#(except marc)

[flyingfabio]

FABIO P9 CARRYING THE WHOLE COUNTRY OF JAPAN ON HIS BACK WHERE IS HIS HONORARY CITIZENSHIP

[luthienne]

Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnick, from Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics

[topnotchquark]

Mediaeval Profession Choose One: MotoGP riders edition (plus Cele)

Based on this poll

[ray935sworld]

Thunderstorm and children's laughter

Valentino Rossi was sound asleep when his little brother woke him up. Nothing he wasn't used to by now. Afterall there was a nasty thunderstorm and Luca was only 4. Except he wasn't. The night before he was 26, like the rest of the academy.

Rosquez with academy fluff (~5.5k words)

Vale was actually not already awake. He was lost in a dreamless sleep. The summer heat had hit them with another hit. It was too much for his brain to actually function. Even making up dreams felt like too much effort. So he didn’t really lost much when he felt a small hand on his shoulder. It was a tight grip but without much strength.

A warm summer night in Tavullia.

Disorientated he turned towards the movement. He was still light-headed as it was the pressure that had woken him up. He blinked a few times. He was confused but his brain remembered what a tiny hand on his arm meant. It was the silent code he and his baby brother made when he needed something.

“Tino“ It was barely more than a whisper. It could easily pass as a hiss rather than an actual word. But Vale would recognize it easily. It was small, barely even audible but the voice made all his attention focus on the spoken words. He had learned to hear it over the sound of deafening motors, screams and laughter. He could identify it over loud music and yelling, no matter how far away. He had sworn to protect the little voice and now he would recognize the voice of his baby brother anywhere.

He was used to it by now. Since his mom had his little brother, he just had to adore Luca. When he first learned about his mother’s pregnancy, he was unsure how to approach the situation. He and his younger sibling would have a large age gap. He would be a lot away with racing. He feared that he wouldn’t be able to be actually involved in his siblings life. He didn’t want them to resent him for that. But ever since Luca had been born, the young adult had realized that his worry had been silly. Luca seemed to be glued to him every time he was visiting his mom. And he loved waddling to him in the middle of the night. He often insisted on sleeping in his bed which caused Vale to take the coach, as he didn’t  want to risk hurting him.

This must be one of these times. “Ciao bambino” he answered and smiled. He opened his eyes. He was so tired he felt like his eyelashes were glued together. He had gone to bed way too late to be already up again. But he couldn’t remember what had kept him awake.

The child in front of him was undeniable Luca, but he couldn’t be older than 4. Therefore Vale’s tired brain had decided that it must be at some point in the summer of 2001. Luca hadn’t even been 4 years old back then. He was about to turn 4 and Vale was determined to spend the birthday with his brother. He had gotten him a mini bike, helmet, a suite and everything to make sure his brother was safe after the little one had constantly expressed curiosity in the work of the older brother.

He chuckled about the way he could only see his shoulder when he had his head pressed against the mattress. Luca’s longer hair was falling in his face. He’d soon have to cut them again. The strains were slowly getting long enough to reach his eyes. He looked at him. The two piercing blue eyes had small tears in them. He had been crying. He noticed the tears and his giggles was muted. He looked at his red eyes. His cheeks had a trail of water on them. How did he not notice immediately? Worry overtook him. He stretched his arms out to quickly brush the tears away. “Hey, what’s going on?” he asked. His voice caring and full of love.

“Weather scary” he whispered. It was only then that Vale’s senses kicked him. He heard loud rustling. At first it was only quite then it got suddenly louder. It sounded metallic and plastic at the same time. The wind was howling while kicking the window shutter. It was raining. The drops were tipping the roof and made a natural rhythm. It was undeniable loud. The bedrooms were directly under the roof so there was not much space that could have silenced the noises. It was Luca’s whimper when a loud bang silenced all those noises. A thunder crashed. A summer thunderstorm had woken the little kid. It scared the boy and that was the only thing he cared about right now.

“Awe, do you want to cuddle?” he asked softly and pulled him closer. He sat up a little bit to put his arm under the armpits of his brother. He lifted him easily. “I promise, I will protect you no matter what. I have experience with some of the worst storms in the history of -“ He wanted to fall in a story to distract his brother while settling him on his side. But therefore he had to move to the side. While moving, he felt a leg next him. Someone was lain next to him. But for the love of god, he would never bring an one night stands to his mom’s house since and his relationship – oh.

He realized he might had the wrong date. In 2001 he wasn’t dating anyone. But in 2024 he was. He had been in a long term relationship since 2020. Again.

He turned around. There he was. His boyfriend. The love of his life. He smiled. A sleeping Marc Marquez, being 31 years old – half naked as usual – was next to him. He was in their shared bedroom on the ranch. Not his mother’s flat. Just for a moment he was thanking god that he and Marc weren’t somehow sucked back in time and were stuck at his mom’s house. That’d be awkward to explain.

Which lead to the new problem. His brother would soon celebrated his 27th birthday. The summer of 2001 was 23 years ago. Luca was not supposed to be barely able to look above the bed. He was supposed to be freaking taller than him. But there he was, sitting innocently on his lap and burying his head in his chest. Another thunder had made him shiver. His whole body was trembling and he couldn’t help but hug him closer. He knew he was crying so he put his hand on the back of his head and softly stroke his scalp. He needed to calm him. He didn’t like seeing his brother in pain – emotionally or physically.

