Tuesday, September 7th, 10:00 Felyni Standard Time (FST)
It was finally time for Felynia’s hero to face the press. Red Eye, current Marbula One Racer Champion, was set to give a few remarks now that they’re officially running for the Crazy Cat’s Eyes in the Marble League Marblocross. The team is eighteen points behind the leading Raspberry Racers but can claim the Championship with a gold and some good luck.
What surprised the Felyni reporters was Red Eye coming out with Speedy of the Savage Speeders. The Cat’s Eyes and the Speeders, it turns out, are doing a joint press conference. “Our training schedules lined up and we know both our fanbases want to hear from us,” said Coach Quickly, who was at Speedy’s side.
The questions were unrelenting, especially so toward the Cat’s Eyes captain. A last-place finish in Football once again made Felyni bandwagoners anxious about team cohesion, training, and preparedness. Red Eye was asked in various ways whether they’ve been training enough; if the dream of a host team winning a Marble League fuels them; and if they feel confident about beating the Speeders captain to their side.
“Both Speedy and I know what will happen. Our scores are tied. To win the Marble League, one of us has to beat another,” said Red Eye.
Coach White Eye interjected: “But no matter who wins – one of us or another team – it’s been so amazing to see the whole city support us and the Marble League. And here’s to keeping that positive energy going forward.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” said Speedy. “I look forward to facing off against Red Eye for another round. May the best racer win.”
Both captains took their leave shortly after, being diplomatic and looking more like friends than rivals. And yet, maybe the fans prefer true rivals to fake friends. The Felyni wanted to hope their captain was studying Speedy behind their back, that once again Red Eye can win the whole race by eight seconds like at the Savage Speedway. The fans in Vellis craved some assurance from Speedy that their captain can close it out for a gold, the way fans used to trust them unconditionally.
For the rest of us, what we remember is the one quote from Red Eye at the start of their whole presser: “This will be the most important race of my life.”
Tuesday, 16:30 FST
Team Momo is thirteen points behind the lead and only four behind an auto-qualifying podium placement. They started their training meeting looking at fan reactions online, which were curious, to say the least.
The word that kept showing up in the biggest Momo fan networks was “disappointing,” amid some hope the team could podium and auto-qualify after all 16 events. It’s supporters of other teams who are assuaging Momo fans, saying “you deserve to win” or “I’d be really happy with a Momo championship.”
“If I could do it over again, I’d say I deserve to be part of every 2017 and 2018 event,” chuckled Momomomo. “But then Mimo wouldn’t have gotten a chance to show themselves, right?”
Mimo had been quiet most of the morning. Coach Momomomomo still had to publicly announce Mimo would start in Marblocross, but the team all knew. After last place and 0 points in the Elimination Race, though, the team’s reserve still avoided their teammates; they avoided the way they gazed towards Mimo sitting in the corner.
The team members took their turn encouraging Mimo. Momo said Mimo is the best Marbula racing partner they could have asked for. Momomo had a long story about how Mimo helped them conquer their altitude sickness. The Manager, Memo, was about to go on for a while about Mimo’s great online brand until the reserve stopped them.
“I appreciate it, guys,” said Mimo. “But I have to get gold. I’ve never gotten gold in a Marble League. It’s a tall order, isn’t it?”
“You won the O’raceway! You won on a sand course!” Exclaimed Momo. “You’ve made history for our team. You’ll do it again.”
“I remember 2017! I went out on a crutch to see you take your first podium in your first performance,” said Momomomo. “The day you stepped out to do the High Jump, you made history. You’ll do it again.”
Hearing that, Mimo rolled out of their seat. For the first time since they qualified for this Marble League by a hair, the full team had a group embrace and yelled a great hurrah.
Tuesday, 19:00 FST
With a day’s training behind them, Mellow Yellow‘s Yellup sat next to Choc, the Chocolatiers‘ captain. The excuse the racer gave to Coach Mellow, not wanting the other team members to get suspicious, was they needed some fresh air.
“You know, I’d say you’re the odds on favorite to win this thing,” said Choc over cups of iced mocha. “You’re behind by nine points but you got the Marathon silver last year. You just gotta make sure not to go so fast that you leap out of a turn.”
