First of all, MASSIVE credit and shout out to @wingsseni on Instagram who has some absolutely gorgeous fanart for Hollanov and what they call the Hollanovlings.
As per the fan art picture, I wonder if anyone has any fics of nice dreams/other worldly interactions that Ilya has with Irina, instead of the usual awful hammock nightmare.
I really love this fanart of Irina meeting her grandchildren in the hammock instead.
So I've just finished this and it's gorgeous. Trigger warning: it does discuss mental health and the myriad of things associated with that.
16.2k words - Summary:
Ilya makes a list for his mother, a list of everything in the world that is brilliant. Of course, he didn't know then how it would continue to change his life more than twenty years later.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/82653256
It's canon divergent and kind of a college AU but it's not really the focus of the story. Really intimate exploration of guilt, struggle and unconditional love.
It's based on the play Every Brilliant Thing which I am gutted I've just missed in London and will be looking out for when it hits theatres again.
https://everybrilliantthing.com/
In a way, I think it's also reminiscent of Reasons to Stay, a place to share letters and notes with people who may be struggling.
Roll up, roll up 📣 Looking for something new to read? Want to spice up your life with this ingenious way of me sharing my read list?
Don't get too excited, now. I really need to get some adult hobbies.
I love a recommendation list, and I've stumbled across fics I've loved in really random ways, so I want to contribute back to that.
My reading stats, so far:
• 414 total works
• 6.8 million total words
• 80 book equivalent (average 85k words)
• 16.6k words per work average
🌟 How To Play 🌟
○ Pick a number between 1 & 414 - receive my corresponding fic link and summary, for your reading pleasure.
○ If you've already read it, feel free to pick another.
○ If you haven't read it but it's not your usual cup of tea, why not give it a go anyway?
○ The list is organised alphabetically by author only - no ranking system applies, although I do have favourites.
○ Let me know if you liked it, and I'm always looking for recommendations back, of similar fics 😉
I recently read As The Romans Do by kooksie, which is a roommates alternate universe where Shane is Ilya's bi awakening.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/84690476
It was a good read and I just wondered if anyone had any similar recommendations (AU or not)?
Another post of me asking to be fed by you wonderful writers - or given links for existing fics!
[Picture description: Threads screenshot accredited to lunaatthezoo_writing with the following text: "Plot bunny: Ilya & Yuna go on a day trip wine tasting tour together. They come home absolutely plastered and spend the rest of the night roasting the shit out of David and Shane."]
A prompt or a plea for any existing recommendations, please guys!
Picture description:
Screenshot of a Tumblr post accredited to user Hudconvent with the following text: "ilya opening their mail one day and then yelling SHANESHANESHANE who rushes in to where ilya is holding up a piece of mail gleefully. It's a speeding ticket (not uncommon) with a traffic enforcement photo attached and it's undeniable that it's ilya's (very few orange lambourghinis in the area) so Shane is like "wow way to go, another few of those and your license is finally going to be revoked" and ilya is like "no, looking closer" and Shane leans in to look at the photo and tiny, just barely perceptible on the grainy photo is ilya hand with a handful of dark hair in his lap. Shane is beyond mortified but ilya keeps trying to hang the photo on the fridge.
A prompt for all you gorgeous, talented writers (and also an opportunity to harvest any recommendations for any existing fics!)
Ilya telling Shane he has someone perfect in mind for him to go on a blind date with.
Shane turning up to find Ilya waiting for him.
Obviously canon divergent - would also take alternate reality. But - would love it to not be too OOC.
Thank you for keeping me fed 🫶🏻
So this one was a little bit of fluff, lots of the Centaurs being exquisite human beings and a sprinkling of angst and sad Ilya.
31k words
https://archiveofourown.org/works/84483691
Summary:
Essentially a 5 times & 1 of lots of misunderstandings where the Centaurs think Ilya is actually a widower.
So, off the back of me reading So I Guess We're Gonna Find Out by angel_deux, I realised I quite liked the two being in some sort of mortal danger!
It's The Terror is a great read, with the players getting caught up in a hostage situation at a Las Vegas award ceremony. The author does a great job of showing their range of emotions (and not making it too cheesy either).
29k words - complete.
Links:
This is a post specifically targeted at those that don't read WIPs until they're complete. (Sorry, couldn't find a flair that matched what I was looking for!)
To explain - I don't read WIPs while they're in progress. I know this can be seen as a bit controversial by some BUT I genuinely cannot chop and change between chapters of different works as they're updated and I'd lose my train of thought - and therefore be doing the author a disservice. I also don't have an A03 account, so wouldn't be a commenter/kudos'er anyway.
I'm intrigued as to how others approach WIPs compared to myself, to see if I'm missing a trick:
• Do you keep track of WIPs for later reading?
I have a spreadsheet tab just for WIPs and their links, with a note of when they were last updated. I probably check the links every month or so. When I've seen a recommendation, I download it (onto my Kindle) at whatever chapters it's up to, but I don't update my download again until it's complete.
• When do you consider a WIP to be abandoned?
I start getting a bit nervous if it hasn't been updated in 3 months, and then by 6 months, I'm starting to think it might be abandoned. I'm not sure how to think about this when the chapter count is defined as opposed to '?' though.
• If you think it's been abandoned, would you decide to just read what the author has published anyway?
Most of the WIPs on my list have been updated within the last few weeks, but I have some I'd really like to read but it looks as though they may be in the throws of abandonment (see list below).
Effortlessly Spectacular by GlitterCity
https://archiveofourown.org/works/39085542
So It's Gonna Be Forever by Lila_Mac
https://archiveofourown.org/works/75442981
Road Regrets by positivejam
https://archiveofourown.org/works/77575346
Take it Slow, Take it Easy on Me by sargeantwoof
https://archiveofourown.org/works/75864996
I'll take this opportunity to say thanks to the writers of WIPs, which are often extensive and take a lot of work. My delayed reading of them does not reflect any lack of interest!
I'm not looking for mpreg or Hollanov parent recommendations specifically this time (although I'll never turn them down!) but interested to see recommendations of Ilya being broody after seeing Shane with babies/kids (likely Pike ones, I suppose - there's plenty!).
​
[Picture description: still of Shane from Heated Rivalry during the aquarium visit, holding a tiny baby while smiling at Hayden, out of picture. The text reads: "imagine Ilya's reaction if he saw him so cutesy like this holding a baby".]
Any recommendations for fics that centre around a time when both Shane & Ilya are retired? I'm not too fussy what the other tags are alongside it, just interested to see some fanfic authors takes on them both in retirement, whatever that may be!
I've yet to read anything like it!
I've just finished this and honestly, it was so lovely. Time travel with angst that made me want to give them both a cuddle.
91k words.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/80956281/chapters/212697766
Summary:
In another life — or maybe the next one, or maybe the one before — Ilya Rozanov learns that some roads only lead to one place. No matter how you take them, the wolves are always waiting at the end.
Maybe that's why, in December 2008, Ilya wakes up with the distinct, inexplicable sense, that he has already lived this life before.
Some things, it turns out, are inevitable. The question is whether he is.