yeah, about that...

Happy Anniversary

It seems like a lot of people in the fandom are conflating the ideas that “If the show makes decisions that you personally don’t like then that automatically equates to bad writing”.

Example:

“The monsters are acting monstrous…how dare they 🫨🫨”.

-I don’t know what else you expect a monster to do 🤨

“Claudia called Louis a slave… how dare the writers 🫨🫨”.

-Like it’s not a continuation from the first time she referred to herself and Louis as Lestat’s slaves in Season 1 Episode 6 🤨

“How dare Armand and Daniel do that to Louis and Lestat🫨🫨”

-What part of DEVIL and his MINION was unclear 🤨

“How can you still like Daniel after he used a student aggressively 🫨🫨”.

-Because it was already established that Daniel is a sexual sadist sometimes and I’m not going to act shocked that the bad person was bad and did bad things 😐 No one is obligated to have the same moral code they do in reality applied to fictional characters 🤨

Take a deep breath and say it with me:

Shane answers with a concerned look on his face. He's also wearing glasses. Huh. Troy didn't know he wore glasses.

"Barrett, is everything okay?"

"You wear glasses?"

Shane looks confused for a second, removes the glasses and explains they're just for reading. Asks if he's okay again.

It's only now Troy realizes that this might be the first time he's ever called Shane. He's not even sure they have a text string between just the two of them. Roz is usually a part of whatever they could possibly have to talk about. The embarrassment causes him to pause, just for a moment, before he remembers why he called.

"Yeah! Yeah, um— I was wondering if you, if you knew what I should….Harris is sick."

He's trying to explain but obviously doing a bad job of it. Shane scrunches his brow, then briefly nods to someone off camera. Maybe he should have just texted.

"Yeah, I noticed he wasn't at the rink today. Is he doing okay?"

"Yes. Well, actually, I don't know. He didn't tell me, I just heard it from Gen, when I realized he wasn't there." Shane still has a confused look on his face. "What should I bring him? If I want to go see him. Like, medicine and shit. I'm at Shoppers." He turns the camera so the camera captures the florescent aisle he is standing in.

"Oh!" Shane visibly relaxes. "Um, that's really thoughtful of you. I don't know, does he have any allergies to medication?"

"I, um—" Does Harris have any allergies to medicine? Is that something a boyfriend is supposed to know? Troy is trying to remember every conversation they've ever had while also trying not to have a panic attack in a Shoppers Drug Mart.

"That's okay, Barrett, he probably—"

"Heart! Heart issues. He had some heart issues. As a kid. I don't know, is that relevant?"

"Oh, yeah, no, that's good to know. If it's just a cold, I would probably just get him a cough suppressant. Nothing with ibuprofen in it, and you should be fine. Robitussin is a good brand."

Troy scans the shelves, trying to look for something that resembles whatever word Shane just said.

"Black and green box," Shane provides.

Black and green box— there it is. Right in front of him. He holds it up to show Shane, who nods approvingly.

"Okay um…" Troy looks around the store, a bit helplessly. "Is there anything else I should get?"

"You could get some throat lozenges, some tea, maybe some extra tissue boxes? Electrolytes are always important, too." Shane is acting like this is the most normal thing in the world, Troy asking for help on how to take care of his sick boyfriend. Troy is thankful for it.

"There's also this one restaurant that Ilya really loves, I get him chicken noodle soup when he's not feeling well. I can send you the address if you want."

Troy nods his head gratefully. "Yeah, yeah that would be great."

He goes to say something more but then bites his tongue. Thinks he should maybe ask someone else, or at least have Roz come and join the call so it's less awkward. But Shane has been so helpful already, and Troy's been an anxious mess since he realized Harris had called out of work and hadn't told Troy about it.

"You don't think—" He pauses, trying to find the words for what he's asking. "You don't think he's going to be mad, do you?"

Shane scowls in confusion. "About you bringing him food and medicine?"

"Yeah, I guess— like, I don't know if I would want to see anyone if I was sick. Honestly, I'd be a little horrified. And I don't want him to feel like he's a burden, either. I kinda want it to be a surprise or whatever, but what if he just…doesn't want to see me?"

"Well does he usually like surprises?"

