#novak has only once came back from two down in a major final.

[muirneach]

hey. carlos has never lost when two sets up

[liamhaydn-blog]

Andy Murray reminds us who he is at the Australian Open

The thing that often amazes us about elite sportspeople is how they make their chosen sport look like the easiest thing in the world. Whether it’s been the effortless grace of Roger Federer’s groundstrokes, or the movement and flexibility of Novak Djokovic, with his rubber-like limbs allowing him to slide and glide across the court in ways human flesh is surely not designed to. Andy Murray is a different kind of athlete to those aforementioned two, he instead regularly makes tennis look like the hardest profession in the world. He makes it exhausting to watch, let alone play. He looks like a physical wreck, sweat soaked, doubled over audibly panting for breath, then he resets and resumes play for another couple of hours. I saw Murray described the other day as always being the most ‘human’ of the superhuman big 4 who once ruled their field together. That is for sure an understatement.

As the world responded to Murray’s displays in the 2023 Australian Open, words such as 'warrior' and 'gladiator' came up a lot. And there is something almost gladiatorial about the way Murray is willing to suffer for the crowds entertainment. He invites the audience to endure with him, and to his opponent he says “I’m willing to put my body through hell to win, are you? Let’s find out. Let’s see who can endure this for longer.” For around a decade Murray has tested his opponents mental and physical willpower, and for much of that decade only 3 men could last with him, the 3 men we all know. The rest would inevitably wilt, buckle as Murray’s unbreakable will and spirit would eventually break them down. They were facing a man who refused to lose, or more accurately refused to stop giving 100% of himself to every point.

In some ways, the 3 matches Andy Murray played at this years Australian open could encapsulate his entire career. Murray first faced Matteo Berrettini, a monster server who had won his last 3 encounters with the Scot. This didn’t stop Murray from getting into a commanding position by winning the first 2 sets. However, Berrettini had not exited at the first round stage of a slam for four years and would not go quietly into the night. Murray saw a 4th set go away from him in a tiebreak to take the match into a decisive 5th. Andy was on the verge of losing for just the second time in his career from 2 sets up, when Berrettini brought up but then squandered match point on Murray’s service game. Instead the match was decided by a 10 point tie-break, with the Italian looking to reach double figures for consecutive tie-breaks won. Instead it was the 35-year old who outlasted his 26-year old opponent in 4 hours and 49 minutes. It was a significant victory for Murray, his first win in the best of 5 format over an opponent ranked in the top 20 since he first left the tour in 2017. The 13th seed Berrettini had reached the semi-finals at the previous years Australian Open and had made it to at least the Quarters in his last 5 majors.

Murray was being brought back down to earth just days later as he took to the court against home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis. The Australian served big from the off and was in danger of hitting Murray off the court and out of the tournament. He took the second set tie-break and put Andy on the brink of exit, needing just one more set for victory. But before bowing out Murray would give us one more vintage moment however. Already a break down at the start of the 3rd set Andy played a point which maybe no other player in the history of the sport could win. If that sounds bold, bear with me. Kokkinakis quickly got into a position where he was forcing Andy to scurry from one end of the court to the other as the Aussie pummelled the ball into the corners. Murray, stretching every sinew, groaning with the effort continually retrieved the ball only to be sent on another wild goose chase by Kokkinakis’ racquet.

But Kokkinakis could not for the life of him finish the point, though Murray could do no more than offer the ball up for not one, not two, but three successive overheads, the Aussie remained unable to put any of them away, Murray retrieved them all. He was then able to somehow scoop a return from way behind his baseline so deep that it sent Kokkinakis back to his own baseline. With this shot Murray had made the point neutral again and it was his opponent who blinked first hitting into the net. Kokkinakis threw his racquet at the floor in disgust, Murray cupped and pointed at his ear theatrically as though an away footballer taunting the home crowd after scoring a goal, but there was no booing or jeering here, the crowd roared as if Murray had been born in Sydney. They’d witnessed a special point, and they knew it. “Midnight Madness in Melbourne!” exclaimed Mark Petchey as Murray broke back for 1-2 in the third.

For most people, even for most tennis players, desperately hunting down the ball when you know the only option is to lift it into the air for your opponent to smash once again isn’t exactly fun, but for Murray that’s exactly what it is, he’s always been a born defender, the man for chasing down lost causes and delaying the inevitable. And even whilst down two sets and two games in the third, the idea of him accepting the point was lost and losing enthusiasm for the fight was never going to happen. He got his reward. But it seemingly would be little more than a consolation prize, Murray wins the point of the match, Kokkinakis wins the actual match as a 5-2 lead put him a game away from straight sets victory.

After the highs of beating Berrettini it was to be a disappointing loss against the 69th ranked player in the world, but not an all together unexpected one after the tribulations Murray went through in the first round, and being out on court for nearly 5 hours. Murray fans worldwide accepted it, a straight sets loss. There was positives and nice memories to take from the Berrettini win, but he was no longer a player capable of following up a great win with another win in the Best of 5 sets format. Kokkinakis leads 5-3 on serve, he’s two points from victory. But hang on, Murray breaks! he’s stubbornly delaying his exit, for as long as he can. He holds for 5-5 and shortly after we’re in a tiebreak. This time it’s the Scot who wins it, and all of a sudden this match looks a whole lot different. Something is happening here..

The momentum is suddenly all Murray's and after being pegged back from 2-0 up in his last match and dragged into a 5th, this time it’s Murray doing it to his opponent. As he takes the fourth, it starts to feel inevitable, we’ve been here before. He’s smelt blood, Kokkinakis is not doing a lot wrong, but it’s like he’s trapped in a Hollywood movie script, like Apollo Creed or Ivan Drago. He's now there for one reason: to be the victim vanquished against all odds by our stories hero.

Even though all logic suggests that a 35 year old man with one hip, who’s been out on the court for nearly 10 hours should be outlasted by a man 9 years his junior, all logic has been momentarily suspended, perhaps highlighted by Murray being denied the use of the toilet, having used all his allotted bathroom breaks. With logic defied, Murray would be writing the latest in his series of Rocky-esque scripts. After 5 hours and 45 minutes, Andy Murray was victorious at 4:05 AM in the Melbourne morning. Hearing the roar you’d be forgiven for thinking he’d just won his 3rd Wimbledon title in front of his home fans, no instead Murray had beaten an Australian in Australia, to reach just the 3rd round. That’s how affecting and inspiring Murray’s fightback was, Australians love being Australian, but sports-mad people that they are, they love the drama and emotion sport invokes even more.

After the match Murray said: “It was unbelievable that I managed to turn that around. Thanasi was serving unbelievably, hitting his forehand huge and I don't know how I managed to get through it. I did start playing better as the match went on - and yes, I have a big heart.” Murray went on to mention a stat which must give him immense satisfaction, he now holds the record outright for most comebacks from 2 sets behind, moving ahead of legends Roger Federer and Boris Becker. Murray has now done it 11 times, 11 times and he still surprises us. 11 times and we still find ourselves writing him off, saying no, not even *he* can come back from this, and yet he did. The record proves a vindication of all the thousands of hours he’s given to tennis in his career, working on the physical and mental sides of the game, which has helped take him to a level where he will always back himself to win in these situations. Kokkinakis hit 37 aces in the match, a total of 101 winners and it still wasn’t enough, it was never going to be enough.

The Scot’s draw was not going to get any easier, as in the 3rd round he faced Roberto Bautista Agut, a man who had beaten Murray twice in the previous year, losing just six games in the process. The win over Kokkinakis was the longest match of Murray’s career and it took his time on court to over 10 and a half hours. It looked for a time that after 2 long brutal matches, Murray’s third was in danger of being over brutally quick. Appearing stiff and too exhausted to move, Murray was a set down in 29 minutes, winning just the solitary game. He went an early break down in the second set too, but the crowd wanted their own experience of Murray magic, they willed him back into the match, roaring at his every point, trying to feed their energy into his muscles to push them on. Andy broke back and took the set into a tiebreak, a tiebreak he trailed 2-5. Extraordinarily he then reeled off 5 straight points to level the match. Surely it wasn’t happening again..

It wasn’t. At this stage even Murray ran out of magic, but he went down the only way he knows how, the only way he can tolerate which is whilst still battling and still believing, losing the 3rd and 4th sets 3-6 and 4-6 respectively. Following his exit from the tournament Murray said: “I feel like I gave everything that I had to this event. So I’m proud of that. That is really, in whatever you’re doing, all you can do. You can’t always control the outcome. You can’t control how well you’re going to play or the result. You can control the effort that you put into it, and I gave everything that I had the last three matches.” Athletes such as Lionel Messi and Novak Djokovic show us what life would be like if we were extraordinary gifted, Andy Murray shows us what a human looks like who truly gives his all. He makes you wonder what could be achieved if you truly committed every fibre of your being towards something, without wondering what you’ll get out of it, without worrying about what lies at the end, whether it’s even worth trying. For him the trying is the point, that’s the reward in itself, knowing you couldn’t have given more.

A word has been added to the tennis vocabulary and that word is “Murray-coaster” to describe the up and down nature of a Murray match. And truly there has probably never been an athlete who goes through so many emotions so rapidly and all of them are shared with the audience in real time. It’s what makes Murray, still now when he hasn’t reached the last 16 of a slam for over 5 years, one of the most watchable and engaging athletes on the planet. He wins a point, he’s fist-pumping manically, looking into faces of spectators in the crowd cajoling them to give him even more encouragement, louder please. With that Murray’s legs are filled with life, he’s bouncing on them despite the endless hours of match-play. His whole body looks filled with vitality and belief. Then he immediately plays a poor point, his shoulders slump, he limps back into position, he receives the ball from the ball kid like it’s a form of torture to have to go on playing. He loses a long point, he’s leaning down using his racquet to rest, panting for air, he may find time to curse himself or shout something sarcastic to his box. He wins the next point, the crowd roars its approval, Murray is now encouraging himself “C’mon!”, it’s still only 30 all.

Murray’s attention at one stage in the Bautista Agut match was captured by a woman seemingly drinking quite heavily. This as we’ve seen recently from Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon and Djokovic at this Australian Open, is usually a problem for tennis players. Murray takes a different approach, after winning a game he gestures a pint glass to his lips and encourages the woman to go and get another drink. Murray a man accused throughout his career of not having a personality due to having a somewhat dour voice, shows more personality on the court than practically anyone. You feel you know him better from his on-court persona than virtually anyone else. Murray himself said it best after the Kokkinakis match: “I’ve always worn my heart on my sleeve, and shown my emotions. I’ve been criticised alot for it over the years, but that’s who I am.”

"Murraycoaster" can be used not just to define Murray matches, but also his career as a whole. He becomes just the second man to lose his first 4 Grand Slam finals, there is the heartfelt, emotional speech after falling short against Roger Federer at Wimbledon. Then suddenly come the highs, he wins Olympic Gold avenging the loss to Federer, he wins his first Major at Flushing Meadows outlasting the Marathon man himself Novak Djokovic, then beats him again to win the one all Brits wanted over any other, he’s Wimbledon Champion. Then there’s injury problems, only 1 major final in the next 2 years, but then comes the best year of his career 2016, Murray reaches 3 major finals, wins his second Wimbledon title, becomes the first singles player to win 2 Olympic Golds and becomes year end number 1. Now after the greatest high, comes the lowest low, Murray is suffering badly with his hip, in so much pain he feels retirement is the only option, though he struggles to even say the word at the 2019 Australian Open, so badly does he want to play on. And play on he does, this time with a metal hip, but it isn’t like before, wins are fewer and further between. The Australian Open has brought him closer to having one last high, one last deep run in a slam, and though this wasn't to be the time, you feel he won’t stop trying until he gets there again.

Andy Murray at the peak of his powers was one of the best defenders and returners the game has ever seen, his ability to read serves and his extraordinary hand-eye co-ordination would see him regularly make some of the biggest servers the game has ever seen look redundant. He would take your weapons and use them against you, the big-hitters would see their power neutralised and feel the need to keep hitting bigger and bigger until they were over-hitting and sending it long, he forced those mistakes out of your game. He would take you into long rallies and with clean and precise hitting carve out a high IQ point, where he would know the angles on the court better than the opponent, and either work the point to a stage he could hit a brilliant winner or wait for the error to come from the other end. His brand of tennis saw him reach 21 Grand Slam semi-finals, going onto the final 11 times, in Men’s tennis’ strongest ever era.

Multiple factors such as his time side-lined off the court and aswell being the first player to ever compete in singles tennis with a metal hip have meant that the Murray of today isn’t that same player. He loses more, he loses to average players, players who in his prime he would beat in straight sets now do the same to him. Much of what made Murray the number 1 player in the world 7 years ago is no longer part of his game. The serve is rarely what it was, the movement is hampered, the speed of his reaction’s not what they were. So what is Murray left with? he’s left with the same dogged determination and hunger for the fight which once saw climb to the very top of the rankings ahead of the 3 greatest men to ever hold a racquet, he’s left with the same passion and love for the game he’s played for over 30 years, a love that saw him reject doctors' verdicts that he could never return to professional sport with a metal hip and that same unquenchable thirst to win the next point. How far that will take him in the remaining years of his career remains to be seen, yet one thing is certain, Andy Murray won’t be writing himself off.  

[misha-moose-dean-burger-lover]

*slaps roof of fanfiction* this baby can fit so much self-projection in there ~ @rauko-is-a-free-elf s wise words. enjoy <3

Dean's the one who can't get out of bed without coffee. The one who thinks sunday brunches are a thing just because real people aren't supposed to be up by breakfast time on the weekend. The one who'll crash face first into the couch, first thing he's back from college, because screw consciousness, that's why.

And yet, it's Cas who stumbles out of the shower on seven-am-biochem-Thursday, and proceeds to trip over the carpet and land in Dean's arms.

"I'm so fucking tired."

"Of the — carpet?" Dean frowns, looking over Cas's bedhead to examine the Queen lyrics-filled specimen. He's rather fond of it.

"Of being," Cas mutters, heaving himself upright and swatting at Dean's hand when he reaches to smooth his tie. "Whoever the fuck I'm supposed to be."

Dean tries to get to his tie again, and receives a particularly pissed-off glare for his efforts.

"And who is that?" Dean throws back, playful because why not; he's expecting a sarcastic comeback, a suffering eyeroll, or even to be annoyedly swore at — which he definitely wouldn't mind, coming from his best friend slash boyfriend slash dude with the literal sexiest voice Dean's ever heard — but he's definitely not expecting Cas to launch himself at him, purposefully this time, also gentler, and bury his face in Dean's shirt.

Dean waits, worried, but hands coming up involuntarily to hug back.

Cas doesn't budge.

"Babe?"

All the reaction that induces is for Cas to cling harder. And for words to get muttered — and reasonably muffled, into Dean's shirt.

"I hate that guy."

Dean raises his eyebrows, belatedly realizing Cas can't see them. "Huh?"

"The guy I'm supposed to be." Cas goes on, gritting his teeth. "Dean, I hate him. He makes my life miserable. And I — I'm just so tired."

And at that, Cas decides the point's been made, and stops talking entirely, leaving Dean with little more to do than hold on.

And think.

He knows Cas never got a chance to make the choices most people take for granted. The guy never got to choose his major, choose his hobbies. Hell, hardly even his friends. Private schooled and isolated until his parents up and shipped him off to Princeton pre-med, Dean's always believed Cas had the right to be mad.

Even though he's now in actual med-school, a year from becoming Doctor Novak — Dean gets a secret thrill every time he imagines that, and Cas knows, so it's not a very well-kept secret — and no longer in touch with his parents (who turned out, unsurprisingly, to be assholes who cut him off when they found out Cas is gay. Well, pansexual, but they didn't really care about labels once they'd met Cas's boyfriend. Dean. Who likes to take some of the credit for his boyfriend's relatively new disowned status, even though it had mostly been Cas being a badass, and finally, finally standing up for himself.)

So one might say things turned out fine, and there's no reason to hold grudges, but if Cas wanted to, Dean would have a hundred percent declared it valid.

But that's where Cas came in. That's where who he was, came in. A thinker, a dreamer, but grounded enough to not hold onto the anger. Independent, but rarely reckless. Plus, aware enough to work hard and reap well, while at the same time, searching for reasons to find the good in things.

Dean loves him, and admires him. Admires his intelligence, and tenacity, and courage. But this had never happened before.

Dean may have been the initiator of most hugs, but that could usually be traced down to Cas's nonexistent social skills, and Dean's embarrassing dependency on touch, in lieu of words. This, was one of the most passionately Dean had seen Cas feel something, outside of love.

