#Viktor Novak

[tikay21]

🐺24 from 2024

I know, I'm very much belated, but ...

... it was so hard to decide and get to the point. But anyway, a review is a review and these are my 24 screenshots that I chose from the many I loved most last year.

Thank you to all creators and pose makers, without whom none of this would be as creatively possible as I imagine it. Thank you to everyone who has inspired and accompanied me, for your likes, reblogs, and comments, which I always appreciate. Thank you for the kind conversations behind the scenes and thank you to my friends for being there.

My special thanks go to two people: to @herzblau Shin, my best friend, who always supports me and makes my world a bit brighter, but I also want to thank @design-men Rico as a friend for his support & always a good and challenging chat. So I'll tag you two, if you still want to do this. Feel free not to do it at all.

Eventually maybe it's too late to tag someone more, but if anyone else feels like doing it and hasn't yet > go for it! Don't set your own limits.

Thanks for tagging me @azoressims4 🥰

[theonyxaltar]

A little Judas photodump featuring our beloved Viktor 🥰

[luckofmylife]

nothing to see here just Novak Djokovic role-playing as Shakira in a music video where she passionately KISSES his greatest rival, that's all

[arcturusvega]

another quiz for you all

[americachavez]

>viktor arcane and castiel supernatural two iconic gay white boys with no last names

>fic writers have to get creative for modern aus

>cas often given jimmy’s last name of novak in modern aus as a result

>viktor’s VA said he used a czech accent for viktor’s voice

>google search results for czech last names

conclusion: meet castiel’s cousin viktor novak

[timelines-and-possibilities]

The Magnus Archives x Arcane AU -Viktor Novak

Tagging @pyrose since they’ve helped make this AU

The Institute is looking into a new fear emerging amongst recent statements… a sort of amalgamation of many fears into one and its distorting its way into this universe…

Jayce’s sheet will be next. ❤️

[tepid-tea]

So this is a snap shot of my Actor!au- modern for my JayVik brain rot idea lol.

It’s not beta’d or anything so please excuse the errors…. I am also posting this on my break at work on my phone…..

———-

“Jayce!! Oh my Jayce you’ll never believe!!!” Caitlyn’s voice startled him out of his doze. He’d been napping on the plane for the last hour, getting rest before the chaotic weekend. There were planned photo ops for later this evening since his flight was delayed, his schedule now a mess.

“Mmm, what?” He opened one of his eyes to peep at his friend. She seemed to be vibrating in her seat, eyes glued to her screen.

“Viktor Novak just crashed a panel” Caitlyn turned her tablet towards him, a live feed of said panel on the screen.

“What!” Jayce lurched forward and tugged the tablet away from her, eyes wide on the screen.

“Yeah fans are apparently having a complete meltdown over it” she added, “it’s his first appearance since his accident and it’s a ‘Round Table’ panel at that.”

The Round Table had been the film to cause the accident three years ago causing the brilliant actor to disappear from the limelight. Rumor was the accident was so bad there had been a chance he’d never walk again. Thankfully word had it he walked with some mobility aids but again everything was speculation until now.

Jayce ignored everything else Cait was saying as he turned up the volume to hear the panel. Viktor Novak was an actor he had admired even before he’d made his own break into acting. Despite only being a year age difference between the two of them Viktor had more films under his belt then Jayce and award nominations to boot. Also the sheer amount of volunteer work and charities he was the face for; the man seemed to be always on the go.

“I’d have to say I was mostly shocked at the outpouring support I received.” Viktor replied, scratching at the beauty mark under his eye. “From friends, colleagues and of course the fans.”

He seemed to pause as the crowd screamed and cheered in support. It was easy to see the wall of sound wasn’t something he was used to. However the man still gave a kind smile to the crowd as they quieted down for him to continue speaking.

“But I wasn’t expecting it really, so thank you for all of it from the bottom of my heart” he said, ringed hand touching his chest.

The sincerity in his eyes was so staggering that Jayce’s breath caught. The close up they camera was getting showed how different the man looked. His hair long with soft ashen blonde mixed in with his dark brown. He looked soft and heartbreakingly beautiful to Jayce; delicate but still strong despite how thin he looked.

“Gods, you’re practically drooling over there Jayce” Caitlyn teased, causing him to look up.

“I’m not!” Jayce exclaimed, feeling his face heat up brightly. So he had a slight crush on a fellow actor he had never met. They would have met if not for the accident; they’d finally been slotted to be in the same film then was quickly recasted. Salo had been painful to work with, the disappointment hard to stomach when doing scenes. He’d already pictured them all in his head beforehand, the only reason why he had auditioned for the role was because Viktor had already been named for one of the support roles.

“Are you finally going to talk to him? This is your big chance, he’s at this convention all weekend.” Caitlyn leaned back in her seat, presumably going through emails.

“I want to try” he sighed;thinking back to all the award shows he’d gone to and had choked on his nerves.

The other man was always surrounded by other brilliant actors; especially Silco Marino who seemed to be his shadow. There had always been rumours of them dating as Viktor was openly gay and Silco seemed fairly fluid in who his affections went too. However nothing had ever been confirmed other than the two being close friends and frequently in the same films.

“I’ll do my best to try and make it happen,” Caitlyn smiled, tapping away at her phone. “Plus watching you fumble will be a treat; a nice humbling moment for you.”

“Thanks sprout.” He grumbled, going back to the tablet screen. Seemed like they were at fan questions now and Mel was answering something that was making the two men laugh.

