toddler shane refusing to talk after his hockey team lose a game. yuna & david are trying to be encouraging like “bud!! you played so good!!” and shane is ignoring them while climbing into his car seat where he’s going to angrily drink his juice box and then chew on the straw.
#oh this is very cute and actually tremendously in character #Shane became the world's greatest hockey player simply because he hated losing and if he was going to have to make sure they won by himself #then that's what he's gonna do #sore loser to champion pipeline (via @cruciatusforeplay)
Time for more Puck Talk, as it relates to The Game Changers Series.
Content Warning: Spoilers for The Long Game. Inexplicable political thirst. Mentions of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.
VERY LONG
Ilya in The Long Game is going through a mental health crisis and therefore is not really the most reliable narrator of his own life.
Ilya wasn't going to re sign with Boston. Period. No matter what happened at the cottage.
When Scott Hunter came out, Ilya realized that at least some of things he wanted were possible, but not in Boston.
In the book, Ilya sees Scott kiss Kip and feels like everything terrible in his life has been sucked away by a tornado. So much is still impossible. The rivalry. Russia. But the NHL had an out player now, and maybe that meant that he and Shane weren't hopeless after all.
Please remember, it is 2017 in the USA. Same sex marriage had only been legalised two years earlier, and Donald Trump was the sitting president and looking to roll back all kinds of freedoms.
The USA was clamping down on immigration, and homophobia was back on the rise.
So much is still impossible. The rivalry. Russia. But the NHL had an out player now, and maybe that meant that he and Shane weren't hopeless after all.
Please remember, it is 2017 in the USA. Same sex marriage had only been legalised two years earlier, and Donald Trump was the sitting president and looking to roll back all kinds of freedoms.
The USA was clamping down on immigration, and homophobia was back on the rise.
Meanwhile in Canada, same sex marriage had been legal for over 10 years, LGBTQIA status was a protected class, and Canada was like "HEY IMMIGRANTS WE REALLY WANT YOU WE ARE SO EMPTY AND LONELY."
Canada had actively opposed the War in the Ukraine and was openly taking refugees from the conflict, and Canada had been granting refugee status based on sexual orientation since 1991.
If you were queer, Russian and liked hockey, Canada was your best bet.
Plus, check out our Prime Minister in 2017. Hot. And he was marching in Pride Parades in Ottawa.
Since everyone fucking forgets, a reminder: Ilya brought up moving to a Canadian team when his contract ended FIRST, and the only team he wasn't considering was Montreal. Specifically because Montreal couldn't fucking afford him.
Ilya was never staying in Boston. And you need to give up your fanons for this, guys (in relation to sgow expectations) because Ilya very specifically says Boston would not be so good about having someone like Harris (openly gay) on their staff. Ilya knows that, if he was outed, Boston Admin would not protect him. And if he dropped from Boston and no one signed him, he would lose his visa and have to return to Russia openly queer.
I believe Cliff is an ally to Ilya too, because I love LoPresti, but in the books, there are no Boston players at the boys' wedding.
Ilya is coming to Canada NO MATTER WHAT.
If Shane and Ilya do the cottage and decide "meh, we are better fuck buddies than boyfriends" ILYA IS STILL COMING TO CANADA.
Ilya doesn't move teams FOR SHANE. He moves teams FOR HIMSELF.
Ilya doesn't move to Canada FOR SHANE. He moves to Canada FOR HIMSELF.
This is where a lack of hockey knowledge is a problem.
When Ilya was drafted, Boston was a shit team. Even with the new, mostly incomprehensible, draft lottery rules, you have to at least missed the playoffs to get the number one draft pick.
LORE TIME
In 2003, Pittsburgh had 1st overall draft pick, and drafted Marc Andre Fluery. In 2004, Pittsburgh had 2nd overall draft pick and drafted Evgeni Malkin. In 2005, they had the 1st overall draft pick AGAIN (please believe me when I tell you the Penguins fucking suuuuuucked) and drafted Sidney Crosby.
In 2006, Geno finally got to Pittsburgh.
