#(she may be in charge so killing her messes shit up but it doesn't make sense that she's. like. the only conduit? if that makes sense?)

[thats-a-lot-of-cortisol]

they're in love your honor

[thestarfishinjootsoffice]

Hello! I was wonder if you could do Slasher headcannons with a S/O who struggles with Anxiety? If not that's alright!

Now I don't have an anxiety disorder so im doing research and I'm not sure it's you're talking about an anxiety disorder or just dealing with getting anxious but I'll make it the first one.

I tried to make this more serious but I failed

Slashers with reader who struggles with anxiety!

Michael

He may notice you seem extremely stressed about things, whether small or big and he doesn't understand it I mean if you're away from him then yeah he gets pretty nervous but about somethings like dates and schedules to the point it messes up in your daily life? Why?

But tries to comfort you. If he sees you fatigued then he'll usher you into bed, if you can't sleep then he'll just lay down next to you until you do which I'm unsure how long it'll take but he's quite the patient man, if he's in his younger days that is.

If you start crying because of it or get a panic attack and come to him he'll sit and let you cry on him and may have a hand on your hand, head or back while at it. He wants you to get help despite his strong dislike for you being away from him he sucks it up. But at the same time he also doesn't, because look like happened when he was with Loomis, he was supposed to help him and look how he turned out.

But he'll suck it up. If he notices if your mental health is getting worse when you are "getting treated" He'll just find and kill whoever is in charge of you.

Sinclair brothers

Bo has a hard shell yes but inside his heart is bouncing all over the place of worry. He may have had his fair share of panic attacks and it's horrible. He hopes there's something he can do to help. He listens to whatever problem you may be having and comforts you with what things you may like. He also tries not to lose his temper or yell around or at you. Which may be hard since he's angry 90% of the time but anything to help your anxiety reduce at least just a bit. He has magical hands that can and will remove anything that stresses you out and magical hands that will make you forget what stresses you out... He'll cuddle the shit out of you behind closed doors with many affections and kisses. Or just warm and gentle holding. You choose he'll do it. 🫶

Vincent is probably the most understanding, his worries and anxiety attacks when he imagines someone seeing him without his mask or when he can't find it. He doesn't know what much he can do since he's very awkward and and can't speak and is just '🧍' but he can listen and hold you however you'd like. If you want to touch and play with his hair then please do so, if you want to do a little a wax sculpting you're more than allowed. You're both doing wax sculptures to take your little mind off things, but if you start worrying if it's going to look good or not then he just "✋". If it's work then he'll bring you drinks and food of your choice and signals you to take a break. If your boss keeps pushing you to the point you break down then uh... Hey why did your boss go missing suddenly?

Lester the most carefree and happy though seen what it does to his brothers and hates it that it also happens to you. Very very sad. He takes you out on walks and Or driving around. Literally just holds you if he notices you being too nervous. And just the most sweetest soft kisses and affirmations that everything will be alright and you don't have to worry about anything because he'll be helping you through it all. Just soft cuddling as your pour your feelings out to him. He doesn't want you to feel alone and he won't make you feel alone. Snacks and drinks and heavy blankets and anything else that might help you for the time being. If there's someone or something that stresses you out too much they're either gone or oh look it looks like there's a hand popping out of the pile of roadkill! Anyways let's play with jonesy.

Bonus: jonesy! She just knows when you're feeling anxious before you do. plays with you, lets you pet her, kisses you. Just lays around you. Loves going on calming road trips with Lester so you're going too if you want to that is. If you're worried about your looks or something she'll just bite or bark at whoever gives you the looks or talks bad about you. She'll never let you feel bad she's your best friend 🫰🫵

Hannibal

He noticed this when you were first appointed, it's okay nothing special so did many of his previous patience but your case is really severe and you don't seem to get better. That's alright. There isn't always immediate changes it takes time. But no matter how much he gives time Or uses his techniques you don't seem to get better. This bothers him. And eventually he finds himself attached to you, like really attached and not just your disorder but for who you are. So now he is no longer Dr lecter. He's your best friend (boyfriend?) hannibal. Isn't that illegal? No because he's no longer your therapist and you're not longer his patient. How does that make sense? Don't ask anymore further questions.

He can read you like a book and he'll bring all your necessities you need when you start feeling really tense. During the attacks he'll rub your back while he holds a glass of cold water to your mouth while telling you it's okay. It also stresses him tf out. If you start becoming distant or get irritated more than usual he prepare something nice for you like food or a very pleasant warm bath and he assures you that he'll be there to help you. He'll make a healthy schedule for you and make you start looking after yourself, though he wonders if you're gonna leave him if you start finally getting better.

There may come a time where you are in a corner and uncontrollably crying and hannibal is just across the room staring at you as he calls will and says "Will, Will they won't stop crying what do I do." He knows what to do but is too afraid to do anything.

Billy and stu

It's really chaotic.

You may be on the ground and stu is just screaming and aggressively searching on his phone on what to do while Billy is shakily holding a glass of water and just says

"I heard water helps... You want water...?"

You're practically going to be sandwiched between them when it's cuddling time. And god forbid anyone makes you anxious and cry because they're gonna be on the news report later.

At least one of them is always going to be on your side incase anything distraughts you and there's gonna be no one there to help you ease down. Stu will be there to make jokes to help you feel lighter and Billy is just uh Billy. You three will maybe watch a movie or two and go on fun or relaxing outings. No person or something will make their s/o feel anything negative.

[sem-nocao-tx]

Some spoilers ;3

Zach- shit! I knew there was someone there! And it had to be that incher Kratt!

Chris- do you know him?

Zach- of course I know, he and his team are always sabotaging my projects!

Chris- and why the fuck didn't you tell us he was here?!

The boy approached the inventor with an angry, with arrogant look on his face, as if he were threatening him. He tried to get his own back by raising his arms and returning his gaze angrily.

Zach- and I was going to find out?! Donita insisted it was just squirrels!

Donita- blaming others for the mess you make or don't make, I didn't expect anything else from you.

The stylist arrived at the scene with a serious look on her face and no patience, it wasn't the first time the three of them had argued and it was far from the last.

Chris- it doesn't matter whose fault it was, what matters is that he invaded our base, and he may well do it again!

?- finally someone with a bit of sense...

A female voice was heard by everyone, everyone recognized that voice and knew that she was in charge of everything there.

Madona- that's why I'm proud of you Chris, you're the only one who seems to use your head in the right way.

The boy looked at the elegant woman with straight gray hair, combed into a braid that fell over part of her right breast. She was wearing a black overcoat with rolled-up sleeves and a red collared, long-sleeved blouse, tight black pants and black leather boots, along with some large dangling gold earrings. But what was most striking were his red eyes due to the contact lenses and his proud, firm smile.

The boy bowed his head in respect, as if the woman had great authority over everyone there. Donita and Zach also remained silent, listening to what she had to say, she was the boss, she was in charge, as much as they hated the idea, Chris being the only one who agreed with it and respected her above all.

Madona- So we have an intruder, have you been able to identify him?

Zach- yes, it was Martin Kratt, I think you know him already

Madona- Aviva's guinea pig? I thought she was off our radar.

Chris- he seemed to be wearing something like my animal costume, I saw him turn into a jaguar in front of me!

Madona- *slight chuckle* I shouldn't be surprised...

Chris- What do you mean?

Zach looked at the woman and sighed deeply, seeing that this mess was far from being resolved.

Zach - Madona, Aviva and I were college classmates, it was during this period that she started making the animal costumes.

Madona- as much as she made the costumes, I perfected them, your costume is much more advanced than hers.

Chris- so you're saying that he has the same advantage that I do?

