That WeeWoo Show

WeeWoo Goes to the Cottage

Welcome to That Weewoo Show: a podcast where Alice, Ellen and Bex usually watch and discuss every episode of ABC’s TV show, 9-1-1.

But in this episode we discuss the whole of the first season of Crave Canada’s series, Heated Rivalry, along with Rachel Reid’s book series it was based on, and give some fanfiction recommendations as well.

Contains spoilers for the TV series and the first two books, but not for The Long Game.

Mentioned in episode:

Fanfics mentioned:

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Our intro music is “Tensions” by Northern Points, and the mixed-in addition is a tiny bit of the amazing FROTTAGECORE by elyse. Go listen to their stuff on repeat like us!

Episode Transcript

Bex: [00:00:00] Welcome back to That WeeWoo show, a podcast where we normally watch and discuss episodes of the ABC show, 9-1-1 episodes of other shows that are tangentially related to ABC shows 9-1-1, movies that are also related by virtue of their cast members to the ABC Show, 9-1-1, or fanfic written about the ABC Show 9-1-1.

Uh, this week we are doing none of that. Um, there is absolutely nothing

Ellen: and now for something completely different,

Bex: it is completely different. There is nothing linking ABC’s 9-1-1 to what we’re about to discuss right now. Um, so [00:01:00] if you only listen to this podcast for 9-1-1 and related discussions, um, and have no interest in hearing about a queer ice hockey show from Canada, uh, then we will see you next week when we return to season.

What season are we up to? Season five of ABC’s 9-1-1. Um, but otherwise, uh, welcome to our spinoff episode about Crave Canada’s Heated Rivalry.

Alice: Yes.

Ellen: Hey.

Alice: Uh, which we, we are all down with the brain rot. Um, we, there’s, there’s no coming back now

Bex: we promised AKA threatened that we would do an entire episode on Heated Rivalry. I think Kiera is probably the only person who is excited about this episode apart from the three of us. Us.

Alice: Um, this is, this is for Kiera, but also mainly for us. Like, we love you Kiera, but you’re just enabling us honestly, and we love you for it. We have no issues with this.

Bex: This is just a chance for the three of [00:02:00] us to squeal and fan girl together about Heated Rivalry, like in semi in person.

I mean, to be

Ellen: fair. It’s, it’s gonna be like mostly flailing.

Alice: It’s, yeah. We, we do not have structure for this.

Bex: I have not made notes.

Alice: Um, we don’t have Bex’s notes. We don’t know what we’re gonna do.

Ellen: Oh my God. But I mean, to be fair, I think the, the, maybe not just 9-1-1, but the fandom circle of like,

Bex: it’s a, it’s a circle.

Ellen: Not any like 9-1-1, Supernatural, any fandom to, Heated Rivalry is a perfect circle.

Bex: It’s not a Venn diagram. It is a circle.

Alice: We are, we’re a circle. Same. Um, yes. Like all the 9-1-1 editors that I follow on TikTok have just moved to Heated Rivalry like 9-1-1 who? Um, the episode aired yesterday, like the new episode of season nine aired yesterday. I have not seen anyone talk about it. It’s all just been Heated Rivalry.

Ellen: Oh geez.

Bex: I did a rewatch of Heated Rivalry and then I was looking at my [00:03:00] computer going, there is a new episode of 9-1-1, but I’m feeling so good and so happy after finishing Heated Rivalry, I don’t want to watch 9-1-1 ’cause I’m gonna feel sad, so I’m, I’m just, it is.

Alice: Yep.

Bex: Um, speaking of, I, there is, if anyone can remember from our fan fiction episode of 9-1-1, Daisies and Briars is now writing Heated Rivalry fanfic.

Alice: Yes. I love that.

Ellen: Nice.

Alice: Um, yeah, the ice cream before dinner, um, author has moved to Heated Rivalry.

Ellen: Uh, we do actually have like a, a list of, of fics to recommend at some point during this episode. Um, but maybe we’ll do that towards the end and we can talk about the actual show first.

Bex: Yes.

Alice: Um, so we will be covering the show, the books. Um, we will, I guess we won’t talk about The Long Game, but there will be [00:04:00] spoilers like if you are still reading the book of Heated Rivalry, um, or Game Changers. Um, we will be discussing differences.

Bex: Yes, I think it’s gonna be, there are going to be spoilers for Game, the book Game Changer, the book Heated Rivalry, the TV series, Heated Rivalry. We will mention the other books, but I don’t think we’ll go into detail because we will potentially be spoiling future seasons of the show.

Alice: Yeah. Even though we’re crazy people who immediately read, um, Role Model and The Long Game doesn’t mean

Bex: Okay. Speak for yourself. Because I had read the entire series several times before the show started,

Alice: so I said, we are. Oh yeah. I said, we’re crazy and have read it. That doesn’t mean everyone else has read it.

Bex: No. So if anybody is confused about all of the different titles and the structure and what the hell is going on, uh, so let’s do a little quick history. So the Game Changer series is a series of [00:05:00] six queer MLM as in men loving men, not multilevel marketing, uh, hockey romances.

Alice: I dunno, this kind of feels like a multi-level marketing thing.

Bex: Um, there’s six books in the series published between 2018 and 2022 by Canadian Romance writer Rachel Reid under Harlequins, um, diverse stories imprint, uh, Carina Press. Um, the series, the first book in this series is Game Changer, which follows, uh, Scott Hunter, who is a like big shot NHL hockey player who falls in love with a boy that he meets in a smoothie bar.

Alice: He is a boring 45-year-old hockey player.

Bex: Um, and then as the way it goes with a romance series, there are spinoffs where each subsequent book follows a different background character. So while book one Game Changer is Scott [00:06:00] and Kip’s story, uh, there is a background character who is Ilya Rosanov. He gets book number two, and it’s his romance with fellow hockey player Shane Hollander. And each book through the series follows a different hockey player until you get to book six, which is The Long Game, which returns back to Shane and Ilya. And so the TV series, Heated Rivalry is based on book two of the series, but does include snippets.

There is one entire episode of the six that is devoted to Game Changer, IE Scott and Kip, mostly because Shane and Ilya are more interesting than Scott and Kip.

Ellen: Yeah. I mean, they, they compressed an entire book into like 40 minutes of television, which is not gonna work.

Alice: Was the, the show, the episode was so much better than the entire book, so yes. Um, but there is a through line like Scott and Kip are very important to the Heated [00:07:00] Rivalry story.

Bex: Well, it’s the rea the reason that his book is called Game Changer is because what happens with Scott, the decisions that he makes, um, has a ripple effect on everybody else in the NHL and all of these other characters.

So he does change the game because, you know, being a queer man in a, uh, a very notoriously homophobic and bigoted, uh, sport, it’s, it was massively game changing to, you know, pardon the pun. Yeah. For him to come out,

Alice: he literally changed the game. Yeah. .

Bex: And we see that in the series because we have, you know, to jump forward, we see Shane and Ilya are at sort of a precipice in the relationship.

And then them seeing Scott come out completely changes the trajectory of their relationship because they’re like, fuck it, if he can do it, we can do it. And that’s kind of

Alice: if this 45-year-old man can do it.

Bex: And that’s kind of the through line of the entire series of if Scott can do it, we can do it [00:08:00] too.

Ellen: Um, yeah. Well, so, so you, um, like when this show started, obviously Bex dragged us into the, into watching it, but, um, Alice, you

Alice: there was no dragging, it was a gentle nudge and we jumped straight in.

Ellen: You were just like, “Here you are, watch this.” And we went, “Okay.” Um, and you waited to read the books until you’d seen the show, is that right, Alice? Or you had you read part of the

Alice: Yeah, so I read, I watched the first four episodes, um, and then was like, okay, like I need to read these books. This is taking too long. So I read Heated Rivalry up to the end of episode four, um, like binge the book pretty much in one sit, one sitting up until the end of episode four, so up until the club scene, um, and then stopped after that chapter and then read all of Game Changer.

Ellen: Mm-hmm.

Alice: And was only reading the book like up to, so like when season, uh, when [00:09:00] episode five aired, like, I watched the show and then read the book up to the end of like, up, up to “I’m coming to the cottage” and then I stopped and went back to

Ellen: Ah! I’m coming to the cottage! Yeah.

Alice: Um, went, went back and watched, um, and yeah, read up to there and then finished, uh, Game Changer. And then, yeah, didn’t finish the book until after I watched episode six. So like I read alongside it. Um, but Game Changer, I just, like, I read to fill gaps because I was like, I can’t just like read two chapters at a time and now I’m bored.

So, um, and then as soon as I read, like as soon as I finished Heated Rivalry, I read like one pick and then was like, fuck it, and went and read The Long Game.

Ellen: Yeah, I did the same.

Alice: And then once I finished, once I finished The Long Game, I decided to work backwards and I’ve now read Role Model, and now I’m back to fics. And then I’ll probably read Ryan and Fabian’s book.

Ellen: Okay. So I watched the first maybe three episodes, maybe four, I can’t remember at which point this was, but I [00:10:00] started, I was like, okay, that’s it. I’ve gotta read the book. Same as you. And then so, but, but I started with Game Changers and. Um, like the first book.

And then I was like, okay, this is like, I’m sorry for people who love Scott and Kip, but oh my God, their story is so tropey and

Alice: and so it, it’s so boring. It’s, it’s boring. Like I feel like it felt like Ilya, that whole book where every time like Shane opens his mouth, he’s like “you’re so boring. Hollander you’re so boring.” That was me with Scott and Kip the whole time,

Ellen: so I, I dragged myself through book and I went, oh my God. Um, but anyway, uh, read. So basically I read Game Changer and, well, Game Changers? Is that the name?

Bex: The book? The first book is Game Changer and then it’s the Game Changers series.

Ellen: Okay, okay. Series. Okay, fine. Yeah. Um, and then I read Heated Rivalry, the whole thing in one go. And, and then I immediately, like, I started reading, um, did I read the third book?

I can’t even remember if I read all the third book, but I got sick of it. Like partway through. No, I think I did read the third book and then [00:11:00] after that I went, fuck this. I’m just going straight to The Long Game. Yeah.

Alice: I just went straight to The Long Game. I was like, nah, fuck this shit.

Ellen: And I, this, this is before episode five had come out, so I just read all the, like all of The Long Game. So I knew everything that was coming. And then as I was watching episode five and six, I was really sad because I wish that I hadn’t because, because it’s so good that I wanted to experience it on screen,

Bex: which is why I had counseled I was, which is why I counseled Alice. Don’t read it first. Watch first. Yeah. Read second.

Alice: I was glad the way I did it. Yeah. Um,

Ellen: anyway, I still loved it, so it was fine. I just knew it was coming, which yeah, was good and bad. Uh, anyway, yes.

Okay. So we should probably also say at this point that it, it is on the network, the, the Crave network in Canada and then HBO in the US and I believe HBO in Australia you can also get it on Prime.

Bex: Yeah.

Ellen: In Australia, I believe?

Alice: Prime just incorporates HBO into it. Okay. So like you can [00:12:00] pay extra for the HBO.

Ellen: Yeah. So I don’t like, I think they’ve just got it available in the UK as well. It was a bit later than today for some reason.

Alice: Yes. Yeah, it arrived today in the uk

Ellen: so, you know, Google your country of choice. Um, but also when, if you haven’t watched it yet and you are about to go and watch it, before you listen to us talk about it, um, be aware that it is basically soft porn, like the first couple of episodes.

Alice: Don’t watch it with your parents. Don’t watch with children there. No,

Ellen: there’s nothing explicitly shown, but it’s pretty porny.

Alice: There is one penis

Ellen: and

Bex: Yeah, there is.

Ellen: Yeah. But it’s not, it’s not in context.

Bex: There is one penis. Yep.

Alice: There is one penis. Um.

Ellen: And, but it gets as the, if you start watching it and you’re a bit shocked by the content, um, it gets less, like sexy and more romantic the further on you go in the series as well.

So, you know, keep, stay with it and, you know, you might get your romantic fix by the end [00:13:00] rather than just, you know, the boy aquarium. Actually speaking of the boy aquarium, there is no like hardly any hockey in this show at all.

Bex: No,

Ellen: it’s just not really there.

Bex: No,

Ellen: it’s, that’s not the focus.

Bex: It’s really funny that it’s called like a hockey romance when it, which would tend to indicate that the focus is like hockey and then the romance is secondary when it’s really, it’s a romance with

Ellen: no they just…

Alice: Hockey is the setting

Ellen: just happen to play hockey.

Alice: Not the plot

Bex: hockey is the Yeah.

Alice: Um, it’s, that’s like saying that Friends is a show about New York, like no, no. Like it’s, it’s in New York, but it, that’s not the focus of the story.

Bex: I think the author, um,

Ellen: great analogy

Bex: has of come out and said that, um, the reason that she writes hockey romances is not because like she loves, she’s Canadian, she loves hockey, she’s grown up with, um, around ice hockey.

But it’s more that, it’s almost like a, a taboo romance without going into taboo because you are putting your characters in an incredibly, [00:14:00] uh, tense situation where they cannot, like their love is taboo. Their everything is fraught with anxiety. If somebody finds out and then. The secret, the, the happy ending is them being accepted by everyone around them.

Alice: Yeah. ‘ cause like, literally, and you see it in, in Game Changer. I mean, not in Game Changer in, um, The Long Game, the ripple effect that it has on everything.

Ellen: Yeah. But let’s not talk about The Long Game yet. No.

Alice: And then you’ve got Ilya, who’s Russian. And so his is even more complicated because if he, like, if it’s found out that he is queer, he won’t be allowed back in Russia. Like he will go to Russia and get arrested and his brother is a cop and his dad is a cop. So

Bex: Yeah. So doubly fraught for him.

Alice: Yeah.

Ellen: It’s really for the drama.

Bex: It’s, it’s, it’s very, it’s very much, it could be, um, set anywhere, but it’s set in hockey for the drama. Yeah.

Alice: [00:15:00] Set at the Boy Aquarium. Um, I feel like we should also mention that this show has taken over our lives so much that Bex and I both went ice skating.

Bex: Okay. To be fair, I would’ve taken them ice. I would’ve taken the kids ice skating regardless because my kid roller blades. And so I felt that like ice, he would enjoy ice skating since he roller blades. Um, it was just, it was precipitous timing that like you were, you went ice skating. And then I’m like, oh, hey, they’ve just set up an ice rink in my hometown. I’ll go ice skating too.

Alice: Oh, that’s it. Like, I grew up ice skating, like I hadn’t ice skated in over a decade, but I grew up ice skating. My nan was a figure skater, like a, well, like a good figure skater. My mom did a lot of skating. Um, but yeah, like it was abso I was like, no, we have to go like this weekend because of

Ellen: look, it’s an especially unhinged thing to do in the middle of the Australian summer I have to say this.

Alice: I went on a 35 degree day too. [00:16:00] Yeah. Like my, my, um, European friends who like just, you know, go and like my Canadian friends as well who just go ice skating on like lakes. Were just like, what do you mean you’re going ice skating and it’s 36 degrees outside? And I’m like, yeah, it’s indoor.

Bex: It’s indoors.

Alice: Indoors. It’s, yeah,

Bex: we, we don’t skate outdoors. We skate indoors.

Alice: It’s a nice cool place to escape to. Um, yeah, no, I sweated my ass off. It’s such a workout, but it’s so much fun. I can’t wait to go back.

Ellen: That’s good. I’m glad that it, you know, inspired you.

Alice: Right. At least this hyper fixation might get me fit.

Ellen: I was, I was hyper fixating on ice skating stuff while I was at the beach sweating my ass off at the beach. So, no. It was especially difficult going off grid for a whole week while I was camping because I couldn’t, I couldn’t get like I had to, every time I went back into signal for a moment, I was like downloading more fics and stuff.

Like I was, yeah, I, I couldn’t, couldn’t [00:17:00] see any of the stuff. It was very sad. Um, anyway, I really don’t know how to start talking about the show. At the beginning?

