#the marc marquez experience

[moonshynecybin]

marc's plan was as always to cause a show! if he's there the show is there! how boring to win a race from pole or the front row! no of course he had to qualify badly so that all of the attention was on him when he inevitably overtook half of the grid and still managed a podium in both the sprint and the race!

it is like. if i’m gigi and i’m looking at this weekend. what’s more impressive: getting pole winning the sprint and then winning the race proper on a factory bike when he’s been on a ducati practically his entire career. very clean very dominant. also very boring. ORRRRR the guy who is on a year OLD bike with only five races to adapt from the honda, flopped into q2 for myriad reasons and then said fuck it and passed eleven people (INCLUDING DADDY’S NUMBER ONE CANDY BABY PECCO BAGNAIA) at a track that is notoriously hard to overtake on and holds the record for dry crashes in motogp. TWICE ! like both are impressive but only ONE ! is entertaining

[uwabbittuwabbit]

marc u irritate me beyond belief never change

[repsolhonda]

HONDA x MARC: you don't have to go home. there's a long way to go.

[bezzplaining]

hyperactive child energy + chaotic calm energy

[batsplat]

pecco rant please please

*spins wheel on possible topics* absurdly underrated but in a dumb way. you'd think you can stumble your way into two premier class titles. I don't care he's on the best bike - let's be honest, how often this century have the title winners not been on the best bike? 2004 and to a lesser extent 2005 you can say clearly weaker bike, 2007 late 2010s 2021 there's a clear enough disparity with anyone else riding the bike that you can say clearly the rider is making the difference/it's an unrideable wreck one guy is making respectable, then there's a few seasons where it's at least very close whose machinery is best or they're fighting with people on equal equipment, which pecco has done! but generally speaking, good/promising riders end up on good bikes and then they win. that's how the game works!

the thing about 2022 is that it had such a massive mid-season swing that overhauling a ninety something point margin cannot come down to any single factor. is it fair to say fabio lost that title? on balance, it's a bit harsh - yes, there were a few too many errors post-sachsenring, yes, some were driven by desperation, but also you can't really expect anyone to ride a flawless season. but pecco did win that title as much as yamaha lost it. I don't care if you're riding a literal rocketship with two wheels, you can't win four races in a row if you're not extremely good at what you do! if we're saying that title was worth less because the yamaha turned to shit in the second half of the season, then let's keep going. let's put an asterisk next to 2013 because jorge and dani both got injured (let's not even get into the 'if marc hadn't been injured' asterisks because that's where you get into truly silly territory). is 2006 not a legit title because of all the bad luck valentino faced that year? let's say all titles between 2007 to 2015 were worth less because at any one time only 4-6 bikes had a realistic chance of winning races. throw out any title before 2009 because they were constantly fucking about with the tyres and there wasn't a level playing field. if you're motivated enough, you can play this game with basically anything, but it's dumb and pointless because that's not how sports works! you can only win against whoever you're facing. it has always been thus and it will always be thus

it's narratively fun and juicy that pecco has these insecurities himself - but within the context of everyone else doing discourse over it, the whole thing is massively overblown! linked to some of the worst sports discourse about how much people love to disparage late bloomers, because they need every single successful athlete to fit the same mould of the ultra-talented wunderkind, apparently. it's more interesting when it's not always the most 'talented' (whatever tf that means), naturally gifted, *fast the second he touches a bike* bloke who wins. sometimes they have to work hard for it, sometimes they have to improve themselves year on year and be smart about how they do it, sometimes they have to be in the right place and right time, sometimes they have to be very lucky. sports is all about competition, and competition is all about contrast. it's a contrast that can be generated in a whole lot of ways, and in fairness to motogp they have come up with a bunch of interesting narratively tense contests that don't rely on a massive fundamental 'talent' differential - but at the end of the day, that's one of the best ones you can have! the more ways you can have to win in any given sport, the better, both in the literal sense of how you go about the actual process of winning and how you even become a winner. none of this means that pecco isn't very very good, it means he got there in a different way than every other multiple champ this century has. it fundamentally flattens the sport if you want every top-level competitor to be an alien-level talent... one of the best things about this current era is that it has given us something new and exciting in that regard, where you well and truly believe some very different blokes might have what it takes to eventually be champion

