World Cup 100 | RP thread

by **The Ko-orenite Constellation** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:37 am

Down to eleven potential hosts, the decision was made to elect one host per group. But with four or five groups planned for the inaugural Constellation Championship, that's still too much. There was an easy solution on the table. Well, 'easy' solution. They've seen countless CEs, CAFAs, CRs, and other Cs and their bidding process and they could simply replicate it. Bidbooks, wining and dining representatives, that, hold on - which representatives? So far it was just an office in Chutalina that took care of everything related to inter-territorial football in the Constellation, and honestly, what had they done so far?

They booked a friendly match against a non-Constellation nation, that's what they've done so far. A few phone calls to Bonusia, a Baptism of Fire hopeful, and the deal was on. They'd play in Meia-Armadoren too, for extra legitimacy. It would be even better if Bonusia would go on to do really, really well in said Baptism. But absolutely instrumental was a win. That'd show the rest of the Constellation that Meia-Armadoren was in fact the right place for the AFC, the heart of football in all territories, and that'd surely get them a spot as group host. They weren't looking forward to a bidding process... but at the same time, as the AFC was made up of only Meia-Armadorenense officials - well, they didn't want to go there, but bribing them was easy. Hell, bribing wouldn't even be necessary. The all-Meia-Armadorenense rig would be easy to set up.

Bandar Cang Prathoren caught wind of this double-pronged attack - both the AFC's lack of impartiality and the friendly match - and soon launched their CFA (the Constellation Football Association) and accompanying invitation to Riandera.

That, obviously, was the start to eight or nine rivaling all-Constellation associations, confederations, boards, organisations, and so on. Most of them short-lived. As in, very short-lived. Unable to get a basic charter off the ground type of short-lived. Aymenoughshire-about-Oren had its entire rugby-football schism played out in the span of 9 days despite rugby union - and rugby league - already having split off properly, but the five or six sports of the territory must try to put to bed any aspiration of the other sports to gain some recognition and attention. Then there were a few territories that went for the route of 'if we make a multi-territory association, it will automatically have more legitimacy' but unable to elect a chairman - as that would give another territory unreasonably more control over said assocation - they too quickly fell by the wayside.

In the meantime, the first few friendlies started to play out. Meia-Armadoren beat Bonusia 1-0 while Bandar Cang Prathoren, two days later, beat Riandera 1-0. That makes them still equals.

Irithoren tried, and failed, to get the Ko-orenites to play. The Dragonflies were 4th at the last World Cup and 2nd at the last CAFA - so playing them would really create an impression that your operation is under way better than anyone's.

Ndugutisaoren took a 3-0 lead over Moladea, which was whittled down to 3-2 at half time, then built up a lead once again to 4-2, after which the match would end 5-5. Egg on face. No shame in a draw, obviously, but if you're trying to one-up your fellow territories who have already recorded wins, as the one territory claiming absolute and utter superiority on and off the field, that's not a great look. They did score five goals though.

Shahrbanoren, at this point, had already conceded their place in the association creation battle and were looking for the right horse to bet on, but they had already booked their match against Equinox Auraterra, and in their match taking place close to midnight in their half dug in stadium ("Is that the entire building?" said Wandugutisaoren representatives during a visit, referencing their own colossal stadiums sitting out in the open of their hot savannah sun. "No, half of it's underground" was the response, met with laughter, before the Wandugutisaoren representatives went inside to find out it wasn't a furnace), winning 4-1.

Another territory that found itself with a larger win than expected was Brabensia and Batavioren, beating Andso Mangis 4-1. It was a last-minute scheduling, and they were lucky to even get the ok from the Andso football association, but maybe that slipped into the visitors' preparations a bit. All of the Constellation's opponents were in the middle of their Baptism of Fire and Qualification preparations - who knows how seriously they took the pissing match that went on on the other side?

Tarören and Isidoren, who were particularly rabid and emotional in proving their worth in the greater Constellationosphere football universe, saw mixed results. Isidoren were lucky to escape with a 4-3 win over Solgavden, while Tarören - normally quite the goal machines - recorded a 0-0 against Choppyhausen. Lastly, Ostfalen & Hinterpommoren, who had also more or less dropped out of the association race, tied the Golden Harp 0-0 as well. In a way, Isidoren and Ostfalen/Hinterpommoren could be very proud of their results knowing they played known entities, with both their opponents already with at least a tournament under their belt.

And with the Baptism of Fire under way after those friendlies, the territories quickly found out if the opponents they chose were 'any good'. It turns out that Tarören's goalless appearance could be excused as Choppyhausen emerged as a top 2 nation among the insanely deep BoF field. Bonusia and Riandera were quarterfinalists. Andso Mangis were in the top 32, and Equinox Auraterra made it to the final 64.

Shahrbanoren, at this point, had already backed the Meia-Armadorenense attempt at a football association. The only other remaining founding members with serious attempts, at this point, were Bandar Cang Prathoren, Isidoren, and Ndugutisaoren. Each were now trying to convince the rest of the territories to join them. Brabensia & Batavioren backed Isidoren. Uruashoren went for Ndugutisaoren - whether any money towards infrastructure projects was involved, remains unknown.

Chanmingoren then changed the game by publically supporting all four.

by **Bhumi Matawis Empire** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 6:57 am

Matawis Kingdom
Matawis Sultanate
Bhumi Matawis Empire - The Establishment (1810-1928)
Bhumi Matawis Empire - The Ealy Years (1928-1950)
Bhumi Matawis Empire - The Second Empire (1950-1971)
Bhumi Matawis Empire - The Third Empire (1971-1999)
Bhumi Matawis Empire - 1999 General Election, The Game Changer Part 1

Bhumi Matawis Empire - 1999 General Election, The Game Changer Part 2

As planned, Abdul Hayat Islan officially held an early election after the collapse of the Third Empire in May 1998. This was the tenth election held in the country since its first in 1950. The election was scheduled to be held on 9 June 1999. As voting is compulsory, the voting day which fell on Wednesday was treated as a holiday. More than 100 million voters cast their votes on that day. Political parties were campaigning for two months leading to the election day. The Bhumi Matawis Election Commission (BMEC) declared a week of silent day before the election day where no campaigning could be held. International reporters and foreign observers were welcomed to monitor the course of the election day.

Voting stations were open at 8 am, although many citizens had arrived as early as 7 am on the voting day. Representatives from the political parties and independent observers were stationed in each voting station to watch the course of the votes. One observer stated that despite there being financial abuses, they did not appear to affect the result of the election.

On the other hand, foreign observers criticize the slow counting process held by BMEC. Until the observers left the Empire on 26 June, only a fraction of votes had been officially counted at national level. It was not until 1 September that BMEC announced the official result of the election. A total of 25 parties won at least 1 seat. Shockingly, Partai Rakyat Matawis were leading with 88 seats followed by PSKM with 75 seats and Bangun Negoro with 62 seats. However, Aliansi Nasional Coalition, which consists of 4 parties, succeeded to collect 120 seats.

1999 General Elections - Seat Allocation
Party                                 Seat(s)
Partai Rakyat Matawis                   88
Partai Sosialis Komunis Matawis         75
Bangun Negoro                           62
Majelis Syuro Muslim Matawis            52
Partai Demokrasi Matawis                49
Partai Andalas Bersatu                  25
Partai Timur Raya                       22
Partai Jamangen                         22
Partai Rakyat Kalamantha                11
Partai Kristen Matawis                   9
Partido Democrático Unido                5
Partido Nacionalista Galiyao             5
Komunitas Kristen Bakkara                3
Partido Independente Galiyao             3
Partido Democrata Cristão de Galiyao     3
Partai Iriya Bersatu                     3
Aliansi Masyarakat Yue                   2
Partai Demokrasi Papo-Iriya              2
Malalaime Democratische Partij           2
Partai Rakyat Papo                       2
Partido Trabalhista Galiyanês            1
Partai Perdamaian Papo-Iriya             1
Partai Sosialis Papo-Iriya               1
Socialistische Partij van Malalaime      1
Nationale Partij Malalaime               1

Akbar Zaenuddin, President of PRM expressed his surprise after the announcement. On the other hand, PSKM President, Munarwanto accused the election of being rigged. He filed a lawsuit to contest the election result, but he lost. Despite there were false counts but it's only minor and didn't change the results significantly which can affect the seat allocation. However, confusion arose as to who had the rights to create the government. PRM or Aliansi Nasional Coalition? After an intense debate within the Raja Graha, Emperor Puroboyo asked Akbar Zaenuddin to establish a government. Zaenuddin tried to approach several party leaders. His first choice of course was Aliansi Nasional. But the talks didn’t lead to anything. And his latter efforts to establish a coalition also failed. On 7 November 1999, he gave back the mandate to the Emperor. Emperor Puroboyo then offered the position to Budi Kartosuwiryo, President of Bangun Negoro. Kartosuwiryo under Aliansi Nasional Coalition already collected 120 seats in Kawula Graha. He needs 106 more to gain a majority position in the lower house. He had a limited time to gain more supporters as the new government took office in January 2000. Fortunately, he succeeded to gain supporters from religious parties and other local nationalist parties in Galiyao, Papo-Iriya and Malalaime. However, he had to establish a minor government as the coalition and supporters only collected 218 seats in the lower house or 8 seats short from majority.

Kawula Graha Composition
Government (120)
Bangun Negoro                           62
Partai Andalas Bersatu                  25
Partai Timur Raya                       22
Partai Rakyat Kalamantha                11

Government Supports (98)
Majelis Syuro Muslim Matawis            52
Partai Jamangen                         22
Partai Kristen Matawis                   9
Partido Nacionalista Galiyao             5
Komunitas Kristen Bakkara                3
Partai Iriya Bersatu                     3
Partai Rakyat Papo                       2
Partido Trabalhista Galiyanês            1
Nationale Partij Malalaime               1

Opposition (138)
Partai Sosialis Komunis Matawis         75
Partai Demokrasi Matawis                49
Partido Democrático Unido                5
Partido Democrata Cristão de Galiyao     3
Partai Demokrasi Papo-Iriya              2
Malalaime Democratische Partij           2
Partai Sosialis Papo-Iriya               1
Socialistische Partij van Malalaime      1

Crossbencher (94)
Partai Rakyat Matawis                   88
Partido Independente Galiyao             3
Aliansi Masyarakat Yue                   2
Partai Perdamaian Papo-Iriya             1

OOC note: I think at some point I mentioned the lower chamber name as Pawongan Graha, but I made up my mind and officially altered the name to Kawula Graha.

#   Name                       Pos    Age   Club
Starters
30  Putu Sumadiyasa            GK     32    Persetegung Tegal Agung
2   Faizal Rasyid Bassa        LB     23    PSPS Payung Sekaki
13  Alexius Reinhard           CB     26    FC Wamena
3   Lino Coutinho              CB     25    AS Kopeng
14  Herman Susanto             RB     24    AS Kopeng
6   Sofyan Arifin Jalil        LM     27    FC Gamalama
27  Yahya Wiryawan             CM/DM  26    Persewa Watampone
9   Lucky Steviano             CM     28    Persenggu Junggalu
8   Yuliawan                   RM     24    Persekarta Kartasura
10  Sandi Wijaya               AT     25    Persekarta Kartasura
11  Christian Hadiwinata       AT     24    Persenggu Junggalu
Substitute (in Bench)
33  Sandi Mustaqim             GK     35    Persetang Tangaram
19  Komang Sudarma             ST/AM  27    Meru United
5   Arisandi Yudana            RB     24    Persetang Tangaram
15  Eka Pancaka                CB     25    Kayutangi FC
7   Eka Wiryawan               CM/DM  25    Meru United
18  Wahyu Suryobroto           LM     26    Persekuta Kutagedhe
Reserve
39  Paul Wisesa                GK     30    Perseyuda Yudakarta
12  Galih Darmantyo            LB     24    Tongass United (MLI)
40  Prabu Reynaldi Baruara     RB     23    Port Campbell FC (PBP)
36  Felix Fernandi Kusnanto    CB     24    Kandai United
17  Ilham Rahmayanto           CM     24    Persekarta Kartasura
44  Hernando de Sousa          LM     27    AFC Temasik (PBP)
16  Heriadi Gustaf             RM/CM  25    Port Campbell FC (PBP)
20  Viktor Tampanea            AT     24    Manaro FC
21  Ruslan Ruslana             ST/AT  24    Tongass United (MLI)
29  Komang Trisnanda Putra     AM/CM  25    Manaro FC

by **Calgasia** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 7:53 am

Stöckl Motor Werke

Chapter 2: Getting better - The Stöckl Otello

The Stöckl story so far...
Introduction & Context
Chapter 1 - The Stöckl Nabucco

1980 in Calgasia was a year of hope and great expectations. After decades of slow political and social progress, with a society dominated by , the Glorious Revolution of 1965 had finally established a real constitutional monarchy in Calgasia. The old Conservative monarchist party had imploded and the Liberals and the now re-legalized SPC (Sozialdemokratische Partei von Calgasia) were establishing the foundations of a strong, full democracy.

But the party didn’t last long. In 1972, the Goldstadt Stock Exchange Crash created a severe crisis that took years to recover, in what is now called the “Lost Decade”. The Conservatives got back in the government, and their austerity measures to save the economy had a long and profound effect on the nation, especially with consumption.

The victory of the Liberale Allianz in the 1980 General Election and its coalition government with the SPC sparked a feeling of hope across the nation. The new decade would be a decade of growth and development. For Wolfgang Stöckl Sr., that meant one thing: the Nabucco had to be substituted with a grander car. The company had to say goodbye to a car that had served well, but that was severely outdated. That same year, he and his design team started to work on the new model, the Otello.

In 1982, after 2 years of prototypes, the Otello arrived. It featured an updated design and a new 90 hp inline 6-cylinder engine, and in 1986, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the company's founding, Stöckl launched a sportier version, the Otello Speziale, with a supercharged 110 hp engine.

The 1982 Stöckl Otello. The change with respect to the Nabucco is evident

[th]Model[/th][th]Engine[/th][th]Max Power[/th][th]Torque[/th][th]Top Speed[/th][th]Years[/th][th]Number Produced[/th]

Otello (1st Gen.)	2,443 cc (149.1 cu in) DOHC I6	90 bhp (67 kW) @ 4,600 rpm	142 Nm @ 3,200 rpm	155 km/h (96 mph)	1982–1990	1,770
Otello Speziale	2,443 cc (149.1 cu in) DOHC I6	110 bhp (82 kW) @ 4,800 rpm	156 Nm @ 3,400 rpm	165 km/h (102 mph)	1986–1995	430

The Otello was a bestseller during the 1980s, with more than 2,400 units sold compared to the Nabucco's 950 in 20 years, and Stöckl abandoned the almost artisanal production of his vehicles (though not the engines for Klimeš, as Stöckl produced the most powerful engines used in its models) to industrialise and adopt new techniques.

With a Little Help From My Friends
However, at the beginning of the 1990s, sales of the Otello began to lose momentum, as it had been on the market for more than eight years and was starting to be perceived as obsolete, and the company once again faced the spectre of financial problems. Once again, Wolfgang Sr. turned to Klimeš for help, and once again the giant came to the rescue, proposing to Stöckl the production of a sports version of his executive car, the Salon, commonly known as the Klimeš Stöckl

The Salon Sport (2) was a success that once again saved the company from an uncertain situation, with more than 5,000 vehicles sold since 1992. The car received favourable reviews. Its good handling and engine, the result of Stöckl's work on the original vehicle, made it a popular model. However, a tendency to rust and the low rigidity of the structure, a common problem with all the Klimeš Salon, have reduced the appeal this car used to have and now it's rare to see in the roads.

Model	Engine	Max Power	Torque	Top Speed	Years	Number Produced
Base Version	1,192 cc air-cooled inline-4 “Klimeš”	34 HP (25 kW) @ 3,600 rpm	82 N⋅m (60 lb⋅ft) @ 2,000 rpm	120 km/h (75 mph)	1992–1999	~3,800
Modified Version	1,295 cc air-cooled inline-4 “Klimeš”, twin carburettors	50 HP (37 kW) @ 4,200 rpm	94 N⋅m (69 lb⋅ft) @ 2,800 rpm	150 km/h (93 mph)	1993–1998	~1,500

OOC: All images are AI generated
1 based on the Alfa Romeo 6C 2400 Freccia d'Oro Wikipedia article
2 based on the VW Karmann Ghia Wikipedia article

by **Vixette** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 8:49 am

destiny - lovelyz (there are English subtitles) || your type - carly rae jepsen

Teenagers were a foolish bunch.

Mia had to wipe off the juice that had infuriatingly stained her white dress, whilst Hadrien had to pick up the fallen slices of fruit that had spilt from the cup in his hand. The two lifted their heads up, and lo and behold, there was a girl storming off, and a guy chasing her behind.

The two had been completely blindsided. Moments earlier, they were busy munching on their snacks, discussing football, life, and whatever when suddenly they heard the voice of a pubescent boy call out.

“Wait! Don’t leave me!”

Mia and Hadrien had the time to neither process nor react to it when suddenly a young girl plowed between them. Mia’s juice was already about to topple, then the boy running after the girl knocked into her hand, and… yeah. Her dress was ruined. And it was a nice dress too! Mia made a mental note to tip the laundromat for the inconvenience.

As Mia watched on, she started to feel like she saw a splitting image of herself in that boy: running, without a care in the world, after something – or someone – that didn’t want her. Hmm, who did that remind her of?

“So… That was weird,” Hadrien commented. The duo stood still for a good minute, not knowing what to say or do. Their little platonic date had been going swimmingly until that occurred, and now they seemed to be unable to continue the friendly vibe they’d been carrying before.

“Well, I’ll just get it cleaned, it’s no biggie,” Mia shrugged the incident off and started to pick up the pace again; Hadrien followed quickly behind.

