World Cup 101 - The Roleplays

by **Hanalia** » Sat May 30, 2026 2:18 pm

The below is the first entry to the List of stadiums in Hanalia.

Thor's Den- Leicap. 25,000
Nova Storm (rugby union)
Vikings of Lei FC (football)
What's it like
Fans of the theatre will enjoy a trip to Thor's Den as much as any sport fanatic. The Norse mythological theming of the venue is in no doubt, with the exterior clad in wood evocative of a longship. The quasi-faux ritualised offerings to Thor and Maggie before any match are a true spectacle and add to the mystique of this venue. With a rowdy cabal of ferocious and cult-like home fans in the Den, it is an ominous place for an away team. The stands are pressed right up against the playing surface and rise steeply physically mimicking the looming presence of the God of Thunder himself.
How to get there
The recommended method of travel to the stadium is to travel with/in The Horde. This traditional parade began with some supporters gathering in the Valhalla Pub before making their way to Vikings matches. The gathering now takes place in the nearby Semple Square owing to the larger numbers. It has evolved into a tailgating party of sorts and while food and drink vendors are on hand you'll likely find many folks happy to share their offerings. The Horde's leaders, obviated with their costumes, will indicate the departure time for the match by the blowing of horns and the forming up of a shield wall which leads the way to the stadium. The tradition has expanded to any match that occurs here but the largest Hordes occur for the Vikings football team.

Be wary that kickoff times are mere indications with many a match held up awaiting the arrival of The Horde and the pre-match Blót sacrifice. The legend has it that in the last match of the season The Horde had been delayed and the referee began the match at the scheduled time before the parade arrived. For a dozen of the participants in that match it would be the last they ever played. Some were retiring and that fact had been known in advance, but it was the fate of the others that sparked the rumours of a curse. Two or three suffered career ending sports injuries in the match or during the off season, some didn't find a new contract after theirs had expired. However it is said that Thor struck a bolt of lightning on the referee that caused his death while out walking the week after the match. The doctors put it down to a heart issue and there was no evidence of a direct lightning strike but the storm that evening is said to have played its part. Since then players or referees have refused to commence play before The Horde arrives.

NB that this stadium does not host the national team's games and info on the National Stadium will be presented at a future date

WC 101 Qualifying Schedule & Results
 Opponent               Home   Away 
 West Vdara             W1-0   1-0L
 Abanhfleft             L0-2   2-2D
 Andso Mangis           W2-0   1-2W
 Kimi-Suomi             W2-1   2-0L
 Audioslavia            L0-2   1-0L
 Bharatamandala         W1-0   3-0L
 Russian Empire EHA     W2-0   1-2W
 Doychnya               W3-0   1-2W
 Aamathyr               PO3h   PO3a

by **Paradystopia** » Sat May 30, 2026 2:19 pm

by **Kelssek** » Sat May 30, 2026 2:52 pm

THE FOOTBALL MAGAZINE ALL THE COOL KIDS ARE READING

EVERY OTHER MEDIA OUTLET IS POOPYPANTS

Decisive showdown looms for Kelssek as Moonbeam Infantino brandishes Inner Peace Prize

Football Kelssek director-at-large Moonbeam Infantino’s strange annoucement that he will make the country of TJUN-ia the fourth recipient of the Inner Peace Prize is a sideshow that masks a very real sense of foreboding ahead of the decisive two-legged series to decide which team will qualify for World Cup 101. Many analysts see this match as a toss-up between two evenly-matched teams, especially given the inconsistent form that Kelssek has struggled with over the past year. It’s a big reason why they’re facing a do-or-die situation, that could easily lead to the first failure to reach the World Cup finals in nine cycles.

That in summary is the pressure this Kelssek team are under - and on the evidence of how they ended their run through the group stage, they are wilting under it. A different and less-forgiving format would have seen them already out and mulling their chances at the Cup of Harmony. As it is, get ready to collect a different pack of stickers than you might have expected, kids.

In the last few years, much has been made of Kelssek’s inability to get past the last 16 since the loss in the World Cup 96 final. Captain Titan Pogbacar, Chike Obident, and Agapeto Licea were raw youngsters in that squad who many thought were poised to lead the way to glory. The intervening years have been unkind to their legacy as the core of the national team; a failure to qualify would be downright ugly.

A big question hovering over Football Kelssek is whether Ryan Potter is the right choice to lead the rebuilding project that will surely be necessary, regardless of the outcome after 180 minutes (or more). Potter has clearly recognized the need to bring in fresh faces, notably CS Saint-Rémy’s title-winning homegrown stars Artemios Ostend and Romy Métisser. Burnaby SC’s Young Player of the Year candidate Ariane Hirji has also adapted well to the international stage. But many of the other players he’s turned to have proven rather indifferent when given the chance in the Kelssek shirt, and much of that accounts for why they find themselves here.

It can still be debated whether that’s a failing of the players, or of the manager’s decisions and tactical choices they are asked to play. And there’s always more fundamental questions about the development system and whether we’re putting best practices into what we’re having the 8-year olds do on Saturday mornings, or if the growing club academy system is doing the players and the national system any good. But all that is only talked about, rightly or otherwise, when the national team is not getting results.

Ryan Potter’s CV might show that he’s capable of this task, having built a very good team at Shearwater and trophy-winning juggernauts at Burnaby SC. Yet this time, over a decade later and edging towards the end of his career, it’s not clear he’s moving things in the right direction or has the same desire and ability to see this difficult task through. His formidable trophy cabinet speaks to past success - it's no use in winning the next match, and it's the next two matches that could define the legacy of Potter and this group of players too.

by **Biyambi** » Sat May 30, 2026 3:14 pm

viewtopic.php?ns=1&f=7&t=582463&p=43656353#p43656353

The Oramisirian Golden Age

Wene Nairuwa II (530 – 538 CE)
During Nairuwa II’s reign when the northern tribes of the Bambyla, Bambya, and Bankonde came down from the north into Oramisirian territory to raid and plunder, he rose to the defence of the realm driving them back. He then launched an invasion of the raider’s lands, bringing them under Oramisirian control. In 538 a revolt broke out in Ilundazi province, and Nairuwa II set out to repress it but on his way, he fell ill and died. Nairuwa II was succeeded by his brother Rame woZeru (Rame I).

Wene Rame I woZeru (The Smart): (538 – 554 CE)
Favoured a more thorough bureaucracy, a means to put Oramisirian taxes collected to the most efficient and varied use possible. Rame I was a builder of public works, of roads, fortified towns, and even built the port of Inupa Ziwana or Inupa Mashiana. Rame I also constructed a great navy of about 1000 war canoe’s capable of carrying 70 marines and a 40-man crew each and 300 ships capable of carrying 120 marines. Rame I also distributed fiefs of land to loyal subjects carved out of his predecessor’s conquests. Rame I, is renowned for having been the first Wene to mint coins in 549 CE, he also made emihavani the official language of the empire. He also introduced standard weights and measures. Through, his reforms and developments, the Oramisirian Empire became centralized and unified.

Rame I introduced the nakwala (the call drum). It was a talking drum that used tones to disseminate messages and commands up to distances of 32 kilometres.

Wene Ikararittaka I Wara (Great) (554 – 600 CE)
Following his cousin’s death in 554 CE, Ikararittaka became Wene of Oramisiri at the age of 20. In honour of his predecessors, Ikararittaka I, ordered the construction of a great temple called the Inupa ya Mawene (The House of Sovereigns). Ikararittaka I, also granted the priestly order and diviner’s, generous donations. During his reign, Ikararittaka I, issued a decree recognizing women as legitimate inheritors of property and titles. Ikararittaka I, is also renowned for introducing the guild system particularly for carpenters, wood carvers, bronze sculptors, pottery and cloth makers. This laid the groundwork for Oramisiri’s renowned artistic traditions including its exquisite woodwork and bronze casting.

Ikararittaka I, also carried out military reforms. He introduced the first cavalry in the Ziwani Isles. Ikararittaka I, introduced the sword, a stronger and longer shield, a shorter spear, and armour for his troops. He also decreed that non-Epari and poor citizens could join the armed forces promising them land grants at the end of their service. To help with logistics in future Oramisiri expansions and for security reasons, Ikararittaka constructed waystations every 15 to 25 kms to easily supply troops around.

Wene Ikararittaka I, often ignored the counsel of the Vatato Ashulupali. In 567 CE, anti-imperialist Ashulupali rose up against Ikararittaka I, amassing forces to restore the Ashulupalicracy. Within 8 months the Ashulupali forces were routed. Ikararittaka I, stripped the wealth and power of the rebellious Ashulupali and their families. He then had them executed or enslaved. The Vatato Ashulupali was disbanded and replaced by the Vatato Nivaka (Council of the Nivaka) with members appointed by the Wene.

Starting in the year 576 CE, Ikararittaka I, began an expansion into south-west Ziwana. He forced the various tribes to either swear fealty or walk into fire, many complied. He gave gifts to those that complied and destroyed those that resisted. Unfortunately, in 589 CE, as Ikararittaka led mikotorutu in the south-west, the Cuman Republic launched a surprise invasion of Oramisiri. The provinces of Inacua, Ikotokwa, Vakhobela, and Ivattikunga rebelled against Oramisirian rule and joined forces with the invaders. The Third Cuman War begun. By 592 CE, Oramisirian forces had successfully pushed back Cuman forces, the rebellions were harshly quelled. However, Ikararittaka I, lost his son Ekarhi.

In 593 CE, seeking vengeance for his son’s death, and to end Cuma once and for all, invaded the Cuman Republic by land and sea. After 3-years of fighting, Cuma was captured, burnt to the ground and its metropolitan citizens sold as slaves. He forced the defeated Miwawan chiefs to acknowledge the over lordship of Oramisiri. Ikararittaka I, would die four years later, leaving Oramisiri at the height of its power militarily. Now no force could stand in the empires path.

Wene Nairuwa III (600 – 618 CE)
Is considered the first Mlopwe (Sacred Sovereign). During his reign he constructed shrines to Orami and Mlluku all around the empire, he also sent priests, priestesses, diviners and healers around the empire and outside the empire converting people to Atarioramism and securing allegiances through ritual oath. Several villages had made an oath to obey Nairuwa III but after disobeying and rebelling a plague fell upon the village and everyone died. The villages were then hit by lightning and a fire started, burning them to the ground. After this no rebellions happened again. Nairuwa III finished his father’s expansion in the south-west of Ziwana not through conquest but by ritual oath.

Nairuwa III was believed to have supernatural powers and standardised Oramisirian divination (Likhanga) during his reign. He also introduced Oramisirian baptism which was adopted from the Mphamba tribe of the Hewa nation. When a baby was born, he/she was bathed in various herbs to insure the baby was protected from minepa (evil primordial spirits) and mairungu (phantoms), the baby then had its tongue circumcised. He also introduced initiation ceremonies for boys and girls.

Wene Otiera I Wara (618 – 688 CE)
During the reign of Wene Otiera I, Oramisiri was at the very height of its power both militarily, culturally, spiritually, economically, and in terms of lands occupied. Oramisiri was in full control of the Ziwani Isles, a feat no other power would reach for centuries.

In 653 CE, two years after Oramisiri had reached its greatest extent, classical Indussean scholar Karnadassa describes Oramisiri as one of the largest and most influential power in the Mandalanusan Archipelago at the time

During her reign, the Oramisirian script was invented, a royal library constructed, drawing scholars from across the Mandalanusan archipelago. Wene Otiera I’s patronage of learning, fostered advances in literature, history, math, medicine, and philosophy, including the first written histories of the Ziwani Isles.

Roads, bridges, and great monuments were built across the empire, while ivory carving, brass and clay sculpturing flourished reaching their peak. Her reign marked a long era of peace, prosperity, and cultural brilliance.

During her reign the religion of Santana Dharma was introduced into the empire and the city of Eshan in the province of Vashomaka as a hub for Santana Dharma in the empire and Mandalanusa.

During her reign she renamed the empire to Ttipiya. According to Oramisirian historical records the change was made as the period was recognized as a period of knowledge. And like the Piya of Knowledge gave their ancestors knowledge, the empire became Ttipiya (the Piya) of knowledge, teaching everyone in the archipelago the right path.

It was during Otiera I’s reign were the history (Itele) of the mtuttipita (people of the piya, meaning people of knowledge) was written. This literature wrote the story of creation and how their ancestor Randashi the spider saved Mlluku when man played with sticks and started a fire, hence Randashi the father of Orami was given Iwene (dominion) over Ilapo (earth). So, all Oramisiri mawene are Wenemulapo (Sovereign of the Earth). The book also detailed the Ikoto yo Mikoto (War of Wars) and the reigns of all her predecessors. The book has 12 volumes.

Wene Ikararittaka II (688 – 714 CE)
Following the death of Wene Otiera I, her grandson, Ikararittaka II, was enstooled as the new Wene in 688 CE. Under Ikararittaka II, a radical cultural transformation begun after he made Santana Dharma the state religion. Santana Dharma which had been introduced during the reign of Ikararittaka II’s grandmother continued to flourish now with ever increasing royal patronage. As a Santana Dharmist, Ikararittaka II invested enormous sums of money to promote Santana Dharmist institutions. However, despite his efforts, Santana Dharma remained little more than a court religion. Behind closed doors, was deeply unpopular among the aristocracy and Atarioramists (Oramisirian traditional religion).

