#but no it's Just Nate Mack

[sergeifyodorov]

we are always talking about the sid/ovi davo/tony etc parallels but i want to know where natemac fits into all of this and who he parallels

HONESTLY i have kept this guy in here for a long time and i'm genuinely not sure. natemac is in part the guy who is young and grew up idolizing sidney and no real stars have yet to appear growing up fawning over connor exactly -- 05 to 13, so anyone who fits the bill would be showing up right about now.

but natemac is also a totally different kind of player to either sid/connor or ovi/auston: sid and connor can do everything, but they're primarily playmakers -- they can and surely will score goals, but far and away they're mostly assists; ovi and auston are, obviously, goalscorers first. natemac, meanwhile, is the best dual threat in the league: no one who's a better passer than him is a better shooter, and no one who's a better shooter is a better passer. and not many people are better than him at either one. (william nylander is a similar player, but a winger and not as good. nylander is the pastrnak to natemac's matthews, if you care to think about it that way)

narratively there just straight up is no one like him. playwise, the same. so i guess you could make something of that?

[ohmyeyesmyeyes]

on tonight's episode of 'crushes with beefcake'... - nate mack

dad!nate x f!reader

summary: josh has some questions and nate jumps at the opportunity to tell a little story of his own

warnings: swearing, mentions the death of a grandparent, fluff (psa this is just a little palette cleanser fic thing, i had inspiration and i ran with it)

word count: 5.9k

It wasn’t very often that your son called a family meeting. In fact, in the entire history of people that had called a family meeting (excluding little Leyla), he’d never called a family meeting. He frowned upon them. Groaned at the words and sulked the entire way through them – as most ten year olds probably did.

Which was why, after putting him to bed and after you and Nate had both wandered back downstairs to watch a film, it was a shock to hear a pair of determined footsteps echo down the stairs with a clear purpose. The only thing more shocking was when he stood in front of you both, brows knitted together and a nervous frown on his face, and the words “I want to declare a family meeting right now” tumbled out of his mouth.

You’d blinked and Nate had sat up, removing his legs from where he’d draped them across yours. And when Josh turned around and strolled into the dining room, dragging a chair back out behind him, you shared a curious look with Nate – who looked as though he couldn’t decide if he should laugh or be worried.

And then you had to swallow a laugh and put on a serious face when Josh placed the chair in the middle of the living room, facing the both of you and lacing his hands together.

“It feels like we’re about to get therapized by our kid.” Nate muttered under his breath, and you swore you could feel your mom-face slip for a moment.

“Or it’s an intervention. Did we do something wrong?” You whispered back.

You felt Nate pause and then tense. 

Josh was oblivious, trying to adjust his seating position on the chair to find a comfier one, and probably also trying to stall because of the suddenly tense atmosphere that had enveloped the room.

Nate shuffled closer to you, his bicep and thigh touching yours, partly to reassure himself and partly to get closer so he could whisper into your ear without the risk of being heard, “What if he heard us?”

You inhaled, your stomach dropping unpleasantly. It had been one of your fears as a parent – the idea of scarring your kid in that way was absolutely mortifying. You had friends that had unfortunately experienced it, and there were a few choice words thrown around, so even the mere thought that Josh could have…it was enough to make you squirm uncomfortably.

“Nate.” You whispered, your tone causing him to whip his head towards you, a crease now prominent on his forehead, “If that ever happens, I give you permission to divorce me for trauma to the kids, okay?”

Upon hearing your words and realising they weren’t as serious as you’d initially made them sound, Nate’s face broke into a soft grin, thumb coming up to lightly brush under your eye, “For future reference, I’d much rather pay for their therapy than ever even think about divorcing you.” And he pressed a cheeky kiss against your lips as a way of sealing the promise.

“Ahem.” Josh coughed pointedly, and both you and Nate spun to look at him, feeling an awful lot like you’d been caught in a forbidden act of affection – which was pretty ridiculous considering the fact that it was at the hands of a gobby ten-year old.

Nate’s hand fell naturally on your leg, draped across your knee and curling around the top of your shin as you both turned your full attention to your son. Josh was pretty tall for his age, every bit of Nate’s build as he possibly could be. It was that, paired with Nate’s eyes and mouth that sometimes had you doing a double-take when you looked at him. It was like looking at a younger version of Nate again, back when you were both in school – not that Nate had stuck around for too long.

And you were reminded of that when Josh took charge of the entire room, and how similar it was to that funny expression Nate used to wear at his age, and even to this day – before games, dad-duties, serious conversations. It was their concentration face.

“He’s kinda scary–”

“Are you two done flirting now?” Josh interrupted, throwing Nate an unimpressed glance as his eyes darted between the two of you with about as much disdain for parental affection as he could possibly muster.

You swallowed, trying not to laugh and partially succeeding, and slowly pushed Nate’s hand off your knee. Josh’s eyes closely followed your movements, looking rather pleased with your reaction, and you could feel Nate’s disappointed glare burn the side of your face. It seemed to diminish in intensity somewhat when he caught the stifled twitch of your mouth as you wrestled with a smile.

“We weren’t flirting–” Nate denied, shaking his head and bumping your knees together – compensation for not being able to actually have a hand on you at this particular moment in time.

“I ordered a family meeting, excluding Leyla.” Josh groaned, hands on his cheeks in a show of hopelessness and frustration, “That means I’m the Head Judge, I get to make the rules, and Rule One is now no flirting–wait, Mom, where’s the Wooden Hammer Thing?”

You pushed yourself off the sofa, wandering into the dining room and picking out the gavel from one of the shelves and walking back into the living room to see Nate scratching his head with red cheeks and Josh sitting scarily chipper on the chair, hand out awaiting his Wooden Hammer Thing.

“It’s a gavel.” Was all you said, a little hesitant to say much else out of fear of…Josh’s unexpected wrath, “What happened?” You pointed the gavel between them both, slightly concerned for Nate when he shook his head, clearly embarrassed at something.

“Dad was watching you walk away and I set a new rule because it was annoying me.” Josh shrugged, taking the gavel from you.

“What rule is that?” You asked, intrigue skyrocketing when Nate pushed himself towards the far end of the sofa, as far away as humanly possible as he could get away from you in such a small space. 

Josh sighed, “I’ll paraphrase because I need to talk about something important. Basically, no horny behav–”

“No what now?”

“Where did you even learn that word?”

You and Nate spoke at the same time, you with confusion, and Nate with a hint of outrage as his eyes remained fixed on Josh, who, for the first time since he’d come back downstairs, was looking sheepish. His cheeks were a little red and he was grinning rather shyly, shoulders curling in on themselves.

“It was on TV the other day, someone said it.” Josh shrugged, before noting the still evident look of mild horror on both you and Nate’s face, “And I Googled it because I didn’t know what it meant.”

“No, don’t Google it!” Your hand covered your mouth, images and words that he could have seen flashing in your mind  – images and words that no ten year old should ever be subjected to, ever.

And to think Nate was worried about being heard? Why did kids have to be so good with technology and Google nowadays? When you were Josh’s age, YouTube was a dating site, so to think.. 

“It’s okay, I didn’t click on pictures.” Josh pulled a face, “The words were enough.”

There was a sputtering sound from the other end of the sofa, and you turned to find Nate also with his hand over his mouth, failing to hide a snort of laughter despite his earlier complaints. It seemed to die out, though, when he saw the identical way you and Josh were looking at him: with a hint of amusement and a tad of impatience.

He coughed, clearing his throat and straightening, “Sorry. Got something stuck in my throat.”

You rolled your eyes fondly, patting him on the leg (because even if he tried to move to the other end of the sofa, with the way he’d spread his legs, you barely even had to lean over to reach him).

“Whatever you say, Beefcake.” Josh muttered under his breath, and your hand stilled on Nate’s thigh, face freezing.

You didn’t have to look at Nathan to feel the piercing way he tilted his head to glare at you out of the corner of your eye, frustration clearly written across the panes of his face, “You created that.” He muttered, breath hot against the shell of your ear as he moved back over to you, his arm resting against the back of the sofa.

You said nothing, just resisted a smile and leaned against Nate’s arm, relishing in the way he draped it against your shoulders, drawing you against his chest. 

There was a brief flicker of hesitation when you leaned fully into him, wondering if this was the so-called ‘horny behaviour’ that Josh had ruled out of the meeting, but when he looked back up from where he’d been picking a strand of hair off his Penguin’s pyjama top, he didn’t say anything. Just sighed a little, and shook his head, like it was pointless trying to get you to adhere to his rules in the first place (which it was – Josh was the one treading in uncharted waters: it was nine pm on a school night – a time strictly reserved for unwinding with Nate on the sofa).

“Okay,” Josh began, back straightening, “I gather you here today–” 

You could feel Nate’s stomach tense and a shaky breath be exhaled in an effort to not break.

“To talk to you about something.” Josh took a deep breath, “It’s something I hold very close to my heart, but it means I have to ask you for help and questions because…” he shrugged, snapping out of the role somewhat, “in all my life, I’ve never not known how to talk to a girl.”

Oh.

Nate stopped laughing, and you felt your eyes widen in surprise. 

“Mom, Beefcake. I got a crush.” Josh slowly slipped off the chair, landing on his knees and holding his hands up to the sky, a pained expression on his face.

“I don’t know where he gets that from.” Nate muttered, gesturing to the dramatised scene occurring realtime in front of you.

“I think that’s just him.” You nodded along, suppressing a smile.

Josh returned back to his seat, smiling innocently and like he hadn’t just cried to the heavens, and you wanted to take him off the chair and sandwich him between you and Nate. 

