#and I've heard the last few eps aren't good

[juneviews]

why is Gawin so GOOD at being SAD? 😭😭 my heart can't handle it, I want to protect him at all costs. Pisaeng is really unlike any other Jittirain seme, this feels like sorcery fr

GAWIN ACTING KING!!! I already expected to love pisaeng just bc he's played by him but GODDAMN he's exceeding my expectations as a character! I get what you mean about jittirain's love interests, while I do sense some common pathetic-ness between him & khai lol, pisaeng is very mature, healthy & not pushy at all. he's actually a pretty withdrawn love interest compared to the usual ones (I haven't seen vice versa so only talking about khai, sarawat & mork) that are very involved in the main character's life. it's honestly refreshing, and perhaps why I love pisaeng so much? he feels very realistic bc he's honest to himself & his feelings but doesn't make it kawi's problem either which is amazing :)

xxx

[lonelier-version-of-you]

Okay, I want to start this off by saying that I've been feeling a bit under the weather today. So if my thoughts or the way I express them aren't too coherent, I apologise in advance.

All in all, I have mixed feelings about Casualty this week. That's an improvement on last week, where I said it was rubbish. This ep at least had bits I liked as well as bits I didn't.

Max and Jodie were the absolute highlight of this week! I love them both so much. It's great to see Max's storyline finally being focused on again and moving forward. I just wish it had been better paced this whole time. I assume there won't be very long at all now until he leaves, and that makes me sad, because it feels like he's only just properly got started as a character.

Still, both him and Jodie were fantastic tonight. Great performances from both Harman and Chell! Also, Max feels like what would happen if a character was specifically tailor-made to be a favourite of mine, and I especially felt that with the "I don't deserve it" scene. I love characters who act like they think they're great but they really just have zero self esteem - cough, John Gaskell, cough, but that's an essay for another day.

Seeing Dylan involved in Max's story continues to be great, but I wish he'd get involved to a stronger extent. The show has definitely under-used the potential in that dynamic, I think.

Max is so going to get Gaskell'd, isn't he? Anything about his past that comes up now is likely to just be a few throwaway lines that are never meaningfully explained. Sigh. Imagine having such a great and interesting character and then hardly using him. Wait, wasn't I saying that about Jacob last week? It could be said of almost any character that's not Faith (a terrible character who Casualty seems to revolve around for some reason now).

Max trying to reach out to Jodie as best he can even though he's not much good at it makes me incredibly emotional, so one can imagine how many feelings I had at the last scene. He wants more of a bond with her, he just doesn't know how to get it and thinks she's better off if he's not around.

I was very intrigued by the Stevie storyline when we first heard of it. Now, I'm sorry to say, I think it's fallen apart. It mostly feels less like Stevie's backstory or her having PTSD is a subject Casualty is interested in and more like they just want to have her mess things up and get lectured about it by characters I can't stand. What a letdown - a story about Stevie having PTSD from trauma in her past could have been great and very emotionally impactful, but instead it just seems to be an excuse for the show to be like "see, Stevie's in the wrong again!" all the time. I think I'm not so much bothered by the events in the storyline, just the angle the show seems to be portraying them from. I don't know - as I say, I don't feel well. I wish I did so I could express this better. Maybe I'm just bitter about the Harry stuff and/or about how Stevie clearly won't get to be Clinical Lead for long, though.

It's nice to be seeing Jacob more consistently than we seemed to be seeing him before the hiatus. I am grateful for that. But I'm also very frustrated about how he seems to keep being put in either the roles of "Iain's life advice counsellor" or "comedy relief". He can and should have big stories too. And he did, with his trauma story! It was just forgotten about for some reason.

I am not interested in anything to do with Faith or Iain. I have never been interested in Iain and Faith has been a monster beyond redemption for a very, very long time. Natalia is probably the most interesting character in this storyline to me, but she wasn't in this ep, so.

My biggest hopes for next week are that the Stevie storyline will be handled in a way that's more respectful to the subject matter, that Max and Jodie's storyline will continue, and that Faith won't be in it. I'm not very optimistic for Jacob to get a good, leading storyline at this point, so I won't bother listing that.

