A while ago I came across the term demisexual and thought “hey that sounds like me” but as I learned more about this sexuality I could feel the doubt creeping in. You see, I don’t always feel a sexual attraction towards my boyfriend of six and a half years, although the close emotional bond was there. And the strong sexual attraction was there right at the start before the emotional bond was all that strong.
Recently I’ve come across the term graysexual, and the more I read about it I realised that this is how I feel. My sexual attraction fluctuates independently of my emotional attraction, and it’s not the most important part of my relationship.
I’ve never officially come out as demisexual to anyone but my sibling and I’ve mentioned it in passing to my boyfriend. So I’m taking this small moment in time to say:
My name is Laura, my pronouns are she/her and I’m graysexual.
In addition to this, I have realised that I identify more as panromantic as I see past an individual's gender expression to the person they are inside.
Shane and Ilya’s daughter has to do a family tree project in class. They’ve done a great job at emphasizing to her that parents can be any two people that love each other and she understands that other kids might not know that. The rest of the project will be pretty straight forward - Shane doesn’t have any siblings and their daughter doesn’t know much about Ilya’s family at this age besides that papa has a mama that watches over them and that loves her very much. Shane is still nervous about it and having a Very Normal Shane Reaction wondering if she will feel left out for not having a mom and feeling sad that she will never know her papas family and wondering if she is lonely and if they should have another kid. When they get an email from the school asking them to come in at pickup to discuss her family tree Ilya is already angry and ready to pick a fight with whatever stupid kid is bullying their daughter for having two dads. They walk into the classroom and their daughter is standing with her arms crossed insisting that there is nothing wrong with her project and when the teacher slides it across the table they see something so bizarre that they don’t know where to start. She’s drawn on only one side of the tree - Ilya and Shane both stemming from Yuna and David. Next to them are about ten stick figures of different sizes all with hearts around them. While they’re trying to decipher what on earth she has drawn she starts presenting it with her little finger saying “see? Dad is grandma Yuna and grandpa David’s son and Papa is grandma Yuna and grandpa David’s son, too.” And then she moves her finger along with “and that’s uncle Hayden, uncle Troy and uncle Harris, uncle Evan, uncle Luca….” And as she’s naming every stick figure Shane is trying to figure out how he’s going to explain to her teacher that he is not married to one of his 10 brothers when he is actually an only child and Ilya has to turn away because he’s crying at the reminder that the family that adopted him adopted her as well and there has never been a child that has been so loved
very sad to see the carolina hurricanes lose.🙁very nice team.👏 hopefully they win next game yes.😁👍 one loss shouldn't discourage you!! let's go canes!!! ❤🖤
Look how it went down between the Habs and the Canes: Canes lost their first game against the Habs then went on to beat them in 3 straight games so I’m hoping they repeat it.
ALSO. yuna doesn't have a career. i mean she is shane's manager but otherwise. i think it's mentioned she and david met in college? can't remember. but either way, she clearly had a life pre-shane, and that life possibly did not include being a stay-at-home mom. she likely has a higher ed degree of some kind. and so she has shane and thinks you know, i'll go back to work in a year. and then shane is... different. shane's not hitting his milestones. shane won't hold eye contact. shane takes forever to talk. shane panics over deviations to routine. shane can't stand strangers. so what, she's going to hire a babysitter? shane wouldn't be able to handle that. and she's not gonna go get a diagnosis because there's nothing WRONG with her baby but also her baby needs maybe a lot more care than anyone was anticipating. so it looks like yuna's not going back to work, looks like cutting carrots into perfect cubes so shane will eat them is now her job forever. and then shane likes hockey, he doesn't just like it he LOVES it. and like oh my god, finally something for yuna to DO.
If you’re looking for writing prompts, I love the idea you posted about Hollanov walking in on Yuna and David instead of the other way around :)
ohh love this, thank you :)
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Shane knocks on the front door of his parents' cottage; nobody opens, and through the window, they can see no movement inside. Shane tries the doorknob, but it's locked.
