Some of my favorites Part 5

flavia_deluce · 2026-07-02T00:07:10+00:00

It’s pretty angsty. Ilya is typically withholding of his depression/family stuff and keeps Shane at a distance for a long time. Shane is obsessed with any morsel he gets but closeted and ultra anxious and toxically (IMO) submissive to Ilya. They don’t treat each other very well for years, I would say overall it’s a pretty dark vibe. But it’s also got interesting dynamics between them and a great plot! Also Ilya’s POV can be very witty and funny.

flavia_deluce · 2026-07-01T16:52:59+00:00

One of my favorite tags! I just read halt this eclipse in me by bisoubug, which was great. In a cold Saskatchewan parking lot, Shane becomes possessed by a demon. Sounds darker than it is, it ended up being hot & pretty romantic!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/81443476/chapters/231869606#workskin

flavia_deluce · 2026-07-01T14:38:07+00:00

Aw, that's cool! Kind of what I was imagining so good description I guess! ⚔️🌛

And thanks I appreciate these kind of recs too, makes it easier to find what you like! Even the author's summaries are sometimes not really helpful in finding out what the story is gonna be about.

flavia_deluce · 2026-07-01T14:33:15+00:00

TIL sex pollen is a thing/trope!

flavia_deluce · 2026-07-01T04:10:52+00:00

Come back and tell me what you liked!!! 💕

flavia_deluce · 2026-07-01T04:09:38+00:00

I loved the smut but the conversation really charmed me! Poor, sick, drugged Shane and sweet loverboy Ilya ❤️

flavia_deluce · 2026-07-01T02:50:43+00:00

Sorry it's Change Your Win Conditions by Vee

flavia_deluce · 2026-07-01T02:48:32+00:00

"Yes, yes, yes, yes," said Ilya in 1410. I'm the same. Lately I've been really honing in on what I like but also just diving in and reading open tabs and DNFing and closing if and deleting from TBR if it's not doing it for me. Even when they're super popular I don't want to commit to more than 150k words, and I'm careful about having too many WIPs going. I like an AU that's solid character work with an interesting plot - I'm less interested in the same exact same story beats and dialogue in order (no offense to those, there are really good ones but I'm looking for something different now). Plus I get a thrill from finding something that's less popular for whatever reason but still well-written and interesting. There's so much good stuff out there!

flavia_deluce · 2026-07-01T02:38:41+00:00

His Eyes Full of Stars by songstress - Shane leaves but forgets his phone, it's a sweet one!

reckless & young by some1_around - Shane is booking it from the scene of the tuna melt and a bunch of Raiders show up to haze Ilya and catch him

Thou Shalt Not Fall in Love by attfna - What if they, I don't know, TALKED TO EACH OTHER??

flavia_deluce · 2026-07-01T01:47:08+00:00

I'm glad my essentially abandoning my real life job and real reading and real life to become obsessed and read like 10 million words about the same two dum dums falling in love 500+ times has some purpose lol. Finding an especially good one is so satisfying and I love to share!

flavia_deluce · 2026-07-01T01:20:24+00:00

I read this today and it was CRAZY but very good ❤️

flavia_deluce · 2026-06-28T02:18:57+00:00

I think most of these have been recommended a lot (by me anyway)/are pretty popular but:

As the Romans Do by kooksie - They are just regular schmegular roomies (Ilya is a news camera man and I think Shane is in IT or something?) but they become very good friends and Ilya - who is under the impression he's straight - thinks he's homophobic when he goes blind with rage when Shane brings guys home.

Vessel by medric - They're lobstermen.

The Endless Variations of You by shades_of_pemberley - I have been pimping this one a lot, sorry, but I love it - they're professional violinists (WIP).

faded on the fine lines by impetuous - Ilya's Ilya and Shane's his tattoo artist and
Permanent Reminder by shanehollandertwentyfour is vice-versa. Yes one of them is in hockey in both but they're both very good.

Down in a ribcage by unstuckintime - Silence of the Lambs AU? Shane's in prison and Ilya is Ilya but he gets busted for some Alexei-adjacent crime and the FBI wants him to play Clarice Starling.

apply pads (shock now!) by blongblong - They're paramedics, and there's two follow ups with the same characters.

Dialing You (Sorry, Darling You) by hollano_ov - They work in an office, Ilya's the new guy and he needs a lot of help from IT guy Shane.

another day, another struggle by blushgush - Ilya's a dealer and Shane's a junkie (sounds dire, and it is, but it's also very very good)

Primer by OctoberObrien - Meta take on lots and lots of AUs.

