#the smeet series

[ladyanaconda]

So say if Captain and his crew didn't kidnap Ilk, who would've won the war? Irk or Sobr?

It's hard to tell, as both sides have their pros and cons. Sobrekt are amongst the few spaces who can put up a real fight to the Irken Armada.

[short-and-ugly]

I did some personalized doodles for people around this time last year, so I wanted to do one for your inbox too. happy holidays shortie!

zim and skoodge on irks surface what crimes will they commit <33333

[19burstraat]

Random SOC Trivia I Gathered On My Reread

I'll be using this for fics, but it's fun just to read!

Jesper does not hold alcohol well (though this is according to Kaz, who is not exactly impartial)

Wijnstraat, Nemstraat, Havenstraat, Ammberstraat are all street names if you want em

Van Eck has been involved in trying to clean up the Barrel; pious. (Allegedly pious, I doubt he really is)

1/5 Van Eck (or general Kerch trading?) vessels are lost at sea

Kaz arrested three times at ten, twice at eleven, once at fourteen. Does stints in jail but it does not say prison (ppl assume he's been to Hellgate / another prison but I don't think so. He'd never have shut the fuck up about it if he had; I assume the Stadhall Jail)

Kaz's cane is lead-lined. I wasn't sure if this was canon or fanon

Kaz runs book on prize fights, horses, and chance games. Floor boss at crow club since fifteen-ish. Youngest to run a betting shop and has doubled the profits.

Gambling halls: Treasure Chest, Golden Bend, Weddell's Riverboat, Silver Garter

West Stave brothels: The Blue Iris, The Forge, The Obscura, the Willow Switch, the House of Snow

Van Aakster is the widow mercher who sees Nina to ease his grief

Inej likes orange cakes in white paper

Black Tips tattoo is a hand with first and second fingers cut at the knuckle, Razorgulls is 5 birds in wedge formation

Nina Jesper and Kaz definitely all have the crow and cup; the others don't

Jordie seems to like books

ridderspel and spijker are arcade games

Bilge, clams, and wet stone smell in the Barrel (per Retvenko)

Kaz definitely is partial to dogs; Smeet's hounds and the grey dog the Hertzoon household had, the windup dogs, the metaphors. He loves a dog metaphor sorry ur not real babycakes you'd have loved thematic web weaving posts

Geldspin is the cotton mill in Zierfoort, Firma Allerbest is a cannery. Both in Alys' name

Wylan was 8 when Marya 'died'

the black veil tomb is carved like an ancient cargo ship

3 flying fish on a grave: government. Palm trees and snakes: spices.

Inej's mother braids her hair with orange ribbons (colour of persimmons)

University a series of buildings built around the Boekcanal and joined by Speaker's Bridge (where people debate and/or drink). Boeksplein four libraries built around a central courtyard and the Scholar's Fountain

Shipping container at third harbour is a Liddie hideout; Jam Tart House is an old hotel near the slat that the Razorgulls use

Long scar across Kaz's right knuckle

Violating contracts and interfering with the market can get you hanged in Kerch; same sentences as for murder (this is. Insane)

Haskell holds court with his mates at the Fair Weather Inn every week

Belendt is the second oldest Kerch city and sits on the Droombeld River

Jesper was 7 when Aditi died

Inej has an uncle (who seems to have some sort of ringmaster role) and cousins; Hanzi and Asha

Kaz convinced a locksmith in Klokstraat that he was the son of a wealthy merchant who highly valued his collection of priceless snuffboxes, and that's how he knows what locks the rich are using

Hubrecht Mohren, Master Thief of Pijl, who Kaz doesn't appear to think much of; one of Haskell's old cronies

Martin Van Eck, Wylan's great great grandfather, was a ship's captain, brought back a big shipment of spices from Eames Chin and started the Van Eck fortune

Kaz and Jesper (+ other Dregs boys) taught Inej to fight

Kaz and Jordie are from a town near Lij, as per the 'Johannus Rietveld' exposition, but Lij is seemingly the closest major city/county so it's easier to just say they're from Lij lol

The last time the Council of Tides appeared in public was 25 years prior to CK

Kaz found Filip running a monte game on Kelstraat; he also got the clerks who turned over fake info, the fake attorney, the man who gave them free hot chocolate

The spelling of Zentzbridge lapses to Zentsbridge, not sure which is right or if they're actually separate bridges or if there's a lot of wrong quotes floating around lol

Dryden house symbol is the golden wheat sheaf bound with a blue ribbon; Van Eck is the red laurel but we knew that

Kaz taught himself finance and gambling hall rules

Church of Barter roof is copper and long has turned green

Church of Barter built around the First Forge / The Mortar, which is a flat lump of rock that's supposedly Ghezen's altar

Ghezendaal Hospital is. Idk. a hospital. Just thought ppl might want the name

[inbarfink]

So here is a thing that I noticed going over the sort of weird expressions that Zim uses in canon. When Zim doesn’t know the human term for something, he will make up some bizarre word combination of his own… but he will hardly ever substitute an Irken term for it. You know, when he first comes to Earth, he doesn’t call Human children ‘smeets’, he calls them ‘worm-babies’. He doesn’t assume the Earth is controlled by a Tallest, he just calls President Man ‘the Earth Leader’. 

And that… makes sense, Irk is a spacefaring empire which clearly had contact with other alien civilizations for a very long time. Zim would have some frame of reference to know that, for example, Vortians don’t call their children ‘Smeets’ and therefore he has no reason to assume the distant alien planet he just landed on would use that term either. I mean, yeah, Zim is often irrational - but that’s one point where he is surprisingly reasonable…. Well, until he needs to think up what he assumes the proper inconspicuous earth term would likely be and comes up with the most ludicrous option available.

