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  IDU Advent Calendar 2025

Posted by: Laeral
12-01-2025, 01:48 AM
Forum: IDU Newswire
- Replies (20)

The 2025 IDU Advent Calendar is a roleplay project where participants are assigned to produce an RP article, story, or artifact around a particular theme, to be released on a date between December 1st and Christmas Day, December 25th. This thread will catalogue each day's Advent Calendar contribution. The full release schedule is as follows:

Monday, Dec 1st: Haesan presents "Flight"
Tuesday, Dec 2nd: LOM presents "Spices"
Wednesday, Dec 3rd: Eiria presents "The Crown"
Thursday, Dec 4th: Greater Acadia presents "Blunder"
Friday, Dec 5th: Slokais Islands presents "The Great War"
Saturday, Dec 6th: LOM presents "Constitution"
Sunday, Dec 7th: Lauchenoiria presents "Flesh and Blood"
Monday, Dec 8th: Laeral presents "The Sea"
Tuesday, Dec 9th: LOM presents "Frontier"
Wednesday, Dec 10th: Greater Acadia presents "Snow"
Thursday, Dec 11th: Slokais Islands presents "Electricity"
Friday, Dec 12th: Greater Acadia presents "Commodities"
Saturday, Dec 13th: Slokais Islands presents "Leisure"
Sunday, Dec 14th: Eiria presents "Cloth"
Monday, Dec 15th: Lauchenoiria presents "The Woman of the Future"
Tuesday, Dec 16th: Haesan presents "The Comedian"
Wednesday, Dec 17th: Laeral presents "Young and Reckless"
Thursday, Dec 18th: Laeral presents "Cherries"
Friday, Dec 19th: Lauchenoiria presents "Tryst"
Saturday, Dec 20th: Eiria presents "The Wedding"
Sunday, Dec 21st: Laeral presents "Abstain"
Monday, Dec 22nd: Haesan presents "False Witness"
Tuesday, Dec 23rd: Slokais Islands presents "The Wise Men"
Wednesday, Dec 24th: Eiria presents "The Angels"
Thursday, Dec 25th: Lauchenoiria presents "Brotherhood/Sisterhood"

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  Soundtracks of the IDU

Posted by: Xiomera
10-19-2025, 08:06 PM
Forum: Fun & Games
- Replies (4)

If you ever wondered what music summed up nations of the IDU, here's the place to start. This thread is a place to post music that inspires your vision of your nation, describes it, or just portrays moments in your citizens' lives.

I'm kicking this off with this little number that sums up the mindset of your average Imperial Police officer, Imperial Security agent or analyst, XCP member, or other servants of the Xiomeran Empire.


Lyrics:

They see me strolling in my uniform
Acting like they seen a ghost
Wish I could tell 'em that I mean no harm
I wouldn't want to lose my post
It's risky returning to my stomping ground
After giving 'em a guarantee
That I'd never do anything so profound
As become the enemy

But I used to be weak (Weary of the wise)
Used to let my life get the best of me
(Then I was given a choice)
And it was easy to see, all I needed was a little bit of power

Now anybody with their head on straight
Could see me coming miles away
But I never expected I'd get so much hate
For putting people in their place
It would be difficult to find
Something in mind we couldn't do
To anyone who gives as much as a dirty look
Don't make it you

But we used to be weak (Weary of the wise)
Used to let our lives keep us in the weeds
We were given a choice
And it was easy to see what we needed
What we need is power
So we don't have to think about a thing
So we can bring you all to your knees
We can keep you from forgetting
We got the power to get away with anything
Over and over again

Three days straight seeing monochrome
Fuse is used, ready to blow
Called on to be vicious
Callous and expeditious
Well, I can't tell when I last slept
And though my conscience is a bit unkempt
Well, it's no bother, I can just forget
And never bother with a bit of it again

If my morals seem a bit mislaid
It might be easy to forget
If I ever tried to disobey
You're probably gonna find me dead

Power!

What we need is power
So we don't have to think about a thing
So we can bring you all to your knees
We can keep you from forgetting
We've got the power to get away with anything
Over and over again

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  You Get What You Vote For

Posted by: Lauchenoiria
08-16-2025, 11:15 PM
Forum: International Affairs
- Replies (1)

If an establishment politician walked into a meeting of Zongongia’s five-party coalition, they would likely have required medical attention for shock. This was not a government run by professionals, or people with any kind of experience. Generally, when a leader is so wildly new to the world of politics, there is at least a couple of advisers who understand proper procedure. And, granted, it was not like the coalition could not access such advice – they just generally rejected it.
 
Helga Wuopio (Republic Now), Anja Aalto (Communist), Alexandra Pentti (Women Rising), Jacob Johansen (Green Ecology) and Emma Storstrand (Tomorrow Party) sat around a circular table watching each other uneasily.
 
“You’re freaking insane,” Johansen snapped at Pentti, only he didn’t say ‘freaking’.
 
“And you’re a misogynistic pig,” Pentti retorted.
 
“You’d call anyone with a single facial hair a misogynistic pig,” Johansen rolled his eyes.
 
“Comrades!” Aalto scolded. “We must figure out what to do if the crown-wearer decides to act against us.” She said the latter as if it was a slur.
 