In 695 CE Wene Ikararittaka II would marry a Santana Dharmist Vijiyakartan princess and had a son with her named Mahalla.

Ikararittaka II continued to expand his patronage of Santana Dharma institutions. New monasteries and temples were built at great expense, and texts on philosophy and Santana Dharma virtue were translated and circulated around the empire.

Under Ikararittaka II, the Oramisirian Empire became a Santana Dharma centre for the Mandalanusan Archipelago. Ikararittaka II’s actions divided the empire on religious lines, and these tensions would blow up long after his death

With his death in 714 CE, Oramisiri’s golden age that had begun with Umajiwara in 501 had come to an end.

The First Makelanupa Strife (The Heirs Strife)

In 714 CE Mahalla is enstooled as Wene to the anger of many. Many pure blooded and Atarioramist Oramisirians disapproved of Mahalla’s mixed heritage (being of Oramisirian & Vijiyakartan heritage), more so as he was a follower of Santana Dharma. Many Oramisirians believed a half breed had no right to rule, as Mlluku and the ancestors of the land would not approve. Chief among these dissenters was his cousin Machiri Ziwana. Machiri was Oramisiri’s Puria Wimerikebu (Chief of Ships) and he was supported by the coastal provinces of; Vaikokwata, Vakotella, Vattolia, Imlako Ipiro, and Izote.

Six months into Mahalla’s reign, Machiri lead a rebellion and besieges the city of Oramisiri. Beginning the First Heirs Strife. During the siege, the north-eastern gate is breached and a deadly fight ensues. Mahalla flees the Ziwani Isles to Vijiyakarta, his cousin’s realm. There he helps his recently enthroned cousin, 18-year old Maharaja Jayendrawardhana. The provinces of Itamaria, Vashomaka, and Vasera would revolt against the ursurper.

Machiri reigns as Wene for 12 years, in those years he is brutal in the way he quells the rebellious provinces. In 720 CE, Mahalla returns to the Ziwani Isles with a great armada, alongside him is the Maharaja of the Vijiyakartan Empire, Jayendrawardhana. As fighting raged in the metropolitan Oramisiri, in the absence of a strong imperial administration, the empire’s outer provinces begun to break away. Seeking independence or falling under the control of local warlords who established their own petty kingdoms.

In 728 CE Mahalla and Machiri would meet at the Orami-Mwiri confluence. Many would be killed in this battle before Mahalla would kill Machiri in single combat. Machiri’s sons would retreat to the fortified city of Zibaba, holding out for 8 months before abandoning it and sailing with all their forces to the province of Vaikokwata. Thus, Oramisiri had now lost all there western Ziwani provinces. Machiri’s sons would conqueror the former Oramisirian provinces of Ibakenda, Vamithathi, Viikararittaka, and Viikogoa to form the Ziwanawani (the Ziwana State).

Arrival of Iman
In 730 CE Imanic traders from the north arrived in Western Ziwana. They introduced new trade networks, religious teachings, and systems of scholarship. In 732 CE, Imanic missionaries began to preach to the Western Ziwanan tribes, resulting in several tribes adopting the religion. While many arrived peacefully as traders, scholars, and missionaries, others participated in the expanding Imanic Slave Trade, capturing or purchasing people from vulnerable coastal communities for export. Their arrival marked the beginning of growing Imanic cultural, economic, and political influence of the Ziwani coasts.

by **Airannia** » Sat May 30, 2026 3:56 pm

but he makes nought but a little zipper-mouth motion. (...) It's all in the tiles now...

The Code of Poeleo

You stumble, bumble, crumble and jumble your way through your first game of Poeleo. Afraid to cause any international incidents, you play cautiously, missing a few steals as you're unsure about the exact rules again (could you steal for a Challu? What about a Judiáfcy?). Once you muster up the courage to speak up and say out loud: "Steal!" (or rather, "Tove!" in the local language), you still hesitate to take the tile from the discard — correct as you may be, it's still a little scary. Playing a proper game of Poeleo (on the big stage, you've jokingly called it), it was something you want to do; it's on your bucket list for the trip, after all. Winning was also on the bucket list, but you're not quite sure that's gonna happen. About 40 tiles in, you notice you're not doing half bad; you've stolen a tile to reveal a Chary, and have another Chary hidden on your rack. Having only Chary on your winning hand was a silver hand, right? Just silver, but gold is already well out of reach now that you've revealed your hand. The man to your left discards a green 7. You're quick to take it, and announce boldly: "Kajine!" - revealing two sets, and leaving you with only three tiles remaining. Now, you're locked in and prepared — on an unstoppable trajectory. Your rack contains a black 1, a black 2, and a black 3. There is one tile that'll win it for you. Nobody else has called Kajine yet; nobody even has a second revealed set. Behind you, Dennis is looking with anticipation, but then quickly his expression changes from engaged to a chuckle. "Bad news. What tile to win, my friend?" You gulp. That kind of info should ordinarily not be conveyed verbally between players, since no player would voluntarily discard a tile you specifically need to win. Unbeknownst to you, even the subtle hint of Dennis implying you only have one winning tile seems to narrow things down; you've revealed three Chary, and any Poeleo player worth their salt would know that the fourth set (if played by a good player, of course) is also a Chary - and if you have only one winning tile, you're staring down a 1-2-3 stub or a 6-7-8 stub. You don't know this yet though, but are startled anyway. Looking back at Dennis with a bit of confusion, he chuckles again. "It's okay. You can tell me, what tile do you need, friend?" Does he not know? Has his fourth glass of ale gotten the best of him? No, surely not — it's been scientifically researched and found that the relationship between Airannian men's Poeleo skills and alcohol consumed produces a parabolic graph. So then, something else must be up. You quickly look at your rack, then back at Dennis. "I can't say it, can I?" you ask him. He replies with a chuckle, a bit more than a chuckle even; he's laughing now. "Don't look at me! Look at the table!" Not wanting to hold the game up much longer, you quickly look at the middle of the board, and to your horror, you see why Dennis is enjoying himself so much: within the discard piles lie all four copies of the black Arti 4; the tile you need. You even discarded one of them at one point! You look back, defeated. Dennis isn't laughing anymore, he gets it. "It happens to all champions, too." And so it happens, that after one blunder, you're already out of the running in your very first game. The night in Quitémish is young, but you have places to be tomorrow. After the man directly opposite you closes out the game with a relatively simple and unambitious hand, you thank Dennis and the other men, pay for your drinks (and a shot for Dennis as a "tip"), and head back to the inn.

Crpostran 2 - 1 Airannia
65': Colman Umuitau 0-1
70': Kaleb Hudson 1-1
90+1': Xavier Moreau 2-1

Airannia 2 - 0 The Kaisers Syndicates
13': Êkarloz Tuptyól 1-0
55': Stéphen Helmantha 2-0

Like discarding the tile you need to win, so too do the Drills feel after closing out the group phase of qualifying. The game against Dhemixia, a dreadful loss, knocked all the air out of the collective lungs of the squad, leading to an even more embarrassing draw at home against Smoltrendestof. You'd imagine that the effect of this wouldn't ebb through into the next game, but apparently it did: against Crpostran, the most crucial match of the entire campaign, the Drills just weren't all there. Yes, they were on the field, and yes, they did score the first goal, but... wait a second, what happened here?
As it turns out: the Drills were there, they just weren't as they were supposed to be. It's like calling a Kajine from an unwinnable position: yes, you prepared, yes you showed up, and yes you might even look to be in the best position — but once the man behind you starts chuckling, it all comes crashing down. Ultimately, it doesn't matter, and the Airannian qualifying series was doomed from the start: despite initial reports of the opposite being true, it turned out that neither Dhemixia, nor Crpostran ended up dropping any points in the remaining two matchdays, meaning that there was simply no path to automatic qualification for the men in blue and white. At the very least, the form shown by the squad comprised of mostly substitute players against Kaisers Syndicates was a form that we'd grown to expect. It's not much, but it's something.
With all said and done, Airannia drew against Masraya for the play-offs this time. Media in Airannia are quick to latch on to anything notable, and this draw sure gave them a whole bunch of ammo:

The Mandalanusan nation is eager to prove itself a potent player on the scene, not having qualified before; just as the Drills.
The Masrayans have not played in the Baptism of Fire, and still have a serious shot at qualifying; just as the Drills did last time around. From this, newspapers have deemed it to be iconic: either the Drills will win, delivering a "you nearly did it" blow to a potent first-time qualifying run just as Zenic did, or they are suddenly on the other side of the coin - now losing to a first-time qualifying qualifier: something they'd so desperately hoped had happened to Zenic one cycle earlier. Both sides of the coin can be the losing side, unfortunately; but a certain Alanis Morissette record is likely to be seeing extra airtime already regardless of the result.
The flag of Masraya, with a colored-white-colored vertical stripe shape, is eerily similar to the Airannian flag, which has the same shape and also features a little extra thing. You can kind of see it if you squint... while colorblind.
The Tiger, the nickname for the Masrayan squad, has sharp teeth... just like a Drill does? I think the Sunrise Paper was reaching on that one.

And that's about it. Enough to fill at least a few pages of a tabloid designed to stimulate deforestation more than to stimulate intellectualism; perfect for the average Airannian consumer. All-in-all, the directive is very simple for the Drills under Rémenessa's guidance though: win. The qualifying was a success again, as it was during the previous qualifying series, but it wasn't good enough (as it hadn't been during the previous qualifying series). The team set up a preparation, but blew it in the end; play-offs, a second chance, are as good as it was going to get. Excitement echoes through the nation for the remaining play-offs against Masraya; the first leg of which will be played tomorrow night in Airannia, at the Centerby Stadion.
To you, however, there is no tomorrow night in Airannia. Your hitchhiking trip, straight through the middle of the mainland of Airannia, has ended, and you're on your way home now. But in the city of Ardouais, while on the metro heading towards the airport, an advertisement for an app called Moebileo catches your eye. A mobile game: online Poeleo! Excited to play, you download it to your phone, to be greeted with a truly outdated main menu; but surprisingly, it does come in (poor) English. While waiting at the gate for your flight to depart, you play a few games, quickly discovering that Poeleo, similar to some other games like Wizardry and WordBattle, is much easier to learn when you don't have to instantly know every single rule in order to compete. You realize what this means: You're getting a second chance at knocking off the final checkmark on your to-do list for the trip! Already, you'd ticked the checkboxes next to the goals of sleeping in a tent, witnessing a live animal auction, and dancing at an underpass party — but not yet that of winning a round of Poeleo. Winning against people who are experienced enough at gaming to have an app downloaded to their phones is a bit harder than you expected though, but before long, your hand is looking pretty darn good! You have one revealed set, (ironically, it's the 1-2-3-4 Arti Chary that you were aching for at the bar, days before), a Challu Chary of 5-6-7-C Jurti, and (according to the game) a Judichary in your hand, and you just drew a third rainbow 1 tile. The game gives you the option to call it, and so you do: Kajine! You nearly choke as you realize: you have only one winning tile again - the Jurti 1. You swear you can hear Dennis chuckling behind you. Surely not this time? Frantically, you check: only one blue 1 tile seems to be accounted for - in West's revealed set. You soldier on. Nobody seems to be discarding the final tile you need. Until all of a sudden, unexpectedly, you see the game change drastically: there's a pop-up on your screen. You won. You don't even need to check the replay to know what just happened: you drew the tile you needed to complete the final set. Screenshotting the pop-up, you conclude: sure, participating is fine and all, but winning rocks. Eager to win more, you immediately go into the next game. And the next. And the next... So long as you keep trying, you'll eventually keep winning, right?

by **Aamathyr** » Sat May 30, 2026 5:05 pm

Act I (parts 1-5), Act II (parts 6-10)

Part 11 - Thoughts on a Grey Day
Thuraand and Sjashoom just stood there, frozen, for a few seconds, neither knowing exactly what to do or say next.
"You know them." Sjashoom was the first to talk.
"Well, 'knowing' is one way of putting it. You were there when Avshruun hired me, right?"
Sjashoom thought back. "Yes, I was."
"Well, when you told him that I was on the run, without so much as being prompted-"
"It's an important thing to know!" Sjashoom cut in, as always.
"We could have gotten to it later. In any case, the person I am 'on the run' from, as you so eloquently put it, is Pliitigj." Thuraand's agitation was clear from the way he spoke, half his words coming through gritted teeth.
"That's... not good."
"You can say that again."
"So, what are you going to do?" There was the inquisitive Sjashoom that Thuraand knew.
"I don't know. Do you have any ideas?"
"Well, for one, we need to get out of the center of Mwenttshat. Someone might hear us."
"Makes sense. The innkeeper's got a deal on where she makes a traditional Tarrlon Sunday dinner - it's not that expensive, it's certainly a sight cheaper than getting it in Mwenttshat - so I was going to get that for myself, and for you if you wanted it as well."
"I can't say no to free food." Sjashoom motioned to Thuraand to walk back towards the inn.

