#also I would die so fast in a horror movie

[thelastwalkingsoul]

Who would you be in a horror movie?

1. create your own look here.

2. find out what role you are here.

The lovely @stevesbipanic tagged me :)

Kinda surprised it had a hairstyle that looks like its half tied up. That's my go-to hairstyle irl.

Honestly not sure who to tag, I'm sure most of my mutuals have been by now so :P @skeliiix @steveshairychest @stevethehairington @henderdads @unclewaynemunson @strawberryspence

[unusualshrimp]

hey sorry i can't come to work today im thinking about the various implications of zombie horror and the way it affects people

[flimsy-roost]

if I ever want to microdose chaos, I go to the sonic drivethru after 10pm and order any flavor of milkshake

[hoshifighting]

Hello! I love your work 🥹 I hope you are well

Just wanna ask your thoughts on how the seventeen members would react to see you driving speed / you being fast on connected apps like ‘Find My’ heheheeheh

Thank you ❤️

a/n: thank u sweetie, i loved it!! im doing well!! <33 i hope i understood well.. like a gearhead girlfriend?... made w/ luv ❤️

WARNINGS: mentions of breakig the speed limit

seungcheol: “yo yo yo, slow the fuck down, we ain’t tryna die today!!” he’s literally shouting through the app, and you could almost see him gripping the imaginary 'oh shit' handle in the backseat. he loves you, but he’s lowkey shitting bricks rn, “bruh, this ain't fast & furious... i swear if we crash, it’s on you.”

jeonghan: sigh “baby, why you gotta be like this?” he’s too cool to actually panic, but you can feel him judging the fuck outta you. he’ll make you feel like the most irresponsible person alive while also making it clear he’s kinda impressed. “next time, let me drive so we don’t both end up with speeding tickets… but like… you kinda look hot doing it though, not gonna lie.” he’s smirking on the other side of the screen.

joshua: “ok but like… are we trying to break a record or what?” he’s nervous but trying to stay calm, but you can tell he’s clutching his pearls behind that smooth tone. “maybe, uh, we could slow down just a tiny bit? just a suggestion...” definitely trying not to freak out completely, but he’s one bad swerve from straight-up praying.

jun’s all for it, honestly. he’s got his phone up to show the speedometer on his end, clearly thriving. “you wanna hit 120? bet, i’m down, let’s fucking go!” jun’s just living it, probably snapping selfies like it’s no big deal while the car’s shaking at 90 mph.

hoshi: “wait—WAIT! y/n, no no NO, what the hell?? slow down before i shit my pants.” he close his eyes, dramatic as fuck, genuinely convinced y’all are about to fly off the highway. nearly crying as he clutches his phone. “i got shit to do tomorrow!! i can’t die today, not like this!”

wonwoo’s just... chillin’. he doesn’t really say much at first. just sends a simple, “you good?” text. he’s the only one calm in this whole situation. when you don’t respond right away, he hits you with, “bet you won’t keep up with the guy in the ferrari tho...” and you’re like, oh shit. he’s egging you on. he's vibing with the chaos, but lowkey wants to see how far you'll take it.

woozi: “y/n, you better chill the fuck out.” straight-up scolding you. no fluff, just pure frustration. jihoon’s too rational for this speed demon shit, and he’s already calculating how much the damn fine’s gonna be if you get caught. “if you crash, you better hope i’m not in the car, ‘cause i ain’t helping your ass.” classic jihoon—pissed, but still kinda impressed at your audacity.

seokmin: “YO, SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!” pure panic in his voice,like he’s watching a horror movie. “do you wanna give me a heart attack? holy shit!!” he’s basically pleading with you at this point, full-on hands shaking, worried sick like a damn mother hen. “i’m way too pretty to die like this, please, for the love of god, just slow down.”

mingyu: WELL THIS MAN HAVE LICENSE FOR IT, no fear at all. “you drive like a fucking beast, lemme hop in the car next time.” he’s fully living for the thrill, no reservations whatsoever. he’s gassing you up like no one would. adrenaline junkie.

minghao’s already over it. deadpan as fuck. “why you gotta stress me like this? i’m way too zen for this shit.”

seungkwan: “OKAY STOP! STOP! i didn’t sign up for this kinda trauma. you tryna die young, huh?!” yelling in the app for you to pull over before he passes out from sheer anxiety. “i’m never getting in a car with you ever again, swear on my life.”

vernon: “i mean, if we crash, we crash. kinda sick though, right?” no panic, no complaints, just lowkey impressed. “but like… how fast can you actually go?”

chan: “y/n, this isn’t a fucking video game!” poor baby is stressed out, clenching his fists like his life’s on the line. “i can’t do this. my heart can’t handle this. you tryna give me a heart attack?!” genuinely scared shitless. “you really gotta slow down before i fucking pass out in the toilet bro”

[pralinesims]

Hii~ wanted to ask a fun question abt ur ocs :3

what roles would you assign them if they were in a horror movie?

Ooh, this is an interesting question, thank you sm for sending <3 Hmm, I thought a bit about it, feel like these ones would fit quite good:

The hero - Emilio Absolutely selfless and wants to help all. the. damn. time. But might become selfish when it comes to protecting people. Would probably die, maybe even early OR very late, and save everyone along the process, sacrificing himself for the greater good.

The survivor - Vale Regularly suffering and surviving the worst events, even without intending so, cause he hopes for his early demise. His ongoing survival torments him, as he wants everything to just be over. Also, everyone would cry if he DOES end up dying, despite it being his own wish.

The vigilante - Luca He'd always get his way, no matter what boundaries would be needed to cross. I'd see him going down in a big fight against the hero, while both of them would realize afterwards that the two of them were actually fighting for the very same thing.

Femme fatale - Sharon She'd make others bend at her will, with her (lingering) nefariousness at times probably getting overlooked because of her sheer seduction factor. Secretly maybe, even without realizing herself, the big villain behind everything and has so much more going on than what the others expected.

The nerd - Aaron Would surely figure out the mistery behind whatever is happening very fast. People would likely ignore him first, but as dangers get more dire, they'd start to listen to his analyses and advice, even if too late at times. Other people would probably be the ones to execute his plans.

Final girl - Gina She'd ABSOLUTELY have the skills to survive and make it to the end. And also, confront the villain to seek justice. Like, I don't doubt that for a second, she's capable of the very best. I can even see her turning bad people to the good side because of her sheer positivity factor.

The skeptic - Devyn I very much imagine so that he wouldn't care/wouldn't believe all the stuff going on. Probably either dying cause he realized too late, or would be the one overturning everything and be the main force in overcoming the crisis, I'd dare even call him Final boy? (him surviving everything along with Gina is also such a NICE scenario? I like.)

The harbinger - Kaia I can see her being the type of character who is already aware of everything since the very beginning, and got used to living with whatever is nearby pretty fast, possessing the right know-how, tricks and skills to perfect survival. Warns everyone who comes near the area, but of course nobody listens, and those fools wander into their impending doom...

The jester - and/or: betrayer - Maggie The game was rigged from the start (or other scenario, got lured to the bad side by nice promises and benefits). Would provide accidental solutions, or sometimes even intentionally steering people the wrong way. I can either see her surviving very long, or going down a fast, brutal way. Either way, she'd have very much fun, no matter what role she plays.

[yourdeepestfathoms]

Various Perrine Headcanons

because i love that silly little moose

NOT a mother figure

In fact, due to the way she grew up, she’s extremely uncomfortable with being treated like one

She does take care of the others, but it’s not in a motherly way

She’s a big sibling to them, and that’s it

Anything more than that makes her very uncomfortable and uneasy

(Personally, I think of Clémmie as the Mom Friend of the group)

To bounce off of that, Kingsley once called her “mom” as a joke, and she got legitimately mad at him

He was like “🧍🏻what”

ANYWAY!

Perfectionist

Does most of the cooking in the group

Doesn’t know how to ask for help, and she mostly shoves away concern

Tries to be the voice of reason, but she’s a total hot-head and gets upset/mad easily

Kingsley loves to poke that bear (moose)

Scared of storms but would rather die than tell anyone that

Likes collecting animal skulls (she names all of them)

The other kids will sleep in her room sometimes, but every time she goes to their room for the same comfort, she stops short and returns to her room, unable to actually ask

She takes being the oldest way too seriously

By that I mean she uses it as an excuse to never let anyone help her or take care of her

She’s trying to get better about that, but it’s hard

Soooooo emotionally constipated oh my god

Sometimes hears humming out in the woods, but she never heeds its call

Also sometimes thinks she sees a looming figure of something tall in the trees surrounding the cottage, but she does the smart thing and closes the curtains

WOULD survive a horror movie tbh

Will fight for the other kids

Cold hands

Very tender-headed

Covers her mouth when she laughs

Really fast and quick on her feet (she’s terrifying at Tag. it’s like being chased by an actual moose) (similarly, she never gets caught at Tag)

Also really good at climbing trees

Now getting down is a different story

Once fell out of a tree, breaking at least three branches underneath her on the way down, and the others actually thought she fucking died

She had this GIANT bruise striped across her stomach for WEEKS, as well as MANY broken ribs, and Cole was so worried because they thought she might have some internal bleeding, too

But she was FINE!

Doesn’t trust doctors (or whatever the whimsy forest version of a doctor is) (physician?)

