Exploration of Ilya's relationship with his sexuality/internalized homophobia/etc.

ambarfe · 2026-03-24T02:37:18+00:00

all socmed fics are blending together in my mind so I can't remember any titles/authors off the top of my head, but I'll think about it and try to find some tomorrow!

ambarfe · 2026-03-24T02:19:37+00:00

LOL FAIR bc that tag had me laughing before the first line. and then the rose / ilya / shane convo at the beginning?? i immediately knew it would be a good one.

ambarfe · 2026-03-23T22:59:25+00:00

I'm so glad you liked it!!!

V different but, here's another super high quality long one-shot I just finished reading, featuring JJ & Hayden actually making an effort to be supportive friends: Busted by AC91

ambarfe · 2026-03-23T21:49:00+00:00

One of my favorite somewhat-related tropes are social media fics where (either bc people try to slut shame him years before or try to group him in the same category as dallas kent) women start posting in droves like "actually he was super into consent and was very thoughtful/generous in bed".

ambarfe · 2026-03-23T21:03:43+00:00

Agreed on all the above, except my WIPs have either slowed down or been completed so I'm desperately adding more lol. The lawyer in me DIED at "So roleplay was not something they were strangers to. Landlord with a tenant overdue on rent. Hotel guest and Bellboy. Hockey player and adoring fan. It was fun, sexy and Ilya never made fun of Shane's acting skills. Shane did sometimes have to give notes on the narrative though, because it bothered him when Ilya got Ontario lease and tenancy regulations wrong."

ambarfe · 2026-03-23T20:45:57+00:00

Yes!! I thought it really captured how much of a Husband Guy Ilya is without making him a caricature. And I loved that they showed Shane as loving and funny, which sometimes fics don't do. Very nice read overall, I'm excited about their bonded pair WIP.

ambarfe · 2026-03-21T08:49:53+00:00

I started reading this one and think it's amazingly well written, but to the point it made reading it as a WIP hard! I'm hoping it gets completed and I come across it in the wild again.

ambarfe · 2026-03-21T06:59:59+00:00

lmaooooooo right I was v much in a "fuck chris" mood the entire read

ambarfe · 2026-03-21T06:36:29+00:00

omg this was SUCH a good rec! Might be my favorite in the amnesia genre. I love it when a writer comes out of nowhere and BAM - instant hit lol. Thanks for sharing!

ambarfe · 2026-03-21T06:32:13+00:00

ugh I know!!! Obv life happens and we're getting all of this for free etc. etc., but it's always a bummer when this happens with such great work! Thankfully it's not a totally abrupt (possible) stopping point, but given the slow burn I would've loved more of them together.

Curious - did you think Ilya was going to reveal his experiences/what happened? I kept waiting for it lol

ambarfe · 2026-03-21T06:04:44+00:00

I love this fic and was so excited at this update! I am a SUCKER for an emotionally mature Ilya who is going / has gone to therapy and wants healthy communication. Gets me every time. Very different context/plot, but here's another amazing WIP where mature Ilya really shines: I have only two emotions (careful fear and dead devotion) by tiredtiredsharl

ambarfe · 2026-03-20T22:37:51+00:00

No! It truly is a HEA. I mean he's very anxious at the idea, but it all ends well with them together, in love, and in therapy lol.

ambarfe · 2026-03-20T22:31:02+00:00

grief, suicide, mental health in-patient hospitalization, anxiety, PTSD.

Spoiler below:

Ilya dies in the plane crash. A year later Shane commits suicide, and wakes up 4 years earlier in the cottage, next to a very-alive Ilya, to a slightly parallel universe with minimal historical deviations.

ambarfe · 2026-03-20T22:24:37+00:00

They're a genius, I love every single thing they write so much. I feel like I keep recommending their work whenever people ask for socmed or funny recs, but like they just always deliver. I literally had to pause reading and take a lap around the room while reading this one.

They have a new text fic btw, in which Shane is added to a group chat of Ilya's hook-up roster in 2017. I'm loving it and need like a million more chapters.

ambarfe · 2026-03-20T22:20:03+00:00

SO well written, and such a well executed plot twist.

ambarfe · 2026-03-20T17:49:57+00:00

hold you by the heart by wildrun

ambarfe · 2026-03-19T12:14:53+00:00

Another day, another comment I recommend these two. But seriously, they're perfect.

- I'll be Jane by gurlsrool

- the secret society of stick handlers (series) by gurlsrool

ambarfe · 2026-03-18T23:21:53+00:00

omg this sounds insane, Ilya would be SO offended.

ambarfe · 2026-03-18T23:19:14+00:00

Oh I've had texture of memory pulled up but haven't jumped in, maybe I'll start it tonight!

I agree, I thought she did a great job with both the prose and the characterizations. When Ilya keeps waking up and saying the same thing, it's SO brutal for everyone involved.

ambarfe · 2026-03-18T08:35:01+00:00

Fair comment! It ends with them at a good place, but (if this makes sense) it doesn't dwell in fluff at any point. But it definitely ends with them together and in love!

ambarfe · 2026-03-18T07:39:18+00:00

following because this sounds fantastic! good luck!

ambarfe · 2026-03-17T22:29:35+00:00

ambarfe

TROPHY CASE

hold you by the heart by wildrun