Not average, but not quite awesome

Shane is handing Ilya something. It looks like? a pair of shoes?

“Here,” Shane places the slipper things into ilya’s hands.

“What are these?” Ilya asks.

“Water shoes.”

“Why do I wear shoes in the water?”

“Because otherwise your feet will get muddy and sandy and touch rocks and seaweed and gross stuff,” Shane explains.

“So? I will just wash them. After.”

“But it feels yucky? On your toes?”

“I will be okay Hollander.” He hands the shoes back to him.

Shane looks extremely wary. “But what if you get a scratch on your foot from a rock or a zebra mussel?”

“Oh no, not a scratch,” Ilya says, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Shane makes his ‘disgruntled frown’ face, which of course makes Ilya’s heart go all mushy.

“Fine. I will wear the shoes. Give.”

Shane looks at him like he suspects Ilya is about to chuck the shoes into the lake, never to be seen again.

“Shane, moya lyubov,” Ilya tries. “I am going to wear these stupid water shoes for you so I do not get cuts. Give them to me.”

Shane gets this soft look in his eyes. “What does that mean? Moya Loo-Bof”

He butchers the pronunciation, but Ilya knows what he means. He didn’t necessarily mean for Russian the term of endearment to slip out, but it did, naturally. His entire face blushes red.

“My love,” he mumbles, scared, even after their confessions last night, that he’s spooked shane off.

It's extremely telling that they choose to do this, that they take her (groundbreaking and heartbreaking) depiction of a real life victim of enslavement, physical and sexual abuse, and shove it up as "oh you're telling me THIS is a beautiful woman?"

Not any of her beautiful modelling photos, not any other role she's been in. But one where she's being whipped.

What they're telling us is "this is all you deserve to play. This is what you get to be seen as. You being a slave, you being abused, is what's "accurate" for a Black woman. You don't get to be seen as valuable. You don't get to be beautiful, and certainly not the most beautiful woman in the world, not in MY world."

As if we haven't been on this planet the whole time, in every sort of role there is. As if the only thing that has ever been relevant about us is our abuse, that that is the imagery that defines us. And these people will swear that "they're not racist, it's just-", and get mad when you look their racism right in the eyeballs.

not hockey obviously. normal things: burning dinner. getting lost. assembling furniture wrong. accidentally killing a plant

because everyone else spent his entire life treating competence like the most important thing about him. every achievement became evidence. every success became expectation

And Luca and the other rookies being like, oh you mean the Dad-Trifecta? it's the best thing that has ever happened to us.

You loose your skates or you need help with paperwork or you're just feeling kinda sad and need a dad hug - you go Bood. he will grill you some chicken and go speak to Coach for you. You call him or Cassie if you're sick and they will pick you up and deposit you on the floor with Milo and you are their baby now. I'm 23 years old but that's my dad tho

If you're having trouble with other players, or if you're in like, a crisis? Mama Bear Ilya, will 100% get arrested for any of us and/or pick you up from the middle of nowhere any time of night. You wanna ragebait other players? He has the perception of a God and can tell from one look when a players second wife will leave him. He can also tell when you're feeling like shit mentally and he will pick you up take you to Harris farm and make you dog walk with him while throwing sweets at you. Holmberg got high sticked the other week Ilya spent like, 2 hours going through the guys Instagram with us while wine drunk and ripping his entire life to pieces with us.