World Cup 101 - The Roleplays

by **City of Myrtle Beach** » Tue May 19, 2026 9:17 pm

GROUP 10 | MATCHDAY 15
The Holy Empire 3 - 2 Myrtle Beach

Goalscorers:
The Holy Empire: A special situation.
Myrtle Beach: 16' Petersen; 25' Fisher

The Homestretch
Matchday 17 - vs United States of Devonta
Matchday 18 - at Gyaromia

Now, barring something absolutely crazy, some insane turn of events that would simply defy conventional human imagination, Myrtle Beach was not going to qualify for the World Cup unless they won these next two matches and Shin-Zetsubo wins versus Masraya. Their best bet was to get the third round playoff slot, meaning they would only have to play one game of playoffs to qualify to the World Cup instead of going and trying to win three. Luck was, frankly, absolutely not on their side, and even though they hadn't lost yet to either of the teams they were to play next (and had in fact resoundingly defeated Gyaromia 5-0 when the Seagulls had played them), one still could not shake the sneaking suspicion that they were just going to absolutely shit the bed in the homestretch and end up with no opportunity at going to the World Cup rather than at least a pretty long shot.

With this in mind, John Jon had remained at the cabin of James Robinson during the game versus the Holy Empire and intended to remain there for the Devonta and Gyaromia matches as well. He had concluded that he was absolutely out of a job, and so he decided to enjoy his last few moments being extremely overpaid before returning to the competitive and oppressive Myrtle Beachian job market. Evidently, being an idiot doesn't pay as much as it used to. He might follow James to whatever he does next, perhaps going to slop it up in Southport once their foreign coach gets the boot after they go all the way down to the League Two in a couple years. For now, though, he chose not to think about that. This was the third day in a row he had sat outside on the back porch of the cabin and not seen the dragon. He had only seen it on his first day here, and so every day since has just been looking over the valley trying to find something interesting in the landscape.

The valley had gotten more and more boring the more he looked at it. At first, it was a majestic, mysterious paradise, like the hazy, dark forest seen by the weary explorer after his long ocean journey. It was the first land he had seen in a long time, and he sought to enter into its protection, but he was still in fear of what the forest held and in that he became more curious of this new, foreign land. In time, though, the forest becomes familiar, and that which once had brought fear into the eyes of the explorer were now simple routine. It was like this for John. After staring at the valley for hours, he found that the fog dissipates after the morning and that the mountainous trees don't look quite as stunning at mid-day as they did at eight in the morning. By the fourth day, this day, he was bored of it. He considered going back down south and actually attending the last two games instead of just listening on the radio. But, that would take work, and he really didn't feel like doing that. At least, he didn't.

Then something changed him: he saw the dragon again. Like before, it flew out of its cave, just hovering above the tips of the trees of the valley until settling on the rocky shoreline of the great lake in the middle of the valley surrounded by mountains. At this instance he decided to travel to the dragon and engage with it. He had needed someone to talk to, and perhaps the dragon will have an outsider's perspective on football that will provide great value to the team's potential for victory in these next two matches. So, with that decision, John walked out of the cabin, got in his car, and traveled down the windy, mountainous roads to the shoreline.

It took him about an hour and a half to reach the farthest point he could go in the car. It was a very narrow track, just wide enough for his small, silver car to get through. From here he was a ways away from the dragon, but he could just follow the river there. Plus, somehow, he had service, so he could just use his GPS to get him to where the dragon was. After a couple hours of walking he got to the dragon. By this point he was getting fed up with all of this backcountry traveling, but sunk cost fallacy had already hit; he was already this far, he may as well keep going and see what happens rather than turn back and have this all be for nothing. So, eventually, he walked through a clearing and there the dragon was, sleeping. Here John got a better view of the dragon. It had deep red scales, with a lighter red on the underside of its wings and light gray claws on its feet. It was a female, fairly young, not necessarily juvenile, though, and it was very small. Perhaps one of the smallest dragons John had ever seen. That didn't mean it was small, but it was probably only about fifteen feet from head to tail. It looked malnourished, although John certainly wasn't the expert on dragons. When he was younger, he probably could have figured it out, but being so out of practice, he wasn't able to get it at a glance.

John slowly sneaked up to the dragon. He didn't want to startle it and, well, die, but he did want to wake it and talk with it. He tapped on its head. No response. He tapped on its head again. This time, it slowly opened its eyes. It blinked a few times and then looked at John. He thought he was dead. After all, typically, when a dragon looks at you after waking it up, you die. He probably should have thought of that before tapping on the dragon's head. But, instead, it fanned its wings out and backed away from John. It was about to take flight when John yelled.

"Wait!" It stopped. "I mean no harm," John said. "I just wanna talk with you." At this the dragon was surprised. No human, obviously, had ever asked to talk with it. It kept its distance from John, but it stopped backing away.

"So... do you understand me?" John asked. In hindsight this was a stupid as hell question. Obviously the dragon understood John considering it had just responded to what John had said. But, the dragon nodded.

"Huh," John said as he backed into a tree and slid down it to sit. The bark scratched his back, but he was too caught up in thought to notice. He would later, but for now, it was the dragon that had his attention. He looked back at the dragon.

"What brings you here, then?" What a stupid question. The dragon can't answer that, he thought. It couldn't talk. But, after hearing that question, the dragon walked closer to John. It made a motion with its front two feet... the left foot was tapping the right one.

"Do you want... something to type with? Like my phone or whatever?" The dragon nodded. Of course the dragon could write. Anything was possible now. The World Cup had taught him that anything he thought was crazy was actually pretty normal when compared to the average craziness of the multiverse, and so there are things which are exponentially more crazy than what was going on right now, even though the thought of a literate dragon is pretty crazy (and also challenges the entire notions of a culture which had been built on the concept of these dragons being domesticatable creatures). He gave the dragon his phone. It put it on the ground, opened up the notes app, and began typing. After what seemed like about two eternities, the dragon was done typing and slid the phone on the ground back towards John. He picked up the phone and began reading:

"I came to this place because it was nice and had few humans and few dragons. I traveled here after I was freed from a mill led by a nasty man from a wretched town-" this could essentially apply to every city in Myrtle Beach "-by his daughter. She had taken a liking to me. She, too, did not like the conditions I was in. They had me chained in a small building and fed me little. I believe that is why I am so small compared to the others. I had spent the first two decades of my life there, and in that time the daughter taught me to understand the human language in both its spoken and written form. She knew I was too intelligent for the bondage I was kept in. One day it seemed that she and her father had an argument, and she came into the building I was in and freed me. I thanked her and promised to return, then flew until I could no longer fly. The dragons I had met on my journey here had attacked me whenever I tried to eat, most of them being far, far larger than me, and so I flew until I reached a place where I could eat without leaving with a gash in my body. That place was here. I have been here for six months. In that time I have seen few humans and no dragons. There must be a reason they refuse to travel here, but I have not found it yet. I suppose there is not a lot of food here, so they simply do not come. What brings you to this place?"

It took John a moment to process what he had read. There was simply no precedent for this, no historical event, nothing that could have prepared him for what he had just experienced. A dragon had written out an answer, a complex answer, to a question he had asked, and it was more coherent then what some humans in this country are capable of writing! He looked up at the dragon. She looked at John intently, waiting for his response. And, with that, he considered his next words to the dragon...

by **The Republic of the United Marble Tribes** » Tue May 19, 2026 9:25 pm

Hi all.

I am sorry for my sudden disappearance. Lately, I've been struggling to find time to write some RP for the NS World Cup. Maybe I'll be more free in June or July.

By the way, I am going to do a quick interview for now:

[Interviewer]: And now, we have Coach Mulholland for a quick interview.

[Mulholland]: Sorry yall, the lads and I have been rather busy. We're really running a tight schedule recently.

[Interviewer]: Well, looks like your efforts are paying off. And the fans are proud of you.

[Mulholland]: Yeah, we are rather lucky, as we held on to 4th place. Others were sadly placed below qualified spots.

[Interviewer]: How do you think the boys would handle the last 2 matchdays of the group stages?

[Mulholland]: Throughout this experience, I had told my boys to never give up, and hold the line, no matter how harsh the enemy is. I literally shouted from the lines, urging them to stand back up when they fell due to a critical tackle.

[Interviewer]: Are you confident that the National Team would win their last two matchdays?

[Mulholland]: Yes, in fact I think we are quite prepared. After a lot of intense training, I believe the boys are ready to take on the challange.

[Interviewer]: Thank you for being with us today, it really was a pleasure.

[Mulholland]: Yeah, thanks for having me!

by **Sel Appa** » Tue May 19, 2026 9:58 pm

Turtles Down, and Probably Out

World Cup 101 Qualifiers — Post MD16

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FELLIT—As the players come off the pitch here at Fellit Field, reeling from a brutal 2-3 loss, it becomes increasingly clear that hopes of qualification have been nearly dashed. A team that went 4-1-4 (13) in the opening leg was now 1-1-5 (4) with only two matches remaining. In the first leg, they had a 3-0-4 (9) record. Those five lost points have proven critical, as they are the five points that lay between Sel Appa and both Taeshan as well as Super Earth, who themselves tied each other today as well.

At this point, Sel Appa would need to win the remaining two matches to gain the full six, AND hope that Taeshan and Super Earth lose both of theirs. Indeed, Sel Appa rounds out the series in Anila City against Super Earth, a do or die match, IF everything else goes well. Taeshan faces powerhouse Kwrpania and Super Earth faces Bhumi Matawis Empire for Matchday 17, while Sel Appa visits Boring Paradise, who they beat 4-1 at home. The odds here somewhat favor the Turtles as their two obstacles face powerhouse teams, and those two ad hoc allies are trying to secure automatic qualifications. For the final matchday, Taeshan face Bhumi Matawis Empire, who are currently in third and will want to aim for the top two. That brings the team back to Grand Archduke Kirby I Stadium, where a crowd of eight myriad with playoff contention on the pitch, is liable to be more than boisterous. With a 5-5 draw away, and a rambunctious fan-filled stadium at home, one would expect a win. However, the Turtles only have a 3-0-5 (9) home record, albeit against a 2-2-4 (8) away record. If there was ever a time for a pile of miracles, this is it.

Fellitshire residents, experiencing a match for the first time, werent quite as rapturous as the more experienced stadiums. They disappointedly filed out of the low-standing venue with few hooligans or toughs to raise a ruckus, as they do up north. In this respect, the hosting was a success, and will continue to validate Rockwell Bates decision to expand from five to nine hosting venues. While the opening stand saw four of the original five stadiums, this latter half focused on the new locales. Perhaps that itself was the reason for the middling show: these fans werent quite ready for what they had before them, and the need to support their team. A possibly compelling hypothesis, but the records arent much different: 2-0-2 at originals vs. 1-0-3 at new venues. However, it may have had some impact.

Whatever happens in Anila City, security forces will have a lot on their hands. If Sel Appa goes out in flames, there will be riots. If a playoff spot is clinched, there will also likely be riots. While the team and management have tried to cool down Turtle fans, a match of this magnitude in the "riot city" is inevitably going to see unrest. The expanded police operation will hit hard, but can only do so much with a massive crowd of maniacal supporters.

One can only feel for Walter Daviande, facing tough fans who expected more coming out of the Independents Cup, and tough questions from media. But, the coach has always been an optimist and capable of handling his own. He already has shown an improvement over Sel Appas dreadful qualification run for the 100th World Cup, and Bates has shown consistent confidence that Daviande is the right man for the job, especially after the Independents. The fans are always fickle, but the steady management overrides this. Its not over until its over, the coach is likely to say in the locker room and/or the press conference hall. But, all in all, it may be over. The boys in blue are against the wall, if they pull it off, it will be the greatest comeback in some time. A whole nation hopes.

Comments

by **Recuecn** » Tue May 19, 2026 10:21 pm

Don't beat yourself up over it, coach, you didn't have a choice, Laurent Lapix said. I should have known better, said Hyron LeBouffe. Last year they tried to forbid me from taking advice. Now, the one time I knew what was right, I caved when they told me what to do. How does a spineless coach like that help the team?

Don't let them manipulate you, Laurent said. You know that the only thing that bitch Simon wants is to get you out of here. Don't let Rébecca's injury be her tool.

Hyron looked up at Laurent, and his eyes were sunken. Then what do I do?

"You said you were spineless. Stop being spineless."

Hyron wrote the FNRF a letter. He meant to email it, but desperate for validation, he showed it to Laurent first, and Laurent reached over his shoulder to type in his own email address.

I'll handle it, he said, and sent it to the Reçueçn times as an "open letter".

Hyron had never been so fiery. I offered my resignation, he said, and you rejected it. Now you tell me how to run the team. And now a young girl gets hurt. I know the federation never lost any love for Mademoiselle Firaut, but it's my duty to look after my players. I'm wracked with guilt that I rolled over for you dogs and let her get hurt again. That's the last time. Next directive you send me, your options are "we accept your resignation now", or b, "keep doing you."

At the Firauts' house, Rébecca was in a lobster situation, predictable hot water. What were you Thinking, said her dad, This is Twice now. Don't yell at her, said her mom. Rébecca didn't know what to say, since she really had gotten herself into the whole pickle, but still ideally would have liked to blame her parents. Sans words, she spent a lot of time crying. Mom and dad were pro parents, hence nonplussed (NA English: unperturbed), though Bec was not prone to waterworks per usual. However, even empath pater didn't deduce his daughter's dejection's genesis. How could'e've. Reading her mind wouldn't have helped. Instead, the entire family, Rébecca included, assumed she was sad about her injury, or maybe missing more playtime.

No one reconstructed the timeline to spy the correlation between leaving home and emotional turmoil.

by **Gnejs** » Wed May 20, 2026 1:18 am

Hello… it’s me

They say that time's supposed to heal ya, but I ain't done much healing. Neither have Sven, who is looking less energetic by the minute.

I just wanted to say that I’ve given up. I won't be trying to gain entry back into your world, or more specifically your World Cup, anymore. Incidentally, I see there has opened up a spot in qualification group 10, so if we just managed to breach this barrier between worlds, we could’ve slotted in there. But no. Also, too soon.