“I mean, that kinda ruined the vibe a little…” Hadrien commented, “But it’s whatever.” Hadrien stayed silent for a while. Mia didn’t know whether he had nothing to say or was struggling to think of something, but either way he didn’t blame her. They were kind of an odd pairing after all. The weird thing was, after Félicien, she had known Hadrien the longest, and they were close enough to be chatting during team sessions regularly. Nevertheless, the awkwardness between them was palpable. It was clear that they weren’t anything more than “hello”-and-”goodbye” friends, which made Mia’s decision to invite Hadrien to have lunch with her even more curious. She could have called Yolaine or Jean-André. She seemed to be closer to them. Still, it was whatever, you know. There’s no point thinking about the whys and the could-have-beens. You just go on with life.

“So, how’s Félicien’s relationship been going?”

Never mind, maybe there was a reason to think about missed chances.

“Why ask about him so suddenly?” Mia asked, trying to mask her bitterness with a facade of curiosity.

“Well, I thought that since you’ve been friends for the longest time with him…” Hadrien paused to eat his words, before continuing, “Never mind, you don’t need to answe–”

“We haven’t talked.”

“Oh.”

Silence ensued for another minute. Hadrien was reeling in the embarrassment and guilt of asking a seemingly charged question, and Mia…? She didn’t show much emotion, but mentally she was kicking herself over the fact that she and Félicien hadn’t had an actual conversation in a long time. Why? Why was that? Why was Félicien getting more distant from her? Why was she missing the closeness she had with him?

“Anyway,” Mia spoke up to break the air, “I… I think it’s time we went our own ways.” She cocked her head at Hadrien who nodded casually.

“Yeah, I mean, yeah,” he replied. They waved hands, and Hadrien walked off, leaving Mia to be a scarecrow in the middle of the walkway. Time was a menace. She hadn’t realised how much time had passed. It was nighttime already?

It didn’t take too much time for Mia to head home with her neighbourhood being a hop, skip and a jump away. She promptly put her dirtied clothes in the laundry, took a shower, and made a beeline to her bed. She was tired, but didn’t want to sleep. She was famished, but didn’t want to eat.

She was conflicted, and she wanted to know why.

Why did Mia miss Félicien so bad? Why was she so obsessed with the idea of being together with him? In a way, she felt like a child, coveting someone she couldn’t have. She felt like a poorly written antagonist of a teen romance novel. This desire, this want her heart was harbouring all felt so childish. She knew she had to let go. Cupid’s bow was loaded a long time ago, but she didn’t shoot her shot, and now the target had moved on. Why, then, couldn’t she?

It was a loaded question, but it was easy to answer, really. The only thing was that Mia didn’t want to admit it:

Mia felt lonely, and Félicien was the only one who could make her feel whole again.

It all felt so wrong, so comical, even. Believe her, Mia had tried so many methods to find someone else. She had gone on flings, bachelors’ parties, social events and she still didn’t feel a sense of fulfilment with anyone she’d met. All the hookups and dates she’d been on still couldn’t satisfy her half-broken heart. Even when she went for that “date” with Hadrien today, it still didn’t feel right. Nothing felt right, really. It seemed like Félicien was the only one who had the remaining half of her heart, yet he’d given it to, well, fucking Blanchefleur of all people.

Mia was miffed about Félicien’s entire relationship with Blanchefleur. Blanchefleur had been friends with him half the time Mia had been, and their “friendship” half of the time felt superficial. Mia’s on the other hand? Félicien was her right-hand man, and she was his. They knew each other like the back of their paws. They shared a myriad of quiet moments, fun memories together, and yet Félicien saw nothing in that? He was willing to give all of these away just to be with a girl who had the biggest one-sided crush on him?

Nothing made sense anymore, apparently. Logic had taken its leave today it seemed. Mia didn’t care enough anymore, she decided. She went to sleep.

If Mia was slightly miffed, now she was infuriated. This fucking couple didn’t know what shame and public decency meant!

Mia didn’t have to witness Félicien and Blanchefleur making out over the dinner table the night before the game against The Ferret Lands, but she did, and she wished she didn’t. It was way too cheesy. She felt like a side character in a cliche teenage movie watching the main couple kissing in the school hallway. She now knew how Yolaine felt, and she wasn’t even 30 yet: fucking get a room! But then Mia realised that their room was next to theirs, and she wasn’t even sure she wanted to hear anything more from them. At least she knew now that Blanchefleur’s love language was most certainly physical touch.

It was so hard to focus on anything from then on. Watching the couple’s brazen PDA was slightly revolting, sure, especially when they were kissing and slobbering over each other like their lips were smooth like butter. Still, there was a certain jealousy that Mia felt. She was sure she was a much better kisser than Blanchefleur, and it wasn’t as if she’d fantasised about that before…

Mia remembered it vividly: she and Félicien were fresh into college, and the both of them had somehow ended up in the same major and course. She didn’t know or sense it yet, but when she saw him, her heart started to beat to a different rhythm. It was faster, and every thump in her heart was more pronounced, as if someone was incessantly playing a kick drum in there. She recalled the both of them walking into the same hall, sitting somewhere along the back where they were more inconspicuous to the lecturer.

Mia really couldn’t focus on anything when Félicien was just sitting there majestically. There, of course, was nothing majestic about him, really. Not even his mane. Mia still felt a slight captivation towards him. She realised she might have eaten more butterflies recently the way they were all fluttering around in her stomach when he was around. She looked at Félicien. She started to notice the intricacies of his face. He had a mole just below his left eye. The fur below his eyes had some sort of colouring, as if he hadn’t slept a wink the night before. Her eyes trailed down his nose, and then his mouth. Félicien had plump lips, and they were a nice rosy shade. She wondered what they tasted like. Were they sweet like rose milk? The question lingered in her mind a little while longer, and then…

“Mia, you look weird,” Félicien told her with a nonplussed expression. Startled out of her thoughts, Mia came to realise that she was pucking out her lips for a kiss. And that she was looking straight at Félicien.

“Oh, fuck.” Mia was mortified. She covered her face which was turning beet red from embarrassment and turned away from him. How could she face him normally again when she did… that? It was horrible. So, so horrible. To add fuel to the fire, Félicien was chuckling at the sight.

“Oh, you’re a funny person, alright,” he commented. When Mia uncovered her face and looked at Félicien, he was looking at her, donning the warmest smile she’d ever seen. Mia almost swooned.

And Mia had somehow thrown all of that away. Well, perhaps she would never be able to taste Félicien’s lips ever again. How regrettable.

The misfortune of it all turned Mia red. She, for the first time, felt pissed. Pissed at who? Well, she didn’t know. It could be towards herself, to Félicien, to Blanchefleur, to that dumbass couple who ruined her dress. As all her memories of her and Félicien started to wash ashore once more, her mood started to sour.

Mia’s heart continued to marinate in toxicity as Vixette went up against The Ferret Lands. That game felt different for her. It wasn’t just her bad mood, but also a lack of sleep. However, while a lack of sleep should have hindered her performance, her grogginess and annoyance only seemed to push her even more. Still, it shouldn’t be so easy to score a hat trick. She hadn’t done it before, and now she’d scored three in the first 25 minutes! Sure, she might have been slightly too aggressive to the Ferret defenders, but that game felt more like a medium to destress to her than anything.

By the end of the game, she had scored four, and she backed off the gas during the last thirty or so minutes just to get a breather. No way her team was gonna lose from 6-0 up anyway. By the end of the game, however, Mia still found herself remarkably short of breath. It wasn’t ever this bad. She usually would be panting, but at that point her lungs felt particularly devoid of anything. It took her a few moments to catch her breath before she could continue walking down the dugout. Well, she would just chalk that down to her lack of sleep.

Mia was walking, and then she felt the presence of someone beside her.

Félicien.

When did he get there? His towering figure overshadowed her, and as the two walked side by side, not a word was spoken between the two. Mia felt like making some small talk, like “How’s life been?” or “How was the game?”, although it wasn’t as if he had many shots to face anyway. She bit her tongue, however, and the two continued to walk in silence.

Just then, Félicien stopped in his tracks, and Mia did too. She didn’t know why. She looked to her right, and then she saw Blanchefleur’s arm wrapping around Félicien’s. She and Mia shared looks for a brief moment, but Mia could see hints of possessiveness in Blanchefleur’s eyes. Mia knew she had no business anymore.

As Mia continued to walk by herself, her heart slowly started to feel sour again.

Maybe this was why she never had a chance with him.

by **Bonusia** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 9:40 am

Round 1: Bonusia 0-1 Moladea - L
@La Caravana, Op, Bonport, Bonusia
Round 2: Porotia 2-1 Bonusia - L
@Porotia
Round 3: (Friendly) Bonusia 3-3 Solgavden - D
@Estadi de la Unificació, Somorrosta, Detrívora, Bonusia
Round 4: Bonusia 0-0 United States of Nova Calania - D
@Inda' Regareka Bonusian Stadium, Kekla, Keklagara, Bonusia
Round 5: Bears Armed vs Bonusia
@Bears Armed
Round 6: Bonusia vs The Lake Island of Innisfree
@Hepepelioli, Wèep, Pungapu, Bonusia
Round 7: Greater Deutsche vs Bonusia
@Greater Deutsche
Round 8: Bonusia vs Meris
@Tomàtic, Sant Molina, Ralí, Bonusia
Round 9: Zenic vs Bonusia
@Philosophia Colosseum, Manacus, Zenic
Round 10: Moladea vs Bonusia
@Moladea
Round 11: Bonusia vs Porotia
@La Cova del Tigre, Unom, Plana d’Unó, Bonusia
Round 12: (Friendly) Dixie Florida vs Bonusia
@TBD, Dixie Florida
Round 13: United States of Nova Calania vs Bonusia
@Stadion Azteca, Ostrow Krolewski, Odlegla Ziemia, United States of Nova Calania
Round 14: Bonusia vs Bears Armed
@Estadi Casa Tarradellas, Kynetbo, AMK, Bonusia
Round 15: The Lake Island of Innisfree vs Bonusia
@The Lake Island of Innisfree
Round 16: Bonusia vs Greater Deutsche
@Estadi d'Avellanes&Turró, Minga, Tionera, Bonusia
Round 17: Meris vs Bonusia
@Meris
Round 18: Bonusia vs Zenic
@La Blanquinada, Tarraconova, Tarraconensis, Bonusia

THE MATCH REPORTS

MATCHDAY 3	MATCHDAY 4
(friendly) BONUSIA 3-3 SOLGAVDEN	BONUSIA 0-0 NOVA CALANIA
DOU SHINES IN ENTERTAINING FRIENDLY IN SOMORROSTA	CEA UNDECISIVE IN A BITTERSWEET DRAW FOR BONUSIA
Events (BON): A. Dou 18' 52', A. Cea 88' / \|\| A. Obiols 61' Events (SGD): S. Danielsan 6', H. Ossler 41', S. Halvorsan 79'	Events (BON): (P) A. Cea 73' / \|\| I. Jara 88' Events (CAL): \|\| W. Wolkowicz 32', A. McCaskill 86'
SUMMARY: The friendly match organized between Bonusia and Solgavden in their respective bye matchday ended up in a fast-paced, exciting 3-3 draw that made the delights of the almost 50 thousands of spectactors from both countries that were present at the Estadi de la Unificació. Both teams showed their offensive prowess today, starting by the Solgavs, by means of a long shot by Solgav midfielder Danielsan. Bonusia reacted swiftly, and a bit over 10 minutes later Antonieta Dou catched a filtered pass by Boleda and got past the keeper to equalize. At this point, the match became a back and forth series of attacks by both teams, leaving some impressive saves by Cloquell, who returned to the field after her injury against Hanalia, and Kristoffersand. However, it would be the Solgavs the ones to score before the half-time, with a great one-two play between Ossler and Tennefjord ending at the back of the net. On the second half, though, it would be Antonieta Dou yet again, this time in a individual play which saw her running through the defence and putting the ball into the top right corner, who would put Bonusia level yet again. However, the star captain of Solgavden, Sig Halvorsan, would demonstrate why he's considered the best Solgav player ever, as he effortlessly put a curve shot into the top left corner; thus putting Solgavden ahead yet again. It seemed that this result would stay quiet and Bonusia would harness yet another loss, but in the 88th, the youngster prodigy, Aitor Cea, scored a spectacular volley into the top of the net, leaving a final 3-3 on the scoreboard. "Today I played well, I'm happy for the goals, but this is a draw and a friendly. We will work so we can go for more and revert that bad start." Told us MVP Antonieta Dou after the game.	SUMMARY: In the heart of Kekla, Bonusia and the United States of Nova Calania played a very difficult game. Both teams had great pressure: The Nova Calanians needed to keep up with the good results to capitalize on Zenic's losses, while Bonusia needed to get some points to dissipate the doubts. This pressure pushed both teams to play much more defensively and made them less creative on the last third. There were only two clear goal opportunities on the first half: For Bonusia, a header by Bruch that got a good save out of Serge Bleau-Bean. Then, the Nova Calanians replicated with a crossed shot by Goudreau-Luneau, which was also saved by Cloquell. On the second half, Ramon got into the area and flicked over Nathan McCaskill, who had to take him down to avoid the goal, thus awarding a penalty kick to Bonusia. Aitor Cea had to step in to take the penalty instead of Pedra, who got injured against Porotia. Sadly, pressure got to him and he wasn't able to choose where to shot, finally kicking a weak shot into the middle-left part of the net, which was easily saved by Bleau-Bean. After that, not much more happened, and the game ended with a 0-0 draw that leaves none of the competitors really satisfied. "I'm so frustrated, I got nervous and messed it up. I take it as a chance to learn and to do better next time". The words of Aitor Cea, who didn't have his best match this time. We wish the best and we hope this is only a hiatus for him.

Mireia Torrellana woke up as usual, in her little department in the outskirts of Minga. The building was nothing special; like most Mingan residential units, it was a three-story, probably more than 75 years old. The building, like others similar to it, had this characteristic outdated aura that was not charming nor mystic, but which felt extremely conforting to those that grew up with it. Only a born-and-raised Tioneran would be truly comfortable in one of those industrial, brutalist buildings. Luckily for Mireia, she indeed was born and raised as a Mingan. That's probably one of the two reasons she stayed there for so long.

Contrary to the building, her department was pretty unlike those of her neighbours, though. The living room was full of papers and reports scattered all around; the walls, occupied by different notes and images connected through pins and threads. All these elements were related to one creature, and one creature only: The Tabalot, a sentient eating creature that wandered around the Gerdar Forest and other forests in the area. It was regarded as a legend, a tale told by Mingans to make their children behave and send them to sleep. And that's what almost everyone would tell you; that it's only a tale, that the Tabalot isn't actually real. But she knew, that it was there, lurking somewhere. She remembered that time she saw it, that horrific creature... She knew that something needed to be done, so she had spent her life compilating information. She was so close she could really stop at that point. That's probably the second reason why she stayed in Minga for so long.

As Mireia made herself a little cigaló with some rum to wake herself up, she wondered what the plan was for the day. Perhaps that would be a good day to visit her old friend up in the forest ranger outpost, she hadn't been there for a pretty long time. Although, of course, she had to bring something first. He didn't speak without his alcohol, the damn bastard. So, she got all ŝer important papers, took her old SUV, and went to grab a bottle of wine for the guy. Obviously, Tioneran. That's certainly a plus of living here, one wouldn't find a similar wine in all of Bonusia, be it that they tried.

After getting the wine, she got on the road. Half an hour would pass until she got to Les Roquetes del Gerdar, a small village that produced nothing more than some lumber, where most of it's residents dedicated to the maintenace of forest land. It was a very beautiful village, though. As the forest hadn't been cleared when the village was constructed, it was built right between the centennial trees that populated the Gerdar Forest, making the homes look absolutely diminute next to them. Our protagonist headed with her vehicle to the barrier, as it had become norm.

- Hey, Berta! How are you.

- Damned be my eyes if that's not Mireia! How have you been?

- Well, you know, we keep going. Still working on my investigation.

- You won't ever give up on that conspiracy of yours, will you?

- You know I won't. Could you let me through? I wanted to talk to Bertran.

- Sure thing, I'll note it. Won't steal you more time.

- Thanks! Say hi to your kid from my part!

- Sure thing!

As the barrier opened, Mireia got herself on the narrow trail that went upwards to the outpost. The outpost itself was not much more than a glorified mountain refuge, a classic cottage made out of wood for the most part. Inside, a forest ranger in his full uniform was sitting, with a preponderant mouth going through their ringhat. He was calm, with his legs crossed on top of his desk, rubbing a disk thicker than his finger.

- Hey, Bertran, glad to see you. You aren't busy, are you?

- Do I look busy? Nothing happens in this damn forest.

- Well then, if you got time I wanted to talk with you.

- For God's sake, is this about the Tabalot again? You're not 6 anymore Mireia, why do you still believe in kids stories?

- I'm telling you, Bertran, it's real! I saw it!

- Yeah, sure thing, no one has ever seen it EXCEPT you, of course.

- Not just me, you know that! I have tens of reports hinting at it, that beast must be in this area, I'm sure about it.

- Okay, small cut. Your speech demo has finished. You got my thing?

- You never change. Here.

Mireia's bottle of wine was swiftly taken away by Bertram, who opened it and directly lifted it to pour it's dark crimson gold directly into his exothroat. He was able to chug around half of the bottle before putting it back in the desk, and then he talked: - Woah, amazing. You know, I read that these grapes with which you make wine, were brought from the Earthling's planet here. Thank god you all came then, I can't have enough of this beverage! With this bittersweet taste, so elegant! It embraces my throat, it warms it but also refreshes it at the same time. And it makes me happy!

- Focus, Bertran! Did you see anything that could point towards it?

Bertram changed his posture, returning his feet to the ground, and put on a more serious face.

- Look, Mireia. I tell you this every time you come, so I want to make myself clear this time. I have been working in this forest for 20 years. 20 years! And yet, in those 20 long years, I have not even heard mention of a creature that could be the materialization of the Tabalot, as you are arguing. I keep letting you come to ask me things because you bring that good wine from the city and I cannot resist it. But if I need to be honest, I don't believe in your story, and you're losing your time here.

