#team: mooseheads

[annieqattheperipheral]

are you kidding me jo not happy until he sees nate happy

team north america 2016

[freddieanderscn]

My dear friends the Mooseheads absolutely got destroyed in the first round of the Q playoffs, and I am more sad about it than anticipated. Thnks fr th mmrs 23-24 Moose! Next year when they win the Memorial Cup, then you all will know!

(Also thank you always to my hockey partner in crime @malewag for allowing himself to be indoctrinated into Moose Country a few years ago & for always cheering with me when they show old Jo highlights on the jumbotron)

[19871997]

do you have/know of any kind of natejo primer post? i am starting to be very very intrigued by them…

there is this very delightful primer that covers natejo during their halifax mooseheads era (juniors, age 16-18 [2011-13]) and their team north america era (made up team for the 2016 world cup of hockey) i would so so super recommend clicking on every link there, and as for the 2023-24 season:

nate reached out to jo about playing with him in colorado during the summer because he knew his contract with montreal was coming to an end and jo signed for league mininum to play with him

jo talking about nate in his 'get to know me' interview

jo knows where nate is knows what he likes can almost feel him on the ice. normal things to say about your center.

they walk their dogs together!

bench yappers. ignore that nate probably doesnt have a great deal of concepts about personal space.

both nate and jo achieved career highs in points playing on the same line. nate by 29 freaking points. jo also had a career high in time on ice per game !

nate has the most assists on jo's goals, and jo loves to pass to nate.

one of jo's very best games as an av where he scored the OT winner and partially helped nate extend his second to gretzky home point streak. not inherently natejo but the nhl put the full game up on youtube and its a fun background watch because the announcers r so very nice about jo yayayyyyy. okay hold on it definately used to be up on youtube as a 'fan favourite' voted in game and now its either unlisted, restricted, or entirely gone. fascinating. what a wonderful league. anway.

here's nate saying that jo is his favourite teammate ever. since 2010 nate has played with at least 280 people. he said this during his hart (league mvp as voted by the writers' association) and ted lindsay (league mvp as voted by the players' association) award interview. also couldnt find it for the life of me but im certain there's an interview where jo says he wants to play with nate for ten more years. EDIT: here is the article, found by the lovely @mi-kko-ran-tanen it is also a bit of a natejo primer very very good would encourage a read

24-25 season:

jo resigned for another year ! turned down money again for 'loyalty and happiness'

they actually might have seperation anxiety

jo is going to be point per game this season i believe it with my whole heart.

r-ing into the rpf:

nate's start in the league was . well. the avs were very very bad for quite sometime, bottomed out nearly historically after the 2016-17 season (season directly after team north america and the world cup of hockey) and i think this is around the time nate locked in so to speak. this spittin chiclets interview from 2019 is pretty good (dont let the spittin chiclets part put u off 🙏), he talks about worrying about being a bust, about his expectations and also just the way he talks back then and what he's achieved in the five years since oh nate u have no idea whats in store for u ☹️

jo's time in the nhl has been tumultuous to say the least.

mid way into the 2022-23 season he held the record for most points without a goal by a forward in a single season. (he ended the season 2-27-29, scoring a goal in his 46th game) teammate and close friend josh anderson was quite sweet about it all

there's a lot of talk about jo being a draft bust, there's also a lot of talk about his development being screwed from the get go (sent back down to juniors for the 2013-14 season despite having won the calder cup the uear prior because if a player is juniors eligable they cant play in the minors or smth like that), he was also injured a lot, the habs under bergevin not being great at player development, and in tampa and montreal there was an expectation on him to be an offensive powerhouse that he just wasnt unfortunately due to injuries and mental health issues. they also tried to develop him at center.

it is absolutely not the best metric to measure 'draft bustness', but sorting the 2013 draft by games played and total points, jo is top 20 for games played and top 15 for total points

an espn redraft from march of 2023 has him still in the first round but much lower

absolutely crushing thank u greg

jo was actually injured so much holy shit bro has never played a full season. the closest he got was 81 games in 18-19

apparently there was some buzz about a drouin-iginla trade in 2015 between tampa and colorado??? what couldve been damn

ALL THIS TO SAY nate believed in him and jo believed in nate and it paid off so freaking hard last season and jo has his love for hockey back and nate had his career best personal season next to him and they are it if u think about it

f-ing into the rpf:

i know you didnt ask but i would be remiss if i didnt share these, they're currently what i would say is quintessential natejo reading

