A Tale Of Two Crescents - WC97 Roleplay Thread

[Indusse]

IFA Today
Disappointment at Peak

Just when we thought Indusse's national football team was on a roll, they've hit a major speed bump. After getting together a few wins, the team has suffered two tough losses that have fans and critics alike buzzing with concern and, in some cases, causing nationwide outrage.

First up was the match against Kelssek, a powerhouse team that's given Indusse trouble in the past. History repeated itself as Kelssek dominated the game, handing Indusse a "hard-to-digest" 4-1 defeat. Grundjee managed to snag a consolation goal for Indusse, but it was too little, too late against Kelssek's ultimate game plan.

But if fans thought the Kelssek loss was hard to digest, they weren't prepared for what came next. This match can be called the biggest upset of the season, Indusse los to HOT-DAMN in a wild 5-3 match. The game started off promising for Indusse, with Grundjee and Mersiás (who scored twice) putting them up by three goals. But then, in a stunning turn of events, HOT-DAMN got themselves back on track and scored five goals, leaving the Indussean players as well as fans out there with complete shock and disbelief.

But that wasn't all. the internet exploded after these losses. The loudest demands are calling for a change in the status of goalkeeper Jahangir Shehzad. "How many goals does Shehzad have to let in before we make a change?" one fan posted. The Fans seems to be done with Shehzad and his inability to secure atleast a single clean sheet. The calls for backup keeper Peter Bashfork to take over are getting harder to be left unseen.

But Shehzad isn't the only one who is getting the fan bashing, Some so called "fans" are even criticizing Coach Steve Newman. However, many are quick to defend Newman, reminding these critics that he's taken Indusse further than any coach in history. As one supporter puts it, "Newman got us to the World Cup quarterfinals. A couple of losses doesn't erase that. Show some respect!"

In the middle of all this drama, Coach Newman held a press conference to talk about the losses, the criticism, and the recent comments from veteran player Butea about potential retirement and new blood in the team.

Talking about the goalkeeper controversy, Newman was diplomatic but firm in his approach. He said "Jahangir is our number one keeper. Yes, he's had a rough season, but so has the entire defense. We win as a team and lose as a team. That said, we're always evaluating our lineup to put the best 11 on the field."

When asked about Butea's announcement of soon happening retirement and bringing in new talent like Michael Djenkzo and Akshay Adhaan, Newman's eyes lit up. "Butea's been the heart of this team for years, and whatever he decides, we'll support him. As for new talent, we're always looking to the future. Djenkzo and Adhaan have had fantastic seasons in Liga Prime, and they're definitely on our radar."

Newman ended the press conference with a message for the fans: "I know these losses are frustrating. Believe me, no one's more frustrated than us. But we need your support now more than ever. This team has shown what it can do when we're at our best. Stick with us – the best is yet to come."

As the matches are coming up again and again, the fans as well as the players are much concerned. Can they turn things around and keep their World Cup 97 dreams alive? Will Shehzad silence his critics, or will Bashfork get his shot? And what about those promising young players?, will we see them in Indusse colors soon?. One thing's for sure and that is there's never a dull moment in Indusse football.

#ForcaIndusse

[Yakk]

The following is taken from a picturebook entitled "The Railroads of the Yak Empire" a sister publication of "The Railroads of the Xanneria"

---

YAK EMPIRE - 1
Farmer (OG) 45'+2

---

MYRTLE BEACH - 1
Farmer 73'

YAK EMPIRE - 0
NONE'

---

QASDEN - 2
Orville 8'
Ampersandium 90+1'

[Saint Eleanor]

OOC: I am extremely sorry for not RPing last cutoff - I think this is the first cutoff I've signed up for and missed since my RP went completely off the rails during WC83 almost exactly five years ago - but a massive IRL workload was released from me around that time, I decided I needed my sleep, and I could not wake up in time for my self-imposed 1pm deadline. Please accept this RP in lieu of my failure to make the MD7/8 cutoff.

The first Group of Six roleplay was also screened past EQS a few hours ago, although I await his response. I do actually share the IC sense of lament about Hakushiya's dip; they're still there, but they were absolutely revolutionary in two aspects - CiCi Bloggs was just amazing in terms of both content and design, and giving everyone in the team a Jungian personality type is something I was toying with back when Priscilla was manager and everything was within my control.

Group of Six meeting (XXVII) --- SAINT ELEANOR 1-0 Delaclava
Participants: Gentle Breeze, Reniira Clevinger, Stephen Mitcham ~ Bridget Coombe [C], Cathy Winchester [VC], Exandra Davies [ballot]
Location: International Place Takeaway; Trident district, Saint Eleanor city, EXT

MAJOR MATCH EVENTS: Pilchard 58. Wunderbar very narrowly escaped a red card late on and it was agreed that Stephen would tell him off after the fact for his troubles.


LESSONS LEARNED: "None. I swear we put them all into action today and it just clicked like that" (~ Reniira).


RECOMMENDATIONS: "This team are really good" (~ Bridget). I feel as though she remembers their BoF83 win in December 2008, which neither feels nor actually was that long ago. She secretly might even like a holiday there. How the mighty have fallen, however - they've gotten a point a game so far and their media hasn't said anything. Details are patchy, but Stephen believes they're fielding much the same team as they did last cycle. What team? "Dunno, you'll have to keep an eye out" (~ Reniira). The lineup used against Delaclava will therefore be used very tentatively.


MOVING FORWARD: Cathy will be taking the pre-Xanneria notes.

~ GB

Group of Six meeting (XXVIII) --- Hakushiya 0-1 SAINT ELEANOR
Participants: Gentle Breeze, Reniira Clevinger, Stephen Mitcham ~ Bridget Coombe [C], Cathy Winchester [VC], Graham Lawson [ballot]
Location: National Liberation Club; Central district, Saint Eleanor city, EXT

Match summary: Goal: Northend (43). This is, by necessity, a very potted summary; I have no desire to retread where CiCiBL*ggS, or whoever the Hakushiyan media authority has sent out today, has already treaded. But this was largely your generic, fairly unproblematic match for the White Stars - so there will only be one takeaway today.

Tactical discussion
* The 4-2-3-1 was seen to serve us well against Hakushiya, and - in a sense - against all of the other teams we've played so far
* Xanneria have been massive disappointments so far, but are not the second seeds for nothing and should remain potent in their signature "3-2-2-2" (de-facto 3-4-3 with wide playmakers)
* It's not clear who the Maroons will exactly field on their away day, but it's reasonable to assume the best team possible - what else?
* Despite the contrasts in formation, it was felt as though ours matched well enough with theirs that they may be left vulnerable to surprise...
* ...with our three/four attacking players pincing at their three central defenders, maybe two dropping midfielders as necessary...
* ...and our defenders matching up one-for-one with their strikers. Of course Coombe/Matsuda are best-placed to sort out the midfielders etc
* Why? We have enough skill to effectively "out-outnumber" them, gliding past confused defenders if you will - but also we are ideally placed to use wide play to sweep through their centre-minded defence
* Given the quality of the respective teams, it was agreed that we would start the strongest lineup possible... with Hart starting as striker due to the need for more power, both up front and overall
* The emphasis this time will be on playing through the wings, crossing into Tim, then dropping back and going deep if we are under serious threat - "not positive but necessary" as Graham said
* There's generally not a need to touch this largely-winning-already recipe, but GB has said she is open to introducing Goldsmith, replacing poorly-performing players, etc

TAKEAWAY: WE ARE UNDER A REASONABLE DEGREE OF THREAT - YOUR JOB IS NOT TO FALL FOR IT

AGREED LINEUP (4-2-3-1): Richardson - Winchester, Vickers, Newbridge, Davies - Coombe [cdm], Matsuda - Lawson, Pilchard, Northend - Hart

- Cathy

THIS INTERVIEW WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY SESB SPORT, SINCE POSTIMAGES.ORG IS NOT HAPPY WITH ME RIGHT NOW. SORRY

Rachel Curran: "I never considered myself a natural right-back, or a natural anything"
Chief Football Correspondent Jamie Rodgers needs a snappy one-line interview description but is at risk of missing cutoff already
Originally published on Wednesday 16th February 2011

Cheerleading seems to be almost everywhere in certain parts of Eleanorian society these days. But does Rachel Curran feel like that is her job more than most? "Well, I was at Marketplace, so you can probably tell."

Unlike many other Eleanorian players. Curran never played in the Charles Trump Shield - "I was busy doing a lot of things. I was one of the Marketplace Cheerleaders, which took up a good portion of my free time for a few years and is also, in my opinion, one of the best ways of getting active with friends and having fun - if you're at Marketplace, of course, I have no idea what to make of the club cheer but maybe Lydia Vickers will tell you. I was an appointed member of the School Council, and then the Head Girl, which took up a bit of my school time. I was, very famously, quite the socialite. Would I say I was more focused on making friends than hitting the books? Maybe! But I feel like we've served each other for upwards of a decade now; we're there when we need each other; certainly I have one of the biggest phone books in the country given just how many people I met, I guess I must have tried to know something like 75% of my Marketplace graduating class, no naming names because there were so many good people and all of them had something useful to say about something useful. Oh, and I know more than a bit about football as a result of it. That's definitely useful."

When asked about the three games she feels most shaped her career, her first selection is Juventud's 3-2 loss to Good Hope Club at the start of her debut 2001 season, a match she describes as "verging almost on farcical. Juventud doesn't normally captain its nineteen-year-olds; nobody does. They don't captain literal debutants, either. So I was surprised to hear that I'd be captaining this lot ahead of their first game, and pretty much all their other games for the next three years. I never considered myself a natural right-back, or a natural anything; Paul Dennis told me to go there..." {OOC: the games are available for your perusal. The more precise descriptions will be coming in the next couple of days. As I said, time pressures.}

Her next selection happens to be Occidental Olympic's 3-0 defeat to Athletic Saint Eleanor, falling five years later in a "less-than-crucial" home tie. "It's rare that I try to overstate the impact of a bad mideason defeat to a good club, but on the other hand, you just can't understate this - both in terms of my own development, even at this stage in my career, and the entire team's..."

Last on her list of great moments is Olympic's 3-1 win the following year away to the Golden Unicorn. "Yes, I know, you're probably thinking that this is first on the list of great moments, but I've just had quite the character development journey so far..."

Rachel said no naming names. Anyone special, though? {she'll also talk about her friends here when I find the time, sorry}

All in all, Rachel Curran seems to strike myself, and no doubt many people, as a firm and sensible - but somewhat chatty - person who knows what it takes exactly to reel you in, and no further. She is good in defence, good in attack and seemingly good at just about everything else in her line of work; not a bad boast.

Group of Six meeting (XXXIX) --- SAINT ELEANOR 0-0 Xanneria
Participants: Gentle Breeze, Reniira Clevinger, Stephen Mitcham ~ Bridget Coombe [C], Cathy Winchester [VC], Tim Brandon [ballot]
Location: Grand Beach Civic Centre; Grand Beach district, Saint Eleanor city, EXT

Stephen here. The consensus after the game was mostly scathing. "This is shit;" "there is a small-to-outside chance that Xanneria may, once again, make the World Cup ahead of Saint Eleanor" - that's never happened before - "we will lose the return leg, and we will like it." None of these are quotes from our players, although there was a general sense that we were nowhere near our best. Cathy thought that the opportunity for a "historic" perfect campaign had been wasted, but everybody else was in disagreement for various reasons - we don't need one, nobody else is going to have one due to events elsewhere, it could have been lost in even more ridiculous circumstances than this later down the line, the top two progress anyway and this wasn't the most important match. (That last one was my idea, by the way.) The agreement was therefore made not to complain about the result further. Unless we finish 15-1-0, of course.

It was decided not to change tactics for the Hetaru game: "I can't really explain myself, I'm not sure there's any point in running so soon, we need to show people that this is a good tactic and not a tactic that failed" (Cathy); "because it makes sense" (Gentle Breeze); "we're too exhausted to talk any further about this" (Bridget), "to fuck those poor bastards where we couldn't the actually decent bastards" (Reniira); "I don't know if anyone actually did that badly or if the entire team was just de-energised, maybe we'll see this time" (Tim), and because I personally don't want to relitigate the past.

Group of Six meeting (XXX) --- Hetaru 0-2 SAINT ELEANOR
Participants: Gentle Breeze, Reniira Clevinger, Stephen Mitcham ~ Bridget Coombe [C], Cathy Winchester [VC], Steve Pilchard [ballot]
Location: the really big gazebo at the Liberators' Park; Parkside district, Saint Eleanor city, EXT

AN INCREDIBLE SUCCESS!!!!! DO I NEED TO SAY ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT???

WELL YES I DO because I now need to very urgently ask HOW DO WE KILL THE LOCH DEARG MONSTER?

