Miscellaneous

"many see as illegal"

1. Jokes about being mistaken for relatives, anyone who has ever been in an interracial relationships knows what I’m talking about. Some white Centaurs player is complaining about his white girlfriend being mistaken for his sister, and Ilya’s annoying ass cuts in like “omg this happens to Shane and I alllll the time sooo annoying”, the sarcastic jokes that they get mistaken for siblings/twins/cousins never stop

2. Communism jokes whenever Ilya wants to share something that Shane has, “Shane it’s OUR personal space, this is how it is in Russia 🙄” then whenever Ilya complains about Shane’s boring car, Shane hits him with the “oh I thought it was OUR car huh🤨”

3. The STRONG mutual agreement that cold water is bad for indigestion and highly preferring room temp drinking water, and yes, this does get them some side eyes from teammates when they always refuse ice in their water. On the flip side, they both drink their tea scorching hot, and anything less than boiling is not hot enough.

4. They may avoid The Question since they’re both famous, but I feel like it’s likely that Ilya still sometimes gets the heavily disguised “oh and where is your husband from…no no I mean where is he ‘originally’ from” and every time he gives a straight faced “Ottawa😐”

5. I know in the show we see Shane and Ilya wearing shoes in the house a few times and I’m here to say this is FAKE NEWS. Both of our boys are strict no outdoor shoes in the house, and they only wear house slippers when at home.

6. Whenever they are drunk or just delirious with sleep in the late hours, one or both of them starts a sentence in a different language without even realizing. Just to clarify, multilingual people do not “forget to switch” but the wires can get crossed when the brain is impaired. Shane hears Ilya getting up at 3am for water and tries to ask where he’s going, but it comes out in French and Ilya’s standing there in the dark like “…I don’t know what that means Shane”

7. An unanticipated struggle of hiding their relationship in their early days was just their different hair types. Hayden is hanging out at Shane’s place and sees strands of blonde curly hair on the couch and spots curly hair products in the bathroom…suspicious. They’re constantly finding each other’s hair in their beds, their clothes, their OWN hair, Shane one time finds a strand of Ilya’s hair in his meal prep and gives him the cold shoulder for the rest of the day.

8. Obligatory jokes about throwing in a “oh what because I’m Asian?” in an arbitrary conversation. Ilya and Shane are obviously immune to these from each other over time but it never fails to turn their teammates into fumbling messes. A Boston teammate asks Ilya if he knows about a niche American political topic (he doesn’t) but Ilya just responds with “oh you assume I do not know bc I am immigrant, this is so xenophobic of you” and he watches with glee as this guy backpedals harder than ever before in his life

1) Ilya free balling with nothing protecting his hair or anything, having some bullshit excuse of

"No no Shane, I am Russian, we do not need clothes for sleep. We must be free, like grizzly bear. My curls will survive, I am natural beauty."

Or

2) He is the most high mantinence motherfucker there is

He has a full on, silk, fancy ass sleep set that he wears along with a dramatic as fuck fur or feather robe, a bonnet and an eye mask

Empires actively work against trying to "teach people how to fish," because they want countries dependent on "charity" from the empire and exploitative international trade. Bill and Hillary Clinton's actions in Haiti are despicable, but not unique.

“Ready?” Ilya asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” Shane replied, fidgeting with his tie nervously. Ilya threaded their fingers together. They waited inside the tunnel for their names to be announced. It was weird being here in a suit and not in full hockey gear but it was time for this next step. Shane and Ilya both agreed. It took a while to mentally get there, but they’d arrived, content with the decision.

“Now presenting number 24, Shane Hollander and number 81, Ilya Rozanov!” The Ottawa crowd lost its mind; everyone in the arena was on their feet cheering. Shane choked up as they walked out together, for the last time.

For a minute, they looked around, soaking in the adoration of the crowd. The team was lined up, tapping their sticks as Shane and Ilya made their way to the podium. Luca had taken over as Captain, which was as it should be, in Ilya’s opinion. Troy now wore the A since Bood retired. Their team was in good hands.

They shook hands with Coach Wiebe and with the GM of the Centaurs. Then they looked at each other and grinned, raising their joined hands. Shane felt tears on his cheeks but he hadn’t been aware he was crying. He glanced at Ilya, who seemed similarly emotional but when their eyes met, he winked.

The GM was speaking now about their individual and team accomplishments. Shane tried to listen, he really did. But he tuned out. Then the GM was beckoning him forward and Shane was alone at the podium. He had a printed copy of the speech in his jacket pocket but he’d memorized it so he didn’t take it out.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice a little thick. “When I started my career, I thought my number would hang from a different set of rafters one day.” The crowd booed and Shane chuckled, waiting for them to quiet. “But it has been an absolute privilege to play in my hometown and to have my jersey hanging here, where I attended my first hockey game when I was four years old. I couldn’t have done this without my parents, Yuna and David, Coach Wiebe and the entire Centaurs coaching staff, my amazing teammates…and of course, my wonderful husband, Ilya Rozanov.” The crowd cheered again and Ilya came forward, joining Shane at the podium. “We have been through a lot. But it’s always been together. And I look forward to starting our new chapter together.”

Ilya kissed his cheek and Shane stepped back. “Oh my God Hollander, you are so boring,” he drawled, getting a laugh from the crowd. “But seriously…I moved to a new country when I was 19 years old. It was lonely, learning new customs, a new language, a new city. I had two constants in my life then. Hockey. And Shane.” He looked over at Shane, giving him a small smile. “At first it was because the media decided we hated each other. And yes, we played into that…narrative. As we got to know each other though, I realized I didn’t hate him. I respected him. He made me better. He pushed me in a way no one else did. Still does, as a matter of fact,” he said, winking at the crowd. “All of my career achievements …you know what they are, I don’t have to list them…would be meaningless without him. So yes, to everyone who has supported me throughout my career: coaches, team, Yuna and David..but especially Shane.” He stopped speaking and Shane stepped forward again, wrapping him in a tight hug.

There were a few more speeches but neither Shane nor Ilya was really listening, waiting as they were for that moment which was rapidly approaching. When the GM finally announced it was time to raise their numbers to the rafters, the arena sounded as though they were playing Game 7 of the Finals. Shane gripped Ilya’s hand as their banners soared toward the ceiling, both overcome with emotion.

Their numbers would hang their forever, part of Centaurs and hockey history. Together.

Word count: 682

happy pride! remember that being a transgender is everything but fiction. there are so many real historical figures from every century about whose transgenderism we aren't even aware of