I don't believe in soulmates (but nobody saw me like you) by shade_of_blue (@shade-of-drou) (M, 6k) soulmates au where jo realises dewey has soulbond sickness

those who favor fire by bruinss (@droumack) (M, 14k) absoloutely crushing magical realism fic where jo's heart freezes the more he falls in love. it is actually unfathomable how much nate loves him, and how much nate loves jo

got my finger on her trigger by creamsicle_melt (@creamsiclemelt) (E, 6k) lesbian natejo nate fucks jo within an inch of her life absolutely fantastic peice of literature.

you'd have to stop the world by bladeless_knife (@mi-kko-ran-tanen) (M, 12k) nate is stuck in a timeloop watching jo get hurt no matter what he does. genuinely incredible theyre so so very much natejo here and also very nate and very jo

Gather by plethoriall (@plethoriall) (E, 4k) once again, another fic where theyre so very natejo. like that interview linked in the very first bullet point? those guys ("yeah we're dumb and dumber") def did this. a delightful study in what if our codependant homoerotic teenage friendship turned into a regular healthy adult friendship except every time you touch me i remember how we used to jerk eachother off which (thankfully for everyone inolved) turned into Yay sex and also i love you. instead of turning toxic.

all very very very good writers i would highly highly suggest checking out their other works as well + commenting and kudoing

[sidsthekid]

"To have my number retired by the first team I grew up cheering for is surreal and an honor. This team and this city will always have a special place in my heart. Thank you."

- Nathan MacKinnon at his Halifax Mooseheads jersey retirement ceremony on 9/22/23

[claraxbarton]

Tinfoil thoughts

Uh hey fam, was NO ONE going to talk about Jonathan Drouin's history of jersey numbers????

(tbf I have no clue what he wore with the Lions, if anyone wants to chime in)

So with the Mooseheads our princess wore 27

When he played for Team Canada he wore either 27 or 29

When he played for Team North America he wore 72 (27 backwards)

In Tampa he wore 27.

In Montreal he wore 92 (which sure is 29 backwards)

In Colorado he's back at 27.

Context:

Nate MacKinnon has worn 29 since 2013 with the Avs...

I'm just SAYING

[macaroni-rascal]

Skate Canada Day 1!

Pairs short program:

A pairs event with not a single actually fall???? Did I dream it??????

The Polish team Chtchetinina/Wozniak turned the party, the crowd loved them, and they really started the energy train that did not stop the entire event, they were magnetic and I loved them!

Laurin/Ethier looked tight from the warm up and you could tell they were just going to be off in their performance, which is a shame, that death spiral wobble was a bummer

Hocke/Kunkle kept that short program, and they seem to like skating it, which is good for them, I was a bit bored.

My queen Deanna Stellato-Dudek is perfect and can do no wrong amen amen amen

Women's short program:

ALYSA LIU! MY GIRL! What a lovely program, and skated with such feeling. Her skating first and leading for so long gave me Tessa and Scott at 2017 Worlds vibes. Iconic of her tbh

Kaiya had a nice program, but she's still skating like a junior to me, and her combo looked under from where I was sitting, and her score reflects that

I zoned out of Sara-Maude's, Yelim Kim's, and Elyce Lin-Gracey's programs, all of them were snore fests that I could not pay attention to.

Kimmy Repond created such a moment, the crowd felt like it wasn't breathing, it was so cool.

So glad Maddie got that skate, she has areas that can be polished, but this was awesome for her! She's in with a small chance for a medal if she skates well

Moment of silence of Kurakova, that was rough

Hana Yoshida's program is so sick, loved it.

KAORI! I cannot believe this is the second time I get to see her live, what a gift! Her speed and attack is unmatched. Loved her.

General thoughts:

Truly took me half way through the pairs to realize that giant ass moose is because our hockey team is the Halifax Mooseheads. So....that's an oops.

Grand Prix's are 10000 times better that Worlds. Worlds is too long, too much, too everything. I was in and out and 3 hours, and that's how I like it.

Had some fun convos with two old ladies sitting behind me, they were super awesome, shoutout to Edna and Simone.

Excited for tomorrow!