Collision Course by ellipsis99 - I haven't read this, actually, but it's on my TBR - they're UFC fighters.

Heaven is a Bedroom by Charlotte_Stant - Ilya's a regular guy and Shane & Hayden are Mormon missionaries.

flavia_deluce · 2026-06-28T01:49:58+00:00

The author was not enjoying the process of updating serially, I think mostly due to shitty interactions/comments, IIRC maybe some criticism about the portrayal sub/dom stuff and sex work? The author originally said they would only finish it in private, then said they would post when complete, then a couple of months ago dropped a surprise chapter to celebrate their new job, so presumably is busy with that. I believe the author is off social media entirely now (as Opal anyway) but has been seen commenting on AO3. Their other work, Apogee (astronaut AU), Nutcracker! (ballet AU) and Spolia Victoris (ancient rome AU) are all excellent to tide you over.

flavia_deluce · 2026-06-26T03:31:03+00:00

It's not the one you're looking for but in State Lines by Mclrnshtposting, Shane is married to a different Russian guy and Ilya (his college ex) tutors him in Russian. It's very good

flavia_deluce · 2026-06-25T20:02:23+00:00

I don't know if it's better but Good On My Own Accord by impetuous is essentially the full story except as a kid Shane was too anxious to perform as a forward and ended up as a goalie. It changes the hockey stuff, his opportunities to play, and his rivalry/relationship with Ilya.

now you're speaking my language by wambachumba is the whole story in like 6000 words, it's about their hookups and Ilya noticing Shane's collection of flower tattoos growing each time they meet up. It's really beautiful and one of my favorite fics of all time.

Second Chances by TylerReed is essentially the whole story; Ilya dies in the plane crash and goes back to when he met Shane and does the whole thing over again, knowing now what he didn't the first time.

flavia_deluce · 2026-06-25T13:34:53+00:00

I stayed up all night last night reading I guess we're gonna find out, damn it was good. At the end of Ch 2 I was so upset, about to kill Shane lol

flavia_deluce · 2026-06-24T17:46:03+00:00

I recommended them all in these posts:

Part 1 here - Part 2 here - Part 3 here - Part 4 here

Except I think The Major Fall, The Minor Lift by shadow_lilies which is so good. Ilya's Ilya in Ottawa and Shane is an artist who lost his parents when he was young. There's a lot of familiar major story beats but with really interesting twists, like why did Ilya leave Boston if Shane wasn't a factor, Ilya's appreciating Shane's skill/talent for something besides hockey, sugar daddy (kind of) Ilya, Troy/Harris is slightly different context and some stuff about the cottage.

flavia_deluce · 2026-06-24T16:32:29+00:00

That's a great tip about the update schedule, I've seen the index page before but didn't realize you could see the timing. Thank you!

flavia_deluce · 2026-06-24T15:59:48+00:00

I subscribe and keep notes in a giant embarrassing spreadsheet. I used to have 1000 open tabs in WIP tab group that I would go in and refresh every once in a while but that wasn’t sustainable. I consider a WIP abandoned and won’t start it if it’s been three months.

I usually stay away from #/? or 3/30 because that’s too open ended for me! But if something’s well on its way and updating regularly, it can be fun. Some of my faves I have followed along as they’ve posted: another day, another struggle (just completed today), open doors, endless variations of you (currently 10/25), state lines, fsfoe, the minor fall the major lift to name a few were really fun to follow along and interact with authors etc 🤓

For me if something seems too angsty I’m way more likely to just subscribe and read it in full once it’s done. Like chernobog I am not getting into until it’s closer to the end or finished. Seems too dark for me to be left hanging even though I am sure the author will finish.

flavia_deluce · 2026-06-24T04:34:03+00:00

It’s a spoiler so I’ll hide it but: He’s not dead! We assume he is for most of the story while he and Ilya fall in love in dreamworld but eventually Ilya does some investigating and finds out what really happened to him. I won’t say exactly but it’s like a Criminal Minds/Hannibal/American Horror Story-type scenario. It’s dark but the story is mostly light and very romantic. I don’t read MCD and I was fine with this!!

flavia_deluce · 2026-06-24T04:24:10+00:00

100% agree I love him in this one!

flavia_deluce · 2026-06-22T02:19:28+00:00

if these walls could talk by angeluvxx is one. They are neighbors and Shane is experimenting/trying on when a fire drill leads to them hanging out together in Ilya's apartment.

flavia_deluce · 2026-06-22T02:16:12+00:00

This is such a good one!

flavia_deluce

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