u/Slutty_Bunny_7

I find it so interesting to find out how different people pronounce different characters names.

I recently saw a video from a girl who speaks French, who said she has been pronouncing Chiron as shi-ron. And a lot of other French-speakers agreed with her. Then of course, all the Greeks came in and told her that it’s Ky-Ron.

Another video where a woman was pronouncing Fabian as Fay-bee-an, where I have always presumed the pronunciation to be Fah-bee-an. Maybe it comes from the languages I speak, but my instinct is to say Fah and not Fay. I don’t know how it would be pronounced in Lebanese.

I still don’t know the pronunciation of Wiebe. Is Weeb? Is it wee-buh, like the Germans would pronounce it? Or wee-bee? Lol

I know the Americanised pronunciation of Ilya Rozanov is also very different from the Russian pronunciation, where the emphasis of syllables is different.

Any other names in the GC series that you found out you were pronouncing differently or still have no idea how to say?

I really want recs that are kind and empathetic to both Shane and Ilya, and make you just fall all the more in love with their love. And more importantly - have never made you want to throw your phone at wall because of one of them.

Angst is fine, but the way the story deals with the angst cannot be blame-heavy on one character.

Canon compliant, canon divergent, AUs are all welcome!

end up on the same team?

The events of TLG are a very specific that make it possible for Shane to end up in Ottawa. And RR is obviously a hockey fan and made it a as much of a realistic hockey scenario as she could.

But outside of the events of TLG, what could or would have to happen in order for them to end up on the same team?

Would a team be able to afford two of the top players? Would they even want that? Would it mean an unfair advantage for the team that got them both?

Could it happen as a trade? If Ilya did want to go to Montreal after HR as a free agent, would that be likely to happen? I imagine it would be an absolute shit show with Boston fans.

I want to know if it’s realistic for them to both end up in say Montreal or Boston or both on another team, and under what hockey circumstances would that be likely to happen?

I hope I’m making sense, because to me it seems highly unlikely that Shane and Ilya would be able to work their way onto the same team.

ETA: so yes, definitely possible, even when they’re not publicly friends and keeping their relationship as secret. From a combination of comments, best case scenario, Ilya moves to Ottawa as a free agent for the money. Shane decides it’s time for him to play for his hometown and he wants to be closer to family. Reasons that are completely independent of their “friendship” or relationship. How those might happen at the same time - I still don’t know lol

I’ve had this plot bunny for a bit and am not enough of a writer to actualise this into a fic.

But essentially-
Ilya’s father and brother (much older than Ilya, maybe from another mother, father’s previous wife) inform Ilya that his mother has died. They have a funeral for her and Ilya spends his childhood and early adulthood grieving his mother.

Then at his father’s funeral, some information gets revealed that might suggest that his mother might still be alive.

Ilya with Shane’s help is trying to solve the mystery of his missing mother.

What Ilya doesn’t know is that every game he’s played since joining the NHL, his mother has watched on TV. She has tried reaching out to him, but always gets caught/ intercepted by Grigori’s men and threatened. So she stops trying, happy to watch Ilya be safe from afar.

Irina, now with the knowledge that Grigori is dead, desperately tries to find her way to Ilya.

I’d really love to read a second chance Hollanov fic where the reason for their separation is something much bigger than them. No miscommunication, but instead them really trying hard to keep in touch but the circumstances won’t allow it. And when they reunite however many years later, they hold no resentment towards each other, only deep understanding of how difficult the time was and how they each made the best choices for themselves.

Gay During That Goal, Too by batsbeerandbaddecisions

Summary: Shane Hollander accidentally comes out to his hockey team after years of hiding his sexuality behind carefully crafted personas and unfinished coming out speeches. As the Metros slowly begin icing him out on and off the ice, Shane spirals between rage, grief, and self-discovery—while Ilya refuses to let him forget exactly who he is.

My thoughts: the way this fic represents Shane’s anger towards the Metros and the grief of losing this lifelong dream and this version of himself - so beautiful and heart wrenching. I’ve been wanting to read something sympathetic and more importantly, empathetic, to Shane and his hurt about being iced out my the Metros and this was so well done.

Any fics with very well written and explicit smut but the sex is very tender and soft? Like Hollanov “making love” to each other. Worshipping each others bodies. Lots of sweet dirty talk.

It’s a post-Vegas fic, iirc. Ilya raises his voice and maybe says some rude things to Shane. And Shane tells him something along the lines of - I don’t know what your family dynamics are or how you’re use to treating or being treated by people, but I won’t be spoken to like this. If it happens again, we’re done. I’m out. This is not a threat, it’s a promise.

Rozanov – Not on Hockey / vDud' by werevolche

Summary: “Shane, how do you feel about rage-baiting Russians?”
“Cool. My daily routine,” Hollander replied, eyes not leaving the page.
“Yes. But usually you do it for free.”
or
 
Ilya Rozanov, the first out Russian queer player in professional hockey, is interviewed by Yuri Dud', the most famous journalist of progressive Russia.

——-

I saw this fic recommended on here and wanted to make a post about it, now that I’ve read it.

It’s a fic that was originally written in Russian and the translator/ author of this English version has done such a beautiful job explaining the nuances (via notes tagged on phrases) of Russian language, slang, and references that Ilya uses in this interview.

