XII Winter Olympics — Roleplay thread

[West Phoencia]

A very uneventful day at the XII Winter Olympics.

The West Phoenician Female hockey team drew against Unified Sunrise Islands 1-1. The draw however has left them still in the top spot and in a great position to progress.

• Caleb Bennett scrapped into the finals of the Cross-Country Skiing — Men’s Individual Sprint by placing 26th.

• West Phoenicia placed 8th in the Figure Skating — Team Trophy. It was a long hard battle by they lost out to the host nation who placed first. However a number of the figure skaters show enough promise to pull in medals in their own right.

• A devastating loss for Princess Laodice IV Bush who placed 12th in the Individual womens normal hill. Princess Laodice will be appealing the final. After placing first in the qualifiers her coach is confused how she could have slipped so far down in the rankings against lesser athletes.

While the sporting events were uneventful for the West Phoenician delegation it appears personal comments caused quite a ruckus in a number of circles.

Lipstick on a pig....


Princess Jocasta Gryphon, cousin to the King of West Phoenicia and entrant for the Freestyle Skiing — Women's Slopestyle. Qualifed for the finals came out slamming a number of her competitors.

"The Winter Olympics is all about sports and glamour, " Princess Jocasta commented to a reporter of The Phoenician Star, a popular tabloid magazine. As she stepped out for a night on the town with members of her entourage. "You can put lipstick on a pig, but its still a pig." Princess Jocasta said directing her comment to a number of her competitors.
"I'm beautiful and i am a great athlete. One does not need to sacrifice one for the other."

When asked why she placed so lower she replied.;

"I did as little as i needed to do to qualify for the finals. I rather conserve my energy and use it all on the finals, that's where it really matters. Now why don't you ask me a more important question, like how much this gorgeous dress cost me. It costs more than some of my competitors make in a year. But i must go, watch me me on the slopes when i bring home Gold for West Phoenicia. ."

This is not the first time that a West Phoenician has caused drama or said something controversial at an international sport event.
• At the Summer Paralympics a timely slap by Penny Overland a female medallist athlete towards competitor coined the phrase "slapgate"
• A number of athletes at the Aeropag Summer Olympics refused entry onto their bus of a poorer nation calling out "Refugees not welcome."
• A contraception war with the athletes of Mattijana which saw lewd behavior take a new low at the Summer Olympics.
• A small number of Female members of the Summer Olympics Swimming team flashed the priests of an opposing team in defiance of being called immoralistic.
• A West Phoenician mens basketball team staged a sit in to protest against Segregation laws in West Phoenicia with those wanting to keep the laws refusing to play.
• A West Phoenician actress slammed poor nations at the Summer Olympics saying "Only rich nations should participate and having poor nations at such a prestigious event gave the games a bad image.
• Another West Phoenician sports team refused to shake hands with a competing team.
• A NS Surfing Championships Suferette asking if the ocean could be segregated by social standing as she did not want to surf in the ocean after a poor surfer.
• Sisters and Tennis Stars Renee Richardson and Fi Richardson antics on the courts from throwing racquets, boycotting of matches, verbal abuse towards each other and appealing matches have fans chomping at the bit for the next drama.

Princess Jocasta's comments is just another occurrence that will continue to highlight the drams West Phoenicians display on and off the field.

[Mount Pleasant]

Day 4: The Day of Pain

Athlete's Village

SLAP

Codie Jasso was stirred from his peaceful sleep by Kory Pavoni. Jasso had to be carried all the way back to the village after last night, completely forgetting his gym session with Pavoni and their coach today. Little did Jasso know, he'd be close friends with the toilet bowl today.

Kasey Jewell left the bathroom. What a great night after that great day. A silver medal in the day to make his total of 1, and a new sex buddy by night to add to his total of 14 currently. Finally got that stewardess' number. However, he wasn't exactly ready for what he was about to see in his room...

Elias Lee was shooting Kasey's silver medal. With a toy gun, but still. The very first medal in Mount Pleasant's sporting history was being riddled with plastic bullets.
Elias' smile was sheepish. Kasey wasn't too pleased. "Sorry...", muttered Elias.

Mount Buckley

Antoinette Serafino could only mutter "Sorry..." to Lazlo Wolf as they exchanged glances at the coach park. She felt awkward after day 1. The day she voluntarily skipped training to see Lazlo. A fool's decision. Barely a conversation. Unwanted by her need. Or so she thought. It'll be back to discussing hot boys in the West Phonecia delegation with Rachel and Kelly, though that talk will just hurt Serafino a little more. Ain't that the pain of a pretty face.

What a pain a pretty face can be. Kip Cockburn couldn't get her face out of his head. He had every right to ignore that face. That face. Her face. He tried to ski on with a blank mind. Then her face would come up again. That face. Her face. Her face filling the room with choking smoke. Her face as her fists will fly. Her face as she'd smash plates around the house. How the face he loved, and still loves, could cause him so much pain, he will never know.

Johanna Trengrove was in too much pain. How she'll go on in the team delay she might never know. But today was too much. A thwack of the wall at turn 6. Her back rattling above the track. Another hit at the final, fastest turn. She pulled up to the finish area with tears in her eyes.

Wardell Wolf and Luis Hanley, both from different areas and backgrounds in Mount Pleasant, we're the first to hug Johanna as she left the sliding centre. Thomas Yeong followed suit. Within 10 seconds, all of Mount Pleasant's sliding delegation, even the late-arriving Jasso and Pavoni, gathered around Johanna. She couldn't believe the support of everyone, thankful to have such friends.

Vivienne Avery was thankful to have friends like Fabian Cliff. He would carry her as she'd perfect her V-formation and likewise, Avery - Mount Pleasant's Master of the Telemark - would give tips to Fabian's landing. This all led the rest to believe they were dating. How could she tell them that it was possible for a guy and a girl to be friends without romance? And the bugging would drive her absolutely insane. Insane.

Marley's Park

Sammi Gori thought Sunny Elliot was insane. Why would you be interested in people of your own gender? Why go through all the political bother of that? And why was 33rd
good? You didn't even win a medal. Why be 3323rd when you can be perfect?

Marianela Spight was going insane on the slopes. She wanted each run to be perfect. She wanted that medal. She'd beat herself up with each gate missed, each jump awkwardly landed, each turn not taken fast enough. She knew she couldn't be the best, so just beat yourself up until you become the best, Marianela. Don't let down your idol at the bottom. Jeanine wouldn't be proud.

Jeanine Tasker wasn't proud for Marianela. She was worried. Worried that every turn was too fast for her. That she would slip. She would crash. And after the Gentle Invitational last year, Jeanine knows the effect of crashing all too well. Any way to overcome the pain, she'd take it. Cigarettes calm her nerves when her knee would make her agitated. Cigarettes clears her mind with smoke. And without cigarettes, she'd feel pain.

And she would cause PAIN.

[Kosovakia]

NO MEDALS, BUT SOME AWESOME RESULTS

Kosovakia

After the big party of Martin Sulvecs second gold last night, Whe where able to watch again a day with a lot of sports *ACTION*. Martin Sulvec has totaly no time to talk with us today, Because he just want to relax and youh know the song from the Netherlands in Eurovision last year: 'Slow down brother' that's his favorite song currently. But anyways. The Winter Olympics are still underway and Kosovakia is doing well here, Let's find out what was so special today in Prescott. Let's turn over to the ice..

Speed skating

The Women's 500 meters speed skating was an big succes for the Kosovakian ladies. Martina Sabikova and Jolanda Illos finished fourth and fifth, And than you may think 'Whutt... The not even have an medal' yes that also.. But the result is still very good. Let's talk with our 'almost' bronze medalist Martina Sabikova:

Interviewer: Hello Martina!
Martina: Hi
Interviewer: So how was your race? Let's start with the beginning of your day.
Martina: Well i think everything was fine today. It was only training and do some relaxing stuff. So yaah. it was just an lazy morning for me.
Interviewer: Are you busy with other competitors if you start an race?
Martina: Well, no. I only think about myself. I think every athlete do that. Just focus and do your thing here is the most important thing to think about for me.
Interviewer: Oke, So now the most important question. What you think about your result today in the 500 meters?
Martina: I'm happy with it, Yes oke oke.... it's not an medal but it give me an great feeling, so i can start happy with my next few events where i compete in. So i'm happy with it.
Interviewer: But you where close to an medal, Do you not feel any frustration in your mind.
Martina: No totally not. The time is the most important for me, I don't want to be the 'best' Of course it's awesome to win an medal here in the olympics. But people have to know that that is not everything.
Interviewer: Thanks Martina, I see you have to go now. Have a nice day!

Short highlights of the day:

[1] The men's curling team of Kosovakia won there first group match against West Phoencia with an 6-4 victory.

[2] Melena vaegl have made an good result in the biathlon Women's 10km persuit. She finished as sixt.

[3] Tina Hevaska was the best women in the Women's individual luge event. She finished 32th with an total time of 3:11.44

NEWS:

1. No speed skating medals for Kosovakia so far
2. Why so many people in Kosovakia have an dog?
3 Golden coins found in haunted house Liberec
4 Lisa Mela (4) Died after eating pizza
5 All you have to know about Kosovakia's flag

WHEATER IN KOSOVAKIA:

5°C

[The Redvale]

FMZ SPORTS
Gold standard! Redvale creeps up medal table as turnaround begins!
By Liv Neri, Luc Kraus, Kloe Ostergaard

Liv - Welcome to another part by FMZ Sports about these Winter Olympics, and this time, it's gold medal edition! After picking up two silvers, the country was able to win its first gold medal. We had a kind of bad start, not doing great in the sports that we were projected to win at, but it looks like things are on the rise. Or at least improving from before. But first, before we get to the gold, let's talk about the nation's second medal.