[kanacozmez]

YOU GET IT YOU GET IT

(long ask I'm sorry)

I have so many Thoughts about paraani (got into it through the anime and am now working through the dramas) because like yeah. from what I've heard the dramas are crazy different. but I think it's ok. I was talking about it earlier and yeah paraani giveth and paraani taketh away

total side tangent but I can't write a long ask about my media adaptations without bringing it up you can ignore: I used to be a "why is it not like the originals" guy. and then I wound up in a fandom where the crazy different absolutely bungled adaptation was the preferred version (at least by the people I knew hi guys) and I didn't want to be a hater so I thought about it

and what I realized was that adaptations. are adaptations.

wow duh so smart I know

but it's different it's always going to be different. the question is only how different it's going to be

and what I think is upsetting a lot of people about paraani (and for good reason it makes sense I would be way less forgiving if I wasn't new here) is that the voice dramas and anime are trying to tell two different versions of the same story

can't say much for the dramas right now (I've only listened to live and a bit of love) but I think I understand the anime at least a little now that it's over. paraani was supposed to be about cozmez and kanata's self isolation and that whole subplot. and they did make it about that (it's clearer in retrospect) and in my unprofessional opinion they did a solid okay at that

your mileage may vary on how appealing that is to you as a paralive adaptation. I can totally understand being upset that it was less of an ensemble thing (and they should have given akyr a solo episode if they were going to do that for everyone else cmon)

but personally? for me as just a humble little guy? paraani was great I had a lot of fun with it and I'm glad it wasn't a 1:1 adaptation. net positive for the amount of cool paralive art in the world. and if I want to see the version in the dramas I can just listen to those (and I am!)

my biggest gripe is them dropping alive nayuta with no explanation for people who hadn't listened to the dramas (which I assume is the target audience considering how much they pissed drama listeners off?) so if they don't get a season two that's going to narratively suck

sorry about the long heated ask I'm just so tired. looking forward to peaceful tuesdays on the dashboard. have a meme

i literally have nothing to add you're ABSOLUTELY right. they're adaptations for a reason. things that work in one format won't work in another (i.e: you can't show facial expressions in the audio dramas, and you can't make illusions for the stage shows) so you have to find work arounds. i totally agree that akyr should've been given an episode, and also there should've been a more even spread of songs over the show. BAE has three performances & are in LAST VERSE but cozmez are only in one??? (Also they totally should've animated Buraikan is Back as the ending song to ep. 11). I have a few gripes with the show, but I have gripes with the audio dramas and stuff as well. because that's how humans intake media. you're always gonna dislike bits of things and you're always going to like one version of something over the other. but it doesn't mean that there aren't any good things to be found in the other version.

[ilikereadingactually]

"Daughters of the Lattice"

"Daughters of the Lattice" by Stephen Case in Asimov's Science Fiction, July/August 2023

i want to add more short fiction to my reading life this year, so when i heard "Daughters of the Lattice" recommended on a podcast (i think it was the 1/15/24 ep of Hugo, Girl!) and described as nuns on a cathedral ship in space, i felt a burning need to track it down. happily @digger1649 had a copy of this issue of Asimov's i could borrow, and i have since ordered a copy for myself.

(i've also given into temptation and started digital subscriptions to a few of the big speculative short fiction magazines...the completionist in me decided January would be the ideal time to start. so expect some more short story recs from me!)

anyway, "Daughters of the Lattice" is VERY GOOD. i'm always in awe of short fiction that builds a whole world so tightly and pragmatically. this one is listed as a novelette, so Case has a little more wiggle room to work, but even so. this story has some of the most attractive catnips to me: evocative space religion, a narrator addressing a specific recipient of the story, expectation-shifting revelations, a seemingly all-female society, and a really tantalizing view of the perils of space frontier colonialism. it's like the place where my Locked Tomb obsession and my Imperial Radch obsession collide, plus a little bit of Scavengers Reign.

saying much more would give things away, but the tl;dr is that i fucking loved this story and i can't wait to reread it!

the deets

how i read it: as i said above, a borrowed physical copy. i honestly love holding a book in my hands, and that extends to magazines like this one, but my eyes aren't getting any younger and it was a little tough to read T^T

try this if you: dig a piece-by-piece reveal, are a sucker for a hero story, or think a cathedral spaceship with cloaking technology based on vines sounds wicked cool

some bits i really liked: i want to just copy the whole story in here ok

And so it was I saw the Decalogue again from space. I had not thought to see it again, not after the Long Retreat failed, our long crawl to this world ended, and I brought it to park in orbit around this planet of ice like a body laid to rest in a grave. Now here it was again, resolving itself to view, acres and acres of stained glass and stone and, between the spires and buttresses that rose in each direction, the silver-green rust of the biomechanical hull-gardens. The cloaking vines had not yet begun spreading across its surface and so, for perhaps the last time, I saw it as a faceted jewel against the darkness.

