#also you’re making me want to get into blaseball

[trafficblrpositivityproject]

Ok time for a bunch of positivity!!!

@ingapotejtoo - such an iconic artist. Holy shit. You’re THE Captain Sparklez guy. I love how you draw Etho, I’m infatuated with him actually. This is a formal request to be friends bc I think ur cool and I’m v shy

@silverskye13 - somehow every chapter of RnS kills me and then revives me just to kill me again. Your work has made me want to write fight scenes which is a thing that I have never cared for. You’ve unlocked a part of my brain I don’t understand with your silly little blorbos and I love them so much. Your art is FANTASTIC and I enjoy it greatly!!

@amethystfairy1 - if someone can get me to stop everything I’m doing and read fic for three days straight I think that makes them an excellent writer. Amethyst has done this. Also how are you posting nearly every day????? Are you god???? Holy shit

@waveridden - I actually know you from Blaseball before I knew u from mcytblr so it’s very funny we ended up hopping on the same boat!! Your writing never ceases to amaze and impress me and the ranchers fic you wrote took me the FUCK out /pos. Imagine me dead on the floor bc that’s what I was after reading it. Then again that’s what happens after I read any of your fics so hey I guess it’s normal

@hiding-under-the-willow - Excellent artist that is on my fucking wavelength about blorbos. I am So Normal about your watcher RT headcanons but you know this already. Never before have I been so moved by a piece of art that I ended up writing over 900 words for it until I saw your art of RT playing cards in the void and now I’m a changed man. Anyways. AUGh

TL;DR: all of you are wonderful people and I love your work!

@ingapotejtoo + @silverskye13 + @amethystfairy1 + @waveridden + @hiding-under-the-willow !!!

[miketownsends]

how do i become a fan of the mariners

^ still coping with blaseball end. went to a couple games as a kid but all i remember is a player named raul

man baseball has helped me SO much with losing blaseball so i get that. start with the Dorktown Mariners doc, if you haven’t already! it’s on YouTube. it’s a history of the Mariners (and Seattle baseball in general) up to about 2019, so that’ll give you a good overview of the team (and how wild it is that the team even exists in the first place)

if you want to get to know the current team, there’s an excellent Mariners blog called Lookout Landing, and every season before Spring Training starts they do a series called 40 in 40 where they write 40 articles, one for each of the players on the Mariners 40-man roster. a handful of the players detailed here aren’t on the current 40-man (Ty Adcock and Taylor Trammell wound up on waivers and were picked up by other teams, Prelander Berroa, Blake Hunt, and Zach DeLoach were traded, and Matt Brash and Jackson Kowar both needed surgery and won’t be back until next season) but it’ll give you a fairly good overview of who’s here, particularly our main guys on the 26-man roster (so the guys who are active with the big league club)

Lookout Landing is just really great reading, in general - every article is truly well-written, from deep-dives into players and stats to write-ups on literally every single game the Mariners play. god, i gotta see if i can dig up my favorite article, gimme a sec…. ah! found it. it’s from a random July game, in a season where the Mariners would wind up finally, FINALLY making the playoffs for the first time in 21 years (thanks in large part to Cal Raleigh, who is featured prominently in the article, though of course we couldn’t know that at the time), and the end of it just… gets me every time.

speaking of Cal Raleigh, i would be remiss in not mentioning the Truth Meeting article - this all happened when Cal (and Logan Gilbert, one of the Mariners starting pitchers) were in the minors together, but it’s really good insight into the type of guy Cal is and the relationship he has with Logan (and other pitchers in general - he’s become such a leader with both the pitching staff AND the team as a whole and it’s been very cool to watch)

after that, if you wanna watch games, 🏴‍☠️ is gonna be your cheapest (aka free) options. i unfortunately don’t have a ton of insight into that front but i do know that options are out there. otherwise, if you’re in-market the Mariners are on Root Sports (which is carried by Comcast and Fubo, among others) and if you’re out-of-market you can watch them on MLB TV. both options have subscription fees, which can unfortunately be kinda pricey. if you’re a T-Mobile customer you can get a free MLB TV subscription, but it’s only available at the start of the season, so unfortunately it’s passed for this year. there’s also radio, which is free but i’m not 100% sure if you need to be local? (i’m assuming you’re probably local if you’re looking to get into the Ms + you mentioned Raul who i’m assuming is probably Raul Ibanez, but there’s lots of out-of-town Ms fans too so!) there’s an online option and also an app as well!

some other random Ms content:

Felix Hernandez’s perfect game is on YouTube

Tayler Saucedo (one of our relief pitchers) streams on Twitch - he’s more active during the offseason, obviously, but recently he’s been on the IL (has a minor knee injury and should be back pretty soon) and has been occasionally streaming DURING the games which has been pretty funny (he went viral on Mariners Twitter the other day for his reaction when we had a very exciting comeback win against the Yankees). he’s also a local guy who grew up an Ms fan so it’s been very cool to have him around!

Jen Mueller, one of the Mariners on-field reporters, has a YouTube series called “I Cook, You Measure” where she cooks and chats with various Seattle athletes, including some of the Mariners. so far she’s done episodes with Cal Raleigh, Logan Gilbert, Tayler Saucedo, Bryce Miller, Luis Castillo, and Bryan Woo, as well as former Mariners Mike Cameron and Tom Murphy (Tom was on the team when the episode was filmed but went to the Giants this season). there’s also the Bonus Bites which are just outtakes from the eps that are also really worth watching, there’s some fun stories in there!

okay uhhhh this is way longer than i anticipated it being so i’ll stop here but if you have any other questions lemme know! also if you ARE local and have any questions about coming to a game, the stadium, etc let me know as well, i basically live at T-Mobile Park during baseball season so i’ve got plenty of tips 😅

[elifinchsart]

some Tillman and Mike gender headcannons/thoughts since i have them mostly coherently typed up and they are important To Me. these are not Universal Trans Experiences just my thoughts for these characters cw for discussing transphobia, dysphoria, fatphobia & bad parents

I think Tillman absolutely did not figure out he was trans until like his early twenties. My headcannon about his mom Harmony (Crab NPC from Discipline Era), her whole thing is control + image. (This led Tillman to also feel like he needs to be in control of his image but, unfortunately it’s easier to control a bad image than a good one)

But part of Harmony's image control was appearing as a perfect rich family so Tillman was expected to dress and behave very femininely. And his thought process went “I hate wearing dresses and getting dressed up like this and I don’t know why I hate it so much. It must be because something is wrong with me and it must be because I’m ugly” + that got mixed in with his weight because I think he’s just naturally chubby/fat. So that was one of those things that’s dysphoria that you don’t realize that’s dysphoria until later. Tillman absolutely he had the trans experience of I’m going to only wear baggy hoodies and beanies lol. Anyway this all manifested into him having a very antagonistic relationship with his body and food (esp bc Harmony is v the passive aggressive “Oh you’re eating/wearing that?” sort of parent. This is also part of the reason he was nasty as a teen/young adult because he was in a lot of pain that he didn’t realize was pain-just that everything was uncomfortable and pissed him off. Figuring out that he was trans, getting top surgery and going on hrt actually helped mellow him out a lot. Being able to just Exist in his body without dressing it up to impress anyone else helped him so so much.