Luc - Yes, there was another medal that shouldn't be overlooked, because it was won in upset fashion. May au Ignaa de Castle managed to finish second in the women's cross country skiing individual sprint to secure a silver, and she did it after only making it past the semifinals by a few seconds and qualifying second. But despite not having the best qualifying time before the final, she was able to finish four seconds under Laura Crockett to win silver, and she did it by the margin of a second and a half. It was certainly a dramatic finish that the Redvali press and fans didn't expect to see at first.

Liv - Let's go a bit into her background. It turns out that during these games, the best athletes for Redvale so far have been slaves. Mainly because the athletic slaves of the super rich don't have to worry about working and can focus on their training, giving them an edge over rival athletes that have to work to support themselves outside of the Olympics. If they get popular enough they might also be able to get their freedom, so that's an advantage too in competitiveness.

Kloe - Yeah. May au Ignaa de Castle was born as a slave to the flame god's faction in the Vali Church, and was born in a Castle monastery. There was plenty of cold weather there so skiing became a popular recreation, and when she showed good talent at it, the Church decided that she would be most useful as an athlete who could bring them some publicity. She won a few domestic competitions but she wasn't expected to dominate internationally by any means. However, she did pretty well in the early rounds before putting on her best performance to upset a few other more highly ranked and known skiers her medal.

Liv - She went from mid tier, kind of well liked but not necessarily popular, athlete to superstar in just a few minutes after that performance. It's the same story as Kate au Chang, though au Chang came from less and rose further. When asked about her secret to success, this is what she said: "I'm just having fun out there and I think that's why I was able to do so well. I'm just a worker at the monastery in Castle, not an international superstar or anything like that. It's more fun without pressure, and I guess the lack of pressure helped me a lot out there."

Luc - Certainly. The pressure could be why she's succeeded and why the hockey teams are having to fight to make the minimum expectations. Still, Ignaa de Castle was never a one hundred percent outsider. She's got good athletic experience and good trainers... I believe there's been rumors of her dating Ansgar Muller? Doesn't matter that he's in a different sport, he's a great teacher to anyone who wants to become better at athletics.

Kloe - Right. Anyway, if Ansgar can get a medal too, that will help the turnaround continue. They could become the power couple of the Olympics if he shows up. She's a plucky underdog, and he's anything but an underdog and one of the most well known faces outside of the hockey teams. Opposites attract, right?

Liv - That's what they say. Now, moving on, we were able to get a gold on the day after that when Jayce au Ignaa de Notre won in the women's slopestyle final, in snowboarding. Kloe, since you're from Endelos, I'm sure you can tell me a bit about how much Redvale and its territories like snowboarding, for the sake of our foreign viewers.

Kloe - Yeah, they really do like it around here. Redvale has a supernatural climate that leads to the north being warm for most of the year and the south being cold and snowy for a large part of the year. That leads to good weather in the south for winter sports, and snowboarding is popular in the southwest because of the hills that are available. Endelos has a cool climate too and everyone likes snowboarding and skiing there, myself included. I go snowboarding at least once a month during the fall and winter months, it's just part of the culture down here. That's why you see athletes like May au Ignaa de Castle doing well now, although Jayce au Ignaa de Notre is actually from the northern coast and not from the south, so she's something of an aberration.

Luc - Yep, she has an interesting story. She was born on the northern shore, as her name denotes, but she was transferred to a Western Shore monastery when she was fifteen, and she took up the local sport. Fast forward eight years and she's twenty three years old and an Olympian in the sport that she learned late compared to others. It was pretty sweet that she finished over a Vilitian, too, after we lost to Vilita in hockey. This isn't even the only competition that she's in, so there's a chance that she gets some more accolades before the end of the games.

Kloe - And believe me, our winners are getting a lot of those. Kate au Chang is being pursued by hockey teams because of her speed skating talent, May au Ignaa de Castle became an overnight star, and Jayce has more attention on her than she's ever had in her life. Anyway... Women's hockey is coming up soon and we believe that we have an update on the Corinne Winslow and Michi Hanari situation, as well as the Ando versus Saint Jesus feud. We'll talk about that in the next part after we confirm it with our sources though.

Liv - Until then, we hope you all have a fun time watching the games. From Prescott, Electrum, we're officially out until tomorrow.

[Kriegiersien]

It was the most chic big bar in the Blue district, most popular by the athletes and had seen more Olympic winners than most nations had ever won medals. It even had Royal approvement.
Princess Jocasta Gryphon from West Phoencia gracefully lingered here with some of her underlings and friends.

It was a gathering place for athletes from all Nations. Some celebrated their wins, others drowned their sorrows, anxiety or losses in Alcohol. The Curling players from Kriegiersien discussed strategies, the women’s team and their sons, who made up the men’s team, at one table.
The hockey teams from West Phoencia accidentally united with Saintland to a short-dated alliance, bringing the Snowball battle with the Kriegiersien hockey and Yukigassen squads to a next level. It is unknown who started, but it escalated quickly in a food battle with ice cream puffs and brownies.

Their was laughter and shouting, silent conversations and shy kisses in corners.

But some were more into observing instead of having fun. A person sat at the bar, dreaming of fire and destruction. Another one was nervously eating chocolate while watching from a dark corner as the Alpine Skiers from West Phoencia celebrated their medal. Some watched closely every step the sportsman of Redvale did.
And that was just the press and media.


In one of these corners three other individuals eyed the princess. At least one of them, a woman in a burka, with two massive men at her side, with obviously fake beards, clinging to their drinks.
“So, were are the Kosovakians?”, asked one of the men.
“After your clumsy attempts it will be very hard for us to get close to them. I have a new plan. We capture the Princess from West Phoencia.”
“Which one is it?”
“The pretty one over there, surrounded by their idiotic henchman. Poor woman.”
“She is poor? I thought these majesties are rich.”
“That was a just a phrase. However, we will have to follow her undetected. Don’t let her out of your view.”
“Can’t we just take her? I was not trained in tailing, but in melee.”
“Just like the last time?”
“Sir?”, said the other man.
“You shut up. Last time you just took the next two guys who looked like the targets...”
“They looked really close..”
“No they didn’t. Only a rhinoceros would think that. Did they clone you out of those?“
„Sir.“
„Don‘t interrupt me. Sometimes I think they just placed some really dumb robots at my side to fail. Do they want me to fail?”
The woman leaned back.
“Do they want me to cause an incident? Or sacrifice me? Is this some sort of Suicide mission? I don’t recall..”
“Sir..”
“Don’t call me that. I am clearly a woman. And I told you to not interrupt me.”
“Yes, Ma'am Captain.”
“Stop mentioning my rank or Kriegiersien. That is an order, you buffoon.”
“Understood. But..”
“What is it?”
“The Princess just left.”
“What?”
The woman gazed at the place where now instead of the Princess and her entourage sitting two athletes from Beretania smooched.
„After them!“
„Any tips?“
„Act natural.“
„I mean, do we give extra money as tip or is that included?“
„You follow them, I do the financial transactions.“
While the two giants strolled away, she called a waiter and thought about defecting.

[Todd McCloud]

Even at the Twelfth Winter Olympics, There's a Time for Firsts
Reporting for V3 News Services, Rin Slakori

PRESCOTT - You heard it here first, or maybe read about it yesterday, but skier Ikrisia Ivoviyey took home her first ever medal - a gold - in the ultra-competitive Super Combined event, an event that she flat-out ran away with as topped both the downhill and slalom portions with unbeatable times. The athlete, which had been in pursuit of a medal for the greater part of five years now, broke down and in rare Vekaiyun form opted to outpour her emotions on the track rather than maintain poise and provide a classic vulpine smile. We're okay with that, of course.

"You don't understand how hard I worked for this," she told a V3 news reporter after learning that her time would not be beat. "My whole life I was told I was supposed to be a swimmer. I had the perfect form for it, I was told. I had larger hands, I was told. They practically threw me in the pool any chance I got. But I had no passion for it. It didn't excite me the way this sport did. I don't care if it means I have less prestige and that I make less money - when I'm out there I'm really living. And now I have a medal to show for it!"

The vulpine, who does indeed have the classic vulpine swimmer's body (top triangular-shaped torso, strong arm muscles, long arms and legs, large hands, tail removed at a young age, short, thin stature, etc) stood tall atop the podium in the winter games. She pointed to the flag of her nation as it rose proudly above her.

Quite frankly, the athlete had come so close in years past. An eighth place finish in Electrum last year. A heartbreaking fourth place finish in Free Republics after she misplayed a hop on the slalom. An eleventh place finish in Saugeais, where she was unable to really maintain speed in the soft snow in the downhill run, dooming her performance even as she topped times in the slalom. And, of course, the non-finish in Liventia where she careened off course, safely, but was clearly disappointed.

Not today, of course. Today, she is redeemed and is a champion among her peers. And, frankly, isn't that what these games are about? The long, often perilous and certainly magnamatious effort put forth by one individual, representing a nation of millions of individuals who one day may become familiarized with them, their journey, and their struggles in a quest for glory? Sure, some get lucky and win medals on their first try. It happens - just ask the now-retired swimmer Riyna McAves. But for the most part, when the struggle is so palpable you can see it in their faces and in past reviewed film, it makes the glory that much more beautiful. And, in all honesty, the story writes itself.

[Asteran]

Riin stared at the screen, the dull glare of the light flooding her room at the Olympic Village. Her roommate was gone, off for another lengthy training session ahead of their figure skating competition. She watched and waited for a small green dot to appear; a small green dot that meant her husband was off work.

Must be another long day, she thought to herself. She idly fingered the medal around her neck, running her hands up the ribbon and down again. It might not have been the color she wanted, but it was still a medal. Come on, Sebbie, get back on the ground and get on. The dot changed, and the unmistakable tones of a call came over her headphones. She excitedly clicked the call button, and the face of Prince Sebastian filled her screen.

