Play Hard Work Hard

Trying to make the most out if life....usually reading or sleeping

[writinginasnowglobe]

i think at a certain point shane would start getting seriously annoyed at the seemingly widespread idea that he's somehow supposed to be "controlling" ilya. maybe it starts off as a lighthearted joke with the way some of their friends will glance at him in anticipation when ilya says something particularly asshole-y like they expect him to tell ilya off. and at the beginning maybe shane somewhat gets it (but really though, he doesn't) because yeah it's his reputation in the league and maybe the rivalry plays a part in it too, especially for people who've never gotten to know him, but eventually, it just starts pissing him off

they're at the kingfisher after a game in new york and scott and some of the other admirals are there along with a majority of the cens and they're all having a good time. ilya and some random admirals player are chirping each other and ilya says something a little mean in the asshole way he does with a small tilt of his lips. and shane can suddenly feel eyes on him from scott and carter and troy and various other players, and for a second he doesn't get it. he doesn't get it, until all he does is snort in response, because well, it was true and also pretty funny and ilya really is the funniest person he knows, okay, and ilya nudges him with a small smile when he hears it, but then the stares slowly morph into something like confused gapes, and all of a sudden, he gets it. it's not the first time it happens and it definitely won't be the last, but shane starts noticing it a lot more and it continues to piss. him. the. fuck. off.

hayden giving him an expectant glance when ilya is half-yelling and groaning with a few cens in the bar at the soccer game on tv, like shane is for some reason gonna tell him to quiet down. scott giving him a quick side-eye when ilya chirps about his age on the ice, like shane is gonna tell him to stop; like he doesn't find the multiple layers to ilya's chirps to scott genuinely impressive, like he doesn't find it amusing. evan, though to his credit he was mostly joking, making a sly comment about shane needing to hold ilya back from fighting during a game, like shane would do that when ilya is well-fucking-aware of when to pick fights and when not to because he is the second-best hockey player in the league; like shane doesn't also find it unbearably hot when ilya has a little blood on his knuckles and dripping down the corner of his lips as he calls out mean little quips at the other team with a smirk on his face

because the thing about their relationship is that shane is undeniably attracted to ilya being an asshole. he thinks it's funny. it almost definitely also turns him on. and he likes when ilya is mean and smug and rowdy and a little shit. he likes when ilya is an asshole to him because that's their banter and their foreplay. he likes when ilya is an asshole to other people because he pretty much always thinks what ilya says is hilarious. (plus it's the fact that shane is also an asshole; it's just that ilya says it out loud more often than he does)

and so the thing about their relationship that, for some fucking reason, other people don't get is that shane, from the very beginning, has always and will continue to like when ilya is an asshole. and yes, they're married (shane also thinks some people seem to forget this, because why would shane marry ilya if he truly doesn't like ilya's personality. he thinks other people are a little stupid sometimes.) but they're also best friends and bond over being the best at what they do and how competitive they are and that they're both a little bitchy at times

long story short, i think that at some point during the first season of them playing together, all of the cens (and various other friends/players) eventually learn, as shane continues to not react the way they expect him to, that shane is THE biggest ilya enabler. he won't tell ilya off or nag him, but is actually probably standing a little off to the side with a tiny little smirk on his lips and hearts (and a little heat) in his eyes as he watches his husband

[jesterlesbian]

world's loudest Good For Her

[flyora]

Harris do his best as always

[mojoscircus]

Ilya losing his mind seeing Shane again every season because he just keeps getting bigger and bigger. He’s built like a fucking brick shithouse. What the fuck does he be doing all summer?! How much more muscly could he possibly get? What’s he need all that muscle for anyway? Ilya could only think it’s to pickup other men and now he’s pissed off. Only Ilya should be appreciating Hollander’s sculpted body. Ilya can’t wait to fuck him and remind Shane that he’s the only one capable of satisfying him and handling all that beefiness.

[bad3idea3]

Ilya knows his father took him out of hockey at 15 because he was getting too good, was becoming less controllable with coaches whispering “NHL prospect” in his ear. He couldn’t do anything about it then but when his father and brother died in a sudden plane crash when he was 22, he had his cold, sad revenge. He consolidated all of Rozanov Enterprises and sold the lot of it at basement level prices to fuck-ups. Ilya then fucked around Europe for a few years with his millions until news reached him that the Boston Bears, who were suffering a year’s long slump, were up for sale.

