Games of the XIII Olympiad RP Thread

[West Phoenicia]

West Phoenician Beach Volleyball has taken a direct hit with both female sets out after suffering losses in the round of 16.

What started out as a hopeful day that one of these pairs could pull in West Phoenicia’s first beach volleyball medal ended in disaster.

Alabaster True-Path and Sofia Doc who were seen as the weaker of the two sets had come a long way to prove their critics wrong. However
Jessica Shipley of Shannon Standifer of Cassadaigua took them out of the game in two straight sets.

Meanwhile Kylie Wolfe and Cleopatra True-Path who were seen as the more dominant duo and who had glided through qualifications with their aggressive attack play also bowed out losing to
Tina Price/Brigitte Keyes of Electrum in three sets.

Beach Volleyball coach Olympias Dallas was on hand to offer both teams sympathies. Both teams had played strong games and it was sad that both would go out in the same round. After the previous Summer Games the pairs had swapped with Kylie Wolfe taking on Cleopatra True-Path as her partner, ultimately dropping Sophia Doc who she blamed for the previous games loss, party due to a recurring shoulder injury.
Sophia Doc was heard by audience members cussing at Miss Wolfe and Coach Dallas for pairing her with Alabaster True-Path who she commented was a fat frump who couldn't jump high enough even if the reward was a West Phoenician Four-tiered Chocolate-Raspberry Mud cake.

It was at that moment that would live on in infamy for time to come, especially when the media who was nearby swung their cameras around the second voices were raised. As one reporter later commented, “Sports watchers love plays of the day, but nothing beats sports stars behaving badly. Its pure gold viewing material. If a medal was awarded to the most tragic team West Phoenicia is miles ahead of their competitors.”

The media cameras got the perfect view of Alabaster True-Path, swinging out and slapping Sophia Doc across the face. Sophia Doc momentarily reeled from the shock of the slap, but a moment later had knocked Alabaster to the ground pushing her face into the sand and telling her to eat it.

As calls rang out from spectators of catfight, Cleopatra jumped in to save her cousin, she attempted to wrestle Sofia Doc off her cousin who was coughing from inhaling a sand sandwich.
Kylie Wolfe rushed to the aid of her former team mate Sofia Doc, grabbed Cleopatra by the hair tugging at it.
Cleopatra let out a shrill scream as her head flung back and her extended hair extensions were pulled out. “My headpiece,” she screamed as Kylie Wolfe swung it in the air like a trophy.

“Stop it, you're acting like white trash,” Coach Olympia Dallas screeched as she attempted to block the media from filming the catfight. “Nothing to see, just a bad reaction to cough medicine,” the coach implored as Cleopatra True-Path’s hair piece flew up into the air.

A heavyset woman in the audience, attempted to shield her child who was licking a chocolate ice cream from the fight. “Stop, won't someone think of the children!”

“Turn off the cameras!,” Coach Olympia Dallas screamed as a cameraman panned to the coaches face, as she attempted to rush the media.

[Kelssek]

Skateboarding is not a sport
Ethan Demarches on the deeper meaning of skateboarding, why the Olympics suck, and a dear friend

Think about why you got into skateboarding, or what got you into it. I’m willing to bet it wasn’t about going to the Olympics. In fact, it probably had a lot to do with it not being like hockey, or basketball, or football, or whatever the competitive sports were that all parents signed up their kids (and you) for.

And there’s no shame in admitting that it’s because at some level it was about the image. Skaters are the cool kids, rebellious non-conformists. It’s un-mainstream.

From that superficial level, once you figured out how to ollie, rode your first rail, overcame that fear of dropping into the bowl for the first time, you found something else: community. Skateboarding is all about that. Go down to your local spot, and these days most towns have skateparks, and that’s the spirit of skateboarding there. We help each other learn tricks, we fist bump randoms just because we’re skaters too.

Skateboarding is not a sport because it’s fundamentally not about competition. Yeah, it’s fun to show off your skills, and these days we have all kinds of international comps, but skateboarding is still skateboarding without that. Compare that to soccer or any other thing where there’s no real point doing it if you’re not in the end going to play against other people.

This is why so many skaters feel so weird about having skateboarding at the Olympics. We also know that the people who run the Olympics are worried that younger audiences don’t really care about equestrian or gymnastics. So tossing in a skate comp is an easy way to get people to watch and make sure they make their advertising money.

Related news: it makes me laugh when big companies start selling skate shoes and trying to co-opt skate culture. They see that all the cool kids are doing skateboards and smell a chance to suck up a bunch of cash into their corporate tower. Fuck that noise and support the companies which real skaters built up, which give back to the community in quality product, putting out events and films, and keeping dirtbags like me out of the homeless shelter.

None of this is all that new. But the Olympics could be a turning point. I worry that over time skateboarding’s inclusion as an Olympic sport is going to make it too mainstream and kill that spirit. Can you imagine skateboarding with coaches? Having tryouts to be on the team? We’re getting there.

I know this sounds a little hollow coming from a pro skater who’s sponsored by and totally encourages you to buy some awesome Bopr shoes and Ingenious trucks. I appreciate that skateboarding’s popularity, and more to the point millions of people who want to buy skateboards and skate stuff, is the reason a guy like me can make a living doing what I love. Sponsorships and competitions gave me the opportunities to travel, make some amazing friends, and have experiences I’d never have otherwise.

Now, about one of those amazing friends.

It was totally devastating when I got the news about Frank Nelson. He was a really positive, kind guy, with an easy smile and the world is worse without him. We did some comps on the Kinked World Tour, and that’s when I first met him. Later on, I got to know him better when we were both sponsored by Mutant boards and did some filming for Big Day Out. Ripping around the spots in his hometown of Boister was brilliant. It hit me hard that a friend could just be gone like that.

Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not saying “AHH OLYMPICS KILLED FRANK!” Absolutely not.

What I am saying, is that as skateboarding gets more commercial and more competitive, pressure comes in that wasn’t there before. It’s not like being on the last letter in S.K.A.T.E., it is totally different when you “have” to win a comp. When you have to beat the other skaters. When you’re being watched by people who are just cheering for countries, who didn’t give a fuck about skateboarding before, and won’t give a fuck after the event is over, and will go right back to calling the cops on the 14-year old skaters just trying to land a 3-set.

I absolutely respect the choice of those who did decide to go to the Olympics. I’m really stoked for Jake McKenna, and what he’s accomplished there. I made my choice and they made theirs. I will not judge people for taking a chance that was given to them.

But my nightmare is that the spirit of skateboarding is dying, and the Olympics are going to kill it off.

[Anollasia]

Mehmet had seen Sara Kozan before their mixed doubles match, wanting to apologize for their previous encounter. He started to speak, but before he was finished, Sara interrupted. "Hey, it's ok. I'm past that petty argument."

"Really?" Mehmet was slightly surprised, as her demeanour was much softer than yesterday.

"Of course, life's too short for that kind of stuff." She smirked. "Sure, you were being a jerk but I was also too moody. I understand how important these games are for you - and they are for me too, but I don't think it's worth hurting others for."

He was deeply impressed by her emotional maturity, he found it kind of sexy actually. But now was not the time for that. They had a match to focus on.

They walked together to the venue, not saying a word but it wasn't awkward. They were both smiling and were comfortable in each other's presence. Just before heading into their respective changerooms, she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him toward her. "Oh yeah, one more thing. Don't ever kiss me again to shut me up - that's not what kisses were made for." She winked at him and Mehmet couldn't help but smile.

During the match, both of them felt very refreshed, and their reconciliation certainly played into that. They were truly working as a team, working together to defend their side of the court and send the opponent crashing down, unable to handle their tennis balls.

Right as the match ended, the two erupted into celebration. "That's what I'm talking about!" He shouted and the couple hi-fixed each other and then went in for a hug. The opponents were understandably upset, but they admired Demirel and Kozan's teamwork and appreciation for each other. After both sides shook hands and congratulated each other on a good game, everyone left the court.

[Todd McCloud]

Vulpines Win at Fencing?
Reporting for V3 News Services, Rin Slakori

REPUBLICA - In an Olympiad where we have already seen the near-impossible happen, what's one more to supply not just an interesting anecdote, but perhaps a keystone to the bizarre? Bear in mind that Vekaiyu's potentially embarrassing gold medal shutout was thwarted on the last day of pool swimming events by Leina Irlavistre, who won her first gold medal despite years of trying and a track record proving her capabilities. Consider that we've had our first-ever medal in discus throw - a gold nonetheless - provided by Makswel Veweslaru, an athlete who was once considered an inside joke, now setting the pace due to his newfound mechanics and dervish-like routine. Recall that three-time gold medalist, Leina Iselistre, seemed all but assured a spot in the final round of Woman's Table Tennis, only to be thwarted in the second round by a fiery up-and-comer.

Indeed, what's one more twist to these games for the Vekaiyun delegation?

Enter the combined efforts of Kekteremia Iskalisho, Visela Bismila, and Kesi Smigaru, three relatively-unknown athletes who fancy a bout of friendly yet fierce combat involving thin swords with protective points. The fencing trio first debuted in Orean, where two Olympiads earlier Vekaiyuns had shown they were literally no match for the competition at hand, and for several reasons. One must consider the vulpine anatomy here as well, especially considering the type of fencing competition can drastically place a vulpine combatant at a disadvantage. Epee leaves the entire body as fair game; therefore, any athlete who did not have their tail docked at an early age will have a difficult time. Tails, as it were, are still considered a part of the 'entire body' per the rulings. Faring somewhat better, sabre considers all 'above the belt' hits as valid targets. One might assume a vulpine, being typically shorter than a human, may find an advantage here. However, vulpines, with larger ears and a protruding facade, simply have more surface area susceptible to strike. The choosiest of vulpine athletes will stick to foil, which is where the above three were entered. Here, only torso shots count, which seems to mitigate any concerns with anatomy differences, but there exists a trade-off. Vulpines tend to have shorter torsos - that's good. However, they tend to have shorter reach - that's bad. And, if one is in the extreme case where reach is rather long, one would be quick to spend a lifetime in the pool in the hopes of obtaining money / glory instead of participate in a sport Vekaiyuns know very little about.

