World Cup 99 - RP Thread

by **Darmen** » Tue Jun 03, 2025 8:27 pm

Daube Out As Starting Goalkeeper

LIVERPOOL, DARMEN - All Greens manager Riley Mac Pharlain has announced that Ildefonso Daube has been removed from his position as the number one goalkeeper for the Darmeni national team. Daube will be replaced by Morris Mathews after allowing ten goals in the last three matches, including losses to Huayramarca and Tanirinthia.

With Darmen tied with Osterhalten on nineteen points and four points seperating both nations form second placed Tanirinthia, the contest for the third and final qualification spot in Group 11 is shaping up to be a close one. Fifth placed Bohr just three points behind with eight matches remaining, Mac Pharlain does not want to take any chances with a leaky goalkeeper in net.

"Ildefonso has been an important part of this team in my time as manager," commented Mac Pharlain at a press conference prior to Darmen's match against Epicly Amazing Giraffes. "But his recent form is simply not good enough for this level of play and its clear to me that a change needs to be made. I'm sure Morris will do well."

Mathews has played in three matches so far in this qualifying period, making sixteen saves while conceding just four goals. Six years younger than Daube, Mathews is a lively goalkeeper, never afraid to charge out of the six yard box to challenge an oncoming opponent. His speed, agility and jumping ability make him a tough obstacle for opposing teams to overcome.

While Mathews will be reveling in his new position, the change in goalkeepers also opens up opportunities for others, namely Teresa Thompsett. Thompsett, who plays her domestic football at Royal PFC, making her Mathews chief rival in Series A, will make her international debut in Darmen's upcoming match against bottom of the table Epicly Amazing Giraffes. The Epicly Amazing Giraffes, who spend more time in their favorite nightclub Forum 7 than playing football, have scored just one goal in ten matches, setting up Thompsett to have an easy chance at a clean sheet in her debut. Corina Mendoza will start in goal for Darmen's second match of the weekend, away against Sea Peoples League, meaning that Mathews will have to wait until the next qualifying weekend to take over as #1 goalkeeper.

Darmeni fans will be eagerly awaiting to see how all three keepers do following the shakeup in front of net.

by **Crpostran** » Tue Jun 03, 2025 8:49 pm

by **Siovanija and Teusland** » Tue Jun 03, 2025 8:55 pm

Cutoff for matchdays 11-12 in groups 6-10!

by **Solgavden** » Tue Jun 03, 2025 8:57 pm

Outskirts of Othlesse, Commonwealth of Zierrental
July 29th, 1867 Late Afternoon

The stench of tobacco and coffee instantly hit his nose as he entered the general's tent. He was looking to meet with Lord General Ernst von Grannestad, Duke of Grannestad, and commander of His Majesty's Second Army. The Second Army was currently laying siege upon Othlesse, the capital of Zierrental, but its high walls made gaining ground difficult. Throughout the spring, and now most of the summer, the army dug in, with a vast network of trenches growing away from the city. With the army encamped, a wave of civilians - cooks, servants, merchants trying to make a buck - soon followed, and the encampment became a miniature city next to the capital. However, the mud floors and constant smell of horse shit couldn't compare to the gleaming city of Othlesse. For almost a thousand years, the city has been a center of learning, trade, and religion, with the Cathedral of Othlesse being one of the best architectural achievements within the Solgavish Lands. It's gold-capped peak is visible above the high walls, and even visible from the camp, only serving to further motivate the soldiers into taking the city. The Kingdom of Melvenia and the Kingdom of Asiland has been trapped in a game of sorts to see which nation can unite the Solgavish Lands. After the Three Kingdoms' War, which saw Melvenia come out victorious, the game has only gotten more intense. While each side has only brought their weaker neighbors under their rule, it'll only be a matter of time until the two giants clashed directly. Othlesse, and the rest of Zierrental for that matter, is a crucial piece of this puzzle. Not only does Othlesse have some of the best universities, the Cathedral of Othlesse is undoubtedly the center of Protestantism, and the unification of Solgavden can be claimed to be divinely inspired by the side that possesses it. This is why Major Bern Andreasan is just a few kilometers from the Cathedral, and why he needs to talk with the Lord General in his headquarters.

For eight days and eight nights, the walls of the city have been constantly shelled. Major Andreasan was used to the sound of artillery by now, but the occasional shell has startled him a few times. The guns used to hopefully break through Othlesse's thick walls were of a new design by Melvenia's brightest minds, and made specifically for this siege. They were truly massive, with each one needing a group of men to operate, and each blast sounding like thunder. It was on the sixth night that a sizable hole was noticed on the wall, and soon every battalion was notified that the Second Army would soon make their advance into the city. The last bit of preparation needed was a simple one: volunteers, to lead the charge into the breach, and most likely to certain death. These men are called the Forlorn Hope, due to the fact that nine times out of ten, they all perish within the first hour. However, if you are that number ten and you do survive, the rewards for such a valiant act are immeasurable. Not only would you be inducted into the Order of the White Cross, Melvenia's highest honor, you would be a surefire candidate for promotion into higher ranks, and your family will be rewarded with land and a higher noble title. Andreasen knew that he had to get these honors, even if he had to risk certain death to obtain them. He wasn't interested in the Order of the White Cross, he already earned that after the Battle of Braundark during the Three Kingdoms' War, it was the rank and nobility he was after. Bernd Andreasan was born a commoner, and was one of the few to ever be accepted into the Lysborg Military Academy as a commoner. As such, he has faced discrimination from most of his colleagues of higher birth, and was unlikely to be promoted past major. Being part of the Forlorn Hope is his one ticket to advance his career, and with his wife and baby girl at home, securing a noble title could ensure generational wealth.

As Major Andreasan entered the tent, he saw the Lord General hunched over a pile of papers with a lit cigar in his mouth. A group of officers surrounded the officer, all wearing the dark blue and red trim of the Melvenian infantry. Before the general was a young man in his late twenties, actually the same age as Andreasan. He was had a tall and scrawny build compared to Andreasan, who was much bulkier due to his upbringing of manual labor. The man was ranting and yelling to the Lord General, which would be obscene in any other context if he wasn't Crown Prince Frederik, heir to the Melvenian throne. Prince Frederik was pleading his case to the commander to lead the Forlorn Hope, with cries of "my chance for glory!" filling the cramped tent. While the other officers try to ignore the outburst with a slight look of shock and disgust on their faces, Andreasan wasn't particularly surprised. The two were classmates at the academy, and Frederik, followed closely by his clique of yes-men, made it his mission to torment the common born son of a tanner "who simply didn't belong." As Andreasan waited for the tirade to be over, the Lord General clearly had enough. The tall man suddenly stood upright, and boomed, "I know that you may be my social superior, but out in the field, I am the supreme commander of this army! I will not...I can not have the death of His Majesty's son on my conscience, especially for this foolhardy attempt to chase glory! The answer is no, Lieutenant-Colonel, you are dismissed." With the entire tent in stunned silence, the Crown Prince turned a new shade of red, and stormed out, bumping past Andreasan on the way. The general continued smoking his cigar as if nothing happened, and turned to Andreasan, who clicked his heels and saluted in his presence.

"I take that you want to lead the vanguard, major?"
"That would be correct sir."
"And you do know the risks associated with such a mission, major?"
"I do indeed sir."
"Good, I heard of your exploits at Braundark...I trust you to lead the men into uncertainty. You will be briefed when the assault begins, you're dismissed."

Andreasan thanked the Duke of Grannestad and saluted before exiting the tent, still wary of his future. When he stepped outside, he would see the menacing stone walls in the distance, as well as the glistening peak of the Cathedral.

by **Banija** » Tue Jun 03, 2025 9:51 pm

It's your HM01 cutoff for MDs 11-12, for groups 11-15!

by **Kanzlia** » Tue Jun 03, 2025 10:32 pm

Mistralis class

MISTRALIS class flotillaleider

Displacement: 3980t
Speed: 35kts. 4000nm at 17kts.
Armament: 6-150mm/5.9in (3x2), 3-40mm/1.57in (3x1), 12-533mm/21in (3x4)

No. Name Builder Laid Down Launched Commissioned Fate
FL1 MISTRALIS Kotr Shipyards Union 28.6.1938 13.11.1939 3.1.1941 Stricken 5.7.1960
FL2 TRYSTOPHANIA Szbedansk Shipbuilding 30.11.1938 4.1.1940 13.7.1941 Stricken 5.7.1960
FL3 JAXAL
renamed MISTRALIS 15.5.1983 Szbedansk Shipbuilding 30.11.1938 18.1.1940 14.7.1941 Stricken 11.1.1999, preserved

Kanzlia's Snoek class destroyers were becoming antiquated by the mid 1930s. The Admiral class destroyers were able to supplement their shortcomings for a while but they were largely assigned to fleet duties. The Snoeks on the other hand formed the brunt of the Kanzlian Navy's destroyer flotillas and they were no longer adequate for the task at hand. Several of the Admiral destroyers were replacing the Snoeks in these flotillas and despite reducing the number of flotillas from 6 to 4, the Navy still felt it had too many Snoeks lying around impeding the performance of the flotillas. As such the Navy prepared a large destroyer design to supplement the flotillas effectively without building too many new replacements for the Snoeks. These large destroyers would eventually be reclassified as 'flotillaleiders' (flotilla leaders) as they were given the additional task of spearheading their respective flotillas.

The design was substantially larger than the Snoeks or the Admirals, and boast a heavier arsenal. It included three quadruple torpedo launchers and featured three 5.9 inch double turrets as their main guns. The guns were made by Hollowpoint who had trouble designing an adequate high explosive round for this caliber. The guns despite being light cruiser types, were substantially weaker than the guns of Kanzlian light cruisers only being able to fire lower velocity rounds without breaking the whole thing. Their bows were also quite high as their designers intended it would be able sustain the rough waves better. The class also included the 40mm Ardent Anti-Air guns as typical of Kanzlian Anti-Air armaments of the time.

Kotr Shipyards Union was given the contract to build the first of the class, which began in June 1938 whilst Szbedansk Shipbuilding builds the remaining two others. The Mistralis class flotillaleiders was completed by 1941. The ships were named after minor Kanzlian mythological figures. A 4th unit was proposed by the Navy at some point but this unit was cancelled after the Navy reduced their flotillas from 4 to 3 flotillas. Mistralis became the command ship of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla, Trystophania for the 2nd and Jaxal for the 3rd Destroyer Flotillas respectively. The flotillaleiders were superb during exercises, their design was so good the Kanzlian Navy's initially wanted to build slightly smaller versions to replace the Snoeks entirely but this was cancelled. All in all, the Mistralis class like the rest of the Kanzlian Navy faced little opposition. In fact its biggest threat to existence was not an enemy shell but the politics of her own country. When the Kanzlian Collapse struck the Kanzlian Navy was forced to sell many of its warships, this includes the Mistralis and Trystophania who were sold and scrapped. Jaxal was spared this fate as her condition was too good to be sold to the scrapyard. She would last until 1999 before she was renamed to Mistralis. You can visit the former KNS Jaxal now KNS Mistralis in Mistralis.

by **Indusse** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 12:26 am

OOC: This is part of the Encyclopedia Series

by **Paradystopia** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 5:28 am

OOC: With my prayers to Margaret unanswered, and having received a stark reminder that I am without rank, I'm going to talk about something else. My opponents are welcome to go as crazy as they see fit in their descriptions of their victories.

It really was a glorious sunset. Clouds shone in hues of deep orange and violet against a bold golden sky as the silhouettes of terns and gulls danced before it.

Not that Franseska was looking.

Pulling her coat tighter around herself in a vain attempt to stave off the icy breeze, she quickened her pace. There was an important meeting that she was in danger of being late to. This was also taking into account the laissez-faire attitude to punctuality of the Paradystopi. Being late enough to be considered 'late' was, in some respects impressive, but also potentially quite the stain upon one's character, and the opinions of the people she was heading to meet were not the sort of people you wanted present with a tarnished image of oneself. She was on her way to meet two of Paradystopia's business titans for an 'informal drink to toast a New Paradystopia'.

She was also making a name for herself within industry circles. The chief executive officer of ParaCom, a company who had monopolised telecommunications in the country. If you wanted to talk to anyone here beyond shouting distance away, chances are you were making use of ParaCom's products and infrastructure. She wondered whether she should have phoned ahead to let her companions know she was on her way, but given that the invitation only gave an address, she was just going to have to hope she would make it in time.

It was about this point that she really regretted wearing heels, and cursed the Paradystopi aversion to motorised transport.

One of the reasons for her lateness had been indecision regarding her outfit. The invitation said 'informal', but the address was of the most exclusive drinking establishment in the country, and her drinking companions, two of its richest individuals. It felt like the sort of occasion that called for a dress, though she abhorred wearing them and owned precisely three. For work, she commonly wore suits and in the little downtime from the job she afforded herself, it was generally jeans and t-shirt with the occasional 'nice' top thrown in.