The suit was Chris's greatest security in combat, he was never very good at hand-to-hand combat and hated using firearms. When he learned that someone had the same power as him, his world shattered in his hands.

Madona- no, only you have the advantage, because you're better.

She approached him with a firm gaze and a broad smile on her face, with certainty in her words. She put her hands on his cheeks, making him look her in the eye. She had a hypnotic effect on him, even with his anxiety, she knew how to put his head back on straight.

Madona- it doesn't matter if he has the same power as you, I want you to show him who's better, because you're stronger. Even if you have to kill him to prove it.

Chris hated the idea of killing people. As much as he wanted to defend Madona's base and projects, he still didn't accept the idea of killing people, but he did agree with the idea of annihilating his enemies.

Chris- Yes, ma'am.

[wastrelwoods]

thinking abt my murder family dynamics as always and the specific problem of why abigail doesn't find a way to just escape the whole situation with hannibal and will, because she is definitely physically capable of doing that and she's not stupid, she knows hannibal is dangerous and might kill her

first place! she's an adolescent of an age group typically at least ready to TRY leaving home, but she's established as being particularly attached to her parents and having a close bond with them. maybe she didn't look forward to leaving home any more than her dad did, and she would have gravitated back home any chance she could like elise nichols. when she's orphaned and loses her home at the start of the season it fundamentally unmoors her emotionally. in a lot of ways she's still a child and not really keen on the idea of striking out on her own in the face of all that loss. alana bloom wants to support her to be more self sufficient or at least not to try to replace her parents with substitute figures right away, BUT, CRUCIALLY,

its not JUST that she doesn't want to be alone in a purely homesick sense. she cannot SURVIVE on her own. she's physically powerless, and worse than that she is in very immediate danger of being charged as an accomplice to her father, and that's not a danger she can shake off by being independent and starting over with a clean slate. she ropes alana in to feeling as much like a guardian as a psychiatrist and seems to foster that protectiveness in her, and does the same to hannibal and will. she latches on to all of them as they latch on to her and does everything she can to put them in a position to protect her. even freddie gets the honorary abigail guardian treatment, though the connection is less 'will you be my mummy🥺' and more 'i will be the goose that lays golden eggs if you help me look innocent'

it helps in hannibal's case that he is doing the same work right back and they immediately become codependent as shit. he thrives on making people with less power feel dependent on him, she needs someone to ensure her survival, she lets him know that she has dirt on him, he puts her in a position to get in trouble and then rescues her from it, they hide a body together. its a blackmail based relationship on both sides that immediately turns into playing house and fostering genuine emotional connection.

will fundamentally can't really offer her the same sense of safety because he's visibly unstable and also carries the risk of turning her in if he finds out she's guilty, and then she's afraid that he's just flat out a threat to her safety (and he IS, there is a part of him that feels betrayed by her and wants to kill her in retribution or to protect her by making her safe in death or whatever jumbled up mess of her father's feelings he's stewing in)

so will isn't safe for her and alana keeps a little too much professional distance to protect her the way she needs, and then hannibal pulls the rug out from under her and reveals that he is much, much more dangerous than she had assumed. and in that moment there's an implicit threat that she will let him help her by faking her death or he will kill her outright. evolve or die.

but after that? she could find a way to leave any time, after hannibal hides her away and gets busy with his long-distance flirtation with will and the FBI. she's not tied up in his basement. she's a free agent, she may even be in a separate safe house. but she never runs away. maybe its not totally rational: the emotional connection is there - she reminds him of his sister, he reminds her of her father. but i think she knows very well that his caring about her doesn't make him less of a threat to her safety. still, while the relationship is obviously precarious, he has always helped her and done exactly as he promised to do, and she has no reason to believe he will betray that. AND she has a good reason not to act out against his wishes in any way even if to do so WOULD make her safer and more in control. when she dug up the body they hid together, he gave her an implicit threat: his protection is conditional.

if she stays and does what he tells her to do, she trusts that he'll keep his promises. if she runs, she does not have that guarantee. it's a very smart calculation - but (scorpion and the frog parable) she realizes too late she was wrong about that

[tsuki-sennin]

Jyoooooooo! Jyamato Grand Prix! Sengoku Edition!

This might get bloody, strap yourselves in folks.

Spoilers, I guess...

-Super Hero Time bumper!

-"That dirty fox! Messing up MY garden! AAAAAAAAAH!"

-Archimedel's taking getting Boosted on very well.

-Micchi? Oh fuck, this really is gonna turn out badly.

-Naptime, Ace?

-"Oh thank God... he is human~!" OKAY KEIWA WOW

-Is that a lemonade?

-"The Red Fox..."

-Ohhhhh

-I guess Beroba

-He's so sleepy

-...that's almost more worrying than him going apeshit, tbh

-Guess even an obsessive super fan has limits to what he knows.

-As he well should tbh, Ace doesn't owe him that.

-Oh shit, it's time.

-...that outfit looks super cute on Neon.

-Ninja Plants!

-Hot damn, Keiwa!

-YOOOOOO NEON

-These untransformed fights make me giddy.

-Oh fuuuuuck

-Daichi continuing to be the woist

-"How delightful~! Like Oda Nobunaga's last day in Honnoji~!"

-"I call dibs."

-Shogun Niram.

-...I guess Samas-san doesn't exactly wanna play along.

-You could help us at anytime, Producer Man. Just saying!

-Aren't you a Rider too, Ziin? Why don't you help?

-Oooooooh

-Here comes Ace with the hair extensions.

-Boost! Mark Two!

-...I just noticed, but I think his head is recycled from Lopo's.

-Oh shit, fox time again!

-Damn Michinaga, you survived that. Didn't even get knocked out.

-No more Jyamato.

-"Bro what the hell is that?"

-"Yeah... I guess it is."

-And he's down!

-Naptime.

-What Neon and Keiwa know definitively about Ace.

He really misses his Mama.

He's way too good at this game.

His fursona is a fox.

-That's it.

-OOOOH?

-Seems kinda mean to not let somebody meet their mother just because their previous incarnation already did.

-"I may be new meat in this fandom, but everybody knows Yakumo Eisu."

-Wait... Fox... Yakumo... Associated with extreme deceit... from Holy shit, Ace is Yukari and Ran's secret bastard son!

-Desire Grand Prix! Genso Edition!

-...don't ask how they both got Mitsume pregnant, that's not a conversation I'm prepared to have with you.

-"Move me! Your character development is fascinating."

-I knew it~!

-Chirami off to complain to the manager.

-"You moron, they'll murder you!" I love just how sick Tsumuri is of this bullshit.

-Ohhhhhh

-Here she comes~!

-Don't tempt her.

-YOU DUMBASS

-Tsumuri should be in charge of the whole game, she's clearly putting in all the work.

-"Keep your disgusting hands away from me."

-Oh, Beroba can just

-Do that, huh?

-Well, we're fucked.

-Oh!

-Seeing Ace stressing himself, even in such a limited capacity, is a bit frightening.

-Hello Ziin.

-Oh, that was

-That was a commercial break, okay. Weird.

-Ukiyo Ace...

-Oooooooh

-Those must be Garfield's parents. ...I wonder if their names are Jonathan and Elizabeth?

-There's very obviously not Yukari Yakumo.

-And that woman in the Mediterranean must be Mitsume-san.

-Influencer stans are horrifying.

-You tell him, Ace.

-2fast4ace.

-"So like... is there a reason you guys picked us of all Riders?"

-Kekera really likes Keiwa, I see.

-Yeah you be very careful around Kyuun, Neon. His vibes are icky.

-Guess Chirami's getting fired after this.

-Oh finally! Some initiative!

-Naptime.

-Damn he shoot

-Lots of untransformed fighting today!

-Rider Time.

-Berobaaaa!