"Do you think they're home?" Ilya asks, peering in through the window, hands cupping his face so he can see better.
"Yeah, they texted me when they returned from the market earlier," Shane frowns. He has a key - which currently sits on the kitchen island at his cottage.
"Maybe they're out back," Shane says, "Come on."
He takes Ilya's hand, leading him up the small stone path, around the house. Anya, on her leash, trots forward, curiously sniffing the air.
"Go find grandma and grandpa!" Shane tells her quietly.
"She's excited to see them," Ilya comments fondly, gesturing to her wagging tail.
"She's-," Shane starts, but he doesn't get any further, because as they turn the last corner around the house, they are greeted with a sight that immediately and unfortunately burns itself into Shane's retinas: his parents, both stark naked, having cowgirl style sex on the sun lounger on the back porch. The nice, comfortable one with the thick cushion.
Many things happen at once.
Shane lets out a noise of horror and spins on his feet, bolting; Ilya follows him with a horrified "Sorry!" and "Shane!"; Yuna and David, now alerted to their presence, both startle apart with matching screams; Anya, overjoyed to see her grandparents, rips her leash out of Shane's hand and bounds towards the scene of the crime.
"Shane!" Ilya runs after Shane, who is sprinting towards their parked car like he's running from a monster. He rips open the driver seat door and jumps inside so fast that Ilya, stumbling after him, can't help but laugh.
"Don't-"
"Get in!" Shane gestures; his entire face is deeply red.
"No, come on!" Ilya slows down, still laughing. "It wasn't so bad!"
In lieu of a reply, Shane levels an unimpressed look on Ilya.
Ilya shrugs with an exaggerated gesture. "Is natural!"
"Doesn't mean I want to see it!"
"Is how you were made!" Ilya laughs; Shane flips him off.
"Get in the fucking car, Rozanov."
"Shane, we can't leave Anya."
Shane stares grimly at the steering wheel, contemplating it.
"Come on," Ilya tries again, leaning against the roof of the car, "Is not a big deal. Your dad walked in on us, now we are even, yes?"
In this moment, the front door to the cottage opens, revealing a very sheepish looking, hastily dressed David, and a happy and completely unaware Anya.
"Hello!" Ilya greets him cheerfully.
"Hi," David says awkwardly, "Sorry you had to see that."
"Ah, don't worry." Ilya waves his hand through the air, "Sorry for interrupting!"
"Ilya!" Shane chides, embarrassed.
"It's okay," David says. From behind him, a robe-clad Yuna peeks out, her cheeks pink.
"Hello, and sorry." She squints at Shane in the car. "Sorry, darling."
Shane just grunts.
"We forgot keys," Ilya explains.
"Maybe the 'calling before you come over' thing needs to go both ways from now on," David jokes, making Ilya laugh.
"Yes, it should," he agrees. Then, he reaches into the car and grabs Shane's hand. "Come on."
"Are you staying for dinner?" Yuna asks. Anya, who's sniffing around in the front flower beds, perks up.
"Yes," Ilya says, ignoring the Look Shane shoots him. "Unless you want privacy."
okay but Shane takes a hit late in the game and doesn't return so in the post-game presser somebody (they're new, they don't know any better, they will never make this mistake again) asks Ilya "how's Hollander's head" and Ilya experiences every emotion at once as he wrestles with the lingering terror of seeing the love of his life take five seconds too long to get up (he's fine) and also the sheer delight at being offered this perfect, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on a silver platter
Little things I see in Steddie fics that I adore and never tire of seeing:
1. Mike Wheeler shouting a variation of 'Ew' or 'Gross' or 'NO!!!' when he learns Steve and Eddie are dating, then he quickly has to clarify that it's not because they're both dudes, it's because it's Steve. (Bonus points if Mike grumbles about how Steve is stealing the people in his life. First his sister, then Dustin, now Eddie, will it ever end??)
