World Cup 100 | RP thread

by **Indusse** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 3:22 am

Know your Team!

With the Centenary Edition of the World Cup on the way, Indusse is all set with their squad to compete their way into the final stage. While the team has a few familiar faces in them, there is a bunch of players who are here in the national camp for the first time. "Know your Team!" is a special section of our reporting that focuses on introducing the team to our readers. Two players will be introduced to the readers, every issue. While we have already jumped into the midfield of the squad, the ones who are meant to be the bearers of passes and the ones to make way for goals we shall meet them two at a time in order to face the attackers.

Goblin GRUNDJEE
Position: FW | Age: Unknown | Club: Sindvpore FC | Apps: 302

The first and only non human sportsperson that has been part of Indusse's National Team, that is what Goblin Grundjee is to everyone. Created through Genetic Engineering years ago, Goblin Grundjee is part of the "Grundjee" Project (Family) which was one of the three families/projects that were introduced via genetic engineering (the other two projects are known as Mithys and Auris). The Grundjee family consists of multiple other individuals designed for various roles such as Colonels in the Army and Doctors. Grundjee was engineered using the genes of David E Beckham mixed with animal and algae genes. Grundjee at the time of creation had green skin and sharp ears. After a few years of engineering, he was transformed into a human like figure. Grundjee ended up being a very successful creation since his play has been vital in the run of the national team. Grundjee is now a player who's name you find in the list of top goal scorers and the players with most appearances. Grundjee has always played for Sindvpore FC in the domestic level, which led to him winning multiple Liga Prime recognitions including championships, Golden Boot and Golden Ball. Grundjee was engineered to play for the National Team and the domestics were never of focus, he is quick and farsighted with skills that make him the perfect attacking midfielder.

Djetson HASLE
Position: MD | Age: 27 | Club: Standard Lily | Apps: 306

Born in the city of Sindvpore as Djetson Hazlett to the couple Dr. Henry Hazlett and Maria Henry. Djetson had to change his surname at the age of sixteen to Hasle for joining film industry as a young actor since there was a prominent star "Philip Hazlett" existing. He couldn't do much in the film industry, which changed his route into football. He had close connections with players like Paulson and Budtedjson which helped him in pursuing a career in football. He was invited to play for the national U-18 team due to his absolutely notable performance for his club Sindvpore FC's Youth Team. His performance also brought him into the national team and got himself a key position. He is married to Katherine Hazlett, daughter of film star Philip Hazlett because of who he had to change his name. Katherine is also a prominent film star in Indusse. Hasle also took part in multiple futsal events in the country and also tried a hand in hockey. But he later realised that he was only made for professional soccer. He was later transferred to Dhalopura FC for loan where he was not able to prove himself. His performance started deteriorating in a slow pace when Sindvpore decided to transfer him to multiple small clubs until he reached SC Bertuara, a club which plays in provincial leagues. His performance started to improve steadily and that was when he rose again in Prominence and a got a contract to play at the Taxhavn side Standard Lily. Djetson is experienced with multiple playing environments and is very good at maintaining a connectivity in the game.

Draw, But We Take It!

Indusse had to travel to HUElavia for their last fixture. Facing HUElavia was expected to be a task since they were the only team that was ranked above Indusse. Indusse at the same time was having a great run with victories and could not lose the match anyway. The gap between teams for the first position in the group was getting thinner and thinner day by day. Indusse just had one more game after the match against HUElavia for marking a close to the first half of the qualifying stage and that was with Germanic Cat a low ranked team. As for the second half of the qualifying stage to start, Indusse would face Bruinswick at home. The last time Indusse faced the low ranked team at away, they had to end in a draw.

The Flocking Blues was visiting HUElavia after a long time for a match. The last time they faced each other was in the group stage of Independent Association Championship's 18th edition where Indusse crushed HUElavia for a score of four against one. Indusse also has a positive head to head record against this same team. After all they are Indusse's favourite Rivals after they lost to The Flocking Blues at the Independent Associations Championship's 13th Edition finals to leave Indusse with their first ever International trophy. Out of the five times Indusse faced HUElavia, victory was with Indusse thrice. A very tiny positive record, but that does make some noise out here especially considering the huge victory that Indusse had the last time they met.

Thrilled and tensed, the squad from Indusse lined up at HUElavia. The match commenced and it was what that was expected. A very tight match occurred since then. Possession shifted between both the teams every minute, making ways for both the teams to make necessary shots and try scoring goals. As both the teams conducted attacking runs, they struggled to keep up with the defense after all that's why there has been so much chances being made by both the teams. HUElavia finally got the upper hand just before the first half was about to end. A sudden charge from their players made the Indusseans to get startled. The defenders tried their best to mark the opponent and Cyrus Yazdani tried to take down a player which ended up useless. The player just had the keeper in front and that was a Goal! Lead to the Home team, HUElavia leads one against none at Half Time.

Yazdani had a horrible first half, it was a bunch of tackles and interceptions that was not able to find its mark. Yazdani who was able to be a giant wall in the previous games did not have luck to work out this time. Coach Camanin decided to substitute Cyrus off and bring in another young blood, Lhazang Tsang Po. This was just the second match Tsang Po was playing for the senior team and both had been through substitutions. The game resumed after the first half and the situation was the same. Both teams competed against each other with all their might where the only difference between them was the score line. Mersiás and Djenkzo was able to infiltrate through the defenders but was not able to find their mark against the opponent's goalkeeper. But the real breakthrough happened after a long run of sharing the possession with each other. At the seventy eighth minute, Djenkzo tried heading the ball into the goal post after a corner was taken by the Flocking Blues. The HUElavian keeper punches the ball away from the post but it finds the legs of the substitute defender Tsang Po. Tsang Po who saw that there was no defenders near him and the keeper was already down after trying to save the goal, quickly chipped the ball above the keeper's head. The Keeper did not have the time to react and the ball went in! A Goal! The game has been tied! Atleast Indusse did not have to fear a loss. That was the last notable event in the game and it went by the usual struggle for the ball until the end.

HUElavia 1–1 Indusse
Playing XI: Shehzad (GK), Cyrus, Paulson, Akshay, Bhattacharya (All Defenders), O'Shaugnessy , Grundjee, Djetson (All Midfielders), Mersiás (c), Rahul, Djenkzo (All Attackers)
Substitutions: Cyrus ⏷ Tsang Po ⏶
Goals: Tsang Po (78')

Other Headlines

The Refrainers Hits Salingam!
Rubber Chicken thieves who call themselves "The Refrainers" have made their appearance in farms in Salingam and those areas bordering Southbay. Police reports state that they have looted around fifty farms which accounts to a minimum loss of around thirty million Hindu Rupees.
Nisarga Floods: Death Toll hits 25, 30 still missing
The floods at Nisarga seems to get subdued but the death count is increasing with multiple individuals missing. The floods and rains have led to soil erosions and destruction of infrastructure which is delaying rescue efforts.
President Kumar to Visit the Nisarga Flood Sites
Baskar Kumar, President of Indusse has said that he will be visiting the flood affected areas and making sure necessary actions are taken to witness rescue efforts. He has said that he will personally ensure that the financial assistance is delivered to the affected at the proper time.

OOC: The Player Images are AI Generated.

by **Juvencus** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 3:36 am

IT MAY BE LONELY AT THE TOP - BUT THERE IS ALWAYS A COST

While Ajello's strategies are at their core more defensive than his predecessors, the scorelines could easily fool someone that Pomenienze may have never left the bodies of the players. While true especially for the game against Jeruselem, the defence gradually became better while the attack remained pretty consistent. However with 2 straight losses followed by 2 straight wins with a resulting lack of stability may have given a scare. However, after these 4 matches, la squadra is sitting comfortably on top in a qualifiers cycle that seems to be shaping up more by luck and randomness than actual tactical prowess or individual skill.

THE JERUSELEM DEBACLE: The only game not to be broadcast live on Juven television in these qualifiers due to the nakedness of the Jeruselemites, among other reasons deemed as degeneracy. La squadra entered the pitch absolutely repulsed by the appearance and flaunting nature of these people which caused major distractions in their gameplay and falling back 2-5 AT HALF-TIME. Ceferino Audiol's hat-trick proved to be of no worth as la squadra was upset 4-5 by the Jeruselemites. Worse yet, complaints by the fans about the uninhibited Jeruselemite fans rained among the thousands of Juven in the stands, many even choosing to leave while the game was taking place. In addition to that, a red card to Tòmas Alenyà following a middle finger directed at the Jeruselemite team made things more difficult for la squadra. Despite that, the princesses handled it with extreme professionalism and there were no off-pitch events.

RED CARDS KEEP ON RAINING: Caicedo Marroqui is generally thought of as one of the most cautious defender in the Juven team, however a red card from the early stages of the game set the team up for failure. Like a flash, Lisander was up 2-0 at half-time due to this. Tactical switches gave la squadra enough time to reorganise itself and possibly bite back with counter-attacks yet again. While it did manage to do that, Bevilacqua's strike on the 81st minute came too little too late. With two straight defeats in a row, the first time in CYCLES, la squadra saw itself drop from the top spot and instead Jeruselem was leading the pack.

LA SQUADRA MACBOUNCES BACK: More careful defending and better gap closing described the Macbon game, though this only came after Macbon went 0-1 up with a penalty kick earnt on the 9th minute. La squadra regained ground the same way when Ganymede Garcia was challenged hard in the box with the afforementioned also scoring the penalty earnt. From then on, the game became one-sided and resembled the match against Yuezhou in a lot of aspects. While the first half saw more even possession at 60-40, the final possession was at 72-28. Aboubakar Sidibe fresh off his umrah was able to score a fantastic volley to make it 2-1 while also becoming the first Juven muslim player to perform a sujud(prostration) celebration on the pitch in la squadra's colors, showing the religious tolerance within the Holy Empire. Bevilacqua would finish the job with a brace towards the end of the game, maintaining his fantastic form throught the entirety of the qualifiers.

TIKI-TAKA EXPLOSION IN VREEWIJK COMMONS: The Ajello Classic's first hints of its purest form were shown during the match against New Rotterdam City. Possession at 90-10 during the first half, constantly not letting the opposition breathe or get past the half-way line. 0-2 up at half-time thanks to Ceferino Audiol's expertise in aerial fights and two headers to remember. Joao Peres dominated the entire left flank essentially on his own, orchistrating attacks, dribbling past opposition and serving 3 assists(2 onto Audiol, one onto Dalmau) in the game while scoring the final goal himself. An impressive showing by the Outineau flanker, who seems to be yet another exhibition of player maturity post-Kelssek league.

With just a visit to Sernet next, la squadra is now more familiarised with its opponents. Sitting atop of the group on half-way is giving it a confidence it has not felt in two cycles straight which led to its eventual drop in the ranks. Wins from now on are more necessary than breathing itself, while the final dance awaits one of the best proponents it could have in its centennial edition. Will la Squadra manage to do it?

by **Woodsmere** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 5:17 am

Woodsmere vs Pyazhnaya: a 2-0 loss
Maks Pohve , 02/11/2025

Woodsmere
0
Pyazhnaya
2
Mukhametshin 30', 43'

The Match
It was a match with rather high expectations for the Hares, but it turned out to be an embarrassing loss for Woodsmere. Some argue it was since we played away, others argue it was because Roheline was replaced. Regardless, the Hares still stood strong - fighting till the very last second.

Early on in the game, Alatalato gained possession of the ball and shot at the 12th minute, however this was saved by Moroshkin. Chaos then ensued after Bryzgalov's possession of the ball, as interceptions and tackles came every minute. Seg Pa was handed a yellow for a foul on Terentyev, and Kartashov got one too - also for a foul. With no clear pattern or momentum in sight, it became a competition of chanting between the small number of Woodsmerean fans and the more numerous Pyazhnayan fans, repetitively chanting some slogans in Russian.

30 minutes in, it seems the Pyazhnayans were going with the flow and weaved their way through the Hares and then Mukhametshin scored a hasty, but accurate goal. It felt like the Woodsmereans got humbled after their small winning streak. We were humbled yet again thanks to the ball being kicked, at the speed of light, into poor Poldma, again by Mukhametshin.

Half time came, and the Pyazhnayans gulped down their vodka - maybe they did this before and during every match for energy. Their food was also top-notch, just like ours.

The Krasnograd Dome. Credit to Pyazhnaya for the image.

Reged had a fruitful discussion with his team it seemed, since the Hares were on a spree for the second half. Keulep shot not once, not twice but thrice. Unfortunately, none of them made it in; they were at least 40 metres off. Seg Pa got so energised he ended up fouling a player.

The final whistle blew apart the Hares, and many were convinced it was all Roheline's fault for casting 'spells' of fate on the team. Not including him was certainly a flawed decision. Reged said on social media after the match, "A humbling defeat - at least our players have learnt to not get too excited after a win." Hundreds replied to his comment, asking for Roheline's return to the pitch such as:

@realwoodsmereanpatriottt
It was all because you removed Roheline! #bringbackroheline #freeroheline

@dehnajakki
How dare you substitute Roheline - he was carrying the team until now! #freeroheline

Next 2 Matches
Next we are facing Avote and, once again, Himurajima. We will play Himurajima at Randvu Stadium, Wassenstad. From the information gathered, Avote constitutes of 2 failed states, and this may be reflected in the result against them. They are also 8th in the group table, after us. Although they may look bad, they shouldn't be underestimated as they have won before. We are also facing Himurajima who have beaten us before, as they are well ahead of us points-wise.

INFORMATION FOR HIMURAJIMA FANS
Ensure that you purchase train tickets at the airport station
To reach Himurajima from Wassenstad International Airport, follow signs towards a metro station in the airport, then board any train from platform 2 (towards Majatt) and exit at Randvu station. Luggage racks should be available on the train. After exiting Randvu Station, follow signs for the stadium and you should be walking down a walkway to get there. 5-star and 4-star accommodation is available along this walkway. There are also affordable inns near Randvu station.

