#admittedly zim is one

[short-and-ugly]

can count on my hands how many times skoodge initiates contact with zim first throughout my entire series

[irkenproperty]

ZaDr

THANKU FOR THE ASK BB!

i was honestly about to delete the reblog hmksjddhsk--

SHIP IT, of course c;

What made you ship it?

Admittedly, at the tender age of pre-teen, I'd never been exposed to a same sex couple, whether real or fictional, which made the whole concept of - not only two guys, but also a human and an alien - absolutely terrifying. Being super into cringey AMVs, it was inevitable I'd run across ZaDr eventually... and I hated it, pfff--

It was because I was scared of something different, really. But, after a few months of constantly running into the ship in the fandom space, it became less and less 'scary', and honestly... the aesthetic was growing on me.

The description I put in an IZ speedpaint, back then, had a huge ThIs Is NoT zAdR, iT iS gRoSs AnD wEiRd slapped right across the top, which I eventually removed a few months later as... well... I came to my senses haha!

ZaDr is the most - unintentionally - 'would be canon if made today and not distributed by Nickoldeon' kinda show. I mean, She-Ra had a ZaDr easter egg, for crying out loud - what could have been if someone more progressive, back in the day, had come up with the idea. Sorry Jhonen, but it's true

Favourite things about the ship?

To avoid another ramble, I'll just make a list - height difference, cultural difference, enemies to lovers, hate fucking, realising they're two sides of the same coin when it comes to daddy issues, co-dependency, dom/sub therapy... and just overall two hurt and broken idiots realising they need one another to heal and be happy.

Unpopular opinion about the ship?

... ... Zim is a power bottom and will never grow taller than 5ft - MAXIMUM.

Dib is not a uwu soft boi. He's just as mean and cruel as he thinks Zim is. That boy is a damn bully, and a borderline narcissist.

[irkendogma]

tak is the main antagonist for this crossover fic im writing and due to the lack of canon content beyond literally that one episode and some of etf, sometimes i worry im not doing her any justice or it’s too ooc. what do you think would be the best way to write tak in your opinion? (if you happen to have any advice on the matter. just wondering! byeeee💃)

i'm genuinely so relieved at the specification of "in your opinion" because i have such a strange long-lasting attachment to tak that i think i would second-guess my thoughts on her in an objective vacuum to the point of just saying "she should be purple". but as it is i now have the freedom to go stupid crazy about it

i think there's a number of crucial elements to tak, but i think the one that people miss most in writing her is that she isn't just meant to be a more competent counterpart to zim - she's a direct parallel in terms of her ego, motivation, and backstory (the latter particularly as a result of treatment by irken society)

like zim, tak has an enormous ego and an audacity that places herself above anyone else, even the empire itself (see: her custom invader insignia. that's like drawing a crucifix but substituting yourself for jesus after being refused by the church), and like zim, in spite of her disregard for the empire's rulings she's striving for recognition both by it and within it (to quote her: "the plan i have in store for this nasty rock will so impress the tallest that they'll have no choice but to make me an invader"). the same way zim "quit being banished", tak "escaped" from the janitorial squad she was placed under as a stopgap job until the next elite test in seventy years

i've seen some people write her as tall, but in my opinion her being only very, very slightly taller than zim is not just a stylistic choice but an essential part of her character that draws her backstory together: technically that janitorial job wasn't even a punishment, it was just deemed the most suitable position for her in the absence of official imperial proof that she was capable of anything "better" or "higher" that would've been afforded to a taller more easily

that she made it so far in the elite course at all in spite of her height gives context and precedent to the competence and sheer refusal to admit defeat she exhibits in her attempt to destroy earth, a planet she initially believes is already undergoing an officially-sanctioned invasion judging from how bitterly she tells zim about what should've been "rightfully hers", down to specifically mentioning the great assigning - loops back to her audacity, in that she has zimlike degrees of ego regardless of how hard the circumstances logistically are aligned to stomp her back down (see again her quote where she confidently states her plan to hijack an official invasion will impress the tallest to the point they won't mind her flagrantly flaunting the rules). she would've spent so much of her life striving to meet her own exceedingly high expectations, not the exceedingly low ones assumed of someone her height, that this likely isn't far from her standard procedure of "show them i can do it better than the rules say"

what sets her apart from zim, i think, is in how much she's allowed herself to let those miserable expectations get to her and leave her pettier, more vindictive, less grandstanding speeches like zim than showing off everything she's capable of as often as possible, no matter how necessary (ALL the stupid parkour she does for no reason) - which i think is admittedly less her fault than partially being the result of her having actually experienced her confidence failing her when the entire future she'd set up for herself was pulled out from underneath her

unlike zim, who experiences failure regularly but never has it truly sink in, tak had the entirety of her progress wiped off the board in a single moment as a result of circumstances entirely beyond her control: i think a large part of the reason she resents zim so deeply and sincerely isn't solely because of the practical consequences of her missing her test (though it is in no way insignificant to it) but because he was the one who broke her streak - he was the one who made her brutally aware that no matter how she built herself up, no matter what proof she offered, she could still fail and be crushed into exactly the nobody she was expected to be

and she just cannot abide that, no matter what, because even if the memory of helplessness and humiliation will never go away (not that she'd acknowledge it wouldn't), if she can make him hurt the same way maybe that will give back to her some of the power and control over her life and her identity that she lost in losing her potential status as a real, sanctioned invader

also, i do think she should be purple. she seems to have a great attachment to aesthetics and individual style, given her custom pseudo-elite uniform (which we see her wearing even in training, on her test day), the fact she designed and programmed her hologram specifically to have the distinguishing marking of a beauty spot in the same place she has one on her actual face, and her penchant for making nearly every damn piece of her tech purple some way (minus mimi, who while being her own bootleg SIR unit still follows the same red color scheme as a functional one) - even the cockpit of the spittle runner she pilots is initially purple before it's ejected as an escape pod, and the magma pump's interior looks like this:

girl likes giving things her own little touches whether that's in terms of her trademark color, her near-blasphemous custom imperial logo, or her doing a tactical slide between bars of a railing instead of just stepping normally onto the floor

[enemyoflactose]

I have rated Yu-Gi-Oh fits

8/10

Yugi may be in his school uniform, but he bedazzled the shit out of it and it works. The hair is bright and eye catching in a fantastic way, all three belts make him look like he shops at hot topic regularly, the chain on his puzzle is so good and works so well. The only thing that keeps this from a perfect 10 is I think some earrings would've tied the whole thing together

6/10

Kind of basic, but I get it. Joey is broke as hell. His hair is fantastic though and the dog tag is honestly kind of funny and looks great on him. This rating is the same for all of his outfits.

5/10

Also basic, also saved by his hair. It looks like cake. Honestly, I like his season 1 fit the most, but I like it more in the manga because he has a bandana and that's interesting.

Image by EarthToJaymus on Reddit

8/10

She looks cute in this. Admittedly it isn't my favorite outfit that she's worn, but it is her most iconic, and I like it a lot. The bracelets are cute, high waisted mom shorts are clowned in too much, and I like her shirt. My only problem is thelat she's wearing socks and sandals.

Image taken by me.

10/10

I chose this outfit out the other ones because It's the only one he put on by himself, and he ate and left no crumbs. He looks so good it's criminal. The ankhs are cool, the bondage shirt is badass, his hair is so fantastic and amazing it makes me want to cry.

11/10

He's so cool.

4/10

It's the shirt. The teal just isn't it. His Dsod fit is a 9/10 though.

6/10

He looks like he wants to be stuffed like a build-a-bear and doesn't realize it. He looks like he wants to dress like a mix of Dib Membrane and Zim but doesn't wanna be bullied. He looks like he'd melt if I put him in Oklahoma.

7/10

He put this outfit on all by himself, and decided that skechers would tie the look together... Dumbass

5/10

I like the hair, but his suit.

