Overthinkers

The long awaited decision on the two bills has finally arrived as Her Majesty, Queen Adsila, has finally announced their decision. Despite foreign pressure, Queen Adsila granted her assent to the Colonial Restitutions Act, effectively stripping many Markan Houses of their estates within Zoran. Over the course of the next few months, the National Council of Lawmakers will have a special committee that will oversee the process and decide which estates may become public property for the public use and which estates will be brought into the sovereign allocations of the Crown. The law's co-author, Waya Adinesgesgi, had to say this on the matter:
"It is a good day for Zoranians across the country as our sacred and ancestral lands are restored to us. Hopefully this act will heal the generational pain that colonialism has brought to this country by driving out the last vestiges of that colonial period from this country."
As for the second bill, the Blood Alone Act, Her Majesty did not give her royal assent and used an absolute veto on the matter. Minority groups in the country cheered the decision and let out a sigh of relief at the news. In a surprise turn of event, Her Majesty released an explanation for her veto in which she said the following:
"I do not believe that this bill was made with the best intentions of the people in mind. The only purpose of this legislation would be to further divide our people with unnecessary classification. Zoran does not need a piece of legislation to determine Zoranian ancestry, the social feature of Clan names already serves that purpose in our society. So why must we subject minorities within our country to potential institutional discrimination and harassment when they have been living peacefully with us for centuries? As far as I’m concerned, all lawful people living within these borders are under my protection and should be treated equally regardless of heritage or origin."
With the Blood Alone Act vetoed, the National Council is likely to return to the matter of citizenship and draft a new piece of legislation that would settle the matter. But the supporters of the Blood Alone Act will likely lose the votes of minority groups in the next election cycle. Perhaps there might be some faces that are not re-elected, but we will wait and see what happens in the next few years. But right now, the people of Zoran are celebrating the results of the two pieces of legislation as they celebrate the end of Markan control of Zoranian lands, the last vestiges of the colonial period, and the defeat of the Blood Alone Act.
.  

The Coming of Tamar
In the age of ancient mists, when shadows played upon the tapestry of time, there strode forth a warrior queen named Tamar, a colossus with tresses of chestnut, flowing like the russet leaves of autumn, and a countenance kissed by the ancient sun, imbuing her with olive-hued radiance. Her eyes, a vibrant green adorned with flecks of precious gold, mirrored the fires that blazed within her spirit.
From the bosom of her ancestral lands, Tamar marched northward, a formidable procession of ten thousand warriors marching to the cadence of destiny. The People of the River, in their hour of need, had dispatched emissaries, invoking Tamar's aid against the marauding Berganisk tribesmen. The thundering war drums of desperation had resounded through the ages, reaching her ears.
With a visage etched in determination and a sword clasped to her side, Tamar, akin to a tempest given flesh, led her mighty host through the craggy expanses of the northern realms. The very air seemed to hum with the echoes of their march, a prelude to the saga unfolding in the chronicles of antiquity.
As Tamar approached the field of strife, where the clash of arms and the lamentations of the oppressed composed a haunting symphony, she beheld the vast theater of conflict. The Berganisk tribesmen, fierce and unyielding, loomed like an insurmountable tempest. Yet, Tamar stood undaunted, a radiant beacon in the gathering storm.
The battle erupted, a dance of blades meeting blades, and the earth quivered beneath the weight of fate. Tamar, with the grace of a hunting falcon and the ferocity of a she-wolf guarding her progeny, wove through the chaos, her sword singing a ballad of liberation. Her warriors, inspired by her valor, fought as if each stroke of their weapons was a stanza in an ageless hymn.
Amidst the ebb and flow of conflict, Tamar's prowess proved unmatched. She carved a path through the ranks of the Berganisk tribesmen, her sword a divine implement of justice. The rivers of crimson flowed, and the very soil seemed to groan beneath the tumult of the confrontation.
In the heart of battle, Tamar confronted the chieftain of the Berganisk, a formidable adversary with eyes reflecting the storms of the northern seas. The clash of their weapons resonated like thunder, and sparks ascended like celestial embers. Tamar, resolute and unyielding, emerged triumphant, and the chieftain's surrender echoed through the battlefield like a zephyr.
With the Berganisk chieftain kneeling in submission, Tamar, her voice resonating with the authority of ancient times, proclaimed terms of peace. The invading hordes were subdued, and the People of the River, rescued from the encroaching darkness, hailed Tamar as their deliverer and queen.
The saga of Tamar, the ancient warrior queen, inscribed itself upon the scrolls of time, a tale of valor, sacrifice, and the indomitable spirit that rises to meet the challenges of a bygone era. Her name, a radiant luminary in the tapestry of history, stood as a testament to the enduring might of those who brandish the sword in the pursuit of justice and salvation.

Simulcast live Monday morning on SPOT 3 and 97.3 The Coach FM
[The Reagan Ronald Show comes back from a commercial break. The show is shot in a tiny studio in Exvia. The room is littered with audio equipment and sports paraphernalia. The desk in the center of the room does not have a square inch of free space on it.]
[Huddled behind the desk is a mountain of a man, basically the size of the desk. He has a full, bushy beard and a shaved head. Reagan played in the TRY RL for several years and was a B-level star for the Exvian team, but “retired” after his third suspension from the league for doping. If anything, Reagan has only gotten larger since he started as a broadcaster, and his studio has only gotten smaller, as SPOT continues to gradually reduce his visibility within the network. His voice sounds like an entire gravel truck, and is about as subtle.]
Reagan: Welcome back to The Reagan Ronald Show. The topic of the day? Football. It’s World Cup time and that means that everyone suddenly becomes twice as patriotic. Except for, apparently, the people actually hosting the World Cup, in Ryxtopia. But, let’s make like the national police and shove these protesters out of the way for what’s really important here. Boom!
[He pauses for his catchphrase to take effect. It doesn’t. He moves on.]
Reagan: The Overthinkers team is putting on a good show. We maybe aren’t a Cambria, a Nieubasra, or an Airfiyah, but we can play. Let me be clear, I frickin’ love Coach Luigi’s playstyle. We had that one moment of weakness against Ryxtopia, but we’re clearly running Group A. Larxia ain’t even showed up.
Reagan: Everybody wants to talk about the kids in the front, but I always say defense wins championships. And we have a hell of a defense. Ryan and Elle are clearly the only good thing ever to come out of Brunnes. And can’t leave Emmy Barker out of this either. If these people get past our backfield, they ain’t getting past her.
Reagan: It looks like the only thing that can slip through our fingers now is Lucille Lyons. Boom!
[Another inordinately long pause.]
Reagan: In fact, let’s actually take a look at our forwards. Lukas, no notes. My kind of kid. He plays the World Cup like his schoolyard. I have nothing to say that hasn’t already been said.
Reagan: Our reserves maybe aren’t as good. Kyle Gerano hasn’t had a shot on goal in international play yet. He’s kinda just there, running interference. Joy Bering? I’ve said this before, I don’t buy the Highland hype. She plays adequate football in the SOFA.1 I don’t think she has what it takes in the World Cup.
Reagan: And maybe these softer reserves are why we’re stuck with Jeri Anders as a starter. Again, she’s from Highland, and Highland wasn’t crap till this last season. She’s played two seasons total with a team that hasn’t even made the playoffs. Now, you could’ve said the same for Lukas last World Cup, but Lukas proved he can actually play. Anders hasn’t shown us anything yet.
Reagan: ‘Course, I have my own theories on why they let Jeri play, but I can’t say those on air. But if you subscribe to my podcast, I’ll tell all in the next episode. “Full Contact with Reagan Ronald”, available on all your favorite podcast services.
Reagan: And speaking of promotion, it’s time for our sponsored segment.
[Through the magic of television, everything on the desk is replaced with fitness and protein products. The camera never cut away, so you’re not sure when or how it happened.]
Reagan: Men, let’s talk about your workout routine. After I go to the gym, I always refuel with Dark Horse products…”
1The Select Overthinkers Football Association.

