#but i just know jannik wouldn't know who he is because he never knows people

[masonjarsmoments]

WAIT A SECOND

Jannik was at Kelly and Mark yesterday and I just saw a tik tok and James McAvoy also was there yesterday? ! If they met I need pictures because omg.

[leahnardo-da-veggie]

Honeycake

I sat along a dusty alley, watching carriages clatter by with bitterness. Today had been a slow day. Nobody with their pockets hanging loose, or a purse that was begging to be nabbed. No, all these stingy old bastards were clutching their belongings to themselves. Fake nobility, the whole lotta ‘em. All I managed to stea- Ahem, I mean procure, was a grimy brass locket. And what was a woman supposed to do with such slim pickings?

That was when he showed up. Almost feminine in his features, with a distinct air of elfin grace. A proper high noble, it looked. I eyed his coat, hunting for the telltale bulge of a wallet. Of course, because it was just that sorta day, there was none.

"Bugger it all,” I mumbled. It looked like I was skipping the beer tonight. The cashless noble paused at the entrance to my alley and sniffed. His pampered nose probably couldn't stand the scent of reality, I thought bitterly. Then he strode in, walking to stand over me.

Instantly, I pulled up my coat. Noblemen walking into dark alleys never meant anything good. They were always looking for whores, drug dealers or assassins, and I was none of ‘em. I scuttled aside, hoping he was looking for someone else, but he said, “Hello. Miss Bella, daughter of Rose, daughter of Sonja, yes?”

I twitched slightly. Why did bad things come in heaps? Was he a copper, come sniffing about my little alley in search of Bella-the-thief? “Dunno whatcha talkin' ‘bout, milord. I nevva ‘eard of no Bella, and me mam, sure as Ako knows, wassn no Rose,” I said, praying he wouldn't push further.

The noble pressed his lips together. “I see,” he said, looking down at me, faintly amused. “Well, did you write this, Miss Not-Bella?”

Ah, crap. I knew learning to write would haunt me someday. My mother had, in fact, been Rose-the-baker, and she had brought me to Ako's temple to learn to write. The priestesses there watched as I drew squiggles in the dirt, learning from Ako's Word. They taught me other things too. Like how to pick locks, how to lie through your teeth, and how to steal without getting caught. Great people, Ako's priestesses were. But then the gov'nor of Jannik decided they made too much trouble, and burnt their temple down, and hunted all their followers.

And of course, the easiest way to find a follower of Ako was by looking for lowborn who could write and used His name in their cusses. “Damn,” I said, not bothering to look at the paper. “Milord, I dunno howta write. Nevva even touched a piece o' paper in my life.”

The nobleman sighed. “Please, little one, stop this farce,” he said, his voice gentle. “I know you are Bella, and I mean no harm. In fact, I have come to tell you that your plea to Ako has finally been registered and granted.”

I choked on my own spittle there, and looked up at the paper. It was in my child-self's hand, awkward and emotional, little drops of tears staining and wrinkling the paper where they landed. I had written it after my mother was taken by disease, when I had just seen my tenth winter. It was a desperate prayer for safety and love that never came. I had it memorised by heart.

“Ako, I know you can't bring my mother back. But please, could you send me to a place where I will be safe and loved and have as much honeycake as I want? Your Faithful Bella, daughter of Rose, daughter of Sonja,” I read aloud, knowing the gig was up.

Yep, same letter. I looked up at the nobleman, wondering if he had been a priest at the temple. That was when I finally noticed his eyes. They were a vibrant purple, like dye freshly harvested, or a bellflower in full bloom. It was an eye colour no mortal would have. I sighed heavily. “Wait, milord. Dinnae tell me you're an Angel of Ako. I wouldn' believe ya,” I said. Maybe I'd had too much beer last night, and I'd wake up tomorrow with a horrible headache.

But the nobleman still stood there, a mildly bewildered grin on his face. “Look, little one. I am sorry it took so long to get back to you. But there were hundreds of thousands of letters, and it took so long to fulfil some of them,” he said apologetically.

