#skoodges being love for zim

[irkeninvaderzim]

Today, I bring you Dad nar. Tomorrow? Who knows. READ THE TAGS PLS RAHHHH

[mrehkka]

Benni stops by Zim's base sometimes to check up on him and try to get Zim to run away with him and hide from the Empire aboard his ship (he's a pilot and the head of the organic sweep team)..... I realized belatedly that bc he's wearing purple and has one of those head devices, he kinda looks like a tall buff Tak whoops

Also, enjoy zim and skoodge in Earth clothes lol

[short-and-ugly]

family needs to stop joking about me writing smut zasr fic. i write smut tasr fic. theres a difference.

[inbarfink]

I mean, the thing about Zim is that despite what he might say, he is absolutely capable of love and affection. It’s just that he only expresses it to a very select assortment of people.

First and most obvious one is probably his relationship with the Tallests. Which tends to be a lot less just a ‘loyal soldier duty bound to serve his leaders” and is coded a lot more like…. “Child overeager to please his neglectful parents”. I mean, the entire emotional crux of ‘Enter the Florpus’ is built on this. 

Zim isn’t just motivated by a pure ideological belief in the Irken Empire’s conquest, or by the desire for the fame and accolades that come with being a successful Invader. I mean, those ARE factors. Zim is both a true believer in Irk’s imperialist ideology and very interested in feeding his ego. But he’s also looking for a more personal sort of emotional validation specifically from the Tallests. One that he’s desperate for, but we know that he’s never gonna get.

(And that’s not just because Zim sucks. Even if he could somehow stop being a walking disaster area and a giant millstone around the Empire’s neck, that desire for the Tallests’ love would still be a fool’s errand. We’ve all seen how they treat poor Skoodge.)

In addition to that doomed attempt at an emotional connection, Zim can sometimes be kinda affectionate with his various robotic minions, which obviously goes back to the whole…

Yeah, that.

And that same episode ends with him having a very similar sort of response to Robo-Dad and Robo-Mom picking him up.

And then there’s, of course, his M-Lab Robot Minions in 'Enter the Florpus'. All named - and all grieved by him. 

His extreme reaction to Lawrence specifically dying shows he did apparently see them as individuals.

But as far as we can tell both the Roboparents and the Robot Army are not, like, sapient? I mean, AIs like GIR or the Computer are characterized as basically Machine People - but these robots barely seem more sapient than my laptop. And as much as I love my laptop it’s not gonna, like, love me back.

Speaking of GIR, he’s another example of someone Zim shows genuine care for. I mean… he can absolutely be pretty mean to him at times…

But any sort of kindness from Zim has to be graded on a Curve because he’s so terrible. ‘Hobo 13’ demonstrated to us very well just how horrible Zim can be to his subordinates - rude, inconsiderate, pretty much deliberately sacrificing them not just for his personal gain but also just for his own petty amusement. 

And it’s notable that’s not how he treats GIR. Who he expresses actual concern for…

And he pretty easily acquiesces to GIR’s capricious desires even when he clearly sees them as Stupid and frivolous. 

This scene is especially notable. I mean, this is Zim actually feeling bad about the fact that he made someone cry and trying to de-escalate the situation. Maybe for other characters a moment like that would be no big deal, but this basically the softest Zim has been through… all official IZ media. And it was a scene with GIR.

 And meanwhile GIR himself… didn’t really register any of this - either Zim’s frustration or his attempts at sort-of comforting him, because he was only sad about having eaten his cupcake and not being able to eat it more. 

Because that’s the thing, while GIR does have some level of affection towards Zim at times…

He doesn’t really show that same level of care. I mean, in pretty much all of these examples, GIR puts his own desire to give Zim physical affection over Zim’s clear discomfort and disgust. And in general, while GIR vaguely acknowledges that Zim is his master - he often disregards or ignores Zim’s orders and requests. And not just when it comes to being ordered around in yet another evil scheme -

But also when the situation is just clearly basically hazardous to Zim’s very life. 

(Which is very much in contrast to Zim, who, again, is actually emotionally invested in GIR’s safety)

While some of GIR’s inability to fulfill Zim’s commands can be attributed to his lack of mental focus and general stupidity - his absolute lack of care and regret about these situations seem to imply that, like, GIR might follow some of Zim’s orders when they seem fun, and he might like Zim in the sense that GIR is generally incapable of genuine malice. But GIR is never going to care about Zim, as a ‘Master’ or as a friend, as much as he cares about his own hedonism.

And of course, we all know that if GIR was capable of actually focusing on anything and remaining grounded in reality - he would very quickly realize that he actually hates Zim quite a bit. 

And that’s, like, the whole Tragedy of Zim. He is a being capable of kindness and friendship - but he always ends up only caring about beings who will never care about him back.

Due to Irken indoctrination and also self-inflicted due to his own ego (like, it is no coincidence that the People Zim Actually Cares About are the two beings Irken ideology obliges him to acknowledge as his superiors and then a bunch of robotic minions who are supposed to be 100% obedient to him.) Zim only loves those who will not love him back.

Except for Minimoose. That relationship is 100% wholesome.

[emeraldspiral]

So having just seen Wicked I feel obligated to give you all my pitch for an Invader Zim musical. It would be called "Doomed", and not just because it's a word that was used a lot on the show. It actually has thematic significance.

So trying to reframe Zim as a misunderstood anti-hero or scapegoated good guy just inherently sounds like a parody that could never be done in earnest, which is why that's not how I'd try to present the show initially. I would start it off with Zim appearing to be the same old remorseless war criminal we all know and love.

So we're not starting off with Zim's birth and childhood innocence before something happened to embitter him or Zim actually being just a kid with a skin condition or a peaceful scientist with Dib as the villain unfairly targeting him.

The introductory number would be about the Great Assigning, ending with Red and Purple's introduction, which is then interrupted by Zim's arrival. Then Red and Purple would have a little song about their scheme to deceive Zim with a fake mission. Then GIR's introduction would get a little number. Then the Great Assigning set-piece would conclude with Zim setting out for earth singing an "I Want" song about his ambition to conquer the planet and win the approval of the Tallest. This number would end with "doom" as the last word, prompting GIR to sing the doom song. But it wouldn't be an actual number, it'd be exactly like the original; no musical accompaniment or anything, just GIR singing "doom" over and over as the curtain closes for a scene transition.

The curtain would then reopen to Zim being introduced to his class. Dib begins a number attempting to convince his classmates that Zim's an alien and Zim then sings his counter-argument, followed by them sing-arguing back and forth, which takes us into our next big musical set-piece; a song that's basically a speedrun of season 1. Zim's greatest hits such as stealing children's organs, attempting to trap Dib and his classmates in a room with a moose, and turning the class hamster into a kaiju are referenced as part of a montage focused on the rivalry between Zim and Dib. This song would do a lot of heavy lifting to develop Zim and Dib's characters, motives, and relationships. Throughout the song, every time Dib fails to expose Zim he complains to Gaz and expresses frustration with people's inability to see the truth, talks about how he's sure to get the recognition he deserves and make his dad proud as he prepares to go out and face Zim again, and during confrontations makes excuses to justify moments of unnecessary cruelty toward Zim which he won't admit are just him venting his frustrations at an acceptable target. Zim likewise vents to GIR throughout the song about how annoying Dib is, how his next plan is sure to succeed and impress the Tallest, and makes excuses to blame everyone but himself when his plans fail, all the while oscillating between panic and anxiety and delusional overconfidence. There are also hints of Zim and Dib's gradually building begrudging respect and homoerotic tension.

By the time this song is over we're still only about 15-20 minutes in. But after that long, fast-paced intro we slow things down as Tak comes into the picture.

She's introduced with a song which hints at her hypnosis powers, her true identity, and grudge against Zim. At the end of her introductory number Tak quickly strikes up a friendship with Dib.

