it’s so isolating! it makes you feel so trapped! it feels like such an unbelievable relief to have someone else to share it with, to have someone that both understands & cares what the outcome will be for you, who isn’t scared off by the weight and responsibility of it all

ilya is figuring out his actual future in this country, his safety, all in the context of his upbringing & family, shane is dealing with the expectations placed on him & his identity & coming out, and both of them grapple with the enormity of their relationship ON THEIR OWN

at this point ilya & shane both feel so alone and trapped when trying to make decisions about their lives, constantly weighing up consequences in what feels like a damned if i do, damned if i don’t situation. i love seeing them becoming a unit, a ‘we’, sharing these burdens a bit

and ilya who truly believed he couldn’t let himself go to the cottage but wanted to so badly and now he’s HERE with the brightest smile on his face……

they’re just soooooo boyfriends here……. so giddy and smiley and holding hands and shane is so excited to have ilya in his space now that the initial anxiety/tension of arriving at the cottage has dissipated……. they deserve the world

shane’s little ‘obviously’ that i think was supposed be sarcastic but just came out breathless always gets to me. he’s like duh otherwise we wouldn’t be in this situation

the camera being in a tight close up on both ilya and shane for the entirety of this scene, except for the moment when ilya is working up the courage to say he’s in love. it’s like for the whole conversation it’s just the two of them, there’s nobody else who matters, and then

yuna and david probably watched how their son struggled to connect with people throughout his life only to see someone love him and understand him without question and someone who had been by his side for years and was gonna stick by for years to come #heatedrivalry

it looks like he’s not even texting here just rereading the chat like a museum exhibit yeah nobody stood a chance

https://t.co/4O2quWkkYD

i am about to end it all right now

making myself sad by thinking about lover boy ilya. how soft and gentle he is. little taps, little touches, little kisses everywhere. how his voice goes a bit mellow and hushed during love confessions. how attentive and caring he is. how deeply he loves.

it’s honestly mind blowing how good of a job the actors and crew did with making it look like years had passed in the show like these pictures genuinely look they were taken several years apart

it’s such a beautifully freeing moment for him when he’s actually letting himself openly acknowledge and accept both his attraction to men and his feelings for ilya after years of denial and perceiving both of these things as wrong in some way/a danger to who he is & what he does

svetlana knows all of his tells and can smell his bullshit from across the ocean. she’s like girl don’t piss me off

at this point i have listened to my moon my man so much that even when i’m not listening my brain continues to go take it slow 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 take it easy on me 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 shed some light 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 shed some light on me please 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 on repeat

Is there a single scene where it isn't clear that Shane is the right man for Ilya? Maybe I'm projecting, and I'll own that risk, but Shane is the one who stays when others would turn away. He meets anger and sarcasm with openness, seeking understanding even when it hurts. His

i haven’t moved on from ilya going ‘i think i know how the staff like to be treated after all these years’ like it’s all so playful and hot and then BAM an acknowledgement of how long they’ve known each other & how much more comfortable & attuned to each other they’ve become

genuinely in love with the way ilya just GETS shane like he wants to rage bait him a little but notices that shane is genuinely upset so he's like "it is, listen" sygnaling to shane that it's all about him and ilya's love for him and the second shane relaxes ilya teases him again

connor my abba pilled friend i have just the thing for you