World Cup LXXV - AK75 - The RP Thread

[Valanora]

Valanora Times
And The Beat Goes On

Needing just a point from their last match to make sure they advanced out of the group on their own merit, the Marauders took on Pridnestrovia with a sense of purpose in their step. That's not to say that sense of purpose had not been there before in the previous two matches, yet when you know exactly what you have to do in order to make sure your squad carries on to the next phase of the tournament, there is just a little something extra in your approach. Pridnestrovia was not in the mood to make it completely easy for the Marauders though and their offensive prowess was not just some fluke against the Semarland squad, as they were able to push against the Marauders own attack and possession game quite well through the duration of the match. Skill alone was the difference between the two sides and everyone should keep an eye on this squad heading forward, for they look like they could be on the up and up for the next several years.

It started off like most matches with the Marauders do, a bit of a feeling out process through the first quarter hour of the match, as the Marauders assessed their opponents strength and resolve. The probing passes and runs from the attacking players was met by clean and precise tackles with hefty clearances from a backline that wanted to keep the Marauders at bay while launching their own counters. They had obviously watched the match between Valanora and Krytenia and were trying to replicate the same tactics that the Dragons had used against the Marauders that had earned themselves a point against our side. Unfortunately for Pridnestrovia, they do not have a Valrauncion playing on their side who can out muscle and grapple with the Marauders three in the back in order to properly employ that tactic.

It did not take until the second half though for the Marauders to find the break through, with va Drake taking a run down the line after getting a pass from Soldarian. The winger was able to get past one defender with a quick shimmy of the hips and then put in a whipped crossed that found the head of Hawk, with the attacking mid heading the ball back across the face of goal. Fresco was all too happy to meet the header and tap it in for an easy goal as the keeper was unable to adjust. The lead would not last long as the Marauders were pegged back just four minutes after their opener, with Pavlyuchenko got in behind the Marauders defense on a long clearance and put in a blast of an effort to beat Galadirdren.

The Marauders were not content to merely be level with their opponents going into the break, despite the tenacity at which they were defending their half. This was a match that needed to see the Marauders get a result and merely being content with a draw would not suffice, it was not the way of the Marauders to merely play for a draw. If they needed a draw, then they would go for the win, to play negatively in hopes of merely seeing a match out to the single point was not the way to play the beautiful game. So they pressed higher and higher up the pitch as the half began to draw to a close. This time it would be va Drake who would be on the end of a Hawk assist, as the winger ran onto a perfect through ball and was then able to turn the keeper and slot it in for the lead going into the break. Just to put an emphasis on how this match was going to go, they came out of the break with the same intensity and would be given a penalty after Tathtauré was taken down in the box. Fresco calmly walked up to the spot, took a three step run up, and blasted the ball into the upper right corner for a commanding two goal advantage just three minutes into the second half.

The Marauders continued to hurry and harass Pridnestrovia, looking for a fourth goal that would effectively kill off the match, for there was no way the Marauders were going to give up four goals with so much on the line and only a half to play. Unfortunately their pressing brought their defensive line too far up and Pavlyuchenko got a second on a nearly identical play to the first goal for the Marauders' opposition. It is a quite the double edged sword to walk when pressing to kill off the game and Pridnestrovia had taken advantage of it. Yet that pressing also makes the defense likely to make mistakes and a heavy touch from the centerback as Pridnestrovia tried to play it out of the back was pounced up by Tathtauré, who took just one touch to set up his shot and then put in his goal to reestablish the two goal margin. Though the Marauders tried to get a fifth, they pulled their press back a bit to compensate for the long clearances from Pridnestrovia and effectively just saw out the remaining twenty minutes with little fanfare, netting the win as well as the group title, moving on to the knockout rounds of the tournament.

There they shall be taking on Valladares, one of Rushmore's premier footballing powers though the best in Eura is already out with quite a weird set of results in their group and Pasarga having to struggle to make it out of their group. It is perhaps a sign that Rushmori football is not quite as healthy as it once was or perhaps the top teams are not quite prepared for the struggle of the Finals, with San Jose Guayabal and Vilita also crashing out before the knockouts, while Bonesea and Brenecia are through into the next phase of the tournament. Whatever the case, the Marauders now need to prepare for a Valladares squad that just lit up Savalen to the tune of eight goals to nil, which is an impressive feat even if it is not a record. Vanorians know well how good Valladares attackers can be, with Saez being quite a commodity for United over the years, though Valladares is known to give up just as many goals as they tend to put in. With the Marauders attack in fine form itself, it looks to set up a wide open game with the odds of whoever has the last best attack getting the better of the other in the tie.

Valanora 4
Freco (23, 48 PK)
va Drake (44)
Tathtauré (64)

Pridnestrovia 2
Pavlyuchenko (27, 57)

[Pasarga]

Torgos Tribune ~ An Unfortunate Circumstance

Five points, it is an odd number to get in the World Cup Finals, though it does mean that you have made it through the group stage without falling into defeat. Five points, it is usually not enough to win a group but enough to see a team through to the knockouts and against a group winner, for in nearly all cases where a squad gets a win and a pair of draws they will be runners up in the group. Five points is exactly what the Wanderers got out of a group that they thought could have easily seen them get seven or even the full nine points, even if the competition was quite stiff inside the group. After all, this was a Wanderers squad who had been to four straight major tournament championship matches in very recent memory and is considered among the best in all of the world.

However a two all draw with their Rushmori regional rivals of Ceni resigned the Wanderers to the fate of but five points in their group and yet they still somehow managed to win the group after Barunia managed to right themselves after the Wanderers defeated them to get a victory over Ficisia and send them to the knockouts in an unlikely fashion. It is perhaps hard on Ceni to fall out of the World Cup at this stage because of the talent they have as well as the potential that is clear within their squad, as evidenced by their ability to hold the Wanderers to but a draw when the side was going full out for the win, not knowing what was going on in the other group game that was being played simultaneously. Ceni did all that was in their power to do to try and grab a victory and send the Wanderers on the brink, out like Eura, Vilita, and San Jose Guayabal were, yet it was not enough against the grit and hard work of our side.

However in a strange twist of fate, you can almost say that Barunia was the actual winners of the group as they get the Finals debutante of Chromatika for their Round of Sixteen fixture, while the Wanderers have a more grim fate. They get the reigning World Cup champions of Nephara in their first knockout stage opponent, after Nephara fell to Abanhfleft on the last matchday and were fortunate to even get past the group stage as they won the tiebreakers against Abanhfleft and Saintland, who also finished on three points, to advance. With just a single win to their name in the Finals, you might say that Nephara are there for the taking and that the Wanderers should not be as concerned about this tie as the squad appears to be. However you would be wrong, as this is the same squad that had a poor showing in their group last tournament and made it all the way to the Final and won the tournament, while also considering the Wanderers only have a solitary win to their name from the three group games.

The good from the group stage is that the defense is looking as strong as it ever has, though you would be hard to make that call after giving up a pair of goals to Ceni that ultimately cost the team a chance at winning the match. Still, against Barunia the backline was stiff and stout, playing as a cohesive and concentrated unit that moved together as a whole, making it very difficult for Barunia to get any sort of attack going. Three goals conceded from three matches is always a good record and it should be building up the confidence that the group will need against Nephara. While defending has never been a real weakness of the Wanderers, it has never been seen as one of its better attributes either and this good showing in the group might just be what is needed to keep the spirits high against the world champions.

The bad? Well, it is quite clear, the Wanderers are playing to the level of their competition instead of playing to their own standard, as seen by how they were able to handle Barunia who was supposed to be the biggest challenge in the group but could not pull a victory out from the Ceni or Ficisia matches. While this might be seen as a boon against a side like Nephara, who is still of high quality despite what their group stage performance might indicate, our squad would still be better if playing a consistent game. A single slip up or mental error is the fine line between victory and defeat in the Finals as we all know and to not be playing you game but be playing someone elses makes it all the more likely to find yourself as the one who will make the mistake instead of the opponent. For if you are playing their game and not yours, they are the experienced ones and can wear you down with that veterancy.

It is quite unfortunate that the Wanderers should be facing off against Nephara at such an early stage, with both sides being inside the top five of the WCC rankings, though this is not new for the Wanderers after they were part of the clash of #1 and #2 two years ago in the Round of Sixteen. The Wanderers will be hoping not to have a replay of that match against Eura here when facing Nephara, as they were dispatched from the tournament at too early a stage, though the goal fest was something for the neutrals to enjoy. Dominik Mauer won a World Cup six years ago at the age of twenty-four and everyone thought that he was going to have many more trophies to add to his collection, yet since then the Wanderers and he have gone without. If Mauer is to be remembered as one of the world's best strikers and a legend of Pasargan football, this is the sort of time when the striker needs to show up, at the biggest moments at the most critical stages. For against Nephara, the squad will need to be at their very best and the best player ought to lead by example against such an opponent.

[Farfadillis]

"Hey, Fôrté. I gotta ask. What was going through your mind when you were preparing to take the penalty? I honestly thought you were about to sky it on purpose, but you didn't."

"Oh, I was going to. I came this close to doing it, in fact."

"And then you chose not to... because?"

"For the same reasons that you would've tried to bury it. The ones the gaffer outlined. It's just the hate almost won me over. You know how hesitating on the run up to the penalty is a surefire way to miss it? Well, it's not so surefire. I was about to sky it when, during the run up, I changed my mind. The shot came out awkward, though."

"Well, a goal's a goal. But, you know, it really surprised me that you actually tried to score. I was pretty sure Tíbürçìó had allowed you to take the penalty in his own attempt to boycott the team."

"I don't think he would do that, honestly. If you pay attention, you'll notice he's the only one mediating between the two sides. He's the only one actually focused on winning. I mean, I can't think of a single Rulandese who would so much as look Elexhé's way considering what he's said. Yet the man's been handing him start after start."

"Fair enough, but I still think there's something off about Tíbürçìó. It's just a hunch, but I feel like he's not concerned in the least about the results we might get. But I digress, are you gonna put in the effort against Krytenia? Or are you gonna try to sabotage us again?"

"Like hell I will. That penalty helped me make up my mind. Just like he told us to, I'm going to try and appropriate the red and the green that I despise. We both know how the situation in Ruland's gonna end, but we can put Ruland at the top of the world, even if only for one moment. And it's mostly up to me."

Drê chuckled. "I see you're still an arrogant douchebag. But it's good to hear we've got the same outlook on the whole thing."

---

"Hey, Elexhé. Don't you think it would be a good idea to tone things down a little bit?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that 'your people are gonna suffer, and they will have brought it on themselves' is about as diplomatic as a kick in the balls."

"You're exaggerating, I've been far more diplomatic than that."

"I just cited you. Word for word."

"It's all in the tone, Leonhard. All in the tone."

"I'm honestly surprised nobody has killed you in your sleep."

"So am I."

"But no, really. Not mentioning the subject would go a long way. We're a broken team. We can only get so far relying on mutual hatred. We're gonna have to pull through together, else the ship will sink."

"Leo, I'm a principled man, and I take pride in my courage to speak my mind. Nobody's going to take that away from me, not even if they ask nicely."

"Or knock you out by smashing your temple."

"I've got to admit, for someone so small, Wínrôuge does pack some punch."

"Come to think of it, Ivaktör might be able to actually end you with a punch as well-connected as Fôrté's."

"Let's not dwell on that, shall we?" Elexhé looked slightly worried for a moment. "Though perhaps you are right. I should tone my brutal honesty down a bit."

"Great to hear!"

"I still maintain that Farfadillis has done nothing wrong."

"Just not outspokenly."

"Not outspokenly."

"Great. I do wonder though. If the rumors turned out to be true, and Ruland did end up being carpet bombed, where would you stand on that?"

"That's not gonna happen."

"What if it did?"

"It won't. Don't believe everything you read on the news."

[Chromatika]

Prelude, Book I Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Interlude Part VII Part VIII Part IX Part X Part XI Part XII Part XIII Part XIV Part XV

The Rainbow Revolution
Book I: The Sparks
Part XVI: The Family II

"The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family." - Barbara Bush

Juan Pablo Cortes was a distraught man in Cosumar. After the initial shock of hearing that his wife, Franscesca Cortes, would be publicly executed, he had spent a day grieving, and then he had started to actually start speaking about his feelings to both the people in the facility and online. He was determined to make sure his wife's sacrifice would not be in vain, and had even gotten in contact with Jordan Lawless to get his point of view across. Hence, the latest corner of Lawless's now independent post - "My Daring Wife" - was a huge success. His two young children had been told the white lie that mommy was away for a while - he wasn't willing to tell them the truth, not when they were so young. Perhaps one day, they'd understand.

Kerri Wyse, Luuk Aart's girlfriend, had been a great help. She was a hit with the children, kind, empathetic, and mostly willing to help out the family which was absolutely reeling from the news. She was an integral part of their lives now, and at least for the immediate future, it seemed like they would just be staying in Cosumar, which suited him fine. Mmm.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me, Mr. Cortes?" asked Wyse. She was going to be traveling to Krytenia to watch the Anomalies in the Round of 16, under a disguise, with some Shadow Writer bodyguards. Juan had already decided that it would be way too dangerous with the children. He shook his head. "No, it's much safer for just you to go. Tell them to give their opponents hell, and to absolutely give the government no joy in watching them play. All right?"

Kerri nodded, and leaned over to give Juan Pablo a hug. "Understood. You take care."

She ran off to board the plane. The rest of the team's families were safe in Chromatika - except the orphan Andìsorì.

---

Any worries for letting down the intensity of the Anomalies was answered by goals from Rachel Hellion and Ki Niro as the Anomalies became one of the least expected teams to win their group (hello there, Bonesea) and became scheduled to face off against Barunia, the second seed from Group D.

The purpose with which the Anomalies have been playing has only become more focused as of late. Thorben is on point, the back four are communicating well, and the fluidity with which the team is counterattacking is insane.

Barunia better watch out.

[Ko-oren]

The Dragonflies have done it!

The Union of Ko-oren secured a place in the second round for the fifth time in history. The Dragonflies made it through a difficult round with an amazing surge by Brenecia and an unexpected downturn for Eura. On matchday two, these three nations all had an opportunity to advance. Ko-oren was the only nation to play the other two candidates, and that meant that matchday three had the decider with Brenecia versus Eura. We, on the other hand, played Frenline Delpha, already in no position to advance.

Whoever won the Eura-Brenecia match, would advance. The loser would be stuck on four points and that would be enough to advance, as long as Ko-oren didn't win. Well, we did win and that meant that the loser of the match would go home. Brenecia has come to the World Cup to have a great time and make some noise, while Eura was there as the Multiverse's Number One team. And in many cases when there is a team with nothing left to lose and a team with everything left to lose... Brenecia won 5-4 in a crazy match. Eura out. Eurout.

The Green-and-Blue didn't conquer the hearts and minds of the neutral folks in the first two matches. Against Eura, the team tried to get as much possession as possible and keep the Eurans busy, because parking the bus from the first second of the match doesn't go over too well, as we've learnt in previous World Cups. Against Brenecia, we were the 'upperdogs' but that didn't stop us from, well, playing a conservative game and first wait and see what kind of team Brenecia would field in the first place. It wasn't until the third match, against Frenline Delpha, that the Dragonflies scored their first goal. And scored a second one. And that makes us the lowest scoring team of not just the Round of 16 nations, but all teams in the competition. However, don't count us out just yet, we're also the team with the least conceded goals of the entire competition. With zero goals conceded, and that includes a match against our traditional Waterloo, Eura. The next best defence is the Unified Sunrise Nations.

And as fate would have it, that's our next opponent. Audioslavia didn't win Group E, and that means that we, in second place in the group, play the Group E winner, aka the USI. And that's a team we didn't immediately expect to face us. Usually we get some Multiverse Top 5 team that is immediately destined for the final. This time it's USI, and if history repeats itself, we will already congratulate them with the 1-0 win and the gold. But this doesn't seem to be like a year like that. This time, Audioslavia didn't make it through unscathed and Eura are out completely. We're facing a team that's actually ranked below us on the ranking, even if it's not by much at all. Could this then finally be the year the cards aren't entirely stacked against us, and god forbid, we could make the quarterfinals?

From here on out, you need an exceptional team to go any further. A well-balanced team, no big gaps in the line-up, and a multi-disciplinary team that can fit multiple styles. We'll go ahead and say that, to be honest, our team doesn't belong there yet. Our team is well-balanced: youngsters and veterans. Players that like to search for a break and the attack, and players that sit back and watch what the opponents throw at them, then adapt. We don't have huge gaps. But the multi-disciplinary thing isn't exactly something we've mastered.

