Cup of Harmony 92 - Everything Thread

[Free Republics]

OOC: I tried to RP last night and came up blank because of a situation involving my RL employer. Took a shower on the clock this morning and finally got some inspiration. Many of the details are different on purpose to protect my RL identity but this is how the Grand Immortal Imperator deals with companies that lay off workers to ship their jobs overseas.

Imperator Stadium
Republica

The match between the Free Republics and Snestar had ended in disappointment for the capacity crowd watching it live on the pitch via hologram technology. Snestar had defeated the local boys 2 goals to 1 blowing Group 3 of the Cup of Harmony wide open. Through 2 matchdays, all 3 teams that had played 2 matches had a record of 1 win and 1 loss. Saterun had a win in their only match and, obviously, Carpathia and Ruthenia had lost their only match. Koby Theodore's team continued to be consistently inconsistent: beating a power team one matchday then losing to a BoF team the next. But such inconsistency was to be expected from a team of teenagers. Republican fans didn't expect them to win the Cup of Harmony this year, just to show their potential and gain experience so that they can win trophies as they get older.

As the match ended and fans started to leave, an announcement went out over the stadium speakers: "All fans, return to your seats." The stadium gates had been shut at halftime and no fans had been permitted to leave early as police helicopters circled the stadium for the entire second half. Many fans wondered if there was a disturbance outside, possibly from one of the terrorist groups that wanted to overthrow the Grand Immortal Imperator and return the Free Republics to chaos. But there was no such thing. And they had no way of knowing because of the requirement to lock up their phones while in the stadium to avoid the sharing of unauthorized videos of the event on online platforms such as Sanctustube. This was a special requirement for the Cup of Harmony live experiences but the strict prohibition on children possessing smart phones and tablets was in effect at all times in the Free Republics.

The crowd slowly returned to their seat and the event paused as security rounded up the stragglers. Once everybody was in their seat, security began passing out signs. Unlike the normal "Yay" or "Nay" sign, these signs said "Yay" on both sides. Finally, once all of the setup was handled, a cart containing several men tied to a stake was wheeled out into the middle of the pitch. Finally, a giant hologram of the Grand Immortal Imperator himself appeared thanks to his Citrus Vision Pro headset. Using some of the headset's special capabilities, he had made his avatar 30 feet tall to make himself look like an Ilysee god. He spoke to the crowd, with his voice digitally altered to make it sound more divine:

Grand Immortal Imperator - Hello mortals! Rest assured, there are no disturbances outside the stadium at this moment. But today is a very special day for it is time for a Special Election to determine the fate of these prisoners. Will they be set free or will they burn in purifying flame? It's all up to you!

He paused for a moment then realized he'd forgotten to say what they were accused of.

Grand Immortal Imperator - Wait a minute, how are you supposed to cast an informed vote if I don't tell you what crime they committed? These are the executives of a company called Latroit Auto Parts. Recently, they decided to merge with a company based out of Nordernious and lay off a significant portion of their workforce to outsource their jobs to some backwater.

The crowd booed.

Grand Immortal Imperator - As you know, a company's social responsibility is to the Federation of Free Republics and the Republican Worker. Therefore, the contention is that colluding with foreigners to steal Republican jobs is high treason against the Federation of Free Republics! May all those in favor hold up their "Yay" sign and all those opposed hold up their "Nay" sign.

As it was literally impossible to vote 'Nay", the result was preordained. Nonetheless, virtually the entire stadium held up their "Yay" or "Yay" sign. Whether out of genuine conviction or out of misplaced fear that they'd be flogged for not voting, who could say? But it was clear that "Yay" had won in a landslide.

Grand Immortal Imperator - The "Yays" have it! In that case, I pronounce the defendants guilty of high treason and sentence them to be immediately burnt at the stake until dead. Additionally, I have spoken with Senator Shadow and he will be introducing legislation later today to block this merger and ensure that both Latroit Auto Parts and the estates of these damned traitors will be nationalized and placed under my protection. As their wives and children are innocent, this legislation will also ensure that they are taken care of by the Federation Government until such time as the kids are mature and capable of supporting themselves. While it is regrettable that these children are now going to be bastards, it is unavoidable for their fathers are wicked men. For the Federation to remain healthy and free, it is important for the wicked to be eliminated just as it is important to eliminate cancer cells to ensure a body does not die of cancer. Now, who here is ready for some purifying flames!

The applause was thunderous and many in the crowd began chanting "purifying flames".

Grand Immortal Imperator - Then may the flames purify our Federation by ridding it of these traitors!

As the flames consumed the flesh of the condemned and Lady Scarlett's famous song Born to Fry blared from the speakers, the crowd forgot momentarily about the loss to Snestar and even about the upcoming match with Saterun. Nobody in that stadium would ever forget this sight which was broadcast live on Webflix following the actual Cup of Harmony broadcast. At that moment, many corporate executives throughout the Free Republics reconsidered their plans to commit the exact same crime that had already led some C-Suite executives to the purifying flames...

[Snestar]

Cup of Harmony 92 Group 3 Matchday 2: Snestar 2-1 Free Republics

Goalscorers (Snestar):
19’ Nicola Acanfora
77’ Elisa Baldriga
Goalscorers (Free Republics):
90+1’ Mattia Bellucci
Player of the Match: Elisa Baldriga

Snestar wins 2-1 against WC85 champions Free Republics

After the Viola’s disappointing start, Snestar finds its first win of the tournament, defeating Free Republics (a surprisingly young team considering the prestige of the nation) two to one. Snestar now temprarily sits in third place, with one win and one loss, and the two toughest opponents yet to face.

Snestar 2-1 Free Republics: Match Summary

As soon as the two teams stepped out of the lockers, the Snestaryans were immediately shocked by the age of their opponents. Apparently, they were going to face a nation solely composed of teenagers. Camilla Arentas was initially worried, as it is a common occurrence for her to completely forget to document herself on the opponent. This had been the case in the 100th World Cup qualification rounds as well, though it seems like the coach has not yet learned her lesson.

The match immediately started in Snestar’s favor, despite the disorganization in the Viola’s formation after the previous match against Soviet Kem. Perhaps it was because of the opponents being way too young (at least according to the Snestaryans), but the home nation started playing with confidence, securing possession in the early minutes of the game and proceeding to create many dangerous chances, mostly led by Snestar’s star winger Elisa Baldriga, nicknamed the Queen of Football by fans and widely considered one of the greatest female footballers in the country. However, at least in the first half, she couldn’t actually find the net she desired so deeply. The break-through happened when a cross by Daniele Cantu (who was never even expecting to play in the match, figuring that Camilla Arentas would choose Mattia Castelletti over him) ended up finding Nicola Acanfora, who easily struck the ball towards the crossbar and into the net, making it nearly impossible for the young Republican goalkeeper to react quick enough to save the ball. The remaining time of the first half produced only a yellow card, when Sebastiano Balestri accidentally went late on a tackle, making Mattia Dellucci leave the pitch momentarily before returning to the field.

Camilla Arentas, however, wasn’t happy. She wanted more goals, so she decided to swap Gridorya’s tap-in machine: Tero Sjölund. In this match in particular, however, he surprisingly underperformed massively, since he couldn’t quite find the right positioning when faced with Daniele Cantu’s crosses. This allowed Elisa Baldriga to shine even more, and allow her to eventually find the goal in the 77th minute to make the score two to nothing. At that point, in order to avoid a draw that would kill all chances of qualification, the Viola started playing more defensively, giving Free Republics time to reorganize. Right as the announcer informed the stadium of an excruciatingly long 9 minutes of stoppage time, Mattia Dellucci found a spectacular goal, after dribbling Riccardo Cavaliere and sweeping past Sebastiano Balestri with a surprising tunnel. The remaining eight minutes were chaotic: Matteo Caprini had to put in a shocking amount of saves to ensure that the Viola wouldn’t concede, but in the end Snestar emerged victorious.

Right after the final whistle, we attempted to interview Camilla Arentas to hear her thoughts on the match. During the entirety of the interview, she had the same smug grin that a manager is expected to have after winning against a former World Cup champion from twenty-five editions ago.

“I know for a fact that the Republicans underestimated us. I swear, while watching the match from the bench, I was informed about all the trophies won by the Free Republics, and I was like, “Wait, these guys won a World Cup? What in the world are they doing with a youth team?”. I am still very uninformed about them, so I won’t judge, but at the time I was completely speechless… Anyway, I wish we’d scored more tonight. We certainly do have the quality, so it makes me disappointed to see the score being so… low. Anyway, from what I’ve heard, our next opponents like to bottle their chances, though I know for a fact that they’ll play against us like they are first in the ranking… Just kidding, hahaha. I don’t want to be disrespectful towards Carpathia and Ruthenia. You know, I can’t really trash talk a better national team than us, unless they are Super Earth. I can’t wait to face them again and beat them back to the bottom of the rankings.”

The Snestaryan press then proceeded to make a few questions about the current state of Federico Calvaresi, the first choice goalkeeper of the national team, as well as Division Alpha club Arentas.

“I have yet to inform myself about Federico’s injury. I’ve been real busy these days, hope you can imagine the stress I’m facing… He should be fine, though he’ll be knocked out for a fairly long time, which does suck for us, but we have our backups. I’m more concerned for Arentas, the club. Federico has been their anchor since they’ve come back to Division Alpha, so I hope he’ll be able to return as soon as possible, or Arentas might bottle their amazing form. God, I love being biased towards my great-great-grandmother’s club.”

Matchday 3 vs Carpathia and Ruthenia
4-4-2 Formation
GK 12 Matteo Caprini
LB 5 Riccardo Cavaliere
CB 20 Sebastiano Balestri
CB 16 Valentino Garnati
RB 15 Simone Ramella
LM 10 Martin de Roux
CM 6 Davide Scognamiglio (C)
CM 8 Nicola Acanfora
RM 13 Fabio de Filippi
ST 17 Tero Sjölund
ST 27 Elisa Baldriga

(OOC: looking back I might’ve made a mistake calling Snestar’s manager Camilla Arentas, when there’s a Division Alpha club called Arentas named after someone with the surname Arentas, who plays in the Arentas Stadium named after that same Arentas who named the club. It’s starting to get pretty confusing)

[Woodsmere]

Wassenstad Sentinel

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ONLINE

TUESDAY 2ND DECEMBER 2025

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Biyambi Beats the Hares 2-0!
Mende Jukapli

Woodsmere
0

Biyambi
2
Dawnbridge 58', 84'

Like predicted initially, a fail against them was almost certain. Their 4-3-2-1 formation and attacking advantage was one challenge. They were able to exploit their midfield to lure us to the sides and have us held off by the strong defensive base. Penetrating them through the centre was also rather difficult. The match humbled the Hares and showed us the true scale of competition at the Cup of Harmony Group Stages.

We started off the with the ball, but we were very quickly challenged by our inability to progress. Edgar Keulep was given a yellow card for a strong tackle on Christopher Kumwenda. 15 minutes into the match, the Hares figured that they could just have as many people on defensive opposition line, which threatened them, and meant we could progress to the goal. The first implementation of this worked, but we did not manage to score due to Michael Barry's phenomenal save. We tried again, but Reged's missile merely hit the crossbars. However, Biyambi quickly adapted and diverted many midfielders to defense, and we were forced to retreat: continuing further would have compromised our defensive line.

After half time, Dawnbridge from Biyambi scored thanks to a calculated quick dash up the pitch. This lowered the morale of the Hares, but Reged encouraged his team to plough on. Reged's encouragement allowed the defenders to be more mobile and close gaps, despite this strategy eventually failing. Andrew Keegan got rather aggressive on Suhem, with swearing, spitting and almost crippling him with his kick. But Dawnbridge scored at the 87th minute, as the performance of the Hares stagnated.

The match ended disappointed the eager fans, but they obviously still remained loyal. Max Plevi was not disappointed though and he said, "There was nothing we could do - the competition and expertise here is very high."

Starting 11 for the Next Match

The Humble Rise of King Jutregraksils the Unifier

Most historians agree that the origins of Woodsmere come from the Kingdom of Wassenstad's expansion, spearheaded by the now-honoured King Jutregraksils. He led Wassenstad from a city-state to a kingdom the size of Ukraine - in just 34 years! In this article we will go through the beginnings of Jutregraksils and his rise to power.

Jutregraksils was born to a renowned family in Hargalnod, in 521 AD. He showed a particular interest in horse-riding and battles. He became a military general for the Kingdom of Wassenstad at the age of 19, and led his men into a few successful battles against the villages of Mohve and Nano. However, at the time Wassenstad was ruled by a rather ignorant king, King Hergem II, who did not do much to lead his people to a better future. He allegedly once remarked about the peasants, "Oh those pesky peasants, kill all who complain!"

Jutregraksils was involved in a plot to kill and overthrow him. This was successful, and Jutregraksils immediately declared himself King. He was first looked down upon at first, but he won the support of the nobles by reducing their taxes significantly. He began his first military campaign in the south, where his fellow Meares were still being controlled by the foreign Gerlasian princes. With the help of some neighbouring factions, he led 35,000 men to siege the fort of Dahne. This was extremely effective, and they had successfully taken down one Gerlasian faction. Now he did this many, many, many times until he finally sieged Evla, from the Kalenians. By now, he had united all of the Meares. During this time, he used his money to build various institutions like the respected Ettani University of Sciences. He also built various Debist monasteries and holy sites to respect the once-oppressed religion of the Meares. He became a hero, not only among his fellow nobles, but also his freed peasants. He died in 598 AD, in his sleep. His funeral was attended by over 100,000, which is rather high for 500 years ago.

Although the happy memories of Jutregraksils have largely lost their emotions, he is still respected by children and the elderly alike. His stories of success will be passed down for the forseeable future.

[Warkus]

It was 3:30am in the morning and Eirian Protheroe had just finished watching the Warkus v Drawkland game. It was the first time that she’d stayed up to watch a game taking place during ungodly hours and she’s really glad she didn’t miss it, because she’d absolutely have been spoiled on her country beating Drawkland two-nil in their first game of the competition. Not that it was especially difficult for her to stay awake, mind you. It was just the other day that she’d been spirited away back to Warkus. She’s stuck in Caer Lloer for another day or two to meet with her advisors and Prif Weinidog Gawain Ddu over some proposed free trade deals with other Anaian nations. Legally speaking she isn’t supposed to have any sway over the terms of these deals, or whether they go ahead at all, but she also needs to be in the loop regarding anything even remotely adjacent to foreign policy to do her job effectively.

Her grandfather and predecessor, Osian II, was known as the ‘People’s King’ – he broke with tradition by being open with the press and attending all sorts of public events. Eirian is generally believed to be following in his footsteps by doing the same, but her conception of her role differs from her grandfather’s. Osian II felt that his responsibility as King was to be a larger-than-life figure and someone who could create little happy moments in his subject’s lives simply by standing near them or shaking their hand. In his view, the modern monarch exists to maintain a comforting fantasy – the fairy-tale ruler who loves his people and is a perfect moral exemplar in all respects. Eirian, on the other hand, sees being Queen as a job. A complicated, highly political job with all sorts of weird rules and byzantine institutions acting on it in the background. The Dove Guardianship had all sorts of informal social norms and expectations attached to it, but to her these are mostly peripheral to the role. The formal, constitutionally established role mattered far more. The Queen is meant to be a guardian of peace. The Queen is meant to be a foreign policy expert that stands as the final barrier between Warkus and war. That’s why she got her PhD, so she could be in the best standing to make that consequential decision to approve or prevent a military intervention should that day ever come.

