Text commentary provided by sbnsport.sqr/livetext‘1
“And we’re underway in the IAC 17 Final between Squidroidia and Trolleborg! Squidroidia is in blue and white, Trolleborg is in their traditional green. Both teams have made IAC finals in the past, but never won. Only one of these teams will win their first IAC title.”
‘5
“WIDE from Trolleborg! The first real chance of the game falls to Kendall Woldring who puts the ball just past Kaede Akiyama but a bit too left for it to do any damage. Still 0-0.”
‘8
“Marianne McKay is quickly becoming a victim of this suffocating Trollish defense. Foul on William Schendel, free kick Squidroidia.”
‘9
“Sho Itō didn’t exactly capitalize on his free kick chance! Blocked by a stern Trollish wall, his follow-up attempt is saved easily by Morten Kerr of Trolleborg. A lot of chances, but still nothing on hand for either team!”
‘13
“SAVE BY AKIYAMA! Torben Kranforde thought he had the goal to open up the IAC Final, hell he blitzed through the Blue Wall to have his shot... But Kaede is not having any of that. The Trolls might have their plan to attack.”
‘21
“We’ve been hearing word throughout Rachel Coltfield’s bench that she thinks that Marianne McKay will not be able to make it to the end of this game with how the Trolls have been marking her. Multiple players on Trolleborg have been fouled, but no cards have been given yet...”
‘22
“And right as I say that, William Schendel has recieved the first yellow card of the IAC Final for a tackle on McKay! This is perhaps the most agressive we have seen this Trolleborg team play throughout this tournament, and it shows no signs of stopping.”
‘30
“SAVE BY KERR! SQUIDROIDIA ALMOST HAD THE LEAD! It practically came down to FINGERTIPS for Shiba Tetsuo, who worked the ball into the box and shot towards the right-hand post hoping for the ball to get left of it, but Kerr’s fingers are just enough to put the ball out of harm’s way. Could this have been Squidroidia’s golden opportunity?”
‘37
“OFF THE POST FOR TROLLEBORG! Both teams have been getting chance after chance but neither of them have broken this deadlock. Kenneth Pathmoor this time found Kranforde’s technique to beat the Blue Wall but couldn’t get his chance right to get the ball past Akiyama. Off the post and out of harm’s way.”
‘45+1
“Fourth official lives up to their name - 4 minutes of added time for this first half. As of now, we’re hearing that Marianne McKay will likely not be present in the second half in any capacity. According to sources, she’s been talking about how battered she has got due to the Trollish Wall.”
‘45+2
“At least McKay has the wiggle room to actually let in a chance! Trolleborg’s back line have finally laid low and haven’t gotten any trouble, and Marianne, complete with a through-ball from Tetsuo, got her ball just too high to make any mark. Unfortunately, this is likely the end of the IAC road for the talented Inkling.
HALF
“And there’s the halftime whistle! Still 0-0 in this IAC Final. A stat for you to ponder while both teams get ready to adjust - 621 minutes. Not counting stoppage time, that’s how long Trolleborg have gone thus far in this IAC without conceeding a goal! Nobody for the life of them, other than Hopal in their opening game, has gone through the Trollish defense and bagged in a goal. Will we see Squidroidia beat the clock tonight?”
“News from the Squidroidians which we honestly expected though - Marianne McKay will be substituted for Makino Hideo in the second half. No other substitutions are planned for the time being.”
‘46
“Kickoff for the second half of this IAC 17 Final.”
‘53
“Squidroidia have been playing a little bit more offensively to break Trolleborg’s stranglehold on defense while shoring up their own defenses themselves. That’s mainly why Coltfield opted to sub on Hideo for McKay - His veteran experience can help drill the offensive space needed for the Inklings to strike.”
‘59
“SAVED BY AKIYAMA! And Trolleborg ISN’T LETTING UP! Once again it was Kenneth Pathmoor who thought he had the goal to break this deadlock, but once again Akiyama denies the Trolls the opportunity! Okay, it was an easy save by Kaede’s standards, but it was a decent chance.”
