#because ones older and ones a mentor of Goodness and ones hellbent on revenge by any means

[mejomonster]

Thank you priest for writing lots of epic length slow burns

Thank u Silent Reading for a slow burn that takes like a third a novel to flirt, half a novel to date, three fourths to hook up, four fifths to actually be (relatively) honest and confess some bigger heavy stuff (and for fei du to propose with a quickly made ring) and im on the last fifth now but I expect more reveals to come. Thanks for a slow burn that was half during their actual romance so the buildup of trust and development didn't stall once "together." Thanks for making them "love rivals" at the start so they're not flirting exactly, but they're competitively flirting and will go onto continue doing fighting/competitive flirting for the rest of their lives so its a fun transition from their mutual crush to each other (and also gives a fun opponent/enemies vibe that never totally goes away and even 4/5 in when fei du admits most things, there's the undercurrent feeling they'll never truly be able to see eye to eye in the same world as each other and just have to adjust to learning what the others perception is when they can)

[dappercritter]

Invader Zim: Taller Tales of Terror - The First Fic That Wasn’t

This was going to be my first fanfiction that I ever published, but things came up and I found other story ideas and fandoms to get into. However, because there’s nothing I hate more than leaving a story untold and forgotten.

 So like a writer jilted by a big name studio working on a big superhero movie that went terribly wrong after they left, I’m going to share it with you good folks to see if you still think there’s hope for it in some capacity. If so maybe I’ll choose to revive it in some capacity, or one of you kind folks can adopt it. Whatever you think of the once untold tale I’m about tell you, I hope you enjoy it.

The fic would have been either a mini-series/anthology or a movie-esque sequel—or two—to Enter the Florpus.

It would have followed the stranger further misadventures the kids would go on as teenagers, all of which have at least something to do with getting taller, literally or metaphorically.

 Although I'd do my best to recreate the series' darkly comic tone, there'd be more to the story than just that. I'd like to do a sort of character study with my fanfics and explore what they would do as they got older, how they would change if they could change, if they'd mature and try to connect with each other more, or if they really do just hate each other. It'd be like a coming-of-age story but done in the style of Invader Zim.

 But don’t be fooled, folks! It's not going to be one of those big dramatic fanfics with high stakes (nor any smut) thrown in. At it's core it's still just a fun, dumb, mildly disturbed "What if?" sort of fic. There would be a bit more emphasis on character and plot than normal, because I do love me a good character-driven plot, but still plenty of room for (what I hoped would feel like) the usual weird dumb creepy fun that original series excelled at.

 The story is set in basically the same continuity (or at least the closest thing to a continuity that can exist in Invader Zim) as the show and comics. The only difference is that the Battle of Meekrob actually happened—but not really.

 Long backstory short, there was a big showdown between the Irken Armada and the Meekrob-allied Resisty, but Zim and Dib missed it because a food fight got them stuck in detention. Zim tried to get Skoodge (who was rooming with him at the time because the scrapped Season 2 episodes were sorta canon here) to cover for him until her got there, while Dib tried to get Gaz to take Tak’s ship to provide support against the Irken. By the time they got out, however, the battle was over, Gaz blew the whole thing off to get a new game, Skoodge and some other Invader became the war hero Zim always aspired to be, and The Almighty Tallest decided to cancel Operation Impending Doom 2 because after the big exciting space battle they felt like they couldn’t top anything after that. Suffice to say, Zim took it pretty hard. Dib however would have seen this as something of a win since Zim still failed in a sense. Albeit it was a very anticlimactic win, even to him.

The actual story would have taken place about 5 years after the Battle of Meekrob, where Zim, Dib, and Gaz have made it to high school (or “hi-skool” as this is the Invader Zim universe, after all). Setting wise, things haven't changed much but the characters have made a few surprising or not-so-surprising developments. The most important of all, so important that it would be the focus of the entire story, in fact! would have been Zim developing a brand-new disguise utilizing an exoskeleton, based partially on the Almighty Tallest, in attempt to make him look like a normal teenager AND impress superiors. Naturally, things go horribly yet amusingly wrong for everyone involved.

