#that is no way for a respectable irken soldier to act!
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Zims entire personality is completely fabricated
Let me explain.
Zim, as we know him, is just a mask made up by.. well, Zim.
Zim doesn’t exist.
Because Zim, at his most genuine, loves.
And Zim is not supposed to love.
It’s been thrown around throughout the entire course of the series that Zim is, in fact, a very intelligent individual. Moreso than irkens, renowned technology-thieves, are known to be. It’s for this fact, that it would make sense, that Zim would not be completely ignorant of how the rest of Irken society views him.
The defect, the worst irken to ever exist, et cetera.
There’s no way to be that obtuse about your own infamy, and if there is, there’s enough hints and clues in the series to allow viewers to come to the conclusion that Zim isn’t unaware of it all.
And no, this is not a “Zim is a genius and knows absolutely everything” post. He’s definitely gullible. He absolutely has the worst priorities, he doesn’t know when to quit, too stubborn and set in his own beliefs, but he does Know a lot more than he lets on.
Multiple instances of Tallest Purple nearly revealing the truth about Zim’s mission or being too careless with his words are brushed away, either spoken over by Red or ignored completely by Zim, as if he didn’t hear it at all. Similarly, Sizz-Lorr exists as tangible evidence of everything wrong with Zim’s falsified identity as an invader. He shows up for one episode and that episode introduces some of the most important building on Zim’s coding and the consequences derived from his destructive actions on Irk. And his response to this, is to flat out deny it. Because with Purple, he has the expectation to not be aware. With Sizz-Lorr, everything he’s done is laid out in front of him, forcing him to acknowledge it. He won’t.
Zim, at his most genuine, is paranoid.
Paranoid enough to fabricate an entire personality from nothing after having the entirety of Irken knowledge downloaded into his PAK, only minutes after having been freed from his tube.
Zim is a bootlicker. Zim couldn’t care less about the Tallest. Zim seeks absolution from the Tallest because he knows that he was Made Wrong and that the things he’s done are unforgivable, but he can’t help himself. Zim only goes out of his way to gain their attention because he knows that’s what the average irken desires. All of these are true.
Zim is only drawn to invading in the most superficial way possible for an irken. He enjoys the idea of invading, not because it is personally "appealing" to him in any sense of the word, but because he knows that it is for others. It's an esteemed title. An invader gets to have respect. An invader gets to be addressed directly by the Tallest.
Being an invader is the best thing. Not for him, but for his act.
He needs the act. The act will save him from his imperialistic society. The act is the worst thing to ever happen to him.
Zim is nothing without it. He’s nothing with it.
He hates the act.
(“Hey, you’re a worse flier than I am!”)
And it’s very, very likely that he hates himself because of it. Much more than anyone else could ever hate him, because their hate for him is as superficial as his allegiance to the Empire is.
Zim does not fit in on Irk because Irk doesn’t need a Zim. Irk doesn’t need an irken soldier whose sole identity is to destroy.
Which is why Zim fits in so much better on Earth as its villain. On Earth, he gets to be a part of the story, not a fool that has to force himself on stage to even have some semblance of a spotlight.
Zim was already firmly set into his role before arriving to Earth; but coming there, and meeting Dib, further instills Zim with the drive to keep it up. Dib exists to be a hero, after all! And heroes need their villains. Zim fits into that role perfectly. And of course Zim, being nothing BUT a role, is drawn to it. He'll feed into Dib's alien obsession because Dib's alien obsession fits into Zim's "character". The big bad guy that needs to be fought against.
Which makes sense.
If he's the big bad that everyone hates, he doesn't have to worry about wondering if anyone loves him, because he knows they don't.
His first words were “I love you.”
The Zim we know does not love.
The Zim we know is nothing but an elaborate, one-irken act, stuck playing the same role in the same show for as long as he draws it out for.
One which would collapse if anything ever brought attention to it.
this post would not have been made without the help of @short-and-ugly and @animatorfun. seriously. like they wrote it. they were my editors.
this is NOT a headcanon post, im for realsies. this is metatextual analysis. i genuinely believe this is what zims character is supposed to be ((even if not necessarily intentionally))
#iz#invader zim#zim#iz analysis#long post#very long post#vermi.txt#Zim Larp Theory#named soafter our google doc about it
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Zim and Dib are both well done morally grey characters. Even though in the setting they both fit the villain and hero roles respectively, they’re both morally grey protagonists and antagonists simultaneously, with Dib, the hero of the setting, actually having several traits generally seen in villains while Zim, the actual villain of the setting, has several traits generally seen in the heroes of most stories.
Starting with Zim, he’s the villain of the setting, being the evil alien that wants to take over Earth, which should automatically make him an evil character, but he becomes far less villainous when you consider his reasoning and his side of the story, which we are frequently shown.
Zim may be here to take over the Earth, but he’s not doing it for himself or out of pure malice. He’s only invading Earth because he was told to do so. It’s in his actual job title. And the only reason Zim is an invader in the first place is because he wants to be forgiven for his past failures, and taking over his assigned planet is the best (and only) way to do so.
Zim doesn’t want earth for himself or anything remotely similar. It’s all just a job to him. He’s not doing this for actively malicious reasons. He’s doing this simply because that’s what he was told to do. He’s doing all this for the approval and attention of his leaders, along with chance of being forgiven for his past failures.
Not to mention that from Zim’s perspective, taking over planets isn’t an evil or morally reprehensible act. It’s just life in the empire. Zim can’t imagine anything else. It’s all just a job to him. Taking over planets is a fact of life where he comes from.
But that’s not the only thing that makes Zim more morally grey than genuinely evil. There’s also several overlooked parts of his personality.
Despite being the setting’s villain, Zim has a strange sense of honour that is rarely seen among villains, but is common among the heroes. First of all, he goes easy on his own mortal enemy, Dib, despite knowing the damage to his mission that he’s capable of. Zim is a trained soldier that has access to weapons that could vaporize Dib on the spot, and yet during fights, Zim doesn’t even deploy his PAK legs. He’s going easy on him. This in of itself isn’t a thing seen in many heroes OR villains, but is important to know when talking about the second thing.
Zim spares those that won’t spare him.
Zim already goes easy on Dib, but he also willingly went out of his way to spare Tak at the end of their dogfight in Tak: The Hideous New Girl, giving her a safe opportunity to deploy her escape pod and refusing to shoot her while she’s defenceless, despite having no reason whatsoever to do so. He got absolutely nothing out of doing this and probably would have benefited from killing Tak, but he didn’t. That sort of thing isn’t something you’d normally see a villain do, but it IS a common hero trope, where the hero spares the villain at the end of their fight, even if the villain betrays them seconds later.
But that’s not all. There’s also the fact that Zim is fully willing to work with Dib if he needs to, more so than Dib actually is. Nearly every time that Zim and Dib work together, ZIM is the one to initiate it. Zim, the supposed villain of the setting, is more willing to work with his mortal enemy than the actual hero of the setting. Once again, this role is usually reversed, with the hero either being more willing than the villain or both parties disliking it equally.
And on top of that, there’s Ten Minutes to Doom, where, upon Dib grabbing his PAK, Zim actually attempts to reason with him and explains why he needs the PAK.
He, the Villain, tries to reason with the Hero and solve the problem without violence. He even gives Dib information about irkens, which he normally refuses to do. You can still say that he’s only doing this because he’s at risk of death, but that still doesn’t change the fact that Zim saw reasoning with Dib as a valid solution, and that he seemed to believe that Dib would listen to him.
But when you remember Zim’s tendency to spare enemies when there’s no benefit in doing so, you suddenly realize that if the roles were reversed and Zim stole something from Dib only for Dib to come to him and say “wait give that back or I will actually die”, Zim would give that thing back. If Dib was in Zim’s shoes, he could very easily reason with Zim.
Zim’s willingness to resort to reasoning and the fact that he could very easily be reasoned with in this situation is DEFINITELY not something you’d see in a traditional villain, but it IS a common hero trope, once again coming back to Heroes often refusing to outright kill their mortal enemies, and going out of their ways to save them in some situations.
So to summarize, Zim is morally grey, fitting the definition of a lawful neutral character. He strictly follows a set of rules, a mix of the rules of the empire and his own moral code, no matter where those rules take him. If the empire says he needs to destroy a planet, those are the rules and he’s going to do it. If his own moral code doesn’t let him kill his own rivals, those are the rules and he’s going to spare them. Zim is also willing to work alongside his enemies if he needs to, and is often the person to initiate it, showing a side of him that’s willing to swallow his own pride for the greater good. He’s also capable of reasoning with his enemies in a pinch, and is capable of being reasoned to. He’s the villain of the setting, but has several personality traits that line up with what the hero of the setting should traditionally have. Zim is lawful neutral and morally grey.
Moving on from Zim, Dib. If the show followed a more traditional narrative, Dib would be the only protagonist. He’s the hero of the setting. The defender of earth against the alien threat of Zim. But just like how Zim is more morally grey than a villain and has a bunch of traits commonly associated with heroes, Dib is more morally grey than a hero and has a bunch of traits commonly associated with VILLAINS.
Dib seems like your average hero at first, being the sole defender of earth against an alien threat, but when you look at his main motivations and just HOW he goes about defending earth, Dib quickly starts looking a lot more lawful neutral than lawful good.
First of all, His motives for defending earth aren’t purely “because it’s the right thing to do”. Dib’s motives aren’t even “because I’m one of the idiots who lives here”. Defending earth because it’s his home and for the good of humanity are definitely two of Dib’s motives, but his main motivation that comes first and foremost is getting his research on the paranormal proved and validated. Defeating Zim will prove that he’s not crazy, and that all the things he’s been talking about are actually true. Earth’s safety comes second to that simply because without earth, there’s no one to prove anything to.
The best proof of this is Dib’s Wonderful Life Of Doom, where we actually get to see what Dib would do if he won. In the simulation, Dib captures Zim and immediately uses him as proof of the paranormal, using Zim as a springboard to start a career in paranormal sciences. Dib quickly spends all his time proving his theories on the paranormal, proving to everyone that he’s RIGHT, and he completely forgets about the Irken Armada until they’re pretty much on earth’s doorstep, needing to be reminded by Zim. Dib doesn’t care about the alien threat of the armada, only about finally being right and being able to study the paranormal. He only goes against the armada when they’re extremely close to earth, now actively posing a threat to the paranormal research he’s done over the years.
But that’s not all the evidence. There’s proof of this in the very first episode, where Dib outright says that he’s hoping that “they’ll name your autopsy after me!”. While saving the earth is definitely a high priority of his, it comes second to the fame and recognition that proving the existence of aliens will give him.
There’s also Zib showing just how little Dib cares about the earth’s actual safety. When he kills Zim and proves the existence of aliens, only for no one to care and him to get not even the slightest bit of recognition for it, he takes over earth himself and ends up destroying it by firing a massive weapon designed to destroy the entire irken empire in one shot, something that he only attempts to do when it’s made absolutely clear to him that irkens and aliens in general cannot be used to prove the existence of the paranormal. Sure you can say that Zib wasn’t in the best state of mind at the time, literally having Zim’s PAK strapped to the back of his head, but he still did it and the point still stands.
But also, Dib’s more villainous traits almost perfectly contrast Zim’s more heroic traits.
First of all, where Zim has a strange sense of honour, is willing to go easy on Dib, will spare his enemies at the end of a fight and is willing to work with his enemies if the situation calls for it, Dib is ruthless and would probably sell your soul for one corn chip.
Unlike Zim, who’s willing to swallow his pride and work with Dib in a pinch, Dib refuses to work with Zim in any context, needing to be forced into working with Zim for even the shortest amount of time. Like I mentioned before, Zim is the one who initiates all the team ups between the two of them, as Dib always refuses to do so.
