#LAD 2007

[kamurocho-lullaby]

So I was planning to go through and pretty this up but I just haven't had the energy so I'm just gonna dump them here.

These are my notes from my first time watching the Yakuza movie!

I've added a cut because they're long. There's typos, they're not edited, it's literally just chaos bullet points but tadaaaah. There's also a lot of cussing, swearing, whatever u call it, so sorry.

Date is just so fuckin done with the Tokyo PD's shit I love him.

Throwing down in a Don Quixote, yes Kiryu.

WAIT IS THIS STARDUST! IS THAT FUCKIN YUYA?! IT IS AND KAZUKI TOO!

Wait who's this little shit bleeding in Kazuki's floor?

Kiryu's fight in the DQ reminds me of that gif of him fucking up a Poppo it's so good.

HOLY SHIT ITS MILENNIUM TOWER! I sure hope that doesn't explode.

HERE HE IS! Mr Tumblr Sexyman himself.

WHY ISNT HE SHIRTLESS COWARDS

I can't get over the fact Majima supposedly reads the financial times

"where's Kiryu?" "Somewhere" "not good enough" *murder*

I love the idea that Majima is at the batting cages so often it's his office. Like he absolutely painted that sign himself what a dork.

This chick is insane and wants to go robbing stores when a Yakuza war is breaking out, side story material

Date is so fuckin done literally said "not my Division"

AAAAAHHHHHH ITS HARUKA!!!!

Kiryu seems a lot colder in this movie than he is in the games idk maybe he'll warm up

Who is this cocktail making silent man I am so confused

Why is Kazuki so hot?!

THEYRE ROBBING A PORK BOWL SHOP WHAT THE FUCK

Majima and crew are goofy as fuck and I really love them literally everyone is scared of them it's fucking hilarious

HE CALLS HIS CREW KIDDIES and then ditches them to get his rocks off in a video store and the guy he beaned with a fuckin baseball in his own crew is like "ILL FOLLOE U TO THE ENDS OF THE ESRTH"

This man is goofy as fuck one second and then breaking fingers and toes to find his boyfriend the next

DUDE HES PAYING THIS KID WITH PAIN WTF I wanna be this kid wtf

Oh fuck he's got a gun, nobody should allow Majima a gun

HIS CREW KNOWS THE DEAL THEY'RE ALL HANDS UP DONT SHOOT ME BOSS I LOVE YOU

Literally the Majima fam have a "oh fuck the boss has got a gun" emergency plan

I just noticed he's wearing a studded belt omg

Kiryu needs more frown lines

OHHHH DADS MEET AGAIN

Haruka got some sass I love her

"don't be corrupting her mind" what the fuck Date he found her like that

Majima was fuckin up Pink Street why didn't he go karaoke

Lol the guy at Ebisu Pawn gives zero shits about being robbed

Kiryu, Haruka and the dog make a cute picture I love it

Fuckin Majima isn't even like looking for intel he's just wandering around shouting about Kiryu-chaaaaaaaan

Lol Kiryu gets a flip phone and it's got a charm on it omg

"over the top shit is his trademark" you don't fuckin say

LOL DATE he's just like Kiryu and Majima are up to shit it's your fuckin problem I'm out "the military won't even save your asses" omg

Don't tell me the fuckin Jingweon are here I don't wanna fuckin deal with thaaaaaaat

"Yokohama's Lau Kalong" WAIT WHAT (having learned more about 7, YES that Lau Kalong apparently the Snake Flower Triad are a bunch of assholes and they're also like everywhere)

Oh fuck this kid's been sent to kill Kyohei Jingu?! no shit of course he has

Oh fuck SERENA I didn't think we'd see that in this movie

Lol Kiryu knows the RGG way, they ain't dead until you see a body and even then cough cough Kashiwagi cough cough

Lol Haruka teaching him to use a cellphone

Majima taking a break from getting his ass kicked by Kiryu to beat up his boys is so fuckin funny

Haruka's just on the sidelines like "these fuckin dumbass boys smh"

I'm sad it's not his lacquered tanto

Yo Kiryu is fuckin merciless what?!

LOL HE JUST FUCKIN DROPPED Kiryu is so done with his dumbass boyfriend flopping on the groud

Lol all the Yakuza in Kamurocho mobilising like the fuckin Avengers

LOL the bank robbers feeding everyone in the bank is just wild I love it, still can't figure out who they are tho (they're side story material)

LOL ALL OF MAJIMAS GUYS CRAMMED IN AN AMBULACE

How is Majima MORE unhinged in this movie than he is in the games

Theatre square! Honestly the shots in this movie are actually pretty good, im surprised

The Jingweon's gun is a monstrosity why the fuck

Is that supposed to be Shimano?

Kazuki getting all intimidating with the weapons dealer do be kinda hot tho why he gotta grab him by his chin like thst

Also why does Kiryu know this guy and why does he know he's a massochist?!

LOL Kiryu protecting Haruka from the creep but like why is she there?!

Kiryu hearing all this shit about his kyoudai and he's just like... Stomping around like a mad man

Wait is Kazuki an imposter yet? (Spoiler alert, probably)

Lol these idiots cleaning up Pink Street like Majima isn't just gonna whirlwind through it again

"Don't fall for hosts, they'll get you in the end" solid advice Kiryu but are u talking from experience or? Like iirc hosts weren't a thing when u went to jail my man.

What the fuck is this dramatic military shit what who is this man?!

FUCKIN MAJIMA IN THE "BATHOUSE"

Kiryu actually trusts Majima to not go after Haruka! And he doesn't! He's actually genuinely not a bad man he's just mad as a bag of cats

Oh that whole Majima and Kiryu not killing people thing is out the window in this movie omg

"Kiryu-chan, you're so cool" Majima says through a mouthful of blood after he's been knocked fuckin cold onto his ass. This man has it so bad I love it

THE MAJIMA PEEPING AROUNF THE HALLWAY SCENE IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE

Fuckin Majima just pelting Kiryu in the gut with baseballs omg this movie is wild

FUCKIN HIS BAT GOT STUCK IN THE WALL OMG

Dude these guys literally kick the shit out of each other it's vicious I love it

The level of choreographed homoerotic whump in this movie

He just straight up put his foot on his ass

WHAT THE FUCK MAJIMA GET UR DICK OUT OF HIS FACE

SOMEBODY SHOT MY MAJIMA!!!!!

KAZAMA SHOT MY MAJIMA!!!!!

"Fuck you murder dad you shot my boyfriend"

OH THE GANGS ALL HERE ITS DATE

Wait do I get to see Nishiki?!

WHAT THE FUCK WHY DOES NISHIKI LOOK LIKR THST

WILL EVERYONR PLEASE STOP GETTING SHOT!!!!

The fuckin Staminan X and shit in the shop that's so rad, of course Kiryu is like I'll just chug some of this shit and go fuckin kill my bro I'm fine

THE TATTOO THAT WAS A FUCKIN RAD REVEAL

Oh hey it's Zombie Majima

Who allowed a military helicopter into fuckin Kamurocho airspace that's gotta be so illegal what the fuck

OMG I FORGOT ABOUT THE BANK ROBBERS I love how they're just laying on the floor with the staff resigned to their shit

Nishiki put the fish away you dumb fuck

Lol Kiryu literally doesn't give a fuck about the Tojo and here's Nishiki making it all about the Tojo like bro wise up Kiryu is done with your shit

Kiryu just stone cold dead until he gets some of that Staminan that's a full triple heat gauge baby the dragon is back omg this movie is the dumbest shit I love it

The fuckin slow mo! 2007 did not deserve this movie

Top ten ways to kill your kyoudai, number 12 will jack your dad!

Wait we're not gonna get Mr "Beautiful Eyes" here are we?

Akiyama come get ur cash!!!!

Moooooom, Millennium Tower blew up again!

Y'know Date is kinda hot...

Suzuki also has no business being that hot

Fuckin Majima's dumbass batting cages sign someone better save his ass I swear to fuck

Fuckin dumbass got shot and he thinks he's got the flu lol

WHY IS THE DOG IN MILENNIUM TOWER?!?! WHAT THE FUCK KIRYU?!

Oh shit there's Kiryu oops guess he's not to blame for the dog

Question, how the fuck they gonna get down from the tower?

Oh my god okay it's done I'll clean this up later (spoiler alert, he did not clean it up later)

[batsplat]

casey still being susceptible to all that charisma even after all these years…… https://www.tumblr.com/kingofthering/766871447623892992

vindicated for the eyes of the world to see. at last

[mirror-and-mind]

Undecided... 🤔

[mizisuaenthusiast]

Introduction

Call me Li shu, I have a ding dong and I'm a minor. Pansexual and Genderfluid (I'm way too lazy to add colors) any pronouns will do, I don't really care.

I have mixed Chinese and Filipino genes (I grew up in the philippines however)

I am a victim of sexual assault and grooming. Good things about me, this shittt harrddd 😭😭🙏 anyway have a normal mindset and I'll treat you with decency 💜💜

Bad things about me, well....take a guess💜 and this account is a whole different persona. So anyone who knows me in a specific app.....

