#i need more people to talk to about alex rider

[red-ruth]

So like…. could Marc actually win this?

Short Answer: I mean…… yeahhhhhh????

Long Answer: *incomprehensible screaming* …… and in this essay I will-

Because I genuinely don’t know what to think of Marc’s mindset rn. The whole gresini team + Marc seem hesitant to announce the championship challenge.

When Frankie did the interview post Misano 1 w TNT sports he identified their weakness as Friday, which is true. Winning the title means he needs to sort out his fucking qualifying. The tracks where he’s falling behind, he pushes more to find the limit and make the difference, but the other side of that line is him binning it and sending him down the grid. He has the speed to be on the front row pretty much every track now, even the ones where the gp24s are in a championship of their own. He can’t keep recovering from several places back every weekend, only to get up to the podium by half way through the race, at which point Pecco and Jorge have fucked off into the distance. He needs to be up there terrorising them.

However, the amount of tracks left that DO favour Marc are significant.

To start with, the counter clockwise circuits. Phillip Island and Valencia. We could very well see a performance there like we saw at Aragon and what was hinted at in Germany (Sachsenring 2024 what could’ve been, always in our hearts). I wouldn’t say we can guarantee wins, I’m aware of how powerful jinxes are, and Aragon did have an abysmal lack of grip, but they’re tracks where his performance is expected to be the best. We can’t necessarily say the same for the rest of the tracks, but what we can say about them is that they’re a complete fucking lottery.

Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Australia = anything could fucking happen. It’s no doubt that if it were actively raining (could be likely) Marc would come out on top, as we’d seen in misano 1. But what we also learnt from that race is that Marc only really needs a slightly damp track to beat the pace of the gp24s. He got up to the front because it started pissing down for half a lap yeah, but if he sorts out qualifying, he’d be up at the front in the first place, and a damp track would then allow him to keep up and extend a potential lead. More than that, you’ll see more riders coming through on an even playing field to take points out of Martin and Pecco. Exactly like Aragon. The Asian leg, in the past, has always been a bit of a gamble, and that’s where Marc will thrive.

Realistically, Valencia being the final race means that if Marc came in to that final round near equal on points, he could win the title. It would require a perfect weekend from him, Valencia being dusty plus counter clockwise would be good for that, like Aragon.

In order to be close enough going into it though he’d definitely have to be on the podium every round from here on out. Probably more 2nd’s than 3rds so that he’s scoring more than either Jorge or Pecco. Aswell as a handful more wins.

He’d also have to bargain on Jorge and Pecco fighting amongst themselves, taking points off each other. And the both of them having a few more dnfs/bottles like Pecco in Barcelona/Aragon (Peccos horrific starts not his crash w Alex) or Jorge in Sachsenring/Misano 1.

Another factor I haven’t seen people talk about, THE BEAST. For one, he is not far behind Marc, which could be a threat to him, of course. But if we imagine a situation like silverstone happening at more circuits where the gp24 could hold a massive advantage, that’s taking significant points off Pecco and Jorge, drawing the entire fight closer together. To then alternate to tracks where the playing field is more even, then we have Marc coming out on top, and Enea realistically falling behind so he can’t really make an advantage stick (like how we’re seeing him drop away again despite his dominant silverstone performance)

But I’m gonna be real….. I know I’ve just written multiple paragraphs about how Marc could win this, I don’t actually think Marc is trying to win the championship. I think he could, I honestly really, really do. I think if he had something to prove, we’d be having a completely different conversation. But in my mind, he’s already proven himself. We all know that next year, Marc is going to be alongside Pecco. There are less ducatis on the grid, and a lot of the riders on the remaining bikes, have never been Ducati riders before. If we can count on Ducati taking another massive step forward in development (fuck even any step at all at this rate) it’s clear that this is going to be a Pecco v Marc showdown. He’s staked his claim in that.

Marc doesn’t need the 2024 title. He’s saying he’s spending the rest of the year figuring out the bike in combination with his riding style. He’s doing this because he’s achieved all his goals already, get on the podium, win a race, get that seat, enjoy racing again. Tick, tick, tick, tick. He’s done, he’s checked out. He’s being realistic about his performance. As he was saying about the sprint yesterday, “If we start 7th, I finish 4th. If I start 1st I finish 4th.” And you can see the fucking BALL of a time Marc is having at Gresini, (oh my god what an incredible team I might write a whole post on my thoughts on them later). He’s enjoying racing again, and he’s relishing in that feeling coming back. I’m sure Marc is honestly satisfied in sitting back and having fun in a low pressure environment before he moves to Ducati Corse and locks the fuck in.

HOWEVER, he also has absolutely nothing to lose. For someone like Jorge who’s going to a less competitive team next year, or Pecco who’s gonna have an 8 times world champion in the box, they both are conscious of the fact this could really be their last chance at a title. Marc could come 4th, 3rd, 2nd or 1st this year and it means literally nothing because next year is where the real fight is.

In Misano 1 Marc took the risk during the rain to get up to p1 because he could afford to crash, and Pecco couldn’t. Which got him the win. If he’s planning on riding like that for the rest of the season he really could win it. But need I remind you, Pecco didn’t fight him because he wasnt Jorge Martin. Maybe Marc and the team are trying to put out the fires the media are lighting and they don’t want to draw attention to the fact that Marc very well could win this. If his strategy in those situations is fuck around now, find out later, in which the “finding out” is “win or we crash”. He’d be bargaining on Martin and Bagnaia disregarding him as a real contender. His best bet is laying low and striking when they don’t expect him too.

Am I seeing mind games where there aren’t any? Maybe. Is this delusional hope? Of course! And I also don’t think it’s something that Marc is gunning for. Like I genuinely believe the title is only gonna happen if it… falls into his hands, you know? It relies so much on luck. Getting race conditions he prefers, Pecco and Jorge bottling. Enea preforming only when it’s convenient. Not Crashing In Quali For Fucks Sake Marc. And I think Marc knows that too. This title is something that’s almost completely out of his control. He doesn’t have the bike to simply be the better rider, the only thing he can do is maximise the chances he gets in the next few rounds. If he wins or loses this, it’s not because of his skills as a rider, it’s because he was dealt the hand he needed.

But if this happens, if he is dealt this hand and he rounds the final turn of the final lap in Valencia in P1, his ninth championship secured, if I can allow us all to dream scandalously for a second, this season will go down in fucking history. In a career of incredible championship fights, controversies and highs and lows, nothing will beat whatever happens in the coming months…..

…

cut to marc in the gravel in a few hours time

[povlnfour]

ੈ✩‧₊˚ PADDOCK TO PADDOCK (LN) PART ONE

lando norris x fem!horse rider!reader

series masterlist | next part

yourusername just posted a photo ੈ✩‧₊˚

liked by flo_norris_showjumping, lilymhe and 128,303 others

yourusername nice little practice today in between interviews. ready for a relaxed weekend

view all 2,054 comments

user1 give bean all the carrots from us!

user2 so excited for the showjumping season!!!!

flo_norris_showjumping what a duo you two are already👏🏻

user3 i love that you practice in a full face of makeup. go girl slay!

yourusername @/user3 LMAO my makeup did not look that good by the end of it. p much had to redo it all for interview no.2

lilymhe OBSESSED

yourusername @/lilymhe GIRL I MISS YOU

lilymhe MISS YOU MORE. gotta link up when you’re back around :’)

user4 lily + y/n. my fav duo. i’ve missed their flirting

landonorris just posted a photo ੈ✩‧₊˚

liked by yourusername, alex_albon and 277,098 others

landonorris not meant to be today but we bounce back

view all 3,671 comments

user5 we love you🧡 you did so well

mclaren onto better things🧡

user3 @/yourusername ARIANA WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE

liked by yourusername

user6 @/user3 SHE KNOWS HIS SISTER OFC SHE FOLLOWS HIM

user3 that’s hot

oscarpiastri 🧡🧡🧡

user7 the loves of my life fr

f1updates just posted ੈ✩‧₊˚

f1updates star studded turn out today for @/lilymhe’s golf game! joining f1 stars such as lando norris, charles leclerc and alex albon is lily’s friend and pro showjumper y/n y/l/n!

user1 SHES SO CUTE

user3 the way this is just her jumping off a flight to go support her bff…. i’ll cry she looks so pretty

user7 WITH LANDO ALEX AND CHARLES???

user5 I KNOW I DONT KNOW HOW MORE PEOPLE ARENT FREAKING OUT

user8 i mean we know she knows alex bc of lily but…. lando and charles

yourusername stop looking at these photos i was so jet lagged….

user4 AND STILL CUTE!

user2 not bestie following f1updates😭

user3 @/user2 i bet she’s a lewis girlie. she has that vibe

twitter reacts ੈ✩‧₊˚

lilymhe just posted a photo ੈ✩‧₊˚

liked by yourusername, landonorris and 202,311 others

lilymhe good game, better celebrations

👤tagged yourusername, alex_albon, landonorris

view all 1,342 comments

user1 Y/N AND LANDO??? DANCING N HANGING OUT?????

alex_albon y/n is a terrible photographer but lando is a bad dancer. it equals out

yourusername SLANDER ON MY PHOTOGRAPHY SKILLS

landonorris @/yourusername i’ll teach you to drive, you teach me to dance?

yourusername @/landonorris … meet my horse i’ll consider it

landonorris @/yourusername i said it last night and i’ll say it again… NO! no reason for an animal to have that long a neck

yourusername @/landonorris wow. friendship over before it began

alex_albon @/landonorris giraffes are calling

user7 what is going on in these comments…

user5 damn they just met and are already flirting? the devil works hard but lando works harder

yourusername just posted a photo ੈ✩‧₊˚

liked by charles_leclerc, carlossainz55 and 152,009 others

yourusername life lately

👤tagged landonorris, lilymhe

view all 32,446 comments

user2 OH SO UR HANGING OUT NOW?

flo_norris_showjumping MY BROTHER?

yourusername @/flo_norris_showjumping ANSWER MY TEXTS

user6 why texts what’s going on miss y/n👀

user3 beauty

user5 all the grid boys liking… oh you know lando is talking about her

user7 who can blame him i mean LOOK AT HER

alex_albon how come lily gets a cute ass photo and the one you posted of me last week made me look like a demon

yourusername she’s my favourite parent🩷

y/nupdates posted a photo ੈ✩‧₊˚

liked by landonorris and 21,335 others

y/nupdates the showjumping season is officially underway! sending all our love to @/yourusername and mr. bean today on their first competition🩷

view all 102 comments

user5 lando creeping in the likes lmao

user2 what is going on between lando and y/n…

y/nupdates all we know is that they’re friends and we love that!🩷

user9 hm

user1 ?

user9 @/user1 he doesn’t need any distractions.

user1 @/user9 bestie it’s a post announcing a competition season not a marriage proposal💀

a/n: first part down!!! not super interesting but this is self indulgent as a horse girl myself LMAO. welcome to my acc i guess???

to be tagged when the next part goes up (won’t be long): taglist

- giselle

[fabiochampioraro]

Sky italia (certified lagnaia stans™️) had pecco himself said that not only Alex didn’t look him in the eyes, that he couldn’t not have seen him and went as far as saying “maybe i should have thought about who i was overtaking…because he is…he does many things” probably implying he’s Marc brother, a dangerous driver and toxic.

