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deercountry2021-12-11 10:12 pm
zib) wrote in deercountry2021-12-11 10:12 pm
Entry tags:
I used to look up at space with hope and wonder in my eyes
Who: Zib, and possibly you? (Some threads closed, some open)
What: Event shenanigans in the form of paranoia and memories about aliens trying to kill you
When: Throughout the month of December
Where: Around Disaster House, or walking around on his own about the city and beaches
Content Warnings: paranoia, obsession, descriptions of cartoon violence, descriptions of more horrifying alien body horror violence, mention of parental neglect, mention of murder, identity issues, insults involving one's sanity, etc. will add more if they come up in a thread.
also, hit me up with pm or plurk if you want a starter of your own rather than one of the open prompts
Winter Mourning / outside Disaster House
Zib is not quite an official resident of the Disaster House, but his ship is currently here on their property while he figures out how to try to fix it and get it running properly again. And his friends had been nice enough to let him sleep on a couch instead of sleeping outside upon discovering that he... did not have a house he had any plans of staying at until this issue was resolved.
So not quite going full-hobo like he was since arriving, he's been in a rather good mood despite the ship crash. For the first time he can ever remember in his life, there are actually people he can think of as his friends that are willing to have his back, and it's gotten him thinking that maybe there are more things to find about this place to appreciate. Instead of, you know, attempting to run away and off this planet as soon as possible.
So once he hears about a Trench tradition to gather some bones together to create a decoration, he does just that, setting it against the outside of his ship in the driveway of the Disaster House for the time being. Maybe it will be a good luck charm--something to keep him going and hope that his ship will be repaired again soon.
Except... it glows, and touching it suddenly brings Zib and anyone else who may have come upon it into his memories. And there are two things that will become very quickly apparent to anyone upon finding themselves in this memory, regardless of which one it is.
The first thing is, Dib is very much human. Far more human looking in his past memories than he has ever looked since arriving in Trench despite attempts to disguise otherwise. The Dib of the past has normal skin complexion, proper ears and nose, and isn't wearing a ratty hood to hide the back of their head. Their glasses don't have a chip in them, and for all intents and purposes, they look like a normal child.
The second thing is that all of his memories seem to revolve around a central target: a small green alien named Zim. Even in memories where Zim is wearing a disguise, it's easy to tell that it's still the same person due to how tacky and lame the disguise is. No matter what form he's in, he is present in every memory of Dib's that can be brought forth when touching the antler decoration he made. Sometimes, it even feels like there's a sudden moment where you are seeing things from Zim's perspective rather than Dib's, before cutting back to seeing it from Dib's if you are unfortunate enough to get one of those type of memory journeys here rather than experiencing it as a third party.
Which begs the question of whose memories you are actually seeing in some regard, doesn't it?
As a result, you may end up finding yourself in one of the following:
A. The day these two first met and their rivalry began, from the look of things. It's... it sure is a lot! It seems like while Dib has been a nice enough guy here in Trench, he holds no such kindness toward Zim from the second they met.
B. One of, if not many, numerous ridiculous fights that these two have had since then. Dib finds out that Zim has an allergy to meat and throws baloney at him in the school cafeteria, Zim retaliates via injecting Dib with a method to turn him into baloney. Dib points out that a nurse might find it odd that Zim doesn't have human organs, Zim retaliates via stealing everyone's organs, including Dib's lungs. They chase, shoot, throw things at each other, yell about how they are going to defeat the other, and so on in a constant cycle of battles and escalating over the most riduculous shit, even if, arguably, Dib does have a point that letting Zim win could hurt the Earth even with the stupidest of schemes. Either way, Dib sure does get hurt a lot in his pursuit of saving the Earth.
Which one of these dumb fights did you get suckered into having to bear witness to? Will there ever be a day where this ongoing cycle ends?
C. The answer to that, dear friends, is yes. And unlike the downright ridiculous fights and sometimes laws of physics and logic getting thrown out the nearest window, the rivalry ends rather simple and brutal. There's no lead up to what caused this particular fight, as if Dib himself no longer remembers what was so different this time. It just starts with Dib, standing over Zim's body, the other bleeding out a bright pink fluid onto the floor of his lab. The little backpack thing that Zim wears has been torn from his back, lying in a mess of broken wires a few feet away.
And Dib stands there with pink blood on his hands, and for a moment, he actually looks confused by this outcome. He attempts to prod Zim's body, call his name... but Zim doesn't answer, and continues to remain lifeless on the floor. Dib looks down at his hands covered in thick pink alien blood, and just... stares, begins talking to himself.