The plot of Zim attempting to court Tak in order to learn about human affection is dropped. Instead, Zim pays her no mind as his focus is on spying on all the other invaders' progress in order to take his mind off his string of failures. Unfortunately, he finds out that everyone else is way ahead of him and Skoodge of all people has just become the first Invader to complete his mission. Furthermore, the Tallest are on a course headed straight for earth and they're due to arrive quite soon. Zim sings a song panicking over what the Tallest will think if they see he has nothing to show for all his time spent on earth. He gets the idea for a new evil scheme and then sings about the work he's doing to get it into motion.

We cut back to Dib and Tak and Dib starts singing an "I'm not alone anymore" song with Tak deceptively playing along.

Zim starts to get his plan underway and he's feeling pretty confident about it. Dib arrives with Tak to stop him and Zim sings a song taunting Dib about how he'll never defeat him even with help and how Irkens don't need help from anyone. But Zim's plan fails.

Dib is overjoyed and begins a song reprising parts of his "I'm not alone anymore" song and the montage song, believing he's about to get everything he ever wanted thanks to the first person to finally believe him. But Tak cuts him off with a darker reprise of the the "I'm not alone" song combined with her introductory number, pulling the rug out from under Dib and revealing she only pretend to be his friend and helped him defeat Zim as part of her own plan to conquer earth. Dib is devastated as Tak runs off with some part stolen from Zim's failed scheme to go enact her own evil plan.

Dib and Zim begin a reprisal of the montage song expressing their disappointment which transitions into a new song about them deciding that just this once they'll have to team up to defeat Tak (and recruit Gaz and GIR to help out).

Tak sings another reprise of her intro song as her plan goes into action. Zim and Dib then confront her together. Dib expresses his feelings of betrayal toward Tak. Tak reveals what Zim did to piss her off and tells him his mission is fake and the Tallest were coming to see her, not him, after authorizing her to conquer earth to prove herself to them. Zim refuses to believe her and Dib doesn't know what to think.

Zim and Dib manage to defeat Tak, just in time for the Tallest to see Zim blatantly committing treason and have him arrested, and that's the end of Act 1.

Act 2 is where the sympathetic retelling elements start coming into play. We open with Zim and Dib imprisoned. The Tallest come to see them and sing a song confirming everything Tak said was true and gloating about how they're finally going to be rid of Zim. After they leave, Zim sings to himself about how it's a practical joke or a set-up for a surprise party. Dib tries to interrupt with suggestions that they look for a way out, but Zim ignores him and keeps insisting they're not in real danger.

Zim gets taken out of confinement and put on trial where his crimes are revealed in a song. He's convicted and sentenced to execution, and the crowd of spectators sings a song cheering on Zim's impending demise. But Dib has been watching the whole time and things aren't adding up and he can't just ignore it. So he raises an objection and the Control Brain judges decide to actually listen.

Dib makes the case that Zim couldn't have possibly caused the catastrophic events seen in his memories. There should be no way that clogging up one tube could knock out an entire planet's power for 4 years unless the power grids were deliberately designed to fail. The Control Brains take a recess to consider the new evidence.

Zim and Dib are returned to their holding cell. Zim shows a lack of appreciation for Dib's help and questions his motives, but Dib can tell he's just doing it to avoid acknowledging all the uncomfortable revelations that have just come about. He sings a song calling Zim out on his cowardice and warning him that burying your head in the sand to hide from the truth doesn't make it go away.

They return to the courtroom where Dib proposes recreating the infinite energy absorbing blob as part of his case to prove Zim innocent. The judges allow it, and as expected, following the process shown in Zim's memories doesn't yield the same results. Meaning Zim didn't create the blob, someone else did. Someone else comes in with data recovered from the day of Zim's birth, which reveals that his code was tampered with before his PAK was even attached. A diagnostic on his PAK also indicates that his memories have been altered throughout his life. This unfortunately proves that even if Zim was framed for his worst offenses, he's still defective and must be terminated.

They attempt to execute Zim and Dib, but Zim unexpectedly corrupts the Control Brains and destroys them. Zim and Dib are then rescued by Irken rebels who've been hiding in plain sight among the spectators the whole time.

Act 3 begins with Zim and Dib aboard the rebel Irken ship. The Irken rebels sing a song welcoming them into the rebellion before they introduce them to their leader; Skoodge. Skoodge has a song explaining that the Irken Empire is a sham. The information uploaded into their PAKs at birth is selectively edited by the Control Brains to push their agenda. Short Irkens are told they can prove their worth by working hard to serve the Empire, but no matter what they accomplish the system still treats them like trash. And they're promised that colonizing other planets will give them a better life, but it really only enriches the Tallest while things stay the same for everyone else. Skoodge found all that out the hard way after completing his mission only for the Tallest to try to execute him so he wouldn't encourage shorter Irkens to set their ambitions too high. That's when he joined the rebellion and quickly assumed a leadership role. The rebellion has been going on since long before he and Zim were born and it was the Irken rebels who corrupted his code with a malware program designed to make him a saboteur and edited his memories to make him believe he was responsible for catastrophes caused by the rebels. Having seen that the malware is capable of destroying the Control Brains the rebels now want to bring Zim back to Irk to defeat it's central leadership and liberate the planet.

Zim is rightfully pissed off and sings about how he's tired of being lied to and manipulated and used to serve the ends of others.

He storms off with Dib following. We finally get the title song; "Doomed". It begins with him and Dib blaming one another for ruining each other's lives and wishing they'd never met, then lamenting how they were both "Doomed" from the beginning. Born to be losers, destined to fail at everything and unable to change their fate no matter how hard they try. But then the song becomes more optimistic as they build each other back up. They both think the other person is amazing even if no one else recognizes them. The fact that they've gotten up time and again after so many failures, so many beatings, and the universe itself seemingly being against them is a testament to their incredible inner strength.

Dib sympathizes with Zim and tells him to just take off if that's what he wants, he doesn't owe the Empire or the rebels anything. Zim is surprised that Dib isn't urging him to do the right thing, and Dib suggests that maybe the rebels don't deserve his help if they didn't treat him any better than the Empire. Maybe neither of them should be busting their ass for a cruel ungrateful world and it's a fool's errand to even try because they are after all, "doomed". But Zim ultimately decides he's going to try to destroy the Control Brains anyway because he doesn't want to resign himself to such a bleak outlook. And really, wouldn't giving in to hopelessness and apathy just make him part of the problem?

So Dib and the Irken rebels help Zim get into the Control Brain server room so he can plug himself in and corrupt them. But the Control Brains knew he was coming and updated themselves with some powerful firewalls. In cyberspace, an avatar of Zim interacts with the firewall, manifesting as Red and Purple attempting to convince him that he can still win them over if he surrenders and grovels for forgiveness in another reprisal of Zim's "I Want" song. But Zim rejects them.

The firewall then manifests as an army of Irken soldiers that Zim has to fight solo. Dib sees that Zim needs help and attaches an Irken PAK to himself so he can plug himself in to save Zim. Zim and Dib sing a reprise of Dib's "I'm not alone anymore" song as they battle the firewall together. Zim manages to break through and infect the Control Brains with a virus that destroys them. Dib disconnects just in time to avoid being destroyed as well, but it seems like Zim himself didn't make it.

Dib holds Zim's limp body and cries, singing a sad reprise of the "I'm not alone song". But of course Zim didn't really die and he wakes up and they hug and finish the song triumphantly together.

Zim and Dib are hailed as heroes by the liberated Irkens in a celebratory song. Zim's "I Want" song is reprised again as he's approached by Skoodge and the other rebels with a suggestion that he assume a leadership role as they help their fellow Irkens to rebuild. But Zim humbly declines. He knows he's not really fit for leadership and never really wanted the responsibility anyway, just the validation, which he doesn't need anymore.

Dib asks Zim what he intends to do now, and Zim says he doesn't know. Dib invites Zim to come back to earth with him.

The final song is a reprise of Zim's "I Want" song combined with Dib's "I finally found someone" song, combined with the montage song, showing the changes they've gone through. Dib still wants to study the paranormal, but no longer cares who else believes him as long as he has Zim, and Zim just wants to enjoy the freedom he never had with the Empire. Freedom to experience friendship and have fun goofing off, playing games, having sleepovers, hunting cryptids, and riding space bunnies and drinking space sodas with Dib.