Simulcast live Monday morning on SPOT 3 and 97.3 The Coach FM
[The Reagan Ronald Show comes back from a commercial break. The show is shot in a tiny studio in Exvia. The room is littered with audio equipment and sports paraphernalia. The desk in the center of the room does not have a square inch of free space on it.]
[Huddled behind the desk is a mountain of a man, basically the size of the desk. He has a full, bushy beard and a shaved head. Reagan played in the TRY RL for several years and was a B-level star for the Exvian team, but “retired” after his third suspension from the league for doping. If anything, Reagan has only gotten larger since he started as a broadcaster, and his studio has only gotten smaller, as SPOT continues to gradually reduce his visibility within the network. His voice sounds like an entire gravel truck, and is about as subtle.]
Reagan: Welcome back to The Reagan Ronald Show. The topic of the day? Football. It’s World Cup time and that means that everyone suddenly becomes twice as patriotic. Except for, apparently, the people actually hosting the World Cup, in Ryxtopia. But, let’s make like the national police and shove these protesters out of the way for what’s really important here. Boom!
[He pauses for his catchphrase to take effect. It doesn’t. He moves on.]
Reagan: The Overthinkers team is putting on a good show. We maybe aren’t a Cambria, a Nieubasra, or an Airfiyah, but we can play. Let me be clear, I frickin’ love Coach Luigi’s playstyle. We had that one moment of weakness against Ryxtopia, but we’re clearly running Group A. Larxia ain’t even showed up.
Reagan: Everybody wants to talk about the kids in the front, but I always say defense wins championships. And we have a hell of a defense. Ryan and Elle are clearly the only good thing ever to come out of Brunnes. And can’t leave Emmy Barker out of this either. If these people get past our backfield, they ain’t getting past her.
Reagan: It looks like the only thing that can slip through our fingers now is Lucille Lyons. Boom!
[Another inordinately long pause.]
Reagan: In fact, let’s actually take a look at our forwards. Lukas, no notes. My kind of kid. He plays the World Cup like his schoolyard. I have nothing to say that hasn’t already been said.
Reagan: Our reserves maybe aren’t as good. Kyle Gerano hasn’t had a shot on goal in international play yet. He’s kinda just there, running interference. Joy Bering? I’ve said this before, I don’t buy the Highland hype. She plays adequate football in the SOFA.1 I don’t think she has what it takes in the World Cup.
Reagan: And maybe these softer reserves are why we’re stuck with Jeri Anders as a starter. Again, she’s from Highland, and Highland wasn’t crap till this last season. She’s played two seasons total with a team that hasn’t even made the playoffs. Now, you could’ve said the same for Lukas last World Cup, but Lukas proved he can actually play. Anders hasn’t shown us anything yet.
Reagan: ‘Course, I have my own theories on why they let Jeri play, but I can’t say those on air. But if you subscribe to my podcast, I’ll tell all in the next episode. “Full Contact with Reagan Ronald”, available on all your favorite podcast services.
Reagan: And speaking of promotion, it’s time for our sponsored segment.
[Through the magic of television, everything on the desk is replaced with fitness and protein products. The camera never cut away, so you’re not sure when or how it happened.]
Reagan: Men, let’s talk about your workout routine. After I go to the gym, I always refuel with Dark Horse products…”
1The Select Overthinkers Football Association.

Simulcast live Monday morning on SPOT 3 and 97.3 The Coach FM
[The Reagan Ronald Show comes back from a commercial break. The show is shot in a tiny studio in Exvia. The room is littered with audio equipment and sports paraphernalia. The desk in the center of the room does not have a square inch of free space on it.]
[Huddled behind the desk is a mountain of a man, basically the size of the desk. He has a full, bushy beard and a shaved head. Reagan played in the TRY RL for several years and was a B-level star for the Exvian team, but “retired” after his third suspension from the league for doping. If anything, Reagan has only gotten larger since he started as a broadcaster, and his studio has only gotten smaller, as SPOT continues to gradually reduce his visibility within the network. His voice sounds like an entire gravel truck, and is about as subtle.]
Reagan: Welcome back to The Reagan Ronald Show. The topic of the day? Football. It’s World Cup time and that means that everyone suddenly becomes twice as patriotic. Except for, apparently, the people actually hosting the World Cup, in Ryxtopia. But, let’s make like the national police and shove these protesters out of the way for what’s really important here. Boom!
[He pauses for his catchphrase to take effect. It doesn’t. He moves on.]
Reagan: The Overthinkers team is putting on a good show. We maybe aren’t a Cambria, a Nieubasra, or an Airfiyah, but we can play. Let me be clear, I frickin’ love Coach Luigi’s playstyle. We had that one moment of weakness against Ryxtopia, but we’re clearly running Group A. Larxia ain’t even showed up.
Reagan: Everybody wants to talk about the kids in the front, but I always say defense wins championships. And we have a hell of a defense. Ryan and Elle are clearly the only good thing ever to come out of Brunnes. And can’t leave Emmy Barker out of this either. If these people get past our backfield, they ain’t getting past her.
Reagan: It looks like the only thing that can slip through our fingers now is Lucille Lyons. Boom!
[Another inordinately long pause.]
Reagan: In fact, let’s actually take a look at our forwards. Lukas, no notes. My kind of kid. He plays the World Cup like his schoolyard. I have nothing to say that hasn’t already been said.
Reagan: Our reserves maybe aren’t as good. Kyle Gerano hasn’t had a shot on goal in international play yet. He’s kinda just there, running interference. Joy Bering? I’ve said this before, I don’t buy the Highland hype. She plays adequate football in the SOFA.1 I don’t think she has what it takes in the World Cup.
Reagan: And maybe these softer reserves are why we’re stuck with Jeri Anders as a starter. Again, she’s from Highland, and Highland wasn’t crap till this last season. She’s played two seasons total with a team that hasn’t even made the playoffs. Now, you could’ve said the same for Lukas last World Cup, but Lukas proved he can actually play. Anders hasn’t shown us anything yet.
Reagan: ‘Course, I have my own theories on why they let Jeri play, but I can’t say those on air. But if you subscribe to my podcast, I’ll tell all in the next episode. “Full Contact with Reagan Ronald”, available on all your favorite podcast services.
Reagan: And speaking of promotion, it’s time for our sponsored segment.
[Through the magic of television, everything on the desk is replaced with fitness and protein products. The camera never cut away, so you’re not sure when or how it happened.]
Reagan: Men, let’s talk about your workout routine. After I go to the gym, I always refuel with Dark Horse products…”
1The Select Overthinkers Football Association.

Simulcast live Monday morning on SPOT 3 and 97.3 The Coach FM
[The Reagan Ronald Show comes back from a commercial break. The show is shot in a tiny studio in Exvia. The room is littered with audio equipment and sports paraphernalia. The desk in the center of the room does not have a square inch of free space on it.]
[Huddled behind the desk is a mountain of a man, basically the size of the desk. He has a full, bushy beard and a shaved head. Reagan played in the TRY RL for several years and was a B-level star for the Exvian team, but “retired” after his third suspension from the league for doping. If anything, Reagan has only gotten larger since he started as a broadcaster, and his studio has only gotten smaller, as SPOT continues to gradually reduce his visibility within the network. His voice sounds like an entire gravel truck, and is about as subtle.]
Reagan: Welcome back to The Reagan Ronald Show. The topic of the day? Football. It’s World Cup time and that means that everyone suddenly becomes twice as patriotic. Except for, apparently, the people actually hosting the World Cup, in Ryxtopia. But, let’s make like the national police and shove these protesters out of the way for what’s really important here. Boom!
[He pauses for his catchphrase to take effect. It doesn’t. He moves on.]
Reagan: The Overthinkers team is putting on a good show. We maybe aren’t a Cambria, a Nieubasra, or an Airfiyah, but we can play. Let me be clear, I frickin’ love Coach Luigi’s playstyle. We had that one moment of weakness against Ryxtopia, but we’re clearly running Group A. Larxia ain’t even showed up.
Reagan: Everybody wants to talk about the kids in the front, but I always say defense wins championships. And we have a hell of a defense. Ryan and Elle are clearly the only good thing ever to come out of Brunnes. And can’t leave Emmy Barker out of this either. If these people get past our backfield, they ain’t getting past her.
Reagan: It looks like the only thing that can slip through our fingers now is Lucille Lyons. Boom!
[Another inordinately long pause.]
Reagan: In fact, let’s actually take a look at our forwards. Lukas, no notes. My kind of kid. He plays the World Cup like his schoolyard. I have nothing to say that hasn’t already been said.
Reagan: Our reserves maybe aren’t as good. Kyle Gerano hasn’t had a shot on goal in international play yet. He’s kinda just there, running interference. Joy Bering? I’ve said this before, I don’t buy the Highland hype. She plays adequate football in the SOFA.1 I don’t think she has what it takes in the World Cup.
Reagan: And maybe these softer reserves are why we’re stuck with Jeri Anders as a starter. Again, she’s from Highland, and Highland wasn’t crap till this last season. She’s played two seasons total with a team that hasn’t even made the playoffs. Now, you could’ve said the same for Lukas last World Cup, but Lukas proved he can actually play. Anders hasn’t shown us anything yet.
Reagan: ‘Course, I have my own theories on why they let Jeri play, but I can’t say those on air. But if you subscribe to my podcast, I’ll tell all in the next episode. “Full Contact with Reagan Ronald”, available on all your favorite podcast services.
Reagan: And speaking of promotion, it’s time for our sponsored segment.
[Through the magic of television, everything on the desk is replaced with fitness and protein products. The camera never cut away, so you’re not sure when or how it happened.]
Reagan: Men, let’s talk about your workout routine. After I go to the gym, I always refuel with Dark Horse products…”
1The Select Overthinkers Football Association.