Our line-up is solid. In goal, we might be a little worse off with a goalkeeper that hasn't got the experience of a world-class goalie yet, but Macedo's decision-making is good enough to compete. In defence, I don't think there's much left to say. While Peter Morrow is new at right back, the rest is experienced and good. Extremely good. The midfield is balanced with Bagaurunir and Volkov as older midfielders to aid the defence, and Millet and Arevalo as younger, more attack-minded players. Arevalo is probably the most talented player on the team, but maybe also a threat to our own team. He loses the ball a little too often in his search for a goal. Millet is similar. Our biggest gap is in attack. We have three strikers on the entire team: Leroux, Deerloonah and Hlöðvarðursdottir. Neither one of them is a 'complete' striker. Leroux can't create chances. Deerloonah wastes chances, and our team doesn't create enough of them to waste them. Hlöðvarðursdottir shows poor judgement: fouls, doesn't make clever runs to open up defences, etcetera. But all of that is compensated by the defence.

And that's kind of the problem. Multi-disciplinary teams go far, and so far our team has been a one-trick pony. When Bogdan Antonescu took over the national team, he worked with what he already had, and basically the overall defensive strategy didn't change from Antonescu compared to his predecessors. Antonescu worked on professionalism and some small surprising elements to catch opponents off guard, but other than that, the Union of Ko-oren has been doing the same thing for about 10 World Cups now, it's just that we're really good at it. Against the Unified Sunrise Islands, a team that tends to keep clean sheets like us, we just might need that little extra that we haven't seen for a long, long time. Two 3-0 victories in qualification is the only hint of our team creating and converting chances. The 0-0s from the group stage can't entirely convince us. There are a lot of examples of small quirks in an approach to a single game, and we need a lot of those to survive the next match. Things like having Davenport show up as an extra offensive midfielder in counterattacks. Things like switching around Millet and Arevalo, or mix up the midfield completely. Or how about leaving Leroux on the bench?

[COCANEFA]

CUT OFF
for matches being played in Krytenia (Matches K1, K2, K3 and K4)

[Audioslavia]

After fourteen seasons, the LigAnaia is to disband

The tale of how the LigAnaia became a 'thing' is largely apocryphal, and centres around either a particularly drunk night out in Fligsive between higher-ups at two rival football associations, or a drunken bet, depending on who you believed. What came after that, in the formative seasons of the league, barely caught the world's attention. AC Izotz Zubia, a lightly regarded provincial Audioslavian outfit, playing in a garish combination of silver and salmon pink, won the first incarnation, before 1830 Cathair took the spoils in season two.

Season three would see Starblaydi teams enter the fold, with clubs from Legalite, Ibex, Perlasilangan and Osarius following suit shortly after in a period of rapid expansion, which would later take in Krytenia, Royal Kingdom of Quebec, Semarland and Schiavonia over the next decade. In those ten years, the north-east of Atlantian Oceania would not only cease to be regarded as a comparative barren wasteland next to other regions of the world, but would also be seen as a region in and of itself, as the region began to self identify as 'Anaian', either instead of our parallel with Atlantian Oceanian, depending who you asked.

A secret ballot, held after cycle ten, would see the 'region' vote 60/40 to remain in Atlantian Oceania. The football world, until this paragraph, never knew how close it came to having four sporting regions rather than three.

Since those early days, the LigAnaia has produced two Champions Cup winners, in 1830 Cathair and AC Izotz Zubia, coincidentally those two teams who won the first editions of the tournament. The #1 spot in the UICA rankings has been occupied by a LigAnaia club for each of the last five seasons. Mertagne, the league's founders, were the world's #1 ranked association for two seasons running.

So why, then, has the league decided to disband?

It turns out that 52% of Audioslavians are morons who wouldn't know a good thing if it hit them on the head and called their mothers Brenecian.

For reasons best kept to themselves, the FFA bowed to pressure from a tiny, right-wing splinter group to open up the question of 'Should Audioslavia leave the LigAnaia and strike out on its own, despite being ill equipped to do so in the current economic climate'? Very little campaigning was done by the 'Remain' side, who expected an easy victory, what with there being utterly no reason whatsoever for Audioslavia to leave this mutually beneficial union of nations. The 'Leave' campaign, however, had other ideas, and made a cascade of ludicrous promises - such as spending Laborious Hawk's weekly Zozi wages on the nation's youth system. In the early hours of the morning last Thursday, the country did exactly that, condemning themselves to life as a backwater footballing 'power' for the foreseeable future. Within an hour, the leading 'Leave' group admitted that, indeed, there was no way in hell they could spend Hawk's wages on anything other than Hawk himself, and that the decision would not stop foreign footballers from coming over to Audioslavia to ply their trade, especially as, hey, the reason the clubs are doing so well is because of foreign workers. I mean, players.

If this were to happen to, say, an economic union, you could imagine that such a decision would help to galvanize the loyalist sections of said union against further nations leaving its completely mutually beneficial union. This, however, is football, and one by one most other associations followed suit, wary of not having a full fixture list to play in the coming season. One by one, the nations of Osarius, Quebec, Semarland and the rest resolved to redeploy their national leagues. It remains to be seen whether the likes of Legalese and Mertagne can even do this in time for next season, such was their reliance on the LigAnaia structure to survive.

COCANEFA, the umbrella organization overseeing the region-within-a-region's member associations, remains strong. For now.

Many angry observers, disappointed in the Audioslavian people, will be supporting Brenecia tonight, as Audioslavia seek to elbow their way into the World Cup quarter-finals. Few, of course, envisage that a major footballing superpower like Audioslavia could possibly fall to the backwater minnows of Brenecia. Big footballing nations simply do not lose second round matches against such opposition of limited history and experience at the highest level. Audioslavia, lucky in their opening match against Barunia, over-run against U.S.I. and fortunate to sneak out of their game against Matthewsiania with all three points, should have the better of Brenecia.

Should.

LigAnaia: Season Fourteen, the final LigAnaia season, will be played next season, as various member associations quibble and delay about actually pulling the trigger on the physical leaving of LigAnaia.

IBJJ, G'NB

[COCANEFA]

CUT OFF
for matches being played in Audioslavia (Matches A1, A2, A3 and A4)

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

Night over.
The Anaians had left already, Osarius having to carry around Hakifao after she broke down on tears for some reason.
Don't really recall why, supposedly had something to do with me.
RB dropped by. First, he had to take Llama back to wherever he was supposed to be, then took some bits of cake.
Dunno why he was so straight to the point, though he seemed a bit uneasy around Kitsunia.
Fox ears, certainly.
Nephara and Brenecia left just a bit after that, him saying something about needing to sleep.
I was supposed to be sleeping too, but wasn't really tired.
Besides.
"...You really want that prize, eh?"
"I have to win at least once!"
"You're the best on Pokémon Battles between us both, so there's that. And I won again."
"Why don't you just give up?"
"Because then I don't get bo- WAIT! You're still here!?"
"I... kinda can't."
"Why not?"
"Dipped my hands on cold water. I can't do that."
"...So?"
"Does that trigger a transformation or something?"
"...Yeah. I'm a girl now."
"...She does sound different."
"So you were a boy before?"
"Exactly."
"And you didn't just come on a dress because it's comfy?"
"...It is."
"So? You still have legs."
"Do you really wish to let a girl walk around the city at night all alone?"
"Then we should just dip your hands on hot water, no? I'll get the pan."
"...Man, considering your rush, you two really seem like you did have-"
"Or we could pay you a taxi cab."
"You're paying it, right?"
"Again, I thought you wanted that prize."
...Well, damn.

"Wake up, king."
"...King?"
"Well, yes."
As I opened my eyes, I saw a baby on Kitsunia's arms. She was smiling.
"Say hi, prince!"
"AH!"
Oof... That... That was just a nightmare.
"Wake up, king."
"AH!"
Where's the- Oh, she doesn't have a baby.
Phew.
"...You're not a fan of the whole king and queen thing, right?"
"U-uh... N-no, that's ok."
"A nightmare, then?"
"You could say that, right."
"It might be an omen. What happened?"
"...I dreamed that I lost to Ko-oren."
"You're facing her today, right?"
"Yeah. We might have to re-do that entrance thing we did for the battle against Audioslavia, by the way. Play-offs tend to have that."
"Well, you know it."
"Anywhere I go, you'll follow?"
"We are the Children of the Sun."
Chromatika then burst from the closet.
"That's all you need to knooow!"
"..."
"Sorry about that. I'm going home now."
Creepy.
"...How long do you think they stood there?"
"Since you two slept."
Even more creepy.

Packed house for the Round of 16.
Granted we were the last ones to enter, but still. Crazy stuff.
"Kinda didn't want to face Ko-oren."
"The Beautifly girl?"
"Yeah."
"The one that beat Eura?"
"Pretty much. We were friends for a while."
"You mean lik-"
"No. Just friends."
"For real?"
"Yes. Does it look like I'd lie to you?"
"If you don't want to lose your great nights, then you'd better be honest."
"...You were the first one."
A bell rang.
"Let's go, then. Have a battle to win."
"...Heheheh."
"What is it?"
"Nothing. Let's win!"

Let's see what she pulls off. I mean, we also are going to step up from our Group Round stuff but-
Beautiflies started to fly around the stadium, a music started to play.
"Is it meant to be like this all the time?"
"I think not."
Well I know when you're around cause I know the sound / I know the sound, of your heart
"The Sound? Does she get those cards with stuff like Cheap and Knock-offs written all over it?"
"Don't think so."
A girl appeared to be standing on top of the stadium's luxury box. She waved, before confidently taking two steps and jumping from it.
"What the-"
"Relax."
She started to fly on the skies of the stadium, somehow beating her wings.
"..."
"Those wings aren't fake."
You're so conceited, I said "I love you" / What does it matter if I'm lying to you? / I don't regret it but I'm glad that we're through / So don't you tell me that you "just don't get it" / Cause I know you do
"..."
"You're not jealous, right?"
"Psh. Ninetales beats Beautifly."
The girl landed on the center of the stadium. The flying Beautiflies left the stadium as she arrived in.

----

As the crowd's cheers and claps faded, the music stopped. Smoke slowly rose, clouding the other side of the field.
Time to face Sunrise...
Chill...
This is my chance, I know it!
I beat Eura after all, can't just end at him...
Besides, I'm pretty sure he'd be a pain on the Christmas Parties if he won and-
Ever so blinding light broke up the clouds.
Is that...
Lay down your head, you're not alone / Anywhere you go, I'll follow
No... Can't be...
We are the children of the sun / That's all you need to know
Arceus?
The silhouette of Arceus formed from the clouds as they faded from the way. Also clear to see were both Sunrise, his right hand risen to the skies, pointing up while Kitsunia accompanied him.
...Eeeeh, crapbaskets.

----

"I can't let you win. This is my turn to challenge fate!"
I wasn't exactly happy with facing Ko-oren, but it still was better than most of the other challenges.
"Psh. This Ninetales' boy can beat a Beautifly. Easy."
Like Quebec. Pretty sure he'd misunderstand those clouds for something else. If he didn't show up drunk as well.
"...A Ninetales?"
Like Valanora. She'd throw a cake on my face or something just as retribution for all of those mess-ups, for sure.
"Yup. See my ears?"
Like Nephara. Not exactly happy with the idea of facing the one guy that I tend to face on these things and then lose to. Plus, jerk.
"Wouldn't it be a Vulpix then?"
Like Vilita. He's mysterious. Sorta sketchy. Can't figure him out for the hell of it.
"DID YOU JUST CALL ME A VULPIX?"
Like Farfadillis... Wait, no, Farf's fine. I tied with him once anyway.
"Well, you do kinda fit. Never seen a dark fur Ninetales ever."
Like Valladares. I do not trust his eyes, period.
"And so I'm a Vulpix? I'm bigger than you!"
Like Chromatika. He's not bad... or she's not bad... Ugh, It's hard to even think of reasons to worry facing him. Her. If only they could decide!
"I beg your pardon? Bigger? You're taller and all but-"
Like Krytenia. If only because I don't have anything purple on me. Should've come prepared.
"You've heard me, A-Cup!"
Like Bonesea. He's creepy as shit.
"I-I'M STILL A TEEN!"
Ugh, they could stop yelling.
"HAHA! A-CUP!"
"...I think we should have our battle, then?"

"..."
"Return, Lunatone."
"Heheheh."
"...You win."
KICK ASS!
"Granted I got thrown off my game because of that-"
"Whatever, A-Cup."
"Oh, you-"
"The Princess of Radio Esportiva says OUT!"
Kitsunia flat-out left, walking her way back to the lockers.
"...Sorry about that."
"No problem, this is a competition."
"I meant Kitsunia."
...
"Oh, but the battle too."
"Don't worry. You're good. Maybe the best if you don't screw it up."
"Thanks. You were great as well."
"No need for flattery!"
"Oh, but it's not. It was a good battle."
I then realized I was being dragged out by someone.
"...See you around!"
"Uh... You too!"

"I'm not jealous."
"You sound like you do."
Turns out I did spend the rest of the day trying to egg on Kitsunia saying she was, in fact, jealous.
"I don't!"
"Then why did you keep taunting her?"
"Psychological game."
"Yelling Flatchest, Table and A-Cup for half the battle was a Psychological game?"
"Psychological game, yes."
"You can't just admit you were jealous?"
"The Princess of Radio Esportiva doesn't get jealous!"
Oh, is it?
"Well, you know. I think it'd be pretty cute if you were jealous."
"You dreamed of her..."
"That I lost to her. Not exactly my favorite dream."
"Still! Why don't you dream about me?"
"...What?"
"How thick are you? Why do you think I'm still here?"
"...I'm good in bed?"
"..."
"...Not?"
"...I love you."
"You... You do?"
"Yeah! Since you moved in from your home years ago!"

----

"...Sunrise, what are you doing here?"
A beaten down, bloodied Sunrise stood on his knees, crying. To his side was a small backpack with his clothes.
"M-Mom... D-Dad... T-they beat me... beat me up!"
"They did WHAT?"
"I said... I said I didn't want to... to stay here... They got mad... Kicked me out... out of house..."
"...You have a dream?"
"Y-yes..."
"So you ran here?"
"Y-yes... I-i'm so... sorry..."
Huelandia smiled, lifting the small kid up.
"Don't worry, kiddo. You're free to stay here with us."
As the two walked to the bathroom so that he could wipe the blood out of over his skin, he passed by Kitsunia's room, as she tried to brush her doll's hair.
The sight of the battered boy caused her to drop the doll and walk after him.
Finally, he returned from a bath, looking slightly better. She could still see some marks and wounds.
"Hi!"
"...Hi."
"I'm Kitsunia! Who are you?"
"He's Sunrise. A cousin of yours that is staying for the day."
"...F-f-for the day?"
"Fine, fine. For the time he wishes. Be good to your cousin, Kitsunia."
"Y-yes, mommy!"

"I-I normally don't get people to play with me..."
"...Why?"
"M-my ears..."
"Oh, t-they are m-missing..."
Sunrise smiled, looking around the room, finding a small radio set.
"You... You like music?"
"Yes... They're my only friend aside from Matthew."
"My big cousin?"
"He likes to take care of me!"
"W-w-well, if it's on me, you'll have another friend for ever!"
He held her hands with a weak smile, still reeling from the beat-down and the shock of his parents.
"P-promise?"
"I-I'll do my best!"
Kitsunia smiled, her eyes shining as he dropped her hands, searching for something to play with.
"T-thank you."

----

"You were a good friend. At school, you'd help me out against the bullies."
"And with the studies. I remember that."
"...when you left, I tried to be strong. You were following your dreams, I couldn't stand on your way."
"..."
"Then I got an internship at the radio on St. Fut. That got me here."
"And the first thing you did was-"
"Try to contact you."

----

Sunrise was on his room, working on something.
"You got visitors, Sunrise."
"What?"
"...Why are you filling those balloons with orange juice?"
"It's my new scheme! It has the fun of squeezing juice out of an orange without the hard work!"
"The lack of limits towards your creativity are impressive. If only they weren't also almost always stupid."
"Look on the bright side, Valanora didn't beat me up this week."
"Yet."
"Dude, no need for a bad omen."
"Fine, mate. Can I let her in?"
"SHE'S ALREADY HERE? BUT I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING YET!"
"...Pretty sure Valanora isn't your cousin."
"...uh. OK, then."
A younger Kitsunia entered the room as Apox left.
"Cousin!"
"Shhh..."
"What?"
"I'm trying to do an experiment."
"You and your experiments... That's why mother was always so proud about you!"
"I'm filling these balloons with orange juice, it'll make me rich once I sell them. Wanna try it?"
"Oooh... Sure!"
"Here you go- oops!"
The balloon slipped from Sunrise's grasp, falling down the window... until it hit a passing Valanora. Sunrise stared through the window before quickly hiding.
"A-Apox..."
"...You did it again?"
"Y-yes..."
"'kin hell, mate."

