a fandom sideblog

inthepittss --> persimmony-snicket a fandom sideblog; i may eventually migrate to a main blog my ao3: persimmonysnicket | mid 20s

[firstprinced]

shane voice ooga booga that's my man

[hearteyesshane]

shanebug

[stabthroughme]

In a slightly kinder universe Ilya doesn't lose everything when his mother dies.

In a slightly kinder universe, Alexei doesn't get twisted by their situations into a sharpened thorn to bleed Ilya.

In a slightly kinder universe Ilya and Alexei are all they have, quietly managing their father together until they can be free of him.

In a slightly kinder universe Alexei still does the hard things, but this time the hard things is slowly poisoning their father. Grigori dies in 2008, before the draft.

In a slightly kinder universe Alexei never met his daughter's mother, never married her, never had a daughter at all.

In a slightly kinder universe Alexei attends the draft at Ilya's side, stumbling through English but doing what he's always done: protect his baby brother. Like their Mama asked him to when Ilya was born.

In a slightly kinder universe Alexei marries an American woman and lives in Boston. Ilya has no reason to go home except to fulfill his visa requirements.

In a slightly kinder universe Alexei knows about Ilya, knows his brother, sees how his brother looks at Shane, and worries that the Canadian golden boy is gonna break his brother's heart.

In a slightly kinder universe, in 2016, he's proven correct, when Ilya starts to shut down emotionally seemingly out of nowhere. He's still their for his multiple nieces and nephews, but there's something empty behind his eyes and it reminds Alexei of their Mama. And it scares him.

In a slightly kinder universe Alexei begs Ilya to talk to someone, because he cannot be an orphan alone. He cannot explain to his children why their дядя Ilya isn't going to come play Princess Tea Party anymore.

In a slightly kinder universe Alexei meets the Hollanders at an All Star game in 2018 and they're so overwhelmingly loving that Alexei has to take his leave to a bathroom to cry about it.

In a slightly kinder universe Alexei uses his mother's maiden name, gives it to his children, and erases his father from existence.

In a slightly kinder universe when Ilya moves to Ottawa his brother moves next door. Family dinners at the Hollanders include Alexei, his wife, and his five children who are fast friends with the Pikes once they're in the know.

In a slightly kinder universe Alexei stands next to his brother as Ilya marries the love of his life and can't imagine how anyone could see how Shane and Ilya love each other and think it wrong.

[randomfandomthought156]

Through a wild, unavoidable and Bizarre set of circumstances, Ilya Rozanov is outed as a Bisexual man. Before he has an entire line of hopeful suitors throwing themselves at the Canadian tire center, he announces that he is spoken for. Actually, very very spoken for (as seen by him showing up to practice Mauled.)

The Internet then looks for who could possibly have the Great Ilya Rozanov locked down? Which is great news for Ilya Rozanov, who comes to work looking Mauled™ everytime someone makes a wrong guess. It is not great news for Anybody Else.

Svetlana Vetrova! Someone cries before she posts herself kissing Rose Landry with a middle finger towards the camera.

Cliff Marlow! Comes the next call as the man denies vehemently. Ultimately leading to a Twitter post citing 'please stop saying Roz and I are a thing his actual boyfriend will kill me'

Victor StSimon! Some try again only to be met with a similar answer.

Troy Barret! Some try enthusiastically, only to get lambasted publicly by The Ottawa Centaurs official acount.

Carter Vaughn! Was the next try only to get the reply of, 'do y'all want me to get turned into paste on the ice? Hell no'

Scott hunter? Some say without much conviction. They get flamed by both Scott and Kip Hunter-Grady for their effort

Hayden pike? Comes an even weaker call. They get blasted by Rozanov himself. 'you cannot be my fan anymore if you think my beautiful солнышко is fucking Pike.' This person was until recently a Shayden shipper, but no one makes any connections there.

Meanwhile Shane Hollander, whenever he's spotted in the background of other's social media during this debacle is seen to be Seething™

[mybloodstream-caffeine]

Shout out @hardlyhinged's post for getting me hooked on this hollanov dynamic:

Ilya's fucking Shane so slow, so sweet, absolutely showering him with praise and kisses, just nonstop approval till Shane is absolutely melted into the mattress, sooo boneless and relaxed, his orgasm rolling over him like a wave rushing onto the shore,,

But then Ilya just. Doesn't. Stop.

