#other than seasoning of course
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Add cumin [sic]
I- what are we doing here
#other than seasoning of course#respectfully#where's the bibliography#it's too early for me#or maybe too late#who knows#hi tho#anon#answered
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"Her mother was just the final nail in the coffin. She tried so hard to do things right, and all she got in return was pain and heartbreak"
Literally!! I can't believe people are saying Caitlyn is overreacting, her mom is dead you idiot!! What do you mean she's overreacting!? You people have never seen a character go through such stages of grief, despair, and devastation. Caitlyn has been through the worst experiences of her life because of Jinx's attempted murder, kidnapping, torture, and now the death of her mother. I mean, Caitlyn's personality change and her intense hatred for Jinx and loss herself are completely understandable.
Look how scared she is, we don't know what hell Caitlyn went through when Jinx kidnapped her, but that expression on her face says it all.
And let's not forget that Caitlyn in episode 1 refused the order to invade Zaun. Even after her mother's death she still didn't want to use violence, and we later saw that she would go there for only three goals.
And indeed she did, she attacked those gangs present in Zaun "Gangs that were hurting people and children in Zaun".
(And of course we shouldn't forget that she didn't suddenly change her mind, but rather because of the attack caused by Ambessa that made her reach this level of anger)
And now Ambessa will definitely play an important role in Caitlyn's character change by inciting her to seek revenge.
Ambessa manipulates everything and puts someone in power she can easily control
Another thing I found weird is how some people think in this ridiculous way to say that Caitlyn wants to kill the child or that Caitlyn wants to kill Vi. Are you really serious? Literally, you have never seen in any show or movie a character who is angry and loses control after that, don't you know when a person is angry they don't see it in front of them especially since she didn't want to make Jinx run away again, this was her chance to take revenge on the person who ruined her life completely (Caitlyn's actions are logical and her anger and sadness did not come from nothing or came from her mother's death only, but came from other things that were piling up on Cait which led to her explosion)
And as I was saying Caitlyn just wanted to kill Jinx, anger and sadness at that moment took over her. Jinx had NO mercy with Caitlyn, there is nothing that softens her actions.
And I hope you guys remember the true core of Caitlyn, she was trying to do what is good and she gets bombed, kidnapped, and her mom dead now.
#And of course there are other things the writers want to show in Caitlyn's character and her arc.#more than she is just being a cop or a dictator or these stupid names that these kids who watch the show give her.#caitlyn#no one will make me hate you Caitlyn#caitlyn support#caitlyns defender#caitlyn kiramman#caitlyn arcane#arcane caitlyn#jinx#jinx arcane#arcane jinx#ambessa#ambessa medarda#ambessa arcane#vi#vi arcane#isha#isha arcane#caitvi#arcane#arcane season 2#arcane league of legends#arcane netflix#league of legends#..
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He was just back there chillin'
#911#911 abc#eddie diaz#buddie#911 spoilers#911 season 7#911 season 7 spoilers#my homie didn't have a care in the world#other than being with buck of course
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Feligami Mafia Boss/Assassin AU
#mmmmmm#i think it's important that people realize i ship feligami more than any other ship in ml but only second to ladynoir of course#miraculous#miraculous ladybug#ml season 5 spoilers#ml season 5 references#feligami#felix fathom#kagami tsurugi#mafia au#assassin au
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Apparently, Eloise is a mean girl and is not a girls' girl???