Simulcast live Monday morning on SPOT 3 and 97.3 The Coach FM
[The Reagan Ronald Show comes back from a commercial break. The show is shot in a tiny studio in Exvia. The room is littered with audio equipment and sports paraphernalia. The desk in the center of the room does not have a square inch of free space on it.]
[Huddled behind the desk is a mountain of a man, basically the size of the desk. He has a full, bushy beard and a shaved head. Reagan played in the TRY RL for several years and was a B-level star for the Exvian team, but “retired” after his third suspension from the league for doping. If anything, Reagan has only gotten larger since he started as a broadcaster, and his studio has only gotten smaller, as SPOT continues to gradually reduce his visibility within the network. His voice sounds like an entire gravel truck, and is about as subtle.]
Reagan: Welcome back to The Reagan Ronald Show. The topic of the day? Football. It’s World Cup time and that means that everyone suddenly becomes twice as patriotic. Except for, apparently, the people actually hosting the World Cup, in Ryxtopia. But, let’s make like the national police and shove these protesters out of the way for what’s really important here. Boom!
[He pauses for his catchphrase to take effect. It doesn’t. He moves on.]
Reagan: The Overthinkers team is putting on a good show. We maybe aren’t a Cambria, a Nieubasra, or an Airfiyah, but we can play. Let me be clear, I frickin’ love Coach Luigi’s playstyle. We had that one moment of weakness against Ryxtopia, but we’re clearly running Group A. Larxia ain’t even showed up.
Reagan: Everybody wants to talk about the kids in the front, but I always say defense wins championships. And we have a hell of a defense. Ryan and Elle are clearly the only good thing ever to come out of Brunnes. And can’t leave Emmy Barker out of this either. If these people get past our backfield, they ain’t getting past her.
Reagan: It looks like the only thing that can slip through our fingers now is Lucille Lyons. Boom!
[Another inordinately long pause.]
Reagan: In fact, let’s actually take a look at our forwards. Lukas, no notes. My kind of kid. He plays the World Cup like his schoolyard. I have nothing to say that hasn’t already been said.
Reagan: Our reserves maybe aren’t as good. Kyle Gerano hasn’t had a shot on goal in international play yet. He’s kinda just there, running interference. Joy Bering? I’ve said this before, I don’t buy the Highland hype. She plays adequate football in the SOFA.1 I don’t think she has what it takes in the World Cup.
Reagan: And maybe these softer reserves are why we’re stuck with Jeri Anders as a starter. Again, she’s from Highland, and Highland wasn’t crap till this last season. She’s played two seasons total with a team that hasn’t even made the playoffs. Now, you could’ve said the same for Lukas last World Cup, but Lukas proved he can actually play. Anders hasn’t shown us anything yet.
Reagan: ‘Course, I have my own theories on why they let Jeri play, but I can’t say those on air. But if you subscribe to my podcast, I’ll tell all in the next episode. “Full Contact with Reagan Ronald”, available on all your favorite podcast services.
Reagan: And speaking of promotion, it’s time for our sponsored segment.
[Through the magic of television, everything on the desk is replaced with fitness and protein products. The camera never cut away, so you’re not sure when or how it happened.]
Reagan: Men, let’s talk about your workout routine. After I go to the gym, I always refuel with Dark Horse products…”
1The Select Overthinkers Football Association.

Simulcast live Monday morning on SPOT 3 and 97.3 The Coach FM
[The Reagan Ronald Show comes back from a commercial break. The show is shot in a tiny studio in Exvia. The room is littered with audio equipment and sports paraphernalia. The desk in the center of the room does not have a square inch of free space on it.]
[Huddled behind the desk is a mountain of a man, basically the size of the desk. He has a full, bushy beard and a shaved head. Reagan played in the TRY RL for several years and was a B-level star for the Exvian team, but “retired” after his third suspension from the league for doping. If anything, Reagan has only gotten larger since he started as a broadcaster, and his studio has only gotten smaller, as SPOT continues to gradually reduce his visibility within the network. His voice sounds like an entire gravel truck, and is about as subtle.]
Reagan: Welcome back to The Reagan Ronald Show. The topic of the day? Football. It’s World Cup time and that means that everyone suddenly becomes twice as patriotic. Except for, apparently, the people actually hosting the World Cup, in Ryxtopia. But, let’s make like the national police and shove these protesters out of the way for what’s really important here. Boom!
[He pauses for his catchphrase to take effect. It doesn’t. He moves on.]
Reagan: The Overthinkers team is putting on a good show. We maybe aren’t a Cambria, a Nieubasra, or an Airfiyah, but we can play. Let me be clear, I frickin’ love Coach Luigi’s playstyle. We had that one moment of weakness against Ryxtopia, but we’re clearly running Group A. Larxia ain’t even showed up.
Reagan: Everybody wants to talk about the kids in the front, but I always say defense wins championships. And we have a hell of a defense. Ryan and Elle are clearly the only good thing ever to come out of Brunnes. And can’t leave Emmy Barker out of this either. If these people get past our backfield, they ain’t getting past her.
Reagan: It looks like the only thing that can slip through our fingers now is Lucille Lyons. Boom!
[Another inordinately long pause.]
Reagan: In fact, let’s actually take a look at our forwards. Lukas, no notes. My kind of kid. He plays the World Cup like his schoolyard. I have nothing to say that hasn’t already been said.
Reagan: Our reserves maybe aren’t as good. Kyle Gerano hasn’t had a shot on goal in international play yet. He’s kinda just there, running interference. Joy Bering? I’ve said this before, I don’t buy the Highland hype. She plays adequate football in the SOFA.1 I don’t think she has what it takes in the World Cup.
Reagan: And maybe these softer reserves are why we’re stuck with Jeri Anders as a starter. Again, she’s from Highland, and Highland wasn’t crap till this last season. She’s played two seasons total with a team that hasn’t even made the playoffs. Now, you could’ve said the same for Lukas last World Cup, but Lukas proved he can actually play. Anders hasn’t shown us anything yet.
Reagan: ‘Course, I have my own theories on why they let Jeri play, but I can’t say those on air. But if you subscribe to my podcast, I’ll tell all in the next episode. “Full Contact with Reagan Ronald”, available on all your favorite podcast services.
Reagan: And speaking of promotion, it’s time for our sponsored segment.
[Through the magic of television, everything on the desk is replaced with fitness and protein products. The camera never cut away, so you’re not sure when or how it happened.]
Reagan: Men, let’s talk about your workout routine. After I go to the gym, I always refuel with Dark Horse products…”
1The Select Overthinkers Football Association.

Simulcast live Monday morning on SPOT 3 and 97.3 The Coach FM
[The Reagan Ronald Show comes back from a commercial break. The show is shot in a tiny studio in Exvia. The room is littered with audio equipment and sports paraphernalia. The desk in the center of the room does not have a square inch of free space on it.]
[Huddled behind the desk is a mountain of a man, basically the size of the desk. He has a full, bushy beard and a shaved head. Reagan played in the TRY RL for several years and was a B-level star for the Exvian team, but “retired” after his third suspension from the league for doping. If anything, Reagan has only gotten larger since he started as a broadcaster, and his studio has only gotten smaller, as SPOT continues to gradually reduce his visibility within the network. His voice sounds like an entire gravel truck, and is about as subtle.]
Reagan: Welcome back to The Reagan Ronald Show. The topic of the day? Football. It’s World Cup time and that means that everyone suddenly becomes twice as patriotic. Except for, apparently, the people actually hosting the World Cup, in Ryxtopia. But, let’s make like the national police and shove these protesters out of the way for what’s really important here. Boom!
[He pauses for his catchphrase to take effect. It doesn’t. He moves on.]
Reagan: The Overthinkers team is putting on a good show. We maybe aren’t a Cambria, a Nieubasra, or an Airfiyah, but we can play. Let me be clear, I frickin’ love Coach Luigi’s playstyle. We had that one moment of weakness against Ryxtopia, but we’re clearly running Group A. Larxia ain’t even showed up.
Reagan: Everybody wants to talk about the kids in the front, but I always say defense wins championships. And we have a hell of a defense. Ryan and Elle are clearly the only good thing ever to come out of Brunnes. And can’t leave Emmy Barker out of this either. If these people get past our backfield, they ain’t getting past her.
Reagan: It looks like the only thing that can slip through our fingers now is Lucille Lyons. Boom!
[Another inordinately long pause.]
Reagan: In fact, let’s actually take a look at our forwards. Lukas, no notes. My kind of kid. He plays the World Cup like his schoolyard. I have nothing to say that hasn’t already been said.
Reagan: Our reserves maybe aren’t as good. Kyle Gerano hasn’t had a shot on goal in international play yet. He’s kinda just there, running interference. Joy Bering? I’ve said this before, I don’t buy the Highland hype. She plays adequate football in the SOFA.1 I don’t think she has what it takes in the World Cup.
Reagan: And maybe these softer reserves are why we’re stuck with Jeri Anders as a starter. Again, she’s from Highland, and Highland wasn’t crap till this last season. She’s played two seasons total with a team that hasn’t even made the playoffs. Now, you could’ve said the same for Lukas last World Cup, but Lukas proved he can actually play. Anders hasn’t shown us anything yet.
Reagan: ‘Course, I have my own theories on why they let Jeri play, but I can’t say those on air. But if you subscribe to my podcast, I’ll tell all in the next episode. “Full Contact with Reagan Ronald”, available on all your favorite podcast services.
Reagan: And speaking of promotion, it’s time for our sponsored segment.
[Through the magic of television, everything on the desk is replaced with fitness and protein products. The camera never cut away, so you’re not sure when or how it happened.]
Reagan: Men, let’s talk about your workout routine. After I go to the gym, I always refuel with Dark Horse products…”
1The Select Overthinkers Football Association.