Ilya cashes out everything he has to buy the team and turns it around with astute trades, reckless charm, and re-investments. He hits every business leader's 30 under 30 list by 27. The team loves him. Boston loves him. He, of course, meets Shane Hollander at an All-Stars game. 

Shane had been outed and booted from the Montreal Metros and took a season off for “personal reasons”. He had to reckon with his anxiety and internalized homophobia because the worst had happened and he was still living. Everyone thought that would be the last of the once-in-a-generation talent. But he re-emerged as the new captain of the Ottawa Centaurs and shocked every hockey fan with the comeback story of the century. The Centaurs are fiercely protective of their captain and Ottawa would die for him. 

Ilya and Shane fall in love as per usual and are outed as per usual. The press is obsessed with the narrative that business mogul Ilya Rozanov’s true genius is seducing star center Shane Hollander into joining the Bears. Ilys scoffs at the idea he needs professional motivation to sleep with his beautiful Shane but is quoted as saying “it would be nice for moya lyubov to live in Boston, my penthouse has such good morning light and a yoga studio around the corner” with a shit-eating grin. 

Tearfully the Centaurs ask if Shane is going to leave Ottawa to be with Ilya and Shane has really had enough of it. In his next interview, when he is asked about “his close association with the owner of the Boston Bears” he is ready. As coyly as he can, he responds, “You know, I know Ilya wouldn’t mind if I moved to Boston, but relationships are a two-way street and Tom and Greta (the owners of the Centaurs) are looking to retire, but want to make sure the team is in good hands, someone who has a reason to love Ottawa and it’s players and with deep pockets to make necessary improvements for how our team has grown. My parents,” Shane looks straight down the camera as he continues, “You know Yuna, Ilya, who takes you to farmer’s markets and talks finance with you? And David, who learned how to make Russian dumplings for you and can’t wait for you to visit again so you can start the new puzzle he just got? They love coming to my games, but would enjoy it more if a new owner could improve the stadium seats? And while I know your place in Boston is nice, so is the cottage here in Ottawa. You could swim everyday and I’d always have a towel ready for you.”

Because, really, why couldn’t Shane be seducing Ilya into buying the Centaurs? 

Now Boston is shaking in its boots, how can they compete with waking up to Shane Hollander everyday? 

Ilya and Shane, in the end, take neither option. Shane doesn't want the conflict of interest of his partner owning the team, so Ilya sells the Bears to someone he loves and trusts with his baby (Svetlana) and fulfills his real life goal of being a house-husband, WAG, and eccentric philanthropist.

[limpwristedrose]

My Shane headcannons on Queerness and Gender

- I 100% agree that Shane does not experience Queerness like Ilya does, I am fully in the camp of give this man a butch lesbian bestie and let him talk about Sports - he has a lot of internalised homophobia to take care off buttttt I love the idea of after he's like, accepted himself he goes. Right. Time to be good at Gay™. But like, he buys books on theory of sexuality and different identities, books about Stonewall riots and the politics of Queerness in Canada, goes to a Gay Event with the other hockey gays and is like, why is everyone drunk and grinding and wearing makeup, why does no one want to talk about Robert Dover who competed in the Seoul 1988 Olympics, the first openly gay Olympian, what the fuck is a Beyoncé

- He is really into the PWHL like, Hockey is his favourite thing what do you mean he gets to play incredible Hockey, and then also watch an entire league of Top Tier Hockey that he isn't in?? And he can just be a fan??? He is SO excited when Leah and Max say yes to the camps, he has wanted to ask Leah and very specific question, about how she (insert hockey thing), for about 3 years when he caught a game she was playing and Will Not use social media

- I love the idea of him being HOT on Pronouns and sexuality identities - Ilya! They have BOXES here!! No baby it's okay if you don't wanna be in a box you go be your repressed-Slavic-bitchy-queer-menace self, I can stay in This Box!! It has He/Him Pronouns on it!! and says Demi-Romantic, Monogamous and Homosexual!!