Yellup, hearing that joke again, was staring daggers. “That’s what you remember about me? I thought you were better than this. Did I show up and say right away that you’ll never actually reach the podium in the Sprint?”
“But that’s just it, Yellup, you’re just saying what I think about all the time anyway.” Choc downed their cup of mocha in one swoop as they kept talking. “I know you hate that Marbula incident more than anyone else. If you can’t process it, it will mess with your whole energy.”
You need to stay mellow to keep your energy up. Yellup could only laugh at the thought since it just takes one or two bad events for the whole team to break out of that groove.
Yellup was about to explain why they laughed to Choc when both noticed an entourage next to them: a group of Showdown racers talking and laughing, with Pinky Toe, the winner of Showdown’s Marblocross, in the middle. “It must be nice to actually be a winner sometimes, no matter for what reason,” said Yellup.
The entourage turned to Yellup and Choc. “Hey! Golden One and the Sweet Sensation!” yelled Pinky Toe. “Good luck on the big race Friday!”
“Hey, Pinky Toe, I’ll send you a pint of Mint Chocolate Condition if you do me a favor,” said Choc. “Tell Yellup here how it feels winning your race after so many years of not making it.”
“I don’t know, it’s just kind of nice!” replied Pinky Toe. “It’s not like other teams’ fans care too much about me. I just like it because I can say to myself I’m a great athlete, and I get hardware too. I worry less about competing against you two greats because there’ll be one race, for whatever reason, where I best you all.”
Worry less. I am one of the greats. Yellup could see those are words they need to repeat more. They turned back to the Chocolatier: “This is why you’re a real captain, Choc. You’re why your team isn’t the ‘Choke-latiers’ anymore.”
Choc replied: “We’re twenty behind, let’s see if the fans won’t call for my head after Friday!” But Yellup already got up, rolling over to offer Pinky Toe a swig of their drink.
Tuesday, 21:15 FST
At the end of a training day, the musicians that make up the Shining Swarm let it all out with a jam session. Both captain Shiny and former captain Sparkle play the electric guitar, but tonight something was off: Shiny was really thrashing the strings and kept the guitar out of tune.
“Alright, pause for a second,” said Coach Gleam as they put down the cowbell. “What’s wrong, Shiny?”
“Can we take a vote again on who’s racing Friday for the team? I just want to make it clear,” said Shiny. Just like the first time, everyone except Shiny said ‘aye’ for Sparkle, the team’s captain in 2019 and 2020.
“I just feel like… we should have a discussion about this. Sparkle has many talents, and I know that. But if we just let them do whatever they wanted to do, they’d still be captain and we may still not qualify for the Marble League.”
Shimmer scoffed: “This is 20,000 marbles watching, the biggest show of our lives! We need trusted leadership and I know Sparkle has experience on the sand.” Coach Gleam continued: “You know it was a tough decision, Shiny, but this is the choice we made as a team.”
An awkward silence followed, and for Shiny that was the cue to take off the guitar and roll out to their own room. There they stayed, feeling a bit sour but a bit disappointed in themselves. But then they heard singing outside their door:
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away Now it looks as though they're here to stay Oh, I believe in yesterday Suddenly, I'm not half the marb I used to be There's a shadow hanging over me...
Shiny opened up and Sparkle stopped singing. The former captain said: “Sorry about earlier, but just know you’re the captain our team needed. Every team medal we earned is because of you, and you should be proud of that.”
Sparkle rolled back to their room, but they were right. Shiny was pretty proud of that.
Wednesday, September 8th, 07:30 FST
After planning for days, the band of Gliding Glaciers fans at Felynia Coliseum had their chance to greet their heroes. It seems hardly imaginable, in hindsight, that the team would go from third to last overall to only 13 points behind the leaders. With the Showdown over, the Glaciers and the O’rangers were testing out the Marblocross track. This was their last chance to meet the Glaciers athletes and give them encouragement.
Alas, the plan fell apart. There was already a mob of O’rangers fans around the stadium entrances, so the Glaciers fans couldn’t see inside the grounds whatsoever. The OOOOOO chant was so loud it made it hard to think of the next steps.