I dunno what more people need to realise that lagnaia is a horrible af human being, first he plays the victim all the time, then he complains that he isn’t the only one with a good bike, then they’re actively trying to sabotage him with the tyres, now he’s talking shit about other riders.

[yourtwistedlies]

❝ women’s hearts are lethal weapons ❞

val ! ✩ she/her ✩ minor ✩ jason grace’s gf (REAL) ✩ speak now obsessed ✩ gracie abrams lovebot ✩ summer baby ✩ certified procrastinator ✩ professional listener ✩ pathological people pleaser ✩ general amaya’s #1 fan ✩ fitz vacker defender ✩ honorary grammar police ✩ kpop stan (mostly ggs) ✩ my moots’ cheerleader ✩ under the illusion i can write ✩ somewhat smart ✩ cabin 13 girl ✩

dni: if you are racist, homophobic, xenophobic, support kill all ___, sexist, 18+ only, religiophobic, creepy, toxic, or literally just a jerk, please leave!

byi: i swear sometimes!! i also adore using cute nicknames and pet names for my moots!! if you don’t feel comfortable w/ that or anything else, please let me know <33

moots - wattpad - ao3 - carrd - follower event (coming soon ⁉️) - save the children!

•̩̩͙⁺ the basics ₊˚. ↴ ·˚༘

call me valerie/val or twisted!!

she/her, straight (heterosexual), minor (18+ only acc’s please do not follow), 18+ do not interact unless i interact first or we are moots (on my list or to be added- i am the judge of who is to be added), cancer (zodiac, but i don’t believe in them), Christian (i post about it sometimes), << summer baby, entp (mbti), 8w7 (enneagram), ambivert, slytherin, cabin 13, shade (guys i swear i wasn’t trying to be edgy or smth with the past two and this 😭😭 i took the official quizzes i promise lmao), swiftie, kpop fan, staying up writing until 4am gives me life, purple is the best color (this is not up to debate, only yellow even comes close), proud notes app writer, CATS > DOGS (occasionally my verdict changes), bunny lover, chronic platonic sofitzer, i’m either hyperactive or extremely tired (there is no in between), people say im smart, but sometimes i feel like the biggest idiot ever lmao, and ofc dex dizznee’s much needed publicist (my favorite role of mine ever)!!!

•̩̩͙⁺ music ₊˚. ↴ ·˚༘

taylor swift, olivia rodrigo, sza, conan gray, alicia keys, emei, gracie abrams, maisie peters, sabrina carpenter, laufey, queen riri (rihanna), adele, beabadoobee, tiffany day, le sserafim, ive, newjeans, itzy, nmixx, stay-c, aespa, everglow, txt (baby fan), illit ＆ more kpop, lizzy mcalpine, pheobe bridgers, nessa barrett, pinkpantheress, claire rosinkranz, lyn lapid, alessia cara, reneé rapp, mckenna grace, and more!!

as i hope you can tell, i like a lot of music :)

•̩̩͙⁺ books ₊˚. ↴ ·˚༘

pjo, hoo, (never read toa, but yes, ik what happens in tbm), the rrverse, kotlc, city spies, ss (spy school), alex rider (not done with rr), the academy for the unbreakable arts,

and my many other fandoms i’ve forgotten about (dead magisterium fandom oop-)

i’ll add more fandoms as i remember them lol

•̩̩͙⁺ ships ₊˚. ↴ ·˚༘

rayllum, clauderry (stfu they’re adorable), percabeth (otp energy), sokeefe, dexiana, tiana (yes i know im the most indecisive bitch ever shut up you toad /jjjj i actually love u platonically), jason grace x ME (/j but i do love him lol), and more!!

•̩̩͙⁺ blogs ₊˚. ↴ ·˚༘

side blog: @yourtangledpromises

taylor blog: @iknowplxces (guys this is so abandoned + has my old intro 🤮 ignore this js trust - august 15 2024 val)

and perhaps more?? (muahahaha)

•̩̩͙⁺ side note ₊˚. ↴ ·˚༘

if you’d like to be added to my moots list, or talk, please tell me (by wonder girls)!!

if we’re moots we’re actually bffs now (you just don’t notice it yet)

if i don’t respond to your ask/tag/rb/literally anything immediately i am not ignoring you!! i’m just lazy or busy and will do it later <33

im your biggest fan btw

1 Corinthians 16:14

with love,

valerie

[writeforfandoms]

The Calling - 1

Find the series masterlist

This will eventually be Frank Woods x f!reader x Alex Mason. It was planned to be Frank Woods x reader but as I started writing it, Frank and Alex insisted on sharing. Menaces.

This is part of the dragon riders AU, but shows a different part of the AU. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it.

Warnings: Swearing, yearning, repressed feelings, flirting, some politics, Frank and Alex are menaces of the best variety.

Word count: 1.4k

You tapped your fingers against your thigh absently as you waited, gaze only half-focused on the world around you. Frank and Alex were back earlier than expected, which could be good or bad. 

It was always hard to tell, with those two. 

At least they hadn't come back bleeding this time. 

Two familiar heads of dark hair bobbed into sight, and you blinked the world back into focus. Alex and Frank entered the meeting room together, as usual. Alex nudged Frank with his elbow, and Frank grumbled something and shoved him back. You raised one eyebrow at the pair. Alex grinned at you while Frank just huffed. 

But you didn't have a chance to talk to them, as the other three walked in together. The Primes walked in together, as always, with the Director just behind them. The Director closed the door behind him, giving everyone a moment to sit. 

You already had your chair pulled away from the table, separate from the meeting. A silent observer. You sat quietly, notepad balanced on your leg, prepped to take notes. 

“What have you found?” The Director asked, firm and no nonsense, as always. 

Frank and Alex both straightened, shoulders back, though Alex was the one that answered. 

“Fewer nests than last time,” Alex reported. “Most of the activity we spotted was higher elevation, too.” 

“Higher elevation?” The Prime man, Alistair, asked, leaning forward slightly. “How much higher?”

Alex shrugged. “High enough that it was nearly impossible to get up to them,” he said, speaking slowly. Probably weighing his words, making sure he wasn't being too brusque. “They were still hunting in the valley and the lower slopes of the mountains, but they had moved. We couldn't find any evidence as to why.” 

The Director accepted this, leaning back in his seat. The Primes, on the other hand, exchanged worried looks. You didn't blame them - any change in behavior among the wyverns was… concerning. 

“What else?” The Prime woman, Erika, asked, folding her hands on the table in front of her. 

Frank shrugged. “They're wyverns,” he said, leaning back a little. “They didn't care about much except hunting and fucking.” 

You had to hide your smile, made easier by the fact that you were looking down at your notes. Frank was one of the very few people you knew that dared to use such crass language in front of the Primes. 

“Even so.” She shook her head, dark hair streaked with silver pulled back and gleaming in the light. “I don't like this change.” 

Alex shrugged. “They've changed before. There was that season half their nests were destroyed.” 

“This is different.” But she didn't say more, lips pursing together. 

“This will require more investigation,” Alistair said instead. “We will discuss this matter and inform you when we need you to go again.” 

“In the meantime, you have earned a rest,” the Director cut in. “Dismissed.” 

Alex and Frank both stood, inclining their heads to the three. Alex nudged his foot into yours and, when you looked up at him, nodded to the hallway. You shrugged, and he nodded, taking long strides after Frank. 

You shook your head just a little and looked back at your notes, waiting for the three to decide if they were going to continue their meeting. 

“This change in behavior concerns me,” Erika said softly, brow furrowed. “They do not change their behavior lightly.” 

“Especially not in a year that has been productive,” Alistair agreed. “There is no shortage of food for them, no reason for them to live so high.” 

The Director snorted. “This is not the biggest change we have seen from them,” he dismissed. “So they have gone higher up the mountain. It is no concern of ours why.” 

Alistair and Erika exchanged looks, but you didn't say anything. It wasn't your place. 

“If you're so concerned, we'll send a team to investigate further,” the Director offered, waving one careless hand. “Those two should remain until after the hatching, at least.” 

“Very well.” Erika stood. “Pick your team. I want them ready to go by the morning after tomorrow.” She swept out of the room, Alistair right on her heels. 

You remained seated, finishing your notes. Besides. You knew that the Director would require your help. 

Sure enough, the Director tapped his nails against the table. “I'll send a group of three,” he decided without actually looking at you. “They'll need the usual supplies. I expect it all arranged before midday tomorrow.”

You nodded, accepting that easily. “It will be done,” you agreed. 

“Good. Dismissed.” 

You stood, inclining your head to the Director, and walked out of the meeting room. Fortunately, arranging supplies shouldn't be a problem. It would be nice to know which three the Director was planning to send, so you could be sure to take preferences into account, but maybe you could find out later. 

“Hey.” 

You jumped, startled out of your head by Alex. He and Frank both snickered at you. Not meanly, though it had taken you a while to figure that out. They just didn't have many chances to relax, and this kind of gruff teasing was a way they showed affection. 

“Jumpy today,” Frank observed, knocking a loose fist against your shoulder. 

