I have a bit more to say about Dom Ilya and then I will shut my trap:
True that we don't see a LOT of mean dom Ilya in canon. There's the shape of it in subtext but a lot of what we see is Ilya just being dominant in a general sense, and no real sadism. But! He is CONSISTANTLY dominant throughout. There are a lot of points where people interpret him as being submissive, or where they believe the BDSM dynamic of Hollonov to just be...I guess absent? Or turned off? I've spoken in the past about Tampa and how I believe their Dom/sub dynamic is actually on FULL display there, despite (not the word I would use) the 'sweetness' of that scene. I think that this is a misunderstanding of their dynamic and possibly lifestyle BDSM as a whole.
In my opinion the only time we ever see Ilya anything close to submissive ("submissive") is the rimming scene in TLG. I think that's because Ilya is very vulnerable in this scene and it's misinterpreted as submission. I guess I can't MAKE people stop seeing it that way.
However, in my opinion, this is how it goes down:
Ilya tells Shane that he needs to stop thinking. This is a shorthand that they both seem to use as an indication that they are in a weird headspace, that headspace might effect their sex, but they do want to have sex. We see Shane use it at other times. (Related: Hollonov kind of...never don't want to have sex with each other? They rely on it as a method of communication.) The implication here is not "I want to submit to you," (though it typically is, coming from Shane) it is simply, "I want you to know that I am feeling some type of way."
Shane takes Ilya to the shower and washes him. This is pretty straightforward submission from Shane. Something very archaic, ancient Greek, bathhouse about the whole thing. U kno.
Shane asks Ilya if he can suck him. Asks being the key word here. Letting Ilya make the decisions is very clearly the status quo of their sex. Because he's dominant.
Shane kneels in the shower, which is uncomfortable. Shane thinks about this in terms of something he can endure to bring Ilya pleasure. Shane clearly enjoys thinking in these terms. Because he is submissive.
Some light (very light!) degredation from Ilya--"That fucking mouth. Made for [sucking cock]." We may forget that these things could be considered degrading (and therefore kink) because Ilya says them to Shane literally all the time, haha. They almost seem sweet coming from Ilya but the litmus test, imo, for whether something is degrading or not is Would your mom be mad if she knew your boyfriend said those things to you. The answer here is probably! So again, we see their dynamic.
Shane introduces the idea of fingering Ilya in a non-verbal, low stakes way that he has clearly done before. This is not Shane offering to dominate Ilya (HOLY SHIT WHY WOULD IT BE?? BECAUSE BEING PENETRATED MAKES YOU--okay I'm breathing) but rather Shane OFFERING himself in a way that he thinks Ilya will enjoy at that moment. Very similar to asking to suck Ilya's cock, he's asking if Ilya would like to have his hole played with.
"Why don't we get in bed and I'll give you whatever you need?"
"I need too much from you tonight."
"You can have it. Anything."
No real notes about this. Straight forward submission. Ilya is taking less of a guiding hand than he normally would, yes, but consider the Tampa hotel room or even Vegas (However fumblingly Vegas went, because they were young and confused): Ilya, emotionally fraught. Shane, quite literally offering himself.
The actual act of Shane rimming Ilya. There is nothing inherently submissive or dominant about being eaten out. Shane is making his boyfriend feel good. He thinks about it in these terms.
Shane offers to finger Ilya. We see here Shane sort of sink back, briefly, into his typical otherthinking patterns. Ilya sets him very easily back on track ("Put your fingers in me and fucking relax") and Shane settles. These are the kind of brief redirections that Shane really does need and rely on from Ilya, even when the sex they are having is not specifically kink. Their dynamic is there! The Dom/sub dynamic is inherent in their sex because it is inherent in their relationship. But that's not necessarily the focal point at the moment.
This is the part where I think people get their Submissive Ilya wires crossed: Shane talking Ilya through his prostate orgasm. Just like the rimming, there is nothing inherently dominant or submissive about being fingered. Prostate orgasms are, apparently, very intense. It's a kind of stimulation Ilya doesn't experience all that often. Shane is sharing the joy and enjoyment he experiences from them (At Ilya's hand! Crucially!) with Ilya in this moment. I always interpret this as Shane reminding Ilya, again, that he (Ilya) makes him (Shane) feel good. "This is what you do for me. Isn't it wonderful?" Assuring Ilya that he trusts him and loves to put himself in Ilya's hands. Your opinions may differ.
"Let it happen." The only real command-ish thing we hear from Shane? and it's not really a command at all. It is, quite literally, Shane sharing how he submits with Ilya.
Afterwards, more very straightforward submission from Shane as he follows Ilya's instructions to climb atop him and jerk off. Little bit of orgasm control from Ilya in that he tells Shane when to come. Yay!
I am very aware that this whole thing was very unnecessary and that I am a big weirdo for doing my first close reading since college on a rimming scene from an erotic hockey novel. If I say it's a gift for the end of Mean Dom Ilya week will we all just pretend that it's normal? Either way, I've seen people point to this scene as evidence of the fact that Ilya secretly desires submission or as evidence that Hollonov DO switch or as yet more 'evidence' of the Like A Dog-style dynamic. Which I hate. to be clear.
Do with this what you will.