Tis Me

~20s~ I am too old to keep up with the youths and yet i am (relatively?) a youth this is distressing

[elisaholies]

14 HR recs

Plausible Deniability | 40K | Getting information out of Ilya about his family was like getting blood from stone. Maybe harder. It had been one of the first things Shane had noticed about him. Any questions about his parents – the kind of typical things Shane’s mom had taught him to ask to make polite conversations – would result in brusque, emotionless answers or, worse, actual anger. But somewhere out there was Irina’s granddaughter. The only remaining blood relative that Ilya gave a shit about. And Ilya could never go back, which was Shane’s fault. So that bothered him.| Canon divergent, deviates at some point during Heated Rivalry IIRC but sort of runs parallel to canon as we know it, all through TLG and then gets into future fic territory. Shane starts wondering about how Ilya's niece is doing in Russia and handles the whole thing in a very Shane way. I love how the author intertwines their additions with canon events. Excellent characterisation all around, but I'm particularly in love with this Shane. The way he acts, thinks and speaks rings so true to canon and seems a pretty realistic portrayal of neurodivergence, at least to me. I'm also very impressed with Ilya's niece's storyline . I've read so many stories where she lands on Ilya and Shane's doorstep because of reasons, and it always seems so OTT and in some cases Shane and Ilya have no trouble establishing a rapport with her... the way it is handled here is so much more realistic for Shane and Ilya both. There's a very cute and fluffy epilogue, so it's definitely a HEA, feel good kind of story, fear not. 

Definitely, Probably | 11K | “Bella broke up with JJ.” Shane stopped dead. He swore the temperature in the kitchen dropped two degrees. “What? Noooooooo.” The neck of his T-shirt was suddenly too tight. He curled a finger in the elastic and pulled. Air. He needed air. Hayden’s voice was lowered to a frightened whisper, “We’re Code Red, buddy. Code fucking Red.” | Cute. Lovely jealous Ilya and a nice look at Shane's friendship with Hayden and JJ. Original.

storm has set the heavens scowling by @qqueenofhades| 150K | The Heated Rivalry/Shadow and Bone crossover that the people needed.| Okay, this summary totally does not do this epic story justice! First off, it's @qqueenofhades who is, IIRC, a historian and a published writer, but to me will always be the fandom hero who wrote the definitive A Song of Ice And Fire Fixit Epic which means I don't give a fuck about the mess that GoT ended up being or the fact that GRRM will never finish the series...and if you're worried because it's a crossover with a fandom you don't know anything about...I didn't either. I think I watched a couple of episodes of A Shadow and Bone Netflix series and noped out early and you know what? You don't need to know the first thing about that to enjoy this amazing AU. This is fully set in the HR world. You can simply take all the characters as OCs (and they are some awesome OCs, let me reassure you). And @qqueenofhades knows history and is an excellent writer. This is a superb Ilya-centric story, even though it's not only about Ilya. I can't believe I forgot to recommend it as soon as it was complete! 

sold to shane hollander | 9.5K | “I did not have a crush on Hollander,” Troy argues. “So wanting his number is not having a crush?” Dykstra asks. “Jesus Christ,” Troy murmurs under his breath. Harris feels like he should take pity on his boyfriend. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I had a crush on Hollander too.” It’s close enough to the truth. Harris is not going to confess that in the depths of his crush, he wrote fanfiction about Shane. And he certainly is not going to elaborate on all the plot points from the rare heart condition requiring expensive care in the United States to being sold by his family to Shane Hollander to cover the debt.| An adorable Harris-centric story. We need more stories about Harris, dammit! This is so funny.  I laughed out loud several times.

like puzzle pieces from the clay by @beautifulduckweed | 15K | The universe had decided Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov were perfect for each other, so it sent them an unmistakable sign. Unfortunately, the two of them have a lot of practice in mistaking things. So the universe tries again, and again. Or: how many soulmate tropes does it take to get two oblivious hockey boys together?| This is soulmark trope and magical realism. Two things I normally don't go for...but IDK, there's a fucking goose and it's amazing. I mean, it's @beautifulduckweed, she had me at the Such Great Heights lyrics for the title. 

frequently, secretly fond of each other. by @milominderbindered | 223k | A year after mysteriously dropping out of the 2009 draft, Shane Hollander is signed by the Boston Raiders, right behind Ilya Rozanov. Having the two biggest stars in the league on the same line is great for Boston — but playing alongside their worst rival was never exactly in Shane or Ilya's plans. Especially not when staying away from each other starts to feel just as impossible as getting along.| This is one of the most popular stories in fandom (over 1.6 million hits!) for a reason. So, yeah everyone must have already read it but it is now complete and I couldn't not recommend it. It's a Shane goes to Boston AU. Probably the best of them all. A true fandom classic.