Shane, so overstimulated he's sobbing, great hiccuping sobs that make his sweaty chest heave, snot and drool dripping down his chin, thrashing in the sheets while he begs Ilya to Pleasepleaseplease stop Ilya please he can't take it anymore he can't he can't and Ilya ignores Shane's pleading and just keeps grinding into Shane's fucked loose hole at the same steady, relentless pace while he baby talks Shane in the same cooing tone he's used from the start of this torture: Now what's all this fuss about, hm? Why all these tears, dorogoy? Can you tell me what's wrong, baby? Use your words. Oh I know! You need more, my greedy slut. Don't worry, malysh, you know I'll always give you what you want. No no sweetheart, you deserve it! You deserve to be rewarded for being so good, so perfect for me, you deserve to come again and again on this cock you love so much. Now stay still and take it for me, moya lyubov. Ah ah that's it there we go just like that~

[deletiaclementine]

Contrary to popular belief Ilya and Shane are an absolute pair of gossip hens. Nothing is more fun to them than wrapping up the FaceTime filth and then one of them saying “okay so can I be a bitch for a minute”

[hrsocials]

suggestion: this tweet except it's shane instead of his forefather sidcros,,, possibly ilya is the one name dropping him lol but also i'm sure anyone with eyes could say it

.one hundred and one. i picked something boobier than the original sorry ;) back to the internet crashout over shane having a man on our next episode

[creamsiclemelt]

something we don't talk enough about is the blowjob against the windows slash glass walls in the cottage episode because. man. walk with me here, hold my hand and picture it:

it's been forever since ilya's been with shane and longer since he's been with anyone, and we know Ilya's really pent up. it's not gonna be a long blowjob but that also it's not gonna be a gentle once because ilya's worked up.

he's excited. they're out in the open, with big bright windows and a whole week ahead of spending time with shane. and ilya just raised the blinds and grabbed shane's jaw and moved him where he wanted shane, kissed him like he has every right to put shane where he wants.

and now shane's on his knees, his back against the windows and ilya standing above him, one big arm braced against the window and his other hand down in shane's hair, pushing.

and shane's desperate and needy and so, so, so empty. ilya's already hard by the time shane's got him in hand and leaking by the time he's got his mouth wrapped around it, big enough to stretch his jaw.

and shane's licking, drooling, trying to get it in even halfway because fuck, ilya's big and shane had four fingers in his mouth, gagging and drooling just last night but nothing compared to ilya's cock.

and as shane struggles, above him, ilya drops his other hand too, grabs shanes head in two massive hands and guides him.

he holds shane's head still long enough to slide in deep, hear the sounds of shane's throat struggling to deal with the sudden intrusion. wet and disgusting and tied only with the sound of the final buzzer when ilya won his cup for his favourite sound.

and shane, overwhelmed and overstimulated and so full, thinks he can't breathe, thinks he needs a second, thinks he knows what he needs. so he tries to pull back and get a moment break from ilya's cock.

but as he retreats back, ilya's hips move forward and—well, there's the windows. the walls. the cool glass pressed against the back of shane's head. shane has nowhere to go, no ability to back off.

and ilya just grabs shane's head and moves it where he wants, eyes half lidded and says, "don't worry. this will be quick."

[catbythefirelight]

@creamsiclemelt I needed to put all this gold somewhere I can come back to reread endlessly 🙂‍↕️

[medrawawi]

🤲

[hollanderthoughts]

No one can see how badly I want it :)

[hollanderthoughts]

No one can see how badly I want it

[mybloodstream-caffeine]

Shane's face while Ilya is schmoozing at an awards show all dressed up in his tux, hair slicked back, wedding ring glinting in the lowlight of the room: 🙂

Shane's head on a loop: 🎶my man my man my man my baby my baby dicking me down spoiling me driving me crazy my man my man my man my baby my baby dicking me down spoiling me driving me crazy🎶

[mybloodstream-caffeine]

David and Yuna Hollander are one of the only married couples Ilya's ever known who are truly, unquestionably in love with each other. Ilya finds them fascinating.