And sometimes, and especially later on in the series, it’s clear that he does know what the Correct Earth Term is but is just looking for an excuse to insult humanity again by using a derogatory term he made up. 

And, like, you know… yeah, it is actually kinda obvious why he wouldn’t use the Irken term in that context. He thinks Irkens are inherently superior to humanity. Calling human children ‘Smeets’ would be comparing them to Irken children which would be a compliment to the ‘filthy humans’ that he would not be able to stomach. And like, I know a lot of ‘Alien Among Us’ stories get a lot of their comedy from, y’know, cultural differences and assumptions clashing. But I would argue that while IZ does that sometimes, a lot of Invader Zim’s comedy is actually based on Zim’s immediately assuming Earth Culture has to be as alien to Irken Culture as possible, when they are actually not so different. 

But also I want to take a moment to address the one time where Zim does seemingly uses an Irken term for a human, and that’s when he address the McMeaties clerk guy as ‘Burger Lord’ in ‘Germs’4

Which is probably related to the Irken title for a high-ranking frycook being ‘Frylord’.

But that actually makes sense both in the sense of, like... this term is in use on Foodcourtia, and Foodcourtia, although clearly a part of the Irken Empire, is frequented by many different alien species. So due to the planet's importance as a galactic center for fast food, the term ‘Frylord’ and its derivatives have spread beyond the Irken Empire. Or maybe it was an alien term to begin with and it spread into Foodcourtia through its non-Irken customers. Whatever it is, Zim would at least have a reason to think this might be a universal term and not an Irken-specific thing.

And also, this is a rare occasion where Zim is kinda, like, trying to genuinely get on the good graces of a human and is treating human technology (SPACE MEAT) with an unusual amount of respect - and he just doesn’t really have the mental focus to start condescending to him right now. So kinda reflexively using an unusually respectful Irken term for a mere Human Fast Food Worker makes sense considering his emotional state. He’s probably too germ-panicked to remember he’s not supposed to remember his time in Foodcourtia as well. 

Like, yes, I am aware I am probably looking too deeply into the continuity of this one line. “Germs” and “The Frycook of What Came From All That Space” are so far apart in the timeline that the actual writers probably weren’t thinking about this, right? I just think it’s Cool that one can fit this little ‘Burger Lord’ detail so neatly and so consistently into the lore and with Zim’s characterization.

[ms-scarletwings]

Warm take, but

I would bet my entire left lung that if IZ was not canceled before the rest of the incomplete episodes/scripts were allowed some airtime, the begrudging bromance potential between Zim and Skoodge could have ended up one of if not the most popular ship among viewers. I’m still forever miffed that we were cheated out of so much more on-screen Skoodge antics generally, though.

Ffs we would have seen what he looked like as a smeet in the Trial. We would have seen what the tallest looked like as smeets too, because Zim deadass grew up with all of them. But that dynamic he had with Skoodge during the Hobo 13 incident has literally had childhood precedent which, lmfao.

Also, for anyone who hasn’t read up on the series plans, Skoodge was going to be revealed to be living in Zim’s basement ever since Hobo-13. Not just in a roach in the walls way. Like, he was eventually gonna become a whole sidekick along GIR and mini-moose, actually helping in some of the plans against Dib. Canon exile buddies. You cannot fathom how angry I am that Dib never got to meet Skoodge on screen, yet was so close to him.

[sargeantposting]

Little did he know that Formula One teams had an eye on him. Sargeant did two simulation evaluation days for Mercedes during his time in F3. He impressed James Vowles, who spent over a decade with Mercedes before taking the helm at Williams this year. “I was interested in looking at him because he had performance,” Vowles said, “especially when you go back to his Formula 3 performance in an average team.”

[...] At the time, Mercedes had a stacked driver group, and it moved on. Another team stepped in: Williams.

The call from management came in October 2021, a moment even Jacobs recalls vividly. He remembers looking up towards the sky and “sort of prayed saying, ‘Please, please let this happen.’” Williams — one of the oldest teams on the F1 grid — wanted to fund Sargeant’s F2 career because, according to Vowles (who was not part of the decision then or to bump him up to F1), the team “had deep belief that he was the real deal.”

In Sargeant, Williams’ sporting director Sven Smeets saw a young driver with “enormous potential” despite his taking a step backward. Smeets described the young driver as grateful yet quiet, at least at first, as he observed everything around him. He started going to the factory in the U.K. frequently as an academy driver during his F2 season last year. On the track, his performance continued to improve. As Sargeant started inching higher in the standings, breaking into the top three, Smeets said Williams began weighing whether he needed a second season in F2.

His one-lap qualifying speed in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia caught their eye. An F2 win in Silverstone also stood out. There was only one race they truly felt he made a mistake, in Holland. The others, Smeets said, were “a bad start from the line or the pitstop didn’t go that well.” They began telling Carlin Racing that if he’s still in the top three or four, what more is there for him to learn with another season in F2?

Former Williams team principal Jost Capito announced the decision in Austin during the 2022 U.S. Grand Prix weekend: Sargeant would be part of Williams’ 2023 F1 driver lineup.

Sitting inside the Austin paddock that weekend, it was evident that a wall was up as Sargeant did his first serious media rounds. The driver was reserved but thought through his answers, adding caveats like “not yet.”

Grounded but quiet.

Williams did what it could to ease the pressure. It added practice session appearances, and, heading into Abu Dhabi, simulation work and physical and mental work also increased. Making the jump from F2 to F1 is massive. Along with a more complex car and far stronger competitors, the team itself is bigger, and the media and marketing engagements more frequent and demanding.

“You also saw a Logan that is very, very, very emotional and something which you don’t see much from him,” Smeets said of the moment the last F2 race finished and Sargeant had secured enough points on his super license to make his move to F1 official. “So it became the raw emotion which I saw in Silverstone when he won the race.”

