AOCAF 36 :: Atlantian Oceania :: Rosters & RP

by **Starblaydia** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:44 am

Starblaydia Returns
AOCAF Cup and International Stage Beckons

Leandro Perheira, AOCAF Cup 23 winner
& World Cup 41-winning Captain

The hosting and entry of the 23rd Di Bradini Cup has proved that the Starblaydi Football Association are not simply making up the numbers in terms of world football. Though Starblaydia haven't participated even in World Cup Qualifiers since the 57th edition* and have missed the last two AOCAF Cups, there is a new drive behind the nation. Internal discussions from the SFA have pointed to a developing, yet totally unofficial mantra taking hold within the hallowed corridors of the five-time World, six-time Regional, one-time Olympic and two-time Under-21 Champions. Even if the time comes when the only opponent is a training cone, and the goal is marked by two piles of discarded clothes up against a brick wall, Starblaydia will still be around to play football.

It's a bold statement, even an unofficial one, considering the two decade-long periods of international wilderness that Starblaydia have been through. For a football team, association and (let's be honest) entire nation geared around shouting about their own achievements, Starblaydia have been fairly light on declaring themselves the greatest football nation in the history of the world. So what, goes the SFA's thinking, if Pacitalia may currently have more AOCAF Cups to their name, or the Under-21s have barely made it into the Quarter Finals of any of the last ten Di Bradini Cups, or even that the national team is ranked well into the 100s and Starblaydi clubs don't play in the TQCC, SBCC or even Globe Cup any more. The fact remains that Starblaydia have won the big one five times, with only Valanora or Aguazul looking anything like catching them. And, even if they do, Starblaydia did it first.

What seems to be driving the SFA's new-found confidence and self-promotion is the realisation that the World Assembly commendation that Starblaydia received has not ever been mentioned in an official capacity. Never once has it been shouted from the rooftops, placed in super bold text of the correct Starblaydi Purple colour fifty feet high, nor used as a hashtag, motto or triumph. This seems to be changing, however, as 'did you know we were commended by the WA for our culture of sporting excellence?' is the sort of question being asked more and more of other nations in Atlantian Oceania and beyond.

Starblaydia were Commended
by the WA in SC Resolution 40

'Did you know our manager won the World Cup over 50 years ago?' is also becoming more and more prevalent. Father Juan the Fifth Takilan (as we all should know so named because he scored the fifth in a 5-1 rout of Rejistania once) is in his early eighties but has been given the task of shepherding Starblaydia back into the international fold. First he took a fledgling Starblaydi Under-21 side to the Quarter-Finals of the last Di Bradini Cup, now he's been given the opportunity to manage at a senior level, on strict instructions to not preach Starblaydi Orthodoxy to the masses. Though Starblaydia is a nation tolerant of differing religious views, it's not a place to shout about them in attempts to convert others.

His orthodox views on team management, though, are highly prized by the SFA. Playing the classic 4-4-2 Starblaydi Diamond, the team will line up in familiar fashion at U21 and Senior level. Though it is massively inexperienced, Fr Juan, the SFA, the players themselves and even the nation at large have great confidence that the team will produce performances to be proud of in Vilita. They may not be challenging Pacitalia's record title haul quite yet, but as ever, the SFA is more than happy to put the building blocks in place for the foundation of success. There's a reason you can see Iskara Daii's Foundation Road stadium from out some of the SFA HQ's windows, after all.

* OOC: Starblaydia's WC60 entry of Dreamed Realm simulacra is not recognised by the SFA in any way, shape or form as it was made up of, for want of a better description, imaginary historical players. It should be considered as Simeone Di Bradini's own personal little (failed) experiment without the SFA's knowledge.

by **Wight** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:16 am

by **Andossa Se Mitrin Vega** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 8:12 am

The Draggonnii Socialist Empire was slow to react to the happenings in Northeatern Atlantian Oceania. So much time and effort had been placed on finding signs of the guerilla soldiers encountered in the zone east of Sorthern Northland and now claimed by the Coalition of Common States. Those soldiers had to have come from somewhere. And yet they had simply disappeared before the watchful eyes of both the DSE and Falcania thus helping to spar the new regional alliance. But a relief effort was being massed and soon the first signs of that effort would show itself on the shores of Hutt River and Ipeland in the form of the 11th Naval Group as well as the hard hit areas of Aquillana in Starblaydia by the 54th Engineering Furozii Corps. Even the Ziraulii had put aside their domestic differences to send the 2nd Tribal Ziraulii Marines into the ravaged Schiavone Archipelago to assist the search for any survivors.

With Starblaydia being one of the group opponents in the current AOCAF, it was hoped that the move would not be seen as a show of force. The two nations had always been on friendly terms, but this was not the Starblaydia of yesterday, As for Hutt River and Ipeland, They would accept the help. What other realistic choice did they have?

Starblaydia would be the Match Day 2 opponent. And everyone was in agreement that this was perhaps the most anticipated Sea Dragon in quite some time. And the 54th would make sure that every possible Starblaydi could watch the match despite the efforts of Wight’s arrival to push that aside.

by **Hutt River** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:50 am

Dave Lister was sitting on a chair, putting the finishing touches to the AOCAF roster for the next cup. He did want to make massive changes to it. How can he? He only has 16 things to choose from in the whole 'country'. As he sat there, rubbing out the notes he had put at the side of the roster, he thought about what group the team would be put in. Hopefully it wasn't too hard.

The earthquakes that had been happening recently in northeastern Atlantian Oceania had not escaped their small man made station. The station was located just in Zone D, and as a result they had suffered some minor damage. The roof now had quite a large crack in it, which occasionally leaked when it rained. This was on Rimmer's to-do list, which, at the last estimate, was over 10 miles long if it were in paper form. To add to that a few things had fallen over, but that was about it.

The scale of disaster was much worse in the three islands that were known as Hutt River, which had only just recently been repopulated, probably the worst around the settlement called Kleinendorf, on the island closest to Wight, where almost everything was destroyed, the tsunami wiping them out. The team had seen it first hand. They had gone to help the small relief efforts from Ipeland and later the ones from ASMV. When they arrived, they were in shock. There was almost nothing there, as if they never existed. It was a miracle that only a few people died.

Lister began the walk towards the newly erected postbox near the south side of the station. When he got there he saw Kryten looking over the wall at the sea. He posted the letter and then walked up next to Kryten.

"It's weird how things can change", he said. He turned to Lister, "Oh, Mr. Lister, sir, while I was picking up some food I picked up a newspaper for you."
"Thanks Krytie." Lister flipped to the back page. "We are in group Frigatebird, with 95x, Leorudo and Vilita & Turori. Good group."
"What city?" said Kryten
"First match were are in..." Lister said, turning over a few pages, "Yeaddin. Which is close to the coast."
"Lovely place, stadium's in a castle."
"Hmm. Anyway, you need to get the others. And I'll get some food."
"I'll be off right away."

by **Starblaydia** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 12:21 pm

Starblaydi RP Permissions Box wrote:OOC Information:

The Starblaydia national football team are a Featured Article on NSwiki. If you've never bothered to read it, have a skim through it now, as it'll tell you more about the team, their style, culture, fans, and history than I can ever write in a roster post. Thanks.

I Give My Opponent Permission
(and actively encourage them) To:
====================
Choose My Scorers
GodMod Any Goalscoring Events
Red & Yellow Card Players (Within reason, they're not remotely a dirty side)
GodMod Other Events for Humorous Intent
====================

Notes:
1) The best starting eleven are numbered 1-11 and are in bold
2) I actively encourage that if you RP first you pick my scorers (if any).
3) * Denotes female player, † denotes Elf player, ^ denotes Dwarf player.
4) Some players have their own NSwiki articles, and those are linked.
5) Before each match, in between national anthems and kick-off, the entire 23-man squad (even any Elves, though perhaps with less passion than most) will perform the Raiigar, Starblaydia's traditional war-dance.

Starblaydia's AOCAF Cup 36 Roster
You may sense some familiarity in this squad list

The Starblaydi squad that Fr. Juan the Fifth Takilan has selected is, strangely, exactly the same as the side he picked for the 23rd Di Bradini Cup. This is entirely to plan, of course, as thanks to the Elves declining to play for Starblaydia any longer, every current Starblaydi international with any experience to their name is already well into their mid-thirties and haven't played at senior international level for a good fifteen years.

This squad is designed to be the foundation of Starblaydia's international future for the next decade, creating recognisable names and faces for the football public to look up to, emulate and exceed. In time, perhaps, the Elves will return, Dwarves will come forward and new players will join the team, but for now, get used to this side.

All are uncapped at senior level coming into this tournament.

Staff
FrJ. Father Juan the Fifth Takilan, Manager, 82 - World Cup 47 Winner
42 Caps, 8 Goals (9 Caps, 1 Goal at Under-21 level)
If a team he inspires can win the Cup of Harmony, then why the hell not a full time coaching job for a World Cup winner (in the 47th edition) who was most famous for scoring in a rout against Rejistania for both the Under-21s and now senior AOCAF Cup side? So he may be old, but when he was around, Starblaydia were awesome.

