#jack x parse

[eowynstwin]

clawing at the door

ghoap x reader. jealousy. bisexual soap. bisexual ghost. emotionally constipated ghost. manipulative soap. ghost likes em thick. lightly explicit. MDNI. ao3

When Ghost first sees you and Soap together, his jealousy is hard to parse. He doesn't quite understand what he's feeling.

On the one hand, Occam's Razor. Simple explanations usually prove the truest. Soap is his boy, has been since Las Almas, and you are an interloper in their hard-won dynamic. Ghost does not absorb others into his life lightly, even less so then he allows them to strongarm themselves beneath the mask. He doesn't particularly like people, isn't really fond of their tendency toward abject mortality.

Soap's strong arms are a rare exception. And Ghost has nearly died too many times not to admire a nice round ass when he sees one—the kind that glistens and quivers beneath the weak spray of a communal shower. Some part of him has always kind of supposed the sergeant had been showing off specifically for him, too, when he dropped trousers and moaned like a whore when the hot water started flowing.

The boy certainly dogs his steps like that's the case.

Then, you: showing up on base one day, Soap's hand spread wide and possessive on the small of your back. Jewel-bright eyes following your every move. Blush high and feverish on his boy's cheekbones every time you throw half a smile his way.

So it's envy. So it's a crush, unrequited.

Simple problem, simple solution. Getting over by getting under and all that. There are apps for every heartache, and plenty of hard-bodied gym rats out there tripping over themselves to bottom for a brute like him, who can actually throw them around.

Not two minutes after making his profile (military, six-five, top), likely candidates start filing themselves into his inbox. Some part of his ego is gratified, at least. The influx of taint pics certainly confirms for him that his vanity, in fact, is justified, even if the last thing he wants to see is some random stranger's asshole.

He messages a jacked brunette with brown eyes and dimples, who led instead with a comparatively tame "hey big guy," and lets him pick the bar where they'll meet up.

And it's...fine.

The guy is fine. Equally as attractive in person as on camera, with curly hair and short stubble. He's there before Ghost, and directs an easygoing smile at him when he drops onto a stool at the bar beside him.

He doesn't even question the mask, though his eyes linger on it, half-lidded, the kind of way that suggests he's figuring something out about himself that he hadn't considered before. Not the first time it's happened for Ghost.

The problem with fine is that Ghost can't work up even much of a chub talking to him. The guy has a nasally voice and a friendly attitude that makes Ghost's teeth go numb from the sweetness. When they sequester in the dingy pub bathroom, the guy goes to his knees like an angel, and Ghost's cock actually softens more, thoroughly bored already with the notion of this random guy’s mouth on it.

The problem is, Soap would bust Ghost's balls for this.

Sure, Ghost could get him on his knees. Soap is a good boy, he'll take an order if he's given one. But he's also a fucking brat, and the moment Ghost pulled his cock out Soap would immediately start complaining about it.

Too big, too ugly, not hard enough, and when was the last time Ghost washed that fucking thing? How romantic, LT, making him suck Ghost off in a pub bathroom, hasn't he ever heard of good old-fashioned wooing?

He'd complain, Ghost knows, because he'd want, more than anything, for Ghost to just cut through the bullshit and shove straight down his throat. He'd run his mouth because the only thing he wants Ghost to do is shut him the fuck up, for once, and make him actually work for the praise they both know he's so desperate for.

And Ghost would give it. If Soap earned it. The fight isn't about winning.

This guy isn't putting up a fight. He tries nicely, licks all over the limp-hanging head and pale glans, but Ghost ends up making some excuse—Dad has cancer, Mom died, the usual—and leaving him there still on his knees.

He deletes the apps. He can invest in a fleshlight, and find some porn star another with enough of a resemblance to be functional.

Less of a hassle for everyone involved.

Problem solved.

And then he encounters you again.

You're walking out of the supermarket one night, with two huge bags over your shoulders, digging through your purse out in front of you. He has to stop you with one hand on your shoulder to keep you from running into him.

The evening is warm; your shirt is a thin camisole with little elastic straps. His palm meets your bare skin, and finds it soft and dewy with a little sweat.

You look up, startled, blinking as if caught in a bright light.

"Oh," you say, "Ghost, hello!"

"Bird," he grunts, wondering why he's surprised that you recognize him.

He pulls his hand away, and still feels the imprint of your body heat in its grooves.

"Sorry, I should have been looking," you say, smiling. It's a friendly expression, open and innocent—a daisy's petals spread on a clear day. "Johnny's making beef wellington tonight when he's off duty, so I went and got everything."

Ghost frowns. What kind of boyfriend lets his girl do so much heavy lifting?

He helps you carry the bags to your car. He's jealous, not an asshole. You thank him with a breezy laugh when he closes the hatchback—

"I'm sure Johnny wouldn't mind if you stopped by for dinner," you say, folding your arms across your ribcage. It presses your tits together as you cup your elbows in your hands, pronouncing the line of your cleavage with an uncomfortable eloquence.

"Busy," Ghost says immediately, staring very hard into your eyes. "Thanks."

You shrug, unperturbed. "Anytime. Good night!"

He stands in the carpark for a full five minutes after you drive away. He thinks he can feel his own heartbeat throbbing through the palm he touched you with.

Well, then.

Bereft of any opportunity to get to know you—as if it would even be appropriate—Ghost stalks social media until he finds you through Soap's Instagram. Your account is private, so he sends a follow request, expectations very low that you'd allow someone with a blank sky for a profile picture and only one post on their feed to follow you, "sghostriley" notwithstanding.

But—you do. And suddenly he has a decade of material to peruse, beginning with your last year of secondary school and leading all the way up to present, the most recent photo one of you and Soap at the top of some mountain, grinning at the camera in your hiking gear.

You don't post very many pictures of yourself, he finds. Instead you document interesting food you eat or make, crafts you're working on, nice scenery you caption with variations of "saw this on my walk today :)". It's all very domestic, sweet in a way without being saccharine.

Soft, really. Totally separated from the hard edges of the world he and Soap routinely throw themselves along.

And yet, honest in a way that makes your version of the world feel more like the real one, and his and Soap’s the nightmare.

Ghost hasn't been with a girl—let alone been interested in one—in years. It isn't that the attraction had ever died, exactly. Rather, it simply became so complex, so twisted in on itself and trapped beneath years of grown-over scar tissue, that he'd made an unconscious decision never to confront it. He ignored Price’s stories about his wife’s antics at home, Gaz’s perennial heartbreak after strings of failed dates—

Soap’s lurid bragging about the women he’s taken home from various pubs.

(Were you one of those pub girls?)

So, here it is now, confronting him instead. Reminding him, in a pretty camisole, just how very much it exists.

In the carpark, there’d been a bead of sweat slipping down your neck as you’d waved him goodbye. He finds himself wondering how long it would’ve taken to slide all the way down to the slope of your breast, if he didn’t catch it with his tongue first.

He continues through your Instagram. The majority of your selfies show up, he guesses, after the beginning of your relationship with Soap.

Earlier pictures of you make your discomfort obvious. You don't like the way you look, and it shows in the tension on your face when confronted with a camera lens. But later on, you gain confidence. Your expressions are softer as you show off a new haircut or glasses.

And when the first picture of you with Soap shows up, it's like seeing someone glowing from the inside.

Your head is tucked into the juncture of his shoulder and neck. The smile on your face is soft, small and lovely in how little you're clearly thinking about it.

You're happy.

It floors him. A happy girl, settled into the embrace of a man who’s made her feel that way.

Piece of work, he is. Could ogle another man's ass without shame, but present him with that man’s girl and suddenly it upends his entire sense of self.

Some old cunt psychiatrist would have a field day analyzing him.

Ghost skips the apps and, following in Soap’s footsteps, heads back to the pubs.

It’s worse.

Not that he doesn’t have options sidling up to him, that is. It seems like all he has to do is sit at the bar and wait, and women circle their way into his orbit, not really talking to him but letting him know, simply by hovering, that they’d love for him to talk to them. Batting their lashes, laughing near him seemingly at nothing.

Up to him to make the first move then. It seems to him like the rules haven't changed over his long absence from the dating pool.

Therein lay the snag—Ghost doesn't know how to talk to women. Not that way, the way one says without saying it that he'd like to take her home and bend her over the back of his couch. Say that to a man at the right bar and that was his evening sorted, but Ghost has a feeling that won't play as well among people with cat-shaped brass knuckles on their keychains.

He's not much of a talker, period. Soap yaps enough to fill in his side of the conversation whenever they're in the field. And you...well, he doesn't know about you. Ghost has the uncomfortable feeling that he'd try for you, and fail miserably.

The bartender slides a drink in front of him, distracting him from his agonizing. When Ghost gives him a questioning look, he nods in the direction of a table behind him.

One of the barflies has made the first move.

She winks at him when he raises the glass at her. She’s pretty—her dark makeup makes her eyes look angular and mysterious, and her red dress is tight, thin, and low-cut. Her exposed chest shimmers, as if she dusted some sort of powder across her collarbones before making her way here.

Sparkly and colorful, like a lure on a line. Ready to hook something and pull it in.

(Your camisole had been threadbare and lined with cheap, fraying lace. A favorite of yours, probably, something you wore when you wanted to be comfortable, and didn’t care who thought what about it.)

Ghost notices other men are eyeing the woman, and a couple of them send nasty glares his way. That is, they do before promptly averting their gazes once they see what he looks like.

He can have this, then, if he wants it. He just has to reach out and take it.

He feels your warmth in the palm of his hand again. The breeze of your laugh brushes his cheek with a soft touch.

He sends the woman one of her own drink, drops forty quid on the bar, and leaves without looking back.

Another dinner invite comes his way, this time courtesy of Soap himself.

“She told me she met you at the store,” Soap says, one afternoon when they’re in the changing room. “Really nice of you to help her out, LT.”

“You weren’t there to do it,” Ghost grumbles. Soap has been prancing around shirtless for fifteen minutes, faffing about while Ghost waits for him to leave so he can adjust his erection.

“I didn’t tell her to get everything!” the sergeant protests. “She just went and did it herself.” Then Soap’s eyes go all dreamy and stupid. “She’s grand, isn’t she.”

Ghost grumbles again, something noncommittal.

“Anyway, dinner’s at seven, and I’ll send you the address,” says Soap, pulling a thin t-shirt over his head. Ghosts watches him yank the hem down over his pecs, covering the toned plane of his abs.

Soap winks at him. “See you there, Ghost.”

Ghost grunts.

Soap does, in fact, see him there.

He goes out of resignation. Or maybe with some notion that seeing Soap and you together again will finally vanquish whatever sits on his chest so heavily whenever he thinks of the two of you.

Soap’s the one to answer the door. “There he is, the braw wee bastard!”

“Soap.”

From the looks of it, it’s your flat. It’s nicely decorated without being too over-designed, something warm and comfortable and welcoming. When Ghost steps inside, he’s hit immediately with the smell of seared pancetta and garlic.

The sergeant leads him through the flat. Ghost has a bottle of wine under one arm, having remembered at the last minute he should probably bring something along. You’re in the kitchen, stirring a pot on the stove.

