deercountry | I used to look up at space with hope and wonder in my eyes

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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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[This is mostly for those who plotted specific memories other than the offered above. If you would also like to have a specific memory other than the above, hit me up via PM or on Plurk! (

wailords)]

[Varian, upon touching Zib's antler and bone decoration that he made as a Winter Mourning, will be whisked into a memory of the other boy preparing to race outside, excitedly telling his sister that he is ready to go fight Zim again. Just another typical day in his life, it seems.

That is, until he runs face first into the back of someone standing there. A very tall man in a white labcoat and goggles, and a hair style that... looks just like Dib's. There can only be one person this is, even if the words the man says didn't confirm it easily.]

Oh, if it isn't my boy child! I can't remember the last time I saw you this excited about science!"

"Huh?"

[Dib answers blankly, as his dad starts going on about some sort of announcement he is going to make for "Peace Day" that will supposedly be a great scientific achievement... until he sees the briefcase Dib is holding.]

"Wait a minute, that's the alien hunting briefcase." [SIGH] "Oh, son, not this nonsense again."

[Dib grits his teeth, attempting to sound calm. It sounds like this is the start of a conversation that these two have a lot.]

"Dad, trying to save the Earth from Zim's alien evil is not nonsense. Without me, there might not even be an Earth to hold hands around."

"Son, there are no aliens! I have tried to be patient with your unscientific interests: Bigfeets, ghosts, vampire bees--"

"Hey, you saw those sting marks, and you know I eat a lot of honey now!"

"Well, as a man of science, I need proof, and I just haven't seen--"

[At this point, is when Dib starts shouting.]

"Proof? PROOOOOF??

[He doesn't really care if any neighbors are staring. How many times had they seen him having this argument anyway? How many times have both them, and his own dad, seen the injuries he's come home with, or the objects he's won from his fights with Zim that defied normal science?

He starts stomping towards the shed, past Varian who at this point has still gone completely unnoticed on having intruded on this memory, throwing it open.]

"How do you need more proof than this?!"

[Varian will be able to see that the shed is filled to the brim with all kinds of alien tech and weapons, and even the ship that Zib drives around in on Trench. Feel free to soak it all in, friend.]

Edited 2021-12-12 04:52 (UTC)

[Zib has already told Varian about his father. The desperation he had to get any kind of validation from the man. It hit hard and it hit deep- horribly, painfully familiar. To be screaming at the top of your lungs and stuff not be heard by the person who matters most.

And yet...yet, he knows what it's like to be so deeply focused on science that he's dismissed other things outside of it. Magic, in his world. He never was as bad as this, but he's been frustrated with unscientific nonsense before, too. He is now, corrupted to the point of rocky skin, claws and fangs, if he didn't have the people around him pushing him to understand it would he have ended up this blind? It's not beyond the realms of impossibility.

He's not surprised by the amount of stuff Zib has. After seeing the ship...well, it was clear that Zib would do anything, take anything, to do what he had to. To protect Earth, to prove himself to his dad, to find some worth in himself- they were all mixed together and Varian understand that probably better than most people. ]

...It didn't work, did it?

[He hates intruding on memories. He hates how often this happens here. But here he is, and he can't help but ask.]

[No, it sure didn't. His dad makes some kind of crack about how all this stuff in the shed "makes it very difficult to get to the lawn mower", and when Dib points to the alien ship he managed to acquire, it's given the response of--]

"Shouldn't space ships fly?"

[To which, Dib falters for a second--]

"It--it will, as soon as it lets me fix it."

[He slaps the ship, to which it suddenly blinks a light and a distored voice speaks from the AI--]

"Dib, YOur faCE is STUUUPID"

[--Before shutting back down again. Well, that explains why Zib didn't want to risk turning the AI back on in front of Varian when they were fixing it, because apparently, the original AI hated him. His dad waves it off with a hand.]

"It's a fine, fake space ship you've built there son, but--"

"FAKE!? IT'S NOT--"

[But then Dib stops, sighing as he looks down at the ground.]

"Dad, nobody believes me. So I'm used to defending our world on my own. But I wish, just once, you'd have my back!"

[For a moment, his Dad actually seems to consider the words. He leans down to Dib's level and puts a hand on his son's shoulder to make sure they're seeing eye to eye... and then proceeds to ruin the moment by saying--]

"Wishing isn't very scientific, son."

