World Cup 87 - RP Thread

[Audioslavia]

Click to Enlarge
(full version of image is hosted on Google Drive. Also be warned, it's big)
Thank you also to Lord Cobrio, who you may know as 'Osarius' but should be henceforth referred to as 'Lord Cobrio', for he is a spreadsheet wizard whose wizardry helped me do this all painlessly.

The percentages on the left hand side of the chart show each team's average win percentage against all other WC87 entrants in World Cup qualifiers and finals matches, plus a few random 'official' friendlies from around 2007-12, back when we did that.
Find a team along the left hand side and find their win percentage against each other team by following the horizontal line and matching with the teams along the top.
Black, numberless squares occur when the two teams have not played against one another.
Black squares with a number indicate that the record between the two teams is about equal.
The greener the square, the more the leftmost team has beaten the other. The redder the square, the more often it has lost.
Draws are counted as half. So a team with a W1, D2, L1 record against another would have a 'win percentage' of 50%. I could have called it 'point percentage' but 'win percentage' is the more widely known term.

Imgur version (lower quality, but that’s probably a good thing)

“One day” said Jeremy, looking opening the third drawer under his desk for the fourth time that minute, “I might start actually writing about football that’s happening now”.
“Why bother. Data journalism seems to be doing okay for you. Have you tried the kitchen drawer?”
“What kitchen drawer?” said Jeremy, looking underneath his laptop for the third time. “And it turns out this data journalism knackers your computer. And costs you thousands at the printers”
"The kitchen drawer with the stuff. And anyway, when your team gets smashed up by Mytanija, it's probably nicer to dive into the past. When you were good."
"No really, what kitchen drawer?"
“Whenever I have blu-tac, it’s always in a little drawer in the kitchen which also contains a rolling pin, some teatowels, a broken bottle opener and the screwdriver I forgot to put back in the toolbox the previous year” said Rubio.
“Oh, that drawer” said Jeremy. “Huh. Yeah come to think of it”
“I maintain, however, that however much blu-tac you have in that drawer, it’s not going to be enough to hang this massive fucking thing on the wall”
“I’m not even sure the wall would hold it. Did I tell you the original was over 16,000 by somethingorotherthousand”
“I remember you double-clicking the file and then making a cup of tea, yeah”
“Yeah” said Jeremy. “If I’d put that into google maps my laptop would have literally shat itself”
“Literally?”

“It would have found a way”
“Anyway” said Rubio, as Jeremy departed towards the kitchen. “…while you’re there...”

“Coffee’s going on”
“Cheers. Anyway…” Rubio called in the general direction of the door. “When’s this Christmas Special of yours coming out then? We’re approaching February”

There was the sound of a dropped coaster.

“Oh.. oh… shit”
“Just do it next week” shouted Rubio, hearing the sound of coffee granules being swept up off the floor.
“This coffee might be a bit… spicy” said the disembodied Jeremy voice.
“You’re not sweeping it back into the pot…”
“Waste not, want not, Rubie old boy”

[Mytanija]

’28 Election Part 1
’28 Election Part 2
’28 Election Part 3

Let's take a look at today's Gazeta Mytanija from a week before the election:

JEDINSTVO JUMP INTO THE LEAD
MECAVA-CATIC’S PERFORMANCE IN DEBATES HAS HELPED HER PARTY’S POLLING FIGURES

by Mladen Sambunjak

The old adage is that a week is a long time in politics. That must make a month an eternity. The way Ana Mecava-Catic is going it may well be enough to shift the Mytanar electoral landscape forever. Prior to Natella Kalinina’s despotic regime the major party of the centre-left was always Radnika; they were the party for Mytanija’s workers and are able to trace their lineage back to Mytanija’s political heroes, individuals like Alex Util and Predrag Pamic. The performance of Ana Mecava-Catic in rallies up and down the country, as well as in the televised leaders’ debates, has seen Radnika’s support plummet and it is Mecava-Catic’s party Jedinstvo (as well as Radenka Kovacevic’s Ekologija) who seem to be taking the mantle up as the main party of the left.

Mecava-Catic and her party’s popularity really does seem to be an assertion of the public’s support for the policies of the left rather than the centre-left. Perhaps the most uncomfortable moment of the entire election campaign so far for Slobodan Acimovic came during the second televised leaders’ debate live on MKV when a member of the public asked him if he was embarrassed of his party’s history given that he seemed to be trying to position Radnika nearer to the MNK than the parties of the left in this election. It was something that the MNK leader Radovan Stefanovic seized upon with glee, chiding his rival for sacrificing his principles and playing politics. ‘Why vote for the diet version when you can vote for the full-fat MNK?’ was the question from Stefanovic.

Ana Mecava-Catic’s question to the Mytanar public was a little different as she questioned why people would want to vote for either of the so-called ‘old parties’ given their incessant bickering and the cigarette paper difference between their policies. She emphasised the need for a transformative policy agenda following the Mytanar Conflict, making a firm pledge to young people and those under the age of 40 more generally that her party would ensure that their rhetoric about a ‘shared future’ for all Mytanars would have concrete results. She outlined Jedinstvo’s promise to fully nationalise healthcare provision and parts of the supply chain which are integral to maintaining and improving public health. She also reaffirmed her own support for a universal basic income when she came under fire from the MNK’s Radovan Stefanovic for what he called ‘her party’s promise to give people something for nothing’. Mecava-Catic got a good response from the studio audience when she responded coolly, citing studies from other jurisdictions which demonstrate that UBI provides a near enough fool-proof safety net without disincentivising work. On economic questions she seemed unflappable.

The battle looks like it will be between Mecava-Catic’s party and Radovan Stefanovic’s MNK and the latter’s focus on cultural matters has been claimed by some on the left as an attempt to turn the election into a ‘culture war’, though the party leaders on the left have largely avoided using such rhetoric to describe Stefanovic’s approach. The MNK have been very repetitive in their messaging throughout the campaign and some voters in the studio audience for the televised debates appeared to have grown tired of this. Stefanovic was caught on the hop when one asked whether he had anything to say beyond his party allowing regions to uphold their specific regional identities. The MNK have largely tried to stay quiet on economic matters – perhaps an admission that public opinion is far away from their views about the economy. Ekologija’s leader Radenka Kovacevic asked him why he wasn’t telling everybody more about his party’s plan for the railways should they win the election (they plan to sell off the rolling stock and put contracts out to tender to run different parts of the rail network) and Stefanovic’s grumblings in response didn’t seem to be welcomed by the audience.

The polling following the televised debates shows Jedinstvo narrowly ahead of the MNK with 28% and 26% respectively. The increase for Jedinstvo has been incredible given they were largely expected to end up in 4th place at the very best. Meanwhile Radovan Stefanovic’s party will be peering ahead at Jedinstvo nervously, they have mostly polled around 25% throughout the election campaign and they haven’t been able to grow their support by any more than 2% despite the collapse of Radnika. They may well interpret that to mean that their best hope of winning this election is that the surging support for Jedinstvo in polls isn’t borne out on election day, because even with a share of the vote of around 20% they could well team up with Ekologija to form a government that perhaps wouldn’t command a majority but would have the most seats and could pass some legislation.

Jedinstvo will be absolutely ecstatic though, their support has grown in every single poll conducted by MKV and the full effect of the televised debates hasn’t been wholly reflected in the polls yet but public opinion seems to be swaying their way. They appear to have the political wind in their sails and in Ana Mecava-Catic have a charismatic leader who looks to have her finger on the pulse of the nation. Her offering to young people has been the main feature of this election campaign, whilst Radovan Stefanovic’s party have been trying to fight the election campaign on cultural issues Jedinstvo have hurriedly dragged things back to building an economy that works for everybody. It seems to have been effective given the polling situation and few would be surprised to see Mecava-Catic’s party further their lead over Stefanovic’s in the polls in the final few days before voting day.

A week to go

We do still have a week to go and I return back to the line I opened the article with, a week is a long time in politics. A lot could still change. At the moment the political wind seems to be behind Jedinstvo’s sails, but even the slightest misstep in the final week of campaigning could force a change which helps one of the other parties. We do seem set for a straight fight between the MNK and Jedinstvo for largest party, but neither seems likely to be able to form a working majority by themselves given the nature of the Mytanar electoral system. We also have no idea if Jedinstvo’s apparent popularity will hold up once voters get into the voting booth and they have to make a cold, hard decision to put an ‘x’ in the box of whichever party they’re voting for. They – particularly voters over the age of 40 – may choose to go with what they know and vote for the MNK or Radnika. Whatever happens it is likely that another party will play the role of king or queen maker.

At the moment it appears as if this could well be Ekologija. Issues around the environment and climate change seem to have resonated among people of all ages, there appears to have been a recognition that the industrial strategy which has long been supported in Mytanija is outdated and that there must be a move towards green technology and green fuel. Some of the MNK’s rhetoric supporting industries such as coal has been ineffective with their reticence to discuss things like climate change being preyed upon relentlessly by Ekologija. Radenka Kovacevic has regularly landed blows on Stefanovic both in the televised debates and in a few op-ed pieces in high-profile Mytanar newspapers, claiming that his party aren’t looking forwards at all but are dreaming of a Mytanija from 60 years ago. Her party have been advocating for the closure of all deep coal pits and nuclear power stations and their proposal for a centralised skills conversion scheme to allow workers from coal mine and nuclear power to transfer into the production of green energy has garnered widespread support. Representatives from private companies in the energy sector – expected to be major opponents to any plans to change the country’s energy mix – have even been relatively positive about these ideas, caveating their support with the need to see finer details if Ekologija end up in a position to put the ideas into action.

Kovacevic’s party are polling in 3rd place and the likelihood of a pink-green coalition between Jedinstvo and Ekologija seems to be growing by the day. It helps that Kovacevic and Mecava-Catic appear to get on well, so much so that there has been questions asked as to why the two are appearing on separate tickets at all. Any potential coalition could be a stepping stone to a more formal arrangement between the parties in the future, maybe even a merger. That’s speculation for a different time though, right now those on the right of Mytanar politics will be very worried about what they will see as the more urgent threat of that potential pink-green coalition.

The far-right Spasenje have bemoaned what they argue as the ‘mission creep’ of both Jedinstvo and Ekologija on social issues. Zoran Milosevic has said that their desire for a unified Mytanija will result in the country’s distinct regional identities disappearing, arguing that a shared future is an example of political correctness going too far and making people integrate when they have no desire to do so. He has also tried to link this with the erosion of family values and the advancement of LGBT rights. The public seems to have given his views short shrift for the most part with his party expected to poll around 10% when all is said and done with this election.

All in all we have an exciting week to go. Jedinstvo seem to be in pole position to carry out what would be the biggest underdog story in Mytanar politics (maybe even the whole of Rushmori politics?), but the MNK have been here before and there is an expectation that that could work in their favour when voting day arrives. Will it be enough for them? With Ekologija’s popularity it seems like it may not be but that could still change, after all, a week is a long time in politics.

---

MYTANIJA NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION FOR GAMES AGAINST HUAYRAMARCA (H) AND CIRRUS AZALE (A)
Goalkeepers: 1. Pedja Kasun (Ararat Severyan); 12. Lazar Obradovic (Liria Prizren); 23. Zafer Muminovic (Tekstil Ibon)
Defenders: 2. Srdan Vukovic (1896 Ebor), 3. Mojmir Anac (Olympic Thessia), 4. Kamil Jernejec (Olympic Thessia), 5. Petr Isaev (Crvena Zvezda); 25. Patrik Odonelec (Atletik Thessia), 14. Niksa Obadko (Liria Prizren), 15. Grigorij Savicevic (Atletik Thessia), 16. Branko Nikolov (Liria Prizren)
Midfielders: 6. Alen Hrdaljko (CDSA), 7. Tahir Fejzuli (Atletik Thessia), 8. Dalibor Vlahovic (Ararat Severyan), 10. Jasno Odonelec (Atletik Thessia), 11. Boris Kalinic (Workers Union [EUR]); 17. Branko Brkljacic (Atletik Thessia), 18. Vilim Kupresak (Olympic Thessia), 31. Radovan Pogaenik (Liria Prizren), 19. Brajko Gavrilovic (1896 Ebor), 20. Maks Shishkin (Energija-Nuklearna), 36. Kemal Gajic (Arka Snezhnaya)
Forwards: 9. Jezdimir Ocokoljic (Atletik Thessia); 21. Zlatan Andrijasevic (Atletik Thessia); 38. Josip Brajdic (1896 Ebor), 40. Dejan Zgela (CDSA)

[Netop]

Netop with a fabulous start

You know how they say some losses feel like a win, well that's what the game against 15th in the World Zwangzug felt like. Zwangzug had won both of their first two games just like us after a 3-2 win against Chartistan at the opener in Foster Park. This is a team with lots of history and with a lot of talent, so playing at Palloci Pagoda Park many thought we would be crushed.

Sure Zwangzug were definitely the better team and deserved to win but a 1-0 loss is nothing to be ashamed of and actually looks good in the scheme of things. We did have one major advantage against them and that was our use of distractions, some Zwangzug were shown to be staring at the odd choices of numbers on some of our jerseys, in particular Hendricks being numbered 123456 turned quite a few heads.

However there's not much you can do despite ample distractions with veteran midfielder Edwin Cherenkov-Nguyen scoring in the 33rd minute to give Zwangzug a 1-0 lead that they would not add on to but would not lose. While #2020 Zoe Kinney was a good story at the Baptism of Fire where she scored a decent amount and looked pretty good she has not really done anything to justify her continued starts. However no one on the bench had really put up a decent challenge to take the spot away from her, that is until now.

Adelle Benton #69 came on and looked brilliant or as close to it as you can get going up against Zwangzug. While she played a grand total of 15 minutes she had two shots on goal one of which required a good save from keeper Fedya Troy-Vee. While she wasn't fantastic by any stretch of the imagination she showed good burst and it will be interesting to see how much playing time she gets moving forward.

Next up we return to Foster Park to host Koniglich Wasserstein an unranked team that currently sits at 1 point and we should definitely be winning that game. Kinney will remain the starter but she is on a short leash and Benton will get more time to impress the manager in the next game as a sub. We sit in 5th in the standings which doesn't do justice to how well we've played in my opinion but the goal of a top four finish definitely seems reasonable given our start.

Group 5                                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Zwangzug                               3    3   0   0    10    3   +7     9
 2 Saint-Domingue                         3    3   0   0     8    2   +6     9
 3 Abanhfleft                             3    2   1   0     7    2   +5     7
 4 Savojarna                              3    2   1   0     6    2   +4     7
 5 Netop                                  3    2   0   1     5    4   +1     6
 6 Chartistan                             3    1   0   2     4    5   −1     3
 7 Ancherion                              3    0   1   2     3    5   −2     1
 8 Koniglich Wasserstein                  3    0   1   2     3    7   −4     1
 9 Hafamarimet                            3    0   0   3     0    8   −8     0
   Sharktail                              3    0   0   3     4   12   −8     0

[Valanora]

It had been six months since Lathwen Raynor had been coronated as the Empress of the Eternal Empire, six months of easing herself into the position and trying to figure out exactly what it mean to the Empress of one of the most powerful nations in all of Atlantian Oceania, perhaps even the world. She wondered if this feeling of being in awe of the power and the trepidation she felt in attempting to wield it was the same thing that her cousin had gone through when he took the throne some decades before. All of her had wanted this position, wanted the title and the power that was her family's birthright, yet now that it was in her grasp, she almost felt unworthy of it, that no one person should control such power. The temptation to wield it like a sword and cuts swaths of influence through the nation, the region, and the world was there, with the knowledge that you had one of the most gifted militaries that there could be backing your decrees. It was easy to see how people who ascended to such mighty positions could be so easily swayed into giving into such dark impulses, how the Jumangas revolt had occurred, and how there sat tyrants at the top of some of the most power nations one could think of. The latter thought sent a chill down her spine as she thought to one of the Empire's supposed allies and who ultimately was in control of that nation.

