#and i think it would be more satisfying to see zim find a parental figure that actually gives him positive attention

[nichiperi]

Ya know, I've been seeing a lot of stuff for the hc of Zim and Dib as found family lately, and something about it was actually bugging me a bit. Like, I really like zade, zadf, and zadr, and I just couldn't understand why I couldn't really get behind zads.

And then I realized it's ENTIRELY because of Professor Membrane.

I do not like the idea of Zim being absorbed into the Membrane family dynamic, because in the show (the IZ source I'm most familiar with) Professor Membrane is a really shitty parent, and there is nothing satisfying to me about Zim just hanging out at that house with Dib and Gaz, adding another sibling to an already fairly miserable household situation. Sure, they can support each other. But what is the point of keeping them stifled in that environment if Membrane is not present and being a parent?

BUT, consider the alternative: Dib and Gaz saying 'fuck this shit I'm out', and spending more time with Zim at his base. Eventually they just go off on space adventures or something because why not? Found family in space! No shitty dad! Maybe if you reeeeally want a parental figure, you could throw in a dash of the dad-nar hc in there for some extra spice. And THEN you could have Zim deal with his feelings about HIS 'parental' figures. If Lard Nar starts being a real dad to this group of ragamuffins, how does that reframe the way Zim feels about the Tallest? How does Dib feel about the fact that an alien could (most likely) be a better dad than his own father? How do the two of them react to getting positive attention they've never received from a parental figure before?

And when I started thinking of it that way, I saw the potential. I still don't think it's my favorite. I think I definitely enjoy more room for flexibility and ambiguity with Zim and Dib, and making them view each other as siblings almost boxes them into that role a bit. But I can see the potential for a really interesting story there!

Provided Membrane is out of the picture.

[tinyinvadr]

Next chapter’s up!

Ch. 1

The Lone Lumin

Chapter 2

I was sent to the guidance office today.

I know attempting to strangle a classmate is against the skool rules, but I figured that didn’t apply in the case of an alien threat. Dib even looked a little shocked when he saw me grab Zim by the throat.

There wasn’t much else to do but sit through a lecture from the guidance counselor. Thankfully, it didn’t go on for too long. She seemed a little nervous, and she did mention that she’s new to the skool staff ever since the previous counselor went missing without a trace.

I’m also lucky she was so nervous that she forgot to ask me for my parents’ contact information. That’s one setback I didn’t account for. The skool kind of just accepted me the day I showed up, but I don’t really have a cover story outside of skool.

I don’t see much purpose in living in a human house. It would be more convincing, sure, but my home is meant to be my private space where I don’t have to pretend to be human. It’s easier to just live in my ship.

After the skool closes, I sneak out the back door and park behind the dumpster. I just make sure to set my alarm early so I can move before anyone sees me there. It’s not ideal, it’s cold and it smells really bad, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it. I’ve been through much worse, after all.

Anyway, I ran into Dib after leaving the guidance office.

“Uh… what was that back there? I mean, I get what you were trying to do, but don’t you think it’s a little too direct?”

I shrugged. “I didn’t think I’d get in trouble. I only did what anyone would do if they saw one of those hideous Irkens. But everyone here’s too oblivious.”

Dib sighed. “Tell me about it. I think you’re the only person who isn’t…” He trailed off, lost in thought.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

He looked like he was hesitant to speak, so I took a few steps back.

“Actually, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you. For the past couple days, I don’t know if it’s all in my head, or if this is just a really common thing for me for some reason, but I don’t think you’ve been completely honest with me.”

My heart skipped a beat. No. Not again. How did he figure it out so fast? Where did I slip up?

“Bek… I don’t think you’re a bad person, but my track record with people isn’t great. If you’ve been humoring me to spare my feelings, you wouldn’t be the first. But you don’t need to go this far with it. It’s okay, I can deal with this on my own. You don’t have to pretend to care about something just because you feel bad for me.”

Huh. He was way off. Good for me, but also a bit concerning.

“I’m not pretending. I really do wanna help you stop him. I don’t really know what happened to you in the past, but I do know that this is important to me, and it seems important to you, too. I’m not faking anything.”

