#clay competition winners

[algoworks]

🏆✨ Drumroll, please! 🥁 We're thrilled to unveil the champions of Algoworks' Republic Day Clay Making Competition:

🥇 1st Place: Vishnu Kumar, Reeta Devi and Akanksha Yadav from Salesforce Team- for showcasing their artistic flair on Unity in diversity.

🥈 2nd Place: Jyoti Gupta, Pallavee Rani and Himanshu Srivastava  - for their beautiful craftsmanship and attention to detail in creating a peacock, flying flag, and intelligently incorporating the Indian Map.

🥉 3rd Place: Shreyansh Garg, Amisha Sharma, Anuj Poudel, Isha Kalra, Priyanka Chauhan and Bhavy Agarwal - A unique take on the theme with meticulous detailing in sculpting the Ganesh Ji and the entire structure. Intricacies of jewellery and ladoos was fascinating.

A huge applause to all participants for their outstanding creativity and enthusiasm! 🌟👏 Stay tuned for a closer look at these amazing creations. 🏆🎨

[cazlockdraws]

• PANGOLIN CANDLE HOLDER •

I made this Pangolin candle holder back in 2022/2021. It was my first experiment with air-dry pottery using a Sculpd pottery kit I had been given as a present.

It was really fun to design, make and paint. Each of the scales were painted on and took me forever to finish! I chose the Pangolin because I think they are really cute animals but also because they are so close to being on the verge of extinction. I thought a candle holder that represented such a unique and rare animal would stand out.

At the time Sclupd had started running a series of monthly competitions with theme's and my Pangolin happened to fit the theme when I finished it so I submitted and won first place (which I was not expecting at all). So thanks Sculpd for picking my piece as a winner and giving me the confidence to experiment more with clay.

[zingaplanet]

A rivalry is more than head to heads or titles won. Here's a thread of why the Federer-Nadal rivalry (2004-2022) is considered one of the greatests and most unique in sports history:

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are mirror opponents. A once in a century jackpot with two style of play at the opposite ends of the sports' techniques. In terms of athlete's posture, they are eerily of the exact same height and weight, yet Federer is a right-handed player with a one-handed backhand and Nadal is a left-handed player with a two-handed backhand. Federer portrayed the elegant, fast-paced serve and volley style of the past decade whereas Nadal introduced innovative heavy groundstrokes, topspin, and defensive baseline plays. They encapsulated the progress of the sports' development and their matches popularised tennis to unprecedented heights.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are the respective best at their dominant surfaces. They both stil hold world records for most Grand Slam titles on grass (Federer with 8 Wimbledons) and on clay (Nadal with 14 French Opens), respectively dubbed King of Grass and King of Clay. From 2006 to 2008, they played every single Wimbledon and French Open finals against each other.

Roger Federer was the undisputed current world number one since 2004. He admitted he almost lost his passion for the game due to lack of competition until Nadal became the first to beat him in a grand slam final. They became the only pair in history to share the top two year end rankings for 6 years, from 2005 to 2010 and 2017. In their own words, they were each other's biggest motivations to achieve greatness.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were the first to dominate the sports consistently for over a decade, ending the era of one or two odd times Grand Slam winners. Together they won consecutive majors from 2005 to 2007, 2008 to 2009, and 2017 to 2018. Their dominance kickstarted what was dubbed the 'golden era of tennis'.

As tournament seedings are based on rankings, their 40 matches were tournament quarters, semis, and finals, with the all time record of 9 Grand Slam finals. They were each other's partners in the worst and best moments of their careers.

They played what is considered by most tennis analysts as the greatest tennis match in history: The Wimbledon final of 2008 for 4 hours and 48 minutes.

They were leaders of the game from the background, being president and vice president of the players' council for more than 10 years with both only agreeing to join if the other's participating.

They have played countless charity matches to support each other's foundations. In 2020 they broke the world record together, with their exhibition in Africa attracting the highest ever attendance in a tennis match.

Known for their sportmanships, Nadal has openly expressed that he cried of happiness when Federer won his first ever French Open (Nadal's best tournament), whilst Federer expressed his wish to have a draw match and shared his 2017 Australian Open with Nadal.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are two of the most successful, consistent, and longstanding tennis players of all time, playing more than 25 years of professional tennis with a record of 42 Grand Slams between them. Many have not known the sport without them, they are representative of a generation.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal remain close friends after almost 20 years of facing each other on court, having stated their friendship as the proudest milestone of their rivalry. As per his personal wish, Federer will retire playing doubles alongside Nadal in his last ever competitive tennis match.

[hoodharlow]

Superstar

AN: Miriam is now a three time Grammy award-winner <3

Requested? No

Warnings: Jack being unserious, rude people in the comments

Word Count: n/a

•••

@'mdm: 3rd time on SNL, 1st as a performer. Can't wait for y'all to hear the rest of the Last Dance soundtrack on March 9th 🥺 HUGE ty to THEE Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning Ayo for being the most talented human ever. It was privilege to be at your side. Also need your cover of No Air on spotify ASAP

@'medegutierrez: and just like that she beat the can't dance allegations 🦦

-> @'jackharlow: someone had to say and I'm glad it wasn't me

@'ayoedebiri: big slay

-> @'mdm: ilysmmmm

@'zendaya: okayyyy 😍

@'haileybieber: you're incredible 🥰

@'bellahadid: IT girl

@'miriamfan: she's THAT bitch

@'jackharlowstan: don't ask me the color of ANYTHING

@'kehlani: try these moves on 😍😍😍

View all comments

•••

Miriam via Instagram Stories

•••

@'claybornharlow: a song I worked on with my big sis and @lukehemmings won a Grammy today. It was a huge honor to be a part of this. Thank you to Miriam for believing in me as a producer and collaborator. Can't wait to see what the rest of the night has in store for you. Here's Miriam in the studio when we made this

@'jackharlow: now you made Miriam cry

@'mdm: akdghfjskskshdjsksks 🥺😭🥺😭🥺😭🥺 ilysm Clay. I wouldn’t have won if it weren't for you and Luke. Without you two, there wouldn't be What I Was Made For 💓💗💕

@'lukehemmings: proud of us

@'barbiemovie: this Ken is a Grammy winning producer

@'monetmitchell: my faves 💓 proud of you babyyy

Comments have been limited

•••

@'mackupdates: Miriam on her Instagram Stories. She's so funny I can't. And before y'all start, her movie is premiering at SXSW and she's been calling it her baby since she's announced it.

@'mdmxjh: y'all think this is how they announce their pregnancy?

-> @'miriamfan: you really think Jack and Miriam would announce they're having a kid? Plus if the baby was due in March she'd be huge as hell.