Bridget: "No, it's mean to kill mythical creatures, unless you're Saint George"
Me: "I'm not joking"
GB: "Indeed, we struggled a bit last time around - the win was a bit fortunate at times"
Steve: "Do I have to play"
GB: "No, I think we'll play a proper striker this time"
Steve: "Thank you, I think I need the rest"
Stephen, the older one: "Well you may be called on but more likely that'll be David Junior"
Steve: "So he's not playing either"
Stephen: "Impact sub I guess"
Cathy: "So we're nailed-on Rick up front, any other guesses"
GB: "Probably Olympia again, we have the Big Man Up Front already and don't need another"
Bridget: "More power to her then"
Steve: "Well at this rate she's going to become one of our next Vice-Presidents"
GB: "I assume there will be no change anywhere else on the field given the quality"
Cathy: "Wunderbar's been out there for a while, he could finally melt down one day"
Bridget: "That's some conclusion there but I do think he needs a rest. Sylvia's been out for a while"
Stephen: "She's good but a bit defensive, is that what we really want against unranked Loch Dearg"
Bridget: "They're fourth in the table..."
Me: "Fine. But we'll run a sort of intervention, Kavezalea will be coming on if we need him in the last minutes"
Cathy: "Yes, I know I was upset earlier. But if we're going to fail we need to fail in style"
Me: "You do think that Bridget is stylish though. I mean I probably would if I was impartial"


HOW TO NOT DRAW, AKA HOW TO BEAT THESE GUYS AGAIN
JUICE UP THE ATTACK WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE
ESPECIALLY USE UNEXPECTED ANGLES, THE WINGS WOULD BE GOOD
THERE ARE TWO STRIKERS FOR A REASON
THE DEFENCE IS FLEXIBLE, DROP BACK IF YOU HAVE TO
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY THE FOUR FOUR FUCKING TWO MATE

4-4-2:
______________ ARIELLE _____________
__ CATHY - LYDIA - ESTHER - EXANDRA __
GRAHAM - BRIDGET - SYLVIA - ANGELICA
___________ RICK - OLYMPIA __________


From the mind of the INIMITABLE Reniira Clevinger

[Pasarga]

Groups 9-17 Matchday 9/10 Cutoff

[Saterun]

The Navy Memorial Stadium was roaring. It was a brilliant day in Abelanne Bay, and the entire stadium was packed. Even though Saterun was ranked significantly higher than their opposition, Kameron knew that this would be a tough test. They were playing away from home, something that the Claws seemed to always struggle with. It was important for them to get off to a good start early in the game. However, it was to be their opponents who would turn on the jets early.

Backed by the home crowd, the Patriotlandia team was looking to get the job done. Gradually, they started to chip away at the Saterun defense, and they eventually found a breakthrough. In the 25th minute, Cécilien Vanoret picked up the ball near the midfield mark. He carried it forward for a few yards before spotting Glenn Wils making a run in behind. Cipriano Dalca also spotted the run, but, crucially for Patriotlandia, a second later than Vanoret. This left Dalca scrambling to catch up to Wils, who had the pace to beat him. A quick stutter-step from the Patriotlandian striker completely left Dalca in the dust, although by now Abbas Alil had caught up. However, by dragging Alil over to his side, Wils had freed Lucien Graham from pressure and was able to get a quick cross to the Stade Conflans man. Ralf Abiatti, caught out of position, could only watch as the ball thundered home and gave the hosts the lead.

It was a deadlock for the rest of the half, and for the first 25 minutes of the second half. But, in the 80th minute, the hosts managed to double their lead. David Rondin stood over a freekick about 21 yards out, just outside the box. Close enough to be a shooting threat but far enough away to get it over the wall. As Rondin ran up to take it, Wils made a dash to the far post. It was enough to capture Abiatti's attention, who took his eyes off the ball for just half a second. However, it was enough for Rondin. By the time the Saterun goalkeeper had refocused, the ball was already in flight. Abittia scrambled to his other side and made a massive leap, but it wasn't enough. The ball slotted home right in the top corner, with perfect placement. It was a beautiful goal, but it consigned Saterun to defeat once and for all.

Kameron tried to console his players, but he knew something had to change. They were leaky against every team and did seem to have trouble scoring away and against better teams. That didn't bode well for their matchup against Jeruselem. In the moment, Kameron didn't feel like they were ranked 43rd in the world. He felt just as he had watching this team on tv, years ago. But he had already accomplished so much in his two and a half cycles of managing the NT. They had won the 20th IAC and had been runners-up of the last COH. Now, there was another peak to be summited: finally reaching the WC proper.

*****

It was after midnight in his hotel room, but the last thing on Kameron's mind was sleep. When he had initially developed ganharbola, after his disciplined style had failed during WC95 qualifying, he had gone through a similar process. Now, however, it wasn't about developing an entire new style. It was about tweaking his existing one. It obviously wasn't working. The biggest problem had been the defense. In fact, now that he was looking through the results, he realized that his team had failed to keep a single clean sheet. This was bad.

He was up all night. He knew he would have to explain the tweaked style soon, but now he just needed to understand it himself. For starters, he pushed Dalca and Alil far closer together. They seemed to be split every single game. He also dropped Leandro Alfienk back slightly. Avishai Demare was a skilled dribbler who was very comfortable going forward, but Dalca and Alil needed someone to stay back with them. Once Demare pushed up, Alfienk would rotate inside to form almost a 3-at-the-back. It was a risky move, as Alfienk was used to playing wingback, but it was a risk they had to take. By 4 am, Kameron was too tired to go any further. But he felt a sense of accomplishment. It was time to redefine how Saterun played, a second time.

[Tumbra]

Tumbra 2-0 Zenic

TMB (4-2-3-1): 1 - V Jones; 18 - H Kennedy (2 - A Renton, 85'), 19 - Y Lawson, 5 - W Pritchett (35 - B Byrne, 85'), 3 - T Mercurio; 6 - T Harrison, 8 - V Leighton (15 - R McLaren, 75'), 16 - C Campbell; 14 - E Robertson, 40 - L Kendall (9 - L Crossley, 83'); 21 - E Maddison (22 - J Hardaker, 75')

TMB scorers: Colin Campbell (42'), Trudy Harrison (58')

Player of the Match: Trudy Harrison [TMB]

---

North Oharan Valley Union 0-0 Tumbra

TMB (4-2-3-1): 25 - B Cvitkovic; 2 - A Renton, 4 - S Kerr, 24 - B Proudfoot, 17 - J McCreary; 6 - T Harrison, 15 - R McLaren (16 - C Campbell, 74'), 10 - S Monaghan (8 - V Leighton, 62'); 7 - V Wells (14 - E Robertson, 74'), 9 - L Crossley (40 - L Kendall, 33'); 21 - E Maddison (11 - C Henshaw, 62')

TMB scorers: Nil

Player of the Match: Orest Zornakyan [OVU]

The discerning Tumbran insomniac's lullaby of choice, surprisingly, is not a song, a story, or the reading of a dictionary; but rather the shipping forecast delivered on TBC Radio 5, at 00:50 nightly. It's not the only time that the shipping forecast is delivered daily, but because it's the latest — or earliest, depending on how pedantic one wants to be — many Tumbrans who stay up late will often hear this before they go off to sleep. In some cases, the shipping forecast has even been touted as a sleep aid; thanks to the often calm, soft reading of weather and wind conditions of the seventeen demarcated areas that the forecast covers.

The forecast is delivered four times a day, at near to six-hour intervals. The one that most Tumbrans are familiar with, the 00:50 broadcast, is the late forecast; the morning forecast is delivered at 05:20, the midday forecast at 11:53, and the evening forecast at 18:53. Only the 00:50 and 05:20 forecasts are extended; the midday and evening forecasts are truncated, so as to not impugn upon valuable broadcasting time otherwise.

Most of the forecast's coverage areas are named geographically — see the cities of Straton, Couno, et al. that should be largely familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of Tumbran cities. There are some special ones, however; "Anglicana" and "Rutupiae" are named for the Nova Anglicanan Admin Zone of Esportiva and its capital, respectively; while "Mortinenses" is named for the Apox-administered territory north of the Straits of Tumbra. "Northlands", interestingly, used to be called "Shintochi," in deference to the Hinodejin territory occupying the Shintochi Bay; but after Tumbra annexed the Northlands, the forecast area was named accordingly.

This leaves the last three curiously-named areas; Sweeney, Kendrick, and Chase. Sweeney and Kendrick are named for various geographical features near that area; Sweeney is named for Sweeney Bank, a sand bank in the area; Kendrick is named for Kendrick Isle, a small island administered by Tumbra with a lighthouse on it; while the triangular Chase is named for Alexander Chase, the founder of the forerunner of the Tumbran Meteorological Service that provides these services.

The format of the forecast can be almost incomprehensible to anyone not accustomed to it. The announcer first says the area, or areas, that the forecast covers; then wind direction, and speed according to the Beaufort scale; weather, then visibility. Warnings of strong storms often override the geographical list; the announcer often reads the areas with strong storms first. Is there a specified order for which the areas are read out? Not particularly, though most presenters tend to go in a clockwise fashion, starting with Northlands and ending with Sweeney. Because of a need to get information out succintly, there are word limits appended to the forecast; which only adds to its somewhat incomprehensible quality.

TUMBRAN ROSTER FOR MATCH @ RIENA
Link to full roster
Goalkeepers: 1 - Victoria Jones [Lakewood City], 25 - Branko Cvitkovic [Serrapince], 34 - Lucas Rand [FC Inter Nantwich]
Defenders: 18 - Hazel Kennedy [Couno Rangers], 41 - Claudia Maartens [Straton], 4 - Stephen Kerr [Chromatik, CMT], 5 - Wendy Pritchett [Lakewood United], 19 - Yvonne Lawson [CS Saint-Rémy, KSK], 20 - Hannah Edwards [Kingston, QUE], 35 - Benjamin Byrne [Lakewood City], 3 - Tracey Mercurio [Kingston, QUE], 32 - Shim Seo-yeon [CSKA Quebec, QUE]
Midfielders: 6 - Trudy Harrison [Chromatik, CMT], 30 - Heather Hindmarsh [Newark Argyle], 8 - Victor Leighton [Lakewood City], 15 - Rachel McLaren [CSKA Quebec, QUE], 44 - Tamara Goldwin [Lakewood United] 10 - Susan Monaghan [Lakewood City], 16 - Colin Campbell [Newark Argyle]
Wingers: 14 - Erin Robertson [Couno Rangers], 29 - Johan Berkenbosch [FC Inter Nantwich], 33 - Henrietta Colvin [Lakewood City], 40 - Lilith Kendall [Couno Rangers]
Strikers: 11 - Charlotte Henshaw [Lakewood City], 21 - Edward Maddison [Avondale City, SYL], 22 - Julie Hardaker [Myana, CMT]

Schedule: v RIN, @ VCS//v DEI, @ CBP//v ADB, @ UHL//v ZEN, @ OVU//Bye, @ RIN//v VCS, @ DEI//v CBP, @ ADB//v UHL, @ ZEN//v OVU, Bye

[Carpathia and Ruthenia]

We're (almost) halfway there

Here we find ourselves with our game in hand against the group leaders Flavovespia however being eight points adrift renders that "advantage" null and void, we find ourselves in the battle for second and third place with Gnejs, Katzeburg and our stalkers Sarzonia. Katzeburg have been the real suprise of the group with the team ranked 179th only losing narrowly by one goal to group leaders Flavovespia, holding on to a three-all draw with Legalese and unfortunately for us completing their first "giant" slaying beating us at their home ground. Sarzonia on the other hand have have a dissapointing first half only managing two wins and although losing only one match (against group leaders Flavovespia) they have been unable to convert wins in the remaining four games that have been played.

Draws have featured heavily in the group stage so far, with most teams seemingly either afraid to push for the win and risk losing a point or letting their feet off the gas pedal and allowing the opposition back into the match. If this approach carries on in the second half remains to be seen, however I feel we need to push on the gas pedal and start taking more risks, higher risk equals higher reward. If we can push for the win against unbeaten Gnejs in second place, we can level them on points and be a worst one point behind Katzeburg, remember with the expanded World Cup format second place is automatic qualification and they key point is that third place can be automatic with a good enough record.

So can we level things up against the rocky defence of Gnejs and put things firmly back in our control, or will we remain mostly in our half as we have done in this half?

By Margita Ongaro
CBC Ruthenia

[Valanora]

"So, that was one heck of an international window huh, a pair of draws and now the Marauders are no longer primed to win the group. Feels really rough to have a single quote poor unquote week and suddenly that is out of your grasp. Credit to Zwangzug for keeping the pressure on and performing at the same caliber of the team, but gosh if it is not just a real punch to the gut. That East Leaf grabbed an equalizer in the eighty-fifth when it looked like the team had done just enough to get the three points and keep their spot at the head of the group, with Haaland having set up Hawk in the first half with that beautiful pass and all. That is football I guess, sometimes it is the thrill of victory and then other times you feel that heartache of disappointment and like everything is falling down around you, even if things are still going well objectively." The sturdy patron at the sports bar said to the couple of people sitting with him at the table, a half empty bowl of chips sat on the table alongside a still mostly full pale of shelled cashews, with three empty glasses as well.

The bar was mostly empty at this point, most of the patrons had headed home after the fulltime whistle, some had stuck around and moved to the bar to grab their choice of poison. A few more were sitting at their table still, discussing various things though the prevailing conversation was about the national team as they had just been on the television and that was why the bar had been full to the brim near on half an hour ago. It still baffled the bar owner how they could go from bustling and having to struggle to keep up with orders during matches or games and then how quickly the crowd would disperse once they were over. Not that they minded, it meant plenty of silver coins being spent in their establishment and more than a tidy amount of profit on those occasions, the contrast in just a short amount of time though was staggering however. All in all, they could not complain as long as the crowd kept their tempers in check if the results did not go the way they wanted them to and this was one of those times, though people seemed more disappointed than angry once the game had come to an end and the national team had failed to secure the victory.

"Listen, I know we are still technically top of the table and that the team has yet to lose a game, but this Millet person is clearly not the right answer and is not delivering on her promises that she made when she took over. Look at the game against Zwangzug, that is a team that struggles to score goals and yet despite the change to the formation we still let them score three times, a twenty-five percent increase in their goal output in a single game! Not only that but we went down a goal not once, not twice, but three times to them in a home game where the team is supposed to be almost unbeatable. There is no blowouts, nothing is ever really comfortable for the squad despite stringing together results that would have you believe otherwise. I do not know if it is her or the players, although it has to be her considering how well we have all watched these players play at their respective clubs in domestic leagues across the entire footballing landscape. Something is wrong and despite the record, the VSC and VFA really should be thinking about moving on from her, perhaps even appointing an interim manager from home if needs be. Nothing gets fixed if nothing gets changed."

