The moral of knives out was entitled rich people are the same. There were various types of political leanings in the Thrombey family: leftist, liberal, conservative, alt-right. However, none of that mattered when their money was threatened, whatever political opinions they held went out the window if it meant saving their lifestyle.
And, actually, when the power dynamic wasn’t them at the top. Meg is sort of positioned as the one nice one of the family, and the one who genuinely sees Marta as a friend - but the turning point for her is not when she loses the money (she even suggests to her mother that they should honour the will, at first), but when she tells Marta that she’ll have to drop out of school. Marta’s response is “No, Meg, that won’t happen. I’ll take care of you.”
It’s a line that gets said to Marta repeatedly by the family, and she’s expected to be grateful for it. But when she uses it at Meg, Meg is so offended by it that she tells the family about Marta’s mother’s immigration status. Literally, this lovely, leftist, progressive white girl is so furious at the temerity of the poor Hispanic nurse offering her charity that she immediately lashes back by using her enormous privilege to put Marta back in her place. She risks Marta’s mother being arrested and deported, so that she can assuage her own ego.
And she feels guilty about it, sure. She feels terrible afterwards.
But in that moment, we see what she really is, and just how dangerous wealth and privilege make a person to everyone else around them.
I’m late to the party, but I wanted to add that I read the screenplay today and the comment above is true.
“Horrified, mortified, barely comprehending what she’s just heard.” It’s the fact that Marta offered her charity that really causes Meg to panic. She can’t stomach the tables being turned that way. She betrays Marta, not to get the tuition money, but to put her world back the way it’s always been. She can’t imagine a world where she has to take generosity, not give it.
Marta, keeping eye contact with Ransom. Then, her voice quavering, Meg drops what is for her the big bomb:
Meg (on phone) (cont’d): Marta, mom’s broke, she says I’ll have to drop out of school.
Marta: No, no. I won’t let that happen. (beat) Whatever money you need Meg, I’ll help you. I don’t want you to worry.
Int. drawing room - night
Meg on the phone. Her face horrified, mortified, barely comprehending what she’s just heard. End ID]
I understand that people have issues with ep 3, but I’m grateful for it bc it gave us the Scott/Shane fight and therefore all of these great posts on Tumblr.com
the reason why heated rivalry is the best book in the ghcu (gay hockey cinematic universe) is because in book 3 the main hockey player hates that he has to fight in hockey and whenever he gets in a fight on the ice his boyfriend honest to god cries. meanwhile ilya is full body slamming Shane into the boards in some kind of unnegotiated exhibitionist bdsm gladiatorial match
bc the thing is sorry that ilya just wants a little kissy but hollander is a FREAK. Shane Hollander is A FREAK out of his own BEAUTIFUL MIND. no other pair in the ghcu (gay hockey cinematic universe) houses a very sweet boy who invented cnc with no outside input.
It's been a while since I made one of these posts, but I'm doing it now because I read a new folklore book over the Christmas holidays (Welsh Folklore and Folk Custom by Thomas Gwynn-Jones) that has greatly expanded my collection of Welsh folktales, and as a result got more into folklore then. Tagging @ivgaoriole, because I know you like these posts
Specific Angels: I've already posted about the Archangel Michael in British folklore, and while he's got a lot of folklore, aside from the parish church of the Wiltshire village of Pewsey claiming to have a feather of the Archangel Gabriel [1], the only other specific angel to have lore about him is the Angel of Death. His lore is all about animals' sensitivity to him - across Britain dying cats were taken outside to avoid him taking a human soul while he claimed the cat [2], in 19th-century Cornwall cocks crowing at midnight (an omen of death) were said to be saluting him [3] and in late-19th-century Wiltshire, his presence in the room of a dying wealthy woman made her beloved terrier refuse to enter the room she was in, howl when she died and spend the rest of the day whimpering [4].