Bex: It’s a very good place to start. Let’s start at the very beginning,

Alice: I guess so. Yeah,

Ellen: I know a song about that.

Alice: So my, my friend who, um, my friend who is watching the show as we speak, just messaged and goes, yeah, I, I don’t understand. Like, I got confused when they were speaking Russian ’cause I can’t understand it. I’m like, did the subtitles not show up? And she’s like, no.

It was actually really funny when the episode first aired on HBO, ’cause I’ve been watching on the HBO app. When the episode first aired. ’cause like, it was just a little hockey show, like this is when one and two just came out.

I watched it on like the Friday night that it just came out and I had the same issue. I was like, I can’t understand Russian. Like, is this supposed to be vague for a reason? And then I like halfway through the Russian bathroom scene, I was like, okay, like I just need to check this. And there was a Reddit thread from like 20 minutes [00:18:00] previously where someone was just like, what?

Are we supposed to be able to understand it? Turns out HBO forgot to, like when your English subtitles are on, they forgot to add the Russian.

Ellen: Oh, great.

Alice: And so it literally just had, it was just like, “speaks Russian” and that was the entire scene and I was like, cool. Um, so yeah, I had the same thing where I watched like the whole Russia sequence and I was like, I have no idea what’s going on. But they’re nice to look at. I guess

Bex: HBO really, really had no idea what they had with what they had on their hands because they fumbled the subtitles. They also, I don’t know whether they did it intentionally, but uh, if you watched it, uh, within the first couple of days, I think they were a perhaps a little bit, um, overcautious about some of the scenes in the first two episodes.

So they turned down the brightness almost. Yeah. You couldn’t say anything. So almost plunging the, uh, the intimate scenes into complete darkness.

Alice: The funny thing is I was watching on my [00:19:00] bedroom TV and um, my bedroom tv, like I have it going while I sleep, and so it’s always on like 20% anyway, and I was like, fuck, this show’s dark.

And then I like turned up the brightness and I was like, fuck, this show’s still dark. Like what the fuck is going on?

Bex: Uh, I think they got enough, uh, complaints, uh, through social media and just directly to them that they eventually went back and fixed, put the subtitles back on.

Alice: They fixed it within a week. I think they did it pretty quickly

Bex: and turned up the brightness so that if you watch it now you can actually see everything, which is really, really good because, um, the way Hudson plays Shane, you need to, everything is micro, the tiniest micro expressions, the tiniest movements in his body. Um, he does not play Shane as big and flamboyant. So if you can’t see his face, you’re gonna miss 75% of his performance.

Alice: Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Bex: So we really needed to see that.

Alice: Um, it’s definitely a show like [00:20:00] Bex and I just had this conversation. It’s, it’s very much a show where you, you can’t be on your phone while watching it.

Like every little, because it’s only six episodes and because they condense so much in that six episodes, every little micro expression means something. Like so many people were like, oh, I’m confused about the timeline. And I’m like, well, did you watch it? ’cause. Like, yes, it does it, it, it is a little confuse, but like, not, not confusing. It is a, like, it’s very long,

Ellen: it’s a long period

Alice: period. It’s over nine years,

Bex: it very fast. And you have to, you have to be watching the screen because they flash up and they say, okay, now it’s 2008. Now it’s 2009.

Ellen: Now it’s two. It’s like six months later now. It’s like

Bex: I mentioned that I discovered that I could actually watch, um, a specific file on my television. So I was doing my rewatch on my tv and the first time I watched the series, um, I watched it on my tiny little laptop screen and I didn’t understand what Hudson was doing with Shane. And now that I’ve [00:21:00] watched it again on the big screen and I can actually see what he’s doing with his face, it hits so much harder.

Alice: Yeah.

Ellen: Mm-hmm.

Alice: Like, I, I was rewatching episode five again today, um, and I was like, oh, I’ll just, I’ll throw it on wall ’cause like I’ve already seen it. Um, I’ll throw it on while I’m doing some work because this work needs to be done in a couple days. Yeah, no, I typed like two things and then just sat and stared at my other monitor and I was like, I can’t look away.

Bex: Especially not episode five. So episode five is, “I’ll Believe In Anything” that is when everything goes down with Idiots family in Russia. And it is the most emotionally fraught episode and it deepens the relationship between Shane and Ilya

Alice: it was literally rated 10, outta 10 on IMDB

Bex: you can’t, like, I could understand

Alice: like it’s the highest rated,

Bex: um, putting on episode three and having that on the background, which spoiler alert, that’s what I did because I, uh, I clocked back in for the one [00:22:00] scene that had Ilya and Shane in it, and then, and then I went back to whatever I was doing until the episode was over. Um, but yeah, I don’t, could not imagine doing that with episode five.

Alice: I love Ilya and Shane in episode three so much though, just that “You’re starting to sound like him.”

Ellen: Can’t even remember.

Alice: It’s just like, oh fuck.

Ellen: Oh, that. Okay. No, I, I’ve watched, I watched when I rewatched

Alice: tail wagging stops

Ellen: the episodes this week, I only watched 1, 2, 4, 5, 6. I I cant even watch episode three. It’s like I should rewatch it again.

Bex: It’s 30 seconds in the middle. It’s Ilya doing his, like, getting the team off the ice and he is like fist bumping them. Like, “I love you. I love you. Good job. I love you, I love you.” And then it’s, um, Shane trying to chirp at Hunter and um, at Scott Hunter and Scott just looking at him and saying, “You’re even starting to sound like him.”

Which leads to Shane having to be restrained by a ref and two of his teammates while he yells, “You’re old, you’re 45 years old, you’re a fucking pussy. Go home!”

Alice: You’re 45 years old! Go [00:23:00] home!

Bex: which was very out of character for Shane, but Scott just knew how to get under his skin.

Alice: Oh, you know, Ilya gave him shit about that.

Ellen: I hope so.

Alice: So my friend who she, she’s about to go to bed because she has work tomorrow, but she just finished episode two. Um, and she goes, yeah. I’m like, what do you think so far?

And she goes, it’s odd that Ilya is an asshole, yet they’re sexually attracted to each other, but I guess it’s because they’re competing against each other with their teams. I’m like, well, ili Iss an asshole, but he’s a hottie. Do you blame Shane? And she’s like, Nope.

Bex: No, because imagine Shane has, Shane being Shane would never, like, wouldn’t have no idea how to go out and find a guy.

And yet he’s got this beautiful Russian man standing in front of him, um, doing all sorts of things and apparently wanting to continue to do all sorts of things with Shane. Of course he’s not gonna say no,

Alice: say, yeah, it’s safe. Like Ilya’s already said he’s [00:24:00] not saying anything. He’s shown, he very clearly showed that he was interested.

Bex: Yes.

Alice: Um, so yeah, it convenient at,

Ellen: I just love that in the first, like, go back to the beginning, the first episode. He’s like, the whole time he’s just like, what the hell am I doing? Like, this is a really bad idea. Like, what? Why aren’t we doing this? And then he is just, okay. Do do what you will. Immediately I will get on my knees.

Bex: Uh, well you’ve gotta, like, you’ve gotta imagine. So it’s, it’s a little bit tricky to tell from the series because, um, it’s the same actors throughout, but from the books they meet the summer before, the summer before their rookie year. So not their rookie year. They meet the summer before their rookie year.

Um, so they meet when they’re like 16, 17. So they start hooking up when they’re 18 ish. Well, so they,

Ellen: yeah.

Bex: Shane is still [00:25:00] incredibly young. He’s incredibly confused. He kind of has no idea what he’s doing. And then you’ve got Ilya, who…

Alice: they’ve also just been thrust into the spotlight for the first time because like they were both drafted. They’re both like rivals.

Bex: They’re living away from home for the first time probably.

Alice: Yeah. Like they’ve exploded in popularity and they’re 19 years old and suddenly millionaires. Like, that’s a lot.

Bex: And Shane’s got this absolutely confident man standing in front of him. Just, yeah, I 100% are like, okay, fine. I do what you want to me.

Ellen: I mean, the, it’s part of the reason that the timeline, um, change is a little, like, the first time through is confusing because they are very young at the start, but because they filmed it over like two months or something. Like they didn’t

Alice: 36 days. Yeah.

Ellen: Yeah. They didn’t make, uh, I, I guess in the first episode they [00:26:00] do look like, try to make them look younger, but Yeah. I mean, the, the whole timeline is like, what, eight years or something? Like it’s, you know.

Bex: But I guess the age,

Ellen: at that age, guys do change quite a lot from 18 to, you know, 25.

Bex: Yeah.

Ellen: But on screen they didn’t look like they changed that much, so it was just, it was a bit confusing.

Bex: No, because they spent their entirety of their makeup budget on covering up Hudson’s tattoos. They didn’t have any more time to, um, to do the hair and the makeup to like age them up and age them down again.

Ellen: Yeah.

Alice: And they thought that like three people, including Hudson’s mum would watch this. So,

Ellen: and they also shot it all out of order as well, apparently. So,

Alice: yeah, they did. Yeah.

Ellen: They couldn’t, like, the continuity would’ve been insane. Yeah. If they had to try and change their hairstyles or change anything.

Bex: Apparently the um, the Vegas scene, like the Vegas sex scene was the first day on set for them. So like, that would’ve been interesting.

Ellen: Yeah. And Rachel Reid was there. Did you see that? [00:27:00] Yes. Um, and she said she, she just had to sit there and listen to them having sex for like, like pretending to have sex for like three hours or something. Yeah. She’s like, this is really weird.

Alice: And like, they’re literally children in comparison to her. So she’s just like, um,

Ellen: and Connor Storrie kept talking on set in a, in a like Russian accent. And she was so confused. She’s like, what’s happening?

Bex: ’cause he looked like Ilya, he sounded like Ilya, but he was acting like Connor. Which would’ve been,

Alice: yeah, like how, why is Ilya here? Like,

Bex: I, I can understand that.

Ellen: And he’s asking questions about Ilya and she was like, it’s like I’m explaining Ilya to Ilya.

Bex: So let’s take a moment to just like bow down at the mastery, that Connor Storrie, the masterful act, that Connor Storrie is,

Ellen: oh, he’s amazing.

Bex: Because not only he’s amazing, did he manage to work with his dialect coach so well that Russian people believed that he was Russian? [00:28:00] They have, yeah. I’ve seen Russian people,

Alice: several different Russian, like people that live in Russia are Russian or maybe not live in Russia ’cause they probably wouldn’t be able to watch it, but, um, the are Russian go, yeah. Like there’s, he just sounds like someone who like is Russian but has lived in America for a couple years. Like for two years. Yeah. Like he doesn’t have a massively American accent. There’s a slight twang and that’s it. Um, but considering he, his character in the show lives in America, that’s not like,

Ellen: it just, it makes me laugh because later he says, when Shane says, um, oh, “you should teach me Russian.” And he goes, um, Ilya says, “oh, you could probably learn it in two weeks, no accent.” I’m like, yeah, you did that, man.

Alice: Yes. Literally.

Bex: But it’s not just that he like he sounds Russian and that he managed to memorize the Russian lines, the Russian dialogue well enough that the people on set thought that he was Russian, um, and would speak to him in [00:29:00] Russian, which, uh, Ksenia, who plays Svetlana thought was hilarious because they would just start launching into these long, uh, conversations with Connor in Russian.

And he’s just like, I have no idea what you’re saying.

Ellen: That’s amazing.

Bex: I’ve seen a couple of people on TikTok who are even commenting about how the way Connor holds himself when he is portraying Ilya, that he looks Russian,

Ellen: he looks like a different person.

Bex: Have you

Alice: he looks like a different person

Bex: Have you seen the clip of where he’s on the podcast and the host asks him to say the line, uh, shut up, Evan.

Ellen: Oh, yes.

Bex: Um, so if you, if you haven’t seen it, if you’re listening to this, you haven’t seen it, the podcaster asks Connor, “Hey, can you say, shut up Evan?” So he says it as Connor, and then the podcast, podcast host says very kindly, “if you don’t mind, can you please say it as my boy Rosanov?” And then Connor just shifts.

There’s something in the way. He moves, moves his shoulders solid, different way. The way [00:30:00] he holds his shifts, the way he holds his jaw, the way he holds his mouth.

Ellen: It’s, yeah, his face changes.

Bex: He drops his voice, a couple of octaves, and it’s just

Alice: mm-hmm.

Bex: It’s so completely, I was so fucking shocked because I watched the show first before I had seen any of the promotional stuff. I could not believe that this, uh a Russian asshole on my screen was this golden retriever Texan boy.

Ellen: He’s, he’s a fucking labrador. He’s like

Alice: literally! Just, he’s like, he’s not Ilya. He’s nothing like Ilya,

Bex: and then the same, you see like Shane Hollander, who’s like this very tightly wound, very repressed man. And then you see Hudson and it’s like, what the hell?

Alice: Hudson, who is literally just a, a like a cat with ADHD. Like, what fuck is going on? Oh my God. I love Hudson so much. Like I love Ilya more than I love Shane, but I love Hudson so much.

Bex: Hudson more than… I think, like I was saying, that it helped when I was actually able to see, uh, [00:31:00] the show on a big screen that I could see what, um, Hudson was doing with Shane.

It also helped after I had seen a couple of episodes and then I met like, quote unquote Met Hudson to see what Hudson’s personality was like and realized Oh, okay. What he’s doing with Shane is a choice. It’s not that he’s a bad actor.

Ellen: Yeah, it’s acting.

Bex: He’s choosing.

Alice: It was actually really funny ’cause

Bex: to act like this,

Alice: when I watched like the first two episodes, I clocked Shane’s monotone voice and I was like, is the actor autistic or is the character autistic?

Bex: Apparently the character is autistic.

Alice: Yeah, the character is autistic. And I’m like, fucking he gets it. Like Hudson gets it because there’s so much like. Micro stuff

Bex: mm-hmm.

Alice: That like you wouldn’t think of in an autistic character. And the, the voice is one really big tell. Like, when I’m not masking and when I just am myself, my voice gets very monotonous.

And so does, like, my family members [00:32:00] who have autism, who are men, they’re always very monotonous.

Ellen: Mm-hmm.

Alice: And it’s a telltale sign of autism, but like, girls are taught to, like, we hide it better because we’re better mirror,

Bex: we’re better at social masking and mirroring and all that sort of stuff. Yeah.

Alice: Yeah. Um, and yeah, and I was watching and I’m just like, I don’t know if this is a choice or not. And then, yeah. As soon as I like actually saw Hudson, I was just like, okay. Yeah. No, a choice. He gets it. Yes. Yeah. Um, and yeah, he’s, he’s like, yeah, like my dad’s autistic, so I just copied him. That’s

Bex: Oh, bless you.

Ellen: So was perfect. Yeah.

Bex: But yes. So can we talk about the fact that these are two, like very young actors, relatively inexperienced actors, yet they’re doing such amazing jobs at completely transforming themselves for their roles.

Ellen: Yeah. And the media circus around them. My god.

Alice: Oh my God. Seriously.

Ellen: I feel so sorry for like, I’m happy, [00:33:00] like, so happy for their success, but like, whoa.

Yeah. I really, I really hope they’re, they’re, you know, they get some good out.

Alice: I think it helps that they were unknown. Like I feel like they put so much into these characters because they actually cared. Whereas like, you see, like we’ve, we’ve seen it in 9-1-1, like there’s been times in 9-1-1 where I’m just like, yeah, Ryan’s clearly phoning it in this week. Like,

Bex: I mean, to be fair, it’s also how long were they filming?

Alice: Like Yeah, like they, they had 36 or 37 days to, so that’s to put their all into the show. Yeah. And they fucking did it.

Bex: Yeah. So they had 36 days really intense filming, you know, to give Ryan A. Little bit of a break. It’s been five, nine years now.

So yeah, there are probably some days that he’s completely over it. The writing is shit. So you know, he’s over it, whereas the writing

Alice: Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

Bex: And everything that was going on in this show is absolutely top tier. How could you not [00:34:00] absolutely give it your all?

Ellen: Mm-hmm.

