#Especially when zams involved

[freakinator]

KAB: "The thing about Mapicc is that he gives up."

KAB: "He gives up real fucking fast."

[coffeegnomee]

Saw a post about trying to understand "new player behavior" from a new viewer standpoint and I thought, let me try and take a stab at explaining it. Anyone who's been around for a while and wants to weigh in, please do.

New player mentality is mostly like running from fights instead of taking them especially if you're good enough or have enough hearts, being absolutely unwilling to die, being unwilling to see if you can survive something you know is a trap, refusing to show up to something because you thought it was suspicious, being paranoid when there is nothing to be paranoid about. Trying to defuse conflict instead of embracing it, not understanding the cycles (even though everyone had their own interpretation of the cycles).

These reflect the unspoken gentlemen's code of honor that exist on the server, though it is notable to note that the main players that care about this are just Mapicc Zam and Clown. Not everyone cares about this, though the older the member, generally the more it is understood and accepted.

But with Mapicc and Zam being consistently two of the only handful of active members at any given time, their opinion will ring loud and with Zam being The most active streamer and the one with The most play time every season, as Zam goes so does the audience go. Creating, admittedly, a feedback loop where we all complain about those dang youngins.

However the mentality is real, and some members, most notably Minute, have genuinely changed from how he was at the start of s5 to who he is now. s5 minute would have NEVER taken a 1v1 he knew he would have lost for the sake of the server.

This risky mentality, story-motivated, picking a side and caring deeply about it, showing up to something you know you have a 30% chance of survival, dying and then retaliating against whoever killed you in that thing you just showed up to (this is the easiest explanation of the cycles), picking a nerf and seeing how it will affect the story, loosing all your hearts willingly, saying yes when someone approaches you for a project and putting your all into supporting this new allyship (despite old teammates or despite old feuds), being loyal to the new teammates because progress forward is better than clinging to the past (betrayal in s1-4 is interesting and can be talked about below), coming up with a plot that will involve the whole server at a risk to yourself, achieving the impossible.

These are all hallmarks of the old members.

Now, there is a layer of nuance here because while all new members fall prey to new member mentality, there have always, always been old members who fall prey to it, no matter how long they've been on lifesteal. The easiest example you'd find looking back at s4 is Pangi and Red running from every single fight even though they had 20 hearts. Red being from s1 and rejoining in s3 and Pangi joining in s2! Hardly new members at the time of infraction.

But that's because, at its core, new member mentality is the fear of death. It's the fear of failure. It's clinging to your hearts for fear of what will happen to you if you loose them.

And what each member needs is time, and experience in difficult situations that challenge their perspective on the server. We call that their Lifesteal Trauma. It's never fun for them and it genuinely challenges everything that they thought they understood about lifesteal. And depending on how it happens it either strengthens their bond to the server and shows them they can withstand anything and everything even abject failure and total betrayal and still be okay, or they take a step back from being as active. It's always different for every player and depends on how they even want to play. I could go through the list of members, but it's primarily and internal belief that they don't articulate and every way of playing the server is okay. And mostly they just need time and a new idea to try.

A final note about betrayals. Lifesteal has always, always been filled with people getting on a team and betraying that team to get the win. So many times a member has been invited to a team and they join and then betray that team. So what do I mean about loyalty to a new team over old teams?

This is something that is growing and changing as the server progresses and isn't as clean cut, also maybe wrong because my memory of everything before s4 is the most shoddy, but in general, those who betrayed a new team had been inactive for a period, were approached by a different new team, and then infiltrated the other new team that was forming,

s1 that was terry being on mapicc's side and then conveniently being in the right place to join the other side and betray them.

I remember nothing from s2 other than MOB and the withers.

s3 that was parrot being added to the resistance group chat while being in a call with decimation and betraying the resistance.

s3 that was leo joining the revive side but being on spoke's side and killing zam and pangi right after the successful getaway.

The betrayals of s4 sparked a new brutality (maybe just because i actually watched the streams and the streams of all those older times are lost) where Spoke did the long con on Parrot before betraying, being loyal to the original wormholers over Parrot.

That was mapicc adding zam to his side of the crown battle against pangi and then betraying him after the fight.

Then there's all the zam betrayals which were ideological differences about the purpose and goals of the teams rather than thought out betrayals that he orchestrated with others. (and in a way his choice of leaving team awesome was an experiment in a what-if that was very enticing)

But the time honored old player mentality towards betrayals is "first come first serve" combined with "old attachments don't matter in the face of new content".

This is why ro betraying the foundation in s5 was a pure act of old player mindset. mapicc is asking? bet.

whereas jumper's betrayal was much closer to spoke's betrayal of parrot: clinging to an original (and secret/non official) team over the new teammates and only after months and months, betraying them.

It's a secret third thing that doesn't fit anywhere into how lifesteal functions and is more a facet of the player themself; are they willing to do that plot.

And yet, because i heaven't yapped enough yet, Jumper's betrayal to me reads far closer to new player mentality because she saved her own skin and her own hearts and never risked anything through her betrayal. she has said multiple times that she likes being on both sides because she never has to worry about dying. If she had gotten caught earlier the worst that would have happened is she lost a single heart because they never knew where her bed was and she could have called minute in as backup in an instant and be protected by the most powerful member under his batman wings. and after she was protected by him at all times.

Whereas Spoke's betrayal of Parrot was The Riskiest thing he could have done. He could have been banned from the server and never completed the impossible task he was trying to do. There was real risk to his own ability to play the game in pulling it off successfully.

[mcytegg]

woke up at 12 am and all i can think abt the empire and the sticklers like im sorry but i am so not normal abt their alliance it means the entire world to me.....

like especially the trust JUMPER has in the empire. ive been chewing through her s6 vods and the speed at which she went from fearing and wanting revenge bc they killed her and ro to her trusting them and wanting them to trust her was actually crazy

and this is all bc mapicc and minute chased clown away from her base bc he was hunting her down and she had no one else to protect her w her team offline. like yeah other people like zam and pangi were on but realistically how can they fight a clownpierce when zam was, at that point, a pacifist and pangi is pangi? /lh

them choosing to help jumper that day changed soooo much, it led to her warning the empire of her and reks silly end portal prank and warning them abt her trap,, and her taking direct action to build a bridge between their two teams which was both only possible bc yk. mapicc and minutes inherent bias for some people on the team ANDDDD their sense of honour when it comes to who they choose to fight

like as much as the empire WANTS to be the bad guys this season, its quite funny how they just ARENT (yet) bc they have actual honour and morals in comparison to the blindfold bandits (flame, mane, wemmbu, and pentar i believe) who have been terrorizing the server, especially low heart players, since the beginning.

