#breakfast with scot

[qroier]

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE I watched Breakfast with Scot yesterday and it was awesome do yourself a favor and go watch it too

If you like established relationships you'll really dig this, eric (right, former NHL player and current sports broadcaster) and sam (left, sports attorney) are already in gay love and practically married when scot unexpectedly comes to live with them. and then scot proceeds to be so gay he baffles even them. go watch it!!!!! also this specific version on youtube has portuguese subtitles with english audio which was pretty cool to try to follow along with

bonus gif i found of one of my favorite lines to give you a teaser:

[batri-jopa]

Breakfast with Scot (2007) dir. Laurie Lynd

My most favorite scene:

[tinycupcakesstuff]

Unpacking Heated Rivalry and the OG Hockey Husbands

I can't unpack Heated Rivalry before covering Breakfast with Scot, who walked so the whole m/m hockey romance genre could run. The film based on the novel by the same name which explores intergenerational issues between queer adults parenting a queer child. The film ups the ante with making one of the queer adults a hockey player and the layers that come with being in the closet as a professional athlete.

The year was 2007 and we are introduced to Eric McNally, who retired sometime around 2002 (Ellen came out in 1997), so his career would have been 1990s-2002. He would have played junior hockey in the 80s. Heated Rivalry takes place covering the decade after Breakfast with Scot, 2008-2018.

For Eric, the context of AIDs epidemic, shifting social views on LGBT issues in general society let alone the sports/hockey world are very much his lived experience.

We meet Eric, now retired from hockey in his late 30s, in a long term committed relationship with his partner, Sam who is a sports lawyer (and was apparently Eric's lawyer). Eric is out to the important people in his life but not publicly because he works as an analyst for a Canadian sports network. He is living a double life, or at least his sexuality is somewhat of an "open secret" in hockey circles. One he takes great lengths to avoid drawing any attention to.

Eric is aware of how things have changed, but all of the societal progress and multitudes of public figures coming out post-Ellen hasn't necessarily changed anything for him. He is still very much under the microscope of the Toronto hockey media landscape, having become a sports caster in his retirement and hosting a Sportscenter-like hockey program on TV. Despite the fact that he is out to his assistant who relentlessly teases him for not being out at work. When Eric does finally come out at work, she confirms, "everyone already knew."

In daily life Eric seems to be comfortably out. Eric's comfortable balance of his homelife with Sam and hockey life explodes with arrival of Scot, Sam's brother's dead ex-girlfriends son, who they need to take custody of temporarily.

Scot is not the 11 year old boy Eric was expecting. He was bracing himself for a homophobic terror that would destroy their home and sell their electronics for booze. Instead they got Scot, who wears Pink Gardenia hand cream and a charm bracelet. Scot who turned down Eric's invitation to watch hockey because, he "only likes musicals."

Somehow, this was just as bad as what Eric was predicting and he starts having a harder time keeping his worlds separate. Eric attends Scot's parent teacher night with Sam, which the topic of discussion is how to manage Scot. All 3 adults have no clue. The teacher offers that he should watch TV to find more "traditional" role models. A microaggression that Eric bristles at.

Scot has no qualms being who he is, clearly his mother raised him in an affirming manner. He wears pink, glitter, make-up, and is 100% true to himself at all times. And interestingly, Scot faces little bullying and ridicule even though Eric is terrified of this. Scot is innocent and confused about homophobia, although at one point he admits to Eric that he thinks being gay means "no one likes you." To which Eric forcefully tells him, "It doesn't mean that." Which for a guy like Eric, with a pretty limited tool box in which to discuss feelings, is pretty big!

On Scot's first day with Eric and his partner, he outs Eric to a mall security guard.

Eric immediately responded above, stammering I'm not, I'm not, because he was caught off guard. I don't necessarily buy into that he is ashamed. I think Scot outing him AGAINST HIS WILL wasn't something he was prepared for and I do have a lot of sympathy for him stumbling through it. I'm not sure the film and the fandom are always very sympathetic to Eric.

Scot continues, "Him and Sam are married" and Eric's response is probably my favorite line in the film. He says, "We're not even...we're not even married."

For me, he is redeemed. He is not denying his relationship, he clarifies that they're not married, but doesn't deny that they're together. I think he did his best navigating a very nuanced public situation with an impressionable child as a gay public figure in the closet!