-> @'miriamstan: read the caption, I beg you

@'jackstan: of course this would be how she reacts to winning a Grammy lol

@'miriamhater: nepotism wins again 😒

View all comments

•••

@'mdm: no words :')

@'katdominguez: go baby sister

@'josephdominguez: 🥺

@'jackharlow: 3 holes for 3 Grammys 👉🏼👈🏼

-> @'mdm: how if you only have 2 holes and 0 Grammys 🤔

-> @'lilnasx: get him again for me

@'alinahunter: you deserved this 🥺

@'saintclauds: that's my bestirini 🥰🥰🥰

@'victoriamonet: proud of you

-> @'mdm: no, I'm proud of YOU 🥺🥺🥺

@'theestallion: EXACTLYYYY

@'claybornharlow: we did that 🤞🏻

-> @'lukehemmings: 🤞🏻

@'miriamhater: Ariana Grande deserved

-> @'miriamfan: she wasn't even nominated 😭

@'antimiriam: nepotism can only take you so far

-> @'mackaremyparents: I mean she's literally one award from winning an EGOT, directed & produced & created the soundtrack for her own movie, and is doing her masters. Your faves could never!

View all comments

•••

Jack via Instagram Stories

•••

@'jackharlow: my three time award-winning superstar

@'mdm: why would you post this! Of all pictures from today you post the one of me reading Clay's post

-> @'jackharlow: don't you have homework to finish?

-> @'mdm: I literally finished before the plane took off

-> @'8amclassmate: fuck now I gotta do the reading

@'lilnasx: MOTHER

@'rapfan: imagine your bitch winning before you. I'd dump that hoe because she can't embarrass me like that

@'jackfanbutmiriamhater: oh I hate this for him. He deserves someone how won't outshine him. Miriam is always doing way too much and it sucks that she wrote Jack's brother in her schemes 😒

@'jackharlow: y'all are mad annoying. It's not a fucking competition for me and Miriam. As her partner, I know the hard work she puts and she deserves this and more

View all comments

No more taglist :)

[kittyball23]

Hi is it okay if you write a story about baby branch and Floyd

It sure is 😊

Remember (a Trolls fanfic)

Dear Diary,

It’s been a pretty quiet evening at home so far, and I guess there’s a few reasons for that. For one, I guess it’s no secret that I’m the quietest among my brothers (they say I should assert myself more, but I find that I can’t - it’s just the way I am 0.0). Also, my older brothers aren’t here at the moment, and the bro that IS here is sleeping on my lap (it’s a little hard to write right now, but I can manage). I’m guessing you’re probably wondering where exactly my older brothers are. Well, John Dory is out running some errands with Grandma, so they’re hitting the grocery store and a few other places (plus, JD DID say he was going to try and get supplies for some new costume ideas he has planned for us and our band, BroZone).

Spruce is out on a date. He ran another one of his competitions, and the winner this time around is a girl named Doreen. I’ve seen her around town a bit, and she seemed very excited to be able to be with him. As for Spruce… I don’t think I could really say the same :( But, regardless, they were heading out to Senior Frosty’s. A lot of us like to go down there for some sweet treats (personally, I think Grandma’s stuff is the best, but they’re okay too ^_^). Spruce’s favorite is the Tropical Sunset sundae, which is an ice cream that I think is made from vanilla, with some kind of fruity syrup and chunks of pineapple on top. It sounds pretty tasty, but my personal preference is the strawberry delight (an underrated flavor, but delicious nonetheless!)

Clay headed off to another one of his sad-book club meetings. He’s sorta told me about them before, but I’m a little nervous to go to one, if I’m being honest. If it’s about sad books like he says, I’m probably gonna be in tears the whole time! I guess I’ll just have to make sure that I pack a lot of tissues when I do get the chance to accompany him :)

That leaves me and Branch, like I mentioned before. We had some fun with all kinds of activities around the house.

We frosted some sugar cookies that Grandma had baked earlier in the day (Branch got a little messy with the decorating, but he didn’t mind). We played some games (the usual - hide-and-seek, tag… freeze tag) and sang some of our band’s songs together. I’m very proud of him. Even though he’s only a couple years old, he’s got a great falsetto going. Golden! I can tell he’s going to be an amazing singer one day, and I can’t wait for him to start performing with us. John Dory thinks he’s ready, too. A few days ago, he actually suggested that we should start arranging for our first tour. Spruce and Clay agreed, and it’s going to be so exciting!

As Floyd tapped his pencil to his chin, pondering what to write down next, the light weight on his lap began to shift. He immediately put his journal down, and watched admiringly as Branch cutely yawned and stretched.

“Hey, Branch,” he cooed softly, stroking his brother’s delicate little cheek. “Did you have a good nap?”

The baby blinked up at him, rubbing the sleep out of his large blue eyes and grinning his sweet little one-toothed grin. “Uh-huh!”

Floyd chuckled and ruffled his rich blue hair. “That’s good.”

“What did you do, Floyd?” the small Troll asked curiously.

“Oh, I was just writing in my journal,” he said, showing him the book that he’d placed at his side.

“Ohhh,” Branch mused, cocking his head. “Can I see it?”

“Sure thing,” Floyd replied fondly, opening it up and allowing Branch to flip through the pages.

“I write all kinds of things in here,” the magenta-haired Troll explained while the baby stared in wonder. “Ideas, stories, wishes… but do you know what my favorite thing to write about is?”

“What?” Branch asked, his eyes twinkling with interest.

“All the stuff I do with you, and our brothers.”

“Wow! Really?”

“Definitely,” Floyd answered. “That way, when we want to remember something special, it’ll all be right here.” He gave him a little side hug that Branch happily leaned into with a giggle. Then, the little blue Trolling thought of something else.

“Do you write songs in there, too?”

Floyd nodded. “Yeah, I do.” Then he smirked. “But you know, I’ve been having a little trouble trying to finish the one I’ve been working on. Do you want to help me?”

His baby brother’s face lit up. “Yeah!”

And, as he and Branch made another cherished memory - harmonizing together and creating wonderful new melodies - Floyd made sure to recall every little detail of their experience so, in that way, he could notate it in his journal for them to always remember.

[thefifthsister]

Winning

Happy Anniversary Caskett

He’s getting a little excited, loves that she’d planned some kind of surprise for him and whisked him off before continuing on to the Hamptons for a weekend away.

“You’re not going to tell me anymore than ‘clay’? He asks as she leads him out to a field, hand grasped tightly in hers and she grins at him.

Promise me we’ll never be boring.

Sometimes that memory comes to him and he scoffs. They couldn’t manage it if they tried. 

“You are going to love it, I promise.”

And he follows. Because that’s what he does, what he’s always done. It’s how they’ve made it here. He’s followed her and loved her and fought with and for her and today she’s done something that he can tell by the look on her face is gonna be memorable.

Things start to become a little clearer as they approach a range.

“Shooting?”

She grins at him.

“Clay pigeons.”

“Clay is the ninth anniversary gift. But there was no way I was getting you a vase,” she explains. “One, we’re not those people. Two, it would not survive a day in our home.”

He chuckles.

“But, this is different. I’ve organised it so we’ll have a few more challenges. We’ve got a few different guns, bow and arrows, even some ridiculous things to throw.”

She watches him get really excited. 

“And the best part?”

He looks at her eagerly, watches her slink close, wrap her arms around him and lean close.

“Winner gets to pick.”

“Pick what?” He asks.

“Which room we start in when we get to the house,” she utters, biting her lip and watching him gulp.

“Okay, how do we get this shooting started?” He asks eagerly. “I’ve got plans.”

“Oh babe,” Kate laughs. “You are sounding a little cocky. You haven’t been to a range in a while.”