Goalkeepers
1. Grant Hansen, GK, 22 - Foxchester Raiders
Uncapped (4 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
12. Luis Maximiano, GK, 17 - Corinthian Spirits
Uncapped (1 Cap, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
19. Dean Prinns, GK, 14 - Hecia
Uncapped (Uncapped at Under-21 level)

Defenders
2. Frederico Blassii, RB, 21 - Cedrus Soundgardia
Uncapped (4 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
3. Azestella Ajhabekk*, C/LB, 19 - Arcticala Inlet (Vilita)
Uncapped (4 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
5. Pablo Del Astra, CB, 19 - Penningworth United
Uncapped (4 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
6. Juan Torres, Captain, CB, 22 - Port Kostas City (Camwood)
Uncapped (4 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
13. David Callaghan, RB/LB, 17 - Sporting Salicus
Uncapped (1 Cap, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
14. Damon Kussek, CB, 18 - Jhanna City
Uncapped (2 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
20. Jiino Perestan, CB, 17 - Beverington Hawks
Uncapped (1 Cap, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
21. Havana Loeb*, CB/LB, 14 - Tuncastle Rovers
Uncapped (Uncapped at Under-21 level)

Midfielders
4. Enrique Schabla, DM, 21 - Iskara Daii
Uncapped (4 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
7. Michael Higgenbottom, RM, 21 - Penningworth United
Uncapped (4 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
8. Jordan Johanssen, AM, 22 - Hallad Reavers
Uncapped (4 Caps, 1 Goal at Under-21 level)
11. Marmitinho, LW, 20 - Corinthian Spirits
Uncapped (4 Caps, 1 Goal at Under-21 level)
15. Fussito Rodah, C/DM, 18 - Nidola United
Uncapped (1 Cap, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
16. Sergio Di Bradini, R/CM, 18 - Iskara Daii
Uncapped (2 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
22. Levi Anatanavic, A/LM, 17 - Iskara Daii
Uncapped (1 Cap, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)

Forwards
9. Dylan Beyda, SC/CF, 21 - Tuncastle Rovers
Uncapped (4 Caps, 1 Goal at Under-21 level)
10. Joe Copeland, SC, 22 - Malta Lines
Uncapped (4 Caps, 2 Goals at Under-21 level)
17. Lena Kochanska*, SC, 17 - Iskara Daii
Uncapped (2 Caps, 1 Goal at Under-21 level)
18. Jenji Marino, SC/AM, 17 - Cedrus Soundgardia
Uncapped (1 Caps, 0 Goals at Under-21 level)
23. Vincenzo Natrionne, SC, 14 - Vecchio Victors
Uncapped (Uncapped at Under-21 level)

Formation

Home And Away Kits
Kits created by:

Starblaydia's traditional all-white Home kit, and the all-purple Away kit with a touch of gold, both with five gold stars - representing their record-setting five World Championships - above the Starblaydi Football Association logo.

by **Starblaydia** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:35 pm

It was the morning of Matchday One of the 36th AOCAF Cup, and the tasty prospect of six-time Champions Starblaydia versus defending Champions Audioslavia was scheduled to take place at Marine Coast United's Marine World Park stadium in Crosaibi, Vilita. There was only one problem.

Where the hell were the Audioslavians?

Frederico Blassii and Jenji Marino were both Cedrus Soundgardia players and knew how much the average Bulls fan would be looking forward to playing Starblaydia. Though it might not be the sport where the nations were true rivals, Ice Hockey, any match where the distinct claret and green of Audioslavia lined up against the white and purple of Starblaydia was a sporting occasion worth witnessing. Indeed, Freddy and Jenji lined up in those colours every week in Liga Starblaydia. If the Bulls didn't turn up, though, they would forfeit the match.

None of the Audioslavia players had trained at Marine World Park the day before, nor had they done any interviews, released any squad lists, or even confirmed that they were still in existence. All that business with Wight suddenly appearing had caused terrible damage to the eastern islands of Starblaydia, with Aquiliana taking the brunt of the damage, largely sheilding the three much smaller islands of Cedrus from the tidal wave and earth tremors. One could only imagine, based on that, what sort of damage had been done to the Audioslavian island.

Juan Torres*, Starblaydia's captain and one of only two overseas-based players, had been most prominent of the players as he led them in a tour of the affected areas a week or so ago. It was substitute striker Lena Kochanska's tears for the people hit by the earthquake and deadly tidal waves in the easternmost part of Starblaydia, though, that had caught the camera lenses most memorably. Main goalscoring threat and Malta Lines hot prospect Joe Copeland had toured the Cedrus islands along with Freddy and Jenji to cheer the locals as mjuch as they could, as well as seeing the damage cause to the people they were representing.

It had all come home to the Starblaydi squad just who they were playing for and why they were there. They knew that the only other people in the 18-billion strong Starblaydi nation who represented Starblaydia itself in body, word and deed were the Lord Protector Curzon Starblayde himself and his two siblings, as well as, perhaps, some of the more prominent Minsters and highest-ranking members of the Sjarondai. It was forging a real purpose and team spirit to the squad over and beyond any simple footballing connection.

They were Starblaydia, they were playing for the future and, assuming the Audioslavian team bus turned up at all, they were playing to win.

OOC: *who may or may not strikingly resemble the real-life Spain defender Sergio Ramos.

by **Kiryu-shi** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 3:24 pm

A roster detailing the members of the
Kiryu-shi National Football Team
for competition in the
36^th edition of the Atlantian Oceania Confederation of Association Football Cup
submitted for the benefit of potential rivals and other interested parties

Staff
Marja Mayberry (Head Coach) --- Age: 57

Grand-daughter of esteemed Kiryu-shi legend Pat Mayberry, Marja Mayberry was taught the sport by her father during the country-wide ban on sports, and remains one of the only people in the entire nation with the credentials to lead anything related to football. Although she was successful in the sea-weed collection industry for decades, she was also a leading advocate for the reforms that allowed Kiryu-shi to build a football program, pressuring legislators to institute youth and university leagues throughout the country. Following her success, Mayberry has retired from her previous job to lead the national team.

Boaz Crow (Assistant Coach) --- Age: 51

Like Mayberry, Boaz Crow is the grandchild of a former national team member, goalkeeper Jon Crow. Although the younger Crow doesn’t have the same experience as Mayberry does, he has proven himself to be a good motivator and trainer of young players, particularly defenders. A teacher before he was hired to become the assistant coach of the national team, Crow tends to focus on the team itself and has a tendency to crumble under outside media scrutiny. However, his enthusiasm has made him popular among the squad itself.

GK
Kohei Yasumu (#1) --- Age: 28 --- Sakaino University

A quiet but forceful presence on the goal line, Kohei Yasumu does not seem to be the prototypical keeper, but possesses incredible dexterity. He can show moments of extreme athleticism making spectacular saves, but has been known to play out of position from time to time, not calculating angles well and is particularly hesitant going up for crosses. As he has become more experienced, he has grown into himself as a keeper, less prone to mistakes, but still far from an elite keeper.

DF
Patrick Yu (#15) --- Age: 27 --- Umeda University

A defender who is at his best when he is reacting to the ball, Patrick Yu excels playing with a vocal presence to his immediate right. He tends to play unassertively, but is generally able to always stay on any given attacker, with incredible reflexes and quick hips, Patrick Yu is likely the hardest defender to get around. His weaknesses, including his inability to execute tackles well and a striking inability to clear the ball, prevent him from being an elite defender.

Olive Ferguson (#5) --- Age: 28 --- Aioi University

The captain of the national team, Olive Ferguson utilizes her dominant physical presence, and has the ability to shut down opposing attacks with precise, aggressive, hard tackles. She has a tendency to be carded frequently, however, and has been known to vocalize her displeasure with officials. She has struggled with knee injuries recently in her career, which has limited her mobility, and will likely be the first person taken out of any given match.

Rebecca Hamilton (#4) --- Age: 26 --- Sakaino University

Another foil against Olive Ferguson’s aggressive play, Rebecca Hamilton is possibly the most technically skilled person in the nation, showing an incredible ability to control any ball at first touch. She is able, generally to take a ball away from attackers with seemingly no effort, and when she can be coaxed into helping with counter-attacks, she is generally able to move past multiple opposing defenders. She generally struggles with positioning, as she tends to get sucked into the one-on-one battles that she excels, and can be caught unawares during off-side traps.

Kenta Takenomi (#20) --- Age: 25 --- Aioi University

An athlete who many predicted would be a dominant player in the sport at a young age, Kenta Takenomi has struggled to find a place on the pitch. He is a hard tackler with adequate speed excellent fitness, but tends to have a wild, unconstrained style of play. His lack of discipline can open up holes at his position as a wing back, and he doesn’t have the pace that would be ideal at his position. Although he plays center back on his university squad, he makes too many mistakes to be trusted there on the international stage.

Charles Meer (#8) --- Age: 26 --- Kasakake University

Another great athlete lacking in some of the technical qualities one would desire from an international football player, Charles Meer is tall and swift, able to cover vast distances from his left wing back position. Lacking a great leg or ball control, he nevertheless is effective attacking simple due to the great runs he can carve through a defense. His height also makes him a threat on corners, and he never seems to have trouble retreating hastily to his defensive position.

MF

Will Feingold (#2) --- Age: 24 --- Umeda University

Likely the most talented player in Kiryu-shi, Will Feingold is the key to the national team’s defense. He has tremendous speed and agility, and is able to cover a large amount of the field. He generally contains himself to the defensive half of the field, hesitant to help out with attacks, but when he does, he is an extraordinary threat, one of the few players who has consistently been a goal-scoring threat, making long and effective runs down the field. He has tremendous ball-control skills, and is a relentless tracker of whoever has the ball on the opposing attack. Although he can be used in a position to attack, on the national team he is used to neutralize opposing attacks as best possible.

Bob Libby (#10) --- Age: 28 --- Sakuragi University

Bob Libby excels in breaking down opposing defenses, using a wide variety of feints combined with effortless small, accurate touches to get past many highly skilled defenders. He struggles a lot, however, controlling longer passes or shots on goal. The disparity between his one on one skills and his passing skills is fairly extreme, making him a difficult player to defend but an easy player to neutralize. Throughout his career, he has been known as a solid but not spectacular performer for his university team.

Connor Boyle (#7) --- Age: 22— Sakaino University

Connor Boyle has been a perplexing player throughout his still short career. On his university squad, he has had periods of incredible success, with his superior pace dominating matches, at times. He maintains the fastest straight-away speed on the national team, but plays with a wildness that isn’t necessarily conducive to consistent success on the pitch, often enthusiastically hitting the ball in the same general area of the goal, but rarely actually scoring. His athleticism in the attacking mid-field, however, adds a dynamic quality to the Kiryu-shi attack, whether or not it is necessarily effective.

Lidia Barnes (#6) --- Age: 26 --- Sakaino University

One of the most dangerous strikers in Kiryu-shi at the university level, Lidia Barnes has thrived in her position in the midfield, where she is able to use her deep knowledge of tactics and great ball-control to dictate the pace of attack. Although not a tremendous athlete, not particularly fast, she has quick feet and plays her position extremely intelligently. Although she’s not a dynamic playmaker, if the game is going well she can pepper the goal area with accurate passes as she controls the Kiryu-shi attack.

FW
Samantha DeCastro (#11) --- Age: 25 --- Amanuma University

A former gymnast, and a tremendously gifted athlete, Samantha DeCastro has still has not made the next step to become the prolific goal-scorer that she sometimes shows glimpses of being. She tends to have an unreliable first touch and a fairly inaccurate shot. Her tremendous athleticism in front of the goal, however, allows her to create imaginative goals from crosses anywhere in her general vicinity, and she has shown a propensity for making the unexpected happen. She tends to do better when she relies on instincts, often overthinking when she has more than three or four touches on the ball.