She always had a million and one things on her mind. The next public event, the next meeting, the next interview, the next inter-family squabble and so on and so forth. Watching the football provided her with an opportunity to put her mind off work. Or rather, it normally did. Instead, she was reminded about the rumours that were spreading inside and outside the national team camp about her and manager Jack Blethyn. The main rumour being “they’re dating”. The rumours themselves didn’t surprise her. As far as the tabloids and royal obsessives are concerned, she’s dating anyone and everyone. Her security detail, her cousins, every major politician, every journalist that’s interviewed her, and anyone she’s ever been in a photograph with. One time there was a rumour that she was dating a barista at the Prifysgol Dinas Wen café, which apparently started because someone overheard her speaking with a grad school friend who admitted he thought the barista was cute. Like a game of telephone, the narrative quickly changed to “Eirian told a friend she thinks the barista’s cute” and then finally ended up at “Eirian’s dating the barista”.

She was used to these rumours. Not that they didn’t bother her at all, but they were a minor annoyance at most. The rumours about her and Jack, though… They were different. Eirian was worried about how he’d handle them. He’d told her that the FA had informally issued him a “you can do what you want, but maybe don’t” warning. And he said he didn’t care, which was nice, but she knew this was just the beginning. She was worried about how it’d affect him but, perhaps more importantly, she was worried that this time the gossips might have a point.
She knew how much time they spent together. She knew that she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders every time they hung out one-on-one. She knew that, for whatever reason, she liked listening to a football geek yap incessantly about how different coaches have different ideas about what the ‘phase of play’ actually means. She’d started to notice how it bothered her when he was stressed out over a loss and how she’d feel content when he was beaming after an impressive win. In other words, she liked being around him. Maybe she liked him.

Perhaps the outside world figured it out before they even had a chance to figure it out themselves. Or maybe she’s just overthinking it right now because of the rumours. She rolls over and checks her phone. The screen reads 4:53am. Time to get, what, two and a half hours of sleep? Shit.

[The Sernetian Empire]

SERNESPORTS TV



ooc note: sernesports tv logo is ai generated, i will make a human made one asap

OOC NOTE: I'M HAVING TROUBLE WITH UPLOADING SOME IMAGES
contents:
1) Sernet suffers a disappointing defeat to the Martian Independent Republic
2) The Round Table discuss: What now?
3) Pre-match Analysis
4) Lewis' journey: Part 2

[color=darkblue]SERNET SUFFERS A DISAPPOINTING DEFEAT TO THE MARTIAN INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC
Sernesports TV
the match
reporter: Czesław Jalińowski

Nobody in Sernet is pretending this was anything other than a disappointment. After the professional, disciplined 1-0 win over TJUN-ia, the steamers came into Matchday 2 with a lot of confidence; maybe even too much of it.

From the first minute, something felt... ...off.
Sernet were tidy enough, but not sharp. Structured, but not hungry. The Martians arrived with fire in their boots and a clear plan to choke off the Steamer midfield before it could build anything dangerous.

And that plan worked.

For the first time this tournament, the axis of Stork-Jatrowski-Komstrowski couldn't get control. Every attempted triangle was met with a Martian interception, every attempted switch was pressed instantly. Alforez and Dottman pushed up the flanks as usual, but were pinned deeper than they'd like, forced to defend instead of initiate.

When the midfield can't breathe, the forwards suffocate.
And that's exactly what happened to Bolsting and Oluwawa. Two strikers feeding off scraps all evening.
Substitutes, such as Głolin, did their best, but even their efforts couldn't revitalise the curse. Even Pasarowski looked a bit weary.
The crowd was tensed up, hoping that this would turn around.

The Martians punished two moments of hesitation:

-A break down Sernet's right, catching Zoliba slightly too high, exposing space behind him, scored by Luke Garamond at the 61st minute.
-A curled far-post finish after a recycled set piece, beating Pasarowski despite his strong positioning, scored by Albert Carver at the 84th minute.

Neither was the result catastrophic defending, but both were avoidable lapses, which is something this team usually avoids.

However, despite the scoreline, players held their nerve: Pasarowski made several strong saves to keep Sernet alive, most notably a deflection of a shot by Garamond followed up by an excellent leap to save a rebound shot by Jowling. Tworpowski was perhaps the calmest man on the pitch, cleaning up chaos on several Martian breaks. Stork, even when outnumbered, kept barking orders and trying to drag the midfield into tempo. And Oluwawa produced a very good attempt at the goal which unfortunately bounced off of the crossbar. Banis Kolbense also finally made an appearance for Sernet following his absence due to injury, but unfortunately was unable to produce any magnificent moments this match - pretty unlucky for him that this was his first match of the international run.

I'm sorry to say this, but: the overall performance?
Below par. The worst so far in this international run. (NSWC100 & COH92)

In the dressing room, it wasn't silent.
It wasn't angry.
It was annoyed.
The kind of collective frustration that says: "We know we're better than this."

Captain Sporius Bolsting reportedly addressed the squad briefly; stern, direct, but calm, reminding them there are still points to play for and knockout dreams still in reach. And he's right. This defeat stings, but it doesn't sink the ship. Stoberus Pond looked sad, but not mad.
The Steamer engine stalled tonight. But it didn't break. Win the next match, and Sernet are right back in the fight for qualification from Group 4. Lose heart, and the campaign ends early. Sernet are still well within reach of qualifying, possibly even in first place. There are 24 spots to fight for, and one of them will be for Sernet.

Knowing this team, and knowing this country, giving up isn't on the menu.

Final score:
Sernet 0 - 2 The Martian Independent Republic

Goals:
The Martian Independent Republic: Garamond 61', Carver 84'

Stats:
OOC note: don't really feel like it

The Round Table discuss: what now?

Salman: Alright everyone... deep breath. Sernet 0, Martian Independent Republic 2. Not ideal. Thoughts?

Czesław: "Not ideal" is a polite way of saying we played like we forgot how football works. No intensity. No bite. No midfield. It was like the Martians sucked the air out of the pitch.

Bobby: I don't think it was that dramatic-

Czesław: Dramatic? It was lifeless!

Bobby: -I'm just saying, they weren't bad, they were just... flat. Everything was half a second too slow.

Peter: The Martians came in angry after their own shaky start. They pressed like madmen. You could tell Sernet weren't expecting that.

Tadeusz: We can safely say that we underestimated the Martians.

Salman: And that the Steamers might have been slightly too confident...

Damian: Also, the midfield got boxed in. Stork can't carry all of that structure alone, and Jatrowski was getting swarmed. My guy Komstrowski looked like he was in a blender.

Grzegorz: And don't forget the flanks. Alforez and Dottman barely crossed the halfway line. When our wingbacks can't fly, we don't function.

Tadeusz: I want to talk about Bolsting. He had the look of a man ready to explode. He was dropping back to help the midfield, then sprinting forward, then dropping back-

Peter: He was doing three jobs.

Tadeusz: Exactly. And that's never good.

Salman: Alright. So we agree: not a disaster, but definitely the worst match so far. Next up: Bhumi Matawis Empire. Doymals Stadium, Craton. How do we feel?

Bobby: Honestly? Confident. Bhumi Matawis Empire are unpredictable, yes, but they don't press like the Martians. That alone gives us space. Call it ironic if you want, but I believe.

Czesław: And if Sernet get space, they get dangerous. Our passing accuracy wasn't awful, even on the match that we do not speak of... ...If they can settle the tempo, they can dominate.

Grzegorz: Also, we must start quicker. The first 20 minutes versus TJUN-ia were aggressive and sharp. We need that again.

Damian: And we need Mantrostem, and the rest of the back three, to have a big defensive day. Doymals Stadium will probably be a ground with fast pace, so we need to be switched on, and quick as a flash.

Peter: Pasarowski probably keeps us in that match early on. Again.

Tadeusz: But here's the key. If Sernet win this game, a first place finish is back on track. Completely. Nobody is running away with this group.

Czesław: Which is why the loss to the Martians, while painful, doesn't kill us. Beating Bhumi Matawis Empire puts us right back level with our original plan. We anticipated to lose at least one match, we just didn't expect it to be this one.

Bobby: And honestly... the players need a match like this. A wake-up call. Now the complacency is gone.

Salman: Predictions then?

Peter: 2-1 Sernet.

Damian: Tight game. 1-0. Bolsting to redeem himself.

Grzegorz: 3-1 Sernet if the midfield recovers. 1-1 if they don't.

Czesław: I'll be bold. 2-0 Sernet. The Steamers respond with fury.

Tadeusz: I'll go 2-1. Nervy finish.

Bobby: I'm sticking with the classic: ugly, gritty, Sernet win. 1-0.

Salman: And I'll say this: if Sernet show up with the passion they usually bring after a loss? Bhumi Matawis Empire are in trouble. The city of Craton will hear our fans roaring from miles away. The scoreline? Let's go with a 4-2 win for Sernet; I don't know why but I feel like there will be a goalscoring frenzy.

Damian: A win will guarantee us qualification - I think. A loss will put us in deep waters. A draw... ...one point is better than none obviously, but it won't be great.

Right then, gentlemen. Onward. The Steamers aren't done yet.

Pre-match Analysis: vs Bhumi Matawis Empire @Doymals stadium, Craton
by Bobby Boltings Senior


We are using our original starting 11 for the next two games. We are planning multiple substitutions throughout the course of the game. Everyone will have the chance to do something meaningful on the pitch for Sernet.

Group 4
Sernet 0–2 The Martian Independent Republic
Bonusia 1–6 TJUN-ia

* Group 4                          Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 The Martian Independent Republic   2   1  1  0    4
2 Sernet                             2   1  0  1    3
3 TJUN-ia                            2   1  0  1    3
4 Bhumi Matawis Empire               1   0  1  0    1
5 Bonusia                            1   0  0  1    0

Analysis:
Sernet have unfortunately fallen to second place on the Group 4 table, which now has all five teams on it. Bonusia occupies fifth place following a devastating 6-1 loss to TJUN-ia, who we recently defeated. As for the match itself, as discussed at the Round Table, Sernet needs to put on a show. They bring with them a relatively large team and have a population of around 270 million... ...but we need to show all of these 270 millions that Sernet is a force to be reckoned with. I'll leave it at that. Come on Sernet!

Lewis' Journey: Part 2
this is a continuation of Lewis from Setelendisen's travels: Click here for Part 1.

I woke up this morning in Bassabook with that strange mix of nerves and excitement that only football away days can trigger. Sernet had lost last night, but the atmosphere in the cafés around the plaza fountain still buzzed with that stubborn optimism only Sernetians seem to have mastered. "We'll bounce back," one guy from Stensemertef told me while I was buying breakfast. "We always do. Like steam under pressure." As I checked out of the hotel, his words reverberated inside my head.
Couldn't argue with that.

Today's destination: Craton, home of Doymals Stadium, where the Steamers face Bhumi Matawis Empire.

Like a true Sernetian, I took the train to Craton, heading southwest. Zwangzug's intercity network is... nice. It's neat, punctual, the trains are pleasant, and it does it's job. But stepping aboard one instantly reminded me of something:

Nobody does trains like Sernet.

You get used to certain things back home: nice seats, fast acceleration, proper carriage layout, overhead fans that actually work. This one felt a bit cramped, and the ride was bumpier than I expected. Still, it wasn't terrible. Just not what I'm used to. I miss the reassuring whirr of the Sernetesen & Northern I took from Setelendisen to Sernetesen-Storimidros Airport. In Sernet, trains don't just do their job, they do much, much more than that. They carry the country, literally. They are the spine on which the rest of the body holds itself up on.

Anyway, the journey southwest was quite scenic. Rolling hills, farmlands, and clusters of tidy little towns that look like they were designed by someone who really likes minimalism.
About halfway through the trip I spotted a group of fellow Sernet fans wearing the lovely blue and orange scarves. I gave them the nod. They gave me the nod. No words needed. The universal language of away days.

Craton's station is modern, though not quite as grand as your average Sernetesen terminus. It's got that "we upgraded this place five years ago because we had to" sort of vibe. Still, nice enough. Honestly, I can't really criticise them.

Stepping out into the city centre was a surprise. It's lively. Buskers, food stalls, crowds moving like organised chaos. Quite charming, actually. And not too far away, the shape of Doymals Stadium, like a steel crown.

Since the match isn't until tomorrow, I took some time to explore. Craton feels like a mix between a university town and a regional capital. Also, I tried out some of the Barbecues, what Craton is known for. And I must say, they certainly deserve that reputation.

Before checking into my hotel in Craton, I found another fountain - this city's one. Circular plaza, lined with cafes, water patterns that dance every few minutes. This one, however, was not really a tourist attraction. But I enjoyed the vibe. I sat down with a soft drink, and thought:

We lost last match.
But we're here.
We're alive in the Cup of Harmony.
And tomorrow we fight again.

The plaza was full of colours: locals, tourists, Sernetians, occasionaly supporters from other nations in Group 4. But I counted at least twenty navy-blue shirts drifting in and out. The Steamers are here in numbers.

The Martians beat us, sure, but morale among fans is still weirdly high.
Bhumi Matawis Empire tomorrow. Must win? Maybe. Should win? Absolutely.

Time to rest. Tomorrow, we roar.

- Lewis

that concludes this cycle's rp post

#sernetishim #comeonsernet #thepowerofsernet #steamersrising

[Airannia]

After a late entrance into the Busoga Islands; and a hard fought 0-1 defeat against the Sarzonians in the Busogan Beehive, the Airannian team might already be hungering for the taste of home. Being homesick isn't reserved for disillusioned players, though - there's also the fans. And, in the far reaches of the world — where even the most basic communications are nearly impossible for those using mainstream consumer telephones, there's hardly anything an Airannian could call upon to remind him of home. And when I say "hardly", I don't mean "none at all". So, now's the best time to dive into the journalism and culture of the nation of the sword and key, through one of the few mediums available nearly everywhere: the international paper known as the Plattamaude.

Founded in 1969, the Plattamaude is intended as the be-all, end-all newspaper to any Airannian abroad. Wherever Airannians might be, the paper's shipped. Most are distributed on subscription basis, but you can also find it in the better bookshops in countries in the regional neighbourhood. And in some cases, the paper is specifically stocked anywhere a lot of Airannians might find themselves travelling... such as the city of Dukuma, where the first two games of the Drills in the Cup of Harmony are scheduled. The first edition of the paper was in French, but since 1980, the paper's distributed exclusively in English. At the time, French was more commonly spoken by all inhabitants of the nation, but over time, due to technological advances, the overall population in the non-French speaking regions shifted more toward speaking English. And to those wondering, the reason why the paper isn't in Aeránanue is because a large portion of the population doesn't speak Aeránanue, but instead Hmalan, Siwoni or French.. or one of the ten other minority languages spoken in Airannia. English is the most logical way to bridge the intense linguistic gaps in the country (Although according to recent census, about 96.6% of the country is capable of understanding one or more of the four official languages!)