bc like choosing to protect jumper from clown was just...THE most minute and mapicc thing ever like theyre both just like that; i dont think either of them see any purpose behind terrorizing and hunting players like jumper, pangi, squiddo, etc who both dont really involve themselves in pvp and who dont HAVE the capability to fight back if theyre jumped by someone w like 20 hearts

like dont get me wrong theyll attack players who are weaker than them, theyre not moral and faultless people, like minute killing sb for a heart, mapicc wanting to kill kab for a heart bc he thinks she has too many (before he hit 20 hearts), etc but those are players who have CHOSEN to involve themselves in pvp and to kill other players—

and im crying wait i hate devotion duo so fucking bad bc ive just now realized mapiccs standards for players he will kill vs ones he deems needing his protection if he knows theyre being hunted by like mane, clown, or wemmbu is literally identical to ZAMS own standards for players he will involve himself in conflict for vs those he wont (aka innocent players vs those who choose to involve themselves in Situations)

anyways! im just yapping atp but idc. yeah so mapicc and minutes inherent sense of honour in regards to fighting and pvp on top of hopperclock-duality friendship buff from previous season(s) has lead to one of the most interesting alliances ever like if u could not tell i love and adore this alliance so very much bc the foundation of it is trust and friendship rather than power or how they can benefit one another

they have common enemies for sure, but a lot of what they do doesnt even really involve fighting or conflict. its mostly just spending time together and being silly likeeee jumper and spokes silly4silly friendship, ro helping mapicc stalk zam, chief refusing to trap/kill rek after chat asks bc theyre buddies, etc etc

i really desperately want to see them interact and do more together bc i just wanna see both teams login more ngl but i'd also like to see them just have fun TOGETHER like they did during the pangi wipe out recording during that one session a few weeks ago yk,, i also hope the empire will involve the sticklers in whatever shit they have planned for january bc they allegedly have some evil, devious things planned when minute is more free / available for life steal

i actually just have no idea what im saying anymore ngl ive been typing for over an hr but tysm if u read me yapping abt the empire and the sticklers. it will happen again. /threat

[pineconnie]

I actually want to yap about Wato and Wemmbu because they are SO IMPORTANT TO ME😭😭. Wato and egg are the people who know Wemmbu the best on unstable, they’ve seen from the beginning to the end. Although neither were there for what he was like before Zam, they’ve seen and recognized the aftermath. I think this understanding of Wemmbu is the reason Wato trusts him so much. She knows that Wemmbu is selfish, self centered, but also SO loyal to those he cares for. She saw Wemmbu’s loyalty to Zam despite everything, and how he puts Egg above everything. He also in the finale, understood Wemmbu’s morals and actions finally. He will act in his own self interest above all else EXCEPT for when Egg’s (or Zam) is involved. And I think that really made Wato trust him because Wato is the exact same way. He puts his own safety and self interest above all except for when it comes to Ken and Wifies but even then, it’s not always. Wato always knows, especially with Egg with Wemmbu, he won’t hurt innocent people or go too far. Id say that’s why they trusted him with Ken’s statis’s and fought with him during the finale. Even in the finale, wemmbu checked up on Egg(and Wato) multiple times during the fight with Ferre, putting himself at risk to make sure they stayed alive

I reallyyyy like their dynamic and I hope Wato is in more of his story this season!! -👁️🦜

I LOVEEE WATO AND WEMMBUUU ToT one of the only friendships that’s isn’t straight up doomed in uu TO ME (don’t mention anything that makes them doomed i need this /j) plus i think them having like a fairly good? relationship while still not being so close they’d die for each other (like every other duo on this server LMAO) is really good 4 them … it’s def built more on trust than anything else i think, LET THEM KEEP A SOMEWHAT GOOD FRIENDSHIP PLEASE UNSTABLE SCRIPT 😭🙏

[zylian]

So many thoughts of the after effects of zam and mapic having their s4 dynamic in s6 cause it’s gonna mess with the new members so badly if they get in between

Literally the members who keep saying zams scared of mapic rn and have chosen to help zam out when he gets hurt, don’t understand how messed up they both are and how not one sided it is

Mapes acknowledged how easy it is to be the villain for everyone cause he’s done it before but no one ever listened to him about how zam is worse than him

castle arc started cause nobody was willing to help zam, he betrayed his team and almost everyone at the time said zam deserved what came to him from how angry mapic was and to this day it is proven how loyalty matters to mapic

Zam was full of paranoia but than again he stayed at that castle fully knowing what was to come and continuously fought himself cause no matter how much he hated mapic, he never truly hated him, he hated himself instead cause he was fully aware of his own actions

Just like s3, zams messed up, sure castle arc he was afraid but at the end of s3 he smiled as he asked Spoke to kill him even blinding himself to trust spoke knowing it resulted in him repeatedly dying to clown in every base he made for a whole week prior

Zam let s4 castle arc happen, just like the end of s3 and he knows it, zam doesn’t really hate Spoke or Mapic, he was and is afraid of them yet he’s insanely enough devoted to them

He knows what they’re capable of at their lowest and highest and at the end he always feels sorry for them, like when zam told clown that mapic killed him for spoke despite spoke dying to wemmbu, both zam and clown immediately was focused on how unlike spoke that was rather than the deaths itself

It’s bittersweet

The second zam found out about the exploits in s4 he flipped and did everything to divert Mapics attention while simultaneously trying to stop any exploit harm coming to him (unless it was Spoke)

He did that after castle arc and the only exception between the both of them was and has always been Spoke, it’s so eerie knowing that Spoke knew zam would be fine during castle arc cause mapic wasn’t there for what he did to him in s3

Their history goes even further for when zam was banned off and mapic still carried out his demands he left behind beyond death

There’s a reason why mapic goes back to zam and a reason why zam lets mapic, both of them have a LONG history and the ones who know about it won’t intervene (aka mainly spoke)

Zams BEEN messed up and anyone s5 onwards hasn’t seen it, being swept up in his pacifism to see that anyone’s anger towards him has never been caused by killing but his actions driven from what morals he’s on

It’s so much worse especially with mapic suggesting zam to have a full defence kit, if mapic kills zam he gets a target on his back but he can’t just not crit the guy whenever he’s near him for a little bit longer than a greeting

