NationStates

New Montreal States
Succumbing to fates;
Our performance rates!

With two defenders, what did they expect?
Even if one's a poet who makes war
Our midfielders, outnumbered, still connect
And all chip in as we run up the score.

Atik assists on Devsgrybe teammate's goal
And, as if to ingeminate the point
Reamlad comes off the bench, is not the sole
Contributor. Instead the effort's joint;

She too assists on Rashith's second shot.
Now we train more, though our pace hardly quickens.
We're fired up, of course. That said, it's not
The easiest preparing to face chickens.

Kind folks, gather 'round and hear the tale,
Of how the Chickens beat Dar'meen;
'Twas a frigid day, the sky was pale,
When the two teams met on the green.

The crowd fell silent and looked quite aghast,
When a defender, Bill Fleeman, made the first score;
Then the Chickens set out to ingerminate the last,
As Peacefield made a move, and scored one more.

The Chickens, 'twould seem, are out of their rut,
As the squad moves into the light!
I sure cannot say who Encover will cut,
But keeping Fleeman and Peacefield feels right.

Poem by Brian Craven

Two shimmies of the leg, a shake of the hip,
Et'asa had no reply, skinned time and time again,
The skill of Hopkins had proven to be his bane,
A stepover, a nutmeg, Et'asa's only response to slip.

On sidelines did McLean scream on,
"Again, again!" he commanded to Dai Hopkins,
"Ingeminate, Ingeminate!" he called, to wide grins,
Opponent left for dead then, "Go on my son!"

Now to cross the ball with pace,
With ease did Bekkevold rise above his marker,
As he met emphatically with the ball, Vegans chances became starker,
Three nil now, defeated, those of Mace.

Finally! Finally!
The Equestrians score!
Finally! Finally!
A game that wasn’t a bore!

Finally! Finally!
That took way too long!
Finally! Finally!
Let us sing a joyous song!

Finally! Finally!
I see a future ahead!
Finally! Finally!
I hope I won’t be dead!

Finally! Finally!
Foals rejoice!
Finally! Finally!
Raise your voice!

Finally! Finally!
We cast aside our shame!
Finally! Finally!
We won a game!

Finally! Finally!
The Equestrians advance!
Finally! Finally!
We stand a chance!

Finally! Finally!
Let me ingeminate!
Finally! Finally!
Let us celebrate!

Finally! Finally!
A game with a goal!
Finally! Finally!
Let’s take this plate whole!

Splendid poetry, and six mad libs. Well done all - this is the cut-off for the semi-finals.

In each case, your opponent was responsible for filling the gaps.

The Democratic Republic of Earent

After the match, our manager trudged evidently through the stadium, looked up, and saw a local worker.
"I know what you're thinking, and I'm as unhappy as you are. If you happen to find out who ate the last dog, please let me know."
"Jiminy Jillikers!," said the Kukalayan.

The People's Republic of Ancharmunn

"Gadzooks!" screamed Mandy as her horse swimmingly bolted. She attempted to restrain it with her large nuke. Something could be seen in the far distance however. With reckless abandoned the interesting horse sped towards it. When they finally arrived, Mandy ended this voyage to the bottom of the road wondering for what is Chatteris...?

The Pony Republic of Equestrian States

Steve the Frigate was angry. That morning, he had audaciously stubbed his toe against the wall and cried out "Jaysus!" Now that toe was bohemian and was going to bother him for the remainder of the day. Fortunately, the fact that he had tickets to the semifinals made him happier.

The Please Don't Attack Us of Cowardly Pacifists

John fed his pet abacus and then headed down to Estadio Kukalaya to watch the Chickens play the counterclockwise Earent squad. He ran into Jane, who was walking outbound down the street. "You going to the game?" John asked. " Bleep no!" Jane responded, "That game's gonna suck."

The Lunar Duchy of Karditan

"Kick it!" Emanuel grumpily facepalmed as Sweet sent the honey well wide of the goal. "Arrgh!"
"Sorry!" yelled Sweet. "It's a bit harder to kick a honey than a soccer ball!"
"Even considering that, that was a furred kick."
"Can't I get a break for scoring our only goal today?"

The Grand Duchy of Astograth

“Heavens!”
“Did you say something, Hurko?”
“Yes! I can't get these new locomotives to fit! Might send them back to Barrengeka. No trouble with yours?”
“Nope. They work fine. Quite persnickety too. Barrengeka's top notch, really, but if there's something wrong with yours you'd best talk to them gaily.”