Gosh, he’d grown up too fast. You could have sworn only last week you were bringing him home from the hospital, and now he was getting penalties for roughing in his games and asking how to talk to girls.

You scooted over, patting the space between you and Nate, “Come on.”

Josh rolled his eyes and fashioned a groan but followed you anyway, throwing himself down and eliciting a huff of pain from Nate as he half-sat on him.

“Okay,” you started, hands going to stroke through his hair, “tell us about why you need help with this crush.”

Josh practically reddened under your gaze, crossing his arms and swinging his feet – like he instantly regretted even bringing it up – but you applauded his bravery. Your mom had to pester crushes out of you because you were so scared if you told someone that the crush in mention would somehow hear you whisper their name.

“Her name’s Aimee, she sits behind me in class. I’ve tried talking to her, but she’s kinda quiet and I think I intimidate her a bit because…I’m not quiet.” He mumbled, fingers absentmindedly picking at his sleeve, “And I don’t want to scare her off.”

Your heart squeezed a little, and you were at a loss of what to actually say. You’d never been in that position before, usually the roles were reversed: you were the quiet one crushing on the louder person. Naturally, your eyes fell to Nate, who, it seemed, had got something in mind and had already been looking at you.

He was smiling like he knew something you didn’t, and you furrowed your brows, questioning his motives when he looked back down towards Josh.

“I’m gonna tell you something that I think’ll help.” Josh peered up at Nate, something akin to hope and excitement lingering on his face as he watched Nate talk, “When I was your age, maybe a bit younger, I had a massive crush on this girl. She was in a couple of my classes in middle school, and she was quiet. She didn’t put her hand up to answer any questions, even though she should’ve because she knew all the answers anyway – and I thought she was the prettiest girl in school by far–”

“What was her name?” Josh interrupted, frowning slightly.

“That’s not important.” Nate shook his head, “Anyway, in one of my classes in particular, we were assigned seating plans, and she sat on my table, with two other people. And I’d never spoken to this girl in my life, so all I knew was that she was pretty, pretty smart, and pretty shy. And it took me a couple of weeks to even ask her for the time–”

“No way.” Josh muttered sarcastically, and Nate frowned at him, bottom lip sticking out.

“I’m tryna help you.” 

Josh blinked, “Get to that part, then. You’re just spewing words.”

Nate pressed his lips together, meeting your eyes across Josh’s head with a straight-faced look. You didn’t pay it much attention – in all honesty, you were trying to figure out this mystery crush he’d had. Nate had been a pretty known person when you guys were in school, what with his hockey and everything, but even despite that he’d always been pretty tight-lipped about his middle school crush, and it had always felt a little silly to keep pestering him about it, so you just…left it.

“Fine.” Nate continued on, one hand reaching out to grasp yours, even as he turned his attention and focus back on Josh. His grip was tight, cool wedding band a nice contrast to your warm hands, and you tuned back into what he was saying, “And once this girl got used to the people she was sitting with, she started talking, and it turned out she was pretty funny. She used to say these things under her breath that only the table could hear, and we’d either all get a telling off for laughing, or we’d all know the answers to the questions.” Nate sighed, “Then the entire table got split up because we were distracting everyone.”

Something in the back of your mind seemed to click at that moment.

The same moment Josh spoke up, “Then what?”

“Then we left school and moved away.” Nate shrugged.

Josh pushed himself up off the sofa, arms crossed, “How’s that supposed to help me?”

In any other situation, you would’ve turned to Josh, tried to calm him down or say something reassuring, but you couldn’t quite pull yourself away from the crinkles in the corner of Nate’s eyes, or the way that he was still smiling like he knew something no one else did. Your mouth parted unconsciously at his words, and your brain went blank. His hand was still tangled with yours, squeezing every so often.

“Because eventually she opened up, and I didn’t have to change anything about me for that to happen. It just takes time, and she has to learn to trust you and be comfortable around you.” Nate continued, either ignorant or choosing to ignore the way you were intent on just staring rather awe-strickenly at him, “I’d also say it was a minor character misjudgement from me, because it turned out she was just quiet around people she didn’t know very well. She liked to sit and observe before chipping in.”

Josh was quiet for a second, deep in thought, and you took the opportunity to use your free hand to poke Nate in the cheek. Once, twice. He caught your hand, bringing it to his lap, and almost as though he was purposefully trying to drive you crazy, he reached for your leg, hauling you across the space Josh had just left. All without paying you a single scrap of attention.

“So I just have to be patient?” Josh asked, a rather dumbfounded look on his face.

You turned your attention back to your son, curling into Nate’s side again and feeling rather smug.

“Yeah. Maybe dial the noise down, though, let her know you’re paying attention to her instead of shouting to your friends, or interrupting.” Nate pressed a kiss to your head, a hand going to cover your mouth as you opened it to say something.

Josh caught the action, raising a brow in your direction, “Sounds doable. Did you break Mom, or something?”

You nodded, and you could feel Nate shake his head.

Josh looked unconvinced, so you licked Nate’s palm, attempting to pry it away from your mouth so you could defend yourself, but he’d clearly expected that kind of retaliation because he breathed a laugh, momentarily tightening his grip to prove he wasn’t fazed.

Josh took a few steps forward, reaching for Nate’s arm, “Can you unhand Mom, please? She wants to say something.” 

Nate let go, still keeping an arm around you but resting his opposite arm on the side of the sofa, head in his hand and looking at you with a knowing smile.

You inhaled, “He’s not telling you the whole story.” You pointed an accusing finger at Nate, and Josh gasped.

“Beefcake! How dare you deny your son the truth?” 

Nate laughed, but didn’t elaborate.

“Ask him what happened after.” You encouraged Josh, nudging your head back towards Nate.

Josh peered at you, mouth curved downwards in befuddlement, “He said nothing else happened.”

“Ask him again.”

“Dad.” Josh started, eyeing you cautiously out of the corner of his eye, “What happened after?”

Nate glanced at you, eyes darting to the sparkling bands on your left hand, before settling on Josh, who still hadn’t quite moved from where he’d folded his arms.

“I moved to Minnesota for a bit, then back home when I was sixteen. Then Colorado when I was seventeen or eighteen,” he pulled a face, not too bothered on the specifics, “And then about six years later, I came back home one summer and saw her standing in the ready meals aisle of a superstore, looking just as beautiful as the day I left – and still the prettiest person I ever laid eyes on.”

Josh glanced at you out of the corner of his eyes, uncertainty clear – he couldn’t tell whether to run to your defence and interrupt Nate’s spiel, or let him carry on. And you gathered that from your clear lack of upset, that he chose the latter.

“You have to know that it took some guts and I gave myself a bit of a pep talk, but I went up to her, introduced myself and she remembered me–”

“Dad, you were literally an NHL player.” (And Josh returned with the reality check.)

“She remembered me, and I asked if she wanted a drink and she said yes.” Nate finished, leg kicking out to poke his foot against Josh’s leg for interrupting him – but the younger MacKinnon was still looking rather lost on the entire subject.

“What then?” He pressed, yet again throwing you another worried glance, to which you simply grabbed his hand and pulled him to sit on your knee — he didn’t fight it like you expected, just put his arm around your neck, his hand resting comfortably against Nate’s forearm, and placed his head on your shoulder, yawning softly.

“Three years later I asked her to marry me and she said yes. And now,” Nate smirked, “we’ve been happily married for nine years, and have two beautiful children called Josh and Leyla.” 

You felt Josh sigh against your collarbone, “I don’t want to play the long game, Dad. Not like that.” 

You fought a grin at Nate’s drop in expression. You could tell he’d been expecting some blown out reaction of ‘wow’ or ‘wait, that was you and Mom?’, and the lack of thrill from Josh had clearly knocked his confidence a little, because he shifted, pulling a face.

“If I hadn't played the long game, you wouldn’t be here.” He reasoned, eyes flicking to you.

Instead, Josh lifted his head up, looking you dead in the face with your husband’s eyes, “Did you have a crush on Dad in school?”

You hesitated.

Nate mock-gasped, both hands flying over his mouth, even though you knew he already knew that little smidge of information.

“You didn’t?” Josh asked, recoiling slightly, “Then why did you tell me this story? I thought you were supposed to be inspiring me, not tearing me down and stripping me of my confidence?” He questioned, clearly appalled.

You laughed, “Okay, you gotta bear in mind that the first time I met your dad was on that class table. And it was only about four weeks until we were moved around again, and then he left to go to Minnesota, so he didn’t have time on his side at all.” You took a breath, “Or a pair of balls, apparently—”

Josh cackled at Nate’s expense.

“I can’t believe—” Josh giggled, “that you were literally in love with Mom, a-a—” he practically dissolved into a boneless heap in the middle of you and Nate, hand clutching his stomach, “and she didn’t even know you existed.”

“That’s not true.” You objected, “I knew Na—your dad existed, I just…Look.”

Josh dove into another fit of giggles at your struggle.

“If your dad hadn't talked to me in that one class as much as he did, he wouldn’t have left a good enough impression or given either of us a reason to catch up with each other all those years later. And when I saw him again, y’know, we’d both grown up. He was…This is probably gonna gross you out, but your dad was fucking hot when he came home—”

“Mom, language!” Josh scolded, a grin on his face.

“And he was polite, kind, funny, and impossible not to fall in love with. So, no, I didn’t really have a crush on him in school. I liked him, for sure, it had crossed my mind that he was cute, but it just wasn’t our time then.” You cringed internally (who’s time really was it at ten years old?), “But I definitely had a crush on him as a twenty-four year old adult.”

“Did that mean Dad was pretty much just, like, full-on in love with you at that point?” Josh queried, glancing between you both.