Mapic feared zam leaving forever, almost like zam taking actual precautions to disappear which he is completely capable of, zam can leave but stays in places knowing mapic would find him and it’s an odd way zam has to reassure mapic

When zam completely covers his tracks and doesn’t involve himself at all somehow someway mapic shows up to involve him and when that happens zam lets it happen, completely entertaining the idea just cause

It takes two to tango and they are both trying so hard to not acknowledge any of it

ANYWAYS!!!! Anything these guys say, do, or bring up will mess the absolute hell up of any members that joined after s4

Like can you imagine going through absolute hell where both sides wanted nothing to do with each other after yet by the end they were standing on the same side against everyone

So really anything to happen in s6 and anything anyone says or drags zam to, it won’t stop him from somehow going near mapic and vice versa

[getwoold]

still losing my mind a bit after that bacon stream and i need to get my thoughts out so 👍🏼 hi guys

i really like the way 3ht, especially bacon, went about talking to zam yesterday. and i dont really understand the people who were saying they were manipulating zam because.... they just weren't? obviously 3ht can be manipulative (mostly bacon and planet lol) but they were being really honest and straightforward with zam this time around.

they told zam what they think of the prison as people who have already been trapped in one before, and what they think the rest of the server will think about the prison. 3ht were talking to him and giving advice based off of their own perspectives and experiences. as viewers we know more about zam's pov than 3ht do, but that doesn't mean what they're telling him is manipulation, it's just bias.

they honestly just laid all their cards out on the table for him in that stream. the offer for him to join their team still stands! it always has, ever since they first offered to take him in after he betrayed team awesome. they weren't trying to manipulate or pressure him into joining them either, they simply reminded him the offer is always there. it's just the truth that if he joins 3ht, he'll be with a more open and honest team than if he remains with eclipse. they even told zam their goals on the server: stay alive, stay safe, and make the server fun. they don't hide things from each other, that's just the kind of team they are.

he was told he could join the anti-exploiters as well, but he'd have to work with mapicc. and he said no to that and it was fine! they didn't try to pressure him into joining anything mapicc is involved in.

zam's prior experiences from being on team awesome have shaped how he sees teams on lifesteal a LOT. neither TA nor eclipse were entirely honest with zam. and because of the way he left TA (by betraying and fighting them) he didn't even see leaving peacefully but still remaining friends with subz and vitalasy as being an option! he's in a similar situation with eclipse now as he was in before, but team awesome and eclipse are not the same. he doesn't have to part ways with both teams the same way. and he needed 3ht, a team who are extremely communicative with each other, to remind him he CAN leave on good terms.

they were firm with zam, but not forceful. he got to write signs and let his thoughts out, and in return 3ht offered ideas and solutions that he could accept if he wanted to. the only time they were forceful with zam was when bacon told zam he had until tuesday night (the next eclipse meeting) to make a decision. and honestly he needs that!!! a clear deadline to make a final decision, because otherwise he might never decide, and nothing will change for him.

ultimately 3ht can't force zam to do anything, and they aren't trying to. they aren't going to make a decision for him, and they aren't going to wait around forever trying to help him while he just goes in circles (hence the deadline to make a choice). but they can share their thoughts with zam and encourage him to do what him happy. no matter how much he cares for subz & vitalasy, he won't be happy if he stays with them and he knows it. that's why it's great he got to talk to people with such a healthy team dynamic, because they understand how teams should work and even if he doesn't join 3ht, they still reminded him it's not all black and white; he doesn't need to stay with eclipse and be unhappy, but he doesn't need to leave by betraying them either. he can amicably part ways, remain friends with them, and if he chooses to do so, he can join 3ht and finally experience what it's like to be on a team that's completely open and trusting :3

[sol-rambles]

Okay I'm just after typing abunch in tags but. I need commas too much.

They give off the same vibes of beginning of eclipse. For all intents and purposes, they are in the honeymoon phase of being teamed. They don't even know eachothers bases, like seriously. Either way, the fact that as a team in general they have no strong direction, since the things Zam ends up wanting to do with teammates tends to be bigger tasks that everyone has their own smaller tasks.

For example, void arc. They were all working together towards one combined goal, but people were working on the little scavenger hunt arg thing. Others were working on placing the pistons and Zam was incharge of the main machine staying working. It was a combined effort but he had his own thing to do in the grand scheme of it.

Derap, just doesn't seem like the kind of person to want to do something like this for a really long time. Don't get me wrong I know he's a grinder, but everything he tends to grind does end in a very personal gain. For example, god apples, that's something he's been planning for a very long time, and he's done before. It results in a visible material item at the end of it, and he can use it to lose less hearts. Something else material that means alot to Derap and importantly something Zam doesn't really care all that much for, like Zam will die and lose hearts just for the fun of it from time to time. Like he fluctuates between the amount you craft up to and 15+ he tends to not sit in the between numbers for very long.

Also, Derap just isn't very arc orientated. Not in the way Zam is, like Zam even when he tries not to ends up involved in the arcs on the server. Like he's drawn to them every time and if there isn't one, if the server is at a halt, he ends up starting something with his teammates. I just can't see Derap wanting to start that kind of thing, especially not if Mapic os there. Which if Zam wanted to start things, Mapic would 100% be there like even if they weren't teamed i think. And even despite what he says Derap still cares that Zam is with Mapic again.

there is something so off-putting? to me about zam and derap as a team . i can't exactly put my finger on it but there's always this underlying feeling of Something can and will go wrong between them eventually.

[syn0vial]

Hello Wise One! I was actually hoping if you can give me some solid personality pointers on Jango, rather than Boba, Fett?

sure thing! full disclosure that my knowledge of jango is not as extensive as my knowledge of boba, but i’ll do my best with what i have! here are some personality traits of jango’s i’ve observed:

paranoid/protective: this is a big one if you ask me. jango endured a life of betrayal and loss before he became a bounty hunter and it shows. besides boba, he doesn’t trust anyone fully, not even those closest to him and is always ready to cut ties at the drop of a hat—lethally, if necessary. his mistrust of the rest of the galaxy is so potent that when he takes boba on missions to populated areas, he instructs him to hide even from normal foot traffic and becomes anxious when he learns that others may have spotted him. it becomes pretty evident that part of the reason boba was so isolated growing up was that jango didn’t trust the vast majority of the galaxy enough to let them near the kid. and when other bounty hunters find out about him? ho boy. jango actually convinces them that he killed boba using a cloned child’s body, bc he’d rather be known as the worst kind of monster rather than make boba a target. there’s also the fact that, after their apartment on kamino gets found out by obi-wan, jango is packed and ready to leave in minutes. not only is he ready to bug out at the first sign of danger, but he’s well-prepared to do so at a moment’s notice.

