newspaper 🌺

needing to throw down some fandom thoughts here pls & thnks

[newspaperflower]

I can’t take it seriously when people say that Ilya’s Russian identity was well written (or that Ilya’s character in general was thoughtfully created or centered, but I digress). Well-written seems to be another way to say ‘it was acknowledged he was Russian’. I hate to say this, but the real reason Ilya’s Russianness is continually brought up is because it’s fetishized.

The material has no actual interest in exploring what it means for Ilya to be Russian in America. It just doesn’t. What it is interested in is 1) siphoning off pieces of Russian culture for the aesthetic (such as using Russian music in scenes where Ilya is miserable… always miserable) 2) implying that Ilya’s ‘foreignness’ makes him more desirable—this is why a big portion of hollanov’s foreplay is just the show riffing on Ilya’s English 3) creating trauma-porn off his Russianness. ‘This poor Russian soul has been brought to the great lands of the West and can finally experience love free from the shackles of his homeland’. This is why Ilya is so conflicted about being queer and Russian one moment and then his evil Russian dad dies—now he’s ‘free’ to be Canadian. Please don’t lie to me and say there is interiority there.

I’m sorry but the creators have Ilya and Svetlana refer to each other by full name. They do not care. All of their knowledge of Russia is just what they absorbed like sponges from their countries’ pop-culture. They love that they can make ‘Russians don’t blush’ jokes, imply Ilya is a tortured uncommunicative top because he’s Russian and not for any complex character reasons because it’s hot, and have Shane say things like ‘Do you even like it there?’ with the full knowledge that their audience will interpret that as sympathetic instead of blatantly rude, because it’s taken for granted that Ilya hates every single thing about Russia. Shane can learn Russian though because it’s aesthetic and far enough removed from its place of origin to be ‘safe’.

[newspaperflower]

The thing about sub!Shane in D/s hollanov and good boy Shane Hollander is that you gotta get specific and a little twisty with it in order to make it interesting (imo ofc). Because Shane Hollander is always trying to be a good boy in everything already. Him falling into it in a relationship doesn’t challenge him or say anything new about him or do anything that would create threads of tension that good romance thrives on. 

So the way to make it sing is by having Ilya’s definition of what good boy Shane Hollander looks like differ from that of everyone else in Shane’s life. It can start out as ‘oh, you like to suck my cock’ because that is subversive in a heteronormative society, but as they get closer it should become more specific because any other man who likes sex with men could theoretically give Shane the same thing. 

Ilya can be a little meanly teasing about it too, because Shane doesn’t need a delicate touch all the time; he chose to be a professional hockey player and deal with the struggles that come with it. He also chose Ilya. He likes to be pushed and Ilya likes a good chirp. Shane rolls up to their hookup location gagging for it and Ilya takes one look at his parent-approved linen dress shirt and says he can’t have sex with a guy wearing something someone else picked out for him. They go shopping and Ilya demands Shane pick out one outfit by himself that he likes. That sort of thing. 

Shane should also be becoming more assertive in other areas of his life as this is happening. He’s written as extremely passive and it’s genuinely not very interesting for a romance protagonist to stay like that (…imo lol). The story typically shields him from taking any action that could lead to adverse consequences which in turn shields him from growth—big indicators of this are Rose breaking up with Shane for him and Ilya taking him back almost immediately, or Shane saying he’s a bad boyfriend in TLG and his mother immediately comforting him out of it with “Ilya’s head over heels, he’d live in a city dump for you”. It’s not that it would be enjoyable to witness Shane dealing with the ramifications of hurting those he loves but it would be good to see him as someone whose choices are impactful and relevant to the story.

Because Ilya makes a space for them to be subversive together here, Shane, coming into himself, would take that with him into other areas of his life. For example: he would tell his parents about Ilya, instead of the story making his desire for them to meet happen outside of his control and absolve him of the difficult decision and its potential pitfalls… the possibility it might ‘break’ his good boy image.

Speaking of subversive: no one in Shane’s life likes Ilya, which adds another layer. Shane is not only a slut; he’s a slut for Ilya. He purposefully lays himself down and out for a guy everyone thinks lacks responsibility and kindness and would throw Shane over for the next girl (biphobia, my detested). And that’s so juicy because Shane picks well! We know Ilya would give his arm and leg for those he truly commits himself to and that he is very observant, more so than really any of the other hockey guys. 

