I submitted some of these on anon to a blog whose owner has since moved, and now I feel brave enough to repost them here.
Membrane and the (former) Tallest first meet when they crash on Earth post-Florpus. They were starving on the ruins of the Massive, and marry Membrane after he feeds them and lets them live with him, Mems thinking they're just two human 40-something twinks with the same skin conditions as the little boy down the street.
Red and Purple marry Membrane despite not really loving him (at first) so they can keep eating his food, using his foam roller, and sleep in a cushy bed that doesn't hurt their backs. The Falling In Love comes later, but when they do, they fall Hard.
All of them are Very Disabled and are Chronic Pain Bastards, and bond over being disabled, amputees, autistic, and trans, among many other things, including engineering.
I too am riding the chronic pain train, and the only sleeping position I can actually get some shuteye in is also the one that leaves me a shambling wreck come daylight. So! Imagine one of the boys settling down for a snooze only to wake up grumpy and regretting everything the next morning. Yes, I’m projecting, no I will not stop.
Taller Irkens can have a hard time regulating their body temperatures, so both Red and Purple love snuggling with Membrane because his body temperature is so warm compared to theirs. He’s like a warm marshmallow. When they’re all snuggling in bed, Purple takes the space closest to the wall because he feels safest there, Red takes the place facing the door so he can watch for intruders, and Membrane takes the middle spot. (Lucky guy!)
Red’s little love language ritual before he goes to sleep for the night is to put his fingers on his loved one’s throat or wrists so he can check their pulse. Purple has been used to Red’s particular brand of weirdness for years, and accepts this, but it gave Membrane quite the spook when Red did it to him for the first time. This was just after Membrane first found out Red and Purple were aliens, and he pretended to be asleep at the time for fear Red was preparing to kill him. The next morning Purple pulled Membrane aside and explained, “He only does that to those he loves. If he does that, that means he really loves you.” The next night, Membrane willing places Red’s hand on his throat, as a show of trust.
The Tallest love petting Membrane’s hair. It’s got a texture unlike anything on Irk, it’s attached to the man who loves them, and it’s so fluffy!
Red and Purple are Very Traumatized from living in Irk’s society (even if they benefited from being tall, being autistic in an ableist society, and getting their thumbs chopped off and getting horrifying surgical modifications to make them taller when they were far too young to be Tallest really messed them up.)
Red and Gaz play video games together.
Purple becomes really interested in earthen occult stuff and bonds with Dib over it once he realizes just how powerful it could make him. Begrudgingly bonding with your new son smeet by summoning demons together. Of course, it’s all fun and games until someone gets possessed. That’s a real awkward conversation to have with the rest of your family.
The somebody who got possessed? It was Red. Try explaining to your hooman husband that you were fooling around with the paranormal with your sonion and accidentally got your other husband possessed and raised all the dead in a 100 square mile radius. And try dealing with Gaz when she figures out you got her favorite loser at Vidya James possessed.
Red and Purple, while very tall for irkens, are smaller than Membrane. They actually regard him as their new Tallest, even if they’d never tell him that.