a loving father: another big one. for those who look at a man as battle-hardened and stoic as jango fett and wonder whether boba got enough affection as a kid, worry not: in the vast majority of depictions, jango is a very loving father, especially when he’s out of the prying eyes of clients and colleagues. he hugs boba, tells him he loves him, joins him in playing with toy starfighters, and tries to make time for him as much as he can. he even does his dadly duty of going fishing with his son (though he and boba practice spearfishing rather than using a rod and tackle). there’s also a wistful little scene where, trying to help boba feel better after zam’s death, he takes him to kamino’s main spaceport and lets him infodump about all the ships he sees there :,) so overall, he has a lot of good qualities as a dad

controlling: and the other side of the coin! while jango is a genuinely loving father, he’s not at all the type to encourage his son’s independent development. self-sufficiency? sure. interests in anything other than the path jango has laid out for him? not really. he actively discourages boba from learning about “unimportant” topics from books, an apparently very broad category given it includes things such as schools, moms, and other children. he drills into boba’s head that he’s going to be a bounty hunter and that he needs to abide by a code with such healthy guidelines like, “don’t have friends or attachments” and “trust no one but use everyone.” boba, of course, goes with it bc he loves his father and wants to live up to his expectations, but he never really gets a choice in the matter. honestly, i think this side of jango is best summed up by him leaving a post-humous note for boba that says, among other things, “i am more than a parent to you.” it kind of goes along with how, after jango’s death, boba continued to think of his father not just with love and grief, but also an almost religious dread of failing his expectations. jango undoubtedly loved his son but he also seems to have defined a very narrow path for him to walk, without room for deviation.

possesses an actual charisma score: okay, now for a more fun one: jango has a charisma score and he apparently makes a habit of using it, to the point where his old friend rozatta pokes fun at him for it (he compliments her and she’s like “oh, you’re flattering me? must mean you want something!”) he also pulls the same thing on zam, calling her charming to get her to agree to help him break into a target’s stronghold. so yeah, jango fett turning up the charm to get people to help him/give him info? 100% canon, baby

very fun friendship with zam wesell: look, this isn’t a personality trait, but it’s important to me. these two are just so fucking funny together. like, on the surface, it’s just a fun dynamic of zam making flirty banter and jokes while jango pretends to be annoyed and drag her, much to her delight. but then on a professional level, you have these two ammoral assholes bouncing wildly between being one another’s Sexy Rival and being one another’s Unhinged Partner but whoops, jango went and had a kid, so now they’re Unhinged But Mostly Responsible Co-Parents. one of my favorite scenes is when, in an attempt to intimidate a prisoner into talking, zam impersonates a politician and lets jango pretend to “kill” her in front of him. for some reason, even after they’re done, jango continues to bridal carry zam’s “body” into the cockpit of slave I, at which point, she perks up, bats her eyelashes at him, and goes, “you’d never really kill me would you, jango?” jango quite honestly replies, “only if i had to.” there’s a beat and then zam’s like, “....you’re so sweet! 😘” honestly, they’re so stupid, i love them

ascetic: much like his son, jango doesn’t seem to have much interest in luxury or “the finer things.” despite having enough money to live very comfortably, his apartment on kamino is described as “spartan” in design and furnishing. this may have something to do with the first bullet point, given that a simple life is easier to pack up and take with you at a moment’s notice, but i do think there’s some amount of preference in this lifestyle, given it’s what both fetts seem most comfortable with in all circumstances.

traumatized: i mean, he’s a fett, ain’t he? particularly, just like boba after him, jango is traumatized by the loss of his family, especially his own father figure, jaster mereel. much like boba, jango seems haunted by the need to live up to jaster’s name and legacy. for background, jaster was betrayed and killed in an ambush by the leader of deathwatch, after which he passed on the title of mand’alor to jango. however, some time after this, the true mandalorians led by jango were wiped out by a combination of death watch and the jedi, with jango himself being stripped of his armor and sold as a slave. after this point, jango does not seem to see himself as worthy of jaster’s legacy and thus attempts to pass it on to his son, resulting in the high and narrow expectations he sets for boba as mentioned in bullet point #3. boba himself concludes as much as an adult. on top of the trauma of losing his family, jango also seems to have been traumatized by his time as a slave. most notably, when he’s being tortured after being captured by target komari vosa, he at first remains fairly stoic, even as she starts to mutilate his face. it isn’t until she mentions enslaving him that he seems to panic, struggling desperately to get away. vosa even laughs and says that she must have touched a nerve with her comment. basically: fetts be traumatized :(

soft spot for (some) kids: another thing that’s interesting about jango is that he... usually attempts to do right when kids are involved. i say “usually” bc fat lot of good it did all the cloned children he had a hand in creating >:( but, for example, after killing a runaway clonetrooper as part of a bounty, he finds out that the clone had a son. unwilling to let the child live in poverty due to his own actions, he has regular payments sent to the boy’s mother to help support him. in another instance, jango and zam help deliver an artifact to a client who intends to use it to carry out a terrorist attack on coruscant against millions of civilians. when zam finds out about the client’s intentions, she’s horrified and goes to jango demanding they steal the artifact back. jango completely brushes her off at first, telling her it’s not his problem and that he needs to spend more time with his son. zam coldly asks him how many “sons” he thinks live on coruscant. needless to say, her argument convinces him to join her in stopping the terrorist plot :,)

aaand that’s all i got at the moment! i hope it helps to characterize jango a little bit more!

[rissynicole]

Happy 20th, Invader Zim!

I had my tablet out just now, trying to think of something I could draw for the anniversary, especially after seeing so much lovely artwork/fic updates today. I didn’t have a single idea of what I should draw, and I eventually came to the conclusion that I would be burning the candle from both ends if I pushed myself so late at night after the very busy day I’d already had. That’s just how things have been for me lately. 

Instead, I just want to extend a little thank you, to both Invader Zim and the fandom. I don’t really want to tag anyone specifically, but just know, this is just a rambly little thank you directed to my friends, readers, friendly acquaintances, and everyone else who has made my experience in this fandom a positive one. 

More under the cut.

I fell into the Invader Zim fandom in mid 2017 after devouring every amount of content I possibly could. After I ran out of canon material, I took the plunge and moved on to looking through fanfiction sites to get my fix. Believe it or not, that was my introduction to fanfiction. At the ripe old age of 19. I know it sounds trite to say this, but my life really hasn’t been the same since.