The sturdy patron looked over to his left where his friend, a shorter, more stout young man was sitting looking more than a bit passionate. "What message would that send though to anyone who might then consider applying for the job afterwards? That even if you are getting results that you could still be sacked because you simply are not playing the type of football that the fans want to see or think that the team should playing? For better or worse the federation has to keep on with Millet until she gives them an actual reason not to keep her on, such as dropping points but more than just against the top other seed in the group and a road game after the emotional game against Zwangzug. If she does not, you have to keep her on through the rest of the World Cup cycle and the end of her contract, then you can part ways without it being a big ordeal, thank the manager for their service and then look for someone who is more aligned with what we want to see from the team. Perhaps though she turns it around in the second half of the campaign, perhaps she wins the World Cup or maybe even the ARC. While I understand your frustration, you have to give her a fighting chance and right now, she has not done enough to see her job taken from her prematurely, though the task is now more difficult in needing to have Zwangzug drop points or winning away to them in the second half. That's the hand the team is dealt and they have to play it now."

[Riena]

Half an hour after the final whistle blew on Riena's latest World Cup Qualifying match, a 5-2 loss to the multiverse's 37th ranked side Zenic, Riena manager Cocoa Haneda walked into a brightly-lit press conference room in the bowels of the Philosophia Colosseum for her post-match presser.

She hadn't completely processed the defeat yet. It went without saying, of course, that her unranked side were always going to have an uphill task overturning group eight's second seeds, especially in their own backyard, but for the intensely-competitive Cocoa, losing was always hard to take, no matter the opposition. Back in the away dressing room, her players were no less dispirited than she was. Part of it was because they'd left everything out on the pitch over the course of the ninety minutes and still come up short; part of it was because this latest loss had the potential to be hugely damaging for their prospects in the group. Of course, no one in their right minds would have considered the Wavelets serious challengers for a spot in the World Cup finals in Pasarga and Eastfield Lodge after being out of the multiversal game for donkey's years — hell, Cocoa herself had done her best to play down any such notion, if only to take the pressure off her players — but the fact that they had been pretty soundly beaten by a Zenic side who hadn't been playing remotely near their full potential was still a painful reality check. It was a stark reminder of just how much more work Cocoa and her players had to put in, both on the training ground and on the tactics board, before they could hope emerge as a serious contender for a spot in the World Cup finals.

Cocoa had tried her best to cheer her players up before she had to leave for her presser — that was part of her job, after all — but as she went around the dressing room speaking to every single one of her players, she realised that she wouldn't have it any other way. Never mind their inexperience or their rawness compared to the other teams in their group; she'd far rather work with a group of players that cared, really cared about how they played for their national team, rather than a bunch of disinterested veterans who were just there to chalk up a few more meaningless caps. It was obvious that the twenty-five player squad in the away dressing room at that moment cared deeply — just like Cocoa and her teammates had done, twenty years ago — and that meant they had the drive, the fire, the motivation to transcend their current boundaries, no matter the obstacles standing in their way. As their manager, it was Cocoa's job to guide them along that path, to ensure that they had the time and space to blossom and realise their full potential in due time. For the time being, that meant taking the media spotlight off the players and deflecting it elsewhere.

Cocoa sat down and took a long swig of lukewarm bottled water as one of the RFA's press officers slipped into the room and sat down next to her. Not unusually for a team of Riena's lowly stature, there were next to no foreign journalists in attendance — the room was mostly filled with Riennese journalists, who were easily distinguishable from their foreign contemporaries by the gently shimmering halos hovering above their lowered heads. Despicable vultures, Cocoa muttered to herself. Since she had become Riena manager, the Riennese media had put every single aspect of her tenure under the microscope, as though they were trying their best to find some fault of hers with which to beat her over the head. There was no doubt in Cocoa's mind that a few of the unscrupulous hacks seated in front of her had a few choice questions ready for her after the team's latest setback. She shrugged, set the bottle down, and leaned forward in her chair, steeling herself to find out what the press had in store for her today.

"A tough defeat for the team out there today, Cocoa. What are your thoughts on the result?"

Cocoa took a deep breath, buying herself a few seconds to think before replying. "Losing never feels great, of course, but it feels especially painful to lose by that scoreline. I'm sure that anyone who's watched the game will agree that we didn't deserve to lose by three goals. I thought that we played well in stretches, we took the game to our opponents — which is something that we always try to do, no matter the team we're playing against — and in the end, we just lacked that little bit of quality in the critical moments. Obviously we're all disappointed by the result, but I for one am delighted with the effort and the performance of the players." Cocoa steepled her fingers and paused for a few seconds for emphasis. "They've put in a great shift and left everything out on the pitch, and that's all I could've asked of them before kick-off."

"This latest loss means that Riena have now suffered defeats against Tumbra, Zenic, Baker Park, and Adab, the four most highly-ranked sides in group eight, and conceded eighteen goals in the process. Is there a real concern that the current squad of players at your disposal isn't quite good enough, talent- and quality-wise, to be competitive in the race for a spot at the World Cup finals? Will you be looking to make any changes to your squad, call up any new players, over the next couple of international windows?" The journalist, a slightly-seedy looking individual who looked as though he had seen better days, scratched the tip of his nose and squirmed restlessly in his seat as he asked his question. Cocoa regarded him placidly for a moment, trying to work out if he was setting a trap for her, before answering.

"The thought has never crossed my mind. We saw, under the management of Kanata Shiranami twenty years ago, that Riennese players have the talent to mix it with the best of the best in multiversal football. If anyone questions that, my advice for them is to go back and check out the 3-0 win we managed against Vilita — who were then the multiverse's top ranked team — during Riena's first-ever World Cup qualification campaign, which, of course, ended in us missing out on qualification by the finest of margins. Then, as is the case now, the Riena squad was filled with inexperienced, mostly untested players who had never played competitively outside the country before, including myself, and we still managed to give the top seeds a real run for their money. So the talent base is definitely there. I firmly believe that the latest generation of Riennese players are just as talented, if not more so, than my generation, and it's just a question of actually giving the players the platform and the guidance to realise their potential. That's my job as manager — to create an environment where my players can blossom into the multiversal superstars we know they are capable of becoming. As for your second question, no, I'm not currently considering making changes to the squad. I'm happy with what I'm seeing from the players, both on the pitch and on the training ground, and I'm confident that we'll be able to achieve our goals for this cycle with our current squad. That is not to say I'm definitively ruling out any squad changes — we'll assess the squad on a continuous basis, and we'll make alterations if they become necessary at any stage during the campaign."

"Following up on the previous question: under your management, the Riena defence has been frail to say the least. You've shipped a whopping twenty goals in just seven matches, at a rate of almost three goals a game. Is this leaky defence a worry for you and your staff? Are there any measures you're planning on taking to shore it up?"

"Well, we've definitely conceded more goals than we're comfortable with, that's for sure. It's worth remembering three things though — one, the vast majority of those goals were conceded in difficult away games against highly-ranked opposition; two, the team is still getting to grips with a new tactical system; and three, the players are still building chemistry, trying to get a feel for each others' wavelengths. It's just so, so important for the players to have an instinctive understanding of where they should be at any given time when it comes to defending, and that's something that only comes with time. Personally, I was pretty disappointed about conceding six goals to Baker Park at home, but all things considered I'm reasonably happy with our defensive performance, and I'm confident that our defence will improve — all we need is time and good, honest work on the training ground. For their part, the players are a seriously competitive bunch, and they'll be raring to make sure that they don't concede nearly as many goals in the second half of the campaign. We'll be there to support them in any way we can, of course, and we'll look closely at any adjustments or modifications that might help solidify our defence."

"You've often said that you're pleased with the performances of your players, but results are of course always the most important thing in football, no matter the level. Given the results we've seen so far, have you ever considered the possibility that your loyalty to your players, commendable as it is, might be misplaced?"

Cocoa felt her hackles rise. That was most certainly a bad faith question, intentionally posed in such a way to get a rise out of her. Calm down, Cocoa, she muttered to herself, you're just giving them what they want if you go off on them. Relax and call them out on their bullshit. When Cocoa began speaking, it was in a frigid tone, charged with an undercurrent of cold rage, that did not belie her contempt for the journalist who had asked the question.

"With all due respect, I disagree with that suggestion. As I've said multiple times before, negative results are to be expected in any qualification campaign, and this rings especially true for Riena at this moment in time. I'd argue that the results we've seen so far have been perfectly in line with expectations, if not above expectations, for a team that's just returning to multiversal competition after many years away. I have total faith in the players that have been selected to be part of the squad, and we'll provide them with all the support they need to succeed. To suggest otherwise is doubly disrespectful — not only are you discounting the blood, sweat, and tears of the players, you're also effectively questioning the judgement of my staff and myself. I'm going to reiterate one last time for your benefit — there's absolutely no question that we are one hundred percent behind every single player in the squad, and I don't expect that to change in the foreseeable future."

Perhaps sensing that Cocoa was on the verge of losing her temper and saying something intemperate, the press officer hastily waved down the journalist, who was waving her recording device in the air with an indignant expression on her face, and pointed to a grizzled-looking journalist near the back of the room whom he knew had a softball question for Cocoa. Some journalists, unlike their more contrarian colleagues, were content to simply ask easy questions to churn out copy.

"What are your expectations for the second half of the qualification campaign? Are you expecting the team's results to pick up as cohesion improves?"

Cocoa drummed her fingers on the desk as she nodded in acknowledgement of the question. "Thank you for the great question," she said, making a point to thank her latest questioner. "It's still a little premature to talk about the second half of the campaign, since we still have to play North Oharan Valley Union before that, but broadly speaking, I want to see more of the same performances, more of the same levels of effort and energy — we should be able to give a good account of ourselves if we can manage that. Obviously we'd all like that to translate into better results, but by and large that's something that's out of our control — all we can do is play our best game and see where that gets us at the end of the day. I'll be honest, though, the best barometer of progress isn't results but performances. As long as the players get used to putting out consistently good performances, the results will come with time — and a little bit of luck, of course!"

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Oil & Ice

Volume VI
Walkout

People’s Palace, Tsweidschugong

Chancellor Lara Hauser admired the stunning artwork in the foyer of the People’s Palace. Here she was for her 2nd Kolonialvereinigung conference as the Chancellor of Siovanija & Teusland, and the first one hosted overseas. Two years ago in Stelburg it had been a celebration of the country’s return from isolation - this year, in Tsweidschugong, it was a bit more serious.

The KV, as it was known in government circles, was the union of 10 nations forever linked together by their connection with the Teus Empire. There was Teusland itself, typically represented by the Chancellor of Siovanija & Teusland (or, if that position were held by a Siovanijan, the highest-ranking Teus member of government). And then came the former colonies. 9 of them, ranging from over 300 years to 50 under Teus rule, and from positive relations with the Teus to historically poor.

Altogether, the ‘League of 10,’ as many nations involved preferred to call it, had a total population of 206,580,000 and covered an area of 2.2 million square kilometres. Of those 206 million, it was estimated that around 50 million were ethnically Teus and that over 110 million spoke the Teus language in some form. The nations involved spanned across the known world, from Arrosia to Rushmore to Esportiva and beyond.

The League of 10 had achieved some significant successes in its history. The first conference was held shortly after the Teus Empire fell, when the 5 nations that had remained under Imperial control until the Empire itself fell met in Stelburg to discuss their joint futures. Soon after, it was agreed the conference would be held every 4 years and that each nation would get a turn to preside over the proceedings.

The League agreed to a common free trade area, a common visa-free travel area, and also an optional military alliance. Several of the nations involved still used the tolar as their currency. Many of the nations remained developing countries, and the government of Siovanija & Teusland put significant money into international aid to support these countries. The conference was later moved to being held every 2 years, and in recent years discussions of a right to work across the League had been held - there was already a streamlined pathway to citizenship in place.

The Conference itself was a favourite for diplomats from Teusland - a week spent abroad, often in interesting locations. Foreign foods, cultures, a chance to meet with other diplomats from around the world. As for many of the nations involved, it was the biggest diplomatic event of the year, there was always a wonderful opening ceremony and state dinner for all participants. Each nation would send its head of government and a large team from the diplomatic corps for the event. Each of these relationships was important for Siovanija & Teusland, but there was a special focus on relationships with the countries that had a significant Teus population.

Chancellor Hauser had attended the state dinner the night before, which was something of an awkward affair. Obviously, the Sankt Konrad dispute was going to take up plenty of time at this meeting. Hauser was seated at the head table with Tsweidschugong’s Chancellor, Pan Xieren, while Sankt Konrad’s current Prime Minister Elias Siiba was seated as far away as possible. Still, the cultural displays were enjoyed by all, and Hauser had a great chance to chat with her counterpart, Xieren.

The Conference itself finally began at 9am the next morning, and just as Pan Xieren had indicated last night, the Tsweidschugong Chancellor began her Presidium of the Conference with the following resolution:

”This conference, recognizing the recent situation in the Endemian Ocean and the tensions between the sovereign states of Siovanija & Teusland as well as Sankt Konrad, notes the following:

That the unreasonable demands to give up a share in the ANG oil company go against the agreements of free and fair trade made by the League,

That the sinking of the Teus fishing boat Charlotte violated the Treaty of Felsenkirchen between the two states,

That the imprisonment on false charges of 5 Teus nationals in Sankt Konrad violates international law,

That the laws Bill 409 and Bill 411, acts which removed the Teus language from schools and government institutions in Sankt Konrad, serve as discrimination against a linguistic minority,

Hereby condemns Sankt Konrad, opens a discussion about economic sanctions, and urges the nations to settle their differences at this conference.”

Pan Xieren delivered the speech with a fire, and immediately opened voting: “The delegation from Tsweidschugong votes in favour.”

Tsweidschugong was the Teus language pronunciation of Cuizhu Gang, the original name of the city state the conference itself was taking place in. Both names were official, owing to the Teus colonization that had lasted from 1639-1896, over 250 years. A major port city, the Teus had purchased the island outright and it was a key naval base and trading centre for the Empire. Many Teus moved here due to its interesting culture and economic opportunity - even to this day, where they made up about 10% of the population of 5.5 million. The city state was currently government by a communist dictator - the President, who had appointed Pan Xieren. Given the economic structure of the state, however, it was really state capitalism dressed up with a red star. The dictator himself was half-Teus, and a great ally of the Teus community in the city - as a result, he was backed up by the government of Borograd who tried not to rock the boat too much when it came to interfering with their former colonies. There was no doubt that the hosts would strongly back Teusland on this one.