anyway, pecco is absurdly adept at digging himself into holes and absurdly adept at digging himself out of them. he's one of the worst frontrunners imaginable in every sense, biologically incapable of dominating without at least a perpetual hint of jeopardy, both in the context of a race and a season. but when his back is against the wall, somehow he keeps finding performances you never imagined he was capable of. his mixed up and slightly odd skillset, his strengths and weaknesses, how he's better and worse than he has any right to be... all of it lends itself to perpetual momentum shifts and thrilling seasons - because you never quite know what you're going to get. love him or hate him, he's a gift to the overall competitive landscape! god knows the racing hasn't been much to write home about these last few years (though, yes, we did have a good little run this season), but somehow he's managed to get himself involved in two out of the six title deciders this century back-to-back. is that not the dream for the viewer, to have a bloke at the top of the sport with a little self-combust chip in his head every time he builds too much of an advantage? build a hundred of those guys! throw a marc marquez at him and see what he does! I can't wait to see what he'll come up with next

[boanerges20]

Fabio Quartararo Vs. Marc Marquez

[c2-eh]

Carlos and Marc via Estrella Galicia Instagram // heart eyes are strong in this one

[meelonkurb]

pecco trying not to praise marc in the media challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)

[screwdriver-and-souffle]

What confusion! Must be because I love you

[ilikecarsandlike4people]

Small series (3/4 works) for a possible bigger piece in the future, variations 4/5, 2/? and 3/?, etched on vinyl, hand pressed. Series ongoing, not finished.

[fastianini]

https://www.tumblr.com/fastianini/729966871123836928

That 2017 documentary where he relives the entire season on screen but for 2020-23 every race ever (we skip sachsenring 21)

you‘re so right babe let‘s go! we can do it! 🥲

[carmyprosecco]

marc marquez x valentino rossi vampire - olivia rodrigo

do listen with headphones for the best auditory experience

[moonshynecybin]

honeysuckle: how our love unites enemies

honeysuckle:

scream okay i just edited some of airport au before getting these so it was rattling around in my head. and this ask made me think it would be funny if casey stoner showed up. so here. bad comedy. for those who do not remember last we left marc “the weirdest rumor i ever heard about myself was that i was gay” marquez, he had just had a sex dream about valentino rossi, who has recentlyish decided to be his friend again. as you can imagine he’s a bit confused about all this:

Marc decides that he should probably avoid Valentino for a while, after a dream like that. Get some distance and get his head on straight.

The problem is, Valentino apparently very much does not want to avoid Marc.

It’s in the chaos of the flyaways, that long slog at the end of the season, and Marc doesn’t have anything to prove at this point except for all the different things that he does, and it’s Phillip Island, a track where he can make a difference. He knows he has an opportunity where he can really sink his teeth into something here.

All said, it’s his favorite track, he’s looking forward to the weekend— and he’s really looking forward to approximately 9,000 miles between him and Valentino Rossi and his long fingers.

Which of course means that when he wheels around a corner on his scooter that Friday, he doesn’t expect to see Vale standing next to the media center with a day old scruff decorating the cut of his jaw and Casey goddamn Stoner bitching away about aero at his elbow.

Marc, shocked and in his raincoat, applies the brake to his scooter in an acute fashion and skids a little, motocross style.

Vale, under his neon yellow umbrella and always attracted to the sound of screeching rubber, sees him.

He starts walking.

Horrifically, Casey follows.

Marc smiles.

“I’ve been cornered.”

“Put your hands up in the name of the law,” Vale says in a terrible imitation of a cowboy, and then greets him. “Ah, you are ready for tomorrow?”

Marc nods before he can tell his neck what to do.

“Looks like no practice today, and more rain,” What would he normally say to Valentino. Well, normally he wouldn’t say anything. So that’s probably not a viable strategy.