“— head to toe with mud, I could not believe it!” Mel laughed, eyes bright as she looked at the two others.

“I thought it was a lovely day,” Viktor seemed to preen, screwing the top off a water bottle. “We have two very different memories of that scene.” He stopped to take a long drink.

“You were all snug and warm you little shit” Silco grumbled, “while I was standing in the muck in full armour I could barely walk in!”

The crowd seemed to laugh at that and the person who had asked the question thanked them and disappeared back into the sea of fans. They were quickly replaced by a young girl dressed up like a tiny Merlin in pigtails. She walked up the microphone and seemed to nervously scan the crowd as if looking for someone. She started to move her hands in what seemed in meaningful movements.

“Uh, sorry sweet heart—“ the moderator started, looking nervous.

“Ah, I’ve got this” Viktor hauled himself up out of his chair and made his way to the edge of the stage. He seemed to wave a hand back at Silco, who arched an eyebrow and moved to help the young man sit on the edge of the stage.

He quickly signed back to the little girl, whose face seemed to light up brightly in awe. Viktor looked at her with soft eyes then looked up at Silco who was standing by him still, looking fond. The whole crowd awed loudly and tittered at the display.

“Reduced to your techy now Viky? Alright alright” the older man joked and held out a mic to Viktor.

“So everyone knows, she’s asked me what scared us the most on sets” Viktor translated as the girls hands moved quickly. “She says the dragons seemed scary.”

“Well I wasn’t a fan of all the bugs” Mel spoke up, her smile wide and fond as well as Viktor quickly signed for her. “But the dragons were quite scary after hours in the dark on set.”

“I’m not a fan of the swimming scenes,” Silco admitted, crouching down next to Viktor. “I had to get my stunt double Alec to do a lot of those scenes for me.”

“She says water can be scary and you were brave for trying” Viktor watched her hands move as she looked at Silco with a sweet smile.

“Why thank you sweetheart.” Silco smiled gently.

“As for me, well I now have a fear of heights and falling” Viktor chuckled sadly, referencing back to his accident. “But before that it was the horses, one tried to bite my fingers once and never again!” He seemed to joke to lighten back up the mood.

Viktor and the little girl seemed to sign a little more before her time for her question was up. The crowd clapped loudly as it was instructed that was going to be the last question for the panel. Silco quickly moved to help Viktor back up into his feet, the leg brace not making it easy. There was a subtle flash and you could almost miss it but judging by the set of Viktors jaw he was in pain. Seeming to hover, Silco helped the younger man back to his seat before being waved off.

[strwberrysunday]

en passant (read on ao3)

pairing: jayce talis x viktor (arcane)

rating: teen and up for now

summary: New to professional chess but steadily climbing up the ranks, Viktor Novak finds that there's a big, stubborn and charismatic obstacle on his way to playing the best of the best: child prodigy and the United States' prospective next champion Jayce Talis.

He only has one objective: to get through him and aim higher - but this plan may prove harder to achieve than he thought, when his biggest rival isn't so easy to shut out of his mind.

heavily inspired by the queen's gambit!!

9 projected chapters, we're at 3 rn! shameless self promo haha

[sarahfarinaillustration]

Jayvik Golden Age of Illustration AU:

Compared to his contemporaries at the time, not a whole lot is known about the reclusive V. K. Novak (who goes by Viktor to friends and family). Despite shying away from the limelight he still managed to find great success as an illustrator who went onto mentor and inspiration a new golden age of artists.

His early success can be attributed to his partnership with Jayce Talis, the founder of the Talis Publishing Company and rumored lover. The featured series “The Piltover Evening Post” published by the Talis company launched Novak’s career as a cover and editorial illustrator and made The Evening Post the most popular article series in Piltover.

[misskitxx]

Vector of Interest - Chapter 2

Featuring obsessed (and a little unhinged) Jayce 👀

Jayce “accidentally” bumped into Viktor at the coffee machine.

A sharp inhale. The unmistakable scent of bergamot and black tea filled the air. The cup wobbled in Viktor’s grasp, tilting just enough for amber liquid to slosh over the rim, splattering across the edge of his papers.

Earl Grey.

Not coffee.

Jayce blinked, registering the change, filing it away. Why? Had Viktor already exceeded his usual caffeine intake? Was he trying to cut back? Jayce thought he noticed the faintest tremor in his hand—small, but there. Maybe exertion from gripping his cane, or simply caffeine jitters?..

“Sorry, Professor Novak. Let me—”

His voice came too quickly, too eager. He reached for the paper towel stack, fumbling slightly as he plucked several from the pile. His fingers were unsteady—why were they unsteady?

Viktor barely spared him a glance, already dabbing at the stray droplets with an air of practiced indifference.

“It’s fine.” His words were softened by something imperceptible.

Continue reading on AO3!

[mariacallous]

The Catholic Church in Hungary has been engulfed by a series of high-profile sex scandals and child abuse investigations. The situation isn’t just a crisis for the church, but also a challenge for Viktor Orban’s Christian-nationalist government.

“Perhaps we should not refer to these merely as ‘scandalous cases’, but rather as the painful, inhumane, traumatizing injuries suffered by minors, which go far beyond ‘scandalous news’,” read a statement on December 4 by the editors of the independent Hungarian religious affairs magazine Szemlelek, reflecting on a crisis that has recently engulfed Hungary’s Catholic Church.