Buying a Plattamaude in Dukuma today, however, could be a confusing experience for any outsider. Many of the articles are uniquely relevant only to home, as anyone looking for world news might as well buy a local paper. Those who do bother to read these articles will be puzzled by messaging regarding the impact on the makeup of the Dittécy due to the newly announced municipal elections in several of the departments... — despite being born relatively recently in 1967, Airannia's democratic system isn't exactly the most straight forward. Even simpler articles about celebrities are hard to understand; the paper is English only as a bridge between the various linguistic communities that might be served by the abroad paper. Anything that could be easily understood by anyone in the nation, such as some of the local proverbs, are included with translation, but without transliteration. Airannian and Hmalan share a large amount of these; as well as a large amount of linguistic quirks. In Aeránanue and Hmala alike, one doesn't say "They are very happy"; you'd say "They are very happily" — and the same can be said for the journalists writing the paper.

One last hope; the puzzles page. The confused reader might still enjoy a lovely sudoku, could try their hand at a binary puzzle; and might even attempt to solve a few clues in the crossword... but then quickly realize that there's no way they'll slog through the Airannia-English in there. It gets worse here than in the articles: Airannians online use a LOT of abbreviation language - another quirk that transcends languages. Nobody who isn't from the ceremonial monarchy would ever resolve the clue "Doesn't really matter" (4) as JJIA (short for Jo Juélatte Ica Acánde - The Ocean is Still Blue). And don't even bother with the cryptic crossword. That one's so hard, even for native Airannians... it's a mystery why it's even printed at all anymore.

Ultimately, the unfortunate non-Airannian tourist who doesn't know any better; or native Busogan thinking a new newspaper has launched will be sorely disappointed having bought the Plattamaude; but might still have good uses as:
Rayafultáq - Firestarter
Hándulmáq - Fly Squatter
Bessuy je Chericu - Gift Wrap

Note: Airannia is, technologically, frozen in time in about 2005. Right now, its current year is 1985.

[Saterun]

The mood was pretty good right now in the Saterun camp. They'd had a decent start to the Cup of Harmony, winning 2-1 against Soviet Kem. Although Handrix would have normally wanted a more comfortable performance, he was happy that the Claws sat on top of their group, despite playing the least amount of games. As the players came into the locker room, he was full of praise for their performance. It had been a solid victory, with Bates and Ibañez each scoring. The tactical calls had been spot on, with Bates scoring the winner through a header in the dying moments. Saterun had dominated on the wings, and their midfield had held up surprisingly well given all the pressure due to their opposition's sheer numbers. Handrix gave a quick congratulatory speech, let the players know about training the next day, and then released them. If they could carry out this kind of win every match, they'd be in a very strong position. As Handrix was about to leave, his assistant manager, Dante Feilan, came up to him. "Hey, gaffer, me and the other staff were thinking maybe we could go out for drinks tonight. You know, to celebrate the win, and maybe talk about the next match." Handrix was in a pretty good mood, so he had to oblige. About 15 minutes later, the coaching staff was standing outside the stadium, waiting for a taxi. Handrix had let the bus driver know that they wouldn't be going back with the team.

A little while later, they were in downtown Arlington. It was a sizeable city, and Handrix was excited to explore it. The group talked for a bit, before finally deciding on a popular bar called Maclarene's. It was slightly lowered from the street, with a dark green sign pointing to the entrance. Inside were numerous little tables, along with a few booths against the back wall. They found a place to sit, and for a few minutes just took in the culture around them. It was a little similar to some bars in more northern cities in Saterun, but there was something that definitely felt different. Soon, however, a voice shook them out of it. "Hi! I'm Wendy, one of the bartenders and waitresses. Just let me know if you guys need anything." Handrix thanked her, before looking at a small menu on the table. It had a list of a lot of different drinks he had never heard of, along with one Saterun brew that he was shocked to recognize. Although he could have played it safe, he wanted to fully experience the culture of Zwangzug. He decided he'd order a local draft. Once he got everyone's drink orders, he went up to get them at the bar. Next to him, he could hear a group of friends deep in discussion. He started to listen while he waited, but as soon as he heard "blue French horn" (whatever that was) he knew there was no chance he'd have the context for understanding it. Once he got the drinks, he brought them back for the group.

Dante had already been showing the team something on his phone. It was a video of stitched-together clips, all of their next opponent. Handrix didn't know much about Free Republics, expect that they had significant history but hadn't been present on the multiverse scene very much recently. Except, of course, for this cycle, which was how Dante had video footage of them playing. It seemed like they also played a narrow formation, with an attacking slant. Handrix had already known that this team was exceptionally young, but seeing it for the first time still shocked him a little bit. It was crazy that they had managed to get this far with such a young team. But obviously they were good. Something that everyone of the team realized pretty much instantly was that physicality and experience were going to be two big advantages for the Claws. They had exploited those well against some teams during qualifiers, and Handrix was pretty confident he could get the squad back in that mindset. As the hours flipped by, the team went more and more in-depth. However, they also began to drift off-topic more and more, and so by 11 Handrix decided to call it a night. With the urging of their head coach, so did the rest of the managerial team. They caught a cab back to the hotel, and given that it was a Saturday night, Handrix wasn't surprised to see barely any of the players around. A few days later, he'd discover a social media post from Caesar Ibañez that would reveal that the striker had taken the entire team out clubbing, but that was a headache for later. Right now, he just had to get some sleep. The next day, he'd be delivering an important pre-match tactical session about their next opponents.

The next day. Back out on the training field, Handrix was excited. The team would be traveling all day tomorrow to Zwischen, the nation's capital, and so this would be the last training session they had before the brief pregame warm-up before facing Free Republics. "Lads, lads. Lads!" That got their attention. "Our next game is against Free Republics. They've been a little inconsistent so far in this tournament, beating Carpathia and Ruthenia but also somehow losing to Snestar, so I'm not totally sure how they'll play when they face us. But we've got to be prepared for their best. Like I said last week, we're gonna take it down the wings. I want you all to play just like you did against Soviet Kem, we got a bit unlucky in that match. We need to be aggressive, more so than last time. Our opponents know how to score, they've shown that, so we need to be a bit stouter defensively. I only want to repeat this one more time: wingbacks, please for the love of Kameron tuck in. We need to defend narrower. All right. I'm done, break off into your groups." Handrix wandered back over to his little on-pitch table. He sat down, reviewing the team selection for the next game. Nothing was final yet, but he was likely going to make a couple of changes. Sülimein Kalemanu would probably start, alongside Ruben De Santiago and maybe Adrian Schlimme. Schlimme had just come off an incredible season in the A Liga, setting a record goals scored in one season, but Bates had a decent game last time out and Handrix wanted to give the veteran some minutes. His time on the national team was waning, after all.

Although Handrix was mostly paid to do the macro managing of the national team, today he wanted to get a bit more involved in the training session. Over on the left side of the field, the forwards were doing a one-two drill with the goalkeepers standing by. Handrix walked up just in time to see Caesar lash in a shot from outside the penalty area, and all Bohler could do was watch. Caesar had just come off a 17-goal season in the Chromatik Red League, and was far and away the best Saterun player right now. If he achieved a bit more on the national and club level, the whispers could even start for him being the best Saterunalian of all time. However, his job right now was to be the point of Handrix's spear of attack. After watching a few rounds, Handrix spoke quietly to Carlos Segura, his offensive coordinator. Taking Handrix's advice, Carlos slightly switched up the drill to force one of the forwards to play defense while the other two tried to play around him. Not only did this give them more of a challenge, but it also forced each forward to spend time defending. Handrix wanted to start emphasizing a more pressing-focused game throughout this tournament, and this was the only way to start. Hopefully, in their next match against Free Republics, they could start to use it in a match. However, based on what he saw in front of him, Handrix wasn't sure if they were quite ready.

That night, the team was gathered outside the hotel, waiting to get on the bus. Handrix had decided they would leave tonight, in order to make sure they had plenty of time before tomorrow night's match. It would be a long drive, and he hoped to get a little sleep on the way there. They'd arrive close to 2 am, and would have to be awake by 9 the next morning. Slowly, players filed into the bus, taking their seats. Some pulled out pillows, while a few others got on their phones. Leandro Alfienk had connected a portable gaming system to one of the TVs in the bus, and the players gathered around him were trying to decide on a movie. Handrix found an empty row in the back, and laid out with a small pillow behind his head. If he was being honest, night-time bus travel might have been his favorite way to travel with the team. They usually weren't too loud, and Handrix always had the heat up a little higher whenever they traveled at night. He could feel himself slowly slip towards sleep. He knew he'd have to briefly wake up again once they got to the hotel, but he wanted to catch just a little bit of shuteye while he still could. A few minutes later, the bus pulled away from the dock. As they left Arlington behind, Handrix finally drifted off. In a little over 24 hours, they'd be taking the field for the second time in this tournament.

*The original image was AI-generated, the paint effect was edited on by me.

[Biyambi]

Last Episode: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=575263&p=43201728#p43201728

Narrator:
"What does it take to be champion? Many will point to having an elite talented squad, others legacy, and some to the resources a club has. But when all the noise fades, everyone can agree on one word.... consistency."

Bwana Dewa Dana (Mansanduni Union Director):
"): To win the league a team has to have consistent good performances, not just occasional flashes, but consistent performances. A team has to show up whether they playing a team like Amari Tsopa or Black Leopards. That’s the elite mindset of a champion winning squad something I must say Ngwazi Strikers lack. They might now have a trophy in the TNB knockout cup but they won’t be lifting the super league trophy at the end of the season because they aren’t a consistent team."

Francis Chiwaya (Ngwazi Strikers Manager):
"I honestly cannot fathom how that guy replaced me at Union. Uhm! anyway, Uhm! I agree that consistency is crucial to winning a league title. But that’s not the only ingredient.

A team has to have great leaders to lead the team in times of tribulations and in good times so that the team can not lose focus on the ultimate price, and I must say Ngwazi Strikers has shown that it has great leaders by coming back from several disappointments, the 4-1 loss against Black Leopards in the Top 8 and the subsequent violence after the game, losing in the final to our rivals but through all that the teams leaders have kept the team from crushing and now the club has its first trophy of the season. The other ingredients are great players and luck. Ngwazi Strikers has great players who know how to identify opportunities in games and how to take them and that’s why we have gone 7-games unbeaten in the league. Now on luck, that’s something Union currently has, they are past their best, the Top 8 win was luck, as for us we are here because of consistent hard work. Come end season we will be champions."

(We see Super League results flash across the screen

MATCHDAY 9
Mafumu Chiefs 2-2 PZ Stars
Zayieme Sugar 1-1 Mighty Tigers
Amari Tsopa 4-3 Mansanduni Union
Balabet Pirates 2-3 Ngwazi Strikers
Moyo Power Pack 2-2 Black Leopards
Red Lions 0-1 Mighty Rangers

MATCHDAY 10
Mighty Tigers 3-1 Mafumu Chiefs
Mansanduni Union 1-1 PZ Stars
Ngwazi Strikers 2-0 Zayieme Sugar
Black Leopards 3-1 Amari Tsopa
Mighty Rangers 1-2 Balabet Pirates
Red Lions 0-4 Moyo Power Pack

MATCHDAY 11
Mafumu Chiefs 1-4 Mansanduni Union
Mighty Tigers 0-1 Ngwazi Strikers
PZ Stars 1-3 Black Leopards
Zayieme Sugar 0-1 Mighty Rangers
Amari Tsopa 0-0 Red Lions
Balabet Pirates 1-0 Moyo Power Pack)

Narrator:
"The Royals were proving a point, consistency. By Matchday 11, Ngwazi Strikers had extended their unbeaten run to 10-games, building a commanding lead at the top of Super League table with 28 points.

Mansanduni Union on the other hand lay 10 points away from the top of the table with 18 points due to their inconsistent performances. Everyone was talking about if Union with its aging squad was past its peak and if they would make a comeback as they had done in the past?

For most Biyambian football lovers, they will remember the first season of the Super League when the Peoples Team found themselves bottom of the log table after seven matches and zero points. Title contenders, Black Leopards were top of the table unbeaten with 17 points. What happened next was not short of incredible, Union went on a 11-match winning streak, storming to their first Super League title, whilst the Leopards did not even smell second place, collapsing to third place.

So now with 11 games still left to play, the question which lingered on Biyambian football lovers lips was; would the Peoples Team do it again or perhaps the gap of 10-points was just too steep to climb?"

[Kandorith]

Hikari Kyoyu

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Illuminating Today

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December 2075

TIE LIVE

TIE ▲ 0.87 % 12,769.14 • HIYASHI ▼ 0.41 % 332.08 • BIOTECHNICA ▲ 1.12 % 362.77 • NEO GEN ▼ 0.56 % 304.41 • SHOGUN ▲ 0.33 % 355.84 • GASCORP ▼ 0.19 % 470.98 • KAITO INTL ▲ 1.89 % 106.09 • KOSEN OPTITECH ▼ 0.27 % 163.34 • KURODA ▲ 2.01 % 477.29 • RDD ▼ 0.98 % 388.27 • AEGIS MEDCORP ▲ 0.44 % 251.99 • RONIN ASSEMBLIES ▼ 0.31 % 49.67

Cup of Harmony 92

3 Points After Much Needed Win
by Natsumi Miyasaki | Sports - Football |

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The opening two matches for the Kandorese national team at the CoH 92 were a rollercoaster ride with stark contrasts: first, a heavy defeat against Natkr, followed by a convincing win against Kita-Hinode. Currently, Mekahi has three points from two matches and holds a very realistic chance of staying in the hunt for the next phase of the tournament, though the Kandorese need to remain focused from now on.

The first fixture was expected to be tough against the 66th-ranked Natar national team at the Stade de Beirut on the North Island of the Busoga Islands, where Kandorese fans hoped for a positive start to the tournament. Mekahi was hit with a figurative reinforced concrete wall. The final scoreline reflected the mistakes made and the Kandorese national team's complete powerlessness against Natkr, resulting in a 0-4 defeat for Mekahi. Kandorith started the CoH campaign at the bottom of Group 9 and now faced a -4 goal difference.

The fans' reaction on social media was not anger but disappointment. Many took to the net to share their views on what went wrong with the team and what Kuroda should do to improve for the upcoming match. Most, however, spoke out in support and posted messages of hope and confidence that the team will perform better in the remaining matches.

Serizar, Kuroda Makes Massive Changes

Kandorith would approach the match against Kita-Hinode differently. Kuroda made several changes, most notably rumoured to play with two strikers instead of one, completely switching the team around. The changes altered the team's dynamic and paid off, as on the pitch, they looked more in control and delivered a performance more in line with Kandorith's usual standard. After 90 minutes, Kandorith emerged victorious against Kita-Hinode and secured their first important 3 points of the tournament.

The Kandorese victory was met with enormous positivity and praise, as fans could once again hope the team would perform as expected. The atmosphere across the nation is tense yet hopeful as they look to the remaining matches for Mekahi. The question is whether Kuroda will continue to make changes or if the game against Natkr was indeed a series of unfortunate events.

