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Im not a fan and a lot of people dislike it because of the age difference.
In my case, if you ask me, I don’t really believe that Jhonen created Zim as an adult (or maybe he did, and in that case, eeew). Mainly because of all the merch out there where they refer to him as a child. I fervently believe he only did it because he hates shipping with all his soul, and because he’s a troll (respect).
I see Zim as a very hyperactive child, terrifyingly intelligent, with emotional regulation issues, pretending to be an adult without truly understanding what it means, simply because he was forced into it.
Then what is it?? Why I don't like It?
And don’t get me wrong, I perfectly understand where the appeal comes from. They’re so different, yet so alike at the same time. Add the “enemies” factor and you have a recipe for shipping: “The person I hate the most is the one who understands me the most.”
Still, I can’t help but see them as platonic soulmates, with such a deep friendship that only the two of them truly understand each other. I’m a big fan of putting Zim in dresses and acting "cute" just because I like cute things, but that’s not the character. Nor do I think he’s particularly tough. He’s more of a mass of desperate need for approval that manifests in chaos because of that desperation… and in being a total jerk. He’s defective, so he feels—unlike the other Irkens—and I LOVE THAT. But I can’t imagine him feeling romantic love, and it’s not just because of an aroace headcanon. I just don’t see him loving Dib that way, and vice versa. A paranoid and very creepy kid who just wants people—or rather, his terrible dad—to look at him and say, “Well done.”
Sound familiar?
They both have this tendency toward drama and doing the impossible to prove they’re better than everyone else (and specifically with each other, because the existence and mission of the other validates their own) that almost always ending in chaos, all because of this deep-seated insecurity of never fitting in. I like the idea of them being inseparable, but as friends or a kind of found family without levels (Gaz included).
Dib is so weird that only an alien understands him, and Zim is so emotional that only a human understands him.
No problem if you like it too, really—I couldn’t care less. As I said before, I don’t see Zim as being written as an adult in the original material.
I could be wrong, of course! If someone gives me really good evidence to the contrary, then yes, all ZADR fans are freaks. But until that day, I stand by my opinion.
I could go on talking about these two for hours because they are my all-time favorite characters. Many of my other favorite characters are basically them, just with different faces and names.
(specifically Zim, because, oh boy, those are industial amounts of angst my friend).