Source: "Why Logan Sargeant nearly had to quit racing — and why Williams pulled him back in" by Madeline Coleman, The Athletic Series: F2, 2021 & 2022

[six-of-cringe]

I think that one of the reasons why people misinterpret Wylan's character and arc, among others, is because they misinterpret the relationship between him and Kaz. This post has kind of mitosised off from the BFWP (Big Fucking Wylan Post) I'm writing because it's a bit of a different focus and constitutes its own post.

A lot of people talk about Wylan's character and development as though it's meant to match Kaz's - starting out as a nice kid who the city forces to become amoral, indifferent to violence, and well-versed in crime. These qualities are usually talked about with a weird reverence as an irrefutable symbol of "badassery", as though it's always a positive development for any character regardless of the story's narrative, which annoys me but is not the topic of this post. That's part of the BFWP's job.

Following Kaz's exact development is not the point of Wylan's character. The point is that Kaz and Wylan narrative foils - very similar in many ways, but with a fundamental difference that creates the "broken mirror" effect/shows how they could have turned out if they'd chosen differently. I think that difference is how they respond when they climb out of the harbor after their respective betrayals. Narratively, Ketterdam represents a very harsh system that presents the people struggling there with very few options. You can either choose to ditch decency, play by the Barrel's rules, and live, or you can hold on to decency and die.

When Kaz returns to the streets after Jordie's death, he chooses the first option. He copes with what happened through ideas of revenge, and to survive long enough to see it he quickly turns to thievery and violence. He thinks to himself after he robs a kid for money and food that it was much easier to survive when you've left decency behind. He survived through violence, creating the Dirtyhands persona around himself for protection.

When Wylan has to fend for himself, he choses the second option. He finds "honest work" at the tannery, where they exploit workers and expose them to toxins. He wonders if he'll live long enough to use his savings to leave the city, or if the chemicals would kill him first. He was smart enough to steal and survive, but he chose decency, and with it, he chose death. There are a number of reasons why he chose differently than Kaz despite their similarities - his older age and thus more developed moral code, having no one to avenge but himself when he believed himself worthless, his more privileged upbringing, and his relatively low drive to live. Alone, he would have died.

Then Kaz steps in. Kaz's role in all the crow's lives is that, intentionally or not, his ruthless rule of the Barrel creates a sort of haven that allows them to survive where they would have died had they stayed alone. Wylan is a really clear example of this, and though Kaz's intentions were at least partly self-serving, his involvement both kept Wylan from dying of exposure or street violence as well as prevented him from needing to do the more terrible things that it takes to survive in the Barrel. Throughout the books, we see Kaz kind of taking the brunt of enacting violence in Wylan's place - traumatizing Smeet's daughter, killing the clerk on the lighthouse. Wylan could get by making explosives in the workshop rather than having to shoot or stab or beat the life out of people. And at the end of the series, Kaz sees to it that he never will have to. Of course Wylan did bad stuff to survive when working with the Dregs, it's the Barrel. But the extent is greatly lessened because of Kaz's involvement.

Wylan's arc was never about becoming comfortable with violence, or becoming just like Kaz - the way people characterize him as some sort of ruthless murder mastermind is inaccurate and redundant with Kaz's character. He isn't nonchalant or celebratory about crime or death or violence by the end of the book. He doesn't HAVE to become like Kaz, because Kaz himself gave him the space to continue being decent, intentionally or otherwise. Understanding that dynamic is important to understanding what Wylan is like as a character and as a person. If you assume Wylan's trajectory is to become "Kaz 2.0", then you're going to mischaracterize him. I've seen posts about how Kaz was the Jordie that he didn't have to Wylan, and I think that makes a lot more sense. Because Kaz is willing to do the horrible things in his stead, Wylan has the third option otherwise impossible in the Barrel - maintaining his decency and surviving.

[l-ii-zz]

u are correct about the age thing. it depends which source(s) u use. I think the show bible calls him a kid (but iirc it also says Dib's exact age and last name should never be given and yet we have both in Enter the Florpus), but if u go by lost/unmade eps, iirc the Trial shows that irkens are smeets until they are 10 and then they are adults (and they aren't human so saying "but in human years!" is ridic imo. we don't say "but it human years that would be..." except for our domestic animals, and even then not every person does THAT). if u take Word of God, Jhonen has said Zim is an adult so many times idk why ppl think he's STILL just having a laugh. he's said it's bc he thinks it's funny that a grown ass man would count a Literal Child as his nemesis, and cites the Dennis the Menace comic series. but if u take ONLY what is on screen then it's a mystery and up to interpretation. it's just sort of *shrug emoji*.

The show bible (made by JV btw) calls him a kid, yeah. There's one section of an old magazine talking about the series and describing Zim as a kid too.

Honestly there are a bunch of things that have been told about the IZ universe that doesn't even make sense now. Like yeah, Dib's last name and age, another example would be about the Tallest and the cut thumbs and how this was entirely forgotten/discarded for their new design for the movie.

I also agree with you about the possibility that human and irken age concept could be different from one to the other. We're talking about aliens anyway. Alien society with alien customs and alien ideals and alien culture and alien environment etc etc etc. Who knows? maybe planet Irk rotates/revolves faster that Earth's and by that it would mean that an irken year is way shorter than an earthling year. Nothing in the series can confirm that, yeah, but you cannot either deny that it's a possibility. Hell, even irkens can have another extremely different perspective about maturity

Like, the show itself is so ambiguous about these themes that I don't even understand why people are so stubborn to gatekeep one single concept as the entire truth, even if the show is a whole pile of nonsense that doesn't even try to take itself seriously.

"But JV said this" yeah.... and? not everyone support the "Word of God" thingy. If the final product doesn't give you a clear answer then you are on your right to have different interpretations. Not to mention that the creator is not the only one developing the concepts of a show. There's a whole team behind the show, and behind the team there are different perspectives.

