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ms-scarletwings · 1 year ago

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That Speculative Analysis About Irkens No One (Originally) Asked For: Part III

Hey! Huge thanks to everyone who took an interest in the first two parts of this fun I got into about Jhonen Vasquez’s funny green guys. I didn’t really expect to kind of rebound back into this old flame the way I have been lately and it’s actually a pleasant surprise that other fans have been getting something out of it and enabling my latest thinkworms.

Check out the part one of this extended analysis here, for broad tids and bits about Planet Irk and the mention of its inhabitants being basically cyborgs.

Part Two, takes on Irken physiology and focusing on their tissue differences from humans, here.

So alright, I’ve been holding this one in since the very start. Previously, I brushed the topic of the control brains, and I’ve sorta gestured acknowledgement toward the Irken obsession with height. Now, I’m really ready to get some thought goo flowing all over and in the crevices of the matter of Irk’s power structure, and, perhaps the one social W that this marauding pack of space imperialists get to claim.

Bearing no further ado, let’s talk about the Tallest. Can we talk about the Tallest? Please Mac, I’ve been dying to talk about the Tallest with you all day.

I’ve said once and now repeated twice that I think the canon implied that the homeworld of our favorite invaders is dummy thicc; consequentially, it’s left a lasting ripple on the evolution of their species as well.

Planetary gravity has a ton of invisible effects on the skeletons of large fauna, to the point where it’s the main thing that you, filthy Earth creature, can shake your own fist at it for taking a huge slice of the blame behind the prevalence of back pain in upright hominins. All that downward tug can really wear a spine down good over the years. In fact, would you believe that astronauts actually grow a smidge taller in Zero-G environments? Legit. So… use your brain and consider what we could have ended up looking like with our same bone structure, but many times that compression.

You take that mental path, and suddenly, height outcomes may not seem like such an arbitrary measure of general survival fitness after all. Especially in the days before the Irkens represented an intergalactic super power. It may seem counterproductive in their modern intelligent society, but no doubt this aesthetic affinity is something that runs much deeper ingrained than practical programming. Respecting tallness is something Irk takes on dogmatic intuition- to the fault of barely being able to comprehend the notion of another species being both tall AND intellectually primitive.

Nevertheless, I pose that the connection may also be more than traditionalism, and not so vestigial after all. My reasoning suggests that The Almighty Tallest are in fact, not randomly born… they’re planned and made by the real overlords sitting atop the pyramid. And even so, they have existed in the species long, LONG before the PAK even did.

• Caste Polymorphism & Bug Stuff

The insectoid inspirations of Zim’s kin are something so obvious they really need no recapping, yet, I’m pining to make a more specific comparison. Some people like to go for wasps or bees, but if you ask me, the roving militarism of the armada is begging for the ant metaphor if anything.

And I got a hell of a species to whip out that you’ve probably never heard of.

A quick context breakdown- Polymorphism is another one of those long biology terms for a pretty simple concept: when one species has different distinct forms or types of forms that appear in its population. And it’s not talking about continuous spectrum differences like height alone. It’s talking about when animals/plants can have one gene with different possible phenotypical presentations. One good example (in humans no less) is the existence of different blood type groups. One of my absolute favorite cases, by the by, is in Side-Blotched Lizards. The females are samey and look pretty generic, but the males deadass come in 3 completely differentiated color variants, all of which are playing a perpetual game of rock paper scissors with the other two for breeding success.

And this kind of phenomenon of course gets way less subtle in the insect world. Everyone here probably knows the simplified version of what a colony critter’s caste system looks like, with sterile female workers, breeding done males, and one big fat queen at the top, pumping out replacements for the other two. This is the part where I tell you it’s a hell of a lot more complicated, weird, and varied than that, actually.

Consider army ants, as I see them, the most Irk-ish of real world animals. Some fun facts on the most notorious handful of species below:

+ Nomadic by nature, they do not build any form of permanent hill or nest, and instead make temporary pit stops inbetween periods where the entire colony swarms along the forest floor in search of resources.

+ Army ants are aggressively predatory and forage in the style of legion-like “raids” that overwhelm their prey with sheer numbers and speed.