Zona, almost a century prior...
Sometimes – times like this perfect dawn, for instance – it amused Frei rem Gofain to play a private game. The game was called "pretend there isn’t a war on."
It was relatively easy in some respects. It was quiet, and the night chill was giving way to a still cool as sunrise came up over the city. From where he sat, he could see the wide bay, hazy in the morning mist, and the sea beyond it, blue-grey, glittering. The city of Zona itself – a mix of modern construction, low-rise homes, and ancient steeples – was peaceful and quiet, huddled on the wide headland in a quaint, antiquated manner, as it had done for twenty-nine centuries. Sea birds wheeled overhead, which spoiled it slightly, because he envied them their wings and their freedom, but still, at these times, it was easy to play the game.
Zona was not Gofain's birth-town (he’d been delivered, a silent, uncomplaining infant, forty two years earlier in Zhuna Ra on the far side of the Gulf of Golden Fronds), but he had, unilaterally, adopted it. It was smaller than Zhuna Ra, prettier, a littoral town that understood the mechanisms of the sea and, with its universities and its many schools, was famous as a seat of learning. It was older than most others too. The old town quarter had been standing for two hundred years when the first plucky Azten began sinking their sharp teeth into the banks of the sacred river to raise Ior Aria. Zona, dear old Zona, was one of the oldest cities in the infinite empire.
Gofain had adopted Zona partly because of its distinguished past, mostly because he’d been stationed there for six years. He’d come to know it well: its eating houses, its coastal pavilions and piers, its libraries and museums. It was the place he’d always longed to return to every time he snapped the canopy shut and waved the fitters away. And it was the place he always had come back to.
Even the last time.
"You there! Driver!"
The voice broke through his thoughts. He sat up in the worn leather seat of the cargo transport and looked out. Lord Silan, the Order of Ordinance dispatcher, was coming over towards him, three aides wobbling along in his wake like novice wingmen. Silan’s long robes fluttered out behind him and his boots were raising dust from the dry earth. His voice was pitched high, like the seabirds’ calls. Gofain didn’t like SIlan much. His game was ruined now. The dispatcher's call had made him drop his eyeline to take in the ground and the airfield. And no one could pretend there wasn’t a war when they saw that.
Gofain opened his cab door and climbed down to meet the dispatcher. He’d been up waiting since five, sipping coffee from a flask and munching on a coil of local bread.
"Lord," he said, saluting. He didn’t have to. The unctuous man had no military rank, but old habits, like Gofain himself, died hard. Dispatcher Silan had a clipboard in his hands. He looked up and down Gofain, and the grubby transport behind him.
"Driver Gofain, F. R.? Vehicle 143?"
"As you well know, Lord," said Gofain.
Silan made a check in one of the boxes on his sheet. "Fuelled and roadworthy?"
Gofain nodded. "As of 05.00. I was issued coupons for forty litres of II-grade, and I filled up at the depot before I came on duty."
Silan checked another box. "Do you have the receipt?"
Gofain produced the paper slip from his coat pocket, smoothed it flat, and handed it to the dispatcher.
Silan studied it. "Forty point zero-three litres, driver?"
Gofain shrugged. "The nozzle guns aren’t really accurate, Lord. I stopped it when it wound over forty, but the last few drops–"
"You should take care to be more accurate," Silan said flatly. One of his aides nodded.
"Have you ever fuelled a vehicle from the depot tanks, Lord?" Gofain said lightly.
"Of course not!"
"Well, if you had, you might know how tricky it is to get the wind exact."
"Don’t you blame me for your inaccuracies, driver!" Silan sputtered. "Essential resources such as fuel must be managed and rationed to the millilitre! That is the task of the Holy Order of Ordinance! There’s a war on, don’t you realise?"
"I had heard…"
Silan ignored him and looked at the nodding aide. "What’s zero-three of a litre II-grade at base cost?"
The aide made a quick calculation in his head. "Rounding down, ten and a half claria, Lord."
"Round up. And deduct it from the next paycheck of driver Gofain, F. R."
"So recorded, Lord."
Silan turned back to Gofain. "Transportation run. Personnel. Pick up within thirty minutes from the Hotel Royale in–"
"I know where it is."
"Good. Convey them to the dispersal point at MAB South. Do you understand? Fine. Then sign here."
As he signed his name, his stiffened fingers struggling with the pencil, Gofain asked: "Are they fliers? Fliers from the East at last?"
Silan huffed. "Not for me to say. There’s a war on."
"You think I don’t know that, Lord?" Gofain asked.
As he took back the clipboard and the pen, Silan looked up at Gofain's face and made eye contact for the first time. What he saw made him shudder.
"Carry on, driver," he said, and hurried away.
Gofain climbed up into his battered transport and turned the engine over. Blue-black smoke coughed and spurted from the exhaust. Lifting the brake, he rolled the truck down the gentle slope of the hardpan and drove off along the field circuit trackway, following the chain link fence.
The game was certainly ruined now. No pretending any more. Here were fuel tankers, smeared with black waste, armoured hangars, repair sheds reverberating with the noise of tools, lines of coils on their trolleys, munitions trains parked and empty on verges of swishing grass. And airstrips. Cracked concrete looking like psoriatic skin in the early light, with four-engine bombers sulking on their hardstands, props like sabre-blades raised in threat, hook-winged dive-bombers under tarps, fitters and armourers working around them. Beyond the strips, facing the sea, lay the long runway and the Firebirds, stretched out and vaguely glinting in the rising sun. Five Firebirds sat idle at the head of the roads. Dark blue with grey undersides, they were tiny, one-man planes with stubby wings and tails, their engine cowling stripped, their nose guns muzzled. They looked squat, leaden.
But Gofain knew how they felt to fly. He knew how they ran down those runways, throttles right back, engines farting and popping as they fired to velocity. The bellydropping jink as they cleared the ground and lifted up into the blue, raw and throbbing. The cold smell of the cockpit. The reek of rubber and steel, fuel, nitrous. The feel of being aloft, alive…
Gold above, how he missed it.
At the gate, beside the staked revets and the heavy fences, he pulled over to let a munitions convoy roll in. He glanced up into the driving mirror and, for a moment, saw himself.
More than anything, more than even the airfield full of prepping warplanes, the sight of himself reminded Frei rem Gofain that his cherished game was only pretend.
There was, inescapably, a war on.

In the darkened entrance tunnel, moments before the match...
"Nelson, mate, turkey for Thanksgiving? It's like watching paint dry. Bland, dry, and utterly forgettable," Nelson quipped, his words sharp and to the point. His dark eyes gleamed with a hint of mischief as he leaned against the tunnel wall.
Christian shot back with a grin, his quick-witted retort hanging in the air like a challenge. "Nelson, you've got it all wrong, sunshine. Thanksgiving is about tradition, and turkey is the undisputed heavyweight champ of the holiday table. Versatility, my friend! You can roast it, fry it, smoke it – it's the triple threat of festive fowl."
The banter continued, a rapid-fire exchange echoing the patter and rhythms of a Ray Gitchie film.
"Versatility? It's a damn bird, Christian, not a Recuecian Army knife. I'd rather have a tradition of enjoying my meal. How 'bout we spice it up with some chili or throw in some jerk chicken for a real celebration?" Nelson countered.
But Christian, leaning in with a conspiratorial air, explained the beauty of a well-cooked turkey like a seasoned football coach detailing a winning strategy. "Nelson, you're missing the point, my man. Thanksgiving is about coming together, sharing a meal that screams 'Braya. Turkey embodies that spirit, and it's like a culinary handshake with history."
Nelson chuckled, his grin widening. "'Braya, huh? I'd rather be shaking hands with a plate full of flavor. Our Adaikian brothers got it right with their hearty stews and savory pies. Now, that's a celebration on a plate."
"Fair play, Nelson, but when you're savoring your exotic feast, just remember the warm embrace of a perfectly roasted turkey. It's a classic, like a vintage scotch or a well-placed penalty kick," Christian remarked with a knowing grin.
Nelson, smirking in response, shot back, "Classic, huh? I'll stick to being a maverick in the culinary arena. Let's just hope our performance on the pitch today is more exciting than this banter."