The revealing nature of the first dress had made her balk to the point that she questioned why she even owned it in the first place. It was discarded into a pile earmarked to be donated to charity. The second dress had it's zip screamed at for being obstinate, insinuations made that it had somehow shrunk over time, and was added to the pile with the first. The third had been her bridesmaid's dress from her sister's wedding, and whilst it fit like a dream, it managed to clash spectacularly jarringly with all her potential shoe options. So the dress idea was abandoned and thus began the task of going through all her various permutations of jeans, t-shirts, suits and tops.

It was after coming to a final decision on clothing that she realised the invitation didn't specify 8pm as she had initially convinced herself, but 18:00. She cursed her decision to not employ a personal assistant in order to maintain a more hands-on approach at the company.

It was having noticed this that she made the choice of shoes she came to regret later.

Quickly wrapping a scarf around herself, and hastily grabbing a thick coat and bag (incidentally, neither of which complimented each other, or the shoes), she left her apartment to begin the brisk walk into the heart of Oldetoun.

Her destination was 'Zenyth', or more precisely, the V.I.P. rooftop bar of this recently built hotel. The hotel currently catered to some of the more discerning traveling football fans; those who weren't prepared to slum it with the locals whilst voyaging to witness their national teams face a rag-tag bunch of humans, xat'i, and penguins at a stadium of questionable quality. On her journey, she had passed two drunken Edsmons loudly singing something about 'Eagles' in their native tongue whilst simultaneously pointing and laughing at all the penguins that roamed the streets of the capital much akin to the way pigeons do in other big cities. These were not the sort of fans one would expect to find residing at the Zenyth.

The companions she was meeting were a Reginald Haxod, acting vice-chairperson for VisitParadystopia and a Dr. Chonk, a xat'i salt magnate whose face loomed over the city from countless billboard advertisements. Both possessed ludicrous amounts of wealth, by Paradystopi standards at least, and why Franseska had been invited to their little gathering, she was curious to find out. She was certainly living comfortably, but was by no means in the same league as these two.

With toes throbbing, she stumbled gracelessly into the lobby of the Zenyth to a look of disdain from an immaculately dressed doorman. The Zenyth exuded a restrained opulence. Impossibly clean, breathtakingly minimalist, and structured with the sort of long, elegant curves that could bring an architect to orgasm and drive an engineer to suicide. It stood proudly out of place, towering above its slipshod neighbours and as if generally looking down on all of them. Taking a breath, Franseska centered herself, and strode with purpose to the main reception desk.

"Hello. I'm here to see Mr Haxod. I believe he's expecting me?"
"I will just check that for you, miss ... ?"
"Ms Tekbratić. Franseska Tekbratić."

The receptionist smiled warmly in a very trained customer service sort of way as her gaze moved from Franseska, to some memo hidden out of sight on the desk, to the large clock on the far wall, and back to Franseska.

"Allow me to just verify that Mr Haxod is still available, Ms Tekbratić. One moment please."

She gestured to a large plush seat that was barely perceptible given it shared the same colour scheme as its surroundings and picked up a phone handset. Franseska noticed as she moved to the sofa with all the dignity that her aching feet would allow that this was a separate handset to the one attached to the main intercom system. Having just seated herself at the sofa, the receptionist beckoned her over again. Re-approaching the desk, Franseska made a mental note to add her current shoes to the same pile as her two dresses once she got home.

"Mr Haxod will see you now. He's in his private bar on the 21st floor. You'll need this for the elevator."

Franseska was presented with a featureless card that, were it not for the weight, could fool you into thinking it a sheet of platinum.

"Beneath the buttons, you'll find a key slot. Insert the card, and the lift will take you to Mr Haxod's private floor here at the Zenyth."
"Private floor?"
"Yes. Mr Haxod and his family keep a penthouse apartment on the 21st floor complete with his personal offices and private bar."
"Oh."

It seemed to Franseska that she had vastly underestimated the wealth of Mr Haxod. Thanking the receptionist, she made her way across the lobby and into the elevator. Using the key as instructed, the doors closed with a pleasing hum, and she was carried skyward to the private abode of who must surely be the richest man in Paradystopia with a niggling feeling of tredipation over what awaited her.

"Ms Tekbratić. I'm so very glad you made it. I was beginning to worry you weren't going to join us. Have you met the doctor before? Come, come. Oh, and what would you like to drink?"
"Yes, sorry. I had a bit of a logistical oversight, I'm afraid. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the doctor and, well, what do you have?"
"Haha. One might ask what don't I have? Well, if you're looking for something new and interesting, I have procured some rather pleasant Nova Calanian ales. Perhaps I could interest you in a Corinne Martel-Burns? Very floral at first, but then brings you back with surprisingly pleasant pine-y aftertaste. It's very good."
"Well, I don't see why not"
"Fantastic. Oh, and do make yourself at home."

Reginald was not exactly what Franseska had been expecting. Maybe it was the name that had conjured an image of someone stuffy and old-fashioned but he appeared to be quite the opposite. He seemed to be in his early forties, was probably a little shy of six feet tall, couldn't be called slim but certainly didn't look overweight. He moved about the space with a sense of purpose and directness, spoke with an effortless charm, and his eyes simmered with an intoxicating joie de vivre.

"Doctor! Our guest has arrived."

As Reginald lead Franseska through to the bar area, the instantly recognisable face of Dr. Chonk awaited them. It was not however, quite in the manner to which Franseska was accustomed. The doctor lay across a plump sofa, upon his back with paws jutting out in all directions, and a wide belly on display. Remnants of cream dribbled from around his mouth and whiskers as he attempted lethargically to sit up from his doze to address the new arrival. In the end, he resorted to rolling onto his side and giving a slow nod of acknowledgment to Franseska's greeting before appearing to begin dozing off once more. Nevertheless, Reginald began proceedings.

"So, here we all are. We, the bringers of a New Paradystopia, re-emerged from the ashes. We, the ..."
"Actually, about that ... I mean, what actually happened? A few months ago, this was essentially a penguin colony with five people and two xat'i living in shacks. It doesn't make sense that we've somehow gone from that to having the internet, TV shows, the ability for the football team to travel between cities, and continents, a thriving business in rocksalt, a tourism industry, a luxury hotel, a brand new football stadium, and well, the list goes on. Don't either of you think it's strange how Paradystopia has gone from essentially nothing, to a developing country in such a sort space of time?"

Reginald was somewhat taken aback by Franseska's comment.

"Well, you see, with the value of the Paradystopi Chunk being so low to the NS$, I sold some tickets to the pre-qualifying friendlies to traveling Edsmon, Golden Harp and Tikariot fans at relatively low prices in NS$, and converted that back in Chunks. With the upswing in our national economy from 'off-the-charts-abysmal' to 'regular-abysmal' as a result of these matches, this increased the value of that money exponentially, which I re-invested back into Paradystopi infrastructure, again, driving the value of that money up exponentially again. Now, if one knows where to look, one can find various raw materials at cheap prices from other countries with similarly terrible economies, so I bought what was needed from them and here there were plenty of ready and willing refugees for the manual labour side of things, paid for with relevantly sized Paradystopi wages, which are still a pittance in comparison to NS$. It was basically playing the dichotomy of the global economy against the Paradystopi economy, and being sure to reinvest enough back into the country to avoid further hyperinflation. You see ..."
"No, no, no ... that doesn't make any sense."

The rotund Dr. Chonk slowly opened his eyes and addressed Franseska's point.

"It makes sense, if you don't think about it."

by **Gnejs** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 5:49 am

Killer Bob gets a prostate exam

…is really difficult to function around such people because there’s absolutely no predictability. Well, that’s not true exactly, there’s definitely a pattern to their behavior which you can easily map out, but the implementation and timing of their thrusts still takes you by surprise every time; it’s utter unpredictability even though you know, or at least should’ve learned, exactly what’s coming. And even though I’ve worked with this man for years, and know exactly how he operates, it still gets to me and his manipulations affect me; it’s beyond frustrating. I’ve struggled with putting it into words, but after I watched a documentary about domestic abuse I’ve started to think about it in those terms. It’s not the same, obviously, but there’s some structural similarities in the dynamics. It’s all about him and what mood he’s in, and he combines delivering brutal thrashings with moderating himself at the next turn, leaving you dreading being put down and then feeling immense relief when he just about picks you up again. And this is what infuriates me the most, that I always get caught up in this web; I sink deep when he throws the heavy punches, and then I float on air when he’s suddenly «kind» and encouraging. It’s a vicious circle and I know exactly how it works, yet I am incapable of escaping it. The worst part is that he’s a really smart guy. Smart assholes are the worst. Stupid assholes are annoying but ultimately point- and harmless, at least professionally when you work at a place that values intelligence. Smart assholes, on the other hand, often find ways of making themselves indispensable and carve out little kingdoms of their own that they gatekeep and control despotically. I could kill him, of course. In many ways I think the world would be a better place if he just happened to fall down those stairs outside his office. But those days are behind me. Anyways, being a prisoner under his terror regime is a source of so much unnecessary stress; it’s harmful, both physically and mentally, and while I’m not claiming it’s cancerous in itself, let’s just say that if this whole process shows I’ve got cancer, I’m naming the tumor after him.

I’ve been meaning to go through this kind of screening process for years, but I’ve always procrastinated and never got around to it. My father was always very insistent about me doing it, naturally, seeing as he himself suffered a nasty battle with prostate cancer that he kept on getting back and recovering from until he passed away peacefully from something completely unrelated. And his father in turn died from intestinal and stomach cancer, a horrible way to go where his inside was eaten up and his life devolved into bedridden mixture of vomit and bloody diarrhoea while his skin slowly turned yellow. I lost my mother to the cancer as well, where in the end the metastasis was so intense I’m not even sure what finally took her life. It was so hard watching her wither away and cleaning out her small lonely little house up north is one of the saddest things I have ever done and I still break down in tears whenever I smell lilac or see horses run. And there was my father’s uncle and his sons that were all afflicted with something within the gastric-prostate complex and apparently there’s a history of the disease on my mother’s side as well. What triggered me to actually go through with it was when my closest colleague said that his prostate cancer had resurfaced and that he’d be gone for extended periods to get treatment. So all of this was of course very anxiety-fuelling and the screening itself was very comprehensive with blood analysis and mapping my genes and on top of all that there’s this intense light radiating from the sky that never goes away completely and I have not been able to sleep properly for days. And despite all of these newfangled methods of analysis my doctor still insisted on me getting a rectal examination, even though I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that they’re not a very good source for diagnosing but I can’t very well say no when they’re doing all of this for me. Normally my own doctor would perform the exam, but after a brief discussion we ended up with her referring me to one of her colleagues. My doctor is very competent and I trust her completely, but our daughters belong to the same extended circle and even though we’re not Friends or anything we still sometimes end up at the same social gatherings and while I’m sure she’s the very essence of professionalism I still feel like an anal examination might create a weird dynamic that I’d rather avoid and I’d prefer to keep our interactions focused on my allergies and ingrown toenails but maybe I’m just old fashioned like that.

The guy doing the deed was a burly fellow with surprisingly slender fingers. Pretty simple and straightforward procedure, the exam, just undress and put yourself in a position where your anus is accessible; I opted for lying on the side with my legs pulled up to my chest and all of a sudden a lubricated finger slipped in there and started poking around. He dwelled for what felt like longer than he should have and insisted on playing O Fortuna from the Carmina Burana on full blast while he was digging around, but then he stopped and started making sounds indicating perplexity and eventually said for me to hold on as he fetched something and consulted with a colleague. He came back and explained that he was going to use a small camera and so he did while an older colleague of his stood by observing. Again, it felt like they were at it for longer than reason would dictate but at least the music had stopped and in the end they were done and retreated into a separate room while I finally got to get dressed again. He came back about ten minutes later and said there was no easy way to say it but it seemed like my prostate had somehow petrified into solid stone and I was walking around with a small rock wedged in between my bladder and rectum. I said that a part of my organic tissue turning into stone sounded completely mental, but also kind of like the bezoar stones from the stories of old, and he shook his head and said not really but I get where you’re coming from. This was obviously unheard of, and he said they’d need to confer a bit amongst themselves before suggesting how to proceed. Then he threw his arms up, chuckled and said well at least you probably don’t have cancer, and I said yeah that’s true and laughed a little because despite everything that was pretty funny. As I made my way home the ground trembled again and I started thinking about how the body’s defense system sometimes works to expel…

by **Aphrilia** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 7:02 am

Sad To Say, I'm ~~(Meant To Be)~~ Your Bad Luck Charm
In the cafeteria of The Anchors team facility, there sat Theresa Villa eating some food.

