Cup of Harmony 92 - Everything Thread

[Free Republics]

Free Republics Facility
Arlington

The trip to Zwischen had ended badly for the Republican National Soccer Team. Consecutive losses including a shootout with Saterun. Opposing media were commenting on how young the team is, blissfully unaware of the time when Consul Kulseth nationalized the team and sent the under-10 side to Campionato Esportiva XII. That team had somehow managed to defeat Mareibat 3 to nil and Boring Paradise 3 to 2 in their second and third matches before The Licentian Isles eliminated them with a 1 to nil win. That tournament had also featured groups of 5, much like the current Cup of Harmony. This team would later go on to compete at Sporting World Cups 2, 3 and 4. They would reach the Round of 16 of Sporting World Cup 2 (falling to Schottia), finish 4th in Sporting World Cup 3 (losing a semifinal to Anglatia and a 3rd place match to Mercedini) and then fall to Gallian Union in the Round of 16 of Sporting World Cup 4. After that, they had retired from international sports never becoming famous enough to become politicians or prominent activists like seemingly every famous person in the Free Republics eventually does. (OOC: My U-10 team is one of those great moments in the history of Esportiva along with the glorious 12 hours after I removed my endorsement of Nephara and became the region's shortest reigning WA delegate.)

The fact that fame almost inevitably means a political career was something that had always haunted Black Day's singer Ronnie Cunningham. He didn't care for politicians except for everybody's favorites Senator Shadow and Senator Princess. And only because he knew they had no clue what they were actually doing in the Senate. Their antics were as entertaining and hilarious as any cartoon about animals. He had arrived at the Cup of Harmony to perform a concert for the Republican delegation including his song Republican Idiot denigrating people who care about politics. The Grand Immortal Imperator had personally asked him to go. Lady Scarlett would also make an appearance to sing some of her greatest hits, including her old WorldVision songs. (OOC: There's roughly zero chance I'd enter WorldVision again based on the rule changes they've put in but it would be great to either have an NS Sports song contest or bring back the World Cup Concert.)

But before the concert outside the facility could commence, Dr. Kennedy had a few words to say:

Dr. Kyle Kennedy - Students and faculty of Barjavel Academy and everybody else who stumbled into this show, welcome to the Republican Music Festival. While we prepare for what might be our final Cup of Harmony match against Soviet Kem, we want to introduce you to some of the best music from the Free Republics. Today, you will get performances from Black Day and Lady Scarlett. Along with some up and coming bands that we invited at their recommendation. But before we commence, I want to recognize the members of our Chess Club who will be heading on an Imperator Airlines flight to South Newlandia following the Cup of Harmony match to compete in an international tournament. We know that chess is popular in Zwangzug so we're going to start today's festivities by having them compete against each other in chess. Hence why you can see 2 chess boards on the big screen behind me. Amabella, Taishi, Chelsea and Lukas, please come to the stage now.

The 4 students walked to the stage. Dr. Kennedy instructed Amabella to play Taishi and Chelsea to play Lukas to determine which gender was superior at chess.

Dr. Kennedy - How about we raise the stakes a bit for this? If the boys win, the girls have to clean the boys dorms for the remainder of this Cup of Harmony trip. If the girls win, the boys have to clean the girls dorms. If it is a draw, then both of you have to clean the opposite sex's dorms.

The educator figured the kids would find this hilarious. At least whichever sex won the battle of the sexes would. The chess games would be played under the 20 minute time limit rules so they were guaranteed to finish in under 40 minutes. The 2 would be played concurrently. However, Taishi scored a surprisingly quick checkmate of Amabella after her aggressive play backfired. All Lukas needed to do was play for a draw and the boys would win. But then he intentionally started making stupid moves like trading his queen for a pawn. It was obvious even to the majority of the students who knew very little about chess that he was trying to throw the match. And ultimately he did as Chelsea made quick work of checkmating him then grabbed him to initiate a public kiss.

Dr. Kennedy - Now, now children. You know the school rules prohibit public displays of affection.

Lukas Jung - Then punish me for both of us.

Dr. Kennedy - That won't be necessary, Lukas. We certainly don't need to enforce every rule all the time but you should still be discreet. I admire your chivalry. Let it be an example for the rest of you. You are the future ruling class of the Free Republics and should act like it. I do have a question for you Chelsea: If Amabella had won her match, would you have done the same thing your boyfriend just did?

Chelsea Murphy - I don't know.

Dr. Kennedy - Do you not know or is the answer no?

Chelsea Murphy - I honestly don't know, sir. But I think, given the stakes, a draw is the most fair option for everybody.

Dr. Kennedy - Indeed. I hope we can strengthen relations between the sexes and produce some more romantic relationships before we return to Republica. We need to get the future elite of the Free Republics married as soon as possible after their graduation. Therefore, I will share the news that Senator Shadow has proposed new legislation requiring colleges and universities to admit both members of a married couple if they want to admit one of them. And to offer married dorms where couples are also roommates. As you know, if Senator Shadow proposes it, it always becomes law. But we didn't come here to watch a chess game or to hear about what the Legislature is doing. We came here for a music festival. So let the festival commence!

A long day of music followed. From the very first song to the last song, there were many crowdsurfers and a seemingly never-ending mosh pit. Several Barjavel students ended up in the makeshift nurse's office. But Koby Theodore's team was strictly prohibited from entering the pit. It was simply not worth risking injury as they prepared for their must-win 4th and final match of the Cup of Harmony group stage. Even with a win, they would have to wait until the conclusion of matchday 5's matches to learn their fate. With a loss, they would all be on the next Imperator Airlines flight back to Republica. While other coaches would have insisted upon practicing before such an important match, Theodore decided that his team just needed to be loose and relaxed. It was a great risk but the legendary Rule Theriault probably would have done the same thing...

[Yangchenia]

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

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Another draw for the Blazing Dragons
"To avoid both defeat and victory."

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The Second Symphony of Sport
by: Penji Lhabsang

The Cup of Harmony was off to a neutral start for the Blazing Dragons.

A draw in their first game against Seeburg, as well as being the bye team for the following matchday has left Yangchenia ranked 4th in its bracket so far. Hu Winwei, the Dragon's coach since their debut in 2016 was expecting something more, but hey, it could have been worse. It could have ended in a loss. Besides, he was lucky to even be here in the Busoga Islands.

The Cup of Harmony was nothing like the World Cup. This was a league for the skilled and the determined, whereas the World Cup elimination was open to anyone. Not every team made the cut and was granted the privilege to participate in this prestigious event. Despite their loss, The Blazing Dragons were lucky and skilled enough to impress many spectators of the elimination round of the World Cup - the way the team managed to turn a long-standing losing streak around into back to back victories, all on their debut game on the multiverse stage.

The team rested during their one day off game. But as the third matchday approached, it was back off to war. Sangti and the Filindo Isles was waiting.

Ranked 78th, the SFI was the second highest ranking team within Yangchenia’s bracket, and a formidable opponent to anyone. However, the team had not been as fortunate - back to back losses knocking the team down to the bottom of the leaderboard. However, they were not to be underestimated. No team should.

Because that's how defeat is guaranteed.

The day came. The stadiums filled. Crowds gathered for the third matchday. The Blazing Dragons arrived early to prep for the game. The SFI team also did, their naming styles awfully familiar to many players of the Blazing Dragons - one of Palomesian origins.

“Ang bayan ng mga mandirigma ng karagatan.”
(the land of the ocean warriors)

As the teams readied into position, the clock ticked ever closer to match time. The tension in the air was palpable, crowds taking their seats as the match was about to begin.

Then, the whistle was blown.

Immediately, the SFI team struck first. Renze Coligado with an early attempt for the Yangini goal. But the Yangini goalkeeper, Damdul Gyatso held firm, and blocked Coligado’s attempt. Chaos ensued, both teams rushing into attacking and defending stances as the ball traded hands. The ball fell into the possession of Sasha Saizi, and with a swift maneuver around the Sangti-Filindian team, she managed to score the match’s first goal, giving the Blazing Dragons a one point lead on the 22nd minute.

However, the Sangtians soon made a shot of their own, Owen Makalintal tying the score just before halftime.

Post-halftime brought the deciding moments of the game, whether it would end with a tie, or one team would be going home victorious. The Sangtians attacked first, again routing much of the Yangini defenses. However Damdul Gyatso proved to be a tough nut to crack, staving off many of their attempts, before a successful goal from the Sangtians on the 67th minute, by Rutchel Cerdeno.

Now the Yangini’s were behind by a point. Time was ticking. 15 minutes remained, and no one was making a move. It seemed that it would end with a Sangtian victory.

Then, Wu Hsaing with the ball, dashing across the field. Ten minutes remained. The enemy defense was firm, unyielding. The ball was traded back and forth, Li Winning and Tsamchoe That's aiding Hsaing as much as they could. Then, their lines broke. Hsaing with the breakthrough.

And on the 88th minute, with mere minutes to spare, he struck, scoring a goal at nearly the last minute, tying the score before the final whistle was blown, ending the game 2-2.

With Yangchenia's draw to Sangti and the Filindo Isles, the nation had managed to successfully defend it's spot at 4th on the leaderboard. However, with next match against the team of Warkus, the struggle wasn't over yet.

In fact, it had only barely begun.




NEXT MATCH:

Matchday 4
Warkus vs Yangchenia
at Busoga Islands

[Bhumi Matawis Empire]

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Warta > Sports > Football

A Win that Bring Chance
By Farhat Arasya

Craton, Zwangzug (11 Sep) - The third match day was finished with a big win for the White Tiger. An unexpected result as Sernet was more favorited to win even though with their lower rank than Bhumi Matawis. The White Tiger success to scored 4 goals in the match, 2 of which was scored by Christian Hadiwinata. On the other hand, The Martian Independent Republic also win their match against Bonusia. These results really change the power map of the group.

The Martian Independent Republic or MIR still leading the group with 7 points, 3 points ahead of Bhumi Matawis who jump to second place. The White Tiger however have an advantage as they currently one short match than MIR which makes the position can change drastically in the last 2 match days. Although it has to be noted that the last two matches for Bhumi Matawis are quite crucial as both are against top ranked team in the group, TJUN-ia (1st ranked) and Bonusia (3rd). And to be added, all three of them have only played twice which increase the importance of these two matches not just for Bhumi Matawis but also for the other two. However, the situation might a little different for Bonusia. After two matches, the team placed last with 2 losses.

Bonusia is Bhumi Matawis next opponent. And even though Bonusia is better on paper or on rank, with their current results and performance, many are favorited Bhumi Matawis to win the match. This prediction is also back with the White Tiger' result against MIR which is the second highest ranked team within the group. And Bhumi Matawis success to force a draw in their match.

The next match day is also crucial for MIR as they will meet TJUN-ia, the highest ranked team in the group. This is MIR' last match with the fifth match day would be their bye day. So they need a win to secure their position. On the other hand, this is a good time for TJUN-ia to turn their table around. Their shocking lose against Sernet in the first match day was redeemed by a huge 6-1 win against Bonusia in the second match day. And currently they seat at fourth with the same point as Sernet.

Along the way, the dynamic of the group become more and more interesting with all the surprises and disappointments that happened.

Edited by Edi Susantyo

Suggested topics : Football, World Cup, Cup of Harmony

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Warta > Sports > Football

No Chance for East Clubs in Bhumi League
By Bagus Suharsa

Kartasura (12 Sep) - The Bhumi League is heading to its second phase where the league is split into Championship and Relegation Playoff. But seeing the results, President of PSM Mangkasara voiced his disappointment with how the league is managed. He argue that the current system highly advantaging the more developed western clubs. He pointed out how in this two seasons, only 1 club from eastern part of the Empire that managed to placed in the top half of Elite League. AS Kopeng in 2025 season and Perselu Topalu this season. He hope the association would rethink about the system where he suggest the use of two divisions just like Matawis National League.

The association spokesperson said that there have been talks about upgrade in the Bhumi League but not about changing the system. "We currently discussing about enlarge the League into 14 or 16 clubs," he said. Changing the system have never occur in the meeting of the officials as they think the current system is already at its best. "This system will push eastern based clubs to be able to compete with the more develop western based clubs. I do realize that it seems to be a cruel practice for some people but we need to do this so they can adapt faster with their surroundings," he added.

The spokesperson statement was supported by the president of Persekarta Kartasura and Persenggalu Junggalu. Both voiced that eastern based clubs have to catch up and this have to be done with 'forces'. "If we relax things for them, it would take longer for them to make ani changes. On the other hand, we want to establish a prestigious league and everyone have to have their role in achieving it. And for eastern based clubs, they have to achieve the same level as the western based clubs. But we also encourage the association to give their help and support for the eastern based clubs so they can achieve this development level sooner," said president of Persenggalu Junggalu.

However, PSM Mangkasara' president statement was quite contradicted. The issue of advantaging western based clubs was only seen in Elite League. But in Championship League the issue was missed by him. For 2025 season there were 4 eastern based clubs placed in the top half. They were FC Gamalama, Persewa Watampone, Deportivo Larantuka and Perselopo Palopo. With 2 of them managed to qualify to IFCF League B Championship Trophy competition. But the situation turn drastically in 2026 season where only 1 eastern based club placed in the top half, Ampenan City United. Despite the drastic change, it doesn't mean that the system advantaging the western based clubs as in Championship League, eastern based clubs can also compete greatly.

Edited by Joko Suparyanto

Suggested topics : Football, Bhumi League

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Copyright WartaBhumi @2026

[Dantopia]

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VOL. 45,993

LION CITY, DANTOPIA THURSDAY 4TH DECEMBER, 2025

₵500

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Dantopia Deny Woodsmerians With Another Nil-Nil

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The Lions Continue Their Excellent Defensive Display But Attack Fail To Score Again In Zwangzug

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By SAUL ARNSTEIN

Janaki Gardens

Woodsmere0-0Dantopia

Half Time: 0-0

GUARIDAY, ZWANGZUG — Rick Bishop's Dantopia delivered another spirited defensive performance, which earned them a point at Janaki Gardens against Woodsmere, as the manager's squad refused to be scored against. Expectations have been understandably muted heading into the Cup of Harmony — the Lions are the lowest ranked nation in Group 1 and are not predicted to go far in the tournament — but the team turned up in Guariday, full of determination and resolve.

Woodsmere dominated the possession in both halves, but were limited to chances from corners and crosses for the majority of the ninety minutes, with Dantopia's back four of Will Cross; Emerson Cromwell; Keegan Foster; and Kaleb Kahananui carrying out a series of blocks and headers to protect goalkeeper Alex Bullvale. The Lions grew as an attacking force after the interval, but Bradini Brunson fired the side's best chance straight at Viks Tambeċem, before Kahananui was very bizarrely shown two yellow cards in quick succession — the second for dissent — in the dying stages. Those in the Dantopian fans' end were left puzzled, but somewhat satisfied, despite a second straight nil-nil result for the Lions in the group stages.