---

I will not write of our leave-taking. You will remember it and in time perhaps forgive me. I will only say that when the mother confessors give you the oath of sisterhood (should you choose to take it) and tell you that the Calm you are now privileged to take will preserve you from both old age and the ravages of emotion, I learned as I watched you as my shuttle rose away that regarding the latter they lie.

[makiruz]

Watched the third arc of Andor, episodes 7-9

The pacing is moving from slow to unbearable, the episodes are too long, plots aren't interesting and episode 9 didn't even have an action climax

I do not like the Mon Mothma arc, I don't get it; she's very much a white liberal who doesn't get how bad it is until it affects her, but she's funding terrorists activities, but that appalls her, but when she's talking to her childhood friends she's like "I'm a rebel without a cause!"; I don't get her (specially if you keep her appearance in Ep III deleted scenes and the fact that many of her friends were probably assassinated by the Empire). Also I'm still frustrated with her family, I checked when this show takes place, it's 15 years after Revenge of the Sith, the same time as Rebels, while Mothma's daughter complaining about her work Leia is helping rebel groups in Lothal "steal" Alderanian ships, seriously why isn't Mothma's family radicalized too?

Anyway, a positive. I kinda like Syril Karn's story; I have never seen the everyday life of normal Imperial citizens, I love getting a look into that and I am drinking it all!

Now another negative; I don't quite get Andor's story here. I had seen the scene of Andor getting arrested for no reason and I was confused, I thought it must have been a flashback or something, but no, it's happening right after he participated in a terrorist attack, it's weird; but I do recognize the irony that he got away with a few murders and a theft of Imperial money but gets arrested for walking.

Anyway, I had heard Andor had some influence of THX 1138, and I think the prison might be it, I haven't watched THX but the images I've seen match the aesthetic of the prison. Now the prison being weird it's fine, they do say this is not like other Imperial prisons; but the lack of aliens do feel strange, there were absolutely no aliens in the previous arc, in this one we see one or two extras in episode 7 but after that it's all humans all the way; this is not right. Look, the complete lack of aliens in Coruscant and the upper echelons of Imperial society is perfect, alongside replacing the busy colorful landscapes of the Prequels with the uniform white it goes to show the corruption of the Empire, the once diverse society of the Republic is now uniformly human, that's visual storytelling, it's good; but that goes with a flipside: as the humans populate the high classes they push the aliens down, the lower classes should be populated by aliens to show their downgrade in Imperial society, but it doesn't, the lower classes are still mostly human, where did the aliens go? The Empire kill them? You cannot do genocide at that scale that quickly (that's what the Death Star was for). The other thing about the prison that jumped to me, was that the prisoners were all men, I don't know why that feels wrong to me, I don't have any ready evidence of Imperial prisons holding women and men together; but it feels wrong. I guess because Star Wars has never been big on gender segregation on an instinctual level I feel an Imperial prison should have women and men.

I am more and more convinced Andor's storyline would've made more sense if he was an alien, like I mentioned before his tribal non-industrialized culture fit better as an alien, because humans in Star Wars represent USA; but also getting arrested for no reason, and stuff make more sense if he's an alien and getting profiled by the canonically xenophobic Empire.

Also, side note, the prison is not worse than anything we've seen the Empire do before; I am still baffled by people claiming that this show made them feel the evil of the Empire more than, I don't know, watching the once terrifying Geonosian race driven to near extinction to the point Captain Fucking Rex who fought Genosians during the War now has to protect the last geonosians, who are one (1) guy and one (1) egg. Even the children shows that aired on Disney showed the Empire murdering innocent people; actually that's a thing about this show, everyone kept saying it was a more "adult" version of Star Wars, but nothing here is more serious or dramatic than Rebels or Clone Wars, the shows that aired in Cartoon Network and Disney; the only thing I'd call "adult" about Andor is the tone, and by the tone being "adult" I mean it's boring and pretentious