[rimouskis]

it is worth noting that I got two confusing but well-meaning compliments on my jersey (I'm still unclear if the young man who came up to me had played for rimouski or not, though his fist bump was appreciated) and then I shared an elevator with a young man in a mooseheads jersey who asked me indirectly if I was from quebec and I, not understanding his question, accidentally said yes, and he proceeded to tell me our teams' beef was water under the bridge and that he'd gone to quebec last year. canadians you are all just incredibly nice but I apparently get lost in your conversations a lot

[droumack]

think of jo in a different profession

ignore the fact i forgot the met gala is at the beginning of may ;-;

like high fashion model Jo, maybe Jo still plays with the mooseheads but gets badlly injured during their draft year and has to stop playing. jo ends up modeling, how i dont know but i would like to see Jo invited to the met gala and asking nate to come with him cause like imagine its when the avs have a break during that time or even before of after ASG.

like the met gala is before ASG and Jo manages to convince Nate to join him as his date. Also at the met gala natejo gives the vibes off jo can walk around in peace cause he has a guard dog behind him. also this gives such a big fuck you to gary bettman, like OH not only does one of the star players of the NHL come out to the world, he does it with his hot af model boyfriend at the fucking MET GALA.

also would be funny that no one knew nate is dating jo other than sid and their family, like no shit sid knows, probably fucking walked in on those two or some shit. Get Jo to fucking dress nate, its a FINALLY for Jo cause he got sick of this usual fits.

like ahhh, maybe like interviews jo did earlier he does talk about playing jr hockey and having to stop. people dig up like OH he was GOOD and would have been drafted high, but OH he also played with nathan mackinnon and they were great together. also see people asking jo and nate about each other.

also nate being Jo's fucking HAB (husband and boyfriend) at the met gala, being HIS ARM CANDY LIKE ABDANAFJIJKNAS, fucking meeting Jo's industry friends like PLEASE. this awkward hockey boy who joined his model boyfriend for his high profile event since this is maybe like the first time theyve also seen each other or been with each other for longer than a couple hours. also jo being a fucking HAB publicly during the avs playoffs like uhsfsbjfbjkjkb.

people to nate especially during ASG, "how the fuck did you bag Jonathan FUCKING Drouin?" " we played jrs together and kept in touch"

oh my GOD losing my mind over this. like it's literally a travis/taylor moment in the pop culture zeitgeist because jo is that guy.

jo 100% does not make nate stay the whole time at the MET, jo honestly kind of hates the MET and only goes because his publicist tells him he has to. they leave early and get on a plane so they can be home on time for nate to make the team plane the next day and they fuck on the private jet because nate thought jo looked really handsome :) and also he did not appreciate That One Actor who kept hitting on Jo like nate wasn't right there (and willing to kill him)

[nateslehky]

can you explain the Nate and Drouin thing to me...I'm a bit out of the loop?

to be honest i am not the most well-versed on their lore, but i do know they were teammates together on the Halifax Mooseheads and won the Mem Cup together. They were best friends and really, really close and would basically gush about one another all the time. baby gays, if you will.

then they were drafted 1st and 3rd overall together.

they also later would play together on international teams and were disgustingly cute about each other then too.

i haven't followed jo's career but i know it's been riddled with injuries and obviously hasn't gone as well as nate's. so for nate to advocate for him even after he's struggled is...a lot. especially since it's been a while since they've spoken about each other/interacted together publicly (as far as i'm aware). this podcast interview from 2020 (around the 21-28 min mark) with nate might've been the most recent time they've talked about one another? not sure tho.

(side note: nate talking about draft rankings bothering the shit out of him but him going 'but it never affected me and jo, we always supported eachother, even at 17'............hello???).

so, this year should be interesting.

here's a tag with some of the stuff i've reblogged recently (not sure if/what i tagged anything before then) that has some old clips/quotes and stuff.

oh also of course: a halifax teammate kissed jo drouin on the lips in celebration one time. so there's that.

if anyone has links/info/lore for this lovely non, feel free to add!