Not above biting

Doesn’t like when things get too close to her face

Loves when people play with her hair, but she’d rather die than tell anyone that

Will remind Cole to drink water when they’re hyperfocused on writing, then not drink water herself all day

Bites her nails down to the quicks

Gets mad when people mistake her mask for a deer

[lesbianwithchainsaws]

Hate to be the guy that goes "um, actually" but every time there's a poll on "what horror movie villain do you think you'd survive" there's always so many people who believe they would survive Chucky and use the excuse of "I could just kick him. He's a doll". First of all, he's not just a doll. His soul is in a doll, but the longer his soul is there, the more human he becomes and current day Chucky is more like a small human being than a doll. Second of all, he is notoriously difficult to kill. You can kick him all you want, that won't do shit. At best you'll buy yourself a few minutes to run. Chucky has survived being beheaded, being burned alive and melted. You're gonna have to work quite hard to kill him. Third of all, even if you do kill him, he will either come back or a different version of him is going to come for you. Now if you haven't seen all the movies/the show, Chucky transfers his soul into multiple dolls. It's possible for him to create like an entire army of Chucky dolls that want to kill. So even if you're lucky enough to get one, chances are there's another few coming for you. And even if there is only one, he comes back to life all the time. Fourth of all, he is violent as hell. If you try to kick him, he will stab your feet. Try to pick him up, he will bite you. He doesn't care. He might be small, but he's still quite strong and violent. Fifth of all, no one will help you until its too late. The reason Chucky is so efficient is because he looks to be just a doll and no one assumes he's alive. So he can run around and do whatever the hell he wants without consequences. Even if you witness him being alive, most likely no one will believe you when you tell them about it. Also since he's a doll, he can just pin any murders on you. Attack you, cover you in blood, and then, when the cops are coming, all he has to do is freeze. Sixth of all, he is patient. He will wait for weeks and months to kill, if need be. In the meantime he will manipulate and kill those around you. Also remember that him being small means he's also fast. Fast and small means he's harder to spot and catch once you know he's alive. In conclusion, no Chucky is not an easy killer to survive. You cannot think of him as a doll, but you have to think of him as a small, violent human being. You can't just kick him and run, that will not work. If you underestimate him because he looks like a doll, you will die.

[silverskye13]

Silver I know next to nothing about the alien franchise and movie, I am giving you full permission to use this ask as an opportunity to spread propaganda to get me (and anyone else) to finally watch it

So it's, so like, the thing is, right. I'm not a movie tech kinda person [though it is technically impressive, the funny little tricks they did, like not having the budget for a Big Space Ship Derelict so they are a scaled down model that the director's kids in space suits walked up to so it would look bigger, and it was shown to the audience on a shitty CCTV because they didn't do a big matte painting of the set they filmed the tiny one, projected it onto a wall, and then filmed that.] So my rant isn't going to be about how technologically cool the movie was for 1979 on a less than optimal budget. But what I do like, what I excel at, is breaking down themes and tropes. And my god. My god. Just. Ugh. [Flails my arms.]

So a basic rundown for the movie, spoilers ahead, and my analysis of how fucking cool it is:

Basic gist of the movie: The crew of the commercial mining vessel Nostromo are awoken halfway through their trip back to earth by a mysterious signal, calling for help on a far away planet. Upon going down to investigate, one of their crew members is attacked by a strange alien parasite which attaches to his face. This kicks off a tale of increasing horror as the new alien kills off the crew one by one, culminating in Ripley [the main character] blowing up the ship and fleeing in an escape pod, not sure if she'll ever be picked up in the vastness of space -- with the ships cat, who miraculously also survives. [We all know Jonesy is the real main character 💜.] Along the way a plot by the Weyland-Utani corporation is revealed, one of the crew is discovered to be an android, and there is a lot of alien screeching.

Now! The themes that I go absolutely feral over can commence.

The horror of the movie, the reason why the alien is scary, and lethal to humans specifically, is it is a creature built for efficient survival, and this is a trait that Ash, the ship's science officer [and resident hiding android] highly praises in the critter. He describes it as beautiful, elegant, pure in its efficiency. The perfect organism. Efficient.

Humans, by comparison, aren't efficient. We are social. And efficiency preys on social needs. For example:

The xenomorph eggs can survive for ages [in the derelict they're found on, the dead alien who drove the ship is described as fossilized. These eggs have been here for thousands of years. But they activate immediately when a curious human pokes around them. It isn't a fast process. Kane is poking around for a few minutes, looking at the movements of the creatures in their eggs, making observations. Curious. Curiosity is an inefficient trait -- he would have survived if he had climbed out of the hole the eggs were in and left, or even waited for the rest of his team to enact quarantine and investigation procedures.

Speaking of quarantine! When Dallas and Lambert bring Kane, newly infected by an alien parasite, back to the ship, Ripley locks them in the airlock. There are quarantine procedures. We can't risk the whole crew. But they are scared for Kane's safety. He might die without help. They break quarantine. If they hadn't broken quarantine, the baby alien would've been born in the airlock, where it would get spaced the moment it was born.

When the face hugger parasite dies and Kane seems to return to normal, what they should have done to attempt to reinstate quarantine was put him in hyper sleep. His body would have been frozen in a stasis which might have frozen the parasite or, if it hadn't, would have left the new baby alien trapped in a stasis pod. But Kane, haggard and scared from his ordeal, asks can we please have one more meal together before I go to sleep? And that one meal is long enough for the new xenomorph to be born, and release terror on the ship.

There is more. Parker would have lived if he hadn't gone to find the cat by himself, leaving the safety of his group. Dallas would have lived if he let Ripley go through the vents, but he was the captain and he didn't want to risk someone else's life so he went instead. Brett would have lived if he'd left Lambert behind when she was being attacked, or if he'd hit the xenomorph with the flamethrower instead of insisting Lambert get out of the way first. And Lambert would have lived if she'd run instead of being paralyzed in fear by the creature killing her friends. And the xenomorph? Wasn't even eating it's kills. No gore. Little blood. It was killing them because it knew they would kill it, and it was neutralizing threats. Efficient.

The xenomorph is very clearly engineered for survival, and it's survival depends on killing the inefficient organisms around it. Even it's acid blood is described as a survival mechanism, not an offensive mechanism.

Okay Skye, we hear you talking about how scary the critter is because it's not a social creature. That's an interesting observation, but it's still just a monster story, right?

Well, let me tell you an alternative story. Just a little to the left of the original, but one I would argue is still very very canon.

You are an android built by Weyland-Utani, a company which is jealously hunting alien tech to use for its many space programs. You are placed on the Nostromo because there is a known anomaly in the area, and they want to find it. Your job is to get a specimen back to the company, all other protocols expended.

You are programmed to be efficient, so you get to work.

You wake the crew when you find the signal. You give them only the information they need to investigate: it is a signal that repeats every 12 seconds. You let them make the conclusion it is an SOS. Humans are social creatures. They want to help other social creatures in need. There is some arguing about whether they should go, but in the end an extra push from you sends them. Ripley, one of the more efficient members of the crew, keeps asking you why you haven't decoded the message.

"Mother [the super computer running the ship] is still working on it." This is true. She has only translated part of the signal. By the time Ripley realizes it's a warning, the crew is already on the way to the derelict. You tell her if she walks out there, they will have already figured out if it's a warning or not by the time she makes it to them. She agrees.

When they return with a specimen, Ripley [efficient, following protocol] doesn't want to let them on. But Ripley doesn't know you're an android, so when you break quarantine, and you tell her you just wanted Kane to be safe, she begrudgingly believes you.

When the alien is loose, it is easy for you to keep them from killing it. Humans are social, inefficient creatures, and you feel no empathy for their deaths. You do pity them though. Between you and the alien, their chances of survival are slim.

If only they were more efficient.

The horror in Alien is not the xenomorph. The horror in Alien is when anything, primal creatures, androids, a particularly greedy corporation, preys on human social needs in order to get what it wants. There is significance in that Ripley, despite everything, chose to save the cat. She needed companionship. All humans do. She needed to save that cat. A cat that was cantankerous and mean, and hissed whenever it was held, was better than the cold efficiency of empty space.

Any system that prioritizes absolute efficiency will be inhospitable to human life.

[evieismol]

Big Bend - Chapter Two

Cw: cursing, mentions of man eating giants (nothing comes of it)

Previous

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Texas was really fucking big. Yeah, I knew that was like it's whole thing - “everything's bigger in Texas” - but I still hadn't been expecting it to be this big. I'd been driving all day, and I'd watched the sun move from the east to overhead to west and then finally disappear behind the horizon, leaving the faded orange sky that currently sprawled in front of me. I'd entered the state while the sun was somewhere between east and overhead, almost seven hours ago, and based on my phone's map, I still had another hour to go before I'd reach my destination. 

Growing up in Connecticut and having spent the last three years mostly staying in the same neighborhood in Seattle, I found myself more than a little shocked.

 I probably should have expected this, I thought. I mean, what was I expecting taking a job in the state with the aforementioned motto, at a place called Big Bend. 

Well, I wanted to get away from things, and by the looks of it, I've certainly succeeded at that at least.

Miles of desert stretched on for as far as the eye could see in every direction. 

Yup. Nailed it. 

Despite still being an hour away, I felt anxiety bubbling up in my stomach as I approached what was going to be both my new job and home. I'd never worked at a national park before. Granted, I'd only be working there as a gift shop clerk - not a cool job like being a park ranger. Still, it was entirely out of my comfort zone. Several days of driving out of my comfort zone, to be exact. 

The job offered room and board, though, and when it was between spending the last of my money on gas and driving to the other side of the country versus hoping to get a bed at a women's shelter that already didn't have enough beds, I would apparently choose the first option. 

I just really hoped I didn't regret it. 

The dim orange sky continued to fade as I drove on. Hotel California played faintly over the radio. When the sky was almost entirely dark, I finally saw it. 

The large wood sign sat on the side of the road. There was just enough light left to make out the words. I slowed to a crawl as I drove past.

“Big Bend National Park,” I murmured. “Here goes way more than nothing.” 

