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inbarfink · 6 months

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No, you see, one of the funniest things about Zim is that he’s not, like, 100% fully incompetent. Throughout the entire IZ Canon, Zim has occasionally demonstrated some moments of surprising competency in combat -

Infiltration -

Mechanical engineering and science -

Spaceship flying -

And Diabolical schemes -

Of course, all of these moments are contrasted with major scenes where he is very comically bad at all of those same things. But a lot of this can be attributed to his actual core flaws which are - his ego and his absolute inability to accurately assess threats.

(and obviously these two traits are extremely related. Zim falls into either underestimating genuine threats to his safety and goals due to his own overconfidence - or overestimating ‘threats’ and turning minor problems into anxiety spirals as a way to justify why he keeps failing).

And you can see how all of Zim’s other screw-ups kinda all stern from that one core Flaw. Zim is probably decent enough at hand-to-hand combat for a tiny little alien, but he’s totally unable to assess whether or not he’s punching above his weight. And so he ends up losing in horrible and embarrassing ways to guys much bigger and tougher than he is.

He’s a pretty impressive scientist and inventor - but his inability to see his own limitations and flaws means he can’t notice when his project is too ambitious for his abilities or even just when he makes some error that he could’ve probably fixed before test-running but.. well… he doesn't and he didn’t, so…

And all of his plans overlook serious problems, while focusing far too much on minor threats. Even when his inventions work well and he comes up with something legitimately cunning, they are wasted on Literal Petty Schoolyard Drama.

Threat assessment is the one thing Zim is Legitimately Bad at. Pretty much the only times he identifies danger correctly are explicitly a ‘even broken clock is right twice a day’ situations (see: ‘Plague of Babies’).

And that is so funny.

Because while it seems like the Irken Empire sees an Invader actually conquering the plant on their own as, like, a Good Bonus Assignment to do on the side and Zim, ever the overachiever, has basically decided that it’s his duty.

The actual main role of an Invader - as stated in the first episode is - quite simply

The job of an Invader is to assess threats.

Zim is not quite as incompetent as people see him, but he is an utter failure at the one thing he’s supposed to be doing.

#invader zim #zim #iz #zim iz #iz zim #zim invader zim #irken zim #zim irken #the nightmare begins

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strawowoberry · 25 days

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BIRTHDAY POST🥳🎉

♡

#invader zim #zim #invaderzim #zim iz #zim invader zim #zim irken #HAPPY ANNIVERSARY IZ 23RD BIRTHDAY LETS GOOO #MY 18TH BIRTHDAY LETS GOOO 🎉🎉🎉🎉#iz

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traditional-tragedy · 2 years

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the whole club was lookin at her

#gir invader zim #invader zim #zim irken #scenemo #scene aesthetic

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shinkumancer · 9 months

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I’m gonna suffer thru work today and tomorrow so here!

Have this! 😉

#nicktoons unite #nicktoons unite: 10 years later #nicktoons #invader zim #zim irken #dib membrane #my life as a teenage robot #jenny wakeman #xj9 #rugrats #all grown up #tommy pickles

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snazzyrat · 10 months

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#invader zim #invader zim fanart #my art #iz fanart #zim fanart #zim iz #invader zim fandom #iz #iz irken #irken #zim irken

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ostrichowl · 23 days

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silly doodle

#invader zim #iz #invader zim art #iz art #invaderzim #digital art #iz fanart #invader zim fanart #irken #zim irken #artwork #art #alien art #zim #dib iz #zim iz #gir iz #gir invader zim

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miyuartuwu · 3 months

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Some drawings I made taking a couple of reference bases 💕

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maniacjohnny · 8 months

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zim showing affection

#jhonen vasquez #invader zim #iz #zadf #zadr #zade #invader zim zade #iz zadr #dib membrane #zim irken #iz irken #irken #uhh tags #drawpile #ickachris

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invader-fish · 1 month

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FIRST POST !! >_<

i plan on making a introduction post sometime but for now i wanna share some art ive made recently! :3 (these are my first attempts at drawing invader zim characters so they arent my best work -_-)

(BTW im new to posting on tumbler and ive only been using it for a bit over a year (o □ o ) there will be mistakes and im still figuring out and getting used to tumbler :o)

#invader zim #dib membrane #invader zim fanart #rawr xd #dazai osamu #dazai fanart #zadf #scene #zim #iz zim #iz zim fanart #zim irken #zim invader zim #gaz membrane #gaz iz #gaz invader zim #scene kid #line dividers not mine #Spotify