In 2009, Pittsburgh won the cup.
In case that's not easy enough math, it took 2 first overall picks, 1 second overall pick, six years and the literal greatest hockey player of all time (and also Kris Letang) for Pittsburgh to get it's shit together enough to win a cup, but it did get to the semis for the first time in 2007, which is 2 years
I have gotten lost in the lore. Please hang on.
Okay! When Shane and Ilya are drafted, they are drafted to teams with long histories who have played like shit for three seasons prior to their draft. No playoffs.
Surprisingly, they both get their teams to the playoffs in their rookie season. But it takes Ilya three more years and Shane 4 more years to actually get their teams a cup.
Hockey is a team sport. The point of trades is to find perfect fits. Lines that work cleanly. Depth at centre, fast wingers, strong defense, superb goal tending.
So taking years to get a team to cup contention is not surprising, no matter how many first round single digit draft picks you get (I'M LOOKING AT YOU PENS).
And even when you have a winning team, you still futz around every trade season to get the winningest team. You keep what's working and move what isn't.
And if you're the team Admin, you pray to fucking god your superstars don't choose free agency. And you do whatever the fuck you can to make sure that doesn't happen.
For instance, Alexander Ovechkin has had exactly four NHL contracts in his life. His three year ELC, then a fucking insane 13 year extension for absolutely ridiculous amounts of money and an NTC that took effect in 2014, then a 5 year that should have taken him to retirement. This year, for the first time in Ovi's 22 year career, he was a free agent entirely by his own choice. Washington isn't stupid; they know Ovi is their whole personality. They'll keep him as long as he wants to stay, which is why he signed his 4th ever contract this July, for one year.
Pittsburgh did the same with Crosby. His latest contract was signed a full fucking year before his last contract expired.
All this to say, Boston would have been foaming at the mouth to keep Ilya (or they would have traded him rather than let him lapse into free agency on their dime) and Ottawa probably offered just absolute scads of money to sign him.
Under cap rules, one player on the team can be paid up to 20% of the overall cap.
I'm not saying Ottawa did that - they really are trying to do a rebuild, and you need cap space for that, you can't build a team on one good player, and good players cost money. But they probably offered at least 11% (what Ovi got) and probably more. And then they went to work. The old coach retired. They brought in Brandon Weibe. They picked up Hayes and Barrett for a song and they set to work building Ilya a team that could win a cup
We know in the books that Ilya goes to Ottawa for (presumably) a fat paycheck. We know players speculate why he'd go to a shit team.
But honestly, players move all the time. Sure, some stay loyal to their draft team their entire career but that is very rare. Most players are chasing cups or paychecks or family their entire careers.
And also, please ignore the players in the book who are like "Ottawa is terrible and ruining Ilya's legacy" AND I INCLUDE ILYA ON THE IGNORE LIST.
There are so many books in the Game Changers Series it's easy to forget that the bulk of the story of them take place between 2017 and 2021. Scott meets Kip in 2017.
TLG begins in 2019. Ilya enters a massive mental health crisis. Part of that crisis is depression and the depression is telling him he plays on a not very good team.
Please remember, ILYA IS DEPRESSED and part of depression is REWRITING HISTORY.
When Ilya tells Shane he gave up hockey for him already, Ilya has forgotten that moving to Canada and getting PAYYYED was part of the plan BEFORE. He forgets Ottawa wasn't just a good choice because Shane is nearby, it's a good choice because HE GOT STUPID RICH and also got a Canadian work visa and a team that will not drop him if he is outed, thereby securing said visa should Russia cancel Ilya's passport. With a work visa, Ilya has an easy path to citizenship, whether he marries Shane or not.
Ilya got an easier path to citizenship, a higher chance of being granted asylum if he is outed, and absolutely stupid amount of money, a team that genuinely supports him. HE ALSO GOT SHANE, but Shane is NOT the best thing.
Ilya is depressed. He doesn't have a great sense of time. He feels like he's been playing like shit for approximately three aeons, when actually he's been playing extremely well, and Ottawa is slowly but surely climbing the ranks.