“We’ll see who has the last laugh,” he promises.

It doesn’t matter in the end. They spend their afternoon laughing, getting a little competitive, throwing in side bets and making memories for the rest of their lives. They both end up winning when they reach the Hamptons, whichever way they look at it.

[redriotinggg]

Ivankov's Drag Race

I watch a lot of RuPaul's Drag Race 'cause I love drag and reality TV and I'm queer as fuck. So here's the most self-indulgent thing I've ever written for day 4 of @sanusoweek, presented 100% on-time :P

-----

Welcome to season 12 of Ivankov's Drag Race; a reality show where a group of drag artists compete to snatch the crown and win a prize of $150,000!

JUDGES: Ivankov (Host & Main Judge), Bon Clay, and Inazuma. Every week they are joined by famous drag artists, fashion icons, musicians, and queer allies, who share their opinions and provide feedback.

COMPETITORS: Sanji, Usopp, Brook, Doll, Caesar Clown, Pudding, Chuu, Helmeppo, Izo, Bartolomeo, Buggy the Clown, Catarina, and Perona.

WEEK ONE: The first episodes of the season are a double premiere where the performers show off their talents, personalities, and personal styles. No eliminations.

WEEK TWO: This week the competitors are participating in a scripted acting challenge. As the top two performers during the talent show, Brook and Izo are appointed team captains and choose their teams.

Team Brook includes Sanji, Usopp, Pudding, Bartolomeo, and Perona. Team Izo has Buggy, Caesar, Helmeppo, Doll, Catarina, and Chuu. The winner of the week is Usopp!

The audience gets their first glimpse of the Sanji-Pudding-Usopp love triangle as both Usopp and Pudding bond with Sanji during the challenge.

Chuu and Doll are in the bottom and lip sync for their lives, ultimately resulting in Chuu being eliminated.

WEEK THREE: This week, the contestants are challenged to design and create a runway outfit that represents their drag persona. Sanji is stressed because he wears pretty looks, he doesn't sew them. He sidles over to his new friend Usopp and doesn't hesitate to flirt with him in hopes of getting some help creating his look. Usopp flirts back and is more than happy to provide some assistance. In the confessionals, Pudding reveals that she isn't happy that Sanji went to Usopp for help when her style is so much better than his.

Perona wins the challenge and Bartolomeo absolutely demolishes Helmeppo in the lip sync and sends him home.

WEEK FOUR: The contestants are split into teams to pitch a television show of their creation. (Sanji & Pudding, Buggy & Usopp, Izo & Catarina, Barto & Perona, and Doll, Brook, & Caesar).

Buggy and Usopp share a win after they deliver a hilarious performance. Doll and Caesar have a massive disagreement which affects their performance in the challenge and lands them in the bottom. Their argument in Untucked goes down in Drag Race herstory. Doll is sent home after lipsyncing against Caesar.

WEEK FIVE: This week is the much-anticipated girl group challenge! Sanji, Usopp, Barto, Perona, and Izo perform a high-energy pop number while Buggy, Brook, Catarina, Caesar, and Pudding dance to sultry, seductive choreo.

Sanji is this week's winner and after battling Buggy, Caesar is sent home.

WEEK SIX: In the second of the season's design challenge, the contestants must create a runway look worthy of royalty. Once again, Sanji finds his way over to Usopp for assistance and a round of flirting. A jealous Pudding comments that Sanji should ask for help from someone who actually has a good sense of style since Usopp's taste level has come into question in the past. Cue passive-aggressive comments from both of them throughout the rest of the episode.

Izo is this week's winner and Catarina is sent home after losing to Buggy in the lip sync.

WEEK SEVEN: At the halfway point of the competition, the girls do celebrity impersonations for the infamous Snatch Game challenge.

Usopp's amazing impersonations gain him another challenge win. There is a sweet moment between him and Sanji in Untucked when he encourages a stressed-out Sanji who landed in the bottom three.

Izo is sent home after an emotional lip sync with Sanji.

WEEK EIGHT: This week, the remaining competitors perform in a musical! As last week's winner, Usopp is given the power to assign roles, which doesn't bode well for Pudding, who has been planting seeds of doubt in the mind of an anxious Usopp.

Brook wins the challenge after his spectacular performance as the lead in the musical. Pudding wins against Perona in a lipsync that many fans think should've been a double shantay.

WEEK NINE: The competitors show off three runway looks for the Grand Line Ball! The first look is Marine Madness and the second is Pirate Couture, both brought from home. The third look, Devil Fruitiness, must be created in the workroom and to no one's surprise, Sanji is over by Usopp's workstation. He seems to have learned a lot from his lessons from Usopp though, so they spend their time laughing and flirting as they create their looks.

Pudding wins the challenge and Buggy wins his lipsync over Bartolomeo.

WEEK TEN: The top five queens give makeovers to young queers, putting them in drag and creating a family resemblance between them.

After getting negative critiques, Pudding has a bit of a breakdown in Untucked this week, taking her frustrations out on Usopp and resulting in a heated argument. Brook calms down Usopp and Sanji reels in Pudding.

Sanji wins his second challenge and Buggy is sent home after an intense lipsync against Pudding.

WEEK ELEVEN: In the last challenge before the finale, the remaining four competitors are prompted to write, record, and perform a verse to Ivankov's original song, Revolution.

Brook wins the challenge with one of the best verses and performances in Drag Race herstory. Usopp and Pudding land in the bottom and perform an iconic lipsync that ultimately sends Pudding home.

WEEK TWELVE: Before the finale, all of the competitors return for a reunion episode hosted by Ivankov going over all of the season's drama. Pudding is called out by Perona and Bartolomeo for being two-faced and treating Usopp poorly. Ivankov puts the spotlight on Sanji, who is in the middle of the drama between Pudding and Usopp. The Doll vs. Caesar altercation is also re-hashed and goes unresolved.

WEEK THIRTEEN: In front of a live audience, the top three competitors Sanji, Brook, and Usopp do a performance of their choice in a final bid for the crown, which ultimately goes to............ BROOK!!!!!!

---

To the delight of audiences everywhere, Sanji and Usopp enter into a romantic relationship after the show had finished filming (so by the time the season aired, they'd been dating for about a year!). The fanfiction that is written about them is insane and Sanji is begging Usopp to stop reading it, damn it! They have also resolved the issue between themselves and Pudding and are now very close friends.

Sanji and Usopp go on to star in several other reality shows, their popularity growing with each appearance they make. They become one of the most iconic couples in television history and go down as queer icons.

[yridenergyridenergy]

Welcome! This is a special invitation to take the whole Dir en grey community for an enthralling ride into the Schadenfreude universe! 

That song’s lyrics are highly poetic, and seeing as it is a long song, we have even more to feed our imagination. These lines suggest an imagery, but far from forcing a specific one onto us, they peel at the layers of our creativity. 

We would love to see your approach on what those lyrics evoke for you. Some of you are incredible talented and this contest is less of a competition than it is an opportunity to create a gallery of amazing art dedicated to Dir en grey’s Schadenfreude!

Prizes

Still, as an incentive, you can expect not just many kudos and my heartfelt appreciation, but a couple of prizes! 

