LIMERS (LIM)


Athletes:

Sublime (Captain)
Lemonlime
Goolime
Limelime
Slimelime
Keylime (Coach)
Blimey (Manager)

Hashtag:

#LimeTime

Stadium:

Monte Citrus (Lemono; M1)
Lime Lap (Sotsevsa; M1)

Appearances:

Marble League 2016; Marble League 2017; Marble League 2018; Marbula One Season 1; Marbula One Season 2; Marble League 2021

History:

The Limers hail from the Adriatic Coast in southern Europe, and got their name from two sources—the vast reserves of limestone that are nestled slightly inland of the Gulf of Tartufo, and their favorite dessert, cassata, which is traditionally served with limes on top. The Limers began racing in Sotsevsa, a city across the sea to the southeast of the gulf known for its philosophical teachings in ancient times, as well as its Syndesmarble, an ancient marble racing tournament that is still celebrated as a yearly tradition in the city. One year, the four performed so well that they caught the attention of a marble sports aficionado named Greg Woods. Woods approached the team soon afterward and invited the team to join their Fruit Circuit troupe. They accepted. 

The Limers were one of the first teams in the Fruit Circuit when it began touring in 2004, alongside now-inactive teams like the Strawberry Strudels, Boysenberry Ballers, and Grape Nuts. They ended up outlasting these teams because of their persistence and passion for marble sports, even if their performances sometimes proved otherwise.

The O’rangers, Raspberry Racers, and Mellow Yellow eventually joined the Fruit Circuit, and all three teams proved to be challenging for the Limers to shake. Upon joining the circuit, the Racers quickly became friends with the Limers due to their geographic proximity to each other, but they soon became rivals as the stakes of competition rose. When the Marble League 2016 transfer spots from the Fruit Circuit were announced, the stakes rose even higher, particularly against the Raspberry Racers.

Ultimately, the Limers came out on top, winning the Fruit Circuit in its final year and qualifying for Marble League 2016 along with Mellow Yellow and the O’rangers. The team entered the tournament with honor, knowing that the Marble League was the modern-day realization of the ancient Syndesmarble tournament.

Sublime, Lemonlime, Jellime, and Slimelime entered Marble League 2016 with high hopes that were soon deflated by subpar performances. The Limers would have tied with the Pinkies for dead last with one bronze medal, had the Pinkies not been disqualified in the final event. Surprised by the rigorous points system in 2016, the Limers appealed to JMR, who altered the points system to be less harsh in future years. 

The offseason brought other substantial changes for the Limers. They began a rigorous training session in the cliffs of limestone near Tartufo and began building a training center just outside the city. Jellime left the team early in the offseason to become an advisor for the Syndesmarble and was replaced swiftly by Goolime. Jellime declined to comment on whether their leave was influenced directly by the Limers’ poor performance in Marble League 2016.

The Limers entered the Marble League 2017 Qualifiers with much to prove in a short amount of time, and qualified for the main tournament in twelfth place, four points ahead of the Kobalts and Snowballs, who both failed to qualify. In Marble League 2017, the Limers scored in every event and earned two medals: a silver in the infamous Fidget Spinner Collision event; a bronze medal in the Relay Run The Limers peaked in the standings at second place halfway through the tournament but fell to tenth to conclude their sophomore season.

After a rigorous offseason of training and recruiting Limelime from the Tour de Vellis, the Limers were invited to the Marble League 2018 Draw in the Arctic Circle and happily chose to attend. When they arrived, they were greeted with a surprise, for better or for worse: the Raspberry Racers were also in attendance. The two teams ended up in the same qualifying group. The return of the Raspberry Racers threw the Limers for a loop not only in concept but more importantly in the tournament. Both teams qualified, marking a return to the Fruit Circuit rivalry of old.

Marble League 2018 resembled much of the Limers’ inaugural season. The team scored no points in a quarter of the events and placed in the top half in only a third of the events. The Limers started the season in tenth place, but by the end of the Snow Rally, the seventh event, the team had been in last place in the standings at the end of all but three events.