“That’s good for you, yes?” Vale says, blue eyes intent on him, like he’s genuinely interested.He steps close to Marc, including him under his umbrella, and Marc tightens his fingers hard on the handlebars of the scooter. “Less practice for others and then— with the rain, easier to catch? A left-hand circuit, so you have more room to outpace the factory bikes.”

Casey, walking slowly, arrives in time to catch the tail end of Vale’s statement, and his eyebrows twitch up, gaze ping-ponging back and forth between them.

Marc waves.

Vale, though blunt, is not wrong, and Marc will take a win in the wet of it comes to that, but the forecast clears as the weekend progresses, and the thing he’s really missing so far this year is a clean win. No wet, no sand, just him and the motorcycle and everyone else behind him. The GP23, despite being unequivocally weaker after he exploded in Indonesia and they removed his improved flywheel, is still a bike that he has enough experience on that he can use his style a bit more and manipulate it the way he needs to, so the parts change hasn’t made too much of an impact on his pace. Plus, this is also one of Pecco’s more mediocre tracks, something he knows that Vale knows but will never say to Marc. Honestly, if it’s not for Pecco or the floundering VR46 team squad (unlikely), he has no idea why Vale is here. Maybe Casey invited him to do some dirt track.

He opens his mouth to twist all this into something shiny enough that it can be outwardly verbalized to two other world champions when Casey, so far neglected by Vale, speaks.

“Wow. You know, I really didn’t believe it.”

They pause.

“That you two had made up again, I mean,” He throws a thumb Vale’s way. “I thought this one would take it to his grave, he’s good at that.”

Marc hits him with a weak smile and Vale doesn’t even look over, eyes still on Marc and whatever he sees on his face.

Casey seems to notice, and a divot appears between his eyebrows. Marc scrambles to find something to say that will make this interaction end in the next ten seconds.

“Um, so what convinced you that he wasn’t evil?” Casey asks. So much for that dream.

“Same thing that convinced me that you weren’t,” Vale quips.

“Jury’s still out, then?”

Vale puts a hand on Marc’s shoulder and laughs at Casey beatifically. “Ah, no. Maybe he is just prettier than you? Better in bed, you know.”

Marc laughs, high and shrill, and Casey and Vale both turn to look at him.

“Okay, Marc?” Casey asks, and Marc nods. It’s a normal joke— it’s the kind Vale’s made before. About him, about Jorge Lorenzo, probably about Casey. If 20 year old Marc were here right now, he would just be thrilled that Vale was teasing Casey and using Marc to do it. That idiot would sit here and smile and think about women when he went home to jack off and go on with his day. No such pleasures for 31 year old Marc.

He swallows. He hasn’t responded quick enough. Vale’s eyes narrow, and Marc feels horribly exposed. He’s gotta get out of here.

“Yeah, yeah. Something in my throat, you know? Gresini— uh, they need me in the box, I have to go over something. For tomorrow, the sprint. So. I should go. It was nice seeing you both, I’ll see you later— “

He punches the gas, and as they scramble away from the scooter to avoid getting any toes caught in the crossfire, he zooms away before he can hear their responses.

When Vale’s hand slides off of Marc’s shoulder as he accelerates, the places where his fingers touched Marc burn all the way back to the garage.

[shoot-the-oneshot]

BEST OF MOTOGP

Marc Marquez x reader x Carlos Sainz love triangle.

Read Part 1 here

3 years ago

With every step towards the garage your heart beat faster and faster, you have been working with the brand for what felt like forever and you finally got it. Redbull social media specifically focused on MotoGP you honesty would’ve been happy with any type of racing but you were ecstatic with your placement.

You don't know why you were nervous everyone has told you again and again how kind Marc was but you’ve had some unsavory experiences with other athletes coming up that didn’t understand or appreciate the new way of technology and in turn you.

You tried to keep your head up walking into the Repsol garage being amazed by the fast past everything was moving at. Being so caught up you jumped when a hand landed on your arm.