No, we will remain here, in between worlds. It makes Sven sad. I just wanted you to know that, even though he has seemingly made peace with your indifference towards him and his dreams.

…clearlyyyy… it don’t tear you a‑paaart… anymooooore… nooo… not like befoooore… if it eeeever… ever diiid… Huuuuuuuu—oooh… a‑ny‑moooooore… huuuuuuu… ooh… mm‑mmmm…

There, there, Sven, shhh… it’s alright.

Really, it is. For I have found a solution to our problem.

If we cannot go to the World Cup of the living, we will make one for ourselves. A World Cup for those that have ceased to exist. A WCCTE.

We will find the resting places of previous World Champions, dig up their graves, drag them from their eternal bassinets and force them to take part; there are no permissions boxes for the dead!

It will be glorious. We’ll do bally bataille for the love of the game! You know what they say, only opportunists tell stories for bonuses; true heroes do it for the sheer love of hearing their own voice.

But, Sven, we must move now, post haste!

It's no secret that the both of us,
are running out of time.

by **StrayaRoos** » Wed May 20, 2026 1:34 am

To put it politely, the Emus have not been doing well this cycle. Like. “We’re set to miss automatic qualification and go into the playoffs” bad.

We sit fourth overall in group 2, and as we enter the final window of qualifiers, we seem to be fairly safely set to have a bye to the second round of playoffs, as long as the Martian Independent Republic doesn’t win both of their matches, or we pick up two or more points from Maritaine and Estorvipa and Estorpiva.

But what comes next will be much more scary. Single-elimination playoff ties, first against the winner of the tie “whoever finishes higher in group 7 out of Srednjaci and Atheara, or whichever of the three teams currently sitting 3rd-5th in group 10 ends up finishing fifth.”. Then if we win that, it’ll come down to a showdown against the third placer in group 11 (currently Edsmontik, but possibly the Busoga Islands or Legalese depending on how results go), where the winner will go to the finals. That is the state of play with the final two rounds of matches to go. Now. Onto what happened last window.

First, we went to Megistos and did what was expected of the 11th-seeded nation when faced with the 355th-seeded one. Picked up a 2-0 win, with Tyla Lovia nodding in a header from a free kick that came off the boot of Lucas Pewo in the 37th minute to take the Emus to the break 1-0 up. Then the second goal came from Alana Kerr, who hit home with a stunner from the corner of the penalty box in the 79th minute, proving she’s still got that goalscoring spark we’ve seen countless times over the past few cycles, despite being in the twilight of her international career. And yeah. 2-0 StrayaRoos. Nothing to see here particularly.
Then we lost to Vdara 2-0…..in Pale. Yeah I don’t really want to talk about this one that much, apart from saying that it was a dreadful performance and it basically eliminated any chance of us qualifying directly, and now we’re going into playoff roulette where we’ll have to win against two extremely capable performers, or potentially miss out on the World Cup for the first time since WC96….yeah not good at all.

by **Dantopia** » Wed May 20, 2026 1:58 am

VOL. 46,162

LION CITY, DANTOPIA

WEDNESDAY 20TH MAY, 2026

₵100

Dantopians Bounce Back — Win Against Lisander

2-0 Victory Gives Lions Hope For Automatic Qualification Spot Yet — Seventh Win In Twelve

By SAUL ARNSTEIN

Dantopian Airways Stadium
Dantopia2-0Lisander
Half Time: 0-0
Brunson 64'
Kahananui 75'

See also... MD1 | MD2 | MD3 | MD4 | MD5 | MD6 | MD7 | MD8 | MD9 | MD10 | MD11

LION CITY, DANTOPIA — Rick Bishop's Dantopian national team recovered from their loss against Sudilia by comfortably securing a home victory over Lisander at the Dantopian Airways Stadium. Second half goals from Bradini Brunson and Kaleb Kahananui gave the Lions a thoroughly deserved lead — though the hosts had three goals ruled for offside, and hit the woodwork twice, suggesting the scoreline could have been higher. The three points is the ideal statement following the agonising last-minute loss to the Sudilians in the previous fixture.

The manager made five changes from the side that faced the 'Northern Wolves'. Alex Bullvale returned between the sticks, with Sam Hughes and Johnny Kealoha boosting the midfield, and Kaleb Kahananui being preferred over Dalton O'Higgins. The second match-up between Dantopia and Lisander began at an electric tempo, supporting by an equally electric atmosphere inside the home ground of the capital-based Grenadiers football club. Former Grenadiers academy graduate Kaleb Kahananui was mere inches away from giving the Lions a dream start, when a close-range header of his bounced off the crossbar following a corner by Kealoha inside three minutes. The 20-year-old left back isn't particularly known for getting in the mix at corners, but found himself free at the back post, nonetheless.

The positive start from the Dantopians continued when team captain Ezra Cunningham produced a save out of Anders Michaelichen, following a cross by Hollins that had been poked away by defender Luís Rosell, only to fall into the path of the Club ESF midfielder. At the opposite end of the pitch, Lucas Brax's delicately floated cross from the right-hand side found Tássio Camden, but the midfielder could only direct his free header into the stands.

Dantopia's enthusiasm and intensity couldn't be questioned, although both Raphael Lacroix and Makaio Cruz-Richards received early yellow cards from the referee for challenges on Lukas Hiltmann and Leo Artemon respectively. The openings kept on coming for the Lions as Kealoha picked out Taramaia, who's angled shot was clawed away by a busy Michaelichen. Brunson was about to get his first shot of the evening away but was tackled by Marian Valens after sustained pressure by the Lions attack had won the ball back high.

The crowd had thought that the breakthrough finally arrived when Nico Hollins rounded the Lisanderian goalkeeper and slotted the ball home, but the flag was raised by the assistant on the touchline. Replays showed that the Portland Pirates winger was just narrowly off-side, following a pass from Kealoha. Meanwhile, the visitors enjoyed a strong spell of their own. Bullvale was called into action to save a header from Rosell on a corner, and Lucas Brax set his sights for a spectacular curled effort from outside the box but got his calculations slightly wrong.

Dantopia had the ball in the back of the net for a second time when Taramaia was played in behind by a sumptuous ball all the way over the top from Alex Bullvale, but the Lion City FC man was quite clearly ahead of the defensive line, and his cooly slotted away finish was struck off for offside. The Lions would instead head into the dressing room goalless, though certainly looking the better of the two sides so far.

Bradini Brunson

The second half would resume following a double change by the visitors at half-time. Tiago Gamache and Áureo Ingers would replace both Christian Nantel and Milen Kaplanoski respectively, the cause of these substitutions unknown, as neither had looked injured. Within forty-five seconds of the restart, Taramaia flashed a low cross across the face of the goal, which no blue shirt could connect with. At the other end of the pitch, Sam Robinson-Tate superbly intervened to prevent Leo Artemon's effort from troubling Bullvale, after the Club Sparta man was slipped in by Brax.

The chances continued to come for the Lions as Brunson's acrobatic half-volley inside the box from a Taramaia cross was staggeringly kept out by the Lisanderian number one. However, Michaelichen couldn't prevent the Dantopian number nine from opening the scoring in the 64th minute. Cruz-Richards had assertively headed away a Lisander free kick, and Brunson started a fast break upon receiving the ball. Some quick interplay with Kealoha put the forward through on goal, and Brunson was able to make the net bulge with a well-placed finish into the bottom right-hand corner of the visitors' goal.

Kaleb Kahananui

As confidence built within the home crowd, so too would it in the players. Both full backs began bombing forward, supporting Lions attacks at every opportunity. Hollins would drag a low shot wide of the mark, before getting the better of his defender on the next play and delivering a brilliant ball across the face of goal for the marauding Kahananui to slide in at the back post, marking the second goal for the defender whilst on national team duty, the first of this campaign.

Group 4 World Cup 101 Qualifying Round
POSNATIONPWDLGFGAGDPTS
1  Dantopia          12   7   4   1   30   15   +15   25
2  Eshialand         12   8   0   4   26   16   +10   24
3  Tanirinthia       12   7   2   3   28   20   +8   23
4  Auprussia         12   6   2   4   20   13   +7   20
5  Sudilia           12   6   0   6   20   24   -4   18
6  Lisander          12   5   0   7   21   24   -3   15
7  Xanneria          12   4   2   6   18   27   -9   14
8  Saperetia         12   3   4   5   14   17   -3   13
9  Gwarkos           12   2   4   6   8   18   -10   10
10  Allamunnic States 12   2   2   8   13   24   -11   8

Moments after, Hollins would hit the post himself, after racing away from the substitute Gamache. The Portland Pirates winger was unfortunate not to have a goal of his own on the night. Bishop made some alterations and brought on Bradley Bing and Maverick Johnson. Bing almost made an instant impact from the bench when he fired home following a Brunson square pass across the goalkeeper. However, the 19-year-old couldn't quite keep behind the striker as the ball was played, and yet another goal was ruled out for offside. Cruz-Richards and Lacroix would be replaced by Emerson Cromwell and Dalton O'Higgins respectively to avoid any potential late second yellows.

Dantopia would, however, comfortably close out the affair. They had defended diligently all evening, keeping the Lisanderian attack at bay, earning the Lions a well-earned three points and the fifth clean sheet of the qualifying campaign. The win secures top spot in the group table once more for Rick Bishop's side, with an away test against fourth-placed Auprussia next. 'The Raptors' have recovered well following their nightmare start to qualifying, though they did eke out a 2-2 draw against Dantopia in the reverse fixture. A positive result in this game, followed by another in the following fixture against Gwarkos would put the Lions in good stead before tough matches against qualification rivals Eshialand and Tanirinthia, back-to-back.

xg.unit
1d

Dantopia (3.81) 2-0 (0.47) Lisander #DANvsLIS #WorldCup101 #Qualifying #Group4

Expected Line-up — MD17 vs. Saperetia:

Starting Eleven:
GKP: 1. Winston Akana
DEF: 5. Dalton O'Higgins — 2. Sam Robinson-Tate — 4. Keegan Foster — 3. Kaleb Kahananui
MID: 8. Ezra Cunningham (C) — 6. Kai Watanabe — 10. Johnny Kealoha
FWD: 11. Nico Hollins — 9. Bradini Brunson — 7. Jeremaia Taramaia
Available Substitutes:
13. Rigobert Moses — 12. Raphael Lacroix — 15. Makaio Cruz-Richards — 16. Dwight Krol — 18. Omari Opetaia — 20. Bradley Bing — 17. Adebayo Adeyemi — 19. Zeke Edwards — 14. Maverick Johnson

Expected Line-up — MD18 @ Xanneria:

Starting Eleven:
GKP: 1. Alex Bullvale
DEF: 2. Sam Robinson-Tate — 5. Makaio Cruz-Richards — 4. Keegan Foster — 3. Kaleb Kahananui
MID: 8. Ezra Cunningham (C) — 6. Kai Watanabe — 10. Johnny Kealoha
FWD: 11. Nico Hollins — 9. Bradini Brunson — 7. Jeremaia Taramaia
Available Substitutes:
13. Winston Akana — 12. Raphael Lacroix — 14. Tyson Taylor — 16. Dalton O'Higgins — 18. Elleby Young — 20. Bradley Bing — 17. Adebayo Adeyemi — 19. Zeke Edwards — 15. Zaïre Thomas

OOC DISCLAIMER: The likenesses of players and managers have been created with the help of generative AI. Every other image in this RP was completely hand-made.

by **Masraya** » Wed May 20, 2026 5:52 am

Chapter 1 - Amala
Chapter 2 - Ledang
Chapter 3 - Temasik
Chapter 4 - Pekan
Chapter 5 - Kenyir

Chapter 6 - Krai

We had 3 straight home matches after the defeat at Shen-Zutbo. We won against Jeckland and United States of Devonta and drew with Bongo Johnson collecting 7 points from a possible 9. Those results lifted us to third place after 11 matches on 20 points, only 3 points behind Kanzlia in second place while Tikariot was clear in 1st place with 31 points.

That caused the mood to change again. The whole country started believing again. I guess that is just how football in Masraya is, or maybe all around the world. One week people wanted the head of Coach Tan Chong Wei. The next week Coach Tan Chong Wei is the greatest gift sent from god.

That didn’t last long though. We then went on to lose 3 successive matches. First 2-1 away to the Holy Empire. Then 3-0 at home to Tikariot. And 2-1 away to Myrtle Beach. With four more matches left, Masraya was suddenly dropped to 5th, 12 points behind Kanzlia in second place.

Automatic qualification became impossible after that. With Shin-Zetsubo only 2 points behind in 6th place, even securing a playoff spot looked difficult after that. The criticism returned immediately. Every newspaper had its own version of headlines.

“The team is mentally weak,” said Warta Masraya.

“Azman Ariffin firing blanks,” the Straits Press criticised me.

But then out of nowhere, the group leader, Tikariot, got disqualified from the qualifiers for using illegal synthetic Recognised Performance Drugs (RPD). Just like that, all their results were voided and Group 10 was down to 9 nations.

And without Tikariot, suddenly Masraya is 4th in the group table, only behind Kanzlia, The Holy Empire and Myrtle Beach with four more matches left to be played. Nobody knew how to react at first. Faiz was the one who broke the news to us when he read it on his phone after we finished a training session.

“What the hell happened?” asked Faiz. “This news is saying that we are 4th in the table again,” he continued while showing his phone to us.

We were shocked. Just like Faiz, we were all confused too. Even Coach Tan Chong Wei was confused.

__________

The drive from Kuala Kenyir to Kota Krai took a little more than 3 hours. The roads became smaller once we moved deeper into the north. There were visibly more motorcycles and old shops and houses with Krai FA flags hanging on the walls as we got nearer to the city center.

Aidil noticed them immediately.

“Why are there so many flags?” he asked.

“The people of Krai love football,” I answered. Then I thought about it for a second and corrected myself. “No, I mean really love football.”

You could already feel it even before reaching the city center. In most sultanates in Masraya, football is just entertainment. But in Krai, they love their club more than anything. You could see giant murals of the stars of Krai on walls everywhere.

People were staring at me every time we stopped at a traffic light.

“Azman!” one of them pointed at me excitedly.

Within seconds, all of them waving at me. I lowered the window and waved back at them. That alone seemed enough to make their day.