-Ohhhhh

-Teenage girls are frightening.

-Glare2! Log in!

-Install!

-I believe that makes Beroba one of a very rare breed of female Rider with multiple distinct Rider identities.

-The only other examples I can name off the cuff is Natsumikan as Den-O (briefly) and Kiva-la (and Natsumikan Arms Gaim, if you wish to count that) ...does Sakura becoming George's Clone Riders really count? Fuck it, I'm counting.

-Ohhhhhhhhhh!

-She's real dangerous now!

-Ziin got fucked.

-Damn, they threw that boy!

-"I'm gonna kill off your beloved blorbo~! And there's not a thing you can do about it~!"

-Oooooooooh.

-Laser Boost, incoming!

-Right, that's all done.

-Oh, Ace. Gotta sell me something, eh?

-I see, thank you.

[bookshelfmonkey]

Ok let's go. Top to bottom, left to right.

Charles Vane: Something we learn pretty early on about Vane is that he doesn't think long-term. He can't think of wanting much more than just power/control (as quite abstract concepts, and only in Nassau) and when he has them, he's never fully happy about it. His relationship with Eleanor is unhealthy both ways (i.e. it's not just him treating her like shit, but also the other way around), and he's just generally rarely in any kind of situation that's actually good for him, despite probably having the resources to create one. The joke's on you bit comes from how a lot of people (especially Flint & Eleanor), when negotiating with him, base their arguments off an assumption that he wants something more, or even has much of a sense of self worth and, through these negotiations, often fail. He does grow in late s2/s3 but, as I said in the tags, boxes must be filled for charts to exist.

Jack Rackham: Jack's almost the reverse of Vane in that people keep trying to deal with him by humiliating him and taking away his sense of self-worth and it just never works. He knows what he wants and fully believes he can achieve it and we'll all be damned if he didn't do just that.

Eleanor Guthrie: Similar to Vane, Eleanor never seems to be in a fully happy, healthy, or sustainable situation. Her being a bisexual woman in the 18th century does factor into this, making it harder for her to get and maintain the life she wants, but another key obstacle is that she does often accept bad situations. Also this was an excuse to be a Richard Guthrie hater (I'm his biggest hater, if he has no haters I'm dead, etc.)

The next row is a bit sillier but I still have shit to say.

Max: Initially I did put Max in "you underestimate how much I value myself" and I also stand by that, but boxes had to be filled so she was moved here. We have absolutely 0 confirmation that she's attracted to men and I imagine that would make a lot of straight men very upset and I love it.

Flint: Another more obvious one. This is both a comment on the intial reception of the show where a lot of, again, straight men were very upset that the hero, the (fairly) masculine guy who's in charge and fights people and all that shit, is also incredibly gay, and the fact that, among all the myths that are constructed around Flint in the show, basically no one works out what actually motivates him/what his backstory is.

Silver: In the specific context of this post, it's probably worth noting that I do believe that, in his confused, messed-up way, Silver did love Flint. This may not have been romantic but also it very well could have been. This is also a broader commentary on Silver as a character. A lot of his flaws seem to come from internalising unhealthy ideals (toxic masculinity, ableism, etc.) so it's not a massive stretch to include potentially homophobia in there. And, much like their external counterparts, internalised bigotries are learned from experience/society/other people. We never fully see him learning this, but I don't doubt that Silver's various internalised issues are very much learned.

Anne Bonny: Again, this is another case of simplifying things to fill boxes but I do find it almost a little funny that Anne was literally on her deathbed refusing to forgive Max for just surviving and sticking to the values that she's held since before they even met. Idelle had to borderline threaten her until she fully grasped why Max had acted the way she had and forgave her for it.

Billy Bones: This especially speaks to s2 Billy, where everyone expects him to lose his shit over Flint possibly trying to kill him, definitely killing Gates (i.e. his father) and Silver literally imprisoning him just after he's returned, but somehow he still stays with Flint. I know he does finally lose his shit around s4, but I'm honestly impressed he lasted that long.

Madi: This is yet another example of me simplifying things, but this is especially about the end of the show. For more context of my interpretation of things, I don't believe Madi and Silver ended up together. I believe the last scene on the cliff was the closest they ever got to each other again, and I believe this is because of Madi's strong sense of self-worth. Silver lied to her and sabotaged her plans, and, even if he did it out of a strange sense of love, it should not be forgiven. It's "unfortunate" because who hasn't been in a relationship where they want to stay even if they know it's unhealthy (and I do believe that Madi did love Silver and the pain of their breakup likely went both ways, even if she did know it was for the best), but Madi has been raised to hold a strong sense of self-worth and knows that she shouldn't settle for someone who has treated her like that.

[goineedsleep]

this is just as bad, if not worse, than my previous idea

-olberic is a soldier of... what do i call it... goshdang it i'm just calling it atlasrule, and he does it really well

-erhardt and he are excellent at it, but they prefer sticking to one area: olberics hometown of... i'm calling it hornburgia(that's an awful name, i know)

-they're called to the capital for a meeting, and they aren't very happy about it but they accept anyways

-olberic just wants to pet his cat, goddamnit

-and they go there to complete mayhem

-nobles are out on the streets, screeching about how their rivals are dirty liars! That they never betrayed the capital, and that everyone who claims so is a "dirty fool who hasn't seen money once before in their lives"!

-olberic and erhardt: -_-

-they head towards the meeting location and are yelled at by those people. it's one hell of a saturday

-they ask the guard captain what in the name of jesus christ is going on -he heard that a group of nobles conspired against prince cyrus after he came out of the closet, and they didn't manage to take him out. -olberic and erhardt, bisexual disaster besties they are, are like "...well they had it comin" and move on to what they're needed for

-they need to be the bodyguards for prince cyrus because he's being attacked

-erhardt declines because he wants to protect hornburgia. olberic accepts because he can

-and so he meets the prince of atlasrule. and happens to get along with him very well

-they accidentally match clothes one day and the king just stared at them like

-and over the course of a month they start crushin HARD

-it's a problem for no one but the kings advisor, werner

-he's constantly reminding the prince that he needs to focus on his studies, no matter what emotions he may face

-olberic literally has to carry cyrus out bridal style from the library a few times a week, which allows the maids of the house to flip the hell out every time he has to ensure cyrus doesn't sleep on a desk

-the things he does for his crush, am i right?

-then olberic finds out that the attack on cyrus for coming out of the closet was orchestrated by a person still in the castles service, and rightfully freaks the fork out

-he alerts cyrus, and tells him to keep it a secret. they need to know who it is before exacting their revenge on this perpetrator

-cyrus lets werner know about this mysterious perpetrator, having trusted him for years

-cyrus is kidnapped the following week

-olberic starts investigating like. all the time -even on weekends

-boi is stressed as hell, and is out of a job

-he follows the advice of cyrus to go ahead and look for the master sword

-he goes to the water kingdom for their key to the sword first -alfyn, an amateur doctor, shows olberic where to find the key: inside the stomach of their queen, who has been incredibly unwell for the past few months -he's analyzed the causes again and again, and can find only one cure: an herb only found in Bolderfall, where the Gorons live -olberic agrees to go there- there's another key to the sword in the region anyways

-they get to Bolderfall, and things are in a royal mess -the people there are sick too, but from a completely different ailment -alfyn's able to treat it, and he goes around helping people all day -he's incredibly tired, and olberic pays for his inn stay for once

-the next day, they wake up to alfyns bag being stolen -olberic and alfyn track down the thief, who is attempting to treat some of their accomplices -alfyn properly takes care of these individuals, and questions the thief as to why he stole the bag -thief was trying to take care of these people, since no one's even bothering with their own family and there's no apothecary that'd dare take care of the low income portions of the city -alfyn insists otherwise and makes conversation with the guy while olberic gets his first key