I couldn't help it. I started laughing, cackling like an addict high on Bonny. “Twenty years,” I said. “You heard my pray'r twenty years later. Oh…” I looked up at him, at those utterly impossible eyes, at the depths that lay within them, and I found that I truly believed. “This has to be a dream.”

The nobleman, or angel, or hells, even Ako himself, offered me his hand. “Lady Berralis would never be so cruel, my child. Come on, now,” he coaxed, pulling me to my feet. “Come home.”

Flicking his wrist, a portal opened. The light on the other end was warm, like an eternal summer. It tore the weariness from my bones like I had soaked in the hot springs of legend, and broke the chill that had grimly settled into me. I glanced back. “Tell me,” I said. “Are you an angel? Or…"

“Or am I Ako himself?” The nobleman laughed, a sound like the sweetest honey, the deepest-flowing rivers. “Do you truly think the God of Mischief himself would tell you, little one?”

I smiled at that.

“Wait,” he said, as I put a foot into the portal. “I almost forgot this.” From the depths of his coat, he withdrew a little package.I accepted it curiously and opened it up.

“A honeycake,” I said, grinning. “All the honeycakes I could eat, eh? Takk, Milord. For everything.”

I took a big bite of the honeycake, savouring the richness, and the undercurrent of spice. A tiny part of me wondered why I wasted my money on all that beer when I could have been buying honeycakes instead, and I laughed.

Then I stepped through the portal.

[batsplat]

hello <3 i wanted to share whith you some things pedro said for a spanish newspaper! english is not my first language, but i hope it makes sense:

European riders have always had it easier, because if I have a bad race in Misano, I get on a plane, and by Sunday night, I'm at my mom's house, cry a little, and carry on. But the Stoners, Schwantzes, or Doohans crossed the world to go and win on a bike, not caring about anything else. And I don't say this because they were great riders who won a lot, but because they are the essence of the sport. How many times have you seen Dani smile without finishing first? Or Lorenzo? You don't. Now is different.

that's it!!

also, a few months ago, i asked you for tips on getting into tennis because my grandpa passed away and i wanted to feel closer to him since he was a huge fan. thank you so much for helping me back then ♡

now i have to say that i’m officially a casper ruud, daniil medvedev, and andrey rublev enjoyer! i’m still struggling to understand the hype around the “rivalry” between jannik and carlos 😭 like, i enjoy their matches separately (especially carlos’), but idk, they just don’t have that spark that some other players do for me. and all the matches between them that i’ve seen so far just leave me kinda cold...maybe it’s because i still don’t understand the sport as well as other people do (?)

either way, now i’m diving into the main attraction: women’s tennis ✨️ i’ve only seen bits and pieces, but i’ve got a soft spot for aryna, iga, coco and paula!

i'll tell you how that goes!

again, thank you for always answering with such care and kindness!! sending you a huge hug from here ♡

thank you for sending!! always love getting stuff in my inbox I wouldn't have otherwise seen, especially about this kid. pedro's so interesting with this stuff - like motogp as a sport is quite backward-facing anyway but he really pushes it even further with his reverence for the sport's history. still looking back to schwantz, to doohan... and he is correct about how it's obviously tougher for non-european riders. reminds me of something wayne rainey said at the time of casey's retirement announcement (x):

