World Cup 93 - RP Thread

by **Flavovespia** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 3:51 pm

The next part of This is Flavovespia will explore the minor political parties of Flavovespia, touch upon their history, and discuss the role they play in the political makeup of the nation. As well as the 3 main parties, there are a further 10 who were elected in the Flavovespian Parliament, after the previous election. Part 2 looks at the next 4 parties in Parliament, all of these have between 10 to 50 seats.

Greens
Current Leader: Melvyn Redford
Number of Seats at Last Election: 41/500

Unsurprisingly, the Greens main focus has been on environmental policy. First contesting the 36BU election, their first chance at coalition came in 24BU, but due to the contentious governance of Socialist First Minister Gary Beale, affected the Greens by proxy. It’d be a generation before returning to government. They did so as junior coalition partners to the Socialists, but with more seats than fellow coalition partners Liberty. Leader Jing Lampkin was Minister for Domestic Affairs and her effective role out of several key policies, combined with Alan Lawson standing down as Socialist leader, meant in the next election, the Greens surged to 137 seats, just 2 behind the Socialists. Then they surprised many, to form a “land and sea” coalition with the Democratic Conservatives. It was controversial, but it meant Jing Lampkin became the first, and so far only First Minister/President, from outside the main 3 parties or their predecessor. Whilst she was merely a one term President, much of her green policy was more broadly adopted, even if going into coalition with the Democratic Conservatives put off a chunk of their voters. Green policy being widely adopted somewhat caused the Greens to fade in relevance. Their rows with Flavovespia Forward, in particular on local and regional issues and development plans, that started in 20AU in the waning years of their coalition (with the Democratic Conservatives as well), has left them under 50 seats and out of government since then. Melvyn Redford now leads the party, he’s taken them closer to the more left-wing side of Flavovespian politics, and hopes a more pragmatic approach and not acquiescing to local demands at most avenues could take the Greens back into national government.

The Lazaro List
Current Leader: Lazaro Greban
Number of Seats at Last Election: 39/500

The party was formed by the expulsion of Lazaro Greban from the Freedom and Democracy Party, a bold decision given his near cult of personality status within that party. Lazaro Greban has been the voice of right wing populism, anti one nation views, and a general source of political controversy for the best part of three decades now. Formed from the remnants of the Independent Conservatives, and appealing to Regionalists, Objectionists, and those opposed to the Parliament in Waldster, Greban’s support came from a combination of “left behind” areas, people in Hadford Hill and St Astons annoyed with the attention Waldster and the surrounding areas got, and the more politically incorrect. Greban’s lack of tact, controversial attitude, meant that even if the Democratic Conservatives agreed to deal with him (which many of their MP’s and leaders refused to), he’d never be able to be a part of a government. Ultimately once the constitutional reforms passed, his relevance faded. The formation of regional parliaments and a newer generation of Freedom and Democracy Party MP’s and members was his undoing. He was doubled crossed in an extraordinary party conference, and failed to win a motion of no confidence against him. Refusing to resign, he was then voted out of the party entirely. Lazaro Greban simply started a new party in his own name, and took a bunch of MP’s along with him. He has 39 seats, but many doubts remain about the longevity of the party, given Greban is 77, there’s many controversial MP’s, a lack of substantial policy, and generally overwhelming support for the Republic as is, with independent or regional movements a small minority.

Modern Republicans
Current Leader: Caroline Stoodley
Number of Seats at Last Election: 32/500

A party formed in 35AU, from the schism caused by Democratic Conservatives old leader Sydney Prewer. The Modern Republicans platform is economically more right wing, with an emphasis on free markets, and more international competition for Flavovespia’s economy. However, they’re the most explicitly supportive of the Republic amongst right wing parties, and have also strayed away from right-wing positions on more cultural positions. Derided as “corporate centrists” by some, the party nevertheless brushed off those critics. First, and so far only leader Caroline Stoodley, took the party to a decent showing of 32 seats in their first election. Whilst not in government yet, the fact that most parties took them seriously enough to at least open up dialogue about a coalition shows they could be influential in the coming years, even if the party still seems light on ideas and an identity, with a perception of rather “identikit” MP’s at the moment. Figuring out the issues to fight on and the issues to compromise on going into coalition negotiations will be key as well.

Freedom and Democracy Party
Current Leader: Sarah Burke
Number of Seats at Last Election: 20/500

The party that for a long time was synonymous with Lazaro Gerban, until his ousting in 34AU. The indirect successor to the Independent Conservatives, and the leading cause of anti one nation ideology, from 18 seats in 8AU, they surged to 95 in 12AU, 118, joint highest in 16AU, and a peak of 134 seats in the 17AU first election. However Gerban’s attitude, and general inability to persuade floating voters to their independent, anti Waldster approach, saw their downfall. A slow fall in votes and seats, combined with the formation of regional Parliaments, allowed an opportunity to oust Gerban. Alan Foote took control, signifying a new era. However, his relatively poor showing of 20 seats, compared to The Lazaro List’s 39, saw him resign, Sarah Burke taking over. Whilst Burke has avoided the bigotry and controversy that Greban was famous for, her ideas and attempted image reform of the party haven’t taken off. Ideas of a bicameral Parliament, with a Senate of Regions, or simply less oversight of the cities from central government, or just less government generally haven’t gained much traction. The Freedom and Democracy Party may have a tough fight for relevance in the right-wing of Flavovespian politics.

by **Archalit** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 6:00 pm

ISSUE 1

ARCHALIT FOOTBALL NEWS

TWO DRAWS FOR ARCHALIT IN UPSETTING BATTLES

An impressive start for Archalit with the Baptism of Fire has turned into a lack of momentum as the Pirates go out with two draws in their first games. The leading game against Srednjaci went 2 - 2 in a messy fight to attempt to hold on to an early lead after an impressive run from Kanoa Faye in the opening minutes of the match. After dribbling past the nimble Heong Min-Ho and confronting captain Franko Rušković, she made a one-two pass with Jose Gee to set her up for a quick, early goal on the 11th minute. Later on, Duke Sondas showed his brilliant skill in headers when Ethan San hit a corner kick that soared through the air. He ran towards the ball and soared through the air, precisely heading the ball towards the net. Flying just past the Jure Iveša into the net, the crowd erupted in excitement as, on the 43rd minute, the game rolled over to 0 - 2. However, when it seemed Archalit had secured it's first game, Takanobu Tavano cleanly attached to the ball and drove between Hemera Note and Nyx Phantasma at the back. Set up, he shot the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Roland Baker to begin catchup to the Archalitians in the 53rd minute. It all came apart for the Pirates as Hazy Marbula gave up a penalty in the 88th minute. The Srednjaci penalty taker easily converted to a goal to equalize the game 2 - 2 where the game ended.

"UNFORTUNATE" DRAW AGAINST 95X

After drawing against 95X, manager Krystol Mays stated in an interview that the outcome was "unfortunate" for the team. The game went 1 - 1 for a draw, a result the Archalitian team was not hoping for. After the prior matchday, the Archalitians needed a win to start to play for a spot properly. 95X seemed unassuming and ultimately simple for the Archalitian teams, but their suspicions were proven wrong as Haven Cosmicbeat scored early for the 95X'ers. Despite equalizing soon after, the game went into a stalement where the game inevitably died. Krystol Mays stated it was "unfortunate we couldn't score a win" and "under our conditions, we should've been able to score." Jose Gee also spoke on this, stating that it's "missed opportunities in a group where we can't miss opportunities."

by **Zwangzug** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 6:02 pm

Kairothletes: Ace in the Hole

We draw two more patches to replace the cards we just played. One of them, for WC73, is one we will need; the other is for WC90 (the Varakoula Accords), which we don't. We do have two of the "contemporary" era characters, but they prefer that events in Nyowani Kitara play out as they did in our reality. So let's go ahead and discard and redraw there.

Our new draw is a "Restore History" inverter, which allows us to flip alternate linchpins back to the canon timeline.

At this point, the only patch we have in hand is for World Cup 73, which both William and Rahayu want. WC73 will be paradoxed if both WC25 and 61 are flipped. Flipping 25 will also alter WC26; flipping 61 will also alter World Cups 64 and 74. Seong-Min wants 64 to remain the same, but Mayumi wants both 26 and 74 to be flipped. You see how this game gets complicated!

Ultimately, our "tiebreaker" for strategic purposes is the limited-use Inverter we have on hand. Since the "fix the match" card only works for specific linchpins, let's use it now and save the more powerful "Reverse Fate"s for later. We're going to go all the way back to World Cup 25. In the original timeline, Starblaydia upset Rejistania, and a cocksure Krytenia journalist who had vowed that no such thing would happen stayed true to his word by legally changing his name to Rameses Niblick III. Our interference causes Rejistania to become the first team to win five titles, which immediately paradoxes WC26. Cycle 73 remains unflipped, for now.

And...we draw another generic "Reverse Fate" to replace it. So we might as well. Let's go back to World Cup 61, when Kirola sportswear broke onto the scene, dazzling and blinding fans. In the new timeline, anti-fractal policies in Audioslavia preclude it from breaking into the market, which paradoxes several future events.

Now we play the alternate WC73' patch, in which "Krytenia probably pass 1000 games, but who's counting"--there's no Rami Niblick to take note, and no monstrosity "Audioblaydia" hybrid team to commemorate the occasion.

We draw another specific inverter, the "Hosting nonsense" card, as well as an unstable patch. World Cup 42 is a significant event in this timeline, because of Zwangzug's presence there, and so there are several different potential patches that could be played, depending on what linchpins have been altered. Héðinn will want any of these patches to be played. However, Hannah needs the true WC42 for her timeline--and remember, we already started on hers, so it would be nice if we got her sent home before messing with that event. What to do? Find out next time, on Kairothletes!

(Nguyen 27)
(Dewey 40, Waugh 59)

by **Stevencousin** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 6:20 pm

MD GAME STADIUM CITY SPONSORSHIP
MD1 Stevencousin 1-3 Graintfjall Federal Unity Stadium Cassaholm VioletFalcon
MD2 Qasden 0-0 Stevencousin NA NA NA
MD3 Stevencousin v. Natanians and Nosts Federal Unity Stadium Cassaholm Anthro Capital
MD4 Kirungabi v. Stevencousin NA NA NA
MD5 Stevencousin v. Gyatso-Kai Federal Unity Stadium Cassaholm KeyCommerce
MD6 Canadian Dominion v. Stevencousin NA NA NA
MD7 Stevencousin v. Adab Federal Unity Stadium Cassaholm Fairborne Computer
MD8 Dod Rava v. Stevencousin NA NA NA
MD9 Stevencousin v. Yuezhou Federal Unity Stadium Cassaholm Arthurlie Foods
MD10 Ceni v. Stevencousin NA NA NA
MD11 Stevencousin v. Talamia Federal Unity Stadium Cassaholm Glenwolf Trading
MD12 Graintfjall v. Stevencousin NA NA NA
MD13 Stevencousin v. Qasden Redfort Camp Brigketh Sabretooth Investment
MD14 Natanians and Nosts v. Stevencousin NA NA NA
MD15 Stevencousin v. Kirungabi Redfort Camp Brigketh BlackOxygen
MD16 Gyatso-Kai v. Stevencousin NA NA NA
MD17 Stevencousin v. Canadian Dominion Waxwood Circle Holmdock Spitfire
MD18 Adab v. Stevencousin NA NA NA
MD19 Stevencousin v. Dod Rava Waxwood Circle Holmdock Sentinel EC
MD20 Yuezhou v. Stevencousin NA NA NA
MD21 Stevencousin v. Ceni Readymann Ground Fixmouth Fingerworth Lubricant
MD22 Talamia v. Stevencousin NA NA NA

Stadium Data
Stadium:: Federal Unity Stadium
Nearest City:: Cassaholm
Capacity:: 98,500
Brief Data:: The biggest stadium in Stevencousin, located in the Carmenzon District to the south of the city center of Stevencousin's capital city, Cassaholm, is an all-seater multi-purpose stadium for international concerts, weddings and sporting events and the home ground of the Stevencousin national football team. It was built by Posquieiras Heavy Engineering and designed by Billingeburg & Co. Interestingly, the stadium is not public property, nor is it managed by a sports association. The owner is the Federal Unity conglomerate group. They sponsor and cover the construction and renovation costs in full, but they also get various government mega-projects afterward.

MD 01::: Stevencousin 1-3 Graintfjall
Stadium:: Federal Unity Stadium
Attendence:: 91,867
Stevencousin Scorer:: Gerard Kallstrom ֎ min. 71
Graintfjall Scorer:: Mímir Waltheofsson ֎ min. 12, min. 41 & min. 64

MD 02::: Qasden 0-0 Stevencousin
Stadium:: Hotchskarth Cabin, Destiny
Capacity:: 35,750
Qasden Scorer:: NIL
Stevencousin Scorer:: NIL

NEXT MATCH
MD	GAME                                	STADIUM           	CITY         	SPONSORSHIP
MD3	Stevencousin v. Natanians and Nosts	Federal Unity Stadium	Cassaholm	Anthro Capital
MD4	Kirungabi v. Stevencousin          	Abongereza Olym. Arena  Abongereza      NA

by **Cabo Azure** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 7:07 pm

Tears welled in Mario Borges’s eyes as he watched the six pallbearers raise Paulinho’s casket to their shoulders and start toward the front of the church. Leading the column were Abílio Carreira and Adalberto Montenegro, two giants who had been on Paulinho’s first-ever international roster. Behind them were three players Mario didn’t recognize, some younger and some older, likely from his days coaching Cidadela, as well as Victor, Paul’s son. As the front doors opened onto the main thoroughfare of Natal, they revealed a crowd that had gathered on the opposite side of the street. Several hundred deep, dressed in a kaleidoscope of football kits and scarves, they began to sing as the casket left the building:

”Quando eu morrer, enterra-me por baixo
De onde posso ouvir sons do esférico-rei
Belas colinas onde eu me encaixo,
De lugar mais belo que Aho, não sei”

Mario knew the song. It was the anthem of CF Natal, Paulinho’s home club, where he’d played his entire career and coached for half a decade. Despite having heard it a hundred times traveling here as a player and spectator, Mario realized he’d never comprehended the lyrics. It was an old song, so old it used “esférico-rei”, the archaic term in Azurean for football, instead of the cognate “futebol”. Sung by hoarse ultras in the stands, it was an emotional statement of love for their club and the island of Aho, but as it echoed in the dirt streets of Natal, it became a plea that Paulinho would continue to watch over Azurean football in the next life.