[crow-talks-hockey]

i think the thing that pisses me off the most about this is this: it could be needed. i have two examples as to why

2022. just think of all the anger and all the losing that led up to that run. we went through so much struggle to win, but we ended up conquering that. pain and frustration forged that team into champions, not just being a fucking good team. because the avs are a good team now. but maybe part of the wining formula is failure. the kind of failure that ignites a fire and leads to what happened that year. and i do honestly think this series is like that vegas one in 2021. dallas is resembling them A LOT and yes it's annoying, but damn it i'm going to be hopeful that if we do drop the series, this is going to have inevitable repercussions. i want us angry. i want us rejuvenated by this come next season. i want it to be the fuel that leads to glory. please. i am in fact begging. future me please look back on this and smile because i was so so so right and this team got so so silly and impossible to beat. pleaseeeeeeee

though i always hate to say it... the 2010's blackhawks. i've said it since last season. they were fucking good, right? but they never won it back to back, even though within the span of 5ish years they won it THREEEEE times. which is crazy. but i do think there's been a lot i've seen in the avs that reminds me of that era. and i want us to be the better version of them, obviously. but here's my main thing: i finally looked at their playoff history. the year before they won it in 2013 they lost in the second round, that's all i'll say. idk if there's much more similarity but my numerology/superstitious ass has been dying about that ever since. we could be the better them. please. it would genuinely be so funny

anyway i know the series isn't over yet and i still have hope we can somehow do the most hilarious thing and beat them in seven, but i wanted to just say this now. sports is at its core about learning from mistakes and failures and forging them into something better. if the avs do end up getting eliminated - whether it's in 5, 6, or 7 games -, i do truly believe it will turn out. call it delusion and grasping at straws, i don't care. but if we don't win it this year then by all that is holy NEXT YEAR IS OUR YEAR BABYYYYY. WE KEEPING THE ROARING 20'S LINE. WE'RE KEEPING THE MOOSEHEADS CONNECTION. WE'RE GONNA GET SOME MORE FORWARD DEPTH TO REPLACE VAL MAYHAPS. MAYBE WE'LL LOSE SOME GUYS BUT IT WILL BE SOOTHED BY SWEET VICTORY. I PROMISE. WE JUST GOTTA STAY SILLY

[annieqattheperipheral]

Goalie goal by natejo's juniors team last night! First in halifax moosehead history. Always enjoy a goalie getting in on the bench celly line-- esp for themselves!!

Mathis Rousseau

Celly aerial view:

[19871997]

no the way natejo make me INSANE like that story where Nate was talking Jo up to Elliotte Friedman when Jo was struggling in Tampa, the absolute MADNESS that was Nate's Mooseheads era instagram (there was a recent fic with some eye-opening links from that), the way they come to practice early and stay late to practice their one-timers, whatever the hell they were doing skating next to each other and giggling at training camp, the way they've called each other soulmates, the way they've both kissed the same guy and quite possibly each other based on the way people described that junior team, the Jo signing low to get to play with Nate, the "I'm going to find you", JUST-

YOUUUUUUU GET IT also not only jo getting career highs w nate but nate getting career highs by nearly THIRTY damn points like godddd they clearly make eachother better and love playing with eachother and love and respect each other so freaking much their giggly interviews all those videos at practice where they have to be glue to eachother or the world may just end likeeeee they’re literally the childhood friends to lovers of all time

[jeanie-g]

nicojack 12 or 31 🥺🥺🥺

sorry for the delay! but i didn't forget about you 🫶 kinda took liberties w the prompt BUT i had a lot of fun w it. also it kinda evolved past the bullet format lol. hope you like it!!

#12. "You can't tell anyone. Seriously. Even them."

Nico always loved summer camp. It's a place away from his parents (whom he loves, sure, but could be just a bit stifling), where he can make friends with other boys his age, and do manly things like camping and kayaking and peeing outdoors (the counselors always yelled at them for doing that last one, but a dare's a dare).

And this year, Nico's finally 12, which means he's finally graduated from the Mighty Mooseheads to the Daring Devils cabin. He knows it's just a title, that both cabins are pretty much the same size-wise and everything, but it's the principle: he's basically a man now. Hear him roar, or whatever devils do.

What nobody told Nico, though, is that among the four usual suspects of his bunk mates—Jonas, Akira, Timo, and Jesper—there's a new kid—one who's two years younger than the rest of them. Something about the camp overbooking and maxing out the Moosehead cabin, and the Devils one being the only building with an extra bed, but Nico doesn't care about logistics.

Whoever this kid is, he can't just up the ranks without paying his dues. Nico played by the rules; he served his nickel as a Moosehead—it's not fair that this kid gets to waltz in and just skip all that. He's 10, for Pete's sake! He's basically a toddler.

