World Cup 100 | RP thread

[Krytenia]

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4


PART FIVE: COULD'VE LEFT A PHONE NUMBER

Rami and Jeremy made their way out of the stadium and into the ruins of Old Cathair. “I can't believe I'm doing this.” Jeremy muttered, taking a swig from his hip flask. “So if you're really from the future...what happens to me?”

Rami looked at Jeremy sympathetically. “Things get better,” he said, “for you and Audioslavia. You can't keep a good man down, as they say.” He shuddered. “Ugh, did I just call you a good man?”

Jeremy chuckled. “Fuck, you have mellowed. Who even are you any more?”

“Don't worry,” Rami said with a smirk, “I can still be an absolute cockwomble when I want to be.”

“Like you have to try.” Jeremy retorted. “Question, though – why are you here? Silexhera, two hundred years in your past...I don't get it.”

“Me neither,” Rami admitted, “unfortunately Margaret wasn't exactly forthcoming with the details. Turns out she's a cryptic little hag, who knew?”

“You could always just, I dunno, ask her.” Jeremy replied. “Surely she's in some sort of communication with you...right?”

Rami stopped dead in his tracks. “Actually...no. I don't even know how to get back from here. Feels like a bit of oversight on her part.” He pondered a moment. “Which means I'm stuck here, with no link to my own time – or Margaret's little fiefdom. I'm stranded! Unless...” A lightbulb went on in Rami's head. “Odd question; do you know where we can pick up a rubber chicken around here?”

“What makes you think I'd know that?” Jeremy said defensively.

“Swivel chair.” Rami responded. “Colander. Cat.”

“...fair.” Jeremy gestured around the ruined street. “No chance around here, and Silica City's about a hundred miles away. We'll need a car.”

Rami took in Jeremy's dishevelled appearance. “Do you even have a car right now?”

“Gimme a minute.” Jeremy said with a malevolent grin as he pulled a penknife from his pocket. He made his way to an abandoned car, deftly picking the lock and opening the door. “Come on, come on...” he muttered to himself as he began to hotwire the car, “please let there still be some juice...”

Rami raised his eyebrow as the car sputtered into life. “Get in,” said Jeremy as he entered the car, “and don't look so surprised.”

Rami chortled quietly. “Actually....this explains a lot.” he said, remembering a later Jeremy's stint as a motoring TV host. “But are you sure you're fit to drive? You smell like a distillery, and not one of the posh ones.”

Jeremy clipped in his seatbelt. “I'd only be unfit to drive if I was sober,” he said as the car pulled away.

The drive was mostly uneventful. Rami explained what he knew about his mission, Margaret, and the mysterious Jandan. Jeremy listened intently, even if he didn't follow everything. Eventually, they reached the centre of Silica City, just as the engine conked out.

“You know, we passed about a dozen petrol stations before we got here.” Rami said, surveying the streets.

“Great idea,” Jeremy said snarkily, “let's just roll up to a forecourt full of security cameras with a stolen car. That'll end well.”

“Fair point,” admitted Rami, “now...let's find us a rubber chicken.”

After a few minutes of wandering, the pair happened upon a small joke shop. “This should do the trick,” Rami said as they walked inside, “of course, you're paying though.”

“Wait, why am I paying?” Jeremy said with a hint of annoyance.

“Because, Jezza,” Rami said with a smile, “I don't think this place takes argentals from the future.”

“Fine,” Jeremy said, “but you owe me.”

With rubber chicken purchased, Jeremy and Rami found a secluded alleyway. “Right, so now we have this,” Jeremy said, waving the chicken, “what do we do with it?”

“Not sure,” Rami mused, “but I'm thinking as long as it's vaguely religious sounding it'll work. Probably.”

Rami placed the chicken in his hands and squeezed it tightly. The rubber chicken let out a high-pitched squeak. “O Margaret, I beseech thee. Answer my prayer and give me guidance on my path.” Behind him, Jeremy sniggered. The chicken, meanwhile, let out another squeak, before glowing an unearthly white. The light enveloped both men before they both vanished with a 'pop'.

[Recuecn]

Banija, Part 1: Intro to Abahamba
Banija, Part 2: A New Ambassador
Banija, Part 3: Robel Takes a Phone Call
Busoga, Part 4: Rumors Hit the Internet
Reçueçn, Part 5: A Reçuecian Wonders
Busoga, Part 6: Thuku Goes Public
Banija, Part 7: Ezera's Denial

Ottilie had lain in bed after sending the email to her director, second-guessing herself. Fiorella had been merely complaining about work, and now, without any prompting, Ottilie had started making a mountain out of a molehill. As deputy director, Ottilie was in charge of the team in the Penninsulae, and she prided herself on being able to handle anything the job threw at her without needing to ask anyone back in Reçueçn for help. After tossing and turning for a bit, she resolved to send another email to Pierre, her director, first thing in the morning, letting him know she'd been overthinking, and telling him to forget the whole thing.

Instead, almost as soon as Ottilie got to the office the next day, she found she had a message waiting from Pierre, asking her to hop on a call as soon as she could. There was a difference of several hours between the time zones in Reçueçn and here in the Peninsulae, so presumably Pierre had seen her email overnight and had been waiting for her to clock in. Ottilie sighed and opened the secure link for the meeting.

To her surprise, it was not just Pierre on the other end of the call.

"Hey Ottilie, good morning!" Pierre greeted her brightly. "How are things in Zube?"

"Uh, good... hey, about that email yesterday—" Ottilie was hit by the nervousness of having to take back her words, and faltered without finishing her sentence.

"Thanks so much for highlighting that for me," Pierre responded, not seeming to notice her tone. "I looked into it a little further, and this seems like it could be a pretty big deal. As you can see, I've brought Manon in on this."

Oh, God, thought Ottilie. The Director General!? What have I gotten myself into!?

"Like Pierre said, good work catching this and bringing it to our attention, Ottilie," Manon said. "Obviously WCC corruption isn't unheard of—" (here Pierre scoffed) "—but I know we all like to imagine that it's a thing of the past. These rumors you've heard are a sign of something rotten, which is a painful reality to acknowledge."

Ottilie shifted uncomfortably. "I was actually thinking that since really, it was just that, nothing more than a rumor, maybe I'd already made too big of a deal out of it..."

"Not at all," Manon went on. "Like Pierre said, after looking into this a little further, we unfortunately don't have any reason to believe these are just baseless claims. Our colleagues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have confirmed that there is certainly no love lost between Banija and Abahamba, so there's definitely a motive for WCC higher-ups to roadblock the application. We think it bears investigation, but of course, that's not something the Reçuecian government can do unilaterally. You're head of our delegation over there at WCC headquarters in Zube, and you're on the ground there every day. What would you say are realistic next steps?"

"Euuh, bon..." Ottilie stammered, put on the spot by her boss's boss. She hazarded one final attempt at de-escalation. "I really do want to stress that I'm not sure any of this is all that serious," she said.

Pierre stepped in. "Manon and I have talked about this, and we think the only way to know how serious it is, is to look into things further. Of course, we all hope that this turns out to be some kind of misunderstanding. But we know we want to go ahead with this. Where should we start?"

"Well... whether or not these accusations are true, the Banijans will take any aspersions as a huge insult. We can expect the vice president to block any sort of committee motion for an investigation. If we had some kind of concrete evidence, we might be able to get enough WCC votes to do something, but with what we have now, there's not much to work with."

Pierre and Manon seemed thoughtful. "Ottilie, I'd like you to see if you can pull together some evidence for us. I know you've got a lot on your plate with all the host votes coming up, but I want you in charge for this. We'll make sure your team has the support you need to be able to take on the extra workload. If you need more personnel, we can transfer a couple people from elsewhere in the division. Honestly the federation handles most of the ÉNRF's World Cup preparations, so we should be fine to spare some extra staff."

"Okay... I can do that." Ottilie was deeply surprised. She'd thought she'd be on this call apologizing for being overly hasty, and now here she was, being given new authority and more staff to head up a potential investigation?

"One more thing," said Pierre. "I think if you can get any more information from your friend who works for the WCC, that will be very helpful. Let her know the Ministry can offer her compensation for her cooperation, but of course it will be best if she stays in her role for the committee."

"That's great thinking, Pierre," said Manon. "Can you do all that, Ottilie?"

"Eum, yes." Ottilie swallowed. And after a brief farewell, the meeting was closed, and she was left staring at her own reflection in the blank computer screen.

Where to start? Ottilie began by looking into WCC regulations concerning new applicants. Manon put her in touch with some Reçuecian diplomats in Zube, who gave her a crash course on Arrosian geopolitics. And Fiorella helpfully sent over copies of every unusual request for information she'd had to submit for the Abahamba application. The documents soon piled up into a veritable mountain of extra paperwork—Ottilie couldn't imagine how Abahamba would ever get its application approved with so many roadblocks thrown in its way.

Weeks passed, then months. World Cup qualifying matches began—without Abahamba. Every day, on her commute to WCC headquarters, Ottilie walked past Robel Ezera's office. A large sign on the door bore his name and proclaimed 'WCC VICE-PRESIDENT'. Just down the hall was the office of the Banijan WCC delegation. Whenever she passed, Ottilie wondered what was happening behind those doors. Were the Banijans conspiring against Abahamba? Celebrating that their neighbors' application hadn't been accepted in time for World Cup qualification? As she continued her investigation, Ottilie's original doubts faded away; there was too much circumstantial evidence. But there was no solid proof. Fiorella hadn't been able to find any confirmation that it was Ezera who'd ordered her boss to stall with the extra financial verification, although she and everyone on Ottilie's team suspected it. As qualifying continued, Ottilie grew more and more frustrated at her lack of progress. There was nothing to bring in front of the WCC to support a serious accusation, and it was already too late for Abahamba to be able to compete.

Then, on matchday 7, everything changed. Ottilie was at home with the Reçueçn-Soviet Kem game on the TV, although she was just scrolling on her phone, not really paying attention. Suddenly, her phone pinged with a message from one of the Foreign Affairs officers Manon had put her in touch with. "Crown Prince of Abahamba giving a press conference right now," the text said. "You might want to see this."

Ottilie wasn't sure where the hell she was supposed to watch a press conference from a nation that got so little media attention, but with some frantic googling, she managed to pull up a livestream. "The integrity of sport was violated, because of a Banijan conspiracy to keep Abahamba out of the tournament," Crown Prince Thuku was saying. "Ezera must resign." The crown prince went on, discussing the geopolitics between Banija and Abahamba, but it was nothing that was surprising to Ottilie after the research she'd done over the past few months. Ottilie was already frantically messaging her team.

"We need all hands on deck," she wrote, and linked to a video of Thuku's press conference. "If we are ever going to have a chance to bring this up in the WCC, this is the moment. Whatever info we've managed to get—we need to present it in committee ASAP."

Within a day, Ezera had given a press conference of his own, staunchly denying the accusations. But Ottilie felt that the vice president's words only bolstered the case against him. Ezera couldn't help but toss a few personal attacks into the midst of his own denial, painting Thuku as a failure. Most tellingly of all, the vice president couldn't help himself from throwing a jab at Abahamba's poverty, challenging the crown prince to prove the nation's financial stability despite denying ever asking for such proof. With the added ammunition from Ezera's speech, Ottilie's team had everything they needed to present the results of their investigation to the WCC the next day.

There was an outcry in the committee chamber when Ottilie, as head of the Reçuecian delegation, got up to speak and cast a large close-up of Robel Ezera on the screens in front of the other representatives. The Banijan delegation promptly got up to walk out in protest. Ottilie, unfazed, launched into her speech.

"Serious charges of corruption have been leveled against the current vice president of this institution," she began. "Having heard complaints about the application process being blocked several months ago, long before Crown Prince Thuku's press conference on Saturday, the Reçuecian WCC delegation has been collecting documentation in an attempt to determine whether or not these complaints are validated. In this presentation I will show you the undue hindrances to which the Abahambans were subjected, and I believe this evidence is enough to justify an investigation of corruption into Vice President Ezera's actions. It is of course possible that he may be innocent, but if that is the case, there is nothing better than for him to be exonerated by a thorough investigation."

As she gave her presentation, Ottilie was surprised by how convincing she was. There was no evidence to connect the illegal requests for financial documentation directly to the Banijans, but the sheer amount of extra paperwork that had been ordered for no apparent cause could not be a coincidence. As Ottilie listed form after form that had been demanded from the Abahambans, she saw in the eyes of the WCC delegates that they, too, now shared her concern. Despite the loud protests of the Banijans, the committee approved the investigation by a large majority. Ottilie herself was appointed as chief investigator, to head up the process and present the findings to the WCC. The committee gave her full access to the WCC's files and archives, and authority to request whatever data or information she wanted from the constituent delegations. Her team would have to include staff from other WCC nations, but she was allowed to select at least a few Reçuecians from her own ministry team. Ottilie wound up asking Fiorella to join her as well.

The first order of business was to draft a letter to Ezera.

Robel Ezera
WCC Vice President
Zube, Kytler Peninsulae


Ottilie Thorvex
WCC Ethics Committee Special Investigation Chief
Zube, Kytler Peninsulae

Dear Mr. Ezera,

Subsequent to the allegations lodged against you by KATENDE Thuku, crown prince of Abahamba, the World Cup Committee voted this past Monday, in extraordinary session, to appoint a special investigation into the matter. This investigation shall determine whether you created undue obstacles to prevent Abahamba from acceding to WCC membership and participation in qualification for World Cup 100. You will be presumed innocent until proven guilty, but your full cooperation with the investigation is requested while we look into this matter.

I have been named as chief investigator and hope that you will work closely with us as we stive to clear your name. I would like to request records of all communications you or your office have had with the WCC onboarding department and its employees. This includes electronic communication, emails, server logs, and SMS logs, as well as any physical records or recorded conversations.

In the expectation of your favorable response, I pray you will accept, Monsieur, my most distinguished salutations.

Mme Ottilie THORVEX

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Record Win Streak Continues;Tough Match Against Soviet Kem; Minoptra Smashed
Reçueçn Times
by Georges Quint, Sportswriter

Kem City, Soviet Kem—Ken Stavisk's Kemrainan NT was only the second team to holed Les Licornes to a single goal since the IAC. In years past, the ÉNRF has often won games 1-0 with little sign of trouble, knocking in one goal early in the first half and then parking the bus for the rest of the match and letting the clock run out. The strategy has been widely accepted despite the "boring" games it has produced, and so 1-0 victories can often be assumed to be dominant victories for the équipe nationale, despite the close scoreline.

During these qualifiers, however, Hyron LeBouffe has let his offense off the leash—or perhaps the new Reçuecian front line of Asselineau, R. Firaut, and Franky simply can't be reigned in. Whatever the reason, Reçueçn has stopped "parking the bus" after its first couple games, choosing instead to run up the score, even when already winning games by a comfortable margin.

Soviet Kem has been the first team to prevent that. Manager Ken Stavisk's strong focus on defense stopped the Reçuecian attack short in its tracks, denying a beautiful 8th-minute breakaway and only conceding one goal to Héloïse Asselineau, when Rébecca Firaut set her up with a beautiful pass to achieve the impossible and put Kemnainan goalie Kent Zoinski out of position. For the Kemnainans, Bakorow Genski Fenghin Genish II had a beautiful attempt that was stopped by Lukas Kayserling, and Naskin Putanik, the team captain, made several brave attempts to break through the Reçuecian defense in the midfield, several of which were created good chances and shots on goal, but none of which were able to tie the game.

Despite the best efforts of Franky and Rébecca Firaut, the Reçuecians found that this time around, they couldn't just run up the score. Instead they had to rely on Laurent Lapix, whose midfield vision held the defense together. Forced to defend once more, at least Les Licornes found themselves in a role they were comfortable in, and were able to end the game with their victory intact.

The second game of the international break, against Minoptra, was a much more high-scoring affair, with Reçueçn scoring seven goals for the second time in three games—and for only the third time in its history. Unfortunately, a breakaway by the Minoptrans after a saved shot on goal from Théophile Theriault led to the ÉNRF conceding a goal for the first time in this qualifying campaign. Team captain, Gerauld Firaut, interviewed after the game, expressed his disappointment.

"Of course I'm thrilled we had such another high-scoring victory so soon, and the team is playing fantastic. The breakaway today wasn't the first mistake we've made in this campaign, but it's the first time we've had to deal with the consequences of an error. And of course, as the goalie, I feel it as a personal failing. I don't put any blame on the defense at all. That was a save I should have been able to make—a save I've made a thousand times before—and I've let down the team."

"The rest of the squad might not feel it as much as I do—I mean, it was still a 7-1 victory—but I was really proud of that perfect zero goals allowed on the group table. It was something no other nation could boast of. We might still be in first place, but now that's gone."

The équipe nationale's most important game yet is next on the docket, as they travel to Banija to face the group's top-seed, second-place team in a game that may make or break Reçueçn's group-winning hopes.

[Dantopia]

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VOL. 45,961

LION CITY, DANTOPIA MONDAY 3RD NOVEMBER, 2025

₵500

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Lions Late Handball Hands Chromatika The Win

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Dantopia Capitulate And The Anomalies Rally From Behind To Narrowly Defeat Hosts

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By SAUL ARNSTEIN

National Team Stadium (NTS)
Dantopia3-4Chromatika
Half Time: 2-2

Kahananui 34'Prenn 4'
Brunson 39'Lee H. S. 19' (Pen)
E. Cunningham 67'Saburo 90+7'
Howard-Dawes 90+9' (Pen)

LION CITY, DANTOPIA — Chromatika staged a last-gasp comeback to defeat Dantopia 4-3 last night at the first home fixture for the Lions in their newly constructed National Team Stadium. Elaine Howard-Dawes — a second half substitute for the heavily rotated Chromatik side — came on to turn the game on it's head and bury the decisive penalty for the visitors, who increase their lead atop Group 9 to five points now.

A brand new stadium was christened by a raucous reception from both the home crowd and the travelling away support from Chromatika. Following the national anthems being sung, the Dantopian team ushered in a new pre-match home ritual — something many in the nation had been crying out for the national team to do in recent years. Owing to Dantopia's cultural heritage as a South Pacific island nation, traditional and ceremonial takakoa (translating to 'warrior dance') routines have been performed occasionally in team sports. A performance art, takakoas are a series of vigorous movements and stamping of the feet, with rhythmic shouts accompanying them. Although takakoas are traditional war dances, having been performed as a ceremonial ritual by warriors on the battlefield, their intimidating nature also offers a challenge in team sports to the opposition. Slight variations to the ritual — that are less intimidating and more welcoming — known by different names, are often performed at Dantopian weddings, funerals or to welcome distinguished guests, such as foreign leaders.