Two guaranteed prizes are sets of VIP & exclusive goods from Tour23 Phalaris Vol.II, which contain: portrait set (photographed during Tour23 From Depression To____ 25th Anniversary), drawing book (Perfume of Sins artist photo outlines), colouring pencils, wristbands set, and a large pouch. 

What’s more random and undetermined is that, on top of that, honestly, there are probably things that I would be willing to do or to depart with from my own collection. Whether it’s something in Photoshop, or you’re a fan of x member who is missing something, we’ll work out an extra prize that I can include in your package!

(Voting method and presentation of the entries to be determined - probably dependent on how many entries there are, if artists prefer to be presented anonymously or something, etc. I definitely won’t be making the decision myself, but I also want it to be as fair as possible for all participants!)

Deadline

I don’t want to rush creativity at all, but please submit your entries no later than July 7th 2023 at 11:59PM EST. Let me know if you find this too restrictive!

Here is the Google form to register your artwork:

https://forms.gle/BeBSzvgTj9GDvUfF7

Entries

You can enter as many entries as you wish to share! There are so many inspiring lyrics in Schadenfreude that would be difficult to mix into a single piece of art. At the same time, there isn’t necessarily strength in number in this case, since there will be at least two winners anyway. This is meant to give you flexibility rather than to force you to make a difficult choice on just one segment of Schadenfreude to illustrate, but don’t spread your efforts thin on too many pieces!

What medium? As long as it’s a still image, go wild with digital, paper, paint, clay(?). 

Literally no other theme than just: “Bring to life a part of Schadenfreude’s poetry”. The lyrics mention scenery for the most, but you could include a person in your artwork too. 

Do keep in mind the tone and way those lyrics are sung, as well as the surrounding melody, of course!

Tips?

This may be more distracting than helpful as it could create bias, but below the break, I’ll include some descriptions of how Schadenfreude was portrayed live by the band. 

Before the hidden break though, good luck to all and thank you to anyone who participates! If you can, please spread the word about this contest!

The lighting for Schadenfreude is overall very much blue and red, but I think there were scenes of red and green too. 

In the background, the accompanying video shows 3D graphics of: gnats, a featureless person praying on their knees, a corridor of material resembling inner linings or organs that leads to a wide room where a faceless branch being sits on a throne, the Devil with its horns, scorched paper, a devastated forest but also a jungle with a giant skull-shaped rcck or monument. Other parts of the video showcase sketches like those of the artist behind the Agitated Screams of Maggots and Rinkaku PVs, displaying a mage or a ghost. 

[impossiblesuitcase]

I heard your cries. I was not deaf to your dismay. Your favourite character was unjustly eliminated from TLC Survivor! Egad!

Well fear not! Today we shall restore ONE player back into the competition to vs our previous winner Cinder in THE. FINAL. SHOWDOWN. Choose wisely...

[curio-queries]

Run BTS: 046 | BTS Workshop

Original Air Date: 27 MAR 2018 Episode Length: 26:13 Total Parts: 1 YouTube English Subtitles: Yes Title Song: Blood Sweat & Tears

Synopsis: Learning pottery with a teacher. They're supposed to be making something to give to another member.

Production: Much better execution of this type of content than the coffee one. There was adequate spacing for filming, and pottery is just easier to visually explain in a larger group on camera. I did like that they gave the guys a focus of making something for each other, excellent choice production team! My only criticism is that there was so much going on at once, it was hard to keep up. oh and the framing, the subtitles have to be at the bottom of the screen covering their work or the top covering their faces.

Endearment: The guys did great as learners and entertainers! It's always so fun to see how given the same material and instruction, they each come up with such differing results.

Winner: Technically this one wasn't a competition but the teacher did call out two as the best so I'm marking them as the winners: JM, RM

Loser: none

Best Cheater: none

Member Moments:

RM: Actual subtitle: RM's skilled smashing

JN: Jin was in such a great mood this episode. telling his jokes, giggling with Jimin during V's presentation.

YG: Yoongi patting the air when he doesnt move to go feel the clay.

JH: Hobi turning the clay smashing into a vent session: yelling at Jimin to clean

JM: Ah, this is the episode where Jimin says he was a class leader for 9 years...right after everyone scolds hims for not finishing quickly.

V: Aww, V's spinning disaster always makes me a little sad. he was so proud of all of his creations. But they turn it into a great moment.

JK: Well, we learned one tactic of breaking JKs concentration during arts and crafts, have RM juggle bits of clay right next to him!

Bonus Content: The bonus scenes were so wholesome. i was smiling through the whole thing. enough to boost my rating up by 0.5

CQ Rank: 4

(CQ Eval Date: 25 JAN 2024)

Check out this post for my Masterlist of all episodes and descriptions of how I'm evaluating these.

Previous Episode: 045

Next Episode: 047

[writergirl3]

⭐️FIC TEASER⭐️ 'Your Choice' ; Aaron T/Z x Fem!Reader

So, I got this ask a couple months back and feel bad that I never got back into writing the fic I'd started.

But, in seeing as the manga previews have revived us remaining 4 Townies, I thought I'd post the least shitty scrap of writing I have for this.

This is NOT a poly fic, to be clear. In a nutshell, you're Jesse's little sister (sorry nb/masc readers), and the Aarons each fall for you. The story will have two alternate endings, so you can choose who you end up with. Sound good?

If enough people like this, I'll revise it so it's g/n, but this is what I got so far. Let's get into it!

GIF by lagorditadeturningred

June 2002

“I’m just gonna say it- this is dumb.”

Robaire being wrong is a rarity not witnessed by many, and this fact still rings true as he and Tae stare up at their identically-named bandmates.

While the two Aarons were usually the poster boys of solid friendship, things between the pair had begun to go sour in recent months. Little banter-fuelled competitions had grown more serious. Irritable grumbles from Z towards his energetic friend had turned personal. And T’s fun-filled pranks had bordered on full-blown altercations.

What fuels this fire, you ask? 

Well, in truth, it’s you.

Ever since your initial encounter with your brother’s bandmates back in ‘99, the Aarons have never been able to shake off their own feelings towards you. 

Pretty much ever since they set eyes on you, you had captured their hearts. They had both been taken by your own distinctive beauty at first. But since learning more about you as a person, their affection towards you has become an all-encompassing sort. 

Like stars mapping out the night sky, moments with you clustered into constellations in each of the Aarons’ minds day and night. And, it was these memories that made them fall for you.

Like when you and T pranked Jesse, jumping out to scare him when he was throwing clay on his wheel (it went EVERYWHERE). 

Or when you ran into Z late one August evening and he taught you the ‘proper’ way to shoot hoops. 

Then, there was the time when you all blasted Michael Jackson’s The Way You Make Me Feel at 2am and danced like crazy. 

Little things like this had been eating the Aarons up over the past three years, and they were both down bad. The thing is, they know that they share this commonality.

The problem that now presents itself is the rivalry that ensued between the once-friends. What had begun as a shared crush is now a full-on contention to win your heart. Only Tae and Robaire know, and while they try and keep the peace, it’s becoming harder to keep the group dynamic strong. 

