AOCAF 46: Everything Thread

[Valanora]

Valanora Times
Fire Fire

The Marauders stepped a little closer to vindication and redemption as they blew by Mendoya with a bit of ease, with the final scoreline of three to nil. It was a show of dominance and superiority that has been absent from the squad for many years when it comes to the high pressure situations. While it will ultimately be the World Cup and how the team fares their that will determine if the Vanorian might is truly restored, this semifinal run into the AOCAF has gone a long way to reassure the fans of the squad and the braintrust in the VSC and VFA. How far that measure goes into allowing the new staff in charge of the Marauders to adapt the squad to their style is yet to be seen, though the winds of fate are seldom very predictable.

Just ask the rest of the region, as the region suffered greatly in recent months from a series of meteor strikes that has ripped apart a pair of continents, including the one that Valanora resides on. Luckily for we Vanorians, the devestated parts of Arrosia were not within our borders, though the strike to the north that sunk the penisula was frighteningly close. To the east Kishreal and the majority of the continent that was not occupied by our nation also was sunk by the series of strikes while Whittoria in its entirety was demolished through the meteor storm. We must endeavor both as a nation and as a region to recover from this act of nature and the cosmos and continue to build towards a better tomorrow.

Better todays and tomorrows are what Osarius has though, as the Firebirds have vaulted themselves to the top of the heap both regionally and internationally when it comes to football, having brought the World Cup to their nation and to the region. They are a side that knows how to win and in a variety of fashions, from explosive high scoring affairs to the tight one to nil ones that they recently had with Nellietopia in their own quarterfinal fixture. The two sides also have quite a bit of history as well, with each seeming to trade a victory off the other in the course of the ties. If that streak were to continue, it would be the Marauders who are currently due for the victory.

I would look for the Marauders to try and use their powerful midfield to overcome the challenge that Osarius poses, with their 4-3-3 formation leaving the middle to be won by our numbers and skill in the middle. Soldarian and Haerear will look to disrupt the middle while Hawk can be the lynchpin to overcome the stretched Osarius lines. However their extra bodies in attack means that va Drake and Lithvathar will need to backtrack to cover and assist the centerbacks lest they be overrun and pulled apart. It will be quite an interesting show to see if the powerful midfield or the strength in attack will win the battle, for whichever one does will likely tip the favor for the sides as is the norm in these clashes. While I would love to say that the form the Marauders are currently having will give them the advantage, I think Osarius will win the day, though the Marauders will take them to extra time before succumbing to the World Champs.

[95X]

95X Returns, Part Two

"Jason," She said firmly, her voice showing very little emotion.
95X himself turns around, and jumps out of the chair.
"What are you doing here?!" 95X exclaims. "I left the NS Multiverse! I'm not 95X anymore!"
"I need you." Foureleven coldly replies.
"But you hated the fact that I had anything to do with you!," 95X reasons. "I'm letting you live without putting up with me!"
Xi, while standing emotionless, explains to 95X what happened.
"It turns out when an RL individual leaves NS, their nation falls into chaos during the 28 RL days between when they leave and it ceases to exist. Therefore, as I am the only 95Xer that fully understands this, I am asking you to return."
95X was unconvinced.
"You can forget IRC exists, and maybe even other regions," Xi continues, as wide-eyed as ever, which is extremely rare. "Please?"
"I promised everyone I was leaving. Even you. I'd be going back on my word."
"Then retcon it like it never happened. You have more stories to tell, including the ones you haven't written."
Xi holds up her left hand proudly, revealing an amazing looking ring. Although it was plain, it was obviously made of some precious medal.
95X's jaw drops, speechless.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

---

Out of the four teams here tonight, who will qualify for the finals?

Here's your Semifinals Cutoff.

---

Semifinals Results
Osarius 2–3 Valanora @ Iqaluit Stadium, Iqaluit, kick-off time 20:30, due to a 9-hour delay caused by an even bigger snowstorm covering the city of Iqaluit in snow
95X 0–1 Audioslavia

Third-Place Match Fixture
#1 Osarius vs. #2 95X @ Stade Olympia, Montreal (Kickoff time: 19:30)

Final Fixture
#4 Audioslavia vs. #8 Valanora @ CSKA Stadium, Quebec City (Kickoff time: 21:30)

[95X]

(OOC: Quebec, it's OK to scorinate the 3rd Place match whenever. I'll finish the RP lines later.)

