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Dibsthe1 — IZ:What Version Did You Get? 3
Published: 2007-03-13 18:54:39 +0000 UTC; Views: 5296; Favourites: 43; Downloads: 18
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WVDYG #3: THE GAZ VERSIONThose who believe Gaz adds anything at all to "Invader Zim" have undoubtedly been sold the Gaz Version.
She is a minor character, at best a secondary one; only three episodes feature her to any degree and if she speaks three words in an episode, two of them are certain to be "Go away," or "Be quiet." In the original show she does her best to mind her own business unless unbearably provoked... like by having ONE slice of pizza taken away and that by mistake. (THERE'S justification for an entire episode's worth of spiteful backstabbing... near lethal dose of SARCASM.
) Almost without exception, however, fanfics make her a world class termagant, aggressively hostile out of the blue and so psychotically antagonistic that you could wake up from a nightmare with her in it and be relieved to realize you're only in hell.
The fandom has awarded Gaz a position vastly out of all proportion to her role in the show; more fics are written from her point of view and revolving around her than one can count. Such fics, in such numbers, can only have been conceived by people who are somehow privy to episodes in which Gaz singlehandedly saves the world DESPITE her icy contempt for it; has had her sloth, gluttony, wrath and navel-gazing obsessive gaming rewarded with an entry level position at the pinnacle of a video game company; and which assume her thuggish, brutal bullying over trifles to be in any way remotely justified. Waitaminute, the original show did the latter too!
So the same world that condemns Dib roundly and unrelentingly for simply asking for a little recognition for once in return for saving it is willing to turn a blind eye to every sort of crime against humanity... as long as it's coming from Gaz. The fics have a bizarre tendency to focus on Gaz this and Gaz that, even when she's not even remotely close to being threatened and Dib is. Dib can be lying in a hospital bed mortally wounded by Zim, and just about everybody wrings their hands over po' widdo Gazzee losing her brother. She tells him to get better... by viciously threatening him to do so... because she loves him... but has a funny way of showing it. (Head explode... NOW
!! ) If it was DIB swaggering around browbeating and abusing HER, bashing HER brains out over shreds of pizza, do you think we'd get "Awwwww, see? He looooves her; punching her in the face is just His Own Little Way of showing it!
"?(
I am just BRACING to see this one get the most faves and for all the wrong reasons, like "omg gaz isi liek coooool ore sumhting becuase seh beets Dibup ovre z sliec fo pizaa taht proovez shse soo BRAEVE otdo taht111lolololol" 
)Edit: In response to one comment, I would like to add this: Upon further reflection, I believe what I'm really wondering is: Why does fanfiction keep making things even better for Gaz with all the energy with which it keeps making things even worse for poor Dib?
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Comments: 76
There are drawings of them getting along and helping each other out on here if that helps sooth your ruffled feathers a bit.
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I actually find Dib to be brutally annoying. Even though Gaz is shown as selfish she often has good reasons to punish Dib. Who curses their own sister, steals her food, and screams in her face all of the time? Dib IS often thrown around, but I wish Gaz could be shown as more of a dark hero than a selfish antisocialite. If they worked as more of a team that would be cool.
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I agree, but I am neutral to a lot of things...
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Why do you hate Gaz so much, she's awesome and underrated.
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In response to the "Edit" question:
For the very same reason that the show did the very same thing.
Among other things, Gaz & Dib represent how horrifically unfair life is. Dib works hard & ends up featured in embarrassing headline news articles; Gaz can repair a crashed spaceship in seconds if she's angry enough.
But just because Dib always gets the short end of the stick doesn't mean people hate him; he's a perfect example of a "lovable loser" -type character.
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You actually make an interesting point here...Gaz does play a relatively small part on the show, but I'm not sure if you can call her a "minor character;" she may not do much, but she does show up a lot. I think you'd have to call her a secondary character.
One thing I've noticed about Gaz is, she's kind of hard to write; part of the reason I think she's so over-the-top violent, at least in some stories, is because writers just don't know what to do with her. You kind of can't just ignore her; it would seem weird, having Dib coming and going from his house all the time and just never mention that there's somebody else living there too. But if you're going to include Gaz in the story, what do you have her do? Beating up Dib seems like the easiest solution.