─────❀*̥˚────────❀*̥˚────────❀*̥˚─

IMPORTANT NOTE

Finally decided not to interact and engage with proshitters any further (recommended by my therapist) at first I was being stubborn and persisted about my decisions on continuing to ruffle some feathers (proshitters) and engaging in back and forth replies but whatever. My therapist is RIGHT, I shouldn't waste my time on engaging further with these weirdos who obviously needs help. (I made this after a therapy session)

Anyway I'm STILL making anti-proship posts

─────❀*̥˚────────❀*̥˚────────❀*̥˚─

DNI (DO NOT INTERACT)

Literally the basic criteria of DNI (tw!!)

— proship

⠀⠀— anti anti, pro fiction, com ship, etc

⠀⠀— you ship illegal ships

— incest, pedophilia, etc

⠀⠀— you think fiction doesn't affect reality

⠀⠀— you sexualize minors

⠀⠀— you fetishize lgbtq+ pairings

⠀⠀— you identify as a minor attracted person/pedophile

⠀⠀— you identify as a fujoshi/fudanshi

⠀⠀— you romanticize or glorify problematic media

⠀⠀— you romanticize or glorify problematic tropes in media, mental illnesses, self harm, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse/assault, rape and other illegal or immoral tropes

— racist

⠀⠀— xenophobic

⠀⠀— sinophobic

⠀⠀— colorist

⠀⠀— orientalist

⠀⠀— anti blm

⠀⠀— anti black

⠀⠀— anti stop asian hate

⠀⠀— you say slurs you can't reclaim

⠀⠀— you think people in racial minorities can't also be racist

⠀⠀— you think white people can be oppressed for being white

⠀⠀— etc

— anti lgbtq+

⠀⠀— homophobic, lesbiphobic, biphobic, panphobic, etc

⠀⠀— transphobic

⠀⠀— transmed/truscum, radfem, terf

⠀⠀— anti neopronouns or xenogenders

⠀⠀— anti non-she/her lesbians or non-he/him gays

⠀⠀— exclusionist

⠀⠀— radical inclusionist

⠀⠀— etc

— zionist

⠀⠀— pro israel

⠀⠀— pro idf

⠀⠀— anti palestine

⠀⠀— etc

— sexist

⠀⠀— misogynistic

⠀⠀— transmisogynistic

⠀⠀— you think men can be oppressed for being men

─────❀*̥˚────────❀*̥˚────────❀*̥˚─

Interests

alien stage, identity v, honkai star rail, reverse 1999, mononoke (2007 and 2024), nanbaka, danganronpa trigger happy havoc/goodbye despair/killing harmony, junji ito, bungou stray dogs, blue lock, persona 5, demon slayer and many more

─────❀*̥˚────────❀*̥˚────────❀*̥˚─

Characters I LOVE to a concerning amount

ITHAQUA(Night Watch), RICHARD STERLING(Knight), Michiko (Geisha), Galatea(Sculptor), Joseph Desaulniers(Photographer), Edgar Valden(Painter) ── Identity V

Sua, Sua, Sua, Sua, Sua, Sua, Sua, Sua, Sua, Sua, Sua, Sua, did I mention Sua? Mizi, Luka── Alien Stage

Medicine Pocket, Tennant, Argus, Zima(Зима), Getian, Lucy ── Reverse 1999

MICHAEL KAISER, Chigiri Hyoma, Sae Itoshi ── Blue Lock

Ren Amamiya/Akira Kurusu, Futaba Sakura, Ann Takamaki ── Persona 5

OTHER FAVS

Braz Daniel Blood, Hydra Bell ── Blood Lad

Medicine Seller (both 2007 and 2024), Kame, Asa ── Mononoke (2007/2024)

KOKOMI TERUHASHI, SAIKI KUSUO, Nendou Riki ── The Disastrous Life of Saiki K

Jiaoqiu, Ling Sha, Stelle, Aventurine, Robin, Sparkle ── Honkai Star Rail

Epel Felmier, Riddle Rosehearts, Skully J. Graves, Idia Shroud, Ace Trappola ── Twisted Wonderland

[mendedrum]

the clerk ready to drop on his knees for razumikhin

oh yeah the thirst is real when razumikhin puts his hand on his shoulder

no one can resist him

full on 100% charm imperial russia kabedon

[dougboules]

SCOTT DIXON NASHVILLE 2007

[glitchys-blog]

Check out Glitchy You Tube channel for loads of shorts. It's really lots of shorts, music, and hopefully some comedy gold thrown in for good measure all in the name of fun. Please subscribe, guys. I lost my account before (v.v.v..v.annoying) 1 4 1 4k.

[myoonmii]

My work for the Merlin cinema fest Based on the 2007 movie stardust! Sparkly magical fallen star Merlin you will always be famous ✨

(Ps. I highly recommend watching the movie if you like fairytale- esque stories, and thinking of Merlin the entire time)

Artist/s: dollopbrain (@myoonmii) Title: Merlin Stardust AU  Rating: General  Pairing: Merlin/Arthur  Character/s: Merlin , Arthur  Media: Merlin(BBC) , Stardust (2007) Warnings: None  Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53963371 Artist’s Notes: I really enjoyed creating this piece as a part of the cinema fest, specially because it gave me the chance to get this Merthur AU out of my head!

[that-one-scoundrel]

I agree with this post by @zara-renata (go check her out she writes hella good fics btw ✨) and second that:

Caleb most definitely drives a jeep.

I find it ridiculous that Caleb has a lanzador cuz what do you meaaaaaaan TT TT?? I just don't see it; this the same guy that collects model planes that are most likely vintage. The type of aircraft models that has their propellers visible, planes with a distinct "T" shape.

So here I am echoing zara-renata's proposal. I also think, instead of a lanzador, Caleb definitely has a jeep as his main whip, and said whip would be a 2003 TJ Jeep Wrangler.

Soft top that he can take off whenever he pleases. It's sleek but still is in the bulkier side. Two doors, because he only wants you as his passenger. Two seats reserved for you and him.

Here's the interior: Instead of having a fat ass block of a console separating the driver's and passenger's seat (I swear- y'all can play poker on that thing. THAT SHIT'S A TABLE-) we'll get a smaller one with little space In between for "closeness-points" you know what I mean? Doubt Caleb would like it when there's something blocking him between you two as he drives.

I couldn't find better images that showcases the interior best so we'll be having these instead. Much apologies.

But also, I kinda see him driving a Jeep Wrangler JK (07'-18), also 2 doors that also has a soft top.

Its similar with the TJ model, except this model has a heavier looking bumper and is further modernized.

Here's the interior: the first one (2007-10) is what it looks like unmodified; while the second one (2016) is the modified version. Personally, I think the second interior looks more in tuned with the sci-fi vibes that lads has.

Feel free to add more to this! Let's all speculate about what this unhinged man drives around lolol

End of Ted-Talk from a "Caleb-has-and-drives-a-Jeep" believer ✈︎

[kiragecko]

What’s your favourite period of Batfamily dynamics?

What’s the one that you’re most interested about exploring through fanfic? Reading the comics for? Reinterpreting, so that it Actually Works? Not the best one, but the one that gets you most excited (even if that 'excitement' is furious fix-it fics, or long metas about how it COULD have been so good)! You don’t even need to have READ the comics. Choose the period that makes the most interesting fanfic!

(Edit: If you prefer stuff that mixes periods, or non-comics' canons, I've added a follow-up poll in a reblog. Answer this poll based on what's most similar to your interests - which characters tend to be around, is Dick a teen on a superhero team, etc. And then give me the nuance in the next poll!)

I did this in 2023, as well, but 10 options wasn't QUITE enough, and polls couldn't handle formatting. So we're trying again ;) Thanks to @zahri-melitor for most of the post-Flashpoint details! (Any mistakes are my additions.)

Here are our challengers!