The Road Ahead – Katzeburg and Ethane

With the Kandorese now sitting 3 points behind Natkr and Katzeburg, respectively, they still have hopes of advancing to the next stage, but they must avoid major mistakes if they want to stay in the race. With two matches still to be played, Mekahi will be taking on the 117th and 47th-ranked players and must remain at the top of their game, especially against Katzeburg.

The first game will be against the 117th-ranked Ethane, a must-win match for the Kandorese. Ethane has already secured a 0-0 draw against the group's highest-ranked team, Katzeburg, and has played only one game so far. Kuroda has stated that they will try to use the experience from two games in one match to their advantage. While Ethane have shown defensive resilience, they should not be underestimated.

For the fourth match, Kandorith travel to Lakiska City Field stadium to face 47th-ranked Katzeburg, who are also the current group leaders with 4 points from 2 games. The Kandorese team will look to exploit their underdog status and adopt a must-win mentality, as the final matchday will be out of their hands. Kuroda and the team will have to watch the other matches from the sidelines on their bye day.

Group 9                           Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Katzeburg                         2   1  1  0    4   3  +1    4
2 Natkr                             1   1  0  0    4   0  +4    3
3 Kandorith                         2   1  0  1    3   5  −2    3
4 Ethane                            1   0  1  0    0   0   0    1
5 Kita-Hinode                       2   0  0  2    4   7  −3    0

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History & Politics

Kandorith From The Ashes of War - Empress Masumi
by Keiko Arai | History |

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The Imperial House of Kandorith, a statement to the ages, centred on Empress Masumi in the palace at the heart of Tenkyo. The Imperial House stands as a symbol of culture, continuity and history in a nation shaped by rapid modernisation. The reinstatement of the Imperial House was a massive undertaking, as Kandorith regained its independence on 24 May 1962 and lasted for decades before Empress Masumi ascended the throne in 2068. The first new "emperors" were mostly placeholders without real power; Masumi is the first new true emperor in both name and function of the Kandorese Empire.

A New, Old Nation's Birth – The Era of Renewal

Kandorith's path to independence was a long and bloody road, taking place under the Meiyu occupation of the Kandorese territories and the imprisonment and eventual death of the late Emperor Akiharu. Akiharu pleaded guilty to all charges and was hanged on 15 May 1956, and signalled the de facto end of the Kandorese Empire as a whole – for Meiyu, it served as the first step of their brutal oppression of the Kandorese people.

Under the oppressive Meiyu administration, multiple attempts were made to revise and completely reconstruct Kandorese history, leading to growing anger among the Kandorese people and ever more extreme measures, such as the destruction of Tendo temples and historical sites. The anger reached a boiling point in 1960. After decades of oppression, Meiyu now installed a complete non-Kandorese government, president and judiciary, which was accused of systematically discriminating against the Kandorese, which led to the Kaito revolt in 1962 and their leaders claiming independence on 24 May.

Kandorith now stood alone again and entered its reformation period in 1978 with symbolic emperors as heads of state rather than an actual emperor. Slowly, Kandorith transitioned from its socialist rule under Meiyi to an independent new entity on the world stage. The first policies under the new administration involved the complete restructuring of the Kandorese state and economy and the reinstatement of the imperial house in its entirety.

While the Kandorese state and people moved towards becoming today's modern, technologically advanced nation, the question of reinstating the imperial house again remained. While there was initial controversy over the Great War and what it had cost the Kandorese nation after it surrendered, some say it would've been better never to have an emperor in charge of the country again.

A Shift Within Kandorese Politics

During the mid-2000s, the public narrative and opinion shifted, with people seeming to want a physical, actual emperor again. The Kandorese nation was now a massive success story in military, political, and economic prowess. Globally, Kandorith became a respected and sometimes feared entity again, prompting the government to consider appointing a figurehead of government rather than just a prime minister. Next to the government's overwhelming support for these changes was the public outcry to finally close the chapter of occupation and leave the so-called era of humiliation behind.

In October 2067, the Gyukyu and the Senate finally agreed that Kandorith would return to its historical roots and reinstate the imperial household through the Imperial Restoration Act. Without any trouble, the law was supported by a massive 95% majority in both houses. It would ensure the monarch's return as the constitution's permanent cultural and political head of state.

In 2068, the law would come into effect, and the burden of becoming emperor would fall to Masumi, daughter of Ashikaga – the last remaining direct descendant of the previous imperial house and the only part of the imperial family to survive the Meiyi purge. Masumi ascended the throne on 10 March 2068 during the first royal event of Kandorith since 1955. The event was praised throughout the nation, as it was not just a return of the monarchy but also a well-structured, deliberate creation of a new Kandorese identity and soul. Kandorith now had an empress who embodied both historical continuity and the modern framework of the new Kandorese state.

Masumi – A Symbol of a Modern Nation and the Future

While facing the challenges of the modern-day empire, Masumi reigns over a Kandorith unrecognisable from the last time the emperors reigned. The palace remains the symbolic centre of the empire, but the empress herself is a much more potent symbol of hope for the future. The Imperial House endures, and its reinstatement has reignited a new wave of national pride among the Kandorese people. The empress, for the Kandorese, is a symbol of Kandorese perseverance, survival and endurance and has become a beacon of hope for the future of the Kandorese state.

[Dantopia]

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VOL. 45,992

LION CITY, DANTOPIA WEDNESDAY 3RD DECEMBER, 2025

₵500

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Division 1 Enters 10th Season — A Reflection Pt. 3

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Dantopia's Top-Flight League History Analysed Intently By Our Chief Football Correspondent

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By SAUL ARNSTEIN

A Reflection Pt. 1 — A Reflection Pt. 2

Division 1
Season VII
POSTEAMPLDWDLGFGAGDPTS
1   Portland Pirates        38   21   6   11   76   51   +25   69   Division 1 Champions
2   Lion City FC            38   18   14   6   86   48   +38   68
3   Grenadiers              38   19   9   10   64   40   +24   66
4   Apollo FC               38   17   7   14   61   57   +4   58
5   Dartford City           38   16   8   14   73   57   +16   56
6   Dartford Oilers         38   15   11   12   62   53   +9   56
7   Waiakea Warriors        38   13   10   15   51   61   −10   49
8   Rockport Rovers         38   13   9   16   47   55   −8   48
9   Northridge Navigators   38   9   15   14   36   46   −10   42
10   East Bay United         38   9   12   17   30   58   −28   39
11   Chester Chiefs          38   8   13   17   47   62   −15   37
12   Team Valiant            38   8   10   20   43   88   −45   34   Relegated to Division 2

DFA Cup Final
Season VII
Grenadiers 2−3 Chester Chiefs

Division 1 End of Season Awards
Season VII
AWARDWINNERTEAM
Top Goalscorer                Bradini Brunson  (27)             Lion City FC
Top Assister                  Adebayo Adeyemi  (16)             Grenadiers
Player of the Season          Raphael Kwaku                     Portland Pirates
Young Player of the Season    Rokuchō Buliche                   Apollo FC
Manager of the Season         Geoff Hendrickson                 Portland Pirates

Season Summary:
The seventh season of the DFA's Division 1 saw a very tight three-way race for the title between the Grenadiers; Lion City FC; and Portland Pirates. The Pirates would come out on top with a final match-day victory, securing their second league title in three seasons. Star man and talisman striker Raphael Kwaku would win player of the season, and Geoff Hendrickson won his second manager of the season award. In the DFA Cup, the Chester Chiefs would win their third domestic cup in five seasons, proving their penchant for the trophy, and securing the win over the Grenadiers by the same scoreline as they had against the Dartford Oilers the prior season. Adebayo Adeyemi returned to the Dantopian league with his boyhood Grenadiers team, and whilst he could not bag the league or the DFA Cup, he would secure the most assists this campaign. His stint over at Pesfield Trees in Sylestone unfortunately didn't work out the way he had intended, but a return back home revitalised his career. Apollo FC and both Dartford clubs would make up the rest of the top six. At the bottom of the table, the cup winning Chester Chiefs would struggle with league form, but it would be newly promoted Team Valiant not proving valiant in their effort to remain in the top flight, heading back down to Division 2 — to be replaced by the Aberdeen A's in the following season. Bradini Brunson led the league in scoring for an offensively brilliant Lion City FC, but head coach Kepa Kaitiaki would find himself under increasing scrutiny and pressure following his second successive season with no silver-wear. Macronesian youngster Rokuchō Buliche would emerge as the young player of the season for Apollo FC.

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Division 1
Season VIII
POSTEAMPLDWDLGFGAGDPTS
1   Lion City FC            38   25   6   7  104  44   +60   81   Division 1 Champion
2   Portland Pirates        38   22   10   6   87   52   +35   76
3   Grenadiers              38   19   12   7   64   42   +22   69
4   Waiakea Warriors        38   15   12   11   67   56   +11   57
5   Chester Chiefs          38   15   8   15   47   56    −9   53
6   Dartford City           38   13   7   18   45   58   −13   46
7   Apollo FC               38   13   12   13   56   54   +2   51
8   Dartford Oilers         38   11   15   12   48   57   −9   48
9   Northridge Navigators   38   12   11   15   34   45   −11   47
10   Rockport Rovers         38   9   14   15   30   53   −23   41
11   East Bay United         38   9   8   21   25   48   −23   35
12   Aberdeen A's            38   3   9   26   21   63   −42   18   Relegated to Division 2

DFA Cup Final
Season VIII
Lion City FC 4−3 Portland Pirates

Division 1 End of Season Awards
Season VIII
AWARDWINNERTEAM
Top Goalscorer                Bradini Brunson  (34)             Lion City FC
Top Assister                  Jeremiah Taramaiah / (25)       Lion City FC
Player of the Season          Bradini Brunson                   Lion City FC
Young Player of the Season    Zeke Edwards                      Waiakea Warriors
Manager of the Season         Iokepa Kaitiaki                   Lion City FC

Season Summary:
The eighth season of the DFA's Division 1 didn't see such a tight three-horse race like the season prior, but instead a season of dominance from the capital's premier club, Lion City FC. In fact, such was the dominance from the Royals, that they were able to entirely rest their starting eleven heading into the second phase — as they had already mathematically won the league. The 104 total goals scored for them was a D1 record, and contributing massively to those goals were Dantopian striker Bradini Brunson and dual national Dantopian/Tumbran midfielder Jeremiah Taramiah — each walking away with goalscoring and assist records, and of course the top goalscorer and top assister for the season awards respectively. The 34 goals scored by Brunson in just 33 games — he sat the final 5 of the season, as mentioned earlier — meant he also won player of the season. The trophy drought also finally ended for Lion City FC manager Kepa Kaitiaki, as he walked away with both the league title and DFA Cup, following a thrilling 4-3 win over rivals the Portland Pirates, and also won manager of the season to boot. Zeke Edwards emerged as a young star in the making for the Waiakea Warriors, and he won young player of the season at just 17 years of age. It was a second successive season to forget for the Dartford Oilers, and they finally parted with their struggling manager Derek ten Hogg, replacing him with recently retired former defender Gary McGoldrick. However, their season was not as poor as that of the Aberdeen A's, who only won three matches across the campaign, and finished with the lowest tally ever in D1 history, a measly 18 points. They were relegated to Division 2, to be replaced by Team Valiant for the following season.

---

Division 1
Season IX
POSTEAMPLDWDLGFGAGDPTS
1   Lion City FC            38   26   6   6  103  45   +58   84   Division 1 Champions
2   Portland Pirates        38   24   10   4  106  39   +67   82
3   Grenadiers              38   17   9   12   55   44   +11   60
4   Waiakea Warriors        38   15   14   9   67   50   +17   59
5   Dartford City           38   16   6   16   54   69   −15   54
6   Apollo FC               38   14   11   13   49   58   −9   53
7   Dartford Oilers         38   14   12   12   69   68   +1   54
8   Northridge Navigators   38   10   11   17   38   62   −24   41
9   Chester Chiefs          38   10   10   18   36   60   −24   40
10   Team Valiant            38   9   9   20   50   76   −26   36
11   Rockport Rovers         38   8   7   18   25   52   −27   31
12   East Bay United         38   6   10   22   28   51   −23   28   Relegated to Division 2

DFA Cup Final
Season IX
Apollo FC 1−2 Corinthinians

Division 1 End of Season Awards
Season IX
AWARDWINNERTEAM
Top Goalscorer                Raphael Kwaku  (36)               Portland Pirates
Top Assister                  Nico Hollins / (22)             Portland Pirates
Player of the Season          Raphael Kwaku                     Portland Pirates
Young Player of the Season    Elleby Young                      Apollo FC
Manager of the Season         Iokepa Kaitiaki                   Lion City FC

Season Summary:
The ninth season of the DFA's Division 1 saw a close race between the two current, eminent powers of Dantopian football; Lion City FC; and the Portland Pirates. The top six remained nearly identical, with Apollo FC substituting the Chester Chiefs, but neither Apollo FC; Dartford City; the Grenadiers; or the Waiakea Warriors were able to keep up with the top two sides, who were locked into a fierce battle for the title. It would be the reigning champion Lion City FC who would come out victorious in the end, winning their third overall D1 title. Both the Royals and all-blacks boasted fearsome attacks — scoring over 100 goals each this season — but Pirates striker Raphael Kwaku would emerge as the top scorer of the year, with a record breaking 36 goals across the league campaign. This was enough to win him player of the season as well, his third time winning the award. His teammate Nico Hollins would rack up the most assists of the campaign. Young player of the season would go to Elleby Young of Apollo FC, who almost managed to secure a DFA Cup title for his side, but the historic cup run of Division 2 side the Corinthinians prevented the young Dantopian in the final. The Corinthinians had secured the services of recently sacked Derek ten Hogg from the Dartford Oilers, a true boon for the small club from Lion City. ten Hogg's guidance saw the Corinthinians finish second in Division 2 — just shy of the promoted Shoreline Sharks — but all-importantly, the Corinthinian manager was able to guide the club named after his nation's-sake all the way to an unlikely DFA Cup victory. Unfortunately for ten Hogg, D2 managers are not eligible for D1 manager of the season awards, so the title went back to Kepa Kaitiaki of Lion City FC. At the bottom of the table, East Bay United would be relegated, and replaced with the aforementioned Shoreline Sharks for the following season.

[Eastfield Lodge]

CoH92 MD1: Eastfield Lodge 3–2 Choppyhausen
Line-up (4-2-3-1): Horak - Webber, Kirkup, Fevison, Phelan - Forde, Farrow (<> Dinwoodie 84’) - Caceres, Jafari-Law (<> Hackett 84’), Lysander (<> Scripps 74’) - Noble (<> Holdsworth 74’)
Goals (Assists): Noble (16’ - Farrow), Lysander (61’ - Farrow), Caceres (90+1’ - Forde)
Headline: Laboured performance enough to open Cup of Harmony with a win

It had been a bit of a tetchy time in Keppal City for the Imperial Commonwealth, facing off against Baptism of Fire runners-up Choppyhausen in their opening match of the Cup of Harmony. Having had a bye going into the match, things were obviously a bit rusty - Lysander twice tried to play Noble past the offside trap only to play the ball straight through to the keeper Weiner-Kracht, and Noble then managed to completely miskick a low cross across the face of goal when it would have been easier to score. She did manage to rectify that error though, Lysander playing it off Caceres on the corner of the box to cut in from the wing, playing it along to Farrow at the top of the arc. And it was a deft flick from the captain that left the Choppyhausen centre backs non-plussed, giving Noble all the time in the world to settle the ball and tuck it home underneath Weiner-Kracht. The minnows then kicked into gear, first off with Corte dispossessing Kirkup through the press and placing his first time shot narrowly wide of the post, before Lukeson was played in on a cutback by Corte a few minutes later, the midfielder stinging Horak’s palms with a relatively tame effort.

