One of my friends said (this is an exaggeration and a joke so don't get all serious on me) "There's no homophobia in this homophobia show."

What she meant was that, sure, there's Ilya's brother. And Russia. But other than that, everyone they come out to is okay with Shane being gay and Ilya being bi.

Onscreen, that is. Obviously, that's not real life and it's not even how real life is presented in this story, but it was interesting to think about how at least a few of their fears were unnecessary.

Even Scott coming out on the ice was met with cheers from fans. All of this makes sense in a show about queer joy, but I hadn't thought of it until my friend said that. No doubt she's experienced a ton of homophobia in her life so I think that's why it struck her. She really liked the show, don't get me wrong. It wasn't a criticism.

It kind of made me love the show even more. I already knew it was like a magical fairy tale and her observation made it even more magical. What do you think?

Hilarious. And true. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWmI3D_kXnE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

I keep trying to think of how a female counterpart to the Hollanov love affair would work, and I don't think I can.

First, I don't think they could be athletes because openly gay women athletes are too common. The only "status" profession I can think where being a gay woman might ruin their careers is maybe acting?

But then they'd be all glamorous like Rose and it would be the standard male gaze all over again. This story is a lot about male sexiness — something that isn't as talked about or basked in as much as female sexiness is. So that's part of the charm of HR but it doesn't really translate to women.

Maybe two heads of state — a US president and a Chinese leader? But that sounds too scary to be a sweet little love story.

If there were a parallel story, what would the women do for a living? How would the story play out?

Jackie's brother-in-law soars over every stereotype and irl convention ever.

Okay, so first, he's got to be married to Jackie's sister (or brother, but if he were married to her brother I think that might've come up in conversation) because if he were Hayden's brother, that's what Hayden would've called him.

So Jackie's sister's husband — not Jackie's sister — is coming over to help with the baby.

I'm sure that has happened once or twice irl but I have 4 siblings, 17 nieces and nephews, and an infinite number of cousins and plenty of friends and I have never once heard of a male relative coming over to help with the baby. Or the children, even.

And it's not like I'm from some hyper-gender-role family or evironment. I mean, sure, the men have taken kids on outings (like Hayden did before his daughters were tragically run over by cars in a crowded parking lot) and they've cooked dinners and done household chores. Stayed home with the kids sometimes. But to provide ongoing, sustained childcare for your wife's sister's kids? That, according to our culture, is women's work.

It's not just that. He came and stayed. Shane said, "That's nice that he could come and stay." He came from out of town and stayed in the guest room and was there to feed the kids breakfast in the morning because Jackie was up multiple times in the night breastfeeding.

He either took time off from work or he's a stay-at-home dad and he and Jackie's sister arranged child care for their own (presumably older, slightly more independent?) kids or maybe he brought them with him so he could come help. The sister's job is less flexible or something. Whatever the arrangement was, there are several remarkable factors here:

• He was willing.
• He was able. (i.e. he was skilled enough at child care and household tasks like cooking and laundry.)
• He was available. Which means sacrifices on the part of both him and Jackie's sister.
• He was loved. He was someone Jackie wanted there. I've heard of in-laws coming to "help" that have driven everyone crazy. Whereas BIL's help is appreciated.
• It was normal. Within Jackie's family, everyone thought this was a good solution. Her sister, her BIL, Hayden, Jackie, probably her parents, etc. etc. This ass-kicking futuristic type of masculinity is treated as the very normal, very human thing that it actually is. Evidently, Shane thinks it's normal, too — although he may have just been too distracted to express any surprise.

This is a sleeper revolutionary moment in an already-revolutionary show. Let's all take a moment to admire it.

Yuna told Shane that she thinks his sponsors will be thrilled to learn that he's gay. "There's a world of opportunity there. If they do it right."

So let's do it right! Those ad campaigns aren't going to write themselves. Here's a list of all the sponsors I can remember:

• Rolex
• Reebok
• Speedo
• Underwear?
• Cologne?
• Orange soft drink

There's another one where he's wearing a partially unbuttoned white shirt. Idk what that one was for. I'll start writing mine in the comments and you can critique or refine or invent your own.

ETA: Okay, I'm no Madison Avenue but I wrote some ads below. All of them have sexual innuendos and position Shane as attractive to both men and women. All of them have the underlying message of being yourself, going after what you want, and achieving your dreams no matter what. All of them highlight Shane's undeniable masculinity. I think all that speaks to straight men, right? As well as queer men? I'm excited to see other people's ad campaigns.

It's a mystery. After all, he wore his Rolex. I guess he didn't wear his big white crotch underwear but who could blame him? It's just strange that he wasn't always in Reeboks.

...Shane not listening to Yuna's Reebok speech?

She's gonna remember that, too! Shane staring at Ilya skating while she tried to explain both the monetary and social justice aspects of Reebok. I imagine her reaction as, "So that's why you never wear your Reeboks! I knew you weren't paying attention!"

...Shane not listening to Yuna's Reebok speech?

She's gonna remember that, too! Shane staring at Ilya skating while she tried to explain both the monetary and social justice aspects of Reebok. I imagine her reaction as, "So that's why you never wear your Reeboks! I knew you weren't paying attention!"

S1E5, 11:50: Shane sits down next to Ilya.

80 seconds elapse.

Did you, uh... did you bring anyone with you?

Unwelcome interruption by Carter Vaughn. Duration 127 seconds.

Someone take you shopping?

147 seconds.

So this has nothing to do with Rose Landry?

21 seconds.

So, uh... you and her are not... ?

Total time: 375 seconds

Approximately 97,200 seconds later:

So you and Rose Landry are not... ?

Shane's counter-interrogation (78 seconds).

What room are you in?

Subtitles translation:

I have no one now. Well, not no one. I have Svetlana. She loves me. And I love her.