Following the pallbearers into the noonday sun, Mario was surprised by the diversity of the crowd that had gathered. The Natalistas were there in force, as expected, at least a hundred of them forming the first row along the avenue in front of the church, but what he hadn’t anticipated was the rainbow of other clubs represented. There were kits from fellow Aho teams like Villa Silva and Villa del Sol, but also from Portelo, Dulce Muerte, and even the minor islands like Sao Cristobal and Sao Vicente. All of them kept a respectful distance, eyes fixed on the procession as they sang a song that was emblematic of their rival club.

The service inside the church had been appropriately staid and formal, with just the family, Mario, and those who’d been closest to Paulinho. Most of his current players were abroad, and Paul’s widow insisted they remain with their clubs. Those players present were either retired like Carreira and Montenegro or domestically based, like Seth Rathbone and Ademar de Lima, who walked together in dark suits and sunglasses at the back of the procession. Like the ultras, they were opponents more often than teammates, but they united in grief for their fallen coach.

The graveside service was equally as succinct as that inside the church; Victor threw the first shovelful of dirt on his father’s grave, and offerings of footballs, kits, and other memorabilia were lowered with him into the ground. Paulinho’s will had specified a traditional burial, and he’d long since purchased a plot for the purpose. This was a break with recent convention in Cabo Azure, where most everyone was buried at sea, regardless of whether they were mariners in life. Paulinho, like many, had considered this a regrettable fad; his and Mario’s generation preferred to be buried on land, at least those who were not professional mariners in life.

When the service concluded, the mourners dispersed to their scattered cars, many heading to Sao Simone to catch boats or flights back to their own islands. The crowd of ultras remained, however, singing and staring at Mario and the players, as if hoping for some kind of acknowledgement. At one time Mario had been a career politician who could address a crowd on a dime for any reason; now he was just a tired old man who wanted to be alone to grieve one of his closest friends.

“Friends, thank you for coming.” Mario was surprised to hear young Seth Rathbone’s voice addressing the gathered fans. “It means the world to Paulinho and his family. Rest assured, we will honor his memory in the upcoming World Cup and beyond

by **Saterun** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 7:56 pm

OOC: A continuation of this.

The Promised Land: A Journey Through Saterun Football
By Kalvin Hsemer

Part 2, Chapter 6: Invaders on the Shore

The region of Lazarus, in which Saterun resides, is not considered a "sporting region". This was both good and bad for the emerging Saterun FA. Saterun didn't have to work to get out from under the shadow of larger footballing nations, and could help establish a footballing tradition and be a major player in regional comepetitions immidiatly. However, it also meant that Saterun had to build sport in the region from the ground up. There were no already established institutions to rely on. One example of this is the Lazarus Cup of Nations. This competition, a regional football tournament akin to AOCAF or Copa Rushmori, was built to be an introduction to international football for Lazarus nations. The first edition of LazCON was won by the nearby nation of Renea.

But LazCON wasn't just a launchpad for aspiring Lazarus footballers. It had brought the best of Lazarus into Saterun and showcased what the region had to offer. The A. Liga and FA were using the competition as a scouting tool to identify foreign talent. And after watching Renea win all but one game en route to the title, they couldn't help but be impressed. Three teams in particular were eaglery waiting to sieze this opportunity. As you might remember, Ias CF and Daxler AFC hadn't had the best of seasons. They were looking for other ways to improve their teams. FC Coppola actually had had a good season, and were looking to build on that and exploit a market the bigger teams hadn't found yet.

So they jumped. Ias CF in particular were fierce in their negotiating, having to battle with the better-equipped financially and higher placing Coppola. The fact that they managed to lure not one but two of the Renean team's stars was cosidered something of a coup. Merlini Prismriver and Minoriko Aki arrived at Crescent Arena for a combined 1.75 million NSD. Daxler also managed to sign Suzuki Gengetsu and Lafcadio Ran, worth a combined 2.4 million NSD. Unfortunately, FC Coppola missed out on both of their targets.

But were these purchases justified? And that was the hardest question of all to answer. Yes, these players had played very well and achived results in LazCON, but just how wide was the footballing difference between Saterun and the rest of Lazarus. Was there even a difference? This comes back to a major shortcoming of being a founding member of region-wide sport. The Saterun FA and the A. Liga clubs didn't know what the transition would be like for these new international players. In that sense, Ias, Daxler, and even Coppola (although they didn't actually spend any money) all took a gambit. They were venturing into the unknown. They also spent their entire transfer budgets for this season (and a little bit of next) to do so. And, at least for now, it seems that their money was well spent. Prismriver has already won a Man of the Match in the Copa Nacional, and Gengetsu scored twice in a pre-season draw with Oceanico. Of course, only time will tell if these results are consistent.

But players were not the only thing brought in from our Lazarene neighbors. Renea is a regional ecenomic powerhouse, and had several businesses and social elite looking to expand their influence. Saterun clubs were all too happy to sell a small percentage of the club in order to raise some money. Xaiv 1919, in particular, expirenced the best that this new opportunity could offer. Despite being touted to finish in the top half of the table, Xaiv finished a distant 10th. Not good. When they heard that Renean investors were looking to buys shares of Saterun clubs, they immidiatly saw an opportunity, just like Ias, Daxler, and Coppola with Renean players. Xaiv ended up selling approx. 7% of the club for around 10 million NSD.

This seems to have had an instant effect. With more money, Xaiv has already renevated their youth and training facilities, and looks very strong, with team improvements in midfield and defense. They won all five of their pre-season friendlies, including a 3-1 defeat of Futsworth United. Their new Renean part-owners also plan to invest more into the club over the soming season.

So what does this mean for the future? Ias CF have already announced Maphidon striker Henry Garcia Valenci as a top target, and his progress in BoF 78 (OOC: This book was written before cycle 91) will be heavily monitered. The A. Liga seems to be heading in a truly cosmopolitan direction. Of course, recent transfer have been with nearby nieghbors and close contacts, but that may soon change. I, for one, think that this is the right direction for the league. If the clubs want to compete on an international level, they need to draw on the wealth of the multiverse. It will also be a repeating cycle. The more international talent the clubs attract, the better they do, and so the more international talent wants to join the clubs. It's the best path for the A. Liga, and what Raymond Rairnes would have wanted.

by **Jeruselem** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 10:16 pm

Princess Mila (naked) at Dazza Dallas Stadium

Hello, this is Princess Mila Dallas for Naked News Jeruselem!
We're at Dazza Dallas Stadium for our first home game for the World Cup 93 qualification.
Match day 1 of qualification was an away game, which we couldn't broadcast live for technical reasons.
But match day 2 was a home game, so we're here!

A quick recap of the first round of qualification of World Cup 93, group 8.
Sylestone lost to Jeruselem 2-0, not bad for an unranked team really.
Quakmybush also lost 2-0, but to Tjorl.
Gran Saguaro win in a thriller, 5-4 against The Cordian Isles at home.
Eura got a bit tied up at home with draw against Rouyoute 1-1.
Kandorith had trouble at home, drawing with Bongo Johnson 0-0.
Osarius went down at home 4-3, with New Gelderland winning.
Yah, Kandorith and Eura held to draws first up.

Now to today, with everyone having their first official game of the World Cup 93 out of the way.
As usual with our home games, we're not always doing our best.
99th ranked New Gelderland defeated Jeruselem 2-0, which would classed as an upset.
New Gelderland deserved to win, we weren't playing that well.
The team hasn't totally settled down, and it seems we haven't worked out our defensive system.
I guess we have to sort a few things out.

There weren't draws in this round, unlike the previous one.
Bongo Johnson had a bad day at home, crashing to 4-1 loss to Osarius.
Rouyoute hosted top seed Kandorith, and put up a fight but still lost 1-0 to Kandorith.
The Cordian Isles at faced Eura, and showed some fight but got nothing with Eura winning 1-0.
Tjorl scored their second win, beating Gran Saguaro 4-2 at home.
Unranked Sylestone got a win against the hapless Quakmybush.

Group 8 like all other groups is 2 games in and only two undefeated teams New Gelderland and Tjorl while The Cordian Isles and Quakmybush are still pointless.
Next up, is an away game against Quakmybush and then a home game against Bongo Johnson.
On paper, we should win those games but then we should have the game today.
Hopefuly we can get back on the winners list next two games.

Apparently in Jeruselem, there's far more people named Bongo Johnson than I thought.
Johnson isn't uncommon but anyone actually named Bongo is rare.
Don't worry, I am not name any of my kids Bongo.
Just ignore the idiots with Bongo drums near by.
I'm sure of them is named Bongo Johnson ...

That's it from me, a full analysis for today's game will be done later today.
Not by me, err by people who know more about football than me.
See you all later, hopefully in Quakmybush.

by **Brusseldorf** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:14 am

The forgotten nation of ‘93

The boy was sitting cross-legged on the old patterned rug, his head level with his father’s slightly rotund belly on the couch next to him. The heat was ensuring neither were particularly comfortable, and although mum had tugged down the blinds in the morning, it was the kind of heat that seeped into shadows and other places it was not usually found. The boy’s father winced slightly as he shifted his weight to produce a wilted handkerchief from his back pocket. The thing was already fairly soaked and didn’t absorb the sweat from his brow particularly well.

It was summertime in Brusseldorf, and school had finished up for the year. The boy, his name was Julian, had been looking forward to kicking a ball around the local park with his friends, an activity that had not happened yet due to the heatwave. Spirits in Brusseldorf were surprisingly low at this time of year as well, as the national team had not made the cutoff for this year’s World Cup in Tumbra. According to the FA, it was due to bureaucracy; the World Cup organisational committee had unceremoniously forgotten to respond to the expression of interest from the national team’s Director. Upon finding out that bidding had already started without Brusseldorf’s knowledge, it was too late.

The story continues...

by **Baggieland** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 4:11 am

The Øyes Awaken

Despite the never-ending series of kooky events that have occurred over the last couple of years – resulting in Hannah and Øystein becoming estranged from one another – they agreed that the need to work together superseded any ill-will they still felt towards each other. After all, the alternative didn't bear contemplating.

Øystein: "So how are we going to go about this?"

Hannah: "Well, you're the one who decided to leave a perfectly happy family and job to hang out with these pirates, fraudsters and murderers! You know them better than I do."

Øystein: "That's exactly why I left in the first place! You've never understood my needs or feelings, Hannah!"

Hannah: "Okay, okay! Let's not argue… our lives are in danger. We need to keep the past behind us if we're going to survive. Now, you do know them, so… how can we get to them?"

Øystein: "Well, I don't know much about the Rock Lodge operation here in Gnejs, other than Jakob has joined them. But I do know about their activities in Baggieland, so we should start there."

Hannah: "Okay, we'll head to Baggieland. We'll need to go to Port Kejm first, then see if we can sneak aboard a ship there, but let's only travel at night as half the Gnejsian police force are members of the Rock Lodge."

That night Hannah and Øystein slipped out of Haavika. They travelled only by back-roads, some were dimly lit, while others were not lit at all. As they made their way along one such road, a funereal dressed mortal nonchalantly stepped out from behind a tree right in front of them.

Killer Bob: "Why, hello there Øye, and Hannah too."

Øystein: "Killer Bob! I took you down once before, and I'll do it again!"

Killer Bob: "Come now Øye, why so antagonistic? Believe it or not, I'm not actually here to kill you two. This may come as a surprise, but I actually want to help you bring those cabal lunatics down."

Øystein: "What? I don't believe you!"

Killer Bob: "Just hear me out Øye. Grand Master Lei Siulung was concerned as to why your target, Bjørge Lillelien, is still alive and blissfully going about his everyday business, so she sent me to investigate. I strongly suspected that you weren't really the assassin type, Øye. However, I'm done with this business; I'm getting on a bit now and my daughter keeps asking me what I do for a living. Some of my targets were deserving of their fates, while others I had to question, and that's why I want to put an end to this secret society for my last job. I found you two all too easily, so you're going to need my help. By the way, you didn't take me out Øye, a whale hit me with its fluke."

Øystein: "What do you think Hannah, should we trust this guy?"

Hannah: "He seems like an honest, affable guy to me."

Øystein: "Seriously! Do you know how many people he's killed? Not to mention the attempt on my life!"

Hannah: "Over these last two years I've genuinely thought about killing you myself Øystein. How could you leave your family like that? Sorry, bringing up the past again. Anyway, people change, so we should give Killer Bob a chance. Can I call you Bobby?"

Killer Bob: "Sure, now follow me. This way's quicker to Port Kejm and we won't bump into any Gnejsian coppers either."

by **Brookstation** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 5:35 am

I||II||III||IV|V|VI|VII|VIII|IX|X|XI|XII|XIII|XIV|XV|XVI|XVII|XVIII

The 20 is a blog series where authors of Brookstation's biggest football blog, The Beautiful Game documents the lives of some of the best players to have played in Brook soil. Aimed at inaugurating the 50th edition of the Harrison Shield, we document the lives of the players who define the top 20 football clubs in Brookstation.

BRUNO PUCCI: THE MAN WHO WROTE FOOTBALL IN BROOKSTATION

Kevin Wolze is perhaps remembered as one of the most influential managers in the history of Brook football. He might not have the good fortune of lifting up the first Harrison Shield but a record of winning a massive 8 Harrison Shields with FC Hacienda is enough to justify his legacy. While Wolze was still struggling as the first manager of FC Hacienda, he would always see a poor Jew boy, with a robust figure trying to sell articles in his lane. As a man of culture, Wolze would obviously not be persuaded by the boy to buy his little decoratives but it would be this very boy who would go on to write Wolze's name in the books of history.