It wasn't anything fancy, just some cooked chicken and fries with vegetables and rice. It was overall a balanced meal, since it was also accompanied with a protein drink. Mango flavored, her favorite. Leonardo Bianchi wanted the team to continuously be in their best condition, and that included tracking their meals as long as the national team was gathered.

It doesn't bother Theresa much. Maybe some of her fellow teammates were somewhat annoyed by this rule, especially since some weren't used to tracking their food history, but it was for the teams sake. All so that they could make Aphrilia proud on the multiversal stage. But that was just her own mind trying to justify why she isn't bothered. The truth is... Much harsher than people think. Throughout the majority of her life, especially when she was younger, Theresa had to obey the rules of those around her. Why is that?

She's a Teñvana. One of two "debated" beings.

You see, the world of Eluwa, where Aphrilia resides, holds many races. But one that has been questioned ever since it's first sighting is that of the "Okiri," the Kariaha and the Teñvana. Said to originate from the offspring of angels and demons, for the world of Eluwa, the existence of the two are still debated despite Theresa being living proof of the latter's existence. Of course, there were much more reasons why perhaps the existence of the two aren't acknowledged, religious implications aside. It was to the point some just classified the Okiri as another branch of ohia, which was clearly not the case. And this makes Theresa's heart ache a bit. Though it was at her own existence, if anything.

She did not choose to be a Teñvana, it isn't her fault that her father is one as well. She can't even blame whoever one of her ancestors it was that chose to have intercourse with a demon. Either way, what happened ended up happening, and here she was. Alone, in the cafeteria, eating some food whilst scrolling through social media on her phone. She had scored both goals recently against The North Polish Union, a penalty kick on the 33rd and a shot that smashed into the right side of the net on the 48th.

It was a match that she started in, and further proved that her place in the team was solid. People were talking about her goals online, saying lines such as, "She looks untouchable." "Feels as if the opposition just had a stroke of bad luck each time she was there." And primarily, what people thought was, "Ethereal as always." That's a word she doesn't really get.

Were her plays really that perfect? She didn't think so.

And whilst she could chalk it down to the "bad luck" that Teñvanas tend to bring, Theresa didn't want to believe it. I mean, how could she? Manipulating fortune by being was just... No matter how many times her family told her, Theresa won't accept it. As she placed her phone away to continue whisking away at her meal, she placed her now free arm at where her horns should be. Only dull bumps were felt, the horns long gone and the scars healed. Theresa quickly moved on, finishing her meal as she wanted to go to bed.

"Bad luck, psht. Aphrilia would be struggling if I truly brought bad luck." Theresa remarked to no one's ears. She isn't some kind of bad luck charm, no matter what she is. As Theresa finally emptied her drink, she got up and proceeded to leave the cafeteria, heading to her room. The dishes would be washed by the few workers managing the cafeteria so late. As she was heading back, there was a janitor currently cleaning up the floor near the cafeteria entrance. As Theresa walked past the man with an unbothered face, after she was no longer seen, the man planted his mop to wipe the floor once more only slip and fall. On the ground, bewildered, he looked around. No one in sight.

He spoke to himself, shocked, "I am not that old as to fall akin to a fool."

by **Audioslavia** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 7:37 am

We interrupt your constant deluge of things are disappointingly not videos to bring you something that is thankfully not a song.

A Rhyme To Help You Remember The Capital Cities of Anaia
Based on this John Finnemore song about European Capitals.

Hello my weary traveler, and welcome to our map
It shows our region’s capitals from Suris to New Hap
The former’s in Osnari and that place is pretty new
The latter’s where the dipsomaniacs all rendezvous

Mars could have had ten capitals, but Aeolis what it’s got
St Eleanor had only one contender for the spot
The Ko-oren Constellation has a number of locales
In Burningham, Osarius, they say they’ve got canals

Waldster’s in Flavovespia, Chromia’s Chromatik
They say that Kimi Kaupunki is Raikkonen’s mechanic
If you think that that’s a mouthful then just take a look at Ko-oren
They call it Gehrenna-Majara-Maethoru-Senoren

If you find yourself inJunction then you’re stuck in Legalese
And if you are Dyrrhonian, your star is Rhamnasis
If you’re from Starblaydia, it’s likely that you’re Jhannan
And thus you get your tyres slashed in Emberton and Dannin

Translations of our capitals will often disenchant
Cathair just means ‘city’, Bellflower’s a plant.
In Cobrio their Camaron's another word for prawn
You can make it out from Evan’s House, but maybe not his Lawn

Sutton means a southern town, Østad’s on the east
Chuquiago’s in Bolivia and Chania’s in Greece
Freedom’s Altar’s probably somewhat ecclesiastical
Lahaira, out in Aleirave, is something more fantastical

Feuerstadt is Fire City and Pale means it’s light.
The skies in Strayaroos and Estorpiva must be bright
Bostopia has Newford/Newfort, and if you’re ever there
You’ll wish you’d gone on holiday in Saint Jean Jacques sur Mer

Out in New Cardonia, being punctual’s a crime
They all seem to say ‘good morning’ whatever the time
Kebert Xela is the capital of labs that study health
The capital of Koroa City turns out to be itself

We’re missing Port Anaia, Maal, Pikwee and Ramusok
Three of those are harbours but the other’s by a loch
For the one that I’ve forgotten, in Pyazhnaya, they’ll be mad
I guess I’ll never show my face again in Krasnograd

And please consider this a gauntlet thrown to the floor to those of you of a Rushmori, Esportivan or Arrosian persuasion: Now it’s your turn.

by **The North Polish Union** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 9:44 am

Gazeta Współczesna Białostocka
--Investing in Eastern Poland’s Communities for Over 70 Years!--

With the deadline for filing candidacy for the new presidential elections in Lithuania imminent, yet another shocking decision has been made that is expected to further inflame the already controversial electoral process and potentially further destabilize the security situation in the region.

Prosecutors have arrested the winner of the annulled first round Domantas Sabonis and disqualified him from filing candidacy in the upcoming new elections. Prosecutors cite campaign funding abuses, support of terrorist groups, and “incitement to actions against public order” as reasons for the arrest. The arrest coincides with police searches of nearly 50 addresses registered to Sabonis and members of his campaign. A spokesperson for Sabonis denied all wrongdoing on the part of the accused and stated authorities are “looking to invent evidence to justify stealing the election and doing anything in their power to block a new Sabonis candidacy”. Regional prime minister Simonas Šapoka stated that “the judiciary is independent, and the law must be applied regardless of persons”.

During his detention so far, Sabonis has not been allowed to speak to the media.

The arrest comes as regional police were investigating Sabonis’ prior campaign and determined that his security team was composed largely of individuals who were either members of or had links to banned Belarusian separatist organizations such as the Committee for the Liberation of Belarus and the Zachar Čarniak Regiment.
With his arrest, Sabonis becomes ineligible to file his candidacy in the new regional presidential election. Preliminary polling had showed him once again leading the first round; with his disqualification the largest share of his votes is now expected to go to his more moderate ally Svajūnas Žukauskas.

Not long after the news of Sabonis’ arrest had broken, further protests erupted throughout Lithuania and also occurred elsewhere in the country. An additional knock-on effect of the situation is the immediate resignation of prime minister Šapoka, long hostile to Sabonis. Although Šapoka had resigned as leader of the Social Democratic Party after placing third in the initial presidential election, he had stayed on as regional prime minister in a caretaker capacity pending a party leadership election. Šapoka, whose career started as a military officer fighting against Belarusian insurgents, has long been reviled in the region’s Slavic areas and protests surrounding the annulment had come to demand his immediate resignation. Following the arrest of Sabonis, Šapoka issued a statement in support of the prosecutors and announced his resignation as prime minister saying that he had done “everything possible to ensure the safety of Lithuania and with this final victory can now retire in good conscience”. Dainius Dirgėla succeeds Šapoka as acting prime minister until the results of the Social Democratic Party’s leadership contest are finalized.

SPORT

No goals in three in World Cup qualification as national team continues to struggle

Frustrations continue to abound towards national team manager Udo Kluckhohn as they have now been held scoreless in three straight games. Fans celebrated as the Union piled on goals behind a Karł Wołoszin hat trick in a 7-3 romp over Alanis Star, but in the four games since then the team only has 1 goal and none in the last three. Renard Jasiński headed one into the goal off a set play against Hapilopper in a 1-3 loss; but Natkr, Germanic Cat, and Aphrilia were able to prevent the team from scoring at all. Kluckhohn has come under fire for mystifying roster decisions, refusal to go on the attack in games, and unwillingness to speak to the media except in bizarre avian parables. This is not a team that entered qualification with expectations of reaching the main event, but after a quarterfinal finish at the Baptism of Fire hopes were put at higher than 8th place out of 10 in their qualifying group. With six qualifying games to go, Kluckhohn may be on the hot seat after the competition is ended.

by **Sarzonia** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 12:46 pm

LeRoy Marshall was looking forward to winding down his career as the senior director of the Civil Investigations Division of the Woodstock Police Department.

He looked at the calendar on a Wednesday and saw that most of the meetings and planning sessions that had so often dominated his calendar were mostly clear. He'd brought along his replacement, Tom Kenney, who had already taken over those planning meetings. Marshall was spending most of his time now packing his personal effects and cleaning up in his office.

Kenney had so thoroughly taken over the bulk of Marshall's role with the department that the only external calls he was receiving now were from his wife and daughter and not from reporters seeking comment or detectives in his department providing information to him. So it was a bit of a surprise when he heard the double-ring to signify an external call. He looked quizzically, not recognising the number on the caller ID.

Fuck it, it's going to voicemail, he thought. By now, he figured it was a scam caller, one who somehow had the temerity to try calling HIM of all people on one of his last days at work before retirement beckoned. The call did not go to voicemail as he'd thought, but the same number called again.

"What the fuck?" he muttered to himself. "This dude's ballsy as fuck."

"Marshall," he said, adding a harsher edge to his voice, hoping that some snot-nosed punk teenager would be scared off.

"LeRoy Marshall?" the voice on the other end said with slight trepidation. It caught Marshall off guard because he recognised the voice. It was one he'd heard enough times on SSPN to know instantly it was not some snot-nosed punk teenager.

"Zack? Zack Wilson?"

"That's me."

"Oh, hey Zack!" Marshall said as his voice now softened considerably and the scowl on his face quickly melted into a bright smile. "Trying to sneak into my retirement party this Friday?" Marshall knew the party was supposed to be a surprise party, but you don't keep secrets from a lead investigator who was winding down a 32-year career in investigations and worked in two different countries.

"Actually, no. We need your help."

Marshall's eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed. The smile that had been on his face now melted away, though it wasn't replaced with any anger.

"You know I'm retiring in two days, right?" Marshall said. "My investigating days are over. What's seems to be the problem?"

"We're investigating a mole in the IFF," Wilson said.

"A mole," Marshall repeated. "Within the IFF," he said slowly. "You want me to investigate a mole. Why don't you call Patuxent Pest Control?"

Wilson didn't catch the joke.

"someone leaked to the press that Caleb was seeing a psychologist about imposter syndrome," Wilson. "He resigned because he's angry that someone betrayed his privacy. We're trying to investigate it and hold whomever did it accountable. Of course, if you don't want to help us, I'm sure we can hire a private investigator to handle it."

Marshall's eyes widened for a second. He'd heard about the story, and he was just as upset to find out Rush was resigning at the end of World Cup 99 qualifying as anyone. But now he had a chance to find out who blabbed and add a relatively minor epilogue to a long, distinguished career.

"No, Zack, I'll do it. TIme for me to call in a few favours with the commish," he said. He was going to need an investigative staff. He was going to have to contact a magistrate judge to request a search warrant for transcripts and recordings of conversations within the IFF, and also comb public records. He was dreading the call to Woodstock Daily Mail executive editor Brad Parsons, who was loath to release reporter records to law enforcement or the judiciary. It wasn't going to be an easy final assignment, and it would likely extend his career a few more days. And allow me at least one or two more paycheques before I hang it up, he thought. Yes, there was a bright side to temporarily postponing his retirement.

"Let your staff know I'll be visiting your headquarters at 0800 sharp tomorrow morning," Marshall said.

"They don't get in 'til nine," Wilson said.

"I'll see you at 0800," Marshall countered.