Now, a new IC feature: the 95X TMI Tidbit!
Proof people in 95X have no taste in music, this is still the number one song on Cascadia's EDM Authority, Energy 97-9.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

---

Here's your Third-place match cutoff.

---

Osarius 3–0 95X

Congrats to the winner, commiserations to the loser.

[95X]

95X cordially congratulates Osarius on the win.

---

Cascadia, 95X, has its own privately-funded public police department. The men and women in blue are talking about the AOCAF 46 Third Place game, where the crushing defeat to Osarius was not the main topic of discussion.

“I woke up this morning with the song stuck in my head,” one officer said, “how does that go, ‘why does the DJ keep playing Summertime Sadness, it’s not even summer?’”

“Something like that,” another says, who gives the first officer coffee in a disposable cup from a tray and a donut from a box, both on a table. “I was trying to follow along with the crowd. The TV tried to drown them out, but they gave up when the crowd got louder.”

Another officer walks in, picks up his coffee from the tray while slickly grabbing a jelly-filled donut from the box.

“Y’know, some kid at the game played it on his phone speaker, causing that section to start chanting the song. Then that other group holding the flag started rippling it to it. Then there was this ‘three, two, one!’ and all the 95X fans with phones started the song at the same time and just about everyone was in it at that point.”

“How do you know this, Chauncey?” the first officer asked the third.

“Livespace,” Chauncey replied. “But then the riots broke lose in the stands. I’m glad we’re here, not in Quebec.”

They all sip on their coffee, while slowly shaking their heads.

“Well, I’m off to write jaywalking tickets!” Chauncey says as he walks out of the room. The rest also leave, to do their various beats for the day.

As they walk out, the frame of reference shows that, through the window looking into an adjoining room, Xi Foureleven herself is seated at a detective’s desk.

“Tell me about what happened,” the detective says, as Foureleven was in for questioning.

“Melissa/Michelle and I were walking through the tunnel after the game, talking about what a wasted effort it was—”

“Wasted effort?” the detective cuts her off.

“We began with five consecutive wins. I became injured and had to sit out the two games before the last one. She played them all.”

“Who said it was a wasted effort?”

“Michelle said what we were all thinking.”

“Were you jealous that she was not injured?” the detective continued to probe.

“Absolutely not,” Foureleven immediately replied.

“You said you entered the locker room at the same time as Mitchell, where is she?”

“The team was in a line and it just so happened that the two of us were first to the womens’ section—”

“Answer my question!”

“I saw her walk to her locker, where she pixellated out of existence.”

“That is impossible!” the detective said, “I will ask again, where is she?”

“That is my truthful answer.”

The detective looked at Foureleven like he was going to rip into her. Foureleven caught on and the two were exchanging equally cold stares.

“See,” the detective explains, “you have had strange things happen to at least two people when they were in your sole presence. Your teammates have all made statements that the two of you were the last ones seen together. You are a soccer player that also knows martial arts. You seem to know something. There were no unguarded exits to the locker room and nobody has seen her since. This is not just a coincidence.”

Foureleven knew the detective would not understand that they are all characters in a computer simulation, as she knew and told Mitchell about a year before.

“You were holding the necklace,” the detective attempts to build charges in the case.

“Melissa wore it around her neck in the team photo,” Foureleven replied, thinking quickly. “You can still see it online.”

The detective uses a search engine to pull up random pictures, none of which is the one Foureleven referred to. Foureleven directed him to look at the AOCAF 46 Team Picture, where Melissa’s neck was visible and she was wearing a necklace.

“This is not the same necklace,” the detective said, looking at three-centimeter mauve-colored square pendant on it.

“That is how I found it,” Foureleven states.

The detective picks up the evidence bag containing the necklace, but notices the pendant had changed color to a glowing green. The detective opens his mouth to speak, closing it, realizing he has lost his voice. Foureleven stands up to reveal she has nothing on her, not even a cell phone or watch, and asks if she wants him to prove there is nothing under her clothes. The detective shakes his head no.

At this point, the other officers and detectives have stood up, at attention, around the walls of the room. Foureleven carefully stood up, walked to a water fountain, and in sight of everyone in the room filled a paper cup with water, walked back to the detective and offered it to him.

Everyone in the room could attest the Foureleven added nothing to the water. It was clear something was strange about the pendant on the necklace. The detective, knowing he could trust the source of the water, drinks it, and his voice is restored. After giving Foureleven a long, hard look, he tosses some paperwork into a shred bin and grabs other paperwork from a holder on his desk, sighs, and starts to fill it out.

“You may go,” the detective says, “and please, take this thing with you.”

