#wish you all the best anon

[carmillatism]

hello! i hope this ask finds you well <3

i’m just looking for a bit of advice and i saw one of your posts about being disabled so i figured i might ask;

(to preface: i am not disabled) but sometimes my right hip does a weird thing and hurts for a bit on and off and i can’t really walk (my hips have always been weird - they pop really easily and hurt if i lay down on them for too long) and i was curious if you might have advice on how to deal with that? (though granted i don’t actually know what kind of physical disability you have so this might just be headed out into the aether)

(sorry if this is the wrong blog to ask!)

hello! sorry for getting back so late; i had school! and yes, you came to the right place! want to preface this with a disclaimer by saying i'm not a professional, and i recommend you talk with a doctor if possible. i also recommend doing your own research as i don't know you like you know you!

that aside, i have pots and hsd, both which cause me chronic pain. hsd, or hypermobikity spectrum disorder, causes me chronic joint pain. and good for you, my most common place of pain is in my hips, so i have a lot of experience with what your describing.

my biggest recommendation, other than talking with a doctor, is for you to try and stay off of it when it hurts. you can also apply heat or cold (with an ice pack, heating pad, etc.) to the area that hurts. that usually makes me feel better. i also recommend taking otc (over-the-counter) pain meds. take the dose it tells you to take, and that will usually help soothe the pain!

i also recommend that you keep your mind open to the idea that you could be disabled. if this pain is pretty common for you (as in it happens a couple times a week) and has lasted for at least 3 months with common occurrences, then it's considered chronic pain. if you have chronic pain, you are disabled. ofc i don't know you and can't say for certain! but keeping your mind open to the idea can help you more easily make that transition in the future if you are diagnosed with a disability or your symptoms become disabilitating.

i also recommend getting a cane if possible! canes help a lot with getting weight off of the leg that's hurting, thus allowing the pain to decrease. do not worry about "faking" being disabled. if you need a cane to lessen the pain you feel whilst walking or to support your walking, then use it! you would use your left (opposite of hurt leg) hand for the cane. you don't have to get one, of course, but they are a pretty cheap investment if you get them at a pharmacy or online, and they are extremely helpful.

but again, i can't recommend it anymore for you to see a medical professional. what you are describing sounds similar to my experiences with chronic pain, plus having pain flareups for seemingly no reason pretty consistently along with your hip feeling out of place or popping out of place, sounds like something to bring up to your doctor. based on the limited symptoms you gave, i recommend looking into heds, hypermobile ehlers-danlos syndromes (plus the other versions of eds), or hsd (which is what i have. both are hypermobility from a connective tissue disorder that causes a slew of symptoms, but a major one is joint instability and chronic pain. hsd is sort of a different part of the spectrum of eds, or just a different but similar disorder (scientists really don't know)).

some good medical websites that i use a lot for info on my own health as well as my medical science interst are the cleveland clinic, the nhs website, and mayo clinic. these have digestible pages of information about many different disorders and problems.

i also recommend keeping a list of your symptoms that don't seem entirely normal or healthy. also, keeping a journal of your pain flares and describing when and why it happens can help you track it and see if it worsens or gets better. i also recommend using these to look into possible disorders that you may have. advice given for any type of similar disorders with symptoms similar to yours (or that you might have) can greatly benefit you if you want more advice!

if you have any more questions you can dm me, use my ask box again, or ask someone else for another point of view! talking about it with many different people can give you many different and helpful perspectives that can help you figure out what's going on. i wish you all the best!

[thunderc1an]

November 7th- Firestar + Hollykit

Happy Birthday @arqueervist !!!

[catastrxblues]

EVERMORE by taylor swift (feat. bon iver) — “and i was catching my breath, floors of a cabin creaking under my step. and i couldn’t be sure, i had a feeling so peculiar, this pain wouldn’t be forevermore.”

my #swiftiegiftexchange2024 for @lovesickallovermybed!!!! 🫶🏽🫶🏽

[le-fruit-de-la-passion]

Omg I loved your herald viktor epic line idea I’ve been thinking about it nonstop. If u have time and energy id love to read it sooo much ❤️❤️

Since the Ithica Saga dropped last night my brain has not known a single moment of peace. "Would You Fall in Love with Me Again" is just so insanely perfect for a Machine Herald Viktor x Reader AU it makes me physically ill. Like, seriously:

I am not the man you fell in love with

I am not the man you once adored

//

Would you fall in love with me again

If you knew all I've done?

The things I cannot change

Would you love me all the same?

