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ms-scarletwings · 7 months

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A Messy, Sedulous Necropsy of Zib Membrane

That’s what we call him right? Not Invader Zib? Hell if I know, we’ll let the tags decide.

Whatever he is christened by his author, enemies, or fans, this titular villain of the Zimvoid is such a mind blaster to me. I wish we had more time with him within the comics. I wish he had been a concept explored in the show. I wish he had a movie. I am having fun with a little hyperbole here, but I truly do find him just as interesting and potentially pivotal of an antagonist as Tak was, if not even more.

Both, of course, were so badly underutilized for sake of the series status quo. To that, Zib was a much bigger threat than Tak, and especially to that of the comics’ own. He potentially changes everything, and somehow absolutely nothing by the end. The TV show always had a more overt tone of cruelty and the macabre floating about its themes. These print issues? I don’t dislike them. It’s still recognizably invader Zim, and the more the merrier, content-wise, but longtime fans can feel that there was this change of essence in the transition. More obviously, in the art, but more subtly, there was an audible softening of that bluntly darker, cynical tone the show was made iconic for. To put it very generally, they lean a little more into the whackiness of this world, there’s a lot more dark comedy to be found in what I’ve seen so far rather than in your face darkness, and in the absence of the ost and voice acting the show accustomed us to, the comics leave a lot more room to be read as you wile. To me, they’re goofier and more episodic in spirit.

This all is not a critique or rating on the comics.. It’s purely, I feel, why Zib stuck out to me all the more jarringly in his context. His reveal was a genuine twist that brought forth stakes higher than arguably any other threat in the entire franchise. He represents a plausible while horrifying prophecy of our main characters if only they made worse decisions. The most interesting of all, for every piece of amazing information he fed to us, he bred dozens more questions about everything than he answered, from Irken machinations, to his ambivalent backstory, to the secrets hidden by the sum of his parts.

Though he was left evidently alive at the end of his story, I don’t see any chance for him making a return, so he is memorialized as another defeated one-off the writers have brisked past and left behind for good. Therefore, I’m here today to take what we got and present it on the metaphorical autopsy table. I want to really pull apart why this character alone pulled me back into the TV series, really just flay open the bits I can’t get out of my own head and dig harder until we find something or we run out of threads to tug at. Starting with the one already hanging out of my mouth, but

• B.E.F

“Bad End Friend” is a term I learned the meaning of within the last 12 hours or so of writing this, and I’m exuberant over that discovery. It’s a niche trope i didn’t know ive been a giant fan of since I was a child. Summed up, fictional characters from beloved media, typically, animated child protagonists… given the worst case scenario treatment. Their “bad ending”, whether that means a corruption arc, demonic possession, a lovecraftIan tragedy… usually something that’s anywhere along the lines of a fate worse than death to a full villainous turnover. As a treat. The concept is strongly associated with fanworks and AUs of popular media, but just as often this is something that becomes explored in the source material as well. A couple great examples I know would probably be Ice Prince Finn from Adventure Time or what happens in Undertale when you decide you want to run the most depraved playthrough possible. From a more mature story, “Evil” Morty is another validly arguable sample.

Besides a bit of a fondness I got going for certain dark or spooky themes in general, what I REALLY love about canonical BEFs the most is their utility as characterization tools. They’re the “having your cake and eating it too” option! The perfect way for an author to explore certain things about any character without actually committing to well… a bad ending.

Almost always, they are necessarily hypothetical or reversible. If they’re not reversible, they go often hand-in-hand with a little universe tampering to make happen. Sometimes, this means the story goes the way of time travel and branching off butterfly effects. Sometimes it means confirming multiverse theory, which can be the same thing depending on your semantical position.

And Zib crossed off the BEF qualifications by far and away. His implications are extremely dark given any pause think about them, and he’s a living, disturbing tragedy in aftermath. If you want to view a rigamarole about that aspect of his characterization as he appeared in the comics, someone else long beat me to that and I’m enthusiastically recommending a peek at their own work. I’m thrilled to do so and build a little upon that with those extended what-if-wonders.

• Lessons From a Lost Episode

Elephant in the room I haven’t seen someone ask yet, uh..

By show rules, isn’t Zib supposed to be a clear case of the writers committing the sin of retcon? By show I’m including the unaired scripts, including “10 Minutes to Doom”. In that one we had what looked like the potential setup for a Zib case, and it was deconstructed across the whole episode.

In short recap, Dib learned the hard and reckless way about the true nature of what Irken PAKs actually are. This is not an inventory bag, it is not “gear”. It’s the actual Irken entity- at least, the primary component.

Detaching it from the organic shell essentially caused a temporary split into two instances of Zim, desperately trying to connect back together under threat of obliteration.

Like let me be very clear about this,

The PAK is an autonomous instance of Zim’s consciousness, and it’s the main one. We’ve seen it act to save his life when his body has been out cold or flatlined, and he doesn’t appear the least bit disoriented or confused once “he” wakes and jumps back into the action. There’s no known separate computer assistant AI or security autopilot in there. That code, that program, IS Zim. As Long as the PAK is active, he is capable of staying fully conscious and able to react to what’s happening around him, and that’s what we’ve been seeing, his own actions.

Zim proved me right when Virooz tried to replace him and detached the PAK. Take note of his phrasing after the chair event™.

“I” activated the protocol. Immediately after Virooz ran off with my shell.

“I” Voluntarily chose to do so.

I don’t remember it playing out like that in “10 Minutes to Doom”.

Attaching to a new host wasn’t the first reflex. Dib was not the least bit aware that that he has literally holding the actual Zim captive in sense, and the latter was fighting like a cornered animal to escape him. Failing that, alongside the distance between him and his original body growing fast, he made a last desperate gambit, and he willingly connected himself into Dib’s body.

I can see why he thought this was better than nothing, no matter how repulsive the notion might have been. If he couldn’t fend Dib off physically, he could incapacitate him in some fashion by trying to overtake his will. Maybe give the shell a better chance to catch up, maybe in the longshot hope of being able to pilot dib in order to become whole with the correct host again. And you can say he succeeded, at least in dominating bodily control away from Dib, but at the cost of his already tenuously held sanity. This could be because of the interference of Dib’s own mind still resisting to fully submit, or malfunctions because of the biological incompatibility; however, the thing that Dib mentally becomes is only the basic idea of what “Zim” is. Instead of remembering it needs to reunite with its shell ASAP, the PAK mistakes Dib’s body for its own and goes through the manic motions of following the Invader mission. And it does this, weirdly enough, with almost no regard for blowing its cover.

When things are set right again, Zim’s later words near the episode ending revealed that he knew that was an unsustainable state.

Such a risk was not just accounted for, he was actually banking on it if that clock had hit zero. If Zim had truly lost, if he was really doomed to meet his end on this nasty rock in the middle of Nowhere, Space, then by every damned circuit in his being, he was going to take down this insolent fool boy and as many other humans possible with him. A dying act of vengeful rage.

