#child at risk

[whumpinaheartbeat]

Doll, Girl, Bird (Febuwhump 2023 Day 16)

This fic contains graphic injury and risk of child injury. Please read with discretion.

When Gordon was at last pulled from the rubble, he was mumbling words that none of them could make sense of. He kept repeating the same three words, over and over again.

Doll.

Girl.

Bird.

Virgil said that it was just confusion, completely natural for someone who had been trapped beneath an entire building for three hours. But whatever he was saying, Gordon must have felt that it was important so Alan listened closely to him all the same, holding his hand the whole way to the hospital. 

It was strange to be in an ambulance not a Thunderbird but Gordon’s condition was deemed serious enough that he would need to be transported directly to a hospital and not to Tracy Island.

At a glance, Gordon was a mess and on a closer inspection, he was even more of a mess. His right arm was broken, having been pinned beneath a cabinet, his right leg even worse. As a precaution Gordon’s neck had been braced; they had not known how badly he had fallen and given his history of spinal cord injury it was best to be safe. 

Virgil had said that he suspected that some of Gordon’s ribs were broken also, a suspicion that the paramedics shared but that Alan did not want to consider. So far his lungs seemed intact, a miracle in itself, but they all knew that there may be more damage than they could see. 

Most worrying of all was the line of blood that ran down Gordon’s face. He had hit his head, on what Alan did not want to know. Gordon’s helmet had been taken off for some reason but it had no blood on it which meant it had already been off when the building collapsed. It might explain why Gordon was conscious but not really, still mumbling about dolls and girls and birds but Gordon should have known better than to remove his helmet during such a risky rescue operation.

There must have been a reason for him to do that.

“I’m right here, Gordon.” Alan said.

Gordon tried to shift his head towards Alan’s voice but the brace prevented him. 

He kept mumbling.

Alan had been working with Virgil to put up supports on a half collapsed building when the aftershock hit. Virgil had steadied him, sheltering Alan as dust rained down on them. Alan had foolishly thought that the worst of the damage had happened in the initial earthquake so when he heard the loud cracking behind him, his entire body had gone cold.

He had twisted, slowly, Virgil’s arms still around him, and he watched the building Gordon was in crumble. The supports they had added simply could not take the strain and Alan had screamed, he was certain that he had screamed, but Virgil would not let him go.

Just the memory made Alan curse himself. It should have been him in there, not Gordon. Hell, none of them should have been in that building, it had already been cleared of all people.

Gordon was not panicking, not even with his neck braced and a oxygen mask on his face but if anything that was more concerning. Gordon had so many terrible memories from his accident a few years ago, he should be fighting against his treatment now like he always did. Gordon was not fighting, he was simply mumbling words that Alan could not understand. 

Doll.

Girl.

Bird.

“Gordie,” Alan said. “I’m sorry. I just… I don’t understand.”

When Gordon’s eyes flicked towards Alan it was like he was looking passed him and not at him. 

“Girl. Bird.” Gordon repeated, blinking slowly. “Doll. Girl. Bird.”

Alan held Gordon’s hand ever tighter, his eyes stinging. He wished he could make Gordon feel better, he wished he could assure him that whatever he was talking about mattered and that he understood. 

“Safe.” Gordon said.

Safe? Gordon hadn’t broken his cycle of Doll Girl Bird until now so hope surged in Alan’s chest, Gordon might finally be coming to full consciousness.

“Doll.” Gordon mumbled.

“No,” Alan said, his voice tight. “Say it again.”

“Doll. Girl. Bird.”

“Yeah, I get it, Doll Girl Bird and all that but you said safe.”

“Doll.” Gordon mumbled. 

Alan looked towards the paramedic that was riding in the back with them but they just grimaced, writing down Gordon’s vitals. Alan wanted to run a hand through his hair, his frustration only growing. He should be happy that Gordon was awake at all, he should be happy that his brother was even alive, but Alan felt his heart sink deeper into his chest as he yearned to understand what Gordon was trying to say.

