Okay but… in that last gif, when Shane’s SO happy to hear that, they way Ilya responds by lovingly stoking the back of his head, like his little Russian heart is going to burst, that he’s making this man he loves SO HAPPY. Like, he doesn’t think he’s made anyone happy since his mom died. Not like this. And probably never anyone like THIS.
heated rivalry really said queer love is art, queer sex is art, queer joy is art, there’s no reason why every story about queer people needs to be trauma porn in order for it to be good, we can have exquisite writing and deeply intentional cinematography and unbelievable fucking acting performances without having our characters die or break up or fall apart in some broken and dramatic way that implies queer people are cursed to suffer forever. maybe we can make art that’s about more than just our trauma, and maybe there’s more power in a happy ending, and maybe the point of art is to remind you of why you’re alive. fuck
