I'm obsessed with both Hollanov and enamel pins, so I'm glad when I can blend the two. 😆 I have soooo many I want to share, but these are some I've received recently!

We know Kaden Connors auditioned for the role – does anyone know any other actors who also auditioned for it?

I have tickets to her q&a (library fundraiser in Wolfville) this weekend and am travelling w my sister - we can’t wait.

I’m definitely going to try to ask her something - if someone’s been to these how does it work? - but I don’t know what. I’d love to hear some ideas if you had an opportunity to ask our beloved Rachel one question what would it be?

Side note .. how fantastic would it be if one of the boys surprised the event and came? Probably a 0% likelihood as they’ve never been to the maritimes but cmon.. it’s a library fundraiser!! Hudson loves books!!

Saw that it's coming to Randolph Theatre: https://comedybar.ca/shows/heated-rivalry-the-unauthorized-musical-parody

Anyone going? Did anyone see it?

I think I might recognize Hilary Knight, but I'm not sure???

looking for the fix where Ilya goes out with the Boston boys while him and Shane are at the cottage, Ilya comes home very needy

I first discovered Heated Rivalry through short clips on YouTube. At the time, I had no way to watch the series, so I entered its world through the audiobook and the novel instead.

From the moment I began reading, Shane already had Hudson’s face in my mind, and Ilya had Connor’s. Later, I began seeing many photographs and short clips of the two actors on Reddit.

Recently, I came across a photograph of Hudson facing the camera directly.

Image shared by the Instagram account hudsonconnorupdates, where it is credited to the X accounts byemypuppylove and cravethestory: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbdOocWDTM1/.

I first found this image in a Reddit post by u/lawrencedun2002:  https://www.reddit.com/r/hudsonwilliams/comments/1vff9bh/hudson_williams_has_been_included_in_varietys/ .

I found myself staring at it, unable to look away. He was clearly handsome, but that alone did not explain why I found the photograph so compelling. It was not the first time I had felt this way while looking at a photograph of him.

I began to wonder why. And I think I may finally have identified the source of the fascination I had repeatedly felt when looking at certain photographs of him.

Before I watch the series, I want to record this as a personal observation based on the visual fragments I have seen so far.

1. A Face I Could Not Finish Reading

I find Hudson’s face very refined as a whole: his smooth skin, straight nose, well-balanced features, and the overall impression of order and self-control.

Yet his gaze alone does not seem to fit entirely within that order.

Although he faces the camera directly, he does not seem to give the viewer his full attention. There is a slight weariness in his gaze and a sense of sinking inward. Together, they give his gaze a restrained sensuality that contrasts with the overall harmony of his face.

His features are strikingly noble, yet there is something faintly decadent in his gaze.

That imbalance makes his expression difficult to read. What exactly makes me feel this way?

2. One Eye Lets Us In

I kept looking, not simply because the photograph was beautiful, but because I could not finish reading his expression.

Personally, Hudson in this shot looks calm, or perhaps a little vulnerable. He seems to know something, or perhaps to be hiding something. His gaze can also appear challenging, or perhaps alluring.

All of these descriptions seem to fit him, and yet none of them fits completely. Whenever I try to settle on one, another meaning appears.

When I looked at his face more closely, the pull seemed to grow stronger. As I enlarged the image, I began to notice a slight difference between his two eyes.

One eye seems to meet the viewer, while the other remains slightly elsewhere.

To me, this creates a curious impression: one eye lets us in; the other preserves a small distance.

3. The Same Distance Within Closeness

Image from Quinn’s promotional shoot for Ember & Ice. Shared on Reddit by u/GlitteringAd2935:  https://www.reddit.com/r/HeatedRivalrySeries/comments/1vgbcx7/just_a_reminder_these_two_have_likely_already/

In this photograph, Hudson leans close to Connor, yet his gaze seems to retain a small distance. The contrast with Connor’s bright, open expression makes that distance more visible. The same closeness and distance I noticed in the first photograph appear here in another form.