So what does all this have to do with Heated Rivalry?

So in the entire DECADE after we meet Eric still in the closet 5 years post retirement.....we get a fictional NHL player coming out publicly in the Game Changers universe!

Heated Rivalry covers, in excruciating detail, how difficult and painful it is navigating falling in love as a closeted NHL player. And when I say excruciating, I mean it is agony.

I don't know if it is a weird take because I am 7 years late to the Ilya/Shane party, but the angst was just so painful. I am in an emotional twist. Physical/psychic pain. Damn, their love was so hard. Damnnnnnn.

I have a Eric McNally origin story where I speculate about Eric's Heated Rivalry glory days which would have been roughly 1992-2002, and what he got up to while he was playing. I do NOT have him falling in love back then lol. But he did have a boyfriend or 2. He saves it all for Sam. It's certainly not on the level of Ilya and Shane, but I am sure he had someone to meet in hotels all across North America. The only other mm hockey romance that touches on that experience is the character Wade in Breaking the Rules.

Eric and Sam are the OG hockey husbands!!!!!

I am working on an Epic novel length Eric and Sam romance novel, full of smut a la Ilya/Shane.

This is just another part of my (and a few of my fandom comrades) ongoing effort to produce Breakfast with Scot propaganda to entice others to join our esteemed ranks which number in the DOZENS! We are dozens!

Breakfast with Scot has me in an absolute choke hold because we meet Eric and Sam as hockey husbands. They live the most stable, quaint life on the outskirts of Toronto in the cutest brownstone known to man. Their relationship is calm and safe, despite Eric being an absolute neurotic mess 100% of the time.

It's a deep well to draw from thematically. The character of Scot is an absolute delight. This is a queer family film, a hockey romance, it is everything! And the Toronto Maple Leafs allowed their logo to be in a queer film!

It's taking every shred of willpower NOT to abandon my WIPs and start working on the Game Changers x Breakfast with Scot crossover no one asked for...But I need a universe where Eric and Ilya and Shane can exist together...Soon, I hope.

[ronandhermy]

Title: Harvard Boys

Fandom: Breakfast with Scot (2007)

Pairing(s): Scot LaTour/Ryan Burlington, Eric McNally/Sam Miller

Chapters: 2 of 2

Word Count: 83,162

Status: Complete

Summery:

In the summer when they’re both fourteen, right before they hurdle into high school, Ryan implements the shirtless rule. Sometimes the journey of a lifetime begins on an old green-grey couch in a quiet Toronto neighborhood.

[stop-ugly]

Does anyone know a movie where queer people are not the lead characters but part of a story?

I wanna play that film on family movie night. I'm still in the closet so the movie can't be too gay but I wanna remind them lgbt+ people exist, can be parents, happy and among us

If we gonna make a list of movies like that I start: Breakfast with Scot (2007). Really need to hear your variants!

[readyfreddy]

Breakfast with Scot (2007) is the best hockey AND Christmas movie

[tinycupcakesstuff]

Gonna jump into my time machine and do one of these!

1. Share a song that makes you think of - Celine Dion “I drove all night��� is part of the soundtrack of my Eric/Sam origins fic when after having a big fight, Sam drives all night to rescue Eric from his family after he comes out disastrously when he returns home for his fathers funeral.

2. Do you read/reread your own fics? Yes, my WIPs.

3. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written? I’m enjoying my WIPs, my pre movie and during movie fics are my babies.

4. How many WIPs do you have right now? 2-3

5. What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write? I started it, but may not post…a decades post movie fic where Sam convinces Eric to watch Fellow Travelers and he just totally loses it and adult Scot comes home to find eric a sobbing distraught mess and thinks someone had died only yo find out a Eric is in his feelings about Hawk and Tim and yells at him calling him snd *ass*hole.

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time? Yes all BwS fic on repeat in perpetuity.

7. How many ideas for fics do you have right now? So many.

8. What project(s) are you currently working on? A Eric/Sam origin story pre movie with goal of 80k words, at 50k. I have a during movie into immediate post movie fic jm 30k words into.

9. Do you write every day? If you wrote today, share a sentence of what you’ve written! Not every day but I think about writing every day.

10. Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting? Never published 🥴

11. Do you have specific playlists for writing fics? No. I live in silence.

12. Do you have a playlist for your current WIP(s)? Share it! NA

13. How much planning do you do before writing? Lots of thinking of the scenes. I need to know what’s happening then write it down.

14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fan fic would you pick? Omg yes…TV series. Multiple seasons. Lots of story to tell.

15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters? Still working on title for my premo is fic but my other one is a line from the film.

16. At what point in the process do you come up with titles? When it’s right. Can be at any point.

17. What’s something you’ve learned about while doing research for a fic? Omg, well I’m a die hard hockey fan now. #Leafsforever

18. What’s one of your favorite lines you’ve written in a fic?

Eric never knew he had a type, but this has to be it. Physically, Sam was a very handsome man but it was beyond that to the very dignified way he carried himself at all times.

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

Eric stared up at a group of men, the fluorescent lights created a halo effect around them. Instead of angelic and comforting, the effect was surreal. He suddenly felt frightened. 

By the tense posture and squared jaw he could immediately discern one of the figures as his coach, Bob Axelrod. Eric was careful not reveal any sign of fear or emotion on his face. There was also dad, a doctor, and a younger man he didn’t recognize. He shook his head in a lame attempt to collect himself. The feelings of fear and confusion crested into a wave of anger. 

His Dad spoke first. “It’s about time you woke up.” He and Axelrod were cut from the same cloth. Men hardened by their meager circumstances they could never quite overcome. In his father’s case, he was stuck running the family business and never got to live out his dream of being a hockey player. That was Eric’s job. Axelrod was just born angry and hateful, and had his own middling NHL career to stand on. They were equally triggered by any demonstration of humanity, that was weakness. Eric was supposed to be a hockey machine, nothing more, nothing less. This Dad and Axelrod were looking down at him with matching contemptuous scowls. They had a knack for sucking all the air out of the room.

“Yeah, I know, how embarrassing for me to be rendered unconscious by general anesthesia. What will the papers say? ‘Eric McNally is a sissy,’ right Ax?”

Axelrod snorted derisively, “Fucking faggot, more like. You caused a God damn brawl and now Sanders is out with a sprained ankle.”

Eric clocked the fourth man wincing from the use of the slur, and he self-consciously straightened his burgundy paisley tie that perfectly complemented his immaculately tailored suit.

“I don’t give a fuck about Sanders,” Eric spat out.

The nurse was still standing next to the fourth man and Eric watched them exchange an uneasy glance. He was tall and handsome and seemed to be comfortable in his own skin and pink tie. He didn’t look like someone who gets pushed around. Something in his expression changed as he stepped forward, “Mr. McNally, I’m so glad you are awake. I’m Sam Miller, your lawyer. John Thompson assigned me to your case.” He looked Axelrod square in the face and then back to Eric. “There was indeed quite a melee after you were knocked unconscious by Sanders. Multiple players engaged in a fight and sustained injuries. Some are pursuing legal action against the team. That is why I am here, and I would advise you not to speak with the team’s representatives without me being present.”

Eric’s Dad lunged forward. “They sent a lawyer up here! This is absolutely ridiculous. Bob Axelrod did nothing wrong. We don’t want you here.”

Sam then directed his cold gaze to Eric’s father, “No one sent me. Mr. McNally is a long-term client of our firm and I am here to represent him with all matters pertaining to his contractual relationship with the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club and his rights to pursue civil and criminal charges against those who assaulted him on Thursday.”

Eric’s dad wagged a finger in Sam’s face,“Get out of here! No one wants you here!”

Eric watched on in horror and sat up in the bed too fast causing an overwhelming shooting pain down his arm.“Fuck!” He cried out loudly.

They all paused in their tracks, temporarily fixated on Eric who was breathing slowly trying to ride out the wave of intense pain. He was determined to put an end to this, and pushed through the pain to yell at his father. 

“Dad! What the fuck do you think you are doing? Don’t you dare lay a finger on him! Get out of here! You and Axelrod need to get the fuck out of here and don’t ever come back! You can go out there and talk about what a fucking disappointment I am and fantasize about how you want to take me out back with your rifle and put me down. Get the fuck out of here.” 

Eric laid back down in the bed and pressed the button to his morphine drip. 

Eric’s Dad and Axelrod left grumbling to each other.. Eric breathed a sigh of relief. Sam hesitated a second, allowing them to leave first. After their voices receded down the hallway, Sam started to make his exit. 

