World Cup 95 Roleplay Thread

[Cap Nord]

”Carstensen behind the ball… It has been a far more difficult evening than anticipated here in Carahue but if the Crossroads star can keep a cool head, the 2-4 will allow the Whalers to play their final minutes without pressure. The run-up and oh! It clips off the post! Simon Carstensen looks at it, frozen, hands in his hair! Not again!

Watch out, because the organization disappeared and Carahue… A deep pass to that big, bulky guy up front. Marzinn leaves his goalmouth to kick it away. No! He’s too late and that desperate lunge… Not enough! It’s not enough! The ball is in! Just a few seconds ago, it all seemed settled but now the Whalers could have thrown away their last chance of qualifying. With two points from their last four games, fans can scratch any aspirations to see Cap Nord play a World Cup in Esportiva soon.”

Not enough.

Not again.

From the three attempts, this had been the best effort yet the impact was more scattering than ever. The one in Filonian State had been a footnote at best: the three points were already in the bag. Putting the leather nowhere near Ásólfur in the SendBank Arena spelled a bit more disaster: a stunt against the number two of the world could have relaunched the campaign. But then this one… Simon played it over and over in his head. Inside of the foot, decent strength, goalkeeper to the wrong corner. All his experience curled up in that shot. And then the post.

It bothered him, inexplicably and far more than should after having been exposed to bottom of the barrel Capnordic media, that it had become a thing. Correction. A Thing. A big, fat media Thing. The ‘Why Did Simon Carstensen Miss Every Penalty Since The CE Final’ bold capitals Thing.

And that was bizarre. Because if you have been the best thing since pickled herring on a sandwich (seriously, give it a shot) for one of the Three Pillars, all sorts of theories have come out of the coffee-induced brain from the less talented half of our journalists. Did Carstensen ruin the Sandfjell Fotball dressing room? No. Was Carstensen the reason Adams left? No. Did Carstensen finish the career of Andreas Hom through reckless violence? N… See, it’s more complicated than that. But either way, Simon Carstensen had seen the depths of gutter journalism and its impact on the simple-minded. And he had learned from a young age to shelve it and focus on his trade.

‘Why Did Simon Carstensen Miss Every Penalty Since The CE Final’

What scared Simon was that he felt as if he knew the tip of that answer. As if he had sat next to the brainiac of the class and spotted that the reply to the puzzle for triple points was surprisingly short. But nothing more.

He had hoped that with the start of the campaign, the Writer would come back to him. After the thorough thrashing of Abanhfleft, Simon Carstensen even mused if he could reach his top level even without those moments of god-like inspiration. In a way, it did. The Whalers were, after the opening stint, struggling to find form but one player escaped the scathing ratings from the pressers: Simon got at least a six.

But missed every penalty.

As the team split up in the airport in Carahue, the vast majority traveling back home but Simon catching a red-eye to Chromatika, Erik Brymsaeter took him aside for a second. ‘Pencil’ had been with him at Sandfjell and had seen all the steps Simon took. A veteran, who felt the pressure on him to act like a vice-captain: it clashed a bit with his calm and introverted nature but Erik’s sense of responsibility made him take players aside and say stuff like.

“Don’t worry, Simon, sometimes bad luck is just that. Bad luck. We are all still behind you.”

It’s intriguing how what Simon knew was a heartfelt message could be voiced so insincere. But he decided to give Pencil the boost of confidence, as a natural leader does.

“Thanks, Erik, that means a lot. We shake it off and next week, we go again.”

Simon arrived in his condo at an ungodly timing. He normally would not have bothered anymore but was so tired, he tried to catch some sleep nonetheless. The result was a handful of hours rolling around annoyed, a fair bit of staring to the ceiling and, in between, some feverish dreaming. They were snapshots of games with Simon but when he tried to partake in the action, he felt locked up, stiffened. Everything went by him as he looked shackled. What was this game? Was he a player or was he being played? Why was he in here?

Why Are You In Here?

He had only heard the voice of the Writer once and it had been a year, but he instantly recognized it.

I am glad that you are finally asking the right questions.

[TJUN-ia]

TJUN-ia 4–3 Boring Paradise
Goals: Jackson Smith-Scott (17', 34', 66'), Jose Lozano de la Cruz (77') | BPD #11 (45+1', 50'), #8 (90+2')
Mood: A very chaotic game, stressful at times, but a win is a win especially with Zwangzug dropping points.

Josifovo 1–4 TJUN-ia
Goals: Dukagjin Bajrami (4') | Fernandino (22', 78'), Regina McDuff (42' 57')
Mood: It wasn't looking good to start, but we turned it around and then some. We end the 1st half in 3rd, 3 behind 1st and 2 behind 2nd.

And so, it was back to the grind...and a big one at that. Year 3 at NEN had a bit of a reprieve from The Book after tackling the Book of Freiden over the first 2 lessons of TJUN 101 but now, Jason McGovern and the rest of the class would have to start one of the larger books of Part 1 of The Book - The Book of Atlantis. Atlantis deals with the formation of the North Atlantic Union, the Club which formed the NAU Zone that Notts is located in, and which deals with what many call "the West" - Europe and North America. 48 Full Members, plus 26 TJUN Regions, detailed in this book - and a big one at that. This was going to take a while to get through...and it would start right now.

Chapter 1 focused on the Days preceding Founding Day and the whirlwind of events that happened after the Founding of TJUN and the first utterances of the TJUN Opening Pledge and the TJUN Pledge of Peace. The issuing of The Jaguar's UN Passport, "the document that will formally set him out from everyone else (Atl 1:10)", as well as the first ever TJUN ID Card, "detailed in the coat of arms of the United Kingdom and emblazoned with the words 'TJUN REP', what The Jagaurs will now be forever known as in U2 circles. Atl (1:11)". The rest of the chapter focuses on the "Four Nations Problem", based on concerns from the UK's devolved nations and non-English MPs about how The Jagaurs being English himself might've meant he would not fully reflect the whole United Kingdom

Those concerns would be addressed in Chapter 2, when The Jaguar went to the British House of Commons to ease their concerns. What happened next could be easily described by his speech to the House, which is posted on the wall of the Notts City Council to this day.

"Thank you, Mr Speaker. Today will go down in history as the day TJUN came to Westminster.
Today, in this house, I will explain to you my position, my role and how the unique nature of this country will be addressed.

"Firstly, Mr Speaker, my position.
'TJUN Representative' doesn't say a lot about what I actually do. Well, technically I have two.
The first is the Leader of the Organisation, which can be seen to be in a similar frame to the UN Secretary-General.
I lead the organisation I founded, which is in a similar frame to the United Nations...only instead of people becoming a nation's ambassador there are fictional characters from the Region of the Fictional World.
Like the UN, TJUN will not interfere in this House's or any government's affairs unless it is necessary. But, that will pretty much be never.
My second position is the Representative of the UK Government in TJUN. This role is like any ambassador this Government employs, only my one is more akin to the Ambassador to the UN role.
I represent my state, this state, in my community. It will not affect any matters this House gets involved in.

"Next, my role outside and inside this House and this Government.
My role outside of this House, Mr Speaker, is to be the embodiment of this great nation, to be what people think of when talking about this country (when they can't think of anything else, that is).
I will also be attributing and representing this state in sports and music. I will be there for Eurovision and for Sunderland, Auburn and the Jacksonville Jaguars, for the London Skolars and for the London Spitfire.
This will not affect anything which happens in the House at all. It is just a way of bringing people together across the world, as all TJUN Reps will do the exact same thing. We believe in equal opportunity for all in our community.
My role inside this house is to be the voice of my community in this Government. I will not vote on anything, but I will observe the doings of this House and the Other Place at different points.
You may have seen the Articles of Establishment and what they require. Don't worry, TJUN will deal with that.
People from my organisation will start creating all the necessary infrastructure required in the Articles. They currently have the Notepad and are exploring the Region of the Fictional World for the necessary materials.
I will receive the Notepad back on April 15th so that I can fix the "Four Nations Problem". My (and all the other) JagBases will be in construction while I'm completing the organisation.

"And finally, a problem that needs addressing.
Mr Speaker, several honourable members of this House and several members of the devolved Governments have raised their concerns over my nationality and how this will affect my position as representative of this state.
As you are well aware, I am English and have always been.
However, some members of this House are concerned that because I am English, I wouldn't be able to accurately represent the whole of the United Kingdom, that because I grew up in Nottingham I can not represent the views of Aberdeen, Swansea and Ballymena, that I cannot represent every part of this great nation of 66 million myself.
I understand those concerns and I will address them now.

"I have a right to be in this position. I am British by birth, British by blood. I am also English by birth and English by blood.
I know that I cannot truly feel Scottish, Welsh or Irish and I understand if you have concerns over English bias in TJUN.
However, I will not let that happen at all. In fact, I have a plan, Mr Speaker, that will solve this issue once and for all.
I can announce, from this day forward, the formation of a new type of TJUN Member State: TJUN Regions.
These Regions will have a Rep, just like any full member. They will take part in global events as well.
However, they will not compete in the TJUN Rumble League, the community's organised fighting league.
But other than that, there will be no difference. In the world of sports and music, they will be like any other member.
There will be 26 Regions, based in 6 countries in the North Atlantic Union - which consists of any country on the European Continent (excluding Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan) as well as Canada and the United States of America.
The UK will be one of these 6, and this country will have 4 regions.
I must make it clear that England is not one of those 4 because the English Government is the same as the British one.
Whenever the entity known as England takes part in an event by itself (i.e. sports), I will take charge as "England", not the United Kingdom.
This technically means I represent 2 nations: the country of the UK, and the region of England.

"The first British TJUN Region is Scotland, also known as Alba.
Scotland was the one that founded this United Kingdom all the way back in 1707 with the Acts of Union.
Ever since 1998, Scotland has had its own Parliament in Edinburgh that deals with Scottish affairs.
It had a failed independence referendum in 2014, but a pro-Scottish movement is still strong.
It competes on its own in football, rugby union and the Commonwealth Games, among others.
Scotland has its own football system that rarely crosses over with the English one. In fact, it is the other way round, as two English clubs (Berwick Rangers and Tweedmouth Rangers) play just below the SPFL.
All in all, Scotland is a distinct part of this great nation and deserves to have its own Rep.

"The second British TJUN Region is Wales, or Cymru.
Wales has been around longer than Scotland has, conquered by the English in 1284 with the Statute of Rhuddian, but only becoming equal to England in 1543 with the Laws in Wales Act.
Like Scotland, Wales gained its National Assembly in 1998 and has its own teams in various sports. The difference is that since Wales has been part of this country for so long, it is more linked to England than Scotland is.
Five teams from Wales play in the English football system (Cardiff City, Swansea City, Newport County, Wrexham and Merthyr Town), despite Wales having its own league system. Also, Wales has two Rugby League (North Wales Crusaders and West Wales Raiders) that play in the English RFL.
However, despite all of this, Wales has kept its own identity. It has its own language, Welsh, which is predominantly spoken in the West. Its anthem, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau", is in the local language.
Therefore, Wales deserves a Rep.

"The third British TJUN Region is Northern Ireland, or Norlin Airlann in Ulster Scots or Tuaisceart Éireann in Irish.
Northern Ireland is very different to the other two.
Northern Ireland is made up of 6 of the 9 counties of Ulster on the island of Ireland, as decided by the Government in the Ireland Act of 1920.
The region was enthralled in The Troubles until the Good Friday Agreement gave the Northern Irish both British and Irish citizenship, as well as their own Assembly.
It also states that if the majority of people in the province wanted to join the Republic of Ireland, both the Irish and British Governments would make it happen.
Because of this, Northern Ireland has a 3-way relationship in sports: in football and the Commonwealth Games they compete as themselves, in rugby union and cricket they compete with Ireland as an 'All-Ireland' team and in the Olympic Games they compete with the UK as 'Team GB'.
Northern Ireland deserves a Rep to maintain peace on the island of Ireland.

"The fourth and final British will be a surprise to you all: Cornwall, or Kernow. Yes, Cornwall. As in the county.
Cornwall has been a part of England since the Norman Conquests but at a cost to their language and culture.
The Cornish language was extinct but is now being brought back as a 2nd language and even as a first.
Cornwall has no representation in sports: when the time comes, it will join me in the English team.
Now you may think that having a language doesn't automatically grant Region status and you're right.
However, Cornwall (along with Ireland, Scotland and Wales) is considered to be one of the 6 Celtic Nations, so we have to respect that and grant them a Rep.

"If you are asking about the Crown Dependencies or the British Overseas Territories, those areas will be discussed after full power of TJUN is handed back to me after all UN member states are given a Rep of their own.
Mr Speaker, I don't know if any honourable members have any questions but I hope I have cleared the air on any doubts they have.
I commend this statement to the House. (Atl 2:20-80)"

That's how the journey started. But there's still a long way to go.

---

SCHEDULE (Group 4)
Revert to this post for stadium information.
MD1: vs Zwangzug (3) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City L 0-1 (6th)
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MD2: vs Eraman (58) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky W 4-0 (4th)
MD3: @Ragdollia (UR) - The Ragdollia Super Dome, ???? D 0-0 (3rd)
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MD4: vs Brannfjord (250) - Ke Kahua Pāʻani o Pua Aloalo, Kepu Manu W 3-1 (3rd)
MD5: @Eastfield Lodge (80) D 1-1 (3rd)
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MD6: vs Boring Paradise (147) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong W 4-3 (3rd)
MD7: @Josifovo (128) - Ljubomir Hrebeljanović Stadium, Bijeljica W 1-4 (3rd)
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MD8: @Zwangzug (3) - Janaki Gardens, Guariday
MD9: @Eraman (58) - Arupura Stadium, Arupura
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MD10: vs Ragdollia (UR) - Estádio do Pacífico, Rio Pacífico
MD11: @Brannfjord (250) - Blekebakken Stadion, Grimnes
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MD12: vs Eastfield Lodge (80) - Stade de la Victoire, Roi Ville
MD13: @Boring Paradise (147)
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MD14: vs Josifovo (128) - Estadio Universidad Carlandas, Carlandas

[Juvencus]

AI generated with Bing's AI system

MATCH AGAINST BEARS ARMED DEEMED BIGGEST SCANDAL THIS CYCLE


Tifosi and flags against Bears Armed were visible all across the il Scudelliano, turning it into a living hell for the sentient bears

A meetup that was destined to bring major reactions was the one between Juvencus and Bears Armed. The two had previously met in the Cup of Harmony 84 just three years ago. A meetup which saw la squadra defeat the Ursines with a 5-2 scoreline and Campana out injured. The chance for revenge was flowing in the blood of Julio Campana, while Pereyra was ready to showcase his worth yet again against a familiar foe. Madeiros' tacticalities worked, as gli attaccanti managed to get another resounding victory over the Ursines with 4-2.

The entry to this game saw the teams in entirely different runs of form from their previous games. Bears Armed had ran through Macbon, stomping them with 7 goals to 3. On the other hand, gli attaccanti had barely scraped through The Grearish Union thanks to Carlo Bevilacqua show, a speedy brace in the 88th and 91st minutes of the game to turn it around and give la squadra another vital victory, since Sargossa had managed to get the win against Delte in the same matchday.

Maintaining this neck-to-neck difference with Delte before their away matchup was important at the half-way of the qualifiers. Thankfully, the performance of la squadra seemed to be on the right path. Campana would be able to get his revenge immediately, scoring a brace by half-time, while the Bears would only be able to score once. The second half would be no different, as the Pomenienze would manifest itself with high-possession gameplay following a Bears Armed equaliser. Oliveira's masterclass would be prevalent throught the entirety of the second half, scoring one with a direct foul kick while also assisting another to Urruchi who had gone in for Campana.