This show was overpraised. Even if the last 3 episodes are Hugo worthy, they don't make up for the rest of the show. I mean, it's not bad and the production is gorgeous, but the writing? the story? That needed at least another draft, and more aliens

[mowu-moment]

i feel controversial & i care too much, so here's my des rocs complete tierlist

ranked list & reasoning (ish) under the cut

1. WAYNE: hoholy shit wayne. can hardly put into words how explosive this one is to me. the intro sets a Whole Mood before swiftly (& cleanly) smacking it down into an Absolute Banger and i don't use the term lightly. very hard not to scream along with it. only detriment is that wayne the person is kinda an ass in the mmc video but that's no qualm

2. POS: basically the same thing as wayne (oh both have great lyrics btw, this one more so), only gets points knocked for being 2 minutes long and having 30 seconds of that being intro & outro. go danny give us nothing

3. WHY WHY WHY: there's a theme among my top picks--they're all hard-hitting w/ killer guitar. the lyrics are absolute batshit in a good way, but the chorus is a lil flat & i feel like in general it just needed a touch more spice to score the top spot. or maybe it's just seniority & it'll have a coup a few months out idk

4. DEAD RINGER: similar killer guitar & lyrics but this one is Groovy as Hell. don't particularly like his singing in this one & it's too repetitive if i'm feeling grumpy but there's something so magic about after the bridge. top 10 songs to twirl a flag to

5. NOTHING PERSONAL: the minute long outro irks me & it's a little bit empty but plays into that well. groovy, great lyrics, the Sexiest Guitar Solo of the lot, the screaming's a minus but it does have an emotion there. not entirely sure what one but it's there.

6. LET ME LIVE / LET ME DIE: his first time being all over the goddamn place, history was made. amazing guitar, a little worse lyrics than 1-4 i'll admit, the intro Slays me both in a good and bad way. must be a joy to play live where he can just drag out that intro & bridge as long as feels right. at least i liked it in the digital concert like that. would actually kill me in a physical concert, imagine how much stomping gets going to that beat. bonus points for presumable cowbell

7. PIECES: for once not this high for the guitar & lyrics, they're both kinda basic. idk what's about this one but it just takes me to a separate dimension & i love it so much for that. really fills those earholes. also a bit of personal meaning, heard it for the first time on the day we moved into the house i'm currently split-custody-living in (is that tmi?) & the first music video of his i saw. man i love some spaghetti on the wall

8. SLO: basically the same as dead ringer, but knocked points for a kinda lame outro & the subject matter being a little less interesting to me. still lovely.

9. HANGING BY A THREAD: not my normal fare really & the way that the ends of the verses don't really fit in the pacing of them is bleh, but it's just so reminiscent of the songs my brother puts on whenever we hang out together that it just makes me all warm & fuzzy. it's also nicely put together which is something i'll have to start saying for. the later list.

10. SUICIDE ROMANTICS: this is where i start griping about head voice & higher pitches in general. don't like em so the pre-chorus is a lil annoying. also not my normal fare but it's tender & the ending is awe-striking. imo better live where he's loud on that last line before the final chorus. not enough to bump it up though. shoutouts to love and a smoking gun, i still am dying to hear that one

11. THE PAST HAS PASSED AWAY: my favorite lyrics out of the first 2 ep's. only thing wrong with it really is the bridge getting kinda repetitive. love that last chorus heehoo. same schpeel as the Banger Category

12. MMC: this one's lower than the rest of the Bangers for being pop punk which is something the radio has made me dislike, i guess. that trope with the guitar in the second half of the chorus just kills me so much. improves greatly during & after the bridge, love that lil ragtime piano. generally the same bit as before but i do love him doing something un-romance-related. yeah fuck the establishment!

13. THE DEVIL INSIDE: reminds me A Lot of the electronic-ish cassettes i've got from the early 90's but that's just me. this one will probably move up as i get more used to it, but only a little bit. the first part of the second verse makes me like. genuinely uncomfy? but the second part of it's fantastic. ending's ass though what happened to the instrumence. bonus points for using 'reverie' that's an SAT word (maybe). good singing but returning to the gripe at higher pitches, just a little bit though

14. THIS IS OUR LIFE: feels shockingly generic for a des rocs song tbh but there's nothing really wrong with that. adore the bridge. singing's alright. kinda miffed that he doesn't pronounce the 'f' in the second 'life' in the chorus, but it makes sense here. that sort of thing won't later so i'm bringing it up now. guitar's nothing spectacular but fits nicely into the song, probably one of the most cohesive of his (especially in recent history).

