The 81st Cup of Harmony: Sylestone and Zwangzug (Everything)

[Eshialand]

See You Tomorrow, Or Someday
Part V: Tomorrow's but a Pipe Dream
Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV
Vilita 2-0 Eshialand

Spenson, Zwangzug

"The Owls aren't looking to be in the best of spots right now..."
"It looks like the Vilitan side is about to make magic happen, the only question left being when!"
"I don't like the look of this... and Milaaso shoots, and that's gonna be a goal..."
"I guess I'm getting the defeat trombone now..."
"It's only the nineteenth minute!"
"Come on, keep telling yourself that."

As the half ended, George knew that something was wrong with the team. He was trying his best, he was in good spirits, but the rest of the team was just faltering. Was the losing skid starting to get to them? Was the fact that they were playing a Vilitan team who couldn't even remember the last time they missed the World Cup leading to hopelessness for the Owls? He didn't know, but he did know one thing: he was going to see Rebecca again in two days' time, and nothing was going to ruin his mood.

RING! RING!

What? Who could be calling him during halftime? Why would anyone call during the game instead of waiting until afterwards? "Hello?"
"Hi George..." Rebecca answered. She seemed upset about something.
"What's wrong?"
"Well, I was able to get back to Eshialand just fine, but... I just got a call from Flyfr.esh, and they had to cancel my ticket from Eshialand to Zwangzug..."
"What? What happened?!"
"A VIP guest needed a seat, so the airline randomly selected me to miss out on the flight in return for 'generous compensation', whatever that's supposed to mean..."
"Friggin' Flyfr.esh, always so unreliable..."
"Yeah, they cancel my flight with two days' notice with no other flights available and claim that the price of two tickets and a gift basket is enough compensation... who on the board of that company thought that was a good idea?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure Coach has a friend of a friend on the board..."
"Of course he does... but don't we all have a friend of a friend somewhere? Anyway, the bottom line is that I'll be lucky to make it for your final match."
"Oh... well... I guess I'll see you then... hopefully..."
"Don't worry, everything will work out. I love you..."
"I love you too..."

Click!

That was the last thing he wanted to hear. Flyfr.esh cancelled her flight without as much as giving her a ticket on a later flight? Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable.

This weighed down on George like a ton of bricks during the second half. He wanted to see Rebecca here, not back home. Every single setback, every complication, and every scheduling conflict just made the odds of the two seeing each other in Zwangzug slimmer and slimmer, and with Eshialand being in an extremely precarious spot knockout-wise, she had to make it sooner rather than later. Unless, that is, he could save the day for the Owls, and bring them a miracle... but alas, he was in no mental state after that call to keep it together and make dreams come true.

"Is it just me, or is George Habisbrauer playing far more sloppily than in the first half?"
"That might just be your imagination Karsten... or maybe he's just getting tired. After all, we're past the hour mark."
"But this certainly isn't normal. Maybe Kenny Morgan should consider subbing him out for Carter Langley?"
"Carter Langley? Come on... and Tarala is running the ball up the pitch..."
"I'm telling you, he's too tired... AND HE JUST GOT NUTMEGGED! Josh, pound the Nutmeg Alarm!"
"I'm not doing that Karsten."
"Then I will!"

You just got... NUTMEEEEEEEEEEEGED!

"And Rokopolis receives the pass..."
"The nutmegged pass..."
"And Rokopolis scores, 2-0."
"I guess we should go home now, since there's nothing really left..."
"I hate to say it, but you might be right..."

2 days later...

"Hello, I'm paying a surprise visit to see some friends? Do you know where they might be?" a young man asked the hotel receptionist.
"Do you know what name they're booked under?"
"Yes, they should be under Morgan?"
"Hmmm..." the receptionist said as she typed in the name into the hotel's computer system. "They seem to have requested additional privacy. I can't allow you to visit them."
"I beg your pardon, but I asked the man booking the rooms if it was alright and he said yes..."
"Did you? Let me phone his room real quick."

"Did you tell someone that--"

"Oh, so you did?"

"Have a nice day then."

"Sir, you're free to go."
"Have a lovely day!"
"And you as well."

He walked up to the team members' rooms and knocked on their doors. "Surprise!" he yelled as the doors opened, one by one.
"Wait, King William? What are you doing here?" George asked him.
"I love coming to visit national teams during their tournaments abroad, you should know this! Arranging the flight was kind of short notice, but Flyfr.esh was able to fit me in..."
"Wait, you flew on Flyfr.esh?"
"Yes, Eshian Airways doesn't seem to have the best security these days... I feel a bit sorry for the two people who had to give up their seats for myself and Summer, but at least they got generous compensation packages..."

George's heart fell out of his chest. The king's "surprise" was the very reason why Rebecca wasn't here today. First the idea to send an Eshian team to the World Baseball Classic, and now this? It was as if William, who had claimed to be his friend, didn't care for George and Rebecca's relationship at all...

...or perhaps, this was all a part of his plan.

Vilita - 2 (Milaaso 19'; Rokopolis 64')
Eshialand - 0

[Huayramarca]

Fishing for a Living - Part 4
One Never Stops Learning

Part 1 - Disgrace and Business
Part 2 - Three Hearts Living Together
Part 3 - Retirement is Not an Option

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Shango-Fogoa basin, 365 kilometers away from the Farf coast – 17/09/1984; 3:15 p.m.

David, Francisco and the rest of the crew sat in beach chairs in one of the most beautiful beaches of Farolera, they were spending some holiday time after suffering a near death adventure against the gigantic kraken that they might never know the correct measure of it, since it just vanished after being hit with the harpoon. David accommodated his sunglasses, zipped some lemonade and said “Life is easier on beach rather than inside there, right?” Carlos replied “Yes. But how we would earn money for a living?” Francisco said “Erm… Perhaps studying something and then asking for a job” Florencia, Edwin, Christian and the rest laughed, Christian said “You’re being so silly.”

The waves were getting closer and closer to the chairs they rented for a spare time, Florencia got off and swam some minutes, then David’s phone ringed, it was a Farf contact that he did after being rescued in the coast. In a thick Rulandese accent, the fisher said “Are you able to meet us, we want to give some lessons on how to fish that squid-like thing called kraken”. David replied “At the dock?” the Farf answered “Yes, let’s meet in an hour” David confirmed, finished the call and told his crew “Party time is over, we have to meet with a contact I did, we will receive some classes on how to fish some of those krakens.”

With some regret, the crew moved on and dressed themselves to be ready for the meeting-class-like event at the dock. After driving through Puerto Farolero, they noticed how Farves are crazy to drive across their roads, to the point that the crew managed to witness fifteen car crashes, they were lucky enough to avoid being crashed. The crew arrived on time to the place, but the Farves didn’t appeared, so they took a while into the boat in order to relax. Farf unpunctuality is something wekk known across the universe, don’t ever expect a Farf to be on time even if requested with insistence, they will let you down always.

Two hours later, a knock was heard at the boat, the Farves arrived and noticed they had random objects with them, stuff that the crew didn’t recognized at first glance since they haven’t worked with them, despite that, Claudia, a crew member saw a bazooka and said “Is that bazooka disactivated?” David jumped in fear and questioned once again “Doesn’t has ammunition, right?” the Farf said “Don’t worry, it’s just a toy.” They entered to the cabin and gathered the entire crew for a mini class on how to fish krakens.

“Ok, y’all are going to pay attention to what I’ll say, shall we?” The crew nodded and Marcelo Gallardo, as it is the real name of the leading Farf started pointing out “We heard that you shoot the kraken in one of its hearts, right?” Christian, the one who proposed the idea said “Yes, we did that” Gallardo continued and said “Well, that was a clever idea, but shooting a little harpoon with grenades is like tickling a kraken of the size you said. There are bigger krakens in the basin, so you must use more firepower against them, and that’s the real deal of this issue.” Gallardo showed the bazooka and pointed out “You need this, aim it to the heart and you’ll bring it down for sure.”

David asked Gallardo “So, for a monster like that one we saw, at least 145 meters long, might help or we might use dynamite?” Gallardo laughed “This is enough, you madman, dynamite is something I’d suggest for a 1 km long kraken, which is something unlikely to found, if not impossible” Gallardo continued “Also, if you use that on a kraken, perhaps the meat you pretend for your expensive ceviche might turn into nothing, so don’t use that unless you want to foul your own business.” The crew was getting the main idea that Gallardo told them, but still, they needed some more information in order to consolidate a better idea that might help them to handle such a gigantic amount of meat.

Carlos asked Gallardo “There’s a technique you suggest to cut it down and save it into our fridges?” Gallardo said “Silly question. Just cut it in pieces with harpoons, that might help you here, then share it among other ships after clarifying that it’s your fish, but pay them a bit for the favor they will do to you for that. Carrying a big kraken isn’t an easy task.” Carlos replied “Hmm, complicated process but one that for sure is worthy for us.” Gallardo continued “We sell kraken at a quite high price here, but not as pricy as you do in Huayramarca as far as I know, a Kraken the size you mentioned costs, easily, $1 million NSD, in Huayramarca might cost the triple, so figure out yourself the benefits.”

Gallardo continued, with his mind focused in finishing the meeting and also suggesting a great idea for the crew “What about if you wait for the end of the maintenance and we go, with some of my friend acquittances to fish some krakens, this might help you to gather experience and being capable to fish one yourself.” David said “Well, no one quits learning ever, so I accept to do this alliance for our learning and constant improvement.” The crew nodded and waved hands with Gallardo, as David said “Maintenance ends the next week, so we might go to fish in Friday. Do you agree, Marcelo?” Gallardo said “Of course, let’s go to fish some krakens and try to feed some random Huayramarcan ceviche juggernauts in the process. Let’s see if we can do enough money from this fishing!”

[Sylestone]

Cutoff for matchday four, Groups F-J!

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Group F

Eshialand 1–1 Juvencus
Mertagne 0–2 Vilita

* Group F                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Vilita                                4   3  0  1    9   5  +4    9
2 Savojarna                             3   2  1  0    9   6  +3    7
3 Mertagne                              3   1  0  2    4   6  −2    3
4 Juvencus                              3   0  2  1    5   7  −2    2
5 Eshialand                             3   0  1  2    1   4  −3    1

Group G

Pluvia and the Saxean Isles 4–5 Geektopia
Oberour Ar Moro 3–3 Schima Bas

Group G                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Geektopia                             3   3  0  0   12   8  +4    9
2 Schima Bas                            4   2  1  1    9   8  +1    7
3 Oberour Ar Moro                       3   1  2  0    8   7  +1    5
4 Pluvia and the Saxean Isles           3   0  1  2    7  10  −3    1
5 Siovanija and Teusland                3   0  0  3    4   7  −3    0

Group H

Valladares 2–2 Independent Athletes from Quebec
Le Choix 0–0 Lathamford

* Group H                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Huayramarca                           3   2  1  0    6   4  +2    7
2 Le Choix                              3   0  3  0    1   1   0    3
  Valladares                            3   0  3  0    5   5   0    3
4 Lathamford                            4   0  3  1    7   8  −1    3
5 Independent Athletes from Quebec      3   0  2  1    7   8  −1    2

Group I

Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom 1–1 Barunia
Indusse 1–1 Britonisea

* Group I                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Barunia                               3   2  1  0    7   3  +4    7
2 Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom             3   2  1  0    5   2  +3    7
3 Squornshelan Remnant States           3   2  0  1    8   5  +3    6
4 Indusse                               3   0  1  2    4   8  −4    1
5 Britonisea                            4   0  1  3    3   9  −6    1

Group J

Milchama 0–1 HUElavia
TJUN-ia 3–5 Darmen

* Group J                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 TJUN-ia                               3   2  0  1    8   6  +2    6
2 HUElavia                              3   2  0  1    3   2  +1    6
3 Darmen                                4   2  0  2    9   8  +1    6
4 Atheara                               3   1  0  2    1   2  −1    3
5 Milchama                              3   1  0  2    4   7  −3    3

Ranking of teams

* First Place                         Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1  Jeruselem              	        4   3  1  0   12   6  +6   10
2  Geektopia                            3   3  0  0   12   8  +4    9
   Vilita                               4   3  0  1    9   5  +4    9
4  Barunia                              3   2  1  0    7   3  +4    7
   Savigliane              	        4   2  1  1    7   3  +4    7
6  New Lusitania             	        3   2  1  0    5   2  +3    7
7  Chartistan                           3   2  1  0    5   3  +2    7
   Eraman                               3   2  1  0    6   4  +2    7
   Huayramarca                          3   2  1  0    6   4  +2    7
10 TJUN-ia                              3   2  0  1    8   6  +2    6
----------------------------------------------------------------------
* Second Place                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
11 Savojarna                            3   2  1  0    9   6  +3    7
   Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom            3   2  1  0    5   2  +3    7
13 Schima Bas                           4   2  1  1    9   8  +1    7
14 HUElavia                             3   2  0  1    3   2  +1    6
15 Banija                               4   1  2  1    8   7  +1    5
   Sargossa                             3   1  2  0    1   0  +1    5
   Sharktail                            3   1  2  0    4   3  +1    5
18 Sylestone                            4   1  2  1    3   3   0    5
19 Sarzonia                             3   1  1  1    5   5   0    4
20 Le Choix                             3   0  3  0    1   1   0    3^
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* Third Place                         Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
21 Squornshelan Remnant States          3   2  0  1    8   5  +3    6
22 Darmen                               4   2  0  2    9   8  +1    6
23 Oberour Ar Moro                      3   1  2  0    8   7  +1    5
24 Poafmersia                           4   1  2  1    4   4   0    5
25 Flavovespia                          3   1  1  1    6   6   0    4
   Nyowani Kitara                       3   1  1  1    4   4   0    4
   Saint Eleanor                        3   1  1  1    3   3   0    4
28 Trolleborg                           3   0  3  0    3   3   0    3
   Valladares                           3   0  3  0    5   5   0    3^
30 Mertagne                             3   1  0  2    4   6  −2    3

^ Le Choix and Valladares are equal in Group H, so Valladares is technically second although they are listed in third place on this chart, due to alphabetical order.


