unfair advantage | 1.6K | Ilya leans forward in his chair, deliberately, to put his mouth right next to the microphone. “Oh wow,” Ilya says brightly. His Russian accent is thicker than usual. “Drapeau must be trying so hard to seduce me. But I am sorry, I am already taken. A one man man, I am.” | Great characterisation, perfect Ilya voice. And this fic contains the best Ilya-chirps-Scott-Hunter line ever.
we could get better mileage by @twinkwolf | 6.9K | "Have you ever gotten someone pregnant?" | This fic discusses abortion and there's a pretty graphic description, FYI. If you can stomach this, it's such a fantastic story. A great exploration of Shane and his feelings towards the idea of parenthood. And a lovely portrayal of Shane and Jackie's friendship, which is something I'm a sucker for. It also features some smoking hot sex scene and also a really believable, grown-up version of Ilya and Shane. Highly recommended.
A Friend of the Family by @twicesonnet| 11.9K | Two months after Jackie lets the backyard fire pit fall over and just stands there letting it burn, Hayden has a boys trip. Arrangements are made. Enter: Svetlana Vetrova, daughter of the famous Soviet goaltender, and Ilya Rosanov’s best friend.| This is the best Jackie character study I've seen so far. Jackie here is a real person, much more than the magical being who does emotional labour for Hayden in most stories. And I love how open-ended this is.
I know that I feel it, but I don't know the name | 12K | David Hollander gets in a car accident while Shane and Yuna are travelling. Ilya, newly traded to Ottawa, is the only one available. He handles it pretty well. Until he doesn't.| David is in an accident. Ilya in this one almost broke me. It gave me all the feels.
Image Management by @409-conflict and ritualist| 9K | During his rookie year, Shane goes to a Halloween party at a Montreal gay bar to confirm some suspicions about himself. Unfortunately, it’s 2010, so the official photographer uploads a few hundred photos to the bar’s Facebook page.| Great use of socmed. And I just love how 409_conflict writes Yuna. Also, this is possibly the only time I've ever felt something resembling a positive feeling towards Grigori Rozanov? The power of transformative works!
tender by @barkerandlovelace| 18.3K | Ilya had dismissed the feeling out of hand, except he has now just spent half an hour in the bicycle shop considering the difference between 190 gsm and 250 gsm merino wool and which would best keep Shane warm while wicking sweat during his morning commutes. This is yet another thing Ilya has never done before. The only person whose sweat he has ever contemplated the wicking of has been himself.| Amazing full AU. AMAZING. Ilya is still a hockey player. Shane has a government job. They meet after Ilya retires. The perfect mix of fluffy/funny/tender with stellar characterisation.Imo, it's on a par with the AUs by magmeticwave and Vera Dragon, I can't think of any higher praise than this.
think twice (and come back for a third time) | 70k | Shane is heavier than he used to be; his weight bears down on Ilya in a new way. He’s put on pounds of muscle since Ilya last touched him like this. Ilya flattens his palms, skims them under Shane’s undershirt, feels the flat solidity of his abs, the bulk of his lats, the swell of his chest. It’s the same and it’s new, this body; it’s the boy he couldn’t stop thinking about when he was 18 and the man he loved enough to let go at 26 and the person who somehow always comes to find him when he’s lost. A stranger, and the love of his life.| Canon divergence. Ilya and Shane breakup and never get back together. Very angsty. Well-written, good characterisation. Lovely Yuna/Ilya.
big things happen every time we meet BY @trippedlaces| 14.5k | Halfway through Shane and Ilya’s first season playing together in Ottawa, an online sports betting company figures out how to make itself the main character when it comes to social media’s new favorite topic.| Extremely funny, good use of socmed. Great characterisation too, especially Shane, who comes off as suitably hockey-obsessed. :D
too busy making my own waves by @themardia| 4.4K | In Hayden’s defense, JJ’s new habit of dropping chirps that sound like they’ve come straight out of Shakespeare just seems like another round of JJ being his usual weird, over the top self. And hey, if he wants to call the opposing team a bunch of “malicious gnomes” or “mud-licking wretches”, he can have at it. (After Scott Hunter coming out last season, everyone's making some adjustments.)| A much kinder look at JJ than canon, and it totally works. Love him and Hayden trying to be better human beings because they love Shane.
Untouchable Face by @zenaidamacrouras1 | 76k | Shane was twelve when hockey scouts started showing up to his games. He was barely fifteen when a check went horribly wrong, fucked his knee to hell and gave him a grade III concussion. During rehab he found swimming, and he was seventeen when he went to the Olympics as an alternate for freestyle swim events. He’s 24 and working for his mom’s sports PR company when he meets Ilya Fucking Rozanov. May contain: Shane Hollander navigating what it means to be mostly normal when your whole childhood was about preparing you for greatness. Shane Hollander attempting to flirt. Possibly less than 100% accurate descriptions of what a sports PR agent does.| I'm extremely picky about AUs where Shane is not a hockey player but this one totally worked for me. Extremely cute.
the intricate brocade of this happiness by @always-waxing-crescent| 10K | But Ilya shakes his head, absolutely mute. There’s no universe, no universe where he can talk about this. He moved to America to forget. | A brutal look at Ilya's childhood and the new phase of his life after the Cottage. Yuna isn't immediately enamoured with him and I love this characterisation. Interesting exploration of his relationship with Alexei too.
the suicidal duckling | 9.7K | Ilya had thought it was dumb, when Galina suggested it. A code word for when his mental health was bad—he and Shane didn’t even have a code word for sex, and Ilya was regularly tying Shane to the bed and slapping his ass until it was as red as a tomato. “Is there a reason you’re calling me?” Shane asks now, voice echoey over the phone. “Or is this part of your strategy to win our argument?” Ilya swallows hard. “Constantinople,” he says.| I love it when fic show Ilya and Shane fighting, in a believable way. As someone who's been in a relationship with the same person for 20 years, sometimes I like some reality in my romantic escapism. I also like it when fic focuses on Ilya's depression. This story has both and they're both excellent!
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