World Cup 60: RP Thread

by **New Montreal States** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 2:30 pm

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HOLD A QUALIFIER AND NOBODY SHOWS UP?

Three straight matches against faceless opponents, apathetic fan bases have Paladins fans wondering when the real action will start

NEW MONTREAL - Three matches in, and most Paladins fans are still wondering when the real World Cup qualifiers are going to begin.

All three games count in the standings, and dropping two points on the road at the Kingdom of Okwe could well be the difference between a free ticket to the finals or the playoffs, or between a spot in the playoffs and staying home. The stakes are what they always were, and it should come as no surprise to anyone after four qualifying cycles that getting through is much, much harder than it was during NMS's glory days in the late 20s and early 30s of the World Cup.

But after three straight weeks without finding out the name of a single opposing player, both those lucky enough to have won lottery spots for tickets and those stuck at home watching from the pub or the couch are asking: with one or two honorable exceptions, is anyone else home in group 16?

Only the sentient ponies of Karditan and the seasoned veterans of Cosumar joined the Ministry of Morale in submitting rosters to the general public. Past that - zilch. Tournament buffs are familiar with Megadia, recent losers of a fast-paced 3-2 sprinting match at the Paladin Dome, who have been campaigning for a qualification spot for the last couple of tournaments. Despite their past experience, they have yet to submit a roster. Neither have any of the four newcomers in the group, whose FAs seem to be criminally understaffed or otherwise unwilling/unable to let the world know the names and positions of their national champions. This has been reflected in the turnout for the last three matches: only a handful of Megadia backers made the trip to New Montreal to watch their side hold a 2-1 lead going into halftime, and even fewer Mu Mu supporters made the trek over from One Big Island. (The ones who unfurled Mu Mu's original and excellent flag, however, got a standing ovation from Paladins fans who can appreciate a healthy dose of originality.) Conversely, the stands at the Kingdom of Okwe were painted in blue and silver, and most Montréalais who made the pilgrimage empty-handed reported no problems finding tickets on arrival.

A cynic might suggest apathy as the #3 opponent of the 'States, right after Cosumar and Karditan. But a lot of football remains to be played, and there are plenty of optimists who expect Group 16 to perk up down the line. The standings, considered on their own, suggest a closely contested race, with the Paladins one point clear of a four-way tie for second place. All three previous campaigns were up in the air until the final matchday, and this one will probably be no different. There's one question being asked this time around that wasn't previously in the discussion: if a team qualifies (or doesn't) from a group, and no one is there to hear about it, do they make a sound?

by **Baltskandio** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 2:40 pm

Margrete and Kirsten
Sponsored, as usual, by Milliways

Margrete: "One more good piece in the post."

Kirsten: "Lay it on me."

Margrete: "Lennart from Viimsi: Are you broads gonna start talking football?"

Kirsten: "We respond to our fans, even the difficult ones."

Margrete: "You were too nice. Broads. Hmmpf."

Kirsten: "Nothing broad on us!"

Margrete: "Good match with Wight."

Kirsten: "Tough loss at home. Wight are second seeds in our group."

Margrete: "Masvidal in the sixtieth from a corner."

Kirsten: "Jill won't be happy after that one."

Margrete: "Ella almost saved the point, great chance late."

Kirsten: "Corrizon is bounce back time. Go Baltskandio!"

by **Antoletia** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 2:42 pm

"Well we kinda suck."

"We are so out of form."

"You know what that means, lots and lots of running."

"Yeah couldn't we just lie and say our form is down only because we are two tired from 2 a days and three a days on sundays."

"Yeah we could say that, but come on we haven't really been pushed so far."

"We need more time to get in the swing of things. Back to midseason form."

"Ugh do you have think. Come on we need to work to get better."

"Eh im better with just letting things flow."

"Oh we will never get anywhere with this. Ugh."

by **Wight** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 2:57 pm

by **Licentiapacisterra** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:00 pm

As I did yesterday, I have spent my evening laughing, though this time not at the Eagles’ performance, which was actually rather spirited. No, I have spent my evening laughing at this moronic nation, West Angola, and their ridiculous interpretation of culture. While many who know me suggested I avoid the game, as quite a few morons had made threats on my life, the Grand Duke forced me to show my face.

Pre-match, they showed two moronic television shows, “Hee Haw” and “Howdy Doody”, and the uncultured comedy of Jeff Foxworthy, which had me in stitches at the idiocy of it all. The fans were trying to scare me with quite a few moronic terrace chants, but I managed to shrug it all off.

When the game got underway, the Licentiapacisterran squad fought well, with box-to-box football the staple of the first twenty minutes. Then in the 26th minute, the Cyan-and Gold were in uproar again, as the ball rolled into the back of the net, after Isaac Warren’s shot hit Eagles’ goalie Alex Stewart in the face. Icemarkian referee Lokri Pederson, now infamous for his poor officiating in the Vilita-Lymantatia game yesterday, waved away all Licentiapacisterran protests, even sending Nathan Gardiner to the stands, while Alex Stewart left the park with a broken cheekbone, to be replaced by Chris Robson.

The Eagles managed to pull one back on the stroke of half-time, when Ben Miller won an aerial battle with Michael Remonav, and headed a beauty past Jacob Kerys. The Eagles fans were fired up, and went into the break chanting as if they were headed for their first WCQ win. Play reverted back to it’s original box-to-box game until Luke Parrish made an amazing solo run, powering past Robson into the far corner, to yet again send the Cyan-and-Gold faithful home unhappy.

I mean, did you see that Jeff Foxworthy ?? What a total moron !!

by **Bloodbath Generation** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:01 pm

*long report coming soon*

The Bloodies are off to a bad start, second-to-last in their group. After a close game lost to Jeru FC 2-1, a draw against Eastfield Lodge, and today's draw against Braxil, forward Suribada Park, our only scorer, said

We tried our hardest, There are still some games left. We have potential to go on, but the future looks grim.

Can we pull through? Or will our first-ever World Cup be a disappointment? Stay tuned to your local station for the latest news.

by **Alexanderburn** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:19 pm

Benevenutte à l'Icemark-du-Sud. Procèdes à l'entra per la réclame des bagages.

"È-t-un più froid ici!" noted Alexander Nordaglio, goalkeeper of the Alexanderburnese team.
Nordaglio, an Alexanderburnese native who grew up speaking speaking both English and Alexanderburnese, put on a pair of gloves before proceeding to the customs gate.

"Hey, check out the newspaper!"

Le Toural - the Alexanderburnese daily newspaper
Page 16 - Quick Sports Summary

The Alexanderburnese national football team (ANFT) has made history by drawing with Akbarabad.
Today, the nation plays an away game at South Icemark. The line-up is presented here.

STARTING LINE-UP (Alexanderburn vs. South Icemark)

-------------------- van der Pol ---- Cremonesi -------------------
------ Frederiksen -------- Schroeder -------- Austerlitz ------
-------------------- Holierhoek --------- Collett -------------------
--------- Doyle ------- Rittenhouse ------- Ebersberger ---------
----------------------------- Nordaglio ------------------------------

Modification: -1

According to our poll, 61% predicted that South Icemark will win. 14% predicted that Alexanderburn would win. 25% predicted that the teams would draw.
Betting stats have the most likely score at South Icemark 2-0 Alexanderburn.

Another survey indicated that 68% of Alexanderburnese fans were satisfied with Mr William Kingsley's coaching. 20% were unsatisfied and 12% had no opinion.

PLAYER OF THE DAY: Torben Frederiksen. He is the most likely midfielder to score in any game, according to betting site Nouvéquie.

by **Kagdazka and Pazhujebu** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:22 pm

Riding west on a late-night monorail across the mountainous, jungle covered interior of Fajr Island, Zubeida Ichuvihaja couldn't get the image of those cold black eyes out of her head.

She'd been emerging from the Kagdazka and Pazhujebu dressing room and entering the clay-caked match tunnel at the Emuzhezh Stidiyama when she'd first caught sight of them, peering out from behind the husk of a nameless unidentifiable automaton. Sørøya, it seemed, though once the subject of vast international diplomatic incident and discussion, particularly for Rushmori citizens, had become irrelevant, so much so that its citizens were reduced to this shape.

In the tunnel next to her goalkeeper counterpart, who was dressed in an unremarkable shade of light gray, with the word "EX-NATION" emblazoned across his chest, she first made eye contact, and that's when she knew something was very wrong.

His eyes, human as they were, were emptier than micro-brewery bottles in a hipster's dorm room. Nothing but black in his irises, which wasn't too unordinary in and of itself, but something about the way the darkness didn't reflect properly... almost like there was jet-black paint on his cornea.

She'd extended her hand to him as a gesture of sporting good will. He shook it in return, but with a creepy limpness.