Sometimes he catches himself watching them like they're a particularly intriguing nature documentary that someone left playing on the TV: the easy way they move around each other, unthinking. How they operate as a unit, always. Their uncanny ability to sense what the other is thinking, their shared unspoken language that they communicate to each other with just a look.

More than that, he watches the way they touch each other - yuna's hand briefly running over David's shoulders as she walks past where he's sitting in his armchair; David absently tucking a strand of hair that's escaped from Yuna's coiffed bun behind her ear at an award's ceremony; Yuna's pinkie curled around the belt loop of David's jeans as they walk back to the car after making a pit stop on the way to the cottage to buy groceries; David's big calloused palm covering Yuna's where it rests on the white table cloth of the fancy restaurant Shane took them all out to; Yuna fastidiously tucking the label of David's jersey that was sticking out at the nape of his neck; hands on waists, the small of backs, on knees and thighs. Searching hands, always seeking contact. Not possessive or even particularly conscious, just,,, content. Touches whose only purpose is to touch.

It puts a strange lump in his throat, seeing the way they are with each other sometimes, but the feeling is mostly tempered by joy now - once upon a time, Ilya never could have imagined loving someone like that, so obviously, so instinctively. But now he can. What bliss.

[goodmouthobviously]

I think Heated Rivalry does an interesting thing with giving viewers just enough to be able to enjoy the chemistry between Ilya & Shane with or without engaging in the D/s dynamic of it. Thats my generous interpretation of what’s going on.

My less generous interpretation is that heated rivalry is so compelling *because* the love story is made more electric with bdsm, but it’s intentionally made more commercially successful through plausible deniability to not alienate/scandalize a wider audience. Dog whistling if you will, while cloaking some of the more misunderstood aspects of kink in scenes like the Vegas bathroom / penthouse with a level of emotional turmoil that gives viewers a way to opt out of (and in some cases, blame) the bdsm of it all.

So there’s one reading of those scenes where Ilya & Shane are roleplaying to artificially mask their true desire to be more emotionally vulnerable with each other. Like playing dress up to make things less intimate / real. It’s hot but it’s keeping their hearts safe. Reid’s Vegas bonus/blog chapter makes reading this scene a bit blurry, and I find it fascinating that she decided to include it/release it after the book was published — did she feel pressure to clarify that Ilya was actually acting out of fear in those scenes? Did that justify his particular flavor of sadism in that moment? I think that’s where the plausible deniability comes in.

Because for people who appreciate the sadism in those scenes, the way Ilya is acting feels more intimate than not. He’s trying to understand Shane and himself and the ways in which they are sparking this hunger thats gnawing gnashing growling inside them; when Ilya makes Shane pout and cry and Ilya hears the quiver in his voice when Shane’s shouting back at him, it’s Ilya’s way of finding the crack in the shields they’ve both been using to keep themselves safe. His sadism is getting them closer, and Shane’s submission to it is accepting that, rewarding that sharpness from Ilya with a softness he shares back. It’s not a crutch to avoid emotional intimacy, it IS their intimacy.

But it’s also tangled up in the emotionally devastating reality of their circumstances, they can barely get to know each other because they’re separated by the homophobia & racism & the injustices of their career, countries, families, and their respective traumas navigating all of that. So they’re bonding through sex without enough of Everything Else — communication, hanging out, casual mutual enjoyment — to fully support each other as much as they each need, and they hurt each other in the process. This is true whether or not sadism is the main driver of the scene, as evidenced by Ilya’s botched tunamelt-his-heart scheme, so it’s a bit of a double standard to say that ilyas sadism is less intimate / mature / loving than his “softer” side. But by giving the Vegas scenes an unhappy ending (Ilya not knowing how to ask for less emotionally charged pillow talk from Shane, Shane not knowing how to ask Ilya for a sweet kiss goodbye), there is an escape hatch for anyone viewing who doesn’t enjoy / want to enjoy their D/s dynamics.