Back to her home, Foureleven went to the one room where she has total privacy, her bedroom, and cried. She’d lost more than just the last game, she’d also lost someone she believed was an enemy that later became a friend. She continued to lay on her bed, crying herself into a nap.

Suddenly, Melissa/Michelle Mitchell appeared in a black-background dream.
“You are dreaming,” Michelle’s head said. “I am the pixel on the pendant,” Melissa’s head says.

“I missed you!” Foureleven cries as she tries to hug Mitchell. Foureleven goes right through her though.

“My appearance is based on your memory,” Melissa said.

Tears continue to roll down Fourelevens’ face.

“They think I did something to you!” Foureleven is in hysterics. “I can take you to 95X, he can repair your file!”

“No,” Melissa continued, “I respawned during an undelete process. My return wasn’t because of him.”

Foureleven tried to regain her composure, in her own dream no less.

“There is one thing I need you to do for me…,” Melissa continued.

Pacific Beach is a small, private, exclusive town due west of Pacific City on the main 95X island. Many of the obscenely rich in 95X live there at least part-time. It was also where Melissa/Michelle’s boyfriend lived.

Xi Foureleven knocked on his door, where a man in his late 30s, standing about six feet tall, answered. Despite wearing a dark overcoat and dark sunglasses, the man knew her identity.

“Xi—Foureleven!” he hyperventilates. “I-I’ve heard so much about you! C-can I get you something?!”

“No thank you.” a straight-faced Foureleven replies. “I have this to give to you,” she hands him the necklace. “I have been instructed to ask by a teammate that you wear this to bed tonight.”

The man takes the necklace, thinking how odd the request is as it’s a women’s necklace. When he took it, the feeling he had for Melissa/Michelle Mitchell returns to him for the first time since he’d last seen her.

[Valanora]

Valanora Times
The Rematch

AOCAF 39 in Raynor City during a sweet summer nighttime affair, fourteen years to the day will the Bulls of Audioslavia and the Marauders of Valanora play once more in a Final of the AOCAF. In that tie, the Bulls of Audioslavia were coming off an AOCAF victory and their first World Cup triumph, and using that skill and buoyancy, were able to overcome our side despite the home advantage that we had by a score of four to two. It was a bit of come full circle moment for the Marauders, losing to the Bulls then as they had in their first ever international appearance back in the qualifying stages of World Cup 29, by the same exact scoreline. Perhaps it was also a sign of things to come for the side, though could be aruged more with what happened in The Holy Republican Empire six years ago.

Now the two sides meet again, with the Bulls once more in the ascent, having risen once more to one of the top 3 sides in the WCC rankings and fourth in the regional rankings. Our side as has been mentioned before has hit a rut in both, since winning the AOCAF for the first time back in AOCAF 44, after overcoming the same Farfadillis side who defeated them in the 43rd's Final. Yet this side that will take the field tomorrow against the Bulls has found a stride here in the Royal Kingdom of Quebec. Odd that it is in the frozen lands of Quebec that it will be where the Marauders would once again find their form and find a resolve that has been missing among all but a few these last few years.

The team has changes in the fourteen years, most notably during this AOCAF squad for our lot, but the spirit of both sides is there. These are two old powers in the footballing world, full of pride and their lists of accomplishments nearly as long as our manager's name. Seven World Cups, four AOCAF championships, and more runners up and third place finishes than either would like to count or admit to, their accomplishments in the game are great. Perhaps so is the respect that the two show towards one another, with hostility in the build up and aftermath of the matches near void and the matches themselves played fairly cleanly. Even now, the Marauders can only speak of the respect and admiration they have for their counterparts skill and accomplishments, speaking of how they want to get back to the heights of where the Bulls currently reside.

Coming into this tournament, no one could have possibly have thought that the Marauders could win the competition, even getting to the semifinals seemed a bit of a pipe dream with how they had performed during the recent world cup. Opening pair of draws in the group stage did nothing to give that sign either, as they lacked all sorts of cohesion, but then they found it and have ran rampant in the matches since. They entered this tournament looking for a bit of redemption and vindication, I would wager to say that they have found it regardless of how tomorrow's match unfolds, be it that they come back to Valanora as champions or if they come back with a solid showing as a runner up.