• The Exceptional… Exception

Now, wouldn’t all of this be the definitive reason for Zib’s existence to be an aberrant impossibility? Yes, but actually no. Fun thing about multiverses is if something doesn’t work in one setting, you can just tweak a few dials and suddenly you have a world where the impossible becomes possible. But that’s a pretty cheap answer, isn’t it? So, what exactly was that crucial difference?

What happened in Zib’s timeline that went down so, so divergently from the events of 10 Minutes to Doom?

Because the only one who was in any position to explain it for us was Zib himself, and he’s proven to be one of the most unreliable of narrators. It’s as @dana-chan-the-control-brain already spared no effort to demonstrate, when he does tell us something about his past, his story is pocked with contradicting half-truths or outright lies. Ergo it helps to break down each recount of events to pick out the real facts.

Version 1: This is an alternate version of dib who defeated his complementing Zim (logically sensible) and went on to achieve all of the success and respect he sought after in his timeline (absolute bullshit). He kind of gestures and only implies about what has happened to his body while explaining that he came to his current understanding of Irken technology by studying it through Zim’s lab (a partial truth). He lets slip in passing that he has in fact fused with the PAK in order to learn how to alter and reprogram its coding, lessons he has applied to Number 2 in order to have a brainwashed pawn (also apparently true).

Version 2, when cornered and red handed: This is an alternate version of Dib who managed to specifically stop Zim's mission (Again, makes sense) but somehow could not convince the world of his findings or his warnings about the Irken Armada (*VERY eyebrow raising). Frustrated with the people’s lack of cooperation, he decides he has no choice but to physically merge with Zim’s PAK post-mortem (concerning and evidently mostly accurate), dominate the Earth himself, and enslave humans to help him in his efforts (highly troubling and probably true). The construction of his EMP super-weapon is successful, but ultimately led to the creation of the Zimvoid when the device was field tested (self evident, absolutely horrifying).

You know what I noticed was missing from both of these accounts? Exactly how his Zim was defeated. Which honestly could have been some beyond useful wisdom to pass along to the main Dib??? More than anything else? I’m not going to fault our boy for not pressing that matter better under the awing circumstance; however, there’s an implication I’ve been reading between lines.

When Zib mentions “defeating” his own Zim, he’s talking about something different than ours.

When our Dib has always talked about “defeating” Zim, he’s meant incapacitation and capture. Throughout the show he explicitly wants to present Zim before an audience alive and whole. Yeah, he fantasizes about other people torturing or disassembling him for study, but HIS role was supposed to be reaping the fame for an undeniable, ground-breaking discovery. Conspiracies and cryptids are all this kid breathes and lives by! And as long as pop culture has always been fascinated with the paranormal, and he has to know this full well, people keep bringing forward hoax after hoax after scam. I mean there’s a freaking current one or few still going IRL about this exact topic. Dib would want no room left for being dismissed as another one of those con artists.

Nonetheless, I actually doubt this is the reason Zib couldn’t get through to the scientific community. A genuine alien lifeform, even a dead one, could still be confirmed by any basic medical examination. The world thinks Dib is too crazy to listen to, but his father is still Professor Membrane. In "10 Minutes to Doom" OUR Dib got as close as having Membrane literally analyzing a PAK, or at worst, preparing to. “Ultimate Dib” gets his hands on the same thing and pulls a move I’d expect from an HP Lovecraft Protagonist instead.

We’re assuming way too much to what these two Dibs have in common, because this ^^^ is really what made the Zimvoid an outlier in the multiverse. That world didn’t only have a very different, more threatening Zim from the main timeline, it had the Dib who proved even more formidable, cunning, and ruthless, even before the fusion.

He didn’t obtain that PAK ala the “10 minutes to Doom” accident, it’s a personal trophy. This is extra strange remembering that capturing an Irken is realistically more easy than killing one. They’re seriously more tenacious than kudzu and will even fight back in PAK form alone. I’m convinced that whatever sort of final showdown made the Ultimate Dib the victor, there are two optional endings on the table.

Option 1: There was not a body even left intact enough to bring in to research. Maybe Dib’s fault, maybe an accident, maybe even Zim’s own luck running out and his incompetent antics finally swallowed him (and possibly GIR). This theory assumes that the PAK was the only sort of remains to come into Dib’s recovery/possession.

Option 2: Curiosity Killed the cat,

but satisfaction brought it back.

Or, the one I personally headcanon. Dib… all Dibs, I assume, don’t just hate the Irken species. They are mesmerized by them, and all that they represent from his perspective. Firstly, the epic villain he gets to roleplay nemesis to in order to feel his own worth and importance. Secondly, an unknown wonder from beyond the boundaries of the cosmos. He’s not really a ghost buster or a Men In Black agent at heart, but a scientist, like his father. Underneath his contempt for Zim’s plans to destroy the world is a genuine and appropriately childish awe for alien presence, especially for Zim’s technology. His silent, dopey smile when Tak’s ship ended up in his backyard said more than words ever will..

Earlier in the show, a great deal of Dib’s time and effort was spent on trying to infiltrate the lower levels of Zim’s base. Sneaking into the house was hard enough, but the computer security can’t be bypassed like the gnomes. Not even by Zim himself unless he really is all himself. Perhaps you’re starting to sniff where I’m going with this one when I refer back to “Bolognius Maximus”. I’ve another reference that’s a little more on the nose, and a lot more… dark.

Were an expired Irken husk before you, you too might take your victory and cash in then. Still, who knows what sudden impulse may run through the head of a less humble version of yourself, one some could call greedier, obsessive to a fault, a screw or two loose, yet, a hell of a smart cookie. Smart enough to see it for what it actually was, the keys to a whole world of discovery that went so many layers deeper than they could ever imagine. It’s possible the Ultimate Dib already learned beforehand the same hard lessons about the PAKs that our own did, and took that understanding toward not repeating the same mistake this time. What happened to Zim? I think he was murdered in cold blood, body, and entity. “10 Minutes to Doom” showed us a fight between 2 brains clinging to one body, struggling until one overpowered another, but that’s not what this is. Through whatever means of science were available to him, this Dib has probably tried to “disarm” the technology by either erasing Zim’s consciousness out of it altogether, or by forcing the autonomous code into a kind of dormancy. His intentions were to render it back to its basic hardware without losing its precious knowledge and usefulness, something like the brain-filled tank that was wired into Skrang’s head. Zim’s PAK doesn’t cling onto his body like a parasitic teratoma this time; it’s merged in a literal sense with his nervous and circulatory system. As well, he has fooled the device’s ability to detect and reject a foreign host shell, the exact same way he deceived the the base’s security AI. If an Irken biology is what these measures authorize to command them and their secrets, then he had the tools on hand to give them just that- in an atrocity I like to call

the darker harvest.