NB: Barunia's RP below unfortunately came too late, and will be graded for the matchday five cutoff.

[Barunia]

OOC: Sneaking in after cutoff...

The Cup of Harmony has always been a tournament where Barunia feel at home. The Suns may miss out on the World Cup proper, but if they miss an invite to the secondary tournament there will be hell to pay. The failure of Adam Johnson to qualify for the Cup of Harmony at the end of the 83rd cycle was a big reason he was dropped from the coaching position. Historically it is a tournament where the Suns have done incredibly well too.

The Suns are in a great position to advance in this tournament as well, sitting on top of the ladder in group I. The next match will be crucial, with the team going up against Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom. They’re currently matching Barunia and the Squornshelan Remnant States of points, but crucially, both Barunia and Zeta Reka have 2 more games to play in this group stage. Barunia are ahead on goal difference, by a single goal.

Coach Liesel McLelland was not downplaying the significance of this match. “Our preparation has been less than ideal, but we will go out there and give it our best. I know that if we play 100%, we can beat any team out there.”

[TJUN-ia]

By Peter Davis

After a comfortable win on MD2 and a bye of chaos on MD3, the Jaguars returned to Wayr Stadium with their fates in their hands. 3 points clear of everyone else with 2 games to play, David Seems and Li Xiu Ying were confident that no matter what happened now, they would be playing knockout football in this tournament, where a proper send-off for the 9 can be arranged in due course. But Darmen lay ahead, a team that was quite good in its own right, and everyone knew this was gonna be a hard one to predict.

Alberich Goldschmidt wanted his final game of the groups to end on a high and it started off well for him indeed as Craig Blackwood, a goal-scoring machine by nature, got two past Harold Gylfisson within the first half an hour of this game. Kepo Ulawaya got one back in the 43rd but at halftime, the team in Green were 2-1 up. TJUN-ia wasn't going to give this up without a fight however and Archer Andrews came on and scored a brace in 10 minutes to give us the lead...but Darmen had a joker of their own in the form of 22-year-old Dorian Kinnaird and they made their mark with a second-half hattrick of pure spectacle that turned this fixture upside down for the final time. Darmen now must await their fate and what was TJUN-ia alone is now a 3-way at the top of Group J.

Like many predicted, this tournament will come down to our match with HUElavia at the Bug House, with the maths being simple. A win or a draw will secure us the group and an automatic spot in the Round of 16 while defeat may see us fall to the Round of 22 or, if things get chaotic, even elimination altogether. No one wants that and so, we shall hope and pray to the gods that our journey does not end here. Any point will do, Maragaret. Any point will do for the 9. GO JAGS!

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SCHEDULE (Group J, All Matches in Zwangzug)
MD1: vs Atheara (84) - Bug House, Twineur W 1-0 (T-1st)
MD2: vs Milchama (132) - Wayr Stadium, Rackham Range W 4-1 (1st)
MD3: BYE (1st)
MD4: vs Darmen (57) - Wayr Stadium, Rackham Range L 5-3 (1st)
MD5: vs HUElavia (31) - Bug House, Twineur

[Atheara]

☵ Athearan Sport Ordering News
ASON.com.ah/football/COH/81
The website for all your Athearan sporting needs, and many non sport related stories!

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Football > Cup of Harmony > 81
Group J in a Peculiar Position, It's Everyone's Game!
With Atheara losing to Darmen, somehow upsetting HUElavia, and having the bye-gun shot at for Matchday 4, Group J has become a scramble, as Atheara has a game in hand. But, it is against fellow bottom 2 team Milchama, who are only below Atheara because the fact that they conceded more goals than Atheara. But, results also must go Atheara's way. Although as unlikely it may as be, it might be possible to qualify as a 3rd placed team (Jorhen then screams "Wait i don't thi-"). I know, it's unlikely, but it could happen. Anyway, as we shall discuss the Darmen - Atheara match, as the HUElavian press has already covered the match between HUElavia and Atheara.

Though, there isn't really much to cover about the match. Craig Blackwood scored the winning goal on the 87th minute, in a game where Atheara was playing a very good game against a good opponent. Craig did a simple one-two play with Darnell Halle, with then Craig receiving the ball again, and smashing the ball past Mugel Krygorf, in a game where Mugel had been Most Valuable Player on the pitch, and in a game where the defense was proving to be the true stars of the show. Several good chances were wasted up front, especially an outrageous open net tap in missed by Luis Frawning* on the 63rd minute, which could have made the match give Atheara a possibly very valuable point.

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* Group J                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 TJUN-ia                               3   2  0  1    8   6  +2    6
2 HUElavia                              3   2  0  1    3   2  +1    6
3 Darmen                                4   2  0  2    9   8  +1    6
4 Atheara                               3   1  0  2    1   2  −1    3
5 Milchama                              3   1  0  2    4   7  −3    3

Group J as of Matchday 4

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So, what do you think of Group J? Will Atheara make it out when they see the chance? Will Atheara be able to fight ground to ground with Milchama? Who will be going in as the first placed team? TJUN-ia or HUElavia?! Will there be a shocker of a result on this final matchday?! Place your simple bets here. Though as courtesy, we on Athearan Sport Ordering News are not responsible for irresponsible gambling. That is all we really have to say. We wait until the deadly final matchday that decides it all!

Atheara Cup of Harmony 81 Group Stage
MD 1: Atheara 0 vs 1 TJUN-ia  @ Bug House
MD 2: Atheara 0 vs 1 Darmen   @ Bug House
MD 3: Atheara 1 vs 0 HUElavia @ Wayr Stadium
MD 4: Goodbye 
MD 5: Atheara vs Milchama     @ Wayr Stadium

This outlet was written by Curtis Galheln - Ooderadzen, he has written 18 outlets.

OOC Note: * Insert Raheem Sterling miss vs Lyon

[Sarzonia]

The press conference went about as well as you'd expect after Sarzonia fell to Jeruselem 3-2 on Matchday 4 of the Cup of Harmony group stage. The result would send the 22nd ranked team in the multiverse through as Group E champions and direct qualifiers to the Round of 16 and could potentially consign Sarzonia to a group stage elimination if they didn't defeat Hapilooper in their group stage finale.

Hanifer shook his head as he thought back to missed opportunities: There was the 33rd minute penalty Jake Campos drew after he'd been brutally tackled by defender Matt Gates, which drew a caution from the Sylestonian sentient who was reffing the match. Hanifer drew a caution for dissent for arguing that Gates should have been given a direct red. He was now dangerously close to earning an automatic one-match suspension as he was now one point below the point threshold required for said automatic suspension. Fellow striker Cayden Aguirre missed the penalty, which saw the veteran get Jeruselem goalkeeper Keiran Biden guessing wrong, but the ball sailed harmlessly past the upright and into the crowd.

There was the softest goal Sarzonian keeper Carlton Sandt had ever allowed as a starter on the first choice Stars national team in the 47th minute. Stars defender Charlie King's attempted clear caromed off the backside of Jeruselem striker Kate Dallas and Sandt's attempt to snag the ball resulted in a near-whiff and he could only watch the ball slide into the back of the net. There was also the goal by Campos in the 87th minute that would have drawn the score level at 3, but went for naught as the offside flag was up.

Hanifer was equal parts angry, frustrated, and sarcastic to various members of the media as he recounted his team's one-goal defeat and the team's need to defeat Hapilooper to guarantee a spot in the Round of 22, a round Hanifer said publicly he desperately wanted to avoid. After he'd curtly ended the press conference and walked out, ignoring follow-up questions from a bevvy of reporters, he walked into his office at the stadium and saw he had a message from the Incorporated Football Federation. It was from Zack Wilson, the chairman of the IFF. Hanifer rang up Wilson and the two men talked.

"You need to defeat Hapilooper," Wilson said bluntly, in a tone that told Hanifer he'd better not respond with the sarcasm he'd blithely dispensed during the presser. Hanifer's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"The Board of Governors is telling me they're going to vote to dismiss you as manager if you don't at least qualify for the Round of 22," Wilson said. "I fought them on it. I gave you my unqualified support. But the votes are there. I'm still going to work the members and hope for a level vote because I cast the tiebreaking vote, but it's not looking promising if you don't win the match."

"What if we draw and we still get in?"

"The name of the game is qualifying," Wilson said. "If you draw Hapilooper and that turns out to be enough to send you through to the knockouts, I think I can convince them to keep you, but a lot would then depend on what you do in the knockouts." Hanifer sat back, stunned. He knew the odds of Sarzonia actually winning the Cup of Harmony would be long at this point. His team looked especially vulnerable, and likely would face a comparative juggernaut if they survived a Round of 22 match and played in the Round of 16. He knew there was history of Sarzonia somehow pulling out the feat. There was the first Draggonnii Inviyattii tournament that saw the Stars sneak into the knockouts by the hair of their chinny-chin-chins and slay giants en route to the title. There was the Sarzonian women's team that won the Wonder Cup in Qasden after going to penalties against the Banijan women's team and won the final the same way.

It wasn't impossible. The odds were against them, but they still had a chance. And in the end, that was all Hanifer could ever ask for.

[Saint Eleanor]

OOC: I still feel like this was one of the best RPs I've ever written. Here's another one like it.

Thanks to Eraman for clarifying that my description of the only goal in Eraman vs Saint Eleanor counted as choosing a scoring event rather than godmodding one.

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Order into Chaos: Pre-Match Conversation 1 vs Adab - Sentient Oval, Kirkham, Sylestone - Cup of Harmony 81, fourth group game

Some time in the afternoon, I guess - Tuesday 5th November 1996

Most of the players were completely oblivious to what was happening. They were just... confused. Staring blankly. What the hell had happened? Just what was even going on here? Will we win? Will Saltstead win? If either of those happen, do we get a free holiday to somewhere else, please? What if we win by one goal and so does Saltstead?* Should we win? Can we win? Why didn't we win? How---

At least they got here before Priscilla Evans did. They usually didn't. "Here you go, Exandra - I'd like to have the rest of the satsuma once you're done with it. So, as for the match that's happening in a few minutes... if we win this, we're not fucked. If we don't win this, we're fucked. Any thoughts?"

"Yes, Miss Evans," groaned Jack Smith, who was still reeling from his fourteen-second cameo against Eraman. "If Adab can win against 9th-ranked Pasarga, why can't they win against us?"

"Well, we still managed to get something against Banija. A big something. If we win this, they're fucked by induction - the best two third-placed teams have six points and they don't."

"My question wasn't answered, mate."

"I'm not sure I'd describe our relationship like that. As for why they can't win against us... interesting. We've been doing a lot of work regarding team building, cohesion, that sort of stuff over the past nine months, and of course all of you have been playing alongside each other in the Saint Eleanor League. That should see us through, regardless of the quality of the opposition."