- You need to believe me! I SAW it!

- You know, there's a lot of animals here in the mountains. Are you sure it wasn't a wild iaberuòc? That would make way more sense than your theory.

- Believe me, it was way hairier than a iaberuòc.

- Still hardly believable.

- Then what about all this?! - She said, as she got her papers out. - "Summer 462, Keklan family and his father get lost in the Gerdar Forest, never to come back"; "Spring 469, Earthling's remains are found under a big pile of brown hair"; "Summer 474, two Kynetboan tourists found mauled to death after adventuring into the forest in Minga". Do you think this is some coincidence.

- I only heard dumb tourists getting lost. Usually happens when you go into the forest without knowing what you're doing.

- This is different, look at this! No iaberuòc, no wolf, no bodonak could have the strength to leave them in this state, and certainly these beasts don't actively try to eat sentients. Only one creature could do this.

- Let me guess, the Ta-

- The Tabalot!

-... Listen, go home and keep investigating if you want, but I haven't seen anything related to the Tabalot, nor I doubt I ever see it in my life... But you're more than welcome to stop by, if you bring more of this good wine!

-...thanks for nothing.

- Hey, don't blame me! You're the crazy one.

- See you...

Mireia got into her SUV, and started driving back home. Convincing Bertran of the story appeared clearly futile. Couldn't really blame him, though. Most probably no sane person would believe such a claim that the Tabalot is real with no kind of proof. Could there be any soul in Tionera..., no even more, could there be any soul in Bonusia that could help her find that beast? In that moment, she really thought no one would.

El Tabalot va caminant,
quan veu de prop dos nens jugant.
El monstre trempat s'apropà
i un bon joc els hi proposà.
Un joc de ben senzilla forma;
per jugar, només una norma:
si la bèstia els pot enxampar,
mai més podran tornar a jugar.

by **Snestar** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 9:57 am

Matchday 1: Snestar 3-0 Very Totally Free
Goalscorers (Snestar):
49’ Federico Marchesi
53’ Tero Sjölund
58’ Federico Marchesi
Player of the Match: Federico Marchesi

Matchday 4: Grand Exultia 1-1 Snestar
Goalscorers (Grand Exultia):
3’ Federico Calvaresi (OG)
Goalscorers (Snestar):
78’ Arminia Cremisi
Player of the Match: Federico Calvaresi

Snestar stomps Very Totally Free 3-0, but gets halted with a 1-1 by Grand Exultia: the Viola is now at the top of Group 18

As Snestar continues its World Cup Qualifiers, the squad’s repeated mistakes have arisen some concerns about Snestaryans, despite the good results suggesting otherwise. With two wins, one draw, and one loss, Snestar currently shares first place with Super Earth and Audioslavia, all with seven points in total.

Snestar 3-0 Very Totally Free: Match Summary

Despite the dominant 3-0 victory, Snestar actually struggled to find balance in the first half at the VeniStadium in Venistalya. Without Scognamiglio’s guidance, midfield was incredibly disorganized; passes were inaccurate, the defense was shaky, and the forwards couldn’t get enough balls to complete the goal. Therefore, the opponents were able to besiege the Snestaryans for twenty minutes straight through corners, crosses, and free kicks. The Viola was left disoriented, with Sebastiano Balestri and Martin de Roux gaining yellow cards, and was only able to save itself thanks to Federico Calvaresi’s concentration. In the 39th minute, Snestar had an incredible chance to gain the advantage thanks to a vertical pass by Nicola Acanfora that found Tero Sjölund alone in front of the keeper, but the forward shockingly missed what would’ve been an easy goal.

In the second half, Camilla Arentas knew she had to completely reshape the midfield. Cremisi was subbed off in exchange for Fabio de Filippi, while Castelletti was replaced with Ragusa. Snestar had now switched into a 4-4-2 approach, with Martin de Roux sliding to his natural position and Federico Marchesi becoming the second striker. This choice immediately brought Snestar into the spotlight, with the Viola scoring three goals in 10 minutes. Marchesi opened up the match thanks to a short pass by Ragusa resulting in a surprise tap-in. Then Sjölund found himself alone in front of the net again, and this time he confidently planted the ball in the top left corner, letting the Snestaryans finally relax a little. Finally, Marchesi scored a header from a corner kick to bring the score to 3-0 for the Viola.

Grand Exultia 1-1 Snestar: Match Summary

The match against Grand Exultia started similarly to the previous one, though the initial minutes were a complete disaster: in the third minute, Simone Ramella passed the ball towards the Snestaryan goal, intending to pass it to Federico Calvaresi. However, the pass was a little too fast, and the keeper rushed back to kick the ball away. However, the keeper was too far away, and once he dove to save the ball, he ended up tapping the ball further over the line, giving Grand Exultia an early lead with the embarrassment of an own goal. The first half then proceeded with the Viola closing itself into a defensive wall to prevent further goals. However, as a result, Snestar also wasn't able to gain any chances, resulting in a halftime score of 1-0.

The second half wasn't any better; despite a few technical substitutions by Camilla Arentas, the Viola still failed to meet the expectations. Grand Exultia was dominating, shooting ball after ball towards the goal, but the Snestaryans refused to give up. Federico Calvaresi was practically working overtime, making save after save, preventing the opponents from dooming Snestar. But then, in the 78th minute, the Viola was able to gain a hard-earned free kick, thanks to Federico Marchesi forcing a foul on himself. While Tero Sjölund initially missed, hitting the crossbar, the ball actually ricocheted into the penalty area, where Arminia Cremisi promptly flung the ball into the other. Despite further efforts to try to actually win the match, the Snestaryans came home with a tough 1-1 draw.

After both matches had ended, we interviewed head coach Camilla Arentas to hear her thoughts on the current state of the national team. Arentas looked tired, and constantly coughed throughout the press conference. It would later be revealed that the manager had gotten sick, along with Riccardo Cavaliere, Nicola Ragusa and Valentino Garnati.

“I must say, *cough cough* I'm not sure if the boys can keep up with tougher opponents in the long run. If we're struggling to even begin the match properly, then I don't think we'll be able to- *cough cough* to qualify for the world cup. Surely it would be amazing if we actually managed to at least conquer the play-off spot, but- *cough cough* but for now I'll stay calm and collected. After all, I still trust my team, and I'm sure they'll be able to get back on track b- *cough cough* by themselves... Dear God, what is going on with me today?”

by **Kandorith** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 10:15 am

Hikari Kyoyu

Illuminating Today

2075

TIE ▲ 1.14 % • NEO GEN ▲ 5.27 % Ƶ322.49 • SHOGUN ▼ 1.05 % Ƶ352.82 • KAITO INTL ▲ 2.11 % Ƶ107.76 • GASCORP ▲ 3.19 % Ƶ484.46 • KURODA ▼ 2.66 % Ƶ448.09 • RONIN ASSEMBLIES ▲ 1.78 % Ƶ52.12 • BIOTECHNICA ▲ 0.93 % Ƶ370.21 • AEGIS MEDCORP ▼ 0.44 % Ƶ241.94 • KOSEN OPTITECH ▲ 1.65 % Ƶ164.89 • HIYASHI ▲ 3.88 % Ƶ352.44 • RDD ▲ 4.02 % Ƶ406.73

World Cup 100 Qualifiers

Kandorith Hold Firm: But Much Room For Improvement
by Natsumi Miyasaki | Sports - Football |

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With seven points from four games, the Kandorese football team looks solid for still contending for qualifying for the World Cup 100 so far. Currently, Kuroda's Mekahi stands at fourth place, only bested by Kita-Hinode through goal difference and closely followed by Soviet Kem with 6 points. The top two, Banija and Reçueçn, remain undefeated in their matches so far and stay the two clear favourites. However, this does not stop Kuroda from saying that the goal is to test the numbers one and two of the group constantly.

Reina Kuroda has stated from the start of the qualifiers that they won't be happy unless Kandorith once again qualifies for the World Cup, or at least reaches the play-offs. The last time Kandorith was present at the World Cup was during WC93, under the leadership of Kaya Michiyu, where Brenecia eliminated them in the round of 16.

With no successes following the collapse of the Kandorese Football Association and the Kandorese world ranking entering a downward spiral, it has been Kuroda's mission to return the nation to its former footballing glory. Kuroda is aiming higher than the goal of the Kandorese Football Association itself, who want a top 4 finish at least. While it's too early to call, Mekahi is on track to reach its goals and possibly even exceed them.

Kita-Hinode, a wall seemingly impassable for the Kandorese

Kandorith faced Kita-Hinode in the Empress Masumi stadium during a cold yet fair autumn night. While Kandorith seemed to have difficulty getting the midfield engine running, the solid defence and possession play kept the match at 0-0 for one point. A result which is disappointing, but fair considering the team played sub-par. "A point is a point," said Kuroda. "Of course, we should have gotten the three points, but in all honesty, I have to admit that we did not deserve the win with how we played."

Kandorith Fails To Impress in Libonesia

Away from home, Kandorith now had to face off against the 251st-ranked Libonesia, which on paper should have been another match that was a must-win for the Kandorese. The game itself would turn into a snoozefest, however, as the Mekahi failed to turn up again. The Kandorese team once again seemed to struggle with possession and attacks, especially in midfield, where everything just went wrong. A narrow escape kept the clean sheet for the Kandorese in the match and would eventually be one of four significant goal-scoring opportunities during the entire game; the result was another disappointment: 0-1 for a Kandorese win. Although fans are pleased with the three points, the Kandorese team is only a shadow of what it is supposed to be, and what it has been.

Upcoming Games, And The Road Ahead

The current standings in the group show no major shifts, as Banija and Reçueçn continued their perfect form so far, with 12 and 9 points, respectively. Kita-Hinode and Kandorith are now the two contenders for third place, while Soviet Kem is starting to break away from the bottom three, which are Minoptra (1), Shiverian Republic (1), and Libonesia (0).

Kandorith will face their upcoming second-hardest challenge on paper, Reçueçn. In three matches, Reçueçn has not lost and has held a clean sheet while scoring a total of five goals themselves. Kuroda's mission here is clear; even a point would be an upset here, but with a grin, Kuroda stated that it would be three points to cause a riot in the table completely. "Reçueçn is a team where we have to go all in." They said. "I will be happy with a point, but we will be fighting nail and tooth for the three points on our home soil and show them exactly what the Kandorese spirit is about."

Following the game against Reçueçn is the away match against The North Polish Union, which currently stands at one win and three losses, placing them in 6th place in the table. "Against North Polish Union, I expect nothing less than three points in all fairness," Kuroda said. "This is a clear-cut must-win situation. Any other result would be a major disappointment not just for the fans, but also to me personally."

To reach a runner-up position, it is expected to aim for 40 points. Six points from these two matches would put Kandorith in a good spot to keep dreaming of a World Cup fairy tale.

 # Group 14                               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Banija (22)                              4    4   0   0    12    5   +7    12
 2 Reçueçn (37)                             3    3   0   0     5    0   +5     9
 3 Kita-Hinode (408)                        4    2   1   1     3    1   +2     7
 4 Kandorith (109)                          4    2   1   1     5    4   +1     7
 5 Soviet Kem (200)                         4    2   0   2     2    4   −2     6
 6 The North Polish Union (136)             4    1   0   3     1    4   −3     3
 7 Minoptra (307)                           3    0   1   2     3    5   −2     1
 8 Shiverian Republics (UR)                 4    0   1   3     5   10   −5     1
 9 Libonesia (251)                          3    0   0   3     0    5   −5     0

News & Politics
Kandorith Votes - Polls Show A Major Shift
by Keiko Arai | Politics |

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With the general elections closing in, the LDP has been running ahead in a surprise lead over the other former governing party: the CDP. Currently, in the latest polls, the Liberal Democratic Party shows a 57% position, which is an astronomical leap from the 41% the LDP gained in the 2071 Gyukyu elections. The question is whether the LDP can maintain this momentum until the actual day of the elections and secure the largest number of seats (436) in the history of the Kandorese empire. One thing that the upcoming yet-to-be-voted-in leader of the LDP has to keep in mind is the volatile nature of Kandorese politics - even their appointment as party leader could become the reason for considerable swings in polling data.

The Numbers - As It Stands

LDP: 57 % (up 16 points from 2071) → 436 seats
CDP: 19 % (down 27 points) → 145 seats
Green Party: 14 % (up 8 points) → 107 seats
Party of Hope: 13 % (up 2 points) → 99 seats
DPP: 11 % (down 2 points) → 84 seats
Ishin no Kai: 9 % (up 7 points) → 69 seats
Shi Kanyori: 9 % (up 8 points) → 69 seats
NLP: 5 % (up 1 point) → 38 seats
Others (Wareito, Socialist, New Left): 3 % (down 27 points) → 23 seats

Political Climate - What Could Still Change?

Upsets are not uncommon in the Kandorese political landscape, as seen in years past, following major scandals or government collapses. Here are a few scenarios which could completely change the polls as they stand now:

Turnout collapses in the heartlands of the LDP.
The current projected turnout stands at 84%, but 41% of the respondents in our polls have stated that they are "disappointed and disconnected" with the current state of politics in the empire. A 5% drop, for example, in Ginza or Tenkyo's Imakazawa district could cost the LDP many of its seats during the election.

Urban youth are rebellious.
The Youth of Kandorith has a significant disconnect with Kandorese politics and the Gyukyu as a whole, as they do not feel represented by either the LDP or CDP - they are mostly seen as outdated and irrelevant to the previous generations. At the same time, the Green Party, the Party of Hope and even Shi Kanyori have recently gained popularity among the Kandorese youth.

Corporate donations
While corporate donations to the parties are the norm, the Hiyashi corporation has invested billions in the LDP's dominance over the years. Currently, for the upcoming election, Hiyashi has already donated Ƶ1.5 billion to the cause; yet, their corporate rivals are looking to weaken Hiyashi's dominance by any means necessary.

Change of Leadership
The LDP's internal leadership vote is still underway, as no clear winner has emerged yet on which all factions can agree. Any dirt on any of the candidates could indeed cause an upset in the current numbers.

In history it has happened before: during the 2063 snap elections, the LDP had a comfortable lead with 12% which vaporised to a small 3% win after a major bribery scandal was leaked by a rogue netrunner - The polls currently show any significant damage to the LDP unlikely though and has never been so much in favour of the old political giant of Kandorith.

The Liberal Democratic Party - Kandorith's Political Powerhouse

The LDP is a powerhouse in Kandorese politics, a staple since the early 2000s and has been growing with the modern empire as a dynamic political force. With a fusion of strict bureaucratic rules, pragmatic ideals and alliance forging skills, all coming together in a straightforward liberal agenda to, as they say, "give hope to all Kandorese people".

Core Strongholds:

Ginza: The city of Ginza is the major LDP stronghold in the nation, the origin of the Hiyashi Corporation. Home to the rich and famous and corporate dreams. In 2071, the LDP had a 94% majority in this city alone.

Imakazawa District, Tenkyo: While a district where the average salaryman lives, it is also home to middle management of corporations and features one of the largest, vibrant night culture hubs in the capital. Here, the LDP could get support from 68% of the voters in 2071.

The Outer Districts/Rural areas: Around Tenkyo's districts is still a large rural area that either don't want to, or can't, move to the nation's capital. Here, you find nomads, rogue netrunners, tribes, and visionaries who have broken away from the high-tech life of the capital. While only around 40 to 50% of these areas vote for the LDP, they are also an important voter base for the Liberals.

The Main Factions of the LDP

The LDP consists of multiple factions, but five of them are the major and well-known ones, albeit even some of the more extreme ones. Together, they share the standard values of Kandorese classic liberalism and a promise to work towards a better and happier future for the Kandorese people. All of these factions fight for control over the LDP, and all of them hope to have their leader as the number one candidate on the LDP's voting ballot. The five most well known and most powerful factions within the party are:

Technocrats (Kurosawa): Ex-corporates, former CEOs, Corporate board members, etc.

Revisionists (Mori): The Tenkyo core of the LDP, old-style political leaders. They are the closest to the old Kandorese politics and ideals, classic conservative Kandorese values.

Youth Wing (Hajimoto): Reformers, the voice of the political youth of Kandorith. They want a drastic change to the current politics of the LDP and head more towards the Green Party and even the DPP.

Imperialist (Sato): The faction which reverses the emperor and the imperial family. The faction that views the Kandorese head of state as a divine figure and the true leader of the Kandorese nation and culture, a faction that seeks to reverse the progressiveness of the LDP over the last few years and return to its pre-2050s form.

Bio-Tech (Tanaka): The highly spiritual faction of the LDP. This faction is primarily composed of spiritualists, devout followers of Tendo, and non-augmented monks. Tanaka himself believes that augmentations cloud the mind and prefers a more spiritual approach to politics, social issues, and the Kandorese state, rather than relying on hard, cold numbers.

The Race To Win Leadership

Five candidates remain after the previous vote, and it is now up to them for the entire party to agree on who will lead the LDP into a new era after Yoshiro Murakami. The current favourite comes as no surprise and is the direct prodigy of Murakami: Hana Kurosawa. Kurosawa is a veteran of the corporate world, having worked for both Red Diamond Defence Industries and BioTechnica. Kurosawa is a close ally of the Hiyashi family and has previously been connected to the succession as the one to succeed Murakami. However, the strong connection to Hiyashi may be what will be barring them from being voted in, as they currently only have a 41% lead in the current standings. The second choice of the LDP, as it stands, is Hajimoto, and they might be the surprise winner if the LDP vows to swing towards the youth voters.

As it stands now, the question is not whether the LDP will win, but rather how much they will win this time and how much of the CDP will be left over after the dust settles from the fall of the previous government.

by **Bostopia** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 10:21 am

External edition [Mertagne]

BOSTOPIA HAS DONE FOOTBALL
Bostopian footballers do football!

