WenWen

[malekyla-001]

Andrew is bragging about the little red fox!

(⁠灬⁠º⁠‿⁠º⁠灬⁠)⁠♡

[ragehangover]

rereading the part in tlg about running the camp and how ilya is shown to effortlessly teach the kids and mediate conflict as shane is shown to be oblivious and incompetent while ilya also calls jj the real captain of montreal and like. has anyone got fic recs where shane gets a fucking apology for literally anything in this book

[ragehangover]

there is, i think, a conversation to be had about how reid tells us things about shane but then undermines her own story by actually presenting events on page very differently. for example — we know shane is the best player in the league, but he also functionally does not exist outside hr and tlg, with the exception of shared scenes with ilya. shane is a nonwhite captain (possibly the only nonwhite captain in the league) who has won back to back cups and also has no broader bearing on the plot of the world. shane ran charity training camps for years and has relationships with the pike children but now suddenly cannot coach and doesn’t understand children. shane is a leader of the room who is beloved by his team until they suddenly do not. he is good at something until it is no longer plot convenient or his ignorance provides an opportunity for ilya’s own successes. shane has established skills and experience but then he must be humbled. wow what an interesting trend i wonder what the reason for that could be.

[ragehangover]

thinking about how meaningful it would’ve been that — after the voyagers essentially leak that shane is gay to the rest of the league — another nonwhite hockey player contacts shane and comes out to him in solidarity. maybe even two. or three. genuinely can’t believe shane is outed like three separate times in that book and not a single other closeted player finds solidarity in him instead of ilya

[ragehangover]

Mx. Hangover how would you rewrite the boxing day fight? Pretty please??

and then shane finally calls jj

[from3am]

The 3 main reoccurring black characters in the Game Changers universe have all been given the same trait (being described as loud or yelling) which is also a racist stereotype. This was something I picked up while listening to Common Goal and thought to look into more as it sounded familiar.

In Heated Rivalry JJ is explicitly described as loud.

In Common Goal Carter is explicitly described as loud.

Now, Bood isn’t explicitly described as loud but is described as yelling disproportionately in comparison to other characters.

For Role Model, named characters are described as having “yelled” 12 times (counting the one repeatedly named instance of Troy yelling at Dallas Kent as 1 and not including generalised yelling during a certain event). The breakdown is: 1 for Dallas Kent, 1 for Ilya, 1 for Wyatt, 2 for Dykstra, 3 for Bood, and 4 for Tory.

In TLG, named characters are described to have yelled 11 times. Break down is: 1 for Shane, 1 for Ilya, 1 for Coach, 1 for Crowell, AND 7 TIMES for Bood.

This was honestly a questionable characterisation choice, especially when you have a random side character beating (or losing by 1) to the angsty mains who are arguing the whole time. I am not even kidding, I think every time Bood appears in a scene he is the only character yelling for no reason.

To the point of the post, how the fuck do you manage to attribute to every reoccurring black character the same racist stereotype? There isn’t even a half asked excuse of “well it’s just a character trait i liked for him” because really? All three? Nor is there the excuse of “i do this to all characters” because trust me, i checked! Max and Ilya are introduced as being loud, and Harris is described as laughing loudly (a lot). That is still disproportionate representation. See above for my breakdown of yelling.

And I am sure this wasn’t an intentional inclusion, it is just so questionable and highlights some unconscious biases. i think this type of thing is worth keeping in mind when making the argument that other POC characters traits happening to align with stereotypes has nothing to do with their race. When HR was published JJ being “loud” was one instance I am sure would be called just a character choice, but by TLG it is a pattern.

Clearly there is room for stereotyping to seep into this writing and it would be nice to stop pretending that we need 5 different characters of the same race to establish the pattern.

[ragehangover]

so i mentioned it in the tags of this post but i want to elaborate on this line in particular:

because rachel reid uses ‘bitchy’ or ‘bitchiness’ as a descriptor of shane’s behaviour in the long game, both by shane himself and ilya. what i find bizarre about it — considering that it is a derogatory gendered term — is that it is always used to imply shane is being unreasonable. shane is tone policing himself, even though his response to this situation (ilya telling him that he’s now close with troy barrett, someone shane knows as outwardly homophobic) is logical, and predicated on ilya’s repeated failure to communicate. ilya replies ‘i might be busy having sex with troy’ and then hangs up. despite his tone, despite what he says, he is only described as speaking ‘tightly,’ rather than ‘bitchily.’

to be clear, ilya and shane are both men, but ilya’s behaviour is never described this way, even when he also acts petty, unkind, or bitchy. as another example:

ilya pokes fun at shane’s diet, even after shane tells him to stop. shane loses his patience and reacts to something ilya started, but shane’s behaviour is what is described as bitchy, not ilya’s. shane is reacting unreasonably.