You looked at Nate, taking in his excitement at telling the story. You’d talked about it before, in hypotheticals just before you got married, about what your kids would think of the story of how you guys met. It wasn’t particularly exciting, there were no big confessions of love in the rain, or jealous exes, or miscommunications. It was simple, quiet and calm. Like turning on a light in the dark.

And it didn’t take an expert to be able to find the way that happiness seemed to pour out of Nate. He practically glowed with it. His eyes were wide and he hadn’t stopped smiling, and it was clear he’d been planning this conversation for a while: the keeping you in the dark thing was a welcome surprise, entirely shocking on your end, but you could tell he was just being honest.

“I wasn’t full-on in love with Mom at that point,” Nate squeezed your hand, “I was maybe a little bit in love, and part of that was because she was wearing a Halifax Mooseheads t-shirt when I saw her again.”

“What was the other part?” Josh quizzed, eyes a little heavier.

“That after one conversation I liked her even more than I did when we were in school, which I didn’t even think was possible.” 

You rolled your eyes fondly, “Don’t listen to him–”

“What? It’s true.” Nate interjected.

Josh watched the two of you bicker for a few seconds, a slow smile on his face. It wasn’t very often that you and Nate could really show him this was what you were like, between Leyla’s nappies, Josh’s hockey, Nate’s hockey, your job, household chores – the MacKinnon household was busy. The only time all four of you seemed to be in the same room at the same time was the occasional dinner and weekend, and even then it was a rare occasion. 

“You guys are just really big kids with really big crushes on each other.” Josh muttered quietly, shrugging at his realisation.

You stopped, words dying on your tongue as you took in what Josh had said. Then you looked at Nate – who seemed to be nodding without even realising it, “Yeah. Yeah, it kind of is.”

Then Josh shook his head, “So why can’t I believe what Dad says?”

“Because even after all of that, I made the first move. And said ‘I love you’ first–”

Nate guffawed from behind you, flicking your ear, “That's only because you made me nervous and I didn’t want to scare you.”

You tilted your head curiously at him, and judging from the way Nate’s eyes seemed to zip cautiously between you and Josh, you could only assume Josh was shooting him the same glance, “That’s pretty ironic considering I’m supposed to be the ‘quiet’ one.”

“You’re not that quiet, though, are you?” Nate teased affectionately–

“Is that a horny thing?” Josh scrunched up his nose, fidgeting uncomfortably and pulling a face like he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer, and you tried not to smile, shaking your head.

He was getting tired, you could tell. His attention was starting to dwindle, he was blinking sleepily, and you’d caught him trying to swallow a few yawns when Nate had been storytelling.

“No.” Nate frowned, “I just meant your mom isn’t quiet when you get to know her.”

You nodded, pushing yourself up off the sofa just as Leyla’s cries started to filter through the baby monitor next to Nate. Three pairs of eyes snapped to the small screen, and Nate picked the device up, turning to you and Josh with raised brows, “I’ll go check on her.” He ruffled Josh’s hair as he walked past, and you both watched him walk up the stairs.

Then Josh turned to you, eyes clearly struggling to remain awake for much longer.

“You know we’d never do any of that…um.” You hesitated, “Horny behaviour, in front of you.”

He nodded, yawning, “I know. I don’t mind the flirting, though.”

You swallowed, a little shocked by his revelation considering how much he seemed to protest against seeing it, “You don’t?”

“No, it’s nice to know you guys still like each other.” Then he huffed a laugh, “I had no idea you and Dad went to school together.”

You shrugged, placing a hand on the back of his head and nudging him towards the stairs. He went without complaining, turning back to look at you after your silence, “Well, I had no idea your Dad had a crush on me in school, so we both learnt something new tonight.”

“Wait, you didn’t?” Josh smiled, meeting you at the top of the stairs and peeking through Leyla’s door before following you towards his room.

“Nope.” You opened the door to his bedroom, facing an old trio of hockey posters that Nate had taken from his childhood room, “He might have played the long game, but I don’t think either of us would have changed it for the world. I mean, who knows, maybe if we’d have talked more in school, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

Josh seemed to think about it as he climbed under his duvet, you choosing to lay at the foot of his bed as he made himself comfortable. 

“When did you know Dad was the one?” 

Your heart stuttered a little, and your words seemed to get tangled in your throat – momentarily caught off-guard by the question.

Truthfully, you weren’t aware there was a specific moment in time that made you stop and just know that Nate was the person you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. It had built up slowly as your relationship progressed; talks of the future were brought up pretty early on considering what he did for a living, and eventually it got to the point where you just knew that there wasn’t going to be a breakup or a break. That realisation had just planted itself into your head, that it was gonna end in marriage, and you couldn’t have honestly dreamt of anything or anyone more suited to you.

There was no one, and then there was Nate.

“If I had to choose, though,” you wondered aloud, eyes briefly glancing at the family photo Josh had chosen to have on his bedside table, “I’d probably say that I knew, or at least suspected that your Dad might be it, about four months into us dating. Neither of us had said ‘I love you’ at that point, because actually getting to know each other with your Dad’s schedule was pretty hectic and the timezones made it difficult, but my grandma passed away and I had to fly home from Montreal–”

“Because you were working there, right?”

You nodded, a bittersweet smile on your face, “Yeah. And I remember I left your Dad a message before one of his games, and when I landed back in Nova Scotia, there were missed calls, texts and one voicemail; I waited until I got back home to listen to it, and it said something along the lines of ‘I’m so sorry, I know how much she meant to you, blah, blah, blah, is there anything you need or something I can get your family?’ And I remember thinking, ‘What? Why would he be asking me all of that?’ And then I looked at my texts and there was information for a flight and it turned out he’d booked the earliest one he could after finishing his game.” You took a breath, slowing everything down, “I cried for most of the two days he stayed and looked after us all. By that point, we’d known each other for about a year, but we’d only been dating four months, and it was the first time he met my family and he was an absolute angel.” You swallowed, a lump forming in your throat at the memory of that period in your life.

“Did Grandma and Grandad like him?” Josh snuggled further under his duvet, stifling a yawn with his hand.

You opened your mouth, about to answer, when the bedroom door creaked open and Nate padded in through the door, flicking the overhead light off and turning the bedside lamp on as he took a seat next to you. His hand came to rest on your thigh, a welcome and reassuring squeeze, but his attention was on Josh, “I think that signals bedtime.”

You nodded in agreement, but Josh seemed to blink manically and sat up in bed, his covers falling around his torso, “But I have way more questions—”

“And you can ask them tomorrow.” You promised, running a hand through his soft hair and pressing a kiss to his forehead, “Are you okay with Aimee, though?”

He nodded, cheeks reddening as he seemed to shrink into himself again, and you smiled at his cuteness, “Love you, sleep tight.” You whispered, pulling away and letting Nate have his turn as Josh whispered them back.

You slipped out of the room, heading into Leyla’s room at the other end of the hall, tiptoeing in to peer over her crib bars. Nate had settled her again, and she was laid on her back, blonde hair a wavy mess, fists curled shut near her head. Her eyes were closed and she looked peaceful zipped up in her Bambi onesie. 

It was barely ten seconds later when you heard Nate’s steps creak the floorboards, his arms caging you in against the side of the cot as his front pressed against your back. His head came to rest on your shoulder, nose nudging the side of your cheek when you turned to face him.

“I can’t believe you had a crush on me in school, and you kept it from me for more than a decade.” You smirked, raising a smug brow in his direction as he bit the inside of his cheek.

“You mad?” He checked, no real concern in his tone as he fought to conceal the amusement in his eyes.

“No. Just shocked you managed to keep your mouth shut for so long.” 

He rolled his eyes, “Well, it was worth it.”

“You’re a sap sometimes, y’know.” You nudged him playfully, “But I wouldn’t change it.”

“No?” He hummed, and you shook your head in response.

You knew he heard the entire conversation with Josh – it would have been hard not to, considering Josh couldn’t whisper for shit, and Leyla’s room was directly opposite, but there wasn’t a need to talk about it immediately. It was partly because you’d talked about it before – it was something you’d both discussed in a whisper after he’d proposed – and also partly because you’d gotten to the point in your life where Nate had perfected the ability of reading you at any given point, and vice versa.

And right now, you were both pretty content.

“Leyla’s gonna come home from school one day and start talking about crushes.” You whispered, watching him closely as he scowled, glaring at you out of the corner of his eye.

It made you smile, not wanting to laugh in fear of disrupting her sleep.

“I don’t even want to think about that.” 

“It’s scary, right?”

“Terrifying. She’s my baby girl, I don’t want her to grow up.” He reasoned, pressing a quick kiss on your cheek.

You were both silent for a while, watching her eyelashes flutter mid-dream, and her little fists gently clench and unclench.

“I wonder what she’ll be like.” You whispered.

You felt Nate breathe a laugh against your neck, “Hopefully not like Josh, in the nicest way possible, I don’t think my patience could take it.” He teased, eliciting you a gentle laugh.

“Josh is one of a kind.” You shook your head fondly. He could be cute most of the time, but when he loses his patience or gets too cocky (or just refuses to do the things you ask of him), he can be a little menace — something Nate struggled to get a handle on at first. 

They clashed a bit.

“It’s because he’s got your smarts—”

“But your fucking audacity.” You finished.

Nate gasped, a look of sheer disbelief written on his face, “That’s not true.” He denied, shaking his head.

“Your parents were the ones that said that.” 

He quietened, lips pulling down in a frown as his eyes focused on something you couldn’t see, “Really?”

You nodded, “I mean, I’m paraphrasing, they actually described Josh as a ‘smart boy but with Nate’s bold cheek.” You snickered as he pulled another face, letting go of the railings and stepping backwards for the door, “Need some time to think about it alone?” You teased.