+ These raids often take shape by way of linear traffic columns that guide the direction of the swarm. This is because the ants have poor vision, relying on following the paths of the scent trails of the workers that are spearheading the legion.

+ Eciton burchellii, in particular, demonstrates a stark example of polymorphism by way of a rigid caste hierarchy. I.e., The non-reproductive colony members are divided into 4 sized tiers of worker. From smallest to largest there are minors, medias, porters (sub-majors), and soldiers (majors).

And let me tell you… the difference between the Soldier (major) caste and the rest of that batch is a pretty surprising gap.

This is what ONE major-type ant looks like hanging out with colony mates from the lower worker castes.

Oh wait, getting ahead of myself. Ahem… sorry, I meant THIS is the image I was referring to:

Not only is that obviously the bossiest bitch of the bunch, but she has some pretty cool features unique to her status… The more spidery looking body shape and those absolutely wicked mandibles being a standout.

You know what drop I already had coming, so I’ll cut to the chase.

It’s clear that the Almighty Tallest are NOT the Irken equivalent of a hive queen. They are not drones, either. Besides the glaring fact that they are non-reproductive individuals, the role they serve in Irken society has very little if anything to do with running the day-to-day lives and functions of the larger population.

Instead, we have always seen them (and would have seen them more in the unmade episodes such as The Trial) involved more with the military front of the empire. Tallest Miyuki’s one known planned appearance would have featured her overseeing the military research happening on the Vortian base. Tallest Spork’s brief entrance (and exit) was planned to take place on Devastis, where he addressed those who were being evaluated to join the elite ranks of the armada. And our very own iconic duo have,

also,

never even once been seen on their home planet since their introduction. Their first appearance? Conventia. Ever since? Aboard the Massive, where they directly command and supervise the operations of the active invasions.

Why, the Almighty Tallest in all cases… these aren’t emperors at all, they’re generals! Sure, they have power, they have reverence, but even they must obey the final judgement of a Control brain at the end of the day. The same brains that grant them their status in the first place. Note, in real ants, the mechanics of how exactly any one egg is differentiated into its decided caste, from worker to queen, and all between, is… to say the very least, really fucking complicated. And all over the place. Broadly speaking, it’s a mix between genetic potential and nutrition during development. In some species this determination is near entirely up to the whims of DNA, and in others, it does come heavily down to how many protein shakes the colony decided to give their brood that day.

For the purposes of this hypothetical, I’m going to assume the people of Irk fall somewhere in between those two polar options. Now, being a futuristic network of coordinated supercomputers using cloning tech, the control brains have a more precise handle on the gene pool/diversity of their underlings than anything possible with natural breeding.

Let’s also assume they record and monitor the current population of each potential class of irken (they literally assign and code the PAKs’ occupational roles themselves). With each batch of smeets, they can predetermine certain percentages aside with the potential to fill whatever roles need replacing and expansion… keeping the genetic height markers attached for those downline to understand who should be looking down on who. Ergo, not ANY Irken can one day become the almighty tallest, but within each generation of smeets produced, there are potential candidates hidden among the upper ranks of would-be soldiers.

This way, the sudden death of the current armada commander would not disable current operations or throw the offensive lines into utter chaos for years on end. The Control brains need only select out the cream of the crop from their “proto-Tallest” and then cue their body (via diet or hormones) to switch the proper genes on, get a new growth spurt going, and complete the metamorphosis into their true potential.

As for why they seemed to break a historical precedent and jump for a two-for-one special in Zim’s generation… yeah, I’m not sure about that really. There could be a link between that and the very sudden death of the two previous tallests in a row, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. It could just be a remarkable coincidence that Red and Purple were decided to be equally viable successors. Or, Operation Impending Doom could have been deemed an ambitious enough endeavor to warrant the appointing of two regents at once, given the scale of Irk’s expanded army for the purpose.

So, that’s it, then? The Irken species became so reliant of their technological advancement that they have casted aside and replaced every bit of their natural life cycle and order some

computer deemed inefficient? Substituted the seat of their leadership and even their ability to procreate with the soulless calculations of their AI programs?

:y Well, yes, but actually no.

