#cornt

Kent Parson, Kenny, Parse, that jerk, fuck you - whatever you want to call him - I have recently had a surprising revelation about myself, thanks to the boy everybody loves to hate, Kit Purrson’s namesake himself, Kent Parson.

See, like many (I hope - but just so I don’t feel like I’m such a fucking jerk myself), I hated Kent. I feel like that was where Ngozi was guiding me. His casual ‘Didja miss me?’ was, in my first read, a thinly veiled ‘I’m here to fuck your shit up’ to our boys JZ and ERB.

Having several not-fun mental health issues myself and having had to take a significant ‘detour’ in my life due to them and other traumatic episodes, I felt a little like Ngozi was ‘singing me softly’ with JZ’s song. 

And Jack’s behaviour toward Kent was always (in my mind) a clearly warranted defence against the obvious villain of the piece. Kent was to Jack what my Evil Ex™ was to me: a punishing, ever-present hitch in the throat, stinging prickle behind the eye or panicking heart palpitation. He was the reason for Jack’s sometimes odd behaviour and prickly manner. He was the reason Jack did nothing but protect himself, took no risks and stuck steadfastly to what he knew best. I was Jack, Jack was me, and Kent was that other cunt who deserved everything the world could torture him with. As one of my therapists said I’d ‘never be safe until he was dead’. That’s a lot to project onto poor little Kenny Parson, but project it I did. And how!

I started reading fanfics. I’d never read them before, hadn’t needed to. But Ngozi’s tortuous real-time schedule made updates few and far between, and I needed that Samwell hit. I started with ERB/JZ, moved on to NurseyDex and somehow ended up reading some Cornt and Patater. And it was these last two that made me realise that on the other side of Jack’s coin was a man as deserving of love as Jack was. A man in as much pain as Jack was. A man who was struggling with his own issues and just trying to make the world a better place for him to be in.

Me (screaming internally): OMG is that what happened to my ex? Also me: Fuck that guy.

I don’t think I ever really ‘forgave’ that guy, but I did realise that the general shitstorm that fucked me up  was by-and-large a product of his mental health issues. And I am not one to begrudge anyone a mental health problem. So I moved on the best I could, learnt to recognise my triggers and manage my responses. Medication, a fantastic GP and the greatest psychologist in the world (for reals) helped me come back off a permanent panic, realise I was worth more than spending at least 2 hours of my working day hiding and crying in the toilet and that I am not crazy, but having a very normal reaction to an extraordinary situation.

Now I love Kent. I am all about Kent. I want him and Jack to be friends - as best they can - but that is because I think it will work for them. I don’t want to be friends with my Kent. I want Kent Parson to be happy, to realise he deserves love and kindness and all the things he wants in the world (once he realises Jack’s not a good fit for him, relationship-wise). I want Kent to have the kind of love that Mashkov has for him when @dellessanna or @thewesternredcedar or countless others  are at the Patater helm. I want the kind of love that Cornt affords him (courtesy of @tdkeh).

And through all of this I realise that maybe I am too quick to judge and villains are not always as evil as they seem.

1. Ooooh! A holiday headcanon for Kent… that’s an interesting one! I haven’t thought of it much, but I am happy to now! Kent to me is the kind of guy who acts like he doesn’t care about anything, but secretly cares a lot. So he’ll laugh about all the guys on the team getting into the xmas spirit, but he’ll also stay late at the rink, turn off most of the lights in the area, and hang out by the tree. His first xmas with Corey in their new house, he gets really into decorating, and starts singing carols in the shower instead of pop songs.

2. As for cooking, I picture Kent as a fairly good cook. He doesn’t get too adventurous with his recipes, but he tries to keep his meals as healthy and nutritious as possible. He is a professional athlete, and not only that, but a TOP one at that. He has had the spotlight on him from day one and all the pressure associated with that, and I see him as the type to develope strict eating habits in order to fuel his body for peak performance.

10. Hm, my physical appearance headcanon for Corey — on the most basic level, of course, I based him off of Swoops/Troy. Beyond that, Corey is the type of bro who definitely prefers to dress for comfort. He doesn’t have any particular skin/hair care regimen, but he DOES like the way his hair feels when he uses Kent’s fancy shampoo. He can “clean up well” when he needs to dress up, but definitely prefers sweatpants and t-shirts lol. He likes to chirp Kent about his carefully constructed appearance — especially the shirts that cost $200 but look like they cost $20, and the fancy shampoo that does nothing to tame Kent’s cowlick — but he likes surprising Kent with decent fashion choices from time to time. Most of the time, he enjoys dressing like a slob (Kent’s words) lol. He occasionally wears items of clothing specifically because he knows Kent will be embarrassed by them – flag print blazers, dumb t-shirts, sweats that say “after-sex pants” down the leg, etc. (Kent finds it funnier than he pretends to.) Since retiring from the NHL, he has lost some of his muscle mass, but Corey is still fit and lean, and has an ass that nearly rivals Jack Zimmermann, nearly. He makes sure to stay active any way he can.

Awwww! This is awesome. I have to admit, After nearly a year of writing about Kent Parson and his loveable dork of a boyfriend Corey Henderson and all of their friends/teammates/family in Vegas… it’s been a really weird feeling not writing about them anymore.

Kent has done a lot of growing up since meeting Corey, and vice versa. Falling in love, coming out, building a home, injuries, difficult discussions – every up and down they’ve encountered has brought them closer together.

Some facts about Brett Andrew “Mac/Mackey/Macker/Bambi/Bam-Bam/Baby Deer” MacNamara:

Brett’s family lives in Utah, in a small town about an hour away from Salt Lake City, where the Aces’ farm team is located. They used to travel to his games a lot when he lived there, but haven’t made the trip to Las Vegas yet.

Growing up in a small, religious town had its pros and cons. Brett loves the close-knit community he was raised in, and dislikes it for all the same reasons. He was excited to move away in juniors to experience a world outside of his town’s bubble, where he never quite felt like he fit in, but soon found he fit in even less with his teammates in Waterloo, IA. (Fun fact: also the team Holster played for in juniors)

Brett loves the colour purple, but the lighter, lavender shade in particular. It’s an added bonus for him that a certain special someone (whos name rhymes with “Varco Millanueva”) looks AMAZING in it. 

He hates insects of nearly every kind, but grasshoppers in particular. They jump around too fast. The exception from his “ew, bugs” list – bumblebees. Brett LOVES bumblebees.

Brett likes all kinds of food. He would probably call himself a “foodie” if he had ever heard the term. He loves to cook and try out new recipes, but is also 100% down for a greasy burger and an ice cream cone when asked.

I’m hoping to finish it up this weekend :)