‘64
“Coltfield may be preparing for a second substitution, and in her eyes it’s about strengthening the Blue Wall. She’s already told Inkling defender Baldrick Bertolini to get ready to come onto the pitch. Our sources thing that he will replace Muto Toki, but we aren’t sure yet.”
‘68
“Okay, we were right. Baldrick Bertolini on, Muto Toki off. Second of three substitutions for Squidroidia, one is left for them and then they can only get another player on if this game goes into extra time. It’s looking like it’s a possibility that extra time will happen unless someone responds...”
‘75
“SAVE BY KERR! BARELY! Makino Hideo is certainly punching right now, and he had all the room in the world to make a run that could’ve brought the lead to the Inklings! He even had Tetsuo to square it to if nothing was okay, but it felt like everything was golden! Then you realize you’re up against Morten Kerr. It is not ending well.”
‘78
“SAVE BY KERR AGAIN! SQUIDROIDIA HAVE FOUND THEIR RYTHMN!
‘81
“
GOAL SQUIDROIDIA! GOAL SQUIDROIDIA IN THE IAC 17 FINAL!!! THE SIX HUNDRED AND FIFTY SEVEN MINUTE LONG COMBINED CLEAN SHEET FOR TROLLEBORG IS OVER! TOMOMI HAMASAKI WITH THE DEADLOCK BREAKER! LEFT FOOTED SCREAMER PAST MORTEN KERR, ASSISTED BY MAKINO HIDEO! ALL THOSE YEARS OF WAITING MIGHT FINALLY,
FINALLY BE OVER!!!”
‘88
“Third substitution for Squidroidia - Kaya Toyoshige for Sora “No Time” Iwai. That’s all the substitutions Squidroidia can make, and now they have to focus on keeping this lead and winning the IAC!”
‘90+1
“We are three minutes away from Squidroidia winning the Independent Associations Championship!”
‘90+2
“DESPERATION MODE FOR TROLLEBORG! They are going all out with seconds remaining in the IAC 17 Final. We haven’t seen this much desperation in a long time for the Trolls, and the chances of them making things level is slim as it is...”
FINAL - SQUIDROIDIA ARE CHAMPIONS!“IT’S ALL OVER! IT IS FINALLY OVER! THIRD TIME IS NOT THE CHARM FOR TROLLEBORG, BECAUSE THE SQUIDROIDIA INKLINGS NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM HAVE CLAIMED IMMORTALITY AS THE FOURTEENTH UNIQUE INDEPENDENT ASSOCIATIONS CHAMPIONS! TOMOMI HAMASAKI HAD THE WINNER AND NOW HE’S CELEBRATING WITH HIS TEAMMATES! DO NOT ADJUST YOUR MONITORS, YOU ARE SEEING IT FOR YOURSELF! CHAMPIONS OF THE INDEPENDENT WORLD!!!”
“Trolleborg only conceeded two goals throughout the tournament - One in their first game and one in their last. Any team that had this mark would have likely been champions. But for the third time in four editions of the IAC, they fall on the final, final hurdle. Absolute heartbreak for them.”
“But for Rachel Coltfield and the Squidroidian team... Absolute jubilation. They nearly got knocked out at the Quarter-Final stage to Abanhfleft. They survived La Squadra to prevent Juvencus from becoming the second Sonellian team in three editions. And now, for the first time in their history, at the seventeenth IAC and their seventh time taking part, the Inklings rule the roost!”
Trophy Ceremony - A Sky Full of StarsAfter the initial celebrations from the Squidroidian team on their first triumph came the real deal itself. It took several volunteers no more than 20 minutes after the final whistle to construct the podium on which one of the Independent shining stars would be grandfathered into the cosmos as one of the fourteen Independents Cup holders. The stage didn’t have any LEDs like one would find in a World Cup Final, but it still had at least some gravitas backing it up. Standing behind the stairs that would lift twenty-three players to the cosmos were three figures that meant so much to the Squidroidians in finishing this journey - Leader Yusuke Fujiwara, the anarchist head of state of the Dominion, Itoh Hoshi, former Squidroidian international and President of the Squidroidian National Team Association, and Squidroidian Football Association head Fukuhara Himeko, along with footballing officals from Trolleborg, Quintessence of Dust and the other nations that helped play a part in crafting this tale. Himeko, along with the delegates from the other 8 host nations, were only there to see everything come to an end. Hoshi and Fujiwara would hand out the medals alongside the Trollish and QoD delegates.
