whatever

Book club 🦈🦈

“and it’s gone to shit without you”

“it was shit before but at least i had you”

the “every rookie wants macklin celebrini” season. it’d be more hilarious than any dramatic reality show on tv. will, misa, cherny, and dickie all scrambling to claim as much of their sophomore rising star’s time as possible

dickie would have a bit of an edge because he and mack have played on the same team before, meanwhile i feel will’s bc roots would work against him this time since they didn’t have a chance to bond at rookie camp where will hardcore pursued mack until mack opened up, like the current timeline. mack would still be nice to him, because mack loves everyone on the team, but they wouldn’t have that instant codependent rookie bond. will’s smart and persistent so he’d eventually wear mack down, but it wouldn’t be nearly the same, at least for a while

i also wonder if they would’ve called cherny up sooner this time around. cherny was already lighting it up with the barracuda the first half of the season, but they left him down partly to help him develop with regular playing time but also because they had a ton of forwards under contract and will was playing on mack’s line by this point. but as a rookie, will would still be adjusting to the nhl level and playing sheltered minutes on the third or fourth line, same as misa. so since they didn’t have will on mack’s wing, there’s a possibility they could’ve taken a chance on cherny sooner, allowing cherny to get closer to mack right away

misa’s biggest detriment is how idolizing his crush is. he looks up to mack too much, and because of that, mack sees him more like a kid to take care of than an equal

i think the funniest part would be mack treating will with the same senpai-like affection he gives the other rookies, always patting them on the head like good dogs and playing with them but also kind of holding himself at a higher standard with them, knowing they probably rely on him, and not being the type to coddle anyone, but also being fully aware he’s a year ahead of them in the development curve and it’s his job to show the way

(will’s eye would probably twitch at this. he wants to fuck mack soooooo badly, and being treated like just another rookie mack thinks he has to look out for kind of pisses him off. if will could just get mack into bed one time and show him what he can do…)

mack’s cheetah absolutely refusing to leave will’s wolf, to the detriment of mack who’s too shy to talk to will and mortified by the manifestation of his own soul betraying him

will who finds it incredibly endearing and isn’t surprised at all by what’s happening because he’s known what his soul wanted ever since he saw mack across the ice for the first time

in their shared hotel room that first night of camp, mack’s cheetah immediately cuddling up to will and purring up a storm when they settle down to watch a movie, mack watching from his own bed, frozen in shock by the implications, because daemons only ever let their human’s very close family/friends and soulmates touch them

mack staring at the easy way will starts stroking his hands through his cheetah’s fur, shivers wracking through his own body at the phantom feeling, the pure bone deep intimacy of the moment, until he’s taken out of his own thoughts by will’s wolf settling down next to him, his head resting on mack’s thigh and pawing at him until mack starts petting her head

Listen, if there’s one thing we know about Will Smith Hockey, it’s that he is just as crazy and just as competitive as Mack. He just hides it under that nonchalant devil may care mask that’s been stuck to his face for so long even his own coach struggles to discern it from flesh.

I don’t care if Zeev Buium is currently hand-feeding him grapes while Jacob Fowler waves a palm-tree fan and Will Vote perches at his feet like a loyal dog waiting for scraps of attention as Will sexts the bald maître d’ of some fuckass fancy restaurant in Boston. Will Smith is a pretty boy who collects pretty things, and the prettiest, shiniest, rarest trinket of all is Macklin Celebrini himself.

Just because it’s been weird between them since Boston — because his trinket doesn’t like being tossed into the same plain jewelry box as all the other random finds — and just because the owner of said box doesn’t want to get caught showing favouritism to his most prized possession by wearing it every day, so he keeps rotating his little sets until the gem runs off without leaving a note, does not mean Will isn’t going to be on Grouse Mountain grinding his ass into fine dust just to prove a point.

Michael Misa (who could be gay or bi etc.,) and Sam Dickinson (cock) are nawt going to take his place in the very special and exclusive camp that Mack founded like a mockery of their romantic Halifax getaway. Will is petty as fuck, but he is not going to let Mack “I run at the first sign of trouble to protect my exposed bleeding heart” Celebrini have the upper hand.

If Mack insists on them being miserable, then they can be miserable and sore and sweaty on top of a damn mountain while Misa 1 & 2, Dick, Luke, *shudders* Bedard, and [insert Canadian athlete of choice] watch from a respectful and horrified distance as they share a water bottle and make sure to spit in it extra hard so the glob gets mixed in every time the other takes a swig. But they will not say a single word to each other directly until the end of the week, when Will has to return to the arms of his loving harem.

And he’d love to stay, really, but alas, he must go. Now, if only SOMEONE would ask him to stay an extra week or two. If only he were explicitly invited. If only he were wanted.