User blog:Promestein/Starcross - Movie Night

Tonight, EQUINOX is going over to her girlfriend’s house. It’s been a while since she’s been there, as Alice seems to do her best to avoid having EQUINOX come into contact with her daughter. It’s not exactly hard to see why, as Venus is less than fond of her and is happy to voice this, but having them simply never come into contact isn’t really solving the problem. Alice had relented on this matter after a couple weeks of the occasional discussion regarding it, and now, EQUINOX finally gets to visit her again.

She prefers this much more to the alternative. EQUINOX’s apartment is sparsely furnished, messy, and not built for someone who’s eight feet tall. Her couch is too thin, her bed too short, and the ceiling too low. She’s not exactly drowning in money, so she can’t really fix these things without gouging her budget for the month. When it comes to Alice, though, money problems seem to be non-existent. Her house is more than big enough for herself, her daughter, and EQUINOX, and it’s really nice, too. EQUINOX also just prefers being the guest to the host - she doesn’t need to prepare much of anything, that way.

All she needs is her purse, and, for tonight, a horror movie, both of which are lying in the seat beside her as she rounds the corner to arrive at Alice’s house. It had taken some deliberation to settle on the night’s film, but EQUINOX ultimately settled with a classic - the original Friday the 13th. It’s not a very scary horror movie, but EQUINOX feels bad for making Alice sit through the scarier fare. Suspiria had Alice clutching to her like a child, Nightmare on Elm Street kept her up until five, and Phantasm somehow made her cry. EQUINOX still doesn’t quite get how that happened, considering Phantasm isn’t all that scary, but after that, the worst of all Alice’s reactions, mercy is necessary.

EQUINOX pulls into the driveway, trying to sneak a glance in through a window to see Alice or Venus. The lights are on, but they both elude her as she parks and exits her car. There, sitting in the dark, EQUINOX feels sudden anxiety pounding in her chest. Despite what she said and argued for before, she’s not exactly excited to have to deal with Venus again. She doesn’t hate the kid at all, and she’s tried her best to get Venus to like her, but nothing works. At most, Venus will simply tolerate her for a couple minutes, but she’s likely to do her best to start a fight. Hopefully tonight will be different.

With a sigh, EQUINOX opens the door, grabs her purse and the movie case, and steps outside, feeling a slight breeze blow through her hair. It’s a nice evening, and the Sun is already low in the sky, where EQUINOX likes it best. Sparing it a glance, EQUINOX walks up the steps to the front door, and, taking in a breath, rings the doorbell. After a few seconds, footsteps sound from inside the house, and then, with the clicks of two locks, the door opens inwards. EQUINOX looks down to see Venus, wearing a simple shirt and grass-stained jeans. There’s immediate tension between them, with Venus glaring through her bangs, but, a second later, Venus steps back and mumbles, “Hi. Mom’s cooking.”

EQUINOX steps inside, after her, caught a bit off-guard by her behavior. Alice must’ve lectured her. “Hey. It’s a nice night, isn’t it?” She tries to keep her voice light, but she can hear it, just as flat as ever, as she talks, and, on the inside, she kicks herself. Venus just shoots her an unimpressed glance and scurries off, up the stairs and into her room, without any delay. But EQUINOX has no time to feel weird about that, because there’s louder footsteps not too far away. “Alice, I’m here!”

“EQ!” She’s already on her way to the kitchen, and, when she rounds the corner and steps against the tile, Alice blindsides her with a hug, lifting her a good foot off the ground. EQUINOX can feel how strong she is in her arms, but she only focuses on that for a moment, as Alice has hugged her into her chest. And it’s not a short hug, either. “Oh, I missed you. I’m making kimchi stew! That’s one of your favorites, right? It’s coming out great so far, I’m excited! Oh, how was your day, EQ?”

EQUINOX is still dangling and still compressed into Alice’s chest. Her brain, after taking a second to process everything Alice has said, offers a simple response, which comes out, “Mpphhhhp.” After giggling at her plight, Alice sets her down and steps back, and EQUINOX is finally able to breathe again. Not that that had been one of her concerns at that time. “Hey, Alice. I missed you too. My day was fine, kinda boring, and…” she breathes in again. “... Wow, Dinner smells great. I’m excited too, then. How was your day?”