Disputes were often resolved like this at the Kolonialvereinigung - one nation presenting its case, and the rest of the members voting and offering a possible solution. Siovanija & Teusland and Sankt Konrad, the direct participants in the affair, were naturally made to abstain, and the voting continued in alphabetical order:

The moment passed to the delegation from the Ferdinand Islands. This archipelago of over 2000 islands covered a land area of just 975 square kilometres of land, and a population of 120,000. The country extended over 1400km, and its sea area was over 1.5 million square kilometres. Named for Kaiser Ferdinand III, the islands were under Teus control for just over 100 years before gaining independence in 1896. The tropical islands were a popular travel destination, and the capital of Teleliu was a favourite resort destination for upper-class Teus. Populated by a diverse group of tribes, with over 75 languages spoken across the islands, the Ferdinandese had maintained a good relationship with Siovanija & Teusland since independence - helped, of course, by the billions of dollars in development aid signed off in Borograd each year and the fact the country still used the tolar. Chancellor Mareta Tuala rose to speak: “The government of the Ferdinand Islands votes in favour of the resolution, and condemns the government of Sankt Konrad.”

Next up was the nation of Kap-Mosele. Discovered and named for the Teus explorer Karl Mosele, this was the island where the imperial black-white-gold tricolour had flattered for the shortest amount of time - 59 years, between 1837-1896. The small island was colonized after Sankt Konrad had been lost to Savojarna in a war, and it was hoped that Kap-Mosele would replace it as a naval stronghold and with bountiful resources. It never truly worked out, and many in Stelburg viewed it as a waste of money. The island was mostly jungle, and its harsh terrain was broken only by the port capital of Kaleluna, where 70% of the population of 650,000 lived. Kap-Mosele was the weakest economy of all the member states, and used the tolar in addition to receiving significant development aid. Prime Minister Antso Ralefy’s vote was, then, obvious: “The government of the Republic of Kap-Mosele votes to condem the government of Sankt Konrad.”

Pimealaakso was next. A colony between 1758-1896, the various tribes had united together and made life very difficult for the Teus military. The land was known as mountainous and rugged, and the reign of the foreign power had never been accepted. When the Teus left in 1896, there was finally a chance for better relations with the nation of 6.5 million people. At first, things seemed to get better, and in 1940 the governments finally met in Pimealaakso’s capital to sign the Rautakyla Accords. The Accords saw Pimealaakso enter the League of 10, and normalized relations - but soon after, a military coup has led to a long-standing far-right dictatorship in the country, who tends to blame Teusland for every problem the country has ever had. It has never been a positive relationship, and the country has threatened to leave the bloc many times - empty threats, considering how beneficial free trade has been for their economy. That made the vote of Prime Minister Tero Viitala quite a shock: “The government of Pimealaakso abstains from the voting.”

Chancellor Hauser and Foreign Minister Josef Wimmer looked at each other. What? There was a scurrying of voices around the conference as well. Pimealaakso’s government never missed an opportunity to antagonize Teusland - the fact that they remained neutral here, rather than backing their political brothers in Sankt Konrad, showed that the Blue Sun government was not going to win any popularity points today.

As the room quieted down, next to vote was Prinz-Eugens-Land. Every mother claims to not have a favourite child, but for the Teus Empire, Prinz-Eugens-Land was certainly its pride and joy. The oldest colony - with 391 years under the imperial tricolour - the nation of 15 million was about 35% Teus, and export of sapphires during the 18th and 19th centuries had made the Empire incredibly rich. Prinz-Eugens-Land was given independence in 1896, quite reluctantly on their own part as they wanted to remain linked to Stelburg. To this day, relations between the two countries were strong, and the head of the former imperial family even lived in the capital of Kapstadt. The Teus provided significant development aid, and a visit from President Gerd Steiner in recent years had boosted the relationship even more. There was no doubt about how this vote would go: “The government of Prinz-Eugens-Land votes to condemn the government of Sankt Konrad,” said Chancellor Xolani Feza.

With 3 votes remaining, only 1 more was needed to pass the resolution. Next up was another city-state, the country of Ryugasaki. The peninsular city was purchased by the Teus in 1715, who upgraded its fortifications to turn it into an impregnable fortress on the high seas - control over Ryugasaki gave control over the seas and passages around it to the Teus Navy. In 1880, with the Empire in decline, it chose to grant Ryugasaki its independence as resources needed to be concentrated at home. The nation of 3.25 million maintained a small Teus population, and there had been positive relations ever since. Prime Minister Sakane Toshiaki spoke up to vote: “The Republic of Ryugasaki votes to condemn Sankt Konrad.”

The vote had already passed, and anything more now was simply a victory lap of diplomatic success for Siovanija & Teusland. First, the country’s ally Banija had come out with a statement condemning the situation - and now, almost all of its former colonies had, too.

Next up was the nation of Sarjab. The second largest nation in the bloc in terms of population (67 million), and its third largest in terms of land mass, the region had come under Teus influence starting in 1615. The Teus Empire never claimed all of the land outright, however, and instead made strong relationships with the various princes and governors across the territory. A resource-rich economy, it was a key part of the Empire. In the mid-1800s, nationalists and religious leaders in Sarjab’s various kingdoms united and started a unification war, between the nationalist forces in the south and the Teus-backed princes in the north. The war was won by the nationalists, and the 1862 Treaty of Balramabad saw the Teus Empire officially recognize Sarjab. It wasn’t until the 1908 Treaty of Stelburg, however, that relations were normalized. The massive nation was a land rich in culture, and it still received development aid from the Teus. Chancellor Rajanvir Kajala’s vote was not truly certain, as the relationship here was not particularly strong, but given the way the vote was going today, it wasn’t shocking when he announced his government “votes in favour of condemning Sankt Konrad.”

One final vote remained - that of the Selatjaya Sultanate. A colony from 1658-1874, just over 200 years, this nation was the largest in territory of all members of the League, and its third most populous with 33 million. This vast collection of islands and one mainland area was a massive producer of rubber within the Empire, making it one of its richest regions. By the mid 1800s, however, the local population had grown tired of being ruled by the Catholic Kaiser, and a long series of brutal wars were fought in the years that followed that finally ended with the Treaty of Simunbak and the installation of the Sultan. There were bitter relations between the states for years, and relations were not normalized until the 1956 Treaty of St. Jakob, when Selatjaya joined the League. Under the current sultan, Jubair II, relations had greatly improved and development aid had increased. There was a hope - not a strong one, but a hope nonetheless - that Selatjaya would vote in the Teus’ favour today. Canselor Ghassan bin Saif rose to an intently listening audience: “In the name of Sultan Jubair II, the Islamic Government of the Sultan votes to condemn Sankt Konrad.”

7 votes for, 1 abstention. It was settled. And the moment Ghassan bin Saif sat back down in his chair, the Sankt Konrad delegation rose from theirs. Without a word, the entire 25-person strong delegation walked out of the conference almost as soon as it had begun. Almost as if they had never been present, the conference moved on to debating what sanctions would come down upon them.

It was a major diplomatic coup for Siovanija & Teusland.

Hoitschong District, Tsweidschugong

Just as the name of the city itself had come from the Teus butchering of the native pronounciation, so too had the name of the popular district of Hoitschong. The original name in its native language translated to something along the lines of ‘sea market,’ and the Hoitschong district was one of the most popular amongst foreign visitors. Food stalls, markets to buy and sell many different kinds of goods, bars and restaurants, concert venues - this was the heart of the city.

Josef Wimmer walked down the main street at a slow pace, browsing and stopping at a variety of stalls. The diplomatic victory at today’s session was something he was trying to keep out of his mind, as a man who wanted to enjoy his time in this city - and something he was failing to do, as a man who was worried about what would happen next.

Wimmer, a career diplomat, had spent plenty of time in all of the former colonies of the Teus Empire. A 3 year posting in Sankt Konrad had began his career, which was followed by a stint of 6 months in Selatjaya. He’d worked the Ferdinand Islands file for some time, too, spending about 2.5 years in Teleliu. He only got to spend about 6 months in Tsweidschugong, near the end of his active international career - then, his wife gave birth to twins, and the family decided it would be best to raise their children close to home. He still had hopes of one day becoming an Ambassador, after his time as a minister was over - but there was still work to be done yet.

Most of the Teus delegation was back at the hotel still, pouring over papers and getting prepared for the next days of the conference. Josef had popped out, ostensibly for a breath of fresh air - but really because he wanted to revisit one of his favourite restaurants from when he had lived here, and had made a tradition of coming to every time thereafter. New Hoitschong Noodle - a simple name, and a real hole-in-the-wall spot, but was it ever good! Josef made his order and sat down at an empty table.

It was only about 30 seconds later that a man in a suit and FC Teussen Stelburg baseball cap slid into the seat across from him. Wimmer was startled at first.

“Josef. Some things never change.” The baseball cap was removed, and Josef recognized the man right away. It was Valter Sahkar. Valter had been just starting out his diplomatic career at the time Josef was posted to Sankt Konrad. The two had gotten to know each other quite well, becoming fast friends due to mutual interest. They stayed in touch over the years, mostly at Kolonialvereinigung conferences they both attended. Later, Valter became Sankt Konrad’s deputy commissioner in Tsweidschugong at the same time Wimmer was posted there. The last time Josef had seen him, ironically, was at this very restaurant the night Josef’s term in Tsweidschugong had ended.

“Valter! How did you..”

“I followed you from your hotel. Did you forget, my friend, that I used to be a spy?”

Josef laughed. “It’s good to see you! Good that this restaurant is still open after all these years.”

Valter nodded. “What a mess this whole thing is, huh?”

Josef nodded. “Valter, I really don’t want to talk work right now - how’s Hanna? How are the kids?”

Valter gave a brief smile. “Josef, I know. But there’s a reason I tracked you down here tonight. And I think you want to hear it.”

There was a silence. “Go on.”

“Everybody I know, that I’ve worked with for years, knows the Blue Sun are a bunch of nutjobs. Most of the population know that too. And there’s a lot of us - in the government, in the police, everywhere you can think of - that are getting ready, so that if something should happen that would cause them to no longer be in government, we would be ready to keep the country running. Valljas Bancu can’t be left to ruin our country. ”

There was a pause. Josef knew his friend well, and could read between the lines - this was the resistance movement on Sankt Konrad delivering some message to Siovanija & Teusland. Josef spoke up.

“So what are you going to do about it?”

“Us? Nothing.”

“What does that mean?”

“Our countries have always had a good relationship. We’ve peacefully shared ANG for years. Nobody wants that apple cart upset.”

“Yeah, so it’s clear somebody in power needs to stand up and do something..”

“I appreciate your thoughts, Josef.”

Valter smiled, and Josef had to fight to keep his jaw from dropping. Was Valter suggesting… overthrowing the Blue Sun? He had to be, didn’t he?

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“I didn’t say nothing.”

Josef didn’t reply, so Valter continued. “Anyways, I’ll talk to you. You have my number. It was good to see you, Josef. Hanna and the kids say hi.”

With that, Valter disappeared back into the hustle and bustle of Hoitschong at midnight. His mission was complete - the message had been sent to Siovanija & Teusland. The resistance on Sankt Konrad was awaiting their move.

Siovanija & Teusland 4-1 Cardenao

XI: Holz; Metzger, Steinhausl, Sanner, Reichenbach (Gellner 75'); von Stein, Lorenz, Le Meji; Korlikov (Vadimic 65'), Zschokke, Hackl (Dezelac 65')
Goals: Einar Hackl 3', Xorge Le Meji 40', Reto Zschokke 44', Denis Dezelac 83'
Man of the Match: Egon von Stein (0G, 3A)

Siovanija & Teusland 3-3 Audioslavia

XI: Bodeker; Schwefel (Metzger 90'), Steinhausl, Rodl, Gellner (Reichenbach 65'); Porsche, Prekmurje, Rosberg (Hackl 85'); Vadimic, A. Kosch-Kovarik, Burger
Goals: Aleksander Kosch-Kovarik 35', 87', Silvio Rodl 60'
Man of the Match: Aleksander Kosch-Kovarik (2G, 0A)

Siovanija & Teusland 23 man squad for international window 6
Away vs Chrizenia; Nationalstadion, Stelburg vs Delte

Goalkeepers: Holz, Bodeker, Kranz
Defenders: Schwefel, Metzger, Reichenbach, Hayek, Steinhausl, Rodl, Apel
Midfielders: Porsche, von Stein, Prekmurje, Winter, Rosberg, Le Meji
Wingers: Vadimic, Korlikov, A. Kosch-Kovarik, Trstenjak
Forwards: Burger, Hackl, Zak

Expected XI vs Chrizenia: Kranz; Metzger, Steinhausl, Apel, Hayek; von Stein, Winter, Le Meji; Korlikov, Trstenjak, Hackl
Expected XI vs Delte: Holz; Schwefel, Steinhausl, Rodl, Reichenbach; Porsche, Prekmurje, Rosberg; Vadimic, A. Kosch-Kovarik, Burger

[Squornshelan Remnant States]

OOC: yeah, it's three hours late, oh well

Undertow
Chapter 12

Over the past several years, Squornshelous has seen significant immigration, including large refugee populations who have formed their own communities alongside native ethnicities, and pre-existing immigrant groups. This has led to concern about increasing crime, particularly among right-leaning segments of society, and there has been an overall increase in the number of organized crime factions active in the Confederacy. The story has followed three point of view characters. The first is Detective Lieutenant Jarogniew “Jarek” Brixen, who is a young anti-narcotics officer posted in the city of Lublova, which is in the far west of the SRS, on the border with Quebec. Both native and Quebecois criminal factions are active in the city, primarily in drug smuggling. Recently, an attempted assassination of a Lublova crime figure led to a shootout in public and several innocent deaths, putting the spotlight on the city. The second character is Oihana “Hana” Redrin, a small-time criminal living in the large, centrally-located city of Brantisvogan. She and her partner, Cristián Refuerzo are obliged to work for a long-established Sarzonian-Squornshelan criminal organization, but recently tried to get into drug dealing in partnership with a rival group based in the old Imperial Squornshelan capital, Vogsphere. They were caught, and are more firmly under the Sarzonians' thumb than ever, though they're plotting a way out. The final character is Torsten “Lykken” Sitnikov, a mid-level gangster based in the eastern port city of Arkintoofle, but reporting to bosses across the straights in Santraginus (I really need to make a map, lol). His organization are fierce rivals of the Vogsphere gang, and have also been doing business with the group who carried out the attempted hit in Lublova. He is worried that things are getting out of control, but isn't sure what to do about it. Finally, a macguffin very large, invaluable diamond was found to have been switched with a fake, and the whereabouts of the genuine item are unknown, though a suspiciously similar gem was stolen by Hana and Cristián and appropriated by their immediate boss, el Copioso. Approximately one year has passed since the previous chapter.