Now, the victory was mostly to be expected by the Juven team, the fans and everyone else involved. However, the strides by the Juven Football Association for safer pitches have been reduced almost to rubble after the behavior of the fans throught the game. Multiple flags against bears, sentient bears specifically were raised in the game as well as a giant tifo telling the bears to "Go back to the forest they came from". While announcements echoed around the stadium for the flags to go down and the tifos to be wrapped back, nothing happened, yet the game continued.

The inability to stop this game has given the Juven Football Association some warnings from the World Cup Committee. As a former host of a major event, to have this behavior exhibited on its pitches in an official WCC-Sanctioned game is deemed inexcusable. The answer from the secretive and hooded committee was as follows.
"Knowing the events in il Scudelliano, we will chase any and all perpetrators. However, it is to be expected when two rivals meet on Juven soil that the people of Juvencus are going to be especially aggressive. We will not accept any remarks on our hosting capabilities, especially when it doesn't interfere with the quality of the tournament."

The next game is against Delte in a far-flung region somewhere. Scientists have deemed the air quality in Delte to be aging Juven people at twice the rate, as such special suits were made for the players and staff attending the game while fans are barred from going to Delte. Their stay will only last as long as the game does, before leaving immediately and disposing of the suits. With revenge in sight and the top spot of the group up for grabs, la squadra is looking for a victory, even under those harsh conditions.

[Mytanija]

NAIXI 4-3 MYTANIJA

MYT: Skara 46’, Papic-Papratovic 59’, Papez 64’

MYT: 1. Besak; 2. Jesenko (sub. Song-Mihailovic 65’), 3. Pestotnik, 4. Mbala-Ekakia (c), 5. Koshkin (sub. Anusic 72’), 6. Mytnjak; 7. Papez (sub. S. Mlinarevic 86’); 8. Ovcina (sub. Skenderovic 65’), 10. Ovsyannikov; 9. Skara (sub. Sešlar 72’), 11. Papic-Papratovic

MYTANIJA 3-0 DOD RAVA

MYT: Skenderovic 8’, Pestotnik 43’, Sešlar 67’

MYT: 1. Besak; 13. Song-Mihailovic, 3. Pestotnik, 4. Mbala-Ekakia (c) (sub. Sulejmanovic 75’), 15. F. Mlinarevic, 17. Lusamba; 7. Papez (sub. Atsev 59’); 19. Skenderovic, 10. Ovsyannikov (sub. Altikulac 45’); 9. Skara (sub. S. Mlinarevic 75’), 11. Papic-Papratovic (sub. Sešlar 59’)

Continued from here.

The train journey from Thessia to Esca was always a serene trip through the picturesque Mytanar countryside. The rhythmic clatter of the train wheels against the tracks was almost soothing, if a little mechanical, punctuated every so often by the squawk of birds being disturbed or of the River Etva churning its way towards Ozero Lisica, Mytanija’s largest lake. Zeljka sat in deep contemplation as the train snaked back towards the Mytanar capital, her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, all congregating and revolving around the monumental offer she had received the night before from Ana. When she had woken up that morning, she had had to pinch herself to ensure she hadn’t just had a strange dream, the match turned into a blur in her mind’s eye, the offer from the enormously popular Premijer.

To be considered as Ana’s designated political heir was an honour, near enough beyond measure. Zeljka had always harboured ambitions to make a substantial impact on Mytanija, to enact positive change and improve lives for people. The fact that she was a part of the government, to her, was the achievement of a lifetime, the self-gratification she needed to prove she had done what she had set out to do. She was in the position to help people and she had done that, the positive impacts of the Jedinstvo-Ekologija and then solely Jedinstvo governments were wide-ranging and tangible. A part of her believed she had done everything she had set out to do, that she could perhaps remain as a major supporter like Liljana Zakelj had over the years. There would be a lot less pressure, time in the spotlight. But everytime she thought of that her mind came back to the fact that Ana had chosen her. She had made the offer directly to her.

The country’s most successful politician since Predrag Pamic, someone who would probably go down in similar esteem to the man many Mytanars considered to be the most important figure in the country’s history, had chosen her. She saw something of herself in Zeljka. She felt that Zeljka was intelligent enough and skillful enough to negotiate her way through the tricky world of Mytanar politics. She couldn’t really ignore that.

She wondered silently about whether this was how great political leaders of the past felt when the opportunity to take on power presented itself to them. Paths could diverge unexpectedly at a moment’s notice and sometimes, she mused, you stumbled into roles and responsibilities you never envisioned for yourself. But would she be able to handle the weight of attention? The spotlight which would accompany such a position? That tugged at her thoughts repeatedly. The scrutiny and constant presence in the public eye were daunting prospects, she experienced both in flashes in her current role, but that would be dialled up to eleven were she to agree to become the leader of Jedinstvo after Ana Mecava-Catic. Zeljka questioned if she was ready to bear such immense responsibility knowing that her family, too, would be thrust into the public perception.

Her inner monologue wandered to personal aspirations. It wasn’t a primary concern, but she had always envisioned a future with a family of her own. Ana Mecava-Catic already had children when she became Premijer. Zeljka was in a rather different position. The pause taking on such a role might enforce on her personal life was a weighty prospect.

As the train turned away from Ozero Lisica and began to head southeast, the sun was setting and causing the lake to glisten, the meadows and small patches of trees on the edges were dappled with slightly pink and yellow light. Zeljka paused her thoughts for a moment to take it in. Ana was sat in the carriage ahead; she had needed to read some documents which had been prepared for her. Usually Zeljka would sit with her, but Ana had insisted that she take some time to think this evening.

“Work can wait tonight,” The Premijer had said with a smile.

Zeljka had not been as productive as usual for most of the day, though thankfully meeting schoolchildren and discussing their school’s environmental projects had not been the most taxing schedule. At lunchtime she had phoned her parents. They were eating lunch together, and Zeljka had explained the situation to them. That Ana Mecava-Catic had said that she regarded Zeljka as her potential successor. Her mum had gasped and doted over how clever she was, and she could practically hear her dad beaming with pride through the phone. Once the initial burst of joy had subsided, they had said that she should follow her heart – not always the most helpful advice, though Zeljka appreciated the sentiment nevertheless – and that they would support her in whatever she decided.

Her father had also said what an incredible opportunity it was, painting a vivid picture of potential which sounded nearly as beautiful as Ozero Lisica looked under this sunset, she could continue Ana’s transformative work and in the long term perhaps even parallel her achievements. Her dad had something of a soft spot for Mecava-Catic, something which her mum was happy to indulge given that the pair had been married for over thirty years and they were both ardent leftists. But he also recognised the undeniable allure of the opportunity and how it would allow Zeljka to address the concerns she had held as a student, of improving life for the Mytanar people and bringing the country out of the long shadow of the Mytanar Conflict.

She would be able to finish what Ana had started. There was still work to be done and Ana too seemed to hold the conviction that Zeljka could be the one to lead the country to that conclusion.

As night drew in and the train neared Esca everything gradually became more built-up. The buildings were larger, there were people hurrying to get home. The train began to slow as it pulled into the bustling grandeur of Esca’s Ostruznica railway station, a landmark which loomed impressively over its corner of the Centralni district. Zeljka prepared to disembark, following closely behind Ana as their team of bodyguards dutifully stepped off first to ensure the safety of the area. The pair followed behind them, towards the platform where another group of security were stationed in preparation to whisk them away from Ostruznica and back towards the Premijerska Palata and the political district.

As a couple of camera bulbs flashed, the media as eager as ever for the photo opportunity, Zeljka raised her pace slightly to catch up with Ana. Zeljka had made her choice. A sense of determination mingled with apprehension, but there was an unmistakeable spark of excitement in her eyes too. Her heart was set on the path ahead, and so she gently leaned in close to Ana, her voice barely audible above the surrounding commotion of the station and whispered her decision.

“I’ll do it.” She said, as Ana looked up at her with a smile.

[Tikariot]

Four more teams will be under the looking glass in our next installment of the Season 111 transfer review, starting with a club that is known for promoting from within and an excellent academy, Crimsonhawke FC. And, true to their philosophy, they have been very quiet on the transfer front again, with Hapiloppian centreback Avery Shaw's departure to Avanaroch and Patrick Danhage taking a step back to his youth club Skarraborg Fotboll in the TSL the only moves out of the club. In return, Danhage was internally replaced by Polarian dual national Eero-Severi Aurvinen, while the Capnordian contingent doubled with Iver Askelund joining from Pyathora to team up with Till Myrrheim upfront.

Next up, another club that usually avoids making big splashes in the market and also benefits from an excellent academy and a very strong cultural connection is Fort Viljan Northern FC. After their sensational run to the championship in season 109 and then making round of 16 of the Champions League and the quarterfinals of the Copa de Campeones, last season was a bit of a let down in the league but the triple strain on the team did end up taking its toll in the second half of the league. Subsequently, Kaisa Säfqvist is off to Tumbra, where she will be marauding up and down the right side of Couno Rangers, while youngsters Johannes Svedin and Kent Skyllqvist are leaving for one season on loan to Kyethas and the Emerald Coast respectively. Taking Säfqvist's spot will be Græntfjaller hopeful Aurelija Varfolomejsdóttir, but the Arctic Foxes also have one additional very interesting signing with Gjermund Landsverk from WCQ surprise Brannfjord.

Khalgarh Valley are putting big emphasis on continuity despite an aging squad. Hank Stevenson is the only starter to depart the club, joining Sylestonian Chamberley City, replaced by Tikariotian national team leftback James Wintersham, coming in from Guillarim. Special attention will also go to Keegan Foster, a Dantopian/Tikariotian dual national centreback, who is coming with plenty of promise.

The last in our quartet is the Kyethas Rivermen, one of the three promoted teams this season. As to be expected, they have invested quite heavily to ensure they can stay up and have assembled quite a few strong players. Alex Bullvale and Jonathan Kealoha are both Dantopian national team players, Eric Ongaro and Veikko Haparanta are former Tikariotian national team players and Grímnir Sörlason is a Græntfjaller U21, so quite the high-calibre new signings. Add to that talents Carl-Johan Faltsetas and Elmaire deu Cavaldraissaiy and you have yourself a team that could definitely do some damage this season.

---

Ragnar Cederholm: Welcome to Conquering the Sun, the show where we aim for the sun and you'll feel like you've eaten it. Are you ready to face the heat? Whatever your answer is, we have two people here here who feel they are. Welcome to Adrian Grimaud and Þorgríma Vigdis Ástþórsdóttir from the Tikariotian national football team.

Adrian Grimaud: Thank you, Ragnar, happy to be here. I think.

Þorgríma Vigdis: We're here to run the gauntlet and hopefully live to tell the tale.

Ragnar Cederholm: Haha, that's the spirit. So, how are you with heat?

Adrian Grimaud: I suck at it. Seriously, I show pretty bad reactions to little heat.

Ragnar Cederholm: Yet you accepted our invitation...

Adrian Grimaud: Mind over matter.

Ragnar Cederholm: Did he think this through?

Þorgríma Vigdis: Probably not.

Ragnar Cederholm: Are you good with spicy foods?

Þorgríma Vigdis: I never really tried very spicy stuff, but what I've had so far, I enjoyed.

Ragnar Cederholm: (laughs) We have some strong stuff here.

Þorgríma Vigdis: Well, there's one way to find out.

Ragnar Cederholm: Excellent, so here we go, wing number one with Salamandare, made with a medium heat pepper called One Hundred Hours of Solitude from Quebec and Shingoryeo.

Adrian Grimaud: That's almost poetic.

Þorgríma Vigdis: This is tasty! Got a bit of a kick, but a really nice aroma.

Adrian Grimaud (inhales sharply): A bit of a kick?

Þorgríma Vigdis: If you have trouble already, you're not going to survive this.

Adrian Grimaud: I will. Somehow.

Ragnar Cederholm (laughing): What a difference between you two.

Þorgríma Vigdis: Yeah, let's show him what Valkyries are made of!

Ragnar Cederholm: So, to kick things off, the qualifiers for the World Cup 95 in Chromatika and Sylestone have reached their halfway point and Tikariot is in the lead after the first seven games. How has it been so far?

Adrian Grimaud: Frustrating. You know how most tournaments hae a "group of death?" For the last few cycles that always seems to be whatever group we're in and this one's no different. We have Mytanija, Naixi, Dod Rava, Zeta Reka--

Þorgríma Vigdis: --Don't forget the Hugeltaldom.

Adrian Grimaud: Oh yes, we can't forget the Hugeltaldom. But you get the point, we always seem to be stuck with these groups. I know that you havve to be your best whatever the draw, but for a change it would be nice to have one where we don't have four or five favourites.

Ragnar Cederholm: That sounds a little salty.

Adrian Grimaud: Eh, it is what it is, and it gives the fans a lot of excitement and all, so all good.

Ragnar Cederholm: You lost twice but still are in front.

Þorgríma Vigdis: We are, and we're the worst group leader of all 20, so that gets to show you that our group is a bit of a nutcase.

Ragnar Cederholm: Yes, it looks like anything is possible in it. How do you see your chances?

Þorgríma Vigdis: Well, we are in the lead, but at the same time we've been able to benefit from other teams dropping points. But we're confident that we can pull this off. The next game against Mytanija will be a real pointer at where the campaign might be headed.

Ragnar Cederholm: Before we continue on that, I think it's time for the next wing, shall we?

Adrian Grimaud: Sure, bring it on!

Ragnar Cederholm: OK, here goes. This one is Fires of Asgard, made from a domestic pepper named Fenrir's Breath.

Þorgríma Vigdis: Oh, I heard of this one! Isn't that a band?

Ragnar Cederholm: Matter of fact, yes.

Þorgríma Vigdis: Hah!

Ragnar Cederholm: Do you like them?

Þorgríma Vigdis: I haven't got the foggiest, I just know the name.

Ragnar Cederholm: Fair, fair. So, let's dig in.

Þorgríma Vigdis: This feels cold!

Adrian Grimaud: This is weird, it's spicy, but my mouth doesn't burn. This feels wrong.

Ragnar Cederholm: You're ok with the spiciness?

Adrian Grimaud: Yes, weirdly enough, I love this!

Þorgríma Vigdis: Yeah, this is great stuff! Can I have this?

Ragnar Cederholm: Haha, sure, it's all yours. So, the game against Mytanija, what I find interesting is that it will take place in the Temple of the Crow.

Adrian Grimaud: Yes, traditionally this is the stadium we play whoever is the hardest.

Ragnar Cederholm: Why is that?

Þorgríma Vigdis: Well, the Temple of the Crow is not your typical stadium.

[OOC: Midjourney created, also I am aware this is an eagle is not a crow, but Midjourney's ornithology module still needs improvement)

Adrian Grimaud: It's quite a bit smaller than the regular stadiums you find in the qualifiers, but it's the whole atmosphere. It starts when you walk up to it and you have that huge crow sculpture over the entrance, so if you get past that, the whole stadium is made from black basalt, with the tiers really steep and tight together, making it feel as if the stadium is leaning in on you. I've played in it several times and you don't really get used to it.

Ragnar Cederholm: So it's like a force of intimidation?

Þorgríma Vigdis: Not sure if intimidation is the right word, but it definitely leaves an impression on you.

Ragnar Cederholm: Maybe I should make the trip to Bul Khungur for this game.

Adrian Grimaud: I'm sure we can arrange something.

