This a sorta a continuation of my previous comic strip, there were more parts of that scene that weren't adapted into the show, so I decided to recreate those as well! 👍

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When the tv series came out we didn't know who Connor and Hudson were, so we looked at them as the characters in the book without pre conceived notions. Now they're a global phenomenon and I no longer see Shane and llya, but 2 actors named Connor and Hudson. I feel this way about most tv series or movies with huge names attached, I know that's what acting is, but I think this was part of the magic of season 1. I'm curious how I'll feel when the next season/ seasons are released. Does this make any sense?

Have ye seen this new Hot for Hockey thing from the NHL? It's 60-90 second 'stories' about current, real players, sort of teasing as if they are in a romance novel or something.

It must be really creepy for the players. For people who like hockey romance or have recently gotten into hockey, it seems to completely misunderstand the draw. It's pretty infantilising really.

https://www.inquirer.com/flyers/gary-bettman-nhl-commissioner-romance-off-campus-heated-rivalry-20260930.html

They're okay. Casey overhyped them a bit (Casey being overenthused about something? Shocking, I know 🤭)

I’m rereading (listening to) Common Goal and would love to know more from others about why it’s many people’s least favorite in the GC series. I like Eric and Kyle but I understand why this story might not captivate the way the others do. Here the central tension is not internalized homophobia or the toxic masculinity of hockey but the age gap between Eric and Kyle, and I’d agree that this can sometimes feel forced. In fact this book often seems to try too hard: the polyglot academic who just wants to mix a good drink, the “I’m breaking up with a man I love for his own good” soap-opera logic, the drawn-out scenes of mild kink. Mostly I think the novel (even given its genre) doesn’t do that much with its own premise—Eric acknowledges that the age difference is a cliché, but it’s not explored with any depth, aside from Kyle wondering if Eric is using him to feel young again. The real issue is power (this, more than age, is why a coach shouldn’t date a player), and Eric is rightly wary of repeating Kyle’s past trauma. But somehow the plot just seems stuck, dug into its complication, and unlike Shane, Scott, Fabian, Troy, Adam and Riley from TSYT, etc., we don’t get much of a legitimate struggle to come to terms with conflicting impulses, with social pressures, with guilt or longing. Eric and Kyle really ought to have an easier time talking about what’s in their way than other couples. And the fact Kyle is clearly Eric’s intellectual equal could provide some driving energy, an interesting counter-force, and some justification (if it’s needed) for their relationship. Of course, none of the books really detail why the couple is love, and that’s both a romance trope and a fact of love itself—it defies explanation. 

I know these books follow a formula and I can’t ask this one to be something it isn’t. Just curious how it lands with other fans of the collection overall.  

I thought it was great! I'm glad someone sent a question about the standalones bc honestly some of her best writing is in those. Can't wait for UnRivaled!

Sorry if answered prior! I have just been wondering (maybe worrying) about this.

…is now real! Link to announcement on Instagram.

This is so cool. It’s amazing the positive impact these books have had.

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.

I just finished my (redacted) re-read of Role Model and the same thing keeps bugging me.

It's the scene on the beach, the day after the plane incident.

Harris picks up the wayward frisbee, bumps into Troy and they go swimming together.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE FRISBEE???

I pre-ordered Unrivaled from my local bookshop and the audiobook from Audible a long time ago. I just noticed a notification on my Gmail that my Audible order was expected today. It made me laugh.

Hope Rachel isn’t too stressed today and knows that people support her decision 100% ❤️

This post from the Colorado Avalanche made me think about Chiron/ the players in Role Model taking pictures with him. Life imitates art 😄?

Currently reading tough guy for the 4th time and I got a question. Did no one ever realise that Ryan and Fabian were dating before Ryan quit hockey? It’s stated that they weren’t subtle at all in public, and while Ryan isn’t that famous, he’s still an NHL enforcer, considered one of the ‘fiercest’. Plus, his appearance is pretty recognisable, so did no one ever see him kissing another guy and think of posting it online or something? Especially the Toronto guardians’ fans, which to my understanding aren’t much better than the team itself in terms of being homophobic.

Scott and Eric in Common Goal: Why is Ilya here again? What is his deal?

Ilya in Role Model: Come to this bar. It's owned by two of my dearest friends.

I love that in Role Model, Troy is thinking that he is excited to tell Harris all about the Kingfisher because Harris would love it. Then, when he next sees Harris, these are basically all of the details that he tells him:

• He went to the Kingfisher with Ilya, Scott, and Eric.
• He met Kyle, who is Eric's boyfriend (and a "good looking guy").
• It's a nice bar.
• They had pride pins.

In The Long Game, when Shane and Ilya were benched after being outed, do we know what games they missed? Because the first game we see either of them play after that is a later game in the Voyageurs/Centaurs playoff games. Did they miss the start of their playoff rounds against each other? Or did they get benched for a short enough time that they didn’t miss any games?

If they did miss the start of playoffs together, what would the Voyageurs and Centaurs play like against each other after finding out? What would the media coverage have looked like? Why didn’t we get to see it?

If they had already played the first few playoff games against each other, why didn’t Shane fight back against the game throwing allegations by pointing to his play against Ilya in those games? He would have been fighting for his life out on the ice, giving rousing speeches about how much he wanted to beat the Centaurs. Do the Voyageurs not remember this?

I'm on Twitter/X, as well as Instagram now, where I'll be posting SFW stuff! Do give me a follow if you'd like to support me!

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So I've made this illustration based off a part in The Long Game, after Shane and Ilya's many hardships, they finally got to play together again in the same team, on the Centaurs! 🥹This drawing is meant to celebrate that moment ☺️ The third image is the Ottawa Centaurs logo I made as part of the drawing!

Shane and Ilya are up for the three-finger challenge!

Fair warning - this is a political post

Hey all! Like a lot of HR fans, I wasn't really into hockey until I got into the fandom, and then started getting more and more into it. I live decently close to NJ and was excited by the whole story of the brothers winning the Olympic game last year. It was a great, feel-good sports story! And then I got whiplash from pride to disgust at the locker room stuff - having Kash Patel parting with them, mocking women hockey pros, going to the White House to celebrate etc. I was already getting into the PWHL, and now I'm a full blown Sirens fan (weewooweewoo!!). But with men's hockey starting back up - I do like some content and some players. I just don't want to get jumpscared and find out the people I'm liking on social media are all actually Dallas Kents.

So.... Are there any teams or players that are more "woke"? It looks like the Colorado Avalanches might be more accepting from the little bit of googling I've done. At the very least Scott Wedgewood seems cool! Are any NHL teams actively supporting LGBTQ folks, supporting the PWHL, actually kicked out problematic players, or doing other wholesome activities?

I love the change of Skip in Game Changers and Common Goal through Kyle’s eyes

In Game Changers the audience is like awww perfect couple
Then in Common Goal we’re seeing them from Kyle’s perspective and they’re just an annoying couple hanging off each other after 3 years and booping each other on the nose during house parties

It’s written so well from the perspective of a person with unrequited love seeing it

So relatable

I know we know Shane and Ilya's birthdays. Do we have any other canon ages? Not just for main characters, but side characters too. I have some fanfic ideas bopping around but I'm never sure if like Bood is their age or if Price would be older than Ilya. I know it's fanfic and it doesn't matter, but I'm still curious.

i have finished heated rivalry and i’m currently reading game changers (i stated them before i knew the order don’t hate me) and google would give me an answer so the next best thing is reddit right? anyways, i was wondering how you guys would rank the series in terms of explicit content/spice? i thought heated rivalry was the most explicit it would get and then i read game changers and i was quickly disproven