It’s so funny how many fictional characters have Rogues Galleries and/or supporting casts who are like, darker reflections of themselves. Like they're [Main Character] but worse. Y'know, it’s good for the Themes. But meanwhile Zim is already so Baseline Terrible that instead he’s surrounded with characters who reflect him by being better versions of himself. "Zim but less awful"
Like, Dib is Zim but trying to stop Space Imperialism rather than contributing to it. Tak is Zim but hypercompetent. And Skoodge is Zim if Zim lacked his most defining trait and most crippling flaw - his self-deluded ego.
Skoodge and Zim seem to be the shortest Irkens to have been ever reached the Invader rank - they both must’ve been highly capable to make it through the Irken Societal Bias against the short. But of the two of them, only Skoodge is grounded enough to actually demonstrate it. While Zim’s ego and all that stern from it - the delusions, the absolute lack of threat-assessment, the inability to think ahead - makes him an incompetent bumbler despite all of skills.
On the other hand, Skoodge is the most competent Invader actually on the Empire’s payroll (Tak might be more competent but she’s actually less of a Real Invader then Zim is, so…). And yet… this lack of ego also makes him the Empire’s (and sometimes Zim’s) punching bag despite all of his skills.
And, like, Skoodge isn't necessarily insecure. Especially right after his successful conquest of Blorch, he seems to have, like, a reasonable amount of healthy self-confidence you'd expect from someone who has achieved what he did.
He's just not as selfishly self-obsessed and absolutely disconnected from reality like Zim is. He is actually capable of distinguishing between the Empire's will and his own desires, he is capable of reasonably asserting threats, he does actually notice when he is being led into an Obvious Death Trap.
Even if the Irken culture of absolute obedience means he still has to go along with it.
Zim might be, you know, incapable of consciously recognizing that the Tallests hate him.... but his ego and his disconnect from reality actually allows him to put his own desires and his self-preservation instinct before the express orders of the Tallests by just... forgetting that they happened.
When I talk about the idea that Zim has all the traits the Irken Empire values (minus height) just twisted to unreasonable extremes - that’s the kind of thing I’m talking about. To survive in the Irken Empire you need to have some amount of ego and self confidence and self-interest. Being just a loyal vessel of the Empire
Just marks you as someone that can be easily exploited. No matter your other skills. Zim’s attitude is far too much on the other extreme - but it is not alien to Irken society at all. You're gonna need it to survive.
Skoodge is also a nice reminder how truly futile Zim’s desire for approval from the Tallests really is. Even if he was somewhat capable of recognizing his own flaws, even if he was capable of conquering Earth, even if he could wow everyone in the Empire with the greatest Invasion in known history - the only thing that will change is that instead of being hated and punished for being the Worst Thing to Ever Happen to the Empire he’d just be hated and punished for being short.
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I don't remember skoodge sounding the way he does. Like I guess I got used to Gaz's VA voicing him in the unfinished episodes that I forgot how he actually sounds.
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my god incrorrect quotes
gaz: Sorry, who are you?
zim: Oh, I’m zim.
gaz: Oh yeah, I’ve heard about you from scoodge.
gaz: Are you their friend or something?
zim: No.
zim: I’m their therapist.
scoodge, holding a fork: You know your talking a lot of s--- for someone who has 2 perfectly good eyeballs each cost about $16,000 on the blackmarket.
gaz: ....
scoodge: *lip smack*
scoodge: Are you good?
gaz: In what sense?
scoodge: Generally.
gaz: Oh, definitely not.
zim, about scoodge: They're speaking some kind of French.
gaz: Let me handle it. I speak Spanish. It's the same thing.(this is sort of accurate)
gaz: zim, please calm down.
zim: I asked for two large fries!
zim: *dumps fries onto table*
zim: But all they did was give me a MILLION F---ING LITTLE ONES!
zim: Cool, any other secrets?
dib: I still sleep with the blanket I had as a baby.
zim: Awww-
dib, stern: I use it as a gag when taking people’s pets hostage.
zim:
zim: There’s no punch line ‘cause it’s not a joke isn’t it?
*the TV is freaking out*
dib: Don’t worry, you have to treat an electronic like you treat a patient on life support.
*unplugs the TV, then plugs it back in again. nothing changes*
dib: Yeah, that didn’t work with my grandma either.
god this was long
i wont stop heh heh its given me too much power
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HOOPERS HOOCH HEADS PUT YOUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR
hes a hoochhead too
give it up for this bad bitch. it actually sucks hard it tastes like laundry detergent
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cringe-fail-girl Tak, abandoned by the Irken Empire after deserting her original post, misappropriation of Empire property and interfering with military planning.
Gives up, ditches the Irken uniform and gets stuck living on earth in Zim's basement because she has nowhere else to go. Spends her time wearing large band shirts and watching old angsty anime.
I have no idea what compelled me to draw this.
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