Boxing Her; A mostly 'armless Hollywood tale. [F for M, Bon/Nc/Ex]

[Nerdess]

You'll be forgiven for not being familiar with the 30+ year old source material I'm riffing on here, but if you do know of Boxing Helena you can probably shortcut your way in or out of the thread.

You can have everything one day, and then the next, life changes in the blink of an eye.  All it takes is one single solitary accident to rip away your comfort, your stability, your future.  One stupid choice to have a couple of drinks and get behind the wheel anyway, or to put yourself in the wrong ride share, or for your regular driver to lose their attention when a new message comes through.  Her story should've followed any other one just like it; young, beautiful, breaking out through a mixture of mediums, tv and film, indie and blockbuster, streaming and cable.  She was popular and getting moreso by the release, topping lists of hot young new talent and ones to watch, and eventually she would either secure herself to the life-rope of stars who people knew their name and have a rich adult career, or flame out when she got her first wrinkle and someone newer and fresher took the place she had occupied just a few years prior; our brightest stars burning out the fastest, and all that.

Only that wasn't going to be her story.  One bad night, remember?  One bad night, surrounded by flaming wreckage and twisted metal.  A concussion and a desperate bid to claw away at the broken machinery to save whoever was inside.  Flames threatening lungs, skin, life itself.  There was nothing more senseless or immediate than a car wreck, not even for the famous; how many obituaries about those who were gone too soon were a result of vehicular neglect as much as young Hollywood debauchery and drugs?  It was a miracle in the end when she found herself alive despite the worst case scenario and the attempts of the tabloids to find out exactly what became of her once the rumor mill spun up.

Whether or not her story would ever truly be told was an open question, however; it was hard not to be grateful when you woke up from a nightmare and found that you still had your life.  But sometimes that was all you had.  Beauty.  Fame.  These things were fleeting enough when you were decreed perfect for a briefly shining time, but when you were a broken toy, no one wanted to play their games with you anymore.  You could figuratively walk away from the worst day of your life, and find that there were worse yet to come.  Those who did not turn away from you, well, they cut through the chaff to find out who your friends and loved ones really were.  Those who were there for you, they became their own kind of shining stars.  They were the ones who cared.

Even when they were the ones who might have broken you on purpose so that no one else would ever get to play with you again.


She is a twenty-something Hollywood rising starlet who seems like she's everywhere these days; think Jenna Ortega or Sydney Sweeney or Anya Taylor Joy or Zendaya or insert your fave crush here (or someone who has fit this bill at one time or another).

You are someone who either had an unreasonable obsession or found themselves in exactly the right place at the right time or both.

The accident left no choice but to amputate.

She now needs around the clock care.  Physical therapy.  Emotional support.

You are ready to take every single advantage of the situation and put your broken doll back together however you desire.

Let's be deliciously fucked up.