- He doesn't want to watch Ru Paul, he doesn't want to go to night clubs, he isn't camp. People are like, yeah but you're so fussy and bitchy about your skin care routine and he's like, what the fuck do you mean that's gay?? my skin is part of me why wouldn't I take care of it? I eat the right food, I wash my face and moisturise it?? Like I am a MAN and I have SKIN and if it goes DRY it gets SPOTTY?? EWW?

- He doesn't want to be involved in Drag, he would rather eat his own hand then go to a drag brunch (But respects it because did you know Ilya drag has a very intertwined history with Queerness and breaking down of patriarchal norms) and the moment His Big Strong Man Boyfriend who can Pick Him Up even though he's 200lbs puts on some eyeliner he is down on his knees faster than Ilya can put away the pencil. Watching Ilya become confident in himself and his masculinity and his campness makes Shane Very Happy and he will stand there in his Good Sensory outfit and hold Ilya's drink when Ilya has to punch a bigot or go dance like a slut with Harris. Go babe Go! He's good! He's listening to a broadcast about the women's Montreal teams chances in the playoffs and drinking his ginger ale

I love Shane so much and I know he has so much repressed shit to work through in terms of feeling inadequate but I fully believe he would get so interested in wanting to understand sexuality it scared him for so long!!

[ilyarozanovsmouth]

Concept:

Ilya does love seeing old photos of Shane. Fat Baby Shane™ in all his forms, toddler Shane in his little hockey gear, Shane in elementary school with a big missing-teeth smile, Shane blowing out the candles on his 10th birthday, Shane holding up his brand new driver's license at 16. The list goes on.

One day Yuna finds an old disposable camera. The expiration date on it says 2009. She tells Shane about it; it might have some old photos from his graduation on it or something. She'd gotten a digital camera around that time so she can't remember what she used this one for. Shane is pretty indifferent about it.

Yuna sends the camera off to some company that still develops old camera film. It's about 15 years old at this point, though, so whatever is on it might not even develop correctly.

A few weeks later Shane and Ilya are over for dinner. Yuna tells them she got the photos back and they actually turned out ok. She hands over the stack of 10 photos. Shane rolls his eyes, but Ilya grabs the photos and starts flipping through them. The first two look like they are from some school event; there's Shane surrounded by similarly aged kids in an auditorium. There's one of the three of them on Thanksgiving that year and another of the three of them with Yuna's parents at the same dinner. Two of David asleep on the couch with the family dog clearly taken on different days. One of a Christmas tree in the Hollander's living room. The next two are Shane on the ice in a rink that Ilya recognizes as the one in Regina. The one from their first World Juniors Tournament.

And Ilya freezes. The last photo in the stack is a close-up of Shane. He's in a white hoodie with a black coat over it. He has on a dark green beanie and he's standing next to the door to the rink. He's smiling for the camera and his freckles are crinkled near his eyes. It's the Shane that so awkwardly and so confidently introduced himself to Ilya the first time they met. The Shane that had tried so hard to talk to Ilya then. The Shane that Ilya could admit to himself now that he'd had a bit of a crush on already. His Shane.

His Shane was getting blurry as tears filled his eyes.

[your-cab-is-definitely-here]

So one afternoon at the cottage, Ilya has been in and out of the lake all day, excited like a kid, splashing around and clowning and fascinated by the wildlife and showing off for Shane. And after they finally head back inside and shower off the lake smell, Shane settles on the couch with a book and Ilya flops down with him, stretched out with his head in Shane's lap and whining until Shane frees a hand to sink into his hair. And it's been such a nice full day and it's all warm dozy sunshine and the lovely earthy nature smell that's everywhere around the cottage and Ilya has his face tucked into Shane's stomach where he can breathe him in, the familiar scent of his detergent and body wash, and Shane's big warm hand is in his hair and Ilya's pleasantly tired and drowsy and so comfortable that he just... drifts off, the kind of wonderfully indulgent nap that he never really gets during the season and finds hard to justify when he's in Russia for the summer.

But this year he's not in Russia, and he slips into this warm syrupy slumber while Shane pets through his hair (incidentally making a disastrous mess of his curls) and reads his book. When Ilya eventually rouses, with a happy grumble of contentment, nuzzling closer into Shane's stomach, he can feels Shane laughing gently at him almost before he hears it.