-the next day, they head back to clearzoras domain, with the thief named therion in tow -he's tagging along because he wants to, he claims. they don't want to push their luck, so they aren't prying -they save the queen in the brink of time, so she regurgitates the key and olberic's off to find the last one -alfyn and therion accompany him- alfyn to travel the world and help more people out, therion for undisclosed reasons -on their way to the forest, they encounter primrose -she travels with the rest of the group because she is heading that way anyways

-the third area is not in trouble until primrose stabs someone and werner chooses violence at the same time -one of his underlings, a naive fool called darius, lead the charge of an assault on the entirety of atlasrule -werner's attempting to take over the kingdom after imprisoning both the king and his son -they're to be killed once werners conquest is done and over with -therion interrupts darius's monologue with a very violent kick to the nuts -and then therion wins in combat against a darius on a horse -olberic grabs the third key with the assistance of a huntress known as h'aanit in the middle of the commotion

-therion explains that darius was an old friend, and he heard from rumors that he can not only kick him in the nuts, but also destroy everything he's ever worked for. after what he's done to therion, it's only fair at this point -alfyn and co. learn about therions trauma and alfyn becomes a lot more protective over therion -it makes olberic chuckle a little bit- reminds him of his own crush on cyrus

-primrose describes her own dilemma with avenging her father, and is now accompanied by haanit wherever she goes -she doesn't mind it, either

-olberic unlocks the master sword, and now the group can challenge werner and tressa, the spirit of the sword, is constantly talking to olberic in his head -he wants this to be over ASAP- he is terrified for cyrus's life -he and the rest of the group storm through the castle, fight redeye, cassandra(is that tressa ch4 boss or is my brain f-cking with me), simeon, lucia... all those fellas, and then they fudge werner up -it all goes off without a hitch- cyrus is freed from his prison cell and fights with the rest of them as well -fudging werner up is a successful mission

-following the events of this, olberic and cyrus get together -they get married in the far, far future, but they do start dating after werners insurrection -they get the countries shit back together, and say gay and trans rights -a few months after the insurrection alfion occurs

and yeah this is something i wrote impulsively

i couldn't even be funny with erhardt going to femboy hooters. this is truly humorless

i am going to bed now tho, so enjoy it i guess

[kaiparker-avengerssmut]

CURSED: CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“Knocking on Heaven’s Door”

Kai Parker x OC!Mack Grace

Series synopsis: "We're both cursed, in a way."

We all know the story of Kai Parker, but he once lived in a very different life. Do you ever wonder what that life looked like?

Chapter summary: Kai realised he fucked, Mack isn’t so willing to forgive him, Joshua is a shading little shit

Warnings: swearing, slight violence, arguing, mention of drug use (or misuse I guess)

Masterlist | series Masterlist

Kai’s affection didn't last long, the second the announcement was over he released Mack's hand with such haste you'd think it'd burnt him. Kai was quick to ignore his girlfriend - looking straight ahead and following the Police with his eyes as they made their way out of the room - but not before announcing they would be questioning certain individuals.

This put Mack's stress on overdrive, knowing that they'd find out that she killed him and that Kai helped destroy the body and they'd both go to prison. The girl shuddered at the thought of the cold, dingy cells; the cool metal bars that would not doubt be lathered in a layer of thick rust; the grumpy, disgruntled guards; and lastly, the inmates - the ones who had done awful things, much more so than she had than her, or even worse, the ones she outdid.

Mack visibly shook, a chill tickling along her spine as the thoughts encased her mind in a state of anxiousness. She hardly noticed the police had left until the jabbing of the bell pierced her ears, bringing Mack back to her senses as she scrambled to her feet. What she'd also failed to notice was that Kai was no longer in the class, having snuck out when he'd let go of her shaking hand.

...

"Who the fuck are you?" Kai hissed, approaching Shawn, shoulders squared and jaw locked. Shawn smirked, leaning away from the wall and closing the distance between them. Both boys were around the same height - neither of them having an advantage of dominance due to being tall.

"None of your damn business." He smirked, winding Kai up even further.

"Oh, you're right - it's none of my damn business that your asking my girlfriend to kiss you in front of me, is it?" Kai mused, a sinister looking smirk reaching his own lips. Shane's didn't falter either.

"Mmm, girlfriend? She looked more like a slut to me." Shawn pondered and Kai's jaw clenched uncomfortably, hands balling into tight fists at his sides.

"What did you just call her?" Kai spat through gritted teeth and Shawn chuckled, looking back at the group of friends stood behind him with amused expressions.

"What? That's what she is, isn't it? I mean you only called her your girlfriend when you pissed off your sister so bad and her ex went missing." Shawn smirked, his friends laughing and egging him on with cheers. "I bet she's the one who killed him, right? Then ever the hero you swoop in, claiming to be her boyfriend so any motive she may hold becomes futile." Shawn declared, before turning back to his friends with outstretched arms. "Am I right, boys?" He called loudly, met with hoots of agreement that made Kai's anger bubble, their laughter creating a scowl on Kai's brows.

"I mean, nice catch though dude - a bet she's a real freak in bed, probably hard to keep up with her, huh?" Shawn taunted.

Shawn only stopped at the impact of Kai's fist colliding with his jaw, snapping the boy's head to the side as Kai's ring caught the soft skin of his cheek, a slither of crimson breaking the surface. Shawn's jaw clenched tight lung, his thumb swiping the blood from his cheek as his dangerous glare met Kai's.

"You son of a fucking bitch!" Shawn growled, grabbing Kai by his jacket and shoving him into the wall behind him. "Don't you dare fucking touch me again!"

"Or you'll what?" Kai smirked, Shawn's nostrils now flared and his breathing heavy. He was clearly bothered by how unaffected Kai was, this frustration showing clearly when he moved to punch Kai.

But Kai got there first.

No one was really sure how I'd happened, including Kai, but next thing either of them new a teacher was peeling Kai off of Shawn as he straddled the boy, landing punch after punch to his bartered and bruised face.

...

And yet weeks went by and neither Mack nor Kai said a word to each other.

Awkward silences became more awkward, uncomfortable moments became more uncomfortable, wistful gazes became more wistful.

It was getting too much, and Mack was dying for Kai just to say something to her, yet she was too stubborn to say anything first. She sighed heavily, slamming the front door behind her and dumping her bag on the floor. Mack quickly chucked the car keys onto the table before walking into the kitchen for a glass of water. For the past month Mack has been borrowing her dad's car to get to school.

"Hey dad!" She called and Ian soon walked round the corner, joining her in the kitchen.

"Hey, kiddo." He smiled, "how was school?" But before Mack got a chance to answer Kim called from the other room.

"Mack! Kai's here!" The colour instantly drained from Mack's face, her smile falling and her thought spiralling into dread.

Why was Kai there? And why had he now decided to talk to her?

Mack quickly shook off the thoughts, pulling on a hard stare and calling as emotionlessly as she could to Kim,

"I don't want to talk to him. Tell him to leave!" Kim merely shrugged, giving Kai a half-ass apologetic look before letting the slab of wood slam shut in his face, the tiny draft the force created combined with the monotone drawl of Mack's words felt like it hit Kai's face almost as hard as if the girl had charged outside and slapped him across the face herself. He took a deep swallow, choking down the lump in his throat as he stared blankly at the door, fist twitching as he tried to make up his mind.

Another hollow knock on the door. Kim's hand still remained on the handle, so she simply yanked it open before giving Kai a bored look, Amber eyes rolling dramatically.

"Look, lover boy, give it a rest. She doesn't want to talk to you." Mack's sister deadpanned, before letting the door smack shut with an even louder thud than the first time. Kai took a deep breath, his chest rising greatly as he rose his hand another time.