Since September, a series of scandals relating to sexual misconduct, pedophilia and cover-up in the Catholic church has wrecked the public reputation of five high-profile clerics and occasioned the suspension of a rising, but as-yet unconfirmed, number of their colleagues. Some see echoes of the crisis in the US Catholic church sparked by the 2002 Boston Globe ‘Spotlight’ investigation into child abuse in the city’s archdiocese – a story (and later movie) that plunged American Catholicism into a crisis from which it’s still recovering.

The close government ties of the priests implicated heighten concerns about overlaps between political power, religious networks and child sexual abuse in Hungary. These concerns were first raised earlier this year in February, following the exposure of a successful intercession by Reformed Church bishop (and former Fidesz cabinet minister) Zoltan Balog with then-president Katalin Novak, a fellow Calvinist, to pardon a church member convicted as a pedophile accomplice. News of the pardon led to Novak’s resignation.

Attention is now turning away from the Reformed community and towards the Catholic Church.

From local to national

In early September, the storm started rumbling with the public disgrace of Father Gergo Bese, a priest of the Kalocsa-Kecskemet archdiocese and a prominent social media influencer identified with the governing Fidesz party via its satellite KDNP (Christian Democratic Peoples’ Party). In 2022, Bese conducted a ‘house blessing’ of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s office in the former Carmelite monastery beside Buda Castle.

On September 6, Hungarian outlet Valasz Online revealed that Father Bese, a vocal supporter of Fidesz’s anti-LGBTQ+ agenda, had been living a double life as a gay porn movie actor. He was also (against church law) receiving a stipend from the KDNP for communications work without permission from his bishop. He is now under disciplinary suspension.

While Father Bese’s activities involved only consenting adults, their discovery, however, prompted revelations about other forms of misconduct by Kalocsa priests, including those involving minors. Two clerics – Gabor Ronaszeki and Robert Hathazi – both with strong ties to Hungary’s ruling parties, are now being prosecuted by secular authorities for alleged child molestation.

In 2023, Ronaszeki underwent a church disciplinary process during which he admitted the offences, and was removed from the priesthood. He’s understood to have offered money and gifts in exchange for sex to underage boys attending his Religious Education group over a three-year period.

Ronaszeki is the brother-in-law of former Fidesz MP and ministerial commissioner Monika Ronaszekine Keresztes, as well as being an associate of the KDNP leader Zsolt Semjen, who is currently serving as the deputy prime minister and minister for church affairs in the Orban government.

Hungarian media reported that Semjen had been a personal guest at Ronaszeki’s remote “recreational farm” near the small town of Janoshalma in Southern Hungary. Responding to the reports, Semjen claimed that “to the best of my recollection” he has not “visited the place in question”.

Handing matters over swiftly to police and prosecutors reflects improvements in practice following recent reforms across the Catholic world. Even so, the scandal has continued to grow numerically and geographically.

In a November 15 interview with Valasz Online, the archbishop of Kalocsa-Kecskemet, Balazs Babel, said public awareness of the two court cases had led to more complainants bringing allegations against other clerics.

“In recent months, the Archbishop’s Office has received many more reports than before,” he admitted, adding that several other Kalocsa priests have now been suspended pending investigation.

Major Pajor problem

The issue has morphed from a diocesan scandal into a national crisis. That’s partly because the outcry about Kalocsa was heard from early on in the national media, and partly because first central church institutions and then other dioceses became implicated in related misconduct stories.

First came the resignation on October 25 of the national Bishops’ Conference Secretary Father Tamas Toth, amid allegations of serious impropriety in mishandling communications relating to Kalocsa.

And then on December 5 the scandal reached the archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest, led by Hungary’s primate, Cardinal Peter Erdo.

On that day, news broke of canonical and police investigations into Budapest priest Father Andras Pajor, a prominent face of Fidesz’s ‘political Christianity’. In 2023, Father Pajor received Hungary’s Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit from Deputy Prime Minister Semjen for his “role in youth education”.

Father Pajor has repeatedly urged Christians to vote for Orban. He has also, latterly, become notable as a spreader of Russian propaganda, claiming in a YouTube video about the Ukraine war that, since 2022, some 35,000 Russian children had been kidnapped “for pedophiles in the West”.

Former altar boys from his parish, speaking anonymously to Valasz Online, tell a rather different story, however. They claim Father Pajor himself frequently made them strip naked, inspected their genitals intimately with his hands, and gave them full body massages.

Anticipating the next day’s announcement concerning Father Pajor, on December 4 the Bishops’ Conference finally acknowledged the pedophilia issue as a national problem in a statement: “The scandalous news concerning our Church in recent months has caused many to feel uneasy and disappointed… for sins committed, we must pray, fast and make atonement.”

The text continued: “The Catholic Church stands with the victims and communities affected. We pray for them and support their healing.”

Political reverberations

In a letter to fellow bishops obtained by the independent news outlet Telex, Archbishop Babel observed that the impact of the successive scandals was greater “because they are interwoven with politics”.

The political dimension magnifies the spotlight on the church, but the connection of religion and pedophilia is a huge challenge for Fidesz – a party that portrays itself at home and abroad as a protector of family values.

The party’s domestic alliance with historic churches long predates its international communication about Hungary as a bulwark of Christian civilisation against Muslim migration and rising woke-secularism.

Churches have vigorously supported government messaging regarding the supposed dangers that, Fidesz alleges, the LGBTQ+ community poses to children, especially ahead of 2022’s ‘child protection’ referendum, which was timed to boost turnout at that year’s general election. Around 75 per cent of Hungary’s state-funded children’s homes are run by churches.