"Did you sleep well?" Shane asks, and that sounds warm and syrupy too, and Ilya rolls over so he can smile at Shane and revel in the smile he gets in return.

And then Shane says, "Are you hungry? It's almost dinnertime," and Ilya realises he's been lying here, napping and pinning Shane to the couch and wasting both of their time, for hours, and he jackknifes upright so suddenly that Shane startles back.

"Fuck!" Ilya spits out. "I was--fuck, has been so long. Why didn't you wake me up?" already guilty because Shane had wanted to make some pasta thing that he was weirdly excited about and they'd talked about maybe playing more Chel but now the whole day's been napped away and--Ilya sneaks a look---Shane's book is lying closed on the couch, bookmark set neatly aside, so Shane had finished his book and not even been able to get up to go do something else.

And he's just smiling at Ilya, completely unconcerned that Ilya's been idle and asleep and... and... lazy, all afternoon, just glad Ilya had a good nap.

Shane's frowning in mild confusion at him. "Why?" he says, genuinely not seeing the problem. "You were napping, it was nice. I mean, if I'd needed to pee or something I'd have got up but I was fine." He reaches out and smoothes some of Ilya's hair down. "Oh, the pasta. We can do that tomorrow, we have all that salad from lunch and rolls and there's peaches if we want dessert."

Ilya must have responded somehow because Shane beams at him and says, "Cool, I'll go set the table if you want to go wash your face." He smirks and pokes at Ilya's cheek. "Got a little drool there." And then he smacks a kiss on Ilya's head, gets up, and trots over to the kitchen while Ilya just sits there reeling.

Anyway it's really important to me that Shane dismantles all of Ilya's awful self-talk about laziness.

[ahsoka-in-a-hood]

Apparently some people still need to hear this so: using an 'ai checker' is still using ai. If you are feeding someone's fic to one of these checkers, you will still not be sure their fic is ai because they are not 100% accurate, but you can be 100% sure that you are using ai. For fic. Furthermore you are doing the work of an ai scraper for them. You are, personally, feeding the machine. There is no actual excuse for using an ai checker on fanfic as a hobby. YOU are the problem.

If you think a fic is ai, mute it and move on. That's it. That's all you do.

[ahsoka-in-a-hood]

Um. Yikes

[artefarte]

A perfectly natural heterosexual black swan couple raising their cute fluffy babies together as God intended <3

SIKE

THEY'RE GAY

And they're not some rare exception to the rule, either!!!

About 25% of black swan couples consist of two swans of the same sex (typically, two males).

These couples will court each other, build a nest, and raise their young together in a more-or-less committed monogamous relationship.

In fact, these same-sex couples have a high success rate of 80% when raising their young to adulthood, as opposed to the 30% of their heterosexual counterparts! Two big buff papa swans are better than one when it comes to stomping on invaders of nesting territory.

"But," I hear you say, "where do their baby floofballs come from? Does mpreg exist among black swans?"

Alas, no, but there is a very elegant solution to this. The swan couple may simply temporarily associate themselves with a female swan.

Afterwards, the female swan deposits their eggs and swims off free to live her single girlie life if she wishes (or, find a boyfriend. Preferably one who isn't already committed to another boyfriend.)

So whenever someone commits the naturalistic fallacy "homosexuality bad because unnatural >:(" I like to point out not only their glaring illogicality, but also, respectfully, there is homosexuality happening in the local lake right now.

This concludes my Ted Talk on gay swans.

[marz-rm]

Achilles and Patroclus Posting this while Hudson is in my Milan. This took way too long to draw (especially Connor's hair) but pretty satisfied with how it came out. There's another version on patreon with the bg and wallpapers!