"Really? That diving header that whatshisface Wikra Petara scored against us in something like the 33rd minute was my fault," noted Paul Ferry, who had played every minute of the White Stars' previous three group games and was raring to go this time around. "I could have marked the bloke, could have at least got his shot out of the way but it was far too close and maybe a bit too hard for me to want to play it."

"That's your problem. A centre-back like you shouldn't be shying away from good interception opportunities. Or good tackling opportunities, although I think you've put in more than your fair share, which is pretty good."

"What about good shooting opportunities?"

"Point well taken, Katie. Of course we are going to need players to get themselves in front of goal in a position where they can actually score - I somehow know how to do this - but we haven't really been on top of our game against anybody other than Saltstead. Now let me find this printout of what stallion.stable.co.zs has to say about this... wait a minute."

"I'm not sure it matters anyway," said Smith. "We need to focus on what we're doing. Doesn't Adab have bad defenders, too?"

"I've been told they've conceded more than anybody else in the competition so far, Jack. They've also scored a lot. Take those bastards for another wild ride and we'll be through, easy."

"Can we?" asked yet another unused substitute.

"Well, we still managed to get something against Banija. A big something. Quite honestly, the main reason why I don't want to have the same conversation about whether Tinhampton can win is because we already know the answers and I don't want to have to repeat myself so many times that we're late for kickoff and people start thinking that this football thing doesn't matter."

"Nobody really cares about this match, yeah," remarked Davies, while tossing the other half of her satsuma to the manager. "I don't think we were meant to do anything of significance here anyway."

"Some people won't, but I'd say we will," proclaimed Evans, shortly after she successfully landed the catch. "So will about half a million other people. This is pretty big, I'd say, wouldn't you?"

Steve Pilchard, a few moments later: "Can I go to the toilet? You know, the one in the stands?"

*: Then Saint Eleanor, Saltstead and Eraman will have identical overall and head-to-head records, including goal differences - which I OOCly believe would have to be resolved through a three-way tiebreaker league. Zwangzug can pawn this particular n00b if she disagrees with my reasoning

[Jeruselem]

Naked News Jeruselem's Aidra Nene with Jeruselem manager Pekora Dancer in ZwangZug after Jeruselem's final qualification before the bye

Aidra: HELLO, I'm Aidra Nene for Naked News Jeruselem. I'm with Jeruselem manager Pekora Dancer once again. It's match day 4 of qualification at the Group of Harmony ... 89.
Pekora: OK hello ...
Aidra: Jeruselem took on Sarzonia, Bollonich faced off with Hapilopper in Group E. Jeruselem won 3-2 and Bollonich won 3-2.
Pekora: This was one danger game, the other one was the draw with Trolleborg.
Aidra: Yes, but we did win this really important game as we had the bye last.
Pekora: Yeah, but Bollonich got 3 points which is huge with Group E and Trolleburg have the bye.

Aidra: WE DID IT GIRL, we won the group and don't have to worry about being overrun by Sarzonia!
Pekora: Well, being the 22nd seed we were expected to this group. Trolleburg had the bye and they actually might be happy about this result.
Aidra: Yes I guess us beating their main competition was important to them
Pekora: We did because we didn't to get pushed off the top by Sarzonia
Aidra: We can relax and have a rest, we need a rest
Pekora: Apparently we're managed to be the number one first placed team ... I wasn't expecting that

Aidra: OK, we don't have to discuss what happens to us. We won the group but all spots are still open otherwise.
Pekora: Well yes, all the other teams are still in contention.
Aidra: We have more points than the other 4 teams combined
Pekora: Yeah, that's pretty weird.
Aidra: That's a good talking point for how dominant we were in this group
Pekora: I guess that would do it. We were the top seed, and proved it.

Aidra: How does the format of the playoffs work?
Pekora: Group winners make the next round. 2nd placed teams and two best 3rd teams go into playoffs for the six remaining spots.
Aidra: I guess today we discuss who finished 2nd and 3rd in Group E since we don't have to talk about where we finish
Pekora: We have Sarzonia vs Hapilopper and Trolleborg vs Bollonich. We have bye of course.
Aidra: Let's start from the bottom. Hapilopper.
Pekora: Even if Hapilopper win, they best they can do is realistically 3rd on 4 points. There's a lot better 3rd placed teams out there - so they are eliminated really.

Aidra: They could win just to upset the apple cart.
Pekora: I think they won't win.
Aidra: Bollonich has 3 points, from 1 win. They will need a win really pushing them to 6 points as 4 points won't be enough if they draw.
Pekora: Pretty much, a win for Bollonich could push them to 2nd spot. A draw or loss means elimination.
Aidra: Trolleborg also on 3 points, with ... 3 draws. A draw or loss is not an option for them as well. They need to win.
Pekora: A win will put them on 6 points. Which could allow them to take 2nd spot.

Aidra: Leaving 2nd placed Sarzonia, with 4 points. They aren't secure but a win will mean 2nd spot for sure. A draw could also do that depending on the other game.
Pekora: They'll want to win. If Trolleborg beat Bollonich, then 5 points is not enough for Sarzonia.
Aidra: So in all cases, every team needs a win but one team it might not matter anyway.
Pekora: Sarzonia is my pick because I think they will win. Trolleborg do not want Sarzonia to win, and they must win.
Aidra: So realistically, either Sarzonia or Trolleborg.
Pekora: I cannot totally eliminate Bollonich but less chance.

Aidra: So what's the plans?
Pekora: Oh, I'll have a rest. I'm not exactly young ...
Aidra: I guess we find out possible opponents tomorrow
Pekora: Yes, I'm glad we don't need rely on others with our fate.
Aidra: I guess I'll be at the Sarzonia vs Hapilopper game to see if Sarzonia can get 2nd spot.
Pekora: It could be Trolleborg as well, you never know.

[Sharktail]

Sharktail post EP 59
The revenge is on

CoH 77, we made it out the group stage. However, our journey end as we collapsed 2-1 to Flavovespia. Who imagine this time, CoH 81, Flavovespia, we meet again. But this time, with the spot on stake. The important point for both team.

Three point will make Sharktail the winner of group D, while losing will promote Flavovespia to second place. With the draw, all the current rank may stay like now. With the next result, everything will be solved.

Sharktail improve much from world cup qualification. However, they not really have good record here. Last past edition, only in 77th edition, Sharktail made out from group stage. As this time the chance is back. It's better for them to take this seriously.

The player like Harold, Nik Akif, Chandra have a memory of last match. We make it out then collapse. The last minute goal from Gaby not enough to push this team go further. They will likely to remember today as well. It will be their second matchup in CoH. And they dont want the scar to be marked double.

The last match against Savigliane, all the boys playing really well. Thanks to then, now Sharktail on good track to next round. Win Aziz, the hero of that night, now will have a bigger vision to be the knife, the gun for Sharktail to rip their defence and score. More goal to score, more bright the chance we have to win.

Left now, all the player need the teamwork. Aside the tactic, teamwork what make it possible. Planning, set up then playing, all need the concentration and understanding of all player. For now, good luck on the last hurdle, last fight. Go Sharktail.

[Yue Zhou]

THE JIANGDONG DAILY
KANG TO RETIRE FROM MANAGEMENT AFTER COH
HU Zhouwen, SPORTS

NANGANG -- Legendary manager Kang Guilin, currently the head of the Yuezhou NT, has announced that he will be retiring from football management at the conclusion of the eighty-first Cup of Harmony after recently being diagnosed with a rare heart condition. The announcement marks the end of a legendary decades-long managerial career for Nanhai's native son, who won four league titles in fifteen seasons with Nangang Royals before spending three cycles in international management, first with Græntfjall and then, after the fall of Ren Qiang's government, his dream job at Yuezhou. "Coaching the Dragons this year has been a dream come true," a tearful Kang said in a morning press conference. "However, I need to acknowledge that my recent diagnosis has left me unable to continue to dedicate myself to this team. I've made the difficult decision to retire from management, and am looking forwards to spending more time with my family after one final tournament run."

A former one-club midfielder with Nangang Royals, Kang became an icon of the entire Nanhai province due to his tenacity on the pitch and his leadership off of it. Although he played for Royals during some of their leanest years, Kang's loyalty and devotion to the Royals over a seventeen-season playing career earned him the adulation of the entire city and legend status. His most notable moments with the club came in a variety of vastly different scenarios - from scoring a cup-winning goal in injury time as a young super-sub to making a game-saving goal-line clearance to prevent Royals from suffering the ignominy of a first-ever relegation. After a few years away from the game, he then returned to Nangang as a youth team coach, and while he was offered the head coach job multiple times as the Royals continued to struggle, he insisted on not taking it until he felt prepared.

Kang was eventually promoted to first-team manager at Royals at the age of forty-five. When he took over, the team was struggling to bear the weight of its own history, languishing in lower midtable with an aging, expensive core of fading stars. Kang immediately turned the team around by playing a non-traditional but effective counterattacking and pressing style while discarding many of the popular older players for a new core comprised of the youth talent he'd just worked with for years. While his methods proved controversial at first, with fans accusing him of destroying the "Royals DNA", nobody could argue with the results, as a stunning turnaround culminated with Royals winning the title in just Kang's third year in charge. Kang would go on to earn many more plaudits for his tactical flexibility and pragmatism while leading Nangang to four league titles in his time there in spite of rampant government favoritism towards other clubs in the Yue leagues. It was this perceived bias against the province of Nanhai that led Kang to reject the Yuezhou FA's overtures to be made national team manager multiple times.

Seeking a new challenge away from the chaos of Yuezhou during the Civil War, Kang then turned to international management, being appointed as the first foreign manager of Græntfjall after a lengthy search. He spent two cycles with the Snow Wolves, bringing the team's tactics and training methods into the modern era; however, while he managed decent results at the Cup of Harmony, bringing Græntfjall out of a Rushmori gauntlet and into the quarterfinals, he was unable to do what Igrene Cantor eventually managed in bringing Græntfjall either silverware or a World Cup qualification. As such, after two decent cycles, he parted ways with KG by mutual consent.

Around this time, though, the Nangang-based United Republics' victory in the Yue Civil War reopened a door that Kang himself had slammed shut several times: that of the Yue NT post. "Being here, and being able to manage this Yuezhou NT," Kang said immediately after accepting a YFA offer, "is a dream come true for me on so many levels." The circumstances surrounding Kang's hiring were dubious, with the YFA accused of having political motives for the hiring and previous manager Lu Jialan resigning out of a sense of disrespect surrounding the Kang speculations. However, Kang rapidly turned things back around, and while he was unable to advance past the biannual Ro16 defeat at the Copa Rushmori or qualify for the World Cup, many young Dragons flourished under his new 4-2-3-1 system.

The YFA has already started the search for a new manager who can now bring Yuezhou back to the World Cup and take the side to the next level. "After having a world-class manager like Kang Guilin," YFA representative Zheng Chuan announced recently, "we can only continue with another similarly world-class manager, one who can harness our new generation of talent and take Yuezhou to the next level." While legendary Equestrian manager and World Cup winner Marcus Waters reportedly rebuffed the YFA's overtures, and Astograthian legend Galeano had already looked elsewhere, the past few months have seen a uniquely high number of top-tier managers become available. Former Nepharan goalkeeper Diandra Ballard, a respectable manager in her own right at Leichhardt, is reportedly the foreign frontrunner, while Royals' Yang Yanhuang - in the same position Kang was in so long ago - is also a top option for the YFA. Whoever it is, though, will have massive shoes to fill, as one of Yuezhou's greatest managers of all time finally calls it quits on a remarkable career.

[Eraman]

The Eraman national football squad traveled to Chamberley in the far west of Sylestone three days before their match against Saint Eleanor after more than a week in the middle of the Sylestonian desert in Halpenley where they played their first two matches of the 81st Cup of Harmony. The Eramanians did well on the pitch in Halpenley where they drew Adab and shocked Banija but the squad was more than happy to leave the hot Sylestonian desert for the more familiar tropical climate of Chamberley.

They checked into a luxurious hotel facing the Camperdown Strait and settled down nicely in the largest city of Sylestone. The players were fully spirited not just because of the change of environment but also because of the recent unexpected victory over Banija. Suddenly, the squad feels that they can win the whole thing.

"If we can beat Banija, we can beat anyone," yelled the team captain, Anton Mora to end the pre-match team talk in the dressing room

The whole squad, agreeing with the team captain, shouted back "yes, we can," before they went out of the dressing room into the stadium tunnel for the match against Saint Eleanor.