Not many changes are happening to the 11 players, but Roheline is now back in service and Ranme has been given a chance to excel. So good luck Hares!

by **Busoga Islands** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 7:02 am

OOC Note to hosts and other readers: The following is a Map of Banija, Abahamba, and the Busoga Islands. Most of the credit goes to Tumbra. All three are ICly firmly independent countries, with historic ties to Banija- OOCly, all three of them are ran by the same user. Abahamba will be a large focus of this tournament for me, but as they are not in this tournament(for IC reasons that'll come out in due time), the RPing will be done mostly via Busoga and Banija. Abahamban perspectives will come from both nations.

Part 1: Intro to Abahamba
Part 2: A new Ambassador
Part 3: Robel takes a phone call
Part 4: Rumors Hit the Internet
Part 5: A Reçecian wonders (written by Recuecn)

Press conference in Abahamba's capitol city, ran by Crown Prince Thuku

This Lakiska Daily reporter was looking around the room. There was more press here than she expected- Banijan reporters from a number of different outlets, a number of Busogan reporters from other outlets, and foreign reporters from a decent number of nations. He was curious about how this would go- and hoped that the press conference wouldn't go long. He was set up in a nice hotel (as the foreign press all were in this country), and the Huayramarca v. Busoga Islands World Cup Qualifier started in an hour and a half. He did want to watch that game on TV, as it was a big one- the first place Busogans, traveling away to the struggling Pot 1 side in their group. A win for Busoga there would be another huge statement in their quest to qualify directly for the Finals.

But, while he certainly wanted to catch that whole game, his mind was absolutely focused right where it needed to be- here. He had seen some of the rumors from the internet, and if they were true, these rumors would be downright shocking. Talks that the Banijan WCC Vice President conspired to basically force Abahamba out of World Cup 100 Qualifying. It would be a tremendous scandal- one of the biggest in WCC history, that would mar what was such a fantastic celebration, the celebration of World Cup 100. Now, Abahamba was a poor country almost nobody had heard of, that basically has no foreign presence or influence whatsoever. It would be a hard allegation to prove. But if they were able to, and especially if they could connect it back to Banija... Then it would be insane.

But once he got the handout from the Crown Prince.... Ohhh boy. This was explosive.

"Thank you all for coming here today." The Crown Prince said. "Now, many of you may be wondering who I am. I am Crown Prince Thuku- first in line to the throne of this nation, and the chief heir of the House of Odon. I am also the chairman of the fledging Abahamba Football Assocation, which wanted to make its spectacular debut on the biggest state in sport- Qualifying for World Cup 100. Obviously, that did not happen. Many might be asking- why that didn't happen? Of course, many more of you might be wondering- we've never done this before, why now? Your questions will be answered."

"Ahead of Qualifying, Abahamba sent the requisite paperwork to WCC headquarters, in Zube, to sign up for the World Cup. Signing up for the World Cup, well, was something that we had never done before. We didn't know that we could just sign up. So we sent in our initial paperwork, liked everybody else. Then, instead of getting a response of saying, 'hey, congrats, see you at the qualifying draw', or anything like that, we got responses asking for a mountain of financial paperwork! Bank statements! Proof of funds! Credit lines! The whole scha-bang! Asking if we had millions of NSDs in the bank! Accusing us of not being able to pay our own way, in terms of away travel! Acting like they were a freaking accounting firm asking for a full-scale audit."

The reporter was rapidly taking notes. He didn't know how trustworthy this Crown Prince was. "So then, naturally, we had to withdraw our application. The insult was dramatically high."

An Abahamban reporter raised their hand. "Wait, Your Highness, does that mean we actually didn't have the funds? Did we not fund the FA when we created it?" The Crown Prince glared at the reporter, and ignored his question. He pointed towards the left vaguely and told the reporter to go and get his answer from over there, and it was just a massive soldier, probably about 6 foot 7, standing. The Lakiska Daily reporter shuddered just a little bit. He knew this wasn't a place where hard questions were asked of the government often, or honestly ever, by the press. He assumed this held true even if the FA, technically, wasn't the government, thanks to the Crown Prince being the man in charge.

"So we're out here thinking, dang, they want access to all of these financial documents- suddenly, the compliance work is far too high. We did our very best. But so many statements, they wanted so much, it wasn't going to happen. So we put our heads down, and said OK, we'll focus on readying all of our stuff for a couple of years from now, when World Cup 101 Qualifying rolls around." The Crown Prince said. "I had thought that maybe something weird was going on, but it was the first time that we had tried entering World Cup Qualifying- so maybe that was just the standard."

"But something came to mind when the President of the Busoga Islands, a great ally, came to town last week. I asked him what kind of docs the Busogans provided- he told me that the Busogans didn't provide any sort of docs. I was confused, and made a note. Did some research- turns out, it's not in WCC regs to ask for financial docs! What the hell was going on?"

He paused, and then continued. "And then, I saw who the VP of the World Cup Committee was- it was Robel Ezera. Banijan. The answer was clear." Another dramatic pause. "The integrity of sport was violated, because of a Banijan conspiracy to keep Abahamba out of the tournament. The reasoning is obvious! Look at the Banijan- slowly expanding. Our neighbors, Lugave, seemed to not value their independence, not value that some things were more important than the material wealth promised by the Banijans, coupled with energy promises from the ruling powers in Farfadillis. This probably goes up to the highest levels of government in Banija- maybe straight to the boy King himself! They CLEARLY don't want us to be showcasing ourselves on a global platform." He spent the next 4 minutes ranting about the imperial ambitions of their Banijan neighbors, and why they should not be trusted.

"There is only one reasonable response from here." He stopped and then continued. "Ezera- must resign. We must be given financial compensation for our losses- but that should come straight from the government in Busukuma, where it probably started anyways.

The Daily reporter noted a ton of logical leaps that the Crown Prince was making, without solid evidence. Connections to the government in Banija. Accusing the boy King. A conspiracy at all. Financial compensation from Busukuma was insane- was this a cash grab? But at least one thing did seem to be concrete here- and this might be a worthwhile thing to investigate. This was a story that had traction, and he was certainly going to write about it.

The Lakiska Daily

SPORTS BRIEF- Busogans stack another 6 point window as intense win over Huayramarca put them in perfect position to qualify for the World Cup

LAKISKA, SOUTH ISLAND, BUSOGA ISLANDS- We have full length articles deeper in this paper, about World Cup Qualifying. A lot going on- an explosive story about Robel Ezera, and stories on Busoga's World Cup Qualifiers. We'll give you the brief, and then the article links.

The brief- another 6 point window for the Busogans. They grinded out a tough away win against Huayramarca, who are in Pot 1, but who's campaign is quickly turning into an all-out disaster. After 8 matchdays, dead last- obviously, a worst-in-class performance for a Pot 1 side in World Cup Qualifying, even if they were at the very bottom of Pot 1. The Busogans had a tough one there, but they grinded it out- with a 25th minute strike from Uzun, followed by a 44th minute header from Abu Sesay that gave them a 2-0 lead going into the break. We mostly parked the bus from there, considering the caliber of opponent. Huayramarca scored in the 60th minute, so it made for a very tense half hour- but we got out with three points.

Then, we faced off against Kronbia at home- who are in 3rd place in the table. Another matchup of top teams- but one we dominated, cruising to a 4-0 home win in the Busogan capitol. We currently, approaching the halfway point of qualifying, are five points clear- obviously, a very good place to be.

Next up, are a pair of tough away games- a top 2 matchup, as we travel to Bostopia on MD9, before then traveling to face a tough Moon Deing team away from home on MD10. The toughest window of the cycle, two away games- so once we see the table after that window, we will really know our capabilities.

A few featured stories for today.

- Busoga's win in Huayramarca: How Abu Sesay sparked the Islanders towards three points in Huayramarca
- Busoga's scoring prowress: the makings of a blistering attack, as the Islanders hit a goalscoring pace that no team in National history has ever hit
- A tough trip to Bostopia: A top two group matchup set in Bostopia, what kind of strategy will the Busogans roll out?
- 'We're road warriors': will the double away window expose the Busogans as pretenders, or solidify our place as favorites to win this group?
- 'A Banijan WCC scandal': why Abahamba's accusation of malfeasance regarding their World Cup 100 application has some legs to it

by **Flavovespia** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 8:13 am

World Cup 86: Retrospective

Cassadaigua H 1 2, Hall 10’
Electrum A 0 2, Martin 32’, Hall 91’
Main Nation Ministry H 1 2, Coleman 62’
Squidroidia A 3 2, Hall 42’, Coleman 52’
Devonta H 1 3, Coleman 52’ May 75 (RC)’
Kulefati A 0 2, Coleman 26’ (P) , Hall 29’
Wymondham H 1 0, Coleman 94’
Royal Kingdom of Quebec H 1 1, Coleman 14’
Ihilthracna A 2 6, Feld 3’, Coleman 10’,65’,67’, King 48’, Hall 68’
Cassadaigua A 4 3, Feld 9’, Hall 16’, Coleman 85’
Electrum H 1 1, Hall 26’
Main Nation Ministry A 0 2, Coleman 30’ (P), 81’
Squidroidia H 2 3, Hall 80’, Feld 83’
Devonta A 2 3, Hall 67’, Coleman 76’, Feld 90’
Kulefati H 1 0, Coleman 71’ (P)
Wymondham A 0 5, Hall 17’, Ace 21’, Own Goal 57’, Coleman 66’, 82’
Royal Kingdom of Quebec A 2 1, Coleman 55’
Ihilthracna H 5 1, Coleman 8’, 84’, Gardner 31’, 52’, Hall 56’

Group 15                             Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cassadaigua                           18   15   2   1    66   30  +36    47 Q
 2 Quebec                                18   12   2   4    51   36  +15    38 P
 3 Main Nation Ministry                  18   11   3   4    37   24  +13    36
 4 Flavovespia                           18    9   2   7    40   26  +14    29
 5 Squidroidia                           18    8   2   8    37   39   −2    26
 6 Devonta                               18    8   2   8    33   32   +1    26
 7 Electrum                              18    7   1  10    32   40   −8    22
 8 Wymondham                             18    6   1  11    18   31  −13    19
 9 Ihilthracna                           18    4   2  12    28   49  −21    14
10 Kulefati                              18    0   3  15    16   51  −35     3

Huayramarca N 0 3, Feld 1’, Coleman 50’, Ace 84’
The Gothanita Isles N 0 0,
Mattijana N 0 1, Hall 47’
Abanhfleft N 3 2, Coleman 14’, 38’, 56’ (p)
Megistos N 0 2, King 28’ 60’
Sargossa N 1 3, Hall 28’

Group C                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Sargossa                 6   5  1  0   17  10  +7   16
2 Flavovespia              6   4  1  1   10   5  +5   13
3 Abanhfleft               6   3  1  2   14  12  +2   10
4 Megistos                 6   2  1  3   10  12  −2    7
5 Mattijana                6   2  0  4   10  13  −3    6
6 Huayramarca              6   1  1  4    7  11  −4    4
7 The Gothanita Isles      6   0  3  3    7  12  −5    3

Tioguldós N 2 0, Ahmed 17’, Ace 36’
South Newlandia N 1 0, Coleman 85’
Sargossa N 2 1, Coleman 37’

Eliminated in Quarter Finals

World Cup Qualifiers 86, and with Flavovespia ranked 51st and Pot 3, there was a hope that Flavovespia could at least challenge for the playoffs. However it was not to be, after 5 games Flavovespia had 1 win and 4 losses, 3 of which were at home. Richard Crawford had been seen up to this point as a capable manager, but this set of results saw the FFA pull the trigger early. A controversial sacking, and one that many think would have longer term ramifications. It was Arnold Stevenson, his assistant, who came in. Questions were raised about his experience, but he brought a great vibe to the team. They were never quite able to get the form to challenge the top end of the table, but rose to 4th, including away wins of 2-6 against Ihilthranca and 0-5 against Wymondham.

The squad had plenty of goals and key figure in it. Scott Coleman had a remarkable 19 goals, going for more than a goal a game, and for all of the critiques that he was an underdog pummeller, his strike rate was undeniable. Steven Hall had 11 goals and a plethora of assists, the captain a key player once moved back to his right attacking midfielder role. Elsewhere, there were some players showing promise and ability in their debut World Cup Qualifiers campaign. Aarif Muhammad may have had a slightly shaky start in goal, but by the end was looking like a great option at just 22 as well. David Clark debuted at 25, and on his form some wondered how it had taken that long. Mark Paul had a few brief cameos, but showed enough to think he’d be in future squads.

Cup of Harmony 78 saw Flavovespia go further than they’d ever been. A Pot 2 side, the hope was at least the knockout stages. Jonathan Feld scored in the opening minute of the group stages, and Flavovespia seemed to barely look back. 2nd in the group, only to Sargossa sent Flavovespia into the Round of 32. From there, a good win over Tioguldós, and a narrow, late win against South Newlandia setup a quarter final rematch against Sargossa. Another close game, but the result was 2-1 the wrong way for Flavovespia, and their journey ended. From the lows of 4 losses in 5, Arnold Stevenson had revived the teams fortunes, with an energy that was a bit eccentric, a bit chaotic, but certainly brought the mood up. However a poor AOCAF Cup 62 left this his one and only campaign for Flavovespia, and poor club management meant he’d eventually return to being Richard Crawford’s assistant at club level.

So what were the key memories and takeaways of this campaign? This was certainly the makings of a theoretically strong Flavovespia squad. Aarif Muhammad looked a great successor to David Meehan, Alexander May was a tough cookie to partner Tony Gardner in central defence. David Clark and James King were complementary in midfield. Steven Hall was a great captain and winger, and Scott Coleman was a sublime scorer. A few other names were in their best era, like Ronald Maddox and Valentine Richmond. It was a shame the start was so slow, an unfortunate feature of Flavovespia’s early campaign, as the momentum built when the dream was already close to over. Richard Crawford’s sacking still causes consternation, and some suggest he needed more time, but ultimately at the time, it was the decision that made sense to the majority.

by **Kelssek** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 9:00 am

GREITA HANBY: "Yes, well you've been through a terrible ordeal. I can only promise that if I'm elected I'll do everything I can to resolve the street parking at the pizza place. This is exactly the kind of thing I will tell the party needs to be accounted for in our urban planning policy, if we have one."

