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Post by secretlabz on Mar 5, 2021 19:44:07 GMT
yall ever see a fanon take or au or something that fills you with an indescribable feeling of exasperation or despair, or you just dont like it that much?
ill start: people steven universe-ing invader zim where like. zim sees the beauty of earth and decides to be the defender of it instead of conqueror. like just make steven universe fanfic iz isnt that kind of show
i guess my tastes are just different than everyone tho. i just really like to have main character centric iz content to take itself less seriously, i dont think angstfic has much of a place in a silly dark humor cartoon about an insane alien. storyfic is fine to me but i think it has to step back and be like "oh yeah this is absurd af" every few paragraphs
also fanon takes about red and purple being anything other than incompetent buffoons put in their position solely because of their height or favoritism by their superiors. i guess thats a consequence of the fandom being 20 years old at this point and ppl migrating in and out from stuff like anime and shit, ppl will gravitate to attractive twink characters and overanalyze their like 9 appearances to the point where their fanon interpretation is completely divorced from canon
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Post by Vulture on Mar 5, 2021 19:59:23 GMT
Yes. All the time. Also, I'm being called out, because ALL OF THESE are problems with my analysis of the show, my headcanons, and the works I make based on them (except for Zim Defender of Earth trope. At most, I'd think he'd stay there out of necessity as a hermit and despise every minute of it until the day he died. The rain burned his skin, and Zim is stuck on that planet that only wants to hurt him for the rest of his life. Not a good recipe for liking the place.)
I do agree that a lot of IZ fan content doesn't really understand the ethos of the show, and that fan content and storyfic should be a lot goofier and take itself less seriously. Kafkaesque might be a good route to explore IZ angstfic. Roll in the absurdity of the source material like GIR rolls in cheese!
Another problem with my interpretations is that I feel like I give the Irkens this big historical and cultural legacy that they just don't have in canon. They eat snacks and cut throats and do capitalism. Also, they're too soft, too human, and not alien enough (sleeping in beds, or at all? Really, me?)
I make the Control Brains these big villains when they're probably the only thing keeping Irken society standing.
And I make Irkens wear fancy clothes and use bladed weapons instead of guns. Come on!
I don't really have a beef with modern IZ fan culture (other than the ZADRs and my own inadequacies), but I'd really like to throttle the sexist, ableist, racist, and homophobic elements of old(er) IZ fan culture. And I'd like to have a long, long talk with people who make Zim taller for shipping purposes (it's different if it's an AU that explores how Zim would have turned out differently if he'd been born taller, but Zim is not a child anymore-he's a very, very short adult), especially if they use the "low gravity on Urth excuse". Also people who give Irkens breasts or navels (fuzzy Irkens can stay because I like them).
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Post by secretlabz on Mar 5, 2021 20:18:02 GMT
I do agree that a lot of IZ fan content doesn't really understand the ethos of the show, and that fan content and storyfic should be a lot goofier and take itself less seriously. Roll in the absurdity of the source material like GIR rolls in cheese! Another problem with my interpretations is that I feel like I give the Irkens this big historical and cultural legacy that they just don't have in canon. They eat snacks and cut throats and do capitalism. Also, they're too soft and too human and not alien enough (sleeping in beds, or at all? Really, me?) I don't really have a beef with modern IZ fan culture (other than the ZADRs and my own inadequacies), but I'd really like to throttle the sexist, ableist, and homophobic elements of old(er) IZ fan culture. apsfghsdiughsdi i think its perfectly fine to make headcanon lore abt the empire and its history... its really fun to explore the absurdist politics and dystopic elements of a society like that and i support ppls original content like that. i think more people should recognize the satirical takes the empire represents in iz- the whole "endlessly expanding space empire that levels planets for the hell of it and doesnt seem to have any structures in place to sustain itself" thing really makes for some funny jokes ive noticed that older iz fandom is really gross too... most ppl who were against zadr/shipping back then were really homophobic which really didnt help ppl who had legit arguments against shipping culture in general later down the line also the fatphobia... so much of the iz wiki tries to paint the existence of characters like sizz-lorr as proof that a tallest cant be anything other than skinny/irkens hate fat ppl when like. sizz's height wasnt really thought out they just wanted a guy who looked intimidating like a brick wall. but the fat jokes in the original show dont really help a case against that hc either ANOTHER GRIPE i have with iz fanon isnt really specific to the iz fandom alone but normal ppl too- what the fuck is everyones insistence that gaz is a "goth baddie" SHES LIKE 9 YEARS OLD |
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Post by Vulture on Mar 5, 2021 20:18:59 GMT
Another problem I have is when people make Skoodge join the "defender of Earth" crew or make him a hero. Yes, he's very cute, he cried once, and is possibly a little soft for Zim (although how much of that is genuine affection or him being easily manipulated is anyone's guess), but did we forget the part where he willingly slaughtered an entire civilization and referred to all non-Irkens as "unsavory alien filth"?