I for one am hoping that they come back as the champions, as they seem to me with my navy colored glasses as if they deserve it more than their Audioslavian opponents. The Marauders have had to claw and fight their way to here with matchups against Osarius and Legalese, with the Bulls having had a far easier set of opponents. Not to diminish their accomplishments in getting to the Final themselves, but 95X, Naitpyge, and Greater Watford are not world beaters or put up much of a challenge for the Bulls to have to exert themselves to get through. Yet it is that relative ease of competition that may give the Bulls the advantage, as fatigue could play a factor with how the Marauders have had to fight tooth and nail through the tough opponents to make their way.

Whatever the case may be, it is set to be a historic match, and one that perhaps may be the precursor of things for come for both sides as they prepare afterwards for the beginning of qualifiers next spring. This could be where Laborious Hawk adds to his legend, if he can pull his side through one more time and bring the AOCAF back to Valanora for a second time when all the signs were pointing to something less. Perhaps it could even be the best accomplishment the captain will have ever had given the challenge he faced and continues to face with the Bulls indeed the favorite for the game. May Elune provide victory to the squad that deserves it the most.

[Audioslavia]

Audioslavia's Euran manager Lee Sharp allowed himself a defiant puff of his chest as the Audioslavian national anthem played. He'd always stopped short of singing along, despite now knowing the words. It didn't seem appropriate, somehow. He watched as his first eleven, depleted by injuries and suspensions to a couple of key players, lined up for the official photographs. He noted the jeers coming from the stands behind him.

Audioslavia, often a popular side with neutrals, had become more than a little unpopular in the Royal Kingdom throughout the AOCAF tournament. 'Pragmatic' had been the watchword, cropping up in sports papers around the globe, as a diplomatic way of describing the Bulls' performances. 'Dirty', 'uninspired', 'borderline cheats', 'reckless' and 'unwatchable' had been less diplomatic, but each had come up more than once in reports of Audioslavia's matches.

Ronda Styrn, Audioslavia's diminutive female striker, had once been a symbol of progression in Audioslavian football, an inspiration to women nationwide, living proof that Audioslavian women could match the men in all facets of the game. She was quick, strong, determined, bullish (if you'll pardon the pun) and ruthless in her play. Her larger-than-life personality had necessitated giving her the captaincy after Alec Kirk's retirement, and Lee had gone about building the team around her for the AOCAF.

The problem was, in moulding the team around Ronda, he'd created a unit that, while effective, was proving very unpopular.

Aitor Jovellanos and Jody Rijshaart, two popular and skillful left-sided playmakers who had taken turns bossing the left hand side of midfield for six or seven years now, had both featured in the opening games, together, for the first time. Their creativity had veiled the pragmatic approach of the rest of the squad, for a while, but injuries to both had necessitated the use of Brodie Juez and Calitxo Prudentzio in midfield in their stead. Audioslavia's playmakking unit now consisted solely of Janos Hufschmied, with with the triumvarate of Juez, Prudentzio and Omaexevarria tending to sit deep and allow attacks to be constructed via the wing-backs - Arne Polsson, a world class full-back but now 32 and without the stamina to get up and down the flanks for an entire game, and newcomer Anton Evrard-Lecuyer, a good player but more suited to a defensive role. With all the changes, and without the players at his disposal to build his kind of team, as he had done in recent years. Audioslavia had played a bland, possession-heavy style of football and had ground teams into submission over ninety minute 'spectacles' that were anything but. That laboured semi-final victory over 95X had ended with the Bulls side being booed as they celebrated their progression to the final. It was a little difficult to take.

Lee caught sight of himself on the big screen in the stadium. His image overlaid with a graphic of his team's line-up. Rollins - Polsson, Intxausti, Koskinen, Evrard-Lecuyer - Omaexevarria, Prudentzio, B. Juez - Styrn, Hufschmied - Uulver. It was a side full of players from the world's top clubs. And one who played in Taeshan. There was no doubt of its talent. Was it a team for the ages? No.

But then, neither was the World Cup 63 team, right? That team wasn't supposed to win the World Cup. This team almost certainly wasn't supposed to win the AOCAF...

A round of boos greeted the first foul of the game - Hufdis Uulver with a handful of Laborious Hawk's shirt, bringing the legendary Marauder down rather unceremoniously, and all to the tune of a chorus of boos. A round of 'Boring boring Bulls' to boot.

Whatever happens, it won't be pretty..

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

---

Now, here's the match that ends it all. The West vs. East, the Elves vs. the Morals, it all unfolds tonight as Audioslavia and Valanora battle for the shiny, glorious Trophy for the victor of the 46th AOCAF..... Who will walk off the winner?

Here's your final cutoff of the AOCAF.

---

Valanora 5–2 Audioslavia

Congratulations to the winner, Commiserations to the loser.