VOICEOVER: “As she gains a deeper understanding of the concerns of the people, back at Greita’s campaign office, two campaign workers are having a frank discussion about internal party matters.”

Gordon, the middle-aged party staffer running the regional-level campaign, is holding a small glass cup printed with the picture of an ultrasound, and filled with a dark orange substance. The camera pans over a table holding a dozen or so of them as Gordon speaks incredulously to Ewan, a younger male party operative in a suit and tie. “So bascially, you bought me, and the volunteers working ten-hour days on their feet tirelessly knocking doors to elect a strong AfL candidate to Parliament, aborted foetuses as a gift?”

“It’s called an Everlasting Funeral. They’re meant to raise funds and awareness of the complete lack of laws regulating aborti-”

“As a gift? Are you like... socially reta–” Gordon stopped himself from saying the rest of the word just in time. And then immediately wondered if the youngster would now see him as signalling insufficient commitment to the party’s declared line of free speech absolutism and cracking down on the whole idea you shouldn’t make other people feel bad with the words you use and stuff, like somehow make that illegal, right, without that itself violating free speech, which is of course what defines the greatness of our country and ancient civilization that is definitely thousands of years old with unquestionable historical continuity, look at all the stuff we dug up and put in the National Museum and claimed as being part of it a cohesive linear narrative, just look at it. LOOK AT IT.

“Well, I... you did say you felt strongly about the need for common sense abortion restrictions, and it’s not, like, an acutal whole baby, it’s just tissue, like, cells, and some of it is placenta, from...”

“You’re NOT SERIOUS.”

“Well, see, that’s the thing, right, because our unjust, immoral laws don’t consider the unborn to be persons, their corpses are not corpses, it’s just like-”

“What?... No, maybe, but... regardless, you can’t just grab tissue or cells or whatever out of hospitals and make them into candles! It doesn’t matter if they’re technically dead or not people, or... Wait, and this is biohazard material! Good lord, are these people selling literal biohazard waste for political donations online?!”

Ewan gets combative. “Okay, well, the Everlasting Funeral Foundation does acknowledge in their terms and conditions that their legal interpretations haven’t been tested in court, but...”

“Just get rid of your abortion-scented candle bollocks from this office before some snooping media person finds out about this!”

“The party’s voted to...”

“Woah. Lad. You’re new to this, okay. The platform, when it is released any day now, will one hundred percent not have anything about restricting abortion in it. I don’t know what it will say, but I’ve been in enough party conventions and conferences to know, the membership says one thing, the polls say no you won’t, and guess who the platform is written for?”

Ewan has the grace to bite his lip in disappointment.

“Median voter theory. Love it, hate it, live by it. Now get that stuff into a black bag and destroy it, okay? Literally burn it all, run it over with a car, throw it deep into an abandoned mine, it will never again see the light of day or, most importantly, be linked to this campaign.”

Ewan grumbled as he went to find some garbage bags. “Stupid old centrist cuck”, he muttered when sure he was out of Gordon’s earshot.

by **Carpathia and Ruthenia** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 9:12 am

It takes a second half to do half as well as Qusmo

Carpathia and Ruthenia – 4 (1)
Antonini, Verona, Naldi, Alinari, Kövér, Lecce, Brunetti, Vinci, Bassi (45+1'), Crocetti (64'), Pék ( (57', 84’)

Indo-Athena – 1 (0)
Unknown (90+3')

Let’s start off the article by pointing out we left the pitch with all three expected points and find ourselves four points clear of both Canamn and Qusmo. Qusmo have managed to catch up with Canamn thanks to a combination of them stringing their third victory in a row and Canamn dropping all points in a clanger of a match against Lebronsleftnut. But even on this hot streak we hold the advantage of a four point lead, with us facing second from bottom Coercia in the final match of the first half of qualifying and Qusmo facing Lebronsleftnut.

Now we’ve gotten the positive out of the way, let’s look at the match. Now some of you may suspect that I have business ties to beta-blockers given how much I mention it, perhaps I need to diversify that to anti-anxiety medication as well given the first half. It was an anxious watch, with a lot of unforced errors from the team causing possession to be lost and it was only due to Indo-Athena’s inability to punish those errors them kept us from falling behind, Bassi’s goal just before the end of the first half at least relieved the pressure a tiny bit, but even a goal up the players did look dejected leaving the field of play.

However yet again the bard Brelk-Xeral Erv spun magic words that lead to a completely different looking team hitting the pitch in the second half, energetic not looking nervous at all, controlling possession, building up players and being rewarded with three goals. You do have to wonder why they don’t do these speeches at the beginning of the match, but as long as it keeps working I’ll just take my meds for the first half and enjoy the second.

By Margita Ongaro
CBC Ruthenia

by **Free Republics** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 11:47 am

Petrograd, Plymouth, Free Republics

Following the 2-1 loss to Yuezhou, the Republican National Soccer Team plane flew to Petrograd. This was something the players had not been expecting. Koby Theodore did not tell his struggling team what their next destination was but they assumed they'd either be going back to Republica to spend the bye at Barjavel or to Han Harbor, Yorkoba. If not Han Harbor, which lacks an airport, they'd have expected to fly into Latroit and take the high speed Reptrak train to the college town. Instead, they arrived in Petrograd, which was experiencing a heatwave. Upon their arrival, there was a yellow school style bus waiting for them. The bus lacked air conditioning and didn't even have seat belts. It looked like something that kids in a rural area would ride to school.

Koby Theodore - Our ride is here.

Dion Rivera - This is our ride?

Koby Theodore - Yes, Dion. And given your poor play over the last 3 matches, I don't want to hear any complaints. All aboard.

Dion Rivera - Yes, coach.

The ride was quiet and slow as the bus driver insisted on driving at 25 miles per hour and taking the scenic route around the sprawling car-dependent city's freeway. All the while, Theodore had a grin on his face as if he'd done it intentionally. Finally, they pulled into a backroad with a "no outlet" sign. As they got off the bus, they saw a massive campus of practice facilities, office buildings and 1 building that looked like an absolute dump.

Koby Theodore - Here we are! This is the Republican National Soccer Team, LLC Global Headquarters on Margaret Lane. Rule Theriault built this for the national team 16 years ago.

Sebastian Andersen - Why haven't we ever heard of this, coach?

Koby Theodore - It was damaged during the chaos. Also, we never got around to fully utilizing it back in the day.

Love Holm - I remember training camp here before World Cup 85.

Archie White - It was brutal but it got us prepared to win.

Koby Theodore - Since you boys seem to be struggling of late, we're going to spend our bye running a mini training camp here. Also, we are going to be using those nice Citrus headsets to train here while you're sleeping going forward.

Hippolyte Vargas - But coach, how is that possible?

Koby Theodore - When you have the headset in, your body is asleep and in a dream-like state.

Rainer Savage - Oh shit! We've been sleeping way too much lately. That's why we've played so badly!

Koby Theodore - Rainer, I'll ignore the language for just this once. Not really a fan of that rule anyway. But that would explain why everybody's performance has slipped.

Archie White - Was it really a good idea for the Imperator to give them those headsets without explaining such an important detail?

Koby Theodore - No but that's the Imperator for you. He only informed me of this after he finished the renovation of Margaret Lane.

Summer White - Are the cheerleaders going to have to sleep in that dump of a dormitory?

Koby Theodore - Absolutely not. While we didn't have a cheerleaders dorm back in the day, the Grand Immortal Imperator has constructed one. With every luxury amenity imaginable to ensure that our cheerleaders are looking as pretty as possible.

Archie White - Boys, don't even think about going into the cheerleaders dorm after dark. If you do, I promise to personally make sure you regret it. Also, ladies, the boys dorm is off limits to you after dark as well. While some degree of fraternizing between the players and the cheerleaders is good, Margaret Lane is a training facility not a party.

Demeter Vayk - Are we going to have to sleep here before our match against Lisander?

Koby Theodore - Absolutely not. Before matches, we want you well rested in a comfortable bed. These beds are clearly unsuitable for that.

Love Holm - Are we going to be launching that league that Rule Theriault never got around to launching?

Koby Theodore - Maybe eventually but right now we are committed to the 30 players we have in our system. Once they need to compete in a domestic league, we'll probably have to do something. Manechester City is definitely not a good place for our boys to be playing.

Love Holm - I think coach Theriault deeply regretted his decision to let your generation play in foreign leagues.

Koby Theodore - I was on a team of superstars in the Equestrian States but we had absolutely no chemistry and it impacted our play as a national team.

Theodore reflected for a moment and decided he had something he needed to talk about with his team.

Koby Theodore - Team, raise your hands if you've read the article from Falatulu about World Cup 67.

About half of the team's hands went up.

Koby Theodore - In that case, I need to say this. The next article that is published in that series is going to be about the biggest mistake of my life. The Grand Immortal Imperator has banned the entire series in the FFR under penalty of burning at the stake. 33 years ago, I was hanging out at a bar in the Equestrian States during the Di Bradini Cup. We were the defending champions and I was just an awkward teenager at a different time when teenage boys and young men in our country were obsessed with having sex. Kyle had already slept with seemingly half of the hot girls in Petrograd. I looked up to him but I'd always had trouble attracting the ladies. So we saw a girl alone at the bar and bought her some drinks. Then I went out back, asking Kyle, Leo and Ausilio (OOC: Pretty sure I never identified Theodore's 3 accomplices but strongly implied Kyle Bolton was involved. If I discover I'm wrong and just contradicted my own canon, this will have to be corrected later.) to keep watch and I talked the girl into doing it behind the bushes. Her boyfriend, a Felix player, showed up and was furious. But it was dark and he couldn't identify us. Also, his girlfriend was so drunk that she'd have agreed to sleep with anybody at that moment. I forget whether Leo or Ausilo took out a knife and stabbed the dude but we were all fearing for our lives at the time.

Sebastian Andersen - Coach, how have I never heard any of this before?

Koby Theodore - We whitewashed the story because we were way too important to the national team. Theriault did everything he could to make sure we never faced any serious punishment. In the end, they brokered a "deal" that allowed me to train with Prince Andreas of Saintland, the future king, for a year or so. And spend a year or so attending school in Saintland which wasn't fun in the slightest.

Sebastian Andersen - You got off way too easy.

Koby Theodore - Of course and I regret my stupid actions every single day. And the harm they indirectly caused our Federation.

Hippolyte Vargas - If you'd done that today, you'd be lucky if you avoided execution.

Koby Theodore - I know. It also wasn't who I was. Even then. It was peer pressure. We were a bunch of delinquents that Theriault recruited because we had no other options. And all I wanted at the time was for Kyle to respect me and acknowledge me. So I imitated, poorly, his womanizing. What I admire about you boys is the way you show the positive side of peer pressure. And I want you to reach your full potential so that we can show the multiverse that the new Free Republics is not the degenerate cesspool that we used to be.

Sebastian Andersen - Thank you, coach. I agree that we need a more demanding training regimen to get us back into match shape. We've got to end this skid by beating Jeruselem in Han Harbor. Then Lisander right here in Plymouth.

Sporting World

Grand Immortal Imperator Orders Jeruselem National Team and Fans to Wear Modest Clothing While in the Free Republics
By: Clarice Chaussee

The Jeruselem Princesses Soccer Team has repeatedly courted controversy throughout history and never moreso than during the current World Cup qualifying campaign. Their team was excluded from the official tournament video game and their matches have been censored in numerous countries. In the Federation of Free Republics, they air on a 60 second delay with clothing digitally superimposed upon their players and fans who are notorious for not wearing clothes. With their team set to arrive in Han Harbor, Yorkoba to play Koby Theodore's Republican National Soccer Team at The Big House, the Grand Immortal Imperator has ordered that they must wear clothing of his choice which will be provided upon their arrival. Should any of their players or fans be naked in public within the territory of the Free Republics, they are to be summarily flogged on the spot by their arresting officer and speedily deported back to Jeruselem. Legislation to codify this has been passed by the legislature and is awaiting signatures from both consuls. The Free Republics will not tolerate public nudity.

The clothing provided to Jeruselem fans and players to wear while they are not on the pitch will ensure that their bodies are fully covered from their neck downwards. For ease of identification, the collared shirts and pants contain the pattern of the Jeruselem flag and we will provide tailoring services at our expense to ensure that these nudist degenerates are appropriately attired. Furthermore, the President of Yorkoba Bailey Thornton has ordered that any minors from Jeruselem who visit the Federation of Free Republics for this match will be taken into protective custody by his republic's Child Protective Services (CPS) and granted refugee status in the Free Republics with potential for future citizenship. As President Thornton told Sporting World, "In the opinion of the Republic of Yorkoba, Jeruselem is not a safe place for minors so they cannot be permitted to return there."

Finally, the Federation of Free Republics has filed a formal complaint with the World Cup Committee about conditions in Jeruselem. Specifically, the Grand Immortal Imperator has expressed concerns that an environment inherently corrupting to minors is an unsuitable place for our mostly underage National Soccer Team to play on matchday 18. The Grand Immortal Imperator has already ordered that the Cheerleading Squad is not permitted to accompany the team to Jeruselem, for their safety. Should the World Cup Committee fail to act, as expected, the Free Republics is prepared to take our own peaceful measures, to be announced later, to protect our soccer players from indecent sights at Dazza Dallas Stadium. In addition, Sporting World has learned that Republican fans will not be permitted to travel abroad for any remaining World Cup qualifying matches, as has been the case for our previous away matches this year. Whether travel will be permitted to the World Cup or Cup of Harmony, should we qualify/earn an invite, is to be determined.