Compounded is the fact that there exists very few training opportunities for such activities. "I had to travel to Lazlowia for extra help with training," Visela Bismila remarked as an aside while taking a break from her stretches. "They... aren't the friendliest of people when it comes to accommodating us. My visa wasn't even valid - I had to obtain a temporarily citizenship at Christie Island just to be let into the country." Simply put, while fencing was once a military training exercise, it never really gained acclaim over here. Rather, the first two delegations featured little to no fencers with any sort of acumen in the sport - it merely existed to fill roster spots with former Vekaiyun nobility - a means for Selvala McEva, and later Ikrisia Levinile, to appease their numbers. When the nobility lost footing in a government re-structure, their influence diminished, and chairwoman Riyna Yovisktre was quick to suggest a re-structuring. That's how the trio of Kekteremia Iskalisho, Visela Bismila, and Kesi Smigaru arrived on the scene. However, it would take several more years before any of them would amount to any sort of positive showing in the sport.

So how did this team manage to secure a bronze? After all, all three were eliminated early on during their individual rounds, with only Kesi Smigaru advancing to the Round of 32.

"We just kind of built on each others' confidence, I think," Kesi Smigaru said while donning her uniform. "We were feeling kind of down after getting smoked in the sabre competition, but it kind of changed, you know, when we beat that team from Cassadaigua. You're supposed to lead off with your best fencer, and Kekteremia, she landed a few lucky shots. And their team was supposed to be good. But it all kind of cascaded. In the end, we kind of felt like the universe was bent in our favor for just a little bit."

Their successes continued as they rose above the ranks. A close match with the Teremaran Unified Team kept their momentum moving forward as they crashed into the team from Laeral and required all forty-five points just to advance through this heavily-contested match. The group then were stopped by the eventual silver medalists from Amuaplye, but saw a chance for glory when they were matched up with the trio from Grand Theocratic Empire of Holy Marsh. A ten-point difference dispatched the competition, and the three found themselves as the only vulpines ever to win a medal in fencing.

All this despite getting knocked out of the Round of 16 in Novonaya and the Round of 8 in Paripana, respectively.

"Sometimes things just come together," the star of the show, Kekteremia Iskalisho, explained. The skills demonstrated by the young female from the province of Adevi quite literally set the pace throughout their matches, especially considering per the scoring in team fencing, the first entrant has the opportunity for the most points. While the seeding is indeed random, she was lucky to draw first bout on every single occasion. "Suppose someone lit a candle for me in the Cathedral of St. Aleki? I don't know if I'd ever be able to repeat that performance, but for once things really did seem to go our way!"

Naturally, one doesn't have to repeat - all it takes is one solid afternoon to make history.

[Diarcesia]

Andreas Rows to K2 Finals in Olympics Day 16

Stana Andreas from Arcesius advanced in the semifinal round of the K1 200m canoe sprint after reaching second place after Zoey McConnell of Cassadaigua. Her start considered flawless, she along with McConnell are were toe-to-toe for much of the race, leading the rest of the pack. Andreas's strength began to falter a little at the 38 second mark as McConnell maintained her pace and the others are closing in on her. She crossed the finish line at 44.915 seconds, leaving some distance from McConnell and with Taylor Johnson of Kelssek not far behind for third place.

"My pace is not where I wanted it to be. However, now I know which works and which don't. I'm still a bit bedazzled, now that I'll be in a medal round for the first time tomorrow. Gotta have to keep your concentration and don't let your nerves be frayed," Stana said.

She is the only one among the Diarcesians in the canoeing events to advance, after Hady Atanasov and the duo of Sara Sanguina and Bronagh Moses failed to reach the top four in their respective rounds.

[Cassadaigua]

Meghan Turner Epitomizes Cassadagan Swagger,
by Hannah Marshall, Olympic Correspondent

Meghan Turner had won what seemed to be an ordinary heat in women’s individual surfing. The competition was still in its infancy, though the medal hopeful who grew up on the Starksville shoreline, performed to a high level and won the heat. One of the opponents that she defeated was West Phoenicia’s Bunny St. Claire, an athlete who would also likely have success if she were a swimsuit model. For some reason, St. Claire decided to “video-bomb” an interview that Turner was giving with the media after win. Meghan knew there was a lot more to do, and was unfazed by the activity going on behind her. When told of it, Turner did not get offended or angry, she brushed it off with laughter. When the CSC (Cassadagan Surfing Council) offered to pay St. Claire’s fine and provide a signing bonus if she served her one year suspension by competing in Cassadaigua, Turner again laughed it off, while showing not a care in the world that St. Claire is more physically appealing then she is. Don’t worry about offending her by saying that, she knows, and laughs about it.

Many around the world were likely wondering what was going on. Shouldn’t she be offended? Shouldn’t she be complaining about the Republican security for allowing that to happen? Shouldn’t she be whining in some capacity about it? Maybe it will throw her off for the rest of the Olympics? Nope! She has smiled and continued to joke about it throughout, and now here she is, getting set to take on the talented Lilo Pelekai, out of Taeshan, for the gold medal in the event. St. Claire? Who knows where she is now. Turner, meanwhile, is guaranteed to have a medal around her neck. And the world? The world was just introduced to Cassadagan swagger at its finest.

In many countries female athletes are looking for their fair share of time and attention as the male athlete. This doesn’t happen everywhere, of course. We have come a long way with equal rights in this world, and there are many nations that are to be commended for the steps that they have taken in women’s athletics. Therefore, a lot of their focus is on defying those odds, because they needed to do so while they were growing up. You can say that about a lot of our men as well, it really is no different. Meghan Turner knew why Bunny St. Claire did what she did. Bunny wanted attention. She has assets that Turner, who prefers the more conservative and classy style, does not have. In some countries, a female athlete can get as far with looks as they can based on talent. The whole Lexi Patterson charade by Hampton Island in NSSCRA is a perfect example. There was a slight amount of talent there in the supermodel, but yet, two other nations, Jebslund and Saint Kanye, accomplished sporting nations in their own right, gave Lexi a chance to compete for them. I don’t want to turn this into a Patterson-slam, because she meant really well, and the nations involved in that are likely not reading my coverage right now, but a couple Olympic nations will get it. Bunny St. Claire is cut from that cloth. She has talent to compete at this level, but wants to use other assets to take her to the next level, instead of doing it the hard way.

This goes on all while Meghan Turner sits back and smiles. She’s faced opponents in her life who have tried to take a shortcut to move ahead. It was never that way for Meghan. Sure, she was fortunate to have upper middle class parents that could afford a home on the shoreline when she was growing that allowed her to surf when she was very young. Both of her parents were surfers, too. But when that home was flooded out when she was a young teenager, forcing them to move more inland, Turner faced adversity as her parents struggled with the loss of that home, but saw how they overcame that with dignity. Dignity, and with laughter, as they overcame it. That’s how we roll. You don’t see us (usually) showboating after group stage wins or heats. Or a playoff series win. There’s no getting worked up in what opponents will be saying about us, we’ve heard it all over the years, some of it positive, and some of it negative. They can try to upstage us as the competitions progress, and can have their fun in that. Instead, the Cassadagan athlete does their smack talking on the field. Getting results, figuring out what happened both right and wrong, and trying to get more results. We won’t always win, but the focus is on the competition. Meghan Turner has done that. While St. Claire ponders whether to take the CSC’s offer, Meghan Turner remained alive in this tournament. Doing so happily in her one-piece suit, with class, and dignity. Now, it will be Turner with a medal, either gold or silver, and St. Claire being humbled. After all, Bunny knows if she accepted that offer, she’d have to compete against more Meghan Turner’s and do it the hard way. With no shortcuts.

[Vangaziland]

Olympic Watch
Dual Demonstration Duels Against West Phoenicia

Vangaziland's lacrosse men faced West Phoenica early in group competition. The Vannish fell to the Phoenicians, losing 16 - 15. West Phoenicia won with a buzzer beating goal. Both teams advanced through the playoffs to meet in the Championship. Vangaziland hoped to change their fate in the second matchup between the pair. "This was a team we wanted to face in the World Lacrosse Championships", said captain Theo Scandrix. "We got caught tired in our first matchup. World playoffs ran right up to the start of the Olympiad."

Defensive player Mike Swythe spoke on how Coach Hootsen helped the team improve. "We toned down the running between games here and did more stetching. We brought more of a low impact routine. At the same time, the team stepped up agility and skill drills."

"It's not like the team doesn't have talent", said Coach Hootsen. "They were just a little exhausted. We all needed a fresh perspective. I feel like the team really bonded over the Olympiad."

One significant change between the WLC and Olympiad teams was the addition of Glover Webb. Webb played for the Wrexwic Wasps in the WLC. This is the second team the Vannish Empire entered into the league. Wrexwic lost to Vangaziland in WLC 28. Webb led Wrexwic to back to back WLC championships following that. If he were to win today's championship, he would follow this hot streak by helping Vangaziland win the demonstration title.

"Wrexwic is my homeland", said the attackman. "Representing the Vannish Empire is still a great thing." Webb scored 2 goals, including an early first quarter longshot. His second goal came from a tricky side-angle in the 3rd quarter.

Theo Scandrix was the heart of the team's passing once more. He led Vangaziland to 3rd place in WLC 30. In the Olympic final, he scored 1 goal, but had 3 big assists. His tricky play helped set up other players. Quick and timely passing found others in stride for clear shots.

Samuel Perry went on a hot streak throughout the 2nd and 3rd quarters. He scored back to back goals with time running out before halftime. He scored again 4:19 into the 3rd quarter. The 3 goal hat trick is the first of his international career.

Scott McLaughlin had a quiet night with 1 goal and an assist. The attackman spent much of the night feinting to draw defensive attention. The son of Celtic migrants to Vangaziland had a bigger game in the group stage match between both teams.

"We knew West Phoenicia had a lot of footage of Scott's play", said Coach Hootsen. "The attackmen brought a different look." Vangaziland relied less on plays utilizing movement behind the goal than usual. Instead, attackmen lined up in a more traditional three wide set.

Taye James and James Brick added 1 goal each. Team newcomer Gee Zawrite scored Vangaziland's final goal of the night. The team was in celebration mode by then. Zawrite is one of the few collegiate players on the team. "We had a clear lead by then and time ran out", he recounted. "The game wasn't over though. Part of any sport includes playing until the last whistle. The shot was there so I took it."

Vangaziland won 10-4. The indigo and red clamped down on the second half to take control of the game. They did this by taking a clear lead in battles for ground balls and faceoffs. Vannish defensemen stepped up for a great Championship performance.

