#cate-r-gunn

[elitespacefreak]

Your membrane headcanon is encouraging me to write things

I am failing spectacularly at falling back to sleep but if my headcanon is inspiring something I think you should write it so I can read it and struggle with my feelings

[lawera-art]

@cate-r-gunn I drew a Midge!! Surprise!! x3 

I had tell you that I’m a big fangirl of your fic. 

This is my version of Midge and I really hope you like it and don’t get mad if I did anything wrong. 

[sugar-gir]

What's your favorite color?

ALL OF THEM! pin k,,, briGHt pINk!! that colors gr eat !!!! but ALL are amazing!!!!

[elitespacefreak]

YOURE A BABE. A QUEEN. A BEAUTIFUL GODDESS. WHAT A GORGEOUS MUNCHKIN.

Am I pretty enough for Insta yet?

[donnies-pop-tart]

This is probably way to late but {HUGS!!!}

ITS NEVER TOO LAAAAATTTEEE *is tackled* 💕

Also shoosh why are you so cute

[elitespacefreak]

Now that squishy stuff is out of the way, headcanon that Zim changes his contacts every now and then? Just imagine him having like every color and he just gets to the point where he coordinates them with his outifts. Also, imagine him with RED contacts 😏

Ahdjkfhskdhjsdjs how dare you I love this

• He 100% just has contacts in every color simply because he can and for no other reason.

• After he’s been on Earth for a while and starts wearing normal clothes, he has fun playing around with styles. Contacts as a fashion statement just really intrigue him because he can change them so easily but they make a huge difference.

• Brown and yellow are for fall and sweater weather, but orange is for the week of Halloween. He fuckin gets down for Halloween.

• Green is for the spring and anything he wears that’s cool colors or if he wears a lot of white.

• Blue is mainly for the summer when it’s warm out, or for when he wears something that’s all black but not formal or semi-formal.

• Silver are for the winter or for days when it’s particularly cold out, sometimes late late fall.

• He likes to coordinate with seasons because he’s in love with the fact that Earth has natural seasons. He’s so used to a controlled atmosphere, it’s a wonderful refreshing experience for him.

• He’s got some irregular colors too like purple, teal, fuckin bright neon, some with patterns and shit. These are for nights out or events and special occasions.

• The red ones aren’t even red. It’s clear where the irises are so his natural red comes through. These are hella special and are worn with all black, almost always formal or at least semi-formal events.

• Also why did u do this to me now I’m feeling things thanks Cat

[sweetiepie08]

Rebel Z (Chapter 10 Final)

nvader Zim fanfic

While analyzing Zim’s PAK for weaknesses, Tak discovers strange coding that sends her on a search for answers. The clues lead her to uncover a conspiracy that governs all of Irken society. When the truth sends her on the run, she has no choice but to return to the one place the Tallest would never willingly go: Urth.

Meanwhile, Dib has noticed odd changes in Zim’s behavior. Has the invader simply grown bored of his mission over the last few years, or is there something more interesting going on?

People who asked to be tagged: @incorrect-invader-zim , @messinwitheddie, @reblogstupids, @cate-r-gunn

If anyone else would like to be added to the tag list please let me know.

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Chapter 9. Chapter 10. 

Thank you for reading! I do plan to continue the story in a sequel fic, but I may take a short hiatus first. I hope you enjoyed this!

Be on the lookout for the next book in the series, RevolutionZ! In which Zim and Tak attempt to join the Resisty and gain new companions! Dib fills his gap year by joining an alien rebellion! Gaz gets dragged in too! And what happened to Zim in Death Melee is explained! 

However, I will most likely only be posting links to Ao3 than full chapters to Tumblr. Again, Thank you everyone for reading!

[-]

“So, what exactly the fuck was all that stuff with the punch about?” Dib asked once they were a comfortable distance away form the Massive.

Zim glared straight ahead at the stars. “It’s nothing that concerns you, human.”

“Bullshit!” Dib slammed his hand down on the control panel. “Your little stunt could have gotten us killed. Out with it!”

Zim gritted his teeth and gripped the steering mechanism until his knuckles quaked. Dib braced himself for the inevitable screaming denial. Instead, Zim let out a pained sigh. “Fine, if you must know, I figured out three Urth years ago that my mission was a sham and my leaders were trying to have me killed, so I took revenge. Happy?”