“Orban’s government constantly seeks endorsement from the churches for its Christian credentials,” religious affairs commentator Janos Reichert tells BIRN. This is because, Reichert continues, there are three overlapping themes closely connected in the minds of many Hungarians: “Hungarian nationalism, anti-Communism and Christianity”.

These three motifs organically support each other such that, Reichert says, “criticism of any one of them cannot be tolerated by Fidesz for fear of danger to the other two”.

Thus, anyone who criticises even one of them is “attacking the ideological basis of the regime”, he adds.

Reichert’s take is shared by political journalist Balazs Gulyas. The government’s flagging support amid economic turbulence and the rise of opposition challenger Peter Magyar means that, in his view, Fidesz is paradoxically more, not less likely to double down reflexively on its traditional talking points, including political Christianity.

“Hungary’s governing parties are grappling with a sharp decline in popularity, making it politically expedient for them to cling to their (overstated) role as the primary political patrons of the churches,” Gulyas tells BIRN. “I find it highly unlikely that they’d abandon the program of political Christianity.”

Such views seem to be borne out by the government’s responses to the crisis to date. Far from distancing itself from the churches, Fidesz has rushed to their defence.

In November, the left-wing opposition party DK proposed a parliamentary motion calling for Hungary to follow the example of Ireland and Australia in establishing an independent enquiry into child sexual abuse in the church. The government used its parliamentary super-majority to defeat the proposal.

And addressing parliament’s justice committee on November 14, Deputy Prime Minister Semjen, speaking in his capacity as minister for church affairs, dismissed suggestions that the situation in the churches represented a particular concern. “The number of church cases is a hundredth of the number of secular cases, there is no reason to single out the church world,” he declared.

[theonyxaltar]

Remember to walk your ripper doc! 😉

[quinnstinct]

݁ 🏍️ ◠ ٬٬ rules .ᐟ ۫ ︵ ✶

⌗1 ⌇ ABSOLUTELY NO MINORS ! 🔞

sure every now and again ill more than likely be posting some lighter content (or more audience neutral, like angst), but regardless of that i would like to avoid interacting with minors for my own comfortability. this is mainly because much of my works are going to be maturely rated as well as discussed topics on my account like answering bot requests (depending on scenario which could or could not be spicy) or just. thirsty posting in general. tldr; please do not interact w/ me if you’re underage!

⌗2 ⌇ BOT REQUESTING ! 📬

just inbox me! i can accept a little bit of vagueness when it comes to requests since i know like. not everyone wants to sit and come up with a whole grand scenario or whatever but requests should match these guidelines at the minimum:

character/prompt/relationship to the character

you’re free to include anything else you want of course! this is just the information required so i have a groundwork to work off of with requests :3

⌗3 ⌇ CHARACTERS I WRITE FOR ! 🗄️

there are wayyyyy more characters and media i write for, these are listed for example! so just like…. request whatever LOL (though if i don’t know the fandom i will likely not take the request 💔💔💔 )

🧬 ⋆ ࣪. ━ׄ──ִ the boys/gen v ! ↓

victoria neuman aka my wife, annie january/starlight, maggie shaw/queen maeve, jessica bradley/sister sage, william “billy” butcher, hughie campbell, ashley barrett, homelander, soldier boy, misty tucker gray/firecracker, kimiko miyashiro, serge (insert surname of ur choice or not help)/frenchie, cate dunlap, luke riordan, jordan li, marie moreau, emma meyer, andre anderson

🥁 ⋆ ࣪. ━ׄ──ִ glee ! ↓

quinn fabray, santana lopez, jesse st. james, finn hudson, blaine anderson, rachel berry, sam evans, sebastian smythe, will schuester, shelby corcoran, marley rose, kitty wilde

💥 𒅌 ⋆ ࣪. ━ׄ──ִ arcane ! ↓

violet (vi), caitlyn kiramman, sevika, jinx, mel medarda, ambessa medarda, jayce talis, viktor, ekko, cassandra kiramman, silco

† 🥃 ⋆ ࣪. ━ׄ──ִ supernatural ! ↓

sam winchester, dean winchester, castiel, crowley, meg masters, claire novak, ruby, jo harvelle, bela talbot

🚦💴 ⋆ ࣪. ━ׄ──ִ squid game ! ↓

kang sae-byeok, seong gi-hun, ali abdul, cho sang-woo, ji-yeong, hwang jun-ho, the salesman, choi su-bong (thanos), kim jun-hee, se-mi, kang dae-ho, hwang in-ho, kang no-eul

🔱 ⋆ ࣪. ━ׄ──ִ pjo & hoo ! ↓

percy jackson, annabeth chase, jason grace, piper mclean, frank zhang, luke castellan, hazel levesque, leo valdez, thalia grace, nico di angelo, will solace, reyna avila ramírez-arellano

ᖭི༏ᖫྀ 🌿 ⋆ ࣪. ━ׄ──ִ the last of us ! ↓

ellie williams, abby anderson, joel miller, tommy miller, theresa servopoulos (tess), jesse, marlene, maria miller

🔞 : NSFW INFO 𝄒 ﹙ ✘. ﹚

⌗4 ⌇ WHAT I WRITE ! (side note: 😨)

daddy/mommy kink (lol…), threesomes, bdsm, overstimulation, a/b/o, orgasm control, impactplay, breeding!kink, praise!kink, violence, exhibitionism, voyeurism, pegging, brat-taming, cnc/dub-con, anal, dom/sub dynamics, power imbalance (hi victoria), spitplay, dacryphilia aka turned on by crying lol, somnophilia, bloodplay, infidelity, g!p, age gaps (hi victoria part2), anyway yea list goes on ahaha!