In the series, this always gets kind of brushed over. Shane’s parents ask “Are you sure there weren’t any nice Montreal guys?” Hayden Pike in his novel extra looks his nose down at Ilya and basically tells him he can’t be serious about Shane because of his sexual history. No one ever challenges this, truly, and I think it would be interesting to. Shane Hollander wants to be a good boy for a boy who isn’t seen as ‘good’.

Maybe Shane says something. Maybe he doesn’t, but his entire body gets tense and he feels a little like his skin is burning listening to his loved ones and his teammates and the media disparage the guy who’s started kissing him gently and telling him he’s amazing after he does what he’s been told—never taking Shane for granted, now. Shane can’t take Ilya for granted now either. 

Shane plucks up the courage (the courage he’s steadily been building under Ilya’s care and attention) to ask Ilya to let him worship him and tell him how to do so, and it’s definitely the most difficult scene Ilya’s done because he’s only okay at best outside of sex and hockey and it makes him flush hot all over to have Shane appreciate all the effort he goes to for him when his efforts in everything else are never acknowledged. There’s a level of service here as well because Shane can stay still and open for Ilya and he does it well but he also thinks Ilya is beautiful and wants to be given permission to express that. 

Ilya so easily commanding Shane to get on all fours but having to work up to telling him to cuddle him at night. The first time he does so Shane does it without hesitating and they never come back from it ♥️. 

[newspaperflower]

hayden pike’s biggest opponent isn’t ilya, because ilya will drag him for filth for fun but will actually let hayden say shitty things to him and not hold a grudge. no, it’s childhood best friend svetlana. if svetlana heard hayden pike say: ‘who are you kidding, you’re obviously not gay.’ or ‘you’ve slept with like a thousand women’ regarding ilya’s ability to be a viable partner for shane like he did in that extra she would simply refuse to be in the same room as the guy ever again. which would make dinner parties impossible.

[newspaperflower]

In my heart of hearts, Shane should have dated a nice Montreal boy. I say this not as a slight, but as an observation: the series never convinced me he wouldn’t have preferred that over Ilya. Let’s explore what about Ilya attracts Shane Hollander past the sexual chemistry and the love confessions and the familiarity, how their relationship can viably go from a hookup to long-term partners.

A nice Montreal boy would have the blessings of his family and friends. A nice Montreal boy would live in a convenient location for Shane to visit when he’s not traveling with his teammates. A nice Montreal boy would be less publicized, would be easier to slip under the radar. A nice Montreal boy wouldn’t be in a profession that monopolizes time and energy and could more easily balance out Shane’s hockey career with his own. A nice Montreal boy would, in this case, have similar hobbies and similar sexual experiences and that sameness would be comforting and not inspire irritation or insecurity.

With all of this, why would Shane pick Ilya? I really do want to know. Rose Laundry didn’t work because the sexualities weren’t compatible and even then it was Rose breaking off the relationship, not Shane. Would Shane stay with this nice Montreal boy? I think yes. I think… there would need to be a grand realization to get him to break it off—and it should be him who breaks it off—but I don’t know what that exact realization would be.

[newspaperflower]

fic where ilya gets into doing morning yoga with shane to help with his depression and shane deep dives on the fancy sports cars ilya takes him out in for date nights etc. because i want to see them taking interest in each other’s mundane hobbies. i want to see them enjoy each other’s company in a quiet way.

[newspaperflower]

tbh someone should explore how side characters’ perceptions/media/etc of hollanov really mess with shane and ilya. i believe the ‘shane, you could have ended up with a nice montreal boy’ bs is supposed to be cutesy and funny but like. think about it for 0.2 seconds.

shane is always trying to appear good in public. he has a lot of pressures on him to be the perfect athlete, the perfect role model, and then it comes out that he’s gay. and that fucks with that image, but he could at least date a nice guy. but he is dating rozanov—playboy, bad boy, dirty player, shit stirrer rozanov. he is failing to be as good as he is capable of being because he chose ilya as a partner.

and ilya who really doesn’t believe he deserves steady commitment is just getting ‘why did shane pick you, you untrustworthy bisexual manwhore?’ on blast at all hours.

