Cup of Harmony 77 - everything thread

[Kelssek]

Semifinal
Kandorith 1–0 Mercedini

Please note the cutoff time for the third-place playoff will be 23:00 UTC and the result will be posted before the final.

Third-place playoff - Stadium Konoha, Burnaby
Mercedini vs. Astograth

Final
Geektopia vs. Kandorith

[Kandorith]

Shinonome Kyoai - International
News From The Empire

---

Hayabusa Writes History, Again

Hayabusa as Kandorith secures the win

In an absolute display of force, the Kandorese team has finally overcome the final barrier towards history. Hayabusa is the first manager in Kandorese history to reach a spot in an international sports competition. The road for the team had it's hurdles and even uncertainties, but for the fans only one thing matters now; the upcoming final of the Cup of Harmony. An absolute feat for the young Kandorese team and the entire nation. At the helm of the team is the esteemed manager Hayabusa, whose reputation is well known throughout the entire nation of Kandorith. The fairy tale of this squad started in the previous Cup of Harmony when Hayabusa took over from a failing and faltering squad which even struggled to maintain any backbone against unranked teams. Hayabusa himself said this was because of the whole organisation mentality, which according to him was stuck in the past. For the first time since the reinstatement of the Imperial Mandate the Kandorese people have a team to be proud of.

The game itself was tough as Mercedini had multiple chances against the Kandorese defense, which in turn were answered by swift counters which mostly missed their mark just beyond the post or woodwork every time. As the frustration grew, the Kandorese defense slightly wavered for a few minutes and the Mercedini attack found a hole in it to rush the Kandorese goal. Hideyo Kiyotada now stood face to face with two Mercedini attackers, Daniel Dostalok and Ben Chillotov. For a moment it looked like Kiyotada would be beaten but in a swift movement he took the ball from the feet of Dostalok, narrowly avoiding a foul. From here the Kandorese posture improved but it would not be until the dying minutes of the game the final moment would come.

In a very criticized move Hayabusa decided to take Toki Matsuda off the field and replace him with Masada Katano, even the captain, Tanaka, walked off the field for a brief minute to ask Hayabusa about the substitution. From here more and more chances would open for Kandorith which all ended up in near misses again. Tanaka made sure to control the midfield when he suddenly slipped and Mercedini took control of the loose ball which led to another swift rush towards the Kandorese goal. In a tense moment it seemed the ball went just passed Kiyotada and the Mercedini team was already celebrating when the referee and linesman both ruled a no goal as the ball never went passed the goal line but hit the woodwork instead and bounced out just in front of the line. Kandorith took control back and swiftly passed the ball towards the midfield, Tanaka and Hisegawa rushed the Mercedini defense and saw a chance on the left flank. In the 93rd minute Hayashi made a run after Tanaka swiftly lobbed the ball towards the end of the left flank and took control of the ball; while in the goal area Katano took position in the middle of the penalty area. A beautiful corner like pass came from the feet of Hisegawa and without hesitating in almost slow-motion Katano volleyed the ball into the net with an almost martial art like kick, surely it would seal the deal for the Lotus Warriors as the stadium erupted in huge cheers and roars.

However, in the 94th minute Mercedini was handed a free kick in goal scoring range as Tanaka made a rather reckless tackle on Karlovic. There was no question, the last chance of the match was now or never and the ball was swung in straight at the goal and took Kiyotada by complete surprise. No one in the goal area however was able to control the ball and after a short tussle and back and forth kicks Takahashi was finally able to clear the ball towards the midfield as the final whistle sounded. As the crowd celebrated the realization for the Kandorese team would not hit until a few moments later. Even for Hayabusa the feeling of reaching the finals still had to sink in after the match.

A notably emotional Hayabusa calmly approached us with a large smile and tears in his eyes as we asked him about what he was going through. "A rollercoaster of emotions" He chuckled. "Absolutely unbelievable. Not just to win a spot in the finals but to win in this amazing fashion. I always did believe that we could do way better and I think this is the first match we kept a clean sheet in this tournament. Better late than never I guess.

"I am especially proud of Katano, he has really shown what he is made off in this match. He was on the field for just four minutes and was a part of both the defense and final attack in the match. Of course he scored a howler of a goal which decided the match. I think he will be considered a national hero right now at home. We worked very hard towards this moment and we have been a very tight team for the entire tournament. I do believe in individual achievements, but in the end it is the teamwork which counts the most. If you have mostly mediocre players and one star player, you will still not win matches. In my vision we have mostly players who are on the same level and mostly play in the Kandorese domestic cup; which means they know each other very well and know the Kandorese football like no other. This is the philosophy we built on and the style we will keep building on.