It was looking like it would take a top notch shot to beat Horak for the Team in Teal to open their scoring, but it transpired that bad luck would also work, as Kiel lined up for a free kick after Forde fouled him on the edge of the box, directly central to goal. He stepped up for the free kick, and fired it straight into the wall, but with enough force that it deflected off Webber’s head and wrong-footed Horak in the Eastfielder net, levelling scores. Kiel nearly made it two from two on free kicks, this time beating the wall from 25 yards out and left of centre only for Horak to pull off a spectacular sprawling save to claw his shot away from the top corner. At the other end, Jafari-Law also tested Weiner-Kracht from a set piece, a well worked corner routine playing the Aardswood winger free on the edge of the box where she could only find the outside of the post. Half-time came and went with little change to the tempo of the match, Lysander twice forcing Weiner-Kracht into diving saves from the edge of the box, relatively tame shots in comparison the goal on the hour mark, where she took a half-step forward to meet Farrow’s ball, turned outside Lampe inside the box and smashed the ball across the face of goal into the far corner.

That lead only managed to last for four minutes though, as Mimi Phelan’s cross was met by Noble on the penalty spot, the Olympia striker firing her shot directly off the crossbar and into the grateful arms of Weiner-Kracht. The keeper then took one look forward, and played an exquisite long ball out to Iduna, the winger basically one-on-one the entire length of the Eastfielder half only for his shot to be pushed wide by Horak. The VLC keeper almost grabbed the plaudits, had Choppyhausen not scored from the resulting corner as Frederiksen was left completely unmarked by both centre-backs and headed in Kiel’s corner with relative ease, Horak unable to come out and meet the cross himself. Some rumblings of obstruction of the goalie did come from the Lodgers, but those fell on deaf ears. Changes were then made over the next ten minutes, and they nearly immediately paid off when Rafeeda Scripps played through Jafari-Law past Lampe, and her shot across goal only narrowly went beyond the far post.

Chappell Holdsworth also came close to breaking the deadlock, as Choppyhausen retreated further and further to try and secure the point. The Norrion striker popped up with a 1-2 off Scripps to beat the defenders, only to put his shot into the keeper’s chest. Holdsworth had another couple of opportunities to take the lead as well, putting two headers from both wingers over the bar, before Szilard Forde played a rare ball forwards down the right, Caceres holding off Bender-McKay to get onto the end of the ball, and instead of placing it into the far corner the RGS midfielder went for power, beating a surprised Weiner-Kracht at his near post. Poor goalkeeping proved to be the undoing of the plucky minnows, but Eastfield Lodge would have to count themselves lucky to grab all three points from this match.

Line-up to play Demos (4-2-3-1):
Horak - Webber, Kirkup, Fevison, Phelan - Forde, Farrow - Caceres, Jafari-Law, Lysander - Noble
Suspended: N/A
Injured: N/A

[Atymnius]

---

---

MATCHDAY 2
KRYTENIA 4-3 DĒMOS

---

---

Good day my name is Mike Hattenborough and I’m proud to present the second matchday of the Cup of Harmony!

Indeed it is a beautiful day Mike. Hello everyone! My name is Apostoli Apostleris, and alongside Mike we are happy to present the very best as Krytenia go head-to-head with Dēmos!

The surrounding stadium, Keppel Arena, was utmost joyous. The shallow evening was bustling with hotdog stands and floating tifos unknowing of the inhabitant it had trapped in its confines.

Apostol: Alright Mike, what is the Dēmosian lineup looking like?

Mile: Today we will feature all of the routine players. Delighted to see that Henrick Whyatou and Valentinos Ganilis are back in action, replacing Oggy and Sera respectively.

But Wyetti is still, surprisingly, absent.

Apostol: Well regardless please take a look at the Dēmosian line up below!

LINEUP

---

Starting XI
#   Name                       Pos    Age
1  Giorgios Armani             GK     23
2  Babas Odola                 LB     27  
4  Henrick Whyatou             LCB    23
3  Carmen Tyolius              RCB    23 
5  Ghant Fedoriyuvkos          RB     19
7  David Angelicus             LM     25
8  Ago Yuvilos                 LCM    18
10 Theodosis Alanoglou         CAM    21
6  Aris Tý                     RCM    18
17 Valentinos Ganilis          RM     22
9  Rafail Paleas               ST     21

With the pleasantries having been pleased, the game began with utmost confidence.

The first twenty minutes saw a string of impressive performances by Rafail Paleas netting one goal with the opposition’s Smeaton scoring on the volley.

The atmosphere was tense. Dēmos were not dominating.

Alexis shouted from the sidelines but was met with deaf ears.

Team morale could not be worse.

Not only was Oggy benched but two people who had never bothered to show up to their previous defeat dared to show themselves, to hold their heads up no less.

Mike: And that’s that Apostol, Dēmos currently trail 3-1 at half time. What do you have to say about their performance?

Apostol: Could not have been more disappointed. They looked totally out of it. They may have scored but this is not the Dēmos I’m sure many of their fans remember.

---

---

Locker Room Conversations

---

---

Alexi smashed one of the gaffers’ locker rooms as he put his hand on his forehead in the most admirable expression of outward pain.

Alexi: What’s going on lads? Our plan earlier on is simply not being implemented?! Talk to implement! Talk to action!

The boys were stubbornly silent. They could not look at Whytou nor Valentinos.

Immediately sensing the tension the two boys stood up.

Whyatou: Is this the Dēmos I know? The Dēmos that holds grudges of themselves so that they don’t mind their own nation losing? The fans?

Whyatou grunted in himself a most noteworthy clenching of powerlessness. Huffing to himself he remarked slowly, Valentinos joined his side with their hands to their sides.

Val and Wh: We are sorry.

Whyatou blocked Valentinos from saying more as he mustered up the necessity of words.

Wh: We had to try to help a teammate. To get him out of the deep hole he was in…

But we realized he only has himself to blame.

Following a silent broadcast of apprehensive approval, the boys walked out of the locker room with sealed comments.

---

---

---

Mike: Welcome again to the second half of the game! We see Dēmos trailing 3-1 to Krytenia. Current goalscorers is the Spanish Salamander for Dēmos and a brace for Betts.

Let us commence the game!

The game, indeed, did commence at once. There were some differences however.

Rafail: You better pass me the ball you sucker.

He smiled forgivingly to Valentinos.

Valentinos smiled.

Whyatou had already activated his miracle from the all too familar Black Ram of Greece privilege.

It was time to defeat Krytenia.

Up, down, all around, ladders, trains and cars.

Whyatou could slide through them all.

M: Oh! Would you look at that! Whyatou is sliding through Vinick and Torres—

Apostol: And here he comes through Sexton and Johnson.

He would immediately pass the ball to Rafail who already caught it on the heel mid-air.

Nothing could stop him.

M: Goal! Great volley from the Spanish Salamander!

He immediately patted in smiling approval to the backside of a redeemed player, a redeemed black ram (that was Whyatou) who indeed tupped Krytenia’s white ewe.

The goals continued as a beautiful assist by Valentinos on the vision of a great build-up led to a most remarkable turn of results.

Apostol: A wonderful goal by Rafail once more, securing his hat-trick!

The man pulled his trousers to the sky, his tattoos pointing up towards the moon tht night.

Everyone: Woah!

Everyone erupted in a most serious cacophony of praise at the Dēmosian international.

He, unlike some, made his home proud.

It was the 80th minute and blood was sweating, veins piercing. The game suctioned itself to not allow for any more second chances.

Krytenian defenders Domenico and Johnson concentrated much higher up the field. Still in their defensive half they were as Dēmos would not allow further but much more central with very airtight mechanisms of play.

Everyone’s lips were kept on hold for the last few minutes. No words were heard.

Mike: Goal! Magnanimous last action by substitute Damon Parker!

Once more Dēmos was let down and another curtain closed on this blood-ironed group grappling with a sorely lost team.

---

---

---

---

PRESS CONFERENCE: DĒMOS VS EASTFIELD LODGE

---

---

AROUND THE GROUNDS:

---

---

Alexi walked through an intense chiaroscuro of surrounding photography as he walked all men in black to the press conference room.

Immediately a question was presented that night, a day after the team’s loss.

Reporter #1: What are you hoping to anticipate in your match against Eastfield Lodge? Another loss?

The question, as rude as it was, would still be answered by mounting internal pressures within Alexi’s once-tight stronghold.

Alexi: We are going to play our normal football. I’m not sure what the problem is here. We have had a couple of sure defeats but very close ones, most close indeed. Don’t underestimate our boys. I have hope in them.

Another question was asked.

Reporter #2: And what would you like to comment on your position in the group stage currently? Dēmos currently sits bottom last and only have two more remaining matches with the last one against your Baptism of Fire opponents Choppyhausen. Can you face them, at that point, with your own head even held high?

Alexi: I will not answer that question.

He was resentful. It was clear enough to be made on any newspaper. It was embarrassing enough for the media.

Reporter #3: Dēmos, at least, has witnessed stellar performances from Rafail. Will we see him play again today and will see the return of your goalkeeper, Wyetti? Do you have any comment on your goal concessions these last few matches being on account of that gap?

Alexi immediately banged the table and left the question in open air, scrunching his water bottle.

Murmuring he would say—

Just you watch Eastfield Lodge. We are coming for you.

[Bonusia]

GROUP STAGE
MATCHDAY 1
bye

MATCHDAY 2
C.A.B.R.O.N. (BONUSIA) 1-6 TJUN-IA - L
^{DJ Makarrons 67' // B. Whitewater 2' 29' 33', D. Sharafutdinov 10', D. Monroe 73', H. Filip (O.G.) 74'}
MATCHDAY 3
THE MARTIAN INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC vs C.A.B.R.O.N. (BONUSIA)

MATCHDAY 4
C.A.B.R.O.N. (BONUSIA) vs BHUMI MATAWIS EMPIRE

MATCHDAY 5
SERNET vs C.A.B.R.O.N. (BONUSIA)

After a long and ehxausting travel, the members of the C.A.B.R.O.N. operation squad finally managed to arrive at the Lakiska International Airport. The task, although simple, was still monumentous: Play against some of the best teams in the Multiverse as a bunch of amateurs and noobs. The mission looked daunting, certainly. Just that first matchday against TJUN-IA had the players pretty anxious. Well, to be fair, only most of the players were anxious about it. Some were mad, nostalgic or just indifferent to the situation.

(Manel):- Thank god we've arrived. I wasn't able to stand still on the plane for much more.
(Alba):- Yee mate, I wuz gonna fawl a'leep ther', I need da feelds fur wo'king eibeet, me ya get?
(Hèctor):- What do you mean, that I don't work? You son of a-
(Marçal):- Guys please, stop fighting, plea-
(Candela):- CUT THE CRAP. Listen up EVERYBODY! You can roam around the city, and before night we'll regroup for the game. Is it clear?
(Everyone):- Yeah, let's go!

Yet another time when Paniagua became more automatically the pseudo coach of the team. That wasn't certainly a thing that worried the official coach, Marçal. He only was interested in shopping in the Busoga Islands, maybe doing some tourism and trying to pick up girls, and his only concern is that his daddy "only" deposited him He was a simple man with simple wishes, put and straight, and that's what he would do with his free time around Lakiksa. Mayhaps after the free time he could make a good arenga to get up the morale, who knows...

He thought about these vital questions for a while, and in the meantime walked around the city and manage to see plenty. Then, he recieved a phone call.
(Candela):- Marçal! We're going. Take your stuff.
(Marçal):- What?
(Candela):- We messed up. We should be playing in Zwangzug not the Busoga Islands.
(Marçal):- Fuck. At least I good some good photos.

From right to left: Busoga Islands flag (home) and Busoga Islands flag
(away)

Both flags displayed by Busogan fans after getting ahead of Farfadillis
in the KPB+ rankings

State of the art Busogan training facilities for the Cup of Harmony

Inside a Mosque. Very nice aswell.

Official Busogan flag displayed in a government building

Charming Busogan inner yard with commerces and music. Very nice

High security fences around the Busogan training facilities

[Cardenao]

“Fucking hell,” Missy LeCrown muttered under her breath. Even after these long hours, still no word from behind the closed doors!

She’d spent most of the time standing where she was now, just off-frame, keeping an eye on the camera while she took a drag from the cheap e-cig her entourage got from whatever smoking lounge or gas station was close enough. Cool mint, perfect… she thought with an exhale. It was all going down behind those closed doors and, as per usual, she was the only member of the media present; a reward for a lifetime of hardwork, networking, and occasionally reminding potential competitors whey she was Missy LeCrown and not to be fucked with. At this point she was basically all of Cardenaoan media, domestic and international. Sure, local and regional level stuff was obviously covered by small news stations in Cardenao, but anything of note, anything major, sporting, politics, or international happenings, she was the face they heard it from.

Now, here, the future of domestic football in Cardenao was being hammered out by various stakeholders and persons of interest. Perhaps future is the wrong word, re-imaging might be more appropriate considering the weight the Cardenaoan league once held in the international sporting realm. Which is to say not that much, but more than the 0.0 pounds it’s registered for nearly a decade now, but the intent was for that to change in time for the next IFCF cutoff!

A beep in her ear and the camera light going from green to yellow let her know it was time, so Missy got herself ready and was in the zone when the light turned red, we’re live.

“Welcome back Cardenao,” her voice murmured familiarly to the nation. “As usual in this damn country, what was said to be a short meeting has stretched into the third hour with nothing of note seeming to be accomplished so far! One things for sure, I hope they’re arguing about something important in there…”

---

The commissioner took a moment to wipe the sweat off his brow before banging his hand on the table.

“Please, everyone! We are committed to a triple round robin format ensuring every team has the opportunity to win the inter-season series. Who doesn’t want to walk away with bragging rights at the end of the year? No 1-1 endings at the end of the season. Plus, it’s another round of fixtures so broadcasting is happy, tourism is happy, our partners such as yourselves are happy…our exposure will literally triple! Ratings will take off and we’ll get much needed money to grow the league responsibly.”

One of the women across the table couldn’t help but pinch her nose in exasperation and raised her hand, less akin to asking a question and more to cut the conversation to a halt. It was Rebecca Cruz, the young owner of the Alameda Desperados who had inherited the position after her father stepped down at the age of 75 after a second heart attack brought on by his love of the club. She was new to this area but had a keen sense for business and management, plus a lifelong love for her Desperados resulted in Rebecca not hesitating to speak up.

“Sure, then our fans love home advantage and we lose substantial income-revenues from hosting an additional fixture.” She shot back. “I know it’s hard to understand when you’re way out there in glitzy New Cardonia, but for a community like Alameda, the people lose so much when even a single game is taken away from them!”