Out the window of the monorail, Zubeida gazed out into the night. There, about ten miles away, and one mile up on the slopes of a great peak, were the distant lights of the Mount Nussizhadani ski resort town, one of the fastest growing communities in all of Pazhujebu. (It was almost as big a money-maker as Šah, a city she was more familiar with as a result of her birth in Pkethat Hevnaje, which was, incidentally, her current destination.)

After the match, she'd gone to shake her Sørøyan counterpart's hand once more. "Well done," she said courteously.

First the first time, Zubeida heard his voice. Strangely high, she noticed. Like he was concealing a deep wheeze in his lungs. "You as well," he answered. (They'd both kept clean sheets.)

"Are you... are you feeling all right?" she asked.

"As well as one can."

"Why, what do you mean?"

Now his eyes, swimming with tears, looked more frightening than usual. "You, my dear lady, have a homeland to return to. Mine is no more."

"What happened?"

"We cannot speak of it here."

"Why not? What happened to Sørøya?!"

"If you dare seek the answers, you will seek out your old friend back in the woods. She will understand. She will explain. But she will not help."

And he morphed oddly away, his black eyes still burning her retinas white.

She could still see them even now, in the monorail car. The discomforting thing was, she knew exactly who he was talking about.

by **Earent** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:28 pm

CONFIDENTIAL
DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
Evaluations--Addendum
Player: Hempner, Moygel
Perception: Medium
Presence: Low
Physical compatibility: High
Youth team evaluations (Attereg GU): Could be very versatile in the midfield, but tends to cramp up and revert to defensive roles when challenged. Despite this a very useful asset for us.
Recommendation: Continue to push him in developing at different aspects of his game. Also, anything that makes it harder for a club to lure him outside of Attereg is good, unfortunately we do not have too many options at the moment.

Tykel Marsinee let out a smile. "It's good to be home."

Chera gave what was, for him, a sincere nod. "I'll say. Sleep in my own bed for a change."

"Mmhmm," said Moygel, distractedly.

But Tykel didn't let it past him. "What's up?"

"Oh...my dad's here. Got tickets on the internet."

"Your dad's a nice guy."

"I didn't know my dad used the internet!" Moygel exclaimed. At Chera's shock, he amended, "okay, yes, I did, but seriously. He's been on my case about--like--stuff."

"Stuff?"

"Do I get paid to make this up, you know, what if I get hurt, what about the club, dah dah dah."

"And what did you tell him?"

"I told him I had a game."

"And?"

"I...have...a game?"

"Yep. So, I'll ask again. What's up?"

"Huh," Moygel blinked. "I dunno. Just nerves?"

"Well, everyone has nerves. So..."

"Yeah, whatever."

Banners extolling Marsinee were out in full force. His step away from Attereg GU had not soured the fans too much, although after their last season they clearly missed him--Ruthin Brath, an Attereg defender, was one of only two players that had been cut after the Brevity Challenge Cup. Maybe it was just the refreshingly straightforward nature of the team they were up against, but deep down, thought Moygel, not even Eanbyre could match Attereg fans' passion.

Of course, getting them to cheer for players from another city...

Well, Tearim managed all right, with the curving shot. Earent's first goal of qualifiers, in fact--maybe that had something to do with it.

And the fans would have to get used to it. They even had a warning, the announcers actually getting to explain that he was setting up for a penalty kick, and sure enough they had the lead again.

It didn't last. Western Cuba, like plenty of teams out there, were an attacking side and Earent were in their 4-4-2. With more room at the back, the visitors eventually clawed their way back and Edgardo Mendoza got a brace of his own.

But then there was Tearim, and for a second the shot was in the air Moygel couldn't help but laugh at himself. There had been nothing to worry about. His dad was fine, his dad had probably had a couple drinks and was going to be as pleased as everyone else when the Devsgrybe forward scored a hat-trick.

Then his mind went blank. There was just seasons' worth of instincts, piling up and crashing forward for something woven in between the seasons, and then, there--

The Attereg fans were screaming again. They wanted to turn their banners over, pass the sheets and rotate them through the sections, scrawl something new on the back. But, they realized--and it was not a cool-headed insight, it was the passionate and partisan glance at the clock, they didn't have time. So they didn't bother.

by **Gyatso-kai** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:32 pm

.:: Meshgeroya'yaim, Keldabe, Keldabe Autonomous Province, Gyatso-kai ::.
1045 hours local time (UTC+7), 08 June 2012.2

"Oya ade!!! K'atini!!!"

Kad'e Tay'haai hated these long practice sessions; he wasn't even sure what time it was. The sun hadn't risen above the beskar-steel alloy walls of the Meshgeroya'yaim, so it couldn't be past eleven.

Even though it is small, thought Tay'haai as he reached down to touch the goal line, this is still my favourite stadium.

The Meshgeroya'yaim, or "Home of the Beautiful Game" in Mandalorian, was an impressive arena. Combined with the ever-impressive metal side panels, the arena featured not only a retractable roof --- great for when the Keldabe region's trademark southern storms pushed through the area every summer --- but also a retractable field of real grass; Tay'haai always preferred playing on the natural fields of Gyatso-kai. Maybe it was the species of grass, maybe it was the way the Waterbending Masters grew the grass, or maybe it was just the playing "at home" that he loved so much... but nonetheless, at home, the blood, sweat, and tears shed were worth just that little bit more...

"Alright, ade, bring it in," shouted Head Coach Vhett as he motioned for the men to come in from practice. On t he sidelines sat the assistant coaches and Vhett, all in the typical "I am not happy with you" posture so many coaches knew perfectly. As each man came in, they took a knee in front of Vhett, who handed them all a bottle of Dragonade.

"Now," Vhett spoke, taking a seat on the bench in front of his men. "We need to improve out there; and I am not going to sugar-coat any of it."

"First of all, we need to get into the rhythm of the match before the first half is over. In all three games, you ade have not synced until the game was half over, and by then, the opposing team is already moving into formation.

"We need to start scoring earlier in the match. We cannot simply rely on Hikaru to strike the ball in late in the game, nor can we start relying on A'den to make a late game winner as we did back in the Pee-Eye-Es. The games need to be won before the seventy-fifth minute. I want a goal scored before the half, and more importantly before the other team scores. We cannot afford to play catch-up; there is already so short of time to play the game, we do not need overage time added to help us secure a victory."

"We need to keep shutting down the defence. That is something you have done well in the last two games. Jat'bora to the Dueling Mandos and company."

"The offence needs to bring the pressure. Li, Tsukino... Don't make me have to bring in the subs to help you two get forward... I know, I know, Tsukino, you are neutral... But I need you to get up with Tay'haai and Hikaru and see to it you contribute more to getting the ball forward."

Vhett took a deep breath before standing. He stretched his legs before turning back to the squad.

"Now, I want you to go in, shower, rest up, and be back here by 1400 hours. We have quite a match today and an even bigger match tomorrow. Let's keep the momentum going."

A brief clap was all the men needed before being dismissed. Tay'haai was the first to stand, and he could see determination on his teammates' faces. Perhaps the talk was taken well...

Only time would tell...

by **Iturributa** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:15 pm

Old City Stadium, full to the rafters. Noise, cheering, flares, fireworks and cornets had greeted Zorion Legeren and his teammates as they walked out to face The Kytler Peninsulae, their third opponent in these qualifiers. With their previous result in Iturributa a 6-1 victory over West Spaam, and their previous result a loss in Valladares that could so easily have been one or three points, there was confidence on the pitch and the stands. The press were all over it, speculating wildly and calculating how many points they needed to win the group.

They'd played strongly in the beginning, restricting the Kytlerians to their own half and getting in some tentative shots. One of their clearest chances was when Isasmendi left Barta one-on-one with the keeper, but Falamoe saved even though the shot struck him in the face. Sein's men had been instructed to bag an early goal and they chased after it desperately, but ten minutes stretched into twenty and then forty. Boneta's header, over the bar despite being in the six yard box, was the last straw, and on the counterattack a Bobson pass split the defense, Burruchaga missing the clearance and allowing Stamp to ram the ball into Aira's net.

That took the wind out of their sails going into the second half, the crowd restless. It was all a whirlwind for Legeren. Changes, water, boards, encouragement, LOUD NOISES and so on. They'd poured all they had in the first 45, and now they needed to go for another half with not nearly as much energy and one goal down. Their only hope was to exchange roles, limiting themselves to holding out and perhaps scoring on a breakaway. For which they needed trustworthy strikers, and it didn't look like it was their forwards' night...

Ten minutes left. Same score. Walking from a distance because he had no strength left to run to and from the box, Legeren waited for Lukuix to take the long free-kick. He knew the cameras were pointed at the taker instead of him, idling, but he still felt a burning on the back of his neck. Pairs of eyes drilling, judging him. Despising him, maybe. He didn't blame them. They'd been stupid to try and go toe-to-toe with the Kytler Peninsulae. It was beyond their reach at the moment. They lacked momentum. They lacked... what else? Spirit? Hardly. Talent? Hardly. Powell Pieran? Hopefully not. Luck, then, or something beyond that.

