queer bimbo

for anyone in need here is the folder of hollanov fanfic pdfs i made for the first downtime

they're not all good formatting bc i had to print to pdf the ones i just had in open tabs, but i hope this will help someone 🙏

The two peices of evidence I've seen people use are the 'sorry, i don't deserve you' 'yes you do, Jane is lucky' exchange and what he says at the end of the Russian tunnel monolog.

In the memorial scene, Ilya is not apologizing because she's in love with him, he's apologizing because his brother called her a whore and she's suffering through this horrible memorial just to support him. He's telling her 'I see what you are doing for me as my best friend and I don't deserve this kindness/love/support' and then she tells him that not only does he deserve that support from her but everyone (Jane) in his life is lucky to have his love and friendship.

The other peice of evidence that I saw brought up was the 'I love her just not like I love you' and again it is not an acknowledgement of her unrequited love but instead it is Ilya saying that even though he is not alone because he has Svetlana, he is still missing something by not having Shane in the way that he wants him.

She's such an interesting character and you guys want to reduce her to pining former love interest.

your outie likes the sound of radar

ilya as woodstock (pt. 2)

Day 90 by @greatcomets which is shane time looping after his ep5 accident. this fic is DELICIOUS it is such fantastic shane character study and uses his anxiety+comfort with routine in such wonderful ways. its also funny and suicidal and awkward and romantic in the best time loop ways.

circle back season by an anonymous author on ao3. i read this twice in a row as a truly great time travel story deserves. 18 year old shane timejumps into ep6 shane's present, and both of them have to explain this to ilya. it is SO beautiful and i can honestly say it gave me a new perspective on canon shane's anxiety, in a really fun way. and ilya is adorableeeee in this absolutely gone to pieces over baby shane which i find very relatable #iwishiknewyouwhenyouwere8

cut to the feeling by @boxboxlewis which is also 18 year old shane time jumping, but this time to 2026 when shilya are RETIRED and have a BABY which is very SHOCKING for the shane who just got out of the gym scene!! in these two fics i really love how the different points they pluck shane out of change his perspective so much, and here again shane's anxiety and control issues are played with so well. i love how resourceful he is in this fic lol. also some very sexy virginity "roleplay" which i adored.

But some people act like it's the worst writing in the world. Like she's as bad as Colleen Hoover. Some people act like she doesn't know her own characters and is being deliberately mean to THEIR favourite character because she's just such a dumb bitch who doesn't know any better and thank GOD Jacob Tierney came along and took Shane off her hands cause dear lord was she making a mess of his character.

The fucking audacity.

I'm the first person to believe in death of the author and criticising what you watch and read even when you enjoy it. Especially then, even. But so much of the criticism I see is either elitist, pretentious bullshit acting like reading these books is beneath them (while ACTIVELY enjoying and praising the series which is BASED on those very same books. You wouldn't have your beloved series if it wasn't for these books, maybe remember that?) or it's people acting like Rachel is the devil himself because she has an obvious favourite character and maybe didn't go in as much detail as some people would've wished where Shane is concerned or didn't give him as much attention as Ilya, allegedly, gets.

Let's not forget that book 1 of hollanov is mostly Shane's perspective, with very few interventions from Ilya. Don't act like Rachel ignored his existence in book 2 simply because it was Ilya's turn this time around to get more of the spotlight.

I know you all love to villainise women and prop men up for doing a tenth of what a woman does but let's remember that at the end of the day, these are Rachel's characters whom she knows and obviously loves. Even if her writing decisions are clumsy sometimes or unrefined, if you can't feel the earnestness and respect with which she writes these stories, the love she has for these characters, then you obviously need to go back to reading picture books and then come back here if you want to discuss anything with me about Game Changers.

Jacob changed very little but everyone acts like he pulled this story out of his ass and made it shiny. Maybe take a closer look at why that is and do some reflection.