“I’m sorry, I’m Marc didn't mean to scare you.” He spoke holding a hand out for you, happily taking it. “Hi I'm Y/n, a part of the media team, its so nice to meet you”

Marcs eyes widened. “A new member of the family! please allow me to show you around.” He lead you all around the paddock introducing you to everyone you passed. Ending back at the Repsol garage he left you to a meeting with your boss wishing you good luck before he sped off to practice.

“He’s really nice right?” You spun to the right at the new voice seeing a slightly older than you blonde woman, who nodded to where you were watching Marc leave.

“Out of all the people I’ve worked with this team is by far the best and most welcoming, I'm Susan by the way while I'm technically in charge as long as you do the job and don't cause havoc we won’t have an issue.” She winked making you drop your shoulders and let out a breath you didn't know you were holding, making her laugh.

“Come on, I’ll show you the best spots for content during the race.”

1 year later (2 years ago)

“I’m really glad you let me come.” Marc spoke almost shyly with a red dusting across his cheeks as he followed your lead down the streets of your hometown. “How could i not, you practically begged.” You teased, smiling as you looked up at him as you stopped walking now there was only a few inches between you both.

“I’d beg just to learn your favorite color if that’s what it took.” He whispered, his fingertips grazing your cheek as he moved a strand of hair out of your face. Marc wishes he remembered the moment he fell for you, when he stopped seeing only the color of your eyes and started seeing his everything in them. But it's times like this he almost doesn’t care when, just that it’s there now.

“It’s red.” You answered breathlessly almost speechless from the was he was gazing at you. Your heart started racing as you noticed how close he’d gotten, his breath fanning across your face. “Tell me to stop.”

“I don't want you to.” Clutching his shirt in your hands to keep him close. Marc laughed lowly brushing his noes against yours, “Then tell me to kiss you.” He had to hear it, he had to know you wanted it as bad as he did before he did anything that couldn't be taken back.

Tired of waiting you pulled on his shirt crashing his lips against yours, Marc got over the shock instantly, pulling you tighter against him, so close you couldn’t tell where you ended and he began . Pulling away only when the need to breathe became overwhelming, even then he didn’t move away far.

“I really wish you would’ve done that sooner.” He smiled against your lips, and reluctantly stepped back remembering you were in public. Not before taking your hand in his. “Where’s that cafe you wanted to show me?” At his words you lit up practically dragging him in your excitement “Oh it’s right around the corner come on!”

During the season you shared many moments like the one shared then, getting closer and closer to each other and after the season you and Marc found yourselves back in your hometown it was just small enough that no one bombarded him plus he had never seen you so relaxed than when you were there. So his pushed to come back during the break.

“Come on champ i thought you were an athlete!” You shouted behind you where Marc was, you wanted to show him one of your favorite hikes it was rough but the view up top was worth it.

“I’m just making sure you don’t fall behind amore.” Marcs words dragged making you look back seeing his eyes locked on your butt, he only smiled being caught making you laugh.

Reaching the top, you shouted in excitement spinning around “we made it! Marc quickly wrapped you in his arms spinning you around kissing all over your face. “Marcy!” You giggled meeting his lips as he set you down.

“Come on we need a picture to remember this great feat.” You cozied up to Marc as you held out your phone being sure to get the view behind you, and capturing Marcs wide grin.

“One last photo together hm?” He said, looking everywhere but at you, sighing you rubbed his arm “It’s hardly the last time we will see each other, I’ll only be gone one season.”

“Practically forever.”

Present

Out of all the things you expected to see once you turned the corner was to see Marc and Carlos in some stand off their respective teams separating the two men. “What’s going on?”

Carlos who was just shaking out of Charles hold looked like a deer caught in headlights. “Nothing”

You looked to Marc knowing he would tell you the truth. But he just walked past you pausing once your shoulders met staring at the wall ahead. “I take it back, don’t pick him.”

Spinning around you grabbed his arm not at all finished with the conversation.

“You always tell me what to do first, not to fall for you now, don't fall for him what do you want!” You exclaimed not able to handle the mixed signals it nearly broke your heart when Marc told you nothing could happen between you two all those years ago because you worked together.