“Hey, Sam. You can stay. I just wanted those assholes to clear out.”

He turned back into the room and approached the bed with a hint of a smile , “I’m Sam Miller. Pleased to meet you officially. And, um, thanks for that.”

20. What’s a favorite title for a fic you’ve written? TBD

21. Have you ever deleted an entire scene after spending hours laboring over it? If so, why? YES! I originally had them meet in a totally different way. But, I will post that as a separate one shot one day.

22. Do you know how your fic will end before you start writing? No. I am more of a pantser than a plotter. All I know is HEA!

23. How do you choose where to end a chapter (if you have multi-chapter works)? I like to end on dialogue or a nice thought that is a nice point to pause or reflect on.

24. Share a moodboard for (one of) your current WIP(s). OMG, I have a whole pinterest for Eric and Sam.

Sam

Eric

25. Have you ever upset yourself with your own writing? Not really.

26. Is there something you’ve written that you would never want your family to see? ALL OF IT heheheheh

27. Is there a fic you were nervous to post/share? Why? I'm nervous to post, but I know that I want this story out there.

28. Have you ever tagged a fic “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat”? LOL no

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.)

Okay, I will post the above referenced fic.

“There, there.” Sam says, patting Eric’s head absently.

They’re sitting on the couch, Sam with his legs up on the coffee table and Eric sitting beside him with his head between his legs. Eric lets out a few muffled sobs. Sam hears the footsteps approaching quicker than he can think of a plausible explanation for the current state of affairs. 

Sam turns his head without removing his hand, fingers now weaving through Eric’s salt and pepper flecked hair. The contour of Eric’s skull in his hand is so familiar, it’s like the back of his hand. What is less familiar is Eric’s emotional outburst. Eric had become considerably more in touch with his feelings since Scot came into their lives, but this sort of outpouring of emotion was a first for Eric. Sam was surprised when Eric willingly watched the latest television series depicting LGBT issues. Eric didn’t typically care much, but when Sam explained the premise of the new series Fellow Travelers, Eric was intrigued.

They had met in the last few seasons of Queer as Folk which Eric would watch but roll his eyes at. It’s been more than 20 years since they met, and a lot has changed since then. Eric came out on air and became involved with several LGBTQIA sports organizations, learning the acronyms and finally embracing his community.

So they sat down on the couch each Sunday to stream it, Eric more than Sam eagerly awaiting the new episode. Yelling at the screen. He was completely and utterly captivated by the on screen depiction of two men in love.

Sam glanced over his shoulder expecting Scot to appear at any moment, his footsteps were approaching rapidly. 

“Eric is having feelings,” Sam says by way of explanation.

A look of terror washes across Scot’s handsome face. He had grown into a tall, broadchested  man in the years since they adopted him. He spent far more time in the gym than Sam would have ever predicted, much to Eric’s delight. There was a lot of truth to Sam’s theory that his strong embrace for the feminine was an expression of his grief for his mother and an attempt to stay close to her. As he moved into puberty and processed his grief he learned to embrace his masculine side. Now, he was a grown man with he/him pronouns and his partner is trans. He goes to the gym to keep up his bulky physique, but wears his hear long and styled to perfection with a full beard. He’s the product of three parents who embraced him fully and allowed him to express his authentic self.

“What the hell is going on?” He says, voice quivering, betraying a deep concern. The rich, deep, sound of Scot’s voice snaps Sam back to reality. Still, after all these years, sometimes Sam expects his prepubescent squeak after all these years. 

As if on queue, Eric pops his head up. 

“Oh, hey, Scot. How was the lecture?” 

“Eric, you’re sobbing!” Scot nearly shouts and rushes to the couch and wedging himself between them, a habit he’s had since he was a boy. Sam’s lips start to twitch up into a smile and he and Eric exchange a look behind Scot’s shoulders.

Eric, who has now fully regained his composure, opens his mouth to speak when he is abruptly cut off by Scot.

“Are you ok? Is Sam ok? Tell me. I can take it.” 

Sam’s hand is now on Scot’s head, weaving his fingers through his long, shoulder length auburn locks, “Scot, slow down.”

Eric slips an arm around Scot’s waist, “We’re fine, Scot. We were just watching Fellow Travelers.”

