just karma things

Let's make things clear: it's not Balenciaga's brand director and the publicist of Hudson's stylist who are posting about these sightings where their client just happens to be styled by their brand:

I’ll never get over the line - ‘It was important to hold on to that.’

Why is it so important to have one of the so called protagonists be so selfish, that nearly every reader who walked away from the book initially, talked about how much they hated them and how the other protagonist deserved better?

I get its a romance and usually I am happy to suspend some disbelief and accept that most romances do use unrealistic dynamics and perhaps some toxicity for the fun of it. But that’s an INSANE question! Even in the context of hockey it’s ridiculous but let’s put it in the context of anything else. Ask a surgeon “me or surgery?” Ask a lawyer “me or law?” Ask an olympian “me or olympics?”

If I was Shane, I’d be ending that relationship. You decide to date the n 1 player in the league with 3 Cups and a million accolades who is clearly devoted to establishing a dynasty and then want to ask “me or hockey”. Ilya even has the nerve to be SURPRISED??? I am sorry but the answer to that was hockey and it was OBVIOUSLY HOCKEY. I have heard countless tellings of the “me or career” ultimatum in high devotion, intense careers and the answer is ALWAYS career.

shane — who at this point has spent the entire book being told by literally everyone that he needs to be less mopey and anxious and to support ilya’s life more — fully compartmentalises everything and pushes all of it down. he’s never been happier, truly. yes he’d love to host the centaurs at his new house without warning. he’d love to do a photoshoot. he’d love to post a video on instagram. he’d love to be the butt of the joke. look how much fun he’s having. this is great. he just needs to be less worried about everything and it’ll all work out. ilya will take care of it. he just needs to go to the back of the line. yes, he wants another slice of chocolate cake please and thank you

The absolutely pervasive mentality that unwanted criticism or critique shouldn't be given and should be ignored is why fans of color don't stay in fan spaces.

And I am not going to mince words here:

A lot of you are racist. A lot of your fan works are racist.

That might have been difficult to hear. And if it was, you should probably reflect on why that was.

"Fandom etiquette" has created a space where fans of color either bite our tongues and eventually leave or say something, get dogged on, and then eventually leave.

The show gave me a different idea of what the relationship looked like and in both books I just feel Shane's pain is never addressed?

I would love to see fics where Ilya maybe realises that he has been hurting Shane because I saw Shane constantly concerned with Ilyas happiness and wellbeing, constantly defending him and fighting for them always putting his own wants to to side and even fighting with friends and was willing if needed to fight with family and the world of hockey....... And Ilya who......took the $10 million contract and captaincy, citizenship (in the country he wanted. This was ALL Ilya's idea?? He said Canada, he refused Montreal??), new family, and finally the friendship network he was craving (that despite fandom he doesn't seem to have had with the Bears). Ilya is a better support to Troy who was cruel to Shane than he is to Shane himself it's so weird.

Then when I saw that my headcanon that Shane might be Autistic was actually canon I wondered if maybe hearing that would make Ilya re-evaluate things in their relationship, looking back and wondering how Shane was interpretating things might help him see that he was being an asshole at times.

Also I think fics exploring that Ilya's best friends are Svetlana (who he used to fuck and cares deeply for), Troy (who used to bully Shane) and maybe depending on your canon Cliff (who he used to go clubbing and hooking up with girls with). What a cocktail of emotions that creates. How do Svetlana and Ilya handle the transition into complete platonic friendship and the physical touch that is or isn't appropriate? Or how do Troy and Ilya navigate what level of joking around about Shane is okay? What level of talking about his and Shane's relationship to Troy is Shane comfortable with? Does he want a guy who used to call him slurs knowing what he likes in bed? What about Cliff who only knows how to hang out in clubs and thinks Shane is cool but needs to chill?

How do they deal with the change to their dynamic? From equals, rival captains to captain and subordinate. How does that affect their sexual relationship? Does Shane feel weird about submitting to Ilya in both his workplace and bed? Will he clam up the first time Ilya tells him to call him Captain in bed? How does he feel about the pay drop does it cause his brain to panic because that is a massive change and it also feeds into this change in dynamics.

Will Ilya ever address how so many of his thoughts in The Long Game about Shane are either wrong or a little mean and dismissive??