"I do want to give my compliments to the Mercedini team; they are very tough to play against and they have a lot of very skilled players. Admittedly I was kind off shocked when I heard who our opponent would be tonight, but in the end I think this also gave us the confidence and mentality to stick to our game plan for the entire game. To be fair I can not wait for the upcoming match. The team is at an all-time high in fitness and winning mentality, only one match remaining and what a match it will be, I can completely assure the fans that we will play at our very best in the finals and I think right now it is very safe to say that this is the best Kandorese team in the history of our football."

For the first time in the entire history of the Kandorese Football Association the team will face a cup final and it is the most talked about topic of the day within the nation. Kandorith will face Geektopia for their final match and as Hayabusa would say it will be a complete everything or nothing match; as according to both him and many fans, the Kandorese team has nothing to lose anymore as they are beyond winners in the eyes of the nation. Geektopia is currently ranked 72nd in the world and had an amazing run in the Cup of Harmony, being one of the most surprising teams during the entire tournament. For the first time ever, these two teams will face each other in the finals of the 77th Cup of Harmony.

Certainly the nation will come at a standstill as nearly every household in the nation will be watching the game surely, for the fans traveling to the stadium there is an extra factor once again as Her Majesty, Masumi will be attending the final match; who on social media already shared her donned in the national squad's shirt instead of her normal regal attire. For Hayabusa, the Lotus Warriors and the entire nation of Kandorith an absolutely historic night awaits and the fans already voiced their opinion; Kandorith will win the Cup of Harmony.

[Kelssek]

Third place play-off
Mercedini 4–2 Astograth

[Zwangzug]

The final (cutoff):

Geektopia 1–5 Kandorith

Congratulations to Kandorith, and thanks to all of you for a vibrant tournament!

[Geektopia]

Geektivities
Be cool, be woke.
Article made by Mazaika, site moderator and CEO.

All categorists and editors of the site.

Typically, a categorist is also an editor, but occasionally there needs to be an editor to fact-check all the categorists' screw-ups and stupid things said. With that in mind, we're going to countdown all ten of the categories on our award-winning website by most to least popular, and in detail include all categorists and any editors at the front of things so you, the reader, can get a better understanding of our heading "Reports done by ____, our ____ categorist and editor".

For Sports, we have a few ex-categorists, but our man in the front is Gerew. He's written for many other government blogs for Aimena, La Fiorita, Tre Penne, and Tre Flori and gained merit as being the best writer in those few countries, so it's always a joy to have him on contract. He's facing alcoholic discharge right now, which is why he doesn't write much post-game summaries with any sort of intoxicating beverage being illegal in Geektopia and highly looked down upon just out of the country and in border cities like Scoville and Helfintaussen. Gerew probably wouldn't believe Geektopia made it all the way to the finals and in a sober state of mind would be out of words with what to write, so for unbelievable WCC competition runs on Geektopia's half, this categorist probably isn't all that useful right now, but he does write a damn fine scoresheet.

For Culture & Language, Abdel-Dayem isn't out of a job, which is pretty par for the course in terms of most categories and their following categorists, but not for Dayem. She is one of the few woman in this country, and more grandiosely one of another huge minority of women's writers in Geektopia. She's been a longstanding contributor, as well as a site supporter, putting in 1500 cryptos out of the required 1000 back in -00005, when Geektivities came under fire for having a shortage of good writers and a surplus of absolutely-fucking-horrible ones. The site that we were backing donations onto was ChariBank, one of the nation's most verifiable and trusted subsidization sites, and it still runs today after an astonishing three thousand years. Not taking away any of the credit from Abdel-Dayem though, as she's 3001 and only just suggested the site to us in times of trouble.

Representing our Engineering sector is Hondorola, who likes to play video games. So much so, that he sometimes spends weeks on end playing these games just to forget about his craft and relearn every part of every car released in the 1020s just to give himself a challenge. There is so much little to know about Hondorola that he will be the only categorist in which I will be describing his personality to make paragraph space for. He tends to write short articles, which is why I've supplied him an editor in Empyr, who's also a quotist.

Now, what a quotist does encapsulates gathering room footage from famous Geektopian peoples and transcribing their opinion into text that relates with the categorists' article. Empyr holds up two jobs and does a great effort in mentally helping out some of our more uncreative lads at work and also scouts from the country to find more talented writers to replace underperfomers, which is why he's also the highest wage earner in Geektivites corp. He's a great counselor, businessman, and friend, which is why I'll regret the day he dies.

Empyr can't just go through a multiversal portal and scout from even more countries though, which is why we want any interested writers and journalists to work for us. The pay wall is about 40,000 cryptos a year, added onto that is an hourly wage of 19.23 cryptos, that currency of which has not deteriorated in the last one thousand years because of some of our past kings frivolous financial decisions. Mind you, there are a lot more 'topians that want to become a football player instead, so please help us out!