Ragnar Cederholm: Awesome! A Devil's Bargain.

Þorgríma Vigdis: Say what?

Ragnar Cederholm: The name of the third sauce.

Þorgríma Vigdis: Oh! OK, let's do this.

Þorgríma Vigdis: Ow, that one bites!

Adrian Grimaud: Oh damn, my tongue!

Ragnar Cederholm: It's not necessarily hotter than Fires of Asgard, but definitely a different kind of heat.

Adrian Grimaud (with a light lisp): No shit, thith thing thet the tip of my tongue on fire! Milk!

Þorgríma Vigdis: Here you go. This one stings a lot at the beginning, but then it evens out quite quickly. Not a fan of this one.

Adrian Grimaud: makes chopping hand gestures while drinking milk

Ragnar Cederholm: Tikariot has qualified for the last four World Cups, so hopefully you can make that five in a row, does it mean more if you manage to qualify from a group like this one?

Þorgríma Vigdis: Yes and no. It surely feels like more of an achievement if you have to claw yourself through the competition, but to be honest, it keeps you on your toes more than a perceived "easy" groups where there's always the risk of underestimating an opponent.

Ragnar Cederholm: So potentially not qualifying would feel less bad?

Adrian Grimaud: No, not qualifying sucks regardless who you played against. So from that standpoint, it wouldn't make a difference. We're trying to approach every qualification campaign the same - win as much as we can, regardless of who we're up against. That being said, as much as a hard group can motivate you to go the extra mile in every game, it also can be very tiring. Sure, you have a large pool of players to choose from to alleviate this, but still, it can wear you down even if you're not playing in a game. You're still invested in it and sometimes it feels like watching a game is more exhausting than playing.

Þorgríma Vigdis (laughs): Yes, that's very true. When you're on the pitch, you're too much in the game and in the moment, you don't have much time to think about everything.

[to be continued...]

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

The internationally infamous Margaret Institute - a research body at the University of Zube dedicated towards the study of sport and its culture - has been swept off its feet lately with the so-called "C0H" proposal from Græntfjall and Farfadilis, which would replace the Cup of Harmony with a non-ranking event. Much of the talk across the multiverse has been almost philosophical in nature, as it asked questions about the role of the tournament that flowed naturally into wondering, on some level, why we do any of this.

By coincidence, the weekly public lecture held at the Margaret Conference Centre, which lies on the edge of campus next to University train station (the attached Margaret Hotel literally has its 327 rooms built over the tracks), was from the Græntfjall-born philosopher Harald Jónsson on the meaning of sport. The hall has a 1,093-seat capacity in this configuration; seemingly every one of those seats were taken up some time before he started to speak, a few of them by international media outlets for whom this was a perfect opportunity to provide features that could somehow look like high culture and clickbait at the same time.

"Thank you, you are far too kind," Harald told this packed audience after an unnervingly loud applause greeted him; this isn't how the Margaret Lecture Series usually goes, even when they come close to filling the venue (and they often don't). "It has been most interesting to think about how the very meaning of giving this lecture has taken on a new dimension since I was booked by the Margaret Institute to make this speech on the subject of the meaning of sport some months ago. The usual public perception, the general rule at least, is that sport is about winning, and about being the best. At the highest level of competitive sport, this is indeed the major driver, I agree. But think about how many of you take part in sport yourself on a recreational level, with no intent to enter an Olympics or a World Cup or even any of the top domestic competitions in your respective sport. Do you do that in order to be the best? When, by definition, you know you will not be, because there are elite athletes doing the same thing as you but better? To take just one sport, the Kytlerian Strength Sports Association estimates that around 100,000 Kytlerians - I am one of them - participate in Olympic weightlifting on at least a weekly basis, either as a primary sport, cross-training for their primary sport, or simply recreationally. I guarantee that many fewer than 100,000 have ever snatched 106kg or clean and jerked 134kg, as Yvette Darling did to win gold in the recent Olympics - even those who are far heavier than the 59kg Darling. I'm 82kg, not quite a BFG..."

There is laughter at this point. "How much you lift, bro?" was the possibly-ironic call over this laughter from a seat near the edge of the hall. "...not as much as her, bro." More laughter. "And I have far more mass than she does. Does that stop me from participating in Olympic weightlifting, the fact that there are women under 60kg lifting more than I do? Self-evidently, it does not. And it is the same for so many others in that 100,000. And so their participation in the sport must be for other reasons. In fact, more than half of recreational Olympic weightlifters have never entered even a local competition, which from my experience are very welcoming even to the inexperienced."

And so Jónsson went on, riffing on the experiences of recreational sportspeople and what participants in local friendly competitions of all kinds - intermural university sport, amateur soccer, and those weightlifting local meets he mentioned having been part of himself - before coming to the bit that probably most of the 1,093 in attendance actually wanted to hear.

"And in elite sport, we find that often the motivation is not just winning, or being the best. It is progression. It is the sense of progress, just as it is for so many recreational athletes, the sense of doing something you previously could not. That is why the end of the international isolation sparked so much interest in Olympic sports, and so many Kytlerian athletes exceeded their own expectations and understanding of their ability to win so many medals." A brief spontaneous cheer broke out at this point; those Olympic successes, 19 gold medals almost doubling their previous best outside of a home Games, had a cultural resonance that is not fading quickly. "And the visceral reaction in some circles to the proposal to replace the Cup of Harmony with a non-ranking event was rooted in the sense that it would ruin that sense of progress, by removing an opportunity for upwardly mobile nations to improve their world ranking, which is known to be more heavily correlated with success in soccer than most if not all other major international sports. I am not here to comment on what the right thing to do is in this regard, but in large part that is precisely because of the one thing I do want to say about it, which is that it strikes at the very meaning of what we want elite sport to be. Is it about success at all costs? Is it about self-fulfillment? For that matter, in professional sports and particularly those with major economic engines around them like soccer, is it all about the money? Any opinion on the best way to organise international sport should start from the first principle of what it is about, whatever that answer may be. Because, ultimately, the one thing I firmly believe is that we are all searching for purpose in life, in our own ways and in our own definition of that. Sport is one way that some of us find it, many nations in this part of the world have formed entire national identities around it, and this country spent decades following isolationist policies in large part for the fear of what it meant for us to form a national identity around it. And I will always say that we should focus on that purpose to the greatest extent possible at any big decision point in our lives, and in the case of how sport should be run, it should be with a clear purpose in mind for the entire sport and its organisation. I do not care to say what that should be; I care that all concerned search for it and make their decisions based upon it."

An unnerving blur of questions followed, many of them from people trying to get him to actually commit to an opinion on the C0H; he would not. The lecture overran half an hour because of the extent of these questions, and Jónsson looked quite uneasy by the end. But he had captivated his audience - and, you'd hope, got them thinking.

[Delaclava]

Delaclava 0–0 The Kytler Peninsulae

Vielfaltig 0–2 Delaclava
Anagnakis 48', Gallant 79'

The Scran Report: Eating and drinking in Delaclav soccer

So, you've been drawn against Delaclava in the World Cup qualifying. Or, you're a United Football League fan and you're looking to go to a game. Or, you've heard that Delaclava is bidding for the Cup of Harmony (what is it? why is it?) and you're wondering what you'll eat when you don't qualify for the World Cup but are "looking for more opportunities"? Whatever it is, we've got you covered.

Some things, of course, will vary by region, but many aspects are universal in Delaclav soccer. The thing that might strike you immediately is a big one: free popcorn. Machines keep the stuff churning in close proximity to every section. This isn't only a feature of Delaclav stadia, but also bars and hotels. The story of how Delaclavs came to love these empty buttered carbs with their beer is a good one, for another day. But if you're not feeling too adventurous, you can fill up your stomach easily, included in the price of an admission.

Another free item: water. Because not giving your guests access to free water would be psychotic, right? You can have it still or sparkling, which is a little boujie for sure, but what else would you expect? Now, one of the big reasons for having ample access to sparkling water is because it's a palate cleanser before you take your espresso. Standing coffee bars are also abundant. The coffee culture of Delaclava is well-ingrained—order, stand, drink, and go—and with espressi sold for a Karsika each, it's easy to bring all of your crew by and have a coffee before you take your seat, at halftime, even on the way out.

Naturally, the more hooligan types will prefer alcohol instead, and you're in luck too. Beer and wine are abundant, and major stadia tend to have fully stocked bars with all kinds of spirits. If you want to fit in with the crowd, spring for something with tequila or vodka, like a Margarita or a Mariana Mule. In the south or in the summer, you can't go wrong with a frosé or a frozen lemonade (virgin or dirty); in the north or in the winter, how about a mulled wine or a hot buttered rum?

As for food, small plates are all the rage, with combinations of cured meat, cheese, and fruit. Also popular are chips and dips with either smashed avocado or pimento cheese. A popular choice in hotter climates are cold pickle platters, which are a great way to replenish electrolytes on a hot day or if you've been drinking a lot. For more substantial items, you can't go wrong with your stadium classics like nachos, burgers, soft pretzels, and tacos. In more coastal areas, there tends to be a larger presence of fish, in the form of fish and chips, fish sandwiches, and poke bowls. Smoked salmon and other cured fish is particularly prevalent in Valhalla, whether it's a qualifying match or a Valhalla Vikings game.

Finally, it's important to note that the fun doesn't stop when the final whistle blows. Venues tend to be generous about how long you have to leave, so enjoy one final espresso or a dessert coffee, hot apple ciders, or some fried donuts and beignets. And, if you're in Cleopatrana, your night's just begun. The Shipyard is well-known for its postgame Rave Nights, which have gotten particularly debaucherous with Cleopatrana SC's title success. It's a wonder The Shipyard hasn't become The Shipwreck yet.

So, there's no reason to be afraid that you'll have a boring, expensive meal at the footy—there are plenty of interesting, flavorful options that will amplify the experience from the time you walk in to the time you leave. And given how the Phoenixes have been playing lately, the food will probably be the best part of the match!

[Cardenao]

“Time winding down, less than thirty seconds left in the game, the score is level 2-2.

“Eshialand is on the ball, controlling the clock well as they cautiously move the ball around the pitch, Melissa Carey on the ball now looking up the field and she tries to find Alyssa Longfield but it’s too ambitious a pass and the ball goes flying past its intended target and right to Moustir-Yves Almeny’s feet.

“He’s pushing the pace, this is the last play as he charges up the right flank, exchanging a combination of passes with Arrivo LeCerci to enter enemy territory, oh it’s an inch perfect through ball to Dimitri Micalizo!

“Đạt Iqaluk is making the run, CAN HE SEE IT?? DIMITRI DOES!!!!!! A THUNDERING HEADER FROM Đạt, GOALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!! 3-2 LA FURIA AZULE HAS WON IT AT THE LAST—”

Mihaly switched off the television, he’d seen the results a dozen times already, same with the 1-0 victory against Rea San Vegas which was a somewhat disappointing result but three points are three points at this point in the cycle. Just in time too, as an aid came in to inform him that the new Banijan diplomat had arrived here at the Palace of Tears with his…wives. Not wife, wives. Mihaly smiled to himself, Banijans will Banijan, he had no feelings one way or another, they were Cardenao’s allies and that’s that. More diplomatic talks to go along with his conversation with the Krytenians, what a situation that had been. But that was then and now it was time to renew his friendship with Banija. As he strode to the front door of the Palace of Tears, the military guard threw it open as he walked outside to greet his visitors.

Jumu Sanneh, former national team goalkeeper for Banija, World Cup winner, a successful businessman as the former ambassador Okafor had prepped Mihaly. Sanneh shined his trademark smile to the President of Cardenao, made a big display of pulling his arms around his admittedly lovely wives and having his aid hand him an impressive looking bottle of champagne and assorted cigars.

“President Mihaly my friend, it is so good to see you!” Sanneh said as the pair met for the first time, going to embrace him. Mihaly warmly welcomed him, “It’s good to see you too, Ambassador Sanneh, let’s get to business and keep our nations unified.”

And with that, the next chapter in Cardenaoan-Banijan relations began.

[Nephara]

Nephara 4 - 0 Est. and Est.
(4-4-2) 12 - Sebring; 17 - Swain, 5 - Roback, 22 - Brehmer, 3 - Xu (25 - Arconada); 13 - Brewer, 4 - Gale, 24 - Sebold (8 - Anhope), 16 - Serval; 9 - Kulesza, 10 - Tjaden
Goals: Serval 6', Kulesza 39', Tjaden 44', Anhope 86'

Al-Tamazgha 0 - 1 Nephara
(4-4-2) 12 - Sebring; 17 - Swain, 5 - Roback (19 - Copperhead), 6 - Scales, 3 - Xu; 13 - Brewer, 4 - Gale (15 - Rothvogel), 24 - Sebold (8 - Anhope), 16 - Serval (11 - Loeher); 9 - Kulesza, 10 - Tjaden
Goal: Xu 45+1'

"Does it make you happy?"
Five words coming in like a thunderbolt. And they did shake Cantor, truthfully.
It wasn't that she'd wanted to see a therapist. It was just some wellness drive that got out of hand. A push from HR as a wellness check; okay, the FA were concerned because, yes, former Cormorant managers had gone off the grid or attempted suicide after failures. Probably good to make sure she wasn't going to throw herself into the Brine. Whatever.
Wasn't like she was opposed to therapy. Just wasn't her bag.
After all, she couldn't be unhappy. She considered herself fairly fulfilled. She'd won the World Cup as a player; then she'd won it as a manager, and it wasn't impossible she could win it a third time, too, which would truly cement her legacy as a great figure of the game. She hadn't, in truth, been a world-class player, spending most of World Cup 74 on the bench, and one couldn't just win the thing as a manager once. She was fairly certain Jeremy Jaffacake had won a World Cup. Not because of any specific knowledge of trivia. It just seemed like the kind of thing that was true.
And of course, through these exploits, she was a multi-millionaire. That helped.
And the question had come: why are you solely talking in terms of achievements?
"That's all there is," Cantor said immediately, knowing as she said it it was the Wrong Answer. "All there is," she doubled down.
So the subject had turned to relationships. "Well," she'd said, "those days are behind me, I think." Why? A shrug: "Had my fill of love and heartbreak."
Hm. The shrink had taken a note. What manner of love and heartbreak?
"Flings. People who got it. People who I thought got it." A chuckle. "Work came first." And then, a trifle defensively, "It isn't like I'm some asocial hermit. I have friends. I talk to people, I get along with the players. I drink."
How many friends. "People I used to know. Hard to really find anyone new. Certainly not my players. But I get along with them well enough." Shrug. "The job is everything. The time I have to myself I want to keep to myself."
The job. The job, the job, the job... "Whole nation's depending on me. It demands my all." Just as Graintfjall depended on her? "And that felt good. And the moment I held that trophy for the second time, but... that I'd won it myself. Nephara... we win World Cup 74 without me on the bench. I'd--"
No. "No?" That was a prompt to talk about something other than the job. Her family. Her background. Whatever. "Fisherfolk, from Brookford. Every cunt in Brookford's a fisher. I trapped a lot of crabs." Ever go back? "Every so often."
They talked about what films she liked, what books. She read a lot about football. Watched a lot of... football. Sometimes something about history. Seriously, no family ties? Well, she tries to be a decent aunt, and she's a godmother to someone. She thinks.
And yet, for all that... she shrugs, for the fourth or fifth time. "It's fine."
Fine? What about the heat she takes when things go wrong? "Part of the job." What about the pressure? "I handle it." But does it make her...
... happy?