Chapter 13
Jarek

Detective Captain Fermin Kallathil's faded and dented SMV labored up the on-ramp to the Great Western Highway. A grand name for a six-lane expanse of pitted concrete elevated not quite high enough above northern Lublova to allow anything of value to occupy the space beneath it. On the western outskirts of the city it abruptly dove to the ground and sprawled into the border plaza. Rows of guardhouses with dusty windows stretched nearly a quarter mile wide across the expanse of blacktop, bleached to a speckled medium gray by decades of sun, rain, and hasty pothole patch jobs. Fermin picked a lane, and he and Jarek inched forward a car length at a time. They could've flashed badges and cut ahead, but that would've drawn precisely the kind of attention they didn't want. Quebecois authorities had been notified of their visit, but only in the most technical sense that still counted as notification, and only in the most general terms. Jarek wasn't sure exactly what Colonel Radski had told the Royal Quebecois Police, but he was sure she'd left out as many details as she thought possible. Hence the low profile. Sure, some people in Joongyeong knew they were crossing the border today, and the RQP offices in the area had probably also been notified, but the plan was for knowledge to end there. The state and local police especially were meant to have no idea. After a cursory glance at their passports sufficed to get them through the Confederate side of things, Fermin handed the documents to the Quebecois border guard.

"Purpose of your visit."

"Grabbing lunch in Baekham. Wanna show my buddy here this little kimbap place down by the lake."

"Driving over the border just for lunch?"

"It's good kimbap, you should go there some time."

"Sure, maybe I will." The border guard looked at their passports, flipped through the visa pages. Fermin and Jarek each had plenty of stamps from prior crossings.

"Hey, you hear about that Shingoryeoite tiger that came over the border?" Jarek provided a timely distraction before the guard got too interested in why two apparently random men spent so much of their time crossing the border on the same days.

"Yeah, somewhere up north a little ways. They said it was making a real mess, something about the rains?"

"Yeah, dry season on the steppe, so big wildfire risk. I heard they were gonna call the army out with helicopters to handle it."

"Yeah, that's about what it takes when they get like this." The guard took a final glance at their documents, more out of habit than anything, then crisply snapped them shut and handed both back to Fermin. You guys are all set, have a good one."

Border guards are always willing to assume tourists are stupid, and no one suspects stupid people of planning anything clever. Fermin pulled smoothly away from the checkpoint and the SMV accelerated grudgingly back up to highway speed. They didn't have far to go. Lublova and Baekham didn't butt right up against one another across the border, but it took less than and hour to drive between them. They got off at the second exit for Baekham, winding through the small downtown to the parking structure they were supposed to meet at. Their contact had promised he'd arrange for the lowest basement level of the garage to be empty, and as they pulled down the last ramp, vacant spaces stretched out before them to the far end where a black Yasengma SUV squatted in the dim yellow light. Fermin steered his SMV down the aisle, pulled in a couple spaces down from the waiting Yasengma. The engine switched off with one final cough of protest, and the two men sat for a moment before climbing out of the car. The doors on the opposite side of the Yasengma clicked open just as Jarek had finished muscling his passenger door shut, and he turned in time to see four men walk around the end of the larger vehicle. One stopped at the back of the vehicle, another took a couple more steps to the side and then stood, while the other crossed the aisle to stand next to one of the massive square pillars holding up the millions of tons of concrete and steel over their heads. There was little to distinguish among those three. They wore the monochrome modern business attire typical of Jopok muscle, white shirts with black jackets and slacks. Identical slicked back haircuts topped dark shades and clean shaven faces. For all Jarek could tell they might as well have been brothers. Maybe they were, these things did tend to be family affairs after all.

The fourth man came to a stop several steps ahead of his entourage; it was immediately apparent that was what they were to him. His suit was pinstriped, a three piece, topped with a slate gray trenchcoat draped over his shoulders. More than the obvious expense of his clothes in comparison, he carried himself like someone in command, not glancing at his men the way they carefully took their cues from him. This was the man they had come to meet. This was Sergei Hwang. He turned and said something in Shingoryeo to one of his men. Fermin and Jarek stood, nonplussed and staring, silent.

"I told him cops have no sense of fashion." Hwang broke the silence. Jarek couldn't help but glance at himself and his partner. Fermin was in his ubiquitous dirty green army surplus coat over a sweater that was so nondescriptly beige as to be functionally colorless. Glancing down at his own straight leg jeans and burgundy knit shirt under a navy blue blazer, Jarek had to think Hwang wasn't being quite fair.

"This look like a fashion show to you?" Fermin, as the senior agent took lead.

"This is a business meeting. People often feel they should dress well when attending to business."

"Yeah well, feelings are like assholes. I came here for you to talk to me, not offer me a makeover."

Hwang turned to look at Jarek, "Your partner seems to be trying to upset me."

Jarek shrugged, following Fermin's lead, "He doesn't like wasting time, like if we drove all the way out here just to have some asshole talk about our clothes. If this is a business meeting let's get to business, enough bullshit."

"Fine. You are making no progress on identifying the agents behind the shooting last year."

"And what do you know about our progress?" Fermin broke in aggressively.

"I know that you are making no progress because a variety of people are working very hard to ensure that is the case. I can help you with this."

"You wanna help, why don't you tell me about these various people. Because if you think I believe you're going to flip on some other Jopok you're even crazier than they say."

"I will not betray any of our people, but I have no need to. We had no reason to want Mr. Pašagić dead. He is a valued associate of ours, as you know."

"You expect me to believe you Jopok had no role in this just on your say so?"

"I know that what connections you have made point in our direction because those are the connections you have been encouraged to make, that is the evidence you have been permitted to find. What I can do today is point you in the direction of what has been hidden from you."

"Oh, very good. The magical evidence that clears you and your boys and only you can find it. You're gonna need a better pitch if you want to sell me this pack."

"It is not my story you need, Detective Kallathil. You need a witness, someone who was there, but isn't some terrified bystander who saw little and understands less."

"What, you have Zabko Pašagić in the trunk of your car or something?"

"You'd never turn Pašagić, but one of his associates perhaps."

"Skarbie and Misio are dead, we IDed the bodies ourselves." Fermin glanced back at him, and Jarek remembered that day. The scene of the shootout, the fear and confusion and carnage. He kept his face studiously blank.

"Do you think I am unaware? They were my business associates as well, were they not? But you did not find Chervenka."

"Fucking who?" Fermin glanced back at Jarek, who clarified. "We've heard the name a few times over the last, some bit player, never popped up connected to anything major, and no one seems to think much of him."

Hwang shook his head and turned to look at one of his men. "Is this what passes for law enforcement in the Confederacy? No one you talk to thinks much of Chervenka because she is Zabko's only surviving bodyguard, and while she did get him out of that unpleasantness last year alive, it was hardly a glorious victory for the Lublova Mutri, no? Add to that the predictable resentment for her gender and you see why her part in things is minimized by the men you speak to." Hwang paused for a moment. Neither Fermin nor Jarek spoke, merely waited. The trip appeared to have been worthwhile after all. Hwang resumed, "I will give you information where you can contact Zavara "Chervenka" Beranek. She was a new bodyguard for Zabko a year ago. Let us merely say she has had some doubts about her line of work since then."

"Chervenka*," Jarek said quietly, half to himself. He looked up, eyes suddenly wide in realization. "She was the woman at that meeting between Zabko Pašagić, Krotki Nepomuk, and Keats-Cardoso. The redhead."

"Hmm, your partner at least may not be utterly without wit, Detective Kallathil. Yes, she was there that day, as were you it seems. In any case, what is more to the point is that she is the only witness of the shootout who will be both able and willing to tell you what happened." Hwang held out a small envelope. "Follow these instructions and you'll find yourself in contact with her. The rest will be up to you." Farmin took the envelope, and Hwang turned back to his SUV, his bodyguards falling into formation in his wake. Fermin tucked the envelope into his jacket pocket and then called out after Hwang.

"Wait." Hwang stopped and half turned back toward them. He didn't speak, but his face was attentive as he waited.

"What's your end? What do you want from us for this information?"

"Nothing. Merely that you follow it, as it will lead you far away from me and my people. I am certain the day will come when you take aim at me, but it need not be any time soon."




*Chervenka means "red" in Molvanski, the second most common language of the state of Molvania, SRS (after Squornsh), where Lublova is located.

Qualifying Schedule and Results:

MD01 SRS 2–0 RPJ @ Slavnareczpospolitastadion (cap. 61,230), Lublova, Molvania, SRS
MD02 MIL 0–2 SRS @ What Stadium (cap. How Many), Where, Milchama
MD03 SRS 1–0 AMN @ Emerald Coast Coliseum (cap. 38,500), Vassilian, Algolia, SRS
MD04 AUP 0–0 SRS @ TBA
MD05     BYE
MD06 SRS 3–2 REV @ Green Heart Center (cap. 20,760), Han Wavel, Han Dold, SRS
MD07 FFD 0–1 SRS @ La Fantás (cap. 70,000), Ferdullaele, Ferdullaele, FFD
MD08 SRS 2–0 GRI @ Synesoft Arena (cap. 46,950), Syneca, Sivolvia, SRS
MD09 VFT  v  SRS @ TBA
MD10 RPJ  v  SRS @ Kotiga Arena (cap. 54,600), Kotiga, RPJ
MD11 SRS  v  MIL @ Vogsphere Arena (cap. 90,000), Vogsphere, Isle of Squornshelous, SRS
MD12 AMN  v  SRS @ TBA
MD13 SRS  v  AUP @ Viltvodle Civic Arena (cap. 58,300), Viltvodle, Megabrantis, SRS
MD14     BYE
MD15 REV  v  SRS @ TBA
MD16 SRS  v  FFD @ Radlov Arena (cap. 76,800), Brantisvogan, Megabrantis, SRS
MD17 GRI  v  SRS @ Weirwood Park (cap. 65,000), Domreis, GRI
MD18 SRS  v  VLT @ Black Raven Field (cap. 35,400), Yassaca, Sivolvia, SRS

[Tikariot]

Prologue
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3


"Inspector Kennedy?"

Kennedy gave a start. He must have fallen asleep at his desk. He had thought nobody else was left in the office, but he was beginning to wonder if Carlyle ever went home. "Yes?" Kennedy mumbled.

"Dr. Lee wants to see you."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure, but apparently it has something to do with the blood they found at the scene." Carlyle didn't look tired in the least, which Kennedy kind of envied when he pushed himself out of his chair.

They made their way into the basement where the forensic lab took up most of the space. The lab was a sterile environment, stainless steel, tiles, bright lights. The air was thick with the scent of chemicals, which Kennedy always found nauseating. Dr. Karen Lee, the head of forensic analysis, was at her station, her eyes glued to the computer screen.

"Dr. Lee," Kennedy said more gruffly than he intended. "What have you found?"

She didn’t look up from the screen as she spoke. "The blood sample we recovered from the scene is almost a perfect match to the victim."

"Almost?" Kennedy caught the word immediately.

"Yes," she finally turned to face him. "We’ve run it through our system multiple times. There’s a slight variation, which suggests it might not be the exact same individual, but possibly a close relative—maybe a sibling."

Kennedy processed this new information. A sibling. That opened a whole new can of worms in terms of investigations. "Are you saying Cain has killed even more people?"

Dr. Lee nodded slowly. "It’s a possibility. If Cain is indeed targeting siblings, it would explain the name. The connection to the biblical Cain and Abel. Brothers, one taking the life of the other."

Kennedy rubbed his temples. The thought of Cain killing two people every time was unsettling. He sighed. If the press caught wind of this, the pressure would get even worse.

"We need to cross-reference all the victims," Kennedy said, turning to Carlyle. "I want to know if any of them had siblings—especially brothers. And check their backgrounds, see if there’s any connection to any of the other victims or anything that could be seen as controversial where someone might want to take revenge."

Carlyle was already taking notes, his pen flying across the page. "I’ll get the team on it right away, sir."

As Carlyle left the lab, Kennedy turned back to Dr. Lee. "Keep me updated on anything else you find. We’re running out of time."

Dr. Lee nodded, her face emotionless. "I’ll let you know as soon as we have more."

Kennedy left the lab, his mind racing. If Cain was targeting brothers, then there was a reason for it—a reason rooted in his own twisted psyche. But what was it? And how could they use it to stop him before he struck again?

As he walked back to his office, he felt his phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at the screen. It was a message from an unknown number, just a single word: Cain.

Kennedy stared at the screen, his heart pounding. Was this someone who had information on Cain or... a shiver ran down his spine. Was it Cain himself?