Ezra Cunningham

In contrast to the typically defensive and structured style of manager Garċa Radjas, the Hares began proceedings on the front foot, making a furious start that led to a number of early crosses and corner kicks. However, the Lions managed to calm the Woodsmerian crowd reasonably well, by shutting down the early opportunities with aplomb. There were even flickers of chances for Rick Bishop's side, via shots from Adeyemi and Danchevy — the former blocked, and the latter too high. In the midfield, actions from Ezra Cunningham hinted at the Club ESF player's maturity which has helped him become a national team regular, whilst the defence held firm, and won several offside calls, due to a very nicely organised back line, led by Keegan Foster.

With all that acknowledged, the Hares were given numerous opportunities to burst forward, due to predictable passing between defence and midfield, which saw them often winning back possession high up the pitch. At the other end, Bradini Brunson cut an isolated figure, as the Dantopian attacking trio struggled for connectivity against the Woodsmerian back line. The travelling Dantopian crowd — vociferous once the early excitement of Woodsmere's fans had been quelled — were not complaining much, though. They expected fight and spirit from the team, both of which were given in abundance, although the connections in attack were lacking.

Headers from Woodsmere's centre backs Andrim Maitti and Taneks Suhem — both from corners — were the best of Woodsmere's first half chances, and shots from team captain Hojma Reged and midfield partner Seg Pa sailed harmlessly over Bullvale's bar. When the players emerged for the second period, there were no changes for either side, and Woodsmere continued to press for the opener — though, this time, with much less ferocity than that of the opening forty-five minutes. Edgar Keulep hit the side-netting in the early moments of the second half, but then the Dantopians put together a really encouraging moment, when Kealoha's arcing pass appeared to have slotted Danchevy in on goal. Agonisingly, Randu Amāt got back just in time to nick the ball away from the Tikariot City forward.

Bradini Brunson

Woodsmere's best moment then came when Keulep — responsible for so much of the Hare's creative output throughout — curled a low strike inches beyond Bullvale's left-hand post. The Kyethas Rivermen shot-stopper made further saves from forwards Ninde Markuz and Planbas Groibyz, but in-between those came Dantopia's most fluent play. Adeyemi's inside pass found Ezra Cunningham on the edge of the box, and the midfielder then located Brunson's burst into the penalty area. However, the Lion City FC striker could only find the midriff of the young Hargei FC goalkeeper Viks Tambeċem, with a right-footed effort.

As the match became more stretched, the tension increased, with both sides looking more likely to convert as gaps started to appear amidst tiring defences. Cunningham skied an effort following another slick Lions passage of play, but the Hares also pushed Dantopia further back as the clock ticked down. Rick Bishop opted to go to his bench at this point, late into the game. He had trusted the starting eleven for much of the match, but now needed some defensive reinforcements. Sam Robinson-Tate and Dwight Krol both came on — replacing Will Cross and Johnny Kealoha. At the top of the pitch, Maverick Johnson and Nico Hollins came in for the tiring Adeyemi and Danchevy, with captaincy handed over to the veteran in the middle of the park, Dani Spaghetti. Bishop had switched to a 5-2-3 formation in order to bolster the defensive line, which was seeing a late onslaught from the Woodsmerians. A final, last minute change saw Ezra Cunningham replaced by his brother Nehemiah, but not before a late flurry of chances in the dying moments of the second period for the Hares.

Kaleb Kahananui

Markuz hit the side-netting and there was a nervy wait as VAR checked a potential handball against Dwight Krol, but the defender's arm was ruled to be in a natural position, and he also had practically no time to get away from the ricocheting ball inside the box. Then, a couple of late free-kicks increased the tension, but the header from substitute Henri Alatalato sailed harmlessly over, and more great defending from Cromwell and the others took Dantopia to the verge of another point in the group. There was a flash of late drama when teenager Kaleb Kahananui was peculiarly sent off by the match referee for two quick-fire yellow cards, following a defensive challenge on Reged. Kahananui had bluntly objected to the first yellow card, as television replays shown he had actually won the ball cleanly, but the referee had ruled otherwise. However, almost instantly, the referee reached for the yellow card again, despite letting multiple previous objections from both sides go throughout the rest of the ninety minutes. The ten men of Dantopia didn't have to hold on for long, as the final whistle was blown shortly after, but the red card means that Kahananui misses the next fixture at least — with the Dantopian FA expected to appeal a potentially longer-term suspension.

Group 1Following MD3
POSTEAMPLDWDLGFGAGDPTS
1   Calgasia     2   1   1   0   3   1   +2   4
2   Biyambi      3   1   1   1   8   8   0   4
3   Woodsmere    3   1   1   1   2   3   -1   4
4   Dantopia     2   0   2   0   0   0   0   2
5   Hapilopper   2   0   1   1   6   7   -1   1

The second successive nil-nil draw keeps the Lions in fourth place in Group 1, a point behind the Hares, and two off second-placed Biyambi and first-placed Calgasia. Two final group fixtures await Rick Bishop's side — the first against Hapilopper, at Janaki Gardens once again, with the final game taking place against Biyambi at Sector 32 Park. An unlikely win in either would be instrumental for the Dantopians, and could even see them roar into a qualification spot for the next round, depending on other results. However, the prevailing view amongst those following the national team is that this is not expected.

Bishop will have to make at least one change following the match, with the aforementioned suspension to Kaleb Kahananui, though it is predicted he will make rotations in the front line too, following two successive, scoreless affairs. Simply put, the Lions need goals in order to get results, and the front three of Adeyemi, Brunson and Danchevy have failed to hit the back of the net thus far in the Cup of Harmony. Spirited, albeit brief, performances from substitutes Nico Hollins and Maverick Johnson may see the wing pair favoured over their more experienced teammates against the Haps in match-day four.

xg.unit

11h

Woodsmere (1.97) 0-0 (0.63) Dantopia #WOOvsDAN #CupOfHarmony92 #Group 1

Expected Line-up against Hapilopper
A. Bullvale — W. Cross — E. Cromwell — K. Foster — D. Krol — D. Spaghetti (C) — E. Cunningham — J. Kealoha — N. Hollins — B. Brunson — M. Johnson

[TJUN-ia]

To say that our Cup of Harmony started on the wrong track would be an understatement. Losing 0-1 to Sernet certainly stung, considering the emotions from missing out on the World Cup were still raw in the minds of everyone in Blue and Orange, and while there were still three games left to turn things around, everyone knew we had serious work to do...including the co-managers themselves. Sure, David Seems and Li Xiu Ying didn't need to do anything else for us - they had already earned their flowers across all these years of service to the national team - but in this swansong, they wanted to go out on the right note, and results like that were not going to deliver that end goal. They knew, in this last attempt, they needed to bring everything they had...and so did everyone in that team.

And so, Doymals Stadium in Craton, The Jaguars turned up in Esportivan Orange and Black, looking to prove a point against a Bonusia side playing their first game of the tournament and looking to get off to a good start. They just wanted points on the board to start their 4-game stretch - we wanted to make a statement to get back on track. With that in mind, it was not a surprise that the game played out the way it did. All we can say is that I do feel for poor Antònio Bòbila in goal - they did not have a good day in this game, and it was of no fault of their own. It was 4-0 at half time - with Belle Whitewater grabbing a hattrick with Diana Sharafutdinov also getting involved - and while DJ Makarrons at least grabbed something from the game, Dakota Monroe and an Owl Goal from Hèctor Filip ended this contest with 15 minutes to spare. 6-1. Statement made indeed.

After the bye, the grind continues again. Starting with the Martians. GO JAGS!

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SCHEDULE (Group 4, Zwangzug)
MD1: vs Sernet [The Sernetian Empire] (128) - Pacific Field, Bassabook (Home Kit) L 0-1 (4th)
MD2: vs Bonusia (98) - Doymals Stadium, Craton (Fourth Kit) W 6-1 (3rd)
MD3: BYE (4th)
MD4: vs The Martian Independent Republic (67) - Doymals Stadium, Craton (Third Kit)
MD5: vs Bhumi Matawis Empire (115) - Pacific Field, Bassabook (Away Kit)

[Anewkansas]

Independent sources have called the Anewkansan Turtles an “annoying opponent” before and one observer said that they always find a way to “turn down the sportsmanship button a few notches”. Even if those writers were probably dirty, lying foreigners, that is also a correct, but rather incomplete summary of the truth. In classifying the whole team under the moniker “bastards”, they miss out the rich tapestry of gamesmanship involved in the way the Anewkansan side have managed to slowly work their way up the international football ladder. The basis of that development is the recognition by all three national managers that one must balance the various traits of shithousery and that each player needs to be used on his strengths. No one likes a classic number ten sawing off the legs of their direct opponent… Well, maybe once in a while, but not the whole time. No one understood the value of combining all strengths better than Trevor Augustus: the national manager proves that making each player shine in their specific variation of being a gaming cunt works wonders as the Turtles could hold a strong, physical Senators side to a draw.

In the back, one can find a perfect diversity in the (lack of) values brought together by our quartet. On the left-hand side, one can find Baylor Rivers who in spare time perfected the art of the Timewaster. One of his specialties is the non-fast throw-in, in which you first fake throwing in right away. You don’t release the ball but rather turn back and loudly complain that your teammates are not in the right position. After pointing and waving people to their spots, you leave the ball to be thrown by someone else. His opposite number, the notoriously boring Karl Hullbacher has a fitting, but undervalued specialty, as the team’s Puller: no player escapes the grasp of his grubby fingers. With differentiates a good puller and one who picks up cards sits in the release moment: just fast enough before the ref grabs his whistle but also just in time for the opponent to lose his balance. Hullbacher majored in applying this on free kicks: his direct adversary rarely leaves the ground but somehow can only fall too shambolically for a referee to call it.

Paired in the heart of the team, one can find two different schools of shithousery, both grounded in their generation and one might say that their age difference ensured that they form the ugly yin to the dirty yang. The years have come to Dominick Merrick and so has, due to the virtue of still keeping up physically, the captain’s ribbon. With that piece of cloth comes the superpower that you can make extra faults and talk more smack to the referee, but Merrick always has been a master Thrashtalker. A good thrashtalker keeps on gobbling on against the other team’s striker until he’s angry. But a really splendid one goes on until the opponent is uncomfortable. Allegedly, one forward in the Premier League reconsidered his life’s choices and left the sport after ninety minutes with Merrick. Joining him in defense is young Piotr Gaziewski. These days, acting like a dick on a pitch is considered by some newfangled snowflakes as “not nice” and “unsporting”. Luckily, Gaziewski is not one of those but he understood that the problem sat in the optics, not in the act. This makes him an excellent twenty-first century Sneaker. You don’t drag a forward to the ground but you pinch him just as the ball starts. Don’t kick him in the knee but put your boot on his little toe. Why would you graze his heels if you can simply punch him in the back when no one is watching?

When we are talking about the Anewkansan midfield, it is important to recognize that versatility is important. Fitting, as midfielders are usually described to six-year-olds as ‘both attackers and midfielders’, so they need to master both the physical, verbal and mental side of the game. Despite our quartet being well versed in all versions of the art, they each have a specialty, like martial arts cartoons showing off the colours of the tag team. You can be a defensive midfielder, yet be very offensive to the legs of your opponents. Guy Marchand is a multitool, in one way, and a Hacksaw in most ways. His brutal attack on the nether limbs of Nemes “Teph” Zsanett last match deserved a red card but somehow making the round ‘ball’ signal with both hands magically transformed that into a stern telling-to. By his side is Harvey McIntyre who, loyal to his dayjob in the police force, refrains from (the most visible) brutalities but plays his role as the team’s Stickler. Did your wingback throw three meters away from where the ball left the field? Is there a possibility of offside? Be assured that McIntyre will identify the culprit and kindly report him to the refereeing department in a clear, concise (Oi!) manner.

Less experienced fans of true football might mistake the impact of McIntyre with the added value of playmaker Marcus Puckett, who acts as the Nagger of this line-up. These players can be characterized as ‘people who annoy you’ but for those of you less familiar with the term, it is important to outline the subtle yet vital details that Puckett brings to it. For starters, anyone can (and probably will) complain when an opposing player tries to take out the muscles in your calf. But, as Puckett demonstrated against Super Earth, one should also do so when they give you a dirty sideways glance. Continuity is key and some see it as repetitiveness. They could not be further off the truth: a good nagger manages to find new things to complain about all the time. It is the more vocal side of the theatrical duo, complemented by a good Actor in JJ Sevilla. Again, there is little art found in the aching pains after receiving the razor treatment on your tendons. But can you roll around realistically after a mild shoulder bump? A Sevilla in form knows it’s not about being dramatically larger-than-life but about keeping the hint of realism while ensuring the blatant faults of the dirty opposition are properly exposed.

Defense wins titles but to do so, you must win games and that is where a good striking partnership comes in. Those who give a sideways glance to Anewkansan football suspect that these two remain furthest from the dark side of the playbook. You too? You’re wrong! Gentle giant Pershing Major might be as sympathetic and humble as you can find a deep-rooted military personnel member but he understands to leave that side of his personality in the dressing room whilst screwing on an extra set of Elbows before taking to the pitch. The beauty of being nearly two meters is that you can make realistic claims that you were just “in the air” as you try to give the team dentist of your adversary something to do. (Why on earth do you have a team dentist anyway?) And still, of all the prototypes of Anewkansan heroism described above, none faces as much stick from opposing fans as Lemar Philips, the Celebrator. You can roundhouse kick someone in the chest or drag them across the box by the nose, but the one who enjoys a cheeky little dance after a goal gets the true scorn of the stands. Admittedly, Philips did his signature move after the equalizer right in front of the block reserved for Super Earth fans and yes, the little crotch-grab at the end could be more tasteful, but hey, he’s an expert in his field. A celebrator knows he should not limit himself to goals. Corner won? Fist in the air. Snide tackle to push someone over the touchline? Two fists in the air. Free kick around the box? You better find yourself a third fist, buddy.

And so, with this article, we celebrate Anewkansan football in all its delicacy and elegance. It sufficed for a draw against the Senators, so let’s hope it will suffice against The Artists Formerly Known As Aéragny (for a goalless draw, probably).

[Atymnius]

TWO PARENTS APART: EPILOGUE

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Zwangzug Authorities: “Restoration and Repairs Underway”

By Dēmos Observer

Zwangzug would not have believed it if it were not for Ayathen Arena. The Arena, a supposedly haunted place as much as anyone could believe, could not deny it now as Wyetti was quickly dispatched from its stands. The ominous, red fissures occurring on the scene that Wednesday morning are still a stun recorded on many news network databases.

“I could not have believed it if I didn’t see it for myself,” said one of the neighbors to the arena in Keppel City, “My neighbours were actually right!”