Another hollow knock on the door. Kim scoffed, turning to open the door once again - figuring it could be another person as the pause between knocks had been much longer this time. The second Kai's face met hers Kim huffed out an exasperated sigh, not even bothering to speak before letting the door close dully in Kai's face. A wince escaped him when the last thud met his ears, shoulders slumped as he slowly made his way back to his jeep.

He'd just have to wait Mack out.

10pm. Perfect. Kai claimed out his car hastily, limbs aching after being cooped in his jeep for the last five or so hours. He crept as quietly as possible past her front windows, letting out a small sigh of relief when he noticed that the curtains were already closed so he wasn't in trouble of being seen. Only one light beacons out from the house, the yellow hue of Mack's lamp echoing into the crisp night air. Even though it was already February, the weather was still as harsh as it had been throughout the bitter January.

Kai grabbed onto the bricks, suddenly much more appreciative to the fact he had a small magical boost as he scaled the side of the small building.

Mack nearly jumped three foot in the air, her heart beating so fast she thought it jump out of her chest. The unexpected, unwelcome and unnecessary rattle of Kai's knuckles against her old window bounced off her bedroom walks, filling her ears with anxiety as she turned to see her ex-boyfriend's concerned face looking into her room. Mack inhaled sharply, biting her lips to hold back her grimace as she realised what he'd seen.

The window climbed upwards, Kai's hands sliding the glass up enough to stumble through until he was awkwardly stood in Mack's room, both teens staring at each other uncomfortably.

"That's how you've been coping?" Mack's gaze dropped to her bed, guilt washing over her at the sight of the half-rolled joint. "Weed? Really?" Kai scoffed and Mack's guilt soon rolled into anger, rage.

"That's none of your business." She said with an unturned nose, scooping the mess into a bag and shoving it in the little drawer in her desk which held a small lock. The sound Kai made resembled one of mocking laughter, short and bitter.

"None of my business, huh? I think you doing drugs is damn well my fucking business!" Kai demanded, shaking his head at her in disbelief.

"It stopped being your business the second you decided to dump me!" Mack was raising her voice now, her enmity melting into her face in a deep red hue. Kai's jaw clenched and unclenched, his eyes burning holes through the little wooden drawer shed just stuffed the weed into.

"That was a mistake." He muttered and Mack's eyes lit up with fury.

"A mistake? Kai you've made hundreds of mistakes!" Mack said harshly, voice cracking. Kai wiped his hand over his jaw, hiding his pout. "No. That wasn't a mistake, Kai. That was your shitty past making you doubt me as much as you doubt your shitty father and your shitty coven!" Mack shouted, eyes shellacked with tears.

And awkward silence fell over them, but Kai's stung expression told Mack everything she needed to know.

"Kenz..."

"Why are you here, Kai?!" Mack spat.

"Ben, he's uh- he's been confirmed dead." Kai murmured meekly, pressing his lips together. Mack's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"What?!" She whispered-shouted. Kai nodded.

"The police- they confirmed it, earlier. It was on the news." A somber mood had undertaken the room, a mutual air of what-do-we-do-now becoming the two teens.

"How-?"

"They found the ashes in the woods. And Kim talked." Kai admitted and Mack's face quickly morphed back into one of acrimony.

"That bitch-" Kai's hand quickly caught her wrist, pulling Mack back into him before she could get any further. He quickly backed her up into the door, a finger hovering over her lips.

"Shhhh. I have a sneaking suspicion that your name wouldn't have come up." He whispered calmly, but the fear and anger in his blue eyes were evident.

"What are you going to do?" She asked, a hint of concern creeping into her eyes.

"Well, I was thinking we could run away. You and me." Kai suggested, a hopeful glint to his voice that made Mack scoff.

"You haven't spoken to me in weeks," she emphasised the word heavily, "and you just expect me to run away with you? Not a chance." Mack dismissed, pulling away from Kai and quickly slipping out of her room - feet padding down the stairs swiftly. But Kai's heavy footsteps could be heard behind her.

"Come on, Kenz, you know you want to-" at that Mack turned harshly on her heal to face him

"What makes you think I'd want to go anywhere with you?" She hissed and Kai was taken aback.

"I thought you loved me.." he mumbled and Mack rolled her eyes, but really she was only trying to hide the siege of tears persisting at her bottom eyelids. She continued her path out, pulling the front door open harshly. "Where are you going?" Kai called, before coming to a stop a few feet behind Mack outside the small house.

"I'm just asking myself, why do I," Mack took a pause, inhaling a deep breath, "pick people who treat me like...nothing..." she exhaled deeply, turning around to face him and Kai's bottom lip began to quiver. Tears pooled in his deep blue eyes and he shook his head slightly.

"That's not true." He murmured, head still shaking as Mack kept her eyes trained to the floor. She gave him no response.

Kai's lips smashed to hers, his hands cupping her face and his eyes closed. Mack balled her fists by her sides, trying with all her strength to not kiss back. She finally pulled away, her hand making a hard connection with Kai's cheek.

"No! You don't get to do that, Kai!" She screamed, tears running down Mack's red cheeks. "You don't get to screw everything up and expect to kiss me and make it better!" The tears stung his eyes too now, an expression of sadness over coming him.

"I'm sorry." The words were mumbled, directed at the floor.

"Sorry?! You thought so little of me that I'd throw away what we had for some - some guy I'd just met! I can't be with you if all you can do is think of me as some lying, manipulative bitch like you do you coven! I can't, Kai. God, I can't believe I actually fell in love with someone as- as immature as you!" Mack seethed, but Kai was crying silently now, shaking his head no as she spoke even though deep down he knew every word she spoke was true.

"Please don't leave me." Kai begged, his desperation lacing his deep blue eyes with a rim of sadness, eyes finally making contact with Mack's. "Please, Kenz, I can't live without you."

"Kenz? Oh we are so not at nicknames right now Malachai." Mack spat out his name like is tasted bad, as if the word held a lingering bitter taste on her tongue. It stung Kai, Mack using his full name.

"I love you." Was all Kai suggested and Mack let out a heavy sigh through her tears.

"If you truly loved me, you would have trusted me. I can't be with someone who I have to tread on eggshells around, Kai. I can't do that." Mack cried, biting down on her lower lip to hide a sob. She looked at her feet, then back up again and put on a brave face as her eyes bored into Kai's blue orbs. "We're done." She whispered and Kai's eyes widened.

"No..." he muttered, shaking his head slowly in protest as Mack sorrowfully nodded.

"Yes, we're done. For good. I'm sorry." Mack said authoritatively, wiping the tears away quickly before turning back around and walking over to her dad's car.

"Kenz!" He shouted after her, but Mack pretended to ignore him - a new wave of tears threatening to drip down her chin now. The lights on the car flashed orange, the button on the keys clicked and the door now open. Mack slipped in, seating herself in the car and pushing the keys into the ignition, starting the car with a small sob.

As Mack attempted to shut the door, a strong hand caught it, Kai's wrecked face looking down at her with a pleading beg.

"Please don't leave, don't you get it? I love you Kenz." Kai begged. Mack shook her head.

"Let me go, Kai." He shook his head back, pressing his lips together to stop himself choking over a sob.

"I can't."

"And you've lost the right to call me anything but Mackenzie." She whispered, finally out manning Kai and slamming the door shut, not even hesitating before driving off.

...

The words buzzed through Mack's mind, her eyes trained on the road ahead of her as she desperately drove further away from home. She couldn't put her family through this, not right now, couldn't face him. She had to get away, go somewhere to think.

Mack tapped her foot restlessly, chewing on her bottom lips as she drove down the secluded road. As she approached a corner, she turned around it to see a car parked up at the side of the road, lights flashing.