Alice: Oh my God. I’ve been scrolling for what feels like forever. I finally found the post that I wanted to, wanted us to, um, fucking thinking it.

Bex: Oh, the timeline. Yeah. Is this book timeline or show timeline?

Alice: Uh, show.

Bex: Cool. So it starts in winter of 2008 and then Heated Rivalry ends.. Oh shit. Summer of 2017. I’m sorry. I kept clicking and it kept going. So 11 years. 11 years?

Or was my math bad?

Ellen: 11 years?

Bex: Um, I can’t do math. I do make eight burgers. I do struggle to cut down my recipes.

Alice: Um, yeah, same. Like that was another thing. And I was like, this guy’s fucking autistic.

Bex: The recipe said this is what you have to do.

Ellen: Nine years. The cottage was in 2017. So

Bex: nine years?

Ellen: That’s only nine years.

Bex: Okay. My math is not too bad then.

Ellen: Yeah. And it does slow down. So, okay. [00:35:00] So the beginning was quite spread out, um, the first few episodes, and then the last couple of episodes are just like, take place within sort of one and a half years kind of thing. So between when they, Okay. Spoiler territory here. But when Shane, when they first name each other and Shane freaks out and leaves, um, to

Alice: not the first naming!

Ellen: The Rose Landry stuff and then the All Star weekend is like six months.

Bex: Yes.

Ellen: God, I, I just, I went back and watched like, just episode five and six again because they, they’re just some excellent tv. Like, honestly.

Alice: That’s so good.

Ellen: It’s so fucking good.

Alice: I, I must admit, I haven’t re-watched episode six yet, but I’ve watched like. The joking edits of them so much that I’m pretty sure I’ve watched, like

Bex: I wanted to ask you.

Alice: Oh my God. And like,

Bex: will you come to my cottage this summer? [00:36:00] Don’t go to Russia, come to my house.

Alice: Honestly, the hospital scene I know off by heart. Yes.

Ellen: We’ll have so much fun, it’s so private.

Alice: We could have a week or even two, we’d be completely alone

Bex: together.

Ellen: Together.

Alice: And then Oh no,

Ellen: It’s so fucking cute! Yeah, no, the cottage, the whole cottage episode is just so adorable. Like, it just, it’s so good. It’s the fluffiest thing that I’ve seen ever.

Alice: Lovers.

Bex: No, that’s gross. But it, it’s fluffy. Like it’s fluffy, but it’s also so like, emotionally like, it, it grips you by the heartstrings and then Absolutely. Rips them out. Um, especially,

Ellen: yeah. Actually, you know what, this is like, this, um, particular part, like how am I, how am I, what am I talking about here? The, the emotional like [00:37:00] vulnerability of it all is, um, really what draws you in.

Like obviously the beginning is very smutty and, and great for that reason, but as it goes on. You get more and more of the emotional kind of falling in love part. And then we get to see just how much, um, people are invested in like romance stories. Not necessarily just for the smut, but for the, um, yeah.

Alice: Like you come for the smut and then as they fall in love with each other, you start falling in love with them.

Ellen: But there’s been a lot of discourse, there’s the last few weeks about, um, the reasons that women are so into this. And, um, I find it fascinating that like, people are now only just realizing that women are into like, gay stories for like MLM stories in, in particular for this reason.

Because there’s not the, the baggage that comes along with like het relationships or whatever, the misogyny. Is just two people who happen to be in love and that, you know, that romance is baggage free. You know, it’s just a really pure thing. Um, [00:38:00]

Alice: yeah, like they’re, they’re on a level sort of playing field.

Ellen: Yeah, yeah. We’ve known this for years because of the, of fan fiction basically.

Alice: Yeah. Yeah. But now it’s now all of a sudden thrust into Yeah, the mainstream like

Bex: thrust? Really? That’s the choice of words you’re going to go with?

Alice: Yes. I had to, absolutely had to. Yes. Uh, the phrasing was very like pun included right there. Um, it’s, it’s interesting too because like there I’ve seen a couple of like actual gay influencers, um, like gay male influences and they’ve come out.

Regarding this discourse, because the discourse is usually not from queer people. Um, and they’ve come out and like I wa was watching one literally today who was like, Hey, like, who the fuck cares why women like it? Like even if they’re fetishizing us or whatever, like, one women have been fetishized for fucking year, like forever, right?

So who cares? And two, they’re allies [00:39:00] regardless. So let’s just accept the fact that they’re allies and whatever.

Bex: I think a lot of people are also forgetting the fact that this series, that the TV series, um, is written, directed, produced by a gay man who has a vested interest in making sure that his community is accurately represented on the screen.

Alice: Yeah. And feels safe. Like he has come out in, um, he’s come out in support of Hudson and Connor because Hudson and Connor have a lot of, like, I, I haven’t seen any of it personally, but I’ve heard people talking about the fact that people are like, oh, like, you know, are they gay? Like, rah rah, rah. And Jacob’s come out and been like, Hey, we actually can’t ask that legally in the hiring process, so as long as they’re willing to do it, we don’t give a fuck. And they were willing to make this story what it is so we don’t give a fuck.

Bex: It’s the double-edged sword of the own stories discourse. You know, you [00:40:00] want. Um, marginalized communities to be telling their own stories. We wanna be uplifting, um, creative people from marginalized and disenfranchised communities.

So people think that if you’re telling stories from those communities, you have to be a part of those communities. Um, but then there’s the, but if you limit it to only people from those communities can tell those stories, those stories will not get told. So perhaps it’s useful to have any person who’s willing to tell those stories, tell those stories, which then opens doors and allow, it’s a massive discourse that I don’t think that we have the expertise

Alice: Oh no.

Bex: Nor intelligence nor capacity, nor actually that we want to get into that

Alice: experience. Yeah.

Bex: Sheet in this, um, particular, um, episode that we are doing.

Ellen: Um, yeah. But yeah, it’s interesting that,

Alice: it’s definitely interesting.

Ellen: It goes that far,

Alice: um, and it’s just like, it’s funny that people are like, [00:41:00] I feel like men especially are just like, what? Women are horny? And it’s like, yes, yes, yes. That, yep.

Ellen: We be thirsty.

Alice: Who’d a thought. Literally, yes.

Ellen: But no, I do, I do love the romantic side of it though.

Alice: Oh, that’s it.

Ellen: Just saying.

Alice: We’re here for the, the,

Ellen: we are here for the kissing.

Alice: Gushy.

Bex: It’s the, it’s kind of the, the, the inverse of sort of the traditional, uh, romance storyline, which is, you know, boy meets like main character meets main character.

They fall in love and then there’s usually sex as kind of the culmination of their relationship. Whereas in this one, the relationship starts with sex and then them falling in love becomes the culmination of everything that’s happened.

Alice: It’s one of my favorite, it’s one of my favorite ever ao3 tags, um, which is “slow burn, but they’re fucking the whole time”.

Bex: Yes.

Alice: And it’s just, it, I love it so much because like they’re so dumb that they’re just [00:42:00] like, yeah, yeah, this is only physical. And it’s like, oh, honey, you’re both like ne No. Neither of you have removed feelings from this at all,

Bex: which is why I think the, um, the series gets the, uh, I think most people are meaning, some people are meaning it derogatorily the, oh, it, it comes across as fanfic, um, because of the fact that it’s, you know, fucking first and love later.

Um, which is really ironic because, um, Heated Rivalry in the series was not the fanfic.

Ellen: Yes. Oh yeah. I mean, okay. Tell us the lore again. So like, okay, so yeah,

Alice: technically none of them are,

Ellen: we had like the last, last week’s episode, which I’m about to post in a, in a couple of days. Um, we spoke for like 15 minutes at the end of that about Heated Rivalry. So I am sorry if we’re repeating ourselves in this. Um,

Alice: yeah, that was last year

Ellen: because that was like weeks ago for us.

Bex: If you were one of the few people who actually continues [00:43:00] to listen past the end credits to like the post credit scene, you will have already heard this. Um, so you know, kudos to you, but if you get to the, um, the end credits and you like scroll on, then this will, this possibly will be new to you.

So if the story is true, and the more that I think about this, the more that I think that it’s full of shit. So Heated Rivalry, the series hit the screens and everyone’s going like, oh my God, this reads like fanfic. Rachel Reid had never denied that the books were based, that were fanfic.

She’d never denied her fanfic roots. Um, so when the series came out, people went, you know what? I’ve been hiding. I’ve been like keeping mum on this for so long, but I think now I’m going to reveal that I do actually have the original fanfic that the series was based on. Um, but it was game changer. So the first book in the series, game Changers appeared on [00:44:00] ao3 as a Stucky fic.

Alice: If you’re not in Marvel, it’s um, Steve Rogers, AKA, Captain America, and Bucky Barnes. AKA the Winter Soldier.

Bex: With Ilya, uh, cameo as Pietro Maximov. So that kind of hits,

Ellen: right.

Bex: The, the internet and allegedly Rachel turned around and went, “You know what? Yes, I did put Game Changers on ao3 as a Stucky fic only because I had written it as an original fic, but I wanted like, feedback and criticism before I took it to the publishers.

I didn’t realize that you could put original works on ao3. So I changed it into a fanfic, then put it on ao3, got my feedback.” So essentially she added serial numbers and then scrubbed them off.

Ellen: It’s just, it’s unhinged behavior, but also such a good idea.

Bex: But I like it’s, the more I think about it, the, I think it’s bullshit. The more I think that she,

Ellen: yeah, it’s just crazy thing to [00:45:00] do.

Bex: The more I think about it, the more it was always a Stucky fic but she’s just saying this because she does not wanna be lumped in with all of the other authors that have published Dramione and Reylo Fanfic. She’s like, no, no, no. It’s always been original.

But if that’s true, then her writing style is just naturally Fanfic esque.

Alice: It’s very fanficcy. Um, funnily enough, like friend of the pod Nikki, who does our trigger warnings, um, she read Game Changer and fucking loved it because she just saw Stucky in it and she reads a lot of Stucky and yeah, she’s just like, yeah, it’s, it’s just Stucky.

Like the whole thing reads like Stucky, like you can be like, she could pick out like who would be who. Yeah. Um,

Ellen: it’s funny ’cause I’ve seen a bunch of people like attribute different fandoms to it. Like I at like obviously we in in Destiel, we have like a lot of Russian Castiel kind of fics. Um, whereas this would go into a Destiel fic really well.

Alice: Yeah. When, um, [00:46:00] when this show like, cause I’d seen the trailer and I was like, eh, like the trailer leaves out a lot. So like, even after watching the whole show, I went back and watched the trailer ’cause I was recommending it to people and I’ve started recommend like sending fan edits instead because the trailer just doesn’t do it justice.

Um, but yeah, like I watched a trailer and I was just like, eh, and then like a friend of mine was into hockey. Bex had mentioned that it was coming out. Um, another friend of mine who is into like, into Destiel was just like, oh, like it’s, it’s aired today. It’s on HBO, um, it’s, you know, blah blah, blah, blah, blah.

And I was just like, oh yeah. Like that’s the one that I’m gonna squint and pretend that Ilya is Cas and that Shane is Dean. Um, and that’ll get me to watch it because I’ve read, some Destiel hockey fics and like I can totally do this. Um, yeah, it got to the end of the second episode and I was just like, Dean and Cas who.

Bex: Yeah. That’s not Dean and Cas.

Ellen: I forgot about them after that, but, but also I saw someone like trying to make it into like a, a Good Omens fic and I’m like, no, it’s not really [00:47:00] anything like either of them.

Bex: Like it’s what, it doesn’t fit. It’s, it’s Stucky, it, it’s always, I’m, I’m, I’m going to die on the hill that it, it started as Stucky and it has always been Stucky and this story that Rachel has come out with is just her way of, of like admitting that it was on ao3, but not admitting that it was fanfic.

Alice: But it’s funny too because Shane and Ilya have such similarities to actual hockey players.

Bex: Yeah. So that was the other thing that,

Alice: and people have done full on timelines to like match like where they were and they’re like, it’s kind of RPF.

Bex: Yeah. So there’s two

Alice: little bit RPF here,

Bex: I don’t know who they are, it’s Crosby and Ovekchin I believe is how is the two players that, um, a lot of people wondered whether Heated Rivalry was RPF of those players.

Ellen: Right.

Bex: That’s always been denied. Like I think she’s come out and said, obviously growing up around hockey, she was aware of Crosby and Ovekchin and so she was [00:48:00] aware of their rivalry and the way that they were looked at by the hockey community. And so that may have influenced Shane and Ilya, but there it’s not a, an RPF it was never an RPF fic that got scrubbed.

Ellen: Mm-hmm.

Alice: Yeah. But yeah, I think there’s definitely influence with different players.

Ellen: Interesting.

Bex: Mm.

Alice: But yeah, I just love, like, I feel so proud that it’s like this silly little gay hockey show has taken the world by storm. ’cause it’s like, see, like we’re not crazy. Yeah, it’s great.

Ellen: It’s amazing. The, um, like they were on, you know, network tv like chat shows and stuff this week. Like, you know, it’s just, yeah. Insane. I’m so happy for them.

Alice: I’m so happy for them. Like, I, I

Ellen: just, I just hope that season two like keeps that kind of the, the indie kind of vibe, you know, like I don’t, I don’t want them to bring popular actors in or [00:49:00] anything. Just,

Bex: I don’t think they will because it’s still gonna be with Crave Canada. So with Crave and so Crave does not have a massive budget. They might give them a little bit more money, but it’s not gonna become a massive

Alice: Yeah. Jacob said that it’s gonna be very similar because they were basically like, well you’ve done it with this already. Yeah. So do it again.

Bex: It’s that wonderful thing when you’re working for someone and they, you know, pile five different things on top of you and so you work your ass off to get it done. They go, okay, well you can obviously do that amount of work. So just, that’s just gonna be your baseline now.

Ellen: Yeah. Just do that again. Yeah, yeah,

Alice: yeah. Just do that again.

Bex: Um, I am curious as to what they do with season two. Um, because obviously season one is like eight ninths of Heated Rivalry.

Um, it’s doesn’t have the last couple of chapters, which apparently Jacob wrote. But when he took it to the network, they went, are you setting up for season two by having these scenes in, ’cause we [00:50:00] haven’t agreed to season two yet. So he went, okay, yeah, no, let’s just finish it with the, the drive home.

Ellen: Oh, it was a weird ending.

Alice: He wanted a happy ever after as well.

Ellen: The ending was weird though. Like it was very abrupt.

Bex: I think the way he looked at Jacob has talked about it is it’s them like riding off into the sunset together, but it’s their happily ever after.

Alice: Yeah. So that’s it. Because if it didn’t get a season two, at least they got their happy ever after.

Bex: Yes.

Alice: Which I think is important.

Ellen: Yeah, it was, well I guess it was a good place to end it, but it was just, I got to the end and went, oh, that’s the end?

Bex: That’s it? I wanted more.

Ellen: That’s it? There’s no more?

Bex: Yeah. So, but then the question is, what are they gonna do in season two? Because there are like three more books with three more couples. Are they going to explore those or are they going to skip straight over to The Long Game and continue Shane and Ilya’s story?

Ellen: Well, it, hasn’t it been green lit, which for like th three or four season?

Alice: No. So it’s been, it’s been green lit for two, like for season two. But Hudson and Connor are contracted for three seasons, which is apparently just [00:51:00] the way that they do it.

So basically like they’re contracted for three seasons. If it didn’t get picked up, they were free of their contracts. It doesn’t matter. But then if it didn’t get picked up and then got picked up later, it’s like, well, you guys have to come back. It’s part of your contract.

Bex: And it’s probably locking them in at that price. Because could you imagine if they had only, um, signed them up for one season and then they see how popular it is, they could come back and go, yeah, we’ll come back for season two, but we want double our salary.

Ellen: Yeah,

Alice: yeah. Um, or like they could get picked up by Marvel and be like, well, now we’re filming elsewhere, so we can’t actually do it. And it’s like, well, like at this point they’re like, well, you, like you’re locked into a contract, you have to do it.