Angels and Saints: Naturally, angels often appeared in the lives of the saints. This was most common at the start; for example, St. Cuthbert became a monk when he saw an angel carry a soul up to Heaven [5], St. Walstan (a folk saint from Norfolk) renounced the wealth he was born into due to a visit from an angel [6], St. David's birth was heralded by an angel telling his parents to give him honeycomb (representing sweet wisdom), a fish (representing asceticism) and a stag (representing power against God's enemies) [7] and the poet Caedmon gained poetic ability after an angel in Whitby, Yorkshire told him to sing of the creation of the world [8]. For some interventions later in life, St. Columba built the monastery on the Isle of Iona on angelic command and prayed with angels there [9], St. Edmund conversed with an angel at St. Clement's, Oxfordshire [10] and St. Dunstan safely sleep-walked on scaffolding at Glastonbury, Somerset thanks to angelic protection [11]. For a final such story, St. Neot’s Well in Cornwall contained three fish, and the saint was told by an angel that, if he only took one a day for food, the supply of fish would be constant. One day when he was sick, a servant took two, and St. Neot immediately threw them back in, where they were restored to life [12]. Interestingly, angels also featured in 19th-century Welsh Protestant revivalism; angels were heard singing at the funeral of a Cardiganshire man called Rhys David, and the arrival of the revival in the Caernarvonshire village of Nantmor in 1817 was heralded by a man called Gruffyd Prisiart hearing angels singing [13].
Prayer to and from Angels: "Deus Propicius Est", a prayer for safety that invoked the archangels [14], is shared in the St. Michael post I linked. There were also several prayers said to have been revealed by angels; for example, a child placed on the altar during Rogationtide processions was said to have been pulled into Heaven by angels and taught an exorcism prayer to be prayed three times. Likewise, the “Crux Christi” was a prayer said to have been revealed to Charlemagne by an angel and sent to the Pope (depending on the story, either Leo, Gregory or Sylvester), which if recited with a (varying) number of Our Fathers and Hail Marys, defends against physical and spiritual enemies, death in battle, death by murder, robbery, disease, lightning, fire, water, epilepsy and evil spirits. Difficulties in childbirth and children dying before baptism could be ensured by writing the prayer on parchment and wrapping it around the belly of the person at risk [15]. Finally, the 15th-century churchwarden Robert Reynes from Acle, Norfolk wrote a commonplace book containing much catechetical material, but also charms such as invocations of Christ, the Apostles, prophets, angels and saints against fever, a conversation between Christ and St. Peter to be used as a charm against malaria and a formula for conjuring an angel into a child’s thumb to use in divination [16]. Which leads into...
Angel Magic: Conjuring angels was thought to be one of the noblest kinds of magic, second only to invoking God Himself [17] and was done with a combination of names of God, the sign of the cross, and texts thought to have power over them such as the prologue of St. John's Gospel [18]. One thing done with this was the creation of rings that angels (or demons) were bound inside, used for (among other things) financial success and protection from poison; such a ring, probably commissioned by a member of the royal family, has been found in Eltham Palace, Kent [19]. Angels also appeared in folk magic; magical graffiti on churches was very common, and a particularly common subtype of it was Hebrew letters regarded as symbols of angels [20]. A cure for wounds, burns and scalds in 19th-century Devon was to have the words "there came two angels from the north, one was fire and one was frost, out fire, in frost, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost" [21] read over you three times by someone of the opposite sex; in 1868, a woman tried (and sadly failed) to heal her scalded child that way. Variants of the spell were found in Norfolk, where the words were "an angel came from the north, and he brought cold and frost, an angel came from the south, and he brought heat and fire, angel came from the north, put out the fire" [22] and Sussex, where the words had to be said on a Sunday evening [23].
Angels Moving Churches: A stock just-so story to explain odd locations of churches in England and Wales is that they were originally going to be built in a more intuitive location, but were repeatedly moved by spirits during construction until they were finally built on that location; angels were the culprits in the cases of the parish church of Hartland, Devon and St. Clement's Church in Worcester [24].
Miscellaneous
During the First World War, the battle at Mons was allegedly won by a soldier invoking St. George, who came with a host of angelic archers to defeat the Germans – however, this story was originally written as fiction by Arthur Machen [25].