I think Mike was also very helpful in getting him to a better place with his body and especially food as something that should be enjoyed not rationed out or brings misery. Mike loves to make food for people so they had a bit of a roadbump when they first started dating and Tillman refused to eat much of Mike made and they had to talk about it. Mike was very patient and not pushy for once and let Tillman come around on his own. Mike also hyping Tillman up as the hottest man ever helped too LOL. I think Tillman had a lot of apprehension about transitioning wrt still being desirable which is something I’ve def felt and I know other trans men have too

I think Mike had a lot of gender emotions growing up but they never fully formed into anything understandable for him because he was like “well I’m not not a man” and he didn’t really have access to like Knowing About “Weird” Gender Identities despite knowing a trans person (Jaylen) and she only ever had Jaylen to compare to and they have very different genders haha. And then I think in college and after she kinda was like well y’know men can be feminine, men can wear dresses, it doesn’t have to be a gender thing so I’m not going to think about it too hard. I think also she had this idea that maybe she was faking it or not trans enough or people would think he was doing it for attention or to seem punk. Also incredibly stupid logic but I think she was like “I don't want to look like I'm just copying Jaylen” which is a silly thing to worry about but nevertheless. And then Blaseball happens and again he doesn’t really have time to think about it. So its only post shadowing and in therapy that she finally talks to more trans and nonbinary folks about their experiences and starts to approach it from a “what makes me happiest” pov rather than “well I'm not miserable” pov because its a very Mike thing to try to avoid being too happy as a coping mechanism. And because of all this she gets to experiment and decides he likes having a lot of gender especially if it contradicts each other (she/her pronouns on masc days, he/him while dressed femme, beard + dress etc.)

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

👀 martyn and/or rendog for the mcyt blaseball au?

Oh my god ok so time to divulge a secret. While I said there were three legs of this AU (Empires, Hermitcraft, and the Life Series) I just cannot get the Life Series branch to Totally work. I don't know why, I just have a much more difficult time assigning teams to the Life Series players than any other SMP. I think it’s probably got to do with how wildly different everyone’s story is in any given season and something to do with the fact that dying in a Life Series is just wildly different that dying in Empires or Hermitcraft and that difference just doesn’t transfer quite right to a Blaseball AU.

However the Life Series branch of this AU does exist, and it has basically just become a treebark AU at this point, so you're in luck. You're especially in luck because Martyn still exists in the Hermitcraft AU, so I'll give you them in both!

Let's start with Hermitcraft, because that's the simple one.

Ren Dog is a shortstop for the San Francisco Lovers with the Charm modifier. He spends his time off the field as the test dummy for Doc’s experiments or Martyn’s video games, making any given reporter fall in love with him, and watching a lot of Flormula 1.

The Charm modifier is one that allows players who have it to periodically charm their opponent into failing. In Ren’s case, this means getting the pitcher to throw an extra ball or two with a well timed smile or wink. All the lovers have it, but ladies (and gentlemen and others) get in line, because Ren is particularly good at it. Ren is also the captain of the Lovers- self appointed- because he thinks he’s good at that (he’s not but they let him have this).

Martyn isn’t a player in this universe (but it’s not off the table! It never is off the table to become a player, if the Hermits are looking to add anyone to season 10). He’s just a regular guy doing regular guy things. He and Ren are at the very least living together, I’ve not decided if they’re married. I don’t know why but something in my bones is telling me that Martyn is a video game dev for his day job.

Ren’s Assigned Garages Song: i’m in love with a blaseball player

Sorry I’m not giving Martyn one because he doesn’t play

Martyn Inthelittlewood is our Parker Macmillan in this AU because I am nothing if not consistent.

Martyn I started his career as a first baseman for the Alaskan Immortals during Pre-History. He was one of the best players in the League and made the Fans, some of whom are Watchers, because the metaphor is literally right there, lots of money due to his Profit modification, which increased idol payouts x10. Fans of teams that weren’t the Immortals got jealous and cursed him with Non-Proft, baring any Immortals fans from making money off of him, as well as Firewalker, which would curse any team he left with team wide instability. If the Immortals Watchers wanted to make money off of Martyn, they’d either have to leave the team that he was single-handedly bringing to every championship or risk his leaving the team killing the entire team.

The Watchers chose to risk it.

And then a lot more stuff happened to Martyn I that I’m not gonna get into, and I’m going to assume that you’re a Blaseball fan, anon, so you already know all this anyways. If you’re not, I’d absolutely be willing to explain but this post is already so long without it. Anyways, Martyn I gets trapped in the Vault for an undisclosed number of years and clones get made of him that don’t remember any of this.

We don’t know what happened with Parker II, so we don’t know what happened with Martyn II either. This will never fail to make me deeply deeply angry.

Martyn III is made the intern-interim commissioner of the newest era of Blaseball, the era in which Ren was a season 1 player.

Ren Dog was a first basemen for the LA Tacos while they were still the LA Tacos. He’s our Wyatt Mason in this AU, if you haven’t gathered. This also means he should be way worse of a player than I made him but I felt bad doing that. When the Grand Unslam happened and the world fractured around him, every member of the Tacos suddenly lost their names, the only identifier Blaseball players had at this point, and became Ren Dog. Martyn III guided the Fans (Watchers and Listeners alike cause why not) in restoring all the members of the team, except for Ren. Because that’s just not how this works. It never is.

Ren dissolved into static and became the Microphone, his own entity separate from the gods and management of Blaseball. He plays by his own rules and helps save the world from the guys in charge. Martyn III might not be a fan of the guys in charge, but he doesn’t understand the Microphone, and it scares him, and he doesn’t know why.

It should be known that while Blaseball was running I was a diehard for Parker/Wyatt, and so that heavily effects this whole thing. Specifically, a very important thing to me was that Wyatt/Ren was a normal person during pre-history when Parker I/Martyn I was playing Blaseball for the first time. The Boss (the Watchers) weren’t his biggest fan and maybe, just maybe, the Watchers pulled some strings to put Ren in the latest iteration of Blaseball so they don’t run the risk of him and Martyn III meeting each other and talking for too long. What happens to Ren in the Grand Unslam is just helping keep them apart even more.

However, what Ren is doing as the Microphone is bad for business. Very bad. So maybe they pull another few strings to send Ren very far away for, ideally, a very long time. And maybe they equally orchestrate some bad things happening to Martyn III and Martyn IIII so that they finally get the perfect puppet with Martyn IIIII.

But nothing ever works out the way they want. Because the game, the business, is falling apart at the seams. Because Martyn I is still in the Vault, dead set on getting out, and when Martyn IIIII finds out that he isn’t his own person? That he’s a clone of a man that’s still alive and still angry? That he’s missing memories most of his life because they were taken from him?

