#could've done it in relation to how well they did in the tournament or how much the creators participated

[wyrm-in-the-apple]

And then they all went out for ice cream.

For @nashdoesstuff‘s Dream tournament

Identification of each Dream below the cut:

Left to right

Front row (around the table):

Shattered!dream [@galacii-gallery], modernverse!dream [@ask-modern-verse], one small dream!dream [@calcium-cat], malltale!dream / mall [@withtheworms & 0netype]

Second row:

empireverse!dream [@lunnar-chan], dawn [@sunlit-witch], molten!dream [@orbital-inclination], bwb!dream [@the-kk-crow], reset!dreamtale!dream [@pzyvengeance​], shattered!monarch [@wishingstarinajar], dream [joku]

Back row:

leviathan!dream [@skumhuu], swap!dream dream / swad [@song-song-a], oneiros [@wishingstarinajar], negative!dream [@angstyhikka], silence / dream!error [@dryemiddi]

#dream tournament #too many dreams #utmv #artworm #Modern gave his camera to his brother #because I didn't want to draw it #And Mall has his brother's coat #Because I didn't want to draw his other hand #any other differences in appearance are due to me trying not to go crazy while drawing this #no particular order in their locations #aside from where i could make them all visible #could've done it in relation to how well they did in the tournament or how much the creators participated #but eh #probably fairer to just make it by where they'd fit anyway

[zingaplanet]

If you think about Federer and Nadal's unique sort of friendship and how it managed to lasts this long it's actually very bizzarre.

Apart from the fact that they're the unlikeliest of friends, ditto they're actual sworn enemies who have very little in common from the beginning (that's the whole premise of their rivalry), perhaps what's more fascinating is not how they kinda grew to have more in common and actually found they relate to each other a lot as they got older but also how much effort they put into creating and maintaining this relationship that they could've easily done without.

If I realised anything recently, especially after their retirement (or soon-to-come retirement) from professional sport, it's a bond that is nurtured as much as it is naturally grown and for no discernible logical reason. It's arguably good PR of course, two big rivals getting along when they're still competing and certainly plays a lot in landing the 'nice guy' image for both, but conflict and troubles are equally if not more, great PR as well, just look at Michael Jordan and his rivals. Or perhaps it was simply the 'gentlemanlike' nature of tennis that wouldn't tolerate this kind of behaviour and they're aware of this, or perhaps it's a simpler answer.

What's interesting is they seem to almost subject themselves willingly to this situation of friendliness and cordial relationship that they couldn't easily get out of, it's evident in the very beginning of their relationship for instance. It's true that after 2017 they did grow closer seemingly more naturally (with Federer experiencing injuries as Nadal has felt many times before, and them relating more to each other near the end of their careers), but before that? It was a remarkable effort. Nobody ever forced them to get along but they went out of their way to do it, and it's not as if it was ever 'easy'.

They did get good things about it in the media of course, like always having each other to rely on for their foundations' charity matches, etc., but it's also very precarious, as is expected. It's obvious that they've had fallouts, 2011 is one, perhaps no little frustration nor jealousy, and disagreement over the sports' politics. This is on top of facing each other in their favourite tournament finals every year. The truth is, they could, simply not bother - tennis is their world but it's not centred just around them. 2011 to 2020 at least, is a four-edged sword between the big 4, but you don't really see both of them making this much effort with Novak, Andy, or any of their big rivals.

Nadal and Federer obviously talked it out and made up their differences over the 2011 dispute in private, or else they would not have agreed to rejoin the players' council together. Nadal even apologised for making this disagreement too public. Federer could easily not come to Nadal's academy inauguration, and Nadal could simply rejected the Match in Africa and Laver Cup proposals (which he tried his best to fit into his busy schedule despite protests from his team). Novak, for instance, approached this rivalry he had with both of them in a much more detached way, always very respectful, occassionally friendly, but never really truly bordering on personal lines. He even admitted recently that he could never imagine Federer and Nadal as his friends.

I used to think that with two such complements in the world, somehow the universe would work its way to make it either blow up in pieces or come together naturally. But I realised I was wrong. The point is, it's not easy. It never has been. It's not natural nor is it inevitable closeness through time (like Nadal did with his Davis Cup teammates or Federer did with Wawrinka). They have absolutely no incentive to be friends. Federer did not have to come and open Nadal's academy, nor send congratulatory messages every year to the new graduates, Nadal did not have to leave his family to play in Federer's last match or fly all the way to South Africa. But that's why it's one of the greatest achievements in sports- that two of its biggest rivals absolutely did not have to get along, yet they did it anyway. It's a testament to their character, their sportsmanship, but above all, their immense respect for one another.

And what comes out of effort is trust. Both of them have repeatedly said that they trust each other more than anyone, Nadal said he could be open with Federer about anything including his injuries even when he's still playing, and Federer said he allowed himself to be vulnerable when he told Nadal first before everyone else about his retirement. It's very easy to find people you care about but very difficult to find one you wholly trust.

It's a valuable and meaningful bond of their own making and I can understand more now why Federer said he knew he'd still be in touch with Nadal after retirement out of all his tennis friends. Nadal's similar, now nearly completely out of the tour, he seems to not bother with anyone else in the field anymore but Federer. It's them calling each other still when there is no more tennis to discuss, no council matters to agree over. It's Federer saying "It happens, Rafa is like that" when saying their communications dwindle down every time Nadal is injured but clearly not worried about the durability of their friendship. Now, it's the effortlessness that comes after so many years of trying, it's "I know how he must've felt", it's absolute trust without complicated demands, it's being understood without having to say anything, it's the familiarity of an old friend, it's missing the old days and realising the world is moving on without them, it's accepting the present and not regretting the past, it's growing old together.

it's the feeling of simple, steady companionship, that they're in it together, always.

#I've done a lot of thinking about them recently #especially as we're changing eras and everything feels so fast #tennis is no longer the sport I grew up watching #and I can't imagine what it's like to be federer or nadal at this moment #here goes again my long reflections #sorry! #fedal #tennis #roger federer #rafael nadal