It’s this feud that’s brought all of the 4 Town members, excluding Jesse, to this particular situation. T had suggested that the Aarons settle their dispute once and for all by seeing who could dangle from a basketball hoop for the longest. Whoever lost their grip first had to give you up, and the winner got to take you out.

Robaire looks up at the young men, trying to ignore the faint stench of sweat permeating the air. He stands on Z’s hoop to weigh it down, while Tae does the same for T’s.

“Shut up, R-Ro…” Z tries, and fails, to hide the struggle in his voice, his grip on the metal ring faltering.

“I think this is so cute! It’s like that scene in The Notebook-”

“-Don’t encourage them, Tae!”

“Alright, sorry, sorry…”

T and Z glare at each other, unaffected by their bandmates' conversation back on the ground. T smirks, knowing his words can get into Z’s head, easy. “I hope you got plans tonight, when I take Y/N out. Wouldn’t want you to spend it crying to Titanic.”

Z eyes the younger brunette with eyes that could rival a full-blown wildfire. “You takin’ her some place where pigs fly and unicorns shit rainbows?”

“I love unicorns!”

The three guys all deadpan Tae, who chuckles uncertainly and begins looking inanely up at the sky in the hopes of sighting some rare bird.

“How do you know Y/N even likes either of you dummies?” Robaire sighs, rubbing his temples. 

“She told me!”

“Shut up, T, no she didn’t!”

T huffs, readjusted his grip on the hoop, “Okay, maybe not. But at least I talk to her! All you do is stare at her like a dog or some shit!”

Widening his eyes in a dopey, lovestruck caricature, T impersonates Z mercilessly. If the latter didn’t have a face like thunder, Tae Young would have collapsed in a fit of uncontrollable giggles then and there.

“And how are you gonna impress her? With toilet humour and pranks?” Z spits, wishing he hadn’t made any reference to the bathroom. He’s been supporting his own weight for almost fifteen minutes now, and with the thought now in his head, he needs to pee.

In fact, he almost did just that when he, and the other boys, were startled by a familiar voice.

Well, yours, to be precise.

“What are you both doing?”

“Y/N!” the Aarons call in unison, your sudden appearance surprising them both. With a thud, they both fall to the ground in a heap.

“It’s a tie!” Tae shouts excitedly.

“A tie?” you question, quickening your approach to the scene.

Robaire and the Aarons look at Tae desperately, and he thinks on his feet. “I, uh- a Thai Silver Pheasant! Up there!”

Pointing upwards, Tae diverts your attention just long enough for the other boys to collect themselves. You frown, puzzled by what Tae is talking about. “Really?”

“Yeah! Did you miss it? Oh well, there’s always next time!” Tae rambles nervously before hastily pacing over to the house.

“Okay then…” you chuckle to yourself, before the sound of a wince takes your attention and you remember your brother’s bandmates. “You two okay?”

“I, er, I’m-”

“-Yeah, we’re good! All good!” T interrupts Z. You extend a hand out to T and he takes it with a blush and a jittery ‘thank you’.

Turning your attention to Z, your eyes widen at the small trail of blood trickling down one of his short-clad legs. “Z! You're bleeding!”

Rushing over to him, you sling your backpack onto the ground and rummage for a tissue or something to dab at the cut with with. He eyes you in a daze, slightly overwhelmed by your concern for him. When you retrieve a pack of tissues from the front pocket of your bag, you begin dabbing the graze carefully.

“T-thanks, Y/N…” Z utters sheepishly, embarrassed by your attention. You offer him a warm smile that makes his grazed knee, and the other one, weak.

T lets out a little huff of jealous annoyance, wanting your attention and care. When Jesse asks for help with unloading the suitcases from his van, though, T jumps at the chance to impress you with his strength and runs off.

You chuckle at the curly-haired boy before helping Robaire get Z to his feet. With one arm around his waist and the other holding his arm around your shoulder, Z can’t help but blush furiously as he hobbles towards the house with your help.

“T! Take them one at a time, you’ve already fallen once this morning!”

Jesse’s paternal instructions fall on deaf ears as T zooms past, gripping three suitcases somewhat-capably. He hides any struggle on his part well with the cheeky grin he flashes you on as he passes.

⭐️

So, what did y'all think? Should I keep plugging away at this and turn it into a full story?

[luimagines]

It's time POT SMASHING COMPETITION-

-Softie

POT SMASHING COMPETITION!

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

Frankly, it was Zelda’s idea.

Link adjusted his grip on his sword and looked around.

There were three levels to the stadium. Three of his brothers stood on the first and second while he and two other brothers were placed on the third. Link wasn’t allowed to know who was placed where. It was to discourage cheating or sabotage.

In front of him was a room full of pots. All in various shapes and sizes and colors. On the floor, on shelves, hanging from the ceiling, protruding from the walls.

Link took in a breath and he put himself in a steadying stance.

The rules of this new game were simple.

You stay in your assigned room.

There was going to be three minutes on the clock.

Break as many pots as you can.

Now that was something Link could get behind.

The others has agreed and soon Zelda had managed to get the entire thing set up before Link could even imagine how such thing would even take place. But he knows better than to question her at this point. Zelda does what Zelda wants.

Link looks behind him once more. He can’t see anyone. He can’t even see Zelda who’s hosting it. But he knows that everyone is nearby, just as excited and ready to give it their all as he is.

“Heroes!” Zelda’s voice rings throughout the stadium. It catches Link’s attention instantly. “Listen up Link!” She says with a small giggle, knowing that it still address all of them. “I want a good clean competition! No fighting! No cursing! No pot unturned! You have three minutes to break every pot in the rooms before you. Once time is up, it is up! Anything goes! As long as it breaks the pot completely! Fractures do not count! Everybody ready?”

Link hollers as loud as he can so that it can reach her. It’s emboldened when the others are quick to follow suit and strength his war cry.

“The energy!” Zelda laughs. “I love it! Ok! On your mark!”

Link turns around again to face the clay, his trusted sword ready.

“Get set!”

He adjusts his foot work. Link looks around the room and he knows exactly how he’s going to tackle this.

“Go!”

Link ducks into a spin attack, hitting as many pots as he can on the bottom. The sounds of multiple hours of work at the potter’s wheel wasted echo throughout the entire stadium. It’s the only thing Link can hear and it scrambles his brain into one coherent thought. Break more.

Link launches into his spin attack again and again and leaves nothing in its wake.

He can’t very well reach the once that are hanging from the ceiling so he switches for his bow as fast as he can. Vaguely, he can hear the sounds of a boomerang being tossed, quickly followed by more shattering pot as they either break in the air, or are broken as they collide with the floor.

He doesn’t have many left but the adrenaline makes it hard for him to aim straight. His grip is too tight and his hands begin to shake from the amount of effort he puts into trying to be as still as possible while shooting as quickly as possible. As you can imagine, it doesn’t work out very well.

“TIME’S UP!” Zelda yells, startling all of them at the same time.

Someone yells and consequently breaks one last pot in their wake. Zelda doesn’t acknowledge this- but in Link’s heart he knows that it’s because she’s too busy laughing at whoever got scared.

Link, however, bites down a curse. He missed three.

They taunt him as they continue to hang and the one that he left on the floor is hidden amongst the shattered pieces.