At the same time he started kicking his boyfriend awake. He only needed a few to shake him awake. “Valeeee-“ he was greeted with complaining, as expected. He couldn’t really blame him as he would have the same reaction. “It’s too early- lemme sleep. We can fuck in-” “Marc, Luca turned into a 4 year old.”

He couldn’t believe he just said that. But it was true. It was the truth. At least that was the only explanation how a 4 year old version of his adult brother ended up in his arms.

“Who is 4 years old?” his voice was muffled by the cushions. “Luca” “Eh?! Luca is 26” Finally the Spaniard open his eyes and sat up to stare at little Luca who stared right back at him. “Ehm… Hi” he managed to get out. He couldn’t deny the similarities between the child and the Luca he knew – and the few childhood pictures of Luca at various ages in Vale’s home that he’d never get rid of  – so he had to believe his lover when he said it. If he said it was Luca than it must be Luca.

“He’s… Why is he…” he tried to put the situation in words. But stopped himself in his sentence. He watched how the little body cling to the older who absentminded patted him. “I don’t know. He is scared of the thunder. He came here like this” “This never happened before… Right?” “Oh how could I forget?!” he asked and the way he said it made Marc immediately knew it’d be sarcasm. “He always randomly turns into a baby!” “M not a baby” a silent protest interrupted him. “I know. I’m sorry, you’re a big boy” he hurried to say and added a short kiss to his forehead to make sure he was being forgiven. The bright grin told him everything he needed to know.

Marc already felt his heart melting. He still couldn’t stay cool when seeing his lover show affection. Seeing him interact with his academy boys always made him feel warm. He was kind to them, willing to protect them from anyone and everything. He always encouraged them. He somehow felt reassured and more safe. Seeing him with his little brother – now even younger than usual – was the sweetest thing imaginable.

Until another thought hit him. “Wait… If he… That means he has no clue who I am.” He didn’t want to risk upsetting him or even scare him. Watching the slight look of panic wash over Vale proved that this was a worry worth considering. Even though Luca had always been a polite child, he didn’t like stranger. With his brother’s profession and the younger one’s frequent visits at the circuits, he had taught Luca very early to just start screaming, running, hitting and biting if someone was trying to take him.

Before Vale could warn his boyfriend that he might be challenging him to a screaming match, Marc turned to the child. He levelled with him and patted his shoulder. “Hey… Luca. Luca, do you know who I am?”

Vale felt the little head move. He looked at Marc for a second and Vale was full on prepare to deal with whatever happened next. But instead he just said “Eh? You’re… Marc. Why?” “Thank god” he breathed out. He wasn’t sure how he could have dealt with it if he had no clue.

But it reminded him that he should get a real overview of the situation to make sure that everyone was okay. After all, the question how it happened was connected with who else was affected. He was lucky that Marc was like he was when he fell asleep but the whole academy had stayed over.

“You’re right. That’s Marc. You can trust him. He is a big brother too! So he knows how to take care of you. There’s no problem if you stay with him for a few minutes.” He decided and exchanged a look with the Spaniard who nodded in agreement. “Here, you keep an eye on him. I will-“

He was just trying to lift the little boy to hand him over when Luca quickly tighten his grip around his shoulders. His nails were digging in his shirt and he tried to pull him back. He wanted him closer so he could feel his warmth again. Vale stopped in his track, confused about the sudden reaction. “No, Tino. Don’t go. Plewse. You promised. You promised.” “I… I will be back soon. Look, it’s Marc. You like Marc, don’t you? He’s your friend. He is kind and lovely, caring and way more fun than me” he tried to argue. “But… Want you”

The way his lips were shaking when he said it, almost broke him. Helpless he looked to the younger rider. “I need to check on the other boys” he whispered and got a nod in return.

“Luca, look” Marc started and slowly put his hand on his shoulder. “Your brother really, really needs to check on your friends okay? Remember?” He slowly let his hand wander to his back so the change would go more smoothly. He hoped to just be able to pull Luca from Vale while they were talking. “We had a sleep-over. Maybe they are scared too. You wouldn’t want that, right?” “Yeah, but… Tino” “He’ll be back soon. I promise. We can cuddle in the meantime. I may not be Vale but I promise I keep you just as safe.” He seemed hesitant but a loud thunder quickly made his decision. It was a loud rumbling that made little Luca jump. He rushed in Marc’s open arms who quickly cover the kid with the blanket.

Marc looked up and smiled, happy that his plan had worked. Vale watched the scene in fascination. He knew that Marc was good with kids, but actually seeing it was different. Not to mention that this child was his dearest little boy. He looked so content to deal with his little brother.

“I love you” he confessed without thinking and leaned in to kiss his lover. He captured his lips for a moment. He wanted it to last longer but an “Ihhh” made them break. Luca was staring at them with a disgusted face. “What? He’s cute” The oldest defended himself and kissed his cheeks which made Luca giggle.