1. The Golden Age (1939 - 1960) - Bruce and Dick need no motivation beyond 'it's the right thing to do' and 'we're AWESOME' (and why would they?), Bruce murders people in the (very) early issues, and Alfred is a bumbling fool who isn't yet Alfred - [22 years]

2. The Silver Age (1960 - 1980) - Dick gets fun Teen Titans friends, Bruce goes on space/time travel adventures, Alfred still didn't raise Bruce, and, after a few fumbles with other female 'wholesome heterosexual dynamics here' characters, we get BABS - [21 years]

3. Early - Mid 80s (1980 - 1986) - Dick gets to be oh so melodramatic with his new angsty Titans friends in New York, Bruce says 'Chum' and 'Lad' as he ruffles tiny Jason's hair, Alfred raised Bruce and is his awesome self, we realize Babs will keep adding impressive new jobs to her resume forever (Senator! Librarian! Lawyer!), and they start to be an actual family - [7 years]

4. Late 80s - Early 90s (1986-1992) - The Dark Knight Returns heralds a dark new era, Babs is crippled, and Jason dies. Tim is a new type of Robin - one who supports Batman. Babs rebuilds herself, no child needed. Dick and Bruce try, but mostly fail, to communicate. Alfred becomes the heart of a family that doesn't know it's a family - [7 years]

5. The 90s (1992 - 1999) - Dick and Tim are brothers. Oracle rejoins the Batfamily, while continuing her separate life. Dick moves from New York to Blüdhaven, closer to the Bats than the Titans. Bruce has 2 sons, even though neither realize he thinks that way. Catwoman grudgingly dabbles with heroism. Steph arrives, and exists on the edges, only connected to the family through Tim. A variety of other people come and go through their lives - Jean-Paul, Helena Bertinelli, Harold, Sasha Bordeaux, etc, and Gotham is a whole CITY of heroes - [8 years]

6. Early 2000s (1999 - 2003) - The family grows and becomes tighter knit. Cass continues Babs' legacy, and Steph finally gets a friend. Babs and Alfred are in some ways joint centres of the family, and fight with Bruce about how to raise kids. Dick calls Tim 'little brother' for the first time. Tim starts Young Justice, and Dick is back with his oldest friends - [5 years]

7. Mid 2000s (2003 - 2007) - The era of death. Donna dies, Dick's team disbands, and Tim's team renames themselves the Teen Titans. Bad idea, many teens die, including most of Tim's friends. Steph dies. Tim and Cass get close, until Cass is brainwashed and kills a lot of people. Many, many people around Dick are murdered, and eventually Blüdhaven is exploded. Jason is back from the dead, and exuberantly contributing to the murders. Bruce can't work with equals, and Babs leaves the city. Dick is furious with Jason, Jason is violent towards Tim, and Tim is far less forgiving than fanon pretends. Babs gets colder, Alfred gets older, and Bruce shuts down - [5 years]

8. Late 2000s (2007 - 2011) - The era of grief. Bruce, Dick, and Tim take a year long cruise to recover. Cass, Steph, and Babs eventually return. But the scars run deep. Everyone's relationships are shaky. Jason has a different motivation every arc. Tim is trying to clone people and being head-hunted by Ra's al Ghul. Damian shows up and topples the already unsteady situation. Bruce dies. Cass leaves. Tim fights with Dick and goes off to prove Bruce is alive. Damian and Steph both rebuild themselves in the ashes, while Dick tries to hope for a better future - [5 years]

9. The New 52 (2012 - 2016) - The universe is rebooted. Jason has friends now, and for some reason is the only Bat Tim talks to? Dick spends some time as a secret agent. Babs is Batgirl again. Damian and Kate continue their preboot growth. Tim … exists. Steph and Cass mostly don't. Harper and Duke are introduced, but not really integrated. Everything is centred around Bruce. Most of the past no longer exists, and along with it, most of their relationships - [5 years]

10. Rebirth (2016 - 2020) - A world in transition, struggling for identity. Comics slowly bring in previous continuity, and it's uncertain what exists for who. (Except for Jason, we keep the new Jason.) Both Dick and Bruce spend a lot of time with amnesia. Tim gets a turn being fake dead. Duke finally gets a costume and codename. Selina almost marries Bruce, but editorial explicitly says that Bruce isn't allowed to have nice things. Nuclear family is centred over found family, but everyone is still kept apart. (And Jason should be kept even farther away for his own safety!) Eventually, Alfred dies, and Damian runs away from home - [4 years]

11. Infinite Frontier (2020 - 2025) - Relationships and memories get reestablished. A few characters stay their rebooted versions, some reinstall the old version, and many are an complex mix of both. People start being able to interact without Bruce around. Cass and Steph become Batgirl alongside Babs, and Babs starts reestablishing Oracle. Tim becomes Robin alongside Damian, and they explore the differences in their roles. Tim also rejoins Young Justice and remembers his friends, and Dick regains his relationships with the Titans - [5 years]

[docgold13]

Cartoon Heroes Paper Cut-Outs

Chowder

Created by C. H. Greenblatt for Cartoon Network, Chowder tells of the trials and tribulations of a clumsy lad who works as an apprentice to chef Mung Daal at his catering company. Though he is kind, lighthearted and carefree, Chowder's actions habitually land him in circumstances beyond his control, partly due to his large appetite and absent-mindedness. Mung and his wife Truffles, Mung's employee Schnitzel, and Chowder's gaseous pet Kimchi all try to aid Chowder in his ambitions to become a great chef, but frequently find themselves undermined by the calamitous antics that ensue.

Actor Nicky Jones provides the voice for Chowder.  The series premiered in November of 2007 and ran for three seasons.  

[batsplat]

hiiii <3 i just saw your casey race recs post and i was wondering if you had one with dovi or marc races too! i'm relative new to motogp and i don't know where to start watching!

thankk youuuu, i love your blog, i'm learning so much thanks to you 😭😭 also you're really funny 🫶

right, this one admittedly was trickier than the casey list. marc in particular has accumulated one hell of a body of work... not easy to do justice to. marc's won a lot, but his most enjoyable races aren't the ones where he gaps the field by about two minutes at cota. it's the ones where he's scrapping and brawling his way through and the whole thing is a bit of a mess. and there's a lot of races to choose from in that regard, against a whole host of different rivals

which is very nice for him, but that makes it impossible to do anything comparably comprehensive for marc without getting to a slightly ridiculous length. luckily, that's never stopped me before, and long is what you're getting. you asked about dovi so I'm gonna go with him first, because that's a somewhat easier to tackle body of work - and limit myself to a mere ten twenty five seven eight recs. then I'll get to marc, where I've limited myself to an extremely reasonable thirty three five races, not including any I already covered in the dovi section. if you're looking for something a little more specific, like idk wet weather or feuding or whatnot, lemme know

same warning as before: plenty of race results will be spoiled in the description. in honour of how worryingly long this list is, I've escalated to a three asterisk system: * means 'go check it out', ** means 'personal favourite', *** means 'classic race'

dovi

spoiler free top ten list: welkom 2004, turkey 2007, sepang 2008, silverstone 2010, mugello 2012, mugello 2017, austria 2017, sepang 2017, brno 2018, qatar 2019

*welkom 2004: dovi's first grand prix win. most of this race consists of a three-way battle between locatelli, dovi and casey (who eventually drops away a bit) at the circuit that kicks off dovi's 125cc title-winning season. the second half of this race is more exciting than the first, and you'll never guess how dovi wins a grand prix for the very first time. let's just say he wasn't leading going into the last corner and leave it at that

**turkey 2007: andrea dovizioso once again getting himself involved in a last lap battle? SURELY not. this race is so so much fun, though after the start it settles down for a bit - stick with it, because when it gets going, it really gets going. these kids are vicious with each other! half the joy of watching these old 250cc/125cc (or equivalent) races is hearing the stuff the commentators chat about, basically getting all the good gossip of the time... like say jorge telling the spanish press they shouldn't believe half the things he says about his rivals... or how he'd already been visibly pissed off after qualifying because he was starting from p2 rather than pole... also the kind of podium both me and the commies always massively enjoy, aka one where two people on it basically refuse to acknowledge each other. the vibes between jorge and dovi are NOT good here and it's a lot of fun to watch these children being so pissy with each other

^one of his favourite career victories against his main rival in 250cc, the defending champion jorge lorenzo, who was sporting the number one plate on a superior bike to dovi's honda machinery. more often than not over the course of their time in the sport, these two have not gotten on well at all. it remains one of the sport's defining tragedies that chupa chups did not sponsor jorge throughout his career

qatar 2008: his debut in motogp and a strong race. pleasingly he gets involved in a last lap fight, and does pick off one of the aliens

*sepang 2008: dovi's first premier class podium and an extremely deserving one that really showcased his abilities as a defensive rider, the latest of late brakers etc etc. fought with valentino, then led a train of four/five riders at one point, then was involved in a great late scuffle for third place that lasted until the very end

donington park 2009: first motogp win! has to be said the aliens... uh. none of them delivered their most dignified performances. but ignore those clowns - dovi's of course cemented his reputation as a highly skilled wet weather racer over the years, but this was his first time in the spotlight in the premier class. it would take him seven more years to acquire his next victory

*qatar 2010: a somewhat stronger season than his disappointing 2009 campaign, and the first race was certainly promising. dovi scraps with vale, scraps with nicky hayden, scraps with lorenzo... the racing is pretty decent too. includes the strange sight of seeing the ducati out-powered in a straight line down the lusail straight and I'm sorry but at that point ducati might as well have called it a season, like that was their ONE thing. anyway, dovi still rode well to take advantage of it

*silverstone 2010: once jorge hits the front following some initial resistance from dani, the fight for the win is basically over - but what's going on behind him is good enough to make up for it. bunch of different duels going on in the top seven, whether it's dovi and de puniet, hayden and pedrosa, spies and sic, and eventually casey shows up to join in on the fun too. another one where a bunch of riders are pleasingly close together and there's some real suspense about the final order late on (though the most dramatic action in the last lap is happening right behind dovi - not that you see most of it given the classic tv direction sin of instead giving us a nice prolonged shot of jorge doing a wheelie over the line and his crew celebrating. cheers guys). nice comeback ride for casey-enjoyers too (he wasn't enjoying it)