“My first question when I heard that was, why?” “I think it’s okay,” Rainey said. “I think it took a lot of courage to step up there and say something like that when you’re at the top of your sport and you’re leading this year’s championship. You’ve won championships already. He obviously had some time to think about it. And he’s absolutely 100 percent right. If you don’t have the passion, if you don’t have the desire to go do everything it takes and still put up with those sacrifices, it’s not worth it. You never know when the perfect time it is to actually walk away from the sport and sometimes people do stay too long. Obviously, he doesn’t enjoy it and I can definitely relate to that.” By the time Rainey’s career ended in a gravel trap in Misano Adriatico, Italy in 1993 he no longer enjoyed racing. “From my experience, I wasn’t enjoying doing what I was doing at the end of my career,” Rainey said. “And I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to go. I had kind of a forced retirement. I think Casey’s doing the right thing. Only he knows inside his mind and in his heart what he truly feels when he’s out there taking the risk. And I’m okay with it. I’m completely 100 percent behind him.” Travel is one of the biggest drains on the riders and their families. That they fly first class lessens the string, but doesn’t erase it. Rainey, Schwantz and Roberts share with Stoner the distance of home. Even though he has a European base in Lausanne, Switzerland, Stoner’s home is in Australia. “It’s not like he can just go home after each race. Being an American and racing over there, it’s a huge, huge sacrifice. It’s much, much different than what the Europeans have to commit as far as having that home base.”

of course for casey that was one of the defining tensions of his career - having to leave australia as a fourteen year old and never finding a home away from it. the isolation and the homesickness and the feelings of alienation plaguing him throughout his career. and pedro is also correct in saying it promotes a more... focused approach, right - casey was always deeply, painstakingly aware of the sacrifices he and his family had made to get there. the terror of letting everyone down. as he says in his autobiography,

There wasn’t really any time for me to enjoy myself because there was so much at stake and the sacrifices we had already made had become my biggest source of motivation. Living in a caravan on the north-west coast of England in the middle of winter, 20,000 kilometres from home was hard enough, but even harder was the prospect that it could all be for nothing. I was never there to be a part of the process or to enjoy the experience. I was there to make something out of every opportunity because I was never sure if it would be my last one. That fear of not being offered a ride for the following season was a constant driving force in those early days.

and yeah, back to pedro. it's interesting how much he frames single mindedness as a virtue, how it's the ESSENCE of the sport - relates to how firm he is about not being in the sport to be friends. the sport has to come above everything. in the casey autobiography passage linked above, he does express his belief that young riders aren't taking things seriously enough, that they feel like they can just go home "and think nothing more of it"... similar to what pedro's saying, isn't it. dani and jorge wouldn't smile at a second place, right. and casey did say he didn't have any friends in the paddock

you can debate about whether pedro's right or not and whether riders really do care less - which, whatever, that's a different topic. I DO think it's interesting how it feels part of his approach of... if you're making friends with your competitors, you probably don't care enough. and hey, I'm generally pro that mindset! nothing wrong with being ready to make some enemies, with dismissing the kind of faux civility that drains away narrative tension by making all rivals into friendly coworkers. admittedly sometimes it's good for rivals to form juicy interpersonal relationships that can go horrendously wrong, but this is the next best thing yeah

and for all that pedro gets compared a lot to valentino in particular in terms of his personality and potential to change the sport, for my money he still reminds me the most of a young jorge. he's got the cockiness of course, he's got the single-mindedness, the tenacity - like jorge, he's a real student of the sport. jorge was constantly figuring out what sort of 'character' he wanted to have with reference to riders of... well, past and present, when you include valentino. pedro also does seem quite open about how he DOES want to have a rossi-esque impact on the sport - which, again, extremely jorge. obviously pedro's plenty different too... more sociable, better comic timing, less excessive in his introspection. not quite as mouthy

still... I reckon jorge by this point in an equivalent rookie season would've already seriously pissed off one of his fellow riders, so I feel like pedro can maybe. just go for it, right. like you don't have to wait to be fighting for a title to burn some bridges. live a little! it's all good to talk about how much you love drama, but you have to be the change you want to see in the world. go crazy

as for the rest of your ask, this means a lot to read, genuinely, sending you a lot of love - and I'd very much like to continue getting updates about where you're at with tennis!!