Not his best work.

He leaves the room to stand by the outside. A member of the castle comes and inspects his work, counting the ones he left behind.

That makes more sense. He thinks to himself. Fill the room up with a maximum number of pots and just count the ones left behind.

“Alright sir, you can make your way to the bottom floor. We’ll announce the winner shortly.” They say with a smile.

Link smiles back and nods.

He meets up with the rest of his traveling group. Each great him with looks of pride in themselves or disappointment in themselves or even just joy to have participated at all. Frankly.. It was fun. A stupid idea. But fun. And no one got hurt.

“And the winner is Link!” Zelda points to the victor. “Smashing fifty out of fifty pots!”

The rest groan.

“So close!” One yells. “I only missed one!”

Link sighs and deflated onto himself. The prize was a new sword and shield and a new hat.

Maybe another time.

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2003: Welcome to Riga!

Hello from Riga where they're not only celebrating autumnal colours but also the joys of stop-motion animation and the still frame. The venue is the Skonto Hall in Riga, capacity 6,500. Given everyone is seated, it's probably a little bit less than that - Riga, like Tallinn is staying on the smaller side of things.

Like last year, there were concerns about financing, but like last year, these proved to be unfounded. In fact, it looks like a lot of money has been spent - nearly all the elements look like some thought has been given as to how best to make the most of what money they had and interesting artistic and design choices have been made.

The whole stage feels bigger - the entire thing looks about three times larger than last year with a swathe of stage space to fill and a good view for the whole audience. There's a suspiciously soft blue curtained backdrop which I'm sure will come in to play later on.

The EBU have relegated Switzerland and Finland again - the yo-yo nations of Eurovision in this relegation era. Missing alongside them are Lithuania, Denmark and FYROM. There are slightly fewer relegatees this year because Eurovision has become in bigger in one important way. 2003 sees the competition increase in size to 26 entries for the first time, allowing more countries to take part, relegating fewer and finally achieving Eurovision's ideal size.

One other major new welcome is to Ukraine! It's their debut this year. How are they going to settle in to this new Eurovision setting? Maybe they will become another first time winner like Estonia and Latvia in the two proceeding years.

After last year dubious voting breakdown, the contest is back to the "100% televote" era. That means there are still three counties using juries, but there's no 50/50 jury/televote countries and 23 of the 26 are on pure televoting - the most there's ever been.

The introduction doesn't (initially) take us on a tour around Riga. Instead we dive straight in to this year's chief stylistic decision. Plasticine or modelling clay stop-motion animation with a large number of clay flowers blooming all over the place in lurid colour. Models move to meet, embrace and kiss spreading the message of the love.

After meeting the hosts, we discover the second major choice which is the montage/collage of still photographs used to take us on journeys. The two hosts take us on personal tours of their Riga and their childhoods. This is at once a good idea, showing us a personal love of a city that they can put on screen keeping the tourist boards happy as well demonstrating a deeper connection to the host country than we usually get. However those still image montages are going to get tiresome very quickly...

We also go on another tour of Europe (and space) with Elton John greeting us from Vienna, Lys Assia returns to Eurovision to say hello and a live link-up with the International Space Station says hello from orbit. This competition is really going places!

Our hosts are last year's winner Marie N, and Renārs Kaupers lead singer of Brainstorm, Latvia's 2000 entrants. He becomes the only person (I know of) to have both hosted Eurovision and performed at the Glastonbury Festival. They make the usual awkward hosting couple but also are possibly the best looking and best dressed hosts ever. That mustard suit - wow.

[carnivorousyandeere]

Kinktober Day 9: Fighting, Wrestling, Rough Body Play

( MDNI, No Age in Bio DNI )

Kinkdefinition describes three different versions of fighting— play fighting, competitive fighting, and erotic fighting:

“Play fighting is a form of physical play that involves simulated combat. It is often used as a way to bond with a partner or to explore power dynamics in a non-threatening way. Play fighting can involve wrestling, tickling, or other forms of physical contact.

Competitive fighting involves two or more people engaging in a physical contest to determine a winner. This can include martial arts, boxing, or other combat sports. Competitive fighting can be a way to test one’s physical and mental strength, as well as a way to experience the rush of adrenaline that comes with competition.

Erotic fighting involves using physical combat as a form of foreplay or sexual activity. This can include wrestling, grappling, or other forms of physical contact. Erotic fighting can be a way to explore power dynamics and sexual tension in a safe and consensual manner.”

From kinkopedia: “Rough Body Play is a wide field of kink that includes punching, kicking, slapping, striking – basically anything that flies in a bareknuckle fight gets included in my definition of Rough Body Play.”

Enjoys Play Fighting With Darling and Wants To:

Win: Quinn, Brucie, Elena, Wendell, Kyra, Lighthouse Spirit, Lan, Mildred, Cryptid, Gia, Hunter, Mason, Sonika, Genesis, Varsha, Kurtis, Isla, Eris, Kendra, Hailey, Kaylee, Lottie, Reed, Candy, Mina, Cael, Malak, Temperance, Kosuke, Jett, Tasi, Blake, Lenore

Lose: Byte, Mika, Felicity, Saturnia, Dante, Hana, Cyrus, Moth, Clay, Tasha, Memphis, Emerson, Jace, Rayleigh, Aspen, Ernie, Lyla, Olive, Zuri, Minnow

Either Way: Thorn, Penelope, Dakota, Ian, Mateo, Ace, Mehri, Tai, Airna, Dew, Fang, Sammy, Selene, Tomi, Jules, Chandler, Indigo, Darcy

Enjoys Sparring and/or Fighting With Darling and Wants To:

Win: Quinn, Cassandra, Elena, Lighthouse Spirit, Lan, Mildred, Gia, Hunter, Sonika, Genesis, Varsha, Kaylee, Lottie, Temperance, Kosuke, Lenore

Lose: Ian, Dante, Mateo, Moth, Memphis, Jace, Hailey, Lyla, Zuri

Either Way: Kyra, Dakota, Cryptid, Ace, Tai, Airna, Dew, Malak, Sammy, Tasi

Gets Worked Up:

While Fighting Other People and Wants to Fuck Darling After to Work Off the Excess Adrenaline: Marcus, Cassandra, Wisteria, Cryptid, Drew, Gia, Hunter, Mason, Varsha, Cecilia, Eris, Jace, Lottie, Cael, Blake, Cypress

Watching Darling Fighting Other People and Wants Darling to Work off Adrenaline With Them After: Byte, Mika, Penelope, Felicity, Ian, Mateo, Cyrus, Moth, Clay, Mehri, Kurtis, Rose, Angel, Fang, Lyla, Selene, Olive, Zuri, Chandler, Minnow, Darcy

Either Way: Quinn, Elena, Thorn, Kyra, Lighthouse Spirit, Lan, Mildred, Dakota, Dante, Ace, Genesis, Tai, Tasha, Memphis, Isla, Airna, Kendra, Hailey, Dew, Malak, Temperance, Ernie, Sammy, Kosuke, Jett, Tasi, Lenore

Rough Body Play Without Fighting or Sparring:

Wants to Rough Up Their Darling A Little: Cassandra, Mildred, Drew, Gia, Sonika, Genesis, Varsha, Kaylee, Lottie, Mina, Tasi, Lenore

Wants to Get Roughed Up by Their Darling: Erik, Mika, Thorn, Dakota, Cryptid, Ian, Dante, Cyrus, Moth, Clay, Tai, Tasha, Kurtis, Airna, Jace, Dew, Lyla, Sammy

Either Way: Kyra, Ace, Malak

[zingaplanet]

Tennis' popularity has been rising for the past few decades. Yet, with the high-profile superstardom it brought and the elegant image it projected, it is often easy to overlook why it is actually one of the most physically and mentally demanding sports to play on a professional level.