 Now just where and what has everyone been up to/going through in those five years? Here’s a rundown:

-Zim spent those 5 years obsessing over his crushing failure, begging the Tallest to give him another chance, which they refused every time. Being stuck on a planet of smelly, stupid, and increasingly annoying creatures for so long without any real victories has left him bitter and frantic with more shmoopiness than usual. Even the little "VICTORY FOR ZIM!" moments he used to have got harder and harder to come by. By the time he reached high school, he was so messed up he didn’t realize his classmates had all had growth spurts until Dib easily overpowered him in one of their petty fights and points it out to the whole school. Thus, leading to the new exoskeleton and subsequent schemes to redeem himself in the eyes of the Tallest while looking normal in the eyes of his human classmates. Unfortunately, due to his desperation and general lack of understanding about the human body, the exoskeleton comes out looking like a lanky robotic nightmare with clawed fingers that jerks around like a big cybernetic marionette.

-Dib meanwhile has been doing slightly better. He and his paranormal research are still looked down upon, but he's persevered through the hope that someday he'll prove he's right. After (indirectly) stopping Zim from joining the Battle of Meekrob, Dib got a small confidence boost, thinking of it as a big step to exposing for Zim real now that he’s effectively trapped on Earth with him now. Although, following a rather blunt intervention from his family, he's started thinking about what he’ll do with himself once Zim is gone. He still hates his guts and he's still hellbent on beating him, but he's also started getting out more and trying to socialize more—however awkward his attempts may be. That he's also gotten taller and his head isn't quite as big compared to the rest of his body has been good for his self-esteem too. But make no mistake—when he's not going for runs, working shifts at his dad’s lab, or looking into a “totally normal” science major, he's toiling away on improving his array of anti-Zim strategies and defenses.

-Gaz is doing pretty good but she is totally done with Zim and Dib's junk. Although she's still her old apathetic self, she's doing everything in her power to broaden her horizons so she doesn't end up in the same, stupid rut that they ended up in. She would have gotten into indie art and game development; although her work is still fairly obscure, it's quickly gaining attention for it's macabre, edgy, punishing and geeky nature. (Imagine the works of Jhonen Vasquez, Toby Fox, Hidetaka Miyazaki, and Hideki Kamiya mashed together.) She also participates in e-sports tournaments on occasion, if only because crushing countless so-called “gamers” brings her amusement. Her psychic powers have also gotten stronger with her age, and she likes to experiment with them whenever she can—usually when somebody really annoys her. She's doing fine in the story until, after a run-in with a certain unkillable spoiled brat at an e-sports tournament, sends her over the edge and she trashes the place in a Carrie-esque episode. This gets her sent to anger management therapy, and now she's trying to find a way out to avoid sitting through an endless slog of "sappy" sessions.

-Gir would still be insane.

-Minimoose would still be the ultimate techno-lifeform Minimoose.

-Zim's Computer is still tired.

 -Prof. Membrane is still the greatest and most powerful scientist who ever lived but he’s also trying to make time for his family more and mentoring Dib to be the successor to his legacy he always thinks he was meant to be. That is if is experimental new immortality machine doesn’t work out. May or may not have to fend off Clembrane whenever he comes to visit.

-The Almighty Tallest are still living content, tyrannical lives. They didn't take canceling Operation Impending Doom 2 very hard because, as it turns out, they just got bored with it after a while. (Of course, Zim's repeated interference didn't help keep their spirits up either). However, they'd come up with the perfect plan to obtain absolute control of the universe AND get the feeling back: by making Operation Impending Doom 3 a thing and setting up a huge hype campaign for it. Thing go pretty well for them until Zim calls them and tells them about his new exosuit. They believe that Zim is trying to make himself look like a Tallest so he can lead a rebellion against them and get revenge for treating him like garbage. (He's not, obviously, but they're too dumb and paranoid to realize this.) So, they pretend that they're ok with it and let him carry on his merry way while they figure out how to dispose of him without making him look like a martyr figure of some sort, thus giving the other Irkens they mistreated any ideas.