⌗5 ⌇ WHAT I DON’T WRITE ! 🛑

no golden showers chat. or brown ones please and Thank you. literal incest vijinx shippers dni i stg, vomit, pedophilia!!!

[mousemannation]

Showing Off Their Doubles Sides | Steve Tignor | 3/10/2012 | [via]

INDIAN WELLS, CALIF.—This tournament has become known, among other things, as the ATP’s yearly showcase for doubles. By which I mean that the event coaxes at least a couple of the Top 4 singles players, the bankable stars, to enter the dubs draw. The fact that doubles for these guys continues to be a one-off rather than an essential part of their careers, a way to practice for the Olympics or make a few bucks for the friends and relatives they choose as partners, leaves me unsure of what to make of their matches here. Doubles hasn’t been a spectator sport of its own for three decades, though it was once was. It’s hard to believe now, but for decades doubles had an entire U.S. Open of its own; the singles at the country’s national championships was played at Forest Hills, while the almost-as-popular National Doubles was held at a different time at Longwood Cricket Club near Boston, so that the singles players could enter. While Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic want to win with their partners in Indian Wells' it obviously has nothing like the urgency that other past star teams, like Rosewall-Hoad or Newcombe-Roach, felt when they played. Two sports have been melded into one, with doubles getting a demotion. Here you watch for the novelty, for the crowd’s enjoyment of seeing a star in a different, more informal setting, smiling more, coming out of his grim and jumpy competitive trance, showing a new side of himself that he can’t show when it’s all-business in singles. Yesterday the crowd got a fairly rare look at the top two singles players in the world, Nadal and Djokovic, in that setting. How did they look there? Djokovic was, as most players are with a friend on court, more relaxed, less edgy. When Feliciano Lopez hit an ace past his partner, Viktor Troicki, Djokovic slumped his shoulders and hung his head in a show of deflation that was more theatrical than it would have been in a singles match. Doubles players always feel like they can be more social—i.e., human—out there. As far as his play went, what was most interesting was Djokovic’s return. We know it’s an all-time great shot, but it was challenged in a different way in doubles. Here, with an opponent crouched a foot from the net, you can’t just get a return back in play. You must, at the very least, direct it to one side of the court and try to keep it low. These demands inspired Djokovic, who was playing in the deuce court, to some of the more acrobatic improvisations I’ve seen from him. On one return, he took a slice serve that was coming into his body on his backhand side, stepped to his right, and at the same time reflexed a ball back crosscourt (an inside-out backhand on the fly) that landed a foot inside the line and eventually won his team the point. On another he did the reverse: Djokovic took a lefty slice serve that was tailing into his body on the forehand side, did a little hop forward, and in mid-air caressed a forehand crosscourt for a winner. In this sense, Djokovic becomes more of a counter-puncher in doubles, and shows us more of what we already know is his specialty. While he moves forward quickly and knocks off shots at the net when they’re presented to him, he isn’t a natural volleyer, and he stoned a couple of sitters on Friday. When he was asked about his good returns afterward, Djokovic countered, with a smile, “True. But a couple volleys didn’t work too well.”

A few hours later, it was Nadal’s turn to show his doubles side. More than Djokovic, Rafa becomes a different, bolder type of player with a partner. His uncle and coach has said that his natural tendencies when he was younger were more aggressive than he’s shown as a pro. I guess he feels comfortable enough to show them off on the doubles court, because he’s more proactive around the net than you would expect from his attrition-based singles style. Like a man suddenly with a lot less to lose, Rafa seems to relish the opportunity to push forward into the court. What’s most noticeable when Nadal plays against top doubles players like Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic, their opponents last night, is how much of a wrench he throws into the works with his game and his pace. These guys don’t see a forehand like his very often, and Nadal can blow open a doubles match with it. Like Djokovic, he’s also not a natural volleyer, but Nadal wings it well and shows off his latent team-sports player in the process. When he and his partner and friend, Marc Lopez, won the final point, the 10-time Grand Slam winner turned and grinned at him with unfeigned excitement. As a colleague joked last night, “Rafa really could just cut Lopez a check at the beginning of the year instead of playing these doubles matches." But then he wouldn’t be able to play quite as much loosely energetic tennis, tennis without quite as much to lose. If crowd reaction is any indicator, the people in Indian Wells' liked seeing Rafa’s social side, and the social side of tennis that’s brought out by doubles. It doesn’t have the urgency or importance it once did, but even with little on the line, the sight of four people on a court running around at the same time is still worthy of being a spectator sport of its own. Top guys aside, my favorite part of yesterday’s showcase was seeing a lesser star, Feliciano Lopez, play in a different and seemingly more comfortable setting. Lopez, who plays dubs regularly, came up with line-painting lob volleys, nicely measured serves, and well-timed poaches. An often-anxious singles player, in dubs he’s freed to use his touch and court sense without as much anxiety. We saw a different side of Feli—that is, until the old one returned. Late in the second set, with his team up a break, Lopez suddenly got tight. He stopped crossing as aggressively and let poachable returns pass him by at the net. Singles is singles, doubles is doubles, but tennis is tennis. You can’t hide forever out there.

