#ycmal verse

[jqteee]

Mike and Liam from thrown off the ice!! so devastating i bawled my gd eyes out every time i read it. love them to death and i know mike is a big softie, he doesnt have to tell us

I gave Liam a uniform that looks more like the minnesota wilds uniform cause i hate the color scheme of the minnesota north stars and to give Mike the Oilers uniforms cause it was the last one he wore.

[flowinlikearivah]

More assorted always in tandem fanart !! ! ! They break my heart i love it so much .

[poprocksromance]

My petition to Heated Rivalry fans to read the You Could Make a Life universe:

Have you read through the Game Changers series and are looking for more hockey M/M romances?

To me, the You Could Make a Life universe by Taylor Fitzgerald (@youcouldmakealife) is the ultimate hockey romance universe. I have been reading the books in this universe for like over a decade now (the first book was officially published in 2015, first came out on AO3 as original fiction in 2013). It has so many wonderful couples and stories that I would encourage people look into!

Important note: Taylor always uploads her work first on AO3 for free and then publishes her work. She also has exclusive content on her Patreon. I'll share stories she's written that are both published and on AO3, depending on which avenue interests you.

The Published Series:

The OG story: You Could Make a Life. Marc is the star player and Dan is a fourth liner on his team. They are a delight, and serve a role a lot like Skip in Game Changers, as the first out players in the league. Their story of coming out is more complex than what I understand happens with Skip and you really get time to live with these characters. I haven't read this one in a long time but I will probably pick it up again soon.

The rivals to lovers story: Coming in First Place (followed by sequels And Then and Between the Teeth). David and Jake are hands down my favorite couple in YCMAL 'verse, David is my favorite character. Heated Rivalry fans will find the base narrative very familiar: two top tier hockey players who are drafted 1st and 2nd place in their draft year and are set up as rivals vying for Calder [btw despite similarities, this was written before HR!]. David is a shit. An autistic-coded, angry, very closeted shit who I love so badly and unfortunately so does Jake. Very much black cat and happy-go-lucky Labrador relationship. David's story is as much a romance as it is David figuring himself out.

Rookie and enforcer: Thrown Off the Ice. This is an age difference romance wherein rookie player Liam takes a shine to his team’s enforcer. It also dives into the consequences of an enforcer's job and post-concussion syndrome.

The AO3 Series:

Hotshot star and NHL prospect: Impaired Judgement (and other excuses). Bryce and Jared are a fantastic way to dip your toe into Taylor’s works if you want to see if they’re for you. Bryce is a mess, a star player who’s been in the media for all the wrong reasons. He meets Jared at a prospect camp he’s forced to do to clean up his image and Jared goes on a campaign to torment him that goes sideways (and horizontal…) fast. Bryce has to do a lot of work dealing with internalized homophobia. Jared is a bitch but we love him for it. Particularly strong supporting cast in this one and probably second favorite couple after Jake and David. Content warning: Underage - Jared is 17 and I believe Bryce is 21 when they first get together. Jared's parents are appropriately Not Here For It.

Childhood best friends to lovers: No Expectation of Returns: Gabe and Stephen, who later feature prominently in Bryce and Jared’s story, were childhood best friends and both pros. Until Stephen experiences a career-ending injury on the ice. Short and sweet, especially great to read before IJ because you see their relationship after they've settled into being a couple.

Other AO3 stories to consider:

Besties to lovers: It’s a setup. Note that an inciting incident of this story is Joey getting outed nastily by an ex.

Besties to lovers (the ace version): Vinny gets a life

Captain and the messy, often dirty, player who gets traded to his line: cards on the table (ongoing, and references other stories, but I really am enjoying these two). Very autistic captain and his ADHD menace boyfriend coded.

Additional notes:

The stories are all at least loosely interconnected, with many of the characters showing up or being referenced in other stories. Spoilers wise, I personally feel YCMAL is the one that is most spoiled by others, as the circumstances of how they came out are often referenced to as the first out players in the league.

Here is a handy reading guide that does a better job going through the different stories and their relation to each other than me.

This is an alternate universe NHL, so Taylor has played around with what teams exist, such as the North Stars and Kansas City Scouts

In comparison to the Game Changers series, YCMAL is more plot-forward. While there is absolutely a fair amount (and definitely more than a fair amount in some) of sex scenes, I would say her work is more plot heavy than GC and less focused on explicit sex scenes.

Resource guide -- characters, stories, timelines, etc -- available on the wiki.

I hope someone find this helpful to them as they go into a Heated Rivalry drought while we wait for season 2!

[gabemarkson]

georgie dineen vs home

credits under the cut

1. you can't go home again - thomas wolf 2. but always in tandem - youcouldmakealife 3. mess - noah kahan 4. still always in tandem - youcouldmakealife 5. firstfullmoon 6. always in tandem - youcouldmakealife 7. incognitopolls 8. still always in tandem - youcouldmakealife 9. ryebreadgf 10. always in tandem - youcouldmakealife 11. sun in an empty room, 1963 - edward hopper 12. always in tandem - youcouldmakealife 13. always in tandem - youcouldmakealife 14. still always in tandem - youcouldmakealife 15. unknown 16. homesick - noah kahan 17. buzzcut season - lorde

[jaredbmatheson]

[krushing]

Rogers isn’t the type to take the lord’s name in vain, a good Christian boy. He’s probably thanking his god on his knees every night that Liam’s found himself someone better. If Mike believed in a higher power, if Mike was a better person, well, he’d probably be thanking god too.

THROWN OFF THE ICE by Taylor Fitzpatrick

[neversleepingagain]

refusing to believe this Team Canada Lapointe jersey in the Heated Rivalry Olympics scene is anything but a YCMAL Easter egg

[davidchapman]

mostly off.

A playlist about when it wasn't

"How long have [Jake and David] been toghether?" "Like off and on since the summer after their rookie year I think" Gabe says. "Mostly off though. Maybe a couple years all told?"