Yeah he doesn’t take it so well.

He finds himself asking the Microphone- Ren- for help. He doesn’t know why. But Ren can’t reach him where he is, so Martyn takes ahold of the Microphone himself, directs the new generation of Fans into taking down the old ones, the Watchers, who are now management and straight up ending the world. And he does take them down, but the world still ends, and inside that Black Hole, everting gets weird for Martyn.

It’s a side effect of taking up the Microphone- you don’t do that and not get weird.

Ren’s still not quite around, never really will be again, but now that Martyn’s taken up the Microphone, they can talk. And this Martyn is not the one that Ren knew and loved long before all of this, but he also kind of is? He used to be, even if he doesn’t remember it? But admittedly, Ren isn’t the Ren that Martyn knew either. They’ve both changed beyond belief, and maybe they can have something new together now. And maybe having something new means having it in the void at the end of the world but, well, at least they get to have it.

I care about them a lot in this AU they make me crazy.

Martyn’s Assigned Garages Song: firewalker with me

Literally what else did you expect

Ren’s Assigned Garages Song: ENCORE

I’ll be frank this one’s a bit of a cop out because Rain is a Garage and this is a Blaseball song but it wasn’t released under the Garages label. But look it’s just so good.

[leonstamatis]

Requesting fic recs for quiet tragedies and intimate character studies. Preferably minimal focus on romance. I quite enjoy studies of mechanics as they correlate to narrative.

(send me a vibe and i’ll give you a blaseball fic reading list!)

all right. so i spent quite a bit of time on this one, but it is in no way comprehensive. there are tons of character studies in this fandom, and heaps of tragedies. also not usually a huge focus on romance in blaseball, especially post-discipline, although it’s certainly out there.

i tried to keep the characters varied and limit it to just one per author, but with most of these, if you like the one i’ve linked i can vouch for there being many more from the same person worth checking out. let’s get going.

“Agency” by kfrunt is what I would call quiet, although less of a tragedy or game mechanics. This is a Fall Ball-era fic looking at Wyatt Mason IV (Ivy) and Conditional Yuniesky, both of whom are struggling with their new worlds in different ways. It’s a good introduction to Conditional Yuniesky, and Ivy is a good introduction to the Wyatts as a whole, if you’re into that. They’re a whole little pocket of Blaseball fic that has plenty to comb through.

“dead mans party” by impernia is a look at how players mourn their lost teammates, particularly the Seattle Garages. It’s also a good look at the kind of person Arturo Huerta is, and from there, impern has a number of fics about both the Garages and their dead that hit this same vibe.

“F. All of the Above” by QueenEevee is certainly a tragic character study, looking at Hiroto Wilcox following Ruby Tuesday. It’s noteworthy less because of subject matter — if you want Ruby Tuesday content, there’s no shortage — but more because of the formatting. The way this fic approaches the loss knocks the wind out of me. A quick read, but a memorable one.

“the first dream” by swordfall is a look at Lottie Ceilingfan’s meteoric rise to fame and subsequent Ego status. If you don’t know Lottie, it’s a great introduction to her. It’s also a great introduction to what it was like on the Hades Tigers during the Expansion Era. A little less on the tragedy side, but there’s some mechanics and some creeping horror at the awareness of what’s to come.

“for agony i’d rather know” by novelsinourheads is a fantastic example of a character study that leans into the inherent weirdness of blaseball without getting too wacky with it. I’m a known Gerund Pantheocide liker and supporter, so it’s unsurprising to me that this one sticks in my brain, but Stara has dozens more character studies — many of which have an interesting and haunting approach to loss and tragedy, and all of which are well worth looking at.

“forever in a day” by paopuleaf is another Wyatt fic, but it’s also about the Vault, but it’s also about hauntings and ghosts and what it means to exist when you shouldn’t anymore. Atti is excellent at writing fics with a melancholy and lost sort of air, and this one is no exception.

“growing pains” by waveridden is a personal favorite of mine. it’s a little longer than a lot of the options on this list, but it’s worth the time and the effort. The fic as a whole is about a lot of things, mainly Gloria Bugsnax and xyr attempt to learn both humanity and family, and it makes me cry every time. There’s some game mechanics, because Hayden always includes those, but mostly it’s a look at Gloria and all the people xe loves.

“I thought i heard your laughter” by cedardivine is a fun one, honestly. Megan Ito exists in a lot of variations and I think everyone has a different take on them and who and how they are, but I like the idea that New Megan is just lurking around behind them. A character study with tragedy and game mechanics just off to the side, and a quick read besides.

“A Quick Guide to Unscattering in 8 Easy Steps” by Moondragon8 hits, I think, just about every note you’ve asked for. An interesting take on scattered players and their recovery, a look at Schneider Bendie as a character and what happens when you’re traded to a new team, and a creeping awareness that things aren’t as they should be. If you can’t tell, I love this one dearly.

“sequels” by waltztangocache similarly approaches a mechanic by way of an impacted player. I love the way Hen writes about the Ambush, and this look at Tom Kirby and what his life is like after revival. There’s a series of fics connected to this one, so if you like it, there’s more. I will admit I like Kirby best — but everything here is a great time.

“The Short (But Not Insignificant) ILB Career of Kiki Familia” by cyndakip is one that I think gets passed around a ton? But that’s because it’s good. Kiki wasn’t here for long at all, but you can tell from this that she was immediately loved by her team and the fans of said team, and her death is in fact a tragedy by its very nature. This is Discipline Era lore, so you know it hurts (positive).

“spend my days in gray” by birdlord5000 is like. THE Donia Bailey fic, to me? I didn’t know much about the player lore beforehand, but this fic cemented Donia as a deeply beloved of mine. It’s quiet, it’s a character study, it’s about what it’s like to be shadowed for years and years before being stolen by a Thieves Guild, and it’s honestly a lot of fun. Not a tragedy, but damn good.

“strange to be shaped by such strange men” by baliset is… agh. Remember when York Silk was incinerated, and the entire fandom ground to a halt as we tried to grapple with that? I do! It was a lot! And Marn captured the feelings of the moment to a T. It’s set in the Hall and features a lot of beloved dead guys, and I love how York is characterized here. Marn has tons of great fics worth reading; this is up there as one of my favorite ones, though.

“the sun selecting targets” by indigostohelit is the only Jaylen and Mike fic i am going to recommend to you. But. There are so many. It’s just that the narration in this one is incredible, and I think about it often. It’s got a lot about the original necromancy and the shadowing of Mike Townsend, which I know we’ve all heard about by now and et cetera, but. God it’s so good.

“there beneath” by haunthouse! Another Wyatt fic! This one is about Wyatt Mason VI, or Violet. I will admit to being biased toward this one because it includes the Boston Flowers, my team of choice for almost the entirety of Blaseball’s run. But like. If you want tragedy, and you want game mechanics, the Wyatts tend to be a good starting place. They often die at the end.