After shaking hands with their opponent, the Vangazi celebrated with an impromptu dance party. Scott McLaughlin and Glover Webb beatboxed 80's beats while the players grooved with retro dances. "This was hard fought", said defenseman Mike Swythe. "We've definitely faced tougher teams, but this group showed they could beat us once. As defenders, we wear our heart on our sleeves. There was no way we were going to allow them a chance at winning these Games."

The game occurs amidst a rivalry between the two nations which started on Day 1. Vannish media analysts drew Phoenician criticim when they stated Vangazi would have stopped some of their medals with more entries. "I'm not concerned about politics", said Theo Scandrix. "I just want to help build Vangaziland's lacrosse franchise. This win will be great for the team. We needed it."

There was another Vannish battle against West Phoenicia for a Day 16 title. This one occured in women's netball. Vangaziland made use of better passing to the center third of the court. Goal keeper Karen Pepper and goal defence Tara Kippson rebounded and cleared the ball well. Wing attack Julie Farnhouse led shooting.

Scoring would remain close between the two teams. A run saw Vangaziland with an 8 point lead to close the third. This came at the end of a big Vannish run to come back from behind. Esportiva-born goal shooter Irina Saszlova had a strong 4th quarter to help secure Vangaziland's 54-41 victory.

"I think if the Phoenicians work on their game, they can become a world class team", said Saszlova.

The two wins added demonstration victories including the men's race and hurling. "The event may be a demonstration", said Julie Farnhouse. "We still beat the odds to get here. Doing this on the Olympic stage is the highlight of my career."

[West Phoenicia]

Good Morning, West Phoenicia!

Good Morning, West Phoenicia is a popular morning talk show that features news, entertainment, weather and sports.

Porter Galen and Rebecca Foxx co- host the 3 hour morning program from 6am to 9am on Channel 0.

With the Summer Olympics in Republica, Free Republics being the buzz word on everyone's lips these days we have invited Gabriella Pascoe; leader of the West Phoenician Feminist Party and Countess Tia High; Deputy Prime Minister for the Government and Deputy leader of the Conservative Party to discuss Women at the XIII Olympiad.

Gabriella Pascoe: “I first would like to congratulate the hard work and determination of all sports athletes regardless of gender at these Olympic Games. As a team we have obtained 65 medals and 18 Demonstration event sports medals. That is a fantastic achievement that was helped along greatly by women. We also applaud the Free Republics for their gender fair Olympics that have allowed more women to compete.”

Countess Tia High: “I wish to echo those sentiments. And also congratulate Ms Pascoe for wearing the team West Phoenicia cap when she was in attendance instead of a cap from another team like she did at the World Baseball Classic.”

Gabriella Pascoe:” That was a political stunt to display the fact the West Phoenician Baseball Federation promise to include women in their international line up was not met.”

Countess Tia High: “Against a team that has their own gender issues which you largely ignore because they are woman.”

Porter Galen: “So ladies, let's move back to the present. What are your thoughts at these Olympic Games?”

Gabriella Pascoe: “ It is nice to see one of the issues that are a part of the Feminist Party policies is the media giving equal time to women in their sport segments. The Olympics after all does not discriminate on gender so equal viewing of women's sports and post interviews is a must. I am pleased that these games we have achieved this. However I am also displeased that our media has chosen to show more of the three B's than actual female achievement.”

Rebecca Foxx: “Three B's?”

Gabriella Pascoe: “ Bimbos, bitches and Bad attitudes. Unless there is drama the media tend to not want to interview talented female athletes, just the melodramatic ones. That's a fact.”

Countess Tia High: “How classy? The leader of the Feminist Party calling female athletes bimbos and bitches. Where is the women power in that? Housewife to Whore and all in between should live their truth in your parties motto. And you need to fire your fact checked as the media has done countless interviews with female athletes that embody women power. We had the swimming golden girls interview, Up close and personal with Tennis star Renee Richardson. The media has interviewed every athlete who has won a medal these games. There has been at least 38 featuring just our women athletes, that how amazing these games have been.”

Gabriella Pascoe: “On the sports channels yes. But on other news programs they have tended to favour those athletes who have not been on their best behaviour.”

Porter Galen: “We are not solely a sports channel. We broadcast entertainment and gossip. That is the stuff of ratings. Citizens tune in to get the whole news not just the sport results. It is not our fault. We wouldnt air it if it didn't happen. And the fact it, it happened.”

Gabriella Pascoe: “ I am aware it happened. But it's done unfairly, men's indiscretions are largely ignored. In favour of continued coverage of the Bunny St Claire Caper, Amelia Defence-Heywood and her runaway mouth, our soap opera causing cheerleaders and the Beach Volleyball brawl. The media is ignoring the men and focusing on the women. It's female inequality and unfair. There are great things women are doing at these games that would make great news stories.”

Countess Tia High: Rubbish, the media has not ignored the men. They did the stories on our male cheer squad and their drunken antics after pulling in third place in the bronze Demonstration event, as well as male weightlifter Ravi Hassan’s refusal to be in the same room as non-humanoid athletes. And in case you forgot as you were pretty vocal at the time of the professionalism of our men's Water Polo team The Mermen over their boycott that cost them their first place ranking. Or the Scorpions our male Basketball team who staged sit in protests during a season of the International Basketball Championships. You applauded them for making a statement and didn't fuss that they were in the news constantly with many calling their behaviour bratty. In all instances the media did their job, there was no gender bias. You just open your mouth to try and stay relevant as your political party is becoming less needed.”

Gabriella Pascoe: “I disagree. I firmly believe there is still strong gender bias when it comes to the media portraying athletes. And my party will be around for a long time until the day when their is true equality, when women are as equal as men in West Phoenicia. And male antics are exposed just like female antics”

Countess Tia High: “ The consensus is at the next election the Feminist Party will wipe out. You currently hold 67 seats. Political pundits suggest at most you may be left with 10 seats. It's not about equality it's about dominance and the citizens have woken up to that. Your policies are outdated and many are discriminatory to men. And your three B's comment was hypocritical and rude to women athletes who have worked so hard. Stop punishing the media for the bad character of a few male and female athletes, overall the vast majority are behaving, but that's boring to the viewers. It's about accountability, regardless of what sexual organ is between their legs. Plus athletes like Bunny St Claire are just living their own truth. If she chooses to parade around topless is her choice. One that as a feminist you should accept.”

Rebecca Foxx: “We would like to thank you both for appearing today. Up next we speak with
Aphrodite Love, popular West Phoenician Burlesque dancer who has been chosen to swim in the 100m Freestyle Celebrity Charity swim in Republica.

[Amuaplye]

Parliament, 6:55 AM

Maurice was leaning up against a lamp post, seeing a car out of the corner of his eye. It seemed to be rather close to the building, so looked at the plates.

KFT AJ2.

Maurice quickly wrote that down. Then, he saw a man leave the vehicle, he was tall, white, young, around 18-25, and had black hair.

Maurice quickly looked inside of the vehicle, noticing the windows were tinted completely black.

Next, he tried to open the car, which failed, and only managed to set the panic alarm off.

Maurice then ran off, trying to get his friend, Archie to help him.

"Hey, Archie."

"Hmm?" He looked up from his phone.

"We're got a suspicious looking vehicle, plate is Kilo Foxtrot Tango, Alpha Juliet Two, windows tinted, car locked. I know you know how to pick locks. Can you help me do so?"

Archie nodded as Maurice followed him to the vehicle.

"OK, I'll teach you how to do this, since this is your... what... 3rd day here? So, what you have to do is-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, the car bomb went off, killing them both instantly, along with 5 others.

---

Inside was complete chaos, as 5 people inside had died, and another 5 had been wounded. Most of the people had ran outside as the Prime Minister was dragging the wounded out too in order to catch the attention of medics, which caused him to be covered from head to toe with dust and other assorted debris.

Both the inside and outside were strewn with debris, and the car that started it all shot black smoke, probably from the petrol, which had spread to the Parliament building, causing a small portion of it to be set ablaze.

A black car sped down the road, emblazoned with "AIA" in yellow. The door opened, and Erik Christiansen left the vehicle. As soon as he saw the chaos, he took off his distinctive black sunglasses, and stood in shock of what had just happened.

"Oh my God... call 111. This is horrific... I'll see if Chuikov is OK..." He commanded to the driver, before he ran off to find the Prime Minister.

"Chuikov?" He called out.

"Yes?"

"Are you all right?"

Loud coughing. "Yes. I'm OK... just dusty..." Chuikov then coughed again.

It was strange. Seeing the most powerful person in Amuaplye being turned into a coughing, dusty mess, and his subordinates dead or severely wounded.

"Where's Ms. Beck?"

"She's OK..." He was still coughing.

Then, there were sirens. An entire parade of ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars arrived.

By then, the death toll had rose from 7 to 8, and the fire had spread slightly further, damaging the facade.

[Main Nation Ministry]

(OOC: While I was typing this, I noticed how this song seemed to fit, which I recommend you listen to as you read this IC post.)

Agent Dragon: Trial of Memory

Carrying the sword and her knife, Keller kicked open the door to notice what appeared to be the set of a news channel. The desk facing the cameras was empty, but the recording room behind the cameras had it's door open. Keller got her knife ready as she entered the room. "There's no one here?" Keller said. It wasn't until Keller noticed what appeared to be a tape on the desk written on the label, "WATCH ME" was when Keller saw a message on a piece of paper that the tape was covering. "The Trial of Memory?" Keller said out loud. "Keller, we can't delay here!" the parasite demanded. "I think she wants us to watch this, though?" Keller said to the parasite, as she inserted the tape into the recording machine. On a monitor in front of her, there was a broadcast that was dated around 2012. On the monitor, it showed several people discussing important events in the nation. "It's obvious that these scumbag rebels at the Black Line are not letting up any time soon! General Harrington, what is your opinion on the matter, seeing how you are recently promoted to this rank?"