Ellen: Right.

Alice: So yes, they’re contracted for three seasons. Obviously they’re all hoping that they get three seasons. Um, but it, yeah, I don’t know if season two is going to be much like, if it’s going to be like season one where they throw another book in? Because now that I’ve read Role Model, I’m like, I, I want,

Bex: I definitely,

Alice: I want that.

Bex: I definitely want to see Role [00:52:00] Model only, uh, not so much because of the romance, but because of the political stuff that’s going on in the background of that book. ’cause I think that’s, yeah really important for the whole like, Game Changer series. I have a feeling, my personal feeling is they name dropped Ryan Price in one of the episodes.

There was a conversation between Shane and Ilya about Ryan and he is the main character in,

Alice: it was in, say, in episode four I’m pretty sure, because I remember watching it and being like, I know that guy.

Ellen: It was after the, it was during the tuna melt thing.

Bex: Yes. They’re at Ilya’s house.

Alice: That’s right. Yeah. Shane’s like, oh, you like you were on a team with him and Ilyas like, yeah, he’s not what you expect.

Bex: Yeah. So I have a feeling because they name dropped Ryan, that they will be introducing his character and his storyline in, um, possibly.

Ellen: I hope so, because I liked Ryan.

Bex: I did like

Ellen: he was a sweetheart.

Bex: Ryan was a good storyline. Ryan was a good romance, uh, Role Model was good. I will be very happy if they don’t [00:53:00] go anywhere near Common Goal. ’cause I fucking hated that book and hated that romance.

Ellen: I think that’s the one I DNF’d. Like, I started reading it and I’m like, you know what? I don’t really, I think I, I’m just gonna go straight to The Long Game.

Alice: I don’t, I’m assuming it’s not, um,

Bex: it’s Kyle and

Alice: Ryan. Oh yeah. No, I don’t care about Kyle.

Bex: So when we got to season, when we got to episode three, and it was like Scott and Kip and where they went to the Kingfisher and we saw Kyle behind the bar of going, you better, I know you’ve cast him.

You better fucking not have him have any actual episodes because I do not care about Kyle and Eric Bennett. I’m sorry. I don’t, no, thank you.

Ellen: Yeah, yeah. No, I definitely read Ryan and Fabian’s book. So that was, I think that’s book three, right?

Bex: Yes. That’s a Tough Guy. Book three. Yeah.

Ellen: Okay. I read that one.

Yeah. And then I got up to the fourth one and went, eh,

Alice: is Ryan and Fabian worth?

Bex: Yes.

Ellen: Yeah. Yeah, it’s, it’s a cute, it’s really cute

Alice: because that’s the, that’s the next one that I’m [00:54:00] like, that I’m planning on reading. I probably won’t care about Kyle.

Bex: No, don’t care about that. No,

Alice: I’m not gonna run out of it.

Bex: I love, I really enjoy Tough Guy. ’cause Ryan is, is such a, an interesting character. And then the fact that you’ve got Fabian who has, has nothing to do with hockey. Um,

Alice: Yeah he seems really interesting,

Ellen: yeah. Fabian’s a great character on his own, like separately to hockey. Yes. Because he’s good.

Bex: So it’d be interesting to see because, um, obviously Long Game is gonna, they, they probably don’t have to do Common Goal and Role Model because one of the criticism that I have for The Long Game book, which I’ve said multiple times, is that a lot of what happens in Common Goal and Role Model, um, gets repeated in The Long Game from I’s perspective.

Alice: Yeah. So I wonder if they’ll do The Long Game and then get to like, like with, um, episode three, like they’ll do The Long Game and then have a, a crossover [00:55:00] episode,

Bex: a random episode where it’s like, okay, now he’s, and then Troy’s episode. And now we’re gonna go back into to Shane and Ilya. I I was, it’d be interesting ’cause and how long they’re gonna stretch it out.

So is it just gonna be three seasons?

Alice: Yeah. Like where does it start? Where does it,

Bex: are they going to try and stretch everything into four?

Ellen: That that guy who plays Hayden has the most beautiful eyes.

Bex: Oh my God.

Alice: Oh my God. Hayden,

Ellen: every time he turns around, looks at me,

Alice: little ally boy,

Ellen: I’m like, oh, he’s pretty.

Alice: Like I all the, um, all the head canons where Shane’s mom is like, yeah, I think Shane’s sleeping with Hayden. I’m like, yeah, I don’t blame her.

Bex: No. But there was, um, there was a video that I saw, um, where someone was saying that there is a tradition within the NHL, which I’m assuming they copied over to the MLH.

We just talk about the fact they had to change the name so they didn’t get sued for the series?

Alice: Yeah, because it wasn’t,

Ellen: and the names of the [00:56:00] teams and everything

Bex: where the rookies get, um, like billeted by existing members of the teams, just to get them settled in their country, in their new town, um, in their new cities with their new teams until they get their feet.

’cause you know, the rookies are like 18, 19 years old, living away from home for the first time probably. So they put ’em with

Alice: They’re all children,

Bex: existing teams. So the head canons are that Shane lived with the Pikes when he, when he first went to

Ellen: That makes sense.

Bex: Um, Montreal. So that’s why, uh, he and Hayden are so close and he and Jackie are so close. I don’t think it works with the, the series, but I think it’s a, it’s a cute head canon. But

Alice: that’s, I just love that they couldn’t afford

Bex: the kids?

Alice: To hire twins. Yes. So there’s just like Hayden’s invisible children. Yeah. He’s yelling at, they’re just always off screen causing chaos.

Ellen: Except that one baby that Shane has to hold.

Alice: Can you hold his baby? And then he said, what the [00:57:00] fuck? It’s my baby.

Bex: But the baby was just like one scene, so they could shoot it and then it was gone. But the, if you had like actual kids, it would take multiple takes. It’d be there for longer. The kids would mess up. They’d have to reset. But yeah, it’s just hilarious.

Alice: Yeah. Plus getting twins is actually hard because like normally they use twins for one person.

Bex: I do appreciate that. In the scene when they’re at the aquarium, we get a nod to the Omega verse.

Ellen: Oh, what he, he says something about making me pregnant.

Bex: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because like they’re talking about the fact that Jackie is pregnant again and Hayden’s starting to push for, uh, to Shane to get into relationship.

And he’s like, what? Are you trying to get me pregnant now Hayden? Like, I’ve still got so many years of hockey left.

Ellen: Yeah. But then, um, he said that in an interview, something about, yes, sure, get me pregnant. And then everyone, everyone suddenly, who didn’t already know about like omega verse suddenly had their minds blown by. It’s something that you can never unknow. [00:58:00]

Alice: I just told the dogs I’m gonna learn Russian so I can swear at them in Russian.

Ellen: Yeah.

Bex: Shouldn’t you be swearing at them in Finnish?

Alice: You would think, but Finnish is hard, not that Russian’s not hard.

Bex: Oh. And Russian’s a walk in the.

Ellen: Russian is pretty hard.

Alice: Now I’m wearing my, um, Boston Raiders cap as well. So,

Ellen: excellent.

Alice: It’s important.

Bex: Did it tell you that I, I found what, uh, Rachel had envisioned the Ottawa Cent’s logo looks like.

Alice: Oh my God. No.

Ellen: Is it the one where the centaur is on skates? ’cause doesn’t he say that in the book that

Alice: No.

Bex: Come on. Discord. Let’s do this, please.

Ellen: I’m sure it’s Ilya who actually says something about the, the Centaurs being a In the book.

Bex: Yes.

Ellen: In The Long Game.

Bex: Oh, no, he does.

Alice: But yeah, they, they say a lot that, um, that it’s a stupid and ugly logo.

Ellen: Oh my God. [00:59:00]

Alice: Jesus. That is an ugly logo.

Ellen: That looks like a viking with like a, like the big stupid ice hockey helmet.

Bex: Can we,

Alice: it’s Harris!

Bex: I, I realized today that we were robbed of, um, Ilya in a playoff beard. I know that. Yes, I know that. Because the tight filming that they would, they didn’t have time to let Connor grow one, assuming he could grow one and then like shave it.

Alice: He’s only 13. Give him a minute.

Bex: But I really wanted to see that. The playoff beard.

Alice: Yes.

Ellen: Yeah. They, they spent so much time talking about the beards Yes. In books. And we had, we didn’t see it. Oh, we saw someone getting their beard shaved at one point. Yeah. Because the playoffs were

Bex: over. Yeah. One of the um,

Ellen: for Montreal.

Bex: One of the Montreal.

Ellen: One of the Montreal players,

Bex: yeah. Got his shaved off because they lost the playoffs.

Ellen: But, but Shane can’t even grow a beard. So he didn’t have to get shaved.[01:00:00]

Bex: Oh, no.

Ellen: Bless him. Wait, I think they even say that in the books too, but it’s like in the show, it happens

Bex: there. I mean, considering that, I don’t remember reading anything about a beard, but I do have a recollection of, and I apologize, this is gonna get way too graphic, but that’s the series and that’s the book where, um, Ilya is fascinated by the fact that Shane’s balls don’t have hair on them. So,

Alice: yes. So, and he’s like, like everything else, I assume it’s natural.

Ellen: I don’t remember that.

Bex: It’s the, it’s the scene. It’s the scene where he is on the phone with, um, Hayden at the cottage and he’s like, I’ll make you a deal if you get, if you don’t get hard, I will leave you alone. And so Shane is just sitting there, Donald Duck style with Ilya staring at his dick, and he’s like noting, oh, you know, his balls are hairless.

Alice: And then, um, [01:01:00] Troy is very, like, it’s explicitly mentioned that Troy is very manscaped. God like to, to a like, to a fine art because Harris is like, geez, I, I’m not untidy, but this is insane.

Ellen: Oh, the things that romance authors have to go through, have to think about,

Alice: oh my God,

Ellen: where do we even go from here?

Bex: I don’t know,

Alice: I dunno if any of that can even be put kept in.

Ellen: Oh yeah, I’ll keep it in. We’ve talked, we’ve talked about weirder st uff before.

Alice: Yeah, true. I was gonna start going through Tumblr posts just because they’re funny. Yeah. Bring up. Um, because like the one that I sent this morning is, “Imagine being Hayden, you’re excited to have some alone time in your hotel room, away from your many kids. You’re gonna relax, jerk off, watch a movie, just whatever. You’ve tried to let your boy Shane know that it know that, you know he’s seeing someone and you’re cool with it. You’re a [01:02:00] good friend. You want him to have a good time, and he always plays better after some time with Lily. Shane comes back hours later wearing a completely different too large men’s shirt, looking like he’s ready to die.

What’s that evening like?”

Ellen: Poor Hayden. Um, I really hope we get like him finding out in the next season.

Bex: Yeah, because,

Ellen: and just being like, it gets mind blown.

Bex: It’s like a two line description in the epilogue of Heated Rivalry. It was like, um, Shane makes a joke that, oh, you know, um, Rosenov got traded to Ottawa, but um, no, he didn’t get traded.

He chose to go to Ottawa. Suddenly you’re going to Ottawa all the time. You’re not texting Boston Lily. You know, isn’t it funny? I think you’re fucking Ilya and Shane’s just like, yeah, yeah, I am. I wanna see Shane’s face, face. I wanna see Hayden’s face. I wanna see that on screen.

Ellen: Yes.

Bex: But then again, I’m gonna derail it slightly. One of the things that I love about this adaptation [01:03:00] is that it is an adaptation and that even though I would… I thought that I wanted a, like word for word, frame for frame recreation of the book on my screen. I love what Jacob has done with it. And even though occasionally I’ll go like, oh my God, but they changed that.

I actually think it got changed, everything got changed for the better. So yeah, I’m sitting here going depth. I really wanna see that scene

Alice: They definitely added more depth,

Bex: but I’m sure that, however Jacob writes that if we do get that mention in a series, it’ll be better than I could ever imagine it.

Ellen: Yeah,

Alice: yeah. Like he, he’s done such a good job and he clearly put a lot of love into it. Like into it being an adaption.

Bex: Yes.

Ellen: Yeah.

Bex: But he’s added a lot of, like, he’s taken Rachel’s work and he’s kept, he’s kept faithful to it, but then he’s added depth to it.

Alice: Yeah. So much

Bex: like that. Like sometimes Ilya in the books comes up as very one dimensional, very shallow, but he’s [01:04:00] so deep and so much emotion, so conflicted, so much going on with him in the series, in the TV series that I love.

Ellen: I mean, that’s there in the book as well, but just maybe not as obvious.

Bex: Well, like one of the things

Alice: Yes. Turned out to 11.

Bex: Yeah. One of the things in, um, the books that I noticed is that we do get the references that, that Ilya is sending money back home to Russia. But it’s just, it’s from the brother’s perspective of, uh, like, I want money.

And Ilya will say, fine, I’m gonna send you money, and just keeps doing it. But in the series we get the, suddenly the money is finite, which is realistic. He can’t keep sending money because eventually he’s gonna run out of money and he’s, you know, resentful about the fact that, um, his brother is just putting it up his nose and not using it for, you know, to look after his family.

Um, which is a layer that wasn’t quite there in the books, I didn’t feel. And I do like that we get that edit layer added depth to, um, to Ilya in the series.

Ellen: Yes. Um, I also love [01:05:00] that it’s not explicitly said, but I, but Svetlana knows what’s happening or she

Bex: Oh, she a hundred percent knows.

Ellen: Um, and that’s not in the book, I don’t think. I think she, when she finds out it eventually, it’s a surprise to her, whereas, yeah,

Bex: But then again, Svetlana in the book is very one dimensional as well.

Alice: Yes. Vet Lana’s literally just there as a side piece failure basically.

Bex: Yes.

Alice: Um, whereas she actually seems like she has history with him.

Bex: She’s a fully fledged character in the show.

Alice: Yeah. She’s, and she’s got yeah, interest,

Ellen: she cares interest more about him than maybe the book her did.

Bex: Mm. Which is fair enough, because when you’re writing like a, a story and writing a book, the story that you wanna tell is Shane, like in this instance story that, uh, Rachel wants to tell is Shane and Ilya and everybody else is just there to further that story.

But then when you’re suddenly putting it on a screen and you’re casting actors as those characters, and you [01:06:00] bring those characters to life, you wanna give those actors something to do. You wanna give them a reason for being on that screen and you know, the, a bit of more gravitas to their character.

Otherwise you just, you could put a cardboard cut out on the stage next to your actors.

Alice: Exactly. Um, and they could have so easily reduced Svetlana’s character to just someone who he spoke about. Like they didn’t have to give her screen time,

Bex: or she could have just been reduced to a puck bunny. Yeah. Which is how she sometimes comes across in the book.

Alice: Yeah.

Bex: Like she’s just there to ride Ilya’s dick and talk hockey. But here she’s like, she is an actual separate character from Ilya.

Alice: Yeah. And like a friend to him.

Ellen: Yeah. They’re like friends from childhood kind of thing. Like

Alice: Yeah.

Ellen: Depth man. That’s great.

Bex: Yes.

Alice: There was something else I was gonna bring up.

Bex: I think the biggest, the biggest one for me that I, that probably got the biggest emotional, like, oh my God, they changed it. I wish they hadn’t changed it. [01:07:00] Um, but now I actually love the way that it was changed. It was the scene where Shane gets hurt on the ice.

Alice: I was, yeah. That was Oh yeah. The one that I heard the most people, because in the book, not complain about, but mentioned, they’re like, oh, it’s been word for word until this and

Bex: until this scene. And so, yeah. So in the book, uh, Marlow hits Shane. Shane goes down and Iia is by his side, and he’s frantic and he will not leave. Shane and Shane even in the depth of a broken collarbone and a concussion is still like, aware enough that he warns Ilya and that the, the lion is, um, “We’re not alone. They can see us.”

So even when he’s concussed to high heaven, he’s still worried about people perceiving him and Ilya together.

Ellen: Mm.

Bex: And so it’s, it’s real, it’s one of those, um, scenes that hits really hard, but it’s really sad [01:08:00] that even when he’s in so much pain, he’s still so worried about people finding out about him and Ilya.