From the translator:
The interviewer Yuri (or Yury) Dud is a German-born Russian journalist of Ukrainian descent currently living in Spain. Born in 1986, he started his career in 2011 in Moscow as a sports journalist and commentator, and worked in the field for various publications. In 2017, he launched his own YouTube channel vDud’ [вДудь] (currently 10 million subscribers), where he hosts interviews with people of note (anywhere from 1.5 to 4.5 hours in length) and documentaries (on the Kolyma concentration camp, the Beslan tragedy, the HIV epidemic in Russia, etc). As of 2022, Yura is persona non-grata in Russia on account of his condemnation of the Russian invasion in Ukraine (formally because of YouTube monetization, which is illegal in Russia).

I really loved what is essentially a character study on Ilya. They cover his childhood, his family, life in Russia as a bisexual man (which is written with such care for the larger queer community in Russia), all the way to his current life with Shane post-TLG.

Ilya is written as his usual cocky self, but also as a smart man who thinks deeply about not only his own life but also the lives he has observed throughout his own. He quotes Russian pop culture and is witty with it. He’s serious when he needs to be.

I honestly cannot recommend it enough.

My demisexual realisation came quite late and it’s left me feeling very uncertain about my identity.

As a teenager, I had all sorts of sexual fantasies. I desperately wanted to have one night stands and I dreamed of being a slut.

I got into my first relationship when I was 18. At the time, most of my peers had not been in relationships either or had any sexual experiences, so 18 didn’t seem so “late”.

I was friends with this person for a few months and then we eventually started dating. The sexual chemistry between us was off the charts. It was everything I wanted physical intimacy and sex to feel like. I was in this relationship for 6 years before we broke up.

Newly single in my early twenties, I was so excited to get on the apps and have all the casual sex I wanted. Only to feel absolutely nothing, not an ounce of arousal at these hookups. I tried and tried again, only to keep confronting a body that “worked” before, which no longer did.

To feel such strong sexual attraction in your body and then drop to nothing was such a mindfuck.

I obviously know now, a few years later, that I’m demisexual. But I also know now the expectations of people I meet on apps. Expectations that I am no longer willing to put myself in uncomfortable situations to meet.

I’ve been single, with no crushes or emotional intimacy with people I find visually attractive, for several years now. I’m not sure how to be upfront about my sexuality and navigate this to find a new relationship.

I’ve been going through this sub and it’s been great reading about other people’s experiences and how they navigate dating as a demi. But I also wanted to ask if anyone had any reading they would suggest to understand the demi experience better? There seems to be a lot of Ace literature, which I’m definitely going to check out. I’d also love to read more about demisexuality and get more confident about being demi.

I don’t usually see a lot of very direct smutty requests on here, so I’m a bit hesitant.

Are there any fics where Shane tries to go to practice or play a game with a butt plug in? He either just likes feeling full or likes to be ready for Ilya right after a game.

Or honestly, any Shane and a butt plug recs are welcome!

The Art of Spoiling Ilya Rozanov by CorCordium11

Summary:
Growing up, Ilya had learned that wanting things made him a burden. Shane had made it his personal mission to prove the exact opposite. So yes, technically Ilya could buy anything he wanted. But he rarely got the opportunity.
Because somehow, impossibly, Shane always got there first.
Or
Ilya Rozanov is Spoiled and Pampered by his husband.

My thoughts: such a cute fluffy, feel good read

Basically what the title says - looking for fics where Shane is out before he meets Ilya (and possibly more experienced sexually). So Ilya knows or very quickly finds out that Shane is gay.

Ilya’s voicemail message is “Hi, this is Ilya. I will never listen to your voicemail” and I wondered if there are any fics where he changes it from this.

Maybe something where Shane is frantically trying to reach Ilya after they’re married and he keeps getting his voicemail and is upset with hearing Ilya’s voice tell him that he won’t listen to the voicemail and Ilya eventually changes it for Shane.

Reposting because I linked the previous post wrongly.

Just finished reading The Great Pretender by lady_st4rdus7

Such a funny fic, but also so sweet and emotional. Really well written. The breakdown of each instance of misunderstanding is so good - hitting certain aspects of Ilya’s insecurities and the personal story of the Centaur who has misunderstood.

Summary: Ilya Rozanov is in love, closeted, catastrophically lonely, and apparently incapable of referring to Shane Hollander in present tense.
The Centaurs come to a- given the circumstances- reasonable conclusion.
Or:
Five times the Centaurs thought Ilya Rozanov was mourning his dead wife, and the one time they discovered his wife was actually Shane Hollander.
Shane, for the record, is alive and really confused.

I just finished reading The Great Pretender by lady_st4rdus7.

Such a funny fic, but also so sweet and emotional. Really well written. The breakdown of each instance of misunderstanding is so good - hitting certain aspects of Ilya’s insecurities and the personal story of the Centaur who has misunderstood.

Summary: Ilya Rozanov is in love, closeted, catastrophically lonely, and apparently incapable of referring to Shane Hollander in present tense.
The Centaurs come to a- given the circumstances- reasonable conclusion.
Or:
Five times the Centaurs thought Ilya Rozanov was mourning his dead wife, and the one time they discovered his wife was actually Shane Hollander.
Shane, for the record, is alive and really confused.

I fully understand that the grip that stories have on each of us can differ vastly. But I’ve been feeling a bit stuck with a few fics, and want something to push me through.

I want escalating arguments, both going back and forth (not just one of them going off at the other), full of emotion, but also has to end in comfort.

My current fav with this -

Something Borrowed/ Something Blew by Fangirl_Shieks

They end up in an argument when Ilya says some mean things to Shane in the middle of a depressive episode when Shane tries to confront him about his mental health.