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okay so Gaz is mean to Dib and ppl like her for it. We get that, but don't call Gaz a minor character for keeping to herslf. She's pretty much a Gothic chick, and the goths and emos like to stay unnoticed, but attack when provoked in the slightest way. (I have an emo sister, i know these things.) They're sorta like bears, but ppl like them because they are strong and don't mind living how they want to.
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I see where you're coming from here. The fans do have Gaz practically and sometimes actually slaughter Dib over tinny little things. I believe in fare and equal treatment to all characters, evil or not. Basically saying if Gaz sprays Dib with a soda, Dib would get revenge by dumping a smoothie over her head. I even have them team up to get revenge on Zim and Tak sometimes.
But the minor character, I disagree with. I think she qualifies, but barely, as a main character. If she was absence all together, Dib would be considered crazy all the time and no one to save him when he gets captured.
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Canon Gaz did do inexcusable things to Dib over trivial things like one slice of pizza, but it would definitely NOT be worth Dib's while to get revenge on her for anything. Sad. 
Okay, good point. It's easy to consider her a minor character because she doesn't get a whole lot of episodes or even lines. For the most part she seems to be trying her best not to be noticed at all. She just keeps to herself playing video games. 
If she used her power for good reasons instead of monstrously selfish ones, I would probably like her a great deal more.
I see you have some IZ fics here. I must read them some time. Do you have any fics on FFN?
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It's a brother/sister thing. I should know. My brother never shuts up, even when I beat on him. But we love each other, and that's what I base some of my Dib/Gaz moments on; love and sibling rivalry.
I have to admit it; even in the show, Gaz over reacted to small things like the pizza. She also is a very antisocial girl and to herself, which probably why some people consider her a minor character. But in the long run, at least in my opinion, she plays a bigger role than some people think, but plays a smaller role than others give her credit for.
Although she saves her brother and the world, her causes are selfish. Yet Dib still looks after her and keeps a positive attitude. (Which I find amazing.)
No, I don't have any fics on FFN. Last time I tried balancing two accounts, it failed miserably.
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GAZ is not a "minor Character" !!!!
Gaz ROCKZ!!!!
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Not as minor as some, no.
How much would you say she "rockz" if you had to live with her? [link]
Just askin.'
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okay, sorry. i was a little bit to angry.
so sorry!!! 
If I would be their brother, she would not please me in such a way probably.
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That's okay. I've been just as angry at times for the opposite reason.
If you were her brother, I don't say she would! It is easy for me to imagine what living with someone like her must be like.
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Everyone has its own opinion.
again sorry for the 
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well, that's why it is called FANfiction
it would be meaningless if people would stick to the canon all the time
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Thank you for the feedback!
This is going to be rather long, I'm afraid; I hope you don't mind.
I'm actually fairly open to alternative takes on the characters, and am right now writing a fic that's about as AU as an IZ fic can get: [link]
But you know, it's curious. Considering how much freedom fanfiction offers, these fanfics keep looking an awful lot alike... both like each other AND like the original series.
For a show which pretends love doesn't exist (About the only bright spot is the affection between Membrane and his kids, and even he's no model parent.) IZ has spawned an impressive fleet of "ships." (I'm not talking about any one in particular here, and for once I am not complaining, but rather building to something. ) Mortal enemies and characters who don't even know of each other's existence fall in love; Zim and Tak... Zim and Gaz... Dib and Zim... "Canon"? What's canon?
Okay, we could call all that AU. I will grant you that.
I will even say that Gaz in the show was nowhere near the bully that the fics paint her as. In the show, unless somebody actually did something to her, many of her threats were just talk, and her fondest wish was simply to be left alone. When Dib takes the last soda in the first episode, her "He will pay!" doesn't come to much; the next time we see her, she's settled for an orange juice like a grumpy but generally well-adjusted being.
But in the fics? Have her murder Dib over that can of pop! Have her stab him in the back just for the hell of it! Have her go miles out of her way to torture him endlessly for No Reason At All! "Canon"? What's canon?
But when it comes to giving Dib the smallest bit of a break... OMFG NO! We couldn't possibly! 
"Why is it okay to mess with canon in one direction only: to make things worse for DIB, beginning middle and end, and never, ever ever even a little bit worse for Gaz?" is the question I was really asking.
If authors wanted to be REALLY original they'd mix things up for a change of pace. Say, give Dib a happy ending for once, or be rougher on Gaz than on him (no, not always, that'd get boring too) just once in a while.