15. OUTTA MY MIND: really lives in the same space as slo and dead ringer do in my head (most likely the 'songs to twirl a flag to' zone), but this is by far the worst of the three for when i'm grumpy. just. Very repetitive. back to great lyrics here but it's kinda hard to pick them out (i've heard the song at least 100 times by now & i'm still missing a few lines). still groovin'

16. RUBY WITH THE SHARPEST LIES: what the fuck actually goes on in this song by the way? not the premise or whatever it's just. so all over the place. the verses are incredible but bringing in another vocalist just for one line kills me. bridge is really cool but that one part i don't remember where it is, the one that alternates basically nothing & an Electronic Piano Chord blaring at ya? ruins it. partially anyhow. also can someone tell the people on genius that it's 'carved it in my skin' not 'crawled down in my skin'

17. GIVE ME THE NIGHT: same repetitive issue as outta my mind but it's not groovy enough to save it, shame. feels like a trial run of all the wackshit stuff he's been doing recently, with the additional vocal bits at the end & the kinda weird lyrics. it still has a place in my heart don't get me wrong but it's just fallen in favor of stuff that Commits to banger or batshit (or actually pulls off both strongly, yyy). oh yeah nice guitar alright singing etc etc

18. USED TO THE DARKNESS: similar story to give me the night. i love it i do, but it's just lackluster nowadays. also remember that under-pronunciation thing i brought up in this is our life? this is where that comes back. rampant i tell you! that second verse he just doesn't finish the words & i hate it!

19. DON'T HURT ME: i honestly don't know why this one isn't in D. the chorus bit where he just cuts it short is irksome. the lyrics aren't anything special. i don't know what i like about it. but i can tell it does exactly what it set out to do if that makes sense. respect, respect. and using missile in an analogy, he's getting creative with the vocab

20. LIVING PROOF: kinda got a vendetta against this one i think? i don't know why i hate this one but i do. it's just kinda, blah. like the perfect sort of thing to nightcore up. sentiment's lovely & i do love the lyrics even if they aren't impressive but like. it bores me to an extent

21. TICK (LIVE): separating the version i heard in the digital concert just to give it some credit, this one was actually kinda nice. another one with a nice sentiment & what he was going for is great. no clue what the second part of the second verse has to do with any of this though. and it also begins our final group, the songs that just feel empty. like there's not nearly enough going on. this one's alright though i was just hoping the studio version would add some flair. you can see where that one is though.

22. IMAGINARY FRIENDS: also got a vendetta against pop. kinda hate the sentiment here (contrast!), the chorus just falls short of what the verses prime me for, head voice is rampant, and yet i still swing along to it. it's infectious props to him. love the outro though, monkey laugh and all.

23. MAYBE, I: another empty one, like it's a four-note progression what is that. love his singing in it, and the chorus parts do round it out, but like. eh? it doesn't even give me much to say.

24. BORN TO LOSE: another flop on the chorus! too smooth i say! and i absolutely Despise the pitch-shifting thing going on. not something i was expecting him to express so points there, lyrics are nothing fancy to my Literary Mind though. initially good singing but the chorus he's just sloppy over it. the instrumental is lovely but the vocals just throw it so hard into the bin which is a right shame. fuck that outro too i hate that gimmick

25. I KNOW: here's where the bad batshit comes in. singing is some of his worst imo, does the other-vocalist thing for that bridge, genre i'm not fond of, just a soup of Stuff I Don't Like. not one i'd kill someone over putting as #1 like i can see where it comes from but. mmmmmhhhh bad. cover does NOT help his case.

26. HVY MTL DRMR: empirically i should put this one higher. but the chorus flops so goddamn hard it deserves to be in the bottom of the barrel. the verses are lovely for what he was doing back then! but then just... nothing!