I continued on, the sign fading into gray dusk as I sped up again. It wasn't long before lights appeared in front of me. They grew larger quickly. Soon, the navigation on my phone showed I'd arrived at my destination. Panther Junction. As I stared at the lights in front of me in the otherwise dark desert, it hit me that I hadn't quite arrived at my destination. Not exactly. I'd been told to go to Panther Junction, where I'd be working and living, but instructions beyond that were unclear. The series of roads, parking lots, and buildings in front of me left far more options than I would have liked. The main visitor center, a two story building with what looked like a balcony, was dark. That eliminated that option, at least. The parking lot in front was also empty, and seemed like a decent enough place to park and start looking for someone who might know where I was supposed to be. 

I mean, someone has to know, right? I just really hoped that someone wasn't solely me. I pulled into a parking spot, turned my car off, and climbed out into to crisp night air. Looking around, it seemed like the lights I'd seen were behind the visitor center, so I decided I'd start there. 

God, I'd so be the first person to die in a horror. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've seen a horror movie that starts like this. 

I pushed those thoughts aside and started walking, reminding myself that this wasn't a horror movie. The walk towards the lights was silent aside from crickets. It grew steadily larger in front of me. 

Wait. 

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I neared the lights, I realized something was off with the perspective. They were growing larger far too fast for any building I could imagine existing out here. Not only that, but they seemed to be sinking lower. 

If that building is so big, shouldn't they be getting higher up? 

It took several moments for me to figure out what I was staring at. All the while, I edged closer to the lights. 

Maybe it's an optical illusion? A mirage? Those happen in deserts, right? 

I was hardly an expert in deserts, but I felt like I'd heard somewhere that mirage had something to do with sun and heat, both of which the night was currently lacking. 

As I drew closer, I became even more confused. The lights belonged to a building that sat in a canyon in front of me. That alone wasn't weird. What was, though, were both the size and proportions of the building. It looked like a camper. The vintage kind that wouldn't seem out of place on a postcard from a national park. However, it was at least several hundred feet tall, obscured only by the canyon it lay in. Speaking of the canyon - I should be nearing the edge. I cautiously lifted my phone’s light from directly in front of me to further out. Just as I'd guessed, there was a sharp drop off about seven feet away. It was just barely illuminated by my phone's light. Deciding I didn't want to add “falling off a sheer cliff in the middle of nowhere” to the day's activities, I started to trace the edge of the cliff with my light, moving it to my left.

 And then almost dropped it seconds later. 

It took me a moment once again to process what I was looking at, and when I did, my eyes widened. The person sitting against the cliff wall to my side was huge. Even that descriptor felt like an understatement. He was large enough that my brain had registered him as another rock formation in the darkness as I'd been walking up, because surely a living being couldn't be that large. 

Well, I guess that explains the giant building. 

And raises about a dozen more questions. 

He was tall enough that my flashlight only actually illuminated a portion of the green sweater he was wearing. He noticed me mere moments after I noticed him, and his eyes widened. I felt like he probably also would have almost dropped his flashlight if he'd been carrying one. He quickly took out his airpods - or airpod lookalikes, since I wasn't sure they made airpods that big. 

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," I said quickly. 

"It's fine," he said, looking more confused than I felt. "I mean, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you walk up, I was listening to music." 

"I'm kind of surprised you heard me at all. Wait, should I be talking louder?" I wasn't really sure what the etiquette was for talking to giants, admittedly.

In fact, the term ‘giant’ in itself was something of an umbrella term. There were technically several kinds of beings from various realms that were referred to as giants. Some more humanoid than others, some larger than others. The most well known, and common, around Earth were Tyastrons. I'd worked with one briefly during a summer job when I was in high-school. I was fairly certain I didn't remember her being anywhere near the size of the young man in front of me, though. She had been around 40 feet tall. That was still positively ginormous to me, at 5’5”. The giant in front of me would have easily dwarfed her, though. Even sitting down, he was at least 100 feet tall. 

 He shook his head. 

"No, you're good. Really good hearing is like an Aphirial thing-" 

"You're an Aphirial?" I asked, realizing I cut him off halfway through my question. I cringed internally. 

I remembered hearing that name a few times in the past. Mostly in connection with campfire tales or horror films. They were like, super scary man eating giants, in both of said works.

Fuck, I would so be the first person to die in a horror movie. 

“...yeah.” He answered my question in a cautious tone. 

Now that my eyes had adjusted more, and I was focusing on him, I could make out some more details of his appearance. His hair was his most striking feature. It was a pale blonde - almost white - that I would have assumed was the result of bleach, if I wasn't unsure as to whether or not Aphirials could or did bleach their hair. It fell down to his shoulders, framing a pair of green eyes and a face that looked about my age, despite being several times the size of my entire body. 

Said eyes glittered with apprehension. His brows were drawn together. Overall, no indications of human eating or any other kind of malice. If he wanted to hurt me, he had already had plenty of opportunity to do so. It wouldn’t take much effort for him to reach up and grab me. He made no move to do so. 

Okay, so he’s probably not going to kill me. Right now, at least. 

I probably should have been more concerned at that possibility, but I’d had a very trying past couple of months. 

“So…you like, live out here?” I asked finally. 

“oh-yeah! I'm going to work here. I mean, I live here because of that. I'm going to be a park ranger here.” 

The last sentence made something click in my memory - a tirade from Jack I'd almost forgotten about. One of many, and one I'd been too relieved hadn't been about me to remember. A few months ago he'd been upset about some national park hiring an Aphirial. 

"That's cool," I said. Mostly because it was the first thing to come to mind.

 "I wanted to be a park ranger when I was a kid."  That had been the second thing to come to mind.

 I thankfully didn't say the third thing, which was that I probably didn't have to worry about him eating me then if he was a park ranger, because that had to go against job rules. Instead, I skipped to the fourth. 

“I'm going to be working here too. Not as anything as cool as a park ranger. Just in the gift shop. Speaking of which…I'm glad I ran into you then, because I just got in, and I wasn't really sure where I was supposed to go, but I saw your lights off in the desert and thought maybe someone would be out here.” 

“Huh," Easton said, in a way that made me pretty sure he was also thinking about my lack of survival instinct in wandering off into the dark desert. “I'm not entirely sure. I'll try to help figure it out, though - I bet John might know, or know someone who knows anyways.” 

Before I could question who John was, he continued. “You have no idea who John is, though. Uh, he works for the IMA, technically, but now he also works at the park. As my supervisor. Which I think is a fancy way of saying handler - anyways, uh, why don't I just go get him?” 

“Yeah, sure,” I said. “Thank you.” 

“Will you be alright here?” He asked, gesturing to the dark desert around us. 

I shrugged. “Oh, yeah. What's the worst that can happen, a flesh pedestrian mimics my late mother's voice and lures me out into the night to steal my skin?” 

He gave me an confused look. "I-uh-what?'

"Just joking. I'll be fine,” I said, wincing at my awkward attempt at humor. I'd never been good at it. Or really talking to people in general. Apparently that hadn't changed, even if the person in question was the size of a building.

“Right. Uh, okay, I'll be back in a just a minute,” he said. “I'm just going to stand up and walk over to the trailer.” 

I thought it was a bit unnecessary for him to announce his movements, until he actually stood up. Even though I could have guessed he was somewhere around two hundred feet tall based on his size while sitting, the reality of what that meant hit me like a freight train as he drew himself up to his full height. His face had been almost level with the cliff edge I stood on previously. Now he towered over me. And the cliff itself. I swallowed. It was somewhere between surreal, terrifying, and really cool to be looking up at someone the size of a small skyscraper. To be interacting with them. 

The giant paused, looking down at me. 

“Sorry, what was your name?” 

“Oh, right. I'm Zoey. Zoey Summers. What was yours?” 

“Easton Parks.” 

“Park Ranger Parks,” I noted with a small laugh.  

“It is a little ironic, isn't it? You can just call me Easton, though.” He laughed softly as well. “Anyways, I won't be long getting John, and I'm sure he'll at least know who to contact.” 

I nodded, then wondered if he could even see it, between my size and the darkness. He gave a short nod of his own in response. Apparently he could. 

I watched him turn and begin to move toward the giant trailer. As he did, I noticed a sort of tremor in the ground beneath me. It took me a second to put together it was caused by his footsteps. 

Damn. 

He disappeared into the trailer shortly, leaving me alone in the dark desert once more to ponder what had just happened. Out of all the things I'd been expecting to find out here, an Aphirial was very much not one of them. Still, he seemed quite nice, and he was helping me. I'd take a helpful Aphirial over an unhelpful Human any day, I decided. 

It didn't take long for Easton to return. He seemed to be just as alone at first. As he drew nearer, though, I could make out that he was holding something in one hand. It wasn't until he had announced he was going to crouch down, and was once again almost eye level with the cliff, that I realized what it was. Or more, who it was. The man in the center of his looked older than both of us by at least a decade. Despite the fact that he was literally in someone's hand, he possessed an air of authority noticeable even from where I stood. Easton slowly lowered his hand to the cliff. The man - John, I guessed - climbed off smoothly. 

“So, you must be Zoey.” 

Next

[rekino2114]

Oooh~ how about a full alphabet for our danganronpa despair time spooky girl Veronika~

Veronika grebenshchikova fluff alphabet

☠️A=affection(how affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Veronika is very affectionate. She loves just surprising you by showing you random affection like hugging you from behind or kissing you when you least expect it

☠️B=baby(do they want a family? How are they with kids?)

She's....not great with kids. Every time she tries to play or talk with one, they get creeped out and, most of the time, start crying. That problem would be solved if that was her child, though so she would definitely like to have a kid with you, mostly to pass down her horror love to them

☠️C=cuddles(do they like to cuddle? How do they cuddle?)