Within this theory, there is not as much room to wonder exactly what became of Zim’s organic remains.

But where Dib fucked up was, for the second time, in his ignorance to the true nature of what he was even playing with. That was a mistake that even the mighty Elder Brains of Judgementia lost themselves to; How much more vulnerable was the weak, human mind? Though Zim can be devoured, he can never be digested. In that fact was born this aberration against nature, sanity, and humanity alike.

"Have you ever heard of insect politics? Neither have I. Insects… don't have politics. They're very… brutal. No compassion, no compromise. We can't trust the insect. I'd like to become the first… insect politician. Y'see, I'd like to, but… I'm afraid, uh… I'm saying… I'm saying I - I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it. But now the dream is over… and the insect is awake." - Seth Brundle, The Fly, 1986

By fusing what is half-mad and what is utterly mad, neither being was cured, only assimilated into the birth of a new madness. The madness of the creature that snickers behind the curtain in the Zimvoid. I rightfully fear that lonesome thing, but not I think as much as I pity him.

• Dejavu, or Re:Plagarism

One more thing about the Zimvoid arc I find curious is the way it makes you question more and more just how much of the aberration is actually still Dib, and how much of it is Zim's infection haunting him. He does nothing with all of his intellect, his resources, and his time in the void doing anything but surrounding himself in everything he claims he despises. He decries alien tyranny in one breath while lording over a homemade, cruel dictatorship in another. He calls for eradication of the very race who's technology and physiology he has thoroughly appropriated. He laments feeling unable to protect the Earth from the Armada alone, yet sneers literally through Irken teeth to insult humans as inferior and of no value to him any longer. Our Dib spent the whole damn show longing for the support of other people, but Zib pushes away potential allies in his arrogance. His broken timeline never became a Dibvoid instead because while only half of his mind can't stand Irkens, both of the souls inside him remember that they loathe and look down upon a Dib, deep inside.

The corruption goes as far as even subverting his own creativity. None of Zib's plans are wholly original. His anti-Irken weapon was already a concept blueprinted inside of that PAK before the merge. Our Dib has several times shown a propensity for some DIY ingenuity, sometimes dipping a toe into the supernatural. Zib entirely calls upon, scavenges and regurgitates Irken designs with a few modifications or upgrades. The Dib Virus, I think is his most uninspired creation yet, for it's original form was always something inside of Zim, even if the latter himself was not aware of the fact. Like all else, it is a weapon he has plundered, customized, and turned around on everyone else for his own selfish ends. This brief point I will end on one more reflection. The one kind of help Zim ever allowed at his side were the likes of GIR and his own creations. Unable to connect and cooperate with his peers and own kind, his ego preferred to be around those defective machines he related to- drones to be owned by him and always loyally at his beck and call. A slave to admire him unconditionally is the only companionship he's ever been willing to admit to desiring.

And what was Number 2's purpose again? What role exactly were the arena combatants auditioning for, when you think about it?

#iz #iz comics #zimvoid #dib membrane #iz zib #iz headcanons #invader zim headcanon #zib membrane #iz analysis #invader zim #iz comic spoilers #iz theory #scarlet talks about things #long post #absolute ramblings i mean holy crap #longass post

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inbarfink · 3 months

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Hmmm… If I were to make an Invader Zim-Adventure Time AU (as in the characters of IZ with the roles of the AT characters), what do you think would make the most sense?

Dib is the Finn Equivalent. Zim is the Ice King Equivalent, actually a human/non-Irken-Alien with the PAK encoded with Zim’s personality as the equivalent of the Magic Crown.

Zim is the Finn Equivalent. Dib is the Ice King Equivalent… or rather Zib is, with a defective PAK still being the Magic Crown counterpart.

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sidetable-drawer · 5 months

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Most fandoms misinterpreting characters completely drives me crazy and gets really annoying, but the one that legitimately makes me laugh is how there's quite a few members of the Invader Zim fandom who view Tallest Purple as "the nicer Tallest" or "the motherly one".

This is the same guy who had an Irken thrown out of the airlock for not remembering what Zim did during Operation Impending Doom I (not only that but the wrong guy was thrown out and Pur didn't care), had a smeet locked up for "knowing too much", and ordered the Comms Officer to blow up an ice cream truck for no reason. If anything, Purple might be even more violent than Red since he has absolutely no restraint whatsoever.

#actually pur might be even more of a loose canon than zim especially since he's in a higher position of power #invader zim #i'm pretty sure the 'purple's the nicer one' thing came from people getting him mixed up with pleakley #(and i can say from personal experience that his voice actor is a total sweetheart)#but yeah 'motherly purple'....actually just the thought of purple having to smeet-sit would only end in tragedy #he is the irken equivalent of one of those bratty spoiled teenagers on those stupid reality shows

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lumiidragon · 8 months

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I'd love to hear your head canons about Dib or Zim - how do you envision their futures?

-lounges back on my computer chair like some terrible evil villain or something-

Ok, so I'm gonna be the SUPER oddball out, but here's basically an AU my spouse and I have for the Dib and Zim future.

Dib is Zim's dad now. As Dib grew older, he realized that he's annoyingly attached to this horrible green turtle-bug and exposing him the old fashion way just isn't gonna run anymore. However, he can't let Satan's hamster run around on his own, so he devised a plan: Adopt the terrible toddler and just keep an eye on him more personally.

Dib gets into Science and even works with his dad, but he's a paranormal investigator on the side (the "real science" is just the bill-payer with the latter for soothing the soul). Due to Dib's surprising logical planning for his future, he's got money to throw and gets himself a pretty sweet deal of a house. Now it's time to get his, hopefully potty-trained child-monster.

So he tricks Zim: "Hey Zim, look at how all the kids at school have changed and grown up while you stay small and child-looking. Oh wow, people are sure gonna start getting suspicious. You're still 4-foot-a-bitch, living with your never-aging parents, and your dog should be decrepit by now. Hey, I got an idea. Live with me under the guise that you're my son and we'll just keep this little charade going, eh?"

-logically thinking alien noise and a lot of convincing later once he realizes how quickly the world is changing around the slow-aging irken- "Sure, you horrible mortgage-paying clown, I will accept these terms so I may be closer to destroying you and using you for my own evil Earth-controlling deeds! -classic Zim laugh-

Now that they're playing this father/son thing, Dib keeps Zim on a leash pretending that he's still doing his job (that is long overdue to be completed frankly and the Tallests really couldn't be bothered to care and have changed their number countless times but the little radioactive roach still gets it somehow), and Zim gets to play 'I Am Indeed An Invader' while also getting to live a human childhood over again.

Dib's grown fond of his broccoli son and really does tend to him as his own child, but also has to make sure Zim is still being enriched like a zoo animal by still doing their "Zim and Dib battles and fights" every now and then before going out for ice cream because "oh shit Zim, you actually passed that multiplication test this time."