//

Would you fall in love with me again

If you knew all I've done?

The things I can't undo

I'm not the man you knew

Viktor is so Odysseus coded it is PAINFUL. The pain of sacrificing so much of himself to survive. The regret of everyone he's had to leave behind, to betray. The ghosts of his legacy haunting his mind. All for his goal, the one thing he knows he's meant to do with every fiber of his being. Nothing, neither magic nor gods, will stop him from fulfilling that dream. He will not be the same once all has passed, and he will never regain all that he's lost. Can the person who loved him the most as he was before still love this version of him?

And the reader's answer...

I will fall in love with you

Over and over again

I don't care how, where, or when

No matter how long it's been

You're mine

Because what you loved about him is deeper than any of the ways he's changed. It's something at his core, in his soul, in the light of his eyes, no matter how tired they may seem now. It's your first kiss, it's the sound of his voice in your ear, it's the curve of his lips when he smirks, it's the way he looks at you like he falls in love all over again every day you're with him. Time may pass, and the world may change, but not this. Never this.

He is yours just as you are his, and that is the one thing that will never change.

[anxiou13sami]

♡ᴹʸ ᶜʰⁱˡᵈʰᵒᵒᵈ ᶜʳᵘˢʰᵉˢ...๋࣭ ⭑⚝

⁽ᶜʳᵉᵖᵖʸᵖᵃˢᵗᵃ⁾

ᴴᵉˡᵉⁿ ⁽��ˡᵒᵒᵈʸ ᵖᵃⁱⁿᵗᵉʳ⁾

ᴵᵗ ʷᵃˢ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ᵃᵗ ᶠⁱʳˢᵗ ˢⁱᵍʰᵗ⁻😭 ᴵ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ʷʰʸ ᵐᵃⁿʸ ᵖᵉᵒᵖˡᵉ ᶠᵃˡˡ ⁱⁿ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᴶᵉᶠᶠ ʷʰᵉⁿ ᴴᵉˡᵉⁿ ᵉˣⁱˢᵗˢ, ᴵ ⁱᵈᵉⁿᵗⁱᶠⁱᵉᵈ ʷⁱᵗʰ ʰⁱᵐ ᵃ ˡᵒᵗ ⁽ᵉˣᶜᵉᵖᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᵇᵃᵈ ᵖᵃʳᵗ⁾, ᵃⁿʸʷᵃʸ ᴵ'ᵐ ᵗᵒᵒ ˡᵃᶻʸ ᵗᵒ ᵈʳᵃʷ ⁱⁿ ᵐʸ ᵗʳᵘᵉ ᵃʳᵗ ˢᵗʸˡᵉ ˢᵒ ᴵ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵐᵃᵈᵉ ˢᵒᵐᵉ ˢᵏᵉᵗᶜʰᵉˢ...

ᵀᵒᵇⁱᵃˢ😻 ⁽ᵀⁱᶜᶜⁱ ᵀᵒᵇʸ⁾

ᴰᵒ ᴵ ⁿᵉᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵉˣᵖˡᵃⁱⁿ ⁱᵗ? ᵀᵒᵇíᵃˢ ⁱˢ ᵉᵛᵉʳʸᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ ᴵ ⁿᵉᵉᵈ ⁱⁿ ᵐʸ ˡⁱᶠᵉ⁻👩‍🚒💖, ʰᵉ ᵈᵉˢᵉʳᵛᵉˢ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉ ʰᵃᵖᵖʸ, ʷʰᵉⁿ ᴵ ʷᵃˢ ˡⁱᵗᵗˡᵉ ᴵ ᵃˡʷᵃʸˢ ᵐᵃᵈᵉ ᵃ ˢᶜᵉⁿᵃʳⁱᵒ ʷʰᵉʳᵉ ʰᵉ ᵃⁿᵈ ᴵ ʰᵃᵈ ᵃ ʰᵃᵖᵖʸ ᵉⁿᵈⁱⁿᵍ⁻🤡💔, ᴵ ᵈʳᵉʷ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᵈʳᵃʷⁱⁿᵍ ᵐᵒⁿᵗʰˢ ᵃᵍᵒ, ᴵ ᵗʰⁱⁿᵏ ⁱᵗ ʷᵃˢ ⁱⁿ ᴺᵒᵛᵉᵐᵇᵉʳ, ᴵ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵃ ˡᵒᵗ ᵒᶠ ʷᵒʳᵏ ᵃᵗ ˢᶜʰᵒᵒˡ, ᵇᵘᵗ ᴵ ᵃˡˢᵒ ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵐᵃᵏᵉ ˢᵒᵐᵉ ˢᵏᵉᵗᶜʰᵉˢ ᵒᶠ ʰⁱᵐ...