An ode to Shane Hollander’s masculinity | 5.3K | “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.”| Interesting Shane characterisation. Lovely Ilya too. Good use of socmed.

For the Right Reasons by @citrusses | 63K | Coming this fall to ABC… MLH star Shane Hollander is The Bachelor! Bachelor Nation, we have one question: will you accept this rose?| The one where Shane is The Bachelor.  features non-hockey-player!Ilya. I was unsure going in (I have a hard time with Aus where one or both our heroes are not hockey players)  but the author is amazing and completely sold me on the premises. And they even stuck the landing, masterfully. Hats off.

HOLLANDER & ROZANOV ARE DEADby @eurydicees  | 13.2K | It is December, and Scott has been out for long enough to pretend to be used to it, and things are not perfect but they’re fucking good, and Ilya Rozanov is at his apartment for dinner—has been for over an hour—and he’s still waiting so stupidly hopefully to introduce a boyfriend who very, very clearly isn’t coming.| Confession time. When I read a story I like I bookmark it immediately and copy&paste in the bookmark my comment to the author or some notes on what I liked. Well, I didn't write anything this time, I must have been sleepy or in a rush and now I don't have the time to re-read if I want to get this list posted before turning in. BUT I remember thinking it was so well-written! And a story inspired by Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is just such a genius idea. Got to love fandom. 

Please Text | 2K | In retrospect, they should have called. Texted. Rang the doorbell. Heralded their entry with a trumpet. Something. But everything is clearer in hindsight, especially the sight of your father’s behind. Shane suppresses a shudder. | Ilya and Shane walk in on David and Yuna. Soo funny. Perfect voices.

in your arms i'd start a war by @justhere4ke| 60K | Ilya widens his eyes, moves his hands in an impatient “get on with it” motion. He has the urge to say it for him, end both their misery. Shane blinks rapidly a few times, takes another deep breath. “I want to stop,” he says simply. Ilya lets out one humorless laugh, “Stop what?” Shane ignores him. “At the All Star Game, I told you I liked you. And you said about Russia and your family. And I looked some things up. I get it. I get it better now. I know we can’t but I can’t stop wanting to be…more. Unless we stop.”| The one where they fail at communicating even worse than in canon and decide to become friends. This is more rom-com than I'd normally like, it's so well-written and of course you just end up rooting for these two idiots even though (or maybe precisely because) they are so stupid(ly in love). 

Wild Geese | 6.3K | A hockey player and the most beautiful man he's ever seen walk into a bar.| I don't normally rec stories featuring trans characters...because I'm very ignorant and I'm afraid of showing my ignorance. You know what they say...Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt. This story though was so lovely and moving, I just couldn't not rec it. Here we have trans Shane and it is written with such obvious love and care. 

If it wasn't for that meddling kid | 138K |  Ilya stays in Boston, gets a rookie, and tries to figure out how to make a secret long distance relationship work while there's a Russian teenager in his house| This another fandom classic which has been completed only recently. Great AU of the canon divergence kind. With the most memorable OC ever (Pava!!!!). Lots of hockey which is always a plus (ARustySpork's author notes have been so educational and entertaining in equal measure for someone who's just recently got into hockey). Amazing characterisation, ofc.

Wins Above Replacement | 9.5K | Ilya tries to take on Shane's tendency to deprive himself by using ancient Chinese military strategy.| mcshurg gave us another banger, hot smut with feeling and character development. I don't know how they can do it. Every. Single. Time. 

[glittercupcakeunicornpuppy]

[akkpipitphattana]

it’s such a shame that despite the millions of books, movies, and tv shows out there, no one has EVER managed to write a woman well. yeah, believe it or not, it’s never happened, not even once! and since i’m incapable of enjoying characters that AREN’T well written, i’ll just have to keep ONLY enjoying well written men, like tony stark

[targetedknowledge]

[justsomeguycore]

my problem is i want somebody to love me madly and lust for me greatly and nothing else will do. but i’m really annoying and not that hot

[crystalcrossing-remade-deactiva]

shit man tomorrow is christmas eve i swear yesterday was June 2010

[allegedly-human]

As is tradition in tumblr culture the locals unearth the corpse of a long deceased figure and drag it across the streets merrily, laughing at what is preserved of the person’s words. This custom, seen as morbid in other cultures, is instead done gleefully and with an unmatched enthusiasm

[allegedly-human]

alright I completely forgot I said that until I saw my notifications blow up so, happy drag the body Monday ig

[virgoasf]

[curlsandstems]

I need this.

[poni1kenobi-deactivated20250915]

Reblogged last year, hoping it comes this year

[dat2ndaccount97]

Fingers crossed!

