zomboy

Irkens overall are just so fucked over by their system. It’s why I draw so many parallels between the Irken Empire and the Gem Empire of Steven Universe. Both are massive, overpowered militaristic forces with little to no personal freedom or expression allowed. The Irkens to me are just a more volatile version of the Gems.

To focus on Zim specifically, I focus on how that kind of childhood could affect someone growing up. There’s an endless amount of fics of teen to adult Dib being affected by his childhood bullying, but Zim feels largely shoved aside in those fics. He’s been missing for years and comes back, or he’s been evil all along and gets pacified as an adult, etc etc. Any of which are fine plot lines but they have the commonality of Not Addressing The Bug.

So to be the change I wanna see in the world I kept Zim on Earth and FUCKED HIM UP for several years. Someone who grew up in a society that prioritises Usefulness and Loyalty at the expense of personal health is going to have zero self-help or -care skills or knowledge. As OP said, if an Irken isn’t violent and unwaveringly loyal, they’re worthless. Zim is barely seen as Irken in the show, barely given the time of day. The Tallests put in so little effort to mask their disdain and mockery of him, if any at all. If that were to go on and worsen for years after the show events, how much worse would he get? How much more would Zim internalise the belief that he as a person means absolutely Nothing in the face of his failure to appease his leaders, his Empire?

I relate to both boys. But as I saw someone else pointing out in another reblog, Zim is Extremely Autistic/Neurodivergent and I feel a lot closer to his character than Dib’s most of the time because of that. I’m not a loud autistic, but I am a brash one. I’m confident in myself and my feelings, I don’t have shame in expressing ideas and opinions. I set out to accomplish things with determination and dedication. I’m not loud in voice but I’m very loud in presence.

Zim is often faking his confidence but the outcome is outwardly the same- he scares people. He’s weird, he’s off putting, he’s annoying. He’s painted as Bad and Evil and Irredeemable by pretty much every character, even the ones who have zero idea of his mission. For the skoolkids or the general public, he’s a threat or an annoyance for no greater reason than he doesn’t ‘Act Right’.

Zim can definitely be a rude ass bitch, but he’s also 12 years old. He’s never had a role model in kindness, he’s never been shown kindness. Even within the span of the show we see him start to ease up in ways the Empire definitely didn’t teach him (cough cough, him helping the blob creature in ‘Abducted’ despite the action not directly helping him at all). Zim is not beyond improving. He will always be loud and harsh and bitey, but he isn’t evil. He isn’t a terrible horrible irredeemable person incapable of anything more. He’s a child who deserves a chance to exist in an environment that actually gives a damn about him.

Which is a sentiment I greatly relate to. I’m a Zim, in the good and the bad ways, and I do so badly wish more folks would explore his uniquely complex situation and mental state, without just simplifying it to “he’s a bad person because he’s Irken”. He’s worth more than that, just the same way Dib is worth more than the bullying he endures for also being Loud and Different.