“We know all that,” Tak snapped. “And anyway, I told you your mission was a lie a long time ago. What I want to know is how you managed to betray the Tallest without your treasonous thoughts setting of your life clock.”

“Yeah, and who’s Spek?” Dib added.

“You wish to hear Zim’s tale of woe?” He clenched his fist and heaved out another sigh. “Fine. Three Urth years ago, the Tallest contacted me, telling me they selected me to participate in Death Melee, an inter-galactic event that all would be watching.”

“The one where they throw criminals on a planet together to fight to the death?” Tak deadpanned. “That was your first clue?”

“They told me the rules had changed and it was now a contest of elite warriors. For my partner, they gave me a Spek, a smeet just shy of his cadet years. He hadn’t even seen his first cycle yet…” Zim’s fists shook as he cut himself off.

“Since you’re still alive, I’m assuming you won,” Dib said.

“Yes, but…” his gaze fell to the floor. “Yes. Anyway, throughout the Melee, it became clear to me that the Tallest lied. This was still a game for criminals, but Spek…” Zim narrowed his haunted eyes, “he was only there to lessen my chances.”

Dib watched, mesmerized. He thought he’d seen the many moods of Zim. He’d seen everything from proud boasting, to spiteful rage, to pathetic schmooping. But this, this was something else entirely, something he never expected to see from the alien. True remorse.  

“On my journey back to Urth,” he continued, “I had too much time to think and when made it back to m base, I was done with all of it.” Rage grew in his voice with every word. “I knew they lied. I knew they’d been lying. For a moment, I thought, if they didn’t want my genius, maybe someone else would. And that thought was enough to set off my life clock. Instead of simply ripping out my feedback chip, I infected it with a virus that sends the Control Brains a loop of my Urth memories, preventing it from receiving new thoughts and experiences.” A bitter, satisfied smile came to his face. “As far as I can tell, it hadn’t noticed anything was off until now.”

“And the machines I saw you building?” Dib pressed.

Zim drew himself up. “I have a contract with the Resisity. I build them machines, they appreciate my genius and send me monies.”

“And that’s what you’ve been doing for three years?” Dib asked, voice sripping with skepticism.

Zim nodded and said nothing more.

Dib stared at him, trying to get a read on this whole tale. He wasn’t sure what to believe. Zim’s reason for existence seamed to be pleasing his Tallest. The little green monster talked of nothing else since arriving on Urth. He couldn’t imagine Zim wanting anything else and he’d fallen for the schmoopy act before. But this was not schmoop. It was too subtle, too quiet. And that betrayal of his Tallest couldn’t be denied. Something had truly changed.

Dib looked to Tak to gauge her opinion, but her face revealed nothing except careful calculation.

“I’d heard the Resisty had been growing and gaining power,” she mused. “New technology granted them upsetting victories and made them more of a problem than they once were. They could be the key. We need to fight if we ever want a chance of defeating the Control Brains and freeing our people, and for that, we’ll need an army. With your connection and my information, we could pose a real threat to the Empire.”

Dib expected Zim to launch into another tirade about how he wasn’t in it for the politics. That this was all a personal mission and he had no interest in going rogue. That did not happen.

Instead, Zim said nothing for a long time. He simply stared through the windshield in tense silence. But then, a grin grew slowly on his face. “I’m in.”

[-]

When they made it back to Earth, they found that Gaz made use of MiMi and Mini Mouse as gaming companions, Dad bought her excuse that Dib was hanging out at Zim’s house, and that he hadn’t even stopped home long enough to notice the two additional robots in the living room.

Dib went straight to his room and laid out all of his recording devices. He had the notes he took the night Zim and Tak rambled drunkenly on the couch. He had the audio recording of the old man Irken that he couldn’t wait to translate. And he had the spy camera he’d been wearing to capture the whole experience. He never got so much undeniable proof on one mission before, and no one, to his knowledge, had this much evidence of this quality ever. He’d be king of the Swollen Eyeball network if he showed even a fraction of…

His eyes drifted to the Swollen Eyeball emblem pinned to his bulletin board and he let out a sigh. The Swollen Eyeball… what a joke. They’d been reduced to a bunch of anti-science conspiracy nuts. The organization became a competition to see who could shout their wildest theory the loudest. What were they compared to a real evil alien empire, a real soul-sucking, Lovecraftian horror, and a real space alien rebellion?

No. This was bigger than some crack-pot conspiracy group. This rebellion universe-shattering consequences. And he was going to be part of it.