The plausible deniability extends to how ilyas sadism is portrayed throughout his narrative arc as well. His demeanor during Shane’s first time anal is portrayed as gentle and encouraging and then he ghosts Shane for six months and the next time they fuck he’s big bad wolf-ing it, and Shane thumps his head on the elevator door and deletes his we didn’t even kiss text. It’s Good Ilya vs Bad Ilya and the bad Ilya is also kinkier. And then towards the end of the story, the domming and sadism become less stereotypical, which is refreshing for viewers who are enjoying the breadth of that portrayal, but can be more easily ignored by anyone who doesn’t want it. Ilya forcing giving Shane a blowjob while he’s on the phone with Hayden is crackling with sadistic electricity, but there’s giggling and the sun is pouring through the windows and they’re at the cottage they’re endgame they’re about to tell each other I Love You and anyone who isn’t looking for bdsm there doesn’t have to see it.

So when someone tags these scenes “for those with eyes to see” they are offering a perspective that is real, it’s based in the canon of the fictional lives of Ilya & Shane and the real lives of kinksters everywhere. But if you don’t want to see it, Heated Rivalry says, well? Shane kneeling at Ilya’s feet in times of stress could mean nothing. Make of it what you will.

[andearlysunsets]

will’s head snapping to the side when mack scooches away

[lavenderprose]

Shane loooooves his weird kind of gross manly man. He loves it when Ilya spits on the ground and he loves it when he burps loud on purpose. He loves it when Ilya walks into the kitchen in the morning scratching his ass. He loves it when Ilya wakes up and immediately adjusts his balls under the blankets they're both sleeping naked under. He loves it when Ilya gets done with a workout and immediately finds Shane to shove his armpit in Shane's face. He loves that Ilya lounges around his house with his hand in his pants and his finger in his ear. He loves that Ilya manspreads. He loves Ilya's enormous fucking feet. He loves that Ilya can't walk past the bathroom mirror while naked without watching his big ole dick swing for a second. He loves that Ilya doesn't trim his happy trail or his pubes and that he doesn't think anyone else should either. He loves to watch Ilya with a toothpick after a big meal, fuck. He LOVES his MAN.

[goodmouthobviously]

Fascinated by the negative responses to your 'is Ilya a service top? no' post (which I agree with btw) so I hope you don't mind me sending you thoughts which you can ofc ignore if you like. Because some of the things people said chime with a thing I have seen play out in other places where people with submissive tendencies/less interest in the experience of the dominant partner will sometimes wish for someone to be mean to them (or hurt them, or engage in a fantasy of cruelty etc) but not want someone who truly WANTS to be mean to them (etc) because that feels too dangerous and scary. And this results in fantasies that describe the dominant partner's experience entirely through the curation of the submissive's experience which ties most closely into service topping. And leads to a rule set/culture that serves to constrain BDSM dynamics, which is actually deeply uncomfortable with particularly the dom's desires (but also BDSM in general). Bc if doms are not allowed to enjoy the sadism part of BDSM then why are they doing it? Why is anyone engaging in this if they are not seeking pleasure? Surely it is more beautiful that their desires were made for each other before they met, rather than one partner shaping themselves for the other? Anyway I thought it was fascinating how strongly people reacted against your read of Ilya, and I think it was because it was too much in the perspective of dominant pleasure for some people who have never examined a dynamic they enjoy from the other side.

Yes, excellent ask, thank you! And I’ll add onto that —

For sure people are scared of the real life desire for cruelty, and I think you're right that it lends itself to some people wanting doms & sadists to be essentially playacting or only doing it because of external pressure/being of service, rather than having an intrinsic want-lust-need for enacting that cruelty themselves. Because then we're getting into territory that asks us to humanize the people (my Ilya!) with that desire for cruelty, but isn't that just the definition of a Bad person? Or a broken person, in need of fixing or healing or getting help?