about your men's faves, medvedev is my number one guy these days lol - not perhaps the best time to jump aboard but you never know. and at the very least I can guarantee that you won't get a quiet moment with him even when he's flopping. for better and for worse, constant controversy with that lad. I don't want to assume how many of his greatest hits you've familiarised yourself with - but if you ever want some more lore about him, well, just give me a shout. very much an expert on that guy's entire career lol. here's his paris 2021 monologue as an anniversary for the last time he didn't suck there, kind of feel like this one has gone under a bit...

shakespeare found quaking. if anything he's got too many hits, I remember in a podcast last year he briefly didn't remember the "shut your fuck up" speech which like. how does that happen to you

and yeah, well, I did try to give my advice from a neutral pov... and as a long time sufferer of this sport I can honestly tell you that you're in for a frustrating decade plus with men's tennis if you're not a fan of either alcaraz or sinner. that being said, obviously I'm not a fan, either of the two of them individually or of their rivalry. they've had one genuinely great match, uso 2022 qf, but everything else has been... great in stretches, less so much of the time. at least at rg this year everyone could agree the match was mid, still remember the gaslighting I had to undergo over djokovic/alcaraz cincy last year when people pretended like that was a classic. rather than a mediocre match with a strong half hour to finish things off. but anyway, I think the only time the rivalry was vaguely narratively appealing to me was when alcaraz still clearly had the upper hand in career terms and sinner was still mid but was able to play alcaraz well specifically. and also alcaraz seemed a way bigger fan of sinner than vice versa. like if sinner's career arc had been a narrative of failure, maybe it would've worked for me. as it stands, now he won't stop winning AND it's stripped away the only source of narrative juice from that rivalry

but yeah, it's not really about whether you know tennis - it's just a taste thing, at the end of the day. obviously I can appreciate the tennis, though I'm not particularly big on sinner's style of linear bashing. especially when it's optimised to a rafole-type extent. it's just too efficient, too effective, to lifeless... I think it's quite a good match up, I just don't really care. doesn't have anything a rivalry needs to be compelling, like we might as well get two mannequins to play tennis. where's the angst, the strife... can't believe I'm saying this but even the big three were better. it's not for me, though again if it's in any way possible... get invested in one of those two guys lol. as a long term big three hater, I can say it's really not a particularly satisfying way to live your life

anyway. yes! women's tennis! if you can, try to catch some of the wta finals that are happening at the minute. and, well, I'm not thrilled by its location, but on the plus side the tennis will probably be watchable. can't remember if I included this specific video, but shout out to cancun last year for just being a mess

the thing about year end championships is that they promise a lot and tend to not actually deliver the tennis they should on paper. big part of that is that most players just aren't really capable of producing their best anymore this time of the year. but!! I live in hope!! at the very least curious about how iga will be getting on, since this is the first we see of her since the us open. it's been a tumultuous time

and I have a lot of fondness for iga and aryna!! I want their rivalry to prosper! at this point I would commit blood sacrifice to get a slam final between the two of them next year. hopefully they'll have another wta finals match too... again, really don't know what to expect from iga - but that's the fun of it, right. you need a bit of angst and tension and neuroticism and inner demons to make a sport compelling, and at least you've GOT that with the best two players in the world in spades. at the end of the day, I'll always be far more excited about what the future holds for them than... you know. not to be too much of a hater lol

anyway, again thank you for this lovely ask. if there's anything else you'd like to know about the sport or talk about, my inbox/dms are always open. and sending a hug to you too :)

[emma-radfemcanu]

Time for my final 'I am sad because of tennis' post of the year x (putting this below the 'read more' because it's a bit of an essay and nobody else cares lol, I just want to get this off my chest)

This week is the tour finals in Turin, where the top 8 players of the year compete against each other. I was a bit worried that Stef wouldn't make it there, he's had a rough year, but he did. But then he ended two practices early and just didn't look right, it's something to do with his back- I hope nothing serious, he's suffered enough

You play 3 matches in the round robin, he lost to Jannik Sinner on Sunday (who I loathe, not him personally but his fans are just insufferable) and was playing Holger Rune today. He retired 3 games in, it was clear he was struggling, and god I know people don't like him but an entire arena booing someone who was very obviously in pain :(