Reserves
Maggie Giles (#18) --- Age: 24 --- Kawauchi University - GK
Carlos Hamamoto (#3) --- Age: 26 --- Amanuma University - DF
Tim Agee (#19)--- Age: 22 --- Umeda University - DF
Sheldon Frei (#16) --- Age: 24 --- Maruyama University - DF/MF
Melanie Griffith (#13) --- Age: 24 --- Sakuragi University - MF
Patrick Robertson (#9) --- Age: 26 --- Sakaino University - MF
Ritsu Shinabata (#14) --- Age: 27 --- Kawauchi University - FW

Formation

Yasumu

Hamilton     Ferguson         Yu
Takenomi                                            Meer

Feingold
Libby                                    Boyle
Barnes              

                     DeCastro

Kiryu-shi Official Kits

 
Primary                                Secondary


Keeper

Style Modifier -4

by **Audioslavia** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 4:32 pm

Sue Dysos threw her screwdriver to the ground in frustration. "You fucking plums" she shouted, to herself, "you morons. You narrow-minded, foresight-shy morons".
The early-warning system was supposed to have been tested every six months. It stood to reason. The Audioslavian isle of Kjeligsted was only barely above sea-level, and any sudden rise in sea level, whether caused by a tropical storm or a particularly large whale bouncing around off the coast of Legalese, could cause untold damage to Kjeligsted's coast. The national football stadium, the '1927 Arena', was right on the coast with very little in terms of barrier between it and the sea. A particuarly large tidal wave during a football game would have paticularly dire - possibly fatal - consequences. The early-warning system needed to be tested, thorougly, every six months, to keep to a minimum any potential death toll from such a nautical event.

But it was loud.

It was loud and the people of Kjeligsted were morons. The sirens hadn't been tested in five years. And now they weren't working.

Sue Dysos had taken the long journey from Cathair - capital of the Audioslavian mainland - to Kjeligsted four months previously, ostensibly as a technician in employ of a rather slapdash Audioslavian government, but with a more lofty scheme in mind. Dysos had been brought up to be fairly sports-mad, with a fascination with all things football, especially when the proud Claret and Green came into it. Audioslavia played their home internationals on the small Atlantian Oceanian island, and she decided she needed to be closer to the action. With the AOCAF just around the corner, being in the Atlantian Oceania archipeligo was great.

She hadn't reckoned on her job getting in the way. 'Government Technician'? Pfft. Easy. Piece of piss. Fixing roadsigns, waterfountains in parks, helping out building PA systems for state-funded concerts and whatnot. Easy. She hadn't reckoned on this.

It was Wight's fault. It was always Wight's fault. If you couldn't blame Polar Islandstates anyway.

She'd been ordered to test the flood-alert early-warning system as soon as news filtered through about potential problems with the 'Great Remove' of Wight, dubbed 'The Great Plonking' by Audioslavian officials. Her boss, an amiable yet clueless fellow whose name she was fond of forgetting, had said of the situation that there was a 'horrendous potential'. 'Potential what?", Sue had asked. "I don't know, all we know is that it's horrendous and there's potentially a lot of it.'

Most guessed that it would take the form of a tidal wave. You can't displace that amount of water a matter of miles before the Kjeligsted mainland and expect everything to be hunky dory. And so, Sue Dysos found herself skirting the edge of the island, finding all the out-of-order sirens and attempting to fix them. Attempting, and failing. After years of disuse and battered by the salty sea air, their mechanisms were rusted shut. Years of home-schooling in woodwork, metalwork and electronics could not help Sue fix them.

"COME ON!" Sue Dysos shouted to the sirens, but the sirens refused. She threw yet another screwdriver to the ground, and almost did the same to her mobile phone as it started ringing.

"Hello, Sue Dysos, Futility Engineer"
"Sue, hi, it's Brian"
"Who?"
"What do you mean, who?, It's your boss"
"Oh, right, yeah"
"I'm calling to tell you... I'm sorry"
"I should fucking well hope so" said Sue, drawing a screwdriver out of her toolbelt and lashing it towards the ground, more out of habit than frustration. "This is a joke. A fucking joke. Everything's buggered. Nothing works. If you'd have kept testing the system we wouldn't have a problem.
"No, not about that. Well, I *am* sorry for that, but... well.... it's hit."
"What's *hit*?"
"Wight. Wight has hit. The tidal wave is coming. I'm... I'm not sure you have time to..."

Sue fell silent. She took out another screwdriver, but couldn't quite muster the energry to throw it to the ground.

"Oh"

"Yeah. It happened ten minutes ago. There is.... there is a chance... though."
"What kind of chance" said a very shakily-voiced Sue.
"Well... you know the Dreamed Realm, right?"
"I know *of* it, yes"
"There's been news of some very strange activity off their coast"
"They don't have a coast. The only 'coast' of the Dreamed Realm is a kind of figurative seven-dimensional hyper-conscious haze"
"Yeah, well it's probably that"
"*What's* probably 'that'?"
"Well, you know... solar winds?"
"Solar winds. Jets of gas expelled by the sun. Something like that, right?"
"Right. And,.. you know Polar Islandstates?"
"..yes" replied Sue, who was wondering where this was going.
"Well, it's just that.... they seemed to have combined with each other"
"What the hell do you mean 'they seem to have combined with each other'? Have you gone insane? How on earth has the hyperconscious multi-dimensional border of the Dreamed Realm interacted with a solar wind, Polar Islandstates and this enormous sodding great tidal wave roaring towards me screaming 'the milky bars are on me'?"
"Well, the polar wind.... and that particular seven-dimensional haze... one knocked the other off kilter, somewhat. Dream Dust... and... a cold polar wind... and.... displacement of the ozone layer thanks to some particularly violent solar activity and a huge tidal wave... basically, Sue, something is going to happen."
Sue, again, fell silent, trying to get her head around the caucophany of opaque informaiton being cast at her from afar.
"What's the best case scenario?" she said, finally.
"The best case scenario is that the combined efforts of the PISwinds, hyper-dimensional dream particles and solar radiation does something weird to the Wight todal wave and somehow results in your survival."
"And the worst case scenario?"
"All the others."
"Right"
"We've got some pan-dimensional abstraction-senors stationed on science-buoys off the northern coast. We can wait to get a reading off those and give you some kind of breakdown of what to expect as the wave hits."
"How long before the wave hits?"
"About twelve seconds, give or take"
"Wait, hang, on 'pan-dimensional abstraction-sensors', where the fuck did you get the budget for that?"
"There was money left over from the butterget"
"The what?"
"Butterget. The butter budget. Audioslavian cows have made some pretty third-division milk since the civil war, so we import our butter from Legalese. Turns out we didn't need as much this year, so we had some money left over"
"So you bought water-balls and strapped five-dimensional smegma-pulsars to them, or whatever it is"
"Yeah"
"Right. Well I suppose I can't complain. How long till they start picking up a reading?"
"Ten seconds"
"Right. Do you have a pen?"
"Yes, why? Do you want me to write down your last words?"
"No, I want you to jam it in your eye"
"Right"

--

Ten miles away, the Audioslavian national football team were heading for their team bus at quite a pace. A particularly cynical Kelly Sporadic had had his team training near the 1927 Arena regardless of the potential threat from hazardous Wight-misplacement, but a series of alarms and phone calls had forced his hand. Audioslavia boarded the bus, which sped away as quickly as possible.

It wouldn't quite be fast enough.

--

"OK, I haven't jammed that pen in my eye, thanks, but I have news. The sensors are picking up something.... strange?"
"Strange how? Strange like a cat with a wonky eye, or strange like a thousand-ton wall of sea water hitting me in the face?"
"Strange like... well strange like a thousand-ton wall of sea water being... replaced?"
"Replaced?"
"Yeah... it seems... it seems you're going to live. But... at a cost"
"Oh god, just tell me straight, Bill, James, Jeff, whatever your name is. What has this thousand ton wall of water been replaced by? And don't say 'a thousand tons of poo' or I won't be happy.
"It seems... it seems every molecule of water has been turned into.... into..."
"Into what?"
"Into..."
"What?"
"...into secondary emotions"
"What?!?!".
"Ennui, displacement, disenfranchisement, ennui, machismo, post-sex 'petit mort'..."
"OK" said Sue, frowning, "look, if you just... if you just *stop* this thing from happening... I swear I'll work for less pay. I'll apologise for telling you to jam a pen in your eye. Anything. Just stop this from hitting me."
"I'm sorry Sue" said Brian, "but I think it already has.."

---

The Audioslavian team bus sped away in the general direction of Kjeligsted "International" Airport (the inverted commas had been added by a public annoyed with the lack of destinations served by the airport. Silexhera and mainland Audioslavia were the only destinations possible unless one chartered a flight). As fast as the bus could travel, however, they couldn't quite keep ahead of the oncoming haze of second-generation emotions...

by **Audioslavia** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 4:51 pm

Code: Select all: # Pos Name Age Club 1 GK Anthony Newbridge 26 A.C. Izotz Zubia 2 RB Gaizka Alanila 30 A.C. Izotz Zubia 3 LB Gaetano Quagliarella 33 Cedrus Soundgardia (Starblaydia) 4 CM Mauro Calvino 30 Cedrus Soundgardia (Starblaydia) 5 CB Delain Colgan 30 Inland Peaks (Vilita) 6 CB Andre-Luis Partico 29 XXV de Maio (Cafundeu) 7 RM Calaexa Jeroen 30 Inland Peaks (Vilita) 8 CM Torsten Ibsen (c) 29 F.K. Ørken Okser 9 CF Marc Vauvenargues 28 Juvillian Martinax (Erathore) 10 AM Weverton Spradic 27 Athens Town (Civil Citizenry) 11 LM Mantzio Janssens 27 Sporting Iturributa (Astograth) 12 GK John-Luke Stainboat 32 Seamrock Cathair 13 LB Pascal Vandenbossche 30 Tout-Puissant Hasiera 14 LW Jussi Makkinnen 32 Cedrus Soundgardia (Starblaydia) 15 CB Maxi Castrogiovanni 38 Cedrus Soundgardia (Starblaydia) 16 CB Cassio Di Rossiverdi 38 Cedrus Soundgardia (Starblaydia) 17 CF Claudio Monza 33 Cedrus Soundgardia (Starblaydia) 18 LM Zuzen Holai 34 A.C. Izotz Zubia 19 CM Txordin Velazquez 22 F.C. Moreazerua 20 RM Vava Cezathazacera 27 A.C. Izotz Zubia 21 RB Anton Thabaler 28 F.C. Hasiera 22 GK Ryan St. House 31 1830 Cathair 1 Newbridge 2 6 5 3 Alanila Particle Colgan Quagliarella 19 8 7 Velazquez Ibsen 11 Jeroen Janssens 10 Sporadic 9 Vauvenargues

Style Modifier: -1

Who the Hell are Audioslavia?
Audioslavia are the reigning AOCAF champions and winners of the last Baptism of Fire tournament. We are, however, an ancient nation that has been around the football scene for centuries. Audioslavia participated in World Cups 4 to 29, made an abortive comeback in World Cup 37 and, as puppet Silexhera, entered World Cups 46 to 49.