But I think what they did on the screen is more realistic in that Rosenov is

Alice: because the refs would not let him

Bex: No. Would not let him. Rosenov is not allowed anywhere near Shane. You can still hear him yelling like, is he okay? Just fucking tell me. And the refs are going,

Alice: and the ref literally benches him to get him away from,

Bex: he literally pushes him,

Ellen: And Shane’s like, tell him I’m okay.

Bex: Pushes him across the ice

Ellen: He’s gonna worry,

Bex: and so, yeah. And so we get the, instead of him being worried about, oh my God, people are gonna see us and they’re gonna think that we’re gay, it becomes the, oh my God, he’s gonna be so worried about me. And I think that that is a much better, um, a much better interpretation of their relationship and how it would play out in reality, on the ice. He’s not gonna be conscious enough to be worried about the repercussions of his perception within the community.

He’s aware enough that he’s gonna be worried that [01:09:00] Ilya is gonna be worried about him,

Alice: which is so sweet. And it, it demonstrates more because we don’t get the inner monologues watching the show.

Bex: Yes.

Alice: Um, and so like you, we know that, you know, in that part, part of the book, they’re both falling hard and Ilya is, like, I need to break it off with him.

And then goes and fucks him again and then is like, fuck, I need to, okay, this is, that was the last time I need to break up with him. And then goes, he does again.

He does

Ellen: that so many times in the book though,

Alice: literally he is like, he’s always,

Ellen: every time

Alice: time they hook up, he’s like, they’re both like, that was it. That’s the end. We’re not, we’re never doing this again. And then two weeks later, next time they play each other, they fucking again. Um, but we don’t get that internal monologue. So Shane being out of it and being like, telling me, tell him I’m okay. I’m gonna worry. And like showing Ilya, being so worried, like you can tell Shane, you know, is falling.

Bex: Yes.

Alice: Um, and then the fucking hospital scene, Ilya!

Ellen: Oh, it’s so cute.

Bex: And the, [01:10:00] the little like, after you’ve had Rose’s scene where, so is it better with men? And then Ilya comes into the hospital room and takes Shane’s hand and he’s just like relaxes entire body. And he is like, yes better,

Alice: better,

Ellen: better, better.

Alice: And did you notice his heart rate goes down when Ilya touches him?

Bex: Yes.

Alice: Oh my God, it’s so cute. As soon as Ilya like grabs his hand and then starts stroking his freckles, his heart rate in the background goes way down to relax. And it’s like, oh my God. That’s so cute.

Ellen: Yeah. The details that they’ve put into the sets and everything is just so amazing

Alice: fucking like, oh, that whole scene is such a stim though. Like I say it all the time to myself,

Bex: “Will you come to the cottage this summer? Don’t go to Russia, come to my house,”

Alice: Don’t go to Russia would be so private. Even though the whole thing is windows.

Ellen: Yeah. It’s not very private. But it’s, you know, a long way away from everything. At least. I mean, not too far. You can’t come [01:11:00] over to borrow a charger and

Alice: then when the, and then when the, um, the nurse comes in, oh, no.

Ellen: Oh no.

Alice: And his little, like, he goes real masculine when he is like, yeah,

Ellen: I appreciate it.

Alice: I appreciate, I appreciate it. He’s like, thank you. I, I, I appreciate it.

Bex: I mean the cottage is a, is a step. Uh, with all of the windows is at least a step up from buying an entire fricking building so that no one knows he’s having sex.

They

Alice: don’t, oh my God.

Ellen: They don’t reference that. They don’t reference that in the show,

Alice: oh my god.

Ellen: In the books, he buys a whole building of like, apartments

Alice: a whole apartment building.

Bex: He talks about in the series that, you know, I bought this, like this penthouse apartment and I’m thinking about buying the next, the one next door and, and like knocking down walls.

But yeah, in the books, it’s the whole fricking building so that there’s literally nobody else in the entire building that could possibly hear him.

Ellen: And he doesn’t, he doesn’t even live there. Only goes there.

Alice: No, he doesn’t live there. He only goes there to fuck Ilya. Yeah, [01:12:00] it’s his sex den,

Bex: I think they even specifically say that he has contractors working on it, but he made them finish the bedroom and the bathroom first so that he would have somewhere to fuck Ilya and then clean up afterwards.

Alice: Yep. Literally.

Bex: So the fact that he’s gone from an entire building to the fact that he’s willing to have sex with Ilya in a room full of windows.

Alice: Oh, it’s so

Ellen: Character development.

Bex: Development. I mean, of course those windows were a, you know, a disadvantage when his dad comes over to find his charger and, um, you know, manage just to

Ellen: yes.

Bex: can see straight through those windows is to,

Ellen: I mean, it could have been a lot worse.

Alice: Oh my god, it could have been so much worse.

Bex: So much worse.

Alice: I was very glad that it was not much worse, but um,

Ellen: that would’ve been more embarrassing. It was funny enough though, that whole, the whole second half of that episode is just hilarious. I love it.

Bex: It was hilarious. And then

Alice: there’s um, there’s a creator on TikTok who like [01:13:00] puts the like Wii menu music over it. It’s just, it’s so fucking funny. Yes. And it just, I cr like cry laughing where it’s like we’re lovers and it just like zooms in on Ilya and then goes back to, to Shane and he’s like, no, and Ilya no. And then zooms back to Ilya and he’s like, oh,

Ellen: that’s gross.

Alice: My bad.

Ellen: Oh, can you please send me a link to that one? I wanna see it.

Alice: Oh my God. I’ll send you all of them.

Ellen: No, it goes from like being hilarious to then heartbreaking when like his mom, like

Bex: Shane and Yuna?

Ellen: So sad. Oh.

Bex: Because that was another a, another sort of massive departure from the books was that there was no Shane and Yuna scene.

And I think Jacob has said that he kind of put that in there for himself. That was kind of his own sort of therapy and writing how he wished things could happen. Or maybe for himself, maybe for other, um, kids coming out to their parents that they would have a mother like Yuna who would like, who would apologize to them saying, I’m sorry I made you feel like you couldn’t tell me.

And that I’m so proud of you.

Ellen: It makes [01:14:00] total sense for it to be there.

Alice: It’s so sweet.

Ellen: Because I mean, she’s pushed him his whole life

Bex: Yes.

Ellen: To be in all these different things and she manages him basically.

Bex: And I think Hudson also said that it was important from the perspective of, um an Asian character because parents in the Asian community are also can be over there.

Yeah. Either you know, you’ve got your stereotypical tiger mom or you’ve got the, uh, very traditional, uh, parenting. So to see an Asian mother accept her Asian son is also incredibly healing. Yeah.

Ellen: Well done Jacob.

Bex: And then meanwhile there’s, you know, these two are having their love fest and crying over each other and then everyone’s thinking, so what is Ilya saying to David that apparently makes David adopt him immediately and start trying to feed him because they come back.

Ellen: I read a fic about that.

Bex: They come back and then all of a sudden, you know, Ilya’s getting pasta and David’s like, here have cheese here. Have [01:15:00] more pasta here.

Alice: Ilya was absolutely like, oh, you used to play hockey. Like, tell me about…

Bex: tell me about McGill.

Ellen: Think about it. I’ll find, I’ll find a link to the one.

Bex: It’s not on your list?

Ellen: and we can talk about it in a minute. No, I don’t think so.

Bex: So I’ve heard that the one head canon is that he started talking about McGill, which absolutely got on David’s good side. Or he started talking about the New Yorker because he’s been secretly reading the New Yorker because he knows that Shane and Shane’s dad read the New Yorker.

Alice: You’ll see article in New Yorker. I did see that article, yeah!

Oh my God, that’s so cute. I just need to mention as well that in the cottage, like I clocked it straight away and I was so proud of myself for clocking it. ’cause I’m not the most observant, observant person. Um, they share clothes in the cottage.

Bex: Oh yeah,

Ellen: yeah, they do. Yeah.

Alice: And it is the cutest thing. Like they share the same flannel and I’m like, yes. It’s so cute.

Bex: It’s giving shades of Jensen and Misha [01:16:00] swapping their clothes and forwards. Um, that whole cottage episode was just so healing. Like the other thing, even though I’ve read the books, and even though I knew what was happening, um, I got so invested in the story the way Jacob was telling it.

And when David discovers the two of them and he leaves and Shane starts to panic for one second, I started to panic thinking that Shane was gonna flip out and start attacking Ilya and blaming him for everything. And so the fact that… ’cause, we’ve seen that, you know, somebody has a, we’ve seen that in sort of tradit the storyline is that you have a secret.

Your secret gets discovered. You in your panic and your fear, you lash out at the person who’s with you and you blame them for like, oh my God, I don’t, I can’t believe I brought you here. I can’t, you’ve ruined everything, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But it was so nice to see Shane is freaking out.

But then he’s also grabbing hold of Ilya and he’s freaking out using [01:17:00] Ilya as

Alice: his. Like he gets grounded by Ilya.

Bex: Yes. Yeah. There was no,

Ellen: and he tells him it’s time to wake up from the nightmare.

Bex: Yeah. There’s like, there’s no blame that’s like, holy shit, I’m freaking the fuck out, but you are here and I need you here as I freak the fuck out.

Alice: Mm.

Bex: I’m just like, oh my God. Yes. That’s

Ellen: healthy relationship.

Bex: Yes. Healthy communication in a relationship. Oh my gosh.

Alice: Yes. Oh, they’re so cute.

Ellen: What an amazing idea.

Alice: And have you, like we, we have to talk about Empty Netters.

Ellen: Yes. I have not listened to any of it or watched it, but I’ve seen like their reaction videos on, on socials.

Alice: Yeah. I’ve seen like bits, like I haven’t seen, I haven’t listened to a full episode.

Ellen: They’re ex they’re hockey, they’re ex hockey players, right?

Alice: They’re ex hockey players. Yes.

Bex: And they normally just talk hockey, like actual

Alice: Yes.

Bex: Hockey.

Alice: Actual hockey. And they’ve been like ride or die for Heated Rivalry [01:18:00] since the start.

Like, I think since like episode three of like, they’ve been invested and watching their like, reactions to, like the cottage episode is so fucking, they, they’re like getting so tense. Like when, um, Shane’s dad turns up, they’re like, no, no, no, no.

Bex: Oh no, I’ve seen that one. He’s like, “no, that’s not David. My man, David would not do that.” We’re like, your man, David? You’re like,

Alice: someone he’s, he’s like, is that Hunter? And they’re like, no, it’s not.

Ellen: Why would Hunter be there?

Alice: It’s literally why would Scott Hunter be there.

Bex: Yes.

Alice: But I just love how into it, they’re like, so these are three straight guys, um, who usually just talk about hockey and sport, and they are so into it. And I love the reactions from like, there’s been like people like, oh yeah, I made my husband watch it, and they’re getting super invested.

Like, oh, it’s just, it’s so good and it’s so nice to see.

Bex: Yeah. You could 100% have seen that, you know, [01:19:00] three hockey bros would have started shitting on the show.

Alice: Yeah. They could have easily been like, oh, this isn’t how it happened. And like, yes, there’s some moments where they’re like, the moment where Shane gets knocked out, they’re like, “What the fuck is this dickhead doing? Why is he looking back at Ilya?” Um, and like, to be fair, it’s not like that in the book.

Um, but in like, they don’t actually wanna kill Hudson, so, um, but yeah, they’re just like, no, that’s totally justified. Like, he deserved to get knocked out there. But, um, but. Yeah, like the, it starts off with them being like, oh, you know, like, this isn’t quite quite accurate, but you know, it’s a TV show, whatever.

And then, yeah, by episode six they’re like all fully crying, like tears down their face, like, and then they, and yeah, apparently they’re gonna have Hudson and Connor on it and I love it.

Bex: They had, they’ve had Rob who plays Kip on, or they’re having him on, so yeah, they’re like fully invested in this.

Ellen: They’ve had, um,

Alice: I love it.

Ellen: The lady who plays, um, Svetlana,

Bex: [01:20:00] Ksenia. I love her.

Ellen: They’ve spoken to her. Uh, that was when she was saying about how Russian cast members were trying to talk to, um, Connor

Alice: Connor’s like, I only know the script

Ellen: and she’s like, he doesn’t understand what you’re saying.

Alice: Oh, that’s so cute. Yeah. It’s like the, it’s like the, when the, um, the actors who play doctors. Yeah. Like, yeah, like I said, this thing, I have no fucking idea what it means, but I can say it.

Ellen: Yeah,

Bex: yeah. But then you, you know, just to throw in my current favorite TV show, you’ve got, um, actors like, uh, Noah Wiley, who is apparently doing minor surgical procedures on set ’cause one of the cast members had a cut and needed sutures and Noah sutured them.

Alice: Oh my God?

Ellen: Life imitating art?

Alice: That’s amazing.

Ellen: Did they use like dental floss or something like,

Bex: like dental floss sewing kit and dental [01:21:00] floss would No, like, I mean, he’s on a hospital set, so they would have actual suture kits, but yeah, the legend has it that he’s, you know, he does sutures, um, on for his cast members.

Alice: Like, that’s so funny.

Ellen: Okay.

Alice: I, um, I mean, I’m pretty sure Connor has, Connor has taught Hudson how to swear in Russian. So he like, it’s not like he doesn’t know some Russian words. He just doesn’t speak it fluently.

Bex: Oh yeah. He can recite his dialogue and he could probably figure out, you know, this word means fuck. Um, yeah. And I’m sure that the, the, uh, the people on set would be able to give them, um, little words.

Alice: I can watch, um, I can watch shows that have like French or Spanish in, and you can pick up bits of dialogue, but you can’t speak it and you can’t understand all of it. Yes. You’re just like, ah, they said agua, that’s water.

Ellen: Yeah. But like French and, and like Spanish and whatever are very like, ’cause they’re Latin languages, they’re easy to

Alice: Yeah, yeah. They’re close to English. Yeah.

Ellen: Whereas I went to Russia.

Alice: That’s what I’m saying.

Ellen: I visited St. Petersburg and the only language that I picked up the whole time I was there was yes [01:22:00] and no.

And I’ll say anything else. Oh, I can, I, when we, we could say please and thank you, I think can’t, couldn’t count. Like people would try and say stuff like, ask us stuff and we’d just be like. I don’t know. Yes. I’m so sorry. It was, it was a very weird experience because at least in most places, you go to Russia, some people do speak English, and we do try it, like when we’ve been to places to try to learn a little bit.

But, oh my God, the Russian language is really difficult.

Alice: My best friend went to Finland, um, in, in the middle of the year and everyone was just like, yeah, no, don’t even try. Like, she knew like little bits, but like, again, not enough to hold a conversation.

Ellen: Yeah.

Alice: Yeah.

Ellen: But like in some countries they’re happy for you to have a go. Like they’re, they don’t mind if you, oh, that’s, you try parents. But if you go to Paris, for example,

Alice: my parents were in India and everyone just spoke English

Bex: don’t try and speak French in Paris.

Ellen: Don’t try and speak. They just look at you and go, what are you doing? Don’t, don’t, don’t do that.[01:23:00]

Alice: Um, I love the stories of people who go to France and like they’re studying French and they’ll be like, so excited to like, go order a coffee or something. Yeah. And they just reply in English.

Bex: I tried.

Alice: They’re like, oh man.

Bex: I tried so hard to learn, like conversational and like just general phrases to get me through a day. Or like, I had to go into a pharmacy. And so, you know, I’m looking at how do I greet people? How do I say what I’m asking for? I walked in, I started talking, they immediately switched to English, and I’m like, okay, fine.

Ellen: Yeah.

Alice: Hey bitch, want some Panadol? Where

Bex: actually, literally,

Ellen: actually I had, like, I had this, the experience that Connor must have done with the, um, Russian people trying to speak to him in Russian, because I went to Greece and I have like Greek, Greek, Greek family.