In a surprise turnaround for the Limers, Sublime earned their first-ever gold medal in the next event; a pathway out of the basement of the standings for the rest of the 2018 Marble League. The team finished the tournament in fourteenth place with the same amount of points as Mellow Yellow but a medal to edge above their fellow Fruit Circuit competition. However, the Limers were more focused on the performance of another Fruit Circuit team: the Raspberry Racers, who bested them in all but two events.

Despite performing at their best yet in the 2018 offseason events, the Limers were disappointed to have their hosting bid for Marble League 2019 and to see the Raspberry Racers win the Amazing Maze Marble Race. Recruiting Coach Keylime, the Limers feared a downturn for the upcoming Qualifiers. Morale was low. And although the Limers remained in a safe position in the standings for much of the Qualifiers, they failed to qualify for the first time in team history.

The Limers were ready to take a hiatus from training, but they were pleasantly surprised to hear the news that there would be a Marble League Showdown that would give the unqualified teams of the Marble League a chance to compete and prove their worth for the Marble League 2020 Qualifiers. The Limers immediately regrouped and began training again, rebuilding their team mentally, emotionally, and physically. The more they spent time together, the more optimistic they felt. As the weather got warmer, they returned to the Cliffs of Tartufo to train there without any disruption from the happenings of the world, save for the news that their Fruit Circuit rivals, the Raspberry Racers, won the Marble League 2019 Championship.

The Limers entered the Marble League 2019 Showdown under immense pressure from the marblebase—fans that were flocking back from the Green Ducks, fans that had virtually no hope in the Limers, and fans in the middle of it all, who hoped that the Limers would at least get by. The emotions that fans felt when the Limers finished last during the 2019 Marble League Showdown, were uncontrollable anger. Storming the arena after the final event, officials at the Seven Seas Stadium struggled to contain the crowd and tone down their frustration.

The Limers declined to comment on the Showdown and its aftermath, although sources claimed that the Limers were beyond heartbroken. The public did not hear from the Limers until they were revealed as the sixteenth and final team invited to the inaugural season of Marbula One. Coach Keylime submitted Sublime, “The Limelight” and Limelime, “Double Trouble” to compete in the tournament. Just a short while later, Sublime proved to be the team’s weakest individual athlete. With their highest finish being a tenth place at Momotorway, Sublime earned only one point and didn’t even finish the race at the Short Circuit, letting down both the team and their fans who had high expectations for the athlete. 

Limelime, the reserve of the team, carried the Limers in terms of points, earning 24 points through two fourth places. However, with not even a single medal earned, it wasn’t enough. Finishing in fifteenth, only beating out the Hornets, the team was understandably disappointed. The Limers once again had to worry about potential retirement, and how their performances would impact their future as a team. They recruited a new manager, Blimey, as well as future Marble Rally champion, Superball, to help them train for the upcoming 2020 Showdown.

After a poor start, placing eighth in the Relay Run, it seemed the Limers would sink further and further down. However, after the final event, Lemonlime managed to bring the team back up to eleventh place in the standings. It would be a valiant effort, but the team would manage to finish in an unsatisfactory position once again.

The team stayed silent for several months following the Showdown, leading many to wonder if the team would retire. However, to just about everyone’s surprise, it was revealed on 30 October that the Limers were invited to compete in Marbula One Season 2. This season, Lemonlime, “Citrus Quickness”, would be replacing Sublime in their Marbula One duo, with Limelime staying on the team. Following an interview, Sublime expressed their dismay at not returning to the series. Coach Keylime had been quick to overrule the team captain’s request to compete in Season 2, sending Lemonlime instead.