Dib's hair handlebar is trademark and he refuses to change it while Zim thinks his new disguise is so unique and unrecognizable. Hey, it works for both.

#invader zim #zim #dib #//Au? Headcanon? I dunno. Dad Dib time//

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draidachiart · 9 months

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Zab walks in on Gir calling the tallest (as gir does every night) and joins gir in eating a ice cream tacos incorrectly. (I head cannon that Zab doesn't know irken well enough to keep up on any conversation and that he can barely read it) I love your stories so much, had to draw fan art!!

MY GOD WHAT A BEAUTY THIS FACE IS JUST

SOOO ZAB AAAAAAAAAAA💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

And yes, Zab didnt know speak irk, but yknow the pak does everything except teach Zab how to read irk (?) Zim is sad bcs of that(???)

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tabacat · 1 year

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Your Support(ZADR) (Angst)

Dib didn’t initially remember when he first took notice of Zim’s quietness but it’s apparent how much he’s changed through middle school to high school. He takes note to confront him on why he refuses to interact with anyone anymore, not even for his schemes. Dib follows Zim to his base, where he sees through the window that he’s standing on a chair, nearly about to hang himself.

“HOLY SHIT”

Dib runs into the house, immediately holding Zim’s legs to prevent him from falling. Zim was shouting at his robot companion when Dib entered, who was crying aggressively

'NOOO! MASTER! Y-YOU- NO!'

"I-"

Zim turned to Dib, grimacing at him

"Get out. G-Get out of my base!" Zim was horribly pale, in fact, he looked terrible with large bags under his eyes.

“NO, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING ZIM??”

he clings tightly onto Zim, preventing him from making a move to harm himself

“YOU CANT JUST FUCKING DO THIS TO US!”

"Us!? Who is us? To your research? I-it- it certainly looks like what you think it is but it is.. it is not! Get off, Zim is just preparing a trap for you.. just- god. REMOVE YOURSELF FROM MY HOUSE DIB MEMBRANE."

Gir had calmed down a bit, dismantling the rope while Dib had him busy

“I’m not stupid you green muck! Why are you doing this?”

Dib slowly lowers Zim to the floor, where he stands over the boy with a significant height. Zim tossed Dib aside, pulled on a blue hoodie, and rode the hood up attempting to walk out of the base

"Computer. Remove the intruder."

Dib looks around, watching the coils of metal unveil from the ceiling aiming around him, before Zim could make too much distance from him, Dib tackles him. Launching the both of them into another room

“YOU'RE NOT GOING TO JUST LEAVE ME IN THE DARK ABOUT THIS”

Zim grunted, his weak stature hitting the hard flooring with a just as weak thud

"You don't know half of what it is like to be a failure Irken invader. I disappoint my planet. MY RACE. You are... just a boy! GIR! REMOVE HIM FROM ME!"

'nuh uh'

“Why is your entire meaning to a life centered around taking over this planet, and disappointing those who didn’t seem to care about you? Why is it so important!” Dib shouts in close proximity but tries to stay collected.

"BECAUSE IT IS WHAT I AM DESIGNED FOR. WITHOUT THAT PURPOSE THERE IS NOTHING TO THE LIFE OF AN IRKEN! NOT LIKE A FILTHY HUMAN WOULD UNDERSTAND!" he hissed at him, holding the hoodie tightly to himself

"SURE YOU'RE AN OUTCAST, BUT AT LEAST YOU CAN STILL DEFINE YOUR PURPOSE." Zim cries

“STOP OSTRACIZING YOURSELF, HUMANS WERE BUILT TO SCAVENGE AND REPOPULATE BUT THAT DOESN’T GIVE YOU AN ENTIRE MEANING.” Dib holds his temples with his hand, trying to process what’s happening at that moment

“You’re more than that Zim”

He smirked at Dib and rolled his eyes

"Ostracizing myself. You are funny. I'd laugh but I wish to not pity the pitier."

Zim punched Dib square in the jaw and flung him off.

"Was it not you that told me how hideous my skin is? That I am a freak alien? I cannot think of one real friend of Zim, not even Gir, he is forced to love his master. Not even Keef I'd say. Just an unhealthy obsession!"

Quickly Dib gets up, shaking off the hit, holding where Zim’s fist made an impact

“look, I’m sorry Zim, I was a kid, I was an idiot and I didn’t know how else to react.”

Dib notices Zim’s hoodie (that was originally his) had shifted up towards his elbow. Revealing rows of purple along his skin. Dib grabs Zim’s wrist, holding it up in view

“What the hell is this.”

Zim went to pull his wrist away but found it quite painful when Dib's grasp rubbed against it

"nh! R-Release me. Release my arm this instant. I will not hesitate to hit you again! Y-Your reaction was fine- how is your jaw? Shall I get ice? C-Computer! Fetch me some ice to sort out the punch I landed on the Dib-Stinks jaw!"

He feverishly attempted to change the subject. The burn marks and blisters from the water he ran over his skin mixed with lines of dark green scabs and lines of fresh purple. Many appeared to not be in good condition, likely infected.

"Yes. Here, this is your hoodie- you may have this back. My apologies for stealing it!"

Dib stares in shock at the condition of his friend’s skin. After snapping out of his daze, somehow with an ice pack in his hand. Dib faces Zim, who is sitting across from him on their kitchen floor. His claws outreached holding the hoodie.

“No, keep it.”

he pushes his hands towards the alien, then grabs his hand softly pulling up the sleeve. Tracing each abrasion with a gentle touch. He looks up into Zim’s eyes and rests his head on the back of his hand

“Zim, please, talk to me”

He began to sweat, his antennae flattening against his head

"I-I am fine Dib thing! Just banged up, yes. No worse than the bologna incident.. o-or the rain incident! It just takes a day to heal over! Really!"

He smiled nervously, it was off-putting in a way. It was an inhumane smile, definitely a mimicry of one. His eyes stayed void of emotion. it was honestly disturbing.

"Haha! Please, dear friend- Dib thing! let's uh- let's play a video game? Haha..?"

Dib didn’t know what to do, it’s not like he could magically fix the boy from his problems, he just wanted to help him

“I’m not letting you deter me from this. I know you can heal quickly but that doesn’t stop me from knowing what you did”

He scoots closer to Zim, putting the messily folded hoodie onto the green boy.

“You don’t deserve this Zim”

Zim broke into tears, dropping the hoodie to the floor and crumpling with it. He wailed and clawed at the floor, panting and gagging on his tears, nearly throwing up

"OH BUT ZIM DOES. HE DESERVES IT ALL. EVERYONE ELSE SAYS SO. THERE ARE SO MANY WHO TELL ZIM HE IS A FREAK AND THAT HE SHOULD JUST KILL HIMSELF. THEY'RE RIGHT. OH, THEY'RE RIGHT. I'M EVEN AN IRKEN FREAK! I CAN'T DO ANYTHING NORMAL!"