A warm HELLO! and a big wave of both our hands to our friends in MERTAGNE. This is the very first time we have sent our newspaper especially to you, so we hope everyone there is just as happy to read this as we were to send it to you.

In super exciting news, Bostopia wants to tell everyone in your country that they have done football yesterday! And! They! Won! Hooray for Bostopia! Everyone is very happy here and there was lots and lots of cheering. It was super fun. People watched the football with their friends and family in lots of places, such as in their houses, or in special places where people can gather together to drink drinks together and eat yummy food. Do you have yummy food in Mertagne? Do you have any food in Mertagne? We know we had a super sad time once. We hope your food grew back!

We beat Huayramarca (who are another country in Anaia (which is the region we all share together!)) by five whole goals! We didn't let Huayramarca score even one, which made us super happy with how well we played. Bostopia also did football a few days ago, when we beat Acapais 3 - 0 in their own house! One day Bostopia will beat you in your own house too! Because we beat Acapais and Huayramarca, this meant we went to the top of the table in our group! We're all super happy and excited to see how the rest of the football in our group goes.

At the end of the match with Huayramarca, the referee, who was in charge of the match, blew a special whistle and said 'this game is over!' Then every Bostopian left the stadium happy and some of them did some dancing in the street near the special food and drink places! It was exciting! Lots of cars went beep beep beep with their horns, just like the bus in the song! Lots of people waved Bostopian flags and were super super happy!

We stayed at the stadium though to have a chat with the man in charge of our team, Jonathan Luciani! 'Hi Jonathan!' 'Hi People of Bostopia!' 'We're super happy! Are you?' 'Yes, I am super happy. Bostopia played some good football today. We scored lots of goals and didn't concede one, even though lots of people thought Huayramarca would beat us!' 'Wow! That's so super amazing Mr. Luciani! Who did the goals today?' 'The goals were scored by Logan Grindle, Philip Scott - he scored twice - Nigel Roarn, and Adam Waite.' 'Wow! We remember that Adam was super clever and found gaps on the pitch where there were no Huayramarcan players and did a very big shot from far away from the goal! And! He! Scored!' 'That's right. He exploited the gap between the Huayramarcan defenders and attackers just like we said he would and he scored!'

Jonathan uses big words, but that's ok, because we know there will be someone who is not from Mertagne in Mertagne who could explain the big words to you. Perhaps one day you won't have to be from Mertagne and you could be Bostopian instead? We'd be super happy for you!

by **United States Of Alpha** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 10:21 am

Our team lost both matches on Matchdays 3 and 4. Everyone is very mad and upset that they are now far away from making the World Cup. Oofio did not say anything in our interview except "we should probably just give up." everything else was "no comment." We play Atymnius tomorrow, let's hope we don't plummet further. Ok goodbye.
END OF BROADCAST

meanwhile in the locker room:

NotJustBry4: Man this sucks. We got our asses kicked. Does this mean we're no making the World Cup.

lazarpay2win: Those damn ttv's always flexing on us. We have to beat them later in the season.

Oofio: Look, I know we saw that broadcast and what I said, but I don't mean that anymore. We have to prepare for Atymnius tomorrow. Now who wants to roast them?

TheOtherNoobus: But why? We don't have any motivation.

Oofio: Then let's go to the nearest wings place that also happens to be an airport.

AT "WINGING IT: SPORTS BAR" in Utopiatopia Airport

The1onlymanuel: Man what you want to eat. Honey BBQ sounds sweet.

NotJustBry4: I need to honor my man and get some lemon pepper.

Oofio: I'll get the Spicy Buffalo.

[everyone orders their wings]

Oofio: So why don't you have any energy?

NotJustBry4: [takes a sip of Dr. Pepper] We still have forever to go until we reach the end of the season, let alone the World Cup. You might as well have been right.

Noobus Howdoitype: I mean, I'm pumped. I just tagged along because I like to watch random stuff and eat more stuff.

[upcoming match shows up on screen]

JustBry4:): So how's it going?

Oofio: We-

JustBry4:): I already know what happened. I just wanted to cheer you guys up. Don't get down on yourself. Heck, my favorite football team is like 3-4 and we got 10 games to go. Like you got 12. You're not out of it by any means.

NotJustBry4: Here, have -- oh wait I don't have my wings yet.

[the wings finally arrive]

Waiter: Wait (er), aren't you guys THE Alphanian Soccer Team?

Oofio: Yes, but keep it to yourself until we want to let everyone know.

Waiter: OK, you got 30 minutes

[some minutes of eating go by, and NotJustBry4 and his creator share their Lemon Pepper wings]

Oofio: Now are we ready?

The1onlymanuel: Uhhhhhhhh . . . FOR ROASTING THOSE HOMER WANNABES HELL YEAH! THEY THINK THEY CAN GET PAST US LIKE THAT LIKE ITS THE DAMN ODYSSEY? THEY GOT ABOUT AS MUCH POWER AS THE SUITORS [the guys that got shot by arrows and stabbed and whatnot, for context] . . . [runs out of breath]

TheOtherNoobus: EUGHH, and they like anime as well! I thought they were Spartans, not weebs!

[that's about it for the roasting, 30 minutes is now up]

Waiter: So uhhhh hey guys I just wanted to let you know that the Alphanian Soccer Team is in the bar, and I just wanted to give a shoutout to them

[everyone in bar stares at team, cheers]

Waiter: [brings free chocolate lava cakes with ice cream on top to the team] Thanks to you, from now to the end of the World Cup Qualifying, we will serve the team's winning percentage off. That means everyone gets 38% off starting now!

Oofio: Great desert, man that was awesome. Anyway [turns to crowd] bye guys!

Crowd: Bye!

[The team gets on the flight to-]

Oofio: Wait, we're playing at home. Yo captain, can you fly to the stadium and then give us some parachutes so we can just parachute into the stadium as everyone cheers?

Captain: Sure!

[They all get the parachutes, and then 15 minutes later parachute onto the field as everyone cheers just as planned. They then take off the parachutes, place them onto the sideline, and get onto the field, ready for a game of soccer against Dēmos.]

by **Stewartika** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 11:04 am

STEWARTIKA TOP GROUP 8 ON GOAL DIFFERENCE WITH A GAME IN HAND

Matchdays 3 and 4 proved fruitful for Royal Purple as the Stewartikan National Team walks away with two wins from two, the first coming away to Ranoria and the second another goal-filled stomping of Vetrahjart. This recovery in form from the day one defeat to Skyberius has rewarded the Pigs, with 3 wins and 1 loss they top Group 8 of Qualifiers on goal difference while favorites, 10th ranked in the world Kelssek, dropped points with a loss against The Martian Independent Republic with a match still to play after their bye.

Matchday 3 - Away to Ranoria

Stewartika’s rotated squad faced the unfamiliar atmosphere of 369th ranked Ranoria’s Smith Field and its bizarre crimson turf, a nation perhaps more known for the other kind of football. Still, this match was taken as seriously as any other as they got underway underneath the night sky. On the get go, Stewartika proved a more cautious side than previously seen, only showing their true aggression when the time was right. Slowly and surely they patiently waited for their opponents to make a mistake, when in the 41st minute they finally took advantage.

A passing triangle between three Stewartikan attackers (Sung, Blake, and Bergmeier), finally drew a Ranorian center back out of position (Fritz Nostitz). A smart, lightning fast inside pass from Bergmeier, showing his vision, and Sung was through with his pace just as lethal as ever despite his age. An instant later and the deadlock was broken with an absolute dagger stabbing through the net, leaving Weidemann no chance to save. 0-1 to Stewartika at the break.

When the referee blew for the game to resume, it was clear that a switch was flipped. A solution for Ranoria now calculated, Stewartika ran that solution again, and again, and again. Relentless pressure battered their defenders, and it was only a matter of time until another goal came.

That came late, when a corner issued in the dying seconds of extra time prompted Grovalle to come forward. Foolish, one could say, with a lead so slender as 1-0 to have the keeper come up to contest a corner. Those criticisms, however, would be silenced as the ball floated in from a Bentham delivery, straight to Bergmeier’s head. Weidemann dives, but he was deceived. The ball ricochet’s off the midfielder’s head, and straight to Grovalle’s, who nods it home as the traveling fans go wild. The keeper celebrates by pointing to his assister as they run together to the corner flag… seemingly putting to bed the bad blood shared between the two players after their altercation in the locker room following Stewartika’s sudden exit from the Baptism of Fire.

Full time soon blows, and Stewartika walk away with a crucial away win, and the three points.

Full Time:
World Cup Qualifiers - Group 8

Ranoria
Stewartika

0
2

M. Sung ’41
J. Grovalle ’90 +7

MAN OF THE MATCH: Jens Bergmeier

Venue: Smith Field

Weather: Slightly cloudy, calm, 79 degrees F

Matchday 4 - Home for Vetrahjart

Back at Illney Stadium, Stewartika hosted 96th ranked Vetrahjart before a raucous crowd, the highest ranked opponent faced so far in qualification. Pressure was high, but Royal Purple was even to the challenge.

At kickoff, while Stewartika was perhaps less aggressive than the fans would have wanted, patiently playing out the first fifteen minutes. Despite the frustration, this paid off as Stewartika avoided an early spoiler from their opponent this time and clinically found Sjoberg’s boots for 1-0, cool as you like, to the now satisfied roar of the home crowd.

This mood, however, would ironically be spoiled soon after as Vetrahjart quickly equalized in the 23rd minute, and soon it seemed that Stewartika would fall apart against the more experienced team. As the pressure ramped up underneath the nervous eyes of the spectators, Himmel was forced to take down an opposing attacker in the box with an extremely rough tackle, sending the player crashing to the pitch. To the boos of the some hundred thousand spectators, the referee immediately points to the penalty spot, and brandishes a red card to the Stewartikan defender. Stewartika seemed about to let the game slip away, as they were now reduced to 10 men and Vetrahjart poised to now take the lead from the spot.

From a neutral broadcaster:

Here we are. *static* against Jorges Grovalle… Vetrahjart with the chance to take the lead and potentially take a second win. Here we are…

*indistinct cheering*

OH HE’S SAVED IT! JORGES GROVALLE GETS A HAND ON THE BALL AND IT’S OUT OF HARM’S WAY! BERGMEIER HAS A PERFECT CLEARANCE STRAIGHT TO SJOBERG!

He’s off here… oh, I think he’s got eyes on goal here… he’s juked the keeper and IT’S IN! STEWARTIKA COME FROM THE BRINK AND SUDDENLY LEAD AGAIN AGAINST ALL ODDS! TWO GOALS TO THE GOOD FOR VIKTOR SJOBERG!

In the second half, Vetrahjart never quite got that same aggression back after their best chance went up in smoke in the worst possible way. Stewartika, on the other hand, keep the pressure up despite the man down, and find the net two more times - Haggstrom finding a lovely tap-in from a Sung diagonal driven pass, and super sub Jin beating the keeper with pure speed. The ten men of Stewartika walk away 4-1, and undefeated at home.

Full Time:
World Cup Qualifiers - Group 8

Stewartika
Vetrahjart

4
1

V. Sjoberg ’16, ’38
Unknown ’23

A. Haggstrom ’64
Y. Jin ’82

MAN OF THE MATCH: Sung Min-jae

Red Card: Hans Himmel ’36

Venue: Illney Stadium

Weather: cloudy, breezy, 71 degrees F

In the locker room

Cheers, "come on!!"'s, and "yeah!!"'s echo as the players exit the pitch and find their lockers, drinking much needed water. Soon, the coaching staff enters, their head coach Kunio in tow. A respectful silence falls as the manager speaks.

"I just want to say, wow. Every single one of you have truly, truly impressed me. Keeping your head up high after that first loss, winning against much higher ranked nations, I'm so proud of you all. It's all about patience, this is the long haul after all - so keep it up, treat everything like it could be our last. Well done! I'll see you soon."

Clapping fades away, Stewartika's confidence renewed.

They face 68th ranked Martian Independent Republic away and favorites to qualify Kelssek at home next time.

Until then.

by **Busoga Islands** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 11:11 am

The Lakiska Daily

SPORT- Busogans set for top of the table clash as they face a tough visit to Travanta on Matchday 5 of World Cup Qualifying

BARTOL, BUSOGA ISLANDS- The Busogans, coming off their bye, continued their strong start to World Cup Qualifying in Matchday 4, cruising to a dominating 4-0 win over Aethelia. Busoga's 3rd straight win to open the campaign, although of course- all three of those wins coming over teams that are ranked in the 300s, nations that are making their debut in World Cup Qualifying, that just played in the Baptism of Fire. Not an affront or an insult- but simply a fact. However, winning the games you are supposed to win is a task that is much easier said than done, and so this 4-0 win was something that the Islanders will savor. Well rested coming off the bye, they didn't play with their food, getting on the front foot and just stepping on the gas. It was 2-0 within 25 minutes, and by halftime, it was 3-0, as everybody was all smiles in the Busogan capitol.

A penalty in the 52nd minute was converted by the Busogans, and that gave us our final score, 4-0. "It's not easy to win games in World Cup Qualifying, so we'll certainly savor these wins." Millet told reporters. "Big wins beget big games- and it's a testament to the standard we've created over the past few cycles, that pretty much everyone expected us to win this game. Expectations are the result of success- the more you succeed, the more expectations are raised. We were favorites in these first three games, and we won all of them- that means we're building something here. We can compete with the best of the best, and make a push to reach World Cup 100. Something that will be tough, in what is the largest ever World Cup Qualifying cycle."

Next is Busoga's first top of the table matchup of the campaign- the Busogans, in 2nd place in the group, are traveling to Travanta, who are in 3rd place in the group so far. Now, as we've said before, we've played less than 20% of our Qualifying matches, so the table doesn't really matter at this point. But if we want to think about who is going to be there in the later stages of Qualifying, who we are going to be competing with for a playoff berth, or- don't even say it, but direct World Cup Qualification- some of those teams are starting to separate themselves. Here's a snippet of the top 4 of the table. We only put the teams on here who are within a game of first place.

A reminder- the top team goes directly to the World Cup, the runner-up to the playoffs, and everyone else to the Cup of Harmony.

Group 6 after MD4
                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Bostopia                4    3   1   0     9    0   +9    10
2 Busoga Islands          3    3   0   0     9    2   +7     9
3 Travanta                4    2   1   1     5    3   +2     7
4 Moon Deing              4    2   1   1     4    2   +2     7

With so many debutants, it is not surprising to find two BoF teams right in the thick of it. That Busogan win over Moon Deing on the opening day of qualifying is looking better by the MD, with Moon Deing not having lost since then, with 2 wins and a draw. Bostopia, unsurprisingly, is in first place with 10 points. We're in second with 9, but we've got a game in hand. Travanta, is in an interesting position. Their only loss is an away loss to top of the table Bostopia. Otherwise, they have a couple of impressive wins, and a tough draw against Moon Deing. Aka, right in the thick of things. Of course, many teams could stage a climb up the table- so many games left. Huayramarca are in Pot 1, and we surely expect them to storm their way up the table at some point during this campaign. Too much talent and depth on the team for that to not happen. So despite them not being in the immediate picture, they are certainly in the long-term outlook of this group.

But that means 2nd place plays 3rd, at the national stadium in Travanta. Coro Dibahari, the captain, spoke about the opportunity. "Travanta is a talented, opportunistic team- a highly-skilled one that I expect to be challenging for a top two spot all the way until the end." He told reporters. "Matt Gilbert is a quality manager, and they've got a pretty good defensive setup. They are a team that is built to spring surprises on many nations above them. I like that about them- they've got moxie and spunk, they aren't about 'waiting their turn'- they say their time is now. I know the National Stadium is going to be overflowing with fans for a match this big, so we've got to be ready for this atmosphere."

When Isa Kujabi Jr. was asked whether they'd play for an away draw, which would be a quality result in the grand scheme of things, or go for the win, Kujabi Jr. was straight with us- the Busogans wanted to win. "Look, there is a time to play for a draw, and an away draw would obviously be a good result here." He told reporters. "It'd keep us right on pace with Bostopia. But if we really want to chase the top spot, we can't go into a match, before it starts, looking to settle. That's how things go haywire, and losses pile up. No, we're gonna be direct- we're trying to win this one, despite the circumstances, despite the travel, and take all three points in this match. We're good enough to do so- we've just got to stay stout against their array of attackers."

If Busoga's going to win this one, it's going to be on the counter. We've got young players who are capable of that. Get from offense to defense quickly. Al-Hassain, the team's starting right back, is probably going to be a key player. He's just 21 years old, and he's got loads of pace and stamina, although his mental game isn't the best. He's a guy who can really set overloads and make all kinds of crosses- even if he isn't the best in defense. But at his young age, if he's playing balls for those strikers, Uzun and Jallow, that's how we're going to score and win this game. This has low-scoring match written all over it- it likely ends up 1 or 2-0, or more likely, 0-0 or 1-1. But if they can get that, especially in the first half, and make Travanta chase- that's how the Busogans are going to win this game.

Following that, expect a rotated Busogan squad against a last place Acapais team, at home, on Matchday 6. That MD7-10 stretch is a particularly tough one for the Islanders, with three of those four games away- and those three away games being against Huayamrca(Pot 1), Bostopia(1st place in the group), and Moon Deing(4th place in the group). So it's a game like this Travanta game where risks must be taken to earn three points, because, however unlikely that result is, this is likely Busoga's last real opportunity at a 6 point window for at least the next three windows. So they've got to go out there and take it- because, after that stretch of games, it's going to be a real messy muddle for whoever remains in contention for this group's qualifying spots.

Politics Headlines
- President Kavak is set to undergo a state visit to Abahamba, as the two neighbors vow to 'explore an untapped partnership'.
- Busogan legislator introduces 'Save the Kangaroos Act', establishing a fund to bring foreign kangaroos, which are Busoga's national animal, into the Busoga Islands.

by **Xanneria** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 11:17 am

by **United Adaikes** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 11:24 am

After 2 matchdays playing 3 matches in the Qualifiers, United Adaikes is currently second in their group just behind Dhemixia.