Wyetti rushed himself that late morning to meet his teammates and the Dēmosian travel bus will now head to Groth Park for its home fixture against Eastfield Lodge as Zwangzug authorities continue to de-escalate the situation:

“We should be done in a couple of hours but the pitch will continue to host games.”

Many citizens are questioning the decision or perhaps even the safety of the city at large, whose suspicions of occult activity in the area have been circulating ever since.

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Feminism and Philosophy: An Incorrect Predicate Solution

An illusory scene is depicted. The observer slowly opens to the near end of the lecture. It was university time and his eyes withered open softly.

The Supreme Deity is speaking.

To mix feminism and philosophy is not only a dangerous exercise, it’s a predicate-based incorrect solution.

As I said, to mix any notion that the dispositions of a woman is any inherent sign of a need of transcendental inquiry a priori is incorrect.

A priori, as I put it, is philosophy itself. Philosophy must always be based on an inkling of universality and strict necessity in its tasks as even an anarchist must make sure their chaos holds when order pushes buttons.

But the biological dispositions of a woman do not hold to this fact. There is no universality of such to every consequence so that a man holds the same traits as a woman does. And the vice can be true. This is mere nonsense and more so to the fact of the Kantian arbitrarium and assumed nature of our a posteriori empirical judgment, resonates with this categorisation. A need to categorize mere semantics for actually pertinent virtues.

Virtues such as love, faith and kindness are not assumed or comparative, they are universal truths that hold good in all and cannot, regardless of what quantitative nature they take, be categorized as such. The human receptivity to hold them regardless is ever present and that is all that should matter. I term this a priori.

Therefore I am proud of individuals who isolate feminist philosophy not based on their false foundations but extrapolate their a priori contents (apart from the a posteriori) and find that such philosophy holds good in all. I would be even more so surprised if they then understand that no matter how they were raised a posteriori (that is from our experience) that masculinity and feminism do not define them as much as they realize they want it too.

At this point the observer will realize that the philosophy is not feminist. It is just philosophy itself.

After the students left the lecture room, a butterfly flew next to a rose vase, eating the delectable flora.

[Warkus]

Jack sat on the coaches’ bench, observing the last thirty minutes of the day’s training session. It’s the final tune-up before the game against Yangchenia – the fifth seeds sitting in fourth place with two draws from two games. A deceptively ‘meh’ record because they got those draws against the second and third seeds in Sangti and the Filindo Isles along with Seeberg. Their last game was a spirited two-all draw that saw the Blazing Dragons tie things up late in the game. It was a result that saw Vicenzo Frain immediately step down as manager of Sangti and the Filindo Isles to be replaced in the interim by assistant manager Jorriel Fong.

As much as Jack doesn’t want to get complacent, he knows he’s put his team in the driver’s seat here. The first two games had gone almost exactly to plan. Two wins from two games, three goals for and zero against. A win against Yangchenia would guarantee first place in Group 8 and send the team straight to the Round of 16. Even if Warkus lost both of their remaining games, they’d still finish a respectable third place and have a chance of making it to the Round of 24.

Jack catches himself thinking about these permutations again. He’s always felt that was a bad habit. Working yourself up over all the different possibilities only makes it more likely you’ll end up with one of the bad outcomes. Before the qualifiers, he’d had a brief conversation with the Warkus National Lacrosse Team player-manager Thomas Murphy on their respective approaches to managing teams through tournaments. Thomas was a pretty inexperienced manager, all things considered, and although Jack would never admit it to anyone, he was uninterested in taking advice from him. Thomas became something of a national hero by both captaining and managing a hastily thrown together motley crew of players to third place in the World Lacrosse Championships at the first time of asking. He didn’t really care about being overshadowed in another sport. No, the issue was everyone – journalists, other coaches, his own players even – telling him to sit down with the guy and get the magic recipe from him.

There is no magic recipe. Thomas’s advice was pretty vague and generic: “take each game one at a time”. Jack had said the same thing himself numerous times, big deal. But it was only recently that he’d started to figure out what that really means. He’d always figured taking each game one at a time meant playing without worrying about group tables and off days, but it was more than that. It meant treating each game like it could be your last. Studying each and every team you face carefully. Making feasible tactical tweaks before and during the game after spending countless hours studying the opposition. Tournaments are not like leagues with thirty-odd games where everything evens out in the end. We have four games to prove ourselves, not thirty. And if you do well enough in those four games, then you get one more. And then another, and so on, until you become champions.

Training ended without Jack even noticing. He was lost in his own mind, as usual, but these days his overthinking felt more productive than it had ever been. His approach to management had gradually changed and now he finally felt like he understood why. He thinks to himself that this is the kind of discussion he’d usually have with Eirian. She’d become an important confidant for him since the qualifiers. The dating rumours that’ve popped up are a bit of a drag, but he’s glad it hasn’t come between them. He also can’t help but take it as a compliment that people think she’s going out with him. I mean, he imagines there’s a chance she’s interested in him. A slim one. But the chances of her seriously considering him as a romantic prospect have to be even slimmer than that. It’d create so many headaches for the both of them. Fans of other sports already think the government invests too much in football relative to other sports and him dating the Queen would really get the conspiracy theorists going. Not to mention all the court politics she’d have to put up with from her gazillion relatives and the traditionalists who’d whinge about her dating a sportsball guy instead of someone more respectable. It’d be messy. But he can’t find it in himself to hate the idea of it. She’s witty, thoughtful, good looking, has impeccable taste in movies and…

“Excuse me, um, are you waiting for someone?” asks someone in a blue work uniform. Oh, it’s a member of staff at the training grounds. He’s been sitting here like this for so long he didn’t even notice everyone already packed up and left. It’s been another thirty minutes or so since training ended and he’s been sitting here thinking about what it’d be like if the Queen was his girlfriend. He’s really glad his thoughts aren’t being broadcast to the rest of the world because he already feels embarrassed enough hearing them himself. He’s not a teenage girl in a cheesy romcom, for God’s sake.

[Saterun]

2 for 2. It had been the most open game of Handrix's national team career, but Saterun had come away the victors. They had simply scored more than their opponents, winning 5-4. Caesar Ibañez had scored a hat-trick, making his total 4 in 2 games, while Adrian Schlimme and Sülimein Kalemanu each chipped in with 1. It had been a complete attacking display, but there was still plenty to be desired from the defense. Handrix wasn't sure what to do about that yet, and he wanted to give his starting back 4 another chance, but next game was crucial. Up against Carpathia and Ruthenia, the second seed in their group, the Claws would need to hold firm. Handrix was highly considering rotating, at least for that match. Channan Gatsby and Titus Poulssen were both possibilities. However, there was a flip side. The Claws could secure progression to the knockout stages next matchday, and maybe even first place in the group, so it'd be better to secure a win next time out and rest vital players for the final group stage match. That one would also be against Snestar, the lowest-seeded team in the group, and one Handrix hoped his charges could comfortably win. One thing he wanted to remain completely untouched, however, was the offense. The wing play had been working extremely well, and he saw no reason to change it now. They would stay with it as long as it produced results.

In the hotel later that night, Handrix was approached by Anders VandeLlen. It was the young player's first cycle in the national team, and he was one that Handrix was very excited about. With bags of potential and only 22 years to his name, he could be a national team legend if he developed right. "Hi gaffer. I'm a little hesitant to say this, but I have a really big favor to ask you." Handrix encouraged him to go on. "My mom, she's flying out here to watch the next two games, and I was wondering if you could come with me to pick her up from the airport. You see, I can't rent a car." Yet another reminder of how young Anders was. Handrix told him that he might be able to, but just needed to check his schedule for the night. As Handrix opened up his calendar, he saw it mostly clear. He just needed to send a few scouting emails (the SFF was looking at a couple of young Saterunalians playing abroad), but other than that he was free. To Anders' visible delight, Handrix told him they could leave in a few minutes. However, Anders then dropped a piece of information that Handrix wasn't expecting. "Um, gaffer, she's flying into ZXE." That wasn't the capital's main airport. As Handrix soon learned, Anders' mother had chosen a smaller auxiliary airport outside of the city, in order to arrive at a reasonable time of night. This one, however, was an hour away from where they were right now. Given how much time they'd have, Handrix managed to convince Dante Feilan, his assistant coach, to come along too. They'd have a chance to talk about their upcoming match. About 15 minutes later, they were at a rental car agency down the street.

Handrix had never seem so much paperwork in his life, even when sifting through club scouting reports. He had to provide his age, passport, Saterun drivers license, and even his official national team manager ID. There were multiple pages of forms to fill out, and Anders and Dante had to fill out additional forms as passengers. Luckily, Handrix could file the expense under "travel costs", so the SFF would cover it. Finally, they were able to pick out a car. At the far end of the garage, Handrix noticed a familiar-looking bumper. It turned out to be a model from a Saterun company, Novi. It was actually a slightly older model of the car Handrix himself drove. He happily chose that one, and they were off in no time. Now, they just had an hour-long drive ahead of them. Anders' mother would be arriving in 45 minutes, so it would hopefully all line up. As the drive began, Handrix and Dante began to discuss their next opponents. Dante pulled up his opponent report. "Alright, let's see here. Carpathia and Ruthenia have played two games, and won against Snestar but lost to Free Republics. Ok. So we know we beat a team that beat them, but it's a small sample size. They play a much more typical formation, utilizing a 4-3-3. Our wide midfielders-" He looked at Anders. "will have to face a bit more of a challenge. However, this should free up space in the center. This should also allow our wingbacks to actually do some defending, so maybe keep Rodrygo and Leandro on for this one." And so it went. The time passed quickly, and before Handrix knew it, they were in the arrivals lane at the airport.

Thankfully, it wasn't too congested. They slowly meandered down the line, looking out for Anders' mother. Handrix had been told that she closely resembled Anders himself, with blonde hair and a similar facial features. Finally, as they reached the last set of gates, Anders saw her. "Moede!" Anders natively spoke Frieshin, a small language concentrated in Saterun's northwest. His mother, hearing the call, turned in their direction. Her eyes lit up once she saw her son. She also seemed shocked to see his company, once the car had been parked. Handrix introduced himself, and it seemed as if the woman could barely believe she was in the presence of the Saterun national team manager. She told them her name was Juilie. Once all of her luggage had been loaded into the car, they were back on the road. The hotel she'd be staying at, while not too far away from the Claws' own lodgings, was still quite a distance from the airport. The whole time, Anders, his mom, and the two coaches discussed football. Handrix learned that it had been his mother who had first introduced Anders to the sport, and that she used to be quite the regional star in the unofficial Saterun women's leagues. Handrix had never met someone so lively, even this late at night, and was very glad he'd accepted Anders' request. Finally, a little under an hour later, they reached the hotel Juilie would be staying at. It was quite nice, even more polished than the team's hotel. As Anders and Juilie brought up her things, Handrix and Dante waited in the car.

"Gaffer, I think we need to play him soon." Handrix looked back, a caught a little off-guard. "I mean start. He should start against Snestar. He's been working hard in training, and we need to start bleeding in the next generation. Plus, his mom's here. For Kameron's sake, she probably wants to see him play." Handrix quickly agreed. Although Crespo Antonsen would likely still start the next, possibly deciding match against Carpathia and Ruthenia, he'd try to bring Anders in as a substitute. And then, of course, if he preformed well, it was likely he'd get to start the final group stage game. Handrix wasn't used to it, but he was honestly spoilt for choice on the right side. Crespo, Anders, Jack LeMounde. All were good players, and both Anders and Jack were young, exciting A Liga talents. He'd have to start curating them, and hopefully at least one would rise into a national team star. However, both had that potential. The next few games could be their chance at showing it.

Finally, Anders came back out. It was time to head back to the team hotel. It was once again nearly midnight, and Handrix was still not asleep. After the tortuously long bus ride last night, he really needed to get some rest. Luckily, tomorrow would be just a training day, but the day after that the Claws would take to the field for the third time this tournament to face the number-two seeds in the group. If all went to plan, they could definitely secure knockout football, and perhaps even win the group. Of course, they had likely already done enough to qualify for the knockouts. The top six 3rd place teams would also advance, and with 6 points Saterun was already near the top of the power rankings. But Handrix didn't want to squeak through. After a disappointing WCQ campaign, it was time to make a statement. And, you know, keep his job. But that was all a couple days away. Now, he just had to make it up the hotel stairs. The Claws were on the second floor, so there was no need for the elevator. The car was parked around back, and Handrix made a mental note to bring it to Ms. VandeLlen in the morning. She'd be using it for the rest of her visit to the country. Finally, Handrix was able to slide his key through the lock. He was dead tired. Collapsing on the bed, he didn't even have the energy to undress. Tomorrow, the Claws would continue working on their Cup of Harmony dream. But for now, he just needed to sleep.

[Kandorith]

Hikari Kyoyu

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Illuminating Today

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December 2075

TIE LIVE

TIE ▲ 0.44 % 12,753.78 • HIYASHI ▲ 0.98 % 355.67 • BIOTECHNICA ▼ 0.33 % 365.50 • NEO GEN ▲ 1.12 % 314.92 • SHOGUN ▼ 0.67 % 347.33 • GASCORP ▲ 0.55 % 490.80 • KAITO INTL ▲ 0.89 % 104.47 • KOSEN OPTITECH ▲ 1.23 % 168.41 • KURODA ▼ 0.44 % 465.65 • RDD ▲ 0.78 % 414.76 • AEGIS MEDCORP ▲ 0.67 % 255.03 • RONIN ASSEMBLIES ▼ 1.01 % 51.36

Cup of Harmony 92

From Disaster To Best Case Scenario
by Natsumi Miyasaki | Sports - Football |

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The Kandorese national team is preparing for a crucial night at the Cup of Harmony, a match that could decide the tournament's outcome. While Kandorith crashed and burned during the opening match against Natkr, Mekahi is now very much, at least partially, master of their own fate during this Cup of Harmony. Kandorith will face Katzeburg at the Lakiska City Field stadium, and this 90-minute performance can affect anything in the group and the rest of the tournament for Mekahi. Can Kuroda keep the current momentum of the team going, and will Kandorith cause an upset in the upcoming game?

After three matchdays, the Kandorese national team stands at six points out of three matches, with their goal difference reduced to -1, on equal points with group leader Natkr and two points ahead of Katzeburg. The possibilities show the importance of this match: winning the game would guarantee a second place at least; a draw could even enough for that if Kandorith loses they'd still be in third place and everything will be in Natkr's hands from there on one thing is certain the Kandorese team has the fight cut out for them and will at least be looking to secure a spot in the top 6 best third placed teams.

Turning The Tide After Disaster

The Kandorese campaign for the CoH started with a night of disaster, and it certainly was one to forget, after being demolished by Naktr in a 0-4 defeat at the Stade de Beirut. It shook the fans and turned the joyful atmosphere surrounding the tournament in Kandorese into an eerie silence. In most major cities, it raised the question: is this team up to the international stage, and were the World Cup qualifiers just a spell of good luck for the Kandorese?

