The thing about sub!Shane in D/s hollanov and good boy Shane Hollander is that you gotta get specific and a little twisty with it in order to make it interesting (imo ofc). Because Shane Hollander is always trying to be a good boy in everything already. Him falling into it in a relationship doesnât challenge him or say anything new about him or do anything that would create threads of tension that good romance thrives on.Â
So the way to make it sing is by having Ilyaâs definition of what good boy Shane Hollander looks like differ from that of everyone else in Shaneâs life. It can start out as âoh, you like to suck my cockâ because that is subversive in a heteronormative society, but as they get closer it should become more specific because any other man who likes sex with men could theoretically give Shane the same thing.Â
Ilya can be a little meanly teasing about it too, because Shane doesnât need a delicate touch all the time; he chose to be a professional hockey player and deal with the struggles that come with it. He also chose Ilya. He likes to be pushed and Ilya likes a good chirp. Shane rolls up to their hookup location gagging for it and Ilya takes one look at his parent-approved linen dress shirt and says he canât have sex with a guy wearing something someone else picked out for him. They go shopping and Ilya demands Shane pick out one outfit by himself that he likes. That sort of thing.Â
Shane should also be becoming more assertive in other areas of his life as this is happening. Heâs written as extremely passive and itâs genuinely not very interesting for a romance protagonist to stay like that (âŚimo lol). The story typically shields him from taking any action that could lead to adverse consequences which in turn shields him from growthâbig indicators of this are Rose breaking up with Shane for him and Ilya taking him back almost immediately, or Shane saying heâs a bad boyfriend in TLG and his mother immediately comforting him out of it with âIlyaâs head over heels, heâd live in a city dump for youâ. Itâs not that it would be enjoyable to witness Shane dealing with the ramifications of hurting those he loves but it would be good to see him as someone whose choices are impactful and relevant to the story.
Because Ilya makes a space for them to be subversive together here, Shane, coming into himself, would take that with him into other areas of his life. For example: he would tell his parents about Ilya, instead of the story making his desire for them to meet happen outside of his control and absolve him of the difficult decision and its potential pitfalls⌠the possibility it might âbreakâ his good boy image.
Speaking of subversive: no one in Shaneâs life likes Ilya, which adds another layer. Shane is not only a slut; heâs a slut for Ilya. He purposefully lays himself down and out for a guy everyone thinks lacks responsibility and kindness and would throw Shane over for the next girl (biphobia, my detested). And thatâs so juicy because Shane picks well! We know Ilya would give his arm and leg for those he truly commits himself to and that he is very observant, more so than really any of the other hockey guys.Â
In the series, this always gets kind of brushed over. Shaneâs parents ask âAre you sure there werenât any nice Montreal guys?â Hayden Pike in his novel extra looks his nose down at Ilya and basically tells him he canât be serious about Shane because of his sexual history. No one ever challenges this, truly, and I think it would be interesting to. Shane Hollander wants to be a good boy for a boy who isnât seen as âgoodâ.
Maybe Shane says something. Maybe he doesnât, but his entire body gets tense and he feels a little like his skin is burning listening to his loved ones and his teammates and the media disparage the guy whoâs started kissing him gently and telling him heâs amazing after he does what heâs been toldânever taking Shane for granted, now. Shane canât take Ilya for granted now either.Â
Shane plucks up the courage (the courage heâs steadily been building under Ilyaâs care and attention) to ask Ilya to let him worship him and tell him how to do so, and itâs definitely the most difficult scene Ilyaâs done because heâs only okay at best outside of sex and hockey and it makes him flush hot all over to have Shane appreciate all the effort he goes to for him when his efforts in everything else are never acknowledged. Thereâs a level of service here as well because Shane can stay still and open for Ilya and he does it well but he also thinks Ilya is beautiful and wants to be given permission to express that.Â
Ilya so easily commanding Shane to get on all fours but having to work up to telling him to cuddle him at night. The first time he does so Shane does it without hesitating and they never come back from it âĽď¸.Â