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roztheirken · 2 years

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Commission for @zadrdumpblog, from his AU irken shared with his friend; I really loved doing this commission, thank you very much for the freedom to choose the AU and the idea! <3 <3 <3

This kind of commission gives me a thousand years of life! ahaha <3

#Irken #zim irken #Irken Tallest #Dib #dib membrane #zim x dib #irken dib #zadr art #zadr au #zadr #invader zim

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loomhatri · 2 months

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Yar I'm in dat one invader thingi fand0m!! X3

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inbarfink · 3 months

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I mean, the thing is that fiction about aliens is almost always going to be about some sort of Other on some level. Whatever it’s about demonizing or fear-mongering about some sort of Outsider Group or trying to get the audience to sympathize with the Other via the metaphor of a lovable alien.

And Invader Zim is kind of an interesting spot there because, like, it’s not just ‘Bad Outsider Out to Destroy Our Beloved In-Group’ or ‘Poor Sympathetic Outsider Being Put-Down by the In-Group’. First thing first because Zim is kinda both. He is both the Outsider secretly hiding inside the in-group plotting their destruction - but the narrative and framing also sympathizes with him and supports his view of the in-group (that humans are stupid and gross).

So he can’t really be A Scary Demonized Outsider when he gets so much narrative sympathy and support, but also… he is a murderous little world-conquering bastard and most of his suffering is generally just him gets exactly what he deserves so he can’t be your classic sort of Sympathetic Outsider either.

And the other thing is that the in-group is not even really involved in Zim’s conflict. Zim’s biggest challenge in conquering the earth is Dib, another Outsider. Often, despite being a human and thus part of the literal in-group, Dib is an even bigger Outsider to humanity than Zim is.

Zim and Dib are both Outsiders, and Zim isn’t just an Outsider as an Alien on Earth - among his own people he is in the same situation as Dib is, an Outsider in his own in-group. (Not that he can ever admit to himself that is the case). So these two Weirdos are fighting to protect/further the goals of two in-groups that will never actually accept them.

And so often their main weapon against each other and the primary danger and the source of their suffering for themselves is the same thing; the in-group conformity and enforcement of social norms.

Dib’s main evidence that Zim is an Alien is, most of the time, just the fact that he looks and acts weird. But also he himself is constantly bullied for looking and acting weird.

And Zim’s most constant source of anxiety while undercover on Earth is the fact that he’s going to get caught being Too Weird and then not just fail his mission, but get brutally dissected and experimented on. But his best defense against being exposed is… basically just to point out just how much Dib also Diverges From the Norm.

It’s the story of two Weirdos trying to get the other punished for being weird in some way, while the Normies just kinda look on and laugh at them both. And the actual thing they want, recognition and acceptance from their in-group is the one thing they are doomed to never actually get.

And honestly, I think that's actually what makes a lot of real-life Outsiders cling to IZ, especially while we’re teens. I think, in a way, the fact that it’s kind of a messy Outsider narrative makes it more relatable to the messy middle-school/high-school experience than something more neatly crafted to be uplifting to the Weird Kids.

I mean, I certainly see the obvious value in fiction that’s actually trying to create a positive narrative for queer teens or autistic kids or maybe just scene kids or any combination of the following. This sort of media is very good, and can be just as important to some folks.

But... also the truth is that when you’re an edgy teen wrecked with self-loathing for Weirdness you don’t even fully understand “There’s nothing wrong with me and all the people making me feel like they are Bad!” can be a hard message to really believe in. Sometimes it’s easier to start from “Maybe I am all the terrible things people say that I am but.. still deserve love and sympathy, I can still be the hero of the story”.

And because, sadly, the problem of Weirdos attacking each other for being Weirdos using the same rhetoric that’s used to hurt them, just for the sake of approval and recognition from in-groups that are never going to treat either of them as nothing but a joke - is not a phenomenon exclusive to the Silly Alien Invader Nicktoon.

And Dib and Zim’s rivalry is a great basic framework to explore it both in analysis of the canon and in fanworks.

#iz #invader zim #iz analysis #zim #zim iz #iz zim #invader zim zim #zim invader zim #zim irken #dib membrane #iz dib #invader zim dib #dib iz #dib invader zim #iz dib membrane

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bugharvest · 5 months

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hey how would you guys feel about cunty zim art