[-]

Out in his ship, Zim stared at his PAK connector with warry eyes. He wasn’t sure what held him back now. His stunt on the Massive already solidified his traitor status, but this felt different, more official. It was one thing to enact vengeance on those who betrayed him. It was quite another to completely detach himself from society.

He’d been unwaveringly loyal to the Empire since his conception, but they didn’t want him. He’d seen that years ago. So what was he waiting for?

He disconnected the PAK from his back and ignored the lifeclock in the corner of his eye as he plugged it in. He opened the hatch, clicked a pair of tweezers in his fingers, then reached them toward his feedback chip.

At a light tug, his computer’s voice gave an automated warning.

You are attempting to remove the feedback chip. Doing so is an act of treason against the Irken Empire. Are you sure you want to proceed?

Zim closed his eyes and pulled the chip free.

[-]

Tak’s footsteps echoed as she walked across the concrete garage floor. MiMi’s metallic feet clacked beside her. Apart from that, the room was silent. She was used to silence. One grows accustomed to it when traveling alone through space. But these last few days had been anything but. And with Zim as her dubious ally, silent moments like this were certain to be few and far between.

And yet, this moment, she felt the need to fill it with something.

She popped open the windshield of her ship and hopped inside. “MiMi, my disc please.” Mimi reached into her head and took out the Urth data storage disc. Zim wasn’t the only one with a secret stash.

Tak took the disc from Mimi and placed it in a tray on the ship’s control panel. “Ship, track six please.” As she hopped out, music began to play. Smooth, jazzy horns filled the air and the singer began crooning.

Maybe this time, I’ll be lucky. Maybe this time he’ll stay…

The song was from an Urth performance art piece. The vocalist sang about some male mate. That part didn’t interest Tak in the slightest. Still, there was something about it...

Not a loser anymore, like the last time and the time before…

The song continued to play as Tak opened the engine access panel and began her work. While manipulating the many gears and wires, she found a few interesting repair methods that the human implemented over the years. Many employed the use of an Urth bonding strip called “duct tape”, which she had to admit came in handy. The human didn’t do a bad job, even if it was pretty slap-dash.

All the odds are in my favor, something’s bound to begin…

She finally untangled a mess of wires and reconnected them.

It’s gotta happen, happen sometime…

She fused together the final wire and the ship hummed to life. Fuel Regulation Systems online.

Tak smiled, “Okay Mimi, looks like we’re finally getting somewhere.” She ducked back into the access panel as the song his its crescendo.

Maybe this time I’ll win.

[ruvieracd]

I know everyone has a different idea of the ‘Golden Age’ of television, but the late 2010s were truly the best. 

I have to brag on Psych for a minute because I think if it was on today, it would be very very popular in the fandom world. 

It’s about a 26 year old very smart and hyper-attentive, but super lazy guy who under fear of being arrested for always calling in very crucial clues and tips for Crime Stopper money claims to be a psychic. He ends up getting hired as a consultant by the Santa Barbara Police Department and along with his Pharmaceutical Sales Rep best friend, they make a hilarious Holmes and Watson duo.

The show is so light-hearted and funny and can be dark and sad at times, but it’s just...it’s GOOD. It got silly after the writing got kind of bad into later seasons, but the first four seasons were amazing. And what’s even better, LGBT characters at the time were still confined to stereotypes, but Shawn (the lead character) is very obviously bi and then years later was officially confirmed to be bi which was nice when this was all still very rare.

@cate-r-gunn @redhoodsstrife and @rustyshackleford90  knows what I’m talking about. This was our jam. 

[elitespacefreak]

@cate-r-gunn

Is this Dek and Midge????

When Your OTP “hate” each other

Person A to B: fuck you

Me: ohoho you will

[bitchbehindblr]

Tagged by: @catfemme (ilysm luna and thank u!!)

Tagging @cate-r-gunn @morstan @eene-fangirl @minuettess @cl0wnparty and whoever else that wants to do this!

Link: x

[findingtheperfectcharacter]

@cate-r-gunn

[addie-bear]

(( Hello friends. This is just a small announcement that I’m going to try and take a little break for a while. I just need some time to get my head back together and maybe just reset my brain away from Tumblr RP. I have my queue going, and I will still be frequent on Discord. Also if I’m doing anything RP related off of Tumblr I am still down to do that. I will also still pop into my main account @cate-r-gunn every now and then, but I have uninstalled the app off my phone for the time being.