“Hi, Ghost!” you chirp when you look over your shoulder. “Ooh, good, that’s drinks settled. Hope you like bolognese. It’s all I know how to make.”

“S’fine,” Ghost says, which he would say even if bolognese made him violently ill.

“Ach, you can make more than that,” Soap says, retrieving three long-stemmed glasses from a cabinet. “Pour a nice glass of water.”

You snatch the dish towel hanging from the oven handle and give it a snap in the general direction of Soap’s ass. He laughs and dances out of the way.

“There’s a bottle opener in the island drawer, Ghost,” you say cheerfully. You're pretty tonight, in a loose t-shirt and soft-looking joggers. Casual, like you don't have a guest over at all.

Like it's just a night in with your boyfriend.

Ghost pops the cork as Soap sets the glasses down. After he pours, the sergeant delivers a glass to his girlfriend, and there’s a brief moment of quiet as everyone sips and the sauce on the stove bubbles.

It’s all so nice and normal as to make Ghost’s hackles raise just in anticipation, although he knows there’s no reason for it. Truthfully, he almost hadn’t come. The thought of you and Soap, and Soap and you, in the same room, together, a unit, had made his stomach clench up so tight that he though he might not be able to get any food down.

But some part of him needed to come, and see this. Test out Pavlov’s theory, to see if enough negative reinforcement could break him of this borderline manic fixation. If he could associate Soap and you with romantic nausea, and nothing more, maybe he could finally stop jerking off every night to no satisfaction.

Because he had, in fact, found a porn star who looked like Soap. More tattoos, and a buzz cut rather than a mohawk, but Ghost couldn’t be picky.

The real shock had been to find that this proxy often partnered with a girl who looked enough like you to be uncanny. Too skinny, definitely, but in the one video Ghost had watched of them together, he could have sworn, as the lookalike reamed her from behind—

That it was you looking at him over your shoulder.

Looking at Soap. Or, looking at Ghost, behind him.

At that moment in the playback Ghost had come so hard, cock blazing red and raw in his hand, that the notion had liquified a little. So he couldn’t be sure what the thought had originally meant.

He hadn’t been brave enough to watch another.

“This isn’t bad,” Soap says after tasting the wine. “Nothin’ on a good whisky, mind.”

“Don’t neg your lieutenant, Johnny,” you say. “This is good, Ghost, thank you.”

Hearing Johnny fall from your lips so casually threads something uncomfortable between Ghost’s intestines. Uncomfortable, because he likes it.

Had Soap told you to call him that? Or had you decided on it all on your own? Did Soap think of Ghost whenever you said his name? Did he think of you whenever Ghost did?

“Simon’s fine,” he replies.

It escapes him before he even thinks about it. The same way he’d taken his mask off in Las Almas and looked directly at Soap, wondering in some hidden part of himself if the sergeant was impressed.

“That’s a nice name,” you say, swirling the wine in your glass. You take another sip, closing your eyes to savor it, and then, tilting your head like a little bird in thought, you pour a stream of it from the glass into your pasta sauce.

“Suits him, aye?” Soap says, side-eyeing Ghost with amusement. “Right posh name he’s got for a big scary bugger. Hidden depths, him.”

“Yeah, unlike you,” you snark, stirring.

Soap slaps a big hand over his heart. “Ach, lass, you wound me always.”

“Someone has to keep you humble,” you say, grinning. There’s a charming twinkle in your eyes.

“You gonna let ‘er get away with that, sergeant?”

He surprises himself by saying it. But something in the way you and Soap bicker—absent of the usual sugary drivel, as if the two of you have skipped over the honeymoon phase and stuck the landing right into stable commitment—invites him in.

It's magnetic, almost. It seizes the spinning needle in his brain, draws it to a standstill. Evens out the landscape, so he knows where he can go.

“You’re absolutely right, LT,” says Soap, who smacks his lips, sets his wineglass aside, and bum-rushes you.

You shriek as he captures you in both arms, lifting you off the floor and whirling you around—both the spoon in one hand and the glass in the other fling drops of red and white absolutely everywhere. And then you’re giggling as Soap wedges his face between your neck and shoulder and shakes his head like a dog, probably biting down.

Soap growls; a big smile takes over your face, eyes squeezed shut as you laugh breathlessly. The sergeant’s broad, brown forearms have yours pinned up against your chest, pressing your breasts together.

“Not fair, Ghost!” you exclaim as Soap’s growling noises turn into obnoxiously loud kisses. “No pulling rank in my house!”

“Two against one, hen, you’re outnumbered,” Soap counters. “What should we do with this one, eh, LT?”

“See if I ever cook for you two again, is what!” you protest, still grinning with delight. You kick your legs to no effect.

Soap, also grinning, slots his face back into your neck. You giggle again, complaining that it tickles.

Some incomplete circuit finally connects.

Order given. Girlfriend “punished.”

Soap making you laugh because Ghost told him to.

Not one. Not the other. Both.

“Think we can let ‘er off the hook this time,” he says, feeling dazed.

The pictures on your Instagram, with you and Soap together. The both of you, smiling together, wrapped around each other, standing at the top of a mountain and grinning what the two of you get to share.

Soap's hand spread on your back.

“Aye, sir,” Soap says, setting you down. You’re still laughing a little as you go to check the sauce, and Soap finds a towel to clean up the mess he made. Ghost reels in the meanwhile.

There’s an imprint of Soap’s teeth on your neck.

They wouldn’t be there if Ghost hadn’t sicced Soap on you.

He’s still reeling as you begin plating dinner, and Soap sets out the silverware. When everyone sits down to eat, the sergeant tops up everyone’s drinks.

“I hope you like it,” you say to Ghost, setting his plate in front of him. There's a shyness to you, a verity to your concern for his opinion.

“Oh, he will,” Soap says.

He trails the tips of his fingers along the back of your arm as he directs that jewel-blue gaze at Ghost. It's sharper than Ghost has ever noticed before—

“The LT has good taste. Don’t you, Ghost?”

And with his other hand, he raises his glass to the knowing smirk on his lips.

a/n: I can't use arse, I know it would be more accurate but I just can't I'm sorry

[aristocrating]

artists the check please gang are listening to in 2024 probably

bitty: chappell roan, and beyoncé obvs

jack: orville peck, but also probably caroline polachek bc he's a soft soul like that

shitty: st vincent, and keeps trying to get lardo to get into her too

holster: sabrina carpenter (ransom: babe whats wrong you haven't said That's That Me Espresso all day), and probably ariana grande because he's overinvested in the whole relationship drama of it all

dex: Everything Everything, who nursey keeps reminding him no one has ever heard of

nursey: allie x, dorian electra or chrissy chlapecka, depending on whether he's depressed, energized or horny

chowder: dua lipa ONLY because he saw the shark fin on the cover of Radical Optimism and then got hooked. farmer only smiled and bought them concert tickets

parse: charli xcx, and threw a Brat release party to the continued bemusement of the rest of the aces

[nonnieapple]

okay i'm really curious, what would it be like to date a hypogean and a celestial at the same time? it could be any of the celestials/hypogeans, really, but i'm specifically curious about phraesto and dionel. would they even be able to tolerate each other for merlin's sake, or is there that inevitable scenario where they always end up at each other's necks?

i also find it kinda funny that they're both similar in their own ways-- both are lazy, both have vices (dionel's drinking and phraesto's smoking), both engage in the arts or literature in some form. how would that fare for merlin?

n o t e: this isn't really a request, it's more of a question, or if it was meant as a request you should've followed my template because i'll answer in a more casual, conversational way (using second person as i do).

🌧️ navigation

⛈️⚡️Freeform Hypogean & Celestial x g/n!Reader Headcanons, Rating: Mature. ⚡️⛈️

Well, wild thing to start off with, threesomes would be interesting if you manage to survive. And I doubt you could. Phaestro and Dionel are quite similar in some regards, but while Dionel is chill and social, Phaestro is more closed off and doesn't speak to many people except for when he tries to "Hallucinations be upon ye" an innocent person. You'd have to keep him on a metaphorical leash.

You see, I don't think they'd show OUTRIGHT agression. Dionel isn't the type and Phaestro is more the type to yap and monologue endlessly at someone, just talking at them. For your sake I think Dionel would take it but would complain when Mr. Pesto is out of earshot. If Phaestro tried to fight Dionel he'd brush him off. Phaestro is trigger happy with his magic so Dionel miiight have to pull you out of a daze at times. It might escalate to threats from Dionel. They'll never be shit like "I'll rip out your throat", they're way more subtle, again, he's a master of passive aggression. Truly an inspiration to mothers everywhere.

Both would always ask why you even like the other. If you tell them they're alike, you better prepare for a rant for why they're TOTALLLLYYYYYY different and like not at all similar, nah, for sure not similar...

If it's any other combination... oh boy. If it's Scarlita and mf Berial they'll be chasing each other like Tom and Jerry, that one would be near impossible to handle. One is a jester from the depths of the abyss and another a robot from the heavens- neither understand jack squat about humanity unlike the hunk duo. Being around them is like stepping into another world. Despite being "good" Scarlita is cold, and Berial is warmer and "evil". They balance each other out and... make each other so, so much worse? I don't think it's impossible for them to get along. They could form a kind of frenemies thing. I can see it.

Same thing with Reinier and Talene. Shit's gonna get realllyyy interesting. They have their strong values in common. Problem is those values are opposite. They view everything through strange eyes you can't quite parse, one striving for good as in purity, acceptance, light, the other striving for his version of good- a very twisted one at that, one that destroys to rebuild a perfect version of reality. Both realities are frankly impossible and Reinier and Talene are both perfectionists in their own ways. One is the praise kink and the other is the degradation kink. The angel and devil on your shoulder. Here you have true, deep hate between them. And you're the only thing they can agree on... eh, mostly, because they treat you completely differently even though you mean a lot to both.

In short, it'd be highly interesting and not out of the realm of possibility. Dionel & Phaestro- chill, most likely to tolerate each other, Scarlita & Berial- chaotic frenemies, Reinier & Talene- DEATH DEATH WAR, NOPE.

Interesting ask! Makes me want to write an actual fic about some of these...

[onecantsimply]

Yandere Noah and Jack Smith x A2 Reader (Maybe Mother Goose Too But-)

Noah may get more considering that I already write for Jack so much Hh- Also... they're going to be a Yandere. I can never steer away from those topics. I have descended to this level- 

It embarrasses me of how soon I took to complete this-

Your hair and eyes will be the same as the appearance you would like it to be. Your name will be A2 for a while, but will be changed later on in the fic.

NIER AUTOMATA SPOILERS, AS WELL AS JACK THE RIPPER CASE FILES SPOILERS:

-

A2 is an Android from Nier Automata, built originally as a YoRHa soldier. She was a prototype of Androids that had led to the original 2B and 9S. A2 has no liking to speaking, and tends to stay silent. Three years prior to the events of NieR:Automata, she was a member of the first YoRHa squadron deployed to Earth as part of the Pearl Harbor Descent during the early years of the 14th Machine War. Her alias at the time was No2 which is parsed in Automata as "Number Two". Now, A2 is a wanted Android that had first been hunted down at the Forest Kingdom by 2B and 9S. Though, due to the unexpected virus that had spread, A2 had been forced to fight against certain Androids that had been infected with it, even having to defend 2B against some of them. Even with that, she had deciphered that she couldn't live, seeing as how she were infected with a logic virus. 2B told A2 to take her blade that had been imbued with her memories before killing her. And so, the Android does so, with 9S seeing 2B collapse to the floor. He succumbs to a mental breakdown, shouting of how he'll kill A2 while running towards her. However, the bridge under him breaks due to "The Tower" growing out of the floor. A2, who is also amidst the area, had collapsed onto some rubble, going unconscious.