Saint Eleanor however is not an easy opponent. They tied Banija in the opening match before beating Saltstead in their second match. Banija and Saltstead are the strongest sides in the group. So they too were brimming with confidence. The match in the Chamberley Institute of Sport itself was tight. The results could have gone either way. But Eraman was the luckier of the two sides as Wikra Petara's goal from a diving header in the 33rd minute proved to be the only goal of the match and was enough to get them the all-important 3 points.

The win ensured Eraman at least a top 3 finish in the group stage but qualification to the knockout stage is still not sealed yet. However, being in the top spot at the moment means that their fate is totally in their own hands. All they need to do to confirm their place at the top of Group C is don't lose against Saltstead in the last match of the group stage. Can they do that?

[Adab]

Monday, June 18, 2035 / 12 Rabi al-Thani 1457
Adab 3-5 Banija
Adab scorers: Yargab (47’), Akaptaha (65’), Yissakar (80’)

A Dance with Football
Snapshots of the lives of the people involved in Adabian football and those associated with them
For a full list of chapters click here. To read all the chapters in one go click here
For an (incomplete) list of major/prominent characters in this story click here and scroll down to the ‘Football’ section

Chapter 42: Battle Lines, Part 2

10.50 a.m.
AFA headquarters
Adab City

“Allah help us, look at all those people outside her house! And where is she going now?” AFA President Naram-Sin Araqasdah furiously wagged his finger at the TV set which had been dragged from the next room over to his office. On the screen they could see reporters congregating at the entrance to the gated complex where Emma Arthur lived, swarming the sidewalks, waving and shouting as her car rolled past them with blacked-out windows, leaving for the safety of wherever she was going to. “Look at them! Standing there like vultures over carcass.”

“The most concerning part of all this,” said Inimabakesh Thulus in a gruff voice, standing next to Naram-Sin’s desk with arms crossed, “is that they seem more concerned about people’s private lives than… you know, the actual issues facing this country.”

“Well this is an actual issue!” Naram-Sin countered, pointing again at the screen. “One of our best players has been seeing two people simultaneously, one of them being another one of our best players, the other one being the manager’s daughter! And we’re not even sure if each of the women knows about the other one! People are supposed to look up to them. They’re public figures, for God’s sake!”

“Maybe we should start looking into ourselves instead of relying on so-called public figures for guidance and morality,” Inimabakesh commented.

“Very philosophical,” Naram-Sin shot back, then looked around and just past his shoulder at Saad Kaykali, leaning on the wall on the corner of the room, phone on his ear. “Has she not answered the phone?”

“No,” Saad said through clenched lips, shaking his head. “And you’re worrying too much about this, Naram-Sin. It will all blow over.”

“Exactly,” Inimabakesh immediately added. “It will all blow over sooner or later. People are just hungry for their daily dose of gossip. Bunch of airheads. Now can we just switch from this trashy channel back to ABC News? I’m sure they’ve gotten over this nonsense and returned to covering actual news like the respectable broadcaster that they are.”

“Well I hope you’re all right,” Naram-Sin said, reaching for the remote to switch channels. The scene of Emma Arthur’s gated complex suddenly gave way to that of the ABC newsroom, with the grim face of the anchor filing up the center of the screen. To his right was a box featuring the face of an ABC News reporter.

…and many, of course, will be wondering how their behavior will impact the image of the team. Of course, this “rainbow team”, as some have described them, have proudly carried our country’s name abroad, proving we can go above and beyond gender, ethnic, or religious differences, uniting the country and inspiring countless people. Hammad, over to you.

“Wait a second,” Inimabakesh said as the screen switched fully to the reporter, standing across the street from the ABC headquarters. “Isn’t that the cafe just across the street?”

Thank you very much, Jamal. The AFA has so far refused to comment, and there are many of my fellow reporters here and of course out there, across the street, waiting just outside the building. The main concern, of course, is how all this will impact the rainbow team project. We know that the Imperial Palace was greatly involved in assembling this team for our comeback to international football, and questions will of course be asked of the Palace and the AFA regarding their seeming inability to monitor the behavior of their players, especially from conservative elements within the Privy Council and the wider society. It is not impossible that there may be a few shakeups within the team and the staff as a result of all this-

“What a load of nonsense,” Inimabakesh scoffed. “Who gave him all these talking points anyway?”

“But he’s right,” Naram-Sin said. “We’re all screwed! We may have to get both Arthur and Sinmuballit out of the team, for God’s sake! Our competence is being brought into question. We might have to end up resigning before the end of this tournament!”

“Hello,” Saad’s voice suddenly rang across the room. “Aida? Can you hear me?”

---

“Dad, I’m-“

“Hey, look, it’s alright. Where are you now? Are you at the office?”

“Yeah,” Aida said, and he thought he could hear her sniffing. “Look, Dad, uh… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything earlier. I should have told you, I guess, I-“

“Look, what matters now is that you’re alright,” Saad said. “I mean, well, I’ve heard the rumors, so I’ve… suspected something was happening, but you said it’s all nonsense and you’re just friends and honestly I didn’t take you for the type of girl that-“

“He loves Emma,” she cut him off. “And that’s alright. You can’t… choose who you love. And, uh, I talked with Alu earlier today, and, uh, I don’t think he knew what to do. And then he didn’t answer my calls. Look, Dad, if you can reach out to him, just tell him to… tell everything. About me, about her, about us. It’s the only way they’ll back off.”

“We’ve tried to call him. He didn’t answer. Right now it’s just a media circus everywhere and we don’t even know if we’ll keep our jobs at the end of the day.”

“Dad, I’m sorry, I should have told you everything. I should have-“

“No, no, it’s not your fault-“

“Are you watching the TV? Emma’s going out. I think she’s going to him. Where else would she go? It’s good, it’s okay, it’s all good. Look, they can say whatever they want about me. I’m the other woman, I’m the third one, I’m… they can say whatever they wanna say. Maybe I’ll tell my side of the story later, but now it’s their moment and I’m just going to keep a low profile for as long as possible.”

“Look, if you need anything from me, I’m right here, honeypie. You know that.”

“Dad, I’m sorry. I never thought it would come to this.”

“Hey, it’s fine. You’re safe. That’s all that matters to me.”

---

11:00 a.m.
Alulim Sinmuballit’s house
Adab City

“Mr. Sinmuballit,” announced the housekeeper from the other side of the door, “I’ve moved the loudspeaker to the front porch so they can hear me loud and clear. What do you want me to say to them?”

“Tell them that I will not be making any statements today and they can just stop wasting their time here and go home. They will receive nothing from me,” Alu instructed, sitting in the bedroom, looking at the curtains that covered the window.

“Of course,” said the housekeeper before excusing himself, leaving Alu alone with his own thoughts. He was still sitting there, unmoved, when he heard the faint echo of his housekeeper downstairs, delivering the announcement to the media outside. He hoped they would all leave before she arrived to avoid creating even more a ruckus; he had no hope they would actually leave.

He didn’t bother to log into his social media accounts, or to read all the messages directed at those accounts. He guessed many of them would be supportive, or at least not downright hostile or abusive; after all, many of his generation seemed more receptive to… whatever he was doing compared to the older folks. But still he decided it wasn’t time to look at them.

All the calls went unanswered, and eventually they were reduced to a trickle, then stopped coming in. He needed his time. He couldn’t bothered to answer them. The world was spinning round and round and the media was circling him and he needed his time.

So it was a little annoying when his phone rang again. His first thought was that it was Emma, but it was not. It was another name on the phone, one who – as far as he could recall – had never actually called him on the phone. He raised the phone to his hear.

Out came the voice of Taymour Frangieh. “Alu? Hey, are you alright?”

“Oh, Taymour? Uh, u-uh, yeah,” he stuttered. “I-I’m fine. Hey, uh, why are you calling anyway?”

“Why, am I not allowed to call you?” Alu could hear him giggling on the other end of the line. “Look, I know you’re not in the mood for answering calls but I thought I should check in with you. Look, I think I should just go straight to the point. I was in your position years ago, and I just want you to know that I’m on your side, and that there are many – and I mean many – who are on your side, despite what the media would have you believe.”

“Thanks,” Alu managed to say, nodding, his voice low and almost faint as he took in Taymour’s words. “Are you, uh, if you don’t mind me asking, are you talking about… you and Mohammed’s sister?”

“Yeah,” Taymour said. “Now, if you don’t mind me asking – you don’t have to answer this question if you don’t want to – when you visit Mohammed, what do you guys talk about? I mean, again, you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but-“

“Well, we talk about… things.”

“Is he giving you career advice?”

“Well, yes, I guess you can say so.”

“Life advice?”

“Well, he’s been very generous with his time and advice. I think, uh, maybe I shouldn’t be saying this. I mean, I shouldn’t be talking about this.”

“Does he talk about Emma?” Taymour asked. “Okay, no, you don’t have to answer that question. Look, what I’m telling you is that Mohammed Marramzi is a self-righteous, sanctimonious bigot who likes poking his nose into other people’s affairs. He’s convinced that just because he’s a football hero and the national team captain he has the right to tell people what to and what not to do, as if the continuation of this nation’s social order depends on him. And the worst thing about this is that he’s not the only one. Half the country thinks just like him. And the AFA? You’ve just gotten yourself and Emma into hot water with the AFA and with Araqasdah. Araqasdah is the Emperor’s stooge and he will do anything the Emperor says.”

“Oh… alright. So, uh, what you’re saying is-“

“We are at a crossroads, Alu. The whole country is. Are we going to be stuck in the 20th century or finally progress into the 21st? Araqasdah, Marramzi, they are all beholden to and upholding a social order that is rapidly fading. Our country, our people have become more tolerant, open, and accepting, but those fossils are trying to hold us back because they think we are the Devil’s children or something. Look, Alu, you and Emma are the new age. The conservatives don’t like you both because they see the future in you and they’re scared. I don’t know how you and Emma and Aida will deal with this going forward, but if you do get together with Emma – and I know that will, um, cause a lot of friction with your families and, well, with a lot of people in this country – I want you to know that I will be with you, and I think at least half the team will also be with you.

“Now the problem is Araqasdah has the power, and if you do get together with Emma he will kick you both out of the team to save his own skin. Maybe he’ll even fire the whole staff. You can renounce both women and issue a public apology or something, then maybe he’ll keep you in the team. You can get together with Aida and maybe he’ll let you off. But with Emma?”

“Well, I mean, you know, if that’s what you mean, well, if it’s because of our faith and all that-“

“Yes, yes, it’s legal, I know. But that’s only as long as you’re just some private, anonymous citizens and not public figures whose relationships are splashed over the front pages, and you know they’ve been trying to ban it again. That’s the unspoken rule. You are a challenge to the status quo, you and Emma. You are a challenge to these so-called family values, to the current order. The conservatives in the Privy Council will try to convince the Emperor, who will then force Araqasdah to fire you. Either you go or he goes, there’s no other way. I know Marramzi is sick, he’ll be out of the picture soon, good riddance. But the AFA still remains a problem.”

“Okay, so… is there something that you’re proposing to me?”

“I’m only saying that, whatever happens from this moment on, you have my full support. I should have stood up for myself, but I was young and dumb back then. I don’t want you to be like me, just because some people are telling you who you can and cannot love or how to live your life. Anyway, about Emma and Aida, do they both know about the other?”

“Yeah.”

“Are they okay with all this?”

“Yeah. Aida knows about Emma, in fact she thinks I should go to Emma and that I’m really in love with her and that she’s fine with it. Emma… well I’ve told her about Aida, and I’m sure she’s… heard the rumors, and, well, she isn’t angry with me.”

“That’s good. The point is, whatever you choose to do, be totally and completely honest with yourself and others around you. I know Emma’s going to you – I’ve seen the telly – so if it… actually happens between the two of us I will be on your side. You are never alone, Alu, and you never will be.”

Adab lineup for MD5

Starting lineup: Chandrasekar, Altun, Enmerkar, Issou, Frangieh, Arthur (VC), Sinmuballit, Orlev, Akaptaha, Yissakar, Yargab (C)

Substitutes: Marramzi, al-Tikriti, Sharkalisharri, Akshak, Thomas, al-Muntar, Samanu, Emmita, Uhwan, Zambiya, al-Kufa, Barzani

[Hispinas]

This article was found and archived in the deep web.