[crazyufokid]

Invader Zim Headcanons (will add to this in rbs like i did with my episode ideas post)

- Gaz is a video game streamer and Gir loves watching her.

- Speaking of which, he goes by GIR-IZ-DA-DOOMYEST online and has a channel where he uploads,, strange,, videos. They were mistaken for an arg at one point by the internet and Dib almost got invested in it until realizing it's just Gir being weird.

- After his old man disguise was compromised after Attack of the Saucer Morons, Zim's new human adult disguise for far earth travel is that of a stylish woman with a big hat (he does a fake french accent for it too).

- Although Zim is VERY envious of Skoodge being the first to conquer a planet, he also secretly admires him for it a little. But he'd never admit it tho, not even to himself.

- Sometimes when Dib can't sleep he bounces/flails in his bed (just like meeeee <3).

- Skoodge also has a french person disguise to match Zim's, he's got a mustache and everything.

- Dib likes making lengthy video essays but they get like, 15 views tops. And that's being generous.

[awesome-normal-heroes]

ZADF Headcanons in the Irken Dib AU:

*Zim is basically the same as in canon.

*But Irken Dib is quite different from Canon Dib; since supernatural stuff doesn't exist on Irk, Irken Dib focused on the path of alien science and didn't become an outcast like Canon Dib did.

*Professor Membrane is the Irken Tallest Blue.

*Gaz is the Massive's Main Pilot and she's well respect by Tallest Blue.

*Dib and Gaz used to be training partners together, before Dib and Zim meet.

*Dib became a successful scientist that Tallest Blue respected, but despite this Dib was very bored with his life.

*Then Dib met Zim and sees how chaotic/interesting/fun Zim is.

*Zim's quirks amuse Irken Dib and make Dib feel alive.

*Although Dib does get annoyed with Zim sometimes, when Zim goes too far...

*The Tallest (especially Tallest Blue) are shocked and disappointed that Dib is wasting his genius potential on such a small and insanely defective irken.

*The giant robot Zim used to ruin the first invasion plan was Dib's creation that Dib gave to Zim as a gift, so they were both banished to Foodcourtia.

*Zim and Dib escape the planet then Dib tries to convince Zim that they should fly away to a different world to live on, but Zim insists to return to Irk.

*The duo get the fake mission (with Dib knowing it's fake from the start, but not saying anything cause it's better then being executed) and when they get Gir, Dib somewhat fixes Gir, so the robot would be more competent (but still childish sometimes)...

*When they arrive on Earth, Dib is frustrated at how lazy Zim's human disguise is and still can't believe that most humans fall for it...

*When they meet a genius kid named Louie, Louie is one of the few that sees through Zim's disguise...

*Louie's parents are older sibling are all brilliant scientists and they're all too busy to be with Louie; they also think that Louie's dream is silly (Louie dreams of being a gadget-filled superhero like Batman or Ironman).

*Louie is calmer and humbler then Canon Dib, so he doesn't shout that Zim is an alien to the whole class and the class doesn't think Louie is crazy.

*But Louie does follow the aliens to their house.

*Zim hates Louie, but also sees him as a worthy foe (similar to how he feels for Canon Dib).

*Dib respects Louie a bit more then Zim, but he's still willing to destroy Louie if necessary.

*Dib LOVES the supernatural stuff on Earth; Irken Dib has a fondness for weird, strange and unusual things.

*Skoodge likes both of them.

*Tak hates Zim, but surprisingly respects Dib.

*Sizz Lorr hates both of them, but hates Zim much more.

[ms-scarletwings]

I am sorry to bother you but I have to say, I feel Dib got treated too harshly most of the time. It's the point of the story yes but at times it just feels flat out sadistic for no reason.

It's why the Gargantis Array comic storyline sucks to me, it was just two issues of buildup to make Dib a gross fat joke and humiliate him across space. Jhonen just really seems to love torturing Dib more than anyone and it's rarely even deserved.

Oh, this is the opposite of a bother, friendo!

I actually have a lot of reading to still do on the topic of the comics. I’m woefully only really up to good knowledge about issues 46-49 and a lot of bits of pieces otherwise. If what you’re saying rings true, that is sad to hear, but pretty interesting still. I’ve always in the back of my head been a little afraid that Dib’s karma could be flanderized to the point of making him a butt monkey. Especially when we all know that’s supposed to be Skoodge’s job! (waka waka)

As for the show, honestly? I think they managed the balance just fine. It’s not so much that the show was specifically cruel to him, but that sadism broadly was one of its central themes and there were no efforts made to exclude Dib from that. And why should they have? He’s not an innocent woobie, and in fact is actually in the seat of a very ambitious antagonist against the real main character’s goals. Arbitrary events of misfortune and pain were the bread and butter of the series back then, and almost no one was spared. Jhonen (who cameoed himself in the show just to choke on a fish and die for a joke) also from what I hear injected a lot of his own qualities into Dib, so I imagine it probably IS very entertaining to him to give the boy the works.

From what I have seen of the comics, that looks like a much finer line to tow. And this more of an off the cuff ramble, but you know what I think??? I think they made Dib a touch way too sympathetic actually. There’s so much more focus on just him and Zim’s side antics, and the more time you take Dib off world and away from the rest of the Earth side characters, the fewer reminders they give you about how many of his problems are majorly self inflicted and how much of a disturbance he can be to society. And, for better or worse, a less dark overall tone in the comics means that the moments of overtly black comedy are going to stand out a little more against the modernized background by contrast.

And there’s another elephant in the room that kind of gets to me, personally. As well as I can put it well, the art style change kind of really affects the lens he can be viewed through. Maybe more than most people want to admit. And I’m not dissing the rounded down, brightened up change, it’s not a better or worse direction from the show… but it is a different one with different strengths and weaknesses.

Like, look at Dib’s early season model sheets for a base of reference.

Now compare him alongside the comic and Florpus interpretation of Dib Membrane. OBVS I am simplifying a ton here, there’s a ton of room for more range than these examples.

I’m not here to say he’s a better or worse Dib visually, he’s still Dib to me! But is notable how comic Dib actually breaks a ton of the “rules” of what kind of character they wanted Dib to be. To put it one way, they sanded down some of his edges and he’s not as apparently “skrungly” as he used to be.

What I like about the change is that it actually gives the better impression of him actually being the lil dorkass kid he’s always been. He’s got a slight aesthetic shift that shows off his unique interests and it definitely sets him apart from Zim, who actually retained most of his own show design. He’s still got some funny lookin’ qualities and he’s so much more endearing

One of the downsides of all that, however, is probably that he’s so damn endearing and as a default.

I dunno if you ever watched Little Shop of Horrors, amazing musical btw, but, it’s supposed to have this whole tragic ending where the main character’s, Seymour’s, long chain of mistakes catch up with him and he meets his demise. In the movie, they casted Rick Moranis for the character, and he played such a puppy-eyed, adorkable Seymour that it made audiences suddenly too bummed out to even appreciate the dark ending. They hated it so much that the crew actually just changed the ending completely so that Seymour gets a consequence-free happy ending with everything he ever wanted. Even though he’s literally a serial murderer of sorts. You were always supposed to feel for him, but not to the point where watching him fail just makes you feel horrible.

I think Dib works kinda like that on a meta level.

If there’s any ruling on what goes over that invisible line when it comes to handling his character, I think Florpus Gaz nailed it right on the head. Dib is never supposed to just utterly break under the weight of his world. Can he sometimes crack? Yeah totally, especially in the “brink of madness” sense. Or if it’s funny. The golden rule is not to give him more than he can handle, and Dib CAN handle a lot of bullshit. He may be a frustrated lil squirt but he’s been at this for a very long time, and it’s hype af watching how he’s not slowing down even in the face of that. Dib and Zim’s biggest POSITIVE shared trait is the strength of their spirits against a world that is ultimately callous and cruel at every turn to them.