And now... when they wake up, they find themself in a new world, with Humans that have no idea of their own future.

-

• You yourself are simply confused of what the hell just happened. One moment, you were near the destroyed shopping center, and now, you were on an intact building, seeing people... actual people... walking around without a care in the world. It made you... slightly mad. You and your own allies had practically died, some quite literally, to complete a war against Androids and Machines, that still hadn't ended. So if that were the case, why were you still alive? Why were you here? With Humans?

• To your silent confusion, you see a small machine floating around you. It greets you, telling you of how its name is Pod 042. You didn't seem to care, making your way down the building. Though, as you did so, Pod had asked for what your purpose was. You didn't answer. 30 seconds later, Pod asked again. Irritated, you had told him that you wanted to destroy any machines that came across you. Instead of being able to scan the machine signs rather easily, Pod had spoken of how that wasn't available, and for you to pick another purpose.

• You told him that you should simply explore or map out the area. With an "affirmed", Pod had then went silent. Of course, you attempted to ask him where you two were. However, he answered with an "unknown". And with a small scoff, you muttered about how useless this small machine was.

• Though, you had begun to walk around. Your clothes seemed to catch the eyes of others, who had practically giggled or murmured about your appearance. Though, it was never as if you had cared, so you continued on with your day. You passed a cafe, on where a certain silver haired man was enjoying his apple pie. He only got a glance of you, but had stopped, seeing you disappear into the crowd. The man blinked, but had then went back to his Apple pie, enjoying it with a content smile.

• Pod then began to speak of how you needed to refill your fuel filter. You didn't seem to care about that. Though, upon warning that you would have to forcibly shut down if you ran out of fuel, you sighed, telling him to tell you where the nearest part of fuel was. Pod marked the spot, allowing for you to slip in. You had simply grabbed what you needed before someone had called you out. Obviously, seeing as how you were in a world where Humans never existed, you never understood their ways.

• You just flicked some G (Android and Machine currency) over to them before walking towards the entrance of the room. Yet, it seemed as if things had gotten off on the wrong foot. Someone was already trying to kill you. On instinct, you had evaded, punching the male into the wall. Or so you thought. Your hand had punched through the male's stomach, coating your hand in a red, crimson liquid that was some to your own blood. However, the difference was how it had spilled.

• Of course, taking lives wasn't new to you. You had killed countless Androids and Machines that had tried to go after you for any kind of purpose. So, you didn't think much of it, and simply got to slicing as more Humans came at you. However, instead of exploding into flames, they had... stayed lifeless. Slowly, they had all began to exert a certain scent that had you leave the area, covered in blood. Others had gasped, seeing you carrying the fuel out. You had only sent them small glares.

• However, there was a man in black, as well as a seemingly buff male with a scar across his nose. A smaller woman with two swords had watched you walk away. And when they had looked to where you had come from, they had saw that you had murdered pretty much an entire organization on your own. For fuel. Odd- The black haired male couldn't help but smile softly from interest, making a small motion to the pair behind him. They both nodded.

• Now, you were refilled on fuel, being able to wander as you saw fit. However, the blood on you had dried. It grew annoying, so you washed it off. You thought you were finally alone until you heard Pod say something. "Three Humans approaching." You had silently looked back at them with slightly furrowed eyebrows.

• The black haired male seemed to speak of some things, speaking of how bold you were to kill an organization out in the open. You had stayed silent, simply standing there. You were waiting for them to make the first move. Eventually, the male had quieted down. He then looked towards you with a soft smile.

- "... What are you?"

• Your eyebrows faintly furrowed from this question. Yet, you had continued to stay silent, keeping still. Your eyes had scanned all three of them. You knew they were perfectly capable. The one in the middle seemed rather... more odd than the rest.

• Sensing the tension, Pod immediately floated in front of you.

- “Warning: Combat with this unit will result in appropriate consequences. Destruction recommended."

• The male seemed to perk up, asking what Pod was. The small machine had answered of how he was a support unit assigned to you. Seeing as how you weren't going to speak on your own, Pod had decided to speak for you.

- "Unit A2 will attack whenever the first offense is launched. Any attack will be taken as self defense."

• The male in black seemed to chuckle. He the. Started to laugh, the two beside him looking at him slight confusion. You seemed to softly mutter about how weird he was, turning around, since waiting around was completely irrelevant to you. Though, you heard the ringing of a blade only a second later.

• Your own blade immediately connected with the young woman's. She had slightly wide eyes, but had the other male throw a punch at you. Of course, you lunged away from the pair, with Pod firing bullets towards the trio. They had all avoided it, leading to him closing out.

- "Proposal: Wasting fuel from your filter is dangerous. Flee."

• You softly huffed but lunged to the edge. The male seemed to ask of if you needed fuel. That if you came with him, he could supply it in return for some questioning. Pod immediately turned to you.

- "Alliances will be needed in an unknown world, Unit A2."

• You could only scoff, speaking of how you worked better alone. However, Pod floated in front of you, floating forward while saying the same thing. You already had the feeling of how he would keep being awfully pushy about the situation, you had turned to the other male with a sigh, seemingly just ordering him of what he wanted.

• He just wanted information. It's not every day that he sees an Android, after all. It does tend to be the first time, actually. That's when Pod floated in front of him, speaking of how you weren't some lab rat. The male immediately agreed with a chuckle. However, he looked back at you. You were... interesting.

• No care in the world for anyone, no care in the world for how people thought of you, already having a more closed off personality when he knows you were much more kind in the past, so much strength and prowess, and even viewing him, a leader of a dark organization, as irrelevant.

- He thinks of it all as absolutely interesting. Well, at first, anyway.

• Well, the man had spoken and offered how he wanted you to become a background member of his group. The two beside him could only slightly widen their eyes as your own softly narrowed. Whatever you needed would be supplied to you as long as you took orders from him and him alone. Anyone else will have no reign over you unless he says so.

• Pod immediately accepted the offer, much to your irritated shock, and to the man's bliss. He visibly brightened up before you sighed softly. You softly glared at the male after, but followed after him when told.

- "You can't just accept offers like that." You spoke to Pod, who had continued to float beside you. - "Negative. Unit A2 has shown signs of visible problems with communicating. As a support unit, I shall be the substitute." - "You don't need to do that. I can communicate just fine, with or without words." - "Would that mean subtle glares?"

• You immediately sent Pod a glare, proving his point. More so at the three in front of you. The pair beside the male seemed to question the male beside them. However, he never answered them, only sending them a small smile. Did he really know what he was doing? The two never knew.

• Now, you were in a darker building, in which you took a seat in your given spot. It was only soon enough that jobs were given to you already. And yes. You completed all without fail, receiving payment. Noah understood you never did work well with others. But sometimes, he needed to assign you with other members of the group. Whether that be all of them or not.

• Humpty Dumpty... You two didn't give a shit about each other. Simple business partners or partners of Mother Goose assigned by Noah. Nothing else. Though, since Alfred didn't have to worry about friendly fire, he often threw cannon balls towards you and your enemy whenever locked in a clash. However, the same cannot be said for him whenever you throw your blade at his opponent. He has to leap back with what he can to escape being impaled. And that's what has him scold you in silence. You two frequently get in arguments about it. There's something that seems enjoyable about it, however. Well... for Alfred, that is. You still think you don't work well with him.

• Mary Had A Little Lamb... Seeing as how the both of you are swordsmen with different styles of fighting, you still work great together. You know how your blades work, and actually manage to pull off combos together. However, that doesn't mean you two are getting along during those missions. In the beginning, you two just really don't care for each other. Until Mika sees more of your style, and grows curious of it instead of having to focus on the job. She privately asks of what your style was. You don't know about it, since it was regularly implanted into you right when you were built. Oh, right. You're an Android. Not a Human. However... Mika doesn't need to care about that. An acquaintance is an acquaintance to her.

• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star... Lmfao. LMAO. No. Your nature throws him off- You're awfully cold, which is something that's fine with Bogey. He's met plenty of cold people like Alfred and Wake. However... why the hell are you so aggressive-? How are you dashing with that red glint around you-? He has stamina in running, yes. But not as much as you. Why do you set yourself on fire if an opponent seems too strong for you-? (Naturally that means Bogey has to be put to the side while you fuck the opponent up with Berserker Mode.) But still... that brings up more sparring sessions. Bogey seems fine with it, even if you deem it as a waste of time. You both get cuts, with mostly Bogey being the more injured one. If he can't grab a hold of you, that is.

• Cock Robin... Bitch no- You're the one who hates him. He's annoying, and he looks smug as hell. Which is not wrong- That razorwhip of his does wonders, however. He likes to get work done fast, which means the both of you may as well work well together when it comes to fighting enemies. Wake keeps a watch over you while you brutalize most people within the building, making sure that no one else gets close enough to you to get a hit in. While you absolute hate him, he has no care for you whatsoever. Just some allies that got partnered up on a job, but had no connection to each other aside from that. It literally takes so many jobs for you two to do anything other than your jobs. Whether that he simply chilling around for a while or having to speak of something to pass the time.

• Sixpence... Do I have to--? Oh... Uh... You were definitely wierded out over her appearance at first, but still, she had quite a lot of uses when it came to slipping through small spaces.

• Lincolnshire Poacher... No- I don't know enough about him- All I can say is that he most likely got backhanded by you when he tried to put his arm around you. His jaw ached for a full month after, and he didn't really approach you again unless he had to- He's scared of you HH- However, him being a sniper only reminded you of one of your Android friends. So even if he never noticed, you had grown slightly softer with him.

• Noah... The man himself... The irritating man himself... You regard him as nothing more than a weird boss. Nothing else. You're used to a commander that's straightforward, and focused on her goal. However, Noah is different. He's focused on his goal, yes. But he loves small distractions such as plays and hard candy. You viewed plays as boring time passers, where you could simply stand against a tree while it was going on. Occasionally, you saw Noah laughing about something. And, about hard candy... Whenever he offered you some, you declined, speaking of how Androids didn't need to eat. However, Noah wanted you to taste it, just in case if you liked it. It had to get to the point where he had to order you to eat it. And honestly... it wasn't bad. You just didn't let him know about it. He knew anyways though-

• However, when you were on a job of your own, you had ran into a young man with silver hair. He took one gaze at your colors while you were walking past, and chuckled, softly mumbling about how your colors were pleasantly impure. You didn't care for what he was talking about, but the next few seconds were the things you cared for. A single knife being launched at you, in which you caught. However, before you could face him, he was gone. I mean... as long as it means he wouldn't disrupt your assignments.