But there’s also the fact that when they’re working together, Zim gives and Dib takes. For some examples, Tak: The Hideous New Girl and Halloween Spectacular Of Spooky Doom.
In Tak: The Hideous New Girl, Upon agreeing to work with Dib, Zim lets Dib into his base, and gives him a ride in his Voot Cruiser to Tak’s base, all in exchange for a data drive. He lets Dib into his home, his main base of operations that he is extremely protective of, for a single data drive. And although that was a part of their original deal, him giving Dib a ride definitely wasn’t.
Meanwhile, when Dib and Zim work together in Halloween Spectacular Of Spooky Doom, Dib betrays Zim almost immediately, slapping the crazy collar on Zim and throwing him to the monsters without hesitation. Zim even seems taken aback at Dib’s betrayal, obviously not expecting it. That’s not a hero trait. That’s a straight up villain trope.
There’s also this scene in 10 Minutes To Doom. Dib gets his hands on Zim’s PAK and Zim comes in and attempts to reason with him, explaining that he needs the PAK to live and will legitimately die without it.
Now we’ve already established that if the roles were reversed, Zim would have given Dib his lifesaving equipment back with little to no questions asked. But the roles aren’t reversed, and what does Dib do?
He makes it his personal goal that this thing in his hands does not reattach to Zim in time. Even when the PAK attaches to him and starts overwhelming his mind, which he is AWARE OF BY THE WAY, he continues to do his best to play keep-away with Zim, with the full intentions of killing him in a slow and painful manner by doing so.
Dib is ruthless in his war against Zim. He can’t work with Zim in any constructive way without betraying him unless earth or his own life is at stake, he can and will take any chance he gets at killing Zim and he simply cannot be reasoned with against doing so. This inability to be reasoned with and complete focus on wanting his enemies dead in any way possible isn’t something commonly seen in heroes, but is pretty much a staple of villain traits.
Zim, the literal villain of the setting, doesn’t even have this sort of mindset when it comes to fighting Dib, as he only attempts to kill him in elaborate schemes that Dib is able to fight back against, going easy on Dib in fights and even putting obvious flaws in his plans so Dib has a fair chance against him (like for example, using a human operating system in some of his machines so Dib can hack them in Future Dib or giving the wormhole he sent Dib’s class to in Room With A Moose a way out). Dib on the other hand, doesn’t care about giving Zim a fair fight at all, and will take any chance he gets to kill him, betraying Zim and throwing him to the monsters in Halloween Spectacular Of Spooky Doom and depriving Zim of his PAK in 10 Minutes To Doom.
Even in Enter The Florpus, Dib is willing to take advantage of Zim when he’s in no condition to fight back to achieve his goals. Upon seeing Zim in a depressed funk over his leaders, Dib almost immediately takes advantage of Zim’s state, handcuffing him and attempting to expose him at Professor Membrane’s Peace Day keynote speech.
So Dib is the hero of the setting, but his motivations have far more selfish undertones than they first appear and he displays the ruthlessness, selfishness and willingness to betray others never seen in heroes, but commonly seen in villains.
Dib is morally grey, and also fits the description of a lawful neutral character. He has a single main goal of defeating Zim and proving the existence of the paranormal to the world by doing so, and doesn’t care about what he has to do, good or bad, in order to achieve that goal. He’s willing to take advantage of and betray anyone (usually Zim in situations when they’re forced to work together, but there’s also the fact that he willingly cursed his own sister with an unknown spell just to see if it works) if it means getting closer to that goal of proving the supernatural. He’ll straight up torture Zim to death by depriving him of his PAK if that’s what it takes. He’s protecting the earth because that’s what needs to be done in order for there to be a world to prove the paranormal to in the first place. Dib is lawful neutral and morally grey.
So both Zim and Dib are morally grey and lawful neutral.
#invader zim#analysis#essay#zim#dib membrane#the only characters I’d say are explicitly evil are the Tallest#who I say are lawful evil due to Operation Impending Doom and what it involves#Gir is chaotic neutral
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"I wouldn't consider myself as one to start shit. I know that past Irken leaders have a reputation for exploiting those around them and I really want to make it up and treat others with respect. My tallests can admittedly be somewhat of a nuisance, but I honestly can't blame them. None of us were ready for such high positions of authority, it was mere fate that brought us here. With that in mind, I always make it a priority to contact them on the Massive and see how they're doing, I'm sure deep down they get stressed too... I definitely would. I like building relationships with my assistants as well, I want them to know that I see them as more than drones working for my benefit and that I truly care about them. However, I've been getting some "criticism" from the control brains for this. My pak has been upgraded to where I'm capable of seeing their physical projections. Thankfully they don't berate me much, as they see me of being little worth, but when they do It's always maddening.
I despise Kii the most out of the three. Don't get me wrong, Soxx and Hitz are miserable squares as well, but whenever they badmouth me, they're straightforward and snappy about it. If one were to ask them for any sort of excuse, they'd be the types to go "because I said so" and leave it at that. But Kii is an absolute lunatic; even in her immortality and limitless power she still finds a way to be a miserable hag. Whenever she's mad she resorts to insulting me, insulting my appearance or calling me a slut for what she perceives as me "seducing" my colleagues when I'm simply building rapport with them, only to turn around and make herself the victim, constantly whining about her past experiences like a spoiled child trying to get her way. Sometimes I'm ashamed to be a woman because of her.
Again, I don't like to start shit, but after having her hit me below the belt so many times, I decided to do the same to her. So I asked her in a sarcastic manner, "Why are you calling me a whore for wanting to make friends, when you were the one to sleep with five different men for your selfish desires of having your own little toy soldiers?".
She showed me her true colors after that, going absolutely ballistic and barking about how disrespectful I was for daring to question her. I stood there unimpressed in an attempt to threaten her irrational authority. I could feel my brain cells deep frying themselves every time she said something along the lines of "I bled for days!". It amazes me hearing drones say such positive things about her appearance, as if she were some awe-inspiring heavenly entity, when all I saw in her contorted, teary-eyed grimaces was one word: hypocrisy.
I don't regret it one bit and I'd do it all again just to see her act like the absolute scum she truly is."
Just an idea I had with my OC Kreit lol
Kii belongs to @messinwitheddie
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Might I hear your thoughts on Skoodge? His possible personality and headcanons?
I LOVE SKOODGE! He's such an interesting character, he's extremely capable, he invaded Blorch home of the slaughtering rat people before anyone else, but he also continues to fall victim to Zim's schemes, both as a smeet and a fully formed Irken soldier. At the same time, he should know better, right? He must be both extremely intelligent and resourceful to succeed on his mission, yet Zim takes advantage of him both in the past and present.
Many people have suffered because of Zim, and they all hold it against him, want revenge, want to see him suffer. But Skoodge escaped with Zim to Irk's surface and was thus involved in him causing Horrible Painful Overload Day Part 2, then he proudly stood by his side on Hobo-13, and was kicked into the den of a monster by Zim. Yet, He was supposed to return to Zim in the unaired episodes, living in his basement and occasionally showing up to help him with his plans. And it's so fascinating to wonder why, isn't it? Why does poor little Skoodge have so much more patience with Zim than all the other Irkens?
And then his relationship to his own height. Short Irkens continue to be ridiculed and punished by Irken society, but when Skoodge is called ugly by Purple, he grins and points out that he is also short. He takes pride in his shortness, and everything he's accomplished, even as that must be near taboo in his society. Short Irkens simply are not deserving, and have nothing to be proud of, they're taught that all the time. (Skoodge was especially taught this, when his height explicitly sent him to invade the worst planet marked for conquest.)
Skoodge is by far the nicest character on the show. we don't see him interacting with a huge cast of characters, but he acts friendly towards Zim, which basically no one else does. In this show where the two main characters are failures of their respective worlds, and the entire setup of the show is that Zim and Dib are both assholes, and also will both forever fail their missions, Skoodge is a friend-shaped, cheerful and nice guy, who by contrast is also one of the most successful people in the show. That's probably not on purpose by the writers, but isn't it an interesting contrast?
So yeah, Skoodge may be a slapstick comedic relief punching bag of a character, but he has so many interesting details about him that I love to see explored.
I personally think, that Skoodge is a team player. Not necessarily a leader, but he is good at and likes to cooperate. He is not naive, but he is outreaching to others, offering friendly smiles and help where other Irkens wouldn't. This is not something usual among Invader ranks, and so he is often seen as foolish by his peers, Zim included.
I think that he has misunderstood some of Irken propaganda. Where the message is to do everything for their great empire, Skoodge has always taken that to mean, do everything for the sake of other Irkens. But individual Irkens don't matter the way the whole does. So while Skoodge is a capable Invader, a nagging thought in his head is that, 'we should improve society somewhat'. And Irkens are not taught to criticize the reality they live in, so Skoodge's only tool is to maybe hope to be a good influence and inspiration to all the other short Irkens out there. He's not had much success yet.
I love his relationship with Zim. How come he decides to move into Zim's basement? Because he likes Zim? Respects him? Has nowhere else to go and is lonely? It's so interesting, I would have loved to see the dynamic of Zim having an Irken associate on earth, it would have been a new component to the 'Zim vs Dib' fight, like another Irken just seems more substantial than his robot henchmen, you know? It's someone who's known Zim since smeethood, and who knows what it was like to grow up on Irk.
Also, he looks like this:
How can you not love him!?
#invader zim#skoodge#I HAVE MANY SKOODGE THOUGHTS#funky little dude#also gotta shoutout dionysuscrysis for their characterization of skoodge in the Every Star another Sun series. thats my fav skoodge probabl#I hope I make sense!!#today it was my turn to have a fever#i actually thought about asking for asks to give me a distraction so thanks for just sending this anyway!
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Local Irken sees the ice cream truck and goes absolutely feral for a d*mn cone (ASMR)
#invader zim#ICE CREEEEEAAAAAM!#AAAAAAA#absolutely feral#that is no way for a respectable irken soldier to act!#unless you're zim then it's not surprising at all
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Invader Zim Headcanon Survey Results (Part 1: Irken Lore/Biology)
Thank you so much to all 237 of you who answered the survey! I’m gonna separate the results posts so people who want to can avoid the content they’re not interested in (like the NSFW section). These are the questions about irken lore. There’s a lot to get through, so I’ve put the results under the cut.
As far as irken lifespans go, the vast majority of respondents appear to agree that irkens live longer than humans. The most popular answer (orange) was 100-999 years, with “functionally immortal/ageless” (purple) coming in second. Third place was 1000+ years (green). 3 people voted for “similar or identical to human lifespans” (red), and a whopping 0 people think that irkens live shorter lives than humans.
A slight majority of respondents (red and blue) believe that irkens are predisposed to serve the Tallest in some way, though answers about the nature of that predisposition varied. Most (red) said it was some form of artificially engineered loyalty. The second most popular answer (orange) said that there was no predisposition at all and that it was all social conditioning. The least popular answer (though it still got a decent percentage of votes) was that it’s a biological predisposition (blue).
This one got a lot of custom answers, but we’ll start with the provided ones. The most popular headcanon (blue) for why the Tallest are as tall as they are is simply that they won the genetic lottery; lucky them! Second place (green) was that the Tallest are selected to have their height artificially boosted with hormones, surgery, or some similar means. In third (orange) is the idea that irken height is the result of conditional metamorphosis affected by need/environmental factors. Fourth (purple) was that the Tallest are selected to have their height artificially boosted with a tall robot suit. Fifth (red) was that the Tallest are the result of a genetic quirk or growth disorder such as gigantism.
Custom answers included:
All depending upon situation.
The Tallest are chosen after displaying an aptitude for leading and injected with horomones to make them grow tall really fast.
The Tallest are the naturally tallest ones, yes, but their height IS boosted through surgery to make them tower over every single Irken, also to eliminate the chance of an irken growing taller than them.
Combination of luck with genes and later artificial interference.
