Carlos-Manuel Vesga about Manousos and Catholicism in the interview with Vulture:
I’m curious about your read on another aspect of Manousos’s characterization, which is the religious element. “Manousos” is another version of “Emmanuel,” which is another version of “Jesus.” He’s traveling alone, he’s sleeping in churches, he refuses temptation, he’s impaled. How aware were you of that, and how do you think it came through in your performance?
I love that interpretation. Catholicism was quite an element in the equation. This guy has an image of the Holy Virgin hanging from the rearview mirror of his car, and that says a lot! Maybe he’s not praying all the time, but he grew up with that and still has a certain connection to that. Catholicism has a lot to do with suffering, and suffering as a way of purifying yourself and getting to Heaven. There’s many kinds of Catholics, but I grew up with the kind of Catholic that accepts that life is hardship and suffering and strife, and in a way, that makes it worth living. I don’t think he approaches suffering and strife in the same way as other people who haven’t had that Catholic thing given to them from birth. It’s a way of seeing life in which you go, This is hard, but life is hard.
I would be speculating, but the fact that he has had to leave his home before tells us that he’s been on the ropes. I don’t think he’s had to eat dog food before, but he probably knows about hunger. He probably knows about lacking resources and having to adapt to whatever comes up. He has been tested. And this time around, he’s trying to right a very big wrong. You could read something about martyrdom in Manousos. He cauterizes his wounds from the Chunga tree, and that image of somebody going like this [mimics holding a machete against his back, as Manousos does on the show], for a Catholic or someone thinking about Catholicism, reminds people of self-flagellation. He’s kind of a martyr for humanity, right?
---
The other scene from the finale I want to hear about is when Manousos uses the radio-frequency signal that he has found on one of the Others, Rick. He’s hurting him, but he’s trying to guide Rick back to himself.
Something that came up with Manousos very early on was that he has a scientific mind and is methodical. If he finds something, he needs to put it to the test. He’s not holding on to any preconceptions. He finds that frequency and he doesn’t expect anything specific. It’s such a great scene because at first, you have zero empathy from Manousos, but then he’s talking to Rick and he’s being so gentle and so caring and so loving. The scene has many different approaches from Manousos. First you have Manousos treating Rick as the scientists in the first episode treated the rats: This is just a specimen, and I’m using it for a higher purpose. Then all of a sudden this specimen has a name and is a person he wants to save. It was quite an arc inside that scene.
Now that you mentioned Catholicism, you could say inquisitors would approach people that way. What I mean is, “I’m going to burn your feet and skin your arms and this is going to hurt, but what I’m truly pursuing is salvation for you. I’m not forgetting that you’re a person. Actually, I have you in my heart, and these are my best intentions for you. It’s just that I do it through fire.” [Laughs.] And in the case of the inquisitor, he believes if you die, you’ll get to heaven. You could read it that way. I wasn’t thinking about that then. At the moment, it was that Rick is just a vehicle for Manousos’s higher purpose, and then he’s deeply moved by the end. And also feeling like, Damn, Carol, you didn’t let me save this guy! I was so close. I know I could reach inside of him and bring him back.
Oh yes they are definitely lesbians (Janet) or bisexuals (Susan).
The pie! The earrings!
I would enjoy this much more if it was focused 50% on Janet, 40% on Susan, 10% on Trina and zero percent on the kids.
Will they ever let Trina have a personality? Please give Trina a personality and some interiority, she's great I love her.
The kids' storylines could be interesting if handled more deftly but currently they make me stop watching and thus I'm only on episode two. Mostly I just don't trust a 2008 network show to do any good stories about kids or teenagers. Like. I'd totally be into Susan's son befriending the angry runaway girl but odds are they're going to make it a romance or at minimum a crush and it will be painful.
The order in which I want to kill the men on this show:
Teacher man. Get away from her you pretentious creep. Killing you killing you killing you. Secondarily for the crime of making me listen to philosophy bullshit.
All those airline execs.
That psychologist man from the playboy club. Never trust a 70s psychologist man who's written three books.
Bruce. I appreciate that they've dialed back on his douchey behavior since the first episode because it gives Susan more nuance being able to see what she likes about him but EYE still don't like him. I wanted to slap the pie out of his hands at the end of the episode.