• Though, you were aware of the eyes on you after that. It was irritating, having to minimalize movement just to make sure he doesn't get everything you have.

• Ah... This man has seen you before... Back when you were simply walking around with that small machine at your side. It still is, shooting people lmfao. Well... at least doing your assignments was good enough. However, you needed to get your stalker off your tail. And so, that's what you did. You smashed a window and hopped out before swinging yourself into an open window. You could hear the man above you chuckle, speaking of how he'd see you and your lovely colors yet again.

• After you were sure he had left, you had went back to your own place. Mail had been placed through your slot, having you look through it. Until you saw you had gotten a letter from Wake to attend a monthly meeting, in which you had been skipping every damn time. You were about to toss it to the side until you saw that Noah had ordered you to. The obvious different handwriting made it slightly annoying, but, an order is an order.

• Attending that meeting seemed like a waste of time, just as you thought. Just simply checking if everyone were still alive, in which they were. You really didn't have any more means of staying until Noah had told you to. You seemed more annoyed at that. However, you stayed in silence. After mostly everyone had left, you walked up to Noah, asking him what he had wanted. After being told that he just wanted to do something with you, you could feel your eyes narrowing from slight irritation. Catching this, Noah couldn't help but chuckle.

- He probably asked if you hated his company. You said yes. Noah simply chuckled from your answer.

• Hm... Maybe he needs to try a little bit more then. Or... you could be hiding that you like his presence? It does take a while for you to get used to things, after all. Literally, since you backhanded Crawl because he put an arm around your shoulders, never did anyone else touch you without your permission after that.

• Still, Noah could tell. He could tell he was starting to get to you. You're speaking more around him, and showing the slightest of concern whenever something goes wrong. Even for other members. You don't know them as much since they have things to do, but the places you go to with them when on jobs is something that cannot be replaced. He had mostly occupied your time when you had come back to get your pay.

• Though, when you had to leave, and go home, you could feel specific eyes on you. It was that weird heterochromatic eyed guy. He had been stalking you for a while until it had become regular. You really thought this man would give up within a few months. No. Not at all. He had continued, having to find you over and over again until you had nowhere to hide. It may have gotten to the point where Noah had started to notice himself. So, he may as well accompany you, yes?

• Even with how you tried to refuse, Noah could see the slightly relieved look in your eyes whenever he had come with you at these specific times. It was about time he had to ask you what was going on. Of course, he did it in silence, letting you answer in your own way. Seeing you eye something behind you, Noah had immediately understood from there. Maybe he could take advantage over this. But... couldn't you take care of this person yourself? Yes. You could. But he never did anything unless it was that knife that was thrown towards you.

• Truly, speaking of it, while Noah had left you in your own apartment, there was someone that would sneak in and simply... watch as you sleep. Pod is deactivated beside you, so you're completely shut down. And that gives him much more time to simply watch you. You yourself... The man knows he has enemies. Perhaps lots from how he has a "simple" interest in you. Especially with the group you're in. It was dangerous to even be around you, and he knew this.

• Which was why Noah coming with you seemed rather irritating for him. Especially with the amount of time it took for him to leave. And that man knew it wouldn't be easy, even if Noah had left. Because there was most likely someone else stalking along to make sure you two were safe. Even if that man knew that the person were most likely not going to show themself, there was nice chance that he could always get them first. And that was precisely what he did.

• It was some sort of male with a sniper. It was Crawl. That man just about knocked him out withe enough force to keep him unconscious for a few hours. Now, with bliss, he had snuck his way into your abode. Oh, how your sleeping, or rather, shut down form was beautiful. You had colors of sorrow and guilt within you, however. Most likely that something happened before he ever met you. However, he didn't like to see it on you. While he couldn't do anything other than gently sit beside you, enjoying you simply for your presence, he could always stay by your side. Always in the shadows, but still within your own.

• That man... He adored you. He really did. Ever since first seeing you wandering around while he ate his apple pie. At first, he never seemed to mind, only regarding you as someone slightly odd. He was right. What would you have to do to get into a dark organization? One where people heavily guard you without your own knowledge the best they can? All because of one leader that has also gained an infatuation for you.

• Of course... That man hated sharing. But... the battle to find out who you'll be with is always something fun. Before, that man has always taken care of any that have tried to get in his way. However, he was having trouble with those that had bothered to stalk you other than him. Those that had accompanied you on your jobs, and those that have made sure you weren't injured to certain extent.

• At first, it seemed easy. You were closed off. You always were, and still are to certain others. But to those that had managed to bond with you in certain ways... and had managed to break down your walls before he could... that man couldn't tolerate any competition. So, later would be the time he would finally meet you again. Of course, you or your small machine would recognize him as a stalker. However, he would like to start off on a new foot. Would that be so bad?

• The man then sees something. A knife. His knife. You... kept it? The man immediately grabs a hold of it, softly smiling faintly as he gently traces a gloved finger down the surface of the gleaming blade. The fact that you kept it... This made the knife special. The man immediately pocketed it after softly shuddering from happiness. You give him the best of emotion, and you don't even know...

• Now, that man had gotten off of your bed, giving you a small kiss to your forehead. For a few seconds, he could see a pure emotion flooding into you. That man could only smile before he leaves, just in time to escape away from Crawl's eyes. That man seemed confused on what had happened until he found himself on the cold floor. He immediately checked in on you. You were still okay, much to his relief. He really didn't want to get backhanded by anyone, especially you. The memory makes him sweatdrop each time.

• And, as the man had planned, he had finally met you in another location. It wasn't useful to hide who he was, considering you remembered him. So, you simply glared at him while he spoke of how he never had any bad intentions for you. Instead, that he wanted to do something with you.

- "Surely, spending time away from your odd leader is valuable to you, yes?" - "Not if I get stuck with another weirdo."

• The man could only softly sigh. However, he introduces himself as Jack. Jack Smith. You knew you had no need to introduce yourself, since he most likely knew your name already. And that he did. He never cared for how odd your name sounded. Nor did he care if anyone was watching. This moment to be with you and actually talk with you is something he's been craving for a while.

• Even if you finally depart after a while, even you talking to him is enough for him to feel complete for a slight bit. Until he aches to talk again, that is. However, he knows fully well that your time is being taken up by Noah, or perhaps other Mother Goose members. It... really seems as if you have no time alone. Well, unless for jobs, that is. Actually, not if people are stalking you. Including Jack, but-

• Well, he'll take any bit of time he has to grasp a small companionship with you. No matter how much Pod annoys him about backing off. Jack has no other desire than to be with you. It's... just been quite the while... since he's ever decided to do something like this with anyone. But this feeling... It had subjugated every nerve within his body. And whenever you're near him, that feeling spreads. It begins to fester. The fact that you actually do agree to spend time with him gives him serotonin.

• Though, in the time divided through your week, Jack only has one day with you before it's split to the other members of Mother Goose. If he wants more time, then it would be better to make his own moves.

• Jack Smith... is annoying in his own right. That man can and will follow you wherever and whenever. It's a wonder of how he hasn't managed to follow you back to Mother Goose's base. He will literally follow you anywhere but there, so that's fine with you. But in the times where he does get to spend his time with you, you always seem annoyed of him. Though, the colors within you had always read as slightly amused. Jack can be annoying, yes. But he's... rather mysterious in his own way as well, leading to your slight interest in him. Additionally to the fact that you simply talking to him seems to make him brighten up immediately. Mans seems like a sort of puppy like that. Not that it's cute to you or anything, hell no, but you find yourself arching an eyebrow at that sometimes.

• With Noah, he found the name of A2 rather... complicated. So, he had your address name changed. Your name is now (Y/n). Of course, you could still be called A2 as you'd like.

- To know that you don't mind the name has Noah smiling softly. What a relief this warmth was. He had actually renamed you to something more casual. All that was left was your clothes. Mika could be in charge of that. So, he had her take you shopping. After all, just a few black cloths over you won't do much.

• So... You didn't feel as if it were necessary to remove the other clothes you had. So, you wore the other one you bought over it. Honestly, it looked nice.

-

- (Belongs to Satellite-Helen)-

• Well, you got a few more simps now. Tighter schedule. Yikes- The toothpick and the razorwhip man have been added into the roster-

• At least you and Mika kind of match. She enjoyed it more than anything that her older sibling figure could actually look like her when you two have the same type of weapon. Even if you have more weapon adjustion than she does.

• Well, even if you got more simps, it's still ridiculously hard enough to truly get on your good side. And... those two don't exactly try harder to get on your good side other than accompanying you on jobs whenever Noah needs them to. And they can tell. They can tell he knows about their feelings as well.

• Well, it wouldn't matter if they still had literal years to spend with you. They'd get close with you either way. While their lack of almost communication can place them behind certain people, within the years, it literally becomes irrelevant because of how they'll have to keep up with those certain people.

• By now, things are suffocating for you. You've definitely snapped and told some to shut up or leave you alone. They stalked you instead. It's still better than having direct contact, so you simply let it be. Whether that be simply resting around after a job, or simply taking time to do things by yourself.

- They see you resting by an open window of an abandoned building most of the time, simply staring into space until Pod reminds you that you need to go back. Or that someone approaches you, which can either be the stalker, or simply someone else. Usually, it does tend to be the stalker. But if it's someone else, they're very stupid to even approach a random Android sitting by the windowsill. Still... I suppose curiosity killed the cat, because that person wasn't found anywhere the next hour. Not by you either.

• Anyhow, it becomes regular that you simply expect your time to be eaten up by the ones that have an infatuation with you. You don't pay attention to any of the chaos that really goes on in the area. It really comes to the point where you can only settle around Nu. She's the most calm about everything, and doesn't stalk you unless ordered to. Besties.

• Everything seems to be falling apart whenever a specific toothpick had died, however.

- It appears that the gentleman has finally made his move. However, you were never one to know.

• However, that loss put you in a state of slight anger. It was supposed to be a simple bodyguard or butler job, so what the hell happened. Catching on to your irritation, Noah had taken advantage over it. He had smiled, speaking of how he would find the killer, and would allow for you to brutalize him. You knew fully well of how he was glad at how there was one less rival, however.

• You grew more cold and distant then, to literally everyone as well. Well, unless Noah had ordered you to come with him to kill some lower dark organizations. It was simply to find the killer in easier fashion while checking in on your condition. You were slowly growing more distant, intent on finding the guy that had murdered one of your friends. That seemed unacceptable to Noah.

• You weren't tolerating anyone stalking you either. You were always out of view now, keeping out of sight. And thinking about it... you never did hang around your gentleman friend often. Neither did he approach you as of recently. It seemed oddly suspicious, especially with how you knew what he was capable of.

• One day, after massacring a specific dark organization, the leader had spoken of info he had. And it matched specifically to Jack. You seemed to scoff, and immediately left to find him. But naturally, the gentleman was never anywhere to be found. You asked Pod to locate him. He unfortunately couldn't do so, since he had no signal as a machine. Softly cursing, you went to find him on your own.

• How normal. You found him at Alice's Cafe. And he was quite aware of how pissed off you were. He saved his apple pie by keeping his attention on you.

- “Now then… What would you like to talk of, My Dear?”

