THEY'LL ALL SEE (HIATUS).

              all right, so maybe the two pairs of shoes did look similar. really similar. but it wasn’t as if zim had purposely matched with him. the very thought of such a thing made him feel sick. it was just an unfortunate coincidence, is all. these shoes just happened to be the cheapest pair available, and thanks to gir’s new favourite hobby of binge watching things from starz on demand, he was painfully low on urth monies at the moment. but once dib had upgraded his shoes, what was zim supposed to do? NOT upgrade his? the other children seemed to be picking on dib a little less after the transition, so zim could only assume that shoes like these were the new normal and therefore, he had to adapt as quickly as possible. he didn’t see what the big deal was, anyway. they had similar footwear before this, too.

“SILENCE, dib, i will not let you PUT ME ON TRIAL for doing something HUMAN and NORMAL. you WILL tremble before the amazing might of my incredible hip footwear. TREMBLE BEFORE THEM, DIB!”

[evidently, zim had no counter to dib’s claims about their shoes being identical -- telling him to shut up was essentially the equivalent of admitting that he didn’t have a proper argument, wasn’t it? besides, this couldn’t POSSIBLY be considered human or normal. granted, buying footwear was a fairly mundane activity, but ones that just so happened to match those of your adversary? he was justified in finding that creepy, wasn’t he??]

[there was always the fact that they’d shared the “same” shoes in the past, but that clearly couldn’t be pegged as intentional. not only was he unaware of what his extraterrestrial threat would look like, but the invader had arrived from, y’know, outer space -- a location previously inaccessible for the twelve year-old. this shoe story was completely different! this couldn’t be a coincidence, could it??? it was just...uncomfortable to think about.]

Box that was filled with his own Parascience research had long been forgotten. He hadn’t touched them in years, even before he had created his own kids. It had simply been sealed and forgotten, along with the memory of it being pushed far back into the crevices of his mind. Something that he wanted to FORGET. Something that had forced him to become hard in line with the path of Science and Real proof. 

Of course, he had his reasons for blocking out that part of his life. Reasons that he had over the years forgotten. And god knows the only thing to bring all of that back to him would be, either the proof of him once being involved in it. Or, his son showing him real proof of those cryptids and ghouls and other insane things. Other than that though, any memories of his past, of his previous interests were in a sense, nonexistent. He intended to keep it that way. 

Professor was, at the time, with a notebook in hand. One that was composed of his own notes on his newest invention. He always did like to look over the information he had taken down and run over it plenty of times to make sure that everything was done perfectly. There were no times for flaws in his work, and if there were any he wanted to spot them and eliminate them as soon as possible.

However, he was interrupted when his son approached. Gaze would shift from Dib’s face to the collection of stuff in his arms. He didn’t recognize any of it at all, and maybe it was just because it had been so long since he had laid his eyes on those journals. In all honesty, he figured it was just his son’s own findings. Knowing him, this was probably going to be another session of him trying to convince his dad of paranormal creatures actually existing. And when he heard what he said, that only confirmed his suspicions of it being such a thing. Even if he was busy, he could at least give him the time of day. He was, after all, trying to be a more present father figure. 

❝ Very well son… what is it you want to show me now? ❞

[Thankfully, even though his father appeared to be in the middle of jotting something down ( in another notebook, ironically ), he granted his son permission to present his findings. On most days, that wouldn’t be much, considering that anything Dib posited would be disregarded entirely, but this time was different...it had to be. If the proof originated from Membrane himself, albeit a younger version, there was no conceivable way he could bring himself to dismiss it; a rather disheartening sentiment, since he felt no qualms about brushing off almost every word spoken by his own son as the ramblings of a madman.]