The commissioner, very unwisely, chose to interrupt Rebecca Cruz, which is one of the worst things you could do to her. “Hosting the third leg at the national stadium is about creating unity across the land!”

“Oh cut the shit, national unity this is football Raúl, get your head out of your ass. This is about centralizing things in New Cardonia and bringing control of the game to your own hand!”

Chaos erupted and it took several minutes for things to calm down.

Kiko Nécib took the moment to speak. “Look, we’re not owners or commissioners or TV executives–”

“Thank the gods, look how miserable you all are,” Camilo Zavala added.

“–but if you seriously play every month at the national stadium, that’ll destroy the pitch!” Kiko carried on. “We have CAFA qualifiers coming up, there’s talk of a friendly tournament coming to town, and World Cup qualifiers are always on the horizon. The pitch won’t survive, the grass will die.”

Camilo nodded his approval and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed across his chest. “Let’s face it, only recently have the grounds actually looked world class, I remember the days where the pitch would look like shit for two weeks after we had a national team game there. Now you want to add, what, at least a game a month there with domestic games? Shit, we’ll be back to dirt pitches and unpaved roads in no time.”

The commissioner was adamant though. The grounds crew had the science down to a T now, plus the league would spare no expense ensuring the pitch would be all pretty and neat in time for both the next national team game, and the next domestic game as well. While the current Blue and Gold players weren’t swayed, a former member of the team was.

Haritz Larrainzar, record setter for the national team and Port Rhovanyon legend in the Tikariot Premier League, had returned to Cardenao. No longer a player, but now the newly hired manager for La Escuela Nacíonal De Cardenao Por Football, a founding member of the original MegaPower League who was returning for its reimagining. He argued that the league was sincere in its commitment to the stadium, it was, after all, a symbol of the beauty of modern Cardenao and it would be treated as such. The opportunity for small-market teams to play on the biggest stage in Cardenao would be a big boost and allow them far more exposure nationally and internationally, and the latter was key. Initially, the league would have to be more geared to selling talents to generate financial stability, so getting them in front of the multiverse’s audiences would be key to success. So for him, hosting the third leg at the national stadium was a yes.

---

‘If I’m going to be vaping these things, and probably getting caught on camera doing it, might as well start my own brand, right? Give it a cute name, make it healthy cause Gods know how bad this has to be for the body, oooh how about calling it Mistí, how cute was tha…oh shit.’

It wasn’t the camera light going from green to yellow unexpectedly that silenced Missy’s thoughts, though the camera light did indeed go from green to yellow, rather it was who was striding into the meeting room, with two heavily armed guards leading the way.

Yellow to red.

“Guys, you’re not going to believe this but……”

---

The door swung open with the guards leading the way, fingers not on the trigger but not quite off of it either.

Then, like a king entering a hall built for lessers, Mihaly entered and simply walked to the center of the room.

“Some good discussion going on here, now I’ll settle these issues. The third round of fixtures will be held at the National Stadium, that’s not up for debate. The Cardenao Future Fund will ensure the pitch is in perfect condition and will fund renovations for club stadiums. Similarly, there will be a large-scale investment in local youth football infrastructure, as well as funding provided from domestic team’s transfer budgets………so long as you all agree to something.”

“What’s that?” the room collectively answered.

“We keep the name MegaPower League because that’s friggin awesome.”

Done deal.

[Dhemixia]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Columbus Dominion(Est.1873)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navigating a Group of Death When You're Part of It

As all good Dhemixians know, tough opponents are the antithesis of everything Dhemixian sports stand for.

That's not to detract from any specific qualities about them, the only thing that matters is that they're good.

Dhemixian teams seemingly can't navigate a side that has any semblance of knowledge about the sport they're playing, regardless of just how good they are.

You might then be thinking "But that means they can only beat bad teams? How do they beat actually competent sides without luck?".

The key is, they don't.

Every good win (except for against Drawkland) is caused by and will rightfully be chalked up to pure luck.

That's not to say there are a lot of them, how else do you think they got into the CoH, but Dēmos is perhaps the grandest example of such.

Any other Pot 2 team might see a first-cycle NT and brush them aside as a non-threat for their first group stage match. The Dēmosians are an exception to this pattern, and that's not just because that Pot 2 is Dhemixia.

They are absolutely as threatening as everyone else in this group, but what else do you expect from a group of death?

If the answer, particularly in a Dhemixian match, was a two-goal comeback to smash-and-grab a win in the last 15 minutes, you need to have lower standards for the quality of Dhemixian football.

Marvin Bolton, one domestic season removed from hitting a game-winning penalty to win the league in front of his hometown crowd, made some absolute magic happen again late.

It doesn't make sense, and it will never make sense.

That's the true Dhemixian style of football, no explanations of embarrassment or success, only results and a middling roster to ponder over as you scroll the match report.

Bolton buried the absolute screamer of a game-winner into the upper 90, of which is named after the 90-degree angle of the right triangle that the two posts intersecting make.

It's almost as if Pythagoras is spitting in our collective faces, not as an act to further punish us, but as a gesture that amounts to nothing because he knows we can't be saved.

Margaret knew what she was doing when she made him bestow the win upon us that took our lifetime win% to 50%

That's the only balance this group will ever find, and she knows it.

[Zwangzug]

Cutoff for MD3, groups 1-5.

Group 1
Woodsmere 0–0 Dantopia
Hapilopper 5–5 Biyambi

* Group 1                          Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 Calgasia                           2   1  1  0    4
2 Biyambi                            3   1  1  1    4
3 Woodsmere                          3   1  1  1    4
4 Dantopia                           2   0  2  0    2
5 Hapilopper                         2   0  1  1    1

Group 2
Cardenao 6–3 New Montreal States
Hanalia 2–2 The North Polish Union

* Group 2                          Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 Cardenao                           3   2  0  1    6
  Solgavden                          2   2  0  0    6
3 The North Polish Union             3   1  1  1    4
4 Hanalia                            2   0  1  1    1
5 New Montreal States                2   0  0  2    0

Group 3
Free Republics 4–5 Saterun
Carpathia and Ruthenia 6–3 Snestar

* Group 3                          Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 Saterun                            2   2  0  0    6
2 Carpathia and Ruthenia             2   1  0  1    3
3 Soviet Kem                         2   1  0  1    3
4 Free Republics                     3   1  0  2    3
5 Snestar                            3   1  0  2    3

Group 4
The Martian Independent Republic 3–2 Bonusia
Bhumi Matawis Empire 4–2 Sernet

* Group 4                          Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 The Martian Independent Republic   3   2  1  0    7
2 Bhumi Matawis Empire               2   1  1  0    4
3 Sernet                             3   1  0  2    3
4 TJUN-ia                            2   1  0  1    3
5 Bonusia                            2   0  0  2    0

Group 5
Dēmos 1–1 Eastfield Lodge
Dhemixia 2–0 Krytenia

* Group 5                          Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 Dhemixia                           2   2  0  0    6
2 Eastfield Lodge                    2   1  1  0    4
3 Choppyhausen                       2   1  0  1    3
4 Krytenia                           3   1  0  2    3
5 Dēmos                              3   0  1  2    1

[Drawkland]

Erwin Montero stepped out of the limousine with a sour demeanor partially hidden behind designer sunglasses. His assistant joined him on the curb a moment later, watching intently as Montero stared out at the Drawkionel's Quarter. This arc-shaped block of Drawkland's capital city was one of the few areas of Metropolon which wasn't identical to its counterparts in the other quarters of the symmetrical city. Each of the five immortal Drawkionels had small estates which they used whenever they had business in the capital. Nowadays they were rarely seen in town, but some say that had been the case even back when Drawk City was the capital.

"First he demands an in-person, one-on-one meeting," Montero grumbled, striding along a smooth brick driveway to the electronic gate in front of Iarocav's capital estate. "Then he refuses to let our chauffeur drive onto the premises, so I'm forced to walk all the way to the door. It's appalling."

"Sir, the Drawkionel was very clear that this was a standard security measure." The assistant replied automatically.

"Fah! What's he worried about? It's not like his life is at risk." Montero shook his head as he gave a look to the one-way glass at the gatehouse. "It's a humiliation ritual, is what it is."

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"Well, they're immortal, aren't they?" Montero grimaced as the gate opened, allowing him and the assistant to walk onto the grounds towards the sleek manor with a blend of futurist and neoclassical design. "All the normal pleasures bore them. The only interest they get anymore is yanking around important people as a show of dominance."

"Of course."

"I'm only half joking." Montero twisted his lip at the front steps of the manor, waiting for the scheduled escort to open the door and take them in. "But really, there's no reason this couldn't have been a call. Or a board meeting, or something. Electronic correspondence, even. We've been doing that for centuries now."

"You do have the notes, sir?" The assistant decided to remain on topic as the doors opened.

"Yes, thanks." Montero patted his coat pocket where his tablet was sheathed.

The guard who opened the door flatly interrupted with instructions. "The Drawkionel requests that you travel to the office alone. Your party may wait here in the lobby."

"There it is." Montero patted his assistant on the shoulder and followed the guard through the bowels of the manor.

Eventually Montero reached the office of the Supreme Drawkionel. Iarocav conducted most of his political business in this room, with an interior recognizable to most Drawkians. Montero himself had been there a couple times for various press meetings. Being a CEO in his particular industry caused one to be involved with such matters. The escorting guard knocked thrice on the door in a knock, knock-knock pattern, then stood a post by the doorframe. A moment later the door opened by itself. There was nobody else in the room besides Iarocav, who was sitting behind his desk at the far end.

"Ah, Mr. Montero!" Iarocav greeted brightly, standing from his chair but not walking much further than the side of his desk. "I trust your travel here went smoothly?"

"As always," Montero replied with the most genial look he could muster. He crossed the room and shook the Drawkionel's hand, standing a couple inches shorter than him.

"Please, sit." Iarocav gestured to the set of chairs posted in front of his desk. "I'm excited to hear more about your proposal."

"Thank you," Montero said automatically. He cast a sidelong glance at the lounge area in the front of the room. Why couldn't they speak there, more as equals, than across a desk like a job interview? After half a lifetime of climbing the ladder and interviewing dozens of times, he'd grown quite sick of the feeling. He cited Not Having To Do Interviews as one of the benefits of being a CEO.

"So, your company Portalis." Iarocav started, seeming at ease in his custom-built leather chair. Montero remembered the oft-repeated urban legend that the leather was not from an animal native to Sonnel. He could see why people thought that; the chair texture looked noticeably strange up close and in person. Iarocav gestured vaguely behind himself. "You've grown quite a bit since your halcyon days a half-century ago."

"Yes, sir." Montero dipped his head as if to show thanks. "Our partnership with your government has been beneficial for the both of us."

"Indeed." Iarocav narrowed his eyes for a second, but the look was gone in a blink. "So, I assume you, like any executive, are looking to expand that partnership?"

"Not necessarily. I appreciate the collaboration we've had, but we're looking to further develop our financial opportunities."

"Short on cash? Operations not as efficient as you represented?" Iarocav slowly leaned forward with an unreadable expression.

"Far from it. We have a surplus of revenue and a team running very smoothly. Simply put, we want to open more portals at our own leisure, rather than federal behest." Montero pulled the infoTab from his coat pocket and checked the figures he'd noted earlier. "Based on our projections, we could easily double our revenue with portals constructed in more key markets. No offense, but we believe that your government has not selected the most economically viable partners for portal travel. Half of them end up in Sonnel as it is, and you and I both know that process barely breaks even given the massive cost."

"Ah, so that's why you need to talk to me." Iarocav nodded in understanding. "The Arcoregulus forbids construction of permanent portals of that size, and you want an exception."

"Restructuring in the, shall we say, 'sporting' regions has led to more complex routing on the other end of the portals." Montero continued on, trying to stay on his own terms. "Overportal logistic inefficiency has increased by over 40 percent since the fracturing of Atlantian Oceania. Despite this, your government still refuses to open new gates. Iarokannet Bay is hardly half full based on the original blueprints. Portalis has the money for construction with minimal contributions from the taxpayer. The only thing in our way is the red tape."

"The red tape exists for a reason." Iarocav replied with more stern gaze. "Every single portal opened is a massive security risk. An open door that nearly anyone with proper know-how can walk through. We can't be nonchalant about each gate we open."

"With all due respect, sir," Montero said gingerly. "My team is the greatest assembly of voidwalkers, technomages, and metaphysical scientists in Sonnel's history. We may hold the door open, but we can close it at will. Nothing comes in or out of our connections without our express permission."

"And yet you lost a standard airliner full of athletes for nearly two decades. From a close national ally, no less!"

"That was an isolated case of sabotage which would be impossible to repeat under our current system." Montero set his jaw. "And that incident didn't appear to deter that national ally from pulling their entire island through our portal a few years ago."

"An alleged case of sabotage," Iarocav corrected, raising a brow. "I'll note that none of the evidence provided by Portalis in that case seemed to lead to any concrete proof of this subterfuge. That investigation has been ongoing for years and found nothing."

"If you believe that justice hasn't been served, then talk to your courts. This is an entirely different issue."

"If we don't know specifics on how your portal was attacked, who's to say that infiltration information isn't still floating around somewhere? The more portals are opened, the more surveillance is required, the more likely a bad actor slips through the cracks. Not to mention the much wider course of options for a potential invading force, with more destinations from which to stage an attack."

"Again, sir, these matters were addressed internally at the time. Such an error could not possibly be repeated nowadays. Our dev teams also believe they can enhance security on the new portal gates." Montero pulled a small datacard out of his infoTab and slid it across the table. "Our plan is here. Blueprints, procedures, connection leads, almost all of it."

"Almost?" Iarocav echoed.

"We decided against including confidential financial information, as well as other items covered under NDA at this point in time."

"I'm in charge. I should be able to see everything." Iarocav smiled for the first time since Montero had entered the room, showing the remark was in jest. He turned to open a desk drawer, shuffling around until he pulled out a particular infoTab and inserted Montero's datacard. Iarocav unfolded the tab and skimmed through the files contained on the card.

"Please note the destinations we've earmarked for the first expansion phase," Montero said after a moment of silence. He crossed his fingers, hoping the whispered intel he'd been given was correct. "I think first on the list should be Cardenao."

"Mm." Iarocav's expression remained a flat poker face, but he tilted his head slightly when he heard the word Cardenao. Montero figured that was the best indicator he was going to get. "Well, I won't waste any more of your time. This is a pretty clear-cut request, despite the nuance involved in the decision itself."

"So ... where do we stand?" Montero asked expectantly. He couldn't leave without some sort of definite way forward.

"Depends on what you've got on this," Iarocav waved the infoTab in his hand for effect. "It isn't a 'no,' I can tell you that much. But much discussion needs to happen upstairs before you can start making calls. I know you don't care if everything blows up as long as you stacked enough assets beforehand, but I'm the one that will have to deal with the fallout. Keep that in mind."

"Of course, sir. Your word is law, after all." Montero dipped his head again to feign respect.

"How I wish that were true." Iarocav replied dryly, standing up from his chair. He again extended his hand for Montero, who accepted the shake.

"I look forward to your word regardless," Montero spouted as he withdrew his hand.