And it was rattling.

If being this way — this ideal everything; top of his class, tireless, always in control — was burning Cas out, it couldn't go on. Dean would take a less 'functional' Cas over the wrecked-sounding prodigy in his arms anyday.

And god knew Dean Winchester was far from perfect himself.

There was only one way ahead.

Dean holds on quietly, and a couple minutes pass. Clearly Cas needs it, seeing as how he dissolves more into Dean as the seconds pass, the frustration leaving him vacant and devoid of energy.

"Cas?"

Cas shifts in his arm, tenses a bit. "I'm sorry, I —" He starts, sounding too obviously disappointed for some reason, and Dean hates it.

"Dude." Dean cuts him off, somehow not cheerful, but still bright. It's always easier talking someone down like this, and Cas has always, strangely, drawn from Dean's moods. "You're going to apologize for needing a hug?"

Cas remains quiet.

They both know it was more than that. Cas has calmed considerably, but he wasn't himself before. Or he was. Now, he's almost normal — but it feels like he's being who he's normally supposed to be again, and that's not good.

"Also," Dean continues, undeterred by the lack of response. "That guy? Sounds like a real piece of work. Ever thought of cutting him off?"

"It doesn't work that way."

"Don't see why not."

"Dean —"

"So it won't happen in a day." Dean realizes Cas is shifting again, and a little uncertainly, lets him pull away. Thankfully, he stays in Dean's space, albeit carrying his weight on his own two feet. Dean doesn't know what to do with his hands anymore, so he takes Cas's in them. Cas lets him. "It'll take time, be a process and whatnot, and you'll have me with you, you'll have all our friends really. Plus, isn't college about experimenting?"

Cas makes a sound which sounds like a chuckle he couldn't exactly help, and Dean preens, encouraged by it.

"And it's not like I'm about to let you go try and play for the other side," He adds, lightly. "You're stuck with me. But this could be your adventure."

There's a more comfortable silence.

Cas breaks it this time, clearing his throat. "You don't think I'm too young for a midlife crisis?"

"Take it from someone who raised Sam fucking Winchester, babe. This is way more of a teenage crisis." Cas cringes visibly at that, but that just means it's working. "Breaking out of your barriers, discovering who you really are? Netflix's coming-of-age producers are coming for your twenty seven year old ass."

Cas shakes his head, grumbling at him, but he's already sounding more like himself, and Dean can work with this. "You're mean to me sometimes."

"You tackle me like a mascot scoring a touchdown-hug sometimes."

Cas snorts. "That hardly makes sense."

"Your face hardly makes sense." Dean wastes no time in hurtling the first response in his head, and it earns him a less reluctant laugh. The weariness in Cas's voice remains, but the upset is wearing off.

"Great comeback, wasn't that?"

"Your face is a great comeback." Dean informs him with a huff, as he leans in to kiss the smug look off his boyfriend's face. Cas meets him halfways, tilting his head, and sliding a hand up Dean's arm and shoulder until it's around his neck. His fingers stroke the short hairs at the back of Dean's head, and he tugs just the way Dean likes it, earning a full shudder from the latter as he pulls back breathlessly.

"Are you trying to distract me?" Dean accuses dramatically, hand on his heart.

Cas shrugs, pulling on a nonchalant look, and almost succeeding. "You were making my dilemma sound too solvable. A man is excused some defense mechanisms, isn't he?"

"Not when I'm making progress, sunshine." Dean throws back. "Just, hear me out, okay? You want to do this, you're going to be making changes. Doing things, and more importantly, giving up things that don't feel like you. It doesn't even have to be a big deal. Unless you want it to be. I mean, you're a sucker for planning, making lists, that sorta thing, right?"

The easy smile has started returning to Cas's features again, and he nods. A little. (As if he appreciates Dean's rambling, and because he's Cas, he probably does.)

"So that's where we start. Hell, I could buy you a binder. There's this stationary place Charlie does not shut up about, and they might have those huge, black, spiralbound binders. Which I figure you're secretly obsessed with, you know, since you're secretly a nerd." Dean reasons, satisfiedly.

"It's hardly a secret."

"Oh, it is." He beams. "And I, your awesome, hot boyfriend, am your cover."

Cas rolls his eyes with feeling, leaving Dean basking in a momentary sense of accomplishment. But it's not the time. And it may have been him rambling, but it's not about him.

"So," He raises his eyebrows. "What do you say?"

Cas draws in a breath. "I say," he swallows. "Yes. Okay, I mean. Yeah. You — you make it sound doable. Plausible, somehow." Cas bites his lip. "Come to think of it, I haven't thought of a particular something I want to change, and I know I'll probably rethink everything six more times, and I know you'll still be patient with me, even when I don't change what doesn't feel right, just because I'm too used to it, and truthfully, maybe it's too soon to be thinking of changes, and we should slow down, especially you, because you're wonderful, but I don't think I can change myself as efficiently — and I don't think we can, either. But I'm grateful, and I agree, and I want to change things as well, and I'd like a binder, really, and you —" Cas scrubs his face with a hand. "I just know, that I - I feel different."

Dean grins. "Yeah?"

Cas breathes in again, slower. On the exhale, he sighs. "I love you."

"That ain't exactly a 'different' anymore, babe." Dean reminds, and it's all the motivation Cas needed to wrap his arms around Dean again, and plant a firm, telling kiss on his lips.

"I know. But it's easier to say, and I know you understand."

"Yeah, I do."

Dean smiles, and Cas mirrors it, crinkled eyes and showing gums, and an uncharacteristic dampness in his eyes in spite of the breathtaking smile, and it's too damn beautiful a sight to not kiss again.

So Dean does, and Cas only smiles wider, more beautiful.

*

In around twelve minutes, Cas's alarm for six forty-five goes off, and he pulls back in a frenzy — as dazed as Dean from the makeout, but senses just enough present to realize he's going to be late for his lecture.

They figure it out though, like they figure out most things — Dean puts together a sandwich while Cas gets dressed, and later drives him to class in his Baby, since he's obviously missed the bus. Cas ends up only three minutes late, and it's a good thing Dr. Harvelle is in a good mood, because she at least pretends to believe their unbelievably trite excuse, delivered in Dean's most earnest voice. ("Traffic.")

Later that evening, when Dean's back from his shift at the autoshop — it helps pay bills, and he gets to add 'experience' under engineering on his resume — and Cas is back from the hospital, and they're piled on the couch in front of the TV watching reruns of Doctor Sexy, tangled in each other, Dean remembers something he's been meaning to ask since the moment he gave what happened that morning, some thought.

"Hey, babe." he begins, as a by-the-way. "What exactly happened this morning?"

"I believe I tackled you like a mascot scoring a touchdown-hug." Cas answers, in the straightest of voices because he's hilarious like that.

"Yeah, I mean — you did." Dean snorts at the callback. "But like, what triggered it?"

"Oh." Cas pauses. "I believe we ran out of shaving foam."

"Shaving foam." Dean repeats, incredulously.

"Yes." Cas doesn't even have the courtesy to grin, when Dean snickers. "And usually, we have a spare bottle. I — I tend to make sure of it. But I checked, and we didn't, and I was supposed to make sure we don't completely run out of these things, and I didn't, and I —" He shrugs. "I just hated that I forgot, so much, in that one minute of staring at the mirror, and I was agitated, until —" Dean blinks, and Cas affords a tiny smile. "I realized I couldn't do this anymore. I had a revelation, it would seem, at how pointless all of that self-loathing was, and how I've tired entirely of being that person."

"So you got mad that you got mad?"

"I — kind of. But it was mostly the shaving foam." Cas points out, now deadpanning on purpose because Dean can't hold back the laugh. Nobody in the universe could have an identity crisis over shaving foam except for Castiel fucking Novak, and Dean gets to live with this ridiculous sonuvabitch, the adorable fucker, and watch him get more unbelievably perfect by the day.

"Cas?" He lets out, still laughing. "Proud as I am of your moment of truth, and you deciding to go easy on your expectations of you and all that, can I just say something?"

"Of course." Cas responds, immediately.

"I think I like you better with the peach fuzz."

And so it's Cas's turn to burst into a laugh, and it's not like Dean's stopped anyways, so eventually it's just the both of them laughing through the evening, and laughing through dinner, still tangled in each other, still piled on the couch, and Doctor Sexy still playing in the background, because some things change, and other things don't, and some things won't, and that's that.

[badasscaptain]

Mariska Benson’s Story

Captain Mariska "Mar/Mari" Benson heads up the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. Mariska is fluent in several languages, which include English, Italian, Spanish, French, Polish, Italian, Irish Gaelic, Czech, Scottish Gaelic, Hungarian, Latin, Portuguese, Basque, Danish, Chinese, Japanese, Bulgarian,, Slovenian, Dutch, Hebrew, latin, german, Russian, Ukrainian, Moldovan, Greek, Filipino, Belarusian, Turkish, Swedish, Polish, Slavonic Languages(Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Porto-Slavic, Eastern-Slavic, Southern-Slavic, Western-Slavic, Slovak), Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Romanian, Gagauz and Sign Language.

Prior to becoming a cop and working for the NYPD/ At SVU. Mariska severd in the US Navy for 16 years. from 1981-1997, when she retired and came home to the states that December of 1997.  She joined the Navy and enlisted after high school at the age of 17, in May of 1981.  She also worked her ass off in high school and got  a full scholarship to Cornell University , took it and while in College and enlisted in the Navy , fighting a broad and serving her country / protecting the USA from threats, Mariska multi-tasked and simultaneously studied  during her time in the Navy and attained both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the same time, and triple majored in criminal justice, law enforcement and Ballistics & Technical Sciences, with minors in several languages, history, literature and creative writing - poetry. She later graduated from Cornell , while still in the Navy , after only three years studies in May of 1984, a few months after her 20th birthday, while still abroad and fighting in the Navy and serving her country at the same time. 

She is a decorated US Navy Veteran, with multiple Awards and Honors. Mariska exited and retired from the US Navy and military life, in April of 1997 at the age of 33, after serving her country and a Navy- Military career of 16 years, and upon retirement from the Navy was a Vice Admiral. During her time in the US Navy , Mariska was a part of the Navy's elite special forces team , known as SEAL TEAM 6. Upon retiring from the Navy in  late May of 1997. 

Mariska came home and returned to the states, and attended the New York police academy and took their program to become a cop within a few short months, after graduating early from the NYPD academy in July of 1997, a few months after studying to be a cop at the NYPD academy that same year. She  first began her law enforcement career as cop, that July after her graduation not long after independence day 1997. 

In the beginning of her law enforcement career as a cop , with the NYPD, Mariska started out low in the ranks, and was transferred quite a bit during hr first two years with the NYPD, working in serval different department, before she made Detective 2nd grade in the winter of 1998, just a few short months before joining SVU ing March of 1999 and being transferred for the last and final time , while working for the NYPD.

Prior to taking over SVU, Mariska worked as a SVU detective and to this day is still partnered with Det. Elliot Stabler, they've been partners for over 12 years. After Elliot's leave of absence for a year. Mariska partnered primarily with Nick Amaro, before his return to SVU in 2013 after about a year of being away due to having to handle issues with his family and personal affairs. The year after that, in 2013 Elliot was forced to retire from SVU due to hurting Mariska again, as he had done in the past. This time Fin caught him sexually assaulting her in the nap area of the SVU precinct, used by SVU to rest, now and again when they get tired and can't think straight, during precinct lockdowns, while they're working huge complex cases. 

Shortly after he returned, they became partners once again, before Cragen the old SVU captain , her ex boss retired  after the Lewis case in late 2013... he fired Stabler's crazy ass and the NYPD took his shield for good, in the early summer of 2013. Which Stabler hated, never getting his way, though any one who has a brain and common sense, knows you don't always get your way, and or aren't always right all the time, or perfect. 

In late fall of 2013 after the lewis case was wrapped up, and Mariska and all his other living victims were safe. Mariska became a Sergeant and took over the SVU unit from Captain Donald Cragen in late October of 2013. Coincidentally at the same time her co-worker of several years John Munch, also announced his retirement as well from the NYPD in late October of 2013, the same Cragen announced he was retiring from the NYPD. Then after being a Sargent for about 7 months after Cragen's leaving SVU and putting her in charge.

 she took the Lieutenant's exam and aced it, and became the Lieutenant of the SVU Department. She continued to be the head of SVU after she became their Lieutenant. She stayed as a Lieut. As Lieutenant and the head of SVU for some months, Then in late 2019 Mariska was promoted again, this time to Captain of SVU. Mariska does her best to head up and keep her squad a tight knit bunch and working well together, with little to no issues as possible. 

While balancing in time with her son Noah Porter-Benson, comes ahead of her job and love life. She does the best she can, to balance her job, family, friends and dating, Although she is still in love with one particular woman, but she has no idea if she'll ever come to see it or not, so she tries to push through the pain and move on without him as best she can and focus on the positives in her life.

Early Life and The Beginning of her Career with SVU

Mariska and her identical twin sister Olivia were born, Mariska Renée Benson and Olivia Margaret Benson, On January 23, 1964, Nassau County, Long Island, New York. Mariska and her identical identical twin sister Olivia "Liv" Benson, were the products of the rape of their mother Serena Benson in 1963 by a food salesman named Jacob Holmes, who later committed suicide. At the time of the rape, Serena had been working in the cafeteria of Columbia University. 

Mariska's mother, Serena was an alcoholic who tossed aside her one daughter Olivia, Mariska's identical twin sister away and left her daughter Olivia in the adoption/foster care system as a baby, to grow up there. Meanwhile Serena decided to keep and raise her other daughter Liv's twin sister Mariska, as a single mother, and also emotionally, physically, mentally and verbally abused Mariska throughout her childhood, adolescent years growing up. Her mother Serena even went as far, to hide from Mariska, that she had a sister out there, being raised in the system, not just any normal type of sister... but an identical named Olivia.

 Mariska for most of her life, was always suspicious that there was more to her story , of how she was conceived and brought into this world by her mother Serena, then what her mom Serena lead her to believe for all those years, when she was growing up, even after joining the Navy after high school, as she did. Then after her exiting the Navy after a 16 year stint in the service, and Navy life. 

She knew in her gut, that there was more to the story of their family, then what her mom Serena told her, however back in the day, it was much harder to prove or dig up stuff about those in the system, and long lost relatives, plus kinship analysis was stiff a very new DNA test the law enforcement and health care fields had just developed. Mariska though, continued to question her life, and formative years growing up in long island as she did as well as, her mother Serena’s secrets. 

That is until Serena passed away not long after, Mariska joined svu as a 2nd grade detective years ago. Serena died from injuries sustained in a fall when she was drunk, in early 2000, After which it left Mariska still questioning the feeling in her gut, that she had more family out there, she didn’t know about all her life, and she wanted answers. Mariska did want to know if she did have siblings out there, or any cousins, etc. 

So she asked her then boss Captain Don Cragen, and her trusted coworkers during those days, her early ones at SVU as a detective.... to help her get and run a kinship DNA analysis test on her. Which they helped her do an keep hush hush, the kinship DNA test, came back positive and did show results  that she had a sibling out there, not just a sibling, but a sister. However the records of her name were sealed and closed, the only other thing that the test results showed was the sister, also grew up where Mariska did in Long Island, and that she grew up in the system. 

Which left Mariska more curious, and anything to find out, who this sister was, she  had, her name, etc. At the same time the passing of their mother Serena, left Mariska, even more deeply angry, as well as, a bit saddened, due to the fact that she never got closure with her mother Serena before she passed away, never got to tell her crazy mom how she felt, how much she had her hurt, etc. 

While investigating a case called (Payback) in 1999, Mariska and Serena seemed to care about each other a great deal. Serena was worried about Mariska working in the Special Victims Unit. Then also months later in (1999) while investigating a case labeled Wanderlust, Mariska said to her good friend ADA Casey Novak, that her first love was an older woman and that she "couldn't have loved her more". 

Then months later while investigating a case called Taken (2000) Serena dies as the result of a fall down the subway stairs across from a bar. Mariska says Serena was a drunk. Then later that same year also, while investigating an Abuse case in (2000) Mariska becomes involved with a child who was neglected by her parents that way Mariska felt neglected by her mother. 

Then while investigating a case labeled ; Intoxicated in (2005) Mariska tells Casey Novak about an incident when she was 16. An older student of her mother asked her to marry her and when she told Serena that she was leaving, her mother who had been drinking flew into a rage and went after her with a broken bottle.