Troy shrugs, then nods. Actually, Harris loves surprises. Usually. He's never been sick during any surprises before, though.

"Then you show up, and if he doesn't want you to stay you just drop everything off and leave. You can call him later to make sure he's okay, if you're still worried." Shane says this with a shrug, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Troy supposes it is.

"Okay. Yeah, okay, sounds good." They're both silent for a second, neither quite sure what to say after that unexpected intimacy. "Anyway. Thanks, Hollander."

"Yeah, of course. Anytime." And he sounds like he means it.

They both stay on the line for a second. Neither of them had technically said goodbye, but there really isn't anymore to say. Finally, Shane just hangs up. With anyone else, that would have been a little awkward, but Troy is so glad for that small kindness he breathes a sigh of relief.

harris, stone cold sober: like it's not like i suddenly forget i have a heart condition. i know my body. i know what it can handle. and i know what i want.

shane, slightly tipsy: and you wanna get railed

harris: AND I WANNA GET RAILED IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK

shane: can i tell you something. you cannot tell anyone

harris: no promises

shane: eh fuck what does it matter anymore. remember that halloween party ilya threw when he wore that gladiator costume?

harris: yeah he looked so hot in that instagram picture

shane: i needed him so bad that i drove to ottawa that night even though i had a morning skate the next day

harris: holy shit. i get it. respect

shane: with a plug in

harris:

shane:

harris: so that's why ilya married you

I’m very happy that the fandom has discovered such cute Russian pet names as kotyonok, solnyshko, dorogoy and so on. Good job, guys! People do use them when talking to their partners, spouses or children. I’ll give my opinion on those fandom nicknames as a person born and raised in Russia before moving to a different country. One important thing: I will start with general notes using hetero couples as an example, you'll understand later why (it’s a long read).

From my experience, most Russian men use pet names twice less often than women. Well, maybe it was my fault to chose wrong men with communication issues, and other Russians would disagree with me… Yet, I’ll still say that an average Russian man has a small vocabulary of words and phrases to show affection. Usually, it’s women, who use various nicknames for their partners, best friends and children (and they don't repeat them, every person has their own nickname, sometimes even several), and men either don't use such words or choose one and keep it.

So, if a tough Russian man wants to use a pet name, what options would he have? 1. The safest option is a short form of his partner’s name + a diminutive suffix

Russian is a flexible language, and it has lots of different ways to form new words. And the name system usually put learners of Russian into a coma (probably a topic for the next post). How would it look like? A man dates a woman called Elena (Елена). A short form of Elena is Lena (Лена). We take a root “Len” and a suffix “ochk,” then add an inflection “a”. (Лен + очк + а). It makes Lenochka, Леночка. That’s it. 

2. Common pet names

Usually cute animals, or something small, or words with diminutive suffixes. You already know some of them, solnyshko is “little sun,” kotyonok is “a kitten,” malysh or detka is “a baby,” luchik is “a small ray of light.”

3. Something ironic or fun, unexpected word choice, inner jokes

A strange word, that’s rarely used as a pet name. Or, a really formal way of addressing, like a full name + patronymic (Ilya Grigoryevich, Elena Alexandrovna…), but usually said ironically or playfully. Some people can even call their beloved ones by their surnames, though also playfully or ironically. 

Now let’s move to Ilya. I’ll highlight some key moments in his story, which, in my opinion, define a lot in his character, including language habits.

As I mentioned, affectionate language is usually associated with women, not men (traditional views on gender roles). Boys can hear pet names either from their moms or girlfriends, if they actually do so (there are also women who don't use such a language). Ilya’s mom died when he was 12. Grigoriy in books and the show doesn't look like a man who can be soft with his sons. We don't have any information if his new wife was close with Ilya and his brother. And the brother… Well, you got it.

Second, Ilya is a professional hockey player. Children can officially join hockey schools at the age of 5 but some start even earlier, at 3 or 4. At some point, Ilya’s talent became obvious, and his coach told so his parents, so they decided to invest into his career. What does it mean?