For a second, it seemed like he was satisfied with that response, but his expression quickly became skeptical.

“Then why does it still feel like you are?”

Dib approached me, and I backed up until I was up against the wall of lockers behind me. He was looking me right in the eyes, almost as if he could see me through my ship’s cover. But that was impossible.

“Sometimes, I feel like I can see something in your eyes, and I don’t know what it is. You seem genuine, but you’re still lying. Why?”

Never mind, he was close. WAY too close.

“Are you-?”

Before he could get the question out, the bell rang, and a stampede of students came rushing through the hall, shoving him out of my way. During the chaos, I made my escape through the back door and settled into my hiding place.

I really hated that it had to end like this. Over the past few days, I really started to believe that Dib could possibly be my friend, but it’s no longer safe to talk to him. Between him and Zim, it’s for the best I find a new planet. It hasn’t even been a week and I have to leave again.

I don’t know what’s worse: what happened at skool, or the dream I had afterwards.

I saw Dib, but it was like nothing was ever wrong. I climbed out of my ship and into his hands, as if it were the most normal thing ever. We sat and exchanged stories about our experiences with struggling to fit in and fighting off aliens, and it felt amazing. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was understood, and I was able to provide that for Dib, too.

Then I woke up in this cruel reality where that can never be the case. We’ll both continue to be alone and miserable, all because I can’t take the risk and fully trust him to know the truth.

I was about to leave skool, and Earth, forever, when I was suddenly alerted by someone shouting. When I turned around, it was none other than Zim.

“Hey! You’re the monster that tried to kill me yesterday!”

I scoffed. He really had to get the last word in, didn’t he?

“Yep, that’s me. And I’d do it again.”

He started to pace in circles around me. Normally, I would’ve been intimidated, but I was so done with everything at that point that it didn’t faze me.

“You’re different from the other humans. You’re like Dib, but worse, if that’s even possible. It’s too soon to determine what exactly you are, if you’re a threat to my mission or a minor annoyance, but either way, I think it’s time we establish some ground rules.”

He gripped the neck of my ship, attempting to choke me like I did to him.

“Rule number one, stay out of my- HEY! Wait a minute! Why aren’t you writhing in pain? Isn’t a restricted windpipe supposed to be agonizing?”

At that, I just laughed. He couldn’t get to me. He was so clueless. Even if Dib knew my secret, it still felt good to watch as Zim desperately tried to attack me, completely oblivious to the fact that it’s just a suit.

The Irken let go, horrified. “You… What ARE you!? How are you laughing at this!?”

“You can’t hurt me, Zim.” I said, still getting over my last fit of laughter. “I’m too strong for you.”

Infuriated, he attempted to punch me, which also failed, causing him to pull his arm back in pain.

“I don’t understand… Why aren’t you a squishy meat bag like the others? It’s almost like you’re a robot.”

At that point, I was ready to make a run for it, since he was starting to get too close to the truth. But oddly enough, he brushed off the robot thought not even a second after it came to mind.

“You must be one of those super humans from those awful movies GIR watches. As much as I hate you, your power is quite impressive. I must have it.”

His PAK legs burst out, and he wrapped them around me like a spider. Unfortunately for me, Irken PAK legs are about the same strength as Lumin camouflage ships, so I wasn’t escaping his clutches easily. I couldn’t fight my way out, but if I could get him to retract the legs of his own accord, then I could make a run for it.

“Get away from her, Zim!”

Dib rushed in and tried to pull the metal spider legs away from me, but even with his assistance, there was no getting out.

“Hate to break it to you, Dib, but I need this human. And after she’s out of the way, I’ll be one step closer to taking over your miserable planet!”

“Uh… no you won’t. You weren’t any closer to destroying the Earth before she showed up. What makes you think getting rid of just one of us is gonna-”

“SILENCE!!!”

The two of them kept arguing back and forth, all while I was still trapped. I kept struggling until I noticed something strange. The sky was getting dark. Suddenly, Zim’s legs retracted as he let out a scream.

