@helaenadreamer - Tumblr Blog

lately i feel like a plague has settled into the willmack corner of the fandom and i’m gonna be a hater about it for a second lol

there’s been this wave of people who don’t watch a single game, don’t know the roster, couldn’t name three players on the San Jose Sharks if their life depended on it, but somehow exist purely as “willmack truthers.” and the way the ship burst the bubble and landed straight into the hands of a new generation of larrie-style fandom is… kind of wild to watch in real time.

everything now gets screenshotted, ripped out of context, reposted here or on twitter (i hate that place) with zero fact-checking, just so someone can go viral or prove they “noticed” something first. it stopped feeling like silly, fun rpf brainrot and started feeling like people are trying to build cases. like it’s less about enjoying the dynamic and more about proving something.

and the thing is if you’ve been in rpf spaces long enough, you know the unspoken rule is that the healthiest version of it is a little bit of gatekeeping, a little bit of self-awareness, and a LOT of keeping it contained. but willmack got so out of hand that even sharks media clearly knows what willmack twitter wants to hear which… yeah, not shocking. part of their job is literally monitoring fan engagement online. of course they know what gets clicks.

also, obviously will came back a bit different after the shoulder injury. if i had to guess, he probably opened tiktok, saw 500 untagged edits of himself and his friend (yeah, friend. not best friend. like yes, will and mack are close, nobody’s denying that. but that video where he hears best friend and looks like he has to physically restrain himself from rolling his eyes says enough lol) set to romantic music and went “okay. maybe let’s cut this off at the root.” honestly? good for him. i wouldn’t blame him.

at this point i half-jokingly feel like the only thing that would calm people down is either; their friendship getting visibly more distant, their on-ice chemistry cooling off or will getting photographed kissing some random blonde girl on a beach

(and even then people would say she’s a fake girlfriend hired to cover the relationship, because that genuinely feels like the current level of conspiracy thinking in this fandom 💀)

idk. i just miss when shipping them felt fun and a little delusional in a harmless way, not like a competition to decode their real lives. maybe i’m just grumpy. but wow.

#willmack #I WAS SOOO RIGH

helaenadreamer

https://www.tumblr.com/mackwill271/809284161405927425/yall-i-thought-people-were-exaggerating-about-his?source=share

willmack fandom feels larrie-coded in the worst way this post annoyed me so bad bc the pupil stuff is such a reach the lighting in that vid blows out his eyes the whole time not just when he mentions mack if u watch literally any locker room interview of him his pupils look the same no matter what he’s talking abt ppl are literally cutting the part where he mentions mack what actually bothers me more is how it’s crossed from silly fandom fun into straight-up invasive behavior. stalking his sister’s tiktok digging thru his mom’s facebook reposting old private pics of him as a minor and calling him a twink… weird and uncomfortable rpf is supposed to be abt enjoying a dynamic and playing in that fictional sandbox, not trying to prove they’re secretly together irl. once it turns into evidence boards and personal-life surveillance the fun is gone hopefully the break cools ppl down a bit bc rn it’s less “haha fun ship” and more… pls log off for a minute

this is literally what i was saying before people started twisting my posts like i was trying to kill the fun or that i hate will/mack or whatever they decided to invent. you know a fandom is a little cooked when basic boundaries start sounding controversial.

loveranalyzing random little details? every fandom does that, whatever. i roll my eyes and move on. but digging through family socials, old private photos, childhood stuff etc is where it stops being silly fandom behavior and starts being genuinely invasive. that shouldn’t be normalized. same with people deciding to hate leno or gabe over narratives they fully made up in their own heads.

at this point idk if it’s even fixable, but sometimes i really do think the only thing that would restore peace is a little more gatekeeping and a lot less acting entitled to every detail of their lives 🙂

#willmack #!!!!!