---

Blowout final fellage highlights defensive issues to work on for the next three millennia

Geektopia 1-5 Kandorith

Goals: 20' (Takayama Nakajima | assist provided by Hisakane Hayashi | Kandorith), 26' (Hiro Tanaka | assist provided by Hikoshige Matsushita | Kandorith), 30' (Medine | assist provided by Osorto | Geektopia), 46' (Hiro Tanaka | assist provided by Hideyoshi Takahashi | Kandorith), 76' (Hiro Tanaka | assist provided by Munemori Miyake | Kandorith), 81' (Yukitaka Yamaguchi | assist provided by Hikoshige Matsushita | Kandorith)
Player Ratings

Leabo: 6.0
Osorto: 6.5
Loui: 6.0
Barella: 6.0
Crete: 6.0
Pillars: 6.0
Andreen: 6.0
Sudlow: 6.0
Resendis: 6.0
Medine: 7.0
Houg: 6.0

---

Average Player Ratings to end the cycle

Code: Select all

Osorto   7.28       Stays for WC86
Sudlow   7.28       Stays for WC86
Barella  7.21       Stays for WC86
Andreen  7.21       Stays for WC86
Crete    7.14       Stays for WC86
------------------------------------
Loui     7.07
Pillars  7.00
Houg     6.92
Medine   6.92
Resendis 6.85
Leabo    6.71

[Squornshelous]

Recollection, Chapter 14
This chapter is the conclusion (for now) of the Markkus Holmgren/Lyyti Vang cycle consisting of:
Human Nature: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6
Leaving Home: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
Recollection: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13

OOC: Sorry for gravedigging, Audio said it was ok so there. This chapter continues directly from Part 13, prior to the quarterfinal against Mercedini. Finally, I need to include a trigger warning for an allusion to attempted suicide.

"I did what?"

"You killed him Markkus."

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"Aside from hating him even more than you did me?" Markkus was too deep in confusion and dismay to find the remark funny, and Lyyti's smile quickly faded. "Sorry, I'll start at the beginning."

"I had already met with a Confederate agent about the possibility of defecting several days earlier. Melkochuk was trying to tighten his grip on me, and I needed a way out. That was why I persuaded him to bring my family. I knew they'd be the first targets if I did anything, so I had to take them with me. Melkochuk was so focused on the favors I'd owe him to see what I was really doing. The original plan had been for me to slip away from the postmatch celebration, but after losing to Gyatso-kai, we had to go to the backup, since no one was going out that night. I told Lucia I was heading down to the hotel gym to run a bit, clear my head and be alone. Once I got to the lobby, I went out through a rear exit, but I guess I wasn't careful enough to make sure I wasn't seen. . ."

- - - - - - - Two Years Earlier - - - - - - -

Lyyti carefully closed the emergency door behind her, wincing at the loud clack of the latch. She had to remind herself that things were still going according to plan. The real test of how the night would go had been when she first opened the door, and nothing had happened. Someone had disconnected the alarm. Whoever Karlov’s contacts were, they seemed to know what they were doing. The instructions she’d received were to head to the right, down the alleyway and out to the street. There would be someone waiting for her there, and a car would meet them once they exchanged a password and countersign. She turned and began to walk with long steps, hurrying. Behind her, the latch clacked again, and the door swung open, to reveal a smiling Ivan Melkochuk.

"My, my. Something seems to be wrong with the alarm on this door. Don’t you find it odd, Lyyti?”

She kept her face as neutral as she could, hoping he hadn’t noticed her initial expression of horror. “I guess so, I didn’t notice.”

“Surely you must have seen the placard stating that this was an emergency exit only. I wondered to myself, what could disturb my dear Lyyti so that she must leave the team hotel by an emergency exit at so late an hour?”

“I wanted a walk, wanted to be alone with my thoughts after the match,” time was wasting. If she missed the rendezvous, everything would be ruined. She only had five minutes.

"A young lady out skulking alone down alleyways at this time of night? I won't hear of it. I simply must insist on accompanying you, Lyyti. If something were to happen to you, why, I would never forgive myself."

"I appreciate the thought Kiril, but I really just want to be alone for a while. I'll just head around the block and be back in ten minutes." Lyyti turned to head away, but suddenly felt Melkochuk's hand on her arm.

"I have to wonder," Melkochuk's beatific smile still spread across the lower half of his face, but did not touch his eyes, "why the front door did not suffice for you. The hotel lobby is hardly crowded. Perhaps you have some other reason you wish to remain unseen tonight."

Before Lyyti could respond, the sound of the latch came once again, and the door opened again. She had the absurd notion to wonder when the last time three people had passed through the door in such a short time was. This time, the man framed in the light from inside was Markkus Holmgren. His expression was the usual scowl, but something in his body language betrayed a nervous excitement. To Lyyti, he looked dangerous.