Wilson grimaced, but he knew since he was asking for a favour that he couldn't exactly dictate terms to Marshall. Not when he was postponing his own retirement in a last-ditch effort to save Rush's managerial tenure.

by **Zenic** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 12:51 pm

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE FEDERATION OF ZENICIAN FUTBOL

The Empire of Zenic and the Ministry of Sports are ecstatic to introduce to the world the rebirth of our domestic league system, now known as the Zenician Futbol Ladder System or ZFLS. The ZFLS will consist of a two-tier league system, a domestic cup competition, and a champion showcase. This new system will be overseen by the ZFLS Board of Executives, a coalition of 7 trusted club executives and figures in the Zenician Futbol scene to ensure the long term success of the ZFLS. The first ever Board of Executives consist of:

- Fabián Yeray Gallo (Director at Sporting Honneur)
- Atenea Saray Valero (Director at Deline Athletic)
- Léonide Joubert (Director at Golden Eagles)
- Bror Ingesson (Director at Etiketa)
- Daniel Oliver Barnsley (Independent / Former NT member)
- Giancarlo Spagnoli (Independent / Former Manager within the original league system)
- Emile Forte De Luciano (Independent / Former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Sport)

Every iteration of the board will consist of: 2 high level executives from teams in the 1st division, 2 high level executives from teams in the 2nd division, and three independent members with ties to Zenician futbol. The board will be adjusted as needed, based primarily on the movement of clubs through the ladder system and retirements (amongst other situations).

Now, we would like to go over what is new and what will be familiar in the ZFLS.

And there is no better place to start than the new 1st division of the ZFLS: the Campeonato Zenician. The Campeonato brings back 9 out of the 12 squads from its predecessor, the Premier League of the Empire, albeit sporting some brand new looks. Unfortunately, Armory Athletic, AC Kraft, and U. of Keye have folded and their records will be enshrined in the Ministry of Sports Archives for eternity. In their stead, two new clubs and one refreshed club have become a part of the Campeonato Zenician’s inaugural season. Manacus Young Men and Cote United are freshly created clubs that will start their journeys at the top while the club formerly known as San Valerie FC have rebranded as Deportivo San Valerie and been promoted to the top flight.

The 12 teams will battle in what we are dubbing the ‘Evolving Group’ format. Each team will play a double round robin, totaling 22 matches in the first group phase. Afterwards, the top 6 teams and bottom 6 teams will be divided into the ‘Champions’ and ‘Survivors’ groups. The 6 teams in the Champions group will battle each other in another double round robin to determine who will be crowned champion and who will earn spots in the prestigious IFCF, Rushmori and other international club competitions. Meanwhile, those in the Survivors group will look to avoid finishing in the bottom three after their double round robin, else suffer automatic relegation to the lower steps of the ladder.

As for the second division, we are no longer dealing with just ‘amateurs’: now we are dealing with ‘Challengers.’ The Zenician Challenger League is the successor to the ambitious Amateur Championship, which aimed to introduce fresh faces and fresh concepts into the Zenician Futbol Zeitgeist. Challenger League aims to balance fostering new ideas, establishing clubs with strong local connections, and hopefully, future champions. For the inaugural season, 10 out of the 12 teams transition over from the Amateur Championship with the gaps left by Deportivo San Valerie and Academia Cote filled in by newcomers Truver Town FC and Etiketa.

The Zenician Challenger League will be contested in a quadruple round robin, totaling 44 matches for each club. The champions will automatically win promotion alongside the second and third place teams. We believe this format is most conducive to our above stated goal for the second division while still allowing the league to finish on schedule for the IFCF calendar.

As with our new first and second divisions, we felt it right to re-imagine what a cup competition in the Empire looked like. The Waylord Cup provided much fierce competition and entertainment across the Empire but we noticed an unfortunate trend of lower division clubs never making it past the semifinals due to the two leg format that persisted throughout the entire tournament. Thus, we decided this new domestic cup will be exclusively one match per round from the beginning all the way to the final. We feel that this will provide more parity and ensure teams will give it their all every round, truly providing the spectacle and respect a competition like this deserves. That is why we dubbed the new and improved domestic cup “Cup of the Emperor” or Imperatoris Poculum.

With the return of both a Zenician domestic league and a domestic cup competition to the Empire, we decided to continue the trend of combining new with the old by introducing a brand new competition: the Empirical Super Cup. In accordance with tradition established by the international community, this brand new competition will be contested between the champion of the Campeonato Zenician and the champion of the Cup of the Emperor. The Empirical Super Cup will make its debut in the second season of the revamped Zenician Futbol Ladder System.

Keep watch HERE for further information regarding club rosters, league results, awards and future plans. And we recommend that you keep an eye on that transfer window: you never know what name you'll see. We hope that you’ll join us for the long run in this bright new era of domestic futbol in the Empire.

by **Grand Exultia** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 1:35 pm

He… Hel… Hello? Are… Are we actually connected now? Oh finally! Hello you beautiful souls and welcome to Patsy’s Pitch Perspectives and boy oh boy do we have some catching up to do. This multiversal broadcasting system is a bit more complicated than our dimwit intern anticipated clearly and we haven’t managed to make it over the broadcast waves to reach you all but now we’re here again and we’ve got a lot of catching up to do so buckle yourselves up as we review our games thus far and what delights we have in store for the future, you never know we might even have a few special guest appearances.

An opening matchday loss to the Veiled Knights was a less than stellar way for the Gyrinxes to start off considering the lofty ambitions of qualifications would require wins against the lower ranked oppositions but Brambleberry and the team were ultimately left toothless, plenty of scoring opportunities but nothing that could find the back of the net until the dying throes of the game saw the Knights Felix find the top left corner of the goal past the outstretched arm of Elenion.

Matchday two rolls around and hopes were not exactly high facing off against top ranked in the group Sarzonia, especially off the back of the opening day defeat but somehow the stars aligned and sure enough the Gyrinxes found their goalscoring form to come out 3-1 winners at the Gyrinx National Park. An opening goal from Vielener in the second minute slotting home a cross whipped in from Greenbottle before Starkzahn latched on to a clever through ball from Hazeeye to calmly finish a 1 on 1. Duskstriker added the finishing touch to a major upset firing a thunderbolt from range after a half hearted corner clearance.

Matchday three and you could be forgiven for getting your hopes up but the Gyrinxes were starting to get some rhythm going as they commanded a 2-0 away win against Francobalkan Peninsula, goals coming from Brambleberry and Greenbottle. Gimli with a classic poacher goal after a scramble on the goal line and always in the right place at the right time. Greenbottle demonstrating the type of marauding run that earned the young talent their starting berth as they fly down the left, some deft passing to find themselves through on goal and slotting into the far past.

Matchday four and the Exultians come crashing back down to reality as they are clinically put to the sword by the Kick Corps, 5-2. An early goal from Gillyflower building hope before being dashed, savagely! A late consolation penalty converted by Starkzahn but the less said about this match the better.

Matchday five and we host Olastor, another of the lower ranked teams we really need to be beating and by jove we came out swinging again. A resounding 3-0 win saw Vielener open the scoring with some proper target player forward play as they muscle their defender off the high ball, bring it under control with their chest and on the spin hammer home with their left. Just before half time again Vielener latches onto a through ball from Hazeye and slots across the face of the goal to bag their first brace of the competition and put the Gyrinxes in a commanding position. Duskstriker put the icing on the cake with a ferocious screamer from about 30 yards that looked like it was going to punch a hole in the net.

Matchday six saw the Gyrinxes sitting second in the group, bare in mind top three qualify so many would be buoyed by the recent success but with just three points separating first to seventh there was still a lot to play for. As it was, facing off against the Dandelions stalled the Gyrinxes progression as we were beaten 4-2 in Gnejs. An equaliser from Starkzahn, capitalising on a defensive error and rifling into the roof of the net, and an outstanding solo goal from Vielener who showed true grit and determination to outmuscle their opposition and bully their way into the box and tidily finish to bring the game back to 3-2 all in vain.

Matchday seven and the Gyrinxes are back to winning ways with a 4-0 win at home to Bostopia. With as much discipline as their militaristic opposition the Gyrinxes slowly killed the Bostopians with a thousand cuts, Brambleberry with the opener with a deft header off of Greenbottles stinging cross. Starkzahn again timing their run to perfection as Hazeeye threads another perfect through ball and the Exultians are 2-0 up before half time. Another bullying goal from Vielener to fight off the competition and meet the cross from Gillyflower on the half volley and then Duskstriker with their trademark range finish to bring around the rout to keep us just two points off the top of the table.

Matchday eight saw a valiant fight from the Gyrinxes before ultimately falling short in a back and forth 4-3 loss to Vdara. Goals from Vielener, Starkzahn and Brambleberry were not enough to offset the leaky bucket that was the Gyrinx defence this day and a forlorn Elenion had little support as they spent more time picking the ball out of the net than saving or getting to play the ball out. All of a sudden the Gyrinxes find themselves dropping to seventh in the group just before the halfway stage, things would need to pick up if we were to have any chance of success.

Matchday nine rolls round and bar the unranked team, Solgavden are the lowest ranked opposition so a 3-3 draw at home is an embarrassing moment compounded with the jeopardy it puts the qualifying campaign in. Having come back form behind to be leading 2-1 with goals from Brambleberry and Gillyflower you would expect the Gyrinxes to see out such a match but a late flurry of goals would see an upset against us much to the chagrin of all in attendance at the Gyrinx National Park.

Matchday ten would see the Gyrinxes respond positively to the earlier loss and beat the Veiled Knights 3-2 on home soil. A game of two halves with the Veiled Knights taking the prerogative and the early lead to go in at half time 2-0 up. A kick up the ass from Apollinaris clearly spurred the team on with Gillyflower flying out the traps to cap off a moment of individual brilliance with a splendid effort before Vielener brought down another Hazeeye looped pass, chest and then on the half volley firing past Ramos. In a moment of pure football poetry, the board has gone up minutes to play turn to seconds and the Gyrinxes win a corner, Duskstriker with the curling ball in and Grosslaufer comes through like a battering ram rising above all to thunder home the ball off the underside of the bar, absolute pandemonium in the stands. I won’t be too big time to admit I got swept up in the celebrations but luckily there was no cameras on me that time.

Matchday eleven sees us return to Sarzonia and they could only just see us off 3-2, not enough in the tank to find that killer instinct to churn out the much needed win as we dropped to seventh in the group again, five points off from a qualifying position. Starkzahn the first Gyrinx on the scoresheet to bring the score back level slotting the ball under the keeper off the back a trademark counter attack and run, Hazeeye with the critical assist. At 3-1 just a consolation from Zweiburg who would come off the bench and score with almost their first touch, controlling at the edge of the Sarzonian box and curling an effort into the far top corner.

Matchday twelve and pressure is on the Gyrinxes to perform and in the most cagey and edgy performances of the campaign the Gyrinxes just find enough to beat the unranked Francobalkan Peninsula 4-3. Never behind but never comfortable captain brambleberry would give the lead controlling the rebound off of Starkzahns saved effort before curling calmly into the far bottom corner. An equalizer would leave Elenion with egg on their face having failed to properly collect the loose ball, saved some blushes by Duskstrikers 30 yard daisycutter screamer that would skim the grass and slowly rise into the roof of the net never once looking like it would stop rising. Another defensive mistake would see the game pegged back to two a piece before Vielener would step up with some brute force juxtaposed with some elegance to bundle through a defender regaining composure and deftly lift the ball over the rushing keeper. No changes in the defence and some tired looking legs were caught lacking and the game fell to 3 a piece. 87th minute and Greenbottle has the corner, the ball is floated into the mix, Vielener limiting the keepers ability to come out and collect as Steiner rises like a mountain and guides the header back across goal, seeming to float forever before gently falling inside the far side netting to rapturous celebrations.

Now we find ourselves in sixth place, just three points off from third place and a place in history for every member of this squad if they can be the first to make it the world cup proper. It would be a remarkable feat for Apollinaris to qualify on just his second attempt at qualifying and I’m being told we have Apollinaris himself in the studio.

“Welcome Apollinaris, hwo are you doing?”
“I’m good, having a bit of a break from the training so thought I’d grace you with my presence y’know”
“Well we sure do appreciate it. So tell us in your words how you think qualifying is going so far”
“We’ve done better than last cycle already so I’m happy with lodged more wins and ultimately that’s all I can ask from the squad”
“Well it is a larger group this cycle in qualifying so you’ll be playing more matches”
“True but we should also finish with a better points per match ratio so I stand by my statement thank you”
“so we’ve got some more wins to come then?”
“Almost definitely, I fancy our chances against anyone in the group, we’ve beaten the top ranked team once so why can’t we beat anyone else? I’d like to shore up the defence a bit more so we aren’t giving quite so many chances but that will come with experience”
“I felt the legs were starting to look a bit tired in defence in that last encounter with the Francobalkan Peninsula, what do you think? Going to make any changes?”
“The games have come thick and fast and some of the players have put in more minutes than others but I’m not concerned yet, I believe this combination is the most effective at the moment but if things need to change to sharpen up before the end of qualifying then that’s what we’ll do”
“Right, putting you in the spotlight now, are we going to qualify?”
“We’ve still got six games to play, some tough opponents to go and ultimately we will need some results to go our way to give us a chance. We will always go into each game believing we can but it wouldn’t be right for me to say we will given the calibre of opposition and just how tight this group is”
“That’s fair, thank you for your time Apollinaris. Well we’ve touched on all the games so far and had an exclusive with the national manager and only time will tell if we can find another upset or two to sneak into qualifying for the world cup proper. Tune in next time as we bring regular updates following the matches as we host the Kick Corps and then travel to Olastor”

by **Alasdair I Frosticus** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 1:36 pm

From the Diaries of Swole Santa

On the eleventh matchday of qualification, my swole elves gave to me... a welcome big win

Ah yes.... that's more like it. 4-0 away from home. The elves are excused the press-ups.