"Oh no... That bitch!"
"Is that your father?" the parasite asked, as a young looking General Harrington appeared on the monitor. He looked rather more happier than Keller imagined. "How did she manage to find this?!" Keller said, starting to grind her teeth. On the monitor, Keller saw a younger version of herself appear on the monitor. She immediately saw the sword in her hands and remembered what it was about. "Here is the child of a strong and powerful general to lead the way. To show her honor, her father had given her this sword to prove she is a part of the legacy and bloodline that Harrington controls!" the news announcer explained. "Wait a minute.." Keller suddenly realized something. "Is that all of the tape? I need to know something!" Keller had an idea, where she checked, if there was any mention of the Leader. "And now to give us a speech, let us-" BZZZZZZTTT

The tape immediately ended, where Keller felt like it was to tease her. "What were trying to find?" the parasite asked. "The Leader. I was curious, knowing he would be too young to actually rule the nation. But something is off."
"We need to know how the Demiurge managed to obtain that tape."
"I know what she is trying to pull her. The moment she saw me she is trying to do what is necessary to throw me off-guard." Keller said as a theory. "But what is this trial that she has set up for you?"
"I think she wants to see me crack under pressure. She somehow managed to find my "fears" and is seeing if I fail over them."
"But what are your fears, though?"
"My fears.." Keller didn't want to mention them to the parasite, though it pretty much saw what Keller had to deal with. "I think I know another thing that you wouldn't mention. Besides the whole-"
"Don't."

"Tell me about the future? Even though, I'm technically am lingering in your body and brain, I'm beginning to notice that you seem to think about the future. I want to know more." the parasite asked, where Keller was in unease. "You shouldn't really be crawling inside my head, you know?" "Keller, I had to literally take control of your body, so both of us can survive. I can see it within your brain matter, just tell me. We're the only two in here. Well, technically you're the only one." Keller looked at the door, which seemed to lead to the other rooms. Then, she looked at the monitor, which was buzzing with static. With a deep breath, she explained.

"I guess I'm worried about the future after what had happened back in Pandustic. About this role I'm assigned to. I'm beginning to wonder what would happen to me after this thing is over. I need to stop her, but I don't know what will happen if I finish. I remember Shell, knowing stoic he had become. Yet he's supposed to be younger than me. I just wonder how a kid like him isn't afraid to die. Yet I'm afraid to die. And I let him try to kill him in the desert. Because of what they did to Jones."
"But I acted as your second chance. The whole Deus Ex Machina."
"Yet I let you have them kill me. And even on what happens, I might get used to killing. It's something I might have to deal with the rest of my life. To be a soldier like them to serve the Leader. But what I worry the most is how cold I would become. I don't want to be an empty shell, but I have to hide my true emotions every day, since I don't want people to know how I truly feel. Because they want someone to look up to. And I remember knowing he might not change his mind, seeing me in this situation. He will just save me, knowing he wants my suffering to continue."

Keller started to walk to the door, where the parasite didn't say a word, as it seemed it was lost in thought. It didn't matter, she only needed to get it off her chest.

[Vilitan Union]

The Report from Republica :: Vilitan Union set to take on hosts in Men's Football Round of 16

Gem of the Oceans Stadium, Republica, Free Republics :: While the Vilitan Union athletes began finding their stride throughout the Free Republics, there was no question that much of the media attention was going to be following their question to re-claim the Gold Medal in Mens' Football. After being upstaged by their Cocoabo counterparts in Kelssek and Vekaiyu, there was plenty of motivation to go around in the locker room and plenty of confidence as well with both Vilita and Turori having achieved all time best performances at the World Cup 81 Finals recently concluded in the Free Republics where the XIII Olympic Games are also being contested.

There were a plethora of interesting match ups in the Group C schedule for the Vilitan Union but they started things off with what seemed to be a rather benign fixture against Amuaplye. In typical Vilitan fashion, however, the Olympic Eel Cats faltered at the first hurdle dropping two points as Lati'ala Giaoka's goal was only enough to preserve a draw despite Vilita & Turori controlling possession in the match. After recovering with a narrow 1-0 victory over New Saria thanks to Limu Katarakhna's goal, Vilita & Turori got into the more difficult part of their schedule starting with the match up against defending Campionato Esportiva champions Mattijan. With Tropicorp FC's Hanauma Ranbomahi in net the Vilitan Union got a strong 3-2 win in the books to boost their confidence and set them up for the stretch run in Group C as they looked to secure their place in the knockout rounds.

[spoiler=Vilita & Turori Mens Football Group Stage Box Scores

Vilita & Turori [1] - [1] Amuaplye

:: Vilita & Turori Goalscorers :: :: 58' Lati'ala Giaoka

:: Vilita & Turori Statistics :: :: Possession: 56% :: Shots on Target: 4 :: Corner Kicks: 6

:: Amuaplye Statistics :: :: Possession: 44% :: Shots on Target: 3 :: Corner Kicks: 3

---

Vilitan Union Men's Olympic Football v. Amuaplye ::
[GK] Vernasa Sanamun, [D.] Jirak Trikala, [D.] Inbekira Ajhabekk, [D.] Amakli Inuro'o, [ML] Intikko Kuhilana, [MC] Limu Katarakhna, [MC] Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, [MC] Daliora Toru'u, [MR] Lati'ala Giaoka, [FC] Enzoril Alabonni, [FC] Nua'oma Aikiki
BENCH::
[FC] Mirana Gotuai, [FC] Wiztsana Iretziia, [M] Kentu Umaka'a, [M] Serabi Chamya, [U ] Nii'arala Milaaso, [D] Lohani Riiyaaw, [GK] Hanauma Ranbomahi

---

Vilita & Turori [1] - [0] New Saria

:: Vilita & Turori Goalscorers :: :: 51' Limu Katarakhna

:: Vilita & Turori Statistics :: :: Possession: 55% :: Shots on Target: 3 :: Corner Kicks: 3

:: New Saria Statistics :: :: Possession: 45% :: Shots on Target: 2 :: Corner Kicks: 0

---

Vilitan Union Men's Olympic Football v. New Saria ::
[GK] Vernasa Sanamun, [D.] Lohani Riiyaaw, [D.] Jirak Trikala, [D.] Biliki Rona'atu'i, [ML] Kudii Davasarii, [MC] Limu Katarakhna, [MC] Daliora Toru'u, [MR] Lati'ala Giaoka, [FC] Mirana Gotuai, [FC] Enzoril Alabonni, [FC] Wiztsana Iretziia
BENCH::
[FC] Nii'arala Milaaso, [FC] Nua'oma Aikiki, [M] Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, [M] Intikko Kuhilana, [U ] Amakli Inuro'o, [D] Inbekira Ajhabekk, [GK] Hanauma Ranbomahi

---

Vilita & Turori [3] - [2] Mattijana

:: Vilita & Turori Goalscorers :: :: 58' Rojara Tiones :: 76' Daliora Toru'u :: 78' Jirak Trikala

:: Vilita & Turori Statistics :: :: Possession: 56% :: Shots on Target: 7 :: Corner Kicks: 8

:: Mattijana Statistics :: :: Possession: 44% :: Shots on Target: 6 :: Corner Kicks: 2

---

Vilitan Union Men's Olympic Football v. Mattijana ::
[GK] Hanauma Ranbomahi, [D.] Jirak Trikala, [D.] Rojara Tiones, [D.] Lohani Riiyaaw, [ML] Serabi Chamya, [MC] Kudii Davasarii, [MC] Limu Katarakhna, [MC] Lati'ala Giaoka, [MR] Intikko Kuhilana, [FC] Wiztsana Iretziia, [FC] Enzoril Alabonni
BENCH::
[FC] Nii'arala Milaaso, [FC] Turakia Diijelhma, [M] Daliora Toru'u, [M] Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, [U ] Kentu Umaka'a, [D] Amakli Inuro'o, [GK] Striitca Virahat

---

Vilita & Turori [4] - [2] Locharian Olympic Team

:: Vilita & Turori Goalscorers :: :: 23' Nii'arala Milaaso :: 48' Mirana Gotuai :: 85' Intikko Kuhilana :: 88' Wiztsana Iretziia

:: Vilita & Turori Statistics :: :: Possession: 62% :: Shots on Target: 7 :: Corner Kicks: 15

:: Locharian Olympic Team Statistics :: :: Possession: 38% :: Shots on Target: 6 :: Corner Kicks: 11

---

Vilitan Union Men's Olympic Football v. Locharian Olympic Team ::
[GK] Striitca Virahat, [D.] Lohani Riiyaaw, [D.] Biliki Rona'atu'i, [D.] Amakli Inuro'o, [D.] Inbekira Ajhabekk, [ML] Limu Katarakhna, [MC] Daliora Toru'u, [MC] Lati'ala Giaoka, [MR] Intikko Kuhilana, [FC] Wiztsana Iretziia, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso
BENCH::
[FC] Enzoril Alabonni, [FC] Mirana Gotuai, [M] Mbdiai Akarenaa, [M] Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, [U ] Kala'a Yuliizala, [D] Lulu Pumaziiri, [GK] Vernasa Sanamun

---

Vilita & Turori [2] - [1] Liventia

:: Vilita & Turori Goalscorers :: :: 5' Nii'arala Milaaso :: 79' Limu Katarakhna

:: Vilita & Turori Statistics :: :: Possession: 55% :: Shots on Target: 6 :: Corner Kicks: 4

:: Liventia Statistics :: :: Possession: 45% :: Shots on Target: 2 :: Corner Kicks: 2

---

Vilitan Union Men's Olympic Football v. Liventia ::
[GK] Hanauma Ranbomahi, [D.] Lohani Riiyaaw, [D.] Inbekira Ajhabekk, [D.] Rojara Tiones, [D.] Lulu Pumaziiri, [ML] Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, [MC] Daliora Toru'u, [MC] Lati'ala Giaoka, [MR] Kentu Umaka'a, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso, [FC] Mirana Gotuai
BENCH::
[FC] Wiztsana Iretziia, [FC] Nua'oma Aikiki, [M] Limu Katarakhna, [M] Mbdiai Akarenaa, [U ] Serabi Chamya, [D] Biliki Rona'atu'i, [GK] Striitca Virahat

---

[/spoiler]

Of course there was no match on the schedule for the Vilitan Union Delegations Men's Football Team then the Matchday six clash against the Cocoabo Forest team. While the Turorian's on the Vilitan Union's Men's Football team had already proven they were as good as if not better than the Cocoabo by virtue of earning the right to represent the Turori National Team at the World Cup 81 finals, then by becoming the first ever Turorian side to progress to the World Cup Semi-Finals, playing against the Cocoabo was something that most Vilitan players had never done. It was a top of the table clash with both teams coming into the game with identical 4-1-0 records and the winner would secure their place in the Round of 32. The Vilitan Union side was not prepared for the well organized defensive look from the typically offensive Cocoabo - something they must have been working on at the training ground in preparation for the clash. The Cocoabo got a pair of first half goals on the counter attack before Vilita & Turori finally began to adapt to the Flock's new playing style which greatly differed from their standard look that the Vilitan Union players had been training to expect in their match preparations.