Flashback 1 year and a half ago

You and Marc layed by the pool soaking in the sun, legs tangled together. Smiling as you felt him press small kisses leading to your neck from your shoulder. “Stop” you laughed softly. Pushing him away just making him tighten his hold even more ensuring you couldnt escape. Caressing his face when he pulled away from your neck running your thumb over his cheek bone as he gazed at you.

“What color tie are you going to wear to the gala this year.” You asked out of the blue making his brows furrow and pull away further, making your hand drop. “Probably black why?”

“I wanted to make sure my dress matched.” Being a part of Redbull socials you were invited anyway and thought it would be cute to tie together. But seeing the look he got on his face you were starting to second guess yourself.

“You know no one can know we’re doing this right?” Your world screeched to a stop like a scratched record at his words. “What?” You breathed out. Marc sat up pulling away from you and sighed. “I don't want it to look bad on you if it got out, i care about you and don't want you to get all the hate you’d get for being with me. But we can still dance at the gala.” He spoke cuddling back into you, which you were gad for so he couldn't see your eyes glassing over. “Yeah” your voice cracked “yeah we can.”

(Flahback over)

Marc sighed. “We both knew being just friends would never work.” He grabbed the back of your neck pressing his lips against your forehead. “I’m so sorry for what i said before but i was always yours and i hope you’ll be mine one day.”

With those as his parting words you found yourself alone, needing time for your thought you decided to walk through the paddock to clear your head. Your heart eached seeing Ferrari red everywhere. After Marc shut down any chance of being serious, you begged for a change of scenery landing a place in F1 more specifically Toro Rosso whatever pain you felt Carlos helped you overcome and then you went back to MotoGP and everything got complicated.

“Y/N! Y/n wait!” Your body froze before you could think Carlos stood in front of you the next moment his eyes begging you to hear him out.

“I’m sorry you had to see that, you weren’t supposed to.” He breathed out, hands twitching like he fighting the urge to reach out. “Didnt apologize for doing it” he everted his gaze at your words before straighting up taking a deep breath.

“I know you have feelings for both of us, and i know i can’t do anything about it. But i just want you to remember who broke your heart and who picked up the pieces.” Carlos squeezed your hand that you didn't know he grabbed before turning to walk away,

You sighed falling onto your bed at the hotel, you knew it wouldn’t be smooth sailing with Marc showing up at Carlos race but you didn't expect this much trouble. Carlos was right he did pick up the pieces of your heart after Marc broke it, but part of you wondered what would’ve happened if you didn't run to F1 after that conversation.

During that season Marc didn’t disappear he made his presence known despite the unopened text from him in your phone he still sent flowers to every race and invited you back to Spain for the summer, perhaps he was right. Being just friends would never work

Your inner monologue being cut short by your phone going off, leaning over with a groan your brows furrowed at the text.

Carlos: check your email.

Ignoring the message you open your emails seeing a brand new one from Ferraris head of marketing personal email.

“Hello Y/n, it has come to our attention you were looking at other options outside of your current employer, you have come highly recommended from some of our employees during your time in F1 a few years ago and we would love to add you to our team. Given your close relationship to one of our drivers we think you would make a wonderful addition.

We have reviewed your current contract with Redbull and would like to offer to buy it out and add a 20% raise to your salary plus benefits. No need to interview please get back to us at your soonest convenience.

Scuderia Ferrari, Social media, Marketing team

Practically throwing your phone across the room your breathing picked up. While it was a fantastic offer and one that would definitely keep you and Carlos together it wasn’t what you wanted, wasn’t who you wanted.

Rushing from your bed you pulled open the door to your room and ran through the hallway stopping abruptly as you nearly bumped into Marc a few feet away.

“What’s wrong?” What are you doing out here.” You both spoke simultaneously.

“Ferrari offered to buy me out of my contract.” You rushed out making Marc roll his eyes and chuckle humorlessly. “So that’s what he meant.”