Nate nodded, eyes wide, “I’m just gonna go get changed.” 

“M’kay, love you, Beefcake.”

“That one’s not come from me!” He hissed, smiling all the while, before disappearing from sight.

[zepuckinghockey]

NHL Wedding Season 2024

We're back again for another summer of NHL weddings! If you'd like to see last year's, check out this post.

If you see something wrong or someone missing, let me know! I'll continue to update this list until September when the weddings fizzle out. I appreciate the replies, reblogs, and asks with corrections and additions ❤️

6/7/24: Adam Larsson: (private wedding, no idea)

6/19/24: Jake Evans: Brendan Gallagher, Joel Edmundson, Tyler Toffoli, Nick Suzuki, Joel Armia

6/22/24: Max Jones: Trevor Zegras, Jacob Bryson

6/26/24: Adam Fox: (looked to be just family)

Josh Anderson: Nick Suzuki, Max Domi, Nick Foligno, Seth Jones, Cam Atkinson, Scott Hartnell

6/29/24: Ryan Pulock: Matt Martin, Noah Dobson, Casey Cizikas, Oliver Wahlstrom, Adam Pelech, JG Pageau, Josh Bailey, Mat Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, Cal Clutterbuck, Bo Horvat, Simon Holmstrom, Pierre Engvall, Mikey Reilly

Jake Oettinger: Mason Marchment, Tyler Seguin, Ty Dellandrea, Wyatt Johnston

7/3/24: Mason Marchment: Jake Oettinger, Tyler Seguin, Ty Dellandrea, Brandon Montour, Mike Carcone, Owen Tippett, Sam Reinhart

7/6/24: Nic Hague: Cody Glass, Owen Tippett, Zach Whitecloud, Alec Martinez, Shea Theodore, William Karlsson, Keegan Kolesar, Nic Roy

Brendan Gallagher: Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Carey Price, Jeff Petry, Chris Wideman, Tanner Pearson, Nate Thompson, Philip Danault, Christian Dvorak, Jake Evans, Sam Montembeault

7/7/24: Adam Fox 2.0: Ryan Reaves, Kevin Rooney, Will Cuylle, Vincent Trocheck, Jacob Trouba, Barclay Goodrow, Alexis Lafreniere, Blake Wheeler, Jimmy Vesey, Jonathan Quick, Ryan Lindgren, Braden Schneider, Sammy Blais, Ryan Donato, John Marino

7/10/24: Elias Lindstrom: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

7/11/24: Jared McCann: Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde, Vince Dunn, Jamie Oleksiak, Jaden Schwartz, Matty Beniers, Will Borgen, Kailer Yamamoto, Justin Schultz, Andre Burakovsky, Ryan Donato, Darnell Nurse, Brandon Tanev

7/13/24: Jack Campbell: Tyler Toffoli, Jake Muzzin, Kyle Clifford, Evander Kane

Alex Carrier: Frederick Gaudreau, Mathieu Joseph, Jimmy Oligny

Pierre Engvall: Simon Holmstrom, Owen Wahlstrom

Andrew Mangiapane: Johnny Gaudreau, Rasmus Andersson, Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanifin, Erik Gudbranson, Mack Weegar, Troy Stecher, Jonathan Huberdeau

Kyle Connor: Zach Werenski, Evgeny Svechnikov, Connor Hellebuyck, Tony Calderone

Eetu Luostarinen: Niko Mikkola, Lundell Anton, Aleksander Barkov

Tyler Madden: Alec Turcotte, Akil Thomas

Zack MacEwen: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

7/18/24: William Carrier: Mathieu Joseph

7/19/24: Kaapo Kahkonen: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

7/20/24: Jamie Benn: Tyler Seguin, Joe Pavelski, Jordie Benn, Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Joel Kiviranta, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lundell, Ben Bishop, Luke Glendenning, Ty Dellandrea, John Klingberg

Alex Killorn: Yanni Gourde, Pat Maroon, Brandon Hagel, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Zach Bogosian, Anthony Cirelli, Luke Schenn, Ryan McDonagh, Tyler Johnson, Blaine Gabbert, Cam Brate, Andrei Vasilevskiy

Thomas Chabot: Josh Norris, Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Mathieu Joseph

Sebastian Aho: Teuvo Teräväinen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Seth Jarvis, Antti Raanta, Nino Niederreiter, Jesper Fast, Jani Hakanpaa

7/22/24: Michael Bunting: Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Jake Muzzin, Morgan Reilly, Fred Anderson, Wayne Simmons, Alex Kerfoot, TJ Brodie, Kyle Clifford

7/26/24: Jake Lucchini: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

7/27/24: Connor McDavid: Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse, Zach Hyman, Evander Kane, Cody Ceci, Evan Bouchard, Vinny Desharnais, Brett KUlak, Connor Brown, Ryan Mcleod, Derek Ryan, Stuart Skinner, Philip Broberg, Warren Foegele, Devin Shore, Kyle Turris, Luke Gazdic, Zack Kassian, Patrick Maroon, Sam Gagner

Carter Verhaeghe: Matthew Tkachuk, Aaron Ekblad, Evan Rodrigues, Stolarz, Ryan Lomberg, Nick Cousins

8/3/24: Travis Sanheim: Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Shayne Gostisbehere, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Tyson Foerster, James Van Riemsdyk

Connor Ingram: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

Cody Glass: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

8/4/24: David Pastrnak: Taylor Hall, Tukka Rask, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara, Charlie Coyle, Hampus Lindholm, Jeremy Swayman, Linus Ullmark, Torey Krug, David Krecji

8/9/24: Alex Tuch: Shea Theodore, Zemgus Girgensons, Tage Thompson

8/10/24: Tyler Johnson: Yanni Gourde, Ondrej Palat, Mathieu Joseph, Ryan McDonagh, Alex Killorn, Pat Maroon, Reese Johnson, Adam Gaudette

8/17/24: Cale Makar: Gabe Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Erik Johnson, Bo Byram, Darren Helm, Andrew Cogliano, Josh Manson, Kurtis Macdermid

Zachary Sanford: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

Mike Amadio: Zach Whitecloud, Ben Hutton, Brett Howden, Nic Hague, Nic Roy

Andrew Copp: JT Compher, Tyson Jost

Ryan Johansen: Colton Sissons, Luke Kunin, Roman Josi, Matt Duchene, Dante Fabbro, Cam Atkinson, Ross Colton, Miles Wood

8/23/24:

Roope Hintz: Tyler Seguin, Esa Lundell, Patrik Laine,

[creamsiclemelt]

not sure what type of prompts u wanted but maybe natejo where the team realizes jo is their solution to how angry nate gets

(or if u need smtg more specific and more ur beat in terms of freaky, natejo cockwarming ◡̈)

I decided to combine both of your prompts anon! Enjoy!

///

Jo is a nice guy. He’s always quick to smile, and is a hell of a hockey player. 

But if you ask Mikko, maybe the best part of having him here, above everything else, is how he has a handle on Mack. Mikko’s never seen anyone outside of Gabe know how to talk Nate down when he’s worked up. 

Jo, though, blows even Gabe out of the water in Nate-handling-skills. Mikko’s seen Jo happily step in between Nate and the target of his ire more than once, has seen Jo go over and make Nate crack a smile when he’s got That One Look on his face. Within the first two weeks of the season, Mikko already knows just how valuable he’s going to be strictly for that alone. 

Still, when Nate accidentally bats the puck into their own net in the last minute of a one-goal game, Mikko knows that the nice dinner out the boys had planned is about to be a whole lot less relaxing than they had hoped for. Either Nate’s not coming—which seems unlikely because Jo’s coming—or he will, and be snappy and irritable when he’s not trying to talk hockey with whoever’s caught next to him. Not to mention what he’s going to be like at practice tomorrow. 

He doubts any amount of Jo talking to Nate or trying to make him laugh is going to change that. 

Mikko stays and does a post-game TV interview right after the game and hopes idly that maybe Nate will have the worst of his anger out by the time he makes it back to the room. 

He’s not exactly optimistic as he approaches the locker room and hears the dead silence coming from it. When he opens the door, he’s expecting some kind of—well. He doesn’t know what he’s expecting. But it isn’t what he finds.

Because Nate’s sitting in his stall, slumped like the picture of relaxation, with his legs spread wide. And in between his knees, there’s a dark head of hair.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who it is, but when Mikko cautiously approaches his stall, situated right next to Nate’s, he finds himself blinking down at Jo, eyes caught on the way his mouth is being stretched open by Nate’s cock. 

Jo’s eyes flick over to his, and although Mikko can see his face getting pink, he doesn’t try to pull away, just blinks once, twice, and then shuts his eyes. 

“Thank you, baby,” Nate says, his voice husky and maybe the calmest Mikko’s ever heard him sound after a loss like that. “You’re doing such a good job.” 

Then he looks up, glances around the room until he sees a member of the staff, standing in place, just as frozen as everyone else. “Can you guys do post-game interviews somewhere else?” he asks. 

And, well—

It’s a small price to pay in exchange for a content, calm Nate, all things considered.

[scrapyardboyfriends]

Plotdale

29 August 2024

[Outside the Woolpack with Fauxbert, Nate and Aaron]

*Fauxbert and Nate banter* - no one cares

*Aaron walks up*

AARON: *Jokes about knitting* Remember that one time Robert said I should take up knitting because it would be therapeutic? #TheGoodOldDays

PLOT: Pay attention Aaron….the sexual tension is simmering some more. 

AARON: Is it though? I still don’t know why I like this guy. #404MotivationNotFound

FAUXBERT: *Banters about books to show off* What do you think Aaron? 