-Tak would show up again in the second half and this is where it gets spoiler-y. She would come to Earth on the Tallest’s orders with a squad consisting of a reformatted Mimi, rogue SIR units, as well as Tenn and Skoodge who she had recruited to aid in her vendetta against Zim. She would subsequently reveal that after drifting through space in an escape pod, she crashed landed on Meekrob just as the battle was about to begin, and using the element of surprise, rescued Tenn from captivity and assisted Skoodge and the Tallest in devising a battle strategy so brilliant that it crushed the Resisty and Meekrob’s alliance and earned her the status of Irken Elite. She grew comfortable in her new position but could never get over her fear that Zim would eventually ruin it all again, so she waited and prepared for the day she would strike back. I don’t know how or if she would adopt an updated disguise (perhaps a hologram of her older humansona projected over her, Tenn, and Skoodge standing on top of her shoulders?) or hide in the shadows while Tenn, Skoodge, Mimi and the berserk SIR squad did her dirty work.

 -Skoodge would have gone from aspiring to be Zim’s friend to being his worst enemy after Tak turned him to her side by digging into his past with him, making him realize how little his supposed old friend cared about him. Despite this he still keeps an unusually cheerful disposition—even repeatedly apologizing to Zim whenever he attacks him—and acts as the heart of Tak’s squad. He thinks of them as his real friends, so he always goes out of his way to help them out or keep the energy up. Even though Tak looks down on him because of his size, she appreciates his gullibility and unquestioning loyalty. Tenn just thinks he’s nice, especially since he’s good at keeping the SIRs in check.

 -Tenn has recovered from the traumatic escapades she endured on Meekrob at the hands of the rogue SIR units and imprisonment under the enemy, returning to her usual competant Invader self—something Tak values quite a bit in an armada largely composed of egomaniacs and morons. Tenn values Tak’s companionship even more, viewing her as a conquering hero who not only won the most important battle of Irken history, but also, her heart. …Not she’ll ever act on her feelings. That would inconveniance the mission! (Although Skoodge has picked up on this and gladly supports her, thinking they’d make an adorable couple.) After investation revealed that Zim was supposed to receive the rogue SIR units instead of her while he trashed the Megadoomer that was rightfully assigned to her, she bought into Tak’s view that Zim’s very existence was a threat to all Irkenkind, gladly assisting her efforts to eradicate him.

 -Mimi and the rogue SIR units have been reprogrammed to be less insane and follow orders again thanks to Tak and Skoodge’s efforts. However, Tak also had a berserk mode installed specfically for eradicating targets with optimal, brutal efficiency. Mimi still tends to glitch though. In addition to Mimi retaining her cat holo-disguise, the berserker SIRs would gain new disguises resembling either feral cats or rabid teacup poodles. (I hadn’t decided yet.) Tenn still gets anxious around them.

 -Gretchen might show up again and would possibly get to reconnect with Dib, maybe even finally be honest with him about her feelings for him when she surprises him with her surprising new position at Membrane Labs: the janitor.

 -Keef will… er, uh… actually, don’t get your hopes up.

 Well, I think that’s everyone important. Okay back to the plot now!

 So, right up front, the biggest part of the plot as well as the biggest reason why I got uncomfortable with the whole thing was there wiould be some romance in here between a few couples and that it would have figured into the plot. The most significant of all: ZAGR (a.k.a. Zim and Gaz Relationship). But I wanted to make it feel organic and even sweet without sacrificing the feel of sardonic madness but also keeping it in the wholesome zone.

 I always felt like Zim and Gaz were a natural fit for each other (like quite a few other people, admittedly) because I always felt like their personalities were a good fit and they could have a lot in common. The story would follow them as they unexpectedly developed a romantic friendship, bonding over their resentment of the Earth and humanity, their absent family members, a love of technology of questionable intent, and subjugating those who anger them. It would all start with Gaz agreeing to help Zim improve his suit and his unassuming human act just to get back at Dib for annoying her. At first they’d be acting entirely out of spite and necessity, but as they spent more time together, they’d start to enjoy each other’s company more.

 Gaz would be the first develop feelings, since she voluntarily rejected the concept of love instead of being programmed to reject it like Zim, as she slowly realizes how much they have in common—much to her horror. Zim would take more time but when he begins to understand how he feels about and just what these DISGUST feelings are, he’d handle it just as poorly. (e.g. I pictured a scene where Zim has such a hard time admitting his feelings for Gaz that he ends up vomiting black goo like he’s possessed or something. For comedy of course.) But they’d both start to open up to each other in the end, if only because they’re the only two people in the universe they can stand. Gaz would try to help him overcome his anxiety and stop caring as much about what humans think of him, while he would be someone that she can actually relate to.