So, Nico doesn't hide his distaste when he walks through the door and spots a short boy with cropped brown hair arranging his stuff all over one of the beds by the windows. Nico smirks, an idea popping into his head.

"Hey," Nico says, and the boy nearly jumps right out of his skin.

He turns around, big, blue eyes bugging out in surprise. "Oh, hi."

"That's my bed," Nico states plainly, and it isn't—they can only claim beds when they get there, but the boy doesn't know that.

"Oh," he sputters, eyes bugging out further. "I'm sorry, I didn't see a name."

The boy starts to gather his things—a small knapsack bulging with contents, his pillow, and a blanket with some sports team logo splayed all over it—and in his haste, drops them all on the floor. He bends over to pick them up, muttering under his breath, and suddenly Nico feels a pang of guilt.

Memories pop up from several years ago, when the Devils at the time used to make fun of Nico and his friends—the time they stole a postcard mailed from his sister in Switzerland and tossed it right into the campfire, and Nico had to hold back his tears.

"Wait," Nico says before he can stop himself. "It's okay. You can have it."

"Really? Are you sure?" The boy asks. He sounds like he's begging for pennies in front of a rich man, and that makes Nico feel queasy. He doesn't have to like the kid, but he doesn't have to be cruel.

"Yeah. 'Course. Consider it a housewarming gift."

The boy flushes. "Thanks."

Nico picks the bed diagonal from the window, flopping onto it. The springs creak with age, and it fills Nico with nostalgia.

"I'm Nico," he announces, looking up at the ceiling. When he hears no reply, he sits up, leaning on his elbows. "This is the part where you say your name."

"Oh, right." The boy flushes deeper, if that's even possible. Nico distantly wonders how easily he sunburns.

"I'm Jack," he says. "I'm, uh, new. Obviously."

"Obviously," Nico parrots, but he offers a small smile.

Jack's shoulders relax ever so slightly as he smiles back. It's a nice smile, Nico notes. Friendly, and maybe he's not so bad after all.

⋆｡°✩

It's hard not to observe Jack over the first few days of camp. They're bunkmates, after all. Jack's an early riser, which is immediately at odds with the rest of the cabin, who are all night owls to their cores. Still, he's quiet as he moves about, always careful not to wake anyone up, which is smart.

But aside from their first conversation, Jack rarely talks. He's not trying too hard to make any friends, that's for sure, which Nico finds sort of counterproductive. They're at camp—it's the whole point to make friends. He sits alone in the mess hall, keeps to himself before bed or at group activities, and when they have downtime—instead of horsing around by the lake or sneaking into the kitchen to find the counselor's reserve of cookies—he's always reading.

And it's not anything cool like Ripley's Believe it or Not or Goosebumps. They're all these hockey books. Nico swears that's what took up that knapsack—all those books. Hockey's not even a cool sport, like baseball or soccer. One, they do it in the winter (and Nico hates the cold), and two, they do it on skates. There's nothing girlier than skating—well, maybe gymnastics.

But whatever. Jack's not bothering him, so he won't bother Jack, even if he does read girl books.

But there's only so long he can ignore him.

⋆｡°✩

It's a normal afternoon, two weeks into camp. Timo's doing that thing with the orange slice in his mouth that never gets old, when suddenly a voice rises up a few tables away.

"And what do you think you're doing, pipsqueak?"

And Nico'd recognize that voice from anywhere. He's one of the former Devils (now Brave Bears) who went after him and his friends. It's Taylor Hall, who was Nico's idol in his first year at camp. Too bad he's a prick.

Nico turns his head towards his voice, and his eyes grow when he sees Taylor crowding around Jack, who's holding out his meal tray in front of him, looking absolutely terrified.

"I'm—I'm sorry," Jack stutters, and it's then that Nico sees the turned over milk carton and the small stain on Taylor's shirt. They must have collided.

"This was my favorite shirt!" Taylor cries incredulously, obviously playing on Jack's fear and hamming it up for his audience.

And it works, as more and more heads turn towards the scene, and the chatter minimizes around them.

"I—I can get you a new one!" Jack tries, and a few tables laugh. Nico's eyebrows pinch, something unpleasant roiling in his stomach.