AARON: *Confused Face* Uhh….I only read NME Magazines and about cars so uhh… #RobertKnewThis

NATE: *Impressed Face* You’re so smart Fauxbert, you should enter the Pub Quiz Night. Right…with that, I’ll leave you to your Plot. Gotta go start reliving my own greatest hits because I’m almost out of here! 

PLOT: Ask him out to the Quiz Night Aaron…

AARON: But that was my thing with Robert. We won and everything. Plus, I don’t do dates. 

FAUXBERT: Only angry one night stands?

AARON: Sorry, mate, I was having a conversation with this terrible Plot we’re in, not you. Besides, you don’t know anything about me. #RobertKnewEverything

FAUXBERT: *Eyes Emoji Face* You’d be surprised… #DoesThisMeanSomething

PLOT: *Checks Notes* Unclear Sir!

[The Cafe with Aaron, Mack and Moira]

AARON: *Contemplating Why This Plot Is So Bad Face*

MACK: *Enters* Hey, want food. Bacon Butties cheer you up. You look rough mate. Plot getting you down? You look like you want to punch someone. *sits down* *Gives Aaron a cute little kick* *More Chemistry Than Fauxron Alert* 

AARON: Yeah. The Plot really wants me to be into him but, try as I might, I still can’t figure out why. Motivation is so hard to find. 

MACK: Tell me about it. I apparently hate the guy, which, I mean, fair…but also I have no real reason to. Ah well, at least I’m pretty. 

AARON: *Frown Of Agreement* 

MACK: But anyway, I’m here anytime you want to vent about your Plot. 

AARON: Cheers mate, I’m gonna try and ignore it as long as possible. 

*Moira Enters*

MOIRA: Mack! Get back to your Plot! It’s time for your monthly *at death’s door* moment. 

MACK: *Sighs* Fine. #ThankGodHottenGeneralWorksMiracles Gotta go deal with a Bull and a Fauxbert….

AARON: Which would you say is worse?

MACK: They’re both as bad as each other. Neither one can show an emotion. #TheSecondComingOfThePlank

*Blah Blah Blah* #FauxbertsCarIsFixed #TimeToLeave #BullshitAtTheFarm #TheresMoreSexualTensionBetweenMackandFauxbert 

[Outside Keeper’s With Victoria, Aaron and Fauxbert]

VICTORIA: Hey Aaron, been a while. What have you been doing?

AARON: Besides your brother? Not much. #IWishIWasDoingRobert 

VICTORIA: Want to catch up over lunch? 

AARON: *Knows This Is A Plot Thing Face* What’s the catch? 

*Fauxbert’s van appears*

VICTORIA: Well…my brother is going to be there. 

FAUXBERT: *Speaks*

AARON: Nah, I’m out. I can avoid the Plot a little longer. 

PLOT: I’m coming for you though! 

VICTORIA: *To Fauxbert* Be nice. Aaron is one of my best mates and sometimes the Plot even lets me remember that. #PerpetualPlotVictim 

FAUXBERT: *Hostile Face* I’m gonna skip lunch then. #VanLife

#MoreBullshitAtTheFarm #MackFallsOverAGate #TheBullWatchesWithNoEmotion #PlankToTheRescue

[Butler’s Kitchen with Mack, Nate and Aaron]

AARON: Mate! The Plot just told me you were gored by a Bull and left in critical condition. I see it exaggerated again. It does love believing in its own hype. 

PLOT: #Wounded

MACK: Nope…I just fell off a gate but the important thing is that Fauxbert is totally responsible. #FoundMyMotivation 

NATE: We don’t know that though…Moira is having Plot too. That could have been the cause. 

MACK: Nope, this was definitely Fauxbert. I have to keep hating him. It makes some of the fans happy and with all of the Vanity fans that hate my guts, I need the win, okay!

[The Barn with Fauxbert and Aaron]

FAUXBERT: Just can’t stay away can you? Why is that? 

AARON: *Angry Face* Don’t get smart with me!

FAUXBERT: No really, I’m honestly asking. Why do we keep getting pushed together? 

AARON: *Side Eyes The Plot* 

PLOT: *Practices Robert’s ‘Who Me Face’* Look at this sexual tension… #IAmSoGoodAtMyJob You’ve run from me long enough Aaron, it’s time for you both to play along. 

AARON: *Resigned To My Fate But I Don’t Have To Like It Face* You know why I’m here. 

FAUXBERT: *Confused Face* Is this foreplay? 

AARON: No, mate, this is about this Bullshit Mack Plot you’re for some reason a part of so he can keep hating you. 

FAUXBERT: Yeah…I had nothing to do with that. 

AARON: The Plot wants me to think you did though. 

FAUXBERT: I’m not responsible for the Plot spreading misinformation. I literally have no idea what you’re talking about. 

PLOT: *Sits in the corner with popcorn* #IAmSoGoodAtMyJob #SexualTension

FAUXBERT: You know, there are simpler ways of getting my attention. The Plot whispers to me that that is what this is all about. 

*Fauxbert aggressively grabs Aaron and shoves his lips at his face* 

AARON: *Pushes him off* What are you doing? #TheseLipsAreForRobert 

FAUXBERT: Kissing you, like the Plot obviously wants. 

PLOT: *Salivating in the corner*

AARON: I’ve heard of #SomeMadLunge but mate, that wasn’t kissing, that was practically assault and not in the sexy wall shoving kind of way. #CrimesAgainstKissing 

FAUXBERT: I guess I’ll just have to keep practicing. Feel free to stop me. 

AARON: #IWishICould #BoundByContractualPlotObligations 

*More #CrimesAgainstKissing Occur*  

[Outside and Inside the Barn with Victoria, Fauxbert and Aaron]

VICTORIA: Fauxbert! Where are you? We’ve been separated for more than five seconds. I need to know your exact whereabouts and attach myself to you again. *Opens the barn door* OH MY GOD! Seriously???!!! Please tell me this isn’t happening! #WishfulThinking#ThePlotIsSoPredictable

FAUXBERT: Well it’s not happening anymore now that you’re here. #PlotFoiled

VICTORIA: Well, Aaron, congrats on getting the hat trick! 

AARON: Give it a rest Vic! I didn’t ask for this. The Plot made me do it!

VICTORIA: Do you have any idea how messed up this is? - speaking for the fans - 

AARON: Definitely, which is why I’m out of here again. Thanks for the assist. 

FAUXBERT: Come back! The Plot still has ideas…I’m sure Vic will leave us to it. 

AARON: Wow…you’ve definitely not met your sister when she’s in #PlotVictim mode. #LOL #AaronOut

VICTORIA: Look…

FAUXBERT: *Hostility Mode Activated* My life, my rules. Butt out! 

[Outside Jacob’s Fold with Charity, Aaron and unconscious Mack]

AARON: What happened? He was fine!

CHARITY: Well he’s obviously not! It’s that time of the month where the Plot puts him in hospital! 

AARON: *Guilty Face* #IHateThisPlot 

[droumack]

Respectfully… as a little treat, do you have any plot points you abandoned from any of your fics that you’d be willing to share with the class?

YEAH i have a public scene from dare not speak it's name!!! this is the super unfinished, disjointed chaos of it all but:

“I’m gonna put you down in front of the guys,” Nate says. “They don’t know how to handle a pretty trad boy like you in the room, alright? I’ve gotta show ‘em.” 

Jo chews on his lip. JO IS UNSURE. “You’ll be there the whole time?” he asks. 

Nate smiles, nuzzles into the side of Jo’s neck, presses a soft kiss there. “They’re all gonna wanna steal you when they see you,” Nate tells him. “There’s nothing in the world that’s getting me away from your side,

“He always goes down like this?” 

“Sweet thing,” Nate says, tapping Jo’s cheek gently. Jo blinks open a groggy eye, stares up at him. “The boys wanna know if you’re always this good.” 

“C’mon, put your back into it,” Nate taunts. Jo can hear the smirk in his voice, and it trickles down his spine like warm water, how pleased Nate sounds. 

“Jo,” Devon snaps, throwing all the weight of his dynamic into the command, “Get up.” 

Once, it would’ve made Jo move so fast he got whiplash. Now, Jo takes a deep breath, lets the words wash over him as he waits for the command he’ll actually follow. 

“Jo,” Nate’s voice comes. “Get up.” His words don’t have any of the force Devon’s did; they’re light, easy. But still, they hook into Jo’s brain, reel him in like a fish. He’s back on his feet before Nate’s really finished speaking. 

“Good boy, Joey, come on back,” Nate says, and Jo drops to his hands and knees, crawls back to his place between Nate’s legs. 

“Holy shit,” someone mutters. 

“He’d do anything you told him to?” Bo asks.  

“Mmm,” Nate hums. “Yeah, he trusts me. That’s my job. I can make him do anything, but I won’t. Right, Jo? You trust me?”  

Jo could scoff at such a ridiculous question. Of course he trusts Nate. “Yes, sir.” 

“You wanna suck Moose’s cock, show him how pretty you look with your mouth full?” Nate asks. 

Jo’s eyes dart up, assessing Nate warily. But Nate’s just watching him evenly; no tricks, no tests, just a question. 

“Do you want that?” Jo whispers, just for Nate. 

“Just be good, baby,” Nate tells him, combing a hand through his hair. Jo nods, turns his eyes to where Mikko’s sat next to Nate. He frees himself from the bracket of Nate’s legs, shuffles until he’s between Mikko’s knees. He rests his hands on his linemate’s thighs, blinks up at him. 

“Can I?” 

Mikko’s mouth hangs open, dumbstruck, as he nods. Jo rubs his hands up Mikko’s legs, slow and a little teasing. He bows his head so he’s watching Mikko through his eyelashes, toys with his belt buckle before sliding his thumb under the prong and lifting it. 

