OnceThereWasAPondering
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The player character of Need for Speed: Heat had to come from somewhere, maybe this was their beginning.
Showing up in Palm City without even a car to race in? She just rolls into town and then takes over the scene like she was fated to be there.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 1,080
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Kudos:
- 11
- Hits:
- 188
Recent bookmarks
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An ode to Shane Hollander’s masculinity by mrbusinessman (ifyoudo)
Fandoms: Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
08 May 2026
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“He’s such a jock,” Cassie says with a chuckle. She puts her glass of dark liquor on the bar so she can fold her arms. When she sees Ilya looking at Bood, she laughs and shakes her head. “Oh no, I’m talking about your man. That guy is hockey if it was a person. And thank god for that, I’ve seen those Reebok ads.”
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 5,372
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Comments:
- 281
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- 6,016
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- 1,065
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- 29,842
Bookmarked by OnceThereWasAPondering
01 Sep 2026
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Bookmarker's Notes
Not sure if I should tag this as "romance" as it's basically just Illya thirsting over Shane being a Man. It also does play a little bit on stereotyping gender roles in relationships with a glancing blow of underlying racial bias.
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Hollanov's Guide to Major League Hockey by DistantStorm
Fandom Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry (TV)
18 Jul 2026
- Words:
- 41,632
- Works:
- 3
- Bookmarks:
- 1,149
Bookmarked by OnceThereWasAPondering
01 Sep 2026
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Bookmarker's Notes
This author had a really unique way of organizing this series with lots of non-chronological time jumps. The POV switches meant we learned a lot about how hollanov appeared from the outside as well as the motivations of the other characters. This series started with Shane coming to some realizations about Illya's mental health and ends with the Centaurs being a team willing to sweat and bleed for eachother. Really, this was a wholesome read.
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jane dutch by thisisnotthenerd for deliciousblizzardshark
Fandoms: Game Changers | Heated Rivalry - All Media Types, Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
29 Aug 2026
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Summary
Shane Hollander has a secret life. No, not the one where he's hiding his trysts with his rival.
He's a pseudonymous hockey romance author under the alias Jane Dutch.
And the Metros WAGs have just picked up his first release for their book club...
Extras start at chapter 26!
Series
- Part 7 of crackin' open a cold one
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 98,000
- Chapters:
- 28/28
- Collections:
- 22
- Comments:
- 14,731
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- 11,726
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- 3,581
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- 308,162
Bookmarked by OnceThereWasAPondering
03 Jun 2026
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Bookmarker's Notes
Bookmarking as of 9 chapters written.
This fic is sweet, it really uses the plot device of Shane's writing to help explore the underlying feelings of the guys and instigate improved communication. The misunderstandings of how exactly Jane Dutch is related to the hockey world is a funny ongoing bit. I cannot imagine the level of emotion involved when Shane realises his mother has read his smutty fics; absolutely mortifying.
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Update Aug.29, 2026 after the completed 28 chapters:
This fic was tagged as Crack treated seriously, and there is a little bit of the crack element in the premise of it all, and maybe the social media posts, but really, the story itself is just serious. It's light hearted in tone but, Shane's character especially, take a critical look at the IRL hockey world and its many issues. The author put a lot of time and thought into making the positioning of the teams and players correct on a technical level as well as incorporating many types of media responses. Speaking of, the final chapter is where a good portion of the word count comes from and includes a whole how-to guide on al of the workskins and formatting used! -
who will love a little sparrow by weeb_grass
Fandoms: Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
30 Jul 2026
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Summary
Spring of 2016: Ilya loses a father.
Summer of 2016: Ilya loses a brother.
Fall of 2016: Ilya gains a daughter, a lover, and a friend.
Or: another "what if Ilya gained custody of his niece" fic.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 140,570
- Chapters:
- 7/7
- Comments:
- 2,861
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- 12,035
- Bookmarks:
- 4,579
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- 245,563
Bookmarked by OnceThereWasAPondering
31 Aug 2026
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Bookmarker's Notes
This fic is a lovely walk through how acquiring a child can put other priorities in life into perspective. It has its fun light heart moments and it has its lows of exhaustion and depression. Ilya's niece is a sweet 4 year old in this fic, but certainly no perfect angel. Hayden is surprisingly supportive, and everyone is a bit more upfront about their gaydar than in canon. While the characters could be argued to be OOC from their willingness to be vulnerable, the introduction of being responsible for a kid, and needing to be more direct about emotions for her sake make sense for this AU. Much like the source material, this fic does contain a fair bit of explicit scenes.
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Harry Potter and the Return of the Serpent Lord by Leonore4
Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
08 Aug 2025
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Summary
The moment the Killing Curse struck Harry Potter's forehead and carved a scar into the toddler's skin, something else happened. In that moment, when the line between life and death blurred and time had no name, little Harry saw something he was perhaps never meant to see. He saw his former life. And Salazar Slytherin awoke.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 224,684
- Chapters:
- 56/56
- Collections:
- 17
- Comments:
- 2,339
- Kudos:
- 6,435
- Bookmarks:
- 1,991
- Hits:
- 255,654
Bookmarked by OnceThereWasAPondering
30 Aug 2026
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Bookmarker's Notes
Wow, this author packed a lot of substance into Harry's first 12 years of life! The world building was interesting with the good old, "Slytherin wasn't such a bad guy after all" shtick. Salazar/Harry certainly have big plans for the world, and are willing to put in the work to make them come to fruition. One of my favourite subplots was how the Founder just couldn't stop being a teacher. Also, it's always a treat to have Neville get to be a badass. It wasn't an ending I had fully expected, but at the same time it was exactly what this story needed.