Satan sent two imps to attack Lincoln Cathedral, and when one started smashing things, an angel appeared from a hymn book and turned it to stone, becoming a gargoyle (and a mascot for Lincoln). The other escaped, and can be heard circling the cathedral and howling on windy days, or alternately went to Grimsby Cathedral and was turned to stone there [26].
In the Hebridean island of Barra, faeries were said fallen angels who were shut out of Heaven and Hell, because the Son called for the closing of the doors of Heaven and Hell in response to the flood of angels leaving it at the time of the fall – those who had reached Hell became demons and those who had not became faeries [27]. Hence, when dancing they sing "not of the seed of Adam are we, nor is Abraham our father, but of the seed of the proud angel, driven forth from Heaven" [28].
In an Anglesey folktale, to explain divine providence to a man, an angel responded to hospitality by suffocating a child, stealing a silver cup, killing a servant and giving the cup to drunkards – the child was killed to save the parents and the cup stolen to save its owners, the servant was killed to prevent him killing his aged master and the cup was given to drunkards to hasten their inevitable damnation [29].
It was said that an angel and the ghost of Jane Seymour appeared to Henry VIII at Salisbury in 1538 to tell him to repent of the Dissolution of the Monasteries by going on a pilgrimage to St. Michael’s Mount [30].
The Llangernyw Yew in Llangernyw, Caernarvonshire is the churchyard yew, from which an angel’s voice booms every Halloween, announcing who in the parish will die that year [31].
A guardian angel watches over the local stretch of the B4293 in Devauden, Monmouthshire [32].
Bibliography
Ralph Whitlock, 1976, The Folklore of Wiltshire, Batsford, p.114
Marc Alexander, 2002, A Companion to the Folklore, Myths and Customs of Britain, Sutton Publishing Ltd., p.45
Tony Deane and Tony Shaw, 1975, The Folklore of Cornwall, Batsford, p.59
Mark Norman, 2015, Black Dog Folklore, Troy Books, pp.128-129
Alexander 2002 p.247
Eamon Duffy, 2022, The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England (third edition), 1400-1580, Yale University Press
Alexander 2002 p.248
Jo Bourne et al., 2009, The Most Amazing Haunted & Mysterious Places in Britain, Reader’s Digest Association Ltd, p.184
Alexander 2002 p.144
John Aubrey, 1682 (1881 reprint), Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme, Satchell, Peyton and Co: London
Alexander 2002 p.249
Colin Bord and Janet Bord, 1985, Sacred Waters: Holy Wells and Water Lore in Britain and Ireland, Granada Publishing Ltd., p.120
Thomas Gwynn-Jones, 1970 (first edition 1930), Welsh Folklore and Folk Custom, Redwood Burn Ltd., pp.48-49
Duffy 2022 p.270
Duffy 2022 pp.271-274
Duffy 2022 pp.71-73
Katherine Briggs, 1976, A Dictionary of Fairies, Penguin Books Ltd., p.279
Duffy 2022 p.276
Tabitha Stanmore, 2024, Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic, Penguin Random House Ltd., pp.128-130
Ronald Hutton (editor), 2015, Physical Evidence for Ritual Acts, Witchcraft, and Sorcery in Christian Britain: A Feeling for Magic, Palgrave MacMillan, p.16
William Henderson, 1879, Notes on the folk-lore of the northern counties of England and the borders, Nichols and Sons, p.171
T. F. Thistelton-Dyer, 1878, English Folkore, Hardwicke and Bogue, pp.168-170
Henderson 1879 p.171
Jeremy Harte, 2022, Cloven Country: The Devil and the English Landscape, Reaktion Books, p.75
Jenny Randles, 1994, The Unexplained: Great Mysteries of the 20th Century, Anaya Publishers Ltd., p.27
David Castleton, 2021, Church Curiosities: Strange Objects and Bizarre Legends, Shire Books, pp.87-88
Briggs 1976 p.319
W. Y. Evans-Wentz, 1911, The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries, Oxford University Press, p.85
Gwynn-Jones 1970 pp.222-223
Duffy 2022 p.406
Castleton 2021 p.44
Leo Ruickbie, 2013, A Brief Guide to Ghost Hunting, Robinson, p.154
The subtitles don't match??? I was right???? I don't really know russian, but I do have a penchant for languages and am cursed with the horrible knowledge that 90% of the time subtitles adapt rather than translate and now I'm sooo upset. Anything major comes to mind as a mistake example? My instincts say probably semantics or cultural context...