“Just lost in thought.” You shrugged but didn't move away from them. “Any new injuries?”

“Nah,” Frank said, waving a hand. “Nothing worth noting.”

You eyed him, because his definition of something “worth noting” varied wildly from yours. A quick glance at Alex proved that he was still relaxed and smiling. Nothing serious, then. You relaxed. 

“So, where are you going first? Food? Or your friends?” You started walking again, trusting they'd keep pace with you. They did, Alex on your left and Frank on your right. 

“Food first,” Frank said, glancing at you. “That asshole can't cook for shit.”

“Neither can you,” Alex shot back with no heat. 

“Why do you think I make sure you both have easy food?” You shook your head, amused. “Honestly.”

“Because you like us and you'd be sad if we died in the wilderness,” Alex offered, only half-teasing. 

“Well, it would make my life easier…” You couldn't help but grin at the twin indignant noises that earned you. 

“You'd be bored without us, admit it.” Frank jostled you with his elbow, though notably more gently than when he did it to Alex. 

“I'd be something without you,” you conceded, still smiling. 

“Bah. Clearly it's been too long since you've been drinking with us.” Frank shook your shoulder loosely. 

“Don't even think about it,” you warned, shooting him a quelling look. “I have work I have to do.” 

“It'll wait,” Alex started.

“Nope,” you immediately protested. “The Director is sending out another group.”

“Who?” Alex asked, a little too casually. 

“Don't know yet,” you said, only a little snappy. “You'll find out when I do.” 

For a moment, strained silence settled between the three of you, even as you turned towards the store rooms. Despite food being the opposite direction, Frank and Alex stayed with you. 

“Didn't mean it like that,” Alex murmured, pressing closer to your side. 

“I know.” You deflated, just a little. “It's just not a good time for me to slack off. Go eat, rest. You deserve it.” 

You didn't look at the two as you pulled open the door to the office. The door closed quietly behind you. 

“What do you need this time?” The question was brusque but not rude, the man in charge of the store rooms glancing at you. 

“Supplies for three, this time.” You clasped your notepad in both hands, rocking slowly from heel to toe and back. “Standard set for each.” 

He eyed you for a moment before nodding, jotting that down. “They'll be ready tomorrow morning,” he grunted at you. 

You nodded acknowledgement, but didn't leave. Instead you slipped further into the store rooms, taking a quick look for yourself. You were one of the few people allowed to roam like this, something you didn't take advantage of often. 

But, well… despite your bluster and teasing with Alex and Frank, you had missed them. You missed them every time they were gone. 

Not that you'd ever admit that. They didn't need to know. 

So you found a couple things for them. Little things. Things they'd mentioned in passing. A new comb for Alex. The soap that Frank favored. A small bag of the hard candies Alex liked but never admitted he craved. 

Just little comforts, little things, to make them feel welcomed back. They never asked. And you never admitted to bringing them. 

It was a little secret. One of many you carried on your shoulders. 

It was no work at all to deposit the bundle at the rooms they shared and be on your way. 

You still had more work to do.

[toni-peperoni]

I am begging you to share more of your mechanic alex vision

Okay so: We know that Alex actually wanted to be a mechanic for Marc rather than a rider himself, but Marc pushed him to at least try.

And Alex subbed in in Moto3 for the first time in 2012 and then did the entire season of 2013 and for this we have to pretend it didn't go as well as it actually did, so he decided to stop, focus on school and pursue his dream of becoming a mechanic.

I'm not very familiar (at all) with the Spanish school system, but it would probably mean, he'd finish school in 2014 and after that find a university to study remotely at. Finishing the school in Spain had meant almost a year of barely seeing his brother and that just wasn't something either could or would choose (love my codependent babes), but it would also lead to Alex being a little less dependent, because he knows basic life can work without Marc there, though for Marc basic life was racing and Alex was still present at every European race if possible.

The public would of course know Alex as Marc's brother and very rarely bring up that he used to race too, but they would know them more in the way Carola is known as Pecco's sister rather than Luca is known as Vale's brother, if that makes sense?

He'd start his apprenticeship at a racing team shortly there after, spending his first year learning with the Moto3 bikes, but his talents didn't go unnoticed, so he was moved up to learn about the difference of the 250cm³ and 765cm³ engines.

He finished his apprenticeship there in 2017 having made some appearances in the Repsol Honda factory already, seeing as he also needs to learn about the 1000cm³ bikes after all. That meant he had lots of experience with racing and working under pressure already and without hesitation, he was signed as one of Marc's mechanics at the beginning of the 2018 season.

They won two championships together and Marc knew no matter what, no matter how shit something went, he could always return to the garage and have his brother's support no matter how often he crashed, how much pain the bike caused him, his brother was there in and out of the garage.

There's two ways to go from here:

1. They became even more codependent and Marc leaving Honda was like a slap to the face for both of them.

2. They drifted apart a bit always aware, that they could rely on eachother for everything and have someone to talk to no matter, but Marc learned through seeing his brother work through the night on the bike, that he wasn't doing it only for Marc, but also for his love of bikes and Alex learned, that no matter how hard he tried, how much he wanted it, he couldn't always make his brother happy.

Either way, there were long discussions held and many tears fell, while Marc thought about whether he should leave or not.

In the end Marc left and Alex stayed. Why? Because he basically had only worked with Hondas for his entire life, there was no set up, no aero, no engine, he knew as well as the Honda. He lived for that bike.

While Marc's crew chief switched over to the other side of the box, now working with Joan, Alex stayed on his side of the garage and started to work with the new guy. Luca.

He knew Luca, of course he did, well at least by name and from the few stories Marc had told, when he and Vale were still okay.

He had even raced against Luca, one single race in 2013, when Alex did his one and only podium in Misano in the Moto3, Luca had subbed in for an injured rider.

But it wasn't Alex to bring that info to the table. It was actually Luca, who after Alex had introduced himself with the rest of the crew had told him that little fact. Alex would have forgotten about it.

That was the first encounter Alex had with Luca's very observant nature, leading to him noticing the smallest details about people's habits and making positive remarks about those.

Away from the track Luca was kind, gentle and always in for a laugh, but on the track, he was just as fierce as everyone else. Despite the Honda being... well the bike that it currently is, he never once tried to blame his mechanics, rather giving feedback about the bike, than telling them in a condescending voice how shit it was. That would have been very understandable and Alex had been rarely actually mad, when riders had done that, he understood the emotions and knew that most riders would come around to apologize later, because it had been a heat of the moment thing.

They were working very close together, going over data until late at night, because Luca was as determined to make that bike work again as Alex was. So it became natural to them to spend time together and they were starting to become friends and eventually more...

[natduskfall]

I’m not good at putting my feelings into text, nor am I a writer, or good at literature analysis, but I do have thoughts.

I never liked SSO’s writing to begin with. The writing of SL was okay for a game of that scope. I loved the mystery of a seaside town and strange powers that be. But SSO’s writing is confusing to me.

Dialogues almost always try to be funny, relatable, and it comes across as shallow or boring. I try to read all the dialogue because I am invested in the universe by now and I want to know everything about the events of the world and it’s characters. But lord is it hard sometimes to not skip the repetitive, shallow dialogue.

The characters lack debth and it is hard for me to like any of them. It feels like the Soul riders are just written as stereotypes. Don’t know something? Talk to Linda, she knows everything and loves doing research! She’s a nerd! Alex is the hurr durr let’s do shit without thinking anything over. Haha, Lightning goes zap zap!! Elizabeth is our teacher. A druid. And? Fripp? What even is Fripp? “Mysterious” leader who I don’t know anything about or don’t spend any time with. Who comes across as emotionless and disinterested in his charges. Avalon? Recluse who barely shows up and when he does, he always disagrees with everything.

I like that SSE has been trying to focus on the characters more. Elizabeth’s death didn’t make me feel anything because I just didn’t know her, didn’t have any attachments to her. If anything I laughed during that scene because of the way she ass slammed Darko like that Ground Slam Ash of War from Elden Ring, then got turned into Annie from Attack on Titan, and then blew herself up. That scene should have been an emotional story beat that should have gripped me and made me sad. Red Dead Redemption does that so well. I cried a lot during that game. I wish SSE took the characters seriously tho. It’s like every quest is an episode of The Simpsons where shit happens, it never gets acknowledged after, the characters don’t change. Every episode is a new start. I really like that they commited to the darker and real events, such as Lisa losing her mother, Alex having a dysfunctional low income family, and Anne getting over the real trauma of Concordes death, her kidnapping, and isolation. BUT THEY DON’T GO ANYWHERE WITH IT.

I want to love these characters and I want them to feel like real people, but it’s hard when they get treated as a joke, or the real and traumatic things that happened to them never get acknowleged and have no impact on them or the story. What about Linda and the betrayal of the Baroness? What about Meteor being lost. She didn’t even mention Meteor until the spymaster sent MC to tell her where Meteor was. And I am still waiting for the new Fort Maria quest to see the dynamic between the druids and the Soul Riders after the events of Justin’s rescue.

And the story…. Sometimes it just feels too whacky to me. I don’t know if the witches and golden apples are some folklore from Sweden, but I did not expect that when I first played through, and I did not like it. It felt like the game was spreading itself too thin? It felt out of place to me.

And sometimes, the quests feel like they have no impact. We need to do a difficult thing. Ha let’s do it this way. Go there. Click the ground. Done, we did it, yay!! It just feels very childish, lacking weight. I’m not sure how to put this into words, and I think there are people out there who are much better at this then I am.

I disliked the new Alex quest and felt unsatisfied. The whole questline had me anxious because the job of an event planner is so hard for me as a person with zero organisation skills and confidence. I am sure it is a very important and difficult job, and I was waiting for how SSE handled it. The entire time I felt like MC and Alex were not making any actual tuall progress. Then the whole thing got derailed to “let’s record a narrated tour of the CIty”. And when the quest ended, I was like “that’s it?”