The teenage boyfriend. Mostly he's annoying; poorly written and poorly acted. I don't actually dislike him much because he feels like a stand-in and not a character but I'm also fine with him dying.
Tom. I don't mind Tom particularly but I don't particularly like him either. Mostly I think, like Trina, they've failed to give him much personality beyond "seductive modern swinger" so hopefully they'll fix that and I'll have opinions on him soon.
Roger can live. He's a bit of a doofus and doesn't know how to be a good friend to Janet but I think he wants to be one. I have hope for him.
I would LOVE to know your thoughts on Pillion, I managed to watch it last week, and ooof. It was so sweet, and at times really funny (sounds like a plan!), but also so sad and a little heartbreaking (the lack of communication and building resentment/Colin's self-esteem issues)
ughhhh what to say about this film. I have so so much to say but I'll put it under the cut for those who haven't seen it. so spoilers below !!
a mutual and I have talked a lot about how there aren't any fun films about kink, everything is pretty miserable - so the number one thing I loved about this film was the humour. even in the intensely dramatic moments there is a brilliant thread of comedy. both harry melling & alexander skarsgard play off each other's energy SO well - it's casting i don't think anyone could have seen paired up but it's brilliant. the final act (pre-fallout) is sooooo gorgeous. singing for the ladies with the meal deals makes me GRINNN.
i have also read box hill, the book on which the film is based, and I think it's such a brilliant adaptation of the material. the subtitle of the book is ‘a story of low self esteem’ which i think highlights pretty prominently the core of the story: colin's self worth is majorly increased by the dynamic he has with ray. he begins being so self deprecating that he can't even cook a pasta dish, he gains a community and group of people that make him feel empowered and eventually past that a sense of self and what he enjoys and wants from a relationship. (the whole sequence where he's being yelled at at work but has the confidence to walk right through it !!!) but the tragic undercurrent of the whole story is that the more confident he becomes the more he wants the dynamic to become a romantic relationship (and the more he feels comfortable expressing that), and ray pretty clearly doesn't allow himself that kind of emotional intimacy. this is not to say he's flawed for wanting it to solely be a D/s dynamic, but the story pretty clearly paints to us that he wants more as well, but retreats from it for whatever reason (kiss over hand over mouth you will live in my brain forever).
(not going to touch on it too much but the Discourse about harry mellings appearance is so fucking rotten in the head behaviour, not least because he's a man marginally outside of the realm of Hollywood handsome - which no-one can apparently cope with - but also because that's the whole point. they're supposed to be an odd couple. the fact that alexander skarsgard is there looking Like That and has chosen colin is the whole point. like. in the book he's fat too. you bitches are Weak.)
what makes this particular story SOOOOO compelling and one of my favourite aspects of the whole thing is colin's family. he has parents that love and support him and want him to be happy (even if they are a little overbearing). it's really refreshing to see a film where kink/a D/s relationship isn't incompatible with/doesn't isolate someone completely from their family. obviously there is humour and tension in the way his parents view the relationship, but the dinner scene and ray stating “thinking what you're uncomfortable with is what's not right for your son is close-minded” is not necessarily positioned as a truth. we're not completely on his side, neither are we on colin's parents. we're on colin's side.
and I know (although I haven't seen it. protecting my peace) that there will be Discourse about this being a healthy/abusive relationship or a “responsible” depiction of D/s dynamics, as there always is around movies about kink, and my overwhelming opinion is that it is a fucking good story, told very well. yes, the dynamic is wildly undernegotiated, (from what we see onscreen). it's also made pretty clear by the narrative that it is a somewhat unusual relationship. another sub talks to colin about how they could never not kiss their partner (one of ray's rules - though they are trying to sow dissent from a place of jealousy), and the other relationships/dynamics around them are shown as more openly affectionate than what ray lays out. it's obvious ray has hangups in being vulnerable and the extent to which colin is able to communicate what he wants is limited by both his own confidence and ray's boundaries. he dictates terms to colin from the start, and colin is interested and attracted enough to him and the dynamic to keep coming back, but there are obvious disparities in experience and power, which is kind of the whole point. we can see the cracks appear as we see them both outgrow the dynamic but colin becomes the one brave enough to voice it (“isn't love the whole point” “of what?” “of everything”). the way ray's walls slowly break down (sleeping in the bed, the tenderness of the sink scene, the day off. UGH) is soooo well pitched in that he's still not able to confront how he feels.