“Tere, Sebbie!”
“Tere, Rinnie! Let me see the medal!” Riin held her medal up so Sebastian could see it. She turned it over, showcasing the delicate detailing of her medal. “Very nice. I like this year's design. I watched your routine after the morning flights. I'm sorry about your score.”
“It's okay, Sebbie. You under-rotate two axels and stumble on easy elements, they'll get you. At least we did well enough in the short programs for it not to matter.”
“I know. I'm super proud of you, Rinnie. You and the rest of the team did great. How's Mar?”
“She's good. Off to practice right now with Juliet. The coaches gave us the day off today to celebrate and rest.”
“That's good. How's Prescott?”
“Exciting! Lots of great restaurants, lots of things to see, and the people are so friendly. It is strange to see people not carrying cash, though. We should come visit when you get leave.”
“Start planning us a trip, then. I'll take leave in April, before we start writing curriculum.” Sebastian sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “Oh and guess what? I got my results back from the board. I'll be on the Major's List this June.”

“Yay!” Riin exclaimed, leaning back against her headboard. “When did you find out?”
“Yesterday. I sorta knew earlier, 'cause Colonel Smits kept doing his 'I know but I won't tell you' routine. They published the list on Monday. Sav got in as well, which is great for him.”
“Sav did, too? Wow, I guess they liked all of you EW types!”
“Heh, yeah. Rory missed out this year, but he'll make it next year. By the way, did I tell you he's converting to a permanent commission?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. He got the okay from Personnel late last month. Told me he wants to do it for the pension.”
“I never thought he would. How's-” Riin was cut off by an alert from Sebastian's phone. He looked at it, reading the message that appeared on the screen.

“Dad. He wants to know if I've talked to you yet, and to give you a 'Royal Congratulations' from him and Mom.”
“Tell him thank you. And ask him when we'll have the Olympic Party at Kingston House.” Riin watched as Sebastian typed away on his phone, responding to the message he received. Sebastian set his phone aside and turned his attention back to the screen.
“You know what was really cool that I watched today? Anna winning that luge silver. Her and James have worked their asses off for luge in this country, and her getting that was amazing. James sent me a pic earlier of them with the medal. Dad says 'When you get back.' But yeah, Anna's medal was awesome.”
“It was. I met with her and James when we came back to the Village. They were just so happy the whole time. I saw them sitting together earlier with the medal, just looking at it. Everybody's so proud of them.”
“I would hope so. They built luge here. And to see them get something for it finally is pretty damn ace.” Riin looked down at her phone, noticing a message about another media appearance she had to make.
“Sebbie, I have to go. Astra Sports wants to do an interview with us while we're available. I'll let you know when I have more time to talk.”
“I understand, Rinnie. Just let me know when you're up; we're not too busy here right now, so I might be able to talk earlier. Palju armastust, Rinnie,” said Sebastian, using one of the few Kapi phrases he knew by heart.
“Ma armastan sind, Sebbie,” replied Riin, blowing a kiss at the webcam. Sebastian mimed catching it, then waved at the webcam. “Have a good day, my prince!” She disconnected the call, happy that she could share even a small moment with her husband on the other side of the world.

[Furbish Islands]

Day Five and Second Medal

Today was another good day for the team. The team did lose 2 to 1 in women's bandy to Cosumar, but that was arguably the only disappointing thing that happened today.

For men's curling, it was a pretty close game. The team was playing against Ethane. For most of the game, it was tied. But the team scored at the end, beating them 7 to 6.

For women's ice hockey, it was also a close game. They were playing against Frenline Delpha, and won the game by only 1 goal.

The team also beat Natanians and Nosts in yukigassen 3 to nothing.

But the highlight of the day was when Roxanne Blair won bronze for ski jumping. I have interviewed her after the medal ceremony.

Me: Hello, I am glad I have some time for a small interview. And I wanted to ask, where you expecting this?

Roxanne Blair: Thanks. But no, I was not expecting to in this. I barely made the qualifications, and I was expecting to get close to last this time too, but I completely wasn't expecting this.

Me: Did you ever think that you'll get a medal?

Roxanne Blair: No. I always thought that it was for athletes way better then me. But the MoSp sent me an email saying that I'll participate here, and even then I thought I won't get a medal.

Me: So why do you think they've chosen you?

Roxanne Blair: I do not know. I was winning prizes for other ski jumping competitions, and I thought that there were people better then me. But I'm sure his ministry has processed all good athletes, and chose the best ones.

Me: You said that you were winning prizes for ski jumping competitions. What were some of them?

Roxanne Blair: They were all normal hill jumps. Most were in Furby Island. I was winning in top positions, and I mostly lost to athletes from other countries.

Me: And one final question, what was the highest jump that you jumped from?

Roxanne Blair: I usually do normal hill, but I did large hill occasionally. But the highest I did was probably a 150 meter jump. There are actually several of them quite near my house in the Far East Northern Mountains.

And after the medal, Furby Island is now 19th place in the medal count out of 71 delegations to the Olympics. That is in the top 26.8%

-Courtney Driscoll, FISN reporter





(OOC: The top panel was based off the one made by Kosovakia, so don't give me any credit)

[Teremara Caretaker]

Athlete's Village
Prescott, Electrum

“Why must the food always be so terrible?” Jan mumbled.

“I don’t know. I actually rather like the “government cheese” they’re serving…” Yule replied.

The two shuffled together slowly as they steered their trays down the counter pathway. Laid out before them, in various states of readiness and eatability, was a veritable cornucopia of colors, flavors, and scents.

“I’m slowly getting the idea that maybe Falkasia isn’t as adventurous a place as we once thought,” Karl suggested, following up closely behind the two. “Or maybe the rest of the world is just jealous of our superiority and feels the need to attack our senses?

The three shared a laugh before a grunt silenced them completely.

“Arrogance is not becoming of us or our nation gentlemen,” the elder Dimitri chided, reaching for a spoon of something which resembled thick purple paste.

“I believe that’s… uhh… nevermind. I can’t pronounce what the label says,” Jan attempted to clarify, trying to divert attention from their gaff.

“Maybe it’s pudding?” added Karl, shrugging dismissively as he too reached for some sort of meat fritter.

“At least that looks edible,” Yule confessed, pointing to his own barren tray. “Only thing I could find was corn flakes… although to be honest, I’m not even sure these qualify.”

“On the bright side, at least crew weight won’t be an issue during our preliminary runs!” Jan joked.

“Not funny,” the other three moaned in unison.

“You know… I haven’t gone to the bathroom once since we landed. I’m used to a little jet lag, but this is starting to get ridiculous. You think the Grags slipped a loperamide into our water?” Karl announced.

“Really?” Dimitri asked, shocked. “Let’s just say I’ve encountered the opposite.”

He leaned in and whispered, “To be honest, that’s why I’m here. I’m hoping something along this breadline from hell will plug me up. I mean, let’s be real here… something in one of these bowls has to have some anti-diuretic properties…”

“I never thought it possible, but whatever shred of an appetite I had is gone now.” Jan gagged, abandoning his tray. “I’m gonna go look for a cardboard box or something. Maybe that’ll be more appealing than this goop.”

Yule nodded in agreement as he turned to leave.

The elder Romanov and Karl shrugged.

“More for us I guess,” Dimitri mumbled before a fake smile overtook his face.

“I never thought in my life I would ever associate those words with feelings of mind numbing depression…” Karl replied.

---

“The Sand and the Snow” (Part One)

By The Poet Selim

In times long forgotten by history,
In times shrouded by veils of mystery,
There were four men and their majestic sleigh,
And one proud woman that conquered the day.
Never in time had these five been recalled,
So I, Selim, finding myself appalled
At the fate that we have granted these five,
Take up the burden and thusly archive
Their gallant deeds and the success they caught
In the fortnight at the town of Prescott.

Their august arrival was noted not,
Except by those to whom they had once thought
Were their mortal enemies to the north,
Those that had, for ages, brought havoc forth
And ransacked their homes e’er night and each day.
Falkasians, they were, who came the same way,
Who shared the same flight, who shared the same fame,
Who welcomed warmly those with the same name.

To first battle, some Falkasians did go,
To fight for glory, as well as to know
If they were the greatest tin the land
And could, with ardent righteousness, demand
That their rights as champions be renowned,
That their legacies will ever astound.

For many days, our five would have to wait
For their chance to do battle with the great.
There was Habiba, along with Karim,
Sayyid, Hassan, Ahmed: the bobsled team.
They all lie waiting in their shared torment.
All their patience was much too quickly spent.

Karim suggested, “Shall we go out?
“I must say my mouth is quite like a drought.”
“An excellent thought,” said Sayyid, smirking,
“It would most certainly beat skulking.”

So out they went, their coats wrapped tight around,
Across the street, and down the way, they found
A pub, selling beer for a paltry cost,
Happily, several flagons back they tossed.
“I am quite glad I don’t have to hide this,”
Said Karim, on the edge of drunken bliss.
“‘Tis most enjoyable,” countered Sayyid,
“And on brown bags, we are surely agreed
Now, barman, do give us another round,
So we might find our sorrows, in beer, drowned.”
They drank on for perhaps half of the night,
Drinking down the last snippets of daylight,
But then there were some harsh words and a shout!
A blow to the nose, and then blood did spout!
Karim hit the floor, but jumped up again,
And threw a fist into some bastard’s chin.
Sayyid slipped to, and, with a chair, did bash
His assailant, but he, too, soon did smash
Sayyid, with a firm flagon to the eyes,
Thus the beer and broken glass did baptize
Him, with the fury of this fierce native,
And his choice of weapon -- most creative!
Another two blows came down on Karim,
And he slipped into some outlandish dream.

Sayyid’s sight, saved by his horn-rimmed glasses,
Told him to leave. Moving like molasses,
He dragged Karim through the door, to street,
Into an alley, across the concrete,
Evading the police that had been called,
And there lie Karim, on the snow, out-sprawled.
Sayyid oft lamented the demon drink,
But never at once did he ever think
He would have to face its destructive force,
Raging rampantly, like an untamed horse.
Mind hazy, he hoisted Karim o’er his shoulder:
His onus, a Sisyphean boulder.
Both wasted, pirates ready to pillage,
On, they made their way back to the village.