they just throw in swearings randomly all the time for no reason which is kinda annoying and imo they're just off stylistic wise, like they just use neutral eng words that don't give enough context to the dynamics of the characters, of course yes there is the tone of voice that also adds some context to the situations but still :/
okay who am I kidding I opened the show so let's go
first examples: in ep1 when ilya talks to his father on the phone subs say "we are all trying" (to defeat them) whereas he actually says (literal translation) "we will do everything" (to defeat them). imo the subs don't capture ilya's characterisation here, like he basically says to his father "we (i) will do this no matter what" and the subs kinda make ilya more insecure in his actions, in himself and deprives him of his determination to prove his worth.
(also they really are adding random swearings in every sentence?? wtf 😭 for example in the scene where ilya watches shane on tv and says "mr hollander...." there're NONE swear words in the original monologue, why tf did they put the word fuck TWICE in these 3 sentences 💀)
I've been writing this post for like 30 mins now but let's fucking dive into ilya's iconic monologue from ep5: first fucking sentence is WRONG
subs: "I never want to come back here", ilya: "I will never return here"(he has already decided that, it's not a wishful thinking, it's a done deal to him)
subs: "I make sure everyone has clothes they like", ilya: "I make sure everyone has nice things" (literal translation is a little different in russian but the meaning of this sentence that he buys everyone good things aka expensive aka so his relatives wouldn't feel worse than everyone else)
subs: "and I have nothing for these people" ilya: "I can’t give these people jack shit" (or smth like that) mind you AGAIN they assed swear words in the previous sentences even tho he didn't say them but here he uses a strong word because he's desperate and done, his voice breaks and this is how they translate it.........
subs: "that's the worst fucking part of this all is" in russian there is a full stop after that phrase if we're paying attention to connor's delivery. also people may disagree but ilya doesn't say "the worst fucking part of this all", he says something like "that’s where the problem is", like already in this phrase there's an element of confusion (like he doesn't know what to do at this point) rather than him thinking that this situation between him and shane is bad somehow
last point: one of the reasons why to me personally ilya's whole monologue was very beautiful and touching BECAUSE he didn't use swearings left and right, and the ones that he did use were not as strong connotation wise as the word fuck and in the translation they sprinkled them everywhere as if connor's acting and delivery were not enough 🙄
these are just some examples but it happens in every dialogue/monologue in the show
Want some cool fictional angels? Good news! Whether you prefer traditional winged angels, scary eldritch angels, possibly-human-angels, incredibly creative in-name-only-angels, angels separated from or exploring concepts of faith and religion, romance, horror, fantasy, or sci-fi; this list is sure to offer something to chew on!
For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!
If you want more book recs, check out my masterpost of rec lists!
Historical fantasy angels
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb*
The angel Uriel and the demon Little Ash have been friends for centuries, living and studying together in a small jewish community in Europe. But times are changing, and many of the community have left for a new life across the sea. When one of these emigrants go missing, Uriel and Little Ash decide to leave their peaceful life and go find and, if needed, save her.
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèli Clark
Set in an alternate 1910’s steampunk Cairo, where djinn and other creatures (among other things, creepy steampunk angels) live alongside humans. We get to follow an investigator as she races to catch a criminal using a powerful object to control djinn and stir unrest. Fantastically creative and fresh, and also features a buddy cop dynamic between two female leads as well as a sapphic romance.