“Cabinet.”

Alan stilled. 

No. It couldn’t be. Doll, Girl, Bird, Safe, Cabinet. No.

“Gordon,” Alan said carefully. “Was there a girl in the cabinet?”

“Safe.” Gordon mumbled. 

Alan scrambled to get onto his radio, his heart racing.

“Virg!” He called. “There was a girl in the cabinet. I repeat, there was a girl in the cabinet.”

“Are you sure?” Virgil’s voice echoed. “The building was cleared.”

“I’m sure!” Alan said. “That’s what he’s been mumbling about. There’s a girl in the cabinet!”

Alan’s hands shook as he heard Virgil take off running. His heart raced as he heard Virgil demand clearance to return to the building, his body grew cold as Virgil ran in anyway. If Alan was wrong about this and there was another aftershock, what was left of the building might collapse with Virgil along with it. It was a miracle that Gordon had survived but that did not guarantee that the building had stopped shifting so it was still incredibly dangerous.

Gordon had gone silent but his eyes were still open, his lungs were still breathing. He was listening to the radio too. His attention seemed to be drifting, still semi-conscious, but he was listening.

Alan heard a creaking of wood over the radio and he wanted to scream. If Virgil died because of him he would never forgive himself. More wood, Virgil was grunting as if he was straining his body.

Silence.

No. Not Virgil too. Alan couldn’t bear to see Gordon like this, he couldn’t risk losing Virgil too.

“Hey there, Sweetheart,” Virgil’s voice suddenly echoed. “My name is Virgil, what’s yours?”

There was no answer for a beat and Alan felt his heart sink deeper. He wanted to ask what Virgil could see, he wanted to know what was happening. Then, another voice, the most beautiful sound Alan had ever heard.

“Sally.”

The girl could not be older than six and Alan could imagine it now, Virgil crouching before her, the remains of the cabinet that had saved her life behind her. Virgil did not seem to be rushing so she was probably uninjured or at least he was trying to keep her calm. Virgil had always been so good with kids.

“It’s nice to meet you Sally,” Virgil said. “I see you’ve been very brave, who is it you’ve got there?”

“Zelda.” Sally said, no doubt holding up her doll. “Gordon said that as long as I hold onto her, everything was going to be okay.”

“And he was right,” Virgil said. “Everything is okay.”

“Gordon also he said he was going to get me a Thunderbird for her. I told him that my birthday isn’t until next week but he just laughed at me. Am I still getting one?”

Girl doll bird indeed.

“You know,” Virgil said. “I can do you one better. Instead of a toy Thunderbird, how do you feel about riding in a real one?”

Virgil set the radio click off, focusing on getting Sally out safely now that Alan knew that his hunch had been right.

“Do you hear that?” Alan said. “She’s safe, Gordie. You saved her life.”

For a moment Alan wasn’t sure that Gordon had understood him, blinking slowly. Then Gordon’s lips twitched into a smile, a perfect tear rolling down his face, his message at last understood. 

Gordon’s body gave into unconsciousness but Alan stayed with him, holding his hand ever more tightly.

[racetrackmybeloved]

i would give anything to watch a full movie on how the entirety of brooklyn came to be "spot conlon's territory". half of the brooklyn newsies are practically grown ass men, and they answer to this scrawny blond fifteen year old??

like come on

[peachyutdr]

i finished it, was kicked out of the game, and then spent the next 10 minutes drawing this. i will now go take a shower, most likely cry, and then go through the emotional turmoil of convincing myself to reset so i can do a geno run. i hate it here :D

[theladyofbloodshed]

Tamlin getting into trouble for not letting an untrained Feyre go out and fight vs nesta getting into trouble for letting teenage Feyre go out and hunt

[iantothinker]

baby and his snoopy umbrella

[dukeofthomas]

I can't find it now but there's a post about suspension of disbelief and how it's broken when the story starts trying to excuse it. "character gets knocked unconscious for hours but there's no further issues from this" okay 👍 "and actually this makes perfect sense because of this and that" um no it doesn't why are you lying to me. like i am willing to ignore the holes and the discrepancies!! all you need to do is let me and not bring unnecessary attention to it!!!

and all that is my issue with the whole robin child soldier argument. like i am willing to ignore it i am willing to engage with the fantasy literally all you need to do is NOT try to convince me that Actually It's Fine Because They Want To Do It or whatever. like literally just shut up about it and i can engage with the fantasy!!

