#and it's gotta be so painful for jane too. like she was just kidnapped and the first thing her best friend says | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pickledpascal · 3 years

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‘tis the damn season

Chapter Eleven: Always Remember Us This Way

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: Minor Violence, emotional breakdown

Summary: The final showdown with the White Nova and Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock happens in an unlikely place. And has an unlikely ending.

Song: Always Remember Us This Way by Lady Gaga

It was late when Ailani got a call from Peter, telling her they needed to go to Otto’s hiding place. It seemed he got the last piece to form his nuclear fusion reactor and he also kidnapped Peter’s crush, Mary Jane. Ailani let out a groan of frustration, she was working on the inhibitor chip but she was nowhere near done with it. So, she quickly got dressed in her suit and escaped to the docks from her window.

Ailani watched as Peter crawled around inside the water lab, trying his best to stealthily get Mary Jane out of the place. Which failed pretty miserably, Otto caught him almost right away. Ailani shook her head as she watched before she literally kicked the front door across the room, one of Otto’s actuators caught the door because it was coming straight for him.

“Hello again, Otto! I think it’s my turn to break into your house don’t you think?” Ailani asked with a sarcastic smile. She decided not to put her mask on, MJ didn’t know who she was anyways. “Maybe you’ll understand how I feel.” She winked as she walked over to the man.

Peter was currently being strangled by Otto’s extra arms, but quite frankly, all of the Doctor’s attention was on the woman coming towards him. Ailani acted like she was untouchable, but he knew she had weaknesses. In fact, Otto basically defeated her once–through dirty tactics but still.

Otto cocked his head at Ailani as a challenge. “What are you here to do? Seduce me into the good side?” He said with a sarcastic and mocking tone, the arm that held Peter pushed him against one of the metal pillars and held him there. It didn’t want to hurt him badly just yet.

“You tried that with me.” Ailani growled a little before she looked at Peter for a moment. “But the only way this is gonna end is with you getting hurt.” She was determined to have her Otto back, so if he had to get hurt in order to fulfill that, she didn’t mind.

Otto cocked his eyebrow at Ailani before Peter somehow escaped from his claws and swung over to MJ to try and help her out of there. The doctor’s claws were busy getting the reactor online and capturing Ailani as well. “Too late, hm?” He asked with a smirk. “No one can stop it once it starts.”

The woman closed her eyes for a moment, making Peter think she was about to pass out again with how tight those things were holding her. But when Ailani opened her eyes again, they were glowing a firecesom deep red as she pushed open the claws of the tentacle that held her. Otto’s head went blank as he watched, not even hearing the voices of the AI.

He was mesmerized by Ailani’s show of strength.

Ailani’s powers were very much tied to her emotions. Each time her eyes glowed, it was like she was plastering her emotions on a billboard. But this time she didn’t care if anyone knew she was mad. Hell, she was furious. Both at herself and the evil that captured Otto’s mind. She could’ve stopped this so much earlier if only she was there the night the first reactor started up.

The girl blasted Otto away from her and into the water, not caring that there was metal flying past her and feeding into the perpetual sun just a few feet away from her. Otto groaned from the pain, his glasses were knocked off his face and water was all over his face and in his hair. Flashes of memories played behind his eyes, like he was trying to remember what it was like without the AI in control.

Peter jumped in front of the Doctor, looking at Ailani for a moment before he took off his mask. “Doc, you gotta help us destroy this thing.” He pleaded softly, his eyes filled with sympathy.

“I won’t.” Otto growled, his actuator trying to get close to Peter before he caught sight of Ailani next to him and stopped. “I-It’s my dream, my life’s work.” He ground his teeth together, his eyes glazing over with sadness. Otto worked on even just the blueprints for the reactor for half of his life, he couldn’t take the fact that what he was doing was wrong.

“Sometimes you have to give up your dream.” Peter whispered sadly, glancing over at Ailani before he swallowed thickly.

Ailani shook her head gently and let out a small chuckle. “Or maybe you need to find a new one.” She said softly, holding out a hand for Otto to take.

The man narrowed his eyes at Ailani’s hand, his heart heavy with emotions. A new dream. Maybe that new dream is you. Otto gently set his hand in hers, squeezing it tightly. There were so many things going through his head at one time but the main thread that tied everything together was Ailani.

“How do we stop it?” Peter asked again, his voice more hurried. The reactor was quickly gaining more steam and was absorbing every piece of metal there was, that was starting to include the whole building.

“We can’t-”

“Think, Otto!” Ailani grunted, “There has to be something.” She looked over at the reactor, her eyes trailing to the city that layed almost a mile away with water separating them.

Suddenly, it clicked. For both Ailani and Otto. “The river! We can drown it.” They said at the same time, immediately looking at each other once they heard each other's voices. Peter rolled his eyes at the two of them, they were disgustingly cute together.

Otto stood up from the little pool he was standing in. “I’ll do it. I made this mess, I should fix it.” He said regretfully, shaking his head at himself. Even then, the voices of the actuators were hissing at him but he was resisting.

“Otto…..” Ailani sighed, shaking her head as the man gave her a gentle and shy smile. “I’m supposed to be saving you.” She knew what Otto was doing. His arms were way too heavy for him to be in deep water….

He cupped her cheeks and caressed them softly. “I have to do this, my little sun.” Otto whispered softly, “Think of me before this ever happened, please.” He pleaded before he pulled his hands away from Ailani’s face.

Ailani bit her lip then pulled Otto’s face towards her own, kissing him passionately. Fireworks went off in her head, but they came crashing down, setting everything aflame. This would be the first and last time she would be kissing Otto…. It scared her. Far worse than any physical trauma she’s been through in her life.

Otto let out a noise of surprise when Ailani kissed him, the actuators calming as his brain cleared yet again. All because of her. He wrapped his human arms around Ailani’s waist and deepened the kiss with a soft smile, just enjoying the last moment that they had with each other. But Otto pulled away, an almost proud smile on his face. “You’re gonna do great things, my little sun.” He whispered softly, walking to the reactor.

Ailani and Peter watched, though one of them felt more helpless than the other. Otto waved at them before he started to push the reactor down into the river, the pulling of metal actually even helped Otto since it tore open the building out to the river.

“C’mon, Ai…. We have to go.” Peter said, looking at his friend. He already swung MJ to safety but now he needed to make sure his friend was safe as well.

Ailani shook her head and gave her friend a weak smile, “It’s okay. You go to MJ.” She said softly, nudging Peter away.

She didn’t like feeling weak anymore. And, more importantly, she didn’t like when someone knew she felt weak. The weight Ailani put on herself was too much and even she knew that but she would find a way to feel okay again.

Peter sighed a little, giving Ailani a tight hug. “I love you, sis. I wanna see you tomorrow….” He whispered softly before he swung away to make sure MJ was alright.

Ailani practically broke down once Otto left, a power surge erupting from her body as she cried. Power waves of deep blue rocked the building and the surrounding water. Her eyes glowed a bright and strong blue as tears flowed down her cheeks and added to the river below her.

The love of her life was truly gone and there was nothing she could do about it….

#doctor otto octavius #otto octavius #otto octavius x oc #otto octavius x ailani tolar #alfred molina x oc #alfred molina #ailani tolar #tobey!peter parker #tobey maguire #peter parker #spiderman #raimi spider man #spiderman 2 #tis the damn season

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i-am-out-of-my-vulcan-mind · 4 years

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How to Save a Life

Well I wasn’t going to write anymore for 5x05, but @lurkingwhump twisted my rubber arm and begged me to rewrite the episode as if Kurt had never been kidnapped.

I’m sorry if it’s a little repetitive to the episode 🤷🏼‍♀️

I’ve taken the liberty of filling my @badthingshappenbingo square “CPR”.

TW for use of foul language.

Jane stumbled back into the bunker, her vision flashing, her side on fire. She could hear the team arguing, Kurt’s voice rising up above the others.

“I’m going out to look for her!” he shouted. “Something must have happened. She should have gotten back around the same time as me and Tasha!”

A wave of pain rose up from her abdomen, causing her to stumble into the wall. She whimpered softly. Kurt… she needed to get to Kurt.

Determination coursing through her, she pushed back off the wall, limping into the compound.

“Jane!” Kurt cried, rushing to her side.

“Oh thank god you’re ok!” Rich exclaimed coming towards her. Upon taking a second look at her he added. “You are ok, right?”

Kurt helped Jane into a chair.

“I ah… I got shot. But it’s just a graze.” she said matter of factly. “Ivy was there. She was at the meet. We need to find her.” Jane said, pointing out the coordinates on the computer. “I saw her take off in a black SUV after I got shot. She’s our best hope at figuring out what the Dabbur Zann are up to.” She squeezed her eyes shut. Her pain was evident and Kurt couldn’t ignore it.

“Here, let me take a look at you.” he said, his concern for his wife rising.

Jane shook her head.

“I’m alright.” she said in what she hoped was her most convincing tone. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll put a bandage on it.”

Kurt frowned. He knew his wife was stubborn, but she was hiding something.

“You guys need to focus on finding Ivy.” she said, pushing herself to her feet. She bit back a cry of pain at the movement, leaving the room quickly before she had to answer questions. Right now finding Ivy was their main priority - she was the key to getting their lives back.

Jane locked herself in the small storage room and gingerly lifted up her shirt. Blood oozed down her abdomen, soaking the waistband of her jeans. She ripped open a couple of packets of gauze and applied as much pressure as she could without yelling out. The last thing she needed was her husband breaking down the door and finding her in this state.

He deserved to get home to his daughter. To his life. Patterson needed to get home to her family. They all had people waiting for them and finding Ivy was the easiest way to get there.

She stuck a large wound pad across the bullethole, hoping it would absorb enough of the blood for it to go unnoticed. She disposed of all of the blood soaked gauze, before taking a deep breath and heading back out to the others. She leaned up against a pole, surreptitiously clutching at her side. She could already feel her shirt soaking through.

“I can’t believe this! So far this SUV has avoided every camera that we have managed to hack into! I am so sick of not having my actual lab!” Patterson cried, her voice laced with frustration.

“Ok, so what’s next?” Jane asked, blinking heavily. She was fading faster than she thought she was going to.

Patterson shrugged.

“I’m not sure. I’m going to have to keep combing through this footage until something comes up.”

“We need to find her.” Kurt said almost desperately. “I haven’t seen my daughter in three months… she’s in the hospital. I need to see her.”

“I know. I’m doing the best I can.” Patterson said dejectedly.

“Maybe we should go back to where we last saw Ivy… look for clues.” Kurt suggested.

Their voices faded with the ringing of her ears. A burning nausea rose up the back of her throat as her vision faded in and out. Jane felt like she was deep underwater, pressure and weight building up in her as if her blood was made of lead.

“We should go, now. We can’t waste anymore time.” Kurt growled. He couldn’t just sit here and do nothing.

“There’s gonna be a problem with that.” Jane slurred, before collapsing to the floor with a thwack.

“Jane!” Kurt yelled, rushing to her side, Tasha and Patterson lifting up her shirt to inspect her injury.

“This is not a graze.” Tasha breathed, shock laced through her words.

Kurt moved, cradling Jane’s head in his lap. Patterson took his place, pressing down on the dressing Jane had applied earlier.

“There’s no exit wound, but with this much blood, the bullet must be pressing up against something… an artery or an organ.” Tasha said, looking up at Patterson.

“We’ve gotta get her to a hospital or at least a very shady veterinarian!” Rich cried out, watching Jane slowly gain consciousness. She cried out, the agony she was feeling finally winning the battle of hide and seek.

“Jane!” Kurt called, stroking her hair off her sweaty forehead.

“I’m ok.” she cracked, trying to get her body back under control.

“No you’re not.” Kurt said incredulously. “You’re bleeding out Jane. We need to get you to a doctor.”

“No!” Jane cried. “We’re not risking me, or anyone else by going back out there.”

“Jane you’ve lost a lot of blood.” Tasha said quietly. The thought of losing anyone else was making it hard to breathe. “That bullet needs to come out.”

Decision made, Jane looked up at Patterson, giving her a determined look. “We’re doing the surgery here.”