“See?” I told Aidil.

“They really do love their football here,” he replied.

We then checked into one of the hotels at the riverfront of the Krai River, just a few minutes walk from the Ratu Mas Market. It was almost maghrib when we reached there but the market was still lively. Some stalls were already closing but still full of people rushing to buy kuih, fish and vegetables from the remaining stalls. Around us stood some of the oldest parts of the city. Just across from the market area stood Istana Besar (Big Palace), the old ceremonial palace of the Sultans of Krai. Across the road from it was Istana Muda (Young Palace), another old wooden palace that had been turned into a museum years ago.

Before going back to the hotel, Astilah insisted we stop at the Kota Krai Arch near the riverfront, a huge gateway that stood beside the main road near the river and designed with traditional Krai royal architecture, one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city.

“For the gram?” I asked her.

“Obviously,” she said.

She made the boys stand beside her while I took the photo first. Then a passerby recognized me and immediately offered to help.

“I can take for all of you.”

A few moments later, the 4 of us stood together in front of the gateway while the lights from the riverfront reflected behind us. For once, Amir smiled properly in the picture.

__________

We played our fourth last group match just a few days after the news about Tikariout. We were fourth at that time. And coming to Kuala Titiwangsa was Gyaromia, the team in sixth place. We knew beforehand that a win would make it impossible for Gyaromia to catch up with us, hence ensure at least a playoff spot for Masraya.

Everyone in the country was suddenly interested in the match. Only half of the tickets were sold before the news about Tikariot broke but a day after that, all tickets sold out.

The stadium was already full during warm ups with ninety thousand people inside. The noise felt different from the one we had earlier against the shoggoths from the Holy Empire. That felt like excitement. This felt like expectation.

And Gyaromia knew they needed to win this one too or else it would be impossible for them to get a playoff spot. They started aggressively and nearly scored inside the first ten minutes after a cross was headed towards the top post forcing Fahmi to concede a corner. Fahmi screamed at the defenders immediately after that.

“Wake up!” Fahmi shouted at everyone of us. I was near the center at that time but even I could hear Fahmi, despite the noise of 90,000 of our fans inside the stadium.

That probably helped us.

Because as soon as Rahim collected the loose ball from the clearance, I knew what he was going to do. My relationship with Rahim might have soured after he left Klang to play for Ledang. But I grew up playing with him. So I fully understood his thought process on and off the pitch. I saw him scan the field before he received the ball, even with the goal on his back, I knew he knew where I was.

Gyaromia was high up the pitch for the corner kick. They left only a few men behind and it was Dominik Báthory as their last man at that moment, near the center circle, right next to me when Rahim released the ball. But Rahim’s through ball was so perfect that it allowed me to use my body to shield the ball from him.

That one simple pass from Rahim sent me one-on-one with the goalkeeper. A position I had been in so many times before. I had been in this position too many times, I knew what I was going to do as soon as I looked up and scanned the positioning of the goalkeeper. I’ve made up my mind even before I made my first touch with the ball. I’ve visualized everything in my head.

I needed two touches.

My first touch pushed the ball to the right, towards my stronger foot, just at the right distance between the goalkeeper and me, and me and the goal.

The goalkeeper sprinted out of his line towards me. He tried to cover every angle by making himself as big as possible. Just as I visualized. I've seen Fahmi do the same a lot of times before.

But from this distance, there is one angle goalkeepers couldn’t cover and I went for it.

That’s why my second touch was just under the ball, not with full force, but enough to put the ball above the goalkeeper.

For a moment, everything went slow motion. I stood still. Watched the ball rise. And made it into the net. We were up 1-0 early in the game. The stadium erupted. Everyone was suddenly confident that we could do this. And we started playing free flowing football after that.

Every single one of the ninety-thousand fans in the stadium played their part too. The energy that they gave that night lifted every single one of the Masrayan players inside the pitch. And we made it 2-0 before half time with Faiz scoring the second.

By second half, Gyaromia was completely all over the place. We pressed them hard they couldn’t even complete more than 3 passes. We were having the time of our lives on the pitch. I scored 2 more goals in the second half to complete my second ever hat trick for Masraya and then the fans started singing my name after that.

Gyaromia managed to score once late in the match from a corner kick but nobody cared anymore by then and it was 5-1 in the end.

I instantly kissed the ground after the referee blew the final whistle. Finally, after all the rollercoaster ride, we managed to secure a place in the playoff round, a new history for Masraya. The fans were already on the pitch as I stood again. That was when I remembered the match ball but it was already gone by then. Lucky that I already had one.

It was not long before that that the fans managed to reach me and suddenly were all over me. I tried to hug as many as I could as I made my way back into the dressing room. When I looked at them, I realized something at that moment. Just like that. The country loved us again.

by **Kimi-Suomi** » Wed May 20, 2026 6:48 am

Kimi-Suomi wrote:Seitsemän pakkomielteisen kansakunnan kohdalla tämä aika kuluu rukoillen kuuden puolesta.
PYAZHNAYA! TUO SE!
NOSTA KUIN HUUHKAJAT!

Yeah. About that.

After a window that simply maintained the 6-point status quo, everyone was preparing for a key window for the Huuhkajat that could either see us improve our odds of a Top 2 finish considerably, or see them crumble and die in Lumikukkulat like all the lights just went out. It was supposed to be this window where we would know, once and for all, what the Pitkä Tie Takaisin would truly look like, just how much of a job Esko Laaksonen has to do if we want to reach the Jalkapallon Maailmanmestaruuskilpailut for the 2nd straight cycle. We were preparing for a war at the Galaktien Colosseum...but Margaret had other ideas.

It was just over a week before Pyazhnaya were expected to play us when the KSJ received communications from the WCC (the governing body of the sport) to the effect of "The WCC regrets to inform you that the Pyazhnayan Football Federation will not be able to fulfil its MD15 fixture in World Cup 101 Qualifying. A statement detailing why will be released by the WCC in due course." So, we waited until the WCC came out and made everyone know what had happened - and it was shocking. According to an investigation that had been running for a few weeks now, the WCC had found evidence of a state-sponsored doping program across both Pyazhnaya and Tikariot, infiltrating both football and potentially even baseball, in a way so profound that they had no choice but to disqualify both teams from Qualification, effective immediately. The team that was 2nd in this group is now gone, their records expunged, and the Huuhkajat now had a bye.

So what does the KSJ do now that the final game in Lumi just isn't happening for a very obvious reason? Simple - a watch party! Everyone who had tickets for the cancelled fixture was encouraged to turn up to watch a quad box of the MD15 fixtures from the stands, with a bar area set up on the pitch in order to keep the fans happy. All the players and coaching staff also took part, so it kinda turned into a live film review in real time as everyone kept tabs on what KSTR was beaming on those screens and across the Kingdom. That night's games were especially chaotic, with Ääniorjainen only managing a 1-0 win at home to Venäjän Imperiumi EPL and Länsi-Vdara beating Andso Mangis 6-5, but the real story was going down in Hanalinen as they fell 2-0 to the new team in 2nd - Abanhfleft. That is our new target, the team we know we have to face next time around.

But before that, it was our turn to face Länsi-Vdara, looking to get revenge for the 1-1 draw in Lumi by taking it to them at the obviously named Grand Amphitheater of the Proletariat. We were expected things to be tight, considering this game probably wouldn't be broadcast on local state TV if they lost, and a tight one is exactly what we got, with both Shawn Maloney-Pohojnen and Dimitri Petrovic pulling out all the stops in their nets. This was looking like a 0-0 draw all day but in the 81st, we dealt the hosts a bit of a sucker punch thanks to Ebba Persson and promtly got out of there fast. We made out with the win like bandits...which is all we could do in this window.

And thus, the final window is upon us all. Abanhfleft comes to Pesä in what is now the 2nd-place decider and then after that, we must go to Hanalinen in a game we hope will be a rubber match with no stakes at all. Abanhfleft is a nation we know all too well from motorsports, so facing them to join the Bulls at the WC? We wouldn't have it any other way.

No niin...mitä me nyt täällä voimme tehdä?
ABANHFLEFT! TUO SE!
NOSTA KUIN HUUHKAJAT!

SCHEDULE/AJOITTAA (Group 1)
MD1: @Andso Mangis (188) W 3-1
MD2: @Doychnya (395) W 1-0 (2nd)
----------------------------------------------------------------
MD3: vs Ääniorjainen [Audioslavia] (8) - The Nest [Pesä], Kimi Kaupunki L 0-1 (3rd)
MD4: @Bharatamandala (325) D 0-0 (3rd)
----------------------------------------------------------------
MD5: vs Venäjän Imperiumi EPL [Russian Empire EHA] (343) - The Nest [Pesä], Kimi Kaupunki W 3-1 (2nd)
MD6: ~~@Pyazhnaya (30) - Krasnograd Dome, Krasnograd L 0-3 (3rd)~~
----------------------------------------------------------------
MD7: vs Länsi-Vdara [West Vdara] (70) - Galaktien Colosseum (Colosseum of the Galaxies), Lumikukkulat D 1-1 (4th)
MD8: @Abanhfleft (83) L 1-2 (4th)
----------------------------------------------------------------
MD9: vs Hanalinen [Hanalia] (91) - Galaktien Colosseum (Colosseum of the Galaxies), Lumikukkulat W 2-0 (4th)
MD10: vs Andso Mangis (188) - Galaktien Colosseum (Colosseum of the Galaxies), Lumikukkulat W 3-0 (3rd)
----------------------------------------------------------------
MD11: vs Doychnya (395) - The Nest [Pesä], Kimi Kaupunki W 3-2 (3rd)
MD12: @Ääniorjainen [Audioslavia] (8) - The Beltzarga, Glassbridge, Cathair L 0-2 (4th)
----------------------------------------------------------------
MD13: vs Bharatamandala (325) - The Nest [Pesä], Kimi Kaupunki W 3-2 (3rd)
MD14: @Venäjän Imperiumi EPL [Russian Empire EHA] (343) D 0-0 (3rd)
----------------------------------------------------------------
MD15: ~~vs Pyazhnaya (30) - Galaktien Colosseum (Colosseum of the Galaxies), Lumikukkulat~~ BYE (3rd)
MD16: @Länsi-Vdara [West Vdara] (70) - Grand Amphitheater of the Proletariat, Agios Stavros W 1-0 (2nd)
----------------------------------------------------------------
MD17: vs Abanhfleft (83) - The Nest [Pesä], Kimi Kaupunki
MD18: @Hanalinen [Hanalia] (91) - National Stadium, Hanalia(?)

by **Yangchenia** » Wed May 20, 2026 7:11 am

Alstroemeria
Chapter 15

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 01 2026

It was now Wednesday, the first of April. It had only been a day since Yuko arrived in Raijugang. If he was being honest, life in Raijugang was even more difficult than life in Kanazawa. It was a rich man's city, yet Yuko only had poor man’s money. Even the prices for basic necessities, food and water, were almost double what they were in Kanazawa.

He didnt have a roof over his head last night. Going online to check for accommodations, he found that every single one was at price he couldnt afford, even the most basic and rundown places. He made do with sleeping on the streets, yet it took him a while to find a place to rest for the night, as most public benches were built using anti-homeless architecture. He slept underneath a bridge near the outskirts of the city, yet within walking distance of the university, as the school year started tomorrow, which is now today.

At long last, the towering facade of the University of Raijugang, colloquially called “UniRai” appeared in the distance. At least, the main building. The compound was massive, twelve buildings, some as tall as ten stories high, each dedicated to the many disciplines taught here. The front gate was intricately decorated with towering classical spires and balustrades of ruby like he had seen at the Belvedere a few days ago, yet it was also complimented by a sleek, modern design in its newer buildings. The main building, from which students were piling in for their first day of school, was the original building of the University of Raijugang, dating back to the rule of the Ya Dynasty, before it expanded to cover several hectares after the era of colonization.

Entering through the main gate, he was greeted by what seemed like the university staff, dressed in a black uniform with white undershirts, a bowtie hanging from their necks. The hallways were wide and spacious, the walls decorated with fine paintings of Yangchenia’s past—from the times of the First Yangchen Dynasty to the modern era. From the ceiling hung large, traditional lanterns, alternating with modern chandeliers which, alongside natural sunlight let in from the many windows, illuminated the hall with an almost ethereal glow. It didnt feel like a school at all, but more like a palace for Yuko. A place he had only ever known through books or TV.

The staff directed him down the hall, which he intuited he would go down due to the number of people also passing through the same hallway. At the end of the hall he reached the admissions desk, where the deskperson, which the nameplate on the desk named him a Mr. Yen Hsiao-feng, immediately recognized the name he had given him as the “scholarship boy”. There were really only a few of them, as according to the sentiment among the school’s students, they didnt want their school to be overrun by the “lower class” of Raijugang. He was given his school ID card, encased in a gold plate, befitting one offered by a school for the elite.

“Neat.”, he thought to himself. Could melt it down for some quick cash later. Judging by the way the gold shimmered in the sunlight passing through the high windows, the gold seemed to be of a high purity. On the card inscribed were the words:

TANAKA, YUKO NOBIODA
11th Grade - Alstroemeria
1178 Phuentshang Street, Kanazawa, Kanazawa District, Ykha Province, Yangchenia

“I believe Alstroemeria is the section name?”, he clarified.
“Correct sir.”, replied Hsiao-feng.“ It is one of the eight sections of your level. Alongside it are Hibiscus, Daffodil, Sakura, Rose, Chrysanthemum, Marigold and Daisy.

He had not finished talking to Hsiao-feng when the person waiting in line behind him grew impatient and shoved him aside. He was dressed in seemingly normal formal wear, were it not for the designer names of each piece of clothing. From his neck hung a long, golden necklace, carrying an amulet with a gleaming piece of sapphire encased inside.

“I am tired of waiting.”, he screamed at both Yuko and Hsiao-feng. “Do you not know who I am?”

Hsiao-feng instantly tensed up before bowing respectfully. “My apologies, Toyohara-sama.”

