#either way.

[shangyang]

guys mom said it was my turn to make a heated rivalry fic rec post. so here it is.

prarie madness by thathastu | G, ilya/shane, 4.1k, canon divergent

The 2008 World Junior Hockey Championships are hosted in Regina, Saskatchewan, a place with absolutely fucking nothing to do. Ilya and Shane find themselves in each other's company, trying to pass the time.

i cannot describe this as anything but americana-esque, despite the fact that saskatchewan is very much not america. ilya and shane feel SO painfully young here, and it's just so damn good.

apply pads (shock now!) by blongblong | E, ilya/shane, 34.4k, paramedics au, d/s elements

When Paramedic Shane Hollander and EMT Hayden Pike start working nights, they expect to spend their shifts getting fucked over by Response Paramedic—and notorious asshole—Ilya Rozanov. Shane does end up getting fucked, just not in the way he was expecting. (shane just wants to do his job and ride the ambulance. ilya thinks shane should be riding him, instead.)

part one of return of spontaneous circulation | INSANELY HOT. the second part is gorgeously sicknasty CNC that had me sweating. i love the progression of shane and ilya going from mortal enemies to guys who fuck to get out of boring work training sessions to guys who are sickeningly in love. the author is also so clearly a paramedic, it's endearing.

enough by unleaved | T, ilya/shane, 6.4k, magical realism, shane-centric

The best and second-best hockey players in the world are standing in this room, right here, right now. I know who I am. Do you?

this fic revolves around the idea that being a sports star in a city changes you, since cities have magic, and magic is given to those the city (and her people) loves. shane is completely ordinary, despite that. i think this is one of those fics that i can't believe doesn't have more kudos than it does. this author understands shane so well.

you're not a constant star by kisscamcolby (@montrealmetros) | E, ilya/shane, 3.2k, winner's room, period piece

After the Metros win over the Moscow Central Red Army in the 1980 Super Series, Shane picks Ilya as his winner's room forfeit.

guys i LOOOVE a winner's room fic. and i really, really fucking love period pieces, AND hockey history. so this is me geeking out a little (a lot), because footage of the 1976 SS canadiens v. CSKA game is actually what got me into hockey to begin with.

and i want what i want by thesehands (@thesehandsfic) | E, ilya/shane, 14.1k, d/s & bdsm

“Hollander. Relax. So you lost one game,” Ilya said. “Big deal. Win next time.” “It is a big deal,” Shane said. His hands were clenched tightly into fists. “It’s not just the game. You know I can’t afford to fuck up like this, not this close to playoffs. It’s a pretty big deal. Fuck. And it’s my fault. I wasn’t focused. I can play better than that, and I just… didn’t.”  “Okay, your fault, so what?” Ilya shrugged. “You think you should be punished for this?” 

i could genuinely make an entirely different rec list where i just list every single d/s fic that i love from this fandom, on and on, into perpetuity, but this one. ooh this one. to quote my bookmark: jesus, mary, AND joseph. hot! hot! hot!

love takes miles by corsi | T, ilya/shane, 6.9k, outsider pov & epistolary

yara @troycabaret tried to get oomf into hockey and now she's obsessed with FUCKING HOLLANOV? THEY'RE 50 YEARS OLD Or: Ten years, as seen through fandom.

everyone and their mom has probably already read this, but here it is. every time i read it, i'm blown away by how good it is. a really accurate (though much kinder) portrayal of hrpf circles. but now we have to ask the real question: when will hollanov get their own version of 2022's geno contractgate? "only for pittsburgh, always with sid," hollanov edition when?

victory lap by femmecel | T, ilya/shane, 2.5k, tw: gritty

“He is a weapon, a killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature.” —Madeline Miller or Ilya fights Gritty.

putting this absolutely last, but it is NOT LEAST. ilya beats the shit out of gritty for love, hockey, and most importantly: his man's honor.

[lettucemakar]

This entire series would be worth it if Torts got mad and tried to pick a fight with Bedsy and learned very quickly the hard way that Mr. Bednar was an enforcer

[skywarpie]

Remembering Megatron got a redemption arc in IDW and then in Earthspark and meanwhile starscream is always left like this :]

[styrofoamdoor]

Never think about the logistics of fictional parasitic species at midnight you WILL spend an hour researching how brains work to formulate a Theory

[signawyvern]

So heated rivalry was tied for first place in imdb's list of highest-rated episodes ever before homophobic assholes took that from us, and that was a big fucking deal, for a really pornographic, really queer show that no one had heard of a few weeks ago (and still, many don't). In the current political climate too, it was really nice to see something succeed and be so well-loved, that was so unapolagetically queer and pornographic, while the lawmakers and cultural icons veer more and more into conservativism and censorship and homophobia and so here this was saying "fuck all that" and being celebrated for all that it was, and in the case of that episode, for being really well written, acted, and put together.

and then I found out that (I assume) conservative/homophobic people found out about this and got pissed and have been review-bombing the episode on imdb and it's sunk to 15th place now. This video goes over things pretty well but basically the accounts have never reviewed any other episodes of the show or other shows and randomly call out this specific episode as being shitty, rather than any other episode, so there's a clear agenda.

I don't really have a nice positive spin on this except I guess to refer us back to my first paragraph because even though all this shit is happening and awful people are being awful and trying to shit on thing joyous thing, we have still gotten the show celebrated as much as it was before this happened and the show has still managed to exist and be successful. and then I'll also say that I think it's probably worth reviewing this episode briefly. with whatever rating you feel is accurate! but just to offset the assholes who haven't even seen it with honest reviews from people who have. maybe review other episodes also if you have time to make it not look like a bot. (reblogs of this would also be appreciated; I'm not sure people know about this!)

we are probably going to get some emmys though. and there's nothing they can do about that.

[futzingbarton]

this whole time it’s been shrimps is bugs…but actually…bugs is shrimp????

[clarks-letterman]

the salt and pepper in Jon's beard in the actors on actors interview... or would it be more like cinnamon and sugar given the color..