“there’s no weather at all” by mantisqueer is a sleeper fave that I was delighted to rediscover today. Nothing like a Neerie McCloud fic to make you sad about players doomed from the very start. Moth does a really good job here at characterizing being Elsewhere; it’s one of my favorite interps, although I would encourage you to mind the CWs.

and that’s what I have! there are plenty more I would direct you to, but most of them are by someone(s) already listed here. so if one of the ones i’ve listed stands out, i would encourage you to check the author’s page and see what else they have. have fun!!!

[polkadotpatterson]

Hi hello for the ask game: 🍓🫐☀️ (with sun being, if you want - two quotes from an earlier and recent work respectively that are thematically linked/reprises of each other 👀)

🍓 favorite poetic quote from a wip

honestly I feel like 90% of my poetic ability goes into my PMD fic which I have not touched in ages but I swear I do fully intend to finish it bc it's very dear to my heart and I'm pretty darn proud of it. anyway here's a bit from the half-finished chapter that's been sitting in my drafts since uuuuhhhhh. don't worry about it

And so you climb. Past the clinging flowers and the skeletons of trees, past the soft blue-green streams, past rocks the colour of lightning that grow more jagged and angry the further you go. And all the while, the vortex of clouds tightens around you, the dark gray-purple-black of Zapdos’ rage throbbing like a bruise on the sky. There's thunder beneath your feet and thunder above your head and thunder in your mind and the world is nothing but thunder, but you keep going.

🫐 a line from a published work that you’re proud of, but no one’s mentioned yet - or if you can’t think of one, an underrated line in general

well since we're already on the subject of PMD, here's a little bit about how mesmerizing oceans can be, just for you :)

The sea. The sea. It stretches out in front of you forever, a limitless expanse of water fading into the horizon. Your pond looks like an insignificant puddle next to the ever-changing ocean, this bright blue world that you could explore for the rest of your life and never see all of. Before you know it, you're right up at the edge of the cliff, staring down at the clouds as they glide across the water to join the waves in a hypnotic dance. You want to dive in and wrap yourself in all of it, let it surround you like a blanket. You want to leap through the waves until you’ve forgotten what it's like to walk on land. You want to dissolve into seafoam and fade into the deep. You-- You feel a nudge on your shoulder.

the pmd world is beautiful and also kinda messed up and that's a very fun combo to write :)

☀️ asker’s choice of published work: two quotes from an earlier and recent work respectively that are thematically linked/reprises of each other

hehe nice sun 2 reference :) well ok how can I see Themes and Reprise and not go right for Dot's rhythm. I looooove incorporating that into their pov, not just the literal recurring one-two-three but the way they often think and talk in three words or sentences at a time, and how at first they do it more when they're hyperfixated on pitching or going full No Thoughts Only Blaseball, but gradually come to both do it less and also reclaim it as their own thing and not something forced on them by the gods... yeah ok this is gonna get a bit long let me slap a readmore on it lol

there are soooo many instances to pull from here but I think the best parallel is probably from over and over and then over again, where they spend the whole fic feeling guilty and trapped in being unable to do anything but be a Perfect Pitcher even when it's the absolute last thing their team needs from them, helpless against the power of the gods as they watch the innings tick on and their teammates in more and more danger, spending hours of practice afterwards trying to not be perfect for once and the gods simply won't let them...

One. Two. Three. The blaseball makes a perfect rhythm even outside of the game, always hitting the wall within the boundaries of the ever-present rectangle they can see in their mind, strikeout after strikeout after strikeout. Dot reaches out fingers to draw the ball back to them after each throw, not needing to move from their spot. One. Two. Three. Perfect. Chosen. Unstoppable. One. Two. Three. Heartless. Ruthless. Unstoppable. What does Jaylen do, when everything is pounding loud in her head and the world is too big and too small all at once and everyone stares at her with hate and fear and she knows that her hands and her life aren't hers anymore and probably never will be again? Dot doubts that the answer is “more pitching”. One. Two. Three. Throw it somewhere else. Anywhere else. Stop doing the same thing over and over and over again.  Why? the gods demand. This is perfection. This is what you are. This is a gift that many would kill to have. You think too much of killing, Dot tells them. One. Two. Three.

versus it’s how I know that I’m still here where Dot has finally been unlearning their whole I'm Just A Pitcher thing and with the alternative being losing everyone they love, they finally fight and take their power and use it for something different, use it to tear holes in reality and come home :')

“You are not the only gods who gave me powers.” The squid? The squid is nothing. Without us, you are nothing, too. “Then I would rather be nothing. Take my stars. Take my pitching. Take my life. Take whatever else you want, but you can't take me. And you can't take my family, either.”  You know not what deal you are making. It will not end well for you. It is better to give in. Almost there. They’re almost there. They kick and push and struggle against the tide, watch the right world come back into focus. Almost there. Just a few more strokes. Reach the shore. One. “This is non-negotiable. I am taking what is mine. Myself.” Two. “I won’t let you steal me anymore. I have learned a thing or two about stealing. More than even you know.” Three. Stop that! Someone must take your place. You cannot stay in this world. “I'm through with being told what I can't do. I'm through with being dragged around. I'm through with all of it.” The field is within reach now, their teammates standing confused and concerned under the Dallas sky, the right Dallas sky. Dot had never thought of it as home, but they realize now how foolish they’ve been; everything in this world is home, all of it, and they’re through taking that for granted. You cannot run from us forever. We will find you. We --  “Don't talk to me in threes. This is my rhythm now. Not yours, never again.”

you tell em Dot!!! this is a pretty incoherent post lol but I went into it in more detail here back in the day

[hardlyarthardlygarbage]

Hi! I saw your Firewalker post and I wanted to say that The Ballad of the Unremarkable Derrick Kreuger is one of my favorite songs. Like, not favorite Blaseball songs or Garages songs (I mean, it is), but one of my favorite all time songs, full stop. And knowing it comes from a genuine place makes it all the better, to be honest. I get that impulse as a creator, like does anything I do matter? And DK captures all of that beautifully.

I'm gushing, but it's because you make good things. Also, the way Riley hits "Firewalker with me" is really evocative of Against Me! Are they an influence as well, or was that just a happy coincidence?

Thanks, Max!

This is extremely kind, thank you. It’s gratifying and humbling to know the song touched a nerve and could bring some catharsis. When I started writing songs with the garages a lot of the joy for me was writing silly nonsense about something other than me (it’s a nice break from my IRL band where i always end up singing about myself), but i dunno, something about the fanon around derrick kreuger and the meta story of just, disposable people, it’s hard not to make that personal. All of which is to say i appreciate what you’re saying. As for Against Me!, you’d have to ask Riley ( @thwackamabob ). I know a lot *about* Against Me! but I’ve never actually listened to them (yet, they’re on a long list of bands to check out). I know Riley is a fan though. The way our process usually works is I’ll record a scratch vocal to capture the basic melodic idea and then trust Riley to do something cool with it, so a lot of the phrasing and emphasis is their input (they also wrote most of the bridge), and conscious or not we’re all a sum of our influences. My personal influence writing the melody was probably paul banks from interpol, who tends to write simple, one or two note vocal lines and then stuff them with syllables, sort of a machine gun effect, or like an engine kicking over. But what I recorded and what Riley did are pretty different. If I get a chance I’ll ask them and let you know. Thank you so much for listening and caring.