**sepang 2010: lot going on in this race. three-way fight for the win. valentino is eleventh after a few corners. he does not end the race in eleventh place. this is a good race both for dovi enjoyers and for enjoyers of the... uh. complicated vale/jorge dynamic (this race immediately followed motegi, a notable low point of their relationship). lovely little spite ride, for people who like that kind of thing. love the way it gradually builds up as valentino closes and closes and dovi is just sitting on jorge's rear wheel, and then it just nicely lights up around half distance. me and the commentators are once again having a great time. it is here that jorge seals the title, so it's all post-race smiles with just a hint of posturing

silverstone 2011: casey won this by several light years, but dovi demonstrated his pedigree as a wet racer once again. his race involved intense skirmishes first with jorge and then with sic, and it's fair to say he got the better of both of them

^two excellent wet weather racers and teammates for a single year in a three person repsol honda squad. when dovi was informed he would be let go by the factory team, he decided against accepting a demotion within honda and instead made the jump to yamaha's tech 3 satellite outfit for one year. this was the first time he raced outside of honda in his grand prix racing career. then, in 2013, valentino's return to yamaha made space within ducati. he was always going to have to be vale's replacement rather than his teammate - in 2011 while searching for a ride he said "I would never accept to be teamed up with valentino rossi. it would be pure masochism. there is no room for anybody at his side, he takes it from you and he takes it all. when rossi is ready to share the limelight it will be the end of his racing days". fittingly, dovi was valentino's last ever teammate in motogp

mugello 2011: this feels like one of those classic alien era races where the winner of the race is determined after about a lap. but... it's not! makes for an unexpectedly exciting race and also *ding* last lap overtake

*valencia 2011: this one should have gone on the casey list too, knew I'd missed some. anyhow, on dovi - a lot of dovi's best races during those years came in the wet. but this time he was already engaged in a nice little scrap with dani and ben spies before the rain came. the clash also had real stakes for dovi and dani's final championship positions, a point of personal pride given that dovi had been let go by honda and pedrosa had been retained. a race that accidentally gets exciting again at the end, quite the dramatic finish. this was an emotional podium at the first race after sic's death. dovi and sic had grown up racing each other - and while he stressed that they had never been friends, dovi went to sic's house two days after the crash to see his family and share his grief with them

assen 2012: another one that probably could have gone on my casey list too, actually, with the fight for the win between dani and casey lasting pretty far into the race. behind them, it's dovi putting pressure on spies, lying in wait to make the attack... and, thrilled to say, we do in fact have some last lap overtaking. we don't really get to see how this contest is resolved because the audience needs to see the race winner coast for half a lap, but nevertheless! this one also has extra significance because spies was a factory yamaha rider and dovi was with the satellite team. always a good idea to get your market value up during contract negotiation season

*mugello 2012: would put this on my casey list if I'd included some disaster rides, which this is for him. that bit of the season where he made some high profile errors and controversial passing attempts of his own (and there was an overtake he did apologise for post-race) (this is the last casey mention I promise). anyway, never mind him. this is another one of those alien era races where the winner pretty quickly checks out by a margin of around ninety nine years, and indeed is already waving to the crowd on the last lap. the racing behind him is not too bad though, dovi is involved in a long duel with bradl that hayden eventually joins, and casey isn't the only guy executing controversial passes

assen 2014: ducati was in a pretty sorry state in 2013 and it's still in a pretty sorry state in 2014. another wet race podium, very strong race from dovi where he does manage to stick with marc for a while there. lower down the order, valentino is executing a rather nifty comeback ride after making an erroneous tyre choice

**qatar 2015: a great race and one that nicely sets the tone for what some consider a fairly interesting season. marc goes wide in the first turn and jorge has some kind of visor issues, so we end up with the two ducatis and valentino having it out for the win

^valentino after qatar 2015 about the current era of racing. at the start of the season, it looked like the ducatis would be right in the mix - surely one of the two factory riders would be able to snag a victory sooner or later. it was not to be that year and the results for the rest of the season were largely disappointing, but ducati had clearly made a step forward

sepang 2016: dovi's 2015-16 must have been maddening. three consecutive p2's to start 2015 but drops off from there. rumours at the start of 2016 that jorge's sick of yamaha and speculation is ripe about who in ducati might be sent packing for him. it looks like dovi might well be headed for the door, except iannone did something extremely damaging to his case early that season - dovi was the safe pair of hands, not the guy ducati put their hopes in. they're handing out wins to anyone who rocks up that year and indeed dovi's soon-to-be-former teammate gets ducati's first victory in about a million miserable post-casey years. plenty of talk about who'll win next and marc and vale both point to dovi, but it's just not happening. sepang is the penultimate round of the season and by this point, at least a little order has been restored again - which is when dovi finally gets his win in the wet. still bonkers to think he had two premier class wins pre-2017 both in the wet and then he's runner-up three consecutive years, very gibernau of him. he earned it too, a long scrap in the race with valentino until vale's tyres went kaput

*mugello 2017: dovi begins his transformation into a genuine title threat here. it looked like lorenzo would lead the ducati charge as he had been hired to do at ducati's home circuit in mugello, a circuit he had always been strong at. in the early stages of the race, jorge fought valentino (fresh from his first motocross accident of the season and expected to struggle late in the race) for the lead. dovi had missed warm-up as he was suffering from food poisoning, but, as would happen repeatedly that season, jorge quickly slipped back down the order - and in the end it was dovi who took the fight to the yamahas. a home victory, his first dry win, and all while not at his best physically... no wonder it was one of dovi's favourite career wins

^the moment dovi replaced maverick vinales as marc's biggest threat that season

catalunya 2017: it took dovi seven years to win two races and a week to win his next two. this was the moment when yamaha really started falling apart and confirmed the looming realignment of the competitive landscape. it all came back to the tyres - as it often did in those years, but it was particularly extreme in the sweltering heat. winning a race with your tyre preservation skills on a bike that allows you to preserve those tyres doesn't make for the most thrilling of races, but hey, job well done. his teammate finished fourth, almost ten seconds back after leading on the first lap

***austria 2017: one of the classic marc/dovi duels. the best races between the two of them (unsurprisingly) tended to be at tracks that quite heavily favoured ducati - and austria was already establishing itself as a prime ducati hunting ground. which meant that marc was pretty happy to even find himself that high up in the order and doing damage limitation in terms of the points swing in the championship fight. does that mean he plays it safe while trying to snatch the win from dovi? not even going to bother to answer that question

*motegi 2017: another in the marc/dovi collection and one that reaffirmed dovi's status as a worthy challenger to marc. a dramatic last lap in treacherous conditions that goes down right to the very last corner

**sepang 2017: such an impressive win. the title was on the line... or rather, dovi knew that he basically had to win to even still give himself a chance. he was not helped out one bit by his teammate in this regard, but rode a fantastic race in the wet to eventually force the title decider (left field choice but this dovi win is the one that most impressed me, fully thought the title would be wrapped up here especially after a poor race in phillip island)

valencia 2017: has to go on here as it's the one title decider dovi has gotten himself involved in. marc had a comfortable 21 point margin, which meant that for dovi to win the title marc would've had to finish... uh p12 or lower I believe, and dovi would've had to win the race. straightforward for marc, right? well, title deciders have a tendency to get a bit weird and nervy, just because of the stakes involved... and you can tell from how marc's riding. this race is also really dull until about ten laps to go... thing about valencia is that even when it's looking like an overtake is coming it's basically guaranteed that it won't be. the funniest part of the race is jorge ignoring team orders to a ridiculously blatant extent and ducati attempting to psychically murder him

^dovi always knew the odds were against him going into valencia. this is the moment his title bid ends, ironically just after he'd finally been freed of lorenzo

*qatar 2018: dovi would never come as close to the title again as he did in 2017, but at the start of 2018 at least it looked like he could be a serious challenger once again. this is a great race, another last lap battle... trying not to get repetitive so here, have some of my race notes to change things up:

**brno 2018: for a while, this looks like we're building up for a nice little four-way fray between dovi, vale, marc and jorge (feat. crutchlow). dovi does what he always does when he's leading and goes at the slowest possible pace, and everybody else does what they always did in those years and lies in wait, while occasionally reshuffling the order at the front in the name of whimsy. and then the yamaha does what it always does and somehow burns out its tyres anyway even though they're crawling around the circuit. anyhow, once valentino has done his scheduled backwards slide and jorge has rejoined the fray, it shapes up as a nice little three-way fray between dovi, marc and jorge. appreciating dovi races is all about getting really into the idea of tyre preservation and knowing the last laps will probably be fun. extra little spice because by this point the jorge/dovi dynamic is... not great :)) and we get an appropriately feisty duel between those two in particular

