So the thing about Tak’s Holo-Disguise is that it specifically might not be an example of Tak using more advanced technology than Zim.
The implication in “The Nightmare Begins” is that Zim maybe also have access to Perfectly Realistic Human Disguises, probably similar to Tak’s Hologram - but he intentionally rejected them because he saw them as too ugly. He deliberately chose his shitty little costume because he thought that was the only one that looked ‘good’.
And these terrible disguises are also pretty consistent with how the actual official Invaders disguise themselves. If anything, Zim’s got the best costume of the lot!
So with Zim dismissing the more realistic disguises as being ‘ugly’ and ‘stinky’ and those being… basically the most common insults he throws at humans. ..I think the implication here is pretty clearly that Zim’s (and the actual Irken Invaders’) disguises are bad because he doesn’t want to look too human because Irken Imperial Indoctrination has taught him every other species in the universe is revolting and so he cannot stand the idea of looking too match like the people he is trying to infiltrate.
So it is interesting that the one Irken who actually uses their advanced technology to actually look like another species is Tak. Maybe she’s just being a bit of a show-off overachiever. So driven by the need to prove how competent of an Invader she can be she decided to suffer through the indignity of Using a Competent Disguise.
Or maybe there’s sort of an implication that Tak doesn’t really buy into Irken Ideology that much?
Like, obviously, she’s not, like, some sort of anti-Imperial pro-alien advocate or anything. She’s still trying to gain the respect of the Tallest, she still wants to become an Invader, she is still willing to sacrifice an entire planet in order to achieve her goals.
I’m thinking more, like, Zim is 100% a true believer in Irken Imperial Ideology. He wants to be an Invader at least in part so he could use his ‘amazingness’ to contribute to the conquests of the Irken Empire. And he legitimately believes the Tallests are superior beings worthy of his admiration. And he legitimately believes Irkens are superior to all other sapient beings in the universe in general and to humans especially.
Meanwhile, Tak’s main goals might just be to gain as much power and prestige as she can - no matter what or who stands in her way. If she lived in a society that valued dentists above all she would’ve become a dentist. But she was born in the Irken Empire, and the most prestigious not-height-dependent position available to her in Irken Society is the one of an Invader, so that’s what she dedicated her life to. Not out of any ideological commitment to help the Empire's conquests.
She tries to gain the Tallests’ favor because she knows she needs them to get ahead in life, not necessarily because she craves their tall, superior approval the way Zim does. She can kill a lot of non-Irkens on her way to ‘greatness’, but it’s more of a general callousness towards other people - rather than loyalty to the superiority of the Irken people.
That might also explain why she’s the one Irken with the sense of individuality to customize her uniform
And design her own version of the Irken Empire Flag, based on her own look.
Because maybe she’s not trying to serve the Irken Empire, maybe she’s just trying to serve Tak.
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LOOK AT WHAT OUR AMAZING ART HUMANS HAVE CREATED!
These human pig smellies that will be helping to make future AVTP episodes got together to draw their mighty Irken overlords (except Dib) in their own artistic likeness! They call this a "draw this in your style" event. This earthoid event is quite peculiar, but seeing all of the styles together (except Dib) is very pleasing to Zim.
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The funny thing about Zim taking over Tak’s Ship in ‘Dibship Rising’ is that he does so by activating some sort of protocol that makes it obey the Irken Empire
And the thing is that Zim is not the ‘Irken Empire’. He’s an exile from the Empire with delusions of grandeur, and Tak knows this
And therefore Tak’s Ship knows it.
But Dib is, like, the one person in the universe who sees Zim as a legitimate arm of the Irken Empire, and now he uploaded his mind into the Ship.
And that’s the only reason Zim was able to take it over.
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