“You, you knew?” You stammered over your words. “That’s what he told me earlier” you’ve never seen Marc so withheld before, at least not with you.

“And you didn't tell me!” You exclaimed, Marc sighed running his hand over his face. “If it’s what you wanted i didn’t want to stop you. Would it kill me, yes, but all i want is for you to be happy even without me.”

“How good is the contract?” He asked before you could say anything, keeping a good few feet between you.

“Really good.” His face hardened at your words nodding his head he made a move to turn away before you stopped him.

“But not good enough to leave you.”

Marc spun back around so fast though thought he would’ve broken something making you giggle. “Really?” He asked needing to be sure it wanted to his imagination. “Ever since that kiss you’re all i wanted.” You whispered being afraid any louder tone would break the spell.

Marc quickly erased the distance between you and wrapped you in his arms nuzzling his nose against yours.

“Tell me you’re mine.” He smiled against your lips reminding you of the first time.

“I’m yours, i pick you.”

That next break you found yourself back sun bathing with Marc at your home in Spain, the sun shining off his wedding ring from its place on your thigh. Your husband sending daggers at stitch who was lounging in your arms.

“I never thought id be jealous of a dog.” He grumbled laying his head back down on your chest when you giggled. “Aw poor baby.” Rubbing your hand through his hair, feeling him smile against your skin. While it was a rollercoaster getting there you wouldn’t change the life you had for anything.

Woah what a ride i hope you guys liked it let me know in the comments Carlos’s part will be out soon check out part one and Carlos part here

Best of both worlds prt1

Best of MotoGP Marcs ending

Best of F1 Carlos ending coming soon

check out my master list for more

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[batsplat]

this all makes me think—how much would casey have disliked racing against marc do you think? i wonder if vale would have gone even harder on the marc praise knowing it’d annoy casey + been even more disgruntled in 2015 when the consequences hit even harder in turn… and maybe we would have gotten a casey ranch visit even earlier had they had a Common Enemy in marc or something

yeah lol casey would've hated it, i've talked about this a few times before but the tldr is that this wouldn't have gone well at all. i mean honestly the intra-team shenanigans are the real killer more even than the aggressive riding, like back in the day plenty of people thought marc would get better as he aged and i think casey would've wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. something like the towing would've also made casey want to strangle marc but that wasn't as bad yet in marc's early years. but the sabotaging your teammate by trying to ensure they don't get the best parts thing..... pheww very very very very low tolerance for that kind of behaviour. and if casey did in fact have to regularly race against marc, it would really only take one or two proper scraps after which marc is completely unapologetic for casey to start souring towards the kid

also, obviously this is just guesswork, but i wouldn't be surprised if casey would've been... honestly, a little bit resentful of young marc. i mean it kinda sneaks in there anyway, he's pretty firm in dismissing the idea he's going to be paying attention to what marc does with his bike at the post-season 2012 test for instance. but... y'know, just a bit of the early dani vibe where dani was the golden boy in 2006 and casey was the satellite rider getting spare parts, feeling unacknowledged, invisible. casey emphasising the machinery disadvantage to dani in 250cc and said it did him good because HE learned how to deal with shitty machinery :)), casey FURIOUS when he's beaten by dani at assen 2006... how you read those little moments in later years where casey is a wee bit patronising towards dani... or there's casey's rather, uh, interesting reaction to jorge's arrival on the scene in 2008, which you can read as displeasure about how well jorge was received and also this tinge of real satisfaction at jorge's fall from grace... plus ofc various facets of the relationship with valentino... the thing about how casey won his first grand prix valencia 2003 and then went 'happy to beat someone sponsored by the circuit :))'.... like yeah obviously casey feels resentful and bitter a lot of the time more at seven, but the point is it can be aimed quite easily at specific rivals. teensy bit of jealousy there, envy feeding back into bitterness. i don't think casey LIKES this impulse and would deny he has it at gunpoint. he really really wants to be magnanimous and wants to see himself and present himself as someone who isn't bothered by the success of others!! which, listen, i'm not saying that's completely FALSE but it's also obviously not the full picture. and idk, marc is another honda golden boy who everyone just cannot stop praising even though he's had the path paved for him unlike CASEY who didn't have particularly competitive machinery at any point until he stumbled onto that ducati seat and now everyone's so excited just because marc is immediately fast even though casey was fast immediately too until michelin started sabotaging him and... you get the point. i don't think this is the main reason their relationship would go downhill but imo it would feed into it

