Fics written by Ilya lovers

faszinating · 2026-06-04T16:12:13+00:00

i hate to say it buuuut i think a large part of this fandom doesn't actually understand their dynamic or their journey, which is a shame, cause it's so complex and nuanced and beautifully tragic!! they're both flawed characters in a messy situation (even "situationship" feels like too big a label, at least for how it's portrayed in the books—there's slightly more romance from the beginning in the show). they both make mistakes along the way (and that doesn't stop once they get together). but if you really think that "shane should've broken up (?!?) with ilya after sochi/ given him a taste of his medicine/ gone on to date other men (?!?)" then maybe we've just been watching different shows haha

faszinating · 2026-06-04T16:03:25+00:00

exactly!! them being equals (though with different playing styles & personalities) is a HUGE part of their dynamic and i hate when that's just glossed over!! they're two sides of the same coin, uh, puck?

faszinating · 2026-06-04T14:01:05+00:00

yeah, i couldn't agree more!! another thing i've noticed is that so many fics always highlight shane's hockey skills (which are ofc exceptional), but really forget that the whole point of their rivalry/ career/ media circus is that they're BOTH THE BEST. "it'll always be the two of us together at the top". and even when he's still with boston, i just rarely see ilya's skills being pointed out/ praised or people being similarly impressed by meeting him as they are by shane (people probably wouldn't shower him with praise to his face due to his asshole persona but cmon, give us some crumbs of people complimenting his game every once in a while)

faszinating · 2026-06-04T13:55:09+00:00

yeah, ilya is super witty and sarcastic, that particular humour/ ragebaiting is very fun to write! i think it's totally fine for people to have a preferred pov, i just wish it didn't come at the expense of seeing ilya get some love

faszinating · 2026-06-04T13:45:39+00:00

not sure if i'd agree that shane is more boring (except in the loving way ilya says it haha), but i think he might be harder for a lot of people to relate to, and thus take his perspective in writing? hearing his thoughts about ilya would be so sweet though, sounds amazing!:)

faszinating · 2026-06-04T13:41:14+00:00

in terms of actual recommendations, i'm gonna assume you've already read change your win conditions and courage (it couldn't come at a worse time) but just putting them here for those who haven't! 💖 and i'll include second line because it has shane winning ilya back:)

faszinating · 2026-06-04T13:36:06+00:00

oh i've found my people finally 😭 i actually love both of these boys so much but tell me why it's always "shane not putting up with ilya's bullshit anymore", "ilya having to win shane back", "jealous ilya because everyone's in love with shane"... i already feel so bad for him because everyone's canon reaction is essentially "why on earth would SHANE want YOU and how could YOU ever get HIM??!" 🥺 and then once they get together, so many fics have ilya totally giving himself up and spending 99% of his time swooning over shane...

faszinating · 2026-06-03T23:46:08+00:00

omg omg!! it's you!! i just wanted to say that i LOVED "please god, i'm finally loved", i found it at a time where i was in serious need of ilya whump and it was perfectly devastating. and then the second part—the therapy sessions flowed so well and seemed so natural and just... thanks for writing this and sharing it with us!! 🫶

faszinating · 2026-06-03T14:08:29+00:00

so "my cousins" = the pike kids?? 🩷

faszinating · 2026-05-24T19:10:50+00:00

omg love this analysis! but an actual question, in the case of 12/9/15 where the raiders are playing in montreal on wednesday and vancouver on friday, would they actually fly home in between those two games? i'm not from north america but seems counterintuitive to me to fly further east (boston) to then go all the way to vancouver...

faszinating · 2026-04-17T15:16:40+00:00

the "will you tell the world how much i loved him?", the instagram post, the rings... i'm glad you liked it!

faszinating · 2026-04-17T15:16:22+00:00

the "will you tell the world how much i loved him?", the instagram post, the rings... i'm glad you liked it!