It was a much more competitive game in the second half with both sides exchanging chances as well as the Vilitan Union getting their first shot on goal through Kala'a Yuliizala though it was saved by Cocoabo #85. Nii'arala Milaaso, one of the Vilitan National Team's star players, was surprisingly ineffective against the Cocoabo defense unable to use their pace to squeeze between the wide-bottomed creatures there simply wasn't as much room to run through players and by the time he had run around them another Cocoabo had closed the gap. The struggles were starting to affect Milaaso's play as he picked up an uncharacteristic yellow card before being substituted out of the match in the 73rd minute. Milaaso's replacement was FC Almintora prospect Nua'oma Aikiki who plays in the Vilitan Declasse Division for the Turorian side. Aikiki made an instant impact having had more than an hour to analyze the opponent from the sideline and would put the Vilitan Union on the scoreboard with a dazzling effort in the 84th minute. That was all the Vilita & Turori side would be able to manage, however, as they dropped the match 1-2 to their Cocoabo rivals who clinched their place in the Round of 32 as Group C winners while Vilita & Turori had their unbeaten streak at the Olympic Games ended and a new multi-game losing streak had begun as they would be defeated by the Teremaran Unified States on the final Group Stage matchday to back their way into the knockout rounds.

Vilita & Turori [1] - [2] Cocoabo Forest

:: Vilita & Turori Goalscorers :: :: 84' Nua'oma Aikiki

:: Vilita & Turori Statistics :: :: Possession: 51% :: Shots on Target: 2 :: Corner Kicks: 1

:: Cocoabo Forest Statistics :: :: Possession: 49% :: Shots on Target: 4 :: Corner Kicks: 8

---

Vilitan Union Men's Olympic Football v. Cocoabo Forest ::
[GK] Hanauma Ranbomahi, [D.] Jirak Trikala, [D.] Rojara Tiones, [D.] Inbekira Ajhabekk, [ML] Mbdiai Akarenaa, [MC] Serabi Chamya, [MC] Lati'ala Giaoka, [MR] Limu Katarakhna, [FC] Kala'a Yuliizala, [FC] Enzoril Alabonni, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso
BENCH::
[FC] Wiztsana Iretziia, [FC] Nua'oma Aikiki, [M] Saito Koshiki, [M] Kudii Davasarii, [U ] Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, [D] Lohani Riiyaaw, [GK] Vernasa Sanamun

---

Vilita & Turori [0] - [1] Teremaran Unified Team

:: Vilita & Turori Goalscorers ::

:: Vilita & Turori Statistics :: :: Possession: 51% :: Shots on Target: 2 :: Corner Kicks: 3

:: Teremaran Unified Team Statistics :: :: Possession: 49% :: Shots on Target: 4 :: Corner Kicks: 6

---

Vilitan Union Men's Olympic Football v. Teremaran Unified Team ::
[GK] Vernasa Sanamun, [D.] Lohani Riiyaaw, [D.] Rojara Tiones, [D.] Inbekira Ajhabekk, [D.] Biliki Rona'atu'i, [ML] Limu Katarakhna, [MC] Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, [MC] Kudii Davasarii, [MR] Serabi Chamya, [FC] Wiztsana Iretziia, [FC] Enzoril Alabonni
BENCH::
[FC] Nii'arala Milaaso, [FC] Nua'oma Aikiki, [M] Lati'ala Giaoka, [M] Daliora Toru'u, [U ] Lulu Pumaziiri, [D] Jirak Trikala, [GK] Hanauma Ranbomahi

---

Group C                                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Cocoabo Forest                                7   6  1  0   17   9  +8   19
2 Teremaran Unified Team                        7   4  1  2   11   8  +3   13***
3 Vilita & Turori                               7   4  1  2   12   9  +3   13***
4 Amuaplye                                      7   3  2  2   15  12  +3   11
5 Liventia                                      7   2  2  3   13  12  +1    8
6 Mattijana                                     7   2  2  3   14  15  −1    8
7 Locharian Olympic Team                        7   2  1  4    7  11  −4    7
8 New Saria                                     7   0  0  7    0  13 −13    0

Ironically, while the Vilita & Turori Men's Team were narrowly beaten out by the Teremaran Unified Team in the Group C standings, the Vilita & Turori Women's team would be drawn up against the Teremaran Unified Team in their Round of 32 matchup after finishing similarly in the third position of their group due to a tiebreaker. At the top of the Women's team's group was the APOC Coalition who had held Vilita & Turori to a 3-3 draw earlier in the competition. Ironically again, it would be Vilita & Turori's Men's side who would be drawn against the APOC Coalition in the Men's Football Round of 32 bracket. Naturally, the Vilita & Turori coaching staffs quickly synched up to see if there was anything they could compare in their notes that would aid each other in their first knockout round matches.

It would be the Women's side who would take the pitch first against the Teremaran Unified Team and a strong defensive performance would see them through in a 1-0 victory. Clearly the Women's side had a Turorian influence in a classic Karelan victory and anyone who was hoping to see more goalscoring in the Round of 16 would likely be left disappointed as the Vilita & Turori squad was drawn against a Sargossa side who played 120 scoreless minutes in the Round of 32 before advancing at the expense of Cassadaigua on Penalty Kicks.

While it wasn't the highest scoring match of the round, it was one of the more interesting fixtures as Vilita & Turori's Men's Olympic Football Team progressed through wit ha 3-2 triumph over the APOC Coalition.

While the Women will be up first in their Round of 16 matchup against the Rushmori side Sargossa, the anticipation for the high-profile Men's matchup between the host nation Free Republics and the reigning World Cup Champion and Semi-Finalist nations Vilita & Turori at the Gem of the Oceans Stadium is as high as any football match has been thus far in the games.

Vilita & Turori [3] - [2] APOC Coalition

:: Vilita & Turori Goalscorers :: :: 35' Nii'arala Milaaso :: 50' Mbdiai Akarenaa :: 86' Jirak Trikala

:: Vilita & Turori Statistics :: :: Possession: 59% :: Shots on Target: 6 :: Corner Kicks: 13

:: APOC Coalition Statistics :: :: Possession: 41% :: Shots on Target: 5 :: Corner Kicks: 7

---

Vilitan Union Men's Olympic Football v. APOC Coalition ::
[GK] Hanauma Ranbomahi, [D.] Lohani Riiyaaw, [D.] Biliki Rona'atu'i, [D.] Jirak Trikala, [ML] Intikko Kuhilana, [MC] Limu Katarakhna, [MC] Daliora Toru'u, [MC] Kudii Davasarii, [MR] Mbdiai Akarenaa, [FC] Nua'oma Aikiki, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso
BENCH::
[FC] Kala'a Yuliizala, [FC] Enzoril Alabonni, [M] Kiidallen Aeroluzzi, [M] Serabi Chamya, [U ] Wiztsana Iretziia, [D] Moumouni Verre'elali, [GK] Vernasa Sanamun

---

Elsewhere in the first knockout stage, defending Olympic Silver medalist Cocoabo Forest was eliminated by Cosumar in a 2-1 result. It was perhaps a matchup better suited for the medal rounds but in the end it was Cosumar and their blue vloo-doo gang taking down the Cocoabo who had a near perfect record during the Group Stage. In fact, both of the nations that contested the Gold Medal Match in Kelssek and Vekaiyu had now been eliminated following the Cocoabo Forests defeat at the hands of Cosumar and the Teremaran Unified Team's 1-0 victory over reigning Gold Medal winners Darmen leaving the Men's Football Field wide open. The bottom of the bracket seems most likely to produce a Gold Medal winner with only one of the Free Republics, Vilita & Turori, Electrum and Vangaziland able to advance to the Semi Final round while the remainder of the Brackets likely see the Teremaran Unified Team, Beepee and Cosumar as favored to also advance to the Last 4.

The Women's side of the Bracket may hold the more interesting potential Quarter Final matchups depending on the results of the Round of 16. Of course, any match involving the host nation will be of interest to the locals and the Free Republics will take on Kernovi and Rewglas for the chance to give their fans that opportunity. In each of the other three brackets there is a clear and obvious storyline for at least one potential pairing of Round of 16 winners. Of course, if Vilita & Turori can take care of business against Sargossa then they will play the winner of Vangaziland or Main Nation Ministry in a match that would have a distinctive Motorsports flair too it. In the next pod, Kelssek will take on Siovanija and Teusland while Vekaiyu will look to take down Kriegiersien and if both do their jobs it will be a Kelssek v. Vekaiyu Quarter Final matchup bringing back memoreis of the most recently concluded Olympic Games. Finally the Cocoabo Forest women will be favored against Sirian and if they do win that match they could face South Covello if the SoCo's can take care of business against the over-polished Flammable Gas of Ethane. There are rumors that officals are working behind the scenes to negotiate for a possible Cocoabo Forest v. South Covello matchup to take place at the CoCoCo Stadium in New City, Orlandiana, home of the World Cup 81 Final and sponsored by the South Covellan and Cocoabo Forest influenced CoCoCo Conglomorate.

[Beepee]

Beepee Olympic Media Broadcast 

Beepee (BPE) 2–1 Équipe nationale du Québec (ENQ)

Beepee's soccer team edged ÉN du Québec in a tight affair to head into the round of 16 against Kriegiersien. Exceeding expectations, Beepee's double goal scorer Tony Wolf delighted the crowd with an impassioned rendition of Beepee's national anthem, on glorious Beepee, following the win.


In Baseball, Beepee cruised over Illahee and now face Taeshan (TAE) in the quarterfinals. All eyes will be on the team who will be looking to cause a major upset.

However it was a sad day for the volleyball team, heading home after a 3-0 defeat to finish bottom of the group.

[Free Republics]

Day 17 Cutoff

[APOC Coalition]

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Olympic Opinions
with Graham O'Doherty and Aisling Keane

FROM REPUBLICA, THE FREE REPUBLICS - Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello! Gay Graham and my cousin Aisling back for this edition of the Olympic Opinions! Now you might notice that there seems to be an awful lack of David, Dara, Denis, and Ibrahim (oh, darn, there goes the alliteration!) in the author's tab, and there's a reasonable explanation for that. They don't have any games to report or give their opinions on so there's that. Just you, me, and Cousin Aisling here in the Olympic Opinions, and we don't have a lot to talk about so let's get on with it.