[spookyshipperfics]

Boyfriend

Find it: a03 / Fandom: The X-Files / Rating: Mature

Part of the Do You Like Scary Movies? series

Tagging @today-in-fic

What is it About? Scully and Mulder might have recently crossed into a romantic relationship, but that doesn’t mean she wants to call him her boyfriend. However, when Mulder surprises her while babysitting her godson, it has Scully questioning her stance on labels.

Read a Sample:

She’d just scooped the pumpkin seeds into the trash when her phone chirped.

“Scully,” she answered, making eye contact with the jack-o’-lantern on the kitchen table.

“What are you wearing?” Mulder purred on the other end of the line.

She rolled her eyes, even without him there to be her audience. “Not a costume if that’s what you’re wondering.”

He sighed. “Not even the witch hat?”

“Not even the witch hat,” she echoed through a smile, remembering how he’d plopped down the pointy black hat on the desk this morning. What? It’s Halloween? He’d teased with a mischievous grin. “What do you want, Mulder?”

“I miss you,” he admitted with such sincerity it made her heart clench.

“I miss you too, but I’m babysitting my godson tonight. I told you that.”

“I know,” he replied. “That’s why I’m outside.”

“You’re what?” she gasped. Scully marched into the living room to peek through the drapes. Sure enough, she spotted his car in front of the house. He must have known exactly what she would do because the car light flicked on. He gave her a little wave before hitting the switch, encapsulating himself in darkness again.

“Mulder,” she practically hissed, “How long have you been out there?”

“I just got here,” he responded. “That’s why I called.”

“I’m supposed to be babysitting.”

“Sneak me in once the kiddo is in bed.”

“He’s already in bed,” she said, reliving her godson’s protests. It had been a long night of trick-or-treating. Trent had been over-tired, too much excitement and Halloween candy to blame.

“I’ll be there in a minute then,” Mulder assured before any protest could leave her mouth.

A soft knock returned her to the kitchen. She pulled open the back door to find Mulder in a fitted gray T-shirt, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

“You could have come through the front,” she remarked.

“Then I wouldn’t be sneaking in,” he countered before planting a kiss on the edge of her mouth and pushing into the kitchen.

“Mulder,” she sighed. “We are both in our thirties. I don’t necessarily have to sneak you in.��

“You’re no fun, Scully.” Curious hands halted their exploration of the jack-o’-lantern centering the table. “I was thinking we could steal some booze and raid the fridge. Maybe get a little handsy on the couch.” He waggled his eyebrows.

“Ellen said I could help myself to anything in the fridge, so snacks and alcohol shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

“Gee, you sure know how to dampen a guy’s fantasy,” he teased. Ever the investigator, Mulder surveyed her friend’s kitchen like a crime scene, fingers dancing across knickknacks and parsing through a forgotten stack of magazines on the counter. He’d only been to Ellen’s house once to pick her up when her car was in the shop. He’d never been inside.

“You’ll notice that I didn’t say anything about the last half of your musings,” she offered. “Getting a little handsy on the couch shouldn’t be much of a problem either.”

He stopped in his tracks. “Admit it. You like the idea of playing the innocent babysitter, don’t you?”

Her only response was an eye roll. She opened the fridge Mulder was so interested in raiding and removed a bottle of white wine.

“Did you hear about the patient who escaped from Smith’s Grove Sanitarium last night?” Mulder asked, never deterred by her silence.

She shook her head as she set about uncorking the Chardonnay.

“I was listening to the radio on the way here,” he continued. “Local law enforcement issued an official warning. They’re calling him dangerous and most likely armed.”

“What’d he do?”

“The broadcast mentioned something about murdering his sister when he was a kid.”

“Jesus.” She was mid-pour and focused on keeping her hand steady. “Of all the days to escape, he decided on Halloween. You’ve got to admit that’s a bit creepy.”

“Guy’s been locked up for close to fifteen years. Maybe he wanted to get some trick-or-treating in.”

“Smith’s Grove Sanitarium is only a couple of hours from here. Do you think we will get involved?”

“Without anything overtly supernatural going on? Doubtful.”

She thought back to Donnie Pfaster and was suddenly grateful for Mulder’s disinterest in the manhunt. Human monsters were often worse than fantastical ones. With the glasses filled, she put the bottle away. No more than a second after she closed the refrigerator door did she feel Mulder directly behind her, hands on her hips.

She spun around to face him. “About those snacks. What do you want?”

“What do you have?” He took a step forward, pinning her against the counter. He was so big, so close, that warmth blossomed between her legs.

“Popcorn. Chips. Pretzels, maybe.” Scully hoped she sounded normal, but her growing arousal had a slight quiver slipping into her voice. “Oh, I also have candy. Lots of Halloween candy.”

“Hmmm,” he purred as one of his hands traveled from her waist to the button on her pants. “If I was craving something sweet, I’d much rather taste you.”

“Dana?” Trent’s sleep-hazy voice drifted from the doorway. Mulder jumped back from her like he’d been scalded.

“Trent! Hi,” she stuttered already half-way across the room. “What’s wrong?” Her hands darted out to rub his shoulder in a clumsy maternal gesture.

“I just need a glass of water,” the child responded, eyes bouncing between her and Mulder.

“Oh, Trent, this is Mulder,” she blurted, suddenly feeling a lot like the guilty, horny babysitter of Mulder’s boyish fantasies.

Mulder approached Trent. Scully half-expected him to formally shake the kid’s hand. Instead, Mulder gave him a fist bump. “Hey, buddy.”

“Are you Dana’s boyfriend?” Trent asked.

“Something like that,” Mulder responded, turning to her with a wink.

Warmth flooded her cheeks. “Mulder is my work partner and my friend.”

Mulder’s shoulder deflated the tiniest bit. Her heart turned heavy. An anchor pulled it from her chest into the pit of her stomach, where it felt low and hollow.

She’d been minimizing their relationship since it crossed into romantic territory. Still, she wasn’t ignorant of the way Skinner’s curious gaze studied them from across the room. The way her brother’s eyes narrowed when Mulder accompanied her to their last family barbeque. Yet, even her mother’s inquiries were met with groans and brush-offs.

Mulder and I are just friends.

Fear and embarrassment kept the truth from leaving her lips. Fear that a label would only bring complications. Embarrassment that she was the woman who’d gotten entangled with her co-worker against policy… again. But who was she kidding? She and Mulder were never just friends. She owed him more than another brush-off—much more.

Find the rest on a03

[cosmicdorito]

⛓ THEYRE IN JAIL!! ⛓

that’s whatchu get for throwing rocks at the Buckingham palace guard screaming “sausage fingers” 💂🏻‍♀️💂🏻‍♀️💂🏻‍♀️

⛓ SVP: odotter

⛓ UST Convert/Tuning: me

⛓ Arachne UST Parsing (and Arachne): @generalnuisance0

⛓ Illust/Mix/PV: me

og. Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow

[roydeezed]

Weekly Shonen Jump Manga Round-Up(2023-03-20)

It’s the first weekly manga review! Where I’ll talk about any thoughts I’ve had on manga that were released this sunday. The ones which I care about and have extensive thoughts on will get their own sections while the others will be packaged into one paragraph at the end. 

Spy x Family(Chapter 77)

This chapter sees Loid help the resident tutor get over his trauma. We find out that he’s been using the busjacking as an excuse and his real trauma comes from his wife. And Loid being Loid, not only does he deduce that, but he uses basically every resource he can to confirm it and help the man. As we saw from his backstory, Loid’s always been a good person and I think that ever since getting his current assignment, he’s used it as an excuse to help people as much as he can. He literally used government agents for this and justified it as helping him get closer to students and alumni, my man is so deep in denial. This chapter also highlights what a great relationship Yor and Loid have. A fun detour after the bus jacking incident!

Tokyo Demon Bride Story(Chapter 27)

Picking up from what I talked about from last week's release, it unfortunately did turn out to be a fake-out. It was actually a test to measure Jinta’s loyalty to Manaka, Though it didn’t lose the dramatic tension as much as it punted it down the field for future chapters. Which this manga has been guilty of doing in small doses for a while. I did like that they still kept Manaka’s aunt’s lethality and the whole moment with the blade cutting off the fingers was really cool! The crumbling mirage effect totally worked. Though I can feel the cancellation bells ringing over it as the last panel felt like a preamble to a finale. I still really want to see its full potential.

Ginka and Gluna(Chapter 26)

Ginka and Gluna is very quickly raising the stakes, while focusing on what’s important. I hope it chugs along strong because it has legs. By not detailing how Magaraka escaped, the story kept all of its drastic weight and momentum into the reveal that Gluna forgot Ginka in his entirety. It’s an absolute tragic turn and I can’t wait to see where they go from here. I’m not sure if the power-up itself is temporary, but if it isn't, the dynamic of an amnesiac student stronger than her master will also be really interesting to see. The way Gluna’s spells corresponded with the memories she was giving up, was absolutely heartbreaking. It’s also heartbreaking knowing that all the chapters we’ve seen were so beautifully drawn and even those memories are lost to her. Gluna had a really strong personality from when she first arrived onto the page so it’ll be interesting to see what sort of personality is built up and how Ginka reacts to it.

Cipher Academy(Chapter 16)

This chapter concludes the murder mystery game and establishes Iroha’s skill and prowess over the rest of his team, gaining their support. Almost each page is filled with a crazy amount of information so it’s sometimes a little hard to parse but the best I could understand, mst of the messages were part of a progress report that the victim, as a spy was sending out. The five-star clue turned out to be that there was one more spy, and that was the deceased. So while the initial assumption was that this was so gamefied that the clues were all dying messages, the twist built upon the assumption by having the messages be true but not be dying messages. In fact only one of them was. And each player had their own objective, meaning that while you could solve the mystery, it usually wasn’t everyone’s top priority. So, after finding out everyone’s unique win conditions we discover what this game really is, and that’s a charisma based game much like mafia and wereworld where knowing the truth heps, but isn’t the end all be all. In fact, not knowing the true killer actually helped as it cast doubt on who it was. This was a game all about withholding and releasing information strategically and the way it was revealed and played out was masterful storytelling. One thing I’m curious about is the line when it started that the game held more truths then were outright apparent about some of the players. So I wonder if we’ll get a payoff about that anytime in the future. At the end of the chapter, Iroha meets up with his friends and gets introduced to Anonymity Requested who basically turns out to be a cheater. Let’s call them Anon from now on. Anon also seems to be the most outright evil character right now, being able to judge really well when to put in effort, when to not, and when to cheat. Also could be they’re just lazy. This was a really dense set of chapters so I can understand people who don’t stick with it, but if you’re reading this, I urge you to give it a shot because I don’t fully delve into all the puzzle elements but I have found a lot of enjoyment in it from just the dramatic beats. And the character progression is great too. It’s a lot faster than most manga as we’ve seen Iroha’s meteoric growth since the beginning and even more since chapter 11. I am really digging this series so far and can’t wait to see what Anon is gonna get up to.