And if they wanted to truly knock us out of the water, they'd have Dib snap (or come to his senses) and hand Gaz a taste of her own medicine. I've combed FFN for such fics, and about a dozen out of 4800... one-quarter of one percent... have dared to do it this way.
I haven't written such a thing happening myself... well, not yet anyway... but then again, I haven't really needed to. Once I got started, arranging things so Gaz gets her just desserts proved so easy, karma alone takes care of it! 
Oh; saw your recent exchange over this very deviation. 
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Ah. Well I'm even more glad I'm here then. I'm writing the fics and drawing the art I would want to see!
I'm just a little curious though; in the show Zim had such a problem with Tak he joined forces with Dib to get rid of her. That kinda says "mortal enemy," to me anyway.
Thanks! That reminds me, I have to finish it soon.
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what you just described, it the Homer Simpson syndrome (also called the Meg Griffin syndrome)
basically, take a characteristic typical for a certain character and make it bigger
sometimes bigger than the character itself, so the character gets swallowed by it and is reduced to being just this one thing
Is DIB a looser and a reject? Make him the ass of all jokes, make him the target of abused, make him suffer
Is GAZ grumpy and unfriendly? Turn her into a psychopath Johnny C. would be proud of!
People simply tend to simply-fie things, to Disney-fie them
I don't really like that (alto I do like Homer Simpson becoming a total idiot)
now to another point, in fan-fiction, a minor character can become major
if a character is minor in the show, it does not mean it has to be always that way
In my opinion, that is one of the main points of fan-fiction
Same goes for pairings, not even that the characters don't need to know each other in the actual show, they don't even need to be from the same universe
crossover pairings like ZIM/Buttercup, GAZ/Mandy, ZIM/Marvin or Keef/Nergal jr. are rather popular
the only sort of pairings I have a problem with, is pairing mortal enemies, but there are no mortal enemies in Invader ZIM ('ZIM and DIB', 'ZIM and TAK' and 'ZIM and Sizzlorr' don't count as mortal enemies)
+there are a few canon pairings in IZ
DIB/TAK and DIB/Gretchen, alto they both were just one sided (Gretchen's feelings for DIB were just one sided, DIB liked TAK but I'm not sure if she felt something for DIB)
I read your fic, looks good so far
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I have never takken this into consideration before. You have a point, but I enjoy the undertones(as I veiw them ) that Gaz just wants to be normal.
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Thank you again!
I'm sure the many different viewpoints on all these characters help this series get and keep the cult following it has.
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I've never really understood the phrase "cult" when it comes from and invader zim article, er, could you point me to a wikipedia acrticle that could help?
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Hmm, I just reread the Wikipedia article on "Invader Zim" but I couldn't find the word "cult" anywhere.
I do know I've seen the word used to refer to Invader Zim a lot. The next time I find one I'll let you know, how's that?
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I agree with you on how Gaz is cruel to Dib and pretty much gets praised. When Gaz does it, it's 'adorable' but if Dib were to touch her, even in self defense, he's a monster. I like your rants because they make me see things in a different light or point out something I never thought of. And the way you put words together get your point across and has personality to it. Example, "Waking up from a nightmare with her in it and being relieved to realize your only in hell." Your good with words. What do you like best about Dib?
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There is no finer compliment, no higher praise, than what you have written here. Thank you.
"Adora-"
When I see the words "Dib's sister" I wonder is there another character in that family I don't know about? That thing is no sister.
What do I like best about Dib? Hmmm... He reminds me of myself in a lot of ways. We're a lot alike, and if you don't believe me just take another look through my gallery! 
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Yeah, I can relate to Dib with the stupid sister thing. My little sister pulled out a knife on my 8 year old brother, so I got into trouble with my mom when I yelled at her. That's only one of the reasons I like Dib. He's just so likeable that you just can't hate him unless your ZiM.
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Why would I not believe you when you say your a lot like Dib. I believe you. What did Dib ever do to her anyways? Just annoy her? I like Dib because my sister is a little brat too. I know how he feels like that. She even threatened my 8 year old brother with a knife! But when I said don't touch him, I was grounded and yelled at! So that's one of the reasons I relate. There's a lot more. He's just so likeable!
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I didn't mean you didn't believe me; I just meant that as an expression! 
The things Dib does to Gaz are usually so small, especially compared to what she does to him. She repays him for grabbing a slice of her pizza with the events of "Battle Dib." She never STOPS punishing him in "Taster of Pork;" even long after the episode is over, he is still being punished.
