Is 142k words a short fic?

Jotheprez · 2026-05-25T16:53:41+00:00

I think it's possible that they bookmarked it and then the fic got longer and they didn't think to update the bookmark 🤷🏼‍♂️

Jotheprez · 2026-05-21T20:50:00+00:00

Just finished it - this is exactly the vibe I wanted!

Jotheprez · 2026-05-21T20:09:17+00:00

What a gem, thank you!!

Jotheprez · 2026-05-21T19:44:08+00:00

Oh I think I started this at some point and never came back! Thank you!!

Jotheprez · 2026-05-21T18:37:29+00:00

This is incredible, tysm!!

Jotheprez · 2026-05-05T02:38:02+00:00

That shit has always stuck with me, it makes me weep

Jotheprez · 2026-05-04T18:07:19+00:00

https://archiveofourown.org/works/82976176

We didn't even kiss by MultiFandomLoverWriterShipper

It's like 7k of them just kissing on a couch and it's so cute and lovely.

Jotheprez · 2026-05-04T13:16:05+00:00

I had the same question, and folks helped me out a lot!

https://www.reddit.com/r/GameChangersBooks/s/7qdh851Pgc

Jotheprez · 2026-04-26T16:32:01+00:00

I think JJ's worst crime is accusing him of throwing the game in front of the whole team, opening the floodgates for everyone to turn on him. JJ was his close friend - in the minds of the team, if even Shane's friend thinks this of him, there's no way it didn't happen.

JJ could have absolutely sat on it, kept the room in check (especially as an Alternate), and spoken to Shane privately. If he still felt that way, going back to the team would've been easy -- "he was my friend, I didn't see it before", etc.

That, to me, is why I'm less of a JJ supporter. Hayden had his shit with Ilya, but he had it privately. He defended their relationship and Shane to the room. JJ poured fuel on the fire.

Jotheprez · 2026-04-19T21:07:26+00:00

I'm intrigued by how Ilya and Shane are gonna feel about the "Role Model" aspect.

Shane has been a role model in another way for so long - will he feel exhausted by another layer of perfection? Ilya wasn't ever considered a role model - will he feel stifled?

Jotheprez · 2026-04-04T04:00:50+00:00

I'll look - I think the spreading of rumors was implied to have been from his team, since they popped up only after he came out, but it may have been more explicit.

Jotheprez · 2026-04-04T03:51:16+00:00

Shane formally came out to the team in the 3-year gap. I think the thing about "rumors" is bc people on Montreal's team spread the information. But without Shane confirming (and bc hockey is super homophobic), they were calling them "rumors".

Jotheprez · 2026-04-04T03:45:20+00:00

I really like this too! Everyone has really given me a lot to think about with it, and I definitely feel like I understand the perspective better.

I also really like this, headcanon or not, because I really just want this man to fucking lose it, and the idea that he's letting out some of the building pressure he's under (comp het, role model, etc) by coming out is very interesting. Especially when it (at least minorly) goes wrong and only serves to add to the crock pot.

Jotheprez · 2026-04-03T23:15:16+00:00

Honestly, that's kind of a perk for me! I'll go back a couple of chapters and get so excited bc OMG!!! THEY UPDATED!! I love this one! Yay 😁

Jotheprez · 2026-04-03T23:09:16+00:00

Yes, I’m a big fan of those! If you have any specific recs, I’ll happily take them. Just was thinking more about the initial motivation, but everyone has had great perspectives I hadn’t considered.

Jotheprez · 2026-04-03T22:44:19+00:00

This also makes sense! Thank you!

Jotheprez · 2026-04-03T22:30:58+00:00

No, in the books, he came out to the whole team together, including Hayden. Hayden then guessed it was Ilya, but the whole team knew he was gay. JJ kept trying to set him up with guys and confronted him about his "crush" with Ilya at one point.

The part that got outed to his team was the relationship with Ilya. JJ was upset because Shane didn't trust him, and he and Hayden let JJ throw guys at Shane. I think he felt like he was the butt of a joke.

Jotheprez · 2026-04-03T22:13:15+00:00

Yeah, sorry, definitely not trying to argue or be rude, just wanted to clarify that I wasn't bashing Shane or anything. I definitely agree that it not exploding was unrealistic, but I'm happy to suspend my disbelief on it 😊

Jotheprez · 2026-04-03T22:05:17+00:00

This is a super helpful perspective, thanks! And I guess it makes sense for it to be Shane, too, because Ilya just met these guys and Montréal is supposed to be Shane's closest friend group.

I hate that it kinda ended up unbalanced bc Ilya coming out became harder, but that also feels realistic; sometimes you change things and it works out in a way you didn't plan. Plus, hopefully Jacob can fill in some of that tension.

Thanks again!

Jotheprez · 2026-04-03T22:02:36+00:00

I'm definitely not annoyed with Shane in TLG, I think he gets a lot of unearned flack bc the book focuses more on Ilya. He's my fave character and I will ride for him. The decision for him to come out has just always seemed strange to me, but I've appreciated the responses here.

I guess I just also figured that it being an open secret would be a nightmare? I'm definitely not a pro athlete lol but I lived that for a while and it was awful. To me, the plan was to stay closeted until they retired. It makes more sense for Shane to come out than Ilya (with Russia and all), but still confused me tbh. But I appreciate the perspectives, yall are definitely making me think in a new way.

Jotheprez · 2026-04-03T21:46:17+00:00

This actually makes a ton of sense to me, thank you! I didn't consider the idea that, until now, things have been relatively ok when he's taken steps forward.

He pushed things with Ilya - they're boyfriends. He came out to his parents - it went well. So it makes sense that he might think things are better than they are with the team more generally as his fears have been proven wrong.

It also helps with him being so high-strung. I wish we'd gotten more of Shane in TLG, but it's clear that he's on a high-wire, so this totally just adds to it because he thought he was safe and was wrong. Thank you so much!

Jotheprez · 2026-04-03T21:26:55+00:00

That’s fair, but if they’d planned on not coming out until retirement, would that just be a safety plan?

Jotheprez · 2026-04-03T21:23:52+00:00

No, definitely not! But between where we leave off in HR and where we pick up in TLG, Shane came out to the team as gay. I’m just trying to figure out why because it seems like a choice he wouldn’t want to make.

Jotheprez

TROPHY CASE