When the plane crash happens, it lights a fire under Ilya's ass (much like Sochi 2014) and Ilya "fucking FUCK SAN FRANCISCO" Rozanov re enters the narrative. Which means he gets to the semis a year earlier than he would have already.
Ilya is only in Ottawa for two years and they land the wildcard spot in the playoffs, and knock out the number one seed in their division, conference and the whole fucking league, in round one.
This is rare. Not impossible but rare. Calgary did the same in 2004. That's about all i can say about 2004 without commiting an idictable offense, so instead, here is a picture of Calgary Flames captain and my hockey husband, Hockey Jesus Jarome Iginla because this is my post and I do what I want.
When people say Ilya lost hockey for Shane, they are not reading the book critically, or have not taken the time to learn at least a little bit about fucking NHL hockey. Ilya has only missed play offs for I think two seasons. That is unprecedented for a team at the bottom of the standings. Literally half the teams in the league miss the playoffs every year. And the third year he's with Ottawa they go to round two.
I am very tired of the narrative that either Ilya or Shane have to give up hockey or their career or their legacy for each other.
Hockey is not the team you play on. Connor McDavid is the greatest player active now - yes better than Sid or Ovi, though not better than them in their prime. He plays on a not great team. Jarome Iginla played for the Flames for 16 years and was hailed as the greatest player of his generation. He had his number retired by the Flames, was selected for the Hockey Hall of Fame the first year he was eligible, had all three of his kids play good enough hockey to be drafted by the NHL and the PWHL, and is still considered one of the greats by players and fans everywhere.
He never won a cup. But his legacy has not been tarnished by playing for a not so great team.
Frankly, going to Ottawa is the dream for both Shane and Ilya because playing on the same line in their fucking prime?
In the GCU, where the NHL isn't rigged and the Cup is decided by skill?
Barring season ending injuries, that cup isn't leaving Ottawa for the next seven years AT LEAST.
Rozanov, Barrett, Chouinard and Dykstra on the Penalty Kill Line? They'll never be able to touch another player again, no team wants that line on the ice, even if the opposing team has the man advantage.
Hollander, Rozanov, Barrett, Haas and Boodram on the Power Play Line? No team will ever play dirty against them, and give them the man advantage.
That team is so GOATed all other team's defensive lines including the goalies are all going on strike. They're calling Etsy witches for curses. They're finding snotty kids to cough on the Centaurs in the tunnel and praying they catch the flu.
Without divine intervention, no one is beating that team ever again.
Shane and Ilya gained EVERYTHING by going to Ottawa. Shane will get his seven cups. Ilya definitely gets at least three more dogs from Harris.
i think one of the reasons i'm not that into introducing a narrative power dynamic into shane/ilya à la captain/rookie or alpha/omega or wev is that it's just fundamentally so hot to me that shane and ilya went 1/2 in the draft & have been competing against each other their entire careers. the press conferences side by side, dueling cups, so far above everyone else they're the only ones who can possibly understand each other (it's always hollander and rozanov, isn't it)
I'm obsessed in very healthy and sustainable ways with how Shane's hands went from the pocket (I shouldn't touch you) to touch Ilya everywhere, ass, chest, dick in a complete awe.
Thinking again about this. Shane is 19 and horny. Hudson Williams has confirmed that Shane had previous sexual experiences with girls, but they were all very disappointing. Probably disappointing for the girls too, judging by Rose many years later.
I’m remembering my own high school days and how the prettiest, most popular girls used to swarm over the hockey players. A hockey player boyfriend was a trophy, even if he was a mouth-breathing troglodyte in all other respects. Some of those boys had nothing going for them except being jocks in Canada’s national sport.
So even Shane, with all his social awkwardness and lack of enthusiasm, would have ended up being deflowered by a pretty girl eventually. Especially once he was playing in juniors and his talent was obvious to everyone. Also, he’s gorgeous. He may not feel good about his looks, but they exist.
But Shane didn’t enjoy the sex he had. Hudson said in the interview that this encounter with Ilya is the first time Shane has been in a sexual situation with another human being and felt a flint of desire.