I'll give you one example with another fandom: Cuphead! when fans were speculating about the age of the cupbros (and this was looong before the dlc and animated show's announcement) they asked Studio MDHR (the creators) if the bros were kids or adults. They replied saying that they were "kidults" (adults with childish tastes). But then, another person asked the same question to the writer of Cuphead, and he answered that they were teens! So, in this case, is one answer more valid than the other? I don't think so, 'cause both parts worked for the final product. This is one of the reasons why I don't truly take "Word of God" seriously.

Also, and this is just my opinion btw, even if Zim is a straight up adult, he can still be interpreted as a kid. Because well... he dresses up as a kid, he goes to school, he interacts with other kids, his nemesis is another kid, he has robo parents, he's small like a kid, he behaves like a kid, he sounds like a kid... (WITH ALL THIS ONLY REFERRING TO IZ'S UNIVERSE, I'M NOT SAYING THIS ALSO APPEALS THE REAL WORLD)

"Yeah, but visualizing Zim as a kid triggers me" that's valid, but have you ever thought that other people can also feel triggered by visualizing Zim as adult? Because well.. some people can feel uncomfortable with the thought of a straight up adult fighting a kid and pretending to be one, even if it's just comedy.

Can't we all.. stop gatekeeping and let everyone interpret fiction however the heck we want without pointing each other and talking shit to each other? I know it's too much to ask, but wouldn't be nice to respect the fact that no one will think the same way you do? (NOT SPECICALLY TO YOU ANON, ALL QUESTIONS ARE RETORIC, LOL).

It's just so absurd to me, we're talking about fiction. Why are we fighting for the age of a character that doesn't even exist? We're going coconuts.

It's more fun to create headcanons and aus, I prefer doing that instead of fighting nonsense.

As you said, dear anon: *Shrug emoji*

[ditzdove]

Ok on to zim in my rebel au

Zim unlike the original series is actually competent

In fact because of his usefulness and skillfulness as a smeet tallest miyuki takes interest in him and does something no tallest has ever done. She makes him her apprentice

He was given the title of an elite while still being a smeet. He was also trained as a full on irken soldier and was very successful in his training. However he’s still considered too short to be anything other that a service drone. This however doesn’t stop him he worked incredibly hard to pave his way to a valuable asset to the empire. And tallest miyuki wanting to further this little experiment has him recoded as a invader. Which is just so he’ll have easier access to things, basically a title only in name.

She cultivates him in her personal student which raises his status in irken society. She has him specifically trained by the best and top irken soldiers. She forces him as a smeet to go with different invaders and watch and learn from them. She even drops him in a desolate wasteland to survive on his own for a couple of years.

Finally she task him with taking over a planet, Specifically the planet jackers homeworld.

So zim is task with over taking this planet and he of course does so with minimal effort. Now tallest miyuki throughly impressed but still testing zim’s abilities puts him into the irken labs to test his intelligence and abilities in science

Of course this is where things go downhill

He much like the in canon he makes the Infinite Energy Absorbing Blob. However this time he makes a container that it cannot escape from unless he or tallest miyuki or the control brains unlocks it

This of course causes disaster when it is ultimately unleashed and kills tallest miyuki. Zim is framed because of this “accident” and is demoted to a service drone. and is used as a cautionary tale for other short or defective irken to never step out of their stations.

Now zim hates this but he’ll pay his due diligence to the empire and atone for his mistakes. Of course he’s always been a little skeptical about the accident that caused him his demotion. But not much time to think about it when he’s serving the new tallest.

Of course purple and red are chosen as the next tallest and of course zim is specifically recoded as their service drone so the control brains can keep an eye on him.

And while purple and red have never really liked zim and to be honest zim doesn’t feel all that inclined to them either even after they became the tallest.

They of course berate him and abuse him so after one push too many he snaps. And goes on a complete rampage, ranting and yelling at them and after his anger subsided and he realizes he just yelled. At his tallest. So He runs.

Of course being on the massive means there’s not a lot of places to hide so he goes in the vents. He’s there for days scrounging around for snacks and stuff when he runs into someone. It’s skoodge?!?

Long story short he’s introduced to the irken rebellion. It’s a collection of all the defective and short Irkens. These Irkens have been living in the massive’s vents and have been undetected for years now by rewriting their pak’s code so the controll brains don’t notice them.

The code was taken from a defective irken who’s coding made it so the control brains had no control over their pak and thus no control over them. Seeing as this irken was a huge liability for them the irken was set to be deactivated however that irken escaped and hid on the massive undetected for years. Helping other defectives escape and recoding their paks. Slowly building up an army. This irken is named “The First”.

They have assembled a group of highly skilled Irkens and dubbed them “The counsel.” So Skoodge explains all of this and the rebellions plan to overthrow the control Brains. Zim of course is not on board with this at all but he stays in the rebellion for a bit to gather information and to wait until the tallest have calmed down after his out burst. During this time zim is not imitated yet. Keep that in mind it’s important. Finally he’s brought to the counsel to be initiated and he’s still not on board with this until the counsel tells him how the control brain have been pulling the strings and manipulating all of irken kind.

Show him proof that they might’ve played a hand in tallest miyuki’s death.

[project-doomsday]

Have you concept art for your comic? Btw I like that pic of Z holding that ball of a smeet. How long was the process of this Timelapse?

I do have concept art! I’ll show you! Also thank you so much! I never drew something like that before, it took me 3 hours. Surprisingly, the Timelapse process was very quick. I’ll post a video of it down below!

Anyway, time for concept art!