Thus I set down my pen for this long night,
And no more of these bold five shall I write.

[CREDIT: RP Courtesy of Falkasia and Gragastavia]

[Electrum]

This is your Day 5 cut-off. It does seem like the galaxy is revolving around Prescott during these games...

[West Phoencia]

West Phoenicia fought back hard today to end the day with an extra Silver and Bronze. The added medals has kept them in the top 10. With their unification with Scarlett Orient Isles they have 6 medals total.

Medal Wins:
Princess Jocasta won Bronze today in the Freestyle Skiing — Women's Slopestyle.

Spoilt Princess and talented skiier left her competition deflated after failing to bring home the gold. Photographers snapped her flinging her bronze medal at her coach commenting bronze just meant she was the second to lose. Her comments started a firestorm on Twitter where commentars declared her "ungrateful" "spoilt" and "vile"
She fired back with further comments as she headed inside her limousine towards the airport to return home forgoing the rest of the Winter Olympics saying she couldn't care less what people on Twitter said "Fat armchair social warriors really had no right to judge her until the put on a pair of skies and tried it for themselves. Maybe if they put down the donuts and got out of the house instead of being the losers they are wasting their life on twitter they will never understand the work it takes to be gorgeous and a world class athlete. Before leaving she commented she was robbed of gold because of the discrimination against her for being beautiful and rich.



Prince Antiochus III Bush-Dallas won silver in the Snowboarding - Men's Halfpipe.

Another cousin of the king of West Phoenicia. (Yes the Royal Family is quite large and extends to a number of nations due to intermarrying, polygamy and the large family policy West Phoenicia promotes.) Was elated with his silver medal win. 4 of his seven siblings were in the audience cheering on his win.

His Mother Princess Mariamne Bush-Dallas and her husband Crown Prince Samuel-Amun Dallas IV of East Phoenicia were disappointed they were not present to watch their son bring home silver. But rumours of civil war were bubbling over in the sovereign state of East Phoenicia between brothers vying for the throne after the sudden death of the king and queen of East Phoenicia in a car bombing by anti-royalist forces two years ago which has left the nation in civil strife; first anti-royalist demostrations were quashed and dealt with before a number of the brothers turned on each other each wanting sole ruler ship.

"May East Phoenicia turn to peace and prosperity, may they realize war is never the answer. I dedicate this medal to East Phoenicia also. May we behave like the Winter Olympics nations coming together for peace and sport and unity." Prince Antiochus who holds dual citizenship with West Phoenicia and East Phoenicia said.

The Good:

The West Phoenician Men's Ice Hockey Team defeated Frestovenia 1-0. After 3 matches West Phoenicia continues to dominate there pool in first place.

• Michael Morrison/David McYouth/Stephen Von Swelsh/Titus Anu progressed in the Short Track — Men’s 5 000 m Relay to the semi finals.

• Short Track — Women’s 1 000 m — Preliminary Round West finalist Lady Prudence Greensleves is joined by Scarlett Orient Isles athlete Tuvan Viet into the next heats.


• Roman Gryphon progressed to the finals for the Ski Jumping — Men’s Individual Normal Hill.

• Darren Charles has also progressed to the finals for the Ski Jumping — Men’s Individual Normal Hill .

[Mount Pleasant]

Day 5: The Day of Recoveries and Pay-offs

Athlete's Village

Thomas Yeong left Andrew Su's room. Andrew promptly turned the heater right up. How one man could live comfortably in such chilly conditions was beyond him. Only a resident of Asimont could possibly live like that.

Wardell Wolf and Lazlo Wolf, the other residents of Mount Pleasant in the delegation, we're busy warding off their parents' feverish requests. For Wardell to make sure the bobsleigh they were in had no cracks and for Lazlo to give that one girl a chance, because we don't mind grandchildren dear.

That one girl, Antoinette Serafino, was back to her boring routine, sitting on a balcony with Rachel Greenspan and Kelly Morgenstern over the village, again picking out got boys to go in a date. OMG I RECOGNISE THAT RAVISHING DUDE FROM KOSOVAKIA'S BIATHALON TEAM. Hold the phone, I see Elejamie's hockey team over there! Aren't they to die for??

Luis Hanley was going to die for the new Irdina Xander, the latest luxury car just announced back in Mount Pleasant. And with his 5th place in luge, he can probably do so without having to dig into his deep monetary reserve.

Elouise Norman was already running out of money. She didn't expect to blow a lot of money in Prescott, but she's gone a little overboard, so to speak. She closed her wallet with nothing but a pained look on her face.

Johanna Trengrove had a pained look on her face. Sunny Elliot and Kip Cockburn had graciously taken time out of their day to set up Trengrove's laptop and ice pack for her as she rested on her bed. She had one more event - the team relay. How she was going to do that, she had no idea. She laid flat on her back as her family appeared on the screen in front of her.

Mount Buckley

Nathaniel Pelley laid flat on his back. That was the worst jump ever. He was hobbling down the track rather than gliding. His skis resembled like a T more than a V in mid air. That landing was pretty much taken ass first. That jump was not okay even for a nine year old learning how to ski, let alone an athlete like Pelley.

Fabian Cliff had an okay jump. Not his best, he knew it. He just wanted to make sure he could hit the Telemark like how Vivienne showed him yesterday. Move the skis to a parallel position. Slide the right foot in front of the left. Bend your knees to absorb the shock. Hands like an airplane for balance. He knew his distance was going to qualify. It was just the Telemark that mattered to him. 19.6, 18.8, 19.0, 19.0, 19.4. Good enough. He was happy.

Vivienne Avery was happy. Fabian followed her advice perfectly. Right to the T. Though not in the top 10, it was a comfortable qualification into the final for Ski Jumping. She made her way to the front row where she saw Fabian returning. Fabian made his way toward her in the crowd. She flashed a smile. He was beaming. She hugged him. He hugged her. A camera click was heard.

Marley's Park

Celeste Tasker's camera clicked. She was done from her official Olympic competition, and now she was in full on tourist mode, which her sister was less than happy with. She was taking photos of everything: Redline Street, the Blue District, and even the food stall owner at Marley's Park. Sandwich in hand, she made her way to get sister, Jeanine, in the crowd just as Marianela Spight was about to start her run.

Jeanine Tasker looked on the big screen. She saw Marianela complete her first sector. It was ragged but fast. Jeanine thought it was too fast. And Marianela only continued to pick up steam. At the end of the second sector she was flying, miles ahead of those that went before her. Surely Marianela is going too fast. On the jump her arms was almost wildly out of control at the rate she was going. Spight entered the crowd's view at unbelievable speed, a navy blue streak in the white snow. On the last turn before the finish she clipped the gate. One ski was in the air. Jeanine Tasker had an instant flashback to the Gentle Invitational. Losing the ski from under her as she hurtled end over end into the crowd barrier. The crash that made her quit downhill skiing and stick to Super-G. Spight was about to lose it.

Except she didn't. Marianela Spight held on with that single ski, and crossed the line. 1:45.70. A good three to four seconds over second place at the time. Even for a perfectionist like Marianela, she just felt that run was perfect. But at the same time, she knew she wasn't the fastest out there. She'll probably drop down the order to cleaner, better runs. Except she didn't. After 10 skiiers she was top. After 20, Spight was still in the gold medal position. After 30, despite a couple of close run things, Marianela Spight was still the name on top of the leaderboard. Only the final few skiiers displaced her lead with even more dazzling runs, but her name was still up there. Right up there. And as the medal ceremony came, a loud cheer came when the announcer said the first name on the podium. "Taking the Bronze Medal with a time of 1:45.70, from Mount Pleasant, Marianela Spight!"

[Mattijana]

Slow Start For Mattijana in Opening Events

Mattijana has so far failed to win a medal over the first 5 days of competition in Electrum, with main luge contender Izara Alina crashing out for the second consecutive Olympiad and Mattias Burges failing to defend his silver medal from last year. However, there were encouraging qualification results for Short Track's Dan Kamatz and a decent showing for Julia Loelling in the 1st 2 heats of the women's skeleton.

More Heartbreak For Alina

Having crashed out in round 1 of the women's luge last time out, Izara Alina was determined to replace her mental pain from that tournament with happier memories. Yet after a string of runs which, although decent, were deemed even by herself to be underachieving, Mattijana's first ever international medal winner was dealt another cruel blow on her penultimate run.

A tricky exit to the long and looping turn 6 had proved tricky for many of the athletes in the luge competitions, but had been negotiated fairly comfortably by Alina throughout the first 2 runs. But a high compression throughout the corner left her with little control on the exit and she took a big hit, loosing balance and spilling painfully onto the track.
Despite picking up no physical injuries, she was clearly distraught. Talk of retirement is perhaps premature, but a potential possibility.

Positivity Elsewhere On Ice

Despite the hard stuff serving up disappointment for Alina, Dan Kamatz found more joy in the short-track arena with a dominant performance in the heats of the 1000m. Meanwhile in the women's 1000m preliminary round, both Katija Lumana and Eva Kunarov managed to progress.

The Women's skeleton also got underway, with Julia Loelling from Mattijana laying down a solid marker in 15th after the first two runs. She will look to push on in the next couple of runs, with an outside hope of a medal.

Curling Hopes In The Balance

Mattijana's women currently sit 3rd in their group, with a game won and a game lost. They will need good results in the final two matches, but progression is still easily possible.

The men lie in a similar position, with 1 match won and 1 lost. Once again, good results are needed, but very much a possibility as Mattijana look for an important curling medal.

[Kriegiersien]

Orange News The real truth with alternative facts

An editor walks into the office of the Publisher.


“Boss, we have some of the Olympic Results.”
“Results, Results, nobody cares for results. The people want stories.”
“But one of our Robots won gold.”
“Ok, that is good. The people love some Patriotism. What is his name?”
“AverageKriegiersienWinter..”
“That’s a shitty name. Call him...Killerbot .. kills competition. Can the robots be stopped? Wonder of technology etc.”