The CoH campaign continued with the match against Kita-Hinode, whom they had met before during the World Cup qualifiers, and Kandorith had to endure two hard-fought draws. The game at the Cemal F. Davala Stadium would be a whole different story, as Mekahi looked confident throughout the match and secured a 3-1 win, earning three crucial points in the group as they started their pursuit of Katzeburg and Natkr.

The third match would see Kandorith face off against Ethane, ranked 117th, where on paper the Kandorese were the favourites by a small margin and that small margin showed itself in a tough fighting-football style match, but Kandorith managed to keep their wits about them and survive the game with a 1-0 and a total of six points now. The opening-night collapse of the Kandorese team is all but history now as they look ahead to the upcoming game at Lakiska.

Reina Kuroda On the Tournament So Far:

While visiting the training grounds, manager Reina Kuroda was open to answering a few questions about the team's current state and the Cup of Harmony. We asked them how they reflected on the campaign and how they are preparing for the upcoming game.

"The match against Natkr was a tough pill to swallow," Kuroda admitted without any hesitation. "Not just because of the scoreline, these things can happen, but because our team just did not appear to show up for the game. We picked ourselves up from that and learned from it. It completely changed the atmosphere in the dressing room. It changed our training schedules, and our heads are back in the game again. So I am proud of how we have performed as a team so far after what happened against Natkr."

On the game ahead Kuroda was very clearcut: "Katzeburg is ofcourse the largest worry in the group they are the highest ranked team and have had one more fixture of rest before meeting us in Lakiska Though their match against Ethane has shown that anything is possible even against larger teams I have a great deal of respect for every team of course, also Katzeburg but once again I can say that we fear no team we will be in our favourite position the underdog of the match and we have nothing to lose and everything to win against them a draw would most likely already be enough but we do not play for draws a win would be another milestone in history for Kandorese football - so that is what we will be going for."

When asked if the team felt more Pressure than during the World Cup campaign at the Cup of Harmony, Kuroda couldn't help but smile a bit: "Pressure is something I think we feel when we are playing a must-win match. On paper, matches like these are more of a test for us rather than a burden. There is a lot of clarity about the upcoming game, and a win could even land us in the round of 16, which, of course, would be amazing. The result in the end, all three possible results are survivable, but only one of them is in our own hands."

Depth and Resilience - The Kandorese Way of Football

The starting eleven against Ethane was only a fraction of the starting squad against Natkr, and has now seen changes every single game. No one will be surprised if Kuroda has put all the puzzle pieces in place now, for the last group-phase match for the Kandorese in this Cup of Harmony. Whereas against Kita-Hinode the Kandorese team shifted to a 4-4-2, against Ethane the well-known 4-3-3 made its appearance again, and it will be anyone's guess what Kuroda will use against Katzeburg and whether there will be more changes to the starting eleven.

There is a certain clarity in Kuroda's picks, though. There is no place for players who see themselves above the team. Kuroda's methods are calculated, ice-cold, and based on overall team performance, harmony, and chemistry among the players. Multiple times, Kuroda has decided to leave the best players on the bench after they failed to impress during training, and it certainly plays a part in the current vision of the Kandorese team, too. The blend of experience and high-ranking domestic football players in this Kandorese team seems well-balanced, making it all the stronger on the pitch.

What Lies Ahead

The match against Katzeburg is a straightforward assignment for the Kandorese team, as Kita-Hinode Mekahi will be looking to punish mistakes, push high up the pitch and bring relentless pressing football to the Katzeburg side in the attempt to completely overload their defence, a high-risk, high-reward type of play which fits the vision of Kuroda's managing style. For Kuroda, there is only one strategy: play for the win.

The three scenarios for the Kandorese team:

Victory: Kandorith will stand at 9 points and only needs to look at what Natkr will be doing versus Ethane and Katzeburg, as Kandorith will have a guaranteed second place.

Draw: Kandorith has seven points, which will leave their second place in the hands of the confrontation between Natkr and Katzeburg, with the second place still firmly in sight.

Defeat: Kandorith ends their campaign with six points, and the rest of the campaign will be in the hands of all other eight groups, and who becomes third in those groups - still a survivable outcome with some luck, the scenario which Kuroda absolutely wants to avoid.

Whatever the outcome against Katzeburg, Kandorese fans will be watching the other games too to see what happens, especially since the match between Natkr and Katzeburg could very well hand Kandorith the group win in the best possible scenario. For Kuroda and Mekahi, there is only one thing on their mind: playing their best game against Katzeburg in the upcoming matchday.

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

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Culture & Lifestyle

02:17 - The Haunting Light of Deadzone Sector 09
by Kira Kira | Tech & Trends |

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Razzle dazzle, chooms! This time it is not gossip from the Ginza Suta Tower, but a story on the HOTTEST, most NOVA thing on the net right now! Are you ready for this?! Don't be a Gonk, jack in and wait until you hear about this! There is this edgerunner legend (nobody knows their meatspace name, everybody refers to them as the handle Miko-00), who has been squatting in the largest, creepiest and spookiest arcology corpse in town for over FOUR HUNDRED and TWELVE DAYS straight! No exit, no drone drops, no meatspace contact! Just one holo interface and millions of viewers on Sync glued to the feed like it is the last braindance on the planet! Absolute nova, choom!

You remember Shogun Dynamics Section 09, right? The tower that went supercritical in 2072? Core meltdown, cover-up, whole building red-flagged and scrubbed from every map faster than a deckhead wipes black-ICE logs. One minute it's a shining corpo monolith, next minute it's a ghost in the machine. Every suit packed their cubes, and delta'd. Lights out, end of story. And now we come to the absolute PREEM part, Miko has set up a stream of pure, unfiltered life in what can only be described as a flatlined zone.

We watch Miko:

• Boil water on a stove older than your ripperdoc's own ripperdoc
  
• Read paper books, YES CHOOM, PAPER BOOKS with a LAMP, what year is this feed from 2030?!
  
• Sleep curled up in a "nest" made from old thermal blankets that have probably saved more lives than half the solos in Gawato.
  
• Miko talking to ACTUAL security drones that keep trying to evict her, absolutely NOVA RIGHT? They scan Miko and delta out again like CONFUSED PUPPIES.

EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, sharp, at exactly 02:17 — the exact tick the core went nova — Miko lights a little paper lantern and sets it in one of the topmost windows of the complex, the chat LOSES it. Nobody knows who the lantern is for. Ex-mainline? Dead choom? The whole Kandorese sprawl? Doesn't matter; it is the most nova and most non-borg thing to happen in Tenkyo right now.

Four MILLION CHOOMS watch as the light flickers:
Holding their breath
Ten seconds of dead silence
No emojis, not a single word
This is what I would call REAL POWER
Not zai or the amount of chrome you have
That single flame in the dark in a corporate tomb.

But, it gets BETTER choombattas! The building?! Shogun Dynamics Section 09 is officially a ghost. The building no longer officially exists. Corpo cylons fly in, check the perimeter, building does not exist, records do not exist, and they delta again… everything in order. They're living like a ghost off the grid but still plugged in, I tell you, like some netrunner goddess. Untouchable, unreachable and unfindable while broadcasting over the waves at the same time, living rent-free in a 120-story mausoleum of secrets long lost, while the rest of us pay to breathe and walk down the street.

Kids are already mimicking and trying to copy Miko, like they're waiting for the cyber-messiah, boosting into seemingly abandoned buildings and lighting candles, yet they get zeroed every time. Everybody wants to ghost off like Miko-00 disappeared: completely, beautifully on their own terms.

While the rest of us are paying subscription fees for nearly everything we want to own, but actually do not, while getting ads injected in our everyday lives, dreams and even nightmares, there's one choom up on floor 87 eating instant ramen, reading paper books and winning at life harder than any corpo corpse could ever dream of, WHERE DO I SIGN UP?!

Fire up a light tonight at 02:17, chooms. Let's show our love for things that really matter in life, and it's not the corpo culture-vultures or even conapts. It's taking that leap because, be honest, choom: what would it take for you to walk into the dark, leave the meatspace behind, and never come out again?

From the centre of boga and gato, Ginza Suta Tower, this is Kira Kira signing off. Stay weird, stay haunted, and for the love of all that is still preem, don't let the corpos know your dreams.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm killing the lights and staring at the city until it blinks first. Stay FABULOUS and sparkly!

[Super Earth Under Siege]

Anewkansas - Fallstaff Stadium

Fallstaff Stadium was named eerily closely to the Falstaff Sector, a region located to the galactic northeast of Super Earth's territory. It had been a hotbed of Terminid activity since mid-2184, its worlds the first to host the enormous spore nebula known as the Gloom, in which gestated ever more abominable horrors that the valiant Helldivers would face. For all the differences between them, when it came down to it, each near-shared name proved equally a nuisance.

The Senators had faced a variety of opponents before. Some who attempted brute force, some who wielded finesse. Some who struggled tooth and nail, some who folded faster than an SMG-37 Defender's stock. They had adversaries and rivals- Snestar came to mind. But none of these foes had been quite so frustratingly annoying about it. Helldivers were trained to overcome the harshest of physical obstacles, but there was a difference between "overcoming" and "enduring". In an environment where their frustrations could not be vented via rapid deployment of a 380mm Orbital Barrage on their opponent's general vicinity, they were left to fume without recourse. Discipline demanded that they not throw the entire game just to beat their opponents to a pulp- and it was a discipline that held tenuously in the match against Anewkansas.

Teph got the worst of it. She'd tried her utmost to coordinate with Cindy, as was their standard strategy, only to get her legs knocked out from under her. After three desperate attempts to apply stims that didn't actually exist on her person, she'd managed to get back into it- but the gruff, patriotic Senators were no diplomats or public relations experts, and they didn't know nor care to exploit the absolute limits of acceptable bounds. When they deployed brute force, they did so knowing the consequences- not finding new and creative ways to nullify them. It was a new style of warfare that absolutely infuriated almost the entire time. For the first time in their entire freedomball career, the team had chosen to deploy its last member- the ceremonial officer Cheers- just to keep morale from collapsing into a pit darker than the Meridian Singularity. Given the amount of criticisms levelled at the Super Earth team for the most minor of perceived infractions, it was fortunate that none of the Senators or their fans had any firearms on hand, or the situation may well have turned into a massacre.

But for all of the agony and anguish of facing an opponent that got away with far more than it reasonably should have, the actual freedomball on display was relatively unimpressive from both sides. Anewkansas was utterly dedicated to its mosquito impression of annoying the living hell out of their adversary, and Super Earth- for all the trouble it faced- ultimately only conceded a single goal. The two Senators least affected by the opposing display were the ever-stoic Deadman and the rising star Creeper, who coordinated to score the Senators' only point in the match. By the end of it all, the Senators were left frustrated and in desperate need of a venting session- but they had managed a draw despite it all.

The absolute ire remained rancid, however. Their opinions were clear in the aftermath- if they fought Anewkansas again, they would sooner break the rules and bones of their opponents than hold back for another exercise in misery.

Once they left the stadium behind, the entire team was taken back to Federation space to unload ballistic missiles and hundreds of Maxigun rounds on helpless Terminids just to get them back into a stable state.

[Hanalia]

"Is this some sort of joke!?" screamed Rafael Griffen upon receiving the below email. "I already effing know things aren't going so well I don't need some spotty faced number nerd telling me that! What in the multiverse do they think I'm doing? Not trying to win games? Give me a break!"

To: National Team Management
From: FAH Record Keepers
Subject: Concerning trends

---

Hello Mr Griffen,

We would like to highlight the following emerging trends to you. The patterns evident in the data point to some concern about negative performances. Projecting these patterns into the future present the possibility of further unfavourable results. In order to mitigate the risk against the worst outcomes, we believe your early intervention will be beneficial.

Results against Cardenao
As you'll know, there have now been three matches against Cardenao, including our first ever international. You'll also be aware of the three losses suffered at their hands. In any individual game the outcome may not be as desired but more frequent games give rise to the possibility of an upset. Monkeys and typewriters and Shakespeare and all that. The more games played against the same opposition with the same outcome poses the question of never being able to beat that team.

Additionally, it might be expected that playing a team more gives rise to familiarity that makes the game more competitive as the teams learn how to attack and defend better against each other. There are two differing interpretations on this front. The first is that the goal difference in our matches while initially improved has now reversed. The fist loss was by two goals, then only one but the most recent match we went down by four. Optimistically, the ratio of goals scored has plateaued from 3:1 in the first to 2:1 in the second two games thanks to the 12 goal opening match in the Cup of Harmony.

Zwangzug
WC100 qualifying matches v Zwangzug 0-1-1
CoH91 matches in Zwangzug 0-1-1
There is an identical record so far of Zwangzug related matches (ZRMs) in the two competitions. At least two further ZRMs are in the immediate future. Past outcomes predicting future performance we may expect these ZRMs to end in a draw and a loss as well. It should be noted that the upcoming ZRMs are to take place in the Merano side of the Fraternal Twin Cities. Framing these matches differently is recommended int order toshake the ZRM pattern. Suggested alternate frames:
- Beat Every Side Time
- Merano's Eglantine's Momentous Event
- Wish I Need

Of course we are still dealing with small sample sizes and this inevitably impacts the reliability of using the sample as a basis for prediction. Nevertheless we bring these matters to you attention that you are more fully equipped in your endevours.

Wising you and the team all the best fortune,
FAH Record Keeping Team

Hanalia (97) Schedule
MD1 v Cardenao (39), Palloci Pagoda Park L 4-8
MD2 BYE
MD3 v The North Polish Union (123), Palloci Pagoda Park D 2-2
MD4 v New Montreal States (151), Eglantine Park
MD5 v Solgavden (74), Eglantine Park

[Biyambi]

Previous Post: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=576317&p=43244395#p43244395


(Image is AI Generated)

(Scene opens to the savannah grassland, we see a drone shot of zebras running, then a loud proud roar. A lion steps into the frame, he looks massive & powerful, has so many battle scares, even one around his right eye, and in fact that eye is dead and all we can see is white. The lion prowls proudly, he looks old yet powerful and every movement he makes indicates to us the viewer that he has been the King of the jungle for a long time, every battle scar like a trophy to his success in the savannah, of his survival and triumph against challenges to his throne, and his mane looks rough but very regal.

Then we see a young lion enter, he is swift in his movements, muscles tight, eyes sharp, no scars, only potential.

The two lions stare each other down.

There is silence in the savannah, a stillness, we see birds and antelopes looking around, they can sense something great happening.

Then we see the old and young lion leap at each other, claws out.)

