#and ig murray

[romainlettusdinnerparty]

guys that obviously wasnt mike wheeler. mike wheeler doesn’t have short hair nor does he want to el to improve her motivation. finn wolfhard is playing mikes russian counterpart famously known as mikhail son of enzo. obviously the ai was gonna be wrong if it was trying to lip read in english 🙄🙄 hes literally russian🙄

[alacants]

The source of those rumors is a guy from Carlos's family's tennis club who is close to Kiko Navarro & knows some members of Carlos's team & is a regular collaborator with Punto de Break. According to him (he's said this before) Carlos & Juanki had a significant fight towards the end of 2023. But the claim that they nearly split up back then came from someone else who's less reliable.

As for 2025, the first guy says Carlos's dad has apparently not been happy with what Juanki is doing for a while... but it seems like Carlos doesn't agree. If things don't turn around after clay season his family might push for changes to the team.

From my perspective it's hard to understand the coaching strategy sometimes. Like you said Juanki's strength is not tactics but it seems like that's what Carlos really needs. This is just one example but I think it's crazy that he sat on court in silence for three sets without suggesting Carlos change his return position v Djokovic - Carlos eventually figured it out... in the last game of the match. And that was honestly the main factor in him losing. You could argue Juanki wanted him to figure it out himself but why on earth did they not discuss that beforehand when it also cost him massively at the Olympics (which Carlos said he didn't even think about before the match?)

I know Juanki's whole thing is treating team like family but there are a lot top coaches who say that after 5ish years a coach has nothing to give a player anymore & I wonder if their partnership has run its natural course. Carlos doesn't seem any more tactically equipped than he was two years ago & his technicals have mostly not improved either (return... backhand...).

thanks for this background - after replying to some earlier asks i dug around and saw some folks citing punto de break but not any specifics so this is appreciated. this does immediately increase the credibility to me bc i know pdb values their access and would not jeopardize it for nothing lmao. tho if it's like, a guy who sometimes writes for them and is mostly posting on his own time... i guess that's somewhere in the middle. (btw i still haven't seen anything other than reports of reports of reports? if you've got links i would very much appreciate them!)

as usual i think we're looking at two questions here: could carlos benefit from a different coach, and does carlos want a different coach.

i think we are all in agreement that for carlos to continue to develop as a player he needs something he's not getting at the moment, whether we're thinking in terms of incorporating a new addition to the team or making a wholesale switch. and i don't disagree with you at all about the natural lifespan of a coaching relationship. i've cited this before in discussions of juanki's own career (stuck with one guy; was it a mistake?) and of ferru's (split but waited too long; chalked the delay up to personal feelings).

but as long as it's presented to carlos as an all-or-nothing choice i don't think he's there yet and i would not be surprised to find out that his recent post-match declarations were a message. (tbc it very much MIGHT be an all-or-nothing choice, regulars here know i have plenty of thoughts about the academy lmao.)

the thing is that at this point the unknowns are still really, really risky. if you've had the same coach for most of your teen/adult years and you're ready to strike out and try something new, then that's exciting and stimulating and you're in a good place to make the best of it. but if you're dragging your feet? if you feel like you've been pushed? maybe someone else could give you more, but you have to be ready to receive it, you know? if you're an environment that you know enables you overall to perform at a high level (4 grand slams), where you feel overall confident and supported even if you're lacking direction in some big matches, where you get value from your coach's presence above and beyond the specifics of tennis--it is inherently going to be a risk to make a big change and if you're not all in on doing so the risks will be even more likely to find you.

that's why i keep saying is that i don't see it happening unless carlos' results gets much worse than this--or, potentially, unless a voice that holds as much weight with him as juanki's (so, his dad) gets strong enough that he listens to it. that might be where we're headed!

(incidentally i have feinted at this without saying so explicitly, but there is an unbelievable amount of money riding on carlos' success or lack thereof--i don't mean prize money, i mean his brand as a star--and it would be naive to pretend that's not a factor in decision-making. that's one of the reasons i've pointed to a sustained slump, rather than one or two disappointing slams. when the results start to affect the brand.)

just talked this over with friend who compared the ideal set-up to darren/simone for jannik--supervisory coach + tactical/court coach. if so, then the question is whether they come to that same conclusion and get the set-up in place before the decision is out of their hands, so to speak.

[nyandela-catalogue]

drew this a couple days ago lmao

-Mark📕

[the-ghostmonument]

If I was going to make a Dracula movie it would mostly just be Mina talking about trains while holding a gun

[creepycatboyz]

Omfg could you please draw completely stoned Adam Murray covered by some blankets? Tysm!