”Cause you’re a sky, cause you’re a sky full of stars...
I’m gonna give you my heart...
Cause you’re a sky, cause you’re a sky full of stars...
Cause you light up the path...”The Trolleborg national team, as per custom, were first handed the silver medals as runners-up. The look on their faces felt like deja-vu - In four tournaments, the Trolls reached three finals. They hadn’t won a single Independents Cup yet. The Trollish delegate felt their pain as well. Not since HUElavia had a team gone to the final hurdle only to fall down time and time again. Morten Troghil glanced at the Cup with at least a bit of sorrow, especially since, at such an old age like Rachel Coltfield, it would be one of his last opportunities to win it. He was Trolleborg’s only manager in their history thus far, but yet it would be another two year wait to even have a chance to see the trophy again, never mind have it in his hands.
”I don’t care, go on and tear me apart...
“I don’t care if you do... Oo-oooo... Oooo...”As Aien Troger and Morten Troll took their silver medals, the remaining Trolls supporters in the crowd gave them a standing ovation. For Troger, this was his last real tournament full stop, as he was bound to hand up his boots for the team when he arrived at Trolleborg City. He was a veteran in every sense of the word, there from the very first moments that Trolleborg competed in international football. He was a legend calling time on his career, enshrined in the same halls of Trollish lore as Stuart Kerr. He wouldn’t have another chance to get here. He knew it. The fans knew it. The fans could at least see him one last time sporting the green shirt of his country. As for Troll, perhaps named after the country he played for like the Murphys in Murphtannia, this wasn’t the full on end of his international career, but perhaps his last IAC playing for Trolleborg. There was still World Cup qualification ahead, but his career was winding down. He would likely retire or not be in the squad once IAC 18 rolls around.
”Cause in a sky, cause in a sky full of stars...
I think I saw youuuuuuuuuuuu.....”With the silver medals given out, it was time for the Squidroidian stars to shine. Grabbing the first gold medal from the twenty-four on offer was manager Rachel Coltfield. This was her second gold medal in her collection, after leading her home country of Tinhampton to glory at Cup of Harmony 73. She, like Troghil, was aging, and had three years left in her before eventual retirement. As would the players when they had the chance to collect their medals, shake hands and hug the Squidroidian delegation in attendance, Coltfield walked through the stage, past the Independents Cup, and onto the stage of champions. All she could do was look in the direction where the trophy was, and where her team would meet her.
The substitutes that didn’t play in the IAC Final were next to be called up. One by one, those were as follows: Arata Chiba, third-choice goalkeeper. Hoashi Gonshiro, Wunderbar and second-choice goalkeeper. Kawabata Toshitsugu, one of the two Wunderbar centerbacks. Herbert Byström, Inkling rightback. Florianne Meeuwessen, fellow Inkling at leftback. Charlie Colbert, an Inkling midfield general. Amaru Stefánsson, who, with thunderous applause, became the first Octoling to not only partake in an international tournament, but win a piece of silverware. Tajima Noritada, yet another Wunderbar who winged lines didn’t see much action. And Kyou Ueno, an aging winger who was just happy to be here. All of them got their medals, their handshakes, and a glimpse of the very trophy they poured blood, ink, sweat and tears like their bretheren to win.
”Cause you’re a sky, cause you’re a sky full of stars...
I wanna die in your arms, ooooh, ooooh...”Then came the substitutes who stepped up when their country needed them. First was defensive Inkling Baldric Bertolini, who came on for Muto Toki. Experience helped in securing the Blue Wall through the early stretch, but Muto was on his last legs. Coltfield thought wisely to bring on fresh defensive legs as the Trollish pressure got harder and harder on them. Baldrick bent but didn’t break. Kaya Toyoshige came on too late to make any difference, but he still got good treatment - Itoh Hoshi gave him a pat on the back as soon as he got the medal.