But not like ...

Fuck me.

Not like I love you. That's the worst fucking part of all this is ...

... that all I want is you. It's always you. I'm so in love with you, and I don't know what to do about it.

---------------

wildwomanlove commented with a link to this translation by Vic Petersen:

https://www.instagram.com/reels/DRzXXtYEcAZ/

Vic Petersen's translation:

I have no one now. Well, not no one. I have Svetlana. She loves me. And I love her.

But not like ...

Damn.

But not like I love you. That's the whole damn thing ...

... I want only you. And always only you. I love you so much, and I don't know what to do about it.

--------------

My observations:

• The sentence after "[But] Not like I love you" must be hard to translate, because both translations are a bit strange. The subtitle translation has a grammatical error. "That's the worst fucking part of all this is". It should either say "That's the worst fucking part of all this" or "The worst fucking part of all this is". But Vic's translation doesn't sound natural in English. "That's the whole damn thing".
• Vic's translation "I love you so much" fits so well with Shane/Yuna's echoed "So much." Which is funny, since, as she says, it was probably written in English first and translated to Russian second. So if the Russian fits so well with Shane/Yuna's English expression of love, credit goes to the English-to-Russian translator.

I mean, I know they liked her and all, but when Shane was on the phone with her just before the playoff game, it sounds like he hadn't yet told his parents that they broke up.

Maybe he told them after that and before Ilya visits, but it still seems like they would've asked, "But you dated Rose?"

We really need a 5-hour movie to listen to all these in-depth conversations that various people are definitely having in the aftermath.

I can't believe I never noticed this before but Shane is carrying Ilya's luggage with his right arm. Including a backpack slung over his right shoulder. His collarbone was broken on the right side.

Just before the playoff game he told Rose he'd lose the sling in a week or two. That was in June. This is July. Shane was just as injured as Ilya was but he carried his luggage anyway.

It's not that I don't love it. It's very compelling and of course, incredibly well-acted. It's just that I'm not sure I completely understand what's going on.

Why does Shane capitulate so quickly? Why doesn't he ask for more explanation?

Why does Ilya do the "ask me nicely" thing instead of just kissing Shane?

I feel like there's a dom/sub dynamic that I don't fully grasp. It's like when you hear a joke that you get on one level and it makes you laugh, but then someone explains an even deeper level - like some personal backstory - that makes it even funnier.

I want that backstory! Thanks!

Long ago, I heard a snippet of it so yesterday I finally listened to the whole thing. I gotta say, it felt VERY strange listening to fantasy smut. Like "What have I become?" strange.

Obviously, Hudson and Connor did a great job. But the storyline was like a ripoff of HR! Almost HR set in ancient fantasy times.

So was it written after HR? What's the backstory about how it was created and how Hudson and Connor got involved?

And what do people think of it?

North Las Vegas, Nevada (Clark County)

I'm 1 of 5 beneficiaries of my aunt/uncle's trust. They both passed away last year, and my cousin (not their daughter, just another niece of theirs) is the trustee.

Last year while my aunt/uncle were alive, my cousin took $120k from them as a down payment to buy herself and her boyfriend a house. My aunt/uncle lived in that house until they died, which was only 6 months after the purchase. My cousin also overcharged them rent by about $3k per month. There might be other ways she siphoned money from them, Idk. Both my aunt and uncle had diagnosed dementia.

Via email, I've asked her lots of questions about the $120k, and proposed that she deduct it from her part of the inheritance. She didn't answer my questions but instead wrote to all of us:

>I confirmed that partial distributions can be made now, but I have to get written confirmation from everyone (you can respond to this email) that there is no plan to contest or litigate. Litigation will delay any disbursements for the duration of that process.  

I don't know what "contesting" the trust means. I don't have a problem with the trust. I just have a problem with her actions as their caretaker while they were alive. She had a financial and healthcare power of attorney, but Idk to what extent she used her PoA to take their money. She may have just used undue influence.

My goal is to get her to deduct from her trust inheritance the amount that she stole, which would restore about $30k to each of us. In exchange, I won't report her to the police for financial elder abuse. I haven't said any of this to her yet, and I plan to talk to a lawyer tomorrow.

But does that mean I'm contesting the trust? If I want her to deduct part of her inheritance as an "early distribution"? I definitely don't want to litigate if I can help it — I'd probably rather lose the $30k than do that.

She's receiving about $500k from the trust, so there will still be enough to deduct after a partial distribution. The other beneficiaries will hate me if I delay the partial distribution, but I honestly don't know if what I want counts as "contesting" trust.

It just occurred to me that maybe Shane was Rose's 10th boyfriend and she suddenly realized he changed her percentage of gay boyfriends from 70% to 80%.

I'm not sure if I want that to be my head canon or not but it makes me laugh.

Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. Their friendship is so life-affirming! I'm definitely not saying they're in a romantic relationship! They themselves characterize their relationship as a friendship and I totally respect that.

But what I am saying is that it's amazing that Rachel Reid thought of Shane and Ilya without ever having Mack & Will as a reference. They're both outstanding, history-making rookies who met as teenagers. They both share a close bond. Celebrini is Canadian. He represented Canada in the Winter Olympics. Watching them play together is like watching Shane/Ilya in the All-Stars game.

I hesitated to post this because I know there are a few people out there on the internet who keep trying to ship Mack & Will instead of accepting their own definition of their relationship, and I don't want to be associated with that kind of thing at all.

It's just that I love watching their (seemingly, to my eyes) non-toxic aka healthy masculinity relationship. The feeling I get from it is the same feeling I get from watching HR. Just pure joy.

They play for the San Jose Sharks which isn't too far from where I live. I may have to go to my first stupid hockey game, damn it.