Did you feel their fear? Did you feel the terror as Sajnur succumbed to the threat of naughtiness revealed?

True, they are but lowly peons, ranked 116th in the multiverse, but there are teams ranked lower that have failed to succumb to our tactics; but tonight I feel justified, revitalised, empowered.

Look here... a goalkeeper who, aged five, lied to his mother about playing the triangle in the school musical group, pretending instead that he played the snare drum, because snare drum was cooler than triangle.

Over here, there's a central defender consumed with guilt over that time when, aged 8, he accidently chased a stray dog out onto the road, only to recoil in horror as it was hit and killed by a passing car on an otherwise quiet rural road.

There... the left winger who shoplifted from the local joke shop aged 11, sharing the success with his schoolmates when he got away with it - only to be humiliated when given a dressing down by a slightly older girl who didn't tell the teachers, but still made it clear how wrong it was.

Here's the central midfielder consumed with guilt over a sexual experience with a girl when he was 12; how sweet it is to feed on that guilt, especially since he'll never know that the girl looks back on that night with a certain level of fondness and nostalgia.

Over here we have the right winger who spent the entire family holiday when he was 14 worrying about his terrible grades, attempted to hide his report card in the crack in the front steps, and had to live through the fear and horror when his mother discovered the hidden letter regardless.

There's the centre forward who speaks three different languages, once made a minor grammatical mistake when writing to someone in the second language, and can never quite let go of his embarrassment.

This is how you win football matches - not by being nice, not by relying on superior tactics, not by relying on superior skill, but by revelling in the fear, guilt, and basic underlying naughtiness of the opposition.

We taste their horror, and we feast upon their fear.

---------------------

On the twelfth matchday of qualification, my swole elves gave to me... a 2-2 home draw against the 122nd team in the multiverse

Oh, come on now.

Who is this Margaret bitch, and why is she fucking with us?

I sat down with Juan Tzimisces last night - now there's a man; a man's man; a man who doesn't need to prove what a man he is [note to self; is there a lesson in there somewhere?] - and he told me about Margaret... about their nights of passion together, of how the rawness of that passion made stars flare, realities tumble, and brought civilisations to their final apocalypse.

Juan thinks Margaret has never forgiven him for bringing their relationship to an end, for the terrible day where he flung aside her gift of rubber chickens, and told her to never return to the Dreamed Realm. Juan thinks that results like last night don't reflect poorly on my masculinity or the strength of the elves, and have nothing to do with the spirit of Christmas - but instead reflect her desire to extract petty vengeance on the one World Cup figure brave enough to reject her in person.

Perhaps Juan is right, but still...

I tend to think that it's because the referees are a bunch of beta male pussies who insist on showing red cards to any elf who dares subject the opposition to a real tackle.

Only time will tell who's right - Juan Tzimisces or Swole Santa.

by **United States of Nova Calania** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 2:09 pm

Rollercoaster results!

Starting XI vs Valanora @ Terrain de soccer 1 au complexe sportif national, Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer
GK SERGE - LB ALYSSA (Phoebe 62') - CB VLODZY - CB GIBBY - RB EVAN - DCM LE GÉNÉRAL - LW MEI - RW ROSE (Lettie 74') - ACM CHARLOTTE - S ROD (Lily 74') - S FRED

Projected Starting XI @ The Golden Harp
GK SERGE - LB ALYSSA - CB VLODZY (Zia 66') - CB GIBBY - RB EVAN - DCM LE GÉNÉRAL - LW MEI (Lettie 66') - RW ROSE - ACM CHARLOTTE - S ROD - S FRED (Lily 70')

Dublin, The Golden Harp - Results are like a roller coaster. Nova Calania can win two important matches back to back, then lose against a top team and draw against a newcomer. While the loss against Valanora was expectable, the draw against The Golden Harp is a disappointment. On week 11, Nova Calania received The Eternal Empire at home in Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer. The match was played at Terrain de soccer 1 au complexe sportif national (Soccer ground 1 at National Sports Complex) located in the Sacré-Coeur (Sacred Heart) district. There was heavy rainfalls all day on the day before the kickoff and also on kickoff day's morning. Luckily it stopped raining in the afternoon two hours before the kickoff and there was a rainbow up in the sky when the match started. Nova Calania surprised everyone when they scored the first goal ay the 24th minute when Rose Van der Jagt dribbled with the ball and passed to Frédérique Goudreau-Luneau who headed the ball past Nikolai Simonsen and the score was 1-0. Coach Ellzidan decided to give some rest to her starting goalkeeper and Simonsen was in the starting XI instead of Tobias Propst. Valanora won't stay behind on the scoresheet for too long and Laborious Hawk attacked with the ball at the 35th minute and made a short pass to Imre Haaland who kicked the ball into the goal. The Vanorians too the lead at the 40th minute when Lucas Winkel dribbled with the ball on the side and made a cross to Laborious Hawk who headed the ball past Serge Bleau-Bean. The score at halftime was 2-1 Valanora.

The Tapirs attacked at the 56th minute when Charlotte Gibouleau-Beaudoin made a short pass to Rodrigo Guénette-Velazquez who kicked the ball and it goes in. Nova Calania took the lead at the 74th minute when Charlotte Gibouleau-Beaudoin scored on a free kick and the score was 3-2 Nova Calania. Valanora attacked at the 87th minute when Laborious Hawk kicked the ball. Serge Bleau-Bean tipped the ball and it goes out of bounds. It's a corner kick. Aya Haukås kicks the ball, Juan José Zapata jumps and heads the ball into the goal. The game is tied again. Valanora attacked again at the 90 +2 minute when Laborious Hawk passed the ball to Julia Hahn, who subbed in earlier. Hahn heads the ball and it's a goal. Valanora won 4-3. It's a disappointing loss for Nova Calania considering we had the lead but it's not really surprising considering the strenght of our opponent. Valanora is actually the 2nd best team in the world and their domestic league is ranked 4th. I was reading an article about the finance of their league earlier this morning and their league is dominated by Raynor City United, Mar Sara FC and another team. Personally, I'm a fan of Mar Azul, I believe it's a good name for a soccer club but it's not one of the best clubs.

24th     GOAL NOVA CALANIA   Frédérique Goudreau-Luneau assisted by Rose Van der Jagt
35th     GOAL VALANORA  Imre Haaland assisted by Laborious Hawk
40th     GOAL VALANORA  Laborious Hawk assissted by Lucas Winkel
56th     GOAL NOVA CALANIA   Rodrigo Guénette-Velazquez assisted by Charlotte Gibouleau-Beaudoin
74th     GOAL NOVA CALANIA   Charlotte Gibouleau-Beaudoin (free kick)
87th     GOAL VALANORA  Juan José Zapata (corner kick)
90th +2  GOAL VALANORA  Julia Hahn assisted by Laborious Hawk

On week 12, Nova Calania travelled to Dublin, located in The Golden Harp to play against them. Nathan McCaskill was still out of the line up because of an injury and Evan MacNeely still replaced him. The score was still 0-0 at halftime. Both teams have played 135 minutes of soccer without any team scoring a goal. Nathan " LE GÉNÉRAL " Fauteux-McGrath received a red card at the 32nd minute and was expelled from the game. He will miss matchday 13. Nova Calania is the first team to put themselves on the scoreboard, at the 77th minute when Scarlett McCaskill dribbled with the ball and made a cross to Charlotte Gibouleau-Beaudoin who kicked the ball past Jason O’Finnegan. The Golden Harrp attacked at the 81st minute when Garbhan Watt made a short pass to Arlo O’Burn who headed the ball into the net and the game was tied at 1-1. This is the final score.

Now, with Valanora beating us and winning an important match agaist HUElavia, they're in the drivers seat with 31 points in 12 games. HUElavia is distancing from the 1st place but they should qualify anyway. The Islanders from the Ocean of Ayes, the Ochre Islands had two back to back wins, against The Golden Harp and Brusseldorf and are just one point behind HUElavia in 2nd place. The Ochre Island are distancing themselves from the pack. " The pack " is led by The Golden Harp who are 4th with 18 points. Nova Calania have 17 points and Qusmo, in 8th place, have 15 points. On matchday 13, the Tapirs will receive Brusseldorf on Anaia Day (May 16th). Nathan McCaskill is expedted to be back in the starting XI but Nathan Fauteux-McGrath will miss the match because he's suspended. Then, on matchday 14, Nova Calania will travel to Archalit, a team that they shouldn't take slightly. Now I'm eager to come back home and drink an Alan Belmore. It's a barleywine aged for 36 months in bourbon barrels!

77th     GOAL NOVA CALANIA   Charlotte Gibouleau-Beaudoin assisted by Scarlett McCaskill
81st     GOAL THE GOLDEN HARP   Arlo O’Burn assisted by Garbhan Watt

Projected Starting XI vs Brusseldorf @ Stadion Azteca, Ostrow Krolewski, Odlegla Ziemia
GK ANNE - LB OUZY- CB VLODZY - CB ZIA - RB NATEY - DCM KYLE - LW LETTIE - RW ROSE - ACM MO - S ROD - S LILY

Projected Starting XI @ Archalit
GK SERGE - LB ALYSSA - CB VLODZY - CB GIBBY - RB NATEY - DCM LE GÉNÉRAL - LW MEI - RW ROSE - ACM CHARLOTTE - S ROD - S FRED

Paul-André Veilleux

by **HUElavia** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 6:45 pm

HUElavia 4–4 Qusmo
(Milano 9', 82', Mantovani 42' (P), Arruda 61' | Sevet-Matez 18', 90+2', Helek-Pertz 52'. Culak-Zelez 75')
Estadio Capital, Curumba, HUElavia

Valanora 2–1 HUElavia
(Hawk 30', Haaland 80' | Pavlona 66')

The Faces of HUElavia

Episode 6:
The Francs

One of the major groups to have influenced HUElavian culture and thought has been none other than the Francs. An ethnic group coming from the West Euroan nation of Gallia, over 20 Million HUElavians claim full or partial heritage to the group. While the vast majority would end up immigrating to eastern Sudilia (and making the eastern half the Franc Half), a very notable chunk of them made their way to southeastern HUElavia, notably founding the city of Lourdes, making it the southern-most cultural capital of HUElavia.

The earliest known records of the immigrations of Francs were in the 1890s, where the Franc Revolution decades earlier did leave Gallia in a difficult state. Thus, much like the Tallians, many immigrants were farmers and peasants looking for new beginnings in the young country. Thus, many ended up being involved in agriculture and livestock. While the region did have development and factories building up during industrialization, many Francs did stay with agriculture and began making their own companies and businesses, especially being inspired from techniques being done in Gallia. While still a more rural region, the Francs ultimately used their experience to still have a more rustic culture, mixing a bit of the old and modern in their heritage and contributions to HUElavian society. The most important thing they did work on though was the belief of Democracy and as a result, tend to be the most consistent voting bloc of HUElavia.

The Francs have contributed to so many things in HUElavian culture. Notably, the cuisine has been influenced by Gallia, where they provide many great dishes found in the region. The Croque Monsieur, a grilled ham and cheese sandwich baked in an oven, is a very popular dish that tends to be served on-the-go in HUElavia. Pot-au-Feu is also very popular as a nice dish during rainy days when people have to be indoors. From this, the Francs are also known for their large productions of cheese, the largest producer of the product in all of HUElavia. The architecture in the area is common as the one found in Gallia, one that tends to be popular and many tourist quote as their favorite part when traveling to this region. Chanson Franc is a very popular genre of music in the region inspired by music in Gallia and tends to earn praise from those who listen. Much of the local fashion is common as well from Gallia. Out of all the ethnic groups of HUElavia, the Francs tend to be the one most closely attached to their ancestral lands.