Clarice Chausee is Sporting World's new international soccer correspondent starting with Imperator's Cup 1 and World Cup 100. She is a recent graduate of Ren Rep University and the former editor of their student newspaper The Collegian. She is married in a lesbian marriage to her husband and national championship winning quarterback Rule Chausee and their wife and former Ren Rep cheerleading captain Elisa Chausee.

by **Sarzonia** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 1:29 pm

The downfall was both long in coming and sudden.

The day began with Zack Wilson smiling as he greeted his personal secretary,, taking a cup of coffee into his office. Before lunchtime, however, he was led out of the organisation he'd run for several years by two burly security guards as underlings tasked with gathering every one of Wilson's personal effects entered the once sanctuary of his private office to box up his life.

The streets of Woodstock were eerily silent, not unusual for 3 a.m. on a Monday morning, as usually only construction crews were out and about conducting road repairs on the Turnpike and the Overpass during times when those well-traveled roadways were often much less frequently used. Still, Wilson was only tangentially aware of the "government shutdown," in which government workers were instructed to not report to work, or to work unpaid. Wilson had taken note of that, as Sarzonian law had explicitly prohibited such affairs, requiring continuing resolutions to fund the government, or at least ensure that employees could feed their families. Still, the eerie silence felt welcome to a man who was used to tumult, both externally and internally.

The coffee shop he usually frequented opened at 6 a.m., and his path took him past it two hours early; thus, it was convenient store brew in his hands instead of the usual fare. He took a sip and winced. It would take a lot of getting used to if he was to go in this early, he thought.

As he began checking emails and studying his calendar and its plethora of meetings and press availabilities, he heard the vibration from his phone. Normally, it didn't bother him, as he'd set his phone to Do Not Disturb, but he knew if his phone buzzed under that circumstance, there was a problem. He checked his phone.

"Board of Governors's chambres. NOW," came the tersely-worded text from his vice chairman Lloyd Hunsicker. Wilson looked at the text and the timestamp. Now? he'd wondered. What was the problem?

When he approached the door to the Board of Governors' chambers, he noticed the usually smiling, joking security guard Harold staring grimly ahead and refusing to lock eyes on Wilson.

That's odd, Wilson thought. That's not like Harry. Wilson and Harry weren't close friends, but they did at least have a cordial relationship, so this felt strange, to say the least.

When Wilson walked in, he saw the members of the Board of Governors sitting, glowering as they wore their full formal suits.

"As you know," Hunsicker said, skipping any semblance of pleasantries, "you called for a full investigation into the leaking of information to the press that resulted in the resignation of Caleb Rush as manager."

Wilson looked at Hunsicker and suppressed a shudder as he saw the look in his eyes.

"I'm aware," Wilson said.

"We've found the mole," Board member Clara Pennington said. "And the mole is you, Mr. Wilson."

Wilson's eyes widened for a split second, then his eyebrows furrowed.

"Impossible!"

"But it happened," Hunsicker said. "Here's the video that was captured of you telling the press about Caleb's mental health struggles with imposter syndrome."

Wilson closed his eyes, sighed almost imperceptibly, then lowered his head by a millimetre. It wasn't intentional. It certainly wasn't malicious. However, it was a breach of the privacy Rush expected from his bosses at the Incorporated Football Federation. Certainly, being the manager of Sarzonia's national football team meant that some privacy would go out the window, but this was a breach of the worst order.

"We are meeting later today to discuss your future with the organisation," Hunsicker said. Wilson stood up, turned around and walked back to his office. He'd just finished typing, printing out, and signing a letter of resignation when the guard knocked on his door.

"Mr. Wilson," he said. "We're here to escort you out."

"No need," he said. "I quit."

"The board's already decided to fire you," Hunsicker said as he walked in, flanked by two guards, both of whom could take down Wilson in fisticuffs if it came down to it. "We'll gather your personal effects and mail them to you."

Everything save for the resignation letter no one would ever get to read.

All of a sudden, the man who was well ensconced in the closest thing Sarzonia had to a royal family as the son, grandson and great-nephew of legends, not to mention the son of two others, was now being banished from the very organisation he'd given so much of his adult life and devotion to. All of a sudden, he'd have plenty of time to not just go grab a cup of coffee from his favourite diner, but also sit in it to contemplate how far he'd fallen in the blink of a couple of calamitous decisions.

by **Super Earth Under Siege** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 3:03 pm

Seyshel Beach - Seyshel Beach Avengement Day Memorial Stadium

Little was known of Denyssia's capabilities going into the match. Public information on their roster was scarce, and foreign outlets could only insist upon their "curse" of drawing a significant quantity of their matches to justify faltering against an unknown element. Of course, the Senators knew better. Victory was victory, and that was that- barring any Ministry of Truth dispatches informing them to adjust such thinking, of course. By now, the team was growing accustomed to frustrating draws against their opponents. They seethed at it. It was something more infuriating than even their hard-lost defeat in the Baptism of Fire, to be so close yet so far from unequivocal accomplishment. But it seemed almost inevitable in the match to come.

And yet it wasn't.

Denyssia had held off the veterans of Audioslavia, where Super Earth had triumphed. In the Baptism of Fire, the Denyssians had stalled with draw after draw where Super Earth had won time and again save for a single highly-contested occasion. A neutralising barricade was faced with the sledgehammer of Managed Democracy and in the face of such overwhelming aggression, it broke. Many great saves were had by the Denyssians, as if denying opposing goals were in their nature as well as their country's name. But it was all for nought in the end. Chop and Wader learned to make mincemeat of the opposing formation, dancing through with an elegance rarely seen anywhere in the boisterous Helldiver Corps. Deadman led the charge, of course, supported by perfect passes from Lagrange. Kicker returned ball after ball on the defence, with Denyssia's only goal scored in the final ten minutes of the match, with an overconfident Sally unable to respond in time to an unexpected Hail Liberty blitz. 3-1 for Super Earth ensured their place in the upper echelon.

But the next match would hold something of a grudge for them...

Stadio Elena Maria Arentas - Snestar

Snestar had been Super Earth's opponent in their respective final match in the Baptism of Fire. The decider for third place, which Super Earth had managed to win. The Snestaryans were expected to remember that detail and come at this reunion with everything they had. The pressure was mounting on their team even without the Senators to consider- a team with exceptional potential, yet struggling to prove their place in the big leagues. This was their home stadium. The crowds knew what was at stake. For Super Earth, their reputation of dominance. For Snestar, their chances of survival in the World Cup.

In preparation, the Senators were given extensive Shove Resistance Training. Foul play was considered likely, and for the brutal Super Earthers, being pushed around and tested by minefields was an entirely ordinary experience. But in doing such gruelling physical training right before the match- and in depriving them of the stims they'd normally use to heal from their wounds to avoid any international drug scandals- the Senators were left mildly battered and notably tired before their moment in the sun.

The result was an even more aggressive and chaotic assault than usual. Some Senators withstood the pressure well- Deadman, as ever, was stoic and reliable on the attack. Chop and Wader had enough discipline to carry on just fie. Teph and Cindy did well together as usual. Briggs made up for Kicker's fatigue with exceptional acumen. But though most of the usual stars were still in good shape, the less prominent team members could not say the same. If freedomball allowed throwing outside of penalties, Ret could have been said to throw the game with several poorly-considered long-range shots that served only to eliminate Super Earth's momentum. Cuff, usually an unremarkable performer who played in the background and tempered the others with caution, was completely off-balance.

The reservists were called in to make up for the tiredness on display, but it only made things worse. Asma and Buzz struggled to hold the line. Vigil kept up with the situation and Ballast shadowed the opposing team, but the rarely-deployed Sweeper in the goals proved why he was the last-ditch choice for the Senators by failing to hold back Snestar's opportunities twice in a row. The bleeding was stemmed in the end, and Creeper of all people managed to pull back and lead a charge that would equalise in the match in the last minutes- but the lesson was clear. Super Earth thrived under pressure but struggled under endurance. For the Senators, it had been an awfully close assignment, but one they could still celebrate as cementing their position in the top ranks of their group.

The Snestaryans, of course, may have had a different perspective.

by **Kita-Hinode** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 3:51 pm

All she could remember was the door near her room being banged on repeatedly by furious fists. At first, it was only the first girl, the one who had been around as far as she had known. And then more people started to desperately bang on it; it became such a scene that it was hard for her to even fall asleep. Naturally, she opened the door in frustration, looking around to see what was going on. She was greeted by a head full of purple hair, in tears, resting on her chest.

"It's... He's gone!"

That was when she knew that their God was a mean one. Things would also cease; they would all stop. It was when uncertainty first appeared in their daily lives. And to their horror, it would never truly end.

...

As the flames engulfed a barely dressed lady, the sight of a disappointed banner-wielding French woman could be seen, lit by the ever-hungrier flames she produced. She started talking to herself in clear disappointment. To some, that person would have been hard to peg down. To those in the know, that was very much likely to be one Joan of Arc, although not the one that history books told. This was the Dragon Witch, Joan of Arc... and she was displeased.

[Joan of Arc] - That makes it ten of these shitbit usurpers I wipe off the map, all of which have these weird names that I can barely tie down to anything. Doesn't the throne only summon notable people? What's with these goobers?

She sighed, raising her banner over her shoulder, looking towards the moon in brief silence.

[Joan of Arc] - Still, I can't stop. Not only because that'd be way damn lame for me to do, but also because of him. We can't let the place get overrun with folks like these while he's gone.

The words briefly lingered inside her mouth as she turned in a huff, the flag of a burning dragon above her. Her shape hid between the darker buildings of Shinjuku, walls scribbled with graffiti and upturned garbage cans, all trashed from the recent battle she was in.

[Joan of Arc] - They are the invaders. Gotta remember that.

TEAM IC and TYPE IOCA present...

(Sunrise/Great onslaught)
all worlds come to a shared point

The party moved down the streets of Shinjuku, led by the duo of Chromatika and Yesopalitha, as they had chosen to head their expedition in order to guarantee the safety of the crew. After all, not only did they have the one person who was privy to what things were before this place they were in took the shape it did, they also now had a magical battery that could, in theory, make things even easier for them. On a more personal note, Chromatika was keen on showing off to his two adoptive parents. Even if the father clearly didn't remember him, and the mother was only tangentially positive of his current state.

[Chromatika] - We did manage to clean up most of these streets, but things will likely worsen the deeper we get into the region... so remember to be on your toes at all times.
[Guy] - Yeah, I can't do that from this carriage, Chrom man.
[Yesopalitha] - Is this man of yours always this obtuse?
[Miss OMA] - First of all, he's not mine. And second of all, it seems like it, yes.
[Guy] - Eh. I was just trying to liven up the mood. It's not every time you get to fight someone so notable like Joan of Arc. You know. THE Joan of Arc. Even if she's a bit overplayed in all types of media and all.
[Chromatika] - And who would you want to face off? Giles de Rais?
[Guy] - Nah, that name just sounds like what a creep job would be named. Besides, most representations of Miss Jeanne d'Arc are usually so serene, things should be over with in a jiffy.
[Miss OMA] - You do better by not underestimating this Joan of Arc.

As they took a turn, Northern Sunrise peeked over his surfboard towards Chromatika, clearly curious about the person they were talking about.

[Northern Sunrise] - Uh, say, who's this Joan of Arc fellow?
[Chromatika] - La Pucelle, Jeanne d'Arc, was an instrumental figure in the French offensive that took part during the Hundred Years' War, to the point where she became a national icon. Her acts of courage in the face of war and corruption made her an ideal for many in modern times.
[Miss OMA] - ...And this one wields fire.
[Guy] - Pardon?
[Miss OMA] - Yes. Look, this Joan of Arc isn't like the traditional one. Quite the contrary, her creation came out of spite and anger with the Lord. Through Giles de Rais' machinations, she was able to be conceived in the form you will find her. She's a deadly opponent, one that can hang with the best. Worst of all, with everything that happened, she was the only one who worked under the beast that hadn't lost even a step in her conscience. I don't know if that makes her deadlier or not, but I would rather we didn't find out.
[Guy] - So, what do you suggest we do, then? I mean, we're on our way to fight her. Of course, we're gonna end up meeting and checking out if this "La Pucelle" is that deadly.
[Miss OMA] - Call her the Dragon Witch. She can summon those at will. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if dragons started to show up right-

A loud screech from above, followed by a ball of fire narrowly missing the carriage, made the girl realize that she had just invited the worst possible outcome. She let out a grunt, moving back towards a building.

[Miss OMA] - It's her dragon!
[Kitsunia] - Dragons, I can see more on the way!
[Miss OMA] - Damn it! Find a hiding spot for now, we got to-

Her words stopped in her mouth as a volleyball hit the first dragon of the bunch. The rest of the party seemed to signal her that they weren't going to hide from the flying beasts. A second one got slashed to the ground following a Chromatika leap, aided by Northern Sunrise's surfboard. As the party fought the dragons, Olga looked to the side, finding the Doctor tinkering with what looked to be an ATM.

[Miss OMA] - Wait, why are you not-
[Doctor] - Lady, I'm a man of peace... and also, a good electrician. Now dodge!

He pulled her out of the way of an incoming dragon that proceeded to land headfirst through the machine, electrifying itself to death. She thus proceeded to protest to the Doctor with wimpy punches in frustration. The damage to the building opened a path inside, which he then motioned for the Yamaxanadu to enter.

[Miss OMA] - You almost killed me!
[Doctor] - Well, dear, almost isn't a certainty. It's just a possibility. Besides, we just got ourselves the perfect spot to put our little tyke cannon.
[Rory] - Don't call her that, Doctor, she ain't a fan of being reminded of her small size.
[Doctor] - Yes, Rory, that's lovely, but she's not hearing us right now, is she?

A loud yell and a bucket of water dropping on the Doctor's head was the best answer the diminutive yama could deliver. Her eyes then focused on the brigade of dragons. She stretched her neck before getting her stake ready. On short notice, several beams of energy were shot from the top of the building, wiping dragons left and right in the air. The few that remained tried to scatter, but were stopped mid-track through more beams. The yama then leaped down to rejoin the party, looking around with some excitement, a bit of a surprise given her general attitude.