(Scene changes and we see 33-year old James Makina and 32-year old Zack Dawnbridge, wearing the Mansanduni Union training kit. We see them jogging at the Dean Dundunza Arena and as they do so we see a montage flash. In the montage flash we can see Makina crossing the ball to Dawnbridge who heads the ball into the net, we see them celebrating with the UBIFA Cup trophy, lifting the Super League trophy, Raising the Top 8 shield, and on a bus jointly holding the CMFA Champions League trophy. We also see them after losses, at first, we see younger versions crying after loses, then we see older versions standing frustrated but with focus.

Scene changes again. This time we see 18-year old Lothrain Vidraux and 24-year old Walinase Hynym-Forzu, in Ngwazi Strikers jerseys. We see a flash of them as youth players then of them signing professional contracts, they don’t look much different. They are still young.)

Narrator:
“In the Biyambian savannah grasslands, when an old alpha reign, his power is unquestionable, not because he is the strongest now, but because of years of proven leadership. He has survived the doubters, challengers, and the wild. His scars are a certificate that proves his resilience and experience. Those scars are his crown and his experience and wisdom gained during his reign a shield against the naïve challengers who have not heard of him or rubbish his legacy.

But in comes the young alpha, truly at the moment he is a beta with no story yet, he wants to build off the old tired alpha. The young lion is faster, sharper, fearless. He knows nothing of defeat, nothing of failure. What he sees is only opportunity, he sees the throne and hungers for it”.

(We see clips cutting between footage of the lions fighting and Mansanduni Union vs Ngwazi Strikers games)

Narrator:
“ For the past seven seasons, the old alpha lions of Mansanduni have ruled the Biyambian savannah grasslands;
Three Super League titles,

Seven title races in which they finished as runners up or champions,

Three UBIFA Cups,

A CMFA Champions League,

A Top 8 Shield.

The alphas of Mansanduni have an average age of 30, quite the old squad. Bodies worn out but their minds extremely sharp.

But from the north rises a new alpha’s, Ngwazi Strikers
They are young, have experienced little to no success. Most of them have never been in a title race…… until now. With an average of 24, the team is full of ambitious players with raw but unproven talent. A Squad full of energy and hope.

With only six matches left, the young Ngwazi Strikers side sits top of the table at 39-points. In second lay the old alphas from Mansanduni with 33-points.

6-points separate the two sides but for while the Royals had a 10-point lead but they faltered twice drawing against Mighty Rangers & Amari Tsopa, perhaps a sign of their inexperience, this allowed Mansanduni Union who have gone on a 6-match win streak to catch up. For the Mansanduni Union faithful this is not the first time they have caught up, most of them will remember when they went from 7 straight losses to 11 straight wins to lift the Super League trophy in season 1.

The next fixture is quite a true test of who deserves to be champion, it is when the alpha lions meet, Ngwazi Strikers versus Mansanduni Union at the Ngwazis Park Stadium, a stadium Royals fans have described as the grave yard due to the lack of success since they moved to the 50,000-capacity stadium, but now it may possibly be the stage where they become the unchallenged alpha of the savannah grasslands.

The Questions on Biyambian football fans minds at the moment are;
Will the young lions of Ngwazi Strikers extend the gap to 9-points by beating the Peoples Team, taking a step closer towards their first-ever league championship?

Or will the experienced older lions of Mansanduni claw back and reduce the gap to 3-points, reminding everyone that even an old lion still has claws?

Who among them will come out on top at the Ngwazis Park Stadium?”

[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 3-2 C.A.B.R.O.N. (BONUSIA) - L
^{R. Jowling 8', L. Garamond 76', G. Gordon 90+2' // "El Rulas" 39', M. Ballesteros 57'}
MATCHDAY 4
C.A.B.R.O.N. (BONUSIA) vs BHUMI MATAWIS EMPIRE

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

A bit earlier down the line...


OOC: AI Generated

You enter a clearly old house. The old mosaic-ish floor tiles, the granular walls, the eternal couches, having seen more things than you and I have lived; all of them hit with a spectacular nostalgia. As you enter, the smell of old furniture and strange candy hits you. In his usual rocker, your grandpa Antònio Bòbila greets you joyfully. You have been too much without paying a visit!

"Hey kiddo, how are ya? Good good. I made some great truita de patates, try it come on... And look at these grapes, try them too. Usually this is not the time to pick grapes, but nowadays the weather is crazy, so these ones came out early... Yes son, eat more, eat more! I'm always happy to see you. How are you doing with the new job?... Heh, good, son. You know, back in the day I used to work since I was 12, as soon as we moved here with my parents... we were 6 siblings, no less, and you know, I was the oldest so we had to help mom get through, you know? Do you want some more grapes?... Oh yes, I saw the Centre Català game, yes... That kid, Bitzius, he's real good, let me tell you... You know, I used to play football, when I was young. Yes, yes in the... well, in the street. No fancy stuff kid, you know? Just dirt, a ball and some mates ready to play. When I was a kid there was not even a league of football, it was just a game for kids played outside, frowned upon by the old ladies and the distinguished gentlemen that travelled through near where the game was played... Yes, it was a blast for us kids. I was a good keeper, yeah, heh... Oh, don't believe me, you little punk? Heheheh, why don't you try some shots with the old man?

And so you both head to the garden, you make a couple of shoots against him. You play in the amateurs and you're not quite bad, so you don't go that hard on him. He's not on the mood of jumping, so he uses his crane instead to block. You have a small quarrel with him, telling him it's not fair to use the crane, but he insists he did all the time "I just picked a stick on the forest and it did a good job in the goal. Now with the stupid rules you cannot get creative... It was better on my day, son". You go at it a bunch of times then, you kick one slightly harder shot accidentally, but surprisingly he manages to block it effortlessly aswell. "Don't be afraid of hurting your grandpa, son. Give it some power". Then, you begin trying, and as your seemingly old grandpa blocks effortlessly your young and sane attempts at a goal, you begin kicking it harder and harder, and trying to aim to the sides. No way, the man and the crane formed an impeccable synergy, and weren't going to let poor you score a miserable goal. How surprising it is, that this

"Come on, kid, do you want some more omelette? And let's take some more grapes, now that we're outside. I told you, kid, back in the day I was the thing in football. At that time there were no significant clubs in Crossà, and so I never played in a club like said... one looks back, even after a life of joy and family, what could have happened if I got the chance to play in a proper club sometime... Oh well kid, if you need to leave leave, no worries. Give some of these grapes to your mom and to your siblings, while you're at it. Maybe later I'll go play some domino with my peers at the bar, I don't know. I hope you come by more often grandson... Huh, sorry I got a phone call. I hope it's not the people from the gas company again, damn bloodsuckers..."

You went away from the old house of your grandparents, and went home. Your grandpa seemes excited about it as you left, so it was probably not the collector. That day, you knew something new about your grandpa. Who would've thought that he had such an ability, and that he maintained it at his age?

You definitevely should visit your grandpa more, while you got the chance.

[New Montreal States]

ONWARD, EVER DOWNWARDS

Authors, scientists, professors, theologians use Paladins revival as example of vanity, hubris, tragic irony, business failures and cautionary tale of divine wrath

FTC, ZWAZUG - The continued travails of the Paladins has surpassed the descriptive capabilities of sports journalists - in the words of beleaguered keeper Brian Lads: "They should have sent a poet. One of those poets who writes about really depressing stuff. Death, car crashes, your cat puking all over your house before you try and bring a girl home."

We asked a wide range of NMS's omnipresent leading intellectuals for their thoughts on the Paladins continued inability to not embarrass themselves every time they set put on a pitch:

Rene Deslauriers, author of bestselling works of literary fiction Why Do The Knights Raise Their Swords, White Collar Ennui, Sixty Faithful Against The Papists, and the acclaimed three-volume epic Women, Men, and Rescue Mutts of Suburbia: "Beyond the complete inability to clear the ball, find space in the box or any kind of coherent plan in the midfield, the losses are all mundane. Work-a-day failure. Albion Perfide has stabilized the team, has everyone going to bed on time and living a good, clean life off the field, and in doing so has committed the unforgivable sin of being uninteresting. If I tried to describe what they've done on the pitch since landing in Zwanzug, my editor would pull a gun on me and force me to watch her burn my draft to righteous cinders. She would be right to do so."

Marie-Ange Smith-Angiers, Director of Postmodern Physics at the Really, Really Big, No, Bigger Than That, Even Bigger, Bigger, Now You're Getting It, Particle Accelerator: Their passing angles are horrible. Horrendous. It's gotten to the point where the staffers are wasting time on the supercomputers, trying to figure out how a bunch of professional soccer players can end up looking like six-year-olds playing the string out until they get their juice boxes at the end of the match. I want to fire 162 pounds of antimatter at Monty Younghusband just to get him off my TV once and for all."

Elise Brault, three-time winner of L'Academie Montrealaise's Sociologist of Year award: "I'm gonna throw this team down the first gemeinschaft I can find."

Archpriest Timothy Slater, Senior Professor of Sotirology at Three Hierarchs Seminary in Angiers: "I firmly believe that this team has secretly converted to Bogomilism, as they clearly believe the material world - especially including opposing attackers - is inherently evil and should be shunned at all costs. However, it's nothing that couldn't be undone by a good sermon reminding the players that all of God's creation is good, especially man marking in the box."

Whether the Paladins will respond to any of these critiques remains to be seen.

[Soviet Kem]

Pre-Match Show

Laila: Welcome to The VARroom and the Pre-match show! After our bye we are sitting third leading into the final two matchdays.

Yasmin: Well, if we don't qualify, we get to blow up Bahav's house!

Bahav: Now, now, we are sitting third, but we are in a tie for second with Carpathia and Ruthenia, so if we get our result against Free Republics I might be able to keep my house.

Stev: But Free Republics has a long sporting history, meaning that this will be a challenge for us, I hope Zaggy Nocklov can pull out a win. But then again, either way, I get a win-win, either Soviet Kem qualifies, or I get to help Yasmin blow up Bahav's house. So...

Bahav: You both just want to blow up my house! Laila, can you switch to your interview so I can yell at them?

Laila: Certainly...

---

Laila: Thank you for your time Nadya!

Petrova: Thank you for having me! Shall we start?

Laila: Yea, of course, my first question is, what was your life in Istra like, before you went to The Echo Grid?

Petrova: Well, I grew up in a highly intellectual household, I was expected to get top marks in all my classes. I spent most of my time studying and generally just trying to reach my parent's expectations. They said that if my grades dropped, I couldn't do football, so I studied, eventually I got a letter in the mail inviting me to The Echo Grid. I asked my parents if I could go, and they allowed it as I had just gotten extra credit on a recent test.

Laila: Interesting, did how do you think your parent's expectations impacted your football career?

Petrova: Well, the constant studying forced me to have a high work ethic, that is probably why I got invited to The Echo Grid. I would say that their expectations, while at the time didn't seem to be helping me, actually helped my footballing career.

Laila: Final question, what is your mind set during games?

Petrova: Interesting question, I tend to look at my opponents analytically. Trying to read them with logic, that is a result of my intensive education. But I do use my natural speed to outpace my opponents as well, both of those together are why I am here competing now.

Laila: Well, thank you for your time, and I hope that you win against Free Republics!

---

Bahav: ...That is why!

Yasmin: We are back...

Bahav: Oh...

Stev: Well, Zaggy Nocklov's formation and starters has not changed from the last two games.

Bahav: Let's hope that the bye allowed for the needed rest and training that the team needs to pull out win against Free Republics.

Laila: Well, we are out of time, thank you all for watching, on behalf of Bahav Xakin, Stev Burlam, Yasmin Lulu, and I myself, Laila Matxin, hope we have a good game against Free Republics, and hope that you tune in after the game!

[Saperetia]

The state of entry
A quick preview of the COH '92 ahead of our nation!

As our expectations predicted, we did not progress past the qualifiers in the centennial world cup. Fortunately, we received an invitation into another thing: The cup of harmony. We already have experience with this tournament, as in the Cup of Harmony 85 (We don't usually talk about it) we went 1W-2D-2L, failing to progress past the group stage. It is also the tournament our team played in with the highest rank, 164. Our current rank of 224 is a bit lower than that and is the 2nd lowest rank entering this tournament, only beaten bu Langenia in group 7 with rank 237. Our two nations are the only ones below rank 200, next closest being Kita-Hinode of group 9 with rank 162, more than 60 ranks higher than us two.

In terms of the other teams in our group, we have one on the easier side of what's possible. We come from pot 5/5 and are the 2nd lowest team. From pot 4 enters Tristan de Cunha with rank 124, the lowest of said pot, and the nation we have probably the best shot at beating. From pot 3 we have Xanneria with rank 88. They are the only team in the group from the top half of their respective pot, but barely in 4th out of 9 teams. They will be our opening match, mirroring the opening match of the Cup of Harmony 85, when us in rank 164 drew 3-3 against them ranked 58. From pot 2 we draw The Osnari Federation, a team we played in the qualifiers. They went up from rank 83 to 69, and so far we have 1 win and 1 loss against them and are down 1-2 on goal difference. They sat exactly in the middle of their pot. Coming in from the 2nd to last rank in pot 1 is our final opponent, Milchama, a nation in rank 49. At first it may seem we have little hope of beating them, but the highest rank opponent we beat was Acastanha in COH 85 (don't talk about it) in rank 47. Although, we were ranked 60 points better than what we are now and we did draw against rank 58, 62, and 99 that very same tournament, so it's debatable whether this was skill or luck.

The squad sent for this tournament sees little change from the one sent in qualifying. Our hope is to get enough points from draws to pass into our first knockout game since the Baptism of Fire 80 in cycle 93.

Opening match sees divergence
Xanneria 1-0 Saperetia

We may have been out of contention for World Cup 100, but we were now in for the Cup of Harmony 92, just like were in the COH 85 (We don't talk about that). And mirroring that COH, our opening match is against the very same opponent: Xanneria. There are a few changes between then and now, most notably time, tournament, location, and ranks. While Xanneria dropped 30 spots from then, we have dropped 60. Securing another draw would set up a good start for our team, even though it is now unlikelier than then, and even then we failed to progress past the group stage. But a draw was the hope as Silivia's men lined up in their standard 4-3-3 against the XAN 3-2-2-3:

Saperetia: GK Hranislav (C) DEF Abdelkader, Carloza, Damjan, Anatoliy MID Gil, Inget, Camilo ATK Jacques, Seppel, Seppo

Xanneria: GK Cooper DEF Effridge-Galles, Bennington, Reynolds MID-DEF Sanchez, Brady MID-ATK Caldwell, Hutton ATK Longwood-Quinn, Rutherford, Rutherford

The match began like almost every match began in the beginning matches of the qualifiers: Crimsonites on the defence, while the Maroons were attacking. This was not surprising to anyone who followed the team, inducing even more agony in the supporters. Despite the first half being very lop-sided, no goals came as the referee blew the whistle to end the half, sending both teams into the dressing room with work to do. In the qualifiers, Silivia had a tendency to regress the team's abilities with the team-talk, and many hoped he wouldn't regress into that behaviour here. Unfortunately, whether he had regressed or not did not seem to matter as Xanneria came out flying into the 2nd half. In minute '54, a dangerous counter from the Maroons nearly found the net but was put barely wide by Longgwood-Quinn due to an effort from Hranislav, resulting in a corner. From that corner, the over 6ft tall and 24 year old Rutherford scored from a header, sending crimson down 1-0 (Debate exists surrounding which Rutherford exactly scored that goal). Due to the Crimsonites not even coming close to any attempt towards the Maroon goal, they slowed down their tempo to preserve energy for the next matches. Unfortunately, crimson was not able to take advantage of this and as such, the first game ended in a 1-0 defeat.