"Many thanks!" Iarocav said, before switching to a hardly-audible mutter, "Never heard that one before."

"What was that?" Montero asked, hearing the mutter but not the words.

"Nothing important, just thinking aloud." Iarocav came around the desk to lead Montero to the door. When he reached the other end of the office, he clapped Montero on the shoulder. "Take care, my friend. You'll be shown out."

Just like that, Montero was practically herded out of the office and the door closed right behind him. The same guard from before was still standing outside, and he immediately started marching back to the lobby without another word.

"It's a wonder nobody's killed that guy yet," Montero muttered to his assistant once they were reunited at the front entrance. "With how much paranoia he has, you'd think immortal killers would be lurking around every street corner."

"Who's to say he doesn't just truly care for his constituents?" The assistant said quietly.

"Me. That thing has more in common with a gnarled tree than you or me." Montero noticed it was raining the moment they stepped out the door. Of course it was. "He only cares for the common man as much as needed to keep from being shoved out of an airlock, nothing more."

"He rejected the proposal I presume?" The assistant pulled a small umbrella from her bag and opened it as the pair stepped out from under the front awning.

"No. But he's going to make us pay through the nose to make it happen." Erwin Montero gave one last look behind him at the manor. "I won't accept being pushed around for much longer, though."

[Busoga Islands]

Cutoff for Matchday 3!

Harry Potter v. Luke Skywalker can carry us through this waiting period!

RP prompt #4: Let's continue talking about your country. Tell me about your nation's most famous non-political figures. Are the most famous people in your country athletes? Potentially athletes that are even here at the Cup of Harmony, competing? Or movie stars? Musicians? Or some other sort of entertainer? Give me names, how they became popular, and if they aren't on the team, if they're publicly supporting their national team at the Cup of Harmony?

Group 6
Xanneria 5–9 Milchama
Saperetia 0–0 The Osnari Federation

  Group 6                         Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 The Osnari Federation             3   1  2  0    3   0  +3    5
2 Milchama                          2   1  1  0   11   7  +4    4
3 Xanneria                          3   1  0  2    6  12  −6    3
4 Tristan de Cunha                  2   0  2  0    2   2   0    2
5 Saperetia                         2   0  1  1    0   1  −1    1

Group 7
Langenia 1–0 Airannia
Anewkansas 1–1 Super Earth

  Group 7                         Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Super Earth                       3   1  2  0    7   2  +5    5
2 Anewkansas                        2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
  Sarzonia                          2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4
4 Langenia                          3   1  0  2    2   7  −5    3
5 Airannia                          2   0  0  2    0   2  −2    0

Group 8
Seeberg 0–1 Warkus
Yangchenia 2–2 Sangti and the Filindo Isles

  Group 8                         Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Warkus                            2   2  0  0    3   0  +3    6
2 Seeberg                           3   1  1  1    6   4  +2    4
3 Drawkland                         2   1  0  1    1   2  −1    3
4 Yangchenia                        2   0  2  0    5   5   0    2
5 Sangti and the Filindo Isles      3   0  1  2    2   6  −4    1

Group 9
Kandorith 1–0 Ethane
Natkr 2–1 Kita-Hinode

  Group 9                         Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Natkr                             2   2  0  0    6   1  +5    6
2 Kandorith                         3   2  0  1    4   5  −1    6
3 Katzeburg                         2   1  1  0    4   3  +1    4
4 Ethane                            2   0  1  1    0   1  −1    1
5 Kita-Hinode                       3   0  0  3    5   9  −4    0

[Seeberg]

The Wingback Who Took Off

A Günther von Tulpe Mystery

Part 4: Insane in the membrane

«Now, do you believe in the unseen?» said the high pitched voice chillingly, as it carried and echoed all over the cave. Günther von Tulpe shuddered as he surveyed the utterly bizarre occurrences from his hiding place. Then, the hooded figure produced a knife and Günther instinctively rose to his feet, shouting «Halt! In the name of general Anständigkeit!»

…

Director Freudlingen had been most clear that it was of the utmost importance that young Löwenthal was accounted for before the Horkenheimers’ return from Arrosia, because the official story was that Löwenthal was indeed present with the rest of the team in the Busoga Islands, but that he had taken ill and therefore wasn’t playing. The Director’s plan was for Löwenthal - when found - to be secretly sent down the mountainpasses and join The Horkenheimers on their return.

Whether that return was increasingly imminent or still some way off, was very much in the blue, Director Freudlingen had explained. It seemed The Horkenheimers had so far «punched a full card», as the saying goes; a win, a draw and a loss, and now they had one more game to play, against the land of the Drawks, and both progression and elimination was still very much a possibility. Günther had reassured the old man and once again stated he felt confident that it was just a matter of time before Löwenthal was „back amongst the living“, to speak in the parlance of our times.

Young Katzenheim had insisted on staying in his undercover persona and accompanying the Snietzschel disciples up the mountain. «I'm sure I’ll be of use to you, Herr von Tulpe,» he had pleaded, but Günther had stayed firm and told the young man it was an unnecessary risk and that he should get back to his studies at the Institute. No, Günther was resolved to close the case of his own accord.

The mountains seemed brooding that evening, and Günther adjusted his scarf and cursed softly at the incline. The jagged mountain silhouettes were etched against the sky like teeth of some ancient beast, and it was becoming increasingly clearer that the upper slopes of the Horkenheim Berge were no friend to men of his constitution. But still he pressed onwards, nearing the secluded caves young Katzenheim had spoken of.

Suddenly, silence was broken by a muted sound drifting down the slopes. As Günther approached its source, he started making out low chants, punctuated by an occasional clang. It sounded suspiciously like a cowbell. The theosophical spiritualität of today, it seemed, had a curious rhythm.

He made his way through a small sparsely forested area, likely the last trees you’d find up there. Soon he started seeing dim lights in the distance, and as he moved forward the occasional lantern swung from crooked branches. The trees gave away and made room for mountain walls dotted with cave openings, and a fierce light emanated from one of them, making it look like Hell’s own furnace. It was casting jaundiced halos on scurrying figures draped in flowing garments of indeterminate color, and suddenly a horn sounded, causing all the draped figures to hurry into the cave.

Günther cautiously followed them.

A narrow tunnel of sorts eventually ended up in a spacious cavity, reminiscent of a rather grand hall from old adventures about trolls dining on the flesh of devout men, while seated on thrones made of human bones. Loud chanting echoed and bounced off the walls and mixed with the crackling sounds of a great bonfire. Perched just beside it was an altar of sorts, where a hooded man was standing, hunched over a naked male body with a black sack over its head, swaying from side to side.

Günther quickly found a small nook behind some protruding rocks and hid, observing the most bizarre scene unfolding below him.

The hooded man was obviously Friedrich Snietzschel, and it didn't take long before he started orating loudly in a strange blend of sibylline gibberish and the pure and strong Seebergundian Sprache, seemingly espousing a gospel of dualistic chaos deities and spiritual masters named Sausages and Yogurt - which seemed excessively strange or just downright obtuse - and how they were light and dark, order and chaos, etc. etc. in the vein of how these things usually work.

It seemed like this sermon of sorts went on forever, accompanied by acolytes humming and chanting incessantly, while somebody kept banging on that cowbell. Suddenly, Snietzschel had the knife in his hand, prompting Günther to emerge from hiding and shout for them to stop.

The room went completely silent, and every face was turned towards Günther. However, before anyone had any real time to react, a pillar of pulsating blue light materialized in the middle of the great cave. After oscillating softly for a moment, it swiftly started twisting and turning, like it was trying to break free from some invisible bondage, and finally it split itself in two, as if it was tearing a deep wound in the very fabric of reality.

The opening, which seemingly allowed you to briefly look beyond the veneer, was only there for a moment, but in that moment everyone could clearly make out the silhouettes of two men, holding a glowing object of sorts. «It looks like a Gummihuhn,» Günther had time to think, and then the opening imploded in on itself and disappeared, extinguishing the bonfire and leaving the cave enveloped in complete darkness.

Jaws were collectively dropped, but no one looked more surprised than Friedrich Snietzschel. Then chaos ensued. The acolytes started running around frantically, shaking and screaming, and the small narrow exit devolved into a violent tangle of bodies as draped disciples wrestled violently against each other, fighting to escape the cave. A woman stood in the middle of it all, smearing her face with the smoking ashes of the bonfire, screaming hysterically «Beware the blue rose of the Sausage King! Beware the blue rose of the Sausage King!»

But there was no Löwenthal.

Günther had quickly made his way to the naked male body on the altar, but it was not young Siegfried’s face peering up on him when he snatched off the black bag. He had expected the boy to be here, wide-eyed and ready to trade his career for a sip of metaphysical nonsense, but not so.

Then something thumped Günther on the back of his head, and he fell to the cave floor. The world was spinning and he felt like he was being sucked into a black abyss. Somewhere out there, he thought to himself, a wingback was running. Not down a pitch, but across the fault lines of reason and folly.

And Günther von Tulpe, reluctant pilgrim of mysteries, would have to follow.

[Atymnius]

---

---

PART VI: Stranger Things

---

---

The distraught sense of mind-slaughter found the arena in the back of the young man’s head in Keppel Arena.

This intricate layout of memories, as horror-induced as they were, did hold a significant grasp on Wyetti. Whether they be his mom, his father, his all too competent older sister, the candle kept dripping.

Looking back at the third floor, expecting another horror show from the same horror man that was his father.

He breathed calmly.

He looked slowly at the sudden appearance of a candle in his hands and immediately ran, holding the burning fire, and smashed it on the blackened creature.

*Shatter!*

Glass broke as the two figures rushed down in a blazing hot fire down the Keppel Arena. The light in Wyetti’s hand burst open.

A figure known many times appeared. It was the Supreme Deity again. But this time a different message was conveyed.

SD: So I know Dēmosian society was dominantly patriarchal. But many wanted to be greater than that but failed ostensibly miserably. I think it's maybe because of these genderist philosophies.

He started shouting.

SD: It’s because of my gender! I am defined!

SD: It’s because…

He fell silent. Then he started shouting everywhere and everywhere. His head started racketing against the air like the slashing of heads.

The Supreme Deity scratched his head. Scratching, knapping at his follicles. Blood started coming out of his temples. It amassed. It was collected. It joined hands together.

Wy: Dad…

The creature breathed slowly.

Wy: Dad, come alive.

The former god turned into a horrific attachment of legs. Their legs assembled through various rotating black atoms, spun around to form a xenomorphic construct. At the head of this creature was an elongated back-head and it knelt on its four-arms, two-backed and devilish.

It was the witching hour at Keppel Arena and…

Wy: I guess I must fight that thing.

Creature (?): Wyetti. You will never escape my grasp. I made you instinctively so that you will form the head of the house. Do not defy your destiny for your future is built on others. It is the circle of life that a baby cannot understand anything unless given direction. To nurture, to care, to grow. Your mom was useless. Your daughter is better than you and yet I’m still willing to take you in.

Submit.

Wy: I know Dad, of all these times we shared together. Have you ever loved me even once? I think I know the answer to this question but another.

Wyetti began running, pacing toward the horrific creature of death, the mythic Cthulhu.

Creature (?): Ahaha!

The father’s shadow ran.

Wy (!):: Ugh! He was slammed against the stadium stands. Blood curdled on the floor and a weird black infection caught hold of him.

He checked his back neck and he felt as if he connected to him. To his father.

He had no time. He immediately ran toward the east-side stands.

The monster burst open each stand chair as they went flying and circulated with the atoms around the hivemind.

Wyetti could feel it.

Wy: Is this because I’m connected to that beast? Is that why I…

Like the cold?

The monster approached him ready to finish him off.

He then, in that moment, decided to run towards the light.

[Sangti and the Filindo Isles]

O P I S Y A L - N A - P A H A Y A G

The Football Federation of Sangti and the Filindo Isles regret to inform the public of Vicenzo Frain's immediate resignation from the national team following the 2-2 draw against Yangchenia. We would like to thank him for all his past efforts leading the national team to a knockout stage appearance in the Cup of Harmony 89.

While the federation is looking for options for replacement in time for the Campionato Esportiva, Jorriel Fong, the current assistant manager of the national team, will be taking Frain's place on a caretaker basis for the team's remaining match in the group stage against Warkus, and any further matches in the tournament and beyond until such replacement is found.

This is for immediate effectivity as of writing.

Thank you for your continued understanding, patience, and support for the national team. For the Agilang Dilaw.

Signed,

Vernon Pagcatipunan
FFSFI Chairman

OOC Note: Opisyal na Pahayag == Official Statement == Comunicado Oficial

[Calgasia]

A guide to Calgasian Sports


Some of the medal winners of the last Summer Olympics

Sports are one of the main backbones of Calgasian culture and identity. In the early days of the country, after the 1916/17 settle, sports was one of the few amenities for the colonists, and quickly became a glue to the society.

Structure: Sport in Calgasia is controlled and regulated by the Ministry of Culture and Sport through the National Olympic Committee. In turn, the Olympic Committee controls the various federations for each sport, which are in charge of organising the different competitions.
Although naming can vary, the structure of professional or semi-professional team competitions is usually the same in Calgasia, with a pyramidal structure with promotions and relegations.

National Championship: top-tier competition, usually named Kaiserpokal (lit. Emperor's Cup or Imperial Cup). Example: Bundesliga (football), Kaiserpokal Winter (skiing)

Second national championship: like Bundesliga 2. or EisLiga 2., these competitions are the second tier, with promotions to the first division and relegation to regional leagues.

Regional tier: third tier division, with two or more groups of teams grouped by geography. Usually the winner of each group promotes to the second division

For individual sports like skiing or swimming, the structure is similar, although with variations

National Championship: labelled as Kaiserpokal, it is the most prestigious tournament, winners are called national champions.

In years when the Olympic Games are held, the Kaiserpokal functions as the nation's principal qualifying competition. Athletes achieving top results in their disciplines are prioritised for Olympic team selection.

Annual League: This circuit includes multiple races across the season and is primarily aimed at providing competition opportunities for developing athletes. The Kaiserpokal is included within the Annual League calendar, but its status exceeds that of any other event.

Junior League: very similar to the Annual League, a series of different events for developing young talents.


Let's review the "Golden Five", or the most important and followed sports in the nation, as well as its main teams and starts.

Football

The undisputed king of the Calgasian sports. The national obsession, the Bundesliga enjoys large crowds. In most cases, it also has a identity connection, with most clubs being more than just a simple team, but an emblem of the local pride, a ethnical minority or a community.

Macthdays in Calgasia are usually very festive, with restaurants putting stalls in front of their venues to serve food, bars and pubs packed with people, and a river of scarves and flags going towards the stadium.

The Bundesliga is the top tier football competition in Calgasia, attracting the largest crowds, attention and revenue of all leagues in the country, naturally. The opening of Calgasia to the Multiverse in the recent years has had an increasing interest of other countries in the league. It is famous for its unpredictability (nicknamed " the sweet chaos"), with teams being very strong one year only to find themselves fighting for relegation the very next year. Its history is full of unexpected moments, like GSK winning the 2000 season after being 10th at the start of the season.