I began Project Doomsday early last year in August at work. Back then, I had no interest in Invader Zim like I was when I was little. I would cringe at just the thought of it and all the weird things I did involving Zim. But when I was at work, of all things, Zim just popping up in my head! It was like, “HEY! REMEMBER ME?! HEY HEY HEY” It was pretty annoying. So I did what any rational person would do! I began to draw him but with a twist of my own.

This was the first drawing of Z. You can also see an early version of his human design. It was this exact moment where my whole life changed forever. “Goddammit I’m back into this fandom again.” And I haven’t regretted it since.

These are early designs of Dib and Gaz. Jeeesus, they look terrible. Hell, even I thought it was terrible back then. Originally the AU’s artstyle was going to be very different but I went with a more 90s anime look because it’s my favorite.

Now, this drawing is pretty cool. That look of pure hatred. Aghhh, I love it!! It just screams, “When I see you, I’m going to kill you” I also didn’t know his blood was supposed to be pink so I drew it green.

Yet another good sketch! This is Z getting ready to do one of his experiments. I bet you can tell what’s going to happen to that dog over there.

Hey look it’s Gir, the zombie robot dog thing! This was an early sketch of him. Designing him was very hard.

Here’s Z bein’ silly 😛

And this was Z’s “official” design… I hate it. He looks like a stick bug and his head looks like a booger. I mean, I know I purposely designed Z to be super skinny, but you could at least tell he was strong. This… this just looks like a twig. Twig Zim. Invader Twim. New OC anyone?

And finally, Z’s official design. I have to say I am very proud of this one. He looks super deadly and stuff, I love it! 100/10.

Even though I at first regretted being back into this series, I’m happy I did. I felt like I embraced a part of myself and those silly memories. Believe it or not, Invader Zim saved my life back then and I’ll always be grateful. I love you, you green gremlin fucker.

Okay, enough with the mushy stuff, here’s the Timelapse of my newest Doomsday art! I was listening to Resident Evil: Dead Aim - Save Room. Even though the AU is supposed to be horror, I honestly felt like this song matched with the theme, at least with certain parts of the story.

[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.

[awesomealienshowdown]

@most-mistreated-characters exists and they have skoodge

Skoodge, in canon, gets the same bullying Zim does but a lot more physically abusive. The entire series' first episode has him being bullied by being given the planet Blorch, home of the slaughtering rat people, as his assignment - something that was meant for Larb, who instead got Vort since he grew taller. That shot of Skoodge about to cry? That's him after he learns what his assignment is.

He's been shot out of a cannon at a planet and he should have died from it. He's been mauled by a meat-thirsty hogulus, lived, then was used to bludgeon said beast.

In the unfinished episode "The Trial", we learn that Skoodge has been used and abused since he was just a little smeet. Zim used him as an accomplice to escape to the surface, eventually throwing him under the bus by letting a dermis prowler security droid chase him down.

And then we have the fandom. The fandom loves him, yes, but a significant chunk seems to be in that "we love to bully him too" way. For every person that wants good things for Skoodge, there's someone who wants to launch his ass. Every character in this fandom gets bullied to some extent though.

Anyway, have some Skoodge images for your pleasure. Courtesy of the wiki.

[a-wanderin-whirlybird]

Invader Zim has once again over taken my brain. Bringing back some old ocs for a series of Random fun facts/Headcannons! Going by category with Headcanons about Irk/Irkens, then Hives, then Characters. If they are AU specific I'll mention which AU (Mainly the 18 Years Later Au by @messinwitheddie ).

Irk/Irken HC: (these are general HCs I have about Irk and Irkens not Au specific)

Irk is the third closest planet to a Massive blue star.

Most Fauna is nocturnal and requires a Massive amount of nutrients to survive.

The atmosphere is very dense and the storm clouds are Nitrogen

Infact Nitrogen is the basis of the planet much like how earth is Oxygen based

As such the seas are Liquid Nitrogen

Irkens are a subterranean species that adapted to the surface

Despite this Modern Irkens still retain hyper sensitivity to light in general

Irkens are built to thrive in specific roles and their species often develops mutations to fill these roles

Irkens are much Like ants or Bees in that they have Hive structures.

Before the first civilization on Irk most Hives were a Queen and her Drones/mates and Smeets.

Females were even rarer before the first True Hive occured.

The pheromones that assigned early Irkens roles are still dormant in modern Irkens.

It is almost unheard of for these pheromones to reactivate and release save a few cases since the rise of Civilization

Irken reproduction is incredibly dangerous and often fatal for female Irkens

Irkens have Massive swarm with the average size being between 80 and 100 smeets

Birthing a swarm over 250 is high risk and often fatal

Few Irken women ever have more than 2 swarms. The third is fatal except in a few incredibly rare circumstances

Specific Hives:

Hive Traktor: 18 Years Later AU

The birth place of Cyder and Irk's various alcoholic drinks

Tallest Flapjack was the world's first Gourmond and often liked to travel to Hives across the globe to taste their delicacies. In return he created the World's first International and Trans Trans Continental trade Route. He had a mutation that gave him 8 eyes and a hyper sensitive palate.

The most common mutations in Hive Traktor are not visible traits. One makes the Irken's bones incredibly durable and allows more Muscular growth than usual. Another is an actual sense of smell, touch and sight that allows them to pick up the slightest change in atmospheric pressure and accurately predict weather patterns.

Hive Traktor is the reason the 5 Star Alliance fell to ruin. Tallest Olst was a power mad dictator that drove his own Hive to ruin. But not before he slaughtered Tallest Aria of Hive Octave and collapsed ever possible entrance and exit to Hive Geo.

Tallest Olst singlehandedly destroyed 3 Hives. He is at the Tallest Table in the afterlife and will never leave. Forever trapped at the table unable to enjoy any of the food and power he had in life. The entirety of Hive Traktor despises him

Hive Geo:

Some irkens born to Hive Geo never see Moonlight as they never leave the Caves and Mines of their Hive.