The Chromatik side watched the display — which was led by Dantopian team captain Michael Danchevy — arm in arm at the centre-circle, taking in the scene in all its splendour — a brand new stadium, a traditional war dance, a meeting with a new opponent, and the gauntlet thrown down by the hosts. The Anomalies were completely respectful of the occasion but, evidently, not at all intimidated by the moment as they raced off to an early lead within twenty minutes in the match through goals from Maddie Prenn — a simple tap in at the far post following a beautiful and intricate passage of play inside the Dantopian penalty box between the Istria City midfielder, Kaytlyn Jean-Baptiste and Harriet Baïe-Verte — and then Lee Hyun-Seol, who stepped up to the penalty spot in the absence of the regular penalty takers on the field, following a foul in the box commited by Keegan Foster. The Miruan City defender picked up a yellow card for his troubles too.

Kaleb Kahananui

However, approaching ten minutes before half-time, a long range screamer was struck by teenage starlet Kaleb Kahananui, from twenty-five yards out, an effort that Chromatik keeper Jill Swanson could do absolutely nothing about. Not long after the goal had finished reverberating from that strike, it was the turn of Bradini Brunson to try his luck from outside the box. Brunson's effort wasn't the cannon strike of Kahananui, but instead a wicked trivela, hit with the outside of his right boot. The shot curled around Anomalies defender Claudia Lethbridge-Antonio, which meant the keeper was unsighted at first, not that Swanson would have been able to reach the bottom left corner in time anyway.

Ezra Cunningham

With the scores level at half-time, Rick Bishop's men had successfully ridden the storm that was anticipated from Chromatika, who's 16th placed rank in the world offers a stark contrast to the Lions' own unranked status. Following the break, Ezra Cunningham was able to put away another for Dantopia, to not only complete the comeback from 2-0 down but to go one further and take an impressive and unexpected 3-2 lead. Cunningham's late man run into the box meant he was first on the scene for the cutback from Adebayo Adeyemi — who had now racked up his second assist following on from his pass to Brunson in the first half as well.

The Lions now had a narrow lead to protect, and with the urgency to accumulate as many points in a fiercely competitive and challenging Group 9 as possible, Rick Bishop opted for some defensive alterations. Off came goalscorer Kahananui and on came Dwight Krol; and Ash Morgan replaced Johnny Kealoha. This meant that the Dantopians were now operating a back five, with defensively minded fullbacks too. The width would have to be provided by Danchevy and Adeyemi and the midfield battles were now only being contested by two players, so it was no surprise that the recently returned (from injury) Dani Spaghetti was hooked after seventy-two minutes for Nehemiah Cunningham. Late on, the wingers were refreshed too, as Maverick Johnson and Nico Hollins replaced Danchevy and Adeyemi.

Dwight Krol

The Dantopian wall, that Rick Bishop had constructed, seemed to be working, as it held off all manner of attacks. Anything that did get through was swept up by goalkeeper Alex Bullvale, who made six saves on the night. However, in the seemingly final death of added time — a planned 8 minutes — the Anomalies won a corner, the result of which saw Uemura Saburo leap up at the back post and thunderously head one past the helpless Bullvale in net. Chromatika had managed to tie proceedings in added time, and now they wanted more. With another precious few seconds added to the clock as a result of the goal, the Anomalies continued to push, and in what was surely the final attack of the match, a tiring Jacoliene Hauptmeijer whipped a speculative low-driven cross into the box. Defending the cross was Dwight Krol, but he unfortunately slipped whilst trying to position his body in a way to block the ball, and it was his hand that ended up denying the ball entry. He was just inside the penalty area. It was a clear penalty.

Group 9
POSNATIONPWDLGFGAGDPTS
1Chromatika86022916+1318
2Abanhfleft7412157+813
3The Ko-orenite Constellation7331116+512
4Atymnius (Dēmos)73221510+511
5Dantopia73131112-110
6United States Of Alpha72141116-57
7Karmosora7214915-67
8Archalit72141018-87
9Whispinia7205920-116

The groans and cries from the Dantopian crowd were echoing, the nerves inside the arena, as tense as ever. Securing a point from this game would have been a more than fair result, and a huge boon for the Lions against a much superior, albeit heavily rotated Chromatik side. Now, the opposition had their second penalty of the evening, and this time they had one of their regular spot kick takers on the field. Elaine Howard-Dawes, the experienced Crossroads forward had come on for Kaytlyn Jean-Baptiste earlier. There was absolutely no denying Howard-Dawes' effort either, as it was ever so calmly slotted right down the middle, with Alex Bullvale having dived to the left hand side. The small away crowd at the far end of the stadium were absolutely jubilant, the home crowd were absolutely not. The referee blew the full-time whistle almost immediately after the kick-off, and that was that. Dantopia had fallen to Chromatika, but had done so valiantly.

Manager Rick Bishop was visibly disheartened following the match. In his post-match press conference, he was quick to back his players. "The lads put every effort in to get something out of the game. I honestly couldn't have asked for more from them tonight. They did themselves proud. I just wish the occasion [the opening fixture at the new stadium] could have been met with a better result." When asked to comment on the Dwight Krol handball error, Bishop was quick to deflect. "Look, Dwight is an excellent human-being and a model professional. He will be more gutted about that mistake than anyone else here, so I'm absolutely not going to stand for anyone piling on over that. We're human, we can't always be perfect. We move on."

The loss sees the Lions slip to fifth in the Group 9 table, behind the likes of Abanhfleft, The Ko-orenite Constellation and Dēmos, with Chromatika topping the table, as mentioned earlier. Fixtures following this match against Abanhfleft and Dēmos might prove pivotal to Dantopia's hopes of qualifying. Failure to get results out of these tricky away matches just might doom the Lions to another failed qualification campaign.

dantopia.football

1d

The Lions' fixtures for the second half of Group 9's World Cup 100 Qualifiers! #Dantopia #Lions #WorldCup100 #Group9

Expected Line-up against Abanhfleft
A. Bullvale — R. Lacroix — E. Cromwell — K. Foster — K. Kahananui — D. Spaghetti (C) — E. Cunningham — W. Fodderingham — A. Adeyemi — B. Brunson — J. Jackson Jr.

Expected Line-up against Dēmos (Atymnius)
A. Bullvale — W. Cross — E. Cromwell — K. Foster — K. Kahananui — N. Cunningham — E. Cunningham — J. Kealoha — A. Adeyemi — B. Brunson — M. Danchevy (C)

[Yangchenia]

Yangchenia Blazing Dragons
"In the flames of sport, our iron will is forged"

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Yangchenia wins 2-0 against Jeruselem
Win drought ends in stunning performance against the Princesses

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Despair on the March Home
At: Free Republics

“Ughh”, exclaimed Sasha Saizi as the team walked away from Olympic Stadium with nothing but a goalless draw. But still, a goalless draw was better than what they went through these past few days. Defeat after defeat hampered team morale, and now, a third of the way through the elimination round, the team had yet to score even a single victory. Their place on the bottom of the leaderboard seemed permanent, the team’s win drought unending. Ever the accomplished athlete Sasha Saizi rarely knew defeat—it was either she won, or the enemy was too battered to continue fighting. But then again, this isn't Kung Fu. This is the World Cup, where anything can happen.

Rumors of Margaret, the Goddess of Fate’s disapproval for the team began to spread across World Cup media, especially after the team’s unending victory drought that caught the attention of many within Group 13. Hu Winwei was lambasted on sports newspapers, with headlines calling him “the man who sent seniors to a young men’s game”, with the team sometimes being referred to as “The Geezers” or “The Boomers”, referencing many of the Dragons’ players' advanced age. However despite their age, they were still able to prove somewhat that they still had what it takes to continue fighting on. Despite being 54 years old, the oldest out of all the goalkeepers, Damdul Gyatso’s name echoed throughout the halls of the World Cup, as a man who was infamous for blocking goal after goal, even past his prime. For the former Shaolin monk, he’s known pain before—and this was no different. He can tank shot after shot, so long as it mean his team had the chance of victory.

News of their next match didn't seem to lift up their hopes. In fact, it only seemed to hamper it further. They were the home team next match, however they were set to fight the team of Jeruselem, the Princesses. Ranked 93rd overall, the Princesses certainly were a powerful team. Moreover, they were the top ranked team so far within Group 13, beating out higher ranked Yuezhou and Juvencus, and so far, they have yet to suffer even a single defeat. Jeruselem has pulled off victory after victory so far in the tournament, juxtaposing with Yangchenia’s unrelenting win drought. It was as if Yin and Yang were set to fight each other next match, especially with the two nations both sporting Dragons on their flags.

But all they could do was prepare, hold, and hopefully — prevail. But it was looking like some of them were unwilling to press on further, knowing full well that at this point, elimination was in the cards for them. It would take a miracle for Hu Winwei to lift their spirits in time for the next match. But…maybe he did have such a miracle.

2nd Princess Sirivani Iliani Sihamoni Guul-la of Yangchenia and Ykha

A Princess of Our Own
At: Yangchan, Yangchenia (12 hours before the match against Jeruselem)

Princess Sirivani Iliani Sihamoni was in the Imperial Palace Spring, her feet submerged in the warm water, a welcome relief in the cold Msalkan winter. It was around 9:30pm, the sun having long set, the moon high in the sky shining from the constellation Aquarius. The temperature in Yangchan had plummeted to around -30C last night, normal for the nation during its winter season. As she was about to get ready for bed, she suddenly received a call.

Glancing at her phone, she recognizes who it was from.

“Hu Winwei - 0808-201-2012”

Winwei and Sirivani had been close acquaintances ever since Kara Yevalnova iintroduced him to her. She used to be an assassin contracted by the Royal Family on numerous anti-terrorism campaigns but now also serves as a backup player for the Blazing Dragons after she decided to try out football, which she had played as a child. Since then, the Princess had been a fan of the Blazing Dragons ever since she first heard about them, and periodically turns up to their matches, the last one being during the Baptism of Fire.

But a call at this hour? What could Winwei be planning?

Picking up the phone she speaks. “Hey Hu? What’s the matter to be bothering me at this late hour?

“Aixe”, he sighs. “The lads are feeling down lately especially after our repeated losses. They say they’d rather freeze in Raijugang than go to Lhamo to lose again. We’re fighting Jeruselem next.”

“Jeruselem..”, Sirivani says, the word rolling off her tongue. “You mean the Princesses?”

“Yes. We’re scheduled to fight them next. They’re ranked 93rd, way above ours. They’re not feeling good about their chances right now.”

“They’re known for playing in the nude, I doubt they’d do well in the cold Yangini weather”, Sirivani joked with a light chuckle. “But what do you want from me?”

“I need you to…give them inspiration. Show them what they are fighting for. I’m asking you…to turn up to the match tomorrow. They’d be sure to play well with their Princess in play. Ironic, since we are fighting a team called the Princesses, but still. Would you be willing to do so?”

There is silence at the other end of the line as Sirivani thinks, before responding. “I believe I can. What time tomorrow?”

“Be there at 7am. The match is at 9.”, Winwei replied.

“Alright then”, responded Sirivani, before hanging up. It seemed as the Dragons were requesting her presence tomorrow. She hadn’t been with them since the first matches of the BoF, but now, it seems like she really did need to go to hopefully boost their spirits. The Blazing Dragons were on the ropes.

The David versus the Goliath
At: Lhamo, Yangchenia (2 hours before the match against Jeruselem)


The Blazing Dragons had already arrived at the Dome of the Thunder Panda hours earlier, preparing for their match against Jeruselem. Their morale was at the lowest it had ever been, even their more optimistic players Wu Hsaing and Mei Wufang feeling like the odds were stacked against them. One glance at the board and it did feel like the odds were not in their favor — rank 303 against rank 93, it felt like a David versus Goliath situation.

But then again, it was David that won.

Then, someone else entered the stadium. A sleek black limousine pulled up to the front of the stadium, and out came an elegantly dressed woman, wearing a dragon shaped tiara. It was obvious who she was—the Dragon Princess of Yangchenia herself. The team was caught by surprise by her sudden arrival, unbeknownst to them that Hu Winwei secretly called for her attendance last night on the way home.

The team’s posture instinctively straightened in her prescence, a calm yet imposing aura emanating from her.

“Your Highness!”, Li Wunming spoke. We didnt expect you to..come today.

“I like surprises.”, she said cryptically as she glanced at the matchboard. Yangchenia (rank 303) vs. Jerusalem (rank 93).

“I see that the numbers don’t favor you. But then again, what was your team’s name?”

“The Blazing Dragons, your highness”, Tubek Orlov replied.

“But Dragons are not tamed by numbers.”, she spoke. “Dragons do not care about rank or strength! Dragons only fight, and Dragons will fight until they achieve victory. A dragon symbolizes power, strength and wisdom. And as Dragons, YOU are power. YOU are strength.”

“But Your Highness”, Nadawarlal Shuba replied. “We’ve been playing seven matchdays so far, and we have yet to score a single win. I dont know about you, but maybe we dont have what it takes to defeat a team like Jeruselem. They are literally the highest ranked team in our bracket, and we have yet to-”

“Dragons DO NOT GIVE A DAMN about rank.”, she retorted, an aggressive tone in her voice, her teeth gritted. “We do not give a DAMN about whether the enemy has won more than us. Dragons are powerful, unrelenting, but most of all—enduring. In folktales, they speak of the dragon having all the attributes of the other 11 creatures of the zodiac, this includes the whiskers of the Rat, the face and horns of the Ox, the claws and teeth of the Tiger, the belly of the Rabbit, the body of the Snake, the legs of the Horse, the goatee of the Goat, the wit of the Monkey, the crest of the Rooster, the ears of the Dog, and the snout of the Pig. Dragons are well-rounded.

If you believe that you do not have what it takes to continue fighting, then you clearly havent taken a good look at yourself. You are here for a reason. You are one of our best, and ones we have trusted to carry the honor of our country. And if you believe you are worthy of carrying the name of such a legendary creature, then you must prove it.”

The team stood silent as Sirivani spoke, and in that moment, it seemed as if she became the spark that lit a flame in the hearts of the Dragons. The spark that brought back the willpower to fight on. They were no longer fighting for themselves.

They were fighting for their country. For the Dragon. And now in the presence of their Princess, they no longer cared about rank or the prospect of defeat. They only care about one thing.

That they found the strength to fight in the first place.


The War of the Dragons
At: Dome of the Thunder Panda, Lhamo, Yangchenia

So you're the cameraman for YTV News, given that the Jeruselemite players are playing in the nude, will you be censoring your next broadcast?
"Don't worry, our cameras are so shit they look like they're wearing clothes."

- Woekar Namphel

Minutes remained before the match against Jeruselem began. The teams were gathering in their dugouts, Wu Hsaing prepared to lead the charge as always. In his eyes, a new fire could be seen, one driven not by the hope of victory, but by what he was fighting for. His family, his country, everything he valued. He carried the name of his people, of his ancestors on his shoulders. And he wasn't about to let them down this time.

Within the crowds in the VIP area he could faintly see Princess Sirivani seated in the center, her Dragon tiara glinting in the early winter morning sun. Her palm was against her face, she’d been waiting for hours for the match to begin.

And then, it started, Wu Hsaing leading his team out of the dugouts to the field, facing off the team of Jeruselem for the very first time. They were mostly young women, juxtaposing with the Dragons’ team of more older men. But once again, Dragons don't give a damn about anything other than the will to fight on.

And soon, the whistle was blown. The Princesses were swift, quickly gaining possession of the ball, their smaller statures making it easier to bypass the Dragons’ players. By the 8th minute, they were already at the Yangini goal, taking a shot, however Gyatso managed to pull a save and blocked the Jeruselemite attempt.

Now, the ball was in the Dragons’ possession, in the hands, or more accurately the feet of Tubek Orlov. Passing it to Shuba, then to Saizi, she quickly ran across the field to pass the ball to forward player Wu Hsaing, by far the most accomplished player in the team. The young Zayathlan had already scored his fair amount of goals, and he was determined to increase that count. Rushing across the field, he was just as swift as the Jeruselemites, breaking through their midfield and backline, and making it within yards of the goal. However, the ball was quickly stolen back by Princess player Julie Trudeau on the 19th minute, who passed it to Lina Deville. But just as quickly as they had seized the ball, they just as quickly lost it as Sasha Saizi seized it back, passing it to Wu Hsaing for a shot at the Jeruselemite goal.

The first shot was a miss, the ball bouncing off the left goalpost. The second shot was blocked by the goalkeeper. The third shot, off the crossbar. Every time he missed he was having to steal the ball back from the Jeruselemites, but the Dragons were doing it with consistency.

And finally, by the fourth shot on the 34th minute, it happened, the commentator exclaiming: “IT’S IN, IT’S IN, WU HSAING FOR THE DRAGONS’ FIRST GOAL IN THE WORLD CUP!”

Yangini fans erupted in applause. It was the first time Yangchenia had scored a goal in the world cup, and it seemed like things were finally looking up for the team. But they knew it wasn't over yet, as they still had to undertake the task of holding on to their lead.

The Jeruselemite team attempted a comeback, Lina Deville stealing the ball and managing to bypass the Yangini midfield. However, Yesui Erkhet was there to block her before she even made it to Gyatso’s doorstep, retaking the ball back into Yangini possession. Wu Hsaing had another chance to make it two-nil, however he was unable to get a clear shot for the goal, and by halftime, the game was at 1-nil in favor of Yangchenia.

The rest of the game after halftime bore the same result, an endless back in forth between the two teams. Though the Dragons had come close to another goal, Tsamchoe Thaye making four attempts, all misses. Then suddenly, out of the blue, Thaye struck, the commentator once again exclaiming: “THAYE FOR ANOTHER GOAL FOR THE DRAGONS!, THE GAME IS 2-NIL”. Thaye had scored on the 86th minute, and by the final whistle, the game was at 2-nil.

Yangchenia had won. Crowds of fans erupted into celebration. The losing streak was over. Yangchenia was back in the game. They had just defeated the top team in the rankings, knocking them down to second place. From above, Winwei could see Princess Sirivani give a slight nod of approval, applauding the team for their victory.