[Yamaxanadu] - That was her vanguard?
[Miss OMA] - Yes. And it won't take long for her to show up.
[Tumbra] - And how do you know that?
[Miss OMA] - They're part of her. Just like how this... bizarre man has his two companions. Worst of all, she's the one who matters.
[Yesopalitha] - So wiping those off means nothing.

A wall of flames surged in the distance, the sight of the Dragon Witch forming as she slowly walked her way towards the party, holding what was probably another defeated opponent, dragging it along with her. She then threw it towards them, revealing it to have been some Confederate-dressed man, totally banged up. He was clearly already dead, turning into the same energy they had seen previously.

[Joan of Arc] - You intruders ain't welcome here, but I guess telling you to leave is pointless. You did beat my wyverns, though, I'll commend you on that.
[Northern Sunrise] - ...Wait, you're the dragon witch, but all you got are wyverns?
[Joan of Arc] - No, fool. I'm just saving him for when I really need him. I don't think your crew justify me whipping it out. Especially the little one.
[Tumbra] - Wording!
[Yamaxanadu] - And I'm not little! I'm average-sized for my home dimension!
[Kitsunia] - Besides, weren't those dragons?
[Joan of Arc] - Nope. Wyverns. They're different. Your writer just chose to use dragons because wyverns are less popular.
[Doctor] - Isn't that the name of a baseball team, too?
[Tumbra] - Used to be, I think.
[Joan of Arc] - Whatever. There's nothing you can do against me.

A wave hit her out of nowhere, Northern Sunrise's facial expression giving off a look of annoyance.

[Northern Sunrise] - Lady, we don't have time for this stuff.
[Tumbra] - Literally, we only got a couple of more cut-offs left!
[Northern Sunrise] - And I wanna go home. So if you could please go and do your stuff-

He proceeded to dodge a surprise slash that came from the wall of steam that formed in the wake of the wave. What followed was a barrage of slashes that, in a surprise to this series so far, managed to land on the surfer's skin, making clear cuts. He staggered back to stand up, spinning his surfboard as he went on the offensive. Another wall of fire surged, bringing more wyverns to the battle. The presence of their master in the battleground seemed to energize them, making them able to go against whatever force the party put against them. Weaker combatants like Kitsunia had to hold back and go on the defensive.

[Miss OMA] - Guy, summon someone! We need more firepower!
[Guy] - Alright, jeez, hold on!

The summoning circle managed to appear briefly before a wyvern flew against it, causing the ritual to fade. It wouldn't be great for the wyvern either, as it hit a building, knocking itself out while causing the crumbling edifice to fall against another couple of them. The noise caught Northern Sunrise by surprise, allowing the Dragon Witch to lodge the pointed tip of her banner on his chest, causing him to crumble down.

[Joan of Arc] - Any last words? Though you really do not deserve them.
[Northern Sunrise] - ...Vive la France?
[Joan of Arc] - ...Asshole.

A loud yell of no came from Kitsunia as the edge of the banner aimed to drop right into her lover's head. A sword knocked it out, pushing the erstwhile Pucelle away. She rose from the road, her eyes widening as she noticed who was in front of the surfer. A chromed armour with plenty of fabric, a gauntlet on her wrist, golden hair cut shortly to befit her war-prone existence. The sword-bearing maiden had arrived.

[Jeanne d'Arc] - Vive la France!

by **Banija** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 4:40 pm

OOC Note to hosts and other readers: The following is a Map of Banija, Abahamba, and the Busoga Islands. Most of the credit goes to Tumbra. All three are ICly firmly independent countries, with historic ties to Banija- OOCly, all three of them are ran by the same user. Abahamba will be a large focus of this tournament for me, but as they are not in this tournament(for IC reasons that'll come out in due time), the RPing will be done mostly via Busoga and Banija. Abahamban perspectives will come from both nations.

Part 1: Intro to Abahamba
Part 2: A new Ambassador
Part 3: Robel takes a phone call
Part 4: Rumors Hit the Internet
Part 5: A Reçecian wonders (written by Recuecn)
Part 6: Thuku goes public

First two tweets are from right-wing politicians in Banija, both members of the Lukiiko (Parliament) who are cabinet members in the governing coalition. First is from the Minister of Transport, last is from the Minister of Labor. Last two are from well-respected news sources in the country.

Philani.Msomi
33 minutes ago

Press conference called in Abahamba, apparently they think Robel Ezera kept them out of World Cup Qualifying? Yeah sure, and at the next IBC Drawkland's point guard is gonna be 5'1!

Nkunda.Kiyeega
56 minutes ago

The accusation from the Crown Prince is insane. Notice how he never comes out and says that Abahamba had the financial means to support their team during World Cup Qualifying...

Mukeruzi.Observer
56 minutes ago

Robel Ezera under fire as he seems to be accused of malfeasance in his role as the VP of the World Cup Committee- and Banijan politicians are taking sides.

Hoima.Eagle
56 minutes ago

Robel Ezera facing scrutiny- could he be forced out from his role as the Vice President of the World Cup Committee?

WCC Vice President Robel Ezera, sitting in his office at the WCC headquarters in Zube

Robel Ezera was sitting at his desk, scrolling on his phone. The news was all public now- and it was basically non-stop. The last 24 hours- the press conference from the Crown Prince meant that there was a direct accusation leveled at him. At first, he felt it beneath him to respond. Who the heck would actually pay attention to the Crown Prince of Abahamba? The heir to the throne of a nation nobody had heard of, who wasn't in this tournament- aka, not really a nation that matters in terms of World Cup Qualifying. 273 other nations deserved to have a bigger spotlight than Abahamba. But the story seemed to catch traction in Banija, where people were taking sides- and blowing up his phone.

But when out to dinner at a 4 star restaurant, with his wife of 46 years, a reporter asked him on the street, walking out of the restaurant, whether the allegations were true. "I'm out with my wife- now's not the time." He told the young reporter. And the reporter eventually left him alone, but of course, his wife hadn't yet seen the story- and she, naturally, started asking him questions. "Robel, what's he talking about? I need to start doing some research on my own- is it true? Is it false? You wouldn't conspire to keep a poor nation like Abahamba out of the tournament, would you?" She said to him. Robel's answer was pretty evasive- but she knew what her husband meant. And obviously, not smart to say the obvious thing out loud.

"To be honest, even if you didn't, they don't deserve it." He stared at his wife. His wife wasn't politically inclined- but she was somebody who had really strong feelings about money. Money management, etc... You named it. In fact, she taught personal finance at Kizza I College, back in Busukuma, before she retired. "If they don't have the money, they don't have the g-d damn money. You're a steward of the WCC- what's a worse headline. This? Imagine the alternative headline- 'Abahamba national team gets stuck in Cardenao because they don't have cash to buy enough guess to fuel their plane,' and they are just stuck unless they get a bailout from the WCC, or their host nation, or whatever. I know it's not in your job description- but you've got to save them from that sort of embarrassment. Most nations are responsible enough to be implicitly trusted- but a nation as corrupt as Abahamba, where the King has a gold-plated golf cart but doesn't bother to feed his own people, that trust cannot be implicit."

Robel had worked so many years to get to this role- and this was supposed to be his last role. His swan song. The pinnacle of his career, #2 as the head of the entire World Cup Committee. But now, everything seemed to be in shambles. He was glad that his wife strongly supported him- he was in this role, he had to have some sort of backbone. And when he woke up the next morning, he felt strongly- he was going to go balls to the wall. Defending himself, he wasn't going to give up this job without a fight.

So he decided to go to his regularly scheduled press briefing, and gave a statement from the podium. "Thank you, members of the press, for gathering here today." He paused, looked around, and then continued speaking. "I'd like to give a short statement about the allegations brought towards me about Abahamba. I would like to say- the Crown Prince's description of events are false, and absolutely used as slander for the purpose of his own political gain in terms of domestic politics. He wants to blame others for his own failures- and I reject that. I've done nothing wrong. If he wants to rant, go ahead, but if he wants to defame me- this is just a false allegation. And if he wants to prove that his nation had the financial ability to compete in World Cup Qualifying, he can feel free to do that as well- I haven't seen any direct responses to what he says my allegations were anyways." When asked if he'd step aside, he told reporters not a chance. "I haven't done anything wrong, and there's important work to do here- so no, I won't let that press conference get in the way of me doing my work.

Unfortunately for Robel, his statement didn't do much to quell rumors- and they seemed to be ramping up. And despite his role as the Committee's Vice President, there were certainly powers above him. And those powers started to speak. And two days later, he got a letter- certified mail. The WCC was going to launch an investigation, and they would appoint their investigator soon. He didn't know who she was, but the powers that be had ordered his own cooperation- although he was allowed to keep dispensing his duties as the Committee's Vice President. He gulped- and then gave a frown. There was absolutely no chance that Thorvex was going to be able to prove anything. Ezera's bosses just didn't want a bad press cycle.

He was certainly fighting this- and called up his own brother, Victor Ezera, who happened to be a lawyer. He'd need him on his side- and fortunately, Ezera had a spare bed in his bedroom.

Home cooking coming up after Banija drop points against Libonesia

BUSUKUMA, NATIONAL CAPITOL REGION- In group 14, it is currently looking like a two horse race. The top two teams are setting a blistering pace- with Reçueçn sitting at a combined 13-1-0 through 14 games- yes, only one draw among a bunch of wins. Unfortunately, that draw is Banija's- having blown a 2 goal lead, away from home, against Libonesia in the second half. So Reçueçn sit on top of the group, with the maximum 21 points through 7 games, while Banija have 19 through the same number. And what makes it even more interesting? Reçueçn are traveling to Busukuma on the very next matchday, for a matchpu between the group's two best teams. And it is going to be critically important- the winner will take pole position, at the halfway point, in the race for the group's sole automatic berth in the World Cup Finals.

"We've got a tough taste in our mouths after the Libonesia match." Trischuk told reporters. "We had a great game against a talented Kita-Hinode side- and just completely lost everything on defense in the final 20 minutes. But we can do better, and do better- we're going up against one of the very best defenses in this entire qualifying competition, and we are going to prove to them that we can score consistently, like we have been doing this entire cycle." Goals will be paramount. The visitors have conceded only once in their 7 games, and that was in a 7-1 win over Minoptra.

"They are talented- but they haven't faced an attack quite like ours." Layvin Son-Saka, Banija's captain, told reporters. It is true- although that is maybe underselling the visitors attacking prowess. The visitors have scored more than the Banijans in this campaign so far, 22 goals compared to 21 for Banija. They can really get after you on both ends, and their 22-1 GD is best in class. And they don't fear the stage- if they can beat us in Banija during the actual World Cup, they can certainly beat us in Banija for a qualifier as well. So considering the stakes, and the recent history, they might be the favorites- but we certainly know that we've got a spectacular game lined up for in the Banijan capitol.

by **Jeruselem** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 6:12 pm

Naked News Jeruselem's Princess Melissa (naked) at Dazza Dallas Stadium on qualification match 8 for World Cup 100.
A similar looking naked female is standing next to her.

Melissa:
Hello, this is Princess Melissa reporting for Naked News Jeruselem.
We're back home at Dazza Dallas Stadium after going to Yangchenia for the last game.
It's qualification match day 8 in World Cup 100.
With me is someone a lot of people will recognise, but I'll tell you who she is later.
Some people will know who she is instantly.

Girl: Hello!

Melissa:
Last round was round 7 where Jeruselem travelled to Yangchenia but lost 2-0 to the home team Yangchenia.
The new round today, was a new day as it is.
Free Republics had the bye today.
Lisander hosted visiting Yangchenia who beat but last round.
It seems Yangchenia have become more confident as Lisander lost 4-1, a huge win.
New Rotterdam City not having a great time as they hosted Sernet who beat them 2-0.
Macbon hosted Juvencus and got rather beaten up with Juvencus winning 4-0.
And Yuezhou have to Jeruselem, Yuezhou are the top seed in Group 13.
Now my special guest is Jeruselem porn star Mel D, who some people think is me.

Girl: Yes, I'm Mel D and not a Princess. She's the princess.
Melissa: Confusing her full name is Melissa Dee Dallas, very similar to my name which probably confuses people.
Girl: Does explain why people ask for autographs for no reason
Melissa: My full name is Princess Melissa Diana Dallas, but most people don't know my middle name.
Girl: It just happens we look alike
Melissa: Oddly she's taller than me, I wish I was a little taller.

Girl: I'm not exactly tall either.
Melissa: Her dad is a football player but clearly she didn't get the football genes
Girl: Yeah I'm no good at any sport
Melissa: So if people say I'm a porn star, you're referring to her and not me.
Girl: I'm no princess either
Melissa: We are still related … anyway, back to today's game.

Girl: We lost 3-0
Melissa: Yes, another loss after losing to Yangchenia 2-0. We lost 3-0 but it was to the top seed Yuezhou.
Girl: Not our best game for sure
Melissa: I guess we rebounding off a loss and Yuezhou punished us for being off our game.
Girl: Pity we were doing so well before
Melissa: Two losses in a row, but I guess we had to lose at some stage

Girl: I'm still optimistic
Melissa: We still have a lot of games to go so no need to worry for now
Girl: Dad says you learn from your mistakes in life
Melissa: Hopefully we do learn something from today and well last loss
Girl: I'm used to being submissive but that's just me
Melissa: In your case, that's just your job.
Girl: I guess it is, I don't mind.

Melissa:
Well, we can look at the table for Group 13.
Juvencus have taken top spot on 16 points and goal different of 11.
Jeruselem somehow hang on to 2nd spot with 13 points despite two recent losses. Our goal difference got a little smacked down to 2.
Sernet and Yuezhou in 3rd with 11 points.
Free Republics have falled back down to 5th on 11 points.
Yangchenia 6th and Lisander 7th on 8 points.
Bottom 2 are Macbon 8th on 7 and then New Rotterdam City with 3 points in last.
Imagine we didn't lose the last two games, we'd look a lot better on the table.