“There is a fine tradition of beheading monarchs,” Pentti shrugged.
 
“Not in the twenty-first century,” pointed out Storstrand.
 
“There are other parts we could chop off,” Pentti said hopefully.
 
“Rocks, I cannot deal with this,” muttered Wuopio, the Prime Minister. Louder, she added “if the Royals defy the public vote, the international community will not stand for it. I do not think a single one of our direct neighbours – despite their differences with each other – would side with the Royals. To Lauchenoiria and Greater Acadia, they are an anachronism; and to Kerlile they are governed by male primogeniture, which is practically a deadly sin. The Royals know this; they are unlikely to try anything violent.”
 
“What about non-violent?” Storstrand asked. “I agree that civil war would be unlikely, but I would not rule out attempts at rigging votes.”
 
“Our ballots have always had excellent security,” Wuopio replied. “With everything being on paper, hacking is impossible. And international observers are welcome, should any wish to come.”
 
“With everything being on paper, it is virtually impossible to detect if tampering occurred,” Storstrand countered. “It is, frankly, primitive.”

“And bad for the environment,” Johansen piped up. “Though I can’t say the sourcing of computer chips has been much better. Everything seems bad for the environment,” he added glumly.
 
“I’m with the Prime Minister here,” Pentti shrugged. “It’s way more effort to rig a paper ballot than hack an electronic one.”
 
“You would know, being a Kerlian spy,” Johansen retorted. “And I bet you just said that to disagree with me!”
 
“Before you two get started again,” Aalto interrupted quickly, “I don’t think paper-vs-electronic is the big question here. If we keep our eye on known monarchists it won’t matter.”
 
“She has a point,” Storstrand added. “Alas, under present Zongongian law, such a thing would not be legal.”
 
“We’re the government, we can change that,” shrugged Pentti.
 
“You misunderstand democracy, gynarchist,” Johansen snapped. “We can’t just ‘change that’ on a whim. We govern with the consent of the people.”
 
“Stop speaking over me!” Pentti shouted, even though Johansen had not, in fact, spoken over her.
 
“Oh my rocks, how about this: we invite international observers, then if they see anything dodgy they will say something. Get some from monarchies, from republics, from communist and capitalist countries, from Kerlile and Novella Islands and any other specific requests! It’s clear we cannot figure a fool-proof situation, so why not outsource the problem?”
 
“If we get observers from a wide range of countries, it may well work. As long as people can trust they won’t have their own agendas,” Johansen mused.
 
“Or that their agendas are opposed, so that if they agree it is clearly not ideological,” Storstrand agreed.
 
“As long as you do indeed include Kerlile,” Pentti said pointedly.
 
“And somewhere sympathetic to communism,” added Aalto.
 
“Very well. Observers we shall have,” Wuopio concluded, ending the meeting.

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  Tales of Kingdoms and Empires

Posted by: Slokais
07-09-2025, 09:00 PM
Forum: International Affairs
- No Replies

The year is 1700, the dawn of a new century. This land, which is just now coming to be known as the Slokais, is divided. The great trade empire, Pindai, has prospered for over 6th centuries with a system of trade and tribute states stretching across the region. In the east, the great empire of Ambonar is currently in the process of spiritual revival under a self-proclaimed messiah. His people, the Ambonar, are quickly becoming isolationist, and the empire may soon fall to this radical form of Christianity. In the south, Kaijan, founded by Arabic traders from the Nerian continent, is a thriving center of academic and learning, yet has seen social upheaval and threats to the dynasty that brought Islam to the region. And finally, the great Empire from across the ocean. They came in ships, they planted massive crosses, and spoke an unknown language. Yet in just over a century, they have begun to transition from friendly neighbors to possible overlords.

March 8th, 1700
Caoxi Region, Pindai

The shadows were long across the valley, a fact of the nature of the narrow mountains which acted as home for the people of Mansugia, a town built by the Arkon'ah ethnic group. A hundred generations ago, as legend tells, a man came down from the hills, saw the valley, and simply decided right then it would be his home. There were several dozen homesteads clustered together around a small temple, which also acted as a gathering space. Today, as the frosts of winter began to fade, the people of Mansugia gathered again.

“There’s the town,” Gao Xueqin said. He was appointed commissioner of Mansugia, not from the village but rather a servant of the Caoxi Region, which was itself a servant of the Pindai State. Gao had been born in Caoxi, a walled city on the coast about a full day’s horse ride away from here. Wishing to be a civil servant and a small fish in the big pond of Pindai, he had left home, only to be right back here at the orders of the Ministry of Lands and Gamekeepers. The Arkon’ah had been subjected hundreds of years ago by the blade of Pindai horsemen, yet remained fairly free. All Caoxi and by extension, Pindai asked was for a seasonal tribute of rice, and an allocation of wood. Yet this time, Pindai had a much bigger demand of the people of Mansugia.

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” Francisco Mallen said, in his native Spanish. Gao had partly been assigned this role due to his study of the language and achieved a mark of certification in his civil service exam. Francisco Mallen was born in 1678 to an indigenous mother and a Costenoian father in a similar-looking valley near Ciudad San Fernando. He had helped his Mescaldo family out around the farm, cleaning the livestock stables, and exchanging their excess goods at the market. Yet as a Mescaldo person, there were limited opportunities. Seen as an outsider by Costenoians, yet a traitor to his own indigenous ancestors. Francisco joined a local militia, where, eventually, after some other jobs ended up in service of the San Fernando Lumber Company, as a corporate security officer.

