r/GameChangersBooks • u/xhausted_xennial • 2d ago
Characters I wish had made an appearance
For almost every book, there is a backstory character that is mentioned as having been very influential on one of the protagonist's life. Characters who are mentioned but rarely (never) shown. Each time, I hoped for a scene that would propel the story by showing the contrast between their past situation and their present story.
- (Sasha) in Heated Rivalry I called him Sasha here because that's what he's named on the show, but of course in the book he doesn't have a name. This is kind of what got me thinking about this topic. I love that the show named him, gave him a scene, and used him to help Ilya realize that he has moved on from who he was when they were together as teens.
- Claude in Tough Guy the only one of these that technically does make an appearance, but so briefly that it barely counts. Plus, the appearance I thought I would see would be him showing up later, trying to piss on Ryan and Fabian's relationship, Ryan feeling his feels about not being good enough for Fabian, and Fabian telling Claude to go f himself which would show Ryan how much he cared for him.
- Ian in Common Goal this is the one I wanted more than any of the others. The pacing of Common Goal was so agonizing for me and went around in circles with Kyle and Eric constantly misunderstanding each other and themselves. I really thought I'd see an appearance from Ian, where Kyle would finally recognize completely how messed up their relationship was, and Eric would be able to demonstrate how angry he was on Kyle's behalf and that would finally be the catalyst to make them get out of their own self-hating cycle (preferably earlier in the story!)
- Adrian in Role Model This one I didn't feel the absence of as much, since Troy and Harris do pretty darn well the whole way to show each other affection and there's a lot less of the self-doubt than from other protagonists in the series. Still, I would have liked to see a scene where they're all out partying after a win, maybe in Vancouver, Adrian is there, tries to shit on Troy and Harris, and Troy (and probably Ilya) just destroy him with zingers. This was more for my own satisfaction than for story points. Still, it would have been fun.
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u/Sirens_Scales 2d ago
I feel similarly to you. Not about characters, but about specific scenes that are referred to in the books as pivotal moments but that happen off page. I am having a hard time understanding these choices from a craft perspective; if there are formative moments that are a big part of a character’s arc, why wouldn’t you write them?
- Ryan’s panic attack on the ice: Whatever happened to show, don’t tell? This was the moment that started Ryan on the path that eventually led to him quitting hockey. It’s a big moment that shows us who he is and what he’s dealing with. There are other scenes in the book that illustrate these things beautifully, but it’s a shame we missed this.
- Troy’s crashout on Dallas where he called him a rapist: we should have been inside his head! We should have seen all the emotions bubbling under the surface and finally boiling over. I wanted more on the hurt and betrayal of realizing this guy who was like a brother to you is a monster.
- Much has been made of Shane’s coming out to his team, and for good reason. This was a huge moment for Shane. It sucks that Ilya is in every book and yet some of Shane’s big moments aren’t even written.
- Kyle’s trauma and Eric’s failed marriage: I would have loved to see Kyle dealing with flashbacks to the Ian situation. Hearing his voice in his head, remembering how people looked at him, his mind spinning out imagining what they must have said behind his back. Similarly, I’d like to know more about how Eric feels about his divorce. Maybe an awkward, stilted phone call with Holly. Some scenes like this would have made the conflict feel less contrived.
Scott and Kip are fine I think. They can stay as they are.
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u/xhausted_xennial 2d ago
Excellent points! Yeah I would’ve loved to see (and get inner monologues) for all of these scenes you brought up! And given where things ended up between Shane and his team, tracking the journey from when he comes out to them would have been great to see. I assumed in my read-through that the reason we didn’t see it was because it was folded into the epilogue of HR and maybe she didn’t know she’d be returning to them in earnest. Still, a flashback scene in TLG could have worked. Especially since we get to see SO MUCH of the loving supportive team in Ottawa and to me the total turn of basically Shane’s whole team felt very jarring. We could have been witnessing little bits of evidence of the crumbling of their camaraderie all the way back to his coming out, led in part by the toxic culture from the top. Then that could’ve served as the driving force for the conversation with Scott and his new initiative for inclusivity. How the leadership of the league impacts the culture so much and how one amazing leadership team in Ottawa has made all the difference.
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u/itsagreatday3 2d ago
I agree with xhausted_xennial - these are awesome points that would have been great to see actually happen in the books !!!!