I think both Jonah and Adam end up just cuddled up whenever they get high… like Adam just completely relaxes and passes the fuck out with the most dorky smile ever LOL

Also Jonah technically counts as a blanket like this hhhhh

[vanalex]

Credit: drea.d.art | IG

[kiwistede]

From Rhys’ new Instastory today.

[evepede]

i need myself some more pre 333 adam and thatcher fanart im starved rn sob sob ☹️

[angstivylupidene]

Rlly wanted to draw him again

[dorothy16]

brielarson Thank you Theatre Royal Brighton and all the gorgeous humans who came to see our first round of previews. Every night we tried something different - it was a thrill to explore this show with you! Thank you for the warm welcome and invaluable feedback. London, here we come!

[grasscaraz]

trying to join in the madness that is tennisblr, someone guide me and maybe become moots 😔

[dragon-necromancer]

NEW FUCKING VID HOW WE FEELING TMC NATION

[foster-the-moths]

verify (catalyst but worse au)

jonah wakes up, and gets in contact with someone he thought he left for dead.

1,474 words. what else am i supposed to put idk man just take it

"….adam? are you there?"

silence. unbearable silence. silence that tears a hole in their chest as it echoes and rings in his ears. silence that consumes what little scrap of sanity they had left, because really, what were they expecting? there's no way he was still alive. they-

a crackle of static.

"…jo...nah?"

holy shit.

"adam! are- are you…. okay? are you out of the basement? please tell me you're, like, the REAL adam and not an alternate," jonah babbles as he clutches the walkie talkie in his hand like a lifeline. their head pulses as they lean on the outside of the wrecked car, bracing themself against a wave of nausea and… static? that's not normal. he… probably has MAD, or something. everything feels slightly off, like someone moved reality three inches to the right. or left. or both? he doesn't know, he feels like he doesn't know anything. and- wait. adam. that's right. jonah hasn't heard him say anything, did he miss something? he brings the radio up to his ear, straining to listen.

"…"

nothing but static.

"adam? come on, if you're still in the basement then please just… get out of there man. i- uh… i crashed the car, but i didn't really get that far, so i can just start walking back. i'll meet you there, just… get out of the house and we can… i don't know. get out of here. just get out and i'll meet you there," jonah ends their sentence with a hiss through clenched teeth. fuck, his head is killing him, the pain swallowing him whole as it-

"no. no, i'm not coming out."

jonah snaps back to reality, his thoughts cut short like a tv being unplugged. "h-whuh?"

"i'm staying here. just leave," adam's garbled voice insists. it's as if he's speaking through cotton and static. shit. jonah's radio must've gotten damaged during the crash. these were the long-distance ones, too… jonah shakes their head, and then immediately regrets it as a spike of pain shoots through their head. it doesn't matter. all that matters is getting adam out of that stupid house.

jonah takes a breath, steadying themself. they really aren't the best at apologies, and whatever's wrong with their head isn't going to make it easier. regardless, they swallow their pride and prepare to speak.

"adam listen i- i'm sorry, okay? i'm really sorry i said that shit to you and-"

"no. you don't- jonah, i… i'm not real. i'm not adam," adam interrupts jonah's apology with a harsh buzz of static, the words sending a pit of dread into their stomach.

"…what do you mean?" jonah grits out, refusing to believe the implications those words carried.

"i was never adam. the real adam murray died when he was four i- i'm an alternate. always have been. i just never knew until now." jonah stays silent as the words register, more confused than ever. it just… didn't make sense. the pieces of this puzzle weren't connecting in his mind. adam was human. he knows that. right?

"just leave," adam- or whoever- snaps.

jonah pauses. something… wasn't right. alternates don't just reveal themselves before they even get caught. besides, from what jonah's heard, they would never pass up on an easy meal. or victim. or whatever they saw humans as. maybe he should have paid more attention to those drills, rather than rolling his eyes whenever they were mentioned, but… this does not seem like something an alternate would say. either this "alternate" has a very strange strategy, or its not an alternate at all.

"… how old was i when i got my driver's license?"

"what?"

"just answer the question," jonah insists, his suspiscion growing stronger at how perplexed the "alternate" sounds. he just hopes he's right about this. that they aren't playing into some sort of elaborate trap. he holds his breath as he waits for an answer. there's silence for a moment, but then-

"…you don't have one. your parents didn't want you to take the test until you got your grades together, but you never did. i taught you how to drive after we started going on investigations."

bingo. jonah was right.

"… shit… you- you're really him. you just- okay- okay uh-"

"that's it? you're just going to believe me?" adam's voice cuts through jonah's rambling, disbelief tinging his distorted voice.