[trancylovecraft]

What do you think of the new episode of Helluva?

amazing timing! I just got off a discord call about this topic

And jeez.. this is gonna be a rant, prolly not what you were expecting from an ask about the new episode but.. yk.. I'm sorry this wasn't more positive than you probably wanted, But I don't want to lie and I have a lot to get off my chest

If you enjoy Helluva boss then please, You do what you do and enjoy what you want to. And I'm happy it can bring you joy, Don't let me prevent you from loving something you love <3

.

..

...

So first of all, I bloody hate Helluva boss. I know I've written for it and still write for it but OMG I just don't like it at all and the direction its gone.

Like season one is good, I like it. Its amazing season to start off a seemingly good show with a lot of potential.

The villains are threatening and are set up to become major plot points. Verosika, Striker, The cherubs (which admittedly were the weakest out of the trio, But hey, you can't be perfect)

The conflicts are being set, Aka stolas and Blitzo's toxic relationship and it's struggles. It's got potential for a lot of nuance and oppertunities to explore gay relationships in a more abusive light and I can appreciate that a lot.

Characters arcs have been put into motion with Moxxies inferiority, Blitzo's need for validation and the star prophecy going on with stolas and his daughter.

The animation, The music and the voice acting are all on point with such high profile actors. Ahem ahem.. INVADER ZIM AND BEETLEJUICE!!

It was amazing, A major accomplishment for indie animation and the trailblazer that aet off the youtube animation reinessance.

But then season two comes along.

Right off the bat with the circus its suddenly revealed that stolas and blitzo knew each other from childhood.

This is confusing. Stolas and blitzo knowing each other starts to change their relationship from the toxic transactional it was suppose to explore into a more

This episode could've been great, If it was stella and not blitz. This episode could've explored the begginings of their relationship (platonic)

It was stated by octavia that they at one point liked each other then degraded. This episode couldve shown that and given stella some actual development.

Now throughout the season more issues become prevelant..

The villains that were threatening before have become nothing more than cannon fodder. A monster of the week, If you will. Striker and crimson (we're not gonna get into that episode) were easily defeated by blitz and fizzaroli (ILL GET ONTO HIM) making fun of them and removing all their threatening aura.

Verosika is gone, She might return, Idk tho. The cherubs we'e heard nothing from either. And do NOT get me started on the new villains. (The agents, Crimson, Andrealphus)

The women in helluva are EXTREMELY underdeveloped. There are no girls that stand on their own, Just another limb for the male characters to further their own arcs (Millie is just Moxxies concious, Octavia is just Stolas' reason for staying and Loona is just there tobexplore Blitzo's abandonment issues

Millie especially. The only episode she got out of two seasons is unhappy campers. And even then she had to be a boy to get the praise, It feels like the writers were self aware at that poimt.

Her only personality is violence and moxxie, Thats it.

(I have a lot more to say about Helluva boss, Such as the awful story. The woobification of stolas and Blitzo. The humour. The gay overglorification. Fizzaroli and Asmodeus. The rushed pacing and the non-existant set up)

The newest episode I genuinley disliked, One of my least favourite in the season.

I feel like this was the writers grasping at straws. To make a story and an arc, You've got to set it up.

We had no idea that Fizzaroli was connected to Mammon in any way, We had no hints or suggestion that he was. Nor did we have any hints of his underlying arc about wanting to be free.

For instance this can be done through dialogue or the characters body language. We got none of this and instead this was just pulled out of the writers asses.

I dont care for fizzaroli, I hate him apart from his voice actor. To me, He's boring and just a recoloured blitz.

The whole episode was the setup and the solution. This should not of been the case, This was rushed and this episode should of been the solution of the hinted issue in previous episodes like the one where they got kidnapped.

(That was a great chance to talk about being free, Since yk, They were in a cage and it would of prompted a deeper conversation)

It feels like a reheated angel dust and valentino but platonic im ngl. Besides, Fizz and ozzie's relationship is just not good.

Its too sickly sweet. Im not saying it has to all be angst but a spat or an arguement to prompt the episode wouldve been good you know? All healthy relationships have their rocky parts and it wouldve been nice to see here.

Asmodeus and Mammon just dont seem threatening for demon kings? They take insults and jabs that really degrade their intimidation for the audience yk?

The whole episode boils down to "clown twink gets abused by capitalism"

Overall I ranted too long about this animated show. The episode was not good and the future for this series is looking bleak.

This was a really shallow examination of helluva boss. Im writing this in bed so i dont have time to go deeper into the story structure and concepts portrayed in there

I fucking love mammon tho, He's my husband, Please request him.

-Trancy M. Lovecraft

[sapphorror]

Now that you have read the ZimVoid arc, what are your toughts on Zib and Za2r (Zib❤Zim2[2im{twoim}])?

I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED!!! alright, maybe I was definitely going to say this all anyway, but now I have a decent excuse to braindump it all at once instead of trying to write, I don't know, coherent analysis.

Yeah, I'm obsessed with this guy. I'm still only just starting to build a proper 3D model of him in my head, so don't take anything I rave about here too seriously, but my god is Zib something else. Also, really cute. No one told me he'd be cute and I wasn't at all equipped to deal with what I got. I was operating under the assumption he was going to be at least a LITTLE cool, but this is the most pathetic wet meow meow of a character I have ever seen, and that is no small statement.

(Also also, is it just me, or does the way Zib's drawn remind anyone else of rubber hose animation like, moreso than the comics artstyle generally does? I can't quite pin down what's making it feel that way, but I like it. Gives him Vibes™, y'know?)

Anyway. Fusions like Zib are always going to be fun, just for what they imply about their component characters and the game of trying to identify what characteristics come from where. And Zib is especially fun for this because Zim and Dib are such similar people to begin with. It honestly doesn't surprise me that the Zimfluence went initially unnoticed by our Dib, not just because he's more prone to cognitive bias than he likes to believe, but because there are so many overlapping traits between these two guys that Zib wasn't so much altered by the fusion as he was exacerbated. They blend seamlessly to the point it's really hard to pick out where one ends and the other begins, and in a different kind of story, Dib might actually be forced to reflect on what that implies about him and his motivations. As is, he's just going to keep fooling himself, though.

Probably the most obvious dichotomy between them, at least where it applies to Zib, is motive, and that definitely brings up some interesting questions. When he chooses to take over the Earth, is that the Zim side disguised by Dib-passing justifications, or does it say a whole lot more about Dib's actual loyalty to the Earth against his loyalty to opposing Zim than anyone would really like it to? How about the total lack of internal conflict when it comes to decimating the Armada and wrecking the Irken Empire? What does that say about Zim's ultimate loyalties?

Granted, I am at this point pretty certain Zib didn't just put on the PAK and call it a day, I think he took precautionary measures to ensure that the Dib half remained the 'dominant' personality, given that in 10 Minutes to Doom we see him completely subsumed by Zim's coding, so this isn't a perfect equal split. But it is still a split—Zib clearly did not have the foresight to account for everything, if he even wanted to—and the fact he prepared himself for this is itself interesting, because it means the decision was premeditated, not done on a whim during some momentary mental break. This might even be why he's half-Irken; instead of the PAK altering his biology, maybe Zib altered his biology so it could survive the long-term integration of the PAK. And isn't it just insane to imagine any version of Dib willingly body-horroring himself like that, stripping away his own humanity? When he accused our Dib of being just another ignorant human, could that maybe be a sign that he didn't want to have anything in common with those people anymore?

None of this is what really gets me about Zib, though. This is.

Admittedly, I'm sort of predisposed here, because I have this whole Thing about Dib's unfaltering belief he can somehow prove himself to humanity, despite all evidence to the contrary, being in essence identical to Zim's delusion that he's already adored by all... that's it's whole own post, tbh, but my point is Dib's ostracization wouldn't be solved by exposing Zim, and it's fun to see that explicitly confirmed.