Some of the younger Glaciers fans were dejected and rolling around the Coliseum’s edge when they noticed an orange marble ahead of them, yelling: “Alright, Clementin, let’s get out this way! We don’t need fans being extra right now.” The fans’ first instinct was to hide behind a column and eavesdrop on the conversation.
“You know we’d love it if you beat the Raspberries, or if you beat Mellow Yellow,” said a gruff voice. “You don’t just wish for your rival to win it, you know? But first and foremost, this weekend you have to take care of yourself.”
“Geez, Kinnowin, I don’t even know how to handle leaving Felynia,” said a voice the fans instantly recognized as Glaciers captain Alpine. “These fans must think we’re gonna win it all now, so what if I let them down?”
“I know why you’re thinking that – because it’s your first time in the spotlight,” said Kinnowin. “But the truth is your fans won’t think that way. Not after you made the team qualify when you got silver at the Sand Rally, when you led the team to that Football gold, okay? We’re all gonna have a good race, but you’re up there as one of the great rookie captains.”
Saying farewell to the O’rangers, Alpine only had seconds before their fans rushed out of the column, sprinting towards them – the greatest rookie captain, the glory of Glidavik no matter what.
Wednesday, 11:30 FST
Pamplemousse wished they could forget their last five years as a Limers fan. They’re still a part of every Limers fan section at the Marble Leagues, but the hope of the team pulling off an upset is gone. What they really look forward to is having some fun around the Athletes’ Village.
They rolled down one block away from the Coliseum, to a building rumored among Limers fans to house the Hazers. The team is just as camera shy as usual; their star athlete, Misty, gave only one round of interviews and is now the most reclusive Marble League double gold medallist ever. Where other fans reacted with confusion, Pamplemousse saw entertainment.
The Limers fan made a makeshift ramp next to the wall around the building, and with one quick sprint jumped over the wall like you clear a high jump bar. They pressed against the open front door, peeking through – and were stunned to see the Limers chatting away with Hazy and Foggy of the Hazers.
Limelime was saying their goodbyes to Hazy: “You guys are so wonderful,” they said, “and I really hope our sand racing tips are helpful to you.” Imagine that Limers athlete’s horror when one of their fans barges into the room and starts talking trash.
“You Hazers always choke in the last race!” yelled Pamplemousse. “And Hazy, why are you getting advice from Foggy? They’ve been trash all season!”
The Limers are all trying to apologize to Hazy when the Hazers captain rolled over. “We are provisionally second. Why do you think you can lecture me about marble racing?” They said to the fan. They replied: “Because I can tell you guys will choke the podium!”
Hazy cut off Pamplemousse’s ranting. “I’ll prove you wrong,” said Hazy, who then accelerated at a great rate. The Hazers captain struck Pamplemousse straight on, shooting the fan like a football out the open door.
When Pamplemousse came to their senses, the door was shut and they heard security yelling behind them. At the same time, they are a fan who sees the humor in everything. If only Limelime could kick a ball as Hazy kicked me, they thought. Then the Limers would have won that last event!
Wednesday, 17:00 FST
“We want Bolt! We want Bolt!” Outside of the Thunderbolts’ Felyni dwellings, the fans were getting rowdy. The team was sending out members like Shock or Coach Thunderstorm to calm down the crowd, but if anything that just made the fans stomp louder and these diehards feel more disrespected.
Bolt, ever the methodical racer, did not want to be disturbed as they reviewed how the Showdown teams handled the Marblocross. When captain Thunder pleaded for them to go out and say something to the fans, Bolt replied: “They’ll enjoy the moment more if I see them after winning the Championship.”
“It’s really serious out there, Bolt. The Oceanics need to leave the Village soon and the fans blocked the whole road out,” said Thunder. “Just make something up for a few minutes and take one for the team.”
That got the Thunderbolts’ racer going. They rolled out of their building and started talking right away, not waiting for the fans’ cheers to subside.