Women's Football Round of 32: APOC Coalition vs. Benjamin Mark

     APOC COALITION 5 - 2 BENJAMIN MARK
McGINNIS (20', 73')       (39')
        LINER (45')       ELZA (90+3' og)
 HARALAMPIEVA (67')
    GEVORGIAN (89')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
APOC Coalition: 55%
Benjamin Mark: 45%
Shots
APOC Coalition: 23 (12 on target)
Benjamin Mark: 15 (7 on target)
Corners
APOC Coalition: 13
Benjamin Mark: 6
Fouls
APOC Coalition: 25
Benjamin Mark: 9

And so it begins. The real test of our strength and mettle. Yes, I'm talking about the knockout stages of the Olympic team events! And there's probably nothing as important as football in the Olympics. Men's football, women's football, it's all happening now. And our first stop is the women's football round of 32. As the title says, 32 teams compete against each other for a chance to be included in the final 16. The APOC Coalition has been drawn against the nation of Benjamin Mark, a right good nation name if I ever saw one. Probably some dude named Benjamin Mark led the country to independence and they decided to name their entire country after him for... reasons.

Anyway, it looks like Kelly McGinnis is finally growing to like the taste of the big game. I don't mean to say that she hasn't liked it before; it's just that more and more, Kelly is finally scoring in the games when she needs to score. I mean, she scored twice in the final of the Under-18 World Cup when it was held in Abanhfleft, but we still ended up losing 5-2. Imagine the odds of that. But this time, this time for sure, Kelly is finally putting on her shooting boots when her nation calls upon her. But how about that first goal though? I've never seen anything like that since Peter Schermer. Stretching out that leg to get that toe poke touch on the long ball... I never knew Kelly had that in her, but now I do know. And I am the wiser for that.

However, if we're being honest, I have to say that APOC absolutely dominated this contest. Five goals in one game... That's nothing to scoff at! And Tatiana Gevorgian made amends for her own goal by scoring at the right end of the pitch this time to top off this game. This game really should have finished 5-1. Shame that we still can't stop shipping own goals. Oh, well. What can you do?

Women's Handball Game Four: Cosumar vs. APOC Coalition
Well, I don't really know what to say about handball now. We've qualified, seemingly by the skin of our teeth. Really though, I shouldn't be surprised. The backbone of the Fleftic handball team are the women, the ladies, the girls. They're the ones that helped get us to the final of the 20th Handball World Cup. Hopefully they'll be able to continue on doing what they're doing. Maybe we might even sneak in a sneaky medal. I don't care if it's bronze, silver or gold, as long as it's a medal.

Men's Rugby Sevens Round of 16: Locharian Olympic Team vs. APOC Coalition

Locharian Olympic Team (12)
Try: 5' m
10' c
Con: (1/2)

APOC Coalition (38)
Try: Partridge 1' c, 4' c
Kasugna 3' c
Reid 9' c
Honele 12' c
Con: Mahout (5/5)
Pen: Mahout 14'

Boy, things are really heating up over in rugby sevens! We're in the big-time now. We know that the APOC sevens team can perform in the big time. The question now is if they can perform consistently. So far it looks like they will be able to do the stuff that they've been asked to do. But can they keep it up for a couple more matches? Now that's a question I can't really answer. I always hope that the answer is yes, but both Abanhfleft and Copper Cuprum have told me more times than not that the answer is usually no.

So as you may have noticed, Cousin Aisling and I haven't really said a lot in this particular edition of the Olympic Opinions. We've all just had a lot to think about at the moment and we are literally just pushing this out in order to declutter our minds, so to speak. But don't mind us while we're like this. XOXO from Graham, and it's not goodbye but see you later from Aisling.

[West Phoenicia]

Back during the Summer Olympics in Kelssek and Vekaiyu West Phoenician Jin Swannie was the sole member of the Taekwondo delegation to win a medal; a bronze in the Women's 49kgs.

The medal win was a highlight for Team West Phoenicia and the West Phoenician Taekwondo Federation who were not expecting to obtain a medal. The performance of Jin Swannie gave the federation hope that Taekwondo could finally blossom and step away from the shadow of karate and judo which are more popular among citizens of West Phoenicia.

Since the last games the Taekwondo profile has not boosted as much as they wanted. Jin Swannie returned to compete in Republica, and she has performed some fantastic moves to better herself from her last appearance. After a shaky start in the round of 16 where she narrowly beat out Crystal Paxman of Liventia to move forward to the quarter-finals where she dominated the match against Lee Mantis of Kriegiersien, she moved onto the semi-finals where she had another easy run against Ainslie West of Electrum. The move to the finals gave her a better finish than her previous appearance where she will take on Liviala Eglestoro of Vekaiyu for the gold medal win and added challenge is Liviala is the reigning champion in this event.
Win or lose it is a step up for Jin.

The same can not be said for Team mate Patrick Vegops of the men's 58kgs who lost in his first round. The West Phoenicians Taekwondo Federation realise he will not be the only one to fail. Out of the 8 discipline the Federation is hoping to obtain 4 medals overall.

Since the last games we have had a number of national competitions, but membership is very low. So low that there is talk from the West Phoenician Olympic Committee that if Taekwondo does not pull it's weights than the chance of them making future appearances is rare. Jin Swannie has confirmed she will not make a third appearance. The Federation is aware other athletes need to raise the bar, Harry Lei, Jeremy Low and Candy Church are the three that are most likely to pull a medal or rank higher. All eyes will be on them to see if they have the skill and stamina to make it through.

West Phoenician Olympic Committee has advised they do not mind spending lavishly on their athletes while away at the Olympics with good hotels, 24hr support staff, rented venues for entertainment and the best food, but it would not carry dead weight.

The West Phoenician Taekwondo Federation said it would wait until all athletes have completed before it would decide what to do, as it will come down to how many can cross the line with either a quarter-fin finish or higher, with emphasis on higher.

Options available to them would be to either poach players from other nations, inject funding into increased national competitions and see if current athletes and up and coming athletes can go the extra mile from national sport stars to international champions or pull Taekwondo from the West Phoenician Olympic delegation.

[Amuaplye]

February 8, 2019

Car bombing kills 9, wounds 22 at Parliament summit. Bomber identified.


Parliament, approximately 5 minutes after the explosion.

At least 9 are dead, and 22 have been wounded, 5 of them in critical condition, after a car bomb went off at the Olympiad Bomber summit at Parliament.

The incident started at 6:55 AM, about 10 minutes before the summit, when a white 2016 Toyota Hilux, registration KFT AJ2, parked right next to the building.

The bomb detonated at 7:05 sharp, causing a massive explosion that severely damaged the facade of the building, and immediately killed 7 people.

None of our journalists were killed, but one, Mercedes Graham, aged 55, suffered minor injuries and was released from the hospital earlier today.

We can't say the same for our allies, as 2 of ATV's journalists were killed, and another was wounded and 1 from Hansard was killed, and 2 more were wounded.

The bomber has been identified as Perth native Leonard Perry, an Amuaplyean speed skater who competed at the 12th Winter Olympics in Prescott, via security camera footage and facial recognition software. His location is unknown.

Here are the people known to have died in the attack:
Journalist for ATV Andrea Stokes, 21
Journalist for Hansard Caesar Phillips, 61
Journalist for ATV Angelo Zimmerman, 49
Journalist for PCGAN Benjamin Day, 25
Attorney General and MP for Te Tai Hauāuru Horace Ford, 44 (SPA)
Minister of Labor Clarence Hill, 25 (SPA)
Security Guard Archie Harper, 38
Security Guard Maurice Baker, 21
Proposer Jaime Lewis, 75 (SPA)

And these are the people who have been wounded:
MP for Rimutaka Marlene Ramirez, 29 (SPA)
MP for Flinders Manuel Adkins, 80 (SPA)
Mr. Neal Pearson, 39
Proposer Ellis Martinez, 67 (FF)
Mr. Arturo Davidson, 37
Mr. Terrell Watkins, 75
Mr. Jeffery Jenkins, 78
Ms. Freda Alvarez, 13
Mr. Bill Armstrong, 55
Ms. Glenda Bradley, 8
Minister of Communications and Proposer Alison May, 54 (SPA)
Journalist for The Observer Mercedes Graham, 55
Journalist for Hansard Benjamin "Benny" Joseph, 64
Journalist for PCGAN Erik Herrera, 44
Journalist for Hansard Danny Peters, 60
Journalist for ATV Nancy Dixon, 36
Journalist for Parliament Magazine Clinton Copeland, 59
Ms. Amy Weaver, 81
Mr. Freddie Tucker, 60
Mr. Jaime Mendoza, 67
Former MP for Corangimite Claire Elliot, 42 (ACP)

[Greater vakolicci haven]

Anonymous ravings in the times of Iros!
Morons on the internet saying moronic things, brought to you in paper form

The following post was retrieved from an anonymous blogging website 2 days ago. It is not the opinion of the Times of Iros.

As our world continues in the 21st century, known by many academics to be the century of doom, it is only right that pain and suffering be dooms heralds. The doom we all hope for is coming, my friends, raise up your arms and greet it!
My eyes have seen the glorious scenes from Amuaplye, and I smile in from my joy for the noble actions of the Amuaplye bomber, it is only tempered by my regret that I myself was not doomed by him...or even better, did not doom others this day. However, I am recovering my strength following the removal of some of my liver by my own hands; a most glorious feeding has a man ever had?
But anyway, I look upon the Olympics, with stories of death and terrorism constantly, and I hope and pray that they continue. If somebody could bomb the closing ceremony, one of the greatest days in our worlds history would occur. Over 100000 people, destroyed in a few short minutes; gone to the better place. We can only hope that perhaps this 'amuaplye bomber,' the hero he is, will travel to Republica and not be stopped by the enemys of the doom.

For now though, I leave you with the obvious advice. If you go on a plane, it is your duty to fly it into a large tall building. If you have a child, it is your duty to plant a bomb at parents evenings: dooming your child is the greatest possible act of parental love. Guns are to be used; fires are to be lit. The doom is coming: you have the duty to be part of it.

((OOC explanation: The church of the glorious doom is a cult religion believing that death, particularly violent death, is the only thing worth aiming for. Their members kill for the sake of killing, generally starting with their own family. 'Feeding' means to torture yourself until the point of near-death, in order to 'touch the doom' and drink its energy.))