As she drove closer, she realised it was Kai's father's car, so she made to pull over. Even thought she was avoiding Kai, Joshua hadn't done anything wrong and he could be in serious trouble. Once parked at the side of the road, Mack quickly climbed out her car, locking it behind her and walking over to Joshua - who was stood by his tyre, bent down to examine it.

"Hey, Mr Parker!" She called, arms crossed over her chest, and he looked up.

"Ah, Mackenzie! What are you doing out here alone?" He asked with a small frown.

"Well I was just driving to clear my head and I saw your car...are you okay? Do you need help?" She asked worriedly, stepping back slightly as Joshua rose to stand.

"Actually," he spoke rather menacingly, "there is something you could help with." He continued walking until Mack was backed into a tree and she let out a sharp gasp. Joshua raised his hand. "Phasmatos Somnus!" he spoke, and Mack's body fell limp, eyes closed as she fell unconscious.

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

Supreme Court

The Warren Court (1953 - 1969) is largely considered the most liberal court in American history, with William O. Douglas, William J. Brennan, Earl Warren himself (the only liberal Chief Justice I think America has ever had), and very briefly Thurgood Marshall. Hugo Black started out super liberal, but became politically neutral as the years went on:

The Burger Court (1969 - 1986) was technically liberal, but acted as a transition between the truly liberal Warren Court and the super conservative Rehnquist Court. It contained William O. Douglas, the second most liberal justice behind Louis Brandeis, AND William Rehnquist, the second most conservative justice behind Clarence Thomas:

The Rehnquist Court (1986 - 2005) was one of the most damaging things Ronald Reagan ever did to this country, and that's saying something because he destroyed the middle class, killed hundreds of thousands of people, and sold the government to billionaires who can buy and sell whatever legislature they want. Reagan took the most conservative justice on the court and made him the chief, when the chief is generally supposed to be politically neutral so as to maintain an air of independence and impartiality; Reagan said fuck this, I want the court to be unquestionably conservative. His appointment of Sandra Day O'Connor at the end of the Burger Court single-handedly allowed the Republicans to maintain the chief justiceship into the 21st century; O'Connor was the median justice, a swing vote, and had she voted differently in Bush v. Gore, Al Gore would have become president and he would have gotten to replace Rehnquist in 2005 instead of George W. Bush. The Rehnquist Court also saw the most egregious, unconscionable, toxically partisan shift in the court's history, replacing the super liberal Thurgood Marshall, the first black justice, master orator, voice of the civil rights era, with Clarence fucking Thomas, a race traitor famously known for playing devil's advocate ("if this, then why not this? Why not further? Why not even worse?") That was a sick joke, replacing a black liberal justice with a black conservative justice. Fuck George H.W. Bush for that and many other reasons (he accidentally gave the liberals Souter though; he didn't bother vetting him, he just put him on the court and hoped he would be conservative, but he ended up being super liberal):

The Roberts Court (2005 - present) is an absolute mess. While previous courts had peaks and valleys, they tended to stay close to the center on average, whereas the Roberts Court is like a scatter gun going in either direction. Conservatives get more conservative, liberals get more liberal (though not nearly as fast; Obama replaced the liberal John Paul Stevens with a more moderate Elena Kagan who has actually stayed the same since her appointment). Republicans really liked the Marshall-Thomas shift, and they replayed it in 2020 by replacing the liberal Ginsburg with the conservative Barrett. Take a super competent woman and replace her with a stooge bought and paid for by partisan lobbyists; SICK FUCKING JOKE. I don't know enough about Neil Gorsuch, but Barret's appointment made Brett fucking Kavanaugh the median justice. Brett "I Really Like Beer" Kavanaugh, the guy who said it wasn't sexual assault because it was at a party and everybody was doing it but it also didn't happen, THAT guy. He is now the center of the court. He's not gonna be a swing justice like O'Connor of Kennedy. Kennedy was bribed to retire specifically to put Kavanaugh on the court, and his debts mysteriously vanished the second he was sworn in; I pray Merrick Garland investigates this. I would like nothing more than to see Trump's justices go down in flames and resign in shame.

This is just sad. The Democrats' best chance at maintaining their 6-3 minority will be for Breyer to retire (preferably this year), so Biden can put a younger liberal on the court, though I expect a senator like Joe Manchin to dig in his heels and say he'll only vote for neutral candidates. He doesn't give a shit about neutrality, he voted for Gorsuch AND Kavanaugh, and only voted against Barrett because he didn't want to be seen as a hypocrite during an election year; he would have confirmed her if it has happened in 2019. Democrats need to expand their senate majority in 2022 so they don't NEED Manchin anymore; once he's out of power, I'm sure he'll become an independent and caucus with the Republicans, much the way Jim Jeffords did with the Democrats in 2001. Jim Jeffords, Bernie Sanders, Angus King, all the independents this century have been liberal so far; I think a conservative independent is coming very soon, though I expected it to come from Alaska, not West Virginia. Who knows, I may be wrong.

Thomas has probably still got a good 15 or 20 years in him before he dies, and he WILL die before he retires. The only way he would ever resign is if a super conservative Republican is in office when he's 90. He won't make the mistake Ginsburg made and hope he'll last until his party is back in power, he'll retire then and only then to ensure conservative continuity. Once Breyer retires and Thomas dies, it will leave Alito and Roberts as the longest serving justices; Roberts may become the swing vote again, though not for a long time. He'll never dip into the liberal side, but I expect he'll at least pretend to be politically neutral to avoid looking culpable should a civil war eventually breaks out. "No, don't execute me by firing squad, I was trying to keep things independent!" Scalia, Alito, Thomas and Kennedy all became more conservative under Obama (gee, I wonder why?), so I can only expect Trump's Three Stooges to shift rightward too now that Biden is in charge.

[cburambles]

I dislike her OG characterization (sorry but the Turks wouldn't accept someone babbling out their secret mission in the ranks & the way she was written is another factor as to why fandom decide to completely ignore her until the rest of the compilation & 7R decided that she deserves better writing. She was a one note bumbling fool most of the time in that game.) & story, in particular how people frame it as Reno being in the right when the whole point is that he & Rude let her down because they want to get drunk, when for once, she wanted to chase someone who deserved to die & almost got SA for it (the fact some think that it teached her a good lesson is also messed up in its own way because nobody deserve to go thru that) . She feels like shit & lose confidence afterwards.

That idea that Reno was in the right got debunked recently too because the devs explained that even in vacations, the Turks have to remain in stand-by & mobilize when they're called, hence why they are really well paid by their company standards.

But with how now Rufus is tied to Wutaï & could not have shared that information with the other members of the group, we could end up in an interesting situation if for example, Elena wants to find & capture/kill Sarruf but discover that the guy is Rufus, which may change her perspective on things & give the opportunity to offer some ground for character developpment for the two of them.

It always felt like these two & Tseng as well, had an incomplete arc. Reno & Rude however are the most static members of the group so I hope part 3 will make them more interesting too but I also having them maybe openly losing faith to Shinra but managing to bounce back, something like that.

I'm probably one of the few who also like Reno's absence because it allowed Rude to shine more as an individual in Rebirth, by showing us is own bond with Elena& how he's a decent mentor to her & why he remind Reno that she is a part of their group of survivors as well in ACC.