^after his win at the season opener in qatar, dovi had struggled to continue the momentum from the previous season. he went into the race fourth in the standings behind marc, vale and maverick, already 77 points down on marc - and his teammate had recently won back-to-back races. an important win and the rest of his season was a lot stronger. and of course, he had the joy of beating jorge, a relationship that managed to deteriorate even further over the course of that year

*thailand 2018: minus the yamahas providing an early and a late cameo, this one's all about another marc and dovi duel. a lot of stalking and lurking and then marc makes his move with four laps to go. excellent last few laps with overtakes galore, including of course at the very last corner

**qatar 2019: perhaps the archetypal dovi race. runs a very slow pace at the front to just carefully manage the pace, which leads to a nicely bunched up field that keeps sniping at each other. the top three for much of the race of marc, dovi and rinsy switch around plenty of times. there's one moment where dovi just like. ups the pace simply to test if he can drop everyone and then fully drops it by a second the next lap when he can't. pretty funny in how blatant it was. also, don't want to shock you here but we do indeed have another last lap battle. top five at the end covered by .6 seconds

*austria 2019: the first lap is WILD and actually manages to delay the inevitable marc/dovi duel. fabio leads for a bit, and then you are reminded of exactly why he hasn't been able to shut up about top speed for the past few years, like man after a while I'd be traumatised too. another fun duel between marc and dovi, which ends with... that's right. a last lap battle. that was kind of what their rivalry was about by 2019, given there wasn't really a title fight any more (certainly not after jorge played bowling in catalunya) - but the races themselves were thrillers, a welcome remedy when marc's dominance was at its most stifling

austria 2020: just as a heads-up - this race includes a terrifying crash when the bikes of zarco and franky morbidelli almost fly straight into valentino and maverick. nobody was seriously injured but they were inches away from a life-threatening accident; it's by the grace of god stuff. the race was stopped and then restarted, which... bit tough to say whether that helped or hurt dovi. probably helped (though I reckon he was always winning this) - in part two mr tyre whisperer is chasing jack miller on soft tyres. what happens next will shock you. deeply odd race... a lot of 2020 races had a surreal vibe - you just have to kinda experience it for yourself. at one point there's a graphic on screen telling you dovi, zarco and stefan bradl are competing for the win. this is not the case

^once more with feeling: dovi's third win at the redbull ring and only win in 2020, just after he'd announced his decision to leave ducati. between injuries, being unable to make the new rear tyre work for him and the growing alienation from ducati, 2020 was not an easy season for dovi. in the end, he was not the one to take advantage of marc's absence, and his time as a top-level rider ended when him and ducati parted ways

marc

spoiler free top ten list: cota 2013, assen 2015, phillip island 2015, mugello 2016, misano 2017, phillip island 2017, argentina 2018, assen 2018, silverstone 2019, sachsenring 2021

mugello 2010: first grand prix win! once marc has worked his way through the field this develops into a tight four-way scuffle that continues until the very end, with marc winning by .039s

estoril 2010: absolute chaos race and also the penultimate race of the season with a tight and tense championship situation. marc does well to move up the order until the rain comes and the race is paused... and then my man bins it on the sighting lap. anyway who needs more than half a bike to win a race. one hell of a comeback ride with a nicely dramatic ending

phillip island 2011: marc had to start this race from the back of the grid as a result of a one minute time penalty. early in one of the practise sessions that weekend, he had crashed and had been forced to wait in the pits while the bike was repaired, but was then sent out with only a minute to go. he tried to get in a hot lap after the chequered flag was out, and barrelled into the back of another rider who was slowing down after a practise start. the other rider went to the hospital, though was not seriously injured, and marc ended up with only a cut - but both parties were very lucky to escape relatively unscathed and he was heavily criticised for it. he himself did not agree with the penalty, and his team lodged an unsuccessful appeal. this was also a big race in that year's championship fight (that marc eventually could not see out after his crash in sepang), presenting a huge opportunity for title rival bradl to gain a decisive points advantage. a very impressive comeback ride, as well as a good contest for the win

**qatar 2012: love a race that's a mess. the season opener, and also marc's first race back after the horror crash in sepang the previous year that had given him career-threatening diplopia. marc spends a fair portion of the race battling with iannone, one of his main rivals that year, and if I personally had to fight both baby marc and baby iannone I would simply leave. another bloke is so furious at marc he slaps his arm on the cooldown lap, which was in response to a very controversial pass down the straight where marc kinda ran him off track. both were reprimanded by race direction. the finish is ridiculously close. go watch it

^the cooldown lap slap - marc was involved in several controversies that year. at the end of the year, the fim updated its rulebook, widely seen as a response to marquez-related incidents and the controversial handling of them, and introduced the penalty point system. ironically, it was that system that resulted in valentino's back-of-the-grid penalty in valencia 2015. in early 2017, the penalty points were once again scrapped

motegi 2012: another comeback ride - this time, marc stalls at the start. does his thing and eventually has a late scrap with his main title rival pol espargaro for the win. good fun

valencia 2012: 'oh you can't overtake at valencia' 'oh all the races are boring' 'oh could they please kick it off the calendar come on we deserve a better race to end the season' is what only an idiot would say. marc's last moto2 race starts from p33 after being penalised for a practise collision. spectacular comeback rides are a funny calling card to have for the statistically strongest qualifier in motorcycling grand prix history, but reflects how much of a trouble magnet he was - especially in those days. he might not have a great reputation in the premier class, but he did calm down in 2013, relatively speaking. or, well, he certainly did things it was harder to penalise him for

*qatar 2013: marc's first premier class race. jorge basically fucks off at the front from the word go, but it's an exciting battle behind him - that of course eventually involves valentino, who as ever had worked his way through the pack from further down the grid. first race first podium simple as

*cota 2013: this was always going to go on the list given that it's marc's first premier class win. the race itself is fine, not the most exciting entry on this list, but still! obviously worth a watch

**jerez 2013: icl I feel like this race really benefits from watching jerez 2005 first. not only because 2005 is the better race, but because I think you need to picture twelve year old marc marquez watching this race and thinking it was just like. the coolest shit ever. the patriotism left his body that day. I will not talk about the 2005 race here, but to be clear I am with twelve year old marc marquez on this one. anyway, back to 2013: the race is decent, the infamous copycat overtake is great but arguably the parc fermé and podium vibes are even better. not only was he shameless, but he was shameless in a way he knew echoed his hero beat for beat. baby's first premier class controversy

^the infamous finger wag. marc tries to approach him again during the podium celebrations, but seems unbothered when he is rebuffed. jorge made clear throughout that season he thought marc should be penalised, repeatedly bringing up when jorge himself was given a one race ban and how it had taught him a lesson about responsible riding (some of his rivals in 250cc and premier class rookie season might have some thoughts on that). his criticisms continued well into the season, with tensions rising again after marc's overtake on dani in aragon led to dani crashing

**laguna seca 2013: can't leave this out. important to stress moto2/125cc never went there, so it was his first time at just this notoriously tricky track that was known to be incredibly hard to conquer (here is a clip of vale and marc talking about this in the sachsenring presser). I wouldn't say the race itself is all that great once marc does his thing at the corkscrew, but laguna's quite high up there on tracks you can mostly just enjoy watching bikes go around. big moment in the championship fight because it's when marc is racking up the points at the expense of the injured lorenzo/pedrosa

^2008: valentino stops during his victory lap to kiss the corkscrew where he overtook casey // 2013: marc gets his photo taken at the corkscrew a few days before he will overtake valentino there

*silverstone 2013: a jorge/marc contest for the victory with a dramatic ending, one of the best races that year. marc had dislocated his left collarbone in that morning's warm up, so there was added tension in whether he could hold up physically across a race stint - at a time when jorge (and dani) desperately needed to make up points. interesting continuation of the lorenzo/marquez arc that season in that jorge was a little more willing to match marc's aggression, whatever the problems he had with it

valencia 2013: not bad as valencia races go, actually. which is literally only because it's a title decider and the points situation is exciting, but well credit where it's due. proper tussle between the top three - jorge was so aggressive as he attempted to back marc up into the pack that journalists in the presser afterwards were essentially inviting marc to call jorge a hypocrite. obviously has sentimental value as it's where marc's first premier class title was sealed (even if it should have been sealed earlier but hey ho)

*qatar 2014: I found it quite tricky to make a few picks for 2014, because I feel like a lot of the races this year are in the category of 'fun but not all time epics', and it's hard to really choose between a bunch of them in terms of either significance or entertainment value. the first race of a ten race win streak feels as good a place to start as any, and represents the moment when marc really began stamping his authority on the series. in many ways, this race echoed the race of the previous year: jorge leading from the start, valentino charging through the field, marc somewhere in between. except this time jorge crashes and the fight between marc and valentino is for the victory. it lasts until the penultimate lap, and this time it's marc who comes out on top

le mans 2014: marc did try occasionally to keep things interesting. yes he consistently qualified very well, but sometimes he threw in a bad start or an awful first lap for the vibes. in this one, he ran very wide during the first lap (partly helped along by jorge) and ended up back down in tenth. the pace differential is too extreme for good battles but still, some nice overtaking

