i guess it's technically game changers now but everyone knows heated rivalry better. here is part one if you want to read that. spoilers ahead for tough guy, common goal, and role model
troy barrett
lynx: coming up with an idea for troy was oddly difficult. i settled on a lynx for a few reasons. lynxes represent secrecy/keeping secrets, silence, and discretion. while troy’s macho man persona was technically none of these things, the troy that was hiding underneath matches almost perfectly. troy keeps his sexuality and true self hidden as a form of self protection, both from the hockey world and his own father. he is also a naturally reserved person and a somewhat poor conversationalist, often being alone both literally and metaphorically/emotionally. lynxes are solitary animals, which i feel aligns well with troy’s personality. lynxes are also known as great hunters, much like troy’s hockey skills. lynxes are also associated with winter, which i personally associate troy with as well
harris drover
dolphin: harris was also difficult to decide for. harris is practically the exact opposite of troy, with his loud and joyful personality. harris is also notably very good with people and is capable of getting along with probably anyone. dolphins are known for their playful personalities, representing joy and fun. dolphins also symbolize self connection and trusting one’s inner guidance, which i feel relates a lot to harris, who not only understands himself pretty well but also takes the time to understand and consider others. historically speaking, dolphins were viewed as protectors for sailors, much like how harris cares deeply for everyone and is willing to go the extra mile for those who need it
ryan price
black bear: ryan was possibly the easiest decision. bears in general represent gentle strength, protection, and quiet power. as a hockey player, ryan’s entire purpose was to be big and scary, protecting the more valuable and skilled players. all the while, ryan didn’t want to be fighting and hurting people, and found it upsetting. this is why he’s a black bear. generally speaking, a black bear’s intention is not to kill humans and they will only attack if they feel the need to. bears also represent rest, due to their hibernation. this reminds me of ryan retiring from hockey after it continuously made him feel extremely unhappy. also ryan is giant, and so are bears lol
fabian salah
peacock: fabian was also an extremely easy decision. peacocks are known for their beauty, representing confidence, self assurance, and fame. fabian is confident in his own skin as well as his sexuality, and showcases himself through his music and appearance. he wears makeup and paints his nails and decorates himself because he understands his identity and what to do in order to feel like himself. peacocks are a symbol of embracing yourself and not caring what others think, and i think there’s no one better in the entire series than fabian when it comes to that idea
eric bennett
horse: i want to preface this by saying that i don’t really think eric is cool enough to be a horse, but it works well enough. horses represent power/stamina as well as steadiness, which i think is the most important in regards to eric. eric is very important to his team before he retires, acting as a steady and levelheaded counterpart to much of what the admirals are used to. i also think that a horse’s power and stamina relate to eric. much like a horse, eric pushed himself and his body for many years longer than lots of athletes do, staying in the nhl for 18 years. horses also represent freedom and moving forward, which i feel relates a lot to how eric grows and learns once he takes the time to acknowledge his attraction to men
kyle swift
hyena: after a bit of deliberation, i felt pretty good about kyle as a hyena. the most memorable part of kyle’s personality for me was his wit/humor. hyenas are associated with humor due to their “laughing” call, even if they’re not actually laughing or showing amusement. it’s like how much of kyle’s humor is a sort of coping mechanism for his past and how he truly feels about himself. there’s also a connection through hyenas’ social intelligence and adaptability. hyenas also have a generally bad reputation: they represent foolishness, treachery, and sin. kyle was chased out of his home town (and state) because he was blamed for an inappropriate “relationship” in which he was groomed, earning himself a similar reputation to a hyena
my darlings. i want to read your writing. your thoughts. your feelings. your creativity. your horniness. your characterization. your style. your voice. your point of view. your quirks.
and i want your imperfection! your typos! your spelling errors! your grammar mistakes! your misused/misplaced words! your clunky phrasing! your awkward metaphors! ALL OF IT!
and i don't care how long it takes. i don't care how long i have to wait between the time you first mention the concept and the time you debut the work itself. i don't care how long i have to wait between chapters. whether it's weeks, month, years, or DECADES! i will wait. joyfully.
the value of your work is that you made it. i want to read what you wrote because i trust you and i love you and fandom is about community, not consumption.
you don't need AI to check your work. you don't need AI to correct spelling and grammar. you don't need AI to edit your work. you don't need AI to make it sound more polished. you don't need AI to make it more flowery. you don't need AI to fill in the parts that are hard for you to write. you don't need AI to write more, or write faster.