1st match - UAD 1-0 W

It was not just a win, it was a statement.

After a 21-year absence, the Adaikesians beat a team considered their direct superior. Ranked 251st at the start of the Qualifiers, UAD snatched a win from a team ranked 126 spots above them.

The Main Stadium of the New Thraproy Sports Complex in Sportstown, Steskia, Thraproy, empty for many years during football games, became filled with nervous energy from Adaikesians. At this point, the majority of the native spectators may not be called “fans” because of the long absence. But the actual fans, both die-hard and long-time supporters, are not just watching a match, they are witnessing history.

Coach Leonel Nuñez employed a deep defensive block on their side of their goal. He was expecting the visitors to play a physically demanding performance. The winning goal came from a corner play by Captain DF Eden Bird to the rising domestic star FW Leire Page. After the game,

This win is for the past. For the players who never got their chance. The struggles and boycotts, vindicated. The final whistle was met with tears and cheers. United Adaikes Football Association (UAFA) President Dylan Burke, Eternal Captain and Adaikes Premiere Football Commissioner Billy Jordan and his wife, UAFA Ambassador Elaine Braddock-Jordan were seen hugging in the VIP box, tears in their eyes.

2nd match - UAD 1-0 W

If the first match was about emotion, this one was about professionalism. This is the kind of match that failing teams of the past would have drawn or even lost. Winning it is a sign of a new mentality.

It was a frustrating, nerve-wracking match. “We dominated in possession, but we looked clueless in the final third,” Bird said in an interview after the match.

The pressure was on the Adaikesians as their opponents knew they had nothing to lose and it mounted with every missed chance. The goal came after an upper left goalpost miss from FW Fito Conway was caught again by MF Alexus Sosa, only to be parried by the opponent goalkeeper, until Page took it home.

Ugly but persistent, yes, but it’s a sign of a team that is learning, growing, and building something real.

3rd match - UAD 1-1 D

Beating teams you should beat is one thing; going toe-to-toe with a powerhouse is another. Some fans even anticipated a respectful defeat, a learning experience for the international rookies after the 2 wins.

The game started with the Adaikesian footballers feeling nervous. Dhemixia controlled the possession from the get-go, and the fear of a humiliating loss looms. When they scored just before half-time, it felt inevitable.

But whatever pep talk Coach Nuñez gave reignited the passion the Adaikesians have in playing for the country. Instead of collapsing, they dug in. The goal against them became the much-needed spark plug. Others might call it lucky, but the score-tying goal was earned through sustained pressure. Page gets the goal for the Adaikesians.

“The attackers are still finding their feet,” Coach Nuñez responded to the question of the media on the low number of goals, “the chemistry between the players is still forming. But we’ll take the draw and the point if we can’t win.”

This is no longer a feel-good story. The match was the coming-of-age moment for the Adaikesians. This becomes a new kind of pressure. The nation’s hope is now a tangible, heavy expectation.

by **Kamijiro** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 11:44 am

World Cup 100: Lightning Strikes Eleven Times in Two Matches

It was a crisp morning on Jirō Island when Equestria came to the island to play some footy. The field, as always, in great condition. The fans were louder than normal, spurred on by the fact that the Lightning have looked shaky thus far in the qualifiers - first the Sinyal match where they conceded two goals in the first half to an unranked side, then only scoring one past Al-Tamazgha away. It's early, yes, but the results that have come out have looked a little lackluster. The fans wanted to back the team and be in full voice to help give the team a real boost and maybe make the stadium a little more intimidating to play in.

The first half brought two goals for the Lightning. Haruka Kagawa scored a powerful first-time shot off of a backheel assist from Nicácio Xavier, who had been spinning the wrong way to pass the ball any other way. 17th minute, it's 1-0 to Kamijiro. The next few minutes were testy, as Equestria looked to get their goal back straight away. Some high pressing movement and a couple of decent shots that required Ichi Asumi to handle them were the only real scares and Equestria sort of fell back into letting Kamijiro hold the ball again afterwards. Then in the 38th minute, the scoring-assisting order was reversed, with Kagawa finding Xavier in the box on a low cross. He controlled the touch, did a slow spin and fired low and away from the keeper. The effort was tame, all things considered, but it dribbled into the bottom corner perfectly out of reach of a the diving goalkeeper. 2-0 after 38.

Halftime came and went and the second half was much more of the same. Kamijiro dominated possession time and looked for a third for the first ten minutes, but then Equestria got on a break and won a corner off of Akinari Akaminai. The corner was harmless and the Kamijiroans immediately looked to break. Sōji Kokubun darted straight through the middle and was going to be found by Katsu Fujiwara's through ball but he was hauled down by the last defender. Straight red for denial of goal scoring opportunity. Equestria down to ten. They immediately parked the bus and let Kamijiro have even more of the ball. They looked to frustrate the Lightning by just kicking it as far away as possible every time, but eventually they found an outlet and ran a break of their own. But when the Kamijiroans got the ball back, they were basically straight in on net via Tōshi Kameda, who placed a low curler past the onrushing goalkeeper. 3-0 after 81 minutes. With the win secured, Raiji Kagawa turned to the bench and subbed on Saiichi Demizu for Nicácio Xavier, Darren Williams for Sōji Kokubun and Vivienne Silva for Katsu Fujiwara. Just minutes after being subbed on, Vivienne scored her first-ever national team goal with a dribble around the goalkeeper and tap in following an incisive pass from Ryō Murai, who found her darting run with a high through ball. 4-0 after 84 minutes. The fifth and final goal came after Keigo Nakaji was hauled down in the box. With the 90th minute coming up, Darren Williams stepped up to take the penalty. He shot it high and down the middle, the keeper dove left. 5-0 after 90.

"Great team win, obviously." Katsu said after the match. "Didn't let the frustration get to us when they parked the bus on us and we didn't let get complacent when they went down to ten. Congrats to Vivienne for scoring her first senior goal for the team and hopefully we keep winning against Equinox Auraterra."

"Honestly, think it could've been more," Raiji jumped in after. "We didn't put away all of our chances and we honestly looked a bit sloppy at times with our passes between midfield and attack. I think that'll get hammered down as we get back into the rhythm of being together as a team."

---

Raiji wanted more than five? So he gets more than five. The Lightning travelled to Equinox Auraterra for their second away match of the qualifiers. After only edging past Al-Tamazgha 1-0, there was a bit of nervousness around the camp. The Lightning hit first via a first minute goal by Sōji Kokubun, who thumped in a header off of a well-worked set-piece situation. A flicked-on header by Kyōji Kirishima lasered into the head of Kokubun and all he had to do was put it downwards on target. Equinox Auraterra equalized on a well-worked ball that found the foot of Terentiy Adamczak from a Leszek Kozel pass, which was thumped past Ichi Asumi. Raiji was furious that his defense had once again fallen asleep but he was quickly silenced by an immediate answer from Katsu Fujiwara, who found a pocket of space off of a Kokubun pass and was able to chip the keeper to make it 2-1 after 44. Then he was immediately pissed off again when Albert Genov scored another equalizer for Equinox Auraterra, this one nearly identical to the opener. Set-piece, nodded-on pass by Todor Nikolic which found the boot of Genov and was blasted past Asumi, who didn't even have time to react.

The half-time talk was dire. Kagawa threw a hissy fit to end all hissy fits and launched a dry-erase marker at Keigo Nakaji for talking over him. Then, he took off his jacket, took out a lighter and flicked it on. He dangled a cigarette above it, but didn't light it. The message? If you don't win - I'm going to light all of your asses on fire.

The marker thing seemed to work for Keigo, though. Right out of half-time, he scored a great solo goal from the right-hand side of the box, which had enough power and placement to beat Stefek Kaloyanov, 3-2 after 48 minutes. He scored a goal from a nearly identical angle just nine minutes later to make it 4-2 after 57 minutes. And then another goal, identical angle, five minutes after that. 5-2 after 62 minutes. He was rewarded with an early break from the match, being subbed off for Hiro Kumikiri in the 66th minute. From there, it was all academic. Tatsuya Nakamura made his first appearance at the qualifiers after being subbed on for Sōji Kokubun and scored the sixth and final goal for the Lightning in the 79th minute. 6-2. The result held from there with the Kamijiroans just trying out new stuff. Fiti Multiauaopele, Levi Faamate and Kennedy Jaques all were subbed on for the defensive back three to give them a break and then the fifth and final substitute was Vivienne Silva on for Tōshi Kameda.

"Much better second half." That was Raiji's entire statement to the press.

"Happy for Tatsuya." Was Keigo's response to the press. "My hat-trick wasn't anything special. Just three goals that literally were identical. Seems a bit silly to highlight it."

"He's just being humble." Katsu added to Keigo's comments. "Scoring a hat-trick at the World Cup Qualifiers is a big deal. Who cares if they weren't aesthetically amazing or whatever. He still put up half our goals out there. And remember, he's only 18. He only started being able to drink legally like, six months ago. That's the guy worth 12 million right there. Tihon United, you've got a starboy on your hands."

"Holy glazing." Sōji said after kicking Katsu off the mic. "He's good enough without the hype train. Just let the kid be himself. Don't make it something it doesn't need to be."

Group 27 after MD4
                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Kamijiro                4    4   0   0    15    4  +11    12
2 The Holy Empire         4    1   3   0     8    6   +2     6
3 Equinox Auraterra       4    1   2   1     8   11   −3     5
4 Equestria               4    1   2   1     2    6   −4     5
5 Sinyal                  3    1   1   1     3    3    0     4
6 Sibersky                4    0   3   1     3    4   −1     3
7 Dixie Florida           3    0   2   1     4    5   −1     2
8 Bull Sheet              3    0   2   1     3    5   −2     2
9 Al-Tamazgha             3    0   1   2     0    2   −2     1

With the group stage heating up, the Lightning find themselves in pole position early and are in the select few that are still perfect. Will the fun continue against Bull Sheet and Dixie Florida?

Schedule:
Matchday   Opponent
MD1        Sinyal            (H) W, 3-2
MD2        Al-Tamazgha       (A) W, 1-0
MD3        Equestria         (H) W, 5-0
MD4        Equinox Auraterra (A) W, 6-2
MD5        Bull Sheet        (H)
MD6        Dixie Florida     (A)
MD7        The Holy Empire   (H)
MD8        Sibersky          (A)
MD9        BYE
MD10       Sinyal            (A)
MD11       Al-Tamazgha       (H)
MD12       Equestria         (A)
MD13       Equinox Auraterra (H)
MD14       Bull Sheet        (A)
MD15       Dixie Florida     (H)
MD16       The Holy Empire   (A)
MD17       Sibersky          (H)
MD18       BYE
Playoff    IF NEEDED

by **HOT-DAMN** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 11:46 am

Brewery Stadium, New Hap City, HOT-DAMN
Match 4 of World Cup 100 Qualifying: HOT-DAMN v. Chemicala
“The Rod Cutt Game”

The morning of the fourth match of HOT-DAMN’s World Cup qualifying campaign, Ernie Stevenson, as he usually did, walked into his office, fixed himself a cup of coffee, and opened up his Big Book. The Big Book, prepared by his scouting team, had scouting reports on every single team in the World Cup. Sometimes, these scouting reports were massively detailed. Valanora, for example, had 50 pages dedicated to their team, their country, their lore, and their strengths and weaknesses. The Mainline Hapiloppians, meanwhile, had close to 100 pages of information, owing largely to the fact that the HOT-DAMN scouts had worked there and knew the team in and out.

But then Ernie turned to the singular page on Chemicala, and found it mostly blank. There was information about the nation, what region it was in, their flag, and that sort of thing, but there was barely any sort of information available. Somewhat annoyed, Ernie called Anna Jones, one of the scouts for the HOT-DAMN team. She was at the stadium as well, getting cameras set up at the top of the stadium. Those cameras would record game film the team could use for future matches.

“Anna?” Ernie asked as she walked in. “Refresh my memory here, who had been assigned Chemicala on the scouting book project?”

“It was mine,” Anna responded.

“Great,” Ernie said. “Where’s the info? I see, like, half a page about them and nothing about the team.”

“That’s just it, nobody had any information about them at all,” Anna said. “Nobody I know knows anyone that lives there. I spent a week on the phone trying to get something – hell, I even called the World Cup Committee and they have as much info as we do.”

Ernie looked at the book and back at her, then nodded. He knew this wasn’t her not doing her job – Anna Jones was one of the best football scouts in either Hapilopper or HOT-DAMN. She had been responsible, for starters, for compiling the information about nations such as Zwangzug, Chromatika, the Free Republics, and Vdara. All of those were heavily detailed. If information wasn’t available, it just plain wasn’t available.

“Cool. Get you some coffee and go back to whatever you were doing,” Ernie said. “We’re gonna have a long day. Hopefully a good one. I’ll figure something out.”

Anna took a cup and left, while Ernie went back to preparing for the match. Thankfully, Ernie had a plan for when he had no information on a team, no game film, no scouting report, none of that. He had talented-enough players that he could get them to prepare for any possibility. And the players were talented enough that if they saw something, they could change their plans and tactics in a second. Fortunately, the HOT-DAMN players and their coaches were on the same page, so they usually saw the same thing.

As the two teams walked under the tunnel at Brewery Stadium, the beer leaguers kept staring at their Chemicalan counterparts, trying to size them up to see what kind of players these guys were. It was hard to tell. No dice.

It wasn’t until the start of the match that the beer leaguers realized what kind of team Chemicala was, and it was the kind of team that HOT-DAMN could take down. All it took was a cheap shot, a dirty hit that looked like an accident, the kind of hit that the fans at Brewery Stadium could fall in love with. Maybe it was appropriate they were wearing the Nathan Ellis Memorial kits that day, the all-black kit.

LARIATO!!!! A depiction of what Rod Cutt did to that poor Chemicalan forward.

Gael Hicks and Rod Cutt, two men who became friends by not backing down from each other in a brawl, spotted a player from Chemicala, who was rushing down the field with the ball. The Chemicalans weren’t aware, but Rod had given his teammates a signal – lay back. The signal came in the form of devil horns. The frequently-pissed off Rod had a smile on his face. He was about to do something wild. He then looked back at Ernie, smiled, and turned around. Ernie looked uneasy with that smile, because it meant something ugly was about to happen.

Gael and Rod also knew how to make it look like an accident. They were going to frame it as something that happened when one tried to steal the ball from the other team, but oh, golly gee, they just committed a war crime by accident. The two positioned themselves around the Chemicalan forward, who started to get a little bit nervous. It seemed like everyone knew what was about to happen – the fans in the stands, the HOT-DAMN team, and the people watching on television. The fans got up on their feet, and you could just about hear an excited murmur among the 30,000 on hand.

As the Chemicalan forward tried to move out of the way, Rod saw it coming, made it look like the forward tangled legs with him. As they untangled, Rod fired out his right arm and center-punched the forward right in the face, knocking him flat. The Chemicalan, like so many that had faced Hapilopper before, and like the few that had faced HOT-DAMN before, had fallen victim to physical Hapiloppian play – where tackles, clotheslines and fights were common, and players that tried to dive to draw a penalty got a cleat to the face, then a red card for simulation.

That was just the Hapiloppian way to play. Play hard. Play rough. Don’t be afraid to piss someone off. But don’t act like a wimp. You get knocked down? Get back up! Don’t act like you’ve been shot. And if you dive? Expect to get hit and hit hard.

It set the tone for what became known as the “Rod Cutt Game.” Rare was the time where Rod would get the ball. He was more interested in hitting people and freeing them from their teeth than he was in scoring goals. Nothing personal, it was just how he was. Somehow or another, Rod had gotten the ball and was driving it down the field. HOT-DAMN had already led 1-0 on the strength of a Cale Mallett goal. Rod was now wanting to make it 2-0. And he realized the Chemicalan keeper was wide open. An idiotic idea entered his mind. He had a target on his mind.

You know how we said the Chemicalan keeper was wide open? Yeah. Rod didn’t aim the ball for the net.

Rod fired the ball as hard as he could, and it found its mark – right in that one spot right between the legs of the Chemicalan keeper. In other words, the ball hit the Chemicalan keeper in the nuts with sickening force. It was a swamp donkey piss missile clap bomb (hell yeah brother) that found its mark and nailed the keeper about as hard as you could nail a keeper. The ball then went into the back of the net after colliding with the other two balls. Rod couldn’t help but laugh his ass off as he walked over to check on the keeper. That made two Chemicalan players that Rod had significantly altered the health of in the span of a 90-minute football game.

It wasn’t the kind of game Ernie Stevenson had planned, but his HOT-DAMN beer leaguers got off the pitch with a 3-0 victory, so that, as they say, was that.

by **Aleirave** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 11:59 am

Family Reunion
Sel Appa 0-5 Aleirave
Aleirave 9*-0 South Kerala
*New record for both Seagull goals in a match and margin of victory.

Continued from the second half of this Eshialand RP.

The HMES Vairafu II set sail from Eshialand City at the crack of dawn on a Friday morning, and it wasn't going to stop until it arrived at New Alikonora. Ketereho Evatene, nervous about the expedition but ready to make a name for himself instead of just being "Piheve's brother" took a deep breath as she disembarked.

Traditionally, naming a ship after a Petake such as Vairafu would be reserved for only the most magnificent ships in the Aleiravan fleet, the ones used to transport Petakes or set out on unprecedented expeditions to new lands. This ship was a little different from all of those, as she wasn't the most magnificent the people of Aleirave had ever seen, nor was she even really an Aleiravan ship at all -- she was flying the Eshian blue white and yellow. This wasn't seen as a massive break from tradition, however, since there was no Petake Vairafu II: this ship was named for Captain Fekelu's own ship, the Vairafu, which first discovered the Kia'u Islands over six and a half centuries ago. That ship discovered the Kia'u Islands, and this one was set to discover their secrets.