So I, I know how to pronounce words and I can ask for things in a shop or whatever. Like, I don’t, I can’t speak Greek like honest. Like I don’t, the main things I know in Greek are food because that’s what [01:24:00] I

Alice: valid

Ellen: do. Yeah. In my general Greek life. Um, and I went to a shop and asked for something, and then they just start talking to me and asking me questions.

I’m like, um, I don’t, I I don’t know what you’re saying to me. I’m sorry. It’s, it’s like so embarrassing. Like there’s, I, I really wish I was fluent in another language, but no. Yeah. I, I really admire people who are able to speak more than one language.

Alice: For some reason my very white British backgrounded parents didn’t have that issue in India. Um,

Ellen: everyone speaks English in India. It’s fine.

Alice: Um, it was actually really funny. There were these kids that, um. Uh, I don’t think it was the Taj Mahal, but it was one of the temples, um, who asked Dad for photos with him. Like, oh, with them? Yeah. And dad was just like, yeah, sure. Like they, they were basically treated like celebrities over there because it was so, like they went to villages and it was so not normal having like white people there.

Mm-hmm. Um, and so these kids were taking photos and it was because he looked like Hank from Breaking Bad[01:25:00]

and they were so exci and they’re just like, oh my God, you look like, and they’re like showing him photos and he’s just like, oh, I do a bit. And I’m like, yeah, but it was just so cute that they wanted photos because he looked like Hank from Breaking Bad. And I’m like, that’s so funny.

Ellen: Uh, anyway, we got really derailed there. Um,

Bex: that was very derailed. Um, I’m gonna throw in another fun fact for you while we’re talking about languages. So, um, yes. The actress that plays Rose, um, Sophie, I’m not gonna try and pronounce her surname. Um, she apparently plays herself in the French dub that Crave have because she is

Alice: Oh wow.

Bex: Um, she is like Canadian. Canadian, like French Canadian.

Alice: Yeah. There you go.

Ellen: Excellent. I love when people can do that with their own characters.

Alice: I, I love the amount of like, ’cause I’ve had the soundtrack going nonstop. I love the amount of like French spoken songs that are on the soundtrack.

Ellen: Yeah. There are a lot of French,

Bex: the [01:26:00] soundtrack Absolutely, absolutely. Bangs. It’s absolute bangers.

Alice: It’s, it’s so fucking good. And now that the original tracks have been released too. Yes. Oh my fucking God, it’s so good. I have been playing, “I’ll Believe in Anything” nonstop since episode five aired. Um, “All The Things She Said” is like a close second.

Ellen: Yes.

Alice: Yeah.

Ellen: That came, that came on. We were listening to like a, a nineties playlist or something while we were camping and that song came on and I’m just sitting there and my feels going, oh no,

Alice: it’s this weird, like, visceral reaction. You’re just like, hang on, I have to go stare at someone across the, across,

Ellen: I’m in the club. There’s lights flashing.

Alice: Yeah.

Bex: It’s, it’s, I think that’s the amazing thing is it’s not just the soundtrack has amazing music. It’s the way they deploy it within the series, so it’s not just t.A.T.u playing while they’re in the club. They’ve timed, they, they, the way that they’ve used the music and timed it so that like the beat drops just as Ilya [01:27:00] realizes that Shane’s somewhere in the club and slowly turns around to look for him and then it,

Alice: and then it changes to the Harrison cover.

Bex: Yeah. Then when you switch from Ilya’s perspective to Shane’s perspective, and we get the cover of the male, um, Harrison singing tATu, um, as he’s staring at Ilya, like chef’s kiss. Oh my God. It’s just brilliant.

Alice: Like I was, I was lying back in bed, um, like watching on my bedroom tv, lying in back in bed, and that scene like pretty much as soon as Ilya turned around, like I sat up

Bex: Yes.

Alice: And was just like, holy. Fuck, like this is so intense. Like it’s so just so well done.

Bex: You got, you’ve got the lighting, which is like beautiful bisexual lighting.

Alice: Oh, the perfect bi lighting.

Bex: Then you’ve got the music and the beat and the way that the music sort of crescendos and the beat drops. And then you’ve got Connor’s acting where he just goes absolutely still when he clocks Miles.

Alice: He turns into bisexual predator

Bex: and then very slowly spins around and he’s [01:28:00] scanning the club looking for Shane. It’s just,

Alice: and the camera work is so good. And then at the same time you get Shane notice… Like recognizing Ilya’s teammates and being like, oh fuck, he’s here. Yes. And both of them are like, they just seek each other. Oh, it’s so good.

Bex: Everything is so good.

Alice: And then inter intercut with like them going home and like Rose like taking Shane up the stairs, but it’s just, he’s just in the club staring at Ilya. He just wants to stare at, oh my God, it’s so good.

Ellen: But, and then so that, that’s that scene being the end of episode four, at which point we’d all sort of caught up with the episodes that were already out. And then having to wait for a whole week was like such a hardship, especially at Christmas when we’re all on holidays anyway.

Alice: Waiting for that, like waiting for the next episode while playing “All The Things She Said”. On repeat.

Bex: On repeat, yes.

Alice: The entire week. Yeah.

Bex: And then making, no,

Ellen: I think that was a really great idea to have like week by week rather [01:29:00] than just dropping it all in one time.

Alice: Oh yeah. Hundred percent. Um, it was so good to, like, the, that song is like, obviously the lyrics

Bex: Oh yeah.

Alice: Are so perfect. But also the fact that it’s Russian. Like I just, I wanna scream every time I think about it, and every time I think about the fact that they use that song, I just wanna scream. It’s, it’s so good,

Bex: the layers… Especially

Alice: so many layers!

Bex: You got the, like the, the Russian girls singing when it’s Ilya, and then it switches to, um, I think he’s British, but definitely not Russian for, um, for Shane’s perspective of it. And the fact that, you know, the layers of the fact that it’s tATu. And you had the, the girls who were cosplaying lesbians, um, the whole film clip, the, the meaning behind the songs, you know, all the millennials in the audience have just immediately had a, like a hand around their throat when that song comes on.

Alice: Oh my God. Literally like that song awake. Like, I, I was like 10 when that song came out. That song awakened things in me that I didn’t even know ex like, were a [01:30:00] thing yet, because I was fucking 10 years old. And I was like, I don’t understand, but I like this shit. Um, and so, yeah. And so it’s just like, oh my God, it’s so good.

The layers and like. Keeping on track with the music, because it is, it’s a fucking amazing soundtrack. Mm-hmm. Um, “I’ll Believe In Anything” being one, the title of the episode, two, the song that like it matches up so well while Scott’s calling Kip down.

Bex: Mm-hmm.

Alice: But also like, they used the lyrics to it in episode three. So it was like a throwback

Bex: Yes.

Alice: To episode three. Oh. Where, um, fuck, what’s her name? Elena Elena? Yes.

Bex: Elena.

Alice: I kept thinking,

Bex: Elena.

Alice: Elena, thank you. I kept thinking Maria, and I’m like, no, that’s his work friend. Um, oh yeah.

Bex: Yes. Let’s not go down that, um, that path where everyone is saying that Elena and Maria and JJ and Vaughn are the same people and they couldn’t tell ’em apart let’s

Ellen: Yeah. I, I I did.

Bex: No, I can tell them apart I’m just bad at names. [01:31:00] No, I know you can. I know we can, but there’s a lot of people going like, what is up with, you know this guy in like two different teams and suddenly he’s got a different accent. I’m like, no, it’s two different characters. You’re just racist.

Alice: JJs fucking French Canadian you dumbass. Anyway, um, yeah. So what did we just say her name was?

Bex: Elena.

Ellen: Elena.

Alice: Elena. Um, yeah. So Elena saying you deserve sunshine. Yes. And then the song, oh my God, it’s so good. Like, it’s the, the one moment where I’m invested in Skip and I just like goosebumps, tears, everything. And then I stopped caring again.

Um, but it’s, it’s so fucking well done. That whole scene is so well done. And like,

Ellen: but you know why you stopped caring again? Because he’s coming to the cottage.

Alice: Because he’s coming to the cottage.

Ellen: That’s why

Alice: one word I’m coming to the cottage.

Um, but it’s just, it’s so well [01:32:00] done. The music is so fucking well done.

Ellen: Yeah.

Bex: Yes.

Alice: Um, and I love that they’re not like, besides all the things she said, they’re just, it’s not super well-known songs.

Bex: Yes. It’s period appropriate songs. It’s appropriate for the, the scene that it’s going against. It’s not, um, it kind of feels like the music supervisor from Grey’s Anatomy where that, like in the early days of Grey’s Anatomy, where they’re sort of trolling the bottom of the barrel, trying to find the little, the songs that no one’s ever heard of before, but just fits perfectly. Um, rather than having people give them songs to put in

Ellen: and, and not so like on the nose as like the 9-1-1 song choices.

Alice: Yes.

Ellen: Which often fit quite well with what’s happening, but also like you are like, really?

Bex: Oh, so you don’t think that “Ice, Ice Baby” when the guy was in a freezer, like freezing to death was, you know,

Ellen: [01:33:00] I mean, it made me laugh, but I wasn’t screaming about it like I was with the, “All The Things She Said”, for instance.

Alice: No. Like, it wasn’t in our heads for

Bex: No,

Alice: like, ever. Um, all right. Going through the, like, the posts again that I shared through the week. Mm-hmm. Um, “Ilya quitting smoking for Shane, and then Svetlana mentioned that he started up again when Shane’s dating Rose.”

Bex: Mm-hmm.

Ellen: Yeah, he does, like, I saw a couple of posts about that saying that he smokes when he is stressed, but then in the cottage episode after, um, I think it’s after they actually have their love confessions and whatever, and they’re sitting by the lake and Ilya is smoking then, I mean, you can’t just, it’s really hard to just give up.

Alice: That’s just ’cause it’s hot. Okay?

Ellen: It’s hard to, to quit smoking. So I’ll give him that. Yeah. Like maybe he started up again when they weren’t together, but that was like a year [01:34:00] later or something. Anyway, it’s a great theory.

Alice: It, yeah, it’s just cute. Like it is meant, like it is explicitly mentioned, like when, while Shane is like breaking up with, um, breaking up with Rose, like it moves back to Ilya and Svetlana is just like, didn’t you quit? And. Ilya is like y Yeah. This, this is, shut up.

Ellen: Yeah.

Alice: It’s not. ’cause my boyfriend’s dating a girl.

Lol at Shane’s dad being like, now Ilya, I’ll admit this surprises me. I always heard you were such a slut. I mean, David Hollander taking a big swing like no offense, but aren’t you sort of a whore?

Like zero cares that, um, that he’s into. But it’s just like, um, you’re a slut. Should you be with my son?

Bex: Or it’s, you’re a slut, you’ll sleep with everyone. Why are you sleeping with my son?[01:35:00]

Alice: Like, are you, you only sleeping with my son because you’re a slut?

Ellen: And during that scene they also say something like, weren’t there any nice men in Montreal? It’s like, what? Yeah, but hell is that. He’s right here.

Alice: Yeah. Poor Yuna’s still like, but Hayden’s right there. Like, have you seen his eyes? He’s so cute.

Um, yeah, there’s a theory as well, Shane during the, um, the whole Skip scene when New York wins the cup, Shane’s like, oh yeah, I’m just texting Hayden. And he is like grinning at his phone and like smiling and he is in a real good mood. And then immediately, like when Scott kisses Kip.

He takes a phone call and like runs out of the room. And so uni’s just like, oh fuck, I think he’s sleeping with

Bex: Hayden.

Oh, okay. That’s

Ellen: maybe, maybe he always gives Hayden as an excuse when he is on the phone.

Bex: Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. Okay. Now I, now I understand where that’s coming from, because before when you started talking about like, where the fuck did they get Yuna thinks he’s fucking Hayden?

Like, okay, because he was [01:36:00] talking. Yeah. No, that makes, I, I don’t, I don’t subscribe, but, you know, go off.

Ellen: It makes, if I was Yuna it would make sense.

Alice: And then he just, she’s like, but he’s a married man, Shane, what are you doing?

Ellen: That would be a whole other kind of scandal. One scandal at a time.

Bex: Apparently there is a scandal in the real life hockey world about that kind of thing at the moment.

Ellen: Oh.

Bex: Um, a player basically said, yeah, we all cheat on our wives when we’re on away games. Um,

Alice: oh, that’s very like sport scene. Yeah.

Bex: And then all of the wives have confronted their husbands about it, and the husbands have all confirmed it, and so there’s several relationships that are just completely, marriages have ended and that particular, um, team want that player off because he’s just ruined everything.

Ellen: Yeah.

Alice: Um, but yeah, that’s very well [01:37:00] known in sport.

Bex: Oh yeah. It’s, but it’s one of those unspoken things I think. You don’t actually, yeah. Like you don’t talk about it. Um, except this guy did publicly.

Ellen: Damn well, were they cheating on their wives with their teammates? Because

Alice: Yeah, that would be it. That, that we’re into, um,

Ellen: apparently we’re No, no, we’re not into that

Alice: Hayden doesn’t have time. Jackie has four children, like Hayden’s busy on his off seasons. Oh my God. I love when Hayden’s like, oh yeah. So Jackie’s pregnant and Shane’s immediate response is just “Again?”

Bex: Oh God. And then Hayden’s saying like, I need to get a vasectomy. And Shane’s like, too late, mate. Should’ve thought of that like two kids ago.

Alice: Um, gay Halloween’s gonna be awesome this year. ’cause what do you mean you’re going as the chair that Ilya drags across the room?

Ellen: Oh, [01:38:00]

Bex: apparently that was,

Ellen: oh my God. That scene…

Bex: That was Connor. ‘Cause apparently when they filmed that the chair was supposed to already be at the end of the bed, and it wasn’t when they started filming and Connor noticed. So he’s just like, okay, fine. I’ll dragged into position myself.

Alice: Yeah, they were basic, like they started the scene and he was just like, the chair’s wrong. And they’re like, well, so take it in the bedroom. And he was like, okay. And made it the sexiest thing ever.

Ellen: Yeah. Yeah. That scene is very hot.

Bex: But they didn’t even kiss,

Alice: they didn’t even kiss.

Ellen: They didn’t. And that makes Shane sad, but

Bex: it made him very sad.

Ellen: It’s a great scene.

Alice: I also really appreciate that all the lesbians of Tumblr are just mad because they keep dressing Hudson like a butch lesbian. And so we’re all real confused about it.

Bex: He looks so good.

Ellen: He does

Bex: That outfit that he wore for Jimmy Fallon with like the, the necklace under the collar and then the, [01:39:00] the earrings and the,

Alice: who let him wear glasses?

Bex: Uh, it was a prop. ’cause it was, he wore,

Alice: I know, I’m still mad about it.

Bex: He put on glasses and he was drinking ginger ale, so.

Alice: Mm-hmm.

Bex: Yes.

Ellen: Excellent choices.

Bex: I love when he grabbed the ginger ale and he is just like, subtle. Yeah. Like, so Connor’s, uh, so Hudson’s dressing like that. Connor is just dressing. I, I don’t even have the words for the way they’re dressing Connor, but I, I appreciate it and I wish they keep doing it.

Ellen: He looks amazing.

Bex: He does.

Ellen: Although I don’t,

Bex: he looks amazing.

Ellen: I don’t, I don’t subscribe to the mustache thing. I don’t think the mustache is a good look, but everything else is great.

Bex: It’s very, he’s going, it’s very seventies.

Alice: He’s trying to grow his playoff beard. Leave him alone.

Bex: It’s very seventies, but like, especially in the, like the silk pajamas and then they let the curls go for a more fro than they tend, yeah.

Ellen: Yeah. Very curly.

Bex: Yeah. [01:40:00] Babies. They’re babies. Oh my God.

Alice: They’re literal babies. It’s insane.

Bex: No, if only I was more invested in Scott Hunter.

Alice: If only we were also babies

Bex: because like Francois is at least age appropriate, although he’s also like queer, so, you know, but at least he’s age appropriate. But I don’t care.