Thankfully she had advisors and councilors to give her the council and advice needed to navigate that field of temptation, to suggest what might be best option for all and not solely for herself or that of the Empire. Learning to lead a nation, even a small one much less one that was the size and significance of the Empire, was not going to happen over night, though she seemed to take to it greatly. The more devout and zealous of the population were populating some insane theory that the gods had crafted the Raynor dynasty to be natural leader of the Vanorian people, that it was in their blood to be at the apex of the nation. Such propaganda could potentially have its uses, though Lathwen rebuffed such zealotry with a bit of cynicism that was surprising to her council given that they had absolute proof of not only Elune's existence, but that of forces greater than she and others at a similar level. She seemed more grounded and secular than any of the previous Raynors who had been crowned in recent (elven) memory and that would be quite an interesting situation to try and unravel with the amount of influence the High Priestess holds.

The most significant matter of state for Lathwen to address though was the continued development of Sabine and Caddonia, as well as the outer ring of the mainland. The mainland was significantly more developed than that of the most recent addition to the Empire, even Vyinta seemed more developed in terms of its infrastructure compared to that of Sabine and Caddonia. It seemed like the peacekeeping forces had not done much to maintain the roadways and other infrastructural parts of Vircais after Vephrall and Kura Pelland had their governments fall apart and many of the cities and towns drift into the nothingness to once again be taken back by nature. While some improvements had been made since the full incorporation of the subcontinent into the Empire, it still significantly lagged behind and needed serious capital and manpower investment put into it. Yet the same could be said for the lands in the mainland that had not been a part of the original Elven Security Alliance kingdoms. While the South Kirria Valley was mostly occupied by the nomadic Dark Templara, the whole outer ring of the kingdom needed a bit of tender love and care as well to bring it up to the same standards as that of the original empire lands.

However there was also the issue of inheritance, where would the crown go should something tragic happen to Lathwen as it had the previous Emperor. Her father, Artanis, had claimed that he did not want the throne to come to him at all, after having successfully negotiated peace between two of the branches of the family before when it seemed like the Empire was set to go to war. With the two being the only known living members of the Raynor dynasty, Lathwen begrudgingly knew that it meant that she would need to marry soon and produce heirs, something that she was not looking forward to in the slightest. Learning to manage the Empire itself was set to be a task that would give her pause and trouble at the best of times until she came into her own, how could she possibly be thought to try and court or be courted and then learn to be a parent. Yet she knew that sooner or later it was going to have to be the case, lest the Empire fall into the same sort of crisis that had allowed her to reinstate her family's hold on the throne, averting what could have been massive crisis that had the potential to dissolve the unity of the Empire. That she could never let come to be and she resigned herself to knowing that in the coming months she would have to entertain the idea of the courtship madness.

[Balqia]

— No, it was your fault!
Lukas shouted at Kesgailus, throwing his shoe at him.
— I just said “incoming”! — He responded after dodging the shoe. — How the hell was I supposed to knew you had PTSD?
The discussion was taking place one hour after the disastrous match against Newmanistan, in a small meeting room where the team was assembled for an “emergency talk”. The reason for the fight was an incident in the field. After the opposing team managed to breach the defense for a second time, Kesgailus, wanting to warn the goalkeeper, shouted “incoming”, a military code for bombardments in the army. What he wasn’t waiting for was Vargas reaction. The man threw himself in the ground, trembling in fear and shredding tears, giving the Newmanistanian team a chance to score.
— I spent ten years in service, it’s obvious I have PTSD!
Argued Lukas, being held by Elioviq.
— Order! Order!
Intervened Alboviq, the “captain” of the team. In fact he only had the title, neither in the field nor in the dorms he held any substantial authority. Not that he didn’t try, but most of the team barely knew each other, and without the means to get you killed any authority seemed futile to them.
— Oh, for God’s sake.
Sighed Sara, watching the chaos go on with her head supported by her hands. Her blue eyes followed her colleague’s drama with pure boredom, only leaving the scene after catching the Manager moving to the microphone with steps that took an eternity to be finished.
— May… may I deliver... may I deliver some words…?
He finally said, bringing an end to the ruckus. One by one the players sat on their places, except for Sugarcane, it stood where it was placed by Miklos, her “interpreter”.
— You may… You may be upset… You may be upset by the results. I… I understand. — The Manager slowly bent his head to take a glimpse at the papers in his shaky hands, adjusting his glasses to better see the large letters. — We… We have lost… We have lost two matches in a… in a row. A very… very bad result… a very bad result indeed.
Without any more patience, Lena, who was behind him, whispered something in his ears, making him leave the microphone and slowly walk to the door.
— All right. — She enthusiastically said, imitating the western CEOs that she ardently admired. — A very bad result indeed, Mr. Vecoviq. But we can’t let us down by that. In fact, our annalists back home have some very optimistic data to show, let’s see them!
And with a click an image of the match against Tequilo was shown with several graphs and statistics by it’s side.
—So, — She continued — Tequilo, our first match against a big team. Kareli, you did an amazing job at scoring the first goal. The defense need to improve, for sure. But let’s see the bright side. Boreas, our little genius, managed to run one kilometer without passing out, a new record. — She clapped alone, as the other people in the room had to hide their smiles. — Lukas also did an amazing job at defending, but we ask you to be a little less… intense.
— What do you mean by that?
Asked the player, staring at her with the eyes of a murderer watching their victim.
— To stop being a freak!
Shouted Kesgailus, attracting the fury of his peer.
— Calm down, calm down. — Lena had to use her best motherly voice, tom make them sit down. — This is something that has to change too, you guys must have a better dynamic. WE must be a family, not some cold corporation that only seeks profit.
She went around with her arms open, intending to hug the nearest person, but only managed to make everyone firm their legs in the chairs. In the documentary that she saw the other day everyone went right to their boss' arms, in a beautiful and emotional scene, but the Team lacked the emotions or script needed to repeat it as she wanted. Defeated, Lena returned to the presentation, changing the slide to the Newmanistanian match.
— Okay, the second match we have lost. — The enthusiastic tone returned. — Here we have something more to note. First of all, Andrev. — She pointed to the goalkeeper that was awakened by Iagonoviq seconds before. — Your coach told you this once and I will tell you this again: stop trying to punch the ball, this isn’t boxing.
— Oh, come on. — He protested. — This works fine, I even managed to take down that guy from Tequilo!
He proudly raised his fist, the same fist that punched an incoming ball, making it go straight to Patrick Zambo’s face during the match against Tequilo. How he managed to just receive a yellow card stood a mystery.
— Right, but in this sport your objective is to not let the balls pass through, what you are incredibly bad at doing if we analyze the last matches. — Zanos stood up and pointed his finger to her, but she already knew what was coming. — And YES, if you continue to be so bad at blocking the goal we are going to send Sugarcane in your place, maybe she knows how to do your job better.
With this he sat down, his face red and his pride destroyed. Lena kept speaking about statistics and players, being harsh specially with Gobeliq, sent off after only five minutes in the field. With the end of the “talk” the players started to disband, some went straight to the door, looking forward to their sweet beds, other preferred to stay and talk a bit. But just before Topolin left the room Lena returned to the microphone and stated.
— Oh, and stop using military terminology in the field. No one wants Lukas crying anymore.
And with a proud smile from the war criminal the meeting was disbanded.

[Squornshelous]

Coincidence, Part 3
Part 1, Part 2

Minister of Defense Irakliy Solberg was a barrel-chested tank of a man with a face like a barn door: wide, flat, and heavily weathered. His once black hair had faded to a silvery-white, and retreated to leave the top of his head completely bare. To have eschewed the sort of cosmetic regenerative procedures that were so common among the Imperium's rich and powerful spoke strongly of the man's character, though the lithe power in his movements suggested that his joints and muscles had not been allowed to age so naturally. Solberg's unusually aged appearance had never been lost on Riihijarvi when he had been in government, and he did not fail to remark up on it again now.

"Irakliy, it's good to see you again, but you look ancient. I don't know why you won't let anyone persuade to to visit a rejuve clinic . . ."

"A man my age should look my age. I've said it before and I'll say it again. There are far to many old men walking around this country looking like children. Looking like a child makes you think like a child, and I have no time for it, Minister Riihijarvi. Though I guess it's Mr. Riihijarvi these days."

Riihijarvi stiffened visibly, inhaling as his face darkened in a frown. He had just opened his mouth to reply when Petrov forestalled him.

"Gentlemen please. We have not convened here at such inconvenience to retread such petty arguments as these. I beg you, set this aside and let us move on to more hmm productive topics."

The two stared at each other for a moment, motionless. As if the first to sit would forfeit some coveted prize. Eventually, Riihijarvi stepped across the room and seated himself to Petrov's left, and Solberg followed, taking his own place. The table they sat at was much a smaller, cruder thing than the one in the Striterax Cybernetics boardroom where Riihijarvi and Petrov had last met. This table was round, only a few feet across. To a cursory, or uneducated glance it would appear to be made of wood. A closer inspection would show the telltale lack of physical grain, betraying it as a product of pulp extrusion. Despite that, it was still the warmest thing in the room, and the most natural. The floor was bare concrete, though at least clean and free of cracks. The paint on the walls was the sort of off-white people chose when they wanted the color of a wall to be the very last thing on anyone's mind. The room itself was located in a low-rise apartment block in Seglovsk, a suburb of Vogsphere that rarely rated more than a sentence in any description of the region. In short, it was about the last place one might expect to find a meeting of three of the Imperium's most powerful men. A fact Petrov was counting on.

"I apologize, Irakliy. I thought a moment of small talk before we got down to business might help. I picked the wrong topic though."

"Don't worry about it. As for small talk I can't see the point. None of us has time to waste here today."

"You're quite correct I'm sure, Irakliy. Bjarni has simply been a few years away from the cloak and dagger ways of high politics I fear. If Bjarni would prefer I would be happy to take a moment for lighter subjects, perhaps the excellent recent play of our esteemed football team?" Solberg frowned, and Riihijarvi shook his head. Petrov called up his most disarming smile. "As you wish then, let us be about our business now that we are all here seated at the proverbial negotiating table. I believe we are all in agreement that the current situation in government is untenable. The only question then, is what is to be done about it."

Perhaps a bit chastened by his faux pas, Riihijarvi waited for Solberg to speak first.

"Fedotenko must be removed, by fair means or foul. That much is clear."

"We're in agreement on that much at least, Irakliy," Riihijarvi added.

"I suspect the three of us are in fact agreed on a great deal more than just that, though the ruthlessness with which you state it, Irakliy, does concern me somewhat."

"I'm not meeting in this dump to talk about writing a sternly worded letter, Petrov."

"I myself still hope that some non-violent solution is possible. Do you truly think that an assassination will solve the problem? The Emperor and other ministers would likely prove as fractious as ever."

"I didn't say anything about assassination, and you're right, it wouldn't get us anywhere. The Emperor would just pick someone worse. None of us is exactly his favorite right now."

"Then I ask you, make it plain what you mean, Irakliy."

"Fedotenko must be removed, and we need to be sure he can never rise again, even as a symbol. We need to destroy the man, and it would help if we could make the Emperor do it himself."

"Destroy his reputation and set him up to take a fall like he set me up? I love it!" Solberg and Petrov both turned toward Riihijarvi's abrupt outburst, before resuming the conversation.

"It seems a terribly difficult proposal. To maneuver or manipulate a man so inaccessible, even to his chief ministers."

"You have a better idea?"

"No, I fear not. I simply mean to say that we must plan for every eventuality, and be prepared for a campaign of years, perhaps decades."

"Decades?!" Riihijarvi leaned forward, gripping the edges of the table, "I'm not about to wait decades to fix this mess, we need decisive action, now! This would be so much easier if the Emperor weren't such a damned wild card."

"Surely we can't muster enough support for anything as drastic as that," Petrov kept his inward smile from appearing on his face, not without effort.

"What do you mean?"

"Bjarni has suggested it might actually be easier to remove the entire problem at once."

"I suggested what?"

"You said it would be easier if the Emperor weren't a factor. It's a bold idea, I'll give you that much, but I'm not sure it's realistic."

"You mean an outright coup. Kill the Emperor?" Solberg leaned back in his chair.

"I hate the man as much as the next person, but I don't know about going that far," sweat had broken out on Riihijarvi's brow.

"Well that's precisely my point Bjarni. It's quite the idea, but might be a bit beyond practicality," Petrov paused for breath, and to consider his next words. "Could you even muster that kind of support with the military Irakliy?"

Solberg shook his head. "No, your common solider is fanatically loyal to the Emperor," he pursed his lips and brought a hand to his chin in thought. "Bjarni might have stumbled over an interesting idea though. I can't sway the loyalty of the military at large, but there are some I can count on absolutely." He made eye contact carefully with both other men. "If we line things up right, and Fedotenko is set up to take the blame, it could actually work."

"Fascinating, Irakliy. I must confess the idea had not occurred to me."

[North Japan]

HOKUTOU-KO DAILY
The Voice of The People

---

Military parade marks the establishment of the Democratic Republic

Today, January 15 marks the glorious establishment of the People's Democratic Republic of Japan and the victory over the allied imperialistic forces. In the great patriotic war the outnumbered forces of the People's Revolution, the North Japanese fought a heroic battle against the foreign invaders threatening our way of life and ancestral home. Led by the Great Eternal General Hoshihiro Asami the revolutionary army struck heavy blows to the evil imperialist armies encroaching our borders. It was through the leadership and heroism of the Great General our country was victorious and subdued the imperialist armies to force a peace treaty.

To celebrate the birth of the Democratic People's Republic, the Chairwoman has blessed us with the largest military parade in a decade to show the world we have not lost our fighting spirit. As a testimony to the world, the North Japanese people are ready to defend their Motherland at all cost against all imperialist forces. No matter from where they attack, in any way, the North Japanese will is unwavering and unbroken. The Democratic People's Republic is the only nation in the world where the people are truly free, where they are not punished for living in their nation as in other countries with their so called taxes and duties. The Democratic People's Republic has the happiest people in the world and the largest income per capita in the entire world, unmatched by any capitalistic nation. The People's Revolutionary Army has shown that next to the extremely well kept living conditions in the Democratic People's Republic, they also have the most advanced and powerful army in the world to safeguard the free and beautiful people of the Motherland.