"I... I did it? I actually did it... I actually beat him this time? That's... that's a good thing, so..."
But is it, though? What exactly happens after you've finally defeated your rival anyway?
He glances at the PAK on the floor nearby... and begins to reach out toward it...
Run Rabbit, Run / around the neighborhood and woods
[Once he realizes what the purpose of the Winter Mournings are, and as the month continues, he starts feeling sicker with paranoia. Not just towards others--did they see those memories? Are they afraid of him? Will they hurt him even if they don't know?--but also toward himself. Is he still Dib? Is he now Zim? Is he just a Zib after all, just as his alternate self had called him in that awful void?
So he distances himself. He goes back to staying outside working on his ship, exploring, and gathering supplies for his own needs rather than allowing himself to be in the physical presence of people. But that doesn't curb his paranoia--what if someone tries to attack him while he sleeps? So he builds traps all around his ship in case someone tries to touch or break into it. He keeps his hood up at all times, but prepared to lash out with a PAK leg the second he notices sudden movement. He even steals a couple of knives to keep in his closes just on the off chance someone gets past his PAK's defenses.
He isn't going to let himself be attacked. He refuses to die. He refuses to have things stolen from him.
Not again.]
What: Event shenanigans in the form of paranoia and memories about aliens trying to kill you
When: Throughout the month of December
Where: Around Disaster House, or walking around on his own about the city and beaches
Content Warnings: paranoia, obsession, descriptions of cartoon violence, descriptions of more horrifying alien body horror violence, mention of parental neglect, mention of murder, identity issues, insults involving one's sanity, etc. will add more if they come up in a thread.
also, hit me up with pm or plurk if you want a starter of your own rather than one of the open prompts
Winter Mourning / outside Disaster House
Zib is not quite an official resident of the Disaster House, but his ship is currently here on their property while he figures out how to try to fix it and get it running properly again. And his friends had been nice enough to let him sleep on a couch instead of sleeping outside upon discovering that he... did not have a house he had any plans of staying at until this issue was resolved.
So not quite going full-hobo like he was since arriving, he's been in a rather good mood despite the ship crash. For the first time he can ever remember in his life, there are actually people he can think of as his friends that are willing to have his back, and it's gotten him thinking that maybe there are more things to find about this place to appreciate. Instead of, you know, attempting to run away and off this planet as soon as possible.
So once he hears about a Trench tradition to gather some bones together to create a decoration, he does just that, setting it against the outside of his ship in the driveway of the Disaster House for the time being. Maybe it will be a good luck charm--something to keep him going and hope that his ship will be repaired again soon.
Except... it glows, and touching it suddenly brings Zib and anyone else who may have come upon it into his memories. And there are two things that will become very quickly apparent to anyone upon finding themselves in this memory, regardless of which one it is.
The first thing is, Dib is very much human. Far more human looking in his past memories than he has ever looked since arriving in Trench despite attempts to disguise otherwise. The Dib of the past has normal skin complexion, proper ears and nose, and isn't wearing a ratty hood to hide the back of their head. Their glasses don't have a chip in them, and for all intents and purposes, they look like a normal child.
The second thing is that all of his memories seem to revolve around a central target: a small green alien named Zim. Even in memories where Zim is wearing a disguise, it's easy to tell that it's still the same person due to how tacky and lame the disguise is. No matter what form he's in, he is present in every memory of Dib's that can be brought forth when touching the antler decoration he made. Sometimes, it even feels like there's a sudden moment where you are seeing things from Zim's perspective rather than Dib's, before cutting back to seeing it from Dib's if you are unfortunate enough to get one of those type of memory journeys here rather than experiencing it as a third party.
Which begs the question of whose memories you are actually seeing in some regard, doesn't it?
As a result, you may end up finding yourself in one of the following:
A. The day these two first met and their rivalry began, from the look of things. It's... it sure is a lot! It seems like while Dib has been a nice enough guy here in Trench, he holds no such kindness toward Zim from the second they met.
B. One of, if not many, numerous ridiculous fights that these two have had since then. Dib finds out that Zim has an allergy to meat and throws baloney at him in the school cafeteria, Zim retaliates via injecting Dib with a method to turn him into baloney. Dib points out that a nurse might find it odd that Zim doesn't have human organs, Zim retaliates via stealing everyone's organs, including Dib's lungs. They chase, shoot, throw things at each other, yell about how they are going to defeat the other, and so on in a constant cycle of battles and escalating over the most riduculous shit, even if, arguably, Dib does have a point that letting Zim win could hurt the Earth even with the stupidest of schemes. Either way, Dib sure does get hurt a lot in his pursuit of saving the Earth.