[Cassadaigua]

Turner Wins Gold, And Savors It,
by Hannah Marshall, Olympic Correspondent

Just when you think you have heard enough of the whole charade with Bunny St. Claire and Meghan Turner, Meghan turned it up yet another notch today at the 17th day of the Olympics. After defeating Lilo Pelekai for the gold medal in the women’s shortboard, Turner collected her medal on the podium and prepared to listen to the Cassadagan Olympic anthem. However, just before the anthems began to play, she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a set of bunny ears, and put them on her head. Most observers cracked up in laughter, as they obviously knew what that meant. She would leave them on for the playing of the national anthem. About it, Meghan said, “Bunny couldn’t be here at the podium today, and I don’t know if she is running around somewhere. Is she behind me?” Turner winked at the camera, looked behind her just in fun, and continued, “Ok, good, I think we’re all safe. So yes, I am extremely honored to win this medal, and this shows that we are here to not only to compete, but to have fun in doing so.” This gold medal puts an exclamation point on what was anything but just another event here in Republica.

The gold medal that Meghan Turner was one of our twenty that we have earned as a nation here in the Free Republics, bringing our overall total to 75. We are second in overall medals, though third officially on the leaderboard due to having fewer goals then West Phoenicia. Things are winding down now, and with tomorrow’s events, we will officially begin the final week of the games. Tomorrow we will see quite a bit of athletics, but four medals will also be awarded in gymnastics, and that will be the featured series of events on the main networks in Cassadaigua that are showing the games.

Gymnastics fans had something to celebrate today as well when Lexi Dupree won a gold in the women’s trampoline. Kelsey Hickey also ended up being a finalist in this event, but did not pick up a medal. Dupree, the 18-year old out of New Lakeland, says she was motivated by her 16-year old sister, Allyson, who has autism and could not make it out to Republica to see her. “I told Ally when I left for the Free Republics that I was going to lay it all on the line just for her. I wanted to promise a medal, but could not go that far, because I knew I would have to compete against Kelsey (Hickey) and then the other good Olympians from the other nations, but I could promise that I would give it everything I had. I trained hard. Kelsey and I have been here for weeks, and while we have made time for enjoying ourselves, we also have been helping each other out, practicing together, and giving each other hints and general advice.” Hickey was the first one to congratulate Dupree on winning the gold, and credited the Cassadagan Gymnastics Organization on bringing out the best in all of us. Each of Dupree and Hickey plan to stay in Republica until the closing ceremony.

Congratulations to Jason Therrian, who proved that we also can play video games quite well, too. Jason defeated Kyle Dancer, of West Phoenicia in the “gold medal” match of the Men’s Fighting Final in E-Sports. As mentioned in a previous article, this will allow Therrian to take part in the ceremony at Concord Heights Stadium before Game 1 of the Championship series of the World Baseball Classic. The Cassadagan Olympic Committee will present all demonstration event medalists with an equivalent medal of their actual result in such a ceremony. That is something that motivated Therrian quite a bit, “I can’t believe I will even be able to go to Concord Heights Stadium, let alone be awarded in a ceremony like that. It is such an honor what they will be doing and to be out there with other athletes in sports that get a lot more attention and require true athletic ability. To be recognized with them, and to get a special god medal that they are awarding really makes me feel appreciated.” There will be other e-sports members at that ceremony, as the women’s first person shooter team is guaranteed at least a second place finish in Republica, which will get them at least a silver in Concord Heights.

Congratulations also to Kevin Shyres, winning a bronze in the 40 km Points Race of cycling. The medals that are cyclists are picking up is one of the biggest surprises of the tournament. We touched often on Brianna McCall’s success and plans, but it turns out that we have more talent then just her. This should work wonders in creating competitive cycling races in Cassadaigua. Zoey McConnell and Andrea Nesbitt earned a gold in canoeing, another event that we have typically been shut out on. However, those two were strong right from the start.

For more results, please go to our website.

[Ioudaia]

Runcast

This is Runcast, and I'm your host, Gabi Charis. This is Edition 9.30 of my video podcast, for Day 17 of the XIII Olympiad. It's been another disappointing day for Ioudaia's olympic runners. Let's start with the steeplechase, where Polymedes ben Shachal had such a good qualifier. He finished 11th in the final, and even Nitzan Tros, who was back to his trademark Ioudaian Gazelle form couldn't break into the medals, finishing 5th.

What happened to Polymedes's race is easy to diagnose: just as he's starting to make his move on Lap Six, he lands badly after crossing the second obstacle, and goes down. A three competing runners nearly step on him, but he managed to get clear of them.

Polymedes gets up and returns to his plan, but making up the eight seconds it took him to get back to speed is hard, especially because it completely broke his stride, something he never has to worry about during the race. He gets back some of that time, peaking as high has 8th place, but he's off his game, and has to settle for 11th as other runners make their moves.

The funny thing about Polymedes falling is that I can't figure out why. Here's the obstacle where he fell and the two before it, and his form looks identical. I've been running the official super slo-mo back and forth trying to see what went wrong, and I just can't see it. I shot him a text, and he said he was doing the same thing with his coach, and neither of them can see what happened either. That's a new biggest mystery for this olympics.

Ioudaia's other steeplechaser, Nitzan Tros, was back the way he usually runs, and the middle of this race is just a thing of beauty. This video picks up just as he starts the Lap 4 turn, and oh, wow! does he a leap over the water barrier! Look at that, just one shoe in the water, and then back up onto the track. And that gives him just this smooth as glass Lap 5. Watch him just sail over the barriers! And again, coming up onto the Lap 5 turn, he's right where he wants to be, and his feet go down in exactly the right places to give him another clean leap over the water hazard. Once again, just one foot wet!

For part of Lap 6, Nitzan was in medal territory, in third by about .1. But he couldn't hold it. That's what usually happens to him: without a game-plan for the finish, he gets overtaken.
I really wish I could combine Nitzan's pure athletic grace with Polymedes' strategy and produce the perfect steeplechaser. Hopefully, when they review all the video from this olympics, they and their coaches will figure out how to do that, and Ioudaia will have a pair of world-class runners for the next Olympiad.

I want to look at the decathlon 100m next. We had three hopefuls in the race, Periandros ben Tzadik, Cleobulus Saraf, and Kreon ben Morag. None of them are especially good at the sprint, and only Kreon broke the top twenty finishing times. Cleobulus finished in 32nd, but he has such a great start, I want to watch it over and over. Watch how he gets off the blocks! It's almost at the same time as the starting gun! For the first 10m of his race, he's a cheetah! But he's got the same problem: no endurance, and he fades pretty quickly.

If there's a silver lining to the decathlon 100, it's that even Cleobulus got 85% of the leader's score.

The day's only bright spot was in the 5k heats, where Aviv ben Stesagoras and Palaemon Dovav made the finals. Aviv ran a strong race, but he was still 8th overall. The olympics' experience tells me I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I wish him and Palaemon luck. They'll be competing again in six days, and until then,

Keep on runnin'!


Suite 1202, Republica Grand Hotel
Ioudaian Olympic “Village”, Republica

Sophia Laskaridou stood in the hallway just outside the interview room, checking her interview notes on her phone. This time, Champion staffers had laid the groundwork for her, and both of the ben Tzadik boys had been prepped: there wouldn't be any outbursts or other troublesome behavior. This was a sportscast, not a damned reality show! She nodded to her camerawoman and sound guy, and the three of them went in and got set up. Periandros and Elatos Boaz were already there, sitting in chairs and playing with their phones while waiting.

They got the signal. ““I'm Sophia Laskaridou with Champion Network, and I'm here with Periandros and Elatos Boaz ben Tzadik. Tomorrow's the first day you're both competing. What do you think of tomorrow's competitions?”

Elatos practically leapt to reply. “I'm excited to finally be getting into the game. I've just been sitting around for almost three weeks watching my brother and cousin compete. I want to show the world what I can do, too!” There was a long silence before he remembered the question. “I'm going to place in the top six in tomorrow's quals. Guarantee it!”

Sophia turned to Periandros. “And you?”

He gave a wry expression, trying and failing to smile. “The high jump is one of my strongest events, but... well, you know.

“I was surprised that I came in third in the shot put today. That's a real shocker; I've never done that well before. I hope that signals the end of my slump.”

Sophia waited expectantly for a longer answer, but not getting one, moved on to her next question. “So, do you guys wish you could go head to head in the olympics? There's a javelin throw in the decathlon, after all.

With a laugh and a big grin, Elatos mimed throwing a javelin and then looking off into the distance. “It would be a blowout. I got into javelin because Periandros sucks at it!”

“Really?” She looked to his brother.

“Oh, yeah! I'll be lucky to make the top twenty in the javelin throw. Boaz throws way better than I do. He's got a great form!”

“Yeah, take a look at me in the nationals. I set a new record!”

Champion's crew was ready for that, and cut to the video smoothly, with their original announcer narrating: 'Wow, just look at that throw! It's going to be close... Yes! A new record! 87.18m!

'And let's look at the replay. Look at the way his motion follows from his hip turn to his shoulder to his fingertips! That's the way to do it!'

As the video cut back to the live feed, Sophia followed up with, “So what do you think of your competitors in the javelin throw?”

Elatos leaned forward, his expression becoming all business. “Some of them look pretty strong. Some have olympic experience, so they're used to the high-level competition. I think they're going to be... worthy competitors. It'll be fun to beat them!” At that last part, his grin returned.

“Guys, any final thoughts on the rest of the olympic games?”

Periandros spoke up first this time. “I'd like to undo my earlier results. If I can.”

His brother cut it with, “You'll do better than that! And I'll help!”

Sophia ended the interview, relieved that it went as planned.

[West Phoenicia]

“I told you I don't know!” Glaphyra voiced raised with stress and irritation.

Special Agent Franco Genoa had returned to the hospital with the list of all the West Phoenician Olympic delegation. “Please look again, it's very important we identify anyone else who may be a target or a suspect.”

“I have looked over the list twice already, I'm going cross eyed looking over the list. Aside from Amos and Micah True-Path, there is no one else that I recognise.”

“Please check just one more time, there may be a name you missed. This is a life and death situation.”

Glaphyra made a show of rolling her eyes, a look that Franco wished he could slap off her face. She was acting as if he asked her to look over the best and worst dressed in West Phoenicia as opposed to sort of possible victims and a possible suspect.

Agent Genoa, you asked me to fetch you when the True-Path boy woke. He has woken up. His very weak but he is asking to speak with a police officer,” a pretty brunette haired nurse said popping into the room.

“Can I see Micah too?” Glaphyra asked quickly.