Skoodge is just as xenophobic and heartless as all the other Irkens. Same with the Navigator. He is just as responsible for all the people the Massive killed and all the lives destroyed by the ship as all the other Irkens on the Massive.
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Post by secretlabz on Mar 5, 2021 20:21:10 GMT
Another problem I have is when people make Skoodge join the "defender of Earth" crew or make him a hero. Yes, he's very cute, he cried once, and is possibly a little soft for Zim (although how much of that is genuine affection or him being easily manipulated is anyone's guess), but did we forget the part where he willingly slaughtered an entire civilization and referred to all non-Irkens as "unsavory alien filth"? Skoodge is just as xenophobic and heartless as all the other Irkens. Same with the Navigator. He is just as responsible for all the people the Massive killed and all the lives destroyed by the ship as all the other Irkens on the Massive. skoodge is everyones favorite xenophobic war criminal <3 |
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Post by Vulture on Mar 5, 2021 20:22:04 GMT
I do agree that a lot of IZ fan content doesn't really understand the ethos of the show, and that fan content and storyfic should be a lot goofier and take itself less seriously. Roll in the absurdity of the source material like GIR rolls in cheese! Another problem with my interpretations is that I feel like I give the Irkens this big historical and cultural legacy that they just don't have in canon. They eat snacks and cut throats and do capitalism. Also, they're too soft and too human and not alien enough (sleeping in beds, or at all? Really, me?) I don't really have a beef with modern IZ fan culture (other than the ZADRs and my own inadequacies), but I'd really like to throttle the sexist, ableist, and homophobic elements of old(er) IZ fan culture. apsfghsdiughsdi i think its perfectly fine to make headcanon lore abt the empire and its history... its really fun to explore the absurdist politics and dystopic elements of a society like that and i support ppls original content like that. i think more people should recognize the satirical takes the empire represents in iz- the whole "endlessly expanding space empire that levels planets for the hell of it and doesnt seem to have any structures in place to sustain itself" thing really makes for some funny jokes ive noticed that older iz fandom is really gross too... most ppl who were against zadr/shipping back then were really homophobic which really didnt help ppl who had legit arguments against shipping culture in general later down the line also the fatphobia... so much of the iz wiki tries to paint the existence of characters like sizz-lorr as proof that a tallest cant be anything other than skinny/irkens hate fat ppl when like. sizz's height wasnt really thought out they just wanted a guy who looked intimidating like a brick wall. but the fat jokes in the original show dont really help a case against that hc either ANOTHER GRIPE i have with iz fanon isnt really specific to the iz fandom alone but normal ppl too- what the fuck is everyones insistence that gaz is a "goth baddie" SHES LIKE 9 YEARS OLD ARRRGGHHH the fatphobia!! Sizz-Lorr wasn't made Frylord as a punishment or because the Irken Empire doesn't value fat people. Haven't any of those people heard of the old adage, "Never trust the food of a skinny cook?" I do not like how they made almost every fat character in IZ a punching bag, a joke, unintelligent or "disgusting". Gaz is not a baddie, although she is a goth and a gamer. She's a weird little girl. I do not trust anyone who sexualizes any of the kids, and you can make adult/teenage designs for them without sexualizing them. Although from the IZ fandom you wouldn't know it. |
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Post by secretlabz on Mar 5, 2021 20:23:02 GMT
not really fanon but i think its worth saying that the moderation of the iz wiki is so fucking bad. theres no editing or review of character pages and the current moderators seem to value page length/numbers over quality of those pages. hence we get takes like "gaz is psychic and can summon fire with her mind" bc of gags
