Okay so I've had this idea eating at my brain for a while now and I really want to share it.

So this au starts off as zade, morphs into Zadf, and then turns into Zadr. Basically Zim and Dib eventually reach a point where they actually figure out that the other isn't so bad. Zim still thinks humans are pathetic lower life forms and Dib still thinks Zim is evil and hellbent on dominatig the earth, but they both begrudgingly respect and admire the other for their tenacity, ingenuity, and ability to outwit/outsmart the other. Eventually as they begin spending time with each other outside of their fights and plots they begin to fall in love with each other. Dib realizes it at first and fights it but eventually gives into his feelings and confesses to Zim. Zim also has figured out his own feelings but is resisting giving in. He doesn't want to be in love with Dib, shockingly not for xenophobic or Irken supremacy reasons though, but because *dun dun dun* he already has a mate.(⁠・⁠o⁠・⁠)

I know shocker right?

In this AU the Irken race still reproduces sexually. They simply don't raise their own young. They have sex, produce an egg, and than ship it off to the smeeteries to finish off it's last cycle of fetal growth before being raised by smeetery computers and robots.

The Control Brains are in charge of selecting who gets to reproduce and with whom they are paired up with. Not every Irken is allowed to reproduce, they must first prove themselves by contributing to Irken society, which can come in a lot of different to forms. If you're a soldier it could be winning a big battle or winning several smaller one's in rapid succession. If you're say a diplomat, it could be securing an important alliance for the Irken Empire. An Irken guard, could be stopping a major prisoner from escaping, or catching an infiltrator and preventing them from sneaking in. For a scientist it could be contributing a major scientific advancement to the Irken Empire.

You see where I'm going with this? Yeah Zim got selected by the Control Brains to reproduce when he comes of age after he contributed multiple scientific advancements to the Empire (Now I don't know if this is canon or fanon but I've heard that Zim worked on the Massive when he worked in the Vortion Space Station, specifically the Massive's Bridge Cannon? Idk how true that is but for this AU it is true!). So once Zim finishes his work and it's tested by his superiors it goes down on his record as a major scientific achievement and due to that reason he's entered into the reproduction pool (though he isn't expected to actually contribute until he's older and sexually mature).

So Zim is considered and entered into the reproduction pool! The Control Brains take into consideration multiple factors when they do this, so despite the clear defects that Zim has, they ultimately decide that due to the fact Zim's defects are likely due to his Pak, that his genetic contributions (extremely high intelligence and creativity) count more and outweigh the cons of having a defective reproduce.

When an Irken enters into the reproduction pool their traits are carefully analyzed and considered before being paired up with another Irken. But the biggest deciding factor is the other Irkens that were entered at or around the same time.

So Zim was entered at around the same time an Irken Elite was being lauded for saving a campaign from complete and utter failure after his own commander fell in battle and he took over to finish the mission. Doing so earned him the right to enter into the reproduction pool. The thing is that while the campaign he saved technically succeeded, there was still some other factors, unrelated to him, that stretched out the campaign for longer than it usually would last. This however worked out perfectly in the eyes of the Control Brains because of the fact that Zim would not be ready to fulfill his duties for several more years. For that reason they were paired up together, for the fact that it was convenient for them to be.

Of course several things happen after this decison, Miyuki's death to the Infinite Energy Absorbing Blob Thingy, Zim's transfer from the Research and Science Division to the Military, his climb from mere cadet to Irken Elite to Invader in just a few years, and his destruction of Operation Impending Doom I and the Irken Capital and his subsequent banishment to FoodCourtia.

While you might think that Miyuki's death or the destruction of OIDI and the Irken Capitol would disqualify Zim from the reproduction pool you'd be wrong (again). Zim was ruled not responsible by the Control Brains for Miyuki's death. The cage the Blob was contained in wasn't secured correctly but upon review it was found that Zim hadn't been the one to put the Blob away last before presenting it to Miyuki. Ergo it was ruled a political assassination attempt, thereby justifying the severing of the Irken-Vortian Alliance and inclusion of Vort in OIDI and OIDII (was it actually an attempt at political assassination? Well...).

For the destruction of OIDI and the Irken Capital, it was deemed the fault of Zim's defects and Pak, still nothing that would compromise his ability to reproduce and hopefully produce highly intelligent Irkens for the next generation (with extra attention paid to Pak installation and maintenance to make sure they don't follow in their bearer's footsteps).

So Zim remains in the reproduction pool and will be expected to meet up with his state assigned mate when he turns 16 to produce more citizens for the Empire. It's about the only task the Control Brains/ the Empire has remaining for him. The only one he has yet to fail at. And he doesn't want to fail at it! At least, not until very recently. Not until he fell in love with an alien on a primitive planet, star systems away from the Empire and all of its territory. Where no one would know unless he told them

Basically, Zim is at a dilemma, he loves Dib, he really does! He wants to be with him! But by getting together with Dib, Zim is essentially throwing away his last chance at being considered useful to the Empire, and he doesn't want to do that! He'd be considered a useless and utter failure of an irken, if he did! To refuse his state assigned mate in favor of some alien outsider would be considered treason. He doesn't want that! He's not entirely sure he could if he wanted to! Being mated to an irken and selected to enter the reproduction pool is a heavy duty and honor. Not everyonw gets this chance after all! Zim would be very scared of the consequences of refusing to mate and reproduce and what they'd do to him, and most importantly Dib and Earth, if he were to do so!

That's not even mentioning what his mate would do. Most Irkens are far more obedient and dutiful than Zim is, as much as he would like to not acknowledge this, they do as they're told and would not be very forgiving towards those that stand in the way of their duties to the Empire (you need only look at Tak to see an example of what would happen if you do).

Basically this is an exploration of Zim's character and how he'd react to the idea of having to make a choice between the person who he's discovered he loves dearly (Dib) and the person who stands as his only hope/tie back to the Empire (Irken mate OC).

And then there's the "Enforced" part of this AU....which I shall get to later (⁠◡⁠ ⁠ω⁠ ⁠◡⁠)

Let's just say the Empire's about to get a lot less Irkens capable of reproducing, and they're gonna need all hands on deck to make sure they don't suddenly go extinct lol.