Messy Messi Tour & Indian Football + Epstein's Wealth Empire + LitRPG Author & His Crazy Fans

Welcome to the Fiction Emailer: A newsletter that aims to make sense of our chaotic world through the lens of ‘Speculative Journalism & Fiction’ by rayaan_writer. Visit my website to know more. Tap here to learn about the Paper Chronicles Universe.

Quick Note: This week we saw Messi turn up at an event that saw ridiculous money thrown out; check out journalist Rana Ayyub’s post on the mainstreaming of propaganda movies; article on Dhurandhar’s problematic themes; curation of some best 2025 books.

What I Read This Week
📍 India: What Actually Matters Right Now

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Indian football's great irony: Millions for Messi, none for the beautiful game | ESPN

Messi's GOAT tour may rake in $20 million but there are zero takers for India's domestic football, with the 2025/26 ISL season yet to begin… Messi will come, Messi will wave, Messi will smile. The politicians and the celebrities and the uber-rich will get their selfies. The fans may or may not get a glimpse of the man they so greatly adore. The world's media will focus their attention on India and its behaviour in the face of sporting royalty and wonder at the extremes of it all. And then, once Messi departs, everyone else too will move on.

www.espn.in/football/story/_/id/47299391/indian-football-great-irony-millions-lionel-messi-beautiful-game-goat-tour

🌏 Globe: The Rest of the World, Unfiltered

Noema’s Top 10 Reads Of 2025 | NOEMA

Our best longform journalism and essays from 2025. “From artificial intelligence and the climate crisis to the future of democracy and capitalism, Noema Magazine seeks a deeper understanding of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century.”

www.noemamag.com/noemas-top-10-reads-of-2025

The Untold Story of How Jeffrey Epstein Got Rich

For years, rumors swirled about where his wealth came from. A Times investigation reveals the truth of how a college dropout clawed his way to the pinnacle of American finance and society.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/magazine/jeffrey-epstein-money-scams-investigation.html?unlocked_article_code=1.9U8.mIGk.Arvxs9VMGuAv&smid=url-share

Watch: How The World’s Biggest Truck Stop Makes 350,000 Meals A Year

✍🏼 Writing + AI: Sharp Reads on Both

Gonzo Fans Have Made ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ Into a Global Blockbuster

Matt Dinniman introduced his series about an alien reality TV show free on the web. But readers ate up the goofy humor, now to the tune of 6 million books sold.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/books/review/dungeon-crawler-carl-matt-dinniman.html?unlocked_article_code=1.9U8.9YJC.V14j6HgF2b2V&smid=url-share

The ‘Habsburg’ Internet: How AI Is Inbreeding Itself to Death

AI models are running out of human data and starting to feed on themselves. The result? A slow collapse into statistical gibberish—and we're helping it happen.

www.dharmaofai.com/p/the-habsburg-internet-how-ai-is-inbreeding