“Indeed, I believe the company office will look good right there,” said Madame Marina Montes, pointing from atop her carriage. Her assistant was carefully writing it down quickly. Marina Montes was the wife of Alejandro Montes, head of the SFLC’s operations in the Caoxi Region. She lived in a large colonial house in the San Gabriel district of Caoxi, which was home to the growing Costenoian community and was situated close to the docks. Marina would often sit outside her bedroom and watch with binoculars the ship coming into harbor. More and more, they were carrying goods from faraway lands. Partly as an act of charity and partly to occupy herself, Marina Montes had begun working as a teacher at a local girls' boarding school. Teaching a classroom of mostly Indigenous children whose parents worked in the docks, Marina not only taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, but in her eyes, “good skills”. The pleasantries she had learned as a little girl back in the green fields of Costeno, she was now teaching to a generation of girls.

Behind this initial friendly trio were two dozen or so working men of the SFLC. They were tasked with acting as security and protection for now, yet hard-working loggers in the future. The hills of Caoxi, which would one day be called North Acadia, were stocked full of timber. In a region of so many islands, and when shipping and the sea were major assets, the timber trade was massive. While the Arkon’ah used timber for their homes, they had little large-scale usage of the product. Of the two dozen, most were either Costeno and Mesitzo young men from the San Fernando Valley; however, there were a few exceptions. Moussa Diaz, who was born in San Fernando however was not born free. His mother had been born in Kolda and had been enslaved in war. After a long voyage across the ocean, she was sold off to a wealthy family in San Fernando. The Diaz family, who had given their last name, yet as an act of charity, let their mother give their son a Koldan name. Just a few years prior to the death of the family matriarch, he had freed him of his servitude. Moussa had left immediately and bounced around from job to job before settling in to work as part of the SFLC. It had allowed him to see a world beyond San Fernando, and for that, Moussa was grateful.

Another exception was Raharjoro, an imposing woodcutter from the hills of Ambonar. He had come to San Fernando in 1695 with hopes of earning money for his family. A recent convert to Christianity, he watched as the people around him became obsessed with the new Ambonar Church of God. Sri Darma had purged non-Christians from his court in 1690, and in response, his followers began to turn against the Minjian faithful and Muslims. Rahajororo believed violence was unnecessary, although he was grateful for Christianity to begin to take hold.

Gao held out his hand to greet the village chief, a man named Lom-ahn. Lom-ahn was a simple farmer by trade; he continued to work the fields despite his advanced age and position. Providing for his six children and over a dozen grandchildren in their fairly large two-story wood home situated halfway up the hillside. Within Mansugia, the higher the elevation, the greater the status. Lom-ahn had inherited the position from his uncle, who had gifted his home high upon the ridge. It was actually Lom-ahn's granddaughter, Dwaia, who had spotted the group behind the expected Gao Xueqin. From there, she alerted Lom-ahn, who had been writing poetry.
“There’s a group of people coming in, Costeno’s. Some with axe’s” she said to her grandfather.
Lom-ahn set down his quill.
“Gao was supposed to come, although I guess he isn’t just looking for our rice surplus,” Lom-ahn said as he stood up. His son, Kombari-ahn, approached.
“What father?”
“Gao has brought a little more than just tax and payment records. Tell the people, we shall meet him head-on.”
Lom-ahn walked down the steep street, which formed the spine of the village, Dwaia in tow.
“What were you writing about, grandfather?”
“The end of winter, the start of spring. It’s a time of beauty, yet also a return of hard work. The end of cold days, yet the start of the hot ones are near”
“I see, good coming in with the bad?”
“Yes, in fact, that may be a good way to describe the group you saw,” Lom-ahn said, as a group of villagers had already gathered.

Gao stood next to Francisco, who was almost a foot taller than him.
“Does he know our language?” Lom-ahn asked in the local dialect of Mandarin
“He knows some basic Pindai phrases,” Gao said.
Francisco nodded ,“Hello, good to meet you” he said in Pindai Mandarin
“Let’s get to business, what is the meaning of this intrusion?” Lom-ahn asked
“Nothing, much,” Gao said as he tapped on the fancy wood carriage behind him
“Señora Montes, we are here.”
Out of the carriage stepped Senora Montes and her assistant, a Ren woman named Jia. In her arms, Jia held a large scroll. Montes held out her hand to Lom-ahn, who refused and instead bowed halfway.
“Ah, I see. Not baptized, I assume.”
“Actually, some have converted in the last few years," Gao said in Spanish
“Did I ask for your comment? You are here only by the order of the Pindai Trade Office”.
“Sorry, Señora,” Gao said.