[It's no wonder Dib glares in response to this, and slaps his Dad's hand away from him. Dib even angrily kicks his ship and makes noises of frustration before quickly storming out and leaving his Dad behind, who doesn't say or really do anything to stop him from heading to Zim's place instead of discussing the point further.]

[The AI's attitude sure does explain a lot. Varian still watches this with growing concern and...something else? Anger? It feels like anger. A frustrated, snappish sort of anger. He's been here. He's had his thoughts and concerns brushed away like they were nothing. While he and Quirn made peace, worked it out, he still remembers what it feels like to be dismissed.

For a moment, it seems like they have met some sort of agreement, but no. Zib's father says that and he gets put down to nothing again. His rage against experiencing this himself, at seeing someone he sees as a friend going through this too, makes something snap in Varian's head. One moment, his eyes are the same old blue they've always been, and then the next they turn red. All red - like a fire is burning behind his skull. ]

That's STUPID! [Oh, okay, he might be shouting a little. ] How can he... how can he just ignore you like that? The evidence is right there? How...how blatantly obvious do you have to be?

[But Quirin ignored the rocks when they were right there. Sometimes there's such a thing as wilful ignorance. He turns his attention on Zib. ]

I'm...I'm so sorry you've had to go through with this. It's not fair.

[Zib seems to finally notice Varian now--perhaps the shouting had managed to break him from being so absorbed in this memory of the past to have blocked out the obvious person out of place.

Or at least, it seems that way since he finally turns his head and looks right at Varian now in surprise. And given that he isn't wearing his makeshift hood at the moment, Varian might realize a few things seeing him here. Dib has a healthier skin complexion, normal teeth and nose and ears... like a regular human child. His glasses are even fixed, no cracked chip in the right lense like how it is in Trench.

He opens his mouth to say something--maybe to ask what Varian is doing there, or maybe who he even is since Varian looks vastly different than normal--before he seems to think better of it, and starts to walk again.]

Zim should be home right now. I have to go before I lose this opportunity to catch him.

[It's hard to tell if he is actually addressing Varian with this comment, but otherwise he isn't exactly stopping Varian from following him to the strange green little house between two apartment complexes over here.

Ready to see this "Zim" he keeps talking about so much, Varian?]

[He definitely looks...very different and that leaves a whole slew of questions in Varian's mind. Ones he knows he can't really ask here in the memory, it wouldn't be fair. Varian understands the importance of privacy of a people's thoughts a great deal and doesn't want to cross that line.

He follows, because boy does he want to see what Zim looks like. So very, very much. ]

Well...I'll come with you, okay? As some backup.

[When they reach the house, Dib storms right up to the door and bangs on it as hard as he can with a fist to get the invader's attention. Normally, this would be the part in his memory where he makes some kind of bold declaration about how "this ends today" or "I'm ready for whatever you've got", but perhaps because of Varian's influence now leaking into the memory, he refrains.

The door swings open on it's own from the force of Dib's knocking... and it's an absolute fucking mess to be seen inside. Piles upon piles of what looks like trash, food, and random inventions strewn about with little care. A TV can be heard loudly playing some commercial for a pizza place in town, and the only sign of life appears to be a little blue-eyed robot that happily waves and welcomes them in. Varian and Dib will have to be careful not to trip over anything to get to the couch.]

Uh, hey... Zim's evil robot, where is Zim?

[The robot babbles some kind of nonsense, before the... very large pile of cheese and nachos next to the robot on the couch suddenly speaks.]

"Hey, can you keep it down? I'm trying to be miserable over here in my cheesy cocoon of misery."

[And out pokes some kind of alien with green skin and pink eyes... Zim himself, it seems, who doesn't seem to care about the state he's been found in. Right... Dib had forgotten that Zim had been acting super mopey during this part when remembering what happened, so this is probably the weirdest first impression Varian could have here of the so-called "evil alien" as it starts going on about how the junk around them is just stuff he made for "phase 2" of some plan, including... what appears to be a capsule containing a rejected clone of Dib's dad? Creepy.]

"Oh yeah, that one. I figured it could replace your actual dad... and you know, ground you forever or something, but I just couldn't get it to make pudding the way you love it."

[Dib at this point sort of turns to look at Varian with a look like "he isn't normally like this, I swear, please take us seriously on the fact that this guy is indeed a legitimate threat"]

[Well. That sure is the little robot. Varian follows Dib inside, trying to cage his despite to try and work out how the thing works. This is not the time, he needs to focus on his friend. So he tries to focus on this. On the alien pulling himself out of the mess. This is definitely...really fucking weird. ]

...Did he try to badly clone your dad? 'Cause it sounds like he tried to badly clone your dad.