[newspaperflower]

someone should write an au fic where shane makes the decision to introduce his parents to ilya when the hollanders have no idea about them and could have gone on not knowing, because david doesn’t see ilya at the cottage. the concept of this moment not happening to shane and ilya, but shane and ilya making this moment happen. shane having these three precious people in his life and wishing they could interact, knowing it could never happen, and then he and ilya commit themselves to each other at the cottage and suddenly shane is thinking: well, why couldn’t it happen? i could make it happen.

and shane floats the idea to ilya and it’s maybe a bit touch and go. because canon is damage control—of course ilya will go with shane, he created the damage. ilya is good at cleaning things up. but in this au ilya gets to be a classic romantic prospect shane is taking home, and he’s thinking why would you want me to meet your parents when you don’t have to?

obviously they would work this out but it’s So Very Interesting.

[newspaperflower]

do you ever think about the fact that ilya is treated like a bisexual woman?

[newspaperflower]

soulmate au where shane has rose landry written into his skin and ilya has nobody

shane ignoring everything in him telling him rose isn't for him romantically, because this is what he's supposed to want. he's spent his entire life knowing this. his parents are deeply in love and soulmates. his best friend is happily married to his soulmate. he always understood that he would get serious with his soulmate and marry her and have some kids because that's what you do. he never should have had that thing with ilya, knowing his person was out there. but, since he did, he can justify it to himself: ilya was experience for the real thing.

and hyper-sexual, no-strings attached ilya. everyone who touches him knows he's for a good time, not a long time. he doesn’t have a soulmark, after all. he doesn’t have a person out there waiting for him to find them. and he's fine with that. he is. the sex is hot, and he doesn't want to get deeper than that. he wasn't made to be loved; he's known that his entire life, and it doesn't hurt anymore. until it does. until shane.

[newspaperflower]

the thing about ‘Shane Hollander is a giant sub’ versus ‘I don’t really see his subby tendencies’ is that both are right. because there’s some D/s sprinkled in for fun but it’s not built upon serious character work. it’s pretty surface level stuff. which. fair enough. but then other times reading the books Shane’s inner monologue will be him talking about wanting to take Ilya to pieces or something and i have to laugh, because if Ilya was thinking that there would be a thousand posts on him being a Dom.

[newspaperflower]

Sometimes I think about most of the people in Shane’s life asking him why he didn’t go for a simple and nice Montreal guy, why does he have to pick Rozanov of all people, and it makes me see red because they’re trying to be supportive and close ranks on Shane but it’s telling me they don’t get his true desires at all and they don’t want to try because it’s more fun to rag on Ilya, who is, like, the love of Shane’s life.

Shane COULD have had a nice Montreal guy. He purposefully picks Ilya instead. Wouldn’t you, as someone close to him, want to know why? Want to understand your friend better? It’s like they see Shane as the perfect, no flaws guy Shane tries to present himself as (which makes him miserable) and Ilya not as a person but the media grafted ‘bad boy’ image in the flesh come to ruin him.

Shane’s a competitive shit who falls for another competitive shit and he thinks Ilya’s rude humor is funny and his pushy confidence hot. Like. Think.

[newspaperflower]

There's something that drives me a little crazy when comparing/contrasting Shane coming out to Rose and Shane coming out to Ilya, and I almost don't want to say because it's a touchy matter but it's just so interesting that I need to lay it out.

The thing about Rose is that, well, she's designed to be perfect for Shane. She doesn't really have a character outside of him. He's the main character, she's the plot point, and he doesn't have time to deal with her needs when he has his own so the writing doesn't give her any.

They're a couple and you don't really know why they're a couple other than one's a boy and one's a girl and Shane needs that at that moment. They have a politeness to them that means they can be in each other's presence for extended periods of time and they say they like each other, but the story isn't really interested in that. It's interested in getting Shane where he needs to go.

So Shane comes out to her and she's perfect about it. Only asks the most perfect questions and responds in the perfect way and she moves easily from the role of girlfriend into the role of mother because that is what Shane needs at that moment and she doesn't have any needs of her own.

It's less like Shane is having a conversation with another person and more like he is having a conversation with himself. It's a needed conversation. It's important. I'm not saying it's not. It had to be had in some shape or form. But that doesn't change that she is perfect and empty. Shane didn't need anyone other than a witness in that moment, and that is what Rose is.