Like all the other groups, the Francs have made great contributions in a wide variety of fields throughout the country. The most famous Franc-HUElavian is President Saul Carpentier, who revitalized the agriculture industry, raised civil rights after years of it being curtailed, made voting compulsory, and signed an agreement to facilitate trade, immigration, travel, and cultural exchange with Sudilia, fortifying the Franc links between the two nations.

by **Chromatika** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 10:52 pm

World Cup 99 Qualifiers Matchday 11: Chromatika 2-0 Auprussia
Goals: Xuen-Zhukov 11', 42'
Starting XI: (3-4-1-2) - Sourtois; Coulibaly - Jackson-Jones - Nodis; Fillar, G. - Mesic-Mizayaki - Françine-Miklavivec - Fillar, E.; Fillar, B.; Xuen-Zhukov (C) - Howard-Dawes.
Substitutes: Van Der Borght -> Mesic-Mizayaki (59'), Prenn -> Fillar, B. (59'), Hauptmeijer -> Fillar, G. (73'), Jean-Baptiste -> Xuen-Zhukov (73'), Han Cunningham -> Jackson-Jones (84')
Summary: Returning to action, the first-choice Chromatik XI dominated this match at Chromatik City Field as they never let the visitors breathe, holding onto the ball for more than 60% of the time. Lavrentiy scored a brace by halftime, and the Anomalies avenged one of their only losses of the campaign. Seven wins in a row, spanning the most of the depth of the roster. Crazy.

World Cup 99 Qualifiers Matchday 12: Yuugria 1-4 Chromatika
Goals: Xuen-Zhukov 21', Fillar, E. 48', Baïe-Verte 81', Þyrill 90+2'
Starting XI: (3-4-1-2) - Sourtois; Coulibaly - Jackson-Jones - Nodis; Fillar, G. - Mesic-Mizayaki - Françine-Miklavivec - Fillar, E.; Fillar, B.; Xuen-Zhukov (C) - Howard-Dawes.
Substitutes: Lethbridge-Antonio, C. -> Jackson-Jones (53'), Lethbridge-Antonio, J. -> Jackson-Jones (53'), Panaś -> Fillar, E. (76'), Baïe-Verte -> Howard-Dawes (76'), Þyrill -> Françine-Miklavivec (82')
Summary: In a tightly contested affair - it didn't go out of hand until the final ten minutes when the Yuugrian team just sent it all forward - the Anomalies did prevail to win their eighth straight. Xuen-Zhukov has really turned it on, the three Fillars played well, and Hailee Sourtois shined in spots.
Projected Lineups for World Cup 99 Qualifying Matchdays 13 and 14
vs. (8) Edsmontik @ The Capitalizt Dome, Chromia, Capital District (Cap. 144,000), @ (UR) Paradystopia
Starting XI: Sourtois; Coulibaly - Jackson-Jones - Nodis; Fillar, G. - Mesic-Mizayaki - Françine-Miklavivec - Fillar, E.; Fillar, B.; Xuen-Zhukov (C) - Howard-Dawes.
Substitutes: GK Jill Swanson, GK Jessika Aniston, DCR Paisley Paterson, DC Claudia Lethbridge-Antonio, DCL Uemura Saburo, DCL Hélène Ataciara, WBR Jacoliene Hauptmeijer, WBL Nemes Mátyás, WBL Róża Panaś, CDM Jayla Lethbridge-Antonio, CDM Cassandra Van Der Borght, AM Maddie Prenn, AM Þyrill Bjarnhéðinsson, AF Kaytlyn Jean-Baptiste, CF Harriet Baïe-Verte, AF Adélaide Bittencourt.
Preview: The Anomalies have one last chance to not get swept by an opponent as they host group-leaders Edsmontik in a solid out Capitalizt Dome before heading off to Paradystopia. With a seven point gap with fourth place and eighteen points to go, it may be the last time they play the First XI this qualifying campaign (it helps the others have played well).

1. The Find
2. The Lawyer
3. The Debt
Op 1. The Evil You Know
Op 2. Structure is Good
4. The Incident

DISCOVERY OF THE AGES

V. The March

A week since the sentencing of one Mack Jamison saw Chromatika at a boiling point. Politicians argued endlessly about the merits of establishing shelters for the refugees instead of focusing their efforts to finish the rebuilding project at a quicker pace. Foreign money started arriving from Banija and other Chromatik allies, run by nonprofits such as the Sarai Gwenderyn Foundation. Refugee communities throughout Chromatika started to mobilize as they recognized that they were starting to be targeted by different Chromatik communities. Thankfully, calmer heads seemed to prevail for now, but even the calmest of them agreed that something needed to be done.

So, a march was planned. Word was spread for everyone to gather in downtown Chromia – starting at six in the morning. Hour by hour, bit by bit, the crowd swelled to over 200,000 – a considerable amount of the Chromatik population. They marched for nine hours through downtown Chromia, stopping traffic, demanding attention, while shouting, “Take care of Chromatiks first! Don’t turn away from the Refugees!” and “Equal lives, equal jobs, equal pay!”

As everything in the capital of Chromatika ground to a halt, the Government made the somewhat conscientious decision of not deploying the police to disperse them. In fact, the Chromatik Security Council expressly stated that as long as the people remained nonviolent, they would be allowed to protest in peace. What the CSC didn’t see coming, however, was the protesting for nine hours – stopping both motor and humane traffic and effectively grinding the day to a halt.

This continued on for three days as the protesters ate everything around Chromia. They were cordial - they paid for everything full price - but it got to the point that things were starting to fall apart.

On the fourth day, as if by agreement, they all left. By then, the message had been delivered. Something had to be done, and fast - or there would be worse things happening than just marches in the future.

by **Saterun** » Wed Jun 04, 2025 11:19 pm

Still determined to hold their position at the top, the Claws took to the field against Sharktail wanting a win. They had shown that they had a capable offense, but that side of the squad struggled to get going this time out. Instead, it was the defense that really shown. As they walked out to the cheers of the Saterun fans, Handrix was feeling confident. He had rotated the squad, as their next game was a big one. After good performances in their first few games, on came Carlisle, Kalemanu, and Cook. He kept the defense largely the same, and that proved to be key to winning the match.

Although Saterun controlled the ball from the first whistle, they struggled to find anything meaningful in the attack in the first 15. Handrix liked to start his matched strong, but despite having nearly 80% possession, the Claws had only managed one shot. An unbreakable Sharktail line around and in the penalty area had prevented Handrix’s side from creating any meaningful opportunities. He thought they had found the breakthrough in the 23rd minute, when Caesar Ibañez went down inside the box. However, a later VAR review ruled the contact clean, much to the protest of the Saterun players. Ibañez especially wasn’t happy, and mimed tugging at his shirt to demonstrate how he thought it had played out. However, the referee wasn’t having any of it, and play continued. Frustratingly for the Claws, they went into the half level. They had created a few more opportunities, but nothing had stuck. They weren’t in any danger of conceding- a lockdown defense had made sure of that- but a draw would not longer be satisfactory. In the tight race for qualification, any points dropped would set them seriously back. Kalemanu and Carlisle had had decent games, but Cook was struggling to get into rhythm and Handrix needed a spark. He brought on Bates, hoping to restore the partnership up top that had led to Saterun leading the scoring charts in their group.

Bates, although somewhat on the older side of the squad, still had the quality to change a match. All of a sudden, Saterun looked threatening every time they came forward with the ball, and Bates himself wasted no time registering a shot. In the 57th minute, the Claws won a free kick, just outside the box. Up stepped Oscar Carlisle. The young midfielder had done decently well as a playmaker this campaign, and had popped up with two goals so far. Everyone knew he was going to shoot. As the referee blew his whistle, Carlisle ran up to the ball and cleanly hit it with the inside of his foot. It curled up and over the wall, and, then, as any good freekick does, it started to fall back towards the goal. The Sharktail keeper didn’t react quickly enough, and the ball curled past his outstretched fingertips as well. Just as Carlisle started to imagine the scenes after scoring a wondergoal, and ball clanged off of the corner of the crossbar and post. It had been almost too perfectly placed in the top corner. As it dropped into the space just in front of the goal, multiple players rushed to claim it. It was, however, Bates who managed to get there first. A sliding foot from the Chalesm man connected cleanly, and stuffed the ball into the back of the net. Saterun finally had their goal.

Although the Claws had a few more pushes, the game was largely cagey after the first goal. Given that Sharktail had registered but one shot the entire game up to the goal, they seemed resigned to dropping all three points. The match ended with a long Matt Saez clearance up the field. Because of a brief moment of inspiration, Saterun had come away with all three points. Handrix was happy, but his mind was already wandering to other things. Up next was TJUN-ia, the only team to have beat the Claws this campaign and the one occupying second place. If the Jaguars won at home, they would take top spot. Handrix knew he had to do everything to avoid that happening.

It was a birght, sunny day in TJUN-ia. In what was slated to be the match of the round, both teams were hungry for points. In TJUN-ia won, they took top spot. If Saterun won, they widened the divide between them and the rest of the pack. It was a high-stakes match for everyone involved. Realizing the importance of the match, the TJUN-ian fans were out in full force, hoping to get one over a team they had faced many times. As Handrix shook hands with his opposite number, he was already thinking of how he would get one over a team that was beginning to form somewhat of a rivalry with the Claws. He had already to focus play down the wings, as that’s where the TJUN-ian formation left their space, but it would take more than preconceived tactics to win this match. It turned out, what he really needed was a moment of individual brilliance.

As both teams like to play moderately attacking, the game started out rather fast paced. Handrix kept his squad in the full stated starting eleven, confident that it was his strongest lineup. However, he fully planned to bring in some players off the bench, and hoped they too could make an impact. The first close chance of the game came in the 18th. After a desperate last-ditch tackle, Saez had cleanly won the ball, and spied Crespo Antonsen making a run down the flank. Due to the Jaguars’ relatively concentrated formation, Antonsen was completely alone. Saez quickly played an absolute dime of a pass, and Antonsen was off. He sped down the sides, urging his teammates forward. He managed to find some space to beat Harlem Baringer, and neared the corner flag under very little pressure. This gave him the time to look up, and although he couldn’t pick out any specific players, he saw a multitude of Saterun shirts swarming the box. Only he will know what exactly he was thinking in the moment, but it must have been something along the lines of “He’ll be in there somewhere”. He being Maksymillian Bates, of course. Bates was indeed in there somewhere, more specifically near the left corner of the box. He quickly rose to attempt to meet Antonsen’s cross, but to the anguish of Handrix, came up just short. However, due to hours put in on the training ground, Caesar Ibañez was right where he needed to be. He met the pass as it skimmed over TJUN-ian heads, and it was simple for a player of his caliber to redirect it towards goal. To the shock of the hosts, Saterun led 1-0.

The rest of the half was very back and forth. To the delight of Seems and Ying, the hosts pulled one back in the 34th minute, through a well-worked passing move that ended in a superb Stephen Fledtkou strike. Both teams then took a few shots around the box for the next ten minutes, as both wanted to take the lead but neither wanted to fall behind. Just as it looked as if the match was heading into the break even, Carlisle found himself in a bit of space right inside the kickoff circle. He brought the ball forward a few steps, before lobbing it over the entire TJUN-ian defense. Bursting through the line on the other side was, once again, Caesar Ibañez. Ibañez deftly brought the ball down, and with 5 different TJUN-ian players bearing down on him, raced to the goal. Gao Wu Shi dutifully came out to meet him, but Ibañez was too professional to let an opportunity like this slip. Just as Baringer reached him, Ibañez curled the ball beyond a charging Shi and it slid into the bottom corner of the net. As he wheeled off in celebration, he left a tangle of TJUN-ian players in his wake in what had been an excellent goal.

The Jaguars wasted no time equalizing, however. Only 8 minutes into the second half, Saterun’s defense would be caught flatfooted by an excellent Paek Un-hui through ball. Saez and Alil scrambled to get back, but they didn’t have the pace to catch Diana Sharafutdinov. The Veriasod Wolves striker drove towards goal, and managed to to skip past Abiatti in a show of perfect close control to equalize the game. The Claws had basically conceded the same goal they had just scored. Handrix knew it was time for a change. On came Shain, Kalemanu, Carlisle, and Schlimme. He was changing up virtually every section of the squad, and hoped it wouldn’t break up their rhythm too much. However, it turned out to be a masterstroke.

The clock ticked on, the end of the game drawing nearer and nearer. The teams were locked in a stalemate, and someone needed to find a spark. As the game ticked into extra time, that spark finally came. Sülimien Kalemanu decided that he had had enough. He called for the ball Shain, made a tight turn to get around Zaine Bowry, and never looked back. He raced down the field, slowly gravitating towards the middle of the pitch. In his wake he left chaos, exactly to his plan. Sensing an opportunity, the Claws’ offense had charged forward with the player, and were overwhelming the TJUN-ian defense. Because of this, Kalemanu managed to get all the way to the edge of the box with the ball, and seeing no clear option, he let it fly. The ball, hit perfectly to bend and swerve in the air, shot towards the TJUN-ian net. It had been a powerful strike, and the chaos and confusion caused by the sudden counter attack blocked Shi’s vision. That proved to be the fatal detail. By the time the TJUN-ian keeper could get a clear look at the ball, it was to late. They stood, rooted to the ground, as the ball slammed into the top corner. A perfect goal. Shaken, the Jaguars were unable to come up with a response. As had happened many times this cycle, as last-gasp moment of pure individual class had given the Claws vital points. With the win, Saterun sat top by 4, with three teams below them all on 25 points each. Slowly, they were carving out space at the top, and continued the search for automatic qualification for only their second World Cup finals appearance.

by **Flavovespia** » Thu Jun 05, 2025 8:05 am

X Mark’s A Point

Xanneria proved to be the bogey team of Flavovespia these Qualifiers, as the 1-1 draw meant Flavovespia fail to defeat them this cycle. Flavovespia remain 3rd in Group 9, but qualifying still remains a perilous task.