and yeah lol. the thing about valentino's animosity towards casey is that he basically cuts himself off the moment that rivalry formally ends - since then it's been exceedingly one-sided on the insults front. the short reason for that is that valentino never particularly HATED casey, that if anything he did his best (valentino standards) to keep that relationship friendly for a pretty long time, and then a combination of casey figuring out how to get under his skin and prolonged competitive malaise pushed them into this weird cycle where they just kind of got a kick out of hissing and scratching at each other every other week. kind of like a stress relief tactic. but once casey's gone, valentino isn't going to do that anymore and the ill will fades REASONABLY quickly, where there's really only the occasional lapse in 2013 and then basically none after that. but if casey were still on the grid? well! laguna is a big one here, because it features one of vale's very rare 2013 lapses where he does do the little *cracks knuckles* well :)) casey minded when i overtook him at the corkscrew :)) but EYE don't mind because EYE have no problem with real racing :)) unlike casey :) routine. if valentino knows casey is still around and a rival and he can get whatever bizarre kick he used to get out of trading insults with casey, he would just be like. ten times more annoying about this. given what a massive massive massive sore spot laguna is for casey on fifty different levels, i cannot for the life of me imagine he reacts particularly well to this particular chain of events. this is something he feels very strongly about, he feels wronged, it is tied to an event where he felt humiliated....... and now he feels like it's being made a joke of. again. at his expense. one that marc is actively participating in. this is one of those things where casey might not actually push back too strongly at the time but he will not forget about it until the day he dies

and if you have a few too many things like that... casey said at some point in 2013 that he didn't appreciate how marc tries to not just beat but 'humiliate' his opponents. they actually asked marc about this in a press conference but the reporter made such a hash of asking the question that marc responds to something barely related and really not what casey was getting at in any way. but if you watch that presser... well, one of the three people in shot DEFINITELY got what casey was saying about marc and thought it was VERY funny. easy enough to extrapolate from that. ofc valentino was never going to enjoy any version of 2013 that involves him being pretty uncompetitive, but idk, it's not exactly a stretch to believe he would have massively enjoyed marc driving casey insane, kind of the next best thing. (even if only in secret - one interesting thing about casey's presence is that it makes valentino's whole 'humbled fun-loving guy fighting to get back to the top but just having a laff :)' gig of 2013-14 a bit trickier to sustain. super dignified response to jerez 2013 from vale for instance where i would politely question if this completely chimes with his internal monologue. casey's truly unparalleled ability to use his words to get under valentino's skin would come through for us once again.) which is something else that i suspect doesn't massively endear either of them to casey. AND because it's casey and you get a paranoia bonus, valentino doesn't even HAVE to be showing he's enjoying it or even enjoying it at all for casey to believe he is. so that's perfect

anyway, once the vale/marc honeymoon ends... tbh i kind of conceptually struggle to imagine casey managing to stick around past 2014, like it just feels by then he'd be so so sick of this shit. however many titles he wins during that time period (i'd put my money on at least one but who knows). but sure, for the sake of speculation, let's say he sticks around at least a little longer, without being directly involved in the 2015 title fight for whatever reason. now, tbh, i think by this point his stance on the vale/marc situation broadly amounts to 'they deserve each other', and it's perfectly possible that at this stage his active animosity towards marc outstrips even his hostility towards valentino. (short term thing, over the arcs of their careers obviously valentino has the power to hurt casey in a way marc does not.) i think it's also plausible that once valentino gets his act together again competitively in 2014, there's a bit of a detente in the casey relationship and they do slip back into their early slightly edgy camaraderie. but. but. sepang 2015 presents SUCH an open goal for casey that there is no version of him that's going to be able to resist that one. it's too easy. we see this in real life too, of course casey is going to use that to have a go at valentino, how could he possibly stop himself