what i appreciate so much is how the adaptation does so many things to increase colin's agency. box hill takes place in the 1970s, so the surrounding context is one of illegality and homophobia, there's none of the supportive family as they appear in the film (though he does come out to his mum later in life and they have a lovely relationship). they meet on colin's 18th birthday (jinkies). they're also together for SIX YEARS as opposed to six months, during which time colin Never finds out what he does for work, or his last name. in the book, ray dies (or at least, so colin believes - but he's never told where he's buried and never has any confirmation of the fact). i think him disappearing with the implication that he just up and left is so much more compelling. i think giving colin a family and a life and an afterlife in the way the film does is brilliant, it really is about him and the ways in which his relationship with ray - however flawed and intense and unfulfilled in so many ways - has allowed him to grow and work out just what he values and is looking for from a partner going forward.
i think it's a beautifully complicated well drawn study of desire and power and intimacy and love and masculinity and fear and sex! from what I know the bikers are played at least in part by real members of the kink community! which is very cool! I've seen it twice in cinemas and will probably go again! I think it's brilliant filmmaking! yippee!
unfortunately for my dignity, despite being not especially well-written, the romance in heated rivalry the book was shaped precisely for my dopamine receptors. two idiots too busted to tell they're in love so they insist on acting like they're in hate? put it in my veins, thanks. it's a classic trope for a reason.
but god the show???? it's so rare to see an adaptation so completely understand the bones of what was good about a book and fill in its deficiencies so gorgeously. thing of beauty. perfect casting especially for hollander. he's so deliciously awkward.
Hmm. HFT as Sherlock is growing on me. He's interesting in his quiet moments. He also feels almost plausibly 19 (the eyebrows help) which I suppose is justification for his self conscious "cleverness" but mostly it just feels like bad writing.
The "iconic Sherlock lines" liberally peppered throughout are genuinely painful and every emotional or foreshadowing beat is hit with a giant clown mallet. Which is frustrating because the basic story and emotional complexities are theoretically interesting. Is this what they mean by second screen television?
I do like the music.
Honestly I think the story would be better served if divorced from the idea of "Sherlock Holmes" entirely, letting the characters and dynamics organically make sense rather than squish them into something with flashing neon signs constantly pointing at who they will supposedly become, but obviously that never would have been made. It wants to simultaneously be broad, dumb, & fun and subtle & complex and it doesn't manage either.
When will not-Shou'an and her mysterious assistant come back 🥺 🙏
make much of time by leiascully (E | 2256 | Shane/Ilya)
To fall in love one hour at a time is not possible. Ilya knows this.
Winner's Room by DachOsmin (E | 3749 | Shane/Ilya)
It’s a dick move and right now Ilya is glad he has a reputation as a dick, so no one asks too many questions. You’re supposed to pick someone that fucked up a bit, someone the team is already kind of mad at. Picking a team’s captain, especially when he hasn’t done anything wrong—you don’t do that.
Or: Ilya notices that Hollander is off his game, and decides that a visit to the winner's room just might fix that.
chained myself to a friend by anonymous (M | 12370 | Shane/Ilya)
“Board games,” Ilya said, kneeing them higher up his chest.
Shane stared at him. “You travel with those?” he asked, trying to go for scathing. It never quite got there. He didn’t have Ilya’s skill.
Ilya smiled wide and shark-like. “No,” he said. “I got them from Emily. Mrs. Lansow.”
Shane felt even more baffled.
“The owner of the hotel,” Ilya said.
“I know,” Shane said. He just couldn’t imagine Ilya interacting with that sweet woman. Or her asking him to call her by her first name. “Why? I mean, why did you get them?”
“You have better things to do?” Ilya asked.
“I have a phone. And a laptop. And there’s a television,” Shane said.
Ilya squinted dismissively. “Screen is bad. Melts your brain.”
“You sound like my mom,” Shane said, a little softer than he intended and smiling reluctantly.