That absence made them miserable, that much Legeren knew at least. They'd promised to win the Baptism of Fire for their people. They'd failed. They'd promised to go to the World Cup, as Iturributans. So far, it looked distant. One letdown after another, and nobody can afford that when they're overselling a gigantic arena. The fans were out in droves, spending their money, time and voices to give them all their support, and the players couldn't score one bloody goal to make it all worthwhile. So they could go home with so much as one brief emotional outpour.

No, they couldn't. After Lukuix's free-kick, after Naugle's run and after Stamp's second finish of the night, Legeren diving past the goal line in a futile attempt to clear, the stadium fell quiet, the silence pierced by the blowing of the final whistle. Zorion Legeren picked himself up and trudged to the sideline, his back to a crowd that wasted no time in emptying Old City Stadium.

by **Polar Islandstates** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:37 pm

DROPPED!
Amadeus Irndtor dropped from starting line-up after basic errors in Freedom's Altar cost Terns the game against Yesopalitha

In a press conference at the Nasjonale Stadion last night, assistant manager Joachim Schwartz confirmed to assembled press just what had been speculated in recent days - that lone striker and focus of the attack, Amadeus Irndtor, will remain on the bench for tomorrow's ever more crucial home qualifier against Puhalux Ezocafi Nzojug.

"I think its clear for most to see that Amadeus isn't at the top of his form at the moment, and so yes, I will be resting him from the starting line-up for the next match." Schwartz had said diplomatically, "I've spoken with Sol and with Amadeus on the matter, and he is okay with this. He's had a long season with SK, and whilst he remains a key member of the squad and a highly respected figure in the dressing room I don't think his head is quite in the right place just yet."

Amadeus Irndtor hasn't looked the same for the Terns since the home drop out against Andossa Se Mitrin Vega at the last world cup finals, here in Polar Islandstates. Missing the first game through injury, he looked dull and off his best at home to Bordurian, not helped by a home crowd that seemed unwilling to give him time to find his feet back in the side, and although he eventually had a hand in the build up to van Sorensen's winner, many were disappointed to see his name appear on the team sheet once more away at The Sacred Heart against Yesopalitha, with many believing that Sol's over-reliance on the striker has caused him to be rushed back before regaining full fitness. Either way, his performance against the hotly-tipped Group 22 dark horses was abject at best, and he showed little of the ball winning and possession keeping ability that had previously made him such a feared opposition in the Federation League and beyond. Indeed, it was a poor touch from Irndtor that led to the Terns losing possession at the start of the second half and conceding the only goal of the game from Jack-Bentley.

Amadeus Irndtor yesterday cut a forlorn and solitary figure at an open training session.

The fates of Irndtor and Kirkkegaard have seemed inexorably linked since the whispers started from the first whistle against Harjeland, and with Magnus Ragnorak either unwilling or unable to either deny or confirm the rumours that Sol's position at the helm of the Terns is no longer untouchable, speculation continues to mount over the managerial future and direction of the side.

Joachim Schwartz remained neutral at the press conference last night, and refused to be drawn into an answer that told anybody much about anything at all. When asked if he considered these next two matches against Puhalux Ezocafi Nzojug and Traila to be part of a job interview process, he neatly sidestepped the question.

"I don't think that it would be wise or fair of me to discuss Sol's position at the Terns. I know he has my full support, the support of the Twitchers, the support of the FPIFA, and after that clear and unarguable display of emotion against Yesopalitha I think he should have proved himself to everyone concerned that his heart is still in this job. It would be unfair to blame the result on any one player or tactical decision, there are eleven players out there at any one time, and plenty of time to make tactical adjustments from anyone on the bench, we just had one of those days. Yesopalitha are a rising force in football, and perhaps today we underestimated them, who knows."

Schwartz continued; "It is a bit out of character for Sol to lose his temper like that, yes, and he probably did deserve to be sent to the stands. A two match touchline band is a fair punishment, and we thank the WCC for not making an example of him. We made a decision as a pair that he would not be attending the training sessions during that time, so as to not be too reliant on him when he can't be there. He'll be watching the games from the stands, yes, but he's not being excluded from the team as some kind of rift, not at all. There is no rift. It is imagined."

Schwartz didn't have much to say on the topic of Magnus Ragnorak's continued press silence either, merely stating that whilst it was unusual, and not necessarily a technique he agreed with, that the long-serving chairman probably had his reasons. Nor could the assistant manager shed any light on the rumours that Ragnorak and Jeremy Jaffacake of Audioslavia had been seen drinking together in the bars of Jan Mayen, though the rumours will persist. Public opinion remains divided on both the issues at hand, with support and opposition for both Irndtor and Kirkkegaard, though many seem agreed that Ragnorak's handling of the mounting speculation is flawed at best.

Joachim Schwartz shouting from the touchline at The Sacred Heart after Kirkkegaard was sent to the stands.

With no sign of any respite from the intense media attention surrounding the squad, Schwartz did at least put an end to the speculation that surrounds the team selection for the next two matches by announcing his first choice experimental side for the games against Puhalux Ezocafi Nzojug and Traila, before the must-win fast-paced end to the first half of qualification against Audioslavia and Pasarga, for which Kirkkegaard will return for. carryling slight knocks form the Yesopalitha game, Ljungberg and Juul are to be left out of the next two starting line-ups as a precautionary measure, with Petersen and Oyen-Spekke their replacements. In a three man midfield, captain Jorgen Hauge will play behind a partnership of Finnibaturinn and Vik, with Bru, Baek, and Lepka all expected to get game time as substitutes in the coming games. Up front, creative inspiration Alexsandr van Sorensen will play a free role behind the lethal combination of a reunited Kvitchenko and Elmsvikur, who it is believed will be the more likely players to drift out to the wide attacking positions, allowing van Sorensen and Vik to make charges through the middle.

Whatever happens, it almost goes without saying that the attention and focus paid on Schwartz's performance in the next two matches will be closely watched by a great many interested parties. The Twitchers, the FPIFA, the press, Sol Kirkkegaard, Magnus Ragnorak, and Amadeus Irndtor.

Formation for the next two matches against Puhalux Ezocafi Nzojug and Traila
--------------------------- Gammel ---------------------------
---- Petersen--- Oyen-Spekke -- Urfstadt ---- Folke ----
---------------------------- Hauge ---------------------------
-------------- Finnibaturinn ---------- Vik ------------------
------------------------ van Sorensen ------------------------
--------------- Elmsvikur ------- Kvitchenko -----------------

by **Free South Califas** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:39 pm

In accordance with the express positive mandate of the Eighth Federal Assembly of the Communities and Economies of Free South Califas, to wit, 8FA World Cup Domestic and Foreign Statistics Act, the Federal World Cup Statistics Delegation (F/WCSD) has compiled this list of Important Games from Matchday 3, with analysis.

Group 1
Eastfield Lodge 0–4 Jeru FC
Braxil 0–0 Bloodbath Generation
Michael VII 4–2 Liventia
- Group 1                             Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Jeru FC                               3    3   0   0     9    1   +8     9
2 Michael VII                           3    2   1   0     6    3   +3     7
4 Eastfield Lodge                       3    1   1   1     2    4   −2     4

Jeru FC keep their win streak alive, at the expense of Eastfield Lodge's bid to tie Michael VII for the pod spot. Instead, Eastfield Lodge will stay tied with Braxil in fourth place, down on tiebreakers. It is very early in the qualifying stage, but Jeru and Michael have made strong impressions.

Group 2
Silver Beach 3–1 Falconwhereveryouare
Andossa Se Mitrin Vega 1–0 Idaniera
19th Century Beards 1–2 Kulverint
- Group 2                             Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Kulverint                             3    3   0   0     6    3   +3     9
2 Silver Beach                          3    2   0   1     8    5   +3     6
3 19th Century Beards                   3    2   0   1     3    2   +1     6
6 Andossa Se Mitrin Vega                3    1   0   2     1    2   −1     3

With Kulverint on a roll, 19th Century Beards were handed their first setback. This allowed Silver Beach to advance into the pod spot for now on a convincing home victory. Andossa Se Mitrin Vega finally have their first win, with plenty of time to build momentum in the group stage.

Group 3
Virabia 0–1 Gyatso-kai
The Archregimancy 0–1 The Han Empire
Achtervolging 0–4 Mapletish
- Group 3                             Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 The Han Empire                        3    3   0   0     5    0   +5     9
2 Gyatso-kai                            3    3   0   0     5    2   +3     9
3 Mapletish                             3    2   1   0     8    2   +6     7

Not much to report here as Han and Gyatso-kai were just good enough to lock everyone else out. Mapletish had the rout of the week in Group 3 action, though they would be outdone by Ossidiacqua on the day. In handing Achtervolging their third straight loss, they continue knocking on the door in this group.