I changed the main mutations of this Hive. The main mutations present are Albinism, Gem like Eyes, and Echolocation. Most Mining drone have a mutation where they have no eyes and see with radar. This allows them to find veins of ore and gems in the walls.

The last Tallest of Hive Geo was Tallest Vista. He was a Chimera who absorbed his entire swarm. He had patches of every different skin color possible in an irken. He was Nicknamed the Irken Rainbow by Tallest Uthril of Hive Sol. Vista was incredibly kind and caring towards his Fellow Irkens and his Hive flourished under him. But his kindness killed him.

Tallest Vista caught Miner's Rattle. A Splooch Infection from exposure to various trapped gasses in the Mines. He was unable to do anything as Olst collapsed the Enterances and exits to Hive Geo. Vista quickly realized that if Hive Geo was trapped so was Hive Octave. Vista sent all his Miner's towards the Tunnels heading for Hive Traktor. Hoping they could dig his Hive out while he took a significantly smaller force to Try and get a single tunnel to Hive Octave.

Vista Failed. The small team found another pocket of Noxious gasses. This one combusted and collapsed the tunnels behind then.

This triggered a complete collapse of Hive Geo. Killing everyone inside and cutting off Hive Octave from any assistance.

Characters:

Tallest Aria: 18 Years Later Au

Final Tallest of Hive Octave.

Aria had a Partner, a short Drummer named Pitch. The two had a swarm with a surrogate.

Aria used to be a selfish and moody Irken. She often snapped and intimidated to get her way. In her pursuit of Pitch, Aria changed for the better. But her biggest turning point was when she nearly lost Pitch during birth.

They lost 73 out of 99 smeets and Pitch nearly bled to death. Aria spent 3 days desperately trying to save as many smeets as she could while trying to keep her Love alive. It gave her some perspective on how her own actions affected others especially those under her.

Aria gave her Hive a public apology for her previous behavior and restarted her regime from the ground up. She made major changes to many of the laws in her Hive to ensure her people were better cared for and heard.

Her downfall began when she suggested ending a tradition in the 5 Star Alliance. Specifically the use of 2 separate fertility festivals to separate "desirable Irkens" and "Defective Irkens". She suggested simply eliminating the second festival and letting everyone participate in 1 big festival.

Tallest Olst of Hive Traktor saw this as both a personal offense and a possible way to grab power. He tried to rally the other Hives against this suggestion only to discover that he was entirely unsupported. Hives Sol, Opal, and Geo agreed with Aria.

Olst would later Poison Aria under the guise of an apology. Using Aria's love of noodles to kill her painfully. Pitch would then fly into a rage and brutalized Olst with her own bare hands as the drone from Hive Octave slaughtered the tall members of Olst's party and retreated. Pitch died not moments after Olst, impaled by one of Olst's loyal generals.

Olst survived only a few days after. Just long enough to trap Hive Octave and Hive Geo in their Hives.

Hive Octave had lost all their Tall drones to Olst's generals as well. Leaving them leaderless. Even after 3 fertility festivals no new Tallest entered the world.

Aria's Neice, Flit, Became The Almighty Smallest when no Tall Smeets remained after 4 years.

In Death Aria haunts Irk, Finding any Irken related to her Hive, and very specifically her Love Pitch. She gladly assists any of Pitch's descendants when she finds then.

The best example of this being @messinwitheddie Tallest Dava.

Flit, The Almighty Smallest: 18 Years Later Au

The last Ruler of Hive Octave. While Aria was the final Tallest is was her dear neice Flit who ruled until none but herself remained.

Flit was born without legs a few years after Aria's own Swarm reached Aprentice age. Flit's mother, Aria's only surviving swarmmate, died giving birth and only Flit survived.

Aria and Pitch raised Flit. Aria even made Flits first pair of Prostetics.

Flit had a deep connection to the Strings the Weaver wove. Hearing them in songs all around her. Flit was a Talented Oracle because of this and tried desperately to turn her abilities to help her Hive.

Aria was stiff with Flit. Always seeing her dead sister in her niece. Aria always regretted the distance she created between them.

Flit has an uneasy relationship with Aria. Neither know what to say to the other as both feel guilty for failing the other. But Flit Loves her Coddle Drone a lot and always respected her.

Flit was the last irken left Alive in Hive Octave. A combination of Disease, famine and declined birth rates killed the Hive in a matter of decades. No new Tallest was ever born and Flit remained alone in the Shell of her Hive until she perished on New Years.

Flit did not pass to the Tallest Table immediately after death. Instead Flit was pulled into a horrible vision of Irk's Future. She saw the Control Brains and Smeetries. The pain inflicted to other species. The complete loss of Irken culture and Diversity, the smog that blanketed the moons and sun from the sky, and the loss of all life upon the Irken surface. She saw the statue of the Colossus being pulled to her knees by an unholy beast of metal and flesh. And as the Colossus fell, a spike through her head, Cyder pouring forth, the ground beneath them split and the sun burned through the smog, engulfing the battlefield whole

Flit arrived to the warm greetings of her dead Hive with a mission. She had a spot reserved at the Tallest Table, but she gave it to her Drones instead.

Flit spends her eternity trying to reach the mind of a living Irken in the modern Era. Desperate to halt the destruction of Irk and Irkens as a whole.

[random-iz-stuff]

My thoughts on ZADR:

I’m completely neutral on it. I don’t hate it, I don’t mind seeing it, but I also don’t actively ship it (although this is mostly because I like the idea of Zim being aroace and not because I dislike the ship itself). And here’s why.

DISCLAIMER! VERY BIG DISCLAIMER!

I am not a proshiper. If you ship pedophilic or incestuous shit, you will get no defence here. Get lost and don’t come back. I’ve seen enough shit in other fandoms already.

