⭒ Banishment Planet ⭒

An Irken sent to Earth is an Irken never heard from again. They are far from dead, though. ---- Side blog for my Invader Zim AU and related fan work! My main art blog can be found here, at alabasterplasterart. | Art Comms Open! |

[banishmentplanet]

The Empire never cared about Earth.

But they found one use for it- a dumping ground. A place to send their very own that they didn't kill but simultaneously never wanted to see again. To be sent to Earth was to be abandoned, discarded. An Irken exiled to Earth would never be heard from again.

They were far from dead, though.

⭒ Welcome to Banishment Planet! ⭒

This is my big headcanon heavy Invader Zim AU. It is a two parter technically, which I'll explain below! For easy access, here are the main tags of this blog:

#alaart : For all bug art, including things not related to any story.

#artist support : For reblogged IZ art.

#banplanau : For all posts regarding the main AU, not necessarily specific to either half of the timeline.

#tow : For the Zim and Dib focus precursor story, 'Treading Open Water'.

#banishmentplanet : For the second part of the timeline and the story involving my original characters, Navic and Itsuki.

#boarderiz : My secondary major AU, focusing on deep space adventures between a Zim and Dib who meet for the first time as adults in space.

#ao3 : To easily find AO3 links and excerpts I post here.

What is Banishment Planet?

Banishment Planet is both the name of the AU and, depending on the context, a specific part of the overall timeline. It is preceded by 'Treading Open Water', the story arc focusing on Zim and Dib's own character growth. 'Banishment Planet' takes place a few years later, featuring both them and original characters. Namely, an exile by the name of Navic and a home-planet Irken named Itsuki.

Headcanons? What are those?

By the nature of the IZ universe (cough cough, Jhonen has given us so little), headcanons are a huge thing for us. It's my favourite part of this fandom, seeing how differently these same characters and setting can be expanded upon and interpreted. And because of that there will always be headcanons you don't like as much as others. If my angsty mushy interpretation of these idiots isn't your flavour, just trot off and leave me to it :]

That being said, this fandom, for twenty years, has been rife with some of the stupidest discourse surrounding the vagueness of the canon. Here are my hard rules:

1: Don't even start- Zim and Dib are the same age. Show material calls them both children multiple times and any comment on age by creators is inconsistent. So over two actual decades the lot of us have just decided on what we like better. I think it's funnier if they're the same age. Here’s a great post about it too.

2: Here, they are queer. Their relationship is weird and complicated so very much fun to explore in this silly little fictional space.

What about the cool stuff?

In terms of the world, I wanna keep that up to natural reveal! To lay it all out in a text post most people won't read is boring and doesn't exercise media analysis and creative thinking skills. Read the stuff, look at the art, find things out for yourself!

[snazzyrat]

Who up darking they harvest rn

[kagekrow]

Alien, I am your Alien.

[invaderzimgifs]

[invaderzimgifs]

[guiltfactory-moved]

i would like if something horrible and invasive was happening to him and his boundaries were violated and he was uncomfortable and scared

[atomiclace]

these are my mutuals. they know who they are

[meowmeow518]

Concept of Zim having a crush on himself is funny but i am highly interested in the reaction he had to the Zim-verse. He does not like meeting other Zims. He is disturbed in situations where he meets another Zim.

Zim has a very shaky sense of self. He fears truly getting to know himself because of what he might find.

Zim knows he’s defective. There’s something wrong with him. Seeing clones or other variations of himself is only ever going to be unsettling for him.

[emeraldspiral]

The main Zim is deeply insecure and uncomfortable meeting other Zims in the Zimvoid, and the one time any criticism ever really sticks with him for a period of time is when he's called the worst Zim.

Most of the other Zims have already dealt with the need to believe themselves to be the best and agreed to partake in Zib's system to determine their place in the hierarchy. The rest just ignore rank and believe individually that they're each the best and shouldn't have to play Zib's game to prove it.