“Assholes!” Scot shouts as he shoots up off the couch.Sam and Eric can’t help but laugh. Sam is bemused by Scot’s swearing. He, like Sam, isn’t prone to profanities. Unlike Eric, who has very colorful language picked up of a lifetime of locker room talk.

He’s pacing in front of the TV.

“Ass—” he pauses, allowing Sam and Eric join him to complete the phrase, “holes!”

“First of all, I thought one of you were sick! I know the story of Hawk and Skippy is emotional, but Eric, really? Sobbing? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cry before.”

“I’m a closet romantic,” Eric snarks back.

Sam chimes in to Eric’s defense, “I mean, it’s pretty sad. Historically speaking.”

Scot shrugs and settles back in on the couch, “So, Eric, do you want to talk about it?”

Eric huffs impatiently, “I think you guys are making more out of this than it needs to be.”

Sam rubs his back gently, patiently waiting for Eric to open up.

“Fine. It’s just that I think about how when we fell in love, and what if we met at another time, and I don’t know…”

Sam smiles a knowing smile that reaches his eyes while Scot looks on confused.

Eric waves a hand dismissively. “I was thinking about what if I couldn’t have you. What if we couldn’t be together. I would have ended up like Tim, on an odyssey to get over you but never able to.”

“I love that my parents are so in love.”

30. Ask anything

I’m Bored and Anxious So I Slapped Together a List of Fan Fic Writer Asks

1. Share a song that makes you think of [fic title] 2. Do you read/reread your own fics? 3. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written? 4. How many WIPs do you have right now? 5. What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write? 6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time? 7. How many ideas for fics do you have right now? 8. What project(s) are you currently working on? 9. Do you write every day? If you wrote today, share a sentence of what you’ve written! 10. Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting? 11. Do you have specific playlists for writing fics? 12. Do you have a playlist for your current WIP(s)? Share it! 13. How much planning do you do before writing? 14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fan fic would you pick? 15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters? 16. At what point in the process do you come up with titles? 17. What’s something you’ve learned about while doing research for a fic? 18. What’s one of your favorite lines you’ve written in a fic? 19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs. 20. What’s a favorite title for a fic you’ve written? 21. Have you ever deleted an entire scene after spending hours laboring over it? If so, why? 22. Do you know how your fic will end before you start writing? 23. How do you choose where to end a chapter (if you have multi-chapter works)? 24. Share a moodboard for (one of) your current WIP(s). 25. Have you ever upset yourself with your own writing? 26. Is there something you’ve written that you would never want your family to see? 27. Is there a fic you were nervous to post/share? Why? 28. Have you ever tagged a fic “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat”? 29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.) 30. Ask anything!

[mech-bull]

Various fandom rambling.

This is long-ish so it's going under a cut.

It has been more than 2 years since I posted any fic, and that was a purposely incomplete one. The last finished fic I posted was almost 3 years ago. In that time, I’ve also received 108 comments on various fic, and it just seems so daunting to even begin replying to those and I’m sure most of the commenters have long since moved on, anyway. This inactivity has been partly because of stressful job and other real-life situations, and partly because I just haven’t felt any sort of creative mojo. The only fandom-related things I’ve been able to do are watch things and read things.

So, I really want to commit to writing again this summer. I still have stressors and obligations to deal with but I want to get back into being a creator and not just a consumer again. I’m going to start small – I have on-hiatus fics for The Old Guard* and Breakfast with Scot that I think I’m far enough along in, I’ll be able to complete them. After that, we’ll see. I do have lots of bunnies. Just turning them into actual fic still seems harder than it has in the past.

I’m not going to write 9-1-1 fic. I’m NOT. The fandom, frankly, both scares and annoys me. I simply refuse to be a part of it.  Oh God, I’m going to write 9-1-1 fic, aren’t I?

* Are we EVER going to get The Old Guard 2??