Walking uphill in the light mist, Thuraand vacillated between silence and rapidly thinking out loud.
"So, Cjivos knows I'm on this island, and she's here and asking around, so I don't know what is safe and what isn't. The innkeeper might sell me out, and it is one of the only inns on this island, so I'm not sure what's available beyond that. Avshruun is on my side, and so are the fishermen, so maybe there - Hah."
"What?"
"When I got here, on that first day when you met me on that cliff, I had set myself a mental deadline of one week from them. Today's day eight, so my deadline's up."
"Interesting, interesting. Well, I don't think the locals will side with Cjivos - from what I heard-"
"What did you hear? Tell me everything." Now it was Thuraand who was interrupting.
"Well, Cjivos was asking people like the greengrocer, people who haven't actually met you. I don't think she knows anything, and even if she does, it'll take a few days before Pliitigj finds out."
"And what do you think is the best solution?"
"I don't know the best solution, but I do have an idea."
"What is it?" Thuraand asked quickly.
"Well, we could put you on a boat to Asiikafa. Those leave every so often."
"Asiikafa's on the verge of civil war."
"They don't even have a navy as large as Aamathyr does, and ours is tiny. It'll be fine, and I'm sure you'll get your way out from there. Besides, would you rather be in a warzone or just plain dead?"
"Fair enough."
The inn approaching on the horizon put an end to their conversation, as Sjashoom's warning that someone might be listening from earlier quieted the two of them.
"So, what's for dinner?"
"Stor and bwerjas, whatever that is."
"Bwerjas is similar to bread, just... different."
"I heard you two discussing the dinner I'm offering, would you like some?" The innkeeper cut in, her voice higher than Sjashoom's.
"Yes, I'll get two." Thuraand insisted on paying for Sjashoom's meal.

The food was quickly sent out, the lobby of the inn bustling with activity. "Enjoy!"

by **Farfadillis** » Sat May 30, 2026 5:30 pm

by **StrayaRoos** » Sat May 30, 2026 5:33 pm

Somehow, despite a rocky start, the Emus are sitting just two (or three) games away from a fifth successive World Cup finals appearance, thanks to a 2-0 win over Delaclava in the second round of playoffs. The first leg saw the Delaclavans hold the Emus to a scoreless draw, with Charlie Korda giving the Emus one hell of a scare in the 77th minute, when it looked like he'd managed to score a late winner, but ended up being ruled offside by the VAR. Other than that the first leg was a fairly boring matchup.

The second leg at home, however, was a bit better. By a bit, I mean a lot better. The Emus managed to quickly get on the board, as Thomas Jaali nailed a cross to the feet of Ollie Bagai in the 20th minute, and Bagai struck home his first international goal on his 5th appearance for the nation. and so, we went to halftime 1-0 up. Then, in the second half, the Emus scored another goal in the 73rd minute as Lulu Reansa served up a corner high, allowing Lucille Yuaua to head it past Robert Remini to make it a 2-0 lead for StrayaRoos. The last 17 minutes did provide some chances for the Delaclavans, but none were not able to be shut down, and so the Emus went through with a 2-0 aggregate win over Delaclava, and will now face Biyambi for a spot in the finals

by **Kamijiro** » Sat May 30, 2026 6:48 pm

WC101: Alexandre St. Francis' Final Repose

Parliamentary Forces have left Jirinho. The scars from losing a war to a much smaller, untrained army is rocking through Kamijiro. But this isn't about that. This is about Alexandre St. Francis and his quest to not get sacked.

"I'm so boned." Alexandre sits in his office. The very same one that Raiji Kagawa had been told to come to the FA headquarters from via landline - the death march of his managerial career.
"Honestly, gaffer?" Katsu replies. "Probably so."
"Really reassuring, son."
"Wasn't meant to be. We underperformed. The FA hates underperforming. Hell, Raiji got us up to eighth in the rankings and he still got sacked afterwards. Do you know what that means for you if we don't qualify?"
"Yeah. I'm boned."
"So that leaves you with like, two options. One, you trust your players to win the games you need us to win. Two, you keep doing this stupid-ass tinkering thing you've been doing that got us cooked."
"You know, you're really not supposed to talk to your manager that way."
"I don't care. You made me captain because you value honesty. I'm giving you honesty. You cost us points by tinkering. Stop doing that. Stick with what was working."
"... alright. Heard that, Katsu. Loud and clear."

Then the phone rings. The very same landline that rang out before Raiji got the sack.

"Hello. St. Francis speaking."

A long pause.

"I'm sacked? Immediately, or...? No. You're giving me until the end of the World Cup and then you're sacking me?"

Another long pause.

"So... what can I do to save my job, exactly? Round of sixteen? Quarterfinal?"

A short pause.

"Stop laughing at me, goddamn you."

The line goes dead.

"Take it the conversation went well, gaffer?"
"Shut the hell up and go get ready to train."

==

WC101: Joie de Vivre

New Imperia is, as discussed previously, the economic, population and cultural capitol of Jirinho. It was also the first place to fall to Parliamentary Forces and the first place where gunfire was exchanged between Jirini and the Parliamentaries that had been sent. The sewers proved to be perfect hiding places for the Jirini, who moved like rats through their own city to sabotage the Parliamentaries that had taken up residence in their own homes. And now that the Parliamentaries are gone? The city breathes life anew. Of course, this means a fais do-do is on. What is a fais do-do, you might ask? It's a party that stems from the French "faire dormir," or "go to sleep." Fais do-do is baby-talk, but it's what's said to children before the parents head off to party into the night. One of the key parts of Jirini culture is referred to as "joie de vivre," which means "joy of living." This is why, despite all of the problems that the Department struggles with, it often ranks either first or second in resident happiness scales. The families that had left before the fighting began came home to find their houses ransacked, their loved ones injured or possibly dead... and yet, the Jirini still celebrated. Because what is life without happiness? Louissaint's family came home to find their house standing, having been guarded around the clock by both Louissaint and Jiro. They travelled into town by walking the hour and a half through the wetlands, either on the gravelled paths or the planks over the bits that couldn't be gravelled over. They met up with friends. Even the mourning ones were there. Still drinking. Still partying. Because that is how Jirinho does.

You never can tell with the Jirini. laissez les bon temps rouler, as they say.

by **Dantopia** » Sun May 31, 2026 7:05 am

VOL. 46,173

LION CITY, DANTOPIA

SUNDAY 31ST MAY, 2026

₵100

Lions Play-Off Bound Despite Final Day Victory

Eshialand Win Their Final Game, Meaning Dantopia Finish In Third — Even After 2-0 Win

By SAUL ARNSTEIN

Xanneria Stadium
Xanneria0-2Dantopia
Half Time: 0-1
Brunson 43'
E. Cunningham 47'

See also... MD1 | MD2 | MD3 | MD4 | MD5 | MD6 | MD7 | MD8 | MD9 | MD10 | MD11 | MD12 | MD13 | MD14 | MD15 | MD16 | MD17

DOMINICA CITY, XANNERIA — Rick Bishop's Lions side defeated Xanneria 2-0 away on the final match-day of World Cup qualifying. Goals either side of half-time from Bradini Brunson and Ezra Cunningham made sure of the victory in the Esportivan nation, as the Dantopian national team ended their qualifying group stage run in style. There were also a flurry of chances for others — including for Cruz-Richards, Kahananui, and Taramaia — which could have furthered the lead, but despite the best efforts of the Dantopians, the win wasn't enough to secure an automatic qualification berth, as Eshialand also won their final match-day fixture against Sudilia, dooming the Lions to the perils of a play-off series against one of Calgasia, Capitna Island or The Ko-orenite Constellation.

On a picturesque evening in the Xannerian capital, it was the visitors who would offer the early impetus as Nico Hollis and Jeremiah Taramaia both had early opportunities to run at the hosts' full backs. Nothing would come of these two moves, and a cross from Burleigh Longwood-Quinn at the other end of the pitch looked troubling at first, before Alex Bullvale made 'meat and drink' of the situation, collecting another clean sheet on his return to national team duty following a small spell out with a back injury. Taramaia would then tee up Johnny Kealoha, as the Kyethas Rivermen midfielder dinked a delightful delivery into the box, but centre-forward Bradini Brunson was a little late in spotting the opportunity.

Longwood-Quinn was the instigator again for the hosts, going close with an effort twenty minutes into the match. A right-footed effort flashed wide of the far post. Then, at the other end, the referee got in the way of a passage of play between Taramaia and Kealoha, which manager Rick Bishop vented his frustration at afterwards — and was subsequently given a verbal warning by the match official. On the half-hour mark, the Lions would rattle the bar with a headed effort from Makaio Cruz-Richards. The Dartford Oilers defender found himself free for an uncontested header right in front of Matt Cooper's goal, but he couldn't keep his effort down and it careened off the crossbar instead.

Bradini Brunson

Kaleb Kahananui would venture forward next and come close again to finding the opener. A rasping drive across goal beat Cooper's dive, but didn't find the back of the net, being just the wrong side of the far post. However, the Lions would find their stride when a brilliant bit of interplay between Nico Hollins and Johnny Kealoha in the box resulted in the easiest goal for Bradini Brunson the entire qualifying run. The delicious one-two between the winger and midfielder meant that Hollins could play a simple pass across the face of goal for the waiting Brunson — a mere yard or two from goal. Brunson's eleventh goal in qualifying capped off a fantastic first half of football from the Lions, and they were able to nurse their 1-0 lead into the break.

Ezra Cunningham

Not long after the play had resumed, one would become two, when Brunson would feed Ezra Cunningham on a 3-on-2 fast break opportunity. The play would initially start with Watanabe winning the ball back with an excellently timed slide, allowing Kealoha to seize possession and play through an onrushing Brunson. With Taramaia to his left and Cunningham overlapping to his right, the Lion City FC forward made the better of the two choices and teed Cunningham up perfectly to strike the ball across the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. This would mark the captain's sixteenth international goal, and sixth this qualifying run. He has proven to be a pivotal player for Rick Bishop and his coaching staff, magnificently taking over as national team captain following the retirement of Michael Danchevy.

A flick-on from Brunson almost brought another for the visitors, who were in fine form on the night. Taramaia chased the headed pass before being denied by a tidy save from Cooper. Hollins would quickly follow up with another shot moments later, with the Xannerian goalkeeper springing to action once more. He was proving to be Xanneria's busiest player on the night. Xanneria were by no means a non-factor, however, and provided some threat to the Dantopian defensive line. Braxler Hutton drove the ball through the midfield with purpose before delivering an effort which stung the hands of Bullvale in net, the Dantopian number one only able to push it out for a corner.

Bishop would opt to make four changes with twenty minutes remaining, the lead looking mostly assured. Tyson Taylor, Elleby Young, Bradley Bing and Zaïre Thomas would all lace up, with the manager clearly wanting to give more opportunities to the younger talents on the bench. Off would come Keegan Foster, Kai Watanabe, Johnny Kealoha and Jeremaia Taramaia, to a strong round of applause from the away fans. Ezra Cunningham now sat deeper in the midfield, allowing his juniors to have more freedom further up the pitch. Bing would burst into the box in the 77th minute, with his delicately chipped cross towards Zaïre Thomas at the back post torturously hitting off the top of the crossbar and out of the path of the Dartford Oilers winger.

An effort from substitute Hakeem Thurman would cause some momentary distress for Bullvale, who fumbled the effort, before gathering the loose ball before it crossed the line behind him. At the other end, a corner by Elleby Young was almost met by the head of late substitute Zeke Edwards, but the Waiakea Warriors forward would witness his header skid off the head of Jurickson Cincinatticus and off the crossbar, with the Lions almost adding a third in the dying stages of the game. However, the full-time whistle would sound, and the players would look to the manager for confirmation on their fates given the importance of the Eshialand-Sudilia result. A stern look, followed by a shake of the head would signal that the Lions had indeed finished third in Group 4, despite their best efforts. The Eshians had narrowly defeated Sudilia 4-3 to cement second place.

Group 4 World Cup 101 Qualifying Round
POSNATIONPWDLGFGAGDPTSSTATUS
1  Tanirinthia       18   12   3   3   41   26   +15   39   Qualified
2  Eshialand         18   12   0   6   39   26   +13   36   Qualified
3  Dantopia          18   10   5   3   40   25   +15   35   Play-off Round 3
4  Auprussia         18   8   4   6   31   21   +10   28   Play-off Round 2
5  Lisander          18   7   3   8   34   36   -2   24   Play-off Round 1
6  Sudilia           18   7   1   10   30   38   -8   22   Eliminated
7  Saperetia         18   5   6   7   24   26   -2   21   Eliminated
8  Gwarkos           18   4   6   8   14   24   -10   18   Eliminated
9  Xanneria          18   4   4   10   21   38   -17   16   Eliminated
10  Allamunnic States 18   3   4   11   21   35   -14   13   Eliminated
GREENQualified Automatically For World Cup 101
REDEliminated From Qualification For World Cup 101

With how everything has finally settled, the Lions will have one last chance to qualify for the World Cup in the third round of the play-off fixtures, having finished as the fifth-best third-place nation in qualifying. They will face one of Calgasia, Captina Island or The Ko-orenite Constellation in the final round of play-off matches. Two of these three nations are familiar faces for the Lions — with Calgasia having drawn 0-0 against Dantopia in Cup of Harmony 92, and The Ko-orenite Constellation having just pipped Dantopia to qualification in the last World Cup cycle.