“I’m sorry… surgery?” Rich cried in disbelief.

Patterson looked into Jane’s eyes. There would be no changing her mind. Plus judging by how much blood she had already lost, she was too far gone to move anyway.

“Ok let’s prep.” she said with a tone of finality. “We don’t have much time.”

Patterson and Rich left to gather their supply of medical equipment and Tasha was sorting out a makeshift surgical table. Kurt placed a pillow under her head, before pressing down firmly, yet gently on her abdomen.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked gently.

“Be-Bethany.” she stuttered through the pain.

Kurt hung his head in understanding. She had put herself second, yet again. “Oh Jane.” he whispered softly.

“Let’s get her off the floor.” Tasha said quietly.

Kurt nodded in agreement, Tasha replacing his hands on Jane’s stomach while Kurt gently lifted her into his arms. Jane screamed in pain, burying her face into his neck to try and ground herself.

“Shhh shh, it’s ok.” Kurt soothed, pressing his lips to her forehead. Jane was breathing heavily in his arms, he knew she would be more comfortable laying flat so he carefully put her down, though, he wanted nothing more than to gather her in his arms and shield her from the pain.

“Just breathe baby.” he said instead, sharing a worried look with Tasha. They were very quickly running out of time.

Patterson and Rich reappeared with all of the medical equipment they could carry.

“How’s she doing?” Patterson asked Tasha, who was still holding pressure to her wound.

“She’s ok…” Tasha replied.

“She’s not going to be ok for much longer.” Kurt said urgently. “She needs blood.”

“We have that covered.” Patterson said, starting an IV in Jane’s hand.

“I’m sorry? Is there a Red Cross somewhere around here that I don’t know about?” Rich asked confused.

Patterson shook her head. “Tasha has the same blood type. We can do an intravenous transfusion.”

“No… we can’t.” Rich burst out. The deathglare Tasha directed at him didn’t go unnoticed.

“What do you mean no we can’t. What is going on with you two?” Patterson asked, clearly exasperated.

“We just can’t.” Rich said, giving a pointed look to Tasha. There was no way he was going to be the one to spill the beans. Tasha needed to do that herself.

“Jane’s life is at risk!” Patterson cried. “We don’t have much time left!”

“I’m pregnant.” Tasha said softly.

Rich sighed in relief, so thankful that he wasn’t the only one to know now.

“Oh… right… well that complicates things a bit.” Patterson said softly. She was more than a little hurt that Tasha hadn’t told her sooner. They were supposed to be best friends.

“It complicates things a lot.” Kurt piped up. “She needs blood.”

“Yes she does.” Tasha said. “Prep me for a transfusion.”

“No!” Jane said, finally speaking up. She had listened to them bicker for long enough. “It’s too dangerous for you to donate. We will have to find another way. End of discussion.”

“There is no other way.” Patterson told them.

“How much time does the saline buy me?” Rich pointed at the saline, an idea brewing in his mind.

“I don’t know… maybe an hour.” Patterson replied, clearly not in the mood for Rich’s games.

“I have a guy…”

“You have a blood guy?” Kurt asked.

“Give me forty five minutes!” Rich exclaimed. “Fifty tops!” And with that he was gone.

Jane blew out a long shaky breath.

“In the meantime, let’s keep looking for Ivy.” she croaked, her voice wobbly from the pain.

“On it.” Patterson said, giving Jane’s hand a squeeze, before retreating to her desk.

“Keep pressure on that.” Tasha directed to Kurt, knowing he wouldn’t leave Jane’s side for a second.

When they were finally alone, he sat beside her, keeping his hands firmly placed on her injury.

“How are you holding up?” he asked softly, frightened by the ghostly pallor to her skin. She was losing blood fast, but he knew doing the surgery without the blood was too risky. They just needed to be patient.

“I’m ok…” Jane whispered. At his raised eyebrow she closed her eyes and took a breath. “Ok… so I’m not ok…”

Kurt shook his head.

“You should have told us.” he said, his face screwing up in emotional distress. He knew the reason she didn’t tell him was because she wanted to give them the best chance at finding Ivy.

“I thought I could hold hold on long enough for us to find her…” Jane replied softly, her energy levels spent.

Kurt sighed. “You really are a stubborn one aren’t you?”

Jane chuckled, only to regret it instantly when the movement caused pain waves so intense, they stole her breath away.

Kurt, noticing her distress, started shushing her softly. “Sshh it’s ok…” he said softly. “Just breathe baby.”

Jane groaned in pain, trying not to hyperventilate as her breath hitched. “Ohh… god…” she breathed out through clenched teeth.

“That’s right, just relax.” He watched her breathing slowly calm down and even out. She slipped away into a fitful sleep, though he knew she was probably closer to passing out than actually getting any real sleep. They needed that blood. And soon.

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“How’s she doing?” Patterson asked Kurt, not liking what she was seeing. She was deathly white, her eyes sunken in and her skin taking on a sickly hue.

“Bad… I’m doing bad…” Jane replied for him. “How’s that blood coming?”

At Patterson’s expression she knew they still hadn’t heard from Rich.

“We need to start the surgery now…” Jane rasped.

“No… Jane… without that blood, doing the surgery is too risky. You’ve already lost too much…” Patterson exclaimed.

Jane closed her eyes. “I’m running out of time.” she whispered. “We need to start the surgery now… we just need to hope he makes it back in time, for us to finish.”

Patterson closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “I know I act like I know everything… and ok I know a lot… but this is very out of my comfort zone.”

“Mine too…” Tasha added. “I mean I know some field medicine.. but this… this is very different.”

“Jane… it’s not too late to call the hospital.” Kurt said in his last hope that they wouldn’t have to do something so barbaric to his wife.

Jane shook her head.

“Even with my fake passport… my tattoos are too easily recognised…” she grunted in pain, whimpering from the effort of talking.

“She’s right…” Patterson sighed. “But I honestly don’t think I can do this…”

Jane reached out for her hand… “It’s ok… I’ll talk you through it… we are doing this together.” she said, taking Tasha’s hand on her other side.

“What can I do?” Kurt asked, still applying pressure to Jane’s abdomen.

“Just be here…” Was all Jane replied. Kurt complied, removing his gloves and moving so he was standing at the head of the table. He stroked her hair back from her damp forehead, kissing her head softly.

“Kurt… can you get me the mirror? So I can see what they’re doing?”

Kurt shared a look with Patterson and Tasha. “Ok Jane…” he said before moving off to the shared bathroom to grab it. He put it on the stand, moving it so Jane could see her abdomen.

“Ready?” Jane asked.

After a moment's hesitation, both Patterson and Tasha replied.

“Ready.” they said before moving to their required positions.

“Ok you’re going to want to remove the bandage... and then clean the area and numb it with lidocaine.”

“Ok ok…” Patterson replied, putting on a pair of gloves and gently peeling off the bandage.

“Slowly… slowly.” Jane said softly.

The moment the bandage was off, blood started to run down Jane’s side again, soaking the sheet underneath. Patterson grabbed some gauze off of Tasha and placed it on the wound. When Jane cried out in pain she loosened her hold, only to have Jane’s hand press down on top of her own. Jane cried out in pain, but through determination and sheer stubbornness, she didn’t pass out again.

Tasha prepped the iodine and lidocaine, passing them one after another to Patterson. With the wound numbed and disinfected they were ready.

“Come on Jane… don’t give up now…” Kurt said softly, seeing she was on the brink of passing out again. Jane blinked heavily in response. It was getting harder and harder to stay awake.

“Ok… now’s the fun part…” Jane breathed, her voice laced with pain.

“Where we call the hospital and take you in?” Patterson asked, almost hopefully.

Jane offered her a small reassuring smile. “You can do this.”

Patterson tried to smile back, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Was this the last conversation she would ever have with her friend? What if she killed her?

“Ok… first, you’re going to want to make a small cut - about an inch long, on either side of the wound - so you can see what you’re doing.” Jane instructed.

“Ok… yeah… no big deal.” Patterson muttered, but grabbed the scalpel all the same. She made the first incision. “Ok, one more.” she continued, making the incision on the opposite side. “Is that enough? Please tell me that’s enough!”

“It’s enough.” Jane said, nodding weakly. “Ok now you’re going to need to use the retractor to open the wound, so you can see what you’re doing.” she said, straining so she could see in the mirror.

Tasha handed the retractor to Patterson. She placed it in the wound, spreading it open. Blood began to rise from within, spilling out and running down Jane’s abdomen causing Jane cried out in discomfort.

“It’s ok baby. Just keep breathing.” Kurt murmured softly. He stroked her hair, trying to offer her as much comfort as he could. It was killing him to see her this way. But he needed to remain strong for her. She was trying to be brave and if he broke down, he knew she would lose her reserve.

Jane took a sharp breath in through her nose, trying to quell her torment with sheer brainpower.

“Now take the clamp and find the bullet.” she croaked huskily.

Patterson took the clamp off of Tasha. Staring at it as if it was a snake. “Cool cool cool cool cool.” she muttered. She swallowed heavily before pushing the clamp inside Jane’s abdomen. “Ok… I think I can feel it.” she said, slowly pulling the bullet to the surface.

“Nice and steady…” Jane breathed.

Just as she got the bullet to the entrance, the clamp slipped. Jane let out a cry, turning her head into Kurt’s neck to try and hide her agony.

Patterson stared at her in horror, eyes wide in apology. “Sorry!” she said desperately. This was by far the craziest thing she had ever done… she just wanted it to be over.

Jane managed to compose herself, enough to look Patterson in the eye. “It’s ok…” she said bravely. “Try again.”

“Ok… lots of blood… Tasha can you flush it for me?” Patterson asked. Tasha responded, immediately flushing saline onto the wound to try and clear the blood. “Ok… hold this.” Patterson said, indicating for Tasha to hold the retractor open.

She reinserted the clamp, searching gently for the bullet again.

“Ok… I’ve got it.”

“Slowly…” Jane instructed, though there was a pleading tone to her voice. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take. She could feel herself going into hypovolemic shock. Her vision was greying around the edges and she was cold… so so cold.

Jane watched through the mirror as Patterson successfully removed the bullet from inside of her. She couldn’t help the gasp of relief from escaping.

“We have a lot of blood here!” Patterson said again, pressing down on her wound.

“You’re going to need to check what kind of damage there is.” Jane slurred. She was finding it harder to get words out. “How’s that blood coming along?” she added, starting to feel a bit desperate.

Patterson shared a look with Tasha. If Rich didn’t get back soon…

“Ok I’m going in.” Patterson said, trying to evade Jane’s earlier question. “Lots of blood…” she stuck her finger inside the wound, feeling around. “I can’t feel any damage though… I think we’re good.” she breathed a sigh of relief.

Jane’s breathing hitched, her body losing the battle. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her head lolled to the side as unconsciousness swept up to claim her.

“Jane…” Kurt gasped.

“Jane! Stay with us!” Tasha cried, trying to rouse her. “Screw it… prep me for a transfusion.”

“I’m here!” Rich shouted, running into the room.

“What took you so long!” Patterson scolded.

“What took me so long?” Rich asked incredulously. “To get human blood?” He opened the chiller, pulling the transfusion out and hanging it on the hook. “Oh… that’s so much worse than I thought it was gonna be.” he cringed, looking at her wound.

“Jane…” Kurt said again, brushing her face gently. She didn’t respond. She wasn’t even reacting to the pain anymore. “Jane?” he asked, moving his hand from his face to her neck. “Oh fuck!” he shouted, moving around the table and starting compressions of her chest. “Get that blood hooked up!” he cried.

Tasha scrambled around to where Rich had hung the bag, connecting it to her IV.

“I’m gonna pack the wound.” Patterson cried, knowing if they had any chance at bringing Jane literally back from the dead, that they had to stop the bleeding. She wouldn’t be able to stitch her up with Kurt performing CPR.

They ran the transfusion through as quickly as they safely could, needing to get her blood volume back up.

“Don’t leave me… not after everything!” Kurt panted, the effort of performing compressions taxing his strength. “Come on!” he shouted.

The others watched on helplessly, all sharing looks of despair. Were they really about to lose another member of their team?