in the same scene — shane describes himself as an absolute bitch. shane is acting unreasonably. and again:

why is shane described this way? or more specifically — why is shane the only one described this way in the book? ilya is jealous of shane interacting with a reporter in a professional setting and shoots a puck at them from behind glass, something shane describes as humiliating, but reid doesn’t describe this action as bitchiness. ilya antagonises shane, but shane responding is what is considered bitchy.

like i said, we cannot extricate ‘bitch’ from its origin as a gendered pejorative, but we also cannot ignore that it is racialised — reid exclusively uses it to describe the gay asian character (who is also a bottom) responding to antagonism. does that make sense? why are you using this particular language to deride shane’s actions in this way, and why is it always utilised in scenes where ilya is an instigator? not to get heteronormative about it, but this dynamic feels like a reflection of the happy husband / nagging bitch wife dynamic. it is that deep.

it is important to consider the language we use to tell a story. reid’s depiction of shane is not magically unaffected by her own, obvious biases around race and sexuality. the fetishisation of his race, his feminisation, her use of ableist language all informs how she chooses to have him react and, in turn, how she chooses to describe his reaction. this is not meaningful commentary about shane’s understanding of gender or his own queerness or his struggle to find community in a toxically masculine environment. he is not calling himself a bitch as an interrogation of shane’s role as a professional athlete intersecting with his sexuality, or even how shane personally views women, it is more indicative of how reid views women. she codifies that shane and ilya fulfil gendered stereotypes in their relationship. ilya is tall and masculine and shane small and hairless. ilya is intelligent and shane is not. ilya is right and shane is wrong. ilya is a cocky asshole and shane is a bitch.

[pepeshka]

such a tease

[wen2liang]

Fav scene in the book!

[allfortherot]

neil with chronic pain omg. i feel like this is an underdeveloped topic in this fandom (i know i say that a lot but hear me out) like for all the torture and pain neil has been through, we dont have enough writing on his leftover pain.

i've broken multiple (6) bones before and i know that shit never really stops hurting. i mean yeah at some point the break heals but the bone will ache and pulse wih pain for like no reason at all

so here this: one day, neil doesn't get out of bed before andrew. neil... doesn't get up at all? andrew blinks his eyes open, ignoring kevin's blaring alarm in favor of looking at neil. neil's still in bed next to him, body tightly curled and face twisted with something andrew doesn't like.

andrew gets up and carefully shuffles out of the bed without disturbing neil. it's clear he's awake, but for some reason he's still in bed. usually on the days that neil indulges in losing his run and staying in bed, he's quick to be out of the bed before andrew, or quick to follow after him. but here, here he's still in the same position as andrew stands over him, observing.

"neil?" he asks. on neil's bad days, he half beats himself to death with exy and runs himself into the ground. he does not however, stay still. something, is wrong.

"hurts" is the grumbled response from under the sheets. it makes andrew's fingers twitch with a need to help, do something--or maybe he's just craving a cigarette. he wishes he could go back and kill everyone that had hurt neil, but he can't. so he doesn't voice this.

instead, he asks, "what do you need?"

"pressure--you on top of me. i don't--it aches. yes or no?" neil grates out. clearly he think's weight on him would help, andrew doubts it. neil knows better than to use andrew to hurt himself, though, so he nods.

neil roll onto his back, leaving himself in a supine position. andrew climbs him and lays down, nearly chest to chest save that andrew is a bit further down with his ear to neil's chest. he listens to the steady heartbeat, lets it soothe the part of him hissing at the contact.

when the cracks in his bones and skin feel like they're resurfacing, neil needs something to hold them together. something solid. andrew. the pressing of his body on his is warm and comforting, everywhere radiating with relief.

[anondrawsfanart]

Got obsessed with the dynamic of these losers

Spider-Man Brand New Day was such a fun movie, man

[inthisrinkwehollanov]

Два

Artist: @deancebra-art Author: @inthisrinkwehollanov Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply.

Hey, hi! Decades-long yaoi fanfic writer here, but I've been in a dry spell for a while. This is my first contribution to the Heated Rivalry fandom. Also my first time ever participating in a fandom event like this; it was a blast and won't be my last time!

Thank you to @deancebra-art whose fanart for the event inspired me [got my first claim choice, too!] and to @yun2liang for the beta help.

Find my fic here on Ao3!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/89591726

[wen2liang]

Nine foxes and one runaway

[hollanov-reverse-bang]

Never Stayed Inside the Guidelines - Promo

Posting Date: August 31, 2026 Title: Never Stayed Inside the Guidelines Artist: @entropic-saudade Author: @yun2liang Fic Summary: “блядь.”

Ilya and Shane stared at each other from across the room, both their mouths agape. Shane entered the room suddenly and without knocking, which was of course expected, this was Shane’s room just as much as it is Ilya’s, Ilya was just caught off guard.

His face was covered in makeup.

—

Ilya had the opportunity to explore some things in Boston.

[m1sery4me]

Drew the cuties again 🦊

[ikimaru]

when you leave for 30 minutes and all you friends turn emo

[kf1n3]

Aang’s forever girl