The Theme List
1. 2 a.m.
Zim stared down at the sleeping boy, wondering how this disgusting creature of flesh and meat was able to defeat him! The might Invader Zim!
The thought also crossed his mind that he could just kill the human now, as he slept. He didn't bother to consider why that thought disgusted him so much, gave him burnies in this squeedlyspooch.
2. Metaphor
Metaphors were a waste of time, and both too furious to form any sentences much less witty ones. So they let their fists do the talking.
3. Sky
Dib thought it was horribly appropriate that the Armageddon-struck sky was the exact color of Zim's eyes.
4. lost scene
The skool kids slowly died over the years, replaced only to be knocked off again, until the graduating class was nearly nonexistent.
5. Degrees
The Dib's monster-sister's stare made him feel like it was several degrees hotter in the room… or maybe the heat was from Dib's hand down his pants.
6. seize the day
He burst through the door, packed a bag, got on the bus. Whatever this godforsaken town got, it deserved.
7. Opposite
Selfish; selfless. Ignored; mocked. Sneaky; Obvious. Alien ; Invader.
Which was which again?
8. passions run
The paranormal, the occult, the dangerous. It filled every inch of his room, from Mysterious Mysteries posters to a channeling board to antique medical devices.
9. Connection
Zim's spider legs swung him gracefully through the small window and onto clean linoleum floors, flicking through-out the room to disable cameras, then carried him to hover over the small, sturdy bed. Zim's ruby eyes focused on the thin tubing, flowing with thick red liquid, and piercing his precious Dib's arm. He despised that tubing, for it gave Dib what he couldn't. Life.
10. lull and storm
There were days when Zim said nothing. He sat quietly at his desk, studiously writing in a thick black notebook; that never seemed to run out of pages. There were no sudden outbursts, and the few things he did say were spoken in perfect English, in a calm lilting voice (as calm and lilting as a crazed monster from another planet bent on destroying Earth could sound, of course) and his hands stayed folded innocently, rather than into tight, sharp fists.
These are the days that horrify Dib.
11. Animal
'Dib, son… did you get mauled by a bear?'
12. Children
There was a horrible time in one's life between being a child and an adult. It became worse when during that time an alien was trying to destroy the planet you lived on. That time became nearly unbearable when you loved that alien.
13. we all float on
One day, it was all over. Green skin had blistered and bubbled, red eyes lost all their life, the small robot rusted and sparking with malfunctions.
And Dib went to skool, learned about Parametric Functions, and slept with a smile.
14. chess
His life is just one out of control game of chess, in which he is surrounded by kings to protect, and he is only a pawn.
15. Duty
Zim once paused mid-mutilation, Dib's scythe-lock in his hand, and zippered teeth bared, and asked loudly why Dib even bothered to try and save the 'pitiful huy-muns'. Dib could only think of one reason.
16. Rip
Zim swore it was accident, why in the world would he want to remove Dib's shirt anyway? But the wide, leering zippered smile on his face told Dib otherwise…
17. missing time
His life was a shell of normality. And his death was a mockery. Everything in between was unjust or unsanctified. His childhood was bloody and fearful, his teen life painful and illegal, and his adult life was short and hidden away in the blackest night.
18. crest
The wind blew gently, stirring leaves and ripples in the grass, the sun shined behind wispy clouds. From the moment blurry eyes opened, the utter silence was intimidating. And he knew it was do or die.
19. Itch
Waiting for Dib to finish with, and dry off from, his shower without being able to touch him was like having a painful itch cover his entire body. And not being able to scratch it.
20. Explode
He was a pipe bomb, deadly when still, decimating when moved. He had no visible tick, no reassuring countdown. Just a reaction.
21. Rise
He rose as the sun, creeping forward warily, stretching out and turning pretty,hot,pained,pretty. And the moment he sank down, the world sank into chilly darkness.
22. Crumble
Dib decided not to tell the other children that the topping on the pie Zim brought to the bake sale was kitty litter.