You. Are. Good. Enough.
Even if you make mistakes. Even if it takes you forever. You're good enough!
The worst thing you make will always be better than the nicest-sounding, most technically perfect thing made (even partially) by AI. only human-made things are art. AI cannot make anything new. AI can just regurgitate something that has already been made by a human.
don't fall prey to the pressure to produce a large volume of writing, that looks and sounds professional, in a short period of time. that's not the goal. the goal is to enjoy making something!
i want to read something that you had fun writing! i want to read something that you wrote for pure love of the game. something born of your passion for the source material. that's what fandom is.
if you surrender or delegate ANY part of the process to AI, that defeats the entire purpose of fanworks. don't give up the joy, the fun, the challenge, the triumph of creating something. make something out of love. share it out of love. we will read it out of love.
here are the animals that i think represent the characters from heated rivalry! some of them have secondary options because i had a difficult time making a final decision. some spoilers for the long game in here!!
i would also like to preface by saying that i am not an animal expert lol
shane hollander:
alligator: an alligator may not seem like it screams shane hollander, but when i got to thinking about it, it made perfect sense to me. alligators represent
stealth and survival. they hide in murky waters and blend in, similarly to shane’s own self protection methods of doing his best not to bring too much attention to himself. an alligator’s natural environment represents both the act of hiding and the hidden fears constantly running through shane’s mind. all the while, alligators are known for being scary and difficult to escape, from their speed to how they kill. on the ice, shane is one of the most difficult players to go up against. much like an alligator, shane is prepared to go after what he wants with full force, especially as he grows as a person
cheetah: a cheetah was my original idea for shane. cheetahs are known for and represent power and speed, two things that shane is also known for. add in their focus and precision, and you have shane hollander in the form of a big cat. cheetahs hunt not only with their impressive speed, but they also pay close attention to their prey and adapt their movements to anticipate what their prey will do. this reminds me of shane navigating his opponents on the ice. male cheetahs (brothers) also live in coalitions for their entire lives, which reminds me of the brotherhood associated with being on a hockey team
ilya rozanov:
coyote: when looking at ilya’s behavior and personality, he is very reminiscent of a coyote. coyotes are symbols of trickery, and are characterized as bad guys to beat in cartoons. this reminds me of ilya and his tendency to lie, often just for the sake of it, and how he’s seen as a big, bad, russian asshole. ilya and coyotes both have relatively negative and somewhat inaccurate reputations. coyotes are also very clever and playful animals, just like ilya. coyotes are often misrepresented and wrongly feared, believed to be violent creatures when they’re actually very important to the ecosystem and are only trying to survive. ilya is portrayed as a “russian menace” and assumed to be violent, despite barely actually going out of his way to hurt anyone in canon, and faces different struggles left and right
fox: i almost didn’t include foxes because many of the reasons are pretty much the same. like coyotes and ilya both, foxes are intelligent, playful, and frequently misunderstood. i decided to include foxes due to their observational skills and their independence. ilya is quick to understand people when he hasn’t even known them for long, including when he was still learning english. he also is generally a lonely person, even if it isn’t something he’d admit. this is much like how foxes are fast learners, and also partially solitary animals
scott hunter:
eagle: much of the symbolism surrounding eagles is related to their connection to american ideals and values, which is actually perfect for scott. scott is basically the default model of what american society believes a man should be. eagles symbolize bravery, freedom, and courage, all of which are integral to scott as a person. he may be afraid to be himself in the beginning, but he finds his courage and bravery to come out very publicly. this opens the door for literally every other lgbtq player, which is where the freedom comes in. eagles are also a symbol of personal growth, which scott experiences a great deal of as he learns to accept himself and being his true self publicly. scott is also a great leader, which is once again a trait often associated with eagles
kip grady:
bee: i actually had a pretty hard time with kip. i think mostly because his character slipped from my mind a bit, even though i read game changer. i settled on a bee because they are best known for their importance and hard work. without kip, so many important things wouldn’t have happened: scott would not have come out so publicly, hollanov wouldn’t have become an official couple, etc. it’s like how without bees, life would probably be able to go on, but it wouldn’t be quite right. bees are also symbols of dedication, much like how kip quickly devoted himself to scott. bees are generally gentle, only stinging if they absolutely need to, like how kip is as patient with scott as he can be. kip doesn’t “sting” until he feels trapped in the life he’s created with scott, and it does kill him in a way when it nearly ends their relationship