**catalunya 2014: see above - there's not all that much to separate this from say mugello or silverstone, so the tiebreaker is personal preference. a good, fun scrap that involves all four of marc, vale, jorge and dani at different stages - even if the end result by this point feels almost inevitable. it is here that valentino rather understandably attempts to strangle marc in parc fermé

^still a close contest with seven laps to go. plenty of overtakes, plenty of confusion relating to a yellow flag, and last lap contact

indianapolis 2014: last of the win streak, at a track that was never particularly popular with riders and typically short on good racing. for a while there at the start it looks like this race would deserve to go on the dovi list until valentino just. um. bumps him aside. and lets marc and jorge past both of them. and then lorenzo also bumps dovi aside. sorry dovi, yamaha decided you were not to be involved in this. the next few laps are good fun too, like by this point you can TELL how much both yamaha riders want this. no manners in sight. icl it's mainly the fact that it's closing out the win streak that has made me include it and the first few laps, because once it settles down it... sure does settle down. ignore this list and just pick a win from the 2014 win streak at random - if you enjoy that one, you'd probably enjoy them all

***assen 2015: probably my favourite marquez/rossi battle. really all you can ask from with a race with two protagonists: lasts the whole race, tense, high stakes, two guys who are particularly motivated to beat each other, several overtakes plus a hell of a lot of stalking and studying each other, and last lap controversy. involves cunning, a little bit of ambiguity in the intentions of both parties, some unresolved questions. an appointment with race direction. an awfully tense post-race press conference that the relationship of the protagonists could never quite recover from. the ideal race

***phillip island 2015: one of the best races of all time etc etc, though it may make you feel like somebody is repeatedly stabbing you with the sword of damocles. still, that's entirely to do with what follows, and the race itself is a fantastic four-rider battle with a murdered seagull and a late twist

**sepang 2015: well, obviously! the actual confrontation between marc and valentino is deeply counterproductive in terms of 'guys you're letting lorenzo/pedrosa escape, stop divebombing each other' and well the whole thing is all kinds of tragic. but the racing itself nicely showcased the complete lack of respect between the pair of them and there is something kind of mesmerising about seeing two all time great wheel-to-wheel fighters go at it, no holds barred. plus it's a major part of marc's story. it is what it is

argentina 2016: this probably isn't making a lot of top thirty something lists, but hey, sometimes you just need to watch a kind of stupid race. this race was kind of stupid. it has the dubious honour of being the first in the marc/vale walk of shame 'hey remember when you guys fought here last year' tour, and they do actually get to scrap it out a bit on track again - though that confrontation is defanged from the moment they have to switch bikes. the last corner incident is dumb but also funny. the podium has truly rancid vibes. I had a good time

^nobody else on that podium as much as twitches when marc goes down. blank faces when he jokes about it in the presser. kind of impressive really. same weekend

***mugello 2016: there is a moment when you think this race will end up being an extremely tight contest until the end between the three protagonists of the 2015 fiasco. then something extremely infuriating happens, and it ends up not being that. on the one hand you leave that race feeling a little robbed, on the other hand it did still feature a veryyy dramatic finish between two of the protagonists. excellent race

**catalunya 2016: the first proper post-2015 marc/vale battle, and at valentino's favourite location for enjoyable race-long duels. it's not like... I don't think of that particular category, I'd call it my absolute favourite - but that's a very high bar. no surprise that they both really really wanted to beat each other, and hey interpersonal animosity always adds a fun nice note to the racing

sachsenring 2016: the problem with the sachsenring is that it used to produce banger after banger race until some diminutive bloke called 'marc marquez' fucking ruined it. 2003 2006 2009 2010 2011 are certified classics, as good as it gets really, tight dramatic fights for the victory and podium positions and integral to the narrative arc of their respective seasons. you used to be able to rely on this track to give you a SHOW. but then that twat showed up and... tbh I can't even remember many of his wins there having particularly memorable racing behind him (I did quite like 2018), so maybe it's not only his fault (to be clear it is in large part his fault). anyway the 2016 edition is in that stretch of 2016 where everything just kind of. goes to shit. like they start just letting anyone win. jack miller won in assen that year. anarchy in motogp. it's the michelin tyres, it's the rain, and it's this bit of the season where marc starts running away with the title. this is another very messy race, more rain, and it's one that has convinced me once and for all that marc has actual plot armour at this circuit. there is a moment where you will go 'how does he win this race' and it's the moment where he goes so far off the track he's halfway to austria. watch to find out how he somehow scams another win at the ring. damn him please do it again this year

^come on this is bullshit. if I'm the other guys I'm calling for a ban of the sachsenring until we figure out what the hell is going on. no wonder he was hopeful of winning on the murder honda

**assen 2017: brilliant race. initial four-way tussle between marquez, rossi, zarco and petrucci that includes some early aggression between the usual suspects and then some light rain to further spice things up. right on the very last lap, there are two great scraps going on - one for the win (with a controversial involvement of a backmarker), and the other for the last podium spot against cal crutchlow

**misano 2017: this is a race that very much had the shadow of valentino rossi looming over it, even though he was not in attendance. valentino had gotten himself involved in his second serious motocross crash of the season, both right before italian races, and had this time decided to take himself out of the title hunt rather definitively by breaking his leg. some time after this, marc posts a photo of himself doing motocross - which he has done a lot of over the years, but was interpreted as taunting valentino and got plenty of backlash online. whether this was a contributing factor or not, he received a frosty reception in misano. he crashed during the wet warm up session and was booed by fans as he rode past them on the scooter, prompting him to blow kisses at them. the race occurred at a tense moment during that title fight: marc had suffered a mechanical dnf in the previous race and in doing so had surrendered the championship lead to dovi. he could not afford another dnf at this late stage of the season. which perhaps made it a little surprising just how hard he fought for that win against petrucci in the treacherous wet conditions, the risk he took with his overtake on the very last lap. was it just to get an extra five points and the win, or was it (as the speculation went at the time) about getting revenge on the italian fans? who's to say - but in any case it was one of the defining performances of that year's championship and another example of marc's skill and confidence in the wet

***phillip island 2017: you know the drill - this circuit produces bangers, and this is another all-time great race. marc by this point had a weird and somewhat cursed record at phillip island in the premier class, where he'd a) been disqualified in 2013, b) crashed out of a comfortable lead in 2014, c) won in a dramatic last lap in 2015, and d) crashed out of a comfortable lead in 2016. so in his first four years, the only year he'd even finished the race, it set off a deeply unfortunate series of events involving marc and allegations of sabotage made by his childhood hero - which maybe goes to show the universe just wanted that particular relationship to be doomed. anyway, 2017!! apparently marc decided he could only finish at that circuit when it involved a dramatic battle between multiple riders. good on him! the racing is brutal, with plenty of contact between the riders, as perhaps you might expect looking at the list of protagonists: marquez, rossi, zarco, vinales, iannone, crutchlow. high stakes too - a decisive points swing in that year's title fight that could have easily gone disastrously wrong for marc. in 2018, marc once again did not finish the race

^a hard-fought race where all participants are more than happy to get physical. one of several races that season that prompts questions about aggressive riding, though this time all the riders are in agreement. after the handshake, marc gestures to the rubber that now stains valentino's leathers. in a year where team orders were a big topic of debate, valentino finished right in front of his teammate - who had still been in mathematical contention for the championship

**argentina 2018: for lovers of hubris and head loss. the full marc marquez experience. off his rocker the entire weekend. got whacked with a massive penalty at the end of the race that made the whole thing quite literally pointless and deserved every second of said penalty. jorge's long-standing mantra of 'just give him a race ban' became part of the discourse again. ended up p18 to valentino's p19, hand in unlovable hand. but apart from that, it was a really great performance!

