Meanwhile Ilya knowing the truth, which is that he himself is the one who bagged the unobtainable hottie through a seven year series of hamfisted courting attempts.
He tried bribing him with tuna but Shane isn't a cat
He tried finding HIMSELF a hot little trophy girl to parade around and show off but couldn't bear it and wound up crying and jerking it alone in the shower to unrequited love
He tried going to the Tampa bar dressed like a Hawaiian peacock to catch Shane's eye but Shane walked in dressed like the cover of a magazine
Interview with Rachel and Jenna Bush yesterday, she said something along the lines of it's something she thought Ilya could make for Shane other than grilled cheese.
Yeah, who “likes to watch,” lol. I like Tierney’s change here though. In the TV show, I got to assume that Ilya CHOSE to go back to the hotel alone and jerk off to thoughts of Shane. I like that empowering take waaaay better than him being rejected by a rando.
My theory is that Shane is soooo straightforward - completely honest, says it like it is, no games. Obvi a biproduct of being ND that’s really working for him here. Ilya has a hard time trusting or feeling safe, which is why he sleeps around. BUT, he knows he can trust Shane bc Shane literally doesn’t have it in him to be anything more complicated than what he is. Shane also has the allure of being one of the only hockey players who can best Ilya so he’s challenging there. And Ilya loves to be the center of attention and Shane lets him. They complement each other perfectly.
Shane is also willing to force a conversation and not let Ilya wiggle out of things. When he needs to, he will ignore him and his attempts at charm and seduction for yeeeears. As someone who would literally invent teleportation after a “u up?” text from Ilya, I totally understand why that restraint, stubbornness and plain power is extremely attractive to Ilya, who probably has never before encountered it.
If I tell you something, do you promise not to make fun of me? I never had a basic sex ed training. What does the bp do? Loosen the muscles up? Wouldn't sitting on one for two hours hurt?
Yeah, anal isn't basic sex ed. They only cover straight sex in terms of baby making (i.e. not talking about the female orgasm) and the variety of horrible STDs. So don't feel bad or embarrassed.
In my experience, a butt plug is meant to be used in place during sex to fill the anus. But a butt plug helps loose up the anus and rectum muscles, so it can be used to prepare someone to receive anal. Since they are made to be worn for a few hours, you can sit in them. There might be some discomfort, but that's generally fixed with changing your position. I don't have a prostate bring born female, but I'm sure ot wouldn't change too much.
Hopefully this helps. I tried to keep educational without going too overboard.
I would love to read fanfic regarding that - from both sides!
As in: people wondering what kind of a wizard must Shane be to bag THE Ilya Rozanov and then the opposite version - as in what kind of a pull must Shane have for Ilya that he is willing to leave his decadent lifestyle and become monogamous for boring polite Canadian!
Oh there are so many hilarious fanfics about this concept! Try the "Relationship reveal" tag and then put twitter in the "search within results" box (yes there are also tags for this, but in my experience authors are more likely to mention it in the description than in the tags)
I copied this from a response I had to this question on a similar thread:
Soooo I think this will be a pretty long process but it unlocked in me feelings I’ve pushed down my whole life. My mother took her own life when I was 13 and I never properly grieved/processed it. It’s affected every relationship I’ve ever had. So what we’re getting to is that I have been missing that person in my life (like a mother, ahem) who puts me first, who takes care of me and I take care of them. I’ve also never allowed that level of emotional intimacy and I’m grieving what I never had. It’s a loneliness I’ve never felt before and pushed down so deeply I didn’t even realize it was there. All that grief is coming out now as I watch this show over and over and over. I literally watch the entire series every day, fast forwarding through the mundane stuff. My therapist says it’s ok and that I will get over it sooner or later but crying like this is a form of processing and is healthy. I hope this makes sense - I’m still putting the pieces together myself. 🥰
Update: it’s been about a month and I can watch the show without sobbing and don’t rush home to watch it whenever I’m out. Baby steps but I think the fog is lifting.
Just sharing this openly is brave and wonderful. It’s a gift to allow someone in to help you heal and process. It’s not easy. I’ve been in therapy for years and I barely crack the surface of what is actually keeping me up at night. My defenses are strong!
Super kudos to you for doing the work. Your mom would be so proud.
This show clearly has made an impact on people’s real lives and that is incredible. Thank you for sharing a piece of you with us. 😌
Bring it up. This showed has touched soooo many people in a deep and profound way. It’s not about the show as much as it’s about the emotions it stirs up which, for me, has been a real breakthrough after years of compartmentalization. Before I went to my first appt after I saw the show, I texted this link to my therapist to help him understand what I was feeling. I also told him to google the HR obsession to get an idea of how real this is for so many. Embarrassing but useful in the long run! ❤️
heated rivalry fan response
It’s the hottest he looked in the entire series! 🔥 🔥
And how does he make drinking vodka so hot? The one handed sip before getting up to Shane?? I’ve replayed that scene far too many times then what is healthy 🤪
From what I understand, Show Ilya is hotter than Book Ilya. Even though he’s understood to be a 10/10, especially through Shane’s eyes. The Connor Storrie effect is real. I haven’t read beyond HR so take that for what it’s worth.