Ten Things Audioslavia's football team are famous for
1: The claret and green striped kits, complete with white pinstripe. They have been like this, with the odd exception, since World Cup 4.
2: Jeremy Jaffacake. The indescribable Jaffacake has been a satellite of the national team - both as sports journalist and member of the FFA - since World Cup 6. It is unwise to cross Jeremy Jaffacake. In fact, it's often unwise to even look at him.
3: Choking in major finals. Audioslavia are the record holders for losing the most amount of World Cup finals, in WCs 12, 19, 20 and 29. We've also lost a few minor-tournament finals.
4: Being unbeatable in semi-finals. Audioslavia's senior side are yet to lose a semi-final in any type of competition. We'd like to think that this makes up for our lack of wins in finals, but it doesn't.
5: Dour, uninspired football. The Bulls like to pretend that they are a 'counterattacking' team, but in reality their play is merely boring, dire and defensive. They're prone to scoring goals late in games against tiring, jaded opponents, utilising a natural stamina and speed that makes up for the average Audioslavian player's lack of physical strength, technique and passing game.
6: A fervent, yet well-behaved support. Audioslavia's fans are generally friendly, enjoy mixing with the locals and are partial to the odd litre of whisky.
7: Building rivalries: Audioslavia count, and have counted, a lot of nations as their 'rivals'. They are, in order of healthiest to most hated: Lemmitania, Karditan, New Montreal States, Halfassedstates, Iansisle, Vilita/Turori, Bedistan, Squornshelous, Rejistania, Total n Utter Insanity, Krytenia U19s, Krytenia U21s, Krytenia 'C'. Krytenia 'B', Them. (Notable exceptions: Starblaydia ('the enemy of mine enemy is a team we've never played very often'), Armed Bears/Bears Armed ('caused Silexhera and Audioslavia all sorts of problems in the past, but are too cute to be hated'), Dorian and Sonya ('you can't hate someone you pretty much have the measure of, and we know for a fact they're about five foot two'), Liverpool England ('good Audioslavian teams have beaten bad LivEng/Liventian teams. Good Liv teams have beaten bad Audioslavia teams. We've played each other plenty of times, but never with too much needle'.))
8: Audioslavia have had, throughout their history, a disproportionate amount of wingers with names beginning with 'J'.
9: Audioslavia are the first and only team to have been eliminated from the group stage of a World Cup on penalties.
10: Words. And lots of them

Audioslavian footballers tend to be a little on the small side, compared to modern NS athletes. The average height for a goalkeeper or a defender is around 6'0, 5'7 for a full-back, 5'10 for a midfielder and 5'9 for a striker (although the 'target-man' style strikers tend to be nearer 6'0). All of Audioslavia's players, throughout history, have been human and male. Our players tend to be fairly quick with a lot of stamina and physical fitness. Our passing, positional play, tactical knowledge and general technique is fairly poor, although this is often counter-balanced by the input of foreign managers and/or nationalised foreign footballers. Audioslavians tend to be good with the ball in the air, although the lack of tall players renders this talent somewhat redundant in international play, and the general lack of size means that it's possible to bully the midfield off the ball if your team as enough big players. For this reason, Audioslavian squads tend to include an 'enforcer' to counteract any rough play.

[u]AOCAF Info[/u[
The Audioslavian national football team have been involved in a horrific event that affected everyone on the Audioslavian isle of Kjeligsted one rainy spring afternoon, and have been infected with a range of second-class emotions ranging from brutally calcifying ennui to a mild sense of de ja vu. The effects of the phenomenon have a general effect of drunkeness as a side-effect, and as such the team are expected to play very badly in the tournament.

by **New West Guiana** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:49 pm

A Life of Doubt
The life story of Felipe Hernandez

One would come to think that such a storied career as that of Mr. Hernandez would be because of a very supportive family that encouraged their children to be the best they can be. Felipe Hernandez was born on December 25, 1983 at the St. Mary's Catholic Hospital in Ft. McCarney, Myto. Felipe's father was Lt. George Hernandez serving West Guiana in the Army. His mother Col. Sarah Hernandez also serving her country in the Army. He was the only son of the two, matter of fact Felipe was their only child.

However though the two were split on a major decision, they loved serving their country, but they knew that at anytime they could be called to action. However both of their love for their nation won despite the risks. When Felipe was only five months old Lt.Hernandez was called for deployment to help an ally in their greatest time of need. With his departure, his mother knew that family should always come before her country, and with in a few months she retired from her position.

In December of 1987, three days before Felipe's fourth birthday, the Hernandez family received devastating news that Lt.Hernandez was killed while serving his country during the 1987 West Guiana Civil War. Five days latter the family received his body and a week latter he was laid to rest.

Of course next to Sarah young Felipe was hurt from the loss of his father, the family was given one month to move off the Ft. McCarney Army base, they settled down in the city of Ft. McCarney (population 39,000) where Sarah had many close friends and family.

The Autumn of 1990 brought joy to Felipe and his mother, less than three years after the death of his father, Sarah re-married Rep. Carl Van Allen, who at the time was a Representative to the West Guiana House of Representatives. Rep. Van Allen lost his wife Susan to cancer five years earlier leaving him with their five year old daughter Jennifer and seven year old son Mike to care for. During this time of much transition Felipe for the first time in years learned to laugh again and know what's it's part of a family again.

Carl in high school was caption of the Ft. McCarney soccer team where in his Junior and Senior years they won the Myto state soccer tournament, (1966 & 1967). The 1966 team was better than the next years team where they finished with an overall record of 18-6-1. Because of Carl's love for the game and his two love for basketball, he was the inspiration for Felipe's love of the game.

In July 1990, Carl took Felipe to the local Soccer Little League, from there Felipe joined the SLL playing with other seven to nine year olds. He played two seasons with the SLL's Blue-Jays. In his first game Felipe scored three goals! After his first season Felipe had scored the most goals in the league with 19, while with the Blue-Jays that first season the team won the league title with an record of 9-2-2. In his second year playing in the SLL the Blue-Jays won the league title by beating the Red-Hwaks 6-1 and finished 12-1-0.

To be continued...

by **Kiryu-shi** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 6:27 pm

The head of the Judicial Committee, Robert Mindy, looked over his glasses at the suspect. Mindy sighed, there was absolutely no shaking this man, and no amount of testimony had remotely come close to making this guy look nervous or shaken in any way. And Mindy knew that the eyes of the country were on this case. The tabloids were all over it, the religious folk were going down swinging, and the progressives were trying to make sure that their brand of justice was served. And for all of his insight into the case, the knowledge that he had over every detail of what happened, he simply could not be sure of what happened. And now the defendant was requesting permission to tell his entire story. From the beginning of the AOCAF to the last. And he was going to grant the testimony. What else could he do? These claims, on both sides, were just so ludicrous. The only clear thing that he knew was that something bad had happened, a lot of damage was done, and no one was taking any responsibility.

The rest of the Judicial Committee wasn’t much help, either. Most of them were firmly in the pocket of one interest group or another, and the combination of that, the affairs, and the infighting had so frayed the members that Mindy was assured that it was he who would be responsible for any decision. And so he sat, looking down at the young man, disappointed in himself, the law he had sworn to uphold, and the society which he was supposed to represent. There would be no dignity in this case.

The young man himself was fairly nondescript. He was 28 years old, of the same generation of the football team that he seemed (or not) to demonize. He didn’t give any indication of being overtly religious, he hadn’t attended any religious camps as a child, he never was an official member of any church or anything like that. He had been a student until he was 24, graduating with a Masters in Foreign Literature before taking a job in the kitchens of a fairly prestigious restaurant near the capital. An inconspicuous young man, generally recognized as pleasant and outgoing. He had wispy blond hair, and looked fairly classically handsome with a strong jaw-line and an engaging smile. He seemed at ease with the attention, and remained pleasant throughout all of the witnesses for the prosecution, even under some of the more incriminating evidence. Although he wasn’t too successful, he seemed happy, and had all the bearings of a fairly normal, robust, Kiryu-shi young man.

And he was the first person in over forty years to be charged with a count of domestic terrorism in the nation.

All over, allegedly, football. The prosecutors had painted a fairly convincing case. They had proof that he had no interest in football prior to the AOCAF tournament, but he had watched every match played in Vilita obsessively, even the games in which Kiryu-shi did not participate, in groups that were totally irrelevant to Kiryu-shi. He had never played any sports in his life, so this new attention to football was bizarre, to say the least. And he did start spending a lot more time in Sakaino, as his travel pass indicated that he routinely got off the stop closest to the Sakaino Athletics and Performance Arts Center, the home of the Kiryu-shi national athletics team and the scene of the alleged crime. And there was no disputing that the suspect was at the scene of the crime at the time of the crime. And so the motive, Mindy assumed, was some level of obsession with football, and a lashing out in protest or a desire for attention. Either was possible, he supposed. But neither seemed likely.

Regardless, the recess was coming to an end, and he would have to let the suspect begin his narrative. Starting, apparently, with the beginning of the AOCAF. It was Kiryu-shi’s match against the New Montreal States, which took place in the Vilita capital of Alikki-Corra, all those weeks ago…

by **Geisenfried** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:35 pm

Königseifert Chronicle
^{The capital's finest English-language news source!}

Trials and Tribulations
^{A gruesome gauntlet awaits for Geisenfried's return to international football}

LONNGEYLIN, VILITA -- It's been ten World Cup cycles since the Royal Federation has made an appearance in the world's premier international footballing competition, and even that was only a brief cameo to celebrate the coming of the 50th anniversary of the event. It's been nearly twenty-five cycles since the national team has been any sort of force on the international level and almost thirty since the World Cup founders Ariddia celebrated their first title at the Königskronestadion in the heart of the capital. Since then, the national football association has joined the rest of the nation in upholding our country's long standing tradition of isolation. But that, it seems, is changing little by little, having culminated in their entrance here into this, the thirty-sixth and latest edition of the world's premier regional sporting competition, the AOCAF Championships, as well as announcing their intent to enter qualifying stages of the next World Cup, which will be the sixty-first.