^complaints at the time obviously centred around how marc was a repeat offender in the recklessness of his riding, and lacking in respect (see too the ever-lurking parallels drawn with the jerez 2011 apology - which was, it has to be said, issued for a considerably less egregious offence). publicly marc was mostly remorseless, accepting more blame in the aleix incident than the valentino one, and saying in an interview a few days later that he wasn't going to change his approach. it's the worst and the best of him - he had no need to barge aside other riders with the sheer raw pace he was able to access. on the phillip island 2003 comparison, see valentino's words about riding angry here. in 2012, marc was asked about whether there were races where he was determined to win at all cost, and he mentioned some examples from that year before adding, "there have been many times when I had to channel my inner rage to win a race"

***assen 2018: excellent race, as memorable as phillip island 2015 or 2017 if your favourite type of race is multi-rider dogfights. involves seven or eight riders in the lead group for large chunks of the race, with the order of those riders chopping and changing with incredible regularity. some pretty ridiculous saves (at least three riders right at the sharp end of the action where you feel that they really should have hit the deck) and a lot of contact, putting on full display just how aggressive riding had gotten during that time. most riders enjoyed the contest, though this time it was dovi's turn to be a dissenting voice. in any case, there were reportedly 99 passes within the lead group and it is rightly remembered as one of that era's finest gems

*austria 2018: marc vs the ducatis, as was tradition at the red bull ring. marc wanted to get payback for the last time they had been in austria, and determinedly got a good start to try and avoid history repeating itself - but he never quite managed to escape his pursuers. this is one of those races where there's a long stretch of it just... building, where it feels like either marc will make the break for it or there'll be a dramatic finale. which can make it ever so slightly annoying when there isn't a dramatic finale, but I am happy to assure you that this race delivers on that count. gets very good with ten laps to go

^plenty of close battles, but in those years nobody could match marc for week-to-week consistency. the closest by that metric in 2018 was valentino - but typically a few positions further down the order, hindered both by competitive decline and an increasingly horrendous yamaha. as for jorge, he found his form on the desmodici just as the ducati higher-ups lost their patience and kicked him out. he reached some impressive peaks and at last adapted well to the demands of the bike, but his season was eventually marred by injury

***silverstone 2019: quick warning - quite a scary crash on the first lap even by motogp standards. anyway, dramatic last lap battle with alex rins, who I think it's fair to say marc hasn't always had the best of relationships with. while things haven't exactly gone to plan for either rider since then, excluding fabio that was probably the rivalry that I was most excited to see develop post-2019. ah well. the race itself is fantastic though, one of those that just gradually ramps up the tension before the finale. the last two laps are crazyyyyy. top five closest finish in premier class history

^marc and rinsy (not at silverstone but earlier in the season at jerez). some long-standing bad blood here and I'm sure rinsy really would have liked to strangle marc from time to time

**misano 2019: another visit to valentino's home turf in the year time finally caught up with vale. before this race, marc and valentino tussled in qualifying. an odd and deeply unserious incident that had zero actual impact on their already doomed laps, it's notable in part due to how much marc visibly lost his cool over the whole thing. from p5 on the grid he ended up in an enjoyable duel with fabio quartararo for the victory that went down to the very last lap. as the commentators noted, he celebrated more than he has after sealing some of his championships. coming out best in a last lap battle, making sure to keep the edge over fabio, as well as 'winning in enemy territory'? the perfect weekend. as he says in the immediate post-race interview, "honestly speaking, yesterday was the extra motivation, the extra push for the race" and "really nice to win here in italy". you could tell

**thailand 2019: marc attempting to burnish his last lap battle record by breaking children's hearts? sad stuff. cruel and unusual. a lot of fun to watch. it's an understatement to say that fabio's rookie campaign exceeded expectations, and marc quickly identified him as his biggest threat going forwards. this was a match point race for marc and he needed to outscore dovi by two points to seal the title, but he had such an overwhelming lead that he could afford to take more risks than he might have other years - even if the race did follow a massive crash in friday practise that required a hospital check-up. another race that involves a lot of stalking and shadowing and plotting before the action really kicks off (with four laps to go). this race was part of marc's considerable efforts that year to put fabio in his place while he still could. poor fabio

jerez 2020: hurts to include but this list wouldn't really be complete without it. another race that very much encapsulates the full marc marquez experience. truly bonkers pace until it all went horribly wrong

^funniest moment of the race is when valentino does what is surely the closest you can get to a double take on a motorcycle when he sees marc go past. like he sees marc, then clocks who he's seeing and then visibly looks again in a sort of 'HOW is he here'

*sachsenring 2021: thing about marc at the sachsenring is that it undoubtedly got boring in terms of the victory fight for a few years there, but it's also just a fun, tricky track and he's a joy to watch on it. obviously this win is anything but boring, and the margin he pulls on the field never feels as comfortable as it should be. I don't really think I have much to say about this race that hasn't already been said. I cried

^make that eleven in a row at the ring. honorary mentions go to cota and emilia romagna '21, at time of writing his most recent wins. neither are classic races exactly - and indeed, if you're looking for races relevant to the current climate then aragon '21 is a good shout. at emilia romagna (the second race held at the misano circuit that year), pecco crashes out while being pursued by marc, which clinches the title for fabio. it is also the last race on home soil for valentino

**phillip island 2022: one more for good measure. somehow this is his first premier class ride at the circuit where he finished the race but did not win. late on in that year's tense title battle and gives you exactly what you want from a race at phillip island. it's not even a multi-rider dogfight as it is an every-rider dogfight that eventually becomes a multi-rider dogfight at the front of the pack... but if you looked at the run order after about three laps you would NOT be able to guess who the riders involved are, never mind who wins it. absolute chaos. one hell of a contest right until the very end involving one of that year's two primary title contenders - and some other foes old and new. marc's sole podium that year, and his 100th in motogp. second closest top ten in premier class history, not too bad

[cupids-rainbows]

Spherius (Flatland 2007) stimboard !

⊹ ࣪ ˖ ᯓᡣ𐭩 Requested by anon 𖹭 .ᐟ ⊹ ࣪ ˖

♡ 🌑 . 🌌 . ⭐

♡ 🌌 . 🌑 . 🌌

♡ ⭐ . 🌌 . 🌑

(I don't know anything abt this lad, so I hope I did okey! :3)

[megpricephotography]

Apparently, today (2nd Tuesday in June) is World Pet Memorial Day, so I thought I'd share some pictures... My dear old Barney, who passed away in May of 2023 aged 16.5 years. Truly, the best of friends, who accompanied me on so many adventures & helped me through the worst time of my life. I cannot imagine any of my 20s without this dog at my side.

Barney's 1st dog-pal, Delilah (mostly known as Dilly) the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She was born in 2002 & passed in 2013. She belonged to dad's family & Barney lived with her for the first few years I had him. What a fantastic little dog she was - the sort of pup who could go anywhere & was always so sweet & just happy. Those little paws of hers covered many miles over the years, although she was also entirely happy curled up on "her" chair all day.

Lyra & Hovis were border collies who belonged to my dad's SO. Lyra the little blue merle was very good friends with Barney, they loved running about together. Hovis wasn't the biggest fan of Barney, bless him but he was an absolutely sweet lad.

Tessa the German Shepherd Dog belonged to my best friend. She had been trained as a working dog for the military but seemed very happy to retire & spend her last few years as a pet! Excellent, 10/10 at scary barky faces but a lovely dog!

Not a dog... my little Elsie-cat, who we adopted in 2007 as an unnamed stray from a local rescue centre. She was such a great kitty & even came to live with me & my friends for my last year at uni. She helped us all write our final dissertations. She & Barney were good pals (she was The Boss of course!) for years. I was devastated to lose her aged 12.

And finally... Bertie, the border collie. He belonged to my beloved granddad (who sadly passed in 2011). Bertie was the unwanted "runt" of a litter born on a farm in the early '90s & he really should've been out working sheep but instead, he lived as a much loved but not much trained pet. He was wild! I was a small child at the time & I thought Bertie was the most fun animal in the entire world. By the age of 5 I knew I wanted my own border collie one day - because of Bertie. He's why I had Barney & have Flynn. Character wise, my Flynn reminds me a lot of old Bert, it makes me smile.

[privately-andre]

Gay Movie Recommendations

╰┈➤ I’m not gay but my boyfriend is!

Yes the topic is: “I’m not gay but my boyfriend is!”.

Which means, this recommendation list includes movies where some of these themes are included:

internalised homophobia, denial of sexual orientation, being in the closet, coming out.

Shelter (2007)

My Rating: 9/10

This movie is definitely one of my favourites. It’s about a young lad Zach finding paths again with his best friend’s big brother (Shaun) after many years. They are surfing together in California and just enjoying each other’s company.

This movie is heartwarming and very comforting somehow. I am drawn into 2000s nostalgia in this movie. The soundtracks are also made by legendary (and gay) artist Shane Mack.

Lie With Me (2022)

My Rating: 8/10

I watched this film on big screen and boy it was a journey. It’s about a writer coming back to his old town to hold a signing event for his new book. His book is about his journey with his sexuality and his first love. One of the people who comes to his signing is; his first love’s son. And he doesn’t know how to act about this.

This film is based on a book, I’d recommend reading the book too.

Just a Question of Love (2000)

My Rating: 8/10

This is a light hearted film, and I’m a sucker for French movies so it’s one of my favourites. It’s about a young lad called Laurent who falls in love with a plant scientist Cédric. Laurent wants to come out but it’s hard to do when his family is not very open minded.

Mario (2018)

My Rating: 7/10

This movie is about two young footballers, both playing for the same amateur club in Switzerland, falling for each other and having to fight against homophobia in their careers. And it’s not easy.

Punch (2022)

My Rating: 7/10 (TW: Rape)

This movie is very bittersweet. It’s about a young boxer (Jim) trying to figure his life out and along the way meeting a young and very queer Māori boy (Whetu) and befriending him. I especially love how sweet our main guy Jim is towards Whetu. Unfortunately not everyone is so sweet to our Māori boy.