Thank you all for letting me host what was a phenomenal edition of the AOCAF. It was awesome getting to read great RPs coming from many of you, and I hope to do so more in this sport, for many tournaments down the road. Merci beaucoup!

[Audioslavia]

There's a photo of Laborious Hawk that pretty much every football fan has seen. He's standing, poised, with the ball at his feet. In front of him are a handful of Sylvanae footballers, six or seven of them, all looking up at the broad-shouldered Vanor with looks ranging from fear to awe. The kicker, of course, is that nine seconds after the photo was taken, Hawk had set up one of Valanora's seven goals in that match - the final of World Cup 61.

Few photos are as iconic, but in Audioslavia there is one that has become famous. A recent one. It's of a young Ronda Judit Styrn, bounding along a running track behind a goal in an overly large football stadium. Behind her are some dejected looking Sunrisians, a goal, and a ball inside that goal. Her mouth is open, her expression that of an outraged lionness daring someone to look at her pint. Her jersey is off and wrapped around one arm, revealing a bright yellow sports bra with 'I **** arses' scrawled along both straps in blue biro. It was RJ Styrn down to a T.

The photo that now adorns the back pages of the Cathair Herald, and most newspapers around the region, is in stark contrast. The shirt is off again - a white one, this time, Audioslavia's third choice shirt - and thrown to the floor behind her. The sports bra remains, albiet with only the word 'f***' visible on both straps. She is scowling at a small spot of grass about five yards in front of her and trudging towards the touchlines. Standing behind her is a referee, writing a name in a book, with a small, circular red card hanging from between two fingers. Also behind Ronda, a little closer to her than the referee, is the unmistakeable Laborious Hawk, who is giving RJ a disappointed look, like someone who had just tried to console a fellow human being but whom had found their attempt shunned with an exasperated flail of Ronda's elbow.

The scoreboard isn't visible in the photo. It was 4-2 at the time, and about to become 5-2 soon after. Valanora had done what the majority of neutrals had failed to will on 95X and the like to do, and put a very uninspiring and dirty Audioslavian football team back in their place. 'Cathartic' had been one neutral's take on the match. 'Bout time they got a hiding' had been another.

Down to nine men by the final whistle, having the ball passed round them as they aimlessly chased it like toddlers trying to play ball with their older brothers. This incarnation of the Audioslavian football team had been vanquished.

'Not exactly vintage'.

Lee Sharp looked up from his newspaper. Things would have to change..

[Valanora]

Valanora Times
A Dream of Hope

Finals, they are always a finicky thing, you either go home a champion or go home with the feeling of being kicked in the gut. It is an all or nothing situation, you either have the nerves for it or you don't, there is absolutely no room for the in between. For their part, Vanorians usually have their nerves steady and ready for Finals, having lost them in roughly one out of four times they reach the stage, regardless of what sport they might be playing. That seventy-five percent winning tick in Finals is just another notch in the legend that has become Vanorian sport, as is the ridiculous stat of scoring at least four goals in every football championship that Valanora has ever won.

Which leads to this moment in time, the day after another triumph in a Final, this time taking down the favored Audioslavia side in the AOCAF in a convincing fashion that has not been seen from this Marauder side since dismissing the Slyvans back in World Cup 61. The Marauders were the underdogs in the match but you could not tell that, even as the Audioslavs tried to initially rough up Hawk, va Drake, and Soldarian. Their resolve to absolve this team of ridicule and to make up for the disaster of the previous three World Cups was too strong for such brute tactics. Ultimately the hubris of men came to pass, with Audioslavia getting two players sent off before the game was through.

Where does this team go though, now that the hope that they can be an elite footballing nation has been restored. The World Cup qualifiers begin in Febuary, however it may be that the entire tournament is coming to Valanora itself. In that case, the Marauders would be without a competitive match for over a year and all the momentum that this AOCAF victory has brought will potentially have fizzled out by then. Friendlies could be an answer, although they are becoming a rare thing these days. It goes back to the initial thought process for this AOCAF then, fix what is broken with the entire Vanorian footballing machine. Get new perspective, set better goals, and enjoy the game once more, as it was evident they were in these last four or five games. Let the players play without needlessly stacking more pressure upon them and perhaps we will continue to see the greatness that is possible within them rise to the surface once again.

Valanora: 5
va Drake (16')
Hawk (39')
Celetholtinu (47', 88')
Teltholsyr (71')

Audioslavia: 2
Styrn (27', 42')