Haunted Gothic Mansion

the idea within this also of yuna and irina ending up getting along just because they are at so many events together. like irina doesn't manage ilya's career at all (ilya actively doesn't want her to because he doesn't want her to be stressed or worried at all), but she's still there all the time, and she and yuna end up talking just because. well. fancy seeing you here again.

and there is kind of a relief to it because they've both experienced other parents being distant or weird because their kid is SO fucking good when their boys were growing up, and there's a real "same hat!" energy to having heard tons of passive aggressive shit. and i feel like there's some playful teasing/ribbing between them because their sons are each other's biggest competitor, but like. hello fellow mother who is here all the time. you want to sit together?

but this does mean that ilya has 100% answered a call from BOTH of their mothers because shane didn't answer when yuna called him and then irina called ilya to see if he had heard from shane (because irina would be distraught if ilya wasn't answering HER call, so she's trying to be helpful and get the answer for yuna if she can).

the idea of shane having a separate small fridge in the garage where he keeps frozen mice for spaghetti, but this means when ilya asks about it in passing while shane is looking for water shoes, he's distracted and just goes, "oh, drinks and spaghetti" and ilya just ??? you have?? freezer just for pasta????? actually no this sounds like a Rule you would make yeah sure why not.

Spaghetti is all curled up and a little stressed out, since Shane so rudely removed him from his favorite piece of bark. But hey, this is nice and warm, and oooh, wow, that's a cave! Spaghetti likes caves.

In less than three seconds Spaghetti has slithered inside Ilya's sleeve. He is standing very still. There is a snake slowly wriggling over his armpit and he is not going to scream because he is So Incredibly Manly. The snake has flickered its tongue over Ilya's chest. He can feel its tiny snake nose poking around his nipple. If this snake bites his nipple he will make Shane sleep on the couch.

The snake climbs up to Ilya's neck and settles in a squiggly-shape on his shoulder, with its head peeking out of his collar. Shane turns around to put the disinfectant bottle away and pauses.

"Awww!" he coos. "You look so cozy!"

"Yes, he is very cozy." Ilya says. His voice is a little high-pitched. "Maybe he should go back now. We interrupted his nap."

"Oh, it's fine for him to be out a little longer," Shane says. "You're warm, he likes you."

"Well, it was rude to disturb him. Probably we should let him rest." Ilya says, trying to dislodge the invader from his shirt. Fucker. It's a good shirt and now he's stretching it out trying to evict a reptile. The things he does for love.

Shane takes pity on him and scoops Spaghetti out of Ilya's collar, then drapes him over a plant and shuts the enclosure door.

"You were very brave, babe." he tells Ilya, and kisses his cheek.

"I was not scared. I am very strong, very cool hockey player. It takes more than a little animal to scare me." Ilya lies.

the idea of this corn snake chilling in the equivalent of a snake mansion is KILLING ME. there are children with less space and enrichment than spaghetti.

also shane at 18 was still making an impression on his team in montreal and knew by then that "hey, i have a snake" gets side eyes he doesn't necessarily want, so only hayden knows about spaghetti on the montreal team, but after he's on the ottawa team, spaghetti comes up because ilya needs someone to understand his pain, and it becomes a superstition that if spaghetti eats his mouse no problem, then they have good luck for the next 10-14 days until he eats again. shane literally get @'d if the team knows it's Spaghetti Feeding Day and he doesn't report in of his own accord.

ilya HATES this superstition. it's not enough that the snake lives in the same house as him where he lays his sweet head each night. now spaghetti is even in the groupchat. he gets ASKED about SPAGHETTI THE SNAKE at his JOB!!!! he has SUFFERED!! more than JESUS!!!

reblogging with my own tags because i'm actually so emotional about the idea of shane like. not expecting ilya to interact with or even like spaghetti. shane knows people don't like snakes. (even his mom put on a good show, but he knows she does NOT fuck with spaghetti as a concept and was happy when he moved out along with shane to montreal). spaghetti gets introduced to ilya at the cottage, but like. the snake has his own room for a reason. a lot of people don't like snakes, and shane has also had the reptile owner experience of people even wanting his pet to be dead or talking about how they would kill him. so shane doesn't talk a lot about spaghetti, and he KNOWS ilya does not like his snake. and that's okay. ilya is willing to be in the same house as spaghetti and not say anything bad about him, and that's good enough.

and i am SO in my feelings imagining ilya getting to shane's house earlier than him one day during the season when they're still long distance and shane finding him in spaghetti's room talking to him. and ilya is clearly a little unnerved by this snake but is just, "if you could do less with the tongue, i think would be better for me, if you can manage this. *pause* see, no, it feels like you just did EXTRA tongue thing just because i asked you not to." and shane is??? hello??? what are you doing???

and ilya is a little flustered getting caught talking to spaghetti but also says he was trying to get used to spaghetti because he knows shane likes carrying him around but doesn't when ilya is over, and ilya doesn't want him to not get to carry his pet around if he wants to just because of him.

@merliren

tears in my eyes laughing at the idea of yuna drinking her wine and thinking, "oh you poor fool," because she senses a kindred "does NOT fuck with snakes" spirit, but that's something shane gets to handle on his own.

JUST A BABY TALKING TO A BABY

They were starting to get concerned about how he’d do when he started kindergarten in the fall, there had been a few late night conversations about if they should find a speech therapist if he was still non-speaking by the time he started school, but one day after they’re driving home from a Centaurs game, Shane suddenly pipes up from his carseat in the back,

“Mama, Daddy, I wanna be a hockey player when I grow up.”

It’s so unexpected that David slams on the brakes and Yuna spills the remains of her ginger ale on her lap. They both whip their heads around to look at the small boy happily kicking his feet in the backseat wearing the jersey that looks more like a tent on him (he’ll go through a growth spurt in a month or two and it’ll fit just fine) who has no idea he just did anything special.

their household calendar is run like the navy by all three. god forbid a last minute change happens, then their whole schedule is thrown off and they have to restructure everything.

they cycle through seven meals, one for each day of the week and the family needs at least a weeks worth of notice if someone wants something else for dinner.

after 9pm everybody has to start their nighttime routines and there is absolutely no talking until the next morning.

all new furniture and decorative pillows or blankets must be vetted by all three just in case there is an Evil Texture that will cause someone to freak out.

90% of their conversations relate back to hockey somehow. shane loves statistics and strategy and hypothetical match ups. david loves the sports history and culture and superstitions. yuna loves her season predictions and pr strategies and contract negotiations.

yuna is a “too much eye contact” autistic, shane and david are “zero eye contact” autistics.

This confirms that there is a civilization older than the Sumerians that we have yet to find

Some people get existential dread from this

Source (non Aboriginal)

And a quote I picked out from a longer interview with an Aboriginal local elder about the area where he touched on the history

shane’s hoodie hanging in the front closet because last time he visited he was late and running out the door back to montreal, forgetting the time as they tried to soak up every second they could get with one another

there’s two sets of plates in the cupboard, two bowls, and two mugs. but one set is obviously used far more than the other

the empty spare rooms ilya uses for “storage” is really a cold reminder of a family waiting to be made, empty walls where pictures of family vacations should be

everywhere ilya looks in that house is a promise for the future. but every time he turns around it feels like that future is further and further away