Reversal
Russians do not blush. Russians do not get sick. Ilya gets concussions. He gets stitches. He skates on cracked ribs and calls it fine. He does not get sick. Which is why, when he wakes up at three in the morning in the middle of June, shaking so hard his teeth knock together, his first instinct is irritation.
Shane is going to top. In fact he needs to top. Here is my argument as to why before you click out of this fic. First: yes, the bubble butt attached to that Russian man is significant. We will not pretend otherwise. That mf was built like a Renaissance sculpture and I refuse to ignore canon. Howeverā¦this fic isnāt just about anatomy. Itās about power, identity, and what masculinity has done to Ilya his entire life. Secondly: This brings us to the real point. In conservative Russian spaces, being gay isnāt framed primarily as a sin the way it often is in Western evangelical rhetoric. Itās framed as weakness. As failure. As feminization. As not being a āreal man.ā This is the homophobia Ilya has grown up with. And in a system where masculinity equals status, dominance, physical strength, emotional stoicismā¦the worst thing you can be is positioned as subordinate. Thereās also a cultural logic around sexual roles. In some traditional attitudes, the insertive partner can still cling to masculinity. The receptive partner is seen as degraded, feminized, ātreated like a woman.ā Itās not just about orientation. Itās about hierarchyā¦So if Ilya has internalized even fragments of that framework, consciously or not, then of course he gravitates toward control. And now we look at his life. He is constantly taking care of everyone. His father. His brother. His team. Shane. Even strangers, sometimes. So like what happens when the person who has built his entire identity around being the strong oneā¦ has to let himself be held? What happens when he has to receive? Thatās the storyā¦.Reversing the dynamic isnāt about undoing bottom!Shane. Itās about expanding both of them. Shane often feels safer when he doesnāt have to define or perform his sexuality loudly. Thereās comfort in not making the decisions. Thereās comfort in not being the assertive one. But postāBook 2? Divas it character growth time. Theyāre older. Theyāve fought through a LOT of their shit. It might be time for Shane to step forwardā¦not just physically, but in confidence. In claiming space. In saying, āI want you. Let me.ā And Ms. RACHEL REIDāyou teased us with the possibility of this for like Several ENTIRE PAGES in Book Two. The tension? Exquisite. The setup? Immaculate. AWARD WINNING. The promise that maybe, maybe, we were about to see Ilya finally let go? AND GIRL JUST Fingers. Just fingers. A cinematic zoom-in on vulnerability and thenāAHHHHh i NEED more diva. And even then, even in that almost-moment, Ilya still would not let himself be fully taken care of. He was there, but he wasnāt surrendered. He was allowing, but not yielding. And I cannot stand for this narrative edging of his emotional growth. If the man cannot unclench long enough to be held without trying to manage the situation, then what are we even doing. I need the follow-through. I need the releaseānot just physically, but psychologically. Let him rest. Let him be wanted. Let him be undone. ā¦.And yes. If weāre being completely honest. did you seen Connor next to Hudson at the Golden Globes? Come on
https://archiveofourown.org/works/80142561