[honeyybrii]

ok i'm thinking about ilya's favourite word again

boring

and how before shane it was probably actually ilya who was the 'boring' one

i will be yapping, be prepared

ilya constantly gets characterized as messy, lacking discipline, hating routine and so on and so forth which is - a huge misconception about him considering the way he grew up would have been so incredibly rigid and scheduled and even the choice to pursue hockey was probably met with backlash and the immediate standard of "if you are going to waste our time and money in practice you'd better be the best" from his police officer father and brother

and he gets this reputation because of how much he teases shane and also because when we see him in boston it's such a stark contrast from how he is both with his family, and with shane.

with his family he is rigid, put together, not a curl out of place, not so much as a slumped shoulder, his posture never relaxes in russia unless he's away from his family with svetlana - the bathroom scene where he rests against the sink, relaxing a touch. and later on the phone with shane when he fully crouches down and hunches over the body language is so- it shows so much, even in sochi when he can't even look at shane because he knows if he does he'll loosen, he'll melt and he can't afford to have one molecule out of place if he's going to survive

he's constantly on guard in russia and more than that, ilya probably WAS the Boring one in his family. his father is high up in policing but seems to have zero issue with the way Alexei lives his life because he followed in his footsteps to be an officer. but alexei is the one with addictions so strong they legitimately suck up all his income so he has to rely on ilya to feed his family and pay his bills. when they were young, ilya was the one who would check on their mama and make sure she was okay. bitching at alexei for the coke and gambling and gettng brushed off at best, called a slur at worst, worrying about their father and getting told he's ridiculous. ilya is astute and constantly on high alert and he's always sure of his perceptions because they've been denied his entire life and ignored but he's still been right (his mama's depression, his father's dementia symptoms alexei denied)

then when their father gets sick, ilya can't be there and he HAS to rely on alexei to make sure their dad gets his meds on time, paying him and hoping he's keeping up with the doctor's orders instead of blowing the extra money up his nose. when he came back for the season after that summer of taking care of his dad, he probably left pre packed blister packs for alexei and calendars filled with doctor's appointments and meal times with the appropriate meds. he probably sends alexei a monthly calendar digitally with new appointment and dosage information and "make sure he doesn't accidentally take a whole bottle alexei put the pills in the cupboard - nyet the one where mama kept her sewing supplies he never touched it."

with his family, he is the caretaker, the overlooked one at that, the youngest with the most responsibility and the least credit and he fills that role without complaint. and he was probably mocked for it, the fun police, straight laced compared to his brother but lazy compared to his father.

then in boston he has a different, more aggressive role to play. he likes this one a lot more, it's easy, he likes chirping, he likes the way partying and sex quiets his mind, he likes fast cars and freedom.

but he's still captain, he keeps his team in line and makes the chemistry his personal responsibility if he doesn't work the team doesn't work he just seems nonchalant because that's his Role. boston drafted the aggressive playboy from russia and then gave him captaincy, it's a responsibility and rigidness that ilya's used to and it's a hell of a lot more comfortable than the one he's used to and we see that with his silliness with svetlana, his casual affection with his team but none of it equats to an irresponsible character who needs a sex ban to pick up their socks (seriously his apartment was fucking flawless long before he moved in with shane he just doesn't have as many pillows)

and then with shane - the responsibility all seems like it's gone because he just melts with him. he doesn't have a role to play, which makes him panic because how is he supposed to act without rules. and he falls into something he's never had before, which is being in the place where he can let someone else be responsible, he gets to be guided instead of doing the guiding. while still feeling in control particularly via their sex life, but also outside of that, shane gives him choices, not demands.

with shane there's so much rest in everything about him, he teases shane about his strict schedule and tries to coax him to stay in bed a little bit longer but it's not because they have a difference in discipline. he teases shane for being boring to highlight their difference in partying habits and how shane is, So straight laced compared to him and because he Loves that. he gets to be loose, and loved, and safe.

it's because shane's discipline comes from a safe place (for the most part) it wasn't forced on him and he thoroughly enjoys most of it. so ilya gets to be led, and he gets to melt, and his decisions get to be choosing a dinner option. with shane he gets to revel in the fact that he doesn't actually Have to be anything, he doesn't have a role he gets to just exist and tease him for being boring but it's so different from the way ilya himself was probably ridiculed with similar language because ilya loves it

it's also probably part of why his depression gets so bad in tlg because along with change and some isolation, he doesn't have shane all the time, and he also doesn't have his past coping mechanisms and roles that kept him busy and in survival mode, so how much he's melted also makes space for him to become adrift when shane isn't around to ease the weight of his own mind

he just gets to exist but he doesn't Know How to without demands and responsibilities

he loves that shane's schedules come from a place of care, that shane's schedules mean he can rest, he doesn't have to worry about anything but the two of them and anya and hockey

and it's so fucking freeing to be a different kind of boring. to live with someone who doesn't do drugs, to do puzzles with david, to have people asking how they can support him instead of asking for more always

freeing to have people who think his presence is more than enough to keep him around

loves that when he does have a bad day shane will take it upon himself to cancel every responsibility they both have and just sit with him until he comes back to himself