And then. Shane comes out to Ilya, and Ilya blows him off. He laughs at him. Because Ilya is a person outside of Shane in a way Rose never was, so he actually gets to be annoyed that Shane dragged him around. He actually gets to think less than perfect thoughts in Shane's direction about Shane being frustrating for doing this and hurting him and taking this long to say that he's gay. Ilya has always known that he likes women and men and he is bringing his own experiences into the conversation because that is what happens when two people talk to each other and are fully formed.

And it pisses Shane right off. He is trying to be open for once and getting someone who is as flawed and difficult as he is. He has to fight for it. It doesn't come to him gently. Shane has to tell Ilya he's being an asshole and ask him to sit down and pay attention. And when Ilya lets himself listen to Shane and goes to him on the bed it is so powerful because Shane is so powerful--Ilya is a whole being onto himself, self-protective and prickly and uncommunicative and scared, and Shane moved him just with his words

[newspaperflower]

the thing about ilya’s rage baiting is that he’s supposed to be a bit of an asshole, and he kind of is, but it’s not like he’s going below the belt and he’s always funny about it. you’re telling me none of the other hockey guys can match his energy? in a profession that has its own specific word—chirping—for taunting other players?

it kind of makes them seem a little too easily bruised. a bit lacking in whimsy. even dare i say sore losers. like, step it up a little.

[newspaperflower]

ilya canonically having sex with his brother’s girlfriend haunts me. knowing THAT family dynamic… it’s giving that iceberg picture in freud psychology where you only see the tip and there’s like a giant block of unexamined bs lying below the water’s surface. that family is so messed up and it’s a good thing we’re hanging out with shane for the majority of hr because there’s no way the books could have tackled All That head on.

[newspaperflower]

It will always rankle me that, narratively, Porsche was Kinn’s weakness, not his strength. That Korn was right—Kinn’s soft, romantic nature would be but a tool used by his enemies to box him in.

In this case, by Korn himself.

[gaelley]

I'm not a big romance fan, so I actually kinda like it and find it interesting. But it is pretty twisted to do that in a romance show, and I wonder how aware the writers were of that.

[newspaperflower]

I’ve had this saved in my drafts ‘cause I think about it all the time in regards to this show.

I actually think this ending would be perfect for a tragedy—Kinn taken down by his core weakness (cynical to have the weakness be guileless love, but a clear and concise narrative if that’s the story that the writers wanted to tell). They could have also played around with the mafia-narrative; for instance: Porsche being corrupted away from his loved ones, making cut-throat choices to get what he wants—perhaps a character reversal that leaves Porsche in Kinn’s beginning story position and Kinn in Porsche’s by the narrative’s conclusion.

I wouldn’t have minded these choices if kp wasn’t marketed as a romance first and foremost, if the first 8 eps weren’t structured to the romance genre format. And it gets more confusing when kp doesn’t want to commit to its choices as they’re being put to screen.

I feel that we’re left with what is an unintelligible ending, as the writers didn’t want to give up the romance ending of their two leads kissing against a night-sky backdrop, yet neither were they willing to forego the way the story’s structure stopped placing romance as the main genre after episode 8 and instead turned its focus to the mystery aspect of Porsche’s parents’ deaths… which made the romantic night-sky embrace feel out of step with the story’s goings-on.

For me, ep 1-8 and ep 9-14 play out as different stories entirely.

[newspaperflower]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: รักโคตรร้ายสุดท้ายโคตรรัก | KinnPorsche: The Series (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tae Taechin Lerttravinont & Kinn Anakinn Theerapanyakun, Porsche Pachara Kittisawat/Kinn Anakinn Theerapanyakun, Tae Taechin Lerttravinont/Time Thaweewat Ratanapakorn Characters: Tae Taechin Lerttravinont, Kinn Anakinn Theerapanyakun, Porsche Pachara Kittisawat Additional Tags: Unhealthy Relationships, Friendship, Love, Alcohol, Secrets, Infidelity, Character Study, the opposite of rose-colored glasses, Past Kinn Anakinn Theerapanyakun/Tawan Summary:

Before Time, before Porsche, there was Kinn & Tae.

Tae continued not to say anything, despite the many things he wanted to say, because Kinn didn’t want him to. They were nothing if not proficient in making life bearable for each other.

[inneffablehusbands]

KINNPORSCHE: THE SERIES (2022) - Porsche tucking Kinn into bed