 Dib, however, would take sincerest offense to it. He’d be totally freaking out, nearly diving off the deep end to put his plans to defeat Zim into action and expose him before he could be exposed. He’d also make a point of demanding what Gaz could see in a monster like him, even reminding her of everything that Zim had done. Probably in an exchange like this:

 DIB: He stole our organs! He tried to crush the planet with Mars! He kidnapped me and threatened to turn me inside out! He tricked me into helping him teleport Earth into outer space so his rulers could destroy it! He turned me into bologna, Gaz! (*holding back tears*) BOLOGNE!

 GAZ: I thought you got over that.

 DIB: Well, physically I did, yes, but not mentally.

 Gir would be pretty on board with it though.

The other biggest plot of the series would have been Tak’s return and the reveal of her and the Tallest’s master plan to destroy Zim once and for all: kick off Operation Impending Doom 3 by placing Zim on trial, executing him, and completing Tak’s plan to turn the planet Earth into a snack bowl for the Tallest (which she still insists is a good plan, she just never got to complete it) big enough to feed them while they watch the conquest of the rest of the universe in style. Zim and the Membranes get through to her and her squad, and possibly the other Irkens, by turning them against the Tallest to stop the Irkens once and for all. Maybe.

Finally to wrap this little nightmare up, here’s a vague outline of the stories I had planned for this wannabe whopper:  

 -A Whole New Nightmare – Following an amusing prologue about how Zim and Dib ended up missing the battle of Meekrob, Zim finally realizes that his natural Irken height threatens to expose his façade to all the classmates who have reached proper adolescent human height. He creates his exosuit then proceeds to cause a scene when he calls the Tallest and goes to hi-skool. Meanwhile, Gaz bugs Dib about still wasting his time bullying Zim. Zim then challenges Dib to a contest of normalcy: a series of challenges that are just overhyped normal teenage things like loitering, hanging out with friends, and finally a dance-off. Whoever loses has to admit they’re a complete weirdo and admit they’re most embarrassing secret. Dib wins the first round, but after he blows off Gaz to hang out with the other kids, she and Zim strike up a nice conversation and he wins the second round. The final dance-off ends in a draw when Zim and Dib both end up looking like total dorks. The story ends with Dib and Zim standing up for themselves against their judgemental peers, but Zim ends up overtaking his big speech and convincing his classmates to completely forget about his bizarre new appearance.

-Gaz the Befriended - Zim and Gaz make a deal: Gaz helps him fine tune his suit while posing as his "NORMAL HUMAN!" friend, and in return he helps her figure out how to control her powers while posing as her friend so she won't have to go to anger management counselling. While they do drive each other nuts, they eventually learn they have a lot in common and start acting like real friends. Dib grows suspicious of their "friendship," sets out to uncover the truth.

 -They Follow - Dib goes on social media to share his findings on Zim with the world in an attempt to verify all his evidence via wisdom of the crowd. Zim finds out and retaliates by joining social media as well to make himself look like a hard luck case in an effort to gain sympathy from the (basically ignorant) public. As their war of words escalate and their follower bases grow, they end up starting a flame war that threatens to destroy society itself.

-Star Dib - Hoping to find some real help, Dib sends a message to outer space looking for reinforcements. He ends up with what remains of the Resisty, who dissolved after their crushing defeat on The Battle of Meekrob. Taking pity on them, he volunteers to become their new leader. Shenanigans ensue on a galactic level.

 -C for Conspiracy - Dib stumbles across a mysterious conspiracy involving Earth tech being backwards compatible with alien tech. He wants to take it on himself, but realizes that he might actually need Zim’s help. So he has to swallow his pride and ask him for help, and as if that weren’t enough he has to put up with his and Gir’s (who tagged along) antics.