Alice whirls around, back to her cooking, while saying, “My day’s been nice, if kinda uneventful. But at a certain point, you grow to enjoy uneventful days, you know?” Now that she’s working in the kitchen, Alice has put her hair up into a ponytail, and she’s wearing an apron that proudly announces ‘#1 mom’. Venus had made it for her in school, and Alice took every opportunity to brag about this. “Anyways, unless you want to help me, you can go set up camp in the living room! It’ll be ready soon, babe.”

“I don’t want to get in the way,” EQUINOX holds up her hands and smiles, “so I’ll go wait. Venus won’t be eating with us today?”

Shaking her head, Alice says, “She’s got a lot of homework, and she said she wants to stay up in her room and eat while she finishes it up.”

“Alright. Oh, you know it’s a horror movie tonight, right?” EQUINOX holds up her copy of Friday the 13th, just to make sure.

With a dramatic sigh, Alice turns her head and grimaces, but the expression is harmless, exaggerated. “Yes. How could I forget? I hope this one won’t be so existentially dreadful.”

EQUINOX chuckles. “No, no. I’ve learned from my mistake. This one’s silly, and I wouldn’t say it’s scary at all. It’s more gory. It’s the original Friday the 13th! You know, with Jason?”

There’s the light of recognition in Alice’s eyes, and she nods, before returning her attention to dinner. “Thanks for taking it easy on me, babe, but I think I’m still going to have to hide my face if this one’s going to be gory.”

“You just want an excuse to put your face in my chest.”

“You know me too well. It’s the only reason I watch these things. Well,” Alice brushes a lock of hair from her face, “that, and because it makes you so happy it becomes well worth it.”

With an embarrassingly big, genuine smile, EQUINOX exits the kitchen and finds her way to the living room, where Alice has set up quite the elaborate home theater. Yet another reason EQUINOX prefers it here to her house. She sits down on the couch, which is so large she couldn’t fit it in her house, and just the right size for Alice to lie down on. That height of hers may contribute to how attractive she is, but man, does it seem like a curse to build around. EQUINOX promptly makes herself comfortable, sinking into the sofa before she remembers that she has to prepare, and, with a grumble, she gets up to make sure the television’s all ready to go once Alice comes with food.

Alice was right, of course, when she said it’ll be ready soon, and, after only a few minutes, she calls out, “Dinner’s ready! Venus! EQ!” Her voice, strong and loud, rings through the house, and even though Venus is on the second floor, EQUINOX is certain she’s heard her. Indeed, as EQUINOX retrieves her own piping hot bowl, Venus sulks down the steps and shoots her a glare. But the sourness on her face fades as she rushes over to take her share, stopping by to give Alice a small hug. “Thanks, hon. Enjoy!” Alice pats her head, and Venus takes her portion and runs back upstairs.

While Alice prepares beverages for the both of them, EQUINOX takes her seat on the couch, plate on the glass tabletop in front of her, bouncing her knee in anticipation. Watching horror movies with Alice is always delightful. Her reactions to everything are so extreme, and she always gets scared so easily, giving EQUINOX every chance to be brave and gentle. It’s so satisfying, an experience so full and so special that EQUINOX treasures it like she treasures little else in the world. And, to make tonight even better, she gets to eat Alice’s cooking! It’s as delicious as ever, and EQUINOX simply enjoys it for a couple minutes.

A tall glass of coke is placed down on the table, next to her, and, in a dry voice, Alice says, “Alright, let’s see how much sleep you can take from me tonight.” EQUINOX looks up, to Alice, who’s put her hair down and ditched the apron, revealing a simple white tank top and a beautiful, baby blue pleated skirt that goes down to her knees. She must’ve went to her room quickly, as she’s added a pair of white tights to the outfit, too. EQUINOX tries not to stare, and Alice smiles down at her.

Then, without delay, Alice sits down beside her with her own serving of dinner, and after spooning a portion into her mouth, of which she seems to approve, she leans in against her, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I love you,” she says, voice almost a whisper.

Rubbing the wetness on her cheek away, EQUINOX murmurs back, “I love you too.” After clearing her throat, she says, in a louder, more confident tone, “Let’s begin! Now, this beginning’s pretty far from ‘scary’, so you don’t have to worry about losing your appetite this time.”