As the team left the stadium, their spirits were higher than ever. For the first time, there was genuine hope of victory, light at the end of tunnel. And as the next match against Lisander looms over the horizon, they were now ready to face even that match, now that they saw what they were capable of.

Image is human-made using Canva.

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Yangchenia wins against Lisander 4-1

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Location: Soria Park, Lisander

Heads Held High
At: Yangchenia

Zhen Hoezhi

Now with their hopes high they move on to their next match, against the team of Lisander. They were the away team this time, once again having to leave the country. Ranked 180th, they were supposed to be easier than Jeruselem, but it’s best to not let ranks deceive them.

As the team arrived in Lisander, this time they were met with much more fanfare, many Yanginis coming to watch the match live now that the team showed chances of winning. Among the crowds of Yanginis and Msalkans that gathered in Lisander, the team saw a familiar face. Princess Sirivani had also made the journey to Lisander to watch them play live, a smile on her face as she greeted the team.

“Congratulations out there on the field yesterday.”, she said. “Outstanding performance against Jeruselem, I mean two-nil - I wasnt expecting that!”

“Well, thanks Your Highness.”, Wu Hsaing replied with a Zayathlan accent, slightly blushing from the embarrassment of causing a scene at the Lisander Airport. Winwei spoke after him. “You came today as well?”

“Well, I was a little bored”, she replied, gesturing with her two fingers touching. “So I figured I might as well watch your next match. I brought someone special along with me as well!”

From behind her an old man appeared, dressed in an old jersey. Winwei instantly recognized him with just one glance. “Zhen Hoezhi? Is that you?”

“You betcha”, Zhen responded, waving to the other members of the team.

Zhen Hoezhi was Winwei’s former teammate back when he was but a player for the Blazing Dragons. He was the equivalent of Wu Hsaing back then, talented and skilled forwards player who scored much of the team’s goals. He was basically team captain during his later years in the Blazing Dragons, replacing his predecessor who had grown old. At age 78 he was certainly too old to play, the hairs on his head having long since grayed out, but hearing that the Dragons were participating in the World Cup he wanted to go and see their match for himself. Especially as Winwei was now the team coach. With his appearance, the stakes were even higher for Winwei. He knew he wanted to impress Hoezhi — he had long looked up to him as an idol from when he was but a player for the Dragons. A victory would be exactly what would do the trick, a gesture to his former teammate and captain that he was not about to let their legacy fade away. And with the team’s previous 2-nil win, he had confidence that they would be able to pull it off.


A Win to Beat All Wins
At: Soria Park, Lisander

Welcome to Yangchenia Sports News!
I am your writer and commentator Lobgang Tsamphel and we have a lot to talk about for this eighth day.

This was it, the 8th matchday of the World Cup — against the team of Lisander. If the Blazing Dragons won this, the Dragons may have a chance of moving on after all, and not just being confined to the bottom of the leaderboard. Lisander was one of the more average strength teams in the bracket, not on par with Juvencus and Yuezhou but certainly still a formidable opponent with their rank.

In the front row sat Princess Sirivani and Zhen Hoezhi, eagerly waiting for the team to finally make their appearance. The time seemed to pass by slowly like molasses, until finally, the team began to enter the field, starting with the forwards, then the midfielders, then the backliners, with Damdul Gyatso at the rear as the team’s signature goalkeeper. The Lisanderians were also already in position, and finally – the match begun.

Yangchenia was off to a strong start by the first few minutes. The ball was already solidly in the Dragon’s possession, with Tsamchoe Thaye maintaining his hold on the ball as the Lisanderian team attempts to steal it from him. He was swift enough to be hard to catch, passing it to Wu Hsaing as he closed in on the Lisanderian goal. He struck — and just like that, on only the 8th minute of the match Yangchenia was already up by one point—a major win for the Blazing Dragons.

The Lisanderians however wouldn't give up that easily, their team immediately going on offense as soon as the Dragons had scored their goal. It unfolded quickly, the Lisanderian team breaking through the midfield defense, before also breaking through the backline defense, getting the ball towards the Yangini goal. First attempt – a miss, the ball bouncing off the left goalpost. Second goal? Blocked by Damdul Gyatso, who proceeded to block their third attempt for the goal. Then, on the 24th minute, Lucas Brax of Lisander scored against Yangchenia, tying the score 1-1.

But the Blazing Dragons held firm, and soon, they were back on the offensive. Yesui Erkhet stunned many members of the audiences with her fierce playing style and impeccable agility, making her appear almost ghostly to her Lisanderian adversaries. Descendant of one of Yangchenia’s greatest warlords, she certainly inherited some of the blood and is making that clear in this match. What’s that? The Blazing Dragons are at the Lisanderian goal once more, Yesui Erkhet closing in, the defence is nowhere to be seen—AND GOAL FOR THE DRAGONS, Yangchenia returns to its one point lead with 2-1 at the 43rd minute

Lisander attempts to even the score, but theyre unable to break through the Yangini defenses, and by the halftime whistle, the score was 2-1 in favor of Yangchenia. After halftime, the game resumed its action filled fights, Tsamchoe Thaye looking like he’s gearing up to strike at the Lisanderians. He gains possession of the ball, he’s in front of the Lisanderian goal, their defense broken, and ANOTHER GOAL, the score is now 3-1 at the 62nd minute.
Already tying with Yangchenia’s record lead during yesterday’s match against Jeruselem, the Blazing Dragons arent done yet. With 38 minutes remaining in the match anything could still happen, and the Dragons prepare both a strong defense and offense. By the 70th minute, it seems that the Lisanderians are going on offense, they break through the midfield, but the Yangini defence holds, Alessia and Orlov with the save!

The ball is back in Yangini possession at the 78th minute, and it looks like the Dragons are planning to further increase their lead. Renowned Iron Lady Sasha Saizi now has the ball, dashing across the field towards the enemy goal. But the defense is fierce, it’s looking like she’s not gonna be able to pull it off.

But then boom — she strikes the ball powerful enough to unbalance the Lisanderian goalkeeper, bringing the score to a record 4-1 in favor of Yangchenia at the 80th minute. With that final goal, the rest of the match was marked with a back and forth between the two teams, with no major breakthroughs occurring until the final whistle, ending the match with the Dragons’ second victory in the World Cup, at 4-1 — beating the record lead they had just set yesterday against Jeruselem. Outstanding performance from the Dragons!


A Royal Blessing - Passing on the Torch

“So, how was it”, Princess Sirivani asked Zhen Hoezhi, her tone soft amidst the roaring applause from the Yangini fans behind them.
“I..I was certainly not expecting THAT”, Hoezhi replied, shocked at the outstanding performance the Dragons had just displayed.
“Well, never underestimate the power of a team whose playing in the audience of their Princess.”, she replied sarcastically.
“As if you were the reason for their success.”, Zhen replied.
“Perhaps not. But I did get them back into shape after their losing streak”.
“It seemed as Winwei had done them well.”

As the final whistle was blown, from the corner Hu Winwei could see Princess Sirivani and Zhen Hoezhi applauding at the teams victory. An impressed look seemed to come from Zhen’s face—he like the Princess yesterday didn't expect the team to actually win. But even Princess Sirivani didnt expect this outstanding of a performance from the national team. Ever since she expressed her support for them before their match against Jeruselem the Dragons were like a new team, their spirits embodying the flaming deity they so represent.

As the team returned to their dugouts, Zhen Hoezhi excused himself from the Princess’s side, standing from his seat and walking to meet Hu Winwei. He was in the team dugouts as his team dressed back into their normal clothes, when suddenly Zhen entered the room, his and Hu’s eyes meeting each other’s gaze.

“Congratulations, Hu. It seems that you have done the team well.”, he said, a tone of genuine praise in his voice. “When I was team captain, you were definitely one of my best players. And now….now you’ve carried on my legacy.”

“Thanks, Zhen. And I want to thank you too.”

“For what?”, he replied, confused.

“For being the spark of inspiration that kicked off this journey for me.”

With those final words he accompanied the team out of the stadium, leaving Zhen Hoezhi inside to accompany the Princess. No more words needed to be said.

Zhen Hoezhi and Princess Sirivani soon followed after them, meeting up with the team in downtown Soria. Princess Sirivani was ecstatic of the team’s victory, joyfully congratulating the team. “Congratulations! You all absolutely killed it out there!”. In the background however, Hu and Zhen’s gaze silently met each other. No words were said, but it was as if both had a mutual acknowledgement of each other.

“Next match is back home right? I’ll take you all back home in my private jet. It’s go time!”

And as the lot headed back to the Lisander airport to return home, the two captains stood side by side. It was official now.

Hu Winwei would carry on the torch from Zhen Hoezhi. Carrying the Flaming Dragon as high as it can go.

NEXT MATCHES:

Matchday 9
Yangchenia vs New Rotterdam City
at Dome of the Thunder Panda, Lhamo, Yangchenia

Matchday 10
Yangchenia vs Macbon
at Dome of the Thunder Panda, Lhamo, Yangchenia

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Images are AI-generated.

Yangchenia Blazing Dragons is a trademark owned by Yangchenia Sporting Commission and Saichen Group. All rights reserved.

[Aphrilia]

PART 4 / The Runs And Races For The Crown (3 of 3) (Educational, Informal)
Written by Emma Rhodes
This is a continuation of this previous post that I made. To understand the context of this post, please read the previous entry and the starting post!

THE MAJOR MILE RACES
NATIONAL MILE CHAMPIONSHIP
Limited to three-year old and above colts & fillies
Distance of 1600m/8F, Turf Surface, Salterford Racecourse, Clockwise

It's one of the two Grade I races held at a mile that three year olds can enter, and it's also the only one that can be ran by horses past their classic year. The National Mile Championship, or NMC for short, is held on the third week of September which is only a week before the Sovereign Cup Autumn. Inaugurated in 1941, it's considered to be the premier mile race of the Aphrilian racing calendar since it's conception as it was heavily marketed and it's timing on the schedule is perfect for three year old horses. It was considered as an unofficial Grade I and the race was granted official Grade I status in 1984, the year when the grade system was introduced. Notable winners include Frivolous in 2024 for becoming the first ever horse to do a triple (Rosschester Stakes, National Mile Championship, and then Collaboration Cup), Espoir Register in 2001 for finally winning a Central GI after having made the switch from dirt to turf in 1999 and becoming a dual-surface Grade I winner, and Beautiful Metal in 1994 as she won by forcing other horses to make way for her through sheer strength.

COLLABORATION CUP
Limited to four-year old and above colts & fillies
Distance of 1600m/8F, Turf Surface, Luther Racecourse, Clockwise

One of the most unique races in the entirety of Eluwa is held in Aphrilia, known as the Collaboration Cup. The race is held on the second week of November. It was originally inaugurated as the Grade III EasE Mile Cup in 1987, before it was promoted to a Grade II race in 2000. However, only a few years the race had been promoted to Grade II status in 2003, the Sangonomiya Racing Association (SRA) and the Associative Racing Committee of Atlan (ARCA) announced alongside the AHRA that the EasE Mile Cup would become the Grade I EasE Collaboration Cup in order to strengthen the bond between the three countries. Game development company EasE Games would drop the sponsorship in 2011. Notable winners of the race include the likes of Identity Crisis in 2023 for bringing the first Grade I win ever to his trainer alongside jockey and owner, Liberal Anthem (ATL) in 2010 for completing a full Atlanian 1-2-3 of the race alongside country representatives Jacque Milo and Bretagne Lead, and lastly Spring Dance (SGN) in 2014 to become one of the few horses to win Grade I races in all five countries that host them (Aphrilia, Sangonomiya, Atlan, Brunstadt, and Novo Victoria).

ROSSCHESTER STAKES
Limited to four-year old and above colts & fillies
Distance of 1600m/8F, Turf Surface, Rosschester Racecourse, Clockwise

The newest race to have been promoted to Grade I status, for the longest time, the Rosschester Stakes was considered a Grade II ever since it's conception in 1980. It would only officially gain that grade when the grade system was introduced in 1984, it served as a major prep race for plenty of the Grade I races held after it. The first weekend of August also kicks off Grade I races in Aphrilia after the entire break month of July with the Aphrilia International just two weeks after, the National Mile Championship and Sovereign Cup Autumn a month and a half after, and the Adel City Cup coming in just after two months. The race was finally elevated to Grade I status in 2017. Notable winners of this race include 2017 Oaks hero Fish in 2019 for once again winning with her iconic chasing from the back strategy, Perfume Operation in 2017 as despite being eased down by his jockey so much no one could catch up to him before eventually winning by four lengths, and Medallion Blast'A in 2021 as this was the race that decided if she would run in Sangonomiya's Mile International (She won, and then proceeded to win what is arguably one of the richest mile races in Eluwa).

AHRA-ARNN MILE CUP
Limited to three-year old colts & fillies
Distance of 1600m/8F, Turf Surface, Bellerick Racecourse, Counterclockwise

Held on the first week of May, some consider the AHRA-ARNN Mile Cup to be the most prestigious of the mile races as you can only run it in your classic year. This distinction, as well as the fact that it is run on the first week of May (Three weeks after the Indianapolis Oaks and two after the Indianapolis Derby), has people consider the race as an alternative to the Lady Covenant or St Arthur. Inaugurated in 1899 as the Bellerick Stakes, it was considered a Third Tier race, and then an unofficial Grade III by the turn of the century and at the time it was largely due to the schedule. It became an unofficial Grade II in 1926, and then an unofficial Grade I in 1949 due to it's rising popularity as an "alternative" to the usual Triple Crown/Tiara schedule. It was officially granted Grade I status in 1984. Among the winners of this race, notable ones include the likes of How Dare in 1993 after having won the 24K Guirnseas and Indianapolis Derby as he was unsuited to anything longer than 12F, Toothpaste in 2019 for dismounting her jockey on the victory lap and being seemingly unbothered by it, and January First in 1997 for defeating Empirico (This defeat of his is considered the official catalyst to his reign of terror on sprints).

ELIZABETH CHAMPIONSHIP
Limited to four-year old and above fillies
Distance of 1600m/8F, Turf Surface, Lysenne Racecourse, Counterclockwise

Out of all the Grade I mile races, the Elizabeth Championship is the only one that is restricted to fillies only. It serves as one of the two senior filly only races, with the Adel City Cup being the other one. Held on the final week of April, it was inaugurated originally as the Lady Elizabeth Stakes in 1872 and that name is still sometimes used to refer to this race. At the time it was rated as a Second Tier race, but levelled up to First Tier by 1895 and was considered an unofficial Grade I by the new century. It was renamed to the Elizabeth Championship after the original host of the race and a yearly attendant to the race, Elizabeth Mallory, passed away in 1977 after having lived for centuries. It was classified as a Grade I the year the grade system was introduced. Notable winners of this race include Firefly in 1990 as a few weeks after she won this race Firefly had passed away due to natural causes despite heavy supervision of her health, Archaic Love in 1991 for pulling off what is regarded as one of the most absurd last spurts by a racehorse ever to win the race when she had been counted out, and Enterprise in 2006 for appearing through the pack in order to catch up to race leader Admiral Moon before passing her to win the race by a length.

THE MAJOR SPRINT RACES
LYSENNE SPRINT
Limited to three-year old and above colts & fillies
Distance of 1200m/6F, Turf Surface, Lysenne Racecourse, Straight

The only sprint Grade I that is available to three year old horses, while the Lysenne Sprint isn't considered as tough as the Darlingtown Autumn Dash, it proves as challenging. Elevation changes makes the race that much harder to win, and unlike some Aphrilian GI races, the Lysenne Sprint has plenty of it. Established in 1965, it was immediately considered as an unofficial Grade I race from the mere fact that it's held on Lysenne Racecourse alone. Among many of the racecourses that host Grade I races (And graded races in general), Lysenne has a particular reputation of being harsh. Receiving Grade I status the year the grade system was introduced, it's hosted on the second week of August, a week before the Aphrilia International. Notable race winners include Lowpine in 2018 for not only winning the sprint but then proceeding to win what is unofficially known as the Sprint-Mile Classic Triple (He won the AHRA-ARNN Mile Cup, Lysenne Sprint, AND the National Mile Championship), Red Town Road in 2014 for showing off some unprompted tricks during the celebrations, and Sour Candy in 1984 for taking the lead from No So Why in the final 50m of the race.

DARLINGTOWN AUTUMN DASH
Limited to four-year old and above colts & fillies
Distance of 1000m/5F, Turf Surface, Darlingtown Racecourse, Straight

Many Aphrilians consider this sprint to be the toughest out of the three sprint Grade I races in the country, the Darlingtown Autumn Dash is held on the first week of September. Inaugurated in 1913 as the Sprinters Rush Stakes, it was considered at the time to be at Listed level due to the lack of popularity in sprint races, but it would eventually climb the ranks of pedigree. Unofficial Grade III in 1944, unofficial Grade II in 1960, and unofficial Grade I in 1977, just in time for the dominance of legendary Aphrilian sprinter Roundshot. It was given Grade I status in 1984, the year the grade system was introduced. The race weekend is also known as "Roundshot Week" due to her victory still being remembered as one of the most dominant displays of speed. Notable winners include Bucky Bet in 1992 who is a son out of Roundshot and is considered to be her best progeny, Empirico in 1998 as a part of his dominant streak that many consider to have equaled Roundshot herself, and Phoenix Peak in 2006 for having won the race after multiple long breaks due to training injury (Having won the race when he was in his seven year old season).

MACCARINE SPRINTERS STAKES
Limited to four-year old and above colts & fillies
Distance of 1400m/7F, Turf Surface, Maccarine Racecourse, Counterclockwise

The longest of the Grade I sprint races in Aphrilia, the Maccarine Sprinters Stakes has historically been a hotbed of competition between sprinters and milers. It was inaugurated in 1953 just as sprint races were starting to become popular. Due to the competition of it's first edition, it was considered an unofficial Grade II race before being promoted to unofficial Grade I in 1971. While the race would be given Grade I status, it only received that in 1985 as the contention for Grade I was between this race and the now Grade III Royal Sprint Trophy. The race is held on the third week of March, a week after the 24K Guirnseas and one week before the Sovereign Cup Spring. From the list of winners, notable ones include the likes of Carrot City in 1995 for his duel with Miss Pillow Win during the entire race (Before Miss Pillow Win went on to have a really good run of form overall), Dashie Dancer in 2024 for the fact that she has only ever raced between 1600m to 2400m before her owners chose to put her in a sprint race for the first time, and Rose On Shoulder in 2004 for delaying the race due to just not wanting to move into the gates before the start of the race.