Group 4
Orlkjestad 2–1 The FSSO
The Holy Empire 0–1 Capivara Group
- Group 4 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Orlkjestad 3 3 0 0 6 3 +3 9
2 Capivara Group 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6
3 The FSSO 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
5 The Holy Empire 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 4

Favored in the group, FSSO and the Holy Empire fell out of the top shade for the moment, with Capivara Group taking their place in seat 2 and Orlkjestad continuing their win streak.

Group 5
San Nitrento 1–2 South Icemark
Cowardly Pacifists 0–0 Octinstine
Jedi8246 1–0 United commonwealth of Ayrshire
Akbarabad 1–1 Alexanderburn
- Group 5 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Cowardly Pacifists 3 2 1 0 2 0 +2 7
2 Jedi8246 3 2 0 1 5 6 −1 6
3 South Icemark 3 1 2 0 6 5 +1 5
4 Akbarabad 3 1 2 0 8 5 +3 5
5 Octinstine 3 1 2 0 6 4 +2 5

While ending their win streak, the Chickens held firm against Octinstine, keeping them out of a first-place tie with the 0-0 result. Akbarabad also stayed on the ground with a 1-1 draw hosting unranked Alexanderburn, in what might be considered upsets of a sort. Meanwhile, South Icemark and Jedi8246 launched themselves into contention with one-goal victories. It was a skin-of-the-knees kind of day in Group 5.

Group 6
El Gran Tropico 0–1 Valanora
Cyborg Holland 5–2 Fonidia and Osteyon
Torisakia 1–3 Taeshan
United Gordonopia 0–1 Hakkland
- Group 6 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Cyborg Holland 3 3 0 0 8 2 +6 9
2 Valanora 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6
3 Hakkland 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
4 El Gran Tropico 3 1 1 1 4 2 +2 4
5 Taeshan 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4

Cyborg Holland stay hot with a commanding offensive performance at home. Meanwhile, Valanora is back on its feet with a road victory that held El Gran Tropico out of the top two for another day. Taeshan and Hakkland scored wins on the road to announce their presence in Group 6.

Group 7
Kinitaria 0–1 Swartaz
Zanzar 1–1 Krytenia
Ossidiacqua 5–0 New Pebble Island
- Group 7 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Swartaz 3 3 0 0 6 3 +3 9
2 Krytenia 3 2 1 0 5 3 +2 7
3 Ossidiacqua 3 2 0 1 11 5 +6 6
4 New Pebble Island 3 2 0 1 5 6 −1 6

Swartaz took an expected win at Kinitaria to stay hot, while Zanzar shocked Krytenia with a 1-1 tie at home. Krytenia held second place on the result, but have both Ossidiacqua and New Pebble Island breathing down their necks after the Ossidiacquans' 5-0 rout at home. It would set the mark so far for Largest Rout, but not for long...

Group 8
Iglesian Archipelago 0–1 Sarrbia
Grunuik 1–5 Ipeland
Jeruselem 1–1 The Kingdom of Hyrule
Von Kopsho 0–0 Meshkete
- Group 8                             Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Jeruselem                             3    2   1   0     4    1   +3     7
2 Sarrbia                               3    2   0   1     4    2   +2     6
3 Ipeland                               3    2   0   1     8    4   +4     6
4 Meshkete                              3    1   1   1     5    3   +2     4
5 Von Kopsho                            3    1   1   1     1    1    0     4
6 The Kingdom of Hyrule                 3    0   3   0     1    1    0     3[/quote]

Jeruselem's win streak ended with a 1-1 tie vs Kingdom of Hyrule, who have specialized in exactly that sort of thing so far. Ipeland pounded the keeper at Grunuik, winning 5-1 and leaping ahead of Meshkete and Von Kopsho, who had a hung jury. Sarrbia moved into second place with Ipeland after scoring a single goal at Iglesian Archipelago, who join Grunuik in their misery at the bottom of the table.

[pre]Group 9
Legalese 1–0 Ishaanabad
Qazox 1–0 Starblaydia
Cotdelapoms 1–3 Phoenigetuzstha
- Group 9                             Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Legalese                              3    3   0   0     6    1   +5     9
2 Qazox                                 3    3   0   0     8    4   +4     9
3 Phoenigetuzstha                       3    2   0   1     4    2   +2     6
4 Cotdelapoms                           3    2   0   1     5    4   +1     6

While Legalese and Qazox kept rolling on perfection with narrow home wins, Phoenigetuzstha went to Cotdelapoms and pried open a place for themselves in the group with a respectable attacking performance.

Group 10
Ancharmunn 6–0 Vettrera
Mytannion 2–0 Rhodesiah
- Group 10                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ancharmunn                            3    3   0   0    13    3  +10     9
2 Mytannion                             3    3   0   0     7    1   +6     9

Group 10 continues to eat Ancharmunn and Mytannion's dust, as the former set the pace for Largest Rout so far in the qualifiers.

Group 12
Monastery-on-the-Rock 1–4 Bostopia
Unibot 1–2 Turori
Free South Califas 2–3 Cult of Ashley Greene
Milchama 1–0 Corderock
- Group 12 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Bostopia 3 3 0 0 9 4 +5 9
2 Cult of Ashley Greene 3 2 1 0 6 3 +3 7
3 Milchama 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 6
4 Turori 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
5 Unibot 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
6 Free South Califas 3 1 0 2 5 7 −2 3
7 Monastery-on-the-Rock 3 0 1 2 1 6 −5 1
8 Corderock 3 0 0 3 2 6 −4 0

Ah, our terrible Group of Death. The Harvest Mice fell 2-3 at Gaslamp Quarter Stadium despite the sharp cuts Califans could make in the short San Diego grass, and the repeated image of stumbling Greenites barely keeping possession on the unfamiliar surface. Ashley Greene has a surprising hold on second place, while Milchama is still in it after a loss to favorite Bostopia and a win vs punching-bag Corderock.

Group 13
The tidal wake 2–2 Lymantatia
Iturributa 0–2 The Kytler Peninsulae
West Spaam 1–2 Valladares
- Group 13                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Valladares                            3    3   0   0     4    1   +3     9
2 Lymantatia                            3    2   1   0     8    5   +3     7
3 The Kytler Peninsulae                 3    2   1   0     4    1   +3     7

Group 14
Bears Armed 1–0 Friday Freshman
Ko-oren 3–1 Equatorial Sarmen
- Group 14                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Bears Armed                           3    3   0   0     8    1   +7     9
2 Ko-oren                               3    3   0   0     6    1   +5     9

Group 15
Greckan Tribes 1–1 Sargossa
Calorax 1–3 Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk
- Group 15                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk                3    3   0   0     8    3   +5     9
2 Sargossa                              3    2   1   0     7    5   +2     7

Group 16
New Montreal States 3–2 Megadia
Karditan 1–0 The Kingdom of Okwe
Cosumar 4–2 Mu Mu
Weatherdon 1–0 Salouf
- Group 16                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 New Montreal States                   3    2   1   0     5    3   +2     7
2 Megadia                               3    2   0   1     4    3   +1     6
3 Weatherdon                            3    2   0   1     2    1   +1     6
4 Cosumar                               3    2   0   1     6    4   +2     6
5 Karditan                              3    2   0   1     4    2   +2     6

Group 17
Antoletia 2–2 Waspeaters
Enslavia 2–2 Equestrian States
Earent 3–3 Western Cuba
Sanian Confederacy 1–5 Erathore
- Group 17                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Erathore                              3    3   0   0     8    2   +6     9
2 Antoletia                             3    1   2   0     5    3   +2     5
3 Western Cuba                          3    1   2   0     4    3   +1     5
4 Equestrian States                     3    1   1   1     6    6    0     4

Group 18
Kiryu-shi 0–0 West Zirconia
Cafundeu 1–0 Tales
Farfadillis 1–2 Darmen
- Group 18                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Cafundeu                              3    3   0   0     5    2   +3     9
2 Darmen                                3    2   0   1     4    2   +2     6
3 West Zirconia                         3    1   2   0     5    2   +3     5

Group 19
Licentiapacisterra 1–2 West Angola
Cassadaigua 5–3 Camwood
- Group 19                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 West Angola                           3    3   0   0     6    1   +5     9
2 Cassadaigua                           3    3   0   0     9    5   +4     9

Group 20
Astograth 3–1 Cheergirls
Laversia 0–3 Chenkorya
Kazzoria 1–4 Northern Bettia
- Group 20                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Astograth                             3    3   0   0     9    3   +6     9
2 Northern Bettia                       3    2   0   1     6    4   +2     6
3 Chenkorya                             3    2   0   1     7    4   +3     6
4 Cheergirls                            3    2   0   1     7    6   +1     6
5 Kazzoria                              3    2   0   1     4    4    0     6

Group 21
Carpathia and Ruthenia 2–1 Boring Paradise
The Union of Myanmar 2–3 Queer Poco el Mono Ara
- Group 21                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Carpathia and Ruthenia                3    3   0   0     5    1   +4     9
2 Queer Poco el Mono Ara                3    3   0   0     9    6   +3     9

