10 reasons why a poorly adjusted adult Dib is a Valid headcanon
1. Dib is/was a neglected child
Dib doesnβt have a parent that he can lean on and go talk to for advice, his father is frequently out of the picture and doesnβt give a shit about the thing that Dib cares about. Dib is actively encouraged by his neglectful father to give up on it, actually. I believe this would make Dibs stubborn streak really bitter and spiteful. Most people reading this are LGBTQ+, I assume I donβt need to explain how a fucked up an isolated upbringing, or being unable to be yourself around a parent, hurts you in the long run.Β
2. Dib is bullied for the things he is passionate about, and being bullied heavily colours your perception of other peopleΒ
The world of Invader Zim is not kind, Dib is frequently harassed by his classmates/superiors/family for his outbursts/lectures/overall investigator shtick.Β
Now you might sayΒ βbut, Screaming, wouldnβt Dib learn to tone it down as he got older?β and YEAH. Probably! But does that mean that he would just forgive all the people that made his life horrible before that point? Or who socially ostracized him for the things heβd done in the past? No. No one is under anyΒ obligation to forgive anyone who hurt them, and I think Dib wouldnβt even try to forgive someone he saw as intellectually inferiorΒ
3. Dib is a selfish rich kid
Dib is selfish. He wants to be the protector of earth- but he doesnβt do it for earths sake. Heβs clearly doing it as a cry for attention/ a reason to eventually be vindicated for being spit on by his own kind.Β I donβt think he would have genuine empathy for other people. If he did have it, itβd have to be something he had to work really hard at. However, I donβt see Dib putting much effort into understanding other humans.Β
Dib is rich (probably). This one being more of a headcanon- in the series Dib wants for no material object, he wastes technology on his explorations like itβs something he can just pick up from the dollar store, his father is a world renowned scientist with access to crazy technology and the ears of world leaders. I think heβd feel entitled to one or two thingsΒ
4. Gaz is not her brothers keeper.Β
Sheβs not responsible for his mental health, sheβs not responsible for keeping him in line and βnormalβ. Most of the time she doesnβt want a damn thing to do with him. If weβre going by the standards of the IZ tv show, the only times that Gaz interfered with Dibs paranormal investigations were when Professor M. Was also involved. Either she wanted to see her dad and Dibs antics were getting in the way (forcing her to intervene), or she was directly ordered by their dad to keep Dib out of trouble.Β
Sure, you could argue that she would beat the shit out of Dib for doing something she didnβt like- but that wouldnβtΒ βfixβ the mind of a very stubborn person. It might even make them dig their heels in even deeper out of spite and bitterness as aΒ βfuck you Iβm right youβre wrongβΒ
Furthermore, as Gaz gets older sheβs going to have her own life to worry about and might stop tolerating the way Prof. M uses her as a middle man to deal with his βpoor insane sonβ. Sheβs under no obligation to fix any of the phases Dibs life might go through. If Dib was unpleasant enough, and Gaz had the resources to leave, I think she might just bail on him.Β
Heβs gonna do what he thinks is the best course of action unless you physically stop him from doing so. He comes from a place of thinking that he is right, the opinion of anyone else is secondary. Dib will doΒ βwhat needs to be doneβ forΒ βthe greater goodβ. Whatever he thinks thatΒ βgoodβ is. He wants to play the white knight at any cost. He cannot be in the wrong, or that bravado towards being righteous in the end crumbles. I think Dib would subscribe to aΒ βthe ends justify the meansβ mentality
6. Dib would harm another person to get what he wanted
In a room with a moose, Dib debates letting himself die just to take his entire class down with him. In the unaired episodeΒ βreturn of Keefβ, he co-operates with Zim in an attempt to make Keef explode, because he thinks Keef is irritating. Dib used Gaz to test out an ancient spell book, cursed Gaz to only taste pork, and then only helped fix the problem when threatened with physical violence.
This could be the kind of thinking that gets worse over time as more people mock his attempts to save and protect them. Why care about people that donβt even give a shit if they live or die?Β Dib is a smart fringe personality in his world, and the otherness that he feels for that could lead to a sociopathic way of thinking if things went bad enoughΒ
7. Dib does not care about other peoples personal space
Dib hides cameras in Zims house. Dib ran right past the front gate at NASA Place, Dib chased a baby big foot up a radio tower. Dib bullied Zim physically on the playground using his known weaknesses against him. Dib would do anything to get the evidence he needed to prove what he wanted to prove, and that would get him in trouble. Repeatedly
8. Antisocial tendenciesΒ (like spending countless hours fused to a chair, or most of your young adult life spent hunched over a desk at a computer screen) make it difficult to smoothly socially integrate, and the world of Invader Zim is fuckinβ mean
You know the world he comes from is mean. However, assuming Dib did find community somewhere, whoβs to say they would agree with him? Or like him? Maybe one of them would cause problems for him that were bad enough heβd have to leave. Iβve always found that the IZ portrayal of earth to be like this funny cynical parody of a dystopian police state america.Β If weβre going by βwhat can go wrong will go wrongβ, Dibs social integration wouldnβt get easier without a bunch of effort on Dibs part. Maybe Dib would have to pretend to be somebody unlike himself just to get by in his day to day adult life. If we see Dibs country of residence as a police state, the world Dib grows up in would encroach heavily on his personal privacy, and that might make him even stranger via paranoiaΒ
9. Sadistic tendenciesΒ towards anything paranormal (obsessed with the act of dominating and exposing the unknown)
Dib is a fucking jerk to Zim (rightfully so), but Dib is a dick to pretty much every supernatural thing he comes across. Either out of an excess of enthusiasm, or using a supernatural being to further his own plans, or from an invasion of privacy, or being an irritant to the entity heβs dealing with. He LIKES to be mean to them.Β HeΒ wishes to have mastery over knowing how they work. (maybe itβs more fair to say Dib is a voyeur?)Β Β
This is more headcanon than anything, but I donβt think itβs a stretch to say he might also want to control the paranormal for his own purposes. If Dib could say- catch a ghost in a jar so he could show it to everyone, heβd do it. If he could trick a werewolf into transforming on stage in front of a large audience? Heβd do that.
10. Dib is created to be Zims equal
Dib is asΒ βevilβ as Zim is and vice versa. Neither of them is good, or pure, or morally justified. Itβs a nice little grey dynamic. Both characters think theyβre entirely in the right when they act. That they often arenβt in the right is fun because then you get to write/draw/ think about how theyβd react to the consequences. Dib could still totally be a hero in his own mind, despite setting an apartment block on fire to flush out a coven of litches.
The reverse of this is also true, Zim can do nice things, and occasionally be good as Dib can be good. I figure the Zim/Dib dynamic changes for everyones interpretations at least somewhat. Having Zims terrible actions rub off on Dib as their battles escalate is a really fun way to go about exploring their relationshipΒ
There is no right or wrong way to enjoy a cartoon character! Live to make yourself happy in fandom! If you ever thought you needed permission to create rancid content, Iβm sorry you felt pressured not to do it.Β
You want to make a serial killer Dib?? You want to make a basement dwelling depressed zit covered Dib?? You want to make a Dib who struggles with his trauma through substance abuse?? Go HAM!!Β
baratheonpilled
germansingergirl
discoholicmusic
janainaart
annaxmalina
stormborns
andulkaphoto
yousharknotpass