But it's also more specific than that. Because what Zib was forced to realize here is that he destroyed the only person capable of actually caring about him. And that's why the Zimvoid is the Zimvoid, isn't it? Zib could've used those portals to escape anywhere or lure in anything, but instead he does this. Part of that's the obsessive need to succeed where he'd previously failed and decimate the Armada (+ repeatedly 'defeat' Zim because he's still too emotionally stunted to understand that's not actually what he needs), and I think all of that is important, but there's also something to be said about how deeply driven Dib is by the desire for external validation, and here he went and fused himself with the one person in the universe who might be even more love-hungry than he is. Zib's not afraid of being alone simply because he dislikes isolation—I mean, even within the Zimvoid, he still physically and ESPECIALLY emotionally isolates himself from the other Zims. Being the only person left in his reality means there's no one to admire his greatness, and given who he's a combination of, of course that's his worst nightmare. And ridiculous as it may be, he understands that Zim is the only person who's ever given him that kind of attention. So why not make a whole planet of them? Why not trick them into idolizing him? I mean, who else could even matter besides Zim?

Also? This one's sort of auxiliary to the last point, but there is something deeply, deeply sexy and thematically chewy in Dib wanting/needing Zim so badly that he quite literally became him, and that not being enough. I mean, what is the Zimvoid but a huge collector's display? And it's exactly this that makes him the architect of his own ultimate tragedy. I have a thing for characters who damn themselves not through any single choice, but by passing up a million little opportunities to save themselves, totally confident in their decisions right up til the moment it actually is too late. He could've used those portals to escape to another timeline. He could've designed the Zimvoid as anything other than a ticking timebomb of lies, conflict, and an ever inflating population of lunatics. He could've given up on his destructive plans and just enjoyed the huge fucked up harem he built for himself. He could've quit while he was ahead.

And the really funny thing is, even after the collapse of the Zimvoid, his total isolation is still a consequence of his own actions. I mean, the Zim from his own timeline literally cannot be taken away from him through any method short of murder. He's still right there. But by winning, by possessing his Zim to the point of consumption, Zib defeated the entire purpose of having Zim in the first place. They'll never be separated, and that's exactly the reason why he'll always be alone.

As for ZA2R... hm. I'm not sure if I have much to say about them just yet, but suffice to say I am Deeply Compelled. I'm always weak for that (false) god x worshipper dynamic. It's about someone as lonely and broken and closed off as Zib finding out the hard way that they're still capable of genuine love, no matter how bad they are at it, and there's something very special in every Zim's desire to be someone's favorite being so specifically exploited. I mean, the dynamic of highest subordinate is essentially identical to the one Zim likes to imagine he has with the Tallest, only actually real. Dishonest and exploitative, to be sure, but still real. And hey, important question, but what about #2's personal Dib and the fact Zib is always going to be implicitly competing against the person actually cosmically destined for his partner, because he fucked his own cosmic destiny up so badly? Or the inevitable spectacle of Dib's semi-latent yandere tendencies being brought to bear against himself?

Also! Shameless Homestuck chatter, but I take so much joy in pale ZADR dynamics (black diamond romance my beloved), and the fun thing about ZA2R is that their default pacifier/pacified dynamic swaps. In, uh, normal person terms, they've managed to contrive themselves a situation in which Zim is actually the comparatively sane/stable one, keyword comparatively, and being worked to death about it. There's nothing I love more than a justified role reversal, y'know?

THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT FOR NOW but like I've been thinking about these guys nonstop for 24 hours already, I WILL be losing my mind about them again. I don't know when, I don't know how, but it's gonna happen.

[shoechoewarriors]

I just finished reading Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez. To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect going in- all I've ever heard about it was from people going "Can you believe Nickelodeon asked a guy who makes stuff like that to make a children's show!?" After reading it, I can say that it's definitely interesting in a way I don't think any basic plot description could've fully prepared me for, and I kind of want to dump my thoughts about it as I just come away from it.

As the title would suggest, its most noticeable surface-level feature is that there is a lot of gore. It gets about as brutal and graphic as it can with its cartoony art style- I was actually a little bothered by it a couple of times. There are a lot of things reminiscent of Invader ZIM beyond its art style- it shares a lot of the same humor, its randomness (often to the point of stupidity), and the chaotic nature of the story progression. (There are also two aliens that show up in a few pages that I'm pretty sure are the same aliens that appeared in the IZ episode Abducted, which would mean that ZIM and JTHM take place in the same universe...? Interesting.) In a lot of ways, it had the same energy as ZIM, but lacking the restraints of a children's network- admittedly, it was very fun and tickled the twelve-year-old ZIM fan part of my brain.

The story itself is a bit trippy and somewhat disjointed. There are lots of times where Johnny will go on long monologues about how he sees himself and the world (alongside blocks of text at the beginning and end of each issue from Jhonen himself). The actual story is cut up in-between little unrelated comics of various characters getting slaughtered and mutilated in some way, facing their inner turmoils and making other people miserable, or yelling incoherent word salads and then getting murdered. You are often left unsure as to whether some of the story's events were really happening or just Johnny dreaming or making things up. It also gets kind of cosmic horror-ish at one point, but that proceeds to end itself somewhat abruptly.

I haven't looked at any discussion of the comic and what it's *really* about yet, but my first impression coming out of it is that it's... a lot of things, really? It's a nihilistic black comedy, but I got the feeling that it was also somewhat of a vent story- A lot of JTHM is dark humor and absurd scenarios for the sake of societal criticism and expressing frustration with the world. It brings up a lot of ideas about what the "nature" of humanity is, if there is a caring God, the good and bad of living, and ultimately, what the true "evils" of society are and what causes them- all told through the eyes of a weird morally bankrupt loner that likes torturing and murdering people he doesn't like.

Most of the people that Johnny goes after are assholes and bullies, generally bad people, or anyone that just generally upsets or inconveniences him in day-to-day life. His arc throughout the story is discovering who and what "controls" him in his search for true freedom- and through that, he realizes that he, himself, is a massive contributor to why everything is so awful, eventually seeing people like himself as one of society's issues (but not really doing anything to change or control his behavior, which, to me, suggested he really never attained the "freedom" he desired so much). It was quite interesting to have a main character like that.

And, while I do not really know anything about Jhonen Vasquez as a person, a good amount of Johnny's traits struck me as... maybe a bit of a projection? A lot of the blocks of text from Vasquez at the start of issues will have him describe his thoughts and behaviors, and then in the story, Johnny displays a lot of those same thoughts and behaviors, like his hatred of sleep resulting in him regularly staying up the entire night and his tendency to experience loneliness and sadness (though, of course, these blocks of text might also be Jhonen simply putting up a persona as well.) Still, though, I wouldn't be too surprised if a lot of things about Johnny were in fact an exaggerated depiction of the author's own perceived negative traits and turned into an edgy serial killer character (especially since I know that this is indeed the case for a lot of Vasquez's characters, like ZIM in his inability to realize when his ideas won't work and Dib in his undying need to prove himself above all else in IZ.)

JTHM was one of the most unique things I've read in a while- it's one of those stories that sticks in your brain and leaves an uneasy feeling in you when you come away from it, but it definitely has a lot of substance to it beyond the "edgelord serial killer gorefest" surface-level appearance. It doesn't give you any moments of comfort in its overt negativity, but I think it manages to come out as something meaningful beyond just a nihilist "everything is awful and there's nothing you can do about it" message. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you're up for it, I'd really recommend giving it a shot.

[agtartzz]

What do you think of the new designs used in Enter The Florpus?

Bc, yes, they were new!

The colors were bright and popping, and the designs were smoother and rounder.

Having grown up with the movie, I booted up the old series and I was 'UGH!! I hope this is onky the quality of the website I'm watching on!!'

But now I love the old style more than the new one.

Oh, and BTW, the toilet Zim sits in for, like,the nearly 20 years he was gone wasn't the one in the kitchen that transports him into his base. It was a toilet. An actual toilet. So how does a species that water is acidic to sit in a toilet??

Sry for my autistic rant!

I like the Florpus designs, they're fun! Admittedly, since I'm more attached to the show designs, I draw those versions more. Jhonen's style is so versatile As for your second question DONT QUESTION THE WAY OF HIS PEOPLE.

[pyrrhicraven]

Which person in each of your ships is the most clingy / over-protective?