---

Democratic People's Republic World Cup News

North Japan Excels Versus Xanneria

The People's Republic faced Xanneria and Hapilopper in the World Cup which resulted in expected victories for the Motherland, although one of the matches was more difficult than they had hoped. Xanneria boasted a resilient side but in the end were overcome by the North Japanese excellent football prowess.

The two most dangerous player in the Xanneria team are Feltzer and Gasey, who both had several attempts on goal but were excellently stopped by Chanwook, who held the goal empty for the entire match. Xanneria would keep wasting their energy by running into the excellently defence of the North Japanese team and eventually had t o slow down their playstyle.

When the Xanneria team started to show fatigue and lost their build-up, the captain, Ki Joo-Won knew it was time to attack and show the Xanneria side how working as a team for a glorious goal and the pride of a nation in football really works. In a swift and brilliant display from the start of the second half the Kirin showed no mercy to the imerperialist side by scoring goal after goal and completely controlling the play field in possession. There was no chance for Xanneria to even play the ball apart from the kick-off point after the Motherland scored a goal.

Ah Shi-Won and Hwan Kwang-Ho were the stars of the team today and showed the entire Motherland how to play with pride for one's nation, an example we should all live towards. When the final whistle was blown the Xannerian team collapsed and showed remorse and defeat in their very being. Surely, the people of Xanneria will now see the error of their ways and have to live with the fact that their poisoned ideology has no place in the modern world, and only the love and teachings of the Divine Supreme Leader, Aki Asami, can bring them harmony and progress.

Final Results:


Japan 4 - 0 Xanneria

Hapilopper 1 - 7 Japan

[Astograth]

YOGUTZ presents…

DAINERI STARTING GOALKEEPER
The no. 1 cult footballing podcast in Astograth, with your hosts Ibon and Mantzia
Originally dedicated to the Audioslavian National League, then it spiralled out of control
Transcribed and translated by Transkribia, sign up at Transkribia.asg/DSG for the full script and a 30-day free trial

Ibon: … I met him once, you know? I’ve told this story.

Mantzia: Not on the pod you haven’t.

Ibon: OK, OK. So this was… I don’t know, 5 years ago? When he was managing Arexa, right after they’d stayed up. That was his last job, I think.

Mantzia: Before he started talking shit on Channel 12.

Ibon: Yes. Before he, uh, did that to his legacy. So I’m in Echegoyan because we got hired to shoot an ad for- for this, uh, for a big car company I can’t name, but they’re from Lermendia and you’ve probably heard of them. In fact, they had a famous racing team together with this week’s sponsor: YOGUTZ! YOGUTZ believes in producing the freshest fully pasteurised dairy you’ll find anywhere, which is why the YOGUTZ Live Yoghurt line contains just three ingredients – milk, fruit, and live bio cultures. 0% Fat! Download the YOGUTZ app now to find your nearest YOGUTZ distributor and receive daily deals.

Mantzia: I had YOGUTZ Live Yoghurt just the other day and couldn’t believe it wasn’t Vdaran!

Ibon: Indeed, Mantzia, YOGUTZ Live Yoghurt is 100% Made in Astograth from the milk of happy Astograthian cows and with happy Astograthian bacteria. Anyway, as I was saying, I was in Echegoyan for work and they put us up in this quite fancy hotel. One day I go down to the gym, then when I’m going back up the lift stops at the restaurant level. Doors open and suddenly there’s a bunch of reporters outside flashing cameras, shouting questions, I don’t know what the [bleep]’s going on – and then I realise I know the guy right in front of me, walking into the lift. There he is. Lekubegi Guerrikaechebarria, LIVING GOD of Astograth University. He nodded at me, Guerrikaechebarria actually nodded at me. I nodded back, in a cool way. The doors closed and we were alone, in silence.

Mantzia: What did you say?

Ibon: Nothing. What was there to say? He’s beyond words. I just let myself feel it, you know? Standing there I could physically feel the Copa Rushmori next to me, and the First Division trophy, and the two Royal Cups. And the Euraleague he won with Revolutionaries. I could feel the pure talent radiating out of his golden locks.

Mantzia: Was he still dyeing his hair?

Ibon: Yes, he was. He would’ve been what, 55? Anyway we got to his floor, he looked at me again, and said ‘have a nice day’. At me! Unbelievable.

Mantzia: So you didn’t say anything the entire time you were with Guerrikaechebarria.

Ibon: Yeah I did, I said ‘you too’.

Mantzia: That’s all.

Ibon: Mantzia… one does not simply speak to a LIVING GOD. What would you say to Laborious Hawk?

Mantzia: Ask him what’s the best club he’s ever played for.

Ibon: And you really think he’d say Urbizania Wanderers.

Mantzia: Yes.

Ibon: Categorically false. Listeners: don’t meet your heroes, and if they walk into your lift, don’t ask them stupid questions. Now what the [bleep] were we talking about before we got sidetracked?

Mantzia: The match, and Guerrikaechebarria talking on commentary about how he wanted to see Salayeta in action.

Ibon: Right. What a shit commentator, and somehow still better than he was at management. Salayeta…

Mantzia: Ibon – I have a lengthy opinion on that, actually. We’re running low on time, you think I could close the show with it?

Ibon: By all means.

Mantzia: So. We’re 2-1 down against Mriin, at home. World Cup Qualifier. Grand Duke’s Stadium. They’re the top seed, we’re the second seed. You need the win, or at least a measly point. Clock’s ticking down, what would the coward do? Sub on a defender, so we don’t lose by more. But Louis Vaudrail is not a coward. What would the timid man do? Sub on a midfielder, so he can get the ball to Epherra. But Louis Vaudrail is not a timid man. What would the gentleman do? Sub on a forward, because you need to score a [bleep]ing goal and you need it now, caution be damned. Louis Vaudrail is, of course, a gentleman. He looks to his bench. He’s got two forwards. He’s got Olentzaro Karazatorre: tall, fast, lithe, a decent club striker hungry to do the same for Olibondeka. And next to him he’s got Anartz Salayeta. Salayeta is tall as [bleep] and also slow as [bleep]. He’s so slow his own fans are proud of it. He’s scored a single goal for the national team, in a match that was already won. For whatever [bleep]ing reason – and it sure as [bleep] isn’t this podcast – everyone wants to see Salayeta. And Vaudrail, who is a gentleman but not a perfect man, sends on Salayeta. Do you watch the S-FPL, Ibon?

Ibon: You kn-

Mantzia: Rhetorical question, of course you do. This is your job and you take it seriously. So let me explain, for those who’ve heard about Salayeta’s La Querida but haven’t actually tuned in, what it’s like to watch this guy at his absolute best. You turn on the TV, it’s La Querida against… whoever. Any team. Nueva Avenida, Busembe, anyone. Salayeta is standing just outside the opposition’s box: miles from the ball, miles offside. Your friend, also a podcaster, calls you, you get distracted for a few minutes. You turn back to the match, La Querida’s losing 6-0. Shots: 0. Salayeta is in exactly the same place. This is because Salayeta, my friends, cannot carry his own ass across the pitch. Eventually, the other team loosen up, maybe because they’re bored, maybe because they have a bigger match later in the week, maybe because they’re subbing in U17s. That’s when La Querida’s goalkeeper boots the ball all the way to the other box and Salayeta beats the other keeper to it, sending it in.

In the season he’ll score 9 more goals like this and go down in history as an absolute legend of La Querida. Is this the man you want in the national team, is my question. Is this the man you want in the final minutes of a World Cup qualifier against Mriin, at home, when you’re losing? Because a lot of people did and congratulations, it happened. There you go. We lost, by the way.

Ibon: …well that’s our time for today folks, thanks for listening to the Mantzia Olenkiaga Optimism Hour! See you in two days.

[Pasarga]

Elek Salai had finally gotten his first start for the senior national team, getting to play alongside Júlia Müller as the Wanderers traveled to South Newlandia. He knew that he had to take his opportunities when they were given, especially with him not expected to even be in half of the named squads for the qualifiers, much less getting onto the field. It all came down to not getting enough starts at Ibini, which the the manager at the Islanders said was likely to change not in the upcoming season but the following season if Elek continued to develop as he had been. It was encouraging news to know that he was the planned successor for Ibini and that gave him some long term stability and a goal to work forward to, but it did not help him in the here and now when the rest of the striker pool were all the leading strikers for the domestic clubs. This trip to South Newlandia he needed to be at his very best and to give Griffiths a reason to keep him close to the team, even if he was only on the substitutes' bench. If he was on the bench, then he could get in the match if things played out a certain way, it was all about being there however.

However it did not start of good for the young attacker, as he seemed confounded by the opposition defense and could not get into the match at all. It did not help that there was a light rain, mucking up the field a bit and making it hard for Elek to make full use of his blistering pace to get past the defenders. It also making it difficult to try and dribble around them, as the slick ground was causing the ball to move farther than the striker was anticipating with his touches, making it far too easy for the defenders to dispossess him and clear their lines. If this was supposed to be the opportunity that Elek was going to show that he was ready to be in and around the first team more, then he was making a right mess of it. With the two teams level at nothing each at the half, he could feel the pressure of needing to do something soon or else Meriadoc would be well within their rights to take him off and bring on one of the more seasoned strikers to try and find a winner for the team. It was the three points that mattered the most after all, getting the Wanderers off to a good start and not letting them fall victim to any upsets against teams they were supposed to be getting results from. As much as it would pain him to be subbed off, he knew that it would be the right move if he could not quickly turn around his performance in the second half.

Five minutes in and it was still more of the same and he could see that Réka Szôllôssi was starting to warm up and stretch on the sideline, his time was definitely going to be cut short by the hour mark at this rate. And then it happened, the ball didn't squirt away from him on the touch as he collected a through ball from Csapó. Able to now take the ball in stride, he flailed his arm forward and quickly passed it to Vöröss who one touched it upfield and into his path, taking him into the area. A purposefully heavy touch that took him left towards the penalty spot and onto the favored left foot was made, bypassing a tackle from one of the South Newlandia defenders. Putting his laces through the ball, the ball jettisoned across the slick surface of the pitch that the keeper could not possibly get down quick enough to stop and it rifled into the the lower par post netting, the Wanderers had finally made good on their dominant possession and taken a lead. For Salai, he felt all the pressure and weight of expectation that had been building on his back and shoulders fall away, as if the rain was finally pushing it off and letting him feel free and unburdened once more. With that and three points garnered from a difficult away tie, he and the side could return back to Torgos with a bit of momentum.

Salai started on the bench as the Wanderers hosted Valladares, with the difficult fixtures for the squad coming thick and fast. It was another match that needed to be three points for the Wanderers, as the entire team had seen before the match that Bluecliff League had managed to pull off a massive upset of Hampton Island and was still perfect from the first three matches. If the Wanderers wanted to keep pace and eventually assert their authority onto the group, they would need to deal a blow to their regional rivals. Valladares had come to play though and their very talented midfield and attack was putting some heavy pressure on the side's own midfield and backline, constantly breaking the offside trap and their lines, making Galambos work hard to show why he has the number one shirt. Yet even the talented keeper could not keep them all out, with Valladares getting a go ahead goal four minutes before the halftime whistle, a very opportune time to score for the visitors and a poor one for the hosts. They knew they needed two goals from the second half at least, which did not look to be an easy task to complete against their foes who seemed really up for the match.

Júlia Müller would give the home side something to cheer about just six minutes into the second half, putting in a screamer from outside the box that likely caught Valladares unawares, something that she would not likely be able to replicate. Salai continued to watch as the Wanderers started to force their way fully into the match until the game was definitely in their favor rather than that of the visitors, though the Valladares counter attack still looked absolutely lethal. Salai was waiting for his name to be called to get loose but it never was and as the time ticked away, he and the fans were getting more and more frustrated that the side could not find the winner. Márió Szölösi however was the maestro who finally found the net, coming in as a substitute and taking over the free kick taking, of which he put in a perfect effort from twenty-four yards out that curled around the wall and into the upper near corner that the keeper could not keep out with the spin that was put on the ball. It was a late winner for the side but a chance that Salai felt like could have been his, and another lesson in humility and patience had to be had, even if it stung in the moment.

[Independent Athletes from Quebec]

I Run To You

PART 3 (43) - Burn

The Hellhound quietly wiped the sweat off handkerchief, as he watched the orgygoers leave.

Rodrigue Yao-Shcherbatsky, his friend from college days, was still around with the bear, and they were feeling a genuine sense of bond with each other. The Hellhound, his actual name Herman Rogers Garcia, stood and watched them having a good time with each other in their executive suite at the Chambon Nightclub with dim lights and without his boss's lover, a Quebecois singer notorious for her 'love towards fans' named Marijuana Grande, who left for some refreshments in the basement.

'Rodrigue, have a walk around the club. May be the right time for you to entertain some tourists while the boys sell coke in the basement.' The Hellhound said to his friend, signalling that it is time for the Kingston Argonauts placekicker, whose unfortunate association with the Caraqueno gangs of both Winnipeg and Montreal had left him with increased scrutiny by the media. He deserves better, he thought to himself, while watching Rodrigue nod and walk out of the room with the bear.

Now they were alone, and it was evident from the sounds of it alone that something big’s going to happen.

The Hellhound was worried that one of the two would die. In recent weeks Takeshi had become particularly violent, having emerged in the very height of his deprivation from his well-highlighted love affair, and it was evident by some of the incoherent sentences his boss was saying while intoxicated from every form of alcohol and drugs he had indulged since five in the evening. Yet somehow the Hellhound, even after a decade of service under the very same individual, was spared from constant violence that had come to other bodyguards who had quit rather quickly. His trust must be so paramount that perhaps it could be his fatal flaw, oh the irony, The Hellhound thought to himself, as he watched his boss placing his cellphone at a nearby table. 'So what is it that you wanna talk to me about, dear Herman?' 6oixan9euf, his actual name Takeshi Yim Arrado, asked his favourite bodyguard. 'You know, they don't call you the Hellhound for nothing, and you are never wrong...'

And it was then that the Eternal Weaver of Dreams declared that the sixteen years of gang violence and six weeks of heightened tensions, spanning across the nation from California City to Goose Bay, were going to end or explode, tonight. The Hellhound quietly watched and advised, unaware of what the rapper had in mind inside his head. 'You see, the sooner we retreat from the city the better it would look for us.' He advised, as 6oixan9euf continued to touch his charity chest with some rowing and stroking motions explicitly drawn. 'It is not wise to set a collective riot, a potential pogrom, especially when you are viewed as community leader, the man among men, on our industry!'

'I don't think you understand, dear Herman.' 6oixan9euf quietly raised his high-pitched voice. The Hellhound remained still, trying not to make much out of the line. Still, deep inside he could feel what was coming up, and those always shuddered him even after all the years of being a security guard. This shouldn't be happening, and I won't let it happen. Fortunately that squirrel girlfriend of his is tranquilised, wounded somewhere on the other side of the city...

'It is by our right to seize the rights of our streets, and kick the Serranos back to where they have come from...' was what he said. Fortunately, that was all that's needed to be said. Of course 6oixan9euf was going to say more, but the Montrealer had no time to continue as he felt the Charity Chest tighten up and groaned mightily so. "Your cock is mine now!" shouted the Hellhound, as he pistol thwacked the sorry chap on his head twice, knocking the rapper back to the ground.