ᵐᵃʸᵇᵉ ᴵ'ˡˡ ᵈʳᵃʷ ᵐᵒʳᵉ, ᵃᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᵐᵒᵐᵉⁿᵗ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ʷᵉʳᵉ ᵐʸ ᶜʰⁱˡᵈʰᵒᵒᵈ ᶜʳᵘˢʰᵉˢ, ⁽ᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉʸ ˢᵗⁱˡˡ ᵃʳᵉ 🤭⁾

[pocketramblr]

Absolutely love your writing for all the AU/5 headcanons asks. Can I ask: AU where Rei cheats on Endeavor with All Might? It happens after AM's injury, so she doesn't recognize him, and he ofc doesn't know that she's married in the first place, much less to whom

you make this very difficult for me by giving me a window of 6 and half years for them to have an affair and for every single moment of that window, Rei is institutionalized. how am i supposed to get them to meet, much less take their clothes off. ok. think. there are other fic writers who specialize in this kind of thing, surely. what would they do....

1- ok so. The fire alarm at the hospital goes off. Rei doesn't know if it's a drill or not, but she's been there for seven years and generally does not need a lot of support during something like this like other patients do, so the nurses wave her out and she stands around outside a bit waiting for the fire alarm to stop and them to go back in. (It isn't a drill, they wouldn't have evacuated everyone if it was, but Rei is on the other side of the building and facing away from seeing any smoke) (This smoke is from a villain attack that All Might is taking care of, though he's only got seconds left of his power to use that day. he quickly rushes off, deflating and stumbling out on the other side of the hospital. Where Rei is.)

2- Rei is like "huh that guy doesnt seem to be in good shape" and kinda waves attention at him, and a nurse who's passing out water to patients and keeping an eye on the road gives Toshinori some too, getting more concerned when he dazedly answers that he's All Might and coughs up blood, but the nurse figures he's concussed since he smells of smoke and must have been closer to the fight, and is just reeling from being able to see the number one hero in person. Then they get distracted and wave Toshi to wait nearby, where Rei offers to chill his water and asks if he's alright, if he breathed in any smoke.

3- They chat and then go back into the hospital as it's un-evacuated together, Rei hanging out in the lobby where he sits as the hospital staff focus on getting everyone else back to their rooms. It pays to be low priority sometimes. Eventually she tells him her name is Rei and that she's in room K18, if he ever wants to visit or call. She doesn't get to talk to anyone except doctors, family visitors, or other paitients, and most of them don't stay nearly as long as she does. It's been seven years, and she's very lonely. Toshinori is lonely too, and when he's out of time for a day and feeling useless with nothing to do, he likes to talk to a friend.

4- Rei has been in the hospital for eight years when it gets physical. At that point, Toshinori knows a bit about her family. She has kids, mentions visits from a son and daughter, and then quietly mentioned when her son turned seventeen- her daughter's already twenty. She's been there for so much of their lives. He asks if she's married, and she admits she isn't sure how to file for divorce in a hospital like she is, if she even can, if she wants to because she'd lose custody, if it matters when she's not raising them anyway. He doesn't ask much more, knows there is a dead child and a baby she says isn't safe with her there. Toshinori never called Nana 'mom' to her face while she was alive, and had a reason for it, and has a similar reason for not asking more, not asking for the other names when he gets Fuyumi and Natsuo's. Yes, the doctors and nurses all know Rei has a boyfriend who visits. they don't say anything. who would they even tell, anyway. I debated the humor of reusing the bit from candlelight shoto that Toshi and Rei could have a kid with a fire quirk, but yeah here? Rei ain't getting pregnant, absolutely not.