Super Mario Bros: 1000% Luigi no matter who his partner(s) is/are lol

TMNT: Saki is overprotective but I wouldn't say clingy 🤔

Yu Yu Hakusho: Hiei is overprotective and his version of clingy even if he won't admit it at all lol

Danny Phantom: Vlad, the crazy guy would 100% be very clingy at first and will always be overprotective.

Invader Zim: Honestly that one goes both ways They are both clingy and Overprotective lol

Star Wars: Dooku would be the overprotective one where he can depending on which version I'm writing. Cad and Padme would be protective of each other but I wouldn't say overly so.

Batman: I'd normally say Bruce is the overprotective one but it amuses me that his rouges would be the clingy overly protective ones because they all want to be the ones to best him and don't like it when someone else tries to beat him that isn't a rouge 😂

Gravity Falls: Bill. It will always be Bill no matter who he's paired with since he's such a little psycho🤣

Hellsing: I mean Alucard is kind of obvious but with the way I write him he would be a clingy bastard but try to make it seem like he wasn't and he'd be overprotective but that's a two-way street because I couldn't see anyone I've paired him with not being over-protective of him too.

Miraculous Ladybug: ohhh that's way too easy Gabriel or Felix as both have very dominant personalities and even though Marinette is Ladybug that wouldn't stop them from being overprotective of her.

Kakuriyo Bed & Breakfast for Spirits: Ginji and Ōdanna for sure lol Aoi is very cute after all...🤣

hotel Transylvania: Drac of course but I could see Jonny being just as protective.

The Flash: Honestly a lot of that going around for any pairing I write for this one. Barry can be clingy and overprotective. Len and Mick are extremely overprotective of their speedster 😈

Megamind: Another example of overprotective on both sides. I can't really see it any other way. But maybe Mega is slightly more overprotective, he's also very much the one that is clingy too!

The Witcher: Geralt enough said 🤣

Knights and Magic: It wouldn't be Ernesti 😅

Metal Family: Glam of course but honestly everyone to some degree.

Scooby Doo: Uhhh I do have a ship written for this one but it's more a horror version than anything 😵‍💫But Velma would be the 'overprotective' one...

Guardians of Childhood: Pitch would be overprotective considering how much he's lost in his admittedly long life. But Jack would be just as overprotective once Pitch let him in.

Hazbin Hotel: That's a hard one? I mean on one hand, you have Lucifer, the guy everyone just seems to want to spit on but is mega powerful-then we have Alastor, an unrepentant serial killer and someone who won't show his cards. (Though one wonders who the smile is really for)

OK K.O.: Boxman 100% lol I mean That's not to say that Venomous wouldn't have his moments of overprotectiveness but Boxman would be more so.

Highlander: Duncan because that's so in character for him tbh.

[adhdbisexualramblings]

One big shift I noticed in Enter the Florpus that the fandom uses a lot in fanfiction is how the Tallest talk to and about Zim.

I would like the point out, the Tallest never say anything bad about Zim when he’s in earshot.

This isn’t disqualifying the fact that they talk shit about him to each other, and to the other Irkens on the Massive. Just never in front of him. They try very hard to keep his exile a secret, correcting themselves very quickly the few times they do slip up.

For example, most prominently, Backseat Drivers From Beyond the Stars, where Zim calls them to show off a plan of his and annoys them for three hours straight. When trying to come up with an excuse, the Tallest (Red, at least), make up some story about an enemy ship going up against the Massive, despite knowing that to any other Irken, that would raise doubts. They know Zim’s unbridled, faulty loyalty better than anyone, and know that they need to placate him, no matter how wild those aforementioned placating words are.

Another, much larger example is Battle of the Planets. Zim calls his leaders in a bear suit for seemingly no reason. the Tallest, along with every other Irken, watch him ramble about whatever Zim-like things he talks about, trying to stay completely calm. a noteworthy detail; they were laughing at him and mocking the fact that he wasn’t around to mess Operation Impending Doom 2 just before this. It’s only when Zim calls do they stop, and even then, they’re trying to hide laughter. Zim soaks up the “praise” of his leaders and his fellow Irkens before hanging up. Then the Tallest spill into laughter again. It’s rarely ever been in front of Zim. Ever. Because I’m sure that, as oblivious as they know Zim is, they must also know there’s a point where he’s going to realize they’re not laughing with him (even if this is never the case).

They don’t seem to completely despise him as they could have simply hung up when Zim’s constant yelling of ‘my Tallest’ got too annoying, but that’s a different story entirely.

Purple seems to have less of an issue of bullying the invader to his face, and Red is obviously the more work-focused of the two (which is debatable, as both of them seem to slack off a lot), as well as the one who keeps the secret about Zim’s mission and his disdain for him under wraps.

The movie, while admittedly changing a good few things about characters, butchered the Tallest the most, in my opinion. For Purple, it made complete sense to want to fly straight. he’s been childish a few times, and a lot more open about when he doesn’t like an order or anything else (see Megadoomer). However, Red was always the one that seemed to have things under control, at least a few times. When the Massive flies out of control, his first instinct is to run a diagnostic to find the problem, while his companion tries to save the donuts (this is not to say they differ too drastically in personality, as Red also wanted to save the donuts). For him to insist on flying straight, especially when there’s a very large and dangerous rip in space some miles away that he no doubt knows could hurt him and his companion, is a bit out of character.

When Zim calls, they make no effort to hide the fact that they’re annoyed with him, with Purple outright stating he liked him better when they thought he was dead. Red yells that they really don’t care about whatever he has to say. These are minor things, the only interaction they have with him in the whole film, and admittedly isn’t that telling. But I feel that short five minute was very telling to how they interact with him. Especially for newer fans who didn’t analyze every character in the show in comparison to the movie I’ve watched 20+ times now,

And a lot of fanfictions make the Tallest unnecessarily cruel, even going as far as to tell Zim, unprompted, to his face, that his mission is fake. Understandably, it’s possible for them to reach their limit and blurt it out in anger, but even then, Zim would just laugh it off, never taking it for what it is. Hell, the best example of the Tallest I’ve seen written ever is Forced Perspective, where they stuck to expected behaviors and, even when Zim asked about the legitimacy of his mission, stopped him from finding out. Zim finding out his mission is fake would make him want to go back to Irk, after all. And they can’t have that.

They know keeping the secret of Zim’s mission is crucial for keeping him away from them and causing destruction away from them, yet I feel that’s easily forgotten.

[short-and-ugly]

Really normal length Skoodge analysis

Gonna just start with the simple things. Things you can get from watching one time alone. Maybe. Probably not I don't think you people think about him enough to gather any of this. No. I'm sorry I love you all. I'm just a specific level of detached from average not-Skoodge viewers and don't know what all is expected. It's that one meme "Even when compensating, experts in any field will overestimate the average person's knowledge."

It's rough. Let's get into it.

Speech is probably an easy one! Yeah? Yeah.

A lot of the things he says are very literal... there's a lot of tacting things that are currently happening. A lot of stating the obvious.

("I'm afraid!")

Admittedly... this is probably a byproduct of him not being a "main character." His dialogue is a lot less important than that of characters like Zim and Dib. But it's still worth talking about! I'd like to think it's genuinely just his personality to be obvious and talk about things as if people aren't already aware of them. Maybe even have him be a bit tone-deaf. That's more headcanon territory though! So let's walk on past that before I confuse myself and all of you.

DOUBLE NEGATIVES...!

... only happen once. In the background. While he's being talked over by a bunch of teammates.

("Yeah; really that's actually good and more logical cause I don't really wanna make a chain or nothing like that.")

His speech is a lot more casual and, in transcripts for unfinished episode(s)(?) almost innocent!

frothing at the mouth at this one actually i dont like it. not good. this is just exposition. he would not fucking say that (probably wrong) (this was written by the shows writers) (it still makes me angry)

This one I just wanted to add because it's silly. Look at how silly he is. He's just a fun loving guy. Why does his mind go to dancing straight away? We'll never know... the inner machinations of his mind are an enigma.

Skoodge reads as... more impulsive than anything (and maybe a little anxiety-riddled but that might also just be me projecting). He doesn't strike me as a critical thinker who really tries to like... weigh the consequences of his actions. He just does shit and when it doesn't work out he does more. I imagine that's what most irkens are like, actually, now that I think about it...