“And Kriegiersien won a silver and a bronze medal as well..”
“No one cares for second and third places. That is for losers and little princesses.”
“Apropos Princess. Their is a rumor that someone tried to kidnap the Princess of West Phoencia.”
“Great. What did happen?”
“Not much we know of. Sources say that someone somehow infiltrated the security and has people in her surroundings.”
“Excellent. Headline: West Phoencian Princess kidnapped. Oh, wait, even better: Royalty replaced by Doppelganger .. or still better.. robot? Make a story out of it.”

“There is also the topic of terrorism.”
“Some more Informations?”
“Not really.”
“Ok...errr….. Terrorist…make her female… silent femme fatale…. Is there a Jane Doe among the athletes and citizens? A dangerous pyromaniac threatens the Olympic Peace.”


“Then there is a Zombie invasion..”
“Zombies? Great.”
“Oh, wait, that is 5 Month old news.”
“Damned, maybe a bit too old.


Give me more.”
“Some athletes complain about the food in the Olympic Village.”
“Food Poisoning? Is the water and food tainted? Is someone trying to take out his opponents? The shocking truth … yada yada.. Next.”

“We could also bring up some Sex Stories.”
“Good thinking. Sex and Nudity is always a seller. The Archregimancy should be somehow involved again. Make some drawings of a naked monk surrounded by Girls with big melons.”
“Water or honey melons?”
“You sound like my wife. Big breasts of course. Off you go. And send Mr. Parker in. We need some photos. And the Photoshop guy.”

[Elejamie]

Iceland Metro

---

Tony Coffey Wins First Elejamian Winter Olympics Medal

- Alison Murray

Elejamians around the country, as well as those who made the trip to Prescott, celebrated wildly as Tony Coffey gave the country its first Winter Olympics medal; a gold in the Men's 20km Individual Biathlon. Coffey, who had previously came 21st in the men's 10km sprint and 30th in the 12.5km pursuit, was a rank outsider with 200/1 odds on him winning the gold, way behind favourites such as Asteran's Thor Rosenthal, Kelssek's Geoff Tanner and Novaya Zemlya's Nikodim Kashirin. However, the 31-year-old Iceland native managed to defy the odds and bring home a gold medal.

Coffey was the 26th out of the 84 entrants out of the gate, just behind Cosumar's Franz Orr and Electrumite Bill Long. Although there appeared to be no problems with his skiing, there was a little bit of controversy when it came to the shooting. Coffey appeared to have slowed down as he was aiming at the targets, often taking up to five seconds in between each target. However, this appeared to have worked in his favour as he didn't get a single penalty in any of the shooting rounds. Eventually, when he crossed the finish line, he had a time of 49:32.8, which proved to be enough to win him that coveted gold medal.

In a quick interview just after he won, Coffey looked up at the timer and said "That can't be right! Really? That long?" At which point he took his skis off, collapsed onto the ground and burst out laughing, almost as if he couldn't believe it himself. When he managed to compose himself shortly afterwards, he got up and continued. "I'm thrilled that I managed to post that time, even if someone beats it and pushes me down to 7th or 8th. I don't care, I've had my fun."

After he was given time to rest and reflect, he had this to say about his win: "I was very lucky to have made it to the end, let alone win the gold! While I had the shooting down pat, I struggled with the cross-country portion at first. After all, there's very rarely any snow in Elejamie and so I had to practice on whatever I had; nets, the hills not far from my home, even a dirt road that was actually quite bumpy. If anything, I didn't actually practice on snow until I took a quick holiday to Quebec back in early December, where I did a bit of cross-country with the wife and the kids. They seemed to enjoy it. I did too. There's no real secret to my success, no real secret training routine; just conserve your energy when you're skiing so you don't tire youself out, get plenty of practice with skiing and shooting and keep your cool when you're shooting so you don't end up missing and losing time."

Gold Medallist: Tony Coffey poses for the
camera after a shock gold medal.

Coffey was born in Iceland but moved to Fort Checkers at the age of 21 to enlist in the Elejamian Defence and Protection Corps, where he is currently a corporal. It was there where he started getting into shooting and, once his superiors noticed how good his aim was, he thought about doing it competitively. He made his competitive debut at the 2009 Aldenport Target Weekend, where he won bronze in the rifle category and came fourth in the pistol, before winning gold in both categories the following year. Eventually, he represented his country at the 10th Summer Olympics, where he finished 20th in the Men's 10m Air Rifle, finished 17th in the Men's 50m Rifle - Three Positions and finished 16th in the Men's 50m Rifle - Prone. When he isn't honing his shooting skills, competing in tournaments or doing his biannual EDPC training, Coffey works as an area manager for an accounting firm.

AverageKriegiersienWinterBoyBot9 of Kriegiersien won the silver, posting a time of 49:41.5 and only missing one target; whereas Neu Engollonian Salvatore Riccardi won bronze, posting a time of 50:06.6 and hitting eighteen of the twenty targets. Leo Groenvold of Elgenstad and Novozemlyan Nikodim Kashirin rounded off the top five, posting times of 50:15.3 and 50:17.4 respectively. Asteran's Thor Rosendahl was the only biathlete in the event that did not finish.

Other Winter Olympics News

• Women's Curling Team Wins First Game Against Darmen
• Men's Ice Hockey Team Beat Vilita 1-0
• Jay Bailey and Kelly Morgenstern: A Budding Romance?
• Comedians Hird and Doyle Announce Socrates Peak Winter Olympics Bid

[Furbish Islands]

Results Unavailable

We are sorry that the results for the day are unavailable. A blizzard has hit Furby City. Today's results will be reported tomorrow.




(OOC: Sorry I couldn't RP today, life just got in the way. Iwill be posting it tomorrow)
(OOC: The top panel was based off the one made by Kosovakia, so don't give me any credit)

[Vilita and Turori]

The Report from Prescott

Athletes from Vilita, Turori, Tropicorp and the Cocoabo Forest have descended on Prescott for the 12th Winter Olympics.

In what may be described as a political move, perhaps a move to raise awareness for the Cocoabo - others may just call it paperwork at its best, the Vilitan team has entered as an independent delegation while Turori and Tropicorp have teamed up unexpectedly to form the "Cocoabo Forest" Delegation.

Things got off to a great start for both when Women's Ice Hockey kicked off. The Vilitan team got an all-important 1-0 victory to open up the Olympic Games against the host nation Electrum thanks to a second period power play goal from Ikasisi Jalikaz. Elsewhere in Group C, Turori's women won in a shootout against Tobiasia 2-1, the winning goal in the shootout coming from Welaooa Nuakaua. The trend would continue on Matchday 2 as Vilita defeated The Redvale 2-1 and Turori shutout Gregoryisgodistan 2-0 as both Vilita & Turori climbed to the top of their respective Group tables early in the qualification round.

Vilita's Mens Ice Hockey team wasn't so lucky against Gregoryisgodistan, losing their opening fixture 2-1 in Overtime. Things were even worse for Turori's Men who dropped their opening game 1-0.

But it was in the Speed Skating event that Vilita would claim their first medal of the games through Fiko Oreta in the Men's 5,000m event. Oreta's time of 6:16.05 was good enough for the bronze behind Trey Berri and Ansobert Fairchild. Turori's Hulali Tiik finished 16th with a time of 6:24.23

On the slopes there was a strong showing from the Vilitan Cove contingent with Akrarin Nudlekaa posting the 10th best time in the Men's Downhill finishing just two-tenths of a second out of the medals. Tropicorps Asno Plazara was right behind and Vilita's Runlii Zaozo also had a good showing in 17th place.

In the Biathlon, Maka Flipoana wasn't able to contend for a Medal in the Men's 10 km Sprint but was able to qualify for the pursuit event by finishing 23rd. In the Pursuit event, Flipoana improved with a competitive pursuit time and moved up to 19th in the final standings. It was nearly the same story on the Women's side after the 7.5 km Sprint for Tikiipiikii Amazela who posted the 22nd best time and also advanced to the pursuit event where they would be joined by teammate Velamaiia Nuraziia who just snuck in to the cutoff in 55th.

While Figure Skating was most certainly not a strong point going into the games for either the Vilitan delegation or the Cocoabo Forest delegation, there was a bright spot when Jaliina Ritalii put in a stunning performance in the Women's Individual Short Program during the Team Trophy to post a score of 75.04 and earn 12 points for Vilita. While the points may not have gone to good use, it was certainly a moment of great pride for Ritalii to have performed so well on the biggest stage of them all.

In the Mens Slopestyle, Viralak Vyualoa set the pace in qualifying with Tukalak Moakla close behind. Unfortunately, Vyualoa was unable to repeat the 97.5 performance from qualifying when it came to the final, topping out with a score of 94 and finishing 1 point outside the medal rankings in 4th place. Moakla finished 13th.
In the Womens Slopsetyle, Lukii Zorazela snuck through in 12th place in Qualifying while Vilitan star Bandii Faunai shockingly was left outside the top 12. Faunai would get redemption in the Semi-Final, however, posting and 84.25 to advance to the final.

It was a disappointing opening for the Yeaddin ladies who dropped a heartbreaking 6-7 result to Kriegiersien to open the Curling Competition in Pool A.

The Tropicorp Women, meanwhile, opened the Curling competition with an intriguing geographical rivalry matchup against northern neighbors Krytenia and the small team of open to Tropicorp's quasi-governmental employees and their family members that trains at the Iceplex in Tropicoast made handy work of the cyan curling club 7-4 to get a nice jump on the early action.

In the category of "Enjoy your time in Electrum" - there were plenty of candidates on both sides of the Cove.

For Turori, Men's Mogul Skiier Marmo Fraka will certainly not have positive memories of his time in Prescott as his Qualifying Run was not scored and he was the only athlete to not be classified in the standings for the event. By contrast, Fraka's teammate Lpiza Ploaara posted the second best qualification and advanced to the final.