Despite losing our first match of the tournament, Silivia and his men seemed eager to continue past it as they told people to focus on the next match. Against a higher rated opponent. Many supporters and media think that this strategy will backfire if the men can't get a result against The Osnari Federation. Truth be told, the first surprise of the qualifiers of WC 100 was the win against that very team, so something may come from that game. Something needs to come from that game to keep any hopes of any achievement alive.

Another fucking 0-0 draw
Saperetia 0-0 The Osnari Federation

Despite our loss in MD1, Silivia and his men seemed to take the bye in week 2 well as they focused on how to improve the team's defensive capabilities, because that's the only thing this federation seems to enjoy. So far they have a 1W-1L record against the Osnaris, and they hope to improve that. Which they most likely won't by defending so hard. They needed a result here to hope to catapult themselves into a position to continue into the knockouts. Which they most likely won't get by defending so hard. These were the goals, hopes and dreams as the SAP very defensive 4-3-3 lined up against the juicy attacking ONR 3-4-3:

Saperetia: GK Hranislav (C) DEF Abdelkader, Carloza, Damjan, Anatoliy MID Gil, Inget, Camilo ATK Jacques, Seppel, Seppo

The Osnari Federation: GK Schefer DEF Abegg, Osterwalder, Hugentobler MID Kobel, Homberger, Werren, Nagel ATK Schmid, Blum, Mullis (C)

As the game began, again, we defended. They attacked. Is there even any surprise anymore? The Crimsonites held on for dear life in the first part of the first half of the second game of the Cup of Harmony tournament of the 100th World Cup cycle. After that, the Osnaris inexplicably slowed down their play, perhaps owing to exhaustion, perhaps to inexperience. Whatever the case, this allowed for the crimson to get it's first attacking "attempts" in at goal, all of which horribly missed. Then they went back to defending. Because that's what this idiotic federation wants. The referee relieved us from the borefest with his whistle to end the first half of the second game of the Cup of Harmony tournament of the 100th World Cup cycle, sending both team into their dressing rooms. At this point, most supporters must have prayed for anything to happen during half-time, to end the agonizing stalemate. Unfortunately, the iron curtain that divided the ball from the net once again came down on the pitch and nothing interesting happened for the rest of the game. Nothing. Nope. Nada. Zilch.

With our 6th draw and our 6th 0-0 of this cycle, question are arising whether such a boring style can continue on. In an age of attack and attacking football, is it really worth sacrificing everything just to defend? Our federation seems to be set on such a setting, and we need to dislodge just a mindset from their heads. All this federation and the managers they appoint do is defend defend defend, defend against attacking team, defend against media allegation, defend job position, DEFEND AGAINST THIS, DEFEND AGAINST THAT, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A FUN FACT? THEY ARE STUPID, AND LET'S SEE THEM DEFEND AGAINST THAT!

In a little lighter fun fact: This is our 3rd game against The Osnari Federation, meaning they tie both Patriotlandia and Al-Tamazgha as the nations we have played the most. They are also they only nation we currently have a 1W-1D-1L record against, as against both others have a 0W-1D-2L record.

Also our next match is against the highest ranked nation in our group, Milchama, so don't expect a 0-0 draw there. We're most certainly gonna lose considering our luck so far.

[Cardenao]

https://i.imgur.com/Ewj9wrm.png
Team Cardenao Victorious In Must Win Match Vs New Montreal States; Face Must Win Match Vs Solgavden

After a disappointing MD2 loss against the North Polish Union, Team Cardenao got ready to face the New Montreal States in a must win matchday four fixture. NMS was searching for their first points of the 92nd Cup of Harmony while the Blue and Golds were desperate to get back to winning ways after that shocking loss. National team manager Scooter McNash backed his boys to get the job done, saying “nothing concentrates the mind on victory like getting your ass kicked.” Wise words coach, and it appears the team took it to heart as they smashed the New Montreal States 6-3, including a first ever for La Furia Azule: a goalkeeper on the scoresheet! Read on for a spirited breakdown of the game as we claim first in Group 2, though very much in a tight race to solidify total control.

Right from the start you got the sense the Blue and Golds were keen to put last game's result behind them and they showed that on the pitch. High energy pressing, purposeful running, incisive passing and decisive actions; the whole unit was looking the part. Surprisingly, it was centerback Seve Dioli of Miruan in the Tikariot Premier League who came closest to opening the scoring when he headed an early corner just wide of the post. The rest of the team didn’t seem too upset about this missed chance, perhaps sensing an abundance of opportunity ahead of them…ultimately they were correct but they took a hot minute getting there! Kiko Nécib came close with an effort inside the box, Camilo Zavala teed off from distance but sent his shot rasping narrowly above the bar, and Moustir-Yves Almeny wasted a perfectly positioned freekick by harmlessly kicking the ball straight at the goalkeeper. As the clear cut opportunities started to be squandered, you could tell the lads were getting a little frustrated but they did well to redirect that to their efforts on the pitch and it paid off in the 18th minute.

It was a rather simple goal in truth, the kind you see a million times watching the game. Defender clears it long but Jake Casales wins it in midfield, crisp short pass to the more creative Ricky Delafont in front of him. Wingers are making the runs to spread the line wide, not a great angle so shift it to Camilo Zavala who dropped between the lines. Take a second and wait for Htay Koko to cut diagonally through the right and center backs and slip the ball through for him to take a touch and slot home past the keeper, 1-0. Nothing too fancy about it, just quick, efficient business and they count the same on the scoreboard. The Montrealans seemed to get some wind in their sails as they immediately tried to level the score, but the Cardenaoan midfield swallowed them up and spit the ball out to the team’s playmakers. It didn’t take too long for our beautiful boys in blue to double the misery after ChuChu Hernandez was chopped down in midfield. Delafont stepped up and whipped the ball in with some serious speed and all Kiko Nécib had to do was redirect it with his boot and BOOM! He was on the scoresheet 2-nil and we were riding high into the sunset…for about six minutes and highlighted a recent shortcoming for the team. After looking fairly impressive during World Cup qualification, our defensive line has been shambolic in the Cup of Harmony. Four goals in the opening match, four goals again against New Montreal States, now they let in an easy one, literally a chipped through ball up and over the back four for the easiest goal their player will ever score…then they scored again, five minutes later right on the stroke of halftime. Just like that, our early 2-nil lead was erased and we went into the second half all square…for FUCKS sake.

Onwards, onwards we go. On the plus side, our attacking unit was looking mint, on the down side, our defense sucks and that’s about all the halftime analysis you’ll get out of me. The opening stages of the final 45 minutes were wide open, more so than I hoped to see considering how the first half finished. We charged up the field, they charged right back, but slowly you could see the Blue and Golds start to control the match. New Montreal’s goalkeeper had a couple phenomenal saves to keep it 2-2, but he couldn’t deny Seve Dioli’s towering presence off a 58th minute corner kick. Ball came in, tall man jumped high, ball is headed into goal, a love tale as old as time. 3-2, we rolling baby!

For the damn minutes, I am so sick of writing about this team letting in the stupidest goals to teams we should be steamrolling. No offense intended, but we’re 39th in the world and have some fine players, so to let in a scrappy goal like that to make it 3-3 was so frustrating. Enter Lasso Smith. 6’1, thin but fit, deceptively lightening quick with a mean first touch and a cracked shot. He can’t dribble much, he leaves a lot to be desired in build up play, but bring him on in the second half and let him rip like a buzz saw…well you get him scoring a goal with his first touch after coming on in the 67th minute! Camilo Zavala had all the time in the ball in the right half-space to whip in a low ball for Lasso to desperately throw his foot out and narrowly poke the ball into the net and we were back on top, 4-3!

And then the mad man did it again! Not with his foot this time, but he sent the ball past the keeper again with a glorious diving header onto a long ball from ChuChu Hernandez. It was one of the best headers I’ve seen from a man wearing Blue and Gold in a long, long time. 5-3 and I could finally start to relax, there was no way we could blow this…right? Well, things got even more complicated in the 82nd minute when our glorious, gigantic goalkeeper Kai Chidubem suffered a hand injury after getting his right one caught under his chest on a diving save. It looked pretty painful and the microphones caught him screaming in pain, which meant 18 year old Sakaro Tamayaki was cleared to make his national team debut. Long considered an exciting prospect, the 6’3 youngster has been the crown jewel at Mayflower FC’s academy before being elevated to the senior side and starting role heading into the upcoming MegaPower League season. Blessed with quick reflexes, strong arms, and skilled feet with the ball, Sakaro Tamayaki is the epitome of the modern sweeper keeper…and maybe more.

When Francesc Fabregessi was fouled a few yards outside of the box, murmurs went through the crowd. They’d all heard the whispers, the rumors of Sakaro’s peculiar gifts and it seemed like this was the perfect time to find out. Added time just about expired, a comfortable two goal lead, and a debut? This was just perfect. And so, whispers turned to cheers as the young goalkeeper jogged up the field with a modest smirk on his face. I’ll tell you what, the moment he approached the ball, setting it up just right, finding the perfect place for his plant foot, and the calm swagger he showed lining up his run, yeah I was rushing to bet my life savings on him scoring that free kick. And he did with a beautiful, curling shot that left his counterpart on the New Montreal team rooted to the spot, shaking his head in reluctant acceptance as the scoreboard turned 6-3 and the ref blew his whistle to signal final time.

Three high scoring games in a row for La Furia Azule, what lays ahead on the fourth match day? Our final game of the group stage is a must win affair against Solgavden, the second best team in Group 2 behind the Blue and Golds, obviously. All we need to do is win, and you know what they say!

Ain’t nothing to it……but to do it.

[Atymnius]

MATCHDAY 3: DĒMOS 1-1 EASTFIELD LODGE

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I Am Who I Am Because of Others
PART I: UPHEAVAL

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Mike: Good day Dēmosians and spectators abroad. My name is Mike Hattenborough and alongside me is Apostoli Apostoleris and we are here to bring you prime-time Cup of Harmony 92 action!

Apostol: Indeed we are Mike Hattenborough and today we have Dēmos vs Eastfield Lodge.

The change of locker rooms were instantly heard and a ruffling of boots were knocking on an unfamiliar pasture.

Apostol: Now most likely we would have been playing at Ayathen Arena but as you heard—

Mike: Yes the “apparent” ghost absence of normality. However, that does not perturb the nature of football and indeed we move on. Therefore we are happy to present to you this game being live in Canbix. I dare say it is a most beautiful view?

The skylines waded through a semi-clear late afternoon kick-off just near the 18th hundred hour as a billboard of Shadow Hunters is seen amongst other popular games, these all being presented on Groth Park’s overhead newsbox. The newsbox in particular, featured relevant scorelines as well as the crazed games themselves.

Mike: And we begin—

Apostol: Indeed. Everyone we are happy to present to you that the Dēmosian line up has not changed since the last iteration and we finally see Wyetti on the substitutes bench!

The game immediately began.

Following a tense back and forth between midfielders Forde and Farrow, Ghant immediately chose to switch tactics.

Ghant: Lend me a hand on the double.

Valentinos: Right.

10 minutes of intense back-and-forth rotations were indicative of much of the game at the time.

Whyatou: Right, let’s begin.

Up and down,
All around,
Nowhere and everywhere

Mike: A great build-up from Henrick Whyatou as his miracle from his Black Ram days are relived!

Dēmosian supporters, knowing the call of victory that was needed against a team such as Eastfield Lodge began shouting:

Oh, Oh, Oh the Golden Black Ram!
Oh, Golden Black Ram!

Ye who Valiant Be!
Gainst all Disaster,
May in Constanc-y!
Follow thy Master!

There is no discouragement,
Shall make him once relent,
His first avowed intent,

TO BE A BLACK-RAM!

Whyatou smiled at them and waved back as successive straits of this intense African-inspired tiki-taka was met with just as equal tactical compressions and fluxions from their opposing counterparts.

Forde and Farrow began a complex interlockage of “string-theories” as they let time a waste, knowing that it would demoralize a shaken Dēmosian opposition—shaken by the events that have just happened a few hours ago.

Rafail: FOCUS everyone!

Dēmos: Hmm!

Everyone began circulating in an ocean aquarium of bubbling, perhaps even brewing tension between Eastfield’s interlockage theories and Dēmos’ miracles Greco-Roman football.

Mike: It is quite ridiculous isn’t it?

He laughed at his gagged friend who shared similar sentiment. Nonetheless time was going down the drain.

30 minutes have passed.

Narrator: At this point, both tactics were unsustainable, a pure dead-lock of futility ensued in the midfield. Interestingly enough the Dēmosian midfielders outnumbered their Eastfielder counterparts but they were sandwiched in between a back four defense and what was essentially a forward four attack.

It was not a 4-2-3-1 being played here but rather a 4-2-4 chessboard and Meogegiv knew what she was doing.

Ghant: Lysander and Noble are pushing our lines backwards. Theo get in between the defense. You have no option to go forward now!

The immediate rush led, however, to bottled down alcoholic mistakes from a gut that was now being suctioned off by Jafari-Law and Caceres on the sides as Lysander and Noble stretched the team’s emotional baggage wide open.

Apostol: Great goal from Lysander! Mike comments?

Mike: Indeed so! Let us see how Dēmos responds

An audible voice shadows Mike.

Mike: Or will Dēmos lose miserably again?

The audible voice clears up.

Apostoli: Looks like some players fell!

It was half-time.

Dēmos were losing hope.

They got ditched for supernatural bullshit in Zwangzug
Wyetti gets away with it scot-free
Whyatou and Valentinos seemingly in a team when Oggy the Cat played better.

On his way down to the locker rooms, Ghant punched Wyetti in the face.

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I Am Who I Am Because of Others
PART II: THE MIND-FLAYER

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PUNCH!

PUNCH!

PUNCH!

Unknown people: Hey you, stop there!

Tyolius: Hold him!

Blood spattered on the floor with each punch.

Immediately restrained, Ghant disheveled himself away from his teammates.

Ghant: There is a lot I can tolerate as an architect. A broken bone, maybe an ACL if I’m nice, but a no-show! Gugh!

He threw his water bottle on the metallic lockers as he went inside the bathroom.