The floor scuffed easily, his claws dug out holes in the tile floor- yikes.

Dib’s heart felt like it shattered, seeing someone he loved dearly fall into such a deep pit, it felt like he had been pierced in the chest. He lays next to Zim as he cries. Stroking the fake hair atop his head

“You don’t need to be normal Zim, kids are cruel, the earth is cruel. You’re so smart and no one should be subjected to the ridicule of those assholes at the school or on your planet” he pauses “I hate to see you like this….you mean too much to me, Zim…”

Zim shook his head, still curled into a ball on the floor

"You are just saying words. We are enemies."

“Zim…”

he reaches out to him, pulling him up softly so he can look into his eyes

“I….I love you okay.”

he looks away, only to turn back and stare directly into Zim’s eyes

“I love the way you talk, how you insult me, emphasize your words, the way we banter like an old married couple. You make me feel….whole. Without you, things seem so empty. I need you here with me Zim.”

He pauses. Contemplating. He mutters under his breath

“Fuck.”

Hot wet tears fall from Dib’s face, looking down the droplets pattering on the thick lenses of his glasses

“I need you, Zim”

Zim removed the glasses from Dib's face gently, wiping them off with his gloves

"You do not need Zim. I appreciate it greatly, but no one NEEDS Zim."

He smiled softly and looked up, putting the glasses back on Dib

"You don't love Zim, you don't mean it. You should not do that to yourself."

“You idiot.”

Without a second thought, he leans in, kissing Zim softly. More tears flow down the olive-colored skin tainted with acne. His hand raised to rest on Zim’s green cheek. Realizing what he had done. He quickly pulled away. Shocked by his own actions.

“Oh my god, shit, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to-“

Zim laughed quietly, putting a hand on Dib's shoulder

"Dib-thing. You do not have to pretend. My corpse is still useful for research. There is no way you could truly want this. Not with Zim."

He shook his head, cocking it to the side, his wig falling off

"We are not compatible. I will not lie, I've felt these feelings, yes, but you will ruin your life human."

“God trust me Zim if I didn’t truly feel this way. I would’ve already been gone. I mean from the bottom of my human heart, you mean something to me, and I will be with you to integrate that into your thick alien skull.”

Dib takes the wig, adjusting it to Zim’s head

“I will continue to keep saying so until my life ends”

Zim scoffed, resting his head against Dib's neck

"You scare Zim. You are such a strange human. Are all humans with big heads so stupid? I thought the bigger the brain the smarter!"

he patted Dib's forehead

"Zim- no, I love you Dib-Thingy."

#Then they fuck and then eat eachothers ass and then kiss and uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh yeah #invader zim dib #invader zim fanfiction #invader zim zadr #invader zim #invader zim fandom #zadr fanfiction #zadr au #space invaders #zim x dib #dib x zim #dib membrane #zim

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random-iz-stuff · 2 years

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I'm curious to know your opinion on the theory that Irkens were a prey species before making contact with the Control Brains. It's one of my favorite theories, but I'm always curious to know if other people find it far-fetched.

I believe in this theory as well. I just like it.

My headcanon regarding ancient irkens is that they were a prey species for most of their history up until the irken equivalent of the Iron Age.

Irken history headcanons under the cut.

Ancient Irk was an interesting location. The surface of the planet was consistently colder than the average temperatures on earth, but wasn’t quite cold enough to freeze water most of the time. I’d say the average temperature constantly hovered around 5 degrees Celsius (for comparison, Earth’s average temperature is 13.9 degrees Celsius, and 0 degrees Celsius is where water freezes). Cold and difficult to survive, but not impossible. Irk also had seasons, with irk winters dipping far below freezing.

But under the surface of Irk is where things get really interesting. Ancient Irk had absolutely MASSIVE cave systems stretching all across the planet. Unlike the cold surface, these caves were mostly warm, especially in the deeper ones that are further away from the cold surface. You practically had a whole different world down there. These caves are where irkens originated from.

Irkens looked mostly the same back then, but had one major difference to modern irkens (besides the more primitive looks):

They had wings.

Ancient irkens had dragonfly-like wings that they used for traversing the expansive cave systems that they lived in, along with using them to escape predators. And boy did ancient irkens have predators.

Ancient Irkens regularly had to deal with predators of all kinds. One creature that modern irken historians discovered was a gigantic creature that looked almost identical to Earth Hamsters. These creatures lived on the cold surface of Irk, and would travel into the cave systems underneath the planet when winter rolled around. Ancient Irkens were so frequently preyed upon by these things that Modern Irkens still have an instinctual fear of them, despite the fact that they went extinct countless years ago. Zim’s fear of Peepi is an example of that instinctual fear. It’s not just Zim being Zim. He sees a hamster and his brain immediately starts yelling at him to get as far away from the predator as possible. Any irken would fear that same primal fear in that situation.

Modern Irkens actually have a lot of deep down primal fears that come from their origins as prey. It’s just that all of the creatures that cause that primal fear are long extinct. But as seen with Peepi, animals that look similar enough can still cause this instinctual fear.

This isn’t to say that Ancient Irkens were at the bottom of the food chain however. Irkens are omnivorous, and even though they survive off of nothing but carbohydrates (sugars, sugar substitutes, flours, starches and honey) now, back then Ancient Irkens had a much more varied diet, eating anything they could gather or catch.

Pretty much the entire Irken Stone Age was spent underneath the planet’s surface, being preyed upon by various creatures. But that all changed at near the end, as Irk went through a massive change.

That change was a massive heat wave lasting for several thousand years. Think “the earth ice age, but reversed”. The planet’s temperature soared to never before seen temperatures and winter completely disappeared, resulting in several large changes all across the planet.

The first big change was the extinction of many species, especially the creatures that lived on the planet’s surface. The sudden switch from cold temperatures to warm temperatures resulted in the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of different species that simply weren’t built to handle the heat. This included a large amount of predators, along with almost all of Irk’s ancient megafauna.

The second big change was to the entire planet’s underground. It started heating up fast. The underground was already the warmest place on Irk and retained heat extremely well, so the sudden increase in temperature essentially made the giant cave systems into giant ovens. Many creatures died out from the heat, especially larger predators. This sudden increase in heat is also what got Ancient Irkens to the surface, as tribes of them migrated to the surface to escape from the heat of the caves. It was still hot on the surface, but it was cooler than the caves.

When Irkens officially started living on the surface, a turning point considered to be the beginning of the irken Bronze Age, they still weren’t done with being preyed upon. Despite the extinction of many different predators, irkens were still far from the top of the food chain, and predators that were able to survive the ongoing heat wave still preyed upon irkens, with irkens unable to do much to consistently kill threatening creatures. Their primitive weapons could kill a few smaller predators, but were ineffective against larger threats, especially the hamster-like creatures mentioned before, as they survived the heat wave with relative ease and were now even more common than before since irkens were now living on the surface, where these things spend most of their lives.