6oixan9euf, in disbelief that his bodyguard would dare betray him on this, was left in clear disbelief. 'You...Herman my homie...what is this? This isn't a fight we need to fight for...or is it?' he shouted, not really being able to move due to how the chest, successfully hacked by the regiment of specialists seving the Huayramarcans on the south shore of the Fleuve (roughly around industrial heartlands of Levis and its outskirts), gradually tightened the internet-connected chastity cage. The bodyguard watched him tremble back and forth, and shot a couple of rounds of bullets at his legs, effectively demobilising 6oixan9euf. He then watched for few seconds, before picking him up with his right arm.

The Hellhound quietly chuckled at the pedophile with looks of no more than pathetic and no less than pity. 'Sorry, but the night's off.' Hellhound laughed like a madman, almost as if he had become another variation of Takeshi, before taking his mask off and spat twice at him. 'Yours is done. The mobs killed my wife while she was walking home, leaving my daughter without a mother, and this is all you have to ask for?' Then he slapped the rapper twice. 'Your lover won't get that, I am better than that. But she's going to remember tonight.'

‘No….no….no……!’ The coward screamed, not being able to move much even as he struggled to break free.

'Enough with you.' Hellhound throttled him once more with a chuckle, as 6oixan9euf twisted back and forth before realising that it was late. 'C'est fini, Takeshi.'

'No...no...no....the llamas, the fuckers, the llamafuckers!' 6oixan9euf attempted to escape but he was kicked on his ankles and dropped backwards. Hellhound charged and punched him twice, knocking him out upon sight. There was no more fight after that. Knocked unconscious, his teeth knocked out and his legs shot with multiple bullets, what followed was the pouring of the gasoline. Hellhound acted without much thought as he quickly put his plan into action. For a sec he thought of his wife Cecily, who was murdered by the Caraquenos in an accidental fire. Nothing could bring her back, but we all know that, he thought to himself.

Of course, 6oixan9euf could think about nothing- the pain of the Chastity Chest constricting the movement of his lower torso and reproductive organs was just one element of pain he had to go through. Besides, there would be no need for 6oixan9euf to think any further- when the police found out about the unconscious Marijuana Grande, his whole body was on fire. The news were out, and it's that the harbinger of hatred, with his notorious history of criminal offences so disgusting that even the Lord would not permit a stable trial for the guilty party, was left as no more than pieces of charcoal after the bonfire of flamethrowers in the middle of a purple rain.

---

They say that the hardest part of an orgy is being able to safely get out of it. Right route, right clothes, and right smell. Those were what that mattered. Also in the case of our silly Asher, the escape spot.

Asher stared into the windows of the taxi for solid ten minutes thinking about what he may have happened, and what's next for him. The death of a notorious Caraqueno-Quebecois rapper, whose criminality had long extended past the musicality of his lyrics and aesthetics of his dreads and street clothes. The death, a deserving price for attempting to bring forth xenophobic insurrections against another significant ethnic minority group in this country, was inevitable. But the night of unrestricted fun, however guilty-filled and whatnot, were over- and Asher knew he was going to pay once the taxi arrived at their hotel in Jookrimpo. A snoring Rodrigue Yao-Shcherbatsky and awkwardly awake Marcel Bottcher reminded him that he had some explanations to do.

Of course, they won't be coming to the bird's nest, where my dove rests.Asher determined to himself. He was being harsh to himself because in his deepest sense, he was unable to believe that the crew were going to find themselves recongregating by the matter of dodging legal justice. It wasn't helped by the complicated nature of Marco Hertel's Playtoy Mansion, where its central location in the heart of Quebec City's Jaures District. If the reporters were as nifty or aware as him, and had spent enough time on nightclubs, they would be heading to the source of the contagion, and the news would sooner than later spread over to the other quadrants of the Multiverse.

"The latest news breaks out, as Montreal rapper and recent convict 6oixan9euf is found dead in middle of a Quebecois nightclub. For those who just tuned in with us at TV1 tonight, welcome as we are live at the site of fire...as you can see from five hundred metres away there is....*hears the explosion*

The taxi driver, who looked no different than the Huayramarcan in the evening, switched the radio to a country FM station. Asher quietly stared into the void, and prayed to the divine being. May he the highest above forgive me...and atone me... he quietly prayed, as he closed his eyes.

Not only was he failing the expectations held of a loyal partner, but he knew what he had planned all along was now not going to happen. Only two years into their second stint at relationships, the Lundrigans and the Lauzons already expected the two to get married and settle down, where Asher, someone who could afford to work from home, would be the one supporting her by the side.

He could imagine what the fate was supposed to write on his journals- it would first start with a life in Coxwell Park with her, waking up every morning to the pastoral settings of the southwestern Acadien countryside, then progressing to the expectations. In few years, he would be walking their future children to kindergarten and perhaps write novels in the hopes that they, one day, would read and talk with their school teachers about it....the idea of such life was the one that he was betraying not only himself, but her and their beloved ones from, and the possible spreading of news would be the go-to way for it.

His head spinning all over, Asher placed his head by the window, as he asked the cab driver. 'Have you ever been in love, monsieur?'

'Of course I did.' said the middle-aged man, trying to cheer up his passenger with some glee. 'It's a beautiful feeling. Are you feeling that right now?'

'Comme...'

'La chaleur. The warmth. Not sure if you do right now given the stupor, but we all do at some point in our lives.'

'I guess I do, just not right now.' said Asher, his gaze slowly loosening. 'As you could see from our sorry selves, I have committed to the very opposite and hope for the best...'

'Sometimes, you gotta ask for forgiveness.' Responded the taxi driver, his windscreen wipers madly going back and forth. 'We all make mistakes in life and deserve second chances, so to put forth. That's what the God has always advocated for, if you read more of the New Testament, you see...'

Then the rest of the two hour cab ride to Jookrimpo went along quietly.

[Huayramarca]

Momentum being built, slowly, but safely.

Written by: Ramiro Flores.
25/02/1982 - 7:34 P.M.

Huayramarca managed to get six points out of six in this window of World Cup Qualifiers, one match away against Damukuni and one at home against the war mercenaries from Critical Operations, the first one was a pretty normal match, the second one was a quite suspicious match due to the attitudes from the visiting side who pretended to enter with military equipment to the Estadio Olímpico de Oriente.

Omar Caicedo has truly made some changes to his managerial style, before, he was reluctant to the idea of making substitutions and changes into the team unless it was needed, now, he is more akin to the idea of rotating players in order to make sure everybody grabs experience and also provide new weaponry for Huayramarca in defense or offense. Against Damukuni, although, it was a need to make an early substitution due to the ankle sprain Bryan Tello suffered at the 4th minute of the game, where he struggled against Thattelby Fivedollerz while trying to defend a ball from a corner kick made by the Damukunian squad. Félix Huamán had to enter to the field to replace Tello and it was quite effective, since Huamán managed to struggle among two Damukunians while turning in front of the goal and shooting to the left post of their goalkeeper, Huayramarca was up 0-1 at the road.

Despite that, Huayramarca was able to hold the grip of the match during the entire first half, something they managed to replicate in their match against Critical Operations too. Caicedo’s idea was to hold the ball more than the opponent and aim to cause fatigue in their opponents, making them run constantly for the ball, moving up the ball would help to the idea of providing a large cross and leaving one of the wingers able to run deeply into the rival’s side and provide a cross to Huamán. The Condors tried severe times said recipe but always failed in the last chance, the crosses to feed Huamán either were poorly made or went too wide.

Huamán had to go back some meters in order to take the ball and try to make himself space to shoot, but the Damukunians were able to restrain the striker in his desperate attempts to provide chances. Although, Sayritupac was able to recover a ball at the 36th minute, he managed to arrive to the area and dribble one of the defenders, he dared to kick and sent the ball right into the Damukunian GK hands. There was a yellow card to Ian Mamani at the 40th minute, the midfielder tried to recover a ball but swept way too hard into a midfielder, fortunately, the Damukunian wasn’t injured and was able to recover and continue the match without any shortcomings. The Huayramarcan squad was able to keep the ball as much as they wanted, Damukuni tried to press, but weren’t able to advance due to the great performance that Orlando Mina was having that night.

At the beginning of the second half, Huayramarca was able to get a corner at the 50th minute, Sayritupac made the cross right into the area, the defense deflected the ball but let Santiago Chumacero to recover the ball and passed it, lofty, to Kevin Quispe, who decided to let bounce the ball and then strike right into the left post of the Damukunian GK, scoring the second goal of the match and the final one of it. Noticeable was a brawl between Mina and Fivedollerz at the 66th minute, Mina was beaten in a head-to-head ball struggle by Fivedollerz, Mina was angry and swept the Damukunian, it was a yellow card for both because Fivedollerz punched Mina on his face; the referee didn’t deemed necessary to provide a red card for both.

At the second match, Huayramarca faced some issues against the heavily aggressive and armed squad of Critical Operations, said team appeared in Sechura in two busses, one with terrorists and other with a military elite squad. Both sides of the rival team met and decided who were able to play, then took their guns and went into the field with them, by then, the Huayramarcan Army had to intervene and ask the rival team to drop out the guns in order to play, if not, they would been attacked. The Operative and Terrorist squad left their guns at the changing room, after being convinced that nobody posed a real threat in their war objectives, instead, they were only sport threats.

After a highly difficult match, Huayramarca was able to get the edge over the Operatives at the 14th minute, with a header from Nicolás Allauca, then, the rivals tied with OPS-185547291 scoring a free kick. Bryan Tello was able to break the parity with a nice solo play at the 65th minute, the Condors were able to get their third win out of three matches and to build some decent momentum.

Omar Caicedo was pleased with the performance of his players, saying that the new training drills, preparation and support made by the Government was helping to the squad in order to built a strong morale, also, to build new habits into the players in order to make their squad somewhat more professional. The next rivals are Mytanija and Ibixa, both rivals are direct one in the fight for earning a decent spot into the leaderboard before the end of the first half, Caicedo also mentioned that confidence shouldn’t rise into toxic levels, instead, humility is needed in order to persevere through what he considers is a “extremely hard path to success”.

The path is going to be hard, visiting Radnika at Esca will be complicated due to the hell-ish athmosfere that the Mytanijans are accustomed to impose at their venues, it'll be a nice test for the Huayramarcans that aren't accustomed to it, although, Kevin Quispe said "We are going to play against people, so, nothing to worry, we have to keep focused in doing our job, meter by meter, pass by pass, in order to build strong foundations for our dream". Meanwhile, the Mytanijan press was somewhat upset at Quispe's declarations at their fans, something that wasn't mean to be controversial at first glance, but, apparently, they consider that their fanbase was being diminished.

Damukuni 0-2 Huayramarca

1-0 - 08' - Félix Huamán 
2-0 - 50' - Kevin Quispe

Substitutions: 05' - Bryan Tello out, Félix Huamán in.
61' - Ian Mamani out, Jonathan Espinoza in.
88' - Gabriel Sayritupac out, Saul Castillo in.

Yellow Cards: Ian Mamani (40'), Orlando Mina (66'); Thattelby Fivedollerz (66').
Red Cards: Not shown.

Naruto Shinagawa Field, Atarashii-Damushuto, Damukuni - Attendance: 47,000.

Huayramarca 2-1 Critical Operations 

1-0 - 14' - Nicolás Allauca
1-1 - 38' - OPS-185547291
2-1 - 65' - Bryan Tello

Substitutions: 72' - Bryan Tello out, Félix Huamán in.
83' - Kevin Quispe out, Andrés Alcabú in.
88' - Ian Mamani out, Edwin Condori in.

Yellow Cards: Not shown.
Red Cards: Not shown.

Estadio Olímpico de Oriente, Sechura - Attendance: 26,050.

[Vdara]

You Can’t Win Trophies Without Ambition

As mentioned before, Vdara brings a second lineup full of young players for when they’re playing against lower ranked squads, to give them experience for when the senior squad begins to dwindle due to retirements. For now, however, the senior squad would continue to play matches against teams that could cause them difficulty - and what team could be more difficult than the Commonwealth of Baker Park, who just so happen to be the top seed in the group.

Away Team Dressing Room
Presidents Park

With the first team now in action, Markos Moustakakos returned to his usual role of first team goalkeeper, while Lükækš Væñøœrëñbérghüïś was back wearing his usual suit and tie, ready to manage the senior squad.

Væñøœrëñbérghüïś: ”Before I start my usual rant about how important this game is and all that, I’d like to say a massive, massive thank you to Markos for earning us three points right off the bat while managing the kids. You’ve allowed the rest of the squad to have an extra few days of rest, which is always good for crucial games against these types of sides. Anyhow, enough about that - it’s all in the past. Today’s match might end up being one of our most important matches in this cycle, and if we play our cards right it could be one of our most important matches ever. That’s why I need you boys to play this match as if it’s the last game of your life. Who cares if there’s still a metric fuckton of matchdays to go - this is important as fuck, and we need to make an early impression if we really want to have our eyes on those top two qualifying spots. Ambition is always key at this stage, and it’s something we can’t really afford to lose. Ambition’s what stops you from staring straight at the floor and giving up, and instead forces you to continue to push for the ultimate goal that sticks in your mind - qualification. This sort of ambition is the type of thing we need to have with us all the time, y’know? If we’re ever losing, just think of the ultimate goal, and you will all push yourselves further. Heck, even if we’re five or six goals up on some poor unranked side, keep that ambition locked into your mind, and try and make it seven or eight - who knows, qualification could come down to goal difference, and you don’t want to be the side that misses out because they didn’t score enough goals, do you? Of course not! Anyways, I’m going to stop rambling on about ambition before I bore you all to death, since I need to actually tell you lot what tactics we’re going for against these guys. I’ve seen the team sheet, and let me tell you, they ain’t fucking about. So, we’re going to be playing in our usual 5-3-2 formation, as you all probably knew. Tryfon and Manousos - I want you guys to run up the wing and cause a whole host of problems for their midfield. You two are as quick as anything, so you should be able to receive the ball and bolt it towards the opposition’s defenders as fast as possible, alright? David, Nestoras and Valentinos - hang back at all times. You’re all in the centreback position for a reason, so don’t leave the defensive third of the pitch unless there’s a corner. Even then, I want one of you to hang back during set pieces such as that. Kimon, Vangelis and Anargyros - I want you all to go for every interception that you can. Are they passing to their forwards? Snatch that ball. Are they passing it between each other? Snatch that ball. Are they just running towards you? Snatch that motherfuckin’ ball! After you’ve got the ball, your job is just to pass to either Alexis or Chirstoforos upfront, or Tryfon or Manousos at either side. Other than that, just stick to your position. Last but not least, Alexis and Chirstoforos - cause their defence as many problems as possible, get in behind and get ready for passes from the midfield, but DO NOT get caught offside. We can’t risk having a good chance cut short due to some bad positioning. Right, does everybody know what they’re doing? Everybody familiar with their job? Fantastic. Let’s get ourselves out there and earn a good result, come on!”