(one more thought here: going off the resentment and bitterness angle................................................. i mean. hear me out. it's not IMPOSSIBLE that some of this resentment towards marc ends up being quite valentino-specific. the idea is that casey looks at the 2013-14 marc/valentino dynamic and goes 'where the fuck was that energy for me'. for which there are completely rational non-casey-related reasons like 'valentino wasn't washed back in 2007', but that doesn't change the fact that marc is getting distinctly more head pats in 2013 than casey was in 2007. two full years of uninterrupted head pats. casey was being laguna'd in year two of his rivalry with valentino. how is this fair. so actually i do reckon that late 2015 would also be accompanied with just immense amounts of schadenfreude aimed specifically at this relationship completely falling apart. this real marriage of 'huh you thought you were different did you' with 'well valentino does do this to his rivals :)) what a shame that poor marc has had to discover that :))'. quite honestly i'm unconvinced irl!casey doesn't feel that way. the point is that this too manages to further decrease casey's sympathy levels towards all parties involved, though i'm sure he'd do his best to pretend he's feeling ever so sorry for poor marc. in that same super convincing tone he uses in his autobiography to describe jorge in 2008 starting to smash his body up immediately after being arrogant towards casey)

but also i don't really think valentino,, like, cares necessarily when casey does this - certainly not for more than a couple weeks - because going by real life he does seem to be able to filter out a fair bit of vitriol coming from casey's end. casey and valentino reached that really cute point of being enemies where they'd kind of already said so much shit about each other that there's basically no insult that could really make things WORSE. with some of valentino's oeuvre, if anyone else said that about casey he would still be bringing it up and be extremely not over it, but given all the other stuff valentino's said it's kind of... whatever. with some of the stuff casey said, with some guys that would be valentino's primary association with them and he'd still quietly loathe them for it. but casey was saying that stuff every other week and also aren't passionate rivalries great so. who cares! which is what gave the nadir of their relationship this real charm because they knew how to provoke each other, regularly did that, had a bit of a go at each other and then moved on. and then did it all again. something quite funny to how when casey's providing his framing of that relationship, he never even brings up any of the more wildly out of pocket things valentino said about him towards the tail end of casey's time in motogp, the stuff i think you could justifiably still be mad at!! it's really just valentino not being nice enough to him in 2007 that TRULY bothers casey... which suggests that 2012 at latest really was a bit of a free pass for both of them. like i said, cute! but anyway, the point is there's probably nothing casey could have feasibly said after sepang 2015 that would have burnt that bridge forever, and also casey wouldn't even harp on about it for TOO long once he's gotten it out of his system. doesn't care enough about marc irl, let alone in a world where they're probably enemies by this point. and there's a decent chance marc has chased casey out of honda, which can't help

anyway i don't think casey gets invited to like,, bitching sessions with valentino at the ranch because that's not really how either of them operate. i do think it'd be funny if you have this vibe in 2016 similar to how valentino rediscovered how much he loves chatting to dani in pressers, but an even wilder version of that with CASEY. and broadly both of them would probably be inclined to allow that relationship to get a bit less chilly again. feuding with three top riders at once is just unfeasible for valentino, who tf is he supposed to yap at in social settings. so i think you might naturally get to a place where casey is more venomous towards marc than towards valentino and where valentino is more *gestures* bleh towards marc and just kind of uses the good old 2007 charm on casey. AND where valentino already starts editorialising the casey rivalry as good old-fashioned honest hatred, not like this backstabbing nonsense. so no front against marc - casey CAN be pushed into that sort of behaviour cf the 2011-12 dynamic of trying to establish anti-valentino age-based solidarity with jorge + dani, but doing that with valentino is a step too far tbh. BUT implicitly a realignment is certainly possible, even though casey still semi-regularly gets overtaken by fits of schadenfreude over 2015 and valentino just filters this out or whatever. charming in its own way

[boanerges20]

Marc Márquez