All of the above.
the tallest are a bit taller than the rest, then get the artificial boost to make them much taller
A mix of a, b and partiall d
A combination of 1,4 and 5
Tallests are sometimes chosen before they’re born and have their genes changes, other times mutations like gigantism happen randomly.
The tallest cone from a specific smeeterie, that is used to produce leaders, and elite. But whomever grows tallest from there is by chance.
Red and Purple look like they have biologically impossible waist size, looks like cyborg bodies.
A mix. I think the Tallests are naturally taller than other irkens and are chosen for that reason, but then have their height boosted mechanically.
The majority (orange) believe that the tallest irkens are taller than the average adult human, but still possess heights that are realistic for humans to reach. The second most popular answer (green) was that the Tallest are around the height of humans with growth disorders such as gigantism. In third (red) is the headcanon that the Tallest are about the same height as the average adult human. Fourth place (blue) goes to the headcanon that the tallest irkens are still shorter than the average adult human. In last place (purple) is the headcanon that irkens are taller than any human has ever been or will be.
Most respondents agree (orange) that irkens are stronger than the average human. Coming in second (red) is that irkens and humans have similar strength. Only 7.6% of respondents (blue) believe that irkens are weaker than humans, on average.
This one was a surprisingly even split. A slight majority (blue) believe irken teeth to be rounded and fused together in a single band. In second was “sharp and separated” (green), followed by “sharp and fused together in a single band” (orange) and “rounded and separated” (red).
57.8% agree that irkens have organic eyes, with 29% saying they’re artificial eyes, and the remainder being either a mixture of both (organic eyes with some artificial additions/enhancements) or occupation-dependent (with soldiers/invaders getting implants and others keeping the eyes they were born with).
The majority of respondents agree that irken eyes come in all of the colors they do in the show. A lot of people believe blue and green to be possible colors, as well as yellow and orange, but not as many people believed brown, black, and white to be in the color pool.
Had to cut off the custom answers for this one both because there were so many (mainly expressing emotions, general feeling, sensing pheremones, balance, etc.) and because a lot of people believe antennae to have some very R-rated uses. Who knew? :P
The vast majority of people (red) believe irkens do, in fact, need to eat and/or drink to survive, but not as much as humans. Second place goes to irkens not needing food at all (green) followed by irkens needing about as much food as humans do (blue). Last place goes to irkens needing to eat and/or drink even more than humans do.
Surprisingly (at least to me) the most popular food item people believe that ancient irkens ate is nectar, followed by fruit. Animal byproducts (things like milk and aphid honeydew) came in third, followed by vegetables, grains, meat, and finally insects.
As far as sleep goes, the winning answer (red) was that irkens do need sleep, but not as much as humans. Second was that irkens don’t need to sleep at all. Irkens needing to sleep as much as humans do (blue) or more than humans do (orange) came in at a distant, DISTANT third and fourth place, respectively. Most custom answers fell into the following categories:
Sleep is an optional luxury.
Sleep is mainly for recovery from injuries/situations that result in massive energy depletion.
They need VERY minimal sleep, but can go extensive intervals (like, months) without it.
The matter of when ancient irkens slept resulted in a pretty even split of answers. First place (red) goes to irkens being nocturnal (active at night). Second place (orange) goes to irkens being crepescular (active in the early morning and late evening). Third place (blue) goes to irkens being diurnal (active during the day), followed by fourth place (purple) being that irkens are vespertine (active in the late evening). Fifth place (teal) goes to irkens never having needed sleep at all, with sixth (green) going to irkens being matutinal (active during early morning).
Custom answers included the following:
Both twilight/evening and early morning. So they sleep when the nocturnal and diurnal predators are awake.
patternless. awake as needed for any activity. possibly caused by being out of synch with the planet's cycle and/or simply unaffected .
They're dinural, but could stretch it to3am or so.
Sleep if injured.
Variable over the lifespan and social requirement.
Actually I never thought about that.
The majority of respondents (blue) believe irkens need oxygen, but less than humans. Second place (red) was that they need as much oxygen as humans. Third (green) was that they don’t need oxygen at all. Fourth place (orange) was that they need more oxygen than humans.
A slight majority of respondents (blue) believe anxient Irk had less oxygen than Earth. The second most popular answer (red) was that the oxygen level was about the same. Third (orange) was that Irk had more oxygen, and fourth place (green) was that Irk had no oxygen at all.
Regarding the nature of PAKs, the answer that came in first (orange) was that the PAK and the organic brain are two halves of a whole irken. Second (green) was that the PAK is a device with mind manipulating technology; a sort of mental parasite that hijacks and controls thought patterns. Third (red) is that the PAK IS the irken, and that the ten minutes of life left in the organic half after its removal are the result of some program being run or sheer instinct with no consciousness attached. Fourth (purple) is that the PAK is a life support system with no real impact on the irken’s mind. Fifth (blue) was that the PAK IS the irken, and it’s capable of remotely controlling the host body for up to ten minutes.
Custom answers included:
One half of a whole irken brain that also acts sort of like a parasite.
irkens are “born” premature, and paks are fixated on them immediately to increase efficiency, but this also makes the irken biologically dependent on the pak because their body never learns how to function without the pak, similar to how humans become dependent on certain drugs to fulfill neurochemical functions. The paks also include many forced biological restraints, like blocking off certain instincts and repressing certain functions. The pak is also connected to the irken main system, which allows for remote observation and can flag an irken for reconditioning. Much of irken behaviors are, however, a result of social conditioning that goes hand in hand with pak systems, and with enough care and careful planning, a pak can be removed and an irken’s biological functions can be repaired, again, like weaning a human off of a drug.
The Pak is the Irken that also works as mind control for the organic part of the Irken.
"The PAK is a device with mind manipulating technology; a sort of mental parasite that hijacks and controls certain thought patterns in order to control the irken." but it also downloads the irken's organic brain (personality, memories, etc) into it's system, so the whole irken is in the pak, but what makes the irken themself did not originate from the pak.
The PAK is a computer connected to the Control Brains, which regulates their actions by sending signals to the irken’s actual meat brain. Defects have lower to no connection to the Control Brains, allowing the to act freely. Since the PAK also doubles as life support, the Irkens bodies depend on it but the dependency can be eliminated by a regular sleep and diet, so the body re-learns how to function on its own. The PAK also functions as a regular computer and as a storage unit.
Combination of b and d.
Like the downloaded personality, the PAK carries a perfect copy of memories and personality to supplement or replace if there is damage to the body, but the body can shape that personality. Though it is also a life support system.
The PAK has no real bearing on who the Irken it is attached to really is. Zim is still Zim without the Pak, but the Pak is like a backup drive for him(it stores his personality and memories in it).
The PAK is just a life supoort system, but an Irken's mind can be downloaded orior to death. When the PAK is reused, these old personalities can influcence and heighten certain habits, but cannot take over.
A combo of the last two options: the PAK is a life support system but it also functions as a control mechanism.
The PAK is a highly advanced piece of technology that serves several purposes: fueling and controlling other technological augmentations, being an errorproof databank of both downloaded and experiential knowledge, being an interface with Irken technology, containing tools like PAK legs, etc. And everything an Irken is (memories, personality, etc) can be stored in the PAK (so if the body dies but the PAK is intact and attached to a new body, the original Irken will be there in their entirety unless the PAK is wiped first), but is not generated from the PAK; that comes from the organic body.
The fourth choice, and it records the Irken’s thoughts, memories, biological states. The Irken brain retains personhood when PAK is removed. PAK hacking is possible, more or less, but effect is normally temporary.
The PAK is half of an irken, but over time the Control Brains decided to start adding in some programs that keep Irkens relatively subservient.
The PAK is one half of a whole Irken, like two separate halves of a brain or one creature with four hemispheres. The pieces can exist as two seperate conscious minds without the other for a minimum of 10 minutes and an maximum determined by standing and value of the individuals information. Afterwards the organic half/host expires without the help of external assistance and the mechanical half will go dormant until reactivation, termination, or if a suitable emergency host is located nearby. The PAK portion can be used to subtially manipulate and reward more desirable traits of the organic host, but ultimately the interpretations of such informations are attributed to the organic brain and social conditioning. (After all, if mindless obedience was the goal then why not rely entirely on robots?) The PAK was originally intended as advanced life support and extention but it's design and purpose shifted little by little over time.
The PAK is a mix of a life support system and a mind manipulation system.
When it comes to the PAK’s power source, the most popular answer (purple) was that it draws from the irken’s organic body and/or caloric intake. Second (red) was some kind of internal generator. Third (blue) was that it has to be periodically charged. Fourth (green) was that it draws power from external sources (the sun, for example). Fifth (orange) was that it has a single-charge battery that lasts an irken’s entire lifespan.
Custom answers include:
Usually draws power from the Irken, but there is a sort of emergency battery in case the Irken is starved or otherwise resource deprived.
This is weird but what if paks are powered by a bacteria or fungus that has a symbiotic relationship ship of sorts with the Irken, like how certain species of ants grow mold by taking in a lot of plant matter and feeding the fungus and in tern getting fungus to eat, sorry if this doesn’t make sense!
all of the above. complex system capable of storing mass amounts of energy and able to generate it from organic, electric or external intake.
It is generally powered/charged via whatever powers the Control Brains, but in the event the Control Brains cease powering a Pak, it can still function and draw power from the irken’s caloric intake, or they could likely create an alternate method of charging it.
Kind of a mix of options two and five.
It has to periodically charge, but only for a short while. When in a pinch, it can use things like solar energy.
It draws power from the irkens, body, but has power cells in it, so that it had back up power if one or the other goes offline.
Depends what power sources are available and what the PAK is equipped for.
Combination of generator and back up battery. If for any reason the generator fails or requires maintenance/replacement the back-up battery will activate. It's not nearly as efficient or powerful and has finite storage but with moderation can last several months, possibly a year, without recharge. Any and all forms of excess energy can be diverted to the storage from varying sources. This is typically done in increments over time with excess caloric intake being a species favorite. The battery itself can barely refine energy input, so in the event of low battery most forms of organic recharge are insufficient patch jobs at best. It is recommended that a medical recharge station be used instead should one be available. The larger the Irken, the larger the energy requirement and subsequent storage. The organic host in times of great stress or desperation can burn energy from both sources at once, making for impressive feats of strength and speed, it is not recommended however as it can leave them exhausted and vulnerable on the field.
It draws power both from an internal battery and an irken's caloric intake, as well as their body waste.
It turns out that the vast majority of respondents believe that irkens can, in fact, love. The most popular answer (orange) was that they can, but they’re conditioned from birth to bury and ignore those emotions. The second most popular answer (green) was that they can’t love because the capacity has been engineered out of them. In third place is the idea that they can love, but it’s frowned upon or illegal to express/acknowledge. In fourth place (purple) is the idea that irkens were never capable of love because they didn’t evolve the capacity. In last place (blue), two incredibly optimistic respondents believe that not only can irkens love, but that it’s perfectly legal and accepted in irken society.
A resounding majority (red) believe that the Control Brains are Irk’s true leaders, with the remaining 8% (blue) responding that the Control Brains are loyal to the Tallest.
And that’s it for the first section of the survey! More answers to come soon.
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Chapter 26 (Pills)
Skoodge shuffled nervously behind the Doctor, the Tallest had called a meeting in the war room and that was the first time he'd gotten to participate. The Tallest didn't ask for him specifically but the Doctor had allowed him to come. Skoodge knew that he had been near the Tallest before, many times in fact. But those were all times that the short Irken had been on drugs. Now he'd have to keep up his stupid act tenfold.
Currently, both he and the Doctor were walking in one of the many massive hallways away from the war room and back to the lab. A hallway that was empty for some reason, quiet too.
"So uh..." Skoodge coughed. "What exactly is your plan?"
"Huh?" The Doctor looked away from the file in his hand.
