#but while i am autistic myself i really don't vibe with the whole ''defectiveness as neurodivergence'' thing i see often

[irkendogma]

can i be so honest. i understand and i embrace the idea that within irken society the "defective" label is less an actual concrete descriptor based on any well-defined qualifications than a convenient excuse to separate and punish problem individuals from the general populace, but i just can't get behind the "because [character] acted out against what was strictly, to-the-letter expected of them, it means they're secretly defective and a tragic victim of the cruel society around them" tendency of the IZ fandom

i've seen this applied to tak, skoodge, tenn, both red and purple (usually at the same time), and probably more that i'm not remembering, and while i think there's something to be said for the principle that technically all irkens have potential to be classed as defective in the event their inherent traits manifest serving against rather than for the empire, i feel like the idea that this strictly outcasts and exonerates them from the environment in which they've spent their whole life is just kind of cheap on a writing level. mismatched traits or not, all of these characters act in service of the empire, often enthusiastically, and i truly don't think they consider themselves separate from it - hell, actual defective zim refuses any degree of separation at all, which i would be willing to consider as a coping mechanism if it weren't for the fact he brandishes that coping mechanism and goes in swinging on the empire's usual victims just the same as any non-defective would

like, i feel like people focus too hard on specific characters they like as "exceptions" to the irken empire rather than acknowledging the empire as a whole is a rotten concept mantled by everyone who contributes to it no matter how sympathetic - nearly every irken shown exhibits behavior i've seen used as some evidence for defectiveness or another. larb cries openly, skoodge is unnecessarily pleasant to others, tak places herself above the empire's rulings, tenn loses track of her mission and freaks out on camera, red and purple are openly casually affectionate to each other, sizz-lorr apologizes to a class of human children for interrupting them, bob outright snaps at the tallest repeatedly and ultimately talks back to them so loudly it's more like yelling back, and even background characters like the unseen irken purple commands to be thrown out of an airlock pipe up against authority when they're really not supposed to

any irken could potentially be defective and the reason i don't label them as such is for the same principle i mentioned initially on why the empire hasn't officially given them that label itself: it's used for individuals who cause problems for the empire, and as it is, sympathetic traits or not, these guys aren't doing that