"well yeah- i mean. no way you could fake knowing that. and uh- okay well maybe i should ask more questions, just in case?" jonah nearly smacks his head. he was really just going to put full faith into a single question? god. they're pretty sure their hunch is correct, and it's hard to think through the pounding pain in their head, but that doesn't mean they need to fling themselves into the lion's den after one point towards their theory. they need more than that. compiling evidence, or whatever sarah would say. he's so caught up in berating himself that he almost misses the "alternate's" response.

"…sure. whatever," a tight voice replies.

jonah collects his thoughts, thinking of a good question to ask. "okay, uh. what kind of pizza do we always get?"

"pepperoni from 7/11. its the cheapest stuff near hq and the cheese pizza is awful," comes the reluctant answer. jonah can hear the scoff in the other's voice, can imagine adam starting a tangent spurred by the mere thought of the sad excuse for cheese pizza at their local gas station. jonah shakes himself out of his thoughts, now was not the time. he had to stay focused. their theory was looking more plausible by the moment.

"okay, what about sarah? what's the name of that one guy she sends those emails to, and why?" jonah awaited the response with baited breath, if he was right, then…

"thatcher davis, that stupid cop. or ex-cop. whatever he is. sarah hates all cops, but she seems to hate that guy in particular. no clue why though, i've never asked her."

jonah was over the moon. they almost gave up the interrogation right then and there, but they had just one question left.

"okay… and what gas station did we stop at right before we got to the house? and what did we both get?"

"it was a… bp, i think? you shoplifted a dr.pepper after using their restroom. i didn't get anything."

jonah breathes a sigh of relief. this was adam. the real adam. they aren't sure why he seems so adamant about denying it, but they can work with this.

"yeah! yeah, see? you're definitely adam. you're not an alternate dude. i don't know why you're saying that, but you're not."

"they showed me. there was a tv in the basement," adam counters, his voice cold.

"and who's 'they'?" jonah asks, his theory nearly proven correct.

"the alternates. they-"

jonah cuts him off before he can finish, "yeah, see? alternates. you've been speaking to alternates. you probably have that MAD thing or whatever. you- they're messing with your head. don't listen to them. you're fine, you just need to get out of there, okay?"

"no," adam retorts, "you-you don't get it. my- my body is… it's wrong, jonah. i'm not… human anymore. i never was. i…" adam's voice trails off, not bothering to finish his argument. his voice sounds… anguished. like he's on the verge of tears. it's unexpected, and jonah isn't quite sure what to make of it.

jonah mulls over the new information, adam's words have thrown him for a loop. his body was... "wrong?" they had never heard of that before. then again, he's pretty sure MAD could induce hallucinations. he could have sworn he saw… something just before crashing the car, and he still hears whispers in his head, scratching at his thoughts like a cat at a door. maybe this was just another symptom of MAD? if it was, then adam needs to get out of that house, now.

jonah clears his throat, and speaks carefully, "listen, that- that's probably another symptoms of MAD, alright? just- just ignore it. it's not real, it's just in your head. focus on getting out of the house, don't think about anything except for getting out. i'm heading over, it won't take me long that long to get there. just… hang in there, okay? you got this. we'll find another car to hotwire, and get the fuck out, yeah?" adam sniffs on the other end, and holy shit, is he crying?

"…okay," adam's voice is hoarse, and jonah feels like shit for leaving him behind in the first place.

"good. now just… keeping talking, alright? talk to me as you get out, and don't stop talking. stay with me," jonah says as he pushes himself off of the car. he looks down the road and sighs. he has a long way to go.

[aftertwiiight]

OLD VS NEW SHIT !!!!!!!!

featuring the mandela boys at a sleepover

Mark ^^

Cesar ^^

Adam ^^

Jonah ^^

i rlly like adam and jonah’s redraws :3c

also pls don’t comment on how i shrunk cesar so much

i was trying to keep in mind that “CESAR IS SHORT DRAW HIM SHORTER THAN OLD DRAWING DID”

and i rolled with it …… perhaps a bit too much

i might just doodle them being silly idk 🤔

[fifteenloove]

Emma Raducanu THE Andy Murray daughter

[creepycatboyz]

oooooo u wanna draw fe adam and evelin

u wanna draw em so bad

(/nf but if you did i would cry and die I think maybe-)

I WAS ACTUALLY PLANNING ON DRAWING THESE TWO!!!!!!!

please they will just be besties and nothing bad ever happens to them <333 please I will fucking EXPLODE. EVIE TAME THAT ALTERNATE BOY