• Long Live the Cyberocracy!

When I said in part one that Irk was on track to eventually make the jump from cyborg citizens to an entirely mechanical or digitized lifeform, I was doing a ponderous thinking thing. I was supposed to just be speculating, and then I find out the most mind blowing revelation while doing the research for this bad boy- those alien bastards already did it. The madlads/madlasses… So, living Irkens DO actually run the show around here, hiding in plain sight this whole time.

I am still desperately searching for confirmation of the rumors I heard that Vasquez himself has said what I’m about to share, and I deeply appreciate anyone who can give me that as well. Even if this turns out to only be fanon, I’m still in love with this interpretation anyway: Within the Control Brains are the preserved consciousness of Irkens who have achieved this evolutionary end stage. WHO are they exactly is… honestly anyone’s guess. The important part being that they no longer have need of their meat suits to survive any longer and now exist as these hulks of nerve and metal.

Be this what it looks like to me, and it would be certain that this is actually the most coveted and honorary fate of any single Irken- immortalized and given a status on par with deification over the most powerful imperium the cosmos has ever known. Perhaps this was the path of particularly accomplished Tallests of the past, who had their paks integrated into the core of a fledgeling new control interface. What better way to commemorate those who have fallen in the highest level of glory? A single “brain” could in fact even be the summation of multiple beings, making example of the greatest the species has to offer and what all should be striving for. Conversely, the greatest punishment of their kind is the opposite- to be forever deceased, forever forgotten, forever excluded from this collective transcendence:

Damnatio Memoriae.

(But like… in a kids’ show)

There’s no clear estimate on how many control brains exist in the franchise, there are at least four that we have seen on screen, one on Devastis and the others within Judgementia. Probs safe to assume there’s at least one permanently built into the infrastructure of any planet of key enough importance to the Empire. Interestingly, lost scripts and show canon make numerous references to them still having gendered pronouns and voices when addressed individually.

Though, now that I think of it, that’s also really interesting that the same is true for the worker castes, too.

• Putting the “Trans” in Transirkenism 👉😎👉

When a worldbuild goes so far as to explicitly confirm a completely sexless, alien race of neuter cyborgs, the existence of a human-like gender binary starts to beg for some kind of explanation. You can’t just “suspension of disbelief” it aside the same as you can the fact that English is the most popular first language across the Galaxy.

Oh, lookie, it’s one of my favorite things to think about when toying around with postbiological concepts/philosophy. I knew there were even more reasons transhumanism always seemed like such a cool sci-fi trope, from the endless possibilities in imagining the badass super powers, to the worlds of knowledge, and to the absolute social equalization that would all be unlocked in a cybernetic future. Well, that future is already comfortably in the hands of Irk, and whether intentionally or not, it has apparently brought them to the threshold of not just a postorganic, but also a post-gender society too.

A feminine and masculine variation does still exist in the form of small aesthetic differences- voice, antennae shape, pronoun usage, and eyelashes- but is now so far disconnected from the original associated sex roles that the distinction might as well be no more than a cosmetic preference. While “female” irkens are seen much, much more rarely than their counterparts, neither gender is treated differently from the other, and both have been spotted in occupations all the way up to invader elite and the Almighty Tallest.

This is a blending, of course, far beyond the insect-like caste system that itself did survive to the modern day, and that shows some truly impressive progress from what I imagine they were doing before.

Army ants, like all eusocial insects, are matriarchal; as in, where the females run the colony from top to bottom, while the males lead short runs of being mutilated by the workers, mating with the queen, and then dying shortly after.

In this headcannon narrative, it was almost certainly the male-associated gender Irkens who were liberated by the technological jump.

And that’s all sum purdy neat food for thought, huh ! ?

#iz headcanons #invader zim #irkens #xenobiology #iz analysis #iz #nicktoons #long post #new world army ants #cool bug facts #scarlet talks about things #more like becomes possessed by them #YOU WANT THE SCOOPSIES YOU GET POTATOES #we hyperfixating #lord help me #thanks for coming to this ted talk #you know for kids!