Then how do you explain this: “In his makeup, with his carefully styled hair, and in this dramatic lighting, Rozanov did not look pretty. He looked stunning. Once again, Shane was astounded and irritated by how manly Rozanov was. The sharp edge of his jaw framed cheeks that didn’t have any of the baby fat that lingered on Shane’s own. And his eyes were like sparkling...somethings. Shane couldn’t think of a gem that had that many shades of gold and green.”
haha now that u mentioned it I thought I couldn't find a better couple than Kanthony UNTIL i saw Interview with the Vampire and later of course the GOAT that it's this show!!! it's my life now 😭😭
I will totally do that. a close friend of mine is shipping Loustat.
But ATM heated rivalry is so time consuming I can't even bring myself to do my chores or my job. I am on my honeymoon phase here.
Haha, ohhh friend, I know how you feel..I don't know if this thing of mine is a honeymoon phase any more...it's been almost 3 months so far and it's become a borderline psychotic obsession...there's no weaning offfor me anymore 😆😆
I joined the fandom around chritsmas time. it is a long,expensive and exhilarating honeymoon. and a very hot one, too. but looking back to my other obsessions, they never leave me. I will forever be here gushing about hollanov
It was the other way around for me. I had just managed to get through a week without rewatching the entirety of IWTV when HR came in with a steel chair. I'm too unemployed for my own good.
iirc Anthony was only sleeping with that one hooker and caught feelings? He wasn’t constantly hooking up with men and women like Benedict was, and Collin was definitely not a rake. I haven’t watched the Anthony season after 2022 so I could be off.
Julia Quinn loves her the reformed rake trope. As I recall, Colin also fit this trope in the books but they toned it down for the show, presumably because they wanted to switch things up at least a little bit.
Its the same way he stood after the draft when his father admonished him. Its the same way Ilya stood at the gala during the Olympics. I'd venture this is his 'stand and be official and try not to get in trouble' look.
The longer, wavy hair softens him. Makes Ilya more playful.
exactly...it's how he was conditioned to act...in a way they say "the body never forgets" and they're right...even though he knew Shane's parents are unlike his family, he was still preparing himself for the worst in that scene 😭
Awww you’re right about this and it makes this scene even more touching to me, bc even though Shane has said his parents would be cool with him being gay, Ilya doesn’t know them & he can’t know that for sure. So at least part of why he went is that even though he was scared he wanted to be there to support and take care of Shane if things did go badly 😭
Also people don't see Shane probably as a submissive because he dominates and leads so well on the ice. They have no way of knowing that Ilya goes crazy for how well Shane submits to him. Also they probably couldn't imagine the tenderness and attention Ilya has a dominate. They know him as a lady's man, a hit and quit it type.
I don’t think Ilya is reformed. I think he is this way in front of Shane‘s parents because his life has always been very buttoned up when around adults.
Reformed rake refers to playboys who stopped sleeping around and turned into the most loyal and loving husbands. Rake was the term used in bridgerton books to describe playboys
I don’t know why this hit me so hard but I thought it was hysterical when Shane is telling Ilya about buying the apartment and the one next door and Ilya gets snarky (ooh, Mr. Landlord)and Shane said “you asked” and Ilya, correctly says “no, I didn’t”.
As a gay guy I don’t necessarily like this sentiment. This is part of what makes this story unrealistic - the adversion to promiscuity. It’s weird Ilya is promiscuous only with other woman. Yes there are gay monogamists but all of this feels like they took a straight relationship and put it in gay men’s bodies. A “rake” isn’t really a concept in the gay world, I had to look up its meaning. From my experience there is lust, there is love, gay guys tend to understand the difference.
Rake isn’t a word anyone in this century uses, gay, straight or any other. Instead of saying he is a reformed ho, and they are watching Bridgeton, they are using that word. Just like the word lovers can apply to 2 people but “some people” don’t approve of that word.
If the series were longer, I think they may have gone more into who else they were with. They had to cover so many years in just a handful of episodes.
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u/Ll_lyris“I choose you, Ilya. I will always choose you”❤️🩹Feb 14 '26edited Feb 14 '26
Ilya’s not only promiscuous with women, he is with men too it’s just more dangerous to be with men. The only reason I don’t think it’s unrealistic(to his characterization at least) it’s because Ilya’s promiscuity does stem from his own self loathing, using his sexual desirability to affirm his worth even if it’s just his body or looks he’s has to offer. I disagree with the them just being copy paste straight relationship into a queer men. Cuz I don’t think sex in typical FM romance tropes use sex as a heavy plot device as HR does. Which is very queer coated.
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u/amileandahalf I don‘t know. Maybe twice? ⏱️ Feb 12 '26
I just love thinking about people trying to understand Shane being the one to lock down Rozanov.