With a nod of mutual respect, the players exchanged a competitive glance before heading towards the pitch, leaving their Thanksgiving meal debate hanging in the air like the prelude to a high-stakes match.

[OOC Context Note: Broadcast the day before Match Day 1.]

Melanie: From SPOT Studios in the heart of Cangham, we bring you the inaugural Football World Cup Preview, presented by Ping AI. I’m Melanie Soft, and I’m joined today by my colleague Weston Hall.
Weston: Greetings!
Melanie: Over the next two hours, we’re going to be breaking down the minutiae of the third Football World Cup in Ryxtylopia, and how your very own Overthinkers National Team is preparing. But first, let’s start with the basics. Weston, many of our viewers may be new to the World Cup, how would you explain the tournament in simple terms?
Weston: It really is quite simple, Melanie. Twenty-four teams of gladiators have entered the arena seeking the title and international glory. These teams are comprised of the mightiest champions of the countries they respectively represent. In the interest of narrative, these teams must prove themselves against each other in a series of matches before entering the yet-more-competitive knockout stage.
Weston: To prove themselves thus, teams have been assigned to four groups, each more or less evenly matched in skill to one another, but representing a wide range of skill within each group. Teams shall earn favor with the lords of the tourney by winning matches against their group, or a lesser amount of favor by tying. After each team has tested themselves against every other team in the group, the four teams most favored shall enter into the knockout stage.
[Melanie is smiling at the camera, but the pain behind her eyes is obvious.]
Weston: In the knockout stage, the stakes become higher. Each of these battles becomes a do-or-die situation for our gladiators. The victors live to fight another day, the losers will board a plane back home. We proceed from sixteen to eight, then to four, then finally to the last two teams remaining, who shall fight to claim the World Cup trophy.
Melanie: Great! Now, let’s introduce you to what teams are playing. We start with Group A, which includes Overthinkers.
[Graphic of Group A teams appears onscreen.]
Melanie: Notably, this group includes the hosts, Ryxtylopia, but also includes Larxia, one of the top 5 ranked teams in international play. Besides Larxia, the teams in this group are all either unranked or within 5 ranks of one another, meaning that at least on paper, anything can happen in this group.
Weston: Truly, this field was designed to give all a sporting chance, all the better for Overthinkers to improve upon their showing in the last World Cup.
Melanie: For the sake of brevity, I agree.
[Melanie runs through the remaining groups, with occasional interjections by Weston. Notably, Weston is thrilled by the uncertainty over whether Sasha of the Dalimbari team is a bear.]
Melanie: Now, before we go to break, we’ve asked our “special analyst” some questions in advance and gotten some prognostications. Let’s hear from our sponsor, Ping AI. Hey Ping, given the teams listed, who will win the World Cup?
Ping: Saint Mark.
Melanie: Interesting! Can you elaborate?
Ping: Because I said so.
Melanie: Great! We’ll be right back after the break to introduce you fully to your Overthinkers National Team.
[ad break]
[Coming out of the ad break, a hype video plays. Generic rock song plays as highlights and photos of OT players flash on screen, introducing each member of the starting lineup. It then ends with the Football World Cup graphic.]
Melanie: And we’re back with the Football World Cup Preview, presented by Ping AI. We’re taking a look now at our starting lineup.
[A graphic of the full team roster appears on screen.]
Melanie: Eight of last year’s starting eleven return this year, and two of last year’s reserves are starters this year. Altogether, there’s seven players making their World Cup debut, including Jeri M. Anders, who landed a starting role at forward.
Melanie: To truly get to know these players, let’s talk to someone who has been on the world stage with many of them before. We’re joined in the studio by Ian Reid, who is missing this World Cup due to injury. Ian, I know you’d rather be in Ryx with the team, but welcome to the studio.
Ian: Pleasure’s all mine, Melanie.
Melanie: So you’ve seen our roster for this year. Anything that immediately catches your eye here?
Ian: I said after our elimination last year that we had all the ingredients for success, but we weren’t prepared to execute. Seeing so many of the same people here, now with World Cup experience, I can only imagine we’re ready to grind.
Ian: I’ll call out Max Hamilton, here, my replacement. He was a reserve last year, got some play time in, but since then he’s really stepped up his game. He would have given me a run for the starting job even if I were healthy. I think he’s every bit as good as Elle and Ryan in the backfield.
Ian: Jeri, too. Even younger than Lukas and fully earned that starting job next to him. I spend some time at Highland this year and really liked what I saw from her and from that whole program. We’ve got some great younger players coming out of these smaller clubs that can only go up from here.
Weston: The youths also stir the hearts of the nation, displaying some spectacular showmanship on the field that deviates from the team’s normal, reserved strategy.
Ian: Yeah, and I’m torn on that, frankly. These younger players try to be flashy, they try to be heroes, and seeing Lukas go off last year only inflated their egos. This is Coach Luigi’s team, he wants you to defend the ball and score safely. Hopefully he can temper some of that recklessness.
Melanie: While the starters have a lot of experience, the reserves are majority newcomers to international play. What do you make of that?
Ian: They’re new to international play, but they’re not new to football. Petra and Stephen have three rings between them. Joy played for a long time at West and is accustomed to the rise and grind that this team plays. If they can shake off the nerves early, they’ll be just fine.
Melanie: Love it. Thanks for joining us today, Ian, and hope you can get back to the pitch soon.
Ian: Myself and my doctors have differing opinions on that. Cheers.
Melanie: Before we go to break, we have another question for our sponsor, Ping AI. Hey Ping, who will be the Overthinkers team MVP this World Cup?
Ping: Chris Peterson.
Melanie: Chris isn’t playing this year.
Ping: Chris Peterson.
Melanie: O-kay, stay tuned. After the break, we got a moment with the Overthinking team after they touched down in Ryxenia.
[ad break]
Weston: Welcome back, dear viewers, to the Football World Cup Preview, presented by the incomparable Ping AI. We’d lose our jobs if we actually used this product at SPOT, but that’s our problem, not yours.
Melanie: Ahem. Yes. Earlier this week, the Overthinkers National Team departed from Cangham International Airport and arrived in Ryxenia, the capital of Ryxtylopia. Once the team got through customs, we caught up with them in transit to their lodgings. Let’s hear now from field correspondent Emily Corral.
Emily [voiceover as B-roll plays]: The Overthinkers National Team has arrived in Ryxenia for the third Football World Cup. The city is warm and vibrant, and the streets are lined with football fans, thrilled to have an event of this significance on their home turf.
[Half of a protest sign comes into frame before the scene abruptly changes.]
Emily [now on-camera]: We’ve gotten exclusive access to the team bus as the team travels to one of Ryxenia’s finest hotels. I’m here standing next to Ray Chang, one of the veterans of this team. Ray, how was your trip?
Ray: It was just fine. We all thought the plane ride was shorter than expected, and when we got off, we were surrounded by some of the finest architecture we had ever seen. Like, completely blown away by how beautiful and grandiose everything was. But it turned out we had actually landed in Saint Mark. Our plane had an instrument issue that needed fixing. So by the time we got here to Ryxenia it was…
[Ambassador von Edelgard peeks out from the seat back behind Ray.]
Ray: ...also pretty great. You can tell there’s a lot of money in this place.
[von Edelgard recedes.]
Emily: I see. We now have Coach Wendell Luigi right here. Coach, how is the team feeling after the trip?
Coach: They’re ready to roll. It was a pretty smooth trip, despite the interruption. We’re all super locked in and ready to get practicing.
Emily: Now Coach, we haven’t had a chance to talk to you since Lucille Lyons resigned from the team at the last minute and then dropped off the map. Has there been any impact from that on the team?
Coach: I can’t speak from the players, they’re each dealing in their own way. All I have to say on the matter that’s fit for TV is, you picked a fine time to leave us, Lucille. But we were able to get George called up to fill her slot. The kid’s ecstatic—you can tell it’s a dream come true for him. I want to focus on the positivity of that.
Emily: Understood. You guys are playing Alchera in the first match. Are there any particular strategies you have for them?
Coach: Not particularly. They’re a solid team, we’re about evenly matched from what I saw last year. We will go out there and play our game, and make them play our game too. And we’ll adjust from there.
Emily: Larxia is far and away the strongest team in Group A. Do they give you any concern?
Coach: We only have to worry about them once before the knockouts. We’ll try our hardest, but we’re giving our all in every game.
Emily: Thanks for your time, Coach.
[Cut back to studio.]
Melanie: Thanks, Emily. Now, one more question for our sponsor, Ping AI. Ping, what World Cup team has the potential to be a dark horse this year?
Ping: Kalmach.
Melanie: Good call! Why is that?
Ping: Because I said so.
[ad break]

 

[OOC Context Note: Broadcast the day before Match Day 1.]