Witch Watch(Chapter 101)

Last week, I didn’t give Witch Watch the kudo’s it deserved so I wanna pile a heaping helping now. Witch Watch has so many great things going for it, from it’s adorable art and romance to its hilarious comedy to its surprisingly engaging underlying plot. But what makes all of that work, including this week’s chapter, is how great the character’s are. They all fit within their tropes, sure, the stoic in Moi and the comic relief in Kanshi among others, but it’s the little quirks, twists, and evolutions of those tropes that fully flesh them out. Moi, despite being stoic, is always passionate about the things he cares about and thus gets into weird and super niche hobbies. Kanshi is callous and loves instant gratification and thus is a bad gambler. Each of their characters are built upon the core of their trope and archetype, helping to make sure their portrayal is always consistent. And because they’re so consistent, when they’re taken to the logical extreme it can be played extremely seriously and be that much funnier for it. In this week's chapter we start with Moi and Miharu getting into an argument over streaming service passwords. Moi, because he’s stoic and passionate, wants to set rules. But Miharu, who is kind of a little trickster, tries to talk him out of it. Nico, trying to remedy the situation, turns them into super fluffy versions of themselves, hoping they won’t be as direct and mean, but we get a hilarious and somewhat sinister body horror exchange where Moi gets brained and his memories stolen, which then turns into a battle shonen over the stolen memories. Because Witch Watch has such solid characters and is just that confident in it’s characters, storytelling, and comedy, it pulls off this gag so well. Also Nico turning the characters soft, softened their words, but because the characters are so strong, their personalities still shone through, and because such cutesy things were said with the edge of begrudging adults, it all took a hilariously sinister turn as well.

Undead Unluck(Chapter 151)

Undead Unluck continues it’s streak of great chapters with this week’s where Fuuko tries to get Billy to their side. Undead Unluck has such solid characterisation in it that, once you figure out a character’s motives, you can trace that as a thorough line through all of their actions. Billy’s always been consistent, shouldering as much suffering as he could manage so other’s didn’t have to. And negator ability of Unfair ties directly to his desire for that. He doesn’t want an unfair world, one where the weak should have to fight. Fuuko’s always been a direct opposition to that as she was one of the weak. Nut because she was allowed to fight and grow, she got stronger. From the moment she met Andy, to before the reset, and to now, Fuuko has had tangible and experience driven growth, learning from every battle she fought and every tragedy she witnessed. Bor both Fukko and the reader, things like the battle with God will forever be etched into their brains. And speaking of that whole battle, since I wasn’t doing this back then, can I just freak out about how great that was? It established such a strong foe and let us know what we would need in order to beat it while also making it clear that it would be nigh impossible even with that. But getting back to characterisation and motives. Billy is only the most recent example. You can chart almost every character's actions in that way once they’ve solidified their resolve, it’s seriously great storytelling and attention to detail. 

The Ichinose Family's Deadly Sins(Chapter 17)

The rabbit hole keeps getting deeper and deeper with this manga. Taizan5 brought back Takopi to it’s origin with the name so I am really curious about what the sins are going to be. Because right now, the family just seems to be a victim. The mother disappears and after being confronted, Sota tells them they’ll understand once they figure out everything. Then they act like a family to try and figure it out and go to a baseball stadium where Tsubasa remembers getting his picture taken by what appears to be Sota. Sota seems to be a tragic figure and can’t tell them why they’re looping for some reason. But the sadness behind his eyes is evident. If the Grandpa has looped 2000 times without finding an answer, what hope do they have? This manga also reminds me a lot about Spirit Circle, where with each successive reincarnation, the bad guy became more and more obfuscated. It seems to me, the more and more we learn, the less sure we’re gonna be about everything, at least until the end. The panel at the end where Sota tells Tsubasa that he was in a coma for 4 years, is that before the time loop or during? Could it mean this is like a matrix type situation where they’re being put in this loop to be a better family?

Akane-Banashi(Chapter 54)

This chapter sets the stage for the upcoming competition and in the optimistic way it sets up Akane, I echo the character’s sentiments, it feels ominous. With the organizer being the guy that Akane humiliated, I can’t help but feel she will get some sort of payback in this competition. We also get introductions to competitors and further development to some side characters. Although there wasn’t much to talk about in this weeks chapter, it was still fantastic in it’s ability to set the tone going forward.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations(Chapter 79)

Although this chapter had some crazy sci-fi twists, I loved it so much. Honestly, at this point I see Boruto as being kind of an alternate universe and it makes the experience so much more enjoyable. The stakes were raised so high with this chapter as Boruto and Kawaki literally switched circumstances. Only a few people know but this sets up even more tragedy as the title character is on the backfoot for real for the first time. Not only is Naruto gone but Sasuke and the entire village are all now enemies of Boruto. Boruto has always been kind of spoiled and counted on the fact that others would save him. With this, he has no choice but to actually grow and learn on his own. I love the new landscape this sets up and can’t wait to follow it as it develops. 

Dragon Ball Super(Chapter 91)

I love the slice of life style storytelling in this arc. It harkens back to the original dragon ball’s storytelling and updates the humour. It’s also absolutely adorable as we Piccolo once again pick up the mantle of best dad as he trains and looks after Pan, who is also adorable in her own right. As Videl runs a dojo and Gohan researches for his presentation, Piccolo sees his son (Gohan) go down the same deadbeatedness of his actual father, Goku. Obviously, he’s mortified, as are we. He also says that Pan could one day be stronger than Goku and Gohan. But it’s all in good fun as they are basically one happy family nowadays. On the other side we have stakes beginning to rise as Dr.Hedo is recruited by the Red Ribbon Army. While the Red Ribbon Army is definitely evil, Dr.Hedo honestly seems pretty cool and would make a great friend to Trunks and Goten. Hopefully by the end of this arc he does. Also can we talk about how Videl and Gohan give Piccolo plushies as thanks for looking after Pan, it’s just doubly adorable. I never thought the day would come when Dragon Ball would be the cutest manga on Shonen Jump. But all in all, it was another fun chapter, I love these Red Ribbon Dorks.

THE LEFTOVERS

For the first manga of the leftover we have, Mission: Yozakura Family(Chapter 170) where the main characters get a five year training timeskip where they train and get stronger. I understand it was supposed to be played for laughs but it wasn’t really funny, just weirdly perverted. Though I did audibly gasp at the last panel where Taiyo and Mutsumi have two children. If anything, the cutesy moments between those two and kids are always the strong points of the manga so hopefully this time skip helps its quality. In Me & Roboco(Chapter 129) we get a fun detour into one of the side characters' lives, Gaku Serizawa. Playing it completely straight made it absolutely hysterical, I love when the authour does the hyper detailed and chiseled faces, it’s stupid but it’s my kryptonite. Jiangshi X(Chapter 9) had some blink-and-you’ll-miss-it characters come back to tee up for what feels like a tragic end to this little arc. The art was gorgeous as always. And I do get a certain Shaman King-esque vibe from it sometimes, though that might just be because Lee Pyron was a Jiangshi. Ichigoki’s Under Control!!(Chapter 15) had a another hilarious chapter, and this time with memory loss shenanigans. Oddly this was just one of many manga in Jump this week that played with memory. Anyways, I love the fake memories gag, it was done so well in the show Community that I still think about it. I almost had enough to talk about in Fabricant 100(Chapter 14) but I think I can squeeze most of my sentiments in a few sentences. This manga is slowly turning into a real battle shonen so I’m glad they’re solidifying the rules a bit more like with the badges and the blood. Also I like how the author sticks to the motifs they’re developing, like the sanctity of life and the fear of death, portraying both with beauty and reverence. In Blue Box(Chapter 93) we get a glimpse at Hina and go back to Yumeka again as Chinatsu’s basketball game fast approaches. We get a sweet moment between Yumeka and her boyfriend where he agrees to delay their date so she can go to the game and it does a lot to humanize Yumeka. It also shows how much she cares about basketball as it’s something she talked about with her boyfriend enough that he knows how important it is to her. It seemed like it was something she dropped cold turkey but obviously it’s not. We get another manga talking about giving up memories in Mashle: Magic and Muscles(Chapter 148) where in the afterlife Mashle will be allowed to come back if he gives up his memories in a sequence that parodies Fullmetal Alchemist's Gate of truth. Again, not a huge fan of Mashle so I can’t find much positive about it other than the fact that the art was great. Black Clover(Chapter 354) looks to be setting up the final battle and arc. In this weeks Sakamoto Days(Chapter 111) I’m pretty sure we see Sakamoto actually kill someone for the first time on the page, since this is the past. It’s adorable to watch the four of them bicker and their dynamic plays off really well together, I’m looking forward to what the pay-off of these two girls being inside the decoy is going to lead to. In Jujutsu Kaisen(Chapter 217) Sukuna faces off against Megumi's older sister who is a special kind of twisted and we get some really cool action scenes. Finally in The Elusive Samurai(Chapter 102) we see Tokiyuki for the first time being able to enjoy family outings. It’s pretty tragic as he doesn’t want to go back to war but he’s being forced too. His childhood his been ripped away from him by the war and he can’t do anything but bear with it.

[s2project]

Xbox Adaptive Controller Hub

A dedicated page for information on the Xbox Adaptive Controller. Continuously updated. A more detailed breakdown is available past the jump.

Useful links:

Video guides to using the XAC by the MS Gaming Accessibility Team: Detailed visual breakdown on how to use the various XAC features, easier to parse and find info than the dedicated support pages.

Xbox Adaptive Controller Input Device Specifications: Specs on how exactly the ports on the XAC are wired, what inputs are supported, and how they connect to TRS and TRRS connectors. Useful for making custom switches/potentiometer based devices for the XAC.

OVERVIEW The Xbox Adaptive Controller is essentially a hub for pairing multiple input devices into a which output as a regular Xbox controller. The advantage of this is more flexibility in what devices and games you can connect to, without a reliance on separate software.

For example, you could use the USB inputs on the side to attach joysticks to emulate each analog stick, with other individual buttons controller by various other styles and sizes of switch.

Because this is a hardware solution, it can also be used on various other platforms by using converters. For example, you could use a Mayflash Magic S adapter to play on Switch or PS4.

The various 3.5mm jacks on the back also correspond to various inputs, so they can be switched on the fly by simply plugging them into a different port. Each of these ports can also be reassigned using the Xbox Accessories app on Windows or Xbox, and up to three profiles saved to the controller itself--not including the default, unchanged profile.

USB Port Mappings

There are two USB ports, one on either side, and which one you plug a controller into will decide which analog stick it is mapped to, and what the corresponding buttons do. Controllers must be D-Input/HID joystick protocol, meaning no Xbox controllers or controllers reading as x-input are supported. PS4 devices are also generally not supported, though if it has a PS3 compatibility option that may work.

The first 8 assigned buttons will be mapped automatically. These buttons can be remapped, but there will be some overlap on each USB port, and the available buttons CANNOT be reassigned. You'll want to know which buttons are available beforehand. Directional hatswitches/dpads will also not be assigned, unless they read as individual buttons.

The default mappings are show below.

You can see that each side shares the X1, X2, Menu, and View buttons, though with each flipping the 1,2 and 7,8 assignments.

NOTE: Reassigning the Menu and View buttons will NOT reassign the corresponding buttons on the XAC unit itself. So if you're ok accessing those buttons through the hub you can essentially treat those as two extra wild card buttons (X1 and X2 are the other wild cards).