Coming into the last day of the group stages of the Cup of Harmony, no one of the first three opponents of the Golden Sealions were able to take the UWC away from the current holders. Fair point, the Hispinos were ranked lower than Sharktail, Savigliane, and Flavovespia, but their grit and determination have spurred them to get a draw from all three matches. With them taking a bye for matchday four, facing the lowest ranked team in the group, Geisenfried, would give hope for the Rushmori nation to take the UWC title post-CoH and defend it in the Copa Rushmori, which the Royal Hispinas Football Federation is planning to host or co-host. However, the standings for Group D, and the Matchday 5 fixtures may raise a possibility that Hispinas could even advance to the next stage of the competition.

vs Sharktail (3-3)
If there is another point that Hispinas struggles with aside from trying to qualify to the World Cup finals, it is scheduling friendlies. Fortunately, the football association from Sharktail had agreed to a pre-tournament friendly before the group draw was held, and they were kind enough for the match to push through even if the two nations were drawn each other in Group D. With the first match ending on a 2-2 draw, another 3-3 draw ensured that the series between Hispinas and Sharktail this cycle would not produce a clear victor. By virtue of a draw, Hispinas retain the UWC.

vs Savigliane (0-0)
This was a screenshot of a site made by memers of Hispinas' near-inability of keeping a clean sheet in the past tournaments:

OOC Inspiration: https://www.whendideglastthrow.com/

Everyone was expecting the top seed in this group, Savigliane to dispatch the recent Copa Rushmori 3rd placers, but alas, they failed to do so. And yes, Elpidio Campoy's clean sheet against the juggernauts of the group would force the site admins to update the data. As a result of this goalless draw, Hispinas retain the UWC.

vs Flavovespia (3-3)
Remember the 8-1 Margaret-level shellacking Hispinas received from this nation? I remember it well, and it might have a big possibility that Hispinas will lose the UWC this time to their so-called bogey team, it did not happen again. There were three less goals than that mishap in Saints Park, and this time, it was equally distributed between the two teams. Maybe Hispinas was not playing in Flavovespia this time that's why they failed to lose. As such, Hispinas retain the UWC.

Probably the only way for Hispinas to retain the UWC by the end of this tournament? Another draw against Geisenfried. The team is at the bottom of the group, with only a point to boot. However, with bookies expecting Hispinas to win the match, the only way for Hispinas to advance to the next round if that happens is for Flavovespia and Sharktail to force themselves to not have a winner between them, that way Hispinas would have the better goals scored if the winning margin is more than 1. Otherwise, it will be left to coin flips. However if that match produce a winner, then Hispinas is certain not to advance to the next round as they will probably have not enough points to be in the top 2 third placers (if they ever get there).

Die hard fans wanted Hispinas to advance to the next round, while those who are keeping tabs in the UWC belt (including me) would want them out of the competition without losing a match. If they lose against Geisenfried though, both parties would be at a loss.

-Written by HispiFanUWCBeltIsOurs, July 20, 2206.

[Flavovespia]

Geisenfried 0-2 Flavovespia

Key Events:

0’ Kickoff, Geisenfried kickoff in their red and black checked kit, Flavovespia are wearing an all yellow kit today.

19’ GOAL: Geisenfried 0 – 1 Flavovespia (Scott Coleman) – A quick break down the left wing sees Jonathan Feld in plenty of space. He whips in a low cross that’s met by Scott Coleman, and his first time shot takes it past Loewen Juergensen.

31’ – So close for Geisenfried, Mikkel Christensen turns past Alexander May, and his snapshot has real pace on it, Aarif Muhammad does brilliantly with a reflex save to parry, and David Lyons follows in to hoof the ball away.

45’ – On the stroke of half time, almost a second from Scott Coleman, his header is diving at full stretch, but although he makes contact with the ball, he can’t keep it down and it grazes the top of the crossbar.

Half Time - Geisenfried 0 – 1 Flavovespia

57’- GOAL: Geisenfried 0 – 2 Flavovespia (Steven Hall) – The man with 200 caps gets his goal in this game. A clever give and go with Scott Coleman beats the defence, and Steven Hall darts through the middle. Hall’s shot is with good pace and accuracy, to double the lead.

64’ – PENALTY to Geisenfried. Oh a real chance for Geisenfried to get back into this! Djibril Kayode’s ball into the box is met by Mikkel Christensen, who then collides with Alexander May. Judged a foul by the referee, despite the protests of May, and the video referee agrees.

65’ – PENALTY SAVED. Aarif Muhammad guesses the right way, the penalty is too central, and the Flavovespian goalkeeper pushes it away. Alexander May then hoofs the loose ball away.

87’ – GOAL: Geisenfried 0 – 3 Flavovespia (Michael Cole) – Now Michael Cole is on the scoresheet. Steven Hall plays in an angled through ball, Michael Cole is able to beat the defence, and then slots it past the goalkeeper. The defence call for offside, which is just being checked.

88’ DISALLOWED GOAL: Geisenfried 0 – 2 Flavovespia. Unlucky for Michael Cole, he was probably less than half a metre off, but offside he was. No goal for him, although the score still looks comfortable for Flavovespia.

Full Time - Geisenfried 0 – 2 Flavovespia


Player Ratings:


Aarif Muhammad – 9. Saved a penalty, and was otherwise practically faultless.

David Lyons – 7. A solid display down the left hand side, although the odd chance did still come in from there.

Alexander May (->Wright 82’) – 5. Giving away the penalty was unfortunately a big blight on an otherwise good game.

Tony Gardner – 7. A good, composed display at the back, has earned his spot with his displays in the last 2 games.

Andrew Dance – 7. Not a perfect defensive display, but certainly not out of place, and distribution was decent.

Jonathan Feld – 8. Got an assist, and on this display answers the problems of Flavovespia down the middle.

Kieron Player (-> Totten 66’) – 6. Didn’t really do a huge amount this game, but also didn’t do much wrong.

David Clark – 7. Consistent, and helped Flavovespia’s cause in the middle, if occasionally not picking out the right pass.

Steven Hall – 9. Got a goal, unlucky not to get an assist, and very dominant on the right hand side. Deserved all the plaudits on his 200th cap.

Michael Cole – 6. Unlucky not to score, other than that was a little anonymous this game.

Scott Coleman – 8. Got on the scoresheet, and caused the defence lots of hassle.

Subs:

Robert Totten – 6. Showed some decent flair off the bench, although was a little unsure of positioning in central midfield.

Neil Wright – 5. Hard to assess with so few minutes, although did nearly cause a half-chance to fall Geisenfried’s way.

Review:

Flavovespia needed a win, and in the end secured it with some great goalkeeping. Aarif Muhammad put aside a lot of doubters for his position with a penalty save and a save from a great opportunity for Geisenfried. Whilst the Flavovespian defence did give away a penalty, they were otherwise more composed, and didn’t look like giving away cheap goals from silly mistakes. At the other end of the pitch, Steven Hall gave an exemplary performance, so hard to mark with his movement and play on the ball. Scott Coleman also delivered with a goal, and came close to getting a double. Whilst the performance probably won’t be described as perfect, Nick Cole will come away largely happy with what he saw, although Sharktail’s win over Savigliane means Flavovespia must get another win to go through.

Flavovespia vs Sharktail

Preview

Intro:
One game left in Group D, and it’s all or nothing now. Flavovespia must win against Sharktail, or they’re eliminated. The one positive is that a win guarantees a spot in at least the Round of 22, and a 3 goal win or more, which on paper isn’t particularly likely but not impossible, would see Flavovespia win Group D. However Sharktail know that a win takes them top of Group D. If they draw, they’ll need to rely on Hispinas not winning against Geisenfried to go through, or even a coinflip should Hispinas win by a goal and Sharktail draw.

Sharktail, nicknamed “The Blue Predator”, will be a tough final opponent. Just 13 places separate the two sides in the rankings, and Sharktail of course have the advantage of not necessarily needing a win, although they’ll definitely be pushing for one. They beat Savigliane 1-0 in their previous match, giving them the chance of snatching top spot, and showing that they could go far in the knockout stages, with Savigliane one of the tournament’s favoured sides. Flavovespia will remain in Kirkham for this match, playing in the Stadium of the Glorious Sentient Objects. With just 15000 seats, ticket have been at a premium, but the enthusiasm of the crowd won’t be diminished.


Qualifiers:
From Pot 4, they finished 4th in the end, at least meeting that expectation. Starblaydia and Independent Athletes from Quebec were always going to be tough opponents at the top of the group, and so they proved, with 6-1 and 7-2 defeats respectively for Sharktail right at the start of the qualifying campaign. They would at least get a decent home draw against Starblaydia later on. A 9-3-6 record overall is identical to Flavovespia, with a good set of wins against lower ranked sides. They won 6-3 and then 0-5 against Murderbum for example. Finally, a 5-1 win over Pot 3 Reçueçn shows they can be a real danger at their best.


Past meetings:
The Round of 32 game in Cup of Harmony 77 was the only meeting between these two sides. First half goals from Steven Hall and James King helped Flavovespia eliminate Sharktail in Zwangzug, an injury time goal by Gaby nothing more than a late consolation. Sharktail here have the opportunity for revenge.

Tactical analysis:

Flavovespia go up against a team who play a 4-2-3-1, (officially listed as a 4-5-1), a formation Flavovespia themselves have used in the past, and is quite a common staple of the modern game. In a 4-2-3-1, the sole striker can often drop back, allowing the wingers or attacking midfielder in if the defence is caught out. Flavovespia used to use that formation themselves, and will hope to use that knowledge to their benefit.

In terms of defence, like the whole squad, Nick Cole names an unchanged side. The combination of Tony Gardner and Alexander May paid dividends last match, and Andrew Dance stepped up to the plate. Against Sharktail, it will be more crucial than ever to try and avoid conceding, especially early on. An attacking side, Sharktail’s attacking players will certainly put a lot of pressure on the back 4 of Flavovepsia, one mismatch and anyone of the front 4 could be in for a shot at goal. Aarif Muhammad kept a clean sheet, and will be a star if he keeps another.

Flavovespia’s midfield did a solid job last time out, with the duo of Kieron Player and David Clark performing well in the centre of the park. Whilst Player and Clark are used to playing a more deeper role, against Sharktail they may need to put pressure on the holding midfielders of their opponents. One of the two will look to disrupt the play into the central attacking midfielder most likely. Steven Hall became the first Flavovespian to hit the 200 cap mark, and he’ll hope to be key in firing his side forward. Jonathan Feld will also look to provide support down the left flank, with his experience hopefully proving pivotal.

Flavovespia’s attack has been firing well, and they’ll have to play well again to get Flavovespia into the knockout stages. The tactical advice is hardly going to change at this point, Michael Cole will look to beat the offside trap, Scott Coleman will lie a little deeper but look to position himself well for any passes, crosses or rebounds in and around the box. Not much has been seen of Adrian Jones or Anthony Hannigan yet, will the former get a first cap off the bench?

[Nyowani Kitara]

Background Info on NYK
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23
Part 24

Max Ulf, Port Viljan Mayor's Office

Max Ulf was sitting with General Andersson, at his desk. The Tumbran agent had long left. Circumstances were changing on the southern front, and for the first time all war, the DFLK was facing a counter-offensive. In the northeast, on the mainland. The KRF/Nepharan forces were finally launching a counter-offensive that was headed towards Karora, and there was some harsh fighting. The DFLK were doing well to hold their own, at the point, but it would be a tough, and absolutely brutal, fight. They hadn't reached the outskirts of Karora yet- but with internal opposition in the city, and the KRF pushing that way, it was alawys goingto be tough to hold.

Max Ulf was viewing defense plans. "Well, thanks to our friends in Háttmark, we're actually able to keep the troops supplied on the front." The General said. "Geography is a good help too. The Eurans can't blockade Lake Viljan, since they've got absolutely no access to one of the greatest freshwater sources in Rushmore. With guns running from Græntfjall, we are in a good position to keep that supply moving, both from a cash perspective and a practical perspective. Unfortunately, they have turned away from focusing basically all of their attention in the South, and then focusing some of that attention up North."

"We're going to have to focus our defense from allowing them to get a chokehold in the north." The General continued. "Don't allow them to the lake. Don't allow them to Karora. Keep them landocked. We've got to fight for this land. The more land we hold, especially on the mainland, the more sway we are going to have in Nyowani Kitara, whatever kind of peace process we get."

"Yes, I agree." Said the Mayor. They talked over some battle plans some more, before he moved onto a different subject. "We're going to have to start taking a long-term, outward look. The KRF literally sent their main man as an assassin to try and assassinate me, and yet, Nephara has only responded by send more troops, and doubling down. The last thing that they want to do - is allow the KRF to lose this war. I have no idea why they're so married to the idea of Nafuna Akongo, the crazy teenager that she is, in running the country."

