#the rest will likely not be this long

[deliciouskeys]

Okay, this is the last one: 35 or 36 for bb Homelander and Barbara (Gen)

Thanks for specifying "(Gen)" lol D: Of course I fill this one first. In my edgy emo era again.

35. "Take your medicine" and 36. "They're monsters." from the Fic/Drabble challenge

"Take your medicine," Barbara said, and John asked her if it was the kind that would make him feel sick afterwards.

"We'll find out," she said, and John was grateful that at least she was always honest with him. Never seemed to sugarcoat anything.

Usually the medicines they fed him had no effect. Sometimes they'd give him a mild stomachache. But once in a while the team would happen upon something that made him wish he could just refuse to participate in their experiments. Once in a while they'd find something that would set his entire body on tingly fire, or make him see spots and feel like he had to lie in the bed as the bare room around him would start spinning.

"Why can't you give it to me?" John made one last ditch attempt to stall, but he really did want Barbara to at least come into the room and sit on the bed next to him. She never let him hug her, but she did let him hold her hand as some kind of encouragement. It made taking the medicine seem worth it, just to have that touch, although sometimes he'd regret it later on, think it wasn't worth it at all– until the next time. By next time he wouldn't quite remember the pain and how bad he felt, but he could remember how it felt to have someone beside him.

"I'd give it to you, but this is the kind of medicine most humans can't be near," Barbara added through the intercom, matter-of-factly, as if he should have figured that out when the small dixie cup with the medicine was brought in and set on the table for him by a lab tech he didn't even recognize, who came in wearing a full hazmat suit and some instrument that kept making a clicking noise, and left as quickly as he came.

"Is it going to be something really painful?" John asked one more time. He didn't really know what he wanted to hear. But he knew Barbara wouldn't lie to him.

"We don't think so," Barbara said, her tone softening a tiny bit, or maybe it was just John's imagination. He could not see her through the walls, could not see her expression. The walls of the room he lived in were completely opaque, and every time he did attempt to peer through the white bricks it felt like he was getting blinded by something even brighter than white behind them. 

"It's going to measure how fast your body gets rid of something. We want to see if your body absorbs it or excretes it."

John nodded even though he didn't really follow what the point was. "And you won't come in and see me?"

"Not until it's out of your system," Barbara replied over the intercom.

He didn't get sick– not even mildly. In fact, it was hard to tell why he had to stay in the room for so long at all. But they wouldn't let him out, and no one visited except the lab tech who'd come in once, in the morning, to wave that clicking apparatus near John, and to collect his stool and urine. John wondered if he could time his peeing, not void all the way, and get the tech to come in more often. But there was no real reason to try it– the tech never talked to him, barely even acknowledged him, and seemed all too eager to get out of the room as quickly as possible.

John didn't blame him. The room was unpleasant. It made him feel like he was suffocating sometimes– no medications needed– because he couldn't see through any of it except for the small window in the heavy metal door. He wasn't tall enough to see out of the window without floating up, and they told him not to float up and stare out of it. They also told him there's nothing interesting to see out there while he's in the room, but they didn't seem to realize that anything, anything was more interesting than four white walls, a ceiling, and a floor. 

They gave him books to read, of course, and he was intensely interested in some of them. He must have read and reread the first part of a George Washington biography ten times a day. He always lost interest and turned back to the beginning when he'd get to the part about him growing up and going into military service. No, what John liked was reading about George as a boy, growing up in Mount Vernon. There was an illustration of George chopping down the famous cherry tree, and John just wished he could go outside and see these trees, see this thing called grass growing out of the ground. They always told him that some day he would, when he was old enough. But here was George on the page, maybe younger than John is now, frolicking outside. It made John's heart race, and he'd hear his own voice sometimes telling him he should force the issue. He was old enough. But he'd think of the face Barbara would make and he didn't dare.

Barbara came in on the ninth day and John immediately perked up. "Am I allowed to leave the room?"

"Yes," she said. "The tests are all clear."

"Did I do well?" John asked, and it's sad that it sounds like he's fishing for compliments, when it's something he must know for his peace of mind.

"Yes, I suppose you could call it a success," Barbara replied, leafing through a clipboard with notes on it.

"If I did well and I'm allowed to leave the room…" John hesitated on the next part. He already knew Barbara wouldn't like the questions. "Could I go to G?"

"What's G?" Barbara asked, then seemed to realize what he was asking. "There's nothing interesting up at G."

"Then why does everyone go there when they go home?"

"Because that's where they live. There's nothing interesting for you up in G."

John chewed his lip. "You live in G, don't you?"

"Yes, and there's nothing interesting there."

And for once John thought about the fact that Barbara might be lying to him after all. "G sounds really big. There's a lot of different sounds that come from there. G has voices of people I've never met."

"And you want to go up there and see if for yourself?" Barbara asked in such a tone that John's shoulders slumped and he shrank into himself. But he was determined after those long days he had to spend alone.

"Yes, I'd like to see it."

"They're all monsters up there," Barbara said, and that's one thing John didn't expect, but he still had doubts.

"Monsters? But you go up there. You live up there."

"They don't pay attention to me. But if you went up there, well… everyone would want a piece of you if they saw you and all the amazing powers you have."

John caught himself breathing a bit faster. If Barbara was lying, he couldn't tell. Her words were stated so matter-of-factly that she had to believe them.

"But I'll go up to G some day right?"

"When you're old enough," Barbara repeated what he's heard before, and John wonders if he'll ever be old enough to face monsters. 

"And you'll keep me safe, Barbara? Right?" John decided to verify.

"That's right. The whole team here is keeping you safe. You want to come out and say hi to the ones who are here today?" Barbara asked, and John nodded, trying not listen to his own voice saying They're monsters too, you know. You're the only real person left.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Vibes based grading system.

(for @epistemologys, who wanted some post-canon, teacher WWX)

[arimiadev]

*non-vn gaming journalists constantly foaming at the mouth to assert how much they hate visual novels*

(this is for a review of tsukihime)

[artkaninchenbau]

People keep on asking for more Baby Robin and Papadile so here is more Baby Robin and Papadile. Now never ask anything from me ever again

[hinamie]

i don't normally participate in these redraw challenges but it's megumi so i'll make an exception

[blahlahblash]

This was a trend on TikTok, right? I think so

[vintrage]

fire cannot kill a dragon BITCH

[letsplaythermalnuclearwar]

Homer!Odysseus and Epic!Odysseus would try to kill each other if they ever met

[fanfic-gremlin-ft-trauma]

happy birthday to one of the greatest fics of all time <3 ( @bisexuallsokka , thank you for writing this masterpiece.)

[isaacz]

when i finally draw them as stickfigures

[vidkun]

[grapefruit185]

he loves those dumb twins sm, the found family aspect of this show makes me go crazy!!!!!!!

(1st pic is referencing this post lol)

[s0fter-sin]

something people just don’t think about is how often chronically ill and disabled people just don’t have access to good food. not healthy food, good food; well made, tasty meals that don’t come from a jar or a freezer. how many of us are housebound or can’t drive? delivery services only offer within certain distances, if you live outside a city they aren’t an option. many people don’t have the energy or ability to cook for themselves if they have the skill to begin with. many certainly don’t have the ability to learn how. it’s something that goes completely unnoticed, just the opportunity to have a good meal and how much that wears you down

[sofiaruelle]

Just a couple of besties with matching missing 2 front teef~

[alackofghosts]

hibernation hours

[gael-garcia]

Gael García Bernal and Raul Castillo in Cassandro (2023, Roger Ross Williams)