She very much likes to cuddle, especially while watching horror movies, but even just without any movies, she loves wrapping you up in her arms and cuddling She likes being the big spoon but doesn't mind if you want to switch. Her body temperature is pretty low, so you fix that by putting a lot of blankets around when you cuddle

☠️D=Domestic(do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

She would definitely like to move in with you, maybe in a cozy cabin in the middle of the woods. She's actually quite good at cooking (even if she might joke about using human meat), and while she can clean too, she prefers not to do it too often since she "likes the aesthetic more"

☠️E=everything (you are ........... example: my life,my world)

"You are my heart, I don't think I could live without you in my life"

☠️F=flirting (how do they flirt? Does it continue even after they're in a relationship?)

She flirts in a classic way but with her classic creepy spin on it, she'll tell you that you look so beautiful that everyone will look at your body when you'll die, she'll write you a note with ink that looks suspiciously like blood telling you to turn around, and when you do she'll give you a hug, and yes she still does that after you got together

☠️G=gifts(what gifts do they like to give you? When?)

Veronika loves giving you gifts, plushies and horror merchandise especially, she gives them to you whenever she feels like it but especially on special occasions or when a new horror movie/game comes out so she buys you merch of it

☠️H=hug(do they like hugs? how do they hug?)

As stated earlier, she's very affectionate, and hugs are obviously part of that. She particularly likes hugging you from behind. You don't even know she's in the room with you until you feel her arm grip you and pull you close to her with a giggle

☠️I=I love you (how fast did they say it? Do they say it often?)

She said it when she was sure you weren't actually scared of her and loved her back. Now that she knows you actually want to be with her, she says it very often, and she also loves hearing tht from you

☠️J=jealousy (how jealous do they get? What do they do when they're jealous?)

She actually doesn't get jealous too often, only when someone actively flirts with you. But she's scary when she's jealous. She'll hold your hand and enter the conversation like nothing while creepily grinning with her eyes closed at who's flirting with you and making veiled threats at their life

☠️K=kisses(how do they kiss you? Where do they like to kiss you?)

Veronika's kisses are very passionate. Basically, every time she kisses you, the moment is sure to turn into a make-out session just because of how good her kisses feel. Her favorite place to kiss you is your neck, and she'll often leave lipstick marks or hickeys there because it makes her feel like a vampire

☠️L=love confession(how did they confess to you?)

She left you a note in your dorm (she later apologized for breaking in) where she told you to meet her in a location in the middle of the woods, you were kinda scared you were gonna get murdered but you found her in the middle of a heart made of roses where she confessed to you, when you accepted she squealed of happiness, tackled you into a hug and kissed you

☠️M=mornings (how do they spend mornings with you?)

She actually wakes up pretty early, so she likes to get ready before you and make breakfast.....and maybe check if any horror stuff came out that night

☠️N=nights (how do they spend nights with you?)

Horror movie night. Every. Single. Night......ok not actually that would get kinda boring, and there aren't enough Horror movies, but it's still really common, like three times a week maybe more if a new movie came out

☠️O=overprotective (how protective are they of you?)

She's protective of you only on certain occasions, like when she feels someone weird is around, but for most of the time she's pretty chill. She does really like holding your hand just in case though

☠️P=pet names(what nicknames do they like to call you?)

She's definitely a darling type of person. It's the perfect mix of affectionate and classic that she likes. She also calls you boo from time to time just because of the spooky connotation

☠️Q=quizzes(how much do they remember about you?)

Veronika actually remembers quite a lot...it's kinda creepy. You'll tell her that you don't feel well that day, and she'll pull up your entire medical history like it's nothing because she's worried about you....wait you never actually told her that how did she knew?

☠️R=rain(how do they spend a rainy day with you)

It depends on how she's feeling that day and how bad the rain is. You'll either stay inside and watch a horror movie while cuddling or go outside and just hang around having fun and playing

☠️S=service (what are some acts of service they do for you?)

She actually quite likes cooking for you, baking sweets especially, she loves feeding them to you too and for you to tell her how it tastes

☠️T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

She genuinely puts a lot of effort into stuff she does for you, gifts especially, she picks out what you like (mostly in the horror genre) and gives it to you with a wide smile. She just wants you to think she's a good girlfriend

☠️U=unhappy (how do they cheer you up?)

She hugs you really tightly and lets you cry if you need it. She asks you if you wanna watch a movie and puts on horror comedy to hopefully cheer you up. She constantly complements you while hugging you, telling you how amazing you are both as a partner and as a person and how you changed her for the better so much

☠️V=value (How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?)

You're very important to Veronika. She doesn't have many friends as most people think she's creepy, and she's so grateful she has someone who loves her for who she is. But most importantly, you helped her stop hurting herself, and she could not be more thankful for that. You helped her so much, and she's not sure she can fully repay you, but she'll try her best

☠️W=wound (how do they react to you getting injured?)

She creepely asks who hurt you while smiling and helps patch you up. She knows her way around injuries because of the horror movies she watches, so she's actually a pretty great help. She does ask to kiss your injuries in the meantime, though.

☠️X=Xtra (a random fluffy headcanon)

She can read people very well, and that's especially true when it comes to you. She knows your mood from just one looks and picks a movie to go with it. That's part of why movie nights with her are so good, because she especially picks what movie you'd like to watch even without having to ask.

☠️Y=yes (how do they react to you proposing to them?)

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! s-sorry, sorry, it's just *squeals* I'm so excited, I've been waiting for this moment for so long, of course my darling, I love you so much and want to spend aaaalllll of my life with you. Thank you......do you think I could wear a bloodstained dress at the wedding?"

☠️Z=zzz (how is sleeping with them?)

She kinda likes watching you sleep. She tries her best not to be creepy, but you just look so adorable. She waits for you to fall asleep while you cuddle and just smiles at how cute you look. She starts kissing your face gently, hoping to not wake you up

[jeepersjpeg]

u have like .. really good taste in media , so do u have any movie recommendations ?

my top favorites right now (in order)

1. I Saw The TV Glow (heartwrenching "coming-of-age"/psychological horror/wait.. he's "coming-of-age" so quickly--? Time wasn't right. It was moving too fast. I was 19, then I was 20, then I was 21. Like chapters skipped over on a DVD. I told myself, this isn't normal. This isn't normal. This isn't how life is supposed to feel. I thought about r-- really good movie if you haven't seen it already)

2. Possessor (trippy, violent sci-fi psychological horror. i wrote a song about this one. ive seen it around 5 times now and not a day goes by where i don't think of it.)

3. The Poughkeepsie Tapes (50% satirical mockumentary commentating on how america glorifies its serial killers, 50% found-footage horror, you'll need to look up warnings for this one [or just ask me, ive seen it 4 times, i can give you in-depth CW's without spoilers].)

4. Horse Girl (a girl's spiraling descent into conspiracy. trippy, mystery thriller)

other favorites in no specific order

• Antiviral (another Brandon Cronenberg film, sci-fi thriller, taking parasocial relationships to a whole new level)

• The PowerPuff Girls Movie (underrated and one of my favorite PPG-related things ever next to the now-banned rock opera episode, See Me Feel Me Gnomey)

• Longlegs (paranormal mystery horror film, an FBI agent gets more than she bargained for when delving into a new case. ASK ME ABOUT OZ PERKINS AND NICHOLAS CAGE'S PERSONAL CONNECTION TO THIS FILM AND HOW IT SAVED THE FILM ITSELF FOR ME AND MADE IT GO FROM "A WEE BIT DISAPPOINTING BUT STILL GOOD" TO "TOP FAVORITE" BECAUSE OF HOW IT IMPACTED THE WAY I VIEW IT... IF YOU DARE..)

• Catsoup (silent japanese cartoon, short film, you can find it on youtube! two cats go on a magical, somewhat dark, adventure. visually stunning)

• The Brave Little Toaster (the only disney film that will ever grace my favorites list. incredible. the anthropomorphization of objects is stellar, the characters i could go on and on about-- and the songs are fucking great. shoutout to mass car suicide [Worthless]. also this movie inspired one of my OC stories [Curtain Call].)

• I'm Thinking Of Ending Things (adaptation of my favorite book, very different from the book but i think it brings some excellent things to the table and tells it in a very cool way. psychological thriller, mystery. Jesse Plemons is in it, they grabbed him off the set of Breaking Bad and forgot to tell him he wasn't still playing Todd. [< compliment])

• Baby Driver (anyone who hates this movie doesn't know how to have fun. action-comedy, incredible soundtrack that is SYNCED TO THE HAPPENINGS IN THE FILM, main character is an autistic CODA who i love very much, i have a deep personal connection with this movie because of the person i watched it with and the impact it had on us.)

• I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore (action-comedy, crime, awkward girl and her awkward neighbor [who just met her but would kill and die for her] get in over their heads trying to retrieve a stolen laptop.)

• Poltergeist (1982, my ma's favorite horror film and one of mine too. paranormal, visually stunning, the practical effects are so fucking cool. also im decently sure it was inspired by Little Girl Lost, an episode of The Twilight Zone, because it's like a more fleshed-out version of that concept.)

• Home Movie (2008, it's on youtube, i can't remember if it's like overall good but it's the only instance thus far in which i think the "evil child" trope is done well so it makes my favorites list)

• Whiplash (ARE YOU RUSHING OR ARE YOU DRAGGING?!)

