Alright, I'll bite. Ash and Jason, go
:0 Thank you so much for the ask! I’m genuinely surprised anyone is interested in hearing my insane ramblings about this rarepair. It may be a bit long so apologies in advance.
CW : Use of the F-Slur, mentions of homophobia, blood, canon-typical violence
The main pillar I prop this ship upon is the Freddy vs Jason vs Ash comics (herein shortened to FvJvA). For anyone that doesn’t know, FvJvA was a script originally written as the sequel to the 2003 film Freddy vs Jason. When it didn’t make it anywhere near development, it was turned into a six part comic series instead. The plot, in short, is about Freddy using Jason to get the necronomicon to release himself from Jason’s head (where he’s been trapped since the end of the last movie). Ash, of course, doesn’t want evil to get its hands on the book. Shenanigans ensue.
It is definitely a product of it’s time but is also an incredibly interesting read when you go into it with the idea that Ash is a disaster bisexual and Jason is hopelessly smitten with him at first sight. I know that may sound like a weird read but hear me out.
From the moment Jason meets Ash, he pays particularly close attention to him, even going as far as to memorize his name after seeing his name tag at a glance. Also, throughout the comic, Freddy constantly calls Jason a fag either directly or through controlled delusions. This is a story where Freddy is trapped in Jason’s head and privy to all of his thoughts and secrets. It stands to reason that Freddy could be poking at it so much because he knows for a fact that Jaaon is gay. The reason why Freddy calling Jason a fag bothers him so much isn’t because he isn’t gay, it’s because he knows he is and Jason isn’t someone that has any negative connotations surrounding homosexuality. (Put a pin in that, we’ll come back to it).
It also should be noted that Jason never makes a direct effort to kill Ash. Every time he has the opportunity, he opts for incapacitating him instead. The following pages take place directly after Jason has slaughtered his way through an entire S-Mart to get to Ash and the book. Even when Ash draws first blood, Jason tosses him away instead of trying to fight him head on with his machete.
As for Ash, he has his own repressed feelings that have compounded into internalized homophobia. He also throws around his share of homophobic insults in this series, one of which is directed at Jason. I like to think that Ash is attracted to Jason but obviously doesn’t want to admit it to himself. When Ash and the gang try to ambush Jason with a trap, Jason sees through it and doesn’t go for the bait. Ash later notes that he’s clearly not as stupid as everyone says he is. This is what prompts Ash to later try reasoning with Jason in the final fight with Freddy.
Also, Freddy outright calls Ash Jason’s boyfriend in this wonderful scene.
When it comes to Ash and Jason’s relationship outside of the comics, I believe they have a lot of potential to grow together.
As mentioned before, Jason doesn’t think being gay is wrong. His life was cut short before he could really get a sense of the world. As a result, he didn’t grow up learning traditional gender roles or inheriting typically masculine traits. All of Jason’s ideas about sex and intimacy come from the people that trespass on his land and what he observes in nature.
On the other hand, Ash grew up with a toxic father in a small Michigan town where he was inundated with the expectation to “be a real man”. As his relationship with Jason goes from enemies to friends to lovers, Ash is going to struggle a lot with his identity and sexuality. When they do get to a place where they’re more comfortable with each other, Jason would become the only person Ash has ever truly been himself with.
But of course, Ash is a massive coward and Jason has zero relationship experience beyond the familial so it will take them quite some time to work through both their issues before they get anywhere close to romantic intimacy.
There’s also the stark contrast in their personalities that makes their dynamic even more fun. Jason never speaks/Ash never shuts up, Jason is reserved and inexperienced sexually/Ash is a playboy with plenty of life experience. There’s also the fact that both of them lost their mother at a young age and know what it’s like to be shunned by the people around them. So while they’re both wildly different people, they have more in common than they realize and can understand each other better than anyone else.
I’ve been working on a fic about their relationship post-comic in which Ash returns to Crystal Lake in spring to retrieve the necronomicon (trapped beneath the frozen lake with Jason at the end of FvJvA). Jason has no need for the book so he simply gives it back to Ash, sparking an unusual friendship.
I’m surprised by the number of people interested in this niche little ship! I was already prepared to create content for an audience of two (me and my wife) but it’s nice to see other people can also appreciate my favorite rare pair. As an fyi, I’ve taken to calling the ship Ashees and tag content of them on my blog as such.
If anyone cares to see more of them, I’ll definitely be posting fics - snippets, ficlets, headcannons, one shots AND multi-chapter stories - as well as drawing plenty of fan art for these two on this blog. I also make content for my other OTP, Ghostmyers and my secondary ship, Myerhees. Also other general slasher things.
If you made it all the way through this, thank you for reading!