”Cause you get lighter the more it gets dark...
I’m gonna give you my heart, oh...”And then, with an entire nation watching and cheering him on, Makino Hideo got his medal. He was the one who stepped up for a beaten and battered Marianne McKay at the start of the second half and was the cog that led the Inklings to eventually scoring against the Trolls with not much room left in the game. The man who gave Tomomi Hamasaki the chance needed to give his nation the jubilation they deserved. He started at poor old THS, now known as Inkopolis Wave. He built Walstreim Lions from championship glory to giving them the money to experience Champions League highs. He propped up Murphtannia’s biggest club in Villa, challenging for titles. He learned a thing or two down at the Vilitan Cove for Makosile United. But the national team was his true home. Been there, done that. With solid gold on his chest, he got the hug he wanted from Fujiwara, awarding him for his support. As he joined his other teammates in waiting for Tetsuo to arrive with the trophy in his hands, he had the opposite experience that Troger and Troll had. He was going to leave the national team on top.
”I don’t care, go on and tear me apart...
“I don’t care if you do... Oo-oooo... Oooo...”The starting eleven beckoned. The players who started for the Inklings in this quest for championship glory lined up, one by one, ready to ascend like the Gods and Goddesses they were. Their names were called on the public address system like the others, but they got more of the applause than everyone other than Hideo.
Marianne McKay, perhaps the next great Squidroidian attacker and main woman for Spartansburg City in the Squidroidian Premier League. At only 24, it seemed like the future was bright for her. Only problem was that Trolleborg played too harsh for even
her.Muto Toki, who, like Hideo, was likely to have played his last game for Squidroidia and resided in the Vilitan league system, only for Tivali City instead of Makosile. He stepped down to let Bertolini maintain the Blue Wall, which might have been a symbolic changing of the guard.
Sora Iwai, or “No Time Iwai” as some called him when he punched Squidroidia’s ticket to the World Cup 92 proper. He left for the subtitutes bench with basically no time left for Trolleborg to punch one in.
Tapiwa Dalgaard, an Inkling leftback that, to the Blue Wall, acted as a seemingly indestructable flank. The Trollish attackers had to mercefully retreat to the middle in order to get their chances in.
Same applied for Greta Ivanković. The two of them were dubbed the “Squidback Sisters” to avid Squidroidian supporters, even though the two weren’t sisters nor related to a certain pop idol duo. She called the right flank her own turf.
Kishi Kensan was a Wunderbar through and through. Exceptionally young with an iron heart and titanium brain, he strapped the Blue Wall together with steel rods, reinforcing a strong defense.
Kichirō Matsuda was another Wunderbar and helped pratrol the midfield alongside Iwai and fellow Wunderbar Kaya Toyoshige throughout the match. He was a feeder from the defense to the attack and worked well against the Trollish setup.
And then came the heavy hitters.
Kaede Akiyama was a goalkeeper who knew no limits. Carrying Baker Park’s Llewellyn Turnpike on his back through numerous survivals from relegation, he knew that in order to be a good goalie he had to protect his line from fast flowing footballs. He was the last line of defense for the Blue Wall. A failsafe. And the best goalkeeper Squidroidia had ever seen. He was, in fact, so good that he was among the best goalies in the multiverse. He didn’t recieve the Golden Glove, Morten Kerr did instead, but he was one of the better goalies in this tournament.
Sho Itō needed no introduction. He plays his club football for the mighty Shamrock Cathair in the Audioslavian National League. He played in a Champions League Final, the first Squidroidian to do so. Winning the IAC was perhaps only a small thing on his resume. He was Squidroidia’s answer to Laborious Hawk - While not immortal, he was certainly a fine attacker, even if for club he played in a left midfield role. Like a father meeting his son, upon Hoshi giving Itō his medal, the two embraced before the 30 year old raced to the stage to his right.
The crowd roared louder when the second to last person showed up - None other than Tomomi Hamasaki of Octo Valley. With a left foot pounce past Kerr in the eighty first minute, that sucker gave the Inklings something that, for 15 whole years, eluded them - A trophy. Not the World Cup but still a trophy. Among the standing ovations, Hamasaki takes the medal and fist-bumps Fujiwara, before calmly shaking hands with Hoshi and going off to join the twenty-three people already standing there.