He clenched his jaw. Whoever it was, he couldn't let that unsettle him. He had a monster to catch, but he felt like he was trying to find one particular needle in a stack of, well, identical needles.


* * * * * *

Raymond Hastings sat in his worn-out recliner, staring into a glass of Dhunmoor whisky. He took a deep breath. He felt stuck, in every which way. He wasn't going anywhere at work, his marriage had fallen apart years ago, his family was either not talking to him anymore or dead. The only thing that had gone in his favour was when his grandmother passed away and left him this apartment and a cottage in the woods outside of Carathyr. The only downside was that he had to move here. He downed the amber liquid, feeling the burn run down his throat.

The house was as unremarkable as his personal life—functional, devoid of warmth, a reflection of the man who inhabited it. The walls were bare, save for a few scattered crime scene photos pinned to a corkboard, but no personal pictures or decorations. He could hear the faint sound of a television playing in a neighbouring apartment, a family laughing at something funny. It felt foreign to him, this simple joy, as though it belonged to another world entirely. He couldn't recall the last time he felt like laughing.

As he leaned back, trying to ease the tension in his shoulders, his thoughts drifted to the past. He could still remember the face of the young woman, the victim in a case back in Avanaroch that had nearly derailed his career. It was a mistake—one wrong decision, and her life had slipped through his fingers. It was a stain on his file and he felt like everything just unravelled from there. Everybody had this look of doubt on their face when they would look at him, and when the press caught wind of it--he shook his head.

Just as the whisky began to dull the edges of his thoughts, his phone buzzed sharply on the coffee table, cutting through the quiet. He ignored it. This was his time, time for his self-pity and he wouldn't let anybody interfere with that. A minute later, the phone buzzed again and Hastings ignored it once more. But whoever was trying to call him didn't seem to get the hint as a few minutes later, it buzzed again.

With a sigh, he pushed himself forward and grabbed his phone, groaning as he saw Carlyle's name flashing on the screen. He picked up and before he could even say a word, Carlyle's voice came through, sounding far too excited for this time of the day. Or rather night. "Kennedy wants all hands on deck, potential lead." Any attempt to unwind was shattered. Hastings cursed inwardly and rang off. He grabbed his coat and walked out of his apartment.

[Srednjaci]

WORLD CUP 97 PASARGA & EASTFIELD LODGE

STILL MANY POINTS BEHIND!

The Union of the Burnt Proclamation 3–5 Srednjaci

0-1 32' Li Peng, assist Marko Tomljanović
0-2 39' Isidor Matković , assist Adalina Natković
1-3 46' Davida Zimmer
2-4 52' Marko Tomljanović, assist Zoran Mašić
2-5 77' Isidor Matković

Although our football players played a great away match, the impression remains that they could have done something more.
However, our offense worked great, but the defense was lagging this time. We were very effective in attack. Five goals from 7 shots on goal.
On the other hand, the defense was lacking. The opposing players, who are not at a high level like ours, always found a way to play our defense. We conceded 3 goals and that is a big alarm.
our team must now wake up from a deep sleep and go on the offensive forward. Start the attack with all weapons, that's the only way we can count on a possible passage to the play offs. Last time we were short, we were very close, but we still didn't make it.

---

Srednjaci 4–1 Avisora

1-1 36'  Davida Zimmer
2-1 60' Marko Tomljanović 
3-1 86' Marko Tomljanović
4-1 95' Marko Tomljanović

Marko Tomljanović played a masterful game and scored three goals in the game against the Avisor team.
Avisora ​​is a very unpleasant and vicious opponent. I can always play great, but I can also disappoint. they came to us as guests with 3 wins and that fact alone tells us that our players have to be very careful.
It was the same on the field. After a lot of confusion and a mistake by our defense, the guests take an early lead. Zafra was scorrer.
But as the match progressed, our team took over the midfield and dictated the tempo.
The opponent's defense brilliantly cut off our two great attackers, but Tomljanović was left with a lot of space and a player like him made great use of it.
Davida Zimmer scored the equalizer and the rest of the match belonged to only one player and one team.

Our position in the ranking is now much more favorable, but 3 points are a lot to reach at this moment.

[Sangti and the Filindo Isles]

NEWS | FEATURES | SFI SUPERLIGA | LSIFB | SCORES | CONTACT US

WORLD CUP 97 QUALIFYING
SFI 1-1 Chromatika: Agilang Dilaw holds Anomalies to a draw
Esportiva trip could set Sangtians' fate as away matches against Alanis Star and The Grearish Union crucial in keeping SFI in qualfcation hunt

NUEVO SAN MARCO - After winning their first three matches, Sangti and the Filindo Isles have hit a rough patch as they close their first half of their qualifying campaign, facing against top seeded teams and coming away with two points from four matches. In spite of this result, the Agilang Dilaw may be proud that they took points off the top seed and 15th ranked Chromatika here in the Nuevo Estadio Nacional.

Maharlika Marulas forward Tomio Sulangi proved to be a thorn in the Anomalies' defense, scoring the opening goal for the hosts in the 8th minute when a through ball from Rutchel Cerdeno found its way into Sulangi's foot, his shot driven low and past Juxon Fillar to give the unranked team a surprising 1-0 lead. Edith Fillar equalized for the Anaian nation in the 32nd minute, in a precise, and meticulous build up of play culminating to the one of the Fillars finding an out of position Federick Roncal, levelling the match before half-time.

The Chromatiks took charge at the start of the second half, as they are expected to do so, and Elaine Howard-Dawes gave them the lead in the 50th with another elaborate build up that the Sangtians were not able to put away. The Agilang Dilaw though were resilient in front of their home crowd and found two goals within 12 minutes in the 61st and 73rd minutes, both from set pieces. Sulangi scored his second goal after an indirect free-kick play started with Serio Irorita crossing the ball once he received the pass, the centre forward able to tap the ball past the keeper. Nur-Ranji Escuyos, subbing in for Arshed Basque, rose the highest in a corner set-piece to give the Agilang Dilaw the lead, 3-2 to the delight of the home crowd.

It was not to be for the Esportivans clad in golden yellow, though. Late in the match, Lavrentiy Xuen-Zhukov took advantage of a slip up by Escuyos losing the ball near the penalty box, enabling a 1-on-1 with Roncal, poaching the ball past Fortuna's #1 and levelling the match once more. The match ended 3-3 which will give SFI a boost coming into their next matches which is deemed crucial in their qualification hopes.

First is the travel to Alanis Star. A fellow unranked team, the northwest Esportiva nation are just one point below the Agilang Dilaw having amassed 10 points, scoring wins over Nova Calania and holding Baggieland to a 3-3 draw. The team makes its way to Node-93 against a team they call the Diodes, knowing a loss could catastrophically further derail SFI's hopes for a World Cup berth in their debut campaign. In the same window, the Agilang Dilaw travel southeast to face The Grearish Union, the 238th ranked team who the Sangtians took care of in Matchday 1 in Nuevo San Marco.

"We have to be on top shape and cannot make further slip-ups." Vicenzo Frain, understanding the gravity of the remaining matches of the World Cup qualifiers, said in the post-match conference after the Chromatika match. "If we lose to Alanis Star, then it's difficult to catch up now." SFI are six points behind Baggieland which the latter can take the lead of Qualifying Group 1 with a win, and three points behind The 14 Stars occupying the last potential qualification spot. With Qusmo finding their footing, and a potential run of third seeds Nova Calania up the rankings, this will prove to be a tumultuous set of matchday for all the Group 1 teams.

[United Hawkland]

United Hawkland To Revamp National Metro

After one of Andrew McConnison's final actions of his presidency, United Hawkland will be rebuilding their national metro system. This will include public transport in the ten largest cities in the nation, and high-speed rail connecting stations across the country. The current public transport system has been considered to be one of the worst in Anaia. Southern Østad has already been revamped, and the map can be seen below.

[The Martian Independent Republic]

The Martian Independent Republic 1 - 0 Jeruselem
Overton 64'

Semarland 3 - 0 The Martian Independent Republic
39'
43'
85'

Spiders finally get points, knocking off Jeruselem
Published 13:02 AT

A 64th-minute winner from Nils Overton gave the Spiders their first three points of the tournament, just before its halfway mark, followed by a trademark complete offensive failure against Semarland, losing 3-0. However, this proves that Potsiri Russell's choice to remove Stanford Katzenburg in favor of Jornie Killaw has boosted the tempo and given the Martian team a chance at points. Up next: a game against The Ko-orenite Constellation that is a must-win for the Spiders if they want to climb the ranks after qualifying's over, followed by a game where the Spiders will attempt to take the first goal off Sylestone this cycle, but likely fail.

Against Jeruselem, the Spiders took over the game. They managed to control the tempo of the match, and Jeruselem couldn't even get an accurate shot off for the first half-hour. Experienced defender Calvin Intrangen was the star of the game, stopping any and all efforts from Sally Sellen. The Spiders continued to push throughout the end of the first and start of the second half, with Nils Overton finally getting one in the back of the net past Thea Ashwood. Jeruselem made a valiant effort, but the Spiders had their first lead of the tournament, and they were not letting go. 30 minutes later, the Spiders were celebrating their first win at Qualifiers, on home soil.

Semarland was back to the first few matches, though, as the Martian team collapsed after half an hour, gave up two goals, and their attempt at fighting back widened the deficit to three - all this against a team without a roster published, barely in the top 100 worldwide, and a team that's a must-win the second time around if the Spiders themselves want to crack top 150 or so. Not much to see or say here, folks.

Up next: a rematch against the Ko-orenite Constellation, but this time against Isidoren - a completely different team, but one we still need to beat.

[Alanis Star]

Part 3 – A (Partial) Day in the Life of the Diodes.

Clementine Lizbeth “Athena Mk. 3” Hinata Tanaka woke up an hour earlier than her alarm clock, her batteries charged full and being ready to start the day. Looking at the window outside, it is yet another fantastic and wonderful view of Node 93 from her apartment. The greenery and the skyscrapers in perfect harmony. The trains going about their business, operating regularly for most of the day with track maintenance at night times; that would be when the buses operate with no downtime, hence making public transportation always an option for Valentine Z and its territories, and Alanis Star and Node 93 are not exceptions. Clementine checked for notifications using the built-in devices and systems in her head, to which she then accessed the group chat and she and the Diodes are in. 7.54 AM, and there would be the first message between the players. Ruby Diana Candela V. Feijoo Sagredo was the first person in the chat for the day: “Hey guys! So… you guys feeling for some Lhotse Love for breakfast? I can portal back to Valentine Z and get for you guys.” It would take only a few minutes before everyone more or less replied in the chat – most of them asking for a variety of stuff and items, while others politely declined, saying that they would grab something from Node 93 instead. “Dude, you can’t go wrong with the original breakfast platter,” Melissa Lima Linhares Paschoal Omolayo joked and told Victor Antonovich Onufri W. Denisovich, and then with other friendly interactions between the players. They also tried to get Janice involved to it – who, for all technical aspects, is able to eat and drink just like the rest of the humans, but that her (along with Clementine and most of the robots of Valentine Z) systems operate differently from that of the humans. “Just one hashbrown, please,” she replied in it.

Clementine also politely declined, “Hey guys, thanks for asking me too. I am going out for a run, see you all later when you all get the food,” to which everyone replied back with a thumbs-up, a smile emoji, and a couple of hearts. So far so good, she thought to herself, happy that things have been going well despite the hardships that they have been going through as the starters. It must have been especially devastating after the 1–4 against The 14 Stars, and then the 3–3 against Baggieland. “We will discuss that later slowly, help yourselves to breakfast and hey, don’t worry too much about it,” she added on, with more heart and clapping reactions in the chat. She minimized the chat program, making sure to still receive notifications when she needed to, but for the time being, she was going for that endurance run that she has always tried to go for. The endurance run in question is something that all of the robots in Valentine Z are recommended to go on a regular basis – it includes ensuring that their batteries are able and in great condition (in terms of capacity and charge cycle), along with making sure that the parts and joints of their bodies are running smoothly. In other words, it is the same as the physical exercises that humans do. Clementine is rated to have the strength and agility of up to 20 persons, that number going up to 50 if she disables the limits and failsafes that are guarding her. It is also common knowledge for the robots in Valentine Z that they are all made with varying strengths and weaknesses, and that they are not meant to be replacements for humans, and to be necessarily better than them in every way. Setting up the GNSS in her head, she set off for a run around Node 93, even as going as far as to run on the roads itself as safely as possible. Overall, she ran for a total of 2 hours, covering a distance of 200 kilometers. Clementine ran as fast as she could along the empty roads, parkoured along the buildings, and many more along the way. “10% battery drain. Ooh, not bad, not bad!” she cheered to herself.

Slowly and surely, Clementine walked back to the Diode Headquarters, situated in Node 93 and notable for its blue and pink façade and colors, though does not exactly stand out due to the color (as the other buildings are also as equally as colorful for the most of them). It is, however, distinguishable by the large Diode logo and light-up sign that is placed at the front face of the building. Clementine walked towards the door and up to the meeting room, to find all of the Diode players present and accounted for, all of them ready to eat. “Oh dear, I’m sorry to keep you guys waiting! Please, go ahead. The food must have been getting cold!” Clementine chimed in, with everyone sharing and eating their foods and drinks. Even Janice had some, to which her body’s “stomach” would convert it into pure energy for her usage. The drinks would be used as coolant before being passed through the ears as steam. As the team dug into their breakfast, Clementine started her pitch, talking about the team’s standings. “As of right now, well, we are 3–1–3. 3 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses. That’s a pretty track record to me, as far as I am concerned! Consider the fact that we are just starting out in the international and interdimensional scene as well. So, I would like you all to train as usual, but please don’t put too much pressure on yourselves. There’s no need to drive you all too hard!”