"Your plan for... you know, destroying the C.B," Skoodge whispered that last part, whilst looking from side to side worriedly.
"Oh simple. I don't have one."
"WHA-" The Doctor quickly cut the short Irken's cry off by covering his mouth.
"-But, I know someone who does." The Doctor removed his hand and showed Skoodge the file he was holding. On the screen was a digitized hologram of a big icy blue planet with only a few tiny continents/island things and a purple ring wrapped around it as well as three moons.
"Familiar?" The Doctor smiled.
Skoodge paused trying to remember when it hit him. That dream he had! Skoodge blushed and stammered out.
"M-Murth? B-but I don't understand, w-why would the Murthens help us? I mean, the only reason they helped the rebellion in the first place was that we promised not to conquer them and we lost! They hate us!" Skoodge explained with a panicked tone in his voice.
"It's not the Murthens I need, but rather one Murthen. You may know her." The Doctor opened up the file and another hologram appeared. This time a deep blue alien with four arms appeared. The alien's skin was decorated with black dots as well as black glossy eyes, not unirken like. Three tentacle-like feelers protruded from the aliens head all three pulled back behind said head. The mouth was also abnormally small. The alien was clearly built for water: the fingers and toes were all webbed and scally yet the rest of the skin looked smooth, as well as strong arms and legs. The Murthen was also dressed up with what looked like a foot soldier's uniform.
Skoodge cocked his head to the side. "I don't understand. Who is this?"
"Ah, incredible huh? She's so average looking that you wouldn't even guess that she's one of Murth's worst criminals. Skoodge my friend you're looking at Raz, the most diabolical Murthen to ever walk on land." The Doctor smirked.
"You lost me. How can SHE help us?" Skoodge gestured with his hands.
"Tell me Skoodge what's the main chemical formula that covers the surface area of Murth."
"H20 commonly known as water. Why- oh wait a minute." Skoodge asked.
"Exactly, Raz keeps an arsenal of advanced Murthen technology, weapons with the ability to turn water into large bullets of energy stronger than anything our weaponry can produce. All we need to do is get her to hand over those weapons and the Control Brains are as good as dead."
Skoodge gasped. "So THAT's why you told the Tallest to stop by their quadrant."
"Exactly!" The Doctor snapped his fingers and stood up to keep walking.
"But uh how do you intend to find Raz?" Skoodge asked as he trailed behind.
"Simple, I know where she is. She's on Murth's third moon 'Cloric'."
"How do you know that?"
"Skoodge, tell me. When I approached the Control Brains with my proposal for drugs, did you think I didn't bring them a sample?"
Skoodge stopped whilst the Doctor continued.
"I traveled across the galaxy, collecting samples of various drugs, cataloging their uses and side effects. When you travel as much as I do, you come across certain 'information'." The Doctor made an air quotes gesture with his hands before he looked back to Skoodge
"Apparently Raz has quite the bounty on her head. It wasn't long until aliens started to hunt her down. However, none have been able to get remotely close to her, she has that moon locked down tight and whoever wants her, wants her alive."
"So what are we going to do, break-in?"
"Precisely." The Doctor smirked. "You're smarter than I thought."
"Hey!" Skoodge scowled.
"So what your telling me is that we're going to break into this ex-convict's homes in hopes of enlisting her help to destroy the Control Brains?"
"Mmhm." The Doctor nodded turning his attention back to the folder. Finally, the two made it inside the lab. Skoodge was about to sit down for a break when the Doctor through a hazmat suit onto his face.
"Ow, what's this for?"
"We'll be arriving soon, get dressed."
"Wait, what? I thought you said we're going to Murth's moon. Why do we need these?" Skoodge pulled the suit off and looked at the Doctor confused.
"Skoodge, the planet is completely covered in water, not to mention rouge. Can't be too safe." The Doctor spoke whilst putting on his suit.
Skoodge sighed and nodded as he looked down at the suit. He had a bad feeling in his chest as he started to slide on the outfit.
Once the Massive was close enough to Murth both the Doctor and Skoodge were moved into one of the ship's escape pods. The Doctor pointed to a huge yet small compared to Murth, rock on the far right side of the planet.
"That's Cloric when we land we'll need to be extremely careful, who knows what kind of traps she's laid down there."
"Doctor are you sure we're doing the right thing. Breaking into her home like this?"
"Skoodge. Do you want to kill the Control Brains or not?" The Doctor sneered.
Skoodge sighed and looked down at his feet. "Yes, sir."
"That's what I thought." With that, the Doctor stood up and sat down in the cockpit and began navigating the pod towards Cloric.
Skoodge looked out the window and pulled his knees to his chest.
When the two arrived on Cloric in their suits their first observation was how deserted the place looked. There were aircrafts everywhere, all destroyed and torn apart for parts.
"I don't get it. If she's in hiding why would she keep all these out?"
"Because what use is hiding when everyone already knows where you are. These ships aren't out here because she neglected to collect them, they're out here as a warning." The Doctor began walking forward through the debris.
Skoodge shook in fear and ran to catch up staying close to the Doctor's legs. He turned on his flashlight and tried to hold it steady in the dark.
They walked for a while, the isle of ships seemed to go on forever. When in the distance the two could see a cave entrance.
"That must be it." The Doctor cut the silence as they approached.
"Wow." Skoodge shined his flashlight inside and was surprised to see that the cave seemed to move downwards, steeply too. "How far do you think it goes?"
"Only one way to find out." The Doctor remarked before stepping inside the steep cave.
"Are you crazy?!"
"Do you have any other ideas?" The Doctor turned his head back to Skoodge.
Skoodge paused and looked away.
"I'll take your silence as a no. Now come on."
Skoodge gripped his arm and whimpered as he began to step inside.
But as he began walking he tripped over a rock and began rolling down inside the cave. He screamed in both pain and panic.
"AHHHH! Ow! AHHH! HELP!" Skoodge rolled for about 5 minutes before he hit the ground with an "Unf." He whimpered and gripped his arm in pain.
Meanwhile, the Doctor slid down beside him. "Huh, now would you look at that?"
"Is it that bad?"
"Not you. That!" The Doctor pointed deeper into the cave.
Skoodge turned around and gasped. The cave opened into a huge cavern that was lined from floor to roof in blue bioluminescent algae, which lit up the whole area. It seemed like the area was being used as a living space. There were deep pools of water everywhere as well as bits of metal shaped and molded to look like furniture. In the corner sat a Murthen space ship and at the far back of the cavern was an egg-shaped raft made out an unknown material that sat in the middle of the biggest pool in the whole cave. There were webs connected to the 'egg' that connected it to the nearest walls keeping it in the center of the pool. Near the front of it was a small hole, the entrance most likely.
The Doctor smirked and elbowed Skoodge. "Best guess, she's in there." The taller Irken then began to start walking forwards.
"Wait Doctor don't-" Skoodge reached his hand out to try and stop the Doctor but the taller Irken wouldn't listen.
From his pak, his legs extended and allowed him to walk across the shallow water to the 'egg' raft. He then climbed raised one of his limbs and sliced at the material. In one swipe the cacoon, raft, egg thing now sported a large gash making its opening much larger. The Doctor then proceeded to shove his hands in said gash and rip it open wider to see inside only to be met not with the form of a Murthen but rather that of two small translucent eggs one blue and one pink respectively.
Skoodge gasped and covered his mouth with his hands.
"Huh, interesting." The Doctor reached inside and picked up the pink one and watched as the small underdeveloped Murthen inside slowly shuffle about in its shell.
"What on Irk do you think you're doing?! Put that down right now!"
The Doctor ignored him as he inspected the egg even turning it upside down as he took in all of the Murthlet's features. It couldn't have been more then a couple of months old.
"Do you have any idea of how much danger we're in right now?! We need to leave!" Skoodge extended his pak legs in an attempt to reach the Doctor only to be stopped when a loud high pitched scream filled the cavern. Skoodge grabbed at his antennae and shut his eyes tightly in pain. Once the scream ended Skoodge slowly peaked up and saw the one who made the noise.
There near one of the ponds was none other than Raz as well as another pink Murthen. The pink one also had large dragonfly-like wings on her back which were spread out in a very intimidating way. The two looked thoroughly and, in Skoodge's opinion, understandably pissed off.
"Put him down, NOW!" Raz shouted she looked to be out for blood.
The Doctor smirked.
"Raz! What a pleasure it is to finally meet you." The Doctor spoke casually as he turned around to reveal the blaster he was now holding to the egg he was cradling in his arm.
Skoodge gasped at the same time as the Murthens. "What are you doing?! This isn't what we came for!"
Raz took a step forward but her partner held her back. Fear and anger marking their eyes as they watched the Doctor with intent.
"What do you want?" Raz snarled.
"We need your weapons." The Doctor's casual expression turned to one of malice and hate.
"Awht eaowpns?" The pink one asked in Murthen.
"What weapons?" Raz translated.
"Don't play coy. You know exactly what I'm after, Yuhi. Give me what I want or I WILL kill it." The Doctor spoke could as he placed his finger on the trigger with purpose.
Raz jumped back in fear. "Fine fine! I'll tell you just please let my son down!" The Murthen pleaded.
"Not until you give me the weapons."
"Erethy ont ereh!" The pink Murtheb exclaimed.
The Doctor looked to Raz expectantly.
"They're not here!" The blue Murthen translated.
"Then where are they?" The Doctor sounded inpatient.
"On Bleech, Murth's second moon. We moved them so that the kids couldn't get to them. Take them!"
The Doctor thought for a bit before turning his gaze back to the egg in his arm before looking at Raz. He then held up the egg over the water and dropped it.
The Murthens screamed and rushed over to save their egg only to be stopped when the Doctor grabbed the second egg and held his gun to it just as he did its sibling.
"Ah ah ah." The Doctor taunted.
Murthens, being an underwater race, were incapable of crying but instead released a small high pitched sob.
"Eaepls ihs iglls aehv ont eyt eeoedvlpd! Elt us aesv ihm eaepls!" The pink Murthen sobbed and reached out desperately for the water as Raz held her back to keep the Doctor from shooting their other spawn.
"I want you to take us there and show us. Got it?"
"What? And leave the nest?!" Raz exclaimed in somehow more panic then she was already in.
The Doctor only responded by tightening his grip on the trigger, not firing but getting close to it.
Skoodge was in such a state of shock that he couldn't say a thing throughout this whole ordeal in fear of setting off the Doctor even more.
"Fine! Fine, I'll take you. Just please let us save our son. His gills haven't developed yet, he'll drown." The Murthen pleaded.
With that, the Doctor smirked and gestured with his gun for the pink Murthen to get in the water and save her egg. "I knew you'd see things my way."
Said pink Murthen lurched into the water and pulled the egg out. She brought it back to her mate and pressed it to her chest. Raz took the egg and gently ran her head feelers over it, checking to over to see if it had been harmed. After a moment she smiled and the pink Murthen nodded back in relief. They both then turned to face the Doctor who still held their other egg hostage.
Said Doctor stood up on his pak legs and stood tall over all three of them he then dropped the egg towards Skoodge who practically juggled the egg for a bit before getting a solid grip on the thing.
The Murthens looked ready to attack but were stopped when the Doctor aimed his gun at the egg once more.
"We'll be taking this with us as leverage." He stated calmly.
"On! Ouyll ikll ehr!"
"The egg won't survive outside of damp conditions for long!"
"Then I think it would be in your best interest to make this trip quick." The Doctor snarked nastily.
"Ok ok. Just follow me I'll take you there." All four of them headed toward the entrance only to be stopped by the Doctor.
"She can stay." The Doctor spoke threatening towards the pink Murthen.
The two looked at each other with pained expressions. Raz gave the pink egg to her mate gently ran her feelers over her mate's.
"Take good care of him, Wer. I'll be back with our daughter soon."
"I iwll. I oelv ouy." Wer smiled softly and the two held one another for a second longer.