During her brief visits to Philadelphia and Florida (2007) Mariska finds out about the man who raped her  and her twin sister Olivia’s mother, and others. He knew about his daughters and kept track of them both. He once tried to call Mariska but got Serena instead. Mariska Graduated from Cornell university. She admitted to her SVU teammates in 2007 while they were investigating a case then , they labeled (Stalked).

[team-free-will-you-idjits-67]

Reprimanded (Part Two)

Description:  Professor Sam Winchester gets himself in a sticky situation after a one night stand in the bathroom at Harvelle’s.

Characters: Professor!Sam Winchester, Student!Reader, Professor!Castiel Novak

Relationship:  Professor!Sam Winchester x Student!Reader

Word Count:  1780

Warnings:  (18+) Smut. Unprotected Sex (Wrap it before you tap it ladies and gents), Explcit Language

A/N: I know it’s been super long since I posted anything but, I’ve been working major overtime the last 3 weeks and I have even more overtime coming this coming work week. Here is PART TWO! I hope you enjoy! Also, big shout out to @the-is13 for betaing this! 

TAGLIST

MASTERLIST / SAM WINCHESTER MASTERLIST

Sam’s eyes fluttered back to Y/N frequently as he tried to keep his cool as he went over the syllabus. Sweat began to gather at his lower back and pits, soaking into his dress shirt. In that moment, he was glad he had worn a suit jacket today.

He glanced at the clock, noticing his syllabus talk had run longer than his other classes. Because of her. He rambled for what seemed like ages before he finally said, “Okay guys. I’m done for the day. Next class we’ll start notes.” He walked around the podium and gathered extra syllabus’ to put in his briefcase, “Have a great day.”

Students filtered out of the lecture hall as he gathered his things, but one.

She sauntered up towards the podium, her blouse unbuttoned slightly and her skirt too far up her thighs for a professional meeting. Her Y/E/C were shining with mischief as she purred, “Hey Sam.”

Sam looked up towards Y/N and shook his head, “It’s Dr. Winchester now.” He grabbed the handle of his briefcase and sighed, “Last night was a mistake. I didn’t know you were a student.”

She pouted slightly, exaggerating her plump and glossed lips, “Oh c’mon Sam, we had a lot of fun last night. I don’t see why me being your student has to stop this.”

He scoffed, “Our relationship needs to remain professional from here on out. I could lose my job if this continued and we got caught.” He began to walk away from her before stopping halfway up the lecture hall aisle, “Please, Y/N. Respect me, respect this.”

He turned back around, walking out of the lecture hall and missing the roll of Y/N’s eyes. He wiped at his sweat drenched forehead as he walked out of the building towards his car. As he slid into his driver’s seat and started the ignition, he shook his head at the last 24 hours of his life.

He hadn’t been teaching 12 hours before already, unknowingly, getting himself into a scandal.

As he drove the short ride home, he thought about what to do next. He couldn’t kick Y/N out of his class without a valid reason and he knew that she’d do everything to not get kicked out. He just had to maintain distance from her. He had to keep things professional.

He was a professor. She was a student.

He pulled into his driveway and shut off his car with a final sigh. He just didn’t know he was going to make sure Y/N kept her distance.

He knew that she wouldn’t.

Sam showered, made dinner, and drank a beer as he watched tv for the rest of the night, trying to calm his nerves from the day before heading to bed.

As he crawled in between cotton sheets, he glanced at his alarm clock making sure the small red alarm clock symbol showed above the current time on the black screen. He wanted to have a head start in the morning, heading in early to prepare for his classes and keep Y/N off his mind. He settled into bed and pulled his sheets up his chest before drifting to sleep.

Loud, shrill beeping jolted him awake. He groaned inwardly as he began to wake up, regretting his decision to get up and go in early, but he knew it was for the best. He rolled out of bed and headed towards the bathroom to get ready for the day.

He headed towards the shower, hoping a long and hot one would wake him up from his current half-awake state. His tired daze kept his mind from wandering as he showered, got out and dried off. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he walked back out into his bedroom and glanced at the clock on his bedside table. 5:19 am.

Sam sighed to himself, hurrying towards his closet to grab a suit and dress shirt. After some time deciding, he settled on a black suit and white dress shirt. Keeping it clean, simple, and most of all, professional.

After he was dressed, he glanced at the clock again. 5:25 am. He walked around his bed, grabbed his phone and headed out into the hallway towards his front door. He grabbed his worn, leather briefcase and left the house, locking the door behind him to start his day.

He parked outside of Straughn Hall, where his office was and looked around at the dimly lit campus. Early morning, the campus was like a ghost town. Professors rarely came in around this time and students surely weren’t out and about. Hell, most of them were probably going to bed now.

He got out of his car and saunted towards the building as his nerves began to build. He had no idea what would happen today. Would Y/N tell people? Would she try doing anything in public? Or would she actually respect his wishes and leave it all alone?

He sighed as he unlocked his office and turned on the overhead fluorescents. He threw his briefcase down beside his desk as he plopped into the office chair and turned his desktop on. He put his head in his hands as he listened to his computer whir to life. A light knock on his doorway made him jump.

Y/E/C colored eyes twinkled as he looked up. Damnit. Y/N twirled her Y/H/C between her fingers as he bit her lip softly. “Dr. Winchester? Can I speak with you?”

Sam sighed but nodded, “Shut the door.”

She obliged, quickly shutting the door before she laid her hands on his desk and bent over Sam. Sam eyed her for the first time that morning, noticing her v-neck white t-shirt and sweatpants. Even without showing off her figure, she was still breathtaking. Sam could easily take her over his desk, bury himself deep inside her and listen to her moan under him as he worked her towards her climax, but he needed to keep things professional.

Sam cleared his throat softly, “What do you need Y/N?”

She dramatically sighed and squeezed her arms together, making her cleavage more prominent, “I just can’t stop thinking about your Mr. Winchester. You created an itch in me. And it can’t be scratched without you.”

Sam sat back in his chair, resting his hands on his face in exasperation, “Y/N…” He trailed off before she rounded his desk. She knelt between his legs and ran her hands up his thighs softly as she purred, “C’mon Sam.” Her hands traveled up towards his groin, “I know you feel the same way I do.” She palmed him through his dress pants.

He groaned outwardly as he could feel his cock stir in his pants. “Y/N.” He grabbed her hands and removed them from himself, “We can’t do this.” He stood up and walked around his office as she remained kneeling on the floor, “Things need to be professional. There’s a lot on the line for me if we continued things.” He turned towards her, now standing with a slight pout on her lips, “I can’t lose my job Y/N.”

“We can be quiet. No one would know.” She stepped towards Sam as he shook his head, “I won’t tell anyone. We can keep things between us, sneak around.”

“It’s too risky Y/N.”

Y/N wrapped her arms around his torso softly, “You can’t tell me that this doesn’t feel right.” She sighed, “We may not know much about each other but this,” she squeezed his sides with her arms, “this feels more right than anything I’ve ever experienced in my life.” She looked up towards Sam with adoration, “Just, let this happen Sam.” She leaned forward, connecting her lips with his.

The searing kiss clouded Sam’s mind, causing him to respond in ways he knew he shouldn’t have. But, she was right. It felt right.

Sam’s hands slid around her torso down towards her bottom, gripping the soft flesh and lifting her up. Her legs wrapped around his hips as he walked towards his desk and set her down. His hands roamed her body as he playfully bit her lip. A small moan escaped her lips as Sam groped her chest.

He kissed down her neck as his hands trailed down to the hem of her shirt. He tugged the thin cotton material over her head and continued the trail he began with his lips working his way down her body, his head moving with every heave of her chest.

Sam’s hands tugged at her sweatpants as his lips focused on her breasts, nibbling at her hardened nipples through the thin lace bra she was wearing. She lifted her hips, letting Sam rip her sweats off as he continued his ministrations on her chest before his fingers rubbed at her panty clad mound. He smiled to himself as he felt a wet spot on her underwear, “Wet for me already, baby?” She moaned in response as he moved her underwear to the side and dipped a finger into her soaked sex. He groaned as he moved to unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants. As his pants fell to his feet, he pulled his boxers down and released himself, pumping a few times before he lined up with her entrance. “You ready?”

She nodded eagerly, “Fuck me, Sam.”

He entered her slowly, reveling in the wet warmth that enveloped him tightly. “Fuck,” he groaned as he seated himself fully inside her before setting a rhythm. Y/N moaned loudly, making Sam cover her mouth tightly and shush her as he continued. “We can’t let anyone hear us.”

She nodded quickly in understanding as he continued. He took his hand off her mouth and watched her bit her lip to hold in her noises, which only spurred him on further.

He could feel her climax nearing as she began to clench around him before his office door flew open.

“Sam, I wanted to- OH!”

Sam turned around to see the head of the department, Castiel Novak, in his doorway. He stopped and quickly pulled at his underwear, “Sir! This isn’t what it looks like.”

Castiel shook his head, “BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!”

Sam looked at him confused, “What?”

Castiel’s mouth opened once more, “BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!”

Sam shot out of bed, sweat drenched and hit the snooze button on his alarm. “Fuck.” He rubbed at his face, unsticking sweaty locks from his skin, “It was a dream.” He groaned as he flopped back against his pillow, “Things are just going to get worse from here.”

Tags:

FOREVER TAGS:

@emoryhemsworth , @nanie5 , @gabrielslittleangel, @alexwinchester23 , @witch-of-letters , @caswinchester2000 , @justawaywardwinchester , @thehufflepuffblog , @missihart23 , @spnfamily-alwayskeepfighting, @mogaruke, @supernaturalsammy01, @heyitscam99, @hobby27, @frozenhuntress67, @duskany, @mazie87 , @tumbler-tidbits , @mersuperwholocked-lowlife, @asfanfiction , @emilyshurley , @zephyrie , @ghostshadow1312 , @wholockmerlinlover, @singers-auto, @lokilove3112, @teddybeardoctorr, @sleepylunarwolf

SAM/JARED X READER TAGS:

@andyl394, @rebelminxy, @jointhehunt67 , @xxtheoutsidersxx , @paradoxical-sleep ,

REPRIMANDED:

@the-is13 ,

[profoundnet]

Profound Member Post - February 2019

Header by @cryptomoon​ and is available on merch from her redbubble store. You can use all those fancy emojis (and more!) on our Discord Server!

The Masterpost is open for all creations by ProfoundBond members which are posted in entirely during that month.

MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS FOR FEBRUARY 2019!

Masterpost below the cut.

MaggieMaybe160 - @maggiemaybe160​ - MaggieMaybe160 (Pillowfort)

Listen To Me

Summary: Amara was given the thing she needed most so she gives Dean what he needs. What if John Winchester came back instead of Mary?

Tags: Major Character Death, Graphic Violence, Heavy Angst

SFW

Wandering Angel

Summary:  From a prompt: When Sam and Dean died, Cas was still exiled.

Tags: Major Character Death mentioned, Heavy Angst, Song Fic

SFW

Come Into My Office

Summary: Castiel goes to work for Sandover when Zachariah kidnaps and brainwashes Sam and Dean. An office romance blooms when Dean has to call Castiel into his office.

Tags: Episode: It's a Terrible Life, Explicit Sex, Top Cas/Bottom Dean, Fluff/Smut/Light Angst

NSFW

The Valentine’s Date

Summary: Cas sets up the perfect date to tell Dean how he feels on Valentine's Day.

Tags: Season 14 Spoilers, Love Confessions, Angst

SFW

Reprogrammed

Summary: Castiel can't tell what's real and what's the brainwashing from Naomi.

Tags: Major Character Death, Graphic Violence, Episode: Goodbye Stranger, Heavy Angst

SFW

The Secrets That You Keep

Summary: Dean Winchester is allergic to shellfish.

Tags: Major Character Death, Allergies, Heavy Angst

SFW

I Am The Nightmare

Summary: Dean has been having night terrors and Cas is trying to help him as they become more dangerous.

Tags: Graphic Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Real Events

SFW

Defeat the Night||BAMF!Destiel 

Summary: Supernatural Fan Video Tags: Demon Dean, BAMF SFW

casbean - @casbeanwrites​ - casbean

‘Til Dreams Do Us Part

Summary: Dean’s woken up in a hospital before. He doesn’t like it, but it’s part of the job. It happens. And he doesn’t mind it as much when the first thing he sees is his husband’s face. Castiel looks terribly grim, until he notices that Dean is awake. “Heya, sunshine,” Dean grins. His vision is still a little blurry and he flexes his fingers -- they still move. So do his toes. Good news. “Dean!” Sam enters his field of vision, the weary expression on his face morphing into relief. “Thank God, we didn’t know if--” “Hey, I’m fine.” Dean manages to stretch out his hand and pat Cas’ arm. “What happened?” “You don’t remember?” “Remember what?” “The Djinn got you. He kept you for five days, and your dream made him so strong he almost killed us both.”

Tags: Alternate Universe - Genie/Djinn, Djinn fic, Hurt/Comfort, Married Castiel/Dean Winchester, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending

NSFW

sharing

Summary: “This isn’t how I imagined we’d first share a bed,” Dean lets out without thinking about it.

Tags: Case Fic, Sharing a Bed, Mutual PiningHurt/Comfort, Human Castiel (Supernatural), Canon Compliant

SFW

spunk

Summary:  “The spell calls for… angelic… um. Spunk.” “Spunk?” “Yeah, y’know.” “I don’t,” Cas frowns. “Sperm, Cas. We need your jizz for the spell.”

Tags: Fuck Or Die, Mutual Pining, First Time, First Kiss, Blow Jobs, Case Fic, Canon Compliant

NSFW

unlucky swap

Summary: “Dude, what the fuck did I say?” Sam huffs. And rolls his eyes. And despite the fact that it’s been over two weeks, Dean’s heart still squeezes at how Cas that gesture is. Because, well, it is Cas. Just stuck in the sasquatch body of Dean’s humongous brother.

Tags: Body Swap, Established Relationship, Married Castiel/Dean Winchester, Case Fic

SFW

Duck and Berries

Summary: A story about a meet cute, a duck confit, and a small matter of mistaken identity.

Tags: First Meetings, Falling In Love, team switch, Castiel and Jimmy Novak are Twins, Misunderstandings, Angst with a Happy Ending

NSFW

MalMuses - @malmuses​ - MalMuses (Pillowfort)

The Greatest International Love Story the World Has Ever Seen

Summary: Dean wasn’t the type of person who did this kind of thing. He just wasn’t. GISH?? Ugh. The whole thing was just further proof that Dean would do anything his brother wanted him to do. Why else would he be in a Stormtrooper costume, calling up his ex-girlfriend for a private yoga class? Had he been stuck in a rut that long? Given that he’d been pining for the same freakin’ guy, his professor and coworker no less, for three long years… maybe. Cas was definitely the type of person who did this kind of thing, not that many people knew that. He was one of the most well-respected professors at KSU. His students and coworkers didn’t need to know that he was captain of a GISH team, or that he knitted kinky accessories and made art with his online friends. His TA certainly didn’t need to know either. Just professionalism, of course. Nothing at all to do with the failed attempt at a relationship, three years of pining, and frequent inappropriate daydreams. A two-person love triangle with online friendships, costumes, and a lot of glitter.

Tags: AU - Modern Setting, Two person love triangle, Comedy of Errors, GISH, Mutual Pining, Dean Cas Pinkest 2019

NSFW

With accompanying art by blueeyesandpie (@blueeyesandpie​) 

drawlight - @drawlight - drawlight  (Pillowfort)

The Crane In White 

Summary: Once upon a time, there was a little crane who fell in love with a human. He prayed every night to be made human to be with his love. Once upon a time, Dean Winchester finds a white crane.

Tags: Fairytale, Falling In Love, Romance, Creature Castiel, Pining

NSFW 

EllenOfOz - @ellen-of-oz​ - EllenOfOz

Dark Blue, Dark Blue

Summary: Written for Dean/Cas Pinefest 2019. In late 2006, Castiel and Dean are in the same guild and raid team in the online game, Moondoor. They only know each other by their character names: Niteryder and Thorsangel, but they hang out and chat whenever they’re not raiding. Dean is baffled though—no matter how much time they spend talking online, Angel never reveals anything about himself. That’s because Castiel is in hiding. At school he hides behind his emo image and stays as invisible as he can, but online he’s got to be extra-vigilant. He can’t reveal anything about himself to Ryder, as much as he might like to—doing so would risk bringing trouble down on himself and his mom. There’s something about Ryder that makes him easy to talk to, though. But outside of the game, ghosts from Castiel’s family’s past are out for revenge, and going back to Lawrence, KS to visit his friend Meg could put him in danger.