Not all Irkens left the caves when it started getting hot however, and the many that stayed had similar experiences, but the biggest threat was heat instead of hamster-creatures. Still a hard existence though.

The Irken Bronze Age was mostly spent like this. Irkens were prey, but they had basic metal weapons and could defend themselves now. They were still preyed upon, but were slowly becoming harder to hunt. The construction of walled cities also made things harder, especially since these walls often had no doors or surface level entrances, as the Winged Irkens of old could just fly over the wall.

Near the end of the Irken Bronze Age came the end of the endless heat wave. The planet started cooling down to its usual 5-ish degree Celsius average temperatures, the underground started cooling down, all that. This resulted in the extinction of even more creatures, which had become accustomed to the higher temperatures and were taken by surprise when the temperature started dropping.

The beginning of the Irken Iron Age was the turning point for the entire Irken species. The invention of stronger tools and weapons made from stronger materials made Irkens finally able to take the fight to the predators. The Iron Age also marks when armour became widely used by irkens, made of thin metal plates that protect the wearer while also not making them too heavy to fly.

All these advancements meant that Irkens could now semi-consistently kill much larger predators, a fact that Ancient Irkens around the world used to their best ability. The Iron Age is known for the hunting of large creatures, with a large majority of the things found from that time period depicting mighty irkens hunting down and killing monsters of all shapes and sizes. It took a while, but Irkens eventually managed to get themselves to the top of the food chain, driving many of their former predators to extinction, including the hamster-beasts.

However, irkens were still hunted by a few particularly dangerous creatures. Creatures that sat at the absolute top of the food chain until they were eventually finally driven to extinction thousands of years later when things were finally invented that made irkens strong enough to challenge them, mainly the invention of gunpowder.

#invader zim #headcanons #asks #irken history #I wanted to make a whole post about the history of irk but it slipped from my mind and I never did it #so that’s where all these headcanons come from

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explosions-and-chill · 2 years

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So there is a reason I sometimes need to mask space signals. Yes, it's safer to know what's coming but I also wanted to mask this download. It's taken so long only so no one knows what I got.

Remember, don't tattle tumblr

#ic zes #its an old Irken recerch paper #this took weeks to get #IZ Ask Community

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messinwitheddie · 4 months

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How long did Dib get to live? How did he die? What did Zim do with the rest of his life besides watching Dib’s children grow? What odd jobs did he take to pass the time? Is he still in touch with Gir?

Whatever happened to Sizz-lor?

Dib lives an abnormally long lifetime because of the human compatible PAK he, Zim and Dipper designed. Not a long life by Irken standards, but a very long one by human standards. His death was brought on by old age, dementia and damage from many decades of smoking cigarettes (he attempted to quit several times, but it never stuck).

His career as a super scientist was successful even if it wasn't his passion. Dib continued to study the paranormal on earth as well as join Zim on several space adventures before his final hour.

Dib was never able to convince his "legitimate/ real science" colleagues that the paranormal and supernatural are legitimate fields of study, but he was respected among the younger generations of paranormal investigators/ enthusiasts.

Dib never opened an official school for paranormal studies, but with Dipper's help/ support they converted the Mystery Shack into a lecture hall on paranormal studies.

As for Zim, he also kept very busy. He never officially joined the resisty, but provided aid whenever he could. He smuggled lots of snacks, weapons/ tech and provisions for the resisty.

He spent a great deal of time and effort illegally downgrading PAKs for Irkens seeking to leave the empire as well as collecting "forbidden" data from set PAKs for future resistance efforts.

He helped construct a power grid for Mem's hive. He helped Gir open a speak easy cantina in Mem's hive as well. He upgraded Mini Moose and gave him to the resisty to build up their defenses. [Mini Moose was cool with this, as he was originally built from Vortian tech.]

Zim explored space for many years, hiding from the gaze of the control brains; stealing ships, tech and weapins. He also sold a great deal of set stolen tech.

He started a band, let the fame go to his head, got kicked out of the band. He enjoyed the company of a rotating list of lovers. He perfected his casserole recipe. Yeah. Zim lived life for sure.

Sizz-Lorr took Gir on as his apprentice and helped him become a Frylord in his own right. Sizz-Lorr has always been very vocal about service drone rights and the importance of stable snacking systems; which put him on this ice with the control brains for decades; part of the reason why Shloogor's is understaffed so often.

Tallest Purple/ the red brain does eventually agree to send Sizz-Lorr more help. When the control brains complete their big upgrade, however, many of the improvements Sizz-Lorr and the other frylords demand are denied. Investigations against him suggest Sizz-Lorr has been low key assisting the resisty and conquered labor forces for decades. Sizz-Lorr is put under strict observation and is eventually accused of conspiring against the empire and is imprisoned.

Gir is devastated by this, radicalizing him even more than he originally was...

So much I'm glossing over here. Wish I had time to go into depth, but this post could potentially be a novel long if I keep rambling.

#invader zim #18-years-later #distant future #au #dib #gir #minimoose #Sizz-Lorr

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ms-scarletwings · 9 months

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A Speculative Analysis About Irkens No One Asked For: Part I

Dem green fellas. Them lil guys, they’re an interesting pack of critters, aren’t they?

I used to really fixate on them back in middle and high school, stronger than everyone else seemed to be on the spazz in the dog costume. Jhonen Vasquez’s worldbuilding has always towed a very fine line between nonsensically ridiculous and surprisingly logistical, and this balance is typified in everything we know, and can infer, about these bug-eyed imperialists at the center of everything Invader Zim. So, let’s infer, and take a crack at it since no one’s stopping us anyway- More specifically, some thoughts and ponderings I had about how they “tick” as a fully realized society, not just a sci-fi monster..

A Homeworld Obscured

Now, to really understand the history and “deal” of any civilization, or any animal, usually you would turn to their environment first to give you some handy clues and context.

Small problem, though: We actually don’t get much in the way of direct, explicit showing or explanations about Irk itself when it comes to the show. This makes some sense, given that the whole of what they do worth showing (and the most notable members of their kind) exists almost entirely off-world. So instead, we mostly find out more about Irk from what Invader Zim does tell us about its natives. As far as confirmed canon goes, we know that Irk’s atmosphere appears red, its surface is entirely and densely urbanized, and it’s long been depicted in starmaps with a set of Saturn-like rings.

