zemo reveals to them that Bucky killed Tony's parents.
His entire plan is based on assumptions from the S.H.I.E.L.D. intel on the Avengers he's studied that Captain America's over-protectiveness of his friends and Iron Man's complex over the death of his parents would mean not only that the two would turn on each other if Bucky's involvement in the Starks' death was revealed, but that Steve wouldn't have talked to Tony about Bucky's potential involvement beforehand.
His setup gambled on the fact that it is a conflict that only works if there are no voices of reason to hold either of them back. The fact that the airport fight left only two active members of the Avengers, Bucky and a third party present in the Hydra compound in a place where no one would interfere was a happy accident for him since most of the Avengers present could have prevented things from reaching the breaking point. Of course, this is covered under Heads I Win, Tails You Lose.
Notably, this is also why he finds Bucky a bit tolerable, since he is being bewared of.
In a stark contrast to his comics depiction, he lacks any affiliation with HYDRA and outright states that they deserved to be brought down. A conversation in Falcon and the Winter Soldier reveals he despises the Red Skull and those who idolize him, and he kills Doctor Nagel while the man is gloating about being a god.
Despite his profound hatred of the Avengers, he declined to unleash the other five Winter Soldiers and shot them dead rather than risk someone else doing so, as they were worse than Bucky and would do untold damage to the world given the order. He also seems uncomfortable with the concept of experimenting on humans in general.Zemo: If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep. Did you really think I wanted more of you?
Zemo was "just" a special forces operative, but when his family was killed, he used his intel on HYDRA to take on the Avengers and came closer to destroying the team than any previous villain.
Falcon and the Winter Soldier reveals that at some point, he became involved with the criminal underground, under the simple but accurate alias of "Baron".
A) Captain America and Bucky had captured Zemo before Iron Man arrived (then again, he was in a fortified bunker that would take serious fire-power to break through).
B) Iron Man had not figured out where Cap and Bucky were headed in the first place.
C) Iron Man had not come alone, meaning there might have been someone to restrain him or talk him down after he learned the truth.
D) Black Panther had succeeded in killing Bucky during one of their three fights during the course of the film (of course it’s highly unlikely that he even knew the Black Panther existed).
E) Captain America told Iron Man that the deaths of his parents were orchestrated by HYDRA.
Zemo hates the Avengers after the collateral damage they caused killed his family. So he decides to split the team up and in the process causes collateral damage that kills other people's family members.
Zemo believes that "gods" like the Avengers should not be allowed to exist. Sam points out that be decreeing who deserves to exist, he's speaking like a god.
Tortures and kills Vasily Karpov for information. Karpov is not only a still loyal HYDRA operative but one of the main leaders of the Winter Soldier project and ordered the death of the Starks and his slow death is just desserts. He does the same to the HYDRA scientist responsible for making more Super Soldiers in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, finishing his work from Siberia.
He also happily participates in the interrogation of Doctor Nagel, the Mad Scientist who recreated the Super Soldier Serum via human experimentation, and personally guns the man down.
Zig-zagged; he knows very well that he can never kill the Avengers himself, since more powerful men than him have tried and all have failed, which is why he makes a plan to get them to kill each other for him.
In the secret HYDRA lab in Madripoor, he and his comrades come under attack. Not knowing where the assailants are, Zemo makes a quick getaway, causing Sam and the others to think he bailed... only to show up moments later when the assassins are in plain view, making it much easier for him to take them down.
When the Dora Milaje apprehend him a second time in episode 5 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he surrenders himself without a fight, presumably both because he knew he had no chance of victory and because he had already achieved his goal of destroying the current iteration of the super-soldier serum.
He uses Bucky's Trigger Phrase while the latter's locked in an apparatus, making him go on a rampage. By the end of Civil War, he himself is locked in the same apparatus.
He kills T'Challa's father in the course of his Evil Plan. After T'Challa learns the truth about this, he foils Zemo's attempted suicide to ensure he faces justice for his crimes.
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