[Nonetheless, Dib settled himself next to his father, spreading the journals in front of them so he wouldn’t need to painstakingly carry them around while he spoke. While he did, he glanced up curiously at his father -- he was well-aware of the fact that the professor wouldn’t immediately recognize the incontrovertible evidence as records of his own, but part of him had been hoping that there would be a spark of recollection when he set his eyes on them, that he’d start to pick up on what his son was suggesting. Instead, he seemed completely blind to his own link to them...hopefully, that’d wear off once Dib started to open them up and reveal their contents.]

-- ❝ You see those paranormal investigation journals, right, Dad? Well, this’ll come as a “shock” to you, but they aren’t mine. I thought they were, too, but... ❞ [To prove his point, Dib flipped one of them open to a random page, positive that his own father would recognize his own handwriting -- his own writing style. He had to. Eyes darted back to his father, gauging his reaction as he hoped for some semblance of recognition and remembrance. This had to be stirring up some memories within him, right?] ❝ That’s not my handwriting. In fact, it looks kinda familiar, doesn’t it? ❞

[Now his tone was accusatory, a much gentler version of the inflection he’d use around Zim -- he might have a strained relationship with his father, but the situation hadn’t warranted him lashing out at him like that, even if he was incredibly hurt that he hadn’t been informed about his father’s life as a paranormal investigator before now. Regardless, he figured he’d be blunt about it now that he’d insinuated that the journals belonged to his father...why would the professor keep all of this from him, let alone actively deter him from hunting the supernatural? There was no possible way that he couldn’t recall that part of his life, right?]

      his eye twitched a little as dib pointed out that he wasn’t laughing. actually, did i say a little? i meant that it twitched a LOT. so much, in fact, that one of his contacts almost entirely popped off. he let out a small shriek as this happened, turning to face in a direction where the detention supervisor (who was honestly not paying attention at all and half asleep) couldn’t see him as he popped it back into place before spinning to face dib again, his teeth visible as he bit down on his mouth in anger.

“well you better NOT laugh, dib, because this is not FUNNY!!!” he was practically fuming, shaking in frustration. “oh but i SHOULD be your worst nightmare, dib, and if i am not now, then i will be by the end of this imprisonment!” his eyes darted around the room in search of something he could intimidate the boy with, and he let out a small “ha!” when his gaze fell on a paper football left behind by a previous detainee. he quickly snatched it up in his hands, flicking it at dib’s head and raising his hands in a small victory when it bounced off of the boy’s forehead. if he was lucky, maybe it would even leave the human with a papercut.

[even under the current circumstances -- namely, that zim was so infuriated by dib’s statement that his eyes were twitching with fervor the likes of which the world had never seen -- when the extraterrestrial’s contact popped out, dib snapped out of his paralyzed state to react how he normally would. in other words, his arm whipped forward to point at the alien menace in a flash, his head craning to face the only other human in the room in the hopes that they would be WATCHING; of course, this pattern only led to disappointment, provided that the supervisor was practically fast asleep, and zim had already slipped his lens back in. what else should he expect at this point?? settling back into his usual exasperation, then reminding himself of his plight, he turned back toward his nemesis...]

[when he did, he couldn’t help wondering if his whole “pointing out the alien” bit somehow managed to make zim more livid; it was routine for them at this point, but in the midst of the extraterrestrial trying ( and apparently failing ) to intimidate him? maybe that was why he was trembling with his own fury now, even screaming ( somewhat repetitively ) that he would become dib’s worst nightmare by the end of all this. as though to finish off that sentiment, after glancing around the room for a minute, he picked something up and tossed it -- dib flinched as it bounced off his forehead, an instinctive “hey!” escaping him, though it left very little impact ( not even a papercut, unfortunately for the invader ).]

[that being said, he immediately wondered what the hell it was -- as such, he bent over to pick up the damned thing the minute it hit the floor, and was entirely unimpressed. besides, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t frustrated by having something thrown at him as a first resort.]