Regardless of who Rick Bishop's side face, they will want to cap off a tremendous run with a maiden World Cup Finals berth, and the only way to do that will be to defeat whoever awaits them in that third round of play-off fixtures. The Lions will play the first fixture away, before welcoming their yet to be determined rivals to the National Team Stadium in the second leg. An 'only-if-necessary' third leg will be carried out at 'The Shanty' in Taxhavn, which is serving as a rather dingy and unpleasant neutral venue for all third-legged affairs. It's an interesting contrast as the crowded island nation is home to an extraordinary number of billionaires and boasts some truly impressive arenas — 'The Shanty' cannot possibly be described as one of those.

xg.unit
1d

Xanneria (0.80) 0-2 (1.93) Dantopia #XANvsDAN #WorldCup101 #Qualifying #Group4

Information for Xanneria's squad taken from their most recent appearance at the Cup of Harmony, last cycle.

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 **Drawkland** » Sun May 31, 2026 1:48 pm

The Kick Corps qualifying season was finished, one way or another. Typical of late 90s Drawkland qualifying performances, it seemed the Corps had to scrap their way to another borderline campaign rather unbecoming of a supposedly qualifying-tier team.

While there was still a tournament awaiting the Kick Corps later that cycle, the grind of qualifying was ostensibly over. That meant that Sarah Arrowsword no longer had work to worry about, so Jack Hoy’s task of taking care of their son full time was over. Jack invited Sarah over to his Metropolon penthouse for the transfer of the baby and other supplies.

Jack was delighted to see that Sarah arrived alone. He supposed it made sense considering Sarah had been involved with Kick Corps activities for the last few months, but he rarely saw her without Nicole Warren and Cam Cross in tow. It’s not like he had anything sinister planned; he merely felt like Sarah was always a little different when she didn’t have her other friends around.

“You might’ve gone overboard.” Sarah said with a cocked brow as she surveyed Jack’s living room. What had started as a small cleaned-up area for the baby to play on the floor now sprawled into a mass of toys and small barriers that took up half the room.

“Nonsense. I’m giving him enrichment!” Jack insisted, grinning widely at the display.

“I’m seeing a carpet with a scaled football gridiron printed on it.” Sarah gestured to the floor.

“The gridiron shall be his home!” Jack declared. “He’ll find it familiar and nostalgic, like he’s always meant to be on one.”

“The more you try to push him into football, the more likely that he’ll turn out to be an accountant or something.” Sarah chuckled, looking over at Gideon who was snoozing in a carrier resting on the couch.

“Eugh,” Jack fake retched. “Can you imagine doing people’s taxes for a million years? Horrible. No way he’d subject himself to that.”

“Can you imagine playing football for a million years?” Sarah countered, though her tone seemed genuine.

“I dunno.” Jack paused for a moment to actually consider the question. He couldn’t help but smile a devilish grin. “Your version of ‘football,’ absolutely not. Now my glorious gridiron football, I think I could play for a million years. It’s so fulfilling.”

“It’s so familiar.” Sarah corrected. She hesitated, as if wondering whether she should continue. “It’s all you know how to do. You couldn’t picture yourself doing anything else?”

“Sure I can. But I like playing football.” Jack didn’t seem too perturbed. “I’m great at it. I’ve got money, fame, recognition for my talent. And now I can see so much more of the world, too. I never have to learn anything else.”

“But why not?” Sarah asked. “You’ve already done everything there. The rings, the trophies, all of that crap. Even a world championship.”

“Two world championships,” Jack clarified.

“Whatever.” Sarah huffed. The interjection almost made her stop, but she kept going. “So what’s left? You’re doing your side quest by playing in different leagues, I guess. But there’s only so many good leagues. It’ll come to an end eventually.”

“I can just go in circles,” Jack shrugged. He’d clearly put at least a little thought into this before, because his explanation was more detailed than most of his ideas which came right off the dome. “That way every generation of fans in every nation can have a Jack Hoy Era that they ‘grow up’ with. Every sports fan talks nostalgically about watching their favorites and the best from their younger years play. ‘If only you could’ve seen so-and-so live, he was such a good ballplayer,’ that kind of stuff. But I could actually give that experience to people. They could literally go watch the same Jack Hoy their dad and grandad did. It’d be like a bonding thing.”

“That’s … strangely philosophical.” Sarah admitted. “But you really think that motivation can carry you for decades? Centuries? Millennia? What happens if football falls out of style?”

“That’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Seriously.”

“Then I suppose I can figure something else out.” Jack replied after a moment. “If anything, I got plenty of time to pick other things up. Just because I’m still playing football doesn’t mean I’m not still expanding my horizons.”

“Exploiting league loopholes to play college basketball doesn’t qualify as ‘expanding your horizons.’” Sarah crossed her arms, unimpressed.

“Not just that.” Jack raised a finger in opposition. “I’ve also learned to read!”

“Bullshit.”

“Really! I even purchased a book on purpose.”

“That’s even less believable.”

“Nah, seriously. One second.” Jack spun around and jogged across his condo to a side room, disappearing for a few seconds before returning. His pace was considerably less eager as he returned to Sarah, a look of guilt on his face. “Okay, so I meant to tell you about this when it happened a few weeks ago, but I got a new book from the Drawkionels.”

“What?” Sarah stepped forward to close the gap, suspiciously eyeing the two books in Jack’s arms.

“Iarocav gave this one to me,” Jack said, holding up the manual with the ‘ARCANE CHILDREN’ title on its cover. “It was in the box right before the Corps game in Metropolon. They basically saw me in the box, gave it to me, and then left right after. They said they were gonna give it to you but figured I’d suffice when they saw me.”

“We literally got dinner after that game and you didn’t think that was important enough to tell me,” Sarah recalled. She rubbed her forehead in annoyance.

“I forgot, alright! I hadn’t even cracked the thing open yet, I had no clue what it was about.” Jack gushed. Clearly this is what he was feeling guilty about. “Besides, they said I could keep it until you got the baby back, so-”

“Whatever, whatever.” Sarah interrupted, shaking her head. She decided that was the less important thing to figure out right now. “So what’s in the book then? Something serious?”

“Sort of.” Jack looked at the cover and tilted his head, trying to figure out the right words. “It’s another manual, basically. But it’s all about magic shit. Apparently having magic ability is much more common among immortals because of biological reasons or something like that. So there’s a bunch of extra stuff to think about in their development, hence the extra manual.”

“Okay.” Sarah nodded slowly. “So are you saying that Gideon is going to be a wizard or something?”

“I dunno.” Jack shrugged, tapping the cover of the manual. “A lot of this stuff doesn’t apply yet. The Drawkionels were in a rush, didn’t think they’d be able to get it to us at the right time, and thought early was better than late.”

“What does that even mean?”

“That’s what I asked them. And they just gave me some crappy half-answers that just made me think of more questions.”

“Sounds like a Drawkionel all right,” Sarah grumbled. She had more of her fair share of experiences like that with Ellzidan.

“So I realized I’d have to figure this out myself. Fire up the old noodle,” Jack tapped a corner of the manual on the side of his head a couple times for effect, then motioned with the other book he was holding. “That’s why I bought this. ‘OMNIBUS ARCANIS’ or something like that. It’s basically a big book about magic history and theory.”

“That’s allowed?” Sarah asked, craning her neck for a closer look at the book. While Drawkland did have magic users about, there weren’t many. Most of them clustered in specific communities, too. Finding a magic user by accident would be like running into a professional athlete in public. They simply didn’t have a presence in the wider culture, so non-magic users were hardly exposed to any information about them.

“Well, it wasn’t easy. I don’t think accessing magic stuff is illegal, they just make it stupidly hard for non-magic people to get it.” Jack grinned. “The ordering process was easy enough; the hard part was finding the place in the first place.”

“Makes sense.” Sarah said automatically. Could this guy get to the point?

“Okay, so I had to put some things together here.” Jack waved the books up and down, alternating each hand. “But if I read it right, it sounds like magic users can get more powerful by age. Kinda like working a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets. But there’s no limiting factor besides the fact that you have a limited lifespan.”

“So immortals can just get more and more powerful if they keep ‘working out,’ so to speak?” Sarah put together the implication.

“Right. And if I’m reading the manual right, it’s implied that immortal babies have a higher floor.” Jack raised his brows. “So Gideon right here is the perfect prospect. High floor, unlimited ceiling.”

“I guess that makes sense. Neither of us have magic though, as far as we know. So it’s not like his floor could be that high, right?” Sarah looked over at their son, who was still napping in his carrier. “And more importantly, why did they not just put that information in the manual in the first place?”

“I thought the same thing, so I re-read the manual after getting through most of the history book,” Jack lifted his hands to emphasize each book. “It seems like mostly exercises to set up a regimen with the baby. Establishing discipline, and stuff like that.”

“So?”

“So, I got to thinking. When you buy a cleaning chemical or some other hazmat stuff, they have a warning label so you handle it right. It’s so that dumb people don’t accidentally drink it or make gas bombs in their bathroom.”

“You’re speaking from personal experience, I assume.”

“Maybe. But if you’re the one making the label, you have to warn people on how to avoid hurting themselves. You tell them how to store it properly. You tell them the danger of gassing themselves with bad mixes, which means you have to mention those materials. But you don’t go out and tell them exactly how to make an actual bomb.”

“Are you saying our son is a bomb?” Sarah said with a dark glare.

“It’s an exaggeration.” Jack shrugged. “But it made me realize something. Say Gideon is actually a wizard in the making, and we just don’t know it. What happens if we lose him?”

“If we’re parenting right, he should never get lost.” Sarah’s tone had more than a little alarm. Surely Jack wasn’t anticipating being that careless as a parent?

“I didn’t mean lost, lost.” Jack said darkly. “I meant stolen.”

The air in the living room felt a sudden chill. Both parents were silent as that sentence hung in the air.

“We would never let that happen.” Sarah said after a moment. She sounded quite resolute. “We have resources, we have security. Nobody’s breaking in. Even if they do, we could outlast any regular person in a fight.”

“I’m not worried about regular people.” Jack sighed, looking back at the books in his hands, which he placed on the chair next to him. “Sarah, we’re in a bigger world now, I think. Those myths of the Drawkionels running into far-off realms to fight crazy monsters are probably more real than we’d think. There’s probably thousands of stories we’ve never heard. That’s stuff we may have to deal with someday. Why else do you think Iarocav invited us into the Immortals Accords? I doubt it was because he desperately needed my idiot company at their parties.”

“Mmhm.” Sarah mumbled. Her breathing had noticeably quickened, and she started drumming on her thigh with her fingers. While she still had some anxiety about being a new mom, she’d calmed down considerably after the first few months. Even a half hour earlier, seeing that Jack hadn’t completely failed his end of the deal had all but decimated the rest of her worries. Now those feelings had returned on the double. “Dammit!”

“What?” Jack asked, noticing Sarah’s sudden rush of panic and trying to console her the best he could. “What’s wrong?”

“Just when I was starting to get comfortable. Now I have to worry about my baby getting kidnapped by some magic alien freaks or something, right? That’s what you’re saying to me right now?”

“I’m not saying that!” Jack said quickly. “I’m just saying that maybe that’s why the Drawkionels were freaking out. They’re probably just paranoid. I’m sure they’ve seen bad things happen before. That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen to us.”

“Then why did they give you the book early, huh?” Sarah asked, pointing to its resting spot on the chair next to Jack. “If there was no reason to worry, why couldn’t they have waited?”

“They said there was no reason to worry,” Jack raised his hands in metaphorical innocence. “And if there was, they’d get people from the Accords to help with protection.”

“They said-” Sarah stopped herself, covering her mouth and trying to calm herself down before saying anything else. “And this is supposed to make me worry less?”

“Listen, if they told me not to worry, I’m not gonna worry. That much, at least.” Jack tried to put a hand on Sarah’s shoulder, which she pulled away immediately. Jack decided to not think about that too much. “This is obviously something that they consider to be part of their business. They wrote a whole book for it! If they have a gameplan already in place, I trust it.”

“They’ve already gone off the gameplan, though.” Sarah pointed out. “Giving you the stuff early. That’s the problem.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree, then.” Jack shrugged. He knew that wasn’t going to go over well, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say. “Listen, I’ll give all the help I can. I loved having this time with Gid. I know this is up to you but I’d be willing to help out with him at any time. As long as it works in my schedule. You can count on me, I promise.”

“Fine, fine.” Sarah didn’t seem on the verge of a panic attack by now, but that sullen look was back in her eyes. “I do appreciate you. This is just … a lot.”

“I know. And that’s why I’m here to help.” Jack said softly.