As was typical of nautical voyages to Anaia, this wouldn't be a short stroll: arrival on Te'ufole was set to be some time on Sunday. It would be tough getting any sleep knowing what lie ahead, but just like a kid on Christmas Eve, he would have to get some sleep on this trip no matter how excited he was. After all, if he got there and collapsed from sleep deprivation, he wouldn't be too much of an expedition leader, now would he?

Another ship also set to arrive at New Alikonora on that Sunday would be the rather humorously named Wet Shit, a more nondescript ship with room for just 27 people: a captain, Haulafo, 23 footballers, Falena Rukipiato (who had been pressed into service as the de facto goalkeeping coach, a job she was offered at the end of World Cup 99 but never officially got since the team "officially" disbanded) and Governor Olayeva, who was just as pleased to be on the Wet Shit as she would be if one landed on her head. Was Haulafo keeping her here in order to keep this insane secret legally kidnapping? Possibly, but some part of her didn't make her want to spill the beans on everything by calling home about it. Maybe it was what she owed to Haulafo over the years, or maybe it was just the effects of Stockholm Syndrome kicking in. Who's to really say at this point.

Of course, one of these 23 footballers was Piheve Evatene, who, suffice it to say, had no idea that his brother would be there at the port, and neither did Ketereho know he would be there. Piheve knew that there would be archaeologists and historians coming to the island, and he knew Ketereho wanted to study Aleiravan history, but he didn't expect that Ketereho would actually be one of these lucky few to study everything the ruins of Alikonora, as well as the surrounding settlements, had to offer. On the other hand, Ketereho had no idea where Piheve was at all. For all he knew, he was either back in Aleirave enjoying retirement after the team was chased out of the sport or hopping around the world trying to pick up odd jobs a washed-up footballer could do without getting recognized as "that guy".

The two ships arrived at nearly the same time, and the two brothers spotted each other on the hastily-constructed pier. For everything New Alikonora as hyped up to be, the port infrastructure was just not there yet, and Lahaira looked 10 times better compared to it. They embraced as soon as they got off their ships, and started catching up on the past.

"Ketereho, I had no idea you were a part of the historical mission! That has to be so cool, finally getting to find out what happened to this place..."
"A part of it? Piheve, I'm leading it, and frankly I couldn't believe it when Dr. Hallie told me."
"Dr. Hallie?"
"You know, that stick in the mud physicist I was telling you about, the one who was railing on about how we don't need history as much as we need physics and advocated for cuts across the board... somehow, the science faculty managed to get him elected as Dean!"
"And he approved this trip?"
"No, that's the fun part, that was all the Petake and Dr. Te'ahori. He was pissed right off, haha. Anyway, what brings you here? With... the team?"
"See that thing over there?" he replied, gesturing towards Reko'uho Fekelu Stadium.
"You're not... seriously..."
"Hey, like it or not, we're cooking now. We blasted 5 past Sel Appa, and Tatyana Yusenika was just a brick wall in goal. She didn't need any help at all keeping a clean sheet!"
"5-0? Damn, where was that in Squornshelous?"
"Bah, come on. We're due to play South Kerala here next week, I'm not sure if you want to check it out or..."
"Of course! I haven't had the proper chance to cheer you on in years man."

The day arrived for the match, and even having just one Aleiravan fan in the stadium lit a fire under everyone, not just Piheve. All of a sudden, even if the chants from the other side were deafening, there was still at least one person showing up to shout "LET'S GO SEAGULLS" when they needed it most. And that right there, an ounce of anyone caring, was all they needed.

Aleirave - 9 (Ho'uminalu 4', 38', 90+2'; Veshchik 12', 45+1'; E. Tesuna'e 37'; Noselela 69'; Tyonko 77'; Evatene 86')
South Kerala - 0

A goal count once considered unthinkable. A second consecutive clean sheet from Yusenika. Back to back goals in back to back minutes late in the first half. A hat trick for Ho'uminalu. This match was everything that nobody had expected from this squad after the dramatic failures in the World Cup and CAFA Cup in the previous cycle, and it revived hopes that this team, just maybe, could get back to the World Cup, no matter how badly they'd looked in the past. This was their match, and this was their year.

After the match, Ketereho couldn't help but let everyone know back home what had happened. He snapped a picture of the final score, added the caption "remember those 1-7 gulls? this is them now btw" and posted it on m.esh for everyone he knew back home to see. For the first time, word that the Seagulls were playing got back to Lahaira... and nobody could believe what they were seeing.

by **United States of Nova Calania** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 12:13 pm

A very good start

Kekla, Keklagara, Bonusia - Is anyone still doubting that Nova Calania has a really good chance to qualify again? After an impressive CAFA Cup championship. Nova Calania kept going and beat Zenic 4-1 at home in the capital city of Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer. Honestly, the score did not reflect Zenic's level of play and they took the lead first when Cecil Maruscak received the ball from Nelson Seamons and kicked it past Serge Bleau-Bean. Nova Calania tied the game at the 23rd minute when Rose Van der Jagt dribbled with the ball and made a short pass to Charlotte Gibouleau-Beaudoin who kicks and it's a goal. Zenic kept attacking and almost took the lead at least twice but Serge Bleau-Bean stopped everything. The Tapirs took the lead at the 39th minute when Mei Qi Xiong made a cross to Frédérique Goudreau-Luneau who headed the ball into the goal. The score at halftime was 2-1 Nova Calania. Nathan Fauteux-McGrath kicked a corner kick at the 58th minute and the ball went directly into the goal to increase Nova Calania's lead. Zenic kept attacking and Serge Bleau-Bean stepped up again and blocked everything he faced. Giuseppe Allegri Gentile's kick hit the post at the 71st minute. Zenic attacked again at the 77th minute when Nakazawa Shuji passed to Pilypas Aldhard, who subbed in earlier, but he's tackled by Nathan McCaskill. Tristan Gibouleau-Beaudoin takes the ball and makes a long pass to Rose Van der Jagt who kicks it into the net. The final score was 4-1 Nova Calania.

Nova Calania travelled to Moladea on matchday 2. Frédérique Goudreau-Luneau did not travel with the team because she didn't realise her visa was expired and Lily-Rose Malboeufreplaced her in the starting XI. Nova Calania took the lead at the 31st minute when Rodrigo Guénette-Velazquez received the ball from Charlotte Gibouleau-Beaudoin and kicked it past Gary Dolman. Nova Calania won 1-0.

The Tapirs were back home on matchday 3 against Porotia. The match was played in the left wing hotbed of West Burnham. Frédérique Goudreau-Luneau was back in the starting XI but Alyssa McCaskill and Nathan Fauteux-McGrath were heathy scratches and Anna-Rose Blouin and Yi Ming Xiong replaced them in the starting XI. Nova Calania scored at the 8th minute when Mei Qi Xiong made a short pass to Rodrigo Guénette-Velazquez who kicked the ball into the goal. Nova Calania increased their lead at the 16th minute on a goal by Frédérique Goudreau-Luneau. Charlotte Gibouleau-Beaudoin scored ion a free kick at the 68th minute and Nova Calania won 3-0.

Nova Calania travelled to Bonusia on week 4. Bonusia is considered to be one of the best newcomers and have reached the quarterfinals in the most recent Baptism of Fire. Both Alyssa McCaskill and Fauteux-McGrath were back in the starting XI. Mei Qi Xiong missed the game with an undisclosed injury and Ashton Gockley replaced her in the starting XI. The match was boring and I slept in the press box. The final result was 0-0.

After 4 weeks, Nova Calania is first in the standings, tied with Margaret's new favorites, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, with 10 points. In 3rd and 4th place, we have Bears Armed and Zenic. Nova Calania have a bye on week 5 and will receive the ursines on week 6 at Stadion Azteca in Ostrow Krolewski. Mei Qi Xiong's status for week 6 is unknown at this time and she'll likely be a game-time decision. While Nova Calania will have a bye on week 5, Zenic will travel to Meris and Bears Armed will receive Bonusia. This is not good for the Tapirs because if Bears Armed lose against Bonusia, they will be angry against us!

Starting XI vs Bears Armed @ Stadion Azteca, Ostrow Krolewski, Odlegla Ziemia

GK Bleau-Bean - LB A. McCaskill - CB Wolkowicz - CB T. Gibouleau-Beaudoin - RB N. McCaskill - DCM Fauteux-McGrath - LW Gametime decision (M.Q. Xiong or S. McCaskill) - ACM T. Gibouleau-Beaudoin - RW Van der Jagt - S Guénette-Velazquez - S Goudreau-Luneau

Paul-André Veilleux

by **The North Polish Union** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 12:51 pm

Uwe Bärwald is arguably the most famous fashion designed from the Union and the designer of sports uniforms for both the national football team and the Olympic squads. He joined our interviewer for a conversation about his life amid the centenary World Cup as his nation wears his uniforms. He talks about his life, passion, and sporting opinions throughout this interview, which will be released as a series.

INT: Uwe, thank you for speaking with us. Tell us bit about your childhood, how you were brought up.

UB: I was born in Schwerin to a humble upbringing. My father was an accountant, but this was a time of great economic deprivation and so this did not guarantee a good income. My older brother, he can remember times of plenty from our childhood, but myself and my sister Gunda primarily remember the times of hunger. My parents were honest, hard-working people that fought to put food on the table, and in that they were nearly always successful, I really must credit them for their sacrifices.

INT: Was it during your childhood that you became interested in fashion?

UB: No, actually! When I was a child I read voraciously. There was little else to do as we could not afford holidays. I read many books about doctors and decided I would be one myself. So when I was old enough I began medical school, I was planning to be a pulmonologist. But my studies were disrupted by the war, and I was conscripted to go to the front in the east.

INT: Fascinating, so how is it that you came to be interested in fashion?

UB: With my medical background I was a medic and not a foot soldier and so for three years I escaped the war unscathed. But even so a shell exploded very near to me, it gave me severe burns and killed one of my close comrades. Of course, we all lost friends and family in the war, but this, to see my close friend dying on the ground as I lay next to him praying to die myself, it taught me that there is no glamour in war. After my recovery I was discharged, and expected to return to my studies, but I could not bring myself to do it. To see so much death, it made me reconsider becoming a doctor, to see that for the rest of my career. I will admit, after the war I drifted through life for a period; many did, it was not an easy time for anyone.

INT: What was it that got you back on your feet?

UB: For several years after the war, I hopped from job to job. I spent time as a stagehand at a theater in Stettin, helping with sets and costumes and this gained me valuable experience in being able to see what were good designs, bad designs. What looks pretty is not always a good design, one must have function as well. This was not my passion, however, and so one day I said to myself, “Here! I am done with this, it no longer brings me satisfaction, I will go to Berlin and try my hands at something else there.” This was an important moment in my life. Prior to this I had been aimless, no attachments, no prospects, but it would be in Berlin that I would finally get my start in the fashion industry.

by **Snestar** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 1:11 pm

Matchday 5 and 6 - Snestar vs Cretian Territories, Denyssia vs Snestar
Matchday 5: 4-3-3 Formation
GK 1 Federico Calvaresi (C)
LB 3 Alberto Migliaccio
CB 20 Sebastiano Balestri
CB 2 Giulio Maritan
RB 15 Simone Ramella
CM 8 Nicola Acanfora
CM 10 Martin de Roux
CAM 25 Arminia Cremisi
LW 19 Mattia Castelletti
ST 9 Leonardo de Martino
RW 27 Elisa Baldriga

Matchday 6: 4-4-2 Formation
GK 1 Federico Calvaresi (C)
LB 3 Alberto Migliaccio
CB 20 Sebastiano Balestri
CB 4 Vittorio Gallerani
RB 18 Valerio Peruffo
LM 10 Martin de Roux
CM 8 Nicola Acanfora
CM 25 Arminia Cremisi
RM 13 Fabio de Filippi
ST 7 Giacomo Martinelli
ST 9 Leonardo de Martino

Other than Snestar’s opponents, the Viola now has to deal with the flu: it has now claimed three key players of the national team, leaving the squad full of gaps that may be a tough obstacle for Camilla Arentas (who has also gotten sick, as seen in recent interviews). Snestar needs to win both of its upcoming matches to make sure the coast is clear for qualification, and a minor slip-up may cost everything.

Meanwhile, in the streets of Lavenya, in Snestar…

While every citizen of Lavenya was glued to the mega screens broadcasting the national team fight to survive against Grand Exultia, a young woman with brown hair, a perpetually tired expression, and crooked glasses that never seemed to remain straight, passed through the deserted streets of the city center. She couldn’t understand why the entirety of Snestar completely shut down whenever it was time for football. She couldn’t understand what made people so attached to a sport.

She kept walking, her mind solely focused on going home as quickly as possible. It was an easy task, considering there wasn’t a single soul around. She passed through September XXVI Avenue, then stopped at the Piazza della Liberazione (Liberation Square). She took a quick glance at the mighty statue of Silvya, princess of Lavenya, the medieval heroine who had liberated the kingdom of Luranya from the usurper after a two-year exile. Then, the woman stopped. She stared at Silvya’s blind eye and the scar that had made her a legendary figure in Snestaryan history. Everyone knew what she had been through to reclaim her throne. Despite having been stripped of all her dignity, she managed to survive among the common folk and redeem herself through generosity. All because of the one word that kept her spirit from fading away: Luranya. She knew that she would eventually return to her hometown and that she could maintain her kingdom’s values intact, slowly, because of her will to serve her nation. Perhaps this is what people see in the Snestaryan national team: it’s their way to support the values of the country through sport. After all, seeing all of the Luranyan people united under one name was exactly what Silvya fought for.

The woman resumed her routine walk, but her exhaustion had turned into a weak smile. Who knows… Maybe Silvya of Lavenya would have enjoyed being out there, watching Snestar play among her people.

Silvya of Lavenya, queen of the kingdom of Luranya from 1455 to 1505. (Art made by u/MidnattThol on Reddit!)

by **Eshialand** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 1:24 pm

When Things Heat Up
Putrasia 0-1 Eshialand
Eshialand 1-1 Captina Island

Eshialand was not a team much known for locking down defensively. Usually, Kenny Morgan and his team were more well-known for finding offensive magic when nothing seemed to be left in the tank, so to score only two goals across two matches was quite the bizarre sight in this international window. However, the team was undeterred by poor offensive results, as the goalkeeping tandem of Lani Garrett (on MD3) and Harry Bruske (on MD4) only allowed a single goal between them, holding otherwise perfect Putrasia at bay and keeping Captina Island to a tough draw at home.

On paper, surrendering points to Captina Island at home this early was a bit of a warning sign, but Mel Carey, in her usual fashion of being able to calm things down when Kenny couldn't find the words, assured the Eshian press team that "Captina was always going to be our toughest test. Things may not look ideal in the standings right now, but with our toughest match-up of the first half in the past and a match in hand, things are going better than they look on paper, I promise."

The team wasn't entirely out of the woods, as their next match was set to be on the road in Krytenia circa Eshian Year 1983. Playing matches in the literal past wasn't something the nation of Eshialand was entirely unfamiliar with -- both Carey and team captain Lucas Meilling had been on the team which time traveled back to 14th century Belnegau for IAC 14 -- but this match had some added stakes, with Krytenia being 3 points ahead of the Owls before the start of the match. In other words, a win would draw the two teams even while Eshialand still had a match in hand, with all the matches against Captina Island, Krytenia, and Putrasia, the three teams currently seated ahead of them in the standings, done and dusted until the second half of the campaign. Not only that, but immediately afterwards they'd be hosting Montagne Noire, the nation of sentient dogs which currently stands as the only other squad above 1 point in the standings. Get past these two matches, and then things will get easier.

"It's this old story of front-heavy lineups again, you know?" Kenny mentioned at the same press conference. "No matter how hard we run from them, they'll always come back to haunt us. If we aren't pot 1, we play pot 1 early. If we are pot 1, some South Newlandian delegation is gonna propose a format where we still play a pot 1 early anyway." There was a short pause for laughter at this little quip, a reference to the past couple of CEs which had some weird formats most Eshians weren't big fans of. "We've shown in the past that we're able to rise to the occasion whenever we get the tough teams first, and that dropping ourselves right into the fire keeps us going when we play the lower-ranked teams... we've never let our guard down for anyone, and a lot of that is owing to the fact that we often don't get slow warm-up periods. Our critical matches are the warmups. We're warmed up now, and we're ready for anything."

by **Soviet Kem** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 1:42 pm

By: Stev Burlam

Group 14
Match Day 5:
Soviet Kem (200) v Kita-Hinode (408)
Match Day 6:
Libonesia (251) v Soviet Kem (200)

3-2-2-1-2 Formation
Starting XI

GK 6 Zoinski
CB 58 Kenidky
LCB 19 Gente
RCB 17 Jent
LDM 50 Mosjow
RDM 52 Wnetia
LCM 10 Putanik (Captain)
RCM 56 Genish II
SS 29 Gligimesh
LST 23 Nort
RST 20 Fengski

Ahead of matchdays 5 & 6 Ken Stavisk mentioned in a pre-game conference, "We have two supposedly easy games to come, with both teams ranked lower than us, but this means they will be attempting to prove something. So we will still be on our highest guard against both teams. With the slaughter that was the Banija match, we need to improve. But with the reveal of The Echo Grid we are preparing for an awakening of Soviet Kemrainan football. As for our current young players, they have been in contact with the Association for Football, but I am not allowed to reveal about what."

With this statement by Ken Stravisk I am expecting us to win these two matches, but anything can happen. I also think that The Echo Grid will be a great think for Soviet Kemrainan football, but we need to use this program correctly. We currently sit 5th in our group, just about where we are ranked, so if we don’t start pulling off upsets against teams like Banija and Reçueçn, among the other highly ranked teams in our group. We need to advance to the knockouts.

by **Airannia** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 1:44 pm

Step 1: Taking Inventory

Confidential!

The following is an inventory listing for the Forbidden Archives of the NAGA, categorized by information type, with brief notes about their authenticity, independent confirmations and inconsistencies with reality, and a link to the listing's location in the vault. About half of the records have been processed as of currently. This archive is also available in a compact edition!