"I have a better idea," Taylor says, plucking the bowl of rice pudding off of Jack's tray, that sludge that the mess hall workers always put on their trays even though it tastes like sweaty socks. No one even eats it—everyone usually just puts it on their hands and waves them around to gross out the little kids—and Nico's eyes go wide.

He knows exactly what Taylor's going to do. He did the same thing to Akira years ago when he accidentally closed a door in Taylor's face. He was picking rice from his hair for days afterward.

Nico doesn't quite know where it comes from, but suddenly he's standing and shouting "Hey!" All the heads turn to him now. "Leave him alone!"

Taylor and Jack's heads turn last, and Nico feels their eyes on him like a spotlight.

Taylor's grin widens. "Oh, isn't it little Nico Hischier? Come to save your boyfriend, are you?"

Half the room snickers, and Nico flushes scarlet. He plows on.

"No, actually I wanted to join you."

Jack's face screws up in confusion and hurt, but Nico's got a plan.

Taylor laughs. "Really?"

Nico nods. "Yeah. We're bunkmates, and he's always waking us up for stupid stuff like Colors. It's time he got a little payback."

Jack quirks an eyebrow; they both know that's not true. Nico flashes him a quick look, and realization blooms on his face.

Taylor considers him for a moment, and then smirks. "Huh. Maybe you're less of a fairy than I thought you were." He holds up the bowl of pudding. "Care to do the honors?"

"Nico, what are you doing?!" Jesper whispers beside him, but Nico ignores him.

"I'd love to."

Nico slowly approaches and accepts the bowl of pudding. He holds it above Jack's head, but then he looks at Taylor.

"You know, it never felt like an insult when you called me a fairy or a nitwit, because you're the biggest airhead of all."

And in a flash, he throws the contents of the bowl in Taylor's face, and the mess hall lights up with raucous clamoring and laughter.

Taylor's face heats up like a tomato even under all the muck. Nico hears Jack let out a surprised laugh, and he realizes it's the first time he's ever heard him laugh. Nico turns to him and winks, and Jack smiles, confused but relieved and a little bit impressed.

"HISCHIER, YOU LITTLE—" Taylor roars, and Nico knows it's time to split. He grabs Jack's tray and drops it on a nearby table. Then he takes his hand and rushes him out of the mess hall, the cheering of half the tables acting like an orchestra as they push open the doors and run into the sunlight.

⋆｡°✩

Things change after that. And maybe it's because after the altercation in the mess hall, Nico sees a tiny bit of himself in Jack, or maybe he has a good streak he's not even aware of.

Anyways, Nico starts to go out of his way to talk to him or pair up for sports with him or eat meals with him, and Jack starts to open up in a way Nico didn't allow him before. And as they talk, Nico sees a whole new side to him. He's hilarious, first off, and wicked smart—probably because of all the books he reads. He's also obsessed with hockey, which Nico learns is a lot less girlish than he presumed. He had no idea, for one, that fighting wasn't just allowed, but encouraged! You can't do that in baseball.

Jack is easy to talk to, not like anyone Nico's ever been friends with. And he loves the boys, but they're just not like Jack. He pays attention; he observes, and though he's smart, he can still be pretty stupid—like the time he thought that if it was cloudy outside, you can still get sunburnt. He's also insanely competitive, if their intense games of Uno are anything to go by. The kid can be downright harsh if you cross him the wrong way.

Jack's also kind. He lets Nico go on and on with stories from home—how much he misses Switzerland ever since he moved to the States—smiling as Nico recounts the food and landscape. Jack's a great listener, and he remembers the things Nico tells him—even little things like his favorite color or ice cream flavor (purple and strawberry). He's a morning person, as aforementioned, which means he's basically useless once the clock hits 8pm. His favorite meal is pasta bolognese and his favorite movie is Air Bud, and he has two siblings, just like Nico does, except Jack's the middle child and Nico's the youngest.

The bottom line is, Nico loves being with Jack. Talking to him, listening to his stories, pranking the other boys in the cabin with him. They're very different, certainly—but on some basic level, they're the same. Curious young boys determined to find their place in this big, confusing world that seems to have had it out for them from the get-go.

⋆｡°✩

As the days and weeks go by, they find themselves staying up into the late hours of the night, giggling and being hushed by the other boys when they get too loud. (Nico's now conditioned him to stay up past ten.)

It's one of these nights where Nico realizes something.