Supported USB Controllers:

A list of controllers I've personally found to work with the XAC.

-8bitdo Lite 2: left analog, face buttons and shoulder buttons available. Triggers unmapped. (8Bitdo Lite does not work).

-Brook Fightboard PCBs: XB Fighting Board not compatible. PS4 compatible PCBs can be used by assigning the directions to Left Stick and making sure it boots up in PS3 mode.

-GP2040ce Advanced Breakout Board. Can be used by assigning the directions to Left Stick and making sure it boots up in Dinput mode.

-Logitech X52 HOTAS: analog axis, trigger, pinky and top buttons, as well as T1/T2 buttons detected. No twist axis or hat switches. Must be plugged into throttle to function, but no buttons or axes on the throttle are detected.

-Saitek AV8R-01 HOTAS PS3 Edition: analog axis, trigger, top buttons as well as T1-4 detected. No twist axis or hat switches.

-Thrustmaster T16000 HOTAS: analog axis, trigger, top buttons as well as the top button row on the left side, and rightmost button on the row below are detected. Function buttons can be switched by toggling the left/right handed switch on the bottom of the stick.

[canonicallyginger]

I hate how ppl interpret Jack and Holster's relationship. They are friends and they're also both absolutely bitches to each other because they know how to push each other's buttons and they have poor restraint bc its turned into a competition (and they're both ridiculously competitive). Holster is Jack's type except he's obnoxious on purpose bc its funny. Jack is Holster's type but that doesn't matter bc Jack chirps him too much. Holster likes to think he has a thick skin, but Jack proves him wrong and he hates it. He'd do almost anything for Jack, but that's also true of all his friends (with the exception of Ransom, for whom its not an almost). He and Ransom canonically filmed Jack's ass without permission, and Jack was probably like "what is wrong with you two" and left it at that. R&H are connoisseurs of Jack x Parse fanfic, likely unaware that there was anything to that relationship for real. Jack will never let Holster live down whatever happened with Esther, but only bc Holster has moved on in every way except for this chirping. Holster can never tell if Jack is affected by his chirps bc Holster is awful at reading expressions and Jack doesn't emote as obviously as other people do. They hooked up once but both of them have forgotten abt it somehow. Holster is aware that he's Jack's type, but it doesn't matter bc they aren't friends (even though they are). Jack has never flirted with Holster on purpose and Holster would never flirt with Jack directly bc its easier to talk about his ass to other people than to admit he cares about Jack. He sometimes dreams about dating Jack and wakes up irrationally angry at him. Jack sometimes dreams about Holster but it's always competitive. One time he had a dream where they were contestants on Jeopardy, but he woke up before finding out who won and spent the whole morning smugly proud of his history knowledge and annoyed at Holster's pop culture knowledge. Jack would probably have hooked up with Holster for the first time again if he'd asked, but Holster is proud of himself for never having tried to hook up, even if he sometimes thinks about how he probably wouldn't know how Jack's body fits against his, or the texture of jack's skin, or how long Jack lasts. He dismisses these thoughts because he would remember sleeping with Jack, right? How could someone forget that? Holster once told Jack that if they were trapped in a timeloop, Jack could rely on him. Jack has no idea what the hell that means. Ransom is the only person who knows about the JackHoltz hookup. Shitty probably thought it happened more than once, but is completely wrong about when it would have been. Jack and Holster originally thought theyd bond over being jewish, but Jack speaks hebrew in a quebecois accent and Holster can't stand it. Alicia Zimmermann sometimes asks Jack about the "nice jewish boy on the team" and Jack hasn't put together that she means Holster. Holster is a better singer than Bitty but his taste in music is a lot of showtunes, and Jack doesn't understand. Jack once punched Holster in the nose by accident and Holster was low-key turned on by it. Jack didn't learn most of his teammates' first names until a couple months into his sophomore year, but Holster is the only one who knows. Holster thinks Jack should dress a little more slutty, but he's only told this to Bitty (who agreed wholeheartedly). Ever since Jack proposed to Bitty, Holster exclusively calls him Mr. Bitty bc he knows how much Jack loves tying his identity to the man he loves

[sterek-ao3feed]

Stark Hearts, deuxième partie

Read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/55785169

by Tigerlillykaty

Suite aux événements de "Stark Hearts", Stiles, Tony, Spencer et leur famille avancent du mieux qu'ils peuvent dans un monde après Thanos. Ils grandissent et évoluent ; ils se protègent et se soutiennent mutuellement. Ensemble, ils construisent une vie qui les mènera vers l’avenir et leur permettra de s’adapter aux changements à venir.

• Les balises pour les personnages, les relations, etc. seront mises à jour selon les besoins à chaque publication. • Commentaires actuellement modérés

Balises supprimées en raison de la limite de balises : à déterminer

Words: 2564, Chapters: 1/129, Language: Français

Series: Part 2 of Stark Hearts in Multiple Parts

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Criminal Minds (US TV), Teen Wolf (TV), X-Men - All Media Types

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi

Characters: Tony Stark, Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski, Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Peter Hale, Sheriff Stilinski, Remy LeBeau, Pepper Potts, Cora Hale, Aaron Hotchner, Alex Blake, Friday (Marvel), Logan (X-Men), Thor (Marvel), James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Kira Yukimura, Stephen Strange, Background & Cameo Characters, Griot (Marvel), Eric "Bitty" Bittle, Jack Zimmermann, Larissa "Lardo" Duan, Wong (Marvel), Darcy Lewis, Kent "Parse" Parson, Jackson Whittemore, Loki (Marvel)

Relationships: Remy LeBeau/Logan (X-Men)/Spencer Reid, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Spencer Reid & Thor (Marvel), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Cora Hale/Darcy Lewis

Additional Tags: deaths are canon events, Claudia and Tony are half-siblings, Spencer and Tony are half-siblings, Spencer is a mutant, Blended timelines, different POVs, Multi-Crossover, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Terrible accent writing, mechanically inclined Stiles, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Bad Alpha Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Making some Criminal Minds characters werewolves, Tattoo Artist Derek Hale, Not Civil War Team Captain America Friendly, Polyamory, threesome relationships, Samwell Men's Hockey, No fat Thor, Endgame fix-its, Future Fic, The Blip, Not Teen Wolf Movie Compliant, Drabbles/short stories, Bad Friend Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Spoilers for Season 1 of Secret Invasion (TV 2023), Loki (TV) Season 2 Spoilers, but vague ones, Brief criticism of Twitter’s owner, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Loki is alive again, Genderfluid Loki (Marvel), Tony gets infinity stone powers, possibility of Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski/Loki, full shift pack, Full Shift Werewolves, full shift kitsune

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55785169

[ashesandhalefire]

i am such a sucker, and i'm always the last to know

[haforcere]

When Kent's hookup takes an unexpected turn, he heads to Samwell and the Haus to wring an explanation out of Jack Zimmermann.

Off-screen dubcon oviposition fic. Kent gets surprise eggpreg knocked-up, is what I am trying to say here.

[coffee-at-annies]

This has been sitting in my drafts for at least six months but after finding it again I really wanted to post it. Hopefully people like it.

Jack is aromantic bisexual and Kent is homoromantic asexual and because they never talked about it or realized they had different sexualities it caused a fundamental disconnect in their relationship and has contributed to how they still view their relationship. This took a wild turn when I started writing Kent’s POV and got pretty fucking dark and a little bit explicit. Under the read more cause it got long (as all my things tend to do).

Content warnings for unhealthy relationships, dubious consent, cannon underage relationships, cannon drug addiction and drug overdose, cannon suicide attempt, suicidal idealization, unhealthy thought processes (kent prioritizes jack’s mental health over his own), sex-repulsion, and probably PTSD though I didn’t set out to write all that. This was based off my own headcannon that spun wildly out of control while I was writing it. I’ve gone back through it a couple different times but if I missed a content warning, a glaring error, or I’ve gotten something really terribly wrong, please let me know. (But ignore my shitty grammar, this isn’t beta read and I suck at grammar)

So let’s start with Jack. We know for a fact that Jack is bi (possibly pan). We know he’s had relationships with men and women in the past but that Bitty is the first person he’s been in love with. Jack knows what he likes. He knows what he finds attractive. He doesn’t see the point of hooking up a lot when there’s hockey to be played and he especially doesn’t see the point of relationships. To him they’re completely performative and he gets nothing out of them except exhaustion. He’s never really felt anything for the people he’s dated. Yes he and Parse had a thing, but he always knew they had an expiration date-the draft. And while he liked Parse and enjoyed hooking up with him, he didn’t love him. He doesn’t think he’s loved anyone. At least not in that way. He’s not even sure he can love someone until after Shitty attaches himself to Jack freshman year. Somewhere in the middle of hanging out and Shitty crawling into his bed (despite the fact that they live in separate dorm buildings) he develops this massive squish that never quite goes away. It’s bearable though. He knows nothing will ever come of it, especially when Shitty takes one look at their tiny new manager and falls head over heels.

What I’m saying is that Jack definitely experiences sexual attraction and he knows what he likes. That is why when Eric Bittle shows up Jack’s junior year he’s like “hot damn” and has to take a minute. And then Bitty curls up on the ice at the mention of checking and it instantly switches to a hard nope. And then he’s kind of an ass towards Bitty. Because even with the checking fear he’s still really attractive and Jack is trying to live his life without wanting to have sex with one of his teammates. It’s a thing. He’ll get through it. The last time he gave in he ended up sleeping with Parse, and that ended all kinds of badly. So yeah, Jack is attracted to Bitty. He gets used to being attracted to Bitty, especially when he moves into the Haus. Eventually it just becomes this background thing that he puts up with constantly.

It isn’t until after graduation that he realizes he doesn’t just want to sleep with Bitty, but he also is going to miss all the little things and hanging out, and he realizes he wants to date Bitty. This is a big deal for Jack. He’s not used to wanting to date someone. Dates are usually things that take time and attention away from hockey and are performative and boring. Dates were okay with Camilla because they could talk about their teams, and they were okay with Parse because it was mostly like hanging out with his friend and also he was too high or drunk or numb to really care a lot of the time back then. But he realizes he wants to take Bitty out and keep taking him out just to see the smile on his face. And as you know he runs across campus to immediately tell Bitty about this marvelous revelation.

It’s not until four or five years down the line when he’s doing work with the Falconers and You Can Play at a local youth LGBT center in Providence that he first hears about aromanticism and realizes that yes, he feels this very much and Bitty is just his one exception to the rule. He and Bitty have a lot of talks after this and he actually goes and apologizes to Kent. It goes okay.

Now Kent. Kent is ace. He’s gay, has known he only wants to kiss guys since he was 12 and had a crush on the captain of his team. He’s seen guys in the locker room though. Dicks are gross. Why would you want to touch someone’s dick when you could kiss or cuddle instead? It isn’t until he meets Jack that he realizes that maybe dicks aren’t too bad. They’re not great and he’d rather not have sex more often than he wants to, but the way Jack goes boneless and cuddles him after he comes is worth any discomfort and hey, he also gets an orgasm out of it. Usually he gets Jack off first and then gets himself off afterwards. The one time Jack tried to go down on him is not something he wants to repeat ever and the less said about the time they tried anal the better.