[iravaid]

Nosferatu Group Photo - Art Fight mass attack babey! Lunchbox needled Gary into taking it

Back row

Millicent Azzaro (cowboydroid), Viktor (@erzfreu), Novak (@zonnmroth), Colt Wellington (sweetkingbull), Deadcat (@darkmazoiata), Hugo (@alnifena), Marsh (@grimmanxiety), Askè (@maarniee), Bitarnaby (bubopeli)

Middle Row

Ottoline 'Toll' Brodbeck (@wrenwilm), Durian (@introverted-character-town), Cherry Greek (@halifaxafterdark), Pigeon (heathenbird), Golden Magpie (@katowashere), Nox (monsterrtooth)

Front Row

Newt (maliciousmetal), Deborah (@splicerparade), Lemiel de Rayon (@platinum-panda), Lunchbox (my oc), Elodie Nichols (@qwib), Elvira (colorlesstiger), Roswell (@five5sixers)

[batsplat]

hi bat<3 i feel like you’re definitely not a die-hard fan of the big 3, but for someone like me who’s been watching men’s tennis since the early 2010s, they’re like everything.

so i wanted to ask: out of the big 3 (or big 4?) pairings, which duo do you think is more interesting? like which one feels more worth exploring in your opinion?

i just watched roger’s docu recently, and omg he gave novak a solo moment. not like a story about them, just a montage of novak yelling and screaming on court. then roger went, “this might not reflect well on novak.” it lowkey gave me vale/jorge vibes, not a perfect parallel, but within the big3/big4, they’re the duo that feels the least… connected. and yet, when it comes to tactical and technical richness, they’re at the top. roger’s obviously way more arrogant than vale, like he just doesn’t see novak as special or even interesting. meanwhile, novak used to be that guy who wanted everyone to like him, but now he’s completely over it. over the years, there’s just been this constant low-key, non-vibe-y energy between them. but their matches? they somehow deliver these insane moments at the most unexpected times. at the laver cup, roger said something to novak, and then novak cried.

i’m less into roger/rafa, partly because i’m not a rafa fan, but also because they suddenly turned into this ideal rivalry narrative, and honestly, that kinda freaked me out. i’m slowly starting to understand the feelings between them, though. like, i still don’t buy into the whole “greatest rival” thing because, let’s be real, on both the competitive and career-defining levels, it’s just not that mutual. but yeah, their pairing definitely had its advantages—sorry for saying this, but it’s true. the 2008 wimb F is obviously historic, but if you actually watch it all the way through, it’s not that great. it’s the unpredictable weather that gave it that epic feel.

and then there’s andy/novak, who’ve always been my fave because of their history and the emotional layers in their rivalry. like, when viktor troicki recently said novak was looking for a “big name” coach, my friends and i joked about it being roger, but none of us thought of andy. and then it happened. i still can’t believe it. from my very limited tennis perspective, andy’s kinda feels like a subset of novak’s. i don’t really know what qualities do coaches even need in tennis, and how do they maximize a player’s potential? so i’m really curious to see what they come up with together. their dynamic peaked in 2016, which was also the only time the big4 rivalries genuinely made me sad. so yeah, they totally deserve this heartwarming closure.

okay so first off, I have to confess I get a failing grade as a hater because I read this ask reading ?? eating breakfast with this on

I dozed off to the 2019 wimbledon final last night so idk. this isn't nadal retirement-prompted nostalgia, I actually failed as a hater there too and completely missed his last match happening so like. arrived to dance on the grave a day late. BUT the djokovic/murray coaching news DID awaken something suppressed in me. I'll probably watch the 2012 uso final next just to feel something

anyway, what this does go to show is that for all that I am obviously extremely not a fan of the big three, as a tennis fan it's also not like I can pretend to be completely immune. I grew up watching them!! I remember watching so many of their matches! often with my family! I would argue about them all the time as a fan, whether with my family or people at the tennis club or indeed my maths teacher. I was always rooting for SOMEONE, like I did have an order of preference. and... uh, it should be mentioned that I am also not a complete neutral who just intellectually hated the big three because I thought they were shitty sources of narrative tension. I was a massive murray fan as a kid so I did also just get my heart repeatedly broken by them. we're talking 'cried during murray's speech at wimbledon 2012'... I actually watched the wimbledon 2013 final at the tennis club where I trained and was EXTREMELY smug (and delighted) when murray won because EVERYONE including my coach thought djokovic would win and had been extremely annoying in my direction throughout the experience. but also I have never enjoyed a men's australian open final in my life, except 2012 I suppose. that venue holds nothing but pain and misery for me

so with my biases stated up front, where the big 3/4 rivalries are concerned, I'm basically in the 'anybody but fedal' camp. that one I feel nothing for and its popularity continues to absolutely baffle me. no hate to anyone who enjoys it but I do treat its continued dominance basically like a psyop. idk who's responsible for this or why they're doing it, but SOMEBODY is pursuing some kind of nefarious agenda. call me casey stoner because I've cracked the code. I understand they're both individually rather popular and I suppose in a detached unemotional way I do get how that could happen, but as a unit? idk man. also, EYE am a rivalry enjoyer, but I get very suspicious when too many fans are an enjoyer of a particular rivalry... (or y'know, sometimes you've got rivalries that have a lot of 'theoretical fans' but you can kinda tell they do basically hate one of the competitors involved and will immediately throw them overboard if they have to take a side, which also passes the test.) just shows to me that there's zero edge there. most partisan fans of an athlete hate anyone who is a threat to their athlete, that's just how people are. if there's this little hate then that tells me that there's too little threat which tells me the stakes aren't quite there competitively or emotionally... which tells me that there's no real reason to care. I'm well aware that federer fans used to be more likely to be nadal haters back in the noughties (david foster wallace coming through for me again on that front) and that nadal fans are more into that rivalry than federer fans and that they're both retired now... but still!! if it was a proper fun rivalry, more partisan fans would still be bitter. fundamentally the rivalry is good for both of them in terms of legacy and pr and all that shit and they both clearly agree so it's just... empty