As if she couldn’t affirm her camera friendly attitude even more, Astra smiled and even waved as the photographs were taken. What could she say? She found having her picture taken kind of fun. And in her mind, there was nothing for her to fear should her existence be brought to light. For she did not pose a threat to the humans, and even should they decide to act against her, there was nothing to worry about. It was not like they could kill her or easily trap her. To bring awareness to her presence was, if anything, exciting to her. It often meant questions from curious new faces. It meant more people to talk to, and Astra loved sharing her knowledge and experience.

“An invader? How troublesome. I’ve been to a few planets that had similar dilemmas.” She conveniently failed to mention how most of them did not last very long once a competent and clever invader rooted their way in. She only hoped that the one who had found this place was not such a grave force to be reckoned with. Hopefully, their invader would be driven out or vanquished. “It is understandable that you would find me suspicious. I take no offense from the mistake. Your world is compromised and you are only trying to preserve it.”

“Well, thank you. I appreciate the kind welcome. I am called Astra.” She introduced herself with a smile and a slight bow of her head. It was nice to be welcomed, even if it had been preceded by an inquisition. Her reception always varied from world to world, though. Sometimes it was warm and friendly, other times it was hostile and cold. She was glad that this one had been one of the calmer and nicer ones, at least it had been this far. “Tell me, what is your name?”

[Once again, Astra proved to be an extraordinary subject; that is, her behavioral patterns fell completely out of line compared to every other paranormal creature he’d encountered. Bigfeets, aliens, and ghosts ( albeit against their will, technically ) would dodge the flash of a camera at all costs, whereas she actually posed! Although he’d been iffy about this particular extraterrestrial at first, he was warming up to her at an astounding rate...she might be one of the only supernatural beings he’d had such a positive encounter with, let alone a peaceful discussion with. Most of his interactions with his “targets” were either one-sided, incredibly restricted, or -- in the case of Zim -- hostile from the get-go.]

[Speaking of that meddlesome Irken, Astra seemed acquainted with them -- apparently she’d visited planets that’d also dealt with invaders, and recognized the dilemma that the Earth was currently facing. That piqued his curiosity; if she’d witnessed an invasion-in-progress, perhaps she might have advice on how to prevent one. Some sort of weakness that Dib could exploit...anything that might aid him in rescuing his planet from its gruesome fate. If she’d observed what would become of his planet, and informed him of the events that would transpire, then he could at least prepare himself for what was to come.]

-- ❝ Does that mean you’ve seen it HAPPEN before? ❞ [At the risk of sounding too enthusiastic, Dib cleared his throat, attempting to dial down his newfound hope; it might be a tad morbid to find optimism in the destruction of other planets, but even if it was too late for them, it wasn’t for Earth. He was their last hope!] ❝ Is there anything you can tell me? Any weakness of the Irken armada, maybe? Something I can do to keep it from happening? I’ve been doing all I can against Zim, but it’s...hard when I don’t have anybody else on my side. ❞

       The outburst was expected, that was how it always tended to end up when this topic came up between the two of them. He honestly didn’t know why he thought it would be any different if he had changed the whole ‘insane’ approach and tried something different. But, he had failed to realize that trying to insist it was fake and he should do something real with his life was just as harmful. To him he was simply trying to suggest a way for a better, healthier lifestyle rather than obsessing over something so silly. 

But, he would quietly listen- not interrupting his Son while he spoke. Even if he did want to cut him off and tell him to stop being so stubborn. Even if he did want to tell him how wrong he was for thinking paranormal science was real. In all honesty, Professor was just as stubborn about his own views, even if he couldn’t see it himself. One particular string of words from his Son would hurt though, ‘ I don’t want to follow in your footsteps ’  and his brows would press together in response to that. 

That was…painful? He wasn’t really sure what it was he was feeling. Professor was never used to actually feeling emotions. Sure, there was usually a need to protect and care for his kids, but other than that, he didn’t feel or process emotions as much as the regular person did. Lips would press into a thin line beneath that thick collar of his coat, and he was glad in this moment that he wore it in such a fashion that covered half of his face. He was silent for a few moments, trying to process just what he was feeling- trying to figure out how to go about this. 