Sports Archives

#22075: A detailed player listing for an Airannian football team, supposedly for "Baptism of Fire 80". No non-forbidden records exist of many of these players being registered with NAGA, with a few exceptions (8), including second-league players Lio Trofois and Arton Seuny. Have not been contacted. Contains several names of clubs which are extant (QÉS, Lydia FCCL, Rotoro GVG, and also CLFS, which went bankrupt a decade ago). Authenticity pending confirmation, though confirmed match reports from the same tournament seem to align. Rack 4, Box A
#31001: A detailed player listing for an Airannian football team, supposedly for the "World Cup Qualifiers 93". Several players on this listing are on record, although none of them have ever played on a first-division team, let alone been selected for the national team. Authenticity pending confirmation, listed players are almost all mentioned in match reports from this tournament. Rack 4, Box C
#22151: A short account of a football game played against Kirungabi, result 1-1, supposedly a match played during the Baptism of Fire 80 tournament. Authenticity unknown, no response has as of yet been received from Kirungabi authorities. Rack 4, Box A
#22152: A short account of a football game played against Saperetia, result 0-2, played during the Baptism of Fire 80 tournament. Authenticity confirmed, events listed were independently verified by Saperetian football authority. Rack 4, Box A
#22153: A medium-length account of a football game played against Super Top, result 2-0, played during the Baptism of Fire 80 tournament. Authenticity unknown, no contact's been possible with Super Top at all. Rack 4, Box A
#22154: A short account of a football game played against Al-Tamazgha, result 1-0, played during the Baptism of Fire 80 tournament. Authenticity cautiously confirmed by Al-Tamazghan authorities, although their own record keeping doesn't allow them to confirm many more details, either. Rack 4, Box A
#22155: A short account of a football game played against Ryfenia, result 1-0, played during the Baptism of Fire 80 tournament. It's noted that this account is particularly dull. Authenticity dubious, no contact's been possible with Ryfenian authorities as of yet. Rack 4, Box A
#22156: A short account of a football game played against Borisuelo, result 1-1, played during the Baptism of Fire 80 tournament. Authenticity unknown, no contact has been possible with Borisueloan. Rack 4, Box A
#22157: A short account of a football game played against Gran Saguaro, result 0-0, played during the Baptism of Fire 80 tournament. Authenticity dubious, no contact has been laid between the Airannian and Saguaran associations. Rack 4, Box A
#40311: A very brief account of a football game played against Patriotlandia, result 2-0, played during the Baptism of Fire 80 tournament. It's paired with a biography of Nicklass Brodan, the supposed manager of the Airannian team during the Baptism of Fire 80 tournament. Mentions various trophies and competitions won by the trainer, none of which line up with established history. Nonetheless, Patriotlandia have confirmed the veracity of the game report. Authenticity status is interesting for this piece, which contains various parts that are incredibly dubious, and some others that are independently confirmed. Rack 4, Box A
#22159: A short account of a football game played against Archalit, result 1-2, played during the Baptism of Fire 80 tournament. Authenticity confirmed by Archalit sources, who identified it as a semi-final. Unknown whether a 3rd place playoff was ever played, or if both teams eliminated at semi-finals were awarded medals. Rack 4, Box A
#31010: A very brief account of two matches in the World Cup 93 Qualifiers, played against Eshialand and Audioslavia. Details of this match were confirmed by Eshialand and in particular by Audioslavia; when prompted, NAGA's Audioslavian contact simply kept rambling on and on about pointless statistics involving this one game. Contact with Audioslavian side is now discouraged. Rack 4, Box C
#31011: A very brief account of two matches in the World Cup 93 Qualifiers, played against Astograth and Equestria. Details of the first match are confirmed by Astograth authorities, but the Equestrian football association has not yet responded to our inquiry. Likely to be authentic. Rack 4, Box C
#31012: A brief account of two matches in the World Cup 93 Qualifiers, played against Obrela and Boring Paradise. Obrelan authorities were impossible to reach, no response as of yet has been received from Boring Paradise. Authenticity therefor contested. Rack 4, Box C
#31013: An account of two matches played in the World Cup 93 Qualifiers, against StrayaRoos and Squornshelan Remnant States. Both nations have (begrudgingly) verified these results. Article also contains a short recap of events, supposing Airannia's 4th in the qualifying table. Authenticity confirmed. Rack 4, Box C
#31014: A very brief account of two matches in the World Cup 93 Qualifiers, played against Valentine Z and Astograth. Both sides have confirmed these results. Authenticity confirmed. Rack 4, Box C
#96114: A list of athletes signed up to a large sporting event. None of these names are registered with relevant sporting authorities, especially basketball, which isn't a sport that is practiced. Authenticity dubious. Rack 4, Box B
#96115: A listing of events for athletes in sporting event outlined in item #96114. Includes short transcript of television broadcast. Also includes rosters for basketball, which still isn't played at all in Airannia. Mentions presenter Uiseldhe Barque. Has not been contacted. Authenticity dubious. Rack 4, Box B

Essays

#15771: An article about the nickname of the Airannian football team (Drills), including the history of the Appeur (scissor) logo- referencing the online short-hand "ayvd", and the satirical nature of the Ponnam Power Drill. Overall, makes very few references to forbidden knowledge; claims the Saint-Peter-Key of Vignoquáve represents Ajurton, for example. Authenticity quite likely, most information is entirely correct. Rack 2, Box A
#31500: An article written during the World Cup 93 qualifiers, explaining how likely a party is to happen, depending on the results of upcoming matches. Makes references to various non-extant places such as Eranesque and Klujo. Also curiously refers to a situation as "pog". How childish. Authenticity unknown. Rack 2, Box B
#53360: A text outlining touristic sights in Airannia from a leaflet, distribution unknown. Lists six provinces and comes with a map (item #53321). While the provinces listed are fictitious, and no such places exist, various cities and their sights mentioned are very much real - Vilvéque (old name for the city of Véque), Ardoux (corruption of Ardouais), Vorácy, Cucuaddás, the Sqi coast and Sanne Armande all are real, and their descriptions are valid. Also mentioned is the Margatos station, which stands in Cipressbhy, not the non-existent city of Ploury gran. Text continues in item #53361. Authenticity unconfirmed. Rack 2, Box B
#53361: Continuation of item #53360; a text outlining a very brief history about the formation of the Airannian nation and several touristic sights in Airannia, from a leaflet, distribution unknown. Lists six provinces and comes with a map (item #53321). While most the provinces listed are fictitious, Ajurton is indeed a region in Airannia, albeit not a province. Unlike item #53360, most sites and cities mentioned are fictitious as well. Placed such as Klujo, Siewontour (perhaps related to the province of Lissé Sieuonn?), Vixoque, Catsfér and Téselqut do not exist, nor do similar places. Also mentions a country known as "Ulo", situated inside the country near Sanna Agatha. Authenticity unconfirmed. Rack 2, Box B
#60155: History of a referendum that was supposedly held when the nations of Airannia and South Cabelian States were united. In reality, no such referendum took place, and Hmal-Siwon and Parzhinia were simply unified through monarchic ties. Describes percentages of acceptance for unification, and the amazing reasons why the different realms became blue. Authenticity dubious. Rack 2, Box C
#63676: Description of the supposed sporting heart of Airannia, located in Sambourly. Sambourly is an actual town, located in the Dardixodre province, but does not feature a sporting academy, and is not near to Rayanstébo orévash (the old name for the town now simply known as Rayanstébo) - which is in reality located about 200 kilometres away. Curiously, the maps included with this text are correct maps of the town, but rotated - and mislabeling various buildings and other locations in town. Seems unlikely to be authentic. Rack 2, Box C
#79124: Supposed history of Airannia: explaining a fictitious history of Airannia. Mentions unification day (July 1st 1967) correctly, but makes mention of a nation supposedly known as Southern Cabelian States, rather than Hmal-Siwon. However, a large portion of this history (Rivagien Empire, the Rellebois coup) is correct nonetheless. Authenticity is dubious. Rack 2, Box B
#81131: Essay about forum culture in Airannia, in particular focusing on the phrase "Mence dhurutt'ica je médalyon", shortened to just "djm". Makes reference to trainer Brodan, otherwise seems entirely legitimate and verifiable. Rack 2, Box B
#81132: Essay about forum culture in Airannia, in particular focusing on the phrase "Sálloirá conne Sálliviya", shortened to just "scs". Also references football games played against Ryfenia and StrayaRoos, although neither of these nations have been available to contact to verify. Phrase is very much extant. Authenticity dubious. Rack 2, Box B

Snippets

#44146: A fragment from a tourism book, "did you know"-styled. Makes mention of casinos being effectively banned in Airannia (true), although also mentioning a state-ran casino in a city known as Vixoque, which does not exist. Authenticity dubious. Rack 2, Box A
#67012: A short snippet taken from a sports magazine printed in English, outlining the pronunciation of various players in the Airannian team. Curiously, each of these players is also registered with NAGA - although none of them play on a highly professional level. More curiously, the first name is transliterated incorrectly - should be bard-duhs, not bard-day-us as listed. Authenticity dubious. Rack 2, Box A
#67255: A short snippet from a humorous history guide about Airannia. Contains information about supposed disasters that took place in the country - most notably referring to an explosion in an ammunition plant during wartime. Highly peculiar since a) there's been no such explosion and b) Airannia's not been at war for more than 200 years. Other disasters are also fictitious. Authenticity highly dubious. Rack 2, Box A
#67259: A humorous written piece, placed in an English language sporting magazine. Contains a (correct) guide to counting to 10 in Aeránanue with various examples such as the first ten Airannian kings (correct list!) and goals scored in a football match that saw Airannia score 10 goals. Almost certainly unauthentic as a result. Rack 2, Box A

Various Media

#53321: A map of Airannia. On the large, the shape is correct, but the provincial borders and names are completely fictitious. Republic Cabelia (NE) is identical with reality, but coastline of Airannia is certainly different: Carmeize island is missing, as is Mithapax peninsula - and many, many more inconsistencies. Stars placed on map supposedly refer to locations mentioned in items #53360 and #53361 - confirming city of Ardoux is in the same location as Ardouais, for example. Country of Uloland mentioned in item #53361 appears to be located near current day Sanna Agatha. Authenticity unknown, contents confirmed by various other archived items. Rack 2, Box B
#53340: A map of the southern half of Airannia. The shape is the same as that shown in item #53321, but appears to show a nation that existed here unlike any other. In particular, Hmal King is now located only on the eastern coast, and also includes modern day Lissé Sieuonn. Ulo is also present on this map. Authenticity dubious. Rack 2, Box B
#53371: An image with 9 maps of Airannia, each of them splitting the nation into several regions. Themes include Favorite Holidays, French, Religion, Starches and Official Languages. Not a lot of these seem correct, although Jean Boulard day and Grand Duché day certainly stand out as real. French-speaking region of Airannia is much larger on this map than expected. Authenticity is unconfirmed, not much besides remains. Rack 2, Box B
#99630: Song recording of Hiry by Hustoner Chiemen. Song features Sefora Vouljec. Identical version exists outside archives, but instead features singer Galia Béamoth. None of Hustoner Chiemen or Béamoth are contacted; Vouljec has confirmed it is her voice, although she does not believe to have recorded this record. Authenticity dubious. Rack 3
#39786: Fragment from an unknown television show, supposedly named "Vicoque Estudy", featuring an unknown singer performing a comedic song in Aeránanue about Nicklass. Specifically mentions visiting Mertagne - likely to be about the Baptism of Fire 80 tournament, which took place there. Authenticity unknown. Rack 3
#39801: Fragment from an unknown television show, presumably also "Vicoque Estudy" (as in item #39786) - edited to only show coverage of the program just before the start of the 2nd half of a football match and the show period after. Authenticity unknown. Rack 3
#55378: Fragment from a television show known as Vic-á-Vis - apparently from during the World Cup 93 qualifier series. Fragment includes references to an Audioslavian glass sculpture - we are too terrified to contact Audioslavian representative to confirm this story, however. In this fragment, an unknown man provides commentary about this situation, and provides a solution with his own sculpture. Authenticity dubious, but at least it's funny.
Rack 3

by **Oberour Ar Moro** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 1:45 pm

DR. LAOUIC LE VISAGE, RACING HISTORIAN (V.O.)
"Horse racing is older than the Dominion."

Dr. le Visage speaks over paintings of horse racing slowly strode by in a museum.

"The old Azorian elite would meet at the race track to gamble and recreate."

The camera freezes on a picture of old-fashioned men waving pieces of paper in the air against a fence.

ELLÉONORE ROBERTET, AUTHOR
"This gambling was part and parcel with the corruption that Oberour Ar Moro revolted against."

An old book lies open: Jean de la Charite's "Remonstrances Against the Devil and His Minions," highlighting a paragraph about elites within the monarchy and government "betting the currency of honest men on dishonest beasts."

"Gambling of every sort was banned. Thoroughbred racing, to survive, had to go from an elite's indulgence to the common man's spectacle."

DR. LAOUIC LE VISAGE, RACING HISTORIAN
"The greatest races at the biggest tracks became the Major Ten."

Old overcranked black-and-white footage of obviously working class men cheering on horses is shown.

LISTIEN BOURSEL, PLAGE DE MOUSSE FARM OWNER
"Money follows prestige. Prestige follows money. And so it goes."

More footage is shown in chronological order and becomes newer and clearer. The stands and tracks become larger, the fans more demonstrative. The television footage becomes flashier. Clips on video websites are emphasized.

DR. LAOUIC LE VISAGE, RACING HISTORIAN (V.O.)
"It's a majestic sport. It's also a crass, commercial sport."

Cut to a selfie video in portrait mode of a jockey in white and cerise silks atop a horse, smiling widely as the camera bumps him in and out of frame.

CHARLEZ LE BIAU, RENARDIERE JOCKEY
"Roche Lapis Lazuli ate today!"

Fast-cut footage, all from various social media, with a lot of filters and effects are shown, all produced by Renardiere.

JEAN-DENIS DE RÉAUMUR, TRANSFER MARKET REPORTER
"If Renardiere had retired Roche Lapis Lazuli after finishing second at the Eglantine Stakes to Claperleux, that would have been completely understandable."

News footage: Renardiere announcing that Roche Lapis Lazuli, who had just won the Prix de l'Aube, was being retired with immediate effect. The search was now on for a stallion to breed her with.

MIKAEL LYROT, BREEDING SYNDICATOR
"Stallions can have hundreds of offspring, a productive mare may reach 15 foals, though it's more likely they'll have ten or less throughout their life."

JEAN-DENIS DE RÉAUMUR, TRANSFER MARKET REPORTER
"But they risked it, kept her racing into her fourth year. Winning the Prix de l'Aube makes Roche Lapis Lazuli very valuable for prominent stallions and their owners."

White and cerise trucks roll into Kervenez race track in Airzis. The camera follows the trailer obviously carrying a thoroughbred.

LISTIEN BOURSEL, PLAGE DE MOUSSE FARM OWNER (V.O.)
"This retirement isn't changing Renardiere's racing strategy. Even though it's been four weeks since Sliema, you don't often see horses run consecutive races. She wasn't going to be here regardless."

JEAN-DENIS DE RÉAUMUR, TRANSFER MARKET REPORTER (V.O.)
"But now Renardiere needs a new idol."

The door opens and a roan stallion emerges. The footage shifts into a social media post, with obvious visual effects and a "wow!" sound effect.

CATERINA CINELU, BLOODLINE ANALYST (V.O.)
"Lumièrelectrique is a fine horse. But there’s a reason Roche Lapis Lazuli was their Eglantine Stakes challenger."

Lumièrelectrique trots in a pen, all while multiple Renardiere staffers hold phones and cameras catching the action.

TREVEUR VAOLIANIER, JOURNALIST (V.O.)
"The Dominion Stakes is for four year olds and up. Perfect for late bloomers and for horses that fell just short of greatness."

A slickly and energetically cut social media video is shown. Footage of Lumièrelectrique is pasted onto neon, video game-like backgrounds, while an electronic track plays underneath. The video ends with a female voice stating definitively:

"Airzis. Lumièrelectrique. Stan Speed."

CHARLOTTE DE CLAIREMONT, RENARDIERE VICE PRESIDENT FOR BRANDING AND ENGAGEMENT
"Stan Speed," said energetically.

PIUS COIPEL, JOCKEY
"Stan Speed," said amusedly.

KONAN CAHUFE-L’EAUE, KAN ROUE DIRECTOR
"I don't know what that means."

GEOFFROY LOZEC, RETIRED JOCKEY
"They're treating a horse like a pop song or something."

CHARLOTTE DE CLAIREMONT, RENARDIERE VICE PRESIDENT FOR BRANDING AND ENGAGEMENT
"Exactly! They get it."

DR. LAOUIC LE VISAGE, RACING HISTORIAN
"Renardiere is an old name in horse racing. But with a new coat of paint. Very bright paint."

CHARLOTTE DE CLAIREMONT, RENARDIERE VICE PRESIDENT FOR BRANDING AND ENGAGEMENT
"Cerise! Not pink."

Older footage of horses being ridden by jockeys in white and cerise, mostly midpack, are shown.

GEOFFROY LOZEC, RETIRED JOCKEY (V.O.)
"They stole those colors."

CHARLOTTE DE CLAIREMONT, RENARDIERE VICE PRESIDENT FOR BRANDING AND ENGAGEMENT
"Renardiere purchased the registry rights, the racing license, and the silk colors of Lac Guérisseur stable a decade ago. A look this striking deserved more."

Archival footage of Renardiere equipment in dark green and blue is contrasted with the bright, new colors.

JEAN-DENIS DE RÉAUMUR, TRANSFER MARKET REPORTER (V.O.)
"They paid something like three times the value of the entire farm, I think just for the colors."

CHARLOTTE DE CLAIREMONT, RENARDIERE VICE PRESIDENT FOR BRANDING AND ENGAGEMENT
"Horse racing is a spectacle. A brand. A high-tension drama. That's what we're bringing. That's Renardiere."