Melanie: From SPOT Studios in the heart of Cangham, we bring you the inaugural Football World Cup Preview, presented by Ping AI. I’m Melanie Soft, and I’m joined today by my colleague Weston Hall.
Weston: Greetings!
Melanie: Over the next two hours, we’re going to be breaking down the minutiae of the third Football World Cup in Ryxtylopia, and how your very own Overthinkers National Team is preparing. But first, let’s start with the basics. Weston, many of our viewers may be new to the World Cup, how would you explain the tournament in simple terms?
Weston: It really is quite simple, Melanie. Twenty-four teams of gladiators have entered the arena seeking the title and international glory. These teams are comprised of the mightiest champions of the countries they respectively represent. In the interest of narrative, these teams must prove themselves against each other in a series of matches before entering the yet-more-competitive knockout stage.
Weston: To prove themselves thus, teams have been assigned to four groups, each more or less evenly matched in skill to one another, but representing a wide range of skill within each group. Teams shall earn favor with the lords of the tourney by winning matches against their group, or a lesser amount of favor by tying. After each team has tested themselves against every other team in the group, the four teams most favored shall enter into the knockout stage.
[Melanie is smiling at the camera, but the pain behind her eyes is obvious.]
Weston: In the knockout stage, the stakes become higher. Each of these battles becomes a do-or-die situation for our gladiators. The victors live to fight another day, the losers will board a plane back home. We proceed from sixteen to eight, then to four, then finally to the last two teams remaining, who shall fight to claim the World Cup trophy.
Melanie: Great! Now, let’s introduce you to what teams are playing. We start with Group A, which includes Overthinkers.
[Graphic of Group A teams appears onscreen.]
Melanie: Notably, this group includes the hosts, Ryxtylopia, but also includes Larxia, one of the top 5 ranked teams in international play. Besides Larxia, the teams in this group are all either unranked or within 5 ranks of one another, meaning that at least on paper, anything can happen in this group.
Weston: Truly, this field was designed to give all a sporting chance, all the better for Overthinkers to improve upon their showing in the last World Cup.
Melanie: For the sake of brevity, I agree.
[Melanie runs through the remaining groups, with occasional interjections by Weston. Notably, Weston is thrilled by the uncertainty over whether Sasha of the Dalimbari team is a bear.]
Melanie: Now, before we go to break, we’ve asked our “special analyst” some questions in advance and gotten some prognostications. Let’s hear from our sponsor, Ping AI. Hey Ping, given the teams listed, who will win the World Cup?
Ping: Saint Mark.
Melanie: Interesting! Can you elaborate?
Ping: Because I said so.
Melanie: Great! We’ll be right back after the break to introduce you fully to your Overthinkers National Team.
[ad break]
[Coming out of the ad break, a hype video plays. Generic rock song plays as highlights and photos of OT players flash on screen, introducing each member of the starting lineup. It then ends with the Football World Cup graphic.]
Melanie: And we’re back with the Football World Cup Preview, presented by Ping AI. We’re taking a look now at our starting lineup.
[A graphic of the full team roster appears on screen.]
Melanie: Eight of last year’s starting eleven return this year, and two of last year’s reserves are starters this year. Altogether, there’s seven players making their World Cup debut, including Jeri M. Anders, who landed a starting role at forward.
Melanie: To truly get to know these players, let’s talk to someone who has been on the world stage with many of them before. We’re joined in the studio by Ian Reid, who is missing this World Cup due to injury. Ian, I know you’d rather be in Ryx with the team, but welcome to the studio.
Ian: Pleasure’s all mine, Melanie.
Melanie: So you’ve seen our roster for this year. Anything that immediately catches your eye here?
Ian: I said after our elimination last year that we had all the ingredients for success, but we weren’t prepared to execute. Seeing so many of the same people here, now with World Cup experience, I can only imagine we’re ready to grind.
Ian: I’ll call out Max Hamilton, here, my replacement. He was a reserve last year, got some play time in, but since then he’s really stepped up his game. He would have given me a run for the starting job even if I were healthy. I think he’s every bit as good as Elle and Ryan in the backfield.
Ian: Jeri, too. Even younger than Lukas and fully earned that starting job next to him. I spend some time at Highland this year and really liked what I saw from her and from that whole program. We’ve got some great younger players coming out of these smaller clubs that can only go up from here.
Weston: The youths also stir the hearts of the nation, displaying some spectacular showmanship on the field that deviates from the team’s normal, reserved strategy.
Ian: Yeah, and I’m torn on that, frankly. These younger players try to be flashy, they try to be heroes, and seeing Lukas go off last year only inflated their egos. This is Coach Luigi’s team, he wants you to defend the ball and score safely. Hopefully he can temper some of that recklessness.
Melanie: While the starters have a lot of experience, the reserves are majority newcomers to international play. What do you make of that?
Ian: They’re new to international play, but they’re not new to football. Petra and Stephen have three rings between them. Joy played for a long time at West and is accustomed to the rise and grind that this team plays. If they can shake off the nerves early, they’ll be just fine.
Melanie: Love it. Thanks for joining us today, Ian, and hope you can get back to the pitch soon.
Ian: Myself and my doctors have differing opinions on that. Cheers.
Melanie: Before we go to break, we have another question for our sponsor, Ping AI. Hey Ping, who will be the Overthinkers team MVP this World Cup?
Ping: Chris Peterson.
Melanie: Chris isn’t playing this year.
Ping: Chris Peterson.
Melanie: O-kay, stay tuned. After the break, we got a moment with the Overthinking team after they touched down in Ryxenia.
[ad break]
Weston: Welcome back, dear viewers, to the Football World Cup Preview, presented by the incomparable Ping AI. We’d lose our jobs if we actually used this product at SPOT, but that’s our problem, not yours.
Melanie: Ahem. Yes. Earlier this week, the Overthinkers National Team departed from Cangham International Airport and arrived in Ryxenia, the capital of Ryxtylopia. Once the team got through customs, we caught up with them in transit to their lodgings. Let’s hear now from field correspondent Emily Corral.
Emily [voiceover as B-roll plays]: The Overthinkers National Team has arrived in Ryxenia for the third Football World Cup. The city is warm and vibrant, and the streets are lined with football fans, thrilled to have an event of this significance on their home turf.
[Half of a protest sign comes into frame before the scene abruptly changes.]
Emily [now on-camera]: We’ve gotten exclusive access to the team bus as the team travels to one of Ryxenia’s finest hotels. I’m here standing next to Ray Chang, one of the veterans of this team. Ray, how was your trip?
Ray: It was just fine. We all thought the plane ride was shorter than expected, and when we got off, we were surrounded by some of the finest architecture we had ever seen. Like, completely blown away by how beautiful and grandiose everything was. But it turned out we had actually landed in Saint Mark. Our plane had an instrument issue that needed fixing. So by the time we got here to Ryxenia it was…
[Ambassador von Edelgard peeks out from the seat back behind Ray.]
Ray: ...also pretty great. You can tell there’s a lot of money in this place.
[von Edelgard recedes.]
Emily: I see. We now have Coach Wendell Luigi right here. Coach, how is the team feeling after the trip?
Coach: They’re ready to roll. It was a pretty smooth trip, despite the interruption. We’re all super locked in and ready to get practicing.
Emily: Now Coach, we haven’t had a chance to talk to you since Lucille Lyons resigned from the team at the last minute and then dropped off the map. Has there been any impact from that on the team?
Coach: I can’t speak from the players, they’re each dealing in their own way. All I have to say on the matter that’s fit for TV is, you picked a fine time to leave us, Lucille. But we were able to get George called up to fill her slot. The kid’s ecstatic—you can tell it’s a dream come true for him. I want to focus on the positivity of that.
Emily: Understood. You guys are playing Alchera in the first match. Are there any particular strategies you have for them?
Coach: Not particularly. They’re a solid team, we’re about evenly matched from what I saw last year. We will go out there and play our game, and make them play our game too. And we’ll adjust from there.
Emily: Larxia is far and away the strongest team in Group A. Do they give you any concern?
Coach: We only have to worry about them once before the knockouts. We’ll try our hardest, but we’re giving our all in every game.
Emily: Thanks for your time, Coach.
[Cut back to studio.]
Melanie: Thanks, Emily. Now, one more question for our sponsor, Ping AI. Ping, what World Cup team has the potential to be a dark horse this year?
Ping: Kalmach.
Melanie: Good call! Why is that?
Ping: Because I said so.
[ad break]

 

[OOC Context Note: Broadcast the day before Match Day 1.]