• Nightcrawler (crime thriller, guy's spiraling descent into abandoning all morals for the sake of his obsessive new project, and the gripping horrific ways that this choice affects those around him)

• Dread (2009, violent horror, guy's spiraling descent into abandoning all morals for the sake of his obsessive new project, and the gripping horrific ways that this choice affects those around him)

• Raggedy Ann And Andy : A Musical Adventure (on youtube, an animated childhood favorite that still holds up. shoutout to the blue camel)

aaaand some others im prooobably forgettinggg..? tried to include a bit of as many genres i could think of, since most of my favorites are horror :)

[waterlilyspad]

The Horseman's Bride.

Not fandom related, but a short story I made for Halloween, who knows maybe I'll write more. This just kinda hit me out of nowhere.

(TW for violence, mentions of blood and gore, vivid depictions of derealization, panic attacks, near death experiences.)

Out of every moment throughout your life and every single possible slip up, accident, bump in the night, and tiny happenstance you’ve been alright. The time a boy in middle school stuck gum in your hair sure, whatever, that’s fine, the time you thought a van was following you home after work, just for it to be a very confused grandma, whatever. The point being you've never once been confronted with danger, and you were so careful and comfortable with how you lived that you never imagined you��d end up here, feeling everything all at once running through your head the good the bad and the not so bad considering you grew up in a suburb your whole life. The fact is you're running from death itself and there’s no one to save you.

You're running faster than you’ve ever run, almost faster than the man chasing you, well almost as fast if it weren’t for the fact the ground is littered with rocks, exposed roots, and very damp slippery maple leaves. Why horror movie protagonists slip and fall so easily makes so much sense. You also didn’t anticipate being chased down by a serial killer so you neglected to double knot your sneakers before going out today. The laces flopping open with every step. You also didn’t charge your phone for very long, so the advent of calling for help is out of the question by now. It’s agonizingly obvious but, you're going to die tonight.

 It is such a disorienting reality, you feel like you're not you, that you're watching yourself from the outside as you run with all your might, you didn’t amount to much, and it’d probably be a few years before anyone finds you. It’s the worst kind of derealization, why was I born to live such an amazing life? With a family that loved me, with friends that picked me up when I was down, to have nice neighbors, a good home, amazing food, music, clothes, a sense of imagination and wonder that ensured you finished both highschool and college without ever losing yourself along the way, you think, why was I born woman. 

You curse as you begin to descend a hill scraping your  knee along the way down hoping this would throw him off but the killer is still hot on your trail, as if he knows every step and fault of the forest grounds like the back of his hand. If I were born a man maybe I’d still be okay, but I’m not. You think to yourself as you round a few trees dodging and running deeper into the woods your lungs are on fire, breathing is very hard for you, you’re not an athlete but your not entirely unhealthy either, adrenaline is one hell of a chemical response but if you were male maybe you’d stand a fighting chance or maybe this guy wouldn’t have bothered you at all. But none of that matters, the horrible belief remains If you were just running of your own volition you would’ve given up sooner. Your knees begin to shake and wobble, please don’t stop, keep going, you beg in your mind but they don’t listen, and soon enough the perfect mix of everything that could go wrong, goes wrong. You step on your loose shoelace, your leg catches the bridge of an exposed tree root, and your legs aren’t strong enough now to catch yourself, you fall face first into the mud and soot of the earth, picking your head up and trying to get back on your feet is impossible, you’re pretty sure you twisted something, but in the midst of your panic that doesn’t register as you try to pick yourself up, only for your palm to slip on a wet leaf causing you to fall again. He’s coming, you know it, this is it, why was I born to live beautifully, and die horrifically. 

Tears of fear and exhaustion are streaming down your face, your ears are ringing, your heart is pounding like it could jump out of your throat at any minute, and yet time continues oddly and unnervingly it continues without a sound. You're sure the killer is just doing this to give you a false sense of hope, he’s keep playing with you. Raising your head to look around the scene, your met with a dense fog that wasn’t there before, but is now heavily coating the forest, you see what looks like a light source skimming the fog, there’s an uneven walk to it, and your eyes light up, it looks like the light from a lantern, someone is out here. “Hello?! Please help me!” You scream you begin to slowly lift yourself up by holding onto the tree behind you, seeing the light coming closer your relief washes over you, but soon the sight itself seems wrong? The light is placed at a weird distance from the ground that wouldn’t otherwise be within a reasonable arm’s length. It’s hovering high above almost like a very tall street lamp, additionally the sounds of footsteps multiply, it’s the unmistakable sound of hooves stomping into the wet ground. 

Okay maybe it’s a horse rider? On his horse at night just like you do with no murderous intent, your think, but soon your wishful reasoning leaves you as the person nears closer, the fog draping them as they approach, the light isn’t even something they’re holding, it’s illuminating from their head. You rub your eyes to make sure before fear takes hold again. As the rider approaches your met with the incredible but horrifying sight, a man with a carved pumpkin for a head appears, his horse is larger than life, and as dark as sky, its yellow eyes burning into your very soul, nothing here is right, your breathing picks up almost immediately. The horseman reaches to his side pulling out an axe, a small tree axe. Your survival instincts go wild and your skin is jumping, screaming for you to run, and you do, tearing your eyes from the horseman and feebly trying to run before feeling an arm lock itself around your neck. You choke and scream for dear life as a knife is pressed to your throat.

 that is until the wind cuts right behind you, and something warm and wet spatters across your back, you shiver and cry standing completely still your whole body is shaking, your back covered in fresh blood. You slowly turn to look, the man that was chasing you is now lying on the floor, a ghastly black smoke rising out of his exposed neck with his head lying father away from the body on the floor next to you. You let out a scream and cover your mouth as the clacking sound of hooves draws closer to you. You hear a thud as the rider dismounts, your legs feel like jelly, your head buried in your hands as you hunch in fear not wanting to look death in the eyes. Your legs give out entirely you're sure you're going to kneel onto the ground but arms catch you with a quick caution before you're hoisted up slowly with care like someone catching their feeble grandparent. 

You lift your heavy head out of your palms as you look up at the pumpkin looking back down at you, there’s a kind of warmth to it, like a campfire, or the feeling you’d get when putting your hands over a lit candle. You stay silent in frozen sublime, the circular opening of the treetops set a void like halo over the creature, you didn’t know it now but the beyond was staring back at you. In a rush of sounds and other ungodly howls, your attention is drawn to the surrounding area as multiple eyes appear. Creatures of all kinds, humanoid and animalistic alike begin to gather round. The rider stands you up slowly as you remain pinned to his chest. There's a sound like nothing you’ve heard before, you can’t understand it but it’s coming from the rider, something beyond you replies with a sickly laugh, another with a groan, and some creatures begin to back away. “What…What’s going on.” You asked quietly as he stared back down at you, his large hand cupping your shaking one, “Audrey May, trust me.” He assures before he kneels with you, your legs finally giving out as you sit on the ground and rest against his front, you look up and around noticing ghastly like apparitions and creatures watching you and the rider with feverish intent. 

So many questions are floating in your head now to the point it makes you dizzy, just trying to come up with a clear thought is a herculean task in itself. All of it instantly melts away as your right hand is lifted,  you watch as his other free hand lifts a ring to your finger. You're too out of it to react, reserving yourself to staring on in horror and shock, was this thing serious?! You look up at him with a look of pure confusion he responds with a whisper. “Play along.” You're relieved slightly but still uneasy, his large hand slowly lifting the ring to your small finger, it slides on like a glove like it was made for you and you alone. After the deed is done he lifts your hand to his false mouth making a kiss-like motion you realize in that moment the jack o lantern on his head is just that, a gourd and not his actual head as the carvings remain still. “Shall we?” He asks with more volume than before, you nod playing along with this supposedly pretend proposal. His arms link behind and beneath you as  you’re hoisted up to him. your arms link around his shoulders and behind his neck as he lifts you up with minimal effort before walking towards the horse. 

Your eyes scan the area, there are ghastly figures all smiling, some talking amongst each other laughing with a horrible sound, you look up to the tree to see child-like figures giggling. More and more of them appear to watch the horseman take his claim.  You look behind you over his shoulder and see the body of the man who was after you and his head lying in the dirt, his face frozen with terror staring up at you, it makes you uneasy, you look away immediately. The rider lets your legs down and instructs you to hold yourself by the saddle rope as he mounts, once he’s mostly up his arm wraps around your back and in one swift motion hoist’s you up onto the black stallion along with himself. He secures himself on the saddle and makes sure your secure as well, the creatures of the woods growing closer to the sight. The horseman has you lean in close as he grabs hold of the reins, his head turns to the nearing creatures. “Eat and be merry.” He instructs at his word they dash to the body, you close your eyes as the rider yips and the horse marches forward, the crowd making way for the two of you as they focus on their meal.

 The horse gains speed as you exit the scene, flying through the woods with the clicking of hooves, the wind flying around you as you begin to breathe more easily, everything in your body hurts and the jumping of the horse’s pace digs into your aching body. You shiver as the cold hits your sweat, against your better judgment you lean into the rider shaking, he’s well aware of this, his right arm letting go of the rein and closing in to hold you to him. The two of you ride into a clearing that looks like an open field. Slowly you feel your chest lighten at the sight of trees opening to a clear. Above the wall of mist and fog a starry night, you look up, your eyes growing heavy as the weight of your entire ordeal washes over you, exhaustion hits once your adrenaline has subsided, so you just stare up at the underside of this strange pumpkin man whatever he is. Maybe you're safe or maybe you're not, but dammit you were going to sleep, you thought to yourself as the cold wind blew the hair from your face, please if you're some evil killer like the last one, please at least let me die while sleeping, would you? You think as your mind washes to black; you fall into a deep sleep.

((Little fun note in folklore Dullahans are the harbingers of death that lead souls to the afterlife, makes you think.))