"You know, I've never had a best friend before," he confides.

The both of them are eating Nutty Buddies under the covers of Jack's bed, flashlight sitting between them to illuminate their faces. They're alone in the cabin—the other boys out making s'mores with the counselors still—but there's something still nice in pitching a private little cave.

"Really?" Jack asks.

Nico shakes his head. "Nope. I have friends, of course, but I don't think I've ever had a best one."

Jack looks down, suddenly shy. "I don't have many friends back home. I mean, I try to make friends with the boys on my team, but they all pick on me because I'm too small to play hockey."

Something ugly settles in Nico's stomach at that. How many Taylors has Jack had to deal with?

Jack wipes his hand under his nose. "But I love playing. I just hope one day I get to prove them all wrong."

"How?"

Jack smiles, eyes lighting up. "Going 1st overall at the NHL Draft."

Nico frowns. "I...don't know what that means."

He's afraid he's going to hurt Jack's feelings, but then he does something unexpected: he laughs. He holds his stomach as he falls backwards on the bed, pulling the sheet with him.

"Hey!" Nico cries, but just as he's about to yank the sheet back over his head, his eye catches on something tucked under Jack's pillow.

"What's this?" He asks, already reaching for it.

"Huh?" Jack sounds from under the covers. And then, "Wait!"

But Nico's already tugging on the mystery object and dropping it in his lap, and it's—

"A stuffed penguin?" Nico lets out a joyous laugh as Jack untangles himself from the covers. "You still sleep with a stuffed animal? That's so—"

Nico smile drops the second he sees Jack's face. Even in the low light of the cabin, he can see the embarrassment on it, the shame. That ugly feeling in his stomach rears up again, except now it's aimed at himself.

"Cool," he quickly amends, turning the penguin around in his hands. "Penguins are cool."

Jack doesn't buy it, face screwing up in pestilence. "You can quit it, Nico. I know it's a baby thing."

"No it's not!" he cries, even though it very much is. "I have a stuffed dog at home; his name is Barkley."

Jack crosses his arms. "Yeah? And you still sleep with him?"

Nico smacks his lips. "Well, no. My mom actually sold him in a garage sale. But that's not the point!"

"Then what is the point?" Jack huffs.

"Just because you like kid things doesn't mean you're all kid."

"What does that even mean?"

Nico sighs. "It means... I don't care about all that when it's you."

And when Nico says it, he finds it's really true. If it was any other kid, he'd probably be running for the hills to go tattle on him, but there's something about Jack that makes him want to stay right here. Maybe that's what that feeling in the mess hall was. He wants to protect him.

"Really?" Jack asks, expression filled with hope.

"Yeah," Nico says, offering a smile.

A twig breaks outside, disrupting the moment.

"I've gotta hide him before the others come back," Jack says.

"The guys?"

"Yeah. I'll never hear the end of it." He looks at Nico with a spooky kind of seriousness. "You can't tell anyone," He warns. "Seriously. Even them. No—especially them."

Jack visibly shivers at the thought, and yeah, Nico can't argue with him there. He's never been the best at keeping things close to his chest—intentionally or not—but with Jack, he'll try his darnedest.

Nico holds up his pinky. "Your secret's safe with me."

Jack lets out a relieved breath, and twists his pinky around Nico's.

When they pull away, Nico picks the penguin back up and turns it over in his hands. "So, what's his name?"

Jack goes pink. "Sidney Crosby."

"Who's that?"

"He's...my favorite hockey player," he starts out nervously. "He's the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins." As he continues, though, his excitement ramps up. "Me and my brothers—we met him once actually, after a game. I got a signed stick and everything—the one he used to score his hat trick! It was totally awesome."

Nico understood maybe 40% of any of what that meant, but he nods along like he does. Jack might as well be speaking Greek, but Nico can't hold back his smile at seeing the way Jack lights up like a Christmas tree talking about pucks and goals and stuff.

Jack eventually tires himself out, and he glances down at his digital watch. "We should probably go to sleep soon, huh?"

"Probably."

Nico hands Sidney Crosby over to Jack and climbs out of his bed.

"I'll see you in the morning then?" Jack asks, and Nico nods.

Except when he stands, Nico doesn't move to get back in his bed. He's suddenly so nervous, which is just crazy. Talk about the shoe on the other foot, or whatever.