Which one of these dumb fights did you get suckered into having to bear witness to? Will there ever be a day where this ongoing cycle ends?
C. The answer to that, dear friends, is yes. And unlike the downright ridiculous fights and sometimes laws of physics and logic getting thrown out the nearest window, the rivalry ends rather simple and brutal. There's no lead up to what caused this particular fight, as if Dib himself no longer remembers what was so different this time. It just starts with Dib, standing over Zim's body, the other bleeding out a bright pink fluid onto the floor of his lab. The little backpack thing that Zim wears has been torn from his back, lying in a mess of broken wires a few feet away.
And Dib stands there with pink blood on his hands, and for a moment, he actually looks confused by this outcome. He attempts to prod Zim's body, call his name... but Zim doesn't answer, and continues to remain lifeless on the floor. Dib looks down at his hands covered in thick pink alien blood, and just... stares, begins talking to himself.
"I... I did it? I actually did it... I actually beat him this time? That's... that's a good thing, so..."
But is it, though? What exactly happens after you've finally defeated your rival anyway?
He glances at the PAK on the floor nearby... and begins to reach out toward it...
Run Rabbit, Run / around the neighborhood and woods
[Once he realizes what the purpose of the Winter Mournings are, and as the month continues, he starts feeling sicker with paranoia. Not just towards others--did they see those memories? Are they afraid of him? Will they hurt him even if they don't know?--but also toward himself. Is he still Dib? Is he now Zim? Is he just a Zib after all, just as his alternate self had called him in that awful void?
So he distances himself. He goes back to staying outside working on his ship, exploring, and gathering supplies for his own needs rather than allowing himself to be in the physical presence of people. But that doesn't curb his paranoia--what if someone tries to attack him while he sleeps? So he builds traps all around his ship in case someone tries to touch or break into it. He keeps his hood up at all times, but prepared to lash out with a PAK leg the second he notices sudden movement. He even steals a couple of knives to keep in his closes just on the off chance someone gets past his PAK's defenses.
He isn't going to let himself be attacked. He refuses to die. He refuses to have things stolen from him.
Not again.]
no subject
[He doesn't get a chance to respond properly, as the ship very suddenly takes off. For a brief moment, Varian is going to get to experience traveling nearly at the speed of light as the ship begins to zip across space back to Earth.
And that's when Dib's dad chooses to respond with--]
"Well, that was very convincing."
[He says sarcastically with a gesture to their surroundings, to which Dib groans in annoyance because yes, Dib's dad truly is this thick when it comes to having evidence of space things in front of him.]
That's because this is real, Dad! Not! A! Hallucination!
"Are you sure, because I don't think something that horrifying could be real."
[He points out the window, and upon looking, there's a giant black and pink tear in the fabric of space pulling everything within its reach toward it, like a gaping maw.
Including any meteors and space debris, which chooses this moment to smash against their ship. Gaz from the front of the ship can be heard screaming now--]
Oh no, no no no, don't do this again, Gaz hang on--!
[Dib starts smashing a fist against the side of the carriage, trying to extend a hand out the tiny window--but the cable holding the carriage snaps, separating them from Gaz, who is sent spinning away further into space and out of sight as she continues screaming.
And what's Dib's dad doing during all this? He's begun having a cup of tea while Dib's sister is probably about to die, along with the rest of them since, now that they are no longer attached to the ship, the little container they are in is now free falling back towards Earth...
So yeah, no wonder he started panicking if this is about to involve Varian getting to watch and experience this kid's family getting yeeted into space right in front of him.]
no subject
Are you kidding me? After all that he's seen his reaction is 'well it was so horrible it can't be real?' Are you serious?
[Not even Coronans are THIS oblivious!
And then everything goes to hell and Gaz is fucking GONE and his father is just sitting there?!! Varian turns to look at Zib in horror.]
What the heck is this? He- she- what happened?
no subject
[There's an almighty groan as the walls around them start to crack and bend, pieces splintering away to get tossed elsewhere into the vacuum of space. Including where his Dad is sitting, and so Dib quickly starts kicking the console keeping his Dad seat belted so that he can grab him by the arm before his half of the carriage gets blown away.]
"Marvelous! I truly wonder if I will soon be falling to a hideous death!"
[His Dad is... rather casual about all of this still as he says such a morbid thing right in front of his kid that's trying to hold onto his arm here, sipping at his tea and tossing it aside to let it disappear somewhere into the void.]
