Quintiple A’s

I saw someone say that they need to make it clear that Shane’s getting bullied on the Mets and that’s why he lashes out at Ilya but like. What if he isn’t. What if he lashes out at Ilya because Ilya’s asking him for something off script, and getting pissy with him, and Shane doesn’t know why, and he just wanted to have a nice day, and the last time he went over to Ilya’s the whole place smelled like weed, and they haven’t talked about hockey in months, and Shane knows from experience how to hit people where they hurt. And maybe he gets a little thrill doing that.

the whole premise was that ilya's boston team and shane's montreal team ended up at the same bar, except it was an arcade bar and one of the things they had was the hockey game. and hey, fair game to yell to your hockey rival that you'll beat him on AND off the ice?

and shane is nothing if not a competitive shit, so he sits and plays and beat ilya, who said something like "you only won because you're boring and drink ginger ales while i've had alcohol, i would have beaten you sober" and without even thinking shane says "bet" and essentially invites himself to Ilya's apartment (already the plan) except with the express idea that they will (also) have a rematch of the hockey game and he will wipe the floor with Ilya

the next day they realize that both of their teams, knowing that they are THE competitive assholes of all times, did not even blink an eye at shane volunteering to stay in the lair of the enemy and are kind of like. wait. holy shit. is this... a good excuse? plausible deniability?

so they kind of. keep doing it. sometimes alone, sometimes some teammates come and witness their face offs. they chirp each other and are LASER FOCUSED on beating each other. they make stupid bets on the outcomes. they are even posting (mostly ilya and the teammates that witness this) on social media

and suddenly, they can just kind of. be in public together? and everyone assumes it's because of a lost bet on this game? they go out to eat and as long as they don't split the check then everyone assumes that the one that paid lost their last video game match up

the one thing i remember is them both pushing harder the longer the reactions to them stayed under the radar. ilya literally got flowers that he posted on his social media because they came with a card that said "sorry for your loss(es)" with the es marked on in sharpie after boston lost to them on ice and ilya lost on the game with a caption that said something like 'when did hollander get a sense of humor???'. and then they were on the phone giggling about how shane is literally able to send ilya flowers publicly without anyone batting an eye

and trusting in the repair process is what allows the hurt person to take time/space while knowing their experience will be acknowledged, accountability will be taken, and a joint recovery will be prioritized

like yes downright bigotry is never okay i am not defending that but the whole reason these characters are interesting is because they have to navigate queerness and unpack their internalized toxicity in a space where, for all intents and purposes, they're The First Gay Person Ever

The Ilya we see in Heated rivalry would not be throwing the first punch, he's not an enforcer. Ilya is a star center and a Pest. He wouldn't be doing his job correctly if he was punching players every other game, it would end up with not enough ice time to let him be the playmaker he's paid to be.

But being a pest can be playmaking! Find a player to bait, emotionally push them just enough that they try to fight you, and then get the fuck out of there before the ref gives you both penalties. This gets your team the power play. There is probably someone on Ilya's line dedicated to helping him get out of the fights he starts, and finishing them for him!

I also think this is also something that Shane would respect. Ilya is good at it and it's a good strategy for his team. I don't think Shane would see it as some dirty tactic, because Shane probably thinks everyone with a brain can see it for what it is! He probably thinks everyone should be able to see that being an asshole is a tactic for Ilya, that it's something to ignore and not fall for, that it's a strategy and not personal beef.

If say Hayden was injured in a dirty hit and Shane didn't stick up for him, the old hockey men would be saying things like: Soft. Cowardly. Emotionless. Robotic. Doesn't care. (and yes, we all hear the dog whistles).

I think Shane probably does have a couple of official fighting majors on his record, from early in his career when he needed to prove himself.