deernet | un: trienemybest; video

Entry tags:

un: trienemybest; video

[The video feed opens in Varian's creepy basement lab where health and safety regulations go to die. The boy himself isn't looking that great, his skin has a grey-ish tinge to it and he looks more exhausted than usual. But that's fine, he's fine. He turns the camera around to take in some sapphires on his workbench. Some are soaking in various chemical substances, some are under a microscope, some are in various steampunk-y machines: it's clear some testing has been going on. ]

So, Flynn was kind enough to give me some of the crystals that grew on his corpse during...whatever weird new thing death is here. [He doesn't sound as excited about this as his usual projects and anyone who knows about his deeply unfortunate past will know why.] I have experience in creepy, magical death rocks -no...no I'm not going to elaborate on that- so I decided to study them. They seem to be crystalising the actual cells of the body- so not just a separate coating. I also found traces of warmblood within the crystals themselves, which I think is what Flynn is? A-anyway, it seems they're working on a cellular level, like they're what jumpstarts the reversal of the cell degeneration after death- so- so it's possible they're what reverses then entire process.

Anyway, moral of the story is, they're probably super important in resurrecting people so maybe don't mess with the process when it's happening? Of course, without having any other samples to compare this to, it's all conjecture right now.

[A beat, he turns the camera back to himself, grimacing.]

Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to. Please don't take that as encouragement to get yourselves killed in the name of science.

[Another beat, then he waves a hand airily.]

Thaaaaaat said, this is October, so statistically, there's a high chance that a not-insignificant portion of the population will be dead by the end of the month. So...if you wanna donate your death crystals for science then, that would be less...morally grey. Probably? Probably.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sorry, my bad.

[He exhales sharply, staring at the ceiling. Oh god no why.]

Okay, but we definitely need to put a hard no on getting other people to eat them.

Look, I'm just saying, maybe there's something to be gained from it? And if not by having other people do it, maybe it has to be whoever they belong to?

Like this Flynn person you said they came from, maybe it's supposed to benefit him in some way if he is the one who consumes them, like they will be able to react if he almost dies here again.

...Oh.

That's- actually not a bad idea. Besides, it is technically a part of him? I don't...think it counts as cannibalism in a case like this? Maybe? Though we would want to be careful, just in case it has the opposite effect. We don't want anyone to resurrect and then immediately die again right after.

Yeah, good point... it'd have to be done with some careful monitoring and being prepared in the event something is going wrong, but isn't that just about the case with most anything that happens around here?

[Or at least, that's what Zib has learned in the last month of being here so far.]

Hey, you're a fast learner! That's... pretty much how it always goes. All you can do is prepare and try and look out for anything that can help you- or will hinder you. You figure out how to use the former, and how to avoid the latter.

I don't know if I would call myself a fast learner so much as having experience with the absurd or horrifying even before being here.

[See: the organ theft and baloney stories he's told you about before.]

Hey, that totally helps with the fast learning. Having the experience to lean back on. It means you're more experienced with...weird stuff and can figure better ways of handling it.

Yeah.

And hey, there's no Zim here, so my chances of keeping my organs on the inside of my body where they are supposed to be are probably a lot higher here than they were at home.

[That's... a hell of a way of trying to find a bright side to this place.]

There you go! That's a solid bright side right there- no...uh...organ harvesting!

[Jesus Christ, Zib, do you need a hug?]

[Honestly, a hug probably would have solved a lot of problems back home instead of becoming... Zib, here. But, alas.]

... Okay I know it was a little weird to say out loud but that was the best I could come up with on the spot.

[Zib clearly needed a Rapunzel in his life- she would have hugged all his problems away.]

That's...okay? I mean- it really is super weird, but every story you've told me about your life so far is super weirdo, so-

[I mean, there was Keef and Chammy Wamboo who were super nice and positive... but they were also extremely oblivious to Zim being really obvious about his evil alien schemes...]

Yeah, I guess so, but it wasn't always so chaotic. Like for example there's this one time... I... uh...

[And then he just... trails off attempting to think of something to fill in the void there. At one point he lights up as if he thought of something, but then he stops and shakes his head, mumbling something like "no, not that one, that's probably a bad example" before thinking again.

This goes on for a full five minutes before he speaks again.]

... wow, I really can't think of anything I could say about home that won't potentially sound kind of weird or awful out of context or in some other way, now that I think about it.

[Varian watches him as he goes through the motions, almost finding something and then... failing to do so. He offers him an encouraging smile. ]

Well, that's okay. My world is kinda like that too? Comes with the territory of being full of magic. Sometimes, you just get used to the world being...kinda weird.

[Oh, speaking of which...]

That reminds me, I've been meaning to ask... what kind of "magic" existed in your world? Like... stuff with fire spells and dragons, or something totally different?

Kind of all the above? There were magical artefacts that could be controlled with incantations, a few magical species like dragons, a few spells and potions. There was a pretty big mix and none of it made a lick of sense.

I take it that you're not a fan of that kind of thing... then again, I guess I could see that: I'm not really enthusiastic about something if there isn't some kind of explanation that can be found for it either.

YES! Exactly! [Oh, Zib, you're his favourite.] Magic is just... unpredictable. I've tried to study it, but it doesn't follow any natural laws and it drives me crazy.

Like, don't get me wrong, magic can be really cool, and sometimes I think I can see an explanation for it, like... incantations could be arguably seen in the same way a voice-activated device operates, depending on how you look at them. But then there's stuff that people explain away as "just because" without even attempting to try understanding it and it's very annoying.

[There's a pause, before he does however relent--]

That said, there are a few times when science probably sounds similar when attempting to explain it to other people. Or, god forbid, any time Zim would open his mouth to explain how he managed to do half the things he does.

[Like... somehow turning a person into baloney??]

...I guess you have a point. That would explain the incantations back home. After all, they seemed to connect to the people who possessed their power?

[He lets out a low groan.]

Trust me, I got that too. Trying to explain science to a farming village is the worst. For most of my life, the villagers back home just assumed I was a wizard and that was that.

I didn't live in a farming village, but the town I lived in was... well, I don't want to call everyone stupid, but... this was the same town who took one look at a green alien that screams loudly about world domination as "just some weird kid with a skin condition", which made attempting to expose proof that he was an alien ridiculously difficult. Regardless of how "scientific" my sources were, since even my Dad couldn't see through such a cheap disguise either for some reason.

[...Okay that's a whole special level of denial. Not even Corona was ever that bad, and they were good at ignoring stupid things. Like the whole black rock situation.]

That really awful, I'm sorry to hear it, that must have been really frustrating. I think I would have snapped ages ago dealing with that.

Yeah... it wasn't great.

[This is the part where Zib remembers he is on screen right now and... has to restrain the urge to just fucking LAUGH at that statement, and instead try to keep a flat expression.]

But it was still my planet, so I still try to deal with keeping it safe, even if it is just me that cares enough about it like this.

[Great restraint there, kiddo.]

Well. That's uh- that's pretty selfless of you? Trying to protect people from...well, essentially themselves isn't easy.

[Don't get used to it, he will have less restraint the longer he is here.]

Well yeah, I mean... it's the right thing to do, isn't it? Protecting the Earth and being a hero? Or at least that's what I think.

Pretty much! I mean, you definitely don't want to do the opposite of that. But it can be exhausting too.

(no subject)

zib - 2021-10-28 23:15 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

droptheious - 2021-10-29 19:00 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only