The Doctor rolled his eyes and began to trek his way up the slope and motion for Skoodge to follow. The short Irken starred at the two for a moment. The way they felt each other's feelers reminded him of Zim. He looked down at the egg in his hands and felt a strong sense of shame consume him. He knew this was for the best but was this the best way?
"Skoodge! Hurry it up!" The Doctor demanded from the slope.
Skoodge sighed, extended his pak legs, and began to climb
Zim woke up from his sleeping position when he felt something heavy hit his lap. That's funny he didn't even remember falling asleep. He looked groggily at his lap and smiled when he saw Minimoose hugging him. Well, the closest thing she could do to a hug.
"Hey there, Minimoose. Did you miss Zim?"
"Mye mi mey!" The moose squeaked as it nuzzled him.
It was long until Zim felt yet another weight, this time on his head and GIR jumped from the ceiling and onto his head.
"MASTSA!" The robot screeched at the top of his 'lungs'. "I hads no idea you was even home!"
"You were the one to greet me first."
The robot only turned his head a bit in confusion. Zim shook him off and ignored it, not really surprised at his SIR unit's bad memory chip. By the Tallest he had to get that fixed.
Wait... he probably shouldn't say that anymore should he? Zim sighed in frustration.
"Miu?"
"I'm fine Minimoose, I'm just a little tired. That's all."
"Nyah?"
"No, I don't need the relaxation room right now. Uh, why don't we just watch some TV for a bit ok? I've just got a lot on my mind I'd rather not think about right now."
Gir jumped up and screamed. "Floopsy bloops Smoopsy!"
"No Gir, not after last time." Zim winced at the memory of the skeletal raccoon family.
"Awwwwwww" The robot started crying. "B-but but puggy likey that shoooooww ow ow!" Gir then shoved a stuffed dog-thing in Zim face as he sobbed.
Zim sighed and caved.
"Alright, just this once."
In a split second Gir went from sobbing to screaming in joy to complete silence as he turned on the TV, put on his show, and sat on the couch.
Zim smirked a bit in amusement and resigned to watching the show with Gir beside him and Minimoose in his lap.
"How many episodes did you say were in this season?"
"5 hundred," Gir responded.
Zim groaned to himself and absentmindedly stroked Minnimoose's head as he watched one pink blob bloop another blue one with a strangely deep voice.
Tallest, who comes with these ideas for kid's shows.
Irk, he said it again. Zim mentally scolded himself.
Old habits need to die a lot faster if he ever wanted to stop being the Tallests' puppet.
"I bloops you Smoopsy!"
"Aww Floopsy."
"When is Smoopsy ever gonna bloop Floopsy back?" Zim asked only to be shushed by both him minions. Normally he would scold them for doing so but right now all he could do was laugh in mirth.
(You didn't forget the Doctor isn't a nice person, did you?)
#invader zim#zadr#zadr fanfiction#Pills#zim x dib#Zim#gir#minnimoose#skoodge#the doctor#the tallest#original alien species
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Also, I really love your arts and I'm zadr shipper, but not only zadr shipper. When art don't have romance then it's not romance, I know that. I also like zadf and zade, not looking and these as a romance. So it makes me sad when I see "zadr shippers dni" because I just wated support great artist and enjoy iz content :(
i’m deleting the other asks in my inbox abt all this since i’m really sick to death of it and i don’t want to endlessly debate stuff i’ve (and other have) already said over and over, everything that could possibly be debated here has already been said a thousand times over and i have no desire to say it again.
i don’t care if you also like zadf and zade in addition to zadr, that literally has no effect on whether you ship zadr or not. you still ship zadr, i still don’t want you to interact with my content.
dib is canonically twelve. zim is canonically many times older than that. in the third fucking episode he says he’s “been flying spaceships since before [dib was] born”. in tak’s episode, there is a flashback to 50 years prior, in which zim (and tak, for that matter) is still visibly the same/an adult. in multiple interviews and commentaries going back to the very beginning of the show jhonen’s called zim an old man (the idea that he’s a teenager/child in irken years is an unsourced fan-fabrication, jhonen never said such a thing. it wouldn’t make sense in canon, anyways- zim’s a soldier and the same age as the tallest. it wouldn’t make sense for him to be a child at all.). it is fucked up to ship them because one is an adult and one is a child. end of sentence. end of story.
the only way you could change that conclusion is if you proved zim is a child, which both canon evidence within the show and word-of-god statements have conclusively debunked.
i really wish people would stop bringing up things like “jhonen supported zim/gaz at some point” (jhonen doing something doesn’t make it not fucked up?) or “zim acted romantically towards tak in the beginning of tthng” (he wasn’t actually romantically interested in her, he was gathering information. did we watch the same episode?) because no point i’ve seen has ever had any bearing on the fact that dib is a child and zim is an adult, therefore content of them involved romantically is fucked up.
if you do ship them, i’d ask you to take a good look at why you do, and why you feel the need to keep doing so despite knowing the immense, unhealthy, pedophilic age gap. recognize how online sexual predators regularly use content of ships like that to groom minors into thinking such interactions are okay. why is this ship so important to you? is it worth it to ship it, knowing that content of it and similar things does genuinely hurt people? (i really don’t think it is. it’s just a ship. you can drop it. it’s not that important.)
i don’t care if it makes you sad that i don’t want zadr shippers to interact with my content. it’s really not that hard to respect my wishes on that and ignore me. please just block me so you don’t see my posts anymore.
(please don’t reblog or reply to this trying to argue. i’m not interested, and i won’t debate this any longer. just block and move on, because if you do try to start a debate, i’ll just block you.)
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Did anything happen to lich that made him a asshole or was he just born an asshole?
Height based elitism is instilled in Irken smeets from the very beginning. Lich was born tall and naturally headstrong. His mean streak was largely nurtured and rewarded by the society in which he was raised. Lich was never taught to have or value empathy, sympathy or respect towards anyone besides himself. By the time he climbed the rank of general, he was completely unwilling to learn.
However, his bitterness towards his fellow Irkens and hatred for Pepperoncini both blossomed from an event in Lich's early smeethood...
Irk, the underground smeeteries; Sometime during Pepperoncini's 300th year as tallest.
Pepperoncini performs a tightrope routine for the smeets before answering their questions, as per tradition.
Pepperoncini notices one of the taller smeets shoving around the shorter smeets. "I saw that! You! Boy!! Cease and desist this instant!!
What on our mother Irk are you doing? About-face, soldier-to-be!"
Lich *saluting* "Greetings, my tallest."
Pepperoncini "Why are you shoving your way to the front of the swarm?"
Lich "I wanted to stand in the best spot to watch your act."
Pepperoncini "Can you not see over the heads of your shorter peers?"
Lich "Yes, but, the best spots are my spots. I'm the tallest smeet in my age bracket."
Pepperoncini "Then behave like it!! Being tall means acting like a bigger Irken as well as physically being the bigger Irken. The taller part of the swarm must show courtesy for the smaller part of the swarm."
Lich "Not when you're the tallest."
Pepperoncini "ESPECIALLY when you're the tallest! If a tallest is to demand unwavering obedience and undying loyalty from their subjects, that tallest must EARN their respect and loyalty. You exhaust me, boy. State your name."
Lich "Lich, my tallest."
Pepperoncini "Apologize for your shameful behavior, young Lich."
Lich "......."
Pepperoncini *shoves Lich. The other smeets laugh* "That didn't feel very nice, did it? Let that be a lesson to You-- two lessons-- NEVER disobey your tallest and remember; there is always someone taller than you..."
Lich (Pepperoncini was nothing but a short-sympathyzer, a showman and a hippocrate. He wanted everyone to think he was sooo wonderful, but he was just as cruel as the rest of the universe.
I wasted my youth trying to earn his approval and praise. Nothing I ever did impressed him. Even when I was promoted to general, that old fruitcake kept me tame and idle under his boot heel. He was always threatened by me. He knew I was coming for him. He knew once I was measured tallest history would forget he ever existed.)
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The Karma Circle: Sister Dearest
Welcome, children. Welcome…to the KARMA CIRCLE.
I take you to a simple town with simple people. McKeesport. A quiet town, filled with quiet people, kindly people. Away from the hustle and bustle of the big city of Pittsburgh, Dibbun Membrane lives with his sister and his father, having been at long last freed from his greatest concern: an annoying alien that finally blew himself and his base up, leaving a VERY helpful and playful robot behind for Dib to play with.
And Dib looks upon this new companion as a true comfort, for his father is never, ever around when he needs him, and his sister is beastly and cruel. Dib ¬simply does not have it in him to fight back against her, for she terrifies him to the very core…
Even more so than the haunted house by Emmett's Pond. He passes it by every day on his way back from school...unaware that that which is dead does not lie still. It lies in wait. Seeking what it lost.
…and it will soon strike. For the Piper is about to be paid.
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Throughout the town's history, several fires tore through McKeesport. The greatest of all took place on May 21, 1976. Fire had spread from the town's most enormous department store downtown, fourteen buildings going up in a blaze. Striffler's Funeral Home, Kadar's Clothing Store, Oddo's Hobby Shop, the Coney Grill Restaurant…
And the Emmett Family home. It had been especially tragic…a young, sweet child had run out of her burning family home after the flames had spread, rushing away desperately to get help, for there were only two ways to get to town, one by the road, the other by a small lake that led to another road into town. She'd supposedly been trying to get help, for the first path was alit with flames, and had hoped to cross the lake…only to drown in the middle of the lake instead.
The poor little girl had failed her family, and legend had it that she still cannot rest. At sunset, you'll see the smoke drifting through the trees though it's been a CENTURY since she drowned…and if you're wise, you'll RUN! For that's when her ghost rises from the dark lake in which she'd drowned. She searches and searches for her baby brother, her father, her mother, but will never find them…and you had best take care she doesn't find you.
Dib believed in ghosts, of course. He was twelve years old and had seen more than most his age. He'd seen demons and spirits flying through the skies. He'd seen beings from beyond the stretches of Earth. And his new "little brother" of sorts, his best friend and confidant, was a robot with a head full of garbage, paper clips and-
"Ba-doompa-doompa-bubble gum! Ba-doompa-doompa-bubble gum! Ba-doompa-doompa-bubble gum! I'm gonna buy some bubble gum!" GIR the robot sang out, waving his tiny little robot hands in the air, his cyan eyes glittering as he bounced about the kitchen, Dib smiling a bit as he munched on his "Choco-Flakes" cereal.
There was an article in the paper about someone supposedly seeing the "Departed Soul of Emmett Lake". And, of course, it had the famous rhyme that you were meant to sing as you ran by it, the magic charm. "Departed Soul of Emmett Lake, Come not Night for Mercy's Sake! For when the sun hangs in the sky then we shall safely pass you by".
Gaz probably believed in ghosts too, deep down. But she didn't know nor would she have cared about the haunted lake. Gaz didn't care about much that didn't immediately gratify her, like a Poop Cola or "Piggy Hunter May Cry 5". It was, in a way, amazing that Gaz could be so different from their mother even though the two were almost equal in appearance to their respective parents. Dib had his father's scythe-like hair and pale skin, and both had their mother's amber/gold eyes…but Gazlene, unlike Peggy Membrane, had eyes sharp like a hawk, her arms thin and her expression usually bitter, and when she DID smile, it was a grin like stretched elastic.
She only ever really smiled when Professor Membrane was in the house. Then she'd call Dib by his actual name and would calmly smile over at Dib in a faux-friendly fashion. But once their dad had left, the smile would vanish, she'd punch or hit him somehow for taking a soda she felt belonged to her, or would, occasionally, lock Dib in the cellar for taking what she felt was a slice of HER pizza.