“Good.” Sarah took a deep sigh. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t become too much for the both of us.”

by **Dantopia** » Mon Jun 01, 2026 1:04 am

VOL. 46,174

LION CITY, DANTOPIA

MONDAY 1ST JUNE, 2026

₵100

Lions Lose In First Leg — Must Come Back In Second

Dantopia Are Narrowly Defeated By Familiar Foe The Ko-orenite Constellation In 2-1 Away Play-Off Leg

By SAUL ARNSTEIN

Stadio Olímpico
The Ko-orenite Const.2-1Dantopia
Aggregate: 2-1
Half Time: 1-1
Park 44', 56'Brunson 45+2'

See also... MD1 | MD2 | MD3 | MD4 | MD5 | MD6 | MD7 | MD8 | MD9 | MD10 | MD11 | MD12 | MD13 | MD14 | MD15 | MD16 | MD17 | MD18

FIRULINHAS DO ESTE, MEIA-ARMADOREN — Dantopia were unfortunate to taste defeat in the first leg of their World Cup play-off fixture against The Ko-orenite Constellation, scoring once, but letting in two goals from A-yun Park — which gives the Constellationians a 2-1 lead headed back to Lion City, for the second leg of the tie. A lone Bradini Brunson goal was ultimately not enough for the Lions to overcome the two Park goals, despite proverbially throwing the kitchen sink at the match after falling behind the second time. The one-goal aggregate deficit is certainly not insurmountable for Rick Bishop's side, especially as they will play with home advantage in the next match, but the loss has slightly put a dampener on the qualification hopes of the nation.

The match would start with two early chances for the hosts. Watanabe was unceremoniously dispossessed in midfield, and the resulting fast break, led by Nazli Erbakan, provided an ample opportunity for Suhendra Kurniawan to score. Fortunately for the Lions, Alex Bullvale was able to dive low and to his left to prevent the first-time strike from Kurniawan. However, the ball bobbled up in the box for Na Zhang to attempt to get on the end of — if it were not for the heroics of Makaio Cruz-Richards, who deflected the second effort out for a corner.

From this early set-piece, the Constellationians would threaten again. The in-swinger was nodded towards the far post, where Mahya Mousavi put her laces through the ball, a low-driven shot across the face of the goal. It just needed a Constellation shirt to tap it home, but it barely glanced off the shin of A-yun Park instead, and the Lions could breathe a sigh of relief, having weathered the early storm. It would take the visitors until the 22nd minute to force a save out of Bao Zhu in net for the hosts. A lob over the top from Johnny Kealoha found its way to Bradini Brunson, but the striker could only leather the ball directly into the goalkeeper's midriff, with it cannoning away for a throw-in.

The first half would slow down — the tempo which the two teams pushed with at first not proving sustainable. Another meaningful chance wouldn't be created until just before the break. An errant pass from the Constellationian midfield was retrieved by A-yun Park on the left-hand side, and the wide player would dance his way just into the corner of the penalty area before unleashing a wicked strike that had the beating of Bullvale, finding the top corner of the goal with aplomb. It was an absolute peach of a goal, and one the Dantopian goalkeeper couldn't fault. It certainly put increased pressure onto the visiting Lions before the half, but they would respond well just moments later.

Bradini Brunson

In the added stoppage time before the half came to a close, the Constellation defence was pressed high, and an attempted pass through to the midfield from the right hand side was deflected by Jeremiah Taramaia directly into the path of an on-side Brunson, right on the side of the penalty area, and with only the goalkeeper to beat from the narrow angle. The Lion City FC forward would get his feet sorted and then produced a stunning strike which curled around the keeper and into the side netting on the other side of the goal. The visitors had equalised before the break, and this could prove a huge momentum swing if they could get the response right in the second period.

Indeed, the Lions would begin the second period on the front-foot, when efforts from Brunson and Hollins were both denied by Zhu. Raphael Lacroix and Dalton O'Higgins would begin to bomb forward and provide added support on the flanks, and a teasing cross from O'Higgins would sail past the far post, agonisingly close to an onrushing Nico Hollins, but unfortunately the Portland Pirates winger couldn't quite get there in time to meet it. Then, at the other end, the in-form Park would produce another moment of magic. Zhang would deflect a less than stellar cross from Mousavi the way of Park, who found himself in a similar position to his first goal. The resulting strike would be almost identical, as he whipped it towards the top corner with the same deadly accuracy as he had with his first effort. 2-1 to the hosts, with two picture perfect goals from Park.

Rick Bishop needed to make a change, and he opted to flip O'Higgins to the right-hand side of the pitch, taking off Raphael Lacroix and bringing on Kaleb Kahananui. Off too came Jeremiah Taramaia, to be replaced by Zaïre Thomas on the left wing. This provided the Lions with a right footed and a left footed player on each flank now, as well as two natural wingers, adding some much needed balance to their attack. A cross-field ball from Ezra Cunningham would find the substitute Kahananui with acres of space on the left, in which he delivered a fantastic cross into the box. Brunson would meet it with a free header, but his effort bounced off the turf and went the wrong side of the far post. The forward really should have done better with the golden opportunity.

The Dantopians sensed that another goal could be grabbed, so continued to push. Elleby Young and Adebayo Adeyemi would both be introduced late on into the second half, and the Grenadiers forward was wide from range with five minutes to spare, before Young skipped a challenge on the edge of the box and went for the spectacular, a lob over the keeper — but Zhu read the path of the ball brilliantly and tipped it over his bar, despite his poor positioning at first which invited the effort on. The chances kept coming the way of the Lions — Kahananui was hacked down and Johnny Kealoha came close from the resulting free-kick. It certainly had the pace to beat the opposition keeper, but not the placement, as it didn't quite dip in time, and landed agonisingly on top of the net instead.

The referee would bring the match to a close after four minutes of added time, with the Constellationian side holding on at the end for the precious one-goal aggregate lead. They have pipped the Lions to World Cup qualification before and now seem on track to do so again. The reverse fixture will take place at the National Team Stadium in Lion City, and it is expected to be an extremely tense affair between the two sides, with so much riding on the result. Rick Bishop's side must win by a margin of two goals or more to overcome the deficit they carry into the affair, though if they win by a single goal, a third, tie-breaking match could be played at 'The Shanty' in Taxhavn.

xg.unit
1d

The Ko-orenite Constellation (1.63) 2-1 (1.36) Dantopia #KOCvsDAN #WorldCup101 #PlayOffs #Round3

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 **Yangchenia** » Tue Jun 02, 2026 12:43 am

(generated by AI, formatted in Canva)

(image generated by AI, formatted in Canva)

by **Audioslavia** » Tue Jun 02, 2026 6:42 am

THE _____________|  |______________
   / ||  |    |  |  ||    |  |  /
  /__||__ \   |  |__||__  |  | /
 /   ||    \  |  |  ||    |  | \
/    ||_____| |  |  ||___ | _|_ \__
                 |  |       CYC 101

Fast Facts about World Cup Group D

Audioslavia have never beaten Pasarga

“Audioslavia have never beaten Pasarga” is one of those facts you instantly dismiss outright, yet fail to find a counter-example for, because it turns out to be true.

The sides met in qualifying for World Cup 60, with Pasarga the second seeds in the group, ranked 25th, and Audioslavia barely inside the top 100. Pasarga won both home and away on their way to qualify automatically in second (behind Polar Islandstates) while a young Bulls side, at that time Champions of Atlantian Oceania, could only finish fifth, a dozen points adrift.

Six cycles on, Audioslavia were two-time World Champions and were meeting Pasarga on home turf in World Cup 66. With both teams already on six points and guaranteed qualification, weaker elevens were fielded and neither goalie was put under pressure. A dozen cycles later, the sides shared the spoils via another nil-all draw, at which point it appears the footballing gods gave up and stopped booking that particular matchup. The Wanderers and the Bulls have not met one another since.

Audioslavia have never lost to Eshialand

“Audioslavia have never lost to Eshialand” is one of those facts where you go “yeah that sounds about right actually” and then instantly forget, only to have it rubbed in your face when the side beats you on Matchday One of the World Cup. The two sides met twice, both in qualifying for cycle 93. Audioslavia as second seeds and Eshialand as fourth, the two sides shared a draw at the Superdome before a 3-0 win for the Bulls in Cathair. Neither would qualify for the finals, but both would progress to the final four of the Cup of Harmony. There, the Owls would beat Quebec in their semi-final but lose to Eura in the final. The Bulls would lose to the latter in the semis but beat the former to finish third.

I have never seen Masraya before in my life

Mandalanusa’s newest flag-bearers have played just eighteen games in their history. That half of these were wins is half of why their hear at all - the other half being the last minute withdrawal of Tikariot from the competition, a move which removed the top seeds from the newcomer’s qualifying group.

One of only a handful of teams to have qualified for the World Cup at their first attempt, Masraya are something of an unknown quantity, though we’re quite sure there’ll be eleven of them.

Group D Qualifying Record: Cycles 90-100
Team               Pld   W   D   L   F   A    GD PPG    Qualified
Pasarga            174 123  25  26 409 206   203 2.26   8
Audioslavia        188 128  35  25 305  96   209 2.23   6
Eshialand          190 115  32  43 446 269   177 1.98   7
Masraya             18   9   3   6  40  27    13 1.67   1

All-time Head to Head Records in WCC Competitions (W-D-L)
Team              vsAUD vsPAS vsESH vsMAS
Pasarga           2-2-0   x                     Total:2-2-0 PPG:2.00
Audioslavia         x   0-2-2 1-1-0             Total:1-3-2 PPG:1.00
Eshialand         0-1-1         x               Total:0-1-1 PPG:0.50
Masraya

6: Ariddia versus Bettia
Originally written in April and July 2021, and with the opening three minutes already recorded to video (and lost with a laptop crash last year), the following chapter has finally made it off of the cutting-room floor, with some wee edits for continuity. All images were created years ago.

(Click for full image) Ariddia line up to perform the Ulek

The Ulek is a traditional war dance designed to invoke fear in their opponents. It works. In the opening moments of World Cup 35’s final, Ariddia’s Said bin Said Ismail wins a free-kick on the edge of the area which Raphaëlle du Valdor blasts past the wall and into the corner. Ariddia one, Bettia nil.

(Click for full image)
“Oh wow has Audio diagrammed out lots of World Cup final goals?”
No. Just this one. Which I did five years ago, back when Ariddia versus Bettia made for the first chapter of the very first draft of TIP6.

At the apex of the jolt era, these two teams dominated. Between them, Bettia and Arridia made a combined total of six appearances in the World Cup final in the mid thirties. The World Cup 35 final is the only of those appearances where one played the other. In retrospect, it’s a match to decide which of the two was the most dominant footballing nation of the era.

You may have noticed from the red and black colours and the choice of national anthem, The International, that Ariddia were somewhat left wing. They would prove as much and they would do so later in the first half, allowing Bettia’s Peri Busilanta to arrive unmarked into the Ariddian box to finish for 1-1.

I also made these two images five years ago.

A pulsating game would be decided in the second half, with Frank Myfanwy reacting quickest to a quickly taken Ariddian corner and glancing the ball home for 2-1. Bettia would win the battle, a second trophy, and a powerful argument for being considered *the* team of the era.

(Click for full image) Bettia and Ariddia's golden eras appear near the top of the Sossimo Lisson chart

World Cup 35 forms part of both sides’ golden eras according to the Sosimo Lissón metric. Bettia’s ends here, with the side humbled 3-0 by Zwangzug in the second round of World Cup 36. Ariddia, on the other hand, would reach the final for the third time in succession, defeating similarly communist Errinundera for a third World Cup trophy in five cycles. In terms of mundials, it’s the Ariddians with the larger trophy cabinet, though Bettia may point to their Baptism of Fire and AOCAF Cup in response. They might also direct Ariddian eyes to the Unofficial World Championship - won by the Bettians six times between cycles 26 and 41, with Ariddia having only won the belt for one solitary game.
Their peak came during one of many times where the UWC had made its home in Atlantian Oceania.

Since we last looked at the Unofficial World Championship, a lot has happened. Al-Qurija returned the prestigious Lineal title to World Cup football, where it stayed for just one cycle before Mriin dragged it back into semi-retirement, while Free Republics took the Interim championship into self-imposed exile. A second interim title has been created, four more World Cups have gone into the books. Also, a quick hello from 2026 where, five years on, the above situation has changed entirely. It’s been fourteen cycles, not four. Mriin and Free Republics recirculated their belts, and we lost one more to unlikely World Cup winners Brookstation.

Reflecting back on the Unofficial World Championship, there’s one thing that doesn’t feel right. We treat the title like it has always existed - as if each team knew that particular match held more significance than it would have ordinarily. Rules and regulations are backdated to the time they would have been relevant. Take the Turoki Amendment as an example. It was decreed that neither Vilita nor Turori would be allowed to defend their title as the united Vilita & Turori team that represents the islands in the AOCAF Cup. The rule dates back to October 2007 because that’s when such a question would have been discussed. Upon winning the AOCAF Cup from Pacitalia, the Eel Cat Things took from them the Lineal championship until their next eligible game which, due to the regional championships going on a three-cycle hiatus, matchday one of the next AOCAF Cup before the qualifiers for World Cup 37. If we’re backdating the decision-making process, we have to put ourselves in the shoes of a hypothetical UWC Committee from the time. Can we realistically expect them to have sat back and allowed a side to keep the title for three whole cycles, without playing a single game of football?