Vale finally stood up but not without leaning closer once more. “You sure you can handle him?” Vale reassured himself. Marc almost looked offended. “Yes! Now go check on your kids. We’ll be okay” he insisted and pushed him playfully away.

Now there was no more reason to wait. He got up and quickly left. As soon as he stepped out on the corridor, he heard the rain basically punching every available surface. It was loud like hits. And there was no way to escape the sounds. Vale really couldn’t blame anyone for being scared, especially a child that didn’t understood what was going on. He had just crossed the hallway, getting closer to the boys rooms when he saw light through a window. The light was burning downstairs.

It could only be one of the riders he was looking for cause he was sure he had turned the light off when he went to bed. So he took the few steps down and headed for the kitchen where he assumed he’d find the source of it. With every step, he prayed that he would find an adult version of Bez laying high on the kitchen floor or Pecco making himself tea in the middle of the night like he did so many times already.

He considered praying but either this was one of the hard challenges the priest always talked about or God couldn’t help him too.

At least he guessed the right person. When he entered, his eyes curiously looking around, he was faced with Pecco. The champion was standing in front of one of the cupboard and had turned around when he heard him. He looked at him, his big eyes even bigger than usual. His face was yet to grow on them. His cheeks were rounded than they had been when saying good night. And his signature beard had disappeared.

Pecco was now a very small Pecco. He had lost around half his height. A very young – maybe 5 – and scared looking Pecco, was staring at him and smiled in visible relief. Still he didn’t left his cover.

Little Pecco was hiding behind Franky. Franky who had lost approximately more than half a meter of his own height as well. But he was noticeable taller than the little one. Franco’s curls had returned and were hanging in every directions. He looked like he hadn’t seen a hairbrush in a year but it was just his natural hair. He seemed older than Pecco and Luca. More around school age. If he had to place it, he’d say 7.

Franky felt how Pecco had suddenly moved and turned around as well. Holding a yellow package, he smiled at him. Vale was able to make out that he was missing one of his teeth.

“He wanted cookies” he explained. He closed the door to the shelve were they kept the snacks. Now this was a detail he could work with. It might be the only thing that made sense in this situation. A scared child wants a cookie. Of course.

That said child was Francesco Bagnaia, the current MotoGP world champion was another story. Vale decided to deal with that after he had helped them. “Yeah, sure.” He agreed. There wasn’t really anything else to say. He was lucky the boys seemed to remember him. The thought of having to deal with two or more kids scared they had been kidnapped made a shiver run down his spin.

Without thinking about it, he got two plastic cubs out a storage – something they barely used, only when they were outside on track and for some reason didn’t had bottles or when one of them decided to get too drunk to function. Right now he was really happy to have them. He wasn’t sure if he could hand glass to Pecco… A weird thought.

He filled both cubs with milk and lifted the little rider from Turin on a chair with Franco next to him. “Thank you” both said unisono. They smiled at him. He smiled back. The younger one was sat almost directly against Franky but was now clearly more relaxed. To distract them further, Vale activated the radio in a corner. He hoped it would cover the remaining sound of rain, wind and thunder. It was less noticeable on this floor but still audible.

He watched them for a few more seconds. He just needed to take it in. Pecco was 4. Luca too. Franky seemed like 7 – maybe 8. It was a situation he never believed could be possible. But now he had them munching cookies and dipping them in milk. He was not going crazy. Marc had seen Luca. He wasn’t insane.

He asked if they needed anything else. He wanted to make sure they were okay. They were already joking about something he hadn’t quite caught. Partly cause he hadn’t listen. Partly cause Pecco was speaking so sloppy, it was impossible to hear. He took it as a good sign and returned to finally checking the bedrooms.

He stood in the hallway, looking from one door to the other. Luca, Franky and Pecco were alright. That left Cele, Bez and Migno who were sleeping at the ranch as well. Sometimes they drove home as most of them didn’t live far away but today they had a long training in the evening to avoid the heat and most had alcohol with dinner. And none of them would be driving when they had a drink. Vale would prevent that. So they had slept in some of the spare bedrooms that he had for this exact reason.

He decided to check on Migno first. He was already having the handle in hand when he realized that they was a real possibility that he would be faced with Andrea Migno as a 5 year old – probably completely unhinged and wild. If that was the case he might actually take a few years from him. Not to mention Bez. In combination with a young Cele or Pecco. He swallowed. He was already happy they weren’t his legal responsibility. But as kids… That could be fun.

But all the horrors he imagined they would bring were now only in his thoughts. He needed certainty so he silently opened the door.

He almost laugh when he saw Migno.

As feared, Migno was now even smaller than usual. He had the statue of a 5 year old. But he was laying on his bed, which was now way too big for him. He was spread out over the covers. He was sleeping like nothing happened. Vale could hear him snore loudly. He was actually sleeping. During the worst thunderstorm in years, he was sleeping like a little child – like the little child he currently was. He smiled and looked in the sky. Maybe there was still a god that had pity with him.

Therefore his newest mission was now to make sure that no one of the baby academy would decided that cuddling with Andrea by jumping on him and waking him was a great idea. The less he had to deal with, the better.  