Getting involved in the fandom has given me so many things: amazing friends, gateways to hobbies, and support when I needed it most. I don’t confide very much about my personal life, so this is out of the ordinary for me. When my father passed away in 2019, I was in the darkest place I’d ever been. For a long time, having my fanfic project was probably the only thing that kept me even partially chained to reality. After a very long healing process, I finally have been starting to feel more like my old self, nearly two years after the fact. I don’t know what I would have done without having my writing to focus on. And I don’t know what I would have done without my IZ friends. 

This hasn’t been an easy year, either. I don’t think it has been for anyone. I’ve been stuck inside for over a year and my mental health, while nowhere near as bad as it was when my father died, isn’t tip-top. Having my friends from the fandom close by has given me some very much-needed human interaction and affirmation that I have people who care about me. Whether it’s communicating here, streaming on Discord, etc., I am certain it has done more good for my mental state than I, myself, am even consciously aware of. 

This fandom is far from perfect, and I imagine it will only continue to be that way, working through discourse in ebbs and flows the way just about every fandom does. I’m grateful for the positive experience I have had within it (and will continue to have, God willing). 

Thank you to every friend I’ve ever made in the Invader Zim community. Every person who has made it better with their art, writing, AMVs, video edits, “hot takes,” unique perspectives, and anything else I might have missed. Most importantly, thank you to everyone who has made the fandom a better place through your support and compassion for others. 

Again, I know this is going to sound trite, but I don’t know where I would be without this show and without all the friends I’ve made over the years. You know who you are. I cannot thank you enough. 

Happy Anniversary, Zim Zam. 

[zinzinina]

Hi Sam! 💕 I’ve been thinking about A Mutually Beneficial Arrangement lately, and I was wondering if you had any little headcanons, conversations, or moments that you loved and didn’t make it into the final draft? If you did I’d love to hear about them, your fic is one of my all-time faves! 💖

(Hope you’re having a lovely week! Sending all sorts of nice and good vibes your way ✨)

Aaah Jess my sweet friend this is so very kind 😭 and reading this honestly makes me a tiny little bit emo 💖🥺 thank you so much for indulging me and letting me talk about this—warning, it got so fucking long.

There's actually a ton that didn't make it into the final fic. I try to be a bit sparse with my writing even though I struggle to kill my darlings; I feel like I have a habit of waffling on with plot or psychoanalysis which I know isn't always what's best for the story or necessarily what will be enjoyable to read (especially when it's just supposed to be dumb fucking smut, lol). So the slightly bigger things that didn't make the cut were:

A plotline where they bumped into another hunter while on a job (I was torn on whether it'd be Bossk or Cad Bane) but I wanted it to be someone Boba was friendly-ish with so I could get into the actual extent of how incredibly isolated he was, even among his peers. There was going to be a little bit more of a discussion around when he worked with gangs out of necessity as a kid, the situation with Aurra Sing where he was screwed over, etc. which delved more into Jango a bit and how he worked very strictly alone—apart from Zam—and how living with his universal mistrust had influenced Boba. There was going to be a little more foreshadowing for the fact that somewhere along the line Boba had made a thoroughly shitty deal with the Empire (prior to the Vader revelation) and how the word had started to quietly spread among the hunting community that Boba was operating on his own, more-fucked-up level than everyone else and that people were steering clear of him as a result. It ended up being cut because I realised I could hit all those points more anecdotally than through the clunkiness of introducing a character to have a cameo which just consisted of exposition-heavy dialogue and then disappearing again. I also realised Boba was already talking about Jango to the reader a lot on his own (I mean, for him, that is, considering how quiet he generally is) and so it was all removed because I felt like it was redundant.

Kickback was going to return toward the end and get a slightly happier ending, but then I changed my mind about saying goodbye on Alderaan; I wanted an entirely ambiguous separation wherein we didn't really know where she went after she left, and we all know what happens to Alderaan. Also I didn't think Boba would continue working for the Empire quite so comfortably if he had reason to believe someone he cared about was destroyed by them (although I do think he thought about it; considering Alderaan was destroyed for its alignment with the Rebellion and he had no way of knowing whether she'd stayed with them or moved off on her own—more ambiguity lolol)

The epilogue went through a few different versions; one was of Boba finding Fennec in the desert and deciding to save her, another one involved Boba speaking to Din about "letting go" after he said goodbye to Grogu, and then something completely different that I won't even go into, lol. I ended up paring it right back to a few lines because I thought it would have a greater impact if I kept it extremely simple (and hopefully that came across). I ended up really happy with the silence of the ending in that he was standing completely alone; it was short and direct and I didn't want it to feel like too much of a smug closing monologue pointing out all the beats of his characterisation that I'd tried to emulate, if that makes sense—like hopefully I’ve done a halfway decent enough job that it just comes through on its own merit whether people care to pick it out or not. I always wanted to make sure he ended up essentially where he is now in canon, and that we didn't really get an answer or a tidy resolution, because I think Boba as a character isn't thematically supposed to have clean or complete things happen to him; he's representative of a kind of "chasing around" after loss, and what gets left behind after everything else is said and done.

[djevelbl]

Alright, so, final thoughts, the short version: gET ON WITH THE NEXT SEASON, CHOP CHOP STORY BOY--

Seriously tho, GREAT story — there's something about it that has made me go existential crisis levels of poetic over it that NOTHING ELSE has made me go which like. props to Evbo, he's doing great! I WILL be going feral over that ending and Parrot and that Clown cameo and Zam and all things I liked and so on so forth, like always. I wanna make character designs but it feels... wrong, I guess, in a sense to give them all designs beyond the cubic space they inhabit — I don't do well with simple and detail-free designs (like Zam's and Wemmbu's like seriously, 5 year old in paint level of detail smh /aff) and I believe that giving them ANY amount of detail they don't already have is doing their characters a disservice?? ESPECIALLY with clothes???? Idk how to say it or explain it, but the fact they don't wear armor is VERY intentional, right? I mean, PVP typically involves armor and the fact that acquiring armor is OPTIONAL is intentional for whatever reason so, again, in my head giving them any more detail than they have (or lack I say as I side-eye Zam and Wemmbu) is a disservice to how PVP Civilization works. But that's honestly just me

More spoiler-y territory up ahead, gonna put in one of those good ol' "click here for more!" thingamabobs that tumblr has. Don't say you weren't warned.