Lom-Ahn stood there waiting for the two to finish their conversation, their words like gibberish to him.
“My question, still stands” he reminded Gao
“Indeed,” Gao said, walking over to receive the large scroll from Jia.
Gao read it for a second.
“Oh…”
“Let me read it, you are no help” Marina said

“By the order of the Pindai Trade Office, in association with the Caoxi Land Bureau. The land of Mansugia shall be transferred as of January 1st, 1700 to the ownership of the San Fernando Lumber Company for the purposes of industrial extraction. This transaction shall be overseen by the Masugia Land Commissioner, and thus from here forward the SFLC has full developmental and land authority over all lands within Mansugia, with the Masugia Land Commission being dissolved. Any attempts to prevent the implementation of this order will be a defilement of authority of the Caoxi Region and the Pindai State.”

Lom-ahn still looked confused.
“Translation, Gao” Lom-ahn
“Both of you” Gao sighed
“Essentially, I no longer have a job because your land is now property of the San Fernando Lumber Company, which wishes to complete logging operations. However, they do not seek to displace you from the land.”
“Was the second part in that scroll?” Lom-ahn said his anger clear in his voice
“No,” Gao said weakly
Lom-ahn spat at the ground. “Curses, upon your people, foreign women,” he said, looking at Marina.
Francisco stepped forward, his hand growing closer to his sword. Behind him, the people of Masugia grew alarmed, some drawing their wooden spears, some had small firearms.
“Hold on,” Gao said
“He spat at me, the bastard,” Marina yelled
The crowd of villagers grew restless, and some yelled back.
“What are they saying?” Francisco asked Gao
“Nothing worth repeating”
“Things seem to be getting out of hand. Should I tell the woodcutters to come up and protect Senora Marina?”
“No, I don’t want a fight here,” Gao said
“Seems to be out of the question,” Francisco said as a villager threw a stone at the carriage. It pinged harmlessly off the edge, although it scared the horses enough that they nearly kicked Senora Marina.
“Enough, arrest the man who spat at me,” she yelled at Francisco.

He looked back toward the group of wood cutters who were just standing in the road, looking uneasy as farmers from further fields began to draw closer. Moussa and the others quickly moved up their axes, still on their back, but their small swords were at the ready. Jia turned to the men as they approached the commotion.
“Take the leader, he is wearing the red hat.”
Raharjoro turned to Moussa
“Didn’t think I was fighting today.”
“We should move forward. Just don’t engage,” Moussa said.
The woodcutters formed a line, extending their swords forward.
“It has come to this, Gao?” Lom-ahn yelled, stepping in front of the crowd.
“Not my order, not Caoxi’s, not Pindai, but from San Fernando.”
“So you are what, a triple sellout?” Lom-ahn said, approaching closer to the line of woodcutters
They then parted around, allowing Francisco to rush forward and tackle Lom-ahn.

“Grandfather!” Dwaia exclaimed. The villagers rushed forward.
“Get back,” Rahajoro yelled in Mandarin.
“Fall back,” Francisco said as he dragged the chief to his feet, his hands tied behind him. Marina and Jia returned to their carriage with Gao in tow. He then stuck his head out the top.
“Bastard,” Dwaia yelled, nailing him in the center of his forehead.

The group did return to Caoxi, and Lom-ahn was thrown in jail, his cell window with just enough of a view of the mountains for him to long for home. The Prince of Caoxi would soon rally a larger force, and in just a few months’ time, Mansugia was under the ownership of the SFLC. Gao would end up with a concussion and a permanent mark on his head. Kombari-ahn would take over from his father as chief, yet Dwaia would be remembered for her defiance. Yet soon, she would be forced to attend a local Catholic school. All those who were present would remember how a simple lack of translation and a sign of disrespect had led to such chaos.

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  Heartbeat of the Mountains (Karakhtan)

Posted by: Democratic Republic Of Eiria
05-17-2025, 09:40 PM
Forum: International Affairs
- Replies (1)

Yüretokh, Karakhtan

*“Hemikzeny korgranüm menan hemiküz küzüm.”

The servants of the Presidential Palace silently hustled from table to table, setting up each placesetting and piece of table decor with precision and care. The Palace’s Akmatov Ballroom was dressed from ceiling to floor in ornaments of red and green, the national colors of Karakhtan, and filled almost entirely with large tables. Palace staff quickly attended to each seat individually, placing a vertical card with the name of a parliamentarian, entrepreneur, military officer, or foreign dignitary behind each empty plate. The names, written in both Karakhtani and English, represented practically every important figure in Karakhtani society. This veritable who's-who of influential people was carefully selected to ensure that the next day’s party would be both a major cultural event and politically productive.

*“Respublikane jetekranam ja korgranüm shonsa alum.”

President Nurasil yul-Bermet Seytbedin watched from the edge of the room as the gala staff ensured that everything was up to his high standards. Seytbedin had insisted on taking time away from his duties to help coordinate this event. Some may think that this decision was out of vanity or self-obsession, but the truth is that the president was afraid. The most powerful man in the country, who was a former soldier, trial lawyer, and imprisoned dissident, was afraid of a party thrown in his honor.

In Karakhtan, anniversaries aren't always happy occasions.

*“Peket hemikzeny beram iyranüd ja kizmet kilud.”

The political history of the Karakhtani Republic was not exactly one marked by stability or long-standing reverence for its executive leaders. For the past three decades, each president had been forced out of office by scandal or unrest like clockwork during their third, sixth, or ninth year in office. The cyclical nature of these resignations even led to some of the administrations before Seytbedin attempting to banish any mention of the number three from the Palace (not that it helped them much in the end). While the superstition felt much too ludicrous to put much faith in, the President couldn't help but feel unnerved.