Much of the credit for bringing the GKFV out of its shell has been laid at the feet of the new manager for the national team, Andreas Büchner, who in his playing years was an outspoken critic of the GKFV's decision to abandon international competitions, repeatedly expressing his desires to play against the world's best. But while those calls fell on deaf ears, it would seem that he has managed to find some influence amongst the upper level administration of the football association after becoming one of the country's best domestic managers. Whatever the case may be, he now has the helm of the recently reformed national football team, leading it into it's first major competition in quite some time.

It should be noted, however, that even when Geisenfried was a top-10 ranked national football team in the world, it never made much of an impression in regional competition, as focus was prioritized on the larger international competition. Records only show one appearance by a team waving our flag at a prior AOCAF, and that was a reserve team squashed in the early rounds of the fourteenth edition. Now it would seem that the Royal Federation's football association intends to keep up competition in both the region and across the world - at least, for whatever length of time those in favor of international competition remain in power in the GKFV.

Geisen football, lately long isolated in its domestic leagues would likely not have been a favorite for advancement AOCAF. But due to unusual circumstances, Geisenfried has found itself starting out its return to international play against both the defending runner-ups AND defending champions in group play. Completing the quartet is the greatly prestigious, if similarly long-dormant Starblaydi team, making up what has been considered unquestionably the competition's group of death. With two of the region's best teams in Andossa Se Mitrin Vega and Audioslavia and a ferociously proud Starblaydia present, 0 points can be considered an entirely reasonable expectation for the Golden Eagles' returning debut.

But going nowhere, some would say, is better than not going at all.

The coming match day will see the Golden Eagles play against Andossa Se Mitrin Vega here in Lonngeylin before the team travels to Corsaibi for its remaining two matches. Andossa Se Mitrin Vega's 'Tidal Surge' formation, though known for its flexibility, plays perhaps a bit more defensively than most, while Büchner's history would indicate that his own defensive tendencies would make this a match of 'who breaks first'. Still, most would expect Andossa Se Mitrin Vega's better experience to come through for the victory. For Geisenfried, the best case scenario likely lies in keeping the game close and low scoring, hoping for a lucky break or a well-placed set piece to shock the Sea Dragons.

MD1: v. Andossa Se Mitrin Vega @ Lonngeylin Coliseum [Lonngeylin, Vilita]
MD2: v. Audioslavia @ Marine World Park [Corsaibi, Vilita]
MD3: v. Starblaydia @ Marine World Park [Corsaibi, Vilita]

by **Vilita** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 11:05 pm

Group A
New Montreal States [0] Kiryu-shi [3]
Falcania [3] Scandonia [2]
Group B
Andossa Se Mitrin Vega [2] Geisenfried [0]
Starblaydia [4] Audioslavia [0]
Group C
Wight [1] Osarius [1]
Legalese [3] Bazalonia [0]
Group D
Carpathia and Ruthenia [6] Zarbli [1]
Monizhamena [1] Dorian and Sonya [2]

The Icemark [0] Cosumar [1]
Thatius [2] Naitpyge [2]
Group F
Hutt River [1] Vilita & Turori [3]
Leorudo [2] 95x [2]
Group G
Gallund [3] Lymantatia [1]
The Bear Islands [1] Pacitalia [4]
Group H
Israeli Apartheid Client-State [3] New West Guiana [4]
Valanora [2] Ipeland [3]

-------Group A----                  P  W  D  L GF-GA     GD  Pts
[1] Falcania                        1  1  0  0  3-2    +1   3
[2] Kiryu-shi                       1  1  0  0  3-0    +3   3
 3- New Montreal States             1  0  0  1  0-3    -3   0
 4- Scandonia                       1  0  0  1  2-3    -1   0

-------Group B----                  P  W  D  L GF-GA     GD  Pts
[1] Andossa Se Mitrin Vega          1  1  0  0  2-0    +2   3
[2] Starblaydia                     1  1  0  0  4-0    +4   3
 3- Audioslavia                     1  0  0  1  0-4    -4   0
 4- Geisenfried                     1  0  0  1  0-2    -2   0

-------Group C----                  P  W  D  L GF-GA     GD  Pts
[1] Legalese                        1  1  0  0  3-0    +3   3
[2] Wight                           1  0  1  0  1-1    +0   1
 3- Osarius                         1  0  1  0  1-1    +0   1
 4- Bazalonia                       1  0  0  1  0-3    -3   0

-------Group D----                  P  W  D  L GF-GA     GD  Pts
[1] Carpathia and Ruthenia          1  1  0  0  6-1    +5   3
[2] Dorian and Sonya                1  1  0  0  2-1    +1   3
 3- Monizhamena                     1  0  0  1  1-2    -1   0
 4- Zarbli                          1  0  0  1  1-6    -5   0

0

-------Group E----                  P  W  D  L GF-GA     GD  Pts
[1] Cosumar                         1  1  0  0  1-0    +1   3
[2] Thatius                         1  0  1  0  2-2    +0   1
 3- Naitpyge                        1  0  1  0  2-2    +0   1
 4- The Icemark                     1  0  0  1  0-1    -1   0

-------Group F----                  P  W  D  L GF-GA     GD  Pts
[1] Vilita & Turori                 1  1  0  0  3-1    +2   3
[2] Leorudo                         1  0  1  0  2-2    +0   1
 3- 95x                             1  0  1  0  2-2    +0   1
 4- Hutt River                      1  0  0  1  1-3    -2   0

-------Group G----                  P  W  D  L GF-GA     GD  Pts
[1] Pacitalia                       1  1  0  0  4-1    +3   3
[2] Gallund                         1  1  0  0  3-1    +2   3
 3- Lymantatia                      1  0  0  1  1-3    -2   0
 4- The Bear Islands                1  0  0  1  1-4    -3   0

-------Group H----                  P  W  D  L GF-GA     GD  Pts
[1] Ipeland                         1  1  0  0  3-2    +1   3
[2] New West Guiana                 1  1  0  0  4-3    +1   3
 3- Valanora                        1  0  0  1  2-3    -1   0
 4- Israeli Apartheid Client-State  1  0  0  1  3-4    -1   0

MD2 Will be in ~48 hours

by **Falcania** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:09 am

"-And that's all the news on the big fight. Next on Airsweep TotalSport 1, Jackwell Tollioni and Tommen Hond report on the latest AOCAF news. Sky help us all."
"I can't believe I have to work with you."
"I can't believe you still have a job."
"I can't believe you were hired in the first place."

"Good evening, ladies and gents, and welcome to the AOCAF news!"

"Good evening indeed, Jack. Well, there's a win in the books, eh? A good start by all accounts!"

"You're not wrong, Tom. Qail Pronotiro with a hat-trick, that's three goals, and successful goals at that."

"Once again, the young man from Glowsnap shows his worth. The Brewers are going to have a good High League season, that's for sure."

"And what of the rivalry between Colan Battes and Thax Akirax?"

"Glad you asked me that, Jack. Yes, as those of you who watched the match will attest, they were both sent off after sixty minutes for a brawl in the opposing side's penalty box."

"Yes they were, and it was a good fight too, but it was in contravention of the laws of the game, and they will not be able to play in the next match. Nationally-untested spears Cherald Marthiew and Serent Porilon will be donning the orange shirts for the Falcon at the next match."

"And the next match are against whom, Jack?"

"I have it in my notes, Tom."

"And where are those notes, Jack?"

"They are... in my other jacket, Tom, in my hotel room."

"Drinking again, Jack?"

"Only as a celebration, Tom."

"Learned a little about drinking on the job, Jack?"

"I sure have, Tom. Make sure you're not doing it in a hotel room with a 14-year-old. Tell us about the New Montreal States, Tom."

"Nobody knows much about the New Montreal States, Jack. Some people have theorised the existence of some Old Montreal States, but these reports are unsubstantiated."

"Thanks for that, you sleazy drunkard."

by **Starblaydia** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 3:27 am

SCB:SportsHD1 Commentary wrote:"...Starblaydia, making a change here just before their attacking corner. It's goalscorer Joe Copeland who's coming off, as we expected, to a lovely reception from the travelling Starblaydi crowd."

"He picked up a knock in that challenge with Andre-Luis Particle."

"Yes, Partico it was who got tangled with Copeland. Starblaydia leading two-nil here in the second half with goals thanks to this man Copeland, with Dylan Beyda also getting on the scoresheet. Audioslavia just haven't been at the races here today, very sluggish compared to their usual strength and speed game that we've come to expect from the current regional champions. It's Lena Kochanska coming on in a straight swap, making her senior debut - like every Starblaydi player here of course."

"The boots they wear these days."

"They're certainly very bright, Kochanska's boots, a pale powdery blue sort of a colour, close even to cyan you might say."

"Not very patriotic, is it?"

"Actually they're in honour of the animal that is 'sponsoring', for want of a better word, the Group B matches. Each Group here in Vilita has a native animal associated with it, and Starblaydia's Group B is brought to us by the Blue-footed Booby-"

"The what?

"It's a seabird, with very blue feet, hence the boots, but let's leave it there I think as Azestella Ajhabekk takes the corner and it's Kochanska at the near post! Lena Kochanska scores on her international debut with her first touch! Three-nil to Starblaydia over the regional champions and it's the blue boot of Lena Kochanska that puts Starblaydia out of sight here in the second half in Vilita!

The match would go on to end with Starblaydia winning by four goals to nil thanks to Lena Kochanska grabbing a second goal. Some said it was a great team performance, others her natural talent, others claimed it was the cyan boots, more still pointed to the fact that Audioslavia had played like utter crap. Whatever the reason, the result was that Starblaydia was happy. When Starblaydia was happy, Lord Protector Curzon Starblayde was happy.

With Starblaydia re-entering the international sports scene, Curzon re-instated the tradition, started by his father Tiberius, of holding a party for the rich, famous ad influential of Starblaydi society where everyone could watch the match. Those who were genuinely interested in the game got to sit down and watch it, while those not interested in the game would either sit down and watch it so as to ensure another invitation, or chat, drink and otherwise get away from the horrid football sports thingy.