Then you've got Number 2, who openly acknowledges that he's in a cult that worships Zib as a god, the only "perfect" Zim and the only Zim capable of making him perfect. 2im can actually be self-critical, because he has fully accepted the "truth" of his imperfection and "inferiority" to Zib. But this doesn't make 2im any healthier than any other Zim. It's likely that 2im's self-loathing, masochism, and under-valuing of himself and his abilities is a reflection of what all Zims truly think of themselves and what the denial and delusional overconfidence is shielding them from.

Main Zim though, cannot accept that he is imperfect, and so he rejects Dib and the other Zims offer to join them in the fight against Zib, just to prove he doesn't need them. In the end he succeeds in affirming his superiority, thus protecting his ego, only by erasing every other Zim from existence.

[invaderzimgifs]

[anulthecoolcat]

Hiii that’s my ZADR/INVADERZIM playlist (the Bamsara mention is just for some songs that remind me of their ZADR/F AU)

NOTES: *most are the same thing but a different song)

song explanations- I’ll list ones I love and want to explain and I’ll make a document or some shit for all later

AMERICAN HORROR SHOW: is not intended at all for the freaky, more like the violent part of it (I like my ZADR ace thanks, suggestive yes, but no funky stuff) I like to think about Pilot Dib and his ideas to hunt Zim and show him off.

Skeleton Song (Kate Nash): I actually met this song through a hollow knight animation, but them I realized it fits them super well!. For example, Dib is the “singer” mc of the song and the skeleton is Zim. Just antics between them and growing up and becoming friends/queer. I have a specific scene which starts at the lyric “sometime at night, I dream of the most terrible things…” I like to Think of Dib having a nightmare of when he used to want to dissect Zim, ensuing that the lyrics “…I sma-a-ash your he-e-ead, tibular, and fibular and ribs and cages too, in fact while I’m here, I’ll smash the whole of you…” are him sneaking into zims house and hurting him, ripping his pak legs off and low-key just dissecting him then and there. (I like all the insane songs to be Pilot Dib, because he would be super intense) (but the rest of the song is post florpus Dib) then he wakes up in cold sweat and runs to Zim’s house to check on him.

Must Have been the wind (Alec Benjamin): I added this song specifically because of Bamsara’s AU. (SPOILERS FOR THIS AU SKIP TO NEXT SONG) I like this one with False Reflections. There are three times when the song says “Must have been the wind” so I separated each into sections, the first being Dib hearing the ear-piercing noise and Zim trying to comfort him, the second is when Zim gets possessed and follows Dib, the last one is one part Dib helping him (hugging him during “promise I’m not playing tricks on you”) and then the cafe bit with Dib trying to get info outta Zim (“we can talk about the noise when you’re ready until then…”) yea summarizing but I hope it makes sense.

Rumnning Up That Hill: added because THERES a Bamsara based animation with this song and I loved it

Charlie’s Inferno: the singers are the Tallest/follow Zim. It’s the Trial episode c’mon, Zim is Charlie that’s all you gotta know. All the “Excuse me sir” are just Zim hanging from wires trying to negotiate with the Control Brains. “Bimonthly get his wife a rose with a card attached”=“bimonthly get his enemy a bomb with a card attached “ “Abandon all hope, all ye who enter” are just Control Brains c’mon

If I was abducted by aliens (Dirty Nice): I’m actually animating this song because I love it so much!!! Listen to it and it’s basically Zim and Dib antics

it’s super summarized I will have to make my own document too-

(If you have any questions about any song tell me!)

@banishmentplanet (thought you may like it)

[banishmentplanet]

I have literally all of these artists or songs except for the final two (and I added them in to listen to when I get the chance). Kept reading the titles and responding like “YUH THATS A BANGER” every time lmao

I have several songs by Alec Benjamin but not that specific one, so reading through that description knowing the tone his music tends to be is HEARTBREAKING. False Reflections is a gauntlet to read in the absolute best way, it fights for my favourite fic spot by bam right beside The Trees Have Seen You Savage.