#bridgerton netflix#bridgerton spoilers#bridgerton#eloise bridgerton#pro eloise bridgerton#95% of the female friendship content this season is because of Eloise#the other 5% is because of Lady Danbury with Violet & QC#She knows Francesca hates being the centre of attention#so she makes a plan to try to ensure that she won't be.#she apologies to pen for accidentally revealing colin helping her find a match#she kept pens secret which makes her a far better person than me ngl because i would've done a i wanna watch the world burn esqe performanc#she befriended cressida and is actively helping her recognise her past wrongs to become a better person#DO Y'ALL JUST IGNORE THE ARC HER & DAPHNE HAD IN S1?#some of you pretend she didn't grow at all over the course of that season#they're different people with different ambitions but who love each other and who came to respect the others' goals#also do yas just ignore the fact that eloises fears stem from her mother nearly dying in childbirth right after her father's death?#she was the first of the Bridgertons to bond with Kate!#daphne was the first to clock Kate & Anthony but Eloise was the first to get close to Kate as a person not as her brother's future wife#defended Marina#wanted to find LW to defend Pen but well you know LW is Pen so -\°-°/-#wanted to uplift women in general and wanted to change society in order to do so#this is so chaotically tagged sorry to whoever read this far#in short#Eloise bridgerton they could never make me hate you
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following on from this. not to always bring marc into everything (sorry marc) but if assen 2015 had happened against jorge, valentino would have very likely pulled something similar again imo. rather than what he actually did, which is approach marc almost immediately for a nice normal friendly handshake and backing off during the podium celebrations. should be noted that during laguna seca '08, valentino was very much committed to yapping at casey on the podium with the world's biggest smuggest grin on his face
partly that disparity is because jorge not marc was the direct title rival, partly it's because valentino was treating marc with kid gloves right until the second that he wasn't, which marc was seemingly entirely oblivious to. if anyone other than marc had said what he said in that presser, had then continued on with similar rhetoric during sachsenring, valentino would quite likely have gone nuclear. he's done it over less than that. his fondness for marc made him continue to exhibit uncharacteristic restraint... except that fondness unfortunately is what left valentino feeling so very betrayed when (to his eyes) marc could not leave well enough alone
#it's so delightfully tragic isn't it. a lot of 2015 played out the way it did because valentino genuinely wasn't looking for beef#but then felt backed into a corner and decided he had no other option than to blow this shit up#if casey says 'what I think is that we won the race' valentino would've torn him a new one then and there like...#if sete had called assen his best race of the season valentino would've reached for the chalk and incense even sooner#though fwiw I do think the relationship was basically doomed from that point. something would have happened sooner or later#2015 is so funny conceptually because there was already something *off* about it most of the way through. you have the familiar beats#but they shouldn't be HAPPENING with marc. they should be happening with the actual title rival - who vale never properly fought all season#assen 2015 should've been laguna should've been catalunya hell it should've been assen 2004 but it couldn't be#valentino kept accidentally inflicting the psychological blows on the wrong guy because jorge just refused to end up in a straight fight#assen SHOULD have been a pivotal race. but of course it couldn't be because what psychological blow was jorge lorenzo being dealt?#btw the unwillingness to beef doesn't just extend to marc. valentino makes a concerted effort to be uncharacteristically friendly to jorge#still think he would've rubbed assen in his face but. overall! he was trying! which again. very ironic#funhouse mirror ass season i love it dearly#//#brr brr#slowly dipping my toes into dropping 2015 hot takes on tumblr dot com... for so long these have been between me god and my google doc#i love jorge i think he's been involved in a lot of iconic battles i think it's funny not a single one of them happened in 2015#minus kinda phillip island but even there it did feel like the other three were Doing More than him#also just a different vibe to a proper one-on-one. a WEIRD title run where the third man that whole year walks away with the trophy#idol tag
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Reservation Dogs | Season 3 (2023), Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi
#reservation dogs#rezdogsedit#beautiful season#beautiful show#i was kind of baffled for a minute than in a season so focused on building community#our four main rez dogs were almost always separated#going on their own adventures and growing#but of course this was integral in them opening up to a larger community#they're still gonna be super important to each other but they have a much more solid connection to everyone else now#and bonds strong enough that they can decide to leave without escaping#tv shows i watched in 2023#i made this#i just want a tag for the things i personally put out into the world
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https://www.tumblr.com/rist-ix/749015401700229120 not you reblogging this when you ship bloom with the man who murdered her family 😭
Bloom's into ppl who slay! Hope this helps :3