The same thing happens with three cycles passing between Pacitalia’s sixth and seventh defence of the same belt. Would the Unofficial World Championship Committee have stood for that? Would they not have created a new, interim championship to fill the void?

Let’s be straight. The answer is no, they wouldn’t have. Even back in the late aughts, The Blue Foxes and The Eel Cats had a strong tradition of only entering the AOCAF Cup. The UWC Committee would have been confident of the return of the tournament, and with it the lineal championship. But seeing as we’ve opened the door for unofficial Unofficial World Championship belts, why don’t we take a second to track a couple of… a… semi-official unofficial Unofficial World Championship. If we do that, it turns out we can give Ariddia their dues after all.

Champions Ariddia would go undefeated throughout the entirety of the 35th cycle only to come unstuck in the final against Bettia, who would begin and end the qualifiers for World Cup 36 as title holders, before the belt winds its way back to Ariddia in time for the World Cup 36 final. Az-cz would end cycles 37 and 38 with the title, before combining it with the lineal title in the very first match of cycle 38.

We’ll get to this second Semi-Official Unofficial Unofficial World Championship lineage later. I think it’s important to put this nineteen-match run with this belt into context. First of all, nineteen in a row would be enough to fit comfortably in with Eura and Equestria in the list of Top Ten, All Time runs with the belt.

Okay I, now in 2026 again, need to awkwardly segue this pasted text from 2021 into talking about hat-tricks in the next chapter. I’m going to just do this in a really primitive way, by just declaring what I’m doing and bringing this chapter to an abrupt end.

by **Alasdair I Frosticus** » Tue Jun 02, 2026 11:32 am

OOC - for the sake of transparency, very, very heavily adapted from the base template here. Para knows what I'm up to; we're discussing it over TG

A leaflet accidentally found carelessly discarded outside the Holy Empire training camp in Paradystopia...

TO SERVE PENGUINKIND!

Tekeli-li

Tekeli-li
1 x 5kg/11lb Tekeli-li
1 Tekeli-li, Tekeli-li
3 Tekeli-li, Tekeli-li
3 Tekeli-li (Tekeli-li), Tekeli-li
Tekeli-li
Tekeli-li

Tekeli-li
Tekeli-li
1 Tekeli-li, Tekeli-li
2 Tekeli-li, Tekeli-li 2cm/¾in Tekeli-li
1 Tekeli-li, Tekeli-li 2cm/¾in Tekeli-li
2 Tekeli-li
Tekeli-li

Tekeli-li
2 tbsp Tekeli-li
2 Tekeli-li
1 Tekeli-li, Tekeli-li, Tekeli-li
1 tsp Tekeli-li
1 Tekeli-li (Tekeli-li)
100g/3½oz Tekeli-li
500g/1lb 2oz Tekeli-li
2 tbsp Tekeli-li, Tekeli-li

Tekeli-li
2 heaped tbsp Tekeli-li
300ml/10fl oz Tekeli-li (Tekeli-li)
250ml/9fl oz Tekeli-li

Tekeli-li

1 - Tekeli-li 200C.

2 - Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li

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4 - Tekeli-li 180C.

5 - Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li

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8 - Tekeli-li 200C.

9 - Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li.

10 - Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li 1 litre/1¾ pints Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li 1¼ Tekeli-li.. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li 30 Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li.

11 - Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li 3-4 Tekeli-li, Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li 1-2 minutes Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li.

12 - Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li 20cm/8in square Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li.

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15 - Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li 4-5 Tekeli-li, Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li.

16 - Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li. Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li Tekeli-li.

by **HUElavia** » Tue Jun 02, 2026 5:53 pm

Leg 1:
HUElavia 1-1 Cobrio
(Arruda 23' | Burke 78')
Estadio Nacional, Curumba, HUElavia

Leg 2:
Cobrio 1-2 HUElavia
(Ogunleye 82' | Milano 90+1' (P), Sartori 90+7')
Tukari Kaita National Stadium, Camaron, Cobrio

A COMEBACK INTO THE WORLD CUP!

HUElavia strikes a massive comeback in the Final Minutes against Cobrio to send Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos to the World Cup for the 10th time and 4th consecutive time!

Live Call of the goals:

"What a terrible foul by Andrews over Canales to give up the late penalty and yellow card. In what looked like Cobrio would be going to the World Cup and now it is thrown into the air."
"Cristiano Milano is stepping up. The Captain for this National Team will seek to keep the nation's hopes alive for the World Cup. The crowd boos and jeers, but Milano is just focused. Musona jumps around, looking to get Milano to miss. Here we go..."
"GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!! MILANO TAKES IT AS COOL AS YOU LIKE! HE SENDS MUSONA THE WRONG WAY INTO THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF THE GOAL, AND HUELAVIA HAS SILENCED THE NATIONAL STADIUM!"
"Only seven minutes to get through this additional time, either we will have a decisive third match, or possibly, we will have a shocking last-gasp winner to punch the last ticket to the World Cup."

"Cobrio are just relentless in this attack, they really want to avoid the 3rd leg in this series."
"Gwadabe takes the shot... Blocked by Pillihuaman! Another shot by Pourrien, blocked by Pazarella! It's out for a corner!"
"This crowd is really getting loud, they want the winner here. The cross comes in... Saved by Campos! He sends a long pass..."
"Assunção has the ball, she's being covered by Iwuoma... sends the back pass... SARTORI HAS THE BALL ALL ALONE!"
"THE DEFENSE HAS FALLEN ASLEEP ON THE PLAY, SARTORI IS GOING UNOPPOSED AGAINST MUSONA! HE TAKES THE SHOT..."
"GOAL!!! GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL!!!! SARTORI HAS DONE IT! HUELAVIA HAS DONE IT! THIS STADIUM IS STUNNED AND SILENCED! HUELAVIA IS GOING BACK TO THE WORLD CUP!"
"What a lapse in the defense of Cobrio, nobody else closed in on Assunção and what a backpass from her, Sartori just left all by himself and just slides it low past the diving sprawl of Musona."
"Here comes the final whistle... THERE IT IS!"
"HUELAVIA, WITH ONE OF THE WORST CAMPAIGNS IN MANY YEARS, HAS FOUND THEIR WAY BACK TO THE WORLD CUP ONCE MORE!"
"NEXT SUMMER, HUELAVIA WILL BE AMONG THE 48 BEST TEAMS IN THE MULTIVERSE! A HISTORIC AND CONTROVERSIAL QUALIFYING CYCLE ENDS WITH OUR YELLOWS BACK IN THE BIGGEST FOOTBALL STAGE IN THE MULTIVERSE!"

by **Dantopia** » Wed Jun 03, 2026 2:30 am

VOL. 46,176

LION CITY, DANTOPIA

WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE, 2026

₵100

Captain's Contribution Salvages Tie For Lions

Dantopia Defeat The Ko-orenite Contellation At Home To Force Tie-Breaking Match In TaxHavn

By SAUL ARNSTEIN

National Team Stadium (NTS)
Dantopia2-1The Ko-orenite Const.
Aggregate: 3-3
Half Time: 0-0
Robinson-Tate 52'Balakhadze 88'
E. Cunningham 90+2'

See also... MD1 | MD2 | MD3 | MD4 | MD5 | MD6 | MD7 | MD8 | MD9 | MD10 | MD11 | MD12 | MD13 | MD14 | MD15 | MD16 | MD17 | MD18 | PO3 1st Leg

LION CITY, DANTOPIA — The Dantopian national team rescued their World Cup qualification hopes in dramatic fashion with a stoppage time winner against The Ko-orenite Constellation, levelling the aggregate score 3-3 and forcing a third tie-breaking match at 'The Shanty' in Taxhavn. The Lions first took the lead through Sam Robinson-Tate, before Ezra Cunningham stepped up in the 92nd minute to deliver the final blow to the visitors, who had been sitting pretty at that point thanks to their own 88th minute equaliser. Had the captain not contributed, Rick Bishop's side would have been out, and their World Cup qualification dream over for another cycle. Instead, they will face the Constellationians one last time in Taxhavn, for that momentous spot in a World Cup Finals.

Demanding a reaction from the reverse fixture, Rick Bishop made three alterations to the starting eleven for the second leg. The Dartford Oilers' Dalton O'Higgins would occupy the right-hand side of the back four instead, with Kaleb Kahananui of the Vna-Chuhul Ravens sliding in at left back. The Grenadiers' Adebayo Adeyemi would make his return to the starting line-up on the right wing, and Zaïre Thomas, also of the Oilers, would start at left-wing. Some much-needed energy and enthusiasm from both wingers was prevalent early on as the Lions sought after a goal to tie the aggregate.

Thomas cut inside from the left to bring an early, routine save out of the opposition goalkeeper — Bao Zhu — inside the opening two minutes of the match. The Lions settled well following the kick-off and made the better of the chances from the outset, spurred on by an electric and vociferous home crowd inside the National Team Stadium in Lion City. The Dantopians would continue to force the issue, when efforts from distance by both Adeyemi and Thomas threatened the goalkeeper, but Zhu remained resolute and batted the chances away. At the other end, Alex Bullvale was called upon twice in quick succession, first rushing out to the feet of Nazli Erbakan, before parrying away an effort from Suhendra Kurniawan, following a cross across the area by Mahya Mousavi.

A corner won by the hosts saw the ball hit the back of the net, and cheers erupt from the crowd, before the referee called it back for pushing in the penalty area. Makaio Cruz-Richards leapt well to meet the Johnny Kealoha delivery at the near post, but a push in the opposition defender's back from Sam Robinson-Tate saw one of the Constellationian players down in the box, unable to challenge Cruz-Richards for the header. It was, admittedly, the correct decision, though much to the dismay of the National Team Stadium faithful. A misguided sense of injustice only feuled the fire in the Dantopian bellies, however. Adeyemi, looked the most likely to ask questions of the opposition defence. He almost found an answer when he latched onto a sublime slide rule pass from Kealoha, but Zhu made a sprawling block to deny the Grenadiers man.

The Constellation attack would continue to pose a threat at the other end intermittently though, and Bullvale had to be on alert to tip a deflected strike from Na Zhang away and behind for a corner. He then rose excellently to capture the ball from the out-swinger, to unleash the Lions on a quick counter. Zaïre Thomas was unfortunate to mis-control the ball, allowing Begum Eser the chance to recover and put in an excellent sliding tackle to deny the Lions what looked to be a one-on-one opportunity that many inside the stadium would have backed the 20-year-old Oilers winger to bury. A collision towards the end of the first half between Kai Watanabe and Egbert Herink saw the pair receive treatment, which added on a few minutes to the clock, but both were fortunately able to carry on. The score would remain goalless at the interval.

Despite putting the ball in the back of the net in the first half — only for it to be disallowed, Cruz-Richards would be hooked at half time for Keegan Foster, though whether this was a tactical decision by Rick Bishop or an injury-related one, it was unclear. It would be a lively opening to the second period at both ends of the pitch, as a dangerous corner by Adeyemi on the right-hand side was barely headed away at the goalmouth by Mia Mathieu, before Tymofiy Horbatyuk ballooned a shot well over the bar, and Rodrigo Firulinheiro brought out a save from Bullvale following a corner for the visitors. Indeed, corners seemed to be where the best chances were coming from for both sides, and it would be from one at the other end where Bullvale's opposite number's would have a moment to forget shortly.

Sam Robinson-Tate

Bradini Brunson won a corner by harrying the Constellation's back line and forcing an error. Johnny Kealoha would swing a ball delightfully into the box from the left, which Bao Zhu completely missed the punch on, the ball instead reaching Sam Robinson-Tate at the far post. It allowed the Hondo FC defender to grab his first ever goal for the national team, merely letting the ball ricochet off his thigh and into the goal. It certainly wasn't pretty, but the Lions were in front on the night, and all tied up on aggregate — just the response Rick Bishop wanted from his side on the evening. They would almost double their lead on the hour mark, following a patient move between the front three. Brunson was denied by a combination of Firulinheiro and the near post, when he attempted to fire home the square ball from Adeyemi, who in turn had been found by Thomas.

Fresh impetus was injected when Bishop brought on Jeremiah Taramaia for Zaïre Thomas. The young winger had done well and threatened the opposition plenty, but it was clearly not his night, so the manager turned instead to the 28-year-old Lion City FC man. Taramaia would be more of a playmaker, almost assisting Brunson immediately upon his introduction, but the forward couldn't bury his chance, and the offside flag waved the play away anyhow. The Constellationians, who finished fifth in Group E — and defeated Calgasia in the prior play-off round to meet the Lions, kept the hosts honest. A-yun Park set himself up to strike a volley at Bullvale from 18-yards, and substitute Ksenia Balakhadze was only denied by the woodwork after clipping a ball over the Dantopian number one, after getting in behind. Park had been excellently marshalled by O'Higgins and Robinson-Tate on the evening, after having terrorised the Dantopians in the previous affair and bagging a brace.