Every second you write Dib where he’s wallowing in despair or feeling sorry for himself is a second you come closer to that line and it’s what you need to dish out in wary moderation.

So I guess the TL:DR of what i think I’m getting at here is… it’s all about perspective.

But I really should read more of the comics.

[refriedrambles]

Zim's a jealous and petty little shit. There's absolutely no way for him to be friends with someone he subconsciously considers an equal for a long period of time (maybe not the best phrasing here) He absolutely poisoned any friendship he developed with Skoodge. Any win or acknowledgement that Skoodge got that Zim didn't, would eat at him. And it'd only get worse as Zim dug his hole deeper in an attempt to prove himself. The more desperate he got, the more he fell behind, the higher Skoodge seemed to climb. No matter how bad Zim fucked up or who got hurt, Skoodge always managed to climb out it in one piece. Skoodge always managed to complete his task. Skoodge always managed to help someone out no matter what kinda hell he went through. And it killed Zim

He wants the kinda of awe Skoodge gives him but not from Skoodge. Anyone, but Skoodge. He can't take it from Skoodge because they're too similar in his mind. Every time Zim fails, Skoodge succeeds, even though that's not true. Zim bulldozes himself into being an invader, into being assigned a planet in OID 2, but Skoodge, HE WAS ALREADY THERE. Every win Zim got over him seemed only to set him back further. Skoodge, he was actually chosen to be an invader while Zim was demoted to being a food service drone. He was assigned Blorch without having to claw it out of the Tallest's hands. He ACTUALLY CONQUERED A PLANET. And Zim? His motivation was petering out. He couldn't keep believing that if only he proved himself, if only he took over earth, he wouldn't be sent back to Foodcourtia, he wouldn't be sent to trial.

They started from the same place with the same circumstances. The smallest soldiers. But Zim was a leader, Skoodge a follower, a fool begging to be led by the nose. So why him? Why did he always manage to show Zim up? Expose his flaws so effortlessly? He'd almost think it was intentional if he wasn't so dumb. Zim was inventive! Innovative! Skoodge? He couldn't even keep his uniform clean let alone create something.

He can't help but revel in every instance Skoodge gets thrown back down. Shown his place. But at the same time it's disturbing. It shakes him to his very core and he can't figure out why. He could never admit to himself that if the empire is willing to throw even Skoodge away, someone who does everything right, he has no chance of ever being accepted or loved.

[hermajestytak]

Her Majesty, Our Almighty Tallest Lady Miyuki

She was a lost character that never made it to the show proper because The Trial was never finished and never adapted post cancelation. She was voiced elegantly on the spot by Melissa Fawn in The Trial's Invadercon script reading, but was never officially voice acted, animated, or even colored.

Yet...despite never making it to the show, more than many other cancelled characters, something about Miyuki resonates with the Invader Zim fandom. Take a look throughout the fandom and you'll see her time and time again. In fanart, she's romanticized and illustrated as elegantly as possible. In fanfiction, she's a crucial character to the backstories many Irken fan characters.

There's many reasons why this is. For one, her name is gorgeous. One of the few facts we have about her is she was named and created after storyboard artist Miyuki Hoshikawa.

The name Miyuki itself holds different meanings depending on which kanji its spelled in: 美幸 means "beautiful fortune/happiness," 深雪 means "deep snow," 美雪 means "beautiful snow, and 美由紀 means "beautiful reason for history"

The association of Miyuki with snow has lead to some depicting her lead color as snow white. However, the most common color to depict her in within the fandom is blue, usually a cereulean blue. Other colors she's been drawn with include yellow and green, but the popular blue depiction arguibly makes her even more loved by the fandom because it makes her stand out from the usual green/red/violet color palette of the Irken Empire and, quite frankly, it makes her look gorgous.

Speaking of standing out, another reason for Miyuki's popularity is her gender. Female Irkens are much rarer characters in the series than Male Irkens (most likely because they take 1-2 more steps to design than their masc counterparts). Of the 50 named, individual Irkens on the series, only 7 are female (a whopping 14%), so Irken girlies are a rare treat for the fandom and of them, Miyuki is by far the most powerful.

In fact, Miyuki was most likely the most powerful Irken in history (that we know of). Red and Purple have to split their power between each other and Spork was only Tallest for a very short time. However, Miyuki was both a solo Tallest and one implied to be Tallest for a while.

Speaking of the tallest, Miyuki is one of only four that we know. Of them, her reign is the oldest. We don't know how long she was tallest, but she perished when Zim was over 10 years old. In the fandom, she's often depicted as being the tallest since before Zim was even born, so she likely reigned while our most important Irkens (Zim, Skoodge, Red, and Purple) were smeets that would have been taught to look up to whoever was tallest.

One interesting, debatable note about Miyuki's character is how much better of a tallest she supposedly was. She openly worked with the Vortians that Red and Purple went on to betray during their reign, so we know she was a more strategic and responsible tallest at least. However, some fan depictions take this a step further and headcanon Miyuki as "the rightful tallest" so to speak: a more merciful, kind, and virtuous planetary leader to contrast Red and Purple's cruelty. In other words, the fandom has a bad habit of really romanticizing her.

What these depictions tend to forget is that Miyuki was proud of her Empire. The very nature of an Empire, especially the Irken Empire, is to expand their rule. The Massive was designed during her reign to expand this rule by conquering nearby planets. She may have been a more competent Tallest, but a Tallest nonetheless and in the Irken Empire, intergalactic colonization and war is extremely glorified no matter who the leader is.

So I personally headcanon Miyuki as not a merciful, benevolent Tallest that the entire universe loved, but rather a Queen of England type figure whose adoration, regalness, and acts of kindness within her empire serve as a distraction from her and the control brains' cruel, empirical nature; she's beloved by her kind, but despised by everyone who sees the Irken Empire for what it really is: an intergalactic colony of genocidal ants.

[asexual-spongebob]

Wail Of The Siren - Chapter 9 - Bullet With Butterfly Wings

Notes:

ah yes, Gaz and Dib arguing… oh god… I’ve honestly been a little afraid to post this one- I hope this is decent, I’ve never thought of angst as my strong suit so hopefully I did okay.

“Anyway, I should get going- I’ll see you later though.” Tak said, “Alright, love you.” Gaz replied, giving Tak a kiss on the neck.

Tak then walked in Dib’s direction, oh shit! Dib thought, she’s going to see me if I stay here!

Dib then quietly ran over to the front of the store, so Tak wouldn’t notice him.

Dib stood there awkwardly, pretending as if nothing was wrong as he watched Tak walk back to her base. 

Dib  rapidly walked to back near the dumpster and the back of the building. He could still see Gaz standing there in the distance.

“Gaz. What the fuck.” Dib snapped. 

Gaz turned to face her sibling, she noticed their eyes were burning with fury. 

Gaz stared at them, “What the hell are you doing here?!” She demanded. 

“The better question is what the hell were you doing with Tak?!” Dib demanded back, “Why were you being all loving dovey with her?!” They add.

“Mew’s my girlfriend!? Of course I’m going to be lovey dovey with mew!” Gaz retorted. 

“Mew’s your girlfriend?!” Dib gasped, “Yeah?! Why did you think we were holding hands and being affectionate with each other?!” Gaz retorted. 

“I thought you were just platonically holding hands! Like Tenn and Skoodge do!” Dib spat. 

“Okay I see your point.” Gaz admitted. 

Dib ignored his sister and continued.

“What if she hurts you?!” Dib winced.

“She won’t! And if she does, I know exactly what to do.”  Gaz insisted. 

“Why do you always have bad things to say about mew. You always talk shit about mew and I’m sick of it.” Gaz snarled. 

“What?” Dib muttered, a bit confused. 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about Dib.” Gaz retorted with clenched teeth. 

“You want to know something?! You’re a fucking hypocrite!” Gaz snapped. 

“I am n-“ Dib tried to say, but Gaz interrupted him before he could finished his sentence.