The online comments were worse (yes I know I need to stop looking lol). So many people going on about how selfish Stef was for playing knowing he was hurt, because it's unfair to the audience who paid to watch a good match? Also unfair to Hubi who was the alternate player, apparently Stef should not played and given Hubi that chance- sorry but Stef earned that spot, he isn't obliged to make decisions based on what would be nice for other people

Before the Sunday match there were a few Sinner fans (including this one awful woman on reddit who is so annoying that she is honestly the main reason I don't like him) who were accusing Stef of faking it, either as an excuse for his inevitable losses or to get in Jannik's head- funnily enough they have piped down now 🙄 Stef very rarely withdraws, he'd hardly be the first to try and push through on adrenaline and painkillers, but as usual he is getting far more shit than anyone else

We all have our likes and dislikes, there are several players I have an irrational hatred for, and there are definitely valid reasons to dislike Stef. But most of the criticism he gets is just because people find him weird and annoying, there are far worse people (Zverev, Kyrgios etc) who don't get anywhere near the amount of personal insults that Stef does. IDK, picking on someone who is likely autistic (this isn't an armchair diagnosis, Stef's dad basically admitted it) for being weird and awkward leaves a very bad taste in my mouth

Even the other players were making fun of him earlier in the week :( Alcaraz was asked in their press conference who the funniest person was, before he could answer Rublev jumped in and said 'Stefanos' in a clearly mocking way- in itself it isn't that deep, but making someone who isn't even there (and quite frankly gets enough shit already) the butt of a joke, especially when said joke was intended to make two people who really don't like him (Medvedev and Zverev) laugh... it just felt very mean spirited

Usually I am in the camp that if that many people don't like you there's probably a reason. But like I say, I get why people don't like Stef, but it's never 'I don't like his opinion on XYZ' or any other valid criticism, it's 'lol what a weirdo' (or 'autistic freak' as I saw today). There are plenty of people who genuinely hate him but I think most of the time it's more that he's just an easy target. He is weird and awkward and shy but those are some of the reasons why I like him so much

It's been a rough year for my boys- Felix at least perked up towards the end of the season, lord knows about Shapo and Matteo :( I just hope 2024 is a bit kinder to them all

[the-theory-of-insane-brain]

Hey, mga Pancakes!

Last week my boyfriend kept telling me to watch "Gaya sa Pelikula", and he loves it so much! I remember, when I was still single I used to watch a lot of Thai BL series cos why not, single ako hahaha and gusto ko din naman kiligin, then now we have so many Pinoy BL series and super picky ko na on what to watch, I don't want to watch a series that's just for making you kilig lang, I want more about exploring the feelings, educate people and good storytelling. "Gaya sa Pelikula" is so different, it's not just for us (LGBT people) but for everyone, family, and friends (allies, #JustAllyThings📷). I've been Karl and Vlad before, too.

I was so lucky with my family, I didn't come out to them, I think they already knew it and accepted me for who I am, so when I have Jannik na and they still couldn't believe that I got a boyfriend, I remember this one experience of me, my boyfriend and my mom. We walk together and a friend of hers sees us and right in front of us, she told her friend that we are only "friends", friends who hold hands in public. This made me think whether she was ashamed of me, or what? But I thought of it this way, she just wants to protect me from what people say, but now everytime when strangers or a long lost family member asks why I still don't have a girlfriend, my mom answers "because he has a boyfriend" and hugs me. Being an ally means understanding and supporting each other, give reassurance and protection. You can educate yourself and observe what you can do as an ally.

And also, please, if you know someone who is too scared to come out, don't ever force them! Coming out is not easy to do and it never will be, please understand that! Let them explore, explore more about themselves, let them figure it out, let them be the first one to say it, courage is so hard to build especially when you only do it on your own.

Go watch it you wouldn't want to miss it!

#GayaSaPelikula