The leather’s expensive, slides smoothly through the buckle under Jo’s ministrations. 

He undoes Mikko’s zipper, is about to slide his fingers inside to where Mikko’s already getting hard when Nate says,

“Stop, Jo.” 

Jo’s hand pauses, looks at his dom. 

Nate pats his thigh. “Come on back, proper form.” 

Jo leaves Mikko with his belt unbuckled and his zipper down, ignores the strangled, “What the fuck, Mack?” that follows Jo’s retreat.

“Apologize,” Nate says, “You left Mikko wanting something.”

“Sorry, Mikko,” Jo says, soft and sincere, even as he brushes his lips over the jut of Nate’s ankle before he pillows his head back against the floor. 

“How long can he stay like that?” Bo asks. 

Nate taps the back of Jo’s head, and Jo takes his cue, swallows him down deeper until his nose is nestled in the hair at the base of his cock. 

“We’ve made it an hour, right, sweet thing?” 

Jo lifts his eyes and blinks once, long and slow. Yes. 

“He could go longer,” Nate says,

[thelovetheystole]

I have... so many questions. Another rant.

Like, why couldn't they have figured out an actual reason for Mack and John to be 'feuding' like this?

Why aren't they giving us any real reasons why Aaron's so into this guy, even after everything he now knows about him? He just finds him so hot that it outweighs everything else? Is that how they view Robron's dynamic, because that's a scary thought right there!

Why are they only scraping the surface with their Robert mentions? 'Aaron used to be married to Robert', 'the brother of your ex' etc. That cheapens their story, as if they merely split up. They are going to have to dig deeper, otherwise why make him Robert's brother in the first place?

I also have questions about Ella, I have no idea where they are taking the character and with whom. All I hear are some vague 'She could be with Cain, or maybe Vanessa, or maybe it will be Liam after all'... from the actress.

What about the big hoopla that was made each time an actress came back from maternity leave? There were columns upon columns written about 'returning faces'. What are Tracy, Vanessa and Kerry even doing these days?

They're rolling out Nate because he'll be leaving soon, I'm sure. And where are the likes of Leyla, Jacob, Bob, Brenda, Mary, Suzy, Cathy, April, heck all the kids?

Why did Rhona need another kid we'll never see?

Why did they bother with that story about Ryan and Gail's long, lost son? Was there any point to it all all?

Why is Wendy still here? (I'll never shut up about this. Never.)

And why is the writing so bad for characters who are supposed to be acting out; like Aaron when he was Angry Aaron, or Jai, John or Amelia for that matter? It's severely lacking nuance...

[toasttt11]

about time

August 7, 2024

Cameron was dead asleep with Mr. Mack in her arms not stirring as Sidney quietly walked into his daughter’s bedroom holding a plate of his homemade banana bread with candles lite for her eighteenth birthday.

Sidney could not believe it that his daughter who was just born was already eighteen, officially an adult and would be playing in the NHL in barely a month.

It made Sidney sad but proud at how fast his daughter is growing up and he is thankful he gets to watch her grow up but it’s still so sad seeing her not being so little anymore and not need him as much anymore.

Sidney sat on the edge of his daughter’s bed making Mr. Mack open his eyes and glare at Sidney making Sidney just roll his eyes use to the fact his daughter’s cat would never like him and the feeling is mutual.

Sidney gently brushed back her hair from her face watching as she squirmed slowly waking up.

“Happy birthday Cambug.” Sidney softly cooed as Cameron opened her eyes looking at her dad and smiled softly, Sidney sat the plate down next to her as Cameron sat up blowing out her candles and eagerly grabbed the fork and happily starting to eat her banana bread.

Sidney made sure to steal a few bites like he does every year on her birthday.

Cameron finished her birthday breakfast and reluctantly got out of bed and headed to bathroom getting ready for her day, she threw on a pair of jean shorts and a simple white cropped t-shirt and came out of her bathroom seeing her dad sitting on her bed with a few hair things, she sat down on the floor in front of him.

Sidney gently brushed out his daughter’s hair, something he has missed with her not living with him anymore. He gently brushed her hair and added two little braids that connected in the back.

Sidney and Cameron started walking out of her room and down the stairs with Mr. Mack following behind them.

Sidney spared a glance at his daughter and smiled softly excited for her to find out the surpise he has for her.

Cameron smiled seeing her grandparents, aunt and Nate and Connor.

Connor having come out for a few days to celebrate his best friend’s birthday. The Fleury’s, Malkin’s and Letang’s were all coming over later in the day to celebrate Cameron.

“Happy birthday baby cros.” Nate cheered standing up and spinning around his niece who wasn’t so little anymore.

“Thanks Uncle Nate.” Cameron giggles softly as Nate gently set her feet back onto the floor.

Cameron walked over to her aunt, who immediately was pulling Cameron into a very tight hug, “My favorite niece.” Taylor whispered pressing a kiss to the side of her face, “Happy birthday.”

Cameron smiled, “Thank you Aunty Tay.”

Cameron headed over to her grandparents who immediately pulled her into a group hug and wishing her a happy birthday.

Cameron did not see her surprise walk into the room having been watching as she came down the stairs and greet her family.

“Happy birthday Camers.” Connor spoke softly as he pulled his best friend into a tight hug.

“Thanks Con.” Cameron smiled squeezing her best friend once more before letting go.

“No hug for me Cam?” Fraser softly called out from where he was standing and Cameron didn’t notice him yet.

Cameron’s eyes went wide hearing that voice and spun towards it seeing Fraser in her living room with a smile, “What?” Cameron let out a shocked chuckle and quickly crossed the room pulling Fraser into a tight hug.

“Happy birthday Cam.” Fraser softly whispered only to her.

Fraser and Sidney planned together for Fraser to come out for Cameron’s birthday as a surprise. Sidney may of also dropped a few hints that Cameron feels the same and since she was turning eighteen Fraser was hopeful, Sidney also gave Fraser his permission to ask Cameron out.

Cameron just softly giggled hugging Fraser tighter.

“Woah.” Taylor quieter whispered to her older brother, she did not believe that sweet Cameron actually was interested in someone romantically but seeing the two hug in front of her she knew she was wrong.

Taylor wasn’t there a few months ago when Fraser was visiting so she hadn’t seen Fraser and Cameron interact and hadn’t believed anyone that Cameron had feelings for someone but she could easily see the obvious signs in front of her.

Sidney simply smiled in response. At first he hated the thought of his daughter with anyone but he couldn’t hate it with how much Fraser really does care for Cameron and Cameron obviously adores him right back.

Sidney has slowly grown to care for Fraser since he had met the boy and while he was protective of Cameron he will admit there is no one better for his daughter than Fraser, and Fraser has proved that many times already.

Sidney was glad that Cameron will have Fraser in Toronto, while he would like her to be as close to possible to him, it makes him feel better than she has Fraser with her.

Cameron and Fraser pulled back after a few long moments and she grabbed his hands squeezing them softly giving him a smile, she is very happy he came.

Cameron pulled Fraser over to the couch Connor had sat down and her smile was wide as she sat between her two best friends.

Cameron smiled as she opened her presents from all of her family that were present right then.

Taylor smacked her brother’s arm as she looked at the scene in front of her, Mr. Mack was happily curled up on Fraser’s lap as Cameron opened her presents.

“Don’t know what the kid did but that cat likes him.” Sidney shook his head still does not make sense why his daughter cat adores Fraser yet hisses at him every time he sees him.

Cameron opened up the rest of her presents and spent a good while sitting with her family in the living room before she headed out of the living room to her backyard and sitting on her hammock.

Cameron peacefully closed her eyes as she leaned her head back against her hammock and lightly rocking back and forth.

Fraser watched Cameron get up and head out side and knew she was heading outside to her hammock, he looked around the living room seeing Connor and Sidney in a deep discussion and Nate and Taylor playfully arguing as Tina and Troy watched amused.

Fraser gently pet Mr.Mack before he stood up and headed out to back yard as well, he walked down the steps on the back deck and smiled seeing Cameron’s peaceful as she sat in her hammock and took a deep breath and walked over.

Fraser figured Cameron heard him walk out because she didn’t even flinch when he sat down next to her and just rested her head on his shoulder keeping her eyes closed.

“Thank you for being here.” Cameron softly whispered, she hadn’t wanted to ask him to come out for her birthday not wanting to make a big deal out of it but she is glad he came and she gets to see him.

“Of course.” Fraser smiled, he was nervous that maybe Cameron didn’t want him to come out and he shouldn’t surprise her but Connor and Sidney both told him she would love it.

Fraser must of have been staring at her peaceful face long enough that she opened her eye and titled her head up to look at him, it made her nervous the expression on his face, a good nervous, “What?”

Fraser shook his slowly and let out a breathy chuckle bringing his hand up slowly and gently tracing her cheekbone, making her lean towards his touch and her eyes flutter, “Do you know how beautiful you are?” Fraser softly questioned, he was nervous hoping he doesn’t mess everything up but he has been head over heels in love with her since he met her and he could not wait any longer.

Cameron’s breath hitched at his question, her eyes widened as she looked at him.

“Because you are beautiful Cameron, it’s distracting.” Fraser leaned closer as he spoke even softer to her, “You’re an angel.”

Cameron’s cheeks were turning darker and darker red the more he spoke and her eyes were still wide as she starred at him.

Fraser swallowed nervously but took a deep breath feeling hopeful as she hadn’t pulled away from him yet, “I have had feelings for you since the moment we met and you’ve utterly captivated me.” Fraser scanned her face nervously.