After having given the Dantopians a warning sign, the substitute striker for the Constellationians made no mistake when she controlled a probing ball forward from Begum Eser. Following the brilliant control, which allowed Balakhadze to turn away from her markers, she rifled home a low-driven effort to level proceedings in the 88th minute of the match. Not only did it tie the game up, but it also sent The Ko-orenite Constellation through on aggregate if things remained as they were. This was a dire moment for the Dantopians in their own qualification hunt.

Ezra Cunningham

However, often the orchestrators of late goals in this cycle, the Lions weren't to be diminished, and it would be the team captain who would have the final say when a ball into the box from Johnny Kealoha was met by Cunningham in stride, to volley past Zhu in the second minute of stoppage time. The thumping effort was no match for the goalkeeper at close range, and it had the net rippling at the near post, and the crowd in absolute fever-pitch inside the National Team Stadium. The score 2-1 to Dantopia, it was the exact mirror of the first leg, and therefore the aggregate score was 3-3 overall.

Rick Bishop

With the final blow of the referee's whistle, this would resign the two sides to competing in a third, tie-breaking match at 'The Shanty' in Taxhaven, an ordeal neither side seemed particularly thrilled by the prospect of, but one of supreme importance to both nations. This truly is the last chance saloon for the Lions if they are to qualify once and for all to this year's World Cup Finals. Never has a match been so important for the Dantopian national team in its entire existence, perhaps not even the South Pacific Cup final win all those cycles ago, one that national team manager Rick Bishop was part of the squad for.

The manager gave a cautiously optimistic interview following the fixture. "The lads have done really well to get us to that tie-breaker, and now we just need to focus on that one game..." Bishop offered. "We've really come together as a team throughout qualifiers, and I have every confidence in the boys to deliver for Dantopia in the crucial moment. I really hope to be talking to you again after cementing ourselves as World Cup Finalists." Despite nothing being certain, there is now a sense of hope and excitement in Dantopian footballing circles, that this might finally by the Lions' year, after almost rampant doomerism towards the end of the group stage, that the Lions would bottle the opportunity. Will the Dantopian national team be able to make history, and qualify for their first ever World Cup? Only a battle at 'The Shanty' stands in their way now.

xg.unit
1d

Dantopia (2.39) 2-1 (1.37) The Ko-orenite Constellation #DANvsKOC #WorldCup101 #PlayOffs #Round3

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 **Indusse** » Wed Jun 03, 2026 7:06 am

PROVINCIAL ELECTION SPECIAL EDITION

JUSTICE DELIVERED FOR JUSTICE LEAGUE

New Hind City: Since the national elections have been announced to happen within a few months and the Provincial Elections have concluded their voting stage, everyone has been eager to know the results. The Indussean electoral and political system is known to be complex, confusing and time consuming than any other system known to mankind. The Election Commission had announced the total turnouts for the election long before and now the results for the Hind Province Legislative Elections are out. Hind Province has been very influential in the nation's political landscape since the national capital is located in the said province. From the date of its formation Hind has only been ruled by the National Conservative Party (NCP) whose leader is Baskar H Kumar, the outgoing President of the country. A clean dominance of at least 20 seats where normally seen across the elections in all these years but with Baskar announcing his retirement and NCP slowly losing its prominence in some parts of the country, the results were subjected to change. As the results were announced it turned out to be an absolute shocker for the NCP as well as the current opposition. The opposition, Justice League (JL) ended up being the largest standalone party in the Hind Province winning twenty seats out of forty three.

As the results were announced, no party in the province enjoyed the simple majority of twenty two seats to form the government. as rumours of a coalition between National Conservative Party (NCP) and the Arya - Kulashekara Alliance (AK+) started to spread in the province, Justice League decided to swiftly contact the independent candidates who won and the Communist Federation of Indusse (CFI) for support. The two independent candidates offered support to Justice League and the CFI announced external support for JL to form government. With the necessary support offered, Justice League has now visited the Governor for the permission of oath taking and successive formation of the government.

The Justice League (JL) emerged as the dominant force in this election, securing 20 out of 43 seats. The vote share between the NCP and JL is pretty close even though there is a visible gap between their seat share. While JL won twenty seats with approximate average vote share of 29.4%, the NCP was able to secure 26.9% average vote share by winning just twelve seats. While CFI showed an increase in their average vote share and seats they were not able to perform that well. But the six seats won in such a condition seems to be important for the existence of a proper governance and accountability.

This election saw a higher voting turnout all over the province and a better turnout than previous years voting data. The highest turnout was recorded in Harbaheli (97.22%), where the CFI emerged victorious. Taking a look at the top five constituencies based on voter's turnout, Justice League was able to win four of these constituencies. The lowest voting turnouts were recorded in JoseTown and Doorgum constituencies which was won by CFI and NCP respectively. The election also witnessed several extremely close contests with four constituencies results be decided by a margin of less than 0.25%. The closest was in Khyati where JL won by a mere 0.10%, followed by Kodarthi where CFI won by 0.13%, Vinayakapura where NCP won by 0.20% and Aligadh where JL won by 0.22%. At the same time some constituencies saw clear cut victories establishing them as party strongholds. These include the Ramasarovara constituency which was won by CFI with a 27.6% margin and Hinduvaram which was won by JL with a 24.6% margin.

by **Alasdair I Frosticus** » Wed Jun 03, 2026 11:28 am

Dear Juan,

As requested by your current team captain, please find our bullet-point guide to the other teams in Group F, with the requested tactical focus.

SIncerely

Leo Botianates
Third Senior Junior Undersecretary for Mundy Relations
Holy Empire Football Association

SHOGGOTH TACTICAL GUIDE TO WORLD CUP 101 GROUP F

1 - Snestar
No known penguins

2 - Baker Park
No known penguins

3 - Paradystopia
Penguins!

by **Ko-oren** » Wed Jun 03, 2026 12:07 pm

99% of players stop before they win! Don't let that be you.Play responsibly

Cycle 101 in Review

If you're here for the first time: there's a game for the World Cup Qualifiers. Usually you can play it. Teams get 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw - and in an unconventional twist on regular programming, you get an extra point for a win by 3 or 4 goals, and two extra points (in total) for a win by 5 or more. You also get deducted a point for a loss by 3 or more goals.

This game is brought to you by Cirrus cloud solutions and CelaDoN's lightning fast Content Delivery Network with built-in anti-DDOS technology.

by **Zenic** » Wed Jun 03, 2026 6:04 pm

6 straight.

With a bit of perseverance and a lot of catching up on the back half of the qualifying schedule, Zenic have now made it to every World Cup proper since World Cup 96. Something previously nothing but a pipe dream was now a reality. Add on the fact that they've done it with the same crew of players for this incredible run just adds on to how sweet it's been, even with a few close calls throughout the years.

But the joy that Zys, the rest of the coaching staff, the FZF, the Ministry of Sports, and the Empire in general feel has a tinge of bittersweetness to it. This magical, mystical core group of players that became known as the “Revival Generation” after winning the 45th Copa Rushmori has to come to an end eventually and everyone seems to have collectively agreed that this was the beginning of the end of this core.

It technically started last cycle when two of the youngest members of this squad, Floryan Dubravko and Gopal Pekko, replaced two of the oldest members in Thuan Byford and Burley Trac. The main reason people are considering this to be the beginning of the end is the belief that several members will be either retiring from international play or replaced by newer, younger talent that have emerged thanks to playing in the ZFLS or in leagues abroad. As Zys looked over this roster sheet for the first time in World Cup 101, he began to imagine the different ways this roster sheet could look like at the 51st Copa Rushmore and 102th World Cup Qualifiers.

Obviously, Byford and Trac were the oldest of the bunch in a position that definitely requires quick bursts or lots of stamina or constant switching between the two depending on the matchup. Two things made their exits more tolerable: A) each of them independently hinting at potential international retirement and B) Dubravko and Pekko have done a fantastic job in filling their shoes, allowing the elder statesmen can go out with their heads held high. Another factor that helped ease Zys' mind is the plethora of potential replacements on the bench: Ugo Jan from Sporting Honneur, Dubravko's teammates Eun Ji-won and Sirio Beniamino Palumbo from Coohen City FC, Válter Geovana Couto or Gastone Ewart from Kian Hodge's Deportivo San Valerie, and even Leoncio Del Bosque or Pancho Monte from Manacus Young Men. Considering how defensively strong the Survivors were in this World Cup cycle so far, despite running an offensive-minded style, adding any of these worthy choices would undoubtedly help maintain that trend for years to come, even after Zys' departure in the far future.

Goalkeeper-wise, Zys was sure that he would be good with Mosley and Hope for a few more cycles. Although, if anything were to change, he thankfully had folks like Leonel Arenas and Deforrest Barker waiting in the wings. The midfield crop of replacements was similar to the defenders situation as there were so many choices for only one or two spots in the immediate future but many more two or so cycles down the line. Juanma Ariel Silva from Reichton already had several titles under his belt at only 20 years old and could be brought in now or later, Srećko Adrian and Joaquim Pio Santo from Sporting Honneur are older players in a similar situation that could be brought in sooner rather than later, then you have folks like Atanasio Borja and Gyeong-Suk Seung that would be great 'outside the box' choices.

The forwards are the one section that Zys had a bit of concern over as there were really only four clear-cut choices that wouldn't stir up controversy at the moment: Carlos Emeterio Olmos, Martina Fátima, Tomas Daley, Hagihara Himari. Most of them had some experience in international play at the lower youth levels and had at least some experience playing in a two striker / forward formation. There were so other options like Tránsito Crespo, Ólafur Nelly, and Inma Vinicio as alternate options that would need a bit of work before being ready. Were their options? Yes. But very few comfortable options for Zys' liking.

The future was looking relatively bright but the Survivors had more pressing matters in the 'here and now.' Flavovespia, HUElavia, and The Golden Harp, in that order, if we're going to be specific. The 23rd best team in the world against the 4th, 30th and 85th best teams in the world. It wasn't the tough run of games in this particular World Cup but it had its hills to climb. The last time Zenic squared off with Flavovespia in the World Cup was the 98th edition when the Anaians won 2-1 in the final group stage match that knocked the Survivors out of the World Cup during Flavovespia's journey to becoming World Champions. For their second opponent, you would have to go further back to World Cup 96 when HUElavia defeated Zenic 2-1 before both squads eventually qualified for the knockout rounds and were subsequently eliminated immediately. Zenic and The Golden Harp have never faced each other in the World Cup proper but this would be The Golden Harp's final chance at beating Zenic this cycle after they failed to beat the Rushmoris twice in Group 15 during these World Cup Qualifiers: a 2-0 win for Zenic on Matchday 7 and a 1-1 draw on Matchday 16.

Geraldo Zys paced back and forth in his hotel room in Farslum, Paradystopia with his scout's latest report on the top 5 ranked team. Much hadn't changed for the Anians in the years since their last World Cup match. Honestly? Much hadn't changed for Zenic either. A few players here and there but the same uniforms, the same staff, same formations, same ideology of play style: if you weren't paying attention, you would be forgiven for believing it was a replay of their match from a few cycles ago and not a post World Cup 100 matchup.

How can Zenic win? It'll be tough as their midfields will be equal for most of the match with the only openings being when they attempt to push forward with the ball alongside the lone striker to create a 4-on-3 against the Survivors' back three. They can either rely on Mosley to come out more often or keep someone like Seamons further back to make it a consistent 4-on-4 when dispossessed of the ball. Flavovespia does have a habit of flowing out of the 4-2-3-1 into either a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2 so Nakazawa and Dettmann may need to be patient in order to find a chance to go forward for a goal scoring opportunity before the opponents switch back into a 4-2-3-1.

It will most likely come down to pure talent and the perfectly timed adjustments to determine a winner. If Zys can get the right combination with this squad, he should have the magic combination for any future matchups with any future rosters.

by **Kanzlia** » Thu Jun 04, 2026 12:31 am

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| ⮌ | ☒
voetbal.knz
Full-resolution image is in #from-the-forge

^--voetbal!--
Schmidt's Prowlers through to the World Cup
Kanzlia tops Group 10 despite defeat

The Prowlers end their qualification campaign with a defeat at the hands of 5-times World Cup champions The Holy Empire 5-4. Regardless of the result however, the Prowlers secured their place in the World Cup Proper by finishing first in Group 10. After sixteen matches, the Prowlers leave qualification with a record of 12 victories, 1 draw, and 3 defeats. Though judging from how Karl Schmidt's Prowlers started off the qualification campaign, many thought this editions campaign would be a write off.

The Prowlers started their campign against Myrtle Beach in which they won 3-1, but the following match against Gyaromia is where Kanzlia really stumbled and faceplanted to the floor with a 2-0 defeat. Despite a 4-0 win against Devonta, a 1-1 draw over Shin-Zetsubo would see Kanzlia languishing tied in third with just a point gap between the Prowlers and 7th-placed Myrtle Beach. The pressure was on with Karl Schmidt as the reigning Esportivan champions didn't look at all inspired on the pitch.