These gatherings always contained the youngest of Tiberus' three children: Julius Starblayde. As an ex-international footballer for Starblaydia, he was well-respected and even had the ultimate honour of captaining the side for AOCAF Cup 29. He knew more about football than anyone present at these gatherings, having experienced it all. Julius, however, held a secret. He heard a voice in his head.

Not voices, just one voice. Of course everyone has their own internal voice in their head as they go through their thoughts, read a book, think up what to say next and that sort of thing. But Julius had a distinct separate voice in his head that he could not control or influence. It wasn't there all the time, chatting away, but in the last forty-plus years he had come to think of it as a friend and helper. He'd never told anyone about it, of course, as saying there was a woman speaking and only you could hear her, talking back to her either in your mind or out loud, was frankly pretty crazy.

Julius, around thirty years ago, had wondered if he actually was losing his mind. Maybe, on the other hand, all the Starblaydes had this voice and that was what made them so great. Sometimes it even popped up during conversations he was having, feeding him lines to use that, somehow, worked perfectly. The female voice was, to him, a chorus. He even called it - her - that in his head. Seeing everyone at the gathering happy and smiling thanks to the 4-0 victory, Julius felt a patriotic swelling within him, as the pictures of Starblaydi fans in white and purple waving their flags and scarves, singing their songs, was displayed on the huge TV in front of him.

"That's the way to make people happy, you know,"

Ah, Chorus, he thought to himself, nice to hear your voice again. Julius genuinely did love Chorus, the ever-present, luxurious female voice in his head. Not always lovely, there was occasionally an iron grip to it. Julius loved a strong woman. Chorus. Love. He pictured her face as he imagined it in his mind automatically.

"Happy people means a great Starblaydia, doesn't it?"

I imagine so, Julius thought, love Chorus. Football is the 'opiate of the masses', after all. Opium, what's that like. Happy Starblaydia on opium, haha.

"We'd love a great Starblaydia again. Everyone would."

Mmmhmm. Where are you going with this, Chorus? Great Starblaydia. She often said things that he didn't fully understand, or had great ideas that he'd never think of on his own.

"If we can make Starblaydia great at football again, we make Starblaydia great again. Right?"

Sounds logical, he said in his mind to the voice only he could hear. Julius had ignored the illogical nature of that long ago. How? Great Starblaydia. Drugs. Power. Football.

"President of the SFA. Get that, and I'll give you the details. A plan."

President. How? Plan. What? Julius Starblayde, President of the SFA. Opiate of the masses. Awesome. Great Starblaydia. So many thoughts at once, it had never occurred to him that Chorus could hear them all, not just the ones he 'said' to her.

"Just do it."

Do it. Love Chorus. The steel and hint of anger in her voice melted his heart. Finally, a woman who had enough power over him to be able to tell him what do to. President of the SFA, must find Curzon, tell him. Football. Great Starblaydia. Plan.

With a smile breaking over his face, Julius walked across the room to his older brother. No-one was fawning over him at this moment, so he had his opportunity.

"Curze," Julius said, using the name that meant a private conversation between brothers, "let me bend your ear for a moment?"

"What is it, Jules?" Curzon acknowledged this instinctively

"I've got a crazy idea about football in the country, I think we can make it great again."

"Oh? You mean 4-0 over Audioslavia isn't great enough?" Curzon smiled.

"I mean great. AOCAFs, Cups of Harmony, World Cups, TQCCs," Julius' eye lit up with the possibility of glory, "the lot."

"And how exactly do we go about that?"

"I need the powers of President of the SFA," Julius said, continuing as Curzon's facial reaction was a positive one, though he was now winging it, "sweeping changes, Liga Starblaydia reorganisation, grass roots, all that stuff. Power. Our football power has always matched our international power, after all."

"I think I can make that happen," Curzon said after thinking for a moment. Julius wondered if his brother had a Chorus, or the same Chorus, in his head, too. "Luckily it'll fly because of your football past. I'll see about setting something in motion."

by **Bazalonia** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:27 am

The Bazalonian AOCAF 36 Peter Hobble Memorial Team

*Denotes starter

Manager: Stewart Gaines

Code: Select all: Forwards: #5 – Paul Rotchford (24)* #3 – Graham Jones (21)* #8 – Fred Basset (18) #9 – Reynold Balsa (17)

Code: Select all: Midfielders: #1 – Deyvid Oran (25)* #11 - Calvin Cross (23)* #4 - Nancy Baker(22)* #7 - Samuel Lewis (23)* #10 - Anna Young (21) #6 - Gilbert Tyler (19) #14 - Dennis Jones (19)

Code: Select all: Defenders: #2 - Janice Scott (24)* #12 - Bernard Simpson (23)* #15 - Micheal Ramírez (22)* #13 - Theresa Jenkins (22)* #17 - Roy Wilson (21) #18 - Wesley Díaz (24) #16 - Herbert Collins (25)

Code: Select all: Keeper #20 - Mitchell Fisher (24)* #21 - Adam Morris (24)

Style: -1 (slightly defensive)

RP Permissions: Most things allowed – Though check with me with me first re: anytghing to do with my players or big events.

by **Bazalonia** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:50 am

It was rather unfortunate Bazalonia had once been one of the great footballing nations of Atlantian Oceania and the world. Perhaps the greatest single nation to never actually win a World Cup or an AOCAF. However they did manage to be the first team to pull of the dubious honour of being 2nd place in an AOCAF and then also placing 2nd in the next World Cup.

However that was long forgotten now. Stadiums that were built for hosting the World Cup and other related events were standing idle. It was sad to see the strong sporting tradition of soccer in Bazalonia wimper away to children playing in open fields and the so called soccer mums.

It had been a while since Bazalonia had entered an AOCAF let alone A World Cup. But was that about to change? Who knew? The small but still loyal Bazalonian soccer crowd hoped so but that was not why they had travelled to Vilita.

Peter Hobble, one of the inspirational people and driving force of the Bazalonian success early in their international soccer attempts had died at an extremely old age.

It seemed that the best way to commemorate his life was to compete in an international event in his name.

The World Cup was far too serious to legitimately compete in... but the AOCAF. That seemed to fit quite well.

The first match that had just been finished was against the Legalese team. The legalese team went up 2-nil in the first half but in the second the Bazalonians responded with a goal of their own. But just minutes later a Legalese goal firmly placed the match beyond reach.

There was a few missed opportunities thanks to mishandling of the ball but it had been some time since any of them had truly set out on the field to play top quality soccer.

by **Falcania** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:12 am

There was a little stone fountain in the town square.

It was little more than a village: a far cry from even the smallest of Falcanian settlements, which tended to go straight from a mountaintop slope to a huddle of prefab towers. But this was a pleasant little seaside resort, built from quarried local stone, the effective capital of this tiny island off the coast of Starblaydia.

So tiny you couldn't see it on any but the local fishermen's maps. It had been hit pretty hard by the catastrophe, the entire island had been flooded, and Skymarine 43G-23 had been deployed to search for survivors.

The town was clear, at least. Plenty of dead. Floods produced some horrible bodies.

Jackard was sitting on the rim of the fountain, smoking. The sun was setting, and it was, at least, a beautiful view across the coast. It cast a shimmering orange light across the blue slash of the horizon.

He touched his forehead, and muttered a silent prayer to the sky. People thought that Falcanians weren't religious, which was true, but that didn't mean they weren't spiritual - they were the High People; their souls had been chosen to watch over the world. They had been granted wings, with which they could guard from on high, the sentinels of creation. They had been granted claws, strong arms, and the minds of vicious warriors, with which they could smite down evildoers. The sky watched over all the peoples of the world - there was not a single nation on the face of the planet which did not lie underneath the sky - and the High Men of Falcania had been chosen as the sky's... agents? Prophets? Theology had never been particularly prevalent in this, the field of practical Falcanian spirituality.

But this was the image that most scholars had agreed was the inspiration for the Falcanian flag - certainly the explanation the Royal Vexillological Society subscribed to: The mighty hero, Falcon, the first High King of Falcanian legend, who sacrificed himself to protect Falcania from the traitors within its walls, lay bleeding to death atop the palace, facing west, and the last thing he saw was the sun setting over the horizon. Orange sky, blue horizon, orange sea.

Jackard's thoughts were interrupted by the crackling of a radio. A couple of troopers from fire team 1B had set up a little windup wireless set and were cheering and laughing.

"Oi, get that turned off!"

The troopers looked up. Their corporal squared up to him. "C'mon, Sarge, it's the football! Don't you care how our boys do?"

"Damned waste of time, Corporal, I'm a derby man."

"We beat the crap out of Scandonia!"

"Scandonia? Bunch of sailors and nancy-folk. Your old mums could beat them."

With a sigh, the men turned off the wireless, and wandered off, no doubt to turn it back on out of earshot. Jackard was fine with that.

He caught sight of Trooper Stond, down on the beach, a hundred yards or so away. He stood, and sauntered down to the sand. Stond was a good trooper, a quiet, obedient young man, with an air of thoughtfulness about him. Stond was standing, looking out at the sea with his binoculars. Jackard had learned to trust his hunches.

"Sarge," he nodded, as his superior came over.

"What have you seen out there, Stond?"

"Think it's a ship, Sarge." He handed Jackard the binocs. Jackard carefully put out his cigarette for later, and gazed out across the horizon. There it was, alright, a huge grey ship, sitting there in the water, menacingly. Jackard bridled instinctively. The idea of men living that close to the water, nothing between them and watery oblivion but wood and steel... it was just plain unnatural.

"You think we should call it in, kid?"

"Your call, sarge."

by **New West Guiana** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:47 pm

A Life of Doubt
The life story of Felipe Hernandez

After two seasons with the Soccer Little League, Felipe knew that soccer was his favorite sport, and with the help of his step-father Carl, he matured that love into middle school. At Ft. McCarney Junior High, Felipe went out for the Middle School soccer team, right away his coaches knew that he was blessed with a very special talent. However though Felipe believed that he might have been the teams best if it weren't for two young jocks that bullied those who they say as threats to there own success. Three weeks after the start of school and soccer practice the two jocks beat up Felipe then went to the school principal and played as the victims of a horrible crime.

To the pure luck of Felipe, three students saw the entire event unfold. The two were suspended from school and thrown off the soccer team, Felipe though suffered a broken arm and bruised rib cage. He was forced to spend the rest of the season on the bench. Carl comforted him telling him it will be all right, saying, "Felipe the teams needs you, while you were able to play..look how well they did six matches and a 5-1-0 record." In deed Carl was right the team went 0-2-4 after Felipe was benched.