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

reblog if you’re a sick fuck

[blacksheepcolorfulskin]

Can we talk about Francios Arnaud absolutely BODYING this Vulture interviewer??

Heated Rivalry’s Elder Statesman

As out hockey star Scott Hunter, François Arnaud surprised himself, too: “I was like, ‘I’m ready to say these words.’”

[sweetfirebird]

Hey the US government is proposing to get rid of the Endangered Species Act. Please go comment.

(yes this entirely for corporate profit)

Cut and paste the docket number to put in your response if you remember. You can comment anonymously if you want.

The Oregon Zoo has some sample arguments you can make.

We have until December 22nd!

[six-improbable-things]

I don't usually add on to stuff like this, but this is really really important to me.

Since OP didn't explain what's actually changing (lots of things) here's a simple explanation of one of the Big Ones.

One of the biggest changes is a proposal to remove the ESA’s Threatened Species Blanket Rule (FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0029). The Blanket Rule is extremely important because it automatically extends the same protections given to endangered species to all newly listed threatened species, quickly providing prohibitions on harming, killing or trading the species. If the Blanket Rule is rescinded, species-specific rules would have to be enacted, imposing additional procedural delays and uncertainty at the most critical time for the species' survival. And with more and more species in danger each year, that’s a risk that we as a country cannot afford to take. 

Also, @why-animals-do-the-thing / @animalphotorefs this seems like something that your reach might help with, and that's relevant to your blog(s).

If you run into issues, try turning off your VPN if you have one, in case it's getting annoyed that you're not "in the U.S.".

If you need a template, I'm putting one I got sent at work under the cut. (But check out the Oregon Zoo link, too! Or better yet, write your own! Unique and individual comments catch more attention than copy-pasted ones!)

"For over fifty years, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has played a major role in protecting wildlife, preventing nearly 99% of listed species from becoming extinct. This legislation has had support across the country since 1973 because safeguarding America’s wildlife is not only a responsibility, but a proud part of our nation’s history. The proposed change to remove the ESA’s Blanket 4(d) Rule will result in fewer protections for threatened species and compromise the ESA’s mission. It is imperative to maintain our commitment to protecting endangered species and their habitats. I encourage the Administration to withdraw all proposed changes to the ESA in order to ensure our country’s wildlife will continue to be protected for generations to come."

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

Thanks for the tag, I definitely want to jump in here because the most helpful thing any individual can do is write your own comment.

I’m going to give you a little bit of information about the process that’s happening here, why it’s happening, and how you can best contribute to protecting the Endangered Species Act. You can skip it by scrolling to the red text, but you’ll be best set up to comment and help if you know some things about what’s happening first, so please stick with me. I promise to be as simple and jargon free as possible.

First, and to catch people's attention as they scroll, here's two red wolf sisters: a species the ESA actively preserving. This is who we're doing this for.

To clarify one thing: they’re not trying to totally repeal the ESA, the entire law, they’re looking to roll back regulations implementing it/enforcing it to what was being used in 2019. This is still bad! Very bad! But a thing that’s important when dealing with legislation/regulation is precision in the language we use.

Okay, so here’s what you need to know. This is part of what is known as the “notice-and-comment” rule making process, which is federally mandated. This happens with the implementation of regulations to enact new laws, or changes to the interpretation of laws. Laws like the ESA, once passed, are delegated to various federal agencies and departments to enact and make happen, and they do that by deciding what regulations need to exist to fulfill the text and intent of the law. This change to the ESA is happening because one of the earliest executive orders from this administration “directed all departments and agencies to immediately review agency actions to identify those actions that potentially impose an undue burden on the identification, development, or use of domestic energy resources, and, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, consider suspending, revising, or rescinding agency actions identified as unduly burdensome that conflict with this national objective.” So, as @sweetfirebird said, literally go figure out what laws and regs and protections they can interpret differently, put on hold, or trash for the energy sector. Fucking gross.

This “notice-and-comment” process is the process with which all these federal agencies go about exploring changing regulations. It’s a formal process that is specifically designed to allow stakeholders to have input on what happens. Good news: in the ESA, the public is literally a stakeholder! It’s written into the law that any “person” (basically an individual or a group of individuals) can sue the government for a violation of the law. This is actually historically the prime enforcement mechanism of the ESA. Which means you, as an American on tumblr reading this, have absolutely valid standing to go tell the feds to knock this shit off. And with the way the “notice-and-comment” process works, they actually have to take your argument into account. (Yes, even though we know this admin is a piece of shit and dgaf). Here’s why.

A “notice and comment” process has four major steps.