I’m saying this because ZADR is believed by many to be a proship, which is why many people dislike it. When in reality, ZADR isn’t a proship and I explain why in this post.

I just wanted to say this to reiterate that I am not a proshiper, nor do I condone proshiping. I’m constantly paranoid about people getting the wrong idea or misinterpreting me and really want to avoid that. I’m not looking for drama or a fight. That being said, if you ship pedophilic stuff, incestuous stuff, beastiality or any of that horrible stuff, get the fuck off my blog. You aren’t welcome here.

DISCLAIMER OVER!

Now onto why ZADR (and other ships involving irkens) isn’t a proship or anything really worth throwing a fit over.

Dib is canonically 12 years old. That’s a fact. But the thing is, while Dib has a canonical age, Zim doesn’t, and never will. Zim’s age is up to viewer interpretation.

Zim’s age, despite what many people believe, isn’t set in stone.

Zim’s age was never mentioned in canon. In fact, not a single irken has ever had their age revealed.

The wiki seems to have pulled the “Zim is 160 in human years and 16 in irken years” fact out of its ass because I can’t find a source for it anywhere, plus the wiki has a tendency to make stuff up and present it as fact with no evidence. So it isn’t a reliable source of information in any way.

Jhonen has stated Zim’s age three different times (that I know of), and he’s changed his answer every time, calling Zim a child, an adult and a teenager. So he obviously doesn’t have a clue of what Zim’s age is and most likely never really meant to give Zim a canonical age in the first place when he created the show. So not even the creator of the show himself is a reliable source of information when it comes to Zim’s age.

Although Zim’s age is never explicitly mentioned, we get some possible small hints in canon. HOWEVER, these hints all contradict each other and can go either way in proving that Zim is a child or an adult.

Zim could be an adult because he has a high ranking military job that seems impossible for a child to achieve (an invader, at least before his first banishment) plus he worked as a scientist before, so he’s held multiple adult jobs. He also seems to be the same height as other (presumably) adult irkens. He also has a long history involving his scientist job, his joining of the military and his entire work up the military hierarchy to become an invader, plus his banishment to Foodcourtia, which probably all happened over a long course of time. He’s also allowed to pilot a ship and other various vehicles, which, assuming that irkens follow the same sort of rules for ships as we do for cars, shouldn’t be given to children. It’s also revealed in The Trial that irkens can live for several centuries.

But on the other hand, Zim could very easily be a child or a teenager because the empire may use child soldiers, which does have some possible evidence like Smeets graduating at the age of 10, irken military equipment seeming similar to video games and the fact that the irken empire is a power hungry dictatorship. It would also explain why Zim chose to infiltrate Earth by posing as a human child attending a human school, along with the immaturity and pettiness that Zim shows throughout the series. Not to mention the fact that Zim is directly implied to be particularly young by irken standards, with the Tallest mentioning in The Trial that Zim is supposed to have a trial in several centuries, but they chose to force it to happen now, implying that Zim hasn’t hit the age where a trial usually happens, which is presumably adulthood or later. Zim being a child or a teenager also explains why the Tallest are so immature, as they are the same age as Zim, so if he’s not an adult but is instead a child/teenager, the Tallest are as well.

So the evidence goes both ways. Zim’s age is entirely up to viewer interpretation. If you believe that Zim is an adult, he’s an adult. If you believe that he’s a child, he’s a child. If you believe that he’s a teenager, he’s a teenager. Zim’s age is a literal question mark, and unless new, official content is released that explicitly confirms Zim’s age, that’s not going to change. As mentioned before, Jhonen Vazquez, despite being the creator of the show, isn’t a reliable source because he’s contradicted himself at least three times now and doesn’t seem to have given Zim (or any irken for that matter) a canonical age in the first place.

And going by those rules when you look at ZADR, you quickly realize that the entire dynamic of ZADR and every other ship involving irkens in any way also depends entirely on viewer interpretation. If you interpret Zim as being a child that’s a similar age to Dib, he’s a child that’s a similar age to Dib. If you interpret Zim as being an adult, he’s an adult. Zim’s age is a blank space that you can fill out however you want.

ZADR is only a pedophilic proship between a child and an adult if you believe that it is a ship between a child and an adult and/or you actively make it that way when making the content, because Zim’s age is whatever you say it is. A random number generator could be used to decide Zim’s age and it would be equally canon as everyone else’s opinions regarding Zim’s age, including the words of Jhonen himself.

So long story short, ZADR isn’t a problematic ship unless you make it a problematic ship or it is explicitly mentioned to be a problematic ship in whatever work of fiction you’re seeing it in. So just don’t make a big deal of it and ignore it if you don’t like it.

[candylitaaa]

IZ HeadCanon: Irken romance & friendship

Long post! And possibly bad translated cuz i used *cof* Google *cof* this time

The irkens are incapable of feeling love romantically but it doesn't mean that it does not exist, even if it is different from that of humans. The irkens are people of pure warlike ambition, galactic conquest and selfishness (Issue 50), but they have their way of relating despite this. For example, Zim knows what weddings, the concept of love and friendship are (Issue 20, 50 and episodes of the series), but he knows that his species does not put it into practice like humans. To begin with, one of the differences is that they don't exactly use the words "love" and "friendship" to describe it, but instead use "alliance" and "companions" (In this HC of course) In Issue 20 Zim changes the word " marriage" for "i would annihilate last" and also said "Irkens only love galactic conquest, snacks and the suffering of it's enemies", so i see it like see somebody with hate and see somebody with less hate.