In 1953, Bruno Pucci was born to parents Andre and Jessica in Brancar Hill a tiny town which hold almost no relevance in Brookstation. Life in Brancar Hill was boring unless one travelled a few kilometres north to reach the heart of Brook civilization, Dreamland. It was in Dreamland where he had his quite irrelevant encounters with Wolze. At the age of 18, Pucci would leave his native town to travel all the way to Dason to join AC Dason as a potential midfielder. The boy who once struggled selling his stuff to Kevin Wolze now served as Dason's golden star. Pucci had finally found the meaning of life and the lifestyle of the bustling city would be too startling for Pucci. He would soon adapt to the "modern way of life", indulging himself in cheese, lies and alcohol, something which would soon take a toll on his health and he was quickly falling short of the high expectations set by his new manager.

He was then put under the guidance of Manfred Dubois, a veteran striker for Dason, perhaps the best in his time.

"Dubois was not only a beast on the field but a beast in real life. He was the one who taught me that one could lead a life without fast food or alcohol and that was the reason he was uncatchable on the field."

The blatant duo of Dubois and Barbosa took Pucci under their wing and trained him up to become an actual footballer, something which Pucci very well mastered in his later career. Quitting fast food and the lavish lifestyle once and for all, Pucci put all his focus on gaining a position on the main team alongside his mentors. Dason had struggled in their region for quite some time and a Final Appearance would be all they could cherish for the last decade. But it was obvious that Dason was bringing a resurrection and Pucci was their commander. Still at the age of 20, Pucci would be used as the utility man, spending every single minute on the field in Dason's title winning season in 1978.

It would be unfair to term Pucci as either a midfielder or a striker. He was a perfect balance between both. He was capable of single handedly bringing the ball from midfield and at the same time deliver goals as and when required and of course there was the immense support of Dubois and Barbosa. Dubois was the typical attacker who pounced on every opportunity he had while Barbosa was the more knowledgable player who knew exactly what to do when the time came.

Pucci who was undoubtedly excelling at his peak caught the attention of the rather familiar Kevin Wolze who at once made a request to the club authorities to sign the youngster as soon as possible. In what would end up as the most expensive Brook transfer of all time, Pucci would now start in the crimson jersey for his new club. In his very first season, Pucci would go on to win the title with FC Hacienda. This victory would prove to be Pucci's first major honour and it added more significance than it seemed. He had propelled his team from mid table finishes all the way to the top. He played every match in his first season barring one. An increase in playing time meant an improvement in skills and technique. The versatile attacker now played more towards the midfield creating majority of his team's chances and appearing in the box at the exact moment. His second season at Hacienda would prove to be even better as he would end the season with the Player of the Year honour.

Pucci playing for Hacienda

The 1983 season would see good old Wolze appoint Pucci as the captain of the team. The result of Wolze's brilliance was slowly manifesting itself in the Brook footballing world and Pucci's leadership would just prove to be a catalyst to the invincible spirit of the team. Two consecutive Harrison Shield titles followed by a season championship would see Pucci become the undoubted "greatest" in Brook football. It was that very decade which saw another brilliant footballer, Roger Boyd rise through the ranks. Pucci and Boyd would go along well off the field although they were the fiercest rivals on the pitch.

"Pucci is the best because of his versatility. I think I have played him in all eleven positions and he has never complained about any of it. Rather he changed football every time he touched the ball." Kevin Wolze (FC Hacienda manager 1970-1992)

The remaining few years saw Pucci's best performances as a player as he had more or less adapted himself to the midfield position which deepened his role on the field. Another 2 Harrison Shields along with several other honours would be Pucci's last prized possessions in FC Hacienda after which he spent his final few years playing for his local side Brancar Hill Panthers.

Pucci was a footballer who defied mathematics. I can assure you that his combined statistics would fill up a 1000 page book and mathematicians would take years to figure out his versatility on the football field. In today's modern era, few remember the legend but had it not been for his selfless efforts, football wouldn't nearly be the same as it is today. With over 500 appearances, Pucci is an idol but numbers do not come close to measuring his greatness as a player. He was a gentleman, one of the most polite footballers in the game. His trophy cabinet might me swollen with honours but nothing came close to the subtle and cheerful nature of Pucci. The smiles of Pucci have changed the ambience in the very stadium named after him, forever and his memories will live on forever .As we celebrate his 20th death anniversary, let us, as responsible Brooks pay tribute to the one and only, Bruno Pucci.

MORE FROM THE BEAUTIFUL GAME :
Pucci, Boyd or Cohen ? Perhaps the most difficult question ever asked
The story of FC Hacienda: The innovators of the game who fell in the hands of fate
Browne not satisfied with opening pair of results

by **Gnejs** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 7:50 am

The Last Assassin: another day in the life of Killer Bob

…and I had to spend over an hour and a half explaining the diverging methods of two lengthy reports aiming to measure effectivity and efficiency in municipal service provisions and they still didn’t grasp the differences by the end of it. Which is a terrible way to start your workday, but it’s a hot topic at the moment with several of the local papers making a big deal about the City scoring badly, so the interest is only natural. The whole thing is planted by the opposition, of course, even though our scores - no matter the methodological approach - is about as average as you can get and not really as scandalous as some voices makes it out to be, at least compared with some of the other cities. They love hearing that, the politicians we serve, and they hate it when we point out that while average means we’re not complete shit, it still means we’re pretty shitty, again compared to some of the other cities.

My head hurts as hell because we went to a party at the Nilsson’s yesterday evening and I drank excessively. Who throws a party on a Sunday, I keep asking myself, but of course, the real question is who drinks like a fish on a Sunday. I remember I met someone working at one of the big social research institutes and in a drunken stupor, I pitched my age-old idea about investigating the impact on systemic political trust levels within the rural populace as state base services keep disappearing. He actually seemed interested and even said he’d help me with a PhD application, although I’m not sure how serious an offer it actually was. Anyways, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the encouragement then and there, I’m never going to do that for several reasons, but mainly because I can’t afford cutting my pay grade so severely. The end of the night is kind of blurry, but I found a note in my jacket on the way to work this morning where I had scribbled the following:

I know they do it because it’s good for them, it makes them prosper the next season, it’s better for them in the long run, but still. What they’re doing is cutting into their bodies without any

I vaguely remember being struck by some deeply profound insight before jotting that down, but I suspect it was really nothing. After lunch I had my yearly appraisal interview with the head of my department and it went fairly well even though I hadn’t done any of the obligatory preparations. I managed to freestyle it, mostly. I got pretty annoyed at the end when the boss said that even though they’re very pleased with my output in general, he couldn’t help but wonder if I could maybe achieve an even greater level of productivity if I didn’t spend office hours playing text-based role playing games on old BBCode forums. I neither denied nor confirmed the allegations, rather dodging it altogether by maintaining that to my mind I fulfill all my obligations and I do it pretty well, and he didn’t push it because that’s obviously true. You could tell he was a bit annoyed, but he probably settled on it being a scare and his mention of it enough for me to not do that anymore. And I probably won’t, or at least I’ll make more of an effort of being discrete about it and especially so around Olav. Fucking snitch.

My mood picks up a bit in the early afternoon as I grab my travel bag and start making my way to the train station and the Ängby Region Labour Market Analysis Seminar I’m supposedly attending down in Nesby. They’re usually fairly interesting and the food is always excellent. Of course, I’m not actually going to be attending all of it, but I’m rather putting in motion the retirement plan for my assassin side gig. I’ve been wanting out for years, and Øye and Hannah rocking the boat seems like a perfect opportunity. It’s breaking with an old family tradition, but I’m not going to be coerced into training my own kids in the ancient art of Lodge Assassination. No, little Killer Joe and Killer Sarah are going to walk their own paths.

When I reach the hotel and pick up my credentials I see that I’m registered as Killer Bob, Special Advisor, City of Hagen, which really annoys me because they got my title wrong and it’s not the first time. It’s Specialist Advisor, not Special. I know it seems petty, but there’s a very real distinction there, with a Specialist being a senior expert, whereas a Special Advisor is more like an honorary title. They usually bestow it on old Directorate Generals or Head of Authorities that have stepped down and are living out their final working years in some ministry cranny deep in the Meridian Quarter where they’re being paid way too much to head up obscure projects no one cares about. It’s annoying, but I decide to not make a big deal out of it. I attend two talks and eat some ridiculously tasty king crab cakes before liaising with a local Lodge operative who updates me on Øye and Hannah’s movements. Apparently, they’re travelling on back roads just north of the city, about as stealthy as the King of Baggieland in a china shop, and I have no trouble intercepting them as darkness starts descending.

It takes a bit of effort, but I finally manage to convince them that I’m not there to end them, but rather to help them ending the dual Lodges. Traveling to Baggieland to mount the initial attack is a bit irritating, because that’ll be time consuming, and the seminar is only supposed to last a couple of days. I really don’t want to waste vacation days – we’re planning on taking a trip down on the continent come summer – but on the other hand the momentum is now, and I’ve got a pretty hefty amount of flextime that I can use.

I task Øye and Hannah with securing a car – the train is too much of a risk – while I dispose of the local Lodge operative. There’s a fair bit of tension in the car, them still being afraid of me and probably also nervous about what’s to come, but we defuse the situation somewhat by putting on an audiobook recording of the first book in the A Song of Slab and Gravel saga, The Stonecarver’s Heir. A real classic that, and one that I haven’t read in ages. The story about a young girl who discovers she has the ability to hear the stones speak and becomes embroiled in the ongoing struggle for dominance between rival houses and the powerful Stonecarver’s Guild has excited generations of Gnejsians and will likely continue to do so for many years to come. The graphic sex scenes clearly make Øye uncomfortable, much to the delight of Hannah and myself.

We stop every now and then to steal a new set of plates or just steal another car, and we finally arrive on the outskirts of Port Kejm by around midday the next day. We’re out to commandeer a boat and cruise the great seventy seven seas, but we can’t risk going to the major ports, because they’re heavily surveilled and besides it’d require us to go into town proper, which seems like an equally great, but also completely unnecessary, risk.

After a bit of discussion we opt for the Port of Ekvik a bit south of the capital. It won’t hold the best of boats in terms of quality, but it’ll be easier to make off with one. As we approach the outskirts of the port we are met with an unexpected, but welcome, surprise. It’s the HMS Onslaught.

I look at my fellow travelers and ask them if they’re ready to inflict some poetic justice.

by **Atheara** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 7:55 am

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

Football > World Cup
Two Wins and Clean Sheets, Everyone Performs!

MATCHDAY 1 RESULT
Atheara 3 - 0 Commonwealth of Baker Park
Zack Dawnbridge (12' ; 45+3' ; 89')
Zack Dawnbridge [] (90')

MATCHDAY 2 RESULT
Strayan Rus 0 - 1 Atheara
(52') Terez Lindenhalfesch

Well, the first two matchdays have recently come to a pass and it's safe to say I am genuinely shocked and surprised so far! Atheara has certainly, in my opinion, rejuvenated themselves to their best extent. If you're one of the many people who wants to just read through to check out the scores, go ahead! I don't mind it that much in all honesty. But for those who are still new to this you're probably asking, "What do you mean, author?" Well, if you read the post category then it's that simple. Atheara start off their campaign with two straight wins and two clean sheets. Now some of you may be skeptical still, thinking "But that's possible for a lot of nations" and I'll admit that is true. But if you've seen our schedule, you'd understand further so. One of the teams we faced up against within these two matchdays were The Bees of Baker Park. Yes everyone, you're reading that quite right. The other nation we faced off against was Strayan Rus, but we sadly don't have much information about them.

Atheara facing off against Baker Park on the first matchday was more important than people think, as we were actually playing on home ground. Astena Stadium hosted a match that had almost all seats sold out to a 78 - 22 ration of home and away fans wanting to enjoy a =n exciting match. And although a good part of the match was filled with Atheara defending against Baker Park, there were still moments of beauty. So let's get into it by discussing Atheara's match against Baker Park. Zack Dawnbridge shocks everyone by scoring a hat trick, yes, a hat trick against Baker Park. Zimmerman Brusteric proved his quality with an assist by a long through ball to give Dawnbridge his hat trick, while the two other assists came from Zeeke Red for the first goal and Mryzlav Koralsko for the second goal. Dawnbridge's first goal came at the 12th minute when Zeeke Red played one twos with Broznev Val Ilmetrov as Red then passed back to the Birnin Select forward before striking it in with his signature curved shot. A great start.

The second goal by the 3rd minute of added stoppage time before the end of the first half was also a well played team play by Atheara as they decided to commence their usual transition from defence into attack within their Keyakinan-ball philosophy. Mryzlav Koralsko would be the one to receive the ball from pushing forward, before offloading the ball to Zack Dawnbridge as he strikes the ball in his typical fashion: shooting at it from outside the box. Goalkeeper Zach Johnston barely reached the ball before it went past his fingertips. And as for the third goal nearing the end of the match, despite Baker Park holding their high press Dawnbridge was able to get through sneakily enough for Brusteric (Who was subbed in) to notice and strike with a through ball. The goal was a simple 1-on-1 against the keeper which Dawnbridge won as he proceeded to rush to one of the corner flags to punch it as celebration. He ended up getting booked for destroying the corner flag, but the job was done.

On matchday two, we would be playing on the road against Strayan Rus, which would certainly be a first time experience for The Blue Guard as they would be playing up against a new opponent. The stadium was surely filled with a lot of travelling Athearan fans, supporting their national team to as best as they can while making sure not to cause a ruckus because they were on opposition soil and not their own. The match wasn't as exciting as the first one, but the team still got the job done and dusted with a free kick scored by Terez Lindenhalfesch on the 52nd minute after Kirov Solmatzka had been tackled by a defender on the Strayan Rus National Team. A simple kick under the wall that jumped shocked the keeper enough to make them stay still as the ball rolled into the net. For the rest of the game as to not tire everyone out, Atheara played deadlock defense as they take away the 1 - 0 win, clean sheet, and three points. Although many fans and onlookers viewed Atheara's tactical decision in disdain, many said that Atheara "Just needed to get the job done, and so they did exactly that".

As for now, Dawnbridge has 3 goals while Lindenhalfesch has 1 goal. Red, Koralsko, and Brusteric have 1 assist each. Mugel Krygorf and Mikel Horzabath Krygorf also have 1 clean sheet each (Mugel against Baker Park and Mikel against Strayan Rus). For me, Matchday 1 MOTM is certainly Dawnbridge with the hat trick and finishing the chances Atheara created, while for Matchday 2, Alfadi Gretznotsh would be Man of The Match for me as he provided some insane runs despite his usual lazy, bare minimum attitude while covering a lot of ground too. Overall, a solid start to the World Cup Qualifying. Stay tuned for the next matches The Blue Guard will have, as Atheara face Inkwellistan and Turori.

