#eric x kyle

[fioregocce]

Ilya Rozanov on his way to annoy every single queer hockey player in the Game Changers series

[stabthroughme]

Thinking about Kip being the head WAG after the 2017 cup win and it turning into a faction thing. The people who accept that Kip is the head WAG and Eric's (future ex) wife who had been the head WAG for years.

Eric has been with her as long as he's been an Admiral, she's done her time. But she also demonstrably doesn't really care about hockey and (thanks to the deleted scene) has some kinda not good opinions/views of people. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that she was both threatened and annoyed by Kip just existing.

The Captain's partner is p much always the head WAG and with such a public declaration and so much attention it's obvious that Kip would step into the role.

And I think it's also probably p likely that if there was problems Kip wouldn't say anything to anyone about it. Scott took the huge step of being the first out player, Kip knows that, he can handle WAG bullshit himself.

I think he probably vents to his friends, so Kyle probably knows vaguely that there's a veteran WAG who's an asshole to Kip. He just doesn't make the connection until he sees Kip's face post-CG/Eric's retirement when Eric's ex-wife is referenced and puts two and two together and realizes that no one realized how hard Kip worked to push through.

Especially post CG when Kip has such a masterful handle on the WAGs and has Maria (who starts dating Matti Jalo) and Gloria (Carter's gf/fiance) being ride or die for him. I def think Kip took control easily when Eric and his ex-wife split and the small changes he'd been making are much more pronounced.

I think, eventually, it does come out bc Ilya mentions how much of a back-stabbing mess the Admirals WAGs used to be and Scott and Eric (and whoever else from the Admirals is there) are v confused bc they never heard anything abt that and Kyle just pipes in with a "yeah that's bc Kip's great at handling bullshit on his own".

Cue Scott loving on Kip and being so besotted as Kip regales him with (almost) a decade of WAG bullshit and how Kip handled it. Kip who thinks Scott would be annoyed that he didn't ask Scott for help and Scott just "you had it handled" in the softest voice ever bc he fell in love with the perfect man and he is so head over heels for Kip and still finding new things to love about him.

[nyree2712]

Heated Rivalry - Incorrect Quote 272

Eric Bennett: Guys, I think I might be bisexual

Carter Vaughn: How's that possible? You either speak the language or you don't???

Scott Hunter: That's bilingual you fucking moron

Matti Jalo: This can't be a serious team

[msmazingham]

[sea-monster-sanctuary]

In 2023 I made this visual intro to the Game Changers series, and the blog I hosted it on is dormant now but it seemed like a good time to re-up since there are many new folks curious about the books!

My recommended reading order to get hooked: 2, 5, 6 then 1, 3, 4 in any order. I love all the books but if you're wondering "what is all the fuss about" the fuss is about Shane and Ilya and their story starts in book 2 (Heated Rivalry). If a reader is new to the genre, I start them there so that they are sure to want more. For more experienced romance readers, there are elements of book 1 that set up some beautiful moments in book 2 and I think there's a nice payoff to go in 1-6 order.

Available as books, e-books and audiobooks. The audiobooks are great with the exception of book 1 which I had to listen to at 1.3x because one of the accents is a little….tough. I think books 4-6 are especially exceptional listens. Just watch your bluetooth connection if anyone else is going to be around you.

Note on book 1, since rumors abound: I see a lot of people dismiss this book because they've heard that once upon a time it had a previous life as Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes fanfic and then made the (heavily revised!) jump to published work. I think those people are missing out on a lovely and unique couple in Scott and Kip! Even if you're just here for Shane and Ilya, this book makes the rest of the series sing.

Why I love these:

a high octane background for romance even for non-hockey fans

five completely (impressively) distinct couples

an OTP (Shane/Ilya, books 2, 6) that hit me like a lightning bolt

conflicts rooted consistently and believably in character

absolutely searing smut and satisfying happy endings

diverse representation of queer and coming out experiences

Shane is Japanese Canadian and Fabian is Lebanese Canadian. Though this representation is not deeply explored, I appreciate that it opens the door to do so.

2, 3, 5, and 6 are set in Canada which is fun and different

a lot of great fan fic waiting at the end :) and some incredibly talented artists

And if you check them out and fall in love too, come squeal with me about it!

[cunning-and-cool]

criminal lack of eric/kyle in the fandom

[asahiyumemi]

Can we talk about how well RR writes external & internal biphobia in the Game Changers series and how little we talk about it in the fandom?

Like. With only 2 bisexual men, she manages to:

Make you feel bisexuality erasure (ex: Ilya and Shane not even aknowledging bisexuality as an option in their inner talks in HR, Ilya not saying the word in HR, people assuming Ilya is straight, Fabian assuming first that Ilya is gay before correcting himself)

Make you feel the threat of being a cheater once identified as bisexual (Yuna's first reaction toward Ilya's orientation, Shane overly jealous of Ilya's previous partners and Ilya's current friends)

Make you understand the pressure to "prove" your bisexuality by performing sex with different genders -- preferably men and women (aka Eric feeling like proving it to himself and to Kyle).

Biphobia is different from homophobia because it's adding on top of it. It can be subtle or direct and I love how she is exploring it because it's integral to a bisexual man experience. To how they navigate the world. (Just a reminder: bisexual men have a higher rate of suicide rate than gay men.)

I love how she makes her characters grow around these topics, how some need reminders/reassurance, other needs to apologize, and other need to accept to just say the word.

[someonecomegettheirchild]

Saw this and immediately went “where’s Kyle” fully forgetting we already have a Kyle