Alice grunts. “Don’t remind me.” The Texas Chain Saw Massacre had not agreed with Alice’s stomach. She hadn’t vomited, but she hadn’t finished her own dinner, either. EQUINOX can’t blame her. And with that, the movie begins, panning down from a shot of the moon to look upon Camp Crystal Lake, circa 1958. Alice quietly eats for the opening scene, speaking up only to say, “The first-person perspective’s a lot like Halloween, huh? When was this? 1980?”

“Yeah, 1980. Two years after Halloween.” Another movie EQUINOX had introduced to Alice, and one of her favorites. Alice had found it extraordinarily haunting. Now, she just nods, and keeps on watching.

Once the two camp counselors wander off with one another, she snorts, shaking her head. “Dumb kids. They should know better than to be horny in a slasher. Now they’re both going to die.” Of course, she’s proved correct only minutes later, with the first kills of the Friday the 13th franchise. They’re both hilariously underwhelming, and even Alice, who had been slowly growing tense next to EQUINOX as the voyeuristic camera crept up on them, couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that… is that it? Just a freeze frame and a zoom-in? No gore? That’s fucking incredible.”

EQUINOX smiles at her, shaking her head, knowing that even if this movie may not be all that scary, that it’d still get Alice, sooner or later. It’s nice to see her having fun, though. Very nice. And it’s all the nicer, knowing that, by the end of the night, Alice will have her face wedged in her chest, whining about all the gore and blood and decapitations. What a baby.

The movies goes on normally, with Alice occasionally speaking up to mock some aspect of the film or try and show off her newfound understanding of the horror genre’s cliches. Friday the 13th isn’t wanting when it comes to weird shit, too, with people like Crazy Ralph. Quite a bit in, once Annie’s in the jeep with a certain mysterious figure, Alice mumbles, “I thought Annie was gonna be the final girl, but with the perspective like that she’s definitely dead. Also, I didn’t know Jason could drive. Since when could Jason drive?”

“Oh, this isn’t Jason. This is his mother. Mrs. Pamela Voorhees. She can drive. I don’t think Jason can. Anyways, this kill will actually be kinda gory,” EQUINOX pats Alice’s shoulder, “so you should be ready to hide, if you want.”

Alice taps her fingers against the couch and puts down her now empty bowl. “Pamela, huh. And no. It’s fine. I’m strong. I’ve seen plenty of gore in real life. So this will be nothing.” She says all of this, as if boasting, but EQUINOX can feel how tense she is just from rubbing her shoulder.

“Well, okay, but…” Dramatically, EQUINOX slides down to lie on the couch, in a spooning position, already prepared to hold Alice through the horror that is to come. “Whenever you’re tired of playing tough, I’ll be here.” Alice shoots a glare at her, and stubbornly sits through the movie all on her own, as Annie jumps from the Jeep and runs off into the woods, all ready to get murdered.

And she sure does get murdered. Pamela slits her throat and simply walks away, leaving her to slide down a tree trunk and die. Alice groans, raising a hand to cover her face. “Uuuugh. You could see the inside of her neck. That’s so baaaaad,” she whines, slumping over onto the couch and taking her position. EQUINOX wastes no time in wrapping her arms around her midsection, and Alice grumbles. “Don’t be so smug. I’m just playing along.”

“Mm. Sure you are. You’re a big girl.”

“I AM! I’m eight feet tall!”

And with that, the meat of any slasher movie begins. Not killing, no, but sitting around, anxiously waiting to see some stupid bastard die. And this one really makes the two of them wait. “... That’s the final girl? Alice? Her… her name is Alice? Is this a sick joke? Goddammit,” Alice huffs, turning her head slightly to glower at EQUINOX.

“I’m sorry!” EQUINOX kisses her cheek to make it up to her, but Alice turns back away, shaking her head and grumbling, harmlessly. She’s draped a hand over EQUINOX’s wrist, now, gently stroking her skin in between their conversation.

“At least she’s the final girl. That means she won’t die.” EQUINOX manages to stop herself from giggling at Alice’s poor, sweet ignorance. There’s not a whole lot going on, except for this scene with the snake, and oh god fuck. “Aw, look at the snake! Oh, it’s so cute! You never told me there was a snake in this!” Alice, obliviously, claps her hands together in delight, and EQUINOX suddenly feels nauseated by guilt. This is going to be worse than Phantasm. Oh fuck. “What species is that? Is that a garter snake? Don’t be such a baby, Alice! You’re disappointing me! I’m ashamed to share your name! It’s harmless!”