She took a moment to look at herself in the mirror, in the fastidiously tidy bathroom. The woman staring back looked lean, tired. Haggard, almost. Where had those dark smudges come from, the crow's feet? And she was sure she was losing weight. Her cheekbones looked sharp enough to cut.
She told herself it didn't really matter. The fact she wasn't sleeping, kept thinking of possibilities, that didn't matter...
... but she hadn't been kept up nights at Graintfjall.
She told herself, the whole drive home, it was all a crock of shit. She told herself that even as, for the first time in years, she sat down to crack the spine of a novel.
That night, she did sleep soundly.

[Hapilopper]

(OOC Note: This is part of a continuing series called "Nathan Ellis's Quest," a long-term storyline dedicated to one man's crusade to bring Hapilopper to the top of the footballing landscape. You can read the complete series here, which will be updated as the competitions unfold.)
20: Middle of the Road

“We’re not last, so that’s a good thing.”
Nathan Ellis knew that the World Cup qualifying campaign was going to be a difficult one. He figured that the team’s unexpectedly-great run in the last AOCAF was going to give some false hope for the future. He figured that people would have expected much more from his squad than was feasible. And he figured that people were going to be massively disappointed when Ellis Football dropped matches, fell back in the standings and failed to qualify for the World Cup. So the morning after Ellis Football took a 3-0 victory over former group leader Brusseldorf, he looked through the newspapers and some of the sports TV shows to see who was saying what.

Dominic Probst walked into Nathan’s office and smirked. He knew what he was doing.

“Those guys think they’re the smartest people in the world and they don’t know shit,” Dom chuckled. “So why are you reading them?”

“Because it’s funny,” Nathan responded. “These guys get paid to be full of shit and be incorrect so everyone can talk about them. They get the attention they want, and more people pay attention. Read this garbage right here.”

Dom read a headline that was handed to him – “ELLIS UNFIT FOR LEADING NATIONAL SQUAD?” and chuckled.

“He says that just because we’re not leading the group, that just because we’re middle of the road, that I shouldn’t be running this,” Nathan chortled. “Like, I’m supposed to build a squad from the ground up and have us make it to the World Cup in one year. Do these fools even think about this?”

“Man, obviously you aren’t doing good enough,” Dom sarcastically quipped. “Like, everyone got the wrong idea from the AOCAF. You went out, put out a kickass effort and now everyone’s figuring we can roll over everyone.”

“I know, right?” Nathan said. “Look, we’re not last, so that’s a good thing. I went into this campaign knowing we probably wouldn’t qualify. It’s one thing to be in an AOCAF, but it’s another thing to be in this. You know, I’ve told people to be patient. I’ve told people that this wasn’t going to be done in one year. I’ve told people I have a five-year plan.”

“Yeah, but you know…”

“Yeah. Everything has to be done in one year. Isn’t that such a kick in the ass. People say I can’t cut the mustard. To which I say to hell with that,” Nathan continued. “Personally I’d say I’m happy with how we’re doing. Those boys took Baker Park to the limit. The best team in the entire group and we took them to a 5-5 draw. Sure, they’ve gotten their asses kicked in other matches, but you know, this was going to happen. Those boys are human, and I’m going to stand by them 110 percent.”

“Yeah,” Dom said, nodding his head. “I know it. I know you’re right. But these assholes, I swear to god, they think they’re clever by coming up with all these bullshit theories. I’ve seen them on TV too. Those idiots on H-Sports on the Piss Take said that if you were truly worth a shit we’d be in first place, we would have won every match going away and that since we haven’t, maybe we should consider firing you.”

Nathan chuckled. First off, the actual name of the show was The Hot Take, but everyone loved calling it the Piss Take because the talking heads on the show were just so incessantly annoying. Second off, those talking heads were just so damn annoying and were worth very little for anything but some good bulletin board material.

“So, you want to put out a statement?” Dom asked.

“Nah,” Nathan said. “If anything, maybe a snazzy background when I address the media next time. Something that says ‘Five-Year Plan’ or something like that. I don’t need to give those chucklefucks any bit of my time or any bit of my energy. I got more important stuff to focus on.”

And in all truth, that really was Nathan’s attitude. He found talking heads and sportswriters to be entertaining – and worth some hilarious bulletin board material, but he wasn’t going to take them to heart. They may have thought they knew more, and they may have acted like they knew more, but Nathan was the football lifer, and he was the one that knew this team and his players like the back of his hand. All these folks knew were how to be controversial.

[Oberour Ar Moro]

CHAPTER FOUR: Profits of Doom

"How much could we expect to make selling lottery tickets?"

Larig Unance, the 777 executive, made it a mission to find an answer to this question. As part of the Chancellor's lottery commission, Unance had started out largely supportive of a lottery. He fully expected that lottery tickets would be sold in his convenience stores. And he fully expected that this would lead to increased sales in his stores. But he was finding it frustrating that he couldn't get a solid answer.

Serving on the Chancellor's lottery commission, Unance had championed the lottery concept, envisioning the sale of lottery tickets in his convenience stores and anticipating a significant upswing in sales. However, as he struggled to secure a definitive answer his frustration mounted.

A report submitted to the commission by the Ministry of Revenue, in favor of the lottery, suggested potential sales ranging from a staggering 37 billion to a meager 1.5 billion per year.

The figure of 1.5 billion left Unance displeased. His sentiments resonated with Cassien Perdriel, an anti-lottery commissioner. Perdriel attended meetings and presented arguments suggesting that lotteries unfairly impacted the financially vulnerable and less-educated populace. In a Dominion where taxation was uniformly applied, Pedriel stressed the potential creation of a system that could disproportionately tax the lower classes. All this for what seemed like a relatively modest sum?

Gwenn Dessiagne, the marketing executive, delved into the demographics of potential lottery buyers. It had been determined a larger number of Oberours than expected were already sporadically spending small amounts on Numbers. Would they maintain this spending pattern or increase it if the stakes were higher with an official lottery? She advocated for comprehensive polling to better understand their behavior.

Despite multiple polls, concrete conclusions eluded them. While 62% expressed interest in purchasing a legal lottery ticket, this number plummeted to 37% when they considered the Cathedrist Church's opposition. Merely 19% could envision spending more than 50 argenteus annually on lotteries.

As the commission reviewed these results, everyone sought to interpret them favorably. Bartholomew le Munier highlighted that in nations where lotteries were lawful, per capita spending often exceeded 50 argenteus. Many of these countries had legalized casinos and various other gambling avenues, which Oberour Ar Moro lacked. The competition for gambling revenue would potentially be a monopoly in Oberour Ar Moro.

Ambassador David de Blois pointed out Oberour Ar Moro's connection to gambling through Côte d'Saphir, a city-republic closely affiliated with the Dominion. The city attracted Oberours, who frequented its numerous casinos. While distinct from lotteries, this presented an opportunity to redirect argenteus spent on slot machines back home.

Stefan Tripier raised an intriguing perspective, emphasizing the potential benefits of bringing shadow economy revenues into the open. Experts estimated nearly a third of the Oberour economy operated within the black market. Implementing a lottery might encourage the cleanup of these funds, contributing to Oberour Ar Moro's legitimate economy.

[Saterun]

Continental Field was absolutely electric when the team buses arrived. At night time, you could see the outside lights a vividly as anything. The home of Anasb FK was truly a beautiful ground. Fairly recent, they had only played here for a few seasons. Prior to Continental Field, they played at the Leeuwenpark, an antiquated but charming stadium on the outskirts of the city. Now, in their new location, almost adjunct to the city's East Bend district, in the heart of Anasb, they were experiencing an explosion of attendance.

Historically in the shadows of their wealthier and monarchy-backed neighbors Real Anasb, FK had started to close the gap recently. They had topped Real in three of the previous seven league campaigns, and had finished just beneath them in two. Anasb had also experienced more international success. All of that, combined with the modernity of the stadium, had led to what some Lions fans considered their greatest triumph: selection in the WCQ schedule over Real Anasb's Racetrack Road.

Kameron had experienced mixed results here as an opposing manager. While it still didn't quite feel like home for some Anasb FK fans, the stadium was designed to create an intimidating atmosphere. Add that to Saterun recent success, and Kameron was sure that they'd get a result here. He decided to keep the slight diamond in the middle, though he did make some changes in the defense. Cipriano Dalca started over Johnothan Post, and Fabian Cruz started over Saveli Holst. Kameron was going for youth over experience, and it may have ended up costing him. However, that wasn't quickly apparent. Saterun started with their trademark lightning press. After a few tackles, the Claws quickly realized something. They were used to out-physicaling their opponents, but that would be very hard here. The Svalbardycity players were strong and fast. Although the Saterun players were vastly technically superior, their opponents were able to win most of the early duels, headers, and tackles. After Kameron saw the 6'5" 195lb Maksymillian Bates easily shouldered off a ball like a feather, he knew that the Claws would have to change their style of play.

Through various shouts, he encouraged them to speed up ball movement and protect the ball with their body. If the Svalbardycity players had to go through the Claws to get the ball, they would hopefully win more fouls. Although Kameron didn't neccesarily agree with this style of play, it did seem to be paying dividends. Saterun started to have some good looks on goal, and Thiago Esparza looked all but through as the AR called a tight offside. A similar thing happened in the 39th minute, where Bates actually managed to get all the way to putting the ball in the back of the net before it was called offside. The fans at Continental Field made quite sure that the refs knew what the general opinion on that call had been. The Claws went in to the half having garnished 7 shots, 4 of which were on target. Thhe opposition had managed a single shot, off target.

Kameron was a little worried, but he felt as if Saterun's technical abilities could stave off a bad result. Happy with his team's defending so far, he kept the defensive shape, and subbed in the more physical Bjorn Dubicki in for Thiago Esparza. The Tsear FC marksman had been massaging his shoulder, and Kameron didn't want him to pick up an injury. After consulting with his Assistant Coach Lisa Lleget and Offensive Coordinator Kandice Soyt, he also gave the players instructions to increase the tempo even more.

The Claws came back out feeling pretty good about the game. However, they were still tied 0-0, and, as they say, it only takes one. That one came in the 57th minute. Trying to rush a pass to keep the tempo, Hans-Jürgen Becker severly underhit a pass near the center of the field. One of Svalbardycity's midfielders intercepted the pass and all of a sudden, Saterun's back four were facing six Svalbardycity players. The opposition's flexibility of formation and their speed allowed them to overwhelm the Saterun defense on the counter. As they attempted to each mark multiple players, a Svalbardycity forward picked the ball up right on the edge of the 6-yard box. It was simple for him to put it away. Just like that, Saterun were down 0-1 at home.

The Claws threw everything they had into the attack for the last 35 minutes, but to no avail. The Svalbardycity team was ruthlessly organized, and defended stoutly. Some cracks did appear, but just not wide enough to sneak a goal through. When the final whistle blew, Saterun had 14 shots, 7 on target. They also had 65% possesion. Meanwhile, Svalbardycity had 2 shots. It left Kameron with a serious dilemma. First, the offense he once thought unstoppable had been stopped. He wasn't really concerned with his defense, as they had been overwhelmed one time and had done well the rest of the game. However, the overall flow showed the Claw's reliance on physicality to intimidate opponents. He needed to build a resistance to counter attacks. And they were about to face their toughest game yet.

*****

For their next game, the Claws would be jetting all the way over to Sonnel to play Drawkland. Of all the games of this WCQ, Kameron was dreading this one the most. First, the absolutely enourmous Castle Stadium was very overbearing. Had Kameron been visiting as a neutral fan, he could have appreciated the gothic archetectural style, but it was such a crazy atmosphere that he had a hard time concentrating. After the Claws had taken care of Sendhang, Drawkland were their biggest playoff rivals. Which is why this was such an important match. As the players walked out, they heard the roar of an estimated 140,000 fans. Although Kameron could give the DRK credit for creating an electric environment, he hoped that he never had to play here again. Drawkland's loss to Sendhang had left them still three points adrift of Saterun, but they would use this to reclaim those points.

Kameron was still uneasy, but he was reassured when he saw that Saterun was able to compete physically with the Drawkian players. After last game, he didn't want his players to be able to be pushed around. However, the Drawk players were also vastly technically skilled. It was quickly apparent in the opening five minutes that they had instinctive passing abilities that left Becker running in circles trying to catch the ball. They were extremely attacking too, and had managed 3 shots in just the first five minutes. Ralf Abiatti had kept the two that were on target out, but it showed a worrying trend. Saterun managed two quick breaks early on too, but only one of them resulted in a shot, which was badly hit by Esparza. It went flying into the stands of the massive stadium.

In the 31st, Drawkland managed to crack Saterun's defense. Electra Gordon slipped a well-disguised through-ball clean between Saveli Holst and Alojzy Addams, allowing Riley Fields to run onto it. She cut back to send Johnothan Post swinging at air, and crossed it delicately over to Shelby Rider. She brought it down with her chest, just outside the penalty spot, and slammed it home. Avishai Demare clattered into her a second later. Although an appeal for an attempt to play the ball could have been made, a groaning Rider made a pretty good case too. Castle Stadium went into uproar as players surrounded Demare and Rider. The referee was under intense pressure, and eventually settled for a yellow card. There had been a genuine attempt to play the ball, she argued, but it had been wildly mistimed. With bruises down her left leg, Rider had to be helped off the field. Even before the halftime, Drawkland were up 1-0 and blood was boiling.

The game was relatively quiet for the rest of the half, save a spat between Andrei Coiro and Praxis Collingwood over a throw-in. When the halftime whistle blew, Kameron saw the upturning agressiveness on his players' faces. He needed to make a choice in his halftime speech. Shoudl he tell his players to tone it down and keep a cool head, or should he encourage them to play aggresively and trying to physical their way out of defeat? He decided on the latter. "First of all, Avishai, you need to judge your tackles much better than that. However, I like the aggression. I want us to increase physicality and bring the game to them. I know that this is an intense atmosphere, but we need to be able to perform in tought situations."

The Claws did play increasingly physically, but it didn't solve their problems. A very quick passing sequence in the 56th led to a nearly-goal, only kept out by a last-ditch clearance off the line by Johnothan Post. They got even closer in the 60th, when Rider's replacement Erin Hathway skimmed the post. Finally, in the 65th, they broke through again. Glenn Lundquist had attempted to control a heavy switch from Kaka Sarabola, but had overestimated the height of the ball. It slipped underneath his foot to a waiting Emily Tobin, who switched on a lightning fast counter. The Claws defense was scrambling back, but some tekky dribbling and smart passing from the Kick Corps kept the tempo high and the Saterun defense overwhelmed. Tobin herself finished the move off with a slotted goal into the bottom left corner. Kameron would see his players starting to get frustrated.

That frustration would come out full swing in the 79th, when Avishai Demare swung out a foot to try to stop a Hathaway shot. He completely missed the ball and ended up kicking the striker right in the ankle. The denial of a goal-scoring opportunity and the nature of the foul led to a second yellow. Avishai Demare had earned himself an early shower, and Kameron couldn't help but think that it could have bee avioded. Sure, it was a mistimed tackle, but had the score been level, he was sure that Demare wouldn't have tackled so hard. Kameron's regret worsed as Drawkland scored from a header off a cross from the corner. He threw his notebook down in disgust as the Claws finished tha game 0-3. This had been their worst defeat during qualifiers.

[Carpathia and Ruthenia]

Sharp attack and a locked down defence secure all three points

Players celebrating after a crucial and unexpected win rights an unsteady
start to Carpathia & Ruthenia's qualification campaign

Városi Stadion, Veszprém Perhaps I was too bold in my request for a name change in my last article, perhaps I tempted the fates, perhaps I stirred elrditch forces which have long been slumbered, or waved a proverbial rubber chicken around. Regardless never let it be said that Margita Ongaro doesn't eat her humble pie when it is served to her, I will gladly eat that pie and the three points it comes with.