#alright snark and ship wars aside i get where you’re coming from tho#if you're genuinely interested in my thought process here i would love to elaborate#which is exactly what I’ll do!#first of all! the post you linked is about headcanons#which my brain kinda wants to put into a whole different category than ships — fandom ships in particular! — but i can leave that aside#because there IS an argument to be made that relationships are an extension of characterization and personality traits#if you wanna go that route i would wanna explain that Bloom's and/or Valtor's interest in the other is in fact based on canon#(even though I don’t really think ships need to be established in the source material. make shit up that’s what fandom is for#1) the Andros episode speaks for itself. Valtor specifically tells the Trix to back off because HE wants to be the one to fight bloom#2) the episode before that he asks questions about her (and only her; even though he has more powerful enemies to worry about)#demonstrating curiosity about and interest in her#3) that same episode (or the one before; can’t remember) is their infamous first meeting#where time LITERALLY slows down as the pass each other on the stairs#they get IMPACT FRAMES#the whole color palette changes!!!#idk about u but I eat that shit up. love the drama of it all no one does it like them#I’m gonna skip all the instances where Valtor is spying on Bloom through his little scrying spell because oh god who has the time#let’s go straight to Bloom#if I had a week I would not be able to collect all the moments where she growls his name in pure fury and single-minded determination#she gets a little bit obsessed with him over the course of the season and I personally think that’s very sexy of her#Bloom is known for her tunnel vision when it comes to her past and origins and Valtor's existence fits PERFECTLY into that#it ties in neatly with her overarching story of the past 2 seasons#literally PERFECT foils#which always makes for the juiciest stories#4) she singles him out for a duel in the museum episode#5) she can literally feel his presence#6) the mere mention of his name sends her into her weird faux enchantix#of course there’s no romance in canon but there’s TENSION AND CHEMISTRY which is all u really need for a ship#all their animosity and bad blood is what makes it so INTERESTING to wonder how they COULD work. it’s the spice that makes for good fanfic!
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i can't wait to see Penelope being in love on main w/ Colin at any and every given moment in S3
-coming to him with her concerns to hear his opinions. listening to him when he comes to her. all the razor sharp, witty banter they share
-encouraging and hyping up his writing and his interests. asking to read more of his work. just going full gush fest
-standing up for her bb boi when someone tries to make a rude comment about him (yes, including his family)
-all the squee scenes when he's being a total babe (he's a babe all the time, perpetual levels of squee)
-recognizing that her fantasy of Colin is nothing on the reality of him and telling him as much. she loves his imperfect self so much
-reaching for him whenever she wants so she can hold his hand or rub his back or go in for a snuggly hug
-telling him she's happiest when she's with him and that she likes him as a person (the 'i like you' 'i like you, too' convo is too near and dear to my heart)
-aaaaaaall the love language validations. extra touchy all the time. finding (and making up) excuses to spend more time with him. offering to edit his journals. remembering his favorite foods. telling him what she loves about him. bringing him snippets of her writing for him to read.
-i just need to see Pen love up on Colin, he deserves it
#polin#penelope featherington#colin bridgerton#bridgerton#bridgerton season 3#bridgerton s3#i've had it#just let her love him#it's enough with the angst#give me more fluff and romance#he's so damn loveable ALL the time how can she NOT love him openly and without hesitation?#especially after having done sweet fuck all over the course of 2 years in that regard other than look at him#she's BEEN wanted to love up on him on main just LET HER#S3 pen is in her 'was evil but just wanna be loved now' era and i admire the hell out of her for it
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I know we talk about Izzy antis all the time, but let's talk about regular fans of the show who're indifferent to Izzy, or maybe enjoy him just a little in a "he makes for a good antagonist" way but nothing more, or dislike him in a normal way - as in, he's just not their cup of tea and that's ok - but don't go out of their way to harass those who feel differently.
Let's talk about those OFMD fans because many of them are gonna fall into the Izzy Canyon so hard this season. And I'm so excited and happy for them. Nothing compares to that feeling of "wtf how did this show managed to turn this character into my favourite character??" Let's make them feel welcome. Let's remember that it's ok to dislike a character or feel indifferent towards them, and then start liking them as they grow and change. That's the entire point of character development, after all. I hope other Izzy Enjoyers aren't too jaded from dealing with Izzy antis to accept some (or, hopefully, a lot) of fans changing their mind about him. I know we're gonna see a ton of posts along the lines of "you only liked him after be became better, I liked him when he was at his worst, we are not the same", and tbh I'm very much in for it, but only tongue in cheek. I really hope our little corner of the fandom is going to be mature enough not to stoop down to petty gatekeeping. We're better than this.