i’m just coming back here to say

I TOLD YOU SO

the cycle is so predictable it’s almost impressive at this point. rumors about them being seen with girls → people panic → sudden wave of posts trying to “prove” willmack is still real, still in love → and then the immediate reassurance posts like “thank you grace for showing us he wasn’t on a date” “grace saw how desperate we are so they had to remind us they’re still together”

it’s the same pattern every time, is exactly the kind of fandom behaviour we’ve seen a hundred times before. i feel bad for whoever ends up publicly linked to them next, because she’s not just going to deal with normal fandom stuff. it’s going to be obsessive shipping behavior on one side and full-on delusional hetero fantasy projection on the other

#willmack #mack celebrini #will smith hockey #san jose sharks

aquilotti

NHL 😊

moonygrly

https://www.tumblr.com/mackwill271/809284161405927425/yall-i-thought-people-were-exaggerating-about-his?source=share

willmack fandom feels larrie-coded in the worst way this post annoyed me so bad bc the pupil stuff is such a reach the lighting in that vid blows out his eyes the whole time not just when he mentions mack if u watch literally any locker room interview of him his pupils look the same no matter what he’s talking abt ppl are literally cutting the part where he mentions mack what actually bothers me more is how it’s crossed from silly fandom fun into straight-up invasive behavior. stalking his sister’s tiktok digging thru his mom’s facebook reposting old private pics of him as a minor and calling him a twink… weird and uncomfortable rpf is supposed to be abt enjoying a dynamic and playing in that fictional sandbox, not trying to prove they’re secretly together irl. once it turns into evidence boards and personal-life surveillance the fun is gone hopefully the break cools ppl down a bit bc rn it’s less “haha fun ship” and more… pls log off for a minute

this is literally what i was saying before people started twisting my posts like i was trying to kill the fun or that i hate will/mack or whatever they decided to invent. you know a fandom is a little cooked when basic boundaries start sounding controversial.

loveranalyzing random little details? every fandom does that, whatever. i roll my eyes and move on. but digging through family socials, old private photos, childhood stuff etc is where it stops being silly fandom behavior and starts being genuinely invasive. that shouldn’t be normalized. same with people deciding to hate leno or gabe over narratives they fully made up in their own heads.

at this point idk if it’s even fixable, but sometimes i really do think the only thing that would restore peace is a little more gatekeeping and a lot less acting entitled to every detail of their lives 🙂

#willmack #asks

https://www.tumblr.com/helaenadreamer/809533948741976064/you-would-never-have-survived-the-hockey-fandom-in?source=share

tf? is anon 15? “let people enjoy things” trying so hard not to sound like a cunt but what do you think happens when people being freaks on main is seen by wm and people in their life? do you think they’re gonna love it? they’re gonna look at everything and be just so happy? that they won’t start gatekeeping more? Genuinely are you slow?

when sharks media start asking will or mack about willmack directly and we get the biggest nhl friendship divorce ever it’s gonna be real fun watching these anons learn that a little gatekeeping is actually the best way to keep a fandom well-fed

#willmack #aks

You would never have survived the hockey fandom in 2015 if you're this upset about the willmack nonsense, let people enjoy things an if you don't like it there is this awesome thing called the block button. Grow up. I doubt you're much better since Mack an will have only been on the sharks for a season an a half. Did you even know who the sharks were before last season 🙄

you telling me to “grow up and block things i don’t like” while not blocking me and instead sending this ask is honestly the funniest part here also, i’m clearly complaining about fandom behavior, not about mack or will themselves i like them just fine. and yes, i knew the sharks before last season, but even if i didn’t, being a newer fan doesn’t magically make someone less allowed to have an opinion. this idea that time served in a fandom makes you automatically more fan than everyone else is so tired

#willmack #asks

What kills ms is how this brand of willmack shipper will villainize literally every single person in wills life that isn’t Mack…simply because he isn’t Mack. I have blocked SO many people lately because of the crazy hate on Gabe and Leno especially. People want to build this narrative of Mack being jealous af of them or them being homewreckers of sorts and it’s like guys, no. You’re getting out of line in a major way. Cool it. The fandom in general has gotten so bad just in the time since HR that I’ve seriously considered just dipping several times.