Perhaps spurred to life by intense pressure from supporters, Karl Schmidt's Prowlers would go on to climb and steadily settled in second with wins over Jeckland, Bongo Johnson, Masraya and The Holy Empire. They did suffer a hiccup against Myrtle Beach who secured the three points with a 2-3 defeat. But since then the Prowlers played like they won a regional cup, going on to beat the return fixtures against Gyaromia, Devonta, Shin-Zetsubo, Jeckland, Bongo Johnson, and Masraya. The 2-0 win over Masraya confirmed Kanzlia's 1st-place finish in Group 10. Kanzlia would fail at the final ultimately inconsequential hurdle over The Holy Empire who finished second. The first-place finish in Group 10 would mean that the Prowlers escape the ordeal of the play-offs, giving ample resting time for Karl Schmidt and the players to reorganise and recover.

After the play-offs concluded, Kanzlia is drawn to Group J as the Pot 2 side, joining the likes of The Kytler Peninsulae, Crpostran, and Hanalia.

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voetbal.knz
Full-resolution image is in #from-the-forge

^--voetbal!--
Kanzlia - Crpostran Match Programme
The Prowlers to face Crpostran for the 6th time

A familiar face to any follower of the sport, Crpostran will be Karl Schmidt's Prowlers opponents in the opening matchday for the World Cup Group Stages. Drawn together in Group J, the WC98 runners-up is the Pot 3 side of the Group, which would make Kanzlia the favourites entering the match. However as previous performances showed, the Prowlers has a tough match ahead of them.

Kanzlia had faced Crpostran five times prior to this match. Having been drawn together in the World Cup 97 qualifiers, Crpostran won both matches over Kanzlia 4-2 and 3-2 respectively. Kanzlia back then was still under the helm of Vassilis van Coevorden. His successor, Karl Schmidt, would fare better against Crpostran. Once more grouped together, this time in the qualifiers for World Cup 99, the Prowlers drew both their games against Crpostran 1-1 both times. The most recent match-up the two sides faced occured just recently in the RSFF Centennial Cup Semi-Finals which saw Schmidt's Prowlers defeat Crpostran for the first time 6-4.
✹ Previous Performances
Played  W  D  L  GF  GA  GD
     5  1  2  2  12  13  -1

✹ Crpostranis in Kanzlia
Pos.  Name               Age  Kanzlian Club
FW    Klahan Wahid        26  Ulixes Kotr
MF    Ambrogio Alan       23  Mortonstad
DF    Miroslav Mohsin     24  Tergeta Braves

✹ Kanzlians in Crpostran
None

✹ Kanzlia's Expected XI
Pos.    Name                       Age  Team
-GK-    Camaro Mulders              23  Axmund City (KAT)
-LB-    Vince Mylan                 27  VV Szbedansk
-CB-    Ardentius van Coevorden*    24  Baraldhur AFC (TKT)
-CB-    Christian Bagheria          26  Port Rhovanyon AFC (TKT)
-RB-    Oliver Blackwood            25  Armada Kotr
-DM-    Kartioch                    24  Axmund United (KAT)
-CM-    Sjoerda te'Kotr             24  AC Urbsclawydraeksterlutrja (PDT)
-CM-    Lara Wevrin                 20  1899 Szbedansk
-LW-    Marvin Rousseaux            26  Dartford Oilers (DAN)
-ST-    Paulo Tiyan                 28  Mortonstad
-RW-    Sylverio van Coevorden      28  1899 Szbedansk
* = denotes Captain

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| ⮌ | ☒
moc.knz/histories-and-context/queen-of-the-lake/1
^--I.--
The Queen of the Lake. The Beheaded. The Usurper. The Lies.
This is how debunking a centuries-old propaganda piece accidentally uncovered a sororicide buried for centuries longer. Part 1 of 4.

The movie poster for 1947 hit Ardacia.
.
.
New compelling evidence has emerged over the years in Kanzlia of a truly groundbreaking development in the life of Kanzlia's medieval kings and queens prior to the invasion of the Empire of the North. Long were the stories of nobles and knights romanticised to a degree of near-fiction that is has became some sort of a trope in domestic cinema. In the 1940s in particular were these medieval cinema the most prevalent. Blockbuster movies supposedly based on medieval history that really were nothing more than the directors historical fictions. The Last King of Twaegys, covering the tale of the last king of the medieval kingdom of Twaegys (modern-day Twegas) involved mythical beings from fairies to winged angels, marketed as historical movies. Movie-goers from the time can easily deduce that the movie's marketing was misleading, and the first recorded instance of 'fairy-medieval fatigue' was coined by a frustrated movie critique. One movie from the Fairy-Medieval era of Kanzlian cinema though, stood out.

The 1947 movie Ardacia took the nation by storm. It was famed director Kristjan Endei's magnum opus, featuring groundbreaking cinematography techniques, expert sound design, and the innovative use of visual effects. The movie starred Kahiu te'Lyra as the Queen of the Lake Ardacia defending her kingdom agains the invaders from the North, their wicked leader Ceyza is portrayed by Jan Verus. Thankfully Kahiu te'Lyra was aided by Lord Esbaurin played by Karl de Valk. In the climax of the movie, te'Lyra was rescued last minute from impending doom by the charming Lord and once the battle is won, they lived happily forever after. Besides the stereotypical good ending fairytale Ardacia had, the movie was notably much more grounded than other movies of the time. It was a huge hit. So much so that the name 'Esbaurin' became the 3rd most popular boy names in 1948 and 'Ardacia' being the 6th most popular girl names in the same year.

As part of the films marketing, Ardacia was labelled by advertisers as a historical documentary. In its marketing it took jabs at films such as The Last King of Twaegys for its clearly fictional embellishes labelling themselves as "Actually truly historical". In addition to this, the movie collaborated with the University Museum of Kotr where the original manuscript that formed the basis of the movie is housed and during the release of the movie, exhibited. Kristjan Endei cites this particular manuscript as "basically the script" of the movie. Of course he admitted that most of the dialogue are added in but he insisted that the story and premise of Ardacia was completely real on the account of the historical manuscript.

The historical manuscript in question is the Coninginne van den Meere from the Geschiedenisse Sseeylant. The manuscript is historical, that is without a doubt. But the contents of the manuscript remains in contention for centuries. That is until the University of Kotr announced that the Geschiedenisse Sseeylant is apocryphal in 1954. And as you'll see, the original story of Ardacia, the Coninginne van den Meere is equally apocryphal. And the centuries long journey to unravell this hoax uncovered a gruesome medieval sororicide along the way.

It might've been too late to charge Ardacia with false advertising though.

Prv. ⮜✹⮞ Nxt.

by **Crpostran** » Thu Jun 04, 2026 4:24 am

by **Aphrilia** » Thu Jun 04, 2026 6:20 am

There are many sayings that involve the number three or a function of thirds that can commonly be seen in sports.

"Third time lucky," "Third times the charm," among others. Some even believe that luck comes in threes. The number three has been quite enigmatic. This is brought up because, as of right now, Aphrilia would be playing it's third World Cup under Crpostranian manager Leonardo Bianchi. It was something that had come into his mind during the group draw.

He had started managing the team after the end of 98 Qualifiers, when Aphrilia sacked Christopher Vermont for the teams horrible performance in qualifying. Their performance was so bad, that they had performed worse than their debut season. From a team who made the upset happen to qualify for World Cup 97, to a team that saw themselves be a shadow of what they had been previously. And of course, it was Bianchi's predecessor who took the fall. Vermont got the sack, and he was brought in after qualifying wrapped up.

IAC 24 was the dream debut for any manager. A flawless campaign, a first title, and allowing a country legend to retire with perhaps their crowning achievement. The 99th, along the Centennial Edition of the World Cup saw The Anchors perform like never before, both times reaching the quarterfinals before bowing out. It had been a meteoric rise for Aphrilia.

And it was not only just Bianchi that affected all of this, that much he knew. The team was willing to move on from Vermonts tactics, to work harder than they ever had. To do their best regardless of their opposition. To believe and trust one another. They were not just another country's national football team, they were a family that sought to improve themselves.

That last part was one Bianchi was willing to admit was on him, and he was certainly proud of this newfound change he implemented.

Everyday, whenever he sees the players training, they're all in a good mood and enjoying the moment. And it was no sense of false or toxic positivity either. Bianchi wanted every player to live in the moment, to play not because they have to, but want to. He wants players who are happily willing to play for the national team, without a sense of burden.

Perhaps this specific shift is what causes the team to do better. Rather than the expectation of "I must do this for my country" or "I have to win this for them," the pressure comes from them just needing to play their best and give their all. To represent Aphrilia proudly and strongly not just out of a sense of duty, but a sense of pride and joy.

Along with the factor of The Anchors being a team that has proven themselves to be capable, there was no team they feared. Their opposition was just like them, fellow footballers representing their own nation. No one was invincible, no one cannot be undefeated, and no one was above them. If they give it their all, he told them, they could defeat anyone.

That belief, along with the efforts necessary, will likely have to be increased considering the group Aphrilia was placed in.

Chromatika, Oberour Ar Moro, and Choppyhausen. It wasn't the most difficult group ever, but it was not easy either. As he sits down, Bianchi thinks. Back in 97, this team had upset Chromatika. But under his management, The Anchors lost out on defending their IAC title, losing to Chromatika on penalties in the Round of 16. This was a revenge match.

Oberour Ar Moro meanwhile, Aphrilia had history with. The two countries were paired in that insane qualifying group also back in 97, with the two times they clashed being a tough affair. A 4-2 loss away and a 4-3 win on home soil. Of course, both teams haave changed and evolved ever since those two clashes, so there was no guarantee what the match would bring. Meanwhile, Choppyhausen was a team Aphrilia had never faced. But, Bianchi was going to make sure to not take any single one of them lightly.

Pride cometh before fall. This was something the Crpostranian was determined to ensure wouldn't happen to The Anchors. If they get outclassed, they admit it and plan for the next. Maybe this team will go further than their last outing, maybe they will falter before getting there. But what will stay true however, was that Aphrilia would try their best.

It always and has always been that way. Every player is ready, time for another tournament consisting of Aphrilian madness.

by **Bhumi Matawis Empire** » Thu Jun 04, 2026 7:56 am

Today is a rather busy day. It's nearing the recess time for the Parliament and yet a very important issue is brought up today. Something that might affected the upcoming election. The chamber of Graha Pawongan have been fill with their members. But it seems that not all of them present today. Just like what it said, the recess time is near and many of them have took an early holiday. However, as long as the quorum is reach, whatever the issue that being discuss today can be immediately taken into voting.

Shellomita is also present. She is invited because of the importance of today's issue. On the podium, the speaker, Darmowijoyo, the government coalition leader, Mahmud Alam and the opposition leader, Ratna Sari Dewi are seated along the big table. Shellomita is also seated on the podium but in her own chair, to the right of the big table. In front of them are the members of parliament who is seated in group based on their relation. The government coalition is to the right of the podium and the opposition is to the left. Far away in the end of the chamber, there are the crossbenchers. As everyone have taken their seat, Darmowijoyo stand up and give the opening.

"Good morning to all. Sir and ma'am who has come this time in this tight days as we approaching the end of the year and the end of our session," he paused a little. "But before we are closing down the door of the Graha Pawongan, we have one final issue that needs to be discuss before we enter our recess time," he scan the whole chamber. And everything seems normal. "As you may have realize, the material for today's discussion have been wired to our esteem members. And I hope you already read it and understand about the whole situation before we proceed with the discussion," he take another pause. "Very well. Let's begin our discussion today regarding the self determination referendum asked by the government of Galiyao," he officially open the discussion.

A murmur fill the chamber. And some of them asking permission to talk. Darmowijoyo scan the room and try to choose who to speak first. And his choice fall to a man from Bangun Negoro.
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker for the opportunity to speak. I have to say this proposal is a stained to the unity of our Empire. I don't know what they think back in Galiyao but this is something that we can't granted. Once we grant it, other part of the Empire might think to choose the same path. And I don't understand the fundamental reason for them to wanting this referendum and this status to separated from the Empire," he says.
"I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you," another man interrupt. "We can't deny their right of self determination. They have their right to be on their own. To govern on their own. And to be free from the Empire," he commented.
"So you are agree that Empire should break up?" this time a woman share her voice.
"You misunderstood my statement, ma'am," that man protested. "I'm just saying that everyone have a right to live on their own feet. Besides, it is a referendum. The voice of the people is the key. If they want to separate, then what can we say about it? Denying it will make us look like an oppressor," he added.
"I have to agree with this woman right here," another man speaks his voice. "Giving them a chance to referendum is like opening a door to a bunch of possibilities of other areas will do the same things. We have to prevent that from happening," he adds.
The murmur become more and more noisy. Darmowijoyo take the step and silence everyone.
"I heard there have been pro and cons amongst us. And base on my quick observation, the numbers are relatively close. To settle this issue with consensus will be hard to achieve. So, I believe we can proceed with a voting instead," he pause. "And for that we adjourn this meeting for 15 minutes," he decided.

And with that, one by one MPs are leaving the chamber until the meeting is starting again. Darmowijoyo on the other hand approached Shellomita. "We need to talk," he says. And Shellomita nods. Both of them walk to a private chamber. It seems that Darmowijoyo needs to discuss something important.

World Cup 101 - The Roleplays

Oramisirian Empire Part 2

the transfer

WC101 1

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