Group 22
Yesopalitha 1–0 Polar Islandstates
Pasarga 3–2 Audioslavia
Bordurian 2–4 Puhalux Ezocafi Nzojug
- Group 22                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Yesopalitha                           3    3   0   0     6    2   +4     9
2 Puhalux Ezocafi Nzojug                3    2   1   0    11    4   +7     7
3 Pasarga                               3    2   1   0     7    4   +3     7
4 Polar Islandstates                    3    2   0   1     5    2   +3     6

Group 23
Fiencia 0–1 Mangolana
Cestyr 0–0 World War Land
Armed Bears 2–0 Viator
- Group 23                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 World War Land                        3    2   1   0     4    1   +3     7
2 Armed Bears                           3    2   0   1     9    6   +3     6
3 Mangolana                             3    2   0   1     3    3    0     6
4 Cestyr                                3    1   2   0     3    2   +1     5

Group 24
Baltskandio 1–2 Wight
Chetkosk 2–0 Maron
- Group 24                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Chetkosk                              3    3   0   0    10    3   +7     9
2 Wight                                 3    3   0   0     8    2   +6     9

OOC: Sorry, didn't have time to do commentary on the last half of the groups since the library closes at 5 PDT as well and I have DVDs due. But since I copied and pasted what I thought were important or otherwise interesting results all morning, I figured I might as well share it.

by **Audioslavia** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:45 pm

"They're f***in' there for the taking!" bellowed Torsten Ibsen, his arm rigid, his fist clenched, pumping the air by his right hand side and walking backwards into his own half. Weverton Sporadic and Marc Vauvenargues jogged past, one after the other, the latter receiving an almighty slap on the back. "I mean, f*** it, they're lucky to be level. 2-2. Thirty minutes left. Game on."

Ibsen's summary of the preceding hour of football was only slightly inaccurate. Audioslavia and Pasarga had played a fast-paced, competitive game of football. Weverton Sporadic had opened the scoring, twisting himself into space on the edge of the area and lashing a low shot into the corner. Pasarga had equalised through a penalty kick just ten minutes later before taking the lead before half-time, Leon Cole finishing off a sweet passing move past an out-of-position Newbridge. The half-time scoreline was unfair on the Bulls, who could at least claim to have been equals to their hosts.

The Bulls, in their all-white away strip, came haring out of the blocks for the second half with Sporadic and young-gun Velazquez beginning to run the show in midfield. Their centre-park creativity created the opportunity for Marc Vauvenargues to finally level the scores on the hour, and the in-form Bulls looked the more likely to emerge from the game with all three points, despite the fact that such a result would surely go down as a shock.

Velazquez received a pass deep in Audioslavia's half and proceded to take it up field, beating Gaber for pace down the right before cutting inside and looking up, searching for passing prospects and closing defenders. In the centre, Vauvenargues and Weverton twisted themselves into space, their arms rising in unison as they saw Velazquez look up. The young Ausque-Audioslavian looked back down to the ball and continued his run, attempting to take the ball past another player. A strong challenge from Hotovec, taking the ball in a swooping slide-tackle and upending the midfielder, drew groans from the crowd, a sigh from Weverton Sporadic and righteous anger from Marc Vauvenargues. Audioslavia were forced back into their defensive shield again, breaking down the counter-attack and keeping the Pasargans away from their penalty area. Vauvenargues approached Weverton as the playmaker caught his breath in the centre-circle.

"He's a selfish twat. He's a f***ing selfish twat"
"Keep your mind on the game" said Weverton, without looking round at Vauvenargues, instead strolling in the general direction of the left wing, where the ball now was with Eyþóra Skarphéðinsdóttir.
"He'll lose us this game" replied Vauvenargues, calling after the slowly retreating figure of Weverton.

With ten minutes to go, Marc was proved right.

Audioslavia had, in general, the better of the play for the intervening twenty minutes albeit with nothing to show for it. Substitute Zuzen Holai took the ball down the right wing, passing a short ball inside to Velazquez and sprinting forward, down the line and beyond the full-back, expecting a return pass into the yawning space ahead of him. Velazquez feinted such a pass, instead cutting inside himself and breaking towards the area. Two defenders closed the midfielder down. To onlookers and commentators it looked like the beginnings of a carbon copy of his goal against Traila, using speed and dexterity to shimmy past two defenders and lash a shot past a goalkeeper. Marc Vauvenargues and Weverton Sporadic attempted to find space but were quickly picked up by attentive and numerous defensive players. Velazquez contineud his run. For a split second, Marc hoped he'd actually be able to round the two closing defenders and have a shot, rather than turn and recycle the ball for another attack by playing a safe pass back to a defender. The number nineteen did exactly that, but failed to even trouble the first defender, losing his balance after a scuffed attempt at a step-over. Every single Audisoslavian player had to change direction and momentum and start to track back and cover.

The sheer speed of Pasarga's counter-attack ensured their efforts would be in vain.

Filatov's curled pass found Hotovec on the wing, who immediately played a long, looping cross-field pass into the gaping space behind the Audioslavian left-back which Perkovic and Skarphéðinsdóttir flooded into. Skarphéðinsdóttir took one touch to control the ball and another to play it in behind a stationary, off-balance defence for Perkovic to run onto, and the striker finished first-time past Anthony Newbridge in the Audioslavian goal.

3-2 Pasarga. The home crowd let out a cheer in relief at having, most likely, escaped an upset.

Marc Vauvenargues let out a few words, too, but none worth repeating. Weverton noticed Vauvenargues and Velazquez exchange a few words, and for a split-second thanked the lord that Velazquez's English was a bit shaky. It'd certainly make the dressing room a quieter place after the match, if not less tense and frustrated..

by **Falconwhereveryouare** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:55 pm

The Eagle's Eye
Falconwhereveryouare's best non-tabloid publication!
SPORTS
Life's a Beach

By Otis Birmingham

Ouch. In a game where our Falcons where just flat-out out-played, Silver Beach topped us 3-1. The Silver Beach players had an odd uniform convention; they didn't have names on their uniforms, like some baseball teams use. No programs were given out at the game so we honestly have no idea the names of these players. What we do know is their number 10 really had Vladimir's number; a hatrick from him is what put the Beachgoers on top. The only Falconian score came when Jarrel dumped one past the Beachy keeper after a beautiful pass from McClain.

However, there was a Silver lining to be taken from all this (bahdumtish). It showed a return to form from the Falcons, where they played some proper football for the first time so far in Qualifiers; the loss was simply due to an excellent Silver Beach squad. Next up we'll be opposing Andossa Se Mitrin Vega; try saying that ten times fast. Theoretically they are supposed to be the best team in Group 2, but they've been struggling so far. Hopefully we'll be able to steal at least one more point from them.

by **Astograth** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:58 pm

From the Archives of RL Sports
World Cup 3

Austria: As per my latest RP, I withdraw from the upcoming World Cup. Running with this Germany merger storyline, a bit like Starblaydia & Krytenia (West Starblaydia and all that). Hope it's not too much trouble!

France: You sure about this, Austria? Bit of a hassle taking you out now that you're qualified.

Austria: Yup. We're preparing a big II thing, you'll see. We're trying to get everybody involved, even the Sports guys, so drop me or Germany a TG if you're interested. Anyway, just give my spot to second-placed Latvia and hasta la vista, baby.

Latvia: OMG thank you!!! Thought I'd have to wait it out again!

France: No. No no no. We're not doing that. Bad idea. England, would you like to compete instead of Austria?

England: I didn't even sign up, Jules.

France: I'm offering it to you anyway.

England: No, you still haven't apologised. And you all still suck at this.

France: Okay then. Let me think.

Latvia: What?? Can't you take out a puppet or something?

Dutch East Indies: Hey, I qualified for this and I'm the only one from the Asia group.

France: Indeed. Does anybody in South America want it?

Uruguay: ((OOC: Sod off))

Argentina: ¡Mundiales argentinas!

Latvia: Can I have it now?

France: Alright. Austria withdraws and, after much deliberation, the World Cup will be held with 15 teams. Qualified nations are all cordially summoned to Paris for the draw.

by **Saugeais** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:00 pm

Welcome back to your regularly scheduled RP cutoff, the scores for Matchday 4 will be tabulated soon.

Scores up now.

by **Daehanjeiguk** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:08 pm

There really was no stopping Yim Hwan-Sei. Against a devoutly stout Archregimancy team, Yim showed the pace to beat the defense and slot into an empty net. Geun-Ho was having difficulty swallowing after watching that goal filter neatly into the folds of the net. The next 90 seconds were spent watching some of the friars burst out into self-immolation, as if repenting for some unannounced sins. Unfortunately, the referee didn't think too fondly of the fire on the pitch, but thankfully a timely shower from the heavens dowsed the flames, extinguished into puffs of white smoke.