Now he could vaguely place this person. He was of the Toyohara Clan, another infamous syndicate in Kanazawa’s neighboring town of Hsiang-kai. Much like the Yazawa were in Kanazawa and northern Raijugang, the Toyohara were similarly feared among Hsiang-kai’s residents, though they did not engage in loan sharking as their primary income source like the Yazawa. Instead, their money came from exploiting the island’s petrochemical abundance, harassing fuel supply convoys of the state-run petroleum company Gaszol to pay them protection money, both against their militias, and the militias of other non-government syndicates all across Raijugang.

“Toyohara Muzi, here is your ID card. You have been assigned to Section Alstroemeria.”

Immediately, Muzi’s smug grin vanished as soon as Mr. Yen had given him his card. He stammered for a moment, word caught in his throat, eyes gazing in disbelief at his ID card where the name “11-Alstroemeria” was engraved into the metal. “A…A…Alstroemeria?”
“Indeed so.”, Yen Hsiao-feng replied.
“This is a lie right?”, he said, his words interrupted.
“I don’t believe so, sir.”
“I…It must be.”, Muzi denied. “Surely this school, which knows of the numerous disputes between rival families, would know not to put the heirs of certain clans in the same classroom as their rivals.”
“I’ve checked the spreadsheet we have, and it seems no mistake has been made. You have been assigned to 11-Alstroemeria. Why do you have some beef with scholarship kids?” he said, pointing towards Yuko in the corner.
Muzi had not realized Yuko was quietly listening into their conversation all this time. “You, just scram already. This is not your fight!”
“My apologies, Muzi. But I thought I’d listen in as I’ve been assigned into 11-Alstroemeria as well.”
Muzi turned to Hsiao-feng once again. “Oh come on, not only do I have to deal with rivals being in my class, I also have to deal with that poor kid. Can’t I pay you to put me in another class as well? The guy you just let pass earlier, I overheard he was assigned to Section Hibiscus. Just let me transfer there! I know there’s still an empty spot. I cant be stuck here in Alstro!

“Just who do you have beef with?”, replied an annoyed Mr. Yen.
Searching the class list, his finger landed on a name. “Her. Me and her family have beef. Territorial disputes in the Eastern District.”

“Oh, that girl. Well, I can’t say you’re the first person from Alstroemeria to immediately request a transfer. Her family’s pretty notorious out here, so no wonder most of your classmates have also come to me asking to be moved to another class. But we have no slots left, and once you’re sorted, its pretty impossible to get you moved even if you bribe the administration. Our principal’s a pretty incorruptible man. Rarely do you see an official like him these days. Just accept it sir. You can't keep the lady behind you waiting, she seems to be of a similar high status as you are.”

Turning behind him, Muzi immediately recognized the lady behind her, Lady Zandrina Amaratovna Rasavova, daughter of casino tycoon Diane Rasavova, the owner of a majority of all the casinos in the Raijugang Strip. Her hair neatly flowed around her body, her black dress, which seemed a bit unorthodox for a university given that it was slightly revealing, was embroidered with golden threads and sapphire gemstones, and she carried with her that aura of wealth befitting the blood of a casino tycoon.

“Isn’t that a violation of the dress code, Ms Prostitute?”, Muzi sarcastically remarked.

“By the looks of your face earlier, it seemed you immediately recognized and feared me? Why the sudden change now, my little Muzi?”, she taunted. “You see me as something you can toy around with?”

“I dont care what you say.”, he replied. “My family is way more influential than yours. Unlike the Rasavov’s, we actually have a private militia to enforce our dominance. You better respect me, MIss, or we’ll blockade the highway leading to the Belvedere with our mercenaries and crush your business. You want us to shut the road down?!”
“I object to that.”, a man from behind replied.
“And who are you to object to me?”, asked Muzi.

He introduced himself as Yevgeny Kardyshov, the son of a major shareholder in Gaszol, the state petroleum company jointly owned by both the governments of Yangchenia and Youthenheim. An old state relic from the socialist days of both nations, it had largely grown obsolete, yet still an influential force within Raijugang, even if it had been greatly diminished.

“Under our agreement with the Toyohara, Muzi, in exchange for lining your pockets, Gaszol gets to pass through Raijugang’s roadways under your domain unobstructed. In this case, I object to any blockade of Miss Zandrina’s properties, as we use its roadways daily to transport our fuel.”

“Alright oilhead, let me make it clear for you. Your family pays mine tribute money to keep that old state junk running. So know your place and back out of our business!”

“You think you have power over us? If I see the Toyohara attempting to block our shipments at the Belvedere we’ll call in the army to blow your syndicate out of the water!!”

Clearly the atmosphere in the hallway grew tense quickly, as Muzi and Yevgeny, both heirs to vast fortunes stared each other down with hostility, as if they were waiting for the other to strike first. It didnt help that Yevgeny already pre-dialed the number of Major Zheng Tiansheng, a senior officer in the national military, and commander of the 2nd Tank Brigade. He was a major ally of Gaszol and other corporations, and Yevgeny was threatening to call in his support against the Toyohara.

In the midst of this staredown Zandrina had managed to break up the fight, after similarly threatening both men with the Rasavova’s ace, personal assassins that can easily assassinate anyone she’s displeased with. As much as both Muzi and Yevgeny wanted to trade blows, they werent about to risk their lives in the process as well.
All of this was to Yuko’s shock. There were a lot of questions running through his mind now.

Is this what life with the elite is like?
And who exactly was that girl?

Love is Blind
a WC story by Yangchenia

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by **Kelssek** » Wed May 20, 2026 7:30 am

It seemed much more than a decade ago, but it had happened early in his career and had been, early on, a key motivating impetus that drove Ryan Potter on in his managerial career. And it all happened here, at Shearwater FC, where after finishing second in the league, he’d set out the very next day to draw up a transfer list and plans for how he’d take the title the following season. But the board were surprisingly unreceptive – and the explanation for that became evident a few weeks later when Olaf Jurtanen was unveiled as the new manager and Ryan Potter was placed on indefinite leave – a paid sacking, in effect.

Olaf Jurtanen went on to win the Kelssek Championship twice, the IFCF Champions League, and the Patriotes Cup. While Potter landed on his feet at Burnaby SC a year later, as he plotted and struggled to get the country’s most historically successful club competitive with his former employers, the talk of the football punditry that he was just not good enough was cruel, and it still stung today even after he’d proven their narrative that Ryan Potter was just incapable of getting a team over the line conclusively wrong.

And now in the present, now that he'd won more Cups than the club itself and was visiting as the national team manager, they were obsequious and even the fans pretended they'd been on his side all along. Ryan Potter tried to keep his voice down, knowing he was surrounded by football people in the executive box at Kingswharf Stadium and tongues would wag if they could infer the other side of the conversation. “Look, Geraldine. We’ve discussed the... back when I agreed to... You remember that I was very explicit. This is precisely the situation I said I would not accept.”

“Please, Ryan. Just humour Moonbeam. You don’t need to shake his hand, even, just smile and take a photo with the Inner Peace Prize. Or you don’t even have to smile. Look, we’ve even got new doves commissioned so it looks a bit more serious. They’re gold-plated. Well, let me check on that; they’re gold-painted, at least.”

He wanted to say “back me or sack me”, but unnamed sources ready to spill it to the news were surely listening. So just said, “Well, it’s simple. I politely decline the award.” He wondered if he’d later regret not being rude about it, since with people like Moonbeam Infantino, any opening was one he would wedge open and squeeze through.

Ryan had come to assess if James Jouppi was on the upswing after dropping him from the national squad when his performances were clearly not cutting it. But now James Jouppi’s form had dropped off so much that he wasn’t even starting for the club anymore.

And the murmuring had started about his position, which seemed nuts but was very real. Kelssek were still in the fight to qualify for the World Cup. But with two matches left and the possibility of failure very real, media had started to talk about sacking the most successful active Kelssekian football coach after just 16 matches in charge of the national team.

Sammy Mao was looking sharp and dangerous, though. He’d need someone at the top of his game for the final two matches. Two wins was doable, and they could hope trend of freakish results that seemed a regular feature in this group would bless Kelssek this time; if only Yangchenia would drop points they’d be in the World Cup finals and – Ryan Potter gaped and the Kingswharf crowd howled in anger and shock as Sammy Mao, running at speed onto a through ball, tried to hurdle over a lunging tackle and got the studs of the full-back’s boot directly in his left ankle. The referee was already digging in his back pocket for a red card, but as Sammy screamed in agony on the turf Potter felt a wrenching feeling in his gut, not only in sympathy for a player he had a good rapport with, but also that yet another obstacle had thumped in front of his path. It did not look like Sammy Mao was going to be playing in two weeks.

A feeling of wetness on his right thigh prompted Ryan to look down and realise he’d unthinkingly popped the lid off the unfinished cup of tea in his seat’s cup holder, spilling it over his pants. Inner peace? Good lord.

by **Bhumi Matawis Empire** » Wed May 20, 2026 7:39 am

This night, cars arrives simultaneously to the mansion of Darmowijoyo. The man took the position of the leader following Shellomita' ascension as Mahapatih Anom. The private meeting is held amongst the leaders of Aliansi Nasional Coalition, the current government coalition. The situation is crucial as they prepare for the upcoming election in mid-2028. And strategy is needed to win the election once again. Amongst the attendees are Darmowijoyo himself as the leader of Bangun Negoro, Shellomita, Mahmud Alam leader of Partai Andalas Bersatu, Samuel Wisantiko leader of Partai Timur Raya and Karina Farza leader of Partai Rakyat Kalamantha. These four political parties are the main machine of Aliansi Nasional Coalition. There are also some small parties but their leaders are not joining this time.

"Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to our most important meeting," Darmowijoyo open the meeting. "As you all know, we will face the election in a few months from now. And we have to be prepare. We must polish out our weakness and elevate our strength. And this night, we will discuss about the strategy to win the election," he adds.
"To be honest, I'm quite concern about the next election. Our position is not that strong especially in the east," says Wisantiko.
"I feel the same things too," Farza agreed. "I guess people concern about the current situation and our government stand on the eastern issue," she adds.
"That's true. Calling the separatist as terrorist have given a negative impact to our votes," comment Alam.
"I believe, Ma'am Shellomita have her own reason to do so. In fact, it would be odd to praise them, isn't it? They want to break the Empire," reply Darmowijoyo who seems to blame everything on Shellomita.
The murmurs arise in the room while Shellomita try to compose herself.
"I do concern about the separatist movement that increase again recently. And I do agree naming them as terrorist was a bad move. But that is something that I've done to remind everyone that this movement can turn into terrorist action which will hurt everyone," Shellomita defend herself.
"That was a good analogy actually. But the masses didn't get the message. They think we accuse common people who has a different opinion than us as terrorist," Farza concern.
"But isn't it more concerning that these people have sided to the separatist? Does the majority really want the Empire to break up?" Darmowijoyo tone turn to disbelief.
"I think their trust to the central government have deteriorate overtime. With all that happen, they believe that they could govern their area better," answer Wisantika.
"But they do have the autonomy. They have the authority to govern their internal affairs on their own. The rules and regulations are there on the law," remind Shellomita.
"It doesn't enough. In their mind, the autonomy is not enough. They want a complete control. Something like Papo-Iriya and Malalaime," reveal Alam.
"They are special case," comment Darmowijoyo.
"True. But the people and state leaders don't see it that way," says Alam.
"So, now we're softening our stance against the separatist?" ask Wisantika.
"I really want to reconnect again with them. Especially Wattinewa," reply Shellomita. "I guess our relationship have gone south after the speech," she adds.
"Indeed. We don't want anything concerning happen. Especially after the passing of the Emperor," says Farza.
"I think we can consult with him. He's quite young after all. He might has a brilliant and out of the box idea somewhere," suggest Wisantika.
"That's a good idea. He can calm the situation with a state visit," agreed Alam.
Shellomita nod.
"That's not our only concern. The more concerning is about the economy. We see our currency is getting suppress by international major currency. And people already think we are going into another financial crisis," Alam pointed out.
"We have do what we can. But our currency is not perform well enough. We should increase the use of Slaka in international stage so our currency become more sexy and will be use by many countries," explain Shellomita. "We have had a special trade agreement with several countries about using our own currency as we trade. Thus, making us less dependent on NSD while also increase the demand of Slaka in international trade," she add.
"I believe our exporters are happy with the current situation," cut Darmowijoyo.
"Yes, indeed. But we need a new equilibrium. We can't just think about exporters but also the importers. We still imports most of our stuff and it make the domestic price increase uncontrollably," reply Wisantika.
"And don't forget about racial and segregation issue that builds up recently," remind Farza.
"We need to control these radical preaching which can affected our believe in uniqueness of each individual. Our heterogenous," says Alam.

The discussion continue for several hours as many more issues arises. The meeting however didn't give any particular option to end the issue. They are just talk about one issue after another. From big one to the smallest one. Shellomita was quite disappointed with the meeting. She think that she can get more perspective on how to end the issues or at least making it handled properly. But nothing was come up. Everyone only talks about the issue but not the solution. Her head feels so heavy after the meeting. Something that she thought would clear the issue but nothing is really come as the conclusion. "And this is the way we handle the situaion? I don't think so,: Her head spinning as nothing will bother her.

by **Crpostran** » Wed May 20, 2026 8:19 am

This is a jointly written RP for negotiations between Crpostran and Edsmontik. The negotiations have been thought out to be split into parts 1 and 2. Edsmontik will post Part 2 at a later cutoff. In the meantime, hope you enjoy reading Part 1!

Far Eastern Airlines' Headquarters
Kalse Bay
Edsmontik

SESSION ONE (7:15am-12:00pm Edsmon Standard Time)

It is a chilly morning [43°F, 6°C] in Kalse Bay. There is moderate wind, and the skies are partly cloudy. Kalse Bay is riddled with traffic as it is the beginning of rush hour. The Far Eastern Airlines headquarters is packed with reporters and people who wish to learn more about the FEA situation. In the press room, FEA CEO Averich der-Fersgard enters along with two other FEA executives, Havre Ictenbenr and Deschutz Vernsasgrodden, at approximately 7:12am.

7:36am

An announcer in the press room, standing at a podium to the side of the main table, calls out to the people who are currently seated as well as those who are entering the room. He is followed by a translator.