“It wasn’t supposed to rain today! Now I’ve gotta go get paste! Grrr… this isn’t over!”

He ran off, just as drops of water started to fall from the sky. Dib let out a sigh of relief.

“That was a close one. We’re lucky it started raining.”

While I couldn’t feel the water droplets from inside my ship, I could hear them pounding against the walls outside, and I couldn’t help but worry about what might happen if any drops got inside where all the electric wiring is.

And just like clockwork, I got a notification on the main control panel that water was starting to seep in through the right wrist seam, and it was shorting out.

Before Dib could notice, I hid my hand behind my back, but the awful shocking noises could still easily be heard.

“I’m just glad you’re okay. What are you doing out by the dumpster, anyway?”

My mind went blank. I couldn’t think of anything to say as the control panel blared at me that multiple points of the ship were starting to fill with water. The sound of electric shocks got louder and louder, and it sounded like they were starting rise up into the head compartment. There was no choice, I had to evacuate.

“Uh… Bek? What’s going on? It sounds like something’s shorting out.”

I didn’t bother to respond. I simply ran for the ladder leading out to the exit on top of the head, and climbed out, leaving my ship without a pilot.

It was cold and dark underneath the beanie I used to conceal the exit door. For a minute, I considered revealing myself, but I decided against it, and leapt into a bush while Dib was distracted.

I made it out just in time as the ship let out a horrible noise and tipped over, collapsing on the ground.

“BEK!” Dib screamed, rushing to the ship’s side. He examined it, attempting to check its pulse, but he got nothing.

“What happened? Oh my god, what happened?” He kept quietly mumbling to himself as he looked the ship over. He really seemed concerned about me. I really hated to scare him like this, but I couldn’t let him see the real me.

“Bek… no… I-I’m sorry about the stuff I said yesterday. I know you’re probably an alien, and you were just scared to tell me, but I was never gonna hurt you, I promise! Please, wake up… you’re my only friend…”

I felt my heart shatter at those words. He really was my friend, and he didn’t care that I wasn’t human. And there he was, crying his eyes out because he thought I was dead. I had to fix this.

“Dib? It’s okay, I’m still here.” I called out. He looked around, confused.

“Bek? What’s going on?”

I swallowed the last bit of fear in me, and pushed my way through the branches of the bush.

“That’s not me, that’s just my ship. I’m in the bushes now.”

His eyes met mine, and he went silent. He started to walk towards me, but I pushed my arms out in protest.

“Please, not too close. I’m not ready.”

Dib stopped, but continued staring at me, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Wow… You’re, uh… smaller than I thought you’d be. N-Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course. I just… I’ve seen my share of different aliens before, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like you. What… are you? Sorry if that sounded rude, but uh… yeah…”

And just like that, I told him everything. There was still a little voice inside me screaming at me not to, but after everything that happened, and the fact that he didn’t immediately try to grab me and actually respected my distance, I decided it was okay. After all, we both had a common enemy. It wouldn’t make sense for us to fight each other when there’s an Irken we have to deal with.

“I really don’t think I should stay here, though. It’s too dangerous to stay if people know what I am, and Zim’s already started to catch on. Although, it does seem I’ll be stranded for a while until I can repair my ship. But until I do that, I have no cover, so I guess I’m just doomed.”

“Bek, wait. You don’t have to go. I won’t tell anyone. And even if Zim finds out, you’ve still got me to help fend him off. I’m not gonna let anyone hurt you.”

“You’re… really willing to cover for me? Even after I lied to you?”

Dib have a reassuring smile. “Of course. You were just scared. I would’ve done the same thing. But it’s okay now. I don’t know if I’ll be able to help fix the ship, but I can at least help hide you, and you can stay at my house too if you want to. I… assume this is where you’ve been living.”

I chuckled. “Yep. Guilty. But seriously, thanks. No one’s ever been this nice to me before, so…”

“Yep. I can, uh, get you out of the bushes whenever you’re ready.”

Oh. Right. I didn’t consider that in order to hide me, Dib would be picking me up. Uh… that’s fine, I guess… Yep, totally okay with that, not terrifying at all!