[lovelandfrogman]

You can answer this any time you want, preferably not right now cuz Im really tired but I just had to ask before I forget sorry. But!! Baseball. Tell me about it. I don't know anything about it but I've followed you for a while now and feel like I need to know. What is it? Where is it? How is it? Tell me anything ^_^

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball

... HFGHJFG SORRY I JUST SAW THE TYPO AND COULDNT RESIST.

ok so this will probably not be the best summary of blaseball because i joined the fandom late, but i'll do my best!

blaseball is an absurdist horror online baseball simulator! it has since ended, but it started in 2020 i think? it was hosted on a website where you could watch baseball games live (which was just shown through text and a simple interface) and bet on those games, then use that money to influence the game/rules!

it started out with regular baseball rules, but eventually wild stuff starts happening like players being incinerated and stuck in giant peanut shells and such and such

the players have randomly generated names and there's a culture in the fandom where people collaboratively come up with whole backstories, personalities, and appearances for each character! people also tend to have varied interpretations of characters which makes it rlly interesting!

but yeah that's just the basics of it, there is this WHOLEEE sweeping plot and so much interesting stuff to be found with different players' histories and how they interweave, with blends of real stuff that happened on the website and fanmade lore, PLUS entities that aren't players who get to have dialogue and stuff!!

probably the best way to learn the plot (if you’re interested!) is the blaseball roundup, an official recap series! it's fairly short and very entertaining!

also there’s a fanband called the garages which has a ton of RLLY good music about blaseball! a fun way to passively explore the story n characters!

idk just overall! cool+weird fandom that i have been obsessed with ever since i learned about it in january this year! thanks for asking and activating the part in me that loves to recommend blaseball to people :D

[glitch-in-the-code]

mariner's revenge song by the decemberists is always a first choice for me to think abt michael and william angst. no more by natewantstobattle is a fnaf song, was not intended to be a michael song, and absolutely is one. jaylen hotdogfingers (settles the score) by the garages is a very hatred filled mike pov song. no idea if this is just me going insane btw but ive also always seen dear god by xtc as a very mike pov song too. i also do not have many will pov songs asbdsfjkasf

This was the first time I listened to Mariner’s Revenge song all the way through and it fucking slaps! I love the ending where he says ‘the last words you’ll ever hear’ and it plays the motif of what his mom said. No but I totally agree with you!! It fits them!!!

NateWantsToBattle was my go to for fnaf music, it all slaps!! I definitely agree with you again!!! It fits him so well!!! 

Jaylen Hotdogfingers also fucking slaps, you never miss!! I love how desperate the vocals are!! Plus, i like to imagine Mike was pretty good at baseball so that really adds to it. ‘You mighta killed me once before / But you won’t get the chance again.’ And ‘This is my redemption arc / I will be redeemed’ has me screaming and crying

No, I get it!! Dear God is a Mike song, idk if this’ll make much sense but I kind of view him as having religious trauma ontop of everything else and this song really fits! 

[bluntforcefem]

2, 3, 8, 24?

2. tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

i’m like... extremely hyped to continue the universe that working hard at follow through is set in. mostly because the next fic in that series is like, half-heist fic, which is obviously always fun. working hard at follow through also has a lot of good side stories i want to explore & when i get to write the dark choco & dark cacao scenes for the ch. 13(/14?) based fic it's gonna be all over for everyone

3. what is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

i literally cannot be assed to write the buildup i need to have this really sick scene in the third arceus vessel au fic (which is why i havent been working on it... at all) but i think about this all the time. do you ever push an abnormally patient and kind 15 yr old to just kind of snap

"you- you got me, volo, you got all the- all the plates! i can't do anything about that, not anymore, but you're letting me try to stop you- you're *making me* try to stop you, and- and for what?" rei drags a hand through their hair, breathing shallow, laughter a harsh and humorless edge to their voice. "why does- why does *everyone* put the weight of the world on my shoulders? why don't you just end it already, volo?

"i'm- i'm tired of fighting just to *exist!* i'm tired of fighting! i..." their knees feel weak. they feel dizzy. their voice stumbles, now, falters. "i just... i thought..."

8. is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?

kinda!! i’m a lot more picky lmao. i also read a lot more longfics than i like to write. however i do go for a lot of the same concepts (canon divergence fics, elaborate aus, etc.) also i like reading slashfic more than i like writing it but that only applies to certain fandoms tbh because i am EXCEEDINGLY picky about what romantic fics i read

24. would you say your writing has changed over time?

yes! extremely. it’s gotten a lot easier to write longer things over time, and obviously my style has shifted (the starless sea had like.... an irrevocable effect on how i write. sometimes i lean into that more, sometimes i don't) but since i've put all my old fics on orphan/anon it's a little hard to chart from an outsider perspective lmao . you can tell i've gotten better at longer things just by scrolling through my blaseball archive

[crabmoney3]

2 3 14 and 15 for the writerly asks!

2. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

Oh man a fic I am starting soon is an I know what you did last summer au for blaseball and i am just vibrating getting to the big twist of who is actually the killer because *I* know who it is and I can't WAIT for the reveal

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

Man I would really love to write some blaseball ghosts fic about the solstice, especially the trinity/logan/goobie disastrous dancing but i'd have to add SO much context and buildup to make it make sense to anyone who wasn't part of that Specific Blaseball RP. Also a Finn/Kennedy bittersweet reunion when it turns out finn is alive but a fishwoman and ken has kinda lost his marbles but that would also take SO much to set up

14. At what point in writing do you come up with a title?

Honestly? Usually first. I usually think of a vague idea and a title to go with it and start from there, or start with a title and build a story around it, whether that's original fiction or plays or fanfic it's usually title first

15. Which is harder: titles or summaries (or tags)?

Summaries and tags, 100%. I have such a hard time figuring out what's relevant, what's important to include, what'll make people want to read it without giving away the whole thing like it genuinely sometimes takes me longer to write the summary and tags than it does to write the fic itself asdfghjk

[waveridden]

gloria and pedro + clinging to each other

The Crabs come back in latesiesta, which means Gloria is working.

“You don’t have to do this,” Valentine says. She’s on the phone, standing at the edge of the field, not far from third base. Gloria can see her from where xe’s perched in the stands. She looks nervous, more nervous than Gloria’s seen in a long time. “You can just be down here and say hi like the rest of us.”

“Nope.” Gloria cradles xyr phone between cheek and shoulder and lifts xyr camera, angling for some shots of the empty field. “I’m the official photographer of the ILB—”

“Nobody gave you that title.”