Watching and waiting for one man.
”Cause in a sky, cause in a sky full of stars...
I think I see youuuuuuuuuuuu.....”Shiba Tetsuo. The captain of the Squidroidian national team. The leader of a victorious nation in its quest to sieze the Independents Cup. With nobody besides him, he singlehandedly charges up the steps into the gates of Independent football heaven. Yusuke Fujiwara puts the gold medal around his neck and embraces Tetsuo in a full on hug. Itoh Hoshi then grabs onto the attacking midfielder’s hands as both of them walked their steps, closer to the team. All of a sudden the two stop, conveniently in front of the Independents Cup.
”I think I see youuuuuuuuuuuu.....”The SNTA President smiles to Tetsuo, and with three words, invited him to finally touch the trophy he had been chasing throughout his entire international career.
“It’s all yours.”
With the pressures of a nation of millions of inhabitants taken off of him, Shiba Tetsuo puts one hand on the metalic Independents Cup. The footage is seen throughout BobBank SkyPark and beamed throughout the multiverse via television cameras. The Squidroidians were ready to celebrate like they had won the World Cup. But Tetsuo, seemingly a whole different realm away upon the podium made for his team, doesn’t see the crowds in his homeland. He only sees the crowds in the stands. Wearing blue and white. Some of them bringing up teal smoke. In a seeming instant his other hand grabs onto the Independents Cup, before performing the right motion to take the trophy off its pedistal. Tetsuo turns to the other members of the team waiting for him to march over there.
The steps feel like they take him nowhere as he steps through the passageway. Tetsuo could’ve fallen at any moment, but yet he keeps marching to the platform created for his team. His face turns into a soft smile as he inches closer and closer, while the teammates are preparing for the one thing that would end the entire tournament entirely. Before Tetsuo knew it he had arrived at the platform. Twenty-three bodies were smushed up to him. Knowing the cameras were facing the podium, Tetsuo muscled his way through the crowd to the front. His ears rang with the echos of an entire country.
“oooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....”
With Tetsuo’s trophy, no,
Squidroidia’s trophy in his grasp, it weighed down on him. Lower and lower it sank until it reached his knees. He knew, at some point, he had to lift it up and celebrate.
When he did, the trophy felt like thin air.
Tetsuo and the team screamed out in celebration, as did the entire nation around them, the trophy high in the air supported by the captain. Almost in an instant, the pyrotechnics got to work - Fire shooting up in the front, sparks in the back. Cannons mounted around the podium shot out golden ticker tape and confetti to the players, flying high and reaching the ground - Fast for the ticker tape, slow for the confetti. The celebration materials got onto the Squidroidian players as the confetti fluttered down to the ground. To the Squidroidians and to everyone else watching the quality of the broadcast got poor as tons of confetti rained down. They didn’t care.
Their team
won.The fireworks on top of BobBank SkyPark went off, lighting up the skyline in all sorts of colors. Tetsuo looked up at the stadium roof as he got the trophy down. Red, yellow, blue, white... The colors of the IAC. The colors of Squidroidia. They were matched together as if the two ideas were married. Independent Associations championship. Squidroidia. A sign that the two were meant to be together.
“Cause you’re a sky, cause you’re a sky full of stars...!
Such a heavenly viewwwwwwwww...
Such a heavenly viewwwwwwwww...
Yeah, yeah, yeah, whooo!”Captain Tetsuo, with the last bits of confetti falling down and the pyro show done, passed the trophy to the other players as they got out of the platform and around the pitch. Makino Hideo lifted it high in front of the fans. Then Kaede Akiyama. Then Hamasaki, the goal scorer. Every player at the very least had the trophy in their hands as the team did a celebratory victory lap to honor their supporters. The Wunderbars had no emotion lifting it up. Amaru Stefánsson was in tears as he held the thing for the first time. Rachel Coltfield comforted him and helped the Octoling lift the trophy up. The Tinhamptonian almost felt like she regressed to some of her younger years. Maybe to when she first started coaching international football.