"I didn't picture a back alley really being your scene, Kiril."

"Markkus, you've become quite tiresome of late. Either leave, or be quiet. You aren't needed here."

"Neither are you Kiril," Lyyti spoke up now. "I don't want an escort, much less the two of you. All I wanted was a ten minute walk to clear my head."

Melkochuk stared at her for a long moment, as if still processing her rejection. "I think, perhaps, I should summon our security detail. I'm not certain what you are up to Miss Vang, but I am certain it will be of interest to the ISS." Melkochuk's hand slipped into his pocket and emerged with a comlink. As he raised it, Lyyti's eye caught a small motion from Holmgren, almost a shrug. HIs arm swung up from behind his back, mirroring Melkochuk's. Even the smooth black polymer of the handgun he now held seemed to match the finish on Melkochuk's comlink. As it swung into line with Melkochuk's head, Holmgren stepped the right, into Melkochuk's field of vision. Lyyti was frozen in shock.

"Markkus, what is this? Do you realize how ridiculous you look?"

"I am sick to death of everything about you."

"Markkus, is this about that remark about not being needed? You mustn't be so sensitive. You know that I rely on you, I apologize for being terse."

"This is about you always having to control everything and everyone, poisoning and corrupting everything you touch. I built this team to play football, not to groom them for you."

"And you've done an admirable job Markkus, still I fail to see what business it might be of yours what might pass between Miss Vang and myself." Melkochuk shifted his eyes from Holmgren to the comlink.

"Stop that."

"Markkus really, I don't see what has you so concerned. I simply . . ."

"I said stop, I'm done playing along. Now put the comlink down."

Ignoring him, Melkochuk's thumb tapped the page button, and he lifted the comlink to his ear.

Memories of the precise moment eluded Lyyti. There was an impression of an unbelievable noise, and she remembered the awkward shape Melkochuk had described on the alley floor, but couldn't recall seeing him assume that position. The first clear memory she'd had afterward was of Homgren speaking her name.

"Vang."

"What?" There was a ringing in her ears, if the noise Holmgren had made hadn't been her name, she likely wouldn't have noticed at all.

"Get out of here."

"What?"

"Don't just stand there saying what. I know you're leaving. Go."

"You knew?"

"I've always been good at noticing things. Call it intuition if you want. It's how I found all of you for the roster. I think Kiril noticed something too. Why both of us were roaming the hotel at this hour I guess. I knew he knew anyway, but I can't tell you exactly what it was that tipped me off. Anyway, you're heading to the Confederacy, right?"

She nodded. "There's a city I've read about, Jaglan. It seems nice. Sunny, historic city center."

Holmgren stood for a moment, his shoulders slumped, gun held loosely by his side. He stared down at Melkochuk's body. "I envy you." He sighed deeply, then gestured carelessly with the gun. "Get out of here before someone comes."

Haltingly at first, one step at a time, Lyyti headed toward her rendezvous. When she finally turned, tearing her eyes away from the scene she broke into a run, terrified she'd lost too much time. She hadn't. Entering the car, she heard the gun bark again, once, and then she was gone.

- - - - - - - Present Day - - - - - - -

Markkus stared at the table for a long while after Lyyti fell silent. Finally, he spoke.

"I still don't remember any of it."

"Wasn't this supposed to help with your condition."

"Not exactly, I . . . I don't know what I expected," he slumped over his coffee. "I thought somehow, maybe meeting you, hearing about what happened might somehow . . . it sounds pretty stupid I guess."

Lyyti shrugged, "I don't know."

"At least now I know, even if I don't remember," he paused, and looked her very deliberately in the eye. "You said you heard one more shot? Just one?"

"Yes."

"So I did this to myself." Markkus ran his hand over the scar on his temple.

"You might have, but you don't know that."

"I do know. If I'd had a shootout with the ISS or Xannerian police I'd be rotting in a cell. I did this to myself. The scar, my memory, I did it all."

There was another long silence after that. Lyyti finally broke it.

"Look, Markkus, I hope you'll understand but, I don't want to see you again."

"Can't really blame you for that."

"I want a clean break with my past, having someone like you around. It would complicate things in a way I just can't deal with." She stood, catching the eye of her driver. "This is a good place though. You could do well here."

Markkus grunted an acknowledgement, not raising his eyes.

"I can write you a recommendation or something if you need one. Just because I can't be your friend doesn't mean I want you to give up."

He looked up and met her eyes, "Thanks. I'll keep it in mind," at her raised eyebrow, he continued, "really, I will."

"Goodbye Markkus."

"Goodbye Vang."

Another raised eyebrow from her, "We're not friends, but we can at least part on first name basis."

Markkus laughed in spite of himself. "Goodbye Lyyti."