“YOU ARE.” She screeched, shutting him up. 

Dib’s eyes widened. 

Gaz started to towards him, making him back towards the brick wall. 

“You get all pissy at me for hanging out with Tak, and now you’re getting pissy about the fact she’s my girlfriend. Yet the same thing happened with you and Zim.” She fumed, her eyes wide open, sparkling with fury.

Dib’s pupils dilated of fear, he started shaking like a leaf. 

Gaz stepped closer, making Dib take a step back.

She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

“You bitch about me dating “the girl who tried to destroy the planet”. Yet you are all lovey dovey and kissy wissy with Zim. You know, the person who also tried to destroy the planet so multiple times. Not to mention tried to get us killed multiple times.” Gaz shouted.

Dib was now up against the wall. 

His fear started to fade away, it began to turn into rage. 

It began to boil inside him like a pot of water boiling aggressively on a stove top. 

The pot had boiled over. Dib could not contain his rage any longer. 

Dib punched her in the nose.

“Oh. I’m sorry for giving a shit about you! I’m sorry for saving your ass all those times I-“ they snapped, soon being cut off.

Blood dripped down Gaz’s chin as her eyes shimmered with rage. “Saving my ass?! If anyone’s ass was getting saved, it was your’s!!” Gaz spat. 

Dib ignored what their sister had just said and continued.

“I’m sorry for trying to be a good sibling!” Dib continued on. 

“Good sibling?! What kind of sibling drags their little sister into shit?! What “good sibling” does that?!” Gaz fumed, a few blood droplets splattering onto her My Chemical Romance shirt, thankfully it was hard to see, as the shirt was black.

“What do you mean by that?!” Dib demanded.

“What do you mean by that?” What kind of question is that?! You know damn well what I’m talking about.” Gaz raged.

“Shut up. SHUT UP.” Dib spat.

“You want to know something? I had to be “Dad” when Dad couldn’t! I had to put you to bed! I had to make you dinner! I had to put up with you being annoying! I had to play dolls with you!” He began furiously. 

“I WAS SEVEN YEARS OLD! AND TAKING OF YOU! I could’ve been playing on the playground or something. But you want to know what I was doing instead?! I WAS TAKING CARE OF MY SIX YEAR OLD SISTER. I WAS TRYING TO BE A GOOD BROTHER. AND NOW YOU TREAT ME LIKE THIS?!” Dib continued, his throat beginning to hurt from all the shouting.

“STOP ACTING LIKE YOUR THE ONLY ONE WHO WAS EFFECTED BY DAD NOT BEING ABLE TO CARE FOR US!!” Gaz shouted.

“YOU KNOW WHAT?! I’M DONE WITH THIS CONVERSATION!” Dib shouted back, “I’m going to the beach.” He spat.

“GOOD. I HOPE YOU GET SWEPT AWAY BY A CURRENT YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!” Gaz called out as Dib left. 

You know. You might as well get swept away by a current. Just like Gaz said. It’s not like she’ll care or anything…. Dib mused. 

Dib ran as fast as his legs could carry him, Keef and Meef were heading back from a fishing trip.

Keef noticed Dib ran by, Dib stopped to catch his breath.

“Where are you heading to?” 

“The beach. Tell Zim that I’ll be gone for a bit.”

“Oh.. okay?”

“Also. If you see Gaz, tell her that she’s a fucking bitch.”

“Oh… okay?”

Dib then broke off into a run, headed towards the beach.

Dib panted after making his way to the pier, the sea was foaming like a bottle of beer. 

Dib took a sip from a water bottle that he had stashed in his coat pocket. Dib let out a refreshed sigh. 

He then headed towards the docks, glancing around to see if there were any fishermen. 

The coast was clear. They were fine. No one was there. 

They dove into the water, feeling that sharp, agonizing pain in their body, they glanced down at their hands, their hands were no longer covered in human skin, but rather, they were covered in green scales. 

Dib swam towards the strong rip current up ahead.  He then felt a strong and powerful force trap him. 

Dib began to shake, frantically looking in every direction. 

He was in the rip current. There was no escape.

He could feel himself drift away as he thrashed around in the current, being thrown around in every direction. 

“DIIIB!! NOOOO!!!” Gaz called out in protest, swimming closer in attempt to reach Dib. 

“But you said you wanted me to get swept away by a current?” Dib called out, confused, raising an eyebrow.

“I didn’t mean that! I’m  sorry!” Gaz apologized genuinely.

“Well it’s too late!!!” Dib snapped.

Gaz tried to grab onto her sibling’s webbed and scaly hand trying her hardest to free them from the current’s wrath.

She thrashed through the deep, dark water, trying to free her brother, she then was able to grab onto his hand.

“I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have said that! You were right to call me out! I’m sorry for punching you!” Dib apologized, “It’s okay!!! I understand that you were just concerned!!” Gaz replied, “I’m sorry to! I shouldn’t have said those things to you!” she adds. 

“No! I’m glad you did!” Dib said. 

She let out a grunt as she tried to pull him out, but this rip current was stronger. 

She had let go. 

“GAAAZ!!!!” Dib wailed as the strong current swept him away.

“DIIIIB!!!!” Gaz shouted as she tried to grasp her brother’s hand.

But… she couldn’t.

“GAAAZ!!!” Dib screamed, his screaming getting fainter and fainter the further he drifted away. 

Her brother was gone. Fucking gone. 

Normally, she wouldn’t care, but this time, she did.

What kind of sister are you?! She scolded herself as she tried to hold back tears. 

I need to do something… I should tell someone. She decided, swimming up to the surface. 

She dried herself off with a towel and left, knots in her stomach.

Gaz made her way back home, her shoulders slumped in shame.

How am I going to get him back? Gaz asked herself. 

You’re a terrible sister. This is all your fault. She told herself.

Gaz made her way to the tide pool and dried herself off, cleaning her bloody nose, waiting for the bleeding to stop. Her clothes were still damp but not as much. She rinsed the salt water off herself with some water she had stashed in a water bottle. 

Once she was mostly dry, she made her way home, How am I supposed to explain this to Dad?! How would he feel… 

Gaz could just imagine the lecture she’d receive. She knew that she’d be grounded for ages. 

Gazlene Membrane! How could you say that to your brother?! 

Gaz let out sigh, I deserve that. I deserve to be lectured like that. She told herself once again as she made her way through the dark streets of Detroit. The street lights leading the way.

She noticed Keef and Meef walking on the sidewalk.

“Hey um. Sorry if this sounds weird but Dib told me to tell you that you’re a fricking betch.. I have no idea why..”

“He’s right… I am… and I’m a terrible sister.”

“What? What makes you say that?”

“I told him to go get swept away by a current… and he did… all because of this argument we got into..”

“Betch what the frick?” 

“Yeah I know I shouldn’t have.. I was just really angry.. we both apologized to each other though. If my Dad and Clembrane find out they’re going to go ballistic on me-“

“Oh um.. that’s good? Anyway I gotta go to Zim’s house. See you later.”

Gaz and Keef then went their separate ways, Gaz walked the rest of the way home. 

Gaz made it, opening the front door, only to see her Dad glancing over at her from his chair near the front door.

“Hello daughter, where have you been?” He asked “Uh… I went to the mall with Tak and Tenn.” Gaz lied “Oh cool! Hope you had fun.” He smiled “I did.” Gaz replied.

“Where’s your sibling?” Professor Membrane asked “Oh uh… their at Zim’s.” Gaz lied. 

God I hate this. She thought, normally she would be fine with lying to someone, but her Dad was the expectation. She hated lying to him about anything.

No… he can’t know the truth… At least not right now… Gaz thought.

Professor Membrane just nodded and continued to read the marine biology book he was reading. 

Gaz then made her way upstairs, locking herself in her room and sitting on the floor, staring at her collection of Littlest Pet Shops. 

•••

Keef knocked on the door to Zim’s house.

Skoodge answered.

“Hi Keef.” He smiled, but then noticed the expression on Keef’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Skoodge asked.