Wyetti got back up and abandoned Ghant’s arguments and went outside of the stadium.

He was hurt in more ways than one and cried the most inexplicable cries of a dog.

Wyetti: HAHAHA!

The surrounding birds leapt up in the trees as the environmentally-stunning city heard his echoes through its throbbing glass crusades of most excellent cleanliness.

I can’t go back
I have a duty to uphold
You know that better than anything
Right, mom?

He picked up his duffle bag and returned to the stadium.

Mike: Well everyone it is the 75th minute and Dēmos are still trailing behind. Will they make it?

Wyetti huffed and puffed.

Apostol: We see a substitution of Armani for Wyetti. Will a goalkeeper change of all things do…

Well, anything?

Narrator: The game paced around and once again Eastfield were up to their tricks again.

To squash Dēmos to oblivion through another Great Big Eastfieldier Sandwich!

Mike: Oh! Would you look at that!

Suddenly the evening (as it was now) reverberated as the surroundings became an all expansive, devouring white…

Apostol: Enveloping both entropy and time!

In this near time-still arena Wyetti did not just throw a ball from Jafari-Law’s amazing shot out of harm's way.

The ball was being carried.

These black atomic particles supersede both the top and bottom of this team’s sandwich as the most excellent goalkeepr kick…

Reached Theo’s feet.

The Eastfielder’s were pitifully rushing. The lettuce and tomato, as is their colours, as was also Farrow and Forde, could not interlock a collapse of order.

Apostol: On the counter!

A black rhythm and tambourine of momentum could be felt in the miraculous moment.

Theo: What?!

He couldn’t explain why Wyetti’s white and black rhythms of horror were invisible to the naked eye.

He felt as if a soothing yet eerie monster was giving him all the nutrients he needed! All the power in his hind legs to keep pushing through Kirkup and Fevison.

The momentum was insatiable and lustful.

Mike: Goal! From the outside box, a beautiful long-shot of the highest order from Theo! What have we just witnessed?!

Apostoleri blocked Mike’s mouth as he quickly got out a newspaper from the Dēmos Observer.

He whispered quickly yet hurriedly enough into Mike’s ear. Look here

Mike: What. All I see are Zwangzug’s reports of repairs.

Apostol: No man. Here! “Red fissures remain.”

The men immediately knew that the occurrence then was not mere speculative fiction. It was a telepathic superpower of the highest order and all of it from a goalkeeper, amplifying his tendons to his teammates.

Mike: Let it be known! The Mind-Flayer of Dēmos! The great amplifier! Wyetti Qūnos and Theodosis Alanoglou’s beautiful miracle!

Dēmos erupted into pleasure.

Everyone: WOAHH!

Of course the Eastfield supporters couldn’t understand anything less much the players themselves.

Apostol: Nonetheless I am proud to finally conclude the game to its fullest conclusion. Dēmos and Eastfield Lodge share the spoils in a tightly-contested match. Mike, any comments?

Mike: Indeed some miracles were seen. Will it change Dēmos’ fate however?

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POST-MATCH INTERVIEW

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Theo was made man of the match as reporters swarmed him to ask questions of the unexplainable nature of events.

Reporter #1: What do you have to say about the events in the last 15 minutes!

Theo: Look obviously just coming from the pitch last minute doesn’t do anything but I will say…

He smiled flamboyantly at a stern Wyetti walking down the isle.

Theo: That he may have made his way back into my books at least.

Theo laughed like a rich man with his supporters and paparazzi while Wyetti floundered in tears.

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PRESS CONFERENCE: CHOPPYHAUSEN VS DĒMOS

---

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AROUND THE GROUNDS:

---

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

Reporters were in-house as the next day saw Alexi receiving his questions.

Reporter #1: Would you like to comment on your recent job pressures facing you currently?

Alexi Papadopoulos: I believe I am in a pivotal space to drive this team to victory against Choppyhausen and that is the end of it really.

Reporter #1: But that’s not what we asked you—

Alexi: Next question please.

Reporter #2: Theodosis was in excellent form from his game against Eastfield Lodge. Will we see another string of similar performances?

Alexi: I am very proud of his recent form. It only matters that consistency pulls through.

Reporters were swarming around the manager whose tired disposition, from recent events enough, were clear to see.

Suddenly, however, a black rouge of suit-men were seen as they asked Alexi to take a bow from the conference.

He was noticeably despondent. Looking at the floor, pondering something and then tearing slightly, he was walked outside by the gate procession of Football Association affiliates.

[Milchama]

"Multiversal themes again? We can do a lot more considering we scored 9 times"

"We can do it! We can do it 9 times!"

"No Homestar Runner references, only one of our hosts is old enough to know what that is and we don't even know if they watched Homestar Runner"

"We still did it 9 times!"

"You mean scoring goals?"

"Yep"

"Good stuff"

"Very good stuff"

"It was like Calvert-Lewin"

"Ok that reference is both worse, because nobody knows that song, and nonsensical in universe"

"Versus the already broken 4th wall with Homestar Runner"

"There could be a NS version of Homestar Runner"

"No, that's silly, Sweet Cuppin Cakes would be a documentary"

"Do we want to talk about the game? The game that ended 9-5! A soccer game"

"Well it wasn't a soccer game"

"I thought we said no universal theory"

"I'm not! Look at the box score"

Box Score

"Oh my god it was a baseball game"

"This is so ridiculous"

"More or less ridiculous than our last game"

"Our last game didn't happen"

"I mean it did, it just happened 3 times"

"No 9 times! We went over this"

"Oh dear god, no"

"Yes dear god, yes"

"Why did we do this? The last time we did something like this and played a gridiron we went on to lose like the next 5 games"

"Ok but gridiron is a football code, baseball really isn't so this is completely different"

"No it's not and that's a stupid argument"

"Why, we could just go for T"

"Nah, we'd go for the Counterplan"

"Which is?"

"Playing soccer at a soccer tournament"

"It's Xanneria, we were always going to play them in baseball"

"That's a good counter argument"

"Yeah, playing baseball is more plausible"

"It really is"

"It explains the result a lot more than soccer"

"It really does"

"Yeah, this is much more a baseball score than soccer score"

"Especially with the Warriors hitting 2 homers, that's pretty good"

"It was a short left field short"

"Regardless, still pretty cool"

"Very cool"

"So should they play baseball instead?"

"No, based on skill level, it was pretty poor game and the fact that Hammond threw all 9 innings is ridiculous"

"That's fair enough"

"So do you think we can do better when we play soccer in our next game?"

"It certainly isn't going to hurt"

"True"

"Come on You Warriors!"

"Let's Go Milchama!"

[Zwangzug]

Cutoff for groups 1-5.

Thank you to Dēmos for checking with me and confirming before godmodding events in Keppal City. The official version of events according to our government is that nothing too supernatural took place, there were some minor building dysfunctions but that's what happens in Ayathen Arena sometimes, we're used to it. With their typical wisdom, the local authorities have also decided that the most likely cause of Cthulu/mind flayers/whatever is letting goalkeepers with deep-rooted psychological insecurities wander around unsupervised. Please always use the buddy system. Keep a responsible outfielder on hand so your goalkeeper doesn't suffer an emotional breakdown and unleash inner or outer demons.

Group 1
Dantopia 1–1 Hapilopper
Calgasia 1–0 Woodsmere

* Group 1                          Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 Calgasia                           3   2  1  0    7
2 Biyambi                            3   1  1  1    4
3 Woodsmere                          4   1  1  2    4
4 Dantopia                           3   0  3  0    3
5 Hapilopper                         3   0  2  1    2

Group 2
New Montreal States 3–2 Hanalia
Solgavden 1–3 Cardenao

* Group 2                          Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 Cardenao                           4   3  0  1    9
2 Solgavden                          3   2  0  1    6
3 The North Polish Union             3   1  1  1    4
4 New Montreal States                3   1  0  2    3
5 Hanalia                            3   0  1  2    1

Group 3
Saterun 4–2 Carpathia and Ruthenia
Soviet Kem 4–1 Free Republics

* Group 3                          Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 Saterun                            3   3  0  0    9
2 Soviet Kem                         3   2  0  1    6
3 Carpathia and Ruthenia             3   1  0  2    3
4 Free Republics                     4   1  0  3    3
5 Snestar                            3   1  0  2    3

Group 4
Bonusia 0–1 Bhumi Matawis Empire
TJUN-ia 4–5 The Martian Independent Republic

* Group 4                          Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 The Martian Independent Republic   4   3  1  0   10
2 Bhumi Matawis Empire               3   2  1  0    7
3 Sernet                             3   1  0  2    3
4 TJUN-ia                            3   1  0  2    3
5 Bonusia                            3   0  0  3    0

Group 5
Eastfield Lodge 2–1 Dhemixia
Choppyhausen 2–2 Dēmos

* Group 5                          Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 Eastfield Lodge                    3   2  1  0    7
2 Dhemixia                           3   2  0  1    6
3 Choppyhausen                       3   1  1  1    4
4 Krytenia                           3   1  0  2    3
5 Dēmos                              4   0  2  2    2

[Busoga Islands]

My sincerest apologies for the late cutoff. Unavoidable circumstances. Next cutoff will occur as scheduled.

Cutoff for Matchday 4!

Plant your roots in it! Welcome to Matchday 4!

RP prompt #5: Let's talk about your athletes again. But, not quite about them- but who's with them. Tell us about the people who are traveling with your team. Particularly family members. Is it spouses? Children? Parents and/or siblings? Or friends? Are your players seeing them during the tournament, or is there a firewall of separation from all possible distractions?

Group 6
Milchama 1–0 Saperetia
Tristan de Cunha 0–1 Xanneria

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

Group 7
Airannia 0–0 Anewkansas
Sarzonia 5–0 Langenia

  Group 7                         Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Sarzonia                          3   2  1  0    7   1  +6    7
2 Super Earth                       3   1  2  0    7   2  +5    5
3 Anewkansas                        3   1  2  0    3   2  +1    5
4 Langenia                          4   1  0  3    2  12 −10    3
5 Airannia                          3   0  1  2    0   2  −2    1

Group 8
Warkus 0–1 Yangchenia
Drawkland 2–2 Seeberg

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

Group 9
Ethane 0–1 Natkr
Katzeburg 0–0 Kandorith

  Group 9                         Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Natkr                             3   3  0  0    7   1  +6    9
2 Kandorith                         4   2  1  1    4   5  −1    7
3 Katzeburg                         3   1  2  0    4   3  +1    5
4 Ethane                            3   0  1  2    0   2  −2    1
5 Kita-Hinode                       3   0  0  3    5   9  −4    0

[Seeberg]

The Wingback Who Took Off

A Günther von Tulpe Mystery

Part 5: Brinterberg state of mind

«You know what they say, sleep is the cousin of death,» Herr Schiltze said solemnly, while adjusting his feathered green felt cap.

The humble patient room was bathed in a fluorescent shine, but there was still an undeniable gemütlichkeit about it all. There, from the top floor of the St. Hildegard Klinik - occupying a block on Ordensgemeinschaft Straße, in the southern parts of fair Brinterberg - you could both gaze at the peculiar beauty of Kaufleute Platz, with its markets stalls and equestrian-themed fountains, and glimpse the bell towers of Knackwurst Platz, all in one blink of the eye.

Günther von Tulpe was propped up against an armada of pillows in the bed. His head was bandaged and throbbed, but he still managed to give his old friend a weary smile.

«Damn lucky you were,» Herr Schiltze said and poured himself some herbal infusion from the pot standing on the small table next to Günther’s bed. «I refuse to even entertain the notion of what might have happened, had not young Katzenheim found you,» he continued with a stern look on his face.

It was Katzenheim who had saved him, Herr Schiltze had told Günther. The boy had not been able to shake the fear that Günther’s solo expedition was a fool’s errand, and after a lengthy session of debating himself - like the aspiring critical theorist that he was - young Katzenheim had chosen to err on the side of caution and embark on his own mountain expedition, shadowing Günther’s trip.

When he arrived, chaos had already erupted in the cave, and robed figures were entangled in a brutal battle to escape the narrow cave entrance, looking like they were trying to claw their way out of one of Hell’s nine circles.

As soon as the entrance cleared somewhat, young Katzenheim had bravely gone the other way, finding Günther unconscious on the cave floor and dragging him out in the open. At this point, the Bergrettung-Patrouille had responded to his call for help and commenced the task of rounding up panicked acolytes stumbling across the slopes, like psychotic pilgrims in search of a lost cowbell.

Their frenzied behaviour had a natural explanation, it was later shown. Herr Schiltze explained to Günther that tests conducted at St. Hildegard told a sordid tale, where it came to light that every single disciple was under the influence of a potent cocktail of psychedelics and various date-rape drugs. When a few of them finally came to, they told of being forced to drink a Nectar of Truth in preparation for the cave ritual.

«Which by all accounts was nothing but a grotesque overture to the grand orgy Friedrich Snietzschel had planned,» Herr Schiltze said and snorted contemptuously. «We learned as much from that man being ”sacrificed”, who was really just a friend of Snietzschel and a fellow predator. That knife? A theatrical prop!» Herr Schiltze exclaimed and threw his hands in the air.

Günther shook his head and eased back into his mountain of pillows. «A gospel of Sausages and Yogurt, indeed,» he muttered to himself.

…

After a few days of rest, Günther von Tuple had been discharged from St. Hildegard and was once again walking the streets of fair Brinterberg.

Tales of his exploits up in the mountains had become common knowledge, and Günther was hailed as a hero in the Brinterbergundian press, and among the upstanding people of society, for blowing the lid off Friedrich Snietzschel’s dastardly sex cult and cynical exploitation of the youth of fair Brinterberg.

While you could easily argue that young Katzenheim was the real hero, his contributions had been all but left out of the public narrative. Günther lamented his young associate’s omission, but was pleased to see young Katzenheim had still managed to make a name for himself, as he was credited with co-authoring the essay The Perils of Pseudo-Spiritualism in The Age of Late-Stage Gemeinschaft Decay, alongside prominent critical theorists like Walter Fromm and Helga Benjamin.

Günther walked along Rheingutstraße, in the heart of fair Brinterberg, and soon approached the grand halls and laced napery of Die Alte Bäckerei, where he slipped in to nurse a cup of herbal infusion.

He glanced over the daily editions of the prominent newspapers, all laid out on a big table in the middle of the room. All of them - Algemeine Newspaper, The Welt-am-Berge, Brinterbergundia Daily, The Brinterberger Beobachter - was still running with the Snietzschel story.

Friedrich himself was still unaccounted for, it seemed. All they ever found was his bloody robe, snagged on a rock near the cave entrance. The prevailing theory was that he had been so severely trampled in the stampede that he had just rolled up somewhere and frozen to death on the slopes. «A fitting end for a man who fancied himself a vessel of eternal wisdom, but couldn’t outrun his own acolytes,» as one of the newspapers put it. Günther found the phrasing a bit coarse, but there was definitely a point of sorts to be found there.