[Still, he knows that appearances can be deceptive. He was tinier and only 14 when he did what he did, and no one thought he was able to carry out the attack he did. So his tone isn't judgemental.]

That seems like a...not great plan?

It sure isn't. I don't even like pudding that much.

[He mutters to Varian quietly, even though Dib is the only person who can probably see or hear Varian in this memory right now. Zim certainly doesn't seem to have noticed Varian's presence as he just waves at arm at Dib and asks why Dib is even there, to which Dib holds up a pair of handcuffs.]

I'm here to lock you up?

"Fine, I don't care."

[Zim pulls himself out of his weird nest of cheese and nachos to grab Dib's handcuffs and slap them over his own wrists. He then goes into some sort of explanation that apparently, the Irken Armada that he is part of are planning to drive right on past Earth without coming in contact with it. Thus, his leaders, the Tallest (yes they really are called that), are not coming and won't see any of the work Zim is doing to conquer the Earth, so it seems the whole thing is pointless at the moment.

Zim collapses on the floor and begins loudly crying about "losing the respect of the Tallest", and Dib awkwardly looks away... however, before he can say anything to Varian about all this, the TV chooses that exact moment to play a certain commercial.]

"There may come a time when we, at Membrane Labs, stop making the world more amazing."

[Sure enough, his Dad is on TV, and Dib finds himself looking back at Zim again, remembering the words he had said at this moment to the alien while the commercial played. The one moment when he had thought maybe he and Zim actually had something in common, something worth agreeing upon with each other.]

You know... my Dad doesn't respect what I do either.

"That time is not now."

He thinks I'm crazy, like the rest of the world does. The world I just saved, without anybody knowing.

"At the Membrane Labs keynote, we will make history again. Membrane Labs: who wants a better EVERYTHING?"

[Oh, right... the keynote. He had forgotten about that... with a little less dramatics this time, he states out loud mostly for Varian's benefit--]

My dad's about to announce a new bracelet that will somehow create world peace at the keynote tomorrow. The whole world will be watching... and if I was to expose Zim in front of everyone during that live broadcast, they'd have to believe that he actually exists now.

[For a moment, the memory suddenly wavers like a mirage, as Dib is reminded of the brief fantasy he had entertained at the time of having this idea--himself, standing on his stage dressed up in a labcoat like his Dad, showing off Zim to the world. His Dad standing in the audience applauding, saying he never should have doubted him... but then the illusion fades quickly due to Zim's voice cutting back in from where he's grumbling on the floor.]

"Fine, I don't care. Do whatever you want."

[Seems like Zim is onboard with this plan as he doesn't move to try to run off here.

However... is it just you Varian, or do you get the feeling that the Zim of this memory has stopped looking at Dib like he probably should be doing, and his gaze has sort of drifted in your direction where you're standing instead?]

[Varian's watching the entire exchange with a soft frown. This is a strange new experience for him, but the mood is horribly familiar. He shifts uneasily as the scene keeps moving onwards. He can't tell where this is going, but he can't see it being anywhere good. Not by the way Zib is holing himself. Not with how defeated Zim is. This is screaming bad idea. ]

...What- what happened next? Did you take him and show the world or... or did everything go...bad?

... Both.

[Suddenly, the memory shifts around them in a whirlwind of color and noise, and when it passes, the two of them are now no longer standing in Zim's house.

They're now standing on a balcony over looking a stage, as Dib's dad is giving his speech about how apparently the peace bracelet he invented uses "the energy of children" or something that will cause people to feel happy and relaxed when in proximity to any children wearing it and holding hands with one another... okay, sure.

Varian and Dib are not alone here, however: Zim is right here too, and before Dib can jerk back away from his sudden proximity, he's snapping the bracelet onto Dib's wrist and talking.]

"I've updated the bracelet. Just hit that button there and you'll be in control of everything."

[The bracelet in question has some kind of... green goo surrounding it that is making some very questionable noises. Like as if the goo is somehow screaming in a high-pitched whine...]

[That speech about the energy of children honestly sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Varian can think of a thousand different ways that can backfire horribly- much less because children aren't exactly always full of happy, peaceful energy to start with.

...And then THAT happens and his concern is ramped to eleven.]

That seems like a really bad thing. What...in control of what?

Closed Threads

Varian - "I'll Make You Proud" (cw: where the parental neglect will likely get mentioned)

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Fern - "99 Problems And I'm All Of Them"

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