“Something happened to Dib… that’s why I came here.” Keef answered.

“Oh.. oh my irk!” Skoodge exclaimed, then letting Keef come in the house.

“Hi Zim..” Keef sighed with a frown as he looked at him, he was sitting on the couch with Gir and Sir.

Zim was caught off guard. Something was up.

Keef wasn’t happy and cheerful like they usually were, now they seemed sad and gloomy.

“Hi Keef.” Zim said.

“Um… Dib’s gone.” Keef murmured.

“He’s gone?!” Zim gasped out of disbelief.

“Yeah… Them and Gaz got into a fight and she told them to go get swept away by a current… and they were.” Keef began, “she feels really bad about it now… and we have no idea where Dib is now.” Keef finished.

Zim felt his squeedily spooch shatter into little pieces. “D-Dib’s g-gone?” Zim stammered out of disbelief, starting to tear up. Keef nodded with a frown.

Zim flopped off the couch and onto the floor, beginning to sniffle before bursting into tears. 

Skoodge and Keef kneeled on floor, trying to soothe Zim. 

“It’s okay Zim! We’ll figure out a solution!” Keef assured, gently stroking Zim’s back.

“MY BELOVED DIB STINK! MY DIB FISH!!! THEIR GONE!!!” Zim wailed hysterically, smashing his fist against the floor, ignoring what Keef had just said. 

“I love them so much!!! Even if they smell like tuna and anchovies!” Zim croaked.

Keef looked at Skoodge. “What should we do?” Keef questioned “I think you should get home.. I’ll deal with it.” Skoodge assured with a thumbs up.

Keef nodded and left, awkwardly saying goodbye to Skoodge and Zim. 

Skoodge hugged Zim. “I’m sorry…” he sympathized, Zim whimpered and sobbed into his shirt.

“My Dib siren!” Zim cried.

•••

Professor Membrane was out running some errands, Gaz was in her room, the home phone in her hands. 

Gaz dialed Tak’s number, her hands shaking the entire time, she grasped her favorite kitten lps, Violeta for comfort. It was a purple and white one with green eyes, number 2033.

Soon, Tak picked up.

“Hi love!! How are you?”

“Not to good… I did something… bad…horrible..” 

“Oh irk- what did you do?”

“Dib’s gone… and it’s all my fault…”

“What happened?”

“We got into an argument, and I went a little too hard on him- I told him to go get swept away by a current and well… He did. I feel absolutely horrible now… and Keef told me that Zim is depressed now.. He said that it keeps crying and it keeps talking about how much it misses Dib.. I think they said that xyr base is now littered with garbage..”

“Damn.. hopefully we can get him back…” 

“Yeah… we need to. Or my Dad and Clembrane are going to go ballistic on me..”

“I’d tell them if I were you. Explaining the fact that you’re both siren’s may be a bit difficult but, I think they might know how to get Dib back.”

“Alright thanks love, I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.”

“Bye.” 

Gaz hung up and crawled into bed, shaking anxiously, hoping she’d soon drift off to sleep.

No crying. You’re not a baby anymore.. She told herself, trying her best to hold back her tears. 

She hadn’t cried in months, it was something she always shunned herself for. 

Gaz couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.

Gaz smashed her face into her pillow, sobbing violently. Professor Membrane and Clembrane were coming upstairs to check on Gaz, all they could hear was the sound of her violent and aggressive sobbing.

The two were taken aback, it was rare for them to hear Gaz cry. 

“I’ll ask her if she’s okay.” Professor Membrane decided, knocking on the door. 

Gaz continued to sob, ridiculing herself in the process, What is wrong with you?! Why are you like this?!but then, she was alarmed by a knock at her door.

“Gazlene, is something wrong?” She heard Professor Membrane ask. 

“Yeah is somethin’ wrong? We heard you cryin’” Clembrane adds. 

“Nothing! Just go away!” Gaz shouted nasally, with a sniffle as she lifted her head up from her pillow, then looking down at her hands.

She was caught off guard. They were webbed and covered in purple scales.

Tears could trigger a siren transformation.

Goddamn. Just what I needed. Gaz thought sarcastically as tears rolled down her face.

Outside her door, Professor Membrane and Clembrane glanced at each other. 

“I hope everything is okay…” Clembrane frowned, Professor Membrane nodded, 

“If you need us we’ll be downstairs!” Professor Membrane said, him and Clembrane then heading back downstairs. 

•••

Tenn, Skoodge and Keef walked around City Center mall, Tenn was scanning the area for T.E.S, while Skoodge and Keef munched on some soft pretzels.

Tenn glanced at the two. 

“How have guys been?” Tenn asked.

“Fine.. Zim hasn’t though-“ Skoodge answered.

“Oh irk- what happened?” Tenn pressed.

“Dib and Gaz got into a fight and Dib was swept away by a current.. Gaz really needs to find a way to get Dib back. Or her parents are going to be mad.” Keef answered.

“Oh damn- hopefully she can get him back.” Tenn said.

“Yeah, the problem is, is that we don’t know where that current took Dib. So he could be anywhere.” Skoodge pointed out.

“So he could be all the way in Australia?” Keef replied.

“Maybe. Who knows- I think it’s more likely that he’s in Wisconsin or Canada though- I mean. We are south of Canada.” Skoodge said, Keef and Tenn nodded, then heading over to T.E.S, still wondering how Gaz was going to get Dib back.

End Notes:

So Uh- i decided to insert one of my hcs into this. Specifically Dib having the responsibility of taking care of Gaz at a young age and basically having to be “parent”. I notice that tends to happen with older siblings. So I figured that Dib might have some trauma related to that.

Can’t believe this is the second to last update holy shit-

[weakly-skoodge]

Week Forty Seven!

“Huff…”

At least it’s still nice to be able to stand off to the side and watch. Even as infuriating as Earth is, and how infuriating it can sometimes be to see Zim get stuck in his routine… it’s somehow simultaneously refreshing, for Skoodge to be watching him.

While some aspects of Zim have changed over the years, shifted to better adapt to his environment, his personality has remained almost unchanged. The thing that draws people in – or away – the most, that has been relatively consistent his entire life.

Loud, bossy, pushy, captivating…

… Everything he has been, even way back in the education plugs.

It wouldn’t be too big of a stretch to say that Skoodge is still as absolutely charmed by those same eccentricities as he was centuries ago – even after being separated from them.

“Come now, Skoodge! I know you can do better than that!”

Even if those eccentricities might end up killing him one day. At least with Zim, Skoodge knows that getting killed by him will be more incidental, rather than malicious. Zim tends not to be aware of the radius of chaos that’s always surrounding him.

A shaky wheeze wriggles its way out from his flabby throat. “I’m trying – hhng – my hhhuhardest –”

“Your hardest is clearly not hard enough.” Zim clicks his tongue. “Here, let me.”

Steps sound out in the grass, taken just outside of Skoodge’s field of vision.

Two tiny hands make themselves known as they grasp along his backside, the abrupt sensation causing him to jolt in place.

“– Whuh-at are you–?”

Cccrr-RA-ck-CK!

Skoodge goes limp, stuck in a half-bent position from his failed attempt at touching his toes. His hands hang below him. He can’t feel his spine.

He wheezes. It sounds hollow and utterly dead.

Zim hums. Skoodge can’t look up to see it, but he’s almost certain that the other is stroking his chin in some provoking thought. “Eh. That did nothing. You really are dookie at this, Skoodge.”

Skoodge would love to bite back with some equally sardonic remark – perhaps something that could really give Zim pause. Something along the lines of not all of us can be built like tiny little pretzels, Zim. But, unfortunately for him – or maybe, fortunately – all of his mouth functionality has been lost along with what used to be his back. He can’t even groan without risking more burning, searing pain to shoot its way through his body.

These morning stretches are not meant for an irken with Skoodge’s build. But Zim always insists on doing them right before a big scheme. Different from his regular ones. Doing these today means that something is coming, very, very soon.