She calls it "justice."
YOU got grounded and yelled at??? 
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I've liked him so much for so long that that's kind of hard to say.
I first found out about IZ when I was working in an animation studio and somebody played the first episode every day for a while on the office computer. (There, now THERE was one great job... 
I noticed Dib as soon as I saw him and I don't really know why. Maybe it was the way he knew something really important that nobody else did, and even if nobody else knew or cared, that wasn't going to stop him.
For quite a long time that was the only IZ episode I saw, outside of "Taster of Pork" and "Vindicated" which the previous somebody put on the computer as well, but they barely count as episodes.
Googling for it got me into the fanfiction very fast. When I saw how people were writing Gaz, I immediately quoted Dib without even knowing it. "What's WRONG with you people???"
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I agree with you. Then again, she's all talk. But he is just a little boy. He was scared! Poor Dib. At what part of the series did you start to like him as much as you do? I didn't think much of him until NanoZim and Dark Harvest. I started to like him because That was the first time I really saw him do things. I, unfortunately, missed it a lot because our cable wasn't very good.
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Gaz acts like such a baby sometimes that I wonder if Membrane would ever accidentally buy her diapers. That sounds like something the doc would do by accident because he can't even remember her age. The thought of Gaz being shoved into diapers sounds hilarious to me. It would put her down a peg to be humiliated like that.
Anything to humiliate Gaz would be good in my books...
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Yeah, probably! 
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Wow. I've been browsing around your gallery and you raise some VERY interesting points on a lot of issues that I'd never even thought to question before. I love the GAZ cover here, it's very funny ^^ I'm a fan of Dib myself, and to raise a point of my own, when you ask why some so-called Dib fans like seeing him get tortured... well, I think the sympathy factor plays a role in that. I remember I started to like him about the time 'A Room with a Moose' came on, because of the way those nasty kids were making fun of him. That was something I could relate to, the fact that he was always being bullied by someone or other, being teased and made to feel like a big nobody by everyone around him. But the fact that Dib was always getting a raw deal just meant that I could root for him all the more. It wasn't that I liked seeing him get hurt, it was seeing him keep on going despite all the crap he went through. You can't help but love the underdog. And there is a certain 'Awww-I-wanna-hug-him-and-make-him-feel-better' aspect to him that makes him lovable, at least to me. Dib needs that adversity that makes him so strong. As for Gaz, well, she's just there to make Dib look good. I don't 'not' like Gaz exactly, though some of the points you made WERE very good and you almost made me want to dislike her and well... you did a very good job confusing me on how I feel ^^* In a good way, I mean. Yeah, I guess you're right, she is kind of a bitch, and in real-life she'd probably be institutionalized, but keeping in perspective she is a cartoon character after all and can get away with it, not that that justifies the huge fandom. The very same thing has always bothered me about Tak; she was a one-shot character, also kind of a bitch, fairly one-dimensional, yet she reaped this mind-bogglingly huge fanbase, and I just couldn't understand why (even though her reasons for torturing Zim were better than him stealing her slice of pizza). Then again, take GIR: he's definately a one-dimensional character, but everyone loves him, and that I can understand cause his one dimension is being cute... Sorry, went off on a tangent there, but back to Gaz... I think, too, maybe the reason she gets so much attention and development in fanfics is BECAUSE she's so one dimensional. She's like a blank slate that people can project whatever they want to on, so they see a little aspect of her they like and they build it up. I hadn't really thought of it before, but that's what I was thinking could be one of the reasons. Man, you really got me thinking tonite ^^ I'm sorry if I'm not totally making sense here, but in all I want to say your art and opinions are very thought provoking and pretty intelligent. I'll be sure to check out some more of your gallery. Thanks for wakin' up this ol' noggin of mine.
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Well, thank you very much! What you wrote made sense enough!
True, that underdog thing CAN create sympathy for him... OR it can deteriorate into an end in and of itself. 
There are many other, and much more effective, ways to build sympathy for a character, and I'll be putting them in my journal sometime, most likely the entry after my next.
Yeah, maybe it's BECAUSE she's such a cipher that viewers want her to make herself useful for once. Unfortunately, the aspect of Gaz her fans build on with the most unflagging enthusiasm is her vicious and inhuman brutality... as if she wasn't vicious, inhuman and brutal enough in the show already.