NEWS AROUND THE REPUBLIC
Atheara to Build a New Class of Aircraft Carriers Despite Still Viable H Class
Mugel Krygorf: "I do not deny nor confirm the rumours of my retirement."
Athearan Baseball National Begins in a Few Days as Teams Prepare

by **Stevencousin** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 8:25 am

NATIONAL ECHO

Interview with Otto von Linkworth

With us is the Head Coach of the national team, Otto von Linkworth (OvL). It has long been noted that he likes to use a 4-4-2 formation in every national team match, so on this occasion we try to understand his 4-4-2 principles and DNA.

Q:: As we understand, you like to use 4-4-2 tactics for the national team?
OvL:: For information, this 4-4-4 formation is one of the oldest formations still used by modern football teams. The 4-4-2 is easy to understand and implement, meaning that well-trained teams can still find genuine success through it.

Q:: What are the strengths and advantages of this formation?
OvL:: 4-4-2 is based on a format of 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, and two strikers, having two strikers up front means that the midfield and defense do not have to delay their attempts to get the ball into attacking positions. Unlike formations where only one striker is played, the 4-4-2 allows the main striker to drive forward without having to wait for support from the midfielders. For this reason, the best strikers ever to play in a 4-4-2 are those who are adaptable and able to face multiple situations with minimal midfield support.

Q:: 4-4-2 also means two wingers with plenty of opportunities to cross?
OvL:: The idea is that two wing players have a lot of time and opportunity to make offensive moves and pass the ball crosswise to the attacking players. This can result in crosses being constantly driven into the box, but it also forces opponents to stretch their defense to counter any threat on the flanks. Often, this can leave defensive gaps through the middle for both forwards to exploit.

Q:: This formation is also very powerful when defending.
OvL:: Yes, Due to its clear structure and simple execution, many teams, no matter what their 'main' formation, will use something close to 4-4-2 when under pressure and defending deep in their own half.

Q:: Can you elaborate?
OvL:: Having only two players in the middle of the midfield can make it more difficult to keep the ball than a team that plays in a three-man midfield. However, often you will see one of the two strikers drop back into midfield when not in possession in an attempt to add to the numbers. To overcome this, many 4-4-2 practitioners will play a defensive-minded midfielder alongside a more attack-focused individual, it being the defensive midfielder's job to reduce any danger posed by the opposition's superior numbers before the back line is put under pressure.

Q:: Thanks for the clear explanation, and good luck to you and your team in the upcoming matches.
OvL:: You're welcome

by **Acastanha** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 8:29 am

Acastanha Yearly Kaleidoscope
New Year New Government

The year of 2023 is almost ended. And there are many stories, incidents and events that can and should be remembered throughout the year. Here, we compile the most notables moments of 2023 in Acastanha through our special report, Acastanha Kaleidoscope. For the first moment, we go back to the beginning of the year.

January 2023
Acastanha had just finishing their biggest democratics celebration. The 2022 general election. The election resulting with the election of Miranda Garbuno as the 8th President of Acastanha and the country's first female president. Garbuno was swear into the office at January 15th which officially starting her presidency. Her vice president is Abelardo Saramotxo. Their party coalition hold the majority in the upper house, Conselho Estadual. While another coalition led by ANP become the majority coalition in the lower house Conselho Popular. This situation is the first happening in the country history.
Miranda Garbuno
On her first presidential speech, Garbuno promised many things including economy and stability. Garbuno mention the implementation of Mengwi Agreement that was signed by the previous government. She believe that the agreement will help the country to play a better role in the region's economy and geopolitic. She also mentioned about the domestic situation. She promised to ensure equality to all. And lastly, she confirmed that she will work together with the parliament even if they have a different vision over the country.

The reception of the speech were mixed. Most were supporting her speech over economy and how the country will play more in the region's geopolitic. However, the majority of the comments said that she is so naive about the domestic situation. Many political experts also questioning about the data that she has about the stability of the country because many have see that the country is in a ticking bomb of separation. With more and more power is given to the republic, the federal government would soon losing their power.

by **Eshialand** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 8:40 am

Slow Start
Eshialand 1-1 Airannia
Astograth 1-0 Eshialand

"Kenny... whatever happened to your team qualifying this year?"

When Kenny Morgan got a call from the king the morning after the Owls' 0-1 loss to Astograth, he knew that he wasn't exactly in for the most pleasant of conversations.

"Well, Will... we've had a few mishaps. We haven't been playing up to caliber, that's all--"

The king paused before responding. "Look, you know I'm not one to question your authority on the team, even when everyone else in the country is doing so... but I have to wonder what's going on. If you want the team to qualify, you can't be dropping points in games like these..."

"I know, I know... it's just a bit of a slow start. That's all, I promise you. We'll get back on the right foot in our next pair of games."

The king paused for a moment as he checked the schedule. Equestria home, Obrela away. These were easily winnable... or at least they should be. "Kenny?"

"What is it?"
"...have you thought about calling up an assistant coach? Someone to help out with strategy, who might provide a fresh perspective to the team?"
"If I'm being entirely honest... not really. Not since the Aleiravan experiment*, anyway."

"...Kenny, you know that was our best cycle ever. We were four points shy of the playoffs, tied with the third-place team in the group. I get that you might not want to hand some of the responsibility over, but... I don't really think you can deny results, can you?"

Coach Morgan paused for a bit, and realized that the king was right. He just wasn't able to do the best job he could anymore. Sure, when the team was rising up the ranks, he didn't need any help. He was good enough to get the team to where they are today on his own... but now? Maybe it was about time he got some help, to take the team that one extra mile.

"Okay, so... who would we get?" he asked.
"That, I can't help you with." the king said. "It's your job to spot the right candidate and make to sure they do a good job.

When the team arrived back in Eshialand, Kenny announced a special training session; instead of training defense, or shooting, this would be leadership training. This would be part of his candidate search.

Most everybody went along with the training, figuring that, as always, the coach knew just what he was doing. He was known in the past for having some unconventional methods when it came to team-building and training, this was probably just another one of them. One person, unconvinced, decided to ask him upfront.

"Coach..." team captain Melissa Carey asked, "what's going on with this training? I know you know what you're doing, but I don't think I've ever seen anything like this..."

Mel was one of Coach Morgan's most trusted friends on the team. As the captain, she already been handling a lot of team leadership for five years now, and beyond that, the two could trust each other with pretty much anything, like when the coach trusted her to go on the mission to Aleirave to rescue the king.

"Well, if I'm being honest... I need help here on the coaching staff. Things haven't been going well lately, and--"

"Wait, what? You realize that I have experience in this, why didn't you just ask?"

That's when he realized she was right. During the first Jenna Raven Cup, she had served half a game as de facto player-coach after Harriet Copeland basically bullied their old coach off the team. On top of that, she would occasionally do her own coaching domestically for the Detroit Wolves, well, whenever she felt like ignoring the coach, really, including a ridiculous 5-0 bullying over Cleveland FC that was the only really dominant result they had in that season. She wasn't bad, and maybe transitioning a bit over to coaching wouldn't be the worst thing for her.

"Are you sure you want the job?" Kenny asked to confirm.
"If you want me to do it, I'm more than happy to help out. This is my team too, after all."

And so, the deal was done. Melissa Carey would be the team's new player-assistant coach, and hopefully she'd be able to help dig the team out of the mess they were in.

Eshialand - 1 (Harran 32')
Airannia - 1 (Garyabh 51')

Astograth -1 (REDACTED 13')
Eshialand - 0

*OOC note: this refers to the World Cup 90 qualifying campaign, when some Aleiravan players were admitted onto the Eshian team, as well as Haulafo Paka'ula coming on as assistant coach. In the end, all that would up coming from it would be Haulafo having the confidence to enter his own Aleiravan team into WCQ 91.

by **Nyowani Kitara** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 9:36 am

OOC Note: This newsletter has a slight anti-socialist bent, but they are fairly strict about the whole 'sticking to sports' thing

Nyowani Kitara Football Weekly
The voice for the working people of Nyowani Kitara

Nyowani Kitara roll to a pair of 4-1 wins to open up World Cup 93 Qualifying

Kuma Negasu celebrates his first ever international goal in the team's impressive 4-1 win over Macbon

DEWAYO, NYOWANI KITARA- Going into the opening double matchday window of World Cup Qualifying, the NT's manager, Liang Wei, urged the side to put the experience of the Copa Rushmoris behind them. "We certainly need to do better at the regional tournaments- but we will attack that when we get there next cycle." He told reporters. "But first and foremost, we need to focus on getting ourselves back to the World Cup. The best way to progress as a nation, in this sport, is to not only reach the World Cup, but to do so on a consistent basis. Once you are regularly in the highest pressure matches at the World Cup, that's how you can improve your skill, which will allow you to thrive at major tournaments. We've been to two in a row- but three is when it really starts to become a pattern."

Nyowani Kitara has spent the last few cycles just generally surprising observers at every step along the way. A few cycles ago, they stunned the entire multiverse by making the Playoffs in just their second ever go at Qualifying, before falling, 5-2 on aggregate, to a then insanely strong Ethane team(they were ranked in the teens then- now they're barely ranked top 150!) Then, World Cup 91 Qualifying, we pipped a bunch of excellent teams to the second spot in our group, as we beat Brookstation in a two leg playoff to qualify for our first ever World Cup. Then, in World Cup 92 Qualifying, we rampaged through the group, beating The Holy Empire twice(then a top 4 nation), en route to winning our group outright and qualifying directly for the Finals.

But one thing that we have not been known for, over those cycles, is our ability to get off to a fast start. The last two cycles, we haven't got off to the fastest of starts. A lot of it is opponent, yes. But these fast starts are crucial. "You don't want to spend a qualification campaign chasing from behind, trying to root for others downfall." Liang Wei said. "The biggest nations, the best nations- they start ahead, and then they stay ahead for the entirety of the rat race that we call World Cup Qualifying. If that's the standard that we want to reach, that's what we need to do. With scheduling, we've got what can only be classified as a golden opportunity to do just that- our first two opponents, neither are top 100. Let's take advantage of that."

Nyowani Kitara is one of the lowest ranked Pot 1 teams, which puts them at a slight disadvantage- although the team generally rejects that. "Look- Pot 1 is Pot 1." Said the team's captain, Armani Okombo. He has been through it recently, helping lead his Mytanar club side all the way to the IFCF Champions League Final, where they fell at the final hurdle. "This is one of the toughest groups in the entire draw. But we fear nobody, and regret less. WE can handle it. But what Pot 1 teams do is take care of business, emphatically, in the games where they are supposed to take care of business. No useless slip-ups against teams we can easily put to the sword. And that's what we need to do to kick off this campaign."

And Nyowani Kitara did just that. They opened their qualifying campaign at the national stadium, the Revolutionary Grounds- and the team absolutely demolished their visitors, Oflia, by a score of 4-1, to get the home crowd. Angonga's two first half goals really set the tone for Nyowani Kitara, who simply jumped all over their opponents early, and simply never let up. Olifa had cut the lead in half for our squad just after halftime, with a 47th minute wonderstrike from their #10. But as they chased an equalizer, we stayed calm, and killed them on the counter. Our attack was too strong, as Wang Jiahui and Kamzuni Chinwemwe both opened their scoring accounts for this year's World Cup Qualifying campaign to snuff out any Olifa hopes of getting back in this game, and earning a point in Dewayo.

"A 4-1 home win is an excellent way to start off a Qualifying campaign- I don't care who the opponent is." Liang Wei told reporters. "It's a great thing to build off of, and I'm glad that we did so." Of course, a 4-1 home win against a team where we are 266 slots ahead of in the KPB rankings, well, simply won't move the needle. It's what we're supposed to do. Our second game? A trip to Macbon. The 122nd ranked nation in the KPBs, not exactly a huge favorite to get out of this group- but the first road game of the cycle is always a tough one.

But the team came out with the same intensity that they took down Olifa with. And the fans traveled excellently- seemingly taking over Macbon's stadium on the distant road trip. Nyowani Kitara came out cruising, as a rotated squad took to the field against Macbon and absolutely rocked their socks off. Rudolph von Katzenstig, Kuma Negasu, and Örjan Qvist all scored in the first half for Nyowani Kitara, who put the game completely away in the first 45 minutes. They took the crowd out of it, as building up to a 3-0 lead early in the contest was more than enough to get the home fans filing towards the exits, allowing the traveling fan noise to fill the stadium. The final score ended up being 4-1 in this contest.

A 6 point window, where we scored 8 goals and the opponents scored just two, is something to celebrate. But these are relative- these were teams that Nyowani Kitara were much stronger than. It's never a guarantee that you take care of business against who you're supposed to take care of business against- but that's all we did. We didn't learn much about this team, either way, although they've certainly got a dizzying array of attacking talent. 8 goals from 2 games, and more importantly, with 7 goalscorers- an impressive bout for this NYK side.

We'll learn much more in the next window, as Nyowani Kitara face their first true test- a home game against Pot 3 side Juvencus. "Juvencus are a talented team that has been to a few World Cups before- so we embrace that it'll be a star-studded matchup on Matchday 3, in front of our home fans." Liang Wei told reporters. "They're going to be pissed off that they just lost to their archrivals as well in Drawkland- so we're going to have one hell of a contest. Having only one point from 6 is probably a little harsh, but we've got to defend home field." NYK will also pay a visit to Ethane, on Matchday 4, who lost both of their opening matches.

Both talented opponents, who probably underperformed their potential in the opening window, looking to get a big result against the Pot 1 side to quickly turn around their fortunes. "We've gotta maintain our focus, our intensity." Liang Wei told reporters. "We want to play well, play our game, and impose our will on opponents, both home and away- if we do that, the results will simply follow."

Political News
- President Muhoozi Kulan announced his 'imminent' departure to Altendalur, for the CORNCOB conference, as being put on by the White Winter Queendom- NYK's northern neighbors. "The CORNCOB conference will be a great place to facilitate international conversations, and pan-Rushmori conversations." The President told reporters. "At the very least, the opportunities to interface with so many important officials, from both business and beyond, is such an important conversation for us."