----

"I was going to tell you my feelings that day."
She sighed.
"But you had to go and hide from the elf."
"I forgot you were there that day?"
"You didn't pay any attention, so I left. Decided to pretend it didn't happen. Shutting Apox up was hard, but he understood."
"...That wanker."
"...So I decided to start my career and so went these years."
She smiled, staring at him.
"I guess I finally had the courage."
"I thought you were just drunk. And then tried to piss Matthew off."
"I had water that day."
"...You really didn't want to say it, did you?"
"Not until I knew you'd say the same."
...
"You're saying the same, right?"
"Follow me."
"W-why?"
"You love me, right? Follow me."

The room was dark.
"What's your plan?"
"Close your eyes."
"O-OK..."
A flick of the light switch to reveal... his dream.
"Now you can open your eyes."
"B-b-but that's!"

----

Kitsunia dashed to the couch, crying against it. Near her was Sunrise, his feet on the couch as he tried to study.
"...A guy simply can't study around here, can he?"
She continued to sob.
"...Oh, blast it. What is it, cousin?"
"...They stole my doll!"
"Who?"
"The bullies from down the road!"
"Those idiots? Figures."
"I want Clarisse back... She was my first friend!"
"Isn't Matthew around?"
"He's on a trip with papa..."
"...So it's up to me, then?"
"W-w-would you, cousin?"
"Yeah. If it shuts you up."
"T-t-thank you!"

----

"That day, I got beaten the ever living hell out. They were many, I was one. So it ended as well as one would expect."
"But..."
"I managed to slip out of their grasp with the doll's torso."
"You said it was lost!"
"I couldn't tell you she was on that state."
"B-b-but..."
"So I decided one of my targets would be to fix this doll and deliver it back to you."
Sunrise sat at a chair, smiling.
"Aunt Hue thankfully didn't leak the news to you and helped me out with the specifics of where I could find the doll's parts."
"S-s-so why did you leave..."
"Well, I always dreamed of living on the big city, getting a job and being able to do whatever I want."
She looked down, only for him to pop up and hold the restored doll, handing it to her.
"But also half of the pieces were only here at this city. So I decided I'd study hard to get to an university and then a job. Which is why I started to study with you... and kinda fell in love."
"Y-you always..."
"I had to leave so that I could accomplish both of my dreams. I didn't forget you, which is why I never really went forward with others."
"...So why didn't you tell me this before?"
He sat down, his arms crossed.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"..."
"And the Princess has no more words."
Sunrise smiled, walking out of the room.
"Let's go. Before the soup gets cold."
"...T-t-thank you!"

[Farfadillis]

Facing a World Cup host is never an easy task. The Farves knew it better than anyone; San José Guayabal had beaten them soundly two years before. This time, however, Farfadillis were the favorites to win. It has to be said, though: they hadn't been terribly convincing in the group stage. A decent showing against Savalen, ultimately belittled by that team's subsequent performances, a hard-fought win against Valladares that wasn't entirely deserved and a hard-fought tie against Associated Godlands. They had actually been pretty close to elimination. Had Wínrôuge missed that eightieth-minute penalty, they probably wouldn't have scored the final equalizer. But nobody would deny that, as things stood, Farfadillis was still the better team on paper. The big question was, however, how would the Rulandese conflict affect the Farf team's morale?

Yes, they had managed to get seven points in the group stage, unprecedented for a nation that had, nonetheless, managed to sneak out of groups eight times already. But they had made it clear that they were having internal problems. Tíbürçìó publicly announced two players had had a physical altercation before the first match, and one of them made fun of the other when he scored the winner against Valladares. Agiainst Savalen, Tôr uncharacteristically got sent off. Against Associated Godlands, Fôx and Mixé were caught on camera insulting each other throughout the game. There were even some rumors that Wínrôuge's terrible performance, penalty aside, was actually down to him trying to boycott the match. Suffice to say, the team had been more united in the past.

Tíbürçìó Çötàvíê managed the situation marvelously, though. Inspiring a united locker room is easy enough. A normal one, that's a bit harder. A split locker room? That's pretty damn hard. Inspiring a split locker room while splitting it even more? That takes a special man. He appealed to their tribal instinct, first for its hatred, and then for its love. He told the team to hate itself, but to pull through anyway, for the people back at home. Finally, against Krytenia, he went for some more tribal hatred. They're the hosts. They have it good. They're ecstatic to be hosting the World Cup. Why not thunderstorm their fucking parade?

A fiery Farfadillis team tried to take control of the match from the first instant, but the hosts were not about to make things easy. They were just as vivid as the Farves; they were the hosts, at the end of the day.

For better or worse, Farfadillis had always been an offensive team. With Tíbürçìó's less-tactics-more-rants approach to management, they were definitely not going to give that up now. Krytenia, though a bit more moderate in their approach, were also a very offensive team. The neutrals were in for a treat.

The first goal arrived just ten minutes in, and it sent the stadium into a wild frenzy. Ortega dribbled Monrazón and set up Sampson, who beat Pickton to the ball and smashed it past Tzâín. One-nil. Not entirely 'deserved', but who actually 'deserves' a goal just ten minutes in?

La Vherderoja didn't look concerned in the least. Of the top teams in the competition, they were the one that conceded the most goals. They were naturally more mentally-resistant to receiving one, though it also made them get less in-the-state when they scored.

Both teams continued to attack, but the Krytenians pulled back a bit. While the Farves would've been more than content to go for a second goal, the Krytenians were, as said, moderate in their approach. Not pulling back was irresponsible when holding a lead against Farfadillis. They could only hold the tide back for so long, though. They knew Farfadillis would show big defensive gaps, gaps that they could exploit. One goal would definitely not be enough, but it could very well lead to the second, with some luck.

That they did not have. Twenty minutes after Krytenia took the lead, Xousa fouled Jevdjevic-Hadsic when he had his back looking towards the goal. Amateur mistake for someone as experienced as Alfie. Fôx made them pay dearly for his mistake, as the set piece specialist that he was. The shot was not particularly precise, but it was fast. It hit the crossbar violently, bounced and hit the roof of the net. It had been a lot more towards the middle than he had aimed for, but Heaton was never reaching that, specially not at thirty-nine.

Just before half time, Fuego completely silenced the stadium. Röènôùjýâ and Tôr combined wonderfully by the flank. The former placed a cross perfectly in Fuego's head, and Fuego never wastes a perfect cross. He headed it powerfully with his forethead, straight ahead. It hit the side-netting. Heaton was not saving that, thirty-nine or twenty-nine.

Perhaps the most unsettling thing about Farfadillis' goals was that neither Fôx nor Fuego had celebrated their goals much. The former punched the air, the latter merely grinned. Their teammates did not run to them. They did not scream in elation. This was unthinkable just one month before.

Half-time came and went. Tíbürçìó felt talking to his team was unnecessary. He fielded the same eleven for the second half, naturally. So did Dario Navas. It had been a fairly close affair up to that point, even if Farfadillis leading was fair.

It took the teal team just five minutes to equalize. Just like Farfadillis had crashed Krytenian spirit with a goal in the dying minutes of the first half, Krytenia had crashed Farf spirit with a goal in the... borning minutes of the second half. Well, they didn't actually crash Farf spirit. But they would have under most circumstances.

Ortega and Sampson combined perfectly once again before testing Tzâín, who responded far from ideally. A rushing Rankine, that wouldn't have been there had Farfadillis not been on top at that moment, got to the rebound first and placed the ball close to the top-right corner before Tzâín could fully reposition. It was all level once again.

Farfadillis stepped up their offensive efforts, while Krytenia retreated a bit too happily. The stadium was wild with excitement. How the Krytenians didn't take advantage of this, and instead chose to let Farfadillis take control of the game, we'll never know. But Farfadillis soon took control of the match.

They did have trouble finding the net for some time, though. Between minute fifty and seventy, the team had three clear chances. Nofzaleiné, Fuego and Wínrôuge missed one each. The first shot very wide. Almost all of his teammates verbally harassed him for that. The second grazed the crossbar with a header. He got some encouragement. The third uncharacteristically shot straight at the keeper when he faced him one-on-one after dribbling both Krytenian centrebacks.

This is not to say Krytenia did not have their fair share of chances. Sampson did well to dribble both Mixé and Pickton before skying his one-on-one with Tzâín. Ortega also came close with a shot from afar.

But in the end, Farfadillis scored a third goal, and with it ran away with the game. When the chronometre hit minute seventy-five, Monrazón stripped Rankine of the ball. He quickly passed the ball to Nofzaleiné, who gave it to Wínrôuge, surprisingly, with just one touch, not so surprisingly. Wínrôuge then lifted the ball over Xousa, putting it in the way of Jevdjevic-Hadsic, who had begun running towards the empty space behind the Krytenian's back. He touched the ball once to floor it and promptly fired away. It was not awfully precise, but Heaton was surprised by the Karuvan's eagerness to shoot when he could've easily touched the ball a couple more times, perhaps even tried to dribble him.

La Vherderoja then put the teal team to the sword. With their backs to the wall, the Krytenians looked for the equalizer a bit too desperately. Farfadillis punished them for that with a lethal counterattack, just two minutes after pulling ahead.

Pickton stripped Sampson of the ball and passed to Fôx, who was out wide. He touched the ball gently, looked up and saw Fuego sprinting at full speed towards empty space. He placed a perfect pass. Fuego picked up the ball just before Davis and ran straight towards Heaton. He feinted a shot and passed to the side. An incoming Nofzaleiné put the ball away with serenity. It was over.

Krytenia tried to fight its way back into the game, but Farfadillis' insistence on attacking often left them closer to getting thrashed than getting back in the game. In the remaining ten minutes, Tíbürçìó made his three substitutions (he had apparently forgotten). So did Navas, who hadn't forgotten, unlike his more absent-minded opponent.

In the end, Farfadillis came out on top. Now they had to wait for the winner of the Pasarga-Nephara game. They were in the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the fifth time. The farthest the team had ever gotten. They could make history.

Yet, the locker room had never been as silent after a match.

[Audioslavia]

Brilliant Bulls Best Brenecia

Audioslavia marched into the quarter-finals of the World Cup last night with victory over Brenecia, enhancing their status as one of the favourites for the tournament.

Gregory Besoitagoena, starting in place of an out-of-sorts Imanol Vengochea, gave the Bulls an early the lead over the Patriots in the tenth minute, latching onto a ricocheting ball in the area and striking it cleanly past Woodgate for 1-0.

Buoyed by early success, Besoitagoena laid on a second for Dragan Kryznjak to finish for 2-0 as Audioslavia dominated the early going.

Lemuel Ortez would add a third on forty minutes to truly take the wind out of Brenecia's sails.

Brenecia's best chances came in the second half. Ursula Rankin saw a shot saved by de Snaaijer's feet, before Trevelyan squandered Brenecia's best chance of the game by lifting the ball over the goalie, and over the bar, after being put through by Paterson.

Audioslavia's starting line-up has been in a near constant state of flux, with only de Snaaijer and Marquez starting each of the Bulls' four games so far. Guillermo Sanchez-Dysos, shorn of the ability to test his players over the course of a qualifying campaign, has had to chop and change over and over.

Against Banguela, GS-D lined up his side from numbers 1 to 11, his supposed best eleven, and more or less the side he took to the AOCAF two years ago. There were no real signs of disharmony, despite Banguela having the better of a match that the Bulls were lucky to win, but injury to both strikers, Kryznjak and Apexarena, as well as the poor form of Conor Magellan, forced the manager's hand. In came Aurrekoetxea as the lone striker, with Morrison in midfield and Besoitagoena out of position as a false-nine, despite the fact that Patxi Azarola would have been far better suited to the position. Besoitagoena played well, but the team did not as a whole, and Audioslavia would be defeated.

In game three, with Kryznjak back from his knock, but with Wight missing, Dallara and Caceres holed up with an ill-timed bout of the flu and Etxezuniyiga ashort of form and fitness, the boss started with a back four of BF-R, Marquez, Rouy and Etxehartzaren, the latter an eye-opening choice of a winger for a wingback. Besoitagoena, a right-midfielder, was asked to play on the left this time. The result wasn't pretty, but it seemed to get the job done.

Only now, with the starting lineup of de Snaaijer - Dallara, Marquez, Caceres, Rouy - Besoitagoena, Wight, Ortez, Etxehartzaren - Aurrekoetxea, Kryznjak, do Audioslavia seem to be truly playing like a side in contention for a third World Cup trophy. Rouy, a make-shift left-back, is in top form as he tries to finally cement himself a place in the Audioslavia starting line-up at the age of 29. Marquez and Caceres are solid in defence, while the link-up play between Ortez and Wight has freed Etxehartzaren and Besoitagoena to attack the flanks without worrying about losses of possession. Kryznjak only has the one goal so far this tournament, but he is looking more and more like the player he was four years ago.

[Nephara]

"Billions of eyes all around the world are fixed on us."
Twenty-three sets of them fixed on Reinhard Shale. Among them - Igrene Cantor's.
She could consider herself somewhat lucky to be here. In a career that had to date gone from strength to strength to strength, she'd been ... frankly, stifled, under Erica Brewer's far more patient approach. Cantor was not a patient striker. She ran at the ball, or where the ball would be, and then hit it really hard with her left boot. That's... what she did. But fucking Erica Brewer...
... wasn't someone she could complain about near the gaffer, since Brewer was his old assistant manager and had, in fact, been hand-bloody-picked by him to take over at Crisisbless! Thank God that experiment was over. Thank God next season she could go back to doing what she did best.
"Billions of eyes, waiting for the next headline. So many big nations have toppled early on. San Jose."
"Eura," said Brandon.
"Vilita.
"Osarius didn't even bloody make it to the tournament!"
"Valanora!"
"Krytenia!"
"They think we will be next!"
"Well they're fucking wrong!"
"Billions of eyes will be watching as the world number 3 takes on the defending champions, and we are not here to spare Pasargan blushes. For both of us, defeat here would be a disaster."
"Remember two years ago?"
"I remember Pasarga came second in their group. Eura were top of ours. They won that one."
"We beat Ko-oren on penalties. Nobody could've seen victory coming from there."
"Our campaign was shit," said Shale bluntly. "Up to then. And it's been shit now. But they've only won once, too. They're as good as we are, and it's going to come down to who wants it more. That'd better be you, lads."
Silence, just as everyone took a breath.
Shale rolled up the cover on the whiteboard. Cantor tried not to swear.
"Right... Just, you're still in goal. Sash, you're back in the team, Scylla, you're back on the left. Katta and Malachite, keep on with what you're doing. Rains and the skipper down the middle. Now down the- don't give me that face, Adnan, blame the physio. It's Cards on the right, and you, Link, I want you lin- I want you and Scylla to gang up on their man, Reiniger, I think he might prove our best avenue of attack. Thea, I want you drifting behind Scaffi, give our midfield a bit of support, get us to overrun their midfield. Scaffi, you do you. Ren!"
Cantor's eyes shot up. "G- gaffer!" she said, to compensate for having drifted off.
Shale wasn't fooled, but he let it slide. After all, you wanted your players to want to play, right? "If we don't have a couple goal's cushion late on, you get ready to be an impact substitute. Run at 'em hard and keep 'em guessin'. You're our best hope of breaking 'em down late on."
"Hey skipper," Vyntra called out. "Got any tips on van Kruistum?"
Ashdown glanced up from her boots. "Mate, he'd kill me if I ever told you."
The dressing room thrummed with laughter. Brandon checked his watch, and nudged the gaffer, who nodded.
"Alright, lads. Enough talk. Let's go out there..." He thumped one fist into the other. Hard. "And let's smash 'em!"

It had been exhausting for Cantor even to watch. Nevertheless, watch she did. And it was an enthralling game, even if she wished she'd been a neutral. Even if she wished she had the privilege of being a neutral for the occasion. The fact was that the privilege of being in the World Cup squad far, far overtook that, but it did come with certain responsibilities.
It was easier when she was told to warm up. 75 minutes played. 1-1 the score - Nephara had scored first, specifically through Lienke Vesper. Shale's words had been prophetic. Belgrave's cross, flicked along by Scafidis to Vyntra, who knew the ball Vesper wanted and played it, rolling it into the gap between Moravec and Reiniger, Vesper dashed into the gap and placed the ball past Lukacs. But the Cormorants couldn't hold on in the second half - their grip began to slip from the kickoff onwards and by the time that Romelio Ceballos lashed a half-volley past Hargrave it had been coming, after the Starling goalkeeper had made four good saves before then.
The match was finely poised. She was the side's X-Factor, strangely one that appealed to her almost more than starting did now. This was her chance. Penumbra returned from suspension next match, Szalai would probably be back from his knock against the Fleftics, this was her moment. She would take them to the next game.
It'd be just like the gaffer had said. Punch down the middle and make that decisive run, then hit it past Lukacs. It'd be that simple, right?
Well... no.

