major league hockey fan watching ilya kiss shane’s helmet at the 2017 all star game and posting “god had to put ilya rozanov and shane hollander on rival teams because otherwise they’d be having so much gay sex they wouldn’t have time for hockey” and then a few years later reblogging themselves like “WELL”
Shane’s comfort is his home and his family. When he wants to open up to Ilya, he asks him about his parents and about Russia. Which only causes Ilya to shut down.
Ilya has always understood his sexuality and is comfortable with that part of himself. In episode 4, Ilya kept trying to talk to Shane about sex and sexuality. Shane’s sexuality is still something he’s suppressing and doesn’t want to reckon with right now.
The reason Shane and Ilya have such a hard time communicating is that their safe space is the other person’s trigger.
trying to keep my commentary on the hockey yaoi to a minimum but I am crying laughing at the episode 6 Hollanov relationship status conversation where they establish that they've accidentally become monogamous because they've fallen too intensely in love with each other, and that they want to rearrange their professional lives so they can live closer and have more excuses to see each other, and then perhaps stay together forever and maybe come out publicly after they retire, but NOT, I repeat NOT, that they are boyfriends
eventually yuna's gonna b like "it's really upsetting u cant get pregnant because your children would've been the best hockey players of all time" and shane will look at her like she shot a dog in front of him
Most people after finally accepting and acknowledging their homosexuality: Okay time to explore this by meeting other guys and maybe try dating, figure out what I'm into, get some varied experience
Shane Hollander after finally accepting and acknowledging his homosexuality: Okay time to permanantly lock down the only guy I've ever kissed there is not a moment to spare
I will never get over Heated Rivalry because this Canadian funded hockey yaoi with a tic tac budget became the biggest show this year brought people together saved and changed lives and did it all while being unapologetically queer.
heated rivalry the book is like oh the major obstacle to this romance is that they can't be together in public <3. heated rivalry the show is like oh the major obstacle to this romance is toxic hypermasculinity and male loneliness and the devastating downstream effects of unacknowledged, unresolved trauma and verbal abuse on boys who are expected not to feel