which yeah, so full agree on the stuff you say lol. I HAVE watched the wimbledon 2008 final (and I... think?? must have watched it at the time, I was still pretty young and clearly it wasn't a defining enough experience it stuck in my mind lol) but it's been years by now. so I can't actually reallyyyy speak to its quality and I'm probably not going to rewatch it any time soon. I do also just think it's the most boring match-up tennis-wise... partly this is because my favourite big three playstyle is djokovic's - I love how he moves around the court, I love the compact backhand and the emphasis on counterpunching... the nadal/federer match-up was mostly defined by federer attempting to figure out ways to prevent nadal from bullying his backhand. which I do know is oversimplifying things lol but it's. kinda true. djokovic/federer is the best match-up tennis-wise even if it's a bit one-sided in the biggest moments (which, whatever, that was narratively engaging too)... federer's full artistry against djokovic's precision was just more exciting to watch. then comes djokovic/nadal which is a bit of a counterpuncher-off, like they are quite tactically similar in a lot of ways, extremely optimised baseliners... but that means they were always going to push each other the furthest - they were already half a step ahead of federer in the evolution of tennis and everyone now is obviously basing their tennis primarily on how they changed the game. and, y'know, nadal's biggest rival is djokovic!! I get why if you're a nadal fan, you'd want it to be federer, but well! tough!

and YES yes I ABSOLUTELY agree that federer/djokovic is the most interesting interpersonally because federer was SO arrogant towards djokovic. the worst thing that happened to federer is that he became a pr merchant, like at least being a cunt was INTERESTING. he used to be absolutely dreadful about murray too!! aggressively unpleasant!! but that one was also frustrating because... murray didn't end up surpassing him... (I genuinely have like. traumatic flashbacks to watching their atp finals 2014 match. I don't think my soul ever quite recovered from that day.) but with djokovic!! people used to be so unpleasant about him - and okay, by now unfortunately he's given everyone plenty of cause, but BACK THEN it was a completely different story. it was so much fun rooting for him when the crowds were being horrid to him and he stuck it in their faces... before he did all the boob throwing business - staring icily at them when he beat their hero? hot

and federer was so so snide about the guy... pepperidge farm remembers when he accused teenage djokovic of faking his injuries in 2006

The 19-year-old Djokovic called his trainer multiple times. He had hamstring issues, but Federer thought he was faking his injuries to disrupt Wawrinka’s rhythm. “I don’t trust his injuries. I’m serious. I think he’s a joke, you know, when it comes down to his injuries,” Federer said.

OR in 2009

Djokovic, the No. 3 seed, threw in the towel midway through the fourth set of his quarterfinal with Andy Roddick, trailing 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2, 2-1. But in pointed comments, Federer, the No. 2 seed, noted that it wasn't the first time Djokovic has withdrawn midway through a match in a Grand Slam. "He's not a guy who's never given up before ... it's disappointing," said Federer, who will face Roddick in the semifinals. "I've only done it once in my career ... Andy totally deserved to win that match." "I'm almost in favor of saying, you know what, if you're not fit enough, just get out of here," Federer added. "If Novak were up two sets to love I don't think he would have retired 4-0 down in the fourth. Thanks to Andy that he retired in the end. Andy pushed him to the limits. Hats off to Andy."

'if novak were up two sets to love I don't think he would have retired 4-0 down in the fourth' ...? what are you even saying

and like, on a moral level I do actually think this is pretty gross and have a massive bone to pick with federer on his whole 'look at me aren't I amazing for never retiring from a match' schtick, which continues to have lasting harmful consequences in this sport. this kind of record isn't heroic, it's just fucking stupid. but also, it's hardly the first time or the last time tennis players accused each other of playing up their injuries - it's very much part of the sport, we've all done it or at least thought it. I am also on the record as being pro beefing with children. and it's very strong set-up for that rivalry, especially given how bloody often djokovic went on to crush federer's spirit! it's better set-up than the payoff, quite frankly

that being said, perhaps my favourite match they played is us open 2011 semis - y'know, the match where djokovic saves two matchpoints in the fifth set en route to beating federer... oh, I suppose that doesn't completely narrow it down!!

ah well!

back to 2011, that match did lead to just some really strong snarking in the press:

Djokovic was honest enough to admit the shot was a gamble – but Federer was reluctant to give him credit even for that courage in a crisis, preferring to regard it as desperate. "Confidence? Are you kidding me?" he said when it was put to him the cross-court forehand off his first serve – described by John McEnroe as "one of the all-time great shots" – was either a function of luck or confidence. "I mean, please. Some players grow up and play like that – being down 5-2 in the third, and they all just start slapping shots. I never played that way. I believe hard work's going to pay off, because early on maybe I didn't always work at my hardest. For me, this is very hard to understand. How can you play a shot like that on match point? Maybe he's been doing it for 20 years, so for him it was very normal. You've got to ask him." Djokovic was in a more relaxed mood. "Yeah, I tend to do that on match points," he said, reminded that it was exactly what he did to Federer last year. "It kinda works."

