everiblog

This storyline is so often framed as ‘the REAL reason they can’t come out is because of the rivalry. We already solved homophobia!’ and it just makes me want to scream You Don’t Get It! Homophobia is not a binary yes/no switch and doesn’t get instantly solved upon coming out.

People are generally aware that pointing at a gay man and screaming a slur is socially frowned upon but they do become uncomfortable in little ways and search for excuses to justify that discomfort. Sometimes coming out can go well but the minute that you start actually doing gay things (like getting into a relationship) it meets a very different reaction. Sometimes people are comfortable with someone being gay in theory but not in practice and they go searching for reasons to justify their homophobia.

It is perfectly okay to not read the books, but I would really REALLY caution non-book readers to be careful with what they discuss unless it stems from an actual excerpt from the text.

This is not me gatekeeping. (Please! Go read the books! If you’re unsure of where to start, I would recommend reading Role Model first, which gives proper context for The Long Game) This is me attempting to counteract the misinformation that has only grown tenfold since Troy and Harris were cast.

With all that being said, a list of things that Did Not Happen In The Books: 

Troy is not racist. This is a reasonable conclusion to draw, that a homophobic bully could also be racist, but there is no textual evidence of this. 

On that note, Troy does not hatecrime Shane. Troy actually does not have any direct interactions with Shane at all. The closest they come to speaking with each other is when they’re on the ice at the same time during an Ottawa v. Montreal game. (*EDIT: they do have a conversation at the wedding)

Ilya does not hate Troy. Like all of the Centaurs, Ilya is wary and uncertain about Troy at first. He’s annoyed with the situation surrounding the trade, and he definitely hates Dallas. But he does not hate Troy. 

I hate to break everyone’s hearts, but... Troy does not ask Ilya for Shane’s number. Troy thinks about doing this, but doesn’t actually follow through. This concept is so funny that I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually does this in the show. This is the actual excerpt from the book:

masochism everywhere for those with the eyes to see

sadism everywhere for those with the eyes to see

HUDSON WILLIAMS APPRECIATION WEEK | Day 1: Favorite Performance

because of The Horrors, though, he pretty much only speaks japanese around his family, and for a while gets kind of rusty at it because he just stops speaking it entirely, but he makes an effort to start learning again when he's in his 20s because he finally realizes that assimilation is a bitch and a half and he's never going to be White Enough™ to stop being asian in the eyes of white society, so he might as well lean into it and try to unlearn some of his shame and issues, etc. more on that in another post though.

but the point is, like. shane speaks japanese. shane does Not speak japanese in front of white people (his father excepted). it's actually a huge show of trust for him the first time he answers a call from yuna while he's with hayden, and greets her as "kaa-san" instead of "mom". he has his life neatly divided into boxes and generally speaking, Acting Asian™ is something he only does in front of people he really, truly feels comfortable with. this list is very short.

so everything goes more or less like normal canon... UNTIL: The Hit. shane is in the hospital. shane is on hella drugs. now, for fun and sport, let's say yuna is also there, sooner, sitting by her baby boy's bedside, when ilya shows up. so we get:

yuna, startled: "oh! rozanov...?" shane, high as a kite: "ilya!!!!! 🥰✨🥺💖💕" ilya, extremely awkwardly: "ah. um. hello. i... wanted to see if...?"

so the conversation progresses, more or less normally, until:

shane, high as a kite: (hmm... i want to ask him to come to my cottage, but i don't want anyone knowing that's what i'm asking him. i gotta do it secret-styles. 'cuz my mom is right here.) shane: (💡!!! i know what to do!!! i can ask him in my SECRET language that other people won't understand!!!)

shane, high as a kite, in japanese: "Will 🫵YOU🫵 come🏃💨 to my cottage🏡 this summer🌞🌄? ❌DON'T❌ go to Russia🙅👎. Come✈️ to My🙋 House🏡--"

now, you may see the flaw in shane's brilliant strategy here.

yuna, shocked, in japanese: "shane, what are you saying? you never invite anyone to your cottage!"

shane (suddenly looking like a deer in the headlights) (big ol' shocked, wide eyes) (remembering that his mom speaks japanese) (quick what's a different language!!!): "oh, merde."

yuna: "......... je parle français aussi, shane."

shane (eyes going even wider): "um…" shane, frantically tugging on ilya's sleeve: "psst, ilyaaa 💕✨🥰🥺, how do you say 'oh, fuck!' in russian?"

and now poor, clueless ilya is sure shane just started talking about his dick in japanese. to his MOTHER.

so yuna is shocked, because shane never speaks japanese in front of most white people, and maybe that could be excused by the drugs, but shane also never invites people to his cottage! so there must be something more going on here. is rozanov secretly someone special to him? she's reeling, she wants to know more, she's gotta process...

meanwhile ilya can hear the kill bill sirens closing in. hollander's mother is right there. and very scary up close. this is it. sticking his dick places where angels fear to tread has finally come back to bite him. he's pretty sure he's not going to leave this room alive.

My hopes for Unrivaled are based on my thinking that Shane and Ilya are not at a great spot at the end of TLG, which is different from how RR and most of the fandom sees it, so I already know I would be disappointed by Unrivaled in some way.

I want to see Ilya and Shane grow and heal as people and a couple. For Ilya, I want him to start seeing things from Shane’s perspective more and having more empathy for him. Like more emotional support instead of just something sexual (not to be sex negative. I’d just like to see a bit more emotional connection). It’d be great if he can reflect on his behavior and grow, but I’d settle for him magically acting different as well. Shane is at a very vulnerable point in life at the end of TLG, and I’m hoping Ilya would recognize that and support him through it. It would also actually help Ilya’s depression to break his negative spiral of thinking and focus on outside perspectives.

For Shane, I’d like to see him get his own therapist lol. Really, I’d like to see him heal from tripgate and regain his rightful place at the top of the game as player and leader (as some sort of co-captain or even A. And I’d like him realize he’s allowed to have those achievements as well as love.

I guess my expectations are pessimistic based on what little is revealed. Apparently Shane is going to realize his body will not allow him to play hockey forever. I’d say this is pointless because it’s obvious he already knows this and that’s why he’s so hyper disciplined and why he even went on that diet that focuses on longevity and performance. I’m a bit afraid this might mean some sort of injury or illness and that would just be too much after what he’s already been through. I would also be against a lesson like “hockey careers are short. Love is forever” because I don’t believe that it should be one or the other for him. That idea also dashes some people’s hopes that he’ll just relearn to love hockey without the “burden” of leadership, because it seems like he’ll have to accept loving hockey less in someway and we’ll lose a bit of what makes him “the Shane Hollander”.

We already know he’s not co-Captain, so the best we can hope for is an A. I don’t know how to interpret him getting used to not being captain and learning to appreciate having Ilya as captain. That’s against what drew me to hollanov as a couple to begin with. To me, these guys are equals at the top and they respect each other as both players and leaders. For me, they complement each other well and they should be at the top together. For example, this would be like if TLG Ilya gets used to losing and just enjoys watching Shane keep lifting cups and learn to appreciate him as a great player instead. It’s also racist because POCs get told all the time that they’re not suitable leaders and they should appreciate the leadership of the strong charismatic white man instead.