The match report is as follows:

1: That’s the easily distinguishable sound of a referee’s whistle, and the match is underway! The home fans seem pretty excited, so expect a lot of noise.
8: Wadsworth has managed to get past Xeniadis, and they’re through on goal! Surely they’ve got to put Baker Park 1-0 up here... but their shot is saved by Moustakakos! There’s anguish on the face of Wadsworth - they know they should have buried that chance.
22: Wadsworth’s received a lovely pass from Taborn, and they’re one-on-one with Moustakakos. Wadsworth shoots... and scores! The ball lands nicely in the bottom left corner, just out of Moustakakos’ reach. 1-0 to Baker Park.
31: Vdara have been pressing Baker Park as hard as they possibly can here, and they’ve earned themselves a corner! Vlahiades whips it into the box... but it’s easily caught by
Johnston.
39: That’s a bad tackle from Jordan, who’s earned themselves a yellow card.
45: That’s halftime, and both sets of fans can be pretty happy with how their teams have performed so far - but it’s Baker Park who lead at the break.

Væñøœrëñbérghüïś wasn’t displeased with his team’s performance so far, but he wasn’t exactly happy with it either. Because of is, he kept his usual half-time team talk brief, and kept it to the point.

Væñøœrëñbérghüïś: ”Remember what I said in the dressing room, lads. Stay ambitious, stay frosty, and score more of those chances! We’ve had plenty of chances to score, but we haven’t been good enough, y’know? I’ve still got faith in you guys, though. Just make sure to remember my advice, lads.”

46: The whistle has blown, and the second half is underway! Wadsworth’s goal has Baker Park a goal ahead, but Vdara looked like the better side towards the end of the second half. Who knows how this match will go, honestly.
51: It’s a corner to Baker Park, and Fernandez will be the one to take it. Fernandez has swung the ball into the box... and it’s headed into the goal by Westmoreland! Baker Park have a two-goal advantage now, and they fully deserve it!
56: Fernandez has managed to make their way past the Vdaran defenders, they’ve cut inside to get a shot off... and they’ve made it 3-0 to Baker Park! The home side are really running away with this game now, there’s surely no chance that Vdara can come back from this!
60: It’s a corner to Vdara, and Vlahiades will be the one to flick it into the box... and it’s volleyed in by Alexis Fotellis! Perfect placement of the corner leads to a perfect smash of the ball by the 40-year-old! The scoreline is now 3-1!
68: Lazelis has intercepted a pass from Underwood, and he’s skipped past Bartok to get through on goal! Lazelis is one-on-one with Johnston... and he nutmegs Johnston to make it 3-2! Johnston looks absolutely fuming - they absolutely did not want this to happen! Lazelis is delighted, however, and has torn his shirt off to reveal a t-shirt underneath with the words “LET’S FUCKING GO” imprinted on them. How odd.
69: Lazelis has been booked for his celebration, and no wonder - he’s had to go and get a new shirt.
76: Vdara have been passing the ball around nicely hear, and Mavroglou is trying to lob the ball over towards Fotellis... but the ball’s flown over him and landed in the hands of Johnston.
89: Penalty to Vdara! Bartok’s last-ditch attempt at stopping Lazelis from shooting the ball has resulted in an even better scoring opportunity for Vdara, but can they capitalise? The captain is stepping up to take this penalty, can they equalise with the last kick of the
game... yes, they can! Vdara have come back from three goals down to draw level with Baker Park in the dying seconds of the match!
90: It’s full time at Presidents Park, and Vdara have snatched a point from the jaws of defeat, to the delight of their travelling fans! There will be dancing in the streets of Chania, Heraklion, Agios Nikolaos, you name it, there’s dancing!

BAKER PARK - 3
Wadsworth 22’
Westmoreland 51’
Fernandez 56’

VDARA - 3
Fotellis 60’
Lazelis 68’
Vlahiades (P) 89’

After the match, Væñøœrëñbérghüïś was interviewed by a representative from Vai Sports, to show the fans back home what was going through the manager’s head.

Interviewer: ”Well, first of all, I’d like to congratulate you on the result, Lükækš.”

Væñøœrëñbérghüïś: ”No need to thank me, thank the players when you inevitably interview them, heh. At the end of the day, I’m not the one scoring the goals that earn us points, I’m just the guy on the side of the pitch that tries to motivate them.”

Interviewer: ”Interesting viewpoint. Anyhow, you seemed to be extremely relieved when that final whistle blew, how did you feel about today’s result, and do you think you’ll be able to replicate something similar in your next match?”

Væñøœrëñbérghüïś: ”I’m sure that tougher and more exciting games have been played, but today’s match was different. We were three goals down to the best team in our group, and we managed to draw level! I still honestly can’t quite believe it, but it just goes to show - when you have ambition drilled into the mind of your players, you get good performances out of them, y’know? And, er, about our next match - I think we definitely can. We’ve got enough quality in our side to get some decent results against decent sides, and I think the team’s performance today describes that perfectly.”

Interviewer: ”Good to know. Well, thank you for your time, and good luck with the next match!”

Vdara’s next match would go almost exactly the same as this one, but with opposing fortunes, as Alexis Fotellis got himself sent off against a Xannerian side they were beating 2-0, which paved the way for the Xannerians to claw their way back to a 2-2 draw, just like this one. That’s just life though, at the end of the day. You win some, you lose some, and you can also draw some.

[PotatoFarmers]

Previous RP (Chapter 3 Part 2)

RP Series: Getting to the top
Chapter 3: New Year, New Goals
Part 3: Pressure

Southwest Eastnorth, abbreviated as SWEN by many of the multiverse, have put up strong performances before. Having held Poafmersia once last cycle, head coach Adnan Suliaha was careful to prevent points from dropping. Shakira Handris, Hansel Tang, and Pete Farida started in front for the visitors in an attempt to bash the opposition early on. It turned out to be a battle of firepower, which Poafmersia ultimately won because the defence just simply helped stop the threat after understanding the opponent more nicely following the early goals from SWEN.

The match against SRS was pretty explosive. The nice performances put up by Rosales and Sanchez in centerback means Alex Hoboson would sit out yet another match, but it seemed not to be when Rosales limped off after 35 minutes, likely suffering an ankle injury. The match was just literally getting on the nerves of the players and fans alike - watching an SRS team fight back every time Poafmersia takes the lead. And 4th seeds being 4th seeds, you cannot rule them out of anything in particular. Sanchez was particularly on point the entire day, preventing the late corner from denying our Red Panjias all 3 points, and marking down the opposition players pretty tightly. Hoboson, on the other hand, looked slightly lost at first, but quickly adapted to the fast paced game and struck out really fine tackles and clearances that saved our asses for quite a few times. The rotation seemed to have worked out fine for now - though Hedge was pretty worried that he convinced Suliaha to send on Taisg in midfield.

The next 2 matches would be slightly easier matches. Time for Poafmersia to test out even more players, ahead of crunch ties against Krytenia and Farfadillis.

SWEN 2
Chris Houton 9', 27'

Poafmersia 4
Shakira Handris 18', 80'
Hansel Tang 40'
Nasri Sanchez 69'


Lineup for Poafmersia (4-3-3): Sandi Jaliaha; Ariel Casey, Mitchel Rosales, Nasri Sanchez, Natalia Abbott; Daas Taisg, Woden Sweet, Nero Wood; Hansel Tang, Shakira Handris (c), Pete Carisa
Substitutes: None

Poafmersia 3
Joel Haodao 19'
Pete Carisa 50', 78' (assist by Tuft)

SRS 2
Petrov 35'
Harkhan 61'

Lineup for Poafmersia (4-3-3): Sandi Jaliaha; Ariel Casey, Mitchel Rosales, Nasri Sanchez, Natalia Abbott; Arnold Shwentin, Woden Sweet, Gisiik Moonar; Joel Haodao (c), Makana Tuft, Pete Carisa
Subsitutes: Alex Hoboson (Rosales 35'); Daas Taisg (Shwentin 74')

[New Lusitania and the Algarves]

STL - Serviços de Transmissão Lusitana

SILVEIRA SETS THE MARK!
Jeruselem 1-3 New Lusitania

So, Summer turned into Autumn and the International Break was once more upon us. New Lusitania would have to travel to one of their long-term immediate rivals, Jeruselem. Following, whatever happened in the first match, the tension was cut-through due to the sheer anticipation of a potential loss here, something that could tighten Grilo’s job security.
A few changes from last time as António Lopes played this one in goal, Pedralva would surprisingly step up from Cancela and Gonçalo Guerra got a chance in for Horta. At the National Stadium in Jerusalem, Jeruselem; as day turned into night, it was time for the ball to start rolling. A hard-earned points score in any which way it went, New Lusitania had quite a lot of work to do deconstructing the home sides midfield. The breakthrough came in on the thirty-third minute of the match as Palhagueira crossed it inward to a Silveira with plenty of run-up to keep it on-side and struck it in hard and low to open the tally – with New Lusitania in the lead, the silver lining would be that they had started better than last time.
Half-time came and went as the score remained the same. The second goal clocked in at about the hour mark, when Fernando this time showed that he was still a pristine midfielder by getting his assists tally up and running and heading it onwards to the Sevilha forward who seemed to be in recent form, after some good showings in the championship as well, with a great header. Jeruselem pulled one back as Kate Dallas managed to lob it in with grace and style to keep the hosts in the game. The Selecção however, were not having it and started some dangerous counterattacks as André Silveira went for, and obtained, the coveted hat-trick. A cross from the stand-in Gonçalo Guerra would set him on the right path from a volley, which he stretched to reach and score his third and hopefully bury the game. Jeruselem attempted to get back in and were very close, but António Lopes was clearly in one of his days and seemed near-unstoppable. As the whistle blew, New Lusitania breathed a certain sigh of relief with the conquest of the first three points of their qualifying quest and their first win in their record against Jeruselem. The road ahead remained extremely perilous as the flight home meant a welcome to Oberour Ar Moro…

A CLOSE SHAVE!
New Lusitania 3-2 Oberour Ar Moro
@Estádio da Anta do Dragão, Porto (Att: 47 902)

As the exotic nation of Jeruselem was left behind, the team found themselves in the good-old Northern climate of Porto. The Invict City had many times not been kind to the Selecção, but everyone was hoping this was not the case tonight. Against Oberour Ar Moro, Cancela returned and Paciente got some play time. Oberour Ar Moro an ultra-attacking team, would have plenty in store for the Lusitanians as time over the course of the match, that much was expected.
New Lusitania began their match trailing behind once more as the away side got their first one in very soon – within the first twenty minutes – Pique-Pain gave the crowd some pain as the name could suggest with an excellently executed play which finished with his shot in goal with some great curvature into the net from the right-hand side of the net. “But wait there was more!”, as Oberour Ar Moro attempted to dispose of the hosts as soon as possible. Branon scoring it from a volley originating from a conceded corner. It seemed that try as they must, New Lusitania just weren’t up to this cycle’s challenge. Before halftime, some interest was given to the second half when Gama got it up in such a fashion that Jota managed to control it and slot it sleekly. 2-1 as the whistle blew, still forty-five to go.
In the second half, New Lusitania got the second one in, the all-important equaliser on the sixty-second minute. Palhagueira’s debut goal finally arrived with panache, as Fernando’s help managed to give him some open space to score it from the start of the box, hard and with some distance to get it all square. It was now a cat and mouse game up until the end and New Lusitania’s time grew ever close to disaster as the opposition were closing in. In the dying moments of it all – a hero emerges. Francisco Gama stepped away from the flanks to cleverly avoid the defenders and manage to get the winning goal with a good strike which just about went in, the keeper would have some hard trouble getting to that due to the position and the three points were seized. Heartbreak for the away side, but jubilation for the hosts in Porto – what an amazing match it had been!
Two trying tests and Grilo seemed pleased, more pleased than before anyway. Maybe there was some hope after all. Stevidia and The Belacian States are up next, two teams looking to get up the chain quickly and should too, provide a challenge to the Lusitanians. In the Group 13 standings though, it's Banija unremarkably and our new friends Thibaea, more remarkably, that are at the top of the tables. The nation not present since World Cup 81 has beaten the two teams New Lusitania will play next, by 2-0 and 1-4 respectively. Vangaziland's defeat to Melbergia 0-2 and Oberour Ar Moro's triumph over Saltstead 4-1 start to shape up what the playing situation will be for the following matches as the two losing sides met in the second set of matches, with the latter taking a home win. A hard-fought group this will most certainly be, but Courage New Lusitania, the Dream Lives On!

[Valladares]

THE METROPOLIS HERALD
Metropolis, Friday, January 15^th, 2021

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WORLD CUP 87 | Loss in Pasarga not enough to quell Valladar optimism

METROPOLIS & TORGOS, PASARGA (VAP) — Despite the Valladar national football team were unable to continue with their perfect run in Group 18 of the qualifying stage for the upcoming 87th World Cup to be hosted by Taeshan and Ethane as they returned empty-handed from their visit to the Stade de Torgos and top seeds and regional rivals Pasarga, the atmosphere around La Nacional is entirely different from the one surrounding the team in the previous two qualifying campaigns as the team sit in third place of the group with six points, trailing Pasarga and surprise package Bluecliff League by three.

Having kicked off the World Cup qualifiers with a convincing 3-1 win in the Gothanita Isles, Valladares headed into the first qualifying double matchday with the mission to confirm that good start against Tumbra and Pasarga, the former being the first team to visit the National Stadium in Swangard in this campaign. And in front of a crowd of 90,000 La Nacional made sure not to disappoint anyone and steamrolled the Tumbrans with a big 4-0 win which moved the Valladars into the summit of Group 18, with wonderboy Cristian Benítez leaving a great impression in his home début with the Valladar national football team as he opened up the scoring in the 13th minute and delivered a couple of assists for strikers Thibault Benezet and Wilfried Baume to stretch the lead to three goals before half-time. And with a goal in the 70th minute, Fabio Betancourt rounded up a dominating win for the Valladar team against a Tumbran counterpart that, despite having put up a decent fight against Pasarga in their opening match, never really found a way to trouble their rivals.

Speaking of Pasarga, the Wanderers were the first demanding rival standing in the path of the side coached by Jessica Curran, with La Nacional having to visit them in Torgos following their thrashing of Tumbra in Swangard. While this traditional Rushmori matchup had some extra added spice since both sides were atop the group after having won their first two games of the qualifying campaign, the truth was that succeeding at stealing at least one point from the Stade de Torgos would be a big result for Valladares in their current condition. The actual development of the match turned out to different from what had been expected from it in the pre-game, with the Wanderers and La Nacional engaging as two matched forces. Jessica Curran's strategy of lining up in her starting 11 players with knowledge of Pasargan football such as Christian O'Brien and Daniel Lachlant proved to be successful to the extent that Pasarga felt under extreme pressure at some point in the match. The Valladars would eventually be able to take the lead four minutes before halftime, scoring through Alexis Durmisi's powerful left foot. The second half would be another close affair, with Pasarga leaving things level again as the experienced striker Júlia Müller equalised in the 50th minute, which helped the Wanderers gain more ground as time passed, while La Nacional chose to move back and resort to counters, one of which would have put them ahead in the scoreboard had Pierre Vasseur not fired such a strong shot. Eventually the balance would tip in favor of Pasarga, with Márió Szölösi scoring the winning goal as the curtains were lowered.

