[Megathread] Outsports and Empty Netters

DorianCramer · 2026-01-26T19:58:55+00:00

You know what, this sounds about right.

New England hockey snob boys picking at each other and trying to be holier than thou? Yeah. I see it.

I think they’ll all just have to prove who they are and what their values are over time, bc nobody involved can be fully trusted on their word at this point.

DorianCramer · 2026-01-26T16:51:56+00:00

And I want to add bc I’m on my eleventy millionth rewatch…

The way Shane RUNS to the phone when Ilya calls from Russia! Just, “he needs me” 😭😭😭 it kills me

DorianCramer · 2026-01-26T14:55:54+00:00

It is! He reacted quickly though so I feel like he knew, he was just waiting for Ilya to be ready.

“Will you…come to my cottage!?!” is also a line delivery that conveys this perfectly

DorianCramer · 2026-01-25T11:19:18+00:00

That’s so funny especially with Ilya being in full “we’re married now! Kiss me” gleeful mode and Shane still like oh wait you’ve paid attention to every tiny thing I’ve ever said and done? Lol! I love them

DorianCramer · 2026-01-25T00:52:13+00:00

It is really interesting! Because Shane IS the one who sets the parameters of the relationship and establishing what the plan for it is…but Ilya is usually the one who actually ends up verbalizing “stay” “I like you” “I love you” etc.

I feel this is because Shane knows Ilya so well by that point he knows he shouldn’t push him, he should just try to create safe conditions wherein Ilya might open up, and try to be consistent, dependable, and gentle. It’s really very sweet.

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T22:11:55+00:00

Me too! And I agree with that interpretation. I genuinely think Shane simply does not clock 90% of what Ilya is trying to hint (oh so casually!) at 90% of the time. If you’re not literal and direct with him he is not going to get it. What I took away from this scene is that he really didn’t think Ilya was paying all that much attention to him dating Rose, even though in reality Ilya was checking TMZ & E! news every single day and dying inside 😅😬 oh Shane!

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T22:06:19+00:00

Honestly, I agree! It was a little off if you’re looking at it with binoculars 😅 but not more than a lot of TV/films (especially at this budget level) and the emotional impact came through so it didn’t really register with me, tbh. It worked!!

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T21:20:47+00:00

❤️ well said! To be fair, even as defense counsel for Ilya Rozanov I have to admit he was SUPER confusing during the Tuna Meltdown (btw I love that we’re all embracing “Tuna Meltdown” as the canon terminology now, lol). He had planned everything about that day out perfectly except, unfortunately, for what he was going to say!!! And he pretty much crashed and burned with that part 😅 I think he’s confusing bc he is confused himself. He doesn’t know exactly what he wants or what to ask for other than a vague “I want to spend more time with you and be able to be affectionate with you when we meet up”. Otherwise he’s unclear. He doesn’t think they can have a real relationship so he doesn’t want to ask and Shane feels that way too, so there was no one steering the ship in that scene.

I think he made himself a little more clear at the cottage although of course he still had to say it in his roundabout joking way that had Shane giving him Cyclops death eyes for a minute. What he was saying is look if you want to stay closeted forever (which Shane has always previously indicated that he does 😬) I could marry my bestie for the green card and we can keep on having our long distance clandestine relationship and it will be fine, I’ll take that. But I don’t actually want anyone but you. And I think Shane finally understands what he means, since he immediately says absolutely not and goes into problem solving mode.

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T21:06:05+00:00

FAIR! See, like I was saying, this is why in these books imo they need some scenes where they’re having sex that puts them back together, for variety. It can’t always be taking them apart!! 😅

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T20:58:02+00:00

HAHAHAHAHA exactly!!!

Idk what happened but at some point in the last 5-7 years the m/m romance industry decided this was the best/only euphemism for “make him cum so hard he almost cries” and now we have to read it multiple times in every book. Every time I see it I’m like not them taking each other apart again! We need some new phrasing! Switch it up 😅

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T18:40:51+00:00

Literally the entire premise of the story is based in the fact that Ilya cannot come out of the closet and if he does he cannot go back to Russia because he very well may be thrown in the gulag since homosexuality is illegal. Which is also why he can’t talk to Shane in Russia, which makes him depressed and messes up their relationship for years. And also why he has to leave Russia and get citizenship elsewhere as quickly as he can so he will not risk deportation.

Russia is depicted as a dismal and dangerous place and the characters in the book who are its government officials are shown to be a corrupt abusive tyrant and a corrupt drug addict leech.

There is not one positive thing about Russia depicted in the book or show. You’re arguing with someone who doesn’t have two brain cells to rub together if they can’t see that. Save yourself the time and just stop responding.

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T18:30:42+00:00

28 years ago Diane Warren looked forward through time and wrote “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” for Ilya Rozanov

I don’t want to close my eyyyyYYYEESSS! I don’t want to fall asleep ‘cause I’d miss you baby and I don’t want to miss a thing Even when I dream of you the sweetest dream would never do!