☺When an irken meets another they find themselves in a neutral relationship in which it can begin negatively (fights, insults, etc.) or positively (decent greetings, kindness [possibly], etc.). If both of them continue to meet and talk positively they could become "Allies". Allies for them, within a relationship, is almost the same as saying "friendship" for us. This could be because:

1-They begin to no longer see it necessary to fight often among themselves (even in companionship and alliances they fight, it's their nature) 2-They believe that the other is an idiot but has a "decent conscience", so they do not ignore each other. At least not so much 3-They begin to like the other's evil personality in general 4-Some or all of the above

☺If they remain allies for a while, they may or may not become "Companions." For them, have someone's company in social relationships is like saying "love", "boyfriends" and other things related to romanticism. The fact of calling it "companion" is because having a very competitive and destructive nature no matter what makes us understand, in some way, that precisely with that irken, hatred does not appear too much. This could be because:

1-The natural hatred they had before is slightly more null, making them patient with each other (The hatred is partly maintained, as explained before) 2-They feel or strongly believe that with that irken they become unstoppable in general 3-The evil or cunning that the other has becomes interesting instead of annoying or just pleasant 4-Between invaders: they feel or strongly believe that when together they are an unstoppable duo that can conquer several planets without problems (Yes or yes there must be one of the above mentioned) 5-Some or all of the above

If their companionship lasts too long and they are irkens who consider themselves strong, they have the possibility of cloning and combining their DNA to create a "Smeet" ("Smeet" is a baby irken). Since they do not have reproductive systems, the only way to create life is through cloning.

☺Things to highlight:

1-They use the words "Companions" and "Alliances" to describe their relationships as well as to say "I know you are my enemy but to defeat him we need a temporary alliance" or similar, making the interpretation depends on the context.

2-Just because they are incapable of feeling romantic love/sexual attraction does not mean that they do not give each other kisses, hugs, praise, go on dates and so on. It is not seen often because they do not usually see the point or need, but some Irkens do not mind trying to do one or more of the mentioned in their own way (Praise like "I know I am the best but I think you are almost comparable to me" [ comparative and challenging but with a friendly tone], hugs that look uncomfortable or nice but short, quick kisses on the cheeks [depending on the irken it can be on the hand, mouth, etc.] and dates that involve the destruction/anger of something or someone that they share in common [getting angry with someone they hate in common, destroying objects for fun and in the case of a relationship between invaders, making fun of those who rule thanks to them]). The Pak only blocks romantic, sexual attraction and in some cases friendship, but part of their culture since before the creation of that technology carried out these activities (in a more loving way for obvious reasons). That's one of the reasons why they know them. Then there are strange cases where when visiting a world where they put this into practice, they begin to like it and do it with their partner.

3- Some Irkens, when they have an alliance that they like enough to give way to companionship but do not want to be one, call themselves "Strong Allies", known as "Strong Alliance". It's the same as saying "best friends" to us. They don't want to fight often, thinks the other have a cool and interesting evil personality, likes to do anything with them and so on, but prefer to stay in an Alliance (being best friends).

[jazzythursday]

For the SOC asks... any four questions you haven't answered yet that you wanna talk about! Have a good flight 💕

Aw ty friend! 🥹💖💕

5. Any character you didn't expect to like as much as you did? Similarly, is there any character that didn't end up liking as much as you thought you would?

I didn’t expect to like Matthias nearly as much. I think because I didn’t expect him to be as funny or thoughtful as he is. He’s not the type of character I would usually get attached to at all but after reading the books I got it. His death especially hit me so much harder than I expected. His character arc is so interesting it’s handled so well. And I never expected to get so invested in Helnik either but I was so wrong. Just—boy loves Nina so much. So in love. Soulmates. Doomed star crossed lovers. Gah 🥺🤧

31. What moments made you freak out (in a happy or sad way) the most?

-I still get chills just thinking about “let me tell you about my son” and Van Eck’s whole speech at the end of soc about Wylan.

-literally everything with the Khergud. The sheer terror I felt reading those scenes is unparalleled. Especially when Jesper gets attacked during the auction.

-Inej getting caught by Van Eck coming out of the vents 😬🫣

-actually experiencing Wylan’s backstory for the first time. Omg. I was so spoiled on it but I genuinely don’t think anything could have prepared me. Also everything at Saint Hilde’s with his mother and Jesper.

-“He was Wylan Van Eck. He told them everything” —self explanatory. Crying screaming throwing up as I turned the pages.

-And for a happy one—the Wesper kiss!!!! I waited almost the whole duology to finally get to it and it did not disappoint! Pure actual poetry. 1000/10 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

39. What are a few of your favorite Wylan moments?

Oh gosh, all Wylan moments are my favorite Wylan moments! My annotated copies are basically tabbed every time he’s even mentioned. That said, here are the first ones that come to mind:

-the very first time we see him and he’s just doodling and chewing on his nails. Immediately I’m so charmed by it.

-when he has to pretend to be a waiter and can’t figure out what to do with his hands or how to speak (relatable content lol). His “don’t!” when Jesper bets his guns, how uncomfortable and worried he is for Nina having to flirt with Cornelius Smeet. I just love the entire chapter so much.

-“you can’t afford to buy her breakfast” and “Then you're going to be a lot harder to surprise” when they’re running through the library. All the sass. Sassy boy. We love to see it.

-after Jesper and Kuwei kiss and he’s upset and says something along the lines of “he’s not even good at science!!! Half of his note books are filled with doodles—most of which are of you—and those aren’t very good either!!!” Absolutely the funniest thing I’ve ever read. Peak jealous/sassy/petty Wylan. No notes.

-when he’s the first one to pick a tulip and lay it on Matthias as they’re all saying goodbye.

63. Link your favorite fic(s)!

Of Bronze and Blaze

The meaning of good

Round and Round

always an angel, never a god

somewhere full of bright colours and beautiful sounds

Flint and Flute Notes (series)

Between Hope and Desperation

Thanks for the questions! 💖