"You know, I thought the same thing." Said General Andersson. He, of course, was an early defector from the KPWC to the DFLK movement. "Left to her own devices, of course, Nafuna Akongo's government would've eventually fallen. If only we had planned out our coup with General Lidstrom just a little bit better- well, we could've saved ourselves all this bloodshed. Imagine what would've happened if we had started this war from Dewayo, instead of all the way up here, up north in Port Viljan? The KPWC would've been eviscerated from the start, and we would've taken the full might of the Kitara Revolutionary Forces and crushed those cursed right-wingers in the KFF. Nephara and Eura would've been backing us, not those accursed Akongos. They basically think the affairs of state are theirs as a birthright."

"I know, right?" Said Max Ulf. "But as we think long-term- we need to think endgame here. What's Nephara's state? Would they even receive any sort of emissaries from us? Would Eura?"

"I doubt it." General Andersson said. "We need a major power to back us. Any luck with Tumbra?"

"No word yet." Said the Mayor. "Everything went well with that agent, as a matter of fact. However, he also witnessed an assassination attempt by the President's right-hand man. Probably doesn't convince him that we're stable? I don't know. Anyways, though, I've been thinking- I have an idea." The General was all ears. "You know I've been trying to get recognition, in terms of official, diplomatic recognition, from Græntfjall, right?"

"Max." General Andersson said. "You know and I know- that recognition isn't coming. Prime Minister Zóphonías Juliusson- well, you know and I know, that he'd rather simply wait for the war to 'go away', than do anything useful. You know this pack of cigarettes in my pocket?" He said, while pulling one out. "This pack of cigarettes has done twice as much to help than anything that mother-"

"I get your point." Max Ulf said. "But what if, we had a way to change the calculus for him?" Max Ulf said. "Now, listen closely. There are a multitudes of reasons to do this. First, we know what a high-value person Gustav Isaksson is. He's sitting in a prison cell, alone, and we had to triple security at the prison when he was brought in. Why? We know that there are spies everywhere in this city. Eyes on the ground. Ears in the skies. We know how important Isaksson is to the government in Dewayo. Nafuna Akongo clearly still has operational independence from Corvistone- I doubt the Margravine would've ordered a straight up hit."

"Where are you going with this, Mayor?" The General said.

"Look. It's going to cost us a lot of resources to keep him in prison." Max Ulf said. "Obviously, we can't send him back. Anybody who's worth trading a guy of Isaksson's stature for, they have surely killed. We can't just kill him- that'd be terrible for our public ops. Although, of course, he deserved it. So what do we do? It costs us money and men to keep him in prison. There's the constant risk that they may attempt a rescue op for him, which would keep him on the streets of Port Viljan. We could move him to a prison in a different area of the country, but that just makes the chances of a KPWC rescue op that much higher."

"I'm listening..." The General said. He had no idea where the Mayor was going with this.

"Think about it." Max Ulf said. "What does the Prime Minister Juliusson want? More than anything?" Ulf let that question hang in the air. "He wants to be seen for his human rights record. He wants to be seen as a peacemaker. As somebody who helped bring justice. What if- what if we sent Gustav Isaksson to Juliusson's custody, and have him set up a tribunal to put Isaksson on trial?"

"Send him to foreign custody?" The General said. "But then- but why would we-"

"It makes sense!" The Mayor said. "One- there's absolutely zero chance of a rescue op. Juliusson just sanctioned the hell out of both Isaksson and Nafuna Akongo, there's no chance Isaksson would get turned over back to the Communists. Two- the chance of a rescue operation is dead. Not even Nafuna Akongo is dumb enough to try a rescue op across sovereign borders, it'd be a mission so impossible, her Generals would refuse to do it. Not to mention the Margravine would probably have her head. Three- what if, in whatever peace negotiations we see from this war, Gustav gets to walk free? Or worse- get put back in Government? We can only assume that Nephara wants Nafuna Akongo in Government, and she's stronger if Gustav is at her side. He'd never pay for his crimes. How many people has he killed? Tortured? From the Boaz days to Nafuna's days. Done so personally, on his orders. He's probably the worst criminal of them all, besides Boaz himself- who, of course, is 6 feet under."

"And..." The General was finally catching on. "The Prime Minister would jump at the chance to hold a tribunal. Which means.."

"It, of course, would mean that he'd see us as the only faction who cares about human rights in this conflict. It'd mean he'd come under enormous pressure politically, at home, to extend us diplomatic recognition. And of course, it'd be an implicit recognition of reality- that we are a force that cannot be ignored on the international stage." The Mayor smiled, happy that the General agreed with him. They agreed to the plan, and after getting approval from the rest of the board of the DFLK, Max Ulf wrote a letter.

To: Prime Minister Zóphonías Juliusson of Græntfjall

Mr. Prime Minister,

I write to you today, in confidence. We know how the war raging on our borders has effected all of our nations in this region. Instability in Nyowani Kitara has a knock-on effect, with a refugee crisis in multiple nations, as well as a massive human rights crisis here at home. I write to you, directly, because I believe that your people and our people have a lot in common. We want the same things- human rights, peace, the downfall of a communist dictatorship that has spent almost an entire century oppressin gthe needs and rights of the Kitaran people. You know how I feel- the DFLK is the only path to that in this country. Neither Akongo is fit for purpose, and will only continue to rule Nyowani Kitara like a fiefdom.

Your country's recognition, of course, would help a long way in making that happen.

However, while we obviously support that, that is not why I write to you today. As you have seen publicly, the DFLK currently holds Gustav Isaksson. As you know, the professional human butcher is directly responsible for perpetrating some grave crimes against the Kitaran people. But with the war raging on, the ability to hold this man to account will be incredibly difficult. We have full confidence we can win this war, of course- there is no doubt about that. The people will rally to us, and that will overcome the KFF and the KPWC.

Unfortunately, we have a limited ability to hold this man to account as we currently speak. Any sort of fair and public trial is impossible in the current conditions, not when there's the possibility of a rescue op. With your robust interest in both human rights and justice, we have come up with a wonderful idea- to ask you, and your nation, to host a tribunal to prosecute him for his crimes. There is a precedent for this under international law, when a nation is incapable of holding their own to account. And thanks to Nafuna Akongo's reign of terror in her desperate attempts to cling to power, it is impossible in the current moment.

So our proposal is this- a very public transfer of custody, from our hands to your hands. And then, an open tribunal. We have DFLK members who have witnessed some of his crimes, who can testify. We are sure the GIB, as ever-knowing as they seem, surely has some evidence of his crimes as well. Your country hosts this tribunal, with the support of the DFLK, and then judges can render him a sentence. From there, he can serve his days in prison- where he can rot, just like he deserves.

What do you say?

Mayor Max Ulf
Mayor of Port Viljan
Chairman of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Kitara

Red- KPWC
Pink- DFLK
Green- KFF

[Chartistan]

Okay, focus, concentrate on your bat. You are Adult Royce, former Chartistani footballer turned Sylestonian cricket star. Pretend this is a T20 match against the Grearish Union. The Esportivan East-West Cup. 1 ball remaining. Grearia lead by 5 runs. 2 balls left. Sylestone need 6. It's your time to show them!

With a swing of his bat, Royce pretended to hit a cricket ball up into the air over a field in Kirkham. In his eyes, it didn't look like a walkoff six. None of the height, none of the power, it just skidded off for a 1. No good. He wouldn't win the T20 game for Sylestone. Okay, maybe some fielding? Royce was kiinda used to throwing, he was a goalkeeper before, but he always seemed to miss the target every time. Maybe cricket wouldn't work after all, and with the field being so small, Aussie Rules would be very hard to do... But he will try.

Focus there, you... With the ball in your hands. You are Adult Royce, former Chartistani footballer turned Sylestonian footballer of the Aussie Rules kind. It's the Aussie Rules World Cup 2 Final. The CCG. Baggieland are your opponents. You need to score a goal for your team to go up ahead. A behind will only let the Baggies win. Goal. Goal. Goal.

Royce backs up a few steps, breathing in and out. He pretended that the goalposts were right in the direction of the trashbin, not Sentient thankfully, lining up his kick. He runs up to roughly where he started, drops the ball, and kicks it. The ball barely gets in between the imaginary lines. Maybe Aussie Rules was the sport to choose after all. If he can kick a ball that good, he'd be golden for the next championship.

But what about track? That was also in the conversation as well. 200 or 400 meters of flat out sprinting or footy? Hard decision for a former footballer to make. Yes he could try rugby but it didn't have much of a following here compared to Aussie Rules. But then there was the lure of the Olympics, and maybe even the Global Athletics Tour to boot. It was going to be a hard decision from Royce...

[HUElavia]

It's Always Sunny in Zwangzug!

HUElavia edges out Milchama to set up possible qualification!

Milchama 0-1 HUElavia
(Sol 38')
(Bug House, Twineur, Zwangzug)

Entering Matchday 4, HUElavia was reeling from a surprising 0-1 loss to Aethara and was needing to get a victory in order to keep pace in Group J. Their next match was against minnows Milchama, who were coming off a surprise victory over Darmen to keep pace themselves. Due to the loss, Conavacio opted to play with the A-Team, with Vannier in goal and Mendieta as the Captain, all while the team wore their Away Alternative Uniform. In a sold out crowd at The Bug House in Twineur, the teams came out to a big cheer, the anthems were played, the coin was tossed, and the ball rolled in a must-win game for both teams!

HUElavia kept domination of the ball throughout the match and would not let Milchama get chances to be on the ball and attack. Despite the many shots HUElavia put out there, many would narrowly go wide or just straight up wide from the goal. The lone goal came in the 38th minute, when HUElavia won a corner that was taken by Fonseca-Mantovani and up came Sol over every to head the ball into the goal to make it 0-1. The crowd erupted in cheers and jumps while Sol did a celebratory dance with his teammates to celebrate the goal. Despite attacks from the team, they could not get much going and ultimately had to be satisfied with a victory by the bare minimum. Ultimately, HUElavia was in control of their own destiny in the Cup of Harmony.

With TJUN-ia losing to Darmen in a surprising moment, they only hold 1st Place thanks to Goal Difference of +2 compared to HUElavia's +1. Thus, Matchday 5 will be a meeting between the two teams to determine who wins Group J and who may be going to the Playoff Round (or worse). The match is set to be played at The Bug House in Twineur once again, where a sold out crowd is expected once again. HUElavia will play with the same XI as they had against Milchama, but with the Special Uniform being worn. For both teams, it's really a question whether they will go for each others throats and look to win the match, or make a truce and play for a draw, where TJUN-ia wins the group and HUElavia goes to the Playoff Round, both being guaranteed a place in the Knockouts. Regardless of what happens, here's to HUElavia advancing to the Knockouts, regardless of position in the table.

FORÇA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Saint Eleanor]

OOC: Very heavily inspired by a dream I had around this time last year. This is how I explained it to Kandorith (with some edits made for clarity):

...I was still at school and met an old schoolfriend at a trivia contest who was actually representing some other school. This was in the modern day and the friend in question had this thing where she could ask a question on the mobile phone and the answer would be transmitted to that other school's big rivals (not my school)...

RE Episode III: I'm aware that Sarah is actually a New Lizard student... take Christine Terrence's sense of humour literally at your own peril. You might see her and Laura reunited in a future roleplay arc of mine.

---

Gift of the Gab
Episode IV: More Than Friends

3:21pm - Monday 26th August 1996

Another middling day at Grand Beach Community School for Mr Wellington... surprisingly. His Year 13s had no inclination to mess about with binomial distributions, his Year 11s reluctantly got on with the job of multiplying out triple brackets, his well-behaved Year 8s were somehow able to tell apart their highest common factors from their lowest common multiples, and his less well-behaved Year 8s barely wanted to learn anything at all.

"There have been reports in the two national newspapers," opened the teacher, "that one of you were supposedly complicit in a cheating operation that I got snared in for no good reason. I don't own any of these video game console things, so I'm assuming one of you - my inquisitive workhorses of doom - do. Anybody?"

"Nope."

"Not my fault, Sir."

"Count me out - I haven't been playing much recently."

"I don't like games, either."

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh, nah."

"All of you lot, you five, you're all denying that you've been taking part in this cheating operation. Yet I somehow had a games console in my hand that was repeatedly giving me the correct answers to all of these questions? Of course I'd follow what it said but I can't help but think that I got it from someone... yeah. That person claimed to study at Whitehammer Community. Who came fourth."