Not that Dib and GIR really minded being in the cellar too much. Because Dib had just decided to move a great deal of his stuff downstairs, including a Papier-mâché version of people's heads, toy soldiers…GIR liked to play with the red ones…and a Tallest Red and Purple series of puppets that GIR had made. GIR especially liked to act out the "what happened when the Tallest decided to check that odd speck in the distance out the window". The "odd speck" turning out to be a tiny black hole. Zim, watching it all from his end, had evidently been mortified. Maybe THAT'S why he hadn't been paying attention to the explosive experiment that finally did him in!
"What the hell is that? That's gotta be the weirdest thing I ever seen in my life!"
"Man what the hell IS that?"
"Say Red, think we oughta check that thing out?"
"I dunno, Pur, why not-AAAAA! AAAAAAA! AAAAAAAAAA!" GIR cried out, waving the Red and Purple puppets about in the air as Dib held up the black hole he'd made from Papier-mâché as GIR "tossed" the puppets through it. There came a loud KLOKKA-KLOK and the doorway opened up, Gaz glaring down at them.
"Shut up. You'll make me lose my concentration on Vampire Piggy Hunter X." She snapped, slamming the door shut as Dib glared up at her as she re-locked the cellar door. Good thing he'd snuck down some circus peanuts today.
"I could cut her up into little pieces and feed her to Mr. Tiddles." GIR cheerily offered, Dib frowning a bit.
"For one, Mr. Tiddles has been dead since Gaz sacrificed him to get those gummy bears that feed on human flesh." He sighed. "And TWO, I'd just get sent to prison. Everyone knows I hate her…they'd blame me for sure." He mumbled, taking his glasses off and rubbing some gunk off of the lenses.
"Can'tcha…y'know…just tell your dad she's a meany head, Mary?" GIR asked, scratching his bucket-esque head as Dib shook his head back and forth.
"Dad wouldn't believe me. She always acts reaaaal nice around him and she doesn't leave bruises on me that leave actual marks. Besides, I don't think he WANTS to believe me. He wants to believe his children get on just fine so he can just keep working at the lab." Dib insisted, shaking his head again. "She'll be back in ten minutes. Remember, look SAD." He insisted, GIR taking his lips and turning the smile into a deliberate frown. "Good. If she thinks we're having fun down here, she'll just think of a worse punishment. Probably one that'll hurt."
"Like…goin' down to the lake?" GIR mumbled out, eyes widening slightly in fear.
"Zim told you about it?" Dib asked, raising an eyebrow up in the air…and though GIR was silent…Dib could guess what the answer was.
…
…
…
…then came September, and Professor Membrane had to be called away to a peace conference at the United Nations. Dib, of course, had tried to beg to come with him, but Professor Membrane had just good-naturedly laughed and patted his son on his head, saying Gaz would take good care of him before heading out the door. Gaz had IMMEDIATELY barricaded Dib in his room and he'd been almost without food had he not thought to keep Premium Saltines and peanut butter cups under his bed. Why? So she could eat all the pizza and keep HIM from taking it.
"I'm wise to all your tricks." She told him calmly. "And don't complain. Whiner." She'd added, slamming the door in his face when he'd asked to use the bathroom. Good thing the window could be opened enough.
"I wonder why Memby never notices the rose bushes under your window don't ever bloom." GIR asked as Dib did his business and then closed the window, Dib sighing as he plopped down on the bed and glanced over at the calendar on the wall.
"Oh. Good! Tomorrow's Wednesday!"
Indeed. The next day was Wednesday, and that meant that Gaz was chatting it up with her friend Tak, another Irken alien just like Zim had been who'd been considerably more…calmed down…over the years. With Zim dead, what psychosis she'd had had faded a bit into just occasional coldness and vaguely British snarkiness that always manifested whenever Gaz was compelled to drag Dib along with her to Tak's house down the street to play "Grand Theft Piggy 5: New Pork City" in Co-Op. Tak and Gaz both seemed to be made of the same material…that is, a big block of granite left in the middle of a Minnesota winter.
But hey, GIR and Dib could sneak Reeses Pieces from a small glass cup that Tak kept by the living room cupboard whilst Tak and Gaz played before Tak's big screen TV and they could ignore the nasty comments the two girls would sling their way whilst carjacking little old virtual ladies.
"Honestly, my brother is SUCH a whiner." Gaz muttered. "He keeps insisting I can't take the car. That "I'm too young". I could drive it just fine."
"You ALWAYS walk here?" Tak asked.
Dib paled. Oh crap. Ohhhhhh crap.
For you see, there were two ways to get to school AND to Tak's house, which was right BY the school. One was by the hill, and the other…well…the "shortcut" by the lake. The haunted lake.
"Yeah, it's a long walk up the hill to get to the stupid school-" Gaz mumbled as GIR's mouth hung slightly open, finally processing what Gaz and Tak were about to say, his eyes becoming tiny pinpricks. Oh no. Ohhhhh no!
"Why don't you just take the shortcut through the woods? Y'know, the one that has the lake nearby?" Tak asked.
"Huh?" Gaz blinked, pausing the game and putting the controller down as she scratched the purple hair atop her head, her amber/brown eyes turning to look at GIR and Dib as her tone became quiet and dangerous. "You KNEW about a shortcut?!"
"Everyone in town knows. Lemme guess. You didn't tell her about the shortcut because you're scaaaared of da spooooky ghoooosties!" Tak said, throwing her head back and laughing hysterically, antennae flopping about as GIR clung tightly to Dib, letting out a panicked squeak. "I'm sure your sister will be happy to cure you of such a silly fancy. It's just an urban legend. Supposedly this young girl's family burned to death and SHE drowned in the lake, and should you see smoke rising from the woods, you'd best RUN! It's all so silly." She said, her voice as sweet as honey from a wasp.
"You're a bad, BAD girl! You won't make us go past the lake! Not at sunset!" GIR yelled out.
"A GHOST? Really?! You didn't tell me about this shortcut because some GHOST is supposed to haunt it?!" Gaz snapped. "Gimme a break, like I should be scared of a stupid specter." She muttered, folding her arms across her chest and shaking her head back and forth. "While I'm doing IMPORTANT things you're picking your nose, laughing on how you make me walk three miles every day just to get to school! And all cuz of some dumb urban legend! Lemme guess, a headless lumberjack'll pop outta the woods and cut my head off?!"
"I wish." Dib muttered.
Gaz IMMEDIATELY launched the wireless controller she had in her hand at him and it smacked into his forehead, a bloody cut trickling down it as he flopped to the ground, Dib glaring triumphantly up at her as he picked up his dropped-down glasses. "Now I've got a cut, a scar to show Dad when he comes back." He told her.
"Shut up or you'll get worse than that!" Gaz told him sharply, grabbing him and GIR by the wrists, dragging them out of the house, heading for the woods…heading for the lake…
As sun was beginning to set, crimson rays being cast overhead. She continued dragging them along the path, over dead leaves and fallen sticks, a long shadow being cast behind her smallish frame, the setting sun glowing almost as brightly as her hateful eyes, the dark pond slowly coming into sight off in the distance.
"Maybe she's a witch?" GIR whispered to Dib. "You think she's a witch?"
"Shhh!" Dib hissed back. The charm. The magic charm. "Departed Soul of Emmett Lake, Come not Night for Mercy's Sake! For when the sun hangs in the sky-"
"What're you two whispering about?" Gaz snapped out.
"Nothing!" Dib said quickly, gulping a bit as the wind began to wrap itself around him, digging its claws into him.
It was no good. The charm only worked during the DAY, when the sun was up and now the sun had fallen past the gnarled and now-barren trees, the sky looking like it was lit up with burning flames as…as pale wisps of smoke came curling and creeping under the ground, like blind fingers searching…
"The smoke. The SMOKE!" Dib whispered out, eyes widening in horror. "The smoke from the burning house! It was there!
"Are you kidding me?" Gaz groaned, rolling her eyes. "Seriously? Smoke?!" She muttered, dragging them towards the lake, GIR trying to break free in desperation before Gaz tossed him away, shoving her brother towards the lake, sticking his head down towards it, shaking him a bit. "LOOK!" She yelled out. "There's nothing there at all! It's just mist rising off the water!"
She was looking at Dib when she spoke…and did not see what was rising out of the reeds nearby, making it's way towards her as she glared back at GIR, who was gasping in horror at what drew ever-closer. Something dark and wet and tiny, a figure made of rotted-away flesh and water and reeds. Greenish/brown muck clung to the decayed flesh and slightly-cracked bones, a frog stuck in one eye, calmly breathing and staring back from the empty socket. Its eyes were silver like the scales of a fish, it's mouth turning from a slight smile to a furious, baleful glare as it saw Gaz shake Dib again, threatening to drop him in the lake as she yelled at GIR.
"WELL?! You cowards, I can't believe you're scared of some stupid girly ghost, there's nothing-"
The ghost GRABBED her, Dib breaking free and scrambling back as Gaz and the figure went into the lake an instant later, dark water frothing about as the two figures struggled, snarls and screams filling the air, Gaz and the figure sinking down in a boil of bubbles.
"G-g-g-g-g-GHOST!" GIR screamed out, Dib and GIR immediately racing off down the path, heading for home as fast as their legs could carry them, but GIR's leg had been injured when Gaz had thrown him, and there was a KRAKKA-KRKK sound as he fell to the forest floor, letting out a yelp. Dib quickly knelt down by him, trying to help GIR up as they heard the bushes and bramble being pushed aside, the two rooted to the spot in sheer terror, white nests of toadstools around them as they clung together in fear…
And then Gaz burst through the bushes, looking…oddly nice. She'd evidently run so fast her clothes had dried on her body, and her cheeks now had a bit of a blush to them, her hair now falling around her head almost like a halo as she blinked a bit at the sight of the two.
"Are you alright, guys?" She asked.
…GUYS?!
"That was an awful stumble, huh? Oh and look at you, Dib, you're shivering!"
DIB?! Calling him DIB and not "Hey, you"?
"Lemme give you a piggyback ride, GIR." She offered, helping GIR onto her back and cheerily smiling at Dib. "I think there's some pizza left over I can heat up at home, okay?" She asked Dib as she calmly walked off down the path, whistling.
WHISTLING!
"Who are you and what have you done with Gaz?" Dib muttered a bit, walking alongside her, scratching his head in surprise.
…
…
…
…true to her word, Gaz heated up the leftover pizza in the microwave and poured them all some Poop Cola, breaking out the big, fizzy straws from the cupboard, smiling as she watched them eat, staying silent before heading to her own room, Dib and GIR going back up to Dib's room, the two sitting on Dib's bed as Dib nervously chewed on his lip, glancing over at GIR.
"Did…did that just happen?" GIR asked. "She's all…y'know. Cheery."
"Yeah, it's weird." Dib murmured, scratching his head in confusion. "But…you saw it, right? At the lake?"
"Yes. And she fell in, right?" GIR wanted to know. "I don't get it, why…why's she being so nice? It's weird, Mary. Really weird. She's so different!"
"I thought she'd be dead, but…" Dib trailed off. "…I hope dad comes back soon." He finally sighed. "Hopefully things'll be back to normal soon."
And so the two went to sleep, GIR plopping down in the corner underneath a poster of the X-Files whilst Dib laid back in his bed, listening to Gaz walk about downstairs, slowly and uncertainly, as if she'd lost her way.
Within a few days though, it became clear Gaz had changed since falling into the lake, as if all the unpleasantness had been washed right out of her. The house was now bright and cheerful, Gaz now happily sharing her pizza and soda with the two and never raising her voice. She let Dib play with her Game Slave and even Tak didn't seem to mind this new Gaz as much, because this new one was far more cooperative in co-op. She doodled with Dib during the evening, chatted with him as they looked at old corny B-movies on the TV. And above all, she never ever hit them or yelled at them anymore!
Dib and GIR started calling her "Gazzy", and Dib would stargaze with her on the roof of their house at night, looking up silently at the stars, resting one hand atop hers as they contemplated the majesty beyond.