Fast-forward to a hundred and eight minutes on the clock, and Igrene Cantor was starting to think that it wasn't just trivia that no striker had scored yet for Nephara. She was beginning to think it might be a curse.
It wasn't that she'd had chances and blown them - she'd not really had chances at all, and admittedly the one she had had she'd promptly smashed over the bar. She could hear the murmurs in the stand - "Amokachi would've had that." Some preferring "Covenant would've had that."
One or two said, "two years ago, she'd've had that."
Fuck. That.
And so the game rolled on largely without her, two shattered teams defaulting to tight defence in a high-class match that was grinding inexorably towards penalties. Ashdown had been hacked down by the substitute Ruel (given that Cawdor had also come on, the entire four-man Hastmead Diamante midfield was on the pitch at this stage). It was a nice angle. She fancied it. Sure, Ashdown took all the free-kicks... or, well, 90% of the free-kicks. Reinhard Shale acknowledged that she wouldn't always be there and, well, even when she did, it was best to mix it up sometimes.
Thirty-odd yards from goal, maybe twenty-seven, twenty-eight. Probably thirty. She stepped over to it.
"Hey, skipper..."
Ashdown gave her A Look. The look said; she was tired, shattered, on a yellow card, she'd done just about everything she could. If you, young padawan, wanted to give this one a go, well, I'll stand around it for show and you're more than welcome. At least, that's what Cantor took it to mean, and so she stepped briskly back.
She often took free kicks for Crisisbless, too. Usually direct ones. Whatever anyone said about her as a player, she hit the ball really cleanly.
And really.
Fucking.
Hard.
She took four long, loping strides and utterly battered the ball into the roof of the net. From thirty-odd yards. The wall was good. Lukacs' positioning was exemplary. His movement was about right.
The sheer gale-force with which Cantor annihilated that ball was better.
Amokachi would be back in the starting lineup tomorrow.
But this? This was her moment. The scoreboard would forever say that it was Cantor's strike in the 109th minute, and nobody was going to take that away from it.
Shove that in your clipboard, Brewer!

[Electrum]

Discussions around the Cabinet Table
Bang

Machination

There was a small, dull, whirring of the various machines around Jim Connors. He wasn't badly hurt, the bullet that penetrated his body didn't go through any of his major organs, and only went through the intestines - which let's face it - was one of the best situations Connors could have asked for. Connors for an old man who was shot looked strangely sprightly, sitting upright in his bed after his operation and already chatting to some of the staff. He was a little bit worse for wear, but you wouldn't be able to tell that he was just shot and had a operation to remove said bullet just a week ago. One of the nurses came into the room briefly, cleaning it up a bit before saying to Connors: "You have some visitors Mr. Connors. They're some of the politicians you expressly invited to be here." He nodded, and the nurse walked out of the room to bring the politicians in.

Shuffling in was the heads of the other parties he was closest to - of course, being a nationalist meant you had very few friends, especially in the cabinet. Country Living leader Laina Li, Michael Lynton from the Compassionate Workers party and Daniel Waters from the Family Principles party, the three leaders whom he had invited to a luncheon just a few weeks earlier entered the room.

Jim Connors - Let's talk politics. Laina, could you shut the door?

Laina, the only female in the room obliged the request.

Michael Lynton - Well, I'd just like to say on behalf of the cabinet, we would like to send our regrets.... that you were shot...

Jim Connors - I bet the others made you say that, didn't they? Bah, I don't care that I was shot anyways. I'm still alive. Let's talk politics. Now.

Daniel Waters - In all fairness, I don't think we should. I mean, you just came out of surgery and we're just here to comfort you. Now is not really the best time to talk about parliamentary business.

Jim Connors - Please, do so. That's why I invited you three specifically to come here. Stage One of the project is completed.

Laina Li - What on earth are you talking about?

Jim Connors cleared his throat.

Jim Connors - Remember how we had to galvanise public support? Well, would you look at me. Someone shooting an elderly man. They haven't caught the bugger yet. Laina, could you turn on the TV?

Laina obliged yet again.

The TV took a few moments to flicker into action. It was a welcome source of light in the otherwise dark, drab room. The hospital in Lizardville was well-worn and run-down, much like the people of rural Electrum, who felt betrayed by their politicians and resented the immigrants. A TV anchor was reading the news, and quite conveniently said: "In the aftermath of the shooting, there are already accusations that pro-Euran nationalists were behind the shooting, and already there are signs of change in the air. In recent polling conducted by PollTel, there is 35% support for a wall, up 10%, and in Northern Electrum, the figure is already at 50%."

Jim Connors - There's the public getting behind our message, even if it took me getting shot. Now are you guys in with my idea or not?

After a few back and forth discussions, it was decided that the party leaders would take advantage of the situation and yes, throw their support behind the wall, at least, behind the scenes. The discussion turned to how they would draw some of the people out of the cabinet so that the right wing bloc had a sufficient majority to start building the wall on the Euran border. Afterwards, he bade them farewell, and wished them the best of luck.

---

Later....

Jim Connors took out his disposable phone that he bought just a few days before the shooting. It still had a weak charge, after not being charged since he bought it. He looked around the room -- no prying eyes to interrupt -- and quickly called a number.

"Good shot," Connors said. Another male voice was on the other end.
"Thank you. If you kept a bit more still, I would have shot you in a way that would have minimised your stay, but I'm glad you're alright."
"I'm not going to stand still you know.
"Are they still on side?"
"Yes. Yes they are. It's all falling into place. You'll get your reward shortly."

The phone clicked as the entire battery pack drained.

[Valladares]

The National Kickoff
The Online Home of Valladar Football!

New Look But Still Moving Forward

By: Alan Rosero

Wow...how different this version of the Valladar NT looks under new gaffer Jayson Dhanda. From that rather disordered and appaling team from the Flabio Flórez era, that liked to go always to the front without a real regard for defense, which eventually turned out into the Tricolor dropping vital points all over its tenure, now we see the same men playing the same tune, better synced in the back, and more importantly...more efficient in the offensive phase, as shown in our most recent games at the World Cup proper.

Valladares' history with Dhanda so far has been a good one: starting from that hard-fought 3-2 win in the opening game of the finals against a team already representing a non-existant country (Associated Godlands), we went on to lose to the Farves in a close game where we really deserved a better result, and then there was the best game played by a Valladar team in years: a marvellous offensive exhibition against a hapless Savalen representative, who learnt the hard way what a WC proper was and were mercilessly crushed in the last game of their first finals experience. And so, Valladares advanced to play Valanora, who topped Group A as expected and had the odds to make it to the quarterfinals in their favor.

Familiarity Breeds Strategy

When Jayson Dhanda took over the reins of the Valladar national football team, in his first press conference at VFA House he stated that his priority would be "enhancing the offensive style that has made the Valladar team famous all over the years, while also working on the defensive performance and order". It seemed Dhanda had already received the message sent from this humble blog, but the question was in the air: how to carry it out? The game against Associated Formerlands didn't quite give us an answer to that question, since most of us seemed to watch yet another game of a team by Flórez, rather than the first game of a new process. The following group stage games showed a good defensive and offensive work, but not both together, and we had to wait until the start of the knockouts to see some of that Danda was eager to offer.

Dhanda's guys were to have a lofty goal to achieve in the Round of 16, for Valanora was to be their rival in their first game on the soil of one of the actual hosts of the event. Defeating another five-time World Cup champion at the venue of this edition's final would allow the Tricolor to make a statement considering the subpar performances of other Rushmori powerhouses, with Eura returning home right after the group stage, and Pasarga struggling to get out of their group. That, and another much appreciated advantage: not having to move from the Isserson Olympic Stadium for the quarterfinals (and all subsequent rounds should Valladares keep winning), were some important goals to achieve, and we had to prove we were up to the Vanorians' standards.

With Carlos Alberto Sáez (playing for Raynor City United) and Angelo Farías (as Hondo FC player) being two key players who had some knowledge on Vanorian football, I was expecting Dhanda to use either of them (or both) in the starting lineup...so you could imagine how big my disappointment was at not seeing either of them there. To some, Dhanda trusts his starting 11 (which is the same as Flórez's, btw) a lot, but to me he's stubborn. A pretty stubborn Osarian. But it doesn't really mind now...as for the game itself, it seemed that Valanora took note of the "St. John's Massacre" vs. Savalen and closely packed themselves with that line of four in the defensive midfield, leaving no spaces for Juan Pablo Reyes or Abel Brücke to make their usual runs through the wings. With Reyes and Brücke out of commission for the time being, Yoan Gignac and Frank Rozenthal were also shut down, and Pedrinho found himself forced to move back to claim the ball, but with few assistance from his teammates there wasn't much he could do on his own. Clearly, the Vanorians were doing a good job at the back, but whether they could turn all that effort into offensive productivity was still to be seen: the famous Laborious Hawk tried to organize the Vanorian attempts at attacking, but Pedro Pedretti was always there to force him into mistake after mistake, and both him and Jonathan Bosetti were fast to retreat to the defensive line, thus creating loads of trouble for Allandren Fresco and Galasgoldas Tathtauré. Other than some attempts by Laborious Hawk from setpieces and a mid-distance shot by Yoan Gignac, both teams cancelled themselves out with their tactics in the first half.

Aware of the fact that the World Cup had already entered into that stage where it's make-or-break, and looking for a way to break through Valanora's wall, Dhanda decided to get off his obstinacy and sent both Sáez and Farías to the game, meaning that the game for both Gignac and Rozenthal was over, and forcefully mutating the Valladar formation into a 3-5-2, where Pedrinho and now Sáez had the mission to break the deadlock. Eventually, with those two subs, the balance tipped in favor of the Valladars: Farías started moving the ball from side to side of the field, in the hope of luring Vanorian players towards him in order to create a hole for Reyes or Brücke to move into. And the move worked in the 70th minute, with Brücke being able to enter the box from the left flank and making a clean assist to the RCU player, who found no trouble in sending the ball to the back of the net in what would be the first and only goal of the match. From there, we saw a flurry of fiery attacks by Valanora, as expected. Laborious Hawk was again commanding the Elven efforts to get an equalizer and extend the game to that war of attrition called "extra time", but the Valladar defense kept up the good job until the end of the match, securing a first clean sheet for Dhanda's tenure. In fact, we could've won 2-0, but third substitution Cristian Arango decided to be too kind to his employers and sent his only chance horribly wide, in injury time.

And so, Valladares are once again in the quarterfinals. Unlike last time, when Eura kicked us out of our own World Cup, a more beatable (in my humble opinion) rival in the form of Barunia is the hurdle to jump at this stage in Krytenian lands. Don't get me wrong, the Suns have been a decent, solid team for some time now, and I really like them, but I think that with teams like Eura, SJG, Vilita, and Pasarga now out of the competition, this is an excellent opportunity to show the multiverse that we also deserve to win the World Cup. At least with the new coach the Tricolor now look more ordered and solid line by line, and gaining momentum after every game. Remember, order is the key to success. Onward, Valladares!

[Cosumar]

All-Time Cosumar XI ::: Entry #9 ::: Jakk Winterfyll (GK)

122 caps
WC 70-75

As The Fiefdom of Cosumar presses on into truly high-stakes territory in the World Cup, The Courier's investigation of its best ever players likewise presses on into the most controversial positions. Of course, these were intentionally saved for last. Goalkeeper has historically been a very stable position for Cosumar. We tend to settle upon a clear first-choice keeper and ride them for several cycles, sometimes more than a decade, until their wheels fall off. Consequently, our 50-year history in the World Cup can be broken down into just a few goalkeeper-eras. The era of Jude Adjei-Kontoh. The era of Pablo Reyes. The era of Tomi Koskinen. The era of Jakk Winterfyll. Those are the major ones. Obviously, each of these men held down the fort for a long time and, in their longeivty, compiled vaunted legacies. But as with any team regardless of formation, the All-Time Cosumar XI can only have one goalkeeper. The winner, which may surprise some people after how much respect we've given to bygone eras thus far, is the Vanquisher's current goalkeeper. Jakk Winterfyll. Though he has fewer caps than his predecessors Adjei-Kontoh and Koskinen, our statistical analysis of Winterfyll's performances puts him in a league of his own. He should have a few more World Cup cycles to gain ground in the cap totals. He turns 30 soon, but that's still prime age for a goalkeeper. Besides, he's now playing in his third World Cup proper - which ties the record for a Cosumarite goalkeeper set by Adjei-Kontoh.

Early Life: Jakk Riko Winterfyll was born on October 31, 977 to Romikk & Celeste Winterfyll in Urtsen, North Klyde Fief. He had a modest but comfortable rural upbringing, homeschooled alongside his six siblings in a quaint countryside home amongst the rolling hills in the center of Klyde's Isle. He was the exact middle child of the seven Winterfyll kids, with Dekka, Kari and Czukk being older and Olvikk, Alkin and Nikki being younger. It was for religious reasons that the Winterfylls raised their kids in a remote area and homeschooled them. The Winterfyll Family has proudly and devotedly adhered to a Cosumarite brand of Nordic Paganism for several generations. The tradition mandates a close connection to nature and values different things in educating children than the Cosumarite public system, excellent as it is. Jakk's father Romikk was raised that way as was his father before him, and Celeste converted upon marrying Romikk. Jakk too is still a devout follower to this day. Growing up, he quickly emerged as the shining star of the family and perhaps the unspoken favorite of his parents. He was a strapping young lad, tall and handsome, enthusiastic in his religious practices and prodigiously gifted both musically and athletically. Despite their pagan belief in solitude from society, Jakk's parents soon realized his gifts were such that they would be wasted if kept at home.

Youth Career: At age 12, they sent him off to the nearest town of size, Urtsen, to attend boarding school and train with a football youth development program there (Urtsen Kickers YSC). At first, he struggled to adjust, both on and off the pitch. The coaches tried to develop him as a center forward becuase of his size, seeing a potentially devastating target in the box. But Winterfyll's personality was such that he was motivated little by scoring. Other kids viewed him strangely because of his constant religious observations and disconnect from modern lingo and trends. So he intentionally performed less than his best in training and turned to his musical talents in his free time to find inner peace and get through it. But after two years of struggling and on the brink of going back home, a coach had a stroke of genius and decided to let 14-year-old Jakk try goalkeeping one day in practice. He finally found a home away from home between the goalposts. Being aloof from the rest of the team and focusing on one laser-minded task of keep ball out suited him. He hardly ever saw the field for his youth club before that switch, but as a goalkeeper Jakk swiftly became the star of the team. At 16, he allowed only three goals in the entire ten-game season of his youth league. He was ready to go pro.

Club Career: Winterfyll signed his first professional contract with nearby fourth-tier club Moggington County in 995 as a 17-year-old. He served as the back-up in his first season, seeing some intermittent action in less important fixtures. He earned enough trust that the club did not panic nor look elsewhere when their 32-year-old starter suddenly retired just weeks before the next season. Winterfyll started every game in the 996 calendar year for Moggington County at only 18 years old. His performances were mixed early on, criticized for not being commanding enough in the air, but strengthened as he gained experience. He ended the season with a record-shattering month in which he allowed only one goal from the run of play. In regional Conference play or not, that's extraordinary for a teen goalkeeper. All of a sudden, Harlighet Ligan scouts were very aware of his presence! Very aware. Some of the biggest clubs across Cosumar started vying to sign him, and after a drawn-out bidding war, Moggington County sold their prized young asset to Crawford City FC. It was another big change for Jakk. He had never lived anywhere but rural or semi-rural areas of rainy Klyde's Isle - in the far east of Cosumar. One massive bank note later and he found himself in the sunny southwest, an alien amidst the eccentric urban lifestyles of Crawford, one of the Fiefdom's biggest cities. But he was no longer a misunderstood kid. Jakk Winterfyll was a consummate professional now. He was named CCFC's starter right away and went to work. After a solid 997 debut season at 19, he truly cemented himself as Cosumar's best young goalkeeper in 998 by allowing only 27 goals in 30 games in his second Harlighet Ligan season. His airtight performance earned him the Young Player Of The Year award and boosted Crawford City FC to its first Globe Cup berth in club history. In his third and final season in Crawford, the club took a bit of a step back, but WInterfyll had a great individual season, setting a record for clean sheets in a Harlighet Ligan season at 21 years old. Once again, bids from bigger clubs started pouring in. But this time, the attention came from the world's elite leagues abroad. Jakk Winterfyll would spent the next six seasons in the Apox National League with Exton F.C.. At River Exe Ground, the nordic pagan from the Klyde countryside would find a home away from home and really come into his own as a goalkeeper and as a man. His consistently solid performances for Exton in the ANL and GC/CC made Winterfyll a name known the world over. After the ANL disbanded a couple years ago, Winterfyll moved to Brenecia at age 28 to play for A-League showrunners Kingsgrove. He won New Player of the Year and A-League Best XI in his debut season, guiding Kingsgrove to a top four finish. He looks forward to continued success with the Royals going forward.