This last fact is probably the most interesting, because planetary rings are usually something we, in our own little solar system, would only associate with massive, gaseous worlds, not terrestrial ones. What These rings are made of is really anyone’s guess- could be ancient debris from natural satellites, Water-ice particles, maybe even some form of artificial defense network put into orbit by the Irkens themselves. If they aren’t artificially created, this would suggest that Irk has quite a strong gravitational field- greater than that of any of our neighborhood’s rocky planets. This is the common theory I personally like to subscribe to, because it would also go hand and hand with explaining why the average height of the irken race is so much shorter compared to that of an adult human. It fits neatly into the “why” question for the sort of athletic skill and agility we’ve seen invaders able to demonstrate on Earth, too, for otherwise being of meek physical prowess. It even adds some credible context for why the very achievement of growing to a more substaintial height is both uncommon and associated with extreme survival fitness to them.

A Fun fact that’s about to be relevant: “Rayleigh scattering” is the term given to when light wavelengths become shifted and scattered through an atmosphere medium. Long story short, it’s the reason our sky has color to it during the day. Stay with me on this.

I’ve also seen some people take a go at the red-looking surface, guessing a different gas makeup than the elements on earth responsible for our blue skies. I’m gonna go against the grain here, and actually contest that. I think that Irk’s atmosphere is coincidentally extremely similar to Earth’s. We know well enough that they both have a similar composition of gases breathable to both societies, given that Zim, Skoodge, and Tak all seemed pretty comfortable without some form of assistance on the same dirtball as humanity. Instead, I propose that Irk’s magenta skies are actually the symptom of heavy pollution. Sunsets and sunrises in the real world are known to make the sky appear more reddish-orange, even pink, as is. Usually, Rayleigh scattering has the light From the sun appear bluish in full midday, but during low sun, the rays are coming at an angle making them have to travel farther before reaching us, so you have already stretched light waves getting the same treatment from the air and, well, a higher frequency blue turns down to the lower end of the spectrum, red and yellows.

And wouldn’t you know, air pollution can actually do the same thing. THIS is why there's a scary ass orange haze known to accompany the presence of massive forest fires and volcanic eruptions. Earth’s most polluted cities even experience longer and redder sunsets for the same reason.

Left: Image of a lilac sky over a Chinese city experiencing heavy smog levels Right: Intense red haze spotted over towns in Indonesia in the wake of rampant rainforest fires

On Earth, Zim stared directly into the midday sun without hesitation, nor concern that it would literally blind him. I think the planet hue and this is plenty enough to guess the likely case that Irk’s surface probably doesn’t get a lot of direct sun on an average day as is, and the sheer amount of unbroken cityscape that covers the homeworld would be the more obvious suspect than just having a more distant star from them. If they overcrowded to the point of their expansion, why build their civilization deeper into the ground, instead of up? Maybe there's actually a good reason or two they don’t raise their young topside.

A Psychology Molded for Domination

As well, I want to chirp about real world space again for a second. So, anyone up to the buzz in geek circles and aware of the math on the matter probably got the memo: humanity is almost matter-of-fact certainly not alone in this sandbox of a universe (or at the very least, we won’t always be alone). Like, about as certainly as we were about Black holes’ existence before we up and observed the real thing. And while it’s probably not going to happen in any of our lifetimes, sci-fi and media generally have been trying to take a crack for years at what the theoretical first contact with an alien civilization is going to look like.

And I’m gonna go ahead and say it,

As “cliche” and Hollywood as the conquering little green/grey dudes trope might have become… it’s actually not a wild take after all. The little and green thing, that’s creative liberty, but the part about them being hostile and something we may not actually even WANT to be aware of our existence? That’s an idea that even the smarty pants experts have been fearing the realistic odds of, even including the late Stephen Hawking .

The Evolution of intelligent life is a hard thing to really pin down and predict, given that we literally only have the one example to study. Under the right conditions, what reason would another advanced species NOT have to be equally as expanding, as exploitative of its resources, self-destructively short-sighted, and as supremacist as humans have already demonstrated themselves to be capable of? There is a lot of very interesting literature that suggests BOTH empathy/altruism and or aggression/tribalism to be (at least in the short term) very rewarding characteristics for an intelligent social species to develop.

And that’s the thing about the behavior of the Irken Armada I think has always been fascinating. Their drive to be the biggest definitionally invasive species across the cosmos is framed exactly as irrational, bumbling, and pointless as it deserves to be; however, is it not just the extended conclusion of every empire that has existed here on Earth, if only it had survived long enough to achieve the technology of Irk? And yet, it’s reminiscent, like the rest of their design, to the far from sapient, yet very real world creatures they appear to be most inspired by: hive and colony building arthropods. Whether the next point I'm about to touch on should be seen as a rejection of that resemblance, or further elaboration of it is anyone's to answer.

Transhumanism, or.. Transirkenism, in this case?

Like the specifics of what Irk really looks like and how it realistically works, a bunch about the aliens’ physical biology is left to scattered tidbits to ponder and piece together into a bigger picture. A few of those tidbits are as follows, drip-fed to us over the course of aired and scripted but never released episodes:

+ From the mouth of Vasquez himself, it has been confirmed that Irkens lack any form of reproductive organs. Instead, they rely on industrialized facilities to grow and produce them in a factory sense.

+ Yet curiously, they still demonstrate something akin to sexual dimorphism, or at least the cultural existence of masculine/feminine genders, where females are aesthetically set apart by the presence of curled antennae, eyelashes, and higher voices.

+ Irken lifespans are able to stretch far past that of an average human’s (Zim himself is cited to be around 2 centuries old in earth years).

+ Invader class soldiers have been implanted with surgical upgrades to their eyes.

+ Every Irken is fitted with a PAK that serves a wide array of utility and life-sustaining functions for its owner. These units are physically and neurologically connected into an Irken’s spine from “birth” and contain a cybernetic backup of an individual’s personality, assigned occupational programming, and memories.

That’s not close to a complete list by any means, but it’s got the gist of what I want to dwell on most, starting with the last bit; because the PAK isn’t done true justice in one statement. It is not an extra addition the way a prosthetic enhancement is, and it is not a tool the way armor and weapons are. It is literally analogous to a vital organ to these aliens, and they are shown to die within 10 minutes of being forcefully detached from their own.