❝ Now son… ❞ And when he finally did speak, his voice was less cold than it usually was. Perhaps even a bit softer, he was trying to be more gentle with his approach. He didn’t want to entirely shatter his relationship with his son. ❝ I understand that this is your… ‘ interest ‘ but, ❞ He would make quotation marks with his fingers when saying the word interest, as if he didn’t really count it as an actual interest. 

Now to explain how it wasn’t healthy for him. Well there were plenty of reasons he could think of, and he would revert back to his logical self when he did so. ❝ No Scientist is going to take you seriously if you continue on down this path. Aliens..ghosts.. ‘ Vampire bees’ . They’re simply not a thing in the Scientific world. ❞ He was back to being his close minded self. Something he always seemed to do when these topics got brought up, that hard denial of them and blatant obliviousness could even be to the point where someone would question- why? Why was the supposed most brilliant man on Earth so incredibly stupid when it came to these things? Why did he block it out entirely? 

❝ There’s no concrete proof of any of those things. ❞ He was trying to justify it, trying to explain it how he saw it. He knew it would be useless, but he could at least try to get Dib to see it. ❝ I only want what’s best for you, son. ❞ That was the truth. He didn’t want his son to be seen as a joke, he didn’t want his son to be seen as ‘insane’ (Ironic, really, considering even he saw his son as insane). He just wanted to see him succeed, to have a good life. That was all he ever wanted for both of his kids. 

[Although his father was sparing him very few concessions here and there -- granting him the privilege of speaking without interruption, listening to him ( though most of his words seemed to go in one ear and out the other ), and refusing to use the usual dreaded term ( “insane” ) -- Dib found it rather difficult to appreciate them. What was the use when the confrontation was the same? No matter how delicately the professor tiptoed around the matter, he was attempting to force Dib to change his ambitions, all because he’d deemed the paranormal as an “outrageous” passion. He’d dealt with this precise conversation for years.] 

[That said, Dib might’ve been imagining things, but he could’ve sworn that he saw his father’s expression shift a bit when he asserted that he refused to follow in his footsteps; it was difficult to discern when a majority of the professor’s features were covered, but his brow appeared to knit ( perhaps with disappointment or sorrow ) beneath those goggles. A part of him felt the mildest sense of victory, noting that any fraction of discontent on his features was an indication that Dib’s revelation had made a significant impact on him. Another felt the slightest bit of dismay, perhaps even guilt...he didn’t think his father would find the news that surprising, provided how reluctant Dib had been for the past few years.]

[Any trace of inner turmoil was quickly erased when his father continued; his speech did begin soothingly enough, but those quotation marks around the term “interest,” another subtle reminder that he dismissed the paranormal as an interest in itself, was incredibly vexing. It was impossible to get through a discussion like this when his father was this stubborn! If he wouldn’t so much as address his son’s fascination with the paranormal as a genuine interest, how was he expected to receive even an ounce of respect for his “real science?”]

[Then, his asinine justification for why Dib’s obsession was “unhealthy”...was it only because it would get him ostracized from the scientific community? If he provided evidence, like he aimed to do now, then he’d surely manage to make a name for himself among scientific and paranormal communities alike. Aliens, ghosts, and vampire bees were all real! He'd been spending his time documenting their existences -- plus, in the case of the vampire bees, his father had been there to witness the sting marks ( and all the honey Dib ate afterwards )! If they didn’t “exist” in the scientific world, then Dib would change that!]

-- ❝ NOBODY takes me seriously...that includes you. That’s no reason to stay away from the paranormal. Aliens, ghosts, and vampire bees are all real! If anyone should realize that by now, it’s YOU; you’ve seen the stings of a vampire bee for yourself, and I’ve even shown you that alien ship in the garage! That’s not even including the fact that there is an alien invader walking AMONG us as we speak! I mean -- how much evidence will it TAKE? ❞ [His inflection was evidently exasperated; he’d been through this song and dance, endeavored to prove his side of the story to his father, but it never seemed to be enough. His father always remained too narrow-minded to see the truth.]