27. RABBIT HOLE: i was so excited for this name but it's just sad boi hours playlist curated by some corporation you hate. probably the most nothing of them all, genuinely where are the instruments. what happened. was this one just shoehorned in as the final track just to pump numbers up. and i swear he had some autotune or something which only makes his voice worse it's fantastic naturally. also that's not what a rabbit hole is! that's not the idiom! a rabbit hole is when you go on a wikipedia spiral from jennifer lopez to group theory! not when you just have a shitty night's sleep or whatever this is! i'm not just miffed i'm downright annoyed

28. TICK (STUDIO): what the fuck happened des. how did you release this. it sounds like a 3rd grader singing for the school talent show it's so out of rhythm. singing's honestly kinda bad & the instrumental has the same problems i talked about in the live version. the last chorus is fine, i guess, but no i don't forgive him for what he did to tick.

[dorkzilla-exe]

Zim, Dib, and Seven Smeets

A ZaDr series: Ep 1, Hatching Day

Dib: Zim, will you come down.

Zim: *sitting on top of the fridge* DO NOT DISTURB ME WHILE I'M IN MY PANIC SPOT!

Dib: Im just-

Zim: *crying* DIBBERSON, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, I'LL BE DOWN IN A MINUTE!

Dib: you said that an hour ago, I've got everything set up for the celebration, so at least be down before 3, ok?

Zim: wait, you did the decorating? You did EVERYTHING?! ON YOUR OWN?!

Dib: *smiles sinisterly* yes, yes I did, all on my own, probably made some mistakes in color arrangement-

Zim: LET ME SEE! YOU BETTER NOT HAVE MESSED ANYTHING UP!! *jumps down from the fridge and scurries into the living room*

Dib: works every time...

Zim: Dib, you didn't actually mess any of the decorations!?

Dib: I studied hard when you were decorating for Gaz's birthday, so I applied your decoration tactics to this room and... well... ta-daa!

Zim: you really are amazing, Dib. You know that, right?

Dib: I got the hint the day you gave me a ring-pop and asked for my hand in marriage.

Zim: I swear I didn't know it was candy, the person who sold it to me said it was worth 5,000$ and would sell it to me for 4,900...

Dib: I really didn't care about being proposed to with a candy ring, a ring is a ring to me, wether it's candy or not. Although, it is very concerning how someone managed to sell you a ring-pop for that much.

Zim: don't remind me...

Dib: would you believe me when I say I still have it?

Zim: no, I actually wouldn't.

Dib: well I do, I had it dipped in resin so it wouldn't deteriorate.

Zim: wow, how have I not noticed it?

Dib: remember that box I where keep stuff like pendants and pins? That's where the ring is.

Zim: that's sweet.

Dib: wait a minute, I just remembered we've got one more thing to do...

Zim: The Smeet's play-pen! We've gotta decorate that! Get the streamers! I've got some decorating to do!

[About an hour later]

Dib: alright, living room decorated, snacks and cake ready, little gift bags customized for every guest, flowers and other table decorations, and Zim's in the play-pen with the eggs. We are ready for the guests to arrive and it isn't even-

[Knocking from the front door]

Dib: right on cue, must be dad cause he's been early to ever other party. *answers the door* hey- uh...

Tallest Red: hello there, you must be Dib

Tallest Purple: How has Zim been? We haven't heard too much from him since he layed the eggs.

Dib: uhhhh... Hi I'm Dib Membrane, Zim's husband. Zim's been doing wonderfully, aside from the random anxiety attacks and his weekends of depression. Please come in! We have plenty of Irken friendly food and drinks ready, but remember to save some for the other guests. You two apparently aren't the only alien guests on our list.

Tallest Red: Thank you Mr. Membrane, we appreciate your hospitality. *enters with Tallest Purple*

Zim: My Tallest! I didn't expect you to be here until 10 minutes later.

Tallest Purple: see, I told you we were too early!

Tallest Red: EUGH, we could've brought the little ones Paks...

Dib: actually, we already thought of that. My Dad works at Membrane labs and designed him "Membrane Paks". They are designed to make it easier for them to identify us in a crowd, immediately begin healing if injured, ward off any diseases and illnesses, higher pain tolerance, and give them a longer life.

Zim: the only major differences are the Designs and application process. Instead of implanting electonics in abruptly, we will apply them more delicately, carefully and less painfully.

Tallest Red: hmm, I see, it would also be much easier to identify them if they ever decided to work for the Irken Empire.

Zim: i mean, you're not wrong. But I also invited here to ask for permission to retire.