Günther was served his cup and a slice of cremeschnitte, and continued browsing the papers.

The mystery of the missing wingback had also been untangled neatly, while Günther had slept in his room at St. Hildegard. Young Löwenthal had reappeared, and his curious disappearance had been completely voluntary. It seemed the young man had absconded to Kügeldorf, in the northern valleys, to spend time with his new girlfriend. When questioned about his absence, he had simply claimed he thought nobody really cared about the Cup of Harmony anyway.

Günther had learned of all this directly from Director Freudlingen, during the latter's visit to St. Hildegard, because Löwenthal’s escapades barely registered as a footnote in the papers. In a sense, young Löwenthal had been right, because who cares about a Cup of Harmony and a missing wingback when there were stories of cults and caves and sex and drugs to concern yourself with? Few, it would seem. All was well in the hallowed halls of the SFV, and Director Freudlingen was most pleased.

Günther sat down by the window, sipping his herbal infusion, watching the streets of fair Brinterberg glisten under a pale winter sun. The city looked serene, but if Günther had learned anything these last few days, it was that serenity was a fragile veneer. Beneath it, currents of folly and ambition swirled, like the mist over Hügel Albrecht on damp November day.

He again thought of that blue light, that apparent tear in the fabric of things. Was it real, or a stress-induced hallucination? No one had taken those reports from the drugged out youngsters seriously, that’s for sure. The official story was drug-induced hallucinatory mass hysteria.

Günther had elected to stay silent about it. He didn’t know what he had seen, and had decided to file it away in that mental drawer labeled Unresolved Mysteries. Some truths, he decided, are better left unsaid, best left shimmering in the dark.

As the bells of Knackwurst Platz tolled in the distance, Günther von Tulpe smiled faintly.

Of course, if he had truly learned anything, he thought, it was that certainty is a treacherous companion, and the many pitfalls of a one-track-mind. He had marched up those mountains convinced of a neat resolution: a missing wingback, an evil culprit, a tidy ending. All had been resolved, in the end and in its own way, but not nearly in the manner he had imagined.

[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) Recap of Sernet's recent defeat
2) The Round Table: The now or never special
3) Pre-match analysis

Recap of Sernet's recent defeat
You can view it here or down below:

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'

The Round Table: the now or never special



Salman:
Good evening from the Sernesports TV studio. This is The Round Table, and tonight... ...well, lets just say there's a lot to unpack. Two games, two losses, two very different collapses, and now one final match that will determine whether Sernet survive in this Cup of Harmony and make it to the Round of 24, or limp home empty-handed.
Gentlemen... let's get into it.

Bobby:
Oooooh, Salman, where do we even start? This tournament has aged me twenty years in two matchdays. I still wake up at night muttering, "Hold the line... HOLD THE LINE!" after what happened against Bhumi Matawis. We had them, but then all of a sudden the whole defense evaporates into thin air. Not to say that the guys did a rubbish job, but we got kinda smoked.

Czesław:
Evaporates? Bobby, that wasn't evaporation. That was a controlled demolition. You could see the cracks in our shape from the 35th minute, the gaps widening like someone trying to eat a half-pounder in one bite. When the equaliser came, I just said to myself, "Well, here comes the flood."

Peter:
Oh come on, Czesław, don't act like the whole match was a calamity! The first thirty minutes were genuinely BEAUTIFUL. Proper Sernetian football; controlled, inventive, brave. The runs from Komstrowski? Sparkling. The goals by Bolsting and Kolbense? Electric. Pasarowski's early saves? Magnificent. And the defence? Top-notch. We have the talent! We've proven it over and over again this run.
We just... I don't know... I think the Steamers forgot they have it after halftime! Or maybe they just got completely worn out.

Damian:
What I think happened is that they played with slightly too much anger, too much fury. I'm surprised nobody got a red card. Everyone was so pissed about what happened against the Martian Independent Republic that the Steamers pushed hard... ...a little too hard. Peak sernetian football is calm and controlled. Every brilliant win we've had happened only when we were applying the core values: stamina, discpline, determination and so on... ...but also when we are calm, because when one is angry, one cannot work as he would if he were to be content.

Grzegorz:
Let me cut through the chaos. There are three problems:
Stamina, discipline, and adaptability. Two of which, as Damian just said, are the values that Coach Pond talks about, and the ones that the Steamers uphold. Although adaptability should probably be one too... ...you guys remember that away game against Jeruselem right?
Anyways, we play beautifully when fresh. But after 60 minutes? The midfield loses shape. The back three drift. The wingbacks stop tracking runners. It's been the same pattern recently. The Bhumis just exploited what the Martians exploited the match before; our inability to keep our structure under extended pressure.

Tadeusz:
Yet despite the gloom, let us remember something. Sernet's national side, throughout history, has always needed adversity to awaken its true resolve. Last Metcup? We started by being wrecked by Armatonisdaristan in the opening match, but it was Sernet who would go on to eliminate Armatonisdaristan in the semi-finals later on. There are other examples, but the point is, our destiny has never been straightforward.

Salman:
Speaking of destiny... let's go match by match, skipping our opening win against TJUN-ia. First, the 0-2 loss to the Martian Independent Republic. Thoughts?

Bobby:
Cold. Brutal. Efficient. The Martians didn't even celebrate their first goal properly. You know that thing they do - just a little nod, no joy, no emotion? Horrifying. I hated it. Felt like we were being beaten by a machine. It was like some sort of movie where there was that country where everyone was AI... ...no humans to be seen anywhere. Although I guess they were skin flesh and bones, they didn't act like they were.

Czesław:
Because they are mechanical in style. Their rotations are systematic. They suffocated our midfield lanes. Stork had no room to breathe. Jatrowski got swallowed alive. Bolsting was marked by two giant red monsters the entire match. Not one. Two.

Peter:
AND STILL we got chances! Don't pretend we didn't! Komstrowski had two brilliant breaks. Oluwawa almost chipped the keeper, but got the crossbar instead. Pasarowski saved us from embarrassment.
It wasn't a disaster, it was just one of those matches where everything goes almost right, but not enough.

Damian:
Almost right is still wrong. Zero goals. Zero points. Move on.

Gregorz:
The key issue in that match was tempo. We played too fast in the wrong phases, too slow in the others. The Martians controlled the rhythm, and whoever controls the rhythm controls the match.

Tadeusz:
But there is pride to take. We defended with heart until the end. We have not been outclassed in this tournament, only out-managed at moments. Remember, we have gone to being some sort of underdog team to actually being relevant on the industrial stage.

Damian:
Well I suppose you're right. And I know that I'm meant to respect our opponents and all that, but these Kwrpanian crackheads need to stuff a traffic cone up their throats.

Czesław:
Damian was being as kind as possible back there. Look, all of us here are patriots, but there's no need to get worked up about some ignorant jibe from some random country we played back in the Baptism of Fire. Not gonna lie, it's an actual shocker they remembered us! Probably because we managed a draw against them, when they were so full of themselves.

Salman:
Alright, now the big one. The Bhumi Matawis implosion.
Let's go deeper guys - what do you think?.

Bobby:
I'm not emotionally ready. But fine.
We were GLORIOUS for 30 minutes. GLORIOUS. Two goals of beauty. The Steamer spirit roaring. We had reversed our previous curse. And then- Pfft.
Gone.
We collapsed into a spiral of despair.

Czesław:
Because the moment we scored the second, the mentality changed. We sat too deep. Invited pressure. The Bhumis are explosive. You cannot let them run at your backline with numbers. The equaliser wasn't an accident. It was physics, almost.

Peter:
I still think we could have won it if that one header from Oluwawa had gone in. That would've made it 3–1! The entire match flips! Alternate universe Sernet is celebrating right now! And if some other good chances were succesful, like that beautiful long shot by Bob Yarisem, even if Bhumi Matawis managed to score the same 4 goals, at least we would have one more point than we do, and they would have had two less.

Damian:
And in that same alternate universe, maybe our defenders actually mark somebody.

Grzegorz:
The real issue was the mental collapse. Once the Bhumis equalised, we panicked. No composure. We gave the ball away cheaply. Structure collapsed like an overworked foundry arch.

Tadeusz:
And yet we battled. We never accepted defeat. Even at 4-2, the team fought, and so did the supporters. That matters. Spirit is not the problem. Nerves are.

Salman:
Now the big question:

What does this mean for Sernet heading into the final match against Bonusia?

Our fate is simple: win, or risk elimination.

Damian:
Salman, I'll tell you what, if we lose I will actually cry. All that we have done, just to get eliminated for our recent sloppy form. Steamers, please, you lot have to turn this around.

Bobby:
I don't care who Bonusia are. I don't care about their ranking. I don't care about their tactics.
We MUST win.
And we can win.
Everyone on the Steamer squad is determined. This match will be the one where the Steamers ignite again.

Czesław:
Bonusia will press high. They are in an even more dire situation than we are. I mean, they're literally on zero points - they haven't won a single game. So we need discipline. Jatrowski must stay central. Stork needs to control the tempo. And the back three absolutely cannot drift.
If we keep shape, we win. If we don't... well... thats simply not an option.

Peter:
I'm telling you right now: Wasori Oluwawa is going to do something magical in this match. I can feel it in my bones.

Damian:
And I'm telling you right now: if the defense plays like it did against the Empire, we're dead.
But if they play like they did in the first half of that same game? We're fine.
For the love of the steamers, for Sernet's sake, everyone needs to lock in. I know I've been a little harsh towards our defence, but it's just because I know how excellent they can be. The whole lot of them are serious contenders. They need to commit to every tackle, and they need to not drift. I know they can do this. Please... ...please. I am driving myself nuts at this rate.

Gregorz:
Bonusia are unpredictable. Sometimes brilliant, sometimes sloppy. We must take advantage during their sloppy phases. If we control midfield, we take this match. If not, their transitions might kill us. But after all they are at the bottom for a reason. This cup of Harmony has been going even worse for them.

Tadeusz:
This is more than a match. This is identity. Sernet has fought too hard, travelled too far, and united too fiercely to exit quietly.
I believe...
I believe the Steamers will deliver.

Salman:
Final thoughts, one sentence each.
What must Sernet do on Matchday 5?
Personally, I think they need to commit. Commit like the country is on the line. Forget it's a football pitch, it's a bloody warzone. We are fighting for survival.

Bobby:
Similarly to what Salman just said, play like their lives depend on it.

Czesław:
Stay disciplined and structured.

Peter:
Attack. Fear nothing and nobody.
Oops that was two sentences.

Salman:
But it wasn't two really long ones, so it's fine.

Damian:
Cut out the silly mistakes, show everyone who we are.

Grzegorz:
Control the rhythm of the match.

Tadeusz:
Remember what country they're fighting for. For the love of Sernet.

Salman:
There you have it.
Two losses behind us, but everything to play for against Bonusia.
This has been The Round Table.
And Sernet... the Steamers... are still alive.

Pre-match analysis: Matchday 5 vs Bonusia @Doymals Stadium, Craton, Zwangzugby Damian Weslom


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 table:

* Group 4                          Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 The Martian Independent Republic   4   3  1  0   10
2 Bhumi Matawis Empire               3   2  1  0    7
3 Sernet                             3   1  0  2    3
4 TJUN-ia                            3   1  0  2    3
5 Bonusia                            3   0  0  3    0

Analysis:
Right, what can I say... This match is the ultimate one. It's now or never, as we discussed at the Round Table. We are guaranteed at best, a third place finish, which could allow us to progress to the Round of 24. If we lose, we're finished. But fortunately for us, Bonusia aren't doing very well either; they're already gone. So if Sernet lock in and give us a piece of proper sernetian football, we're through. For the love of Sernet. Come on Steamers.

#sernetishim #thepowerofsernet #comeonsteamers #steamersrising

[The North Polish Union]

With a live broadcast from an undisclosed location, the militant group Committee for the Liberation of Belarus (KWB) has begun their trial of Simonas Šapoka, Švitrigaila Grikevičius, and Vladas Merkevičius, alleging crimes against humanity were committed by them in relation to their response to protests that occurred amid the controversial Lithuanian regional presidential election. Acting in their roles as regional Prime Minister, Minister for Regional Security, and Head of Regional Police, respectively, they oversaw an at-times violent response to protestors objecting to the annulment of the election and the arrest of frontrunner Domantas Sabonis.

As the KWB is not a formal government and lacks an effective legal or judicial system, the proceedings have been decried as illegitimate and a kangaroo court. The case is being heard by a three-‘judge’ panel who have agreed to the prosecution’s framing of the case as a matter of “coordinated and systematic violence”. The kidnapped trio, who are represented by a ‘court-appointed’ counsel team, will be tried on allegations that they deployed conventional and riot police, as well as drones, helicopters, and incendiary weapons against demonstrators.

The KWB panel formally indicted Šapoka on multiple counts of crimes against humanity, including orchestrating the mass killing of protestors in Minskas (the largest majority-Slavic city in Lithuania), the use of helicopters and drones to fire on civilian crowds, the murder of student activists such as Dzmitryj Palakoŭ, the incineration of bodies in the Minskas suburb of Zaslavlis with the intent of destroying evidence, and of coordinating the beating of demonstrators in Minskas’ Pakraštys District. It has been announced that if convicted, the death penalty will be sought.

The prosecution presented surveillance footage, leaked drone logs and other government communications, and hospital records as part of its preliminary evidence and alleged that this evidence supported a finding of a state-orchestrated attack on a civilian population with the intent to intimidate, suppress dissent, and suppress democracy. Initial information provided by the organization indicated plans to charge over 70 individuals, but potential charges against anyone other than the three kidnapped officials were not presented.

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the opening was the announcement that Vladas Merkevičius had agreed to act as a witness for the KWB and cooperate with the persecution, likely hoping to save himself if the tribunal convicts the trio. The kidnapped officials have been held separately from one another and without communication amongst themselves, meaning that KWB interrogators were able to play Merkevičius off against the other two. The announcement at the opening of the tribunal prompted an explosive outburst from co-defendant Simonas Šapoka, who denounced the legitimacy of the tribunal and threatened to kill Merkevičius himself. Šapoka was subsequently convicted of contempt of court and removed from the remainder of the opening proceedings.

The opening of the tribunal has created a political crisis in the Union, as it showed that KWB as a banned insurgent group who had largely been defeated and considered barely active since their suppression three decades ago, had maintained intelligence-gathering operations and was able to access and publish sensitive government communications such as police drone logs. Additionally, their ability to kidnap former high-ranking officials and transport them (likely outside the country) for holding represents an immense security risk in and of itself. Both regional and federal administrators have been scrambling to respond to the security situation and ensure that pro-separatist sentiment in Lithuanian Baltarusija, which was already reaching post-insurgency highs amidst the annulled election, does not continue to grow out of control.