I'm gonna go on record and say that it feels TO ME very much in line with a culturally Christian value set to place more judgement on someone's desires or interior motivations than on the outcome of their actions. If your desire for enacting cruelty ends with hurting someone else who, ultimately, isn't getting what they want out of the experience, then yeah - it's your responsibility to right that wrong. To apologize and make amends or do what it takes to rebuild trust. But if your desire for enacting cruelty ends with hurting someone who *is* getting what they want out of that experience - whatever that means to them - then great! Ethically, it doesn't matter what your internal motivations were. It doesn't matter whether you're doing it because you like it for your own sake or because you think someone else will like it for theirs. But wouldn't it be more fun for everyone if we were all acting in line with our own intrinsic desires, rather than what's expected or imposed upon us?

[sapphyshipseverything]

I’m reminded of a line from a wonderful stucky BDSM fic I read years ago (the bene castigat series by Nonymos, which is excellent fyi) where the dom character says ‘Sometimes he thought subs had it easier; they didn’t hurt anyone, even in their dreams.’

I think this is basically the conflict for people, where readers are (generally) coming at things from a submissive point of view, because their fantasies often feel safer when they simultaneous absolve themselves of the guilt and shame around those desires by having the dominant be in control, by having something done *to* them rather than participating in something that feels taboo or shameful. There’s nothing wrong with that obvs, I’m not trying to kink shame, but I do think it means that people don’t want to examine what it means to want the same things from the opposite point of view, because then they have to confront the fact that this is sometime two people are choosing together, and they have to confront all that shame and guilt again when there isn’t that more socially acceptable buffer of a lack of agency any more. But if Shane isn’t dirty or wrong or shameful for wanting Ilya to hurt him, why do people fail to see it isn’t for Ilya to want to hurt him either?

Also, maybe this is too woke but…I think it’s also related to how people don’t want to examine their own sadistic tendencies, which are increasingly prevalent with the rise in reactionary politics - lots of people want to burn someone else at the stake for their mistakes these days, to see people be punished for every minor transgression, but no one wants to examine the fact that we have that urge to hurt someone else or make them suffer. A dominant or sadist who is honest about enjoying someone else’s pain is threatening to the cognitive dissonance most people walk around with re:punishment and cruelty.

[persimmony-snicket]

OOOOOH can i jump in to talk about purity culture as it relates to cultural framing of dominance and submission?

because we're right on the money regarding the absolution of the masochist. christianity (and by extension, cultural christianity) has morality through victimhood baked into it. the idea that suffering has a causal relationship to moral purity is foundational, built into the gospels, at the very root.

and then we add purity culture to the mix. purity culture has two sides for "each gender." for women, those two sides are: 1) you do not desire; 2) men's desire is dangerous to them, so you must protect them. for men, those two sides are: 1) your desire is dangerous, and you must resist it; 2) any woman who pursues you sexually or romantically is dangerous, and you must resist her.

so we see here ^^ that pursuing pleasure, being the aggressor, wanting someone and taking action to get them is Dangerous and Bad and Evil and Sinful. nobody in that equation actually wants a man to desire a woman, or for a woman to desire a man. they want the carefully controlled and sanitized performance of desire (chivalry & courtship) that then cut-scenes straight to pregnancy. the actual desire is a threat.

generally, left-ish and leftist spaces have done a good job at acknowledging that women are people and therefore have desires. but the other parts of purity culture? the ideas that a man's desire is inherently dangerous, that sexually "aggressive" women are dangerous, that it's never okay to be the aggressor? oh we've done fuck all with those. those are still EVERYWHERE. and lets be fucking forreal, we still culturally associate masochism and submission with women and sadism and dominance with men. obviously that isn't how BDSM actually plays out in the real world, but we'd also be goofy to pretend that those cultural associations aren't coloring the way we think about BDSM.

so ilya wanting shane and taking control of shane and wanting to hurt shane already puts ilya on the moral backfoot in this equation. he's doing everything that waves purity culture red flags. he needs to repent via victimhood, and therefore he needs to be shown the pleasure of bottoming, of submission.

and don't think i didn't clock the original sin framework where grigori and ilya are concerned. eve grigori did wrong, which means that ilya is born into sin starts off needing control but once he's ready to repent healed and forsaken the world settled down with shane, THEN he'll be ready to accept the lord into his heart try submission with shane and that will save him because he "deserves" it.

[dailyhollanov]