5- When Natsuo turns eighteen, Rei does actually file for divorce, or at least tries to get the ball rolling on that. Toshinori's trusted her that her marriage is over in all but name, but he's more at ease with it ended fully. Fuyumi is crushed but burying it all deep inside. Natsuo is like 'what are you talking about. divorce is the most normal possible outcome here.' But anyway, Rei also begins to bring up being discharged- something she never bothered with earlier, when it seemed like she'd never be able to go home while Shoto was there, and never would want to go back anyway. (Her parents are absolutely not an option either so where would she go once discharged? the hospital was her only security.) Toshinori then tells her at this point about his diagnosis, that he's supposed to be terminal, in a way. He doesn't have a lot of time he can give her. Rei says that's ok, she'll take what she can get. She moves in. Fuyumi still goes out to eat with her once a week, though Rei doesn't say she's moved in with a boyfriend, just says she's in a safe place and it's not Fuyumi's job to worry about it, please, let her do that, relax, be her daughter instead of a mother. Natsuo adds her to his cellphone plan and gets her one. Rei doesn't tell Toshinori her ex's identity. Toshinori doesn't tell her about OfA, though she does know he's mentoring a student for heroics and is very proud of him. (Toshinori is a secretary at Might Tower, he's a great mentor. Oh huh, he got a job position at UA at the same time as All Might, she wonders if they carpool.)

+1- OK THE REVEAL so the reveal is. Toshinori gets home from the SF. And Rei almost knocks him out by the door, eyes wide and panicked, asking if he's ok, if Shoto's ok. Toshinori is like "... young todoroki? yeah he's alright? i know his fight with young bakugo looked bad but- Rei???" And that's when it all clicks for him, he's having dozens of horrible realizations at once, all while Rei weeps over her youngest. Toshinori's been a hero for a very, very long time. He's felt hopeless, before. But even then, he's known what needs to be done, he just isn't able to do it. But now? he's at a complete loss with no idea what he should do.

[teddybeartoji]

i am now officially in 2025 so happpppy happy happy new year my lovelies<333333333333 thank you for spending your time with me here thank you for letting me do whatever it is that i'm doing thank you for reading my silly little writings it all means the fucking world to me!!!!!!!!!!! i hope this new year will be gentle with all of us i hope it will be good and fun and exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hope we will all find jobs and our dream homes and i hope our health will get better aaand i hope we can all do the things we love and enjoy and that we get to hang out here aaaand that we will keep cheering each other on!!!!!!!!!!!!!I LOVE YOUUUU!!!!!!!!!!

[werewolfetone]

It's Whiteboy Wednesday if you even care 🙄

Imagine thinking I don't care about Whiteboy Wednesday! followers march this anon out to the nearest bog and imprison them in a deep hole full of briars and leave them there to die as a message to all other anons at once

[araneapeixes]

ough ngl that is a perfect shadowheart penis! You think shadowheart and you go yeah that IS her cock! It's perfect, no notes, 10/10, i wish i could be lae'zel i mean good for her!

LMAO thank u thank u 😌 I am bit of a shadowheart understander so im glad that extends to her peanis

[bloggingboutburgers]

so, im alloallo, and bi, but i have a close friend who's a lesbian. we e-cuddle a lot though. i have strong feelings for her that feel like more than just regular friendship, but dont feel romantic and definitly not sexual. i just wanna snuggle her lots and lots. and im wondering like, can an alloallo person have QP feelings for someone?

This is just me here but I absolutely don't see why not, personally. I've actually discussed it with someone in the past on this blog here. tl;dr it makes sense non-allo people would be more aware of queer platonic feelings, just like they're typically more aware of split attraction or alterous attraction, but I don't see why it should be "reserved for them" so to speak. Personally as an aroace person, if anything, I'm always very happy to see an allo person potentially relate to those feelings rather than reflexively stomping them down into the romance-or-sex mould.

[garfieldstim]

hihi! would it be possible to request a stimboard with sort of a general theme of letting go/moving on? generally comforting… im not sure if this makes sense so if you do it, feel free to take that as you wish~~ thank you!

'letting go & moving on' stimboard for anon

x x x / x x x / x x x

[pjsk-headcanons]

i've been seeing you reblog a lot of "queer people don't kill yourselves" posts so i thought maybe i should say something. i'm not sure but

to everyone, don't try to die. don't try to take your life. life is scary and there's no guarantee it won't get worse. but it will get better. there are people who love you. a lot. i don't care if you're a bad person. if you're asking yourself if you should die, i think that just points out you have enough sel-awareness to realize you did something bad- so don't commit. just change and try the hardest you can. hang out with friends more. talk to someone that you know will listen to you. i know you know there is SOMEONE. just saying it out loud, even. life is bad. people are bad. you might feel bad. you might feel like something about you is bad because other people don't like it. but please, and i mean it, someone thinks its cool. if there's a person that doesn't like something about you, keep going. keep going until you find someone that makes you happy. platonically or romantically.

it's going to get better. i promise.

