obviouslynotanalien

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whats with tha green guy

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agent mothman

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here's a variety of doodles and wips

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Hope u like it <3

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C R I S P Y D I B

Audio Source

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AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

stop LIKING THIS POST PLEASE IT HAUNTS ME TO THIS DAY

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NYA

nya

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Howe MOxxie wentn 2 hell!!

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Zim

base from 🤢 (sick) eyes from 👽 (alien) mouth from 🥴 (woozy) https://t.co/SuJ2b1Gu77

From Twitter

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What can I say? ZaDf is so wholesome ♥️

When your own fandom is your mortal enemy?? for some reason???? 

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Not that good at fanart, but here’s a baby boi Zim~

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Zim punching out hologram Dib is so cute

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I'm trying

fuck dating girls who are “naturally pretty.” date girls who are supernaturally pretty. date a hot ass ghost. date a fucking alien 

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Holy shi—

me @ AO3

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OMG LET ME BREATHE

zim. Just zim

Just Zim.

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WHAT IS THIS?

Dib membrane spin basshunter dota Zimsex K19191.

Dib can’t get off the toilet.

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Let’s Talk about Zim and an Interesting Trend...

With the release of the latest comic (and conclusion of the 4-part Zimvoid arc,) fans have been avidly discussing their favorite parts, breaking down characters, picking out Easter eggs, and writing countless analyses. One thing I thought would show up a lot more in said analyses, however, has been relatively overlooked. It’s Zim’s behavior immediately after being told by multiple people that he was “the worst.”

Look at him. The very concept of this renders him into something akin to a catatonic state. He doesn’t even care that he’s being led to a prison cell. 

He just… goes to pieces.

And yet, his previous zeal and self-confidence are restored instantaneously as soon as he makes the connection with the portals.

This part gave me some serious whiplash. It’s like Zim just had some internal “off switch” to what was previously an all-consuming identity crisis. One moment, he was practically unresponsive, and the next, his trademark moxie was flooding back to him tenfold.

There’s also a palpable sense of déjà vu in this string of scenes, and I just recently realized why. Zim does this exact same thing in Enter the Florpus. He unwittingly stumbles upon a reason to believe he isn’t as spectacular as he’s built himself up to be, and this news ends up leaving him completely despondent. However, all it takes is one little spark of inspiration for him to be back up and in the game, working doubly to prove himself.  

This interaction with Dib is particularly interesting.

Zim outright admits that his depressive episode wasn’t feigned, and I am inclined to believe he is telling the truth. Afterall, what would he have to gain by lying? If anything, he just passed up a perfect opportunity to save face by just agreeing with Dib.

Zim has an interesting and unusual ability to nosedive into depression and then immediately dive back into his comfortable state of egotism.

I once described this behavior as “resilience” when breaking down Zim’s character. However, I did a little more research on it. I quickly discovered that resilience theory is grounded in psychology and has certain attributes attached to it. Further research made me second guess my original assumption that what Zim was displaying was, indeed, a healthy sense of resilience.

Resilience theory has a broad conceptual framework that is pretty widely discussed. 

One peer-reviewed author describes resilience as “…a stable trajectory of healthy functioning after a highly adverse event” (Bonanno et al., 2004)

The American Psychological Association defines it as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress.”

Another article on resilience theory features several traits that come with healthy adjustment following a hardship. These are social support, realistic planning, self-esteem, coping skills, communication skills, and emotional regulation.

That said, Zim displays very few of the circumstances/qualities associated with well-adjusted people who are good at bouncing back from hardships. He does not have any stable support net, unless you count GIR (or, in a very roundabout way, Dib.) For all he boasts in confidence, his self-esteem bends like a storm-stricken sapling at the first sign of adversity. His coping skills (i.e., lying around the house and eating junk food) are unhelpful at best and self-destructive at worst. And last but not least, he doesn’t display proper listening skills a vast majority of the time, making any sort of communication largely ineffective. 

Overall, there is nothing particularly healthy about any of Zim’s behaviors in the face of hardship. It usually takes some form of outside intervention (in both cases, an idea sparked by Dib) before he manages to dig himself out of the pit of despair he has dug for himself.

So is Zim actually “resilient” in a positive sense? Or is he just using unhealthy coping mechanisms to hide from a reality he doesn’t want to face?

Rather than admit he has character faults, it’s easier to cobble together a scheme and pour all his time and attention into regaining control of his surroundings. After all, throwing himself into work serves two purposes: 1) He is able to put his efforts into making his peers believe he is competent. 2) It’s a way for him to run away from his own feelings.

His methods make me believe he is in deep-seeded denial. The aforementioned behavior in Issue #49 and ETF are instances of Zim being backed so far into a corner, he has no option but to experience the feelings of crippling inadequacy he’s spent so long trying to repress. It’s disturbingly easy for them to be brought to the forefront of his mind. His coping mechanism of choice is to grasp at something—anything—so that he doesn’t have to feel that pain any longer.

But that’s simply my take on it. I would love to hear any further thoughts!

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