A quartet of servants moved towards the grand double doors with rolled-up tapestries and ladders, carefully pinning the top of each banner to the wall before letting it unfurl. The words “Second Presidential Inauguration Anniversary Gala” shimmered in the soft light of the chandeliers, the gold-embossed words written in the vertical Karakhtani script. While all of the golden decorations and flatware may have been much more expensive than the humble lifestyle that Seytbedin had been accustomed to for most of his life, these luxuries were one of the few comforts the President was able to find in his current position.

After all, why spare any expenses celebrating the beginning of a president’s third year in office?

*“Meni küzy beram fodalad menan danalik ja rehymdik.”

“You know you don't have to watch them do their jobs, Nury. Your party will be fine with or without your supervision.”

The light alto voice of Cholpon, the Karakhtani first lady, caused her husband to glance away from the ballroom setup. “I know, meni yuldyz. I just wanted a break from all of the bickering that Maksat and his staff seem to love. They'll decry each other and our own economic policies just to try to convince me to fund a project owned by one of their family members, like that has gone well in the past.” Seytbedin sighed. “This seemed to be a better use of my time then having to tell them no over and over again.”

“While that must be insufferable, don't pretend like it's clan politics that's on your mind. You've been more and more distant for the past few months, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why,” Cholpon said, putting a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “The economy is fine, the people are placated, and the local bosses couldn't care less about what you are doing. You have nothing to worry about, my love.”

With a nod and a smile, the president showed his appreciation for his wife's reassurances. “Thank you. I don't know what I would get done without you.”

“Let us hope that you never have to work without me, because not even the Seven Chiefs could help you get anything done,” the first lady quipped. “Now, come on, you should get back to your meeting. If it goes longer than an hour, I promise to swing by and rescue you.”

Seytbedin took his wife's hand and left the ballroom, sparing a single final glance at the ongoing preparations for his presidential anniversary.

Or, as he feared, his funeral.

— 

Excerpts from the Fourteen Oaths, a list of promises that the Karakhtani President must make upon their inauguration.

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  2025 Olympics Registration Thread

Posted by: Haesan
05-08-2025, 04:37 AM
Forum: IDU Olympiad
- Replies (15)

Registrations for the 2025 Summer Olympics in Suyang, Haesan along with the 2026 Winter Olympics cohosted by Lumeire, Auria and Atlantis, Eiria are now open!  With 220 events in total, the two Olympics will feature nearly double the events of the 2023 Hanshui Olympics (113 events), and the Summer Olympics alone will be the largest single Olympics to date by event count with 154 events.  We are excited to be rolling out a completely new computational system for this event to make an Olympics of this scale a reality.

We are pleased to announce the following new categories of events:

Summer Olympics

  • Artistic Swimming
  • Badminton
  • Beach Volleyball
  • Boxing
  • Canoeing
  • Cricket
  • Drywall Ball
  • Football (Soccer)
  • Golf
  • Hockey (Field)
  • Rowing
  • Rugby Sevens
  • Shooting
  • Squash
  • Sport Climbing
  • Taekwondo
  • Volleyball
Winter Olympics
  • Cross-Country Ski
  • Freestyle Ski
  • Snowboarding
 
Additional events have also been added to many returning event categories across the summer and winter games, with the notable return of field events to athletics for the first time since Shuell 2019.

This is a tremendous leap for the games, however, in order to manage the immense computational load this event will require to run successfully, prompt and accurate submission forms are extremely important.  The deadline for submissions will be July 27 but we recommend starting your form as soon as possible, especially if you have puppet nations who you want to submit for.  Submitting a full slate of athletes, as for nations in real life, will be a bit of an ordeal, and we expect that only the most dedicated and well resourced nations will be able to do so.  It is totally ok for nations to only enter in a subset of events and leave the remaining entries blank.  This is somewhat expected and may even be encouraged for RP fidelity, especially with smaller nations.

The roster submission process is as follows:

  1. Copy a version of this Google Sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...sp=sharing
     
  2. Add names of contestants to the "Athlete(s)" column, taking into mind the following rules as you do so:
  • If an event is followed by a number in parentheses (e.g., "(2)") it requires that number of athletes listed to enter in that event.  Athlete names should be separated by commas.
  • If an event is followed by the word "Team" in parentheses, a team name should be provided.
  • If an event is not followed by a parenthetical, the name of a single individual should be provided.
  • Names should be provided in Western style, with surnames last (Hae-rin Lee (correct) v. Lee Hae-rin (incorrect)).
  • If an event has a detail in brackets (e.g., "[Song]"), it is optional flavor that is recommended to be provided alongside your entry.  If you would like to add flavor or detail to these entries (or other entries), please use square brackets to indicate that it is not essential to your entry.
      3. Add ratings for each entry where you are submitting a roster.
  • Overall ratings are shared across the summer and winter games, combined they must sum to zero or less.
  • Each rating must be between -50 and 50.
  • In order to minimize spread-related shenanigans (i.e. putting 50 for half of entries and -50 for the remainder), the standard deviation of your entries must be less than 33.  The standard deviation is conveniently calculated for you in cell B279. 
      4. Review your entry sheet and ensure you have followed the rules and regulations above.