For the 25-some years I’ve been reading fanfic, and I have said this before many times, I have always wanted versatility in my smut. Mostly because I don’t think fantasies should be limited and also to the extent that porn serves plot and characterization, it’s vital to a story’s needs to be as flexible as some of the positions I put my OTPs in (hey-oh). But also, because as much as people like to shout otherwise, fandom as a whole is not all that progressive or open-minded when it comes to gender and relationships (and I have my own hang-ups and biases here, to be sure). Certainly, some individual writers are, and certainly fandom can often be better at it than many other parts of society, but there is still a strong tendency for an overall fanon to try to fit pairings (of any gender and sex orientation) into bizarrely conservative heteronormative dynamics. Slash fandoms in particular have a real hard time separating activities in the bedroom from individual character personality traits and relationship dynamics. To me, there is a difference between saying a character is a bottom vs. a character prefers to bottom, if that makes sense. [*PLEASE NOTE that I am not saying that a person in real life can’t identify as such or have a strict preference/role. I'm talking about fictional characters whose explicit sexual activities are typically being made up entirely by fandom.] So, because of all that, I aim to write and read as many variations as possible and often even try to contrarily go against fanon trends.

That said…Buck prefers to bottom, as far as I'm concerned. Most, if not all, of his girlfriends topped him. And Taylor definitely pegged him. I assume the same is or will be true for his boyfriends. I will read other things, and YMMV (Seriously I am not looking to fight anyone on this. Have I mentioned the fandom scares me?). I think Buck would not only willingly but actively, enthusiastically, joyfully do anything his partners want to in bed. But when he has his druthers, dude wants to get fucked. Hard. Sigh, I’m going to write 9-1-1 fic, aren’t I?

[achoo-gesundheit]

The time has come friends! If you want me to write you a silly little story, please check out my auction page. And feel free to send me an ask with any questions about specific fic ideas, if you'd like! Super excited for a new year of auction shenanigans.

Bidding is now open!

Bidding for Fandom Trumps Hate 2024 is now officially open! Go to our dreamwidth offerings blog to place your bids anytime from now until March 9th.

The stickied post contains information about how to search tags on dreamwidth if you're still browsing what to bid on. Individual posts have instructions on how to bid; simply fill out the appropriate bidding form and your bid will be logged on the bidding spreadsheet automatically. If someone has more than one auction, make sure to bid on the correct one!

Bidding will be open until March 9th at 8:00 PM EST. Best of luck placing your bids!

[achoo-gesundheit]

It's that time of year again, friends! If you're one of the many commenters I've had over the years who asked me if I would write more for a specific character or scene, this is your moment. Check out my FTH offerings page or shoot me a message if you have a specific idea you wanna run by me. I'm super excited to write for you!

[tinycupcakesstuff]

10 Reasons I am obsessed with Breakfast with Scot

Grab yourself a T shaped pancake and enjoy!

I find the theme's of the novel by Michael Downing and the screen adaptation to be very compelling. Exploration of found families, stable queer couple navigating parenthood, potentially queer/gender nonconforming kids, coming out, self-acceptance.

I am a big fan of contemporary fiction, real-life situations meets romance/rom-com. I am not really into YA or fantasy, fandom can be heavily skewed in that direction. I also like more mature protagonists beyond the early 20s into adulthood.

Love a totally stable and in love m/m couple with careers and a house in the suburbs. No romantic drama. Just a wholesome queer marriage.

LOVE that the NHL and Toronto Maple Leafs gave permission to use the logos and branding in a queer-themed film.

I love both stories, novel and film. I think that the characters stand up really well in both. Particularly, I think Eric is entirely justified in remaining in the closet professionally and as a public figure. It was 2007! Ellen was recently out. Very few celebrities and next to no sports figures were out in that time period.

Tom Cavanagh and Ben Shenkman are just so fine, this should be self-evident.

I just love the wholesome, feel-good comfort of the film. I know it isn't perfect but for its time, I think it did well and was pretty ground breaking. Queer-themed films were usually tragedies back then.

LOVE that they incorporated hockey!!!

Love the supporting characters and feeling of a sitcom. That found family and found community comes through very strongly.

And most of all, I love that there is so much story to tell. How did Eric end up getting together with Sam if he can't even say the word gay out loud yet is ok talking about their bedsheets on the street for anyone to hear? How do they deal with Scot's trauma about losing his mom? How is Sam a sports attorney yet knows nothing about hockey? Did Scot finish the hockey season? I want to know all about Nula and George Jr's wedding! I want Eric/Sam commitment ceremony. Hell, I'd even enjoy Billy and Mia's wedding lol. I want to see Scot graduate from high school and Ryan Burlington get drafted.

[ronandhermy]

I wrote 83,162 WORDS in less then a month. A fanfic for a fandom that has probably less people in it then my graduating high school class. And you know what? Worth it.

