Stuff to read

Fandom: Heated Rivalry
Characters/Pairings: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Yuna Hollander, Hayden Pike
Rating: Explicit
Length: 23764
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply. Some explicit S&M in their BDSM relationship.
Creator Links: walkingthroughwindows on AO3
Themes: Mentors & proteges, Established relationship, BDSM, AU: fork in the road, Canon LGBTQ+ characters

Summary:"Ugh.” Shane curls his fingers around the wet mark Ilya has left on his skin. “I already regret this.” He is smiling, smiling and tilting his face up for a kiss. Ilya gives it to him. Gives him half a dozen more, dotted along his cheeks. Why not. Why not go jumping without a parachute, why not run with wild dogs.
--
The year after Shane Hollander first wins them the cup, Ilya joins the Voyageurs' Strength & Conditioning team. In retrospect, he was pretty much doomed from the start.

Reccer's Notes: This is an author I love, and an interesting alternate-canon AU. Ilya's story is different - he starts off in hockey but is injured as a teen so unable to play professionally, and after his toxic relationship with Sasha implodes, Sveta gets them both to Canada. The story starts with Ilya having clawed his way into AHL coaching and now being employed as a strength and conditioning coach for the Voyageurs. We get his Russian backstory and the start of his relationship with Shane in flashbacks interspersed with present day, when he's been with the Voyageurs for two years. The story focuses on his deepening relationship with Shane and the issues of Ilya's underlying poor self-worth due to his past, his injury, his lower salary compared to Shane's star status. All that versus a coach being in a relationship with a star player, let alone a gay relationship, not to mention the BDSM aspect. At one point, Yuna accidentally catches them at Shane's place so that it's obvious they're together ("I’m not sure you’ve ever said no to a coach in your life"), and Shane has to talk her down. But she comes around, and Rose, Sveta, and even Hayden, support them. It's an excellent, nuanced portrayal of a complex relationship, and while this fic is complete, the good news is that a sequel is posting as a WIP.

Fanwork Links: i'm crawling on your shores (locked to AO3)

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Elizabeth Weir/Ronon Dex, Elizabeth Weir/Radek Zelenka
Rating: Explicit
Length: 11,098
Content Notes: Power imbalance and an inappropriate lecturer/student relationship, but not underage.
Creator Links: trinityofone on AO3
Themes: Mentors & proteges, First time, AU: Academia, No canon required

Summary: Professor John Sheppard had a gift: by the end of the first class, he could always tell exactly who that semester’s troublemaker was going to be.

Reccer's Notes: In this interesting story, the trinityofone explores John Sheppard (a university English professor who stalled out as a novelist after one book) falling into a relationship with Rodney, his brilliant student who's very determined to seduce him. The fic explores John's repressed longing and his conflict about knowing that a relationship with Rodney is forbidden even while falling for him. It's open-ended, with neither a happy nor unhappy ending, but if Rodney were to continue in John's class there probably wouldn't be a good outcome. There's a nice depiction of John's academic friends, and overall it's bittersweet, and very well written.

Fanwork Links: Office Hours

Fandom: Heated Rivalry
Characters/Pairings: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov
Rating: Explicit
Length: 8492
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply. There's an age difference but Ilya's not underage. However, this is very much a clandestine relationship with a large power imbalance, so there's some ethical grayness.
Creator Links: anyabarnes on AO3, foundbyjohndoe on AO3
Themes: Mentors and proteges, First time, BDSM, AU: fork in the road

Summary: “Mr. Hollander.” Ilya swallows. “Is a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Pleasure is an understatement, but he can’t parse through English definitions fast enough to find a better word.
“Congratulations.” Mr. Hollander holds up his glass and nods towards Ilya. “No one deserves it more than you, kid. Your work ethic…” Mr. Hollander shakes his head, eyebrows raised, and lets out a low whistle. “You’re hungry. It’s impressive.”

Ilya Rozanov is the best damn rookie the NHL has ever seen. Shane Hollander, captain of the Metros and three-time Stanley Cup winner with over 700 career goals (not that Ilya is counting, thank you very much), just wants to help him celebrate.

Reccer's Notes: This is the first in a series of (currently) four fics about Mr. Hollander and puppy-Ilya. It's an AU 'verse where Shane is considerably older and a still-active and legendary NHL player, and Ilya's much younger and the rookie of the year. Ilya very much looks up to Shane, and the relationship that rapidly develops (with puppylike enthusiasm and full consent on Ilya's part) is a Dom/sub one. In a partial reversion of the usual HR dynamic, Ilya is a sub who tops and Shane is a dom who likes being fucked - but that's in later stories in the series. This is their first meeting, with the establishment of their veteran player/rookie and Dom/sub relationship. It's funny, well-written, and very hot. The podfic's also highly recommended.

Fanwork Links: Limelight on AO3, and the excellent podfic by foundbyjohndoe is here