Alright, now that all the cool kids are here, let's discuss details:

When I say I went "existential crisis levels of poetic" over this thing, I mean "I wrote a whole thing about being a spectator willing and wanting to help, but unable to due to the nature of being in different levels of reality" type shit, might drop it on my ao3 (y'all should go by my ao3 i have fun stuff there and might start dropping some other stuff as well wink wink ok. self promo over) and it was honestly fun! Will DEFINITELY do some MORE of that around this new episode! Unironically frothing at the mouth waiting for a new season to start slowly being drop-fed to us like little fish being thrown those fish food chip things idk I'm too drunk to think (not really. but it's fun to say anyway)

I LOVED Zam but tbf I've been loving that motherfucking asshole bastard /aff this WHOLE TIME so like. nothing new lmaooo. I ALSO love Clown's little cameo! (not counting it as a SPOILER spoiler cuz like. it's 2 mins or so in. I won't count that shit as spoilers c'mon) but uh. ALSO nothing new lol I'm a HARDCORE (not really) Clown fan I WILL be bought and EASILY swayed over with the promise of Clown content, I'm REALLY that easy; anyway it was really fun and OFC he's an antagonist smh — he's either a bad guy protagonist or an antagonist, NEVER on the same side as the protagonist/a good guy who DOESN'T wanna murder ppl (I see what kinda theater kid he is. I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MR. CLOWN. YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME)

I said it already but I'll say it again: Tabi had ALWAYS been fucking sus to me from the start, what with being SO AT THE READY to exploit Evbo's respawning ability for her own gain and all that, so her backstabbing him ain't a surprise to me; but what someone (I'm too lazy to get to the computer to give proper credits or quoting. y'all are gonna have to make do with paraphrasing) said in the comments is actually fucking interesting: Evbo respawned; after the cut to black Tabi is seen holding her diamond axe and while that serves to show the audience what she was really born as, it could very well also show that Tabi gave Evbo a mercy — she let him respawn. She — potentially — didn't kill him with The Eternal Sword, and instead delivered the final blow with her diamond axe: an object that would allow Evbo to come back from death. She's gone soft.

That's gonna be her downfall, one way or another. Clown was right in doubting her — while she's physically strong and knows all the techniques, she's not detached enough from her emotions that she's fully capable of pretending to form friendships without actually making friends; aka: she can pretend she doesn't care, but something deep inside of her does care what happens to Evbo. Until proven otherwise I'll take this scene as bEING RIGHT MOTHERFUCKERS, I READ TABI LIKE A FUCKING BOOK LET'S GO--

So all in all I'm gonna be OBSESSED over this for the next while — well done Evbo, well fucking done

The end to the story. whatever happens, I guess it happened — I have hopes, idk where they're placed or what they mean, but I have them.

Whatever happens, I know Evbo is going out with a bang.

[coffeegnomee]

the defense:

When Planet and Bacon interviewed Vi on the newly created bedrock prison, Vi said that it would only be used if the server as a whole agreed someone should be put in it.

And Planet got so upset that that was a dumb content idea, saying in not so many words that if you make a prison you must use the prison, especially if you were using unfair exploits that not everyone had access to. Mapicc and Ro made the server more fun with their prison, Vi is not a good villain. (3/26/23 48:00)

After that conversation he started talking to Bacon about taking Vi down and that he knew Zam was back and forth about being on the team. Planet had previously counseled Zam to stay on Eclipse despite zam not liking their plan bc it's better to be in the midst of content over leaving the content.

But now Planet saw Eclipse as not being good content.

That concept, the pursuit of good content over everything else. It's its own bloodlust. It's one of the strongest motivators on the server.

They talk to zam, who tbf is clearly not happy with the exploits and miserable, which is the case against Planet being as large of an influence for zam staying/leaving eclipse. They offer him a place on their team if he leaves so he doesn't have to be alone. But zam still is back and forth about leaving.

The very next day planet joins zam and branzy's call and starts asking zam about vi's plan. zam mentions the book, and that gets planet snooping around old bases, using replay mod to find the exploit stash.

and that same night zam walks in on them finding the stash, and seeing the items is the straw that broke the camel's back and he decided to betray the next day.

But already for a month and a half zam had known about his team's involvement with the exploits and was having his own agonizing journey of personally hating the exploits and going back and forth about staying on the team.

Did planet matter? or would zam have left anyway?

[nsr-scrapped-records]

Callisto I wanna know about the hugs. Callisto. Callisto please. Please I'm begging you

You asked and im delivering

I hate hugs but I love thinking about them here we go

Side Characters

Aunty - Tight, crushing hugs that only an older family member can give. The ones that're just pumped full of love

Amal - dont touch him, he's not touchy

Barbara - side hugs with one arm and a squeeze on the shoulder, typically the 'cheer up' kinda hugs

Celine - preceded by an Ugh, she is very picky about hugs and especially people reciprocating. It's a tight, brief squeeze. She really likes hugs, but she has an """image""".

Captain Torpedo - tight hugs that last a little bit too long. It wouldnt be so bad if he didn't smell like seaweed and sulfer

Daphne - yknow those people who give very loving hugs while barely touching you? That's Daphne!

Dash - brief and to the point, he is not a hugger. He cannot focus on anything but the dirt that could be accumulating while he takes a break. Someone help him

GiGi - Really tight hugs that pop your back and usually end with him ruffling your hair, tipping your hat in front of your eyes, or a punch in the upper arm.

Jan - much like Daphne, he doesn't put a lot of squeeze in his hugs, but they're nice nonethless

Joey - dont fucking touch him

Kayane - tight and typically paired with her jumping up and down, she hugs out of excitement

Mia - hugs that she doesn't reciprocate at all except for a weak pat on the back/head, followed by her quickly changing gloves

Retdex - hugs that last for the right amount of time without being uncomfy, a real middle range on the scale

Timmy - hugs that really show off hidden strength from carrying a ladder all day

Yiruk - really tight hugs as he lifts you off the ground. Be careful of his spikes

Zam - SQUEEZE hugs that usually only happen when he's excited or it's been a while

Zed - uncomfy hugs. He doesn't like being touchy, no one likes this, please undo this interaction

Artists

DJ Subatomic Supernova - unless you're really close, hes just gonna kinda... push you away. HOWEVER, this man's hug quality. Top tier, I'm snatching that temperature idea and that makes it so much better because that makes it fit for the seasons

DK West - RIP YOUR BACK, this man puts his ALL into his hugs. If he's really excited he'll spin you around or something too, he REALLY loves hugs

Eve - if she isnt really fond of you, you aren't going to get near a hug. They usually involve her picking you up off the ground or, if she's really clingy, multi arm hug hours

Kliff - the uncle vibes... coming from a HUG.... Off the charts

Neon J - while his arms are angular and his body is sharps, they're very good hugs

White 1010 - 100% always involves him picking you up in just about every hug. Height advantage (if you're taller it flusters him if you pick him up :) )

Red 1010 - he's gonna act like he doesnt want one. Doesnt care for em, doesnt need em..... hes a cuddle bug, many many hugs tight hugs

Yellow 1010 - many hugs! Also likes carrying people he likes around!