The next person on his check list was Cele. This time, there was no hesitation. He wanted to rip the bandage off. But he immediately noticed that the youngest one wasn’t in his room. Even after turning the lights on, seeing the raffled bed, making clear that someone had sleep there before leaving.

A wave of panic hit him. Where was the little trouble maker? At 22 he was already a handful – back when he first joined at only 14 years old he was mainly to shy around him to be a manic, but after the stories Bez told him, he sure wasn’t a calm one either. But as a little kid with no hesitation or sense of boundaries? Immediately, the worst case scenario started in his head. What if he had ran off? He couldn’t ask to look for a 22 year old that might be only 3. He tried not to think about a panicking Cele that woke up, unsure and scared where he might be.

Pecco and Franco seemed to remember him – Luca did it anyway – despite not knowing him when they were this young. And Luca knew Marc so maybe even a baby Cele would know that he was safe on the ranch. He pushed the ‘what if he doesn’t back in his mind’

Then he remembered that Cele had a tendency of sneaking in his boyfriends room or motorhome. Bez was only a door away after all. He never blamed them and now, this might be the best shot to prevent the heart attack he felt in his chest. He quickly rushed to the door and opened it.

He was met with a dim light when he opened the last door and stared at 4 very scared eyes. Cele and Bez. Both were shivering and buried up to their noses in Bez blanket. They looked at him like he was their saviour.

“Loud” Was all Cele said as an explanation. He was definitely still the youngest. He couldn’t be older than 3. He looked so small that Vale barely recognized him. But he knew that the only person that Bez would press this close to himself was Cele. And right now, there was no way he would give him up. He was sure the 4 year old would bite him if he even suggested to hand the little one over.

“Yes. It’s very loud and very, very scary” he tried his best to stay calm. He went around the bed to look both of them in the eyes. He was kneeling beside the bed and gave them what he hoped would be a comforting smile.

He looked at them. Those were the men he knew. What if they didn’t change back? Would they grow up again? Would they still want to ride when they’re old enough? How the hell was he supposed to explain this to the boys’ parents anyway? Surely they would not expect to get their babies back in the literal sense. But rationally, he couldn’t keep them. He would but he wasn’t their legal guardian. And they would have to come up with an explanation for the world why all academy were suddenly declared unfit and  potentially return in… 9 to 13 years in Moto3.

But now his priority was to make sure they were okay. “Were under the roof, so the storm is kinda close.” He explained. Knowing what was going on, might sooth them. “Why don’t we go down to the kitchen, mm? Pecco and Franco are there too. We can have some cookies and listen to music. Then you want even notice the storm. We’ll distract each other.”

Cele looked up to Bez. They were having a silent conversation. Both were reading the other to find out what they wanted. “What about Andrea?” Marco asked. “He is still sleeping. He’ll be alright” he reassured him quickly. Again, the two shared a look before Bez stood up. Cele was still pressed against his chest. He was holding him tightly but Vale’s fear peaked more than having to watch Luca race for the first time. The last thing he needed was an injured child whose existence he couldn’t explain but needed a trip to the ER.

He watched Bez closer than when they were on track and hold his little hands steady while Cele buried his head in his neck. Together, they walked downstairs again. Vale was ready to grab the boys ever second but the Rimini born rider was very careful.

Vale was sure he had just gained grey hair by the time the two boys finally made it down. Safely. It was only then Bez had decided it was okay for Cele to walk on his own. But not without holding his hand. The other accepted without hesitation and smiled a little bit. The retired rider quickly opened the door to the kitchen and was met with… nothing. The room was empty. But a sound stopped him from worrying. Instead he checked the living room.

He stayed in the entrance just for a second. He wanted to take the scene in. He hoped he could safe this moment in his mind forever. He didn’t want to forget it. Ever.

Marc sat in the middle of the couch. He had a soft blanket draped over him and the boys. Pecco had apparently decided that the spot exactly under his arm was the best place to be. Franky was sitting next to him, excited to see Cele and Bez. He grinned at them and waved which cause Cele to run towards him, dragging Marco with him. Luca was sat on the other side, clearly sleepy. His tiny eyes were almost closed. Nonetheless, he smiled when he spotted his brother.

“Hey, what are we watching?” he asked as he took the place next to Luca. He was now squished between Marc and Vale and didn’t seem to mind. He just shifted his head to lay on his brother instead.

“Cars!” Pecco announced. Bez and Cele were now sat next to Vale. And slowly a calm atmosphere returned. No one spoke. Marc refused to question the situation. He was just trying to make the little kids feel safe and comfortable. They couldn’t change what happened to them either way and at 2am no one would help the either. They would deal with the rest in the morning.

So they just watched Cars. Around half way in the movie, when most of them had already started to get tired again, the door opened. A very sleepy Andrea entered. He look at them, grinned and ran towards the end of the coach. Suddenly his tiredness seemed to no longer affect him.

“Migno, don’t-“ Vale started but it was too late. He had already jumped on the side and was now looking very guilty at their dad. “Sorry” he smirked. “Yeah, yeah” There was no use in scolding him. He wouldn’t listen, now that he was taking his place next to Franco.