Love Songs (2007)

My Rating: 9/10

It’s my favourite movie of all time and it’s a musical. But I must add, this movie is not gay but very bisexual. Our main character Ismaël (played by Louis Garrel) finds himself somehow in a polyamorous relationship with 2 women. One of these women is the love of his life Julie. Although later in the movie Ismaël meets Erwann, a very young lad who is madly in love with our heartbroken Ismaël. And their love is heartwarming.

This movie’s soundtracks are legendary. And I would recommend watching Christophe Honoré’s other movies (dir.)

Mambo Italiano (2003)

My Rating: 5/10

This movie is about an Italian/American man (Angelo) trying to come out to his family. Angelo lives with an other Italian/American roommate (yeah they were roommates) .Whole movie treats homophobia and being in the closet in a comedic manner but some parts fail with lightening the mood up. Overall a comedy drama.

[sophaeros]

arctic monkeys for rip it up - new zealand, june/july 2007 / no. 317

Monkey Storm

It's been just over a year since Rip It Up spoke to indie superstars Arctic Monkeys. Since then they've toured the world, played a stonking show in Auckland, and just released their second album Favourite Worst Nightmare, so we figured it was time to talk to them again. Guitarist Jamie Cook took Rip It Up's call.

by Helene Ravlich

You can't get much farther from the UK town of Sheffield than the middle of the Palm Desert, which Arctic Monkeys guitarist Jamie Cook describes as "steaming, it were really hot," while chowing down on a Mexican meal in midtown Los Angeles.

He describes the band's experience of playing the Coachella music festival in said area as being "just lovely”, choosing to ignore the events of only two days before. On Friday, the youthful quartet played their indie hit ‘I Bet You Look Good On the Dance Floor;, but failed to impress former Faith No More singer Mike Patton, who was also performing with his really rather amazing trip-hop-influenced project, Peeping Tom. Resplendent in a doo-rag and a faux bulletproof vest, he led his crowd on an adjacent stage into mocking laughter directed at the English band. It appears that the Arctics - who recently released their second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare - were largely oblivious to the ex-Faith No More frontman's shenanigans, and just carried on having a bloody good time.

For those of you who may have been hiding under the duvet for the last few years, the Arctic Monkeys were one of the music world's most recent meteoric success stories. Just a bunch of likely lads from High Green (a suburb of Sheffield) much in need of a course of ProActiv acne wash, the Arctics achieved their success largely through fan-made demo tapes and online file-sharing. They were heralded as one of the first acts to come to the public attention via the internet (pre-MySpace), with commentators suggesting they represented the possibility of a change in the way in which new bands are promoted and marketed. The band eventually signed to independent record label Domino and their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, became the fastest-selling debut album in British music history and received unbridled displays of critical acclaim, including winning the 2006 Mercury Prize.

Since the release of that first album it's been pretty manic for the lads, who are still barely out of their teens. Surely by now they must be in need of some time off?

"Well we didn't really want to take any," says Cook, "I guess you could call it time off when we were recording but even that didn't take that long at all because we all get quite bored quite easily”.

That teenage leaning towards ADHD even infiltrates any attempt at a holiday with once again the guitarist saying that "we don't really take holidays because they just make us get even more bored”. Did some of that urgency stem from the jitters due to having the pressure to produce a second album as successful as their first weighing on their shoulders?

"No not all all, definitely not. We all really love touring and recording and going non-stop - that's what you start a band for, you know what I mean? We just wanted to get back into the studio so we could get that out of the way and go back on tour... we'd been on the road for 18 months but just wanted to get back out there."

So the band write when they are out on the road?

"Yeah a few songs were wrote on the road and a few were wrote in the studio," explains the guitarist, "and when we had a few days at home in Sheffield a few were wrote there too."

He says that the songs are also written using a variety of methods, including those that are generated from a general band jam session which singer Alex then goes away and creates lyrics for.

"Sometimes a song will come from a drum part or someone having a play on the acoustic guitar," he explains, "and we just develop it together."

Despite the fact that they have pretty much only seen the inside of tour buses and hotel rooms for the past couple of years he says that they still find inspiration from things observed on the road, as well as seemingly insignificant events that remain in their minds. New track 'The Only Ones Who Know' dates back to an innocuous story of two newcomers to the city who asked the band one Sunday night, "where's good to go tonight?" Vocalist and lyricist Turner later turned this into the aforementioned romantic wee song, which hopes that the pair are "still holding hands by New Year's Eve".

Formed in 2002, the band currently consists of Alex Turner on lead vocals and guitar, Cook on guitar, Matt Helders on drums and backing vocals and Nick O'Malley on bass guitar, a position formerly held by Andy Nicholson. Nicholson suddenly upped and left the group after pulling out of a North American tour last year, and the band issued the following, rather bland statement: "We are sad to tell everyone that Andy is no longer with the band. We have been mates with Andy for a long time and have been through some amazing things together that no one can take away. We all wish Andy the very best". The bass player's initial departure from the US tour was blamed on "fatigue following an intensive period of touring," and then he finally threw the remainder of his toys out of the cot and left for good.

Maybe one day we'll all just go mad... There you go — end of this year we'll all be in rehab! Jamie Cook

So Andy was out and the band gained Nick, both of whom have been friends with the others in the band since childhood. Do they ever see Andy around during the rare trips they get to take back to Sheffield?

"Yeah we do," says Cook, "he's a DJ now and does a club night on a Saturday there that we like to go to when we can."

He adds that the ex-bass player is also trying to get a band back together so he obviously has got over the trauma of his earlier experience with the Arctics. He says that O'Malley's entrance into the band was almost seamless, and that after he filled in for Nicholson after he dropped off early in their US tour it immediately felt "natural" and so he stayed. Surely the current line up feels at times the enormous pressure of being The Next Big Thing, and now a million pretenders have been signed in their wake and are probably enduring much of the same. How does the still really rather young guitarist recommend that they cope? How do his band stay sane in the face of media madness and public fanaticism?

"I don't rightly know," he says with a laugh, "maybe one day we'll all just go mad... There you go - end of this year we'll all be in rehab!

“That seems to be the thing to do right now, doesn't it?" he continues, "start feeling sorry for yourself and then just ship off to a clinic".

Drummer Matt Helders has reportedly taken up boxing in order to stay in shape for the rigours of their relentless touring schedule, but one can hardly imagine the scrawnier members of the band attempting the same.

As well as a new bass player, Favourite Worst Nightmare also sees the arrival of two new producers for the band. After making Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not with acclaimed rock producer Jim Abiss (Kasabian, DJ Shadow, Placebo), the band took a creative swerve on its follow up by working with James Ford (whose "We Are Your Friends' — as Simian — became a UK club smash in tandem with the Arctics) and Mike Crossey. Vocalist Turner has said that, "from the very first session we did it was obvious that it was sound with them", and Cook agrees, adding that the producers are barely older than the band themselves and understood them from the get go. They had actually started work on their debut with Ford and Crossey but Abiss was called in to take over not long after, so when it was time to start work on album number two they knew that they had more control and could choose to go back to their original choice of producers. He echoes Turner saying, “we just knew right from the start that we'd done the right thing and still feel good about doing it". What did they bring to the sound of the album and the process that Abiss couldn't offer?

"I can't really put my finger on it," he says, "it was just a load of new ideas and a matter of working with people who really understood what we were trying to do.

"We haven't really done much time in the studio but they were really willing to explain things to us," he adds, which is one of the best ways of learning, innit?"

He says the process was very democratic though, with everyone's individual ideas given airtime and considered, whether or not the production duo agreed with them, "but if something was really shit they'd kind of tell us, and we respected that".

He says that the time spent on a seemingly never-ending tour has at least given him the chance to check out new music, and he likes a lot of what he hears.

"I really love the new Arcade Fire album," he enthuses, "and they were at Coachella too so I got to actually watch them, which was amazing".

He's also a big fan of the Kings of Leon and relative newbies the Klaxons, but says that he can hear the funeral bells tolling for the UK indie scene which singled out his band to be huge.

"There's just so many shit bands back home now that I think anyone with a guitar can get signed, he says, "especially if they've got a nice haircut or something".

He's excited about touring the United States however, which they had previously only visited for a whirlwind three and a half weeks. Are they actively looking to properly break into that massive market? "I don't really know, we think people like us over here but who knows?" he explains, "we haven't been bottled yet.."

This year the lads have been given the mammoth task of being the headlining act at Glastonbury. which is surely no mean feat for a band barely out of their teens. Cook says that the whole band were hugely flattered at being asked, and explains that part of that was due to the fact that the ink was well dry on the contract before they had even started work on their second album.

"We just feel so honoured and can't wait," he says with true excitement in his voice, "I've never even been to Glastonbury because I've always been too young or couldn't get a ticket. I'd watch it every year on the telly and just think how much I'd like to go, and now, I'm bloody playing it!"