Green 1010 - hold him liek teddy bear

Sayu - tight! Excited! Picks you up and spins you around! Th e LOVE LEVELS! off the cHARTS

Blue 1010 - prefers side hugs and leaning against folk than actual hugs

MayDay - excited and really tight, last a couple seconds! Knock the wind outta ya

Dodo - doesn't really like hugs, but he'll rest his head on your shoulder to replace it

Remi - littol man..... dislikes it at first but tight hugs after

Sofa - tight strong squeeze hugs that last a while too long, but hes happy let him be

Tila - shes gonna pop your back in so many places

Tatiana - begrudging but warm. She is warm like a warm bubbled bath and they are very comforting.. stronk but not tight... momtherly

Yinu - baby girl loves being picked up and hugging you tight around your neck/upper back!

Yinu's Mother - top ten hugs that make you sob into their arms, the protective and caring energies are off the charts

Zuke - a lot more casual but tight, caring huggs. Very good hugs

[agnosticdruid]

Star wars: The Forced Relationship

The third and final film of the modern trilogy has been released, and after months of waiting, speculation and teasers, we can finally say that Rise of Skywalker is the cinematic equivalent of eating a friend's dog so they forget you hit it with a car. Luckily for you, if you just say sorry, it'll be fine, right?

_____

There will be Spoilers, you have been warned.

_____

Redemption has always been an important theme in star wars, the first trilogy finishes with Darth Vader returning from the dark side, throwing the emperor down a reactor shaft (but he lived) and dying as Anakin Skywalker. It's a touching story, and it's one of the reasons why Luke Skywalker is one of the greatest hero's in sci-fi, across pop culture even. It's a theme that carries over across the entire modern trilogy, in the form of Rey and Kylo Ren, as Rey tries to pull Kylo back from the dark side.

From the start of the trilogy, fans latched onto the two main force users, Rey and Kylo Ren. After all, the film is called The FORCE awakens, so it makes sense that the two FORCE users would interact with each other, though this dynamic was different than between Luke and Vader. Kylo seems to obsess over Rey from the moment she resists his interrogation

Meanwhile, we see some relationships develop between other main characters. Poe, the best pilot in the resistance, is rescued from the first order by Finn, an ex-storm trooper. (Interesting thing to note, by the way, is that Poe is the reason Finn starts panicking in the first place). Rey interacts with Finn quite a lot too, and there are hints of a romance between them.

On the Villains side, we have Hux, an intelligent and passionate commander of the first order, on equal standing to Kylo Ren, the main antagonist and force user. We also have Captain Phasma, a female stormtrooper clad in shiny chromium armor who serves as a minor antagonist to Finn

Now, as @diversehighfantasy explained in their post on Racism in the Star Wars fandom, people began to write stories, make art, create their own universes, but at detriment. It was decided by a majority, it seems, that the primary romance in The Force Awakens was between Kylo and Rey. It was almost taboo to suggest Rey and Finn, although Finn and Poe was fine, and criticism of the pairing was often met with harassment and bullying.

This was a Disney film, which means they wanted to profit off of this interest.

The next film, The Last Jedi, focused on growing Reylo, to appease the fans. Now, Rey and Kylo could telepathically communicate across space with little effort. There's even a scene where Rey gets embarrassed seeing a shirtless Kylo, and towards the end of the film we have the scene of Kylo murdering Snoke to save Rey, and begging for her to join him. We've learnt by now that Kylo wants to be who he wants to be, rather than being told who to be. Ironic.

Meanwhile, because it was a film for international release, Disney decided that gay couples should be restricted to easily removed background scenes, and paired Finn up with a new character named Rose. Her involvement in the plot is hastily explained as her sister died destroying an enemy ship, and she was always taught never to run. Finn, attempting to run, get tased by her and eventually the two hatch a plan to save the resistance. This culminates in one of the worst scenes of the film, where Finn attempts to sacrifice himself to save everyone, not just Rey as he'd been doing before, only to be stopped by Rose, who's fallen for him.

As I've said, this relationship was viewed pretty negatively amongst the fandom, which is reflected in the final film.

Rise of Skywalker decides to remove Rose from the Story as best it can, freeing Finn up once again. An indeterminate amount of time has passed between films, and Kylo has sought out the location of the still-living Emperor Palpatine, who reveals he's been manipulating Kylo all along. He orders Kylo to kill Rey, But as previously mentioned, Kylo doesn't like being manipulated. His goal is to get Rey to join him and kill Palpatine together. Again, Rey wants to turn Kylo back to the light.

Throughout the film, we get odd references to Finn having feelings for Rey, an example being a moment their being swallowed by quicksand. Finn attempts to tell Rey something important about them both, and due to the situation and tone, it's implied he was going to confess his love for her. It doesn't matter in the end, however, as Rey winds up alongside Kylo, killing Palpatine and being healed by him. They share a kiss and he dies.

_____

Disney has a habit of making patterns, they find a formula that works and change it slightly every time, because it works. Reylo is an example of how misusing this formula can go very, very wrong.

Let's begin by making a quick comparison to another Disney film with romance tied to redemption, Beauty and The Beast. In both films, we see a young woman, (Belle, Rey) showing a monster (Beast, Kylo) that love redeems all, breaking the spell. (Beast's transformation, Kylo's dark side)

As a species, we're taught that effort equals success. If someone overcomes an obstacle, we applaud it, because it took effort. However, when someone doesn't need to, it's ignored, because it's not impressive. Someone beating a drug addiction will always be valued higher than someone never touching a drug, because the latter hasn't needed to overcome anything.

When you bring romance into redemption, it gets worse. Take the pairing of Kylo and Rey, over Rey and Finn. People prefer the former, because it will take more effort to redeem Kylo, making the eventual success even greater. Finn doesn't need to be redeemed in that way, and so he's less interesting to write about. Hux doesn't get any kind of relationship beyond being a commander, but it's arguable that he's a secondary or even tertiary character at best. Disney takes notice of this preference and builds on it, to make fans happy. They have their formula now, redeeming negative qualities is better than never having those qualities.