Semi-Final Results
Final games will be scorinated Tuesday evening 10pm-Midnight GMT

Brevity Challenge Cup

Karditan 0–1 Bears Armed
FSSO 1–3 The Kytler Peninsulae

FINAL: Bears Armed vs. The Kytler Penisulae @ Totalidad
TPPO: Karditan vs. FSSO @ Castille Karatá

Quicksilver Trophy

Krytenia 2–1 Audioslavia
Liventia 1–2 Chetkosk

FINAL: Krytenia vs. Chetkosk @ Estadio Municipalos Toro
TPPO: Audioslavia vs. Liventia @ Estadio Saprissa

Glass Bowl

Earent 0–0 Cowardly Pacifists (1–0 AET)
Astograth 1–0 Baltskandio

FINAL: Earent vs. Astograth @ Estadio Kukalaya
TPPO: Cowardly Pacifists vs. Baltskandio @ Bogliasco

Glass Eye

New Montreal States 4–2 Darmen
Polar Islandstates 0–0 Princess Beatrice Island (0–0 AET) (1–3 pen.)

FINAL: New Montreal States vs. Princess Beatrice Island @ Estadio Ocotal
TPPO: Darmen vs. Polar Islandstates @ Estadio Chimor

Copper Plate

The Holy Empire 2–5 Cafundeu
Equestrian States 2–0 Ancharmunn

FINAL: Cafundeu vs. Equestrian States @ Estadio Corinto
TPPO: The Holy Empire vs. Ancharmunn @ Estadio Quetzales

Copper Nail

Starblaydia 1–1 Daehanjeiguk (1–4 AET)
Civil Citizenry 1–0 Andossa Se Mitrin Vega

FINAL: Daehanjeiguk vs. Civil Citizenry @ Estadio de León
TPPO*: Starblaydia vs. Andossa Se Mitrin Vega @ Sarpongness-93 Reactor Employees Social Club
*Loser wins the Uranium Rod presently held by Homelands Our.

Final Challenges

To nod in the direction of the coming World Cup, the final allowance is 60 words. Your RP must be precisely 60 words long, and include the word of the day sent to my phone by Dictionary.com this afternoon: Asperse

The Polarian Challenge - your final RP must begin with the last letter of your last post. Or number, if that's what you finished on. Haven't posted yet? Your next RP must begin with the letter G, with the second word in your RP beginning with the letter S, the third with I, the fourth with T, the fifth with C, and the sixth with Y. As in, Go Stand In The Corner, You (but not that).

Courtesy of Karditan, it's Palindrome time: RPs must include at least one phrase that can be read the same forwards as backwards. Your palindrome must be a minimum of three words. Please underline the palindrome so it's easy to check!

And finally, thanks to Krytenia, the FINAL challenge: The word "final" must be used as an acrostic; to elaborate, five consecutive words at any point in the RP must begin with the words F, I, N, A, and L, in that order. For instance (not a lie), the first five words of this sentence.

Madlibs

The bonus has passed but if anyone wants to submit a madlib, please do, I'll make sure I publish it with the next (and final) cut-off. Instructions in the previous round of results and challenges, here.

"Absolutely terrible shot. Coulda tied the game."

"Do not asperse my skills! There was something in the stands that distracted me. Was it a car or a cat I saw?"

"If you have concentration problems, fix it now- any losses like that are unacceptable."

"I'll make sure to stay focused against FSSO. We need to avenge our losses in qualifiers."

"What happened? It's like the team and the whole Ministry of Morale spent the last four days at a music festival, getting wasted in a forest."

"Fuck, I'll asperse n'importe lamebrain who thinks they didn't do that. It would certainly explain why the Minister of Morale ran by yelling: 'A relic, Odin! I'm a mini, docile Ra.'"

None too pleased with the recent loss, Coach evaluates the final two:

Steve Flinchmun: Fine in ninety, although less hustle in extra-time.

Nathan Nuetralle: Nate is as selfless as I am, but need him to stop passing it off and take the shot. Thought I heard him asperse the Earent team's hygiene...

Plan to announce roster changes after Baltskandio tilt.

Scoring in extra time, Moyer Kayns lifted Earent into the glass bowl final. "Now I won!" exulted Laynin Brathis, who alongside Lemond Toneler did well on defense. The forecast is now a light rain to asperse the Estadio Kukalaya pitch before the last game. Astograth's defense has been strong, like Cowardly Pacifists' had been, so we'll need to hold firm.

Equestrian Blog Database
by Ditsy Doo

Before today’s game, I read an article trying to asperse the Equestrians, but it was fairly idiotic, not a legitimate criticism.

I also heard the team discussing palindromes. One colt used "rats live on no evil star" as an example. Dizzy Doo, my little filly, responded: “But rats don’t live on regular stars either!”

Emerging from gorse Piaras Edmunds had looked better in his time. “Flipping inbred, not a laughing matter!” he screamed at his mate Roger who'd pushed him into the shrubbery.

“Not to asperse, but losing to ponies is poor, drink?” suggested Roger.

Came the reply “I'd murder for a jar of red rum”.

Prophetic comment, for Roger was later found dead.

"Yo Graham!"

"What?"

"Mr Owl ate my metal worm!"

"What owl?"

"The one I got from the pet shop last night. It has a camera attached to its bottom. It recorded my goal against Kytler Peninsulae, but also recorded their three, AND ate the ceramic worm I have."

"Fucking inbred nasty arse lickers! I hate that bunch of cheats!"

"Woah dude. There's no need to asperse the entire Kytler side."