23. Range
Sometimes Dib was spiteful, sometimes thankful. Sometimes he was seductive, and other times vile. He was always Zim's, and Zim's alone.
24. fight/flight
Dib was unsure when his fight/flight instincts turned into fight/fuck instincts.
25. Acid
Dib's kisses were like biting into lemon.
26. color
Blue, green, brown, hazel. Red, pink, purple, albino. White, pink, peach, skin. Green, cream, lime, scales. Red, brown, rust, blood. Red, brown, rust, blood.
You're uglier on the inside.
27. Give
There was a small box sitting on his skool desk. It was wrapped with plain black, glossy paper, held shut with a peculiar type of glue. He listened closely for ticking before opening it, and was surprised to see some type of gem with foreign markings upon it. It glowed faintly, throbbing almost, and was carved into a sharp and angular form of a heart.
28. Needle
The feeling was less painful and more startling then anything. The gun was held steady in practiced hands, and the needle vibrated against thrice broken support bones, piercing virgin skin. It was addicting and freeing, and the dark ink looked fantastic against green tinted skin.
29. Locks
They were pointless, he'd figured. So he left his door weakly shut, his windows wide open, and let his thoughts simply flow out his mouth. There was no reason to keep anything to himself. Nothing was sacred anymore.
30. slope
He felt like he was running, but never getting anywhere. Uphill both ways, as they say. Fighting against the world, fighting for it, fighting to keep it, then fighting to be free of it.
31. Correspondence
Eventually, Zim realized that the Tallest were simply mocking him; they stopped once the camera flickered onto a gore-covered Zim, reveling in the carnage around him.
32. Linger
The smell seeped through the small opening under the door of his room, floated in through the windows. He could smell in when he cooked, when he slept, when he showered. The smell was despair, and he wasn't sure where it was strongest. When he was alone, or when he was with Zim.
33. Charm
Caked with dirt, blood pouring from a crooked nose, flowing without pause into a panting mouth, white teeth stained with a mix of cherry popsicle red and cheeks blooming with layers of deadened flesh purple. Scaly flakes of pastel puke green were lodged under broken and ripped fingernails, shirt torn and shoes untied. His eyes flashed with adrenaline, and his smile was wide and hostile.
34. Roads
They followed in formation, crawling throughout every space Zim could see, flowing with never-ending traffic. He wanted to destroy all of them, leave them as empty tubes, drain the blood from each vein.
35. Hunger
They both felt the pangs, churning and unignorable.
36. Reciprocity
It was mutualistic. Zim needed to punish, Dib needed penance. Zim needed to rule, Dib needed a safe place. Dib needed revenge, Zim needed recognition.
37. Kind
There was no kindness, no forgiveness, no pity. There was only faint respect, mutual understanding. So Dib preformed the dissection of the Irkens, nearly thirty different ones, with Zim at his side, confirming or correcting his musings on the inner workings.
38. Fruity
Each punch tasted like drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth. It was familiar, easily forgetful, and utterly disgusting.
39. half-life
The lives of humans were not nearly as long as Irkens. And though Dib had spent over half of his fighting against the inevitable, Zim had barely spent a few years of his- simply hesitating before the plunge.
40. comedy of errors
Their story was a cult classic, an unreleased single, a scraped paperback bestseller. It was mixed reviews, it was two thumbs up, one thumb way down. It was unrated, uncut, and uncensored.
41. Tragedy
'Wasn't he sad?' they'd say. 'Wasn't he terrible?' they'd say. 'Wasn't he tragic?' they'd say. 'Wasn't he brave?' they'd say.
'Weren't we blind, weren't we stupid, aren't we ashamed." They'd say. 'He saved us.' They'd say, 'and we were so terrible to him'
'It's tragic.' He'd say, and then he'd dissect, and he'd laugh like it was a comedy.
42. hope is the thing with feather
Hope is the thing with feathers; and Accomplishment is the thing with sharp teeth and claws that disembowels and eats the thing with feathers.