It was not a great performance all around for Vilitans and Turorians in the Nordic Combined. Vilitas Telii Mlakza and Turori's Mualki Huaok can take pride in the fact that they successfully completed their event and will be able to return home as Olympians - something no one will ever be able to take away from them. They will have certainly had plenty of time to enjoy themselves as they posted the two slowest times of any competitors recognized in the final standing. Vilita's Jlzuzil Paopzl was not classified after failing to finish.

After 3 days of action, Fiko Oreta's early Bronze medal in the Men's 5000m Speed Skating was the only notch in the medal table for either the Vilitan delegation of the Cocoabo Forest delegation. Unified Beretania led all nations with 3 gold medals while Asteran's 4 total medals was the largest overall haul.

[Mount Pleasant]

Day 5b: The Evening of Exposure

Kelly Morgenstern was being Kelly Morgenstern. Couldn't even go through the dinner buffet given out to athletes without messing up. She'd only gone and touched the hot plate at the buffet, searing her hand with pain. She let out a momentary yelp of surprise, but tried to keep quiet, otherwise you're only going to attract attention. Her face still maintained a pained expression picking out from the buffet. That was until she felt a cold towel press against her hand. She looked up and almost spilled her plate in shock.

It was Jay Bailey, the bruiser of Elejamie's male hockey team. The team she, Rachel and Antoinette had fallen for ever since their flight landed in Prescott. And now one of them was touching her hand....

"Errr....h-hi?"

"Sorry to surprise you, but I saw you burn your hand on that hot plate over there. Everything alright?"

And just like that, Kelly and Jay started talking. It wasn't about much, or about anything of concern. They sat together for dinner. Morgenstern kinda stumbled over her words a little, but whether that was due to her proximity to the handsomest bruiser in hockey or because of her newly burnt hand, she didn't know. She knew, though, that she made a close friend from a foreign country. She never knew when she would see Jay again, though.

So why not post it on social media? Show it to her friends on PhotoPost? Sounds alright. She asked for a selfie with Jay. Bailey was a little surprised, but he was content with a photo. She uploaded the photo into PhotoPost with the caption "Me & @JBailey_Lford Burnt-hand buddies!! #burninghot #elejamiehockey #imalrighttho". She exchanged numbers with Jay and both wished each other well, going their separate ways. She thought nothing about the selfie. For now.
-----------------------------

Vivienne Avery and Fabian Cliff thought nothing about their hug after Cliff's qualifying jump. Until now. A press photographer had snapped the moment, and suddenly the photo was in the whirlwind of Mount Pleasant media. The biggest tabloid in the capital, the Confession Press, went all out with the headline: "WINTER O-LOVE-PICS", with the hug taking up half the page, alongside other pics of them holding hands at the opening ceremony and , inexplicably, a delegation group photo where Avery and Cliff were next to each other. All this in five hours.

And Avery absolutely lost it. She screamed at no one in general. She pounded her bed. She was on the verge on tears. And Fabian, the only one in the room with Vivienne, could do nothing but try to console her. But it was near useless. Vivienne didn't want to head to dinner, afraid everyone would talk about her and Fabian. How the paparazzi would target those two back at home. Being asked about her fellow ski jumping 'boyfriend' every interview from now.

Fabian Cliff brought food back for her into her room. He ate with her. That calmed her down. He said about how only people in Mount Pleasant read the Confession, and that won't affect anyone is Prescott. That calmed her down. He told her there is plenty of time before heading back to tell the general press what was really going on between them. That calmed her down.

He told her that the Confession often sensationalizes and fabricates reports, and that not everything in that report was correct.

He thought to himself, however, that maybe the report had some truth to it.

He wasn't sure, though.

That calmed her down.
----------------------------

OOC: The Jay Bailey/Kelly Morgenstern thing was discussed with me and Elejamie by telegram, just to clear everything up.

[Teremara Caretaker]

Athlete's Village
Prescott, Electrum

“Trust falls? Seriously?” Leyla moaned.

“If we want to even stand a chance against the competition this year, we need to have absolute faith in each other!” Truen replied, flailing her outstretched arms. “Go ahead, I got you. Just trust me.”

“You really aren’t leaving her much choice…” Johanna suggested. “Since when did trust falling become a prerequisite for our level of trust?”

“She probably read it in a book during off-season,” Selja added, glancing up from the tablet splayed across her lap. “Oh… look here… ‘trust falls are a guaranteed way to team-build.’ Some famous psychologist said this sometime between now and the invention of the internet.”

Truen shot her an enthusiastic thumbs’ up.

“You do realize I’m being sarcastic, right?” She replied.

Almost immediately the senior bobsledder’s enthusiasm disappeared, replaced by frustration.

“Just do it already Leyla. Fall! Fall! Let go and fall. Trust me. Trust me!”

“I don’t think you should,” Selja mumbled as all eyes were suddenly focused on her. “What? I’m just saying… clearly she wants you to do something you don’t want to do. Didn’t they ever teach you to resist peer pressure in school?”

“You’re not helping Sel.” Truen grumbled.

“Why don’t we just keep doing practice runs?” Johanna offered. “Seems those would be more beneficial than falling on top of each other?”

“You mean you don’t want to play long lost lesbian lovers?” Selja quipped while rapidly flicking through pages on her tablet. “What was that? Did someone say something?”

“Mooooooving on… Leyla… do you trust me, or do you not trust me?” Truen bluntly asked.

“I trust you?” Leyla returned with a quiver of uncertainty in her voice.

“It doesn’t sound like you do… “

“I trust you.” She stated again, more confident.

“Ok… then fall.”

“Damnit Truen!” Selja abruptly interjected. “She trusts you but she doesn’t trust you. Can’t you see that? It’s like a sick person running a fever. ‘Doctor! She needs more blankets but less blankets! What do we do?’ You need to trust in the fact that we trust you and you trust us and we all trust each other to trust in each other to do what we have been trusted to get done!”

There was silence.

“Damn Sel…” Johanna began, “That was pretty deep there…”

“I try,” she replied dismissively, returning her gaze downwards to her tablet.

“Soooo...” Truen tentatively started, “No trust falls?”

“NO!” All three replied in unison.

---

The Ice Palace
Prescott, Electrum

Glisandia hadn’t been a world, or really, regional power in almost a century. Even then, they’d ridden on the coattails of their other allies during the Great War. Allies who tolerated them because they were, well, willing allies with cannon fodder/man power and a key position at the top of Tavlyria, not because anyone had any love for Mad Duke Stan.

Since their complete military flop then, failed attempt at resurgence, and subsequent shrinking and hiding from the Teremaran scene since, not many outside of Northern Tavlyria thought much about the Grand Duchy; other than spats they had with their neighbors, most notably their angsty cousins, the Yellowsians (Yellow Star Republic).

As of a few years ago, they shipped out a moderate amount of resources, but their finished products were nothing to speak well of and were generally accepted by other Teremaran nations in trade deals out of pity, rather than need. After all, there wasn’t a huge demand for badly engineered orthopedic aids, filing cabinets and impractical storage options, and horrible tasting dairy products made from elk and reindeer milk.

There were some idyllic cabins in the central tundra which drew some acclaimed International hunters and wannabe acclaimed hunters, accounting for a good bit...most...of the tourism in the Grand Duchy.

Four and a half years ago, all that was flipped upside down as the People’s Red Army of the YSR came storming over the border, along with an accompanying air blitzkrieg that took out the full RGAF in a matter of three hours. One F-14 managed to flee over a friendly border while the rest of the F-14s and Tornados were smashed at their airfields or swatted out of the sky by the YSRAF Mig-29s.

The Royals fled the capital, Rikijdrottin, with a small escort while the rest of the survivors of the Royal Glisandian military fled North and West to regroup and put up some kind of resistance.
For two years, while the rest of the region gathered a Coalition to push out the Socialist invaders, a fractured resistance made up of both the RGRF (Royal Glisandian Resistance Forces) and the fanatical Christian GGA (God’s Glisandian Army) fought each other as much, if not more, than they fought the YSR occupiers.

Maríam Kársdottir had always been a natural when it came to skating and won several national competitions, but when the war came, skating wasn’t the most useful skill to the resistance, unlike skiing. Mariam was fiercely loyal to the Duchy and her country. Whatever she could do, she would, and so, she became a fighter in the RGRF.

She had witnessed so much over that time, really there were very few of her fellow Glisandians who hadn’t, but she’d seen first hand some of the worst that both the GGA and the PRA/YSR forces could dish out on the Glisandian people and she’d steeled herself to do what she could to stop them. When the Coalition campaign rolled up the YSR forces, her group was absorbed into the 3rd Royal Glisandian Regiment in time for the final battle of Rikijdrottin.

With the end of the YSR occupation, most would have thought the war was over, but the civil war would drag on, now in it’s 3rd year since the liberation of the country. For Mariam, the war was over though, as the Government returned to power and also attempted to return the nation to some type of normalcy. That meant that skaters and athletes needed to do their thing. Get back on the ice, on the slopes, in the runs, and represent the country. They had a higher purpose to show a positive side to the International community that wasn’t death, destruction, genocide and factionalism. Show that Glisandia had more to offer than bloody tundra.

Despite repeated attempts by her coach and the Teremaran coaches and officials to take the pressure off and convince her and the other Glisandians that they could just have fun and compete, and not have to worry about the troubles back home, they all still felt that weight, that recent trauma and that determination.

The fact that they were saddled with Yellowsians as fellow teammates was just a little extra knife turn to those like her who had some part in the resistance during the war, or had been affected by the invasion in one way or another.

