CodenameFinlandia

Sure, they bonded over shared laughs, and we might view them as chaotic kids with prefrontal cortexes yet to develop. But the deepest layer of their relationship, I think, is they see in each other something that very few people around them can truly understand.

When Toff said they are respectful of each other, I think he means the two are not just respectful in the sense that they’re polite or get along, but respectful because they understand exactly what the other person carries. They know the pressures. They know the sacrifices. They know the burden of expectations. And because they recognize those things in each other, they treat those parts of one another carefully.

Both know what it feels like to be told from a young age that they’re going to be great. Both know what that greatness demands. Both know that people are expecting them to save the franchise. Because of that, I think there’s an emotional depth to their relationship that they only fully reveal to each other. They share vulnerabilities they could never trust with anyone else, completely secure in the knowledge that they would never use those weaknesses as a weapon against the other. The vulnerabilities, fears, insecurities, and frustrations that come with being an athlete are things they can discuss with each other without worrying they’ll be judged or misunderstood. There’s a complete trust there.

Will and Mack are also incredibly indulgent of one another. They give each other the space to be the truest versions of themselves whenever they’re together.

Mack lets Will plan their hangouts and happily goes along with whatever Will wants because he knows how much Will enjoys being the planner. He lets Will drag him into starting a book club despite openly admitting before that he doesn’t read much, simply because he knows how much it means to Will. He lets Will take the bed furthest from the door because he knows Will sleeps better when someone else is in the room and acts like his guard. He always puts himself between Will and the other player whenever a scrum breaks out because he knows Will isn’t one to fight. And that’s okay, Mack has never seemed to mind doing enough of the fighting for the both of them. He even gives Will his customized Olympic stick because he knows Will is a huge gear guy, and what better gift than something as personal and unique as a stick that no one else can easily get?

Then there’s the way Will lets Mack be imperfect. He knows Mack lives under constant scrutiny. He knows Rick instilled discipline, humility, hard work, and sacrifice into him from such a young age. Somewhere along the way, Mack learned that he always had to be better, work harder, and be the poster hockey boy. Yet with Will, Mack gets to be a little brash, a little mean, a little hot-tempered (windshield gate, anyone?), a little imperfect. And Will loves and accepts every part of him anyway. He follows Mack’s instructions during games and on the bench to the point where everyone jokes that he’s Mack’s dog, because he understands how much Mack needs that sense of control and how much pressure he carries every single game night. He handles the smelling salt ritual even though Mack is perfectly capable of doing it himself because he knows Mack is already carrying enough before he even steps onto the ice, and that's one small way of taking something off his plate.

I think that’s why Will chose Mack as the person he leans on within the team, and why Mack says he trusts Will’s opinion so much. They just get each other.

FANART 4 FIC: You, On Your Good Days (and all the rest), by Flatcoke. (E) Completed.

My opinion about the work:

I loved the writing and the way the work shows both their perspectives of the events that accompany the two slowly falling in love. Everything was so smooth and natural and they are so so well written. The way Dean's condition was addressed and the things that are part of being neurodivergent in the day to day life is one of my favorite things of this fic. (That and Cas's obssession with Dean's butterfly tattoo)

Cried a little, I'll admit. I am a neurodivergent person with a neurotypical partner and I had a rough path accepting that I deserved someone this good (accepting that letting someone love me wasn't condemning that person to something less than what they deserved).

That being said: we are not our diagnoses and we deserve good. You deserve someone who makes you feel loved and cared for at all moments (on the good days and all the rest).

Kudos.

Thank you so much for your kind request (and the compliments) and for sending me your work. I absolutelly loved it.

I’ve been thinking about it all morning. What would the plot points be for that? What makes a 30 year old coming of age story?

Burying a parent that never encouraged independence

Acknowledging a trauma you've spent your life ignoring

Finally opening yourself up to a truly mutual, non-transactional relationship (platonic or romantic)

Student loan forgiveness kicking in, suddenly you can afford to live. That one small change snowballs into something big.

Starting over after the end of The Big Relationship you thought would define your life. Engaging in a new hobby/social group that adds context to how small life felt in that relationship.

You find yourself with a pet you have to care for, which teaches you to care for yourself.

GENDER TRANSITION.

Coming out as any stripe of queer.

Supernatural Tarot pt.3

Joe and Nicky, a love spanning a millennium:

"It's like destiny."

"He's the moon when I'm lost in darkness and warmth when I shiver in cold."

"I know your heart, and that is immortal."

Steven J. Demetriou, guest 92 of 93 as photographed by Backgrid

He is the executive chair of Amentum, a company that provides engineering and technology to the USA’s army and nuclear programs. They operate the most test and training ranges of any contractor if their site is to be believed.

It appears they run the East Montana concentration camp, the largest in the USA. While much of the abuse, including sexual and physical abuse, occurred under the camp’s previous contractor, Acquisition Logistics, the ACLU has confirmed Amentum was WORKING AS SUBCONTRACTORS at the East Montana camp during this time. Amentum's current role as sole contractor from March onwards proves no less deadly, with 2 overdoses with the intent to commit suicide from inhumane conditions. Representative Escobar confirmed nothing has changed since Amentum’s takeover. Lawyers representing prisoners report being unable to reach their clients.

The following conditions are BY DESIGN, as "Guards tell people detained at Camp East Montana who complain about conditions that if they do not like the conditions, they should self-deport." Civil Detention Centers are not supposed to be punitive. This is only a civil detention center on paper. It is a concentration camp.

The ACLU lists: I already linked this but I'm doing it again bc if you read one source, it should be this one.

Medical neglect, including for people with pregnancies, diabetes, cancer, and HIV.

Severe beatings. One man was beaten to death for requesting his asthma medication.

solitary confinement

unclean water

Tuberculosis and Measles outbreaks

Limited to no sunlight

no or limited hygiene products

rotten food, not enough food, no special diets for medical conditions

SEXUAL ASSAULT

No ventilation in a DESERT leading to lung damage

Not enough toilets, overflow often, whole tent smells of urine and feces

No privacy to use said toilet

Threats and beatings for those that refuse to sign deportation papers, sometimes to places they are NOT FROM

No activities, punished for attempting to make art from recycled items like cracker boxes, can only practice own religion at guards' discretion

no dental care. This is likely universal across US concentration camps. Note Emmanuel Damas, the Haitian immigrant that died from a dental infection due to lack of care

Unable to receive legal representation if not already represented

LOCATED ON FORMER JAPANESE DETENTION CAMP BECAUSE TIME IS A FUCKING CIRCLE

Taylor Swift's guest is directly responsible for these. This is the LARGEST CONCENTRATION CAMP IN THE US, made to hold 5000 people. He's not just any ICE contractor he is the biggest and baddest. At least this will get people talking about just HOW bad this camp is.

1 minute after stabbing him

30 seconds after learning he’s an angel