“I hear you, my fellow ‘Bolts! We are only seven points behind a final podium and a seventh straight Marble League. We’re sixteen points behind the Raspberry Racers, but I know what it takes to seize a race lead and keep it.” Bolt’s speech started getting interrupted with some grumbling and boos at the next part: “We are all working together and I’m relying on the advice of Coach Thunderstorm.”
“Okay, if you want to boo our Coach, you’re not a real fan!” continued Bolt, this time with some real passion in their voice. “Don’t look to me as your hero. Appreciate the whole team for being so consistent and always having our sights on the lead. Shock is having their best year yet. We were first in qualifiers because it was a team effort. Where’s the love for the whole team?”
With the fans now quiet, pondering these thoughts, Bolt knew how to wrap up. “All of us have lived in the shadow of the old team for years. But when the original ‘Bolts came back to work with us in Marbula One, we knew it was time to make the old team proud. Here’s to you, Bolta and Bolty. We’re all in for Thorston.”
Bolt rolled back into the building, but they didn’t realize a fan was live recording their speech the whole time. It was not just the Felynia fans getting fired up after that. From Felynia to Thorston, the fans stood their ground and started clapping in sync. They chanted with unity and confidence: “Goedspeed, Lightning Bolt!”
Wednesday, 18:45 FST
Billy of the Green Ducks used up their time at the Marblocross track trying to perfect one section. It’s difficult to repeat the fastest racing line going into the sand esses ahead of the conveyor belt, and Billy must have tried it hundreds of times and never felt satisfied.
“You can’t be such a perfectionist, you know,” Mallard told Billy as they walked out of the stadium complex. “This race will be about thinking on the spot. You’re going out and not me because you have more skill here – but you need that mental reflex.”
“It’s not that easy to win a sand Marbula race, okay?” answered Billy. “And there are ten teams ahead in the standings. Even if I win, all the other teams have to do poorly for us to take the Championship.”
Before Mallard could get another word in, Billy raised their voice: “I don’t know why you always expected great things out of me. I don’t know why Bombay does.”
The sand dunes next to the Coliseum are a popular park these days, with Felyni Cat’s Eyes racing each other down and imagining they’re star athletes. Mallard chased Billy down to the park’s edge, as the Captain saw them race up and leap down the dunes.
The sun started to set, the Green Ducks Captain finally yelled for them to stop. First Mallard tried “Don’t burn all your quacking energy before Friday!” With no response, they then shouted:
“It’s never about expectations for me! I grew up with you, Bombay grew up with you. We can tell you have a gift on the sand, Billy, and you’re something special. So just race on Friday not like you have to beat anyone, but just like putting who you are out there.”
Still sprinting, Billy turned to see Mallard rolling back toward the Athlete’s Village, and then bump – they planted in the sand. To their side, Billy saw an Indigo Star spinning in place.
“Oh Jelle, I am so sorry… Indie, right?” the Stars captain is still finding their balance, but laughed. “Well, it was unusual but I guess I finally caught up to a Green Duck! If nothing else, send Mallard my regards.”
It was Indie who chose Diego to race in Marblocross, who will start on the grid with Billy next to their side. There was no animosity between them that night, though. They bonded over anecdotes from their last two years in marble sports or gossiping over Mallard (who the Stars captain has faced no less than five times).
“I’d love to see you again after Felynia,” said Indie, “but let me share some advice before it’s too late. After the Marble League Practice Race, Red Eye came up to me and said: ‘It’s when you battle for the lead that you have to race like no one else is watching.’ You’re the talented one, so it may help you.”
“Hold on, before you leave you gotta check out the night sky,” Indie added. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
It was just them and Billy of them on top of a sand dune, watching the moon rise from the horizon.
Thursday, September 9th, 01:00 FST
It’s one thing if the Championship is the Raspberry Racers’ to lose, but another if Marblearth expects you to lose it. After 15 events in the top 3, it could all fall apart for the Racers on an unfamiliar Marblocross track. Following the rules of starting grid placement off of reverse championship order, Rizzy must fight up the midfield starting from the back row.