Ellen: I had to just turn off the part of my brain that was like, these guys are so babies and just Yep. Yeah. Appreciate it.

Bex: I was fine watching the show until I found out their birth years and that they were, yeah, I don’t wanna know babies. And I went, Nope, nope,

Ellen: nope.

Bex: No. But then again, I’m not, um, I’m not watching the show for the sex. I’m watching the show for the romance, so,

Alice: yep. Mm-hmm. That same Yep.

Bex: Which was why the end of episode, what the fuck episode was that? End of episode four was so uncomfortable

Alice: when they’re making eye contact? Yeah.

Bex: When [01:41:00] they’re making eye contact through the camera and it’s just like Connor staring down the camera as he’s simulating jerking of, and I’m like, I do. No, I do not want you to be looking at me while you do that. Oh my God.

Alice: Um, I do like that some of the sex scenes in Heated Rivalry are edited, like I’m fading in and out of consciousness in the cuck chair.

Bex: Yes. Yep.

Ellen: Yeah, they do kind of fade out and then fade back in and they’re still going at it.

Bex: As they change positions? Yeah. Yeah.

Alice: They, well they only get like how many games do they play each against each other? They don’t have much, much time. Okay?

Bex: Plus they don’t last very long and they’re young, so their refraction period is probably, you know, very quick. They’re taking advantage of that.

Alice: Especially in the early days. Like they’ve got time.

Bex: Yes.

Alice: Going out tonight. I hope I don’t see my several year long situationship dancing with someone else to make me jealous while “All The Things She Said” plays in the background was looking for a specific post, but I can’t find [01:42:00] it. You just know Ilya was instantly giving Shane shit for finally getting into a hockey fight and for it to be that one.

Ellen: Oh yeah, we mentioned that one before.

Alice: Fights are for during the game, Hollander. We do not attack senior citizens on their way home. So fun. I love all the memes about, um, Scott like being in Shane’s walls. Like, Shane’s like, oh, would it be nice if you showed up and Scott’s like, I will fucking kill you. I will turn up to room 1221.

Ellen: Do you want me to tell you about some fics?

Bex: Yes.

Alice: We at the fic place? Yep.

Ellen: Um, okay, so I think the first one that I read and then recced in the other chat, which you may have already read, is the one where Ilya gets added to the Wags chat.

Bex: That is the, so I have only read two fics and it’s the two wag chat ones.

Ellen: Okay. Which, so the Wag Chat one,

Alice: I still haven’t read either of those ones, but yes, keep going.

Ellen: First wag chat one was, it’s called Please Leave a Message and it’s by [01:43:00] Ravenesta.wa Um, it’s only, the word count is like 2000, but that’s because it’s all text.

Bex: It’s all images.

Ellen: Images. So it’s a lot longer than that. It just looks short. Um, where Ilya gets added to, like, as Lily gets added to the chat

Bex: Yeah. Lily gets added to the, um,

Ellen: the Montreal Wags chat

Bex: metros. Yeah.

Ellen: And they all like, and then participates as they’re playing games. Yeah, yeah. As they’re playing games and they’re asking, um, Lily stuff about what Shane’s doing, and then he replies and then they’re all like, oh my God.

And then eventually they find out, I think at the end, and it’s very funny. So definitely worth a read.

Bex: Um, so the other one is Jane has been added to the conversation, which is Shane’s equivalent. Um, it’s very,

Ellen: oh, I didn’t realize, realize there was another one.

Bex: It’s, it’s not the same author. It’s, uh, written by the author is dowhile, [01:44:00] and it’s very different in tone because while Lily is a very willing participant in the Wags chat for the, um, for Montreal. Um, Jane keeps getting deleted from the Boston Raiders wag chat and the women have to keep trying to add her back in. And Marlow who, like basically Ilya has stitched Shane up and like, if I have to be in the work chat, you have to be in the work chat.

So he keeps telling Marlow, “add Jane” and then Shane keeps deleting himself and Marlow is freaking out going, no, we need, like, I don’t understand what the technical difficulties are, but Shane, but Jane keeps leaving, like getting dropped from the chat and Ilyas going, no, no, just keep going, keep going. It’ll be fine.

And Shane is like, what the fuck are you doing Ilya? And he is like, just do it. I’m doing so very, very different in tone, but it’s very, very Shane that he just would not, he would refuse to ab absolutely refuse to participate, um,

Ellen: right in the chat. Whereas in the other one, Ilya is like all in, he just, he just [01:45:00] loves it. Yes. So, um, while, while not telling them who he really is,

Bex: He’s passing messages on to the players through their wives.

Ellen: Yeah.

Bex: Like tell your husband he’s got like a, a weak backhand or something and I’m absolute gonna, the Raider’s are gonna absolutely destroy him if he doesn’t fix it.

Alice: Oh my God. That’s amazing.

Ellen: I love fic authors. Um, the other one that is very short, but. Uh, funny is called Ilya Rosanov’s Search History, which is by Evilrussianprincess, which also has a very short word count, but that’s because it’s also images, um, which is just over time all the things that, um, I Ilya has searched for.

And, um, very similar to the, I think another, um, Tumblr post that you sent a few, like during the week, Alice.

Alice: Yes. Yeah.

Ellen: But yeah, [01:46:00] that’s, that’s worth the look to for, for the lols. Did you have another one, Bex, that you wanted to mention?

Bex: Yeah, the one that I, uh, triggered my memory that I’d read it is, um, The Waiting Game by Rizandance.

Um, and it’s a, it’s set after Shane gets put into hospital. Um, but the injury is much more serious and it has Hayden, um, being by Shane side ’cause his parents obviously haven’t got there yet. Um, and OV is just lingering in the hospital and it’s a, Hayden finds out that Ilya is Lily fic. And then the subsequent chapters are sort of the ripple on effects where Shane then learns that Hayden knows and then, then Jackie finds out and all this other, it just continues on and it’s, it was very sweet.

Ellen: Mm-hmm. Um, okay. I am gonna go straight into a porn without plot one, which [01:47:00] is called Keep Dreaming by disruptedthesky. Um, it is rated explicit, but it’s only like less than 2000 words long. But basically, um, Shane has been like, hurt. The pads aren’t padding on his hips. It ha wasn’t right during a game.

So he is all bruised on his hips and like they’re trying to have sex and then he’s getting hurt. So Ilya’s really sweet and he like, make sure he is okay and everything. So it’s kind of like hurt comfort type thing, but it’s, it’s so really cute. Um, so yeah, that one’s worth a look. It’s only real shorty. Um, what else?

There was one. Okay. The other, the other one I wanted to mention was, um, a Supernatural author who has like jumped with both feet into the Heated Rivalry fandom, who is

Alice: Yes. Um, love to see it.

Ellen: Irina, who is, her ao3 name is, you-cant-spell-subtext-without. She’s writing [01:48:00] a series of one shots, um, of like connected, like, vignettes, I guess you would say. Um, the first one is called how the staff likes to be treated, and

Bex: Sir, I’m just a bell boy, you can’t treat me like this.

Ellen: Yeah, they’re, they’re rated G because they’re just little missing scenes. Um, but they’re, I think she’s written two at the moment. Um, the first one is like the scene where, um, they’re in the gym at that hotel where they’re running and like, you know, passing the water bottle back and forth.

And it, and it’s before that Ilya’s trying to get this guy who’s like a, a security guard to, she, he’s trying to pay him to, to make sure no one else comes in while, while he goes into the gym. And, um, it’s, it’s a little bit sort of a crossover because this security guard is quite, is quite Dean Winchester ish.

But you’ll, if you read it, you’ll see what I mean. But, um, but she’s, yeah, written another one and that there’s more coming. So, [01:49:00] so that’s great. But the, also the other one that I, that she wrote, which I remembered earlier, is called Chemistry, huh? Like with, with a question mark. And it’s what happens when, um, Shane and his mum are outside in the, at the cottage and Ilya and David have a g like conversation and it’s actually really sweet.

Like it really, um, starts off kind of funny, but also ends up really lovely. Like it’s, yeah, it’s worth a read just for the feels.

Alice: Aw.

Ellen: And uh, the, the summary is funny. It’s like

“More vodka?” David offers tentatively. “Sure, okay. Maybe one more,” Ilya says. He’s not entirely sure what’s considered an acceptable drink limit for the occasion of “surprise, your son is gay and I’ve been fucking him in secret under the nose of the entire MHL and Scott Hunter in the hotel room next door. And I’m in love with him actually.” But given the look on his face, um, David might need the second drink more than Ilya does [01:50:00] at this point.

So yeah, it’s kind of cute. I think that’s all I’ve done for now.

Alice: I, um, I haven’t read many because I was deep into the actual books. Um, but I have so many tabs open, but the ones that I have read, so one of them that Ilya Rosenov Expose by nineteenohtwo, and that’s all like one word. And basically the summary is like, it’s basically a Twitter fic.

Um, but the summary is like Perez Hilton tweets, viral, married, gay hockey star Ilya Rosenov court in public sexting mystery woman with receipts. Um, and there are like slight spoilers for The Long Game, but not like massively. Um, but yeah, the whole thing is like articles. About, basically Ilya is texting a girl named Jane at a coffee [01:51:00] shop.

Um, and like someone on Twitter was just like, oh my God, Ilya Rosenov’s here. Like, this is so cool. Um, and then like, oh yeah, like I tried to like wave at him, but he’s won’t get off his phone. And then he takes a photo and then people zoom in and they’re just like, oh my God, he’s sexting a woman named Jane.

Ellen: Oh no.

Alice: Um, and obviously like we know that Jane is Shane, but it, the whole thing blows up and like they, they, the boys refuse to make a statement about it for like over a week. And so it just keeps going on and on and on. And then they just go out in public like normal and they’re like holding hands and everyone’s like, what the fuck is going on?

Maybe it’s an open relationship, like, rah rah. And then obviously in the end it’s revealed that Jane is Shane and Shane’s just like, yeah. It just means that, um, Ilya is an idiot who hasn’t changed my contact details in his phone for like 15 years.

Ellen: Aw. Why, why would you though?

Bex: Um, think it’s [01:52:00] cute.

Ellen: They’re so cute,

Alice: right? Um, but yeah, so then the one that I read last night is wanna get stuck in your head by peculiarblue. Um, who is the same author, but it’s a different account to the 9-1-1 fic Ice Cream before dinner.

Ellen: Oh.

Alice: Um, which is one of my favorites. So yeah, I was recommended this yesterday and read it all in one sitting ’cause, you know, but yeah, it’s all like alternate HR timeline, like it’s all canon.

But like do like the authors very much like, “don’t look too closely at the timeline ’cause I didn’t.” Um, but it’s just makes HR like Heated Rivalry way more fluffy. Um, and the summaries, he only realizes he’s doing it when it’s too late to stop. He’s standing in the drink aisle of the grocery store, checking the expiration dates on the cans of Coke, mentally cross checking them with Boston’s away game schedule.

And the reality hits him. Like someone shook one of those cans and popped [01:53:00] it open. A snap, a fizz, a mess. Shane is making space for Ilya or lessons in budget friendly shopping, home decor, decor and resisting the urge to neatly combine all your situation ships shit into a drawer in your bedroom because you might be falling in love with him.

A seven-ish step guide by Shane Hollander, who is so, so fucked.

Ellen: I love, I love the way that they just, like the relationship develops without them really realizing any of that and then all of a sudden both it separately they get like their moment where they’re like, oh fuck, how have I ended up in love with this person?

Alice: Right? That one is, uh, 31,000 words. So it’s like an easy one to get stuck in in. One sitting, but not exactly super short.

Ellen: Mm-hmm.

Alice: Um, and then the other one that I’ve read that is interesting, um, and is absolutely a hundred percent because of [01:54:00] Hudson’s daring to the fandom. Um, but it’s called nothing but some heartburn Baby, and it’s by lotts.

And then in brackets, sir, MXA lotts. Um, and the summary, so it’s 4,600 words. The summary goes, most people in Shane’s position would call a doctor after two positive tests, but Shane isn’t most people. So instead of doing that, he takes 17 tests over the course of two days. Final results, 16 positive, one negative. It does have a massive trigger warning, uh, for abortion, but it’s not, that’s not actually like mentioned in the fic. It’s basically just Shane spiraling until he, like, this is pre tuna melt. Um, that’s literally the tag is pre tuna melt. Um, so he just fucking spirals won’t talk to Ilya. Um, finally talks to Ilya, and Ilya is like, so just don’t have it.

Like, I don’t understand what the problem is here. Um, yeah, but it is explicit as well. But yeah, that it’s literally [01:55:00] like known as the boy-bortion fic. It’s absolutely because Hudson was, um, it was spurring people on, but it’s actually kind of sweet. Like I don’t normally read a lot of mpreg and yeah, it’s really sweet seeing how Ilya treats him during it.

Um,

Ellen: we love a hurt comfort.

Alice: I, right? I have so many more tabs open as well that I’ve been, I recommended, but I, there’s so many coming out every day. It’s so hard.

Ellen: Yeah. Yeah. People are writing more and more, like, if people have read ones that they, they love and we haven’t mentioned, then please do share them with us

Bex: specifically, Kiera, if you’ve read any that you would at us about,

Ellen: Kiera, you’re probably the only person who’s still listening at this point.

Alice: Keira, we know you’re here. We love you.

Ellen: Please send us more. Anything else to say?

Alice: Oh my God, I did just wanna mention like, we could talk about this for days. Let’s just make a Heated Rivalry podcast, honestly, because, well,

Ellen: we can’t, there isn’t [01:56:00] anymore.

Alice: We, um, there’s so much more to talk about though. I did just wanna mention the post that I found as well, that, um, so the loon call that Shane makes back to the loon,

Bex: stupid Canadian wolf bird

Alice: has been confirmed that it’s, um, has been confirmed that it’s like a territorial thing. So basically like Ilya is freaking out over a bird and Shane told it to fuck off.

Ellen: So good.

Alice: Which is super fucking cute, honestly. Um, I also just, I, I really just wanna share like a random Hudson being unhinged.

Bex: Oh my gosh.

Alice: Videos because like, I, I have watched his skincare routine like three times all the way through. Um, there’s a video of it, like just bits, um, pulled out where he’s just talking gibberish and someone’s like, what language is this bro speaking?

And the top comment is just [01:57:00] ADHD. Literally,

Ellen: I just start watching the, um, during the week between, uh, episode five and six, like the only things that, that were around were the, the promo stuff that they were doing. So I had to stop watching them because I wanted to see more of the actual show stuff like it, the, their characters are so different in and out of the show.

Alice: Yeah. I went back and watched,

Ellen: I was like, no, I can’t

Alice: like everything. Yeah,

Ellen: I need to, I need to watch more show before I learn who these people are really.

Bex: But it does make it interesting. There’s one moment, like Connor is so very Ilya in everything he does on the show, including apparently he, um, created like Ilya sex face and Ilya sex noises so that when you see him in the sex scenes, that is Ilya.

That’s not just Connor. Um. As sort of like a, a protective measure for himself and future [01:58:00] partners. Um, so like 99.9% of what you see on the screen is Ilya, but there’s that moment when they’re in tamper and they’re sitting at the bar. And, um, Ilyas asking Shane like, where he gets his clothes and Shane says, you can’t make fun of me, but I, um, I got a stylist.

The grin that goes across

Ellen: Yeah.

Bex: Ilya face and I’m like, it’s Ilya. Ilya. Wait, that’s Connor, that’s 100%. That’s Connor.

Alice: I watched that episode earlier today. Like that was the episode that I watched before it. And like the little, like, he even puts his hand over his mouth and I’m like, oh my God, it’s Connor. Like he’s doing his little like Polly Pocket hand thing.

Bex: He’s, he’s figured out how to do everything as Ilya except like, be happy and smile. Yeah. So he, he needs, he needs to learn how, he needs to learn how Ilya is happy and how Ilya smiles. It’s gonna be a long time coming, but he needs to figure it out because

Alice: I do wonder if that, um, if that was early on in filming as well though.

Bex: And he hadn’t quite nailed it down? I don’t know.