The squad came out in the fashion we are now used to, pressing strongly from the very first blow of the whistle, however in a departure from our previous matches for far in this qualification campaign what we witness was a back line and midfield that were communicating, working fludily together and most importantly not making the unforced errors that we have seen so often throughout this campaign. And I haven't even began to celebrate the screamer of a goal from Acconci, our captain causing such an eruption of celebration and joy from the fans that it registered on the nearby university's seismometers, a perfect shot blasted into the top corner from just outside the box. Bassi doubled our lead not too long afterwards with a wonderfully timed run to perfectly meet the weighted cross from Lecce leaving the Cassadaiguan team in shock and holding their heads in disbelief as a side ranked 118 places below them had now slotted two goals past them with no reply.

In the half time break my elation turned to worry, as I started to think of how we had a pattern of a solid first half showing and then letting it all go in the second half, but I was happy to have humble pie take those worries away as I show a Carpathia & Ruthenia side keep the momentum going, keeping a strong defensive line, shutting down the Cassadaigua attacks in the midfield, and not to sound like I've fully drunk the Kovács koolaid but I feel we were unluckly not to get a third from a later effort from Rebbeca Pék, who has put in three impressive substitute performances and looks like a real up and coming talent for Carpathia & Ruthenia's future.

Our next oppenent Starblaydia are now sitting a point behind us and have had a poor start to their qualifying campaign and are a long way from the nation that won five championships, if we can take this newfound solid defense and communicating midfield we may be able to take some points off of them when we travel. Now where was the rest of the pie I've got to eat, and hopefully more to come next match.

By Margita Ongaro
CBC Ruthenia

.Carpathia and Ruthenia 2 - 0 Cassadaigua....................
Acconci (37'), Bassi (40') .......FT ...............................................

[West Barack and East Obama]

The Chronicles of Obama: A Ballad of Bushes and Bidens

"And you guys will hate this next part. They had to remove the iconic oof sound from Roblox."

"Wow, that's terrible!"

"Yeah, they couldn't even stomach up a few pennies for the culture. I don't mean to be that guy, but this truly says a lot about our society."

"Amen!"

"Yeah, now onto- hold on a second Saul. I'm getting a call from Joe Biden."

"Sleepy Joe? Are you kidding? What does he have to say that's more important than what we are discussing? Never mind the fact that his stuttering and garbled speech means that he could recite the entire Skyrim lore and it still wouldn't hit as deep!"

"Calm down, Saul. Maybe he's gonna tell me that he finally learned how to press shoot. Haha."

"Haha."

"Okay, okay, keep it down Paul. Joe! What's up? Yeah, sorry, I'm just having a chat with Saul Wolfopitz. You know, the guy we teamed up with on Val that time.

"Oh... right! Saul. Well, I hope I'm not interrupting anything too important Giorgio, but I have big news. We need to act fast, and I need your help."

"Go on, Joe."

"Okay, you've heard of Wendeez right?"

"Yes, I am familiar with the burger chain."

"Right. So, I was thinking. We could enter their Fortnite Duos competition. We could sweep the competition off their feet, just like the old days! Then we collect our cold hard cash at the end of it all."

"HAHAHAHA!"

"W-what was that?"

"Oh, sorry Joe. That was Saul. He can be a bit rude sometimes, but he has a point with his bemused reaction. You realise that we would be competing with millions of sweaty Fortnite gamers across the nation? We wouldn't even make it past the qualification rounds."

"That kind of defeatist attitude is what holds us back! As our glorious President says, we must have hope. And I have hope that we can achieve this dream."

"Okay... but why would I have such a dream? What's in it for me? Certainly not fun, because I have way better things to do than competitive gaming. I'm getting old and that kind of stress isn't good for either of us. If it's money, how much are we talking?"

"Three. Million. Dollars."

"Okay... wow. That's a lot more than I expected, Joe. So a fifty-fifty split would..."

"Oh, there is a small catch... and by that, I mean you have to do me a huge favour. I'll need 2 million dollars from that prize. I have acute step on a crack syndrome, and I need experimental surgery to fix it."

"You've got to be gosh darn pulling my leg, Joe! How dare you ring me up during Roblox discussions and even hint at the possibility of an uneven split of the winnings? Especially since I'd probably be carrying your sorry ass, seeing as I've basically been doing that for the last ten years!"

"No, Giorgio, I'm sorry! I need the surgery! You're the best Fortnite player I know, and you're my only hope."

"Joe, it's joever. Now, I'm going to hang up, and talk to some real friends. Have fun losing in video games for the rest of your life."

[Valanora]

The Marauders on the surface were sitting in a good place at the halfway point of the qualifying campaign, atop of their group and six points ahead of the nation that was supposed to give the side the most trouble in the group. However the second seeds sit in third, six points adrift from our side, but there is a team only three points behind the Marauders and who managed to be the only team that we have failed to beat in the first half of the campaign, StrayaRoos. The lower seeded nation has only a single loss on their record through the first seven matches of the campaign and are in high flying form, just putting six goals past Jeruselem at home in a rout of the second seed and dampening their chances of finding themselves in a group title challenge for the time being. They have been difficult to beat, especially at home, as it was away to StrayaRoos where the Marauders have lost their only points from the twenty-one that have been on offer to capture. Fortunately though, they need come to The Battleground in the second half of the campaign, which the Marauders will be hoping provides them the edge they need to capture the full compliment of points and put some more distance between themselves and the chasing pack.

However the Marauders home form has not excellent been something to write about, with the side having narrow victories at home against Glazgo as well as Natanians and Nosts, the latter of which narrowly drew with our side in the last match before the halfway point. These are two of the three teams at the foot of the group table and who have looked rather shocking when it comes to being prepared for the rigors of the qualifying process and yet both pushed the Marauders far more than they would have liked to have been at the Vanorian home ground. The Battleground is supposed to be the citadel upon which the Marauders are able to defend and attack out from, the fortress where other teams dread to visit and the home side relishes their matches there with the home crowd roaring in support of their efforts and spurring them on to great feats and accomplishments. While the side has not yet failed to take all the points from their home matches, they have looked far from the fourth ranked nation who narrowly missed out on a World Cup title last edition when playing at home.

There is a thought though that the Marauders tend to be seen as other team's World Cup Final, that they are going to be the matches on the schedule that they are going to give it all to try and get that big name victory to try and show a bit of pride and progress in. It is not an unusual case, as has been something of a norm on and off since the mid forty editions of the World Cup when the side won three out of four editions and back to back ones as well, during the era of Two Now Stand between themselves and Starblaydia. Starblaydia being one of few sides who have over the course of history managed to get the better of the Marauders more often than not and in Vanorian eyes stopped what could have been an unparrelled feat of five straight World Cup titles. Unfortunately for the Marauders and perhaps fortunately for the World Cup community, Starblaydia was able to defeat the side in those two semifinal encounters and prevented an even more dominant elven hegemony over the competition during such time.

That other teams may be hyping themselves up for the matches with the Marauders is as mentioned above nothing new, the matter in which the Marauders are able to prepare themselves mentally for the challenge and then execute the gameplan that the manager and their staff has put in place is the factor. While the side has shown a few hiccups of being emotionally a bit hungover still from coming so close to the World Cup crown but falling short, they have been able to still capture the full points in all but one match, including a very impressive trip to the second seed with a dominant display that was vintage Vanorian football where they choked the home side out with a possession tactic. It might not have produced a lot of goalscoring chances but when you have clinical finishers in the line up, you do not need a huge quantity, just quality chances, which were taken. Eastwood has given the side a bit of flexibility in charge, not caring exactly what style to play as long as it gets the job done, which has seen quite a bit of success. Getting the team motivated for the remaining matches is the key now and the players sticking true to the gameplans that have been thought up for them to succeed. It may at times not be dominant nor as convincing as one might like, but the table and results can not lie about the effectiveness.

[Pemecutan]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 I Part 4

---

---

The delegations from 7 countries arrives at the venue of the of the multilateral meeting between members of The Mandaran Council. It has been four day pass and the discussion have been running smoothly. Several points on unification process of the sub-region have been agreed on. But many issues still left to be discuss. Today, they will held a joint session with the economy ministers from the 7 countries to discuss about the sub-region's economy.

"Good morning to all the delegations," greet Kusumajaya. "Today is our first joint session and it will be with our economy ministers. And here we will discuss about our economy position and the prospect of the unification. And for starter, I welcome Mrs. Sudamila Aksajandi, the Economy and Finance Minister of Soracana Islands," open Kusumajaya.

Aksajandi walk to the podium as she will address the economic forum report. Aksajandi is selected to helm the economic forum as they discussing about the sub-region economy in the past 2 days.

"Thank you, Mr. Kusumajaya. And good morning everyone," greet Aksajandi. "The economic forum have outline several points about the sub-region's economy situation today and our prospect in the future. First, is the economy position. As everybody know, Pemecutan have been the economy driving force of the sub-region with its diverse products and huge investment throughout the region. Their nominal GDP alone, not counting Kanginan and Petang Islands, is 10 times larger than the next country, Soracana Islands. And if counting all members including the associates, They are 5 times larger than Kanginan, the second largest economy in the sub-region. Kanginan even have 3 times larger GDP nominal than Soracana Islands. From the figure, Pemecutan proper hold around 62% of the sub-region's GDP while United Pemecutan have around 84% of The Mandaran Council's GDP nominal. The issue of the unification is how to balance things out. Maybe all countries economy can't be as large as Pemecutan but we have to minimize the gap. Our plan is to accelerate the industrialization in Toluiwa which have the potential from their natural resources. Transfer technology is also become our main focus to increase the efficiency," Aksajandi pause as she take a sip of water. While the delegations take notes on the first issue.

"The second issue is about the new currency. We currently pausing the implementation of the single currency as the members still not agree with the exchange rate. The fear is positioning the new currency at a price that is either overvalued or undervalued. Our suggestion is to pegged the new currency either to PUR, Pemecutan Rupiah which currently the strongest currency in the sub-region. Or pegged it with NSD, New Standard Dollar, which is use internationally and accepted as the trading currency in the multiverse. We can monitored the currency movement over time and as it is stabilized, we can start to control the flow of the exchange before we let it free flow. It is definitely take times but it is safer for us. Although this leads to the third issue. As we are in a process of unification with a new single currency. The question would be, who will printed this money and where. Currently, each countries have their own central bank who has the responsibility to printed and distribution the currency to the people. But with the unification, we feels that having 7 different central banks will be a bureaucracy maze. Our suggestion is to fuse these central bank into a single central which have all the authority over the regulation of the new currency, their exchange rate, printing the new ones and the distribution of the money. However, noticing our vast area which consists of unconnected islands, the central bank could have several regional office with a lesser power than the main office," Aksajandi take another pause.

"And lastly, about the debt. Currently, we mark this as the grey zone. Because we feel it is too soon to discuss about this. The reason is we are still unsure on how the position of the new institution will be in the international stage. Yes, it is a unification. But what kind of unification. Will the new institution which might be created after this meeting agenda will ultimately transfer the members international position into this institution? Or does each member still consider as a separate sovereign nation in international stage while this institution will merely become a second step of a complete unification?" She took another pause as she feels her voice tone change. She become fiery and it feels not good. "But in the sense of prospect for the future, we can say that our debts are still in a reasonable position. We highlighted some members that have a huge debts, over 50% than their GDP. But as long as they still have a healthy payment, then we consider them as in positive position. In another view, our combine debt is also in reasonable position at around 44% of the sub-regional combine GDP. Pemecutan have the largest nominal debt while Soracana Islands have the highest debt-to-GDP ratio," she take another pause. Her glass of water prepared at the podium is almost empty.

"And that is our report from the economy forum. Thank you for everyone's attention," close Aksajandi before she left the podium.

"Thank you Mrs. Aksajandi for the thorough report," say Kusumajaya from his seat. "And now we can discuss one by one the points from the economic forum," he added.
"I think the most intriguing issue is not about the economy of our region," Qadari pointed out his concern. "I'm quoting Mrs. Aksajandi words. 'Will the new institution which might be created after this meeting agenda will ultimately transfer the members international position into this institution? Or does each member still consider as a separate sovereign nation in international stage while this institution will merely become a second step of a complete unification?' I think these words is the most important issue we have now. Does after this meeting we will be completely unified? Or will we just agreeing on stuff for the second or next step of unification process? Then how many steps will we need until we completely unified?" ask Qadari.

Qadari's speech makes everyone stun especially Kusumajaya. It never cross his mind about this issue. He always think that they are just solving problems that might getting in the way for the sub-region's unification process. But as the progress run smoothly, would they become completely unified in the end of this meeting?

Kusumajaya notes

Institution name:
Suggestion 1: Mandaran Union
Suggestion 2: United Mandaran States

Executive:
Council of Ministers, 7 person, 1 from each state, 4 years term of office.
Use Pawukon for Presidential office rotation. 120 days per rotation.

Legislative:
Unicameral. Name maybe The Mandaran Council.
20 MPs per state (140 members)

Judiciary:
Same as Council of Ministers.

Capital:
Gili Tangkong and Jading

Big question mark: Complete unification after the meeting????

---

---

MD 6
The Licentian Isles 0 - 3 Pemecutan
@ The Licentian Isles

Goal:
Leo Olivando (40')
Surya Dwipayana (67', 88')

---

MD 7
Pemecutan 4 - 1 Frontiere
@ Manguwi Stadium, Mengwi, Pemecutan

Goal:
Gede Putra Arimbawa (39')
Rian Kusuma (50')
Surya Dwipayana (73')
Leo Olivando (90+1')

MD 8
Hafamarimyht v Pemecutan
@ The Licentian Isles

MD 9
Pemecutan v Patriotlandia
@ Tegeh Kori National Stadium, Puradhipa, Pemecutan

Squad
Starters
GK : Yohan Ekaputra
LB : Pande Satria Dirga
CB : Satya Putra Laksamana (C)
CB : Yudha Dewanantha
RB : Kadek Dwi Diatmika
LM : Agus Kusumawijaya
CM : Dian Wahyu Ananda
RM : Rian Kusuma
ST : Wisnu Permana
ST : Asta Yudi Permana
AT : Yusuf Wiryajaya
Reserved
GK : Indra Hadi Putra
GK : Nyoman Agung Arsana
LB : Rehan Harahap
CB : Ngurah Agung Rai Putra
CB : Wayan Adi Darmantara
RB : Jaya Lukmana
LM : Eka Adi Jaya
CM : Triono Atmaji
RM : Ketut Adi Jaya
ST : Ketut Agus Astapa
ST : Gede Putra Arimbawa
AT : Putu Rama Anantha Putra

Roles
Captain : Satya Putra Laksamana
Vice Captain : Agus Kusumawijaya
Corner, left : Pande Satria Dirga
Corner, right : Kadek Dwi Diatmika
Freekick : Wisnu Permana, Asta Yudi Permana
Penalty : Yusuf Wiryajaya

Injured
-

[Pasarga]

The qualifying process is one that usually is full of swings and roundabouts, plenty of ups and downs as teams fortunes wax and wane through the matchdays and all the fans and studioheads talk in impassionate ways about how things are either wonderful or disastrously awful in equal measure depending on the latest result. This has been especially true of the Wanderers campaigns for the last five or so editions of the World Cup and perhaps even longer with the winds of fortune blowing in wildly unpredictable manners for the Wanderers, having gone from a team capable of challenging for trophies both in the World Cup and the Copa Rushmori to having to struggle to qualify for the second phases of the respective competitions. The Wanderers of the last two decades are a far cry from the sides of the late sixty editions and early seventy editions when Pasarga managed to make it to three World Cup Finals, earning their sole World Cup triumph during that time.