“I gave myself the title, and nobody’s around to tell me it’s unofficial.”

“That’s not how it works,” Val says, as though they haven’t had this conversation a thousand times. “And besides, your job isn’t— did you hear that?”

Gloria frowns. Xe actually can hear something. “Is that… running water?”

“I don’t think it’s water,” Val says slowly. “But something.”

“Do you need to get to high ground?”

“How do you know what to do in a flood?”

“It’s called thinking,” Gloria says patiently.

Xe’s about to say something else, except then Valentine swears loudly, and then there’s a deluge of… something. Val’s right, it’s not water, it looks like nothing and also water and also oil and also rocks and also something impossible, splashing onto the field of the Crabitat. Val stumbles away, and Gloria can see the few other people brave enough to wait on the field do the same.

Gloria starts taking pictures. “Val,” xe says urgently. “You there?”

“I’m here.”

“What the fuck is that stuff?”

“I’m sure we’ll find out eventually.”

“I think it’s getting lower.”

“I think you’re right.”

Gloria keeps taking pictures, which means that xe can see the moment that the stuff subsides enough to reveal something beneath the surface. Something crabby and… mannequin-y.

“Oh my god,” xe says dumbly. Xe’s taking pictures, more instinct than anything else. “Val, it’s them.”

“You can’t be sure—”

“I can see Forrest.”

“You can…” Val sucks in a breath. “Holy shit.”

The next thing to breach the surface is something metal and shining. It looks like a wing. Gloria has enough time to frown before the rest of the stuff flows away, as smooth and horrid as it came, and then the Crabs are standing in the middle of the field.

“Pedro has wings,” Gloria says. It’s the only thought that makes sense, and even that doesn’t make sense, because Pedro’s here. Pedro’s here and he looks the same. Pedro’s here, with wings, and the rest of the Crabs, and that’s impossible, because Pedro doesn’t have wings, and the Crabs are gone.

“Pedro has—” xe can hear the moment Val’s throat closes up. When she speaks again, her voice is shaking so badly Gloria can barely understand it. “I’m going to go.”

“Bye,” Gloria says, and pauses in taking pictures long enough to slip xyr phone into xyr pocket. Xe gets to xyr feet, a little precariously, but it’s only precarious because of the height and definitely not because xe’s full-body shaking, and starts taking pictures. Every reunion. Every look on the Crabs’ faces as they look around. Val and Pedro the first time they see each other, and then xe respectfully takes some pictures of other things. And then, okay, a couple not-so-respectful pictures of them, xe can’t help it.

It’s easy to get into a groove. Gloria’s basically a professional photographer now. Xe has business cards. Xe has contacts outside of blaseball. Xe has a life of xyr own in a way that the Crabs… won’t be able to recognize. It’s something xe’s been worrying about since earlsiesta and the hints of the Crabs coming back: what if they don’t know xem anymore? What if xe’s changed too much?

Then again, Pedro has wings. So it’s not like xe’s the only one that changed.

Gloria takes pictures. And pictures, and pictures. Xe ignores xyr phone when it starts ringing; it’s probably Margo or Zeb or something, and xe can deal with that later. Instead xe keeps taking photos: Ken and Finn with their hands fastened around each other’s, Luis and Tot sneaking away, Dreamy and Nagomi and MoCo all rushing towards the Crabs. There are countless stories unfolding in front of xem and xe wants to catch them all.

“Gloria,” Valentine says.

Xe flaps a hand behind xemself without turning. “Busy.”

“Great,” Val says, sounding amused. “We’ll just come back later?”

“Five more minutes.”

“Five more minutes,” repeats Pedro.

“Five—” Gloria blinks and drops the camera, letting it swing on the lanyard till it thuds into xyr chest. Xe doesn’t turn around. Xe can’t bring xemself to turn around, because what if it’s not really happening? Xe’s dreamed about this before. Dreams are still hard to figure out sometimes.

“You shaved your head,” Pedro says, and there’s a strange note to it. “It looks good.”

“I don’t care how it looks,” Gloria says, and finally spins around. Pedro’s there and he looks — well, he looks like Pedro, maybe dressed a little different, maybe with giant wings now, but still like Pedro. Xe forces xemself to blink a couple times. “I— I shaved it because I like it better. Doesn’t get in the way.”

Pedro nods. His glasses are smudged. He’s looking straight at xem.

“Hi,” Gloria says, because there’s literally nothing else to say. “Val, take this.”

Valentine, standing behind Pedro, waits for Gloria to take the lanyard with the camera off xyr neck. She takes the camera, handling it like an expert — which she is, she’s played assistant for Gloria enough times to know what to do — and then takes a step back.

“Hi,” Pedro says, which is stupid, because Gloria’s already flinging xemself at him. He seems shorter than xe remembered — or maybe xe’s taller? — but he accepts the hug with grace. His arms wind around xyr back, and Gloria has to struggle to do the same, because there are giant mechanical wings in the way.

“Your wings are dumb,” xe mutters petulantly. “You have to make me some.”

Pedro laughs, a startled burst that makes Gloria grin into his shoulder. “I’m not doing that.”

“I could take great pictures if I could fly!”

“You would be a menace.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said.”

Pedro squeezes xem even tighter. “It’s good to see you again.”

He’s already crying; Gloria can feel it against xyr cheek and shoulder, damp and a little gross. So it’s not embarrassing when xe starts crying too. “You, too,” xe whispers, and xe hopes he can tell how much xe means it.

[cryinginblaseball]

First line meme

rules: list the first lines of the last ten (10) stories you published. look to see any patterns you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any. then tag some friends.

I was tagged by @polkadotpatterson​

okay okay okay

Looking For Lost Things (Ziwa Mueller muses about Eugenia Garbage): “Sometimes, when you're dating a sentient garbage hive mind, you have to be prepared for strange behavior.“

Food Is An Act We Do For One Another (3 short stories centering around Lachlan Shelton, the Talkers, and food): “Lachlan Shelton woke to the sound of slamming coming from his kitchen.“

Hobbs Cain’s Wednesday Night Nightmare Club (Hobbs, Richmond Harrison, and Eugenia Garbage hang out and draw pictures and talk about fear, love, and personhood): “Hobbs Cain looked around before he crept into the Moist Talkers’ clubhouse, trying to muffle the rustling of the plastic bag he was carrying.“

PolkaDot Patterson Enters The Vault (The Fans choose to Vault Swap PolkaDot Patterson and York Silk, and Dot prepares to go into the Vault, once again For York...): “At this point, Dot Patterson should have been used to elections being utterly disruptive in their life.”

Garbage at the End of The World (Eugenia Garbage and Greer Lott watch the Horizon get closer.): “At a certain point, Eugenia Garbage stopped questioning the things that happened to her.“

i can let you in now (The Moist Talkers are Knocking at the Hall, and the Monitor quits. Hobbs Cain is on a mission.): “i quit”

Oliver and Oliver (Oliver Trashcat makes friends with the other Oliver on the team during practice): “It was sunny for once at the Gleek Arena, and batting practice was pleasant.”