Tasha moved to the head of the table, putting her fingers on Jane’s neck. “Weller… stop for a second.”

He ceased compressions as instructed, Tasha checking her pulse. She shook her head, eyes wide in fear. “Nothing.”

“No!” Kurt cried, starting compressions again. Sweat poured off of him, but he didn’t care. He was only concerned with getting his wife’s heart beating again. He was NOT going to lose her.

“Start an IV in her other hand and push the Ringer’s. Our only hope is to get as much fluid into her as possible.” Patterson ordered. Tasha did as asked, running the Ringer's solution wide open.

After a few agonising moments, Jane started gasping for breath, her facing contorting in agony.

“Jane!” Kurt cupped her chin. “Please open your eyes baby.” he begged, choking down tears. Jane’s eyes fluttered, but she couldn’t muster the strength to actually open them. She grimaced, soft whimpers of pain escaping her throat. Kurt stroked her hair back. “Sshhh it’s ok… you just rest.”

Within seconds Jane was unconscious again. An eerie silence fell over the team as they all watched her chest rise and fall.

“I never want to do that again.” Rich piped up first. “Nope. Never. Again.” With that he left the room, muttering under his breath.

Patterson blew out a lungful of air. “We should.. ah… I should stitch her up.” she said. She could feel the adrenaline of the last hour starting to wear off. She needed to get Jane stitched up before she became a quivering mess on the floor.

Tasha wordlessly came around to assist, Kurt taking place at Jane’s head again. He placed his hand on her heart, needing the reassurance that it was beating.

They finished suturing her wound quickly, Patterson covering it with a fresh, thick bandage, before she pulled her gloves off.

“I need a minute.” she stated, before walking away. “Yell if you need me.” she called over her shoulder, then disappeared.

“I’ll give you some space.” Tasha said quietly. She knew Kurt needed a moment to come to terms with what had nearly happened. She felt shaky and jittery from the ordeal, so she could only guess how he was feeling.

He pulled a seat over, sitting beside her and taking her hand, mindful of the IV.

“Well fuck…” he breathed. How many times did he have to watch her nearly die? That was the third time he had had to perform CPR on her in the time he had known her.

He pulled down the collar of her shirt, exposing her chest. He could already see the bruises starting to blossom. He was pretty sure he had broken a couple of ribs in his effort to get her back. She was going to be darn sore the next time she woke up.

He sat there quietly, keeping vigil over his sleeping wife. Her heart had only stopped beating for a short while before he started compressions, but he was still worried at the lack of oxygen to her brain...

He shook his head. He wasn’t going to worry about the ‘ifs’, he needed to focus on right now.

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It had been a few hours since the surgery and Jane’s vitals were remaining strong. She had gained a little colour back in her cheeks, but she still looked deathly ill.

The rest of the team had taken it in turns to check on them both - once they had managed to calm themselves down a little. Kurt hadn’t left her side once. Patterson administered some morphine, once she was confident that Jane’s blood pressure wasn’t going to plummet again.

“I’m going to move her to our room.” Kurt said the next time Patterson showed up in the doorway. “She will be warmer and more comfortable.”

Patterson nodded in agreement, offering to help him with the IV stands.

Kurt picked Jane up carefully, holding her as tightly to his chest as he could. Slowly he made his way to their room, Patterson following with the stands. He lay her gently on the bed, trying his best not to jostle her injury.

Patterson set up the IV stands at the head of the bunk, before leaving them alone again.

It was over an hour later, when Jane started shifting on the bed.

“Jane...” Kurt said gently.

Jane cracked her eyelids open, blinking softly.

“Kurt?” she whispered. She tried to take a deeper breath, only to fall short, her chest too sore to expand properly. “Wha-?”

“Ssshhh… just relax.” Kurt said softly, moving so he was in her field of vision. “Your heart stopped after Patterson got the bullet out.” Kurt explained. “I’m sorry… I think I broke a couple of ribs doing compressions.”

“It’s ok.” Jane whispered. “I’m sorry.” she said quietly. She knew how hard that must have been for her to watch.

“How are you feeling?” Kurt asked.

“Tired.” she mumbled, her eyes falling closed again.

Kurt smiled softly, gently stroking her hair from her forehead.

“Get some rest baby. I’ll be right here.”

Jane let out a small sound of acknowledgement, before drifting back off into a healing sleep.

‘She is going to be sore tomorrow!’ Kurt thought, wincing sympathetically. But at least there was going to be a tomorrow. It had taken all of them to save her life. And he would be forever grateful to his family.

Now all they had to do was find Ivy and get their lives back. Jane, however, would be sitting this next mission out. He needed her to rest and recover. He needed to keep her safe and hidden.

He reached out and tucked the thick woollen blanket under her chin, before kissing her softly on the eyelid.

“Sweet dreams baby.” he said softly. “Thank you for not dying.” He leaned back in his chair, hoping that that would be the last time he ever had to perform CPR on his wife.

#blindspot #blindspot fanfic #jane doe #kurt weller #jeller #badthingshappenbingo

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bladekindeyewear · 4 years

Text

HS^2 bloggin’ mainline 2020-04-02

Alright I’ll fix the broken images later right now lets goooooo read the updaaaate I’ve been only spoiled on the chapter title

I don’t even wanna guess. Jake? This makes me think of Jake for some reason, even though that doesn’t make much se-- oh right the Vriskas are locked in a school closet with a dead clown.

> CHAPTER 7. Distress Call From the Closet

Yep.

Also, this is how a car design looks when it was invented to have its first appearance be it flying with a human named Tavros looking out from an open side door.

(I’m not ENTIRELY against designing something for its immediate-art-use-purpose first and functional or historical-origination thought later, but usually when you make it that obvious that that’s what your doing it’s best to make that fact funny. Like the Conveniently Shaped Lamp.)

Also I appreciate this using of Candy as kind of more lighthearted breaks in the action?

> (==>)

I thoguht that protruding fang (?) was drool for a second and wondered what the fuck they were up to in this closet all of a sudden.

Vriska, thriving on it, has not felt so decadently alive in a very long time. Tavros has never in his tragic existence felt so close to death, which is surprising to him.

Vrissy is trying her best not to grapple with any cosmic truths at the moment, since she’s getting a phone call in the middle of hiding for her life.

Vrissy’s implied to be somewhere in-between all that by this joke. I bet she’ll be comparing herself to Vriska and Tavros alike throughout this mess, wondering where on the spectrum she lands and being ashamed of it AND both of them regardless. Vriska Original had a ghost version who went on a fair bit of a Page dress-up thing and personality shift, so maybe we could expect Vrissy to struggle with being caught in the middle of the scales... or does that qualify as overthinking it classpectways?

VRISSY: Yeah Harry I would say we are Extremely Aware of the Situ8ion. VRISSY: As it Unfolded the fuck all around us.

Good Christ, Vrissy’s selectively-capitalized Kanaya-isms continue to be cute.

Oh, he’s on speakerphone.

> (==>)

Yep, telling Rose and Kanaya would be the smart thing to do, but it isn’t the Them thing to do.

--ROXY’S PLACE?!?? Hoo boy. On the other hand, though, we get more Roxy, so it evens out.

Also, I like how Harry Anderson has to spell out Harry Anderson’s entire name for his Harry Anderson chat tag every single time. Harry Anderson.

> (==>)

Part of the reason, Tavros thinks, that he’s been so game to continue on with the worst plan anyone has ever concocted, is that the more bullshit they endure, the longer they can put off actually doing anything that matters.

If he’s getting sprayed with a sprinkler and getting clown feet in his face, it’s a farce. It can’t hurt him. But if they get to the part where he’s shoving the uncooperative weight of his uncle’s corpse in an incinerator, he will stop floating in protective semi-consciousness above his body and it will all be real.

Ouch.

Can’t one of you assholes just captchalogue him? Or did you leave all the appropriate-strength moduses at home? Even you Vriska??

Oh, right. Everyone knows and you can just leave him here. Good call. I mean you don’t really have to worry about forensic evidence with the pictures circulating.

> (==>)

VRISKA: 8ye 8itch.

Oooh! That feels satisfying! Yeah, tell off Gamzee’s corpse!

...Wait.

If they just leave Gamzee there, Jane can revive him, can’t she.

Fuck. Maybe it’s up to Jake to try and stop that.

> (==>)

Karkat and Meenah resistance-time, then, with them presumably hearing about this development on the internet. Wow, Meenah’s horns are getting long fast. Plus a hint more of her grown-up self’s height. I didn’t think she’d keep maturing so fast with her absurd lifespan ahead of her.

Oh shit, I didn’t see at first--

Right, Candy might still be lighthearted compared to the broader plot just due to lowered stakes, but it’s still the Carpet-Bombing-and-War-Filled Shituniverse.

Trolls are made for the battlefield.

From the moment a troll oozes out of the mother grub’s pulsating sphincter, through the trials of the brooding caverns, across the brutal day to day slog of Alternian society, all the way to their Ordeals, to the sucking void of space. They are bred for nothing but endless war.

But Commander Vantas...Commander Vantas is different.

Is... is Meenah narrating right now? Because fuck.

Or so all the pamphlets say.

The actual Commander Vantas has blisters on his heel and has been taking pot-shots at scouting drones for the last six hours. He could use a bath, honestly.

Or is this one of the trolls on the side narrating who’s kind of internalized the stories of trolls’ prior warlike nature?

> (==>)

MEENAH: yo nubs is that u MEENAH: pretty rank KARKAT: OH MY GOD. KARKAT: I FLATLY REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN SMELL MY NATURAL MUSK OVER THE STENCH OF BLOOD AND BURNING FLESH.

I guess it probably was Meenah narrating, then. Unless it’s a really biased alt!Callie doing the talking.

MEENAH: didnt i warn u bout thinking tho? KARKAT: GOD DAMMIT MEENAH, DON’T MEME AT ME.

I don’t know what meme this is and I really don’t want to know.

They have had this argument more than once. In fact, both of them could play either side of it. Karkat has done his time in the field, of course, leading small guerilla operations to free prisoners and sabotage Crocker’s supply chains, but Meenah and the rest of the council is right. Which is why he’s here, instead of at the front lines with his rebels, where he belongs.

His true value is his face. His symbology. At the end of the day, he is a fucking ad campaign.

...is KARKAT narrating here???

SWIFER: boss check the news!

Oh shit, right, Swifer is in the resistance in Candy instead of just a breeding assistant in Meat as the bonuses remind us.

KARKAT: OH FUCK. MEENAH: what KARKAT: JESUS CHRIST. MEENAH: nubs i swear 2 god KARKAT: IT’S GAMZEE. KARKAT: HE’S DEAD. MEENAH: oh MEENAH: well shit KARKAT: I CAN’T FUCKING BELIEVE THIS. MEENAH: u okay KARKAT: NO!

Huh. Them’s some complicated feelings that could fall in basically all directions at once.

Also, I can’t believe Karkat has hung around humans enough to fully internalize the full-throated exclamation “JESUS CHRIST”, which wouldn’t even really be a thing on Earth C with people who aren’t from Earths B or A.

MEENAH: u outlawed fishpuns i gotta make my own fun

How could you, Karkat.

KARKAT: AND I GUESS IF YOU CALL AN OBSCENELY PUBLIC PALE ACT, PERFORMED IN A FUGUE OF DESPERATE PANIC INTENDED TO PREVENT HIM FROM MURDERING ALL OF MY FRIENDS INSTEAD OF JUST HALF OF THEM “A THING”. KARKAT: THEN YES, I GUESS WE HAD A THING. KARKAT: BUT IF YOU’RE ASKING ME IF I’M SAD THAT HE’S DEAD? KARKAT: ABSOLUTELY THE FUCK NOT.

Okay, I’d hoped not, good...

KARKAT: THAT’S NOT WHY I’M SAYING FUCK A BUNCH OF TIMES. MEENAH: u need a reason to say fuck a buncha times KARKAT: SHUT UP. KARKAT: LOOK AT THE PICTURE.

--Right! That’s a good reason to not be okay.

KARKAT: I DON’T THINK SO? I CAN’T SEE HER EYES IN THIS PICTURE, BUT SHE’S COVERED IN BLOOD, AND SHE’S CARRYING GAMZEE, SO SHE’S CORPOREAL AT LEAST.