Practices, routine, discipline, low tolerance to mistakes, high expectations. One important cultural moment. Ilya was born in June 1991, right before the USSR disappeared. Russian sport schools inherited Soviet sport traditions. I think everyone is familiar with some stereotypes about the coaching style in the Soviet Union, right? Moreover, here is a fact from rl. The Russian society started to think about the coaching style only in the mid 2010-s, maybe even later (figure skating and rhythmic gymnastics caused the biggest discussions). Some people started to think that coaches are too strict to children, some believed that nobody could become no. 1 without strict discipline. Why am I saying this? Ilya was likely raised in a tough environment with zero tolerance to mistakes and weakness. Maybe, a children’s coach was chill and fun at the begging but when it became clear that Ilya could make it to the professional hockey league, the coaching style must have changed. Also, if you watch videos with mic’d up hockey players, you’ll hear lots of profanity. Even though they usually remember that people can hear their words and maybe even try to watch their language for the first 5 minutes.

So, Ilya had no place where he could learn affectionate language. Neither his family, nor his environment could teach him so. Btw, it’s a good trope for therapy sessions, when Galina asks Ilya how he shows his feelings to people.

Okay, Ilya doesn’t speak affectionate language but he has dated women and probably figured at some point that if he calls Svetlana Svetohcka, Svetik or malyshka, it can give him some benefits. But Ilya is dating a man.

Shane is a professional athlete too, who lifts heavy weights, gets punched in the face or in the ribs regularly, had a concussion and a fractured collarbone. His mom is not just “a regular mom” but a manager, so they shift their roles from “mom and son” to “manager and client.” So, Shane probably hasn’t really heard lots of pet names in his life too, though his family is obviously healthier than Ilya’s. He’s half Japanese, and when he started his professional journey, hockey was mostly white (and it’s still like that, though there’re more biracial players than it used to be). Shane definitely heard racial slurs and had to answer them. Moreover, his vocabulary is also not roses and honey, how many times did he call Ilya an asshole?

So, Shane for Ilya is still a part of the hypermasculine world with little room for sentiments (do you have though such a word in English, lol). Even if Ilya wakes up one day with a perfect affectionate vocabulary, there’s no guarantee that Shane would immediately like it. He’ll probably be surprised.

Also, if we talk about kotyonok. In some fics, Ilya compares Shane to “a kitten” when he’s angry (Russian fic writers sometimes do it too btw). Well, children may look cute when angry (though some parents would disagree after dealing with their screaming angel for an hour). But a 185 cm meter tall, 90 kg hockey player would probably look scary when he’s angry, wouldn’t he? If we stay in the feline world, then it would be an angry tiger, I guess.

So, what to do if you wanna make Ilya a hot thing with the tongue well hung, not a man with avoidant attachment behavior and communication issues?

Rachel Reid already did it. If you remember, Ilya uses strange pet names for Shane, like moy pomidor (my tomato). IMHO, it suits Ilya’s character perfectly. He kinda uses a phrase reminding a pet name but chooses a strange, not cute or sexy word for it, and he does it in Russian, which Shane doesn’t speak. Shane doesn’t understand the phrase and gets confused, unsure whether he was just insulted or praised. He googles pomidor, figures out it means tomato and… He either laughs or rolls his eyes, and calls Ilya an asshole. Perfect.

I also find this option safe for them, if we talk about the timeline when they’re still in the closet. Like, Ilya gets drunk at the charity evening or after the All Stars game and suddenly calls Shane something. If he says kotyonok in front of Russian-speaking players, they might be fucked up. But if Ilya says pomidor, he can get away with it, explaining to the Russians that he just mocks Shane, using random words he wouldn’t understand.

What can you do as fic writer when you wanna use kotyonok or solnyshko?

Just go for it. You like these words, your audience does too, it’s a match. Fanfiction is for fun, we don’t write academic papers there. You own your fantasy.

What can you do, if you wanna add some “Russian spice” but still keep Ilya affectionate?

Just keep in mind his background and let him learn things. You can show his development, how he started with “boring” and moy pomidor and then moved to solnyshko. There could be a difference after their coming out, like Ilya could be more relaxed when they don’t need to hide anymore. You can compare him to Shane, how would Shane react when he turned from “boring” to malysh? Would he stop using “asshole” as an equivalent for “I love you” in this case?