(this is more like a rant, and i'm really sorry if you're uncomfortable with any of this in your inbox. you're free to delete this ask and any other necessary measures if you don't want to interact with me anymore)

have a great day, mod!

please, please live, everyone. if only just to spite those who wish you death.

[adolin]

Hi I'm the anon that was shell-shocked by your age. I'm 16 and some pennies, but idk why I always imagined that most of the people here was in the 14 to 24 age range. Mostly because some of the ideas and opinions birthed on here can only come from teenagers. Tho idk why I imagined u to be some kind of uni student. It's also true that most people here in my head are skinnier than a Skeleton while you're a boulder. So maybe you're an outlier.

The average age of Tumblr users is 20. However Grandma SchwarzeneGgeorg..

there's so much to unpack here

[shizunitis]

I need to say this to binghe and you're the closest real life binghe I know so just hear me out will ya

No matter what society says of you, you are still very loved and I'm so happy that by the end of the novel, you got the happy ending that you deserved.

I'm so sorry that you sometimes feel unloved and unwanted. If I could've met you, I would've showered you with poems every day. Fate was too cruel to you and you deserve all the love the world has to offer.

I'm so glad you found a person who actually loves you for you. And that you didn't have to try to fill a void by collecting women and treasures like pokemons. I'm so happy that you're so happy.

I'm so sorry for how the world treated you before shen yuan transmigrated. No child should've been subjected to so much pain. And how the cultivation world treated you when you came out of the abyss.

I know that me apologizing for all the pain you suffered is fucking useless and stupid but I can't even give you a physical hug. So please just bear with me.

I'm so glad that now fate will be kinder to you and that you've finally found an anchor to ground you. Shizun is one lucky man. How I wish I could've pat your head and coodled you when you were crying but nevertheless your happiness is everything. Try to never be sad again, Luo Binghe.

Yours truly,

xxxxx

i feel it would be a bit inappropriate to complain that he's getting this message instead of me, so i'll let it go this once. just this once.

co-sign, or whatever 🙄

[ohbo-ohno]

so to preface this, I have absolutely no interest in asylum/doctor AUs with Ghoap and/or Ghoap X Reader because my trauma stems from a psych ward. But, I do have some potential tidbits of knowledge you could use to write such a thing for anyone interested!

-the food at the psych ward I was in was uniquely terrible, so much so that their main complaint on Google Reviews was about patients getting food poisoning. This could be leveraged by Ghost to spike Johnny and/or Reader’s food with something, hiding the effects behind the usual ‘yeah the food sucks, just grit your teeth’ the other patients give.

-the main memory I have of the ward I was in was a therapy circle I did with a bunch of other patients. After explaining why I was placed there, all of them told me it was my own fault. I don’t think I need to spell out the delicious gaslighting potential this has for Johnny or a Reader. Maybe both of them are patients but Johnny is in cahoots with Ghost, and the two of them are working together to coax Reader into doing what they want?

-The inpatient people were kept on a separate floor. The fifth floor iirc. We never saw them, but one of my friends at the time spent over a month in inpatient and had absolutely nightmarish stories about it. Being locked down there, potentially including things like straitjackets or padded cells, would be a great way to torment and break a Reader or even Johnny.

-I was 12 going on 13 when I was sent to the ward, and they put me in a group of people at least twice my age. These individuals were actually dangerous to themselves and others. One good way to keep a Reader nice and dependent on Johnny and Ghost for protection would be doing the same, putting her in a group where she feels unsafe and alienated. Bonus points if one of said group tries to hurt her and Ghoap get to swoop in and save the day.

That’s pretty much all I had to say, thinking about the event too much gives me a migraine lol. Just wanted to offer up some writing fodder for anyone who wants it! Consider me tossing bits of bread and corn off the dock for the guppies of the lake to feast upon at their leisure

Oh my god you are a fucking Saint

[batsplat]

I think this should be a fun one for you: rank 00’s-early 2010’s spanish atp tennis players from most beloved/underrated/least beloathed to your most behated.