yeah this is exactly what’s been bothering me too. it’s one thing to enjoy a ship but the second people start rewriting real friendships into “threats” or “villains” just because they’re close to will, it stops being fun and starts feeling weirdly larrie core. gabe and leno aren’t side characters in a fic, they’re literally part of his REAL LIFE. i feel like some people forget that you don’t have to erase everyone else around them to enjoy willmack.

as an hr fan from before the show dropped i can tell you the series has been the biggest curse to ever happen to willmack and to the actors, rachel reid, ilya and shane etc

#willmack #heated rivalry

willmackupdates i know you’re reading this, so please stay out of the willmack tags on tumblr and stop reposting other people’s content. if you want to run an update page, then actually put in the work take notes from other accounts and create your own posts instead of lifting from the community

#willmack

no because you’re so right. Thank you for also noticing that Will’s been a little different. I have my own thoughts that while a part of it is a hockey thing where like he said, he wants to be bigger, stronger and better and he gets weird on the bench when the hockey isn’t working out the way he wants to, but the other part is also the 10 thousand ship edits he must’ve seen, the “you know it’s legal now” cameo messages like be so for real right now. Anyone who thinks he hasn’t changed a little in his public interactions with Mack is in denial or just got here. The vibes are so different from even October 2025

it’s honestly so obvious to me that he is a little different, and yeah i agree that people who deny it are either in denial or just got here recently. i don’t even mean there’s tension or anything dramatic it’s more about the way will and mack used to naturally look for each other. that easy, instinctive bench/celly dynamic feels more contained now. and maybe (this is just my read, obviously) nothing actually changed between them personally. we still get those little glimpses when they seem to think they’re not being filmed and they look relaxed and normal and open but in public? yeah, he feels more self-aware. they don’t automatically gravitate toward each other the same way, and when they do, it sometimes feels a bit more restrained like they know they’re being watched.

which… makes sense. these guys aren’t dumb, and they’re definitely online enough to be aware of the noise around them. it just sucks a little for those of us who genuinely liked their natural interactions, because the deeper fandom digs, the more guarded they get and the more we end up losing those easy moments.

#willmack #but also....#we do have to remember that beyond anything else #they’re both insanely hockey-brained and this is literally their job 🙂#they’re probably way more focused on winning shifts and scoring than on anything else lol

Idk if Mack is his only best friend but based on how much they hang out together off the ice I think I would consider Mack part of Will's inner circle like his BC friends? Gabe spent Christmas with Will's family. Leno is his childhood friend. Mack was there saying hi to Will's family after the Chicago game before the Olympic break. They sound like best friends and there's nothing wrong with that?

yeah, i’m definitely not denying that mack is part of will’s inner circle (they spend a ton of time together, it’d be silly to pretend otherwise) what i mean is more that sometimes people act like mack is his only real best friend and kind of erase the fact that will has long-standing friendships too. he’s got childhood friends, guys who’ve been in his life way before college/juniors/nhl, and those connections don’t just disappear because he got close to a teammate.

#willmack #so yeah #mack being important to him? obviously #but he exists alongside those other friendships #not instead of them.

i dont necessarily agree with everything u said but for the most part i do. it def has started to go into "i know they're together and im going to do everything possible to prove" territory rather than just enjoying the friendship and maybe having fun with it in your private spaces. and imo thats the difference between twitter and tumblr they have no respect for anything over there

that’s fair, we can have different opinions. twt in general is a pretty disrespectful place but if you spend like 20 minutes in the willmack corner specifically you’ll see what i mean. a lot of the newer fans who showed up during the heated rivalry hype treat them like fictional characters. everything will smith does gets framed as being about mack celebrini, and everything mack does gets framed as being about will and somehow there’s also this weird, pointless “beef” with will where he ends up cast as the villain in their narrative because, y'know, there always has to be a villain for the story to work.

#willmack #ask