Announcer: “Good morning, Edsmons, Crpostranians, and members of the aviation community. Today is a day of transparency about the ongoing deal with Crpostair involving the purchase of Far Eastern Airlines. Please find a seat shortly and leave the first row for the press reporters. Thank you for your cooperation.

7:50am

After some delays for seating, eventually, the announcer explains the schedule for the day.

Announcer: “Far Eastern Airlines’ headquarters will be open until approximately 5:00pm Edsmon time, at which we will end discussions to finalise the deal publicly. We will have a brief period for those who wish to eat at noon, and we will resume at 1:00pm.”

8.00 am

The sound of approaching sirens and a motorcade signals the arrival of the Crpostair delegation at the main entrance. A hush falls over the press room as the heavy oak doors at the back are opened by security personnel.

Crpostair Group CEO Moos Jadopo and other officials carrying several leather bound portfolios and files enter the press room. Jadopo takes some questions from the press, before taking a handshake photo with his counterpart, Averich der-Fersgard. Post photo session, the duo, along with other officials then enter the negotiations room, and begin taking their seats around the oval table.

der-Fersgard: “Hope your team had a great flight from Crpostown, Mr Jadopo!"

Jadopo: “Had a great flight, and please, call me Moos. Has the public and media been brought back under the reins? Even a little? I saw a bunch of protestors sitting outside the HQ.”

der-Fersgard: “Well, what can you say? They’re not that happy with the current leadership. It’s hard to let go, but I will say I have made some poor decisions. It’s almost clear they want me gone. Anyways, what is your current offer for the airline?”

***

8:45am

In the press room, two Crpostair (Abduh Gregers and Flossie Tlaloc) and two FEA (Havre Ictenbenr and Deschutz Vernsasgrodden) executives sit down. They begin to take questions from the people and press, all of whom are very polite as a result of Edsmon culture. Vernsasgrodden begins taking questions.

Vernsasgrodden: You sir, in the red coat?

Reporter 1#: “If this deal is to go through, will Far Eastern Airlines be rebranded as a Crpostranian airline, or will it remain an Edsmon one?”

Tlaloc: “Far Eastern Airlines will remain and be rebranded into the pride of Edsmontik. The beleaguered days will be left behind, and together with the other three airlines in the Crpostair Group, we will dominate the Karman aviation market.“

Reporter 1#: “There have been a lot of rumours as to the future of FEA’s legacy fleet and the pilots and crew trained on it. What will happen to the pilots, crew and even the aircraft?”

Tlaloc: “While we are looking at a complete overhaul, that doesn't mean we are leaving behind the people who put their blood, sweat and tears into FEA. All pilots and crew will be re-trained to the upcoming modern jets. As for the aircraft, we will be converting Jet Age relics like the DC-8 and the 707 into museums or kept solely for air shows and maybe chartered routes. It will be decided once the second round of negotiations are complete. The legacies like the A340s, among others, will be retrofitted by removing all seats and upgrading it to cargo specifications before selling them to cargo airlines that wish to purchase the aircraft.”

Reporter #2': “Question for Mr. Vernsasgrodden, regarding the recent 10% reduction in staff salaries during the money crunch. Once the deal is finalised, can we see their wages go back to normal or will further cuts come in to cut costs in the airline? After all, FEA does provide salaries that are well above average when considering other airlines in the region.”

Vernsasgrodden: “While we do hope to provide high wages for our crew, who work very hard day and night to keep the airline in the skies, we will unfortunately not be able to fully return the salaries back to our normal. However, they will still be highly competitive with other Edsmon based airlines and airlines around Karma. We simply hope to avoid a situation like this again, where we have to make drastic changes quickly to save our airline.”

Reporter 2#: “With the deal reporting to be focussing so heavily on the regional market and narrowbody expansion, what does this mean for the current rivalry with our flag carrier, Edsmon Air? Can we expect a price war, or is the goal simply to fill the gaps they have left behind?”

Gregers: “Our goal is to take the fight to Edsmon Air. For far too long, Edsmon Air has had a near monopoly over Edsmon aviation. That will change with the signing of this deal.”

Vernsasgrodden: “Exactly, FEA never had the resources to compete on the point-to-point, domestic and short haul sectors with Edsmon Air. With us joining the Crpostair Group, we will be reviving our domestic and short haul network. By having a more fuel efficient fleet in the future, we will get lower operating costs, leading to Edsomns benefiting naturally from the lower airfares. If that sparks a healthy competition with Edsmon Air, then you travellers will be the true winners.”

Ictenbenr: “Do we have any more questions? Going once? Twice? Alright. If you have any more questions, please ask them after the second session begins at 1:00pm. You are all free to leave for lunch.”

***

10:00am

In the negotiations room, the two CEOs and some executives are continuing their talks about the deal for Far Eastern Airlines. These end rather quickly.

der-Fersgard: “I've liked your proposals so far, but the crucial part remains. So, what’s your deal for the once great Far Eastern? As in, the percentage.”

Jadopo: “We are looking for a stake of 51% of the airline, but to make it more sustainable a similar stake in your other assets as well, that being your ground handling services, catering and hotel divisions. We need to be able to manage every aspect of FEA if it has to go back to its glory days.”

der-Fersgard: “I see, that will definitely do the airline well. You’ve got me very interested, Moos. I would be completely fine in selling you the 51% stake. You practically have yourself a deal. Not much else needs to be said here.”

Jadopo: “Well, it’s done! We can progress to lunch, and signings for the final deal should be completed.”

der-Fersgard: “Indeed, and in a few months, once that paperwork is fully processed, FEA will be mostly in you and Crpostair’s hands.”

Jadopo: "Cheers to that".

by **Tanirinthia** » Wed May 20, 2026 8:35 am

OF FATES AND FORTUNES
Chapter Forty-Two - Origins (continued)

”Travelling the roads of Tanirinth had gotten me used to sleeping in uncomfortable places, sometimes next town would be a few days apart or the safest route was the longer route, so I'd spent my fair share of nights under the stars with nothing but a blanket and the cold ground with stones jutting into me. But it's one thing to sleep with nothing but the ground underneath you and nothing above you but the stars, and another to do that while tied up to a post. I barely got any sleep that night, and the bouts I did were filled with terrible visions. So it was entirely unnecessary to wake me up with the bucket of cold water that was thrown upon me.”

”The shock of the cold water caused me to jump, before the rope wrenched me back down to the very solid ground. In my somewhat bleary state I heard what sounded like the laughter of children and them running away laughing all the more. As I lay there nursing my now bruised shoulder, the same figure from last night approached me. In the light of day, I could see his features more clearly, recovering from a head injury also probably helped, they were an older woman, her features were weathered deep lines etched in by a lifetime under the sun I assumed, my eyes then went to look at her hands expecting to see them rough and weathered the same. What I found was curious and then worrying. The first thing I noticed was that I could not see her hands as she was wearing gloves, not fancy silken gloves but made of some sturdy material, the next thing I saw was the worrying thing, a knife glinting in the morning sun.”

”From seeing the knife my eyes darted up to meet hers, no words were spoken, but I understood her meaning. She wanted me to know that she had the knife, that I had better not try anything lest that knife find purchase in me. Holding my gaze as if to make sure I understood, she then pulled out from behind her a pair of gloves the same as hers and chucked them to me, holding out her non knife holding hand and motioning for me to put them on. I complied, as you should generally do when someone has a knife on you and you are tied up, up close I still couldn’t identify what they were made of, perhaps some plant, tree or even the skin of an entirely unknown animal.”

”Once they were on, she reminded me of her holding the knife in no uncertain terms pointing it right near my face. Then moving around behind me, cut me loose from the pole but left my hands bound. Motioning at me with the knife once again, I took her to mean she wanted me up from the ground, I awkwardly did so. Motioning me forward this time speaking an unfamiliar word, leading me over to the main campfire. The camp had been packed down, and I saw what looked for all intents and purposes the same as horses just not in any colour I’d seen one back on Tanirinth. Looking around it seems like most of the camp had left already, and I still could see no sign of my friends. I tried to ask the woman about them. I motioned towards myself then outwards to two invisible people, saying the words friends as if that would help. The woman simply pointed to one of the horses, either not understanding what I was asking or not caring. All I could do was hold on to the hope that they had left earlier with the main group, and were having a jolly old time and we would all laugh about this later.”

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

Matchday Fifteen

Matchday Sixteen

by **The Sernetian Empire** » Wed May 20, 2026 8:55 am

SERNESPORTS TV

contents:
1) Sernet thrashes United States of Alpha 3-0
2) Slightly frustrating draw against Kharakia
3) Pre-match analysis
4) Guide for away fans

ooc note: Sernet has beaten Kharakia 3-2 as per the corrected score

Sernet thrashes United States of Alpha 3-0
Bobby Boltings Senior

Sernet bagged an easy three points away against United States of Alpha after battering them three-nil in their own country. Sernet's performance was strong and overpowered the Alphinians, with the Steamers controlling possession for much of the match. There weren't a huge amount of Sernetian supporters at the stadium when compared to some of the other away matches, but as usual, millions were watching the match through their own devices in Sernet. And those that were there were very audible indeed.

At the 7th minute of the match, Sporius Bolsting went to score the first goal of the day from a long run and exquisite finish, bringing the score to 1-0 very quickly. The Steamers added to the lead not long later in the 19th minute, with another goal by Sporius Bolsting from a cross by Zbigniew Komstrowski. After half time, Bolsting got himself a hat trick with a third goal at the 58th minute, assisted by Banis Kolbense. The defence was having a day off today, with Pasarowski having made barely any touches on the ball; later on he took a chance at the goal. The score was at 3-0, and all hope was lost for the Alphanian fans; meanwhile the Sernetian supporters in the away stands were dancing and cheering. After a few missed attempts by others such as Mantrostem, Jatrowski and Stork, the referee blew the whistle without bothering with stoppage time. A walk in the park for Sernet. All across Sernet and The Sernetian Empire, excitement was building; maybe this time round we would qualify straight away?

Final score:
United States of Alpha 0 - 3 Sernet
Goals:
Sernet: Bolsting 7', 19', 58'

Slightly frustrating draw against Kharakia
Grzegorz Woskiewicz

ooc note: Sernet has beaten Kharakia 3-2 as per the corrected score

Seven Bridges was packed with supporters, as usual. The last game against Kharakia was a 1-1 draw, and so the Sernetians were hoping for a win. Instead, we got another draw, but this one was 2-2.

Sernet applied pressure on the Kharakian defences from the very start, leading to a chance early on at the 8th minute, with Sporius Bolsting making a pass which would get past Oskar MkVaile to get to Zbigniew Komstrowski, but was stopped by goalkeeper Jorji Karleigh; the shot was hit over the crossbar and led to a corner for Sernet, taken by Stork. Oluwawa received the ball and fired, but to no avail. At the 11th minute, however, disaster struck. A successful counterattack by Síer lead to Polin Twisk, who was on for Pasarowski, unfortunately conceding at the 11th minute. After the goal, yet another counterattack threatened Sernet once again, but it was shut down by Tworpowski, Zoliba and Mantrostem. The Sernetian fans, while a bit glum, did not give up hope.

And for good reason, because at the 38th minute, an excellent through ball by Twisk rebounded off of Araly Farkas, leading to a throw-in, taken by Bolsting. The ball went straight to Dominik Zoliba, who took a shot from a distance... and scored! The home stands ignite with joy. The first half came to a close with the score at 1-1, both sides hoping for a win.

The second half contained two more goals, with the Steamers scoring first. Almost immediately after the second half commenced, Stefan Jatrowski broke through the defences and slipped a pass to Wasori Oluwawa, who fired a crisp shot into the back of the net. Sernet were in the lead at this point. 2-1 at the 47th minute. Everyone is celebrating.
Unfortunately, Kharakia had another equaliser up their sleeves, with it coming at the 65th minute from Fremíer Síer once again. The Steamers tried to regain the lead, but unfortunately the score stayed at 2-2; a particularly notable attempt came from Rami Alforez who headered the ball into the net from a corner by Komstrowski; unfortunately the header was saved. The whistle blew, and that was that. 2-2, one point each. Could have been better, but it could have been worse...

Final score:
Sernet 2 - 2 Kharakia
Goals:
Sernet: Zoliba 38', Oluwawa 47'
Kharakia: Síer 11', 65'

Pre-match analysis: MD17 vs Eriadni @Unconfirmed, MD18 vs Afanc Strait @ Sernetesen Lighthouse
Peter Ram-Ostorisk

P.s. We're keeping the lineup the same. Stoberus Pond and Don Swordsman will make sure all players do something for Sernet this world cup.

Table:

Group 9                    Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Flavovespia              16   10   3   3    31   17  +14    33
 2 Indusse                  16    9   4   3    47   35  +12    31
 3 Sernet                   16    7   5   4    31   24   +7    26
 4 Choppyhausen             16    6   6   4    23   22   +1    24
 5 Drawkland                16    5   7   4    28   29   −1    22
 6 Eriadni                  16    4   9   3    27   26   +1    21
 7 Kharakia                 16    4   6   6    33   39   −6    18
 8 Afanc Strait             16    3   7   6    23   32   −9    16
 9 United States of Alpha   16    4   1  11    23   29   −6    13
10 Anewkansas               16    3   2  11    20   33  −13    11

This is it guys, we are nearing the end of the Qualifiers. With our most recent matches, the win against United States of Alpha and the draw against Kharakia, we remain at 3rd place, standing at 26 points. Unless Indusse miraculously drops out of second place, which would require Sernet winning both of the remaining matches and Indusse losing both of theirs, we are in for a playoff spot... the question is, will we stay at 3rd place? Due to how the system works, if we finish at 3rd place we only need to win one playoff match to qualify, whereas if we were at 5th we'd need to win three playoff matches. There is the minute chance of us getting eliminated, but that is basically impossible and we'd have to be ridiculously unlucky for that to happen. We are basically safe, just not entirely mathematically safe. Our final two matches of the playoffs are against Eriadni away, and finally, 8th-placed Afanc Strait in Sernetesen. Hopefully we can squeeze at least 4 points out of the next two matches to bring our total to 30, but I am absolutely certain that we are headed for the playoffs. That's it for now, catch you guys later.