I hope everyone understands. Thank you and I’m sorry if this upsets anyone ))

[dustedmagazine]

Dusted Midyear Exchange, Part 3: The Lists

Toshiya Tsunoda made a couple of our writers’ lists.

Switching is fun, but when push comes to shove, we like what we like.  Here’s what 12 Dusted writers are enjoying for the first half of 2019.  If you missed them, catch up on Parts One and Two.  

 Ben Donnelly

Kelsey Lu — Blood (True Panther Sounds) 

Steven R Smith —  Sketchbook of Endings (Soft Abuse)

Ulaan Passerine —  New Evening (Worstward)

Cate Le Bon —  Reward (Mexican Summer)

Shana Cleveland —  Night of the Worm Moon (Sub Pop)

Prins Thomas —  Ambitions (Smalltown Supersound)

Weyes Blood —  Titanic Rising (Sub Pop)

Big|Brave —  A Gaze Among Them (RED/Southern Lord)

Derya Yildirim and Grup Simsek —  Kar Yagar (Bongo Joe)

Amon Tobin —  Fear in a Handful of Dust (Nomark) 

 Justin Cober-Lake

Charly Bliss —  Young Enough (Barsuk)

Over the Rhine —  Love & Revelation (Great Speckled Dog)

Gary Clark Jr —  This Land (Warner)

The Mountain Goats —  In League with Dragons (Merge)

Nate Wooley —  Columbia Icefield (Northern Spy)

Linda May Han Oh —  Aventurine (Biophilia)

Patty Griffin —  Patty Griffin (Thirty Tigers) 

Sarah Louise —  Nighttime Birds and Morning Stars (Thrill Jockey) 

Stef Chura —  Midnight (Saddle Creek)

Chris Forsyth —  All Time Present (No Quarter)

 Andrew Forell

Fennesz — Agora (Touch)

Toy — Happy in the Hollow (Tough Love Records)

Bethany Curve — Murder! (Kitchen Whore)

Tyler, The Creator — Igor (A Boy Is A Gun/Columbia)

Charly Bliss — Young Enough (Barsuk)

Drahla — Useless Coordinates (Captured Tracks)

Simulation — Death’s Head Speaks (Hausu Mountain) 

& a couple of re-releases:

Eric Dolphy — Musical Prophet (Resonance)

Stereolab — Transient Random— Noise Bursts with Announcements (Warp/Duophonic)

 Mason Jones

Mdou Moctar — Ilana (The Creator)” (Sahel Sounds)

Centrum — För Meditation — (Rocket Recordings)

Caterina Barbieri — Ecstatic Computation (Editions Mego)

The Young Gods — Data Mirage Tangram (Two Gentlemen)

Cosey Fanni Tutti — Tutti (Mute)

Karen O + Dangermouse — Lux Prima (Lux Prima/BMG)

75 Dollar Bill — I Was Real (Thin Wrist/Black Editions)

Julia Kent — Temporal (Leaf)

Spellling — Mazy Fly (Sacred Bones)

Radiohead — Minidiscs [Hacked]

 Jennifer Kelly

Steve Gunn — The Unseen in Between (Matador)

Dark Blue — Victory Is Rated (12XU)

Mdou Moctar — Ilana (The Creator) (Sahel Sounds)

Uranium Club — The Cosmo Cleaners (Static Shock)

Garcia Peoples — Natural Fact (BBIB)

Michael Chapman — True North (Paradise of Bachelors)

NOTs— 3 (Goner)

Damien Jurado— In the Shape of a Storm (Mama Bird)

Sleaford Mods — Eton Alive (Extreme Eating)

Matmos — Plastic Anniversary (Thrill Jockey)

 Patrick Masterson

Pile — Green and Gray (Exploding in Sound)

Hand Habits — Placeholder (Saddle Creek)

Koffee — Rapture EP (Promised Land Recordings)

Jamila Woods — Legacy! Legacy! (Jagjaguwar)

Rafael Anton Isirrari  — Solastalgia (Room40)

Carly Rae Jepsen — Dedication (Interscope)

Head High  — Into It (Power House)

Overmono — Live in Osaka 2018 (Poly Kicks)

The Twilight Sad — It Won/t Be Like This All the Time (FatCat)

Fresh — Withdraw (Specialist Subject)

Hugh Marsh — Violinvocations (Western Vinyl)

Sikka Rymes — Love Di People EP (Bokeh Versions)