Tags: Alternate Universe - High School, MMORPGs, Gamer Castiel, Emo Castiel, Mutual Pining, Bi-Curious Dean Winchester, Long-Distance Friendship, Friends to Lovers

SFW

deaniewithalittleweanie - @deaniewithalittleweanie - deaniewithalittleweanie

Valentine’s Day 2019

Summary: Dean and Sam find a strange case in Chicago about a couple who confessed their long concealed crushes on one another and both had heart attacks during the throes of passion. Castiel tags along to investigate.

Tags: First Kiss, First time, Love Confessions, Case Fic

NSFW

Building Up

Summary: As Dean and Castiel's relationship progresses, Castiel realizes that Dean hasn't exactly had safe practices in the BDSM world, and now it's Castiel's job to show him the ropes...pun intended.

Tags: Dom Castiel, Sub Dean, BDSM, Punishment Scene, Aftercare

NSFW

NadiaHart - @hartlessfiction​ - NadiaHart (Pillowfort)

Thunder in The Library

Summary: Castiel’s work as the Head Librarian of The Grand Library of Magic and Lost Artifacts has him away on a last minute trip for far longer than he anticipated. By the time he returns, there’s a certain book who’s less than pleased with his inability to keep his word.

Tags: Magical Castiel, magic is known, Curses, Cursed Dean Winchester, Magical Dean Winchester, Fluff, Tooth Rotting Fluff, Librarian Castiel (Supernatural)

SFW

robotsnchicks - @robotsnchicks​ - robotsnchicks

Gimme The News 

Summary: Dr. Novak crosses his arms and glares at Dean from across the room. “If you think there’s a foreign object lodged in your rectum then I suggest you go to the emergency room so they can take an x-ray and properly address the situation.” Dean sucks his lower lip in and then releases it into a pout. “Aw c'mon doc. I've got a ten dollar copay here. If I go to the hospital I'm looking at a couple hundred minimum.” He spends some time admiring the strong length of the doctor's hands. “Besides I'd much rather have my favorite doctor’s fingers in me than some stranger at the ER.”

Tags: Doctor!Cas, Patient!Dean, Medical Kink, Humor and Smut

NSFW

Aceriee - @missaceriee​

Grand Gestures

Summary: Valentine’s Day art

SFW

EmiliaOagi - EmiliaOagi

Presenting Dean Winchester

Summary:  Dean finally start presenting his secondary gender, and Castiel has an unexpected reaction to Dean's new scent. A somewhat different take on a/b/o, set in a canon-divergent universe somewhere around season 8/9

Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Fluff and Smut, Hand Jobs, Omega Dean Winchester, Alpha Castiel

NSFW

elanor-n-evermind - @elanor-n-evermind​ - elanor-n-evermind

Pride Flags of the Oddly Shaped Empty A/B/O Universe

Summary: Secondary pride flags inspired by Jemariel's fic Oddly Shaped Empty

Tags: A/B/O dynamics, genderqueer, beta Dean, alpha Castiel

SFW 

iCeDreams - iCeDreams

Dean's Top 13 Zepp Traxx

Summary: Dean's love language is told not in words, but in songs. In the notes of his favorite rock band and the rhythm of their melodies. His longest unfinished work is composed of Led Zeppelin songs, chosen for the feelings they evoke. It's Dean's life, reflected into one mix and shared carefully in hopes that he would be heard and understood.

Tags: Canon Compliant, Dean's Top 13 Zepp Traxx Mixtape, Inspired by Music, John Winchester's A+ Parenting

SFW

Darmys - Darmys

Long Road Home: Unto the Breach 

Summary: Sam and Dean set out on a journey of danger and discovery. Joining forces with a band of outcasts and rebels, they plan to strike a blow for freedom against the vast and powerful empire which stole Bobby from them. This is the second part of a massive space opera trilogy. Based on the original work of Alis A. Rasmussen.

Tags: Alternate Universe - The Highroad Trilogy, Alternate Universe - Space Opera, Past Benny Lafitte/Dean Winchester, Past Dean Winchester/Nick Munroe, Robot!Baby, Canon-Typical Deaths, Canon-Typical Violence, Referenced Past Rape/Non-con, Period-Typical Racism, Revolution

SFW

Salt-And-Silver - Salt-And-Silver

The Thief

Summary: The Empty’s threats echoed through his mind. Every rare happy moment, clouded with the reminder that he couldn’t let himself feel too much.

Tags: Major Character Death, One Shot, Heavy Angst, Angst & Tragedy, Love Confessions 

SFW

supernatural9917 - @supernatural9917fic​ - supernatural9917

Into This

Summary: Dean is finally going to confess his love to his best friend. He gets quite a bit more than he bargained for. Written for the Destiel Smut Bingo 2018. Square fill: 'I didn't know you were into this.'

Tags: AU, Friends to Lovers, Cas is a professional dom, mention of past Castiel/Meg, mention of Castiel/others in a professional D/s context, These two idiots have been pining for years, Light Dom/sub

NSFW

De-stressing Mr Smith 

Summary: Dean Smith's stoner hippie neighbour Castiel thinks Dean is wound up way too tight, and offers him a couple of different methods to de-stress. Written for the Destiel Smut Bingo 2018. Square fill: Endverse!Cas/Dean Smith Tags: Endverse Cas/Dean Smith, Castiel Acts Like Endverse Castiel, Dean Smith, Episode: s04e17 It's a Terrible Life Sort Of, Castiel and Dean Winchester are Neighbors

NSFW

For Science

Summary: Dean signs up to take part in a science experiment studying brain activity during arousal and orgasm. Jerking off to porn for money? Sounds like his dream job! Things get a little more complicated when the person running the study turns out to be his secret crush, Cas. Written for the Destiel Smut Bingo 2018. Square filled: For science.

Tags: for science, Exhibitionist Dean Winchester, Science, Scientist Castiel, Accidental Voyeurism that's a little bit on purpose

NSFW

Double Deaned 

Summary: Tomorrow, they're gonna kill the devil. Tonight... well, they've got other plans. Written for the Destiel Smut Bingo 2018. Square filled: Endverse Sandwich (2014!Dean/2014!Cas/2009!Dean)

Tags: Endverse sandwich, Threesome - M/M/M, Angst, Endverse Dean is a dick, implied breath play

NSFW

And the Academy Award Goes To....

Summary:  It's Oscar season! Will the Academy give Whisper Its Name the recognition it deserves? A Red Carpet Chronicles timestamp.

Tags: Red Carpet Chronicles, Timestamp, Alternate Universe - Actors, Oscars, Chick-Flick Moments, Fluff, Mountains and mountains of fluff, Cas is so proud

SFW 

Accompanying art by delicious-irony

dean-cas-in-the-impala - @dean-cas-in-the-impala​ - dean-bangs-cas-in-the-impala

Fortunato

Summary: Cas finds a kitten. Dean is not happy. But for how long?

Tags: Fluff, Fluff and Romance, Domestic Destiel, Destiel in the bunker, kitten fic

SFW

Will You Bee Mine?

Summary: Whatever Castiel bakes just tastes heavenly.

Tags: Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Romance, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff

SFW

insominia - @a-insominia​ - insominia

Roadside Assistance

Summary: Dean Winchester is probably the most decent human being Castiel has ever met, not to mention gorgeous. But, Castiel has more baggage than an airport terminal and Dean's only being kind because Castiel broke down in a snowstorm and nothing is going to happen. Probably nothing.

Tags: AU - Modern Universe, Attempted Kidnapping, Strangers to Lovers, Love at First Sight, Fluff and Smut

NSFW

My Brother, Dean

Summary: Sam Winchester doesn't know much about Dean's secret other-half. He only has half a name to go on 'Cas'. Whoever she is, she's probably a gorgeous brunette who loves beer and pie and Sam doesn't care that Dean wants to keep her a secret, he's just glad his brother is happy. It was going to happen eventually and Dean invites Sam out, probably with an eye to introducing them at last. Nothing goes to plan and it turns out Sam knows nothing.

Tags: AU - Modern Setting, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Coming Out, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, Implied Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Family Fluff

SFW

Chick-Flick Moment

Summary: Dean wants to do something nice for Cas, but what do you get an angel of the lord to show your appreciation? Enter: Sam, with the great idea of 'how about you ask him if there's anything he wants?' Which is fine until Cas says, 'I want a chick-flick moment.' But Dean said he'd do anything and he intends to deliver.

Tags: Date Night, Romance, Fluff

SFW 

I'm Just Not Myself (When You're Away)

Summary: It's been three years now and Dean hasn't said a word. He left so much unsaid so now he says nothing.

Tags: Angst, Post-Canon, Forgetful Dean Winchester, Growing Old, SFW 

The Hunter’s Church

Summary: The gates of heaven are closed to Castiel and not even his voice can penetrate it. After the Winchesters have passed Castiel still hunts and the new hunters sometimes pray to the legendary guardian angel of hunters. He always comes when they call and all he ever asks in return is that when they pray they pass on a message - I'm safe and I love you.

Tags: Future Fic, Post-Canon, Family Feels, Angst and Feels

SFW

All in a Name

Summary: It's 5 am and Castiel wants a coffee. It's surely not an unreasonable request.

Tags: AU - Coffee Shop, Meet-Cute, First meetings, fluff

SFW

Fifty Shades of Cas

Summary: Castiel asked Dean to show him what 'Fifty Shades of Grey' meant. Dean has only the vaguest idea what those excuse-for-soft-porn-in-chick-flicks are actually about but he's not one to back down from a challenge. Unfortunately for him, Castiel knows exactly what 'Fifty Shades of Grey' means and is happy to illustrate the gaps in his knowledge.

Tags: Dom/Sub Play, Fifty Shades of Grey Bashing, Misunderstandings, Frottage, Oral Sex, Restraints

NSFW

zipegs - @ghstfcers - zipegs

Refraction 

Summary: A collection of 100-word drabbles as prompted by the Profound Bond Discord’s weekly challenge. Each chapter will correspond to a one-word prompt, with at least one stand-alone drabble per chapter.

SFW

Like Salvation 

Summary: That’s the kicker, isn’t it? The moment Dean wants to keep fighting is the moment it’s no longer an option.

Tags: Episode: s14e12 Prophet and Loss, 14x12 coda, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, First Kiss, cas and dean get the emotional moment they deserve

SFW 

PallasPerilous -@pallasperilous - PallasPerilous 

Twenty Questions

Category: General

Summary: Dean is AWOL, so Cas rides shotgun. Sam does his best to fill the silence with an entirely academic inquiry into the nature of Enochian pronouns and their relation, or lack thereof, to the gender of human vessels.

...it's more fun than it sounds.

Tags: Castiel & Sam Winchester, Ficlet, Angel Gender, Angel True Forms, POV Sam, Conversations in the Impala

SFW

Demon!Castiel

Category: General

Summary: Demon!Castiel for @bisexualdemondean

Tags: Demon!Castiel, AU, tailored suiting is hot

SFW

Canadduh - @canadduh - canadduh (Pillowfort)

Never, Always, Forever

Summary: He knew that drinking games were bad news. Especially drinking games that involved him, Cas, and a few too many shots of tequila.

Tags: Never Have I Ever, Bottom Dean Winchester, Top Castiel, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Fluff and Smut, Angst, Post-Coital Cuddling, Come Eating

NSFW 

[dpinoycosmonaut]

NADAL SHOWS DEPTH OF HIS GAME, NOW GOES FOR UNREACHED HEIGHTS

by Bert A. Ramirez / October 19, 2020

This photo collage shows Rafael Nadal’s 20 Grand Slam titles from the first one he won at the French Open in 2005 to the latest he captured in the same event.  (Photos by Getty Images)

                 The recent French Open, which was won in dominant fashion by Rafael Nadal for a record-extending 13th time, giving him a 20th Grand Slam victory that ties Roger Federer for the all-time mark, is a testimony to the depth of the Spanish superstar’s game, his flexibility and his ability to find ways to get the edge over his rival, even if it was his No. 1 adversary Novak Djokovic.

               Once the dust of his 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 finals victory over Djokovic had settled down, it was clear that he was able to beat the Serbian world No. 1 in such a fashion only because of the changes in strategy and tactics that he employed precisely to negate his rival’s great returning game and all-court brilliance.

               First, Nadal utilized the “first strike strategy,” so-called because it is designed to shorten rallies by striking early to try to end them, in contrast to his usual grinding game that would have allowed Djokovic a better chance to strike back in longer exchanges.  The numbers bear this out, with Rafa clobbering Djokovic in rallies that were no more than four shots long 53-25.  These rallies ended most often on the third shot, when a point was scored 32 times, and it was during these rallies where Rafa had the greatest edge over Novak, scoring 25 points coming from eight winners, 16 unforced errors and one forced error to Djokovic’s seven.

               “This is the biggest change in Rafa’s strategy in these finals,” fellow Rafa faithful Yuri Munsayac said.  “Di na siya yung grind-out, pahabaan at patagalan, he was being aggressive na to end rallies early.”

               Former world No. 1 and eight-time Grand Slam winner Ivan Lendl also said Nadal was unusually aggressive with his down-the-line forehand and crosscourt backhand, which prevented Djokovic from using his normal patterns.  He also mentioned the “moonballs” that Nadal resorted to at times as a way of throwing Djokovic off his normal rhythm.

                "Few things stuck out right away from the beginning of the match," Lendl said.  "No. 1 – Rafa was using his forehand down the line a bit more than he usually does.  No. 2 – his backhand crosscourt was extremely aggressive.  Rafa was looking to be aggressive and not let Novak sit in the backhand corner.

               "And the third, which was interesting.  Anytime Rafa was in big trouble, he would throw up a lob, make up and get back into the point because Novak wasn't putting the overhead away.  It was part of the strategy.  Novak's overhead is not his best shot.  He prefers to place it rather than hit it.  If you are as quick and defend as well as Rafa, you get back into the point, and Rafa was very successful at that," the Czech-American, now 60, added.

               Indeed, Nadal just showed how flexible he could be in these finals, especially because the conditions this time at Roland Garros were different from those in previous editions he dominated – cold, heavy weather instead of the hot summer after the event was moved from its usual May-June schedule because of the coronavirus pandemic, closed roof because of the rainy weather, and new balls that did not bounce as high as Rafa wanted because they absorbed more moisture and clay.  In addition to these, Nadal himself lacked the preparation that he usually had, having played just three matches since the tour resumed after losing to Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open, and he thus had to use the earlier part of the tournament just to establish his rhythm.

               And he was up against a rival, the top-ranked Djokovic, who holds the only winning record against him in head-to-head matchups (29-27 after this event) and who was unbeaten in 37 previous matches this year, excluding that fourth-round default at the US Open when he accidentally hit a lineswoman with the ball.

               But from the start, Nadal showed who was the master on the terre battue in Paris.  Djokovic led a total of only five times throughout the finals, four of them in the third set where he made a fight of it, but when the Serbian came on the verge of taking that set at 5-4, Rafa quickly regained control with a hold. He then broke Nole for the last time on the 11th game, the seventh time he broke his rival in this contest, to regain the lead at 6-5 before serving out the match at love, culminating one of the best performances of his glorious career with a whizzing, almost poetic 166-kilometer-per-hour ace.

               In the end, the numbers said it all, with Nadal beating Djokovic in almost every statistic, including games won (19-7, which, in effect, was a good payback for the 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 whipping Djokovic gave him in last year’s Australian Open finals), points won (106-77), break points (7/18-1/5), receiving points won (50-28), service points won (56-49), winners (31-38), unforced errors (14-52), aces (4-1), and double faults (1-4).

               The victory at Roland Garros, which made Nadal only the second man after Federer and the fifth player along with Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams to have reached 100 victories in a single Grand Slam with 100 (against just two losses), has not only given Rafa an advantage in the ongoing debate of who is the greatest player of all time, but has also put him in a position to extend what he has accomplished to unreachable levels.

               He has now extended his lead over Djokovic and Federer in head-to-head matchups in Grand Slam events, leading Novak 10-6 in such meetings and Roger 10-4.  He has also improved his record in Grand Slam finals to 20-8, ahead of Roger’s 20-11 and Novak’s 17-10.  Nadal is of course 13-0 in French Open finals and has some work to do particularly in Melbourne, where he has lost four times in the finals while winning just once.