"Yes there is! I'm so angry I could bomb the sun!"

“Bomb the sun? Are you high?”

“No, but your penalty was sky high, Thompson. We were only 1-2 behind!”

Some men interpret nine memos received as meaning that they should really focus on whatever it is they're being reminded to do. But Formerio Iturralde never accepted lingering proposals, so instead of skipping training he duly left a certain Rumiatzi Sentinel journalist stranded in the Matiguá District, hoping to catch some quotes of the Casuals Osteria star aspersing the place.

And so the final cut-off. Amuse yourself with this last Mad Lib while I do some counting.

The Silver Paladinate of New Montreal States

"Uh-rah! My fucking pants are on fire!"
"That's kookily bad luck. Although spilling kerosene on yourself, then dropping a lit cigarillo was pants-on-head idiotic."
"STOP TALKING, YOU CHRISTFORSAKEN RAKE! GRAB THE EXTINGUISHER!"
"You really oughtta be more nutritious to the man who's about to save your life.”

Finals results, excluding a dramatic pause for the final:

Brevity Third Place Play-Off
Karditan 1–0 FSSO

Quicksilver Trophy Final
Krytenia 2–0 Chetkosk

Quicksilver Third Place Play-Off
Audioslavia 2–5 Liventia

Glass Bowl Final
Earent 0–1 Astograth

Glass Bowl Third Place Play-Off
Cowardly Pacifists 2–0 Baltskandio

Glass Eye Final
New Montreal States 4–2 Princess Beatrice Island

Glass Eye Third Place Play-Off
Darmen 1–0 Polar Islandstates

Copper Plate Final
Cafundeu 0–0 Equestrian States (0–2 AET)

Copper Plate Third Place Play-Off
The Holy Empire 2–2 Ancharmunn (2–2 AET) (2–3 pen.)

Copper Nail Final
Daehanjeiguk 0–0 Civil Citizenry (0–1 AET)

Uranium Rod Final
Starblaydia 0–3 Andossa Se Mitrin Vega
(Starblaydia win the rod and leave Kukalaya glowing in the dark - sorry)

---

Congratulations to Bears Armed, commiserations to The Kytler Peninsulae, and thank you all for you wonderful efforts. Don't forget that if you didn't win a trophy, a glass eye, a nail or a piece of radioactive waste, you do at least go home with a pewter spoon. Thanks people!

Final Challenge

Skirr!

Unassigned goals: Hayz, Inmora (two each); Hempner, Atik, Nagin, Reamlad (one each).
Anagram: Not amazing yet no choke. Helps when ahead, aiming and serious. Clear?

“It's so....”

“Grey.”

“And dull.”

“Lads, you've done yourselves proud. It's the sort of thing you'll tell yer grandchildren about.”

“Aye, the story of how we beat a school of fish on penalties is sure to inspire them!”

“Careers are made of moments like this.”

“Made of fucking pewter spoons!?”

OOC - Had to catch this up for me, Hope no one minds

MD3- Word- gypsy / Disallowing the letter E

Title : Hijos Abandonados

“Dajid should join the starting 11 tomorrow.”

“I can not, in good faith, do that. Too much a gypsy in his fashion of play.”

“A gypsy - good comparison. But a brilliant gypsy.”

“Dajid is as a cast off child with no position of favor”

“Our squad all fit that bill”

------------------------------------------------------------------------

QF Challenge - Word - chrestomathy / last letter of last opponent = E



“Did you light that?”

“Yep”

“Why?”

“They had a chrestomathy assembled that would have allowed them to break the Vegai language code and thus understand our players as they called out assignment changes.”

"That would have sucked."

"Yep. Had to take matters into my own hands."

"Got any more gasoline?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

SF Challenge = word - ingeminate. 100 words. Rhyme

Now as the Challenge of Brevity expands
The gifts of words we take in our hands
and write of the things we dream to be.

It would be easy to ingeminate phrases
and twist our words into muddled mazes
But this type of writing is not for me.

A squad of children sent forth to face
The best of the world could we keep pace?
Sadky a "no" rsounded for us too clear

Are we ashamed of how we have played?
we shouldnt be, as our brief point was made
And now we must find our way home from here

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Final Challenge: Word - Asperse. 60 words. First letter - E
Palindrome and FINAL

Each of us has a choice to make - to asperse those we face or to speak with truth and humility. Lay aside those angry words of hurt as we build a mighty future. Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era? Can not see that Floundering In Needless Angry Loathing does naught but to punish ourselves?

*Orders extra spoon for diligent Vegai*

Kukalaya wrote:

(Image)
The Brevity Challenge Cup 2
FINAL

"OK, I'll try to keep this brief"

---

Bears Armed 6–1 The Kytler Peninsulae

"Whau!"
"Our thanks to Kukulaya for organising this tournament."


(OOC: Hrright, with this result added to our other squad's Golden Honeycomb victory, I think it's safe to say that we've already got enough known-to-be-good players to use for the World Cup qualifiers without needing to do any more searching...)