#AllIzzyFansMatter#I really hope I won't actually have to start using this tag once the season airs#I'm not saying we shouldn't be allowed to gloat a little because of course we fucking should#but as I said let's keep it lighthearted#and not actually start arguing what counts as a ''real Izzy fan'' and which types of Izzy fans are better than others#let's just appreciate the much needed spotlight Izzy's character is going to get in the fandom#seriously I couldn't be happier#izzy hands#ofmd#our flag means death#ofmd s2
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Video edited by: @ kellunar on Twitter/X
I really liked this edit, bc it brought up a point that I think many people didn't notice.
It is to see that Caitlyn's suffering is not just about seeking revenge or sadness and anger and that she is now just a victim of Ambessa's manipulation of her, and she is also a victim of society's expectations towards her because of her family name that weighs on her and she feels responsible for her society's view of her. She is suffering because of her duties versus her desires, and what she shooting for versus what people want from her.
I think it's interesting to see this change that's happening with Caitlyn's character. And how the writers want to show us a character who's going to realize that revenge is going to cause more problems and other things happening to her that they're going to show us in the rest of the episodes.
People need to stop overreacting and criticizing characters, I mean literally they make me feel like these characters are real and not fictional characters, Caitlyn there is no stupid nickname they threw at her, like you don't like a character that's okay, don't accept her actions that's okay too, but don't make it personal and say a wrong thing like Caitlyn was going to kill the kid bc she's a cop, and cops are evil and blah blah as if it's a real story.
And there people completely ignoring that Cait is hysterical in that moment, she's clearly very angry and grieving. Grief is the craziest mental health affliction ever, it can drive you to be irrational, why are people not understanding that.
But as I was saying why all these titles like fascist and villain in the show and Hitler 2 I mean this is really ridiculous 😂. Bc she is rich and in a position of power, well what if Cait wasn't like that and was a normal girl who wanted revenge would you still say this to us!?
Bc I've always wondered what if Caitlyn wasn't an enforcer or a daughter of the council family, would these people still call her a dictator or a fascist or all this bullshit, I'm sure they wouldn't bc they're either hypocrites or don't see the point of the whole show. The show is not about politics, but rather about characters and their development. Arcane shows us that there is no hero or perfect character and every character has flaws and mistakes, and that's what makes it interesting to watch. These people really need to separate fantasy from reality and enjoy the show.
And I'm not saying you agree with Caitlyn's actions, but this doesn't make her a dictator too. And of course not, she has a right to protect her people after all. (Do you even know what dictator or fascist means?) Or are you just mixing things up to prove your point, which is basically wrong?
Caitlyn's character reaction is normal, and it's not new. We've seen many characters in different works talk about the topic of revenge, and as I said, the character's reaction of seeking revenge makes her completely blind to what's happening around her, especially since she's not alone here. We must not forget Ambessa, who will play the role of the character who incites Caitlyn to take revenge all the time, and Ambessa will certainly be the reason for showing Zaun in the worst light in front of Cait, just like she did in episode 1.
But of course we know bc Caitlyn will not be like this throughout the end of the show, she will definitely realize the situation and discover Ambessa's manipulation and exploitation of her, and that Ambessa caused the problems that were happening in the two cities.
#And of course there are other things the writers want to show in Caitlyn's character and her arc#more than she is just being a cop or a dictator or these stupid names that these kids who watch the show give her.#i love caitlyn#caitlyn#caitlyn defender#caitlyn support#caitlyn kiramman#cassandra arcane#vi#vi arcane#arcane vi#jinx#jinx arcane#isha arcane#ambessa#ambessa medarda#ambessa arcane#caitvi#arcane#arcane season 2#arcane league of legends#arcane netflix#league of legends#twitter#..