               But the 34-year-old Rafa has become the player with the most number of Grand Slam titles after turning 30 with six, surpassing Djokovic who has five. Federer, Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall have four each.  And Rafa is now the only men’s player in history to have won a major title four times without dropping a single set, also doing it in Paris in 2008, 2010 and 2017. Only Bjorn Borg with three and Federer with two have done it multiple times.

               Whatever is next for Rafa could only add to those lofty accomplishments, if what he showed at Roland Garros is to be the gauge.  Could he do it and further raise the standards for his closest adversaries to match?  Don’t bet he won’t.

Rafa Nadal goes to his family’s box and meets the three most important women in his life: his wife Maria Francisca, mother Ana Maria, and sister Maria Isabel.  (Photo from rafaelnadalfans.com)

[smartgirlsaremean]

The Wedding Planner - Chapter 11

Fandom: OUAT

Pairing: Rumbelle, side of Swanfire

Rating: N/R

Summary: Wedding planner Alan Gold doesn't have much faith in romance, and little to none in marriage. A chance encounter with sweet librarian Belle French has him almost reconsidering his beliefs until he receives a nasty shock: she's the bride in the most important wedding of his career.

AO3

Chapter 11: Gold has a few strange conversations, and thinks that finally, FINALLY things might start to go his way for once.

“The...movie guy?” Gold asked weakly.

“Belle told me,” Gaston said. He sounded slightly stunned. “I mean, she didn’t tell me it was you, but she told me she...met someone.”

“That could be true of anyone, Mr. Lefleur.”

“Anyone who likes Westerns and knows more about my fiance than I do, sure. But that’s a pretty short list.” After a brief silence, during which Gold still couldn’t quite muster the courage to look his former client in the eye, Gaston huffed. “So...this isn’t a thing for you, is it? Getting all cozy with…”

“No!” Gold exclaimed, startled into meeting the younger man’s stare. “It wasn’t... we weren’t...it was...just a movie.” Gaston crossed his arms, and Gold’s hand twitched on his cane. “You’ve no reason to believe me, but...nothing happened. It didn’t...mean anything.”

“I saw you two days later,” Gaston said flatly, “and you were still all moony over her. And when you met her as Izzy you didn’t say anything. If it didn’t mean anything, why lie?”

Gold sighed and pushed one hand through his hair. “It seemed...impolitic to mention it. You clearly didn’t know, and it wasn’t...my place.”

“Right. Why would the wedding planner want to talk to the bride and groom about their relationship? Totally not your business at all.”

“My job was to get you married.”

Gaston raised his eyebrows, and something in Gold snapped. He was so damn tired of pretending, of acting like he hadn’t hated every moment of the last two weeks, of smiling and nodding and carrying around the weight of a secret that was, apparently, a secret no longer. And after all, what could the boy do to him now? Fire him?

“Fine,” Gold growled. “It wasn’t nothing. I liked her, a’right? I had every intention of seeing her again until she appeared as your fiance.” He stalked around the desk and approached Gaston, his temper bubbling when the boy merely looked back at him, a faint smirk on his face. “It drove me crazy, watching you bulldoze your way through this wedding, ignoring what very few suggestions she felt comfortable making. She nearly cried at the cake tasting because she didn’t know what you wanted. She damn near passed up her dream wedding dress because it wouldn’t match the theme you’d decided on.” He took a deep breath, feeling a bit of savage satisfaction in the way the light in Gaston’s eyes had dimmed somewhat and his smirk faded. “That day at the vineyard? She didn’t wander off the path. She was pulled off of it by the groundskeeper and very crudely propositioned, and you were so busy ogling the proprietor you didn’t even notice she was gone.” Gaston’s eyes widened and he tried to interrupt, but Gold held up one hand. “She’s been miserable every moment, and I was the one who saw it all, who was dressing her for the moment she would walk down that ostentatious aisle in that gigantic park in front of five hundred strangers and promise to love, honor, and cherish you until death did you part. So you’ll forgive me,” he finished with a sneer, “if I’m not exactly keen to discuss her with you.”

“Easy,” Gaston said quietly. “I know I was a jerk, okay? But I didn’t do anything to deserve the two of you sneaking around behind my back.”

 “We weren’t sneaking around,” Gold snapped. “Nothing…”

“... happened.” Gaston shook his head. “You both keep saying that, but it’s not true, is it? Something definitely happened. Maybe nothing major - like, I know you didn’t get physical or anything - but something. We wouldn’t be standing here otherwise, would we? We’d be laughing about the coincidence and moving on.”

An image of Belle’s tear-streaked face and glowing eyes swam in Gold’s head for a moment and he blinked. “I…”

“You fell for her, didn’t you?”

Gold rolled his eyes. “I thought we’d established that.”

“No, I mean you fell for her. You’re in love with her.”

Taking a deep breath, Gold prepared to deny it, but one look at Gaston’s face told him that would be fruitless. “Yes,” he said.

There was a moment of silence, and then Gaston started to chuckle. “Man, this is the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had.” The chuckles turned to genuine laughs, and Gold couldn’t help a small smile despite everything. Twenty years in this business, and he’d never had a conversation quite like this one.

When Gaston’s laughs died down, the silence in the office seemed much less thick and thorny, and Gold breathed a little more easily. The boy didn’t seem as if he were about to threaten to sue him for breach of contract or blacken his name in the business, and if he could just convince him to leave before he asked anymore awkward questions…

“So what now?”

Like that one.

“What do you mean?” Gold asked.

“Belle made it sound like you weren’t into her, but obviously you are, so…”

“What exactly did she tell you?” Now that it seemed she hadn’t divulged the worst of their secrets, he was less wary of what she’d said.

“That she’d met someone she liked a little too much, considering she was supposed to be marrying me, and that she’d seen him since but ‘nothing happened.’” Gaston punctuated the last two words with air quotes, and Gold rolled his eyes. “And she said the guy didn’t want her but she knew calling it quits was the right thing to do. Why does she think you don’t want her?”

“Perhaps because you were my client and I wasnae exactly broadcasting my feelings for all to see?” Gold asked dryly.

“Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” Gaston scratched his head. “But since you do…”

“No,” Gold said quickly.

“Wait. You don’t?”

“Don’t be daft, of course I do. But she doesn’t.”

“She...doesn’t? How do you…”

“Well, for one thing, if you’re her type, I most definitely am not,” Gold pointed out. “For another, she...she was unhappy. And I was...there.”

“So?”

“It wasn’t real.”

Gaston shrugged. “Look, I’m obviously no expert on Belle’s feelings. I don’t know for sure that she’s in love with you, but you don’t know for sure that she’s no .” He shook his head when Gold made to argue. “Take it from me, man, it’s not a great idea to assume you know how someone else feels.”

That brought Gold up short. The boy had a point. Gaston nodded once when he realized he’d won that round and finally, blessedly, turned to leave.

“Just so you know, I’m not letting this go,” he said as he opened the door. “That Blue chick said some seriously messed up stuff, and I don’t think you’re the only person she’s done this to. If I can scare up some more evidence against her, would you testify?”

Gold began to nod, but then hesitated. “Actually, my daughter-in-law might be of some help,” he said. He scribbled Emma’s name and number on the back of one of his own cards. “She’s a bailbondsperson and she mentioned that she had some information. Mind you, I don’t know how much of it was legally obtained, but perhaps she can at least get you on the right track.”

“Awesome.” Gaston pocketed the card and held out his hand. “Pleasure doing business with you, Goldie. Next time I get married, maybe I’ll look you up.”

“Don’t bother,” Gold said dryly. “If I never plan a wedding again, it’ll be too soon.” He grinned as Gaston walked away, the sound of the younger man’s laughter echoing in the empty lobby.

Alone in his office at last, Gold felt the last of his energy drain away. He slumped in his chair and stared at the open door, watching as his colleagues - soon to be      ex    -colleagues - began to trickle in. Each face came with a name, but Gold realized suddenly that he didn’t actually know any of them. Stefan was from - Italy, perhaps? He had no idea, and never had. Tink’s accent gave her away as Australian, and there were a few other planners and assistants who could have hailed from other lands. He recalled Blue’s threat from a few weeks ago to deport Stefan, and he shuddered. At the time, it had seemed like a joke, but now...how could he be sure?

Gaston, at least, would follow through on his promise to investigate Blue’s business practices. If there was one thing Gold had learned about the boy, it was that he was impossible to shake off when he got an idea in his head, and Belle had intimated that his good intentions and passion for justice were qualities she admired, and Gold hoped she was right. Suddenly, simply leaving Fairy Tale Weddings and never looking back wasn’t enough. He wanted Blue to suffer.

“Mr. Gold?”

Gold looked up to see that Astrid, Esther’s timid, pleasant assistant, was hovering just outside his door.

“Yes, Miss Novak?”

“Ms. Blue asked me to bring you this.” She entered the room and held out a thick file. Gold took it and flipped through the contents briefly.

“Thank you, Miss Novak,” he said. “I’ll have them ready for her before noon.”

“Are - are you leaving us, Mr. Gold?” Astrid asked, her eyes wide.

“I am.”

“Wow,” Astrid whispered. “I’ve never known anyone to quit Fairy Tale Weddings before!”

Gold paused with his pen over a document. “Never?”

“No! I’ve been Miss Blue’s assistant for ten years. Either people retire or they’re - uh - let go. But no one ever quits.”

“Well, I have,” Gold said. He filed that information away, determined to drop Gaston a line. A business was expected to lose employees occasionally, wasn’t it? He looked up when Astrid still hovered above his desk, her face a picture of nervous solicitude. “Yes?”

“What will you do?”

Gold raised his eyebrows. “Whatever I want to do.”

“Whatever you want,” Astrid sighed. “That sounds wonderful.”

He hesitated, and then took Gaston’s card from the small file on his desk. “Miss Novak, if you need...assistance of any kind, or perhaps a friendly ear, do give this gentleman a call.”

“Gaston Lefleur? Wasn’t he the groom in the wedding you - I mean - the wedding that got canceled?”

“Yes.”

Astrid’s fingers hovered over the card and she met his eyes, her expression troubled. “Are - are you sure?”

“Absolutely. Tell him Goldie sent you.”

“Goldie?”

“It’s a very long, ultimately uninteresting story.” He gave the card a little shake. “Take it, dearie.”

Her hand trembling a little, Astrid took the card from him and tucked it into her jacket pocket. “I’ll be back at noon for the papers, Mr. Gold. Good luck.”

“Thank you, my dear. The same to you.”

  Two Weeks Later  

“Not bad, Rumple. Not bad at all.”

Gold looked up from his draft table to see that Jefferson was turning in a slow circle in the middle of the sales floor, admiring the set. As the shop was for custom couture, the ready-to-wear section was sparse, but a few of the simpler designs he’d created over the years were arranged on mannequins, and he’d had several of the photos of his previous wedding gowns magnified and framed so that they took up most of one wall.

“Do you have it?”

Jefferson grinned and made an elaborate gesture with his arms, beckoning him outside. Rolling his eyes, Gold rose and followed the younger man out to the front of the store, where a large wooden sign leaned against one of the display windows. It was draped in a white sheet, and Gold knew Jefferson had carefully planned this little production.

“Well?”

Jefferson frowned down at his phone and shook his head, holding up one finger. Gold huffed and reached for the sheet, but Jefferson slapped his hand away. “Patience, Rumple!”

“Yeah, Pops, what’s your hurry?” Neal grinned when Gold whipped around to see his family and Jefferson’s daughter Grace walking toward them. “What? Like we’d miss the big unveiling.”

“Golden Hat, though?” Emma asked, wincing. “I mean, no offense, but who in the world is going to go to a dress shop with a name like…” She cut off when Neal elbowed her. “But I mean...I guess those incredible dresses in the window might change their minds.”

“Ye of little faith,” Jefferson said, shaking his finger at her. “I’ll have you know Rumple and I had many a long, intense conversation about just what to name this little enterprise, and we came to an amicable compromise.” Off Emma’s disbelieving snort, he added, “Of a sort.”

“Can we please get on with this?” Gold asked. “Unlike some I could mention, I have work to do.”

Jefferson pressed one hand to his heart, his expression wounded, and Gold bit back another sigh. If Gold’s leaving Fairy Tale Weddings had caused a stir, Jefferson’s resignation had caused a positive maelstrom. Unlike Gold, however, Blue had no hold on Jefferson whatsoever, and so he had swanned into her office half an hour after Gold’s paperwork had been filed and given his two week’s notice. Her ire had been something to see, if Jefferson and Astrid were to be believed.

“Alright,” Jefferson said at last, frowning again at his phone. “I suppose we can get on with it. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it is our distinct pleasure to welcome you all to…” He whipped the sheet off the sign. “The Spinning Wheel!”

Gold blinked. “What...That isn’t what we agreed.”

“I know, but...you were right. Golden Hat was, to use Grace’s words, a dumb name.” Grace giggled when he ruffled her hair. “And anyway, this shop wouldn’t exist without you, so...The Spinning Wheel it is.” He crossed his arms and grinned. “Surprised?”

Gold nodded, an inexplicable lump rising in his throat as he took in the wording on the sign. It was in the shape of a single drive spinning wheel, “The Spinning Wheel” emblazoned on it in elegant script. Below, in smaller letters, were the words “Gold & Bucket.”

“It’ll do,” he said at last. Neal and Emma protested, reassuring Jefferson that the sign was beautiful and would draw in the very best customers, but Gold was distracted by the approach of a large van ambling down the street. The sides of the van were painted with the logo from Game of Thorns, and he wondered where he had heard that name before. The van’s brakes squealed as it pulled up in front of the shop, and the driver leapt out and strode purposefully around to the back of the van. Moments later he emerged with an enormous bouquet.

“Any of you named Gold?” he called.

Dumbstruck, everyone pointed at Gold, though technically nearly all of them could answer to that name.

“Here ya go,” the man said, holding the vase out to Gold, who took it automatically. The van had rattled off down the street before any of them had recovered from their surprise.

“That’s an...interesting combination of flowers,” Neal said, poking at an orange rose. “Weird color choices. Orange and purple?”

“Maybe let him put the flowers down before we grill him about them?” Emma said, brushing past Gold to open the door.

Gold walked into the shop and set down the vase, suddenly wishing that all of them would teleport back to their homes, because he had just remembered that Game of Thorns was the name of Belle’s father’s florist shops, and he would really rather not react to his first contact from Belle in weeks in front of his nosy, dramatic family. Neal and Jefferson were studying the bouquet with very serious expressions, and Emma was watching them, a look of fond exasperation on her face.

“Maybe whoever sent this just thought the flowers were pretty,” she said patiently.

“Nope, no self-respecting florist would combine these flowers for aesthetic,” Jefferson said, pointing out a pink camellia. “These flowers are sending a message.”

“So what is it?”

“I don’t remember what orange roses are for,” Neal said thoughtfully. “But we’ve got purple hyacinths - those are for apology - and irises - those are for ...courage?”

“They mean a lot of things,” Jefferson said. “Courage, hope, friendship…”

“And pink camellias, which mean,” Neal looked up and raised his eyebrows at his father, “longing.” Gold felt his face heat up. “What are orange roses, Jeff?”

“‘Proud of you.’” Jefferson grinned at Gold, his eyes gleaming. “I know who these are from,” he said in a singsong voice.

“So do I,” Emma said.

“What? How do      you     know?” Jefferson sounded very put out.

She held up a small white envelope. “I found the card.” With a smile she handed the card to her father-in-law. “Who’s Belle?”