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wolftroll2 · 5 months ago

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WELCOME THE ZIM KIN SERVER!!! were for iz fictionkins, fans, or anyone that's not in out DNI really! -------------------- DNI: -irken x child shippers (like zadr and tagr, y'all are disgusting) -basic DNI stuff -pro isreal (we are VERY pro Palestine!!!) -------------------- TW OUR SERVER IS NOT YET FINISHED, ALOT OF THINGS WILL BE ADDED (also, try to use tonetags pls/ nf), WE ALSO USE FONTS SO BE CAREFULYR DEVICE DOENST SUPPORT THEM!

#invader zim #iz #zim iz #iz kin #iz fictionkin #fictionkin #fictionkin community #fictionkin server #fictkin #fiction #fictotype #fictokin #anti zadr #anti proshitter #kin server #sfw discord #discord chat #discord server

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ultimateoptimus · 6 months ago

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SKUBA Invader Zim: Upgraded

Skool Sport SKUBAgents

Dib AKA Agent Mothman and Gaz, the Membrane Siblings (with Dib's Swollen Eyeball and Grey Smiley and Gaz' Skull as their former Skool symbols) and Gretchen of the Rejektz (with a heavily modded "No" sign to resemble an "R" as her former Skool symbol) are back underwater SKUBA diving in their brand new, sporty, custom colored and printed and ultra-stretchy and ultra-comfortable Membrane Laboratory Boyz' and Girlz' Skoolkidz Sport Stealth Swimwear, Swim Caps, Swim Gloves and Swim Socks crafted out of patented Membrane Laboratory Ultra-Stretch Stealth Swimwear Fabrics for that body-hugging, form-fitting stretch and comfort fit for Skool sports swimmers, the Ultra-Stretch Swim Caps can perfectly fit and hug any unique hairstyle form without breaking at all and the level of military-grade waterproof durability that can survive more than one direct Irken Orbital Water Balloon Bombardment hit and numerous SKUBA trips to Pandora's Quadrangle and Atlantis thanks to that fabric and brand new, just as custom colored and printed and unique Membrane Laboratory Skoolkidz' Sport Stealth Masks, Snorkels and Fins and All-In-One Backpack Air Tank OmniModular Skoolkidz' Sport Stealth SKUBA Rigs and Emergency Mini-SKUBA Systems!

Dib Membrane's Skoolkid Sport Stealth SKUBA Rig: Self-Inflating Sport Stealth Horsecollar Dive Vest with Mini-Air Bottle and Air-Integrated Regulator (AIR) and Double Hose Regulator Gretchen's Skoolkid Sport Stealth SKUBA Rig: Girlz' Sport Stealth Dive Jacket with Air-Integrated Regulator and Snorkelator Gaz Membrane's Skoolkid Sport Stealth SKUBA Rig: Girlz' Sport Stealth Wing Dive Jacket with Air-Integrated Regulator and Double Hose Regulator

Anatomy Of An Irken SKUBA Invader

[/////CLASSIFIED/////]

[By Order Of The Almighty Tallest Of The Irken Empire]

Zim, the Irken Invader-in-Exile, more recently a newly made and approved Irken SKUBA Invader for underwater operations in Earth's waters (be it the Skool swimming pool, NASAPlace's NBL, the open waters of Earth's beaches and oceans, Zim-2002's universe or The City Sewers), infamous Irken Defect responsible for Operation IMPENDING DOOM I's failure (in a long, sorry history of collective disasters he inflicted upon the Irken race, Planet Irk and the Empire at large) and the poster child of the "little green men from outer space" stereotype, like most of his standard-issue insectoid clone kin has his Irken Standard-Issue SKUBA Invader Swimwear and SKUBA Gear - basically the swimming and SCUBA version of his standard-issue Irken Invader uniform and gear with Zim's personal mods.

A more minimalist, sleeker and all-in-one affair compared to the bulkier Earthenoid SCUBA gear used by Dib, Gaz, Gretchen and the rest of the Skoolkidz, Zim's SKUBA Invader Gear makes him faster and more maneuverable underwater when SKUBA diving and able to squeeze through tight underwater spots during underwater saucer exploration.