The cinematic for Alex shows a resourceful, hard working and strong individual who got delt a bad hand, but found hope in Elizabeth. But the game keeps treating her like a stupid comic relief character who can only do one thing, and that is use her lightning power no matter the occasion. Even the Freeing Anne quest felt off to me. Why would Alex chose to go back and face Darko alone, when they keep rehashing the theme of “we’re stronger together”. Her power can be fueled by anger, but her main thing is to protect her loved ones. They got Anne, her priority should have been to get Anne out of there, not come back alone for Darko. It just felt like the writers did that because they needed Elizabeth to die, and MC getting stranded in Pandoria so that Lisa could use her singing power. And how would getting blown off a cliff into a bottomless space get rid of a powerful individual who can easily teleport himself and other people?

I really wish SSO would hire actual writers do deal with their story, the structure of the story, and the characters. Helena did such a good job making the main cast feel real, and structuring the story.

TLDR: SSE please hire a writer, and stop treating your characters like stereotypes. Stop treating Alex like a stupid person who goes zap

[batsplat]

can’t ask via side blog so this is matchvedev 🫡 you mentioned catalunya in that reblog of vale celebrating his 100 wins… 👀 what’s the story behind that and are there any other fun anecdotes that come to your mind looking at that poster? only if you wanna talk about it ofc but super lowkey, just anything you might wanna talk about

(x) oh yeah sure! I'm gonna leave the other bits of the poster for another time because this post is already long enough and tbh I need to find a version where I can make out a little more of the poster. but I will at some point!!

so, assen 2009 was the race directly after catalunya - a race that valentino also of course just happened to win. it's actually super convenient that these were consecutive wins, because can you imagine if they'd had to lug that massive poster everywhere they went until valentino finally got his 100th? anyway, catalunya was very much the turning point of the 2009 season. going into that race, valentino was in a little bit of trouble... actually, y'know what I do have a post about this race already so I'm just gonna plagiarise from that:

so, long story short, obviously that race was a banger. if anyone reading this hasn't watched it, please go and do that. valentino won it with a final corner overtake on jorge at a bit of the track you're not supposed to be able to overtake at. every time this race comes up, I'm legally obligated to remind people jorge was going around telling pundits that as long as you're ahead going into the final two corners of the last lap, you're safe. which, obviously don't do that! casey did take a break from almost fainting so that he could rag on jorge for not preventing the overtake - not least since valentino had employed that overtake on casey two years earlier, which jorge was also aware of and was later kicking himself over (here, here and here, but don't click on that first link right now). so there's plenty of fun lore with that overtake... anyway, valentino goes full ham with his celebrations. he's now tied in the championship standings with casey and jorge. more importantly, he's shown that he's still got it AND he's beaten his annoying young teammate at home. he breaks out of parc fermé to accept the adulation of jorge's home fans and also interrupts jorge's interview to shake his opponent's hand... just in case jorge is less than generous after his brutal defeat, this interaction will be nicely caught on cameras and mics

there's one more thing he does in his celebrations - but we're going to need a bit more context here. let's go back a few years, to the early noughties. (I promise this is relevant.) now, fun story, did you know that casey was talent-spotted by dani's long-time manager alberto puig and that's where he knew dani from? (stick with me here.) also, did you know that this is actually the reason why dani and casey run consecutive numbers, 26 and 27 respectively? from casey's autobiography:

I'd wanted to use the number 66 when I raced, but another rider had taken it. Number 66, or 166 if there had to be three digits, had always been my number in dirt-track because Dad had used number 6. I had run 66 in the Aprilia Superteens but it had been taken in the British Championships so I'd used 48, which is what I was given. For the Spanish series Alberto had block-booked all the twenties for his riders and I was given the number 27. It was the number I would keep from then on.

and here's another bit later on:

Unfortunately my favourite number, 66, was again already taken, this time by the German rider Alex Hofmann, so we decided to stick with my number from the Spanish Championship, 27. That same year in the 125cc class Joan Olivé would be running number 25 and Dani Pedrosa number 26, so having the number 27 on the front of my bike was a subtle but nice way to maintain my association with Alberto and his team of riders and show my respect for him.

something nice about how those two numbers always remained linked, isn't there! now, back to jorge: for most of his career, he'd been running the number 48 (yes, coincidentally, the number casey had used in the british championships), in honour of his manager dani amatriain who he met when he was ten years old. more on their relationship here, but the most relevant bit is this:

so, until the start of the 2009 season, he'd had the number 48 on his bike (minus the one year where he ran the number one plate). he then had this massive and pretty traumatic falling out with his manager, and he went so far as to change his number to distance himself from the man:

which, good - it was obviously meaningful to him. he later chose to use the number one plate after his first premier class title but stuck to the 99 for the following two... in the end, he really made that number his own

except, one more thing. why 99? so apparently, he ran a fan poll at the end of 2008, and he chose the number that won. here, from an article after the 2015 season:

unfortunately, this doesn't give you a lot of detail about the fan poll... but if you get creative with the wayback machine, you can find an article from the motogp website from 2008 that gives you a little more to work with:

so he didn't really use a fan poll, he got the fans to just... slightly narrow down his preexisting choices. which is important context! fan poll this or that, he did basically choose the number himself

now, regrettably the next bit basically just urban legend. I have found no good source confirming this, it's just something you see on forum posts, it might just be conjecture. but... well, let's just take a second to consider who his three major rivals were at this point: dani, casey and valentino. and if we do some basic arithmetic...

26 + 27 + 46 = 99

look. I have zero evidence that this was actually the reasoning behind jorge's choice. but you have to admit it's one hell of a coincidence, and quite a funny one at that. there's something kind of charming about the idea that all four of those numbers ended up being connected in some way, first through the dani and casey thing and then by jorge linking all four of them together... and of course, it'd also be hilarious if this is how jorge approached choosing his number. 'actually, I'm all three of my rivals combined' - sorry, but I buy young jorge doing this. apart from anything else, that is a man who was canonically obsessed with his rivals, especially vale and dani. is this a dig at them or a tribute? both? neither? what's going on here? who's to say

maybe this isn't actually the explanation! either way, in 2009 jorge rocked up with his new number, having distanced himself from his manager and determined to be his own man now. he might have pretended like he didn't have big title ambitions for that season, but obviously he wanted this to be his year. at latest by the time he got to catalunya, he believed he could win this title and really wanted to beat valentino... he would have loved nothing more than to beat his teammate in a close and dramatic duel at home. except valentino gets the better of him, in pretty much the cruellest way imaginable

remember how we've established that assen was valentino's 100th victory? well, in an extremely annoying coincidence, catalunya of course just had to be valentino's 99th victory. because of course it was. and of course, because it's valentino, he does actually remember this while he's celebrating

funnily enough, the dorna commentators have no clue why he's doing this and are a little confused by valentino pointing at the 99 on jorge's bike. but I got it, valentino, don't worry! which is just... wonderfully irritating, isn't it. during his extremely extensive celebrations where he's really rubbing it in, taking control of the season and all that... he's also remembered exactly what number of wins he was on and decided to be an arsehole about it. think about all the things that had to play out the right way for this celebration to hit the way it did. even if you don't believe jorge's number was directly inspired by [valentino plus his other rivals], it was still a number he'd only gotten THAT year, just in time for this duel. of all the wins that could've given him 99, it had to be one of the very finest of valentino's career. it's just. so annoying

which brings us to assen 2009, victory number 100. they had two weeks to complete their lovely poster and choose the photo they'd take for victory number 99. of course, there's really only one way you can go here:

now, some scholars may recognise this photo as the 'knee retraction shot', where they got very close to making contact. this is headed down the main straight on the penultimate lap, where jorge has overtaken valentino on the straight but valentino has taken the outside line to out-brake jorge in order to reovertake him... and he's so close he actually has to briefly retract his knee to get past (see here for a little more detail). on the final lap, jorge does flirt with running valentino off the track to prevent this, so he did learn his lesson! still, it's the perfect shot: you've got the two numbers clearly displayed and they couldn't be closer together (actually *checks motegi 2010 notes* I suppose you can get them a little tighter still). yes, it's the obvious choice for the 99th victory photo - but again, incredibly annoying behaviour from valentino

one more fun thing: there was actually a second dramatic duel between jorge and valentino in 2009 that unfortunately has gotten forgotten about a little bit. this one was at the sachsenring, and again valentino emerged on top... another decisive blow against his young teammate's morale in a title fight he was increasingly in control of. let's just quickly check in on the painfully slim winning margin

now, I have zero proof for this, but in my heart I truly 100% believe that valentino both noticed and appreciated the coincidence. this whole thing is just very him, isn't it? jorge changes his number for deeply personal reasons, goes through some extensive introspection and an overly convoluted public process to choose his new number which may or may not have been directly inspired by his closest rivals... and then valentino (with an assist from the whole bloody universe, apparently) spent the next half year making this into another new fun part of valentino's story. it's valentino's super special 99th career win! it's part of the 100 career wins poster now! what a lovely coincidence, isn't valentino lucky! doesn't everything just somehow work out perfectly for him! wouldn't he fucking infuriate you! god

[snapghoul]

SoapGhost Aus that have been bouncing around in my head

I have thought way too much about these, they’re really long but I crave these fics.

Mer/Biologist Au: (this already kinda exists) Shark/or Orca mer!Ghost, Biologist!Soap who works at a rescue aquarium/museum. Ghost gets caught in one of they’re nets while tracking a recent release, while soap is on a day off. He get brought back to base(what Soap and Gaz call it) and put into a holding tank, Ghost is not very fond of that. Unknown to Ghost, there is another Mer in the aquarium already, Price a shark/or Orca as well who unfortunately cannot be released since he needs prosthetic fins after begging attacked, and lives in the main room (a huge tank, like the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom). He mostly hides during public hours in a connected tank away from eyes, but he is very kind to the staff (only 141 & laswell). How Soap and Ghost first meet is Ghost drags Soap under while he’s walking across the catwalk of the holding tank. Ensue Soap trying to befriend the grumpy Mer. OTHER CHARACTERS: Alex probably a dark blue Discus Mer (bc I think blue suits him but can be changed). Farah could be either Biologist or Mer, Graves definitely works at the aquarium and is a meanie, don’t know where Shepard fits but definitely a bad guy. Alejandro and Rudy are definitely both Mers. Valeria is baddie, but in a good way, she helps the mers but is disliked by Alejandro bc she (purposely) almost ran him over after a argument.