[chapterswritten]

Corroded Coffin. Duh… 🥀

[isolabellz]

hollanov honeymoon scenes

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

[isthisroselandry]

"What the- Where did all your cards go?!" Shane exclaims.

Yuna watched as David put down multiple X 2s, resulting in a whining Rozan- Ilya. Now, Ilyas stack of Uno cards in his hands is slightly smaller, only enough for someone as competitive and overly serious about children's cards games like Shane or Yuna to notice.

Yuna and David had only met Ilya officially yesterday when David had an awkward run in with the boys at the cottage. They spent a dinner together to clear things up, now a significantly calmer lunch at Shane's cottege and a game of cards, a Hollander classic.

The air is still a bit awkward and the boys are both still slightly tense. Give them time, Yuna reminds herself, repeating the words David said to her in the car before they arrived.

"Ah! No looking at my cards, Hollander! Is cheating." Ilya says back dramatically, not denying that he himself has cheated but putting on an innocent act.

"Oh and fucking smuggling away cards isn't cheating?! Dad just made you pick up a shit ton." Shane responds, mouth like a sailor.

Yuna has always played card games since she started dating David. Shane was just as competitive as her and it's one of the only times Shane drops his sensible, media trained act he seems to wear even off cameras. But it's never much.

Yuna opens her mouth to interrupt their old married couple bickering. I guess the 10 years of them... 'Seeing each other' is quite evident. But Yuna is cut off when Shane suddenly gets his hands on Ilya, who let's out a ridiculous noise and shuffles deeper in his seat to get away from the wandering grip.

"Hey! There in your pants." Shane hisses, sounding angry but he's got a big fat smile on his face once he officially catches Rozanov cheating.

"Ah- pervert, hands off! Is your parents house!" Ilya retaliates, receiving a groan from Shane when he's made out to be a pervert.

Suddenly the boys are up, practically tackling each other as Shane attempts to (innocently) shove his hands into his squealing boyfriends pants, retrieving many cards that he picked up earlier.

Yuna watches as they play fight, calling each other names and declaring who's a cheater and she realises she hasn't seen Shane like this in years, not with her or David, not even Hayden or any of Montreal, he doesn't even look so full of joy when skating. It's childish and loud. Shane has a handfull of cards Ilya had hidden in his pockets and waistband, catching him red handed as Ilya tries to insinuate that Shane had set him up and placed them there. Yuna and David share a glance, speaking without words- a language learnt of many years of two people being in love, something she noticed Shane and Ilya have picked up together as well.

They are both thinking it. Shane has found someone. The one- as cheesy as it sounds. Yuna would always tell Shane one day he'd find that person, who makes him feel wild and crazy and someone he can just be himself with and Shane would groan, faking disgust in all his teenage dramatics. But it happened.

Yuna and David realise that Ilya is now a Hollander. Not legally sure. But it's official. He's here forever.

[viralfrog]

[rae-xoxo00]

omg the girlies

[astra-the-dragon]

omg the girls are saviiiiiiiing wiiiildliiiiife

[highlyillogicalandroid]

Not all heroes wear capes. Or trousers.

[poppy-tarts-stuff]

Not leaving this in the tags

[asukam]

I saw this on insta and someone commented asking her how she knew they were in there and she said that she saw the mama duck with only one duckling and thought it was suspicious so she stopped to check and hear them quacking down there... :') <3

[uncomfortablecliche]

the way the momma duck sped up once she saw her babies yayyyy

[reasonsforhope]

For when you need a reminder that there really is goodness in the world

And for whenever someone mistakenly tells you that humans can only hurt nature -

We are part of nature. And we are uniquely equipped, in many ways, to help heal the planet we are part of - so long as we keep choosing to help, and to heal, this planet of which we are a part