      5. Submit the link to your finished registration sheet in a reply on this forum by the deadline.  Be sure you've turned on sharing via link!
      Please additionally provide the following information in your submit message:
  • Nation 
  • Trigram
  • Puppet Status of Submitting Nation
  • Priority Ranking of Puppet (only needed if submitting with multiple puppets, ties are allowed)

This is definitely a slightly more complicated submission ruleset than in prior iterations, but this is a result of each sheet needing to be formulaically scraped by code.  Standardizing the forms in this way makes the import process significantly easier, as each specific quirk of each nation's names would otherwise need to be manually coded in.  As such, we ask for your compliance if your submission may require slight alterations.  Of course, failure to comply with clerical requests by the governing Olympic committee may result in sanctions against violating parties.

We look forward to seeing your submissions and to a fun and historic Fourth IDU Olympic Games!

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  Rise of the Diawara

Posted by: Slokais
03-27-2025, 08:00 PM
Forum: International Affairs
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The land of Kolda had existed for tens of thousands of years, from when the first humans walked the Koldan plain in search of water to the great cities of the Golden Age. The land watched. The land watched as ships as tall as mountains landed on the coast, first building a port, then enslaving the people of the interior. The land watched as Kolda was named Brissiac and changed hands to a small minority from foreign lands. As the county united under a banner of green and red, around a man named Gano, the land watched. No matter the time, the people, or the era, the land of Kolda would always be the same until now.

Hours before, she had been in school, living an existence filled with formals, grades, and tennis matches. Yet by the point of a gun, Claire DeCote, along with several other students of the Lennesway Day School, had been taken by these armed men. The popular assumption propagated among both fellow students and the official investigation conducted in 2010 by Senghor’s administration is that Claire and the others had been killed by an Islamist contingent group within the military. This assumption filled the Islamophobic narrative that propagated the post-coup Kolda. Yet in reality, these men were of a different faith, the Diawara.

Both a religious group and the name of the central figure, Diawara, combined Christian values with a belief in reincarnation and that the Koldan people would be restored by a divine figure, a brother of Jesus sent down by God to his chosen people. And that night in 2009 was the first step in the vision of Jemus Jammeh, a religious political leader and 2024 Presidential Candidate. Considering these fact’s one would assume that the KLF-U and Etiene Senghor, the paramount political forces of Kolda, would denounce the Diawara. In reality, the Diawara had already become so entrenched, Senghor, who had formed a careful, secret alliance, would soon himself be surprised.

“Where are you taking us?” Claire asked in Koldan Creole, not her native tongue but a learned one.
“To see the truth of creation,” one of the soldiers said.
Claire had been mentally prepared this was how her young life would end.
“How will we see…?” she asked
“You will see Diawara”
“Who’s Diawara?”

Ettienne Senghor walked into his office on the first day of his 4th term with a smile on his face. He had just been sworn in at a public ceremony, more of a formality at this point; however, it was an opportunity for patriotism. The public had seen columns of troops armed with the newest weapons, tanks operated by the newest pilots. In his re-inauguration, Senghor had promised the nation was awakening from a “Koldan Dream”, the theme of his last term to this term’s theme, a “Koldan Reality”. 

Now, at his desk where members of his cabinet had gathered, he was presented with a series of executive orders, each one stacked up together. Although the Parliament was now much closer as the KLF-U had to now work with both the closely aligned old-style socialist Republican Rally and their new tactics allies, the Darwla Party. Jemus Jammeh had quickly made the President aware, it was the support of his followers that gave him the narrow victory in last year’s election. Senghor shared values in terms of history and in political nationalism, yet he disagreed with them for their steep theological deviations from mainstream Christianity.

His Vice-President, Joseph Thiangou, was a member of the Darwla area and had attempted to convert him on several occasions. Less than a year after selecting him as his new Vice-President, President Senghor was already regretting the arrangement to select the Diawara faithful KLF-U member. Although publicly very few within the party proclaimed such beliefs, part of Senghor was afraid of how many truly believed. At some point, this Diawara situation would pass, and Senghor would purge them. But for now, he saw them as allies.

“This proclamation directs a new military operation in Kendough-Sabourrise to investigate the recent attacks on civilian infrastructure”. The President said to the cameras that had gathered around his desk.
“What is the reason, Comrade President?” a reporter with Liberation TV asked, a staunchly pro-KLF network
“The election day attacks were extremely concerning. This will be addressed by an upcoming piece of legislation,” the President said.
In the stack were several other less important proclamations, just scraps to feed the patriotic birds which had once again come to roost at the Presidential Palace.

Claire was not killed that night as she and everyone else expected. She was brought to a country estate which equaled the most expensive homes of her classmates at Lennesway Day. On the first day of her captivity, it was explained they had been saved by the graciousness of their savior. She wasn’t the only one captured; dozens of children of the city’s best schools had been brought here. They had been separated by gender, with the boys wearing white robes while the girls wore red ones. Over that fateful breakfast, Claire began her transformation to one of the Diawara's most faithful.
“Who is our saviour, Jesus?” another girl asked.
“No,” a man said.
He was dressed in the cleanest white robes with gold lining a smile which could rival the sun in the sky. The one and only Jemus Jammeh. Claire soon became enamored with the leader of the Diawara Faith. When the other girls doubted his holiness and his greatness in private, Claire would confess her affection and belief in the Great Savior.