Wolf Walker Au: Soap is a wolf walker and Ghost is a Townie who’s family was killed by wolf walkers. Soap lives with his family in the woods, he is the only male in his family (bc honestly this man acts like he grew up with all sisters) and struggles to protect them from hunters set on destroying them. Chomps down on Ghost, who tracked him down one night, he didn’t mean to but Ghost had him pinned. Now Ghost is panicking bc he is the hunter become the hunted, something he’s hated forever. Soap thinks is fun after he gets snapped at my his mother. Ghost tells Price, another hunter, who tells Gaz who tells Roach, who tells the rest of the 141 hunters. They all swear not to hunt him unless he hurts a human. Ghost agrees. Eventually Soaps family gets tracked & captured in wolf form and is held captive in the town. Soap goes feral bc we love. Ghost is torn bc he known the pain of loosing family but he can’t let soap hurt innocent people. Ghost & the others talk him down and devise a new plan to free his family. It goes side ways, but ends with them being free. The 141 hunters follow the wolf walkers to a new forest to build new away from the hate.

Dragon Rider Au: we love a classic dragon fic. This stems from another Au by someone I can’t remember their name, buts they’re is based off GOT, where Ghost is a Targaryen (I think?) I love that Au. This Au is similar but with out the GOT, where Soap is a knight that gets saved by a dragon rider during battle, he never gets the rider name but remembers the dragon vividly and the mask. Soap wanted to be a rider but his knighthood to his monarch forbids him from riding, so he often thinks of the rider. Until one day the baron of house Riley is known to visit, Soap nearly fell over when the dragon that lingered in his thoughts blasted him with strong gusts from its wings. And it’s the masked rider! Soap is excited to see him again and finally thank him for saving his life. Then Soap gets assigned to Baron Riley to aid in a soothing rising conflict in bordering lands, he is even more excited. Less excited to learn he gets stuck on the ground with his horse while his leader is overhead. Soap eventually cracks the Baron and becomes close friends, he also gets to ride the dragon when they get separated, leaving soap with Ghost’s dragon. I think Soap should get his own at some point and then they can both be menaces of the sky.

Artist/Barista 141 Mafia Au: now this is also a things but this Au is just too good. Soap is a artist who works at a local cafe with his best friend Gaz, a free lance photographer. They live together and are chaotic besties. The cafe is a front for the 141 group, the leader Price owning it, both Soap and Gaz and unaware, bc Price is a stickler for keeping everything under tight wraps. Ghost is second in command is a feared by most members for being so ruthless and cold. He hangs around in the corners menacingly but is SO smitten for Soap, he is absolute fool when he speaks to the artist, like he’s so thankful for his mask or he’d be a glow stick with how red he gets, and he always complains to Roach after he embarrasses himself again. Roach thinks it’s funny but will stick with his bestie as his wingbug. One night after closing, Gaz and soap get snatched by Shadow company, 141’s biggest rival, they destroy the cafe and hold the boys for ransom. Both a confused like “who?” Cut to hurt comfort, after the two get tortured and tossed to the street after the shadows realize they really don’t know anything and Price finds them with busted noses, wet clothes and so many bruises. Ghost is infuriated when Price returns with them all busted up but informed of what their place of employment actually is. A lot of gang fights and plan to remove shadow company from the city, Soap gets to blow stuff up, Ghost gets a lil better at voicing his feels for soap (still bright red tho) and Price gains to new members who are way better at fighting then their other jobs. Also I feel like 141 would be a classy mafia, like 3 peice suits with slim bullet vests and under arm holsters.

[aliveaudiencegang]

Allie whatdo you like and dislike about the Alex Rider tv show?

hey anon thanks for the ask! so sorry about the very late reply. also i realise now that i answered this basically in comparison to the books and not for the tv show on its own. but i still stand by my answers!!

LIKE

- we saw more characters outside of alex. and learnt about them enough to care about them as their own (not just as people alex cares about)

- yassen is still alive (😭)

- KYRA!!! i read the books and i’m so sad she’s not there. i love her so much

- we actually see that what’s he’s been through has affected his mental health. he doesn’t just crack a joke and that’s it. (he even goes to therapy. a win)

- i love this version of mrs jones and alex’s dynamic. i can feel the season 3 angst already

- i’m a k unit girly and they did not disappoint (suddenly the show version are the only version)

- yassen though different from his book counterpart. is literally the funniest guy ever. he’s just there silently and yet he steals the show

- tomlex bromance hell yeah

- the opening credits/theme song. a vibe for sure. i’ve never skipped it. know it off by heart. not enough people talk about it

DIDNT LIKE

- the change from mi6 to some secret department. idk how to explain it but it felt more significant when blunt was the head of mi6 itself. and not some three person team

- the stakes didn’t feel as high as they did in the books. maybe it’s just something that gets lost in translation from words to screen. but rereading the books gives me anxiety for alex whilst the show was like whatever

- in season 2 it’s much better but i need the classic alex attitude!! he’s a menace to society. he’s an angsty teen who never learnt to shut his mouth

- i didn’t get to see skeleton key 😭

- this one i have an issue™️ with. but the fact that someone else (mostly yassen. actually i think it’s just yassen lmao) dealing with the big bad thus keeping alex’s hands clean. like the whole thing about him not wanting to kill but still indirectly murdering these people is very important (to me)

- i’ve talked about this before but the goofiness of the books is just not here. idk they kept the insane characters and tried to make them work in a slightly more normal plot. when they could’ve went all out. but this could be me too wanting to see damian cray drown someone in coins

———————

this point i don’t know if i like or don’t like so im keeping it down here

alex being 16. i think it was most likely a necessary change for the show. but him being 14 in the books is so important. like what legal rights does a 14 year old have??

but he’s a CHILD both ways so it’s still very fucked up

[icebluecyanide]

Alex Rider S03E04 Reaction

My unspoiled reactions to episode four, aka TUTOR YASSEN LET'S GOOOO

Liveblog

Oh okay so they are blaming Blunt in this, even if I think the trap was actually the Malta operation to bring him in.

Omg John/Yassen flashback!!! Yassen was so nervous!! I love how calm John stays throughout it all. And gosh the way Yassen closed his eyes when John told him to does things to me. I assume John saved him but gave him the scar in the process much like in canon

Yassen watching him sleep!!!

I was so ready to go noooo when Yassen said they had to leave their past behind them but apparently it was about Ian and not John lol. Love Yassen calling himself a professional

Twenty years ago 🤔 So with John being at Scorpia for three years that means Alex is canonically seventeen now

Alex stop questioning them in front of other people ahsldfhs

Tutor Yassen!!! Lmao ‘faster! This is slow’ I love how him having high standards is canon

SPARRING omg their faces

“He was kind to me” 👀 yesssss

How did they not realise yet that Scorpia went after Consanto when the woman literally said Julia Rothman was going to finish with Consanto lol

Lmao the awkward silence when Alex fails to hit the more human like targets, and they’re not even pictures

Yassen telling Alex how to kill someone 👀

The idea of them being allowed to keep their phones as they are training in the super secret training facility is just wild lol. Like yeah I’d make the signal bad too, what if people connect to their fitbit or something

Well this isn’t love bombing lol

Ahsldfh Alex is literally missing and you could tell the authorities Jack

Alex lying about the beating is big SAS training in the books vibes

Lmao Alex comparing Blunt and Mrs Rothman

Ahhhh so that’s the show equivalent of the vaccine!!

Gosh Alex forced to hit her as she’s held down

Does Yassen outrank Nile? 👀 omg Yassen/Nile showdown

“This one is my responsibility” 🥰

Love Yassen going ‘yeah you sadists are letting it cloud your judgement’

“What are you doing?” “Filming this?” “Why?” “Because it’s evidence” “Yeah of me committing a crime” ahsldfhsh yeah Tom!!

Yassen just. Refusing to talk about John is so funny to me

John saving Yassen <333 And gosh Yassen thinking of himself as expendable kills me

Exceptional agents <333 Though really there was no need to hit his cheek here lmao

Just let Yassen have his little speech about how emotions distract you, Alex 😭

Oh damn the taxi driver is Scorpia too, creeeeepy

“If he slips up just once, they are gonna kill him” yeah… unlike that other mission you were pretty casual about in s1… how is this a surprise??

Ahsdlfhs is Alex really gonna change their mind on weakness

Overall

Loved it!!! Really enjoyed the Yassen/Alex training scenes, though I kind of miss the love bombing from the book. Loved the John/Yassen flashbacks and I’m very excited to see more Alex & Yassen stuff!

Thoughts/Predictions

‘Kind of lonely though, right?’ I gotta be honest, the whole story with Alex challenging their notions of weakness and stuff really wasn’t doing it for me, but I feel like it sort of develops from Alex not being as isolated as he is in the books. Like yeah, it’s lonely, but Alex in the books is also lonely a lot of the time and it’s something that kind of goes with being in this world. But I do love Alex saying John saved Yassen out of friendship because it reminds me of his thoughts in Snakehead.

Some really interesting differences with the other students here, firstly in that the love bombing aspect isn’t there and they actually seem pretty antagonistic to Alex, while in the book they are all very friendly, in huge contrast to Alex’s earlier experiences with the SAS and MI6. It’s honestly kind of ironic that here it’s the exact opposite, because Alex lying about how he got beaten up is basically what happened with the SAS.

Second point about them is that they are all orphans and seem to be younger than in the book, so it seems the students are different? Are they teenagers like Alex? I honestly can’t tell, what with them casting adults, but I guess maybe Alex isn’t meant to be such an outlier in terms of age, which makes sense with the actors, but is interesting in terms of story because it means Alex isn’t exceptional for being young. I guess that’s also why it’s not made a big deal that he’s a teenager (also since it would seem unbelievable). But now John Rider joining at 30 seems like an outlier, since none of these kids actually had any experience haha.

Invisible sword seems to come from the gas and maybe still the nano particles, but how do all the people in London get hit by it? Just a cloud of gas? The football team probably got it in their system before the match with some excuse.

Nile’s so angry at Alex most of the time gosh. I guess Yassen took over the nice mentor role from Nile here.