1: SKUBA Invader Swim Cap 2: SKUBA Invader Smart Dive Mask

3: SKUBA-PAK The SKUBA-PAK itself, an auxiliary brain loaded with all the standary array of weapons and tools also serving as the SKUBA Invader's air tank with the atmosphere processor refilling the SKUBA-PAK at the surface when the SKUBA Invader surfaces. [/////WARNING/////]: Removal of SKUBA-PAK will reduce the SKUBA Invader's lifespan to 10 MINUTES Earth Standard Time and triggers Lifeclock countdown to TERMINATION unless reattached IMMEDIATELY. Removal of SKUBA-PAK while underwater STRICTLY not recommended. 3A: SKUBA-PAK Main Air Tank 3B: SKUBA-PAK OmniModular Regulator 3C: SKUBA-PAK Deployable Inflatable/Breathable Horsecollar Dive Vest 3D: DDV OmniModular Air-Integrated Regulator (AIR) 3E: Mini-SKUBA Air Tank OmniModules

4: SKUBA Invader Boys' Beachbody Swimwear 5: SKUBA Invader Swim Gloves 6: Emergency Mini-SKUBA System 7: Snorkelator Snorkel OmniModule 8: SKUBA Invader Dive Boot-Fins 9: Water Repellant Pastescreen

<Dear Zim the Irken Bug:

If you're reading this message, that means I, a lowly Earthenoid of The Swollen Eyeball Network, just got your Invasion Base Computer h4xx0r3d and shared your SKUBA Invader anatomy and schematics far and wide to the Big Wide World O' Cyberspace to behold. Enjoy!

- UO>

@aae-demon-zone333

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k4iloveanimation · 7 months ago

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How do we feel about the pink eyes? I was originally going to go with gold to match her environment and the rest of her color pallet from the front; though the eyes should be the main point of focus for a character to draw the eyes to the face. On the other hand, she’s a side character and I don’t want her to distract from other characters like Majele or Hormi visually and the eyes are naturally drawn to warmer colors. + additional fun fact: Majele Scorpio was inspired by Tallest Red and Wuyi here was inspired by my oc with him, a four foot plus sized Irken named Kin!

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starscatteredsky · 4 months ago

Note

is it ok to ask for an inbox check?/nf

inbox check!

its pretty long right now, but we're doing our best! its a little overwhelming but we're to help the kin masses! /silly

-mono

queued and ready to post! (in order of when they'll be posted, subject to slight changes as drafts are slotted into their places)

Tips for a burmese mountain dog

Stimboard/tips for TFP/TFA starscream

Tips for a ferret

Tips for Dave brubot/major player

Tips for dating colin the computer

Tips for pickles the drummer (metalocalypse)

Tips for P.AI.NTER

Tips for an australian shepard

Tips and fashion kit for maned wolf

Tips for an arctic fox

Tips for a fallen angel

Fashion for snow leopards

Tips for highland cows and blacknose sheep

Tips for an alien

Tips for a minecraft phantom

Tips for a kestrel

Tips for feral dogs

Neos for cryptids

Selfcare tips for an omnitherian

Tips for Madcom Grunt kin + Sebastian Solace kin

Pastel pink robot moodboard

Moodboard for Shidaraki

Playlist for the Tenth Doctor

Fashion kit for a fallen angel and space

Pronouns and activities for a barnowl

Tips for draculara

Tips for paldean woopers

Tips for tsunami (wof)

Fashion for a weather angel

Neos and fashion for N (murder drones)

Tips for an eldritch horror

Tips and fashion for a robotic wolf

Tips for dwebble and crustle

Tips for bowerbirds

Wips/drafts/in progress/complete but not queued (in no particular order)!