I love this form of analysis somehow.

KARKAT: OKAY...HERE. OH. OF COURSE. CROCKER IS CLAIMING HER SON WAS KIDNAPPED AND FORCED TO PARTICIPATE. KARKAT: AND THEY’VE NAMED ME AS THE MASTERMIND. MEENAH: well we woulda taken credit for it anyway so this saves us the time MEENAH: thanks jane owe u one

Meenah isn’t the “concerned” type. Lemonade out of lemons.

> (==>)

That middle tweet is my favorite.

Oh dear, “#GamzeeAnon”...

KARKAT: SHIT. OF COURSE THIS WOULD HAVE TO DO WITH FUCKING SERKET. KARKAT: LITERAL MONTHS OF PLANNING, HOURS AND HOURS OF LOGISTICS, AND ALL OF IT GOES UP IN SMOKE BECAUSE OF ONE SPIDERY ASSHOLE. KARKAT: SHE *WOULD* FIND SOME WAY TO WRECK MY SHIT FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE.

indisputable

KARKAT: NOW? KARKAT: NOW WE PIVOT FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS.

Um...

What does that mean?

I’m having a lot of trouble not only understanding the basic meaning of what he’s saying, here, but understanding why KARKAT of all people would employ it.

......it’s a meme, isn’t it. Gotta be.

> (==>)

(Ooh, an eyepatch designed to invoke a Strider-shade. Nice.)

KARKAT: I NEED TO TALK TO EGBERT.

But....... why??

> (==>)

Oh right, cause his son’s girlfriend is involved.

> (==>)

Oh my goooood what a pair of John and Roxy caaaars! :D

He is too busy with these mental gymnastics to notice his father’s car parked outside.

Ah right. John’s... not on the best terms with him, I recall that.

> (==>)

Ohhhh myyyy goooood what an image!!!

John, Roxy, and Harry Anderson proceed to have the tail end of a conversation they had before, in another medium.

What the fuck!? Harry had that conversation WHILE this dead body situation was going on?! Let me reread that linked bit...

(And she has such a somber smile on her face, but given the conversation content it’s not surprising.)

Harry Anderson looks at the two of them all teary and laughing and hikes his bag higher on his shoulder, shifting his weight. Roxy sees a muscle tighten in his jaw. Her beautiful, smart boy. She wants to run over and hug him, to protect him from the possibility of pain at talking to his father, but she doesn’t. She knows how much he’s wanted this, no matter how much he jokes about it.

She looks back at John, and sees her own awe mirrored in his face. She wills him not to cry, not to fall back on his self-imposed suffering and blame loop. Something about the last hour must have done the trick, though. John stands up, brushes his hands on his jeans, and walks, back straight, toward his son.

JOHN: hey harry anderson. JOHN: it’s really, really good to see you. JOHN: do you wanna go for a drive?

The muscle in Harry Anderson’s jaw clenches a few more times, but when he smiles, it is genuine.

HARRY ANDERSON: yeah, dad. HARRY ANDERSON: that could be cool.

Oh son of a bitch. Well isn’t that entertaining. Harry you’re just going to ditch your friends for I’m kidding, this is life fulfillment you’re aiming for, of COURSE you’re going to agree. (Too bad bringing the current situation in is gonna throw a wrench in things.)

> (==>)

Oh right, that means more of THIS Vriska and THIS John. They’ve had a good start talking already, I wonder what more they can learn from each other.

HARRY ANDERSON: but no worries, i asked my mom to pick me up some snacks so she’ll leave to go to the store in a sec. HARRY ANDERSON: just sneak in after she leaves and hide in my room, and i’ll be back in a bit.

Harry you enormous shortsighted asshole. And John’s about to learn all this from Karkat over the phone to blow his cover.

> (==>)

aaaaa roxy art i cannot :D

Wonder if her stealthiness attunement is gonna catch them in the act?

> (==>)

From this jealousy bit, I wonder to what degree Earth C humans are used to Troll quadrants and their various interplay mores.

> (Room: Examine yourself.)

Oh, a proper room introduction for Harry Anderson! Very fashion-focused, very liking the spotlight--

Oh wait, shit. This is traditionally where classpect associations are hinted more obviously than anywhere else. Time to stop holding back on the classpect stuff and take in every fucking word with capital-C Classpect fully in mind.

A bedroom stands empty. There is no boy standing in this bedroom, or indeed anyone else. However, if the boy whose bedroom it was were here, one might remark that his name was HARRY ANDERSON.

And FUCK, one might say, does he like MUSICAL THEATER.

Spotlight, definitely. But is it for the attention? The possibilities? The acting?

He has been in his fair share of school plays, but he has LOFTY ASPIRATIONS to STAR in bigger and better productions. He especially appreciates modern MUSICAL REMAKES of classic OLD EARTH MOVIES. It's a craze that not everyone is happy about, but in the absent boy they have found a DEVOTED FAN. There is also just enough overlap between his taste and his father’s to allow for SOMEWHAT STILTED CONVERSATIONAL BONDING from time to time.

Hmmmm. Is it about the majesty of important works of media (I see “Pokémon” and “Alien vs Predator” up there...), or is it about the fact that they’re remakes of past works? Those are a lot of awards and stage lights now that I zoom in to look... and hats... hats could be important......

The boy who is not yet here has also been known to dabble in ACCESSORIZATION. He could be described as a COBBLER ASPIRANT, a NEOPHYTE MILLINER, or even a BIT OF A WHIZZ WITH A NEEDLE AND THREAD.

Oh, interesting! Not just putting out different outfits, but making them? And Milliner is hat-specific creation...

His mother got him his first SEWING MACHINE when he was 10, to keep him from using hers all the time. His looks are HAND-CRAFTED, often IMITATED, but never DUPLICATED.

Space is obviously possible from sewing, but-- A focus on uniqueness!!! The broader theme is getting VERY specific. You might feel where I’m leaning already.

His COSTUMES appear in various AMATEUR PRODUCTIONS, the devising of which takes up most of his FREE TIME. His friends are usually LESS APPRECIATIVE of his attempts to dress them up than he would like, though.

Holy fucking shit. He dresses up and makes unique HATS for his friends and others. Specifically so they can use them as COSTUMES to act parts!!!!

And the other unique thing mentioned about him here took the time aside to note how he appreciated the intersection in personal interests between him and his father for it.

So you all know what I’m thinking, right? HATS??? It’s got to be Heart, isn’t it. Maybe even a Page of Heart, with his long-off aspirations and talent for arming others with it. Any other additive/giving class might do the trick, too, like Sylph or possibly Maid. Knight could technically still fit pretty well, but I feel Page is better given what little we know so far, what with so much outward focus bleeding out.

(You can comb through the saga on my infamous hats tag or the summary on the Aspect Duality post, but the gist is that hats (and others’ clothes, but especially the hats. even shoes -- SO many shoes in that picture!) represent the gist of an expressed identity, personal uniqueness whether innate or affected ala a costume. Nepeta, Dirk, Terezi, and even Stitch have given us examples, some of them deeper than we realized, MOST of them probably overthought bullshit like I thought when I first created the hats tag and started tracking the wonderful importance of hats. ¬_¬)

I’d like to see anyone else’s interpretation. (EDIT: One more potential Nep-allusion in this room.)

> (==>)

Oh nooooooo!!!! Tavros’s sprite is the saddest looking thing I’ve ever seen!! D: Like a mix of Jane and Jake that thoroughly regrets his entire existence! Which he practically does! D: Why the Caliborn-like clothes though?

(Some hint at “how different alt!Callie’s Caliborn must have been” like the commentary suggested exploring in fanfiction? Was the suggestion meant to divert attention from the idea that it’d be addressed in the plot? Andrew pulled that trick a time or two, why not these authors?)

Also:

Pffff. Vriska just accessorizing immediately-- Oh, wait. That might just be a bandana she had at some point coated in Gamzee’s blood.

Tavros is looking at the news on a borrowed phone -- nice call on disabling the tracking on yours, Tavros.

> (==>)

TAVROS: It’s getting a bit surreal to see my, uh,, frozen mask of horror on every news site,, TAVROS: It’s a good shot of you,,, though, Vrissy, VRISSY: It really is Shockingly well composed.

Heheheh. It’s fun that Tavros knows exactly what Vrissy/ka would care about.

And yes, Vriska is over there trying out ALL the bandanas.

> (==>)

VRISSY: Oh, is trying on all my 8oyfriend’s accessories not passing the time well enough for you? VRISKA: Desper8 times call for desper8 measures, Vrissy. VRISKA: And this is some dire shit.

They stare each other down. Did she mean the fugitive situation, or Harry Anderson’s fashion choices? Vrissy feels silly wondering this, but despite the situation they’re in, she can’t help but feel more acutely anxious about Vriska’s presence.

She likes her life, and she trusts her own choices. But now, looking at everything from Vriska’s vantage point, it all feels silly. Unimportant. Childish.

She can’t tell if she wants Vriska to rip in to Harry Anderson or if she wants her to stay silent. To put off the moment where she has to defend him or join in.

Real interesting. Like she’s caught between these worlds after all.

> (==>)

They say it was a long drive, but...?

...WOW. What a chill, disinterested-looking affect his sprite makes for. Huh.

He kisses Vrissy’s temple and she leans in to the warmth of him.

HARRY ANDERSON: aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. HARRY ANDERSON: so sorry it took so long. HARRY ANDERSON: can’t rush a heart to heart, you know how it is.

Stop making me deliberate whether you’re trying to drop teasing Heart-aspect hints. You already know I’m going to be obsessively scrutinizing every word of dialogue around Harry to see if it fits, story. No need to rub it in.

VRISSY: You actually had a Heart to Heart with your dad? How many times did he Cry?

I DIDN’T EVEN READ THE NEXT LINE QUIT SAYING HEART TO HEART YOU EVEN GAVE IT PROPER CAPS THAT TIME

HARRY ANDERSON: but god, it was a mess. i had to keep talking to keep him from looking at his phone or turning on the radio. HARRY ANDERSON: i may have told him more about my deep passions and emotions in the last hour than the whole rest of my life combined, just to keep him from hearing the fucking news.

Holy shit. You exploited conversation about your deep passions and interests for a separate goal???

Aaargh! Classpect everywhere! I’ve relapsed!!! D:

> (==>)

JOHN IS SO HAPPY

John Egbert has not had a day like this in a very long time. He can barely keep track of this series of epiphanies he’s having. He stretches out on his couch to relax and process the gifts of advice and connection his friends and family and ex-family have just given him.

OH RIGHT TIME TO RUIN IT WITH MAXIMUM SHENANIGANS

JOHN: hey karkat! great timing! JOHN: so much just happened and im kind of reeling about it. KARKAT: YEAH NO SHIT.

Ohhhh. Much of the time I hate dramatic irony, but those moments before someone is about to be let in on the discrepancy... oh man I love that.

JOHN: is something going on? i just spent the afternoon with my son, and i think he would have told me if something was up with his friends? KARKAT: OH MY LUSCIOUS SHITTING CHRIST JOHN LISTEN TO ME. JOHN: listening!

"Luscious”?? Did they try to type “Lusus” and get autocorrected?

Who’s writing Homestuck on their phone???

> (==>)

J...John?? Are you okay?? XD

This picture. These two paragraphs. I fucking love them.

(Wow, being closer to the “canon” story due to ridiculous shenanigans right after his back-to-back self-insights and outlook changes have really been healthy for him huh. He can probably sense HS^2 reaching him out here. And you can see the helpless comedian his probably-still-depressed ass became on Earth B in his reaction here. EDIT: Also, how appropriate that even by DYING, the Bard of Rage managed to fulfill his role and shatter the last vestiges of John's narrow-outlooked despair?)

John can’t answer. He can’t speak. His body has given itself over to the long-lost feeling of manic euphoria. It had felt like Harry Anderson was holding something back on the drive earlier, but he had already told John so much. He hadn’t wanted to press for more.

Yeah... after what John’s gone through across his life and session, finding out Harry managed to hide THIS for a whole car-ride is the best sort of punch-line for him.

