Not safe for public consumption.

Chapters: 1/15

Words: 12k now, 150k total

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Soft dom Ilya Rozanov / BOAT Shane Hollander

Main Tags: slave AU; canon-parallel storytelling; kink awakening; mistaken identity; the porn is the plot; no fading to black here tyvm; happy ending

Excerpt

At twenty-one, Shane Hollander was the celebrated Captain of the Argent polo team. He was the youngest rider ever to win the Nine Isles’ Championship Race. He was the youngest son of the governing house of Argent—a house which thrived on order, respectability and tradition, and above all abhorred a scandal.

For anyone to think that Shane Hollander might enlist a male pleasure slave for his own enjoyment would be humiliating in the extreme. Beyond excruciating; career-ending. A catastrophe.

Shane felt his face heating as he stared, unable to look away.

The man's features looked high-born, all strong jaw and fine brow, and yet his handsome face was framed with curly dark-blond hair that fell to his shoulders, and his wide blue eyes were smudged with kohl. And—he was wearing a collar.

Chapter 3: Palladium

Summary: the boys unexpectedly reconvene at an away game.

-24:19 (Ilya): Неуже́ли.

Oh, this one little Russian word makes me feel things.

It's concentrated exasperation in linguistic form. Not anger. Not outrage. Just that perfect, bone-deep, "I cannot even begin to express how ridiculous you are being right now".

Four syllables of unimpressed judgment. An entire eyebrow raise in word form.

When I first moved to the US, my English was good. Like, technically good. Years of studying. Consuming whatever original media I could find. Whatever British TV channels we could get. A British teacher in college. American teachers living in the same building. Keith, I know you were Canadian, I’m sorry.

I did translations for a localization company. My accent was already leaning American. I was fluent.

But fluency is not personality.

And I am sarcastic. Sarcasm may be the 'lowest form of wit,' but it's the funniest. Unfortunately for everyone in range.

Except at first… I couldn't do it.

I wasn’t fast enough. The timing was off.

And when it finally clicked? When I could be snarky in real time?

Oh, the joy. The absolute euphoria. To the probable dismay of anyone around me.

I didn’t have Russian friends or family around, and pretty quickly my inner monologue switched to English. Dreams too. Russian only clawed its way out during moments of frustration or anger. Even that’s gone now.

Except – and I can't explain this – if I need to count? One, two, three?

It’s Russian. Some neural pathway refuses to migrate.

Which is why I find it so perfect that in this scene, Ilya starts in English.

He’s calm. Functional. Matching Shane's language because the stakes are low.

-24:40 - Ilya, casual: "God, I want a cigarette".

Shane, earnest PSA mode: "Smoking is bad for you".

Ilya, still in English, still composed enough to be petty: "Oh, is it".

Shane, pivoting to panic: "So… you are not gonna tell anyone about this, are you?"

Ilya, deploying sarcasm: "Me? Yes, Hollander, I am going to tell everyone".

He is still in English. Still holding the line.

And then:

Shane, doubling down: "’Cause no one can know".

And that’s when English stops being enough.

Ilya: Неужели. Ne-u-ZHE-li.

Four syllables.

Translation: "No shit".

Not literal. Spiritually immaculate.

Because неужели does not just mean "really". It carries a whole universe of "are you hearing yourself right now". It is the linguistic equivalent of leaning back, crossing your arms, and letting your silence do the violence.

He tries to stay in English. He really does.

But Shane keeps poking. And eventually only Russian has the proper emotional register.

"Pride Night", Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov, Scott Hunter [Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, Francois Arnaud] from Heated Rivalry, the original cover from the [REDACTED] zine

Mar 2026

This is a several layer work. First, I found three blank jersey templates and redesigned the Metros/Raiders/Admirals jerseys into a pride format. I then found a reference pic of three men standing next to each other wearing jerseys. I used inkscape to photoshop the jerseys onto the reference pic, and then photoshopped Hudson, Connor, and Francois's faces into place.

I then ran it through my process of playing with vectorising/lighting/overlaying watercolour textures and stock images, isolating the lines, drawing in more lines (don't look too closely at their numbers or their feet because I almost messed them up a few times). I blurred the letters because it's meant to look like a painting, I removed the lines from the Raiders icon because it was too busy, and then overlaid everything.

Believe it or not, the reflection on the ice was the hardest part of this. And if you still fucking think this is AI, just go ahead and block me already because I'm over trying to prove myself to everyone.

"Chokehold", Hudson Williams [from Heated Rivalry] for BVLGARI #GoldAndSteel Collection

May, 2026

I don't have anything to say in my defense.

Celebrate Pride with Tor Publishing Group!

The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes

Guy Moulène has a simple goal: keep his sister out of debt. As an exterminator, that means hunting the uncanny creatures that crawl up from the river and attempt to infest the walls of the city. His latest quarry is different: a centipede the size of a dragon with a deadly venom and a ravenous taste for artwork. As it digests Tiliard from the sewers to the opera houses, its toxin reshapes the future of the city. No sane person would hunt it, if they had the choice.

Guy doesn’t have a choice.

Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske (@fahye)

To graduate the Academie of the Grand Duchy of Sieuxerr, every mage with a healer’s gift must endure a five-day trial. The exam groups are chosen at random, and all must pass together or fail together. What the exam should not include is the dead body of a classmate, a brilliant scholar who would’ve been first in their class, appearing in the exam hall on the first day of the trial. 

Five scholars. Five secrets. Five days to solve a murder and pass the most important exam of their lives, and maybe uncover a secret large enough to change the world. (Or: five queer nerds solve a murder and have some feelings.)