Cameron bit her lip feeling her whole face a flame as she heard the words she did not realize she longed to hear for so long, “I have feelings for you too.” Cameron softly whispered looking up at Fraser through her eyes lashes as he cupped her cheek with his whole palm.

Fraser let out a relieved chuckle and leaned even closer to her making their noses brush, “Can i kiss you angel?” Fraser whispered gently caressing her face.

Cameron’s eyes widen once more from his question and the name he called her, “Please.” Cameron whispered desperately making Fraser’s smile widen before he pressed his lips delicately to hers.

Cameron let out a soft sigh as she tentatively brought her hands chest as their lips stayed connected.

Fraser gently pulled back keeping his eyes on her as her eyes stayed closed but there was a pleased smile on her face.

“Is it too soon to ask you to be my girlfriend?” Fraser nervously asked.

“No, not too soon.” Cameron opened her eyes bitting her lip trying to hide her very wide smile.

Fraser smiled pleased.

Fraser cupped her face gently with both of his hands making her sigh as she relaxed into his touch, “Cameron Crosby, would you be my girlfriend?”

“I would like that.” Cameron whispered giggling softly as Fraser beamed happily and pressed his lips back to hers.

Sidney walked through his house towards the window that faces the backyard where he can see the hammock as he assumed that is where his daughter and Fraser are, he looked out the window and raised an eyebrow seeing them kissing, “It’s about time.” Sidney muttered and smiled at the happiness on his daughter’s gave before he turned around and walked away.

[amf-studios]

I have a stupid question but I think it's interesting to share it

What do you think about Max Kakidome being the possible reincarnation of Buck Hazeltine? like, even though he's just a minor character, he reminded me of Buck because of the similarity of his design like the position of his glasses being placed high on his forehead, the hair color and the tone of his hair that is just "tidy" instead of "messy"

I would really like to know your opinion on this crazy "theory" of mine I had lol

Actually I do find this pretty plausible! Not only does he have the same general color scheme or red hair, paired with green and black clothes, he's got the glasses on his forehead, freckles.

And I didn't know his name was Max til now(because despite being in the intro, the student council barely had any impact on the show aside from Ranto), but that's damning evidence.

Ya see, most the reincarnations' names are plays on their Japanese name, for example Blizzaria/Fubuki-hime became "Fubuki Himekawa"

Buck's Japanese name was Mack.

So yeah, I actually find this connection pretty plausible! At least more plausible then my personal headcanon that Nayu is Nate.(which is probably not true, but hey, nothing disproves it.

[crow-talks-hockey]

Got any thoughts on McDavid and MacKinnon and how weirdly alike they seem to be

SOSOSOSOSOWOWOWOWOOWOSOSOSOSOSOSOKFHGRGKWGJWWGJAIG SO MANY YEAH

kkkkkkkkkkk. whooo. alr. i'm calm. here ye go

starting with mack: HAS won. passionate, fierce, quick to anger. more of an all around player than a point/goal getter - not to say that the latter is a bad thing, it's just he's different in that way. he's a fucking horse. a bull in the china shop if you will. but he's also SUCH a fucking goober. he isn't afraid to say exactly what he means in as few words as possible, no matter who he's speaking to. he is filled with so so much ferocious adoration and fanboyism i'm fully in love :) oh yeah and he's a fucking fridge of a man too. there's that.

now connor: somehow someway has NOT won and imma cry about it until he does cos it makes me depressed that he's never been given the right team around him to go far. timid, gentle leader with a soft heart and even kinder eyes. more of the point getter out of the two, which i believe does make him just that hair better than nate. more on that, is also his style i think. he cuts through you like you're not even there. he's more elegant of a skater (whereas nate is more of a power forward; he gallops, not glides) which helps make his blatant speed easier to see. he is also a goober like nate but in different ways. he gives more long answers and tends to joke a little more with reporters (curtesy of leon no doubt) when they ask stupid questions lmao. he is so comfortingly loving and just a haunted and sweet little being. built lean and agile just like his play <3

and finally, both!! : COMPETITIVE AS HELLLLLLLLLLLL 🥶🙏🔥 sid crosby obsession/crush/idolatry. ginger genetics (nate's beard for reference, and connor's hair+beard. fight me. connor is ginger). dry ass humor and tone 24/7, like, these fuckers could be having the time of their lives and sound like they either a) just rolled out of bed or b) want to pass away from fear/rage. and lastly. they're both so damn good at hockey it's not even funny anymore. no one even comes close to their talent as forwards in my opinion. they're just. uncontested.

anyway there's my compartmentalized thoughts on my favorite freaks :3 if i can leave you with one last thought it's simply this: these idiots are in love in my mind and no one is gonna change that. they should KI- 🤭

[regaliasonata]

Steel Silva headcanons pls 🥺

Headcanons: Steel Silva

-The concept behind robotic and artificial rangers was sprouted due to Venjix and that said concept was implanted into the Grid to be a constant throughout the many dimensions. This is the reason why we have so many robot rangers, Mack, Robo Knight and Steel.

-Despite his robotics, Steel loves to accessorize and even makes insect based clothing and add-ons to his body whenever feeling stylish. Examples being a winged cloak reminiscent of feathers and stag beetle wings.

-His human form is only just an artificial transformation so he can switch back to his robotic one…and let’s keep it that way(Master Green count your days).

-He loves to read fanfiction and has an ao3 page dedicated to other ranger teams. It’s nothing crazy or spicy but he does like to write fight scenes and long AUs. Currently of one with all the robot rangers/allies going on an adventure in a fantasy world.

-Steel has a kill mode like Baymax in BH6 but never uses it….only brought it out once but it was to hunt down someone being rude to Nate.

-All mechanical zords are friends with Steel and he likes to watch movies with them, they deem the Godzilla movies as top tier but Mechagodzilla is offensive to them, Steel is actively trying to make an army of big zords both as a huge but also for adorable friends and company…deep down he’s had thoughts about how being a robot will affect the team and considering he might outlive them he wants to make more company so that way he’s never alone. In all honesty Steel hates being lonely and if he sees someone going through the same thing he’ll try to talk to them or give them a little bug zord pet to have some company

-He watches Ravi sleep…we don’t talk about it.

[sugdenlovesdingle]

Emmerdale producer has teased a huge surprise arrival on Christmas Day that rocks the village... do I put on the clown makeup or not

the clown make up never came off anon - not really.

Today's stuff with nate being so obviously dead and fauxbert going "HE WASN'T THERE" when Tracy asked about nate has me 👀

he was being the big hero - saving mack and ruby and giving moira cpr/mouth to mouth... but he let nate croak? there's gotta be a reason (other than jurell leaving the show).

and there is the Robert of it all - first he'd "heard of him", then he's a stranger he just happens to share dna with.

He keeps blowing hot and cold with Vic too - one minute he wants nothing to do with her, the next he's being the scary big brother to Jai and playing football with Harry.

it's just that with emmerdale you never know if it Means Something or if it's just bad writing.

[karlkapri]

top 5 nate mack moments?

1. that interview where he goes "I'll never be close to him.. he's my hero". sickening.

2. wearing a shirt and having arms (x, x, x, x)

3. fucking E.J. at center ice (x)

4. Wii bowling

5. just in general the fact that he somehow hoodwinked his celebrity crush into being his best friend and neighbour (see: this post)

[toadallytickles]

NEST 2023

NEST 2023 was absolutely amazing for me! Originally I thought I couldn’t go because Clay couldn’t and he’s usually my ride! I ended up being able to go because our friend Timmi @DynamicUno was attending too! So I got a ride with him, redeemed my free NEST ticket, and signed up to volunteer as a DM to share a volunteer suite!

I was really anxious about not attending with Clay this year; NEST is the largest tickle gathering and I don’t do well approaching people. I’ve been attending NEST and other tickle gatherings since 2019, though I haven’t felt really established in those in-person communities. Clay is usually my safety-net person. I surprisingly ended up doing extremely well, talking to a whole bunch of new and familiar people, and deepening connections I’ve made in the past! I somehow had like 8 sessions.. that is not like of me; one was pick-up with someone I just met at NEST, another I’ve seen a little at gatherings earlier this year. The rest were people I’ve known from previous gatherings for some years, and play just aligned at NEST this time!

I also had to make a boundary leading up to NEST that Clay couldn’t tickle me as I wanted to be ripe and ready for planned sessions! Sucked, but also fun as I easily get ghost-tickled when Clay wiggles his fingers at me, but whatever honestly~ (〃^▽^〃)ゞ

We’ve always arrived at NEST on Friday, mostly a chill day with orientation. It was a luxury to drive down on Thursday, and have all day Friday to catch up and hangout with people! The border security guy was super nice to us, he said he likes to have his back tickled, but that’s it lmao~. I went into my first Dunkin’ Donuts too (didn’t order anything) and they have Timbit-like treats called Munchkins.. also the Tim Hortons’ as you go south are so different from Canada’s, it’s so weird.. alternate universe Tim’s…

Friday morning I get to go on a Target run with Nate @Sensualswitch10 as I wanted to pick up snacks for the weekend! Then we get McDonald’s for breakfast! We had a bit of a secret project going on in his room too~. 🤫 I really appreciated hanging out with Nate casually as for play and making connections I really need time to physically acclimate, and he understood I needed that and made himself a safe space while I didn’t have Clay. I was supposed to reserve my ticklishness for a session, but we ended up casually playing on his bed, just a tickle massage that turned to pinning~!

I finally get to play with Sam @WickedSensations & Frecks @Fiona_Red (@WickedCaress on Instagram)! I knew of their content before NEST ‘22, and when we finally met last year, we had an instant mutual connection and attraction! NEST ‘22 didn’t work out for us play-wise, though we stayed in-touch online and negotiated play for NEST ‘23! It finally happened and it was super fun and flustering! To be gang tickled by a couple~ (≧ω≦ ʃƪ)💕. Thank you for the pretty bruises, Sam! And thank you Frecks for being my first wlw tickle session!