 -Night of the Living Prom-goers - Prom night comes along and all the hormonally-imbalanced kids are ready to go, except for Zim, Dib, and Gaz. Until Gaz works up the nerve to ask Zim out, which he actually accepts. While Gaz prepares for her perfect tolerable evening, Dib desperately tries to convince her that Zim’s up to something while trying uncover his true motives, only for her to snap at him and challenge his views on Zim. Little do either of them know, Zim plans to use the prom as an experiment to harness Gaz’s power for his own ends. But at the same time, he ponders whether his friendship with Gaz is just a means to an end or something more. Either way it will be a night they will never forget. Or survive! Probably.

 -The Return of Tak’s Revenge Rises - Tak finally returns to take her revenge on Zim and the Membrane siblings. Striking them when they least expect with the aid of an upgraded MiMi, a squad of berserk SIR units, and two fellow invaders Zim had wronged in the past.

 -Doomed Together - Following Tak’s strike, the Almighty Tallest kick off Operation Impending Doom 3 with a mission of utmost importance: sending in the Irken Armada to ensure Zim is destroyed once for all so they can finally proceed with absolute universal domination. Now, Gaz, Dib, and some unlikely allies must come up with a plan to save their even more unlikely new friend and the rest of the universe from the most fearsome force in the universe! It’s basically the grand finale.

 And that is all there is, or was, to Taller Tales of Terror. I can’t guarantee I’ll ever revisit it, what with all the other stuff on my plate right now, but I’m glad to have finally shared the story of my first fanfic with y’all.

 So, tell me, my filthy monkey maggot mutual friends. After all that horrible rambling, what did you think?

[recentanimenews]

Celebrate Mother's Day with the Greatest Moms in Anime!

It’s that time of year again, folks: Mother’s Day. The time when all of us can come together to celebrate motherhood in all its forms. Mothers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some have one mother. Some have two. Some are biological. Some aren’t. Who among us doesn’t have “the Mom friend” in their friend group? I once saw a woman who described herself as “a single mom with no kids” in her dating profile and by golly, folks, that one stuck with me.

  It takes a lot to be a mom—and even more to be a good one. And trust me, I know a good mom when I see one. As a fan of both anime AND moms, I feel truly blessed. There are TONS of great moms out there in anime. I’ve already wished my real mom a happy Mother’s Day, so now it’s time to celebrate with my other moms: the best moms in anime.

    Inko Midoriya - My Hero Academia

    A favorite anime mothers list that doesn’t lead with Inko Midoriya is a list I don’t wanna read. Inko Midoriya is who anime moms should strive to be. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this mom. Every step of the way she takes complete pride in her son Deku and his accomplishments. Even when her son faces immense danger and painful injury, she doesn’t waver in her support. At the same time, she never devalues her own feelings. She’s never shy when it comes to voicing worry and concern over her son’s safety. She chastises both him and his mentor for his recklessness when they deserve it. She reminds them that there’s more to being a hero than simple self-sacrifice, because there are people like her who need them to come home safe and sound. She’s perfect, and I want to give her a hug.

  Tosen Shimogamo - The Eccentric Family

    It takes a lot to be an amazing mother, but luckily for this one being human isn’t a requirement. Matriarch of the honorable Shimogamo family of Kyoto tanuki, the untimely passing of her husband made her solely responsible for raising the next generation of Shimogamo tanuki. Luckily for Yasaburo and his three brothers, their upbringing couldn’t be in better hands (er, paws). The Shimogamo family’s pride lies both in their unwavering pursuit of fun and in the close ties that bind them all together. When she’s not dressing up like a prince and dominating the local billiards clubs, Tosen comforts and guides her children with the unconditional love only the best of mothers can provide. 

  Lisa Lisa - JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

    Some moms show their love and dedication by coming home from a long, stressful day at work and still taking you to soccer practice. Some moms show their love by throwing you into a big, oily pit and telling you to climb out or die. Lisa Lisa is the latter. While not a Joestar by birth, their fates became intertwined when she was saved from a boat full of rampaging vampires by Erina Joestar as a baby. She later married into the Joestar family, mothered a son, and ultimately suffered the same fate as Erina—her husband was killed by a vampire. Having learned Hamon from her adopted father, she got her revenge on the vampire who widowed her and gave up her son to go into hiding. She became a master Hamon user, and years later her son Joseph would unknowingly seek out his own mother to teach him. Though her methods might seem harsh, her training gave him the tools necessary to once and for all defeat the Pillar Men menace together. Finally reunited, they could be the family they had always wished to be. Smart, beautiful, and tough to boot, on a scale of one to ten this mom is a fifty. 