"Dad's gonna be home tomorrow." Dib said one night. "You remember, right?"
"Yes, Matthew."
"It's just "Dad", really."
"Alright. Dad."
"…how long will you be staying?" Dib wanted to know, tilting his head slightly to the side as Gaz rubbed her chin and raised an eyebrow up.
"However long would you want me here?" She wanted to ask. "If…if you wouldn't mind, could…" She began to say before Dib smiled, patting her on the shoulder.
"I want you to stay with us." Dib insisted. "Okay?"
"…I'd like that." She admitted with a smile, wrapping her arms around her brother and hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Dib." She said, a single tear trickling down her cheek and onto the roof below.
…
…
…
… it was about two years before Dib made his way back to Emmett's Lake, going in broad daylight on a sunny Saturday in June, down the winding forest path to the dark lake where tragedy had struck o'er a century ago. The lake was peaceful now, tiny little tadpoles flittering about as butterflies flew overhead. He calmly sat at the end of the lake, on a tree stump as a water boatman skittered across the lake, leaving behind a small silver wake as Dib waited.
Sure enough, a few bubbles began to rise up to disturb the surface of the quiet water, small fish darting away as a scum of mud and filthy rose up slowly from the bottom of the lake, taking the vague shape of someone all-too-familiar who was scowling angrily.
"Dib, gemme out! She took my body that stupid little bitch! Look, if you bring her down here, I'll give you fifty bucks! I'll bring you chocolate every day to your room for breakfast, I'll-I'll wash your feet and never yell at you again, I promise, I-"
"Goodbye, Gaz." Dib firmly remarked, sitting up and walking away.
And that was the last time Dib ever walked by the lake ever again.
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SOLE I'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR IDEAS (post them coward) (I'm sorry you're not a coward aaaaa)
Asdjflsg but I have so many and so little time it's the curse of being an artist instead of a writer creating takes so much TIME
And I'm a student with a full time internship
Anyway as soon as this Big Thing is done and we actually have wifi in my apartment I want to post some more doodles about my ideas but here's spoilers I guess??
I CAN'T USE A READ MORE ON MOBILE I'M SORRY
Lord I'm pathetic
Bounty: the Irken Armada was lost in the Florpus, leaving a huge vacuum in Irken strength. Resistance groups rallied against them, some Invaders failed without the Tallest' support, others self-destructed, others adandoned their missions to live on their planets, go into hiding, or reconvene at Irk to protect the Control Brains, and others simply vanished. Zim, busy rebuilding his base and oblivious as always, had no idea. Then, when most of the Irken forces were gathered at Irk, the planet was attacked and destroyed. This, Zim noticed, and began trying to contact other Invaders, for months. For months he tried to locate and other Irkens out there, but it was like they had all... vanished. Eventually, Zim put the peices together, and when some various space debris crash landed on Earth, he rushed there to claim any answers or supplies it might have had. Dib, however, was also there, and once the tractor beam started, they realized it had been a trap. They were taken aboard a massive ship that collected alien life forms, either for collection or bounties, and where rather thrilled to fetch an Irken since there were "so few left." Zim and Dib were categorized and separated, while the ship operators figured out what to do with Zim. It was tempting to keep him, but he was a defective. It was tempting to hand him over to the resistance for torture and execution, but he was rare. Before they could decide, Zim and Dib both escaped, Dib having learned that Irkens were a dying race, and Zim facing a new wave of depression at his inability to even be a good collection item.
Mr. Nash Toil: After Bounty, Zim vanished. In that time Dib had helped grow and expand the Swollen Eyeball Network, and was only a few nights away from heading to basic S.E.N. training when another Irken ship crash landed on Earth. Zim reappeared and rushed there, and the Irken pilot lived long enough to tell him that they were the last Irkens left. The Swollen Eyeball Network then arrived, and Zim used the dead Irken to fake his own death. Dib was told, and went to training believing Zim was finally dead. After graduating, Dib was made a member of the S.E.N., but only a junior member since he was still completing school. He was assigned a new partner, a short, pestering, and angry human named Nash Toil, who seemed to exist to annoy Dib. Nash also proved to be a huge work hazard, continuously neglecting SEN protocol, endangering himself and the mission, and generally having a bad attitude. He also asked Dib a lot of questions about Dib's thesis on aliens and the fallen Irken Empire, or what was left, and his theories about what happened to it. One night, Nash said one too many "educated guesses," and sparked Dib's suspicions. That was the first time he actually saw Zim's body, as well as the captured ship and robot companion. Convinced he was just paranoid, Dib dropped the subject until one certain mission, when the Resistance he had theorized about came to Earth... They targeted Dib, who was the only one with still working Irken technology, captured him, and tortured him for the location of the Earth-Irken. The only Irken on Earth, of course, was dead, or so he thought... Dib's partner, and a strange companion, lead the SEN/military attack against the ship, and once again disobeying orders, broke into the ship and rescued Dib themselves. The Resistance, having found their Irken prey, put up enough of a fight for Nash's real identity to be revealed. Zim and GIR then dragged Dib out of there, and the ship erupted, killing most of the Resistance forces, a large portion of SEN and military agents, and stranding various Resistance f aliens on Earth. Zim nursed Dib back to health, and finally revealed what he had been doing these last years: after the bounty was put on his head by the Collectors, Zim began traveling across space to find any remaining Irken soldiers, technology, or any signs of life. He spent quite a bit time on the cold, dead husk of Irk, meeting various refugees, running from the Resistance, and rebuilding as much of his own tech as he could, including reprogramming his PAK as any and all codings he could, creating new armor for himself, rebuilding tools and weapons he could salvage, and finally built Gir a somewhat functioning brain. When he returned to Earth, he had confirmed all slimy humans indeed thought he was dead, crafted a new disguise and identity, and joined the SEN to spy on them from within. He had already learned that while the Collectors had put a bounty on his head, they had done the same for Dib, so Zim tried to protect him. His name, Nash Toil, was a clue all along: Not A Stinking Human, The Only Irken Left. Now, however, that the SEN wants his human identity dead and the aliens know his alien identity is still alive, he should leave and go into hiding once again. Probably leave Earth. Dib, understandably, was furious at first, but then realized the best way to track down those aliens hunting for Zim is to stay within the SEN. And Dib would help him. Right after graduation.
With Dib a full time member of the SEN, and successfully earning lead on hunting down the alien survivors, he and Zim continue to do just that, clean up whatever messes they leave behind, and do a little ghost hunting along the way. The ship's massive explosion had unleashed a huge wave of radiation onto the planet, mutating random people and animals as well as whole towns. And Dib and Zim investigate it all.
Random ideas
Meet M.E.M.E.: Zim, now a scientist, works constantly to preserve Irken technology and develop his own. One such invention is M.E.M.E., or Miniature Enhancement Microbot Equipment, a swarm of Irken Microbots that are mentally controlled by the host to create armor, weapons, tools, and whatever else they want. Dib goes through his own rough patch, constantly failing and falling short. With his SEN testing right around the corner, he's even more stressed, and decides go to the alien for help. Zim, however, refuses to allow Dib to use MEME. During it's creation, Zim used a small fraction of it on himself for simple tests, and through it passed the tests, it also infected his PAK, both driving him to new intellectual levels and severely draining his energy. Dib, however, neither knows this nor cares, and though he does accept Zim's help to train and study, he also takes MEME. From that point on, MEME does improve his mental and physical limits, but also enhances his less desirable and often suppressed emotional impulses... Zim has to figure out why Dib is spiraling out of control, is there more to play here than just stress, as well as stop Dib when he goes after the one whose rejection started the whole thing: Dr. Membrane. (Dib will continue to use MEME throughout their adventures as his narrative equal to Zim's robot companion and PAK system, but only under Zim's very careful and always reluctant supervision.)
Rise of the Aukins: ( inspired by the one post about winged Irkens ) Zim picks up a transmission and after frantically confirming his own instincts, begs Dib to double check it. Dib does, and confirms what Zim already thought: it's Irken. Or rather, it's a version of Irken. Once they realize there are coordinates included, the two head into space to investigate, and discover a whole different species of Irken: this time, they are peaceful, emotional, and have wings. The Aukins reveal the true history of Irk, which was never taught to Irkens, and invite Zim and Dib to join their society. Admittedly, it's tempting, but are these soft spoken aliens actually as peaceful as they seem?
My Coworker is a Vampire: Gaz is the head of her department at CompBiz, respected coder, hacker, and programmer. She doesn't talk to her brother unless he needs something or they've got some ultra-rare family event, but this time, it's her who needs their help. Her new co-worker, despite being all levels of weird and unnerving, even for Gas, might be stealing her designs. Oh, and he might also be a vampire. The latter she can forgive, but how else will she get her workaholic brother to look into it and bust the creep?
Old Faces: Multiple reports of people in town acting out of character, unusual items going missing, and traces of unknown radiation take Dib and Zim back to where it all started: home. And what luck, they are just in time for Hi Skool Reunion! Well, Dib is, Zim never actually went, and the human is far from excited to return. But when the shape shifting stowaway leads them there, the two have a completely new reason to question everything their old classmates tell them.
All for Nought: For being the only Irken left, Zim has made quite a name for himself. He defeated his own armada, escaped a Florpus, has repeatedly dodged Collector capture, capture by the Resistance, some of which had set up base on his own planet, and has every code the Irkens ever developed in his PAK. He's not exactly famous, but he's definitely known, and had he been foolish enough to risk detection by listening to the outer space chatter about him, he'd be honored. But how will all that change when, according to the rumors, the Florpus returns, and it brought survivors?
Uh that's all the more or less formed ideas, at least for now. I'm sorry this is so long!!
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Even after making these guys, I still can hardly fathom how much I actually like this show now…
Here’s a character line-up for the six IZ ocs I mentioned in my earlier post. I’ll list some info on each of them in the cut below, but here’s some general info for the whole group:
These guys all knew each other since they were smeets. At the time, Irkens were going through one of many phases to genetically engineer better, stronger, taller versions of their species. At this point, the experiments were winding down and each phase pushed for only mild or subtle changes in order to limit any extreme consequences. Most of their batch ended up slightly taller than average and tested better overall during their training. They were all also very loyal Irkens! The problem was… a lot of them proved to be more loyal to each other than to their actual leaders. This actually led to about a 2 minute “uprising” in their youth where a few of them got themselves just about vaporized. Some other smeets from their batch would later meet similar fates or get their little, green butts handed to them down the line whenever any of them stepped so much as a foot out of line. …Woohoo! :)
So, the ones that survived basically either never really had a loyalty issue or learned pretty fast to keep their mouths shut. In the case of these six, it was the latter. Rather than favor height, they value competence. That doesn’t mean that they won’t follow orders, but whoever leads them better do so well. This leaves them to often have shaky opinions of their fellow Irkens and higher-ups, and the group will often debate (in secret) over which traits are the most valuable for the empire’s goals of conquest. They’re also pretty ambitious, and divided themselves in a way to both jointly live…somewhat, comfortably and rise through the empire’s ranks.
LARG:
Larg is the tallest of the group, and because of this the others will sometimes treat him as an outsider. In public, they give him the respect other Irkens would show him because of his height and position. In private, he has to prove himself to them more than the rest of them have to with each other to show that he isn’t taken in by his own status and that he won’t end up stabbing them in the back at some point. In reality, the fear is pretty baseless as he’s actually the most lenient and easygoing of the bunch.
Once he became a navigator on the Massive, he was able to solidify his place in the group a lot more. They valued his placement and what it meant for them overall, with him doing the others favors or giving them subtle recommendations when possible. It also gave him the chance to keep an eye on the Tallest.
Out of the six, he questions authority the least. He gets along well with his fellow navigators too.
