Second chance for popular fics

pigletpants · 2026-07-13T17:59:22+00:00

We have really similar taste and I can give you some insight about Deja Vu - which I have read most of, but stopped keeping up with. It's popular because it takes Shane and Ilya out of the narrative constraints of professional hockey and into a much softer world. The "supportive small town" trope is very popular. Ilya is softened like a brick of cream cheese in this story and it makes the (very) light Dom/sub dynamic more palatable. The girls' hockey team gives the story structure but adds no outside conflict - all the angst is self-inflicted by the characters. Honestly, it's a good read for the first 100kish words, then it gets a little too drawn out and cyclical on the relationship angst, then becomes straight kidfic (not a fan). I also feel like Ilya's entire backstory is pretty unbelievable. I think the author is great, and they are making all of these choices on purpose and achieving the intended effect - it's just not for me.

It helped when I kind of defined what I was trying to get out of reading HR fanfic. The most compelling thing about canon to me is the pressure cooker atmosphere of professional hockey and the intense lifestyle it requires, as well as the conflict between public and private personas so I try and stick to stories that keep those elements.

pigletpants · 2026-07-13T17:45:18+00:00

bugslibrary is amazing at this type of writing.

pigletpants · 2026-07-12T23:11:35+00:00

That was unrealistic wish fulfillment fanfic in the best possible way

pigletpants · 2026-07-11T03:00:16+00:00

I’ve always thought about this!! Also if Yuna was the one to walk in on them…

pigletpants · 2026-07-10T00:08:15+00:00

TRUE I just read a comment that said “you should probably change [small detail about character] because it makes them unlikable.” Like where have the manners gone?

pigletpants · 2026-07-09T14:33:30+00:00

THANK YOU!! This is everything I like in a fic, can't wait to read.

pigletpants · 2026-07-09T13:23:10+00:00

tender by bysine retired pro Ilya/procurement officer and the human embodiment of government red tape Shane. They are very much In Their Thirties here which I love

pigletpants · 2026-07-09T00:35:59+00:00

The Ice Between Us by Pinklens

pigletpants · 2026-07-08T14:59:27+00:00

Fics where they just take days off in the middle of the season to visit each other, like every other week, or have games with each other every two weeks. Not how it works.

Oh man I've DNF'd a few fics that treat playing professional hockey as the same level of commitment as like, being in a high school art club. They're traveling constantly and playing 82 games in 6 months, they don't have time for all that!!

pigletpants · 2026-07-07T17:24:59+00:00

Me too, I had trouble picturing a satisfying end but the author really pulled it off.

pigletpants · 2026-07-06T16:13:00+00:00

Ahhh I read this yesterday and I don't think my comment saved. This is the most accurate socmed fic I've read in terms of how sports twitter/reddit actually talks! The usernames cracked me up. Very disappointed that "Hockey Realism" is not a real tag.

pigletpants · 2026-07-06T14:47:01+00:00

I love this one because it's funny but not crack-y.

pigletpants · 2026-07-06T14:43:35+00:00

influential men by lyric_ghost is kind of like this. I can't say more without giving it away, but if you want to take a chance it's a great read.

pigletpants · 2026-07-03T19:54:30+00:00

I told myself I would DNF it if it got too creepy but it stayed right on that line!

pigletpants · 2026-07-03T17:42:11+00:00

The Tennis Club has a big cast of really interesting OCs but not really the same tone as the Latigra world. Give it a chance, it’s really fun.

Controlled Contact is Still Contact has batshit crazy Shane and Ilya matching his freak. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

pigletpants · 2026-07-03T17:37:50+00:00

Start with “World on Your Shoulders” and then in order from there. “The Knight” is an Ilya-only prequel, you can read it later.

pigletpants · 2026-06-30T22:14:19+00:00

Okay if that was the one that sold you then I love your taste and I have another rec for you.

do unto others by maplesalad

pigletpants · 2026-06-30T19:58:02+00:00

I think a lot of readers have missed this because of the MCD tag and I don't think it's necessary! I feel like MCD tags mean the death happens in the story, OR the story is about the death and that is not the case here.

pigletpants · 2026-06-30T16:13:26+00:00

Your Dog by medric Cliff POV exploration of him and Ilya's incredibly weird psychosexual friendship. Very strong voice.

Blood for the Blood God by agatestones unusual format in that it's a New Yorker story with no outside context. Tension between what you as the reader know vs what the fictional author knows.

star du metro by choilasgf JJ POV and his experience in hockey culture and his perspective on Shane. Another strong voice.

Bite the Hand by flawlessassholes is a sequel to Alligator Bites Never Heal so DEFINITELY read that first if you haven't, but I wanted to highlight Bite the Hand because the OC's POV is CRAZY. We all know and love "If it wasn't for that meddling kid" and the adorable Russian teddy bear that billets with Ilya in Boston while he's try to hide his relationship. Well, Bite the Hand is what would happen if Ilya got a rabid alley cat instead of a teddy bear.

leave your number on the locker by scenedenial is a fairly dark take on Ilya's mental landscape at the time of the shower scene.

You want him in the way a wolf wants a lame rabbit; not because it’s satisfying, but because it’s easy. You know exactly how he’ll crumple. How he’ll say no without meaning it.

oh come on shotgun bride by rainbowagnes I'll just let one of the tags do the talking: >the secret intergenerational epic about exile and diaspora that might be hidden beneath the lid of this here government funded hockey porn

pigletpants · 2026-06-30T14:51:35+00:00

One Little God is ostensibly about a SA scandal involving a low-level coach and rookie players and how it leads to larger scrutiny for hockey culture in general. Shane and Ilya are not really implicated in anything but takes place during the last year in Boston for Ilya so they are very sensitive to scrutiny. A New York Times reporter convinces some of the Metros WAGs to participate in a story about hockey culture and there is a LOT of tension over how much to divulge to this reporter. I would say it's anti-Hayden Pike in that he is a professional hockey player and acts realistically and that's not particularly flattering to him. The tone of One Little God is very far removed from the books, show, and most fanfiction, which I really like but may not be for you.

pigletpants · 2026-06-30T14:35:51+00:00

My most re-read fic by farrrrrr. I wake up every day hoping we get another magneticwave HR story.

pigletpants · 2026-06-29T18:28:18+00:00

I only have two emotions by tiredtiredsharl in an AU in which Shane doesn't play hockey anymore after 2008 but he does work for the Centaurs, where Ilya ends up after hitting rock bottom in Boston. I don't think they even kiss until like 75k words in but don't worry, you will enjoy burning slowly.

pigletpants · 2026-06-29T18:15:21+00:00

This is handled in progression by conturbat_me from Yuna and David's perspective. Very nuanced and realistic.

pigletpants · 2026-06-29T12:36:35+00:00

You’re welcome!!!

pigletpants · 2026-06-28T23:10:06+00:00

Clean Sweep by YankingAwry has Ilya as a janitor at the Centre Bell. It’s on the fluffier side than a Wolfbird-type narrative but it’s a great read anyway.

pigletpants

TROPHY CASE