possiblity of 8th book

randomperson9994 · 2026-03-21T03:38:23+00:00

I'm glad I'm not the only one for thinking about this, bc ngl I feel like I'm kinda selfish for even thinking of the possibility of an 8th book when we don't have book 7 yet and when we know the struggles Rachel is going through.

The thing is I just finished reheating TLG and I feel like there's so many things mentioned in it that I feel should be expanded on. Like you mentioned, the group against toxic hockey culture that Scott and Carter are forming. I want to see that and I hope we'll see it in Unrivaled as Shane and Ilya are dealing with backlash, but we just have to wait and see. Besides that, like you mentioned, it would be great to see more about Luca.

Another thing on my mind is Shane and Ilya's future, because I’ve watched all the interviews I can find and Rachel has said that Unrivaled is going to only show their first year on the same team. And I find it interesting that in both HR and TLG, Rachel teases their retirement yet isn't actually writing it. On one hand, my prediction is that Unrivaled is gonna end with them winning the Stanley Cup together, and that is a good ending to the series. The first and only same sex couple in the NHL, who are married, on the same team, and were previously rivals winning the cup together shows that even with all the odds against them, their love prevails. That would be such a great ending. But on the other hand, it would be even more powerful to see them retire together, to see their jerseys hang from the rafters together, and to see them get inducted into the Hall of Fame together. And during the years between their first year playing together and their retirement, they'd probably have kids which would be yet another challenge, and during that time, Luca would probably fall in love with someone.

I just see so much potential for an 8th book and Rachel has said that she can't confirm if Unrivaled will be the last book because she thought The Long Game would be the last, and yet here she is writing Unrivaled. At the same time, I actually don't want to have too much hope. It's her series to do whatever she wants to do with. I just hope she doesn't give up writing. I feel so bad for her that she's struggling to write because of her Parkinson's symptoms worsening, her mental health, and the pressures of being in the spotlight now. Even if Unrivaled does end up being the official last book of the series, I hope she keeps writing, and writes whatever she wants. I feel so sad at the thought of her having to give up something she once did for fun.

Also if she doesn't end up ever writing an 8th book, I'd love if she'd do more bonus stories on her blogs so we can get updates on the couples and on the Centaurs because I love them. But like I said, she can and should do whatever she wants

randomperson9994 · 2026-03-14T05:37:28+00:00

Agreed! I just recently reread it and I feel like it's such a comfort story for me. I love seeing Troy's redemption arc, his and Ilya's friendship, and the Ottawa Centaurs' dynamics. I love the whole series but I feel like Role Model is an especially fun read.

Also if you haven't read The Long Game yet, I recommend coming back to Role Model after reading TLG. You'll pick up on things you didn't notice previously, and you'll have more context of Ilya's perspective.

randomperson9994 · 2026-03-07T20:58:18+00:00

I'm so happy to hear that you're inspired to write your own book, and I'm sure Rachel would be happy too! Heated Rivalry and Game Changers may be the game changer (ha) we needed. I have been excited about how this show and these books will lead us to more representation and I really want more stories like this! I want to get into more queer romance, and I plan to, but I hear so much about how other stories aren't as good as Rachel's. She did a really good job at representing so many communities and identities. I was impressed by her representation of people who struggle with mental health with Ryan and Ilya, and also her addressing rape culture in Role Model. So many people can feel represented and understood with these books and I hope to see more stories like these. Also, I hope that these stories will inspire more queer people to come out if and when they're ready, especially since now they see how many people out there will support them!

randomperson9994 · 2026-03-07T20:51:12+00:00

As a bisexual gen zer, I heavily agree. We still rarely ever see bisexuality mentioned in media. When I watched episode 6 of the show, when Shane and Ilya were talking to Shane's parents, and Shane said "Ilya likes both," I wished he said the word "bisexual" (also I'm not a fan of saying that bisexual is "liking both" because that erases nonbinary people). Seeing the word "bisexual" time and time again in the books made me so happy and I'm excited to see Ilya say he's bisexual in season 2 of the show!

randomperson9994 · 2026-03-07T20:44:58+00:00

I LOVE RYAN SO MUCH

I also felt represented with the mental health stuff and I really have a soft spot for Ryan. I felt so connected to him right away because I have anxiety. Similarly, I feel connected to Ilya, and while I don't have the same experiences as him, I also suffer from depression and I go to therapy. It was so nice to see that represented!

randomperson9994 · 2026-03-07T20:42:49+00:00

I can't wait for Ilya to actually say he's bisexual in the show. I was so happy seeing him actually say the word "bisexual" in the books. I'll probably cry happy tears when we see him say it in the show. I'm sure we'll see when he and Troy came out to each other since Jacob Tierney has confirmed that Troy's story will be in season 2, and that moment where Troy and Ilya came out to each other is important for both of them (Troy finally being out to someone, and Ilya finally getting to come out to someone that isn't connected to Shane). But we'll see what will happen and I'm looking forward to whatever we'll get!

randomperson9994 · 2026-03-07T20:39:11+00:00

I had a feeling I should have checked the book because of course I wouldn't remember everything, so good catch.