Here are a few major points that make it stand out:

There is no time limit in tennis. Uniquely rare in individual sports, tennis matches are won by points (winning 2 sets out of 3 or 3 sets out of 5), which means the match is going to be played until a winner is reached and the time it takes to finish one point is wholly dependent on rally length. The longest tennis match ever recorded is a first round Wimbledon 2010 match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, lasting for 11 hours and 5 minutes played over three days. The longest grand slam final (one that is played in one sitting) is the 5 hours and 53 minutes Australian Open 2012 match between Nadal and Djokovic. After the match, both could barely stand for the trophy ceremony.

Tennis matches cannot be won by a simple stroke of luck in the right moment, as its scoring measures consistency, requiring the highest level of physical fitness throughout the entirety of the match. Unlike simple accumulative score such as in football, tennis has a quirky rule that only allows players to win a game or a set if they won it consecutively twice. For instance, once players reached "deuce" (a 40-40 score) in a game, they would have to win two points in a row to win the game. If they win one and lose the next point, the result would always go back to deuce (neutral), no matter how long it takes.

Tennis is the only sports that are played in different surfaces. The four grand slams are played in hard courts, clay courts, and grass courts. The surfaces are incredibly crucial to the way the game plays out, as the ball bounced completely different both speed-wise and touch-wise on each, creating an immense variability in playing possibilites. Professional tennis players that go on tour have to switch between surfaces many times during a year, having to readjust their game completely once a new surface season began.

Breaking into the top rankings in tennis is a herculean task precisely because it was made to be so. Unlike in other sports such as football, tournament draws in tennis are not random, they are based on ranking seedings. This means that the top two ranked players are always positioned at opposite ends of the draws (i.e., they are only able to meet in the finals) and subsequently with the next in line. The quality of play thus always improves the closer you get to the end of the tournament. However, it also means that low-ranked players have to defeat the top 10 consecutively to actually win the tournament. This is very rare, and when it does happen it usually marks a new era of players, just as when Roger Federer upset Pete Sampras to win his first Wimbledon in 2003.

Tennis is, perhaps even more than a physical sport, a mental one. Sports analysts have noted that the majority of players in the top 50 have equally good forehands and backhands, except for rare cases such as the big three (i.e., Federer, Nadal, Djokovic), or service masters (e.g., Serena Williams, John Isner, etc.). What differentiates the superstars is mental strength during long and critical matches (e.g., championship or match points) because of the high chance of comeback that the scoring and no time-limit provides. For instance, Rafael Nadal won his 2022 Australian Open coming back after down 2 sets and a break point.

Tennis, especially in singles, is one of the loneliest, most individually competitive sports there is. Unlike team sports such as football or baseball, coaching during matches are highly forbidden and can lead to penalties. This means each player has zero contact with anyone during the usually 2 to 5 hours matches they play, relying solely on their own mental capacity, problem solving skills, and strategy decision.

Professional tennis is not only physically demanding it is also incredibly complicated technique-wise. There is an incredible array of shots available to play (a flat or topspin shot, a serve, a forehand, a backhand, a slice backhand, a drop-shot, etc.) and each has a different grip. Professional tennis playes usually change the way they hold their rackets mid-point, and has to vary them greatly to ensure different outcomes for each shot.

Strangely, unlike team sports such as football, tennis players share locker rooms with all their fellow competitors every tournament. Some tournaments such as Wimbledon even gather the top 20 players in a separate locker room. This means that rivals who play each other the most, especially in finals (as all the others would've left the locker room) would see each other more often than others. Top 50 players travelling around the world to play the competitive ATP (male) and WTA (female) world tour see their rivals and peers more than their own family. As tennis does not allow draws, when a tournament is over, the winner and the loser have to commiserate and celebrate in the same room.

This high amount of contact that players need to endure with each other, however, also elevates the standard of sportsmanship in the sports and have produced some of the most unique dynamics. Bonded through shared experiences of the worst and best moments in their lives, some maintained relationships lasting decades, perhaps fittingly proving that in the end, even the most competitive sports cannot best our humane traits of friendship, respect, and love.

[stateofsport211]

Wimbledon MS Q3: Know Your Men's Singles Qualifiers + Lucky Loser Situation (2/2)

The qualifying competition as they happened, side-by-side (📸 AFP via The Japan Times)

Compared to the first batch, most matches covered in the second batch were concluded in four or five sets (as they happened). While some of these could be tense, some also featured the (possible) plot twists that only occurred in the best-of-five sets: either the match that could have finished long ago but the opposition dug deep (thus adding extra pressure) or another kind of turnaround that resulted in a rollercoaster of a kind.

Those stories enriched the Wimbledon qualifying rounds, making it distinct from the other Grand Slams since this is the only Grand Slam played on grass. It could be a good preparation for them coming to the main draw, so be sure to have these qualifiers (and possibly, lucky losers) on the lookout too!

The first part of the article can be found here, and the Twitter thread can also be found here.

Section 5: Radu Albot d. Felipe Meligeni R. Alves 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(6)

Radu Albot’s point at 3-0* 0-30 to 15-30, 2nd set (left) and match point conversion to 7-6(6), 4th set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

Having qualified for the Championships last year as well, Albot came with at least a tie-breaker set in his previous two rounds, one of which he had to dig deep against Johannus Monday 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-2. On the other hand, Felipe stunned two veterans by defeating Pablo Cuevas and Vasek Pospisil to prevent a vintage battle to claim the qualifying spot.

Although Felipe’s defense-to-offense approach worked to some extent, just like in the fast hard ones, Albot’s creative prowess enabled him to outhit Felipe. While his working drop shots were spotted making the difference, minimizing the gap before Felipe held 1-3 in the second set, Felipe’s balance already went off before his level raise in the fourth set was insufficient to hand Albot the win, all on Felipe’s double fault as an initial differential, that even if the latter saved a match point out of his own volley (to reply to Albot’s lob), it was insufficient to the match tie-break thanks to Albot’s forehand, which Felipe shanked after the ball reached the let cord (and turned out to be in).

Section 8: Dennis Novak d. Yosuke Watanuki 6-7(9), 6-3, 6-3, 6-4

Dennis Novak’s point to *3-4 40-40 to 40-ad, 3rd set (📸 Wimbledon qualifying feed)

Y. Watanuki’s return depth, which also bothered Hubert Hurkacz when the former was a qualifier in Stuttgart (250), could pose an interesting test in the final qualifying round as he faced a more experienced Dennis Novak, who avenged Charles Broom 6-3, 6-4 after his three heartbreaker tie-breaker sets loss in the second qualifying round of the Ilkley Challenger.