2. Robin makes a comment/mention of Eddie once stepping on her lunch during a cafeteria rant.
3. Robin, Steve, and Eddie all being best friends/sharing an apartment/being codependent on each other.
4. Steve speed-running his sexual identity crisis so that takes less than a paragraph of fic time. (Internalized homophobia who?)
5. "I canNOT believe you kissed a boy before I kissed a girl!!" - Robin
6. "Eds." "Stevie."
7. Eddie loitering at whatever job Steve&Robin have, being nothing but a distraction.
8. Eddie using every pet name under the sun and Steve is a sucker for them all.
Ilya is obsessed with Shane, we all know that. I'd love a fic where Ilya casually asks his in-laws, "Hey, how'd you meet? What's your story before bringing perfect Shane into the world? Who made the first move?" hehe 'cause I can totally picture Ilya being fully invested in their story. Ilya wants answers!! (and so does the rest of the fandom) lol
sry this took me forever to reply to but i wanted to do it justice <3 this is not very good and also not proofread bc i am SO tired but i hope you like it anyway
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Shane emptied the last of the white wine into his glass, then got up to fetch a new bottle from the kitchen. They were having fish with herbed potato salad and broccoli, matching the warm weather outside his parents' cottage. The back door stood open, letting in a comfortable breeze which, together with the soft thrum of the wine in his blood and the chatter of his family made Shane feel comfortable and nostalgic.
"So," he heard Ilya ask while he grabbed the new bottle from the wine cooler, "tell me, how did you two meet before bringing our perfect Shane into the world?"
It made Shane smile as he closed the cooler door. Both his parents chuckled softly, and Shane could just imagine the way they looked at each other right now.
"Oh, well," Yuna started. Shane smiled down at the corkscrew as he turned it into the cork. "At the library."
David let out a deep, serious sigh. "I thought she was the most beautiful girl I ever saw."
With a soft popping noise, Shane removed the cork and returned to his family. Ilya had his elbows propped up on the table next to his empty plate, chin on his fists, listening intently with a soft smile. Shane's heart ached at the sight.
"I was- thanks, darling-," Yuna gave Shane a grateful smile when he topped up her wine. "I was stressed, trying to cram, and this guy-" She pointed her thumb over to David, who chuckled to himself, "Just comes up to my desk and drops a note on my table, right on my book-"
"It wasn't right on your book," David protested softly. The skin around his eyes is crinkled deeply with his smile.
"It was, I was ready to go off on you!" Yuna gestured, then sipped her wine.
"What did the note say?" Ilya asked. Shane scooted his own chair closer to him until their shoulders touched; Ilya leaned into him instantly.
"It just said 'coffee?'" David grinned.
"You're still proud of yourself for that one, dad," Shane teased. David gave him a wink.
"And this worked?" Ilya asked, clearly delighted.
Yuna sighed. "Yes... I really needed that coffee." After a moment, she added, "And he was so handsome, so."
Ilya laughed. "Lucky."
"The luckiest," David agreed, wrapping his arm around Yuna's shoulders. "We went out for coffee every day for a week."
"And then we went to that party, remember?" Yuna caught David's eyes, and Shane did not enjoy the twinkle passing between them.
"Eugh, no details please," he groaned.
"Yes details!" Ilya protested, gesturing to Shane.
"Let's just say," Yuna took another sip of wine, coyly raising her shoulder, "It was a romantic evening."
Ilya let out a delighted little, "Oh!" while Shane winced.
"You looked beautiful that night," David told Yuna, running a silky strand of hair through his fingers. "You had that blue dress on, and when you opened the door, you just took my breath away."
They exchanged a soft smile. "And the rest is history!" Yuna giggles, gesturing with her wine. "Not as dramatic as you two."
"Nobody needs that much drama," Shane said, at the same time Ilya groaned, "Is better."
"Do you have photos of back then?" Ilya then asked curiously.
"Oh, surely!" Yuna rose, "Let me find the photo album-"
"I'll clear the table." David rose with a very dad-like groan, and off they both went.