             After he had expended most of his energy on expressing his OBVIOUS distrust of the situation, all the irken could do for a while was stare at the human, continually looking him up and down, over and over again. He claimed that he was happy like this, and for some reason, that made him feel… weird. Bad weird. Sad weird? No, surely not. It was merely frustrating to see Dib attempting to lie to him so much. That had to be it. After all, despite his claims, he didn’t seem all that happier. Granted, Zim wasn’t the best at detecting human emotions, but if anything, the child looked more annoyed than usual, and the Irken conveniently ignored the possibility that he might only seem this way because of his own antics. 

However, it seemed as if Dib wasn’t quite ready to give up this charade, and the invader was left giving him an exasperated sigh. Fine. If that’s how he wanted to play it, he would play along for now. This would be a game that Zim would win, though, and he would be sure to lord it over the human when that time inevitably came.

“Fffffine-” The word was painfully spat out through gritted teeth. “but don’t think this makes us FRIENDS, Dib. I will still enslave your pitiful race and rule over your filthy little planet. Your UNWILLINGNESS to try to stop me will only serve as an ADVANTAGE to me. I hope you’re still ‘HAPPY’ with your ‘REAL SCIENCE’ when the armada arrives.” Without waiting for the boy to respond, he gave him an aggressive shove to move him out of the way, storming into the house and looking around, trying to spot anything that he could use as proof that Dib hadn’t given up his supernatural obsessions.

[Zim wasted no time relaying his usual exaggerated skepticism; eyeing Dib up and down, scanning him with the utmost scrutiny as though his “incredible” eyes would be able to detect the faintest hint of deceit, until he was eventually...well, not satisfied, but begrudgingly content. There was yet another moment of piercing silence, and even though Dib had been attempting to demonstrate patience here, he found it wearing thin -- he didn’t anticipate that their old grudges would dissipate that quickly, but Zim’s overzealous routines were as aggravating as ever, and perhaps part of him was even more vexed that he wasn’t utilizing the opportunity before him to scream about Zim’s identity to the entire neighborhood. But...he was past that. He...should’ve been, anyway. Those old habits and desires would eventually wear off, right...?]

[Thankfully, Dib’s self-reflection was cut off by the Irken sighing exasperatedly; he hissed out a bitter “fine,” finally agreeing to the human’s terms ( to Dib’s own astonishment -- he’d made the offer in the first place, but he thought Zim’s ego would overpower any chance that he’d accept it ). Of course, he didn’t go about it in an amicable way; he shoved Dib to the side, rejecting his outstretched hand entirely, and forced his way in, much to the twelve year-old’s chagrin. He was already regretting this -- why, exactly, did he think it’d be a good idea to invite an alien inside of his home? To prove a point, that he was bettering himself? This wouldn’t come back to bite him in the slightest.]

[Provocation rose when Zim insisted that he would enslave the human race, that Dib’s current devotion to real science would serve as an advantage to him; a nagging voice in the back of his skull ensured him that the extraterrestrial was correct, that his newfound interest and alleged happiness would lead to humanity’s demise. It was incredibly selfish, but a part of him almost...didn’t care. All he wanted was to continue living in this delusion reality; no more dismissal from his father, no more torment from skool bullies, no more Zim. Maybe it wasn’t a genuine happiness, founded upon an interest he actually loved, but it was enough for him...]