Qualifying Goal Count Tracker
Goals against Olifa(H)
Odede Angonga(7' & 28')
Wang Jiahui(63')
Kamzuni Chinwemwe(81')

Goals against Macbon(A)
Rudolph von Katzenstig(11')
Kuma Negasu(27')
Örjan Qvist(42')
Christian Pichard(90+2')

Total Goal Count Tracker
Odede Angonga - 2
Wang Jiahui - 1
Kamzuni Chinwemwe - 1
Rudolph von Katzenstig - 1
Kuma Negasu - 1
Örjan Qvist - 1
Christian Pichard - 1

by **Sharktail** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 10:50 am

Sharktail Super League season 18 officially started last night. The fight for one slot to the champion league and 3 slots to the Challenger Cup begins.

Total 6 matches involving 12 teams take place. Here we will summarize the interesting actions and matches which will focus more on the national players. The 23 men who proudly represent Sharktail and compete with the aim to qualify for the World Cup.

Matchday 1
Real Jeram FC 2-0 Kota Sultan FC
Kota Jembal FC 3-0 Bakti United FC
Lembah Gunung FC 0-0 Teluk Diraja FC
Kuala Town FC 0-0 Real Chiku FC
Kota Lama Ranger 1-1 Kota Lama FC
Sri Irama FC 3-1 Seri Meranti FC

SSL Matchday 1 presents a match between the champions and runners-up of SSL 17, which was Kota Jembal FC who receive a visit from Bakti United FC. What a way to start a season. Results from the match in are kinda expected but the final result of this match may be quite surprising. Bakti United unable to fight back, falling 3-0 giving Kota Jembal FC 3 full points.

This match is highly anticipated because these two teams have lots of high profile players. Lined up with Sharktail national players and some imported players who are also regulars in the national squad, it adds more warmth.

Obviously, the dynasty built by Kota Jembal is more intact than Bakti United. Although he has not stood out at the international level since several recent tournaments, Win Aziz's sharpness at the domestic level needs to be paid attention to for every opponent. In the 15th minute, Harrison Murphy entered the first number in the assist list for himself. His pass to Win Aziz was successfully translated into the first goal for Kota Jembal.

Possession that was too bad from his men really made Evan uncomfortable. Many times the shouts were heard from the Bakti United bench. When this team seemed to be able to balance the match, Kota Jembal FC sank back their momentum with the second goal. If the supporters in Eraman can enjoy the action of Ilias Rezal, then the supporters of Sharktail can enjoy the action of Bagari Siswara. His first goal of the season put Kota Jembal in a very comfortable position. 2-0 until the end of the first half.

Continuing the second half, Bakti United players must have been washed by Evan to present more satisfying action in the second half. Hopes are still not fading for them to at least go home with one point. However, as good as their planning is, Kota Jembal also comes with their new plan. And the result did not change much with the first half. Hoping to score a goal, Bakti United were disappointed with Kota Jembal FC's third goal as a result of Win Aziz's explosion. He has a good night compared to Haziq Badrol tonight. 2 goals from Win Aziz and 1 from Bagari Siswara end the match for Bakti United, final 3-0 for Kota Jembal FC.

The rest of match in Matchday 1 results, Real Jeram beat Kota Sultan 2-0, Lembah Gunung vs Teluk Diraja and Kuala Town vs Real Chiku both end with scoreless draw. The Lama city derby end with 1-1 and Sri Irama close the day, beat Seri Meranti FC 3-1.

by **Estorvipa and Estorpiva** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 11:35 am

Like most other cities in southern Estorvipa, the city of Rybolovlev had not been spared from the ravages of war. The capital city of the old Estorvipan People’s Republic had initially avoided any form of attack from the northern anarchist rebels during the first stages of the Estorian Civil War simply due to its location far away from the fighting in the north, but once the Pridnestrovian intervention forces landed in the country, Rybolovlev came under direct attack from the Rushmori nation’s land and naval forces, resulting in massive destruction of the city even as the invaders threatened to encircle it and put it under siege. However, the signing of the Treaty of Kotelnirovo put an end to Pridnestrovia’s overt involvement in the Estorian Civil War, and the treaty was signed just before the Pridnestrovian Ground Forces could conduct a proper siege of the Estorvipan capital city.

Two years after the Pridnestrovian “intervention” in Estorvipa, the scars of the invasion were still visible in the Vipan capital city even after the Imperium had delivered substantial monetary aid to the rump Estorvipan People’s Republic and its leader, the ruthless and dictatorial Vissarion Zhivkov. Zhivkov had originally begun the Civil War as the one whom the Pridnestrovians wanted to keep in power against the northern anarchists and all of the different factions that had popped up during the war, but for some reason or another, Zhivkov was convinced to side with the Imperium, the very country that had destabilized Estorvipa in the first place, during the course of the Pridnestrovian invasion. It was highly probable that the Imperium offered to allow Zhivkov to remain in power over his little corner of Estorvipa while at the same time claiming that Pridnestrovia had every plan of overthrowing him and installing their own selected leader in his place. Pridnestrovia had no such plans before Zhivkov’s betrayal, but once he had put himself in the Imperium’s pocket, the Pridnestrovians were left with no other choice. They established the Federation of Estorvipa and the Republic of Estorpiva in response to the Imperium taking away their allies and forming the so-called Inselberg Pact, an act which seemingly proved the Imperium right about their intentions for Estorvipa regardless. Thus Vissarion Zhivkov remained in control of what little remained of the Estorvipan People’s Republic after the Treaty of Kotelnirovo practically carved up the entire country between the member states of the Inselberg Pact excluding the Imperium itself.

For two years after the signing of the Treaty of Kotelnirovo, Vissarion Zhivkov slowly started dropping any pretense that he was still the leader of a nominally socialist state in the form of the Estorvipan People’s Republic. The fact that he was now allied to the Imperium, a staunchly anti-leftist nation that sought to eradicate any and all forms of leftist and socialist thought within its territories and sphere of influence, may or may not have had something to do with it. In any case, much of the aid that the Imperium had funneled into the Estorvipan People’s Republic had gone straight into Zhivkov’s coffers, and little was left over for the repair and rebuilding of Rybolovlev and the rest of the remaining territory of the Estorvipan People’s Republic. Meanwhile, Zhivkov had used the money that he had taken from the Imperium to give himself an even more luxurious life to the point that comparisons between him and the Emperor of the Imperium were now no longer hyperbolic at all. For two years after the signing of the Treaty of Kotelnirovo, Vissarion Zhivkov had become the autocrat of his own little slice of Estorian lands.

But with the return of both the Federation of Estorvipa and the Republic of Estorpiva to Estorian lands came a direct threat to Zhivkov’s power base. Both the Federation and the Republic hadn’t yet declared war on the Estorvipan People’s Republic, but everyone from both sides of the conflict knew that it was only a matter of time before the inevitable declaration from the Pridnestrovian-backed states came, and war would once again descend on the unfortunate and hapless people of the Estorvipan PR. However, despite all this, Vissarion Zhivkov remained silent about the whole matter. Whether it was by choice or because his advisors were not telling him anything at all for fear of being executed for ruining the dictator’s image of a peaceful Estorvipa, nobody really knew, but people wouldn’t put such things past the Vipan leader. But everyone also knew that the illusion was due to be shattered sooner rather than later, especially given the speed with which the Federal Defense Forces was liberating settlements in the Pivan heartlands on their way to both Feuerstadt and Durdenville.

An intelligence officer of the Estorvipan People’s Army made his way through the halls of the Presidential Palace in Rybolovlev, official residence of the head of state and government of the Estorvipan People’s Republic. The officer was clutching a hastily assembled dossier in his right hand, with his left hand swinging wildly as he ran around the palace looking for the leader of the EPR. As it was past midnight, the officer first looked for Vissarion Zhivkov in his bedroom, but Zhivkov wasn’t there, so he went to the other place where the president could likely be. The intelligence officer went for Zhivkov’s office, and when he noticed that the door was unlocked, the officer knew that he had found his man. The officer knocked on the door and said, “Comrade Zhivkov, I have important news for you!” The officer didn’t really hear a command for him to come in, but at the same time, he didn’t hear Zhivkov tell him to go away, so the officer took a chance and opened the door to the presidential office.

Vissarion Zhivkov was standing behind his desk half-naked. A woman who was part of Zhivkov’s personal bodyguard of female soldiers was bent over the desk, and the look on her face suggested that this was much, much more than she had bargained for. Zhivkov looked like he was very busy at the moment, but as soon as the intelligence officer entered the office, Zhivkov drew his Stechkin pistol and pointed it at the man. “Didn’t I tell you that I was not to be interrupted tonight?!” Zhivkov roared.

The intelligence officer instinctively put up the dossier in front of his face, as if it was going to give him any protection against Zhivkov’s gun. “I’m sorry, Comrade Zhivkov!” he stammered. “I’m sorry for interrupting you tonight, sir! But it’s… it’s really important, sir.”

“Important enough for you to knock on my office in the middle of the night?” Zhivkov snorted.

“Yes, sir,” the officer nodded hesitantly. “I believe that it is.”

Zhivkov thought about it for a moment, and then he put down his pistol and dismissed the female bodyguard, who ran out of the office clutching her clothes to her body to protect what little dignity she had left. “You had better be right about this, or else I will personally execute you myself,” Zhivkov told the intelligence officer as he zipped up his trousers and followed the other man out of the office.

“I assure you, Comrade Zhivkov, it is important,” the officer nodded. The two of them then walked across the Presidential Palace towards one of three bunkers built underneath the complex. These bunkers were reported to be capable of withstanding even a direct nuclear explosion on top of it, but thankfully for the citizens of Rybolovlev, this particular feature of the Presidential Palace had not yet had any need to be tested so far. There were fears that Pridnestrovia might resort to such a desperate move in the waning days of their intervention during the Estorian Civil War, but the presence of Pridnestrovian soldiers surrounding the city, as well as the fact that Pridnestrovian commanders had now shown themselves to be less ruthless and heartless about their troops, soon put an end to such dark rumors. Nevertheless, the bunkers were always manned and ready in case the EPR’s former ally finally decided to erase the Vipans from the face of the earth.

Zhivkov saluted the two guards standing on each side of the entrance to the bunker while the intelligence officer typed in the security code to open the doors. Once the door swung open, the two of them went inside the bunker, where another man was waiting for them. It was perhaps the man whom Vissarion Zhivkov wanted to see the least, especially tonight. “What the hell are you doing in my bunker, Potter?” Zhivkov asked angrily.

“And a pleasant evening to you as well, Vissarion,” sneered Dominik Potter as he turned to face Zhivkov. Dominik Potter, a small but ruggedly built man with the face to match the physique, was the leader of the Blue Skulls, the notorious anarcho-capitalist faction whose armed wing was responsible for most of the atrocities committed by the north during the Estorian Civil War. After the signing of the Treaty of Kotelnirovo, Anouschka Belicic, leader of the Estorvipan Commune, gave Potter and his Blue Skulls free reign over the entirety of Estoria, and the Skulls had practically become a paramilitary organization and the people responsible for making sure everyone else in Estoria was toeing the line set out by the Inselberg Pact. Vipan by birth but Imperium by choice, Potter had also been trained by the Imperial Intelligence Service for the specific task of leading such a paramilitary force to “maintain peace and order” in territories affiliated with the Imperium, with the task of maintaining peace and order essentially meaning that the Blue Skulls continually harassed the locals by demanding protection money and rounding up anyone and everyone whom they believed to hold views that were ever so slightly just to the left of center. Most Vipans and Pivans in the Inselberg Pact states lived in constant fear of the Blue Skulls, afraid that they were going to be rounded up next as soon as they forgot to thank the Imperium and the Emperor for their “independence.”

Vissarion Zhivkov had never really liked Dominik Potter, and the feeling was mutual. Their “partnership,” if it could even be called that, was one that only resulted because Zhivkov chose to throw in his lot with the Inselberg Pact during the Pridnestrovian intervention. After all, it was Potter’s Blue Skulls who were responsible for most of the fighting up north during the first stages of the Estorian Civil War as well as the massacres of surrendering Estorvipan People’s Army soldiers and entire villages who refused to fall in line with the north. Zhivkov had offered a substantial reward for the capture or killing of Potter during the Civil War, and having to rescind that reward after joining the Inselberg Pact had been hard for the leader of the Estorvipan Peoples’ Republic to stomach. After all, how was his people supposed to stomach the fact that he was now supposed to cooperate with the man who was responsible for the deaths of many Vipan soldiers during the Civil War, most of whom were just conscripts who had no idea at all what they were getting into up north? And to top it all off, Potter wasted no time in rubbing all of these on Zhivkov’s face any chance that he could get. However, tonight seemed to be different for both men. Despite the earlier barb from Potter upon Zhivkov’s entry into the bunker, the Imperial-trained militia leader immediately turned serious once again.

“All right, Potter, what is it that you want from me now?” Zhivkov asked as he sat down at the head of the briefing table. “That’s the only reason why you would ask to see me in the middle of the night, right? You want more trucks, tanks or planes for your men? What?”

“I’m afraid it’s not going to be that simple, Vissarion,” Potter shook his head as he sat down to Zhivkov’s right side. “The situation in Estorpiva has gone from bad to worse. Bentakeb has finally fallen to the invaders after a 29-day siege. My men and our Pivan allies—those of them that hadn’t immediately thrown down their arms and joined the invaders anyway—held out for as long as they could, but the invaders were simply too strong for us this time around. However, while we may have lost the battle for Bentakeb, we still have a chance to win the war itself. As we speak, the invaders are going full steam ahead towards the city of Urodorasul, a place which my men have already fortified in preparation for this offensive. But I’m sure they’re not going to focus solely on Urodorasul in the next few weeks. Beyond Urodorasul are both Feuerstadt and Durdenville, and given the history of those two towns in the context of the Civil War, I’m sure that the invaders would want those places under their control as soon as possible. But why should we wait for them to get that far into Pivan territory, Vissarion? Why should we wait for them to get that far when we can hit them when they least expect it tonight?”

“What the fuck are you talking about now, Potter?” Zhivkov asked in an exasperated tone.

