Moab Hellmouth Sunbeams/Rivalries
The Hellmouth Sunbeams' fierce sense of rivalry arises from competing for something, and in the case of Blaseball the Sunbeams are competing with the rest of the league. Therefore, everyone is a rival. However, over time as a rivalry matures, emotions beyond a simple spirit of competition can arise. This results in teams falling into one of four categories: Rivals, Major Rivals, Rivalliances, Anti-Rival.
Major Rivals
Seattle Garages
The Garages and Sunbeams are a historical and heated rivalry, famously commemorated in both song and zine format by the Seattle Garages after their definitive wins in Seasons 2 and 3. Much of the heat behind this rivalry came from the Garages' stated intention to kill the sun, which is considered blasphemy. As a result, Sunbeams fans that follow HELIOATRY would clash with Garages fans, most clearly seen in the events surrounding The Solympic Flame.
The rivalry reached a fever pitch in the Season 11 Championship between the two teams, which the Sunbeams won in spite of their shenanigans and accidental losses caused by uncontrolled looping. The Garages, in a gesture of goodwill, gifted series-winning pitcher Lars Taylor with a customised, four-necked guitar, in addition to the custom-painted tour bus (filled with bread baked by Mike Townsend) the Sunbeams had earned after winning the wager for series winner.
Chicago Firefighters
After the Chicago Firefighters entered the Season 9 playoffs as the Wild Card seeded against the Sunbeams, the Firefighters threatened to put out the Sun. Though unsuccessful in their efforts, a beautiful rivalry was forged from this fateful series, with the two teams skirmishing intensely over who would get the Season 10 Nut Button, the Firefighters threatening again to destroy the sun, and the Sunbeams insisting the sun would consume Chicago.
Rivalliances
The Entirety of Wild Low
The entirety of the Wild Low Clubhouse ((Unlimited Tacos, Houston Spies, Miami Dale, Boston Flowers) have what many teams have named 'similar vibes', and it is a very common to see fans of all five of the Wild Low teams excitedly cheering for each other, or apologising to each other for beating them in the playoffs. An example of this was in the Season 10 playoffs, where Wild Low as a whole were very excited for the Unlimited Tacos to finally reach the playoffs with their new and improved team. Unfortunately the Hellmouth Sunbeams, who were hosting Partytime at the time, got pulled in as a wild card and swept the Tacos in the wildcard match. This resulted in very apologetic fans of the Sunbeams begging forgiveness.
Anti-Rivals
Hades Tigers, the Match Made in Hell
The Sunbeams' original Anti-Rivals the Hades Tigers share a close kinship with the Beams, due to the locational connection between Hades and Hellmouth, as well as the Tigers' overwhelming support for their new neighbors from day one after the Hellmouth's opening. Whenever the two teams play against each other, fans cheer on the opposing team from their reserved sections and can often be heard shouting "TIGERBEAMS!".
Both teams believe that when one team wins, both win, and are regularly seen adding the two's scores together into one number to proclaim how well TIGERBEAMS have been doing. This was a particular source of comfort for Sunbeams fans early in the Discipline Era, due to their own team's underdog status in the highly competitive Lawful Evil subdivision.
The TIGERBEAMS bond was most keenly felt in the semifinals of the Season 11 championships, when the Tigers and Sunbeams went head-to-head to determine the Wild League champion, and whether the Tigers would head into Ascension. The Beams prevented their Anti-Rivals' Ascension from the league in a six-match, best-of-five series.
Yellowstone Magic, the Mystical Miscreants
The Yellowstone Magic and Sunbeams partnership has been described as "a match made in spell", bonding over the comparably unusual emanations from beneath their home ballparks and a mutual respect for the surrounding unnatural landscape and wildlife. The two teams have very similar ominous but friendly vibes, and are regularly seen engaging in all sorts of ritualistic nonsense together. Fans are known to cheer HELLOWSTONE as a greeting, which is answered with calls of YELLMOUTH, before the shouts and cheers dissolve into eldritch keening as the fans embrace and excitedly summon horrific beings to have tea parties with.
New York Millennials, the Roommates
The friendship between the New York Millennials and the Sunbeams formed during the Season 10 Postseason. The Millennials and the Sunbeams entered playoffs as the Wild Cards for their respective sub-leagues. Fans of both teams came together to cheer each other on and were ecstatic when both teams swept their opponents. Since then the teams have become very close, bonding over their love of Blaseball, not owning their homes/teeth, and the Marijuana Brothers, Randall Marijuana and Dominic Marijuana. They thrive in the chaos they create when together, yelling out long acronyms and mashups of their classic chants such as "WHOSE BONES? NOT OURS WE RENT!" and "STARE INTO THE HOUSE! THE RENT STARES BACK!". Recently the teams have signed a lease together and are now long-distance roommates.
Rivals
Because of the above mentioned rivalry definition that the Hellmouth Sunbeams work with, it is very easy to tell if you are their Rival.
Is your team a rival of the Sunbeams?
Ask yourself the following yes or no questions;
1. Do you often get handmade cards and propaganda from Beams fans?
2. Does your team exist?
3. Do you see Beam fans staring at you and obsessing over your games?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, congratulations, your team is a Sunbeam rival. Please send a framed team photograph to the Solarium at your earliest convenience so rivalry may commence!