Now they were all together. The kids still shifted a little. At that point, Luca had found his way to Vale’s side in the Cele – Bez hug. Franco and Migno were a little bit fooling around, but calmed down quickly. Pecco was sleeping leaned on Marc. The Spaniard himself was asleep as well. He was breathing calmly. His head was placed on Vale’s shoulder who was still very much awake.  

The older rider had always appreciated moments like this. He actually couldn't really get enough of them. He loved to look at his lover and make himself aware just how lucky he was to be with him, even after everything that he did to him. He had wasted so much time. He promised himself to never waste another minute. And in moments like this, this included, to look at him and realised just how lucky he truly was. He thought about how much he loved him during the whole movie. He wished he could spend the rest of their lives like this.

Cuddle together with their children - with their actual children, not with the de-aged Academy riders preferably. But he knew that they belonged in his vision of his perfect little family as well. But as their adult versions. Hopefully. They would watch movies, make food and play together. Even if Marc would want to still race or work in racing, he wouldn’t mind taking care of them on his own.

He would teach his kids how to ride the bike once they're old enough, and he would show them everything their papa had done. He would show them Marc's accomplishments, not his own. That was the life he wanted. That was his new goal. With this thought, the credits of the movie began to roll. He had to break his dream and come back to his new, weird reality.

“Who is still awake?” he whispered “Me” “I’m tired” Luca and Migno answered. “Okay… Do you want to sleep in my bed?” “Yes!” “No, I’ll go back in mine” Andrea decided and was already wandering off. Vale decided not to try to understand him. Instead, he turned to his little brother and smiled. “OK, then I'll just make sure that they're not freezing and then I’ll be there.”

The thunderstorm had already died out. Not that they had even noticed. It was calm outside. He heard Luca following Migno. They were joking about something. They laughed about how their mentor had smiled at Marc the whole time and had thought they actually hadn’t notice it.

Vale was at the same time busy getting a blanket from one of the shelves. It was technically warm enough to sleep without one, but he didn’t want to risk it. He didn’t need Marc or the children to catch a cold.

He carefully pulled the blanket over them and then adjusted them. He made sure that no little nose or mouth was accidentally buried under the material. When he was sure that they wouldn’t get cold and could still breath, he smiled about them.

“Good night boys… You are adorable like that and I hope you know how important you are for me but I really, really need my adult boys back, okay?” He knew that he was just speaking to himself. And they probably had no say in what happened but it felt right to say it. He smiled about them and brushed Franky’s hair back.

Then he leaned in to kiss his boyfriend’s forehead. He watched Marc smile in his sleep. He wanted to believe that it was because of his kiss but he was happy either way. Knowing he was happy and able to sleep soundly in his house was enough. “I love you so much” he whispered. “You make me the happiest I’ve ever been. I hope you know that, tereso. I want to spent the rest of my life with you and make you the happiest you’ve ever been. Every day. For what remains”

He went upstairs to say his goodnights to Migno who was already absent minded asleep. He gave an barely audible sound back, which was supposed to be a “You too”.

Then he quickly got in his own bed, where Luca immediately started using him as a pillow. While drifting away, there was one certainty… He would ask Marc how he felt about adopting a child. Maybe even two. He smiled about his plan, looking forward hopefully as he finally fell back asleep.

I really hope you enjoyed this story, feedback and (writing) suggestions are always welcome

@hotmessmaxpress @formulapookie @thesunthemoonthestarstheearth I hope this is similar to what you imagined and thanks a lot for the extra motivation :)

WITH CUT OUT SCENE!

[moonshynecybin]

i do think marc should go back to honda in a couple years with luca as a teammate just for the pure comedy of valentino skulking around the garage before races and acting like marc doesnt exist. just them determinedly ignoring each other from two feet away. fully this is fine. this is great. i love this. i dont even think about it. camera man GLUED to the honda garage like its a real housewives episode

[age-of-moonknight]

“A Little Chaos,” Moon Knight Annual (Vol. 5/2024), #1.

Writer: Dan Watters; Penciler and Inker: Marco Renna; Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg; Letterer: Cory Petit

[batsplat]

kind of recently clocked that marc took caseys honda seat coming into 2013 (not saying he didn’t deserve a factory seat immediately bc he obviously did, kid went and podiumed his first and won his second ever race on that bike but it somehow never crossed my mind and it’s kind of insane to imagine now that a rookie would get it) and i was wondering if there was something To Know about that mid to end 2012 season, about vale back to yamaha and casey retiring and casey and danis teammateship and how dani reacted to marc getting that seat etc i love love love your rambles so if you got thoughts please share?