Jeon-Min nudged Geun-Ho from behind. "You know, I'm not a monk, but I'm pretty sure self-immolation isn't one of those usual monastic habits, especially for these kinds of monks."

"I'm not the pure authority, but there is the sort of 'baptism by fire' thing that occurred when the Holy Spirit came upon the first apostles during the Pentecostal feast. So maybe they're trying to evoke the spirit of those days?"

Jeon-Min shook his head. "You never know with these guys."

"Well, I'll be just happy if this is the way it ends. Even if we've still got another 78 minutes to go before it's official."

"What are you going to do about Hwan-Sei?"

Geun-Ho was taken aback by that remark. "What do you mean?"

"I see you writing notes all the time. Hwan-Sei seems to be a liability for you."

"He is," Geun-Ho replied, in a matter-of-fact way. "He's the only kid who scores goals. It's inhuman, almost. I mean... when you told him to juggle... he juggled."

"Yes, he's special. But nothing extraordinary. A kid with a focused mind and surprisingly mature for his age. What he needs is support."

Geun-Ho nodded. It was one of the few moments where Jeon-Min was offering sensible advice. More often, he was an antagonistic critic, who seemed to have a poor opinion of the players. It was not the classmate he remembered from his school days. Granted, it was almost 10 years ago - time could have changed more than just his friend's disposition. He watched the players on the pitch reset. There went a memorable 90 seconds.

"사람은 약금풍를,
목초전에서 취과한다."

Song Ae-Hwa glanced at her little piece of poetry. Crap piece of poetry, she thought to herself. No way Prof. Kim will accept this. Truth be told, there wasn't much that Prof. Kim accepted these days. He spent most of his days scouring in the countryside around Gwangju, admiring the landscape and writing his poetry in private. The fact that Gyeongju University managed to recruit him back from the wilderness was a marvel. He had largely escaped the conflict unscathed (although some of his peers may beg to differ), and so he viewed the rest of society as "weaklings". He taught classical poetry in traditional Han-eo forms, which evoked a simpler spirit of simpler days. And because he was one of those "traditionalists" he was particularly demanding.

This was no reason for Ae-Hwa to try though. She was a 4th-year student at Gyeongju, studying civil engineering - she discovered in her last trimester at the university that she still needed a language and literature class to satisfy the nebulous "civic education credit" - a series of classes that were not core graduation requirements. She in fact needed two, but discovered that her last class - history of architecture - was good enough. That left with the one class, and having heard "great" stories about the estimable Professor Kim, she opted to sign for his class. On the first day, he appeared in class drunk. His lesson was an inconprehensible mish-mash of words; even Ae-Hwa's transcriptions software transcribed it all as junk (literally). And somehow he had the tenacity to call it art. Song later rued not reading the "professor's rating" dating back nearly 16 years before. Nearly everyone in her class agreed - he was mad, raving mad. In his second class, he brought in a rapid badger on a rope leash and set it loose in the lecture hall. It took animal control three days to find the badger and remove it from the grounds. It was surprising that Professor Kim was still on the faculty, but the University was adamant that "Prof. Kim would serve out his contract to completion."

But what hurt Ae-Hwa even more was the fact she wasn't even artistic. Clear, methodical, concise, but not artsy. She could spend all night drafting new plans for an environmentally sound multi-thousand capacity theater, but she would toil for weeks over two paragraphs' worth of poetic language. Moreover, she would be late to every class.

She glanced at the clock and muttered a few choice words as she rushed out of her dorm. It was a fifteen minute walk across campus, parts of which were still littered with debris. There were occasional riots during the War, and at one point, the Imperial Council threatened to shut down the University if students did not cooperate with the authorities. Since the riots, there has been lingering suspicion of the sinister presence of a few insincere persons. Every once in a while, a shadowed agent would stroll across campus, and your average student could only guess to which side he/she belonged. Ae-Hwa had no time to watch where she was going, choosing to run the whole distance over sandy stone pavement. A fresh autumn wind blew over remnant evidence of the latest monsoon storm, and a timely rush of leaves and grass blew in her face.

Irony if there was one.

She fell to the ground, busting her lips and dropping all of her papers in the soggy mash of leaf clutter. She watched her papers fly away, and along with it some of her pride and hard work.

"A-ga-sshi, it seems you need help," a friendly voice called out to her.

"Ah, yes, thank you, sir."

"You know, a lady as yourself would be less clumsy if she did not stumble as she walked."

At that moment, she recognized the voice. "Prof. Kim?" she said, looking up into the sunshine. "What are you doing here? I..." Ae-Hwa tried to get up on her own strength, but again slipped trying to pick up the pieces of paper. But Prof. Kim held on to her arm and she did not fall. "... I was coming to see you."

"Well," Professor Kim replied, "I anticipated that you would be late, so I too was going to meet me at that place where we had originally intended to meet, but this place seems a fine substitute."

"I have the poem assignment..."

"I do not want it," Prof. Kim said.

Ae-Hwa felt a little offended. "But you haven't even read it yet!"

"If a lady stumbles in the grass, her words are worth even less. I do not want to read it."

Ae-Hwa blushed as she gathered up her papers. Prof. Kim helped her as well, gracefully picking up the leaves of hardened pulp. "How one writes on parchment of this type, I know not," he remarked. "It is too coarse for a fine stroke, and the ink does not hold well. One cannot master art with the wrong equipment, Ms. Song."

"I'm sorry, Prof. Kim. I'm.. not used to this type of class," Ae-Hwa said. "I work hard to write even the smallest pieces that would be minimally acceptable, but it never seems to be enough."

"The best or nothing at all," Prof. Kim replied. "I have seen a man sit over a rotten hole for twenty minutes and another for 10 hours, but they both produce the same shit, and they are both equally stinky and worthless. Why should I give yours any exception?"

Ae-Hwa took offense at remark as well. "I don't think you really appreciate the effort of your students, Professor. Not everyone can become great artists."

"Then why are you taking my class, if such is your disposition?"

Ae-Hwa shrugged. "I had to take a class to graduate, and I chose yours."

"You chose because you thought it would be easy, but making art is never easy. And even if it were easy, you must make it with the right tools, and the right frame of mind." At that, Professor Kim pointed at a glade through the trees. "If you will, I think our next class will be over there on Friday. 10am."

"But, Professor. I have capital management class at that time."

"10 am, in that garden. Or not at all. Your choice." Professor Kim left in a mysterious way, though the average person would not have remarked much about his gait. But it left Ae-hwa wondering just what sort of mess she had gotten herself into, and moreover what sort of effort it would take to get out of it.

by **Qazox** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:33 pm

World Cup 60 Qualifers
Game Three: Starblaydia

After Qazox' come-from behind 3-2 win at Arcquest, thanks to goals in the 2nd half by Julia McDaniels 63'(PK), Doreen Dobbs 73' and Soai Fu'anuoa 87'; the Eagles came home to face Starblaydia. After 90 minutes of some of the most exciting football seen in a while, Qazox manged to tip the Purple Power 1-0.

Right from the opening whistle, both teams raced up and down the pitch, trading shots, tackles and the occasional foul. But after 45 minutes niether team had much to so for it, except for making full use of the oxygen tanks in the locker room. On a rare hot sticky night in Qazox City, seeing as the kickoff temperture being 89^F; the heat index down on the field reached 102^F during the game; meaning this game would likely come down to which ever team had better conditioning.

In the 78th minute, we found the answer, as Qazox broke through the stalwart Starblaydian defense as Ashley Mansfield headed home a cross from Juila McDaniels to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Over the last twelve minutes, Qazox constantly kept the pressure on Starblaydia, and if not for the heroic efforts of their keeper, Qazox might have won this game by at least 3 goals.

While not a completly dominating performance and Starblaydia's not the force they've traditionally been, the win kept Qazox apace of Legalese in the group, as both teams are 3-0-0 so far. With Legalese coming to Qazian Memorial in 9 days, Qazox needs to concentrate on their match at Phoenigetuzstha on Sunday night. Phoenigetuzstha is 2-0-1, with their lone loss coming at the feet of Legalese in a 1-0 fight. 9 days from now, we will either know if Qazox is a contender or if they will have to scramble to get a playoff berth.

by **Yesopalitha** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:14 pm

HVR - After Match 3

What is the master of the universe? This question has haunted scholars and everyday citizens for ages. Many people believe in a deity - Yesopalitha's patron deity is Zaiden, the Spireans believe in Fornt, the Ponies believe in Luna, etc., etc., but in truth, one "being" is more powerful than the rest of them: Time. Time makes the strongest rocks crumble, the steepest mountains turn to rubble. It turns buildings to ruins, civilizations to history, and humans into dust. Time is the master of them all.