John can’t breathe. Something is happening. Something is finally fucking happening, and he’s finally awake enough to appreciate it.

--yep. I was just guessing earlier, but this kind of confirms it’s in part a closer-to-relevance, closer-to-canon feeling bleeding in. Something is happening that’s important enough to SHOW onscreen and not skip over. I guess he really does like being anchored in Light after all.

> (==>)

John wheezes himself into relative calm. He has to get Karkat to understand. He clears his throat and breathes.

JOHN: karkat, this can be how we win. JOHN: i know what we need to do.

...holy SHIT.

Karkat, how did you know calling JOHN about this would work out this well??

John actually taking confident action to solve a problem, in a way that isn’t going to end up depressing like his attempt to provide Tavros escape in the Epilogues... this should be interesting.

See you next time. (I had to image-fix some stupid linked hat posts for this blogpost and I’m out of energy, so I’ll fix the other old post I promised that asker to fix in like, a day or two; I’ll post when I do.)

#Homestuck #hs2 #Homestuck Liveblog #upd8 #Homestuck^2 #bladekindeyewear #blastyoboots #hats #Heart and Mind #Harry Anderson

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indelibleevidence · 5 years

Text

Taken for Granted, chapter 13

Author’s Note: I took forever to update this one, I know. Hopefully it’s worth the wait, though it’s a fairly short chapter. :) If you need a refresher before you dive back in, the rest is here.

***

“Let’s go eat.”

Jane’s head was spinning from all the information she’d been trying to cram into her mind. When she’d asked if she could write some of it down, Shapiro had agreed she could—at a later date, when they trusted her enough to make written notes. Until then, she had to rely on her memory only. Cautious bastard.

He tossed his paperwork into the filing cabinet and locked it, and Jane suppressed a sigh. That paperwork included the log book she now knew contained the group’s contacts on both ends of the chain, and the dates and records of ‘transactions’. Suppliers, like Penny Yates, and buyers, like the illegal adoption agencies catering to people rich enough to buy their babies. She had to get her hands on that book. It would be vital to the prosecution’s case against the organisation.

They headed towards the elevator—the warehouse’s staff ate upstairs these days, having found out the hard way that if the kids smelled food that didn’t make its way into their cage, they’d make more trouble than if they just took what they were given, with no hope of there being more.

I hate this mission. I hate it so much.

As they waited for the elevator, a high-pitched scream made Jane whip her head around. One of the kids was clearly in distress, though whether in pain, hungry or just afraid, she wasn’t sure. When she looked back at Shapiro, he was rolling his eyes, no sympathy in his expression. She understood that not everyone liked kids, but to kidnap and sell them for profit was a completely different matter. It was like they weren’t even human to him.

He’s obviously guilty. Maybe I could just get him alone again, take him out quickly and quietly, then use the element of surprise to sneak around and disable the rest of them?

Even as she thought it, Jane knew she was overestimating herself. Even if she was able to overpower everyone down here, she’d seen a CCTV screen upstairs that showed the kids’ cage. Who knew how many other cameras were dotted around? It would only take one of the guys upstairs a moment to notice what she was doing and alert the others. She had no weapons on her, no backup. She had to be smart about this.

The elevator doors opened just as a voice screamed, “Want Lauren, want Laurennnnn!”

The chorus was taken up by two or three other children’s voices, and Shapiro hesitated as Jane, reminding herself that Penny Yates hated kids, cursed under her breath.

“Who the fuck is Lauren?” Shapiro asked, though Jane wasn’t sure if he was asking her, or himself.

Either way, it was an opportunity for her to check on the kids without raising too many eyebrows. “I told ‘em that was my name.”

He gave her an indecipherable look. “Why?”

Jane snorted. “Do I look stupid? They’re like living evidence. If we ever fall under suspicion, and even one of those little ankle-biters says they had their diaper changed by Penny, all they gotta do is look down your personnel list and find me.”

He nodded slowly. “That’s smart.”

Another howl from the cage had the guard outside it rattling the bars in frustration. “Shut the fuck up, you little runts!”

Jane turned back to the elevator and gestured. “We going, or…?”

They stepped into the elevator, and Jane hardened her heart. The kids wanted someone around who wouldn’t treat them like livestock, and she wanted to go to them so badly. But she had no excuse to do so, not right now.

“How’d you get into this, anyway?” she asked, as they began to move upwards.

“Why are you asking?” he countered.

Careful. “Well, I know how I got into it. You guys approached me after I got disciplined for losing my shit and kicking an incubator. But I didn’t even know this kind of thing existed, else I would have put the word out I was interested to try and find someone like you. How’d you come up with it?”

“Got snatched off the street when I was fifteen and homeless. They thought I was younger. By the time they realised their mistake, I’d already seen too much. They gave me a choice: learn the ropes and help ‘em out, get three meals a day and cash in hand, or…die. Easy choice.” He grinned. “I learned everything I could, got ‘em to trust me, made a little cash, then shopped ‘em to the cops the first chance I got some time on my own.”

“Pretty smart,” Jane said casually. “But didn’t that wipe out a pretty lucrative source of income?”

“Eh, they were close to getting busted anyway. I saw the writing on the wall and decided to be the wrecking ball.”

They headed for the stack of pizza boxes in the makeshift cafeteria area. Without their own cook or caterer, or even a real kitchen, these guys ordered in a lot, either from takeout places or bulk orders from local delis, posing as office workers. The food was never delivered to them—someone always went to pick it up. Whether that would lead to any useful CCTV footage for Patterson, Jane didn’t know.

Shapiro grabbed a couple of pizza slices and sat down. Jane sighed and followed suit, hoping the dairy didn’t make her sick after so many months of eating vegan. Somehow, she didn’t think Shapiro would care about her dietary preferences, and she wasn’t sure if he or his lackeys had ever observed the real Penny Yates eating, so protesting that she couldn’t eat this would be a risk she couldn’t take.

“Well,” Shapiro continued, gesturing with his pizza, “a few years later I was hard up, and I figured ‘why not?’ I had contacts who could be turned to different means, I knew the way things worked, and how to prevent the same thing happening again…”

“How long you been in business now?” Jane enquired, then took a tentative bite of pizza.

“Twelve years.”

Jane strove to keep her face coolly impressed. “You must be rolling in cash.”

“We do pretty well. Speaking of cash…” Shapiro leaned forward. “I’ve got a proposition for you.”

Knowing Penny Yates was obsessed with money, Jane made herself look intrigued. “I’m all ears.”

“You’ve opened my eyes to a way we can improve our business model. Now, I know you don’t like kids, but let’s face it—you’re good with ‘em when it suits you, and you know what they need. Little bastards are screaming out for you after one meeting with you. And it occurs to me that we can charge more per head if they’re docile, injury-free and well fed. With the older ones, we can just get ‘em hooked on heroin to calm ‘em down, but the younger ones go to be adopted. We can’t give ‘em addictions, or it raises flags with their paediatricians. The agencies buying the kids were taking care of the health issues on their end. Didn’t seem worth our while to take that much care of ‘em, until I saw you today.”

Jane dug the nails of one hand into her palm, using the pain to distance herself from her anger, and reminded herself that snapping the guy’s neck would do nothing but get her killed. “Okay. What’s your point?”

“I can tell you can already see where I’m going with this, but hear me out before you say no.” Shapiro popped open a can of Coke. “Here’s my offer. Once you’ve delivered your first shipment, you go on nanny duty. There’s three shipments of toddlers in a row coming through next month, and we’re short-staffed on guards. Having a nanny around for the little assholes would be real helpful.”

“No way,” Jane said immediately. “I wanted out of that hospital to have less contact with kids, not more.”

“We’ll pay you double.”

Jane hesitated, as though she were weighing up her hatred of kids against her love of money. “I dunno, boss. I’ve dealt with enough big brothers and sisters of newborns to know toddlers really piss me off. And what you’re offering sounds a lot like a parenting gig. You want me to do this alone, for three shipments in a row?”

Shapiro sighed, but before he could offer a counter-argument, one of the guards appeared in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt, boss, but we have a problem. Found a guy skulking around outside, trying to get in. He says he’s one of the industrial park’s security team, but…”

With a curse, Shapiro got to his feet. “Gonna have to restart this negotiation later, Ms. Yates.”

Uneasily, Jane got to her feet, too. Was this someone from the FBI, here to give her some backup? Or was it an unrelated incident, someone accidentally blundering in while she happened to be here? Either way, someone could end up dead if Shapiro and his goons got too spooked.

“What can I do?” she asked.

“Go downstairs, get as many of our guys as we can spare to come up here,” Shapiro directed distractedly. “I dunno who this guy is yet, but I want him to see he’s vastly outnumbered and outgunned. Then keep the kids quiet. I don’t care what you have to do.”

Maybe this is my chance. But if this guy is one of my team, I can’t just leave him to face the enemy alone while I sneak around.

“Got it.” She looked towards the elevator, then back. “Where will you be?”

“Through there.” Shapiro pointed towards an open door. “Just tell ‘em it’s damage control protocol. They’ll know where to find me. Get going.”

He was barely paying attention to her now, so Jane was able to linger for a second, craning her neck to try to get a glimpse of their hostage. For a couple of seconds, she couldn’t see past the guards standing in the doorway, but they moved aside as Shapiro approached.

As she caught a glimpse of a stubbled cheek and the determined set of the man’s jaw, Jane’s heart wrenched. No… Kurt, you stubborn idiot, why are you here alone? Does the team even know you’re here?

She needed to use this distraction to get hold of that log book, but if she did that, she might come back upstairs to find her husband dead.

There was only one thing she could think to do, and it was risky as hell. She just hoped she wouldn’t be screwing up a plan the team had put together to get her and the kids out.

She barged into the room after Shapiro, marched straight up to the chair they’d tied Kurt to, and slapped him around the face, hard enough to whip his head to the side. I’m so sorry, Kurt. I’ll make it up to you later, I swear.

“What the hell are you doing here? Can’t I go anywhere without your stalker ass following me?”

As Kurt recovered, blinking up at her with a stunned expression that was only a little exaggerated, Shapiro intervened, pushing her back from their hostage.

“Wait a minute—you know this guy?”

“Yeah. I’m so, so sorry, boss. He’s my ex-husband. I guess a divorce and two restraining orders wasn’t enough for him to get the message that it’s over.”

#taken for granted #blindspot #blindspot fanfic #blindspot fic #jeller #jeller fic #episode tag: 3x12 #canon adultery #canon divergence

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ottorocket808 · 4 years

Text

Chapter Nine: The Gate

Ahhh!!! Their reunion is so fuckin cute and sweet and here comes Hop to fuck it all up. What would give you the indication that he would be mad at El? She wanted to see him she did go see him and you threw a fucking hissy fit. YOU got in the way all he wanted was to know she was safe he would’ve done anything to know that she was alive. I’d be pissed at him too you let me believe she was dead for a year and you want me to understand?

Aww group hug!!! She noticed Dustin’s teeth! No more purring Dustin we do this in the mirror before a date or dance. Skip Max not sure if that was leftover from seeing them at school or because she doesn’t already know her. Joyce with that motherly love she’s been lacking. You already know she’ll let you see him you saved his life. We have our final puzzle piece to close the gate.

Karen... why did you answer the door like that? Billy stop flirting with married women that’s how you get shot! I always hate that line obviously older woman I didn’t know so and so had an older sister heheh lame ass line Karen you thought he was here for Nancy meaning that you can tell he’s young control your hormones. Todd only pays bills there he can’t be slangin pipe with any type of accuracy if she’s being this obvious with a child.

Now ain’t the time Dustin. STOP UNDERESTIMATING HER!! She destroyed your cabin without even trying she’s the one who opened the gate in the first place if anybody can close it it’s El. It’s interesting that it took this long to connect that dot

Fuck you mean you not leaving Mike?! You did it earlier for a day and a half and before anybody says anything about her not knowing she didn’t even ask. Steve you were never a shit boyfriend she played with your heart because she didn’t want to be alone if she couldn’t have Jonathan and she should’ve said something to that effect instead of letting you feel like it was you.

Dammit Hop can’t you let these kids be cute together for a minute without you interrupting?!