Girl: Pity
Melissa: But that's done we have to look forward
Girl: I'll support the team regardless of results
Melissa: I have to make it clear our special guess chose to not wear clothers today
Girl: Didn't realise we look so similiar
Melissa: So we're not the same person, and she is a person not some AI.
Girl: AI are probably smarter than me.

Melissa: That's it from me, and Mel D here. Apparently she's in a new production.
Girl: Comes out soon, hope you buy it. It's me not her.

by **Kanzlia** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 6:42 pm

Rarity-o-meter
✦★✮✶✷✹☠
Rank 5

SCHATZKI ASTUTE

FIRST FLIGHT: 1929
WINGSPAN, METERS: 12
NO. SEATS: 2
SPEED, KNOTS: 172
WEIGHT, TONNES: 3.1
NO. BUILT: 341
The Astute forms the first of the three Schatzki A-Series fighter planes.
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ✹ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Okay, fine, we'll talk about the fighters. Why not we start off with how the Navy and Army had their own air forces first? In 1915 the Kingdom of Kanzlia declared war on the decaying Kingdom of Sybersyn located in what is now the southwestern regions of Twegas province. The war was relatively short as the Syberis were defeated quickly on land after 4 months of fighting. Yet even in that brief four month there was one huge technological leap. Aircraft, which had been first invented several years before, was used in the war. It was nothing as flashy as you'd expect from today, their role was limited to reconnaissance and even then they were not that good at it. But, it was still progress as both the Navy and Army (Land Regiment) was experimenting with the utilisation of the aircraft for their own use. The war did came to an end before both services integrated the aircraft. However the interest was there and both services correctly predicted that aircraft would be an important piece of tech for future wars.

In 1920 Rear Admiral Martin Velleux who was also an aviator, secured funds from the Navy to set up an 'Aviation Department' after his successful procurement of the Danzer-class submarines from Katzeburg. His goal with the Aviation department was to investigate and research the viability of aircraft in naval roles. Which was what the Aviation Department did for the next two decades. In 1922 the Kanzlian Land Regiment also attempted to start their own Aviation Department, however they failed to secure funding from the government. Annoyed at this, the Army complained to the government over the fact that the Navy received unofficial funding for their own aviation department. The government eventually saw it their way and the Navy's Aviation Department was split in two. The Navy still kept a reduced Aviation Department, but the Army would inherit the rest of the department to form the Army Air Arm.

As a result of the split, development slowed down and do remember that by 1922, neither services actually own combat ready aircraft. The Army was the actually the first to actually acquire one, with the procurement of the Schatzki Brawler in late 1922. The Brawler for all its technological prowess was only excellent in its speed, which made sense considering it was based on a raceplane. The major issues with the Brawler mostly lands on its shortcomings in the firepower and agility department. Schatzki was approached by the Army Air Arm in 1927 for a replacement and sought for a new model to address the Brawlers shortcomings.

Thankfully for the Army Air Arm, Schatzki had already addressed the firepower shortcomings of the Brawler as early as 1921, a year before the Brawler entered into service. The Brawlers firepower was split between a tail gunner and two machine guns atop its wing, so as to get out of the way from the propeller. However the wing could only hold so much weapons, remember that this was when wooden and fabric construction was the industry standard. So brilliant engineer Lysander Schaever, one of Schatzki's founders, casually developed synchronisation gears. I'll leave it to Cassandra to explain a bit more on it, but essentially it allowed the placement of weapons on the nose of the plane without shooting its own propellors. This was a huge advantage which the Army Air Arm and Schatzki was enthusiastic to include in their new fighter.

This would culminate in the Schatzki Astute, the first of the A-series of fighters from Schatzki. It was still a biplane, Schaever had a knack for biplanes and took a while for him to drop that preference. But anyhow the Astute came to be in 1929 and entered service the following year in the Army Air Arm with 50 units ordered in the first year. Several other clients joined in on the fun and by 1939 nearly 350 units was built, a good third of them was produced externally under license. Safe to say the Astute was an export success for Schatzki.

The Astute was a clear improvement over the Brawler as it utilised its synchronisation gear to its fullest, with the last model fitting in four machine guns on its nose. Whilst its fighter variants is perhaps the most well remembered variant of the Astute, the most built variant was actually the light bomber configuration. Due to its historical significance as one of the first fighters fitted with synchronisation gears, the Astute receives Rank 5 in our books.
Arming guns on airplanes seemed simple in theory but as aviation pioneers quickly found out, was actually an engineering nightmare. Naturally the most effective place to mount a gun was directly in front of the pilot. However that would mean shooting through the planes propeller, which is also on the nose. Firing a gun through the propellers would risk destroying the same mechanism keeping the plane airborne, a risk not worth taking.

However, Lysander Schaever came up with a brilliant solution. In 1921 he succesfully developed a working synchronisation gear. Synchronisation gears are a mechanical timing system that links the guns firing mechanism directly with the engine, so that bullets would fly pass safely between the propeller blades. The system he came up with is an engineering marvel, but not everyone has an engineering degree of sorts so I'll simplify it in basic terms. Schaever introduced a crank on the engine which would drive a pushrod, or an interrupter, that momentarily engages or releases the guns sear so that the gun could only be fired during the intervals where no blade sits infront of the muzzle.

This was not an entirely reliable system however, as a slight change in engine speed or a split second delay in the gun could easily mean the pilot is flying with one less propeller blade. It was a very delicate system and accidents commonly happened even with Schaevers invention. Other engineers introduced a variety of techniques to perfect it either by using electrical or hydraulics systems. The system grew so much more complex that eventually most designers opted to avoid the headache in the first place and just place the gun on the wings. In fact, just like what Schaever did with the Austere.

Kanzlian Historical Planes Series - Card #0104
Sponsored by the Kanzlian Aviation Museum - 20:00

by **Zwangzug** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 7:33 pm

Lasft and Centralis, fates remade and sealed.
Sometimes our hopes and our defenses waver.
But sometimes we form an unbroken shield
And see the lucky breaks fall in our favor.

What's better than being narrative's pawns,
On pilgrimage with one great end in mind?
Being a normal team, for whom each dawn's
Another chance to draw, to lose, to find

An ordinary victory, or two,
Until those victories become a streak
Like any nation, any team might do
Stumbling along their way, reaching a peak.

They all might summit, given half a chance:
Cormorants, Black-and-Reds, and Fire Ants.

The Bassabook Baritone

The anticipated meeting between the top two seeds of Group 28 ended in a narrow victory for the first seeds, allowing Hapilopper Overseas Territories - Dominion Anaia Maritime Neighborhood to take the lead.

Many longtime fans of international football will be familiar with the notion of a "puppet state"--a smaller country formally and publically affiliated with a larger or older one, sometimes to provide representation in a region that the latter does not inhabit. Well-known examples include mainland Ko-oren and The Ko-orenite Constellation; the Empire of Squornshelous and the Remnant States, when they represented separate geopolitical entities; and whatevertheheck was going on with Vilita and Turori. "Mainline" Hapilopper are located in Esportiva, and are competing in Group 18. Their Anaian counterparts are actually higher-seeded than their predecessors at this moment, but such things are not unheard of.

However, our readers may be unfamiliar with such concepts as a "beer league." As such, we have endeavored to provide some research and cultural context.

In societies such as Hapilopper, a "beer league" normally refers to a recreational, amateur league for organized athletic competition. As such, the Anaians join an illustrious tradition of teams that have enjoyed World Cup success despite, or because of, not playing professionally year-round.

More specifically, "beer" is a type of beverage that humans in some countries consume as a recreational drug. It is not primarily associated with religious rites in most traditions, and is normally negatively correlated with overall health. (In some times and places around the multiverse, beer has been less polluted and healthier to consume than water; however, our research has not established that either contemporary Esportivan or Anaian Hapilopper have that level of technological standards.)

"In some societies, beer has connotations of lowered inhibitions and relaxed fellowship," explained Dr. Valerie Samson of Bryce College. "Participating in communal rituals, such as singing, can be made less stressful by signifiers of amateurism. Therefore, despite its health risks, rational actors may nevertheless consume this beverage."

Tim Radomia, a midfielder who previously capped for Mainline Hapilopper, represents a slightly different archetype. Radomia is described as a "stoner," which in this context refers to someone who consumes marijuana recreationally. Unlike beer, marijuana is usually smoked.

"While attempting to encapsulate someone's entire personality by reference to their preferred choice of dangerous substance may seem reductionist, it's important to recall that our cultural frame of reference is not universal," Samson noted. "Radomia also enjoys listening to improvised music, which I'm sure even you prudes can appreciate."

Samson cautioned fans traveling to the return leg on Matchday 17 to not be too judgmental. "It's important to remember that many places in the world don't have the technological infrastructure or safety net that we enjoy. People less fortunate than us may turn to nonstandard coping mechanisms to deal with their nasty, brutish, and short lives. And while you may be tempted to engage in sensory experiences overseas that might not be legal here, I would caution against it. Dorks like us already sing badly, enjoy amateur sporting endeavors, and get debilitating migraines without the aid of intoxicating substances."

MD7: Saizarriktoria 70; Hegesa 19, Lavrans 51
MD8: Lavrans 12; Abbott 35, Cherry 62

by **HUElavia** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 8:56 pm

HUElavia 1-1 Indusse
(Arruda 43' | Tsang Po 78')
Estadio Nacional, Curumba, HUElavia

Germanic Cat 2–4 HUElavia
(REDACTED 39', REDACTED 88' | Milano 7' (P), 77', Agüero 67', Yepes 90+4')

Previously On...

Blur

2.4 Ignition

The drive back was just a silent one for Vinicius. No radio playing, the air condition and the motor humming was the only sounds that he'd hear. The loss from that race left him numb inside. Eventually, he saw the gas light ding on the dashboard of the Z. He got out from the highway and to a street where he pulled into a gas station. He got out of the car, turning around to look at it, feeling dejected from being defeated by someone, whom he couldn't tell who he was from how dark the windows of the Fiera was. He walked into the store to pay and get a snack and drink.

"40 Hueks on Pump 7, and these two things."
"Alright. Hey, you're alright?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm alright."
"You sure? You seem a bit sad."
"Nah, it's alright. I'm just tired, long week at work."
"I see. Take it easy and here's your change."
"Thank you, I'll make sure to do that."

Vinicius came back to his car. He looked at the reflective blue hue of the car, with the shiny, glossy finish to it. The modern front grill and headlights were pleasing to look out. The rear bumper and backlights also had a nice look. But he had mixed feelings towards the Z. On one hand, it was a pretty fast car. It drove right past the traffic with ease. And the handling was great, it would weave effortlessly through the traffic on the highway. On the other hand, he felt it wasn't good enough performance-wise. For a car that was marketed as a Sports car, it lacked that sportiness against the Fiera. That black Fiera truly was a faster car, and eventually just pulled away. Vinicius felt that the car could've done more to follow that car.

Vinicius was still getting used to his first ever car. Still, he felt it had potential to be worked on and improved. He filled up the gas on the car and eventually set himself back to the drivers seat. He ran his hands on the steering wheel, just staring blankly at it. Then a thought came to him: I should work on this Z. There's probably things I can do to improve on this car. I need some money first, but I think this Z has potential. He started the Z up and began the drive back south to his parents' home.

Along the way, Vinicius kept thinking what he can do to improve the car. Replace the turbo? Insert a racing chip? Improve the air intake for the car? There was plenty to work on, and he knew he needed to have patience and the funds to improve his Z. One thing was for sure: Vinicius wanted to see that Fiera once again, and he wanted to go toe-to-toe against him on that Highway once more and try to surpass him...

To Be Continued...

by **Saperetia** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 9:19 pm

Another game, another loss
Saperetia 1-2 Bruinswik

Leading the team into another match, Silivia had to have been working on his tactics. They worked, but only sometimes, and only for a short while, and then they spectacularly didn't. The one blessing from the draw was that each of our opponents would be weaker than the next (bar MD1 and MD8), allowing for our team to iron out the faults and progressively get stronger against the weaker teams. Next up was, once again, our weakest opponent yet, Bruinswik in rank 283. A far cry from the rank 18 HUElavia from MD2, but still clear of our rank of nothing. The central question this time round was whether Silivia's tactical tweaks worked. Alongside his tactical tweaks, he also tweaked the lineup a little bit. Would the fresh faces do something? Those questions would be answered as the SAP 4-3-3 lined up against the BRU 4-4-2:

Saperetia: GK Hranislav (C) DEF O'Connel, Carloza, Damjan, Chryses MID Gil, Govind, Camilo ATK Jacques, Kauko, Seppo

Bruinswik: GK ? DEF ?, ?, ?, ? MID ?, ?, ?, ? ATK ?, ?

The game began better than the other matches, which is not saying much. During the first half, both teams were playing rather defensively. Some runs toawrds the front did occur from time to time, but all of them ended in the ball being played back. Whatever happened in the dressing room, it had immediate impact, as our team conceded in minute '46 from a counter-attack that finally didn't get passed back. Luckily, our very next counter attack also didn't get passed back and a shot from Kauko flew above the keeper and into the net in minute '48. Unfortunately, our team conceded again in minute '50 from another counter that didn't get passed back. Then, the match returned to the defensive match of the first half and Silivia decided to not attempt anything at all. Shame.

As Silivia has lead the team to a 5th loss in a row, some are beginning to doubt his ability to manage the team. Some talk has started that if results don't improve by the half-way mark (in 4 matchdays, as we have a bye coming up), Silivia should be removed. Rumour has it that the SFF & Ministry of Culture are looking at potential candidates in case of such an event. "Rumours be rumours, until anything is concrete I don't want to hear" replied Silivia when asked to comment in the press conference after the game. The manager still holds out hope for improved results. How long until hope becomes delusion?