[yuseirra]

I really love your kamiai comics. The warm stories about their communication and interaction completely make up for my regret of not being able to see how they get along in the original work. btw, your analysis is also very good. I like it very much.Can't wait for your next update!❤️

(A small something before I start typing)

Thank you so, so much dear anon!! This really lifts my spirits up so much, you're very kind to expend your time to send me positivity. I appreciate it because I'm the shy type. I know how hard it can be to muster up the courage to talk to someone sometimes. So when I receive messages like this, I get really happy... it'd be nice if the people who were able to send me some kindness felt it was paid back :) I may not be able to reply fast but I try to get back so please be patient with me 'v')9!

HHngh thanks! I'm rereading your ask every word and savoring it! These two don't get that much screen time but what's been shown is really significant, they did have their moments! I'm so glad you feel the way you do after reading my comics and interpretations of them, that's the best reaction I could ever want from someone!! There are still things that are left ambiguous and are yet to be unfolded(I hope it does get explained more) so I'm worried as I draw them out sometimes... but reading this makes me feel empowered!! I feel like I've been doing pretty well, that's what your comment does for me. I'll do my best to think up something good to share with you, thanks for sharing your feelings with me!

Speaking of which, I have another analysis!! I'd like to share it with you here, I'd been writing it up earlier and it's not entirely unrelated to the hikaai situation:

I think it might have been Nino who's sent Ryosuke to Ai. Based on the behavioral patterns, Nino is the type who'd impulsively do something extreme in a fit of anger and later regret it. Even Nino might not have anticipated things would unfold this way, however. The phrase, "I only meant to scare them, I never thought they'd actually die," seems more like how Nino would feel about the situation, rather than Kamiki to be honest? That's a very absurd thing to say, but considering Nino's relationship with Ai, Nino might have been in a blinded, irrational state because she almost worships Ai. So, it's possible that she genuinely didn't think it would turn out this way somehow... she's a teenage girl with a lot of mood swings.

There’s a common scenario in horror movies where a second-place person, driven by jealousy, does something reckless, thinking, "If only the top person were gone, I could..." but not truly realizing the consequences. (It happens a lot as an east-asian trope) Jealousy has the power to paralyze rational thinking. Nino not only hated Ai, but she likely had a twisted affection for her as well. When Ai disappeared, she probably fell apart.

It's hard to imagine Kamiki acting this way, right? He wouldn’t have been unaware of the danger of sending someone like Ryosuke to his girlfriend. If this character did something like that, it would have to be out of serious malice or murderous intent, but Kamiki doesn't seem like the type to harbor such cruel emotions toward Ai. (Or just anyone at all, actually; we never really see him lashing out towards people. Even when he brings Ryosuke, or Airi up... he.. actually talks in a pretty soft sense despite they're absolutely horrible individuals. Even adds a -san and -kun to their names; I was surprised.) In Nino's case, on the other hand, it might have been something done without much thought, as her actions suggest she has that kind of streak. She’s the type who can say, "I wish you'd just die!" to someone but then cry if it actually happens. Her emotions fluctuate a lot.

We also have to note that Hikaru is just as good of a liar as Ai is. He's really used to lying, and that's what's brought him and Ai to relate to each other, bring them together and a crucial characteristic that's had Ai deem "he's the same as her". When he says he's the one who sent Ryosuke as he mentions "he wanted Ai to feel the same despair he's felt", we don't see his face and we only see him from the back. This is similar to the panel where Ai says "I can't love you", which was a well-meant but a really hurtful lie. Hikaru believed Ai and Aqua wants revenge on him. I think he may have tried to save Aqua of feeling even a slight sense of pity towards him as a person, making sure he really isn't worth feeling that way about. In fact, we don't see his expressions at all in that entire sequence, and what he says feels so off and ridiculous for a person with common sense to say. I feel like a lot of it could be a lie. AND I feel like he was putting on a facade for most of the scenes he's been in before the final arc- before he came to meet the twins. He's probably always been pretending to be okay with a smile on his face but he probably was pretty despairing and dead inside (his eyes turn black when he's in despair, you know)

At least so far in the story, Kamiki has never shown much interest in Ai's idol activities in the scenes he's been in. Instead, it was Ai who learned something from Kamiki. The fact that Ai is an idol, a star who attracts attention, was never portrayed as particularly important to Kamiki during their relationship. Ryosuke is a big fan of Ai as an idol, but there’s no clear reason why Kamiki would connect with someone related to Ai in that way. To Kamiki, Ai was like a light—a single, unique person he deeply depended on and loved, as if he could live with just her by his side, yeah, but it's a little different from viewing her as a idol. He probably depended on her a lot, but it seems he loved her not because she was an idol or someone shiny and valuable, but because she was someone who could understand and care for him. He doesn’t have the mentality of "I can't forgive an imperfect Ai." That kind of anger, resentment, or desire to make Ai suffer seems more likely to come from Nino. Kamiki even seems to think it’s natural that Ai wouldn’t like him back. He’s too accustomed to that feeling.

Kamiki’s actions suggest a certain helplessness. He seems to accept everything without resistance, always at a loss for words. This has been consistent from the moment he was introduced. When he asked Ai, "You love me, right? You won’t leave me, right?" and her response was something like, "I don’t know," he ended up going outside and crying in the rain. When he was gaslit by Airi in an absurd way, he despaired and stood there, frozen in panic. Even when Ai said something harsh and broke up with him, he couldn’t say anything back. Even 15 years later, he watches a video and is rendered speechless, reaches out to Ai, and curls up. This sort of behavior is so consistent that I realize this character doesn’t have any self-defense. He just accepts everything as his fault and internalizes it. It’s like he’s been so used to terrible things happening to him from a very young age that he doesn’t even think "I hate this" but rather, "People like it when I do this, so this must be right." With that kind of mentality, he gets pushed around. He seems to accept every negative judgment about himself and engages in self-destructive behavior.

The likelihood of this character doing something aggressive like sending Ryosuke to Ai is, in my opinion, less than 2%. Suddenly lashing out four whole years after the breakup? He probably went to cry after he got the phone call. Didn't he just reach his drinking age? Maybe he went to drink for the first time because he was so distressed after receiving the call… and somehow, in that state, he met Ryosuke and accidentally let the address slip, which led to Ai’s death, and now he feels like he has to save her with all he's got. Ai's the one who saved him, and it's kind of natural for him to feel like "Now I should save her in return, I don't care what happens to me!" That would make sense, right? The lyrics, the character’s personality—it all fits if you take it this way. And his personality doesn’t seem to have changed all so much actually. While reading the manga, I thought, "What’s with his way of speaking? He has such low self-esteem." Now, reading it again, it feels like he’s deeply immersed in self-blame.

The song Fatal starts with the lyrics being:

Waking up from another dream, I open my wet eyelids I curse my helplessness from those far days which dreadfully remain Will this despair that burns my body feed me someday? I keep burning myself from it as I crave adoration

This is totally how Kamiki would feel after he learns about Ai's death, if that's not what he's ever expected to happen. He'd be in utter despair and feel so helpless about not having been able to do anything as the only love of his life die like that. That's why he's so desperate in the entire song,

Without you, I cannot live anymore I would sacrifice anything for you I can’t get enough of your love What should I use to fill in what’s missing?

These sets of lyric's too intense for it to be Aqua's, but it fits his dad's mentality perfectly. Kamiki's life's been so miserable.

Ai is an exceptionally well-crafted character. When you consider the details, like the story of her trauma from the glass shards in her white rice (which broke my heart when I read it), you can see how much thought the author put into crafting her psychology.

Why write a story where she asks a favor to her own dear children to help out the person who's the very cause of her death? How could that character be portrayed as if they truly, desperately loved Ai? Isn’t that incredibly cruel to Ai, the victim? If it were me, I wouldn’t write the story that way. I don't think the writer would have either. I really feel that Hikaru isn’t the type of character who would do something like that. And since Ai’s affection for that character aligns with that sort of interpretation, with it being really consistent, I think… it's a lie and a misunderstanding.

I think that, unable to forgive himself for unintentionally leaking the address and thus contributing to Ai’s death, Hikaru wanted to be punished and ended up telling Aqua a ridiculous lie. If someone could open Ai’s heart to that extent, it could only mean that this person was genuinely beloved by her. For someone as wounded as Ai, finding a person she wanted to love that deeply isn’t easy. But if that character had committed such a terrible act, what would it mean? It would feel so unsettling. It would conclude that Ai failed to find someone to love, that she trusted the wrong person, and that the protagonists’ father was someone who harmed their mother. When you consider what the manga is ultimately trying to say, the less responsible the character Ai loved is for her death, and the more genuine their feelings for Ai, the greater the impact would be. It would also make sense in the context of Ai, who wanted to give love, finally finding someone deserving of it.

I couldn’t form a solid opinion until Chapter 154 and Fatal came out. I wasn’t sure how things would turn out and just watched. But after those chapters, I felt that this interpretation was correct. When you interpret it this way, it aligns with the psychological depictions throughout the story. It’s not that I deliberately interpreted it favorably because I liked this couple, but rather that as I analyzed it, this interpretation made sense, which made me more favorable towards them. There's certainly a difference between the two.

I was really happy when I received your message and a few other ones saying that my interpretation was warm, persuasive, and made you appreciate this ship ;v;.. Oh, I really want to get this right too... thanks guys, I very appreciate your kind words, sorry if what I say turns out to be wrong but I am trying my best!!

I take psychology very seriously, so if this turns out to be right, I’d be thrilled! This is what makes the most sense for me at this point, so I'll hold onto it until things clear up~

Again, super long reply! I hope you're okay with it, anon! Lots of love, thanks for the cheers and kind words!!