Ilya tilted his head. “This does it for you?”
//
Shane and Ilya learn what it's like spending time together with their clothes still on.
Too ripe not to split by Charlotte_Stant (E | 2595 | Shane/Ilya)
Ilya rocks his hips up. “No, Hollander. Keep up. I want to meet your dildo.” He enjoys enunciating the word. Tries to give it a bit of a whiny Canadian inflection. “You remember? You told me about him, back in Vegas.”
Hollander blushes beautifully and says, “That’s private.”
“Hollander. I know the taste of your ball skin.”
“That’s—Jesus, don’t say it like that. I can show you, but. Only if you promise not to be a dick.”
“Best behaviour,” Ilya promises. “Will say only nice things.”
Adjustments by sheepknitssweater (E | 2814 | Shane/Ilya)
Shane had been sucking Rozanov’s mostly soft dick for between six and eight minutes. Since all the most important moments of Shane’s life were timed, he had a good internal clock. He was pretty sure it had been eight minutes.
#noticing by YankingAwry (T | 2581 | Svetlana-centric)
“And this is Svetlana! You guys have a fun hockey connection. She’s BFFs with—ooh. What’s his name again, babe?”
“Ilya Rozanov,” says Svetlana. Feeling virtuous about it, she offers her hand first. “Don’t tell him I said you have the best hands in the league.”
Shane’s face is rigid. “Um. I won’t?”
“Thank you,” she says gravely. “You have saved a life.” Rose laughs, stroking Shane’s arm, and he suddenly remembers Svetlana’s hand is hanging. He takes it limply and disposes of it quick. His eyes look a little wild.
//
(Canon-compliant, set between episodes 4 and 5)
cottage/post-cottage
now i wanna be your dog by CatalpaWaltz (M | 2509 | Shane/Ilya)
In my room, I want you here.
Or: Ilya in the country.
Little More Close by maplesalad (E | 2270 | Shane/Ilya)
“Okay. You want to say no, you want to fight me. Pretty boy, all alone in his glass house. You want me to force you?”
He didn’t need Shane to answer, really; Shane was fully hard against Ilya’s thigh and pink under his freckles. But it was best to be direct about these things. And he wanted to hear Shane say it, anyway.
“I—yeah. Make me. Is that too weird?”
good bones by batman (E | 3731 | Shane/Ilya)
I figured it'd be two birds, one stone, Shane had said. I can give you the full tour of the new place and everything, there's some new stuff in the kitchen. And it can be this— sexy thing, for you.
Darling, hearing you talk about dishwashers is pretty sexy. No need to go further.
Shane and Ilya try some roleplay.
future fic/the long game
Heel Turn by DistantStorm (T | 5742 | Shane/Ilya)
“If we are burning jerseys,” Ilya begins, eyeing the massive blank space on Shane's side of the room where his Montreal sweaters used to live, “I would have gone to the store for marshmallows.”
“Burning polyester smells like shit,” Shane replies, scrunching his nose.
OR: The one where Ilya is attracted to Shane an absolutely normal amount, the Centaurs go 1-1 in their first two games against the Metros, and Shane reckons with Montreal as a concept.
the limitations of maddocks questions by viviolet (M | 36421 | Shane/Ilya)
when shane gets the injury that would come to end his career, in the moment he’s just thankful he didn’t break his jaw.
or: shane knew, in the abstract, that one day he would play his last professional nhl game. it never occurred to him that hockey would choose that day for him.
wips i am keeping an eye on
hold a cut inside by dinosaur (E | Shane/Ilya | 4k in 1/6 ch)
It's the Metros' season; Shane knows it. And no matter how many hits he takes, Shane's always been good at getting back on the ice.
Letting Ilya Rozanov touch his bruised body when he comes off the ice doesn't change anything. It can't; Shane knows that, too.
Alligator Bites Never Heal by flawlessassholes (E | Shane/Ilya | 16k in 3/6 ch)
His outstretched glove hangs there, frozen, as the noise of the arena mutates into a ringing buzz. Then he’s moving, pushed away by Marlow, and then Boston’s goalie. There’s a flurry of movement, a trainer with a towel, more blood dripping onto the ice, and he just. Stands there. Staring.