International Highlights: Jakk Winterfyll donned the Cosumarite shirt for the first time at the Olympics with the U23s after his debut season at CCFC at 20 years old. He then went on to play in the Di Bradini Cup with the U21s later in that same year. He would make this senior debut during the World Cup 70 cycle as the back-up goalkeeper to Tomi Koskinen. He scarcely played, but he was being groomed to eventually take over for Koskinen - the greatest goalkeeper in Cosumarite history at that point. Then, in World Cup 71, with Koskinen 35 and Winterfyll 24 and now in Apox, the balance had swung. Jakk Winterfyll became the first-choice keeper after well over a decade dominated by Koskinen. In his first start, he earned a shutout against Garifunya to kick off Qualifying. He has guarded the posts for every Vanquishers' match since, earning a Cup of Harmony title and earning the trust of two different managers. He's had so many big saves in so many big matches that it'd be virtually impossible to pick a few out as "highlights". Every match Cosumar has won in the last six years, from the AOCAF to the World Cup Finals, has been secured thanks to at least one or two big-time Winterfyll saves. That's what world-class international goalkeepers do for you. And now, he has a chance to be the first Cosumarite goalkeeper to see his team, his country, through to the semifinals and a potential medal. All he has to do is ensure that nary a ball gets past him against Kevin Stabb and the USI.

Playing Style: Jakk Winterfyll is...a large human specimen. Standing 6"7 with huge hands, Winterfyll is also a freak athlete. His goalkeeping is defined by his almost psyching anticipation and springy reflexes. He is a pure shot-stopper. A dominant presence in the goal on penalties and in the box on set-pieces. The intensity of his focus when defending that goal line is almost scary. It is such that he gets visibly upset when he does allow a goal to get by, his face showing true anguish and sometimes even bashing himself in the skull with his fist in frustration. His distribution and organizational skills are average or even below average at the highest levels, but he makes up for it with his world-class shot-stopping.

Personal Life: Off the pitch, Jakk is a bit of an unusual personality. Generally agreeable and good-natured, but a little slow and awkward in groups and social situations. He is a very emotional person, which helps fuel his play on the pitch, but he keeps them bottled up most of the time in his personal life. Sporadically, when they eventually build up and spill over, Jakk is prone to very intense outbursts of emotions. These anger management issues tend to shock and repel people who are not used to him. Winterfyll plays several traditional Cosumarite folk instruments, such the vevlira and the flojagu. Learning these instruments was part of his holistic pagan homeschooling. He quickly surpassed the skill of his parents and siblings at an early age and became renowned throughout the traditional Cosumarite music community for his soulful yet technically skilled playing. Music has proved an effective outlet for his emotions, draining the logjam that often builds up inside him so that his occasional outbursts are less intense. Jakk is still a regular contributor to the annual "Sounds of Ancient Cosumar" compilation CD and could've made a living as a musician were goalkeeping not more lucrative. He currently lives in Rozelle with his Apoxian boyfriend Artemis Sabrefell. Jakk has been an open homosexual since 19 and met Artemis during his time at Exton. Artemis moved to Brenecia with Jakk when he signed for Kingsgrove, and the couple recently celebrated their fourth anniversary. As detailed earlier, Jakk is still a devout Nordic Pagan, making tributes to the gods of nature multiple times per day. Though he lives in Rozelle, Jakk still spends most of his free time in the offseasons back home with his family in North Klyde. He also still maintains an active presence in the Exton community, visiting at least once each year. One of his older sisters, Kari Winterfyll (now 34) is nearing the end of a very successful career as a hockey netminder. It seems like the goalie instincts might run in the family a bit.


And there you have it. Jakk Winterfyll in goal for the All-Time Cosumarite Dream Team. We fully expect many readers to upset about the exclusion of Tomi Koskinen. Especially in Ramusok, where he played his entire club career for United. After all, Koskinen represented Cosumar in a record TEN World Cup cycles and is one of our all-time cap leaders. Jakk Winterfyll might not even be the player he is today without the example set by Koskinen in his first couple World Cups as a virtual spectator on the bench. However, Winterfyll is simply the better keeper and projections indicate he will end up with a long and storied international career similar in the numbers to Koskinen's. Besides, Winterfyll has already seen Cosumar to two WC Quarterfinals, whereas Koskinen only even qualified once. Agree? Disagree? Feel free to let us know how you feel about the ninth selection in the comments section or on social media with the hashtag #CosumarXI. Be sure to stay tuned over the next few weeks as we continue to fill in that image below.

#1: LB William Riley | #2: CM Irvinn Rincon | #3: ST Rikki Varshney | #4 ST Sur Arora | #5: DM Vareza Na'Noni | #6: CB Alexander Pearce | #7: RB Tae Woo Miyori | #8: CM Brian Emerson | #9: GK Jakk Winterfyll




In honor of Cosumar's 25th World Cup, The Cosumarite Courier is naming the best eleven Cosumarite players in history for the first time ever. If Cosumarite scientists unlocked time travel and we could assemble any combination of Cosumarite players from the last 50 years, who should we select to win a World Cup? Well, you voted and we did our nifty research...so now we're unveiling the aggregate results. One by one. Each matchday. You can read the biography of each selection or simply check the updated version of the above image each day to quickly see who made it and continue on with your life. By the time the World Cup 75 cycle is winding down, the countdown will be complete and a concrete Best XI finalized. We will be unveiling entries in order from most unanimous to most controversial, so the worst comment-section firestorms SHOULD be saved until the end!

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World Cup Second Round: "Cosumar sucker-punch underdogs Bonesea just before halftime for 2-0 lead, ride on 3-1
Scorers: Sigler 42', Engström 44', Worsaw 58'
Subs: Newman 59', McNessa 71', Va'Goshal 79'


World Cup Quarterfinals: "Stabb stabbs home winner in extra time to keep Cosumar from first ever Semifinal"
Scorers: None
Subs: Branch 57', Newman 77', Lilley 109'

---

Cosumar Goal-Scorers Tally (58 GF)
Anders Engström (14)
Belarmin Worsaw (11)
Ole Öhman (7)
Mauricio Sigler (6)
Aziz Senturk (4)
Ace Newman (4)
Alexander Soarhaven (3)
Peter Svensson (3)
Bacary Na'Kale (1)
Sheldon Serra (1)
Matt Branch (1)
Frazan Va'Goshal (1)
Vareza Na'Noni (1)
Own Goal (1)

Cosumar Assists Tally
Belarmin Worsaw (9)
Ole Öhman (8)
Anders Engström (6)
Aziz Senturk (5)
Mauricio Sigler (5)
Vareza Na'Noni (3)
Augen Wittevrongel (1)
Sheldon Serra (1)
Tiffany Elam (1)
Alexander Soarhaven (1)
Ace Newman (1)
Tevin Lilley (1)
Bacary Na'Kale (1)

Substitute Appearances Tally
Matt Branch (12)
Ace Newman (11)
Frazan Va'Goshal (10)
Tevin Lilley (10)
Tiffany Elam (6)
Jo de Marisco (5)
Deirdre McNessa (5)
Augen Wittevrongel (4)
Esteban Hernandez (3)
Maynard Gorham (3)
Olaf Womack (3)
Torbjörn Jorgensen (2)
Tomasso Tenebrosa (1)

Cosumar's World Cup 75 Cycle
Four Corners Friendly Tour: Cosumar 1-0 Flardania (@ The Wormhole, Ashen Point)
Four Corners Friendly Tour: Cosumar 5-0 Azrea (@ Versiaville Pavilion, Versiaville)
Four Corners Friendly Tour: Cosumar 3-1 Super-Llamaland (@ Orangi Stadium, Crawford)
Four Corners Friendly Tour: Cosumar 3-1 Rotschwarzland (@ SweetHaven Stadium, Stoneshore)
Qualifying Matchday 1: Bye
Qualifying Matchday 2: Cosumar 4-2 Lons (@ Fire River Arena, Ramusok)
Qualifying Matchday 3: Pridnestrovia 2-2 Cosumar (@ Sheriff Stadium, Tiraspol)
Qualifying Matchday 4: Cosumar 5-2 Acronius (@ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic)
Qualifying Matchday 5: Kaboomlandia 0-4 Cosumar (@ King Wulfric II Royal Stadium, Kolra)
Qualifying Matchday 6: Cosumar 3-1 Super-Llamaland (@ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic)
Qualifying Matchday 7: Nuevo Caracas 0-2 Cosumar
Mid-Qualifying Friendly: Ethane 0-1 Cosumar
Qualifying Matchday 8: Bye
Qualifying Matchday 9: Lons 1-2 Cosumar (@ Kêlik Den, Kêlik)
Qualifying Matchday 10: Cosumar 4-3 Pridnestrovia (@ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic)
Qualifying Matchday 11: Acronius 2-2 Cosumar
Qualifying Matchday 12: Cosumar 0-1 Kaboomlandia (@ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic)
Qualifying Matchday 13: Super-Llamaland 1-1 Cosumar
Qualifying Matchday 14: Cosumar 5-0 Nuevo Caracas (@ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic)
World Cup Matchday 1: Cosumar 4-3 San Llera (@ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic)
World Cup Matchday 2: Royal Kingdom of Quebec 4-2 Cosumar (@ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic)
World Cup Matchday 3: Cosumar 2-1 West Angola (@ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic)
World Cup Round of 16: Bonesea 1-3 Cosumar (@ Hygolje Arena, Oljestaden)
World Cup Quarterfinals: Cosumar 0-0 (0-2 AET) Unified Sunrise Islands (@ Arena Kirola, Cathair)

[COCANEFA]

CUT OFF for teams playing in Krytenia

CUT OFF for teams playing in Audioslavia

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

To whom it may concern,

Hello, foul beings. Hope all of you had fun time in World Cup 75. I didn't have a fun one, mostly because of getting a heart attack few weeks before and not really being able to enjoy being in Audioslavia and Krytenia as usual....

With that being said I would like to congratulate the following people for their performance into the semifinals :

• Jayson Dhanda, longtime Manager of the Grim Reapers until recently
• Sheldon Serra, Captain, Zenit Attawapiskat
• Rolando and Rolandinho, the Sunrisian Twins of Montreal Koreana

Congratulations for qualifying into the semifinals of this World Cup. Here are two celebratory GIFs created by members of our national football team for you 4 fellows :





I wish all of you good luck.

Sincerely,
Frederic Beauchemin

[Audioslavia]

"Sanitexit", they were calling it. A portmaneau of 'Sanity' and 'Exit', a new noun that described the fact that the World Cup Committee had departed from their senses and declared, after a particularly narrow vote, that the next WCC President would be Audioslavian.

One by one, the candidates had come out of the woodwork.

An early frontrunner had been Loris Blondeson, a former mayor of Cathair, who was a popular figure among the sort of idiots who thought an odd haircut and a stammer were acceptable alternatives for leadership and ability to govern. He'd been backed early on in the race by Michel Glove, a man whose name fitted him like a well-tailored mitten. A pair of gloves have a singular and important use. A single glove can only really be used as an impromptu comb on a chicken suit, which is more useful and appropriate for cold weather conditions than Michel Glove could ever be said to have been. Glove's first duty, as Blondeson's second in command, was to rally Blondeson's supporters around Glove himself, usurp his leader and declare his interest himself, though naturally he pretended not to be interested, saying "I never thought I’d ever be in this position. I did not want it, indeed I did almost everything not be a candidate for the leadership of this party, but – at every step in my political life – I’ve asked myself one question: what is the right thing to do? What does your heart tell you?”. He delivered the lines with all the credibility of a worm clambering out of an apple and declaring that the holes had been caused by an infestation of moles, and that the worm itself was the best possible person to lead the fightback against molekind.

Liam Fux was another candidate, crawling out of the same wormhole and declaring that he was actually a different, more buccaneering and rambunctious worm, with ideas and beliefs and aspirations and he was defeated really rather early. Steven Lobster, who appeared wriggling doggedly out of a softer and more compassionate part of the apple, didn't last much longer.

And so, it was down to three.

In one corner (of, erm, the triangle, I suppose) stood Andhere Somelead, whose name was even more apt than Mr. Glove's. Somelead had been a supporter of LigAnExit, the unsupportable case for leaving the LigAnaia, and aside from a total lack of experience in any sort of position of power, let alone a sporting one, became one of the later frontrunners for the position of WCC President, campaigning with a fairly conservative list of policies that included banning instant replays, forcing players to wear their shorts 'not more than two inches above the knee' and banning 'homosexual cuddling' from goal celebrations, positing that a player should be booked if he does anything other than politely shake hands with his team-mates and/or offer the goalkeeper a small gift card offering his condolences.

In another corner came Trees O'May, a woman who once described the word 'luddite' as a dangerous new neologism that should never have been allowed near a dictionary. O'May, like Somelead, wanted action replays to be banned from football, not because of the valuable seconds wasted, but because a camera was a piece of electrical equipment and, as such needed to have the utter shit regulated out of it for no discernable reason. Also, it could possibly be used to film naked women, and wouldn't that just be the most awful thing for the children of the future?

Candidate number three was a latecomer to the electoral process. He was a latecomer to sporting politics in general, really, despite having previously been a sports journalist, occasional spy and, on three seperate occasions, the caretaker manager of the Audioslavian national football team. He was here to 'kick the twunts right in their twunts'. 'Kay tee tee are eye tee tee' he was known to say, with a wink and a sly shuffle of his size nine shoes. His name was Jeremy Jaffacake, 'but you can call me President Jaffacake' he'd say. His policies were fairly thin on the ground, but part of them involved the idea that, for free-kicks on the edge of the area, the defending team should insist that their defensive wall be paid for and maintained by the attacking team.

The campaign of each can probably be summed up by their answer to the final question posed by the arbiter during their live, televised debate, when asked on the possible advantages or disadvantages of the President being a woman.

Naturally, all candidates avoided the question.

"Think of me not as a woman" said Somelead, "but as a mother. As every mother. Every child. Every pensioner. Every family. I am, as it happens, a mother, which I think gives me a sort of trustworthy softness in comparison to 'Muzz' O'May, who is childless and barren"

"Think of me not as a woman either" said O'May, "and, while you're at it, don't think at all. You are the proletariat, and as such thinking should not be something you should be concerned with. It's something I hope to snuff out when I get into power. Beautiful, glorious, delicious power."

"Think of me not as a woman" said Jeremy Jaffacake, "nor as a man. Nor as child, mother, nor a sort of pentagenarian Ayn Rand but without the compassion for those less fortunate. Think of me more as an indestructible hyper-sentient thunder-bastard, come from both past and future to wreck shit and take names"

"You see the shit this rag writes about me?" asked Jeremy, finishing off his third whisky.
"There's a number of things wrong with that question" said Rubio Sanchez, friend and long-time colleague of Jaffacake in the 'media industry', if such a phrase wasn't a complete oxymoron. "Firstly, it's not shit, it's mainly true, you said all of those words at some time or another, and always in that exact sequence. Secondly, it's a bit rich of you to call this newspaper 'that rag' when it's your newspaper, the Cathair Herald, a former respectable broadsheet that's been turned into a hub of tabloid scandalistism under your tenure as editor. Finally, the article was written by yourself. This morning. You wouldn't have made the 2am deadline if I hadn't literally taken your laptop away, sent you to sleep on the couch in your office and finished the article myself so that the world could have a newspaper that didn't have a large blank space where words should have been next to that picture of you riding that horse with your shirt off. How many times have you printed that picture next to a self-written fluff piece about how cool you supposedly are?"
"Five" replied Jeremy
"It's rather more than five"
"What? No. I mean, I wasn't listening to whatever you just said. It's five. Five nil."
"Christ" said Rubio, turning towards the pub's television, on which a number of claret-clad footballers were dancing in celebration. The camera cut to a besuited manager, one Guillermo Sanchez-Dysos, Rubio's son. Rubio uttered the words 'good lad' under his breath.
"Electrum have showed all the defensive rigidity of a corn-starch privet hedge on a calm day" said Rubio.
"Their defence has had all the organization and positional sense of a herd of gazelles during a lion attack. One glance of the ball in their own box and they all scatter, running and jumping to the relative safety of a part of the pitch not occupied by an Audioslavian. The last time I saw such an intense, desperate desire to be nowhere near an Audioslavian striker was when we had our royal correspondent interview those picketers"
"Why does a republic even have a royal correspondent?" asked Rubio.
"Because we need balance in everything" replied Jeremy. "Black and white are opposites. East and west, hot and cold. All oppossites that need one another to function. As such, journalism needs royal correspondents."
"The opposite of journalism. Especially when they're standing sixteen feet away from a blue-collar, asking for translations from her cameraman every five seconds"
"Speaking of Electrums, anyway" said Rubio. "When's the presidential one?"
"It's more of a Refelectrum, I think, than an election, but either way, it's Sunday."
"The day of the World Cup final?"
"The day of the World Cup final."
"You'll be able to watch it in peace after Audioslavia's third place match"
"Nonsense" said Jeremy. "Isserson Stadium. Semi-final. We all know what happened the las..."
"Yes, Jeremy, I've had to hear it a few billion times over the decades, actually"
"Well then" said Jeremy. "I'll be witnessing Audioslavia win the world cup at the exact same time that a nation votes me as the World Cup Committee President."
"Looking forward to it?"
"Aye" said Jeremy. "Bow! Bow ya shits! Bow!"
"Jeremy, er, you're kind of surrounded by these 'shits' right now"
"S'alright" said Jeremy, as he noticed more than a few faces turn his way. "Watch this:"
"HEY, EVERYONE. DRINKS ARE ON ME" shouted Jeremy, to the rapturous 'wahey's of the bar. Steadily, slowly, a chant emerged among the patrons.
"Jez we can! Jez we can! Jez we can! Jez we can"

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

WORLD CUP 75
Ollie Stabblefish: Stabb honors Saint Elsewhere, spikes Cosumar out on Extra Time

Can you believe in dreams? After finally debuting on the Quarter-Finals, the Samba Kids managed to up the antics by getting to the semis after beating Cosumar on Extra-Time.
A dream is certainly what the squad is living. Chiyo's last World Cup run had started to show some cracks and the success of Ayumi Koshiki at the helm of the Western Sunrisians showed the world briefly the potential of cyborg managers.
Still, she persevered and with a call that seemed somewhat out of the park, played unusual choices such as Stabb and Nishidake and gave more emphasis to players that were developing on their own leagues, such as Flanningan, Felipe Ebenezer, the Rolandos and the most recent surprise among starters, the versatile Mallena von Kraus.
Their first shot with this renewed style of team also came around with a more defensive but still relying heavily on flips and dribbles to get around opposition. Nicknamed "Cinematic Football", the Savior Grey managed to walk freely on this World Cup, slamming their group (including a win against one of the hosts), before surprising Ko-oren.
And now Cosumar joins the list of victims of Cinematic Football.
Though the Dragons are far from being a sad team after the result, lamentations after the game still brought up the fact that the team remains as the next Hall of Fame inductee, an impressive mark for a team that had yet to get to a Semi-Final.