His gut instinct must be controlling him because if it isn't then I honestly can't find any good explanation as to how he's survived for so long.

Which perfectly segways me into something a little more analyzing-like:

Skoodge is a cockroach.

He got shot out of a cannon and still comes back to the Empire. He... really does seem to believe that being here will help him out somehow. As if it hasn't already been proven that nothing he will do will satisfy the society he hails from.

Desperation can make you do desperate things; and Skoodge's entire character just reeks of desperation.

From apparently being considered to eat his own skin (before being deemed too much by the network) [no screenshot available because I don't even know how I'd begin to look for it] to the more canonical screaming-like-a-baby whenever something happens to him, it kinda makes you wonder how the hell he even got to where he is in the first place.

Now, this is more speculation than actual evidence, but I think it's a fair enough bet to say that Skoodge earned his title as an invader. He has no height to propel him forward in society, so whatever he did would've had to've involved sheer tenacity and an inclination for survival.

He is almost definitely, genuinely, afraid of death. And because of that, he just... doesn't die.

I know at an objective view, he doesn't die because it's funnier that way, and helps with jokes and gags, but like... c'mon. This is a deep analysis post. I'm allowed to get a little indulgent with it.

Treading into more theorization-territory here.

Irkens are raging Xenophobes.

And Zim fits this bill perfectly! He's slotted himself into this mindset without any issue, making up... unique slurs for humans and other things he comes by. Because he tries too hard to be a perfect irken. Maybe. That's a topic for someone that's insane about Zim, not me. This is about my guy.

If Zim is the perfect representation of an irken soldier (on a purely superficial level), then Skoodge is an outlier. Not in that he's good at his job; he's supposed to be! No, rather, his differences lie in his temperance. His composure, whatever you call it. He is far too complacent and even possibly a bit meek, if you wanna go ahead and call him that.

You see that? That right there is respect for a... honestly almost certainly, by irken standards, inferior species.

Now, this could either mean one of three things.

Either A) Skoodge is not space racist (best case scenario)

or B) Skoodge lacks self-confidence; not seeing himself as superior, and thus being compliant and respectful to the obvious figure of authority in front of him.

or C) Skoodge does not have respect for his Empire (very unlikely, seeing as the only reason he's still here is because he's trying to gain a promotion from said Empire)

Shooting down option A immediately with this dialogue here (Battle Of The Planets)

Sorry folks... he is very much so still space racist.

As for option B...

I'm going to be completely honest here. I think I've been interpreting this wrong in my series. I have a whole lot of complex reasons explaining why Skoodge doesn't have much confidence, but honestly, he reads as more... chill. And down-to-earth, than he does as self-loathing.

There is possibly evidence of him having a more quiet and subdued personality, instead of just him not being a xenophobe; and it comes from the very first episode!

Crying in front of the tallest at the Assigning. Admittedly, Larb cried too; but he at least had enough push in him to say something.

Skoodge doesn't. He's even disheartened by the Tallest's initial jeering of him! Which admittedly, might not be the best example of low self-esteem, because those are the literal Leaders of his fucking Empire... but it is definitely a shift from him being the proud, confident, short-and-ugly invader that he's shown to be in Battle Of The Planets. Invading Blorch must've really (rightfully) inflated his ego.

Which he normally lacks.

He lacks ego, but that doesn't mean he lacks confidence. He knows that he's good at things in spite of his flaws, and takes pride in it! Even though that pride ends up shooting him in his own foot. Sad.

And why is it that he lacks ego? Every other irken thus far (sans maybe Sizz-lorr) has demonstrated just how... important. It is for them to have one. How almost ingrained into their nature their egos are. Why does Skoodge not go on to boast about his glory when any other irken in his situation would? Again, it's going to be another one of those things that I just can't be too sure about, but I'm going to hazard to say that it's because he's so physically flawed. Short and ugly. (Probably the reason why his uniform is stained. Why put forth the effort to make your uniform look good if it's impossible for the rest of you?)

There is. Almost no doubt in my mind, that he's had to fight tooth and nail to get to where he is, claw his way to the top. And if he's done that, he knows the struggle of being lower? He knows because no matter how high he gets, he'll still always be that "lower"? augh. what the fuck.

Skoodge has been humbled by this because he's been reminded of it at almost every point in his life. He doesn't boast to inferiors because he knows that there is nothing to boast, that he is technically one of those inferiors. Because even despite his successes, someone will always go on to point out his flaws.

Which really brings attention to Battle Of The Planets, to the Tallest pointing out his flaws. He just had his greatest success. Purple gave him one flaw, he gave another. And he gave it proudly.

... SECRET FOURTH OPTION D YEAHHHH BABY!!!!

FAWN RESPONSE.

With his inclination towards survival it would make sense to reason that he's only polite in front of potentially-threatening company because it means that he's less likely to get pummeled for being. Anything else.

Being polite is just as credible a survival technique as anything else! We just don't get to see any other irkens using it.

Skoodge is. Competent. He conquered his planet first!

He's a good invader. And that's probably because he knows when to run.

He's very vocal about it, if he knows (or thinks) that there's someone around to assist him. Silent with his impending doom (ha) at the Assigning, but very very loud when being chased down in the canyon by the hogulus in Hobo 13.

Now, I don't know about you, but irkens don't really strike me as the kind of species to back down from anything. To me, they read as more of a "do it or die" kinda group. Again, this whole trait kiiiinda almost begging to be pegged as outlier. The only thing that makes me on the fence about this one is, again, the fact that it's a cartoon and Skoodge's fear might be for the sake of gags.

That doesn't really explain this though. He has literally no reason to be scared here. In this specific scenario (Day Of Da Spookies! unfinished episode) he's disguised as a human. Every person there is none the wiser to him and his alien nature. He's just... like this...? All the time? Apparently? Maybe?

Or maybe! There's other things at play here!

Skoodge is competent...

... but.

A friend put it into better words than I could:

His brain turns to mush whenever he's around Zim.

(Honestly, the volunteer line might actually add on to his possible lack of self-respect? Hard to say if it's that, or if he's just that desperate to give respect at the sign of any spare bit of authority, even if that authority comes from an irken shorter than him.)

It makes me wonder if most of what we've seen of him is just Zim's influence on him. Scared at the Assigning? He didn't know Zim was there, so that had to have been genuine. Saluting to an inferior species? He had to have known that Zim was there, because Zim introduced himself first (and very loudly at that), but I think it was also genuine because Zim wasn't directly influencing him?

Screaming because of the hogulus and running like a child from some humans? Those are almost definitely Zim's doing. I just. Don't know How.

Screaming is a weakness, I think; at least it should be (in the eyes of irkens), and when Skoodge does it he does it because he seems convinced that Zim will help him. And yet Zim never does! Skoodge has no reason to believe this!

But still, believe he does.

They had to have been... kind of close? At one point in their lives.

Potentially. I don't know how close a person can get to Zim, but Skoodge has just barely managed to do it, by virtue of the fact that he is quite possibly the only living thing in the universe that can tolerate being around Zim for more than five seconds.

And his cockroach-itude. That definitely helps. You can't be killed by Zim's passive destructive radius if you genuinely just can't fucking die at all.

But that explains nothing of his weird eagerness to do things for Zim. It borders on obsessive. It might actually be obsessive, since he's apparently been living in Zim's vents ever since the events of Hobo 13. Without telling him.

Skoodge is fucking deranged. Skoodge doesn't even register as a blip on Zim's radar of people-to-acknowledge, but he will still always just do things for him, and be excited to, too!

I don't know what's wrong with him. The less easy and definitely one too many steps detached from canon explanation would be that he views Zim as the ideal irken and strives to be like him. The easiest explanation would be that he just really likes Zim.

Gosh. Even that still raises the question of how or why he would. Zim is fucking terrible to not just him, but everyone. He is unbiased in whose life he ruins.

And Skoodge is perfectly content with just letting Zim ruin his.

man. i hate him. i really really do.