“I’m talking about a counterattack, Vissarion,” Potter replied. “Strike when the invaders least expect it. It’s pretty clear and obvious now that these so-called ‘Federals’ are working their way through our Inselberg Pact allies one by one in their quest to bring goddamn socialism back to this place. Estorpiva was the weakest link among all of us so it’s no wonder that they went after them first. And once they’re done with the Pivans, you know who’s going to be their next target? You. But why should you wait for them to declare war on you when you can attack them while they’re still busy with the Pivans? In fact, why even wait for the Pivans to throw the invaders back to the sea when you can do it yourself? Also, this would be the perfect opportunity for you to expand the People’s Republic back into its rightful territory! Giving the Pivans their own land through the Treaty of Kotelnirovo was clearly a mistake on the part of the Inselberg Pact. It was clear to everyone that these Pivans are too cowardly to hold their own against any sort of threat. They’re more than willing to switch sides whenever it looks like that side is more likely to win a fight rather than stick to their actual allies. But us Vipans? We’re simply built different, Vissarion,” Potter said with a cheeky smile.

“Are you serious right now, Potter?” Zhivkov asked skeptically. “You want me to declare war on the invaders so I can take over what little remains of Estorpiva’s territory?”

“Of course you don’t have to do it, Vissarion,” Potter said, raising his hands to his chest. “I am just, as they say, making suggestions here.”

Zhivkov sat up from his chair and leaned across the table towards Potter. “You are a goddamn rat bastard, Potter,” he said through gritted teeth. “I hope you know that.”

“Sure, sure, Vissarion, whatever you say,” Potter said dismissively. “So what are you going to do about the situation?”

“You’ll find out my answer in the morning,” Zhivkov muttered angrily as he stood up. “The whole world will find out my answer in the morning!”

    ABANHFLEFT 1 - 4 ESTORVIPA AND ESTORPIVA  
  FAHRNI (53')       ROBERTO (18')
                     PRASUTAGUSIC (35')
                     RAZINSKIJ (58')
                     USHKEVICH (69')

  ESTORVIPA AND ESTORPIVA 1 - 1 PATRIOTLANDIA   
       PRASUTAGUSIC (20')       DESRIVES (67')

by **Mertagne** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 12:45 pm

TWO PINE PRESS
presents...

THE MERTAGNIAN CLASSICS COLLECTION
#2
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The Reach of the Endless
by Andras Stocker

In this classic science fiction novel, Stocker weaves in a profound philosophical message into his science fiction book The Reach of the Endless. The book examines exactly what it means to be human, and determines that a truly human quality is in fact hardship - something which is no stranger to the Mertagnian people of the time during the Insulation.

Plot Summary:

Claiming to be set in the far-flung future of humanity, the world, now living in a unified government, discovers the existence of an intergalactic community known as the Endless, fantastic beings who have learned how to merge their minds into a shared consciousness and have colonised much of the galaxy. Seeking to understand the experiences of all sentient life, the Endless invite humanity to ‘ascend’ and join them, ensuring that they will never want to for anything as resources will be provided to them to thrive.
Given as an individual choice, humanity begins to accept the call of the Endless and unifies with the shared consciousness, which they share in dreams before learning to control their bodies even while in the shared state. However, it is revealed that the process truly lays bare all the secrets of those that join, and many minds feel they’ve made a terrible mistake before their fear is lost in the deep pools of emotion that the Endless have constructed, assimilating themselves into the shared consciousness.

However, many groups of humans refuse to be claimed by the reach of the Endless, and instead band together to fight against them. The presence of a shared consciousness draws the attention of an eldritch force that exists outside of space and time, who wishes to feast on the collective mind created by the Endless. One particular group of humans, known as the Unbowed, come to prominence in what is hinted to be modern day Mertagne, and begin to listen to the messages that are broadcast by the eldritch force and attempt to help it destroy the Endless.

The journey to fight against the Endless sees the Unbowed steal an interstellar ship and fly across the cosmos, deep into the core worlds of the Empire of the Endless, before unleashing the eldritch force directly against the original bodies of the shared consciousness, who are sequestered deep in a monastery on an alien world.

The mission is a success, but comes at a price. In order to truly succeed against the Endless, the societies of each of the planets must regress back to the stone age, so that the mind activity perpetuated by society cannot be broadcast far enough for beings like this to emerge again. As the seeking out of others and the forming of social groups is an evolutionary trait, it is only a matter of time before another being evolves this ability, and so to buy time, the progress of society is halted for the cause of allowing individuality.

Many members of the Unbowed do not survive the journey home, as their propulsion system is damaged during the fight against the Endless. However, few survive and become known as sages in a post-apocalyptic society. In the final twist of the novel, it is revealed that these events did not occur in the future, but instead happened in humanity’s distant past, with our world forming after the success of the Unbowed.

About the Author:

Andras Stocker was born in Bretsaar shortly after the Corvidae War, and worked in the arts in the growing city until the Insulation made him change careers and work as a taxi driver. Stocker wrote The Reach of the Endless at the age of 24, and while it never received much commercial success before the Insulation, during the period it gained a cult status and was shared widely among Mertagne’s ‘Paper City’ district in Bretsaar and beyond. Stocker never received any royalties for his work, but a charitable foundation was set up in his name by Two Pine Press who received the rights to the book shortly after the Insulation, and all royalty payments fund the foundation which works on eliminating Alzheimer's disease, which Stocker struggled with in the latter stages of his life.

Check out the entire Mertagnian Classics Colleciton from Two Pine Press:
Past The Point of Frozen by Victoria Emmerson
The Reach of the Endless by Andras Stocker
Verse Under The Lime Tree by Luke Latimer
The Cravannien Chronicles by Prince Arval of Wesaxe
The Old Ones & Other Short Stories by Alisdair Stannard
From Seed to Stead: The Principles of Increasing Agricultural Yield in Small-Holdings by Abigaile Farrer
The Krytenian Brooch by Marcoul Liadec
Professional Comedy: A Compilation of Popular Plays by The Baudelaire Public Players
In The Shadow of Lion’s Mountain by Joksata

by **Mytanija** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 2:00 pm

MYTANIJA 3-0 POAFMERSIA

MYT: Skara 36’, Ovsyannikov 56’, Mbala-Ekakia 80’

MYT: 1. Besak; 2. A. Milosevic, 3. Savicevic (c), 4. Mbala-Ekakia, 5. P. Odonelec; 6. Papez; 8. Ovsyannikov (sub. Atsev 70’), 10. Kuhar-Arh (sub. Shishkin 82’); 7. Tejic (sub. Vujanovic 70’), 9. Skara (sub. Prokopljevic 82’), 11. Hranilovic (sub. Bajic 70’)

WEST BARACK AND EAST OBAMA 0-0 MYTANIJA

MYT: 1. Besak; 2. A. Milosevic, 3. Savicevic (c), 4. Mbala-Ekakia, 5. P. Odonelec; 6. Papez (sub. Shishkin 71’); 8. Ovsyannikov (sub. Atsev 60’), 10. Kuhar-Arh; 7. Tejic (sub. Vujanovic 60’), 9. Skara (sub. Ocokoljic 60’), 11. Hranilovic (sub. Bajic 73’)

MYTANAR POLITICS AND FOOTBALL

Often there is a shout of ‘keep politics out of sport’ whenever a political point – regularly something the complainant disagrees with – is made within the sporting arena. It is argued that sport isn’t a fitting place to discuss politics, some say that sport should be an escape from the events of day-to-day life and that involving politics somehow desecrates the supposed sacred status of sport. Unfortunately for those people sport is often inherently political, the very notion of nation-states being represented by eleven players in matches against one another demonstrates this. The political affects football at all levels, with decisions made in legislatures across the multiverse having both major and minor ramifications for the sport. This blog is going to look at how Ana Mecava-Catic’s time as Premier has affected Mytanar football as she looks for a third term in the top political position in Mytanija.

Mecava-Catic became Premier in the aftermath of the Akademija scandal, something which required a public inquiry by Bruno Petric’s provisional government. This scandal saw government figures profit directly from the sale of the publicly owned facilities used by the football department of the Akademija sports club. The football department was also sold, separated from the club’s basketball, handball, ice hockey and volleyball departments. The process which this was done by was subsequently found to be illegal, those involved were arrested, fined and in a couple of cases even spent time behind bars. The sale of the facilities also allowed private individuals to purchase these facilities below market value, something which was found to be corrupt by the courts once a decision was made. This background made things quite simple for Mecava-Catic, as long as she was able to protect the sport and ensure that the corruption which had occurred under the provisional government didn’t happen again then it would be a vast improvement. In a country recovering from civil war, with some very strong organised crime groups that might be easier said than done.

Jedinstvo came into power as part of a coalition government with Ekologija, a party with very little interest in football unless it is to tell the FSM that they should force clubs to find environmentally friendly ways of travelling to matches. A noble goal, but not one which centres football very often. Jedinstvo, a left-populist party, have a lot more interest in Mytanija’s most popular sport. The people love it and Jedinstvo wanted to appeal to the Mytanar public. An ambition to host competitions, both to demonstrate that Mytanija was a country recovering from its war-torn past and to bring some much-needed money and investment into the country, was on the menu as soon as Mecava-Catic became Premier. The desire was to be ready to host Copa Rushmori 38 and the government made it known that public money would be available for stadium renovations and even expansions in specific cases.

Psenicova, CDSA’s historic stadium, was perhaps the most obvious beneficiary. A large expansion to 43,000, some standing areas turned into seating areas and others converted into rail-seating and the installation of a more modern sprinkler and undersoil heating system. It brought Psenicova into the modern age, with the ground being near enough unchanged since it was first built apart from a few cosmetic alterations. FK Magevskaya – the famous all-sports club’s footballing department – had their Utcastadion completely rebuilt, and they went from a club with a decrepit hovel of a stadium to one with one of the most impressive modern grounds within a couple of years. Stadion Cassia was a completely new build for the tournament, Tekstil Ibon’s Gradski Stadion was expanded and Pamuk Trunca’s Ribar got the full treatment with both an expansion and renovation.

Several other grounds got more minor works to prepare for the tournament, including the national athletics stadium Stadion Yolanda Savic, one which is also used for football purposes. This took a lot of public funding, with more provided in the form of loans to other clubs, for example FK Arsika to build Novi Zavej Park. Sacha Dobruzhanski may be one of the richest men in the country but even he was happy to take on a low interest government loan to get their ground built anew. Then there were some which weren’t in contention for hosting the tournament, like Nyva Zvornik’s Stadion Sime Pandev. Mecava-Catic was prepared to sign-off on all of this, the FSM approved, football clubs approved and all but the most stubborn fans approved. The type who would never want football to change were perhaps the only ones who didn’t get onboard. The government delivered on their word with the investment, and it was very popular with all stakeholders. And it won the country the hosting rights for Copa Rushmori 38.

The next challenge was for the country to host the tournament without a hitch. A challenge given where Mytanija had come from, with ethnic tension rife and organised crime having its tentacles in almost every area of society. Jedinstvo were not a party who stood on a platform of investing in security – either domestic or international – indeed they said that they would look at reforming the Policija before they got into power. Hosting a tournament as high profile as the Copa Rushmori necessitated something of a rethink, with money put towards training more personnel, strengthening their resources and installing CCTV around host stadiums. This may not have been popular with civil rights and privacy advocates, but amongst those prepared to engage in realpolitik it was regarded as a necessary step to host the tournament which would announce Mytanija as a safe country once again and potentially encourage future investment which would strengthen the economy.

Thankfully for Mecava-Catic and company the investment paid off, the tournament was brilliantly hosted with no issues. Hooliganism was kept under a lid, fans had a safe and pleasant experience and perhaps the only fly in the ointment was that old rivals Sargossa won the tournament on Mytanar soil. Mecava-Catic was congratulated specifically for the input she had on the tournament, the FSM crediting her for her party’s commitment to investing in the game and this may well have played a part in her government gaining an increased majority in the next election. It wasn’t something which was directly polled but given the fact that it was a major highlight of the four years between elections, something which showed Mytanija in a great light to the region and secured investment would have been difficult to miss. Voters noticed.

Mecava-Catic’s government would go on to bid for a second Copa Rushmori when the 42nd edition of the tournament came around, but in the meantime, they looked to crackdown on the racism and ethnic discrimination propagated by some of the country’s most notorious ultras groups. The newly well-funded Policija investigated some of Mytanija’s biggest clubs main ultras groups, including Energija-Nuklearna’s Grolija, 1923 Esca’s Odeljak 1-11, along with groups from clubs like Lok. Cassia, Rudar Uchenik and FK Magevskaya. Grolija and Odeljak 1-11 are known as two of the most virulently racist groups in club football, with views which would make the toes of some of the most horrific right-wing politicians curl.

The FSM and Policija worked together with the clubs to identify ringleaders responsible for dissemination of material promoting racist and ethnonationalist views. There were sector closures for chanting of a racist or ethnonationalist nature and even fines for the clubs if this continued. It hasn’t completely eradicated it from the game, with various groups still involved in racial and ethnic discrimination on the terraces (particularly against clubs with overtly left-wing ultras, or in matches against Thessian or Rauchik sides), but it has definitely resulted in events of this nature decreasing – some academics quoting a figure of around 75% in terms of the scale of the reduction. This has been well received among young football fans, those who want to grow up in a Mytanija free from the ethnonationalism of the past and it is regarded as another major win for Mecava-Catic.

If Copa Rushmori 38 was the signal that Mytanija was back and beginning to blossom, Copa Rushmori 42 was the one to show that the country was truly thriving. The government made the slightly controversial choice to use the exact same stadiums as in the 38th edition of the tournament, although they did once again mark the festival of Rushmori football by investing in stadium redevelopment all over the country. Once again, the tournament was a success, Tikariot able to secure a first ever triumph and Mecava-Catic’s government able to secure new foreign investment from Eura, Nephara and others around the competition. A lot of positivity gained with an election fast homing into view, the result of which we won’t know for a few months yet, but if you asked those involved in the administration of football in Mytanija what they hoped would happen you could imagine that they would at least be content with four more years for Ana Mecava-Catic.

by **Juvencus** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 2:02 pm

The Languages of Juvencus and the Juven(Part 4)

The fragmentation in languages existed in the states pre-dating Juvencus and as such being part of a multilingual society is nothing new for the Juven people, if anything it is a normal fact of life, which is something that can surprise a lot of Juven when entering different countries, especially romance-speaking ones.