[bigyack-com]

Novak Djokovic is calling the shots in world tennis - tennis

If men’s tennis was a family, then Novak Djokovic wouldn’t feel out of place at the head of the dinner table. For, the Serb is calling the shots in world tennis at the moment, asking the more senior members of the Big Three club—Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal—to not rest on their laurels if they wish to maintain their reign.Statistically as well as skillfully, the new world No. 1’s record eighth Australian Open triumph has ensured that the sport’s eternal GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) debate is not restricted to a two-way race.First, the numbers. Djokovic got his hands on Grand Slam No. 17 on Sunday, just two shy of Nadal’s tally of 19 and three off the leader of the pack, Federer (20). At 32 years old, Djokovic is the youngest of the three -- Nadal is 33 and Federer 38. Since the start of 2017, each of the year’s four Grand Slam titles has been shared by these three gentlemen, but dig deeper and you’ll find that while Nadal and Federer aren’t slowing down just yet, Djokovic is ramping up a couple of gears.Of the last 13 Grand Slams that the trio has won, Djokovic has won five, with Nadal taking five and Federer three. But the Serb’s five triumphs have come out of the previous seven Majors, an intimidating run of form since the 2018 Wimbledon that has seen only Nadal share the Grand Slam stage with him.TeetotallerDjokovic says he doesn’t drink alcohol, yet he is beginning to age like fine wine. The Serb’s last five Grand Slams have come after turning 30, making it the joint most number of Grand Slam singles titles won by any player after 30 alongside Nadal (Federer sits third with four).But more than statistical supremacy, Djokovic is showing who’s the boss on the court, where both Federer and Nadal have struggled to find ways to apply the brakes on the Serbian juggernaut.Take the most recent example of his Australian Open semi-final against Federer. The Swiss, not at his 100 per cent physically, came out swinging with the mindset of going for broke against a player who makes you earn every point. Federer raced to a 5-2 lead, but once a visibly shaken Djokovic gathered himself from the early onslaught, Federer was never in the contest, the Serb wrapping up the victory 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-3.Djokovic has been a perennial thorn for both his illustrious colleagues, enjoying a superior head-to-head record against Federer (27-23) as well as Nadal (29-26). But over the last few years, both these Djokovic rivalries have become overwhelmingly one-sided. Consider this: Since the start of the 2015 season, all of Djokovic’s victories against Nadal have come in straight sets, except the 2018 Wimbledon semi-final that went to five sets. In this period, the two have played each other 13 times, with Djokovic winning 10 of those encounters.His numbers with Federer are along similar lines, with Djokovic winning 10 out of the 14 battles between the two since 2015. The Swiss’s last Grand Slam victory over Djokovic came way back in the 2012 Wimbledon, although Federer came agonisingly close to ending the wait in the same event last year.But other than the odd tussle, it has largely been one-way traffic for Djokovic against the two heavyweights of the sport.“He (Djokovic) has been the best player in the world on hard the last couple of years,” Nadal said during the ATP Cup last month.“So to play against the best player is always difficult.”And it isn’t going to get any easier either. Despite possessing a near perfect and all-round game, Djokovic is constantly giving his skills a tweak, like he did with his second serve at this Australian Open. It was quicker, meaner and more threatening.“What I can do to still improve? There are many things on the tennis court that I can still improve. That excites me and motivates me to go day in, day out with my commitments, with my practice sessions, because there’s always something to work on, there are always more trophies to win,” Djokovic said after winning his eighth Aussie Open title.Unlike Nadal, Djokovic is not shy of stating that he is aiming for the sky, aiming to bag the most Grand Slam titles in history, aiming to become the best tennis player in the world. Going by his recent run of dominance, few would bet against it. Read the full article

[thisdaynews]

Australian Open: Roger Federer beats John Millman in final-set tie-break

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/australian-open-roger-federer-beats-john-millman-in-final-set-tie-break/

Australian Open: Roger Federer beats John Millman in final-set tie-break

Federer’s win was his 100th at the Australian Open

2020 Australian Open Venue:Melbourne ParkDates:20 January to 2 February Coverage:Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and online; Live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app.

Six-time champion Roger Federer survived a huge scare to beat unseeded Australian John Millman 10-8 in a final-set tie-break and reach the Australian Open fourth round.

The Swiss world number three won 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 4-6 7-6 (10-8) in an epic that lasted four hours three minutes.

Federer, 38, trailed 8-4 in the deciding tie-break – but won six points in a row to progress.

He will face Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in the fourth round.

Follow reaction to Federer’s thrilling victory

Live scores, schedule and results

Federer looked emotionally and physically drained after a contest which he eventually clinched at 00:50 local time in Melbourne.

Even his wife Mirka, who has witnessed plenty of emotional rollercoasters during her husband’s illustrious career, could barely watch as high-pressure moments came and went in a pulsating encounter.

Like the 15,000 people watching on Rod Laver Arena, and millions around the world, her face became contorted with strain as the match looked to be slipping out of Federer’s grasp.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner stared at defeat when he trailed 8-4 in the first-to-10 super tie-break which decides matches at the Australian Open.

But he dug in to seal an extraordinary win to cap a remarkable day five at the opening major of the year.

The win keeps alive Federer’s hopes of extending is record total of 20 major titles – with Rafael Nadal chasing on 19 and Novak Djokovic close behind both of them on 16.

Millman pushes Federer to the limit… again

Millman has now beaten Federer just once in their four meetings – at the 2018 US Open

Millman earned the best win of his career when he beat the flustered Federer in the 2018 US Open fourth round, in a match that will live long in the memory.

This match surpassed even that in terms of intensity and drama.

Millman pushed Federer to the limit on that humid night in New York and managed to do the same in Melbourne, in much cooler temperatures which did not sap the 38-year-old of his physical strength this time.

Federer could never put clear daylight between himself and an opponent who refused to back down – with Millman winning the first set and losing the next two before recovering to take the fourth.

“He’s just so tough from the baseline,” Federer said.

“He’s got good speed on the backhand and on the forehand. The way he hits makes me unsure if I should pull the trigger or I shouldn’t.

“I was not returning poorly. I was just not getting into those neutral rallies, finding the ways to unlock him. That’s his credit. He’s a great player.”

The Rod Laver Arena crowd usually gets fully behind Federer – but not this time, with the 15,000 fans in the stands split between the Swiss great and the Australian number three.

That division will unite almost wholly back in favour of Federer when he faces Hungary’s world number 67 Fucsovics on Sunday, where his biggest problem might be how he quickly recovers – mentally and physically – from this bruising battle.

‘If you understand tennis you will know’ – Millman not beating himself up about loss

Millman, a charismatic 30-year-old from Queensland, always seems to enjoy his moments in the spotlight, unsurprising after a long route to the big time following serious shoulder and groin injuries which left him close to quitting.

The Australian thrives against Federer, who was powerless to stop some unnerving winners – typified by two crackerjacks in the match tie-break – and could not cope with his second serve.

But only a second victory against a top-10 player in 16 attempts – the other also against Federer – was snatched from his grasp.

“What a match. John deserves half of this. He made it so difficult for me,” said Federer.

“He deserves all the support, he is a great story and a great fighter.”

Millman looked emotionally drained as he spoke to the media less than half an hour after the match ended, disappointed with the manner of his defeat but content he had “left it all out there”.

“Roger made it tough, that’s what all the best players do,” he said.

“If you’re engaged in 10, 20-ball exchanges, you ticked a few boxes. It is not as if it was double faults or first ball errors.

“I will cop it about that [letting the 8-4 lead slip] but if you understand tennis, you will know there was not a whole lot wrong. But it still hurts. I’d rather lose 10-5 or something.”

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[pherryt]

Soooo anyway im a total angst hound and ur like one of the best writers in this fandom?? So I have s prompt if ur willing:: DCJ ABO where Dean (Omega) gets assaulted and his Alpha mates jimmy and Cas take care of him in the aftermath ... pretty please? 😘😘

Oh my goodness – I don’t know how to take that?I mean that’s…that’s just really awesome of you to say! I know I’m not the bestout there, but that was really, really nice to hear right now! Thank you so much!

Okay, so this is long. (over 2000 words - i’ve noticed a pattern. Anything DCJ and anything different world building wise like ABO and the prompt always manages to get LONGER)

Also, it was kinda hard, subject wise. So for both reasons, I’mgonna put the majority of this behind a cut – okay? I hope you like it :D

 _____

“Dean’slate,” Jimmy said, biting his nails.

“Dean’salways late,” Cas replied. “You know how he gets when he starts talking aboutmovies, comic books or cars.” Castiel tried to ignore his brother and continuedto write. Well, tried to anyway. Jimmy was right. Dean was late.But he didn’t want to be one of those stereotypical, over protective Alphas.

Besides,Jimmy was doing quite enough of that for both of them. And Deancould take care of himself. It would do nobody good for Castiel to become anoverly panicked Alpha. Someone was going to have to remain calm and levelheadedenough to run interference between Jimmy and Dean.

Theirswasn’t the typical mating and if their biology hadn’t backed them up 100percent – mating bites just didn’t work if you weren’t compatible or if youwere already ‘taken’. If it hadn’t worked, and the people around them hadn’tjust blinked and shook their head in confusion - but otherwise leaving themalone about their ‘unusual’ relationship – the trio would have had a lot moreissues then they already had.

Andreally, who needed more of those?

Becauseas much as they loved each other, you had two Alpha’s and an Omega sharing thesame space, the same affections. It tended to create friction, occasionally. Theirplace was small, and with three men trying to out Alpha the other – well, itmade the place feel even smaller sometimes when the dominance games were playedout.

Ittook time, but they eventually found their rhythm, and each of them had an areaof the apartment which was unequivocably theirdomain. With that compromise in place, peace, for the most part, ruled. Despitethe stubborn tendencies of all three of them, or the insecurities Dean hadabout being an Omega.

TheNovak’s blamed his father for that.

Jimmy’shead perked up, derailing Cas’ train of thought, when he heard the roar of theImpala. The sound of it drifting up through the open window, even up threestories. It was a powerful car and Dean was proud of it. As he should be.

Casshook his head with a smile, finally looking up from his notebook, “I told youDean was fine.”

“Yeah,yeah,” Jimmy waved off his brother and darted into the kitchen where he’d kepttheir dinner warming. He dished out the steaming food to each of their plates,expecting to hear the door opening and the scuff of Dean’s work boots anysecond now.

Heplaced all the pots and pans and serving dishes back and took his seat at thetable, his brother joining him with a smile. Tonight was special. And they’djust been waiting for Dean to come home. It was most of the reason why Jimmyhad been so anxious about Dean being late. He glanced at the clock and hissmile wavered. He looked towards the door and then back at his brother.

“Doesn’ttake that long to get to the third floor,” Jimmy said in confusion.

“Maybethe elevator broke again?” Cas, ever calm, suggested.

Theyboth turned to face the door expectantly.

Deanknew he should have gone straight to the hospital.  But as soon as he’dmanaged to limp away from his…his attackers, all he could think of was thecomforting arms of his mates.

Butnow that he was here…he swallowed, a wave of dizziness washing over him as hestared out of the Impala’s front windshield and up to the window of theirapartment on the 3rdfloor, the light flooding out, warm andinviting.

Nowthat he was home, he was too ashamed to go inside, to admit how fucking weak he’dbeen. His breathing hitched, and he lifted a shaking, bleeding hand to coverhis mouth, though it didn’t stop the wrenching sobs or the tears that floweddown his face.

Dean’shead was killing him, his eyes were burning and now he couldn’t fucking breath. And that was only the tip of theiceberg. He looked and felt like a complete and utter wreck. He was bleedingfrom who knew how many wounds, he was sure some of his ribs were broken - possiblyhis left hand too, it sure as hell hurt enough - and he was afraid to put anyweight on his ankle again.

Deanhad literally collapsed into the Impala when he’d reached her and he just wasn’tsure he could make it another two feet.

Evenif he could stop crying long enough to find the courage to try.

Hewas a fucking mess and he knew it. And after what had happened…he just felt sodirty. He’d managed to get away – he still wasn’t sure how – before it could goany further but the intent had been clear. He felt sick.

Andif he felt this way, would Cas and Jimmy ever want him anywhere near them everagain?

Hewas stuck. Hurt and in pain – all he wanted was his mates. But with his shameand the fear curdling through him, Dean was afraid to reach out to them.

No,they loved him. He had to try.

Deanreached for the door and pushed at it weakly, groaning at the pain that shot upthrough his arm as he tried, the door refusing to budge. He dropped against itinstead, feeling dizzy again.

Wait.His phone. Did he still have it or had it fallen out of his pocket when…

Deanswallowed against another sob and bit his trembling lip to hold back more ashis hands awkwardly patted down his clothes, practically shreds. Finally, hecame up with his phone. But when he brought it to his face, he saw the screenwas cracked. He wanted to scream and toss the phone, but he didn’t have theenergy left for that.

Instead,he just let the phone slip out of his hand, let his lip slip out of his teethand sniffled, letting his heavy, burdened eyes close.

Thedoor creaked and shifted open slightly, a hand reaching in to grab at hisshoulder. Dean whimpered at the pain that shot through him.

“Dean!”the hand eased up but stayed in place so the door could be opened fully withoutworry of Dean falling out.

“Cas?”Dean tried to open his eyes. Instead, he winced and groaned, barely holdingback a scream as hands pulled him out of the car and jostled his ribs.

“Fuck,what happened?” Jimmy asked, panic, concern and anger in his voice.

Deanwinced and whimpered again, trying to shrink away. He hadn’t wanted them to seehim like this. What would they say?

“Jimmy,get the doors,” Cas ordered, appearing calm as usual, but Jimmy heard thetightness that denoted worry. A worry that Dean was too out of it to hear,though he was usually so attuned to the twins it could be scary.

Jimmyran ahead as Cas instructed and propped open the doors, running back to checkif his brother needed any help picking Dean up. Dean may have been bigger thanboth of them, but neither Cas nor Jimmy were weaklings. And right now, that wasa damn good thing.

Carefullypicking Dean up bridal style, Cas tucked Dean’s nose into his neck, hoping tosooth the roiling emotions that rolled off their mate in waves. “I’ve got him,Jimmy. I think you better get upstairs and get ready.”

Nodding,Jimmy darted up the stairs ahead of Cas, making sure every door was proppedopen that he could. There wasn’t much he could do about the elevator, though.

Heheaded straight for the excessively large first aid kit he kept in the bathroomand hauled it into the bedroom, yanking the blankets right off the bed. Once Dean’swounds were dealt with, they’d need the blankets to wrap him up in and neitherCas nor Jimmy were going to want to leave him long enough to search for cleanones.

Openingthe kit, he ran through his head what he’d seen – what was obvious and what wasmost likely and started prioritizing accordingly.

He’djust finished getting ready when Cas made it to the bedroom, gently laying Deandown. Dean didn’t want to let go. Now that he had his mates, now that he’d hadCas’s soothing scent in his nose, he clutched at Cas’s shirt, afraid to be leftbehind.

Casshot a heartbroken look at his brother. “What do I do?”

“Ineed your help, but we need to keep him calm even more. So, get up there andsupport him – just, hold him and don’t let him thrash. I think he has brokenbones.”

Castielwas never more grateful that his brother was an EMT than that night. He helped wherehe could, removing the clothing he could reach, holding bandages and continuingto sooth Dean who kept zoning in and out. Occasionally sobbing, sometimesflinching and crying out in pain.

Butas they uncovered more and more injuries that made clear what had happened,they also heard their mate apologizing, could smell the shame on him as hebegged them not to leave him.

“No!No, no, no, Dean,” Cas protested, his voice cracking, “No, oh god – we’re notleaving you! We’d never leave you!  Don’teven think it - we’re not mad at you. We’re here for you. Always. We love you. Thiswasn’t your fault – you have nothing to be ashamed of!”

Castielfelt tears welling up in his own eyes and a glance at Jimmy proved his brotherwasn’t doing much better. He was biting his lip to keep himself in control,something he’d learned from Dean and usually made Cas laugh.

Nottonight.

Jimmyfinally wrapped the last bandage and promptly shoved everything off the end ofthe bed, wasting no time in dragging a blanket up with him, helping Cas layDean out properly and tucking the blanket around their mate gently andcarefully.

Stillholding on to Cas, Dean reached for Jimmy, needing both of them now more thanever before. “Don’t leave me,” Dean whispered again, burying his face in Jimmy’sneck. He tried to turn, to twist and cried out at the sharp pain.

“Shhh…it’sokay, we got ya. Don’t move, okay? Please, Dean?” Jimmy whispered. Between them,the twins managed to maneuver Dean so he was curled up in his blanket, snugbetween his mates so he could soak in their love. Jimmy’s hands curled in Dean’shair, holding him close, threading his finger soothingly through the usuallystyled locks.

Cascuddled up close behind him but afraid to touch Dean, afraid that his touchwould bring only more pain to the man he loved. He settled for being pressed lightlyagainst Dean’s back, dropping a kiss on his head and nestling in close there,breathing in Dean’s scent, trying to stay close enough that Dean could stillget his as well.

Itshould have helped, but Dean wasn’t really any calmer than before, though thetone of it had shifted. Worried, pleading…convinced his Alphas were going toleave him because he’d failed to fend off a group of Alpha’s who’d believedmight made right.

A fuckinggroup! Castiel and Jimmy had to restraintheir growls, because of course ithadn’t been just one or two. Dean was more than capable of handling himselfunder those circumstances. But instead, he’d had the worst of all luck, foughtback and failed. Dean didn’t accept failures and it must only be contributingto his current sense of worthlessness, made worse by the ever-taunting memoryof John Winchester and his disdain for all things Omega.