-- ❝ ...Whatever. ❞ [Dib huffed, brushing himself off and straining to withhold himself from reacting too drastically to Zim’s caustic remarks. In a way, remaining calm in the face of this obvious ploy for rage might “irk” him even more, right? He might be a mature scientist like his father, but...he could still enjoy those petty victories, couldn’t he? Were all scientists this lame?] ❝ I think we both know that us being FRIENDS is a scientific impossibility, Zim. Besides, I think we both know that you ruling all of humanity is just... ❞

  she watched him curiously, like the whole concept of someone NICE was foreign. well, she WAS an alien, and while the whole of the irken race was known for being cruel, puff prided herself on being successful and unlike the others. that didn’t mean she was treated fairly, but despite odds being against her … she still got where she was, right ?

  “ uh - huh. yup ! “ she just nodded, smiling at him all the while. it wasn’t anything out of trickery or malice, either, she was being genuine. though at the prospect of having to ‘ prove ‘ things made her tilt her head to the side in mild confusion.

  “ how ? i mean, i could let you see my base or something ? invaders usually make their OWN weapons from materials given to us by the armada, and i don’t HAVE any, so if that’d be proof enough … ? “ how does on even go about proving their friendliness, anyway, other than just being friendly ? these humans were so confusing sometimes !

[Puff’s sincere openness and overt kindness continued to perplex the paranormal investigator; it could be genuine, but in his paranoid mind, it simply didn’t feel possible...especially not when it arose from an Irken. Granted, he’d only met two of them ( in person ), but he’d done extensive research on them -- they were a bloodthirsty species, valuing conquest above all else and priding themselves on their cruelty. Meeting one who diverged from that path was unfathomable, to say the least, and paired with his trust issues from being bullied and called insane by his own father all his life...well, it was no wonder why he didn’t believe her from the outset.]

[Dib quirked a brow as she offered to let him infiltrate her base -- was she being serious? She’d treated it so casually, whereas Zim would make a theatrical production out of it, refusing to allow “slime” like Dib to infest his lair ( even though he’d done so on countless occasions by now ). That...could be a start, though, since she’d brought it up. He’d invaded Zim’s hideout enough times to be able to make a solid comparison between their arsenals, and he was fairly confident in his ability to recognize Irken weaponry by now. Besides, it was a researching opportunity, and there was no way he could refuse that...even if there was a slim possibility that it was a trap.]

“oh look at me, i’m DIB and my stupid, ENORMOUS head can live without my wimpy little squishy body for a few measly seconds.” he said the words in a terrible attempt at mimicking the child’s voice while rolling his eyes and waving his arms around a bit as if that would help him prove a point. “and what GOOD is a human brain detached from it’s body, dib? care to enlighten me? no? HA! you CANT because there IS no good in it. all you can do is BLINK a few more times before you DIE, but WE can go a full ten urth minutes separated from our paks before we perish!” he paused, as if he realised that he’d said something wrong, but he simply shook his head, refusing to believe that that was the case. 

it was… fine that dib had that information. it’s not as if it would give him any sort of advantage. he’d never be able to get zim’s pak off of him. zim was attentive and alert at all hours of the day. he didn’t even have to sleep thanks to the piece of irken tech attached to his back. well, he didn’t have to sleep as long as he kept it charged, anyway, but that was a simple task, and his pak didn’t take nearly as long to reach a full charge as most of urth’s technology did.

“PLEASE, i could get to your brain within seconds, all it would take is some simple blunt force. it could be accomplished with a tool as primitive as a hammer.” but fine. let dib think that it was easy. he’d learn soon enough that it wasn’t. it wasn’t easy at all! in fact it was the complete OPPOSITE of easy. it was difficult. so incredibly difficult that his puny brain couldn’t even comprehend it.

“oh and nice TRY dib, but i won’t be revealing my tallests’ achievements to you that easy. all you need to know is that the empire has conquered THOUSANDS of planets and WILL conquer THOUSANDS MORE, including this one.” he released his words in a furious little huff, not dissimilar to a child pouting. “choosing me wasn’t a mistake, but DOUBTING me will be.” it was unclear who he was referring to with that final statement.