Maybe the main reason over the sorrow was that while the Sunrisians outplayed their opposition on ninety minutes, they really didn't go after the goal per se.
Cinematic Football was in full play as the team tried to amaze the Dragons before actually going for the kill. And with this being already on the Quarter-Finals, the Azure Dragons could afford waiting.
Alcouin was the oddity on the match, decided to score before the team was tired down. Her shots would, however, be stopped by the talented hands of Jakk Wintefyll.
Fans might actually remind themselves of last season's bout where, on the Youth Cup Pre-Qualifiers, Lassie Alcouin (Hannah's younger sister) and Ajéan Athletique failed to outlast the hands of Mia Ria and Belle Epoquenne.
This time, however, this Alcouin wasn't alone. And things wouldn't end sour.

Night slowly advanced as Cosumar and Unified Sunrise marched on to Extra Time.
Rolandinho Juliano, already having trouble counting how many nutmegs he pulled already on a troubled opposition left for his team-mate at Quebec, Rolando. The Vanquishers' answer was taking out Mauricio Sigler for upcoming Matt Branch.
Cosumar sent Ace Newman on after the impatient Belarmin Worsaw got himself in trouble for a needless tackle against Paranawê, Sunrise sent Allejo to replace Alcouin after she got fed up of shooting so many times only to be stopped by the keeper.
The Sunrisians decided to get some cheers from the crowd by playing their surprise card, Mallena von Kraus, over Zezinho. The Azure Dragons decided to go with Liley over Na'Noni, switching tactics already at the first half of extra time.

Flanningan managed to steal the ball from Newman, a forward pass to Chi-Chan, who tailed the ball forward to Nishidake. The former street footballer decided to answer with class, rolling the ball to Sarracena and having him boot the ball over the head of Soarhaven, who for once couldn't take it out of danger. Nishidake already on the ran, passed to Kevin Stabb.
The Saint Elsewherian gave it a good kick, blasting the back of the net at minute 111. Sunrise 1, Cosumar 0.
As the opposition tried to recover, Flanningan intercepted a fumbled ball. In a rather off moment, he rolled the ball up front, free for any Cosumarite to take the ball. At that moment, Paranawê made his moment of the World Cup, by dashing to get the ball and dribbling to the side of Senturk. He then passed to Anna Hikari, who fled through the right wing.
When she found herself near the box, she decided to go for a cross, the always deadly Sunrisian crosses once again made a victim as Chi-Chan booted it upwards, keeping it on the move. Stabb, behind the center midfielder made his second great kick of the night, booting it over the keeper's head to guarantee a 2-0 lead.
In a rather cultural celebration, he stood by the corner flag, rising his hand to the skies akin to a popular, current character of an anime of sorts.

The Sunrisians left the game on the Semi-Finals, guaranteeing themselves a prorrogated stay at the COCANEFA lands.
Now to face Nephara and figure out if they're capable of keeping the dream alive or if a Rude Awakening awaits with Sherry Roberts face on it.

---

WORLD CUP 75
Sunrisian Masked Fans: World Cup 75's sensation

Dancing Gospel: Still not vindicated, but on a good run this World Cup

Some would consider this World Cup to be a rather dark one if outside events are to be taken note: the LigAnaia's demise, plans that could have fractured a region and Val Kylx clipping a toe nail.
The Sunrisians however, took things on stride thanks to a completely unexpected phenomenom. The Dancing Gospel, a group of five masked man who spent the last three years roaming on a truck, dancing on each street of Carnival Island, be it populated or not, gained massive popularity after their celebration over the Samba Kids early qualifiers to the World Cup this year.
What followed was, surprisingly, a wave of fan-letters and groups trying to mimic their antics.
"We didn't even know what was going on the very first day." said J.P.N., a member of the group. "I was standing on a bucket of ice to cool my feet, then the guys ran to me, said that we were getting a bunch of messages, like if the world was blowing up."
In fact, their expectations were quite the opposite. "We thought people would hate us." pointed out A.K., known as the sexy one. "For the first time in years, I can actually talk to my mother without hiding my beliefs or choices. That's pretty nice."

Unlike expectations, the group doesn't seem to be planning on profiting heavily from their expousre.
"It's all done as a hobby. We're trying to make kids smile." J.P.N. stated. "If there's a group that is out there trying to profit, even if we dislike the idea, we're not willing to go after them."
Supposedly, the point where they realized how famous they were was when The Royal Kingdom of Quebec's National Team decided to join in the fun. "I remember watching them on the television playing. It's crazy to think professional footballers are actually doing what we normally do." said A.K., all smiles.
Plans for a DanceGosCon are already on the way.

---

"Quarter-finals, huh? Excited?"
I had to stare at her.
If anything because I was, well, trying to cook our dinner.
But still, she wasn't wrong.
Quarter-Finals.
Just saying that kinda gives me the chills.
"Well... You know how it is like."
"Not like you do."
"...It's weird. I'm happy, scared, worried and proud."
"Am I included in the happy section?"
"All of them."
"...You're scared and worried about me?"
"Y-yes."
"Why?"
"I'm afraid I'll screw everything up."
"...Again, why?"
"I have a tendency of screwing things up."
He sighed, looking to the side.
"What if I disappoint you?"
"Even after you restored Clarisse?"
"...That was nothing."
"You couldn't be more wrong."
The girl with fox ears gave him a big hug.
"I thought you were just an obvlious, innocent boy. But then you gave me a proof that you were more than that."
"Didn't know the doll left such a hole."
"...I was young. You're not thinking I'm going to act like a little girl, right?"
"Not really, no. But I do feel I'll ruin it up."
"Well, don't worry about it. I'll remind you, if you ever screw up."
"Thanks."
"With the sublety of a Gyarados."

So we finally got to Kitsunia's apartment.
Not far from my place, though.
Then again, when you think about what she said yesterday, maybe she does really want to stay close to me.
All the time.
Maybe that's why I didn't even need to ask for her assistance way back.
She just tagged in.
"I hope you're not bored!"
"I'm fine, no worries."
Her place had a lot of pictures.
Mostly of herself and friends.
Friends of all sorts.
Some I could remember pretty well.
There's even a photo of her with cousin Matthew.
I was there as well, dragged into the frame.
Think I remember that day pretty well.

----

"Come on, cousin! This will be plenty of fun!"
We had been left at home that night, their mother was to spend a double shift at the hospital that New Year's Eve.
Matthewsiania, already a 15 year older, was left taking care of us both.
"Uh, how do we turn on the oven?"
Granted he was an idiot...
"Leave it to aunt to decided leaving us under your charge and think it's a bold choice."
"Are you offending Ma?"
"Not at all, cousin. Just thinking a bit loud over some issues. Let me handle the oven while you go help Kitsunia out."
Kitsunia had been quite clingy those days.
"You're not Sunrise."
"Uh... Yeah? I'm Matthew, your brother!"
"...I know who you are. Bring Sunrise."
"Why does it need to be him?"
"I want to take a picture of us three!"
"Fine, I'll bring him here."
All the while, I've had finished up preparing the turkey.
"Is it too hard to actually prepare the turkey before asking me to turn the oven on, Matthew?"
Matthew dragged him to the room where Kitsunia was.
"LET ME GO! I NEED TO GET OUR DINNER READY!"
"It's just for a photo, cousin!"
"And then you'll complain that our dinner isn't ready yet!"
"Kitsunia wants to take a photo, I think that isn't going to take long."

"Isn't going to take long, he said. She just wants to take a photo, he said."
"I didn't know!"
"Understatement of the millennia!"
Kitsunia had spent around twenty minutes doing make up for the photo, I think.
She took a long time for sure.
All because aunt Hue taught her how to do a make-up.
"Well, I'm going back to the kitchen."
"Matthew, hold him there!"
Of course, my cousin decided to listen and hold me there with one hand.
"...Are you done with your thing?"
"Yes. Check it."
...She looked like a clown.
Arceus' sake.
Then of course, Matthew had to throw me to her embrace for some reason.
"Do you need to be this close?"
"Yes. That way you're less expected to come off grumpy on the picture."
"..."
"OK, clicking the auto photo button... Ten seconds, people."
Nine seconds already passed, she and Matthew posed, while I was just there, appearing very grumpy, until.
"I guess this is done so I can go cook-"
CLICK!

----

I recall when aunt got home, she'd ask why I was posing with a finger to the sky and an open mouth.
Matthew, the idiot, didn't recall any reason.
Kitsunia, the clingy one, said I was declaring my love for her or something of the like.
And then they both complained dinner was late that night.
...
Heh, who'd think it. And here I thought that was just a joke.
"GET OUT OF MY CLOSET!"
"Huh!"
I ran as quick as I could to get to the room and...
Oh, for crying out loud!
"..."
"How did you even get here?"
"That was never really explained."
"..."
"Hi."
"...Creep."
"I know."
"Don't you have a place to stay or something?"
"Not at this city, no."
"And out of here?"
"Just a temple. Things are a bit too crazy over there, though."
"Like how crazy?"
"My father is stuck as a panda nowadays."
"...Again, creep."
"I was wondering if I could stay with you guys until the end of the World Cup. My tickets back home are only up after the final."
I stared to Kitsunia, Kitsunia stared to me with anger.
"...You're not thinking-"

"Here's the rules. You're staying at the guest room-"
"You mean the place you shoved a bed for Matthew in?"
"...Yeah. So, no bugging us at our room, no popping up on our closet for no reason and overall do not creep us out."
"I'll try."
Sigh.
"Good enough, I guess."
As he walked off to the room, I couldn't help but notice Kitsunia was not pleased at all.
"Did you really have to bring him on?"
"Good karma can't be a bad thing, no? I need all the help I can take to beat Cosumar later on."
"Still! You have seen the guy already."
"Isn't she a girl now?"
"He said he took a warm bath at my place."
"Oh."
"Which reminds me, I need to get one of my towels clean as quick as possible."
"Dully noted. Anyway, he's going to be here for just a couple of days, I'm sure."
"Fine. But you're helping me put my clothes-"
"Oh, my..."
"-on the closet."
"Bad choice of words?"
"Shut up."

"So, do you think we can go now?"
A thing about her is that she really didn't change the whole taking too long to get ready for things if she wasn't.
"Tadah."
She now wore small jean shorts, a green coat and a white shirt underneath.
I think what I noticed the most was her proud smile.
"Feeling retro, eh?"
"Well, I never qualified on my days. So I might as well come out as I used to."
"Heheh."
"...D-did you like it?"
"Love it."
"Awn!"
"Then again, I like you without anything just as much."
"...You pervert!"
"We're a couple now, right? Shouldn't I be allowed to say these things?"
"Hopeless, ain't you?"
"A bit, my bad."
"Heheh... You know you're just laying there... Kinda gives me ideas. Like how about I-"
Chromatika bursts out of the closet, with an empty jar of mayo.
"GACK!"
"Chrom, what I told you about not popping out of the closet for no reason?"
"But there's no mayo."
"Still! Next time, knock the door or something!"
"...But there's no mayo."
"I don't even know how you do this!"
"Magic. I'll be on my way then."
He swiftly left via the door.
"..."
Before returning for a second.
"But we're still out of mayo."
"GET OUT!"

"Are you sure leaving him there alone was the right choice?"
"Eh, relax. The moment we're worried, we can just summon him."
"...Summon him?"
"Yes. Do you want him around?"
"I worry he'd break something there."
"And test your clothes?"
"And test YOUR clothes."
"...That's a valid point."
The two stopped in the middle of their way to the stadium, a wall to their side.
"So, how do we get him here?"
"It's easier than you think."
"...So?"
"We just need to say something compromising."
"Like?"
"Like I want you now, I don't even care if we're in the middle of the street."
Sunrise kept looking at her, her cheeks red, before pointing to the wall where Chrom sat atop.
"Hello."
"Oh, wow! You weren't kidding."
"...I kinda was kidding."
"...Shouldn't that wall have cracked glass over it or something?"
"My butt hurts."
"No more questions."

"So, another air one, right?"
"Cosumar? Yeah."
"Wasn't he the one guy with make-up on the party?"
"That was me."
"..."
"You meant the guy with face-paint?"
"Isn't that Bonesea?"
"The other one with face-paint, yes."
"Well, yes."
The crowd was loudly cheering Cosumar as he made his entrance. Something pretty simple, though a bit eerie.
"Though this one is a Dragon user. Ignoring Charizard, of course."
"Psh. I prefer Ninetales."

"Glad to be finally facing you."
"Same, man."
"Though you're a bit... too casual, I guess?"
"Did you just call this Ninetales' boy a casual?"
"Not at all, I was just pointing out his stance."
"Did you just call this Ninetales' boy a guy with a poor stance?"
"Not that it's a bad thing or anything."
"Did you just hot-tail your way out of offending this Ninetales' boy?"
"This Ninetales' bo- I mean, I would rather start the battle already, if you don't mind."
"The people want a battle after all."
I smiled, my plan having been more or less drawn on my head much, much earlier.
"I do would like to remind you of my strength superiority, though."
As he finished that sentence, he sent out his Charizard, his prized mon.
"I'm aware. Just keep on mind that I'm a bit crafty."
Sunrise sent out his Vaporeon, a smile on his face.
"And my plan starts to unfold."

----

I don't get why my boy is taking so long with this.
Plus, he's way calmer than he has been these matches.
Maybe it's me being on his side or something.
"I can't help but think that you're not so worried like you usually are on these."
Awkward.
"Actually, gonna be very honest with you right now. I liked my draw."
"...?"
"Don't get me wrong, I'm still worried my plan wouldn't work out. But you know how Pokémon get stronger the more they fight, right?"
"And? I still have my Flygon left. Yet you keep switching Pokémon and letting them take a hit!"
"As if I'm dragging this combat on just to make a bigger spectacle, right?"
"Or make an even bigger loss than you would deserve. You're hurting them."
"You know rule number 3 of any Pokémon Trainer, right?"
...Wait, wait. Wasn't Rule 3 the one about "The Pokémon matching their Trainer"?
"The unwritten rule. A Pokémon matches its' trainer. So?"
That raises a lot of questions.
"I've been beaten down so often in my entire life, it doesn't even hurt anymore."
...Or it could be that, makes sense.
"So what? You're preparing them to the next World Cup? Weird plans but I appreciate the walk out."
"About that. Remember I said I liked my draw?"
"Get on with it."
"It's simple."
Sunrise switched his somewhat beaten down but still up for a fight Jolteon for his fresh Sylveon.
"For the first time in years, I've had an opponent that actually allowed me to take them down with a single shot."
In a picture per picture repeat of the end of his fight against Audioslavia, his Sylveon blasted a fiery wind gust against the dragon, knocking him out.
"You're more clever than I thought."
"Pokémon Battles are one of the three things I'm good at."
Three?
Three?
Oh, she asked already.
"The other two are being stylish..."
He then smiled, giving her a kiss.
"And the other is loving you."
Awn... So cute!
"...But we're still out of mayo."
...
What did I say wrong?