[banishmentplanet]

Í DARÉ ASK AGAIN

and by ask I mean say that

YOUR PLAYLIST ROCKS I HAVE TONS OF THOSE SONGS IN MY LIST AS WELL AND IM ORETTY FUCKING SURE HALF OF THEM ARE FROM THE YT ANIMATIONS MWEHEHEEHEH

(btw imma still keep it thank youuuuuu)

Khkhk thank you for the enthusiasm and interest!! :DD And yes yes a good many of them have YouTube animatics that I initially got them from (Spaceships by Art Sorority my beloved, Nothing Left to Lose my beloved)

This second ask is also a good opportunity to say that I realised after initially answering you that the full doc is actually full of spoilers for both of my main AUs lmao so I’ll post parts of it up to the current updated place in either AU, then add to it as I add new chapters ^3^

I can’t promise a date when I’ll get to that as I’m leaving the country for a vacay in two days but!! I’ve got it noted down in a reminder so I’ll get on that when I’m back! :D

[banishmentplanet]

Hello, I have very shit memory and I don’t know if I asked you but um do you have any songs I can add to my invader zim /ZADR playlist?

OH BOY DO I

For an immediate answer, here’s my Spotify Invadercore playlist (Invadercore made by theothernamewastaken if you’d rather search it up than use a link). That’s ten hours, 177 songs of bug antics for ye.

Now, mind, this is the playlist for my AU timelines. The first 2/3 or so are in chronological order to my timelines (yes plural), so include character arc themes, AU themes, scene specific tracks, stuff for supporting cast, etc. Plus a few joke songs or unsorted ones near the bottom, so if a few seem really out of place then that’s very likely why.

Now if ye want a specific answer with some of my top bug song recommendations, here’s a few I come back to time and again and have animatic ideas for:

- What’s Going On by Elio Mei : A theme for my Zim’s whole childhood on Earth, up to the start of my primary AU, Treading Open Water. A really fun and emotionally raw song that to a T encapsulates how I write his inner struggles.

- An Unhealthy Obsession by the Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra ; Stalker’s Tango by Autoheart ; I Love You Like An Alcoholic by The Taxpayers (and several other songs of this ilk) : I have a whole myriad of obsession songs ranging from these variety, applicable to their early lives, up to more healthily mutual (as healthy as these two can get lmao) for the end of the AU.

- Alright by Johnny Manchild and the Poor Bastards : A really really good track perfect for any AU that gives them a growing pains period where they’re treating each other more like friends and finding comfort in that, but fighting that feeling and fighting officiating that. Which iiiis most of my AU! :D Especially on Zim’s side. A song very specifically about loving someone’s company but hating that you do.

- Beautiful & Brutal by Plested : The title is pretty self explanatory lmao. Same same but different to Alright, this is a track about being wholly aware of the negatives of this dynamic you’re a part of but wanting to stay anyway. See also- Red Flag by Natalie Jane, though that one is specifically for my Boarder AU.

- Final Bow by Us The Duo : One of my Zim arc songs for the very end of the AU, with the ‘you’ in this song referring to the Tallests and the Empire as a whole, for his whole relationship with Irk and Irken society. Specifically, about how he’s come to grow past it and knows how much better off he is without it.

- Emperor’s New Clothes by Jan : My main theme for my interpretation and writing of the Irken Empire, and a theme for my Tallest Et (yes Et like ET like extraterrestrial khkh). The lines throughout this song apply to certain Irken OCs of mine that are to be present in the part two of my AU, but the song as a whole can just generally fit Irken society and its relationship with its leader(s).

- The Red Means I Love You by Madds Buckley : A relationship song from Zim to Dib for my AU Boarder, but a good song for them regardless for their more violent and fucked up tendencies :)

And there ya go!!

I could go on and on, I’ve got a 50-ish page document where I just lay out all the songs in chronological order and dissect the lyrics as applied to my AUs lmaaaoo I’ve literally prepped for this kinda question. But these are some of the big songs I’ve had set for a while that have strong ties to how I write these chucklefucks. I hope you like a least a few of these, have fun listening! :D

[petemcvries23]

there’s just something so awesome about a character you love getting really badly hurt

[space-robinhood]

Okay cool I’m back. If I can manage to keep posting regularly (knock on wood), hopefully I can feel ready to open up things like requests and commissions.

[invaderzimgifs]

[villainfish]

3 am post

[bigender2]

#yuri moodboard