Posting this while Hudson is in my Milan. This took way too long to draw (especially Connor’s hair) but pretty satisfied with how it came out. There’s another version on patreon with the bg and wallpapers!
“[clipped from mitch’s sit down tsn interview from this past offseason] that was a tough one. it was pretty emotional. obviously we came in together, we did a lot of things together, you know, it was really tough. you know, just the reaction out of both sides was- it sucked, but that’s the way this sport goes sometimes.”
“yeah, matthews and marner, marner and matthews. 588 games together. marner has assisted on more matthews goals than anyone else. and, in fact, the two factored in on the same goal 268 times, which is the most in toronto maple leafs history. and they’ve been playing for a few years in toronto, quite a few good players over the years. you break a leafs record, man, you’ve done something.”
Constantly obsessed with the concept of a man forced to be a myth. What do you do when every step you take is embedded into the text. Every word you say prose to read. You’re part of something bigger than yourself. The narrative tugs you along like water currents. There is no time to rest, to be human. You must be great, you must be legend
So many people going “Oh my god didn’t know Hockey romance was a thing”, “such a specific niche genre!”, “I didn’t think anyone would be into this.”
…. Ah. I guess you have not visited the infamous website. The Great Archive.
It’s like watching tourists stumble their way into a new country, running over to take pictures and you can hear them talking about birds. Like it must be the fanciest bird they’ve just spotted, right? That’s what you would assume based on the reaction.
You walk over to check it out. It’s a fucking pigeon.
Don’t get me wrong, the reaction is cute. But it’s also really funny.
If you’ve been in the fandom arena for a while, you know that your favorite author running away to join the Hockey fandom is a whole thing. I started reading it out of morbid curiosity, just because the sheer amount of hockey fics was insane and the quality turned out to be *chef’s kiss*, since most of the writers are, well, not teenagers (no shade to teenage writings, but there’s a distinct difference).
I don’t watch any sports at all. Ever. But that many fics?? That many of my fave authors going were I had never been before? I had to see what it was all about.
I want progress in the NHL as much as anybody else and I want queer players to feel safe, so I hope that Heated Rivalry can be a catalyst for a shift in hockey culture. I really, really do.
Needless to say, I don’t care if Bettman liked Heated Rivalry as long as he continues to be involved with a government that is actively hostile to not only trans people, but all queer people. I don’t give a shit if those two fictional gay hockey players were interesting enough that he binged the show as long as Bettman refuses to take meaningful steps to make the NHL safer for real queer people.
ALT
