Shane Hollander's Guide to Engineering a Championship [Game Changers, Hollanov, oneshot]

Shane Hollander's Guide to Engineering a Championship by DistantStorm 

“We have worked too fucking hard to lose to Vegas,” Roz snarls, slapping the C on his chest. He was probably aiming for the crest and not his letter, but he makes his point regardless. “You know what we were in September. Nobody believed we would make playoffs, not even with Hollander.” 

(Alternatively: Shane wins the cup he was always going to win in 2020, albeit wearing a different colored jersey.) 

This is a part of a series and the other parts are equally good and maybe you should read them in order. It matters a little. It just makes everything better really, doesnt really matter on the plot side, but like yeah. It makes better reading experience.

Anyways. Why I am blogging just about this one and not the others? Because this is what fanfiction is all about. It is sandbox you can play all your hearts out. You can do whatever you want, you can make anything to be new reality and it can make as much sense as you want. Seriously.

And thats it. Please. Go enjoy this and give the author all the love. 

Contractual Obligations [Game Changers, Hollanov, oneshot]

Contractual Obligations by feralpuckbunny 

Level 1 bonds, at their core, are practical things. They are incredibly clinical, especially in the MLH. Injected with grade A suppressants to keep the bond controlled, exchanging scents as briefly as was manageable, a quick barely-there shallow bite to the gland on the omega's neck, paperwork filed with the league office after a full day of observations, and suddenly an omega is considered 'safe' to play professional hockey. The omega, now bonded, is considered less likely to 'disrupt team dynamics,' whatever that means. 

Shane had been nineteen when Montreal assigned him to Gilbert Comeau. 

OR: omegas are only allowed to play professional hockey if they enter into a contracted bond with an alpha on their team. Shane's alpha in Montreal is more than lackluster, but what can he expect? Though, maybe a little forewarning would have been nice, because Comeau suddenly wants him gone, and Shane soon finds himself being traded to what could be the worst possible outcome: Boston. 

In a way I love this universe, I love the differences, how it works and how everyone is living in it. But at the same time I fucking hate it, how shitty Shane's life is and how just fucking awful it is. Those two can exist at the same time.

Also, my biggest fear here was that this was gonna end too soon. And it ended too soon. I would love to read how this continues and how their bond forms. But I get it, I get how perfect this ending was. It showed everything you needed, gave you change to dream about their happily ever after. 

But the thing. The thing with Shane and how Montreal had fucked over him. You could see it, hear it, taste it, feel it. Whatever. It was there, it showed at every point and was just perfectly there. Just. I love everything about it. 

This fandom has destroyed my hate for abo fics. Seriously.  

Two Man Advantage [Game Changers, Hollanov]

Two Man Advantage by TheFabledSon 

ESPN (@ESPN) 

Breaking! Shane Hollander traded to Boston Raiders for Drew Kenton. Contract details to come soon. 

or 

Shane Hollander, back-to-back cup winner, generational player, and Metro's star centre should have never been traded. Let alone traded to their division rival, Boston. 

My mostly searched tag at AO3 is Boston Raiders Shane Hollanov. At this point I may even have read almost all completed fics under that tag. And even some not completed.

I love all these headcanons that there are. Raiders supporting Hollanov, Cliff being the bestest best and whatnot. At this point I dont even remember what makes every fic so special. Maybe all the headcanons and playing with everything. Just. Every single thing. 

river lead me home [Game Changers, Hollanov, oneshot, nc-17]

river lead me home by heartfangs (ittybittyjules)

Yuna pours him a glass of ice cold homemade lemonade without asking and hands it to him across the kitchen island, then announces, “Just as a heads up, me and David will leave for Japan over the weekend. My cousin invited us to spend the summer there at her lake house, and we could hardly say no to that. I will leave you a pair of keys so that you can still come and go.” 

Wide-eyed, Ilya blinks at her. “Um?” 

“You won’t be all alone,” says Yuna, immediately. “We have a son. Shane?” 

or: Ilya has been asked to fix up the Hollander house over summer. Shane Hollander, the elusive son of the family, returns to town after thirteen years to watch over said house. The next six weeks are going to be incredibly interesting. 

Why oneshots are now days 30 000 words long? Like yeah, Ill still read it, but like seriously. Why?

This could have been way, way more angsty, but wasn't. And I liked how easy, light, romantic this was. Just some nice, good reading for lazy Sunday (I know, I know Im posting this on monday but I scheduled this to future). 

The only thing I missed was more Shane's parents and their scheming. Or is it just Yuna's scheming? Anyways. I love how in every fic they care about Shane, his happiness and his life. If there is one thing that makes me cry every single time, its their never ending love and how they show it to Shane. Maybe its overbearing in times and I would hate it sometimes if it was my parents. But. I can still appreciate it and love it in every single fics. And then they show it to Ilya too, which just makes everything so much better. 

One best part here was also Ilya's depression and how it was mentioned. It was there, it was part of everything, but it didnt take over. I really liked that. It is, after all, a really big part of Ilya.

Mental health matters and all that. 

Salve [Game Changers, Hollanov, nc-17]

Salve by AC91  

Ilya Rozanov was starting over. His mother was long dead, his father had finally passed, and his brother didn’t want him around anymore. Moscow was nothing but dead bodies and fading memories and scars that just wouldn’t heal. Enter Shane Hollander. 
*Laceration, from Ilya’s POV 

I loved the prequel? The one from Shane's POV? The other one. And I went into this thinking this would break me, destroy me and I would spend the whole fic crying. But this was not as hearbreaking as I first thought. Which is probably a good thing for my mental health.

To be honest, my favorite part of this was Ilya's backgroud. His growing up, his suicidal thoughts, his way of surviving. Everything that made him who he is. All those reasons how he ended up to Montrea, ended up to the hockey team and made all those friends. I also loved how Ilya reads Shane in here and tries to understand him, not always being correct but thats mostly down him not uderstanding his own worth. 

Just. This is as good as the prequel, maybe some parts were even better. Still solid and just good.