Tips and playlist for a warden

Tips for bill cypher

Tips and fashion for a great horned owl

Fashion for an african wild dog

Fashion for an orange persian cat

Denboard and fashionboard for a vancouver island coastal wolf

Black cat and shark tips

Tips for eevee

Punk fashion kit and tips for a pine marten

Tips and den inspo for a wood mouse

Tips for a black cat

Moodboard and tips for shadow demon

Tips and fashion for fern the human (adventuretime)

Fashion and home decor for the old web

Fashionboard for an angel

Sweater fashion kit

Tips and fashion for lilac (Orin Ayo)

70s/80s fashion for an incubus

Home inspo for yeerks

Tips fashion and recipes for a zim

Tips for a raccoon

Tips for the untitled goose

Tips for a dragon and shark

Tips for questioning fictionkin

tips /fashion for a sheep

Tips for cerberus

Tips and fashion for a shapeshifter

Tips for a wallace hawk eagle

Tips for an aussie shepard

Tips for an albino leopard

Tips for frost

Tips for sunbears

Tips for a robot/eldritch being

Tips for a tv

Tips for a questioning voidkin

Tips for scp-049

Tips for ermac

tips for a corvid

Fashion for a fox

tips for a nightfury

Tips for ball jointed dolls

Fashion for cerberus

Fashion for a burmese mountain dog

Tips and neos for quetzalcoatlus

tips and fashion for shadow the hedgehog

Tips for jasper

Tips for space divines

Tips for c!tubbo without explosions

Tips for a tiger with connection to space

Tips for buckets

tips/gear for a neanderthal

Tips for a disabled vampire

Tips for poodles/chinese crested dogs

tips for a border collie

Darkcore fashion for a feral black german shepherd

Tips for sparrows

Tips for lions

tips for an angel

Tips for a dog/fae and mimic

Fashion for a satyr

Fashionboard for oscar pine

Tips for zekrom

Dysphoria relieving tips for a general nonhuman

Tips for crows and cockatoos

inbox/not started (in no particular order)!!

Tips for a space-man (KISS)

Tips for an albino american cockroach

Tips for mark heathcliff (mandela catalouge)

Tips for connecting to mermaid kintype away from the sea

Tips for scarlet (pearlecentmoon) and nihachu (genloss)

Tips for aven (worldless)

Tips for flippy (htf)

Tips for persecutor unicorns

Tips for micheal afton

Tips for C1tubbo

Tips for dib membrane (invader zim)

Tips fpr a nextbot

Tips for a centipede

Tips for ronja (robbers daughter)

Tips for deimos from madness combat

Tips for barney calhoun from half life 2

Thin man vibes

Tips for fan (inanimate insanity)

Tips for tardis

Tips for jordie holmes

Tips for jane doe

Tips for connecting to feeling catlike

Tips for an aibo

Carekit for a god/void

Tips for zim/an irken

Tips for an EPCOT placekin

Denboard for a ferret

Recommendations for servius

Tips for raven from the raven poem

Tips for dave miller

Fashion for a coastal wolf

tips/fashion for the companion bots from stray

Tips for raoul

Grounding tips for fnaf sourced alters

Tips for v1 (ultrakill)

tips/denboard for a gryphon

Carekit for an alien

Carekit for venus (solarballs)

Tips for a halforc/elf humankin

tips for zelda

tips for a purple blooded troll

tips for princess

tips for guiding lights

fashion board for cold

tips for glimmer

fashion for a scene cougar

tips for qsmp philza

tips and outfit ideas for c!technoblade

names and tips for a femme scott summers

fem fashion for a crow

tips for kyouka izumi

selfcare for a hobbit and room cleaning tips for a hobbit/vampire

vibes for a hobbit and vampire, moodboard for a hobbit and vampire

names for a hobbit and recipes for a hobbit

questions for connecting to hobbit kintype

fashion for the heart

goth and alt fashion for an enderman

tips for an evil ocean deity

types of requests

vampire and gothic fashion for scourge

colourful fashion for a moth

tips for a cheagle

tips for connecting to clownpierce

neos and xenos for even hansen

fashion for red heeler dog (REDO)

stimboard and masc fashion for a saarloos wolfdog

fashion for a coyote

fashion and moodboard for a harpy

tips for huldra

tips for hell hounds, ghosts, and cyn

#mod mono #inbox check

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messinwitheddie · 11 months ago

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How does Rook feel about being a grandad? Has he met any of the smeets? Check in on his kin lately? Has he ever thought about taking in an apprentice from any of them? You know cuz he’s very old and his time won’t last very long with them.

If the sage were to die, how and where would he like to have his funeral?