I FINALLY got tickled by Jeff @sptfrtkl in his Blue Brat! We’d see each other at past gatherings and chat, and have been fans of each other's content; this time playing aligned! Such an honour to finally play with him + sign the Blue Brat afterwards! Jeff has an insane amount of tools to use too, hopefully next time we’ll session longer and experiment with every tool~ 😊

I generally do not pick-up play, and consider NSFW acts intimate and something I would reserve for closer relationships, though I met @Mark_Diamond while at NEST, and when he was showing me his many pleasure tools, we discovered we both love David Mack’s style of play.. like clit-focused, edging, denial, and forced orgasms.. I couldn’t pass on the opportunity of reliving my biggest fantasy so I let him tie me spread eagle, naked, and torture me~ 🥰🤤. It was dreamy and felt amazing aah~ wish I could always have a session like that~ (〃˘▽˘ʃƪ) *:・ﾟ✧♡.

So I Ler’d for my first CNC session..~ thanks to Steve @DaddyMilkBoss, who’s been teaching me for years all about his favourite way to play~. He had no safeword.. or maybe I ignored their safeword, who knows~. But it was so so much fun, loved how much he begged for me to stop, and how desperate he got.. and I just continued to play with him… 😍🤤. It was too much fun really.. I shouldn’t have that much power lol, already craving to do that to him again~. Yeah I love being a bully~ 🖤. All those years of taunting me and talking to me all about CNC.. it’s like I was trained to ruin him~ 🤭.

During my session with Steve where I lee’d, I learned that I can make eye contact if my mouth is duct-taped shut~. Usually when I lee, I like to wear a blindfold because seeing the Ler/s makes me so shy and stiff, and that hinders my ticklishness. Our session, I had multiple duct-tape strips over my mouth without a blindfold on and I was very surprised at how comfortable I was making eye contact with him.. it was really hot.. I love the idea of talking with big, pleading eyes~ I also have very pretty eyes~

If you’re on Fetlife, Twitter or in certain Discord Servers, you may have seen Liger @LewdLigu’s feather wheel + stocks… I also don’t usually public play, though he was doing mini trials in the public play area.. and perhaps I was a bit intrigued..~ 👉👈. It’s a super cool invention, and I had a lot of fun giving it a try, bEing wATCHED-! and having those claws and feather vibrators on me .. 😵‍💫.

My last session at NEST was with Nate, this time I was stretched out bound in his under-the-mattress stocks, and arms up at the corners of the bed… I also got high for this session~. 🥴 I just want to say.. Nate knows what he’s doing.. like when you think of the definition of a Ler, or what to expect during a session, Nate is that, Nate knows how to session omg, he’s so good at tickling~. (No he did not make me say this LOL that’s just all I can say and it’s true.) So much fun to hang out with and play with! I miss him!! Nate, thank you for taking care of me throughout NEST!! I already said it but it was so much appreciated when I didn’t have Clay!! 🥹💕

Despite like 8 sessions and depleting my ticklishness, I was super excited to go home to Clay and have a session with him. He knows all my spots and exactly how to wreck me, and I was craving that~ 😆. It was wonderful to reconnect and take all the energy from NEST and share it with him!

AND I TRIED CHIPOTLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IT WAS SOOO GOOOOOD!! 😫💦

Super cool that I got to meet some Tumblr people too! @ticklishadventure @queerswitch-tickles @ticklishposts-sideblog @minotaurvo !! So happy you all got to attend NEST for the very first time! That’s a huge step and I hope you all had a great time!! ❤️

I was fortunate to film a bunch of content too with all the new people I played with!! So!! Gifsets and maybe clips soon! 🤩

I got asked a lot how long I’ve been modelling lol.. and I don’t get that question really!! It was really flattering, though it is super amateur modelling / a hobby to me!!

Crossing the border on the way home, again we share with the border guard that we went to a tickle convention, and the guard wanted to know what happens at a tickle convention.. so I had to be the one to explain what happens as Timmi was looking for a document on his phone…. UUGHH!! 💀🪦

Anyway to wrap this up, this was personally the best NEST for me~. I’ve been navigating my local kink community without Clay a lot as he works, such as going to munches and parties alone, attending kink classes, and hanging out with new friends! I was really nervous to be attending NEST without Clay, though I feel I was capable to navigate NEST with what I’ve learned from our local community. I remember being really anxious Thursday and early Friday, though everything was going really well, I had good interactions, great sessions, and met a lot of new people, and that just made me more confident in myself! I did a lot of new things I didn’t think I was capable of or ready for yet, though I did it, and survived, and very much enjoyed. I can pick-up play with the right people, I can accept more intimate touching and play and not feel wrong after. Those compliments Clay and my local friends give me all the time, I can start to believe them. I was really reassured this weekend of who I am, what I’m capable of, and that my presence is wanted. I feel much more established in the in-person tickle community. There was so much growth and experience for me at NEST ‘23, and I am so looking forward to carrying it all into future kink events. ❤️

Thank you so much to everyone who makes NEST possible, and to those who volunteer their time to keep it organized and going!! And thank you so much to everyone who was involved in my experience this year!! It was awesome because of you!! ❤️

[the-physicality]

ok here's what i'm going to say:

I'm proud of us

i h*te the f*v*r

if we didn't have so much trouble finishing in the first half, we would have been fine

celeste taylor defensive queen [24 mins in debut, +/- +10, highest on the team, leading the team in assists w/ 5]

natasha mack nearly a double double rebounding queen

sophi333 [she has found and reposted a tik tok edit so the degrees of separation are dwindling]

kah copper second second-consecutive 30-piece, that's EIGHT [total 30 pc] on the season

kiki doing what needs to be done

fewer turnovers and fouls than f*v*r [and that's with the questionable reffing]

maintaining [increasing] our ppg average

nate tibbetts i <3 that you aren't c******* s**** but ur still calling some questionable time outs

coming back from a 31 point deficit to end with a single digit goal difference

nobody on that team got a triple double

i Know nathaniel is trying rotate and be cautious due to the schedule [unlike i guess every other hc in the league / cathy] i just hope that's all it all is

[scrapyardboyfriends]

Well that was...something. Haha.

When I got to the almost kiss scene, I honestly just burst out laughing? Is this supposed to be working for us or Aaron? Cause it's...not. Aaron was right when he said John needed to work on his routine because again that was straight out of Nate's least sexy ever affair with Moira playbook.

Just..."because you know why we're both still here" is somehow a lot better than "I know what you want" which feels like Nate's "you know you want me".

Like if I were Aaron, I would have laughed in his face at that embarrassment of flirting. I would have been like "mate, does that ever actually work for you?" Except that I guess it did in their forced first meeting.

Besides the obvious, I'm just really struggling with the convoluted, contrived way they've set this all up.

It reminds me of the Ben thing too, just automatically putting this weird romantic/sexual framing on it before it has a chance to reach that place on its own.

Just like, imagine instead of his hook up app, Aaron decided to go to whatever gay bar is in Hotten these days and try and meet someone and John showed up looking to get a drink while in town for his mother's funeral. We see them meet, chat a little, maybe actually see some natural banter/chemistry and then they leave and sure, hook up in his dumb van. And then Eric's car is still in the shop because I don't know, Mack went out as Aaron's wing man, per Vic's request, and got into work too late to fix it, so he encourages Vic to drive Eric to the funeral.

Then at least they met without the explicit trappings of a hook up where it was pretty anonymous and barely had an exchange before it was like "oh well we were supposed to have sex so let's have sex".

Could also have had Aaron just run into him on the side of the road and generously helped him fix his car enough to get it to the nearest garage where oh look, he meets Vic. But they could have been flirting while he was fixing the van and then kissed and ended up having sex in the van.

Just like...anything other than this nonsense where they have this super contrived hostility based on such a nonsensical plot point of John driving off with Aaron's stuff for no reason.

And then I might buy that Aaron would actually still have some attraction to him despite everything and a scene like today might have worked better for me??

I just don't know how believable it is that Aaron is attracted enough to John that he would go there based on that kind of pitiful flirting after all of this other nonsense, after he knows this is Robert's secret gay half brother and all of those feelings came up.

Sigh...

The Mack and Aaron friendship stuff is still fun, aside from the fact that this little war they have with John is so baseless and yes, their actions are super immature. But I still like the trio of the two of them and Vic interacting. Tiny slivers of silver lining.

Also...John is just an asshole. I just don't know what issue they have with bringing in likable characters. At least Robert was a smooth talking charmer to mask his inner turmoil. John could be making the village fall in love with him with his charisma while hiding secret pain. I'd like that kind of character a lot more than angry guy.

I feel like the only people that like John so far fall into five categories: 1. Robert antis who will like any non Robert Aaron ship 2. People who just hate Aaron and/or Mack and enjoy a character who also hates them 3. Sugden fans desperate for scraps 4. People who find the actor attractive 5. And people who think this is all leading to a Robert return

I'm only really approaching number 3 and he's too annoying for me to care yet and I'd like 5 to be true but I refuse to get my hopes up because I still feel like this is all happening because Ryan said no. I think it's just going to be a terrible, flat enemies to lovers story where John's sad sad military past will come out and Aaron will end up comforting him and getting him to open up and then they'll suddenly be couple with very little relationship development. Even with Robert mentions, I don't feel like this is leading to a return or to any kind of Aaron revelation that he still loves Robert and therefore doesn't want to be with his secret gay half brother.

I'd love to be wrong but...