[Alanis Star]

Node 93 Special – The delicate checks of sums and balances.

Clementine Lizbeth “Athena Mk. 3” Hinata Tanaka: It is always quite a pain having to deal with computer problems often times. There are just so many factors that contributed to it – from the littlest things such as a missing file or an installation that did not go so well, to resorting the reinstalling the entire operating system, and sometimes even needing a new drive because the old one was… I don’t know, it was cursed? That was the only explanation that I could give for some of these cases. I think the bigger factor – a bit of a double-edged sword if you ask me, was the fact that a lot of the Valentian computers, all of them to be precise, are open and customized to quite a very, very large degree. This is owing to the attitude of the Valentians, along with the system and methods that we have been using all these time for the systems of Valentine Z. It follows a few of them, if you would like to know them a lot!

First and foremost, Free and Open Source Software are the vitals of our systems. FOSS as it is called! Basically, programs that are free and are allowed to be shared with others, and of course, you are free to edit them yourself as well; the codes are available in various reliable and trustworthy websites! The only catch is that often times, there might not be enough support, and this is especially felt when the software and tools tend to be very niche. There are of course community forums and all, but it got difficult when more private and corporate things got involved. When we first started transitioning into using and developing FOSS as the norm for our nation, another slight issue was the lack of financial incentive. Oh, please don’t get me wrong, of course – I am not saying that the Valentians are only in it for the money. A lot of the projects were made with passion, after all. The thing is, of course, we also understand that a lot of the times, perhaps 99% of the time, passion and subsequent exposure do not really net groceries such as food and electricity. And so money was a problem at first when we were starting to get the wheels rolling. Thankfully, one can rely on the Valentians to do the right thing, and that being donations. An average FOSS developer, if they managed to hit 1000 users, can net 20000 NSD a month. After all, support your favorite works!

Another I believe is the nature of our copyright system. It serves mainly and perhaps only to protect who has rightfully made that thing or a concept, and that is more or less it. Once again, you CAN donate to that person for doing and coming up with that great concept, it’s just that they should not and in fact cannot use the copyright system to stop others or to get unethical amounts of money from them. It sounded quite ideal, perhaps to those who are reading this at home. I am not able to comprehend the confounded idea that the creativity can be stifled by someone just because you cannot pay a billion dollars to use that patent that they have. It is both strange and unwise.

Last but perhaps the most important, in my opinion… we do not exactly have a lot of malicious programs and software running around. Again, thanks to the nature of the Valentians for that. With that said, of course, we are more than aware that not everyone is going to be like that, because we absolutely did not forget about the past history. The Pre-Valentian Era has indeed seen a lot of hacking and technological espionage going on, which… from what I have read, lead to the Cold War escalating because there was only so much a person could tolerate before their systems got hacked again for the final time. On top of that, when we have opened up our world to the rest, that is, the multiverse once again, it became more than obvious that we will need our own sets of cybersecurity measures. As mentioned before and then some more, even between Valentians, we rather that we have security and robustness.

So, perhaps you might ask as to how do we do it. Well, learning about and doing white hat hacking definitely helped, of course! With the likes of Intelligence Officer Jenny C. Mayweather Morishita Hoshiko doing the software side of things, and then the likes of Exuberant Superintendent Clarissa Alanis Star Samantha doing more on the hardware, it does seem like we got ourselves covered. Pretty neat, we thought to ourselves as well. Oh and just to make things clear, I am not saying that only Jenny and Clarissa are behind the effort; we have billions and billions of IT folks and AI like myself contributing to this effort. Eventually, by around 2075, I believe, we hit a brick wall whereby we did not have further developments on the cybersecurity side. As a result, we went into the multiverse approach and started buying storage devices and computers that are infected with assorted types of malware and viruses. Do we still call them that? The latter, not the former. Anyway – we bought them or simply took them with us back to Valentine Z, used isolated networks, and then of course, we would then see if we can reverse the many effects of the malwares. Oh, yes. Of course Eveline can help us out, what with time reversal being the ultimate thing. However, both herself and we agreed that overreliance on her would not exactly be best methods to sustain in the future.

And so there you have it – a little glimpse into the software and hardware aspects of Valentine Z and by extension Alanis Star. There are definitely a lot more to this than what I have mentioned, of course, and I would like to also make it clear that I have no authority on any of this. I am just another nice little (okay, not THAT little) robot that is working for the betterment of ourselves and for the friends and family around us! Happy times for all, though this is not happening with Node 93’s Diodes recently. A slow and awkward start against these teams. Perhaps it’s time to tweak our variables and methods a little, hehe. I should work with my team more soon, especially Janice.

[Ko-oren]

Club Names

A point of contention for nearly six decades: club names. If we speak Gehrennan - well, most of us - then why are all of our clubs named so visibly English, French, Dutch, Japanese - well, most of our clubs? This goes back to where football, and well, organised sports in general, started in Ko-oren. If you had hoped for a spirited piece showing how cool Ko-orenite fan culture is and why these names are so in tune with their communities: jog on, this is unfortunately not that piece, nor will you find much like that in Ko-oren. We're a nation of administrators and planners, not really a nation of giving cool names to cool things.

Football arrived on Ko-orenite shores during the era of steam and electricity, in a time when the nation barely had much of a national government. For a nation that's so centrally governed, it seems wild, but the decentral periods outnumber and largely outlast the central periods in our history. It's just that the last two centuries or so have been central and it's unlikely that we'll ever go back - never say never - but just so you know, this was a very different Ko-oren back then. We're a good century and a half after Mausorunen's Mistake, where various city and regional governments tried to bully the fragile national government into a subordinate role. By now, nationbuilding had been under way for a while, but in most areas of the country, allegiances still were with the city or the region, not the country. It was at this point in time where Ko-oren tried to rapidly adopt modern Calanian practices: in art, in science, in organisation and administration, in engineering and construction, agriculture, and so on.

The Calanians thought they were dealing with a single nation that had invited their expertise. The Ko-orenite national government had the mandate to define Ko-oren's foreign affairs as if the nation were one entity.

The Ko-orenite cities that received the help were hell-bent on making sure that the help stayed only with them.

That Calanian help brought with them the rules of their sports, which looked like a lot of pastimes that already existed on the archipelago, but they were never brought in line with the rules of the continent. But as the Ko-orenites were already adopting foreign practices, they also adopted these rules.

The climate in Ko-oren - the warmer south, the colder north - and which nation helped out which area are the two factors that help you determine which sport flourished where. And that, in turn, is correlated with the language used to name clubs and other things. Take the southwest: English-speaking Calanian nations sent their representatives there, and with the warmer climate, they had a lot of success with cricket - as well as association football and rugby union - and as such, the clubs have adopted English names. That's why the city of Garihnkatar is 'globally' known as Greencaster, despite attempts to popularise the Gehrennan former, why their clubs are called things like Sydberg Olympia and the Greencaster Godspeed. It also explains why our cricket regions are West Surbourneshire, Leeshire, and so on, instead of what you would expect: Garihnkatar, Ilohbonu, Mauroren, Ahungoren, Turanlohm-Shahrigarihn, and Uruhrauzehn.

Clubs that were founded well after the fact are a little 50-50 on what they chose. Either they went Gehrenna, naming things after what the people there actually call them, or they wanted to invoke a bit of nostalgia by picking the foreign option.

Some sports went all in on the foreign names: field hockey, cricket, both rugby codes, gridiron, baseball. Some sports were more Gehrennan-coded, like ice hockey. And only 'real' native sports like orienteering used exclusively Gehrennan.

In modern times, we see that the pendulum is slowly, so slowly, ever so slowly moving back to Gehrennan a little bit. Two centuries into the centralisation of Ko-oren. Politically - that is, the democratic side of our politics - the pendulum is moving towards Gehrennan even faster. It's not just a conservative or nationalist opinion to question names like 'Leeshire United' - it's not been called Leeshire for over a century, so who in the world are they trying to unite? Clubs and fans are still unwilling to budge, but the cracks are starting to appear - is it time for Seterdahn VV versus Amahne CS, in the same weekend as the Hohniwekh-Tohrikenna Combination playing the Tuhranahmi Valkyries?

Ah, it looks like the FCs, nicknames, and other suffixes have yet to do some work.

[Anewkansas]

Five observations ahead of the Dhemixia Clash

The one game to determine the group

Just after the opening game of the group, it seemed as if group twelve could be up for a pleasant surprise. Most foreign observers had already put the name of KPB+ ranking leader Squornshelous Remnant States in pencil for the World Cup but the Baman and Juket Liberationists put a scare on the Black-and-Reds with a shocking 2-1 win. Ever since, nature recovered itself: the unlikely winners of the opening game fell back in the table while the SRS scored 31 goals in their next six games to ensure a perfect record, regaining the number one spot. The highlight of their destruction tour must be the 9-1 over United Adaikes, a team that might not be worldbeaters but definitely know a thing or two about football, as they showcased when our Red Turtles visited Adaik’s C’ntral.

As such, the focus is back on the second place in the group and the attached ticket to the playoffs. The duel between the number two and three as such is as big as they come. So far, brand-new coach Trevor Augustus can look back on a good track record, only dropping points on the road against the SRS and United Adaikes. The experience for the Serpents was similar, but an additional loss at Alanis Star did put them on the backfoot and has them chasing the top two ever since. In his pre-match conference, Augustus refused to call this the crucial match of the campaign but it is hard to see it as something else. If the Red Turtles can prevail at St Julie’s Den, they create a six-point gap on Doug McMahon’s troops. Not an unbridgeable gap by all means, but one that allows Anewkansas at least one mistake in the run-up to the final match of the campaign, the reversed fixture which could well see the play-off ticket up to play for.


The two-striker litmus test

Of our thirteen goals scored so far in this campaign, ten saw an involvement of either Lemar Philips or Pershing Major. Philips (five goals, two assists) is considered to be the standout chess piece on the board by Augustus, who reverted the traditional 4-5-1 in a striking partnership. The fast Officers Club forward delivered for his coach, combining his known acceleration with more than acceptable statistics. Not all his performances have been stellar (against United Adaikes, he seemed missing from the conversation) but so far, this has not been held against him. Next to him, Pershing Major (three goals, four assists) converted to his new role quite well. Instead of being the sole striker up front, his role diverted more into holding up the ball to allow others to join in or to serve as a springboard for Philips. Ahead of the qualification, there were rumors that Major accepted this role disgruntledly but so far, the Sporting Sixth man lives up to the chivalrous reputation for which he is known. The way he forced the liberating 1-0 against Francanada, winning the first duel, opening up space, rushing to the first post and eventually assisting the ball with his head: that’s exactly what Augustus has been putting on the blackboard.

But against the Remnant States, the duo could not force anything. And the last test, facing the trio Sniders, Tenley and Gonzalo of the enthusiastic United Adaikes team, saw them without a goal involvement again: a Sevilla strike was needed to drag a point out of the fire. It is not that their individual quality lacks to play these sorts of games, but it feels as if the Turtles play with two different attacks rather than a single striking unit when they have to fall back deeper. If that pattern continues against Dhemixia, Augustus must start wondering whether this line-up works against the stronger opponent or whether he needs to engineer an alternative. And fast, as every loss of point will be costly in this group.


The third encounter of the close kind

While the majority of the opponents in our group are new names to face, the Dhemixian names will ring a few bells for Anewkansan football fans (the now thrice beaten Alanis Star being the other notable exception to a list of previously unfaced teams). The Cup of Harmony, which holds so many sweet memories for the Anewkansan squad, left a completely different taste in the mouth for the Serpents. With its small field, some international observers did not see it as a full international trophy but those involved noticed a unique opportunity for silverware. For the Dhemixians, everything was in the making to break their duck and pick up the triumph. The start was not stellar, with their lowest point a 2-0 loss against unlikely and unseeded… Anewkansas. The brilliant rush of Juan-José Sevilla through the heart of the defence could have cost McMahon’s job but was also the start of a redemption arc: the Serpents stomped through their next three games to qualify for the knock-outs.

If they wanted to write their Cinderella story, they needed to show their development against, yes, Anewkansas again. If life was a medium-quality teenage movie, this was where Dhemixia completely got rid of their complexes and earned the mental boost to go all the way to the final. But this is football, where an early goal from the still-present, still dangerous Marvin Bolton got countered by a header from Pershing Major and a screamer from Marcus Puckett. Twice, the Dhemixian clash showed our Turtles that they can take on a higher ranked team, that the philosophy of wanting it more actually works sometime. So who will get their way in the third Reptilian Rendezvous between the Serpents and the Turtles? Will McMahon get the revenge he undoubtedly aches for by cracking the low block from Augustus? Or will Anewkansas prove that that Cup of Harmony was not just a perfect storm but rather the setup to what they potentially can be, a World Cup qualifying team?


The four days left before the Pesonen Case

It seems as if Trevor Augustus spent most of the pre-match press meeting not saying things. No, this is not a decisive match, no, he did not feel like throwing away his tactical plan after the Adaikes draw and no, he did not consider changing out Jouko Pesonen on goal. The BlackWood Industries goalkeeper, vital for the CoH triumph, has so far made a bumpy ride out of his campaign. At times, Pesonen was stellar: his masterclass against Alanis Star could well be the decisive three points with an eye on the final table. But in between, there have been more mediocre performances to downright devastating moments. Facing the Batavia, Pesonen let in two goals that could easily be avoided and most pundits agree that he could have done more when Fito Conway opened the score with a clever touch through the middle for United Adaikes. Former goalkeepers rushed to the defense of Pesonen (who had anticipated a more expected touch by Page) but they too had to agree that the optics of the situation were not good. To say that Jouko Pesonen has not been himself so far is an understatement. His relationship with the crowd also turned sour, not just for his rollercoaster form but mainly over the duality caused by an upcoming lawsuit.

The brother of the national goalkeeper, 21-year old Antti Pesonen, is put on trial for attacking and wounding an Anewkansan citizen. If the malicious intent of that attack is established, Antti P.’s yellow permit will undoubtedly be revoked. This means de facto an expulsion from the national territory, a measure that is sometimes extended to the direct family of the convicted person. Such a step does not seem to be asked for Jouko Pesonen but his parents could be under risk, depending on the viewpoint of the judge. Needless to say that this situation is weighing down on the goalkeeper. First of all, there is the added mental pressure but some podcasters questioned whether Pesonen will be able to defend the colours of a nation contemplating extradition of his closest family. Everyone in and around the selection proclaimed that Pesonen is ‘ready and fit’ to play for the Turtles but the genie is out of the bottle: every step from the tormented goalkeeper will be followed closely. Pesonen himself has refused to comment on the trial, something which seems sensible for him to do but has led to outrage from some right-wing observers. Those want Pesonen to openly proclaim his support for the contested Anewkansan policy to revoke ‘yellow permit’s based on criminal cases. In short, Jouko Pesonen will not get under the crossbar untroubled and not just over the upcoming encounter with Marvin Bolton and upcoming talent Jonathan Obisana.


The fifth yellow not only puts a card Marchand in trouble

In the long list of things Trevor Augustus denied, the next one was that Guy Marchand is a liability. The robust defensive midfielder of the IntraFin Beavers and the national team has a specific skillset to break down the opposing attack (quite often involving taking out the hacksaw). In a way, it is exactly what you put him on the pitch for. But that does not always rub the right way with international referees, resulting in a total of five yellow cards across seven starting spots. With that, Marchand earned himself a day off on the sin bin, not the first time in his international career. While domestic arbiters tend to be a little more lenient towards his profile of player, that kite does not fly in the shirt of the Turtles. As it is not the first time, most managers tend to have a straightforward solution to Marchand’s absence. Pitt Van Dam is not a pound-for-pound replacement (a bit more of a football player and less strong in the air) but usually does a good job to finish the game when Marchand is flirting with a second carton.

But does Trevor Augustus dare to play Van Dam for ninety minutes as well? This happened before, but usually against weaker opposition, not when players such as Clarke or Hawkins need to get neutralized. Augustus has shown cautiousness previously in the campaign: does he dare to play with two forwards, Puckett, Sevilla and McIntyre protected just by Van Dam? Or does he throw out the regular playbook and finds alternatives where Shaffer or Herrington ensure a better midfield balance? Few anticipate that the partnership in attack (the signature move from Augustus) will have to go but Juan-José Sevilla might be at risk. A shame as the creative Sporting Sixth man has the composure and talent to score vital goals but cannot always be inserted into the plan next to the attacking wealth and the importance (and ego) of Puckett. The suspension of Marchand makes the dichotomy even sharper for Trevor Augustus. Will the Turtles walk out with the desire to bring dominant football, aiming for a win? Or will they give the initiative to the Serpents (who need a win), hoping to bank on the counterpunch? The latter seems more likely, but could require some last-minute changes to the line-up.

[Crpostran]

[Katzeburg]

Katzeburg 5-1 Atheara
Hershey 11', Coburn 26', 51', Godfrey 60', Wruck 83' // Falharask 38'

13 Sage Head, 2 Katharine Howland, 14 Cale Fux, 4 Monday Mynatt (Winton Burgstaller 65'), 5 Laurence Herman, 19 Brandt Godfrey (Serena Plank 65'), 7 Joachim Newell, 34 Gwen Sessions, 17 Desiree Lynton, 21 Leith Coburn (Drake Wruck 65'), 22 Walton Hershey

Possession - 70% / 30%
Shots - 17 / 7
Shots on Target - 12 / 3
Fouls - 12 / 12

(OOC Note - Images for LoE and some of the KBC site have been generated using AI. For best viewing quality, please follow this link.)

The following is an excerpt from a series of articles published by leading Katzeburgian gaming magazine Starter Life.

"I'd like to say it was all intentional from the get-go, but I fell into the life. There wasn't a single day for about eight years where I wasn't spending most of my day in Lands of Eternia."

In a PvP game where death threw you right back to the start, the mechanics which allowed players to rise to the top through their skill in combat was a system which drew a lot of people into Lands of Eternia, if almost entirely because it was unlike anything which existed to that point. Combat in Katzeburgian games up to that point was generally watered down; kept simple to allow players to tap into the wider casual audience. While there were games which swung for the fences in terms of combat difficulty and consequences, these often fared poorly when it came to commercial success.