Ilya is helped off the ice. Shane doesn’t even tap his stick.
//
Remember when Sidney Crosby caught a puck with his jaw? That doesn't happen to Shane. That happens to Ilya.
Til They Retire Your Number by technicallyverycowboy (E | Shane/Ilya | 12k in 3/4 ch)
They lapse back into a comfortable silence. Shane looks at Ilya as he is and thinks about Ilya as he was at seventeen, smoking in the back of a Saskatchewan parking lot. The image is almost unbearably tender for Shane, where his own seventeen year old thrill at seeing Ilya Rozanov meets all the things Shane knows about that lonely boy now.
Shane thinks: Do you love number 81 more than you love this man?
"Hey," Ilya says, brushing his knuckles over Shane's cheek. "Whatever I do, I will be there when you come home."
Ilya decides to retire. Shane is very normal about it.
And by that I mean if it was about not-Shou'an and her mysterious friend/assistant (who I currently ship because that devotion is hot but fear will turn out to be her sister. boo.) and their Turkish co-conspirator. And the Holmes were all killed off were background characters because they aren't very interesting despite whatever mystery drama evil dad started.
Moriarty can stay, though I don't know what role he plays. So far he only makes sense playing off Holmes even though he's far more compelling a character.
Also this show is so firmly 1990's in ethos and aesthetic it's kinda pissing me off. What is with Natasha's hair? Why is this wealthy Victorian dad waltzing into his cook's kitchen all "okay boys let's make a Shepard's pie!" Although it is kinda funny that it is a period piece, just the period 120 years after its ostensibly set.
?????? people do this? 😭 ngl this is the first time I’ve heard about it and I don’t see how that can work. wdym you don’t read fics about your preferred character? wdym you just slap your preferred character’s name onto another character in people’s fics when their personality and characterization aren’t even the same????? I’m not even talking about how this may be a not-so-good thing to do to the respective writers even though they. won’t know if you don’t tell? but. why? isn’t it so much better to just read fics about your preferred character or, better yet, write it yourself?
i mean this is a dumb thing to do bc the result wont be worth reading, but somebody being "disrespectful" of you without telling you or sharing it with anybody at all is not actually a thing anyone needs to be this worried about....like people are having full on conniptions in the reblogs that anyone might dare sully their masterpieces in such a way and i promise, people find-replacing words in a copy of your fic that no one else sees is not harming you in any way. not even emotionally. any distress you feel at the idea of someone quietly and privately reading your story Wrong is fully on you for being so ridiculous about it.
Started watching Young S. Unfortunately it's not for me 😞 I also don't think it's all that good. Trying too hard to be clever and fun, and missing the mark on both.
Hopefully it will get more interesting when Dónal shows up 🙏 Because S. is putting me to sleep, with a mild case of want-to-slap-him. I do like what little I've seen of the princess.
The Heated Rivalry ao3 tag is Scary and Big and too much to keep up with, so at the moment I am finding new fics entirely by word of mouth, either through rec lists or author bookmarks. Now I want to spread the love a little myself because I keep finding these gorgeous gorgeous fics with way fewer hits than I would have expected. So here's my "hidden gem" (<20k-ish hits[HR stats are INSANE]/not often recced) heated rivalry fic rec list.
Fair warning, I'm an angsty character study girl, so most of these fics are less than lighthearted. That said, consider these fic recs to also be author recs, and thankfully most authors are doing more than just angst (at a minimum it's angst and porn lol).
Canon a little (or a lot) to the left
holy matrimony - lowkey_existential_despair
shane/ilya, 31k, E, complete
It's 2021 and Scott Hunter is getting married. Shane and Ilya attend the wedding (separately) and have Feelings about it. It's 2017 and Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov get married in secret. Literally no one knows they're gay, and it stays that way for years.
In my heart this is what happens in the alternate universe where David never walks in on them at the cottage, the characterization is top notch. Absolutely devastatingly sad, but also so so lovely, because they had each other all these years even when they didn't have anyone else. Just so gorgeously written and absolutely worth the read.