Points, barely, boringly, finally
Knights of LUSITANIA 0-0 Saperetia

Silivia so far has said that this was the best chance of our team to finally get points. Of course, he was right because this was the lowest-ranked team we have faced so far, but people were skeptical that he wouldn't mess it up again. Somehow. Anyway, he put the best team out there that he could in an attempt to finally break free from the hole of 0 points, so it was the standard SAP 4-3-3 that lined up against the LUS 4-4-2:

Saperetia: GK Hranislav (C) DEF Abdelkader, Carloza, Damjan, Anatoliy MID Gil, Inget, Camilo ATK Jacques, Seppel, Seppo

Knights of LUSITANIA: GK ? DEF ?, ?, ?, ? MID ?, ?, ?, ? ATK ?, ?

The game was relatively boring. Not because the teams didn't attempt to attack, but because they were bad. Every attack would end with the ball somewhere in the stands, and that's how the first half ended. Unfortunately, now came the biggest threat for our team: our own manager and his team talks, which have usually resulted in a dip in performance. Whether this team talk caused another dip we'll never know since both teams were playing bad enough that a dip wasn't possible. The match dragged on until the final whistle, at which point our away fans woke up, only to realize that this game was worse than their own nightmare. But, there was one positive aspect:

Points. At least it was something. Better than the nothing of times past, but will we hold on in times yet to come? Silivia was optimistic. He said the bye week next week would help out our team well and help their well being. Saying that, it is quite a jump from 336 ranked Knights of LUSITANIA to the 83 ranked The Osnari Federation. We've been smashed by every team above 336 so far, so what prevents it from happening against? Perhaps it could be more wise to look forward to attempt to scrape or steal points from Nova Dackians, with them being at rank 336 too.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First win comes unexpectedly
Saperetia 1-0 The Osnari Federation

The bye week went by well because with well enough rest, the well being of our players was at an all-time high. Silivia believed this to be a good omen for the upcoming match, which was a jump up in difficulty from recent ones, as this team is ranked 253 ranks above the one we played last week. Some people speculated Silivia to be this optimistic due to denial of him being in danger of losing the job, hoping this behaviour would help him stay in the position. Whatever the case, if the rumours were true, he had about 2 matchdays to turn things around, or he'd be turned around and out of the office. Would this really be the match that saved Silivia? That question would soon be answered as the SAP 4-3-3 lined up against the ONR 3-1-3-3:

Saperetia: GK Hranislav (C) DEF Abdelkader, Carloza, Damjan, Anatoliy MID Gil, Inget, Camilo ATK Jacques, Seppel, Seppo

The Osnari Federation: GK Schefer DEF Abegg, Osterwalder, Hugentobler MID-DEF Nagel MID-ATK Kobel, Homberger, Werren ATK Schmid, Blum, Mullis

The game began like most others had: The Crimsonites were on the defence, holding on for dear life as the Osnari team pummeled the ball towards the goal, missing a few shot narrowly. Most of the first half went by this way, until the Osnari team took the foot off of the gas in the last few minutes before half-time. As our nation prayed for Silivia to for once not give a team-talk that caused us to concede, it seemed our prayers were somehow answered. The game in the first few minutes after half-time was more box-to-box than before, giving hope to supporters. Then, as Gil broke away from his man on the left wing, a chance opened up as he dummied it to Jacques who let it go for Seppel to slot it home in minure '63, giving our team the lead in a match for the first time since MD4 against Germanic Cat, and the lead in the latest point these qualifiers. At this point, the defensive culture of the Crimsonite federation came in clutch as our team parked the us and held out for dear life in an attempt to secure the first win of the qualifiers. And despite a lot of attempts and multiple near misses, our crimson prevailed to bring home the first three points of the qualifiers.

Coming into the press conference, Silivia was buzzing. He was gleaming with joy and the snarky comments that most people expected him to make towards the non-believers never came, as he instead focused on a message of positivity and hope towards the supporters and the players. Many are wondering whether this win secures his spot for the rest of the qualifiers or whether he still needs to be on alert. Silivia's response? "Don't care, we won, time to celebrate."

by **Xanneria** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 9:49 pm

Also if anyone here is into Geoguesser, I made a Geoguesser map based on Xanneria and all locations in this series of graphic RPs. In fact the pictures used in the top right corner were taken directly from the Geoguesser map making tool.

Xanneria: The Inspirations

by **New Montreal States** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 9:54 pm

Matchday 7

PALADINS ROUT OF GRAND EXULTIA OVERSHADOWED BY SCANDAL

Paul Lesigne-Maillard, agent, girlfriend arrested in Paradystopia turnip-smuggling ring

NEW MONTREAL – The Paladins took care of business on the turf at the Paladin Dome today, but the NMS Bureau of Corruption and Financial Malfeasance stole the show at the end of the match.

The Paladins ran Grand Exultia off of the pitch 5-2, looking like the world power they were in days of yore, albeit against a Grand Exultia side that’s underplaying its world #77 rank on an express elevator to the bottom of the standings. The Paladins were playing disciplined, polished football from the tap-off, dominating the middle of the field and opening up plenty of opportunities in the Exultian box.

It didn’t take long for NMS to start converting those opportunities. Cédric Noyceaux took his chances on a long throw-in into traffic, and “Gros-Bébé” found Jean-Renoir Latendresse-Lebeau in the box with space to drive the ball into the bottom left corner of the net, well out of the range of the Exultian keeper. The Paladins were up 1-0 twelve minutes in and never looked back, with Nostradamus Plowshares finding the back of the net after clever passing from the Paladins midfield pulled the Exultian defense out of position a few minutes later, and “Gros-Bébé” getting a goal of his own on a well-executed set piece from a Monty Younghusband corner. The Paladins were up by 3 at the half-hour mark and went on cruise control from there.

Noel Poltron began sending in his reserves in the second half. Etienne Boutte got his first international goal in just his second appearance for the Paladins, and John Jones IV continued making his case for additional playing time with his second goal of the tournament. The defensive reserves didn’t perform nearly as well; poor communication between young center-backs Mitchell Danstone and Yves Carrillon opened opportunities space in the box for the Exultians. Two late strikes won back some measure of pride for the visitors, and will give Poltron something to yell at the side about during film studies before getting on the planes to Cretian Territories.

The real drama came at the end of the match, when members of the Tactical Audit Squad from the Bureau of Corruption and Financial Malfeasance emerged from the tunnel to pluck starting left midfielder Paul-Lesigne Maillard from the celebration and showed him the wordiest red card in Paladin Dome history: an arrest warrant for eighteen charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, insider trading, and hostile acts against a foreign power outside wartime related to manipulating the turnip market in Paradystopia to create an artificial shortage and subsequent profiteering opportunities. The most serious charge, Conspiracy to Deprive Friendly Foreign Nations of Adequate Food, can carry up to 35 years in prison upon conviction.

Foreigners (and Montrealais) who may have noted the NSM government’s somewhat lax enforcement of everything from jaywalking through importing freight containers of narcotics and surface-to-air missiles in the States relative to the rest of the world may not be aware that financial crimes are a major exception. There is a strong cultural belief – across party lines, class barriers, and demographics – that allowing financial crimes to go unpunished will dissolve people’s trust in each other, and by extension their trust in government, businesses, charities, the Orthodox Church and everything down to your Tuesday-night beer league softball games. The Bureau of Corruption and Financial Malfeasance is a bastion of professionalism in absolute terms, not just relative to the half-asses police work that’s the standard across most of NMS.

The Bureau then took the lead at what was supposed to be Noel Poltron’s post-match press conference, with lead agent Marvin Stone-Gerblache announcing that Lesigne-Maillard’s agent, Dorne McAdoo, and his fiancee Julie Montpierre-Beaulier had also been arrested in simultaneous raids, and that further arrests were likely in coming days after reviewing evidence seized from McAdoo’s home and office and Lesigne-Maillard’s 4,000,000-oz condo in downtown New Montreal.

Lesigne-Maillard is being held pending a booking hearing. Cash bail has been abolished, and Gerblache-Stone declined to state whether the Bureau intended to ask the magistrate to hold Lesigne-Maillard until trial as a flight risk. He is not expected to travel to Cretian Territories with the rest of the Paladins for Matchday 8.

Matchday 8

CORIANDER, DUBOIS, BOUCHER SUSPECTED OF DEFECTING

Players flee hotel post-match and fail to board charter after reports of further arrest warrants being issued in turnip-fixing scheme

CRETIAN TERRITORIES – Third goalkeeper Alexandre Dubois, reserve center midfielder Julien Boucher, and manager Noel Poltron’s personal assistant Simon Coriander are understood to have gone into hiding in Cretian Territories after missing the Paladins’ charter flight back to New Montreal after a 2-0 road victory. Their decision appears to be linked to reports of additional warrants being issued for a scheme to create an artificial turnip shortage in Paradystopia, and then profiteer by releasing small quantities of the root vegetable for sale to the turnip-loving public.

The Bureau noted that there was no evidence that Noel Poltron was aware of his assistant’s alleged role in the scheme, and that he is not otherwise linked to the turnip caper.

After learning of the three men’s departure from the team, anonymous sources from the Bureau of Corruption and Financial Malfeasance confirmed that Dubois, Boucher, and Coriander were among the nineteen additional suspects for whom warrants were issued. Dubois and Boucher are suspected of having provided funding for the scheme, while Coriander is alleged to have acted as a runner connecting funds from the backers within the world of NMS football to agents and brokers on the ground in Paradystopia. Coriander was listed as an officer for Total Tuber Solutions, LLC, a shell company that leased warehouse space across several of Paradystopia’s trading partners. The warrants allege that these warehouses were used to hide the turnips while being listed as empty or as holding other wares on inventory manifests, thereby causing the turnips to disappear from official tracking figures.

Several players from the NMS domestic leagues that did not make the WC 100 qualification squad are alleged to been part of funding the scheme, including star CF Outremont striker Marcelin Cloutier, Dorion Poules midfield duo Andy Clark and Clark Andrews, and newly re-signed St. James Seagulls keeper Loic-Etienne Dubeaugars. Dubeaugars’ agent, when reached for comment, said “This is a joke - Loic couldn’t find Paradystopia on a map if you held a gun to his head,” while lawyers for the other players maintained their innocence and vowed to fight the charges in court.

Dubois had yet to see the field for the Paladins in qualification, and Boucher had one appearance late in the Paladins’ 3-1 road loss to Halipopper. Noel Poltron declined comment on the arrests and on any plans to replace the three affected players, noting that he had several weeks to think it through before ending the first half of qualifiers with a home match against a Denyssia side that’s punched above it’s weight so far.

World Cup 81/82/83/84

The last time Baker Park and Electrum faced off during World Cup Qualifying, Ichi Tuzzio was still in charge of the Bees and the sides were about 30 places apart in the rankings, eventually finishing 2-3 in the group behind Vdara but with BP headed to the playoffs (and eventually the Finals) and Electrum consigned to the Cup of Harmony.

They met during the second half of the fixture rotation at the BBP National Stadium with Park coming out on top 4-2; here in round 8 of the current iteration of qualifying they met once again at the BBP, some 300 places apart in the most recent version of the KPB rankings, but the result was an identical scoreline which boosted the fortunes of the team in Gold & Black, pulling BP to within 4 points of the top of the table as the halfway point of the tournament approaches.

The history was from World Cup 87--co-hosted by another Group 16 opponent, Ethane, the current leaders--but the present looms larger as the second seeds, Saterun, will play host to the top seeded Bees on matchday 9; both nations are tied with newcomers Riandera on 13 points, with the other surprise package of the group, Tristan de Cunha, just a point ahead alone in second place.

Baker Park could use another six point window like the one they earned during the break that featured the Electrum match--a 7-2 rout of Orcuo preceded the home date--as they will follow up the trip to Saterun with a second straight away matchup as they will make the return trip to Valladares on matchday 10.

Will Barnard's team will need to be more clinical during their travels in the second half of the tournament while bettering the results they've suffered against the nations ahead of them at present; control of their own destiny is still within their grasp if they can produce more offensive outputs like those shown in the latest doubleheader.

by **Chromatika** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 10:09 pm

World Cup 100 Qualifying Matchday 7: Chromatika 5-0 Archalit
Goals: Jean-Baptiste 19', Lee 50', 77', Mátyás 61', Prenn 81'
Starting XI: Swanson (C); Paterson - Lethbridge-Antonio, C. - Saburo; Hauptmeijer - Lethbridge-Antonio, J. - Prenn - Mátyás; Lee; Jean-Baptiste - Baïe-Verte.
Substitutes: Gundsdorf -> Lethbridge-Antonio, J. (51'), Oriol -> Hauptmeijer (51'), Lehmann -> Paterson (70'), Bittencourt -> Jean-Baptiste (70'), Han Cunningham -> Lethbridge-Antonio, C. (81')
Summary: Leading only 1-0 at halftime, the Anomalies poured it on in the second half, scoring four times to dominate Archalit at Chromatik City Field in Chromia. Lee Hyun-Seol was the player of the match, scoring twice and assisting two others - and Jill Swanson turned in a clean sheet, making it the third straight clean game by the Chromatik second stringers.

