INTO THE FLORPUS (Invader ZiM, JtHM, IFS AU) [WIP]

Act 1: Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time!

On some a far-off planets,

Lived an artistic young woman,

I wish I could go to the festival.

An annoyed young man,

I wish we had some food.

And a kinless investigator

I wish we had...

With his alien partner.

...a child.

As every story has it, everyone wished for something.

Devi D. wished to go to the festival...
"You wanna go to the festival?"
The poor girl's parents had died (as it happens).
"You want to go to the festival?"
"The festival?"
"The king's festival?"
On this planet art was held higher than anything else, so much so that plenty of festivals were thrown throughout kingdoms just to showcase people's different styles. While Devi's forced family chose their art to be outer beauty, it certainly didn't impact their insides.
"This festival about beauty? Dear. Look at you!"
"Look at your arms,"
"Look at the way you dress!"
"People would laugh at you."
"Nevertheless, she still wants to go?"
They would start to make mocking gestures.

Johnny C's family on the other hand was very much chosen.
Living with a child he needed to take care of and a broken robotic dog they found, they only wished for more access to necessities.
"I wish that goddamn dog would actually bring real food sometimes...I wish the kid didn't have to be around this hellhole...I wish a lot of things...but I know it gets us nowhere," he'd think.
On this planet, technology hasn't come very far—it seems to be stuck in Earth's state decades ago. The closest area to get nearly real electronics was the bakery run by two men. This place happened to also sell food for fairly cheap, and was close enough for Nny to send Squee to when necessary.

Devi's house owner had a "surprise" for her.
"I've emptied out a jar of lentils into the ashes for you. If you can pick them all out and put them back in the jar before I come back, you can then go to the event with us."
Devi nodded, internally groaning. Once the room was cleared of other life, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, very used paintbrush. She crouched beside the fireplace, painting hand-sized birds onto the bricks. She then watched as the paint twitched and bent, tore then snapped—the birds popping off the wall and onto the ground.
"Hey, could you, uh, help me?" She pointed to the pile of ashes mixed with small lentils.
With a slight nod, the birds began to pick up the lentils and drop them into the pot.

"Eh—come in..!" Zim's antennae perked up from behind a counter as the door's bell alerted someone's entrance. A small boy stepped through the door, torn Teddy in hand. He comes from our world; after his parents abandoned him in a Walmart parking lot when he was much younger, he was swallowed up by the Florpus and left on Nny's property.
"Uh... my friend asked me to get something to eat?"
"Well, yes, this is a human sustenance shop, so we have plenty of that," Zim just stared.
"Be a little nicer?" Dib huffed at his partner.
"Sorry. What do you want?"
Dib shook his head in his palm.
"Uhh.." Squee pointed to some goods, including bread, a couple doughnuts, some small Rice Krispies, and a can of Spaghetti-O's. "Oh—I might need a basket, if that's okay..."
Zim nodded, reaching to find one behind the counter.
The kid stared at everything handed to him, now feeling a bit guilty. "I don't know if I can pay for all this..."
Dib caught a bit on that guilt as well, trying to shake it off. "Hey... just take it. It's for your friend, right? Just tell them to come find us if they ever need a monster taken care of." Dib smiled; Zim raised an antenna.
"Eh?"
"Thank you, sir!" The kid excitedly took the basket, quickly rushing now to get back home.
"Don't let it get stale..!" Dib called out, waving.
Zim stared at the door as it closed. "...that was our last loaf of bread."
Dib froze. "Crap, it was?"
"It's always the bread—why doesn't anyone ever wish to buy the Headcrab Jambalaya?" Zim went to walk back to the lab kitchen.
"Gee, I wonder why."