Alice: Yeah. [01:59:00] But it’s so cute.

Bex: So interesting

Alice: because it just, he like, it’s, it’s like Ilya breaks character too, like Ilya’s like, well, I’m this big tough guy. And then it’s like he breaks character as well.

Bex: Yes.

Alice: Anyway, gang, gang. The amount of gibberish. I say that’s actually quoting Hudson. It’s ridiculous.

Bex: As long as it’s that, and not just like “spit in my mouth,” I’m, I’m okay with.

Alice: Yeah, no, I only message that to close friends. It’s fine.

Ellen: Bunch of weirdos.

Bex: Oh, he’s so weird. And I love him for it. It’s just, and I love the fact that he’s so unhinged that people are looking at him going like, dude, have you ever done any media training? And then you’ve got people who actually,

Ellen: yeah, yeah. And he goes, he’s like,

Alice: I’m just not comfortable.

Ellen: Yeah. I just don’t care.

Bex: Yeah. Yeah. And people who not comfortable like are in the industry and like are coming out and saying he’s 100% is media [02:00:00] trained because he doesn’t like go off the rails in every single direction. He’s off the rails in one particular direction, distracting you from everything else that he’s not saying.

So like, he’s feeding you over here and you’re not looking at like his sexuality, his relationships, his personal life. So, you know. Mm-hmm. Very well done.

Alice: I love him so much. Um, there’s a short film. I don’t know if you guys saw it. I have been watching Hudson’s short films as I discovered.

Bex: Is this the Land Leopard?

Alice: Oh my God. I love Land Leopard. Um, no. There’s one where he, um, he acts like he, he ba he plays like a human dog.

Ellen: Oh my

Alice: God. But oh my. Like it was so good. But yes. Fucking land leopard man.

Ellen: I have not seen that one.

Alice: Oh my God, it’s so good.

Ellen: You know, I missed, I missed heaps while I was away for a whole week. [02:01:00]

Alice: One more time. Miley Cyrus.

Ellen: Because I got back and there was all this talk about like, there’s these, this photo shoot with them, with these fairy wings on it. I’m like, what the hell’s that?

Alice: Oh yeah.

Bex: Ember and ice.

Ellen: Yeah. And then, then I found out that they’ve done a whole audio book of like this smut audio book. I’m like, oh my God.

Bex: That’ll do just to catch you up.

Ellen: Oh my God. What the hell?

Bex: Oh yeah. Okay. Alice was there first. That’s the Land Leopard.

Alice: I’m trying to find the dog one. It was only yesterday that I watched it, so it can’t be that far up of my history. It’s actually a really sad short film, but I was just like, what the fuck? Like Hudson, why are you a puppy? We know you’re a puppy, but why are you playing a puppy?

Ellen: Anyway, we should probably wrap this shit up. Um,

Bex: no,

Alice: never. No.

Bex: Let me keep screaming unhinged about these two and

Ellen: look, we can do [02:02:00] another episode when we get to season two or, okay?

Alice: No, that’s like 18 months away actually.

Ellen: Well, hopefully it won’t be that long.

Bex: Well, they’ve started, um, casting for season two because I saw a video on TikTok where someone was celebrating about the fact that they got a, an like a background character role for ’em.

Alice: Oh, that’s cute.

Bex: That’s the other thing that I think is adorable is all of the people who, I saw one video series, which was this girl going, uh, so yeah, my, my husband’s best friend or like my husband’s friend is in Heated Rivalry and she did a follow up video and she’s like, yeah, you know, we’re actors in Canada and you know, my husband worked with this guy.

They were at a restaurant together. They were both service together. They were also acting. Um, he auditioned for Heated Rivalry. Apparently his friend auditioned as well. Um, they didn’t know it was Heated Rivalry. They just, you know, went and auditioned. And then I started watching it and I telling my husband about it and like, oh my God, it’s this hockey show.

He is like, yeah, I auditioned for that. I think my friend got a role. And she said, oh, like the [02:03:00] background character? And he’s just like, no, it was one of the Russian guys, like, like one of the like Russian minor characters? Like, no, I think he got the lead.

Ellen: Oh my God.

Alice: Oh my god.

Bex: And then you’ve got people sort of posting, um, like, oh my God, I was at this pizza restaurant when Hudson was a server there, and there are like Yelp reviews of people buying.

Alice: Oh my God. The review. Yeah, the review makes me so laugh so much because it’s like, um, oh, I need to find it. But it’s like.

Bex: The pizza was great.

Alice: So wait, it was really hot. Rah rah. And then someone commented like, the, the reviewer and it’s just, um, Ilya eating spaghetti.

Bex: But yeah, it’s just, it’s so fun that like, these are just two working like young working actors in, uh, in Canada who have had other jobs to support themselves and now all of a sudden they’ve been catapulted into fame and everyone’s like, oh my God. Like I worked in a coffee shop with this guy. [02:04:00]

Alice: Oh, I love them so much. It just, it feels like such a special time because obviously like they’re unknown at the moment. They’re just having fun.

Ellen: Oh no, they’re very known now.

Alice: Distance themselves. Yeah. But like, they haven’t, like at this point, they’re not like, oh, like we’re better than you.

Like Yeah. Or distance themselves.

Bex: It hasn’t gone to their heads.

Alice: Yeah.

Ellen: Well, I can’t wait to see what they do next.

Alice: “The food is great. There’s a server there named Hudson and he really needs to look into modeling, the man’s gorgeous.” Pic of the customer, Ilya eating spaghetti.

Ellen: Bless.

Alice: Um, also, if you haven’t watched the interview that I shared, fucking I laugh so hard every time. Dumb ass, fucking film students, man.

Ellen: I don’t know how I’m gonna get all these links into the post, but I’ll do my best.

Alice: The po like this whole episode is just gonna be links.

Ellen: Yeah.

Alice: And the edits are so fucking good too.

Bex: And there are a couple of edits that are like Connor and [02:05:00] Hudson approved as well, because I think Connor did an interview and he’s like, I’ve seen this one. I’ve seen this one. They’re amazing. So yeah, like they’re watching it all as well.

Ellen: Oh, that’s terrifying. We love you if you’re listening!

Alice: I think they’ve run outta time now. Like Connor’s actually said now that, um, he doesn’t like one. He doesn’t have time, but he did comment on someone’s artwork the other day. Um, but he has been busy the last few days, so he’s had to delete his Instagram.

Ellen: Okay.

Oh,

Bex: because otherwise

Alice: he just gets like, stuck in an endless scroll.

Ellen: It’s just like the rest of us

Alice: also shout out to Connor, speaking of the spaghetti scene, um, shout out to Connor, who literally just sat there and ate spaghetti 78 times.

Ellen: Yeah. So I saw him talking about that. It was like it was right at the end. So he’d already done all his naked scenes or

Alice: Yeah, the cottage was the last thing they did. And they’re just like, okay,

Bex: yeah, carb loading.

Ellen: So he, so he just full on ate a bunch of spaghetti. [02:06:00]

Alice: He’s like, yeah, I hate when they don’t eat it. And they’re like, why the fuck would you eat it?

Bex: Which is nice, like in the, in the, um, in the era of coffee cup acting, you’ve got,

Alice: oh my God, the fucking coffee cup

Bex: you’ve got.

Ellen: Don’t set her off again.

Bex: You’ve got Connor going, there is no one is going to doubt that I’m actually eating this pasta.

Alice: Literally. And his little like, happy wiggle.

Bex: Oh yeah. It’s so cute.

Ellen: He was so happy that whole scene. Until like Shane had his, um, you know, panic attack.

Alice: That’s cute. ’cause I do the happy wiggle. Like,

Bex: it’s like, because if you think from the perspective, saw somebody mention that when they come in and they’re standing at the door and, and Shane is very awkwardly trying to explain the way that Ilya is standing is very much how he would be standing if he was about to get dressed down by his father.

So he’s standing there,

Alice: oh, oh my God. Literally

Bex: waiting, waiting for the like rain of hell fire to come down on him and Shane and instead he gets, he’s got parents who sit them down at the table and they give him vodka and they give him food and they seem to [02:07:00] be accepting their son and I mean, his future father-in-law’s calling him a whore, but you know, he is not throwing him out of the house.

So it’s like, it’s his, it’s his, it says from the book, this is his best day ever. ’cause he’s getting a family and so yeah. Happy pasta wiggle.

Ellen: Oh bless.

Alice: He’s, he’s so cute.

Ellen: I just wanna give him a hug.

Alice: Love him so much. Oh my God. Literally I love Ilya so much. Like it’s Yeah, it’s absolutely Team Hudson, but Team Ilya. Sorry Shane. I love my little neurodiverse baby boy. Um, but what was, there was a, I just wanna wrap Ilya in blankets for,

Bex: it was a video that Hudson, uh, that Ilya girlies are Hudson Girlies and Shane Girlies are Connor girlies.

Ellen: All right, any more posts to discuss?

Bex: Oh, probably are, are we done? It’s getting late and I think we’re starting to wind down, so we should probably call it a day.

Alice: Oh [02:08:00] my God.

Ellen: Alright.

Alice: It’s just so good. Like, and there’ll be more, as soon as we stop, there’ll be more and you’ll, like, next week we’ll be like, okay, let’s watch 9-1-1. And I’ll be like, no, no, wait. I found more like, we haven’t even gone into the costumes,

Bex: the fucking logos, which

Alice: oh my God, the logos. I had to get a, like, I prefer the Metros colors,

Bex: but the logo!

Alice: Obviously, like the, I can’t do

Ellen: the logo is a hundred percent someone’s asshole.

Alice: It’s an asshole.

Bex: It’s meant to be. And ever since

Alice: it’s meant to be an asshole,

Bex: Jacob confirmed that they sat down and they worked out okay, which teams are tops and which teams are bottoms and the logos are gonna represent that. And as soon as he said that, I looked at the Metro’s logo and went, oh my God, I cannot unsee that.

Ellen: Yeah. That’s a butt.

Alice: I can’t unsee it. Um, we get the Raiders hat that I got is like, instead of having the logo on it, it’s the, like the, um, the thing, the shirt that, oh my god, [02:09:00] Ilya wearing the fucking shirt. And Shane like, “that’s not gonna help.” “They don’t know I play for Boston?”

Bex: But you gotta love, I mean that shed is a hundred percent the costume designer out the back with a Cricut, just like Yeah, right. Putting a decal on a, a Gildan t-shirt that she’s picked up from like the Walmart or something.

Alice: Oh my fucking God, it’s so good. But yeah, there’s like full on club nights and everything happening and I’m so tempted to go to the Melbourne one, but that involves going to Melbourne.

Ellen: I’ll just keep watching it over and over again in my, in my, in my little room here.

Bex: But that’s, that’s the good thing. It’s only six episodes. I mean five, if you cut out episode three, so you can just watch it over and over and over again. ’cause it’s, you know, it’s only a couple of hours and you are done.

And you can start all over again. And then you can like, change the order. So you can watch episode three first, and then go like, do the Machete order. So watch episode three [02:10:00] first, then go back to episode one. Um,

Ellen: yeah. And every, each time you watch it, you notice new things about

Bex: Yes.

Ellen: The set or the costumes or music.

Bex: There is, there is woman on TikTok who is doing like a deep dive on like the cinematography and the lighting and the, the sets or the, the fact that, um, all of their sets were not locations. It was a giant fucking TV screen that they’re standing in front of. So it’s not even green screen, it’s just they set up a giant like cinema screen.

Um, and then just had the actor standing in front of it.

Ellen: What?

Bex: So like the, the, the beach scene was in a sound stage. The beach is literally just a tv. Yeah, it’s a TV of the beach of the sunset and Hudson and Connor are just sitting on like a tarp with some sand spread on it.

Ellen: Oh. That just ruined the TV magic.

Bex: No. No it doesn’t because I know that and I was watching them going, I cannot believe that this is just a TV screen. It 100% looks like [02:11:00] they are on a beach somewhere.

Alice: Yeah, they, it’s incredible. Like, just, and I love that it’s like it any question where it’s, where you’re trying to work out why they did it that way. It’s like, because they had $3 and a dream.

Bex: Pretty much. Yeah. But at least we don’t have the disadvantage of, um, knowing the locations. ’cause apparently so many Canadian people are watching going like, what do you mean Ilya’s in Russia?

Alice: Oh, the under the bridge that’s just, yeah, the under the bridge scene. Like just that random bridge

Bex: that’s not Russia. That’s just like a, like the, a national trust building or like some kind of garden that we all go visit on like our school holidays. What are you talking about?

Ellen: Right? Yeah.

Bex: So that ruins the magic for everyone. We don’t have to worry about that because we have no idea that it’s not Russia.

Alice: To be fair, poor Canadians can’t even watch Supernatural without being like, that’s the same fucking psych hospital that they go to every season.

Bex: It must be tough.

Ellen: Uh, we will, I will attempt to include links for everything that we’ve talked about, or [02:12:00] at least most of what we’ve talked about tonight, um, in the post, on our website.

So if you want to see links to the fics, for example, or some of the, um, Tumblr or TikTok posts that we’ve discussed, um, I’ll try and get them all there. And hopefully we won’t have too long to wait until we get more Heated Rivalry, but you never know. It might be like this time in two years that we get to, to talk about it again.

Bex: They, they better not,

Ellen: hopefully not. Yeah.

Bex: Better not better not fall into the Stranger Things, the way that they did things. ’cause that sucked.

Ellen: But in the meantime, we have to get back to season five of 9-1-1.

Bex: Do we have to?

Ellen: So next week we’ll return to our scheduled programming

Bex: irregularly scheduled programming.

Ellen: It feels like it’s been so long since I watched any 9-1-1. But anyway, [02:13:00] that’s because it has,

Alice: I mean, I watched it yesterday, but

Ellen: yeah,

Alice: it was season nine, so it sure was an episode.

Bex: What we’re up to episode seven. My god.

Ellen: Yeah. Getting through it. All right. Well thank you everyone for listening to our deranged ramblings if you’ve made it this far,

Bex: like thank you Kiera, for listening to our deranged ramblings

Alice: love you, Kiera! This is all your fault! Thank you for enabling us!

Ellen: And we will talk to you again next week. Bye!

Bex: Bye.

Alice: Bye.

Ellen: 9-1-1 is a fictional show, but many of the situations portrayed happen in the real world too. If any of the topics we’ve discussed in this episode have affected you, please know you are not alone. You can call or text numbers in your country for help. Just Google crisis support in your location to find out the number.

If you enjoy our podcast, you can help us out by leaving us a review on Spotify or your preferred listening app and by sharing our social media posts. Find out more at [02:14:00] thatweewooshow.com.

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4 responses to “WeeWoo Goes to the Cottage”

  1. Pigeon Avatar
    Pigeon

    Hello again, yes, I make back to leave more weird comments. (New project, whoo! Maybe that’s why I get gay hockey players instead of firefighters).

    You’re convincing me to read the long game, so maybe that’s good?

    Okay, but mostly I want to see the meta fic where one group of boys (probably Buck and Eddie) discuss the gay hockey players (spurred on my Bobby?) and this leads to Eddie’s sexual awakening. Or some kind of realization. Just, don’t ask me because the last three times I wrote “fluffy fic”, there were, respectively, a breakdown in someone’s bedroom; a dead fiance in the middle of an IKEA; and a panic attack leading to an injury which caused hospitalization.
    So, no crackfic from me, but if you know of anything like this, please mention it on the pod?

    Reply
    1. EllenofOz Avatar
      EllenofOz

      Yesss, crossover mentions in fic would be amazing! And what do you mean, fluffy fics have gotta have a side of angst, right? Otherwise they just make your teeth fall out. Thanks for your comments!

      Reply
  2. subcorax Avatar
    subcorax

    uh, hi! author of the original wag ilya fic here! a comment sent me your way, holy shit, thanks for the shoutout, y’all are a blast

    Reply
    1. EllenofOz Avatar
      EllenofOz

      Heyyy welcome! Thanks for creating such a brilliant fic 🙂

      Reply

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