Hey, you're most welcome! This series certainly does offer plenty of food for thought, which explains why it has more followers now than it ever did when it was on the air.
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You do got a point, I'm kinda confused with her fans myself.
But, they were times that her flaws come to an advantage.
If it weren't for her obsession for video games, Dib'll be a brain dead moron(NanoZim espiode)
If it weren't for her pizza obsession, Dib'll proablly be experimented on(or proablly kick Zim's butt, not really sure about this one)
But, it's your own opion, and I'll respect that.
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Fanfiction is written because the author is a fan of whatever show they're writing about. So if they just happen to be more of a fan of Gaz than any other character in the show, then that's the kind of results you'll most likely get.
I just happen to be a great fan of her myself.
It's not that you don't make valid points or anything, it's just that it's one of those simple facts of life that I believe people should accept. The same sort of thing you just argued about happens with just about any show.
Me personally, I happen to like the idea that way off the wall fan factions actually exist an do not in any way believe that there should be some kind of rule saying that they shouldn't (not saying that you actually said or implied that). But that's just the way I feel.
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Okay, fair enough. Your last paragraph was a little hard to understand, but I read it over a couple of times until I believe I got what you meant.
Upon further reflection, I believe the question I was really asking was this: Why does fanfiction keep making things even better for Gaz with all the energy with which it keeps making things even worse for poor Dib??
Dib does have fans (or "fans," as the case may be, read on...
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I wouldn't have any problem with Gaz if she was only fairer to Dib. I can understand her not appreciating it when her food is snatched out of her hand, really I can. For her to punch him once or twice for it is something I can actually support, believe it or not. For her to go and lean on him with every single thing she's got until someone else's boo-boo enrages her, no. She may call it "justice" all she wants, but the further she goes beyond matching the original injury, the more injustice she herself is creating.
However, story structure, and this applies even more so in cartoons, requires exaggeration. And those pinheaded N!ck exec's demands didn't make things any better for Dib...
How odd. How very odd...
Hey, thanks for the link!
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I personally never really liked watching anyone suffer. I definitely can't agree with those who like to watch Dib suffer....but I know I also really can't do much about it at all.
Here's a pic I found that you might appreciate - [link]
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I've always been a Gaz fan, though if it was DIB beating her up, it wouldn't be right:
First of all, it's too common for the BROTHER to beat up the sister. 
Secend, it's somewhat funny to see the SISTER beat up the BROTHER.
10% of Dib's fangirls came from sympathy from Gaz beating the living 
I became a fangirl that way, to tell you the truth.
This has a good point, though. And the picture it's self is very good. I like the "The world revolves around me" lok on her face.
I've seen a lot of fanfics that put Gaz in there a lot.
Is it because they feel SORRY that she doesn't have a big part of the show?
Gaz wouldn't care eather way. Unless you pair her up with Zim or...Dib.
Yeah, then she'd care and kill whoever made the damn fanfic to begin with.
Haha. You've inspired me to write a lot.
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I just saw your comment now. I don't know how I could have missed it earlier.
I suppose girls whose brothers give them a hard time can get some kind of satisfaction out of watching Gaz, but a) not all families are like that, and b) if you just look at these characters by themselves, the situation is way too lopsided.
I'll have to disagree about Gaz beating up Dib being in any way even close to "funny." If it wouldn't be right for Dib to beat her up, it's equally not right for Gaz to beat him up, period.
Attacking somebody who WON'T hit you back is every bit as low and cowardly as attacking somebody who CAN'T hit you back.
Possibly they do want to see her have a bigger part; she was nowhere near that important in the show!
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Yeah, you have a point.
My cousin laughs, but then again, she's a little bitch and will probly grow up to be even more of a bitch, anyways.
Eh? I thought it was more common then that, all of my friends have the same stroy as me.
And most of the shows I've seen, but the brother doesn't BEAT UP the sister, but he PICKS on her, still making her cry.
Yes, I wish she had a bigger part in the show myself, I'm sort of a fan of the whole family, not just Dibbeh.
Eh. And again about the beating up thing, some of the situations are funny, like with the pizza thing. (Like in your icon, witch I love. XD)
A friend of mine always said that kicking a man while he's too scared to fight makes you more of a coward then he.
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Poor Gaz. I think she's just sad that no one will change her diaper.
>_>
I think she deserves a spanking or a beating.
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