As the months went by, as she became educated and her connection grew both with God and the spirit Diawara. Her people, the Brissicans, had taken Kolda from Diawara, the Mother of the Koldan People. She prayed for the eventual return of Kolda to its original owners and the restoration of the Koldan Empire of old. She also prayed, Jemus would bring into the “Great Plan” he spoke of at weekly services. Finally, just after the start of the new year of 2010, she was given an opportunity.
Jemus approached her personally after dinner.
“Claire,” he said, standing behind her chair.
“Yes, Great Savior,” she said, eagerly waiting for his response
“Come with me,” he said, his gold staff by his side.
The two exited the girls’ dining hall and into the main courtyard. the two walked together, their sandals clicking in motion. Together. In her mind, Claire pondered what would come next. Over the past few months, several girls had gone with Jemus at night and not returned. Midway across the courtyard, Jemus asked.
“Happy Birthday,” he said
“What?” Claire asked, she hadn’t been keeping a close track of time. Her days had been full of light work around the compound and classes on religion. In her past life, life had been so artificial, so pointless. Yet here, she had found a connection both to God and to the beautiful land of Kolda.
“We have been keeping track, you are now a woman,” Jemus said
“Oh,” Claire said.
“In the traditional way of Diawara, boys become men at 15 and girls become women at 16. You know this, Claire” he said.
“Indeed, I have been so focused on my tasks, I have forgotten the days and weeks,” Claire said, embarrassed.
“That is admirable. tonight your work will be rewarded,” he said, opening the door of the main building of the compound.

In the aftermath of her escape, Mbaye walked the bushlands, sticking by the river. Eating berries and catching small mice for her meals. The water, although muddy, had become her lifeblood, the shade of trees becoming a brief respite from the harsh sun. After several nights of travel, she reached a town, Mbaye expected she would receive looks for her obviously dirty and broken appearance. Yet as she approached the town, tents and temporary settlements spread out, using small rocks and trees as cover from the sun. They were Moujerrian refugees from the east of the province who had been pushed out by both violence and physical removal by the Koldan government. And now Mbaye was just another person on the road. Mbaye began to ask around, eventually she had been taken in by a family of 5, they gave her a small portion of rice and an even smaller piece of chicken patty called “echota”, thickened by vegetable matter to give it density.

Mbaye didn’t know what was next; her true family had destroyed her homeland, and she had suffered at their hands. Yet she didn’t want to give up either on Kolda, there was a rebellious spirit out there. She heard of the election results a week after her arrival in the village while collecting water from a nearby well. Although she didn’t speak Moujerrian Arabic, her Kango, which a few months ago had been fairly weak, was her only method of communication. Knowing the opposition party had at least challenged the KLF-U, preventing a direct majority was a spark. However, that choice of her involvement would end up not being made by her.

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  2024 IDU Film Festival

Posted by: Laeral
02-21-2025, 10:30 PM
Forum: Film Festivals
- Replies (8)

A hearty thank you and congratulations to all entrants! With more films submitted to the festival than any previous iteration in IDU history, as well as the most-ever foreign films submitted, your efforts have made the Eighth Annual IDU Film Festival the vibrant regional event it is. Despite the record-breaking number of entries in many categories, however, only one winner in each category can emerge victorious. Each player is asked to submit one ballot; voting is mandatory.* You may not vote for films which you submitted. Please read each entry carefully before making your selections. As in previous years, ranked-choice balloting will be used, with voters ranking their top five picks in each category. 

This year, for the first time, players from outside the IDU who submitted Foreign Film entries are permitted to vote in the Best Foreign Film category only. Players from outside the IDU are welcome to fill out a ballot for the other categories as well, but these votes will not be processed. 

List of Entries:

Best Film:

  • DrabeMās 
  • Hélène 
  • Küp 
  • Mo Chubhrachain 
  • Opthelia
  • Remembrance
  • The First Lehvantian on the Moon 
  • The House Upon the Hill 
  • The Infallible Maxims of William Wintour 
  • The Pursuit of Illusive Desires 
  • The Storms
  • Tlauilantli 
  • Watch This Film Thrice

Best Lead Actor:
  • Alis Kravale in DrabeMās 
  • Cem Eltayeb in Küp 
  • Ed Turner in The Infallible Maxims of William Wintour 
  • Gareth Waterson in A Just Cause 
  • Haneef Tawfeek in The Storms 
  • Michèle Fayolle in Remembrance 
  • Omid Vidal in The First Lehvantian on the Moon 
  • Renee Dalton in You Are My Sunshine 
  • Ricardo Mendez in The Pursuit of Illusive Desires 
  • Sandra Kario in The House Upon the Hill
  • Seo Chae-won in Hélène
  • Telpoch in Tlauilantli

Best Supporting Actor:
  • Anthony Sawyer in Watch This Film Thrice 
  • Aylin Gürer in Küp 
  • Charles Avrard in Hélène 
  • Elias Bardem in The Pursuit of Illusive Desires 
  • Elliot Holden in A Just Cause 
  • Gean Anderson in DrabeMās 
  • Hugh Hunt in The Infallible Maxims of William Wintour 
  • Sokhna Bousso in The Universe Beyond 
  • Tlacoehua in Tlauilantli