ÉTIENNE CAHUFE-L’EAUE, KAN ROUE CEO
"They're selling lifestyle. We sell results."

Outside Kervenez, an off screen producer waves down a young fan wearing a cerise hoody and asks him: "What are you listening to?"

The young man pulls out an ear bud and replies: "Horse Grooming ASMR by Renardiere."

Dominion Stakes Post Draw

Post	Stable
1	Hush Hush (de Serent) 
2	Vent Cosmique (Veillon-la Gueinniere) 
3	Lumièrelectrique (Renardiere) 
4	Bad Minded (Age d'Argent) 
5	Mercury Lamp (Heure Oisive) 
6	Âme (Talbourdet) 
7	Burgundy Bubbly (Ash & Cross) 
8	Let's Go Away (Kan Roue) 
9	Circle Super (Vallon Gautier) 
10	Sea Worn Glass (des dis Toumbes) 
11	Kid Clove (Reyun) 
12	Tonnerre Azure (Courant Marin) 
13	Psychologue Pop (Veritable) 
14	Rallygoer (Asterus) 
15	Bonne Blue (Belvoix) 
16	Veine Nocturne (le Clair) 
17	Domineer (Saint Girons)

Seventeen horses wait in the starting gate, waiting for the action to finally start. The bell rings, the gates open, and the horses stampede out.

DENOEL FEU, KERVENEZ TRACK STEWARD
"Kervenez starts wide."

COMMENTATOR (V.O.)
"And they are off at the Dominion Stakes.

The camera follows the pack, coming out of the chute and onto the front stretch.

DENOEL FEU, KERVENEZ TRACK STEWARD
"It can host 18 horses, with room to spare on its vast front stretch."

The camera zooms quickly from showing all the horses to focus just on Lumièrelectrique, surrounded by Hush Hush on his right and Mercury Lamp on his left.

TRISTANIG LE VERGER, KAN ROUE TRAINER
"But that stretch is remarkably short, just 400 meters, and it drops almost immediately into a cambered right-hand first turn."

The shot holds and watches the horses zip into the first turn.

LISTIEN BOURSEL, PLAGE DE MOUSSE FARM OWNER
"Every few years, a young jockey misjudges the slope and topples off onto the turf."

Arzhulig Fontenay aboard Bad Minded goes off balance and has to grab onto his mount's neck to keep from falling off. Bad Minded drifts to the side. His race is already over.

GEOFFROY LOZEC, RETIRED JOCKEY
"You can carry a lot of speed through the first two turns. You shouldn't."

It's a tight pack from Kid Clove in first to Bonne Blue in 16th. The camera finds Johannot Rives aboard Lumièrelectrique seemingly trying to whoa him back.

DENOEL FEU, KERVENEZ TRACK STEWARD
"Then it's through turn two into the climb."

A camera at the base of the back stretch pulls back its view as the horses finish the turn and show a noticeable incline in front of them.

PIUS COIPEL, JOCKEY
"The Climb."

TRISTANIG LE VERGER, KAN ROUE TRAINER
"A 900 meter long backstretch that rises and rises."

He shakes his head slightly.

"It's relentless."

GEOFFROY LOZEC, RETIRED JOCKEY
"Relentless."

Let's Go Away seemingly attempts to casually back off slightly, but they act like a stone in free fall, swallowed up by the horses behind them.

DENOEL FEU, KERVENEZ TRACK STEWARD
"27 meters of elevation. A 3 percent incline."

The pack has been cleaved into multiple groups. David Gariel aboard leader Kid Clove looks over both of his shoulders, apparently confused how he got into this position.

LISTIEN BOURSEL, PLAGE DE MOUSSE FARM OWNER
"You have to hold back and save something for the top. But if you wait too long you'll have no chance at all."

Kid Clove was not planning on being a pace setter, and the pressure gets to them. Lumièrelectrique starts to inch past them. Renardiere fans, obvious by their cerise clothes, cheer wildly.

PIUS COIPEL, JOCKEY
"Kervenez is a rhythm track that gives you no opportunity to find a rhythm."

Burgundy Bubbly in the second pack seems to want to push, but has little left to give. Jockey Jean-Baptiste Bouteyre abandons the whip and just tries to get her to the finish.

TRISTANIG LE VERGER, KAN ROUE TRAINER
"As you make the climb, the back stretch narrows, funneling into the coiled final turns."

The pack obviously tightens. Rallygoer has been on the far edge of the pack for nearly the entire race. He starts to push inside, playing chicken with Tonnerre Azure who gives way.

DENOEL FEU, KERVENEZ TRACK STEWARD
"But then it breaks open again with a wide crest into that vast, brief homestretch where it all began."

CATERINA CINELU, BLOODLINE ANALYST
"The sharp turns and short front stretch feel perfect for a sprinter, but that long backstretch would ruin them. The climb seems designed for a high-stamina stayer, but the finish comes too soon for them to wind up."

TRISTANIG LE VERGER, KAN ROUE TRAINER
"Kervenez is an awkward fit for everyone."

Rallygoer sweeps out of the fourth turn in a wide arc, seemingly jumping from fifth to first in an instant. Circle Super along the rail completes his push, but runs out of time. Lumièrelectrique and Rallygoer nearly collide, but the bolder Rallygoer pushes everyone aside to take the win.

LISTIEN BOURSEL, PLAGE DE MOUSSE FARM OWNER
"It's perfect."

Dominion Stakes Results

Position	Horse			Jockey			Trainer			Stable			Display Time	Margin Behind Previous
1		Rallygoer		Kann Balandier		Henri-Philipes le Noir	Asterus			3:05.57		Winner 
2		Lumièrelectrique	Johannot Rives		Égide au Sable		Renardiere		3:05.90		¾ Length 
3		Circle Super		Zec'haria le Coiffier	John la Peleteriere	Vallon Gautier		3:06.36		1 Length 
4		Tonnerre Azure		Andre du Mont		Davide Tue-Four		Courant Marin		3:06.49		Neck 
5		Domineer		Erlé Loth		Perette le Marquand	Saint Girons		3:07.07		1 Length 
6		Hush Hush		Rieg du Guignet		Alison Catel		de Serent		3:08.08		5 Lengths 
7		Mercury Lamp		Arthur Aladent		Nicholas Bourrelier	Heure Oisive		3:08.09		Nose 
8		Vent Cosmique		Tujen Baro		Jean-Julien la Norrice	Veillon-la Gueinniere	3:08.16		Head 
9		Kid Clove		David Gariel		Goneri de Montgobert	Reyun			3:08.47		¾ Length 
10		Bonne Blue		Iocilin la Ferrande	Verulus Paisant		Belvoix			3:08.87		1 Length 
11		Âme			Philip Florier		Hoel Chercot		Talbourdet		3:09.44		1 Length 
12		Let's Go Away		Simonet Ribault		Yves Gele		Kan Roue		3:09.51		Head 
13		Burgundy Bubbly		Jean-Baptiste Bouteyre	Laurens Troussel	Ash & Cross		3:09.60		Head 
14		Psychologue Pop		Arnand Mittainne	Damian du Bufet-Heloyn	Veritable		3:09.99		¾ Length 
15		Sea Worn Glass		Aubin de Bragelonne	Olivier Malivel		des dis Toumbes		3:10.29		¾ Length 
16		Veine Nocturne		Ciel Joëte		Peregrine Trace-d’Ouë	le Clair		3:11.04		4 Lengths 
17		Bad Minded		Arzhulig Fontenay	Gérard Malassis		Age d'Argent		3:12.44		8 Lengths

As Lumièrelectrique returns to the paddock, Renardiere staff celebrate, though somewhat forced. A social media staffer looks up at a television showing the Asterus team in the victory circle with Rallygoer. She turns away and pulls out her phone and speaks to one of the on-screen personalities. "All right, on three. One, two-"

by **Saterun** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 1:49 pm

Look Around

It hadn't been pretty, but the Claws had done it. They'd scraped a 1-0 win over Electrum, and away from home as well. Adrian Schlimme had scored off the bench, solidifying Handrix's plans to continue to ease him into the starting spot. Saterun had controlled possession fairly well, and had never really been in danger of conceding. Kristofer Bohler only faced two shots the entire game. However, they should have won by a larger margin. Maksymillian Bates had managed three shots in the first half, but hadn't been able to convert any. Schlimme finally put one away in the 75th minute, but this couldn't continue. Luckily, the team would get a break. Their bye week was coming up, and it would be interesting to see how the rest of the group shook out. Riandera got a shock win over Baker Park, but Ethane and Tristan de Cunha continued winning, which put the Claws all the way down in 5th. They were dead midtable.

Handrix needed to use this break strategically. They were heading into what could be a tricky set of matches, and what the Claws really needed to sort was their offense. But Handrix was struggling for ideas. Team rotation could only take you so far, and his overarching plans in that department were long-term. He needed something immediate. As he was looking through his desk for his opposition notes, he noticed a tan folder sitting in the bottom of one of the drawers. Curious, he pulled it out. The pop-up label read "ST Movement". When he opened it up, he saw a few pages of what looked to be heatmap diagrams. At the bottom of each page, in smaller font, was a name. Kameron Boyd, along with the official SFF logo. Handrix had stumbled upon a folder from the greatest Saterun national team manager of all time, who had retired from the team two cycles ago. Excitedly, he started looking through the contents of the folder.

The five-odd pages were entirely about how the strikers were supposed to move in the 4-4-2 system and how they actually moved. Boyd had details for each specific striker, including Handrix's current front two of Bates and Ibañez. This had serious potential. While it wasn't an explicit guidebook for getting the best out of the forwards, it did focus a lot on how to get them into advantageous positions. At this point, Handrix was ready for any help he could get. As he flipped over the last page, he saw more small text after the final summary from Boyd. It was short and simple. "Binder A-2". Binder? Was this folder part of a larger collection? It was certainly possible that Boyd had left some of his insights for future managers. What's more, there had been another manager between Boyd and Casfo, and it was possible that the short turnover time had made it so that Handrix had never been informed of this library of knowledge. Excitedly, he phoned a old friend. Lisa Lleget had been Kameron Boyd's assistant manager.

After a brief check-up, Handrix quickly got to the topic of the folder. Lisa remembered that Kameron had been a meticulous planner, and so it wasn't absurd that he would have organized his notes into sections. She thought she remembered him talking about a "storage room" of some sort. Handrix thanked her, before hanging up and practically bursting out of his chair. Wherever this storage room was, it had to be near or inside the office. There was a main closet near the door, but Handrix had already been using that since he took the head coach role. It had to be somewhere else. Wait. Currently, he was standing in the manager's main office. However, there was also a smaller office in the dressing room for the practice pitch. It had to be there. Minutes later, Handrix stood in the small room, looking around to see if he could find a storage space. In the very back corner, resting in a place where Handrix usually didn't go, were four medium-sized file cabinets.

Handrix's excitement, however, was soon tempered. As he tried to open the cabinets, he realized that they were locked. He doubted Lisa knew where the key was. He needed someone who had assisted Kameron with this kind of stuff. Someone who helped manage his paperwork. Jacelyn Loewens had been the managerial secretary for the SFF for several cycles. If anyone knew the whereabout of the key, it was her. Handrix quickly fished out his phone again, and sent Jacelyn a quick text asking her to come down urgently. Once she arrived, Handrix explained the situation. As luck would have it, she had kept a few things Kameron had left for her to hold on to, including a small, shiny key. She quickly went back up to her office, as Handrix waited eagerly.

By the time she came back, he was almost bursting with excitement. He hurriedly inserted the key, and felt a rush as it clicked the first cabinet unlocked. Jacelyn had left the room by now, so it was only Handrix. He slowly pulled the file cabinet open. Inside was a collection of tightly-pressed folders, identical to the one Handrix had found. A label hanging to the side of the cabinet read "Defense". Scarcely believing his eyes, Handrix chose another file named "GK Distr". He carefully opened it, and found several pages detailing timing and placement of ideal distribution, as well as the best style for each of the NT keepers. Handrix had stumbled onto a gold mine.

by **Valanora** » Thu Oct 30, 2025 2:00 pm

Valanora Times
The Next Generation

Coming into this qualifying cycle, a lot of the good will that Ellzidan had from the beginning of her tenure has seemingly ebbed away at points thanks to what many in the Empire considered a disappointing finish last Finals and then a woeful showing in the ARC the month afterwards. The Drawkian elf is no fool and likely knew that the good will of good early results as well as her tactics aligning more with the traditional Vanorian view on the game compared to her Ko-orenite predecessor was waning. While a Quarterfinal finish last World Cup was not the goal that she and the team had been aiming for, on the whole of it that finish was still quite respectable especially considering how widely chaotic the tournament seemed to be as a whole as well as the new era since the expansion of the Finals field. The ARC though, not making it out of the groups was quite the disappointment and there was no way to sugercoat the failure, she simply had to wear that and accept it for what it was, a massive failure on her and the team for not finding a way to at least make the quarterfinals there as well as they had done for the first four editions of the new regional championship.

Failure does not come with only tears and the bitter taste of defeat, not for the wise who take the opportunity after the mourning phase of failure to learn from their mistakes. This is exactly what the Drawkian did a few weeks after the Marauders had crashed out of the ARC, she spent a lot of time with her staff examining both game film as well as the analytics of the matches to figure out what was not working. It became very obvious very quickly, the teeth had grown far too long in the tooth and was constantly being a step behind their opponents, especially in the defense. If the Marauders were going to rebound quickly from this embarrassing early exit, there was going to have to be a massive shakeup in the national pool and Ellzidan knew she was going to have to be willing to rotate and experiment more with results still on the line. In the weeks and months between the end of the regional championship and before the draw of the Qualifiers, the staff compiled a long list of potential players to bring into the pool and then narrowed it down to around twenty-five which would be narrowed down once more to a final fifteen places that would for the most part introduce what the staff was hoping would be a new core generation to lead the Marauders forward.

The headline feature of this of course are the Rinaldi twins, as Drake and Tanya have entered into the fold after both having been youth internationals as well as joining Chromatika side Tihon. It has been in Chromatika that the two have seen their games rise considerably as the top division in Chromatika is widely regarded as either the best or one of the best in all of the sport and it is a pressure cooker that under the right circumstances create diamonds. Being thrust into starting positions early at Tihon, Tanya has evolved into an absolute menace of a shot stopper, using incredibly quick reflexes as well as good positioning to constantly give herself the best opportunity to make a save on a shot. It is the latter skill that has really flourished in Chromatika and that growth for her has helped see Tihon rise up the table. Yet it is also through Drake's growth as a forward, learning better when to time his runs and how to act as a distraction when needed to allow other attackers better channels or opportunities. His finishing has always been quite superb and has seemingly gotten even better over the last few seasons as the twins have helped Tihon rise and now look to replicate that with the national team.

Also at the keeper position is Augustin Ramón, who had been showing signs of being a good keeper and decided to leave the Empire after Río CF was unfortunately relegated. A season in Indusse has seen a boon of confidence to go with his shot stopping abilities, as he helped leading the way for the champions as well as winning the Golden Glove and was part of the best eleven of the season. Those individual and collectively accolades have definitely helped with the confidence and the mental game is half the battle with keepers, letting him earn his way into the pool and hopefully some game time either this campaign or the next. Staying on the defensive end, where there was the most struggles, we have promising fullback Alejandro Nyman as well as centerback Andi Berggren. The latter is about a solid and surefire choice as you can have, a stern defender who has come through the Raynor City United ranks and is used to a winning culture, having proven enough at one of the best clubs in the world to have been starting at twenty-three. Nyman is a bit more of a gamble, a tad undersized and more of an offensive thrust at the fullback position, which will likely increase with playing in Quebec, the Q-League noted like the Shango as being an offensively offensive minded league. If he takes to the trade well, we could be looking at a world class attacking fullback in a season or so, which would help his chances at moving up the order in the pool.

The midfield has another few interesting new younger faces looking to establish themselves as part of a new core to help the Marauders over the next few cycles as they continue to search for that ever elusive sixth World Cup title. There are two wingers, both of whom will want to get on the attack whenever given the opportunity and both coming from teams that are quite used to winning. At twenty-seven Mathias Hovland might be a bit of a stretch to call young but the Raynor City United winger has been starting for the Rockers since he was twenty-three and part of many many championship squads. He has pace, he has a winning mentality, and he has quite a technical control over the ball that is almost unheard of for someone not looking to be a playmaker. Then there is Leandro Nyquist of Myana, who at twenty-five fits more in line with this young core that Ellzidan seems to be building, and they have that same level of pace as well as crossing and finishing ability, Nyquist simply is more of a complete package and plays more into Ellzidan's tactics. Attacking midfielders Zack Sjöberg and Nova Björklund both get a shout, with Zack being a more playmaker sort of midfielder while Nova has a bit more spark and will get further afield, not afraid to take a shot when given the chance. Playing for the Pasargan giants CA Paulinthal and Kytler champions AFC Carrol Lewiston, they continue the theme of players coming from clubs with a winning culture, which clearly looks intentional.

Lastly there is the enigma of Chell Meadows, a player who despite all the talent in the world and the potential to be exceptional, looks at least in theory to not have a real place in the team even though she is blossoming at her club in Quebec enough to have made the national pool. She does not have the physical frame to play the lone up top striker, hold up and build up play is not part of her skill set. That means she is best used in her more natural and comfortable role as a shadow striker or attacking midfielder if Ellzidan's system, or as the supporting striker in a front two, and there is the rub for her as perhaps the best player to ever play the position and the game is ahead of her. No amount of individual talent that Meadows might possess will allow her to supplant Laborious Hawk and like all the attacking midfielders before and after her, she has to live with that fact. Appearances off the bench are probably going to come at some point but even then Markus Jaeger is a more finished product ahead of her in the pecking order and it seems unlikely that Ellzidan will switch to a two striker system, leaving this quite talented young lady as one of the brightest spots of the next generation but without any apparent way to make her impact on the team as it is currently constructed.

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