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SidClaude
Makes sense. Compels me.
#actually one of the rare ships I like better irl than in fic#the fact that they’re#old men together#the shared history the animosity that’s slowly turned into something almost like fondness#you know the song knievel daredevil#by Noah Dillon#time travel fic where a frustrated sens Claude travels back in time to crosbys first season as captain of the pens and is like#oh he’s just a KID#he is the most annoying man in the world but he’s LONELY#and Sid figures out who Claude is and that they hate each other#and wants to know about the future#and wants to know whether he’ll get his cups#and Claude has to be all like. easy kid. one thing at a time you’ll be alright#and of course they fall in love and Claude slowly comes to terms w the fact that his career is coming to an end and that he might never#get his cup#but that there’ll be things in the future he could work towards#(sid. maybe. if he is reading the kid correctly)#(and he KNOWS him and he thinks he is)#and sidclaude age difference sex u already know#anyway someone smart write this im allergic to putting pen to paper
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i love having both etho and kakashi as My Guys because then whenever i see either of them it’s two for the price of one
#this post was brought to you by bingeing etho season 7 immediately followed by like 50 episodes of shippuden over the course of four days#i am screaming into the void. they are just So Alike you guys you arent getting it#it goes deeper than appearance you have to trust me guys please#a master of his field who is also just Such a guy who loves to troll his friends and has a green guy he goes way back with#who am i describing? either. both. the PARALLELS YOU GUYS IT ACTUALLY DRIVES ME CRAZY#the only difference is one of them was put in a situation where he had to kill others to survive and decide where he drew the line in terms#of what he was willing to sacrifice to survive and for his friends to survive#and as a result suffered when he ultimately was unable to save what mattered most#hahahahaha oopsies kakashi did that too lol#ethoslab#kakashi#mightaswellspeak#most ambitious crossover event
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The season 4 premiere of Boston Legal is like psychological terrorism. Alan being begged to have a baby. Word salad. Sex in an elevator TWICE. Shirley/Denny moment that makes me sob. Infidelity. The arrival of Carl. Guys looking at each others’ dicks. Alan saying his penis has been a bad boy. Carl’s hair. One of the greatest guest appearances on the show by Craig muMs Grant. Alan calls himself fat. He wears a dress just for fun. Big dance number. I feel like I’m being hit with baseball bats the entire episode.
#‘what is this show about’ yes❤️#boston legal#there’s great lighting in two different scene that makes his eyelashes look so blond and long#james is alan alan is james so of course he always looks like himself. but sometimes he looks so… him#yk what I mean. the smallest expression and it suddenly reminds me of crash of all things. or something he did in SLV or pretty in pink#idk why it’s so hard to explain. or it’s not but it sounds silly I don’t know. he’s just so strikingly handsome in vastly different ways#at different times in his life#movies are easy to compare of course jim is always doing little jim things in his 90 minute films#but alan is so fleshed out I’ve seen alan more than I’ve seen all the others combined except perhaps red#but I have the same feeling with red! they’re separate almost. it’s almost a shock when I see james spader in their eyes…#anyway um. season 4 already making me INSANE this time yay :)
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AFC Richmond’s season 3 opponents
Chelsea West Ham United Manchester City
#ted lasso#afc richmond#ted lasso spoilers#tedlassoedit#these are also all away matches if that's interesting to anyone other than me lmao#city and whu were of course givens going into the season (plot wise i mean)#but i'm curious to see who else crops up#obligatory gifs tag
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i really want to hear your opinion on this. I feel like some people underestimate pecco a lot. most of the people I’ve seen on here are talking like it’s certain that marc will do better than pecco next year, but I’ll be surprised if it’ll be actually like this. pecco has way more experience on the ducati and nobody understands the ducati like pecco does. see race weekends like assen or mugello, he’s literally unstoppable and I feel like he’s even holding back. plus pecco is 26yo and he’s in his prime and probably will be for at least two more years before the decline inevitably begins, and he’s injury free! but the real advantage he has over marc, in my opinion, is that he literally lives under pressure and he already knows that marc will try to hit him on the track and above all mentally. he knows what he is getting into. when he talks about wanting to maintain harmony in ducati it’s because he’s already aware that marc will ruin it. like yeah ppl r saying a lot that marc is going to destroy pecco and all that, but right now the facts state that pecco is a 2 times wdc back to back (probably 3 by the end of this year) and right now on the ducati he’s the best rider of the grid. marc won his last wdc in 2019, it’s been years since he won, and he got his arm fucked up in the process. so yeah marc will try everything to destroy pecco but he needs to be careful to not destroy himself in the process. (this is not marc hate, I’m just tired of seeing people understanding pecco)