IT KINDA WORKS jhgjhgjhgkf get him again from me

here's the matchpoint save in question ofc

"someday the little twins will grow up to hear about matches like this" well -

which, I mean, federer's being extremely annoying in press! 'oh I'm above taking risks when I'm down on the scoreboard' says the man who ended up with one hell of a reputation for choking. it's also silly!! sometimes it's worth taking a swing at it!! also psychologically, because you're making things less complicated for yourself!! in individual matches, you won't necessarily be rewarded for your diligence and hard work, just not how anything works you moron. but y'know, this was the REAL federer. by the following year he'd already completely clamped down on this kind of thing and it felt like really djokovic could have also been WAY more bitter about this stuff than he publicly was... but yeah, this I did enjoy

and yeah, I do kinda see the vale/jorge comparison! like you say, federer is kinda... more arrogant, more contemptuous towards his younger rivals, also just more of a sore loser until pr got to him? tennis is infamous for its frosty handshakes, but you compare some of those with how warm valentino generally was when he lost... federer's problem was that he lacked self-awareness and was just so committed to this image of the gentleman's sport, which is why he ended up shying away from all this stuff. the unpleasantness with djokovic was actually like... still fairly late in the game, all things considered, it wasn't even really like 2011!federer to say stuff like that. which does show djokovic was capable of really really getting under his skin! and on djokovic's end, where the jorge comparison very much applies is how much he wanted the people to love him (ik his fans hate this narrative but like,, obviously he did). and how they had all already decided he was the enemy for beating their beloved federer and nadal. I do find it a bit easier to stomach with valentino because he deliberately plays with this stuff, weaponising the crowd and all that, whereas federer and nadal just pretend like it's not happening. (also morally it might be worse to boo at a motogp event because of the danger they're putting themselves in, but practically booing at a tennis match is far far worse - you can actually influence the competitors in a way you obviously cannot in motogp.) but that WAS one of the most interesting storylines in the big three era... djokovic slowly catching these two greats who were always so far ahead of them, however much people didn't want him to, even though he didn't have the love of the people on his side, and eventually managing to surpass them altogether. I do think there's plenty of interesting stuff there!! good groundwork! it's just... nowhere near enough, given how bloody long these guys ended up dominating

on djokovic/murray - MY favourite combination of guys as well, just in terms of how much I actually like both of them. it's an interesting relationship where it's like... they knew each other quite well when they were young, then inevitably grew apart a bit when they were competing for big titles? obviously they were also born exactly a week apart from each other, which is narratively fun. I suppose it's the equivalent to jorge/dani which... actually wait, no, I realise that would assign nadal to casey and certainly not my god. it's a rivalry that's a bit tough to stomach from a murray fan perspective because... I mean, it's not quite 'this is not a rivalry, they always kick our ass' territory... but when I started following tennis as a kid, it felt completely plausible that murray and djokovic would have similarly successful careers. which obviously. did not happen. still remember that kind of controversial 2015 australian open final -

- and, y'know, it's a bit frustrating!! this was the tone of a lot of that era, where you kinda just wanted to take them all aside and tell them. my god. maybe a little bit of feuding is okay, no? but well, it is what it is, mostly they had a good relationship. 2016 was kinda the best of times and worst of times because murray was pouring his heart and soul into scraping all of his potential out of himself, got another slam, year end #1 etc... but it also probably did end up fucking up his body permanently, in the quest to fight djokovic. and there IS something compelling and sad about that, but yeah. still a bit of an old wound as an actual sports fan lol

and yeah, they're two closely related playstyles!! counterpunchers with particularly excellent backhands - and if a wing falters, then it's the forehand. it was lendl coaching murray and getting him to properly go after his forehand, be aggressive enough off that wing, that got him his biggest successes. djokovic's weaknesses are less pronounced and especially these last few years, he's often been lethal as a serve + 1 forehand merchant. roland garros 2023 is a good example of that... murray was the tactician, generally thought a lot on court and had a lot in his arsenal - ofc most famously his excellent lob. djokovic does also have more to his game than just baseline pushing, even if sometimes that involves just spamming dropshots when he feels uneasy. obviously, as can be seen from the slam count, his game ended up being just a bit better... but, well, these are very fine margins. murray's slam count is deceptive, he really was the one guy who could consistently hang with those three year-in year-out. whatever revisionism people try to do now, it really was a big four era

as for the coaching relationship, I'm very curious!! coaching can take a lot of different forms and sometimes there's a bit of a distinction between the... bread and butter coaching, the people who are working with you day to day, and these more high profile gigs where sometimes it really is just localised to specific tournaments. it's all very individualised, depends on the specific demands of the player - obviously, given where djokovic is at in his career, you won't be seeing particularly major adjustments, like murray isn't going to come in and suddenly suggest djokovic revamps his serve, right. (though sometimes players still tinker with this stuff late into careers, especially if they're managing injuries.) given the particular stresses of playing in a match, what an odd experience that is in its own right, sometimes you do just need someone to be observing you, give your game a critical once-over from a little bit of distance. now, admittedly from what I've seen of djokovic's coaching relationships, I do feel like one of the coach's roles in THAT particular camp is also just 'being yelled at continuously during matches'. which...? a little curious if djokovic has that same tone when murray's standing there lmao. also one of the reasons for the yelling is when djokovic feels like he's not getting enough enthusiasm from his box. which... ... uh. I mean. murray wouldn't have been top on MY list for that particular metric. but he can get passionate at davis cup from what I've seen!! so maybe it'll work out

anyway yeah I'll cut it off there lol. obviously I spent half my childhood thinking about tennis and inevitably that involved a lot of thinking about the big four and that means I have a lot of thoughts on them so. basically it's fedole > rafole > fedal as far as I'm concerned. good luck to djokovic/murray in their endeavours, I will be there no matter what