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Post by secretlabz on Mar 5, 2021 20:24:08 GMT
i dont trust people who unironically draw zim like this  |
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Post by Vulture on Mar 5, 2021 20:26:00 GMT
i dont trust people who unironically draw zim like this He's too scrawny to have any hips. And those lips! Woe, nose be upon ye! Kill it with fire! |
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Post by Vulture on Mar 5, 2021 20:28:09 GMT
not really fanon but i think its worth saying that the moderation of the iz wiki is so fucking bad. theres no editing or review of character pages and the current moderators seem to value page length/numbers over quality of those pages. hence we get takes like "gaz is psychic and can summon fire with her mind" bc of gags TFwiki and Warrior Cats wiki spoiled me rotten. Say what you will, but those are cited to their bones. |
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Post by secretlabz on Mar 5, 2021 20:29:42 GMT
not really fanon but i think its worth saying that the moderation of the iz wiki is so fucking bad. theres no editing or review of character pages and the current moderators seem to value page length/numbers over quality of those pages. hence we get takes like "gaz is psychic and can summon fire with her mind" bc of gags TFwiki and Warrior Cats wiki spoiled me rotten. Say what you will, but those are cited to their bones. tf wiki also has a sense of humor paralleling the source content and doesnt take itself seriously.. we love to see it |
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Post by Vulture on Mar 5, 2021 20:31:59 GMT
I feel like the female Irkens should have more of a feral cat feel in general to them. They are just as chaotic, ruthless, and crumb-covered as their male counterparts. They can't all be glamorous, nor should they be. Also, we need more Irken OCs who aren't hypercompetent. Don't get me wrong, those are fun, but have you seen the rest of the Empire? It's held together with spit and bubblegum because without their big weapons, the Irken Empire is fundamentally incompetent!
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Post by secretlabz on Mar 5, 2021 20:33:27 GMT
I feel like the female Irkens should have more of a feral cat feel in general to them. They are just as chaotic, ruthless, and crumb-covered as their male counterparts. They can't all be glamorous, nor should they be. Also, we need more Irken OCs who aren't hypercompetent. Don't get me wrong, those are fun, but have you seen the rest of the Empire? It's held together with spit and bubblegum because without their big weapons, the Irken Empire is fundamentally incompetent! the competent irkens should all be treated like frank grimes in the simpsons |
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Post by Vulture on Mar 5, 2021 20:34:27 GMT
I feel like the female Irkens should have more of a feral cat feel in general to them. They are just as chaotic, ruthless, and crumb-covered as their male counterparts. They can't all be glamorous, nor should they be. Also, we need more Irken OCs who aren't hypercompetent. Don't get me wrong, those are fun, but have you seen the rest of the Empire? It's held together with spit and bubblegum because without their big weapons, the Irken Empire is fundamentally incompetent! Also, Tallest backstory headcanons shouldn't necessarily follow the career track Red and Purple did (Irken Elite->Invader->Tallest). (I mean, unless you want to make a headcanon that it's tradition to follow that career track?) We need more variety! Irken society is not just what is shown in canon! |
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Post by Vulture on Mar 5, 2021 20:40:45 GMT
Not a complaint, but since I was a toddler when IZ was airing, I really want to talk with older fans about what aspects of 1990's-2000's society IZ was satirizing that I might have missed. There's thematic analysis and satire potential here, people!
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? WHEREE ARE YOU PEOPLE....