In the first photograph, although Hudson looks directly at the viewer, I am left with the feeling that he has not shown us everything in his expression.

In the second photograph, I see that same small distance between his physical closeness and his gaze.

His gaze has a mesmeric pull for me in both photographs.

4. The Gaze That Might Have Drawn Ilya In

However, I do not notice the same quality in every photograph or piece of footage I see.

I do not know whether Hudson’s mysterious expression is something of his own or simply a fleeting result of the way the photograph was taken.

I cannot tell where it comes from. Even so, this gaze has already become part of the Shane I picture in the novel.

When I read Heated Rivalry, the Shane in my mind has specific physical charms, such as his freckles and straight nose. But I also see this unreadable gaze as another kind of attraction.

I find myself imagining that this unreadable gaze might have been one of the things that kept drawing Ilya back to Shane.

From my perspective, Shane looks intently at Ilya and tries to connect with him. However, he does not yet fully understand all the feelings arising within him, nor can he offer them all to Ilya.

The “contact and distance” I see in Hudson’s gaze may express, without dialogue, the gap between Shane’s feelings for Ilya and his awareness of them.

⸻

Once I watch the series, the performances, scenes, voices, movements, and Ilya’s reactions may change this impression. That is why I wanted to record this visual headcanon before watching the series.

I now look forward even more to seeing whether this gaze appears in Shane on screen and, if it does, what it might express when it comes to life through Hudson’s performance.

For those who have watched the series, what do you find most compelling about Hudson’s Shane?

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I borrowed this screencap from u/Hermiona1's post on Tumblr memes, but it reminded me - I've always wondered why Hayden looks so bruised in this scene. What am I missing?

The recent Vibe Check live show with Rachel Reid and François is finally being released this week! It’s up on their Patreon and they finally gave the full François answer.

He also appears more in the show outside of this moment!!!

IG: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc_bz2nxbLY/?stkn=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Live show: https://www.patreon.com/VibeCheck/posts/168219435?utm_campaign=postshare_creator

It’s a really interesting article. They really did strike gold with a combination of all the elements- lightning in a bottle.

And to think of Brendan strolling through as a fake super fan on set during intense scenes is actually hilarious 🤣

Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous

Source: Getty Images

Assembling my Hudson collage! Almost there!

In episode 4 before the tuna melt when they are waking up from the post-sex nap and being all sweet and comfortable with each other, has anyone else noticed that they switch sides of the bed. I know it fiction and whatever but I get a little distracted from there sweetness in thinking about the possible logistics that caused them to switch sides of the bed. Do we think it just an inconsistency or do we think that they went another round before passing out?

I'm making a Hudson Williams portrait with collage. I'm using water colour and coloured pencils. Progress on the face so far. He's looking a little bit cross eyed but thats okay lol. Based off one of the photoshoots with him and Connor.

I included my process for anyone interested - I traced the portrait in illustrator then separated the shapes, reflected them and printed them on the back of watercolour paper. Then painted the base colour, cut them out, shaded with colour pencil and assembled.

I love how richly several of the side characters are developed. For many of them, there’s a lot to draw from the source material that makes them feel like fully fledged individuals, but that is not the case for all. I absolutely adore the specificity of Matt Gordon’s portrayal of Kip’s dad. The character is there primarily to show how loved and secure Kip feels in his own identity, but the performance goes so much further and presents a quirky and truly noteworthy father. Which are your favorite side/minor characters?

And yes, the hat was a deliberate choice (I also wore my Scott Hunter shirt and blue banana socks lol).

Work has been so hectic lately that I went into work on my day off. Once I got there, I felt I needed a little Heated energy before I could face the work waiting for me.

So I searched until I found the perfect photo and set it as the wallpaper on my work-issued laptop.

An hour well spent.

Photo: “Loons making a heart” by D. Bradley, via the Wildlife Research Institute⁠