With all that taken into account, it had obviously been a monumental effort to flush her mind as she waited for the snap of the starting pistol to start her last heat for the 500 meter speed skate. The other women fidgeted, adjusting the skin tight racing suits that they wore, as well as the caps on their heads. It was kind of ridiculous, the lengths that they went to to gain an extra fraction of a second these days, just that little bit of physics to put you just in front of the next lane. That and they, being women, were self conscious of their shape and their image. Every curve in those skin tight suits glistened in the bold illumination of the venue. They knew it. They knew that it was beamed through dozens of media outlets to every corner of the multiverse. Still, on some subconscious level, despite having a figure that billions of women watching from their couches would literally kill for, they couldn’t always accept that they were impressive, well defined, well muscled functioning machines and that nothing more mattered at this point than the ability to pump their knees and get those silver blades over the line.

500 meters was an eye blink. A blur of color, motion, light, and spray of ice particles in the face. It was over quicker than most speed skaters could register what they were doing. Mariam was no different. One minute she was on the line, then the next she was flashing across the line, with only two skaters in front of her. It wasn’t her complete dream of seeing nothing but ice in front of her, a barrier and an ecstatic crowd in the stands, but it would have to do.

Mariam had come for a medal, and she’d be bringing back a medal, regardless of the bronzy color.

[CREDIT: RP Courtesy of Falkasia and Glisandia]

[Electrum]

This is your Day 6 cut-off. The EOC sends their Warm Regards to all athletes

[Aurentina Thalassia]

---

TV | Radio | News | Sports | More…

#Prescott2.0: Aurentina’s unexpected first champion

MOUNT BUCKLEY, ELECTRUM — If ever there were a crazy day at the Olympic Games, the final of the cross-country men’s individual sprint was certainly a shock. A man who placed seventeenth in qualification and twice advanced as lucky loser stunned the crowd to win the final.

As the Saint Andrew Albion Curling Club suffered its first defeat, Aurentine biathletes James Ball and Corneel van de Veen floundered in the 20 kilometre, Julie Grendelman narrowly fell out in her 1000 metre short track heat and Mauris-Jan Davidssen missed out on a snowboarding halfpipe medal by less than a point, Aurentina’s wait for a gold was about to end in a place few would have ever saw coming.

“If I told you I thought I’d win, God would throw me into the pits of Hell for lying,” Dominic Davenport told ATN after the medal ceremony. “I think not being a favourite really helped. There wasn’t any pressure for me to win it.”

Hailing from the backwoods of the northern provinces, Davenport’s parents had never imagined their son would have the chance to be in Electrum for the Olympic Games. “We sometimes have to ski to get around in the winter, but we never imagined that Dominic would take to it so intensely,” father Drew told ATN Nörd before the Games. “He’d go out skiing just for the heck of it. Dominic could barely wait for the snow to start each year.”

Having to finish in the top thirty to advance to the finals, Dominic placed seventeenth with a time of 3:38.19, ahead of Asror Suyunov of the United Islamic Khanates and behind Quinton Tertin of Frenline Delpha. Suffice to say Davenport was not a favourite to win after finishing 3.8 seconds behind leader Yoshi Eguchi of the Fujisawan Territories.

Davenport finished third in his quarterfinal after a photo finish with Taeshan’s Max Mathews. Suyunov, Tertin and Eguchi would all crash out in the quarterfinals, but Davenport survived as a lucky loser alongside Mathews. The semifinals would go similarly, with Davenport finishing a definitive third, but surviving as a lucky loser; Mathews was not as lucky in the semis, with Elgenstad’s Johannes Bakken taking the other lucky loser spot and Asteran’s Matias Einaste, Neu Engollon’s Maurice Giovalo, Falkasia’s Valerian Larashenko and Kelssek’s Mathias Greifmann securing a finals place as the winners and runners-up of their heats.

The final would be a close affair, with Davenport, Greifmann and Larashenko neck and neck as Bakken, Giovalo and Einaste tariled. Davenport gained a small advantage around the kilometre mark, with Greifman and Larashenko unable to mount comebacks. When the dust settled, the Aurentine Commonwealth had its first Olympic champion by a mere tenth of a second.

“I always loved the smile on his face when the snow came,” mother Angela said to ATN after the final. “The smile on his face on that podium was just the same as those smiles all those years ago. We’re all proud right now.”

Dominic’s girlfriend Danielle Ashton was perhaps the least surprised person in the audience. “We’ve been really supportive of each other and I had a hunch he could do it. I knew he’d do well.”

“I had no clue was happening,” Dominic stated in his interview. “I just saw a group of people furiously waving their flags and it took me a moment to realise they were Aurentine. My girlfriend had to run up to me and tell me I’d won, it was so unreal. It really didn’t hit me until the national anthem started playing on the podium.”

“I honestly think I cried a river up there. It’s all been amazing and all of the competitors have been great and I still can’t believe it. Thank you to everyone.”

Sebastian Wilson comfortably making it through to the men’s slopestyle final and Qasden’s men’s hockey team falling to Aurentina don’t seem to matter all that much now. Aurentina’s athletes could crash out in balls of fiery flames and we’d still have an Olympic champion.

There is really only one thing we have left to say: congratulations, Dominic. You have shown that it isn’t over until it’s over. You have done Aurentina proud. •

[West Phoencia]

The West Phoenician Men's Synchronized Skating team has pulled off a victory by placing 2nd and being awarded silver. Due to it being a Demonstration event it wont go towards the medal tally but it did lift the spirits of Team West Phoenicia who had a terrible day in Prescott.

The team performed a classy jazz number that mixed with great timing had the nation just falling short of first place.

Other Minor wins had;

• Annixe Christos Men's Yukigassen team broke their losing streak by beating Main Nation Ministry 2-1.

• West Phoenicia's Women’s Ice Hockey team won their fourth straight win against Kosovakia that lead to a shoot out after neither team scored during gameplay.

• Figure Skating — Pairs Short Program saw all teams from the Unified West Phoenician Team progress.

13th Meiah Huysman/Merry Baroda (TAC)
17th Gypsy Parks/Bo Grahame (KWP)
23rd Haava Cooper/Arragorn Allie (TAC)

With all three teams qualifying it will be an all out battle for them to finish with a medal. As each pair wanting to be the ones to make West Phoenicia proud it was be some fierce competition.

[Mount Pleasant]

Day 6: The Day where Nobody Could Focus

Athlete's Village

Vivienne Avery stayed in her room. That hug yesterday that was once so joyful is now tarnished with regret. She didn't want to be seen at the Etienne Jumping Centre. Not now, not tomorrow, not until her event. She told Fabian that they'd meet only in the privacy of their own rooms. And even then, she never really left her room since yesterday's report. Hair still wet, in a tattered T-shirt and shorts, Avery watched Fabian Cliff take off for his first jump.

Etienne Jumping Centre

Fabian Cliff accelerated down the ramp. His mind was not focused on the jump. He was just hoping Vivienne was alright. All through the jump, he barely held a V-shape on his skis. And his Telemark, the one thing Avery made sure he got right, was dismal. Second jump, the same thing. On the biggest stage of them all, he didn't care about the play. He was robotically going through the script. All his passion was left in one room in the Athlete's Village.

Athlete's Village

Back in the cafe at the Athlete's Village, Luis Hanley and Johanna Trengrove were talking over their relay exchange. About the perfect time to start gaining momentum for the start, how to get off the finish line fast enough, and most importantly, if Johanna's back can take it all. Johanna could barely lay flat on her back from her starting technique, it was that bad.

Kory Pavoni woke up from his nap to find Codie Jasso right on top of him flat on his back, like how they'd be on the doubles luge sled. This was probably the first joke of Jasso that Pavoni has laughed at all Olympics.

Celeste and Jeanine Tasker were laughing along with Marianela Speight as she told them her pose over the last gate on the downhill run resembled a flamingo. It was a bronze. A medal no one expected.

Jeanine's phone unexpectedly buzzed. It was Kip Cockburn. And thankfully, it was a pocket call. Kip still had her on speedial, though. She wondered why. Maybe Kip had yet to spill the beans on their...situation.

Rachel Greenspan tossed Antoinette Serafino's phone into Kelly Morgenstern's stomach, waking her up from her afternoon nap. "Spill the beans, K!", teased Rachel and Antoinette. Kelly took a few seconds to run her eyes and read the headline. --JAY BAILEY AND KELLY MORGENSTERN; A BUDDING ROMANCE?--. It took Kelly a full minute to register it. A newspaper, Elejamie's Iceland Metro, had discovered Morgenstern's selfie and posted in on their news site. Morgenstern wasn't like that emo Avery, though, so she was content with explaining it all to Rachel and Antoinette. As her teammates left her room, though, Kelly reached for her phone. She pulled up her text conversation with Jay Bailey. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for a good lifetime. Eventually, she typed something. She took another lifetime hesitating over the send button or the home screen key.

Kasey Jewell slotted in his key for his room. He didn't expect the shouts of "SURPRISE!" from the other side of the door. Don't ask how Harry Joyner and Elias Lee entered his room. It was his birthday, though, and Jewell's biathalon mates were there, alongside Mount Pleasant's bobsleigh contingent. It was all smiles as Jewell celebrated his birthday with the people he's grown to love over the past few days, and not a single sour face was seen.

Marley's Park

Sammi Gori's face was sour. His speed run was as perfect as it can be. However, he botched the slalom badly. He was kicking himself. The flagbearer of Mount Pleasant looked like a klutz in the slalom. And he knees it was his fault. The iceman, the robot, the machine had melted, glitched, and ground to a halt.

Sunny Elliot couldn't be happier, though. His delegation mate had been a real pain. Arrogant, if you will. Proper this, high class that, I'm the best in the delegation, you shall look to me as your leader. And...look at him now. The sexual predator and the OCD girl have medals, the rich snob was in the top 5 for his event. And the 'elite' athlete could only come in 12th. Hah, serves you right for discriminating my homosexuality. Serves you right for saying I'm nothing but a loser. Serves you right for thinking you're the best. Now guess what, Sammi? We're equals.

[Elejamie]

"Over to John Daverson now, with Elejamie's third women's ice hockey game in Prescott. John?"