As the side prepares for the second half of the campaign, they will do so while sitting on equal points with Squornshelan Remnant States, which in of itself seems like the campaign itself will have been going well considering they are the second seed and was one of the top pot two teams, meaning the draw was a bit unfavorable for our side. The latter is particularly true when one considers that at rank sixteen in the rankings, the Wanderers were among the weaker first seeds and thus getting a strong second seed really made making it out of the group as winners a difficult measure, while playoffs were not desired but not a path that the Wanderers would shy away from having qualified for the proper three times in recent memory through the manner. However, neither the Wanderers nor the side from Arrosia sit at top of the group, both sit at sixteen points and five back from the group leaders of Sajnur, as the fourth seeds have emerged into this group with a rampage that no one could have foresaw and they have collected a perfect first half qualifying campaign with wins over both ourselves and the Arrosians.

The rest of the group has not shown much of a pulse, with even fellow Arrosia nation Equestria has looked far from competitive and is perhaps a bit fortunate to sit on nine points, far away in fourth from the Wanderers and the Squorn side tied for second with sixteen points and identical records. There has been nothing from the rest of the group that suggests that this rampant Sajnur side is going to be slowed down at all by some unforeseen upset by these squads, they merely seem to show up to their matches and go through the motions to satisfy some national requirement or something of that sort. Meaning that it is entirely unlikely that Sajnur is likely to drop points against anyone other than the Remnant States or ourselves and given how good that this Sajnur team has looked through the first half of the campaign, even that is far from being a reality. One of us is most likely going to be missing out on the World Cup and the chance to qualify for it altogether barring a rather unpredictable second half to the campaign for Sajnur.

This brings a lot of added pressure to this first game of the second half for both teams, as the Arrosian side travels to Torgos to take on our Wanderers, the result of the match likely deciding who still might have a chance at chasing Sajnur down and who likely is going to be relegated to hoping for a Cup of Harmony invitation and if the federation would accept if given. In the first match between the two, it was a six goal thriller in the Arrosia nation, both sides looking a bit fragile at the back but with plenty of explosiveness moving into the midfield and attack. The Wanderers have managed to clean up their defense a bit since that opening match, only conceding seven goals in the six matches since, but it still is a concern with the level of attack power that the visitors will bring to the forefront. Zachary Orengo was brought into the job to get the Wanderers big results and see them into the Finals, getting a victory here is a must for the Banijan. The PFA is not like to forgive failure, given the side's inability to be competitive in the Copa Rushmori under his tenure, and both he and the side need this victory to continue the momentum the side has built leading into this match and into the rest of the second half of the campaign.

[Vdara]

Old Foes, New Foes

Previously, on ‘Vdara’
“Awaits these mortals, the strongest test
Only we know who is best”

And so from the heavens, they spoke, and the dulcet tones of the Gods spread far and wide, from the remote Maltese countryside, across the hills and plains of Crete, all the way to the very tip of Cyprus at Rizokarpaso. Loudly and clearly, for each and every Vdaran to hear, came the very words:

Heed this message from the skies
Your team shall fall before your eyes
Try, they will, but not in vain
Their strikers will inflict some pain
Alas, the Eagles will prevail
Divinity could not tip the scale
But this is not the end of the tale

Miss not the forest for the trees
Nor the beehive for the bees
For Vdara’s day will come once more
For now, the Tumbrans will score four

Sounding a horn to signal the end of their poetry, the Gods retreated further into the heavens, their work on Earth completed for that day.



And so it was, that despite a spirited effort away from home, the Vdarans fell to their first defeat of the qualifiers. Despite this, spirits remained very high. Of course, it’s only natural to feel disappointment after any defeat, but putting two goals past the first seed - who are, by far and away, running away with it - especially away from home, meant that most fans appreciated their side’s result, even if it came with no points. After all, they had already been impressed with the game prior…



…in which the Vdarans played Quakmybush for a record fifth time, the most times they’ve faced any side. Once again, like all their previous meetings, it was Vdara who came out on top to maintain their 100% winning record in this fixture. Both sides had come a long way since first meeting in the World Cup 84 group stage, but with the Quakmybushians ranked over 100 places higher, the result was always in the balance. Thus, when the final whistle blew to confirm that Vdara would be second place in the group for the time-being, the fans couldn’t help but be ecstatic about it all. Sure, they had lost to Tumbra, but they had put up a good fight against anyone and everyone who dared to stand in from of them, and with the daunting prospect of fixtures against the highly-rated teams of Pyazhnaya and Gnejs looming once more, fans could only hope that the Vdarans could stun them once again in order to mount a real challenge for second place. Alas, lightning doesn’t strike twice - not unless Zeus is feeling particularly forgetful -so if the Vdarans were going to get anything out of this, they’d need to put their best foot forward, whether left, right, or 30.48 centimetres. Previous form suggested that this was entirely possible, but with Vdara hitting a snag just as the chasing pack begin to hit their stride, any result would do them nicely.

[Sarzonia]

When a team is struggling and hasn't won a single match, the first victory feels like a major relief.

That's exactly the experience the Sarzonian national football team had with their 1-0 away victory over Polar Islandstates that provided the team with one of those results that actually include three points in the Group 6 table instead of that foreign experience of a so-called moral victory.

The latter might have described the Stars losing 2-0 to No. 6 Farfadillis at Dave Wilson Stadium, but they would also get a three standings point victory, 4-3 over Basel-Triesen in front of 67,832 at Dave Wilson Stadium.

It marked the first time Sarzonia prevailed in a match on home ground and showed the team playing to markedly better form in the wake of the "sheer embarrassment" of losing to an unranked Semarland, even though it was an away match.

"It's difficult to see positives when you don't win matches," manager Brady Reynolds admitted. "Talking about playing well or improving is hollow when you're in a profession that judges you on your results."

Before the modest two-match winning streak, the Stars were firmly at the bottom of the Group 6 table with an 0-0-5 record, making Sarzonia one of five sides with nary a point. The triumphs now leave the Stars at sixth position of eight teams. The Stars were the only 0-0-5 team to earn wins in their final two matches of the first half of qualifying.

"It's not going to get us into the proper or even get to the playoffs," team captain Clayton Wilson conceded. "But we needed to show character out there and not let ourselves get even more embarrassed than we already have been to this point."

The second half of qualifying may not be about coming back to beat impossible odds, but it will likely tell a lot about Sarzonian football and whether there is a future for Sarzonia in international football. The streak itself told Stars supporters a lot about the team.

"We wanted to see this team show pride in wearing the Sarzonia kit," said Ed Welker, an investment banker in Portland who attended the Farfadillis match. "They didn't give up and just let the teams in this group of death walk all over them. We'll see."

[Eura]

WORLD CUP 95 QUALIFYING – GROUP 20 – MATCHDAY 6
Darkmania 3–3 Eura
Scorers:
Holden 39, 73, Vincent 45
Lineup:
13. J Hewitt
21. E Lafferton
5. Q Phillips (sub Pearce 89)
15. J Bedford (sub Sherwood 64)
3. M Taylor
8. O Vincent
28. R Champion
12. D Barnes (sub Malone 72)
18. B West (sub Guta 83)
9. A Sharp (sub Archer 56)
26. O Holden

WORLD CUP 95 QUALIFYING – GROUP 20 – MATCHDAY 7
Eura 3–1 Senterus
Scorers:
Roberts 22, Holden 58 (pen), Malone 86
Lineup:
30. S Norman
21. E Lafferton (sub Mason 68)
4. J Menard (sub Grant 75)
19. M Pearce
23. I Doherty
6. J Gates (sub Champion 75)
24. F Brown
11. O James (sub Malone 81)
20. T Roberts
10. S Singh
26. O Holden (sub Sherwood 75)

---

emplor.eur/main/sport/football
STRUGGLING WITH QUALIFYING? DRUGS APPARENTLEY NOT THE ANSWER
EFA suspend board member Verbiage after “little bump” suggestion

Eura are back in the same old place we’ve gotten used to, battling the fires of hell that seem to permanently besiege us within World Cup qualifying. Euran Football Association executive board member Charles Verbiage quoted on a potential solution in a Daily Falcon report yesterday – and has been promptly chucked out for his trouble.

There is no doubt that it has been a tough period for the Euran team since the ball got rolling in the final of the last Copa Rushmori. An unexpected defeat to Cabo Azure was followed by a gap and then a dire start to World Cup qualifying with a dreary draw in Fligsive against the Euran Oceania Territories. This was not the ideal preparation for another away day in Kelssek, one of the hardest qualifying challenges have faced in recent years, competing against a golden crop of Kelssek internationals who are more than familiar to Euraleague fans.

Much as the qualifying campaign began poorly, so did the game in Burnaby. Glen Merson (and Euran managers in general) are not normally ones to take to the airwaves about refereeing decisions, but there was at least a couple of days’ worth of tabloid headlines after Merson dropped a hard “utter disgrace” on the game’s referee in the post-match press conference. This spawned from an extremely questionable decision just ten minutes into the game to give a penalty against Quentin Phillips for a handball. “That was handball in the same way that I’m Jeremy Jaffacake” moaned a desolate Phillips after the game.

If only his defending had been up to scratch after the inevitable Loic Macon-Petrault conversion from the spot. Instead, Eura continued to rattle about at the back until Kelssek ramped up the pressure after the break, with Lionel an Deoir and Thor Ibrahim Ahmad scoring three goals between them either side of Sophie Singh’s vain consolation. It was a painful night for Eura, though EFA bods who have been criticised for their reforms to strengthen the hand of Euran players in Gold League will feel vindicated; the four Kelssek goals from Euraleague players prove the dangers of having the most generous domestic league in the multiverse for foreign talent.

The tone of qualifying so far was largely set in this game. Clouds continued to gather as Eura limped to a 1-1 draw against Koronavia at home, wrapping up a dismal opening quarter of the campaign. Eura then went behind in the first half in Okoya – a development that suddenly had whispers about Merson’s position passing through the rumour mill. Yet before any hacks could go to print, Alex Sharp intervened with an unusually scrappy finish to equalise just before half time, satiating the pitchfork-wielding crowd for a vital moment. Trent Roberts similarly unfashionable winner midway through the second half to expand that moment into real breathing space.

Eura were more deserving of their victory over high-flying Kimi-suomi in what was comfortably the Falcon’s best performance of qualifying so far. Ahead of their battle of the birds, the Eagle-Owls had gone four games without conceding a goal and had just pumped the Territories 5-0. Suddenly that resilient Kimi-Suomen defence fragmented under Euran assault, the dynamic attacking options at Merson’s disposal finally coming together as intended. Sophie Singh scored Eura’s best goal so far to open, the first of two from her. She slalomed her way through two defenders on a diagonal run into the box, settled herself, then dunk the cheekiest of chips over the keeper to finish. A consolation for the visitors threatened to undo the hard work but Owen James was on hand to secure the win with a third goal.

Then came Darkmania. A calamitous opening period saw John Hewitt’s international career pretty much evaporate, being lobbed while off his line for their first before being beaten at the near post for their second. Hewitt’s anguish at failing to take advantage of Tom Hammond’s poor form was on display as he wept on leaving the pitch at half time. Were it not for an Owen Holden tap in, Eura might have already been out of the game. The in-form Revolutionaries striker returned to the team just at the right time after rattling them away for his club. After another Darkmania goal and Oscar Vincent heading home twenty seconds into the second half, Holden truly made his mark, this time with a lavish left-footed strike from 20 yards that raised more than a few eyebrows.

Drawing in that game left Eura desperately seeking a win before the halfway point of qualifying against Senterus and the team performed well. A potential new look defence emerged as Jack Menard paired Martin Pearce with Isaac Doherty in for the recently inconsistent Molly Taylor. Edwin Lafferton seems less likely to stick but once Ana Mason was off the bench the set up just worked. They conceded one goal, but it was a true screamer from 30 yards to which there could be little response. It was unfortunate for talented goalkeeper Sam Norman after an otherwise faultless performance.

Up front, Roberts was back to bundle home his second crap goal of qualifying, Holden netted his third in two games with a rare Euran penalty, and the veteran Bobby Malone stepped off the bench to seal the deal late on with a classic back post finish from Flora Brown’s exquisite delivery. It wrapped up a morale boosting victory for the Eurans which keeps them in the race going into the second half of qualifiers. However, Eura still face a difficult situation, and Merson a battle to prove he is still the man for the job. Eura trail both Kimi-suomi and Koronavia by two points and have to travel to play both sides for the second time. Kelssek seem solidly ahead with a five point gap – it appears likely Eura will once again be forced to run the play off lottery if they can get there.

Eura’s once unfancied manager has rung a few changes at this stage to try and give his team the best possible selection options for this shorter-than-usual qualifying stage. Hewitt is gone and replaced by David Warrington, the Tihon keeper who has previously been selected but not capped. Spartangrad’s Jonathan Dennis gets an overdue opportunity to test his mettle at 28-years-old, replacing Trent Grant as the squad rotates new talent for experience. Two internationally inexperienced attacking midfielders are out – the young Rachel Lambert and old Jim Guta, the former likely to return before long, the latter less so after a meme-able but unimpressive international stint.

Coming in are the 32-year-old (but someone only capped four times) Rob Ricketts and uncapped Matty Wright, a mentor and mentee partnership from Revolutionaries who have thrived in Gold League supporting Holden this season. This is perhaps the most exciting change, and it will be fascinating to see if Eura decide to play both players with their club colleague. Holden looks likely to start more often in the remaining seven games with Sharp, Tess Miller and Kate Archer all going through lean periods. The new flexibility of the EFA when it comes to squad selections for the national team is allowing for much greater consideration of domestic form as circumstances changes. Sam Norman’s newfound parity with Tom Hammond for selection seems to suggest that the management team are following the same principles.

Eura will now hope to earn some revenge against the brotherly Territories following a spate of bad results against them over the years. This would provide much needed momentum ahead of a massive game against Kelssek in Bastion – a must win if Eura are to have a chance of winning the group and possibly even if they’re just aiming for second place. And, uh…hold on. Oh, yes, the deadline! We’d completely forgotten about that. Long story short, EFA executive board member Charles Verbiage was at a pub last night, and loudly started bleating about how his “favourite fun powder” would help Euran players play better, which was then reported overnight in one of our rival publications. He has now been dismissed for his radical ideas. Sadly, Eura will have to try and qualifying without PEDs or party pills following them out onto the pitch.