[an eye twitched with vexation at that remark about his enormous head; he could dismiss them, he had been for years, but it grew tedious to listen to ( especially when it came out of zim’s mouth ). besides, his points were all...valid; reluctant as he was to concede any victory to his adversary, this aspect of this particular battle wasn’t the one he was intending to conquer. his triumph came in the form of the sweet tidbit of information that the irken revealed about his pak toward the end -- dib had played him like a fiddle! he knew his enemy so well! for a moment, he struggled to hide a grin that tugged at his lips, then responded to the asinine argument.]

-- ❝ whatever...and my head’s not “enormous.” besides, are YOU any better without your pak? you might live for ten whole minutes, but what’s that like when you don’t have your version of a BRAIN attached to your body? wouldn’t you be kind of USELESS without it? ❞ [not that he really needed to ask -- he’d know in due time, now that he’d been provided with a proper time limit. ten minutes wasn’t much to work with, but he was positive that he could do...something in that time. perhaps he could bring supplies with him to school one morning, just...anything to gather data from that pak, now that he was so fascinated by it.]

❝ YEAH? well, i bet i could get that dumb pak off with my BARE HANDS! it can’t possibly be tethered to you any better than brains are to our bodies. ❞ [could he make magic happen twice? it didn’t seem feasible, but maybe he could draw a response out of zim as to how their paks were both indestructible and irremovable. if he received an explanation for how they were attached, he could work a way around it.]

[finally, zim concluded by asserting that he wouldn’t reveal his tallest’s accomplishments, that his empire had conquered thousands of planets, and that they were en route to this one. nothing he hadn’t heard before. if anything, it sounded like the irken was struggling to name a single one of his tallest’s achievements, attempting to intimidate dib by reminding him that his planet was allegedly doomed, and straining to reassure himself like a temperamental child.]

   Dib… tends to make Miyuki nervous. Especially right now. She’s trying so hard to be a normal human, but every little slip up, every little hint made him seem more and more suspicious of her, and she was worried he’d just… try to reveal her secret.

She didn’t want that.

And yet, she’s visibly nervous as he pushes the paper back, eyes dropping to scan over the symbols a few times, noting her own name being one of the many things written in Irken - she is… god she’s awful at this, huh?

“They- Dib, why would I have… a-any idea what these mean? I definitely didn’t… write these on… ahem.” Stupid. Quit while you’re ahead, back off, just… tell him it’s detention if he draws them again. No, that’d be… even more suspicious. Why did she outright deny him seeing her write them??

“I-” A deep breath - she just… doesn’t know what to do here. “I know… what you must be thinking, Dib, but I assure you it’s not what you think it is.”

[Miyuki’s reaction to his vague allegations only bolstered his confidence -- why would she be so apprehensive if those symbols weren’t part of a tremendous, groundbreaking secret? Granted, he already realized that they were; if this language was revealed for what it was, and could be recognized as such by his peers, her identity would be exposed in mere seconds! If only humanity was capable of recognizing Irken language...he had a feeling that if he accused her, even after she wrote in those hieroglyphs, he’d simply be dubbed “insane.”]

[Yet, her persistent anxiety caused him to wonder whether there might be another reason she was so fretful about her origins being revealed. She should’ve been stranded here long enough to recognize how pathetic and ignorant humanity was as a species, right? If they couldn’t see through Zim’s pitiful disguise by now, what did she have to worry about...?]

[Regardless, when she opted to outright deny ever writing those symbols on the board, he simply quirked a brow -- not owning up to her mistakes would be disastrous here, since Dib had all the proof he needed scribbled all over that paper. Those etches wouldn’t be there if he didn’t have a reference up on the board, would they? A smirk tugged at his lips when she desperately insisted that this was a misunderstanding; this was his moment, his opportunity to confront her.]