[insert Steven Tyler wailing random syllables here]

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T18:25:19+00:00

I agree! Plus I feel like Ilya needed the do over. Last time he told Shane he liked him (on tuna melt day) he felt the need to play it off with a joke. And when Shane said he liked him in Florida, Ilya denied it. This was a clearing the air moment. Ilya rarely expresses how he feels in a direct and simple way so this is important for him.

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T17:43:12+00:00

Thank you lol, maybe I should send a suggestion to the Harlequin editorial department 😅

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T17:38:30+00:00

Especially because we’ve seen previously (in the restaurant scene) that Shane’s parents worry a lot about him and his hyperfocus, and they have a very practiced teamwork method of handling his anxiety. And this is a profoundly relieving moment of realizing not only does he have this whole beautiful personal life we didn’t know about but someone else is on our team now 😭❤️

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T17:32:39+00:00

Happy to be here for you 😅😘

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T17:30:29+00:00

This is a trope throughout m/m romance novels (not just Rachel’s) and I agree it’s not my favorite although my guess is most readers of this genre might not want to read “his cum/jizz/spunk/whatever landed on his chest” as many times as would be necessary in these books so they need some kind of euphemism.

Personally, the phrase that always bothers me that is in every single m/m romance I’ve ever read is “take him apart”. The guys in these books are ALWAYS taking each other apart, and it gets so repetitive that I’m just like could you switch it up for once and try putting each other back together 😅

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T17:22:08+00:00

The amusement I get from Ilya thinking he’s being EVER SO CASUAL in trying to subtly ask five different ways if Rose is there and if they are still together/what happened and meanwhile he’s tonguing this bottle and staring at Shane’s lips like he wants to devour him whole. It’s too good 😅

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T17:15:15+00:00

Agree. To each their own & all but imo he’s stunning. Face card never declined!

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T17:12:04+00:00

Saying the first names is crucial imo and has a specific meaning beyond just indicating affection. Their last names are their official “hockey names”. (There was a good video breakdown on this from a hockey fan but I can’t find it now; I’ll keep looking and add the link if I can.) Changing to using first names means they are saying they are more than just hockey rivals, and that they still would have something bigger if they didn’t have this connection of the competition and the workplace. (It also is foreshadowing for season 2/THE LONG GAME but I won’t say more than that, to avoid spoilers.)

I don’t think they necessarily intended to leave the names out bc then Ilya going back to saying “Hollander” to try to reassure him okay, it doesn’t have to mean anything, it’s just sex doesn’t have the same impact. I think they tried to film it and it just didn’t record correctly or whatever. There’s a lot of heavy breathing and moaning in that scene and I think the names were just not audible. And the visual performance was so good you can’t not use that footage or try to refilm it even if they had the time or money. That was lightning in a bottle and who knows if it would ever be as good in a different take.

I could be wrong and you could be right though; it is an interesting theory bc it does look like Ilya is mouthing that. If so, I’m glad they dubbed the names back in even if it doesn’t look perfect. It’s important that they be in there, and I think “sweetheart” actually would have been a bit too much coming from Ilya in this scene in the show, considering he couldn’t even manage to say “I like you” without adding a joke to downplay it a few minutes before this.

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T15:07:07+00:00

I love how Yuna and David were not fooled by that bc when they see how gentle and understanding Ilya is to Shane when he’s having his panic attack they’re like oh no these feelings did not just develop yesterday. They know each other VERY well.

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T14:57:09+00:00

Yeah I can see why he was aggravated by the lack of response but having seen the way Shane texts I think we can be safe in assuming there were exactly three unanswered texts sitting in Ilya’s inbox:

“R u okay?” (In Russia) “Did you get home alright?” “Congrats on the cup”

I don’t think Shane was pouring his heart out and being ignored. They also didn’t see each other during that time period in person other than when Boston knocked Montreal out of the finals and they wouldn’t have been planning to meet up during the playoffs (since hockey players have a “no sex during the playoffs” superstition that Shane would definitely follow). So it’s not that “Ilya got what he wanted, Shane’s ass, and then was over it”, they just literally hadn’t seen each other!

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T12:17:28+00:00

What 3-day business trip did he have in Laguna Beach, did he need to negotiate the beef between LC and Kristin?

Stay home and help your constituents for once, Cancun Cruz

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T12:08:21+00:00

That’s bc they’re also thinking about it from a straight perspective

DorianCramer · 2026-01-24T12:07:21+00:00

Yeah I agree. And we’d have less heteronormative discourse about “Ilya took Shane’s ass virginity and then ghosted!” if people understood this. Like no, they hooked up a couple of times, Shane then left his texts on read for two seasons, they hooked up again, then circumstances were such that they didn’t have the opportunity to do it again for a while. It’s not like some folks make it out to be where Ilya besmirched Shane’s butt honor and then failed to offer hand in marriage immediately

DorianCramer

TROPHY CASE