So when Lands of Eternia brought in a select group of beta testers to stress-test the limits of its systems before a wider release, it's fair to say that developers Mercer Software were disappointed when the majority of the small beta testing group went to spend the bulk of their times in other systems away from combat. That is, except for one person - who would go on to hone their craft and become the scariest name to cross on the Eternia Island battlefield for close to a decade. A player who would become the ultimate gun-for-hire; taking on any job for the right price and becoming enshrined in the lore of the game itself - as did the eventual moment they hit the ground for the first and only time.

To most people who encounter him in the South Inverhaven branch of Lebensmarkt, you'd be forgiven for thinking that store assistant manager Tobias Wydll was a relatively run-of-the-mill type of guy. Mild-mannered and approaching his 50th birthday, he's someone who greets customers with a smile and no problem is a problem too small for him to handle - often rocketing around the store at pace to ensure that everything is in ship-shape. "I don't know how younger me would handle seeing the person he became all these years later," Tobias told us one afternoon in the breakroom of the store. "But hey, I have a full-time job and somewhere to live where I am happy; to me now, that's a huge victory."

Tobias was a teenager when Lands of Eternia opened up its beta testing window and was one of the initial players who first stepped onto Eternia Island, playing under the username of Wyld_Gunslinger - seemingly taking the fantasy setting of the game itself to task right off the bat with his username alone. "I used to inhabit a lot of the online gaming forums back in the day and it was on one of them that I saw someone post about the game and how they were looking for beta testers. It seemed like a bit of a laugh and I was young, dumb, and full of cu- curiosity as to how a game like this would go, so I thought 'why not?'"

While many other players explored the social and economic elements of the game, Tobias instead yearned for the mines, where a good chunk of early game combat content could be found and within the first few weeks of the beta test, he had spent the majority of time working exclusively on his combat stats. "There was just something which appealed to me in the combat system," he said. "I think it was a bit of that risk-vs-reward knowing if you messed up too much and died, you'd be right back at the start. Again - I was young and had a lot of spare time, so I lost hours to those mines and in-game dungeons."

By the time the game released to the wider public, Tobias quickly became one of the strongest fighters in the game, with a deep knowledge of the combat system and a strong haul of goods and equipment built up over days of grinding. His reputation for fighting didn't spread quickly at first though, only sprouting up after he found himself in the middle of an in-game altercation. "I remember it like it was yesterday," he told us, looking up towards the ceiling of the break room. "I was grinding Mana Boars down at the edge of the Severnster River to try and get a really rare piece of loot when I saw a few members of a guild advancing on a couple of lower-level players who were for the most part, minding their own business. Turns out, that guild were well-known for extorting lower-level players to hand over any solid loot they had, and they were doing it right in front of me.

"They ended up fighting these players, and I was sucked into the battle purely by proximity - I think they thought I was also a low-level player as I was in a low level zone. It was a relatively swift battle once I whipped out my dual magic-pistols."

Tobias fended off the six-strong guild by himself, saving the two lower-level players who quickly gushed at his strength and willingness to protect them. After declining to receive any gifts from them, the two lower level players instead opted to share their tale in the nearby pub and village, birthing the mythos of the Gunslinger. "It was about a week later that players started coming up to me in-game wanting to hire me to protect them. I shoed off the first few until finally a guild came to me with an offer too good to turn down - it was something like 2,500 gold for a simple escort job between villages. The move went off without a hitch and I thought - hey, this could be easy money here."

Tobias was one of the first mercenaries on Eternia Island, offering his own skills out for those who were willing to pay while spending the rest of his time grinding in-game to ensure he continued to be a devastating force on the battlefield. Over the next few years, his in-game profile would continue to rise as he supported on a number of major in-game moments - such as the first ever-clearance of the Archact Dungeon and its high-level boss Boris the Believer, and the in-game assassination of guild leader Jorge_Champion, sparking several months of infighting between major guilds the Druid Original Guild (DOG) and the Druid Unionist Chapter (DUC), eventually leading to a major land-war between the two in late AK4. His position was close to untouchable in-game - many who dared take him on were often torn apart by Tobias' deep knowledge of the in-game combat systems and the sheer difference in power between himself and his combatant; many players were nowhere near the level of him combat-wise, which often led to lop-sided affairs. Even in moments where he was heavily outnumbered, the Gunslinger would come out on top, only going to further the legend of the player as one person you don't want to be on the wrong side of.

"It had a weird effect on how people approached me while in game," Tobias told us. "People would see me coming on the server and do whatever they could to get the hell away from me - even if I was just doing something simple like dropping off loot. I think it only lent itself further to the overall aura which became the legend to some degree. It was quite a lonely life, truth be told."

Tobias had his fair share of suitors when it came to guilds vying for his permanent affiliation - knowing that if they could get the Gunslinger on board, they'd instantly become the guild which would rule Eternia Island - but Tobias never found a permanent home, wandering from group to group and moment to moment. "Some of the guilds were offering ridiculous things trying to get me to join them permanently," he said. "I was offered at one point a year's worth of real-life movie tickets and an all-expenses paid trip to South Newlandia from a pair of competing groups. But why would I need them? I had the game, and that was where all my free-time went."

As a result of the mystique of the Gunslinger, little is actually known about what Tobias spent so much time in game doing. He previously turned down all requests for an interview from leading paper the Eternia Times, while even while chatting to us he was relatively coy about what he did for thousands of hours in game. "It was mostly grinding," he chuckled. "Grinding and helping those who found their way to me."

By AK5, Tobias had been playing Lands of Eternia for eight years, and his status at the top was so well-known he had become the objective for a series of quests implemented by the developers themselves - to most players, getting taken out by the Gunslinger himself was a source of pride. No-one actually thought they could take him down. That was, until another long-time LoE player decided it was worth taking a shot at the Kaiser. Known only by their username, Silver_Knight, this player had long-been in that second echelon of skilled combat players in game, picking up the game shortly after public launch and investing thousands of hours into the game as well. While they didn't go down the mercenary path that Tobias did, they did find a permanent home in the Eternia Island Protection (EIP) guild, a group dedicated to ensuring an equitable land that everyone could enjoy without fear of reprisal from skilled PvPers.

It wouldn't be until the Gunslinger accepted a job to take out a town leader in October AK5 that the two would converge on a final path towards the other. The town leader was under the protection of the EIP, with the town itself dedicated to being a safe zone for new and old players alike. So when the Gunslinger rolled into town and started fighting towards the leader and everything the town stood for, the EIP activated and threw everything they could at the man. "It was an epic battle in the end," Tobias recalled. "I think I took down about 20 players over the course of an hour as I pushed through into the town's central square. I knew there was going to be a lot of trouble, but the pay was ridiculous for what was being offered. That greed bit me hard in the end."

The Gunslinger tore through a chunk of the EIP team protecting the town leader, but not without taking a fair amount of damage themselves - but bruised, they finally came across Silver_Knight, who was the last person standing between them and the town leader. And so a final battle would commence, with what many viewing it at the time saying it represented the battle for the game's future at its core. The EIP were fighting to preserve the new-game experience from people like the Gunslinger, pressing down on top of new players purely because of the time they've spent in game. The Gunslinger meanwhile, was only there because there was a job to be done. And do the job was the aim of the game. The battle between the two lasted more than half an hour as other players flocked to the central square to see two of the game's top combatant's fight it out to the death. In the end, after a brutal fight between the two - the Gunslinger would fall; the damage sustained on the initial push into the town too much to overcome against the full-health Silver_Knight.

"I would have had him if we had been on level terms," Tobias laughed. "At the end of the day, I always knew it was going to be the equivalent of a bleed out which got me. But hopefully the crowd got one hell of a show."

The Gunslinger now fallible, players across Eternia Island were shocked that such a long-standing icon of the game fell in such a manner. For Tobias, the desire to return to the top was all but gone as well. "I felt like I had achieved everything I wanted to do, and went out in rather dramatic terms," he told us all these years later. "I had no need for a second character, as any more time spent in the game would have been stripping away the enjoyment from that first time around."

Tobias left a huge mark on Lands of Eternia as a whole, with the battle between him and Silver_Knight enshrined in lore by the developers, rocketing the Knight into the spotlight as the man who killed the Kaiser, and putting the Gunslinger in the pantheon of all-time iconic residents of Eternia Island.

"It was hard going cold turkey from the game after I died," Tobias said. "That game was my life for my early twenties, and it was hard to have that ripped away all at once. But life moves on. I moved on. I'll never forget those memories and that's all that is important at the end of the day."

---

Katzeburg put five past Blue Guard to keep playoff pressure on

By Otis Huffman, KBC

A rotated Katzeburg side put in one of the nation's best showings in the cycle so far, knocking five past Atheara to keep pressure on the playoff spots in Group 21. In front of a capacity crowd at Axmund's Maplewood Park, the Blue Cats ran out a heavily rotated squad in their first game since coming in off the Bye, with Axmund United keeper Sage Head being handed her debut at the stadium of her club's fiercest rivals being the key talking point. But any nerves from the support that the changed side would struggle to get out of the gates was quickly swept away, as Walton Hershey opened the scoring after 11 minutes, before Leith Coburn would find her first Katzeburg goal since the World Cup 99 Qualifiers midway through the opening half. Coburn would double her tally shortly after the resumption of play, restoring the side's two goal buffer after Atheara would pull one back in the 38th minute through a Viviana Falharask header.

But the second half was all one-way traffic for the Blue Cats, with Brandt Godfrey picking up his first Katzeburgian national team goal with a stunning effort from the edge of the box, before Drake Wruck would put the nail in the coffin - tapping home a loose ball after coming off the bench to secure a strong win for the hosts and giving the side their third straight three-goal-plus winning margin at home - an unprecedented run which instills a bit of faith in the side's home form after their crashing 3-1 loss to Natkr on the opening day of the cycle.

"It's a good run to be on - knowing we can put a few past opponents in front of a home crowd," manager Becka Haberkorn told media following the side's win over Atheara. "But these are the games we're expected to be winning, at home and against much lower ranked sides. The real big test will be coming up for us in a couple of weeks against Pasarga - we've already dropped points at home to a solid side in Natkr, we need to correct the record. The next two games will be a huge swing point for our campaign I reckon - Felinetopia will be an interesting clash as it's very much a proper Cat Derby which will all but throw form out the window, and with that game and our return clash against Natkr next up, we have a real tough pair of away games on our hands that we need to put in a good shift for."

Katzeburg currently sit in third in Group 21 after seven games, two points behind Kaumann - who the Blue Cats dispatched 7-2 only a couple of games earlier - and six behind leaders Pasarga, who dropped their first points of the campaign in a 0-0 draw against Natkr on matchday seven. But it's the next couple of matches which could see huge swings in the group, with Katzeburg due to face fourth-placed Felinetopia away before taking on fifth-placed Natkr as the campaign shifts into the second half. For Katzeburg to stand a real chance of keeping in the race for the playoffs, they will need to navigate the next two games with some security - a zero point window would drastically close the window for the Blue Cats to sneak through into the World Cup and likely, the hopes of manager Becka Haberkorn to see the side through another World Cup campaign.

[Savojarna]

So you want to come watch a qualifier in Sjoedrhavn?
Part 2: The Capital

Savojarna are back in the World Cup after a long absence, and it is the best attended World Cup Qualifier in ages. As a result, we are expecting many new visitors to our capital city of Sjoedrhavn, where Northlight games are played. This series introduces international visitors to the Savojar capital, piece by piece.

Sjoedrhavn is a rich, powerful, and proud city. Having reigned over its surroundings for centuries, there are many facets to discover here. The late Imperial writer and journalist Lars Johan Helmström hailed from the town of Karshaug in central Vestrholm, but had settled in Sjoedrhavn as a student and fully embraced the city as his own. He frequently wrote about the city and his relationship to it, and also liked sketching his neighbours when sitting in the cafés of the Kjellberg neighbourhood where he lived for much of his adult life. In his book “When the Fog Clears Away”, he writes that “Sjoedrhavn may be one city on the map, but it really is three to its citizens - the city that rules, the city that trades, and the city that works”.

The City That Rules - but not since always

Back when the city of Sjoedrhavn got founded, in the year of 972 (at least officially - there was a fishermen’s settlement there before), power resided not in the south, but in the far north of the country, with the Emperors of Storevik and the Kings of Jarnstad. What power existed down south was concentrated elsewhere: on the central southern coast in Birja and in the southwestern coast with Valdhamn. Sjoedrhavn was just a harbour city ruled by the Lords of Thyershem, a large rural castle about 20 minutes north of Sjoedrhavn you can visit still and governed by its local merchants. Those merchants realised they had a highly valuable port on their hands, but with the Thyershem dynasty focused on expanding to the east and trading with Sumanen, they were an afterthought.

This all changed when an ambitious Birjan noble by the name of Halvard Thorgeirsson, known as Halvard the Wanderer (or locally as Great Halvard), left his ancient holdings and made a proposal to the merchants of Sjoedrhavn: If they elected him as their leader and allowed him to build a fort on today’s Stadens öy, he would be investing wealth into the harbour and defend trade ships to the mainland. Thyershem accepted the proposal in 1139, believing that conflict between the merchants and Halvard’s budding dynasty would break the alliance soon. Instead, Halvard’s descendants quickly built both a fortune and a power base that can be seen in Stadens öy. Visit the Imperial Palace in the city centre to see the story of Sjoedrhavn’s rise retold with many original artifacts.

Sjoedrhavn as the capital

By 1362, Sjoedrhavn’s leaders had not only replaced the Thyershem dynasty and adopted the title of “Sydjarl”, but also made themselves the most important regional player south of Thorsborg, and gained a foothold on the mainland by marrying into the ruling line of Savojagrad as well. At the same time, Imperial power got undermined to the point that many other southern areas, broke away from the Empire - until Sjoedrhavn’s rulers offered an alternative: Band together to challenge the formally still elected emperors of Storevik, and shift power south. They failed in 1391, but succeeded in 1402 as Erik “the Southerner” Ingvildsson Sydjarl got elected as Emperor of Savojarna, starting a 500 year period of Imperial rule from the city that would only be broken when the Revolution of 1909 brought the entire Empire to its knees. But Savojarna would continue to be ruled from the south as the revolutionaries chose the city as its capital. While the Imperial Castle got transformed into the museum it is now, and many of the old symbols of Imperial power were torn down or defaced, the old Parliament building from the 19th century (Tinghuset) is still used as the site of the national assembly.

Signs of Sjoedrhavn’s past as a seat of power remain everywhere. A good starting point to experience it is the Imperial Castle on Stadens öy (blue or yellow line to Operaen, or walk from central station). Take the museum tour that informs you of Sjoedrhavn’s rise to power, and check out the Imperial splendour inside. Then, follow the street called “Muren” - a large boulevard that both follows the old city walls and shows off 19th century representative architecture. At Helvars torg, turn north towards the Savojarsk Bank - an imposing building constructed in 1766 - and follow Revolutionsgatan, where you will see statues of revolutionary heroes Daniel Engström, Perl Kruger, Carl Gustaf Bjurman (yes, the one from the stadium), Viktor Fjällgren, and the Memorial of Fallen Workers. Finish your tour at Tinghuset and eat the stellar cake sold in the parliament cafe.

[Choppyhausen]

Danny
Back to back 2-1-wins!!!

We win these!!!

Phyllis
Crazy that we're still at the top

Chris
The poor team from TJUNI-ia. Two losses and it turned from a three-way fight into a two-way fight without them.

Danny
That's what happens when you get demolished by your closest competitors lol

Alexis
i wouldn't call a 2-1 win with 11v10 and an own goal a 'demolition' lmao

and there's eight games left, everything can still happen

Danny
well the red card was their own fault

and the own goal was pretty much forced, Lukeson would have got that otherwise

but okay

Chris
What were your favorite players the last two games, everyone?

Danny
definitely not Corte lol

that last minute miss against Behh was atrocious oof

Alexis
Yeah Corte didn't look to good in Behh, i hope he'll get out of that hole soon

i really liked Lauritz even though he only played for like 20min combined

Phyllis
Tyr would be my call, really underrated

96% pass accuracy with crosses like the one before the 0-1 in Behh is crazy

but i like Lauritz too

Chris
I think my favorite player was Keil.

Alexis
kinda basic bc he got 2 goals but i get it he's pretty good currently

Danny
so guys, you excited for the real WC soon? How long do you think Choppyhausen will last?

Phyllis
okay, hold your horses buddy, we're like halfway

if Valentine Z wins tomorrow, we're already back in the playoff spot

Danny
and then we're just gonna beat them again, easy

Phyllis
I'd love to have your optimism ._.

But go on, buy tickets for the final and if you're really really really lucky, Choppyhausen will play lmao

---

---

World Cup 100 - Group 20 - Matchday 7

Choppyhausen

TJUN-ia

2

1

⚽︎ Mawae (OG) 24’

.. Barrientos 37’
⚽︎ Issigonis 53’

⚽︎ Lukeson 59’

World Cup 100 - Group 20 - Matchday 8

Behh

Choppyhausen

1

2

⚽︎ ??? 36’

⚽︎ Keil 10’, 28’

[Kandorith]

Hikari Kyoyu

---

Illuminating Today

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2075

---

TIE ▼ 0.47 % • BIOTECHNICA ▼ 0.89 % Ƶ353.62 • NEO GEN ▲ 2.14 % Ƶ311.73 • HIYASHI ▲ 1.82 % Ƶ328.71 • SHOGUN ▼ 0.73 % Ƶ355.04 • KOSEN OPTITECH ▲ 0.51 % Ƶ161.13 • KAITO INTL ▼ 1.23 % Ƶ103.44 • GASCORP ▲ 2.67 % Ƶ463.92 • KURODA ▼ 3.51 % Ƶ462.45 • RDD ▲ 1.98 % Ƶ388.35 • RONIN ASSEMBLIES ▼ 0.89 % Ƶ50.23 • AEGIS MEDCORP ▲ 0.72 % Ƶ242.58

World Cup 100 Qualifiers

Kandorith's Rise Keeps Momentum - The Kuroda Effect
by Natsumi Miyasaki | Sports - Football |

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The Kandorese national football team has so far been holding up better than expected in the World Cup 100 qualification campaign. With seven matches now played, Mekahi stands at a 13-point mark and third place in Group 14, beating Kita-Hinode on goal difference. Qualification for Kandorith is still a possibility, as they are six and eight points behind the number one and two teams in the group. So far, Mekahi has been performing solidly in their steady progress towards former glory and keeping momentum with a very dominant 6-3 home win against the Shiverian Republic.