[doctorcaduceus]

Hello, fellow Invader Zim fans! I just wanted to wish you all a happy new year, and provide an update to my work. I haven't done so for a while, but I promise, things are still moving along at my slow pace. Attached are a few screenshots of my still in progress Invader Zim game.

Gift shop:

Recruitment center (still a WIP):

An (admittedly rather crude) auto cab, which I've renamed instead of "snack-cab" to be something not food related:

I will be remaking this model. It's missing key details.

Shloogorgh's Flavor Monster:

By the way, I didn't half ass this. That's the actual sign from the show. Most of that signage is either stenciled or closely mirrors the content of the show.

Marginally less interesting, but additional stairwells:

This really is a really boring addition, but there's three layers on this map, and there was only one main rampway before. It made the map really a chore to navigate, because you had to walk all the way to a central location to access the other 2/3rds of the city content.

This fixes that.

Homelessness:

Pays $5 Credits per minute. Spare Credz?

(Not pictured) the Thing in the Pit:

This concludes this long overdue update. I've also been messing around with the morph script I posted about last time, and I have been tinkering under the hood with various game systems in an attempt to reduce the processing power burdens that are currently entailed.

Not pictured (maybe in another post) is the upgrades to the Voot Runner. For those unaware, I have a flying Voot runner that works. I recently added weapons to it. It's pretty sweet.

What's next, is by and large, Geometry improvement. I have to make the map have less parts and less faces. It's over 300,000 at the moment. I actually killed a guy's decade old computer when he tried to load into the game to take a look around. Some of my older machines (I have over a dozen working computers, so lots of test subjects) can't even load the thing on a fresh copy of Windows I have done a very thorough job of gutting of unnecessary crap.

Gotta fix the geometry.

For those curious, project still is not open to public following. Community is still being actively curated to build up a strong core. But, once we get that city area more filled (and more optimized), we will be accepting new members before the big day. And the big day is going to comprise the beginnings of some crazy stuff, so I hope y'all stay tuned.

Thanks for reading, all! Appreciate the time. More updates when more stuff.

[milesonthenet]

Fusionfall: Cartoon Network's BIZARRE thought experiment!

Welcome back to the House of Milesverse, focused on some things comics, some things Transformers, and some things uh - other things.

Today we'll be talk about a special part of my childhood. I've always considered myself a CN kid more than any othr network. Nickelodeon just did not interest me, and i wasn't into Avatar or anything. But i did like Invader Zim. And my 'love' for Disney only came from the movies, and Kingdom Hearts.

But Cartoon Network? That was a different story. I loved Cartoon Network, and it was the network i watched the most. It just had a lot of fun stuff that kid-me was into.

Kid-Me loved Ben 10, and he really did enjoy Dexter's Laboratory. He'd sit down and watch Powerpuff Girls, or Cow & Chicken. He used to watch Scooby-Doo with his grandma. He even enjoyed early Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Steven Universe.

Total Drama, Johnny Test, The Secret Saturdays, Generator Rex, Teen Titans, Johnny Bravo. There was no limit to the amount of stuff that I'd watch. My entertainment wasn't just playing games or on the computer. It was sitting in front of the TV and seeing what I enjoyed.

But you know what Kid me loved that had - probably most of these things in them?

Well if you weren't clued in by the opening title, I'll show you;

This game got me into playing later MMO games like Elsword and DC Universe Online. It was familiar, it had all sorts of cartoon network characters in it. It remains a big point of my childhood because of it.

So today? Put on your nostalgia lenses. As House of MilesVerse presents it's own miniature REVIEW of;

CARTOON NETWORK UNIVERSE: FUSIONFALL

Making of Fusionfall

Fusionfall's story begins with Cartoon Network and one of their first 'big' forays into gaming. The game was published by Cartoon Network, with a business model planned out by Turner Entertainment. Its developers were Grigon Entertainment, a south korean studio chosen for their art style.

Speaking of? Fusionfall's art style is definitely interesting. It portrays the setting with more anime-esque styling. Characters still retained some of their cartoony looks, however, so while it was different, it still worked.

In the game however, it uh, was an interesting experiment.

Admittedly? Eddy isn't the weirdest looking one here. THAT award goes to;

That's Jake, as in Jake the Dog. He looks like that and is one of the only NPCs with no animations. He's just static, his eyes boring deep into your soul...

Jake knows what you did.

Anyways, Fusionfall is an MMORPG where you play as an avatar. You have some limited but still versatile customization options. Your character uses many weapons, including rifles, pistols, rockets, and melee weapons.

Original? Academy?

The game had two different versions, with one ultimately replacing the other. The original was available from 2009-2011 and gave you a simple story. Your character was a hero testing out a time machine, who wound up trapped in the future. You begin a quest to come back to the past, and eventually you return with the knowledge needed to create nanos.

Don't worry about that, we will get into that bit later.

After the birthday bash, the game's tutorial and introduction was overhauled. Newer characters were added - or at least new for when the game was out. For example? Finn, Jake, Generator Rex, and the Sym-Bionic Titan were all new additions, alongside Chowder, flapjack, and the Saturdays. In addition? Mordecai, Rigby, Gumball, and Darwin were all represented through Nanos.

This version of the game is Academy, which lasts from 2011-2013 when the game inevitably shut down its servers. Academy gives you two bonuses for your character: gliding and dodging. Your multidirectional dodge lets you move from front, back, or side to side.

The overhaul changed your origin story too. You train in the null void (it's a Ben 10 thing), and then Providence. Eventually after completing enough missions, you're sent off to get your guide, completing the tutorial.

Your Guides:

The game had four guides available to you at the start. The good thing about them is that you could change missions. You could swap from one guide to another, but you would start at the first level. If you chose to swap back, then you would be able to resume from your initial position.

These four guides are:

Ben Tennyson

Edd, aka 'Double D'

Dexter

And Mojo Jojo

The guides all have different missions too. Dexter wants to find out where the missing heroes from the world are. Ben Tennyson wants to make sure Lord Fuse (We'll get to that) doesn't get his hands on alien technology. These two are pretty simple.

Mojo Jojo wants to build an army of super-monkeys powered by Chemical X and fusion matter to defeat Lord Fuse. Naturally, the player foils his schemes each time - thanks to Mandy, and Dexter, - because he's evil.

Edd is... not what I would have expected, but he wants to stop Fuse from gaining buried candy and treasure maps. I'm surprised at his inclusion, especially compared to the others. But I think he also helps appeal to the comedic leanings of Cartoon Network.

What's the story?

Now we get to the FUN bit!

Fusionfall's story centers on a connected setting between the TV Series. The events of Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Ben 10, and Ed, Edd n Eddy are all connected. All the characters know each other, and everything is united.

The main 'threat' of the series is Planet Fusion, a large gooey planet that's assimilated other worlds. This time it wants to assimilate Earth, breaking it down like it's done to many worlds. The various heroes of the Cartoon Network universe unite to stop Planet Fusion from taking their planet.

This isn't just an easy fight for the heroes, though. Planet Fusion creates dangerous monsters made out of fusion matter to terrorize the people. Worse, they've created evil doppelgangers of our favorite CN characters, named Fusions!

It's a big war between two sides, and your character's caught in the middle. As mentioned above, your character is accidentally sent to the future. He returns to the past with the nano blueprints, so that the resistance may have a fighting chance against Fuse.

Now? It's you, the legendary hero, helping take down Fuse's forces across the world. You lose, Fuse.

The Fusions, and the Nanos

This has been stated above, but it would be easier to hop through it again. The Fusions are evil doppelgangers of your favorite Cartoon Network characters. They may look similar, but they are not nice, and exist to help Planet Fusion move his goals along.

Fusions are always found in fusion lairs, which are in infected zones. Infected Zones are the areas most communicated with fusion matter. There are many infected zones, and they all require you talk to a Dexbot to get in.

In these infected zones, you will usually find more than one fusion lair. This is where the Fusions lurk - are you tired of hearing the word 'fusion'? Don't be, we've got a long way to go. Entering the fusion lair usually requires you fight your way through a horde of monsters, and then the fusion itself.