So he’s 19. Up until now, sex has been a horrible letdown. Not at all what the other guys on his team seemed to report about sex. Knowing Shane, he probably felt like his lack of sexual desire for his previous female partners was a defect in him. Just another way he can’t fit in, along with his lack of whiteness and his difficulty reading social interactions neurotypical people seem to find easy.
And now here he is, in a hotel room with Ilya. Who is “safe”, because he’s another athlete who can’t have anyone know about same-sex hookups. They have the same secret. But Ilya also isn’t on his new team and doesn’t even live in the same country. They might never see each other again off the ice.
And I’m sure Shane has a realistic understanding of his own gaydar and ability to covertly suss out other interested guys. I.e. He does not have those skills. It took Ilya arranging the the commercial shoot and then cruising him in the shower for him to realize for sure that another guy was coming on to him. Most guys will be less direct, and expend less effort.
For all Shane knows, tonight could be the only time he ever gets to be with another man. And even though he hasn’t reckoned with his sexuality, he obviously wants this desperately. So yeah, as soon as Ilya shows him any encouragement, Shane touches him everywhere he can reach. Goes to his knees with zero prompting. Wants to try everything he can.
So yeah, it’s a great scene. But also I feel bad for 19 year old Shane. Who might be thinking this could be the only opportunity he will ever get in his whole life to have this. To have a good sexual experience where he feels genuine desire. So goddamnit, he’d better make this night count.
adopting the headcanon that shane loves lesbian culture like he doesnt get along with other gay men (which is something he has to dissect ofc) but he finds himself with a lot of butch friends.
a fun scenario in my head is him trying to find a café in ottawa where he can just chill out and not be hounded by people and he stumbles upon this little hole in the wall place called Rosies and its filled with lesbians but shane has no idea hes just there for a black coffee and a fucking break. maybe a slice of zucchini bread. but he starts admiring the woodwork of the interior and strikes up a conversation with the owner (the titular rosie) who is this like cool older butch lesbian and they swap numbers and rosie tells shane about her home diy club and shane is like Cool a new friend :) and hes also thrilled she didnt gaf that hes a hockey player
David did not tell Yuna what he saw at the cottage. But, he did come home visibly upset so he had to tell her something.
"Is Shane okay?" Was Yuna's first question.
"Yes," David was quick to reassure her. "He's fine. He's great."
"David," Yuna said worriedly, hand on his bicep. "Is Shane okay?"
"He really is. I promise, sweetheart. I would tell you if he wasn't," David promised her because he would. "But I - he was - he's probably going to be headed over here soon."
"Why?" Yuna started to get more worried, despite her husband's reassurances. "David, what happened? Did you two fight?"
David did interrupt his silent retreat but Yuna couldn't imagine Shane getting into a fight with his father over that.
"No," David caught her eyes. "Do you trust me?"
"Of course."
"Then please don't ask. I saw something I shouldn't have and I - I want it to be Shane's choice if he tells us. I promise you he's safe. We didn't fight. He's - he might be upset with me, but he's okay."
Yuna searched his face for another moment before she slowly nodded.
She had an idea of what David might have seen.
She had considered that Shane's 'silent retreat' might not be the complete truth. She also recognized how upset her husband was at unintentionally learning something about their boy that he wasn't ready to share.
"Okay," Yuna pulled him in for a hug. "I'll make some tea."
"I feel so horrible."
"Shane loves you, he'll understand," Yuna said.
"I hope so," David pulled back. "I can make the tea. Shane will probably want some if he comes over."
He used to make Shane hot chocolate after nightmares, or doctor visits, or difficult practices. When he was a teenager, he started asking for tea instead.
Yuna, sensing David needed something to do, said, "use the new one my aunt sent us. It takes a little longer but I think Shane will like it."
~*~*~
"So, what did you see," Yuna asked her husband as they watched their son and his boyfriend, Ilya Rozanov, drive away.
"I wondered how long it would take for you to ask," David smiled.