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[Graintfjall]

Græntfjall – 4 (1)
Sveinn; Hermione, Anarr, Glóa, París; Hrútur (57’), Lotte (50’) (71’ Danny (88’ o.g.)); Varða (66’ Rebekka ), Kæja (c) (32’ pen., 49’, 56’) (66’ Sarína ), Sara V (42’) (78’ Kolfinnur ); Járngrímur (66’ Benjamín )

Ochre Islands – 2 (1)
Midday (18’)

---

Tanirinthia – 4 (1)
Menzie (33’), Payne (57’), Wheeler (80’), Dixon (85’)

Græntfjall – 2 (0)
Ásólfur; Sigurbergur (75’ Hermione ), Anarr (88’), Friðjón, París (72’); Hrútur, Lotte; Rebekka (62’) (68’ Sarína ), Kæja (c) (70’ Danny (90+8’)), Varða (68’ Kolfinnur ); Járngrímur (70’ Benjamín )

---

Chromatika – 0 (0)

Græntfjall – 0 (0)
Sveinn; Hermione, Glóa, Nýbjörg (90+2’), París; Erin, Lotte (c) (40’) (66’ Hrútur ); Amandara (61’ Varða ), Sara V (58’ Sarína ), Rebekka (58’ Kolfinnur ); Járngrímur (61’ Benjamín )

Græntfjall’s manager search continues to Chromatika

Græntfjall headed to Chromatika to play a mid-qualifying friendly against the World Cup hosts without their manager, but they might have returned with their next one lined up. And not Saxi Dómaldsson, the quietly spoken assistant manager who has sat by Ingþór Auðbjörnsson’s side for the last few years, and who took charge for the friendly while Thor missed the trip to attend to family matters, but Frenei Tor manager Janina Spjällesdóttir, with whom KG officials reportedly met during the trip to discuss interest. Both sides of that discussion remained as cagey in their dealings with the media as were the two teams who played out a tough but ultimately rather stale 0–0 draw on the field – Spjällesdóttir is already confirmed to have another year on contract in Chromatika – but if the meeting did go well, it could set the stage for the Snow Wolves to appoint their first homegrown manager in more than a decade.

It is widely anticipated that KG will look to appoint a Græntfjaller manager as the next head coach of the national team. Kang Guilin, Igrene Cantor and Thor have overseen a successful run of form for the Snow Wolves that’s included a world and regional title and a #1 ranking, but there’s a growing demand from both fans and administrators for the next manager to be a Græntfjaller. (The players’ opinion has not been solicited, out of a fear Asbjørn Vilbjörnsson will start ranting about skull measurements.) But the financial disintegration of the Græntfjaller Premier League leaves few possibilities at home. Græntfjall has always been a trading nation: and so, just as in the days of longboats, KG have paddled off overseas in search of talent. It’s just this time, it’s Græntfjaller talent exported that they’re looking for.

Former Altendalur and Græntfjall NT midfielder Andrin Franklínsson was considered a frontrunner when he was appointed as U-21 national team coach. His front-run lasted all of three games as the Snow Pups were bounced out in the group stages of the Di Bradini Cup in Valanora, with Franklínsson doing nothing to advance his credentials as he struggled to manage his precocious charges. If a three-game tenure managing a group of unruly 20 year olds seems a harsh curve on which to grade, then it’s only a sign that KG have set their sights very high for the next appointment. And that attention has ticked around to Spjällesdóttir shows the regard in which she is held, despite her unconventional background.

Spjällesdóttir has never played professional footballer. After a career as a sports canoeist she moved into professional football by way of the admin department at non-league Stukgerði before graduating to Gunzlach. Her aptitude for numbers saw her move from payroll to analytics, whence she was headhunted by Lars Hartmannsson to be one of his assistants. When Hartmannsson moved on to a job with the Tikariot national team, she was not retained by Will Barnard, and instead moved to Chromatika. She has been there for nearly 15 years since, going from strength to strength and emerging as one of the most well regarded managers in the Red League.

She started out as an assistant to Rowena Stamper at Crossroads. Justiina Dannysdóttir has already arrived, and despite her Steinaux background, the Gunzlach exile was able to forge a good working relationship with her. Dannysdóttir probably makes Græntfjall’s all-time underrated XI: she was a striker who had the misfortune to play at the same time as Jason Þórhallursson, at a time when Kang Guilin generally preferred a 4-2-3-1, which limited her playing time for the Snow Wolves. In Chromatika she was a reliable scorer and highly decorated striker whose career undoubtedly benefited from Spjällesdóttir’s input. But, unlike Dannysdóttir, Spjällesdóttir was never content to play second fiddle, and moved in search of a managerial role, this time to Flames of the West.

The Orange League side was not replete with big names, Tumbran midfielder Graham Hughes, Nepharan striker Rasmus Hourihane and Chromatik goalkeeper Ines Delsarte the most notable, but Spjällesdóttir’s analytical approach led the Flames to a promotion charge, winning the Orange League in her first season there. She was forced to play a little moneyball ahead of the Red League, but smart acquisitions of players like Gortolekua’s Martirio Jarvis, Pyazhnayan winger Lyubov Reznikova, and homegrown Zepti Wildwind led to three successive seasons surviving clear of the relegation zone in what was turning into the leading league in the world. Not bad, on a shoestring budget. But given the opportunity to move on, she did, to Frenei Tor.

In Tor, she took on a small club with bigger ambitions than the Flames (who sank back to the Orange League without her) and ended up finishing 7th, taking a team once regarded as a small town joke to the IFCF Challenge’r’s’ Cup. She won Manager of the Year ahead of big names like Jannick Kontiola. Her next two seasons haven’t brought quite the same reward, as Tor have slid to 8th and then 9th, missing out on the IFCF in the playoffs each time, but she played a key role in the development of Jana Anusic, who has since moved on to a starring role with Myana. How the loss of the talismanic midfielder affects Tor in the forthcoming season remains to be seen, but Spjällesdóttir’s approach to squad building has never been about marquee players.

Of course, moneyball is less of a factor in international football, an arena in which Spjällesdóttir has precisely zero experience. (Frenei Tor’s lone trip to the IFCF ended, fast, in a manner it’s probably best not to talk about.) And for all her work with Justiina at Crossroads a decade ago, Spjällesdóttir has actually worked with relatively few Græntfjaller players since: journeywoman midfielder Tina Samsdóttir at Flames, center back Svandis Marcosdóttir at Tor. Marcosdóttir earned a few NT caps but never really broke into the national side. So for all her analytical skill, there’s a question of interpersonal relationships that will be the test of Spjällesdóttir should she move into the role. Having spent the last decade of her career with smaller clubs and smaller personalities, how will she handle stars like Kæja Finnvarðsdóttir and Járngrímur Náttúlfsson? And given her background, lacking in professional football experience and based largely on number-crunching her way through the Chromatik system, how much respect will she be given by veterans like Danny Oddkellsson and Asbjørn Vilbjörnsson?

Depending on how the interview went, and depending on how her Anusic-less season at Frenei Tor goes, we may soon find the answers to those questions. Or not – because there is no indication KG are done with their job search. Spjällesdóttir began her career working for Lars Hartmannson – and the former Gunzlach man’s career might still get a shot at a revival if, as widely expected, the Serrapince man is next on the interview list.

Also in the paper:

• NEWS: Græntfjaller special forces arrive in Ochre Islands to provide UXO decommissioning assistance
• BUSINESS: Investors flee to safe harbor as political uncertainty shakes Banija, Darmen, Mytanija
• POLITICS: State Department urges Sport Department to “please stop fucking up all our international goodwill and soft power”, adding “please bro, please”
• TRAVEL: Sunscreen, beach towels, and an ironclad cover story that will survive intensive interrogation: your guide to visiting the hidden gem of Tanirinthia
• SPORT: Marshlily gets first run out in Chromatika friendly since horror injury

[Farfadillis]

(OOC Note: I swear this sounded interesting in my head. It's gonna be important for a lot of my political RPing in the future one way or another, either way. Buckle up, you're about to get bored to death)

As is the case with all of the most impactful philosophers in Farfadillis' vast but uncertain history, the life of Anselmo Olivera is shrouded in mystery. It is fairly certain he existed, but very few specifics can be made out other than the rough time period he lived in and the political and cultural conditions surrounding him. He was born circa 150 Before Anarchy (henceforth BA) in the Farf calendar and lived in a cultural climate resembling that of Alex Terán's Farolera. Politically, it is estimated he lived in the few decades preceding and immediately giving rise to the Second Unification of Farfadillis. At the time, the nations we would nowadays identify as Farolera, Rülândéá and Induja, it has by now been firmly established, had been undergoing a period of cultural and, to a lesser degree, political unification: the languages spoken by the nationals of each of the three intertwined and intentionally mixed with each other, and the chaotic political institutions that did exist tended to form alliances and flourish together, to whichever degree flourishing was possible in the time period.

Anselmo Olivera's working life was spent entirely as an administrator, mostly as the right-hand man to the various leaders of his people, none of which were of exceptional importance, as is evidenced by the fact that their names did not survive history, even fewer than two centuries after their reigns. Olivera's various philosophical treatises were written as a small side project throughout his life. Roughly half of them were influential enough to be reconstructible to this very day, while the content of the rest of his treatises can be very roughly extrapolated from his lasting influence on Faroleran and, more widely, Farf political thought.

In his own view, there were only two components to the world: 'lo real y lo irreal', which translates to 'the real and the unreal'. More precisely 'that which is real and that which is unreal'. All of his political philosophy, he argues, is entirely downstream from his metaphysical views on these two categories, which he argues 'covers all of that which can be covered, and therefore all of what should be covered'. The two categories, according to Olivera, cover all concepts that can be conceived. This should be apparent from the language being employed: anything at all is either real or unreal, presumably. However, while Olivera does indeed assume this without question throughout his work, a vital distinction to be made is that the two categories overlap. The real and the unreal are not opposites, but merely complementary. Nothing can be neither, but almost everything is, to some degree, both. Anselmo lays out very few exceptions throughout his life. Notable concepts that he conceives of as entirely real include fire, inner identity, change, life and death. The entirely unreal most notably include outer identity, stagnation, truth and desire.

The distinction between inner identity and outer identity is simultaneously important and contentious. Inner identity is, Olivera argues, what constitutes the persona, what distinguishes them, but only when brought to its most bare, its most essential. Specific personality traits, specific values, specific ideals. Inner identity can change, but it is what, according to Anselmo, identifies you in the real sense. Outer identity is what constitutes the impersona; that which outwardly allows one to identify a person, but which could very well change and not affect their essence. The language they speak, their people's customs, their job, their looks, their physical sensations. All of these are almost always components of the impersona. Relationships with other people, be they romantic, familial or of any other kind, are sometimes argued to constitute inner identity, very occasionally argued to constitute outer identity, and mostly understood to lie somewhere in the middle, as most things do. Political views, largely, are understood as part of the persona when they align with a specific Oliverist's worldview, and part of the impersona when they do not.

A further key ingredient of Oliverism is the belief that the unreal must give way to the real, by force if necessary. Change is, as always, understood to be inherently good. Living life true to one's persona and being willing to die for it are also inherently good traits. Truth is usually viewed suspiciously: what is real can be true and what is true can be real, but the concept of truth itself is entirely unreal; the very idea that there can be an unambiguous arbiter of good that can be sought out empirically rather than internally understood is heresy to most Oliverists. A falsehood that makes the real triumph over the unreal is, therefore, good, while that which is true but gives way to the unreal is bad. It is, however, a gross oversimplification to use terms such as 'good' and 'bad'. Oliverism is inherently more circular: in reality, what is good is real and what is real is good, broadly understood, and what is bad is unreal and what is unreal is bad, again, broadly understood. In other words, truth is entirely unreal because considering it to be real to any degree would, Olivera explicitly argues, make truth entirely real, thus erasing the important distinctions from the mind, replacing them with those Truth would impose if it were a real concept. Desire, for its part, is entirely unreal for similar reasons: if it were real to any degree, it would invariably constitute an imposition of the impersona over the persona, which by necessity cannot happen; the persona must always triumph over the impersona, and it is unreal whenever this is not the case.

Oliverism's most ardent proposers have historically had very little trouble understanding, at least in a broad sense, what Anselmo Olivera understood to be political reality: culture must be eradicated wherever it is being imposing on the persona of its people, and is to be actively abolished. In most iterations, this actually means defaulting to one culture, circularly understanding all of its various tenets to be real, and then concluding all other cultures are not. Furthermore, these other cultures are understood to be actively harming their people, and must be actively stamped out, integrated, or outright destroyed if no other options are left. This last one is a topic of hot debate among many Oliverists: most argue some cultures impose the impersona so heavily on their people—it is not hard to see why the Rü have almost always been at the center of this debate—that the real is almost entirely gone, and the eradication of the culture is more feasible than its integration. Furthermore, unreal cultures can spread and further suppress the persona of the people affected. Others argue that no culture is unreal enough to trump the inherent realness of the persona itself and that, with life and death being entirely real, all efforts must be made to eradicate only the unreal culture, not the people practicing it. Invariably, however, Oliverists view the eradication of other cultures as essential. Radical Oliverists question their own culture as unreal; these Oliverists tend to be viewed as either completely crazy or as great sages, but they never hold any actual political power beyond that of spiritual counseling to more standard Oliverists.

Historically, Oliverism has circulated throughout Farfadillis, with every culture, ironically, leaving its own imprint in the philosophical current. The Oliverists of today, for example, follow a lot of the doctrine developed by the Oliverist Farfadillis (ie the Farfadillis that arose from the Second Unification of Farfadillis—better known for its horrific descent into anarchy shortly after the Rulandese genocide), which was actually a state in which Ferdullaelans, not Farolerans, enjoyed great cultural hegemony. The Ferdullaelans picked up Anselmo Olivera's ideas and made them their own, eventually unifying Farfadillis through both hard and soft power. Their Oliverist doctrine made them naturally more accepting of Farolerans than they were of other cultures, but they nonetheless exercised their own Oliverist doctrine over the entire region. During this time period, Farves across the entire island were required to speak Ferdullaelan regularly, and all signs of subversion were brutally suppressed whenever they could be. Cultural erasure, as opposed to cultural annihilation, was Oliverist Farfadillis' preferred method of action until the last few years, when their mismanagement of Rülândéá ended in them switching to cultural annihilation and the state collapsing as a result.

Nowadays, Anselmo Olivera is widely read and followed by people from Farolera, Ferdullaele and, to a lesser degree, Fröndt and Kruviši. This is no coincidence; these are the largest nations in Farfadillis, and the ones that have the most power to exert. Szoirsia and Rülândéá constitute powerful exceptions: although they are not as developed or as large as the aforementioned four nations. They are nonetheless powerful enough to resist them and follow a vaguely Rünìlààréístì doctrine, which runs directly counter to the tenets of Oliverism in many crucial aspects. It is also no coincidence that these two nations are the ones that can be broadly understood as 'leftist' within Farfadillis, from a foreign perspective. Although the two have radically different approaches to their politics, the very strong focus on community of the Rülândéáns and the very omnipresent but hermetic Szoirsian state both run directly counter to Oliverism, and both of these have a distinct 'leftist' color to them when looked into more carefully. The other four nations are more fiercely expansionist and fiscally liberal, although Oliverism does have the, to the foreign eye, rather odd political consequence of ecology playing a central role in politics, due to the realness of life and, therefore, nature. It is also no coincidence that Szoirsia and Rülândéá are the two most inhospitable nations in Farfadillis from an ecological perspective.

The less important nations (Induja, Karinthia and Tanazza) tend to have catastrophic run-ins with Oliverism from time to time, most recently in the case of Induja, when their economy completely collapsed because of investment in cryptocurrency, which their leadership understood to be entirely real for reasons which are not completely clear. It is very unclear where the newly-founded Lithico™ lies regarding Oliverism: their apparent desire for purely economic expansion and their peaceful coexistence with their neighbors would make one think they follow a very Rünìlààréístì doctrine, but their distinct lack of regard for culture could make them a breeding ground for Oliverism. It is possible they follow an entirely distinct path, as many Farf nations have in the past, and this is particularly plausible because of the Yueren influence on the country. However, their inhabitants are Farves at the end of the day, and they will have to deal with Oliverism in one way or another sooner rather than later; such has been the case for all of Farfadillis since Anselmo Olivera's ideas first took hold in southern Farfadillis.