Kuroda is taking the Kandorese Football Association's ultimate goal a whole step further, as Kuroda has now set their eyes on a third-place finishing spot as an absolute must. "Qualifying would of course be the ultimate goal", Kuroda stated "As soon as this campaign started and the KFA told me that a top 5 finish was the goal, I said to them that they were thinking too lowly of our current team. Do I think that we can qualify? Well, yes and no, it also depends on what the rest of the group does, of course. So far, I am really proud of what the team has done, and hopefully from here on, we'll perform even better in the upcoming games."

Performance So Far - Out of The Dark, Into The Light

Kandorith's track record so far is four wins, one draw, and two losses, for a total of 13 points, which is a better performance relative to the World Cup 99 campaign, where Kandorith was at 4-0-3 after seven games, for a total of 12 points. While the jump is not enormous, the goal difference shows a steady improvement over the last campaign. With wins over Minoptra, the North Polish Union and a commanding 6-3 demolition job at the Shiverian Republics, the Kandorese have shown themselves. While a disappointing 4-3 loss against Banija and a 0-2 defeat to Reçueçn were a painful reality check for the team.

The highlight of the qualifiers so far is indeed the win over the Shiverian Republics, a team with 1 point out of 8 matches, which ran into a reignited Kandorese team that played like the Mekahi of old. The Shiverian Republics become completely overwhelmed by the non-stop, relentless Kandorese attacks and the width of the team on the pitch. "It was definitely a statement," Kuroda said. "We really needed a large win to get a good boost in morale. Especially after the painful loss against Reçueçn. From here, we will be looking to keep up the moment, and who knows, we might even have a few surprises in store for the last part of the qualifiers."

Kuroda's Vision - The Future of Kandorese Football

Reina Kuroda's interview after the Shiverian Republics match was clear-cut and full of ambition. "Right now, we are in third with a solid 13 points. Kuroda stated. "While I think we should have had at least three points more, I cannot state enough that the team has been performing solidly and that I am proud of this formation. Third place is one we can hold, but also a spot to build on. Anything can still happen within the remaining nine games to play."

Kuroda's philosophy for the team has been in place since their appointment day one: taking the fight to the opposing team, regardless of how highly ranked or imposing they are. Kuroda is now looking forward to the upcoming away games against Soviet Kem and Minoptra. "Both Soviet Kem and Minoptra are must-win matches for us; the upcoming matches should just be six points for our team, but I can not state enough that we shouldn't become overconfident or even complacent. From here, I will do everything in my power to secure second place in our group. I think the fans in the empire deserve a bit of proper football pride again after all these years"

Group 14
                          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Reçueçn                   7    7   0   0    22    1  +21    21
2 Banija                    7    6   1   0    21    9  +12    19
3 Kandorith                 7    4   1   2    14    9   +5    13
4 Kita-Hinode               7    4   1   2     7    5   +2    13
5 Soviet Kem                7    4   0   3     5    6   −1    12
6 The North Polish Union    7    2   0   5     3    9   −6     6
7 Minoptra                  7    1   1   5     8   17   −9     4
8 Libonesia                 7    1   1   5     8   15   −7     4
9 Shiverian Republics       8    0   1   7    11   28  −17     1

---

Technology & Science
BioTechnica Breakthrough: Ethics VS Science
by Rei Sato | Technology & Science |

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Shikada, the central green city of Kandorith, is, is home to the largest medical and biotechnologybiotech labs of the empire. Here, BioTechnica has been working on one of its most significant projects for decades. Recent trials have completelycompletely shaken the scientific community of the Kandorese empire, as the company seems to be rewriting the the thin line between a person's life and their legacy. BioTechnica's latest trials? Complete organ regeneration based on cloned bioengineered tissue - BioTechnica's answer to the flesh scars of the Kandorese wounded and the sick. The first human trials are set to start, but it is whether they will proceed without major pushback regarding the ethical questions.

BioTechnica was founded in 2038 under the name Hiyashi Biotec as the Hiyashi Corporation sought ways to compete with Neo Gen and Kosen Optitech corporations in the empire's implant and gene therapy markets. By 2059, Hiyashi would even start to compete against Kaito Dynamics' neural augments and AEGIS MEDCORP technology as Hiyashi Biotec recruited more scientists from academic institutions. Now - BioTechnica is split from the Hiyashi Corporation itself and is led by Kiyomi Hiyashi themselves as a sister company to Kiyomi's own established Hiyashi Cosmetics. Operating as a separate entity of Hiyashi, the company now has a market cap of 18 trillion zai. It is the largest gene and medical tech company within the empire, soon looking to become even bigger with this new technology.

The breakthrough where most companies use nanomachines to repair tissue, BioTechnica has chosen a different path,, utilising a patient's own tissue through cloning. According to Kiyomi Hiyashi, this would eliminate the chance of the tissue being rejected by the patient's body and would be a completely scarless and painless treatment for even the most severe burns or combat damage known to humanity. Kiyomi has also stated that the treatments can even be used for radiation damage to a person's body and that they are looking to roll out large-scale trials later this month.

Secrecy, Trials and Backlash

Currently BioTechnica is focusing on a closed trial process with unknown requirements for the participants, it is only known that there are presently 92 early patients on trial at BioTechnica Building 9 - the trials themselves and for what sort of injuries is completely secret and unknown still today but it is rumoured that some of the trailists are factory workers who were caught in the Higaku GasCorp explosion last month.

BioTechnica's announcement of this technology was met with significant backlash from human rights and even political parties, as the ethics of cloning technology have always been a heated debate in the empire. Sora Ito of the Green Party even went as far as calling BioTechnica's research inhumane, demonic and a danger to the Kandorese state and national healthcare. Ikeda of the CDP referred to it as "corporate necromancy" during the latest Gyukyu debate on personal healthcare. "If Hiyashi does not even stop at regenerating actual live tissue, what is next? Actually reviving the dead to create an army for Hiyashi - We are on the brink of the next corporate war if we do not put a halt, or at least lay down strict rules and laws on this kind of science."

BioTechnica, however, was unimpressed with criticism from either group; their response was typical: a massive ad campaign for the upcoming trials, including using maimed children regrowing body parts after a monorail incident. "Scars are of the past - embrace the future with BioTechnica" was the tagline of the over $ 2 billion-dollar costing ad campaign. One of the major researchers on the project also spoke out: "People say we are playing god or creating monsters, we are simply not. We aim to utilise our own cells as a defence againstdefence against our own flaws. A future where healing oneself is accelerated and improved through the means of technology."

Once trials are complete and BioTechnica's board approves the product, the regeneration project will roll out over the course of a year and finally be available in all Hiyashi and BioTechnica clinics by mid-2076. BioTechnica is confident that it will become a significant part of their revenue and is going all in, expecting at least $800 million in revenue within the first four months alone. The Kandorese citizen is divided, however: with 61% of the people approving the technology and the BioTechnica corporation, a 39% minority called it soulless, dangerous or even against the soul of the nation.

[HOT-DAMN]

Palloci Pagoda Park, East Fraternal Twin Cities, Zwangzug
Match 7 of World Cup 100 Qualifying: HOT-DAMN vs. Zwangzug

In the world of international football, particularly in the dog-eat-dog world of World Cup football, there were matches that were givens, and matches that most certainly were not. HOT-DAMN’s match against Vaishnavaria the week before was a given. The beer leaguers, in front of their home fans, struck hard and fast, scoring two goals in a five-minute drill to start the match, before scoring six more to win an 8-3 blowout. This match, against Zwangzug, was most certainly in the other category.

It was a match that Ernie Stevenson, head coach of the HOT-DAMN team, lost a lot of sleep over. It would be three in the morning and instead of sound asleep in that big bed in his Southern Tip home with his wife, he’d be in the basement, in his home office, drinking a glass of warm milk and watching game film of past Zwangzug matches. He’d be trying to find something, anything, that would reassure him that he could find a weakness he could easily exploit. But with a top-flight team like Zwangzug, it was going to be damn near impossible to find that weakness. Usually, a football sicko like Ernie Stevenson could spot a glaring hole in a team from a mile away. That just wasn’t happening on this occasion.

So as Ernie walked to the sideline on match day, you could almost see a hint of nervousness in his face. He always kind of looked cool with the black leather jacket and dark sunglasses. The sunglasses helped to mask some of the tension in his eyes. He was certain that the HOT-DAMN/Zwangzug tilt coming up was going to be close. It was going to feel like a toss-up, to say the least. Sure, Ernie wanted to try the five-minute drill that worked wonders for the beer leaguers in matches past, but he figured a strong team like Zwangzug would have an answer for that. So the beer leaguers decided to shake things up a bit.

The problem with that, though, was that the initial plan failed. The idea of getting off to a strong start in the first 15 minutes just simply didn’t work for the beer leaguers. Instead, Zwangzug got the upper hand in those quick 15 minutes. A quick chance at scoring, courtesy of Cale Mallett, got stopped by a great save from Tinn Jejue. Jejue cleared it out to beer league territory and waiting Zwangzugian players. After a little bit of jockeying, it was Brunnhilde Lavrans, a kind of player Nathan Ellis would have loved on his own team, getting the upper hand. Jim Dash saw Lavrans with the ball and realized that he had to move one way, or the ball would get past him, or possibly the ball would take his own head off.

Jim moved one way. Lavrans faked him out and moved another way. Jim tried to correct, but it was too late. He looked into the net and saw the ball coming to a rest inside it. The Zwangzugians were in a frenzy. Calmly and sadly, Jim got up, picked the ball up and gave it to the referee.

Ernie put his hand on his forehead and wiped some sweat off his brow. These were his worst fears coming to pass – Zwangzug felt most assuredly like the stronger team at this point. And with a 1-0 lead, it felt like they were going to take the three points from the beer leaguers and take an assured lead in the group.

For the next 20 minutes or so, the beer leaguers played catch-up with the Zebras. That’s when Mark Abbott, a recent graduate from Cooter Harris’s School of Fine Football Learnin’, stepped up.

It was the 35th minute, and there was more than a little bit of jockeying for position in the Zwangzug side of the field. It was the kind of jockeying that, in some instances, would have led to a fight. It would have led to punches thrown. But everyone was keeping their cool in this instance. Mark found an opening, realized he had the ball, and sent it towards Tinn Jejue. The motion was just a touch too quick for Jejue, and the ball sailed past Jejue’s hands and comfortably inside the net.

With a pump of the fist and a point towards the TV camera, Mark let the world know that it was him that scored the goal. The butterflies started to dip away from Ernie’s stomach. The beer leaguers had tied it up with the Zebras, and now it felt, once again, like anyone’s game.

A little bit later, as Mark ran over to the sideline, Ernie couldn’t help himself.

“How’d you do it?” Ernie asked.

“Just saw an opening,” Mark said, trying to catch his breath. “If I waited another second it wouldn’t have been there.”

“Well, good on you,” Ernie responded.

At the half, beer league players huddled around Mark, who very clearly saw something that allowed him to score that goal. Mark pointed something out that the rest of the team hadn’t seen.

When the teams came back for the second half, it seemed like the beer leaguers were getting more physical with their Zebra counterparts than they had in the first half. It almost seemed like HOT-DAMN was going to fight a war of attrition with Zwangzug until the final whistle. In the 62nd minute, that war of attrition made its way to the Zwangzugian side of the pitch again, and Justin Cherry had the ball. He was getting tired of having to fight this war of attrition. He had enough, and he saw an opening. So he fired the ball as hard as he could, 20 yards out, and sent it into the back of the net to make it 2-1 in favor of the beer leaguers.

[The Ko-orenite Constellation]

With their one way to end the deadlock potentially ruined, there were talks of letting the first edition of the Constellation Championship take place via invitational tournaments - which means, not have edition one at all and see where things stand in a year or two. It wouldn't surprise you at this point that Irithoren immediately launched their invitational, featuring the weakest opposition they could call up in a short few weeks: Vesturvindoren, Talmagoren, and Arhoren. The latter gave some credence to the tournament until you realise they specialise in cricket - and have been trying to get some Constellation One Day Cup off the ground with little success - and that their football team is somewhat non-existant. To the point where the number four batsman for Arhoren is also their right midfielder. Obviously, Irithoren won all three games - one of them by walkover, as Vesturvindoren couldn't get to the venue in time for the tournament due to the ferry getting frozen into the cold port of Kirkjufjörður.

Ostfalen & Hinterpommoren simply scheduled multiple friendlies versus Brabensia & Batavioren. Where the Constellation thought that would include four teams, closer inspection revealed it were just two teams with long names.

Ndugutisaoren, always looking for a way to one-up the rest but also often a sensible option, called in Meia-Armadoren, Isidoren, and Bandar Cang Pratoren. "Welcome, thanks for making it here on such short notice. We have a tournament that we'd like to kick off in about three months time. That means we can only accept hosts that have the infrastructure. That cuts it down to about seven territories, and let's be real, nobody wants Mercatoren to get their grubby hands on this honour. Chanmingoren and Irithoren are looking like the other two potential hosts - but we called upon you, ladies and gentlemen, to allow the first Constellation Championship to be a success. That's for several reasons: if there are two territories capable of stealing thunder, it's them, and that leaves us with just us four capable, developed, and level-headed hosts. Our proposal: a twenty-team tournament, four groups of five. And those groups... would be hosted in each of our nations. Group A - well, we'd like that right here. Group B in Meia-Armadoren, hosting the opening match of the tournament. Group C for Isidoren, with the draw taking place there as well. And Group D to go to Bandar Cang Prathoren. Winners of each group go to a semifinal and their winners to a final, which we would humbly request Bandar Cang Prathoren to also host."

"Boring. Sensible."

"I love it."

"We've already created five pots to draw from. The hosts in pot 1. Pot 2 for the other good national teams - Chanmingoren, Brabensia & Batavioren, Irithoren, and Tarören. And then we walk down the ladder to a pot with Zirnytsoren, Aymenoughshire-about-Oren, Shahrbanoren, and Uruashoren. Anyway, you can see the details on the screen behind me."

It also listed Ostfalen & Hinterpommoren, Zakhoren, Tlalocayotloren, Antakodrandavoren, Galnoren, Vesturvindoren, Synephoren, and Tonboren.

"So per host, that's five matchdays of two games per day. You could get through this with just two stadiums - but we'll leave that up to you. All we want is that we'd project this outward as an actual Constellation Championship by making sure each matchday happens at around the same time so that we have our four semifinalists at the same time. You know, as any self-respecting regional tournament would."

[Tanirinthia]

---

OF FATES AND FORTUNES
Chapter Thirty Nine - A Long Overdue Meeting

---

"Now Mr Elliot, " the figure said while sitting themselves down opposite Jasper "It seems time for a long overdue conversation, I've never thanked you for freeing me"

Those last words sent a shiver all the way up Jasper’s spine. His eyes darted towards the office door, working out whether he could make a break for it but his legs didn’t feel like they could get him out of the chair he was currently in, let alone burst past the thing and out to safety.

”Names are a funny thing aren’t they Mr Elliot, or perhaps it’s Mr Poole, or simply Jasper. I hope you don’t mind the impertinence of using your first name, but given our connection it feels communicating on a first name basis seems justified.”

The thing in front of him paused as if asking for permission to do so, Jasper was able to muster up a small nod.

”Ah good, now as I was saying names are a funny old thing aren’t they. They are something that refers to and is a definitional point for a person. Seemingly meant to convey meaning, it’s the first bit of information you get introduced to, this is John, have you mean Celia. Yet the question of who is Phillip, apart from simply pointing as the man, is in no way tied up with the name, they may or may not be a lover of horses. Yet still when you tell someone of another's name, there is already some meaning you’ve ascribed to them, be it you’ve known previous people of that name and you are subconsciously assuming them to be the same, or whether some culturally assigned value, or lack of value, to a name. However despite this being the thing brought up first, and despite the meanings people will put on a name, a name is something rarely chosen for oneself. Still most frustratingly of all, even those who chose a name for themselves, it does not mean that is your name, even when you chose it for yourself the name people use for you is out of your control. From the benign reason of that there are simply more than one of that name and a need to distinguish exists. To the cruel of those who are fully aware of what you wish to be called as choose to call you something else. As for myself, I’ve been called many things, in many places; Khaos, Set, Ahriman, Margaret. Yet when I look at your mind, I see no name for me. I wonder why this is, perhaps some worry that in naming me it gives me power, or perhaps it makes me more real and if you don’t grant me a name, then perhaps you’ll wake up one day in your bedroom and none of this will have been real? I am afraid, as you well know deep now, that I am as real as you Jasper Poole."

What is it then? Jasper having found at least his mouth unfrozen ”Your name that is.” Worryingly for Jasper this seemed to draw a smile from the entity.

To quote a glorious bard, I am what I am, and what I am is Disorder. I must be defined in what I am opposite to, as must my opposite be defined by me.

---

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Chapter Eleven | Chapter Twelve | Chapter Thirteen | Chapter Fourteen | Chapter Fifteen | Chapter Sixteen | Chapter Seventeen | Chapter Eighteen | Chapter Nineteen | Chapter Twenty | Chapter Twenty-One | Chapter Twenty-Two | Chapter Twenty-Three | Chapter Twenty-Four | Chapter Twenty-Five | Chapter Twenty-Six | Chapter Twenty-Seven | Chapter Twenty-Eight | Chapter Twenty-Nine | Chapter Thirty | Chapter Thirty-One | Chapter Thirty-Two | Chapter Thirty-Three | Chapter Thirty-Four | Chapter Thirty-Five | Chapter Thirty-Six | Chapter Thirty-Seven | Chapter Thirty-Eight

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Matchday Seven

Matchday Eight

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[Auprussia]

OFF THE TOP

The match against Efnakia was track meet. The Auprussians ran ragged much like most of their matches with both Huberdeau Audac and Coraine Du Peniveaux scoring braces, the 5th being scored by Andre Mirdeau who came on for Alaide Mitregasque. The two goals conceded did not matter much but Vicard wasn't visibly happy with the performance. Vicard even stated to the media he did not like conceding at the end of the match and that they need to be able to play for the full 90 minutes. Otherwise it was a successful day's work albeit not a very exciting matchup. The match against Salagalu was a slog. Hard tackles, restricted attacks, and Eleo Vicard screaming his head off at the refs as well. The lone bright spot was Coraine Du Peniveaux scoring a goal courtesy of a great Rogeur Pagault cross. It was a miserable day for the other players, just a lethargic and unfortunate performance. A draw was not the positive result Vicard wanted considering Biyambi's run to the top of the table left the Auprussians two points back. After the match against Salagalu Vicard made a big announcement regarding his lineup.