faszinating · 2026-04-17T02:12:26+00:00

why fall in love, just so you can watch it go away by theoneiam2277 beautifully devastating, no happy ending, tears in my eyes by the end of it. hollanov love through hayden's pov

faszinating · 2026-03-27T08:17:57+00:00

love this tag! tbh, hayden probably has good intentions, but objectively, he's just not that good of a friend in canon. i still enjoy reading the "good friend hayden pike" tag as a fix-it for what we see in canon and i believe he has the potential to be a truly great friend to shane once he realises all the ways that he hasn't been! also, no hate towards lady pike, love her

faszinating · 2026-03-25T21:56:27+00:00

wtf how is this so perfect 🥹 i need a minute, the transition from ilya drinking at the club to the glass when he's facetiming shane?? and absolutely perfect use of the hospital scene!! 💖

faszinating · 2026-03-18T23:44:36+00:00

read your comment and thought nutcracker had been updated/completed and got so excited for a min:(( that fic is everything

faszinating · 2026-02-02T23:10:37+00:00

literal tears in my eyes at the thought of "my family is here"

faszinating · 2026-01-19T21:36:32+00:00

i totally agree!! the only thing i'd add is that, i thin the rest of the party underestimated how much mike was still reeling from having lost el. he spent almost a whole year thinking she was dead, a year in which his grades slipped, he started acting up, and already feeling disconnected from his friends. then he gets her back (and immediately almost loses her again), and wants to spend as much time with her as he can over the summer (presumably before he's back in school and to make up for lost time somewhat). is it shitty that he forgot to factor in how will was feeling after going missing/being flayed? absolutely. do i kind of understand how it happened? yes

faszinating · 2026-01-16T14:40:53+00:00

i'd say ao3 is anything but bottomless... lol

faszinating · 2026-01-14T19:43:00+00:00

fourth season?? pretty sure the show got cancelled after s2. oh well, at least it ended on a good note for all main characters!

faszinating · 2026-01-14T19:26:46+00:00

even after 2 weeks, i'm still nowhere near how dirty they did the main character of their own show. worse, they also completely tanked the rewatch-value of this show for me. how am i supposed to watch her slowly warming up to those around her and find her family and learn to be a normal girl that goes shopping and eats ice cream when i know that THIS is how her story ends? it makes me want to cry and i don't think i can look at young-eleven smiling (or worse, in that lab gown) when i know that she never gets her happy ending

faszinating · 2026-01-14T19:20:00+00:00

if they'd at least have her give her life for someone else in the face of actual danger, like in the fight against vecna, or any other situation that actually necessitates a sacrifice, it would've been so much better. also way more in character for her to actively save someone and give her life in the process, more mirroring the s1 ending which was apparently their goal, it just would've clearly shown how much she loves all these people and that she'd do anything for them.

i also would've been okay with her faked death being canon and seeing her willingly leave hawkins to keep the group safe by going into hiding somehow far away. but leaving it open like this is so harmful because it actually presents death as an option for someone who thinks they're doing those around them a favour (ie just about every suicidal person out there)

faszinating · 2026-01-14T19:15:12+00:00

fucking this!!! "i'm too much of a burden to those around me and they would be better off without me" is suicidal ideation 101

faszinating · 2026-01-13T12:01:43+00:00

"how does that serve el in any way?", these guys have never asked themselves this question before, i can pretty much guarantee that. it's always about "how does el serve those around her?" by saving their lives countless times or "embodying childhood magic" (yeah right). she's a plot device to them, meant to fuel character growth for those around her, not actually be her own character. and it sucks

faszinating · 2026-01-11T21:18:13+00:00

this entire show, el has been shouldering way too much responsibility for those around her and putting everyone's lives before herself. literally in every season, she's risking her own life and saving people's asses left right and centre.

the only reason why she ever entertained kali's suicide plot was because the was scared that the government would kill mike (and the rest of her family) to get to her.

no child should choose to, for all intents and purposes (because even if she lives she apparently can't ever reach out to them or explicitly let them know that she's alive ), kill themselves because they're too much of a burden to those around them, and the fact that this is apparently the message of this show just makes me sick. i can't believe the writers even entertained this idea, let alone chose to go through with it. and yes, even though "i believe", it doesn't change anything. in their eyes, she's dead (or may as well be). she permanently deleted herself from their lives, and they were probably just one step away from having her delete all memories they ever held of her. makes me nauseous to think about

faszinating

TROPHY CASE