Melanie: From SPOT Studios in the heart of Cangham, we bring you the inaugural Football World Cup Preview, presented by Ping AI. I’m Melanie Soft, and I’m joined today by my colleague Weston Hall.
Weston: Greetings!
Melanie: Over the next two hours, we’re going to be breaking down the minutiae of the third Football World Cup in Ryxtylopia, and how your very own Overthinkers National Team is preparing. But first, let’s start with the basics. Weston, many of our viewers may be new to the World Cup, how would you explain the tournament in simple terms?
Weston: It really is quite simple, Melanie. Twenty-four teams of gladiators have entered the arena seeking the title and international glory. These teams are comprised of the mightiest champions of the countries they respectively represent. In the interest of narrative, these teams must prove themselves against each other in a series of matches before entering the yet-more-competitive knockout stage.
Weston: To prove themselves thus, teams have been assigned to four groups, each more or less evenly matched in skill to one another, but representing a wide range of skill within each group. Teams shall earn favor with the lords of the tourney by winning matches against their group, or a lesser amount of favor by tying. After each team has tested themselves against every other team in the group, the four teams most favored shall enter into the knockout stage.
[Melanie is smiling at the camera, but the pain behind her eyes is obvious.]
Weston: In the knockout stage, the stakes become higher. Each of these battles becomes a do-or-die situation for our gladiators. The victors live to fight another day, the losers will board a plane back home. We proceed from sixteen to eight, then to four, then finally to the last two teams remaining, who shall fight to claim the World Cup trophy.
Melanie: Great! Now, let’s introduce you to what teams are playing. We start with Group A, which includes Overthinkers.
[Graphic of Group A teams appears onscreen.]
Melanie: Notably, this group includes the hosts, Ryxtylopia, but also includes Larxia, one of the top 5 ranked teams in international play. Besides Larxia, the teams in this group are all either unranked or within 5 ranks of one another, meaning that at least on paper, anything can happen in this group.
Weston: Truly, this field was designed to give all a sporting chance, all the better for Overthinkers to improve upon their showing in the last World Cup.
Melanie: For the sake of brevity, I agree.
[Melanie runs through the remaining groups, with occasional interjections by Weston. Notably, Weston is thrilled by the uncertainty over whether Sasha of the Dalimbari team is a bear.]
Melanie: Now, before we go to break, we’ve asked our “special analyst” some questions in advance and gotten some prognostications. Let’s hear from our sponsor, Ping AI. Hey Ping, given the teams listed, who will win the World Cup?
Ping: Saint Mark.
Melanie: Interesting! Can you elaborate?
Ping: Because I said so.
Melanie: Great! We’ll be right back after the break to introduce you fully to your Overthinkers National Team.
[ad break]
[Coming out of the ad break, a hype video plays. Generic rock song plays as highlights and photos of OT players flash on screen, introducing each member of the starting lineup. It then ends with the Football World Cup graphic.]
Melanie: And we’re back with the Football World Cup Preview, presented by Ping AI. We’re taking a look now at our starting lineup.
[A graphic of the full team roster appears on screen.]
Melanie: Eight of last year’s starting eleven return this year, and two of last year’s reserves are starters this year. Altogether, there’s seven players making their World Cup debut, including Jeri M. Anders, who landed a starting role at forward.
Melanie: To truly get to know these players, let’s talk to someone who has been on the world stage with many of them before. We’re joined in the studio by Ian Reid, who is missing this World Cup due to injury. Ian, I know you’d rather be in Ryx with the team, but welcome to the studio.
Ian: Pleasure’s all mine, Melanie.
Melanie: So you’ve seen our roster for this year. Anything that immediately catches your eye here?
Ian: I said after our elimination last year that we had all the ingredients for success, but we weren’t prepared to execute. Seeing so many of the same people here, now with World Cup experience, I can only imagine we’re ready to grind.
Ian: I’ll call out Max Hamilton, here, my replacement. He was a reserve last year, got some play time in, but since then he’s really stepped up his game. He would have given me a run for the starting job even if I were healthy. I think he’s every bit as good as Elle and Ryan in the backfield.
Ian: Jeri, too. Even younger than Lukas and fully earned that starting job next to him. I spend some time at Highland this year and really liked what I saw from her and from that whole program. We’ve got some great younger players coming out of these smaller clubs that can only go up from here.
Weston: The youths also stir the hearts of the nation, displaying some spectacular showmanship on the field that deviates from the team’s normal, reserved strategy.
Ian: Yeah, and I’m torn on that, frankly. These younger players try to be flashy, they try to be heroes, and seeing Lukas go off last year only inflated their egos. This is Coach Luigi’s team, he wants you to defend the ball and score safely. Hopefully he can temper some of that recklessness.
Melanie: While the starters have a lot of experience, the reserves are majority newcomers to international play. What do you make of that?
Ian: They’re new to international play, but they’re not new to football. Petra and Stephen have three rings between them. Joy played for a long time at West and is accustomed to the rise and grind that this team plays. If they can shake off the nerves early, they’ll be just fine.
Melanie: Love it. Thanks for joining us today, Ian, and hope you can get back to the pitch soon.
Ian: Myself and my doctors have differing opinions on that. Cheers.
Melanie: Before we go to break, we have another question for our sponsor, Ping AI. Hey Ping, who will be the Overthinkers team MVP this World Cup?
Ping: Chris Peterson.
Melanie: Chris isn’t playing this year.
Ping: Chris Peterson.
Melanie: O-kay, stay tuned. After the break, we got a moment with the Overthinking team after they touched down in Ryxenia.
[ad break]
Weston: Welcome back, dear viewers, to the Football World Cup Preview, presented by the incomparable Ping AI. We’d lose our jobs if we actually used this product at SPOT, but that’s our problem, not yours.
Melanie: Ahem. Yes. Earlier this week, the Overthinkers National Team departed from Cangham International Airport and arrived in Ryxenia, the capital of Ryxtylopia. Once the team got through customs, we caught up with them in transit to their lodgings. Let’s hear now from field correspondent Emily Corral.
Emily [voiceover as B-roll plays]: The Overthinkers National Team has arrived in Ryxenia for the third Football World Cup. The city is warm and vibrant, and the streets are lined with football fans, thrilled to have an event of this significance on their home turf.
[Half of a protest sign comes into frame before the scene abruptly changes.]
Emily [now on-camera]: We’ve gotten exclusive access to the team bus as the team travels to one of Ryxenia’s finest hotels. I’m here standing next to Ray Chang, one of the veterans of this team. Ray, how was your trip?
Ray: It was just fine. We all thought the plane ride was shorter than expected, and when we got off, we were surrounded by some of the finest architecture we had ever seen. Like, completely blown away by how beautiful and grandiose everything was. But it turned out we had actually landed in Saint Mark. Our plane had an instrument issue that needed fixing. So by the time we got here to Ryxenia it was…
[Ambassador von Edelgard peeks out from the seat back behind Ray.]
Ray: ...also pretty great. You can tell there’s a lot of money in this place.
[von Edelgard recedes.]
Emily: I see. We now have Coach Wendell Luigi right here. Coach, how is the team feeling after the trip?
Coach: They’re ready to roll. It was a pretty smooth trip, despite the interruption. We’re all super locked in and ready to get practicing.
Emily: Now Coach, we haven’t had a chance to talk to you since Lucille Lyons resigned from the team at the last minute and then dropped off the map. Has there been any impact from that on the team?
Coach: I can’t speak from the players, they’re each dealing in their own way. All I have to say on the matter that’s fit for TV is, you picked a fine time to leave us, Lucille. But we were able to get George called up to fill her slot. The kid’s ecstatic—you can tell it’s a dream come true for him. I want to focus on the positivity of that.
Emily: Understood. You guys are playing Alchera in the first match. Are there any particular strategies you have for them?
Coach: Not particularly. They’re a solid team, we’re about evenly matched from what I saw last year. We will go out there and play our game, and make them play our game too. And we’ll adjust from there.
Emily: Larxia is far and away the strongest team in Group A. Do they give you any concern?
Coach: We only have to worry about them once before the knockouts. We’ll try our hardest, but we’re giving our all in every game.
Emily: Thanks for your time, Coach.
[Cut back to studio.]
Melanie: Thanks, Emily. Now, one more question for our sponsor, Ping AI. Ping, what World Cup team has the potential to be a dark horse this year?
Ping: Kalmach.
Melanie: Good call! Why is that?
Ping: Because I said so.
[ad break]

 

[OOC Context Note: Broadcast the day before Match Day 1.]