The game had a close start, Xanneria branching the rankings gap to go toe to toe with Flavovespia. The defences on both sides were being called into question, and it seemed a question of who breaks first. It was Xanneria with the breakthrough, a good bit of play down the left saw the ball slotted into the box past John Brocklehurst, and the strikers powerful shot beat Peter Marriott. Delight for the hosts, looking to do the double over Flavovespia.

Efforts by Flavovespia to level before the break went nowhere, and it was 1-0, Flavovespia looking rather normal having finally conceded. Certainly a concern, with the top of the group so close and few around Flavovespia dropping points. However Flavovespia had a renewed energy in the second half. Xanneria were trying to absorb all the pressure, but an equaliser was found. Charles Shepherd flicked the ball onto substitute Peter Langdon, and he drove his shot in, past the outrushing keeper. Half an hour to go and it was anyone’s game.

The rest of the game was fairly frantic, and it felt like it deserved another goal. If I had to choose, Flavovespia probably edged the latter stages, but just lacked the killer touch in the final third. More two points dropped than a point gained, Flavovespia will be dearly hoping this game was no missed opportunity in a critical qualifying race.
Alexander Schmitt

Kaumann Implosion Gifts Flavovespia

All but over by half time, Flavovespia won this thanks to a red card and an own goal. Flavovespia needed a win after a draw at Xanneria, and despite the relatively fortuitous circumstances, this was a boost in an ever tight qualification race.

The first key moment came in the 14th minute. Peter Langdon beat his marker, only to be cynically pulled back as he sprinted towards goal. A red card, and no video review was overturning that, despite some protestations from the visitors. Their task of getting a point or three was much harder.

Flavovespia put Kaumann under pressure, but it took 3 minutes before the break to pay off. One of several crosses found it’s way into the net, but off the head of a Kaumann defender. An unfortunate own goal that close to half time, but some relief for Flavovespia as the pressure paid off.

The second half would see 2 goals for Flavovespia. Kaumann were maybe lucky not to go down to 9 just after the hour mark, a scything foul on David Atkinson in the box brought a penalty and a yellow card. Charles Shepherd made no mistake to make it 2-0. He’d get the third, slotting in from an Atkinson through ball with the defence breached. He went for a hat trick, but ultimately was denied by 2 good saves late on.

The win keeps Flavovespia 3rd, with a trip to Unitarnia and a home match against Indusse coming up. 29-28-27-26 is the points tally of the Top 4, calling the 3 qualifiers is so hard to call, and Flavovespia still have work to do to be one of those three.
Patricia Evans

by **Valanora** » Thu Jun 05, 2025 9:09 am

Nine wins in a row after a bit of a stumble out of the gate has the Marauders sitting pretty atop Group 10, particularly after the last match where the Marauders avenged their only loss on the campaign with a victory at home against HUElavia. That victory opened up an eight point gap between Valanora at the top of the group and HUElavia who sits at second in the group and puts the team quite in control of the group as they head into the home stretch of the qualification campaign. A late goal in the affair secured the three points just a few days after some late goals away in Anaia at Nova Calania had secured three points there in a seven goal shootout that had been far closer of a match than the fans and staff would have liked. It was a rare display, much like the away match against HUElavia, where the Marauders defense was not playing at a high level and able to hold their opponents at bay, which has been the usual standard for the team this cycle with many games having a shutout or only a single goal conceded. That stellar defense has allowed the Marauders attack to come into their own, for the cream to rise, and put the rest of the group to the sword to take their pole position in the group.

The offense truly has come alive since those opening four games where it seemed a bit disjointed, with the team currently scoring nearly three goals a game on average and you have to put a lot of credit for that on Laborious Hawk. Hawk's skill needs no explanation, he is talisman of the team and the captain and a living legend of the game that demands a bit of awe and respect wherever he goes. What is not talked about as much is the various ways that Hawk adapts his game from team to team or match to match so that he is able best help his team in whatever way is necessary. There are some games where Hawk is needed more as an additional goal scoring threat and then there are some where his playmaking abilities are more a key to a victory and then there is the odd game or two where his best use is simply as a distraction to create more room and opportunities for his teammates. In these two games, it was Hawk's playmaking abilities that came into focus as it was his through ball that allowed Hahn to score the winning goal in Nova Calania and a masterful inswinger from a set piece that Haaland headed home to win against HUElavia.

That is the sort of leadership that Hawk usually exemplifies, as it is a usually done through actions and not words as he prefers to let his actions do most of his talking for him. It is what has allowed him to be a leader amongst the team throughout the decades even as the personnel around him shifts and changes, as the tactics employed get changed but he is ever present. Being the last elf to still be playing with the national team, Hawk also represents a bridge to the past and the legacy that the team is constantly striving to live up to, but it also is a burden for the elf to carry. He is a last of a long gone set of players that took the Vanorian banner to the top of the footballing world and laid waste to it in a set of dominance that is likely never to be seen ever again, not if the game is continued to played a thousand years from now or a thousand thousand years from now. For a thirty cycle period of time, there were few players or teams could hold a candle to the way that Marauders played their football and in such a dominant way, seventeen quarterfinals in a row certainly is a feat that will be never replicated.

Now the team is two wins away from securing a place in the Finals, which is a long way away from how the team looked there after the first two international windows of the cycle and it is been that drive to live up to Hawk's legacy and that of the Marauders that has driven them forward. Elizidan has done her job as the manager to make the subtle adjustments needed from game to game to ensure they had the best success, but it has been Hawk's dogged and unnatural determination that has pulled the team up to the level that they have been playing over the last several months. That hopefully looks to continue in the upcoming window when Qusmo visits the Hatire Memorial, who despite their current standing in eighth have had enough of a good showing that they represent a clear and present danger. The side just about squeezed out a victory in Rushmore over Qusmo but it was touch and go for long periods of the match and the defense stood firm until the attack broke through. Provided they do take care of business there, then away to The Golden Harp, the team currently in fourth, the team could ensure their qualification with four games to spare provided they avoid a defeat. It looks all within touching distance and achievable over the next ten days but the team need maintain their focus and ensure their quality of the last several months does not dip when qualification is within their grasp.

by **Ko-oren** » Thu Jun 05, 2025 9:30 am

Project Wiki: Administrative Divisions

Ko-oren is divided into 30 provinces known as oren. These are further subdivided into 532 municipalities. Provinces mostly follow geographic borders, though cultural borders have been taken into account as well to divide up larger areas. Each province is led by an appointed governor, each municipality has an appointed mayor.

Provinces have been redrawn frequently, with the most recent change being the merger between Sahmanaubahl and the 'Nomadic regions', inheriting the name Sahmanaubahl, and it stands as the largest province. Other recent changes include splitting Mauroren into Mauroren and Idremdun, and the creation of Ubakhim Maengiu out of Gehrenoren. The reason for the latter being that the old situation included a very densely populated line of cities (Ubakhim Maengiu) and a very rural hinterland (Gehrenoren). In order to make politics in the area clearer, and because there already was a disconnect between the two zones, they were split into separate provinces.

Municipalities are marked Natural (96), Rural (237), Suburban (157), or Urban (42). Some provinces only have one municipality (Amahne, Katahshi) as they inherited their historical city state status.

History

The origin of administrative divisions in Ko-oren starts with the formation of city states consolidating their surroundings. Eventually, the outer borders of the states met, and unilateral treaties were signed to designate exactly where the border ran. Upon the formation of a central state, these borders were re-used as internal administrative boundaries. Over the centuries, the importance of the original city states was lost, and borders were redrawn alongside cultural lines. Over time, administration dictated that it was natural and geographic limitations that decide where internal boundaries should be, given a series of natural disasters and bad harvests. To prevent further calamities, policies that were tied to geographies proved more efficient, and the borders stood. Other policies would also be implemented alongside these new lines, meaning that culture partially formed alongside these divisions. For instance, accents and dialects have conformed somewhat to administrative division borders in recent centuries.

Provinces Oren

By area

Name	Population	Area (km2)	Density (pop/km2)
Sahmanaubahl	519856	88142	5,90
Tarrashalli	604968	68767	8,80
Leleja	1415196	50207	28,19
Libahilotalhaun	972057	46396	20,95
Mauroren	1040423	44860	23,19
Mahrkioren	3132792	44589	70,26
Majaroren	721668	39440	18,30
Shahrigarihn	3778738	33933	111,36
Gehrenoren	876570	32916	26,63
Ehnigo	2692332	32355	83,21
Sohlatal	859088	29821	28,81
Orental	613754	23401	26,23
Gahrugkothis	1507455	19251	78,30
Ahungoren	821861	19103	43,02
Thorunohn	48492	11297	4,29
Ubakhim Maengiu	2477922	11247	220,31
Aerellen	630159	11099	56,77
Ethubehte	366832	10082	36,38
Uruhrauzehn	598020	9391	63,68
Alahrenna	626417	6382	98,15
Alah Thorunoru	386240	6210	62,20
Ethena	431516	5907	73,05
Esrabahlan	76527	5414	14,13
Matali	2147357	5334	402,59
Turanlohm	187947	4810	39,08
Idremdun	180703	4736	38,16
Thelibahlan	134870	2090	64,52
Azuren	289408	1591	181,91
Katahshi	716528	1172	611,58
Amahne	1170686	956	1224,84

By population

Name	Population	Area (km2)	Density (pop/km2)
Shahrigarihn	3778738	33933	111,36
Mahrkioren	3132792	44589	70,26
Ehnigo	2692332	32355	83,21
Ubakhim Maengiu	2477922	11247	220,31
Matali	2147357	5334	402,59
Gahrugkothis	1507455	19251	78,30
Leleja	1415196	50207	28,19
Amahne	1170686	956	1224,84
Mauroren	1040423	44860	23,19
Libahilotalhaun	972057	46396	20,95
Gehrenoren	876570	32916	26,63
Sohlatal	859088	29821	28,81
Ahungoren	821861	19103	43,02
Majaroren	721668	39440	18,30
Katahshi	716528	1172	611,58
Aerellen	630159	11099	56,77
Alahrenna	626417	6382	98,15
Orental	613754	23401	26,23
Tarrashalli	604968	68767	8,80
Uruhrauzehn	598020	9391	63,68
Sahmanaubahl	519856	88142	5,90
Ethena	431516	5907	73,05
Alah Thorunoru	386240	6210	62,20
Ethubehte	366832	10082	36,38
Azuren	289408	1591	181,91
Turanlohm	187947	4810	39,08
Idremdun	180703	4736	38,16
Thelibahlan	134870	2090	64,52
Esrabahlan	76527	5414	14,13
Thorunohn	48492	11297	4,29

Municipalities

The 532 unicipalities in Ko-oren are divided into four categories: natural, rural, suburban, and urban. The 96 natural municipalities are characterised by having a very small population, almost no urban population (people living in settlements over 10000 population), and are often, but not always, covered by national parks. The 237 rural municipalities can have larger populations and can even have some urban population, but lack a single settlement over 50000 people, and have a low population density. Rural municipalities may be covered by national parks. The 157 suburban municipalities are characterised by having a large urbanised population, often spread between multiple smaller settlements or concentrated in one larger settlement, with considerable density. The 42 urban municipalities tend to be dominated by a single, large settlement with high density.

Neighbourhoods

Suburban and urban municipalities are often further subdivided into neighbourhoods. Garihnkatar, the largest city in Ko-oren, has 24 of these, for example. Some neighbourhoods are only barely connected to the city they're associated with, such as Garihnkatar's Argahr or Ilohbonu's Shimih and Ilohboh. Some neighbourhoods have a strong identity, though mostly they are only refered to in conjunction with the city they are in. A notable example is the entertainment and TV district of Amahne, the planned, and, for its time, futuristic neighbourhood of Amane Oshean-Atshanaeda, named after the region of Atlantian Oceania when Ko-oren was still part of that region.