----

"...Y-you were great out there."
"I was just lucky, I guess. He could've twarted my plans if he didn't wish to play on strength first."
He sighed, getting the jar of mayo into the market cart.
"Yay."
"And even then, he could end up winning just by sheer strength."
"You really think that?"
"Yes. Though I'm glad they seem to struggle against Fairy-types."
"Flying-types?"
"Anaians."
Both had a laugh while Chrom just stared awkwardly to a bag of cookies on the shelves, as if signaling Sunrise to pick it up.
"Still, I worry about the semis."
"You always worry about your battles. Chill a bit, you'll always have me for one."
"...Really?"
"I promise."
"Thank you."
"Besides, it's not like you'll face anyone that isn't on your league."
"Yes. He's facing Nephara, though."
"..."
Eeeeh, crapbaskets.

[Nephara]

Justinian Hargrave leaned on the goalposts, closed his eyes, and tried to find order in all this chaos.
It had been a hell of a match. He felt like he'd been solid all tournament, but the ten guys in front of him - bolstered by the return of Amokachi and Szalai - seemed to be peaking just at the right time. Okay, so Scharner had her second booking of the tournament for putting her studs through Jevdjevic-Hadsic, and would miss the semi-final if they got that far. Which was bad. But surprisingly that had been their only booking of the match despite most of the team being on bookings at the time - a referee who was willing to let the game flow was always a boon to the Nepharim.
What hadn't been a boon was Elexhé Nofzaleiné - who seemed strangely unpopular with his compatriots - rifling home a volley in the 18th minute. Hargrave could've done... well, nothing really, apart from telepathically know that for once a scissor kick was about to pay off into the underside of his crossbar, and even then... still, he wasn't exactly pleased with the way that Röènôùjýâ stormed down the left pretty much without opposition, smashing a low cross down the line. Katskalidis missed it. Fuego missed it. Fôx, well... he never misses.
It changed after the break, though. 2-0 was the most dangerous scoreline and all that - though not while Leonhard Mixe was on the pitch. His club teammates, Vesper and Vyntra, had been bouncing off him down the left flank all match. So Cawdor came on for Vesper and almost immediately was rewarded, crossing in. Scafidis charged up and really should have done better than putting the ball over the bar. But it wasn't just Scafidis up front - Amokachi, in her drifting, harrying death-bringer role, was back. And not just physically back - she was a terror. Rainsford cleanly tackled Mâ Âlâmëómë teammate Wínrôuge, whose number she'd had all game (the double-edged sword of club connections was definitely cutting both ways this match) and a wonderful long ball through at the shaky Farfish defence was all the invitation Amokachi needed, rounding Monrazón with a delicate flick of the foot, feinting past Pickton and firing home past Tzâín. 2-1, and it would be doubled soon after - who else but the captain, Elaine Ashdown?
They couldn't get a third, and in extra time the momentum had swung back in Farfish favour. Scheherezade Meier had been thrown on for the shattered Fôx in a move that did not go down well with either Farf ("You don't know what you're doing, Çötàvíê!") or Nepharim ("You're in the wrong shirt, traitor!") fans. But the criticism only seemed to galvanise her, and, well... Sasha Christener at rightback, fine player though she was, was 30 years old. They were teammates, too. But Meier was ahead of her every step of the way. So the Cormorants did what they did, well, if not best, then certainly very well; they held the line. Hargrave made four saves, and yet the only shot from inside the box fell to Katskalidis after an Ashdown corner as she vaulted Fuego to head... straight at Tzâín, who fell on it gratefully.
So now, it came to penalties.
Nobody struck the ball better than a Farf - who else had the experience of it, drilled into them from an early age? And Nepharim, well... notoriously nerveless. He'd read a stat somewhere before the game that said Nephara had been involved in seven competitive penalty shootouts. They had won seven competitive penalty shootouts.
This, surely, would be a masterclass of penalty-taking.
He readied himself for the onslaught.

THE BRINEMOUTH HERALD
CLASH OF STYLES AS ESPORTIVAN GIANTS GO HEAD TO HEAD ONCE AGAIN
by Jess Leinster

Cinematic Football. The Islander art of beating an opponent, but looking really good in the process. It's an art they've mastered throughout this tournament as they've broken on a fantastic run of form, winning all five matches they've played. The list includes Audioslavia, who are on the other side of the semifinals and could well make it to the final themselves. They play beautiful, flowing football but to a purpose, every flick, trick and flourish to tire and frustrate a weary opposition before, late on, they go for the kill.

That is noble. But it is not the Nepharim way.

The Nepharim are in the last four for the second straight time. Like last time, Nephara has only won a single match within ninety minutes. It's not easy - when the Cormorants glide through the opening stages of a World Cup, a quarterfinal exit beckons. That lesson has been learned. No, the Nepharim way is to master the art of doing just enough, of edging the fine margins, of bloody-mindedly clawing back from the precipice to claim victory.

The Nepharim way is winning eight out of eight competitive penalty shootouts. The Nepharim way is being the second ever nation to win all three WCC titles. The Nepharim way is winning nine trophies.

It was fostered early on in Nephara's history as title after title went to the Cormorants. How did Nephara qualify for the World Cup? Playoffs. Of course it was playoffs. It's only the routine of chalking up qualifying wins that gets to the Cormorants - once presented with an occasion, they do not disappoint. What is the formative result of Nepharim footballing history?

I might be biased due to having played the match, but I'd mark it as World Cup 68's Second Round clash against Valladares. Nephara cruised to a first-half 3-0 lead over their fancied opponents and were then destroyed in the second, shattered by a superior attack with far, far more experience at this level. Who did the Cormorants think they were, in their first World Cup knockout game? 3-1. How arrogant were they, to think they could topple a far more distinguished side? 3-2. Who did they think they were? 3-3. Surely 3-4 was close behind. But... just as Nephara looked set to crumble, to collapse... Riordan made a world-class save. Finnan hoofed the ball forward. Bittencourt ran onto it, his fresh legs off the bench outrunning Pedretti, enduring Perrin's crunching tackle, looking up as he tried to regain his footing, desperately lobbing the ball at Cathar, who was streaking ahead of Coupet... and Cathar smashed home, first time, sidefooting ferociously into the net. Teetering on the precipice of a disastrous defeat, Nephara won 4-3. Had they lost - and if it wasn't for the bloodlust of competition, I would surely have thought we would lose - there is no doubt that excellence would have continued to elude us even today.

Let this be called Football for the Result. For it is the glory of victory, the pursuit of silverware that drives us onwards, inexorably. We can be dragged down but we will not be stopped. Victory is inevitable. The end justifies the means, and rarely are the means pretty or glamorous.

The two teams have played seven times - first off in Nephara's first qualifying cycle, the Islanders young themselves. Both sides won at home. The Islanders played a part in Nephara's brief flirtation with a three-man back-line, specifically in ensuring we never repeated the mistake, winning 3-2 in a disastrous Cup of Harmony 58. A year later, in arguably the greatest Campionato Esportiva final of all time, 4-4 after 90 minutes became a 5-4 win on penalties for the Cormorants - four years later, the Cormorants repeated the feat, this time a grinding 1-0 victory enough for the title. A while later, Nephara won in the quarterfinals of the first Trindl Cup before in a result I barely want to remember, four years ago, the Sunrise Islands annihilated Nephara 3-0 in the World Cup group stage and knocked us out of the tournament.

To save you the mathematics, that's three wins apiece and a Nepharim victory on penalties. The difference being that all three knockout fixtures, including two finals, were won by the Cormorants.

My prediction? The Islanders will do what they always do. They will play beautiful, flowing football, plenty of flicks and tricks from the highlight reel and a dizzying assault on a dazed, weakened opponent close to the end of the match, raining shot after shot down as a frustrated, shattered defence crumbles. They will dance, they will glitter and they will fascinate.

And Nephara will win.

[Valladares]

The National Kickoff
The Online Home of Valladar Football!

Dhanda Power Still Doing the Trick

By: Alan Rosero

Aaand...Valladares have done it. The Valladars are now sure of their second top-4 finish in World Cup history after beating a combative outfit from Barunia, which meant yet another win for Jayson Dhanda as Valladar coach. While that game against Savalen was the only time we could see an openly offensive Valladar side that matched Dhanda's Takilan previous references to perfection (and the kind of Valladar side we want to see, too), this more "conservative" version of the Valladar NT has shown to be very efficient result-wise, and I'm starting to like it. If you disagree with me, well...five games so far in the WC, four of those being wins and just one loss to Farfadillis (which should've been a draw by all accounts) speak for themselves.

Anyways, it was Valladares once again trying to break a wall that has proved to be impervious for us several times in the past: the quarterfinals. Like last WC, for example. But this time, it was going to be different since everyone in the Valladar camp was determined to make it have a whole different ending. And Barunia were the rivals to beat in order to make a return to the semifinals. The Suns are pretty much that team which might surprise you at any moment, so it wasn't going to be that easy for the Tricolor. But I'd rather face them and not an Eura or a Pasarga any time...

Comebacks, Takil, Controversy, Oh My!

The game against the Suns brought a situation not experienced by the new coach at the Valladar helm. Despite the Tricolor had already conceded first once in this World Cup (against the Farves), that wasn't until late into that game, leaving few time for the Valladars to react...but this time, Alexander Roudet would have to go and retrieve the ball from the back of the net in the first minutes of the match. Second minute of play. All started from an attempt to attack by us, when Abel Brücke was unable to properly receive the ball that was being passed to him by Jonathan Bossetti, and it fell into Barunian control. The Suns would then proceed to organize their response, in which Thomas Marsh was able to take advantage of the slow retreat of the Valladar players, who left a wide hole open for Lisa Collins-Holzknecht, who was left facing Roudet and shot at the goal. The ball went to the left, the goalie went to the right, and it was a goal for Barunia. The Valladars were 1-0 down after just two minutes.

As I was saying, this was a new situation for Jayson Dhanda to face. Fortunately for him, and unlike the second group stage game, there were still 88 minutes to turn things around so he and his team still had plenty of time to show why we deserved to win the match. Dhanda was still not worried, nor were any of the Valladar players, who kept their heads cool and continued labouring in search of the equalizer. Soon, Juan Pablo Reyes and Brücke got into the game and started their usual incursions deep into rival ground, and thus the front 3 started being fed with passes which helped them generate dangerous chances, finally putting the Suns' captain Paul Bainbridge to work. With Valladares now taking absolute control of the ball (but not the game, since Barunia were still ahead), and Bainbridge being constantly bombarded by Pedrinho and Frank Rozenthal, it was just a matter of time for Valladares to equalize...and they finally did it five minutes before the halftime whistle, with Pedrinho being able to head into the Barunian goal an excellent cross by Brücke. With the game now levelled, the first half was over.

For the second half, Valladares' proposal didn't change: if that fiery bombing of Barunia's goal eventually led to the Tricolor finding the equalizer before the end of the first half, then playing with that same intensity should produce something else sooner than later. Dhanda of course knew it, and also knew that such a strategy would lead to exhaustion....therefore it was very important to score as soon as possible. He decided to go ahead with it anyways. Although all that effort had already started taking its toll, Pedrinho confirmed his status of "uncontrollable threat" to the Suns' defense with his shots and mobility through the field, and he would make sure his legs wouldn't crumble until he had the chance to score the second goal for the Valladars, which came from a penalty kick in the 69th minute. To add more insult to the Barunian injury, the action in which this penalty was awarded was pretty controversial and in my opinion, there was no foul to start with: it was Frank Rozenthal failing to keep balance and slipping on the Barunian box (out of tiredness, I guess...). The Barunian defender had the misfortune of being too close to Rozenthal right at that moment, and they rightfully protested the decision, to no avail. Then, with the 2-1 Dhanda had already achieved his goal of turning things at the game around, and decided it was the time for some refreshing substitutions: Pedrinho leaving the field under thunderous applause from the Valladar crowd at the Isserson Olympic Stadium and making way for Andy Navarro's debut with the NT. The Suns went out to restore the balance in the scoreboard, firing on all cylinders against the Valladar defense, but Dhanda's reasonable defensive measures were too much to handle for the Suns and were largely responsible for the second Valladar qualification for the semifinals of the World Cup.

Valladares achieved their goal of playing seven matches at this World Cup, with the sixth one being against none other than co-hosts Audioslavia, who will be coming to Emberton as the toughest rival the Tricolor have faced so far. Perhaps they, for organizational gimmicks, have been deprived of a vital support by their own fans by having to travel to Krytenia for this crucial match, but they're still a top team who will want to win their own WC and if Dhanda and his boys want to have a shot at winning the WC this time, they will have to play every match as a top team and beat the top teams, of course. Let's hope things go well for us in this final stretch. Onward, Valladares!

[COCANEFA]

Semi Finals - CUT OFF

[Chromatika]

Prelude, Book I Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Interlude Part VII Part VIII Part IX Part X Part XI Part XII Part XIII Part XIV Part XV Part XVI

The Rainbow Revolution
Book I: The Sparks
Postlude: The Martyr

"It is the cause, not the death, that makes the martyr." - Napoleon Bonaparte

State sponsored TVs all around the room. Not a live audience, save the panel of judges, highlighted by the DG herself. No windows, no glamour. A single chair with straps in the center of the room. In that char, Franscesca Larriet Cortes, former Manager of the Chromatik National Team, mother of two, wife of Juan Pablo Cortes. Streamed live to every single TV in Chromatika, and overseas to anyone watching. Cortes, composed, not showing a single bit of fear, looking intently at the screen thrust into her face. And the voice, that voice of the DG, stating simply:

"Franscesca Larriet Cortes, you are hereby sentenced to death for the act of conspiring against the state, helping a rogue faction, helping a fugitive of the law, lying, withholding information crucial to the investigation regarding a suspect people, and of betraying the confidence placed upon you by both the sovereignty of the government and the peoples of this great nation. As stated by law, those who are executed by lethal injection must be alive for three minutes to bear the pain of their crimes. Do you have any last words?"

Cortes looks straight at her, and states rather plainly, "This is just the beginning. Your own populace will rise against you, those who have believed you at face value for the entirety of their lives will start to question the validity of the Chromatik Party. You will soon understand that you don't have as much power as you thought you did, that the call of freedom is stronger than you ever deemed possible. You-"

"ENOUGH!" shouted the DG, losing her composure, "That's enough! We will stamp out your accomplices, we will eradicate the scum that oppose us, and we will show the might of Chromatika as the nation that it is! Begin! Every sound you make during the process will be taken as weakness, you bitch!"

One of the men near the prisoner nodded, and started inserting the poison - diluted to slow down its effects on a body already ravaged by cancer - into the IV attached to Cortes's arm. Cortes started to... laugh. "You think that silencing me will do anything? No! My death will not be in vain. It will instead give birth to a new generation of those who don't take what you say at face value, those who are willing to question the norm!"

The DG actually leaped from her seat and strode directly to Cortes, and she proceeded to land an uppercut on the jaw of Cortes. "If you don't shut up, I will make you shut up." She began to slowly strangle Cortes just enough so that Cortes couldn't speak. The poison was starting to take its toll in Cortes's body, and her breaths started to become more and more ragged. After noting that her body was getting weaker, the DG let go of her neck.

The entire time, Cortes's eyes showed no weakness, only defiance. The glint was so purposeful and stern that even the DG had a hard time staring directly at it.

Two minutes passed. Cortes could feel life ebbing from her fingertips and toes. She croaked out these last words:

"Viva... la... Révolution... de l'Arc."

Few minutes later, she breathed her last, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

---

The news of Cortes's death hit the Chromatik National Team hard, and the team looked utterly lost in their 0-1 defeat at the hands of Barunia.

I just can't write about that now, though. Like the rest of you, I'm grieving. What kind of a country do we live in, Chromatiks?

-Jordan Lawless

[Nephara]

THE BRINEMOUTH HERALD
THE DREAM IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE DREAM
by Geneva Schwarzer

Well, it wasn't to be. In a tournament defined for Nepharim by a single-minded obsession with just getting over the line, the Islanders, well... they did what they do best. By the end of the match, the Nepharim were shattered, nothing left in the tank. And now they're on a three-day schedule, including a flight to Audioslavia to face the hosts (who have had an extra day's rest on home turf) in the third-place playoff.

Shale is anticipated to ring the chances, and it'll certainly help him win the match. It might just signal a passing of the torch, too. Spare a thought for Sasha Christener - 30 years old and maybe this tournament was just one too far. She's had a difficult tournament, but never failed to give her best. By the end of last match, however, she could barely walk.

Now that thoughts of present glory are behind the team, it's time to look to the future. It has to be said that Starling is a blessing - not just for a narrative point of view that has gotten eyes on the Premiership all over the globe, but for providing this team with Hargrave, the answer to Ballard's international retirement. He has had a fantastic cycle, and Matt Vintner - who may earn his second cap against Audioslavia -

They've helped out with other weaknesses, too. Christener, sadly, was the weak point of the side, and this may be her last tournament. Surman's emergence at leftback has definitely helped ease the burden on Vyntra, while young Mirko Koehler has also had an outstanding season and may be in line for a first cap at the Eagles' Cup. Between his more defensive focus and Gareth Westmead, once a raw runner but learning well from Hector Rossizzo's work, the future is bright here, too. This tournament just came too early for them, and too late for Christener.