Despite the loss in Torgos, the conclusions of this double matchday were mostly positive for manager Curran. The former Dagan defender pondered the team's collective performance, especially up front as well as Cristian Benítez's impressive breakthrough with La Nacional, which has already earned the 21-year old a transfer from Nacional to Cazadores Cathair in Audioslavia.

"I am satisfied with what the Valladar NT has shown so far in this qualifying competition. The team has looked solid in defense and clinical in offense, and the players seem to have adapted to the tactical switch to 3-5-2 smoothly. It is true that there are still some things to be improved, and perhaps we could have done a bit more to win here in Torgos, but there are definitely more positive aspects than negative ones. I like this team's attitude and I've also liked what Benítez has shown so far. He is just 21, but has more technical quality that you'd think you could find on a player of his same age. He's become an important piece in the team and is on his way to become a world star. I am wholly impressed by him."

In the upcoming double matchday of World Cup qualification, Valladares travel to South Newlandia to play against their impressive up-and-coming side and return to the country to host Regmotto in Swangard, in what will be another couple of chances to confirm that their bid to return to the World Cup finals for the first time since World Cup 82 is stronger than ever.

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VALLADAR NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM SELECTION - MATCHDAY 4 & 5: SOUTH NEWLANDIA (A) / REGMOTTO (H)
Goalkeepers: 1 - Paulo Gaviria (Nacional), 12 - Lucien Chamoun (Crisisbless, NPH), 23 - Danilo Araúz (AD Cerro)
Defenders: 2 - Jonás Romero (AS Bezieres), 3 - Martín Delgado (Herzegovina City, BNJ), 4 - Jorge Vargas (Tannenberg FC), 13 - Daniel Brown (Bohemians Metropolis), 14 - Nicholas Hossiner (Rolalas FC, VAL), 15 - Jason Fletcher (AS Bezieres)
Midfielders: 5 - Bryan Castillo (Hondo FC, VAL), 6 - Christian O'Brien (Tanrısal, PAS), 7 - Daniel Lachlant (Club Stein-los, PAS), 8 - Alexis Durmisi (Urbizania Wanderers, ASG), 10 - Cristian Benítez (Cazadores Cathair, AUD), 16 - Leandro Martelli (Avenida Principal, FFD), 17 - Kevin Martins (Fontvielle Impact), 18 - Fabio Betancourt (Hondo FC, VAL), 19 - Ariel Balboa (Slateport Bulls), 21 - Adrien Trolli (Tanrısal, PAS)
Forwards: 9 - Wilfried Baume (AC Izotz Zubia, AUD), 11 - Thibault Benezet (Sabrefell Athletic, NPH), 20 - Aymeric Fortin (1830 Cathair FC, AUD), 22 - Valentin Germain (Crisisbless, NPH)

(OOC: Players 1-11 are starters; 12-23 bench/reserves)

[Mriin]

An old television flickers to life in one of the Andü Public Works' breakroom, as one of the workers collapses on the couch without even noticing what channel is on.

A conventionally attractive green-skinned satyr with a ponytail of striking red hair gives the camera a warm smile. "Welcome to Andia's kitchen! Today we've got a very special episode, as I'll be showing you all how to whip up an oft-forgetten traditional dish: a Rumiatzi Roast!"

Reaching below the counter, Andia produces a cutting board pre-loaded with a big ol' hunk o' meat. "We start off with a solid base: with the Reaver midfield rotating around a half-Banijan and half-Nepharan, and of course that means we've got an excellent cut of goat here to build on. Get that in our pan, and chuck in a generous heaping of wedge-cut potatoes for a starchy and staunch defense."

She steps to the side and reaches off-screen, bringing back a plate of pre-cut veggies. "Next we'll add some carrots, to help get your vision on Winabæn's level—and the sweetness they add will pleasantly cut through the roasts' saltiness just like her passes did the Astograthi midfield! Then we'll chop up alllllll this garlic, the attention-grabbingly reassuring standby you can rely on--just like an Istria header to take the lead."

After sliding all the garlic into the pot, she propped herself up on the counter and leaned in. "But of course, any good World Cup dish can't reach its fullest potential without a bit of intrigue. For this dish, we'll take Aire Epherra's impressive aerial victory over Yngriit and subsequent parlay into a goal, and represent that by upending an entire bottle of olive oil into this shit." She proceeded to exactly that, thoroughly drowning the potatoes and making the goat swim. "It's a shock to the dish like that was a shock to our system!"

The camera pans ever-so-slightly to the left, bringing a fancy knife block into view. Andia grabs the handle of the largest one and starts to slide it out, revealing what appears to be a sword, but then thinks for a moment and grabs a much more reasonably-sized on instead. "Now we'll make some precise incisions into the meat—just like how Otalia made precise incisions into their defense—and stick in plenty of rosemary and oregano, adding a much needed lighter, herbal note. Not unlike the light and natural stride of Äzyr, who's unparalleled manueverability and technicality for a satyr striker made no small difference in getting into position to convert Idi's cross and take the lead once and for all."

A swivel of the shot turns the view ninety degrees, showing the oven previously hidden by the counter. "Finally, top the pan in some aluminum foil and put all of it into the oven at 350 for about three hours to close out the match." She opens the door and pulls out another pan, clearly having been baking the entire time she was talking. "And here's what the final product will look like, once I peel this foil off; a beautiful dish to celebrate a beautiful occasion!"

[Drawkland]

E X P I R E D ...

If you're not caught up on this whole "Elite Eleven" thing, feel free to read up on the literature ...
A Hint * A Tease * A Story * A Contradiction * A Roster
Elite 1 * Elite 2 * Elite 3 * Elite 4 * Elite 5 * Elite 6
Elite 7 * Elite 8 * Elite 9 * Elite 10 * Elite 11

Nicole Warren was a player in the twilight of her career. She was now 44 years old. Though the Drawkian lifespan is longer, and many athletes can play well into their 40s, the signs of degradation were clear in Nicole's play. It's the goal of most professional DLK players to still be on contract by their 50th birthday, because that's the sign of a long-lived and well-played career. Nicole would probably have no issues making it that far, but she wouldn't be the star she once was. Even now, she couldn't claim to be.

The perils of aging are something nobody can escape, even someone who's reached the pinnacle of sporting excellence. Despite this, Nicole Warren had a long life to look forward to in retirement from pro sports. Many Drawkians live to be 150 years old if they take care of themselves, and Nicole was likely to hit such a mark.

Nicole Warren was no longer interested in what an actuarial scientist had to say about her life expectancy. She was now going to take matters into her own hands.

---

It had been almost two cycles, nearly 4 years since Jaxon Madison gave Nicole an ultimatum. She was dating one of the Elite Eleven now, and she knew their secret. She knew that while she would age and eventually die, the same could not be said for her lover, Mike Rodney. The Eleven were immortals, and it was only a matter of time before the relationship would fall apart. He told her she would have to leave the relationship before it was too late, or suffer the consequences.

She had other plans though. In the years since, she had withdrawn to focus more on her domestic game, getting lost in her work. She kept seeing Mike, and their budding romance blossomed into something beautiful. But the words of Jaxon continued to echo through her mind whenever she laid next to her snoozing lover at night. She can't last forever. This relationship can't last forever. It ate at her, gnawing at her heart and toying with her soul.

She kept appearances up the best she could, though. Mike was either oblivious or really good at acting, because he never seemed to notice or mention it. Cam Cross and Sarah Arrowsword, the two other old Corps members who were privy to the Eleven's secret, knew of the ultimatum and could tell it was bumming Nicole out, but she hid the deep emotional toll she was taking. When the ultimatum was given she had boldly proclaimed she would take the Undying Quest. She would gain immortality for herself and be with her lover until the ends of time or space, whichever came first. Since then, she hadn't done a single thing about it.

Like it or not, the idea of traveling to a faraway realm and traveling through a gauntlet of mythical beings and test of strength, skill, will, and resolve sounded ... fantastical. Too fake to be true. It also didn't sound like a very fun time. Sure, there were magic users in Drawkland, but they were few and far between. Many didn't possess the skills or know-how to achieve the magical feats of the old times, so they began to seem more and more like fun novelties. Even the Drawkionels themselves, who everyone knew for a fact were immortal beings, who Nicole had met and talked to on countless occasions, seemed more like constructs than real people.

She had nowhere else to withdraw to, so she focused on her play on the pitch. Back in Drawkland since many Drawkians had withdrawn from overseas play, Nicole kept plugging away and spending more and more time in the weight room, in the practice facilities, even doing practices with the Elite Eleven themselves to keep her game at a constant level. But it never seemed to be enough. She always felt a step slower, a move behind where she could be. Holes she could plug up with ease in her prime were now left just barely open enough for an opponent to score. If anything, it only shoveled more fuel into the fire of her own existential crisis.

After losing the DLK Cup final thanks to a blown tackle that led to a decisive goal, Nicole decided enough was enough. While the media pundits and fans proclaimed her as old news, a washed-up ex-NT veteran on the inside track to retirement, she tuned it all out. It was time to take a stand.

---

Nicole decided to take a vacation, a trip to the scenic wilderness of the Elstrund Valley. It was a place she'd been many times before, mostly because the Drawkionel and former Drawkland NT midfielder Ellzidan lived there. Occasionally the Kick Corps would have retreats and practice sessions in the valley, where the air was fresh and the grass around the roots of the tree was immaculate. This time though, Nicole wasn't going to see the sights. She was going to speak to the Elf herself.

She arrived in her room inside the massive tree named Elstrund, and she expected to have to wait. The Elf was busy, sometimes disappearing for weeks or months on end. This time though, she was taken a little bit by surprise.

"So you've come to visit my tree, and you didn't even drop a note for me?" Ellzidan asked, having silently entered the room. Nicole gave a cry of surprise. Her back had been turned to the door as she was putting away her suitcase.

"Ah! Ellzidan! I didn't ... expect to see you here. So soon." She quickly turned around.

"So soon? What ever do you mean?" the elf responded cheekily.

"Well, I just ... you don't seem to be around, a lot. I expected to have to wait for you."

"Wait for me? What for?" she once again asked with a grin.

"It feels like you're making fun of me now!" Nicole exclaimed. She was still a little on edge, actually counting on having a bit of time before confronting Ellzidan, because she still had no idea how to approach the conversation she wanted to have.

"Oh Nicole, I've missed you. You're so fun to tease sometimes. I know why you're here." Ellzidan said, suddenly. Nicole was once again mentally sent scrambling.

"Really? Why am I here then?"

"It's simple. You, a mortal, have fallen in love with someone who isn't. And you're too stubborn to let it go and live a normal life."

"How did you know?" Nicole was still awestruck.

"I have my sources, dear child. I'm afraid I don't have a lot of advice to give you."

"What do you mean? You've done all this before, right?"

"I have. And that's why my only advice is this: don't."

"Ellzidan ... I've been thinking about this for many years. I've made up my mind now. This is something I really want to do."

"Do you think this is some storybook? Do you think everything will work out for you? Just because you know a dozen or so people have succeeded with this, you think you can too?" Ellzidan stepped closer, seemingly towering over Nicole despite being about the same height. "I have lived a hundred lifetimes. I have known a thousand people like you. All you hear are the successes, the wonders of people who defied the odds to become something greater. You're a professional athlete. You know how hard it is to become the best at something. You've known hundreds of people who seemed like good players, who could become something. And then they floundered. They dropped. They became nothing.

"You've played against thousands of players, and many of them were only people filling a hole because they were in the right place at the right time. Even you, a solid defender who was at one time on a national team for a top-level nation, weren't even close to being what people consider elite. And in this ridiculous Undying Quest, only the truly elite, the ones whose names would be etched on stadiums and trophies and memories for generations, could come close to achieving something like immortality.

"The fact that Eleven people in one group managed to succeed is still bizarre to me. It's bizarre to anybody who truly knows the horrors of the maze. To think you could replicate that yourself is nothing more than folly."

Ellzidan paused, seemingly being done with her spiel for the moment. Nicole had shrunk back, eventually going to sit on the edge of the bed. She tried speaking multiple times and nothing came out. Maybe the Elf was right. Maybe she was just being stupid.

"Nicole, I am fond of you. I'm fond of many players on the old Corps. And that's exactly why I'm telling you that you shouldn't do this. Go off and find someone else to give you tips and tricks and advice, if you insist. But I won't play accessory to what will, in a vast likelihood, be your end."

Once again, the room fell silent. Nicole could hear the faint sounds of the peaceful valley outside the room.

"Now, go and enjoy your weekend here. We can play some ball on the Roots Field if you'd like, just let me know. I'll be around." The Elf left as suddenly and silently as she had arrived.

Nicole had a lot of thinking to do.

[Taeshan]

As we head into matchday 4 and 5 let us all remember to please have some Poise and Rationality

[Recuecn]

Tremblay sat with his elbows on his desk, holding his head in his hands. Where had it all gone wrong? The world cup was the multiverse's preeminent sporting event, the most difficult challenge any sports team would ever face. Why, then, did Reçueçn perform better there than at the IAC?

Les Licornes' coach looked back at the analytics and data from the most recent tournament, strewn across his desk in front of him. It was time to focus on the upcoming qualifiers now; time to concentrate on the team of the future. But the painful facts of the past kept coming back to bother him. Why had the performance been so abyssmal? What had happened to the team, and how had it been so sudden? As soon as Tremblay tried to think about strategy moving forward, the nagging thoughts returned, driving him to distraction. The difference in quality of play had been night and day! Surely something needed to be resolved before the team could try to move on?

Tremblay threw down his hands and sighed. He was getting too old for this. Two years ago at the last world cup there had been rumors about his retirement. Plenty of pundits were surprised he was not promptly replaced after the previous painful performance. Here he was, however, still at the helm, still head of the team, held accountable for their handiwork... still hellbent on the highest goal. He leaned his head back and sighed, then pushed back his chair, stood slowly, and stepped out to his balcony.

A cold mountain breeze flowed down the valley and ruffled his hair, making him shiver and hug himself. Snow covered the roofs of the houses below. Faint traces of smoke from the woodstoves in the cabins on the alpine slopes across from him rose skyward, drawing his eye up to the peaks and then higher, where an eagle soared slowly in circles on an updraft. Upward. Tremblay shivered again and stepped back inside, confused how that word - that moment - had suddenly been so powerful. The spirit of Reçueçn.

There's still hope, he thought. This is just another beginning.

[Yue Zhou]

4 (Liao Weizhe)
Beijiaotongdao Island
The Northern Coast of Jiangdong, Yuezhou

I’d never quite felt at ease out in the ocean. A childhood spent in Griesburg had taught me that it was dark, cold, and full of kraken, and that residual fear had stayed with me for the rest of my life. So to see the Jiaotongdao Islands, always dotting the horizon, finally pull in front of our motorboat was a massive relief. The northernmost of the islands was outside the range of any relevant strategic points, too, so the Jiangdong People’s Militia (a pro-Ren Qiang group still somewhat active in the northern reaches of the province), the Yue People’s Army, and the Jiangdong separatists all had zero interest in patrolling its surrounding waters.