Rizzy had a long talk that night with Captain Razzy, whose lines were quite punchy: “you’re the most refreshed among us going into this, so don’t let Minty Fresh psych you out.” “If you’re three seconds ahead of the Limers, you’re on pace to win it all.” But after all the training and all the confiding, there was an emptiness somewhere inside Rizzy that needed to be filled.
All the lights in the Athletes’ Village were off except for one, and Rizzy rolled out and knocked on their door. Out came two of the Rojo Rollers: Rojo Dos and new coach Rojo Oro.
“I just have a silly question I’d like a second opinion on,” said Rizzy after settling in, exchanging pleasantries, and pouring some tea. “Were you confident you could beat us in football?”
“I think that’s the wrong question to ask,” said Rojo Oro. “I didn’t walk into a team that had lots of rivals and benchmarks – just a team in last place who wanted to beat any Marble League team. Every Rojo was focused 100% on our formation in football. It didn’t matter which team we faced exactly.”
“With my team, we’re all about the beating part,” sighed Rizzy. “We must always win against the Limers, we must always be side by side with the Green Ducks, things like that. And at the end of the last tournament… it went to our heads.”
“My marble, confidence is something you build,” said Rojo Dos. “It’s still a work in progress for me, but the coach and I are working on it! I’m going into Friday wanting to shock the world. It’s Felynia, if you don’t try something crazy here, where else are you gonna go?”
At the start of this summer, before they were in the lead, Rizzy had said those same words: “Our success at the end of the last tournament went to our heads.” But this time there wouldn’t be a sad Rezzy or livid lapped Razzy out there. It’s Rizzy and no one else: “And I promise you guys I’ll break the team’s Marbula curse.”
The Rojos still had all sorts of questions for Rizzy, wanting to know them more, and even offered to give up some of their training time on the track for the Racers. But it was two in the morning, and Rizzy promised to talk again tomorrow.
Thursday, 05:30 FST
An unsigned letter delivered to Minty Fresh’s door requested a meeting. “At the break of dawn, come to the oasis half an hour west of the Coliseum.” The Minty Maniac dared traveling at night for this encounter, having an idea of who awaited them.
“Is that you, Speedy?” said Minty Fresh at a marble behind a palm tree. Out came the Speeders captain, their maroon sheen looking shadowy with the sun not yet risen. It’s the first time the two met privately since a talk at Minty Mania almost a year ago.
“I wished you performed better over this Marble League. It seems like the training advice I gave you was ineffective,” said Speedy. The Captain was a bit relieved when Minty Fresh admitted they barely remembered any of it and listed off all of their racing suggestions again.
“Wait, why are you helping me out so much?” said Minty Fresh after a firehose of information from Speedy. “I’m starting on the front row. If I pull away from everyone else and get gold, then that makes it harder for you to win the Marble League.”
“First, you need to improve your form, or that won’t happen,” replied Speedy. “The truth is I’m running out of things to win. It’s better to focus on having a good soul. It’s your team’s last chance to win a medal this year, so you better make it count.” The Speeders captain started up on the last third of their mental racing checklist.
When the sun really did rise and light poured like waves over the sand, it was time to go. Minty Fresh knew Speedy was right: to go from third in Marble League 2020 to at most third from last this year is hard to describe. It’s a feeling that alienates you and sucks the life out of your fans. It’s a feeling that they wouldn’t wish on anyone.
“No more feeling that way,” said Minty Fresh to an approving nod from the Speeder. “I will try my hardest, I’ll race to win. And what if I beat you?”
The reply from Speedy: “It would be a disappointment, but I’ll own it.”
Thursday, 16:00 FST
Sixteen racers will take to the Marblocross track on Friday. On that day, eleven of them can win the Marble League Championship for their team; for nine of them, that victory would be their team’s first. But who knows if it will be just a few lengths separating them from gold and silver in the event, from historic glory to historic regret.
At some point, though, these athletes must move on from the fear or the hypotheticals. There is a race to run. It’ll be the race of their lives.
Credits
- Writer: Fouc
- Graphic Designer: Fouc
- Photographers: Jelle’s Marble Runs, Piney
- Reference: Marble League 2021 | Jelle’s Marble Runs
- Release: 09/09/2021
Project Marblearth 