I Just Wanted to Join a Rec League and Now I'm Playing Blaseball in an Alternate Dimension??? (My unfinished Blaseball isekai starring my Blaseball OC, Oliver Trashcat): “Do you remember where you were when the sky split open?“

Greer Elsewhere (Greer Lott is swept Elsewhere and comes face to face with something she's been trying to ignore...): “There was a phenomena Greer Lott was fond of called The Oz Effect.“

My Garbage Champion (It's the day after the finals, and new champion Greer Lott just wants some quiet time.): “There was a spot in the Gleek Arena that belonged only to Greer Lott.“

OKAY THOUGHTS: So I think I like short openings a lot. “i quit” may as well be my magnum opus. I like to put the main idea up front and just kind of go from there. Also, aside from Trashcat (my beloved), you can see my main cast of players: Hobbs, Eugenia, Greer, Dot show up the most. I could probably write an entire book about Eugenia making Greer feel emotions. I also love to start with some exposition. Greer loving the Oz Effect, Eugenia’s world changing around her, Greer’s hidden spot in the Gleek. I do have a style lol

If you want to do this too, go for it, and tag me so I can see it!

[taketheringtolohac]

hello this is very silly but. I am a certified blaseball baby (s19) and sometimes I feel like I missed out on the "golden" era of blaseball where so many inside jokes and wonderful things were made. do you have any advice on how to get over this lol and how to engage in the community in a meaningful way? thanks <3

This has been sitting in my ask box for a while now but i think i've finally collected my thoughts on it! Thank you for the ask, it isn’t silly at ALL, i think about this question a lot as someone who got into blaseball in season 2 and has kept up rigorously since, and i have been trying to find an adequate way to answer this- so here we go!

I think the first thing to really say is that a lot of feeling excluded from things... isn't your fault. Blaseball requires a lot of in knowledge! and when you're getting into it it really just seems like EVERYONE is in the know and somehow you are the only person who isnt, and thats because of the MASSIVE learning curve that blaseball has because of all the sun rules and new mechanics and the era of expansion being DESIGNED to overwhelm you. And people tend to forget that once they're In the Know, and a lot of people (myself included) really get caught up in remembering these AWESOME moments that happened in the early game, but the thing is it's not YOUR responsibility to make YOURSELF feel included in the community- that's people who already know what the hell is going on's job!

But the thing is, new in jokes are being made LITERALLY daily. The mints just made ANOTHER one today- these things happen all the time and you never know which ones will be super important in the future! Like gurgies, while out of fashion and common use now, was originally just a stupid mints way of saying blooddrain gurgled but we freaking said it so much and said it EVERYWHERE and people REMEMBERED it for being cursed and now thats something people say across the league. Here's the thing, it may sound really unhelpful but also- so what? Why does it MATTER that you weren't here when "wimdy" was coined? You're here now! You are witnessing blaseball happening and blaseball history being made by the second! I know just telling people dont get caught up in what you missed is really hard and doesn't really work, but i think trying to embrace that mindset will do wonders for you not just in trying to "get over" (which i dont really like as an expression here, i dont think this is something you really just get over you kind of have to keep confronting it! i do it too! a lot!) but also just for interacting with blaseball as a whole.

There is SO much that happens in blaseball and you will NEVER be able to catch all of it- thats part of the beauty and horror of it- but really learning to accept that you WON'T be able to catch all of it is part of a healthy relationship with blaseball! You don't know everything that's happening with every team at every moment- and then something will totally blindside you when something WILD happens to them and god. To me that is part of what blaseball is about. I've been here for 22 seasons and I STILL don't know anything about some of the original 20 teams. And that's ok! New things are always happening! Players are always dying! Players are always getting shadowed! They're feedbacking, reverbing, eating peanuts, getting shelled- they're part of blaseball of course things are happening and really trying to embrace that chaos will take you a long way.

Another thing to keep reminding yourself other than that things are literally always being made is that you yes YOU have an impact on the league. Whether it's just voting or betting (do people still bet? surely some do) or idol switching or even just watching the game, YOU are making some kind of impact. That's part of the narrative design of blaseball, it's quite literally designed so that fans can be directly involved in the splort. Even if you didn't MAKE the lore for a character, you can still talk about them! Participate in conversations and make jokes and memes about them! What you VOTE for matters, and you don't have to make the most money (lord knows i gave up on that seasons ago I'm just trying to make a decent amount now) but all it takes is a single ticket to get that blessing or that will your team (or just you lmao) wants. You can unredact things in the library! You can give peanuts to dead players you like! And you also can just MAKE shit up all the time. Whatever you say about anyone can be true to you. I know I'm not the only person who has wildly different hcs for players on teams that aren't even my own, let alone the ways that my hcs differ from the common interpretation of my own team's players. Or even the ways that my hcs DO converge or even just build off team ones, or are directly adjacent to them it's all equally valid! Today I said "Leo Baron wears heart shaped sunglasses" and people went wild over it and started just talking about it. You have that power with everything in blaseball! You control the buttons you press, and you impact the league! And you impact other people on your team!

The last thing that I really do recommend doing is just... hanging out with your team on discord, if that's your jam. You don't have to talk much! For what it's worth though, I think all teams are really receptive to new players and captains/representatives are there to try and make you feel welcome, as far as i know. Even if you're not a "new" player anymore you're still newer, and that still counts! If you're having trouble finding a way to start participating in conversations, I recommend just watching a game with your team. It's REALLY easy to talk about something when you're all seeing the same thing, and a lot of the things you say are pretty much prompted by the game as well! You know, like "come on Twooney hit a double" or "Marco please steal its the bottom of the 9th and we want to win-" but then in watching matches you also get to learn chants and see how people interact with each other. This is how I integrated myself into mints culture and became comfortable talking in chat which I know isn't for everyone but hey! It's what I got! But when you hang out with your team and get to know people you start to actually feel like part of a community, and when you feel like you're part of something bigger than yourself it eases the burden of feeling like you missed something because you're living in the moment! EVERY game has the potential to be EARTH SHATTERING for a team in blaseball, ANY game can be the next "most iconic" game for your team. Beating yourself up over not getting into the game earlier isn't gonna help, and cool shit is happening daily! That's what's so fucking cool about it!

I really hope this helps you, anon, and anyone else feeling this way. blaseball is for everyone! It sucks that people aren't being more mindful of what they say and how they interact with newer fans! In all honesty, I don't really even know how to answer this because it's such a complicated question- but the thing is all the older fans should be thinking about this question because they are part of a community composed of many people joining at different times with different levels of knowledge about the game itself, baseball, communities and really everything. Just remember that YOU are in charge of your own blaseball experience and things are ALWAYS being created! Maybe even YOU could create the next big blaseball thing- after all, almost everything in blaseball was created by an ordinary fan who was just saying something that came to mind.