While more RLStates terms have been used in the presentation of these languages or dialects, the people in Juvencus mention them all in all sorts of names. But the most major of those is the Juven Language, which could be better presented as the family name of a language continuum that stretches all across Juvencus and beyond all the way down to south Oscioru. It is creatively called.. the Juvencano Continuum.

The Qurijan Language and the Córdoba dialect: This is the case of a language that entered the nation later on and with it a distinct dialect seems to have gotten developed. The Qurijan language's Córdoba dialect is a distinct case. Its closest RLstates equivalent is Arabic.

The Qurijan language enterted Juvencus at some point during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, not long after Al Qurija was discovered by Pomenienze and Scudelliano settlers. While Qurijan settlers deemed Pomena and Scudelli beneficial spots, they longed for home and were eventually sent to the city of Córdoba and to a lesser extent in Cuori and their surrounding areas where they mixed with the locals and their distinct dialect, filled with a lot of Sudjuven loanwords was born.

The Córdoba dialect was adversely-affected by the Pomenienze only language measures in the initial stages of the unified Juven state, which led to many Qurijans emigrating to Al Qurija and the language initially dying out. While the measures loosened up, this trend was reduced drastically.

The Juven government in conjunction to the Qurijan government are putting their best combined efforts towards the promotion and maintenance of the Córdoba dialect. That means there's many educational institutions as well as adequate media and signs in Qurijan.

The Ampelonian Language: Yet another proto-language that pre-dates Pomen and has highly influenced the creation of its alphabet at some point in history. Ampelonian is a language spoken by a Juven group known as the Ampelonii, inhabitants of the Ampelone subregion of Scudelli. The closest RLstates equivalent is Greek.

The Ampelonian language is named after the native word for vineyard. It is said to have the best-kept records of any pre-Pomen language in Juvencus, highly regarded as some of the oldest, if not the oldest records. It is one of the languages that have had little changes over time, due to how highly developed and ahead of its time was in regards to descriptions and explanations as a language. However, it also highly influenced by Juven dialects such as the Scudellois(mainly) and Santmat(to a smaller degree).

Ampelone was and still is one of the most important wine-making regions since antiquity and as such, the Ampelonian language's survival and maintenance was a smooth sail due to its status as an important and much-necessary wine-making region. Although there were several hiccups, of course.

Speakers of the Ampelonian language have the necessary education and media for the language to survive and even thrive and it is one of the languages experiencing the highest surge in fluent L1 and L2 speakers. While many of its speakers also speak Scudellois, due to its proximity to Scudelli(and Scudelli being part of the greater Ampelone region), this has no effect on the language's advancement or development.

The Pravoslav Language: A language thought to have been pre-developed by non-Juven groups that settled in modern-day Juvencus that eventually got absorbed and assimilated into Juven society, yet maintained the language,known as Pravojuven. The closest RLstates equivalent in Serbian.

As previously stated, the Pravoslav language is thought to have been developed by the Pravojuven's ancestor groups that settled the south and southwest area of Juvencus. After absorption, the group got Juvenised and claimed the title of Pravojuven, a mixture of the word of the people's word for Orthodoxy(in Christianity, their main religion as being one of the founding groups of the Juven Orthodox Church, the others being the Ampelonii and Illirëshe) and Juven. This is to be noted as a newer name for the group as in earlier days they were known as Pravopomen. Their language has been mainly affected by the Poi and Sudjuven dialects and has many loanwords to and from Ampelonian and Illirështja.

Since the Pravojuven had the misfortune of being outnumbered and spread across a larger region, the maintenance of their language was a difficult task in the days when other languages were outlawed, however due to their tenacity and stubborness have managed to maintain both their language and many of their older records.

In modern-day the Pravoslav language has several educational facilities and is recognised as a regional language. With a lot of media added to the mix, the language's development and maintenance is under no harm.

by **Naixi** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 2:36 pm

First Precinct Police Headquarters, Qiawutian

"I didn't enroll in the Academy to stamp out small-time prostitution rings, Captain! I didn't want to become a detective because I love kicking in the doors of trap houses in the Seaport District!"

"Let me guess," Captain Hui answered sarcastically, "you enrolled to make a difference, to help your community, to strike a blow for eq-"

"Yes, those are the reasons, and I don't care if you think it makes me naive! Don't you dare minimize them! When the cops shot that unarmed Roki boy a few years back, I knew this was the only way to make a real change! What would you rather someone like me have done? Turn a truck on its side and light it on fire like the Roki activists did? Spraypaint the words to a Baomao supporters' song on a bridge? Write some stupid tract about police abolition and post it online like all my out-of-touch, moron friends did? Hey, since all cops are bastards, here's an idea: why don't I just shoot a cop? Tit for tat?"

Both the captain and the sergeant were quiet. Ohimi heard herself breathing angrily through her nose.

"I'm a reformer, not a revolutionary. And yes, I'm proud to say it. I'm proud to be a good cop."

"You are a good cop, Ohimi," answered the captain. "And no, I am not minimizing your reasons. They're different from mine, there's no god damn doubt about that, but I'm... I'm not minimizing them. I know that what happened to that boy was... whatever. Wrong. It was wrong. But Sergeant Mi and I? We're Naixese. We're oppressed too. And that's not all. You've gotta remember how these things work. How seniority works," he said, glancing at Sergeant Mi. "You graduated from the Academy two months ago. You've got spirit and guts, and, yes, you are a good cop. A fabulous cop, actually. But you still gotta put in the hard yards. You think the sergeant and I weren't shoveling shit when we were green?"

Ohimi sighed, sitting back in her chair and falling into a slouch. The window in the captain's office was open, and she could feel the warm summer breeze pushing through. Here in Qiawutian, summers always brought with them the faint scent of oven-baked fish, as food trucks would set themselves up along the dusty sidewalks of the old Industrial Valley neighborhood, where they found themselves. The tan and green silhouettes of the Shoreline Hills were just visible above the roof of the brick building across the street. Beyond those hills, the sea. If you followed the Shoreline Hills northwest up the coastline, you'd run straight into the accursed Seaport District - Ohimi's destination, apparently.

Her claim, that she was in this field for the right reasons, was made to the captain seriously. She was a member of the Rokikoliji tribe, or Roki in Naixese shorthand, an indigenous group whose ancestral homelands were simply appropriated by the Golden People when they realized there were metals that could be mined in the area now known as Naixi. (That, of course, is when they started shipping in the indentured laborers.) Mostly, Ohimi's people had died off during epidemics, or from famine, but over the centuries some had struggled on, and now the Rokikoliji were a tiny minority population who lived in the poor, rural parts of the nation. Violence towards and amongst Rokis was not at all uncommon, and calls for racial justice for the indigenous community had begun to echo since Naixese independence.

And that's why she'd joined the Police Academy, leaving her family behind in a squalid little town in the countryside. She was trying to make things right by being an example for her people to follow. She had known from the beginning that it would be a very tough job, but she'd thought it would be at least... worthwhile. Instead she'd heard from Sergeant Mi that Ohimi and her fellow academy graduate Hi Yuan were getting assigned to this absurd waste of time half a city away. The sergeant hadn't minced words: "all you're doing is strolling in there and arresting anyone who's a prostitute."

"Could I just... Could I be given a different partner on the case, at least?"

Mi rolled his eyes and craned his neck back towards the door of the captain's office.

"What's wrong with Hi Yuan? He's your friend, you graduated from the academy with him." The exasperated captain looked genuinely baffled.

"He is my friend, it's just..."

"Is it, like, the organized crime thing?"

"Huh?"

"Any time I talk to the kid he never shuts up about how we need to stamp out all the organized crime in the city."

"Oh. No, it's not that. He does talk about it all the time. He has since we were in the Academy. But that's not-"

"Sergeant, is there a problem?" The Captain interrupted her, staring at the distracted Sergeant Mi. "Sergeant!"

"What? Yeah, oh, hey."

"What's going on, you called this meeting and now you've got your head stuck halfway out the door."

"I didn't call this meeting! She asked to speak with you because she was so pissed about the Seaport District assignment. I'm just the messenger, Captain."

"You don't have anything to add? You don't... honestly, what the hell are you looking at?"

Ohimi spoke up. "The game's on, Captain. Naixi versus Congolese Republic. All the other detectives are watching it out there."

"It's one-all, Captain," Mi explained. "And we've gotta win to have any chance of qualifying." He shoved his head back out the office door again. "What's going on? What's happened since Fen scored?"

"Not much," someone in the distance shouted back. "One of their guys just got carded and we have a free kick from about 40 yards out."

"Have Fen take it! If he's having to come on since Xun is injured anyway, let's use him! They gotta push Geng up to get his head on i-"

"Sergeant!" The captain shouted irritably as he slammed his office door shut, nearly decapitating the sergeant. He'd become so annoyed by the distraction that he'd stood up from his paper-covered desk to walk over to the door and deal with the problem. "Just pay attention for once in your god damn life."

Sullen, Sergeant Mi slumped back in his seat, just like Ohimi.

"Captain," she spoke up, "I just don't know why this is a priority. I mean, our budgets have been slashed. Half the people I was in the Academy with dropped out before graduating because there's more money in being a prison guard. We're underwater. There's plenty of small-time criminals to go round up, but there are a fair number of big-time ones too! And we can only go after so many! Why am I getting assigned to this?"

Captain Hui looked very focused. "You didn't answer my question. What's wrong with Hi Yuan?"

"You didn't answer mine! Why this? Is it because I'm a Roki? Is that it?"

"Ohimi, Ohimi. I'm the Captain. My question gets answered first."

She glared at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Sergeant again craning his head back, subtly trying to hear the audio of the game through the office wall.

"He's just kind of weird. He makes me uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable? Like, he sexually harasses you?"

"No..." She had to think about it, actually. "Well, maybe, kinda. He just, smells weird and makes too much eye contact."

"He smells wei-"

"Whatever, never mind. He's fine. It's fine. I'd rather know the truth about why I'm getting assigned this than have a new partner. Why, Captain? Just be honest with m-"

A huge cheer erupted from outside the office, cutting Ohimi off. Practically tripping over himself, the sergeant hurled himself towards the door, flinging it open so hard that it bashed into the captain's office wall as he ran out to see what event in the Naixi game he had missed.

Captain Hui shook his head. "Unbelievable."

A moment passed. Ohimi could hear the chants of "ole, ole, ole, ole, Hsieh, Hsieh," from out in the main room of headquarters.

"Captain, just tell me the truth."

"The truth," Captain Hui said with annoyance as he forcefully flung a manila folder down on his desk, "is that your race has nothing to do with it. Your gender, I'm afraid to say, does! We got an entire station of fellas, here, Ohimi. You know it. You can see you're in the middle of a boy's club. We have 'dudes rock energy,' one of the other sergeants once told me. And this case," he said, gesturing towards the manila folder, "requires somebody who can gain the trust of these escorts. This isn't just about showing up and arresting everyone, Ohimi. We want to know who's making the money, here. So please, please, please just shut up and take the assignment, will you?

"One woman in an Academy class of 41! One! So what the fuck else am I supposed to do? I'll try to get you to Homicides as soon as I can, all right? Or whatever division it is that you want! Just take the god damn case!"

Ohimi sat up in her chair. "Internal Affairs."

"What?"

"It's Internal Affairs I'm after."

Captain Hui looked very hard and long at her. "IA it is."

Matchday 1

Naixi 3 ⇨ Cai, Pao (Tsung), Geng (Shao), Dong, Tian, Xun ⚽x1, Dai, Ti (Ling), Yuan, J.T. Jin ⚽x2, Hsieh
Illiryja 0 ⇨ Xoxha, Bes. Kadare, Beh. Kadare, Martin (Pašalić), Kle. Kadare, Kastrati (Bytyqi), Mehmedović , Kovačević, Nešust (Gjonaj), Qupi, Gujić

7' Goal ⇨ Xun (NIX)
11' Yellow Card ⇨ Qupi (ILR)
17' Yellow Card ⇨ Nešust (ILR)
20' Goal ⇨ J.T. Jin (NIX)
21' Yellow Card ⇨ Beh. Kadare (ILR)
30' Yellow Card ⇨ Martin (ILR)
33' Goal ⇨ J.T. Jin (NIX)
57' Substitution ⇨ Martin OFF Pašalić ON (ILR)
60' Yellow Card ⇨ Kovačević (ILR)
65' Substitution ⇨ Ti OFF Ling ON (NIX)
65' Substitution ⇨ Nešust OFF Gjonaj ON (ILR)
72' Yellow Card ⇨ J.T. Jin (NIX)
75' Substitution ⇨ Geng OFF Shao ON (NIX)
91' Substitution ⇨ Kastrati OFF Bytyqi ON (ILR)
95' Substitution ⇨ Pao OFF Tsung ON (NIX)

Matchday 2

CONGOlese Republic 1 ⇨ Hansman, Hossain (Rona), Ganswa, Hanswa, Gwana, Harrison (Ronga), Rongman, Thomas ⚽x1, Hernandez (Tim), Zuares, Messi
Naixi 2 ⇨ Cai, Pao, Geng, Dong, Tian, Xun ✚ (Fen ⚽x1), Dai (Yuen), Ti (T.H. Jin), Yuan, J.T. Jin, Hsieh ⚽x1

16' Yellow Card ⇨ Hansman (CNG)
18' Goal ⇨ Thomas (CNG)
24' Yellow Card ⇨ Thomas (CNG)
46' Substitution ⇨ Xun OFF Fen ON (NIX)
47' Yellow Card ⇨ Harrison (CNG)
49' Yellow Card ⇨ Geng (NIX)
56' Goal ⇨ Fen (NIX)
61' Substitution ⇨ Dai OFF Yuen ON (NIX)
64' Substitution ⇨ Ti OFF T.H. Jin ON (NIX)
70' Substitution ⇨ Harrison OFF Ronga ON (CNG)
72' Yellow Card ⇨ Rongman (CNG)
73' Goal ⇨ Hsieh (NIX)
82' Substitution ⇨ Hossain OFF Rona ON (CNG)
85' Substitution ⇨ Hernandez OFF Tim ON (CNG)

by **Squornshelan Remnant States** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 4:56 pm

Ailen Koirala to Step Down as SCFA President
Salwan Mynhier, BRANTISVOGAN

Less than a year on the heels of Anne-Sophie Groothuis's announcement of her intention to resign, Ailen Koirala, president of the Squornshelan Confederate Football association has followed suit, declaring her intention to step down as the leader of Squornshelan football, both domestic and international, following the conclusion of World Cup 93, and the impending Superleague season. First taking the helm of the SCFA immediately prior to World Cup 83, Koirala has overseen the Confederacy's journey from a historically well-regarded, but largely irrelevant international also-ran with an unimpressive domestic league to a powerhouse of both club and international football. While a set of international winners' medals continues to elude the Black-and-Reds, two Confederate clubs have claimed Challengers Cup trophies during Koirala's tenure. The national team, meanwhile, has risen from 48th in the multiverse at the time of her installation as president, to its current position just outside the top ten. Somehow, though, she's only managed to oversee fourteen domestic seasons in her supposedly 21-year tenure. Personally, I blame Juan Tzimisces. The denizens of the Blessed Realm are always mucking about with the timeline, so it's as good an explanation as any.