Oooh... Um. Rook did not live long enough to meet any of his grandchildren. There was no funeral arranged for him either. Mem donated his PAK to Zim for his personal research. His flesh body was butchered, cooked and fed to her adopted Vortian bleeties (To be fair, they desperately needed the natural protein. Otherwise, she would have hung his body on her tree of woe in a sack of silk and burned it like she did the 7 smeets she lost from her first swarm.)

Rook really only interacted with Mem's smeets if she asked him for medical help of some kind. He had no interest or intentions of being a father figure. Mem hoped eventually Rook would warm up to the idea of joining the hive/ warming up to her first swarm.

By the time Mem's first swarm were cadet age, Rook was beginning to suffer from an Irken equivalent of dementia. Paranoia and flashbacks twisted his perception of reality in a way where everyone and everything seemed like a threat on his life ordered by Lich or the tallest in charge... even Mem and her swarm. His final centuries were agonizing.

He was rather hostile to Mem's smeets; verbally when she was looking, verbally and physically when she wasn't. He would lash out unexpectedly, usually with his pyrokinesis, on which he was rapidly losing his grip.

The smeets never spoke up about it in fear Rook would retaliate by burning Mem or worse. They were terrified of Rook. That, and they knew Mem worried enough about them and a universe of other problems already.

When Mem formed her arrangement with the Resisty, Rook refused to have any contact with Mem, her first swarm or the second swarm he sired. He feared the Resisty would just attract the armada and ruin their safe haven on the mystery planet. His smeets barely remember him, only that he made their older swarmmates anxious.

Rook's ending, unfortunately is not a happy one. Mem eventually found out just how much suffering some of her smeets went through which were her real motive for sending Zim to retrieve Rook for her.

Death has given him a new sense of clarity though. His sanity is more or less restored and he regrets most of his actions towards the end. Rook intends to make right by his smeets eventually.

Rook “WAIT!”

Mem “Away with you, Sage! I have an important message to deliver! If it's vengeance you seek, you can--"

Rook “SILENCE!! I-I mean… Mem, I beg of you, let ME apologize-"

Mem “Apologize to Ikka! Apologize to the swarms you rejected out of cowardice!”

Rook “You're right. I owe them the biggest apology. I'm sincerely sorry for hurting them and for hurting you. I should have trusted you; supported you and the Resisty cause. Instead I lost all hope for change or a brighter future. Shameful; I had potential to make a difference… My body, mind and PAK were deteriorating; I wasn't myself towards the end.”

Mem “I was aware. For a while, I sympathized, but a threat to my smeets gives me no room for mercy or hesitation. I would have gutted you again. Not for a moment do I regret ridding you of our hive! Never will I apologize!”

Rook “You did the right thing. No vengeance will be sought on you. Maybe I didn’t “love" you, but I considered you my dearest friend; I respected you. You deserved no lashing out from me. Neither did your-- our smeets. Not physical nor verbal. Great Glord, You must hate me. The terms are yours to set. I'll do anything, just PLEASE forgive me. I will know no form of peace until-"

Mem “Rook… you saved me and most of my swarm that one, horrible, HORRIBLE winter. You taught me how to survive and ensure my hive’s survival in a merciless alien wilderness… I have so much to thank you for. I don't hate you. I haven't the spare attention to think of a fitting word to describe how you twisted my emotions… so I will forgive you, provided you MOVE ASIDE.

But, I cannot stress this enough; I will not extend my apology on behalf of our smeets. You must make right with THEM, if a way even exists. Those are my terms.”

Rook “Of course…But you do accept my apology?”

Mem “Yes. Yes I do. Now, GET OUT OF MY WAY!!"

Rook *salutes as she blazes past him*

[In reference to this https://www.tumblr.com/messinwitheddie/720935797525823488/once-mem-passes-away-what-would-her-relationship?source=share

Sorry if this was a bummer. I don't tend to post about the sadder/ darker details about this au, but they're there.]

#invader zim #18-years-later #au #irken #ocs #rook #mem #no rook didn’t necessarily deserve to suffer this much #sometimes there isn't light at the end of the tunnel

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