It should be noted, however, that despite its fundamental tenets giving rise to a naturally expansionist policy, Oliverists are arguably less fiercely nationalistic than their counterparts, Rünìlààréístìs. Oliverism focuses on imposing a universal culture in Farfadillis (the world outside Farfadillis, Olivera argued, is deeply, though not entirely, unreal), but the culture is secondary to its imposition. Rünìlààréístìs place far more importance on the development and maintenance of their culture, and place autonomy and cultural diversity above all other things. As such, ethnic wars in Farfadillis always have Oliverists on the offensive and Rünìlààréístìs on the defensive. The balance of power generally tilts towards the Oliverists, but, as both philosophies maintain, change is inevitable and inherently good, and so the Rünìlààréístìs unfailingly restore a semblance of balance to the Farf political and cultural landscape whenever the Oliverists succeed too much.

[Natanians and Nosts]

Natanians and Nosts reaches the halfway point of the 95th WCQ sitting sixth at its group,with two victories and five defeats,summing six points.The squad led by Johann C. Mureșan-Antonescu suffered at least a goal in all its matches,but it only managed to score in five of them.The Esportivan nation started the qualifiers with a one-nil defeat to Jeruselem.The following match was a 5x1 thashing of Glazgo,with goals scored by Natan Gabriel Ademélsson-Vit,Rodion Mihai Wafa,Sheldon Ubuntu,who was subbed with 15 minutes for the match to end,and Márius C. Mureșan-Antonescu,who scored twice.The third match was a high-pressure match against Bigpipstan,where Natanians and Nosts failed to score a single goal and conceded at the very last minute.After it,an ugly defeat to StrayaRoos,where Natan Gabriel Ademélsson-Vit tied the game for us at the 37th minute,but StrayaRoos dominated the match,scored two more,and Natanians and Nosts only managed to score a second goal at the beginning of the second period's stoppage time,with John Mihai García.Match number six,was a win over Britonisea;Natan Gabriel Ademélsson-Vit and John Cramer opened the score for us,then Britonisea scored theirs,then at the end of the match Márius C. Mureșan-Antonescu made our third.The last two matches of the first half of the Qualifiers were two 2x1 defeats;the first to Archalit,our goal scored by Ademélsson-Vit,and one to Valanora,with a goal from Probus.
Although the results have not been optimal,the team might still reach its goal,and the fact that it has scored in all of its last four matches,with the added fact that in the match against Valanora,good football was shown,besides being defeated.The attack is the third best,with 12 goals scored,while the deffence is amongst the worse,with 11 goals being conceded by Daniel Whitcliffe,more than a fourth just to StrayaRoos.
The next match will be against Jeruselem,at Jeruselem,and the team will go all up,wanting to bring at least a tie,a single point,to keep alive the possibility of reaching the World Cup,although extremelly hard,given the results so far.

[Huayramarca]

Land of Wind, Mountains and Bright Sun – Chapter I, Episode 4 – The Puzzle Begins to be Built

“There’s no time to lose” said David Huamán while picking up drawings for the fourth episode of the series. He seems to be enthusiastic due to the results of the last couple of videos, as people begins to ask for videos in a more constant way, there’s people subscribing and a community is being built, as they’re discussing the topics of the videos and dissecting those for home work purposes, curiosity, etc.

“Hello, and welcome back my friends to another episode of Land of Wind, Mountains and Bright Sun. I’m David Huamán from David te lo Cuenta and we will talk about the next steps that the settlers took after being consolidated by enough time at the current Huayramarcan soil. Some of those processes were long and others short, as those feature immediate support from both sides, or repression and fights from one to another. Huayramarca wasn’t built in a day, and dealing was the key vehicle to unity in this country, as by making businesses, trading, and making sure that the needs of one side and the other would be covered in satisfactory ways.

For context, we said that the Moxeños, who inhabited the coastal side of Huayramarca were people that have excellent experience in navigation, something shared with the Seafarers of the San Carlos Archipelago. The Bekksiders, for instance, were sometimes hostile, but the most organised civilisation, while the Highlanders turned out to be the most resilient and developed of all the groups, as they took agriculture and the means of subsistence to a whole new level, but always wanted to be isolated and avoided contact with other groups.

In this episode, due to practicality and to avoid confusion, we will talk about the deals and interactions between Moxeños and Seafarers, the two tribes who were able to communicate with each other earlier than with anybody else.

As said previously, both groups are pretty much skilled when it comes to navigation, as one of them cruised through the Pibada (known as the Sea of Blood or Hyeolhae by the Québécois) and walked through the entirety of the Royal Kingdom of Québec to land in the coast of Huayramarca and build a strong civilisation, based mostly in agriculture and production of minerals, which they had accumulated and didn’t trade for hundreds of years. The Seafarers, in the other hand, were totally dependant on agriculture and fishing, but not having any capability to use minerals except for trades with other civilisations in the South, near the Ochre Islands.

As one of the groups had a lot of materials being accumulated without any single reason, while other civilisation hadn’t any mineral production and their trade partners were too far away from the San Carlos Archipelago, something had to be done, but what happened to enable the contact between Seafarers and Moxeños? Well, this.

Around 6000 years before the current era, around 4000 years after settlement of all groups, including the Seafarers; there was a big dilemma in Moxeño lands, as they were producing big amounts of minerals, resulting in land depredation and contamination, which caused that some agricultural products from the local crops could end poisoned. This happening resulted in the first Moxeño Famine, a series of happenings due to shortages of food without poison, while many died due to contamination with leftovers of the mineral production. As there were no crops able to use, the people had no choice but to find ways to survive.

As soon as people started to die, people though that a curse was happening in the Moxeño lands, a local god unleashed its fury against them for not performing rituals to bless the crop and harvesting process, hence they decided to starve and reject food or anything from the current crops, burning those to ground and preparing new ones to grow in other places. As that happened, the Moxeños were in the dire need of seeking a way to sell those minerals, which were thought to be the source of the curse, hence the accumulation had to leave by the good ways or the bad ones. Nobody was thinking on what to do, neither the king, or the council of elders entirely, hence they had to resort to the last alternative possible “Why we don’t sell this to other nations?”

According to many historians and oral tradition, this point gave birth to an idiom that extends to this day in the Huayramarcan coast “Sometimes, one has to throw the garbage to the neighbour” as a way to say “Don’t you want issues or problems? Then, outsource them!” Pretty much an example of this is how Québec, which is a nation with some blurred Moxeño influence in their coast, have decided to outsource players from a backwater Rulandese company to play “Tier 4” teams – Think about that pretty much. As they considered that a real chance, they proceeded to sell that and eliminate the course, but now, the matter was “To who we sell this?” The elders had the idea to sell the products to people from other places, preferably away from Huayramarca so they didn’t know the demise of that products on people.

So, the first expedition in the sea after hundreds of years started for the Moxeños, as they embarked to the West, right in the middle of the Ocean of Ayes and the Salamantic Sea to find some souls that would agree on accepting the product and forget about the cure forever. During that trip, the Moxeños found a series of challenges, as the “Curse” was a tough one, a kraken appeared and they had to defeat it by force, throwing axes and pieces of material against them, in hopes of causing massive damages… Which it worked as the Moxeños always pointed to the single eye of the krakens.

After defeating a wave of 7 krakens, they found strong gusts and waves around 200 kilometers away from the San Carlos Archipelago, a zone that has an underwater cannon and strong currents that cause some of the wildest waves in the place. Through a period of 5 long days, they resisted against Nature and prevailed, but they were now lost. As the run rose in the 6th day, the captain said “To bolster our survival chances, let’s follow the sun” and that happened to be a spectacular decision, as two hours later they found the crater of the local volcano in the San Carlos Islands, aside from more palms and vegetation in the surroundings of it. Granted, that was a luck strike, as it was a sunrise as the tale says.

Once they reached the Archipelago, the Seafarers were surprised that newcomers were there, as they expected a group of more Seafarers from the Ochres instead of completely unknown people. As soon they arrived, they made clear that their intentions were peaceful and not with any other intentions of attacking or causing harm to the Seafarers. As a symbolic gesture of appreciation, a jade diamond was shown to the king of the Seafarers, who accepted it gladly and shook the hands of the Moxeño traveller and his crew. The conversation between them, mostly made by gestures, indicated that the plans for both civilisations were in the same path, enabling trade and exchange of knowledge between them.

The Moxeños showed the whole pile of minerals that they brought with them, the Seafarers were pleased with the news of it, as they could build axes and materials to fish, while also use the jewels for the kings and offer them to their gods, while the Moxeños would receive something intangible but special for them, the mercy of the gods and the end of the famine and the disgraces they were suffering back in their homeland. During the time the first Moxeño delegation spent in the Archipelago, they managed to procreate the first mixed individuals in the Huayramarcan territory, as love reached the hearts of people from both sides, and they all agree with having that process of perpetual union with some members.

In the future, the Moxeños would receive more from the Seafarers, as they were able to btain plantains and coconuts, which are some of the primary fruits one can find in the coast of Huayramarca. These products turned to be the vital diet of the Moxeños, aside with beans, which constituted the main elements of their dietary processes. Said situation ended the famine in the Moxeño lands, and contributed to the reduction of contamination levels in the zone, allowing the Moxeños to harvest once again in a less risky environment.

The Moxeños and Seafarer remained connected during the crisis of one and other, such as the earthquake of the San Carlos Archipelago, which wiped out the population of five of the biggest islands of the zone, resulting that the mixed peoples were also sent to said lands, helping to the procreation of new inhabitants. The situation turned to be pretty interesting, as both civilisations were coming so close that, at some point, they achieved almost all aspects in common with each other.

Culturally wise, they started to develop a language, as both combined the words from the languages, gave a significant variation to create neutrality and have a more distinct sounding and presentation of the language. From having an Object + Verb and + Subject structure in Moxeño and Verb + Object + Subject in Seafarer, both languages switched to be Subject + Verb + Object structure from their interactions, helping them to be more in tone with each other and understand their surroundings with more effectivity.

Many academicians say that the combination of Seafarer and Moxeño turned out to be the predecessor of the modern montubio language, which turns to be spoken in the coast of Huayramarca and in the Archipelago too, a language that still preserves some characteristics such as having the S+V+O structure, combining words used in the past such as corviche for the fish, mondá for moon and so on. Resulting to be a pretty interesting case of integration, as they turned out to be so friendly to each other that created a language, taking adaptations from each side to have something functional for their trades.

This issue made trading between them something way easier, as they extended their deals to coconuts, palm oil, minerals, and helping each other to create more efficient harvesting methods according to the conditions of each land they were living back then. While in the Costa the sand can be an issue, the excavation of wells and isolation of black earth from sand helped to bolster the agricultural performance of the Moxeños. Meanwhile, those helped the Seafarers with some self-governance concepts such as an assembly for the elders, authority and education that may have helped them to turn into what they are, a pretty much calm island capable to solve some of their biggest issues by themselves with creativity.

And this is the history of Moxeños and Seafarers, which is a pretty curious one because of what they had to sacrifice, what they had to do to contact themselves and how well they connected to each other, to the point of building something like a continuum between both groups, who ended sharing a same identity, religion and language that made them improve their own life standards to something more acceptable, reducing the probabilities of famines or disgraces that could have harmed the future of the civilisations.

Now that we have covered two out of four, for the next episode we will talk on how the Bekksiders and the Highlanders had to struggle a lot with each other, and how an unexpected hand came to solve and forced a union between both sides. What happened? Why the Highlanders loved to be so isolated from everybody except themselves? That will be seen in the next episode of the Land of Wind, Mountains and Bright Sun. See you soon, and subscribe!”

[Okoya]

en.delantaarn.com.oko/sports/world_cup_95

Okoya's Dazzling Start Stalls As Blue Aurins Slide To Fifth Place
(First picture shows an action shot of Makoto Saito diving to make a save)
(Second picture shows Koki Delgado doing a backflip to celebrate a goal against Senterus)

The Okoya national team sought to shock the world this cup cycle. However, their plans may have already been undone. After lackluster performances in the DiBradini Cup, and Independent's Cup, manager Yasu Alfons made the World Cup his priority. "This year gives us the opportunity to put us on the map," Alfons said in an interview a few months ago, "Our players are hungry for success, and they'll put in the hard work to get us to the top, no matter what." The Blue Aurins certainly lived up to their manager's promise, being undefeated in their first three games, with young goalie Makoto Saito earning two clean sheets. But their wins came against teams many pundits expected the Okoyans to do well against, and waited for them to play against some of the best before singing their praises.

Their caution looked to be warranted, as Okoya then failed to win again match, losing their last four. Matchday 4 and 5 looked to be promising, at least, as the team held on to have strong performances against both Eura and Koronavia. Unfortunately, the Koronavian's defense proved to comepletely shut-down Alfons' fast paced offense. And although the Blue Aurins played a strong game against Eura, the David vs. Goliath story failed to pan out, as Okoya was simply out played and out coached for most of the game (though some "eccentric" fans and pundits said they lost due to luck") Matchdays 6 and 7 were complete disasters, as the Okoyans were demolished both home and abroad to Kelssek and Kimi-suomi.

The team looks to retool and bounce back in two crucial games versus Darkmania and Senterus if they want to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Darkmania (DMN) vs. Okoya (OKO)

GOALS
1 - 2
Përsater 17'
Kaneko 29'
Izumi 72'

SHOTS
18 - 23

SHOTS ON TARGET
5 - 7

POSSESION
48% - 52%

PASSES
317 - 331

FOULS
11 - 8

YELLOW CARDS
0 - 1
Nogueira 15'

RED CARDS
0 - 0

CORNERS
4 - 2

Okoya (OKO) vs. Senterus (DSTS)
@Waiyuen Stadion, Kiwanaku (76,263 attd.)

GOALS
1 - 0
Delgado 59'

SHOTS
26 - 15

SHOTS ON TARGET
8 - 5

POSSESION
54% - 46%

PASSES
344 - 310

FOULS
9 - 13

YELLOW CARDS
1 - 3
Sajesh 40'
Campos 44'
Martin 56'
Morhimer 78'

RED CARDS
0 - 0

CORNERS
7 - 3

Eura Oceania Territories (EOT) vs. Okoya (OKO)

GOALS
0 - 1
Izumi 42'

SHOTS
19 - 15

SHOTS ON TARGET
5 - 3

POSSESION
51% - 49%

PASSES
341 - 336

FOULS
12 - 14

YELLOW CARDS
0 - 2
Altena 26'
Medeiros 82'


RED CARDS
0 - 0

CORNERS
6 - 4

Okoya (OKO) vs. Eura (EUR)
@Miranda-Gelens Stadion, Bokhoven (44,733 attd.)

GOALS
1 - 2
Medeiros 12'
Sharp 44'
Roberts 60'

SHOTS
22 - 25

SHOTS ON TARGET
5 - 8

POSSESION
44% - 56%

PASSES
303 - 341

FOULS
12 - 7

YELLOW CARDS
2 - 0
Medeiros 60'
Campos 78'


RED CARDS
0 - 0

CORNERS
6 - 6

Koronavia (KOR) vs. Okoya (OKO)

GOALS
1 - 0
Siewart 80'

SHOTS
12 - 9

SHOTS ON TARGET
5 - 2

POSSESION
52% - 48%

PASSES
351 - 348

FOULS
10 - 15

YELLOW CARDS
1 - 3
Zeus 26'
Nogueira 42'
Kaneko 67'
Izumi 89'


RED CARDS
0 - 0

CORNERS
4 - 2