[coalswriting]

domestic / dating headcanons - natalie scatorccio

(approx. 900 words)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

you and natalie started dating after you met her at a party.

you were with your friends, and you had spotted her from across the room, talking with travis.

you were way too many drinks in, and feeling confident, so without thinking, you abruptly ended your conversation with your friends by walking over to natalie.

travis looked irritated the moment you started talking to nat. she did not; you could see underlying relief in the sparkle of her eyes and she listened to you intently as you told her some random fun fact you had heard in biology.

one thing led to another, and you woke up with her in bed with you the next morning.

you panicked, thinking you had done something regrettable with someone you barely knew but she reassured you that the two of you simply came back to yours because you wanted her to paint your nails black and watch a movie.

cool. cool.

natalie didn’t end up leaving for ages that day, and when you saw her in school the following monday, she stuck around you.

you were pretty much glued together and she felt like your other half.

you watched her practices, went to her games, packed her a nutritious lunch every morning (because let’s face it; school lunches suck), and even helped her study.

it didn’t take long for the two of you to start dating; maybe two months of talking consistently every day.

and damn, did she move into your house fast.

your parents weren’t around too much due to work, but they really liked natalie based on the few interactions they had with her, so she was basically free to stay whenever.

your wardrobe instantly became better as natalie let you borrow her clothes, and you even would go shopping together with money you had earned from your part time job as a cinema worker.

speaking of cinema work, you always snuck natalie into movies for free with you when your shift would end. most of the movies, you two would just whisper through and joke around, but when it came to horror movies, natalie was honed and focused. she really loved them, and you loved seeing her enjoyment even though you’d freak out at any sight of gore.

natalie started looking a lot healthier when she moved into your house; she was used to eating shitty oven meals at home due her not having much cooking space nor ingredients, and when you both started cooking together, she loved it too much – you’d say she hasn’t had an oven pizza in months after you had started to date.

you do most of the meal prep whereas natalie cooks. somehow, she’s a natural! you oftentimes come home from work to the kitchen smelling like brownies or whatever delicious dinner she’s decided to make for you. and then, yknow, she leaves you with a sink full of dishes.

natalie isn’t a super affectionate person. she won’t outwardly kiss you or hug you often, but she shows it in different ways. maybe she’ll brush your hair, do your makeup, help you decide an outfit, make you a playlist, or link your pinkies together when youre watching tv.

however, if she gets drunk? that’s a whole different story. she’ll pull you away to make out with you every chance she gets. she would almost escalate it anywhere if it weren’t for you being reasonable and stopping her before things get too hot and heavy.

she’s also a little spoon. i will die on this hill. she’ll sleep facing away from you, but during the night, will push herself towards you until you’re holding her and breathing in the smell of her shampoo. she doesn’t care if it gets too hot, she will literally sleep through the night like a corpse – and then take a shower the next day because she’s all sweaty.  

she’s almost too over-protective at times, literally glaring at anyone that even looks at you wrong. once a guy catcalled the two of you in the hall at school and she literally kicked his locker shut onto his wrist.

his face was worth the detention that you both had to sit through.  

natalie stopped smoking for you. it’s not that you necessarily complained that you didn’t want her to smoke, but you made an off-hand comment once about how you’d love for her to take care of her health more.

and she took that personally. she literally went cold turkey, and you stayed with her the entire time while she was moody, sick, and tired from withdrawal.

natalie’s favourite thing to do is shower. she didn’t have the liberty to shower every day when she lived with her parents, so she basically showers daily at yours, if not twice a day. you don’t mind though; you’re not the one paying for the water.

you’ll oftentimes just sit outside on the toilet while she’s showering and talking to you about a new album she wants to buy or some drama she heard while in the changing rooms for soccer.

speaking of soccer, the yellowjackets think you two are such a weird couple. natalie is so rough, whereas you’re so sweet and caring. you’ll literally come to their practices with bottles of water for everyone and natalie will say some comment along the lines of “she’s mine, all of you find your own fucking girlfriend.”

meanwhile, everyone else is just blinking blankly, not even doing anything to insinuate that they’re trying to steal you.

[wake-me-up-inside-imagines]

Could I possibly request a bit of angst like maybe Teruko, Xander, Whit, and one other drdt character that I can’t think of (all of them separate of course) finding their s/o injured and bleeding out from an ambush and how they couldn’t tell who did it from how fast it happened while they’re being patched up ? Hopefully this is cool with you :)

Don’t worry, I’m cool with this! I wrote this so the ambush takes place during the killing game, I hope that’s ok! Also I have no idea which other character you were referring to so I added Veronika because I thought it would be fun to add her! Hope you enjoy!

Teruko, Xander, and Whit with an S/O who was injured in an ambush

Gn! Reader

Warnings: blood, injury, mentions of death but no actual death occurs, mentions of torture in Veronica’s part, mentions of drugging, mentions of the movie Hostel in Veronika’s part (it’s horror movie about torture so I figured it deserved a warning)

-Knowing her luck, she was most likely the one to find you, and surprisingly, she’s not as hysterical as you might think she would be. I mean, she’s still pretty freaked out, but she knows that right now her main priority is getting you medical attention, and focusing on her emotions might get in the way of helping you

-Her first step is to get you to the infirmary before you bleed out, she’s surprisingly strong so she can carry you there just fine. On her way she questions you on who attacked you and if you were hurt anywhere she couldn’t see, once she gets an answer to those questions her main priority becomes keeping you awake

-It wouldn’t be until you fully lost consciousness that she begins to freak out, she was distracting herself by distracting you, but now that you’re out she has no way to keep herself from acknowledging how dire the situation is

-She doesn’t trust herself enough to try to heal you on her own (bad luck and all that), so she either forces Arturo to do it or she forces Monotv to do it, although since you don’t know who attacked you, he’s reluctant to let a potential murder go to waste. Considering how badly you were injured, it takes awhile to heal you, and nobody’s sure if you’ll even make it.

-Through it all, Teruko seems to have completely shut down her emotions. She refuses to cry or show fear in front of the others, not now, not after how they’ve treated her. She won’t show weakness, especially since the person who tried to kill you is still alive and free.

-Inside however, she’s a wreck. She’s lost the few people she allowed herself to get close to in the past, if she loses you she doesn’t know what she’ll do. Probably kill whoever killed you before Monotv can get his paws on them, it’s not like she was ever going to escape this place anyway.

-She doesn’t leave the infirmary area until she here’s news about your condition, good or bad. If you’re gonna go, she’s going to be there with you, she won’t let you die alone.

-Once she gets the news that you’ll live, she breathes the biggest sigh of relief anyone could possibly imagine. She stays by your side until you wake up, but when you do she has no idea what to say. I mean, what are you supposed to say to someone who’s had a near death experience? So she opts to stay silent, instead hugging you carefully until you say something

-Once she’s sure you’ll be alright, she makes it her life’s mission to find out who hurt you. She’s not above getting aggressive with the others if they refuse to cooperate with her search, especially since it comes down to your safety. She most likely won’t pick a physical fight with whoever did it if she find out, but she will make sure they can’t come within 30 yards of you ever again, and she makes sure everybody else knows what they’ve done too.

-There’s no way in hell Teruko is gonna let you out of her sight for the rest of the game, even with those who she knows didn’t attack you. She was already pretty protective of you given the circumstances, but your near death experience has increased her protectiveness ten-fold. Nobody except her is allowed near you anymore, no matter how much you protest. Call her overprotective all you like, but she’s not playing when it comes to your safety.

-She won’t tell you how scared she is of you dying or getting attacked again, not unless she’s on the verge of sleep when you ask her about it. But it’s easy to tell how scared she is from the way she grips you in her sleep, or how she pulls you closer whenever anyone passes you two by

-Just…stay alive for her, ok? She can’t afford to lose another person she loves, not like this.

-Veronika could tell something was wrong long before she found you, call it a sixth sense or something. She’s very perceptive so I think she could guess that someone was going to try to kill, she just didn’t realize you’d be the victim

-When she does find you, she is scarily calm. Like, there is not a single ounce of emotion showing on her face. You couldn’t begin to guess what she’s thinking right now.

-Without hesitation, she picks you up and books it for the infirmary a lot faster than you would imagine someone carrying a limp body would be able to run. Veronika knows better than anyone how quickly a person can bleed out, so all she’s focusing on is keeping you conscious until she can get you medical help. She doesn’t bother asking you who did it, she doesn’t want to upset you any further and besides, she could figure it out on her own later. Instead, she tries to engage in some regular conversation to help try keeping you calm but awake.

-You best believe Monotv is fixing you up, Veronika has no way of confirming Arturo’s innocence in this moment so she won’t allow him near you, and she’s scary enough that even Monotv can’t deny her request.

-Now that you’re unconscious, she knows that she won’t be of any help to you. So while Monotv is trying to save you, she goes on a witch hunt for your assailant.

-Nobody, and I mean nobody, is safe from her wrath. She’s gone back to acting like her regular, bubbly (disturbing) self, but anyone within a ten mile radius of her can feel the stone cold rage that’s radiating off of her. Nobody bothers lying to her when she questions them, they know she would know if they lied, and they aren’t stupid enough to risk feeling her wrath over a silly lie, even if they’re innocent. Of course, the person responsible lies right to her face, but she knows. And she’ll be damned if they get away with it

-Veronika doesn’t wait to hear if you’ll live before enacting her vengeance on whoever attacked you, if she waited and you did die then she won’t have time to mess with the killer before the trial begins.

-It’s not hard for her to get her hands on the would-be-killer, all she had to do is drug the water they’re drinking without them noticing (Monotv was more than happy to supply her with the pills) , and drag them back to her room. And oh boy, does she go to town on them.