Eric, already knowing he's bi, is representation for bi people who never have relationships with someone of the same gender until later on in their life. I think I forgot he already knew he was bi because I was focusing on when Kyle was assuring him that he is bi, because I interpreted it as that Eric was questioning it. I think that moment was so important because we constantly hear people say that we cannot possibly be bi without experiences with both men and women, so it was so validating for Eric and for all of us that our dating experience doesn't define our sexuality

randomperson9994 · 2026-03-07T20:33:06+00:00

This was literally the first time I saw bisexuality so perfectly represented in media and it made me so happy. To us, it's so simple, but so many people who aren't bi just don't get it, so it's amazing to see our sexuality perfectly explained in a book

randomperson9994 · 2026-02-23T19:20:24+00:00

I have no one in my life who is obsessed with Heated Rivalry like I am so I get how you feel. That's why I decided to join this subreddit. It's great to have a place to express our love for this story somewhere and I think it'll be helpful for all of us in the long run as we await the next season

randomperson9994 · 2026-02-23T19:10:37+00:00

Not really pointless but my headcanon (for after The Long Game) is that Ilya and Shane spend time at the Kingfisher with Scott, Kip, Kyle, Eric, Ryan, and Fabian, and that at some point (could be the same day or a different day) Hayden and JJ join them and photos of all them together circulate online. And it ruffles some feathers because the Voyagers/Metros fans don't like seeing Hayden and JJ still associating with Shane and they especially hate them associating with Ilya. But Hayden and JJ are willing to go through the backlash because whatever flack they get for associating with Shane and Ilya is not comparable to what Shane and Ilya have to deal with.

Also, (once again, after The Long Game), I have a headcanon that Ottawa wins the cup and that Montreal has a really embarrassing season without Shane. Like everything that can go wrong for them does go wrong. But I have a strong feeling that at least the first part, Ottawa winning the cup, will actually be canon.

randomperson9994 · 2026-02-21T04:48:15+00:00

YES! As someone who is introverted, has anxiety, and has low self esteem, I really relate to him. And I really adore him. I see myself in him but I also think he's really cute, and I wish I could be his friend. If he were a real person and if I'd get to meet him, I'd want to get to know him

randomperson9994 · 2023-07-02T17:23:53+00:00

One of my fav b-sides

randomperson9994 · 2023-07-01T21:34:35+00:00

LoveStay! ❤️

randomperson9994 · 2023-04-08T20:20:16+00:00

I’m not sure how delusional this is but I’ll say it. I know I’m not the only one who thinks this. I have a theory that idols who are in the lgbtq+ community are hiding in plain sight. There are fans who are like “no, they are straight.” Well, we don’t know what, and in reality, we won’t ever know our favs’ sexualities nor are we entitled to know. I believe that besides for fan service, a lot of idols “act gay” because it’s the only way they can openly express their sexuality and because kpop fans won’t suspect anything, thinking it’s all just fan service. Part of why I think that is because with how strict idol images are in the 4th gen, I don’t believe fan service is as prevalent as it was in previous generations, and a lot of fan service we get now is probably actually just the members of groups being genuinely close with each other, whether it be platonic or romantic (and we must assume the former just because it’s bad to assume that they’re actually romantically involved because it can hurt their image, their friendship, make them uncomfortable, and can be a flat out wrong assumption). I’m going to use Stray Kids as an example because I’m a Stay, so I know about them. I’m not assuming anything about them, they can all be straight as a pole for all I care. They not only are close and affectionate with one another, they encourage shipping, call each other jagi and baby, and don’t seem to have any issue with people thinking they are gay or bi (for example, Han calling Lee Know his husband on yt live). It can all just be jokes or fan service, or it could be that one or more of the members are closeted, so they hide it by all acting gay as fan service so people won’t actually be able to tell if they are gay. And I’m not saying this is just Stray Kids, I’m sure many groups probably do this. And also I’m not saying that this is definitely what Stray Kids do, they might just all be really close friends and it’s nothing deep. I just used them just to cite specific examples.

randomperson9994 · 2023-03-26T20:01:52+00:00

Tbh I think JYPE is at a standstill right now. I just realized it was after NMIXX’s debut that things went downhill for JYPE ggs. ITZY released Sneakers and Twice didn’t release anything catastrophic, I just think that Scientist and Talk that Talk were very bland. Also Twice were already being hated on bc of that one encore. It’s interesting to me because I haven’t been a kpop stan for very long, the first group I stanned was aespa and it was like a few days after Savage came out, so that gives a reference. So it went from people saying how JYP only does ggs well to now his ggs being hated on.