In his sixth grade year Felipe helped take their middle school team to a 10-1-1 record and into the State Junior High Soccer tournament. They lost in the first round to Hamilton Middle 4-2, but Felipe still had two more years and he was determined to win that title.

Seventh grade brought many new things into Felipes life, for one thing he did help lead his team to that Middle School State Title. Ft. McCarney Junior High Spartans won by beating Gemsbrook Middle 1-0 and they ended with a 15-2-1 record scoring a state record 68 goals (A record that they surpassed the very next year).

June 16, 1996 became the saddest day of Felipes life, his mother Sarah who for a year had been battling with Brest Cancer lost that fight. She was 39. They buried her next to Felipes father, in August Felipe started the eight grade with a very heavy heart he had now lost both his parents. Even though Carl wasn't his birth father he loved him just the same as with Jennifer and Mike. In eight grade Felipe did not go out for the soccer team since Carl had run for Myto Governorship and won, they were to move into the Governor's mansion in Hamliton in late October.

To be continued...

The days was very exciting for Felipe, the team had won, never before in the fours years that West Guiana has played in the AOCAF that they have won. Was this a turning around point for WG Soccer or just a fluke? None the less Felipe took this win seriously and extended the team's practice time. He knew that now since the team had won one game finally, breaking that ten game losing streak the fans of West Guiana would be expecting even more. Felipe knew not to disapoint them, they have been disappointed for far to many years. Even though Mike Temist did the best he could do, Felipe wanted even more. The life he's lived and with the help of his step father Carl he was molded to be a winner and to try to win at all costs.

The game against Israeli Apartheid was very tough nether team could keep the other from scoring, so in the end it was who could keep the ball the longest would end up winning, and that was West Guiana. The four to three victory showed many weak spots in the defense, but Thomas Lichtens the goalie did better than Felipe had expected. But Tom must do better if West Guiana wants to keep rolling along, one win wont do, though the likelihood of the team making it into the Round of 16 is unlikely but Felipe knows that anything can happen and today proved just that.

The team though Felipe is keeping the look out for the most would be Valanora that squad has history to keep up with and to uphold. Such a storied sporting teams, twenty times they have qualified for the World Cup and they are four time World champions. Yes indeed that team has history to uphold, West Guiana has never qualified for a World Cup, but Felipe thinks World Cup 61 will be West Guiana's time to shine. But for right now he and the team must focus on what's at hand. One down and only two to go, anything can happen.

Next up West Guiana plays Ipeland, the best he can hope for is a tie and that Valanora loses, though that is very un-likely. Ipeland beat Valanora three to two, so the question is how good is Ipeland, well then we should know in two days or so. But if a win is what we get we'll be leading the group and clinch a berth to the AOCAF Round of 16 yet another first. However if we tie, Group H has just gotten a whole lot tighter and it will come down to the final match day. Now if we lose, well we'll be getting ready for World Cup 61 Qualification, because I know we have no hope in beating Valanora.

-------Group H----                  P  W  D  L GF-GA     GD  Pts
[1] Ipeland                         1  1  0  0  3-2    +1   3
[2] New West Guiana                 1  1  0  0  4-3    +1   3
 3- Valanora                        1  0  0  1  2-3    -1   0
 4- Israeli Apartheid Client-State  1  0  0  1  3-4    -1   0

by **Geisenfried** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 3:05 pm

"Come on, come on! We've held them out so far. Keep it up, keep it up!"

As Max continued walking back towards his goalposts, fiddling with the fit of his gloves along the way, he could overhear Heinz shouting encouragement to the rest of the defense just before the beginning of the second half. Mind you, it wasn't like they hadn't just heard this spiel from Büchner back in the locker room all of half a minute ago, but ever since he'd been selected to wear the captain's armband, it seemed like he had taken it upon himself to re-iterate everything in an attempt to display some leadership. But a few words of encouragement never hurt.

So far they'd done well - despite Vega's noticeable possession advantage, it sat nil-nil here at the half way point. The defense had managed to break up the majority of their opponent's attacks, and whatever had gotten through he'd managed to turn aside easily enough. Offensively, the team had been struggling, however, and whatever chances they had gotten were broken up on the other end. Still, he knew well enough from experience that it only took one well-timed counter for something to happen. If not, well... there wasn't anything necessarily wrong with stealing a point away from one of the best teams in the region.

His eyes wandered back towards the center pitch as the whistle blew to start the second half of the match. His team began with the ball, and seemed to start well enough, building slowly. The ball went to Heinz first, who pushed it out to the side to Matt, the right back. Matt himself brought it up a little before sending up the wing to Eric, who advanced a bit into the Vega half before deciding on a long ball all the way to Ash on the other wing rather than pushing inward himself. Ash quickly put the ball up to Stef, while Lorenz and Wali shot up towards the box - Lorenz towards the near post, Wali towards the far. But as Stef tried to cross, it was deflected by one of the Vegan defenders, and wound up at the feet of one of their up-backs. A well-timed lob, and they were on the counter, leaving Freddi and Hal, his two center backs, up against the two Vegan forwards, as the rest of the team tried to scurry back down the field.

Max steeled himself as the two forwards rapidly approached his box. But while the two defenders were occupied with the forwards, their attacking midfielder found a nice position just behind them in the middle. One of the forwards noticed and back-passed to him - and he immediately let off a rocket towards the goal. It was well-placed, forcing Max to leap towards the other side of the goal, but his reach was enough - a stinging pain surged through his hand as his palm deflected the ball skyward, letting it bounce harmlessly onto the top of the goal before hitting the grass behind the net with a flumph. Corner kick.

As the two sides assembled themselves for the set piece, Max took stock once again of the Vegan side. Two of the Vegans were taller than anyone else on either team, and those worried him the most. Max quickly yelled out to the rest of the team to make sure to mark them, as they would be the most difficult to defend. This time, however, words of encouragement would not be enough. The ball took flight, landing where no other player could reach it, and one of the tall Vegans smacked it goal-ward with his head. The ball came across Max's body when he wasn't expecting it to, and while he threw out a hand in desperation, the ball neatly hopped over it before bouncing into side of the net. The Vegans started celebrating while Max punched the ground in frustration.

And it was going so well.

Andossa Se Mitrin Vega 2-0 Geisenfried

- Ayami (49'), Kapekeoa (84')

- Stonewall (70' -

)

- Roshardt -> Hillenbrand (64'), Riedel -> Volke (72'), Cuolai -> Ayami (77'), Usikoec -> Stonewall (77'), Rost -> Anders (81')

Group B Table:

Team	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD
--------------------------------------------------
STAR	1	0	0	 4	 0	+4	
ASMV	1	0	0	 2	 0	+2	
GEIS	0	1	0	 0	 2	-2	
AUDS	0	1	0	 0	 4	-4

Elimination/Advancement Scenarios:
Starblaydia will advance with a win over Andossa Se Mitrin Vega AND an Audioslavia win OR draw with Geisenfried.
Andossa Se Mitrin Vega will advance with a win over Starblaydia AND a Geisenfried win OR draw with Audioslavia.
Geisenfried will be eliminated with a loss to Audioslavia AND a Starblaydia win OR draw with Andossa Se Mitrin Vega.
Audioslavia will be eliminated with a loss to Geisenfried AND an Andossa Se Mitrin Vega win OR draw with Starblaydia.

MD1: v. Andossa Se Mitrin Vega - L (0-2) @ Lonngeylin Coliseum [Lonngeylin, Vilita]
MD2: v. Audioslavia @ Marine World Park [Corsaibi, Vilita]
MD3: v. Starblaydia @ Marine World Park [Corsaibi, Vilita]

by **Leorudo** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 10:28 pm

Leorudo Condominium, Leorudo vs 95X, Viewpoint of John Harris
John had been following the Starbladyi national club ever since he could understand what the little people on the television were doing. Being the closest national club to Leorudo, Starbladyia had been a natural selection for the boy to follow. Starbladyia had come in third place once in his fandom, and every year the team seemed to put out better and better players. This season though, Leorudo had entered the competition, starting a new club for the World Cup, AOCAF, and the Baptism of Fire. The club was called the Leorudo Roar A.F.C., after the new stadium they were building in the center of town. He dicided to watch one of their games just to see them play. They were playing 95X. a team he loved to hate. The national team of 95X had faced Starblaydi nation club on multiple occasions, and the outcomes were always questionable. Leorudo had been doing poorly in the Baptism of Fire, and he did not expect anything in this match. After watching the opening ceremonies, a close up of Scena Tartarus surprised him. The team's keeper was laughing(Roster Here:http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=191449). He was not laughing at a joke, it seemed as if he was laughing at the entire situtation. He somehow new that this was just a game inflated when national pride. He was not going to let any off this get into his head. The game began, 95X dominated, having the ball almost 85% of the time, but Scena was not letting anything get past him. It was entertaining. Everytime you began to think 95X would score, Scena would make a huge save, then he would look up, and simply smile. In the fortieth minute, 95X finally broke through, taking a wonderful shot from twenty feet out, sinking it in the upper right corner of the net. Leorudo was down by one goal. Then, the Leorudo forward streaked down the side of the pitch, dribbling the ball past not one, not two, but three players, then lobbing it into the middle, and the mid played it just perfectally of his left foot into the left side of the net. Leorudo's first shot of the match was a goal, and a minute later, they were at the half. John was entertained by this game,and he did not want to stop watching. The second half of the match continued like most of the start of the first half. 95X was dominating. In the seventy-ninth minute, 95X broke through agian, scoring agian, and retaking the lead. Scena was just worn out, he had made twenty five saves. John could have sworn that was a record. The game looked lost, but in the eighty-seventh minute, the Leorudian forward was tripped making a last-ditch effort to score. He drew a penalty, and just like that, Leorudo had a chance. The forward lined up, ran towards the ball, the goalie dived, taking the left side, the forward hesitated, and flicked the ball right through the middle of the goal. Leorudo had tied the game. The next five minutes went by quickly, and by judging by the faces of the players, they were happy with a tie. John did not like this team as must as he liked his team in purple and gold, but this was a start.

by **Legalese** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:32 pm

The bar was packed, a normal occurrence in the Karin Islands; those “Islanders” left, especially those who claimed to trace their Karin lineage back to the days when Socks was a kitten, love claiming their prolific levels of high tolerance, and were known to have a drink or four whenever the occasion called for it – which was quite often.