Even in the world of sports, time is the most dangerous opponent that any athlete must face. Everyone, no matter how fit, how strong, whatever race they may be (except for the immortal ones), become victim to time. Humans, elves, dwarves, etc, etc, will sooner or later succumb to old age, whether it be their bodies wearing away, their minds fraying, or their focus wavering from the ultimate prize of winning. Nobody is immune to this. Everyone, at one time or another, will stop playing - even if it means dying on the field.

Why do I go on this ramble about time? Well, during our last game, against Polar Islandstates at a sold out Freedom's Altar, I think I caught a glimpse of what time could do.

At the beginning of the second half, the focus of the game had been on the fact that the Yesopalitha defense had been so far able to contain the Terns' physical offense. Alexander van Sorenson had had some nice opportunities in goal, but the Flames had managed to cling on. The counter-attacking game that had worked so well against Audioslavia and Harjeland was running into the solid wall that was part of the Terns' backbone, and the crowd seemed like it would be content with a draw.

Irndtor was the one guarding Isaac Jack-Bentley as we started what was expected to be another fruitless attempt at scoring a goal on the Terns. Except, this time, the young kid, playing for Eliodoro City in Erathore, was the one that got the ball from one of the Terns' best players, turned, and fired a shot from twenty yards that caught the entire stadium by surprise by going into the net. The score stood, the defense held on for dear life, and we got our biggest win in our brief football history.

Sir James was hesitant in congratulating us, instead pointing us at our next game, against Traila, as a potential trap game where we may underestimate our opponent, lose focus, and drop one. I don't think we will, though. For you see, if time is indeed omnipotent, we haven't been in enough World Cups to be in a decline quite yet... We've got a bit more to rise.

by **Ossidiacqua** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 8:10 pm

"So, wait, I'm not sure I heard you properly over the trains passing overhead," said Yoann Vega, slowly, "you actually want me to steal something?

"Yes."

"Okay, so I did. I don't understand. Why, exactly?"

Stefano Di Falco sighed. He wasn't getting through to them.

"And, hang on, why is this your decision and not mine?" asked Alessio Cardinale, confused, "I mean, aren't I the manager here?"

"Well, yes and no." said Di Falco, making a face that he had hoped was non-committal.

"Yes and no?!" echoed both Cardinale and Yoann Vega in a tone of voice that shattered that particular illusion.

"Well, you're a talented manager, Alessio, there's no doubt about that. You do things with the players that I can only dream about understanding. You're the team manager, for sure. Just, think of me more as a director of football than your assistant."

"How is stealing a decision for the director of football?"

"Well, maybe less of a 'director of football' as such, and more of a stooge for Giocomo Re..."

"Hang on," interrupted a by now very confused Yoann Vega, "I thought I was in here to be a stooge for Re?"

"Oh you are. You just weren't to know that I already was. And a more qualified one."

"So neither of you are actually football coaches at all? Its just me out there?" asked Cardinale, who was learning new things all over the place today.

Vega and Di Falco looked at each other and made a sort of collective shrug.

"I played a bit at high school, but I'm not what you'd call a gifted player..." trailed off Vega.

"Huh. Well. Guess I'll worry less about my team decisions in future then..." said Cardinale, almost to himself.

"But anyway, I feel like we're losing focus here. The reason I have you out here, is to talk over a plan passed down to me from Re."

"And did Re suggest you take us to a damp pit underneath a monorail?"

"I think he was worried about listening devices."

"Yeah but, this is Ossidiacqua. The trains run on steam power. Plutoni, this ain't."

"Well, whatever. The point is, we need help." continued Di Falco.

"Help?" said Vega, "You want me to steal 'help'?"

"Well, yes and no." said Di Falco.

"What kind of help?" asked Cardinale.

"Alessio, we're in a group with Swartaz and Krytenia. We destroyed New Pebble Island, and Re thanks you for that. The people thank you for that. But he's disappointed that you couldn't beat Swartaz. You almost had them, but ultimately they won."

"Well, with apparently no assistants to help me I'm feeling slightly better about that loss now, but, go on..."

"And, well, Re's been reading up on the Pause Time, and about how amazing the time wall was. Unsuccessful, but amazing nonetheless in what it actually achieved. And there's a nation out there at the moment that has ways of making things happen. This cycle of world cup qualification, they're allocating help to certain nations, to afford them to do certain things on the football pitch that wouldn't be possible." continued Di Falco, conspiratorially.

"So if they're doing this willingly, why are you wanting me to steal? Can't we just, y'know, ask?" said Vega, wincing slightly at the pain his mind was under trying to work all this out, "And anyway, what makes you think I'd be any good at th- oh, wait, we did the 'working for Re' thing already, didn't we..."

"Well because what Re wants to do might not actually be within the letter of the law of the game, so we probably wouldn't get the help if we asked for it. No. What Re wants you to locate and steal, Yoann, is a way of manipulating time."

"Err, things haven't historically gone that well for Acquans when we've tried that kind of the thing in the past." started Cardinale, hesitantly.

"Not when Old Oasiricans made the technology, no." countered Di Falco with a flourish, "but, these are real professionals we're talking about here. They won't mess up. We just need to get our hands on it. Okay?"

"I guess..." said Vega slowly, clearly still not convinced that this was the best idea.

"So Yoann steals the thing, and then what? I continue being a stooge and making the team do well with hard work and application of talent..." said Cardinale, ruffled.

"...and then we rock up with our big shiny doodads, and craftily reverse time ever so slightly if the opposition score a goal so we can rectify the situation. Not so much that it would be noticable. We don't want to go beating the top teams 13-0 all of a sudden. Oh no. Just little tweaks here and there that will make a difference. The players don't even need to know. It'll be real easy. Don't you worry about a thing." said Di Falco, triumphantly.

"You say that like it'll be easy to manage..." trailed off Cardinale, slumping back in his seat.

"So, which nation is it that I have to go to to steal this thing?" asked vega, presumably on board with the plan.

"The Holy Empire." replied Di Falco, at the exact time as a narratively convenient train passed overhead on the monorail.

"The Han Empire?" asked Vega.

"Right, The Holy Empire." said Di Falco again, as the train lumbered on.

"The Han Empire. Gotcha." said Vega, nodding to himself. The train passed. "I'll find it, don't worry. I'll go there, find it, bring it back, and we'll qualify for the world cup."

"Right." said Di Falco, happy. At no point were they talking about the same nation.

"Okay, well, if that's all, Stefano, I'll get back to my old-fashioned football charts and tactics and stuff.

"And I'll get back to my old-old-fashioned time manipulation." said Di Falco, satisfied with himself.

Yoann Vega stood up and brushed himself down in the quiet drip, drip, drip of the underpass, and looked at his colleagues.

"And I'll get back to you when I get back from The Han Empire!"

It was a car horn that time.

by **New West Guiana** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 9:20 pm

Mr. Tomson standing in his hotel room looking over the reviews of that days game, "My God West Guiana Soccer is tied for first in group 11 and has tied their all time wins during the qualification round with three. Well Mr. Temist you are doing what you said you'd do and get this teams appearance from dull to shining and you're doing just that. After four matches your team is 3-1-0 and tied for first, that sir has never happened to WG Soccer. Hopefully you'll keep up this great preformance."

"Well, Sir I am happy to see the team doing so well, so far but their are still ten games to be played and we haven't met up with Dorian and Sonya, whom I believe will hand us our first loss for the World Cup Qualifying round."

Looking over the current group standings, "Coach who do you see as West Guiana's greatest threat?"

Well the one team that I can see is us, we are our greatest threat. I do hope we don't become cocky to the point that we'll end up starting great then finishing awful. Other than us that a tough choice between Dorian and Sonya and Nicole Scherzinger. Carmadin I though that game would be at lest a 70% loss, but I was happy with that tie."

"One, one more win and the team you coach will break a West Guiana Soccer team record by winning three in a row, and also break the most wins in one qualification round. But I do hope after that fourth win you don't stop their." Takes a sip of tea, "I was talking to Miss DeAnn earlier today and she told me one thing that I must agree with her now, I feel good about our chances of qualifying to the World Cup. Those chances look better and better after every win, and that record so far looks really impressive."

Smiling because he greatly dislikes Tomson who has been a throne in his side for so long, "Thank you, I don't believe i've ever heard so many nice complements come out of you while i've been the teams coach."

Puts the tea cup down and gets out his phone, "That is business, your boss shouldn't be your best friend. The past has been simply impossible for the association to deal with. Ever since our founding in 1999 right after World Cup 54, we had plans to field a team for Qualification for World Cup 55. That however fell through we simply didn't have enough capital to pay the players and coaches. Or to rent a stadium. Come two years latter for World Cup 56 we borrowed over three million WG dollars to fund our campaign which ended with a 3-4-12 record from the baptism of Fire 43 and of course World Cup Qualifying for number 56." Taking out a sheet of paper and handing it to Temist, "Look for your self, lost 800,000 during that time, the ticket sales were merely nothing."

Looking down at the sheet, "So this is why you always grew furious with me because of how we ended. It was only about the money to, not about the experiences that others had?"

