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he thinks ilya doesn't ever listen to his messages, so maybe he starts leaving one here and there. maybe they're nothing really, just a note to say he tried to call. sometimes leaving off with "oh, this is shane. by the way" he calls when he knows ilya won't be able to pick up; "hey, uh. i know you won't get this, but i was thinking about you. i miss you. i know you're just in ottawa but... sometimes it feels a lot further. i love you." and sometimes he'll be watching a game and god. he wants to talk to ilya about that play, so he'll leave message about it. shane never really tells ilya that this is something he does.

A. Literal children

B. Portrayed as "mentally children" and thus incapable of understanding sex

or

C. Taught a very heteronormative idea of sex and relationships by other characters

Shane Hollander is a breath of fresh fucking air. He's allowed to be socially awkward, routine oriented, monotone, etc, while equally being sexy and sexual. And while part of his story is learning about his sexuality and his desires, he's not portrayed as some wide-eyed virgin for Ilya to teach. He's submissive, but not passive. He's allowed to be horny and to want sex.

So often Autistic people in media and IRL are desexualized, meaning we are stripped of our sexual autonomy, leading to the belief that we are incapable of having or wanting sex. Because of this, Autistic people are often not given proper sexual education, not allowed to engage with sexual content, and have less opportunities to explore our sexuality. But the truth is Autistic people are just as diverse in terms of our sexual identities, desires, and experiences as our neurotypical counterparts. This does not mean Autistic people experience sexuality the same as neurotypicals, as our sensory needs and communication differences do impact our experiences (another thing we can see in Heated Rivalry), but that our sexualities deserve to be equally celebrated.