"That's because they're a bunch of smart cookies, Sir. We are... most of the other bits of this school isn't."

"You are, yes."

"So why did you pick up the cartridge anyway? Were you told it could help you cheat?"

"No, but he said it would do a lot of good for our school. I never turn down opportunities like that."

"And why didn't you ask him, Sir?"

"I had a meeting to get to."

"Huh... really. No wonder we won so easily if you're that sloppy."

"And to add onto that," complained another nameless student, "Sam Jones claimed in the papers that you gave him or her the video game and gave you a bunch of reassurances about skipping the science rounds - just a rumour, mind."

"Sam isn't a Whitehammer student, he's definitely not the one I remember. I think he might be going to one of the other local schools."

"Sir, were you fiddling about with your DigiPac on Friday?"

"No. Must have been one of yours. Actually, no, we're just really clever at some subjects."

"So what's it gonna be? 'Cause I can't pretend that we're to blame."

∴

Simultaneously...

A much better day at the New Lizard office for Alan Lonsdale, English teacher of much repute and little note... although not for long. "Mind for a coffee, Sarah?"

"As a citizen of Saint Eleanor, I'm contractually obliged to say yes."

"So," wondered Lonsdale while boiling the kettle, "are you Sam Jones?"

"Yes."

"You won't be punished for the leaks. I trust that you did nothing wrong and picked up those screenshots from a close friend."

"The real Sam Jones is Lydia Dawson from Grand Beach."

"How do you know this? Why did you forward her evidence to the press while pretending to be anonymous?"

"She's the only one in the Grand Beach squad I'm friendly with. If anything, she - not the teacher - masterminded the whole operation. I trust her not to have brought a DigiPac to a gunfight, though, even if I can't be sure of even that."

"Okay... collusion's supposed to be banned but hey ho. Guess I'll tell Mr Wellington over the weekend; he won't be pleased with Miss Dawson. You still won't be punished anyway."

"Thank you ever so much. Milk and no sugar - thanks again."

∴

4:37pm - Monday 26th August 1996

"Hello there." Wellington turned his car window down, just as he was about to turn off his ignition and head back home for another day or so. "Are you Thomas Wellington, by any chance?"

"Yes."

"Alright - I'm Colonel Greg Bradley on behalf of the Eleanorian Army and Police Force. We'd like to speak to you about recent allegations of serious misconduct in your role as a schoolteacher."

---

SECRET IN-CHARACTER: Where does each school stand?

• Grand Beach is accused of having cheated in the Schools Trivia Challenge... especially its teacher, Tim Wellington. He, along with most of his STC team, have denied these allegations. Although he does accept that he acquired a mysterious cartridge, he claims in public that he never used it and acquired it only to embetter Grand Beach in other settings; privately, he admits to being complicit. In fact, Wellington did have possession of an offending DigiPac Micro with game attached, although he tried VERY well to hide it from Day One.
  
  
• New Lizard harbours Sarah French, who is the real Sam Jones and carried the other DigiPac Micro - she also received the other game from a Grand Beach student (probably Lydia Dawson). When pressed, she falsely accuses Dawson of leaking the screencaps to the press; an investigation will likely be launched into Dawson in the near future based on this. Will it bear fruit?
  
  
• Williamstown is largely, if surprisingly, irrelevant and - rightly - denies wrongdoing. Sarah French explained the plot to Ron Bishop of Williamstown, then to the press. It is believed that French in fact sought largely to benefit New Lizard, rather than them along with Williamstown; Bishop keeps quiet about the incident. The other two schools might have hell to pay in the near future.
  
  
• As suggested in Episode I, French and Wellington were the actual cheaters. French blames the cheating on Dawson, or at least will do so soon; Wellington claims (officially) never to have cheated at all and claims that he was slid the DigiPac by another student... Dawson again???
  
  
• The rest of Saint Eleanor's 40-ish schools are not involved in this incident, despite some question marks over Whitehammer Community School.

[Saltstead]

MANDATORY DISCLAIMER: This post does not necessarily represent the personal opinions of the author about any person, place, thing or idea. Read with caution.

---

The Beet

---

The Beet Sportsbox: The World Cup Committee is exploring all options for a three-way Cup of Harmony tiebreaker
Rolling a rare HSOWA coin and playing a game of three-way football are all options if Saltstead, Eraman and Saint Eleanor don’t sort their own shite out

A set of rare, six-sided coins from Hot Skitty on Wailord Action for a potential three-way tiebreaker

Eraman and Saint Eleanor have put the World Cup Committee in an unenviable position with their most recent football result and the World Cup Committee is keeping all its options open in the event of an unbreakable three-way tie in Cup of Harmony Group C. If Saltstead and Saint Eleanor both win by exactly one goal on the final matchday of the group, they will go joint top with Eraman with no way to break the tie, as all three teams will sit on seven points, a +1 goal difference and nothing to separate them when their head-to-head results count double. That has forced the WCC to explore some creative options for this nightmare scenario.

The first option the WCC is considering is a game of three-way football to sort positions, but the Committee has admitted that it lost the rulebook somewhere and is having trouble digging it out. “We aren’t quite sure where exactly we left it,” a spokesman stated in response to a request from The Beet, “but we assure football supporters that we are looking for it vigorously. Such a unique game would be a great opportunity for all football fans.” Unfortunately, such a game leaves many questions open: What happens if there’s another tie? What if only two teams are tied? What if everyone gets dizzy and hurts themselves in their confusion? The rules seem to be very unclear on the matter.

Alternatively, the World Cup Committee has acquired a rare and priceless six-sided coin from Hot Skitty on Wailord Action that it could use to break the tie if it can’t find the rulebook in time. “We were saving this coin for something particularly silly and sorting three teams that can’t sort themselves out is sufficiently silly enough to call for this.” According to the spokesman, the World Cup Committee has already drawn up a table to refer to in the event the coin must be called into action. Such a table would conveniently order all three teams, but who would want to go out because of a silly table and a coin from a nation with a sillier name than “Squornshelan Remnant States”?

The likely fall-back in this case is that the three teams will be forced to play their games again, but it’s unclear whether this can be completed in time for the next stage or if it will even come to a result. That leaves open the possibility of a mass disqualification and no teams advancing from Group C at all! To avoid this, the World Cup Committee is also exploring the option of an IFCF-style three-way penalty shootout, but have also seem to lost the rulebook for that. “We haven’t been doing a very good job of keeping track of rulebooks,” the WCC spokesman admitted on his call. “We really need to build that shelf in our office to keep them all on.”

The World Cup Committee has also refused to rule out the mass execution of the Saltstead, Eraman and Saint Eleanor teams in the event of a truly unbreakable tie, effectively awarding Adab and Banija passage to the next stage by walkover. “It’s not something that’s come up, but I’m sure the President will be very interested in the idea”. Hopefully, the three teams will choose to sort this mess out amongst themselves and the guillotines will not be called into commission anytime some, but the brains at the World Cup Committee are smart and will come up with something else.

Probably… —TB

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Also on The Beet

• The World Cup 89 Organising Committee Legal Department present CAFA 2.0
• “Where has Saltstead been?” everyone has been asking at the Cup of Harmony
• Malik Akongo is “very hopeful” that his Kitaran dictator audition will go well

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★
The Royal Saltsteadish Football Association
Royal House of Sport, Ashwell

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Saltstead : Eraman
Cup of Harmony 81 group stage — Matchday 5
Walgabba Dome, Kirton, Sylestone
Starting line-up (4–5–1): Robert-Jan van Daal (captain); Micħäl Aurelius, Jan-Pijr Åudenberg, Serena van Middelkamp, Yorg Handel; Natasħa Aħterop, Benni Sħåul, Zacharias van den Slåp, Theodor Felicianus, Nico Joxepħssen; Reinhard Åubreħtessen
Substitute bench: Kathrinita Äsħes, Christijn Sänt-Andreas; Gunner Stepħenssen, Dijter Ackerdiħ, Johan van Tilborg, Catharine de Vriħt; Johanne Geuberts, Constantijn van Bleck, Violeta Igesleven, Nicholas Tiberius, Aleksa Pascal; Stepħanie Withöüf

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[New Lusitania and the Algarves]

As good a start as possible (?)
Catching-up to everything so far… a succinct guide to New Lusitania’s initial action.

We’re completely into the Cup of Harmony now and so far, it’s gone well for the Selecção summing up two wins and a draw in Group A with one game to go. It’s certainly been an adventurous time in Sylestone so far…
The first match would arguably be one of the toughest facing veteran side Yuezhou at the interestingly built Sentient Oval. Before the 78th Cup of Harmony the stadium had a questionable decision of reverting from chairs to a more classic Sylestonian seat, something which fans will have to know before entering the ground, even if just not to be left bewildered. No real surprises in the National Team’s lineup with the full arsenal of the main eleven all starting that night. The scoreline however, would be completely dry in the first half with a very level field of play, the ball mostly locked in a midfield tussle. The second half had much more on offer – the Selecção immediately scored by the foot of Daniel Jota, stretching to get the pass completed and pushing it into the net. It wouldn’t take too long for Yuezhou to fight back though and soon enough all of that had been undone with the scores now level. It would take another quarter-hour before anything could be done of it when a great counterattack spurred on by Caldeirão, gave Silveira all he needed to score the winner, a great through-ball from the young midfielder onto the experienced striker – from there it was all about a clean and low shot to the ball to give New Lusitania the start they needed in the tournament.
The second match would pit the National Team against another familiar foe – the hosts, Sylestone, whose fans had come out in droves to support their side at home in such a prestigious tournament. The Trees of Pesfield would see its inaugural Cup of Harmony match that afternoon in a fixture that had only one change, an interesting one at that with Filipe Vieira being chosen up front alongside Silveira, with all else staying as it was. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be for the hopeful young forward with an injury just fifteen minutes in – it’s not easy playing against sentient appliances… In a slight silver lining, it wasn’t particularly serious and he should be back up for the start of the season at summer’s end. A certain tumble dryer, pulled yet another magic strike from his “hat” to the exhilaration of the home fans on twenty-five minutes of play – it’s a game that was long-awaited here, the IA10 match still very fresh in the memory of the side.
The game was, no doubt, one of the team’s most disappointing, considering expectations. A very average showing from the Selecção against a side who has to be given all the credit for managing to keep the strikers at bay. Ferradura had a very rare nightmare of a game, signifying his substitution in favour of another defender wanting to prove himself, Domingues, who admittedly made the most of his thirty-five minutes. It’s a game of two halves after all and so much could be said about all that and every other word in the old interview handbook but the home team just did not make it in the end and with one small defensive mistake let the Navigators back in. A header from Palhagueira was the ticket to put things all square and it was fair game from here to the end for a good twenty minutes. Both teams performed excellently and the game very clearly took it up a notch with stellar showings from stars like Mixer, Fridge but also the Lusitanian goalscorer and Pereira. Overall, the match stayed level and it ended up being an agreeable result statistically, though not for either supporters’ end which also really shined throughout the fixture.

With the match against Sendhang about to commence, it's clear the approach is very different. A revolutionary change in tactic and lineup in the third match against Sendhang – Patríce is in goal for the first time this tournament; Grafanil, Mendonça and Veiga also all start as well as Paciente, who had not been present in either of the two previous fixtures. It's all still open, especially with an intriguing closing match in the fifth round against N.Kitara - the Selecção continues their march in the Cup of Harmony here, live in Sylestone.

[Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom]

1, 2, 3, 4

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

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Chapter 2, Part 5
21.08 11:25
Passing through traffic from the late morning, the three officers were close now to the hospital. Nikola thought back to the image of seeing a comrade lying slumped, a metal rod through the chest. Nikola had seen many previous things working in the underground and surface of the world. Nothing in his eyes compared to an enthusiastic young girl reduced to a quiet breathing pile. While the media reported on the success of Every day Nikola would visit Mira. The dedication was like clockwork. Markus noticed a change in demeanor as Milan drove closer and closer to the hospital, “Friend,” Markus said, “Something bothering you?” Nikola looked over, “Perhaps I’m not wanting to lose more in life,” he said, “You’d understand,” Nikola looked at Markus, then saw out of Markus’ window the sign. Nikola could have closed his eyes and said the name verbatim, “Univerzitetska bolnica i klinika u Aleiusia.”