Also real convenient that Mrs Jones and Jack don’t actually want to tell each other the truth lmao. I guess here the Department has no idea about who joins Scorpia since they have no eye on them like MI6 has in the book. But that also means there will be no all ports warning to arrest Alex.

Questions

Does Yassen know about John being a spy???

Did Tom and Kyra just… forget about Alex supposedly getting killed if they don’t do as told? Like do they really think Scorpia isn’t going to notice them not getting off the plane in London? The flight isn’t that long… 

[boiwcndr]

20 Questions for Fic Writers Tag Game

stole this from @blackerinapendleton! hope you don't mind me tagging you <3

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

24.

2. what's your total AO3 word count?

59,778 because I can only write/finish very very very short stories.

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Currently? Detective Conan/Magic Kaito, but I've written for boku no hero academia, young justice (cartoon), tsubasa: reservoir chronicle, pokemon (anime), mcu, kuroshitsuji, d.gray-man, criminal minds, and alex rider.

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

pour me a glass of vermouth { shaken and very stirred }. a detective conan/magic kaito fic that i dreamt, woke up, and wrote at 3am. it's shinichi realising that kaito (his boyfriend) is family with an assassin that he's had to fight against.

insanity { when life weighs down too hard on your shoulders and you can't close your eyes in fear for the demons. } a criminal minds fic that i wrote initially for a friend on tumblr that's luke x spencer.

disguises ( you're not as hidden as you think ). a detective conan/magic kaito fic that i honestly want to delete because it's not good but i also don't believe in deleting fics, so...

five times robin's acting skills were amazing yet terrifying. a young justice (cartoon) story where... well, exactly what it says on the tin. it was written due to the young justice prompt meme challenges or whatever back in 2012.

fantasy ( we're apart despite longing. ) a detective conan/magic kaito fic and probably the one i'm most proud of of the top five. it was initially a one-shot that i wrote for a friend on tumblr, turned into a series, and i still need to write the third one and it's been 5 years, oops.

i didn't add hyperlinks because i don't think anyone that i follow/follows me is a detective conan fan looool

5. do you respond to comments?

yeah, usually. sometimes i don't like to because it inflates the comments number, but also, i don't get many, so i don't think that really matters.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

a detective conan/magic kaito drabble where kaito dies before the story even begins and conan receives his death letters. i honestly want to rewrite it though because i feel like i have a better understanding of both characters now.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

home ( is sometimes not where the heart is but where memories lie and cannot seem to die ), a tsubasa: reservoir chronicle fanfic where tsubasa grows some measure of acceptance of himself and embraces himself a little bit more.

8. do you get hate on fics?

no. that usually requires people to get hits, and i don't usually, lol.

9. do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i did and then deleted it all.

10. do you write crossovers?

yeah.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of???

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yes! @greenfiredragonfly and i wrote grandpappy together back in 2013. it's a kuroshitsuji crack fic. (not that you know this blog of mine, heyyyyy).

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

i can't choose, i have too many.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

hawk's eye, an alex rider and detective conan/magic kaito crossover that was based on a series of fanfics written by dblanc that they have graciously allowed me to write. i just suck at coming up with plots (i'm mainly a character-driven/analysis writer), so i'm just stuck on that.

16. What are your writing strengths?

personally, i'd say character-driven angst. i've been told that i'm quite good at writing different characters and given them their own cadence and tone that makes them sound like them despite the numerous fandoms i write across.

this is a review from a specific friend (who is really talking about my roleplaying that i do).

um. this is based entirely on my experience of writing with you but i think you're really good at setting up scenes. like laying the foundation for any interaction so the other person always has something to build on. i think your writing is also pretty evocative in the sense that if your muse is feeling something strongly, you convey it really well in a way that moves the reader. i think you interweave introspection in between dialogue and narration really well too, bc when you switch to a character's inner monologue it always blends smoothly and there's always a good flow to your writing.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i do it when it makes sense to, and then i add translations for it. however, sometimes i don't want to do the research and i just go "i want some bread," he said in french.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

if you count my really really shitty fanfics when i couldn't spell when i was seven, harry potter. on ao3, it's kuroshitsuji.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

even though it's a wip that i probably will never finished, i really like hawk's eye. also, i'm proud of both of my tsubasa: reservoir chronicle fanfics.

tagging: @dustorange @hood-ex

[42bakery]

Re: https://www.tumblr.com/42bakery/760715378983911424/this-pecco-alex-thingy-has-kinda-reminded-me-of?source=share

(I'm the same anon and to clarify, it wasn't meant to be anti-anyone)

Also adding to what I said about what Michel Fabrizio said, I think it was so tasteless to use kids' deaths to say such things, especially when Maverick rides next ro Marc in the grid. But yeah, I'm worried about Misano because the whole thing is heated and we're going to spend 3 weeks there,the fault lies in the Box Official account which yes, I know is not officially from VR46 BUT, the account was followed by them (and TNT) and has over 70k followers (which is more than the attendance of Aragón)

What I heard a couple of journalists (admittedly I think Pecco mentioned it too) was that Alex didn't even look at him when going to race direction, that's what I meant about Alex telling him they would talk later in private which is something they did later(which, normal thing to do and the most mature I think). But yeah, Alex suffering by proxy is just, not fair. I think there's already much weight on his shoulders in terms of not being as good as Marc, which I'm sure Luca also suffers from (I don't think Pol did, tho,he was better than Aleix) but Lucia's position in the grid isn't as questioned as his (rn, he's on Honda hell) when he has 2 world championships. Again, there's a lot of riders who have one or none and who's status isn't as questioned. I remember when post-2015 Dorna announced that they were giving Jorge, Marc AND Alex bodyguards in Italy (which will surely make an appearance in Misano, like I'm sure Rodolfo is always booked as soon as the calendar comes out) and Alex shouldn't need one? He shouldn't be affected by what other riders IN A DIFFERENT CATEGORY do or don't do and it's just insane that death threats are being sent because two riders crashed. It makes me think of any time they crash Marc or Alex out, how they rarely complain about it. And I know a lot of people will say "well, it's because they, or at least Marc, do this all the time" and while yeah, that might be the reason, it doesn't mean that they can't complain when others do they same thing the same way other riders complain about them. It reminds me of when Jorge crashed Marc out of Valencia, how everyone and their mother, including Jorge at first, blamed Marc for it. And still to this day people blame him because if a Marquez is involved, it automatically has to be their fault. When Luca and Alex crashed... Who was at fault? Alex, even though he fell in the middle of the track and could've been ran over it wasn't about how good it was that nothing had happened, it was about Karma and whatever. Even when Zarco admitted to crashing Marc on purpose in Qatar las year to help Jorge, there wasn't as many people talking about that than about this. Hell, it was okay for Zarco to help Jorge but it isn't for Alex to help Marc (I do think he doesn't defend his position to him as strongly as he does others, but Marc also doesn't overtake Alex as aggressively as he does the other riders). When Pecco got the penalty by being slow in the racing like and ruining Alex' flying lap, people complained about Alex and Pecco threw him to the wolves before the press. So when Bradl did the same thing to Marc, he had to say that it was okay (and yeah of course is a bit different because Bradl was already dead last but still). While other riders blame their bike, Marc and Alex don't do so as much publicly and always try to take responsibility of it when they've made a mistake, like when Marc crashed in Austria. Like are they angels? No, but they're also not the monsters they make them out to be.

The reason why I said 2018 and not 2015 was that it was 2018 that Valentino said Marc was dangerous, which I think resonates for for this instance than 2015. Granted, they're doing the whole "a Marquez is helping a Spanish rider named Jorge win the championship against an Italian Valentino Rossi/ Rossi adjacent rider" thing saying that if Pecco loses it'll be Alex fault but Pecco has had some DNFs where he made mistakes and didn't get points.

About the 'rigging', what I heard is that Gigi sent one of his trusted engineers to help Marc with the set up and some people are interpreting Pecco's words that Marc "has something more [...] and that he does things that no other Ducati rider can do" as him saying that Marc has received factory pieces and factory help so that he would be the one to win in Aragon. Personally I interpreted it as the Ducati riders looking into Marc's data and having the same issues Pol, Joan, Cal or Bradl have had with him at Honda in which they didn't understand his data nor could they replicate his riding style without crashing (as said by them). He won because the set up was good from the start (it already was good in Austria) and the track conditions played into his unique abilities and also his experience with dirt tracks that allowed him to ride the Ducati by sliding the back kinda like he did with the Honda (which yes, other riders also do, but it is something they took up later in life while the Marquez brothers were groomed on the dirt track before the CEV and all that), and his beloved left handed corners.

Anyway IDK, I guess I'm upset because it's Misano coming up and I don't like how tense everything seems. Some journalists said it was 'spicy' but two riders being threatened is not spicy, it's deranged as hell.

Anyway sorry for the rant and my English, it's not my first language

Ups anon, I completely forgot about this ask. I saw it at work and I thought to answer it later, but then I didn’t and somehow my inbox got filled by other stuff and then I just forgot. So I’m sorry I’ answering this so damn late.

First of all, your English is okay, and I don’t think there is a lot of people who have English as their first language. As far as I witnessed, there’s a lot of Italians, from the South-East of Asia and then Brits and USA (and like 3 to 5 Spanish native speakers 😭).

Sorry for accusing you of being a hater, but lot of haters did that. They start to say something, and then turn around and throw that people under the bus and I though that was what you were doing to Marc. So, I’m sorry if I didn’t really understand it. My mistake and I apology for it.

Anon, I think you need to change the content you follow on social media. I mean it, you clearly follow some anti-Márquez and pro-Rossi, and that clearly is twisting the perspective. Also the VR46 is like a cult, it moves lot of people, and what unites them is their love for Vale and their hate to Marc (and Álex) and Uccio is probably their leader with Bezz and Pecco at the front.

I can understand not wanting to talk and not looking to the riders just after the accident, even not the same time, but that never allows the other rider to do what Pecco did. I'm more on Álex side, calm down and talk later only us because the race direction won't do anything to penalize a top rider, so better soleve this things in privat, but alas someone was very against it and points fingers and scream into the media.

because Misano has pass, we can know say that this really didn't help, Italy still gets Marc, and Pecco gave them a reason to boo and be assholes. I hope that their behaviour changes for the Emilia-Romagna GP, but I doubt it.