[tinycupcakesstuff]

Hi, hello,

I also reconnected with the mm romance genre, particularly mm hockey romance while suffering pregnancy complications! I think we need to be friends. Glad to hear you and baby are doing well. We made it and baby is now a toddler and here I am STILL having a great time reading my hockey books, following hockey due to this, and writing fics. I will delve into this post and respond my thoughts, but I totally agree there is just a secret sauce in mm hockey and it’s my current obsession to use as a coping mechanism/dissociation tool.

I was a lurker, never participated in fandom. Certainly never wrote! I made a few drafts over 20 years ago. So while I was pregnant and ran out of Breakfast with Scot fics (the OG hockey husbands IMHO) I started writing my own, I was not yet aware of the hockey mm romance genre. I found it later through TikTok and I squealed **my people**

So here I am writing a mm romance novel based off my fic characters giving them the epic romance they deserve!! I went on my own epic journey of self discovery in the pregnancy and postpartum period discovering the craft of writing and the beautiful sport that is ice hockey. What began as research for my writing project turned into a true passion for the sport. I was doing research and I watched some of the Amazon documentaries to kind of understand the culture a little bit better, it also happened to be the beginning of October, which is apparently the beginning of hockey season. So I said to myself what if I watched a couple games? Well I got hooked immediately and I became a rabid Toronto Maple Leafs fan overnight.

It was a very difficult year, with the very serious pregnancy, complications, preterm, birth, postpartum recovery, breast-feeding struggles, returning to work, struggles, postpartum, depression struggles. But it was also this transformative and beautiful experience where I was for the first time in my life able to tap into my creative potential and so in love with the craft of writing and that was such a journey and I am so glad that all of these different life events came together.

Cant wait to check out your blog more!!!!

Hockey Romances. Why?

So I was taken out of work a couple weeks ago due to ~pregnancy stuff~ (mostly just stress, the baby and I are fine) which has left me with a lot of spare time on my hands. And as one does, I have been filling my time reading lgbtq+ romance novels. Because I can.

In this time, I have fallen headfirst into the hockey romance novel subgenre, and I ask myself, as I have done every time I see these books advertised, why? I am not a sports fan. One time, my husband was watching football (European), and a team in red kits was playing against yellow kits, and I started laughing because "it looks like ketchup is playing against mustard". His expression was great, but he hasn't taken me seriously since.

So why is hockey of all things such a draw for the mlm romance subgenre? Especially given the NHL's apparent fear of rainbow tape? Why do I now know what the word "celly" refers to and what an "enforcer" is? Why why why?

Here are my answers:

Extremely organic way to set up some of the most classic romance tropes. Forced proximity? Being on the same team takes care of that. There was only one bed? Shared hotel rooms during away games. Enemies to lovers? Rival teams.

Lots of potential for drama given that players lead very transient lives in terms of the constant possibility of trades. In mlm love stories, even more so given that the NHL is so blatantly homophobic.

Perfect level of fame. Fame and wealth as a draw for a love interest are kind of staples of the genre, and NHL players are famous, sure, but not all of them, and they aren't as famous as football stars (either kind of football). They are still filthy rich, which makes great wish fulfillment. You can have the sexy penthouse and the anonymity.

I would go on to talk about how different roles on the team lend themselves to different tropes (goalie = tightly controlled dude who needs someone to help him cut loose; enforcer = misunderstood fighter with a heart of gold; coach for all your forbidden love/sleeping with the boss desires) but that would very quickly reveal my utter lack of hockey knowledge, so let's not. Instead, here's a quick reclist.

Rachel Reid's Game Changers series. It's a classic in the genre for a reason and it has everything. Forbidden love? Got that, maybe the definitive example. Redemption arc? Got that. Misunderstood bruiser with a heart of gold? Got that. Age difference? Got that. Also really excellent sex scenes, not gonna lie, and satisfying endings throughout - sometimes a happy end will come a little suddenly for me, but these books really delivered, and the nice thing about how romance series are structured is that you get a little peek at what comes after for the couples in the other books.

2. Him, Us and Epic by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy. This one surprised me, I don't generally go for first person POVs, but I did enjoy this! Coming-of-age story turned coming out story featuring a budding hockey star and his best friend. Lots of fun.