The degree to which Irken bodies and minds rely on this technology, and how seamlessly they are integrated into it, ALONG with their completely artificial life cycle all directly points to the fact that their civilization has advanced into a cyborg-like stage of evolution. It may even be on track to reach a post-organical peak in due time, phasing out more and more of their “vestigial” and feeble meatsuits until they’ve become a true drone army. And that actually begs some huge questions now that we realize we will never know how much of the Irken anatomy was ever originally a natural feature. An Irken’s own brain practically comes secondary to the superior efficiency of the supercomputer on their back, capable of literally holding their own essence and being in the form of code. A code that can preserve the “self” even in the event of meatbody failure, being uploaded post-mortem into the Control Brains’ collective data and repurposed for a future generation of workers. It absolutely would stand to reason that the species has continued this biological self-tampering to other heights- extending their lifespans, incorporating untold amount of mechanical upgrades into their bodies, and maybe even genetically engineering their smeets to be so compatible with this technology. The control brains themselves are a mesmerizing reflection of this change over time- the result of an evident shift long ago from technology serving them, to them serving the directives of computers. When you really pay attention to the control brains’ role in the series, it comes clear to you who (or what) is really in charge of their society. The Tallest still maintain their symbolic/cultural importance to the Irkens, but outside of their part in spearheading the active intergalactic invasion, they ultimately are figureheads when it comes to actually running the homeworld and ruling the lives of Irk’s inhabitants. If I had to bet money, I would say the Brains may even have the ability to choose and predetermine the next Tallest when a replacement is needed. But what does that make the Tallest? A meaningless title and transformation, chosen arbitrarily by the AI overlords? Well, I don’t think so, actually… but maybe that, and more on the “meaty” morphology of their race is all a tangent fit for another day and post ;)

#invader zim #irkens #long post #sci fi #iz fandom #scarlet talks about things #oh boy here i go hyperfixating again

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chances-r-high · 1 year

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It’s like he’s drowning without any water surrounding him.

He knows he’s in the middle of a panic attack. He knows he’s supposed to breath and count and ground himself but he can’t. He fucking can’t. He’s in a storm, being thrown back and forth among the waves of a rowdy sea. He’s repeatedly being punched in the chest. He can’t help that if he just claws his skin off that will fix everything.

He knows mind control. He’s seen it. He hates it. He doesn’t know if this is it, but it feels the same. His dad was talking to him but at the same time he was a million miles away.

His throat is closing up so tightly he could almost think he was having an allergic reaction. If he could even think.

Iris has had to adapt to many things since moving in with Addie and Chance. There’s the massive animals that seem insistent on give him their undivided attention. There’s Chance’s snarky remarks that both make him want to punch the High Chancellor in the face or do...something else. There’s also just the challenges that come with moving in with people, even if one of them is his beautiful best friend and the other is a snarky little shit with a grin that makes Iris’ spooch flip.

He said none of that out loud. Therefore no one can prove it.

Iris is coming back from a training session when he walked into the living quarters. He’d picked up some ice cream and popcorn, hoping to coax his workaholic roommates into taking a break for a movie night. Honestly, he thought his work/life balance needed help, but it didn’t compare to Addie’s many sleepless nights and Chance always being on call. He can’t help the huff that escapes him. He should be working just as hard as them, yet the position he’d been preparing for his whole life has been ripped away from him.

When he comes in, he nearly topples over and drops all the snacks on the floor, startled by the sight he finds. He manages to place the snacks on the nearby dresser before dashing over to a clearly distraught Chance.

“Chance? Can you hear me?” He asks, trying to tame the panic threatening to rise in his voice. “Come on, you gotta breathe. You’ll pass out if you don’t breathe.”

When he doesn’t get any response, he considers calling Addie, but what would that help? Then Addie would just be stressed out trying to ground her boyfriend.

Excuse him, fiance.

It’s still weird to think about...

Iris swallows thickly and takes a deep breath before scooting a little closer. He’s not sure why, but his instinct is to pull Chance into him. To hold him. Protect him. It sounds ridiculous but he can’t help his instincts. He’s only Irken.

He just chooses not to analyze what his instincts mean for the time being.

While he feels awkward pulling Chance into his arms, Chance gravitates right into it, practically clinging to Iris like if he let’s go the future Tallest could just fly away. Iris unsuccessfully tries to push down the sudden flush in his cheeks. It is definitely not the time for this.

“Hey, you’re okay,” Iris tells him, his voice probably the softest it’s ever been. The feeling of awkwardness is still very present, but it’s getting easier to ignore. “I’ve got you, Chance. You’re safe. I promise it will be okay.”

Chance can barely hear him, can hardly comprehend what is happening. All he knows is that someone is holding him. They feel strong...and smooth... They smell sweet with hints of sweat and dirt. He can’t figure out who it is right now but he knows that they’re safe. He’s safe with them.

Iris’s mouth becomes a thin line. He hates feeling helpless. He hates feeling like he’s failing someone. It makes him frustrated at himself, but then he has to remind himself that this isn’t about him it’s about Chance but how can he possibly help? He’s as useless as he was when his timeline was wiped out.

Okay. No. He can’t spiral right now. He can’t leave Chance.

His mind races until he lands on an idea. If he could think straight, he wouldn’t even consider something so ridiculous but it’s all he can think off. He remembered when he was little and would have nightmares and how his dad would sing him old Irken folk songs. He can’t remember any of those, however.

“Darkening skies, Coming this way. Falling behind. Into nothing. But if you lead, I will follow a thousand miles away. I will be your Apollo, alone in outer space.”

When Chance’s choking sobs begin to calm down even the slightest, Iris latches onto it, shoving every nerve down like a hydraulic press. “Satellite, shine on me tonight. I will be your gravity. I will stay and never leave. My satellite, are you here tonight? Shine your light and set me free. Take the darkness out of me. Shine on me.”

Chance isn’t sure what he notices first, the lovely tenor floating through the air and into his ears, or the pleasant vibration coming from the person producing such nice noise. He can’t make out words at first, just melody. It reminds him of how Leera would sing to him as a child when he had a nightmare. He clings harder to the figure that’s singing and holding him, desperate to ensure that they don’t leave him.

After several moments he’s able to make out the words...and then the voice...and then he’s fixated on two brilliant sapphires staring down at him.

“...Iris?”

Iris can’t restrain the sigh of relief. “Yeah. It’s me. I’m right here.”

Chance continues to stare up at him, a little dumbfounded. He’s thought about this moment for a long time, being in Iris’ arms. It would be an accident of sorts, he would say something bratty, Iris would retort, they would go back and forth until they were suddenly both kissing. This was not the way Chance had envisioned this moment at all, and he couldn’t bring himself to steer it that way.

He sniffles, reaching up to rub his eyes. “...Sorry.”

Iris squints one his eyes at Chance - his way of raising a brow. “Why are you apologizing?”

Chance shakes his head. Why did he apologize? It felt so natural to say in the moment, “I don’t know.”

Iris nods. “It’s okay. You don’t have to be sorry. Do you...want to talk about it?”

When Chance shakes his head this time it’s far more furious. “Not...not right now.” He doesn’t know when...or if...

“Fair enough,” Iris replied. He goes to pull away from Chance only to find him clinging to him again. Even after discovering that Chance isn’t quite completely human, it still surprises him how strong the High Chancellor can be. “What is it?”

“Don’t leave,” Chance says. His voice is desperate, and he sounds like he will break again if Iris doesn’t acquiesce. “Don’t let me go. Not yet. Please?”

Iris’ insides tie themselve in all kinds of knots at those words, at the pleading looking in those icy blue eyes. How can he possibly say no to that? “Alright. I’ve got you. I’ll stay here as long as you need.”

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