Yup that mild coronary you’re having because she hitchhiked home you deserve but you can tell that she learned and grew a lot since she left she needed to leave regardless because of what happened while she was gone. I get it Hop but if you hold too tightly you’ll kill her spirit and she’ll resent you instead of loving the safety you provide.

Bitchin’

Dammit Dustin we just wasting good food? After all this if they just set it on fire I’d be pissed. That thing is stupid slimy it sounds disgusting.

Just let him pace in peace he literally just found out she’s alive and now she’s tossing herself back into the fray with hundreds of Demodogs runnin loose anybody would be worried especially when you have to sit on your hands and hope that everything goes ok.

This is the start of a trend with Max that pisses me off El isn’t a pack mule or a work horse yes she’s strong as shit but she bleeds just like the rest of us backup and assistance ain’t ever been a bad thing when fighting a war.

It ain’t a fact until it happens. Here comes Billy!! ‘If he finds out I’m here he’ll kill me, he’ll kill us.’ Proceeds to post up in the window where he can clearly see her?! The sucker punch was a bitch move Hargrove.

I’m pretty sure that part of the reason that he doesn’t want Lucas around Max is that it’s hard to control someone with friends if I know you have nowhere to go you won’t sneak out and if she does it’d be to the arcade which is probably closed by now so she’d be on her way back if she wasn’t here. Will he actually strike her is my question he says he’ll kill her will he really? Or is she just being dramatic not wanting to get in trouble for sneaking out?

Another trend is that they don’t help each other literally one has to be being beaten half death before anybody moves to help.

It really seems like the hype of Steve got to Billy way more than Steve himself did. I’ve never heard Steve refer to himself as King Steve other people do that. Screaming that Billy’s gonna kill him is so far from helpful it’s painful. How much of that shit is lethal she could kill him. It doesn’t really work like that Max if his dad says come get you because you snuck out of the house again he has to collect. What the hell is Billy supposed to tell Neil when he finally wakes up? His dad doesn’t seem like the type to accept failure.

Ok isn’t the word I would use determined is better.

I would freak the fuck out too she’s 13 and driving a car with me in it while not actually knowing where she’s going and speeding down a dark road with a box on the gas pedal because she can’t actually reach it.

That high pitched scream was for sure Lucas.

They’re heating the woods around the house too because the windows need replacing because Hop made a El cry like a big ass bully.

Well Steve he has a point.

Mama Steve makes a good point too.

It kinda pissed me off seeing Hop out El to the Doc at the drop of a hat he could forge a birth certificate and drag her to another lab and it would be his fault for trusting the wrong person.

The inflammed Butt Hole strikes again people should really stop shining light at it. How did it get in your mouth past your mask? Where the hell did they get this equipment??

Jonathan would let The MindFlayer live in his brother indefinitely Joyce wants it out and she wants it out now. Jonathan doesn’t have a do whatever it takes mindset and he would’ve messed everything up. He was quick to turn that heater down but Joyce is currently being choked and I hear him say ‘mom!’ But see no hands entering the frame to help her.

We will never speak of this Mama Steve.

In an interesting twist Nancy saves his moms life. I wonder if Will has a scar because of that. So nobody wondered where the inter dimensional blac smoke went?

RUN BABIES AND MAMA STEVE RUNNNNNN!!!! Protect your baby Mama Steve!

It’s like they don’t even realize they’re there maybe it’s a priority thing El is the more pressing threat so even though they’re in pain gotta stop her.

She’s damn near face to face with it and even though she’s disintegrating his tentacle he’s still trying to take her over and stop her. Even though a lot of people didn’t like The Lost Sister Chapter it helped El to boost her power using her own pain and anger therefore helping her close this massive gate my baby is growing up and she’s so strong I’m so proud.

Sweet El/Hop moment I still don’t like him but he means a lot to her.

Hawkins lab is closed but vulnerable. Again if this was real Nancy would’ve destroyed her entire family. But it’s a plot line so I let it go.

Hey Hop her name is Jane Ives you didn’t actually adopt her this still really feels like kidnapping.

Aww it’s Snowball time

Will learning to dance is adorable, I don’t think Mike will ever like forced pictures, Lucas is gonna toss Erica out the window and Max looks cute Billy looks kind of lost he needs to learn proper communication gotta get that hair right Dustin.

Steve is the big brother we all wish we had. Dustin is a dork and I love him. Don’t be talking about my baby’s Steve inspired mullet. She enjoys torturing this boy. I don’t think calling someone Zombie Boy is a good way to show interest Will looked scared and he’s been to The Upside Down. I still wanna fight these girls he’s a sweet kid a bit of a dork but he is a good guy and they made him cry. This is the best thing Nancy does all season. ‘Girls this age are dumb.’ You led your 1st boyfriend on for a year still dumb.

Hardcore RIP BOB moment.

This song is so damn creepy. They are like puppies in love it’s adorable look at them go ah it’s so sweet. And now I’m pretty sure the creepy song is for The MindFlayer being gigantically creepy in The Upside Down.

#strangerthings2 #Stranger things #The Gate #Chapter Nine #stranger things season2

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babystevie · 5 years

Text

Crossing Paths

Chapter 4: Hawkins

Find on AO3: Here

Steve and Robin were in Hawkins.

Not by choice

He’d been on his way back to the shop, after dropping off Billy. Driving his car down the street, when he saw someone in his rear-view mirror following him.

He did the only thing he knew how to do, he stepped on the gas.

He caused so many accidents in Miami that Sunday night, just trying to get away from them, but every time he looked behind him, there was another SUV. He smashed them into walls, made them hit other cars, flipped them into sidewalks, but they just kept coming.

Turns out that running from the people who wanted his silence wasn’t the best plan.

They pummeled his car, not the supra, thank god but it was Dustin’s beautiful Nissan 350z that met its fate when the SUV ran face first into the passenger side of the car, halting Steve’s speed and flipping him down the road.

They’d left the car there.

After they dragged him out of it, of course.

He was bloodied and was sure of a concussion that happened when his head smashed into the steering wheel. Glass was beaten into his clothes, and a shard stuck out of his face, where it embedded itself as the car flipped

Over

And Over

Before finally landing face down in the middle of the street.

And

They dragged him out of the car, his leg throbbing every single time it was caught on the pavement, but the unknown men paid him no mind as they hauled his half unconscious ass to another SUV patiently waiting for them on the side of the road.

They lifted him inside and he made blurry eye contact with Robin, who was tied to the back seat. Properly kidnapped and sporting a black eye that Steve was sure to match in the next few hours.

God

He hoped Billy was okay.

And

Neither of them spoke a word the entire trip, even as they were hauled onto a fuckin’ plane and strapped tight to those seats. Barely even looked at one another as blood dripped down Steve’s face and damped his clothes from the glass, little pin pricks coming together on his skin that looked like he was bleedin’ out,

He couldn’t fuckin’ look down at himself without having a panic attack on a fuckin’ plane, where they were kidnapped and taken, they’d gotten away from this shit, and Steve knew, he knew where they were going and he was scared, so scared to go to the shithole they used to call a home.

But

They didn’t have a choice but to follow.

And

Steve hates that Robin, got pulled into this shit with him, from that night where they both got fucking drugged, and Steve got the shit beat outta him, and they almost lost Heather to that fuckin’ monster, and no one noticed what was wrong with her, and Steve and Robin were both to high on the drugs in their system to do anything but watch as that thing tried to rip her apart.

As Robin cried over the body of someone who was bleedin’ everywhere on those marble floors that Hawkins’ mall had no right havin’.

And Robin’s eyes are no where around where Steve’s seein’. Their just staring into nothing, and god he hopes that they make it outta here alive, because they both got scars on their bodies from fightin’ the same fights, and going through hell for each other, and no one could replace Robin Buckley.

And after that they fought monsters together, after they thought it was all over, but that was just the worst joke someone coulda told them, cause it was no where near over and the demodogs and demogorgons came back with a frenzy, and they call just hadda get out of there, and then one got Dustin’s mom and they needed to leave,

And they did, they got outta that hell of their hometown, and these fuckers were takin them right back into the mouth, and they had to follow, there was no choice.

And Dustin, and Jonathan weren’t going to know where they went. Just fuckin’ disappeared, and Billy, fuck Billy, was gonna be so pissed off, because Steve, he told him that he’d see him Monday, and he’d bet on his life, that it wasn’t gonna happen.

Not now

Not now that they were both hanging from the ceiling with chains wrapped around their arms, waiting to be moved into the lab,

And Steve knew that it wasn’t fucking Sunday anymore.

By the way the lights shown through the little windows, and the clinking of the metal keeping him in place as he wriggled his wrists from where they were aching, and he didn’t need a messed up arm to match his fucked up leg, and he looked over to Robin, where he arm was angled wrong, and he knew that there had to be something wrong with it, and he hoped that it wasn’t broken, because there was no way they’d do anything to set her arm right now, and Steve just wanted to go home and tell Billy he was okay, and wanted to see Robin smile as she hugged Heather.

He was so tired of this shit.

They’d been outta here for almost four fuckin’ years. Silence and being left alone for three years. Pretending that they were just college students that just had some fun on the weekends. Both of them were seniors now, gettin’ their degrees and becoming people that Dustin, Lucas, and Max could be proud of. Doing it for Jane and Will who couldn’t come home because they lived somewhere hidden with Joyce and Hopper. Even doin’ it for Nancy and Mike who fucked off to who knows where. Steve only talks to Nancy now about revision over emails. And Mike, he’s somewhere in New York with Nancy.

In their own way, everyone got the hell outta Hawkins.

But Steve and Robin were chained here again, by the same people who told them to leave and no ones told them anything.

Their phones on the table were going crazy with notifications., as they helplessly looked at each caller I.D appear and disappear from the screens.

Dustin

Jonathan

Lucas

Max

Heather

Billy

And after the sun went down, the door opened.

“I don’t understand why no one wants to come quietly anymore.” Dr. Brenner sneers, “Why’s everything need to be a chase with the both of you?”

Steve laughs, “Didn’t even know you were alive.”

The man shrugs, “We’ve all got our tricks Stevie.”

He feels his face lose all color; how does he know that?

“Now, you’re going to tell me where 11 is, and we’ll let you go.”

Robin spit on his face, “We haven’t seen any of them since we left this shithole and you know that.”

Brenner wiped his face and smiled, a crooked thing that made Steve’s nerves jittery, “Then you’re just going to have to find them wont you, if not, I’ll just pay your new friends a little visit. Billy Hargrove, such a special boy. And Heather Holloway the girl who lived because Dr. Owens saved her life, such a nice thing to do.”

He reached forward and grabbed the piece of glass sticking out of Steve’s face and ripped it from the skin, causing Steve to let out a whimper from the pain.

“Wouldn’t want that to get infected.” He smirks, when the blood starts dripping from his face and tears gather in his eyes.

“I’ll come back in the morning to see if you have anything else to say.” He moved backwards before turning around and walking out, his voice drifting though. “Sleep well.”

Steve’s phone rang in the silence of the building while he tried to unhook the clasps around his wrists with the bobby pin from his hair, as he listened to Billy’s ringtone ping his phone again.

As the door slammed shut Steve dropped to the floor and punched the first man in the face, ignoring the throbbing in his wrist, before shoving the second man into Robin, where she tightened her legs around his neck and squeezed until he dropped to the floor, unconscious.

Steve grabbed another bobby pin from his hair and unhooked Robin from her place hanging from the ceiling. She hissed when Steve touched her arm,

“We’ve gotta get that checked out.”

She gave him a stern look, “We’ve gotta get the fuck outta here.”

He pursed his lips, “We’ve gotta go to the hospital, tell them we wrecked our car, then fucking get the car from my parents’ house, and then we can get the fuck outta here, preferably before I start freaking the fuck out.”

With some rare little argument from Robin, they did.

Her shoulder was dislocated, and her wrist was broken, so they put a cast on her arm and placed a sling around her shoulder. They gave her an antibiotic for the bruising before Dr. Owens came in and shooed everyone out when it was Steve’s turn.

“That needs stitches.” He commented and gestured to his face.

“Ha, yeah I know.”