EQUINOX rubs her eyes. “You may want to turn around and hide.”

“Wha… oh, fuck, no. You bastards!” Alice immediately turns around, shoving her face into EQUINOX’s chest. “I thought only people were gonna die in this movie, not a poor, innocent snake! That’s awful!” EQUINOX decides not to tell her it’s a real snake and it’s really going to die, as the idiots onscreen make a mess of the cabin. “I wanna go hold Dolly after this,” she mutters, rubbing her face into EQUINOX’s chest, “Those sons of bitches. Fuck Alice, actually. She better die.” There’s a thwack on screen, and even EQUINOX looks away, with the knowledge that an actual, real snake just died.

On screen, Marcie says, “Well, I guess we know what’s for dinner.”

Alice groans, but mumbles, “They better eat it. Otherwise they’d have killed it for nothing. Snake’s not that bad, either. I’m gonna go get Dolly once this is done, I swear. I’m gonna spoil her.” Even though the scene is done and everything is moving on, Alice’s face is still wedged in EQUINOX’s chest. It’s only after EQUINOX pats her head expectantly that Alice turns back around, grumbling to herself. And, from then on, the movie is a lot easier to handle. Mostly because no more actual living snakes get decapitated.

The next onscreen kill is a while later, since this movie isn’t exactly paced well, and this time, it’s… “That’s Kevin Bacon,” Alice mutters, leaning in to get a better look, “and he’s totally gonna die. See you in hell, Bacon.” Immediately afterwards, she turns around. By this point, she understands. If sex gets interrupted, both of the participants will die.

“This one’s really good,” EQUINOX says, gently stroking Alice’s hair as she watches, with some satisfaction, as the arrow rises up through Bacon’s throat from beneath the bed. “It’s iconic. Pamela was waiting under the bed, and she kills him by stabbing an arrow through the back of his neck. There’s some really cool blood spurts.”

“Shuuuuuuuut upppppppppp.”

“Yes, sorry, sorry. I can’t help myself. This one’s just so cool. His girlfriend’s gonna bite it pretty soon too, so stay there. She’s getting an axe to the head.”

“Cool!”

It is really cool. Solid effects. “Tom Savini did the effects in this. It really propelled his career. The guy’s a legend.” Alice groans again, and sluggishly turns around as the scene comes to a close. EQUINOX is slowly remembering more of the movie, and, rubbing her back, says, “The next few kills are pretty harmless. Nothing big. You won’t have to turn away.”

“If you say so.”

EQUINOX is right, of course, but only mostly, as she knows that the arrow door kill is coming up soon, but once that begins to roll around as the movie intensifies, she taps Alice’s shoulder and Alice turns, returning her face to its rightful place. This kill’s another great one, even if the logistics of it are a bit confusing. Was he killed and pinned to the door by the arrows simultaneously? Or was his dead body pinned there? Both would’ve taken quite a lot of effort, so Pamela must be a stickler for a good presentation. EQUINOX can respect that.

“Alright, we’re gonna get a fight scene soon. An old woman getting beaten up by a camp counselor. This one’s good.”

Alice rolls back over, grumbling. “If you wanted to watch a fight scene, I have a bunch of martial arts movies. Wheels on Meals is good. It has this one AMAZING fight. Much better than these two hags.”

“Maybe we can watch that tomorrow night.”

Alice perks up immediately. “Oh, does that mean you’re staying over?”

“Yeah, I don’t see why not.”

“Nice. Does that mean -”

EQUINOX nudges her. “Alice. Focus on the movie.”

“Uggggggghhhhh. Fiiiiiine, mom.”

The fight scene really is incredible. It’s amazing how a slasher can have such an easy time killing teenagers one after the other, only to completely fail to kill the last. To be fair, none of the others hit Pamela in the crotch with a rifle. “Ouch,” Alice winces. “She should’ve taken the shot, though. What an opening. This Alice is tarnishing my reputation.”

“It’s because a better kill than some lame old gunshot is coming up.”

“Oh boy. Please do warn me when that rolls around.”