[mrkida-art]

Prince Balin of Durin's Folk

[canonkiller]

sorry for the bad luck

[stupid-elf]

Growing up with strict, neurodivergent parents while neurodivergent yourself will have you as an adult acting like you've recently escaped the feywild. What are the tricky rules? Is everything accounted for? How do I ensure I don't accidentally step over the line into Impoliteness. You know the consequences aren't death and dismemberment but you might look down one day and find you've lost your shadow and all of your friends if you're not careful

[justafriendofxanders]

that's what i THOUGHT you'd say you troubled ex-catholic father figure with control issues

[mikeandikeschmidt]

Other girls: Aww he got her flowers! Such goals!

Me, after watching FNAF: 10/10 want a man who would tackle a kidnapper and beat the everloving snot out of him

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Okay so next to Rise of Red having a weird moral with princesses, Rise of Red I guess also out here acting like its weird and even spoiled to give your child an award for being good????

[another-goblin]

The path of the Hunt seems a bit self-contradictive.

Yes, most of the Hunt characters are proactive, energetic, enthusiastic, and singleminded, but 'hunt' in the traditional sense implies murder. Whereas most of it's characters seem to be motivated by the sanctity of human life, to a certain extent, or the idea of protection at all costs. It's usually not obvious at first glance but becomes clear when you get to know them a bit better.

Seele, who seems unfriendly and gruff at first, whose singular concern is the safety of the Underworld

Yanqing, an arrogant and overconfident child who, without hesitation, challenges two ancient legendary warriors to protect the people of the Luofu.

Sushang, who is called 'naive' in her Character details, is already a Cloud Knight at 15, who spends her days helping others and protecting the people of the Luofu.

Dr. Ratio, whose underlying philosophy of "all lives are worth living" is hidden under his stern exterior.

Topaz, whose methods are absolutely messed up and horrible, but her sincere goal is to give the people of Jarilo-VI the best chances to survive, whether they want it or not.

Boothill, who pulls a gun at everybody he meets, seems genuinely offended when Aventurine accuses him of killing his bodyguards.

[dearlyfetching]

gotta say...it'd be a lot more satisfying if the writers would let olivia cooke bring the same energy to alicent that rebecca ferguson brought to jessica in dune: part 2.

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

Johanna is so fucking funny to me. “I moved out of tofoten because the magical creatures in there were a danger to Hilda” and then she moved to the middle of fucking NOWHERE. Girl be for real for a moment. How is this any worse than the Woodman

[worstloki]

following the theory that loki intentionally banded the avengers together so he could sicc them on thanos later, after he took the throne in T:TDW, i think he'd be so angry at the events of civil war like:

loki as odin: hello heimdall, how do earth's mightiest heroes fare as of late?

heimdall: they have disagreed on many subjects and split up two days ago

loki:

heimdall:

loki: they haVE WHAT?

cue loki coming down to earth and bonking everyone's heads together until they all get along again

stark: how the heck are you alive???

loki: skills. listen here, i did not pour my blood, sweat and tears to form this team for you idiots to throw all my hard work out the window!

loki, grabbing rhodes and stark by the wrists: now, we are going to get your little friends out of prison, understood?

like an exasperated kindergarten teacher, y'know?

Loki, hitting Steve over the head with a newspaper: he's your friend, of course he's upset you lied to him about something like this

Tony: hah!

Loki, giving Tony a death glare: did you have to fight each other about it