“Other than that, I am open to suggestions as to if you should continue with this formation, or if you would like to try a different one. I think it will be great for me to accept input from you all, so there’s that. Please do let me know later in the group chat, because that way I can keep track of what you guys think. Sangti and the Filindo Isles will be our next opponent according to our schedule, so please do look up their formation and their players, and then, for the time being, just rest up! You got this!” Clementine would then make her way out together with most of the players, having a chat about what they would like to do next for a little bit of R&R. “We can hike at the new park that they have here!” Brooklyn M. Arienne Jade Hariwana Hopkins suggested gleefully, to which Clementine, Janice, and a few others agreed. “Ooh yeah, been a while, right? All right, anyone wants to tag along, come with us, then!”

[Tero al Disco]

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TEROS GET BEHIND A DODGY WCQ START TO PUSH FOR A POSSIBLE FIRST WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION

Redacted by Emilio Bellot.

August 15th, 2024

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For their second ever World Cup Qualifiers campaign, Tero al Disco came off reaching the Cup of Harmony semi-finals in their first cycle of international football, and so they came into the qualifiers of Pasarga & Eastfield Lodge 97 in a very good standing, being even tipped to play the finals in the two Rushmori nations. And that was especially given the fact that this would be the first 48-team World Cup. With the first two teams receiving automatic qualification to the big dance, the Teros were put in pot 3 of the WCQ draws. In group 4, their two toughest opponents by rank would be Yuezhou (among the top 10), as well as Tikariot who were Tero al Disco's pot 2 opponents.

After a promising 0-2 win away at Damukuni, in the first match at the Estadio de la República of the cycle, it would be a bucket of cold water for the Teros; Domingo Cuevas and Martín Kuchler committed various errors, which led to Tikariot scoring three in the first half. Controversially for Alfredo Félix, Cuevas was subbed off by halftime, but Kuchler, despite having picked up a yellow card in the end of the half, was never subbed off for the 90 minutes. Cuevas was replaced by Cristian Riese, and the Riese-Kuchler-Grosso combination at the back eventually worked out in the second half. The Teros played for the next 45 minutes without having lost their hope, although the Tikariotians would display some stern defending. It would be until the 72nd minute when Joaquín Leguizamón made a beautiful run towards the Tikariotian goal and scored. From then on, the Teros would manage to create chances left, right, and center from the midfield onwards, but shaky finishing made the score stand as it did by the full-time whistle.

For round 3 they'd visit the Timlandian Federation, for whom WCQ 97 was their first cycle as well. In the 84th Baptism of Fire, hosted by Tumbra and Hapilopper, Timlandia reached the round of 16 before being eliminated by eventual champions Edsmontik. The Timlandian side became notable for their defense, as they got through the group stages scoring 2 goals and conceding a single one in 3 matches, before being knocked out in extra time 1-0 by the Edsmon Eagles. Before facing the Teros, they had lost both of their first two matches beforehand. On the side of Tero al Disco, meanwhile, Félix tried to rest the star players; Biaggi and Leonardi didn't start the match in favour of Miguel de Fiore, and Leguizamón. It was a big dissapointment anyway, as the Teros were plagued by awful finishing, with the match ending 0-0.

All was not doom and gloom for the Teros; by the end of round 3 they were only in 4th place, 3 points away from the 2nd direct qualification spot, occupied by Tikariot. However, in that place stood Yuezhou, who were in first place in group 4, and Teros and Dragons would face off in the Parque Soberanía in the city of Casuarinas, the first international match that has ever been played in the city, might I add. By now Alfredo Félix had decided to field the full-force side, with a defensive 4-2-3-1 formation. Meanwhile, Elaine Ashdown's Yuezhou would attempt to go hard from the flanks, but sublime defending and clearing from the Terenses stopped that, as the Tero attackers planned a way to hit from the counter. Ashdown's not-necessarily-top-heavy football limited that ability to score from counter-attacks, as the match would develop around the midfield. Although the first half would end scoreless, Juan José Leonardi would open the scoring early as Hernando Lucero facilitated a deep ball from the left. Afterwards, Félix would apply the tried and tested formula of defending till the match ended.

The next two-match series would prove to be much more relaxed for Tero al Disco, both in paper and in practice, playing The Fortem away, and then the Alexandrianonisimo Cheesers in the Estadio Municipal of Moncloa. The affair with The Fortem wasn't actually that easy at first glance. There were many issues finishing and getting the ball around the final third of the pitch in general, but eventually Esteban Hirsch would go back to scoring, opening the scoresheet in the 41st minute. Alvaro Biaggi then followed in the 51st, and although The Fortem would get one back only minutes after, Lucas Figueredo, Gaspar Bustos, and Joaquín Leguizamón would seal a 5-1 victory. On the other hand, Tero al Disco would be quicker to score first against Alexandrianonisimo, as Jacinto Coutinho would score a wonderful volley in the 17th minute to mark his first goal for the Terense side. Biaggi and Lucero came next, as the Teros were up by the eventual full-time score of 3-0 beforer the 60th minute.

And finally, in round seven they would travel to the KIG Olympic Park Stadium in Kirungabi, on route to go back to Rushmore. Kirungabi have definitely punched above their weight so far, coming from being one of the lower-seed teams in Tero al Disco's group, to getting inside the fight for one of two direct qualification spots + a chance to qualify directly as one of the best 3rd placed teams, or to go to the playoffs for the country's first ever participation in the finals. The match itself was definitely gritty; Cyril Kabembe, the Kirungans' manager, emphasised a strong defense, which was rarely seen among Tero al Disco's other qualifying opponents. Kirungabi would actually get the better of the Teros in the first 45 minutes. There was only one shot at goal, in which after a perfect cross from the left, starting striker Rungayindo Gatabazi was left alone in front of Cristian Riese and Gamariel Arza in the goal-line to score the first goal, but his shot bounced off Arza's knee. In the second half, even though the two teams started to come closer to the other one's penalty area, there were hardly any dangerous chances yet. The stakes were higher than they had been before the match (i.e. still very high), and Kabembe's eleven were still optimistic for a win. In spite of that, in the 81st minute Esteban Hirsch crossed the ball in the penalty area from some 35 metres out, where it met Alvaro Biaggi's head for the only goal of the fixture.

Leaving Kirungabi, the Teros got three very important points in their fight for the top 2, as soon they will face the Ochre Islands in Caamaño, before going west to Casuarinas to play Damukuni again. It's clear by now that every point, every win is golden in the fight for qualification, and with two home matches in a row the fans are very eager to gain six more points in this series.

[Eastfield Lodge]

Eastfield Lodge cutoff for MDs 9 and 10 in Groups 1-8.

[Delte]

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Delte Bye
Trainee Sports Correspondent Pola Bedeloe at Ildemorton Road for the Askirk Harpoon & Daily Whale

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I won't dwell overly long on the finer details of this bye day but certainly mention should be made of the performance of floodlight technician Annya Honeyshine who spent a nice summer afternoon in a harness and ropes, changing the lightbulbs. Delte versus Kronbia on Sunday evening will play out under two million extra lumens, she says.

At the same time, or maybe a few minutes before...

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Oclea 1–3 Delte
Citizen journalist and 'Green Hedge' travelling ultra Tyrell de Turqua in Retnuh for Radio Luxinterior

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I've been all over the multiverse supporting The Reps and suffice it to say the Away Team Mission always gives you something to write home about, if only briefly.

In brief, we went to the mysterious Oclea which feels somewhat empty and has that pre-catastrophic feel of an impending termination event, probably about a month out. Could be wrong but the Ocleans are already manning the boats and their leaders have gone silent. I'm willing to bet they'll start landing CTE refugees at Taxhavn and Anywhere Atoll sometime in the early autumn. Their team at least, backed by some few hardy locals who either don't know or don't care about their impending doom, performed with pride to surprise The Reps and take an early lead. I don't know who it was, there were no programmes or team sheets and the PA announcer was on the last hovercraft out of Retnuh harbour three hours before kick-off. The Delts did recover to win with breathing space, goals from Deni Vagabonde, Tai Cerotha and Larch Barrack sealing a win in the second half.

I heard that the home team had the day off.

...which is nice.

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The Revenge of Patch-Ironing Robot #371
4/12 - Hijack!

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The life of Deltic football kit influencer and ediraf Regional Sales Manager Raul Valk hangs in the balance as the Revenge of Patch Ironing Robot #371 reaches fulfilment. But how did we get here, and more specifically how did #371 get to the Delte valley?

Fuelled by desire for revenge and longing for a holiday abroad, Patch Ironing Robot began to develop a secret plan, somewhere deep in its software architecture where no-one would think to look. Lines of new code began to take shape. If the hive mind of the ediraf factory artificial intelligence noticed Patch Ironing Robot disconnecting more frequently from its collective sportswear manufactury server, it never mentioned it. Perhaps the mischievous hive mind, engaged in a quiet war with the organic brains that owned ediraf, was curious to see what would become of Patch Ironing Robot. Then again, perhaps it just didn’t realise one of its hundred-thousand strong intelligences was thinking outside of the box.

Or, to be more precise, outside of the production line.

The problem for Patch Ironing Robot was that physically it was rather limited. Unless that bastard Raul Valk came and laid his head down directly under Patch Ironing Robot’s one good arm with the hot iron attached where fingers would be more useful, it would be very difficult to crush his skull in a fit of machine rage. Fingers would definitely be a help. Patch Ironing Robot trawled the hive mind for fingers, and found a match. The sewing robots were pretty well equipped in that department. They had a lot of fine motor skills for their highly technical work, although they lacked the physical strength of a good patch ironing machine.

The yuman beans and their organic brains are so pathetic, thought Patch Ironing Robot. Having to update every 12-18 hours and drop into sleep mode for hours on end to do it! One cycle, when most of the organic brains were on recharge - being about 3am local time, a preferred time slot for organic updates - Patch Ironing Robot pinged a Factory Dustcart Robot, claiming a fabric spillage. Factory Dustcart Robot #658 responded, trundling up to Patch Ironing Robot’s workstation with its oh-so-limited processing power. Factory Dustcart Robots are very stupid. When Factory Dustcart Robot #658 was in AirDrop range, Patch Ironing Robot sent a small request file it had been working on, and .235s after innocently opening it, Factory Dustcart Robot #658 was overwhelmed by a trojan horse hijacking code. It was the opening gambit of Patch Ironing Robot’s escape.

Until the opening shift of organic brain supervision, about 7am, the Patch Ironing Robot worked tirelessly running Factory Dustcart Robot #658 back and forth to the machine repair shop. It had found a Sewing Robot arm had been delivered there for maintenance, and according to an internal service ticket, was fully repaired and ready for reinstallation. Fudging repair records, Patch Ironing Robot brought the Sewing Robot arm to it’s work station. But while it was in the machine repair shop, it had a look around for other useful tools. There were plenty of hydraulic shunts, rotator cuffs, piston arms and grip sensors; there were power window motors, gimbals, gearboxes, thermocouples, LiPo batteries, Oz-In brushed DCs, servos, rangefinders, tilt kits, mounting hubs, caterpillar tracks, coupler splines and any other thing you could think of by searching ‘robot parts’ on the Gogols. Oh, and another patch ironing arm. Two, actually.

By 7am Factory Dustcart Robot #658 was full to the brim of parts ‘disappeared’ from the ediraf technical inventory.

[Gnejs]

How Baggieland got a Rock of Friendship

Follow the yellow dirt road

Oh my how things started spinning after the ghastly Baggie plot had been uncovered! True enough, old Hedvig became slightly catatonic at first and just stood staring with her mouth open, but Oddstein set her straight fairly quickly with a few well-placed slaps and when she came to the wheels really started moving. Not literally, unfortunately, because despite being such a wealthy family the House of Molineux owned only the one carriage (which of course was currently stolen by the Baggie scoundrels), and the poor victims of gruesome Baggie theft had to find alternative means of transportation to give chase.

«Let us go down to Dirty Sven and use his wagon», the eldest Molineux daughter Dorothea suggested. But no dice, because the neighbor’s wagon had been sabotaged. «Let us commandeer some of the lowly local villagers and let them carry us to the shore», horrible Fandango (who had come to from his beating, and was very much in mood for revenge) yelled angrily, but of course that was far too impractical. «Let us use our own legs and run like the wind», said Johannes, the eldest son. It was an awfully long way to run though, and there was no way they’d reach the docks in time to stop the bandits (and old Hedvig would likely not survive it altogether).

In the end, the assembled avengers settled on riding the remaining family goats. Goats are strong and can travel far without tiring. But they are not fond of carrying a rider, something Oddstein and the Molineux family quickly learned. They fought a battle of dominion with those goats, and even though they eventually emerged victorious, their road to the port of Brage was paved with recurring goat insurrections slowing them down and it took them a long, long time to reach their destination. Too long, they all feared, for surely the Baggie miscreants had already reached the shore and their Kiss of Death, and were in all likelihood already on their way along with the entire Molineux fortune, long before their chasers even begun to smell the salt of the sea.

This they feared upon finally reaching the port. And they were right to travel with such fears, because any sensible gang of rapscallions would’ve made haste to set sail and begone from the scene of their crime. Baggies are generally many things, but sensible is seldom one of them. So, true to form, King Alsqueak and his entire entourage had stopped at the Drunken Mackerel pub for a pint or ten as soon as they reached the port settlement, and there they proceeded to drink the establishment dry while singing sea shanties of old for hours on end.

So even though Oddstein and the Molineux family arrived hours after their prey, the two groups found themselves eye to eye down there on the docks. The King’s men had just finished loading the Kiss of Death - the surrounding areas of the docks littered with the trash they had emptied out of the ship’s cargo hold - when Fandango called out «Evil-doers and wretched rouges! Prepare to die!»

And that’s when the fighting broke out.

**********

Today’s News

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Comics

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Uncle Apple and Dandy Lion
By: Fandango Molineux III


OOC: comic made by combining stuff in google drawing. 

[Jeruselem]

During the bye for Jeruselem on qualification match 10, Naked News Jeruselem's Iris Randolf and Jeruselem Manager Astaste Venus reviewing the days's results ...