The moment shifted in the last three sets once Dennis gained control in the middle of the second set. Stemmed from the Austrian’s power and variety (inclusive of his often proper slice usage and a forehand winner, displayed during a break point creation in the third set), Y. Watanuki’s service games ended up being pressed, often getting his shots rushed when trying to finish a point, hence the rest of the three sets.

Section 10: Dominic Stricker d. Mattia Bellucci 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4

Dominic Stricker’s point to 3-3* 0-15 to 0-30, 4th set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

M. Bellucci could regain his form in the grass season after reaching the second round of the Ilkley Challenger (l. Jason Kubler) after the rollercoaster clay season post-Australian Open qualifying rounds (l. Francesco Passaro in Q2). Somehow, after defeating Raphael Collignon and Ivan Gakhov in straight sets, he had to face a rising Dominic Stricker, who sought a main draw qualification to close his competitive grass season, notably keeping it close against Andy Murray in the Nottingham Challenger.

Stricker finally qualified for the main draw after sealing the fourth set with an ace. Before that, while handling M. Bellucci’s groundstrokes that worked better in faster courts (notably hard courts and grass), Stricker added more pace and spin to his shots, resulting in the sampled forehand winner to put himself 2 points ahead in the sixth game of the fourth set. In the end, after M. Bellucci got pressed, he rushed his final shots, which did not help anything except Stricker gaining his moment.

Section 2: Oscar Otte d. Marc Polmans 6-3, 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-5

Oscar Otte’s point at 3-3* 30-0 to 30-15, 2nd set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

Otte came with a questionable form since the beginning of the year (even was the 32nd seed last year) but appeared trying to make his comeback count in the grass season. This was visible in his journey to survive this popcorn chaos section, where he defeated Benoit Paire and Leandro Riedi, of all people, to secure his third-round encounter against Marc Polmans, who was eliminated by Cristian Garin in the second round of Wimbledon 2021.

Somehow, his grass-court prowess appeared just in time during the qualifying rounds. Despite being a closer encounter than his first two rounds, Otte’s redirecting ability and shot selection (including some balance of power in between) were still strong, he caught unleashing a drop shot and perfectly landed it before Polmans replied. The margin was thin, where the latter became an important differential in another example, where Otte lobbed his way through the 3-1 lead in the second set tie-breaker, eventually pressing Polmans’ service games at some other moments.

Section 4: Kimmer Coppejans d. Taro Daniel 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2

Kimmer Coppejans’ point at *4-4 15-15 to 15-30, 4th set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

The fourth section partially fell apart when Coppejans defeated last year’s Ilkley Challenger champion, Zizou Bergs, in the second qualifying round after digging deep to defeat Timofey Skatov (in the first qualifying round) to conclude that match in a tie-breaker to break his 8-match losing streak on grass. On the other hand, although T. Daniel’s career grass records were an entirely different entity, he kept it competitive against Tommy Paul in the Queen’s Club’s first round; and it is possible to visualize the application of his game on the grass courts, with some pacing adjustments while trying to stay aggressive.

Had this been a best-of-three match, T. Daniel would have advanced. However, maintaining the rhythm looked like a tough challenge for T. Daniel, where his rushes only shifted his moment in Coppejans’ favor. Even if T. Daniel broke for the other two sets, Coppejans re-found his balance thanks to his systematic point construction, where not only his forehand caused more damage, but he also smashed his way to open the path before he broke T. Daniel’s service game in the fourth set. The latter then ended up having his balance further off, resulting in the fifth set beatdown with Coppejans dominating its flow.

Section 3: Maximilian Marterer d. Fabian Marozsan 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(5), 5-7, 7-5

Maximilian Marterer’s match point conversion to 7-5, 5th set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

Upon winning the Perugia Challenger (which was held on clay), Marozsan entered the Top 100 for the first time in his career, currently sitting at number 95 in the official rankings. Playing his first professional grass-court Slam qualifying, Marozsan adapted his game in his own way by defeating Oleksii Krutykh and Elias Ymer before facing Maximilian Marterer, who qualified for the main draw last year after defeating Nicolas Moreno de Alboran.

This match became the match of the day as both players fought thick and thin in another five-set thriller. While Marterer often came up with passes caught off-guard in his strokes, Marozsan’s grass-court adaptation worked by using more slices and trying to use more drop shots despite its 50-50 success rate. However, as deep as Marozsan tried to dig, Marterer stood out by the end of the decider because of Marozsan’s rushed forehands, resulting in Marterer’s qualification to the main draw.

Section 9: M. Tomas Barrios Vera d. Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-7(3), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2

M. Tomas Barrios Vera broke to 5-2, 5th set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

Barrios Vera came to the qualification right after being the runner-up of the Poznan Challenger on clay (l. Mariano Navone 7-5, 6-3). However, having qualified in 2021 before his first-round elimination to Kevin Anderson, he might have a slight edge in facing an aggressive Seyboth Wild, who advanced after defeating Jelle Sels and Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first two rounds.

After Barrios Vera took the first set 6-4, he tried to find his balance because Seyboth Wild tried to paint his own lines, with a forehand down-the-line winner sealing him the second set through a tie-breaker. However, a fall in the middle of the fourth set forced Seyboth Wild to take a medical timeout in the middle of a game, and Barrios Vera started to regain his pace and passed him in one way or another. The forehand winner to double the break in the fifth set was the pinnacle before he served it out to dominate the last two sets, finally securing his main draw ticket.

Section 13: Laurent Lokoli d. Michael Mmoh 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2

Laurent Lokoli’s point to break 3-1, 3rd set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

In an already chaotic section, Lokoli and Mmoh faced off to secure a spot in the main draw. While Mmoh had to dig deep in defeating Adrian Andreev and Dragos Nicolae Madaras in the first two qualifying rounds, Lokoli qualified for both the Nottingham and Ilkley Challengers in his maiden grass season, coming to the third qualifying round without dropping a set here.

Despite this match coming to a decider, Lokoli’s creativity carried several crucial parts in his favor. Not only his drop shot could run Mmoh over at the net (on his volley side) in this third set sample, but he also could utilize the open space to adjust his pacing, neutering Mmoh’s baseline game in one way or another. Things like these were behind Lokoli’s stand-out performance in the fifth set, resulting in a relieving ending as he qualified for his second Grand Slam appearance this year after the Australian Open.

Lucky Loser Situation

Lucky loser situation per the last two matches playing (📸 Entry List Updates via Twitter)

After Jan-Lennard Struff and Gael Monfils withdrew due to an injury, four highest-ranked people (lost in the third qualifying round) will be drawn for two spots in the main draw, which are Marozsan, T. Daniel, Y. Watanuki, and Mmoh (all of which, somehow, came from this batch). Two of them will appear in tomorrow’s main draw, while the other two would stand by (just in case).

By the time the last match ended, it means A. Kovacevic and Piros will stay on the borderline, leaving the first four names to be drawn (for that moment). The lucky losers will be covered in a separate article before or after the draw and could be updated should they increase. For the first time in the tournament's history, the main draw ceremony will be streamed live on their official website at 10am local time, where the qualifiers and lucky losers will also be placed.