That was the joy and the spirit of international football. Representing a country feels more than something forced upon a person. It was an extention of life and of the country a person was born in or had strong roots in. To the twenty-three players that donned the Squidroidian blue and white on that day in Quintessence of Dust, they embodied the spirit of their country - Born from ashes and ready to intimidate and fight, no matter the cost. The fact that they had a trophy in their arms didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things... Or maybe it did.
When the Squidroidian national team was formed, their mission, led by founder and former Leader Higa Takanori, was to win the World Cup. Takanori died. Ryuzaki Mito left his national team post. Itoh Hoshi retired. As did the rest of the original team. Replacing all of those were Yusuke Fujiwara, Rachel Coltfield, and a team of players led by Shiba Tetsuo. They had won the Independents Cup, yes, but not the big prize. But why go for the big prize if they already have some glory? Why keep going when a nation has something to look back on? Why push on when things, eventually, won’t go the way people want it to go? Some people would retire if they were trophyless throughout their career only to win one trophy. Some members of this team wanted to.
But for this one night, all the thoughts went to the side. They had silverware in their hands. It felt like a conclusion to a long, 14+ year journey of victory, heartbreak and everything in between. The highs of StrayaRoos and the lows of Murphtannia. The glory of the night in Vilita and the disappointment of Turoki Isle. The wins against high quality opponents... The losses against low quality ones. it felt like it had to end here. One last high before everything tapers out. The team would return, at least someday. But for now they needed rest. If this Inklings team couldn’t win the World Cup in the long run...
This will have to do.
THE END
OOC: Thanks for a decent two and a half years or so in the NSS community! As previously discussed, this is my final international football RP in NSS for the time being. Due to circumstances that have been piling up, I will be downsizing my operations to help complement my life, not be a major force against it.
Squidroidia will now be mainly used in a pursuit to develop a serious Esports system simillar to IFCF, RUCT and other international club competitions, ICily using the StrikeForce tactical FPS video game developed by Studio Polaris. StrikeLeague Squidroidia seasons will come out after the IFCF cutoffs. If there is enough interest, I will be doing an IFCF-style competition for StrikeForce. The files themselves are located
here in case anybody wants them.
ICily, Studio Polaris will maintain a 40% share in the league, but it is up to the nations or any national Esports organizations a nation has to define how the seasons will be run, how many teams there will be in their league, and what the name of their league will be. Information on this IFCF style StrikeForce competition will come when there is enough interest.
Chartistan, my main puppet, will focus on the Hot League, the famed 58-team domestic top flight. Teams will still enter the IFCF competitions, as well as dabble in the FFI. The first half of the season is already done, and the second half of the season will be done before the IFCF cutoff.
The NASCAR Cup Series, my secondary puppet, will have its purpose stay as is - The NSCAA.
For those with Squidroidian players - Age them how you’d normally age players. Whenever Squidroidia gets back (Might be years from now or never, it all depends), I’ll pick up where the IAC 17 team left off. Yes, you can transfer them wherever you want as well.
I would like to thank everyone who has helped with me throughout this past span - To the fellow members of the Class of BoF 73 (Græntfjall and Tikariot especially), Valladares, Quebec, Woryand and countless others. Without you, I wouldn’t have really adapted to NSS after that noobish incident at the very start with my domestic league. Again, I’ll still be here in some capacity, so don’t see this as a farewell, but instead an end of an era of Squidroidia.
With my status as an high-functioning Autist, I know things can be rough. NSS carried me through the end of my high school days and through to the start of college with some of the best support anyone could get. Once you get past all those growing pains with getting a start with the World Cup and IFCF processes, you can go far and be remembered by someone. But, at the end of the day, life comes first. I’m learning the hard way now.
Thank you for everything I have done so far. Seriously, thank you. I wouldn’t be writing this love letter without you all reading this. I don’t know when I will return for the World Cup and IAC. I have an actual life to deal with now. If this really is the end of my time roleplaying international football, I think this would be the perfect sendoff. Maybe the World Cup isn’t the be all and end all.
Maybe the World Cup is the friends, squids or kids, we made across the way.
-Squidroidia