"Are you okay?" Jack asks, and Nico says it before he can psych himself out.

"Do you wanna be my best friend?"

Surprise flickers across Jack's features for a couple of seconds before settling into a smile—one that reaches his whole face.

"Yeah. Do you wanna be mine?"

"Yeah," Nico replies. "I do."

"It's settled then."

Nico meets his smile, feeling that uncomfortable twinge in his stomach finally settle. He thinks back to when he first met Jack, timid and wide-eyed. He looks at him now, warm and smiley, swaddled in his blankets, penguin in his arms.

His best friend.

And yeah, whatever that backend error was that plopped Jack into the Devils cabin...

Nico's grateful for it.

[sophsicle]

OK SO SO SO

what should one do when they visit canada like what are the MUSTS

you can be as silly as you want with your recs the silliness is much encouraged

#my friends arranged a trip to canada for this summer #not that i dont like it #but i would've been fine with vermont #go stanley cup!! #tontons! #i think!!

I WISH IT WAS CALLED TONTONS i will be calling it tontons from now on i hope you know that "bud, we're just going to tontons to pick up some timbits you want anything, eh?" ANYWAY SO here is the thing, Canada is very very big and very very hard to get around, so it really depends where you are.

The prettiness of BC i feel like is the most accessible, because Ontario can look like this:

but you have to be in like the-middle-of-nowhere-thunder-bay (this particular picture is from Sleeping Giant which is a provincial park you can look it up, but like i said, not the most accessible, THOUGH if you do have a car and you are in Toronto I'd suggest going to the Elora Gorge cause good swimming, fun day trip) ANYWAY if nature is your thing i'd go to BC If cities are your thing you wanna hit up Toronto and Montreal (also Quebec city honestly but this is significantly Frenchier than Montreal so beware) For Toronto, I mean, listen, Kensignton Market, Queen West (this is where you wanna go for cute shops, bars, restaurants, clubs), High Park is pretty, the island is nice, don't go to Casa Loma it's a ripoff, the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) is also a ripoff, the CN Tower is DEFINITELY a rip off, I like the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario), there's a historic house called Spadina Museum that has beautiful grounds and beautiful gardens and an orchard (which you can walk around for free A+ for picnics) and the house itself is an old manor which is kinda cool if you wanna pay to go inside The East coast is also very pretty nature wise and, in my opinion, has the most distinct "Canadian" culture, especially places like Newfoundland, Halifax (Nova Scotia, I'm jumping provinces now) is the big city on the east coast and if you go there you gotta hit up The Lower Deck Sunday nights, you go EARLY like, you wanna be there by 8pm latest, they have a local band play and everyone knows the songs and sings along and it's really fun! (also if you go to Halifax you can go to a Mooseheads game, that's their major juniors hockey team, tickets are cheap, the hockey is good, the atmosphere is Fiiiirrrreeeeee) okay yeah idk, it's hard to sum up a country in an ask so this is what my brain is giving me right now

[bitchinbarzal]

Someone told me that the reason I chose my team is absolutely ridiculous but I think it’s funny so,

I moved to Canada (bc specifically) end of 2010 but like partway through the school year. Now we’re geographically very close to Calgary (and somewhat to Edmonton) and lots of people here are flames or Oilers fans, specifically these four little bitches in my grade who were assholes to me when I first moved & made fun of my accent, typical fourth grade bs. So here I am just trying to assimilate to Canadian culture by watching hockey but I don’t have a team yet because I don’t know much about any of them. I am nothing if not a petty fucker so I decided “these kids are assholes & support the two Alberta teams, fuck that” and picked the Canucks just because they were the next closest team to me (my one friend at the time was a leafs fan and said “it’s just a lot of pain, don’t pick them” otherwise I might have picked them. Idk, I was 10)

And then obviously the Canucks had a great season that year and I gloated to the rest of those little shits cause my team made the cup finals and theirs hadn’t even made the playoffs 🤭

I’ve picked up a few stray teams since then like the Avs because Byram is from near me so I have mutuals with him & everyone got v excited last year with their cup, and also the Devils cause I went to uni in Halifax and one of my friends knew Nico (through her brother) from his time with the Mooseheads so she’d make me watch devils games with her and now I’ve adopted half of the devils players so they’re stuck with me for life. The Canucks are still my main Hoe though

I love hearing these stories!