Best Musical Score:
  • A Bowl Full of Pride
  • Beyond the Orange Sunrise
  • Hélène 
  • Mo Chubhrachain 
  • Opthelia 
  • Remembrance 
  • The House Upon the Hill 
  • The Infallible Maxims of William Wintour 
  • The Pursuit of Illusive Desires 
  • You Are My Sunshine

Best Costume Design:
  • DrabeMās 
  • Echoes of Cannonfire 
  • Opthelia 
  • The Universe Beyond 
  • Watch This Film Thrice 

Best Documentary Film:
  • A Bowl Full of Pride 
  • Beyond the Orange Sunrise 
  • Echoes of Cannonfire 
  • In the Line of Fire 
  • The Proud Lions
  • To the Moon

Best Foreign Film:
  • A Different Perspective 
  • Alliass
  • Boat of Mieren 
  • The Great Restoration

The list of nominees can also be viewed at a glance on IDUwiki. 
Official Ballot:
Nation Name: (include all of your nations which submitted entries to the Festival)
Best Film:
1. 
2.
3.
4.
5.

Best Lead Actor:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Best Supporting Actor:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Best Musical Score:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Best Costume Design:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Best Documentary Film:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Best Foreign Film:
1.
2.
3.
4.

End of Official Ballot
*Voting is mandatory because, as players cannot vote for their own films, strategically not submitting a ballot to avoid providing your vote to a competitor could give you an unfair advantage in a close race.

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  2025 LIDUN President Nominations and Voting

Posted by: Lauchenoiria
01-28-2025, 11:26 PM
Forum: Voting Floor
- Replies (4)

I humbly apologise for the lateness of these nominations; I swear I was just really sick and not plotting a coup.

Anyway as my term in office should have ended a month ago, I am now opening nominations for the position of LIDUN President for 2025. Candidates may nominate themselves or be nominated by other members. Nominees must be current members of LIDUN. Voting will be open to all citizens with at least one nation in LIDUN.

Nominations will initially be open until 1st February 23:59 UTC, but may be extended if less than two nominations are received by that time.

The duties of the President can be found here: https://idugov.com/forum/showthread.php?...6#pid22346

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  2024 IDU Film Festival - Entries

Posted by: Laeral
01-25-2025, 03:36 AM
Forum: Film Festivals
- Replies (23)

Welcome, directors, actors, film crew, and cinemagoers from across the IDU to the Eighth IDU Film Festival. This latest iteration of the venerable IDU event promises competition and cultural exchange as established cinematic powerhouses rub shoulders with film-world upstarts to determine the films most worthy of the coveted awards. 

The Location: Althea, in eastern Laeral. A city steeped in history and grandeur, Althea was the center of Laeral under colonial rule, the site of the Laeralian dukes' grand palace, for decades after independence the Laeralian capital, and today, Laeral's second-largest city. The official venue of the Festival will be the Palais Lantriac Hotel—while not an actual palace, the building commands magnificent views of the Albarine Sea as well as Althea's actual palace, the Summer Court, on a terrace adjacent to the hotel. Dignitaries and guests are invited to explore the city's other attractions as well, from the magnificent Cyr Bridge and Meclond Cistern to the waterfront gambling houses on Casino Row and the nightlife and entertainment in the Écurie district. 

The Balloting: Consistent with the Seventh Film Festival in 2023, the 2024 Film Festival will include six categories for IDU entrants (Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Musical Score, Best Costume Design, and Best Documentary Film) and one international category (Best Foreign Film), which is open to nations from outside the IDU. Films from the IDU may be entered in multiple categories as long as all required information is included in the official submission. Each nation may only submit one entry for each category. The deadline for entry is set at Monday, February 17th at 11:59 PM EST; should an extension be required, please reach out directly over Discord (@laeral).

Nations entering the Film Festival in the Best Foreign Film category who don't already have an account on the IDU forums are encouraged to submit their entries via a Discord direct message to @laeral.

Nomination Form:
Film Title (English and/or Native):
Nominating Nation (If not from the IDU, please also list region):
Nomination Category/Categories: 
Language: 
Run Time:
Director:
Film Rating:
Producing Studio/Company:
Primary Cast:
Brief Summary (No more than 2-3 medium paragraphs please):
What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for this/these category/categories? (No more than 1-2 sentences per category nominated):
Any additional info (optional, short paragraph maximum):

With regards to the Film Rating, entrants are invited to enter either the film's content rating in the country of production or its content rating under the Laeralian film content classification system, which is as follows: 
E: Enfants (children's material)
G: Visa Général (general audiences)
13: Recommended for 13+ for violence, dramatic situations, moderate sensuality, profanity, or alcohol, drug, or tobacco consumption
18: 18+ only, for extreme violence, sexuality, or adult themes

List of Categories:

IDU Entrants:

  • Best Film
  • Best Lead Actor
  • Best Supporting Actor
  • Best Musical Score
  • Best Costume Design
  • Best Documentary Film

Non-IDU Entrants:
  • Best Foreign Film

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  1. IDU Regional Forum