 Ian Mathers

Picastro — Exit (Sleeping Giant Glossolalia)

Boy Harsher — Careful (Nude Club)

Julia Kent — Temporal (Leaf)

Lambchop — This (Is What I Wanted to Tell You) (Merge/City Slang)

Sigrid — Sucker Punch (Island)

Nakhane — You Will Not Die (BMG)

Wand — Laughing Matter (Drag City)

Sunwatchers — Illegal Moves (Trouble in Mind)

Clinic — Wheeltappers and Shunters (Domino)

Pelican — Nighttime Stories (Southern Lord)

Reissue:

Robert Ashley — Private Parts (Lovely Music)

 Marc Medwin

J.S. Bach — Die Kunst Der Fuge (Aeolus) 

Anna Webber — Clockwise (Pi Recordings)

Toshiya Tsunoda — Extract From Field Recording Archive (ErstPast)

Satoko Fujii — Stone (Libra)

Jandek — Ray (Corwood Industries)

Anthony Braxton — GTM Syntax 2017 (New Braxton House)

Gil Sanson and Lance Austin Olsen — Works on Paper (Elsewhere)

Catherine Lamb — Point / Wave (Another Timbre)

Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan — Epistrophy (ECM)

And a reissue of sorts:

King Crimson — Heaven and Earth (Panegyric)

 Bill Meyer

Steve Gunn — The Unseen In Between (Matador)

Masaki Batoh — Nowhere (Drag City)

75 Dollar Bil l— I Was Real (Thin Wrist)

Dustin Laurenzi — Snaketime:The Music of Moondog (Astral Spirits/Feeding Tube)

John Butcher / Rhodri Davies — Drunk on Dreams (Cejero)

Elkhorn — Sun Cycle / Elk Jam (Feeding Tube)

House and Land — Across the Field (Thrill Jockey)

Jacob Wick — Feel (Thin Wrist)

Christian Lillinger — Open Form for Society (Plaist)

Joshua Abrams and Natural Information Society — Mandatory Reality (Eremite)

Reissue:

Masayuki Takayanagi New Direction Unit — April is the Cruelest Month (Blank Forms Editions)    

Isaac Olson

Mdou Moctar — Ilana (The Creator) (Sahel Sounds)

Martha — Love Keeps Kicking (Dirtnap Records)

Jake Xerxes Fussell — Out of Sight (Paradise of Bachelors)

Stella Donnelly — Beware of the Dogs (Secretly Canadian)

Sunn 0))) — Life Metal (Southern Lord)

Bill Callahan — Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest (Drag City)

C Joynes & The Furlong Bray — The Borametz Tree (Thread Recordings)

House and Land — Across the Field (Thrill Jockey)

75 Dollar Bill — I Was Real (Thin Wrist)

Joshua Abrams and Natural Information Society — Mandatory Reality (Eremite)

 Michael Rosenstein

Toshiya Tsunoda — Extract From Field Recording Archive (ErstPast)

The Seen —  Archive : Volumes VI —  X : 2014 to 2016 (confront collectors series)

Tim Olive + Yan Jun — Brother of Divinity (845 Audio)

Magnus Granberg & Skogen — ‘Nun, es wird nicht weit mehr gehn’ (Another Timbre)

James Tenney: Changes — 64 Studies for 6 Harps (New World)

Anna Webber — Clockwise (Pi Recordings)

Bertrand Denzler — Four Saxophone Solos (Remote Resonator)

D'Incise — Assemblée, Relâche, Réjouissance, Parade

Anne — F Jacques, Ryoko Akama, Takamitsu Ohta — The Magic City (Hasana Editions)

Mdou Moctar — Ilana: The Creator (Sahel Sounds) 

 Jonathan Shaw

Venom Prison— Samsara (Prosthetic Records)

Depressor — Hell Storms over Earth (Sentient Ruin Laboratories)

Epectase — Astres (I — Voidhanger)

Victims — The Horse and Sparrow Theory (Relapse Records)

Panopticon — Crescendo of Dusk (Self released)

Sunn O))) — Life Metal (Southern Lord)

Vanum — Ageless Fire (Profound Lore)

 Peter Taber

9T Antiope & Siavash Amini — Harmistice (Hallow Ground)

Asuna & Jan Jelinek — Signals Bulletin (Faitiche)

Dustin Laurenzi — Snaketime: The Music of Moondog (Astral Spirits)

Helm — Chemical Flowers (PAN)

Lorem — Adversarial Feelings (Krisis)

Rian Treanor — ATAXIA (Planet Mu)

SA — 20 — No Refunds (Business Casual)

Stereotyp — Look Things (Seagrave)

[sweetiepie08]

RebelZ (Chapter 9)

Invader Zim fanfic

While analyzing Zim’s PAK for weaknesses, Tak discovers strange coding that sends her on a search for answers. The clues lead her to uncover a conspiracy that governs all of Irken society. When the truth sends her on the run, she has no choice but to return to the one place the Tallest would never willingly go: Urth.