Agency issues a notice of proposed rulemaking. That’s what you’re looking at in the first link @sweetbirdfire shared. They have to describe what the rule they want to make/change is and explain the legal authority for the rule.

The public must be given an opportunity to participate in a written comment period. That’s what you’re being asked to do - submit a comment before the comment period is over on the 22nd.

The agency must “consider all relevant, timely-submitted comments. If it decides to issue a final rule, the agency develops the regulatory text along with a preamble explaining the rule’s basis and responding to all significant issues raised in the comments.”

Final rule is published.

Okay, so why did I jump to a direct quote from federal documents in the third bullet point? Because that’s the really important shit. When federal agencies move forward with rulemaking after a public comment period, they are required to consider and response to all significant issues raised. And that is why you should write your own comment if you can.

It’s really common for organizations encouraging people to leave public comment to ask people to send in form letters. It’s easy, it takes no time or real work, it shows a lot of general public support on the issue, and they can quote the comment numbers when they’re lobbying.

But! What I’ve been told by serious professional people who work with regulatory agencies is that all those form letters only have the functional weight of a single comment during the “notice-and-comment” process. If 100 people only bring up the same significant set of issues, that requires far less time and work for the agency to respond to than even 20 people writing in with their individual concerns. I’ve seen follow-ups on comment periods where they actually count how many people raised issues on a single topic or concern - but the form letters only counted as one “comment” because they were the exact same thing.

And while the political agency head probably wants to fast-track this process of changing the regs to let the feds tear up whatever the fuck they want, a “notice-and-comment period” is a really good way to gum up those gears. There are still people in lower-level positions who do this daily work and I expect that they’re opposed to this and will go through the whole process like they’re been trained to. Under normal administrations, an overwhelming number of concerns raised during comment periods have stalled the creation/change of specific regulations for a decade. This is a process that works best when as many people as possible participate, and it’s detrimental to our interests as invested members of the public that that isn’t more widely known or the process understood.

So! What does that mean you should do here?

Write your own comment if you have the time/spoons.

Literally, write it in your own words, rather than using the form letters provided. If you make it a “different comment” it has to be considered separately and your concerns on the topic will be given more weight. Even if you just stick to the topics the Oregon Zoo offered: to be clear, they’re really good ones.

But, you’ll have even more impact if you can tie it to specific concerns for you. It takes a little more work so I don’t expect everyone to do this, but if you have some specialized or local knowledge that can be relevant, this is a great time to drop that in. Tie the concern to endangered or threatened species in your specific community, or an ecosystem that you know companies might want to pillage.

Your comment doesn’t have to be super well written or perfectly edited. It can be in language about as casual as you’d use in a tumblr post (with punctuation, though). This isn’t something you’re turning in for a grade - it’s raising your hand to say hey, I object! You’re not a major advocacy group or professional org, you don’t have to be perfect, you just have to tell them how you feel. That being said. Public comments are public record. You can submit them anonymously but don’t include identifying information.

Here’s a link directly to the comment portal. While the site has a text box embedded in the page, you can also submit a document/file containing your comment.

https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0039-0001

Comments close at 11:59 PM EST (4:59 GMT) on December 22nd. We have less than five days to get more comments in. I’m really not kidding when I say every unique, individual comment makes an impact. Let’s do this.

Images from @animalphotorefs

[harpieisthecarpie]

[gretahayes]

bruce vocalizes the fact that he misses when dick was robin to two (2) of his robins: tim, who sighs sympathetically & understandingly and says he also misses when dick was robin, and maps, who doesn’t even look up at him when she goes “yeah, from back when you weren’t like 80 years old. i know, i’ve got eyes”

[omtai]

She literally does not give a damn what that old fool is yelling about

[unaloid]

the lion does not concern herself with papa

[rabbiteclair]

a guy shoots at me with a sniper rifle and I catch the bullet in my teeth and eat it, but he saw that coming and put poison in the bullet, but I saw that coming and drank an antidote ahead of time, but all those weird chemicals still give me a really bad kidney stone a few days later and I pass out from pain and crash my car into, by pure coincidence, the sniper

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

ao3 turns 16 today.

reblog if you’re older than archive of our own

[reallyreallyreallytrying]

“average person eats 3 spiders a year” factoid actualy just statistical error. average person eats 0 spiders per year. Spiders Georg, who lives in cave & eats over 10,000 each day, is an outlier adn should not have been counted

[laerugo]

#tapping the reblog button with utmost care because i’m handling a historical artifact (via @malarkiness)

[mortimermcmirestinks]

holy shit OP is not only still active but is still making absolutely banger posts in this exact style 11 years later

[rue-nightly]

A 2025 update

[djpuppy-moved]

character who;s doomed form the start but not because of tragedy or anything but because they're a woman and their writer is a misogynist