And Im Talking About ALL This And Then Some

And I’m talking about ALL this and then some

You know what? I’m tired of hearing about soulmates.

Can I hear some commotion in the club for soul enemies? For destined rivals and loathing at first sight? For tearjerking tradegies about star-crossed nemeses and duos who both give it their all to destroy the other, yet can’t find the strength to carry on in their abscence? The twisted, poetic dance between two people that can’t even tell who they are anymore without their adversary- their forever opponent, and no one else’s. And the best part is how, even knowing that true victory and defeat both would throw all of this away, they will still keep playing that game to win. They’ll pursue that chase even when it means they may loose their ability to connect with the more reasonable, peaceful world around them. Because they wanted so badly for more than that, and they found someone who doesn’t only understand that part of them, but respects them for it- in fact, needs them for it just the same. For better or worse.

I am sorry to bother you but I have to say, I feel Dib got treated too harshly most of the time. It's the point of the story yes but at times it just feels flat out sadistic for no reason.

It's why the Gargantis Array comic storyline sucks to me, it was just two issues of buildup to make Dib a gross fat joke and humiliate him across space. Jhonen just really seems to love torturing Dib more than anyone and it's rarely even deserved.

Oh, this is the opposite of a bother, friendo!

I actually have a lot of reading to still do on the topic of the comics. I’m woefully only really up to good knowledge about issues 46-49 and a lot of bits of pieces otherwise. If what you’re saying rings true, that is sad to hear, but pretty interesting still. I’ve always in the back of my head been a little afraid that Dib’s karma could be flanderized to the point of making him a butt monkey. Especially when we all know that’s supposed to be Skoodge’s job! (waka waka)

As for the show, honestly? I think they managed the balance just fine. It’s not so much that the show was specifically cruel to him, but that sadism broadly was one of its central themes and there were no efforts made to exclude Dib from that. And why should they have? He’s not an innocent woobie, and in fact is actually in the seat of a very ambitious antagonist against the real main character’s goals. Arbitrary events of misfortune and pain were the bread and butter of the series back then, and almost no one was spared. Jhonen (who cameoed himself in the show just to choke on a fish and die for a joke) also from what I hear injected a lot of his own qualities into Dib, so I imagine it probably IS very entertaining to him to give the boy the works.

From what I have seen of the comics, that looks like a much finer line to tow. And this more of an off the cuff ramble, but you know what I think??? I think they made Dib a touch way too sympathetic actually. There’s so much more focus on just him and Zim’s side antics, and the more time you take Dib off world and away from the rest of the Earth side characters, the fewer reminders they give you about how many of his problems are majorly self inflicted and how much of a disturbance he can be to society. And, for better or worse, a less dark overall tone in the comics means that the moments of overtly black comedy are going to stand out a little more against the modernized background by contrast.

And there’s another elephant in the room that kind of gets to me, personally. As well as I can put it well, the art style change kind of really affects the lens he can be viewed through. Maybe more than most people want to admit. And I’m not dissing the rounded down, brightened up change, it’s not a better or worse direction from the show… but it is a different one with different strengths and weaknesses.

Like, look at Dib’s early season model sheets for a base of reference.

Now compare him alongside the comic and Florpus interpretation of Dib Membrane. OBVS I am simplifying a ton here, there’s a ton of room for more range than these examples.

I’m not here to say he’s a better or worse Dib visually, he’s still Dib to me! But is notable how comic Dib actually breaks a ton of the “rules” of what kind of character they wanted Dib to be. To put it one way, they sanded down some of his edges and he’s not as apparently “skrungly” as he used to be.

What I like about the change is that it actually gives the better impression of him actually being the lil dorkass kid he’s always been. He’s got a slight aesthetic shift that shows off his unique interests and it definitely sets him apart from Zim, who actually retained most of his own show design. He’s still got some funny lookin’ qualities and he’s so much more endearing

One of the downsides of all that, however, is probably that he’s so damn endearing and as a default.

I dunno if you ever watched Little Shop of Horrors, amazing musical btw, but, it’s supposed to have this whole tragic ending where the main character’s, Seymour’s, long chain of mistakes catch up with him and he meets his demise. In the movie, they casted Rick Moranis for the character, and he played such a puppy-eyed, adorkable Seymour that it made audiences suddenly too bummed out to even appreciate the dark ending. They hated it so much that the crew actually just changed the ending completely so that Seymour gets a consequence-free happy ending with everything he ever wanted. Even though he’s literally a serial murderer of sorts. You were always supposed to feel for him, but not to the point where watching him fail just makes you feel horrible.

I think Dib works kinda like that on a meta level.

If there’s any ruling on what goes over that invisible line when it comes to handling his character, I think Florpus Gaz nailed it right on the head. Dib is never supposed to just utterly break under the weight of his world. Can he sometimes crack? Yeah totally, especially in the “brink of madness” sense. Or if it’s funny. The golden rule is not to give him more than he can handle, and Dib CAN handle a lot of bullshit. He may be a frustrated lil squirt but he’s been at this for a very long time, and it’s hype af watching how he’s not slowing down even in the face of that. Dib and Zim’s biggest POSITIVE shared trait is the strength of their spirits against a world that is ultimately callous and cruel at every turn to them.

Every second you write Dib where he’s wallowing in despair or feeling sorry for himself is a second you come closer to that line and it’s what you need to dish out in wary moderation.

So I guess the TL:DR of what i think I’m getting at here is… it’s all about perspective.

But I really should read more of the comics.

This is the real reason Tak was so pissed about Zim ruining her chance to become an invader and you can’t change my mind now.

All the lady Irken Invaders are lesbians and they're all in a polycule together. I have spoken it, thus it is canon.

ZAYATATAPAER forever.

Okay but, wtf is this little monster's kill count?

People are afraid of her for a reason, you can not convince me that her fiends haven't killed anyone. If they just sorta scared people, they'd discover the creatures weren't violent and they'd fight back. These things have definitely killed people! Marion literally has no parents, they must have gone somewhere. I'm very intrigued, I need to know. How many people has she "destroyed"?!

For those confused in the notes, this is legit!

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/03/1202900361/a-nationwide-emergency-alert-test-is-coming-to-your-phone-on-wednesday#:~:text=Hourly%20News-,What%20to%20know%20about%20the%20national%20emergency%20test%20on%20Oct,emit%20loud%20sounds%20and%20vibrations.

NPR

A nationwide emergency alert test is coming to your phone on Wednesday

The federal government will test the emergency alert system by sending messages to millions of cellphones, TVs and radios. Prepare for your

Around 2:20 p.m. ET, by the way. Just a test they do every few years but I’m sure some of you will appreciate the heads up.

You cannot imagine how hard at work I’ve been off and on for the last half a month