Tallest Purple: retire?

Tallest Red: eumm... sure? Why not?

[1 hour later]

Dib: Dad, Gaz, the tallest, Skoodge, Tak, Tenn, Keef, Z, Zita, Clembrane, Prisinor 777 and his kids.

Dib: that seems to be about everyone, all we're missing are-

Anne: *annoyingly beating on Dib's Door* DIBDIBDIBDIBDIBDIBDIBDIBDIB!

Dib: Anne and Flish...

Dib: *opens the door, making Anne fall into the house*

Anne: Crikey, you've grown! You're 'bout as tall as Flishey now!

Flish: howdy, Dib. Sorry we couldn't make it to yer wedding last year.

Dib: it's ok, come on in you two.

Tallest Purple: oh yeah... we banished HER here too...

Tallest Red: I feel like Zim isn't our biggest concern anymore.

Anne: My Tallest! It's been YEARS! how've ya been!

Tallest Purple: good~

Anne: *gasp* OH MY GOSH! The eggs! Aw, they're absolutely precious! Zim, you oughta call yourself lucky! 'Lotta Irkens can't lay eggs y'know.

Zim: eheh, I know. Which is why I didn't fully expect it.

Dib: you should've seen him, he cried his eyes out the whole time and more.

Flish: Heha! sounds like Zim a'right. But don'cha get all concerned and stuff. It's completely normal to cry during egg laying. Er, from what I've heard at least.

Dib: it's official, everyone's here.

Tallest Purple: great!... Now what?

Dib: Um, we talk.

Tallest Purple: sounds boring.

Gaz: I have Videogames.

Tallest Purple: Ooo, sounds intriguing! What do you do?

Professor Membrane: son, may I speak with you for a moment?

Dib: sure.

Professor Membrane: let's go into the other room, ok.

Dib: *nods and walks into the bedroom*

Professor Membrane: something is wrong and I can tell.

Dib: *walks over to the bad, grabs a pillow, and screams in it*

Professor Membrane: I know your stressed, but everything will be just fine. I'm sure you and Zim will be great-

Dib: But what if we arent?! I work weekends at a coffee shop and Zim works at a clothing store in a mall. We can't provide for SEVEN babies! It took a lot of saving to get this party set up! I rarely get any tips and the one tip I got last weekend was from Gaz and it was a penny.

Professor Membrane: Ok, now that's just sad.

Dib: I don't know what to do! It's hard for me to get a different job, a barista was the closest I could do because I apparently make really good lattes. *sob*

Professor Membrane: have you ever considered working with me in the labs? You already know everyone there and know the place well. Plus, I could adjust your schedule so you don't have to come every day and you get paid just for being there.

Dib: you'd do that for me?

Professor Membrane: of course! You really do need the money, I could have you work as a lab assistant, but that's a little dangerous. I could put you in the mailing room? Or-

Dib: what about food service? I can cook, I can make coffee, tea, and plenty of different desserts.

Professor Membrane: that's a wonderful idea! I could make you work down at the cafeteria so your talent isn't wasted on Lattes!

Dib: Consider me hired! Ill be there tomorrow evening-

Professor Membrane: no no, you should stay home for a few days.

Dib: but dad, I-

Professor Membrane: Dibberson, I know you want to help out as soon as you can, but right now, Zim and your children need you here. Besides, it's hard to bond with a child while you're away, right?

Dib: I guess it is.

Anne: *Bursts through the door* Dib! It's about to happen! One of the eggs moved!

Dib: bwha?! Already?! I didn't think it would be this early! *runs to the living room*

Zim: Dib! There you are! Hurry over here, you don't want to miss this!

Dib: *looks over the pen* which one moved?

Zim: This one right here. *puts egg in lap*

Dib: When will they-

Zim: any moment now...

Dib: *puts hand on egg, feeling for any movement*

Zim: Dib, can I admit something before they hatch?

Dib: go ahead.

Zim: I knew about the eggs since the first day they began developing.

Dib: wanna know something? The 4 months before I helped you with the eggs, I was suspicious that you might've been pregnant. I was kinda right.

Zim: yes, yes you were. AH! DIB, IT'S HATCHING!

Dib: *removes hand, watching both the eggs hatch and his family grow before his eyes*

Zim: thank you, Dib

Dib: hm?

Zim: thank you for everything. I'll love you forever and on.