y'know what. let's do this one with bullet points

at the start of 2012, retirement rumours were swirling around two riders. one was casey stoner.... the other was valentino rossi

valentino was entering year two of a miserable stint at ducati, trapped on a bike that was *checks notes* shit and that was still several years away from making the kinds of improvements that could make it championship-winning machinery in anyone's hands (remember, even casey wasn't anywhere close to fighting for the title in 2010). it had also been a rough couple of years injury-wise for valentino, with 2010 bringing the shoulder injury courtesy of a motocross accident, followed by him breaking the leg at mugello. the painful shoulder problems persisted even upon his return from the leg injury, not exactly helped by his decision to delay shoulder surgery until the end of the year, and he remained hampered in 2011 while he was trying to adapt to the new bike

probably the main reason for the retirement rumours, however, was the death of simoncelli in an accident valentino had been involved in. the rumours basically started the day after the accident, and did not stop even when he showed up at valencia and raced (for about one corner until he was caught up in an ugly multi-rider pile up... kinda set off by dovi but anyways)

the rumours persisted in 2012. valentino became increasingly irritable about them.... meant that both valentino and casey were going into round three at estoril having to address the retirement talk. casey denied that he was planning to retire in the estoril pre-event presser (and he'd already kinda hinted to honda he was ready to sign a new contract)

this all led to some pretty silly drama, where the journalists were less than impressed when casey did announce his retirement two weeks later at le mans and casey went 'well I hadn't decided to retire yet back then!'

anyway, more important is the retirement announcement itself. casey made a statement at the very start of the le mans presser. here's the text:

he was the championship leader at this point, and the favourite to defend his title. of course he took a bunch of questions at the presser about the announcement, and cited several other reasons for his decision to retire, like people's reactions to his mystery illness in 2009, or too many people criticising the current racing being boring, or how they let CRT riders into parc fermé (let's not get into that)

now it's important to note that this was round four. which meant that the entire rider market was about to be spiced up... so let's backtrack a bit and talk silly season: historical edition!

okay, so marc could have feasibly moved up to motogp a year earlier, and for a large chunk of 2011 there was pretty frenzied speculation he was going to do exactly that. in october, between the phillip island and sepang rounds (where he had the crash that gave him diplopia and prematurely ended both his season and his championship bid), he finally announced he was going to stay in moto2

so, in late 2011, speculation was already of course starting for what the grid would look like in 2013, with a lot of big name contracts expiring at the end of 2012. both factory yamahas, hondas, ducatis, amongst others... you know how it goes. the expectation was broadly that casey would stick with honda and dani would be protected for at least another year by the rookie rule (more on that in a second), that jorge would stick with yamaha and... well. at this point, it was plausible valentino might sign at least a one year contract extension with ducati, with just enough glimmers of progress and signs that things might be headed in the right direction for him to want to continue building that project up

early 2012, around the time of the first race, and actually it's looking plausible that none of the six big factory seats are going to be changing hands. jorge and casey seemed the most certain ones, valentino too committed to ducati, and dani likely to sign a one year deal until marc swoops in at the end of 2013 to take his place

then casey announces his retirement, and silly season properly kicks off

first order of priority is of course the vacant repsol honda seat. now, the main thing stopping marc from getting that repsol honda seat was never actually going to be a lack of space - it was the 'rookie rule'. in 2010, a rule was introduced to stop rookies from joining the factory team. the idea was basically to help out satellite teams by giving them the chance to house a young star rider, give them publicity and results and so on (face it, how much would any of us be talking about tech3 this year without the pedro acosta factor?)

this was likely never to really work like it was supposed to, because if you're one of the factories, you can basically set up... teams that are only very theoretically 'independent'. another factory team in all but name. remember how valentino technically won his first title at a satellite team? well, that was essentially a shell team set up as a way to have somewhere to put valentino for two years while repsol honda was full. not the same team (and indeed, valentino and jb did sometimes look over at the chaos at repsol and go. good lord. what's going on there) but full factory support

in spring 2012, dorna was still adamant this rule would remain in place:

should also help explain why the general reaction to suzuki suddenly pulling out in 2022 was 'shocked but not that shocked' lol

but of course by mid-2012 this rule was facing another serious test: where do you put marc marquez, especially with this vacant repsol honda seat just sitting there? now, the valentino model did seem like a reasonable one in this situation, where you put him into an existing satellite team with heavy factory backing or even just create a new one to house him. which is something valentino himself talked about:

except, it wasn't quite that straightforward, because from 2013 onward manufacturers were limited to supplying bikes for four riders, two in a factory team and two in satellites - so you'd have to take away one of the bikes from the existing two honda satellite teams, gresini or lcr

one of the reasons why putting him in one of the existing satellite teams was a bit of an issue was that he was already backed by repsol, which could have caused sponsorship conflicts if he'd been housed with one of those other teams. but also, by this point ezpeleta was sounding rather less committed to the whole thing. from june 2012:

which.

my man

if you KNOW that the most prominent rookies can be put into shell satellites anyway and you are openly joking about it then WHAT was the POINT of any of this

by the end of the month, they gave up on the whole thing. as it happens, it wasn't even repsol honda who asked for the rule to be dropped - it was the satellite honda teams who were like 'yeah we don't actually want this kid for our team, way too stressful to make this all work for a single year before losing him anyway'

not a universally popular decision, it has to be said

it's quite likely that if casey had stayed and the rookie rule had still been dropped that hrc would have immediately taken in marc and not renewed dani's contract, which would have been a wee bit awkward given dani's late season form, but. you know. so it goes. anyway honda didn't end up having to make any tough calls

about two weeks after the rookie rule is dropped, hrc announces the two year contract with marc