I love when you’re mean about atp 🥰

incredible hater ask. love to see that me just endlessly lobbing potshots at male tennis players has finally found an audience. the inclusion criteria for this list is extremely vibes-based - they need to have had some of their career-best results in the 00's or early 2010s and I can't primarily associated them with 90's or 2020's. so no moya or alcaraz... rba marginal inclusion but not pcb. (ramos vinolas would've come top but he just... didn't really get going until late 2010s.) cut-off is top twenty peak ranking. so let's go

MOST BELOVED/UNDERRATED/LEAST BELOATHED

bautista agut: horse girl!! horse girl!!! a bit of a journey of how I learned to stop worrying and love the pusher. I've occasionally had a slightly troubled history with the guy, not least because sometimes it does feel like he crawls out of the woodwork literally just to piss me off? like, I'm sorry, check out this string of results from last year (I've conveniently highlighted the irritating result)

first time since JANUARY he'd strung together back-to-back match wins. feels a little personal!!

beyond spawning out of nowhere to hand medvedev a yearly defeat, he has also been done a fair bit of torturing of murray. that 2022 match at doha with the foul scoreline... that being said, if you're a fan of a high-ranked player it is extremely poor form to be too annoyed by this kind of thing. medvedev should maybe consider stop losing to inferior pushers and even at the time I did find it pretty funny, rolled my eyes but fundamentally idc that much about how he does in halle. and I am obviously a big supporter of pushing... rba is quite an un-spanish players in some ways - doesn't play with a lot of spin, not bad at clay but it's not where he shines. idk I'm a big fan of pushers, rba has been a stalwart representative of the pushing lifestyle on the atp tour, he's kind of in that gilles simon camp where I was always happy enough to put on a match with them in it. and y'know, he seems like a nice enough guy. a fixture of the atp tour who I'm just kinda fond of

ferrer: always felt kinda sorry for him. destined to be #2 spaniard forevermore. thing is, with his game, you do have to say he didn't massively underachieve - like in a way a slam final is a pretty impressive showing. he's not one of the players TO ME where it feels super painful they never won a slam, even though arguably he's had a better career than some of the guys I'd put in that camp. funny how that works out!! I actually quite like ferrer's game, it's very bread and butter, spanish clay court style... and y'know, I grew up on clay, it's probably still my favourite surface all things considered, and we did always joke about the grinding from ten metres behind the baseline thing. I respect it. gets annoying when someone is nadal-levels good, but ferrer is very much not that so I quite enjoyed watching him play. idk, I did always vaguely like those second tier players during the big four era - childhood nostalgia of watching them in a bunch of slam matches without my negative feelings towards the big three. he's not my favourite of those, but he's all right. just quite inoffensive really

costa: oh man, I just don't really have any particularly strong feelings towards this guy. I think it's pretty funny how he won a slam and does just reflect where the clay game was at for a few years before nadal, like none of the post kuerten pre nadal rg winners were particularly serious characters. still, beating ferrero in that 2002 final is something I will gladly applaud, especially absolutely walloping him in the first two sets. this is very firmly before my time and perhaps a year or so before I even held my first tennis racquet as a kid, and while I obviously have quite a few past players I have strong feelings about... costa is not one of them. he is not actively offensive to me, let's put it that way (which I retroactively realised I'd put for two players in a row, but I'll leave it because it's funny that this is how I classify spanish players)

verdasco: now, look. verdasco doesn't hate nadal, but I am more than happy to do so on his behalf. I wasn't a sentient enough person yet in 2009 to have particularly sophisticated takes on the tragic inevitability of sports narratives, but if I HAD been I think I would've gone insane at some point during That Australian Open Match. basically redlined for hours and it still wasn't enough, never reached another slam semi, just kinda sucks man. (not that it matters but I'm glad he did at least manage to beat nadal in five at ao 2016 in the first round, just for the vibes.) I do also have a fair bit of sympathy for him over the two month doping ban he got in 2022 for failing to renew the therapeutic exemption thingy he had for his adhd medication - that was just so obviously a case of someone not really doping and tbh a lot of people (including some players!!) were pretty cruel about that shit

all that being said, can't say I've ever particularly been a fan. idk he was just one of those vaguely frustrating players to me who theoretically had a lot to their game but never was quite... on it enough. I do like some players who build their games around big booming forehands, but it's not really what I've ever gravitated towards. I think we have now reached the part of the list where most of these guys get a bit of a nadal tax. as in, I've seen them pal around with nadal, it has been forced in front of my eyeballs, and I simply do not support that kind of behaviour. (true of ferrer too but he has just about enough accumulated good will to be ranked higher up.) it's nothing personal, it's just that they're associated with nadal in my mind. I don't like it