Finn is given a negative quality in The Last Jedi, cowardice. Rose tases him because he attempts to escape, and in the end, she declares her love for him after he demonstrates a willingness to sacrifice himself. This is handled very badly, because we had absolutely no reason to root for this relationship, as it came out of nowhere, in an attempt to please fans and stick to formula. Rose is a brand new character with nothing special about her, besides a relation to another brand new character we see briefly. And as such, she is sidelined in the final film, in another attempt to placate the fans.

_____

You'll notice that I left out a certain character, that being Captain Phasma. This is for a special reason, and it ties back into @diversehighfantasy 's post, and that is the treatment of diversity in Star Wars.

Captain Phasma, Maz and Rose all share a commonality of being diverse. A female villain, an Asian main character and a Kenyan voice actor. Their other commonality is that their involvement in the story is exaggerated. Captain Phasma especially, for all the advertisement she's in, being held on a pedestal for being a strong, independent female villain. The first female villain in star wars! (If you ignore Zam Wesell, who tried to assassinate Padme). She was distinct, easily identifiable and... Has less screen time in two films (3:30 minutes) than Watto did in the phantom menace (4:30 minutes)

Maz Kanata, meanwhile, has a screen time of 4:45 minutes. 4 minutes in the force Awakens, and the remaining 45 seconds in The Last Jedi. Because they had to meet a quota. Thats all. She gives no information to the story that couldn't be gotten any number of ways. It's forced diversity. A way to show that Disney definitely cares about people who aren't white. It's false and wrong.

Rose fares a little better, but again, it's to meet a quota for diversity. I have. I have nothing against the actress, or nationality or anything, but when your character exists to prove that a company isn't racist, then that's wrong.

____

I'm sorry for the length of this, I tend to write like I'm speaking so I drone on a little.

[zylian]

I like to think Zam always cared for Mapicc even when he hated him the most. —> Devotion duo rant :P

It’s why he said his revenge was done when he saw Mapicc completely alone. Mapicc always has someone, the second he didn’t Zam said it was too cruel.

Zam knows that if Mapicc knew Spoke was working with eclipse, Mapicc would totally have done something rash and make himself everyone’s target.

Mapicc who thought Zam was a blind fool never realizes Zam was burning himself trying to keep Mapiccs focus on him.

Zam made sure Mapicc would rarely notice who’s working with who until Mapicc no longer would be a threat and put himself in danger. Until things were so far along Spoke, Ash or Vitalasy wouldn’t subject Mapicc as the main target.

Mapicc always needs someone by him and Zam in his own way kept his teams focus away by getting as close as he could to Mapicc

—————

It’s like that one time after a duel got ruined by the Warden Spoke spawned. Mapicc thought Zam didn’t know anything behind the scenes after putting the pieces together while Zam was actively acting and lying about how much he knew to make sure Mapicc didn’t get dragged into it.

Even Planet told Zam to watch what he says since Mapicc didn’t know Spokes god at that time. Out of everyone, Zam knows how easily Spoke can throw people away so he vouched for Spokes ban first so Spokes anger spread instead of full focusing on Mapicc.

No matter how much Zam blames Mapicc he is so quick to not allow someone else to put full blame on Mapicc.

In turn when Mapicc thought Vitalasy was going to book ban Zam, he got scared. Despite it having nothing to do with him, despite having no reason to be nice to Zam since they barely just got back on neutral terms he slowly twisted it. Giving him a reason to fight back.

With the original prison plan being used on leviathan, that didn’t give Mapicc motivation to actually fully go after Vitalasy but the second he heard Zam was almost the subject to Vi’s potential bookban, he himself told Spoke about his plan to try and ban Vitalasy first.

—————

It’s crazy, Mapicc should know first hand how awful Zams betrayals feel and in fact it would have made sense if he let Vitalasy ban Zam and than deal with Vi later but he didn’t.

Mapicc still cares and it’s also the reason he believes Zam has no thoughts and acts on impulse. He believes he knows Zam and can’t tolerate seeing Zam bleed when he has no involvement in it.

Mapicc was so ready to jump in to Zams last talk with Subz. Despite days later commanding Spoke to kill Zam for killing Vortex.

It’s so strange.

—————

There’s also the time Subz wanted to murder Mapicc so many times, even telling Vitalasy how quick he would go after him but at that time Mapicc was Zams target and Zams target alone.

Zam made sure he had back up sets just to return to battle to fight Mapicc, especially with hearing how Subz talks about him. Subz dismissing Spoke, calling Ro washed and saying he could handle Mapicc even with a totem rather than a shield.

Zam never really let Subz 1v1 Mapicc. Zam cares too much & so does Mapicc. Clown’s fight had nothing to do with Mapicc but it gets twisted to give reason for Mapicc to show up.

They will only let the other bleed if it’s from those they allow it from, whether that’s their own teammates jumping in to help or someone they asked. It’s never by a third party that’s not involved.

[thelastenvoyyy]

okay, i know this is just a meme but i have something to say about this

the way CVH (Cosmonaut Variety Hour, the audio this is from) presents this it’s as if it’s absolutely dumb for Creamy Sheev to have a plan like this at all

not to be a staunch prequel defender or anything but... this plan always made sense to me??? sure, EP. II has questionable content at best but this was never in doubt in my mind because, if spy thrillers ever taught me anything, if you wanna assassinate someone, especially a high profile figure like a politician, then you don’t want it being traced back to you hence why there was such a long chain of people involved

you pay someone, who pays someone, who pays someone to fire the bullet is pretty much the standard when it comes to shady underhanded behind-the-scenes scheming because, again, Creamy Sheev didn’t want to be fucking found out which is something CVH fails to grasp and it really irritates me 

also, OF FUCKING COURSE Jango killed Zam before she revealed his identity because he also didn’t want to get fucking found out. he shouldn’t have used the toxic dart that could be easily traced back to Kamino (though even that is debateable seeing how Kamino was erased from the Jedi archives) but he had to be sure to maintain secrecy????

anyway, he couldn’t have gone back to kill Padme cos that one (admittedly daft) assassination attempt would have increased security around her making it much more difficult to kill her 

so yeah, in short, this plan is convoluted but it needs to be and i know the prequels have their daft moments but this was literally not one of them, what happened made some modicum of sense even though there were dumb elements to it

this has been your star was prequel discourse for the day

THE WAY IT CUTS OFF AT THE END IS SENDING ME