The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison*
Sherlock Holmes retelling. After having been injured fighting a war against fallen angels, Doyle returns to London to survive on only a veteran's pension. To afford a place to live in the city, Doyle finds a housemate in Crow, and eccentric angel with a great curiosity for humans and a knack for solving crime. And London needs its protector - supernatural beings walk the streets, and a someone going by the name Jack the Ripper terrifies the citizens at night.
Modern day fantasy angels
Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
Novella, young adult. Bitter is an art student in Lucille, a city on the brink. Injustice plagues the citizens and protests shake the streets, and Bitter doesn't know where her place his - whether to fight or stay safe. When her art calls upon a creature of bloody justice, she must ask herself just how far she’s prepared to go and what price she’s ready to pay for justice.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Young adult portal fantasy. Young Karou is a student in Prague, but she’s also a mystery. She fills sketchbooks with drawings of monsters, trades in wishes, speaks languages that aren't all human, and has hair that grows out blue. When strange signs start appearing around the world - handprints scorched into doorways by winged strangers - will Karou finally find out who she really is?
Angelfall by Susan Ee*
Young adult post apocalypse. Six months ago, the angels descended on the Earth - and brought the apocalypse with them. Between ruling street gangs and vicious angels, Penryn is just trying to keep her family alive. When angels fly away with her little sister, Penryn does the unthinkable: strikes a deal with an injured and outcast angel to rescue her.
A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin*
Urban fantasy. Two years ago, sorcerer Matthew Swift was killed. Today, he woke back up. And he isn't alone in his body, but rather in the company of the blue electric angels, who lived in the telephone lines and are now experiencing the world for the first time through him. Now, he seeks vengeance not only against the one who killed him, but also against the one who brought him back.
The Fall that Saved Us by Tamara Jerée*
Cassiel is of angelic heritage, raised to fight and kill demons alongside her family. But Cassiel has left the hunt and her family behind, wanting a normal life. For three years she's built a life for herself, cut off from her family, but now a demon has found her, sent to collect her soul. Except, the demon isn't any more interested in following the orders of her family than Cassiel is. Can they work together to free themselves from the expectations placed on them? Sapphic romance.
Out of the Blue by Sophie Cameron*
Young adult, sapphic main character. When angels started falling from the sky, the world went mad. So far not a single angel has survived the fall, but that doesn't stop teenage Jaya's father from growing an obsession with catching one, going as far as uprooting the entire family to Edinburgh in hopes of finding one. Jaya, busy mourning the recent loss of her mother, finds his obsession pointless - until an angel crashes right at her feet. What’s more, it's alive...
Full on fantasy angels
Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
Novella. During Heaven's War, the rebel Abaddon died and fell. Now, long after, what remains of his body is a valuable element called divinity, which is mined by Fallen, descendants of those who fell and the only ones capable of perceiving divinity. Celeste, a Fallen raised among the privileged Elect, is deeply protective of her little sister Mariel. When Mariel is accused of having murdered an Elect, it’s up to Celeste to find out what really happened and save her sister.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Middle grade. In Lyra's world, every person has a daemon: an animal companion who follows them throughout life. When children begins being stolen off the street, among them Lyra's friend, she must embark on a great journey to save him, taking her to the furthest north - and beyond. A note: the angels do not appear until the second book, however this trilogy is very much worth a read from the start.
Gunmetal Gods by Zamil Akhtar
Dark fantasy inspired by the crusades. Seeking revenge, Micah the Metal leads an army of men baptized i angel's blood against the kingdom that stole his daughter. It’s up to Kevah, legendary fighter, to stop him and save his people. But ever since losing his wife a decade ago, Kevah has lost his fighting spirit. To defeat Micah, he must find it within himself a will to live again. While featuring (scary eldritch) angels, they serve more as a driving background/world-building force than as actual characters.
Horror angels
The Unnoticeables by Robert Brockway
Angels watch over humans, but not to protect us but to solve us, seeking to make the universe more efficient and clean away the undesirable. Carey, a 70s punk, doesn't like the idea of being solved. Watching fellow punks disappear off the streets, he becomes embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy. Decades later, stunt woman Kaitlyn has her own encounter with the angels and their creations - as well an older punk who might have the answers she needs.
Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
Young adult post apocalypse. The world has ended, and sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that caused armageddon. Infected with the bioweapon they released to bring about the end, Benji is slowly transforming into something not quite human and desperate to find someplace safe. When coming across a group of surviving teens, Benji finds something new to fight for. No traditional angels, but it does play with the concept.
Angel Radio by A.M. Blaushild
Young adult post apocalypse. A week after strange and terrifying angels appeared, humanity is dead. Sole survivor of her town, teenage Erika is left wandering on her own. That is, until she catches an odd broadcast on the radio which lures her into the newly emptied world. There she encounters dangerous creatures, but also fellow survivor Midori, who has a cryptic connection to the angels.
Sci-fi angels
Archangel Protocol (LINK Angel series) by Lyda Morehouse
Cyberpunk. In a future where religion has become the law of the land and people spend as much time in cyberspace as in reality, ex-cop Deirdre has lost everything after having been accused of a crime she didn't commit. When approached by a man calling himself Michael and asked to solve the mystery behind the so called link angels - supposed angels who show themselves in cyberspace - Deirdre is given a chance at redemption and answers.
Archangel by Sharon Shinn
For twenty years, archangel Raphael has ruled over the lands, leading to corruption among both angels and mortals. Now the time has come for the angel Gabriel to become archangel, but first he must find his Angelica, a mortal woman chosen by Jehovah to be by his side. But his chosen partner, Rachel, has lived under oppression and fear, and she has her own ideas of what she wants - ideas that don't include Gabriel.
Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds
On a dying earth, society is separated by zones in which the laws of reality shift, allowing for different levels of technology and life. At the top of Spearpoint, the only surviving city, lies the Celestial zone, in which only angels can survive. Quillon, former angel who's had his wings removed and body changed so he can survive and infiltrate the lower zones, has been in hiding for years when he receives a warning that his former people are hunting him. Forced on the run, Quillon must leave Spearpoint for the dangerous wastes beyond, where he will discover ancient secrets of his world.
Space angels
Dust by Elizabeth Bear
In a dying spaceship, orbiting an equally dying sun, noblewoman Perceval waits for her own gruesome death. Having been captured by an opposing house, her wings severed and life forfeit, Perceval’s execution is imminent - until a young servant charged with her care proves to be Perceval’s long lost sister. To stop a war between houses likely to doom them all, the two flee together across a crumbling, dangerous spaceship. At its core waits Jacob Dust, god and angel, all that remains of what the ship once was. And he wants Perceval. Sapphic and asexual characters, however be prepared for kinda fucked up relationships.
The Outside by Ada Hoffman*
AKA the book the put me in an existential crisis. Souls are real, and they are used to feed AI gods in this lovecraftian inspired sci-fi where reality is warped and artificial gods stand against real, unfathomable ones. Autistic scientist Yasira is accused of heresy and, to save her eternal soul, is recruited by cybernetic ‘angels’ to help hunt down her own former mentor, who is threatening to tear reality itself apart. Sapphic main character.
The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang
Space opera inspired by Joan of Arc. Misery Nomaki possesses rare stone-working abilities usually found among only saints and the voidmad. Not believing herself the be former and desperately not wanting to become the latter, Misery is trying to keep a low profile. Her attempt fails when the voice of an angel - or a very convincing delusion - leads her to become the centerpiece of a dangerous battle between two warring factions hoping to use her. Very unique and cool conceptually, but a little all over the place in how it handles its plot.
Bonus AKA I haven’t read these yet but they seem really cool
Dusk in Kalevia by Emily Compton
Toivo Valonen is a secret agent in more ways than one. An angel masquerading as human, he's acted as a source of hope for humanity in wartime throughout history. In 1960, he embarks on an undercover mission to Kalevia, allied with a rebellion against the government. In his way is fellow angel and rival agent Demyan Chernyshev, who’s working for the KGB.