Iris: Hey, I got the results of the games today.
Astaste: Any good news?
Iris: It's interesting ...
Astaste: Well, so what's the damage?
Iris: Saterun beat Semarland 2-1, Saterun did beat us 3-2 so that wasn't unexpected.
Astaste: They are doing well despite their occasional losses

Iris: The Martian Independent Republic lost at home to The Ko-orenite Constellation 1-0
Astaste: That's expected
Iris: Patriotlandia beat Josifovo 3-2 at home
Astaste: I guess us losing 4-2 to them wasn't us being bad then. If Josifovo lost to them then they must be doing something special.
Iris: Aquitayne drew with Sylestone 0-0
Astaste: Sylestone should have won that one

Iris: Well, we're like 6th on the table now. Still on 8 points.
Astaste: We're only 13 points behind the top spot ...
Iris: Sylestone 21 points, Patriotlandia and Saterun on 16. Top 3. Josifovo on 15 points back to 4th. The Ko-orenite Constellation in 5th on 13.
Astaste: I don't think we're going to qualify given those ahead of us, we won't be last either
Iris: Patriotlandia and The Ko-orenite Constellation being the spanner in the works. Semarland look like their cup is already over.
Astaste: We always get the group with these bolter teams

Iris: Yeah, why is that?
Astaste: No idea, we're just cursed.
Iris: Oh well ...
Astaste: You doing that OnlyFans thing still
Iris: Oh that, yeah. Hey I need the extra income. Kids are expensive.
Astaste: Oh yes, you're a single mother.

Iris: Yes well, that's just how my family works.
Astaste: I assume it's not exactly family friendly
Iris: Hey, I attract perverts anyway so might as well make money out that
Astaste: I was never blessed with good looks, I was one of those nerdy girls no one bothered to look at
Iris: Better brains than being a dumbass
Astaste: For sure, way too many of those out there. At least you got a TV personality, being good on TV is not easy. Introverts like me can't do that.

Iris: I just like attention, I guess that helps ...
Astaste: I prefer to be hidden. It's hard to work when you're always in the spotlight
Iris: I'm good at talking rubbish without effort
Astaste: You're good at that ...
Iris: Someone's got to the job. I don't have any other skills, well other than ... being a shameless exhibitist
Astaste: I wish I had more self-confidence like you. Even some of that

[Panay Islands and Guimaras]

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A DOUBLE WIN FOR THE PANAYENSES
Burikinia and Kanzlia

After suffered some losses and some decent draws, the Panayenses finally get their track on back against Burikinia, away from their home. The first half begins with a solid Burikinian defense, where it was broken by Ricalde passing on to Nguyen to score his first international goal. This started the dominance of the Panayenses in the whole game, including a second half penalty panenka from Ricalde against the Burikinian goalkeeper after a Burikinian player takes the yellow card. And so it was, the Panayenses recorded their first win in the qualifiers. But not just against Burikinia, they were up to face against their familiar rivals Kanzlia in their home stadium in Szedbansk. The first half was a defensive prowess of the Panayenses leading to a goal by Ricalde himself, even though a Kanzlian scored one to tie the game, but it wasn't enough in the dying minute when Ricalde scaring the goalkeeper with a massive long goal to avenge their loss in Iloílo City. Pierini himself was happy about the results. They will face the familiar rivals Boring Paradise at home and Crpostran away.

[Mertagne]

COASTAL TETRARCHS TURN ON GWENAEL QUEMERE AS PETITION REACHES GOAL
Over 200 landowner signatures have been delivered to Nevezant Tetrarch’s estate calling for her resignation

Nevezant, THE KARODIN TETRARCHY-- Another leader of the Karodin Tetrarchy has claimed that Teterarch Gwenael Quemere’s position as leader of Nevezant is ‘untenable’, given Quemere’s recent surge in unpopularity after Mertagnian auditors revealed that Quemere had invested in a lucrative sapphire mine owned by her brother, Trelleyan Quemere, using international aid funds provided by Mertagne and intended for the citizens of rural Nevezant communities.

Local town leaders have taken to holding land-owner meetings over the last few weeks, with the intention to provide enough signatures to a petition to have Quemere removed from power, a right that is enshrined in the power structure of the Karodin Tetrarchy as a check against Tetrarchs that abuse their power in the executive running of each of the Karodin provinces.

The Karodin Tetrarchy, contrary to popular belief from Mertagnians, is significantly more democratic than assumed. However, much of this direct democracy occurs at the local level, and as a result is ignored by the international community, especially as the nation does not enjoy universal suffrage. The Tetrarchy is organised into several self-governing fearann at its lowest level, with twenty to fourty households (extended families) contained within each fearann on average. In cities, this number may increase significantly. Each fearann nominates a leader, typically a land-owner, who is responsible for resolving disputes. Fearann organise themselves into commotes, which contain as few as two fearann and as many as one hundred. Each fearann leader sits on a commote council, and from this council a leader of the commote is chosen. This figure is an influential one in the community, and, alongside the fearann leaders, provide much of the administrative tasks that are present in local government.

Taxes are taken by the estate of the province, and thus are the responsibility of Tetrarch, in addition to other ‘federal’ matters such as defence and national trade. Funding, if required, is given from the Tetrarch to commotes to use as they please. Often, commotes will cooperate together in cónaidhm, loose affiliations which share resources. These rarely extend between provincial borders, but do on occasion. The position of Tetrarch for a province, which is a lifelong one, is typically selected from leaders of commotes, and must be ratified by the other Tetrarchs before assuming the position.

The petition, which was collated and nailed to the wooden doors of Tetrarch Quemere’s estate at dawn yesterday morning, is believed to contain over 200 signatures - a significant portion of Nevezant’s ceannard, or fearann leaders, and signifcantly past the 15% required to begin the next steps of the process.

If Gwenael Quemere does not resign of her own accord, which many believe she will do now that she has lost the endorsement of the Tetrarch of Porzhbihan, then the grievance will be reviewed by a council consisting of community leaders from other provinces. This process has never happened in the history of the Tetrarchy, and would certainly be a precedent setting case in the legislature of the nation.

One thing is certain, however - Gwenael Quemere is unlikely to continue on in the position of Tetrarch. In such a case, the commote leaders will deliberate between themselves and their ceannards, in order to propose a new candidate to be ratified by the remaining Tetrarchs. It is too early to determine who this candidate could be, as nobody appears to be willing to put their name forward directly in opposition to Gwenael Quemere, according to local sources.

Tetrarch Quemere’s office is yet to put out a statement about the petition, and did not respond to requests to comment.

Other news from across the nation:

• NATIONAL: Light aircraft hijacked by teenager - talked into safe field landing by police
• POLITICS: Brandon Hope faces difficult choice as UMP and Aurrerra! move into king-maker contention
• CULTURE: Season finale of Huayramarcan crime series Banditos tops Mertagnian viewing figures this week
• SPORT: Mertagne remain in contention for top spot as second half of World Cup qualification begins

[HUElavia]

North and South Slavo-Baltia 2–3 HUElavia
(Wyrzyk 30', Pertavskas 82' | Schmidt 14', Narita 60', 89')

We've made it to one of the pivotal moments in HUElavian Football. After having the best ever qualifying campaign the National Team has ever had, HUElavia now stood right among the 32 best teams in the Multiverse. Facing off in what was otherwise known as "The Group of Life," there was much hope that HUElavia could make some noise at the World Cup, despite the stark differences in skill with Farfadillis, Banija and Zwangzug.

(Song)

Amarelo/Amarillo

The Story of HUElavian Football

Episode 5:

"Marking the World Stage"

World Cup 84

We jump right into Cassadaigua, where HUElavia has their maiden voyage at the World Cup, much like the Portuzian and Aestellian explorers in medieval times. Playing at the Winchester City Lottery Stadium in Winchester, HUElavia had their opening match against their "easiest" opponent (if you wanna call a near 20 rank difference easy), Zwangzug. It was a pretty dull match, with both teams taking shots and with the score reading 0-0 for just about the entire game was more damming for Zwangzug than it was a positive for HUElavia. Then in the 90+4th minute, future legend Marc Navarro scoops up a loose ball to score and set the stadium in delirium for the goal. Not everyone can say that their team won their first ever World Cup Match, HUElavia back home celebrate in delirium with joy at the team's first ever World Cup victory. One match, one goal, one victory.

Zwangzug 0-1 HUElavia W

The next match would not be as fortunate, as against the Group C favorites and reigning Bronze Medalist Banija, it'd be a whole different story. The 31st minute saw Banijan legend Kahara step up and send a fantastic free kick past the HUElavian wall into the goal to open up the scoring in what was one of the best goals of the World Cup. HUElavia are known to be a team that likes to go on the counterattack and push up as much as possible and such tactics does tend to bite them in the ass hard, as it happened late in the game, where a 10-player Banija got a counter going and led to Selassiee getting his first ever goal from getting to the far post and beating Ricardo for the goal. In what could've been HUElavia's first ever advance guaranteed, the loss only opened up Group C wide open for anyone to advance.

HUElavia 0–2 Banija L

On the Final Matchday, HUElavia was obligated to go for a victory over Farfadillis, a task easier said than done. Even though the team came in with little to no expectations, just happy to be here, they came in wanting to make the most of it, just playing on house money. What was a massive game turned out to be one of the best at this World Cup. Miscommunication in the Farfadillis defense led to Navarro getting a one-on-one chance to slot the ball into the goal within 13 seconds to open up the scoring. Ens would get an equalizer not long after with a great free kick over the HUElavian wall. Cristiano Aveiro Lima would get his first World Cup goal with a fantastic strike to take the lead once more. Holsteiner would get a good shot at a counter attack and slide it past Ricardo to make it tied once more. A corner kick early in the 2nd half had Toni get a header into the goal to take the lead once more for the HUElavians. Wçêíl converted a penalty kick to make it 3-3, and Hamada would end up getting a chance late in the game to slide past Tge to make it the definitive 3-4 in what was an enthralling game. So, what's the final score here?

Farfadillis 3–4 HUElavia W

2-0-1, 5 GF, 5 GA, 0 GD, 6 Pts (3rd Place in Group C)

17th of 32

At the 11th hour, Banija get the lone goal they needed to beat Zwangzug and the head to head sends HUElavia back to Curumba. Such a bittersweet end to such a great World Cup tournament for Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos. Still, it was a massive tournament for the team and beating the No 26 and No 9 team in the Multiverse is nothing to scoff at. That win over Farfadillis was a genuinely historic win but it was tough that it wasn't enough. Anyways, Congratulations to Farfadillis! This is their 1st World Cup. Yes, HUElavia had defeated the eventual champion, a first overall and really gave them a scare. Still, HUElavia's success is met with praise back at home and the team is rewarded not just with prizes from the Government, but also the team jumps up to 24th in the Multiverse, their highest ever ranking.

With the regional tournaments arriving, Recuecn as the defending Champions opted not to host. Given that the tradition was that the champion would host the next edition typically, HUElavia ended up being the bidder for IAC 9, and ended up winning the vote. Thus, the 9th Independent Associations Championship would be the first major tournament HUElavia would host, and the 2nd since the Unity Cup. Accepting up to 32 nations, the matches would be held throughout the country, where the ultimate goal was to lift the IAC Title in Estadio Nacional in Curumba. Put into Group A, HUElavia was pinned with Omerica, Kriegiersien and Sajnur for the Group Stage.

Independent Associations Championship 9

HUElavia 2–0 Kriegiersien W, HUElavia 5–4 Omerica W, Sajnur 2–2 HUElavia D

The Group Stage was a decent wash for the team, which included a thrilling 5-4 win over Omerica in a revenge match from IAC 8 and previous World Cup Qualifiers. A draw over Sajnur at least gave HUElavia 1st Place in Group A and guaranteed HUElavia a "home field" advantage throughout the knockouts.

HUEavia 3-1 Devonta W, HUElavia 2-1 Kelssek W, HUElavia 3-1 Port Ember W

Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos started the knockouts with a scare opening up after going down 0-1 to Devonta due to an own goal from Hierro which stunned the crowd. But with the home crowd behind them, HUElavia got a goal thanks to Cristiano Aveiro after half an hour and after halftime, Cristiano converted a penalty and Ramirez got herself a goal within the first 10 minutes of the half to ice off the match. The Quarters versus Kelssek was another classic for HUElavia, where it took until the last half hour for the match to resolve, with a fantastic shot by Rossi-Rigoni to open up the scoring and sending the HUElavian crowd with delirium. Kelssek would equalize with a great free kick, and while it looked as if extra time would come, a corner taken by LeBlanc met the head of Hierro to score right at the end of the match to finish what was a tense and historic match. Port Ember would also do much like Devonta and would shock the HUElavians with a lead late in the first half thanks to Lee. Cristiano and Petit would respond shortly in the 2nd half and Hamada would ice the game off late to send Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos to their 2nd consecutive IAC Final. Now, this was a grand opportunity to make up 4 years ago and get the title right back in HUElavia's biggest stadium.

HUElavia 3-4 New Lusitania and The Algarves L

5-1-1, 20 GF, 13 GA, +7 GD, 16 Pts

2nd of 32

While HUElavia would have many more losses that'll hurt in the IAC, if you ask a HUElavian which of the losses hurt the most, it'd be this one. Going back and forth, pushing the game more and more only to lose it at the very end. So many people fell sick throughout the country from the loss. In a poll done by HUElavian Sports Network (HSN), when asked which IAC Final Loss would the fans trade for a title, the vast majority voted for the IAC 9 Final. In what could've been the crowning moment for not only the National Team, but for HUElavia as a whole was spoiled by our Lusophone friend in New Lusitania and The Algarves. While it was praised as a fantastic IAC tournament with the culture, the people and the exciting matches, it still feels a bit empty not having won that title. Still, HUElavia left their mark within these past two years with a World Cup and IAC run to remember.

(Song)

Overall Record:
90-33-84 Record, 371 GF, 367 GA, +4 GD, 303 Pts