[thesunshinydays]

[insert blaseball fic title here]

a wip for @blaseballwipamnesty about lenny marijuana learning how to deal with splort related anxiety before her first game, all as part of my scheme to put more real sports things into blaseball content. theres a lot more that i want to add to this including scenes from the game itself, but i just havent gotten around to it yet. also, this is @waveridden ‘s sister!lenny because thats my favorite lenny. overall id say it isnt even halfway done, though i do intend on finishing it at some point

i put it under a readmore because it needs content warning for food and a very frank discussion of dealing with a nervous stomach

“Okay so, I’m not nervous,” Lenny says, feeling like she might throw up at any moment. She’s looking down at what would normally be a perfectly appetizing waffle.  It has a chunk cut out, separated from the rest with a fork stuck in it.  She had tried to take a bite.  She really had.  But the idea of actually having to eat it was making her even more nauseous, so she is staring at it instead, as if that will let her passively absorb the calories she needs to pitch her first real game out of the shadows.  She is pointedly *not* looking at Mike Townsend sitting across from her as she continues speaking: “But let’s say, hypothetically, I know someone who is pitching their first game today and is nervous about it.  What advice would you suggest I pass along to them?”

“Well, first,” Mike says, “it’s normal to be nervous, so your friend shouldn’t feel bad about that.  Any athlete that says they’ve never been nervous for a competition is a liar.”

“Really? I’ve never been nervous, ever,” Lenny lies.

“Oh, obviously. But for your friend: the secret to maximizing personal performance isn’t about not feeling anxious, it’s about learning how to work with that anxiety in a productive way and knowing that you can perform your best even while nervous,” Mike rattles off rotely.

“Why does this sound familiar?” Lenny asks.

“Because it’s in the presentation that the splort psychologist gives during every preseason training camp, which, I might add, your friend would know if she didn’t, hm, I don’t know, fall asleep in the middle of it,” he says.

“At least I don’t know it word for word,” she snaps back.

“I thought it was your friend who needed advice?” Mike looks a little smug and Lenny kicks him lightly under the table in retaliation. He laughs.

“Are you gonna give me real advice or what?” Lenny asks. She tried to make it sound biting or sarcastic, but she’s not sure it worked. She looks down again at her waffle chunk and pushes it around the plate. Teddy had worked hard to talk the hotel manager into opening up the waffle station at around four in the afternoon for the team, since it was normally reserved for complimentary breakfasts.  She knew this wasn’t the team’s standard operating procedure. Normally, they’d go wherever they wanted for lunch, but Teddy had suggested this today instead. She feels shitty having to let the effort go to waste. She looks back up at Mike and says, “Quit it with the stupid psycho babble and give me something actionable, I feel like I’m gonna hurl.” 

“Well first off, milk is the wrong choice,” he says as he takes her barely touched glass of whole milk and pushes his untouched glass of orange juice toward her. 

He thought something like this might happen and got the juice for me in the first place, that fucking sneak, Lenny realizes.

“Second,” Mike says, ”stop trying to force yourself to eat if you feel like you can’t. It’s better to snack throughout the day if your stomach won’t settle than to eat a bunch at once. The ideal would be dried fruit and jerky so that you get carbs and protein to give you energy in the moment and through the course of the game, but we can make trail mix work.”

“Can’t, peanut allergy,” Lenny says.

“We can get you one with granola and almonds. Also, if you really, really can’t eat during the game, at least make sure you’re drinking a sports drink. It’s a lot of sugar, but it’s better than nothing and will keep you hydrated. Also, if you’ve recently had a lot of dairy, you might think about taking a lactaid.”

Lenny squints at him. “Those pills for lactose intolerant people? But I’m not--”

Mike cuts her off before she can finish. “I know, but it might help digestion go smoother and faster anyway, or at least placebo effect you into thinking it’s working.” 

“Okay, I was giving you shit earlier but this is actually really helpful.”  Lenny’s impressed. Somewhere along the line she had starting thinking of Mike as her weird mom friend -- her mind briefly supplies “adopted brother” but she stomps on that line of thinking before she can let herself analyze it -- and had forgotten that he was also one of the most famous (or infamous) pitchers in the ILB with half a dozen or so seasons of experience.

“My stomach isn’t quite as bad as yours, but I did used to get really nervous for games,” he admits.

“Used to? What changed? I thought you said anyone who says they never get nervous is a liar?” she asks.

“It’s not like I never get nervous, it’s just that… after enough games you start to get used to being nervous. That and well, after everything that’s happened, my perspective has shifted.” He gives a small shrug and looks past her out a window.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She knows she shouldn’t even have to ask. She asks anyway.

“The only games I get really, really nervous for anymore are eclipse games,” Mike says, still looking away, “‘Cause how I perform determines how long we stay on the field.”

[leonstamatis]

not exactly a director’s commentary request but if ya wanna talk about your margo and nagomi nava thoughts i would love to hear about them!

ahhh margo and nagomi.

the expansion era makes me feel a lot of ways about them because they both. my original pitch for them was, isn’t it funny that with everything happening in blaseball, these two people with the same name have both managed to stay put on their original teams, and now they can’t die? like. they’d had very similar experiences with loss and trauma, but they were both still standing, somehow, and maybe that’s. a family thing.

look at them now at the end of the expansion era! they’re both still on their original teams AND they’re both STILL STANDING. one is scattered and the other is marked deceased - don’t get me started - and they’re in fact stuck in different places at the end of the world, which. sad. but beyond each of them spending time in the shadows - not the same season but pretty damn close, and isn’t it funny that they both went through that, too - they haven’t. changed that much, still, despite everything.

these two in my head started as siblings who didn’t really talk much anymore. and the discipline era reminded them of that bridge and pushed them to reconnect, because when it feels like you’re losing everything you’re going to cling to what you still have. the grand siesta then offered an opportunity to maintain that relationship in a mundane context, which is important because. it can’t JUST be because you might die any day. you have to want to see the person, genuinely, and i think this is when they both learn that that’s true for them.

nagomi and beck are the only people there when nic and margo get married over the grand siesta. nagomi and margo go on a road trip to miami, to breckenridge, to houston, to los angeli, to san francisco, all the places where former teammates went and maybe where they even still are. (nic’s there for some of it; not all.) so when the expansion era starts they have all of these memories and these connections and they’re on much better terms with one another than they were before.

this helps a lot given the way the expansion era is. i think a lot about Jamie’s fic about nagomi in the elsewhere and margo coming to see her, and stara’s fic about margo in the elsewhere too? just. they couldn’t die, but they can be separated now. they can be redacted or attacked by sharks. there are SO many risks. but they also have each other, and they have always had each other, and even if one goes somewhere the other cannot follow, they’ll find their way back together at some point.

i like that somehow even after the wills and the thieves guilds and everything else that happened in this last era, the navas are still a constant for their respective teams. and also for each other! it makes me happy.