When the fusion finally dies, you get a nano, made from a personal item of the character, fusion matter, and your own imagination energy. This is just the story reason though, the video game reason is just "kill this fusion, and get a nano". It's adorable, by the way.

Nanos have special abilities, which come in a set of three. With a nano you can get bonus fusion matter from missions, have extra money, make monsters fall asleep, sneak past monsters, and more. You only get to pick one ability, but don't fret, you can change it later.

I always look back and think the Nanos are a refreshing gimmick. Imagine being able to carry a chibi-fied version of Mojo Jojo around. They come with their own voice lines too, with higher-pitched voices.

The base game had around 36 nanos which you gained for each level. Academy added a few notable bonuses, with nanos themed off of more-recent CN characters. In addition, you could use a code to gain access to a nano.

The inevitable shutdown (and potential successors):

August 29, 2013, saw Fusionfall close its servers and shut down. I didn't understand it at the time, but I moved on. It was a sad moment for many fans who had gotten attached to the game series.

Other successors have tried to follow the game series. Fusionfall Retro was released as a revival of the original game before the Academy relaunch. Fusionfall Legacy was going to be released as an upscaled version of the original game with additiona l content.

Both games were struck down by a DMCA issued by Cartoon Network. Retro was removed entirely, and Legacy was canceled before release. Retro is playable through 'Retrobution', a modified spin on Retro.

In addition, both the original and academy games are playable after years of being 'gone'. This is through OpenFusion, an unofficial server that preserves both original iterations of the game. Retrobution is also made using this server.

Conclusion:

Fusionfall was a big part of my childhood, especially as a CN Kid. I'm glad i got to make those memories while playing it. However, I never got to beat the original game because i stopped playing.

Things are different now, and after playing on Openfusion, I managed to beat all 36 levels. I was happy to finally see that through. If I could time travel, I'd go back, and fist-bump my younger self. We finally did it, and we saw it through to the end.

Fusionfall was a cute idea, and the strength of its concept alone could prove useful. However, I don't think it could find an audience in today's market. Outside of old fans, I'm not sure if 'new' kids are as attached to cartoon network as the past few generations were.

Regardless? It could be cool to imagine what it would be like now. Better game engines combined with better controls. Newer cartoon network series like Steven Universe, We Bare Bears, or Craig of The Creek. You could even throw in some oddballs, like Scooby-Doo.

I sure hope you all had fun reading this one. I'll be back later on with another dig. Maybe I can show you guys why I love the Cybertron Transformers games so much. After all, they are also a part of my childhood!

The time is now. The hero is you.

[color-cacophony]

Certain names are spliced so this doesn't show up in their respective tags.

I get very sad every time I think about people infantilizing Fa/wf/ul and assuming he's a child because there's one thing I believe is very important about his motives:

He craves a sense of dignity and independence seemingly more than anything and it doesn't help when people characterize him as some sweet little beanie boy and turn him into what is essentially another Bowser Jr. He's not like Bowser Jr. He has bigger plans than impressing a higher-up. He wants to be the higher-up.

Sure he was eager to make Ca/ckl/etta proud in Superstar Saga (though we don't know for sure how much of that was sincere), but during his monologue before his final battle he realizes that Ca/ckl/etta sees him as entirely expendable and he becomes anxious thinking about what could happen to him after she conquers the kingdom.

This is what makes me upset when people portray Ca/ckl/etta as a mother figure to Fa/wf/ul. She praised him for his servitude, but she was never compassionate towards him. She was using him. I don't understand why so many fans insist that they have a loving relationship (unless it's just an excuse to draw wholesome stuff with them). Not to mention that line in Partners in Time where Fa/wf/ul literally calls her a hysteric.

As for Fa/wf/ul himself, why would someone think he's a child? Because he's small? Most Beanish are generally small. Is it because he's excitable, or because he has a high-pitched voice? Well, Invader Zim also has those traits, and that doesn't necessarily mean he's a child. There are four major points I'd like to make in favor of Fa/wf/ul not being ten years old:

He's certainly a very silly villain, but he can be cruel as well. In Minion Quest he said he was going to work Bowser to death.

Uncharacteristically brutal for a character whom everyone thinks is a sweet little kid.

His jumpsuits with the ridiculous plunging necklines are rather... inappropriate for a kid to wear.

The events of him becoming Dark Fa/wf/ul Bug, ranting about his remorse and frustration upon being defeated, and eventually exploding with the intent of taking the Mario Bros with him, seem way too intense and dark to happen to a kid (in a Mario game, at least).

He takes villainy too seriously to be considered "childish". He goes all in, whether it's redecorating a conquered location, or affirming his hatred towards the Marios. When I mentioned his desire for dignity, I was talking about the countless images of himself he puts everywhere. He frames himself to be admired, to be respected, to be worshipped, because he truly believes he deserves it after what he went through being Ca/ckl/etta's apprentice. He takes villainy seriously, and he takes himself seriously.

I don't have an idea of how old Fa/wf/ul would be, but I don't want to believe he's just an innocent kid. With everything I pointed out, it just wouldn't make sense.

Sorry if this was a bit melodramatic (it was certainly biased and admittedly a bit weak in spots, lol). I was just randomly thinking about it and I got so frustrated that I had to write this instead of going to sleep. Anyway, I should be getting to bed now that I've finished sharing my thoughts.

Edit: Please don't interact with this post. I don't want it to spread because I made my point too intense and imposing and I don't want invalidate other people's interpretations

[verm1c1de]

GIR's individuality is overlooked like a lot.

Like admittedly I'm not the biggest GIR fan but people act like he's just... Not a person.. when he absolutely is!!! GIR has arguably more going on than Zim, he's just not given much attention because of his role as Zim's sidekick, which is tragic </3

i agree! gir has a lot of pawtential, which then makes some people veer very fur into the angst territory,, like all pawer to them, but i think it takes away furom girs established purrsonality. he can be sad if he wants!! he chooses to appurreciate the little things and not think about the bad parts too hard!!! hes garbage and hes happy with himself <3 he might look like a BURNT chicken nugget-

anyways. gir is great. i do admit i underutilize him myself though soooo maybe go check out @///messinwitheddie instead. theyve got really great stuff in general but her take on gir is a real unique one i appurreciate!

[waywardstraysau]

Stalker, Part 2

By: Mod Nightmare

Zim is reprogrammed, and runs

DT listens to the Ex-Invader, then brings Zim back

Dib has his therapy sessions doubled, because suggesting vivisection for the Irken was disturbing enough to warrant that. 

All in all, things worked out, though DT now has an added responsibility of keeping a pair of volatile mortal enemies from killing each other. 

Thank Buddha for magic

The reprogramming plan Hunter pushed for did not end well. 

Like, “Zim broke out and is now god knows where out in the woods” kind of not ending well. 

Hunter had chased after the irken, but unfortunately lost track of the little green boy the moment he’d crossed over the treeline. 

That didn’t stop the witch from continuing to search.

He recognized the look on the recently freed boy.

And he was a boy, not much older than Dib, according to Krel’s estimations regarding his mental maturity. The Akiridon wanted nothing to do with the admittedly bold plan, but he did lend assistance despite his clear discomfort, and Hunter respected him for it. 

Though he felt bad knowing the poor guy was probably losing his shit back on campus, knowing a dangerous intergalactic criminal was on the loose.

All the more reason to find Zim quickly 

Hunter crouched down and shifted into his wolf form, sniffing the ground in hopes of finding a trail. If his experiences with Krel were to be considered, otherworldly beings had a sharply contrasting scent with those of earths natural ecosystem. The violette sincerely hoped the same was true of the irken, for if it wasn’t, he’d have a much longer search ahead of him.

Blessedly, it was not long before the young witch picked up on a rather sharply out of place smell, akin to that of an industrial grade sanitizer mixed with the dragon scales that Jake shed from time to time. 

Zeroing in on the drastically out of place scent, Hunter began following the trail. 

Along the way, the young witch picked up on the small displacements in the natural arrangement of the woods. Claw marks with too few digits, bits of bright pink fabric clinging to thorns, and occasionally the tiniest splatters of green blood that were growing fresher as he continued on. Though, thankfully, the spots were less common the newer they were. 

