Cheddar Than Your Average

Eew. No.

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The finest men have ever looked on screen according to me

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Edgar Allen Poe

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Midnight Mass, out of context

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the Governess whenever she has to describe the ghost of Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw

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Honestly it’s the Shelley Duvall comment that sealed the deal for me

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I will never doubt a tumblr blog dedicated to proving a celebrity relationship is real because I was following the TomDaya truther accounts for crumbs back in 2017 and I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed vindication of that magnitude before. It could happen to anyone if you just keep your receipts and bide your time, IMO!

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“This is real though, right?”

Reason #1221 why Jacob Tierney’s script is so god-damn good - this scene.

I’m going to caveat this by saying I am not precious about the book. I know there were lines or entire beats/scenes that were left out of the TV adaptation, and people had feelings about that.

Personally, I am not one of them. I think his concision and sharp instincts about what book lovers and GA members would respond to elevated the source material.

Case in point: this exchange.

— - From the TV show, episode 6 — -

Shane: “How did we let this happen?”

Ilya: “We were stupid and irresponsible”

Shane: “This is real though, right?”

Ilya: *nods*

- - From the book - -

In the book, this scene happens right after Ilya and Shane exchange “I love you”s. When Ilya asks Shane “is this real?” he’s asking about the moment, as if it’s too good to be true and something he could only conjure up in his wildest dream.

In the show, this exchange happens after a short passage of time, in a different (but connected) scene. The way it plays out in the show, Shane is asking and affirming to Ilya that THEY are real (their love, their connection, their relationship, their future).

“This is real though, right?”

Again “this” meaning “us” not “this moment.”

Aside from switching Shane and Ilya’s lines, I just love how the show changes the entire context of the question by breaking up the “I love you” scene into two parts. A+ script writing here from Jacob Tierney.

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waiting on the conference finals to end so we can get to another mattdrai scf

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Okay, fuck your hip-hop, I watched the party just die 🏈

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the mind this man has

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Reading the Anora screenplay (SHOCKINGLY short for such a long movie) and this cut scene between Ani/Igor juxtaposed with Garnick’s interactions with Ivan and his family are just *chef’s kiss*

I think cutting the scene was the right call (if just to spare us from the “Netflix and chill” line) but I love reading it now because it really drives home what I felt like was the true message of the movie and what made Ani and Igor’s relationship so compelling.

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I’m sorry this is my favorite thing about the 2024-2025 season so far and it’s not even close

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I just feel like if the issue is “one of them is being a bully” and “one of them is being a baby” then it’s very clear to me that one of them is more in the wrong than the other.

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I’m a Bruins fan and have decided on my new #2 teams (east + west) for the 24-25 season. Guess who the winners are:

Oilers and Buffalo

Dallas and Flyers

Nashville and Pittsburgh

Utah and Montreal

Avalanche and Ottowa

Voting ended onJul 10, 2024

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What is the craziest thing that's happened this free agency?

Lightning telling Stamkos to gtfo after 16 years

Bruins and Canucks swapping half their rosters

Jeff Skinner is an Oiler? Tyler Bertuzzi is a Blackhawk? Montour is a Kraken?

The rest of the NHL defending Jacob Trouba from Rangers Fans

Joonas Korpisalo is the only Bruins goalie signed to a contract as of July 2nd

Other

Voting ended onJul 9, 2024

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My MattDrai Fic Recs, in honor of the upcoming MattDrai SCF

One-Shots:

what does daylight look like 

By notthequiettype

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

" "Matthew," Draisaitl says, and shifts on to his elbow so he can look up at Matthew. "Don't-- please don't say this was nothing to you."

There's an expression on Draisaitl's face that Matthew's never seen before, a carved wrinkle between his brows, the corners of his mouth turned down. He looks sad, worried, and Matthew's struck by how much he doesn't look like a stranger, a guy across the ice, a target for Matthew's agitation. Matthew feels an almost tilting sense of vertigo for a second. "It wasn't nothing." "

As close to fluff as I can stomach, but that extra bit of sweetness makes this one so enjoyable to read and re-read. This is a "people in the NHL are gay and the world is fine with it" fic where the biggest obstacle to their relationship is playing for divisional rivals in the same Province. However, this suspension of disbelief is rarely taken too far, or done at the expense of having Matthew and Leon feel like real, layered people. Because of this, the story's earnestness feels earned, rather than saccharine.