I'm curious to know why you dislike Elena, in particular if you're a Rufus fan because the compilation made it that they are really similar & you can establish a lot of parallel between the two. Here have some rambling detailling those sides of their characters:

Both of them have egocentric goals ( as well as Cloud, who joined Shinra for the sake of impress a girl he fancied back home) , petty (so are Rude & Reno) & arrogant people, with their pride being rooted in insecurity : He wants to show the world he is better than his father, Elena wants to show she is better than her sister. Both of them also come from a family that has been emotionnally neglectful to them & we learn that the Turks seems to constantly make fun of her for not being "perfect" & she use to dislike them for it but also for their dedication to Shinra while also reluctantly admiring them for it. Rufus seemingly also doesn't understand the Turks dedication about saving Veld & keep telling Tseng to give up on him when he sees them charging out blindlessly to save him (this is why Rufus end takes Tseng aside & form the plan to Veld & Elfé by faking their death. It's also likely why Tseng decided to let Rufus take command of the group too, knowing we discover he's still umcomfortable in that position even after Meteorfall in Case of Shinra)

Rufus has his own brand of cruelty for the people he thinks deserves it, is willing to sacrifice some people to accomplish his goals, in particular in BC & lack empathy like Elena (her beat up attempts were made on people who stole medicine from Shinra, medicine that could be dangerous if not admnistred correctly & potentially killed or gave bad addiction to the kid that medicine has been stolen for, which would tarnish further Shinra's image post meteorfall. It's also interesting to note she wouldn't have done that if Reno had made a better job at selecting the person in charge to guard the medicine but also punish his accomplice instead of mistaking him with Evan & leaving it at that.)

Rufus can display a lack of concern for the masses due to his suppressed empathy. He only start to care after meteorfall as he finally understand what it means to be a leader, where he slowly start to embrace a more collectivist mindset.

Elena comes from a military family & has an interesting hindsight on things as she would have be fed on Shinra propaganda at home & the military academy while also growing up in the slums (it's implied she may come from the sector 6 aka wall market aka the entertainment district ruled over by sex traffickers) & knew the Turks prior to that so she likely became one, aware of the dark side of the job. She was also kidnapped by Avalanche, which add weight as to why she would be so gung-ho into capturing them. She would perceive them as a major threat to society & herself while making herself look good in front of her colleagues.

Both have leadership skills, are manipulative & schemers in the group. Rufus with the whole Avalanche-Wutai thing, Kylegate & Kilmister in CoS & with him attempting to enroll Cloud & deceiving the remnants in AC. Elena with her managing to manipulate the population of Midgar to evacuate the city & move to Edge, then her planning the capture of Avalanche in the chapter 8 of Rebirth & her proposing an ambush in the Temple. We see her in chap 12, compliment indirectly Rufus' plan for finding the Promised Land, which shows that she enjoy that side of the job but also that their superiors do a pretty bad job communicating their plans to her as they are too secretive on things. If she knew, she wouldn't have been as aggressive with Avalanche prior

Their main difference is Rufus knows how to compromise & remain cool under pressure most of the time (tho Rebirth is one of the rare cases where he doesn't & acts brashly. Sephiroth is actively trying to bring back is early, more unstable BC self by poking at his fear, insecurities & hole in his plans & cause him to make mistakes), his rationalization of things allow him to move on quicker to the point he's kinda speedrunning the grieving process adding as to why, he's not in touch & can't recognize some of his emotions ( we can also thank dad & Shinra uber toxic environnement for that)

Elena struggle with that, which leads her to act brashly & make it harder to move on (and there's also the lack of information factor) She's someone who feels a lot & worry about her self-worth (hence why she reveres the image she has of Tseng so much) to the point it's implied she feels like shit for at least 2 days after what happens in the Mythril Mines. So she double down on things instead of reflecting while her colleagues are failing her to provide more emotionnal support & talking things out.

She's also the one pointing out when Rufus is acting recklessly while also reluctantly admitting she likes his boldness (a line that didn't make it in the eng localization) which is, from one of the Board meeting in Rebirth, something Rufus want & need but undercut himself immediately by ordering unlimited loyalty, which is not real loyalty but wanting for his subordinate to act like sycophants & yes-men instead of people who can provide critiscisms & advice

And it's also interesting how post-OG, Elena is the only the Turks who has actual influence on the company policies as she is the only one proposing ideas like distributing & producing medicines (which improves Shinra relationship with the surrounding villages) & Rufus accept her ideas & give her the authority on the whole operation.

I think that side of her as well as her enthusiasm about the potential discovery of the Promised Land in 7R also show she feels concerned about society & see it as a duty to take care & protect it. So Shinra despite its faults, is supposed to represent strenght, comfort, services & safety in her mind.

Rufus critisize his father for Platefall but doesn't bother sending help to the people affected by it afterwards. So Elena has her good sides by bringing her own angle on thing making Shinra better & unknowingly steer Rufus into becoming a more decent leader in the process.

Her reason to be like that have not yet been explained in 7R so it would be nice if part 3 bring this back because in a way, she's not that much different than Rufus. Hence why I always raise an eyebrow when someone who turns out to be a Shinra fucker say they don't like her while still liking someone like Rufus.

It astounds me the loyalty the Turks have for Rufus Shinra and the Shinra corporation. I know that Rufus saved the remaining Turks from execution, which lead to their loyalty to Rufus, but what made them stay in Before Crisis? What made the remaining Turks (Tseng, Reno, Rude, and Cissnei) decide not to desert along with the rest of the Turks (aka fake their deaths)? Tseng was still clearly loyal to their department considering he was the one who faked the other Turks' deaths, but was it Rufus alone that made them stay? What backstories did they have that would explain their choice of occupation? Why did the Turks stay with Rufus to rebuild Shinra in Advent Children when Shinra was clearly a shell of its former glory? (and I imagine they weren't getting paid as much as before)

I do hope Square Enix gives us more stories about them and their motivations.

[wakraya]

My problem with the "we're real people we don't have arcs" line is that they do in the post retcon timeline? However brief they are they still exist, but they are all solved by vriska. Rose still got drunk, dave still doesn't want to time travel, karkat struggles with his position of leadership and relationships, and terezi still gets into a black relationship with gamzee. Instead of trying to fix their flaws on their own they're done by vriska. 1/

Vriska knocks the drink out of rose’s hand, vriska captures gamzee before his and terezi’s relationship goes bad, vriska takes the role of leader from karkat and distracts terezi from dave leaving karkat not having to worry if she and dave are a thing and pursues dave, dave gets karkat who he can talk to about some of his issues. Someone else fixing everyone’s flaws doesn’t feel genuine. 2/

Sure vriska doesn’t fix every problem but the ones she did fix were ones we have seen characters struggle with for years. It still cheats us out of any resolution that many fans have been waiting for years. It also begs the question of how serious are these flaws if you can just knock a drink out of a hand to stop them. 3/3

———————————————————————————————————–

See, here’s where I have an opinion that differs drastically from the Fandom’s, and that is, I think most of Vriska’s involvement post-retcon is ultimately useless to the characters, and nothing she does actually fixes anything.

You see, Vriska is a very special brand of attention whore, she just LOVES being the center of attention, regardless of what it is. She wants to be the one to defeat the Villain, and so creates him, she wants to face English herself, she’s in the most literal sense, as her role indicates, stealing the spotlight from the story at any chance she gets. But while the focus shifts to her constantly? She doesn’t actually do shit.