– ❝ What? That’s none of your business, Zim! How’d you know that, anyway!? I – ❞

[Before he could launch into more of a rant about the matter, the rest of Zim’s clueless and outright nonsensical interrogation clicked in his mind, and he was dumbfounded by how idiotic his adversary was. His extraterrestrial nemesis had done absolutely no research about his enemies or their weaknesses, had he? But that could actually work to his advantage here. Part of him was tempted to spin this, to convince Zim that depression might be some “superpower” after all – though, unlike when he’d convinced Zim that saying “fuck” around adults would grant him infinite power, he wasn’t entirely confident in using reverse psychology to ask Zim to remove a mental illness from his brain ( if that was even scientifically feasible ).]

[That sounded like a recipe for disaster, even if he’d normally be willing to trade nearly anything to get something so debilitating and frustrating as his depression off his hands. He’d genuinely rather not have Zim anywhere near his brain ever again, not after the whole Mysterious Mysteries tape fiasco. A hand instinctively raised to his forehead as he backed away from the alien, narrowing his eyes scornfully.]

Insatiable hunger... frozen woods... lost... inhuman... depraved.

For some, wendigos are a travesty of legend but for others, they are as real as the air we breathe. The bone-chilling tale of the wendigo originates from Algonquian Native American folklore and is the horrifying result of brutal starvation and desperation. 

A lone hunter strayed from the path, becoming trapped in a snowy wasteland, succumbs to the gnawing craving to fill the hole in his gut... with human flesh.

Having grown fond of the flavour, the hunter consumes more and more. With each victim, the hunter finds his humanity slipping away, his body becoming more and more bestial. The hunger does not dissipate either, in fact, it only grows stronger with each passing kill. Yet, the hunter cannot stop himself. He continues to feast on human flesh until he turns into something hardly human. A wendigo. They are said to have the ability to replicate human cries, drawing its victims deeper into the woods and towards their death.

You have always been something of an anomaly.  You have never quite fit in. You may seem normal enough but it is as if you don't quite fit into line with everyone else. It is this disconnect which connects the wendigo to you. Maybe you were once a target but now, you are a curiosity. It has dismissed its hunger pangs to observe you. Maybe you remind it tragically of the life it once had. Whatever the reason, it desires to protect that spark you carry, that which should never be extinguished. You have since become rather isolated, putting up a facade to keep others at bay. Perhaps it is this isolation which causes you to lose touch with humanity or the connection with those around you. Maybe you are the type to eat away your problems. Just remember: stick to the path,

You never know where desperation may lead you...

Tagged by - stole it from myself! dib needs a government-assigned cryptid too

                   “I am not overreacting, Dib, I am merely saying that you need to concentrate on the TASK AT HAND, instead of these SILLY accusations.” He glared at the boy while speaking, but eventually let out a small sigh, waving his hand in dismissal. “But fine- if you refuse to edit such slanderous statements out, then I shall. I am far better at editing than you are anyway.” And he would absolutely take the opportunity to edit the video to make Dib look as stupid as possible.

“You can claim all you want, but I- the more RELIABLE of us- saw and heard NOTHING. Surely if these ‘ghosts’ were truly there they would have KILLED ME before I made it to the top of their precious lighthouse, but I returned perfectly fine.”

-- ❝ You KNOW you’re not allowed to edit after last time. ❞ [Dib squinted, refraining from speaking of the incident in question -- the less that was said about their out-of-context “hot, searing teens” quotes and how they’d been used against him specifically, the better. If Zim would be a whiny coward about this, then fine; he’d wipe the footage. It wasn’t as though it was more incriminating than usual, anyway...if he’d actually caught the alien without his disguise or something, he’d be more reluctant. With a roll of his eyes, he conceded.] ❝ Whatever. I’ll edit it out, since it’s not THAT big of a deal. ❞

– ❝ I ask because it sets up the rest of the video, you – you stupid alien!! And ghosts ARE real! Besides, I think the EVIDENCE this episode speaks for itself. ❞