Kent loves Jack. He loves the way Jack smiles at him, the way they’re effortless together on the ice, the way that Jack’ll throw an arm around his shoulder when they go out with the team and herd him around. It makes him feel warm and happy inside. It makes him feel like he’s special, like he matters. And even if Jack seems a little bit out of it sometimes, the arm around his shoulders more for support than for comfort, well that’s just how Jack deals with his anxiety. It’s not a big deal. Kent won’t let it be. And if sex and cuddling calms him down and takes his mind off it, then that’s the least that Kent can do for him. Kent loves him. He’d do anything to keep the smile on Jack’s face and know he was doing okay.

Unfortunately, Jack keeps getting more and more distant the closer the draft looms. If they can just last the off season and still be okay after that, then Kent thinks they can survive the NHL. The teams with the top two picks are in the western conference, so it’s not like they’ll only see each other two games a year. They can make it work. Kent has faith in them. But that doesn’t happen. Jack overdoses and Kent goes first and Jack cuts Kent out of his life like he’s shedding dead weight. Kent has spent so much of the last two years in love with Jack, supporting him, trying to hold him together, and trying to plan their future, that the overdose and the sudden and enduring radio silence are physically painful for him. Kent put so much of himself into Jack that after everything was said and done, Kent doesn’t know who he is without him. And the one time he actually gets Jack to answer his goddamn phone that first year… well let’s just say it’s not good and leave it there.

Kent’s a mess. The love of his life tried to kill himself and of course Kent blames himself because he wasn’t enough to stop Jack from doing it, wasn’t enough for Jack to want to live no matter how often Bob tells him it wasn’t a suicide attempt and that he’s not to blame. Jack definitely blames Kent for going first; as if Kent wanted that when all he wanted was Jack. And now he’s the rookie face of a franchise who probably wanted Jack “living legacy” Zimmerman over him and he has to do his best to overcome their disappointment at him being the “consolation prize.” And yes guys do call him that on the ice. He doesn’t have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times he’s been told the only reason he went first is because Jack overdosed. He doesn’t even have the number of fingers to count the number of times people accused him of convincing Jack to overdose so he could go first-as if he hadn’t hated the pills and what they did to Jack-as if he hadn’t begged Jack to get off them-as if he wasn’t the one to find Jack in their hotel room the day before the draft and call for help.

Needless to say Kent is hurting and a mess and gets in a lot of fights that first year. His team tries to help. They try. They’re not successful. They’re too new a team, still in the middle of a rebuild, to get him wins like they’d like, but they’re in Vegas and they’re athletes so they can get him as much alcohol and girls as it takes to drown his sorrows. Except Kent doesn’t like girls. He doesn’t even like boys at this point. The one time he tries to hook up with a guy in a club, the minute the guy gets his hand down Kent’s pants, Kent has a flashback to Jack doing the same thing and nearly throws up on the guy. He manages to play it off like he had too much to drink and gets out of there but it’s not an experience he wants to have again. Jack was his first everything and now that Jack’s gone nothing in his life works right. He’s left feeling dirty and used, as if the time and effort he spent on Jack and all of his feelings was meaningless in the face of Jack’s anxiety and his addiction problems. As if Jack is more important than Kent. And let’s be real here, Kent has always thought Jack was more important than him.

It takes Swoops asking him out two years later and his discomfort the entire time they’re on a date for him to admit that maybe something is wrong with him and that yeah, he’s still in love with Jack. It’s about then that he actually listens to what his A has been saying since day one and gets himself to counseling. And it helps. He figures out that he’s homoromantic and probably asexual and while he may be gray-ace or demi his experiences with Jack and the way things ended have left him more than a little sex repulsed.

It takes him a long time and multiple awful confrontations with Jack before he admits to his therapist that he doesn’t know how to move on but that maybe he’s starting to realize that he needs to. Jack has never cared for him the way he cared for Jack. He never put the time and effort into their relationship, and yeah, Kent did some shitty things last time they talked but he was hurt, Jack hurt him just by existing and not caring for him the way he cared for Jack. He eventually gets himself to a good place. Even to a place where he can maybe talk about his sex repulsion and intimacy issues with potential partners. He still doesn’t like hooking up and dicks haven’t become less gross, but he’s kind of okay now being in the same room as a partner’s dick and knowing that he’s not obligated to do anything about it.

When Jack calls him up years down the line, after they’ve made up and started a tentative friendship again, to tell him that he thinks he’s aromantic and he’s sorry for any mixed signals and how he unknowingly treated Kent when they were teenagers, Kent cries. He can’t quite get out that he’s ace. That he’s pretty sure his sex repulsion is because of him. Kent had spent his teenage years doing everything he could to make sure Jack was okay and that he only had to worry about the other team and getting pucks to the net, and Kent doesn’t know how to talk about how doing that fucked him up. So he thanks Jack for telling him, doesn’t tell him that he’s still in love with him and probably always will be a little in love with him, and goes and cries into his boyfriend’s shoulder. Swoops doesn’t need Kent to be there for him. He doesn’t even need sex. He wants Kent because he says that he makes his days brighter and happier but if Kent left he wouldn’t crumble and if Swoops left neither would Kent, and that’s what Kent needs in a relationship at this point.

[parvuls]

love this take.

generally speaking, the canon ambiguity about the actual details of their friendship leaves so much room for thought and i love it. we have the vague layout, but we don't really know anything for sure.

they were close friends for about two years and implied to be sexually involved for only one month (those 34 days after the cup). they were clearly the centre of each other's worlds at the time, but jack was literally at his lowest (drug addiction, some level of alcoholism and severe anxiety), and parse was, it seems, overwhelmingly in the closet (he's still afraid of it almost a decade later). there's also the matter of narrative porn: it's clear from the comic that parse has serious issues and is a really toxic friend for jack, but it's also made clear by ngozi that if we saw things from his pov jack would not look too good, which is supported by that panel where parse comes to see jack in rehab after the draft ("parse ii"), clearly intent on keeping their relationship, while jack looks torn; also by parse's reactions all throughout year 3, which are quite frankly pissed and heartbroken, while jack handwaves their relationship as "purely physical".

(i should mention now that i highjacked this post to work out my complex emotions about parse and that i am not, by any means imaginable, Pro Parse, so turn away if you're a stan. i just also don't believe in inherently evil characters and i think he's far more complicated than just being mean-spirited.)

the idea that things trailed off and left a lot of unresolved issues makes a lot of sense to me. i especially loved the phrase 'good intentions'. i think the key thing about jack and parse - and the reason i'm not a huge fan of then becoming best friends again post-canon, despite it being a popular headcanon and also me being a sucker for gooey happy endings - is that they just don't understand each other.

it is so, so easy to imagine phone calls post-draft becoming more and more heated. parse pushing for jack to return to hockey because in his mind he's encouraging a friend to follow his dreams and not 'be scared', and so he tells jack everything about the aces and constantly tells him he should've been there. he's just an uninformed eighteen year old who really doesn't understand what anxiety is, and so he seriously underrates it. meanwhile, jack is being eaten away by jealousy and inadequacy and failure because of these stories, slowly detaching himself from parse for his own good without realizing how lonely parse is at las vegas. saying things like "it's fine, it's better that you went alone" while thinking about the shattered dream of the two of them playing side by side, because he's trying to get over it, but he doesn't realize that he's breaking the heart of a man who's in love with him by saying that it's better that they went their separate ways.

it's easy to imagine parse being a person who resorts to taunting when he's scared or angry (a la, well, "parse iii"). jack slowly stops picking up the phone, parse has no idea what's going on with him, and he leaves more and more angry messages trying to provoke jack into speaking with him but these are so, so toxic for jack, so he slowly stops listening to them at all. they don't really understand how much they're hurting each other at all. neither of them wants to stop being friends (or... something else, for parse), each of them wants to explain their fears and their loneliness and how much they miss each other, but the abyss between them grows wider and wider and neither of them knows the right words to bridge it.

when jack finally goes to samwell and plays hockey again (with people who aren't parse - he could go back to play but he couldn't choose to play with parse?); when he makes friends and seems a little happier without parse, and he almost never picks up the phone and he's constantly being seen with thar mustached dude? it probably hurts and/or pisses parse off like hell. meanwhile jack is healing, and learning healthy relationships by being in samwell, and parse feels him slipping farther and farther away while jack feels his dream, the dream parse is living in his place, slipping farther and farther away.

yeah. the state we find them in in year 2 is definitely a gradual process. and it's heartbreaking, because it's not that they want to hurt each other. but some people are just better out of your life even if you love them.

Maybe we all just wrote “Jack abruptly stopped talking to Kent and it was brutal but decisive” for so long because as bad as it was, it wasn’t nearly so painful as the idea that their friendship slowly went off rails made of good intentions.

[polyamorousparson]

leave this blue neighborhood. by katarama

Pairing: Kent Parson/Jack Zimmermann Word Count: 36,777 words General Warnings: Anxiety, Depression, Discussions of Jack’s OD, Alcohol and Drug Use/Abuse, Suicide Ideation.  Each fic is individually tagged on AO3.

Summary:  This is a 16-fic series that centers around Jack and Kent and their history and their future. It follows canon, with one major difference; Bitty decided not to go to Samwell.  Each fic is named after and based around a song on the Deluxe version of Troye Sivan’s album Blue Neighborhood.

Individual fic info/song links below the cut.  (link for mobile)

Credit to @queerlyalex​ for the beautiful graphic.

1. you make my heart shake. (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 2423 words, January 2018, Jack).  WILD

2. pulling on your heart (to push my luck). (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 2405 words, January 2018, Kent).  BITE

3. only fools fall for you. (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 1925 words, June 2009, Kent).  FOOLS

4. down to my skin and bone. (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 2315 words, August 2011, Jack).  EASE

5. rather be spitting blood. (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 1274 words, December 2014, Kent).  THE QUIET

6. starve my heart of touch and time. (AO3 | tumblr) (E, 3223 words, February 2011, Kent).  DKLA

7. grey areas and expectations. (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 2526 words, January 2018 + 2008 flashback, Jack).  TALK ME DOWN

8. i’m a spark (and you’re a boom). (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 4352 words, September 2006, Jack).  COOL

9. the truth runs wild. (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 1691 words, February 2007, Jack).  HEAVEN

10. lights start flashing like a photobooth. (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 2266 words, May 2009, Kent).  YOUTH

11. heart stain on the carpet. (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 1436 words, June 25, 2009, Jack).  LOST BOY

12. two halves of one heart. (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 1730 words, August 2008, Kent).  for him.

13. can’t replace my blood. (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 3013 words, August 2012, Jack).  SUBURBIA

14. wasted on you. (AO3 | tumblr) (E, 1758 words, January 2018, Kent).  TOO GOOD

15. your lights are red (but i’m green to go). (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 2520 words, January 2018, Kent).  BLUE

16. bend and break. (AO3 | tumblr) (T, 1920 words, January 2018, Jack).  WILD (XXYYXX REMIX)

Note: some of the lyric videos may have incorrect words on the videos

[zimbittle]

Jack & Kenny

Drive by Halsey