In central defence, too, things have stabilised where once they seemed worryingly shallow. Katskalidis and Scharner are just 28 and 25, with a capable deputy in Ritter and a bevy of young players coming through - 23-year olds Frostmarris and Nkembe, 21-year olds Konoval and Bruyne. Konoval in particular was one of the only bright lights of a truly dismal Chatswood campaign, and is in line for a cap sooner rather than later.

In midfield, this may be the last turn of the Rainsford/Ashdown axis in full swing - the latter is Nephara's top scorer all tournament with a mighty Two. Rainsford has never been fast, and so at 28 can be expected to carry on for a couple of cycles more at least... but at 31, Ashdown's dynamic runs from midfield have already begun to slow. No player eligible for Nephara has Ashdown's easy grace with the ball, her ability to effortlessly switch the play, the way she glides along the pitch with the ball at her feet. A world-class player. But for how long? Gallagher (thank you again, Starling), Etzebeth and Kuralay are capable backups, but not of the quality to replace them. Naeher, perhaps? But she's just 21.

Scheherezade Meier declaring her allegiance to Farfadillis has been a concern in the wing positions, and while Vesper's form faltering later in the tournament saw her replaced capably by Cawdor, the latter is 28 now and already showing signs of losing her jet-heeled pace. But who will replace her? Who will replace either of them? Silkman, Chilmark and one-cap wonder Toreador are the names on most peoples' lips, but the first two have only just had their breakthrough season and the latter is nowhere near the incumbents in quality. They aren't ready yet. It has to be said, as well, that this was a disappointing campaign for Adnan Szalai, who never really recovered from his injury against Abanhfleft. That said, the goal he scored in the process of being injured saw Nephara through the group stage.

It was also a disappointing tournament for the strikers, and for Amokachi in particular. She scored six goals last tournament, and just one to date here - as many goals as red cards, in fact. Chrysanthe Scafidis is yet to score at all. But both are deceptively young - just 25 - and there's time to improve. The only question is, with their backups all being older than they are, who will come next?

And, of course, Reinhard Shale. The manager has enjoyed a mixed, but overall positive start to what everyone hopes will be a long and storied career with Nephara. First, the results - a somewhat disappointing quarterfinal exit in the Campionato Esportiva was followed up by a mercifully breezy qualifying phase and, well... this World Cup. One win in 90 minutes is one way to put it. The semifinals is another, and it's hard to criticise that.

But there's a lot that gives reason to be optimistic for the future. Shale has stiffened the team's spine, ensured they defend with discipline and passion. Set plays have been a major focus. It's totally different to two years ago, and that's not a bad thing. Riether's approach was, in essence, 'fuck it' - after a lot of tactical work being undone by superior sides, she threw off the leash and just let her side savage the opponent. It worked... for those players, at that time. And then she left.

Shale talks about 'dynasty'. About crafting a side that's nigh-impossible to beat, works seamlessly together and ruthless in attack. It will take time, and he needs time to work with this squad. He's done enough to earn that time, and it will be exciting to see where this leads us in two, five, maybe even ten years. And for those who do feel he has failed with the unconvincing nature of Nephara's group progress, who exactly will replace him? There's only one candidate anyone can say who is an inarguable upgrade - Amethyst Fegelein.

Fegelein would be an upgrade on Shale, for certain - young and gifted, the heroics she has pulled from a limited Starling side has proven that. Fegelein would be an upgrade on anyone. Fegelein is probably the best manager in the world judging by the past two years. And Fegelein is also not going anywhere - she just signed a new four-year contract. "I want to see this ride through," she directly told the press. The Cormorants will still be there for her someday. Right now, let Fegelein work her wonders on the Passerines - let Shale do his work for the Cormorants.

But that's all just navel-gazing and speculation, at the end of the day. For now, let's just hope for a victory against Audioslavia.

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

WORLD CUP 75
Dancing Sunrisians, Annoyed Nepharim: Sunrise to leave "Boy" status at last?

Maybe it was the turmoil of several factors, maybe it was Nephara failing to remember any other clash between both sides that happened on a Campionato Esportiva or the momentum of the Sunrisians remains unstoppable, but the result is pretty much done. Sunrisians earned a chance at the World Cup finals for the first time ever, already an achievement on Sunrisian Football History, though some fans remain targetting the World Cup title, even if they still have to play a very quality Valladares team and their manager, Jayson Dhanda, recognizable for their impressive run which includes, of all things, slamming down the Audioslavians by 4-1.

At what foreign media called a clash of two Esportivan styles, both ended up matching somewhat. Nephara's success came via some very spirited football, which can also mean football that likes to push things to the very last moments and often goes to penalties. Northern Sunrisians, in fact, are much familiar with this, losing two Campionato Esportiva titles due to late opportunities that the Cormorants would end up making advantage of. Maybe these mistakes were what pushed Chiyo to go for the goal earlier. The idea of avoiding a prospective loss to Nephara due to heavy stalling scared the coach of the Samba Kids and this quick change paid off.
Now, the Sunrisians didn't leave their rice and beans off, specially a much inspired Rolandinho Juliano: highlight of the night for the Julianian midfielder was a perfect Rainbow flip before using his foot to bounce the ball off the grasp of Rainsford, before passing it to Hannah Alcouin, who managed to net the first goal of the game, right at the twentieth minute, after the Nepharim failed to keep a good eye on the Half-mon striker.
Alcouin remained a threat to their defense until the very end, though she'd remain with one goal for the rest of the game.
Stabb repeated his form with a second goal during the second half of the game after Rolandinho Juliano again, dribbled over Calliope Katskalidis and then with a quality backheel pass to reach Stabb, with a blunt shot to double the advantage.
The Sunrisians would keep tricking over their opposition, but the result would not change.

Now, it's all or nothing. Could this be Unified Sunrise Islands' trophy? Only time knows. And that's the most heart-breaking bit.

---

I didn't really notice at first, how deep Sunrise's rivalry with Nephara was.
Even at our party a bit earlier, they still seemed a bit aware that a confrontation could indeed happen.
"Eating this kind of makes me bad that I'll beat you soon enough again."
Sunrise just stared at him, going back to his plate.
"Nice to see you're good at accepting the truth!"
"I'd say you need to beat your side and I need to beat mine."
"I think you haven't realized my level yet, man. I'm the current champion. No more, no less."
"...So what? Pokémon Battles aren't narrowed to just a stat or to who has more tradition on those. You started just like I did and if you hadn't won last time, we'd still be on the same boat."
"Oh, getting mad now, are you?"
Sunrise once again just stared at him.
No offense, but while I expect you to squeeze through, I'll still beat you.
"I appreciate the nice words. But I still have to work to get there. I'd suggest you not to forget it."
He then sighed, before looking at him, somewhat deviously.
"Because if we do get there, I will not hesitate on using my tactics over you just as much."
So of course, after that day, my boyfriend seemed to be on a whole new level after he beat Cosumar.
Still, he carried himself differently. There was a lot of training and planning on the course of what was just one day.
He wanted every single attack to hit straight, non-stop. If he could use buffs and de-buffs, he needed to know their limits as quick as he could.

Maybe the other guy just wanted to get him uppity for this, win via mental games.
That was my biggest worry. I don't want him to forget there's more than this competition.
"I need a way to get on his mind, Kitsunia. Any ideas?"
"...Why asking me?"
"You did annoy Ko-oren that one time."
"Girls are sensitive about busts, it's not hard."
"...I guess."
"..."
"..."
"Hmmm..."
"An idea?"
"Well, yes. Did Nephara happen to have another name before hand?"
"Yup."
"Good then. Do you have a piano?"

"I'm not abusing my magic powers for stuff like this."
"Oh, come on!"
The one time the creep could be useful!
"That's called stealing. I can't accept doing something like that."
"No, we're just borrowing it without telling anyone. Besides, if it's so problematic, you'll take it back to its' original place."
"That doesn't help at all."
"Sunrise will buy you another jar of mayo."
"What?"
"But we already have mayo!"
"Yeah!"
"But don't you love your mayo?"
"...I do."
"How much?"
"...I do. I just do."
"Fair enough. Sunrise will get you another jar. Just do it, please?"
"Too much."
"..."
"..."
"Even more than your feeble minds can comprehend."
"GET ON WITH IT!"
"I'm already regretting it."
"...OK. Sunrise?"
"...Yes, Chrom?"
"Would you mind if I borrowed your glasses?"
He shrugged, handing Chrom the glasses.

----

Time stopped.
Jeez. I need a song.
Chromatika pulled Sunrise's phone out of his pocket as the two stopped on mid-stasis.
...Maybe I could make something out of this.
He dragged an angry Kitsunia towards Sunrise, positioning them as if they were to start making out. He then poke up his headphones.
Now... Hmm, this one seems good enough.
Beats slowly filled up.
I'm gonna fight them off / A seven nation army couldn't hold me back
Heh. Now to find that piano.
He dashed down the apartment, reaching the ground. He'd find a sleeping Brenecia near a tree.
...Oh, damn, I just can't resist it!
He applied a good amount of shaving cream to her left hand before causing an itch over her nose.
I need to remember seeing this later...
...
What was I supposed to do again?
...
Oh yeah, the piano!

After traveling three towns just running, he'd finally end up at a shopping mall.
OK! This place has to have one of these!
But first...
What would be a couple of minutes later yet weren't since time remained on hold, Chromatika had finished a Chocolate Milk Shake before finding a musical instrument store.
...
Isn't that Apox?
Apox, who had moved to this town a while before had stopped mid-walk to his job.
...
Time resumed, a piano was missing from the store.
And much, much later, Apox found out someone had glued a "Kick Me" sign on his back.

----

The time machine shook.
"Doctor! Why is it shaking so much!?"
"...Doesn't it always shakes this much?"
"Worse than that one time we traveled to 15th Century Licentiapacisterra!?"
"I told you we'd have a much easier travel to 19th Century Beards but nope, the passenger decides on something so obtuse instead!"
It then stopped a good portion of the shaking.
"O-OK! I think it's back to normal!"
A piano could be heard playing on the other side of the machine.
"I'm going to Wichita... far from this opera for evermore!"
"...YOU AGAIN!?"
"Hello, Doctor."
"...Miss?"
"Mister for the time being."
"...So. What brings you here today?"
"Just interference."
"..."
"Plus, I really wanted to rest my feet a bit. Do you realize how long have I been running?"
"By the looks of it? I'd say three towns. And a shopping mall."
"Nipped it right there."
"I'm a good looker."
"And charming as well."
"HOW IS HE HERE AGAIN?"
"That? Oh, your machine appeared for the one glimpse of a second of time I stopped right at."
The two stared at him.
"Might wanna fix that. Also, if you could help me drop this back at my place, that'd be awesome."

----

I swear, this creep- Ooh!
"Woah..."
"Ah! Where did you come from? Why is my hand-"
"Well, ain't you charming..."
"Ahem."
Chrom was sitting on top of a piano, arms crossed.
"Shouldn't you be on a room?"
"Ah!"
"You people really need to get used to this."
The two eventually rearranged themselves and finally came up with a plan.
"So, all I have to do is play this song and then say those things you told me to?"
"Look weird as well."
"Uh... How weird?"
"Chrom weird."
"..."
"Does it need the wig too?"
Sunrise held a black and white wig.
"I'm going to look like an idiot..."
"That's the point!"
"..."
"You run to Nephara then. Let's get this over quickly because I need to bring this piano back!"
...creep.

----

Leave it to sis to get shaving cream on her face for no reason.
"I SWEAR!"
"Are you sure it wasn't just Sunrise doing something stupid and then hitting you with something? Valanora has a running habit of being the target of those."
"I don't know! I was just sleeping near a tree after a relaxing book and then splat! Hand and face covered with cream."
"So, should I go ask him about it?"
"...Yes. Ask. We're not going to be violent about it. We have an image to protect, after all!"
I'm gonna be honest.
Never really understood why sister has such an issue with family image and whatnot.
Does she really think we'll go back to the old country? Psh.
"Just the person I was looking for."
"...Yes?"
"Sunrise is asking for you to come by."
"Ah. Let me see, he wants to excuse himself for creaming my sister's face, right?"
"...He did what?"
"..."
"..."
"I meant the old gag of filling someone's palm with shaving cream then making them slap their own face."
"...Much better. But no, that's not it."
"...Gonna have to squeeze a confession out of him, do I?"
"Just go talk with him. I'll go have a talk with your sister, if you don't mind."

----

There he is. Back to the door... Playing on a piano?
"Sunrise!"
Also what the hell is that on his head?
Sunrise turned to his future opponent, a sadistic smile on his face.
"Brother Sideburn! I knew you'd come!"
...
"What?"
"It's time for you to-"
"Dude. Stop."
"...but-"
"You're looking ridiculous. Plus, I want to know if you creamed my sister's face."
"...Pretty sure Kitsunia would be pissed if I did that."
"NOT LIKE THAT!"
"Also no, then. I didn't really do anything outside today anyway."
"...Maybe it was magic."
"He did it, then."
"...I didn't say I did that."
"Says the guy that made a piano appear out of nowhere and made me and Kitsunia end up on each others arms like in a second."
"Like you ever needed my help to do that."
"...You people are weird. And I'm still beating you today."

----

Sigh. I'm sooo screwed.
"So. Now I'm minutes before the battle, got him even angrier."
"You asked for my help. Besides, I don't think you even need it."
"Y-you mean it?"
"You're a pretty good trainer, Sunrise. Sure, others don't take you seriously because... well, you don't take yourself very seriously."
"..."
"But I think you're better than you consider yourself."
She smiled, looking at him.
"You went through the trouble of establishing some sort of book before each match so you'd know what to do next. You beat your cousin. You beat Audioslavia. You beat Banguela. Ko-Oren. Cosumar."
Kitsunia hugged Sunrise, still with a visible smile.
"I think you'd be at least a good trainer to get to the Semi-Finals of a World Cup, don't you think?"
A brief kiss.
"Break a leg, this Ninetales' boy."
"...I will. Thanks."

----

Almost four years. That's how long I've been a citizen of New Athens.
I guess I never thought about this city's name.
But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.
Deep culture, stories that have long since remained in the past, that already encompasses many decades.
Everything stops for a sports event.
It's fitting.
Funny how I got here not for the sports, but rather for the business.
A guy like me on the list of qualifiers two years ago was impressive.
But then, I got stuck at a loop.
Things did go my way once or twice, but nothing massive.
I've mostly watched friends get there, but that was about it.
Still, I had enough money on me.
Lived my own life, figured out my own choices.
Granted, it wasn't always fun to hear others complain they didn't get there nor was it always fun to hear the people that got there brag to the thousands.
But I can cope. I'm Sunrise.
If anything, I'm happy.
Still. The more I get closer, the more I wish to actually do it.
Win.
It's a word I used three-times with the same effect.
Lower Class stuff. I guess I learned how to be good at the majors by winning Lower Classes.
Shame I haven't won any of those things they call regionals.
But patience.
Patience.
A word I'm much more familiar with.
But it kinda helped me out.
Else, I wouldn't have a person by my side.
Else, I wouldn't be able to make my own choices.
Else, this World Cup thing wouldn't be my only issue to solve at the time.
So, I guess you could imagine my reaction when it was all said and done.

"Did that Vaporeon just shoot Shadow Ball?"
"..."
"...You won."
"..."
"I... I can't believe it!"
"TM."
"...What?"
"Training Machine."
"...Is it allowed?"
"Yes. I made sure of re-reading the code book before our battle, so I'd know what I was doing."
"...Bravo."
"Thanks."
"You're still a coward for facing me with that, though."
"I'll gladly take on you using the basics after this."
"Now I wanna see that."
Nephara smiled, offering his right hand, to which Sunrise shook, calm.
"Then you'll see that. Wish me luck for the final."
Sunrise walked off.
"Good luck. And I still gonna beat you next time."

----

"So. Need my help again?"
"I need you with me. Does it count?"
"You tell me."
"It does."
"Smart."
"Because of you."
...
"Just mate already."
...Did I say this out loud?
"Creep."
"Well, someone has to get that piano back."
Chrom put his glasses on again.
"Oh, and Sunrise."
"Yeah?"
"Apox said hi."

----

"So that means Sunrise is on the final?"
"Yes. Also thanks again for helping me out bringing this back to the store."
"No problems, it's not like people notice a blue police box flying around these days anymore."
"And our tickets to the final?"
"Only after we're done with this piano."
"So, who is he facing?"
"Valladares."
"But the battle hasn't ev-"
"Valladares. Again."
"..."
"I'd tell you who won it all but that wouldn't be fun now, would it?"
"Plus, that'd make the tickets useless."
"By the way, chap, I think your voice is a bit girlish now."
"I'm a girl now."
"...Cold Bath?"
"Cold Bath."
...
"Creep."