Shane shot Ilya an amused look.
"What?" Ilya asked with a smirk. "I must know your roots. Your origin story." Then, softer, he added, "They are so cute. They like each other so much, still." A shadow of sadness ghosted across his face, and Shane instinctively reached out to cup his cheek. "I hope we will be like this."
"We will be worse," Shane promised, and pulled Ilya into a soft kiss.
SIGNUPS: MAY 23TH - JUNE 6TH 21:00 HRS (UTC-4)
ASSIGNMENTS OUT: JUNE 7TH
DEFAULT DEADLINE: JULY 19TH 21:00 HRS (UTC-4)
POSTING DEADLINE: JULY 26TH 21:00 HRS (UTC-4)
WORK REVEALS: AUGUST 2ND 21:00 HRS (UTC-4)
CREATOR REVEALS: AUGUST 9TH 21:00 HRS (UTC-4)
RULES
This exchange is limited to FANFICTION. This means you are guaranteed to receive/create a piece of fanfiction for the event. This means you cannot opt out of/DNW getting fanfic.
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OTHER IMPORTANT STUFF
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FAQ & Signup Instructions below the cut
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Including original characters is fine, but Hollanov must still be the main focus of your fic. You may opt out of Original Characters by adding it to your DWNs (Do Not Wants)
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You can do so by going to My Assignments > Default. This will drop your assignment and the person you were creating for will go out as a Pinch Hit
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Not if you default before the Default Date
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Then you won't be allowed to participate in the next everythinghollanov exchange whenever that may be.
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Acceptable DNW: DNW Non-hockey AUs
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If you are an initial PH, DO NOT FEAR! Sometimes this happens because of making sure everyone has a good match to create for. The best part of being an initial pinch hit is knowing that whoever creates for you wanted you in specific! And don't worry, you will get a gift, even as an initial pinch hit, so long as you create your assigned work!
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The Exchange will not reveal until everyone who created has a gift. This might result in a one-week delay. As a mod, I will do my best to ensure everyone gets a gift on time.
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A treat is an extra gift that someone who was not matched to you makes out of the goodness of their heart. If you are open to receiving treats in a different medium, please say so in your optional details. You can opt in to treats in a different medium in your Additional Details (E.g.: I’m opting in for treats in any medium!)
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If you're open to treats, you need to go on AO3 > Preferences >Collections, Challenges and Gifts and tick the box that says "Allow gifts from anyone"
Treats are not guaranteed, but they're great surprises to get!
If you wish to treat someone something different, like fanart or podfic, you are allowed to do so to anyone who has opted in! You can see the details for each request here. Please do not give treats to people who specifically opted out of treats. If you made a treat and belatedly noticed this person does not allow them, you may gift them to the collection.
The minimum for treats is 300 words of fic for written or podficced works. The minimum for fanart is art at the stage of ‘nice sketch’ on unlined paper (it doesn’t need to be fully colorized or rendered if digital, for example).
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It's an optional post where you can rave about Hollanov, and your likes and dislikes if it did not fit into your signup. You can host it on Dreamwidth or Tumblr ON A PUBLIC POST and link it to your signup. DNWs stated in your Letter but not on your signup will not be enforced.
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I love AUs, please choose any of the ones in my signup. I like all kinds of fics with happy endings.
DNWs: HP-related AUs specifically. Eye trauma. Unhappy endings.
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post outing but pre hollander in ottawa a reporter asks roz if he’s ever thrown a game for hollander and roz rolls his eyes and says “no. the first and last time i even joked about throwing a game not even against him he did not let me touch him for 2 weeks. i have not dared to since, it took a 2 weeks long win streak to convince him i was not serious. i do not even joke about things with such dire consequences.” and everyone laughs it off but people online find the 2 weeks long win streak and the whole time roz is playing like hes possessed flattening team after team including montreal and everyone collectively is like ‘ah. them winning against each other is a sex thing.’