-You ever seen hostel? Yeah it’s kinda like that except she keeps the attacker alive. She will not hold back, she will go as far as she can without outright killing the perpetrator

-She might let them go after their “punishment” is over, or she might keep them tied up in her room somewhere, who knows! It all depends on if she feels bothered enough to feed and water them

-She’ll then check up on you, hoping that you’re still alive. Fear and concern begin to eat her alive now that she got all the murderous rage out of her system. She’ll stay with your unconscious body as long as she can, only leaving to grab food or use the bathroom.

-When you finally wake up, she’s ecstatic! She’ll hug you and kiss you and wait on your every request. She basically treats you like royalty

-She won’t tell you about how she handled your attacker, she doesn’t need you worrying about her safety or thinking about that gruesome scene

-She doesn’t worry about it happening again since she took care of your assailant , but obviously you might, so she’ll do her best to reassure you. Anything that’ll make you feel safer, she’ll do. She comes with you everywhere if you’d like (it gives her a little piece of mind too), and she does her best to distract you by any means necessary to keep you from spiraling into terror

-Eventually your fears will dissipate, nothing bad has happened to you when Veronika’s by your side, so there’s nothing to fear anymore. She makes sure of it.

-Afraid, very afraid

-He wasn’t the one to find you, Teruko was. He found out after a very concerned David saw her carry your limp and bloody body to the infirmary

-He immediately rushes to the infirmary, terrified that you might be dead. He’s relieved to see you still alive, but also extremely worried when he sees the extent of your injuries. With no way of knowing if you’ll pull through, he stays by your side, constantly watching to make sure you’re still breathing

-He blames himself for your attack. If he had been there with you, if he hadn’t left you alone, then maybe he could have stopped your assailant from nearly killing you. At the very least he could have been there to defend you, most of Xanders classmates wouldn’t anywhere near strong enough to face him.

-Teruko informs him that before you passed out, you told her that the attack was too quick for you to identify the assailant. He thinks briefly of trying to find out who did it, but he won’t leave you in the condition you’re in by yourself, no way.

-He keeps an eye on whoever’s healing you, even if it’s just MonoTv. He’s not risking your safety, especially after he failed to keep you out of harms way the first time.

-Once you regain consciousness, he’ll be all over you. No one in the school can rip you from his arms, he refuses to let you go (unless he’s hurting you, in which case he’ll refrain from intense physical contact.) He asks you a ton of questions, mostly along the lines of “are you in any pain? or “can I get you anything?” Anything you want, he’ll get. He’s at your beck and call

-He refuses to leave you by yourself after that. The only other person he feels he can trust around you is Teruko, anyone else can only interact with you when he’s in the room. He hates being overbearing, but the fear that you’ll get attacked again is far greater than his dislike of hovering.

-If he gets any indication of who the attacker was, he is on them so quickly it’s not even funny. He doesn’t care who’s around to see it (except you) or what the consequences will be for him, he’s pounding their face in. He won’t stop until his victim is either unconscious or on the verge of dying, as much as he wants them dead he doesn’t want to get executed. He also makes sure everyone else is aware of what they’ve done so nobody else falls victim to that person

-He’s also not leaving you alone ever again (unless Teruko’s with you). As the game progresses his trust in the rest of the group goes down astronomically, he can’t afford to risk leaving you with everyone when anybody could kill next.

-Still, it eases your worry to have him around. He’s the strongest out of everybody there so as long as you stick with him, you know you’ll be fine

-Oh he’s an absolute w r e c k

-He’s likely to find you first as well, he’s extremely clingy and was probably looking for you when he found your unconscious body.

-He’s terrified, he has no idea if you’re even still alive or not, he’s just trying to get you to help as soon as possible. He screams for help until someone shows up, helping him carry you to the infirmary while he sobs

-He’s not leaving your side, he refuses to. Even when Monotv is patching you up, even the smell and sight of blood become too much to bear for him, he’s still there, watching your every move (or lack thereof). He stays at your side all night, sleeping next to your unconscious body

-Whit has no idea what to do. He doesn’t know who did this, he doesn’t know how to help you, he doesn’t even know how to help himself. He can’t dark humor his way out of this one, not while you’re actively hurting. He knows he can’t really do anything to find the perpetrator, so at your side he remains, waiting for you to wake up

-Once you do, he’s immediately peppering your face with kisses, beyond relieved that you finally woke up. He was afraid you would fall into a coma and never come back to him, but you’re here now, alive and conscious.

-Anything you need, he'll get. He waits on you hand and foot, anything to make your recovery easier. He doesn't want to overwhelm you, but he will ask if you remember who attacked you. While he's disappointed that you didn't get to see them, he won't push it any further. He's just glad you're safe.

-He doesn't stop you from seeing the others once you've recovered enough, but he will be watching over you like a HAWK whenever you're with anyone else. The only person he even remotely trusts around you is Charles, solely because he knows Charles couldn't hurt you without passing out.

-If he gets any indication of who did it he will make their life a living hell. He won't hurt them physically, but he will make sure they're ostracised from the group. He'll also bully them horrendously, making it his mission in life to annoy the attacker any chance he gets.

-He won't tell you worried he is, and it may be hard to tell, but don't be fooled. He's so scared you'll get hurt again. He tries to hide his feelings from you, but you can hear him crying himself to sleep sometimes when it all gets to be too much. He feels like it's his fault, like he didn't do enough to protect you.

-Please comfort him, he needs a reminder that it's not his fault and that you're still here, safe with him.

I hope you enjoyed!

[lolahasmoxie]

Friends to Something More (E.M.)

Friends to Lovers with Eddie Munson.

But not the "we've secretly been in love with each other for 15+ years since we were kids" FtL.

It's the "we're in our mid-20s and are just now noticing each other." FtL.

You could admit that Eddie was attractive; you had eyes. But he was Eddie. You were his bro and best bud, and you occasionally played wing-man for him at The Hideout.

Eddie could admit that you were beautiful, but he always saw you as more like a sister. He would fart and burp in front of you, but also wing-man for you as well.

Then, one day, you're both 25.

You're at The Hideout with the gang, and Eddie can't help but watch you walk away to the bar to get the next round of drinks.

Had your ass always jiggled like that?

You give the drink order to the bartender and turn around just in time to catch Eddie looking at you.

Wait, since when did his lips get that plump?

Throughout the night, Eddie sidles closer and closer to you. When his arm wraps around your shoulder as he talks to Steve, you can't help but give a quick inhale. You hope Eddie doesn't notice; he absolutely does.

Fuck, has he always smelled this good?

Eddie is talking to Steve, but all he can think about is how the perfume you're wearing makes him want to bite your flesh and how wonderful your body feels pressed to his side.

At the end of the night, you and Eddie decide to share a cab since he's staying at your apartment for the night.

He has a small go-bag of items in your bathroom, and you take turns getting ready. Once in your PJs, you settle on the sofa to watch a bad horror movie. Eddie is tense, but you don't say anything because you know he'll tell you when he's ready.

About 40 minutes later, Eddie finally turns to you and clears his throat.

"Everything okay?"

"I want to do something, and if you at any point don't like it, just tell me to fuck off, and we'll never speak of it again."

"Okay, now I'm scared."

"I really, really, REALLY want to kiss you right now.

"Oh, fuck off, Eddie."

"It's not a joke. I don't know why, but the thought popped into my brain at The Hideout, and I feel like I might die if I don't find out."

Your mouth hangs open, and you feel the same desire as you study his face. Good lord, he was so fucking pretty. Your eyes glance down briefly to his lips before you return his gaze.

"Please."

You learn Eddie is serious and intense when he has his mind on something. And he doesn't do anything half-assed, either.

He raises his calloused hands to cup your cheeks, warm brown eyes staring intensely into yours. You feel like melting as his thumbs slowly caress your cheeks. You've never had anyone look at you like this, had someone look at you so reverently before.

Eddie can't remember when a woman looked at him like you were now. Had a woman ever looked at him like this? Like he was the sun, and you were simply compeleld to follow.

He leans in, and there's a slight pause before your lips touch.

It's the last breath before the dive.

He rubs his nose softly against yours and smiles when you softly gasp. He would do anything to hear that noise again.

Then his lips are against yours, so soft and featherlight.

A kiss.

Then there's another, but with slightly more pressure.

He's the one who licks across the seam of your lip; he's the first to hum as you open for him. His hands keep you secure, thumbs caressing your face as he pulls you closer.

Then you're in his lap. You rest your weight entirely on him, and you can feel his cock grow hard under you. When Eddie finally pulls away, his eyes are almost all black, and he looks at you like he wants to devour you.

"Please let me take you to bed?"

"Isn't that kind of fast?"

Eddie can't help but chuckle as he pulls you down wholly on top of him. He peppers your face with kisses as you giggle.

"You take your coffee with a touch of cream and 1 sugar. You absolutely HATE pickles; you won't even eat the fries that touch the pickle spear at Benny's. Your favorite relative is your Aunt Deb, and you would throw me into traffic for a chance with Jason Newsted."

Your jaw hits the floor as you rest your head against his chest. Even though he can't see the smile on your face, he knows it's there.

"You tell people you like your coffee black, but that's a lie. You like it with enough milk that it turns a light tan. You love pickles so much that you always eat the one off my plate. Uncle Wayne is your favorite person on the planet, and you would throw me into traffic for a chance with Lita Ford."

He pulls you up and claims your lips once more.

"It may be fast," he mumbles against your lips. "but I'm not freaked out. Are you?"

"The only thing I'm freaked out about is how good you are at kissing. Seriously, who knew Eddie Munson could kiss like this?"

"Let me take you to bed; there's a whole lot more I can show you, Sweetheart."

FtL: where both participants know that they've just had their last first kiss.