by this point, valentino has had another miserable start to the season with ducati, save for a fun little wet podium at le mans - you know, the race where casey announced his retirement... they had their last ever duel there, with valentino snatching second place from casey on the last lap

photo abbove not representative of the general tone they used to discuss each other in that time period

anyhow, these rare bright spots weren't going to be enough for valentino

"There was a lot of expectation from me and from Ducati to win, but unfortunately I didn't have a good feeling with the bike, especially with the front," he said some years later. "When you are in that situation it's very difficult because you lose motivation and you lose the joy of going racing. When you start the weekend you are already in a negative way, so it's difficult, because if you don't have fun on the bike everything becomes heavier: leaving your home, all the travelling, speaking with journalists, everything. Also it becomes difficult to sleep. You are in a tunnel. When I was with Ducati I thought about stopping many times, but in the end it was a very good decision not to give up. Because if you stop and you don't have a bike then it's very easy to find yourself out of the business." - from Oxley's 'Valentino Rossi: All His Races'

he began openly talking about a return to yamaha in 2012 to replace the underperforming ben spies (though as late as july, publicly he was still talking up the chances of him sticking with ducati)... which was not a prospect welcomed by all in the factory - who saw his initial move to ducati as displaying a lack of loyalty. there was also of course the issue of yamaha wanting to avoid a repeat in the dramatics with jorge, which was certainly a topic in the negotiations. valentino's new deal with yamaha was eventually announced in august

so yes, obviously pretty qualified enthusiasm from jorge's side. it helped that it was made clear that, at the start of 2013, this was very much jorge's team, something which valentino had to work to change as a result of his level of performance (after 2013)

which left dovi to take the ducati factory seat. though he too maybe had to do a little bit of... smoothing over past comments in the negotiation process:

and that's that! there was a brief period in which honda and valentino rumours were a thing... always unlikely, given the long-standing mutual animosity there, and valentino claims he was never in contact with them. dani's contract was signed when marc's was, so that put an end to that. there was also serious speculation jorge would take casey's seat at honda, which was ended by him signing for another two years at yamaha in june. everyone sorted

dani and casey had a pretty cordial teammate relationship - though of course by this point it was already no longer really a team organised around dani as it had been in the late noughties. from late 2011 (shortly before simoncelli's passing):

and from the mind games post:

he also says the following in that passage: "some days [dani] beat us but to be honest I always felt like I had the measure of him over the course of a season"

more to be said about that relationship, of course, but it was basically harmonious on both sides, and they parted on good terms. as for dani's response to marc's signing, it wasn't like he was in a place within the team to complain too much - though his position was strengthened by his late 2012 form, where he won six of the last eight races. both of them mostly just stick to saying the standard respectful pr stuff about each other

though this is pretty funny in retrospect:

"I know nothing about pedrosa's goals" my man I think you can probably guess

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

do you have any sweet Steven headcanon??

I have many MANY Steven headcanons.

Steven likes to read out loud to Layla. Stories or news articles or just little things he finds interesting. He always reads with great emphasis. He gives characters unique voices and reads with emotion.

Marc pretends to think it's stupid but secretly loves it. Jake is always quietly listening in the back and Steven thinks maybe Jake is annoyed by it, but when he stops, Jake is always the first to tell him to keep going.

This comes from Steven's love of sharing his interests (info dumping to an extreme). He could be explaining how tape is made and it would sound like the most interesting thing in the world.

Another one? Steven has no idea why stray animals follow him around. Dogs and cats and even crows will leave him trinkets or yell at him if he rushes past without saying hello.

He eventually figures out that Marc has been petting the dogs and Jake has been feeding the crows. The cats just come to them naturally. Steven addresses all animals as if he were talking to a proper lady or gent. "Well hello my fine feathered friend. You're looking very preened today." Or "Ah yes, Mr. Fluff. What a lovely tail you have there. Bet all the lady cats are lining up for a chat with you, huh?" "Oh what a brave little barker you are. Got something more to say? Oh yeah? Tell me all about it. What a good barker you are."

[hotmessmaxpress]

I'm one thousand percent sure Valentino bought that equipment for Marc. It's so corny and a bit weird, fits perfectly with Vale in your OF au. It's also so Vale to bring a pornstar to the ranch and just...assume that everyone already knows he's a pornstar or that no one knows or wait you know what, the most probable scenario is that he didn't think about it at all. Because ofc some of them are going to know (looking at you Celin) some of them are going to find out (Bez) and some of then won't be aware at all and it's going to be so awkward. I mean some of his students have jerked off to his boyfriend while some don't even understand why everyone is so awkward all of a sudden.

Anyway, as always, love this AU!

It 1000000% is just that vale doesn't really think about it. He even KNOWS that uccio knows, so logically he should assume uccio told someone? But that literally doesn't occur to him.

He's just a dumb ass old man like "look at my hot boyfriend! he's hot and he rides motorbikes! i'm gonna plow him into next week 🥰"

No thoughts about anyone knowing/finding out (except for the minor moment where they thought luca recognized him). He literally does not think about it or care (for now).