As Dr. Owens started stitching his face the adrenaline from the past three days started catching up with him.

He felt exhausted.

His fingers were tapping rapidly against his thigh, carefully avoiding moving to fast from Dr. Owens to let him finish stitching him up, with each pierce to his skin and the chord going through to pull his skin back together, to pull himself back together from this shitshow that they only got themselves out of because adrenaline kicked in, and his fight or flight response told him to get the fuck outta there.

And

It’s gone now and he wants to sleep, and dream of nothing and drive his car and go the fuck home. And make sure everyone is okay, and that Billy doesn’t find out about this.

Jesus Christ

Dr. Owens pats his good leg softly and he stands up with a wince and a sharp pain in the other leg but ignores it for getting the fuck out of this town and never come back, but Steve knows that thoughts like that are bullshit, because they’re looking for Jane and Will and Hopper and Joyce so they’re going to have to make sure that no one find them,

Or they’re going to have to end them.

Steve would die to make sure they were all safe. He’s just going to make damn sure he doesn’t have too, that no one has too. He just wants it all to end, so he turns to Robin,

“Let’s go home.”

#harringrove #steve harrington #billy hargrove #robin buckley #Fast AU #i love you

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badboys-imagines · 7 years

Text

Cassidy in love

PART III

Pairing : Loki, Bucky, Reader

Last chapter : Loki accepted to spy on Y/N and seduce her in order to help kill her. He just asked Y/N to escort him to his room …

Summary : Y/N is the chief of Bucky’s gang, the Cassidys. While she’s in a peaceful relationship with him, the young woman has to deal with tough guys. What she isn’t expecting is that Loki, a mysterious member of an enemy gang, infiltrates her crew to help kill her …

In another world, maybe, Y/N would have said no.

But her relationship with Bucky had been flat from the start. Of course, her lover was kind, as well as she was. However, it wasn’t enough to keep her feelings intact. The man standing in front of her was offering an escape, something thrilling. He was the devil reaching for her hand.

Obviously, Loki thought Y/N would reject his arrogant proposition. Instead, the young woman tilted her head,

‘’Well, I could do that.’’

Thus, Y/N found herself guiding her new client through the corridors to his room. As they walked, she coud feel his piercing eyes openly checking her out. Am I really doing that ?

‘’It’s this one.’’ she stopped in front of the door and waited for her client to open it. Her eyes fixed on the red wood, Y/N struggled not to look at him. If you do, you’re fucked. The temperature of Loki’s body affected hers, not to mention his breath was softly crashing on the skin of her neck. ‘’My, my …’’ he sighed, taking a look at the keys in his hand, ‘’Your boyfriend is quite possessive …’’ with these words, Loki leaned over, bringing their bodies even closer. The key turned into the lock and Y/N’s eyes flitted towards her client, heart pounding into her chest. It wasn’t like her, to be like this, so vulnerable and timid.

Gently, Loki placed his hands on her hips, beckoning her to turn around. The simple touch set fire to her core. Loki’s fingers grabbed the fabric of Y/N’s shirt. Oh god. Tugging at it, he allowed his hand to run down her waist. Wringing out the fabric again, his fingertips glided under the thin piece of cloth she was wearing. Judging by the deepening of her breathing and her parting lips, he was fairly certain she wouldn’t reject him. The contact of his skin against hers indeed enticed her loins and Y/N’s heartbeat increased from one second to another. She wanted more. She wanted him, the arrogant stranger she’d just met.

Her phone chose that specific moment to ring loudly. All of a sudden, Y/N broke free from the light grip of Loki’s hands and frantically searched into her pockets. ‘’I … have to take this …’’ she managed, short of breath. ‘’Yes ? Oh Jane ! Yes … Absolutely … Yeah. I’ll be over in five minutes.’’ Loki stood still, his arms crossed on his chest as his green emerald stared at her. Y/N gave him a small sympathetic smile, while he looked positively murderous. It wasn’t going to be easy.

‘’I gotta go.’’ Y/N offered him an apologetic gaze, but before she was able to even step away, his strong hand pulled her back towards him. Oh. Silence fell over the corridor and the young woman gazed at Loki. They were face to face, looking into each other’s eyes. And those eyes, those lips, the way he looked at her, everything became curiously different. There was a physical chemistry between them. Loki himself took a second to come back to his senses. What was she doing to him ?

‘’Will you … Will you come back ?’’

Y/N blinked in confusion. She’d felt it too. But how could she do that to Bucky ? No … ‘’I-it … It was a mistake.’’ She stuttered.

Suddenly, Loki seemed lost. No ? All amusement had ceased, replaced by insufferable frustration. ‘’No ?’’ Loki repeated in disbelief, ‘’No.’’ she quickly confirmed, holding his gaze as long as she could. Baffled at first, Loki shook his head and chuckled, if you could call the expulsion of air from his mouth a ‘chuckle’. ‘’Give me a strong valid reason to give up.’’ Y/N’s eyes widened, ‘’Well, my possessive boyfriend for example ?’’ a grin spread across his lips, his face melting into an irresistible scrunched up set of eyebrows, ‘’I said, a valid reason.’’ Unbelievable. Y/N was furious. ‘’I love him.’’ she argued, ‘’Do you ?’’ Her words didn’t keep Loki from stepping closer. His face was now only a few inches from hers. The growing desire she felt silenced the objections she had in mind and Y/N found it impossible to speak. The hoarse tone of Loki’s voice came purring against the warm nape of her neck,‘’You want this, Y/N. You came here for more than that …’’

Once more, Y/N escaped his grip. How dared he ? She looked at him one last time before running away. From the distance, she heard his door slamming harshly. You didn’t cheat Y/N, you’re fine. Everything is fine.

Y/N welcomed a few new clients, Loki not leaving her thoughts. What’s wrong with this man ? A pair of arms wrapping around her waist startled her. Loki ? ‘’Hey honey,’’ Bucky’s soothing voice murmured. ‘’How was your day ?’’ Oh my, if only he knew. ‘’Oh ! Well … Tough clients …’’ she chuckled uncomfortably. Concerned, her lover trailed kisses against her neck, ‘’I can handle him if you …’’ Suddenly, it all came back to her mind. Him, hm let’s talk about that … ‘’What was it, this afternoon, the scene you made in front of the client, this client ?’’ Bucky released his grip, ‘’Oh come on Y/N, he was more interested in your breasts than his own room.’’ maybe. However, Bucky’s reaction somehow angered her. ‘’No !’’ she lied, not even regretting it, ‘’I mean, he wasn’t very talkative that’s all. And … Even if it was true, I’m not a child, I can handle this all-by-myself.’’ she glared at him, insisting on the words. His lack of reaction made her lose patience. ‘’Are you listening to me ? Bucky, you can’t act like this in front of my clients, I’m not an object, I’m not a child, do you understand that ?’’ he rolled his eyes, ‘’Never said you were …’’ Oh well, enough, ‘’I’m not yours.’’ She finally spat.

Bucky’s face lost its composure. A frown appeared on his forehead. There was something else. ‘’What do you mean, not mine ?’’ the tone of his voice sounded wounded, confused. A dull pain centered in Y/N’s chest. She hated to see him like this, but it wasn’t the first time she didn’t know what to think about their relationship anymore. Bucky had always thought of her as the woman of his life, and for her part, Y/N had a hard time picturing a future by his side. She wanted passion, true passion. After a moment of hesitation, she took a deep breath, ’’I don’t know. It’s … Us. I’m not sure I can still do this.’’ In the light’s glow, Y/N saw evidence of a tear stain on his cheek and raised her hand to wipe its trail. Bucky pushed it away and stormed out of the room. Fuck …

The ring he’d kept in his pocket for a month was feeling quite heavy now.

While Y/N had a hard time knowing what she wanted, Loki struggled with his own mind. Lying on his bed under the rafters, frustration tightening his jaw, the young man jumped on his feet and started pacing nervously into the tiny room. Another fives seconds and he would have kissed her. He wouldn’t have thought about it. Now, he wasn’t sure anymore.

Loki’s eyes laid on his reflection in a mirror hanging on the opposite wall. Contemplating what he’d become under the pale light, he didn’t enjoy what he saw. Could he still help his gang kill this young woman ? Her obvious innocence and distress had touched his heart, this cold heart he had always thought was frozen. The arousing combination of her scent had troubled his mind for good. It had curled around him, intoxicating and impossibly alluring. ‘’What am I doing …’’ he brushed his long fingers through his dark hair for the umpteenth time as to chase the rumbling thoughts. His head was filled with conflicted emotions. Doubt, defiance, longing … The last one struck a chord in him. It was the first time he’d felt something, a feeling, it was real.

His decision was pure instinct. Loki reached for the blade he’d been keeping in his pocket in order to kidnap his victim and stared at it for a moment. ’’Can’t do that …’’ his gaze went to a closet in the corner of the room. He opened its door and looked for a place to hide his weapon. There, in this drawer, she would never know it was his. Loki cautiously locked the door and closed his eyes. He was a lot of things, but Y/N’s killer wouldn’t be one of them. Determined to abort his mission, he grabbed his phone and started a message.

I changed my mind. I won’t kill her.

He was about to send it, but it never happened. A brisk knock on the door interrupted his typing.

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honeyedmilks · 7 years

Text

strong woman do bong soon- the tumbly review

this is gonna come out as a straight up hate post from a tired soul, about a show that could’ve been everything but wasn’t, and i make no apologies for that. it’s messy and unkind (not as unkind as i could be) but... i’m fairly honest.

what i’ll be talking about:

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017)

a biased summary by :

Do Bong Soon, our female lead (played by Park Bo Young), is super strong- thanks to a power that’s been passed down the ladies of her family for years. there’s a serial woman hater in her neighbourhood terrorising everyone, and she gotta stop that asshole! there’s also some good looking men in this show with like four love lines too keep things interesting, and some flailing gangsters who are out there too that she beats up now and then, drinking feces wine. And if this sounds like an awful mess then good, i’m doing the show great justice then.

a general statement and warning about this show:

it’s not good. if you’ve not seen it then please do not waste your time and instead watch literally anything else. i say this out of love for you. if you want a female lead who’s cool and cute and punches things then watch legend of the blue sea. it may not be perfect but it’s better than this.

the production:

the show is visually very pretty in some sense. stylish wardrobe choices, nice landscape shots, cool sets, and a whole showcase of good looking people.

the directing and special effects, the tone of the show, it can all border cheesy, but the intent is to come off quirky, funny and energetic seeing as this a story about a woman with super human strength.

it’s a bit comic bookish, which again makes sense due to the nature of the show and it’s characters. except it doesn’t work all the time. especially not when the bad guy of your show is hardly a comic book character. he’s a misogynistic guy who likes beating up woman and kidnapping them for his own twisted pleasures.

the directing and writing of this show fails to balance out the light and the dark in this show, by downplaying Bong Soon’s powers and by diluting the story with meaningless backstories and characters we didn’t need.

the performances of our leads vary. but the main cast are well known actors, and carry a lot of talent.

Bo Young manages to make our heroine likeable and relatable for a while. She’s believable and gives the show some spark.

Ji Soo who plays our muddled in the heart copper Guk Doo, can be painful to watch in the first half, you end up not liking him and his harshness, but Ji Soo brings a likeable softness to him in the later half.

Park Hyung Sik, much adored and admired by fans, takes on the role of our lonely chaebol, but he’s not just rich and sad guys, he’s also a video game creator, spy man and tech genius, with flawless skin, who goes by the name Ahn MInhyuk. Hyung Sik’s performance starts off lovably eccentric, bouncing between suave and smart, only to slowly dissipate into boring and even annoying. I’ll talk more about him later.

our side characters are even harder to digest- mostly unlikable, with the funnies wearing off far too early in the long run of the show, we don’t care much for them- except from the woman, held hostage by the shitty but uninteresting serial villain.

there were so many plot points that were awful that just slashed the quality of the show too pieces, and i can’t even begin to talk about them.

the soundtrack is nice. it matches the zany inside of the show for the most part. it’s noticeably more fun when we get to Bong Soon’s super hero antics.

the show is bright, bubbly and cleanly set on the outside when it’s a cutesy office rom com, but turns bleak and even mesier when it tries to get serious.

the romance:

loads of people say that they only finished this show for otp loveliness but i couldn’t relate.

people made gif sets with epic romantic quotes... you know those quotes where it’s like “that one guy who looks at this super strong woman and they’re awesome and shit and he loves her strength and shit...” you know those kind? yeah that’s nonsense. here’s why i think so:

Minhyuk sucks as a romantic lead and a partner well mostly when you ship him with Bong Soon. i’m not gonna lie. i was really excited for them at the start, i was head over heels for those moments when he called her sexy for calling him out on being useless and such. i liked their friendly interactions together, but... when you add her strength in the mix, everything turns sour for me.