Dib: *pure panic* wait, you dont die after the eggs hatch, do you?

Zim: No, no I don't, but I'll love you longer than you'll ever know. And that's a promise.

From then and on, Zib and Dib lived a happy and eventful life with 7 beautiful Human-Irken Smeets.

The End

Zim: Or is it?

Dib: Not really, but for now, yes.

[good-enemy]

HI THIS IS MRS. CLAUS!! 🤶🏾🤶🏾 just kidding haha (or should i say hohoho 👀, but keep guessing bestie (besides, mrs. claus being secret santa is a little on the nose isn't it)

i hope you're having an amazing day today!!

so, my question for today is, which are your favourite artists/genres other than taylor swift?? and as a bonus, how did you discover your favourite one!?

can't wait to talk to you more!! so until then

-🤶🏾✨

p.s. OFC SANTA IS REAL!! despite not being a christmas celebrator, i won't accept anything else /j

I mean santa is just some guy, he's not as far fetched as the easter bunny 🤷‍♀️ lmao

Okok so my favourite artist of all time is gabrielle aplin & has been since I was likeee 11? 12? I've seen her live 3 times and met her in Jan 2020 she's so lovely 🥺 you could not ask me to pick a favourite song, I can't even pick a favourite album 😂 some favs include my mistake, what did you do, keep on walking, salvation, please don't say you love me, coming home, losing me, actually this is too hard its just all of them lmao I discovered her when I heard please don't say you love me for the first time and decided it was my new mega super favourite song and then realised she was the same person from the 2012 John Lewis Christmas advert who sang the power of love and I was like omg obsessed so I downloaded English rain (her debut album) and all her EPs and yea it's all gone from there I love her

I have a few favourite bands but my favourite is pvris ✨ everyone always complains thst white noise was their best album and the new stuff keeps getting worse but they're wrong every album has been even better than the last sorry white noise 🤣 I'm going to see them next year! :D I hope they play half bc it's my favourite but they probably won't :(

Other favourite bands areee against the current (fever is BANGING), green day (I wanted to see them live but it was like £60 for the furthest away ticket :| uno is an underrated and unfairly hated on masterpiece), my chemical romance (I miss them :( more mcr songs in tua pls), fall out boy (literally half of mania got into my Spotify wrapped so true of me), old p!atd/the young veins (Ryan ross <333), paramore (after laughter was a cultural reset) & they're p small and only have like 4 songs but Clementine <3 maybe I'm biased bc I know them personally but their EP fucks, also bring me the horizon but only like 2 albums (sempiternal and that's the spirit)

As for other solo artists I'm super obsessed w stromae and I'm so glad he dropped a new song right when we all needed him thank u king stream santé for clear skin and all that, also mika >>> man never misses, christina perri! I miss her, lovestrong was my age groups childhood. Adele!!! 21 is still the best album sorry 30.. ik I already said mcr but gerard way/hesitant alien = god tier, I am going 2 stop the running commentary now because this is getting messy, halsey, hozier, lorde, marina, olivia rodrigo, billie eilish, pink, Rebecca ferguson, lady gaga, Harry styles & maisie Peters

I also love kpop! My favourites are loona, twice, red velvet, blackpink, mamamoo, clc, weeekly, pixy, cherry bullet, itzy, everglow, cignature, purple kiss, stayc, redsquare, secret number, bvndit, rocket punch, z-stars, iz*one, fromis_9, (g)i-dle, dreamcatcher, weki meki, ioi, cosmic girls, aespa, oh my girl, miss a, exid, apink, good day, chungha, sunmi, Natty, somi, bibi, ha:tfelt, hyuna, taeyeon, iu, bts, txt, got7, kard, dpr live/dpr ian & taemin.. I think that's it lmao I've been really behind on keeping up with new music this year though and there are so many kpop groups that have new releases so often that I have a playlist of songs i forgot to lisyen to when they came out and its like 80% kpop 💀 & for other groups that aren't bands I rlly love little mix <3 without jesy <3

Specific albums that I love even tho I don't particularly listen to the rest of the artists music: jagged little pill by Alanis morissette & hot fuss by the killers

Specific songs that I love but I haven't listened to thr artists other music enough to have a solidified opinion yet: i wanna be your slave by måneskin & shatter in the night by vesperteen