EQUINOX chuckles. “Yeah. I will.” The fight scene kinda drags on, but Alice still seems plenty tense despite all that. Once it reaches the final stage, with Pamela approaching Alice on the shore of the beach, EQUINOX says, “Alright, now. Heads up. Wicked decapitation scene coming up.” She giggles at her own stupid pun, and Alice, sighing, shoves her face into her chest.

EQUINOX, though, keeps her eyes fixed on the screen. It’s another scene that’s just a little silly, with the unnecessary slowdown as Alice rushes at Pamela with the machete and chops off her head, leaving her stump of a neck exposed, spine jutting out. She raises her hands, gesticulating wildly, as she falls to the ground. “There, it’s done.”

Alice turns back over, sighing. “Okay, thank god. And… now she’s just going out onto the lake? … Why? Why? What’s there for her on the lake? Why doesn’t she just run further into the camp? If Pamela’s head’s gone, that’s it. No more danger. What is she doing?” EQUINOX smirks to herself as the final, iconic scene begins. “Alice, you’re a moron! Just go back to your cabin, you idio -” Suddenly, with a swell of strings, Jason bursts from the water and drags poor Alice Hardy under, and Alice Kang screams, pushing herself back with such intensity that EQUINOX catches an elbow in her stomach.

“Oh, god! Fuck! Jesus! What the fuc -” And then, movie Alice wakes up screaming, and the real Alice suddenly stops her movements, staring at the screen in shock and confusion. EQUINOX starts giggling, ignoring the pain in her stomach, and then starts cackling, and Alice sits up and whirls around to glare at her. “Don’t laugh at me! That’s unfair! You didn’t warn me that time! That’s so mean!”

Laughing so hard she can’t breathe, EQUINOX can’t respond, either, rolling around on the couch and nearly pushing her glasses off her face against the cushions. “Ohhh my godddddd. That was - that was so worth it! Ahahahaha! The look on your face!”

“EQQQQQQQQ!” Alice shoves her, playfully, and then pouts. “You’re so mean to me! I can’t believe you. And it was just all a dream, huh? What the FUCK!” EQUINOX, still laughing, pats her back, and Alice huffs. “You’re a cruel woman, EQUINOX. You better make it up to me tonight, otherwise I’ll never forgive you for this.”

“Ohhhhhhh noooooooo,” EQUINOX teases, wrapping her arms around her waist, “The horror. Of course I’ll make it up to you. I’m sorry for not warning you, but that ending is just so iconic. I couldn’t ruin it. And I wanted your reaction.”

Alice huffs, turning her head and pretending to ignore her. “Hag.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“... You’re making mom watch scary movies, again?” Venus’ voice cuts in from the stairs, and she looks down on them, glaring at EQUINOX with a look of disapproval on her face. “You’re going to give her nightmares.”

“Venus, it’s fine,” Alice waves her off. “This one wasn’t that bad. I’ll be sleeping fine tonight, as long as I have EQUINOX here to keep me company.” To emphasize this point, Alice wraps her arms around EQUINOX and hugs her tight. From this hug, EQUINOX can see Venus stick her tongue out at her and make a retching motion before she crawls back up the stairs to her room.

Pulling away, EQUINOX mutters, “She still hates me,” even though she knows it’ll instantly bring down the mood. Alice deflates. “Probably not a good idea to show me off like that.”

“I want to show you off,” Alice mumbles, running a hand through her hair. “She’ll have to get used to you eventually. Um,” her hand freezes, and she looks away. “I mean. So long as you still want to, uh… stick around…”

EQUINOX sighs and shakes her head, offering a small smile. “I’ve told you this a thousand times. I’m here for the long haul. It’ll take more than that to discourage me. I’ll find a way to get her to like me.”

“Yeah. I hope so. Thanks.” Alice smiles back, and then leans in and gives her a real kiss, on the lips, gently pushing her down against the couch. It only lasts a few seconds, and Alice pulls away to side-eye the bowls still on the table. “I’ll clean up.”

“I’ll help,” EQUINOX awkwardly disengages herself from under Alice, almost rolling off the couch before she manages to catch herself and pick up her dishes. Alice stands up next, taking her own share, and the two of them walk to the kitchen, quietly, warmly talking to one another.

“So. Wheels on Meals. Jackie Chan. Sammo Hung. Benny Urquidez. You’ll love it.”

EQUINOX smiles at her, and, once their dishes are in the dishwasher, worms a hand into hers. “I’m looking forward to it.”