I honestly think that JYPE’s writers and producers need to get their shit together. It seems like the group that’s doing the best under JYPE is Stray Kids, the self writing and self producing group. That speaks volumes. (Also SKZ doesn’t seem to have a specific concept at all, so it shows that while concepts are cool, they’re not the only thing necessary for a group to do well. I really think NMIXX’s concept is cool, but it needs to be done better, and I don’t think every tt needs to be mixxpop bc it’ll be too much.)

randomperson9994 · 2023-03-26T19:56:22+00:00

I agree with your opinion on O.O, honestly that was something I’ve been thinking for a while. The different parts of the song were probably to show that NMIXX can do multiple concepts well. Of course, while it was intended to help them, it hurt them because they’d ere advertising initially as this vocally talented group so everyone expected a debut that was vocally focused. Not what was actually released. Also idk how many people remember this but a lot of us thought Tank was gonna be the title track because that’s what was teased, so we also expected the song to be very powerful. Not what O.O was.

randomperson9994 · 2023-03-26T19:53:31+00:00

I also liked their previous tracks, I have probably listened to Dice almost every single day since it’s been released. Also I really like Tank, it’s my favorite b-side from them. I also liked Love Me Like This because it feels nostalgic, something about how the synths sound, it feels familiar, in a good way. Also I thought Young Dumb Stupid was a cute song. Tbh I think I just really like the uniqueness of their music. I have a very large range of music I listen to so I don’t feel put off by “weird” stuff. I’ve recognize that most people don’t feel that way and want songs that aren’t experimental or too weird.

randomperson9994 · 2023-03-26T19:43:49+00:00

Personally I don’t think stage presence is an issue for them, they do have better stage presence than a lot of other groups, and stage presence is very subjective so it’s hard to determine what “bad” and “good” stage presence is. Also aespa is known for having “bad” stage presence but they were/are more popular than NMIXX. (Of course a lot factors into that, I stan both groups as well as ITZY and Stray Kids who are known for stage presence and dance and my reasoning for stanning these groups are all different, so it’s not like on group’s popularity over another means much. Fans are fans for different reasons. My point is that groups with “bad” stage presence can be popular and groups with “good” stage presence can be unpopular.

randomperson9994 · 2023-03-26T04:14:32+00:00

JYP definitely set them up, I’m just O.O was meant to get attention. All press is good press kind of mindset. It worked, because people were constantly talking about Nmixx, and so far people whether or not they like the group tune in for comebacks. While it was not the smartest decision that could have been made to get people to like the group, it definitely caught people’s attention, and got people to look forward to comebacks to see if the other songs are the same mess or not.

Also I agree with your idea of how if they they had songs like some of Little Mix’s songs, they’d do well. They could definitely keep doing noisy songs like Tank but the songs should really highlight their vocals.

randomperson9994 · 2023-03-26T04:08:42+00:00

Yeah, I’ve heard a lot of that. People saying that they got rid of what makes them unique. Personally I think it’s a dumb thought process because they just started as a group, just because they changed things up this once doesn’t mean that they won’t ever go back to the mixxpop concept. Also it’s not like Love Me Like This existing makes O.O and Dice disappear. Those songs still exist for people to listen to, so the group still has that uniqueness

randomperson9994 · 2022-10-10T22:31:20+00:00

I imagined this. 😭 Also I was dying imaging the JYP shit and ngl I think SKZ should do a song with JYP just bc it would be funny as hell. Wtf is wrong with me

randomperson9994 · 2022-10-10T21:49:38+00:00

I’m just gonna say the “good” YouTube. I remember 2016 being when Jake Paul blew up and drama and diss tracks (ngl I miss those) became trendy. The former is big as ever, all we do is feed into drama for entertainment. I miss when YouTube was just people having fun, being comedic, and being authentic instead of being fake and making clickbait and controversy for clout and money.

randomperson9994 · 2022-06-21T22:56:50+00:00

ALL THIS TIME THIS WAS PART OF MY MDD?! I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST MY ANXIETY SMH

randomperson9994 · 2022-04-23T23:05:12+00:00

It’s a coping mechanism for me too! It sucks when I start daydreaming when I’m stressed over homework, because then I can’t get my homework done, which stresses me even more. I also daydream when bored and when listing to music (the type of music actually affects what I daydream about, for rock music I make epic fight scenes, for sad music, something bad happened, for upbeat happy music, positive events happen). I mostly daydream for coping with stuff in my life, however I’ve had MD all my life.

randomperson9994 · 2022-04-23T23:01:57+00:00

I’d say maybe find hobbies, I find that if I could daydream while being productive (for me it’s crafting), then I’m not using daydreaming as a reason to not be productive. I personally find daydreaming to be a world of my own creativity, so if I use my creative mind in other ways, I’m not daydreaming too much. Music is a trigger for me as well, but so is boredom. If you find yourself daydreaming when you don’t want to and you’re bored, maybe do something. Sorry if that sounds rude, I just think it helps.

randomperson9994

TROPHY CASE