#aphie.aut

i know the first thought is like. when shane was folding his pants before sex but i honestly think ilya just thought it was dorky and cute and didn't think too deeply into it

to me, when i consider how ilya interprets all of their interactions up until florida, the stylist reveal at the bar is when ilya fully realizes that shane is really just wired completely differently than most people and that's why none of their interactions have ever made sense to him.

this is also a personal headcanon of mine and i don't think this is in the text or meant to be BUT HEAR ME OUT

he sits through their entire conversation with such obvious anxiety, tapping and twitching and staring and thinking shane can see it and is just torturing him with the build-up to his engagement announcement because ilya deserves it. and then shane goes. can i tell you a secret? :) and ilya's like FUCK no PLEASE don't but his mouth says okay because he is a masochist and he needs to know where they stand and if he's about to fight for his right to be shane's mistress, and shane just goes 'i..... hired a stylist :3'

and ilya just.

come with me on this face journey for a moment

this FOR ME is the moment ilya realizes that he's been misunderstanding shane completely. i don't think he goes 'oh shit... autistic' but i do think he fully understands that shane is just Like That and genuinely can't read the room for shit and has no idea ilya is crawling out of his skin to know if they can be something again

anyone else would have acknowledged the hints he was dropping. the physical cues. the updowns. but not shane. which means none of his past attempts to silently communicate got through, either. which means. a lot.

I just wanted to ask how do you think Ilya views Shane’s autism/difference or do you think he even notices it at all?

And bonus question how do you think Shane views himself and his own difference/autism or do you think he is too wrapped up in his own world to notice?

Please don’t feel the need to answer!!!

Thanks for being a staple for HR tumblr!!!!!

hi!!!!! I actually have a post talking about the first time I think Ilya realized Shane had something Different going on!!

i don't think either of them define it or understand it as autism, not for a loooong long time, like if we're talking real world time probably around 2021ish when autism diagnoses were becoming more common among adults and even then i don't think he'd ever get an official diagnosis considering how sensitive his public image is.

i think shane's autism is just seen (by himself & by others) as just his own unique personality. his quirks, his Way of Doing Things. he talks a little different, a little too flat. he doesn't really look at you when he talks to you. he reeeeally likes hockey. like, a lot. a lot. he's got a strict routine and diet. he's funny in an unexpected way. he's a little stoic. a little too direct with his words. his eyes can't lie even when his mouth tries to. he's easily riled up. sensitive. occasionally short circuits from feeling too much at once and has meltdowns panic attacks. really bad at small talk, worse at trying to be mean on purpose (chirping). can't read body language whatsoever off the ice. CANNOT take a hint. eager to know the rules and how to navigate in unfamiliar situations. asks a lot of seemingly unimportant questions. takes forever to craft a text because he's overthinking every word in it. the ginger ale thing. his fixation on architecture/real estate.

all of these are just... shaneisms.