robredo: is it bad if I say I got him confused with verdasco as a kid. too many spaniards. well, first off, go watch the valencia 2014 final against murray (I got a kia ad for nadal when I tried to open this video which ramped up my internal haterism for what is to come). what people sometimes forget about this horrifically painful final is that it was the second time in like?? a few weeks?? where he was playing murray in a final... I think he blew five matchpoints in both which. ouch. anyway the point is that valencia match is great - and unlike when the big three inflict horrendously painful defeats on their opponents, this was good and moral and fun. robredo was probably the most... invisible of this lot, if that's not too mean. his biggest contribution to tennis history is defeating federer once and only once at the 2013 us open, ensuring that federer and nadal wouldn't play - which ensured they never played at the us open which means it is an incomplete and quite frankly fraudulent rivalry. they missed out by one match on six occasions. the list of players who stopped them reads murray, djokovic, del potro and.... robredo. a hero tbh

other robredo thoughts... I mean, he was a bit top twenty filler if we're being honest. the thing where he won three consecutive slam matches from two sets to love down was pretty neat. he's basically ferrer but worse. I rank him at basically the same level as verdasco but I remember more verdasco matches than robredo so. there we are

ferrero: okay. look. I'm aware some of this might be coloured by my extreme irritation at his presence in alcaraz's coaching box these last few years. man will simply not shut up. I can't help it - sometimes this stuff colours my opinions on someone

(not a player but the swiftest downfall in this regard has been darren cahill, who had a base fondness for as 'notable agassi coach' that he's steadily pissed away in this sinner partnership. zero respect for how he dumped anisimova so soon after she hired him because he just couldn't handle the strains of travel, throwing himself a pity party... before almost immediately linking up with sinner. a tangent irrelevant to this post but I just needed to get that in there!!)

I get that coaching's legal now!! and I am NOT a conspiracy theorist about the timing of that change happening right during the golden boy's rise to the top, but!! it's still obviously been pretty convenient, like surely the umpires could not have ignored that for all that much longer lol. and I hate the rule change, idc how little practical use it is - it's antithetical to the spirit of tennis. I know coaching happened before then too but it makes a difference if you have to at least be sly about it (not that this guy ever really was). also beyond my principled opposition, he's just annoying. it's annoying. I'm sick of his face by now. get him off my screen

but to rewind twenty years, it's still aggravating that his one and only slam came at the cost of what would have been one of the all-time great slam fairy tale runs. it should have been verkerk!! ik that it wasn't even particularly close, I don't care. verkerk also just had a more compelling run to the final - sure jcf beat defending champion costa but he wasn't in particular good form, and verkerk took out both moya and coria. some random dutch bloke took out former champion moya in five sets... should have gotten the title. I'm sure you'll be delighted to know the match is indeed on youtube. isn't this cool:

don't you want to root for this guy!!

anyway yeah idk you're a top player for years you win one slam and THAT is how you won it? by stomping on a fairy tale? the counter-argument is that jcf SHOULD have won in 2002 but, well. just an awful performance wasn't it. like I know I said I like grinders and chokers but the first two sets of the first slam final you compete in being 1-6 0-6... hm. idk man. just don't think he was a good enough player to have earned a slam or indeed to have been number one, and in that case I would prefer the fairy tale slam. I will say he was an underrated hard court player, but yeah just didn't like his playstyle. a lot of these spaniards are way too big on their forehands. and I cannot forgive his role in blighting the game with another spanish prodigy. we're just never going to be free

lopez: okay, look, admittedly the fact that he seemed so close to nadal didn't make me particularly keen on him, but it's more than that!! another one where his activities post-retirement have hardly done much to endear him to me. I do unironically loathe this guy for his work running the madrid open, I think he's an incompetent sexist cunt who needs to be kept far away from women's tennis as possible. these last couple of years have made me more and more furious about the current situation with women's tennis - the game is in an excellent place but it might as well be being sabotaged by the people who are supposed to promote it. it's disgraceful he is still even in the job after the women's doubles finalists were prevented from speaking during the trophy ceremony, and it's as good a demonstration as you're going to get of the wta's luck of power. just makes me sad man

also, I never liked him as a player. idk man hating's not rational but I'm trying to come up with something I feel like I can defend a bit more than 'I was sick of people talking about how attractive this guy was to women'. but well, I was! oh wow, he's a heartthrob?? you think he's good-looking?? you want to make a joke about how he makes the ladies swoon?? original! never heard it before! look, I support straight women in their lifestyle choices even if they differ from my own, but more than anything else I just find this shit cringe. 'deliciano' is cringe. calling a bloke vain can be a pretty charged insult, but in this case I stand by it - shallow man with shallow tennis. just this gross macho energy that I personally have always found off-putting. he's also a commentators' pet where they want him to unlock his inner potential and become the player he could be with all that talent inside of him... literally shut up

nadal: if nadal has a million haters, I am one of them. if nadal has five haters, I am one of them. if nadal has one hater, that is me. if nadal has no haters, then I am no longer alive. if the word supports nadal then I am against the world