The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard
Having just barely survived the Great Houses War, much of Paris lies in ruins. Morningstar, founder of the House Silverspires, has gone missing, and something is stalking the people within the House's walls. Three people, a Fallen, an alchemist, and a man wielding spells from the far east, may be prove to be Silverspire's salvation.
The Worst Perfect Moment by Shivaun Plozza
Young adult. Sixteen-year-old Tegan is dead and i heaven. There, she's supposed to be reliving her happiest memory. Except the moment Tegan has been placed in isn't very happy at all. Guided by an angel, Tegan is brought through her past to understand what most matters to her. If she fails to see the happiness in her assigned memory, the consequences would be dire for both her and the angel.
Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them: The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey
heated rivalry is awesome because ilya's constantly like i'm a sick bitch i like freak sex but gets scared the minute he gets a little smoochie meanwhile shane is like i'm normal i'm normal and he's five seconds from reinventing free use just out of his own beautiful mind
I know this isn’t what you were thinking by “free use” OP but it’s where my brain went…
Shane unsettled, restless. Nothing is WRONG exactly, in fact things are objectively good but it’s a Lot. He’s not quite meeting Ilya’s eyes, and maybe before this Ilya would have pinned him down and fucked the jittery energy out of him, but is that really supportive boyfriend behaviour? Maybe Ilya should suggest they work out together or something?
Shane sort of collides with him, like he’s hiding his face in Ilya’s shoulder but there’s a kiss in it, a scrape of teeth against his neck and damn, Ilya’s trying to be supportive here but that always-
“Can I - I just…” Shane is on his knees before Ilya’s brain entirely catches up, pressing his face into Ilya’s crotch like his shoulder a moment before. Who is Ilya Rozanov to say no to that?
Shane sucks dick like it’s his sole mission in life, it’s one of the many things Ilya loves about him, but this is different. It’s like the tension slowly drains out of him as he works Ilya up, and when it’s over he breathes out, shaky, over Ilya’s hip like it’s him who’s just come.
And then uh… I have to go to work, haven’t got time to script it properly, but it’s a sensory thing, right? Can’t stress out about the future, or the past, or about clothes that feel wrong or that thing making a weird noise when you’ve got a face full of dick! There’s sounds and smells and a very clear specific task! Repetitive motions are calming!
Anyway, free use dick: available for Shane Hollander’s self-regulation needs, any time (secret relationship and long distance logistics allowing).
Rose Landry highest self esteem of all time. she has mediocre sex a couple times with a guy who seems not all that into it and goes "hm. Well, I'M definitely not the problem. the only possible answer is that he is Gay."
ilyaaaa ☺️<3 ... concussion >:[ and a fractured collarbone :/ out for the playoffs but 🤗 could have been worse 😌☝️ ... i know 🙄 part of the game 🙄 we all get our bell 🔔 rung eventually right? 😊 ... heyy:) heyyyyyyyy:))) ... yes<3 bet-ter🥰🥰 ... i'm sorry i didn't text you last night 😔 ... i was excited about last night ☝️ i'm mostly mad 😠 at marleau for fucking that up 🙄😏 ... you know i had a whole plan to ask you something❗️... i was gonna ask you ☝️❗️ Will You cometomycottage this summer? 🥰🏡 ❌️don't❌️ go to russia🇷🇺 come to my houseee 😤💞 we'll have so much fun :D it's so private :D no one will knoww :D ... mmmwe could have a week💕 or even two✌️💕 we'd be completely alone 👯♂️💞 ~✨️together✨️~ ... oh no 🙄😒 ... ok bye bye 👋☺️ ... 🫡see you next season🫡 ... thank u😊<3 i appreciate it😤<3 ... hellooo😁
ilya rozanov asks shane to be his boyfriend, attempt 1: bro I fucking love having sex with girls
ilya rozanov asks shane to be his boyfriend, attempt 2: might fuck around later and marry a woman lol. yeah i have one in mind. she's really hot :) her dad was a goalie :)
ilya rozanov asks shane to be his boyfriend, attempt 3: [to shane's parents] WE! ARE! LOVERS!