Meanwhile, Dib has noticed odd changes in Zim’s behavior. Has the invader simply grown bored of his mission over the last few years, or is there something more interesting going on?

People who asked to be tagged: @incorrect-invader-zim , @messinwitheddie, @reblogstupids, @cate-r-gunn, @agentpinerulesall​

If anyone else would like to be added to the tag list feel free to message me. Also, if you’re on the tag list and you changed your name, please just let me know.

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Chapter 9. Chapter 10.

[-]

“Care to tell us what the fuck that was?” the Dib shouted as they ran down the hall.

“A coup, obviously,” Zim shot back. “Just not one where you seize power at the end. So, half a coup.”

“So then who seizes power now?”

“The Tallest Red and Purple still have it,”

Dib nearly tripped over his own feet in his shock. “You mean you didn’t kill them?”

“It’s nearly impossible to poison an Irken,” Tak explained. “The PAK filters out most toxins. You can incapacitate them, though, for a short period of time.”

“So you basically just quit your job in spectacular fashion,” Dib said indignantly.

Tak almost couldn’t believe it. Zim must be sincere in his betrayal. He poisoned the Tallest and declared to the entire upper crust of the Irken military that it was intentional. There was no coming back from that. Every other disaster he caused could reasonably be argued as a mistake. But there could be no doubt here. Zim truly had turned on the empire.

Yet, something still didn’t sit quite right with her. If he had gone rebel, if he had truly turned traitor, then his life clock would have gone off like hers did. One would reasonably assume the impotence for this betrayal was her discovery of the Control Brains parasite, but she was with him ever since she told him that news and she never saw his life clock go off. But that could only mean something else prompted him at an earlier date. So the question was, what made Zim finally snap?

They came to a split in the hallway. Tak started going right while Zim went left.

“Uh, the Voot is this way,” Tak called.

“I’m not going to the Voot,” Zim yelled back. “I’m going to the control room.”

Dib and Tak cast each other a glance, then followed him. They found him crouched behind a door at the end of the hall and joined him in his hiding spot. Dib took a peak inside. There, dozens of Irkens worked at their stations. They seemed unaware that, for now, their leaders were incapacitated.

Zim tapped his PAK and a metal ball flew into his hands. He pulled a pin, tossed it in, and smashed the control panel, shutting the door. They heard coughing from the other side and, after a few minutes, opened the door to find the Irkens unconscious on the floor.

“So, what are we doing in here again?” Dib asked, as they stepped into the room.

Zim grabbed one of the Irkens who still slouched in their chair and threw them to the floor. “Wiping Urth off the navigation map.” He sat down and the monitor and started messing with the buttons. “If I’m going to continue to use it as my home base, I can’t have them finding it.”

“Not so fast,” Tak slapped his fingers away from the buttons. “Before this goes any further, I need answers. If you’re truly on our side, there’s only one way your life clock didn’t go off.”

“We don’t have time for this!”

“You had a rebellious thought!” Tak declared. “When?”

“Three Urth years ago.”

“Three years?” Dib shouted, stepping up to them. “But I’ve been watching you. Why were you still trying to conquer Earth if you kinda-quit three years ago?”

“I wasn’t.”

“But I saw you building machines!” Dib argued.

“They weren’t for me!” Zim shot back.

Tak began to ask “But how-” before Zim cut her off.

“Silence!” he shouted. “Silence your questions! I need to concentrate.”

Zim continued typing on the buttons until a picture of the Earth appeared on the screen. The stats were scarce, save for the coordinates and the note, ‘that place where Zim is.’ The little blue ball of dirt and water had gone unnoticed by the empire, noteworthy only as a banishment site. To them, it was merely a place to keep Zim contained, far away from anything important. But after the stunt they pulled today, it would be a target.

Another few clicks of a button and the Urth was gone, leaving only a blank file in its wake. All Irken military ships automatically synced with the Massive. If it was gone from this data base, it was essentially invisible to all Irkens. If they wanted to find Urth again, they’d have to scour the universe for it. But why stop at Urth?