Noteven the fact that Dean eventually did getaway under his own power, kept things from getting worse, did anything toalleviate the shame and fear that twisted in their noses.

Notfor the first time did the Novak twins wish they could have a go at Dean’sfather.

Instead,they could only do their best to assure their mate. Surrounding him with lovingscents, touches and words.

Eventuallythe sobs died down.

Eventually,Dean’s scent smoothed out. The shame and worry, fear and self-loathing fadingaway. Not gone, but smaller now, which was a start.

Eventually,his breathing evened out as well, allowing him to rest in the arms of hisloving mates.

Theentire time, the twins whispered words of love and assurance, rubbed gently athis back and shoulders, played fingers through his hair, cuddled him as closeas they dared and took turns in scenting him and being scented.

Thedamage was done, but together they’d heal.

[quillquiver]

He’s only been walking for about a minute before something in the air changes. Frowning, Castiel Novak looks up from where he’s been watching his step to take a look at the copse of trees around him, shivering slightly against the wind. The rain has finally cleared to give way for sunset–gold light spilling across hill and rock. It’s beautiful in an ancient, abandoned sort of way… but something in the air has him alert and careful. 

This glen demands respect.

He pays special attention to his steps from then on, careful not to put his feet anywhere outside the marked paths. 

The more Castiel walks, the faster his heart beats and his body curls into itself, and suddenly, the nice Scottish man who picked him up on the side of the road and drove him to the fairie glen doesn’t seem so crazy.

“They’re there,” he’d said sagely, nodding up the road. “Ye canna see ‘em, but they are. And if they choose you, lad, well… ye best do whatever they want, because fairies are a fickle sort." 

Dunvegan, the faerie castle, is a big and imposing outcropping of rocks, and after seeing the old and new spirals on its other side, Cas carefully makes his way to the top. There are a couple of people making their way back down, and he nods to them as they pass. 

But to get to the top, he has to climb up a narrow passageway. He goes from thinking he can fit with his backpack, to being completely stuck.

When a couple of grunts and some shifting only manage to wedge him further, he gives up. 

"Fuck.”

And then a hand appears in his peripheral vision.

It’s pale, with calloused, freckled fingers and knuckles and a couple of braided leather bracelets adorning the wrist. Cas follows the equally freckled arm up to a white t-shirt and, quite frankly, beautiful face of a man.

He’s got brown hair and a perfect nose, with high cheekbones and a plush-looking mouth. The freckles that seem to cover the rest of him sweep across the bridge of his nose and apples of his cheeks in soft nebulae. Bright green eyes framed by long lashes look down at him expectedly, and Castiel is made aware of the fact that he’s been staring longer than socially acceptable.

“Uh…”

The man smiles.

Cas thanks the powers that be that he’s wedged between two rocks because he goes weak in the knees.

The man wriggles his fingers as if in invitation and Cas grabs hold, his own blue eyes widening when the man barely grunts and pulls his through. Though he gracefully steps back, Castiel ends up a pile on the ground. The man grins more widely and bites his lip. He's wearing a kilt.

Cas is a goner.

“Um–thank you. Thanks.” His face is on fire as he struggles to his feet.

The man merely nods and goes to sit on a nearby ledge, over-looking the sunset. 

Castiel takes this opportunity to explore. He walks to the edge of the castle and back, spending time just staring at the two spirals that are supposedly entrances to the faerie realm. The younger one is well-groomed and beautiful, with gifts dotting the stones laid out, while the older is overgrown and slowly disappearing in the grass. Cas stares at the latter and shivers. Still, he–noisily, despite the fact that he tries to keep quiet–takes his camera from his bag and snaps a picture. 

When he’s finished, he notices the man staring at him.

He’s even more beautiful backlit by the sun, and Cas takes a minute to get himself together before carefully approaching the other and pointing to the place beside him. “Can I sit?”

The man stares.

Brow furrowing, Castiel tilts his head to the side in thought before his eyes widen once more and his cheeks flush in further embarrassment. Immediately, he repeats his question, this time signing along as best he can remember from the one ASL class he took in college. 

The man raises a brow. “’M not deaf.”

Cas suddenly wishes the earth will open up and swallow him whole. His face turns bright red with both his mistake and the gorgeous way words roll off the man’s tongue, and he scrambles to untie his own in order to answer. “I am so sorry.”

“No trouble,” the man says. His green eyes look Castiel up and down in a way that makes his heart race. “Y'gonna come'n sit, or…?”

Cas has never moved so fast. 

He clumsily falls into the seat beside the man, apologizing again when he jostles him. 

“So, y’re a tourist?”

Castiel nods. “I’m from the States.”

“American.” The man whistles. “Y’re a mite far from home, arentcha?”

“I’m working in a hostel,” Cas explains. “In Kyleakin? It’s called the Skye Backpackers. I’m their new receptionist but I start next week, so I’m hitchhiking around the island to get a feel for it.”

“Seems like a good living,” the man nods. “I think I’d like to see America. All of it, not just the United States part.”

“Well, if you ever end up in Illinois, let me know.”

“Cheers.”

Cas licks his lips during the lull in conversation and clears his throat. “Are you from Skye? Or somewhere else in Scotland?" 

A sad, resigned sort of smile steals across the man’s face. "I’m from right here,” he eventually sighs.

“Oh, you live in one of the farm houses nearby?”

But instead of answering, the man flashes a smile and offers his hand. “I’m Dean.”

The change in topic is a little unorthodox, but Cas is too distracted by the fact that he has a name. Dean. It suits him.

“Castiel,” the other replies in kind. They shake hands, and Cas’s fingers tingle all the way up his arm and to his shoulder. “Everyone calls me Cas.”

“Cas,” Dean repeats. “Tha’s a good name.”

“Thanks. So’s Dean.” A beat. “You just came up here for the sunset?”

“Somethin’ like that, yeah. You?”

“A couple of people told me to come here because it’s so beautiful. A couple people also told me to stay away because of the faeries." 

“The faeries,” Dean hums. "Did ye hear the stories?”

“A couple. I heard about the bagpiper who was approached by the faerie king to play at one of his parties, but who was reluctant to leave his family especially because he’d promised to play at a friend’s wedding. But when faeries ask you for something you do it, so he went to the faerie realm and played until really late. When he asked to go home, the King allowed it but said things would never be the same once he went back. When he arrived back home, it was hundreds of years later and everyone he’d known and loved had died, because the King failed to tell him about the fact that a second in the faerie realm was a hundred years in his reality.”

“Mm,” Dean says, staring at the horizon. “Faeries can be tricky.”

“I also heard about the girl who came here a couple of years ago and when into the cave on the ridge.”

“There’s a nasty thing lives in there.”

“Yeah. Apparently, she got back to her hostel, went to bed, and woke up screaming in the middle of the night swearing something was trying to choke her.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

There’s another lull, and Cas bites his lip. He takes another picture just to do something with his hands, but quickly abandons the endeavour when Dean stares at him while he does it. Swallowing thickly, with sweating palms and a racing heart, Castiel decides to throw caution to the wind. After all, he’ll probably never come back to this part of Skye after this weekend. 

“So, um, do you have any plans for supper?”

Now, Dean’s smile widens to something slightly predatory. “Why?” he smirks. “Y'want'a share a meal?”

Cas blushes. “I have too many groceries and an empty airbnb so, yeah,” he says, sounding far more cocky than he feels. “I think I’d be willing to try my hand at Scottish hospitality.”

Dean laughs, and it’s probably the best sound Castiel has ever heard. “So I won’ have t'worry 'bout bein’ murdered, is that’ what y’re saying?”

A grin. “Murder is definitely off the table.”

“Then lead the way, Cas from America.”

***

It takes them fifteen minutes to get back to Cas’s cottage. Their otherwise forty-five minute walk is cut down almost to nothing due to a kind young woman picking them up and dropping them off at Castiel’s rented cottage. 

Once inside, Cas opens a couple of beers and hands one over, taking a swig himself and licking his lips. “Are you okay with pasta? I’ve got a bottle of white I should really use.”

Den’s excitement is so palpable the air almost crackles with it, and Castiel feels himself start to smile as well. The thing widens impossibly when the other man leans casually against the wall and clears his throat. “That seems—that’ll be fine.”

Castiel makes pasta carbonara.

He’s finishing off the sauce and about to put the spaghetti in to boil when he feels Dean off to his side. This isn’t new–for the majority of their time in the kitchen, the other man has been looking over Cas’s shoulder inquisitively. This time, however, Dean’s entire body is pressed up against his back and he’s got a grounding hand on Castiel’s hip. 

Cas almost burns himself. 

"Smells good,” Dean murmurs. 

Castiel squeaks.

“M’I makin’ ye nervous?” the other asks against his ear. Cas can feel him smiling and bites the inside of his cheek. There’s a beat. “Because if I am,” Dean continues. His thumbs begin to caress the t-shirt-covered skin of Castiel’s hips. “Ye need only tell me to stop.”

In answer, Castiel leans back into the touch.

***

“So, how’re ye likin’ Scotland?”

They’re seated on the back porch’s hanging swing, lantern lit on the coffee table directly in front of them. Empty plates and wine glasses are strewn across the table, with the finished wine bottle sitting as centrepiece among the carnage.

Cas looks lazily down to where Dean’s cuddled up against him. He smiles. “I love Scotland.”

“Oh, do ye?” Dean laughs.

“Mm. Very much.”

There’s a lull in the conversation, then, broken only by the sound of Dean licking his lips. Castiel isn’t entirely sure who initiates after that, but soon he and Dean are tangled up on the swing, kissing lazily.

It’s the best kiss Cas has ever had; warmer than anything else he’s ever felt, like a shot of whiskey warming him from the inside out. It only takes about another minute for Castiel to clue into the fact that the tingling he feels in the wake of Dean’s fingertips and lips is definitely not normal.

To the other’s protests—mm! one more wee kiss, please—Cas pulls away with a small ‘pop’ and stares, wide-eyed. “You’re… not human, are you?”

Dean shakes his head, much too pre-occupied with the sweetness of Castiel’s mouth to do anything but lean in again. Cas reciprocates, but only barely.

He’s kind of freaking out about the fact that he’s not freaking out.

“So, you’re a… faerie?”

This time Dean leans back with a small, hesitant nod. “The first of my name.”

“You’re a king,” Castiel says faintly.

“Close,” Dean amends. “A crown prince.”

Cas makes some sort of strangled noise in the back of his throat, climbing off of Dean and sitting, eyes locked on the wine bottle.

“Ehm, can I get ye somethin’?” Dean asks considerately. “Glass o’water, maybe? A pint? Some whiskey so all this seems like a bad dream?”

"Why were you out there, anyway?”

“Ah, y’know,” the other answers, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. “I’m not so keen on the prince thing.”

This is something Castiel can relate to—after all, hating his circumstances is why he left Illinois in the first place. “So what,” Cas smiles. “You prowl around Dunvegan looking for unsuspecting tourists?”

“Hey now, if I remember correctly, you, sir, were the one who invited me here.” His voice turns guarded now. “And ye promised ye wouldn’t murder me.”

Cas weighs the pros and cons of his situation for approximately two seconds before leaning in and pressing a plush kiss to Dean’s mouth. “No one,” he says against the other’s lips. “Is getting murdered.”

Dean grins.

***

The next morning, Castiel walks Dean to the door of his cottage with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He has a crick in his neck from sleeping on the porch swing all night, but given the choice, he’d do it again.

“Can I see you again?” Dean asks. “Tonight?”

“I’d like that.”

***

And so begins the rumoured tale of romance between a human and a faerie.

[biofunmy]

Dimitrov Stuns Federer at U.S. Open, Adding to Chaos on the Men’s Side

On a day when Daniil Medvedev reached an amicable truce with fans at the United States Open, the real villain turned out to be Grigor Dimitrov.

Dimitrov happily took over the mantle of bad guy by stunning the fan favorite, third-seeded Roger Federer, 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, ousting the most successful, and arguably the most popular, player on the men’s tour.

Federer’s surprise loss means the dream matchup between him and No. 2 Rafael Nadal will not happen. Those two greats have played 41 times in their careers, including nine times in major finals. But never at the U.S. Open, and this year they were enticingly on opposite sides of the draw.

Once again, it was not to be, and so Dimitrov will play No. 5 Medvedev on Thursday in the first U.S. Open semifinal for both of them. Medvedev beat No. 23 Stan Wawrinka, 7-6 (6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, to continue his remarkable summer.

He was probably expecting to reclaim the role of supervillain in a semifinal against Federer, but Dimitrov had designs on an upset.

After the first set of their night match, Federer, 38, never looked comfortable or particularly good. He called for a medical timeout after the fourth set and walked off the court, but it was unclear what was ailing him. At one point in the fourth set, he shifted his shoulder and back. Whatever the problem was, it might have accounted for his uncharacteristically poor play, including 61 unforced errors.

Federer later said a problem with his upper back had arisen during the afternoon, but he did not want to use the injury as an excuse.

“This is Grigor’s moment, not my body’s moment,” he said.

Federer has won 20 Grand Slams, the men’s record, and his total includes five U.S. Opens, but he has not won the championship at Flushing Meadows since 2008. He has not reached the semifinal stage since 2015, and last year he was ousted by John Millman in the fourth round.

This year held more promise, especially after he played well enough in July to come within a few points of winning Wimbledon. And when No. 1 Novak Djokovic was upset by Wawrinka in the fourth round of the U.S. Open, it raised hopes even higher that Federer would be able to go through and possibly meet Nadal in the final here for the first time.

In the fourth round, Federer dismissed No. 15 David Goffin without much trouble and appeared to be cruising into the second week of the tournament. But he looked like an entirely different player against Dimitrov, who came into the match ranked No. 78 in the world, largely because he took time off to deal with an injury. Dimitrov was ranked No. 3 as recently as 2017.

A few times Federer did flash some of the best shots in his arsenal — a jumping forehand winner or a backhand down the line. But too many other times he hit terrible unforced errors or failed to put away easy winners, allowing Dimitrov to run his way back into points.

Most uncharacteristically, Federer, who carved his legend by rising in clutch moments, played poorly in some of the most critical parts of the match. Late in the second set he was down a service break when he broke back against Dimitrov to draw within 4-5 in games. His woes seemed to have been corrected, if only he could consolidate that break.

But he could not, even after going ahead by 30-0 in that game. Dimitrov won the next four points to close out the game and the set, thanks to three unforced errors by Federer.

It all seemed to confuse the fans because Federer looked brilliant at times in the third set, with a pulsating combination of wicked crosscourt forehands and overhead slams, and he appeared to have regained control of the match. But in the first game of the fourth set, Dimitrov broke back.

Later in the fourth set, Federer had another break point against Dimitrov, but could not convert it. It was during that game that he rotated his right shoulder a bit while walking, raising an alarm that he might be dealing with discomfort there or in his back.

While Dimitrov sailed through most of his service games, Federer had to fight bitterly to hold his own serve. Late in the fourth set he staved off seven break points in an 8-deuce game, just to keep himself from falling behind by two service breaks.

In the next game Dimitrov fell behind by 0-40, fought off five break points, and won the game and the set, again after three straight unforced errors by Federer.

After Federer came back from the medical timeout, Dimitrov broke his serve and from there sailed to victory.

Medvedev will be a difficult challenge for Dimitrov in the semifinal. He has spent many hours on court this summer, going 19-2 on hardcourts and reaching the finals in Washington, Montreal and the tournament in Mason, Ohio, which he won. (He also played two doubles matches in August, adding to his workload.)

For those able to look past the histrionics in his earlier matches, Medvedev is a captivating talent whose wide variety of shots can force players out of their comfort zones.

At age 23, on a bad leg, Medvedev overpowered and confused a three-time Grand Slam champion in Wawrinka.

“He’s playing a different ball,” Wawrinka said. “He’s really solid from baseline. Playing really flat backhand.”

Wawrinka said that he knew Medvedev would fight through the injury, and that it did not affect how Wawrinka played.

“I saw him play the last few matches and have been saying he has pain,” Wawrinka said. “And for sure he has pain. Some players like to show everybody they have pain. Some others hide it. I’m pretty sure all the players, 95 percent, we all have pain.”

Wawrinka noted that the Medvedev had the talent to win the U.S. Open this year, but doubted he would.

“Because he starts to look to be tired,” Wawrinka said.