Guide for away fans: How to reach Sernetesen Lighthouse Stadium

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

When you arrive at Sernetesen Storimidros International (we're assuming that's where you land), follow signage until you end up at the SMR station for whichever terminal you land at - for you lot it's likely to be Terminal 4. From here you have two options: take the slow SMR service down to Sernetesen, or take the fast Airline service to Sernetesen Arsenal. We'd recommend you take the Airline; it gets you from the airport to Sernetesen in just 15 minutes (a bit longer if catching it from Terminal 4) for a very slightly higher fare. Once at Sernetesen Arsenal, utilise the covered walkway to get to Sanosia Junction. From there, catch a westbound SMR Lime Line service towards Damonesiyum. Be careful, most SMR lines have a ton of branches, and the Lime line is no exception. However, the Lime Line has helpfully been named after the colour it is shown as, so that's nice. Just make sure to catch either a train that terminates at Spaldensen Banks or a train that says it goes via Lighthouse Wharf. You shouldn't have to wait too long as frequency on the SMR is good. Get off at Lighthouse Wharf, and from there it is literally a 2 minute walk to the stadium. Sernet has an abundance of public toilets should you need the loo. The SMR train doesn't have toilets, but Airline does. Upon arrival at Lighthouse Wharf, you should find all the amenities you need; restaurants, cafes, shops, you name it. Free wifi is available at the airport, on the trains and at the stadium. If you wish to stay at a hotel, there are plenty relatively cheap but high quality hotels at Lighthouse Wharf. Staff will be at all mentioned stations and around the stadium to provide assistance. We hope this guide will allow you to navigate to your destination with ease. Enjoy your visit to Sernet!

The Team at Sernesports TV wishes Sernet luck.
From Left to right: Czesław, Damian, Salman, Peter, Bobby. Tadeusz and Grzegorz are not in this photo.

ooc note: this RP is slightly shorter due to OOC constraints

#thepowerofsernet

by **Captina Island** » Wed May 20, 2026 9:21 am

The Captina Company National Football Team is on the verge of a historic berth in World Cup 101, against all odds in this most remarkable of qualifying campaigns.

Despite a tournament long lack of offensive output, Captina have crawled their way into striking distance of a runner-up position that would guarantee the Rosso e Oro a place in the Finals; a pair of victories over Snestar and United Adaikes would clinch a first ever trip to World Cup, but a defeat to the former on matchday 17 would mean Captina would need to survive at least one round of playoffs to be included in the 48 team field.

The side can finish no worse than fifth in Group 16 regardless of the results, which means that they will still have at least two more fixtures after the final home match on MD 18, but in order to avoid the lottery of playoffs uncertainty there will need to be more performances like the 9 combined goals scored against Kordavia and Konstantino--which amounts to over one third of the total output of the entire tournament to date--rather than the three losses and one draw where the Rosso have failed to score.

by **Cobrio** » Wed May 20, 2026 9:25 am

"Èṣe uncle," read the message. Demé clicked send.

"Abi, you tink seh CFF dey know?" He asked Olu Oyekan.

"Probably," the big man shrugged. "But dey no take action anyway. So no fi worry, na."

Demé frowned. He liked Olu, and fully understood why he'd been assigned his roommate for international duty. In fact, he could hear Uncle Marv explaining it to the big man. "Demé needs stability, na. You can be akhi, sabi? Demé be hot, always rushing. But you, Olu... aht, you dey be calm. Balance. You dey can influence Demé. You dey can help Demé. Sabi?"

...or something like that anyway. Though on second thought, Olu probably didn't protest or question it in the first place. Uncle Marv would have said it, Olu accepted, and it was so. It was frustrating sometimes though, how Olu was so... passive. The man never pushed back on anything. For someone whose style of play was so combative, he was alarmingly relaxed.

Demé let the silence stretch. Something he had learned from Olu, funnily enough. "Hmph." He sighed. Clearly, he was still yet an apprentice compared to Olu. "Maybe we need to do something more dramatic, oh. Turn heads, sabi?"

"Ah Demé, little brother... you are wasting your energy, na. Direct it where you dey can affect tings. Like on di pitch, oh."

"Ch!" Demé sucked his teeth. "I am going for a walk, na. Adon know when I return."

"Okay," Olu waved dismissively. "Just no forget curfew, na. Adon tell kiwani."

* * * * *

As Demé approached the hotel doors, he was stopped by a massive security guard, who calmly placed his arm across the door. "You cannot exit, sir." He said, with a rumbling monotone, and his gigantic arm effectively acting as a barricade.

"Why?" Demé asked with a frown. "I am a free man. What reason you dey have to prevent my parambulatings?"

"Boss' orders, sir." The security guard rumbled.

"Who is di boss? Di hotel manager man? I want to speak with this 'boss' person."

"That is not permitted, sir."

"Ch!" Demé sucked his teeth. Then inhaled deeply. It was not this security guard's fault. He was just doing his job. "Fine. I will stay here, in the lobby. Do you know where I can get some playing cards?"

The security guard nodded to his colleague across the room, who came striding over. Much smaller, this one was. Not a security guard, but a porter or something like that. Still big, though. His voice did not rumble, but it was gravelly. He also spoke in a monotone. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Not unless you have playing cards," Demé said.

"We can ask someone to procure some if you would like, sir."

"You can do that?"

"Of course, sir. Is there anything else you would like?"

Demé paused. "Actually, my friend, perhaps we have gotten off on di wrong footings, na." He threw an arm around the man and gently steered him away from the door. "There are maybe a few tings you dey can help me with. I need to ah, what is di phrasings? Blow off some steams?"

"I... see, sir," came a somewhat nervous reply.

"Ah relax, my friend. I only wanted some fresh airs, take a walk, loosen up, you know? But if I cannot leave the building, I must find other ways. Now, my question to you is, can other people come into this hotel?"

"Sir, this is a respectable establishment and we do not allow for ladies of the n-"

"No no no, not this thing. What do you take me for, ah? I thought we were getting along well."

"Apologies sir, my mistake."

Demé smoothed the front of the man's jacket, and gently tapped his shoulder. "No problem. Everybody makes mistakes. The person I have in mind is my uncle. He always knows what to say to calm me down, but... it is not the same over the telephone, sabi?"

"I understand, sir. That's why I visit my grandmother every weekend."

"Ah, good man. We must dey care for the elderly. Very wise. My uncle no be young man either. If I make a call, will he be allowed to enter the hotel to speak with me?"

"I don't see why not, sir."

"And while I am waiting, can I ask you to ah, what was the word? Procure? Some things for me?"

"Of course, sir."

"Excellent. Perhaps also a meeting room?"

"I'll see what I can do, sir."

As the man hurried off, Demé pulled out his phone and began sending messages en masse.

'Come to the hotel lobby in 45 mins'

Then he dialled Uncle Marv.

by **Biyambi** » Wed May 20, 2026 9:47 am

The Batuokuvian Quest

When Wene (monarch) Mahalla died his son, Hakallalla I, succeeded him in 732 CE. Hakallalla did not have any male heir. Hakallalla as a Santana Dharmist needed a male child to succeed him when he passed on. So, he looked for solutions, he consulted both the Santana Dharmist and Atarioramist priests, sacrifices were made to all the known primordial spirits & gods in the land. However, his five wives continued to give birth to female children. His wives increased to 7 and his female children increased to 32.

In distraught Hakallalla I sought solutions from near and far lands. One day he was told that the solution to his problem could be found in Batuokuvia, the Land of the Dwarves. He then invited their mkwiri (wizard) to come and solve the problem. The Batuokuvian mkwiri, Nrithi (worm) accepted the invitation and came with two others. With the amashauri (counsels) and Wene gathered at the imperial palace, Nrithi ordered the Wene to bring out his 7 wives. Nrithi then lay a powerful charm on the ground, and told all 7 wives to cross the river of difficulty pointing to the charm. All 7 seven wives crossed reluctantly. Nrithi then told the Wene to go and carry out his conjugal duties with his wives, and told him he already had 7 male children. When Hakallalla I, tried to reward Nrithi he responded; “Wene, he who takes payment for a work he is to do before doing it, is not sure whether his work will survive the test of time. Wene, we will come back after your wives have been delivered of their male children”. He then turned and disappeared into the air alongside his assistants. Despite the mystery that surrounded the departure of the Batuokuvians, Nrithi’s prophecy came to pass.

In the evening as the Vatato Nivaka (Council of the Nivaka (Spear) celebrated with Wene Hakallalla at having been blessed with a 7th son that very evening and deliberating on hosting a feast in the Batuokuvians honour, Nrithi and his assistants suddenly appeared. The following day a great feast was held in the Batuokuvians honour, a feast of great multitude that the land has not yet again seen. During the feast, a wrestling competition was also held to decide the husband of the first princess. This tradition was meant to keep strength and royalty in the house of the Wene. Before the wrestling begun, the first princess, Orera (Beauty), was paraded and she caught the eye of Nrithi. As everyone drunk and ate, Hakallalla in merry turn to Nrithi and told him to enjoy himself as the feast was in in his honour, he then thanked him for what he had done for him. Hakallalla then promised to give Nrithi anything he requested as thanksgiving. The young men in the community wrestled until only one stood, his name Kana (Young). As Kana approached the princess to hold her hand, Nrithi stood up and stopped him. Nrithi had chosen princess Orera as his gift. However, due to tradition Nrithi was convinced to fight Kana to win Orera, everyone hoped he would lose. Nrithi quickly killed Kana with his supernatural powers. However, the Puria Wiraniha (Chief Reconciler) stood up and said that Mlluku (Holy of Rightousness) did not accept his win as he had not entered the competition from the beginning, he had to fight everyone who had participated. Nrithi accepted and as he stepped into the ring he scooped sand, this spooked the young men and they fled the palace fearing that he would kill them as he had done to Kana. Nrithi then asked the Wene to hand over Orera so that he could depart. Wene pleaded with Nrithi to give him time to convince the princess, and he accepted. The mood at the feast became solemn.

The next day the Vatato Nivaka held a deliberation with Wene Hakallalla I. They discussed how Orera as First Princess was head of the imperial clan and could not be allowed to be married to a lowly creature like a dwarf. One of the elders, Okarakanyulla (to cause confusion) uttered words that would soon cause devastation to the land, he said; “He who lives in the land of the spirits cannot speak what happened to him”. In confusion the Wene replied; “Are you suggesting we send the Mkwiri to the land of the….” But before he could finish the Puria Wiraniha stopped him, as such matters could not be spoken to the winds lest he who is meant for hears them. Everyone however, agreed to consider Okarakanyulla’s idea.

Wene Hakallalla I, then told Nrithi that according to tradition the groom was to stay in the bride’s clan for 7 market weeks before he could take her. Nrithi could see the line of untruth in Hakallalla I’s eyes but sensed no disagreement in the spirit, so he agreed to this but demanded he have access to Orera, which Hakallalla agreed to begrudgingly. Nrithi then sent off his assistants but before they left he gave them his golden kotokwa (axe).

Hakallalla I told his daughter to pretend to agree to be Nrithi’s wife so that she could expose his powers and allow the Wene and his Vatato (council) to overpower him. Orera then approached Nrithi and told him that he could not have access to him until she was purified. She went on to tell him that he, Nrithi would be the one to carry out the purification but he could not do it with the charms around his body. Nrithi would resist but Orera was very smart. She got Nrithi drunk on the finest otheka (Oramisirian opaque beer), then as he slept, she dispossessed him of all his powers. She then handed Nrithi over to the Puria Wiraniha and the empires amashauri (counsels). They then tied him up and threw him in a ditch and begun to bury him alive. As Nrithi was buried he screamed out a curse, no male child would survive in the land.

As the Wene Hakallalla I and his amashauri celebrated the evil deed they had done, Nrithi’s stuff flew in the sky and landed in their midst and thunder came out of the stuff killing everyone in the palace. The amashauri (advisors), the First Princess, Wene Hakallalla I, and all the male children that had just been born and their mothers all died. The year was 750 CE, and the palace went up in flames, bringing great pain to the land for the next 30 years. The stuff then returned to Batuokuvia, letting his assistants and kinsmen know that he had lost his life.
A new Vatato Nivaka was established, and it summoned Hakallalla I’s brother Nduni I, from Vijiyakarta (located in modern day Southern Palm Islands) to assume Weneship of the empire.
For 30 years no, male child lived past 48 hours in the empire. Wene Nduni I consulted different oracles but Mlluku, Orami, and the ancestor remained quiet until in 780 CE. The treachery of the previous Wene was revealed, and Mlluku revealed that the only way to reverse the curse was to cut down the tree which had grown were Nrithi had been buried alive. Tradition states that every time a male child was born, the tree would shade one of its leaves and the child would die immediately.

When the young men of the city of Oramisiri attempted to cut down the tree, they were all struck dead by lightning. The Amooweaima (Mother of the Children) of Namuli, Oddiva V, revealed to Nduni I and his Ashulupali that only one axe could cut down that tree, Nrithi’s Golden Kotokwa. The axe was located in Napolo’s shrine in Batuokuvia. It was the most dreaded shrine in the Ziwani Isles. The ancestors chose 50 men from the empire for the quest into the Land of the Dwarves to retrieve Nrithi’s Golden Axe.

The song of the Lost 49, tells of the trials the men faced and how they died. From the 50 only one returned, his name was Ittipendo (favoured). With the tree cut down, male children would once more run around in Oramisiri, but not in the royal house of Mahalla Ziwana.

In 782 CE Nduni I, would remove Santana Dharma as the state religion, returning to the old ways before his father Mahalla, in an effort to appease the ancestors and Mlluku. However, he bore no son. In 783 CE, Wene Nduni I would marry his daughter Otierakana to Kelanupa Ulemeliha I of Ziwanawani, unifying the Aziwana houses of Mahalla and Machiri.

In 786 CE Wene Nduni I would return to his ancestors. Otierakana as the first daughter of the late Wene was expected to be crowned the next Wene. However, the Pimwehereri (Steward of the Realm), Karumia, and the Vatato Nivaka decreed that Otierakana’s sister Impumi would become Wene as the former had become an Atariimanist (follower of Iman). Thus, the Weneship passed to Impumi.

by **Choppyhausen** » Wed May 20, 2026 9:52 am

"Soo, last two matchdays coming up, right?"