Game Day - Anon
shane/ilya, 30k, E, complete, cw: graphic deaths
Ilya dies during game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Except no he doesn't, because Shane wakes up in bed next to him the next morning. But it's still game day? And maybe Shane's not the only one stuck in the time loop.
Sounds awful and angsty, and it kind of is, but it's actually mostly dumb and camp and super fun. Trust me on this. (Heed the tags though because Ilya does still die a gruesome death everyday)
The Hottest Cold War - Vee(Vera_DragonMuse) [@dragonmuse]
scott/ilya (and also canon pairings), 75k, E, WIP
Scott accidentally hooks up with rookie Ilya Rozanov. And then he hooks up with him not-so-accidentally. And maybe it's good if they both have someone in their corners.
this goes on the hear me out cake. It's Scott POV but STAY WITH ME because the regular game changer and heated rivalry plots are happening too, Scott and Ilya are just hooking up on the side and it’s good. I swear it’s so good. Everything this author writes has such excellent characterization (go read all their HR fics, they're all so good) and it's very worth the read.
We Both Go Down Together - NotALonelyTraveler
shane/ilya, 34k, E, WIP
hanahaki disease AU
this is the fic that converted me to being a hanahaki fan. If any couple is gonna truly make sense for hanahaki it would be Shane and Ilya. However, it was the really lovely flower imagery that sealed the deal more than anything.
death and taxes (and shane hollander) - fingersfallingupwards [@fingersfallingupwards]
shane/ilya, 67k, E, WIP
Second chance romance with widower, single father, and hockey coach Ilya x deputy MLH commissioner Shane. Late-40s Hollanov where they reconnect and simultaneously communicate far better than and just as badly as the first time around.
Shane and Ilya feel like real adults here and it's glorious. Also does not fall into the second-chance romance trap where one person is So Very in the wrong and they should not be getting back together. This fic understands that adulthood is full of impossible choices, but also second chances.
anybody like you - plonk
shane/ilya, 29k, NR, WIP
figure skater Ilya Rozanov and new main character "my buddy Joe" are at the Sochi Olympics. And maybe Joe and Shane were a little gay once upon a time, and now Joe is sussing out whether Shane is actually gay or not. And maybe Shane is into Ilya, who's to say?
Love exploring Shane and his relationship with sexuality when Ilya's not around to be his gay awakening. In this one Shane thinks he just needs a girl who's into pegging him lol. The vibes are very "wow, I finally fit in with a group of people, life is great!" and the group of people are all queer and Shane just Does Not clock it. Very fun.
smoke on skin - ivylines
shane/ilya, 23k, T, WIP
Rose Landry accidentally runs into Ilya after a game while trying to surprise her boyfriend Shane and things start to click, maybe. Also a Rose character study (hence the proximity to the character study section)
Really deep dives into the Jennifer Lawrence/young female actress of it all. Like, yes Rose gets along with Shane because she's so famous, but in a lot of ways she's had the same specific struggles as Shane (intense public scrutiny, insane pressure to perform, 'role model' status to uphold, etc. and all from SUCH a young age because she was a child actress). Like, the trauma of being a child actress vs. the trauma of being a pro sports player - you never had a normal childhood and then becoming an adult flips the world on its head. Ugh, it's just delightful.
Character Studies
Shane and/or Ilya
the weather of your youth - Anon (same as above)
shane/ilya, 14k, E, complete, cw: suicidal ideation
Ilya Ottawa depression redux, except this time I actually believe it (sorry, RR, your depressed Ilya was rather unconvincing)
do take care with this one, but so well done wrt Ilya's depression. This version of events just makes so much more sense to me than canon. This author does excellent work in the sad fic department (the cockroach of your heart is too popular for this list, but I loved it, even if it's technically MCD, kind of)
Not a Strip of Paper Merely - Marvian
shane/ilya, 18k, E, WIP
Milan Olympics, 2026. Shane competes for Canada and Ilya doesn't compete at all. Competing is complicated when Russia is Russia and Canada isn't home, not like that.
international geopolitics! pandemics! the real world! Fascinating dive into Ilya's relationship with Russia and citizenship/international competition. Also there's some sex about it, but it's mostly really good angst and emotion.