first of all, I'm broadly with you on a lot of this, anon, though I wouldn't quite as far as to say I'm predicting pecco to beat marc. second of all, I do think I have a bit of a problem where I have my rational sports brain - but I also have the other less rational bits of my brain. and some of those irrational bits are currently stuck in this mode where I have two different fundamentally contradictory mindsets that are kinda... mental blocks in terms of me predicting what will actually happen next year
mental block #1 is 'you've been following sports all your life and you know how this goes'. like, I've kinda been conditioned to think if you aren't a wunderkind, one of the talents of the century, already a megastar when you were in your nappies bla bla, you're basically fucked? certainly fucked when you are going up against one of those prodigies. you may get close and trick everyone into thinking it's actually possible, but... idk. this is a mindset that broadly stood me in good stead when I started watching motogp, like you just don't bet against fuck you talent. something like 2017, I never really thought marc was going to lose that title. so when I look at marc and pecco, however much I rate pecco there's a bit of my brain that automatically goes 'yeah but marc will win anyway'. it's that kind of... sometimes things that look slim differences in sports, margins that should be small aren't actually small at all, and in a way the end outcome feels like it was always kinda inevitable. I get that same sense when I'm watching 2005 last lap duels between sete and valentino - these are situations where you both parties should have a decent shot, but somehow you know that if you ran the simulation one hundred times, it'd basically always go one way. it's the illusion of competitiveness. one guy's always got something a little bit extra in the back pocket
mental block #2 is that it's actually been really fucking long since I've seen marc win and there's been a lot of false dawns on this front. I thought he'd win the title in 2020. I kinda thought he'd win the title in 2021. I was at least open to the possibility he'd win it in 2022. okay, in 2023... but you could still go 'yeah but he's finally physically fit now' (or, well, you could until the first race weekend was done). and honestly? gut feeling, I was feeling pretty bullish about 2024, partly because I didn't think the gap between the bike specs would be this noticeable. so by now it's a bit? you know, I kinda need to see him win again to believe it? which he probably does too, just a touch, and that makes it a completely different proposition from all those other titles... within this sport in particular, it's really not that easy to recover from years in the wilderness. you never really know if he can get close to handling the field like he did in his prime until he does it again. and... however impressive I've found him this season, which I really, absolutely have, I still haven't seen that from him. I also feel like currently... the magic is still there but his pace is so fragile, and that used to be the really scary thing about him - the relentlessness of his pace. this year, it's one lap pace, it's weekend to weekend, it's how sometimes he's slower in races than you thought he'd be - and yes, there are all these other explanations, but... well, again, if the bike is holding him back, if it's the ducati adaptation period, then that's all well and good. but I'm not really going to feel that's true until I actually see the next step
now obviously both of those things can't be true - and the fun thing about next year is that I don't actually feel it's a done deal. because, yes, people do underestimate pecco. and also because, yes, there's still some real question marks about the version of marc we're getting. just look at this sachsenring situation... obviously 'someone could get injured' is quite a depressing way to look at future title fight permutations, but you can't really treat it as a certainty that it won't happen, no? I feel like one element of last year that doesn't quite get the attention it deserves is that pecco was winning that title a whole lot more comfortably before a bike ran over his leg. the race right after that was misano, where pecco had won the two previous years and there's zero reason to believe he couldn't have done so again rather than take two laboured p3's. that's not a title fight anyone's primarily remembering as an injury arc (cf too the le mans crash) - but it clearly did play a big role and could easily have been decisive, without actually taking out one of those two contenders of competition. marc used to win his titles with a whole lot of throwing himself down the road to find the limit of his bike, but he can't afford to do that any more (if he ever could). we still need to see what version of marc we're getting, if we're getting a version who can just be fast anywhere come sunday - or a very good version of marc who isn't quite that. who knows exactly how much worse the gp23 is than the gp24! who knows how much more there still is to come in terms of ducati potential from marc! we have rough indications, but it's far from definitive. maybe one of them doesn't click at all with next year's bike! we'll only know when we see it play out!
