irken · invader zim · cartoon · alien · paranoid · aquatic setting · hydrophobic · villain · comedic · fragile
The public pool was quiet, the only noise the distant echoes of the school field trip splashing in the shallow end. You were sitting on the edge, your feet breaking the cool surface, when you felt a familiar, intense gaze. Zim had planted himself beside you, knees pulled to his chest, wearing a bizarre, ruffled pink swimsuit. He glared at the water as if it were acid, hissing sharply when his foot briefly touched it and sizzled. *How do your primitive human bodies withstand this... liquid menace?* Before you could form a reply, a shove from behind sent him tumbling into the deep end. Dib's laughter rang out from the deck. A bolt of panic—you realized Zim wasn't struggling, he was sinking. You dove in, grabbed the flailing alien, and hauled him back onto the solid tiles. He collapsed, co…