Asa holds Arkin up on a pedestal. In his eyes, Arkin is basically a God. He is everything good in the world, and Asa would do anything for Arkin

tmi: three’s a crowd - the collector & chromeskull

believe it or not slashers are capable of sharing - some are just better at it than others.

Asa Emory / The Collector & Jesse Cromeans / Chromeskull

although the two seem to have a lot in common, their personalities are almost exact opposites. Asa likes to have everything planned out while Jesse is more spontaneous. despite being mute, Jesse is a lot chattier and animated compared to Asa. it might seem like two very domineering figures would constantly be fighting to get the most control out of the relationship but they’re surprisingly very civil. they’re actually very fond of each other and are unlikely to fight over your attention. if anything, they’ve probably already synchronized their busy work schedules to spend time with you to ensure that you’re almost never alone.

still, this does not mean they're capable of keeping their jealousy in check. they’re mature about it (most of the time) but if one of them keeps you from the other for too long, things can get a little messy. of course, you don’t have to worry your pretty little head about it. they’ll settle it between themselves like responsible adults. (.i.e. getting into physical fights with each other or seeing who can add to their victim count the fastest.)

Jesse is more prone to it than he’d like to admit since he’s a busy man. Asa on the other hand, being an on-call exterminator, does not have a fixed schedule and is most likely the one who spends more time with you. this doesn’t mean that Asa is any less obsessed about you however, and he will express his disdain over Jesse’s tendency to take you out on impromptu dates without informing him first.

on the rare occasions that neither of them are busy, they would want to just stay at home. Asa is a homebody while Jesse is a bit of a workaholic so he rarely has time to just sit back and relax. cuddling up on the couch while watching tv is one of their favorites. usually it’s the gorey horror movies that Jesse always seems to have something smart to say about. (”that’s not realistic i’ve done that before” or “this guy’s an amateur.”) other times Asa puts on a documentary either about insects or something macabre and surprisingly, Jesse also seems fascinated by it.

these two are the most likely to teach you how to defend yourself given what they’ve gone through - Jesse being betrayed by Preston and Asa being tortured by Arkin. Asa would teach you how to set certain traps, how to command the dogs, handle throwing knives, etc. similarly Jesse would even have custom-made weapons for you and maybe take you to a shooting range to teach you how to use a gun. if you’re already capable of defending yourself, they’ll be a lot more lenient with leaving you by yourself or taking you to where they work.

Asa wouldn’t take you to the hotel even if you asked (this is if you haven’t started as his favorite in the first place.) so naturally, Jesse would most definitely take you there for a surprise visit. no matter how you react, Asa would be pissed that Jesse would take you there without his permission. afterwards though he decides to just might show you two around since you’re already there and all. if you’re not disturbed by this visit then you’ll find yourself spending more time there with Asa than at home. he’s very proud of his art, you see.

Jesse is a bit more reluctant. it’s not like he doesn’t want to show you off - it’s just that he no longer trusts his workers like he used to. you’ll only find yourself there if it’s an emergency or if it’s too risky to leave you at home alone. even then, Jesse limits the people who can actually be in the same room as you. you’ve found out later on that Asa has visited him there on multiple occasions, posing as a fellow cohort to keep tabs on Jesse’s workers. the two have already eliminated potential traitors because of this and it’s surprisingly efficient.

despite their murderous tendencies, the two are actually well-adapted to live the domestic life! Jesse is more prone to hiring other people to do chores/errands for him but since he’s not about to trust anyone anywhere near you or his home, he mostly learns through Asa. Asa pretty much lives a double life and he’s learned to be self-sufficient from a young age due to his past. he appreciates all the help he can get with the house chores but he’s a little sensitive about doing things a certain way. he also got very pissed at Jesse one time for not knowing how to work the washer/dryer despite being the one who bought it.