Okay if Zarco really crashed into Marc because Ducati told them, it shows 1) Ducati are assholes and need to be banned and 2) Zarco is a dangerous rider for even entertain the idea. If someone tells you to crash into another rider, you say no and then repot them. Motorcycling i dangerous enough to add that. Every crash, no matter how big it is, can end in disaster, and for Zarco to do that, he lost every bit of credibility he ever had. Hell he can go straight to hell or the equivalent of it in any religion. A rider like that has no space in MotoGP (or any mortoracing series).

If Pecco loses, he will take the recipts and also blame Marc for the incident in Portugal, which was also a similar incident and his own fault. Pecco doesn't know how to porperly fight in a clean way and is always cutting other's riders lines. And I'm not saying this because I'm not his fan, just look when he fights with any rider, like Jorge, the other rider is the one that cuts to avoid the contact, and when that doesn't happen, there's a crash. This also happened with Binder, and he was quick to try and throw him under the bus and ask a penalty, but I think it was the media who said if Binder gets a penalty so does Bagnaia in Portugal because both actions are the same. And same here. Bagnaia cuts the line and makes the first conctant. Álex loses the bike and crashes. had Pecco given him more space, this wouldn't had happen. Apparently is always about who couls have avoided it, and for me it's 60-65% Pecco and 35-40%Álex. Whereas in Portugal it was more of a 50-50% situation.

I didn't know Gigi was keeping a close eye, but makes sense because this year Ducati is doing things differently. This year riders don't have the full bike until Valencia 2024, whereas other year they give the final one to use for the whole year. I though Ducati was doing that to compare Marc with Pecco's and Jorge's data and see if he was good enough for the Factory team, and he has proven himself. And the reason he's doing things no other rider is doing is because when conditions neutralize the bike, it's all on the riders hand, and Marc is THE best one out there, and he has proven it over and over again. And I think at this point Marc is not relying so much on the past dara and set ups and is focussing more on himself and what he needs, so basically showing Ducati the middle finger and doing his own thing

Sure Marc got Factory help and factory pieces, but so does Bagnaia, Álex, Bezz and every other rider. Bagnaia is just throwing a tantrum because he can't win against Marc in the same conditions. I'm sorry, but I'm sure he will be this insufferable for the next 2 years.

Again, I'm sorry I took me this long to answer this

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 156 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: baking something in the kitchen, most likely with apples again... xD

MARTIN: "You know, I- I’ve been wondering about your batteries. Like, could I just take the batteries out each time one of you appears, and just- have an infinite supply of batteries?" Lol, I wonder if this was just Jonny and Alex joking around about the tape recorders and then decided to put it into the podcast...

MARTIN: "Also, I know there’s every chance that you don’t even have any, and it’s just empty, and, well… I’m not really sure that’s something I want to confirm. Or, I open up your compartment and it’s like- meat, or maggots, or something." There's probably a little spider in there running inside a hamster wheel to get the power going xD

MARTIN: "I guess I technically have the power to make it not quiet, to, to talk to people, but like- you know, I, I also have the power to clean out the fridge, and it’s still a mess." Executive function is a bitch, isn't it?

There doesn't seem to be a Bright Lake amusement park in "our" Colorado... I looked for the name online, nothing. I looked for abandoned amusement parks in Colorado, also nothing that sounds similar or would have a similar closing year. Hm, idk, did I miss something?

"You will forgive me if I withhold his name, as I have all the verification I need to be sure he’s telling the truth, and I find it hard to believe any followup you would be interested in doing would be beneficial for him. He’s earned his anonymity." So is Adelard protecting the statement giver from getting the Archivist nightmares? “earned his anonymity” doesn’t sound like this is necessary about him still being followed by this manifestation.

"Based on his description, I would have called it a rave… but when I said so, he looked at me like I didn’t understand what he was talking about." Okay boomer xD

Hmm, there was only one other instance of starvation being addressed, right (MAG 58)? It is rather rare in our privileged first world, but there are so many countries were this is a very real threat to the people. Let alone that this is very real in the animal kingdom as well and fear of all living creatures counts. Adelard seems to be contributing all of this to the Flesh, but is a bit surprised by the level of famine itself...

"It was a scream from the roller coaster, but not the joyful cry of adrenaline and mock terror, but a dreadful, piercing wail, flying through the air. It seemed one of the riders, unable to properly benefit from the safety bar, had been thrown from the height of a loop, and was sailing through the air, landing on the unforgiving ground of the main avenue with a horrendous crunch." Oh no, Martin of all people has to read this when just a few weeks ago Simon playfully threatened him to throw him off a roller coaster...

"Our interloper had to look away, or risk being sick at the sight of so many spindly bodies swarming, biting, rotten teeth and swollen gums tearing at the still-twitching body of the unfortunate soul from the roller coaster." Oh that sounds horrifying...

"He tells me he was suddenly very aware of just how much flesh was on his body." Meat is me!

"If you do try to follow up with my source- and I know you have your own ways of finding him, should you wish- please be careful. He told me, near the end, that he had recently been worried he’s being followed. He keeps catching glimpses of a thin figure in the distance, or disappearing around a corner, and I can’t quite get past the detail that there was no reflection at all in the mirror he used to return." Ah, the same as in MAG 134 though. The statement giver has seemingly escaped, yet there's still a lingering manifestation following them.

Peter seems so cheery joyful and Martin only sounds tired, annoyed and resigned :/

MARTIN: (more subdued) "Right." (beat) "Will I be coming back?" PETER: "You’re not going to die, if that’s what you’re asking, but- no. If all goes well, you won’t be." So if Martin would have gone through with this, taken Jonah's place, he would have been tied to the Panopticon I guess. Like Jon in MAG 200 when he took his place as pupil of the Eye.

@a-mag-a-day

[polarnacht1]

Is it okay to become hyperfocous on Yalex and keep wondering when my favorite fanfics will get updated, when I will find someone to talk about it with, and if it is not delusional to start write fanfics, create a playlist on Spotify for them and re-read and rewatch the series (I am still waiting Amazon for season 3 to arrive my country)

Yes I am a (quite) new Alex Rider fan.

Is it okay?? Of course it is, it's kind of unavoidable IMO. But you definitely have to share your favourite Yalex WIPs now!! The fandom is really small, so new Yalex writers are always very apprecited - go for it!! We need more! I hope you'll find a way to watch season three soon! And there are quite a few Yalex fans active here on tumblr, I'm sure you'll find some people you'll enjoy talking to, fingers crossed! I'm always happy to talk Yalex too!

[holly-mckenzie]

Hello! I love LOVE your blog it's so good. I always find the most interesting shows because of your posts so i wanted to ask what are your fav ships with the best chemistry in a newer film/tv show? I saw a whole debate a few days ago about how "ships nowadays are always lacking chemistry " and i was interested in your opinion. Have a nice day!

Hello anon... I need to clarify, I wrote this answer essay thinking about romcoms, bc that's what film twitter has been talking about, but I realised you said "ships". I will answer your question here. Under the cut, is my thoughts on romcoms, please be aware what is hiding beneath the cut is a behemoth of an answer.

But in terms of "ships" and lacking chemistry. I think there's a few things to think about. Specifically, I believe there has been way to much focus on "ships" and sometimes this conversation detracts from other elements of storytelling, or completely takes over the entire story and what it makes it interesting (e.g. - the conversation surrounding Anatomy of a Fall or what Reylo did to Star Wars). On the subject of Star Wars, one of the things to think about in this conversation is how racism, misogyny, or general bigotry shape peoples opinions. The argument of "they don't have chemistry" is a common phrase used by racists and bigots who don't want to engage with their faves being involved with characters of colour/woman etc.

Now unto other reasons why "ships" might not have chemistry. I think if you are discussing American Television, one thing to note is the departure of shows that had 20+ episodes. With the fear that the show might get cancelled and with a shorter time to establish the narrative, I think we, as audiences, are seeing less of the long con, "will they, won't they" game, that we saw in the late 90's/2000's. I would argue this could be one of the reasons that British TV does so well, most British series are only 6 episodes long, and there may be a better understanding of how to write a more compact narrative, and perhaps there's even better job security... But maybe not considering Joe Barton's history.

Lastly, there is a world of media out there and you need to make the effort to find and engage with it. I talk more about this under the cut, but so many people who are minorities are not given the same advantages as white straight people... So if you want to find good stuff. You gots to look for it. It might not be in a language you understand, or about people who you can relate to, but its out there. Go find it.

So in Answer to your Question, what are my fav ships with the best chemistry in a newer film/tv show.

Television: Starstruck (2021– ) : Tom x Jessie The Lazarus Project (2022– ) : Janet x Rebrov & Zhao x Archie & Shiv x George The Artful Dodger (2023) : Belle x Jack Foundation (2021– ) : Hober Mallow x Brother Constant Alex Rider (2020– ) : Alex x Kyra Animal Control (2023– ) : Shred x Emily Tom Jones (2023) : Tom x Sophia

Other Honourable Mentions: Summer Love (2022– ), Colin from Accounts (2022), Still Up (2023– ), Little Woman (2022), Lockwood and Co. (2023), The Flatshare (2022), The Other Two, Suzhal (2022), In Limbo (2023– ), The Buccaneers (2023– ).

Films: Femme (2023), Here (2023), Decision to Leave (2022), Stay the Night (2022), The Big Four (2022), Ponniyan Selvan i & ii, Stellar (2022), Wildhood (2022), Lakelands (2023), Wedding Season (2022), 7 Days (2021), Scream VI, Sanctuary (2022)

Books: Anything by Tia Williams, Sarah Beth Durst, Uzma Jalaluddin, Jane Igharo

Stage: The Effect (2023/2024), Much Ado About Nothing (2019), Much Ado About Nothing (2022), The Notebook (2024), Hadestown

My Original Answer:

Hello anon, thank you so much! Thanks for appreciating my questionable taste. I do really enjoy watching TV, film, and books and then writing academic papers about them in my head. So obviously this question is really fun.

I need to start by saying, I have been thinking about chemistry for weeks, so I am going to answer your question, just maybe not the question you were asking. Brace yourselves, I wrote an essay.