World Cup 100 Qualifying Matchday 8: Dantopia 3-4 Chromatika
Goals: Prenn 4', Lee 19' (pen.), Saburo 90+7', Howard-Dawes 90+9' (pen.)
Starting XI: Swanson (C); Paterson - Lethbridge-Antonio, C. - Saburo; Hauptmeijer - Lethbridge-Antonio, J. - Prenn - Mátyás; Lee; Jean-Baptiste - Baïe-Verte.
Substitutes: Þyrill -> Prenn (52'), Han Cunningham -> Lethbridge-Antonio, C. (52'), Holgersson -> Lethbridge-Antonio, J. (66'), Howard-Dawes (66'), Lehmann -> Paterson (79')
Summary: Blowing a two-goal lead by the sixty-seventh minute, the Chromatiks needed Dantopia to utterly lose it at the end of the game, Saburo sneaking in a header before a late Prenn cross bounced off of a defender's hand in the box. Elaine Howard-Dawes, the late substitute, buried the penalty kick, and the second stringers had made it four of four. After a blitzing first twenty minutes, the Chromatiks lost the plot in the middle seventh - but then woke up in injury time to pull it through and end the first leg at 6-0-2. If Abanhfleft wins on their final day of the first leg, the first game of the second leg will be for all the marbles, but it was a good end of the first leg regardless.
World Cup 100 Qualifying - Matchday 10 @ (54) Abanhfleft
Starting XI: Sourtois; Coulibaly - Jackson-Jones - Saburo; Fillar, G. - Mesic-Mizayaki - Fillar, B. - Fillar, E.; Françine-Miklavivec; Xuen-Zhukov (C) - Howard-Dawes.
Reserves: GK Jill Swanson, GK Jessika Aniston, DCR Paisley Paterson, DC Claudia Lethbridge-Antonio, DCL Cylie Nodis, DC Samantha Han Cunningham, WBR Jacoliene Hauptmeijer, WBL Nemes Mátyás, WBL Willemieke Janissen op Colmans, CDM Jayla Lethbridge-Antonio, CDM Cassandra Van Der Borght, AP Maddie Prenn, AM Þyrill Bjarnhéðinsson, AF Kaytlyn Jean-Baptiste, CF Harriet Baïe-Verte, AF Adélaïde Bittencourt
Preview: The one thing that the first string did well was handle Abanhfleft at home. This may be the last time that Khabibullina fields this combination of the Starting XI should results go sideways, but they deserve the shot.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Epsilon Omicron Delta

Part 5

Freedom's Altar, Yesopalitha

You knew that your country was in a situation when you were having a Council meeting in a government building of a political ally, and an ally not in your own dimension, at that. However, when it cost the same amount of magic for Chromatiks to planeshift to Yesopalitha than to travel to Chromia by teleportation, you did what was best for the ones that actually did the magic. So, taking advantage of the Yesopalithan hospitality, the Security Council gathered in an empty office in Freedom's Altar. The Dark Council had allowed them one of their bigger rooms, way big enough for the amount of people gathered. They had the privacy, the security, and no scrutiny - except for the lone Yesopalithan representative, a Shadow known as The Departed.

All but one of the Chromatik Security Council were present - the Head of the Chromatik Air Force, Major General Taisha Vokshannen, had been taken during the initial hours after the Great Resonance Shift. Lieutenant General Jeremy Han, the second-in-command, was present instead. Also present were the duo of Enigma Armageddon and Keira Andisori, the two who had been slated to face off against each other in the next election. The two of them had put aside their differences - they were now working together to help the public calm down in the new life that they faced. There would be time for debating and campaigning later.

The meeting ran just over an hour, and in it, five major things were discussed/decided:

1. The Great Resonance Shift had a culprit behind it, and the Chromatik/Yesopalithan Alliance had some leads, though not concrete.

The last words of Justicar Alreath Dustmeadow were still logged in Yesopalithan archives. The word, [WELCOME], still dotted the sky in the strange plane/dimension that the Chromatiks found themselves in. The pulses that abducted over six hundred thousand people couldn't have been a coincidence. Something, or someone, was behind it all, and the scientists and magical practitioners had succeeded in narrowing down the existence of the null constant - the force that was counteracting everything that the people were doing to stop the environment from responding the way it should.

Contacts with The Enlightened from The Plane of Possibility had confirmed that this instance had nothing to do with The Enlightened Ones, though they had some theories about what could've caused it. According to The Enlightened, some of the most powerful forces out there included those that they called The Poltergeists. These spirits were malicious, scheming, and rather vicious; they just chose to not interfere but in very specific instances in very specific dimensions. The alliance had started to see if this could've been the working of a Poltergeist, or anything else that The Enlightened were aware of. Thankfully, The Enlightened had a library that spanned millions of works, so there was some hope that with the computational speed that their extraplanar allies possessed, some solution would be found.

2. The aid going through was enough, though the lack of weather was starting to grate on the people.

Chromatika had enough funds to bankroll the feeding of their populace for now, though those funds were starting to run lower and lower. Yesopalitha was doing its best to assist with magic, and the varying businesspeople in the country were also doing everything they could to feed everyone. Farming and gathering in the plane/dimension wasn't easy, but it wasn't negligent; the best estimate was that Chromatika could be self-sufficient in the new plane/dimension within the next six months. The financial estimate was that they had enough, but this was going to cost trillions of National Mark Standard to survive. Not much of a choice when you're in the situation that Chromatika was in, but there was nothing they could do about that.

3. The establishing of Freedom's Altar as the proxy for Chromatika was starting to take off.

As the epicenter of trade in and out of Chromatika, Freedom's Altar was starting to become the place that everyone went to when they needed Chromatik goods. The schedule was a little off - planar travel wasn't entirely reliable in terms of timeliness - but it was better than not being able to fulfill orders at all. Chromatik allies and other customers were made aware of the circumstances. Chromatika made sure to turn the proceeds into goods that they needed before getting the materials back - they didn't need any foreign currency at all under the circumstances - but this was a positive development given what was going on. For Yesopalitha, it was a way for The Chosen to make some friends in the international scene as Chromatika's allies in this endeavor. The aftereffects of the end of their seclusion will have to be studied for a long time to come.

4. They were safe, for now.

After the kidnapping pulses of light had been identified and successfully counteracted by the Yesopalithan magic users, there hadn't been further attempts to disrupt the Chromatik people... yet. It was surmised that the abduction of the more than six hundred thousand people was one of the primary motivations of whoever was behind the incident, and the alliance was on high alert regarding any other intrusions that could happen. With the establishment of wards throughout the entirety of the country - 90% of the Yesopalithan magical community were in Chromatika helping out at the moment - they would be able to tell the very moment something new occurred.

5. It wasn't clear what the best course of action would be going forward.

All conversations with Yesopailthans and even The Enlightened didn't help when trying to figure out what the right thing to commit to would be going forward. On one hand, trying to find the culprits and bring them to justice or at least negotiate with them was the right thing to do, especially given the number of people they had kidnapped. However, if it was the case that the forces that they were against were way too powerful, it may instead be worthwhile to seek another force that would shift them back, instead. The Enlightened had some better ideas regarding the latter, but it would take time to research. Regarding the potential of getting back at the aggressors, some of The Council thought it could be an idea to utilize a bait to get them to come out, but others shot that plan down - at least until they had a more concrete idea about how to make that happen.

And so, with the meeting having concluded, with a promise to meet again whenever it was deemed prudent, the varying dignitaries all stepped through the Planar Gate back into the pocket dimension/plane, determined to get to the bottom of this mess and return Chromatika back to where they belonged...

by **IA3** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 10:24 pm

And so this abandoned city they finally settled with. Ruins of a civilization confined within one place.

There needed be more than a single source of power. "She" manifested the electricity to power the city.

And "she" grated this abandoned ship the winds to move along. It shall fly, it shall survive, it shall be the new home for this nation.

The first city as the call it, Orphinia they named it. The new base for this civilization to last.

Streets were cleaned, buildings restored, the nature itself revived. A new home, a new chance to grow.

And so this city they deem it, it's flight is ensured as it heads north. Surrounded by ships of war, weapons armed and ready to fire.

Still nothing known about this new world. Still in unfamiliar waters they were.

Set sail to the north, for that's all they know. The cold is missed, when it's possible to live.

And what threats may this new city face? No one knows for these uncharted lands are not anything that has been seen before.

And yet the push forward. And yet they still head on to more familiar lands.

First they completed a 6 to 1 blowout, and then were on the receiving end of a 5 to 1 blowout.

Mikel Horzabath Krygorf couldn't help but feel hopeless in the match against Katzeburg. Eight games played, and this team has already conceded fourteen goals with five of them coming from a single match. He was the team's primary goalkeeper afterall, there was no avoiding the fact that he played like absolute shit. Though, suppose the blame isn't entirely on him.

His older brother's new training regimen, tailored to each individual players strength, did help. The Manuelian Empire was a rather trivial opponent thanks to the older Krygorf's idea. But Katzeburg were a known team, and Atheara still had little to no clue on how to play as individuals within a team rather than a team consisting of individuals. The Blue Guard chose to abandon their system based playstyle from the Qualifiers of the past, but what does everyone else think about this decision?

Mikel couldn't really just go to every other person on the team and ask them one by one. Honestly, ever since the collapse of the First Republic, he's grown less sociable. Well, sociable by Athearan standards anyway. Playing in Ko-oren is nice and all, what with the league's reputation for being a very defensive league in terms of playstyle. But admittedly, it was suffocating. Lonely... But not anymore at least. The new Blue Guard may not be as good as the old one he used to play with, but that's only for now. He knows in due time that the team will only grow stronger, as this cycle was merely getting a lot of the younger players to go outside of Atheara and get experience.

Because they would be playing in remembrance. Of the past, of what this country once was, of what they could have achieved. But no dwelling, and Mikel wasn't really the type to linger on those sort of things for too long. A habit he picked up from his older brother. Speaking of brothers... When the two finally met each other for the first time since the disaster, Mikel hadn't been sure on what to feel. Happy? Shocked? Tired? Back then, he really didn't know. And the current goalkeeper assumes the young ones still don't know what to feel either.

But that's why he's here with the rest of the Old Blue Guard.

Funny to call themselves that, but plenty of years passed. they aren't as young anymore, but they're more experienced. It's their responsibility to guide this new generation of the Blue Guard onto the right path, to make sure they could succeed where the old ones didn't. They all have years ahead of them to make the best of their international careers.

And Mikel will make sure that he and everyone else from the old generation will get the young ones going this qualifiers round.

by **Zenic** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 10:28 pm

"It isn't even the actual World Cup yet and I've got Super Heartburn."

Luke Killian was complaining to himself in his office as he looked over the paperwork for the upcoming international play period. This was THE "All Rushmore" window as Zenic prepared to travel to fellow Rushmori resident Bonusia and then host their rematch with the United States of Nova Calania in the Empire. Everyone already knew the major storyline: two wins (and a result or two elsewhere going in Zenic favor) could put Zenic right where they were expected to be all along: first place of Group 22. Anything else may be seen as a failure.

Right now, Killian had another storyline he had to deal with. "What the hell is a spritz? Why do we need a machine to make one? Why is that machine $300,000 SENS?!" He turned to his computer and searched online. "It's a cocktail. Just hire a few bartenders who know how to make it and call it a day! OR just pre-mix a bunch of it right before the game! There's gotta be something else to this that I'm not seeing or understanding." He reclined in his seat and pondered who he could ask to find out more. Suddenly, a name came into his mind.

Killian scooted his chair over to the side of the desk that his phone was on and pressed the button to reach his secretary. "Sorry to bother you, Rebecca but can you try and get a hold of the Consul for me, please?" Once she confirmed that she would try, he stood up and walked over to one of the windows in his office. This particular window was his favorite as it was pointed Northeast, in the general direction of Manacus and the Philosophia Colosseum. He couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic about his time playing and managing for the Survivors that he would be lying if he didn't feel the urge to return every so often.

Before he could be consumed by that urge, his desk phone begun to rang. He walked over, pressed the flashing red '1' and picked up the receiver. "The Consul is waiting on line 4," spoke Rebecca. "Thank you." Killian hung up the receiver, pressed the flashing red '4' and picked the receiver back up. "Hey there, Luke. Your office said that you needed my expertise on something for the upcoming World Cup Qualifier games?"

Killian nodded his head before speaking. "What the hell is a Spritz and is it worth it?"

by **Stewartika** » Sun Nov 02, 2025 11:45 pm

By the Bye - Interlude: Sjoberg

Matchday 8

“It’s really amazing, you know.”

Viktor Sjoberg looks up to face his girlfriend, May Kunio - who just so happens to be the daughter of his coach, Bunta Kunio.

“What is?”

A chilly breeze sifts past the couple, brushing strands of her hair across her face. Pig City’s Riviera, despite the name, is still prone to the icy Gāojia Sea’s cooling effect on the land. As such, they wore heavy, yet fashionable jackets, designed to keep the water out.

“As soon as you’re back on the team, you score so much. What is it, eight goals already? That’s what I said - amazing.”

He smiles, saying nothing for a moment, turning his attention to his meal of furnaced lamb before him. May gazes at him for a long moment before continuing, a slight quirk in her eyebrows.

“I hope my father isn’t giving you too much trouble. He is the reason you missed out on the national team for so long.”

Sjoberg looks up now, a glint in his eye.

“It’s understandable, since he doesn’t approve of us. I think the FA is a bit more sympathetic to me, anyway… if he continues to interfere, there’s a lot I can do…”

May’s face suddenly hardens.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Ah, I was just joking…” laughs Sjoberg, his own mirth not quite convincing himself.

“But you are getting along with all the others, right? I saw that conversation you had with Sung-i for that penalty… being against the captain won’t do.”

“We came to terms after the game. I’m fine, May, really.”

Suddenly his phone pings - a message from the assistant coach, displaying the match results, current table, and team sheet.

“Ehh.. looks like it’s that time already, huh?”

4-2-3-1

Bench: Wujin (GK), Wanima, Blake, Bergmeier, Hijikata, Valliney, Erikkson

A balanced lineup of starting strength and slight rotation go to face Afanc Strait and Skyberius, Kunio wanting to save strength for more important fixtures but understanding the importance of winning in the return fixture against the only team that has managed to defeat the Pigs so far. Haggstrom keeps his starting position while Tran and Ryu return to the reserves, hero against Langenia Valliney promoted to a bench position, Kim now going to reserves in his place. The rest of the lineup resembles full strength as Stewartika continues their chase of first position and direct qualification.

by **Xanneria** » Mon Nov 03, 2025 12:56 am

if there's anyone curious, this is the video I'm going to be parodying in this RP - https://youtu.be/ys0AaTFovcE?si=UFp2V65dF3EeU7Hm&t=321

World Cup 100 | RP thread

WC100Q 5

The New Montreal Presse-Journal Devoir: #1 on the Turnip Bea

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