Like usual, Dong Daiyu told me not to say anything to the guys we were meeting with (YPA colleagues of Meng, I think). I still kind of had a Graintfjaller accent when I spoke Yueyu, and YPA guys tended to be a little suspicious of that. It’s something that I still carry around with me - you get used to the distrust in this Yuezhou, and I get the sentiment. But it’s really inconvenient being linked with what Graintfjall’s government and private sector are doing, you know, like right now, when you’re holding me here for no other reason other than that kind of distrust. It’s something I’ve always had to deal with, I suppose.

But we’re getting off topic here. It was supposed to be a pretty simple stop to refuel. There were a couple of ex-YPA guys who’d decided to just camp out on the island and run a little supply depot for anyone who was passing by. It’d proven surprisingly lucrative, from what I heard out of Meng - this was one of the few topics he ever talked about. An idyllic little island, free from the clutches of war that ravaged the mainland, like a time capsule drifting in the Xandrian for the world to see. Of course, there was a reason it was so untouched - it was basically just a rock in the ocean, and cold as shit - but it was nice to have that kind of peace nevertheless, the constant droning of aircraft replaced with the ebb and flow of the waves.

On the day we landed, though, things felt a little off, especially once they’d seen who we were. There was a little murmuring among the assorted ex-YPA and ex-Revolution types there, toward what I think now was Dong Daiyu (but I’m not entirely sure). In hindsight, if this whole thing was set up, I can understand why, but it was pretty unnerving at the time. Still, Meng Huizhong was still family to them (“they’re my bros”, he’d rumbled to me earlier, unprompted), so we’d gotten our supplies, fuel, and a spot at the table to gossip.

“Who’s the kid you’re bringing with you? You smuggling kids now, Meng?” one of them had remarked. “I’m not a kid,” Jia Wanghui had replied petulantly, which didn’t really help his cause, but we managed to explain things over well enough, telling them that he was the son of a prominent politician in Nanhai. The table’s eyes had turned toward him with suspicion - I can see why now - but the conversation had naturally flowed away from us, and things went back to normal. We learned that there’d been a plane crash in the region - “those Überolía bastards were on the plane”, someone had said, although they luckily didn’t know I was from Graintfjall - and that in the south, Zheng Zhoulun continued to march on Jiangdong.

“Hope he doesn’t come up here,” Meng had remarked quietly, immediately killing the vibe. Everything felt so delicate as I looked around then, like one swipe at a map in Nangang headquarters could destroy this island forever. “He might beat us to Yincheng, for one.” And that was the other thing - the revolution wasn’t going to do anything if Nanhai took the coup out before us. Which meant that our mission relied on Zheng Zhoulun forgetting that, with the National People’s Revolutionary Committee weaker than ever, our interests were becoming diametrically opposed.

So the tone as we left Beijiaotongdao was somber, to say the least. But with just a day’s trip to Nanhai, at least we wouldn’t have to wait long to see if our negotiations - again, I just thought they were negotiations, I had no idea they were going to do that - would be successful.

Now how were we doing on getting that amnesty? I’ve told you over and over I have no idea wh-yeah, no, I get it, we had a ton of red tape like that too, but I really don’t want to keep doing this until I can get safe passage back to Griesburg. You think Graintfjall’s going to want you guys keeping their citizens in a jail cell?

[Savigliane]

a collection of Savigliano headlines after the national team's 3-2 upset over Port Ember...

L'AUDACIA DELLE PERSONE
Due to New Regulations, We're Technically a Blog Now
FANS PETITION WC COMMITTEE TO END QUALIFIERS EARLY
Nico COLOMBO, sports

LE POSTE DE RIZIÉRES
Ranked Riziéres' #6 Newspaper By Readers of Le Poste de Riziéres!
SMURFGATE DAY 13: WHO WAS WITH PETIT?
Jonathan DUHAMEL, sports/celebrity gossip

LA VOIX DU FOOTBALL
Francophone Savigliane's Tactics Hub
HOW TLANXBALL STUNNED PORT EMBER
Pierre DESJARDINS

ANCHE UN GIORNALE
Your one-stop shop for all your news-related needs! Now down to just three reporters.
VERDICT STILL OUT ON TLANXBALL AFTER 5 MATCHES
Denis VILLENEUVE, sports/politics/weather/etc.

LE MONDE 2
Only the Most Serious, Important Issues
OPINION: WHY TLANX-NULZK HAL SHOULD BE PRIME MINISTER
Jason LOGANO, sports

LA CORRIERE DELLA MONTAGNA
Killing Puppies Since 2006!
WHY THE FA SHOULD RE-HIRE EDWARD HERNANDEZ
Claudio ABRUZZI, hot takes

[Tumbra]

Ridgewell, Westmond
30 December 2020
11:00am

The usually quiet Westmond District Court was completely different today. What seemed like the entirety of the Tumbran media circus had descended on the on the front steps of the Gothic building, with reporters nearly everywhere trying to capture the scoop. Locke had been transferred from the Dunsford Police Station to Westmond State Penitentiary, where he awaited his hearing, and would stay for his trial. The case had rapidly gathered traction - after all, the disappearances of nearly twenty women across the country would do that - and there was a sense of bewilderment over how someone so good-looking could have possibly been found with all that in his car.

A lot of people had made the long trip up north to see the truth for themselves, so much so that the crowd lining up just to view the charges and the trial date being read extended extremely far. TV cameras were already placed inside the building with particular emphasis on where Locke would be sitting. The media had already hyped the trial up, with some of the more brazen news networks calling it the Trial of the Decade, despite the decade only having just started.

It wasn't entirely surprising why they had done so. This was big. About two years ago the first disappearance had occurred in the state of Georgia, with Kelly Bloomington, a 23-year-old law student at Macarthur University, having just gone missing. Her friends said that they had been approached by a curly-haired man wearing glasses and a cast asking for help to move some items into a car. Bloomington, having the "kindest soul" (or as she would be described following her disappearance) of their friend group, volunteered to help and told them to go on, saying that she'd meet up with them later.

She never returned.

The same, honestly, could be said for most of the disappearances - all 15 of those that had garnered media attention so far. Four in Georgia, one in Alexandria, two in Raleigh, three in Finnley, two in Gamaliel and three in Westmond, so far.

And then there were the other disappearances in the same part of the country that simply hadn't broken into the media cycle, but were now being looked at with renewed fascination in light of the arrest - a nineteen year old in Iswilyn, a twenty-two year old in Hamilton, and so on. The initial expected total had been the 15, but the numbers had been slowly rising to the point that 10 additional disappearances that had flown under the radar had been re-examined and attributed, whether correctly or not, to the Butcher of Tumbra.

Of particular interest to the media, too, was the substantial group of young women who had arrived at the trial, seemingly enamored with the disappearances of the victims, who somehow had all been women in their mid-20s, and could be described as conventionally beautiful. When interviewed, they said they were "rather curious" by the facts of the case and wished to see Locke for themselves, but several of them had dropped any pretense of neutrality and either said he was "extremely good-looking", or that he "couldn't hurt a fly". While the usual conservative provocateurs and pundits lay claim to that as another example of how far Tumbran moral values had fallen, the rest of the country couldn't help but follow on in morbid speculation about what truly happened, and what Locke would say, if he said anything.

That was yet another point in the trial. He hadn't officially appeared in front of the media yet, but they were all taken by his stunning good looks, and doubts were raised by some whether he really committed those crimes, because how could a man as good-looking as that sink so low as to go into crime? This time it was the progressives' turn to generate outrage, with some of the more outspoken ones calling it a symptom of endemic privilege that enveloped Tumbra, and only showed another example of how far Tumbran moral values had fallen. But as usual, the rest of the country only focused on his good looks, and that of the women who had become his fan-club, in a depraved way.

It was difficult not to form an opinion on Locke, his face having been plastered nearly everywhere on Tumbran television and newspapers. Pictures of him being transferred from Dunsford to Westmond State showed the aftermath of his time in the cold room - his skin peeling, still blotchy in some spots, and generally he looked extremely pale and haggard, which invited criticism from both sides on the aisle this time - an extremely rare occurrence - on what exactly the damn Federal Police had done to him. The Federal Police, ever reticent to lay blame on their own, declined to comment save for a short statement containing multiple platitudes regarding how investigations were always conducted with the ultimate respect for the dignity of mankind as prescribed in the Constitution and how they always respected the bounds of the law when it came to getting statements from subjects and...nobody really listened to it.

And yet, not a peep had emerged from him. Complete and utter radio silence. There were rumours he hadn't said a thing since he entered Westmond State. Only his lawyer, Benjamin Katz, could extract anything from him, it was said. Creeping out the big prison men. A stare that gazed directly into your soul. The myth of Jacob Locke soon became figuratively larger than the man himself.

Katz had been exactly as forthcoming to the media as his client did. He often ended his statements with the waving-off of "reviewing our arguments in a court of law, and not the court of public opinion." Katz had become a very famous defense lawyer for helping his clients avoid the hangman's noose, and Locke hiring him perhaps gave away whether he'd done anything. To detractors, Katz was a showman who held five terrible cards, and he was merely prolonging his client's fate to scoop up some money. To supporters, Katz held a royal flush, and he would reveal his ultimate move in court.

His opponent was the public prosecutor Eugene Brown, who had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the law and was infamously unflappable, until now. He'd somehow become more showman-like, flashing big smiles and exuding an aura of confidence in interviews with the media circus even when he said otherwise. This was his moment. Only 48 (but looking 55), this could be his big move into politics afterwards. A lot rode on this case. If he somehow managed to lose, then his career was done. If he won, then he'd be riding the fame train till he died.

It was all beginning to really heat up, in the cold, cold state of Westmond. And the nation's eyes were all on them.

[Gyatso-kai]

.:: Main Press Box, The Maki Li Practice Pitch, National Sports Council ::.
Republic City, Republic Capital Territory, Gyatso-kai
1830 hours local time, 4 January 2021.1

High above the pitch, Hakoda Ishii felt as though he were truly an eel out of its pond. Normally in his element, today would be the first day he would spend observing the players on the National Football Team, and he could not feel any more foreign.

First of all, there’s no ice, Ishii laughed, wondering why he even accepted the consultant job. He knew next to nothing about football, or at least anything more than the average Avatarian. Sure, he had a favorite team – Solus FC, the main rival to FC Itakawai in the Southern Islands – and he watched games every now and then, but to think that he would be able to somehow shape a team in a sport not his own… I must be losing it to think I’ll be successful here.

ringringring

Behind him a phone went off, and he knew what to do. Kad’e Tay’haai, the Head Coach for the National Team, had told him that he would call him before practice began and just give him a quick brief.

ringringring

Ishii walked towards the phone before picking it up. A single press of the glowing green button, and he held it to his ear.

”Tion’cuy?”

Hakoda, it’s Kad’e the other voice on the end of the line confirmed its identity, belonging to Tay’haai. You ready?

“About as ready as I’ll get.”

Just do your thing. Find the groups and see where we have to start pushing them.

“I’ve got a pretty good idea on what we need to do first.”

Oh?

“Might be good to have them perform Vode An. Start a bit of bonding ritual and get the mando’ade to start filling in the leadership roles.”

Probably better if you come down and lead them. Show them how its done right, you know?

“Makes sense.” Ishii responded, looking down to the pitch and finding Tay’haai looking up to him. He waved a hand, and Ishii waved back. ”Let me know when I should head down.”

Kab’jatne Tay’haai replied and the line went dead. Ishii placed the phone back on its dock and sat down to overlook the practice. He could see a few of the players forming up into social groups, and he looked down to his notes. Unusual for the men on the team, they were wearing jerseys with numbers on them; Tay’haai told them that someone upstairs was watching; partly to inspire them to be on their best behavior, and partly to make them feel worried that they WERE being watched and that they could be replaced.

Which, I mean… If they don’t work out, they would be replaced.

Vhett had taken a page from Skirata’s book when he first formed up the National squad, and had a group of younger players travelling with the squad to not only learn the ropes early on, but to also scout out younger talent. Many times in practice, these ‘Travelling Squad’ guys were on the pitch for practices, and even in later days of the training and into the tournament, the younger guys would play against the older guys in mock games. Ishii had continued to use this style of training when he took over for Skirata, and Tay’haai had done the same when he took over for Vhett.

Sometimes it was fun to watch the younger guys push back a bit against the vets. Made them feel like they were not guaranteed to be on the team.

Ishii could see three of the defenders squaring together to stretch out – Pam Kai, Uthan A’den and Tarou Adeen – and he looked to his notepad. On each one was a quick blurb about each Mandalorian player, followed by a detailed sheet of stats. Ishii really didn’t care about the stats, as he wasn’t hear to coach, but he had a distinct concern with the cultural blurbs:

Name: PAM Kai
Age: 24
RPFL Team: Senlin
NFT Position: LD ALT
AFFILIATION: House PIRUN’KA’LA, Clan KAJIL’PIRUN

Strong defensive player, good eye for the pitch. Used to backup Auranaq Itawaku, however after his retirement, Pam has seen less play. Usurped by Tercar Shuajo for the starting role. Looking to improve his stature; both in-game and physically. Typical northern mando; less on house honor, more to family and clan.

Name: UTHAN A’den
Age: 24
RPFL Team: FC She Pass
NFT Position: CD StXI
AFFILIATION: House UTHAN, Clan UTHAN

Starter, strong central. Uses speed and skill to make up for smaller stature. One of the most traditional Mando’ad on the team outside of Skirata Dag’da. In second season with She Pass; contract is four ji and wanting to make a bigger mark on the team. Mando ego big as he comes from one of the big twelve houses.

Name: Tarou ADEEN
Age: 23
RPFL Team: Royal Flames
NFT Position: RD ALT
AFFILIATION: House RACIN’ARAN, Clan ADEEN

Strength, speed, vision, a Mandalorian from the Fire State of Huishu. Ambitious and wants to work into the start. Father is a traditionalist, mother is of royal Fire blood; culturally he is torn between the two and likely wants to find his place in the middle. Racin’aran is a lesser known house, have strong rivalry with House Tay’haai, which might explain his unease under HC.

Ishii wondered what it was he could do with these three; as for the other Mando’ade on the team, there were only two other outside of these three, and only one was a starter. Ishii knew he could trust Dag’da Skirata to buy into the ‘Mando-crap’ as some critics had referred to the culture in Ice Hockey way back when, but he was not as sure he could get Fei’kao Song to join in. By the looks of it, maybe Adeen and Uthan would jump at the chance to show their cultural pride, but Pam would be a hard sell: A Northern Mando, they were more known for blending their traditions into the surrounding culture, which for Pam would mean Earth and a pride in service to the Earth King. Southern Mandos, like Ishii, were less interested in their surrounding culture and more interested in preserving the Mandalorian Way...

Or at least I am…

Ishii thought back to the original ice hockey team that put Gyatso-kai on the map, and how out of team of 30, only 9 were Mandalorian, yet under Head Coach Kad Skirata the tea, was practically fully Mandalorian; during practices mando’a was spoken, before and after games the Vode An was performed in unison by the entire team. In fact, many of the original Ice Bisons would later adopt Mandalorian traditions into their own cultures.