But Medvedev will have an extra day to rest before the semifinals on Friday. And against Dimitrov, he might actually have some fans on his side.

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Australian Open: Nadal, Sharapova hoping for fitness and form

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Australian Open: Nadal, Sharapova hoping for fitness and form

(CNN)The Australian Open hasn’t even started and already Melbourne has produced shock waves with the impending retirement of Andy Murray.

But, yes, there’s even more than that to look out for …

No. 2 for Nadal?

Rafael Nadal’s lone Australian Open title exactly a decade ago couldn’t have been more dramatic.

For a start, Nadal outlasted fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in a five-hour, 14-minute semifinal. Such was the draining nature of the slugfest that Nadal teared up waiting to receive serve on match point.

Visit cnn.com/sport for more news and videos

Back then, Nadal was merely 22 and injuries hadn’t taken as much of a toll on his seemingly superhuman body. And sure enough, two days later, he still had enough left to upend Federer in five more sets.

READ: Nadal lived tragedy of Mallorca floods

READ: Federer’s tears for former coach

In one of the enduring images in the tournament’s history — at the least — Nadal put his arm around a crestfallen Federer during the trophy ceremony.

But more recently the 17-time grand slam winner has been the one suffering heartache in Melbourne.

A hamstring injury scuppered his chances of achieving the “Rafa Slam” in 2011; he succumbed to Novak Djokovic in the longest grand slam final of all time a year later; in 2014 a back injury in the warmup of the final rendered him powerless against Stan Wawrinka; and in 2017 in a battle of comebacks, Federer reversed a break deficit in the fifth set of the final to end a 10-year grand slam losing streak to his chief rival.

As if all that wasn’t enough, leading Marin Cilic two sets to one in the quarterfinals last year, a hip injury eventually forced Nadal to retire in the fifth set.

Bidding, once again, to become the first man to win each of the majors at least twice, Nadal’s prospects this edition don’t appear optimal.

Roger Federer muses on retirement planning

An abdominal injury plus ankle surgery delayed his off-season training regimen. Unfit he skipped his second match at an exhibition in Abu Dhabi in December and duly withdrew as the top seed of the Brisbane International with a thigh strain.

That was nothing new: Nadal withdrew or retired from all but one of his hard-court events last season.

Rafael Nadal keeps winning, lifts 4th Rogers Cup

“Of course is good news that I am here again,” Nadal told reporters Saturday. “Is again another season, coming back from a tough period of time but with highest motivation possible to start another season.”

While his health is uncertain, one thing is definite. There won’t be a matchup with Federer — at the top of the men’s list with 20 majors — in the final. In the same half, they could meet in the semifinals.

Sharapova uncertain too

Nadal isn’t the lone grand slam champion whose fitness is uncertain returning from injury. Besides Murray, world No. 1 Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova find themselves in similar circumstances.

Sharapova has never been one to throw a “pity party” yet her frustration levels must be high nonetheless.

Arm issues plagued Sharapova throughout 2018, with the five-time major winner subsequently ending her season due to shoulder woes. Eleven years ago a shoulder injury threatened her career and her once potent serve has never been quite the same.

Sharapova’s shoulder, however, seemed to hold up well at her first tournament of the season in Shenzhen last week. The sting was noticeable on the serve and there were few double faults.

That was the good news.

Unfortunately for the 31-year-old, a thigh injury prompted a retirement in her high-profile quarterfinal against one of the WTA’s breakthrough players of the last year, Aryna Sabalenka.

It’s not the preparation the Russian sought as she seeks a first major — or major semifinal — following her 15-month drug suspension.

Maria Sharapova on her return from a drugs ban

Trouble for Djokovic’s rivals?

Djokovic cut a terse figure after losing to Roberto Bautista Agut in the semifinals of his first official tournament of 2019 in Doha.

Based on that, his rivals should be afraid.

Djokovic also came away from the French Open agitated in the wake of a quarterfinal defeat to unheralded Italian Marco Cecchinato — then turned into the player who dominated men’s tennis for the better part of 2011, 2015 and 2016.

He won Wimbledon and the US Open to climb to 14 majors.

Novak Djokovic: US Open title feels ‘phenomenal’

Having been upset the last two seasons at the Australian Open, where he is historically the joint most successful men’s player alongside Federer, the Serb now appears due for title number seven in Melbourne.

It would complete a stunning turnaround for Djokovic, who underwent elbow surgery about 10 days after his 2018 Australian Open ended at the hands of Hyeon Chung.

A different question for Wozniacki

‘When are you going to win a first grand slam?’ Caroline Wozniacki has heard that question a lot in her career, especially when the Dane was the world No. 1.

In Melbourne this year, she might be asked: ‘What does it feel like to defend a grand slam?’

She no doubt wouldn’t mind the latter query.

Twelve months ago Wozniacki won that first major following two defeats at the last stage of the US Open.

Caroline Wozniacki: “I have more belief” now

When Wozniacki trailed Jana Fett 5-1 in a third set in the second round and stared at two match points, who would have thought it? But the Croatian narrowly missed what would have been an ace on the first match point and so began the Wozniacki comeback that ultimately ended by downing Halep in a thriller.

Wozniacki only exceeded the second round once in her ensuing three grand slams, revealing later she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis.

“Every day is a new day and you feel how you feel,” Wozniacki told reporters in Auckland, where she was upset last week by Canadian qualifier Bianca Andreescu.

“But I feel pretty good about it and it’s about figuring out what little things work for me work and what makes me feel good.”

New look for Venus

In what could have been the most surprising of a slew of coaching changes in the women’s game in the off-season, Venus Williams parted company with David Witt.

A former men’s pro, Witt began as a hitting partner with the seven-time grand slam winner in 2007 prior to becoming her traveling coach.

The most successful family affair in tennis

On the face of it, Williams’ results in 2018 might have prompted the move: Her year-end ranking plummeted from fifth to 40th, largely emanating from being ousted in the first week at all four of the majors. Or is she planning on retiring soon?

“There are so many theories out there but I’m not going to confirm or deny anything,” the 38-year-old told reporters in Auckland, where she was also beaten by Andreescu. “I’m just going to shroud it with mystery, try to keep winning matches and everyone will have to wait and see.”

Follow @cnnsport

How different it was two years ago when Williams reached finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, thus coming within one match of picking up a first major since 2008.

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/

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Wimbledon 2017: Roger Federer outclasses Marin Cilic to lift record 8th title

London: Roger Federer’s wait for No. 8 at Wimbledon is over. He is once again the champion of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, now more often than any other man in the history of an event first held in 1877.

Federer won his eighth title at the All England Club and 19th major trophy overall, capping a marvellous fortnight in which he never dropped a set by overwhelming Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday in a lopsided final that was more coronation than contest.

When it ended, with an ace from Federer after merely 1 hour, 41 minutes, he raised both arms overhead. A minute or so later, he was sitting on the sideline, wiping tears from his eyes.

Truly, the outcome was only in doubt for about 20 minutes, the amount of time it took Federer to grab his first lead. Cilic, whose left foot was treated by a trainer in the late going, was never able to summon the intimidating serves or crisp volleys that carried him to his lone Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open, where he surprisingly beat Federer in straight sets in the semifinals.

This one was all Federer, who last won Wimbledon in 2012.

That seventh championship pulled Federer even with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw in what’s still officially called Gentlemen’s Singles. Sampras won all but one of his in the 1990s; Renshaw won each of his in the 1880s, back in the days when the previous year’s champion advanced automatically to the final and therefore was able to successfully defend a title with one victory.

Federer had come close to bettering his predecessors but couldn’t quite do it. He lost in the 2014 and 2015 Wimbledon finals to Novak Djokovic, and in the semifinals last year after erasing match points to get past Cilic in a five-set quarterfinal.

With clouds overhead and a bit of chill in the air, the very first game offered a glimpse at Cilic’s apparent plan: go after Federer’s backhand. All five points won by Cilic in that opening stanza came via mistakes by Federer on that stroke. Conversely, all three points won by Federer in that game were thanks to forehand miscues by Cilic.

Understandably, there were signs of nerves for both.

Federer’s early play, in general, was symptomatic of jitters. For everything he’s accomplished, for all of the bright lights and big settings to which he’s become accustomed, the guy many have labeled the “GOAT” — Greatest of All Time — admits to feeling heavy legs and jumbled thoughts at important on-court moments to this day.

And so it was that Federer, not Cilic, hit a double-fault in each of his first two service games. And it was Federer, not Cilic, who faced the match’s initial break point, 15 minutes in, trailing 2-1 and 30-40. But Cilic netted a return there, beginning a run of 17 points in a row won by Federer on his serve.

It was as if the first indication of the slightest bit of trouble jolted Federer.

In the very next game, Federer broke to lead 3-2 with the help of three errors by Cilic and one marvelous point. Cilic tried a drop shot, Federer got to it and replied at a tight angle. Cilic got that and offered a slick response of his own but slipped and fell to the court, allowing Federer to flip a winner, eliciting roars from the crowd.

Federer broke again to take that set when Cilic double-faulted, walked to the changeover and slammed his racket on his sideline chair. Cilic then sat and covered his head with a white towel.

After Federer raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set, Cilic cried while he was visited by a doctor and trainer. At that moment, it wasn’t clear, exactly, what might have been ailing Cilic. During a later medical timeout, Cilic’s left foot was re-taped by the trainer.

Federer would break to a 4-3 edge in the third set and all that remained to find out was how he’d finish. It was with his eighth ace, at 114 mph, and he raised both arms overhead.

This caps a remarkable reboot for Federer, who departed Wimbledon a year ago with a lot of doubts. He had lost in the semifinals, yes, but more troublesome was that his body was letting him down for the first time in his career.

Earlier in 2016, he had surgery on his left knee, then sat out the French Open because of a bad back, ending a record streak of participating in 65 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. Then, after Wimbledon, he did not play at all the rest of the year, skipping the Rio Olympics, the US Open and everything else in an attempt to let his knee fully heal.

It worked. Did it ever.

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Andy Murray stunned by Sam Querrey Wimbledon loss

Tennis champion Andy Murray's 2017 Wimbledon loss was quite the drawn out painful affair on Centre Court Wednesday. Limping between points and fading down the stretch, defending champion Andy Murray was stunned by 24th-seeded Sam Querrey of the U.S. 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-1 in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. The No. 1-seeded Murray came into the tournament dealing with a sore left hip, and it clearly impeded him at Centre Court. He grimaced as he stumbled or landed awkwardly while attempting shots. Querrey took full advantage to reach the first Grand Slam semifinal of his career - and the first for any American man anywhere since Andy Roddick was the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2009. [pdf-embedder url="https://movietvtechgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2017-wimbledon-mens-singles-quarters.pdf" title="2017 wimbledon mens singles quarters"] "I am still in a little bit of shock myself," Querrey said. There was another quarterfinal surprise later Wednesday when three-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic stopped playing because of a right arm injury while trailing 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-6 (2), 2-0. After dropping the opening set, Djokovic took a medical timeout while a trainer massaged his arm. A day earlier, during his fourth-round match, Djokovic had his right shoulder worked on by a trainer. Seven-time champion Roger Federer moved into his 12th semifinal at the All England Club with a straightforward 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory over 2016 runner-up Milos Raonic. That left Federer as the only member of the sport's so-called Big 4 still standing: In addition to the exits for Murray and Djokovic, Rafael Nadal lost in the fourth round. That quartet has combined to win each of the past 14 Wimbledon titles. In Friday's semifinals, Querrey will face 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic of Croatia, who also won a five-setter Wednesday, getting past 16th-seeded Gilles Muller 3-6, 7-6 (6), 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 with the help of 33 aces. On the other half of the draw, Federer will face Berdych. Murray is normally a terrific returner, but Querrey hit 27 aces. He was impeccable for portions of the match, finishing with 70 winners and only 30 unforced errors. "He was dictating all of the points," Murray said. From 1-all in the fourth, Querrey grabbed eight games in a row to take that set and lead 3-0 in the last. "I didn't start my best, but I just kept with it. Kept swinging away and then really found a groove in the fourth and fifth set," Querrey said. "And everything kind of seemed to be falling my way then." It is the second year in a row that the 29-year-old Californian upset the defending champion and top-seeded man at the All England Club. In 2016, he ended Djokovic's 30-match Grand Slam winning streak by beating him in the third round. Murray didn't have that sort of recent dominance, but he is a three-time major champion and had been to at least the semifinals at the All England Club in seven of the past eight years. The hip, though, was a problem this time. Murray had to skip some practice sessions and pull out of a couple of planned exhibition matches before Wimbledon. Even though he kept insisting once the tournament began that he was OK, he was not capable of his best. Murray's serve speeds slowed, and his backhands didn't have their usual verve. He couldn't play his usual court-covering defense. "I was pretty close today. It wasn't like I was, like, a million miles away from winning the match," Murray said. "Obviously the end was a bit of a struggle." Querrey is the lowest-ranked player to ever beat two-time Wimbledon champion Murray in his 12 appearances at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. For Murray, this was the fourth five-set match he's lost in a row. Querrey is headed in the opposite direction: Merely 4-10 in fifth sets for his career until last week, he has won each of his last three matches by going the distance: against 12th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round, Kevin Anderson in the fourth, and now Murray. Querrey always has had an intimidating serve, but he's never managed to put together his overall game for enough matches to play on the final weekend at a major. https://twitter.com/usta/status/845710647564423169 Indeed, until last year's win over Djokovic, he might have been best known for some of his unusual off-court episodes. In Thailand for a 2009 tournament, he cut two muscles in his right arm when he sat on a glass table that shattered. Two years ago, he appeared on the reality TV show "The Millionaire Matchmaker." There's a popular video clip on social media of Querrey - sunglasses and hat on, shirt unbuttoned - dancing with friends wearing horse-head masks. Now Querrey's on-court accomplishment Wednesday will make headlines. Win two more matches, and he'll be the Wimbledon champion.

Will Andy Murray's Hip Injury Cost Him the 2017 Season?

What is the injury Andy Murray has been suffering from? Since the week before the start of Wimbledon, Murray has been plagued by a worsening hip problem. Murray has not elaborated on the specifics of the injury, and even having been eliminated from the tournament yesterday refused to divulge any more detail. He did though reiterate that it's a long-standing problem: "I've been dealing with it for a very long time during my career," Murray said. "Obviously as you get older, things are a little bit tougher to manage than they are when you're younger. There's a bit more wear and tear there." Why did he not call for the trainer mid-match? Murray explained afterward that he did not call for a medical time-out because there's "nothing much you can do in that situation." Robert Brown, a physiotherapist at the Centre for Health and Human Performance (CHHP) told ESPN that Murray's assessment was correct. "He is probably right'" Brown says. "It would have been like putting a bandaid over a wound. It may have relieved his symptoms short-term, but that's it." Why did he not retire mid-match? Murray said that he didn't believe he would do himself any long-term damage by playing, so he persevered through the pain. Brown says of this diagnosis: "It's difficult to say [if this is correct] as we do not know what the exact injury is. However, if he has not worsened the injury he may have delayed his recovery from it." What sort of pain was Murray feeling? The world No 1 said on Wednesday that he has been in pain throughout the tournament, but did not want to dwell too much on the discomfort he was in. Asked to evaluate how Murray would have felt based on his work with other athletes, Brown said: "The chances are he would have felt a severe sharp pain around the front of his hip and/or groin region every time he put weight through it and especially during landed rotation movements. In my experience for an elite athlete to be affected by pain it would have been at around 7/10 or over. (0 being nothing, 10 being the most painful)." Will Murray have surgery to correct the problem? With the US Open less than seven weeks away, Murray is not going to undergo surgery in the next couple of months. He is also likely to want to avoid surgery at all costs having been scarred by the effects of his last operation. After undergoing back surgery in September 2013, Murray endured a disappointing 2014 and could not play to anything like his best level. According to Brown, recovery from this sort of surgery can be anything from 12 weeks to six months. He says that surgery is not the only option available to Murray though, as "conservative management of the problem, such as extensive physio work can return someone with a hip injury to 100%." What should Murray do next? He said yesterday that he will sit down with his medical team and assess his options. Brown would advise "not complete rest but a reduction of load to enable symptoms to reduce and to begin and progress rehabilitation. If all goes well, you would like acute symptoms to settle in two to three days and then begin a targeted rehab program to address the injury and underlying causes. "If things are not looking better in 8-12 weeks then he would have to reassess or alter his management plan." The next big tournament on the horizon is August's Rogers Cup in Montreal, for which Murray must be a major doubt.

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