Let me explain: I’ve heard this argument, that Vriska’s involvement was a Deux Ex Machina that just solved every single problem the people on the Meteor had and thus made them less relatable, but that’s just not true. Let’s go one by one:

Rose and her drinking addiction, what many people don’t get about this interaction is that Vriska doesn’t give a FUCK if Rose is an alcoholic or not. What she doesn’t want is a useless Seer. We only see her smacking the drink off her hand once, but by the descriptions by Karkat and Dave and the attitude Kanaya has towards her, it’s obvious that Vriska has been bossing them around for three entire years, which means at any moment she’s seen Rose fall into alcoholism, she’s stopped her, to keep a valuable asset for the fight that was to come. Now the thing to have in mind is that Rose getting drunk so often is bad, very bad for her. But she doesn’t just drink for the sake of it. She starts drinking because she’s nervous to go out with Kanaya. And she keeps drinking to mask the underlying fear of growing up. Her Development, her Mother, Rose has a TON of issues she masks with the alcohol, and we see it when we get to the Session and she fails to foresee the creation of Rosesprite and Jasprose. Rose struggles with her powers and her role in the group, and while the alcoholism is gone, her problems with her growth aren’t. That being said, post-credits, it seems marrying Kanaya and taking care of Grubs left her happy and complacent. But Vriska had nothing to do about that.

Terezi on the other hand is better off without Vriska than with her. Game Over Terezi had regrets about killing Vriska, and it fucked her up in the long run, getting together with Gamzee, fixing her eyesight, and eventually, leading her to forcing John to fix what she’d done. However, the catharsis of not having to kill Vriska doesn’t come without a cost. They become Moirails- And this Moirailship is absolutely one-sided. Vriska uses Terezi to feel better about herself, while Terezi dwells in the thoughts of this other Terezi that planned the trip back in time for John and did all the cool shit. She sticks with Vriska even though their relationship is toxic, to the point to bring herself to fight, she uses her powers to experience the catharsis of a version of herself who got together with the Vriska she wants. Terezi’s regrets about killing Vriska were the thought of changing her, of making her a better person. But post-Retcon? She’s more cocky than ever. She thinks she’s the center of the Universe! Terezi wants (Vriska) to be healthy and happy. But all she’s getting is an even worse Spiderbitch. And even though she knows it, she goes back into the broken Furthest Ring to try and get her.

Kanaya is happier with Rose being more healthy and not drunk all of the time, however with her complicated relationship with Vriska, things have turned around. Initially, Kanaya had red feelings for Vriska, but was stuck in a Moirailship with her, and eventually caught her making out with Tavros, which made her fall off with the jadeblood. And now that she’s back alive? It’s hard to say if Vriska’s red-flirting with Kanaya or just trying to get her attention, but she’s heavily getting on her nerves. Kanaya dislikes Vriska and feels nothing for her anymore, but now it’s her who wants the jadeblood, too, to pay her attention.

Gamzee, well. I mean. Vriska’s making his life impossible in the meteor and she ends up stuffing him in the fridge, but this is very much well deserved. Fuck the clown.

Karkat may not have Quadrant Issues with Terezi anymore post-retcon, but his leadership issues are shining more than ever. Vriska has replaced him at his job, she’s taken the spotlight and thrown him off the stage entirely. He mellows down and hangs out with Dave, but the way he acts when he falls asleep and leads the charge towards English? Echidna’s words about keeping him safe? The fight with Clover? Karkat wanted action, he wanted to be useful to his friends and actually lead them as a leader, even though he’s not really good at that and his eager, initial charges seem to only harm him in the longer run. Thankfully Dave and the Mayor seem to support him through it.

Dave, well… His catharsis comes later with Dirk and Vriska has nothing to do with any development he has or stops having. It’s obvious he dislikes Vriska too, though, and I bet along with the other things they have in common, seeing Karkat’s position of leadership fall upon Vriska aided get their relationship going. See, that’s the thing- Dave and Karkat, much like Kanaya and Rose, are happy together and show how happy they are together, but they don’t have their issues resolved. On Karkat’s side it’s the Leadership, on Dave’s it’s the Fighting itself. Confidence the Spiderbitch herself does nothing aid with.

And finally we get to the Session, where Vriska finally shines and puts Jade and Jane to sleep. Now that is the only thing she helps with, and yet, was it truly necessary on her part? You see, it did speed things up and left Condy without two immensely valuable assets, but even if she hadn’t done this, the Kids would’ve in the long run defeated Jade and Jane themselves. 

Now this isn’t explicitly canon, so take it with a grain of salt, but when Artist Caliborn sees his future on the screen and describes the Masterpiece, he explicitly states that he’s surprised by the Kids appearing in a retconny John flash. He also has the ring that Calliope gets to resurrect. That makes me think Artist Caliborn is not the Alpha Caliborn that will later become Lord English, tying with my thoughts that with the Retcon, by the end, we’re not even following the ‘Alpha Timeline’, since the Alpha Timeline is that which favors Lord English, and the point of the Retcon and finishing the game is to escape the clutches of Paradox Space and the Alpha Timeline. So thematically, this makes a lot of sense. And so if the Vriska is 8ack Timeline is not the Alpha, the most likely outcome is that the Alpha Timeline where the Kids have won and regrouped to take down Caliborn is one in which Vriska wasn’t brought back. Which means even then, against all odds, they won.

But even if she did help take those two down, okay, a small win for Vriska. Compared to what she does later it’s nothing at all, right? She makes up the entire plan to win the session, and she faces Lord English herself to defeat him! She ends up stealing the Spotlight! Except… That’s all she does. She inserts herself there, at the very front of the story… And does absolutely zilch for anyone but herself.

The plan she makes is an absolute failure, and going against everything she’s planned is what ends up happening in the Session. The Felt is the least troublesome bunch? They end up time-warping around, being extremely meddlesome and manage to kill Jake once and cause a bunch of mayhem around, have to be taken on by Jake, Karkat, Dad, and the Skeleton Army to stop them from messing everything up. The Healer can’t fall, if Jane falls they’re done for! And yet Jane falls and they still push through. If Jade wakes up it could jeopardise the entire mission, she must be kept asleep at all costs- But she wakes up anyway, and Condy is too busy in Derse to notice her and put her back under her control. The people she disregards the most seem to be the ones that ended up doing the most shit in the fight, because she’s an asshole. Vriska is an absolute and utter, self-centered asshole, and her entire existence from the Retcon onwards is to be there in the middle of everything without regard of what’s actually favorable and what isn’t.

She doesn’t even STICK with the gang to help them win the Session, instead she heads to the Furthest Ring… Where she finds (Vriska) and abuses her psychologically. (Vriska) is the antithesis of all Vriska is. (Vriska) is a Vriska that actually came to terms with the fact she’d done wrong, that she had paid the ultime price for her transgressions… And that, in death, had slowly realized the futility of trying to change things, that she was no longer relevant. This irks Vriska. (Vriska) has stopped acting like a Thief of Light. (Vriska) is no longer trying to seek the Spotlight, and she can simply not comprehend something like this.

Then she goes on to try and rebuild the Ghost Army to take English down- And again, she does nothing. Tavros, to rub it in her face, has built the army himself, and now proceeds to gift it to Meenah to rub it in. Tavros becoming subservient willingly to Meenah is the ultimate Fuck You to the Spider Troll. She wants to be relevant, she SHOULD BE THE ONE to lead the army! But Meenah and Karkat team up to lead the charge, while Vriska stays with the Juju.

Juju that (Vriska) and the previous Ghost Army found. Juju that Aradia carried along and guarded.

When the climax of Act 7 happens and she opens the crate? That’s it. That’s her moment. She steps in front of the army during the next charge, after Karkat charged in first, after Meenah attacked English first, after part of the army is already dead, after Davepeta had their chance to fight English. She steps in, as if she owned the place, and uses the weapon.

True to herself, Vriska works to benefit only herself towards the end of the comic, and if it helps anyone else at all, it’s only tangential casualty.

Does she solve some problems? Yeah she does, to advance her own agenda. But she ignores the root of most of them, and disregards a ton of other issues and some of the characters entirely as if they were useless. All Vriska wants is to shine. And in the end? I seriously hope she’s dead and re-dead with Lord English in that cozy pocket of a Black Hole torn in the middle of Paradox Space.