Other

Other, semi-frequently used divisions include naval zones (used in shipping forecasts and by the navy and coast guard); diocese (the ecclesiastical province of Ko-oren is divided into the archdiocese of Aminey, alongside the diocese of Thelesra, the diocese of Garihnkatar, and the diocese of Seterbohdu); judicial circuit (there are 19 district courts, spread around the country); natural parks; tourism zones; police districts; and more.

by **Vixette** » Thu Jun 05, 2025 10:00 am

joji — sanctuary

Blanchefleur knew Félicien more than she knew her own house.

The two had been hanging out for as long as Blanchefleur could remember now. She remembered when they first met: she was just a regular student looking for a peaceful sanctuary to read her books, and Félicien was a library assistant. She didn’t know how they both started hitting along, but all she knew was that she had seen Félicien grow and develop into a real lion. She watched his mane grow out, his muscles harden, his demeanour mature. As far as she was concerned, she knew him like the back of her paw, and she hoped he knew her like that as well.

It was starting to be an open secret that Blanchefleur and Félicien were a little more than friends. She had overheard some of her teammates commenting on “how cute she looks with him”, and she couldn’t agree more. She saw herself with him; there was no one else. Whenever she needed cover, he would be there to shield her. Whenever she needed refuge, he would become her safe haven.

She remembered how he would comfort her whenever she was having a bad day, and how he would shield her from other people when she was sobbing along in the library. That was all Blanchefleur was asking for in a lion: someone whom she could depend on, could rely on.

The problem was this: did Félicien feel the same way? Until she knew the answer to that, she didn’t want to take things a step further.

Félicien was getting to know Blanchefleur better.

She had been bringing him out so many times that it was impossible for him not to learn more things about Blanchefleur. He now knew her favourite flower, the colour of the walls in her room, and the tragic tale of her parents’ divorce. What he was still trying to figure out was the fluttery feeling flying around in his heart whenever he was with her.

It was a feeling Félicien had for a few weeks now, and it got to the point he was starting to yearn for it. For one reason or another, he decided he liked it. The feeling. He didn’t really know. Perhaps it was the tickling sensation he felt in his chest, or how his heart palpitated against his ribs whenever he was with Blanchefleur. Whatever it was, Félicien wanted to know more, and that meant knowing Blanchefleur more. Was she a witch? Was she a temptress who was playing with his heart? And why was he enjoying it?

Félicien didn’t always feel like that towards her. He remembered viewing her in the same neutral lens. He didn’t always like her, nor did he gravitate to her like she was to him. He just saw her as a friend, or a close acquaintance at worst. Still, as the two started to hang out together more, he started to like being with her. Why was that? Perhaps it was because the things they would do together were pretty fun? Or perhaps it was the treats and trinkets she would gift him from time to time? Félicien could see the amount of effort she put into their meetings, and it made him feel guilty for not doing much to reciprocate.

…

Félicien and Blanchefleur were sitting somewhere they didn’t usually frequent: a restaurant. It had originally been Félicien’s idea to get a bite somewhere, but apparently geniuses thought alike, and Blanchefleur had planned exactly to bring him to a human-run restaurant. They were curious about human cuisine. Navigating the restaurant was easy enough; it was convincing the servers, manager and customers that, yes, they were anthropomorphic lions and, no, they were not going to eat any humans. The both of them decided to order… whatever a beef wellington was. It had better taste good. Nothing beat Vixettienne beef.

“So…” Blanchefleur trailed off, “Got a crush?” She looked at Félicien with a cheeky smirk. Félicien blinked once. He blinked again. He didn’t have any. What was this question?

“I don’t have any,” he replied with some conviction. Blanchefleur looked at him with a knowing gaze.

“Are you sure?” she teased with a playful lilt. The way she was going about this whole crush thing made her akin to a lioness playing with her dead prey, except her prey was Félicien who was alive. And also except that she wasn’t going to eat Félicien, she was going to eat beef wellington! Félicien looked at Blanchefleur nervously. What was her intention here? Was she going to coax him into unknowingly admitting his crush he didn’t even know he had one on? He took a glance at Blanchefleur. He had to confess that he found her quite attractive… but what if he said that to her face? Would she be creeped out? Find him weird? No, he quite cherished their friendship as it was, there wasn’t a need to leave it on a sour note. He would keep his mouth shut, for sure.

The beef wellington came and went. It was alright, not too shabby, but could have been better.

“So…?” Blanchefleur asked once more. Félicien completely forgot about the question, and he hesitated for a while.

“I… I said I didn’t have one…” he muttered as his voice trailed off. Blanchefleur looked at him in amusement. She raised her eyebrow as she looked at him as if she knew more than him. Félicien meanwhile tried to evade eye contact with her. What was he going to say, that she was cute?

An awkward silence sank upon the two for a while. Blanchefleur, who hadn’t finished eating her beef wellington, was munching down on it, while Félicien was reading the menu, not because he wanted to further satiate his appetite but because he wanted to satiate his curiosity.

The silence was soon lifted as Blanchefleur asked yet another question. Félicien counted her as having asked at least five questions during their meal, and they hadn’t even been eating for twenty minutes!

“Well, then at least tell me who you find cute in the team!” Blanchefleur asked. She looked at him with the puppiest eyes a feline could make as she pouted. Félicien didn’t know how to feel looking at her. Yes, she was cute, but he didn’t want to tell her that just yet; he didn’t know if she would appreciate it.

Félicien remained without answer, and Blanchefleur grew more restless.

“Who~~” she continued to bug Félicien, “Just tell me.”

“No, I’m not going to…” he replied without much confidence.

“Come on, Féli…” she begged, “I promise I’ll keep it a secret, so just… pwease…” She put on the most pleading expression she could possibly make, as if she didn’t look convincing enough. For a moment, Félicien was stumped. To tell, or not to tell? The way she was bugging him made him want to just tell her to end it all, but at the same time, why would he tell it to her face? He didn’t want to creep her out, but–

“You.” His mouth worked faster than his mind.

Blanchefleur looked stunned as she opened her mouth in surprise.

“M-me?” she asked almost timidly and with a tone that betrayed her disbelief.

“You.”

“Oh… thank you.”

All this while Blanchefleur had been the one embarrassing Félicien. Whether it be teasing him or flirting with him, she had always been making Félicien flustered, but now the tables were turned. It was her turn to grow embarrassed as her cheeks shone a crimson shade of red. Félicien too felt slightly awkward, and he diverted his gaze away.

Blanchefleur tried her best to regain her composure, but her mind was a mess then.

After all, her crush just called her cute.

To say her brain was panicking was an apt way of describing the situation. She had managed to eke out an indirect confession from Félicien; he found her cute! Blanchefleur didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but seeing him openly compliment her like that almost made her want to believe he was hiding more feelings for her. She wanted to believe, and she was one more step to fully embracing that possibility.

Blanchefleur knew she had to act fast. The best time to confess to Félicien was just now, the next best time was when they met again.

by **The Osnari Federation** » Thu Jun 05, 2025 10:00 am

A Meeting

Annelie Weber did not always enjoy her job. That was, of course, understandable. Being the President of any country tends to be a pretty intense, pretty tricky job to have, as much in the Osnari Federation as anywhere else. Actually, likely more in the Osnari Federation than anywhere else. People come to the Presidency for the power, to actually change things. In the Osnari Federation, they often lack the power to do anything too significant. Much of the power one might wield as an executive? Reserved to the states instead. And any legislative agenda is often stymied by a legislature where nearly a third of the seats remain appointed by the barons who run Grafling and Teiningen. Any change the President wants to enact has to come through foreign policy, or otherwise by influencing the legislature or states. The problem with that is that it’s hard to get elected as President without promising a lot of change. It’s a rough trap that’s limited the vast majority of Osnari Presidents to just a single term in office.

So, change is hard. But in the course of her term, Annelie Weber had still accomplished quite a bit. She did so by being the first President in a little while to pivot outwards rather than inwards. Rather than emphasizing her political agenda domestically, gladhanding legislators, and trying to make sense of the appointees from Grafling and Teiningen like the Presidents who came before her, Weber turned her attention abroad, visiting foreign countries, building relationships with the Federation’s Anaian neighbors, and increasing the visibility of the Osnari Federation across the world. Instead of the National Assembly, it was the Osnari Football Association who Weber pushed to make changes, which bore fruit in the form of an international title for the national team. The club level had made progress as well; while the season had not yet begun, the Eliteliga was sending its first clubs to IFCF competition, and had garnered interest from abroad. That interest was, at least in part, responsible for Annelie’s meeting today with the President of Cardenao, Mihaly. She’d read up on the man, and the country. A mostly benevolent dictator with a lot of money to spend. Not Annelie’s favorite sort of person, being a staunch supporter of democracy, but she’d been well-trained in foreign policy over the course of her career and knew a deal with Cardenao would likely be to the Federation’s benefit.

11:53 AM. Mihaly was due to arrive at noon. Annelie stood up from the large desk embossed with the seal of the Federation that served as one of the government’s central symbols, and walked out the door of her office, past her secretary, the formal guards, and the security detail that stood up as she moved through the holding room and into the massive central hallway. The Presidential Palace, she had noted when she’d visited for the first time as a schoolgirl, still in college,was astonishingly decadent for the leader of a democracy. Karl Jung, then-President of the Federation in 1927, had claimed the palace for Presidential use after the Baron of Greater Suris relinquished his position in the face of a massive public pressure campaign. Though a bit drafty for some of the Presidents’ tastes, the palace had been refurbished and used as the place to live and work for every Osnari President since.

Annelie reached the end of the hall, one member of the security detail pushing open the ornately detailed door before her. She walked out, just in the nick of time for Mihaly’s slightly early arrival, as he stepped out of the third black car in his motorcade to oos, ahhs, and cheers from the massive crowd that had gathered to see the first foreign leader to step foot on Osnari soil in recent memory. While this would not be Annelie’s first meeting with a foreign leader, it would be her first hosted in her own palace.

Mihaly walked up the steps to Annelie, shaking her hand. “A bit cold outside today. Might we step inside?”

Annelie smiled. “Yes, Mr. President, though I’m afraid the palace isn’t a whole lot better.”

The President of Cardenao shrugged, and an Osnari aide reopened the door as the two Presidents plus their various staffers and security details went inside. One benefit of the palace being requisitioned from a former royal family was that the royals had quite the sense of grandeur, and a necessity for a large and ornate throne room. Though the dais for the throne had been machined into the ground and the throne removed, now sitting in a museum somewhere and replaced with an absurd amount of (admittedly very comfortable) chairs, the room maintained its sense of grandness, and remained the perfect place to greet foreign leaders. The ceremony featured handshakes, photo opportunities, and long speeches by Annelie, Mihaly, and the newly-appointed President of Wolfsberg FC, from Cardenao, about how they hoped for continued cooperation between their countries, before the high-ranking members of each country’s staff broke off for more private discussions in the, still very large, presidential office.

By Annelie’s best measure, the discussions were quite productive, though not conclusive. The leaders had discussed converging interests on several issues, and the potential for future cooperation on each, but hadn’t put down the hammer on an agreement quite yet. A trade agreement looked like a quite promising prospect, as Osnari products tended to have difficulty breaking into foreign markets, the very open Osnari economy that lacked both regulations and subsidies making it difficult to compete abroad where such practices were usually more common.

The most concrete action that had been taken had been put into motion weeks before, when Mihaly had purchased Wolfsberg FC. The midsize club most notable for its fiercely supportive fanbase had been struggling of late, and Mihaly promised to bring it back to its former glory from all the way back in the 1960s. Annelie appreciated the purchase, both for the notoriety it would help bring to the Eliteliga and for the revival of a club that for so long had not been in a very good spot, though she remained a lifelong Lockeweiler fan.

By the time the Cardenao delegation left at 3:00 for a tour of the Wolfsberg facilities and a meeting with the club’s former owner, Annelie was already quite happy with the day. Annelie Weber did not always enjoy her job, but when it was as productive as it had been today, it was hard not to.

As the Cardenao delegation left, Annelie’s secretary got her caught up on the remaining schedule. “You’ve got a review of the discussions with your ministers in fifteen minutes, followed by a domestic affairs briefing at 4:00. At 4:30 you start successive meetings with legislators to try and get some movement on the Matheson bill, and then at 6:15 you leave for the football match…”

Oh, shit. She’d forgotten about the friendly match with Cardenao. It was going to be a long day.

World Cup 99 - RP Thread

WC99Q 7

Who is online

No.	Name	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
FL1	MISTRALIS	Kotr Shipyards Union	28.6.1938	13.11.1939	3.1.1941	Stricken 5.7.1960
FL2	TRYSTOPHANIA	Szbedansk Shipbuilding	30.11.1938	4.1.1940	13.7.1941	Stricken 5.7.1960
FL3	JAXAL renamed MISTRALIS 15.5.1983	Szbedansk Shipbuilding	30.11.1938	18.1.1940	14.7.1941	Stricken 11.1.1999, preserved