"Today I have made the decision to start Coraine Du Peniveaux over Samuel Lithobert for 2-3 games, I want more energy on the side and I feel this is the best way to achieve that. I also will start Fortunan Rodric over Alaide Mitregasque but this time it's because of injury. He has a high ankle sprain and while not severe he is going to have to sit out at last 2 games".

Of course, the questions rolled in due to this decision.

"Was Lithobert's performance alarming to you or was this a direction you felt was necessary due to Coraine's performance particularly against Efnakia".

"Coraine, Rohel, and Rogeur have been incredibly flexible and lively parts of the attack for a bit. Coraine in particular has impressed me a lot but Rohel is not far behind either in my estimation"

"Are all three going to be rotated consistently?"

"I can't say I wont lean on one or the other but they will be getting a good amount of playing time, yes."

"And about Alaide, what made you go to Fortunan over someone like Andre Mirdeau?"

"Fortunan has been slowly but surely coming into his own, he will start and most likely be rotated with both Mirdeau and deu Cavalstaiy due to Mitregasque's injury".

"I understand the result against Salagalu was not what was expected of the team, did that result also influence your decision?"

"I can say with certainty that this was in the works a bit before, Lithobert is a great player and I expect him to get back to form very soon. It's just that for right now Du Peniveaux has given us a better chance to win as of late. I also know most of you were expecting some changes at the defensive line but I still believe in all of our starters at this time.

"Will there be changes if a slip up like in the Eastfield Lodge match occurs?"

"I would be open to the possibility, yes."

With that, the interviews were over but Vicard had one more conversation to go through, that was with Samuel Lithobert himself. Lithobert of course asked to speak with Vicard in private after the interviews. Lithobert started "Look, I get it. Haven't been playing very well here but I would at least want a chance at proving I can do it". Vicard looked and understood: "I get it but I can only rotate you right now, you gotta improve yourself. During training during any match time I give you, you have to stand out". Lithobert responded with "I understand, just make sure you do so." and left without another word. Vicard himself like usual was the last to leave, hoping that his starter at the beginning of the cycle can pick himself up.

[Hapilopper]

NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE FAILS, BAXTER PROMISES ANOTHER ONE NEXT WEEK
By Tim Goodman
Hapilopper City Herald

HAPILOPPER CITY – The time ran out on Tom Baxter to remove President Brett Booth from office on Monday following a tense session marked by screaming, expletives, an extended filibuster and thrown papers.

Per Hapiloppian Parliament regulations, a parliamentary day can not last longer than 20 hours. If 20 hours are elapsed, the parliamentary day automatically ends, and if a motion is on the floor, it is deemed to have failed for having run out of time.

That’s what happened to Tom Baxter on Monday. The session began at 8 a.m., and Baxter immediately called for a motion of no confidence on Brett Booth. That motion, if successful, would have removed Booth from office and would have led to new elections.

However, the motion was met with loud disapproval from many of the Liberals on hand, who demanded they speak on the matter.

“You are going to send this nation into chaos,” said Will Beasley, a Liberal member of Parliament from Surrey. “What the hell is President Booth doing? He’s trying to clean up this nation’s act, and you’re acting like he’s kicked your puppy. He’s trying to keep this nation from dropping into the abyss, and under your leadership, it sure as hell would!”

Beasley’s pleading led to several minutes of screaming and yelling on either side of Parliament. Baxter accused Beasley of “arranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship,” while Beasley fired back and called Baxter “a narcissistic oaf.”

Conservative member of Parliament Nancy Cruz, from Jonesboro, declared that Booth and his allies were “(expletive) morons” for trying to stand in the way of what the people think the Hapiloppian government should be.

“All of you,” Cruz said. “You’re a bunch of (expletive) morons. You act like a bunch of (obscene gerund) (anatomically explicit epithet) that ought to be strung up at dawn!”

Cruz’s obscene declaration got her in hot water with Speaker Mike Shepherd, who demanded she withdraw her obscenities. Instead, Cruz opted to withdraw the word “act,” causing even more of a ruckus.

“That’s because they are a bunch of (obscene gerund) (anatomically explicit epithets),” Cruz said.

In response, Ashley Thomas, a member of Parliament from Buckridge, threw a folder full of papers across the hall.

“You say that one more time and I’ll go across that hall and kick your ass,” Thomas shouted at Cruz.

Both Thomas and Cruz were ejected from the session for their actions. They will serve a one-day suspension on Tuesday – Cruz for refusing to withdraw the obscene remarks, and Thomas for threatening violence on Cruz.

Steve Smith, a Liberal member of Parliament from Garvinson, gave an extended speech intended to run out the clock on the day’s motion. Included in his speech were recent results in World Cup 100 qualifying, including great results for both Hapilopper and HOT-DAMN’s national teams, and a desire to request the Hapilopper Football Association to issue a formal apology to New Montreal States for the way the New Montreal Presse-Journal-Devoir was reportedly treated as they attempted to get press credentials for the match against Hapilopper.

“What idiot sends a truck full of anvils to a newspaper?” Smith asked. “Certainly someone had to have been on some hard drugs over there at the HFA. Maybe they called the wrong number and got prank called. But I haven’t heard the HFA deny it either.”

Dom Probst, the president of the Hapilopper Football Association, declined to comment on the matter when called Monday night, but did say he’d try to make it up to the news organization in New Montreal States.

Smith also directed a volley towards Janet Kitchens, an MP from Pinkerton that has been fully behind the no-confidence effort.

“Janet Kitchens, trying to make a political powerplay,” Smith said. “She tried that EV ban stunt, tried to shout down Drake Stevenson when he made a good point, and now she’s calling Brett Booth ‘the worst thing to happen to Hapilopper since the Wreckerian Civil War.’ Which, you know, right-wingers started that war, if memory serves me correct.”

Kitchens jumped up out of her seat and called Smith a liar. This got her ejected too, marking the third ejection of the parliamentary day.

“I’m not a liar. She said that two weeks ago,” Smith said.

Eventually, the 20 hours ran out, and the motion failed. Baxter attempted to grab the parliamentary clock and unplug it, in an attempt to theoretically “stop the clock” and allow the motion to continue. However, he was chased by Liberals and some of the Social Hapiloppians and was unsuccessful in getting the clock to stop.

After the parliamentary day ended, Baxter angrily told reporters that the motion would be repeated in a week.

“Either Booth leaves or we make him leave,” Baxter said. “And if he wants to stonewall us, we’ll have our own ways of removing him from power. You (expletive) watch. We’ll physically remove that (expletive) out of office, by force if we have to.”

[The Sernetian Empire]

SERNESPORTS TV



contents:
1) Sernet draws to Lisander 1-1 at Sermeslau
2) 2-0 away Victory against New Rotterdam City
3) Pre-match analysis
4) Guide for Juven & Macbonese fans

Sernet draws to Lisander 1-1 at Sermeslau
the match:
Sernesports TV
reporter: Czesław Jalińowski

Sernet were made to settle for a 1–1 draw at home against Lisander, a result that reflected both their progress and their lingering inconsistency. In a match that ebbed and flowed, Stoberus Pond’s side showed flashes of control but lacked the sharpness to turn dominance into victory. Many Sernetian fans had travelled up north to Sermeslau to watch the side play, and the supporters certainly didn't lack energy, but this time there was a decent turnout from Lisander as well, possibly thanks to the chartered flights from Linville Métropole Airport to Sermeslau-Durslomof International, which may become permanent...

The hosts started brightly, dictating tempo through midfield and testing Lisander’s back line with quick interchanges between Sakayo, Oluwawa and Esingfort. The breakthrough came shortly before halftime, when Bob Yarisem, the Sultriost Legend swept home from close range after a well-worked move down the left at the 42nd minute. This sent the Sernetians - and goalkeeper Anders Michaelichen - to the moon. Interestingly, as soon as this goal was scored, Pasarowski was subbed off for Tytus Andrejano, the Seltromisen Falcons goalkeeper making his debut for the Sernetian national team. He made a monster save at the 45th minute, just prior to the half-time whistle, denying Forward Lukas Hiltmann to score for Lisander. Thanks to Andrejano, the scoreline was kept in Sernet's favour at the half-time break.
Lisander, however, grew into the contest after the break. Their equalizer arrived in the 67th minute - a swift counterattack that caught Sernet’s defense high upfield, scored by forward Adam Porter. From there, the rhythm of the match tilted, with both sides trading half-chances but neither able to land a decisive blow. Lisander were awarded a penalty at the 79th minute due to an accidental handball by Bob Yarisem (who also scored earlier). The shot was taken by Lukas Hiltmann, but for a second time he was denied a chance to score, because Andrejano leaped in to save the day, keeping the score even. The crowd were very proud of Andrejano.

Pond admitted afterward that the result felt like “two points dropped,” but praised his players for maintaining composure. “We were brave in possession and created good openings,” he said. “But at this level, we have to be ruthless - the details matter.”
Pond also praised goalkeeper Tytus Andrejano, saying "despite conceeding once, Tytus shone bright on his debut; I am very proud of him and I can guarantee the rest of Sernet is too."

The draw extends the Steamer's unbeaten home record but leaves them ruing what might have been. The structure remains strong, the intent clear - yet the final touch, once again, proved elusive.

Final score:
Sernet 1-1 Lisander

Goals:
Sernet: Bob Yarisem 44'
Lisander: Adam Porter 67'

2-0 AWAY VICTORY AGAINST NEW ROTTERDAM CITY

Sernet produced one of their most complete performances under Stoberus Pond, earning an impressive 2–0 victory away to New Rotterdam City. It was a display defined by tactical control, disciplined defending, and efficient finishing - hallmarks of a side growing steadily in maturity. Although less fans flew to New Rotterdam City to watch them at The Vreewijk Commons, the entire nation was glued to their screens, watching the match unfold. The Vreewijk Commons is a small venue anyways, with only just over 10,000 seats, half of which were covered by the sea of Sernetian flags.

After a cagey opening 20 minutes, Sernet seized control through Korolianus Stork, whose low drive from the edge of the area found the bottom corner following a well-timed interception and quick transition, firing the ball into the back of the net at precisely the 22nd minute. The goal settled the visitors, who began to dictate play with confident passing and compact defensive organization. Rotterdam goalkeeper Posquanto was not too happy about conceeding as that resulted in him being subbed off and replaced by substitute goalkeeper Stijn Joppen.
New Rotterdam City pressed higher in the second half, but Sernet’s back line held firm, anchored by Adam Doryszczykiewicz, who commanded the defense with composure. The decisive second goal arrived in the 74th minute, when substitute defender Hubert Stasko, who plays for the club Salwatory Sronisławów, finished clinically after a swift counterattack. Sporius Bolsting assisted Stasko's goal, therefore giving him some credit too. The Steamers were now steaming ahead. A number of fans from the Sronisławów area became especially loud after his goal, for obvious reasons. All in all, the mood was pretty jolly for the Sernetians, but not so much for the Rotterdamers, who were suffering a home loss. Another goal was scored at the 80th minute by Wasori Oluwawa, but unfortunately, following extensive VAR checks, the goal was declared offside, thus keeping the scoreline at 2-0.

Pond praised the team’s adaptability and focus. “This was a mature performance,” he said post-match. “We managed the tempo, stayed patient, and punished mistakes. That’s what we’ve been working toward. I'd also like to congratulate Stasko on his excellent goal - I haven't played him much in the past matches but he's a really passionate and enthusiastic member of the squad and embodies our values well - he's been working really hard in the trainings and it's pleasing to see his work pay off.”

The result follows Sernet’s recent away loss against Jeruselem, where the squad were clearly distracted and definitely not focused - the win a sign of tangible progress after that earlier setback. For Pond’s squad, it was more than just a win - it was a statement of resilience, proof that this team is learning how to impose itself anywhere. "Adaptability is key" added Pond.

Final score:
New Rotterdam City 0-2 Sernet

Goals:
Sernet: Stork 22' , Stasko 74'

Pre-match review: MD9 vs Macbon @Kingfisher Waters Nestomerisen and MD10 vs Juvencus @Gomswood Fields Stensemertef

reporter: Bobby Boltings Senior

squad:

OG starting 11 for both matches, but expect substitutions.

Analysis:
The steamers stay in Sernet for the next two matchdays, facing Macbon, the only team we have not yet played, in Nestomerisen, as well as Juvencus for the second time at Gomswood in Stensemertef. We lost our opening match to Juvencus, and so we hope that we can at least bag a single point at Stensemertef this time round... ...hopefully the fact that it's a home match will give us a bit more of a competitive edge. While Juvencus is at the top of Group 13's table, Macbon lingers near the bottom at 8th place. This is hopefully going to be an easier match than Juvencus. They haven't really been doing well - I hear they were beaten up by Juvencus 4-0 at home. As for us, hopefully we can maintain our 3rd place spot. I'm a sort of more brief reporter, so I shall wrap it up there - I wish the steamers luck! Also, you can view the standings for group 13 below.

Group 13
MD7
Juvencus 4–1 New Rotterdam City
Sernet 1–1 Lisander
Yangchenia 2–0 Jeruselem
Yuezhou 2–1 Free Republics
MD8
Jeruselem 0–3 Yuezhou
Lisander 1–4 Yangchenia
New Rotterdam City 0–2 Sernet
Macbon 0–4 Juvencus

                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Juvencus                8    5   1   2    20    9  +11    16
2 Jeruselem               7    4   1   2    13   11   +2    13
3 Sernet                  7    3   2   2     7    6   +1    11
  Yuezhou                 7    3   2   2    10    9   +1    11
5 Free Republics          7    3   2   2    13    8   +5    11
6 Yangchenia              7    2   2   3     7    6   +1     8
7 Lisander                7    2   2   3    10   12   −2     8
8 Macbon                  7    1   4   2     4    9   −5     7
9 New Rotterdam City      7    1   0   6     4   18  −14     3

Guide for Juven and Macbonese fans - how to get to Kingfisher Waters / Gomswood Fields Stensemertef

Welcome, Juven and Macbonese fans, to the wonderful country of Sernet! Thank you for visiting Sernet. You may find that our extensive rail network may be challenging to navigate, or that you can't seem to find where Sernetesen Lighthouse stadium is. This guide is designed to help you!

When you arrive at Sernetesen Storimidros International (we're assuming that's where you land), follow signage until you end up at the SMR station for whichever terminal you land at - for you lot its its likely to be Terminal 4. From here you have two options: take the slow SMR service down to Sernetesen, or take the fast Airline service to Sernetesen Arsenal. We'd recommend you take the Airline; it gets you from the airport to Sernetesen in just 15 minutes (a bit longer if catching it from Terminal 4) for a very slightly higher fare. Fans from both countries should then board the Superfast Express to Stensemertef Towers via Nestomerisen Riverside. Staff will be on duty to direct you should you be lost. Now here is where the journey splits
Macbonese Fans:
You should get off at Nestomerisen Riverside. From here, change to the Nestomerisen Metro to Kingfisher Waters. From there it is a very short walk to the stadium.
Juven Fans:
Stay on the train until the last stop, Stensemertef Towers. From here, change to Stensemertef Metro and take any train that says it stops at Gomswood OR Gomswood Mainline. If you end up at Gomswood, there is a short 10-minute walk to the stadium; if you end up at Gomswood Mainline, the stadium is literally adjacent to the station and it will take you barely any time to reach it. Sernet has an abundance of public toilets should you need the loo. The trains on both Metro systems don't have toilets, but the Superfast does. Upon arrival at either Stensemertef or Nestomerisen, you should find all the amenities you need; restaurants, cafes, shops, you name it. Free wifi is available at the airport, on the trains and at the stadiums. If you wish to stay at a hotel, there are plenty relatively cheap but high quality hotels in both cities (as well as some more posh ones). Staff will be at all mentioned stations and around both stadiums to provide assistance. We hope this guide will allow you to navigate to your destination with ease. Enjoy stay in either Nestomerisen or Stensemertef, the second and third largest cities in Sernet respectively. Have fun!


The Team at Sernesports TV wishes Sernet luck.
From Left to right: Czesław, Damian, Salman, Peter, Bobby

(ooc: above image is ai-generated but has a very long prompt and was used in MetCup.
see this dispatch: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=2619904 for more context.)

#thepowerofsernet

[Warkus]

Internal monologue from Jack Blethyn

We’re approaching the halfway point of the World Cup Qualifiers. Eight games in, three wins, three draws, one loss. Fourth place and level on points with Germanic Cat, who made their debut at the last World Cup. Two places below Germanic Cat’s fellow alumni in The Osnari Federation, who are doing very well so far ignoring their last game which was a shock defeat away to the returning nation Saperetia.

A passable performance so far, maybe a C+ grade or a B- if we’re being generous. Obviously being a pot four team and sitting in fourth place is doing exactly what’s expected of us. We went from defying expectations in their last attempt at qualifying to, so far, meeting them exactly. It’s a little awkward, really. I don’t know how to compare how we’re doing now with how we did last time. Last time around we had some huge upset victories but we were a totally unknown quantity on the world stage. We were the underdog going into every single game. Now we’re the underdog in sixth games out of eighteen.

Our first game was excellent. A 4-1 win over Saperetia at their home ground. Didn’t need to concede that goal, I guess, but that happens when you’re on the attack all game. It’s not like they played badly either. Silivia set them up nicely, had them playing exactly as you’d expect a defensive pragmatist to play. Ugly football, really, but smart. Putting aside the moments of individual brilliance from Llewelyn and Rhodri, they were a team that made us work for the win. And we broke them down like we needed to.

The Osnari game… It was a little frustrating. We went 1-nil up at the start and looked pretty good in the first half, but the second half was painful. Spiritually painful. Had to switch to a 5-3-2 in defence just to hold on for a draw, ugh. I don’t really know why but we all feel extra competitive in these games against similarly immature sides. Your first cycle was 99 and you’re gonna beat us? No way, we can’t let that happen. I’m not looking forward to the away day, that’s for sure.

The third game was much worse. A nil-nil draw against 336th ranked debutants Nova Dackians. Couldn’t even score one bloody goal. Worst part is that we didn’t deserve one either. No ‘moral victory’, no ‘they were just too good’, none of that. We played like a bunch of headless chickens and, to be frank, so did they. Embarrassing. That game’ll haunt us unless we can pick up a win against them next time around.