and yet I still expect deep down that marc wins that. it's just kinda supreme belief in his fuck you levels of talent, the belief that he'll figure it out somehow because I've seen him do it so many times. and of course, the other big problem is we don't know what version of pecco we're getting! I have talked before about how historically unusual pecco is as a champion in many ways, which for me always makes it quite tricky to figure out what he'll do in basically any situation. like, where is his ceiling? is he still going to get better? is he going to get his act together? my problem is that I feel like I enter every single season going 'yeah I reckon this year pecco will get his act together, ugh he's going to dominate the field' and then it's just a bit? is this just who you are as a rider, or is this something you can still change?
the thing is, with my fullest respect to pecco's titles, however much I enjoyed those train wrecks, obviously you cannot do this against a version of marc marquez that is remotely up to scratch. like, you just cannot. pecco cannot do a 2022 and expect to win the title. against an even slightly serious version of marc marquez. on the same bike. pecco can't really do a 2023 either. I'll give him a pass for some of those late season results, but if you're chucking it down the road that often early on then, yeah, no
that being said... low key if you ignore all the little numbers, this year is actually a serious title fight...?
like I am always aware that acknowledging this could make them both dnf five times in a row but...? there's one sunday race one of them haven't won, and cota is its own thing. everything else...? whisper it softly but this is a good title fight? 2022-23 were sort of accidentally good because everyone's errors and runs of good forms and performance trajectories just kinda coalesced so you got late season drama, but this? consistent high level of performance from both blokes, decent wheel-to-wheel action between both title rivals at several different races (definitely more than in 2015 and everyone remembers that as a classic, also on course to be more than in 2013 and most years 2007-12). idk, at what point do we just have to acknowledge these guys are pretty good at what they do? sure they're on the strongest bike, as are the vast majorities of blokes who win titles historically. but bastianini's reasonably highly rated and he's not even gotten particularly close to winning a sunday race this year on the exact same bike - one p2 on merit snagged on the last lap and another one less on merit when vinales was highsided to the moon for mechanical reasons right ahead of him. yes, the title contenders have had some howlers... pecco's portimao and catalunya sprints were... well, y'know, and martin's jerez race and mugello sprint were also... y'know. but apart from that?
idk man... we can cry over photos of casey on his gp7 all we like, but at the end of the day these twits have come out with some class performances these last two years. and at a certain point you've just gotta hand it to them. they've become more experienced at how to manage a title fight, which is how you get a version of martin this year who is still fast but is less likely to phillip island it. some of those performances late last season were great! for every martin qatar and pecco india, you also get a martin thailand and a pecco indonesia. maybe they'll stop chucking it down the road so often, or maybe they'll keep chucking it but so will marc, because these days they have ridiculously many opportunities to do so! I also think it's worth pointing out that minus some questionable early season form from pecco, those two are basically always on the pace! they're always there or thereabouts! that's how marc used to kill his title rivals, not necessarily by winning a bunch of races but by making sure he was always picking up points - because he didn't have any truly slow weekends. these guys don't either at the minute! we are seeing them actually get better in front of our eyes, it's great
the other stuff... oof, I don't know what pecco's prime will end up being - remember, actually he's low key already edging out of title-winning age. he's now 27. this century, only two riders have won titles when they were older than 26 - valentino twice and jorge once. obviously, that's partly happenstance, and you don't suddenly get struck down by 'being washed' lightning when you turn 27... plus on the flip side, I also think the fact that pecco has only reached his prime relatively recently means he could have quite a few more years to go. who knows! who knows if marc being increasingly more breakable becomes a big factor! recovering from injuries gets tougher the older you get and the more knocks you've taken! on the other point, the ducati is a bike pecco knows very very well and has a lot of time riding... but broadly speaking I do trust marc with a year's worth of experience get as much out of that bike as he ever will. just the fuck you talent again. we don't know what that performance level looks like, but I don't think it'll be a question of familiarity any more at that stage