“Let’s dump it all,” Tak said.

“What?”

“Erase the database,” she said. “It’ll be a crippling blow to the empire.”

“Do we really have time to erase everything?” Dib asked. The human made a good point.

“Jut the maps then,” she suggested. “They would have to rebuild their navigation systems from scratch and it would send the fleet into disarray.”

“Zim is no radical!” Zim snapped. “I’m only doing this to cover my own ass.”

“Not a raical?” Dib scoffed. “You just poisoned your own leaders.”

“That was personal,” Zim argued. “This is political.”

“And what about those weapons you’re building?!” Dib shot back. “If they’re not for Irk, then who are they for?”

“Zim’s business deals are none of your… um… business!”

“Shut up!” Tak commanded, taking a seat at another monitor. “We don’t have time for this! Let’s get these maps erased and get out of here.”

“If you even make it that far,” a chorus of voices answered.

Dib looked around. “Who said that?”

“We did, human.”

Every Irken in the room rose to their feet. Tak prepared herself for a fight. Her eyes darted as she watched them all, poised to deploy the weapons in her PAK. But none made a move to attack. They all stood there, stalk still, with a dead look in their eyes.

Dib gaped at the sight. “H-how are you…”

“Silence Urth Creature!” the possessed Irkens shouted in unison, turning their cold eyes toward Dib. “Do not interrupt us again!” Dib shut his mouth and the Irkens calmed. “Congratulations defectives” they said, now addressing Zim and Tak. “It’s been centuries since we had to resort to total override, but mark our words, you will pay for this waste of food.”

“What do you care for waste?” Tak spat back at them. “You throw Irken lives away every day in your conquest.”

“A calculated cost to bring me more to feed from in the long term,” the Irkens explained with their eerily monotone voices. “You should know about calculated risks. Don’t forget, we see everything you do.”

“When have I ever sacrificed good soldiers?”

Every possessed Irken in the room wore the same mocking smirk. “All through your training days. Don’t you remember? We saw everything you did, every little cheat to get ahead.”

The Irkens tapped buttons on their control boards and soon, every monitor showed various scenes from Tak’s training years. “Electrodes hidden in your boots to cripple race opponents. Stealing test answers and planting them in a rival’s locker after copying them for yourself. You got top scores on your exams and excelled at your drills, but is it really victory if you have to sabotage your competitions? Oh sure, you studied and trained, but it never felt like enough, did it? Never thought you could win a fair fight. Had to tear someone else down first. Maybe, if it weren’t for all your cheating, we’d have let you make up your Elite ranking test. After all, we allowed everyone else who was inconvenienced by the blackout to take it.” Their smirks grew as they twisted the knife further. “Just not you.”

Tak ground her teeth together as she watched the images play out on the screen. There was no denying them. The monitors played footage from her own memory bank. They showed her and everyone else who she really was. She work so hard. She clawed her way to the top and did everything she could to stay there. But it was all a lie. And now they knew it. What was worse, Zim knew it. That little pain in the ass managed to make it to elite the first time, even while being a walking disaster, and he never had to deliberately cheat. The idea of him lording that over her was enough to make her blood boil.

“Perhaps you can prove everyone wrong, though,” the Irken voices went on. “Take the honest route for once in your life. Tell Zim what you learned on your little trip to Refirencee. Tell him what you suspect.”

“Fool!” Zim scoffed. “Zim already accessed Tak’s memories. I know everything she knows about the Control Brain parasite.”

“Yes, you saw the same books. But did you reach the same conclusions?”

“Guys! Don’t you see what it’s doing?” The Dib burst in. “It’s distracting you. It’s keeping you here until your leaders recover. Let’s erase those maps and get out of here!”

“Silence!” Zim snapped at Dib, then turned back to the dead-eyed Irkens. “Tell Zim what you know, creepy hive-mind…thing!”

“Have you ever wondered why you’re such a failure? Why you destroy everything you touch? Why, no matter what you do, everything always blows up in your face? It’s because you have no choice in the matter. It’s what you were made for.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Before we push for something big, we require extra sustenance. We take this sustenance in what some have called a blood toll. On our first planet, we made many mistakes, one was asking our hosts directly for sacrifices. We know better now.”

“Ans what does this have to do with me?” Zim growled impatiently.