H--hang on, Dad! Don't let go!
"Don't worry. After all, none of this is real."
[His Dad might technically be right, in that this is supposed to just be a memory of this event, but can you really blame Dib for not wanting to take a chance on that here?]
no subject
[It's rare Varian drops an F bomb, but this is definitely the place for one. He's never seen anyone this willfully oblivious before. Even Feltzbarr wasn't this bad. He moves to help Zib, to try and keep the goddamn idiot from being sucked into the vacuum of space. ]
Like, seriously? Can you not see the hole in the spaceship?!!!!!
no subject
I don't know what that word means, but if what you're trying to ask is what's wrong with my dad, then I don't really have a good answer for you. He's been like this my entire life... even... before Zim showed up.
[He squeezes his hands harder around his Dad's arm just thinking about it, and the words come tumbling out before he can stop himself as he really looks at his Dad here.]
You never believed in anything going on around you that didn't have to do with your idea of science... and that included me, didn't it? You don't believe in anything I say and just call me insane, or, or--sometimes you don't even remember what I LOOK like, do you? Since those stupid guards at your lab kept electrocuting me every time I try to come see you, or how you used to only show up once a year to even eat dinner with us... or maybe you're just that ashamed of me that you try to avoid everything I say and do on purpose. You didn't seem to do that to Gaz nearly as much, so why me? What more do I have to do to prove that I'm doing what's right and make you proud of me!?
[His Dad actually raises an eyebrow ever so slightly at all of that to indicate that he is in fact listening, and then, calmly:]
"Son, you don't have to prove anything to me. I'm always proud of you."
[Apparently, Dib was not expecting his Dad to say that--or maybe he did since this is a memory of an event that already happened, but he still can't quite process the shock of ever hearing his Dad say something like that to him even now. As a result, it causes his grip on his Dad's arm to go lax, and begin to slip away from him here...]
no subject
I'll...explain it later. [He will not. ] But yeah, like...he doesn't seem to care about...anything? Like if he doesn't want to see a thing he just...doesn't? Not even my dad was this oblivious!
[He lets Zib say his peace, it all feels...horribly familiar. It's like looking into a mirror. Okay, so it wasn't exactly the same, but it was damn well close enough to make his stomach squirm uncomfortably. Somehow, as Zib goes on, he realises the neglect Zib faced was even worse. Okay, so Quirin was emotionally distant, but he still showed up for meals- he never forcibly kept Varian physically away.
He's about to put a hand on Zib's shoulder- to offer some comfort and understanding- when his father says that. He stills, then realises what's happening to Zib- he moves forward, to try and close the gap to grab at Zib's father. ]
Dib!!! Process it later!!
[He understands the gravity of such words, he really does- out of everyone in this damn city, he gets this- but they're also in a lot of danger. ]
no subject
He blinks and shakes his head upon hearing Varian's shout, quickly attempting to adjust his grip on his dad's arm.]
I--Okay, yes. Sorry.
[The good news is that they've almost reached Earth's ground, dipping below the atmosphere from space, and Dib knows that he is supposed to survive this fall with very few injuries due to what's left of the carriage taking the brunt of the crash rather than them. Still... Dib in this memory is a human 12 year old, so trying to keep from dropping a much heavier person is quite difficult, even with Varian also holding onto Professor Membrane here. Even so, he's determined.]
I won't let go this time. I swear it!
[His Dad looks like he's about to say something, but before they can hit the ground, there's a sudden shift in the air, an indication that something about the memory they're in is changing or being affected, because when it passes... they're now suddenly sitting in a crater in what remains of some rubble here. Congrats Varian, you didn't have to experience second-hand a painful crash into the ground that would probably kill most people.
And Varian and Dib are now grasping at empty air. Professor Membrane isn't there in the wreckage with them.]
Huh? Wait, where did he... oh. Right.
[There's a long pause, as Dib drops his hands to his lap. Distantly, Zim can be heard laughing about the humans running and screaming nearby, along with some explosions.]
I think... my Dad is supposed to come back in a while, after making sure Gaz is okay too. I'm supposed to go fight Zim until they get here.
["Supposed to", he says, but he doesn't make to stand and go do that yet. Instead, his attention turns to Varian.]
Hey, um... thank you. For... for helping me just now.
[For not making him have to experience actually letting go of his dad again. Even if that is what was supposed to happen, did happen in reality, and the memory seems to trudge along pretending it still did, Dib doesn't think he would have been okay seeing it again a second time regardless.]
no subject
Oh...I mean. That makes...sense.
