Used all my art energy in video editing today so here's a quick sketch of Bea for Zim day ✨️

their dynamic kills me

@voxblade

and so, 22 years ago, Sexy Bitters Guy was born on this day

so tender and mild

23 years ago, sexy bitters guy was born on this day

No way I have the same birthday as the Sexy Bitters guy

HELLO TIMDIB NATION

From March 23rd to March 30th, TimDib Week will be happening!!! ✨👁️‍🗨️

The final day ends on the 24th anniversary of The Fairly Oddparents and Invader Zim <3

All mediums, fanart, fanfics, etc. are allowed :]

As of right now, the prompts are yet to be announced!!! Stay tuned for more updates my fellow timdibers cuz I'm cooking up something beautiful for all of us

#TimDibWeek2024

Invader Zim (2001)

1 WEEK until ZaSR Week 2025!

🩷💜Full version of this art:

HERE THEY ARE: 2025'S ZASR WEEK PROMPTS!

Reminder: The prompts are suggestions, not requirements, you don't have to participate every day, and your submission can take any art/writing form!

For more info, see our pinned post!

See you all in 2025!

Guys! Guysguysguysguys

I realized you can make the irken symbol as an emoticon!!

]o>

I know this used to be a big thing waaaay back in the day. Like early 2000's stuff. I had honestly forgotten about it until you just brought it up now. A beautiful relic rediscovered.

Holy cow, you're right, this WAS a thing! I completely forgot until now. Memory unlocked.

It is so over

ZaSR Week has been decided!

ZaSR Week's annual event will be held on the anniversary week of the "Day of Da Spookies!" script

See you all January 5-11!

Prompts will be posted December 22

Date setting poll!

The most important part of a ship week is the week itself. The week will be determined by choosing a single date and choosing the week around it

Dates we considered but can't use:

<24 hours remain for voting on the ZaSR Week date!

The final date will be posted when the poll concludes

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!

Keep reading

Ah! This is a great analysis! I think he is in denial as well. I usually like to think of him as lost in his own delusions. I like to think that deep deep down he knows what is going on. There have been times that I have lied to myself because I can’t handle the truth. There’s a strange sense of knowing but not knowing at the same time. When I look back on examples, I feel like I was lost in a delusional space. I think Zim is like that but on a very extreme scale. Maybe I’m just projecting now but I think that goes with what you were saying. I think a lot of Zim’s behavior is probably the result of trauma. I’m sure his society was very cruel to him for his size and I also think he’s overly emotional to begin with.

Also I love that you cited sources. That’s so classy.

relax, it’s just realities colliding like my computer said

and tearing earth apart, you moron

INVADER ZIM: ENTER THE FLORPUS (2019)

Zim being an intelligent and tech-savvy lil guy

Also really loved how he reinterpreted his instructions for Gir to better understand

I love these tags so much thank you @noirandchocolate

Zim has always been an eloquent and theatrical speaker, he is also very proficient with tech and science. He’s very smart!! But a lot of that tends to get lost or unnoticed :(

Zim is brilliant. For all his flaws, Zim’s just honestly just incredibly smart and when it comes down to the nuts and bolts he knows what he’s talking about. He worked as a scientist for a decent chunk of his life and it shows. It’s true he doesn’t think things through or cognitive dissonance trips him up, but that doesn’t change the fact that Zim is just scary intelligent.

THANK YOU BOTH for your agreement, always love to appreciate Zim Being Smart among like-minded people.

Zim isn’t stupid, he’s ignorant of Earth culture and other aspects of life here. Within canon, in which humans are themselves dumber and more unobservant than in real life, even this ignorance isn’t always a total hindrance to whatever Zim’s doing.

Zim isn’t stupid, he’s got major blind spots regarding the Empire and what he believes is his rightful, deserved place in it. And also about what he believes should be his (superior, dominant) status on Earth. And also about Dib being his nemesis.* Those are like. An Issue. And they lead him to do things that aren’t very wise or necessary, but it doesn’t make him unintelligent.

Zim isn’t stupid, he’s stubborn sometimes. He doesn’t always think things through because he assumes his plans are flawless and sometimes takes on too much at once.

Zim IS knowledgeable about MULTIPLE scientific disciplines. The man has either created or captured more than one dangerous monster, and has designed, built, programmed and reprogrammed SEVERAL pieces of technology. He’s also a hacker—this is CANON. Zim is also a creative planner and problem solver (even if sometimes those plans go awry or are too destructive to be effective). He’s also a persuasive guy among humans (sometimes even with the Tallest, though for different reasons), and an often quite eloquent speaker with a huge vocabulary (he forgets words on occasion but don’t we all, and he isn’t up on Earth slang or idioms but that’s understandable). He has nearly succeeded in taking over or destroying Earth, which he believes is his job, a FEW TIMES, through a combination of these skills.

Zim’s a smart fella. He has flaws, oh boy does he, but total stupidity and total incompetence aren’t among them.

*Seriously one of the funniest things in this show to me is the supreme bad luck Zim had in landing in Dib’s town, and his stubbornness in staying there. Zim. Buddy. Pal. Move away. Go set up another base literally anywhere else. The bothersome dirt child can’t drive.

@patchworkpoltergeist​ I LOVE YOUR TAGS

Date setting poll!

The most important part of a ship week is the week itself. The week will be determined by choosing a single date and choosing the week around it

Dates we considered but can't use:

ZaSR week is happening! Help set a date!