I ended up writing paragraphs and paragraphs worth of why I hate him for One Match Specifically but then I realised that wasn't really part of the remit for a jokey hater post and was also getting a wee bit TOO earnest and emotional. it has been cut out but lmk if you want to read an extended scream into the abyss I suppose lol

anyway! my number one enemy. djokovic might be the worst of the big three on moral grounds, federer's whole aesthetic and vibe is horrendous, but as an actual tennis player? oh, nadal, they could never make me like you. instinctively the least appealing playstyle... I love watching djokovic move around the court, even I can appreciate clean federer hitting. nadal is just... well, look, I'm not a forehand girl. and when I AM a forehand girl, I tend to like mine a bit flatter. penetrating. I can appreciate nadal's forehand is a great shot, but it doesn't really do much for me. all the good and appealing parts of nadal's game... low key are better from djokovic. the athleticism, the counterpunching, high margin game etc. if I want this stuff, I go to djokovic. also, look, I don't like the grunting - but what I really don't like is how completely accepted it is to hound wta players for grunting while nobody bats an eyelid when nadal sounds like a flock of seagulls is dying in his throat every single point. and I get that the double standards aren't exactly his fault, but you know what is his fault? his repeated and consistent opposition to equal pay in tennis! admittedly women's rights aren't exactly an issue you want to interrogate too closely with any of the big three, see the utter cowardice and moral void surrounding the zverev case

which I think gets to the part that really pisses me off about nadal. it's just... the hypocrisy. his pr is all about being this big fighter, big fighter, big fighter, he's so tough, he never gives up, what a fighter. such a big song and dance is done about what a great sportsman he is, him and federer obviously - how respectful they are, how civil and composed and isn't it great that we have two such great role models for the sport. people won't stop banging on about the fucking racquet smashing thing, as if we have to declare sainthood because a multi-millionaire tax evader has decided not to break a stick that clocks in at maybe a hundred fifty quid retail price. I'm biased in that I like racquet smashes, I think they're funny, they're ultimately not that serious - I don't particularly mind giving them a code violation but I do think it's remarkable that breaking a racquet isn't allowed but smashing up your own body with a racquet is. which is a separate issue! point being, it's one of those things that get used to paint nadal as the fairest most respectful most humblest bestest sportsman of all time. but he's not!! of course he engages in gamesmanship, of course he did some blatant time violations every time he could get away with it, of course he loved disrupting the rhythm of the other player serving, of course some of his medical timeouts were awfully convenient. of course it's pretty rich of him to complain about other blokes grunting

which I literally would not mind - I am a justine henin fan - if it weren't ignored due to this guy's insane pr. I also think it is awfully like tennis, in all its hypocrisy and fundamental conservatism, to judge someone's moral character over the number of racquets they have smashed - rather than literally anything else. this OBVIOUSLY isn't his fault, but I find the way many of his fans glorify the abuse his uncle subjected him to as a child beyond distasteful. federer fans are the cockiest and at times most fanatical (though For Some Reason they've quietened down these past few years), djokovic fans are the most flat out insane, but I find something about the conservatism of the nadal fanbase particularly pernicious. all in on the macho culture, endless wanking off to his masculinity and traditional values and whatever other bullshit

and to bring it back around - he's also fucking boring lol. like at the end of the day all this stuff just eats away at his appeal for me. so committed to never saying anything controversial he never says anything at all. I've already expressed this opinion before on this blog, but I firmly believe if you are an athlete that good and that dominant then you NEED to have more going for you. you need more character, more narrative juice, more interesting interpersonal relationships with your fellow competitors. tbh I think it's probably quite hard to keep me invested if you're THAT dominant, but let's be honest - men's tennis hasn't even been trying since agassi and sampras retired (rip to my men's tennis goats). serena on the women's side is way less annoying because she faced a changing cast of characters throughout her career, everyone in noughties wta had crazy narrative juice, and she is also exponentially more interesting than the big three combined. she really WAS an asshole at times, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible!! all the gamesmanship people use to insult her honestly just makes me like her more. people complain about the chaos at the top of the wta tour but like... first of all, obviously we've left that era, and secondly I'd take that any day over stagnation at the top of the men's. the big three for all their incredible tennis have stifled the men's game, nadal's the worst of them, glad he's retired

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