And he definitely bought the gear for him. He's one of the highest paid athletes in the world and while he's happy to sit around and ride bikes every weekend with The Boys, he's also not afraid to spend that money... (yellow ferrari, i'm looking at you). So when it comes to making his new twink boyfriend happy the credit card is OUT he's buying him bikes he's buying him riding gear he's buying him all his fancy little skincare for when they're done riding together 💛

[verdemint]

I love how talking about all his rivalries vale is so proud! He loves all of them and im pretty sure in his head him and the other rider had a kinda silent agreement about the rivalry, like oh he must want this rivalry as much as i want it! We’re doing it to motivate each other and people are gonna love this!

Hes always saying how this type of rivalries is what brings people to the sport, cause he makes you want to support one or the other. Obviously were the other riders aware of this implicit agreement and okay with it for the enjoyment of the viewer? Ahhhh maybe not really.

But vale knows and adores all his rivals and when he talks about them hes always got that false modesty, like you dont have to thank me, motogp fan, i know I brought you so much fun and joy with this little rivalry of mine

[moonshynecybin]

we always talk about how embarrassing down bad marc was but valentino was also down BAD like the way he was looking at that twink with so much passion jesus

oh yeah for sure. the reason why rosquez rules is because they spent two and a half years being the kind of gay ass dudes who would homoerotically lean over each other at bars. and then marc SAID he felt like they got a DIVORCE in PRINT ! YIPPIE ! like it all implies a bitter sort of familiarity…. love rotted on the vine… betrayal that matters because they in fact mattered to each other… lost loves of each other’s lives who are ALSO forced to bump elbows and legacies for the rest of said lives…. like again there are very few other marc ships that i lend genuine credence because i can’t imagine marc like. visiting them at their hometown to chill and have fun. but he did with vale ! had to convince his manager to allow him to ! because he LIKED him !

[keelifallen]

My life is starting to make a lot more sense right now

[age-of-moonknight]

“Three Moments,” Vengeance of the Moon Knight (Vol. 2/2024), #8.

Writer: Jed Mackay; Penciler and Inker: Devmalya Pramanik; Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg; Letterer: Cory Petit

[batsplat]

a lot of dramatic irony in the fact that vale's attempt at an act of erasure is what truly tied their legacies together. i mean, first of all, in my opinion, vale has a bigger chance at winning his tenth if he doesn't make that accusation public, even if he believes it. but secondly, it is that claim of sabotage that means no one ever can forget that marc and vale were part of each others careers, nor can their intrinsic similarities and differences be denied

valentino's low-key quite quirky with legacy management in general, like there's a different ask in my drafts about this but it's sooooo funny how he keeps talking down biaggi/gibernau because. y'know. why would you do that, they were your main opponents in your prime... it's in your interest to talk them up! you want people to think they were super strong and tough to beat! also you did struggle with them you twat. with jorge/casey it's just kind of interesting how little he's concerned with arguing his case, y'know? jorge and casey, especially the latter, are quite actively concerned with Selling their sides of that rivalries, reexamining various controversies quite regularly - which is fun and interesting because it's kinda unintentionally revealing about what's going on in their own brains where valentino is concerned, how they want to be perceived etc... it'd probably be a bit undignified if valentino started getting petty in the press about it, but that didn't need to stop him... he really just has taken a general 'ah isn't nostalgia lovely' approach to discussing these rivalries, he's really not doing much of his own pr in that regard

obviously makes it interesting that he still kinda gets into it with marc when you catch him in the right mood and idk host a podcast. but even there, is that really legacy management? is that really pr? honestly, I kinda think that's just the stuff that feels a bit more compulsive... it's a bit confessional vibes, where usually when he's asked about marc he can be quite sensible about the whole thing and keep it to relatively bland + uncontroversial statements. on the rare occasion where you get more out of him (and it really is pretty rare, that podcast was a bit out of nowhere when you're following this stuff on a rolling basis over the years), it's less selling his story and more just needing to have a bit of a rant? kinda the urge to be a bit cruel with it where he usually knows it's not really in his interest? basically from at latest mid-2016 onwards, he was aware of this dynamic and tried to starve that rivalry of oxygen more often than not... but sometimes he's slipped up. quite memorably so, on one or two occasions, still clearly a slip up

anyway I'm sure it is kinda frustrating how closely they are linked, which, yeah it's fun! marc and valentino were always going to end up linked just because of how bloody good they both are and how they did have a decent bit of overlap in their competitive windows... but! now it's a story! it's the rivalries everyone remembers, and they've managed to tell the most memorable one of them all. I still think in a way, y'know, the deed was done because he did still manage to cut that interpersonal link... it's not like most fans of either of them these days would really see the two blokes as particularly similar. kind of the natural result of the polarisation that's taken place, but it is a narrative that's gradually changed... obviously more neutral fans are generally still aware of it lol - but I wouldn't say the similarities can't be denied... a lot of people seem to be doing just fine at that. still, even the fans can't deny the importance of the enemy in their guy's story, kinda beautiful in a way. everyone's trapped forever and ever

[dozydawn]

Art by Francis Saint Marc, 1970s.

[ratflame]

Marc-Andre Fleury has just as many ghosts as Quinn Hughes but I can't tell if he's just naturally more outgoing so we all forget or if they're just nicer ghosts.