Not soon enough, Skoodge thinks. He doesn’t really know what the special occasion is. Not yet at least, since Zim was so insistent on not spoiling the surprise – and Skoodge won’t get to knowing any time soon.

All he can really do now for the next hour or two is stare at the ground and his belly, and at his hands hanging limp, still unable to reach his feet, until his spine regenerates.

Terrible. Cruel.

This is like that Earth ‘Hell’. His own highly specific form of torture. Repentance for his crimes.

Eh. At least he’s not starving. Or dead. He could always be dead!

… He’s pretty sure he’s thought that very specific thought a lot of times, already.

… Well, that’s only because it still holds true!

Yup! Mhmm! I love being not dead! And not suffering too, preferably, but hey! Beggars can’t be choosers!

He’s pretty confident he got the saying right, that time. He mentally pats himself on the back for it, well aware that he can’t actually do it thanks to his current predicament. The still lingering pain tingles that occasionally shoot throughout his body serve as helpful reminders not to move. Aah. Refreshing.

[theizzifromosaka]

So the next piece of media I've decided to review is Monster Prom, but these games aren't really meant to be played for extended periods of time, they're more meant for occasional single playthroughs with friends.

In the meantime I thought it would be neat if I spoke about an individual character I might not get to talk about otherwise. I figure this would be a neat way to fill the gaps between reviews, and opens the possibility to talk about just about any character that fits the description of "monster" and "girl".

Invader Tak (Invader Zim)

Despite only appearing in two(ish) episodes Tak remains a fan favorite character. Personally, I love all these little Bloodthirsty Irken Scrimblos, and honestly wish Invader Skoodge and Sizz-Lorr got the same amount of love as her.

Tak definitely earns her popularity, as her two part special is one of the best episodes in the series. It starts off as a Valentine's special, with Zim predictably aghast. Suddenly an inconspicuous new girl joins the class and covers Zim in barbecue sauce, causing him much pain.

Of course this hideous new girl is revealed to be an Irken in disguise, with a grudge against Zim and intent on conquering the earth to regain her status as Invader. Zim and Dib must join forces to save the earth and re-ruin Tak's life.

Tak is such a good parallel to Zim. Their backstories are similar in many ways but while Zim was victim of his own hubris and stupidity, Tak was instead victim of Zim's hubris and stupidity.

Villain protagonists are pretty rare, especially among the media shown to kids. Sorta like the few instances when Klasky Csupo tried to make Angelica sympathetic, to get people to root for Zim you gotta pit him against somebody worse. Tak fills these shoes well, she's every bit as conniving as Zim, and somehow almost matches his eccentricness (with Richard Steven Horvitz voicing Zim that's all but impossible), with the crucial difference between them being Tak is competent, and as a result genuinely intimidating.

As for her design, she's built off the same deceptively adorable base all Irkens share, with her pointy "eyelashes" and curled antenna giving her a distinct, easily identifiable look. Her human disguise is similar, standing out from the background characters but still matching the show's angular style.

Invader Zim is my favorite Nickelodeon cartoon, and the only real competition it has is SpongeBob. It stands out so much from its peers, both visually and tonally. Though I can't recommend it to Monster Girl fans on account of it really doesn't have any, I can personally say this show means a lot to me.

Previous review:

Next review:

[short-and-ugly]

here hold on im gonna make a thing no one besides me is gonna care about

skoodgeisms dependent on company:

skoodge with zim: fully open and way too eager (genuinely has fun, silly business) doesnt actually salute to zim, ive noticed. he respects him but i think that respect is the kind that puts them around the same level as each other. (doesnt mean skoodge Doesn't put zim on a figurative pedestal -- just that he sees him as more 'equal' than, say, the hobo sergeant or the tallest) funny little guy with funny little words :3

(added the entire danceghost segment here because i love it dearly. look at him. panic boy ultimate. supreme.)

skoodge with irkens/irken-adjacent (squad sergeants/commanders/figures of authority): quick to salute fun words (hoo-ah) and out of place body/hand motions happen only when he gets in over his head/too excited. feels a lot more plain and "conformed" (as though attempting to fit in?)

even with zim involved, skoodge is... kinda dramatic throughout hobo-13 in a way that he isnt in any of the unfinished episodes. like. serious-dramatic. trying too hard to be a stone-faced irken brute that he thinks everyone else thinks he should be.

(Yes sir! I am your loyal- [gets his ass punted and sent careening down a cliff])

... kinda like how he is with the tallest during battle of the planets!

(the dialogue is wrong in this transcript... anger >:( )

So Zim involvement does not override other-irken-company involvement, but it does override other-not-irken-company. so say, skoodge is with the other invaders on conventia during the assigning and zim walks up next to him -- he quickly and quietly backs away because that is a public space, and doing anything to imply that he might have somewhat of a cordial relationship with zim would put him on... hot burning coals. to put it lightly.

and when skoodge is with the hobos, he treats zim with respect, but that's because zim is the leader of the group -- skoodge is probably at least somewhat aware of the fact that the tallest (and others) are watching him right now. he is treating zim... a lot like a stranger. curt words and mostly not talking to him directly unless addressed or thinking his skillset might be useful to zim.

... at the end, though, you see some of his actual personality start to leak through!

(Zim -- I escaped from the canyon -- I made it! I'm aLiiive! [immediately gets crushed by the sergeant])

(seeking validation -- he didnt need to come all the way out here, to say that to zim, specifically. he was still doing the test for the tallest the same as zim was, yes, but youd think if anyone knew to keep their mouth shut around zim for the sake of their own luck/lives/whatever, it would be skoodge. and yet! he doesnt!)

im feeling like... the adrenaline high from running through the entirety of the hobo-13 course, with a hogulus still chasing after him, probably made him a little excitable and lose his cool composure.

anyways that was a tangent. uh.

when skoodge is with other company. he is. awkward. (see: ghost scientist scene). though this is undoubtedly because of the situation (undercover during a supposed mission) hes still noticeably different from how he behaves on hobo-13! i think maybe this is just because earth is foreign territory that hes yet to learn. still thinks of it as a hazardous filthy wasteland of a planet with threats he hasnt properly assessed.

i think... if he were with company, not irken, and without the looming threat of being discovered and dissected (earth, humans, blorch, rats) then he would still be plain and awkward, honestly? kinda like sizzy when he fails to match zim's energy ('i wasnt laughing?') lots of ums and awkward silences and coughs and flies buzzing and crickets chirping.

hmmmm. yeah. good stuff <3

[blazing--comet]

WE GETTIN OUTTA ART BLOCK SLOWLY !!!!!! I think I just needed to take a break from drawing Zim and Dib SPECIFICALLY they were ALL I DREW for um . Possibly the whole summer and start of school as a coping mech BUT I HAVE SO MANY OTHER IZ OCS/CHARACTERS TO FOCUS ON !!!!!! love zimmie and dibert douglas membrane but I hit an art stump BUT AFTER A FEW DAYS OF MOSTLY DOING OTHER CHARAS ILL BE ABLE TO RETURN BACK TO THEM . OH YEAH !!!!

BY THE WAY ......... these are my OCs.... IF IT WASNT OBVIOUS ALREADY BAHAHAHAH BUT BASICALLY !!! LONG STORY SUMMARY :

The Irken is named Swyn (she her) !! She's Miyuki's clone in my au :3 (one of multiple ... But I'm still figuring out that concept SO‼️🗣️) She was made off planet using Miyuki's DNA after her death, and her creator (some random smeet scientist I haven't worked on) got caught(you aren't allowed to make Irken smeets without permission off planet or at ALL because Irk is stinky and full of poop head control brains BTW all Irkens are asexual so don't be weird) AND SWYN GOT ABANDONED ON ACCIDENT !! it's okay thougjt because..... INSERT DRUM EXCITABLD SOUJD HERE.... TENN FOUND HER !!! she adopted Swyn along with her gf Tak , and THEY ARE A HAPPY LITTLE FSMILY !!! Sizz Lorr is there too because he is Tak's adopted father 🫡 found family FOREVER .