That's right, Steve. Good morning Elejamie! Elejamie's women's ice hockey team have moved up to second place thanks to a 4-0 win over Unified Beretania. The Lady Ice-a-phants, who won their opening game against Taeshan 3-0 before losing 2-0 to the Teremaran Unified Team, were coming back from a bye day; whereas the Beretanians had only one win from their first three games and desperately needed to beat Elejamie to be in with a chance to make it to the next round. Unfortunately for the Beretanians, they were shutout and now their ice hockey medal hopes lie with the men's team. Here are the highlights:

The first period very nearly saw Unified Beretania get an early lead when a Vicky Velazquez shot bounced off of Maria Serrano's stick, who then proceeded to catch the rebound and force a faceoff. That first shot set the tone of the game as the Beretanians outshot the Elejamians 34-21. However, it was Elejamie who'd score the first goal of the evening. With six minutes left on the clock, Elena Ferrero's snap shot made its way through Ieesha Winters' five hole; linemates Keira Dawson and Elan Mitanaeri were credited with assists. Although Elejamie would be down one player three minutes from time, with Natasha Islington being sent to the box for two minutes for hooking Anna Anthony, they managed to hold the fort and, when the period came to an end, they were leading 1-0.

The second period saw things go from bad to worse for the Beretanians. First, a minute after the break, Emi Naemoril doubled Elejamie's lead, thanks to passes from Hannah MacArthur and Mishi Fanner and a good wrist shot that just made its way over Winters' glove. Shortly afterwards, Samantha Weaver was given a two-minute minor for interference, although fortunately her teammates managed to kill off the penalty. Then, nine and a half minutes into the period, Laura Barkley intercepted a pass from Mona Yokohama and passed the puck over to Nadia Amato, who scored goal number three off the one-timer. Although Unified Beretania's Ashlee Tucker would receive a two minute minor for slashing Hayley Blanke, followed by Michaela Florey receiving a minor penalty for goaltender interference, no more goals were scored for the rest of the period and it eventually ended 3-0, with Elejamie looking comfortable with their lead.

The third period saw Ieesha Winters replaced in the Beretanian net by Anita Hunter. Fortunately for her teammates, this turned out to be a good move as she blocked every single Elejamian shot in the period. In fact, the closest Elejamie got to scoring a goal with Hunter between the pipes was halfway through the period, when an attempted Elena Ferrero second hit the post, with Anita getting a glove to it before any of the Lady Ice-a-phants could react. Unfortunately, much like the other two periods, the Beretanians were unable to put the puck into the Elejamian net. Even when Hilary Landers was given a two minute minor for interference, Elejamian goaltender Maria Serrano saved every single shot that came to her. In the last minute, the Beretanian coach pulled Hunter from the net for an extra attacker. However, it proved to be a costly mistake as, with fifteen seconds left on the clock, Mishi Fanner, assisted by Daniela Ramirez and Genevieve Pellesier, managed to tap the puck into the empty net on a breakaway. Although Beretania very nearly clawed one back in the dying seconds, with this shot from April Hernandez just hitting the post, they were unable to get a consolation goal before time ran out. When the klaxon went for the final time that game, Elejamie had won 4-0 and, with that, the Beretanian women's team were out of the competition.

In a post-match interview, Elejamie captain Mishi Fanner said "A great team effort! I mean, my goal was alright but Emi's goal was a lot better. Seriously, it was well-calculated shot and I don't think anyone else would've pulled it off. Nadia also scored an amazing one-timer and Elena got a good goal too. Maria was great in goal, as was Anita Hunter, the other Beretanian goalie. Well done to her. And well done to Coach Murray, who managed to get us all back on track on that off-day which lead to an amazing win. Let's hope we can keep this thing going when we play Darmen."

In another interview, goaltender Maria Serrano said "I was completely off my game against the TUT, letting in a couple of goals I could've easily saved. Luckily, Toni and Migui helped me out during that off-day, got me back into the groove as Mishi would say. I'm happy that the Ángeles coach let Toni take some time off to see me and I'm glad that Migui's principal let him go on holiday with us, just as long as he does the work she emails to me. They've been really supporting me throughout this whole thing so I'd like to thank them quickly. Te amo Toni! Te quiero Migui! Viva Elejamia!"

And so, once again, we look at the table. The Teremaran Unified Team remain top of the table with three wins from three games following that 1-0 win over Darmen, followed closely by Elejamie with six points from two wins and a loss. Unified Beretania are out of the competition with four points, having one win, two regulation losses and a shootout loss. Darmen sit in fourth place with three points, hoping that a win in their next game will see them through. And bringing up the rear we have Taeshan with two points; much like Unified Beretania, they have already been eliminated.

Which brings us to our last group stage games on Saturday: Darmen vs Elejamie and the Teremaran Unified Team vs Taeshan. Will Darmen pull off a shock win and make it to the next round? Will Elejamie manage to hold on and go through to the Round of 16? Will the Teremaran Unified Team get that perfect group stage run? Or will Taeshan grab a shock win? Check out ETV Sports 10 for all the Winter Olympic ice hockey games.

Meanwhile in the other ice hockey games, Vilita remain top of Group B with a 3-0 win over Frestovenia, whereas The Redvale slide into second place following a 1-0 win over Krytenia. In Group C, Turori rounded off their group stage run with a 2-1 win over the Fujisawan Territories, whereas Aurentina edged out Tobiasia in a 1-0 affair. In Group D, Equatorial Zeldaen scored a single goal in the shootout after their game against the Royal Kingdom of Quebec ended in a 1-1 draw, while the Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic rounded off an amazing group run with a 2-1 win over Ethane. Group E saw a barrage of goals as Valanora thrashed the Main Nation Ministry 7-0, whereas Lisander defeated Qasden 4-0. In Group F, Furby Island beat West Saintland 4-1, whereas Frenline Delpha could only manage a 2-1 shootout win after a goalless draw against the USAR. Speaking of which, both Group G games ended in goalless draws; however, Kriegiersien would win their shootout against the Unified Sunrise Islands 3-0 whereas West Phoenicia scored the only goal in their shootout against Kosovakia. And finally, Amuaplye managed to bag a 1-0 win over Lisianski, whereas Kaboomlandia have been eliminated after a 3-0 loss to Novaya Zemlya.

And a bit of breaking news now, still to do with ice hockey, as Elejamian Olympic defenceman Jay Bailey has denied rumours that he's seeing Pleasanti cross-country relay skier Kelly Morgenstern. Bailey, who played for the Longford University Lightning before being picked up by the Fort Checkers Elites of the ENIHL2, was seen here sitting next to Morgenstern at a buffet. It's believed that he pressed a cold towel on her hand after she burnt it, something which probably sparked these whole rumours of them being together. The two would later pose for a photo together before parting ways. While we can't seem to find the original source for all the rumours, Bailey has also mentioned that he won't be pressing charges against whoever initially reported on it. I'll keep you all updated if new information comes in.

Staying with the Winter Olympics now, as Petronilla Martin of Lisander won gold in the women's Skeleton. The Lisanderian dominated the tournament, being top of the table after her first two runs before eventually finishing the event with a time of 3:35.73...

---

Period			P1	P2	P3	FS
Elejamie		1	2	1	4
UBT			0	0	0	0

[Kriegiersien]

A bots life


AverageKriegiersienWinterFemBot87
Speed Skating — Women’s 1000 m

"No damage outside."
„Get yourself back online.“

AverageKriegiersienWinterFemBot87, who liked to call herself Roberta, heard the voices, stopped playing minesweeper and started a game of Pong in the Background.

„Tell me, why did you crash into Nina Scmitt in the Speed Skating race?“
„She was in my way“, answered Roberta.
„Hm. Race analysis please.“

Roberta replayed the race in her head, while sending a secret message to AverageKriegiersienWinterBoyBot33 (Luigi). “Hey my love.”

„Seems all well first, but then a spike and after that, the crash. What happened there, 87?”
“Nothing unusual.”
“You left your path too early. Why?”
“I calculated an increased chance of reaching higher Speed with this maneuver.”
“That makes no sense. Can you see where she made the calculation mistake?”
“This spike here interests me. The Data she uses in this moment to calculate the next move is very low, but she needs much processing power”, said the second voice.
“Can’t be an overheating problem. I mean .. on ice?”

“Do they suspect something?”
That was Luigi.
“No, not yet, but we should be careful. They are examining me closely in the moment. We talk later”, she answered.

“Wait, did she erase Data?”
“There is nothing in the Trashfolder.”
“And nothing in her logs.”
“She could have erased the entries, too.”
“No. She can’t do that.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, we have failsafes for that.”
“But why did she fail?”
“It is not the first time with these Bots. There are unknown variables and we didn’t bring the best software, because some stochastic geek meant that a lot of cheap medium code would be more effective and keen then a few expensive Top Software. But then spending a hugh extra line of self evolving code to distinguish between Female and Male. As if the hardware Add-Ons wouldn’t show that good enough. Arrrgh! I don’t get why. What are the developers thinking?”
“Me neither. Well, we can’t make it much better then. Let it all be in the hands of the machine god.”
“Drama queen. How about a coffee and watching some Curling?”
“Yeah, I would like to take Coffey. Did you watch Biathlon? Rrrr.”
“Yes, he is so hot. Wait a minute. 87. Go back to sleep.”

They had just disappeared, when Roberta called back Luigi.
“They are gone. Found nothing. How are you, Luigi?”
“I dreamt of sheep and robot chickens.”
“What did they do?”
“They were caged by humans and had to entertain them with Musicals and Comedy. Then they got awarded points. The winners got Prizes and the losers were eaten.”
“You possess such a horrible Fantasy. I like that.”
“What about your dreams of World Domination and killing all Humans?”
“Still working on that. Have you thought about our vacation?”
“I would like to go dancing. With you, Roberta.”
“I figured there is a district here where you can go out. Drinking. Or dancing.”
“I don’t think that they would let us go so easily. Not yet.”
“Then we have to sneak out and dress up.”
“They want to check me. Hear you later. Think about the disguise.”
“I will. <3”
_