“I will take a call,” Milan said, as he parked the car, “you go in.” Nikola and Markus gave Milan thanks, and the driver nodded as the pair exited. The old stone walls and automatic doors welcomed the pair into the capital’s finest medical establishment. In Nikola and Markus walked past the small numbers of people coming and going. A receptionist recognized Nikola, and she gave a wave as Nikola walked past. A pair of elevators were around the left. Nikola pressed the button, “she is in recovery on the second floor,” he said, “hopefully this elevator is safe.” Nikola’s mind went back to when he saw Mira slumped on an elevator floor, bleeding badly. If it was by a miracle of medicine, or simple great doctors aided by good timing, Mira was alive. Nikola’s mind wandered again to an image he’d seen before. Nikola has written of “hellish dreams” in his journal and Mira’s injury didn’t help. “This isn’t the first time I’ve taken a trip here,” Nikola said as the cabin rose.

“2-2d” Nikola said, “Is that where we’re going?” Markus asked, “No,” Nikola said as the elevator door opened,”I was there twelve years ago. I’d been found out by my old friends, the ones who got me addicted to that damn coffee.” Markus looked over as they walked to Mira’s room, “Oh, them,” Markus said, “They put you in here,” Nikola chuckled nervously, “more or less,” Nikola looked over to Markus, “I will tell you about Srebrni Sokol sometime, that’s what Rekans call ‘the Silver Falcon.’” “Mythology?” Markus asked quickly, “perhaps when you’re done I can tell you more about the ghost south of here.” Nikola looked over seriously, “The story I’ll tell you someday is more than a myth, the story is me.” The two men by this point were loitering around Mira’s room, “2-3e” Nikola said, “She is in here. We are on the extreme right of the building.”

Nikola was correct. Mira was lying asleep, she’d been out for a week. In side with Mira was a physicians assistant, “Nurse,” Nikola said “good to see you again.” “It’s a shame you come more than her kin,” the nurse said, “We’ve fed her today, and she’ll have more later on,” the nurse stood up, “I’ll leave you three here,” she said walking away. Once she was gone Nikola put his hand on Mira’s “I’m here again, comrade!” Nikola said, “I’ve talked to her father. Her dad talked to Doctor Jung. Jung said that she hasn’t changed in the past few days. I can agree. Ultimately her condition could slip, but the chances are low. She is stable.” Nikola’s memories of being in a bed like this came back, though he was more awake. “I brought somebody here, Mira,” Nikola said softly, “Markus is sorry he didn’t take the plunge first. When you wake up I’m sure you will tell him off for taking advantage of ‘Ladies First.’” Markus scoffed and Nikola looked over with a wink. The morbid communications were sometimes the only thing keeping these souls from burning alive.

21.08 11:54
The two men sat there for a time, exchanging stories about Mira. “She is the shortest person in the history of Mobile Enforcement,” Markus said, “Not the first lady, but maybe the first little girl.” “How could somebody qualify at her height? You see teens as tall as her.” “With parents like hers, it’s always possible to get by.” “If my child wanted to do our jobs, I’d bribe them to raise the height limit.” The chatter ended as Nikola looked up. It had been almost a half an hour. “Milan is taking a while on that phone call, oooooh…” Nikola’s chest was bit pained as he spoke, “Third time today, is the cream doing it?” Markus asked, “Maybe not, I felt that one too.” Nikola stood up, let’s go check on Milan,” he said, Markus accepting Nikola’s idea, “We’ll see you soon, Mira!” Nikola said as the two walked off.

Down the elevator the two went, “Worst case he’s taking a long whizz at that dining hall,” Markus said. Outside the two men went, going out the way they came, slowly going past vehicles old and new before getting to the squad car. “Milan? Milan!” Nikola asked to a slumped over Milan, “What the hell is this Markus?” “I don’t know!” Nikola opened the driver side door, and put a hand up to Milan’s neck, “He’s not dead, I don’t think, but he’s weary.” The men then began to carry Milan’s body out of the car, “We can get him in time!” Markus said whip the pair walked with a candidate for corpse of the day in hand. “There’s blood around here,” Markus sounded concerned. Nikola looked and saw a trail away from where the pair had walked already, “Somebody is screwing this place up,” Markus said right before a loud bang rang out from the hospital.

Nikola looked up and to the right. Smoke puffed out of the second floor.

[Zwangzug]

The group stage is wrapping up; the knockouts await!



Group A
Sendhang 1–1 Yuezhou
New Lusitania 0–4 Nyowani Kitara

* Group A                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Nyowani Kitara           4   2  1  1    8   4  +4    7
2 New Lusitania            4   2  1  1    5   6  −1    7
3 Sylestone                4   1  2  1    3   3   0    5
4 Sendhang                 4   1  1  2    3   5  −2    4
5 Yuezhou                  4   0  3  1    3   4  −1    3

Group B
Sargossa 2–6 Chartistan
The Licentian Isles 2–4 Ottoman Syldavia

* Group B                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Chartistan               4   3  1  0   11   5  +6   10
2 Poafmersia               4   1  2  1    4   4   0    5
3 Sargossa                 4   1  2  1    3   6  −3    5
4 Ottoman Syldavia         4   1  1  2    5   5   0    4
5 The Licentian Isles      4   0  2  2    3   6  −3    2

Group C
Saint Eleanor 0–2 Adab
Saltstead 2–3 Eraman

* Group C                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eraman                   4   3  1  0    9   6  +3   10
2 Banija                   4   1  2  1    8   7  +1    5
3 Saltstead                4   1  1  2   10  11  −1    4
4 Adab                     4   1  1  2   11  12  −1    4
5 Saint Eleanor            4   1  1  2    3   5  −2    4

Group D
Flavovespia 1–2 Sharktail
Hispinas 0–0 Geisenfried

* Group D                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Sharktail                4   2  2  0    6   4  +2    8
2 Savigliane               4   2  1  1    7   3  +4    7
3 Hispinas                 4   0  4  0    6   6   0    4
4 Flavovespia              4   1  1  2    7   8  −1    4
5 Geisenfried              4   0  2  2    1   6  −5    2

Group E
Hapilopper 2–2 Sarzonia
Trolleborg 1–0 Bollonich

* Group E                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Jeruselem                4   3  1  0   12   6  +6   10
2 Trolleborg               4   1  3  0    4   3  +1    6
3 Sarzonia                 4   1  2  1    7   7   0    5
4 Bollonich                4   1  0  3    6   9  −3    3
5 Hapilopper               4   0  2  2    8  12  −4    2

Group winners advance directly to the Round of 16. Second (and third)-place teams, stand by for the Round of 22 matchups, which will be posted with Sylestone's scores.

[Saltstead]

THE OFFICIAL THE BEET ✓

@thebeet

Saltstead and Saint Eleanor have chosen death and thus the three-way tiebreaker is death as well.

#STEADB | #SALERM

[Huayramarca]

Fishing for a Living - Part 5
Breaking the Habit

Part 1 - Disgrace and Business
Part 2 - Three Hearts Living Together
Part 3 - Retirement is Not an Option
Part 4 - One Never Stops Learning

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200 kilometers away from Puerto Farolero’s coast, Farfadillis – 20/09/1984; 11:15 p.m.

The Crew of El Zeus Criollo gathered before getting into the dangerous waters of the Shango-Fogoa basin for another round of kraken fishing, this time the crew was duly accompanied by Farf fishers with enough experience to teach and help the Huayramarcan crew into the complex task of fishing a gigantic creature such as a kraken is. David took his golden Rosary and began a prayer, the people there bowed their heads and started to repeat David words “Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name…” The crew repeated it while Carlos and Florentina kneeled and started praying differently.

The crew was profoundly Christian, before any fishing task, they decided to be ready and hold on to pray in order to have a productive time at sea. After finishing the prayer, everybody got close together for a toast with non-alcoholic wine, then everybody did a quick routine in order to see that the boat has it’s apparel complete, also to check if they meet the criteria asked by the Huayramarcan government in terms of fishing, as the Farf regulations are basically “Just go to fish, don’t bother to check any law since there’s no one”. The boat sailed at the middle of the night, right when some mist was starting to cover Puerto Farolero, the Farves decided to share shifts with the Huayramarcan crew on board, basically two Farves and two Huayramarcans would be always there in case of need.

The sonar was activated, the heat camera was working properly now as it needed some calibrations, because it didn’t measure well the gigantic kraken that almost cause the death of the entire crew. Sergio Gallardo and Ricardo Batistuta were the Farves accompanying David and Francisco for the night shift, as they were taking the ship to a position that the Farves suggested in order to maximize the possibilities of fishing decently sized krakens. The idea was clear and the Farves wouldn’t let the Huayramarcans to go out there fishing big ones without a lot of experience, medium-sized krakens would suffice in order to let them acquire enough experience to deal with big krakens after some weeks of training.

At 3:00 am they reached the coordinates stated by the Farves, they settled at a not so deep zone of the basin, perhaps 1,500 meters deep, not a lot compared to the almost 7,000 meters deep abysses they had below them while trying to catch krakens by themselves. Francisco took a cup of coffee, David noticed some weird activity in the sonar, it was tuna, tuna and more tuna popping up there, there wasn’t something valuable for the crew. Time passed by, David told Gallardo “We only see tuna and a lot of useless fish for us” Gallardo replied “Just wait for the first sunrays, that’s the time krakens love to pop out here.” The crew decided to sleep for an hour in order to let that happen.

It was 5:35 am, the sonar went mad as it beeped out, David though it was his clock’s wake up call, he smashed his hands on the desk, he hit in a corner and woke up screaming as he dented a finger with a wooden splinter, the Farves, Francisco and some crew members woke up, Carlos asked “What is going on?” David noticed a bit of blood popping up in his index finger, he put a sticking plaster around it and said “What a way to awake!” He left the sofa bed and noticed several “rocks” on the horizon, he asked Carlos “Do you see those rocks?” Carlos replied “Wash your eyes properly, boss, there’s money in the horizon.” David washed his eyes, put his contact lens and saw approximately six krakens taking some fresh air, the Farf side of the crew noticed that and went with the Huayramarcans to the larboard of the ship, they prepared some bazookas and harpoons with grenades.

Gallardo and some Farves saw the scene and laughed “You don’t need harpoons and grenades to kill a kraken, that’s not useful.” Carlos, Florencia and Edwin took some rocket launchers they had and tried to aim well in order to let the rocket fly, but they needed to aim it well. Daniel, one of the Farves decided to shoot his rocket, he hit dead-on one of the krakens, the gigantic squid moved slowly and then its tentacles rose to surface, it was a 25 meters kraken, not so bad for a first try. Carlos and Florencia prepared a crane, they secured the kraken’s main body and activated it, putting it slowly on board while Farves and Huayramarcans were ready to process the meat and throw it into the freezer container below.

Gallardo said “That’s how you aim and do it.” Carlos prepared to aim the second kraken, which was moving because he noticed some weird noises and water oscillations caused by the crane while securing the dead kraken. Carlos aimed and prepared, his hands were sweating and he said “Why this keeps sweating, dude.” Then decided to shoot but it was a complete miss, the rocket went far away and everyone laughed, Carlos didn’t give up and shot once again, hitting the kraken in one of its sides, the kraken jumped in agony, laying in the surface of the basin for some time unable to move.

David cheered, the crew did too as they were slowly learning the art of hunting krakens with bazookas and rocket launchers, Christian and Edwin were happy about what his colleague did, specially after seeing how long the kraken was, approximately 55 meters one after measuring it and preparing its meet to put it into the freezer. Of course, the Farves would receive some money by the helping hands they offered for this crew who was unable to kill krakens without compromising their lives to undesired extremes, for David it wasn’t a thing he would regret for, it would be helpful for him.

As time continued in its inexorable path, Carlos called the “mothership” in order to “feed” it with the kraken meet that was fished early and also being paid for the efforts done during the early hours of the morning. The meat was transferred and they got a whopping 3.3 tons for both krakens, enough to get a million NSD, the Farves would get 30% of the final earnings, while the crew would enjoy a hefty amount of money, enough to put some into a savings account and then waste some money in spare activities across Puerto Farolero while getting data insights about Kraken activity.

Gallardo was proud on how much the Huayramarcans had learned in few hours, enough to say “We could work shoulder to shoulder, not as apprentices, instead as coworkers in this. You have enough capability to provide top-notch ceviche for the refined restaurants across Anaia and Atlantian Oceania, kraken ceviche will be well known as an originally made Huayramarca product, keep in this way, without fear!” Said while the Huayramarcan crew applauded. The imaginary wall/boundary between success and being another bunch of fishers was slowly being broken, their habit was broken too, it was a time to aim a bit more high for those on El Zeus Criollo.