Shine a Light in the Morning - thegoodthebadandthenerdy
gen, 14k, T, complete
Ilya's niece turns 18, decides to move to Canada, and reaches out to her uncle
complicated family dynamics and Feelings, what's not to love? You can feel the tension here, the years and years of distance + messed up family are so well conveyed. Not lovey-dovey, and it Shouldn't Be. Love this version of Ilya's niece.
Til They Retire Your Number - technicallyverycowboy [@technicallyverycowboy]
shane/ilya, 17k, E, complete
Ilya decides to retire. Shane is very normal about it.
sad and bittersweet and grappling with losing your Purpose. Because this is so obviously a problem for Shane. That man literally cannot think of anything in life past hockey, and yet retirement is an inevitability. Delicious to explore.
[the obvious companion to this fic (w/in the bounds of 'underappreciated') is here we are and what the hell are we going to do with it - walkingthroughwindows]
Other Characters (mostly parents)
we said we'd only die of lonely secrets - be_themoon
shane/ilya, 3.7k, T, complete
Svetlana character study/outsider POV of Ilya through the years.
lovely, lovely, lovely. Captures my ideal version of the Svetlana and Ilya relationship. Also has a criminally low hit count.
P.S. if you read and enjoyed my Svetlana fic this is the 'omg two cakes!' moment you've been waiting for.
i showed you the way, even though i'd never been - floodlights
gen, 4.8k, T, complete
You didn’t have to be a genius. Or gay. It helped, probably, that Scott was, but they were just so fucking obvious about it.
Scott outsider POV/character study. So good that I read this from a rec list and went to bookmark it, only to realize I already had a bookmark!
[Other Scott POVs:
Scotty Didn't Know (but he sure does now) - halfbaked_ziti
I've Been Down Here Before (I Know The Way Out) - HollowIsTheWorld]
And a Sense of Guilt I Can't Deny - jewelledfoxes [@jewelledfoxes]
david/yuna, 9k, M, complete
Yuna character study. Also hits on one of my fave themes: reckoning with who you meant to raise your child to be vs. who they actually became
I'm a Yuna lover and defender to my core. She was not the perfect mom (no one is, this is an insane bar to hit) but she tried! and is trying! This fic in particular does such a good job exploring the complexity of where she's at.
[Other Yuna fics in a similar vein:
Wunderkind - a_good_soldier [@agoodsoldier]
the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose - alchemystique,
ribs - hoko_onchi]
tu peux sauter loin de la peur - Revenant
shane/ilya, 6k, T, complete
David goes to Shane's cottage to get his phone charger. Or maybe, it's really not about the phone charger.
David character study! I just find all the parent character studies to be delicious, and there really isn't a lot of David, which is too bad because I think there are some really interesting bits to dig into.
Of the Rose - cy_pres
gen, 4.5k, NR, complete
Irina tries to keep the pieces of her family together, even as she feels herself slowly fall apart.
Need I say more? (pre-suicide, not graphic)
Misc
summer has come and passed - littlearrows
gen, 12k, T, complete
Yuna dies and Shane grieves
idk what to say about this one. It's really really good, but also, you know, Yuna dies.
predator instinct - elumish
scott/kip, 1.8k, T, complete
Shane's allyship includes the power of confidence and a pre-drafted takedown. Kip has no clue what just happened.
Would this be canon Shane pre-coming out? I don't think so, but it exists in a world where Shane is like, 20% less scared of being outed, so it's basically canon to me.
About Summer - Chaentics [@rozzed]
shane/ilya, 7.4k, M, complete
Ilya comes back. This is the crux of it.
From the AN: "i have chosen not to use archive warnings. it does not mean none apply." Very sad (are we surprised?) but also so so beautiful. Very Julia Armfield vibes - please take this as the warning/glowing endorsement it is lol.
Ok, maybe episode 3 was worth it for that moment where Scott is inviting Kip to come out on the ice. It's still not a good episode ☹️ but it was a nice moment, possibly made more moving by knowing their backstory.
Omg. This scene in the club and the intercuts between unsatisfying straight sex and angst filled masturbation. This show is taking all the good moments in the books and making them 10 times better.
titsay
snowghoul
germansingergirl
origamiaround
gummygunk
theartofmadeline
janainaart