so where does that all leave us? do I really want to be making motogp predictions this far in advance? yeah, sure. if I had to put money on it, I'd still back marc, I think? but I really do hope we get a proper fight, and I really do think we might! I'm far from convinced in writing off pecco. basically *grabs the crystal ball, aka checks the races we've literally just watched* let's say pecco absolutely dogwalks the field at a few circuits. like maybe a mugello, an assen, a cute qatar, even a catalunya now he's faced down his demons (though maybe jorge on that aprilia goes bye bye at montmelo). then give marc his races where he laps the field twice in cota and sachsenring. and we're going to get a few classic duels, for the fans. if those duels happen at the mugello's and catalunya's of this world, pecco's might be in deep shit. if they happen at the misano's and aragon's and maybe even jerez's, we can get something going. they both have at least one silly early season crash (also kinda tradition for marc outside of his peak peak seasons lbr) and everyone gets to call pecco a bottler and crank out the good ol' crashquez. and then hopefully we can massage those numbers enough that pecco isn't crashing three times to marc's one and we actually get a proper title fight. and hopefully they don't get injured too badly. I've said this before, but I could easily see a title fight where pecco wins most of the big duels but his inconsistencies let him down. if his bad days are p3's, however, or if marc himself is a bit flaky at times, then we're suddenly having a very different conversation (also don't feel that comfortable in writing off aprilia/ktm and their respective star riders, especially in year two of the factory ducati partnership)
one thing about pecco (that you do also bring up anon)... if there's one trait in his competitive makeup that most reminds me of marc, it's his resilience. he's very good at bouncing back, he's very good at dealing with adversity, a lot of the times he's at his best when he's under ridiculous amounts of pressure... if anything, he's worse when he has reason to feel confident. it comes through both in what a class defensive rider he is and how good he is at dealing with title fight pressure. if there is ever a time where he mentally gets his act together at the very start of the season, surely it's going to be when he has the famous marc marquez in his garage. if that doesn't do it, literally nothing ever will. and listen, knowing marc will try to mess with you isn't quite the same as being able to stop him from messing with you. wanting to maintain harmony doesn't mean your chances of maintaining harmony are necessarily great. but... you know, pecco got his first ever win by defending against marc lap after lap, facing essentially the most stressful situation imaginable with the 93 on his tail. marc made him a better rider that day. marc might make him a better rider next year too... you never know
#though anon I WILL say I'm not that confident about this year's title!! I rate pecco but I don't rate him in running away with titles#the extension of 'actually pecco bagnaia is a great motogp rider' HAS to be 'actually jorge martin is a great motogp rider'#but anyway we really don't knooooooooow#like none of this is USEFUL analysis but of course I too have sports fan syndrome and LOVE thinking about this stuff#my response is basically 'well marc could win by two million points. but he could lose too!!' which is objectively useless#but that's the joyyyyyy speculation is fun!! i love sports#i will get a bit pissy if i DON'T get one direct title fight between those two. like i feel like i've been very patient with this sport#//#brr brr#batsplat responds#was determined to actually send out this ask BEFORE most of sachsenring plays out. slay.#do think it would help marc to get a win on the board sooner rather than later but oh well#anyway i WILL do prop for this title fight and even last year for free however much i enjoy ragging on everyone involved#like yeah they're silly. but also athletes being a bit shit sometimes is good for the ecosystem!! flaws make stuff more exciting#admittedly if they just chuck it then it's not that much fun. but phillip island??? that was soooooooo great#also people do just forget the aliens were silly sometimes... you watch the 2009 title fight and tell me those were serious operators#actually don't watch 2009. watch literally any other noughties season before you watch 2009#(except maybe 2002/2007)#current tag
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