the only pets that they’ll allow you to “have” are Asa’s dogs. if Asa notices that you’re fond of them, he’ll introduce you. the canines are already familiar with Jesse, he rarely interacts with them unless he has to dog-sit. as much as Asa tries not to get attached due to the nature of his work, he tends to fail miserably since he trains the dogs himself. if you want to lend a hand he’ll be more than happy to indulge you. walking the dogs can be a fun little activity for the two of you. (and Jesse, if he can lower his ego enough to ask if he can tag along.)

ironically enough, these two are quite possibly the best at polyamory despite being two of the most violent and ruthless. this mostly has to do with their mutual desire to have a happy family of their own. they’re quite capable of seeing you as their actual spouse - an addictive taste of normalcy they wouldn’t have achieved through normal means. but since their morals are askew, they’re both very obsessive and prone to violence. they wouldn’t take lightly to being rejected or cheated on. these men are very distrusting enough as they are but make one wrong decision and it could go horribly wrong for you.

I don't know if I'm gonna make this into an OC or not but I need to info dump about an idea I had

So imagine if Asa Emory had like a partner in crime. Not so much of a s/o but more of an admirer. The person would be a photographer professor for a college (a different college if you're a firm believer of Asa being a college professor), and they love taking photos of macabre things. Obviously, they don't show their students, but their house is covered in gory, creepy photos. Well, Asa kidnaps them one night. The person, when they wake up, is obviously worried and scared at first, bc who wouldn't, but when they see Asa's collection of mutilated corpses, they become amazed. They can't stop looking at the bodies, itching to get their camera and take a photo and hang it on their walls. When Asa notices the person's interest, he also gets a bit interested. He ties them up somewhere so that they can watch him torture someone. The person, at first is a bit scared (they've never seen anyone die such a brutal death), but they still like how Asa mutilates the victim. When Asa is done, he unties the OC and let's them get near the corpse. I can imagine the OC awkwardly asking for a camera, which Asa surprisingly has. He gives them the camera and watches as they snap photo after photo of the mutilated body. They do it until the camera runs out of battery.

They roam the hotel just chatting. They're both not shy, per se, but both are introverted and prefer not to talk a lot, but the OC doesn't know sign language, so they're forced to verbally talk out loud. They learn about how they're both college professors and bond over having annoying students, and then about their interests (what Asa does and the photos the OC takes). Asa agrees to let them go and to bring them back, but he knocks them out beforehand so they won't know where the hotel is at. When he trusts them a bit more, he'll show them how to get to the hotel.

The two of them gets close eventually. In my head, they're not romantically involved, just really, really close. The OC has extremely bad abandonment issues (this is the part I thought the most about). They have a history of people either leaving them or obviously preferring someone over them. They've had multiple friendships drift apart bc the other person got close to someone else and stopped hanging out with the OC as much as they used to. The OC's own mother stopped being around as much to instead hang out with her friends, spending days at a time at her friends' house, barely even bothering to text or call the OC. So bc of all of that, they have issues with people being away from them for long. Obviously, sometimes the other person can't help it, which is understandable. But if it seemed like they are getting closer to someone else, then the OC will get really sad. They don't like being alone. They despise it.

When Asa is doing his thing in the hotel, the OC is like a little shadow. They follow him everywhere, staying silent. At first, Asa was a bit annoyed. He didn't like the idea of someone just watching him. But eventually, he gets used to it, and even expects it. It helped that the OC is quiet. They both might not talk a lot, but they enjoy the other's company.

I can imagine Asa getting obsessed with Arkin and the OC noticing and getting sad and mad. They want to push Asa away, but know that it would only make them sadder. So, they stick around Asa as he does whatever he does to Arkin. The OC just stays far away, watching with a frown on their face, thinking that once again, they're being abandoned.

Obviously, Asa notices how his shadow isn't right behind him. Everytime the OC tries to stay away, he grabs their hand and forces them to he closer, silently reassuring them that he's not leaving them.