[He watches Zim running around, curling his lip a little. He kind of wants to go and hit the guy with a piece of shrapnel, but luckily Zib drags him out of that. He offers a smile.]
Of course, any time. What are friends for if not to help you through horrific recreations of traumatic events, right?
no subject
Dang, this sort of thing must happen a lot if you're able to say stuff like that here. I'll have to try to remember to repay the favor if something similar ends up happening to you someday.
[For now though, Dib goes to climb out of the crater they're in from having crashed here, and once they're out, they'll see Zim standing there. He's holding some kind of small purple moose-like creature in his arms as he turns to stare at them, mouth curling in disgust. Before he can say anything, Dib holds out his hand.]
Hand over the moose, Zim. It's the only thing that can save the Earth from this stupid mess you made. There's almost no time left.
[He's prepared to try to chase Zim down to get it--in fact, he had to the first time this all happened, as Zim had run away screaming when Dib had demanded for him to hand over the strange animal.
However, Zim doesn't move. Instead he seems to be regarding the other before he scoffs.]
"You're ugly when you lie, Dib.
I'm not lying--
"Then why are you ugly?"
[Dib rolls his eyes at the childish retort, though also unable to help himself.]
Seriously? Is that the best you can come up with?
"I was also just thinking that I liked you better that time you were a chair."
And I liked you better when you were a toilet--and before you start screaming at me, no, I don't care if that's not technically accurate to what you actually were at the time. I just want this to be over already rather than to keep arguing with you.
[He says, as he marches over to try to grab the moose out of Zim's hands, but the alien hops out of reach. For a second, he looks like he is going to bolt, before one of his PAK limbs emerges from his back and shoves Dib away, other hand reaching for a remote on his person.]
"Do you really think I'm going to let this end that easily? That you can stop me? Think again, you little worm. No one can stop me and my grand ultimate plan! Not you, not the Dib thing's father, and certainly not the ugly rock monkey over there."
We'll see about--wait, what? What monkey?
"DON'T try to play me for a fool. I'm talking about the one that's been right behind you this whole time."
[He says... gesturing right at Varian, who until this point had been largely ignored by everyone else in the memory.]
no subject
[It wears you down into going "yup perfectly reasonable" about most things.
...And then the stupid little alien is back and Varian heaves out a sigh, rolling his eyes. This dude again? Seriously? He kind of wants to tune out Zib's screeching and focus on his friend instead- except he's...being dragged into it and he blinks. ]
Excuse me? Are you- are you talking about me?
no subject
[Zim gives in response, but now Dib is very much looking sick upon hearing that.]
You... wait, I thought--I thought I was the only who could see and hear him here. Everyone else was ignoring him, so then... you shouldn't be responding to him either...
"Didn't I just say that you're ugly when you lie, Dib? Don't be a fool and act like you don't know."
[Dib seems to be having a headache now, putting a hand up to his head as it seems his memories are starting to turn an ugly color--the sky begins slipping into a sickening shade of green, the rock under their feet turning more metallic...]
You... if you're aware of what's going on, then that... that means--!
[Very suddenly, it's as if there's a sudden glitch, Dib's appearance shifting from human to the Zib that Varian has known in Trench, and then back in a rapid flicker, before everything suddenly goes black.
However, after a moment, when Varian opens his eyes, he will find Zib's winter mourning that he had hung up sitting in the same spot as if never disturbed, and that they are indeed back in Trench once more, no longer somewhere in Zib's memories.]
no subject
[He's about to really throw down with this shitty little alien who's made his friend's life a misery when all that starts to happen. Varian takes a step back trying to understand what in the bejebus is going on. It doesn't quite hit home, not even as the memories fade and he's staring at the winter mourning. ]
Uh...what just then happened? What was that?
no subject
When he does respond properly, his tone is rather dismissive.]
Does it matter anymore? It's over now, so we can finally get on with our lives again here.
no subject
I think it matters if it's bothering you this much. [His tone is firm but gentle. ] Was that- Dib are you connected to him somehow? Because that's- that's what it looked like.
no subject
It's... it's complicated. You wouldn't get it.
no subject
...Okay, okay. [He breathes out slowly. ] I won't make you talk about it if you don't want to. But...I'm here if you decide you do, okay?
no subject
Okay... okay.
[...]
Right now, though... I think I want to be alone for a little while.
[Given the direction he's turning to walk away in, it looks like he is probably going to go to that spaceship of his he has sitting outside to go hide away in, for the time being.]
no subject
[He's definitely worried, but he'll leave Zib to go hide, for now, he knows better than to press it. People need time. ]