  Sakura Uchiha - BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS

    Sakura has a special place in the hearts of many anime fans as one of the only mothers they got to watch grow up and become a mother in front of their very eyes. Though a young girl at the onset of Naruto many years ago, Sakura has since grown into a fine mother raising her own shinobi daughter in the ongoing series BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS. With her husband Sasuke largely absent on secret missions, Sakura is tasked with being one of the villages best fighters, medical practitioners, and sole caretaker for her daughter. She does it well though, assuaging her daughter’s anxieties through her unshakeable trust in Sasuke and doing whatever it takes to defend her daughter in times of need. She’s living proof that shinobi moms can truly have it all.

  Izumi Curtis - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

    It might seem a bit cruel or ironic to put Izumi—a woman whose greatest weakness was caused by her inability to have children—she is without a doubt the greatest maternal figure in the Elric brothers’ lives. Like the Elric brothers, she had dabbled in human transmutation following the death of her baby in childbirth. As a result, she lost several internal organs and the inability to ever have children. She later took in and trained the Elric brothers, who had undergone a similar ordeal after the death of their mother. Though a tough-as-nails fighter and trainer, Izumi’s naturally caring nature helped nurture the Elric brothers into two of the best Alchemists and fighters in the nation. She’s as much a fantastic mother as any others in this list. 

  Kobayashi - Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

    Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is an anime all about a bunch of misfits coming together and forming their own little family in Tokyo, and Kobayashi happens to be everyone’s favorite tired, working-class stepmom. Having already had her loner lifestyle thrown out of whack when a maid who is also a dragon shows up on her doorstep, her life further complicates when a young dragon named Kanna inserts herself into Kobayashi’s life. Despite being hundreds of years older than Kobayashi, Kanna is still very much a child as dragons go, and begins seeing Kobayashi as a mother.

  The show is full of cute scenes between the two, and one of my favorite episodes in the series spells out their mother-daughter dynamic in pretty explicit terms. A harsh crunch period at work means Kobayashi can’t come to the sports festival at Kanna’s school. Kanna gets upset, and Kobayashi struggles to reconcile the way Kanna sees her with the off-hand approach her own parents took raising her. It’s an incredibly touching episode, and watching Kobayashi open up her heart a little more to her newfound daughter solidifies her as one of the best moms a tiny anime dragon girl could ask for.

  Bulma, Chichi, and Android 18 - Dragon Ball Super

    So far I’ve tried to stick to one mom per show, but when it came time to choose which Dragon Ball mom was best, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. They’re all great. As is the tragic fate of great moms everywhere, they never get the credit they deserve. Take Bulma, for example. She took a genocidal villain hellbent on destroying the earth and turned him into a family man. Not to mention the fact she—the smartest person in the world—invented time travel to save not one but TWO timelines from destruction. Speaking of which, without Android 18, Universe 7 would never have been able to win Zen-oh’s tournament and multiple universes would’ve been annihilated.

  Finally, there’s Chichi, who receives the brunt of maternal disrespect. Sure, she nags her husband and kids, but put yourself in her shoes! All she wants is a good life for her family, yet she can only watch as they put themselves in harms way time after time. How many times has she seen her husband die? Too many! Also, let’s be real here, Goku doesn’t know what a freaking kiss is. That woman has had to endure decades married to an absolute beefcake who won’t even kiss her. Who among us wouldn’t have a little pent up frustration after that?

  Of course, these are just a few of all the wonderful moms that the we’ve been blessed to meet while watching anime. I know I’ll be thinking of each and every one of them, and I hope you will be too. So take the time today to wish your local mom a happy Mother’s Day, then kick back and watch some anime together.

  Which anime mom would you most like to wish a happy Mother’s Day? Let us know in the comments below!

    -----

Danni Wilmoth is a Features writer for Crunchyroll and co-host of the video game podcast Indiecent. You can find more words from her on Twitter @NanamisEgg.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

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