(come on, come on, come on) get through it

By anonymous

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

"Matthew really doesn’t know where Leon’s head is at, on the rare occasion that he pulls stuff like that. He wants Matthew to himself; he doesn’t care if Matthew fucks other people. He wants Matthew to fuck other people so he can want Matthew to himself."

This story does not get the love it deserves. Who are you, anonymous, so I can give you the flowers that you so deeply deserve? This fic only receiving 208 kudos on AO3 is one of the greatest injustices of our time. If I had to guess, I'd say it has something to do with the angsty nature and (spoiler!) ambiguous-but-seemingly-not-optimistic ending. But the angst is worth it, friends! It's so incredibly well-written that by the end, you're left with so many lingering emotions that you just have to re-read it to process it further. The prose - particularly in the sex scenes, which carry hefty emotional weight because of the fuck-buddies-with-baggage nature of Matthew and Leon's relationship - is phenomenal, and would put most published hockey Booktok writers to shame. More people need to read this fic.

Edmonton 10

By Helenish

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

" “Well?” Leon said coolly. Leon wasn’t just an Edmonton 10, Matthew reminded himself, which was really a 6 but it was dark and you were horny, but an actual anywhere in the world smokeshow. All he had to do was shut up and play along.

“Okay,” he said. Leon’s smile turned smug. Great dick, Matthew chanted to himself in his head, world-class dick, really, big and uncut, a little curved to the left, from a guy who was freshly showered and smelled like pine trees, who’d like it too much and get up in his head about it after—

“Thought so,” Leon said, sounding almost bored. Matthew dutifully pictured his entire body filling up with cool, purple liquid, because the shrink had said they could pick any color they wanted, but it didn’t stop him from leaning forward and looping one hand around the back of Leon’s neck to draw him closer. Leon let him, his smile starting to falter, and Matthew slipped his hand up to cradle the back of Leon’s head and kissed him, an easy, tender brush of his lips. He pulled back enough to look into Leon’s eyes, holding his gaze. Leon blinked. Matthew smiled."

If I had to recommend one MattDrai fic to a new reader, it would be this one. It's just perfect. It's funny, it's sexy, it's grounded, it's surprisingly emotional, but above all else it's so, so, so well-written. All of the things that, in my mind, exemplify what makes MattDrai fanfiction so great.

(mild spoiler!) Without giving too much away, the 💔 part at the end made me gasp the first time I read it because of how well it hit the bulls-eye for me as a character beat and emotional climax. Impeccable storytelling.

Multi-Chapter:

let me look at you by isozyme

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

"Leon feels awkward and unsettled until they get home and he has Matthew naked in his bed, where he’s able to put his hand around Matthew’s ankle and let out the air that’s been stuck in the bottom of his lungs. Matthew looks awful — pale, battered, and end-of-season skinny. He’s scruffy and still has acne in his beard at almost thirty years old and Leon has no idea why he wants to fuck this guy so bad. And worse — wants to kiss him and protect him from the shitty parts of his family and show off to Connor how hot it is when they're in bed together."

This one is McMattDrai (Tkachuk/Draisaitl/McDavid) in case that's a dealbreaker for anyone. It shouldn't be, though! Because this story is incredible, and I waited eagerly for each new chapter to be published when it was put on AO3 last summer. Funny, blunt, unexpected, raunchy, tender at times, and a bit kinky. This story never failed to surprise me by going exactly where I hoped it would go one moment then veering hard right in another direction the next. You're not going to find a lot of 10 chapter fics this rich, descriptive, committed, and unique throughout.

head above water by yourblues

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

"He gives Matthew a cocky little smirk about it, like it’s supposed to be impressive that he didn’t need instructions to find them. Awful, Matthew thinks. He’s awful, and yet all Matthew wants is to get his hands or his mouth or literally anything on him. There’s been something hooked behind his breastbone all week, pulling him toward this with a single-mindedness that Matthew usually only feels with hockey. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to think straight until they’re done here."

This whole work is great, but for me the story reaches untouchable heights in the 5th chapter that very few other fics have ever been able to reach for me. I find myself re-reading it as soon as I'm done every time. Take my word for it, even if you only read the 5th chapter (read the whole thing though, because the build-up is worth the payoff, trust me).