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POTW: Favorite Drama From the Second Half of 2023 (as voted by our members and followers)

He should not have come back. He was in grave danger. He said he didn't get to meet a lot of people. And because of that, he wasn't good at joking or socializing, but it was all from his heart. Everything he said was from his heart. No, that's not exactly right. It was actually… because… he loved me.

"Hey, more numbers. 46." "Valentino’s number." "I say it—what does it make you feel now?" "Nothing special." "Honestly?" "Now… well, you see it and you say… Four or five years ago… It was like…That bastard." "This guy was your idol. Let’s tell the story." "Yes." "This guy was your idol." "Yes. I had two. Pedrosa and Valentino, both of them."

[Valentino Rossi was for years the absolute king of the circuits. His personality, both on and especially off the track, made him a global idol. And among those fans was little Marc. Until he grew up, clashed with Rossi, and threatened his reign. It all exploded in 2015, in Malaysia. Márquez was already out of championship contention. Rossi and Lorenzo were fighting for the title, and then, unexpectedly, the Italian accused Márquez of favoring his fellow Spaniard. Look at Marc’s face. He’s in shock, right? Then, in a chat with journalists, Rossi went straight for Marc’s throat.]

"Someone put ideas in his head?" "I think yes" "Against you?" "Yes, against the situation." "But you had his phone number, you could’ve called him and said…" "Well, yeah, because when you're fighting for…I mean, and he had mine too." "And did you call each other?" "No. I was 22 years old. I mean, 22 years old. He…He’s more than 10 years older than me. More. So, he was the one with the experience. And well, the thing is, he gets to the Malaysia press conference, and that’s when he attacks me publicly. For me, that was a lack of respect." "And after that press conference, didn’t you pull him aside? Didn’t you two talk privately?" "I wasn’t supposed to pull him aside; he should have done that with me." "Well, either of you could have. It takes two to argue. I mean, you could have…" "No, I was just…I didn’t react." "You were in shock." "I was in shock. I didn’t react. I didn’t know how to react." " Okay." "I think it was a move to intimidate me." "Because he saw you as a threat." "A threat to what?" " Well, to his status, to himself, to his…" "Maybe to his championship, yes." "But that race was one of the best, according to experts." "One of the best first laps ever. It was a fight. A fight to the very end. Well, to the end—until he decided."

[And what seemed impossible happened. In the Malaysia race, Rossi kicked Marc and knocked him down.]

"Did you fall or did he take you down?" "He took me down." "Could that have been accidental?" "No, that’s losing your temper. It’s impossible for that to be accidental, no. Accidental is when you overtake aggressively, your bike slips for a moment, and you collide with another rider. But it’s not accidental to push a rider off the track, look at him, and then stick your leg out. That’s not accidental. That’s deliberate." "Three years later, Argentina." "Yeah." "There, you knocked him down." "Yes." "Was it revenge?" " No, that was accidental." "Oh, so when you do it, it’s accidental? But when he does it, it’s deliberate?" "That’s it. I’m the good guy, and he’s the bad guy." "Of course, sure. Have you spoken again after all that?" "Yes, after Malaysia, we did. But after Argentina, we haven’t spoken again." "This could be solved over a drink." "You as the mediator." "I’d gladly put on the helmet and be the referee. Who would’ve thought? Me, in this role! But I’d step in and say, "Come on, Valentino, come on, Marc," and fix this. All behind the cameras, away from all the noise." "I don’t think so. There’s no willingness." "From you or from him?" "From both. I used to be open to it, but not anymore. I don’t need to be friends with everyone."

mhhhhm so i feel slightly insane after all this. there's so much to unpack!!!!!

1. 'It's fiction, it doesn't need to make sense!'

"Read Banned Books" a new full page cartoon essay published in The New York Times Arts & Leisure section today.