However, this wasn’t your normal bar on the Island, nor was there likely much Karin blood in it – the dirty secret being that there were very few “true” islanders left as it was, most members being ethnic Legalites, the result of a mix of Nom Le, Goli, and Britannic interbreeding that dated back generations ago.

Normally, one would want to dwell on how these three races were able to co-exist and mix, but this was not the time for that. After all, the game is on, and our protagonist’s boyfriend is managing…

Oh, yes, the bar isn’t exactly normal, mainly because it’s on a military base.

And so we return to that bar, The Justice Arms, for more on the match:

The Arms is not used to a standing-room only crowd, normally, and for good reason: only Commissioned Officers had full off-duty privileges to it, along with limited access permissions for NCOs, and once-in-a-blue-moon opening slots for enlistees after finishing training. Trainees could only know that it existed. Thus, a crowd of nearly one-hundred officers in uniform standing, sipping drinks, and watching with anticipation meant two things: first, that having so many officers massed on base was a sign that something was happening, likely in the wake of the seismic disturbance to the northeast.

The other meaning was that there was something worth watching, like, say, the Legalese – Bazalonia match, opening group Canary in the AOCAF.

“Lewis plays the ball in, trying to find Jones,” the announcer’s tone quickened, along with the heart rate of everyone in the room. “Intercepted by Max Todd – that kid’s got a future! - who takes two steps, and up to Washington near the circle. He turns, slips by Baker, and plays it out to Wilson, only his second touch in his short international career. Wilson runs into space, Simpson and Lewis converging on him. Now a pass, ball won by Maharry, he turns, chips it over the defenders, Jay on the run there, gets a foot on it, takes a shot…”

The room falls silent, all two-hundred eyes glued to the lone screen behind the bar.

“Deflected off the keeper, back in play, collected by Jenkins. She touches forward, Bassford challenges – HE GETS THE STEAL! Bassford sets up, shoots – no, crosses to the right, has Kelshimer rushing forward…”

The next words are drowned out by screaming and shouting, as the patrons converge on each other in celebration. The screen shows a similar situation in Morata Valley, the bug in the corner reflecting Kelshimer’s finish: Legalese 1, Bazalonia 0.

In the corner of the Justice Arms, Emily beamed, as a colleague handed her a drink.

“This early against the Bazalopes?” said Emily’s colleague, wearing the markings of an army lieutenant. “Looks like your guy has them figured good.”

“Always prepared, of course” Emily shoots back with a laugh. “He had to be to hook me, after all.”

“Lieutenant Commander Abrams?” a voice whispered in Emily’s ear. “The Commander needs a word.”

Abrams frowned. “On the bounce, Sargeant?”

“I’m afraid so, ma’am. He said to tell you that you’ll get to see the second half.”

Emily put down her beer – a McKinley’s Amber, naturally – and followed her quasi-inferior to the Commander’s tent.

Before she could enter, the Commander reached his Lieutenant first. “Abrams,” he said, silently dismissing her escort, “I apologize for taking you from your leave. Score’s one-nil, right?”

The silence was broken by a semi-distant cheer, coming from the Arms. “Two-nil now, I suspect, skip” she replied. “Let me guess, new orders?”

The Commander nodded. “We’ll be preparing to patrol and observe to the northeast, near Aquilana. Mission will be largely humanitarian in nature, though I don’t even know if we’ll leave the ship. We’re unsure of what Starblaydi assets are in play, but we know the Falcanians are advancing north – similar to what they did during the Northandryn crisis.”

“Looks like the phraseology is of an ornithological nature, skipper.”

“No time for jokes, Lt. Commander. You have a crew to prepare, and a boat to drive. See you in briefing – but go enjoy the rest of the game first.”

Abrams saluted, and rushed back to the Justice Arms, whose crowd had thinned out a bit. She headed towards her corner, where a table was now open.

“What’s the score, Lou?” she shouted to her Lieutenant friend.

“Two-nil now,” Lieutenant Louisa Roberts replied, “but the Bazalopes think they scored one. Check out the replay”

Emily looked up to see the ball rocket towards the goal in slow motion, heading towards the side netting. Oddly, the ball slipped through the netting, and into the back of the goal. The end scene was a close-up on Legalese keeper Bobby Johnson’s face.

“Oh, come on!” Emily shouted at the screen, before turning back to Louisa. “You mean they counted that?”

Lousia smiled. “Nope, ref waved it off. The Bazalopes don’t seem to realize that, but the scoreboard’s got it right. Two-nil us.”

“Okay, good.” Without warning, Emily rose. “Sorry, going to have to miss the rest of this one – captain’s orders.”

Louisa frowned. “You guys deploying?”

“I’m not really sure, Lou. Need to be prepared, though.”

by **Wight** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 12:16 am

by **Turori** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:40 am

Eel Cat Things Start Fresh

Castle Victory for Hosts

The Vilita & Turori Eel-Cat things got off to the right start to the AOCAF 36 competition, winning their first AOCAF tournament match on home soil in many seasons. The Eel-Cat things took on Hutt River at the Lirai Asku Castle in Yeaddin, the only scheduled match in the group stage on Vilitan soil before the squad hops over to Turori to play their remaining games at the Cednia Beach center.

The Eel-Cat things had been drawn into a rather benign Group F, Frigatebird group, with former champions 95x a shadow of their former selves, being the groups most prolific threat from the standpoint of Vilita & Turori. In addition to the Hutt River nation who the Eel Cat things faced on the opening matchday, the remaining spot in the group belonged to Leorudo - the ROAR sending their team to the AOCAF.

While everyone loves a good match at the Castle, the drma in Yeaddin was no where near the level of drama in the build up to Group b, with the Audioslavia team, defending AOCAF Champions, appearing to be a no-show for the competition. Finally, The Bulls arrived - in physical form - but clearly they had left all their mental capacity back home as they were thrashed by a vibrant looking Starblaydia side. While it was not entirely clear at first the cause of the delay in Audioslavia, it was apparent that an ongoing situation off the shores in that region of ... the region, could be effecting travels and attention for some time. Vilita & Turori, however, protected in the Vilitan Cove, have been lucky enough to avoid major inconvenience from the situation, unlike the recent fall out from the Sorthern Northland civil war which caused the relocation of an entire Vilitan city.

As for the match between Vilita & Turori and Hutt River, it was the visitors who got on the board first and they held that lead until the half hour mark when a double salvo from Kiroki Mitaroka and Yves Gadois quickly turned the tide for the hosts. Yves Gadois was able to add a 3rd goal for Vilita & Turori who stepped one foot into the knockout round with their early victory.

	Hutt River
:: Goalscorers :: :: 27' Kiroki Mitaroka :: 28' Yves Gadois :: 71' Viji-mara Lawaai	:: Goalscorers :: :: 8' Kryten
:: Best Player: Jomur Hulyer :: Worst Player: Ronji Miiastara :: Shots on Target: 9 :: Corner Kicks: 14	:: Best Player: Talkie Toaster :: Worst Player: Frankenstein :: Shots on Target: 2 :: Corner Kicks: 4

Vilita & Turori Eel Cat Things (3-(1-4)-2) ::
[GK] Ronji Miiastara, [D] Kadi Molali, [D] Noa-isinao Wioauoi, [D] Eda Shindhi, [DMC] Retiso Buran, [ML] Jomur Hulyer, [MC] Steffyn Siazzu, [MC] Kiroki Mitaroka, [MR] Astara Daiili, [FC] Viji-mara Lawaai, [FC] Yves Gadois
BENCH::
[FC] Jukkia Diijelhma, [FC] Kristofer Kilpter, [M] Raso Tareak, [M] Vrotaoa Lorasoiba, [U] Ritopa Simafela, [D] Tyaoino Munviola, [GK] Jungrii Canopii

Vilita Substitutions::
(45) - Retiso Buran >>> Raso Tareak

by **Ipeland** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:25 am

A radio crackled and the voice of a stereotypical radio announcer slowly takes silence's place,
"...the current estimate stands at 25 dead, 135 injured and 400 people missing in Hutt River, and a shaky estimate from the Vant Isles says there are at least 13 dead, and 16 injured. It is unknown how many people are missing. Now moving on from the troubles and on to some lighter news, the young Sparrows came from behind to beat Valanora 3-2 in a fantastic display which will surely lift the spirits of this stricked nation. The goals came from Danny Potter, Matthew Taylor and..."

"Turn it off" said a voice from the corner. The radio switched off. "And light that candle. I can hardly see anything in here." There was a few moments of scuffling and a match was lit. What looked like a disembodied hand floated the match over to a candle. A dim light filled the room.

"Do you want me to light the others too?" asked a voice from the opposite end

"That's be good." The three other candles were lit, at each corner of the room, bringing the room into full light. "Lovely"

Össur Hákonarson blinked, his eyes getting used to the full brightness that filled the now disused shipping container. When his eyes adjusted, he could see the full view inside the rather spacious container. There were 5 other people in their, three men and two women. Everyone had just got up, apart from Össur, who couldn't sleep. He had been reading up on hyperinflation by torchlight, before his batteries ran out, so he just sat there listening to the radio for about two hours, probably longer, in a state of comatose.

"Why are you listening to that government sponsored crap anyway?" Jack Hughes said from the opposite corner, "Don't you know it all just government propaganda"

"It's our only way of keeping in touch with the outside world" Hákonarson replied

"What about the paper?"

"Ok then. The only reliable way to keep in touch with the outside world. We're lucky if that paper comes once a week."

"Well it's better than that propaganda on that machine. At least that paper has no interference with the government."

"Apart from when the government sets the prices."

"Apart from that."

"And when they look over it to see whether there is any libelous content, check the quality of the paper, ship the paper over here, give them the resources to type up the thing, distribute it. All free of charge for the company of course."

"Well, they... err." Jack struggled for words. After a few moments of erring, he huffed out of the room, saying he was going to take a walk.

"Turn the radio back on will you" said Jane Cox, after Hughes had left the container for the windy outside world.

The radio clicked back on and the radio announcer came back on:
"The headlines again. The toll from the recent tsunami has reach at least 68 dead in Hutt River, and at least 14 dead in the Vant Isles. In sports Ipeland have beaten Valanora while Hutt River lost 1-3 to hosts Vilita and Turori. I am just recieving some breaking news. In an emergency session of the Vantian parliament, the current Green government has fallen after a landslide vote of no confidence led by main opposition party, the Vant Independence party."

AOCAF 36 :: Atlantian Oceania :: Rosters & RP

The Great Remove #6

Everyone knows how much Audioslavia hates Krytenia

The Great Remove, Part Seven

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