Mike, For 56 we had an average attendance of only 13,000 people. Blueford Arena can hold 45,000, it cost us 2.7 million to rent the damn thing from FC Gemsbrook. We didn't try for World Cup 57, instead we went back to the drawing boards and after the untimely death of Coach Felipe which cost us an additional 1.5 million to finish out his contract, the money was granted to him if he quit. So after only six years we were in the hole by eight million. And needed to find some one cheap to hire but we could still get a bargain out of."

Crossing his arms Mike was cross, "So you only hired me because you were so far in debt that you didn't want to pay to much for a good coach. Well how so you like that now."

West Guiana Soccer was in dire straits before we hired you, even after your first two world cups we thought that wasn't such a grand idea. But before the end of World Cup 59, we looked at the revenue tables and saw that our total debt actually went down. It went from fifteen million to thirteen million, now it seems that four matches our chances are all the rage back home. Our sales are up more than three-hundred percent! World Cup 60 Qualifying will help us get into the black for the first time ever." Looking at the next days match, "How do you think the team will do against Dorian and Sonya?"

Pondering this for a moment, "I do hope that they'll win., but I'll take a tie any day, a loss will set us back a ways. If we were to win that should give us a strong foothold in group 11, hopefully one strong enough that we'd win the group and qualify for World Cup 60."

Smiling Tomson says, "I do hope so, maybe if we do qualify i'll for once stop thinking about the money and focuse more on the game."

Group 11
Nikopolis 2–3 West Guiana
Dorian and Sonya 2–1 Star United States
Quaoartarian Empire 1–4 Carmadin
Nicole Scherzinger 1–0 Princess Beatrice Island

- Group 11                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Dorian and Sonya                      4    3   1   0     8    3   +5    10
  West Guiana                           4    3   1   0     8    3   +5    10
3 Nicole Scherzinger                    4    2   2   0     6    2   +4     8
4 Carmadin                              4    2   1   1     6    5   +1     7
5 Quaoartarian Empire                   4    1   1   2     6    6    0     4
6 Princess Beatrice Island              4    1   0   3     1    4   −3     3
7 Star United States                    4    0   1   3     3    7   −4     1
8 Nikopolis                             4    0   1   3     3   11   −8     1

by **Taeshan** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:03 pm

"Take me out to the ball game.Take me out to the crowd. Buy me some peanut and cracker jack, i dont care if i ever come back."

"Um Gwyn you know thats a baseball song right..."

"Yeah well you all know i always dreamed of being a baseball player. Football just happened."

"Yeah well, for someone on the national football team's starting team you seem to have an overall lack of caring for the sport."

"You don't care much more bro. You grew up playing hockey. Granted most of Taeshan grew up playing hockey or baseball."

"Doesn't matter much, we play what we play."

"Yeah well. We don't get respect in this nation that we deserve."

"People in Taeshan care more about any other sport when we are not talking club football."

"Yeah the way the follow the TSL with a furvor, its amazing how they don;t follow us."

"It's so sad. Wish we were good enough to do something about it."

"Well that attitudes gonna help us."

"Thank you captain sarcasm."

"Shut up."

by **Antoletia** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:19 pm

"Its been a poor performance overall from the Fire Ants as we head into stoppage time."

"And theres Illiescu playing the ball in. Valentin Illiescu finds Gheorge von Leeweonheouck. GvL finds Petr Antonescu. Antonescu curls it in and its off the goalies hands and out."

"The boards up the Ants make their final substitution. Its Cezar Arrdelean in for Stefan Sala, putting a third striker up for the Ants with just about a minute and a half of added time. Up comes the goalie Cornelius to add another aerial threat for the Ants as the clock continues to dwindle as the ref argues with the Enslavian defenders."

"And to take the corner is Centre Back Albescu. Its into the tall heads of Illiescu and Sebastian, but its batted out. Finall GvL finds it and passes it to Constantinescu. To Constantin. And its played out."

"The seconds tick away as Constantin finds Nicolescu. Back to Constantinescu. To Illiescu."

"Illiescu turns towards goal, and holy crap Illiescu pounds it top corner and the ref blows the whistle. Fire Ants take the lead and the win with one kick."

"Epic late winner there. One to remember for a very long time for the Ants."

"Goodnight from the Antoletian headquarters of TSPN."

by **Qazox** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:23 pm

"QUIET! QUIET PLEASE!" Professor Martin Douer yelled through the microphone. "Please settle down, Professor Powell's presentation is not over. Afterwards we can debate the legitimacy of his claim; but we must allow him to finish."

"I've heard enough bullshit today. I don't need to hear any more." yelled an unknown voice from the back. While that yeller was leaving, along with about 25 other people; Professor Powell noticed that the vast majority of the crowd, including a few people whom he thought would leave remainded in their seats. After about 15 minutes spent trying to regain order and to allow those who left to leave, Douer waved Powell back to the microphone.

"As I was saying before that outburst, Qazox was not founded by a fictious "Goran Oxfield"; but by Joan of Arc and by her savior and future husband, one Robert de Armand from Rouen. de Armand was one of the soldiers who were involved with the capture of Joan of Arc on May 23, 1430. While being lead to the local jail that night, de Armand managed to smuggle Joan out of the English's possession and they escaped to Le Havre. In Le Havre, on May 28th, the pair boarded a ship, Cheval Audacieux and left for Spain. During the trip, a storm blew the ship off course and on June 1st, they landed near was now Rockport. Given that both de Armand and Joan were fugitives, the captain of the ship decided to maroon them after repairs were made. On the morning of June 3rd, de Armand and Joan awoke and found themselves stranded in a strange land with just enough supplies for a week. The two were found by a local Qazian villager who had come down to the shore to fish, being scared by the ship; which none of the natives had ever seen before.

Despite no common language between the natives and the pair, eventually the concept that deArmand and Joan were not demons or evil got across and the native led the pair to a local village. de Armand and Joan would spend the next 26 years living with the tribe, teaching them Feench and learning Qazian until 1456, as the only Europeans in what is currently Qazox, until Charles Feld landed in Rockport on August 4th, 1456. Joan, now 44 years old and the mother of 5 children; Jean-Robert (born c. 1433-died c. 1451); Maria-Henrietta (born c. 1435); Jacques-Robert (born c. 1436-died c. 1437); Margaret and Isabelle (born c. 1440), was suprised to find the English leader was a cabin-boy on the Cheval Audacieux which had stranded her and deArmand. Robert deArmand died during an outbreak of dysentery that struck the region about 5 years prior. Both Robert and thier oldest son Jean-Robert died as did approximately 150 local tribesmen.

Charles Feld, upon finding Joan de Armand, as she was now calling herself; decided not to acknowledge that he knew who she was to the settlers that he had brought to this land. Joan and her daughters and son-in-law Signa-kai, who had married Maria-Henrietta a few years earlier, helped Feld with translations with the local Qazian tribefolk. In December 1457, Feld married Joan, to either lay claim to land that the locals had given her and Robert or to prevent another French-speaking settler from marrying her and learning her secret. Joan died in February 1459 during childbirth, though her and Charles' child Charles Jean Feld survived. Joan of Arc was buried in an unmarked grave near the Feld River. Unfortunately, due to an earthquake in 1622, the bed of the Feld River shifted, and all burial sites in the area where the first European settlement were washed out to sea.

While an interesting tale, as many of you probably think this is, the proof of these claims come from a recently found diary of one Isabelle Hamilton, the daughter of Joan de Arc and Robert de Armand. Isabelle and her twin sister Margaret started to write their mother's stories when they were about 8 years old, either to help learn to write or for their mother, who was illiterate. The diary had been found in 1876, by Dr. Brandon Manrillo of Charles Feld Univerity, but mistakenly believed that the dairy was written exclusively in Qazian. Isabelle Hamilton, who was married off to Issac Hamilton in 1461, had written her diary in a combination of Qazian, French, Basque and Breton, the latter two of which was both spoken and written by her father. The unusal combination, mostly within the same sentence, delayed translation until earlier this year. The diary was lost when Charles Feld University's historical research center moved to their entire archives to a bank vault during the Q Continuum War of 1943. It wasn't until last year that the legal wrangling over the archives was settled and during the inventory, Isabelle Hamilton's diary was found.

I was asked by the university to help date the diary and during the dating process I was offered to help with the translations, seeing I have a degree in both carbon-dating and ancient languages. The various spellings of de Arc in Basque, French and Breton confused both myself and my partner in the translation, Professor Denise Flint; but after a throrough double-check of our translations by both the University of Le Havre and Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea in Bilabo we were 100% certain that our translations were correct. We will be soon publishing a translation of Isabelle Hamilton's diary, but we do have a copy of the translation availible for review here.

Thank you for your time and I now open the floor for questions."

World Cup 60: RP Thread

WC-60 #5 Insula Lamenta

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Qazoxian Historical Society 112th Annual Meeting (part 4)

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