The joys of such a nomadic culture, able to be adapted and adopted by any culture in the world.

Ishii continued to watch, seeing the distance put between each of the players, even when in their style groups; defenders all stay a bit more than two metres away, while the forwards stood in their usual circle passing the ball back and forth. There were no Mandalorians in the Goalkeeping corps, though Armok Hikari might be adjacent seeing as he was from the same province as Ishii, albeit the northern part where it was exclusively Water Tribe. With the six forwards on the offence, Skirata could easily get them onboard, so that made two of the three corps likely to embrace the whole thing.

I just hope it works. It would be a real shame if I came here, go to their tournament, and nothing is accomplished.

****************************************

Three hours late

As Ishii walked onto the pitch, he saw Tay’haai turn around towards him. The men on the pitch, who were all at various positions of rest, all watched Ishii approach like prey watches its predator from a far. He knew some of them would recognise him, some would wonder why he was there, and others would be clueless as to his attendance.

If only they could all be on equal footing…

”Alright, ade” Tay’haai spoke, with Ishii by his side. The coach, to his credit, had been trying to use more mando’a during practice – simple commands like tracyn or viini for shoot and run, respectively – and some of the players seemed to be catching on. ”I am sure you are wondering who this man is, or more specifically why he is here.”

Ishii bowed slightly, and tried his best to look like a stereotypical Mandalorian.

”He is Ishii Hakoda. The Head Coach for the University of Adirolf’s ice hockey team, as well as the Head Coach of the Men’s National Ice Hockey team for our Republics.

A few of the players clapped, most simply looked at each other in confusion.

”To the point, he is here to act as a consultant for our team. To provide an outside view into the team and to help us succeed where we have previously came up short. You are to treat his words and orders as if they were my own. Suvari?”

The players all nodded after Tay’haai, and Ishii took a step forward. He shifted his weight slightly, and the sound of his helmet rattling on his belt seemed to almost echo throughout the entire practice facility.

”First things first. Whenever you are being spoken to by myself or any of your coaches,” Ishii boomed as he took another step forward. ”You are to form a briirud. Form up.”

A few of the players looked at each other, as obviously this word did not mean anything to them. Ishii stood firm, before speaking again.

”If you understand what word I said, tell your teammates.”

The first one to speak up, was Skirata. Which made sense seeing as he was the team captain.

”Coach Ishii says to form a circle around him. Briirud means ‘circle.’” Skirata said as he began to shepard his teammates into formation. With Ishii and Tay’haai at the center, the two men exchanged a look before Ishii would speak again.

”Kandosii, alor’ad,” Ishii praised before beginning to turn. ”If at any time I speak, and you do not understand, speak up. If you understand me, tell your teammates quickly.”

“Sir,” a voice spoke from Ishii’s right, and he was quick to turn and face it. Judging by the number on his kit, it was Khanh Ka’lomi, a Water Tribesman from the northern edge of the Southern Tribes. With a name like Ka’lomi, he had a Mandalorian lineage – grandparent? Great-grandparent? – but he was not in the list of mando’ade that Tay’haai had given him.

”Elek, Ka’lomi?” Ishii responded, which only seemed to confuse the 20-year-old reserve player.

”Um… why are you speaking to us in mando? So few of us speak it.”

Ishii took a step towards Ka’lomi, and sighed. ”Ni jorhaa mando’a bid ibac anade suvarii ni”

Ka’lomi held the most confused face that Ishii had ever seen, and as he turned to Skirata, the Captain picked up quick.

”He speaks mando’a so everyone understands him”

“But most of us don’t speak mando. Why can’t you just speak Basic?”

“Jorcu, ad” Ishii helped up one finger. ”Solus joha, solus traat’aliit.”

“One language, one team,” spoke Uthan A’den, one of the Mandalorian defenders from earlier. Ishii smiled at him, and turned away from Ka’lomi.

”Ni vercopa’haa’tayli gar sha sha’kajir. Ba’slanar.” Ishii turned to walk away, and Tay’haai followed him with his eyes before leaving the circle. Skirata had begun to translate what Ishii had said, but Tay’haai and Ishii could not hear as they were already out of ear shot.

”So what happened to just doing the dance?” Tay’haai asked, catching up to Ishii in the tunnel.

”I thought some theatrics would be more effective,” Ishii smiled as he took his helmet from his belt. Quickly placing it on his head, the Heads Up Display activated, showing Ishii the current time and a list of missed calls while he was at the stadium. ”Did I do too much?”

“Too much?” Tay’haai slapped Ishii’s back. ”The only way you could have done any more would have to walked into the circle and starting shooting them. They might be afraid of you.”

“Excellent. We play ‘good cop, bad cop” and see if we cannot get some success out of them. Might have to squeeze a few rocks to get some blood… but it may just be worth it, after all.”

[Transvolcanic]

Matchday 3
Calcio Fútbol
“Transvolcanic finally gets a point... but still in the lower part of the group”
Posted by Gustav Winkels

“Transvolcanic finally drew after the humiliating 7-1 defeat against Equestria, this time against Beepee, in an away 2-2 draw which however doesn’t make the fans happy about the team’s moments, we have to say that before the qualifiers, Transvolcanic lost 2 games in a “pretournament” so it is understandable, as well as the fans are not comfortable with Teofilo Koralski as manager, he hasn’t got to a press-conference yet, seeming he doesn’t know how to manage the press, instead who has been speaking to the media has been Valentín Higal, the second manager, before continuing let’s see the goals, information and the line-ups in the Beepee 2-2 Transvolcanic Federation match, corresponding to matchday 3:

Beepee: Bolt 55’, Veera 76’
Transvolcanic: Van Rosten 48’, Navarra 81’

At the first half nothing interesting happened, only 3 fouls and a grey game, but at the start of the second one, Van Rosten stole the ball from Sohn and shot outside the box, however 7 minutes later Bolt went like a plane and passed all the defenders, easily scoring against an alone Pablo Colín, at the minute 65 yellow card for San Marcos, who tried to steal the ball from Malade but comitted a harsh foul, at the same minute Veera was subbed for Friberg, at the minute 76 Bonnan scored a spectacular header after a good service from Bolt, but 5 minutes later as there was a foul a bit outside from the area, comitted by Jason Baker, Josua Navarra decided to take the free kick, which surprised the goalkeeper and finished in a goal, the match ended 2-2

Lineups:
Beepee: Shep, Bucke, Sohn, Baker, Michelle, Bolt, St. Pier, Malade, Patterson, Veera (Friberg 65’), Bonnan
Transvolcanic Federation: Colín, Faibermann, Rivera, Ponte, Navarra, Takegomi, Marcusen, Van de Nainssen, Pelatto, Van Rosten, San Marcos

Now continuing, Teofilo again didn’t attend the post match conference, and hours later there started rumours of candidates who would substitute Teofilo Koralski, names may include the manager of Herodes Richard Zöll, the manager of Club Arsénico Sergio Batistuta, and the ex-manager Bi Xhen Hua, the most supported according to Voting.Index is Sergio Batistuta with a percentage of 72%

Now let’s look at some recent information according to Teofilo’s situation:

[insert Twitter like image] Wilhelm Kalstrüpp ✔️ @Kalstrupp1Analiza
“According to what they have said to me people near to the TFA [AFT], Illian McLoughin is already seafching new candidates for the national team’s bench, another defeat against Omerica would be the end for Teofilo Koralski in the management of the Cats”
#Futbolesvida #Rumores

Teófilo Carreras Quintana ✔️ @TeoQuintana39
“Please all followers calm down, we are analyzing carefully the national team’s moments, there will be something confirmed soon however, but for now I ask to all of the Transvolcanic fans to be patient with Teofilo Koralski, our team will fight with pride until the last match”
#futbolesvida #ConHonoryEntrega

You would also like to read:
Piercarlo Romanno becomes a free agent, contract expired


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Matchdays 4-5 coming soon

[Geektopia]

Meeting inside Doorless Building, Mordecai, Geektopia ~ January 15, 6300

Agent November ~ Yo, Echo, man we got a government owned news site that keeps front-paging this online blog thing called “The Molecular Level”. Is what he’s saying in Episode 2 true about CCB?

Agent Echo ~ Man, I don’t know what the hells yous is talking about. Who listens to a government blog to get information about some rich city on the coast? Did they catch throat-lump syndrome? The mumps? Wait, is the mumps contagious? Fill me in, man.

Agent November ~ First of all, the mumps and what he talked on the show aren’t the same thing. If you payed attention, Vituriol said, Vitrioumious, Vitoro, Vit- fuck it, he said that if you don’t get enough thyroxiodine in your throat you’ll grow a horseshoe in your neck. From there, he also mentioned that people already with the ailment were stuffing cooked sponge covered with seaweed in their throats and draining resources that could have been exported to improve the economy, which is incredible right now.

Agent Echo ~ Man, I didn’t know you read blogs ‘n shit, must be on that girly stuff again. You tryin’ to impress someone?

Agent November ~ Anyways, you completely didn’t listen to what I say, did you? Must have been that drool running down the chin again. I know you look at Aimenan magazines a lot, prizekeeper. Just trying to get back those memories of when someone loved you, I don’t know the feeling. I’ve always had people loving me, even when I wasn’t in their mind.

Agent Echo ~ Nah, I’m reading about sports. You must not be the athletic type, no? Hey, it says here in “Soccer Sect” we went the distance against three top seeds, and drew against two! Shit’s incredible, yo!

Agent November ~ Anyways, buddy, we have to plan our mission and execute it for the Alphabet Association to be known as something. We can hire twenty four other associates later. So, the guy on the podcast said that Goitre is spreading and people afflicted aren’t buying meds and stuffing shit into their throat like it’s a treasure trove of some sort.

Agent Echo ~ God, I miss when this republic limited the people to what they deserved. With this civil rights crap, so many can just misuse the environment by buying fridges with unique materials in them, thus destroying the ozone layer. I hope we come under a king who has some balls soon, people are getting too entitled already.

Agent November ~ I hate to say I agree with you chief, but we need to make a statement. People in our country have too much freedom, access, knowledge. We need to bring it back to the old days where our government were our herdsmen and we were the sheep grazing across what used to be our beautiful land. Ever since those insufferable Aimenans slipped through our fingers, government has let the leash off completely and now Geektopia is a dog that tried to chase for a squirrel and got crushed by an airplane after it happily sat still with the critter in its mouth. We’ve gotten freedom, but now what? There’s more crime, less diversity, continental destruction,-

Agent Echo ~ Less diversity, my friend?

Agent November ~ People from different walks of life are much more willing to travel to a country that protects them from themselves, yes?

Agent Echo ~ So, for the plan, I was thinking we should drive by Cheddar Bay, kick peoples doors down, and-

Agent November ~ Release the hounds?

Agent Echo ~ No, the big cats. We buy some tigers, pumas, panthers, leopards, cheetahs from the exotic market, ship them 20 a truck, kick peoples doors down, and let the big cats come into these degenerates houses and rip them apart. I’d love more than anything to see a tiger cut one of the afflicted’s throats horizontally, just to see what comes out. Pus, gooey stuff, seaweed, sponge? Who knows, man.

Agent November ~ Alright, but first we’ll need to run some health checks on the entire city of Chiseled Cheddar Bay just to see who has Goitre and isn’t paying for their meds. I’ll ask them to sign forms that include their address and if they’ve ever paid for thyroid medicine, easy!

Agent Echo ~ Easy to census an entire city? Man, I dunno.

Agent November ~ No, I swear, I’ll do it. And if they don’t want to, I’ve already told them I’m a government official anyways. It’s genius because the government doesn’t care, and we want them to.

Agent Echo ~ Won’t some individuals notice that the national administration doesn’t care about them or their city and question why we’re doing this?

Agent November ~ People in the Isleshore area aren’t that self-aware, right? Nah. Ok, so we’ll do this, and move on to Cheddar Port just like this?

Agent Echo ~ I’ll have this one my way, so we set up a helicopter with a giant bucket attached to it, within that bucket will be tar, so we sludge the whole town. Then, another helicopter will come in and cover the tar with gasoline. Then, on a hilled area, we get some crazies from the local mental institution from the next city over to fire cannons at the highest building, I think it’s called the “Monasterio” or something like that, so they’ll be firing cannons at a tar covered building.

Agent November Your idea is too cartoonish and unrealistic. Not even a nation with the largest of economies would be able to fill that budget. Not the top 5 combined, anyways! I think us just buying domestication rights to cheetahs for less and driving around the neighborhood with 20 of them in the back of a cattle truck is far more manageable. After we get them to sign waivers five days earlier, of course. We can’t just cover Chiseled Cheese Bay with tar and hope for our problems to go away, the government will be mad at us as well.

Agent Echo ~ So it’s settled then, bottom?

Agent November ~ The fuck did you just say to me, you little man?

---

Pays den haut 0-1 Geektopia <> 150 @ Parc Blainville, Pays den haut
Goals: 77’ #26 Gerking (assisted by #9 Shammami)

Substitutions: 16’ | #9 Shammami in for replacement of #27 Swenty, 16’ | #14 Sdao in for replacement of #20 Rinnert, 64’ | #10 Nankervis in for replacement of #29 Diminno, 89’ | #17 Rolke in for replacement of #13 Julio, 90 + 7’ | #25 Manese in for replacement of #37 Foletta

Player's Marks:
LERTORA: 7.0
PITTER: 7.0
ABDILL: 7.0
GERMAINE SOPHIE: 7.0
REBIMBAS: 7.0
GERKING: 8.0
SWENTY: 7.0 ⬇️
RINNERT: 7.0 ⬇️
DIMINNO: 7.0 ⬇️
JULIO: 7.0 ⬇️
FOLETTA: 7.0 ⬇️
—————————————————
SHAMMAMI: 7.5 ⬆️
SDAO: 7.0 ⬆️
NANKERVIS: 7.0 ⬆️
ROLKE: 7.0 ⬆️
MANESE: 7.0 ⬆️

Geektopia 1-1 Sajnur <> 38,987 @ Isleshore Stadium, Isleshore, Geektopia
Goals: 54’ Andre Naulo (assisted by Ella Ciuru), 61’ #18 Germain Sophie (assisted by #30 Ponti)

Substitutions: 17’ | #23 Rebimbas in for replacement of #6 Germaine Sophie, 17’ | #27 Swenty in for replacement of #9 Shammami, 65’ | #29 Diminno in for replacement of #37 Foletta, 65’ | #10 Nankervis in for replacement of #30 Ponti, 67’ | #4 Livengood in for replacement of #5 Dargy

Player’s Marks:
LERTORA: 6.5
JULIO: 6.5
GERMAIN SOPHIE: 7.5
PITTER: 6.5
SDAO: 6.3
MATKOWSKI: 6.5
GERMAINE SOPHIE: 6.5 ⬇️
SHAMMAMI: 6.5 ⬇️
FOLETTA: 6.5 ⬇️
PONTI: 7.0 ⬇️
DARGY: 6.5 ⬇️
—————————————————
REBIMBAS: 6.5 ⬆️
SWENTY: 6.5 ⬆️
DIMINNO: 6.5 ⬆️
NANKERVIS: 6.5 ⬆️
LIVENGOOD: 6.3 ⬆️