Ah Minhyuk... i’m not saying that he should love her for her powers, or because she’s someone who has them. he just saw her as Bong Soon, which i mean.. i guess you can call sentimental? but when he says stuff like “yeah ya strong but your just Bong Soon.” like that’s not... romantic?

he doesn’t trust her when she’s like a million trillion times stronger and powerful than him. i don’t see why she had to go to this guy to “control” her powers. i don’t like how he doesn’t think highly of her powers- he’s just shocked and “shook” but not ever in an admiring way. maybe on the surface, it seems like it but... if you look really closely at the way he says things... it’s not like that.

he sucked at helping her when she lots her powers, didn’t comfort in the way you would have hoped.

he underestimates her when she’s A THOUSAND TIMES STRONGER THAN ANYONE ON THIS EARTH- I mean almost everyone has seen a super here movie right? mary jane admire spider man, but also loves peter, but trusts him, he’s always doing the saving but she doesn’t think she’s better than him. lous lane and superman? pepper potts (a cool ass woman btw who’s honestly a bit like min hyuk when it comes to some of her skills) and iron man? thor and jane? yet... swdbs... minhyuk is still the super hero. and there’s no one relying on Bong Soon to save the day because ... she’s just a woman... we need to protect her... we can’t let her endanger herself to save some people when... she’s the only one who possibly could.

this thing in their relationship where he loved Bong Soon with or without her strengths could’ve worked if they had done it well. like if he actually saw how much of a loss she felt when she lost her powers(which she lost for... what reason again?)- instead... it was so underwhelming. he didn’t see her powers as special and heroic... he didn’t see something so amazing like that to be a great loss to her.

i mean, he’s always down playing her powers- loads of people do, but it’s worse when he does. he’s asked her if she was actually a man and then an alien, like you believe a man could spin a car with their bare hands, but not a woman? so obviously she’s an alien if not a man? how am i supposed to enjoy a female superhero when all anyone does is try erase the fact that she’s a woman?

there’s no empowerment that makes you feel anything for them. that’s usually something you sense but it’s just not there. it’s normal to be worried for your partner but there’s literally no sense of trust and admiration. it’s been a while since i watched swdbs, but i’m pretty sure when Bong Soon saves those women Minhyuk isn’t even happy about it... did she not apologise? that’s nonsense.

it’s not just that aspect of their relationship that bothers me- it’s how whiny and annoying Minhyuk can be. people romanticised his “won’t you love me?” line but it’s not a good line. it’s not a romantic line that’s makes me swoon or makes me feel like Bong Soon should like him. he comes off as clingy and pining and like she’s got to be with her because he likes her so much.

he made his bodyguard make him meals... i don’t care how sentimental and sad he is over his mother. he literally moaned on at her.

he kept a tracking device on her?

he gave her a desk in his office. it was a cute desk alright, but he did it to keep her close and he didn’t even take her video game designing game serious; everything about their relationship is so flat.

if he was such a skilled fighter, did he really need to have Bong Soon as his bodyguard? (she was also a terrible bodyguard but you know).

i know i’m nit picking, but i could over look some of these things if there weren’t so many things that made no sense to me. if only half of these things weren’t based on weakening Bong Soon and her relationship with her super strength.

i blame a lot of this on crappy writing because this could’ve been about Bong Soon and her journey to being a hero but it was just nonsensical.

it was all done so crudely that... i just don’t find anything solid about it.

i felt no chemistry- i liked them best when they were bickering or just being friendly.

like Bong Soon saw her powers as some kind of hardship? something she couldn’t show Guk Du, who she was in love with for so long, but sure Minhyuk sees them and accepts them, but he’s not there to help her realise all the things she can do, or admire and respect her. NOTHING MAKES SENSE.

i don’t even know if i’m right in thinking that Minhyuk could’ve been someone to help her harness her powers and be supportive and help her on her way of becoming a superhero- because does a man who loves you have to be the one to make you see your worth as a hero? but he didn’t even not do that, instead, he just felt like an obstacle telling her that she may have powers but she’s still just Bong Soon.

It just seems like a confusing jumble to me.

were the writers trying to normalise her powers in their relationship? because i could watch any other crappy show with a strong woman who’s human talents are put under her to save the man’s fragile masculinity. but she’s got super hero powers... super heroes are admired and thought of as freaking cool and shit- it’s supposed to be awesome and all that jazz. it’s not much fun otherwise

all these things just annoy me. because if they wanted to make Bong Soon’s journey with her powers be her own, then why was Minhyuk such a useless involvement in them? why did he have to come save her from getting stabbed... why... if they’re gonna add romance in with the story line with her powers... why are the writers so scared of making her powerful... why does she need this mediocre mans help?

i don’t care if he’s a ceo... or a tech genius... he used the lgbt identity as some kind of publicity thing, he’s not nearly as zany and cool as he could've been as he just ended up as another person telling Bong Soon she’s not a superhero.

this ain’t the avengers- it should’ve been Bong Soon’s story as a badass super hero, why do i have to see Guk Do and Minhyuk devise some genius dumb ass plan at the end? why not let Bong Soon defeat the asshole on her own?

why are people scared of a woman being mighty? and a man being there for it without having to to larger than her? while caring for her safety at the same time? it’s just so poorly done. all these things shadow over any cuteness and softness these two had.

Bong Soon, I see why she would fall for him, but in the end, I really didn’t care about them.

it’s almost like her powers are a plot device for their romance. it wasn’t an epic story about a girl with out of this world strength.

i guess their is a development that can be viewed as nice at that point where Minhyuk has to process the discovery of our leading lady being the same mysterious girl that saved his life. he has to love Bong Soon but also separate his idolisation for this hooded girl from his image of Bong Soon and then combine it all at once so what he feels is real love for Bong Soon as he had known her before. so it’s not some twisted sort of mess that’s him loving but then also being with someone he imagined as an angel sent from above by his mother.

it can be seen as romantic that he would take a knife wound for Bong Soon and call people to take her wild drunk videos offline, but it comes at the expense of Bong Soon and her image as a strong women. like she can be weak at points in the story, it’s called character development, but to be constantly pulled under him isn’t what i would call pro female superhero story telling. it’s not feminist and it’s not a romantic dynamic i want to root for.

his heroic acts kept climbing higher than Bong Soon’s, and when we got to hers he was still there, apparently doing half the work.

the characters:

Minhyuk: some final ranting about him. i’ve noticed that Hyung Sik has a pattern when it comes to acting out his male characters; no matter how soft and cute they are, they always have this brimming masculine toxicity to them. in swdbs it’s really unbalanced (even worse in hwarang). i honestly tried feeling sympathy for him, with his messed up family and his dead mum and all that but he was honesty no fun to watch. he wasn’t offbeat and interesting. he was saturated down to some rich ceo manly man who said that he was a “healthy man” instead of gay.

like he could’ve been so much interesting if he actually were bisexual or a supporter of lgbt rights, if he weren’t making Bong Soon do this and that, asking if she were a man and pining here and there- honestly these characters are such a waste of potential.

Bong Soon: i’ve not talked enough about her. i like how she can be brash and i like how she can be caring with her friends, and i know she’s not a genius of any kind but she can be a bit thick. the writing sacrificed Bong Soon’s intelligence for plot points- like she wouldn’t be that careless to send her friend out on her own when their’s a kidnapper out there would she? and then be so mad that she had to catch the guy?

she has like three interests. Guk Do, video games and cooking. i just wish she were more developed, i wish this story was about her and not a thousand other things.

i really loved how feminine she was at the same time as being strong. you can be powerful and kick ass, unashamedly girly and womanly and sensitive all at once, without erasing any of the other things to make way for the other. but lazy sloppy writing didn’t let these aspects of her character shine.

i liked how Bong Soon, for the most part, was very unlike her mother. her mother was abusive and mean and even though the show tried to redeem her, she still should've been called out for her behaviour because if you’re gonna write how woman can be just as horrible as men who are domestic abusers then you better hold them to the same standard and let your viewers know that it’s wrong.

Bong Soon was flawed, and i’m not going to lie about that- but her flaws were used for comedy. and i don’t know if i like that or not.

i wasn’t a fan of how she favoured people over the other- like the case with sleeping Guk Doo and Minhyuk but now that i think about it... i don’t care if she treated Minhyuk meanly or cursed him behind his back.

the way she viewed her powers and the way she handled them... was a convoluted tangle. she wanted to keep her powers secret and couldn’t hurt people but ended up making a mess almost everywhere, she said she never used her powers to help people and we were supposed to see this decision she made to step up and use her powers for good as a turning point but we know she’d been doing kind things with her powers for a while by helping old grannies up streets and saving people from the fate of a broken bus. her relationship with her family gift is not clear. there is no clear arc in this story

she’s not a fantastic female lead, which should’ve been the case since, well, THE SHOW IS NAMED AFTER HER AND HER STRENGTH. so that’s disappointing.

but again, in the hands of capable writers, she could’ve been an audience favourite.

Guk Doo: at first, we all pretty much hated him. whenever he came on screen i felt like i was suffering for some sin i committed in the past week.

but in the end, as we got to see how he felt about Bong Soon and when he found out about her powers- i really liked him. i liked him when he told his (not great) girlfriend about how he felt about someone else. in fact, i liked Guk Doo because he was never short of caring. even though he was busy and forgetful, he always tried to make up for it. he still cared about her. okay so maybe the whole bit where he realised he loved Bong Soon was a mess but again there’s the case of rubbish writing.

he didn’t think Bong Soon was fragile and needed protecting because she’s a small women. he didn’t say his type of woman has to be small and flowery and fragile out of vanity or misogyny... he says it because that’s what he thought Bong Soon was, as she led him to believe. I phrased that badly but in short i’m saying he loved Bong Soon as he thought she was, and loved her still and as much with her powers in a way that felt sweet and sad (because as that moment rolled around when he found out about her powers, her heart was already somewhere else).

dramabeans said it better and i’ll paraphrase: this image of his ideal women that he painted out loud was based around Bong Soon and when he find out about her powers and how she’s not as weak as she led him to believe, that feeling of love didn’t change.

he was also mature and almost gentle while he handled the discovery of her secret, fairly well might i add, as he realised all the things he missed as they were growing up.

the villain: awful, who’s crimes on screen could potentially hurt people who’ve been abused in the past as they watch. the fact that the point in this was to have a women hater be defeated by a powerful woman was not driven home well. it could’ve been so good but instead we got a noodley thin version of this premise.

side characters: they were tiring. we didn’t need half of them. some stayed too long and the joke soon turned stale. some where offensive. Guk Doo’s girlfriend all i can say is... at least she talked to him and was honest in the end (after doing things behind his back).

in conclusion:

i’m tired of people saying that the main pair are a power couple and that they’re the otp of all otp’s.

the show is so overrated. it deserves the harsh comments that come it’s way. it was rampant with offensive bits for laughs and maybe we could let this show slide if it weren’t for these rubbish jokes, and how serious it took it’s main themes of women and power only to botch it completely.

other people's posts have been much more concise and articulate as they describe what i’ve talked about. these are just the thought’s i had to get out of my sore head.

here is a post that is very clear about what’s wrong with this show, in a much quicker way. and i whole heatedly agree with it.

anyways. yeah this was rubbish and if you have high hopes for this like most of us did, then you’ll be sorely disappointed.

#strong woman do bong soon #swdbs #kdramanetwork #kdrama review #tumbly reviews #sorry for any typos!! this is basically a hate post i really couldn't be bothered being objective lmfaooo

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