3. Scoring Chances series by Avon Gale. This series is fun in that it doesn't focus on the NHL, it actually focuses on the minor leagues in the southeast of the US, a place almost no one associates with ice hockey. As such, there's a chance to tell different stories about professional athletes who aren't super rich and famous, which I appreciate a lot. TBH the first pairing wasn't entirely my cup of tea, but I'm glad I kept going because I especially enjoyed the later books, which tackle tough topics (including eating disorders, abuse etc., so content warning for that). These are still romance novels though, so rest assured that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. What I especially appreciate is that these books don't have relationship drama, in that the main couples communicate and work together instead of a third act break-up-make-up!

4. Hockey Ever After series by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James. These are just great. Lots of fun to read, lots of cameos from character in later books, just excellent mood all around. Also features my favorite ever trope (secret relationship, sorry, anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for it I just can't help myself) heavily, which is a win in my book. I especially enjoyed book two, "Scoring Position". Is that because Nico is German and I loved him? Is that because Ryan is my new blorbo? We may never know.

Happy reading and please give me recommendations for more books like these, I'm lowkey obsessed.

[devil-in-hiding]

What about farmer reader that has a habit of sleeping in underwear and just goes down like that to make breakfast...totally forgetting the four men in her house, even after months....

I'm lacking sleep and my mind has been doing this for the last hour

(Our child is a girl <3)

-🦋

(we’re naming her theodora)

okay but yes please because summer months on the farm are fucking AWFUL (spoken from true experience) and for the last 6 years you have freely slept in just a pair of soft silk shorts that stay so nice and cold and hug you j u s t right

so when it’s in the triple digits and you already have all the fans pointed at your bed, you don’t think twice about stripping off your gown, nor do you think about trotting down the stairs the next morning, rubbing sleep from your eyes and stretching your arm above your head

“Mornin pretty, do you- fuckin’ hell woman!” Price’s voice stops you dead your your tracks, your eyes locking with a red faced Soap, who is trying his fucking b e s t to keep his gaze locked on your face, but when you gasp and your chest rises, he breaks, eyes darting down and he w h i n e s, chair scrapping the floor

“No! Soap! DOWN!” Price barks, scrambling to try and pin the scot against the table, but Soap is slippery, and your brain doesn’t kick in until your being tossed on the couch, Soap towering over you

“Sweet fuckin’ jesus bonnie..” He breathes, eyes hungry and you try to cover your chest, but your hands are pinned to the couch cushion

[tinycupcakesstuff]

I love this fic <3

30 Days of Writing: 25/30

winter. (breakfast with scot: Eric McNally/Sam Miller.)

Toronto isn’t always snowing but he likes the city best when it does.

Even though he has grown up in indoor skating rinks, practicing his shots with a quick burst of energy through the flick of wrist, winter is better when it is outside where there is still a layer of fresh snow over the ice beneath his blades.

“Mornin’.”

Sam greets him with a smile hidden behind his cup.

Eric leans over to give his partner a peck on the lips, eyes bleary as his mouth tastes coffee, hand still scratching lazily at an itch just above the waistband of his pants. He walks further into the kitchen for the coffee machine.

“You didn’t leave me any, Sam.”

He looks at the empty pot and it is not a pout, Eric McNally doesn’t pout when he turns back to him. The other simply chuckles before beckoning him over with a tilt of his cup, like a well-worn invitation he knows that he’ll take.

And it doesn’t always feel like they are missing anything in their lives, not when he takes the mug from Sam’s hands. Then somewhere along their shared path, Scot makes them pancakes in the shape of the missing T.

But they don’t know that yet.

At least not when he is kissing him goodbye by the door to their garage, where no one else can see and judge, and he wishes it doesn’t have to be this way.

He shivers in the doorway, and smiles when Sam’s eye-catching sports car backs out of their driveway.

And it isn’t until the tail lights disappear down their street does he shut the garage door again, hands still warm from Sam’s mug of shared coffee.

XXX Kuro

[tinycupcakesstuff]

I'm writing...

There is a lot of writing happening.

I think I am the biggest Eric/Sam stan of all time, and I'm fine with that.

I've been around since LJ days. Last year, I fell back into fandom and Breakfast with Scot. I just love it for so many reasons.

I probably have 50k words across different fics going on. They're coming...one day soon.