Due to recently acquired funding, the Limers submitted their Marbula One track, Monte Citrus, for review to be in Marbula One Season 2. The JMRC declined the track, instead opting to hold the seventh GP at the Jungle Jumper’s Raceforest, feeling the Limers track was “not exciting enough”. Redesigns were immediately put into action following the decision, with the Limers hoping to showcase the track in future seasons. However, the Limers were able to rent out their practice track, the Lime Lap, to the Crazy Cat’s Eyes as they trained for their debut.

Five races into the season, Limelime accomplished what the Limers could not in over two years and earned a bronze medal during the Tumult Turnpike GP. With the rest of the team watching from the stands, Limelime fought fiercely upfront with Bolt and Yellow Eye for a majority of the race, even holding the lead for a couple of laps. The stunt brought the Limers up five spots in the standings to thirteenth place, two spots over the Raspberry Racers.

After the team’s medal, the Raspberry Racers were the final team from Season 1 that had yet to medal. However, that changed during the next event at the Arctic Circuit, with Ruzzy securing a bronze, and Lemonlime finishing in 15th. Even after a bronze medal, the team immediately finished in a shameful position. The team’s sorrows would not end there. In December 2020, JMR had announced that a five-event long Winter Special would be occurring during the Marbula One break. 16 teams would be invited personally to compete in the tournament. Unfortunately, none of these teams would be the Limers. Instead, the team continued attempting to train for their upcoming races.

During the break between the first and second half of M1S2, the team had a lot of time to think about their recent shortcomings. Speaking with other teams from the tournament, including their JMR contemporaries on Mellow Yellow, the Limers decided to organize the first Fruit Circuit Reunion. It was not like the competition they had competed in during their glory years. 16 teams would compete over five races, each one hosted by a different team. The Limers’ initial gold carried them to finish tenth in the standings, a bottom half finish they were all too familiar with. However, there was a spark of hope within them, as they considered the future of their team.

Although the team was coming off of their highest point in years at Tumult Turnpike, they could not keep the momentum. The team saw themselves slip down to second to last, nineteenth-place overall in Season 2 of Marbula One. To make matters worse for the team, they didn’t even have the Qualifiers to fall back on. It looked like 2021 would be yet another farce for them, when they received some surprising news during an interview outside Goolime’s Lemono cottage.

Introduced on 13 April 2021, a new qualification system allowed the bottom four Showdown teams an opportunity to qualify for Marble League 2021. The Limers were sorted into Group B alongside their old rivals, the Raspberry Racers. Before Qualifiers, the Limers traveled to Felynia to compete in the Practice Race. Lemonlime represented the team and finished eighth overall, beating all of their Fruit Circuit rivals except for Kinnowin from the O’rangers. This surprising momentum for the Limers became even more surprising when they rose above their competition in Group B of the 2021 Qualifiers, securing a spot in the main tournament for the first time in three seasons. Could the Limers finally enter the limelight in Marble League 2021?

Earning a medal in the 5 Meter Hurdles, Sublime ended the Limers’ string of inconsistency that started the tournament, hoping to turn their season around from last-place in the standings. But in what would become the closest Marble League yet, the Limers fell flat. Goolime would be the only teammate who did well in individual events besides Sublime, placing sixth in both of their appearances. The Limers also did well in Football, contesting the Glaciers in two tiebreakers during the quarterfinal round and finishing fifth, their best as a team. But going into the final event, the Limers were one of five teams that were locked out of the championship. Their rivals, the Raspberry Racers, led the overall standings at the time.

In the final event, Limelime finished above some of the best athletes in Marble League history— Speedy, Razzy, and Hazy—rounding out the bottom four in Marblocross. In contrast, the top four finishers in the event—Rojo Dos, Yellup, Kinnowin, and Minty Fresh—caused the Limers to fall in the standings to fifteenth overall. As the Minty Maniacs rose to fourteenth and Mellow Yellow won the Marble League 2021 Championship, emulating their Fruit Circuit Reunion championship, the Limers, once again, had no words to express the emotions they felt at the end of their season.  

Special thanks to Project Marblearth contributors Orbitball, Vector, and Stynth for helping craft the lore of the Limers.

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