[disgusted noise]

In the books, Ilya has hookups and Svetlana is his most regular hookup outside of Shane and is clearly a friend… But Ilya and Svetlana don’t have the deep backstory of childhood, and the FIRST TIME Svetlana is brought up in the book is during Landrygate.

Book!Ilya still feels a deeper connection to Svetlana than any of this other hookups, both because of the hockey and the Russia of it all, but it’s nowhere near as intimate a relationship as in the show.

Meanwhile, in the book, Sasha doesn’t EXIST. He’s not a character, he is a throwaway line about how Ilya used to hook up with his coach’s son.

Show!Sasha is a REALLY interesting adaptation in this context, because while Svetlana is more prominent in the show than the book, her rewrite is a pretty logical extension of what their relationship already was on the page. Sasha’s rewrite completely recontextualises him, because SEEING him and Ilya interact it is quite clear that they were more than just fuckbuddies, and that at some point along the way Sasha, Ilya, and Svetlana were ALL friends.

suddenly, shane is in proper black and white formal for the first time ever, a designer suit jacket with a little point to the shoulder that makes him look all sensual and broad. accessories keep making their way in. a snakeskin belt, a loafer that doesn't look like it's from 2005, a signet ring. and of course, ilya always ties the rolex in, wear the one with the emerald face, i'll put you in a matching sock and maybe some gemstone cuff-links. his casuals remain casual, but every once in awhile he sneaks in a pair of impeccably tailored $800 jeans, or a vintage acid wash muscle tee ilya had to fight tooth and nail for on ebay. he puts his baby in cashmere sweaters that would make princess diana cry.

and people notice. of course they notice. there are theories, who is the stylist, is it a social media stunt, a new sponsorship everything their influence. and yes, a part of him is resentful he can't claim credit, but when shane asks him once, while ilya delicately folds his silk pocket square, why do you do this for me? ilya runs a hand over his dress shirt, groping at his pecs, and says, they all wonder why you look so pretty. is because i want my boyfriend to look pretty for me. they wonder, and i know. i know it's for me. it isn't for you, malysh. is for me.

the tree was next door to a church, places infamously known for organizing easter egg hunts

a single perfect white chicken egg rarely appears in nature nestled against a suburban tree trunk

to read deeper meaning into the small splashes of color on the base (thought it was pollution or smthng)

i DID, in fact, smell how rotten it was. eventually. in the end.

galadriel's been around since the beginning, like, for pretty much all of middle-earth's history you understand, she has Seen it all and despite what you may have been led to believe is at all times this close to snapping. also the reason lothlorien is so chill is she has this magic ring that makes it so the whole place exists slightly outside normal time

i can't emphasize enough how much of a post-apocalyptic horror story thranduil lives in. homeland destroyed and half his people massacred. has fucken sauron in his backyard and the spawn of the primordial beast that eats light puttering about on his lawn. a dragon lives next door. does NOT have a magic ring and is therefore obliged to rule over his murderforest in normal time

just so we're all on the same page here, legolas' day job before joining the fellowship was to hunt the spawn of the primordial beast that eats light and it's not like, a big deal or anything. he just has to do it. he's used to it.

.....except for the Ancient Egypt nook

Try telling that to Chrétien de Troyes. Aka the guy who invented Lancelot.

“Arthurian canon isn’t French”

Clearly you don’t own an air fryer. Also clearly you haven’t read literally anything written after the Norman invasion.

“Arthur needs to be a knight in shining armor”

If he lived at all he lived almost a thousand years before widespread adaption of plate armor.

“He can’t be in plate armor because that’s anachronistic”

Try telling that to Thomas Mallory.

“The fairy stuff is leftover from Celtic myth/Celtic gods)

They're semi-frequently cornered by Rose's LA club gay friends and Fabian's arthouse gay friends who constantly bring up random gay culture stuff. Ilya knows 10% of it Shane knows 0%. They're all in a mutual hatred society

Shane's never heard of PrEP. Health Canada approaches him as a potential spokesperson and he's leafing through the documentation going, "Ilya did you know about this? Should---should I have been on this" and Ilya crashes out like, "Oh now it comes out, you let the Mexican guy fuck you bare"