"Yup."

"Do you know how Choppyhausen's looking? What are our playoff chances?"

"Well there's a couple of options. We're getting to the playoffs if we get two wins—and nothing Bizarro happens—or with a win and a draw or with two draws or with a win and a loss if we win against Eriadni or if we don't but Sernet didn't lose to them on the matchday prior or if we did but Drawkland didn't win both of their matches or if Sernet-"

"Okay, okay, I get it there's a couple of options. Is there not an easier way of explaing these?"

"Actually there's this map I made this morning. Here."

"That's the easiest way to convey this information? How do I even read this?"

"You start where it says 'Start Here' and then you follow the arrows..."

"So, if Choppyhausen lose both of their remaining matches and Drawkland win at least one of theirs and Eriadni wins or draws against Sernet, we're out?"

"Exactly! And if you want to know what leads to Choppyhausen reaching the playoffs, you just turn the map 180 degrees!"

"That just shows the noitacifilauQ ot syaW s'nesuahyppohC"

"Very funny. Follow the arrows the other way."

"So that means, we're getting to the playoffs if we get two wins—and nothing Bizarro happens—or with a win and a draw or with two draws or with a win and a loss if we win against Eriadni or if we don't but Sernet didn't lose to them on the matchday prior or if we did but Drawkland didn't win both of their matches or if Sernet-"

"As I said..."

by **Audioslavia** » Wed May 20, 2026 10:13 am

OOC: A glitch on NS meant that Anaia was the Featured Map on three or four occasions at the start of the year. Each time, a number of dedicated map-following nations would come into the region. On one notable occasion, one visitor declared our region 'dead' in the middle of a keenly contested CAFA Cup. In response, I reworked and updated my song The Capitals of Anaia with the intent of posting it next time Anaia's gameside map was featured.

Then, the NS site staff duly fixed whatever bug it was that caused us to be featured so often. It was finally our map's turn again today.

I posted the previous version to the WC99 RP thread a year ago. There's been a host of changes both to the song and the region since.

A Rhyme To Help You Remember The Capital Cities of Anaia
Based on this John Finnemore song about European Capitals
and reworked from this version from 2025.

The cartographic pilgrims have returned to us to see
The placeholder we rustled up in 2023.
We’re flattered, if confused, that it’s become so well renowned.
A multicoloured jay-peg of a link that’s often down

We’re not sure what you see in it, we really must confess
But who are we to argue with the featured map express?
Your map selection algorithm might have gone to shit.
But here you are, commendably, committed to the bit.

This time, why not stay a while and see our real map?
It shows our region’s capitals from Pikwee to New Hap
The former’s on a lake with an electrifying view
The latter’s where the dipsomaniacs all rendezvous

You’ll see that, in Starblaydia, the capital is Jhannan
Krytenia has Emberton, Mertanians have Dannin
If you find yourself inJunction then you’re stuck in Legalese
And if you are Dyrrhonian, your star is Rhamnasis

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

Østad’s Scandinavian for ‘city in the east’
Sutton means a southern town, in anglish at least.
Feuerstadt is Fire City and Pale means it’s light.
The skies in Strayaroos and Estorpiva must be bright

Krasnograd’s translation is ‘a city that is red’
Lei is ‘You’ in English, or in Spanish it’s ‘Usted’
Two cities are apparently a brotherhood in arms:
Schottia has Handon, ‘Oi Palames’ means ‘The Palms’

Chania is Greek and Chuquiago is hispanic.
They say that Kimi-Kaupunki is Raikkonen’s mechanic
Freedom’s Altar’s probably somewhat ecclesiastical
Lahaira, out in Aleirave, is something more fantastical

In Burningham, Osarius, the travellers are there
Wishing they had holidayed in Saint Jean Jacques sur Mer
If you think that that’s a mouthful then just take a look at Ko-oren
Their capital’s Gehrenna-Majara-Maethoru-Senoren

"Ramusok" says Cosumar, "Maal" responds Mriin
Port Anaia’s locals call theirs ‘Red Magenta Green’
Rosseford or Newfort? Bostopians are fluid
Warkus says ‘god bless you’ when you say Nyareth Newydd

Saint Eleanor, Saint Eleanor, so good they named it twice
New Montreal, New Montreal, the same but full of ice
Aeolis is on Mars so it’s devoid of several gasses
Saggitarius B Asterisk is several solar masses

Out in New Cardonia, being punctual’s a crime
They all seem to say ‘good morning’ whatever the time
Waldster’s Flavovespia, Kjol is there in Tjorl
And once you’ve gone to Koroa, I think you’ve seen it all.

The cartographic pilgrims have returned to us to see
The placeholder we rustled up in 2023.
We’re flattered, if confused, that it’s become so well renowned.
A multicoloured jay-peg of a link that’s often down

<washboard solo>

by **Valanora** » Wed May 20, 2026 10:22 am

Ellzidan had wanted to try out some of the depth pieces in the squad in these last four games since the team had managed to secure their qualification earlier than she had anticipated. After bowing out of the Finals earlier than what she felt was acceptable last edition of the tournament, she wanted to know exactly what players to take and who she could really on when it mattered the most. The Vanorian public was hungry for that sixth title, they were annoyed at how long it had been since the last time that the national team had won any silverware, and it was her job to try and fix that problem. The Marauders had lost in the Final of the ARC or the semifinals several times now, they had yet to win the regional championship even in the edition that was held in the Empire last go around. Combine that with a lack of any other silverware for the national team in quite some time as well as the national team program's fans lofty expectations and there was pressure from both the fans as well as some of the more outspoken members of the VSC about the growing need to win a trophy.

Of course the ultimate goal of this campaign was to win that elusive sixth title, to be the first to do so and bring what would ultimately be a sense or relief as much as there would be celebration among the fans of the squad. Climbing that mountain however she increasingly was feeling like it was as much if not more so luck rather than actually the skill and talent of the team and staff guiding them. You have to be fortunate with the draw that you are not placed into one of those dread Groups of Death, have to hope that your team is focused and locked in for every match so not as to be undone by a team who simply wants it more, than have to have the favorable draw that sets you up with a path through the bracket that hopefully does not get rough until the semifinals or quarterfinals if you are not quite as lucky. From there, it is hard to say that anyone in the last four has not gotten there because they do not deserve it and rather than a contest of skill between two teams it is a contest of wills, a contest of who gets the fortunate bounce or brilliant performance from a key player or so to be the difference in the game.

Those were the fine margins that separated the best from the rest in elite international competition and those were the fine margins she had set out to try and suss out form her own group of players here at the end of the qualification campaign. The first match against Milchama at home had been a flying success, a mixed squad of the usual first eleven with some of the bench options was able to cruise past the Warriors quite comfortably. Drake Rinaldi scored in the thirty-second, Leandro Nyquist had added another in the forty-ninth, and Markus Jaeger rounded out the scoring in the seventy-sixth minute in a three to nothing rout. It had been a game where the side was in relative control for most the game and they were able to carve up the Milchama defense enough times for the scoreline to properly reflect the level of dominance showcased. Clearly the players right behind the starters were capable of playing at the highest of levels and be able to provide a service for the team, the match away to Frayston would be one where she would completely turn over the squad to the tertiary members of the pool and hoped they showed similar effect.

What she witnessed in Frayston though was far from encouraging as the side second from the bottom was giving her team all sorts of fits and then some. Maybe completely changing up the lineup for the game had been a bad decision with the hosts putting up four goals against the squad, the worst showing from the defense through the entire campaign and a huge cause for concern. That outburst was a quarter of the goals that the team had given up after the defense had played extremely well for almost the entirety of the campaign, getting clean sheets here and there or keeping opponents limited in their chances. Fortunately that lack of defense was only outdone by how good the attacking talent played, with both Chell Meadows and Caspian Garberg getting braces on either side of the half time whistle respectively and Rebekka getting the winning goal in the seventy-second minute in a game that was far more frenetic that what she thought possible. Yet the team did come away with three points and the play of the attackers was going to make some of the decisions she had for the Finals a lot more difficult.

She pondered what sort of line ups needed to be used for the remaining games against Baker Park and Sajnur, getting the Bees at home was a plus as it would give the side a chance to avenge their loss to them on home soil during the third placed playoff of the ARC. The need for revenge though was secondary to figuring out the best players to take to Farfadillis, if they were fortunate enough to get the draw that put them in their neighbors half. The away leg to Sajnur to finish out the campaign was an interesting one, it represented a mid tier team on their home ground with nothing to lose, it would be a real opportunity to play against potential pot three or pot four teams that they could see at the Finals in a hostile atmosphere. The defense would be the place to keep an eye on as it seemed that really only the starters were ready to go in the Finals after the way Frayston was able to glide through the back ups, though she also did not want to overreact to a single match. She had been doing this far too long to know that one match was the defining moment or characteristics of any player or team, everyone deserved a chance to course correct from a bad outing.

by **Eshialand** » Wed May 20, 2026 10:34 am

Unraveling

knock knock knock...

“Come on in…”

Michael Wylen opened the door to the king’s office to find everything in complete disarray. Papers were scattered absolutely everywhere, the king’s disposition was the only thing being put into the dumpster, and the governor of Aleirave was just… here for whatever reason. Michael had worked with the king for well over a decade now, and considered him a close friend. He had been privy to a lot of the weird happenings that seem to follow you around whenever you count the King of Eshialand among your inner circle of peers, but this one was just a little on the weird side even by his standards. “Do you… care to explain whatever this is?”

“Oh, Michael, thank goodness it’s you… we’ve just been getting way over our heads in this investigation we’ve been working on.”

“Ooh, an investigation, mind if you loop me in?” he asked. William looked over at Katya, silently asking her if she didn’t mind whether Michael was a part of this. Katya, knowing the king doesn’t trust people blindly, gave him a little nod.

“We’ve been working on figuring out how Daniella Frith got a hold of the transcript of Haulafo Paka’ula’s trial, but everything is a dead end. The only person who had both the means and the motive to do such a thing said she didn’t when I told her I was an EIS investigator.”

“So you lied about being an officer of the law?” Michael asked.
“Not important right now. Anyway, we’ve just been trying to put the pieces together to figure out how all of this could even happen.”
“Well, what a coincidence, my thing also has to do with Daniella Frith!” Michael told Will. “Do you mind if I brief you on—”
“By all means, maybe it’ll even help clear up some of this for us.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t really think this counts as a lead, haha… but the news of Frith’s shenanigans is starting to get out of Eshialand, and it’s having a knockon effect with our foreign affairs as the mere threat of someone like her taking any sort of power is an existential issue to friendly nations.”

“I knew this was gonna happen eventually…” the king mumbled. “What’s the situation and how should we respond?”

“Well, the situation involves the Martian Independent Republic. The problem is any and all traffic coming to and from Mars has to go through the Lahaira ferryport, there is no other way for anybody to get to and from the Martian Anaia territories and therefore to Mars itself.”

“Okay, I heard ‘Lahaira ferryport’ and now you’ve got me involved.” Katya said.

“That’s actually why I’m glad you’re here to hear this, Governor. Daniella’s plans to strip you and your island of your power threatens the ability of the ferryport to function as a friendly international port, and the Martians might not have a way of accessing the outside world should Frith have her way. Not only that, but they were planning on hosting the Elephant Chess Cup soon, and I know just how much you care about international chess, Will.”

“That is true.” he said, the mention of the chess tournament instantly making him pay more attention.

“Now, I don’t know how to solve this situation for you,” Michael continued, “but hundreds of thousands of Martians and the international chess world need to have certainty on what’s going to happen with Aleirave. People like Frith are just bad news, period.”

“We’re gonna have to have a joint press conference. The leaders of the Kingdom and the island, united in their words and promises. I’m so glad you’re here for this Katya, I absolutely need you to back me up here.”
“And here you were just a week ago telling me I wasted my ferry trip.”
“Well clearly times have changed just a little bit, hey?”

”Hello Eshialand City, and hello everyone following along on radio, TV, the internet, or in future publications.” the king said, opening up his press conference outside the Executive Building.

These sorts of impromptu conferences weren’t entirely unknown in Eshialand, but they did usually follow news that fell into the category of “particularly concerning/urgent”. Normal press conferences happened in the press briefing room, not outside. Unfortunately, when news traveled too fast to get the room ready, the best the government could do was park everybody’s microphones on the front lawn and hope everything worked out. Hey, at least it was a nice day.

“Recently, there’s been a lot of media chatter about Daniella Frith, the United Eshian Front, and the politics of letting personal resentments project onto everybody in the country who doesn’t completely agree with us. A very vocal minority have been pushing forth this agenda that Aleiravans and Klysevians don’t matter and shouldn’t have the voices that they do, and I want to emphasize that this isn’t true. Everybody in Eshialand has a voice and has their own say over their own territory for a reason. Our system works, and we’re not going to cave to her demands.” The king then paused to signal to Katya that it was her turn to speak.

“Hello everyone, hello Eshialand City… if you don’t recognize me wearing this, maybe you’d recognize me better in an Aleirave football kit, haha…” she was clearly a little nervous to be making a speech of this gravity in front of such an audience. In the past, when she gave press briefings, it was usually to all of one or two journalists on the island or some inconsequential words after a football match. Being on a stage this big and this important was a whole new experience to her. “My name is Yekaterina Olayeva, and I’m the Governor of Aleirave.

“As an Aleiravan who comes from a Klysevian family, I want to speak directly to the people of both Aleirave and Maryansk in a way that just wouldn’t be the same coming from the king’s mouth. I know it’s hard to speak for everyone, especially as I don’t know the experiences of my dear brat’ya i sestry in Maryansk, but we want to hear your voices. I know it’s hard to feel represented when the government seems like it’s more occupied with issues in Eshialand City, but believe me when I say you are heard. Fiona Reval didn’t break us, Tony Beaujoleil didn’t break us, Refilene Adari’ena didn’t break us. Eshialand is strong through autonomy and having diverse voices at the table.” She then paused to hand the metaphorical mic back to the king.