Main teams: There is an unofficial "Big Six", displayed here by number of Bundesligas won - Phöenix SV (18), Melperk SV (12), Club Hungária (10), FC Bohunice (9), Goldstadt SK (7), Welser AC (5).

Who to watch: Gloria Renner, the captain of the national team, Jan Novák, Emil Sedlácek.

Water Polo

The rivalry between Hungarian Swimming Club and Charles University of Melperk is one of the fiercest of national Water Polo

Football can boast to have the biggest crowds, but the oldest running competition in Calgasia is the Water Polo League, founded in 1927. It also attracts large crowds and interest, especially with the national team, the Flying Magyars. The new reorganization of the league has been a complete success, with larger fanbases, modernized arenas and new sponsorships to ensure the long-term sustainability of the competition.

The Wasserball-Liga is the national championship. Water Polo is popular across the country, but it is more followed in the Inner Calgas and Alföld regions. The Flying Magyars won the first ever Olympic medal for the nation, in the XVIII Games, with a bronze.

Main teams: Hungarian Swimming Club, GSK and the Charles University of Melperk usually dominate the league every season.

Who to watch: Gyarmati, Kárpáty, Várhegy, Bólvari ...yes, you better get your Monty Python's Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook to pronounce the names of the water polo stars.

Ice Hockey

The one and only Katharina Bohm, playing for Bohunice EH

If Water Polo is for the spring and summer, Ice Hockey is for winter. Always fighting with Water Polo to decide who is the second most followed sport in Calgasia, Ice Hockey enjoys large support in the more mountainous and hilly regions of the country. In some towns like Radegg, Lílov or Zillertal, it is even more popular than football.

The EisLiga is the top tier championship of Ice Hockey, awarding the Adelaide Cup to the winner of the season. It also attracts large numbers of fans and money, and is currently undergoing an expansion process, passing from eight to twelve teams starting next season.

As the reader could expect, Calgasians from Czech origin excel in this sport and usually make the bulk of the players.

Main teams: the big three, Melperk Löwen, Bohunice EH and Welser AC, with 16, 15 and 12 titles respectively.

Who to watch: Katharina Bohm is the undisputed queen of Ice Hockey in the country, and arguably its biggest sport star. With just 26 years, she has won everything a player can win at the national level. Her palmarès is even frightening: 4 Adelaide Cups, 1 Imperial Trophy, 2 top-scorer and 4 MVPs.

Alpine Skiing

Marco Häser winning the first gold medal for Calgasia, XIX Winter Olympics

If Hungarians have Water Polo, and Czechs have Ice Hockey, what's left for the ethnic Austrians, who make up to 60 percent of the population? The answer is simple: Skiing.

Brought from Earth by the first colonists, Skiing quickly
gained popularity, with the first Kaiserpokal held in 1924. Since then, the competition has slowly turned from amateur to professionalism, with top skiiers

Included into the Alpine Skiing, we can found Ski Jumping, also wildly popular, with jumping hills across the mountainous regions of Calgasia.

Who to watch: for skiers, Marco Häser, Clara Huber and Hanna Vomberthal. For jumpers, two names stand out: Elena Bergdorfer, who won two golds and one bronze and Emil Sonnleitner, one gold and one silver in the last Winter Olympics.

Swimming

Beatrix Éjfel and Andreas Weiss with their Olympic medals

Very popular in summer, its power base is located in universities, where is commonly practised. Modern facilities

Swimming can boast of being the sport that has won the most Olympic medals for the country, with nine.

Who to watch: here the list can be very long, so we will stick to the most famous names. Beatrix Éjfél (gold and silver in the last Olympics with only 21 years), Andreas Weiss (gold and two bronzes), Gellert Kováry or Gábor Várfalvy (both winning the 4x100 Medley Relay with olympic record).

Honourable Mentions

- Rowing and Canoeing: ok, they are technically two different sports. However, they are very popular, especially in the summer months, when the numerous lakes and waterways of the country offer a perfect place to practise these sports. And the tradition translates to Olympic results, with canoeing giving five medals in the last XIX olympics, while rowing added four more. They could perfectly belong in the big five list.

- Fencing: Naturally, this sport is practised by aristocrats and upper classes, being part of the curricula of private schools. Thanks to this tradition, Fencing has given three medals to the country.

- Cycling: an up-and-coming sport after the huge (and unexpected) success in the XIX Olympics, where the cycling team won a gold, two silver and a bronze medal. Cycling is growing rapidly in the country, with amateur races all across the territory.

Multi-Sport Clubs

The professional sports structure of Calgasia is dominated by the multi-sport clubs. The reason behind this is that in the early days of the colony, there was no structure at all, so a large, multi-discipline club was needed to organize the different sports.

A perfect example of this is the Goldstadt Sport-Kreis, or GSK, the largest sport club in the country. The GSK was founded in 1917 (that's just months Calgasia was settled!) by a group of aristocrats and bureucrats that wanted to promote and organize sports in the populace as a way to keep them physically active and healthy, as well as entertained, as there were few amenities in the early days.

It has sections in Football, Ice Hockey, Water Polo, Swimming, Track&Field, Rowing, Canoeing, Rugby, Volleyball, Fencing and Skiing, and it boasts to have a huge complex in the outskirts of the capital, with the Austro-Daimler Stadium as the crown jewel of this campus, but also two more football/rugby fields, an Olympic-size pool, a multi-purpose arena, the Zerotin Zentrum, that can be used for Ice Hockey, a rowing and canoeing canal, as well as numerous student halls, smaller fields, gyms...

Other examples of these multi-sport clubs are Welser AC or Kaiserbad SC. The Magyar Kulturális Egyesület, or Hungarian Cultural Association, is an important institution founded in 1918, shortly after the creation of Calgasia, from the Hungarian settlers as a way to keep their culture and traditions alive. As such, the association created the Club Hungária and the Hungarian Swimming Club as their sports section to compete against other teams, with the particularity that they only use players from Hungarian ethnicity.

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OOC: All images are AI generated.

[The Sernetian Empire]

SERNESPORTS TV



ooc note: sernesports tv logo is ai generated, i will make a human made one asap

OOC NOTE: I'M HAVING TROUBLE WITH UPLOADING SOME IMAGES
contents:

[b]Disappointing 4-2 loss against Bhumi Matawis Empire
Sernesports TV
the match
Reporter: Bobby Boltings Senior

It's hard to even process what happened tonight in Craton. For the first half-hour, it felt like the Steamers were about to deliver one of their finest performances of the Cup of Harmony so far. Two goals up, dominating the pitch, the Sernetian fans roaring like they owned the stadium, it was everything we'd hoped for after the disappointment against the Martian Independent Republic. But the magic didn't last. What began as a dream spiralled into a collapse that left everyone in a blue shirt stunned.

Sernet started with fury; the good kind. Intensity, clean passing, confidence. You could feel the fire.

And then came the opener.

14' Sporius Bolsting makes it 1-0.
Komstrowski sliced open the defence with a beautifully weighted pass, and Bolsting finished like only he can: cool, clinical, captain's class. The entire Sernetian section exploded into life, flags waving, drums booming, chants rolling across the Doymals Stadium, and a storm of flares lit up.

Nine minutes later, the noise doubled.

23' Banis Kolbense makes it 2-0.
A devastating counterattack: Alforez storming down the flank, a razor-sharp cross, and Kolbense arriving like a hammer, scoring in a matter of minutes after being subbed on for fatigued Oluwawa. It was perfect football, the kind of attacking movement that makes you believe this team can beat anyone.

At 2-0, the Steamers looked unstoppable. Bhumi Matawis Empire were shaken. Their defence was scrambling. Everything pointed toward a famous Sernetian win.

But football doesn't care about momentum. One moment can flip everything.

The turning point:
Hadiwinata 29' makes it 2-1.
A long-range strike took a brutal deflection off Zoliba. Pasarowski, already committed, had no chance. It was unlucky, horribly so, but it rattled the back line.

Suddenly Bhumi Matawis Empire were alive, pressing harder, moving faster, smelling weakness.

Hadiwata 41' makes it 2-2.
A simple through ball split Mantrostem and Tworpowski, leaving the Bhumi striker a clean through. He finished with ease, scoring his second match of the game.

Just like that, a match Sernet controlled became a battle for survival.

Halftime arrived with the Steamers stunned, the early brilliance overshadowed by confusion and frustration.

The restart didn't bring the response we needed. Bhumi Matawis Empire were faster to every second ball, sharper in midfield, relentless.

Sandi Wijaya 57' makes it 3–2.
A corner. A header. Soft marking. A defensive lapse you rarely see from this team, but there it was, costing us dearly. Pasarowski banged his head on the post while trying to save it, which he did by deflecting, but was a bit too dazed to stand back up, and the ball was sent into the back of the net by Wijaya. Polin Twisk came on for Tomasz Pasarowski.

Sernet pushed forward, but the spark was gone. The passes slowed, the combinations faltered, and the fear of conceding again began to seep into every movement.

Rico Hermanto 71' makes it 4–2.
A midfield giveaway from Komstrowski turned into a lightning-fast counter. Three passes later, Bhumi Matawis had scored their fourth via Hermanto, despite him being a centre back, leaving Twisk helpless.

From 2–0 up... ...to losing 4–2.
A brutal, painful swing. The kind that sticks with you.

People ask, where did it all go wrong?
This wasn't a tactical disaster from the start. Far from it in fact. The system worked perfectly early on. The front two were dangerous, the midfield found space, and the back line was stable.

But once Bhumi Matawis began flooding the midfield, Sernet couldn't adapt. Stork and Jatrowski were overrun. The 3-5-2 shape sagged under pressure. And by the second half, the defensive confidence was gone entirely. Sernet's magical midfield overload formation failed to sustain us throughout, unfortunately.

The collapse wasn't about effort - the boys fought - but about composure, and a few unlucky moments that snowballed into something far worse.

Despite the defeat, some players shone:

Wasori Oluwawa: fiery, direct, dangerous. A constant threat.
Sporius Bolsting: a leader in the chaos, scoring and pushing until the end.
Rami Alforez: one of his best matches, especially early on.
Banis Kolbense: His second match this run, but already a goal for Sernet to his name.
Pasarowski & Twisk: Without them, the scoreline would've been worse.
Mantrostem: Worked his socks off in defence.

Defensively, it was a night to forget. Everyone knows that. No one needs reminding. But if you want to understand Sernet, just listen to the supporters tonight.

Down 4-2. Outplayed. Outpaced. Outscored.
And still the chants kept going.

Not once did they turn on the team.
Not once did they stop singing.

"WE LOVE SERNET SERNET TILL WE DIE
WE NEVER QUESTION, WE NEVER ASK WHY"

That's what echoed through Craton.

The match wasn't fatal. Not yet. The Cup of Harmony is full of twists, and Sernet have time to regroup. But the margin for error is razor-thin now.

We've seen what the Steamers can be. The first 25 minutes were brilliant.
We've also seen what they must fix, and quickly.

One matches remains.

And as long as we're still standing, still fighting, and still singing...

Sernet are not done.
We CAN qualify.

Final Score:
Bhumi Matawis Empire 4 - 2 Sernet

Goals:
Bhumi Matawis Empire: Hadiwata 29' 41', Wijaya 57', Hermanto 71'
Sernet: Bolsting 14', Kolbense 23'

No pre-match analysis etc. as Sernet have a bye on Matchday 4.

[The North Polish Union]

HEADING INTO BYE, UNION HOPES TO SECURE SPOT IN ROUND OF 24

The North Polish Union would've liked to get a little more out of a 2-2 draw against Hanalia in their most recent match, but they still hope to be sitting in a position to head for the elimination matches. The Union currently sits behind Cardenao and Solgavden in their group, having split their decisions with the pair, and having only group tail-ender New Montreal States left will hope to come away with an additional 3 points there.

With the top 6 third-placed teams advancing to a round of 24 the Union is currently in position to take one of those spots, and the odds of that happening would increase with a win in their final match, for which the team should be fully rested. New manager Hasso Hassel has been praised for his turnaround of the team after Udo Kluckhohn was sacked following a string of poor results in World Cup Qualification. Hassel has completely revamped the offense, one of the worst in international competition under Kluckhohn, into one that has scored multiple goals in three consecutive games for the first time in team history.

The Union football team has advanced to elimination rounds only once, at Baptism of Fire 86, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Gyaromia.

[Atymnius]

OOC: This is for Group 5 participants in Zwanzug. Keppel City’s Ayathen Arena is currently damaged by the aftermath of this post. I suggest you RP for Groth Park as an alternative should you talk of venue. Further iterations of Zwangzug authorities and the stadium’s repair will be provided in the epilogue TBC.

Edit: To clear any confusion, you can still use the stadium for your games though take note of the repairs.

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TWO PARENTS APART: FINALE
THE LIGHT THAT YOU HOLD

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He stood still at the precipice of the adjunct commentators room of the now west side of the stadium, dissonant and voiceless—for he was tired.

He breathed slowly before exclaiming a short soliloquy.

Dad,

I hated you for everything. I hated you for the fact that you abused my mother. I hate that you never loved me back and took every achievement I made. Why you never loved me as much as my sister.

He walked slowly to the encroaching monster as it ran towards him in recognition.

But I still love you. I don’t know why but I love you if only for giving me an existence. Because when a boy comes out of the cave, they become a man but in not recognizing the cave, the man would disappear altogether…

What the fuck am I saying! Hahaha!

He laughed self-deprecatingly at himself. He curled his hair upwards, looking at the sky.

He then lifted his arms.

But you and I are not alike.

Suddenly a flash of light beckoned the surroundings. It came from Wyetti himself.

He levitated slowly as a light so auspicious and pure radiates from his heart.

From the forceps of this giant transformed, the creature screeched.

Wuwuauau!

It ran to him like a gorilla on all fours ready to devour an all too bright man.

From Wyett’s tips, for in fact it was to the creature’s initial instinct, he cultivated something distinct.

A red-yellow luminescent sword of piercing proportions, ready to seal the monsters of his past.

Whack!

He turned the weapon horizontally in parallel and slashed the creature in half.

The weapon went through the creature.

It didn’t work.

The creature screamed and the weapon disintegrated and formed a malevolent infection on the sword.

Slowly, it curled around Wyetti’s arms. It was reaching for his chest, eager to sludge his heart, his humanity.

It wanted him!

Wyetti couldn’t control his limbs, struggling to control his own muscles.

He then breathed slowly.

Wyetti: Ugh!

He mustered all of his pain and struggle and concentrated the sword towards him, slowly to:

Wyetti: Isolate my heart from you dad, two parents apart!

Immediately the creature’s atomic fluctuations dispersed. Flowing controllessly throughout Keppel Arena, Wyetti lifted his body up and in one final attack as his his body concentrated the light in his heart, connected it to his hand, forming an upward sword of immense strength—

He proclaimed

Wyett: Goodbye.

The sword sheathed the monster into a hell abyss at the floor of the field as the grass collapsed under his father.

Wyetti’s Dad: You are a man now.

He fell, satisfied to himself only, into the hell hole.

The hole then subsequently closed but red fissures still remained intact.

Wyetti descended down. He then limped to the west corner of the team-walkthrough of Keppel.

Wyetti: Mom…

He laid there and finally collapsed.