Eventually, Hunter’s trail went cold. 

Well, not exactly cold, but it did stop at the base of a very large tree. One of those trees that seemed to have many trunks that reached up towards the sky, giving many routes for potential climbers to take. And somewhere in the multiple canopies those trunks connected to, he could hear the Irken’s unique voice muttering a nonsensical language. 

To Hunter, the pattern of speech was familiar, even if he couldn’t understand the words.

The irken was having a mental breakdown.

No time to waste, then

Shifting into his feline form, Hunter circled the base of the tree, sniffing the trunks, and managed to pinpoint which had been scaled most recently. 

Leaping onto the trunk, the young witch proceeded to scale the tree with expert efficiency, reaching the canopy in no time at all. 

The scene he was met with was not unfamiliar, but still heartbreaking in its own right. 

The young green alien was curled in on himself within a rather large hollow in the trunk, obscured from the ground by abundant, lush branches. Hunter couldn’t understand a word he was saying, but judging by his posture and trembling, the young witch could make a pretty good guess. 

Sighing, knowing he couldn’t leave him to deal with whatever his issues may be alone, Hunter pulled himself into the opening.

No response from the irken.

I was right, mental breakdown

Bolded by the confirmation, the witch quietly made his way to the irkens side, pressing his fluffy body up against him with a quiet mewl.

The response to this was near instantaneous, the Irken scooping him up and burying his face into his purple fur, hugging him so tightly any normal cat would have been obliterated. 

Thankfully, to Hunter, the pressure was simply mildly uncomfortable, not life-ending. 

The violette begun purring with his whole body as he nuzzled the side of the Irken’s head, his research on therapy cats having prepared him for moments like this.

Eventually, Zim began calming down, his trembling lessening as Hunter began whispering comforting sentiments, this not being the first time he’d been in such a situation. He kept the purring up even when Zim eventually stopped trembling entirely, loosening his hold on the witch and sitting back a bit to get a better look at who had joined him in his hideaway. 

“Pff- I really don’t get earth creatures” the invader commented after a moment, smiling a bit as he wiped a tear from his eye. His face was still supporting darkened pigmentation, perhaps a blush, his eyes supporting stress lines, but as a whole, he seemed to have calmed significantly. “Such an odd creature”

Hunter made no protest as the irkens clawed hands cupped the underside of his face, thumbs stroking his cheeks far more gently than the witch considered the invader capable of. 

Things stayed quiet for a short while, the silence only interrupted by occasional quiet purring as Zim graduated to pulling the witch back into his arms, running a hand down his back. 

“…Massive, I was played for such a fool” The young alien finally spoke again, earning a look from the disguised witch in his arms. “I had more options for free thinking than my peers, and yet I failed to see anything for what it truly was”

Hunter remained silent, staring at the irken. 

However, unlike before, the staring seemed to be more of an invitation, rather than an act of distain. 

Zim took the offer as a sign to continue. 

“I was stupid enough to believe the Tallest wanted to conquer a planet anywhere near Diamond territory. Dumb enough to believe this was anything aside from downright banishment” The young being sighed, gently cupping the disguised witches face. “I’ve done so many horrid things, all in the name of an empire who wanted nothing to do with me. Did these humans deserve any of it? Probably not. Did my actions accomplish anything aside from causing pain? No”

The irken took a deep breath, an attempt to steady himself.

“All it took was some human hacking into my PAK, and everything just… fell apart” Zim huffed, sounding… defeated. “I’m thinking more clearly than I’ve ever experienced in my life, yet the first thing I do is run like a coward”

Another deep breath. Trembling claws were calmed by the creature setting its paws on them.

“So many lives…” The irken shuddered, calming himself by rubbing his thumbs on the creatures paws before he continued on. “I… don’t know what to do. What can I do?”

Silence returned as the Irken withdrew his hands, attempting to curl back in on himself.

Nope. Can’t have that

“Well, you can start by getting out of this tree” Hunter spoke, startling the Irken enough for a shriek. He chuckled at the reaction, putting a paw up to his face. “What? You didn’t seriously think I was a regular cat, did you?”

“… I don’t even know what a cat is” The irken replied meekly, before the weight of the admission reached his brain, and he kept to his feet. “Wait, you- you consciously dared to stalk the almighty ZIM!?” 

“Ah, theres that passion” Hunter cackled, pouncing on the Irkens head with a triumphant mewl. “Now, why don’t you and I have a little chat back on campus, yeah?”

“Wait, YOU-“ 

The irken didn’t get to finish before shadows swallowed the both of them up, leaving nothing more than a shed whisker behind. 

……………….

Neither boy resurfaced for a couple of hours.

When they did, it was by walking into an argument between the pair of Steven (whom Dib had run into instead of Ford) and Jack versus Krel and Dib. 

It was obvious to even the most oblivious of students that whatever was going on in that hallway was to be avoided at all costs, so the four had been locked in a stalemate for nearly the entire duration of time that Zim was MIA. 

It wasn’t even a particularly flashy interruption, Hunter simply strolled into the room, Irken boy at his heels, and interjected himself between the warring parties with little more than a flick of the tail.

His effortless nonchalance about interrupting said intense debate silenced everyone involved. However, if you knew where to look, you’d assuredly see the discomfort Hunter masked with despondence as he met the gaze of Steven before speaking.  

“Zim has good in him, underneath the understandable insanity” He stated, tail twitching a bit at the end as Steven regarded him. “I think we should give him a chance, at the very least”

Steven seemed to contemplate the statement for a bit.

“… Alright then. I’ll trust you on this” 

“Are you out of your-!?” Krel attempted to interrupt, terror in his expression, but he was quickly silenced underneath the combined weight of both Hunter and Steven’s warning looks. “… Fine. Keep it out of my space, and we won’t have a problem”

“Zim?”

“I do not appreciate being referred to as an “it”, Akiridon” the irken hissed, appearing highly offended. “But, contrary to popular opinion, I am no fool. I will stay out of your way”

“That’s debatable” Dib scoffed, but went quiet when Hunter set him a disapproving look. 

“See to it that you do” Krel agreed, before hastily making his exit as Hunter turned back to Steven. 

“Tell Ford Zim wishes to enroll here. If there are any issues regarding problematic conduct with him in the future, I shall see to its resolution myself” Hunter addressed his peer stiffly, but Steven seemed not to mind.

“If thats how you want it” the other boy replied, and followed Krel out of the lab, heading down towards the basement.

The moment Steven was out of Hunter’s earshot, the room immediately lost a lot of tension, and Jack finally spoke up for the first time.

“Are you sure it’s smart to keep someone infamous enough to cause an intergalactic panic on school grounds?” The redhead questioned as Hunter sat down on the table, much more laid back and comfortable than he’d been moments before. “I’m all for letting him live, don’t get me wrong, but won’t we be inviting trouble if he stays?”

“Jack, I’m pretty sure the school taking Edric and I in was the very definition of “Inviting Trouble”” He chuckled, before gesturing to where Dib and Zim were having a glaring contest, before devolving into a no-holds-barred wrestling match on the floor. “Besides, despite the animosity, I’’m pretty sure Dib will be much more comfortable having his sworn enemy where he can reach him”

“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure they’re actively trying to kill each other right now” Jack pointed out, looking disturbed as Dib pulled some kind of funky dagger out of his trechcoat, raising it up to strike the screeching irken. 

However before Dib could commit an intergalactic hate crime, the dagger dissolved into dust, leaving an opening for Zim to take back the upper hand and shove the human off of him. 

“And that, my friend, is what magic is good for” Hunter chuckled, spell circle still in the air as two glasses of fancy pudding appeared on the table while the kids kept fighting in the background. “Just, relax. Stan’s commentary on children fighting isn’t without its merits, after all”

And so, the pair of friends spent the next hour just watching two minor mortal enemies scrapping on the floor until they wore themselves out, any possibility of a fatality intercepted far before it could cause damage. 

All in all, not the weirdest Thursday Hunter had experienced.