“Thank you so much. Additionally, I’d like to address the elephant in the room when it comes to the Martian Independent Republic. I know how tough it must be to be in a position where the politics of another faraway nation are threatening your own ability to access the world. I just want to make one thing very clear: we will never let the ferryport cease operations as long as we are around. In fact, I, along with Katya and our wonderful Minister of Anaian Affairs who couldn’t be here today, would like to discuss options for improving transportation for both you and Aleirave. Transportation is something near and dear to my heart, and it’s an absolute crime that so many places are only connected by slow ferries. We can make improvements happen, together.

“And now, I’m willing to take some ques—”

”Well, have you been able to trace Davidson’s phone number yet?”

Every visit Lana Garber made to Mark Monley’s office was fraught with the danger of her getting caught, but it was still important that she make these visits because the alternative, discussing things over the phone, was starting to get a little too risky. While the EIS had wonderful systems for scrambling the source of calls, it was starting to get suspicious just how many calls Monley was making that he couldn’t accurately explain. His wife was going to start thinking he was having an affair or something!

“Sort of? I managed to get enough info that I could theoretically place a call to the source, but the caller ID is so scrambled I can’t put a name to the voice.”
“So you’re saying you have a phone number and the most advanced intelligence tech in the entire country but yet you can’t even attach a name to the phone number??”
“I don’t even really have this guy’s phone number. Whoever it is, he’s good at hiding. Everything is scrambled. What I have to do is basically trace every cell tower the signal bounced off of, probe around for devices on the same network, and call whichever one has matching logs.”
“So you’re tapping the call logs of every phone connected to the same cell tower as Will Davidson’s? Won’t there be hundreds?? And that assumes he’s even in the same place he placed the call from.”
“Yeah, there’s a lot of tapping involved. I promise none of this is that intrusive though…”
“Don’t you need a warrant for that?”
“Lana, I’m the director of the EIS for crying out loud. I am the warrant.”
“Okay scratch all the other things, that’s the most corrupt thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

“Oh, shush. It’ll all turn out fine. We just need to figure out who Davidson is and make sure he stays off our trail…”
“Your trail Mark, I’m not the one who decided that emailing a radical sycophant was a good idea.”
“Like it or not, what’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine. Anyway, initiating the tap…”

The two waited in front of Monley’s computer for a few seconds, waiting anxiously to see if it would even find a match in the first place.

ding!

“Ladies and gentlemen," Monley declared bombastically to his whopping audience of one, "I’ve found William Davidson. No caller ID or phone number listed, since, again, I’m trying to be as minimally intrusive as possible. But I can call if you’re ready.”

“This isn’t about intrusion, you just wanted to be cinematic.” Lana replied.
“So sue me if it’s a little bit of both. Anyway, dialing now…”

riiing! riiiing!

Just as the king was getting ready to take questions from reporters, his phone started ringing.

“I’m so sorry, I must’ve forgotten to turn this damn thing off… oh, it’s the EIS director, I should actually call him back afterwards… first thing’s first however, now to answer your questions.”

Monley and Garber stared speechlessly at the TV in his office, which had been airing the king’s press conference. It took them a little while to process what had just happened, but when Monley realized just what it was, he let out a scream that woke up the whole office.

“What in MARGARET’S NAME?????????????????????????”

“Is everything alright in there?” Detective Jacob Bronwyn said as he knocked on Monley’s door. “You just called the king and then let out the darndest scream. Is there something going on?”

“Oh god, Bronwyn’s onto us…” Monley whispered, “it might just be over…”

by **Snestar** » Wed May 20, 2026 12:01 pm

(AI generated image in the background)

WC101 Matchday 15: Snestar 0-2 Biyambi
Goalscorers (Biyambi):
4’ Selvet-Ibilx Kai
30’ Aasif Deriglazov
Player of the Match: Aasif Deriglazov

(AI generated image in the background)

WC101 Matchday 16: Brusselstein 2-1 Snestar
Goalscorers (Brusselstein):
24’ Reudiger Krümmling
75’ Joshua Kimmel
Goalscorers (Snestar):
77’ Elisa Baldriga
Player of the Match: Joshua Kimmel

No points for Viola this window: Snestar remains second and secures play-offs, but direct qualification seems unlikely

The fourth disappointing window in a row: Snestar falls into complete disgrace, as the Viola loses both matches: two goals conceded against Biyambi at home, and two more against Brusselstein. Despite Di Palma’s efforts to reshape the club, the Viola is in complete shambles: the FSC might even issue a full reconstruction of the roster, once the World Cup cycle will be over. Valentino Garnati’s case has already been reviewed by the federation, culminating in the exclusion of Lavenya’s defender from the National Team for an indefinite amount of time, after WC101 will be over.

Snestar 0-2 Biyambi: Match Summary

Against Biyambi, Snestar simply had no chance: nobody had any will to play, besides the usual Federico Calvaresi, carrying their own part of the game. As for the rest of the Viola, literally everything went wrong: the defense was dazed, positioned almost randomly throughout the pitch; the midfield found itself unable to direct any type of play, and the attack (or rather, the lone Giacomo Martinelli) literally could not even get the ball before Biyambi’s defense stopped. In the fourth minute, Sevet-Iblix Kai opened up the scoreline, and fans at the Savij Stadium in Grenna were already expecting a goleada. However, Calvaresi’s world class saves allowed the Viola to only lose the match by a total of two goals (the other coming in the 30th minute thanks to Aasif Deriglazov, the undisputed man of the match). The final statistics of the match were incredible: Biyambi’s attack had a total of 30 shots, 16 of which were on target, and only two of them managed to go through Calvaresi’s goal. Snestar, however, had zero shots on target, and only 15% of possession. In short, Snestar - Biyambi was a disastrous display of football, and even caused most of the Snestaryans present at the stadium to leave the stands by the 55th minute, leaving the Viola stranded without supporters for at least half an hour.

Brusselstein 2-1 Snestar: Match Summary

After Biyambi’s humiliating defeat (although not too heavy in goals, thanks to Calvaresi’s miracle), Edoardo Di Palma desperately tried to change the strategy a bit, bringing Splendore in for the goal in exchange for Calvaresi, and opting for a more defensive 4-3-3 formation, a contrast in comparison to the offensive starting strategy used for lower-ranking opponents. Once again, the Viola played horribly: apart from the goalkeeper being the only redeeming factor (along with Elisa Baldriga, who still tried her best to motivate the rest of the squad despite the harrowing football they were playing), the rest of the team still seemed like a bunch of Sunday league footballers in comparison to Brusselstein’s squad, completely unworthy of a WC qualification. Yet, somehow Snestar managed to hold for a little while, only suffering one goal in the first half of the match. The second half saw some sense of revitalization coming from the Viola’s sidelines entering the pitch, with Di Palma using all five substitutions in a desperate attempt to equalize. And the equalizer technically came in the 77th minute, thanks to the one and only Elisa Baldriga… if only Snestar didn’t concede against Brusselstein’s Joshua Kimmel just two minutes earlier… Either way, no late screamer came, no points were given to the Viola, and the Snestaryan National Team came home with a bitter taste in their mouths.

Matchday 17 vs Captina Island
5-4-1 Formation
GK 1 Federico Calvaresi (C)
LB 5 Riccardo Cavaliere
CB 4 Vittorio Gallerani
CB 23 Fabio de Rossi
CB 32 Riccardo Finamore
RB 13 Marta Camilla Barami
LM 10 Martin de Roux
CM 8 Nicola Acanfora
CM 14 Nicola Ragusa
RM 20 Fabio De Filippi
ST 9 Giacomo Martinelli
(Matchday 17 will be played at the WestWind Stadium in Rofflavya, a beautiful, recently built 37000 seat stadium with most of the newest comforts available for a football venue, including a series of built-in shops and stadiums.)

Matchday 18 vs Ko-oren
5-4-1 Formation
GK 1 Federico Calvaresi (C)
LB 5 Riccardo Cavaliere
CB 4 Vittorio Gallerani
CB 23 Fabio de Rossi
CB 32 Riccardo Finamore
RB 13 Marta Camilla Barami
LM 10 Martin de Roux
CM 8 Nicola Acanfora
CM 14 Nicola Ragusa
RM 20 Fabio De Filippi
ST 9 Giacomo Martinelli

by **The Ko-orenite Constellation** » Wed May 20, 2026 12:02 pm

"Alright, that sounds good to me, actually. I've thought about the indices for a few days and I'm more and more convinced that's what we should be doing. We need information first, to figure out where everyone stands. But it will highlight that some nations are in the stone age compared to others. And some are polluting - but I kind of like that that's going to be brought out in the open. Others are woefully terrible at education. But mistakes are learning opportunities, as they say. Let's do this."

"Next questions: what information do we need, how are we presenting it, are we actually going to name and shame, and the biggest of all, how does this contribute to unity across the Constellation?"

"Unity through cold hard data that helps us bring the exact right policy to each nation."

"Yeah, that's not going to make anyone reconsider their current strategy. That's genuinely the most 1984 stuff I've heard. But I do still want data."

"Maybe pair up data with something else? You're right, people must hear 'Constellation' and think good things as well. What about a day off? The Day of the Constellation?"

"Kind of cheesy. We have the internet now. We can have targeted ads-"

"You just complained about things sounding too 1984."

"Yeah, sounding 1984 is bad. But if it sounds a lot nicer, people won't complain."

"So... data and goodwill? And that'll lead to a roadmap for each nation that their public will want to implement?"

"That sounds like the right course for us."

"Targeted ads?"

"How do you see this working?"

"Each member state has a few main demographics and challenges. I think we can reduce everything to a few lines. Like... take, for instance, my native Isidoren. Centre-left leaning, somewhat religious, made up of six people groups, who like their local traditions. So we'd need to work with a few advertising firms there to get a message out to the catholics, to the Bizakaialdeans, the Alto Tronos, the Santa Estelans, and then to the mild progressives. I think that's a good 80% of them - tell one group what we're doing for the world, another what we're doing for their community, and how we value traditions within this larger union."

"That's the goodwill, hopefully?"

"And the data then comes from the governments, that we'll promise to help with getting to their political agendas. Again, Isidoren, trying to improve the infrastructure, liveability of cities in increasingly warm summers, something about productivity, and then the competitiveness of Isidoren versus other similar members like Tonboren, Galnoren, and Ponga & Waratahoren. And for the latter, we're going to need to chart some economics, I fear. Isidoren has knowledge of agriculture in hot and dry weather, knowledge the rest needs, and then Tonboren has liveability in warmer climates perfected, so that'll tie them together. I'm 100% sure we can tie every member state down to a couple of others and let the rest play out."

"And then we give them a report every year or so with how they've gone up or down on an index compared to the rest."

"And that'll create some competitiveness around stats that don't really matter and have considerable error margins - but they won't know. It's data, it looks like an authority. Hell, if a leader is presented a few numbers and a few green and red indicators, that's literally all they read. They're not going to parse the 500-page document accompanying it. Just numbers and a few red and green dots to say whether a number is good or bad."

"Soooo... a bit like a league table?"

"Well yeah, exactly like a league table."

by **Pasarga** » Wed May 20, 2026 12:14 pm

How did the dual islands form? For most of the history of Pasarga, the belief was that pair of islands were created by tectonic shifts or were detached pieces from the continent that drifted into the Sea of Fire. With the northwest portion of the region being littered with islands, both of these theories seemed to hold up fairly well to most people, especially given the shallow nature of large parts of the Sea of Fire. It might be that even that continent in western Rushmore went from the very south of the region to the very north, stretching from modern day Sargossa all the way down to the isolated lands of ERathore and Cassadaigua further to the east. While many scientists dismiss the idea of the region once being a super continent, there were and perhaps still are plenty of people within the region who think that theory has some weight behind it and it helped spur on a study to get to the root of what actually created the islands in the northwest of the region. The first stop for this study was going to be in Pasarga, the first completely island nation detached from the continent in the northwest.

A geological survey team was then sent to the islands to take various measurements of the earth as well as go investigating the mountain chain in the northern half of Pargis that stretches from the west coast of the main island towards the east coast where Torgos sits at its base. While there is no definitive mountain chains on Peynol, there are some rolling hills in the middle of the island particularly between Darom and Stilinkeep which lies as close to the center of the island as you can get. The Old Keep in Stilnkeep was built near the base of one of the larger hills, which at the time was there to offer defensive protection should the city ever fall under siege. This is where the first real interesting points come up from the study, as this collection of not quite mountains on Peynol line up almost exactly with the mountain chain over in Pargis and with a bit of digging into the mountain there was found large deposits of both basalt as well as agate, both of which are rocks that are formed by volcanic activity. With no volcanoes on Peynol though, this was a bit of a mystery as to how these two precious stones could be found there.

Examining the mountain chain in Pargis, the survey team were surprised to find large deposits of the same material as well as additional forms of chalcedony, all of which was pointing to some sort of volcanic activity having happened in the dual islands at some point. It was then that towards the western edge of the mountain chain that the scientists found the clue that would break the case and would answer as many questions as it would then raise in response to the findings, which was a dormant volcano bed. Examining the data after a few months of study, the researchers brought forth their initial conclusions that Pasarga was formed by a volcano "traveling" westward over the course of thousands of years, which on top of the precious minerals that were found would also explain why there are large swathes of fertile ground in the southern portion of both islands. That volcanic activity seems a bit apt given that the Dual Islands are located in the Sea of Fire, while raising the questions if the original native Rushmoris knew of this volcanic activity and named the sea in response to what they saw from the coast of the continent.

Research will continue to happen in the coming months and years as the geological survey team continues to go around and survey all the islands in the northwest of Rushmore to expand upon the findings that they received while in Pasarga. Nations like Logria, Nethertopia, Sargossa, as well as Candelaria and Marquez are soon to receive the scientists and plenty of people will be awaiting the results from their studies and findings there. Perhaps hiding underneath the surface of their lands will be minerals that will reveal the origins of those islands, with a few theories now seemingly plausible with what has been revealed in Pasarga. As for the dual islands, there is likely going to be several companies soon to lobby for the mineral rights to the deposits that were found by the survey team and the officials whose job it is to grant those claims will likely have quite a bit of work ahead of them. In time it might turn into an economic boom for the islands to join the moderate lists of exports that leave the islands and augment its economy. Some new wealth coming in to the islands would be quite a boon as they attempt to continue to be part of the modern world.

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