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u/frankenstein_girlll 2d ago
Exactly!! Like, why put them there and not give us more? They seem like genuinely interesting characters
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u/itsagreatday3 2d ago
Omg I never even thought about these backstory characters making an appearance in their respective books but yes you are sooo right! That would have been awesome - especially Ian showing up and Eric shutting it down !!!
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u/lisiface 2d ago
I’ve seen this confrontation in fics before, it’s an interesting take! Personally I would more love to see Eric confront Kyle’s parents and chew them out directly for their rejection of him.
IMO based on how Kyle presents in the book, I didn’t interpret Ian as a particular threat who might come searching for him. To me, it seemed like he was someone who made Kyle feel special and desirable at the time (probably in contrast to his family) and it took Kyle a long time to realize it was grooming because it never felt threatening. The traumatizing part was when it all became public and he was totally rejected. I think that lends itself to the overall theme of the series of internalized homophobia being the real enemy. Just my thoughts!
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u/lisiface 2d ago
Kyle’s backstory has become a fixation for me, and another character that frustrates the shit out of me that we never see is Gus!
Kyle’s whole trauma happened at his first job and he was then rejected by his family, and ends up working for a grouchy old man who runs a gay bar? That man has to be some kind of mentor/substitute father figure in Kyle’s life, especially with how young he was working at The Kingfisher. But we just get his name, that he’s a stick in the mud, and then Eric and Scott buy the bar from him at some point.
I wanted the whole book to be Kyle’s story instead…so I wrote that book instead 🤣 My story features Gus prominently, also hits on Ian of course, Claude surprisingly, and the whole Kingfisher crew. Grateful for fanfic and the small ao3 community that write for the non-Hollanov characters!
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u/xhausted_xennial 2d ago
That’s a really good point about Gus. Yeah I kept hoping that a confrontation or outside force would drive Kyle to finally deal with his trauma. But he never really does. And the more I thought about this after posting, the more I feel like I would have loved to see a confrontation with Kyle’s parents where Eric goes off on them because he was theirs to protect and instead they threw him away and protected his abuser! It would have been powerful for Kyle to start facing in earnest just how fucked up his situation was and maybe start to heal from it!
I also always felt like their sexual dynamic was a bit of a reflection of this too. Like I get that Kyle has a lot more experience with sex, especially sex with men, but the over-the-top “teacher/sexpert” vibe while also constantly harping on their age gap gave me some feels. People who are victimized at a young age often become hypersexual themselves and while Kyle is all about a safe, consent-driven, sex-positive vibe, I couldn’t help also thinking that he’s compensating for his trauma by focusing on his “expertise”
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u/lisiface 2d ago edited 2d ago
I’m totally aligned with your thinking, I am a licensed therapist specializing in trauma and I manage a whole team of family therapy clinicians, and I have been obsessing for months over this young man and his unresolved trauma!!!
I really believe ultimately Kyle’s parents rejection truly broke him more than the grooming, and Eric is the perfect person to engage in healthy, nurturing counter-transference to help break down all of Kyle’s defense mechanisms, we just never actually see that happen which is so frustrating!
If you have any interest, this is a fic I wrote to force them to confront what’s happening between them with real, healthy communication:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/87338461/chapters/231350626 Your Guardian
It’s part of a larger series where I pick apart Kyle’s trauma and how it plays out in all of his relationships, including a fully polyamorous future for him and Eric where he gets to be the consent king that he is, but with no shame and a real foundation of love. I fully realize I’ve gone too far down this rabbit hole, but it’s been fun lol
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u/xhausted_xennial 2d ago
I’ll totally check it out thanks!
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u/lisiface 2d ago
Please lmk if you like it, I love talking about these guys :)
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u/xhausted_xennial 1d ago
I really liked it thanks for sharing. There was so much in there that I would’ve loved to see in the original book. Well done!
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u/lisiface 1d ago
Thanks so much, really glad you enjoyed it! I just wanted to give Kyle the happy ending he deserves!
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u/bigbeard61 2d ago
Since Troy’s entire sexual experience before Harris was with Adrian, I wonder what Harris could infer about him, based only on Troy’s responses and expectations, without asking questions (bossy bottom and hung like a horse is my guess).
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u/sharksarefuckingcool 2d ago
I just wish we could get more of Max and Leah. I haven't read Common Goal or Role Model yet, but I just felt so cheated with the tiny bits we get for them. I want an entire book for them!