The SCFA Executive Board will now be called upon to consider successor candidates, and appoint one to lead us into the next, hopefully equally impressive chapter of Squornshelan footballing history. Several names are already circulating as candidates. Former Algolia and Gaelic Club manager Dolvin Antal, who was a candidate for the managerial position, is one such name. Not getting the job and then becoming the other guy's boss would be quite the power move. Ivar Saranov seems a slightly more likely candidate, and likely the one that President Koirala would choose, were the decision up to her. Having risen from his original role as Ms. Koirala's assistant, Saranov now holds the post of Executive Secretary, a position with a good deal more authority and importance than some would assume. It's a long list of names. Some joker (at least I sincerely hope they're joking) has even started an online petition calling for Sweyn Petrov to be appointed to the post. As you may recall, Petrov was Minister of Sport in Imperial Squornshelous and later Emperor just prior to reunification. Petrov has been convicted of a panoply of crimes and is currently serving multiple life sentences, making his appointment a rather extreme long shot.

AUD: 0
SRS: 1

Scoring:
SRS: Hashemi 69'

Lineup: Shimski; Nyberg, Titov, Yarlut + (Panoss 84'), Halfarian (Musta 72'); Hashemi, Zazagan; Bondarov (Bakken 90+1'), Volam (Hedberg 72'), Yonte; Ness (Harkhan 90+1')

It was everything everyone expected it to be. Ok, maybe it didn't end 4-0, and the Confederates certainly hadn't planned on losing Malai Yarlut after a totally inadequately punished tackle from Stelea sent her tumbling to the ground clutching her ankle, but there was a certain sense of inevitability surrounding this one ever since the flood of skull emojis from Audioslavian twii.tur accounts during the draw. For much of the match, the Black-and-Reds looked like a team not quite certain of what they were supposed to be doing, keeping possession more often than not, but clearly not moving quickly or decisively enough for the liking of Penrooke. To call his sideline behavior during the first half vocal would be a definite understatement. Hashemi's breakthrough was, however, the result of a rapid buildup that, rather than pulling the Bulls' defense out of shape, almost seemed to lull them to sleep, with the team settling further and further back, and looking more and more cautious to close down likely attacks. Thus, the Black-and-Reds captain walked to within a few feet of the edge of the box without being realistically challenged for as clear a scoring chance as a holding midfielder can ask for.

SRS: 3
RYF: 1

Scoring:
SRS: Damnagoras 3', Fridtjofs 7', Fridtjofs 42'
RYF: RM 50'

Lineup: Heiskanen; Nyberg (Norling 80'), Titov, Jagdish, Halfariani; Hashemi (Sevet-Ibilx 68'), Zazagan; Stern, Damnagoras (Nisarizo 80'), Ditou (Maksimov 88'); Fridtjofs (Hjort 88')

The second match of the opening international break of qualifying afforded Penrooke with an opportunity. Ryfenia are, let's face it, not the sort of team that's going to provide a realistic challenge to the Black-and-Reds 9 matches out of 10. Accordingly, Penrooke had the opportunity to make a few changes in the lineup and observe some different combinations of players, particularly in the attack. As many would have predicted, the Ryfenians were a bit out of sorts at the start, and the sure-footed combination of Damnagoras and Fridtjofs made them pay for their every miscue. Jagdish played well in place of the injured Yarlut, as did the defense as a whole, barring the first five minutes of the second half, when a highly motivated Ryfenian team pushed a single goal past the excessively nonchalant Black-and-Reds.

OOC Note: Malai Yarlut will not be called up against StrayaRoos or Valentine Z but will return to action against Astograth

Qualifying Schedule & Results:

MD01: AUD 0-1 SRS @ Arena Kirola (cap. 72,000), Cathair, AUD
MD02: SRS 3-1 RYF @ Flanoil Arena (cap. 50,350), Traal, West Flania, SRS
MD03: STR  v  SRS @ TBA
MD04: VEZ  v  SRS @ Fate Stadium (cap. 333,000), Naypyithaw, Burma, Val Z
MD05: SRS  v  AER @ The Lutenstaad (cap. 75,000), Lutenblag, Molvania, SRS
MD06: ASG  v  SRS @ TBA
MD07: SRS  v  EQS @ Olympiastad (cap. 47,550), Arkintoofle, Megabrantis, SRS
MD08: OBR  v  SRS @ TBA
MD09: SRS  v  BRP @ Pheldagriff Stadium (cap. 45,620), Yassaca, Sivolvia, SRS
MD10: MUR  v  SRS @ TBA
MD11: SRS  v  ESL @ Admiral Cherenkov Stadium (cap. 71,200), Santraginus, Isle of Squornshelous, SRS
MD12: SRS  v  AUD @ Vogsphere Arena (cap. 90,000), Vogsphere, Isle of Squornshelous, SRS
MD13: RYF  v  SRS @ TBA
MD14: SRS  v  STR @ Sunergy Field (cap. 37,550), Hunian, Algolia, SRS
MD15: SRS  v  VEZ @ Bridger Lane (cap. 72,406), Damogran, Algolia, SRS
MD16: AER  v  SRS @ Centerby Stadion (cap. 36,000), Vorácy, AER
MD17: SRS  v  ASG @ Megabrantid Financial Field (cap. 69,245), Brantisvogan, Megabrantis, SRS
MD18: EQS  v  SRS @ TBA
MD19: SRS  v  OBR @ Malgacorp Arena (cap. 29,350), Hensha, Megabrantis, SRS
MD20: BRP  v  SRS @ TBA
MD21: SRS  v  MUR @ Green Heart Center (cap. 20,760), Han Wavel, Han Dold, SRS
MD22: ESL  v  SRS @ Eshialand City Superdome (cap. 75,000), Eshialand City, ESL

by **TJUN-ia** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 5:40 pm

By Peter Davis

And so...we're back bitches! After an IAC which ended in the traditional style, the Jaguars of TJUN-ia were back in the WCQ process ready to start their new mission of trying to be competitive in the WC by its 100th edition. Two years ago we managed to pull off something magical by making it back to the big dance and escaping our group for the very first time, with Nyowani Kitara finally killing us off in a penalty shootout. One of those two architects behind that journey, David Seems, will be on paternal leave for the entire Qualifying process so no matter the end result, the team will answer only to Li Xiu Ying as they try to qualify for a 3rd WC in 4 attempts.

The scheduling has meant that both our opening games were on the road this time around, starting with a trip to a Baptism of Fire nation known as...the United Bongo States of America. Any relation to the nation of Bongo Johnson has yet to be determined but in terms of the here and now, they actually struck first in this contest thanks to a superb strike from just outside the box in the 12th minute of this game. After that, however, the UBSA were on the defensive and we certainly took advantage of the increase in possession to fully take control of proceedings like it's nobody's business. Malhrani al-Kalhrani scored before the end of the first half thanks to a superb run into the box while both Yomakaji Shimigatsu and substitute Max van Oosterend managed to get themselves onto the scoresheet before the day was done. In terms of starts, 3-1 certainly wasn't too bad at all...one down, 21 to go.

Then we made it over to Srednjaci to face #101 in what many expected to be a tough contest against one of the rising stars of the WCC. Bojan Radulović was certainly ready to tango in this game and these two attacking teams would produce a contest with many opportunities for scores, but with both GKs (Sputnik Brykilawa and Jure Iveša) certainly working for their country by any means necessary. The breakthrough would finally come in the 68th as Isidor Matković headed home a corner to the roar of the crowd and despite our best efforts, Li Xiu Ying had to accept defeat in this 2nd game. Win 1, Lost 1 - welcome back to the World Cup Qualifiers, folks!

It could've been better but it also could've been worse, so there's plenty to take from these opening salvos that can be taken into the 20 games to come. We finally get our first home game of the campaign next time as Pot 3 Savojarna comes to our National Stadium before we head back on the road to face #124 Elmyia. The grind has begun once more...and who knows where this journey shall end. GO JAGS!

MD1: @United Bongo States of America (265) W 3-1 (1st)
MD2: @Srednjaci (101) L 0-1 (5th)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD3: vs Savojarna (37) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
MD4: @Elmyia (124)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD5: vs Varavel (284) - Salam Liljamie Stadium, Al Kalifa
MD6: @Nephara (11) - The Farham Arena, Sabrefell
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD7: vs Archalit (183) - Stade de la Victoire, Roi Ville
MD8: @95X (159) - City Stadium, 95X City
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD9: vs Caribbia (222) - Estadio Universidad Carlandas, Carlandas
MD10: @Ziwana (82) - Ziwanicell National Stadium, Birnin-Likulu
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD11: vs Baggieland (71) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky
MD12: vs United Bongo States of America (265) - Tallawah Stadium, Port Town/Portuaria
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD13: vs Srednjaci (101) - Ke Kahua Pāʻani o Pua Aloalo, Kepu Manu
MD14: @Savojarna (37)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD15: vs Elmyia (124) - Zebra Stadium, Toropo/Almadinat
MD16: @Varavel (284) - Stadion Glendoorn, somewhere in Varavel
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD17: vs Nephara (11) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
MD18: @Archalit (183) - Archalit Olympic Stadium, Charkara
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD19: vs 95X (159) - Estádio do Pacífico, Rio Pacífico
MD20: @Caribbia (222)
---------------Boot It!---------------
MD21: vs Ziwana (82) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong
MD22: @Baggieland (71) - Dartmouth Hill, Hawthorn

by **Saperetia** » Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:27 pm

The start of the road
Patriotlandia 2-0 Saperetia

It is here: After Saperetia has had a semi-decent run into the Ro16 in the Baptism of Fire, many hoped that a qualification for the WC is possible. Saperetia finds itself in group 10, ranked the 2nd lowest in place 211. The first game of the group is against Patriotlandia, the country we went out to in the Ro16 in the BoF, in a 1-0 loss a.e.t. Many hoped this would be the day of revenge, as the SAP 4-3-3 lined up against the PTR 4-2-1-3:

Saperetia: GK Yakim (C), DEF Ipatiy, Celso, Diyan, Achille MID Lacy, Knobes, Vilfredo ATK Gordie, Antoon, Titus

Patriotlandia: GK Lataupe (C), DEF Vaillancourt, Bromont, Ranger, Laflèche, MID-DEF Lachapelle, Manahan, MID-ATK Desrives, ATK Langlais, L. Graham, Rodin.

Like with the match in the BoF, the more defensive Saperetia was on the defensive as the more offensive Patriotlandia was on the offensive. However, unlike in the match in the BoF, in only the 13th minute, a goal by Langlais saw the Patriots take the lead. After this goal, the Saperetian side looked a bit in disarray as in the 37th minute, Rodin managed to put another one in for the Patriots. After a quick and stern talking to by Mouthenio, the defense saw a little bit improvement as the scoreline was 2-0 after 45 minutes. An angry Mouhtneio quickly stormed off to the dressing room to prepare a team talk. This seemed to work as the defense improved a lot in the second half, not allowing any goals to be conceded. However, the attack did not improve and with no goals being scored in the 2nd half the scoreline was Patriotlandia 2-0 Saperetia.

For the next match against Valladares, the defense has to start playing like it did in the second half right from the beginning. The attack has a lot to improve, but many hope that Zachary, the offensive coach, can bring improvement in that department.

Fiirst win comes early
Valladares 0-1 Saperetia

After the loss to Patriotlandia, the team worked hard on improving tactics for the next game against Valladares. Zachary went to work with the attacked, Ignaas with the defenders and Toomas with Yakim. And after training hard, the day is now here, as the SAP 4-3-3 lines up against the AVF 3-2-2-3:

Saperetia: GK Yakim (C), DEF Ipatiy, Celso, Diyan, Achille MID Lacy, Knobes, Vilfredo ATK Gordie, Antoon, Titus

Valladares: GK Piatti DEF Núñez, Barrichelli (C), Peralta, MID-DEF Martins, Abreu, MID-ATK Thaller, Abrigo, ATK Riveros, Benítez, Ardouin.

The game started as many games do: Saperetia on the defense. And as some games do, there was no goal in the first 15 minutes, which was an improvement from last game. But then 15 minutes turned into 16. 16 into 18. 18 into 20. 20 into 25. 25 into 35. 35 into 45. And so, the referee blew the whistle as the scoreline was 0-0 at the break. Mouthenio talked to his players, praising them on the fact that they hadn't conceded 2 goals yet but critisizing them on the fact that they hadn't scored 2 goals yet. And so, the invigourated Saperetians came out, ready to try and win this game. In the second half, Saperetia was more on the attack than the first, and subsequently got more and more chanced, none of which went in until the 64th minute when a cross from Titus saw Antoon head it in to score the first goal in the match and in the tournament for the team. Satisfied with having taken the lead, the Saperetians laid back as time ticked down until the moment the referee blew the whistle to end the match at a 1-0 win for the Crimsonites.

With the next match coming up against the 91st ranked Estorvipa and Estorpiva, the squad has to improve even further if they want to have a chance at winning the match. The next match will also be the first international match played at home in Saperetia, in the Saperetian National Stadium. Many fans have already bought tickets in hopes of seeing their heroes win a fight in which they are the underdog. The home turf advantage will hopefully help.

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