svetlana vetrova:
cat: i think svetlana was the easiest one to come up with an answer for. aside from the simple fact that svetlana is cool and so are cats, there’s a lot of common trends between how people understand a cat and svetlana. svetlana is beautiful, intelligent, and a very loyal friend. to me, she is a personification of femininity, and is (in my opinion) poorly utilized in the books. svetlana also receives a great deal of hate and scrutiny from the fandom for being one of the women that “got in the way” of the men being in love. cats are generally assumed to be female and are subjected to many of the same assumptions and hateful words as human women. cats are also symbols of mystery and power, both of which practically radiate from svetlana’s character
rose landry:
ladybug: rose was also kind of difficult to decide on. it felt like there were many good options, but choosing the right one was a challenge. i think that ladybugs represent rose for a few reasons. ladybugs are best known as a symbol of luck, but that is not the only thing that they represent. ladybugs also symbolize trust, protection, and transformation, all of which are important to rose and her purpose in the story. rose is one of the only people that shane can trust with his secret for a long time. rose also protects not only herself but also shane when she guides him into coming out to her, because without that discussion, they very well could have ended up unhappily married. rose also signifies a transformation in the story and shane’s character. by sitting down with shane and helping him be truthful about his sexuality, rose knocks down a domino that leads to shane and ilya ending up together. much like kip, rose is a necessary component to the success of the story. ladybugs are also said to be a sign of true love coming your way. rose is shane’s ladybug, the sign before he has his true love
hayden pike:
dog: like svetlana, hayden’s animal was an easy choice. hayden is a dog, and not in the “golden retriever husband” way. everyone knows that dogs represent loyalty and companionship, and that’s hayden. all that he wants is to make his wife and his best friend happy, and he would try to do anything if it meant pleasing them. contrary to popular belief, hayden genuinely does his best for both shane and jackie. he is described as being a good husband and father, and he tries really hard to hang out with shane, even if shane doesn’t always understand that’s what he's doing. dogs are also protectors, whether as a guard dog, a farm dog, or just a family dog following its instincts. hayden is a fierce protector of shane, even if it’s occasionally misguided. hayden immediately goes after marlow following the hit on shane, he’s wary of ilya because of the version of him that hayden has been trained to know, and he’s the only one to stand up to shane against their own team
jj boiziau:
moose: jj was by far the most difficult to come up with, and i’m honestly not even certain that i love this. i settled on a moose to represent jj for a few reasons. first is the obvious: jj is described as being an absolute giant, and as easily commanding a room. while moose may not have quite the same vibrant personality as jj, they are most definitely large and they command any space they’re in. moose represent self-esteem and strength, two things that i feel are very important to jj’s character. he feels very confident in himself, he loves it when people pay attention to him, and he knows that he’s exciting because he is a star hockey player in a city that loves his team
cliff marlow:
lemon shark: when i was deciding on cliff’s animal, i really wanted to find one that was known for being a little bit dumb because one of the only things said about cliff in the books is that he really isn’t all that bright. i’m not sure if lemon sharks are smart or not, but i still chose them because another important thing about cliff is that he’s giant and scary, but he isn’t out to get anyone. a shark in general is seen as terrifyingly scary, incorrectly described as one of the deadliest animals in the world. but sharks don’t usually want to kill people, which reminds me of how bad cliff felt when he had the hit on shane. sharks also represent power, protection, and fearlessness, which i think align pretty well with the general characterization that the fandom has given to cliff. he’s a huge and skilled hockey player, he loves and cares about his bros, and he’s just here to have fun
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if anyone is at all interested in seeing my ideas for the protagonists of the other books (tough guy, common goal, and role model) i will share my thoughts about those guys too. maybe also david and yuna?
ohhh man. apparently when you copy+paste stuff directly from claude into ao3 it includes code. which anyone can find. people have found it in big, popular fics in multiple fandoms 😬. also heated rivalry; some of which the authors fervently denied using AI. link to thread.
link to their complete findings for those without twitter
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