Melanie: From SPOT Studios in the heart of Cangham, we bring you the inaugural Football World Cup Preview, presented by Ping AI. I’m Melanie Soft, and I’m joined today by my colleague Weston Hall.
Weston: Greetings!
Melanie: Over the next two hours, we’re going to be breaking down the minutiae of the third Football World Cup in Ryxtylopia, and how your very own Overthinkers National Team is preparing. But first, let’s start with the basics. Weston, many of our viewers may be new to the World Cup, how would you explain the tournament in simple terms?
Weston: It really is quite simple, Melanie. Twenty-four teams of gladiators have entered the arena seeking the title and international glory. These teams are comprised of the mightiest champions of the countries they respectively represent. In the interest of narrative, these teams must prove themselves against each other in a series of matches before entering the yet-more-competitive knockout stage.
Weston: To prove themselves thus, teams have been assigned to four groups, each more or less evenly matched in skill to one another, but representing a wide range of skill within each group. Teams shall earn favor with the lords of the tourney by winning matches against their group, or a lesser amount of favor by tying. After each team has tested themselves against every other team in the group, the four teams most favored shall enter into the knockout stage.
[Melanie is smiling at the camera, but the pain behind her eyes is obvious.]
Weston: In the knockout stage, the stakes become higher. Each of these battles becomes a do-or-die situation for our gladiators. The victors live to fight another day, the losers will board a plane back home. We proceed from sixteen to eight, then to four, then finally to the last two teams remaining, who shall fight to claim the World Cup trophy.
Melanie: Great! Now, let’s introduce you to what teams are playing. We start with Group A, which includes Overthinkers.
[Graphic of Group A teams appears onscreen.]
Melanie: Notably, this group includes the hosts, Ryxtylopia, but also includes Larxia, one of the top 5 ranked teams in international play. Besides Larxia, the teams in this group are all either unranked or within 5 ranks of one another, meaning that at least on paper, anything can happen in this group.
Weston: Truly, this field was designed to give all a sporting chance, all the better for Overthinkers to improve upon their showing in the last World Cup.
Melanie: For the sake of brevity, I agree.
[Melanie runs through the remaining groups, with occasional interjections by Weston. Notably, Weston is thrilled by the uncertainty over whether Sasha of the Dalimbari team is a bear.]
Melanie: Now, before we go to break, we’ve asked our “special analyst” some questions in advance and gotten some prognostications. Let’s hear from our sponsor, Ping AI. Hey Ping, given the teams listed, who will win the World Cup?
Ping: Saint Mark.
Melanie: Interesting! Can you elaborate?
Ping: Because I said so.
Melanie: Great! We’ll be right back after the break to introduce you fully to your Overthinkers National Team.
[ad break]
[Coming out of the ad break, a hype video plays. Generic rock song plays as highlights and photos of OT players flash on screen, introducing each member of the starting lineup. It then ends with the Football World Cup graphic.]
Melanie: And we’re back with the Football World Cup Preview, presented by Ping AI. We’re taking a look now at our starting lineup.
[A graphic of the full team roster appears on screen.]
Melanie: Eight of last year’s starting eleven return this year, and two of last year’s reserves are starters this year. Altogether, there’s seven players making their World Cup debut, including Jeri M. Anders, who landed a starting role at forward.
Melanie: To truly get to know these players, let’s talk to someone who has been on the world stage with many of them before. We’re joined in the studio by Ian Reid, who is missing this World Cup due to injury. Ian, I know you’d rather be in Ryx with the team, but welcome to the studio.
Ian: Pleasure’s all mine, Melanie.
Melanie: So you’ve seen our roster for this year. Anything that immediately catches your eye here?
Ian: I said after our elimination last year that we had all the ingredients for success, but we weren’t prepared to execute. Seeing so many of the same people here, now with World Cup experience, I can only imagine we’re ready to grind.
Ian: I’ll call out Max Hamilton, here, my replacement. He was a reserve last year, got some play time in, but since then he’s really stepped up his game. He would have given me a run for the starting job even if I were healthy. I think he’s every bit as good as Elle and Ryan in the backfield.
Ian: Jeri, too. Even younger than Lukas and fully earned that starting job next to him. I spend some time at Highland this year and really liked what I saw from her and from that whole program. We’ve got some great younger players coming out of these smaller clubs that can only go up from here.
Weston: The youths also stir the hearts of the nation, displaying some spectacular showmanship on the field that deviates from the team’s normal, reserved strategy.
Ian: Yeah, and I’m torn on that, frankly. These younger players try to be flashy, they try to be heroes, and seeing Lukas go off last year only inflated their egos. This is Coach Luigi’s team, he wants you to defend the ball and score safely. Hopefully he can temper some of that recklessness.
Melanie: While the starters have a lot of experience, the reserves are majority newcomers to international play. What do you make of that?
Ian: They’re new to international play, but they’re not new to football. Petra and Stephen have three rings between them. Joy played for a long time at West and is accustomed to the rise and grind that this team plays. If they can shake off the nerves early, they’ll be just fine.
Melanie: Love it. Thanks for joining us today, Ian, and hope you can get back to the pitch soon.
Ian: Myself and my doctors have differing opinions on that. Cheers.
Melanie: Before we go to break, we have another question for our sponsor, Ping AI. Hey Ping, who will be the Overthinkers team MVP this World Cup?
Ping: Chris Peterson.
Melanie: Chris isn’t playing this year.
Ping: Chris Peterson.
Melanie: O-kay, stay tuned. After the break, we got a moment with the Overthinking team after they touched down in Ryxenia.
[ad break]
Weston: Welcome back, dear viewers, to the Football World Cup Preview, presented by the incomparable Ping AI. We’d lose our jobs if we actually used this product at SPOT, but that’s our problem, not yours.
Melanie: Ahem. Yes. Earlier this week, the Overthinkers National Team departed from Cangham International Airport and arrived in Ryxenia, the capital of Ryxtylopia. Once the team got through customs, we caught up with them in transit to their lodgings. Let’s hear now from field correspondent Emily Corral.
Emily [voiceover as B-roll plays]: The Overthinkers National Team has arrived in Ryxenia for the third Football World Cup. The city is warm and vibrant, and the streets are lined with football fans, thrilled to have an event of this significance on their home turf.
[Half of a protest sign comes into frame before the scene abruptly changes.]
Emily [now on-camera]: We’ve gotten exclusive access to the team bus as the team travels to one of Ryxenia’s finest hotels. I’m here standing next to Ray Chang, one of the veterans of this team. Ray, how was your trip?
Ray: It was just fine. We all thought the plane ride was shorter than expected, and when we got off, we were surrounded by some of the finest architecture we had ever seen. Like, completely blown away by how beautiful and grandiose everything was. But it turned out we had actually landed in Saint Mark. Our plane had an instrument issue that needed fixing. So by the time we got here to Ryxenia it was…
[Ambassador von Edelgard peeks out from the seat back behind Ray.]
Ray: ...also pretty great. You can tell there’s a lot of money in this place.
[von Edelgard recedes.]
Emily: I see. We now have Coach Wendell Luigi right here. Coach, how is the team feeling after the trip?
Coach: They’re ready to roll. It was a pretty smooth trip, despite the interruption. We’re all super locked in and ready to get practicing.
Emily: Now Coach, we haven’t had a chance to talk to you since Lucille Lyons resigned from the team at the last minute and then dropped off the map. Has there been any impact from that on the team?
Coach: I can’t speak from the players, they’re each dealing in their own way. All I have to say on the matter that’s fit for TV is, you picked a fine time to leave us, Lucille. But we were able to get George called up to fill her slot. The kid’s ecstatic—you can tell it’s a dream come true for him. I want to focus on the positivity of that.
Emily: Understood. You guys are playing Alchera in the first match. Are there any particular strategies you have for them?
Coach: Not particularly. They’re a solid team, we’re about evenly matched from what I saw last year. We will go out there and play our game, and make them play our game too. And we’ll adjust from there.
Emily: Larxia is far and away the strongest team in Group A. Do they give you any concern?
Coach: We only have to worry about them once before the knockouts. We’ll try our hardest, but we’re giving our all in every game.
Emily: Thanks for your time, Coach.
[Cut back to studio.]
Melanie: Thanks, Emily. Now, one more question for our sponsor, Ping AI. Ping, what World Cup team has the potential to be a dark horse this year?
Ping: Kalmach.
Melanie: Good call! Why is that?
Ping: Because I said so.
[ad break]