"Hush you," Yuna glared. "Like you wouldn't be curious. Unless, god, did you walk in on-"
"No," David stopped her. "They were just walking up from the dock. I would have left but when I noticed it was Rozanov - or Ilya, I mean - I was just frozen there."
"Then how did you know they were, you know, together?"
"Well they kissed on the porch," David winced. "And Ilya..."
"Ilya what?"
"He, uh, had his hand on Shane's…bottom."
Yuna and David stared at each other for a few seconds before Yuna couldn't take it anymore, smile spreading across her face and burst out laughing, hand gripping her husband’s shirt to hold herself up.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Yuna laughed out.
"Yuna!" David admonished but he was laughing too. He reached out to steady her. "It's not funny!"
"When you put it that - that way!" Yuna tried to gather herself. "Ilya Rozanov. Ilya Rozanov. I can't believe it."
"He's a sweet kid," David was still smiling, thinking about Ilya standing awkwardly by his son, happily eating pasta, saying he'd leave the team that drafted him for their Shane.
Yuna softened. "He really is. He looks so much younger in person."
"Well," David wrapped an arm around her waist. "I think he might be ours now."
have we considered the possibility of Shane and Ilya being at a fundraising event put on by the Centaurs and there are retired players there. One was their star center when Shane was a kid and Shane gets SO flustered talking to him. Ilya’s just standing there, watching his husband blush over a tall, brash hockey player with curly hair and he’s like …you’re kidding me
the guy walks away and Shane tells Ilya that he had all the guy’s posters as a kid and he was soooo obsessed with him. Ilya’s like “uh huh. yeah. I’m sure”, simultaneously offended and so turned on by the confirmation that he’s the epitome of his husband’s type
I fully believe that Shane and Ilya cannot agree on an anniversary. Shane says it was the All Stars weekend because that's when he thought they were both 100% serious about the relationship because that's when he was, Ilya says it was the cottage when they said "I love you'' because he didn't believe in it until that moment. They find this out the first year with Shane's anniversary date when Shane plans an elaborate secret date the last night of All Stars and gets Ilya gifts, and Ilya has no idea what its for. They agree to disagree on the date, "We will just celebrate twice a year, I guess." It happens again with their wedding anniversary, Shane says its when they legally got married, Ilya says it was when the twins married them because he doesnt care about about being officially married in the eyes of Canadian law he cares about the first time they said "I do". They find this out when a reporter asks them about their wedding and when they had it and they both gave different answers. Once again they agree to just celebrate twice a year. They say it is because the date doesn't really matter and both of them are right in some way, but in reality it is so they can compete on who plans the more romantic, thoughtful, and elaborate anniversary date. And so that they don't fight about who's planning the date this year or making conflicting plans by accident.
If there's one thing Shane is surprisingly knowledgable on it's beef in the rap and hip hop world because Ilya is Invested and takes Hard Sides and will just constantly bring it up at home.
Shane ends up being the one to explain the Drake vs. Kendrick feud to Hayden (who came into it cold when Not Like Us got huge). JJ started explaining it to him but, honestly, he was doing a bad job at it and Shane has heard Ilya rant about this for months now, every time there was a new development, so he takes over and Hayden and JJ both just stare at him in blank shock.
The veterans on the Centaurs ask Shane to explain the Cardi B trial because Ilya got too worked up over it and started speaking Russian when they asked him.
They watched the entire four-part documentary on Diddy that 50 Cent produced and Shane now gleefully tells people that 50 did an in-depth interview on ABC, specifically because that's one of the few channels shown in prisons (yes, Ilya made him watch the interview and cackled beside him the entire time).
During them watching that series, Shane asked Ilya "who's that?" when Biggie Smalls came up on screen for the first time. Shocked and appalled, Ilya played Shane Biggie and Tupac's entire catalogues and showed him several video essays covering the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry.
After that, "I've been in this game for years, it made me an animal It's rules to this shit, I wrote me a manual" from the Ten Crack Commandments becomes almost a stim line for Shane, he'll be saying it under his breath in the locker room, on the ice, or even while cooking dinner.