The second alien in the comic is named Meer (she they) !!!! She's a Fluxative (IZ OC species), a species of REALLY GOOD shapeshifters . However , the Irken Empire killed most of them in an Invasion. My Irken scientist OC, Nova(not shown or mentioned in the comic) who is Zim, Tenn, and Skoodge's Unit Sibling finds Meer when Meer is a literal smeet baby thing and takes her in to take care of her, and when Nova is assigned to RESEARCH *NOT* invade Irk, she brings Meer with her caude Meer is like her daughger :333

When Swyn is like 16 (I am a believer in Irkens aging like humans just with longer lifespans and I can and will defend my point) she and every Irken that lives on Irk finds out she's Miyuki's clone, and of course she's not very upset, but now has the pressure of living up to Miyuki's legacy, which would be extra difficult, since Miyuki was the VERY BEST TALLEST in IRKEN HISTORY.

Tallest Sleedge ( she her , also the main Tallest at the time in my au) essentially peer pressured Swyn to become Tallest as well, due to Swyn being almost exactly like MIYUKI was in ALL WAYS . Miyuki was something the Empire needed again. But Swyn is very conflicted on it....... SO YEAH !!!! skipped over a lot of things but that's SORTA WHAT THJS COMIC IS ABOUT

[emeraldspiral]

Top 10 Invader Zim Characters Besides Tak, Skoodge, and Zib Who Should've Made a Comeback in No Particular Order:

#1 Ultra Peepi

There's like a million Godzilla movies + giant robot anime to draw inspiration from for a sequel. We saw at the end of Hamstergeddon that Peepi crash landed back on earth somewhere. So he could be in hiding, burrowed underground, or he could've mutated further and grown gills to hide deep in the ocean. Just invent another monster so there's an excuse to go and awaken Peepi to fight it and make the concept as stupid as you want. The show even already established that a giant Santa monster revisits the planet annually, so the return of Ultra Peepi could double as a sequel to the Most Horrible Xmas Ever. Give me Ultra Peepi King of the Monsters.

#2 Iggins

A big issue with Gaz is that being apathetic and wanting nothing to do with Zim or the paranormal as core facets of her character makes it difficult to create interesting storylines for her. So she mostly ends up just existing to be someone Dib delivers exposition to and to make snide remarks at his expense. GameSlave 2 worked really well for her because there was actually something for her to care about and you got to see how Not So Above It All she is compared to Zim and Dib when it comes to the few things she's passionate about. So it seems like if you want to do more episodes centered around Gaz it'd be a good idea to bring Iggins back as a recurring thorn in her side. Maybe it starts off with her not taking him seriously and beating him without much effort, so she can still see herself as not being like her brother. But then Iggins starts to really get under her skin and she feels like she has to teach him a lesson, but he just never learns. Like Zim, Iggins is too egotistical and overconfident to admit defeat, and it starts to drive Gaz crazy after awhile and eventually she becomes just as obsessed as her brother with trying to beat him and prove once and for all that he sucks.

#3 Service Drone Bob

I would love an episode about him fleeing the empire after they attempted to kill him and joining the Resisty. Actually, what would really be funny is if they did the concept I came up with where they do a Resisty story, but troll the audience by only showing them little slivers of what sounds like a really exciting story as cutaways from a silly, inconsequential no-stakes story completely disconnected from it. But like, in those brief glimpses, you'd get just enough references to what's happened off-screen to form an impression of this whole Zuko-esque character arc that Bob's been through of having his eyes opened and unlearning Irken propaganda and being at war with himself before finally deciding to join the Resisty and then having to win their trust and establishing deep bonds with the rest of the group. And then it all ends with one cutaway indicating that they're about to go into the final all-or-nothing battle and then the last cutaway reveals that everyone died and their actions made no impact on the status quo and will never connect back to Zim in any way.

#4 Chammy Wamboo

I think there was a lot of missed potential with Chammy's first appearance. It's hinted that she has actual supernatural abilities, which makes her vaguely unsettling, but the story didn't really go anywhere with it. I think a good way to bring her back would be if she just appeared with no explanation and started harassing Zim and Dib again but this time it seems like it's actually working and it's freaking them out. Eventually, they figure out that Chammy got back to earth by using her powers to brainwash everyone in her path into being her friends and cooperating to help her get home. Now that she's back she's not going to try to reason with Zim and Dib anymore, she's going to make them be friends whether they like it or not. So it's no longer even a question of whether Chammy's just wrong about their relationship or if Zim and Dib are just being stupid, stubborn idiots who can't see that their lives actually would be better if they became friends. The issue now is that their free will is being violated and she's treating real people like dolls she can mash together and make kissy-noises with.

#5 Invader Tenn

I think a lot of Tenn's popularity is owed to her being one of very few female Irken characters and one whose brief appearance in Megadoomer gave rise to a lot of speculation about what might've happened to her next. The earliest versions of the fake fanon Invader Dib storyline involved an attempt to rescue Tenn from the Meekrob, but I kinda like the idea of her ending up in Moo-Ping 10 and teaming up with Tak to escape. Really though, there's an infinite number of possibilities for whatever happened to Tenn after Megadoomer. Was she left for dead? Did the Tallest blame her for failing her mission even though it wasn't her fault and banish her to a place like Dirt or Foodcourtia as punishment? Did she ever find out Zim blew up her Megadoomer?

#6 Zorphic aka "Madness"

The dog that terrifies Zim turning out to be an alien was such a good twist and I wish we could've seen him make good on his promise to get revenge on Zim for his betrayal. I think he has an interesting personality that sets him apart from a lot of the Zim cast but we never got to see what he's like in retribution mode.

#7 Bill

Outside of Career Day I think we only see Bill once more briefly in Chickenfoot and then again in the Lil Meat Man story, where I don't remember him really doing any of his usual schtick of wasting Dib's time and making his field of expertise look bad, they just kinda drive around together trying to catch Zim but always getting to where he's been after he's already left. I think there could've been some more funny episodes with Bill stepping on Dib's toes. Like Dib needs to follow Zim into a location but Bill is blocking him because he thinks there's a real monster in there and Dib's trying to convince him that it's just a cereal mascot and the real threat is Zim. Or Dib and Bill are investigating the same phenomenon but they disagree about what's causing it. What it actually is is plainly obvious to Dib, but people either believe Bill instead because some poorly timed coincidences make Bill's theory look right, or they just buy into his absurd leaps of logic because they think the complexity of the theory makes it more well thought-out than Dib's simpler, more straightforward explanation. Basically Bill is like a YouTube pop culture theorist making garbage arguments and Dib is the person making debunking videos that unpack all the logical fallacies, glaring omissions, and outright lies used to support his flimsy thesis that ignores what's overtly communicated by the text.

#8 Dwicky

I feel like there's a bit more mileage that could've been gotten out of getting Dib's hopes up and teaching him a harsh lesson by having Dwicky repeatedly promise to help him, only to flake out, until Dib finally realizes that just because he's an adult and he believes him doesn't make him reliable or a worthwhile ally.

#9 Membrane's parents

We only see them briefly in the comics but I really want to know more about Dib and Gaz's grandparents and what relationship they have with them. Are they even still alive? Do they visit ever? Membrane apparently chooses to believe in Santa because he can't bear to think his parents would give him socks for Xmas, so he must otherwise have positive feelings toward them which makes the disappointment of getting socks feel too contradictory to his perception of them to reconcile with. But then again, Dib and Gaz seem to be pretty fond of Membrane, but as outsiders the audience can see that he's a terrible parent and hope that when they get to be teenagers they'll start to realize it. I just feel like if we got to know more about their grandparents we could understand better why Membrane is such a bad father. And who doesn't love a good story about unpacking generational trauma?

#10 Snarl Beast

It's a fucking crime this space cat didn't become a regular cast member. Like I've said before, Snarl could've been like Dib's GIR. An adorable-on-the-outside-but-actually-horrifying little creature who fucks things up for Dib more than he helps, but Dib would never dream of parting with it, and Hot Topic could print money off of it.