We bounced back against top seeds HUElavia by managing to find a draw in extra time. The Llwelyn special sauce got us there, sure, but even discounting his two goals we did well. Now if only we could convert our tendency to get draws against far superior opposition into a tendency to stop weaker teams doing the exact same thing to us…

Indusse brought us back down to reality, but I’m honestly happy with that game too. Game looked close in the first half and, uh… Wasn’t at all close in the second half. But we played our game, ran ourselves ragged searching for goals and at least managed to challenge Indusse for a time. Still not exactly sure how to prepare for our home game against them. Maybe some extra rest might be warranted, just to keep fitness levels high.

Our last two games have been great. A dominant 4-nil win at home against Germanic Cat. Our first win with a clean sheet so far and it was against the fifth seed. A really balanced win too, none of the players shining much more than the others. Max got a hattrick, granted, but the rest of the team got him those easy goal scoring opportunities. And then we did the same, minus conceding a goal, away to Bruinswik. A solid performance and some good attacking football.

I really hope we’ll see more of the same against our next opponents, Knights of… Knights of, uh… What are they called against? Oh, right. The Hyperfascist Holy Order of Knights of LUSITANAIA. Those guys. Screw those guys. If we don’t beat them in our country that’ll be pretty devastating. Politically, mentally, spiritually. Oh, and it’d be bad for our qualifying run too, obviously. And Eirian won’t be happy if we embarrass ourselves against a fascist nation. Though I need to remember not to tell anyone about that.

[Snestar]

Matchday 5: Snestar 2-2 Cretian Territories
Goalscorers (Snestar):
28’ Tero Sjölund
55’ Nicola Acanfora
Goalscorers (Super Earth):
52’ Zotsara Randrianalijaona
86’ Zotsara Randrianalijaona
Player of the Match: Zotsara Randrianalijaon

Snestar vs Super Earth ends in a 2-2 draw at the Stadio E.M. Arentas: the Viola close to elimination from the World Cup

Snestar falls further down Group 18, as the Viola collects yet another draw, the fourth in a row. While the results are not terrible, the upcoming matches against Hapilopper and New Montreal States will be enough of a reason to sack Camilla Arentas. Snestar needs wins, otherwise they won’t even be able to qualify for the playoffs.

Snestar 2-2 Super Earth: Match Summary

At the Stadio Elena Maria Arentas, a rather modern 27000 seater situated in the small city of Merilva, barely counting 50 thousand inhabitants. Yet the stadium was full of locals, mainly because of Camilla Arentas, the bearer of the famous name Arentas, was going to lead the Viola against Super Earth. The match started fairly well, with the Snestaryans managing to keep themselves composed while exploiting the Senators’ mistakes, recognizing their opponents’ disorganization due to the pressure. In the 28th minute, Tero Sjölund proved to the Snestaryans why he was the lead striker of the team, despite playing for Gridorya (who normally is a rather mediocre mid-table club): right after signing a brace against Dandelicha United in Division Alpha, the blonde beast from the north proudly sweeped the ball through Super Earth’s defense, and floored the keeper with confidence. Snestar kept the pressure high, making chances left and right (and also gaining a few yellow cards), yet the second goal didn’t come in the first half.

When the teams returned to the pitch for the second half, Snestar initially kept the same spirit: in the 52nd minute, Nicola Acanfora finally managed to launch the ball from outside the box, right into the net. However, the two goal advantage didn’t last long, as three minutes later, the Senator’s Creeper (Zotsara Randrianalijaona) immediately spooked Federico Calvaresi, planting the ball in the bottom right corner. Despite the sudden shock, Super Earth still did not manage to overcome the pressure, and Snestar continued to lead the match somewhat comfortably. However, in the 86th minute, Sebastiano Balestri naively gained a yellow card after forcing Deadman to fall by grabbing his shirt. The referee awarded the Senators a free kick, which ended up being what drove the Snestaryans insane. Deadman passed the ball to Creeper, who immediately forced the ball through Balestri’s feet, with the resulting deviation finding its way into the goal to make the score 2-2.

After the final whistle, Camilla Arentas accepted to get interviewed. With the disappointing results of the past few matches, and the possibility of dismissal, she had chosen not to have any kind of word with the press. However, this time she finally found the courage to give her opinion on the state of the national team, as well as the instability of her job.

“I must say… every match could be the last one at this point. It’s definitely not great to draw four matches in a row, but at the very least I’m seeing some kind of progress from the boys. We’re still inexperienced, though: we’re not always focused on how the opponent wants to play the ball, we make lots of mistakes that can only be solved by playing more matches. I hope the Snestaryan Football Federation won’t immediately sack me and give me some more faith: I know that I can bring this club among the greats: I just need more time.”

Matchdays 9 and 10 - Hapilopper vs Snestar, New Montreal States vs Snestar
Matchday 9: 4-4-2 Formation
GK 1 Federico Calvaresi (C)
LB 3 Alberto Migliaccio
CB 2 Giulio Maritan
CB 4 Vittorio Gallerani
RB 15 Simone Ramella
LM 10 Martin de Roux
CDM 6 Davide Scognamiglio
CM 8 Nicola Acanfora
RM 13 Fabio de Filippi
ST 27 Elisa Baldriga
ST 17 Tero Sjölund

Matchday 10: 4-4-2 Formation
GK 1 Federico Calvaresi (C)
LB 5 Riccardo Cavaliere
CB 2 Giulio Maritan
CB 4 Vittorio Gallerani
RB 15 Simone Ramella
LM 10 Martin de Roux
CDM 6 Davide Scognamiglio
CM 14 Nicola Ragusa
RM 13 Fabio de Filippi
ST 27 Elisa Baldriga
ST 17 Tero Sjölund

[Shin-Zetsubo]

Shin-Zetsubo 2–5 Calgasia
From Despairing Soccer Ground, Towa City, Shin-Zetsubo
Xaver Webern '3 '61 (CGS)
Pearle Lynton '42 (SHZ)
Alyce Dwerryhouse '48 (SHZ)
Jan Novák '56 (CGS)
Emil Sedlácek '72 '87 (CGS)

Valanora 3–1 Shin-Zetsubo
From Hatire Memorial, Capri, Valanora
Laborious Hawk '38 (VAL)
Aya Haukås '52 (VAL)
Thea Borgen '74 (VAL)
Belle St. John '80 (SHZ)

"If it was a test Shin-Zetsubo wanted this window, then it was a test they received - And failed."

Wickersome's coverage of World Cup 100 so far was pretty cut and dry. There was no reason not to with a qualification field so big each matchday could fill a 3-hour television slot. In that regard Shin-Zetsubo were lucky that they were placed in Group 1. When it came to scheduling, however, this specific two-game stretch was unlucky as hell. Pot 2 at home, then Pot 1, #2 in the entire sport, away from home.

Chrystill Emoran, naturally, prepared for this. Why wouldn't she? Both teams were running away with the top 2 spots in the group at this rate, and if she even got a point from either Der Adler or the Vanorians they could better their chances in a surprisingly tight race for 3rd place. Surprisingly as in the Despair Girls were still 3 points behind Gyaromia, who held the group's second and last spot in the playoffs. For Calgasia at home, she decided to tweak the opening tactics just a bit - Only a back 3 this time, consisting of Tori Palmer, Pearle Lynton and Bobbie "Doesn't Like Golfing in Golfo central" Eccleston. 2 and a half minutes in... Xaver Webern made sure she regretted the mistake.

Webern was, ironically enough, the kind of player the entire Shin-Zetsubo squad was at heart - Unpredictable. In the case of the positionless despair the Despair Girls practiced, the unpredictability came because it was difficult to comprehend who would go where, allowing the squad to mix up defenders. Webern, to the eyes of Shin-Zetsubo goalie Anna Willows, looked like he was ready to pass the ball over to Jan Novák. Setting up accordingly, the 29 year old left an opening just wide enough for the trickster to open the scoring. Blisteringly fast off the mark, what could've been at least 1 point for the Despair Girls turned into all 3 for the team that traveled to Towa City.

Valanora wasn't any better. Okay it was, but it was because Chrystill Emoran, bless her soul and her "meditation" sessions that were instead just scheming around in Pavola's "Road to West Pavola" career mode trying to find the best fit for her squad (as any Shin-Zetsubite with the official World Cup 100 game would), went to 4 at the back instead of 3, like was initially planned. Nevertheless, if there's one thing you shouldn't put in doubt, it's Valanora, Laborious Hawk in tow, winning at home. Belle St. John was the only Despair Girl who put a ball past Tobias Propst, before she promptly cleaned up the backline in order to not make it a 4-1 defeat to the #2 side in the sport.

With the halfway point of the campaign approaching for Shin-Zetsubo, the focus was now solely on making sure the squad won against the teams they should beat. Golfo central, Txakhaxi, DUCK, lonely Orioni, all of them. Just one lone mistake against supposedly lower-tier opposition would mean the qualification campaign would hinge on upsetting Valanora at home (a feat harder than it is not to get bored in Towa City on any average afternoon) or having Gyaromia have two or more off days to those lesser opponents. If the stars alligned for the Despair Girls, they could, not necessarily would, have a shot at making the actual World Cup at the first time of asking.

Oh hey, that's Bunny Colt playing Pavola... Wait, what do you mean she guided Shin-Zetsubo to the World Cup in that game?

"Puhuhu~! Awww, all I had to do was set the difficulty to Beginner and breeze past HOT-DAMN in the final!"

Okay, let's hope she wins it on a harder difficulty then...

[Biyambi]

Last Episode: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=575263&p=43176311#p43176311

(The Ngwazi Strikers theme song plays in the background. The Camera shows players jogging in place, led by conditioning coach Datuk Jamuk.
The scene changes and we see Harry Garnett diving to the right, catching a fast shot from Tikhala Chifungo the goalkeeping coach.
We then see Chifundo Lenpi, Chisomo Nthara, and James Thom exchanging crisp passes)

(The scene changes. We see the Ngwazi Strikers’ team captains Mada Masina & Mphatso Lyson sat in the locker room, behind them a framed photo of the squad celebrating last season’s BT Top 8 triumph.)

Mphatso Lyson (Ngwazi Strikers’ 2nd Captain):
“You can sense the hunger in the guys in the last training sessions before the final. As a player you know your teammates and know when they ‘re fired up for something. You can see it from your teammates in training, in their intensity, from the tackles, the attitude, even the swearing, everything bro! In the training sessions we have had, I feel like we have a chance at taking the Top 8 Golden Plate once more.
And of course, Litso you aren’t going to be there on the pitch with us on the day due to your injury..”

Mada Masina (Ngwazi Strikers Captain):
(nodding) “Yeah!”

Mphatso Lyson (Ngwazi Strikers’ 2nd Captain):
“This being your second time missing a Top 8 Final, last year you were out with a hamstring injury just days before the final and now you are out with a fractured arm. How are you feeling, like you know your mental state, how is it ?”

Mada Masina (Ngwazi Strikers Captain):
“Honestly very tough, devasting. Lasting season missing such a monumental final and then missing this one because of our own fans fracturing my arm, man oh! man, am bitter and a bit depressed. I really wanted to be part of the final and lead the boys in defending the Top 8. I really wanted to contribute. You never know when these moments like getting to a final will happen again and once they pass you can’t change what has already happened. And for me not to be there on the pitch with the boys is really hard for me."

(Cut to training footage up in the stands looking longingly at his teammates, arm in a sling is Madalitso Masina. He wakes up from his trance and begins shouting encouragement.)

(Cut to Walinase Hynym-Forzu and Lothrain Vidraux seated side by side on the pitch in front of the goal.)

Walinase Hynym-Forzu (Ngwazi Strikers’ Forward):
“Facing off against one of the biggest football clubs in Mandalanusa and our fiercest rivals, how are you preparing yourself for the BiyaTel Top 8 final?”

Lothrain Vidraux (Ngwazi Strikers’ Winger):
“Our skipper Mada is what is giving me motivation going into the final. He uhm! As you know got injured trying to protect me from hooligans, so going into the final I have mentally prepared myself to play in his position and give my all. I also want to lift my first senior title and for me doing it against a challenging side like Mansanduni Union, especially as underdogs, that is motivating enough for me to want to win and take it all.”

Walinase Hynym-Forzu (Ngwazi Strikers’ Forward):
“For me I have made sure that I am going into the final with my A game. I have made sure that I am mentally, emotionally, and physically ready for the final especially since I will be facing my former team mates from Union. Some people online have been saying that I have bad blood with the Peoples’ Team which is not the case at all. Its just business and I plan to finish the business in the final."

(Scene changes to Stadiya Bayaram. It’s the BT Top 8 final. The crowds are crazy, the camera panes over the supporters we see some dressed in jerseys, others with scarves, over painted in team colours head to tall, others in wigs in team colours, other in robes in team colours, others in suits and dresses in team colours. Fans dance and sing in unison. A heavy security presence is around the stadium, eager to prevent what happened in the semi-final first leg happening again.)

Voice Over:
“About 7-weeks ago at this very stadium, the Royals were completely torn apart, their pride, dignity and dreams shattered. And when they thought it wouldn’t get any worse, it got darker, the beloved twelfth man turned against the team…”

(Footage of the Ngwazi Strikers bus being stoned, Royals fans kicking down the dressing room door, Madalitso Masina the captain protecting new boy Lothrain and getting his arm fractured as he falls down to the floor.)

Voice Over:
“ But the Royals made an incredible comeback and made it into the final. And tonight, they would face no ordinary foe, a foe used to win, a foe that has beaten them in previous finals including the Top 8 final 3 seasons ago. However, this Ngwazi Strikers was a fractured one, for weeks the fans and the players have fought a silent war in which no one has wanted to communicate. Would the Royals be able to rise above all its issues, the history of losses, and beat their oldest & fiercest foe?”

(The scene changes to the dressing room. The players are in their training kits. Their faces look nervous. The fans can faintly be heard seeping through the concrete walls. Suddenly the door opens and in walks the club President, Edward Raulman, following behind him is a large man dressed in Sky blue underwear and painted from head to toe in sky blue, he has on a sky-blue wig as well. This man is Atusaye Ttimimba, the newly elected President of the Ngwazi Strikers Supporters Association (NSSA).)

(The players tense up, others glare angrily at him. He pauses then slowly kneels down on the locker room floor.)

Atusaye Ttimimba (voice trembling):
“My dear brothers…. I come before you greatly humbled. What happened here a few weeks ago was beyond shameful. A betrayal of everything our great club stands for. Instead of coming together after a disappointing loss we let anger get the best of us and we turned on our own in such a disgraceful and demeaning manner. ”

(He lowers his head, clasping his hands together.)

Atusaye Ttimimba :
“ I come here as one of you to ask for forgiveness. Please, please forgive myself and every supporter of Ngwazi Strikers. United we stand firm, divided we collapse. For so long this club has been dominated by tricksters, thieves, murderers and killers but no more my brothers. We have begun to clean house. All known thugs those who led the violence a few weeks ago and even those not associated with what happened but are known thugs have been banned. We are also working with the police, league officials and UBIFA in eliminating hooliganism. We will never again allow intimidation and violence to run rampant in our beloved club again. ”

(The locker room is silent, player glance at each other as other nod. Mphatso Lyson the 2nd Captain steps forward.)


[To be continued] : OOC: begun dozing, couldn’t finish.

[StrayaRoos]

7 wins in a row. And 7 decent wins at that. We’re riding high, although it would have been better if we’d taken a massive win, like ones we’ve seen with incredible frequency this cycle in this streak, but, we’ll take it.

Window 4 saw the Emus continue their stampede toward World Cup 100, taking an additional two wins, to bring us 6 points clear over Sargossa, and 8 over Vixette.
In the first match, against The Ferret Lands, the Emus played out a 3-0 against a side who opposition research wasn’t really possible on, as nobody could find any information about the team. Not even the World Cup Committee. It’s a miracle the Emus even found the stadium if we’re completely honest. Anyways. The first goal of the match came in the 24th minute, as Cruz Kaiplo headed home a throw from Lucas Pewo, and it sailed straight into the back of the net. The second goal came shortly after, in the 31st minute, when Pewo got one of his own in a slightly flukish shot off of a free kick by Yasmeen Karmea, and that’s how we went to the halftime break 2-0 up. A third goal came in the 73rd minute, from the boot of Alana Kerr as she slotted home a bicycle kick off an Ella Vidya corner. Because of course.

The second match against Nethertopia was a return to the pattern the Emus had settled on for the games before The Ferret Lands. That pattern was:
- stretch out an early 2 or 3 goal lead by halftime
- concede just before or after halftime
- slot home a couple more after conceding
- win the game.
The early lead was easily achieved as Kaiplo struck home from the spot in the 12th minute, while Karmea got the side a second goal, half an hour later, thanks to a cross from Alana Kerr landing right at Karmea’s feet, from where the ball sailed home, making it 2-0. Then a Nethertopian player scored in stoppage time, so it went to halftime 2-1 in the Emus’ favour.

The second half started relatively slowly for the Emus, as Nethertopia enjoyed a short period of dominance. Well. Sorta-dominance anyway. They got in a few decent chances but couldn’t find an equaliser. Instead, Ali Are scored in the 63rd minute on the rebound after the Nethertopian keeper deflected a shot from Lara Jraena. Then a fourth came just 5 minutes later, again from Are, as he headed in a long ball on a counterattack. 4-1 with 20 minutes to play. Then the game settled back into a goalless lull for another 15 minutes, when Alana Kerr capped it all off with a powerful shot from just outside the box that sailed into the bottom corner of the net. 5-1 Emus. Their attempts of finding a 6th were somewhat half-hearted, but that didn’t matter. After 3 minutes of stoppage time, the ref blew their whistle, and it was over. The Emus had won their SEVENTH consecutive World Cup Qualifier for the first time in their history.

[United States Of Alpha]

Live From Utopiatopia: The World Cup continues . . .

We won against Whispinia, 2-0, and lost to Karmosora 2-1. The style modifer has been changed to -1 to make the offense a little better. No other comments on this.

Reporter: So how did last two matches go?

Oofio: We didn't get the results that we wanted, but we're getting there. We play the Ko-oren puppet tomorrow. We need to win or we're screwed from getting into the World Cup. Gotta go.

Reporter. Okay. Bye. Man that was quick.

END OF BROADCAST