For years, queer representation in mainstream culture was driven by a political imperative. We needed to be palatable, monogamous and mortgage-ready to be tolerated. You could see this impulse in “Will & Grace,” where queerness was domesticated through friendship and slapstick, and later in “Modern Family,” where the suburban gay couple were beloved precisely because they reassured straight viewers that nothing about them was too strange, too erotic or too much. A lot of what is being produced about gay men, even now, replicates a straight world in rainbow colors.
Maybe what we ache for now is not culture built to serve a political end but a focus on the intimate — someone on top of us, breaking down in tears as he confesses his love. What is turning us on is not the thrill of naked bodies but the shock of being emotionally known. That is what some of us have been missing.
“Heated Rivalry” often focuses on the flirtations queer people recognize instantly: the charged eye contact at the opening face-off, boyfriends nudging feet under the table during a coming out, a glance across a crowded gala. The literary critic Richard Kaye has argued that flirtation has long been central to Western literature, a serious erotic mode in novels from Jane Austen to E.M. Forster. Seeing that tradition evolve onscreen between two men — not as subtext but as text — feels like a revolution.
What feels especially new is the way that flirtation becomes true intimacy. When another player in the league comes out by kissing his partner on the ice — a game changer in every sense — Shane’s phone rings. Ilya tells him he’s coming to Shane’s secluded lakeside cottage. Not for a night. Not for a postgame hookup. He’s choosing to step into Shane’s life, transforming their yearslong relationship into something with a future.
In the early 20th century, gay men gathered in a cottage in rural Maine to share stories about Walt Whitman, tracing desire across generations. The artist Marsden Hartley learned from men who had known Whitman and Peter Doyle, a former Confederate soldier who became Whitman’s partner, inheriting their memories like a family tree without blood. The impulse, to find ourselves in the historical record, carried into the 1970s, when writers in the gay magazine The Body Politic documented Hartley’s world to teach gay readers that our history was a ledger of longing.
For so long, we looked for stories that proved we were real. The archive shows that we existed; it doesn’t always show how we loved.
“Heated Rivalry” resonates because it embodies our lives. After the religious right pathologized us during the H.I.V./AIDS crisis, we reclaimed the sex story by reviving bathhouses and sex parties, by unapologetically embracing hookup culture on apps like Grindr, by celebrating eroticism in our fashion and nightlife. And slowly, we became more visible in family life and at work. There are queer politicians and lawyers, Olympians and celebrities. But representation is not the same thing as intimacy. We still need more stories about us, our relationships, our romances, our desires.
As the show has gained popularity, the cultural conversation has veered, perhaps predictably, toward straight people’s responses to the show. Articles, TikToks and morning shows have fixated on the thrill of being, say, a straight woman witnessing two men falling in love. This commentary has felt uncomfortably reminiscent of bachelorette parties in gay bars — our spaces becoming someone else’s spectacle, our bodies becoming someone else’s backdrop.
But if straight women like the show, that is fine. They should enjoy it. After all, it was adapted from a novel written by a woman. Her stated goal — to make a sweet, sexy, happy love story between two men in which, as she says, “the sexual tension and romance isn’t subtext or a tease or something that ends in tragedy” — fits what so many of us have been missing. Her willingness to write toward our joy feels rare, and so does the result: our intimacy made central, not symbolic; love scenes that are not lessons; desire that doesn’t apologize for itself.
We do not need more stories to prove that we exist. We need stories that capture how we live — in the touch, the embrace, the everyday if boring intimacies that were never meant to be translated. Our next frontier is not mere acceptance but depth.
Jim Downs, “A Sweet, Sexy, Happy Love Story Between Two Men. Revolutionary.” The New York Times, January 3, 2026. (gift link: x)
stop thinking with your dick and start thinking with your pussy. ok now stop thinking with your pussy and start thinking with your dick again. meditate on the differences between them. call me back when you get it.