SLEEVEEN:
Sleeveen is the next tallest of the six and became a scientist. It’s not so much that she devoted herself to science because that’s her strong suit, but rather that “someone needed to fill that slot” and the role fit her personality best. Sleeveen’s the sort to play mind-games rather than draw a weapon. She’ll put on a show to convince you that your family’s dead just to see how you react and test how far she can push you over the edge. Therefore, it could easily be said that she favors/specializes in psychological weaponry and related tech.
She likes talking and bragging about her work, so she’ll show it off any chance she gets. In turn, she’ll take it as a personal offense if you don’t give her some attention. Just letting her talk and nodding along on occasion is typically all it really takes to satisfy her though.
The group views her as the least rational, due to her being pretty petty and desire for revenge if she feels slighted–which the others mostly view as a pointless waste of time. Still, she doesn’t let her feelings get in the way of her work or their safety, so they’ll usually let her have her way or even play along.
FIZ:
Fiz probably would’ve been fine anywhere in the military, but the others pushed her to be an invader due to her self-discipline and well-rounded abilities. And it was good advice: She does a pretty good job. Her main issue is that her usual “angry” expression sometimes gets her into a bit of trouble, as most people can’t read her and don’t know if she’s giving them sass or not. She often gets sent to planets with darker atmospheres or that are tidal locked, so she wears a much darker uniform than normal to help her blend in a bit better to those types of surroundings.
Even when she first hatched, Fiz had a pretty angry expression. She’s not a negative person though: It’s just her face. She can be a hard-case with a razor focus to her work and a stern desire for control of both herself and her environment; however, she will emote more at times of extreme emotion, such as surprise, and doesn’t mind relaxing a bit–especially with the others–if she is offered the chance. Just don't expect her to spill her innermost secrets…
Fiz has a major caffeine addiction. She once had to go several weeks without caffeine on an assignment on a dwarf planet and it frustrated her so much that she dumped a ton of chemicals into its entire water supply to turn it into soda. Even though she went a little out of line, the Tallest were actually happy with the result and pumped the planet dry before conquering it completely.
CESTUS:
Cestus is the group’s second invader; however, he stayed an Irken elite for a much longer period than Tiz from a lack of trying. He shows a general apathy for most things, and as a result nothing really moves, disappoints, or impresses him easily. The most anyone can normally get out of him is a resounding “meh.” Out of the six, he’s the most likely to be a follower, as he doesn’t give much input on things and has a habit of staying silent. Despite this, the others know that he’d come through for them in the end.
The one thing Cestus really does care deeply about are the others in the group, even if he doesn’t show it. If something happened to them, he’d fight tooth and nail to save them–even shirking off his obedient façade if it came to it, so long as he knew it wouldn’t do more harm than good. He actually has a soft spot for smeets too, and would’ve wanted to teach if he was able. Not without attempting to slip their batch’s ideology onto future generations despite their PAKs’ programming, but he would’ve enjoyed it.
No one will say it to his face, but some Irkens talk about Cestus’ head. He doesn’t know it, but a lot of them think he got hit with something that caused a permanent indentation in the back of it. It’s one rumor that somehow no one in the group has picked up on, or if they have they just don’t care enough about it to bring it up.
MOOB:
Moob is about average in height for an Irken, as well as average overall in most fields. Because of this, he became a standard soldier. He specializes in demolitions for his unit, which is the main area where he shows incredible skill. He’s very passionate about his explosives. Some might even say dangerously so. Give him any opportunity to blow something up and there’s a chance that the armada will see fireworks from halfway across the galaxy. If it weren’t for the others reminding him to keep himself in-check, he’d probably get himself into a ton of trouble.
He’s got a very “silent, but deadly” personality, not really saying much to other people outside of the group, but breaking into a loud, scary fit of laughter when it’s time to do his job. Effective as he is, most people don’t like teaming up with him on assignments.
He’s blown himself up and his PAK has had to revive him multiple times. It’s a miracle he still has all of his limbs.
CALU:
Unlike the others, Calu didn’t get very far in his training. Although just a little shorter than the average Irken, he was one of the shortest in the batch. That, combined with his slight chubbiness and lack of noteworthy abilities led to him getting stationed as a janitor on the Massive. His placement was intentional, with Larg pulling some strings so he could watch him and so that Calu could check out other parts of the ship. No one makes his job easy though–and it’s already not, because sometimes he’ll get sent on jobs cleaning up areas like that trash compactor in “Star Wars”–so he does what he can to keep attention away from him.
Calu is actually very intelligent, but hides it since his low status actually works well for them all in the end. Since most Irkens view him in a poor light, if they notice him at all, they don’t really bother hiding anything in front of him. So he gets to listen on plenty of good information or dirty secrets. While he might get in trouble for spilling them himself, it doesn’t stop him from telling the others in the group. That sort of know-how comes in handy, especially if any of them ever want to one-up a fellow Irken.
Due to the abuse he does face, the others will treat him almost like a little brother despite them all being the same age. They’ll tease him a bit too, but only in good fun. And if anyone else messes with him, they better hope they don’t “accidentally” slip through an open air lock. They help him bear what he goes through, like secretly giving him a small earpiece to hide under his goggles in case he wants to listen to music.
Additional Info:
The group tries to meet up on occasion and hate being separated. Still, it’s next to impossible for all six of them to be in one place at the same time. Larg and Calu see each other the most often, with Fiz and Cestus seeing the others the least due to falling out of contact for long periods while on assignments.
Fiz and Cestus have the most in common. Not counting their antenna, they’re both the same height; they’re both invaders; and they were both pushed to be invaders by the group for their skills, demeanors, and, according to their smeet days, ”because they look so intense.”
Sleeveen and Fiz act a lot like bickering sisters, throwing insults at each other and talking over the other’s head, “borrowing” each other’s things, and so forth. Really though, that’s just their typical way of dealing with each other and they’re pretty close.
Sleeveen sometimes uses Moob as a test subject when he’s off-duty, since he can take a lot of damage. In return, she sometimes lets him mess around with experimental equipment–if always when she can observe.
All of them are pretty comfortable and open around each other except for Larg, who tries to connect with them the most. He’s closest to Calu, who in turn doesn’t mind being brutally honest with him in private.
They’re technically defective, but it’s not actually their PAKs that causes it: It’s the chemicals in their bodies transmitting signals differently to their brains. The PAKs would’ve been fine strapped onto another Irken. Should their PAKs be attached to another Irken now ,however, their memories and ideology would imprint on future generations. Their current defective state could be “corrected”, but it would have to be done through severe torture.
#my art#my ocs#invader zim#invader zim ocs#iz#irken#irken invader#irken navigator#larg#fiz#sleeveen#moob#calu#cestus#tv show#cartoon#irken scientist#irken soldier#irken janitor#why did i do this?#why did i put so much into this?#i don't know how this show gripped me now but here i am!#and somehow in a span of about a week i went from horror flashbacks of kids eating roaches to loving the characters and laughing nonstop#and now fan children!#i love my new fan babies!#even though i still marvel at the fact that they now exist why did i do this?! xd#what have i done?!#fanart
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Could you maybe do something with my OC and Tallest Purple..? Her name is Ithil, she’s a female in her early 20’s and she uses she/her pronouns. Maybe them cuddling/chilling out? Anything is cool really. Thank you so much in advance!!
*gets on hands and knees to grovel* PLEASE FORGIVE MY LATENESS. This got a bit longer than originally planned, and I haven’t written Purple in so long I wanted to it to be just right. I hope you enjoy it~!
Advising for the Massive wasn’t an especially difficult task, but it did get tedious quickly. Even the obviously poor decisions required multiple attempts on Ithil’s part to persuade a change of direction. Her whole position existed to have an outside opinion on things, to see things that might get lost in the monotonous sea of growing egos. And even then she had to explain as to why she was important and worth listening to. Mostly, it was exhausting - albeit worth the trouble.
Ithil weaved her way through thinning crowds of the little green aliens, watching their antennae perk up when she walked by in respect for her height. If she didn’t intimately know them to be such pains in the ass it would’ve been more endearing. The only ones who didn’t salute her were the guards on either side of the doors to the Tallests’ quarters, probably out of spite.
Irkens as a general rule weren’t really supposed to have relations, but she was tolerated on the sole basis that one simply did not say ‘no’ to the Tallests, regardless of the matter. But those who didn’t approve found ways to make sure she knew. Like the guards, who refused to salute the two full inches she had on both of them, and also refused to look at her directly. But they always let her in.
The front common room was mostly dark except for the large TV that cast a flickering glow of color. Tallest Red was mostly transfixed by it, absently putting handfuls of popcorn in his mouth in a way that looked autonomous.
Ithil frowned at him. “You missed the meeting today.”
His eyes flicked to her once before looking back at the TV before he shrugged.
She sighed. “If you want people to take you seriously you have to act serious every once in a while.”
Now he stopped to give her his full attention. “People do take me seriously, I’m the Tallest.”
Ithil shook her head. “No, Irkens take you seriously, other species just fear you by proxy because they think you’re reckless.”
His eyes squinted as if he was only pretending to understand what she’d said. “Whatever you say. And he’s waiting for you.” Red waggled a finger at his co-leader’s private quarters. “Better not keep him waiting.”
She pursed her lips and left him alone, heading towards the door off to her right. It slid open with a gentle hiss and she peeked around curiously, a small wave of shock crossing her eyes.
The small coffee table was piled - neatly and meticulously - with treats and snacks and two thin bottle of something bubbly. There were sweet things and savory things and some familiar things she ate growing up. The smaller, personal TV was queued up with six different planetary streaming networks, and the overhead lights had been dimmed low. There was even a thin layer of sweet smelling smoke rolling enticingly over the cool floor that swirled around her ankles when she walked in.
“This certainly is… elaborate.”
Purple stepped up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders, smiling. “In a good way?”
Ithil leaned into him. “Definitely in a good way. But what’s the occasion? Or just because you can?”
He guided her over to the couch, situated the pillows, and pulled a blanket out. “I know that we don’t have traditions or holidays or anything, but some planets have days where they celebrate people they care about. I remembered you got done early today, so I just… thought we’d do something? I didn’t mean to be so excessive.”
Ithil always liked to watch him ramble, it made him sound so humble. “I don’t think it’s excessive, I think it’s sweet~”
They lounged at opposite ends of the small couch, their legs tucked under the blanket. Ithil picked a light-hearted movie that she knew would make him laugh, and Purple eagerly kept her glass full and snacks within reach. They talked between scenes and caught each other’s eyes during the cute bits.
When the movie ended Purple let the credits roll for background music, then picked up the cookie that Ithil couldn’t quite reach. She caught him watching her open her mouth to bite it. “What?”
“Nothing.”
Ithil kicked him gently under the blanket. “Not nothing, what is it?”
Purple looked down at his long twiddling fingers and sighed. “I know I get bored easy, and I know I’m supposed to pretend like I don’t have feelings, and I know I’m technically the more superior of the two clearly most famous leaders of an infamously ruthless species of planet conquering soldiers…”
Ithil raised her eyebrows. “But?”
He shrunk a little, or as much as someone of his size could, and ducked his head - barely meeting her gaze. “But I just… wanted you to know that… I… um… am very bad with words. I’m… I want to…”
She reached over and patted his knee with a sly smile. “It’s okay, I know I’m the greatest thing to have graced the flagship since its conception, and that I’m obviously the smartest and most amazing non-Irken you’ve ever met.”
Purple rolled his eyes almost affectionately, humming.
“Don’t worry,” she said softly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
When he bit his lip uncertainly, she crawled over to nestle herself in his lap and wrap his arms around her. “Besides,” she continued, “who else would give me unlimited access to the universe’s most coveted junk food?”
He scoffed. “Nobody, obviously.”
“Obviously.”
Purple smiled, a low and gentle purr rumbling in his chest. “I really like you.”
Ithil hummed. “I really like you too.”
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