The whole debate is deeply fascinating to me for various reasons. In part I do really believe that people need to broaden their horizons when it comes to the art they interact with. There is a world of cinema out there. If you surround yourselves by clowns and then complain you are in a circus... that's a choice, no?

Expand your horizons, dip into Asian cinema, African cinema, American Cinema (North, South, and Central), that European stuff (that isn't just what the BBC is pumping out or starring your French favs). And if you must watch Hollywood, then watch some indie stuff. Watch some gay stuff. Watch some stuff by people of colour.

Lichrelly no one is forcing you to watch the blandest/whitest romcoms/romdrams. Are they more accessible to watch? Sure. But complaining, when you don't even care to do the research is a choice. Especially, bc of the way that racism/misogyny/homophobia/ableism makes it harder for people to get their stories out. If you really care about these things. You gots to put the effort into caring and finding them.

Secondly, boiling down chemistry to romance is absolutely wild, considering there are different type of chemistry needed for different roles. For example Rob Collins and Shantae Barnes-Cowan have mad chemistry in the show Firebite. Now let me clarify, I am not saying its romantic. They pulled off the single dad and adopted daughter in a survival/action story story so well. Pedro Pascal, who? And it takes chemistry to pull that off. More popularly, one of the reasons that Succession works as a show is because the actors have chemistry. Some of which is romantic ofc, but the vast majority of it isn't (no matter what the in*est shippers on A*3 say). But I understand, the people want what they want, and that's romance.

I also think that chemistry is an odd thing. I know people are inclined to think that its an objective. You look at two people and are like, "Wow, they have chemistry!", and everyone agrees, because "Wow, they have chemistry!". But I am inclined to think its not that straight forward. There is something to be said about our interactions with art being subjective and biased. This is because as we interact with art, we are interacting with it through our own lens. The author is truly dead, and all that matters is the individual reader's interpretation. So, for example, many people love the movie Anyone But You. If you go on YouTube there are many people who have made ship videos about Bea and Ben. But there is a category of people who fucking hate it and think that its trash and the leads don't have chemistry (Yes, I am talking about myself in third person. I will avenge you Much Ado About Nothing).

So, who is right? Who is wrong? Honestly, it really doesn't matter, because its a fucking movie, and like I said, the author is dead. Similarly, some critics really didn't like the series Tom Jones. In certain reviews and articles, criticism of the series was that Solly McLead and Sophie Wilde don't have chemistry. However, if you follow me, you know I completely disagree and made that show my personality for a couple of months.

But on the subject of chemistry (of the romantic variety), I definitely think its more complicated then people let on. I think most people believe that it's about the actors. You put them in a movie, show, whatever, and chemistry they have just happens. It's like love, you can't explain it, but its there. Or, according to my friend, who used to work in the film industry, the best chemistry comes across when the actors hate each other or they secretly like each other/are fucking each other. It's brought on by strong emotions. Which is obviously a school of thought.

However, as my bestie Merry (@akajustmerry) has been discussing, there are actors who are dating/fucking IRL and none of that comes across in the film/show. I highly recommend checking out Merry's blog to see their opinions on this bc Merry is THE film critic of our generation! Someone please hire them!

But I do think it takes more than just what the actors can bring. It's about the direction they are being given, its about the script, its about the staging. It's about the framing. And it's about the actors and their acting ability. Actors are working professionals and contrary to popular belief, it takes skills to act (not just a pretty face). And one of the skills needed is the ability to create trust between the leads, as Merry and an anon discusses in this post. Because without trust, how can there be chemistry. Which is why intimacy coordinators are SO important. Fuck anyone who says otherwise!

To argue against my friend who used to work in the industry, yes hating/loving someone IRL can create tangible chemistry. And yeah, it might be hard to overcome friendship, if you are friends with your co-star (e.g. - that one interview where Jessica Matten jokes about how weird it was to kiss Kiowa Gordan in Dark Winds). But think about Nikesh Patel and Rose Matafeo in Starstruck. From what I can tell, which is little bc I don't know them IRL and its none of my business, Rose and Nikesh weren't hating each other or fucking in each other. They seem to be friends, but mostly co-workers. But regardless of all of that, Starstruck is literally one of the greatest romcoms of our era. And they have mad chemistry.

Additionally, in my opinion, Lee Pace and Laura Birn of Foundation fame, and Lana Gordon and MPQ/Zachary James and Gloria Onitiri of Hadestown fame have chemistry. But all the men I just listed are gay/in relationship with men, so we can't chalk up chemistry to already existing romantic tension. It is an aspect of acting and skill. Both Zachary James and MPQ have spoken about how the trust they have in their co-stars, have allowed space to shape and cultivate the characters they play (including the romance of the show).

You can't just cast two conventionally attractive people and expect their attractiveness to do the rest. You know my thoughts on Anyone But You. But similarly, think about the way that people were thirsting over Zoë Kravitz and Robert Pattinson bc of all the press and photo shoots they did for The Batman. But then also think of the accusations of whorebaiting, that followed. They simply, in my opinion, did not have chemistry. Even if the Bat and the Cat are one of the funnest dynamics in them comics.

So now that we have discussed actors, and audiences. We gots to discuss actual story telling. Writing is a skill. I know on the tumblr dot com, we have discussed that writing good sex scenes is a skill. Writing good romance is the same... I don't want to labour on about this, bc I feel like you must already know that. But some things to consider is the way in which the focus on tropes instead of storytelling is a detriment to the genre. The fanfictionization of romance. The way in which abuse is touted as romance. The way that studios (coughcough Netflix) are churning out these stories (some of which are def US military propaganda). The lean towards making these movies, more and more explicit. The way that some studios/book publishers are trying to profit off already successful stories without realising what made it successful (e.g. - the amount of fake dating stories in the wake of To All the Boys, or the remakes of older movies).

So what made the movies of old so special. What made romcoms from the late 90's early 2000's, the movies by Nora Ephron and Garry Marshall oh so special. The bleak answer is nostalgia. But you could also discuss the type of narratives that were told during the time. The type of backgrounds these actors and storytellers had before they took these roles. The socio-political enviroment that cultivated these stories. The amount of money and time the studios were willing to invest in these movies. The lack of AI technology... All of the cheating scandals that arose on the sets. The existence of the Film Stars™ vs. just actors.

The fact that streaming has changed the way that movies/tv are made, and the way people consume them. Which could potentially lesson the impact on audiences, as there is less need to go to theatres. To wait for the movies to be released on DVD/VCD/VHS. Lessen the need to re-watch the movies obsessively, bc it was one of three movies you owned on DVD/VCD/VHS, and thus a lack of cementing it in your brain as THE RomCom. Yes, this is just an excuse to yell: BRING BACK PHYSICAL MEDIA, YOU COWARDS!

But one thing that I haven't seen discussed as much is the existence of the Hays Code.

A couple years ago, I watched this lecture and read this book by this academic that focused on RomComs. (I forgot the academic, but I can find it later, if you want. Can you tell I studied English and Film in school?). Regardless, the academic argued that during the 90's filmmakers had to grapple with the remnants of the Hays Code. The code was a "self-imposed industry set of guidelines for all the motion pictures that were released between 1934 and 1968." The Code prohibited things like "profanity, suggestive nudity, graphic or realistic violence, sexual persuasions and rape."

So, while RomComs, like Pretty Woman, were in production, more then 20 years after the Hays Code, this academic argued that filmmakers were grappling with what this freedom meant. That while Pretty Woman was definitely a movie that could have never been made during the time of the Code, the affect of the Code meant that these narratives were adhering to the Code, whether intentional or not.

I think one of the things to consider about the Code was the way that filmmakers had to figure out ways to work around the restrictions in order to tell the stories they wanted. So, for example the Noir is a genre came about during the height of the Code and a time where film-makers didn't have access to that much money. So, the filmmakers had to be creative to get the shots they wanted, which is how we got the highly stylized way of filming that is so iconic to the genre. Not out of excess but out of need. Additionally, the iconic archetypes of the Noir Detective and the Femme Fatale are directly due to the Hayes Code and the period that villanized certain types of woman, and esteemed certain types of men.

Yet, there is an entire study on the homosexual subtext, which was written into these films. For example in The Maltese Falcon, the main character, Sam Spade, refers to another character as a "gunsel". The the censors wrongly assumed this was a reference to a gunman, however, it is vulgar way to refer to someone who is gay. This is the same movie that features a different character, Joel Cairo, who is suggested to be gay (which is one of the reasons the film could not be legally shown on US television stations). Being a filmmaker meant learning how to navigate around the code. Being a filmmaker meant taking a risk, bc you may end up on wrong side of it.

If you want more information on queer films of the time, I believe that Merry or Deah would be able to help you seeing they have an entire podcast on gay movies/shows/games. Check out the @gayvclubpodcast.

So, going back to the RomComs of the 90's. You are talking about an entire industry of filmmakers, who were making movies after the wake of an extreme censorship, and on some level they must known or have heard stories about navigating that terrain. They must have also, on some level, understood what it meant to cultivate stories where characters want each other, like each other, yearn for each other. Because during the Code you couldn't just point a camera at them and say "See they are fucking each other, they did fuck each other, they will continue to do so. Clearly this is a romance". More work needed to be done and laid out in order to cultivate the romances that we now love.

I would argue, if you want to buy this argument, that this is the same reason that K-Dramas/Movies are SO popular. Because it was not that long ago, that Korea was more strict about the way in which physical intimacy was filmed. Think about the era, where actors would stand next to each other, lips touching, and the camera would spin in a dizzying way around them. Now, obviously, kisses aren't filmed in that way, and some movies feature open mouth kisses. Scandalous, I know. But I would argue this is one of the reasons that K-Dramas are so famous, because of the knowledge on how to draw out emotions from the audience that does not rely on physical/sexual intimacy.

So, I suppose the conversation of "ships nowadays are always lacking chemistry " comes down to a skill issue. Skill on the filmmakers parts for not being able to cultivate good stories. Skill on the Actors part, for not being able to do what is required of the role. Skill of the studios parts, for not realising the long term impact of physical media and what sells. And skill on the audiences part, for not seeing the world in one way, and not caring to do the research to find the stories you are looking for.