“Since the beginning of our reign, one PAK has been passed down through generations, carrying a suppressed impulse for destruction. We need only to activate it and we have our blood toll. Clearly our PAK has become quite damaged over the years. It no longer works quite right. You’re so defective, you couldn’t even declare your name right.”

The screen flashed the name Zim across it. It then reversed the letters and spread them out to reveal an acronym. ZIM became MIZ. And MIZ became Massacre Initiator Z.

“You were supposed to live as a low-ranking drone until we activated your destructive impulse and die in the disaster. You, however, defied us at every turn. We kept you alive out of sheer curiosity. We wanted to see how your life would play out. It’s been entertaining, however, you’ve become too great a burden to bare.”

Zim stood motionless, staring straight ahead. They waited for the typical Zim outburst of “lies!” or declaring his greatness, but nothing came. His eyes looked as dead as the possessed Irkens around them. He said nothing, did nothing. As much as Tak couldn’t stand Zim’s obnoxious voice or erratic behavior, watching him be so still was chilling.

Tak’s antenna perks at the sound of footsteps trooping down the hall. The Dib’s head darted for the door. “Guy! Come on! We’re out of time!”

Tak smacked Zim’s lifeless body away from the control panel. “Do you think you can stop us by getting into our heads?”

“Oh simple Tak,” the Irkens sighed. “We've lived in your heads since you were fitted with your packs.”

Tak sneered at them. “I cut you off for me and I won't rest until every Irken is free of you.”

“Please, you worked your whole life to get our attention. You finally have it. Do you want to throw that away? Perhaps we can find a place with someone of your drive and ingenuity.”

“Liars!” Did they think she was stupid? She knew as well as it that treason of this scale would never go unpunished. Even if they tried to appease her with a higher rank or a cushy job, it’d only be a matter of time before they got rid of her. But even the fact that it was trying to negotiate meant something. She was a threat to it, and she would stay a threat until the day she died.

“We you know you, Tak. You’re a plotter. You won't do anything rash.”

They don’t know me half as well as they think. “Want a bet?” She started hitting buttons on the control board. An alert came up on the screen and the voice blared from the speakers. “All maps queued for deletion. Are you sure you want to proceed?”

She hit one more button and the screen went black. “Deletion successful.”

“Take that you parasite bitch.”

“Come on,” Dib begged, pulling on her arm. The footsteps were noticeably louder. “We have to go now!”

Tak took off running and Dib pulled on the frozen Zim until his legs moved. They burst into the hall and immediately came across a group of Irkan soldiers. “There they are!” one of the soldiers cried.

Tak led the way as they ran toward the ship’s hanger. The soldiers fired at them. A laser cannon popped out of Tak’s pack and returned fire, but it was difficult for her to aim while leading the dash to the Voot. She wished one of her companions had could back her up with a pistol but Zim was still barely conscious and Dib was preoccupied with keeping his legs moving. The sound of little metallic feet running beside them gave her an idea.

“Zim, tell me your SIR unit to go into defensive mode.

There was no response. Zim was as helpful as a sack of empty ginzor cans.

“Hey Zim’s robot,” Dib said to the little SIR unit.

Gir looked up at him curiously. “Hmm?”

“Don't you have any weapons or something?”

“Huh?”

“You know, something that makes pretty lights and goes ‘pew, pew’?”

“Oh that. I got that.” A giant laser cannon popped out of his head and he fired wildly into the soldiers behind them, forcing the Irkens to scatter for cover

Finally, they made it to the hangar and all jumped in the Voot. Zim slid zombie-like into the pilot seat.

“Come on,” Dib said, shaking Zim’s shoulder. “Get us out of here!”

“Zim!” Tak snapped. “If you don't fly this ship, I will!”

That seemed to work. Zim shook off whatever stupor he was in and his usual look of single-minded determination returned to his eyes. “No one pilots Zim’s ship but Zim!” He took hold of the controls and the ship roared to life. In a flash, they took off into the stars.

[ruvieracd]

The best musical ever to this day. I’ve only seen @cate-r-gunn successfully copy the finger trick

[meuline-kim]

March 22nd

The Invader Zim Movie, Enter the Florpus has not been released yet; it has been 3 days sincespring of 2019 started.

if you reblog this, Put your sign on tags and your favourite Character

today i’ll tag @cate-r-gunn for her beautiful works, go follow her and give her love! also, Read her slowburn ZaDr fic series Interstellar and here is her AO3 profile