43. Empire
The Massive was full of Invaders, servants, and prisoners. Every planet had been taken over, turned into parking lots, hot dogs stands, repair garages. Earth had been turned into a dungeon. Dib was footstool before the thrown of Tallest Zim..
44. turpentine kisses and mistaken blows
Blood dripped from ripened lips, eyes swollen and bloodshot, fingers with broken nails and torn knuckles entangled in waxy false hair. This was their love, forever cemented in bloodstains and marred skin. And it was saccharine.
45. Rings
They had their lovers spats, of course, all couples did. Zim's eye would be nearly gouged out, and he would ignore Dib until his vision was clear again, or Dib's throat would burn for days, and he wouldn't speak until the hand shaped bruise faded.
46. dust
Zim was very disconcerted to learn all of the dust on Dib's bookshelf used to be his skin.
47. every you, every me
They sit together, listening to the sharp zing of lasers cutting flesh and the constant rumble of machine guns, and pray for a double genocide.
48. Project
Zim had an aura of being much bigger, much stronger than he really was, and everyone could feel it, that and rampant insanity that came along with it, and they all stayed out of his way.
49. Adore
Dib's paper skin, his toothpick bones, his rich, thinly flowing blood. It was all so close, and yet it was untouchable.
50. Murmur
He heard the whispers, of course, but there were always whispers in Hi-Skool hallways.
51. Above
Sometimes he would stare into the sky, and wonder if Zim was still up there. If he was still alive. If he was looking down for at him. He doubted it.
52. Below
Sometimes, he would fly past that forsaken planet, and wonder if Dib was still alive. If he ever looked into the sky, and wondered the same things about him. He doubted it.
53. Incalculable
Dib's emotions, his feelings, they were all foreign to Zim. He could never quite pin down which one he was feeling.
54. Wire
Sometimes, Dib would pretend to wear a wire just so Zim would pat him down.
55. Landslide
Their relationship started quickly and violently, and ended softly and passionately.
56. the beginning is the end is the beginning
It had started with Zim trying to take over Earth, so Dib responded by trying to expose Zim, and it ended with Zim trying to get over the Massive, so Dib responded by trying to keep Zim from being exposed.
57. Door
Dib smirked as Zim walked into another sliding glass, preparing himself for the screeching tangent about destroying all of the evil, stupid clear 'force-fields'.
58. enemy gate
He sat behind the shield of the Voot cruiser, staring at the docking bay in front of him, watching and waiting for the opportune moment to strike. To destroy The Massive.
59. Stone
Dib's face was blank, his heartbeat unwavering, and he shrugged one stiff shoulder, when the SWAT team burst in his room, asking where the invader was. He'd given them chances, all his life, to help him, to stop Zim. And they'd passed them up. And now they were on their own. He was over it.
60. Bright
Dib flopped onto his messily made bed, glancing at the plastic, faintly glowing stars stuck to his ceiling. He remembered when he first put them up, remembered staring at the neon colors, remembers them sinking through his eyelids as he was trying to fall asleep.
Now, even the little pleasures he used to take refuge in had gone away, washed away with the realization that what he loved, was passionate about, was trying to destroy him.
61. Stories
They would rue the day the laughed at him, called him 'crazy', 'stupid', and 'big-headed', because he knew and they wouldn't listen, and he would be in history books. All that was up to question was whether he'd be Dib: The Boy Who Saved The World, or Dib: The Boy Who Let The World Be Destroyed.
62. Chime
It was late, dark, and rain was pouring from thick wraith clouds like a waterfall, when the doorbell went off. The one person, err, alien, he'd never expected was passed out on his doorstep, pale green skin still sizzling.
63. Laugh
Zim's crazed laughter had gotten quieter over the years, and at first Dib thought it was because he'd learned to be discrete; but he realized it was because Zim had been losing hope.
64. Hold
Despite the scrapes, the bruises, and the blood pouring from his nose to catch on his lips and then pool in his ears as sharp spider-like mechanical legs held him down, Dib would never back off. He would hold his ground.