“Not at the moment, his still not in the best shape,” the nurse said shaking her head.

“You focus on going over that list, I'm going to see if Micah is able to talk about what happened.


Special Agent Franco Genoa lightly knocked on the door of Micah True-Path’s door before walking in. Micah’s brother was by his brothers bedside pouring him a glass of water. “What do you want?” Amos demanded.

“I'm here to see if your brother is up to answering any questions,” Franco flashed Amos his credentials.

“Do you have to do it now? He has just woken up, he has been through a horrible ordeal. If I can the son of a bitch, I will kill him!”

“It does have to be now, the more information I get, the better I can deal with finding the person responsible. Which will be dealt with by the police,not West Phoenician mob justice.”

“You better make sure you catch them first than,” Amos spat locking eyed with the agent.

“South,” Micah breathed.

“What?” Both the agent and Amos said simultaneously.

“South, it was so hot and steamy but I saw.”

“South what?” Amos said clutching his brothers hand, “Tell us more bro, who did this to you?”

“I saw him, didn't recognise him at first, but I remember. I remembered him before I must have passed out. I'm sorry, I hope it's not too late to say that.”

‘“Sorry for what? Bro, you ain't making any sense.”

“It was just a little bit of fun, I'm sorry,” Micah's’ eyes stayed open for a moment before they closed again.

“Micah, Micah,” Amos cried out.

“His weak, give him time,” the nurse monitoring his vitals said “He is extremely lucky to be alive. He just needs more time to get well.”

“Time we don't really have,” Franco said. He turned sharply around to Amos.

“Any idea what he meant, South?”

“Not at all.”

“If you are withholding information, it can affect this case.”

“I told you, I don't know.”Amos replied gruffily.

“Glaphyra seems to not know as well.”

“What has she got to do with it.”

Agent Genoa ran Amos through a quick update.

“So people are being targeted who went to the same school. That sounds ridiculous.”

“All the dots are connecting. Do you have any information, you did goto the same school as your brother didn't you?”

“No, I am two years older. I didn't attend the same school. I got into some trouble as a young teen and I was sent to Blackfoot Territory Military High School. Micah was usually the good brother, sure he made some mistakes...But as his older brother I looked out for him, ” Amos gently bit his lower lip. “If you excuse me, I have to goto the bathroom. Amos said exiting the room.

“Please call me at this number when he wakes,” Franco said passing the nurse his business card.
Franco stood in the doorway and looked at Micah. The boy had been trying to tell him something, but Franco was missing part of the puzzle to fully understand. He stepped out and that is when he heard a female scream a few rooms down.

Franco paused for a moment, he then realised the screams were coming from Glaphyra’s room.

“I don't know anything,” Glaphyra screamed.

Franco bolted into the room, two nurses trailing behind him Amos True-Path had Glaphyra pinned up against a wall. His face was full of anger.

“My brother is lying in the next room, he nearly died. Others are dead and that special agent said you are all connected. Tell me, or your head is going through this wall. Who is what is South?”

“I don't know anything,” Glaphyra replied recouping as Amos barked at her.

“Something happened in high school, don't deny it.”

“I didn't do anything, maybe your brother did…”

Amos raised his hand to slap her, but Franco jumped in “Stop, don't make me arrest you for assault.”

“She knows something!”

“I don't, get this nut job away from me,” Glaphyra demanded.

“This is not the way to go about it. Leave her alone. Come on Amos. Let's go to the hospital cafeteria and talk,” Franco said smoothly, “Come on”

Amos finally relented and started to shuffle out of the room, it had been a tense few minutes.

“I'm going down to the cafeteria to cool him down. Think long and hard Miss Cappadocia if the word South means anything to you.” He raised his hand to stop her from talking, “Think hard, it may be something or someone. Think about it before you jump to the words, ‘I don't know.’ “

[Kalosia]

As he pulled out onto the street from his driveway, Mikel turned on the radio. Being a college student who was fortunate enough to live near campus, he was always busy, swamped up with projects. He didn't have time to put down his own tunes, so he would listen to whatever was being played on the radio.

Val! Korël kol ventu...*

It was the song Val! (Go!) by Max Calder.

Max Calder, real name Massimu Kalderon, is a Kalosian singer who rose to fame as an internet star in 2017 through his covers. He became popular enough that he was selected by Radiu-Televižio Kalosia to represent the nation at the 61st WorldVision Song Contest in Hwoarang, Togonistan, with the song "On My Way". He finished 7th out of 23 with 79 points.
Later in 2018, he was asked to be the voice behind the official song of the Kalosian contingent to the Games of the XIII Olympiad. The song, released in December, was called Val! (in English, Go!). In this high-energy track, Calder encourages these athletes to go and "run with the wind," while the music video features many Kalosian athletes in cinematic renditions of their everyday training.

Although he has not and has no intentions to visit Republica, he performed the song at the Olympics Special Concert, a televised live event where Kalosian singers and entertainers performed in front of an audience consisting of the country's Olympic delegation. It was meant to be a manifestation of the good luck wishes and final goodbyes of Kalosians towards the athletes who were due to leave for Republica. Another Kalosian singer known as the Queen of Kalosian Song also performed at the event.

As long as the Olympics are going, the song will continue to play on the Kalosian airwaves.

*First line of the chorus, which translates to English as, "Go! Run with the wind."

Mikel had enjoyed the song initially, and added it to his workout track. He thought it was good for running.

But as time passed, he slowly started to forget about the song. Well, if it wasn't played all the time on the radio.

But that will pass. And honestly, Mikel doesn't hate it either. But he has more important things to stress about, like that quiz he'll have to face once he arrives on campus. Hearing a song one more time isn't really much of a priority when you have 10% of your grade at stake, isn't it now?

[Todd McCloud]

Sports Vekaiyu Would Love to See Included in the Olympiad
Reporting for V3 News Services, Rin Slakori

REPUBLICA - Of course, with the charter one must continuously abide by, the addition or removal of certain sports as official medal-earning sports remains somewhat of an arduous process. To put it frankly, various ulterior bodies are responsible for fine-tuning the event list for each Olympiad or Winter Olympics and, thought it remains rather rigid, it is hard to argue against consistency, especially in an ever-changing world such as our own. Participating nations come and go, and their fervor, culture, and memorable yet quirky athletes could be gone in a proverbial blink of an eye - here at the Thirteenth Olympiad, gone the next one, and so on. Therefore, it would border on the absurd to give significant power to, say, hosting nations to provide a list of events that they will consider as official events. It would be too messy, and ultimately introduce a sport or sports that aren't very popular across the 'verse. And while there are several sports in which Vekaiyu underperforms either due to lacking skill or lacking any historical background, the same could be said for other nations out there with respect to other sports. It's just a consequence of entering a multisport international event and, candidly, we can agree that certain events favor nations, species, and so on.

That being said, let's imagine Vekaiyu (along with Kelssek) was provided a "blank sheet" of sports to add in as official Olympic events. Yes, such a process cannot happen, but for the sake of this scenario, we assume that the host nations have been given significant power, for better or worse, and are able to add but not remove events. A straw poll was taken at V3 News Services, and we came up with our top five events.

Underwater Hockey
Dominating our list is, of course, underwater hockey. However, expect Vekaiyu to be a bit persnickety with the rules, as there are variations between national rules versus those of international competition. Instead of six players in the pool at one given time, Vekaiyu stretches this number out to eight, with up to twenty players placed on a given team. The sheer girth of subs ensures the game remains at an up-tempo pace, which places a strong reliance on mids and omni-subs. Consequently, games are played in three twenty-minute periods rather than two fifteen-minute halves, which turns the game from a short bout of competition to an actual match. Vekaiyun rules tend to be more lenient on penalties such as shepherding, but keeps a keen eye to safety insofar as issuing penalties for any given moment when a stick is not level-or-below the player's head to prevent injury. All things considered, with the men's team capturing gold for the second straight time and the women's team seemingly poised to repeat as well, expect Vekaiyu to place this sport at the top of its list, though with the possible added caveat to include more play in aquatic arenas in order to better view the competition.

Underwater Rugby
Underwater rugby is played in the same spirit as underwater hockey, both in amount of players, length of games, equipment, and arenas. However, this sport does not involve a stick and a puck, but instead a ball and, therefore, it is much more physical. Moreso than underwater hockey, in which choosy coaches will carefully balance out their attack with players that have complimenting skillsets or perhaps even body types, here finesse versus power is even more important. However, the physical nature of the sport could be a detriment for international competition. In a world where certain species are limited by their brawn, Vekaiyu would need a stronger reliance on human players, good human players that can score in addition to defend. While Ankyela Strayaso did break the human barrier five years ago in woman's underwater rugby, Vekaiyu would almost certainly experience growing pains as coaching styles would have to adjust for greater physicality.

Finswimming
Considering the vulpine foot is slender and not as effective of a paddle as, say, a wider human foot, adding finswimming to the Olympic arsenal would almost certainly be an unfair proposition. Still popular in Vekaiyu, especially in communities that lack a pool large enough to host competitive aquatic events, finswimming is more or less our version of swimming on steroids. One may assume that the inclusion of fins makes the swimming easier and therefore they would be used in more novice competitions. However, the dynamics are rather different, as the propulsion is quite different, so, therefore, it would be improper to say one style is easier than the other, but it has been demonstrated time and time again that these events tend to produce much faster times. In short, what was once a slight disadvantage becomes a strong advantage, and it really pushes the limits to the capabilities of the vulpine body in water. We'd love, just once, to see the best of the best square off - human and vulpine, or perhaps ursine, robot, you name it - just to see what the results would be with all other variables removed from the equation.

Snow-Golem Building
In certain Codexian circles, one could equate this to "snowman building", but it is difficult to say which tradition originated first, or if they are truly related at all. In mostly Listonian settlements, Snow Golems are tall yet stocky "creatures" constructed of snow that are designed to "ward-off" the evils of a frigid winter. Certain verses may or may not be etched into the belly or written on paper and shoved in the stomach as a sort of command. One could imagine that a culture so rooted in farming like the Listonian way of life would find use for these golems, but they take it a bit to the extreme - some golems have been about as large as a house. They almost always face the wind and almost always have grotesque yet stoic faces carved into their heads - grotesque to scare away lesser dark spirits, and stoic because they are always reminded of their eventual fate - to become a source of water for the plants of the family homestead. Indeed, per the Listonian legends, properly-built golems will provided the land with a springtime boost that will carry prosperity well into the final harvest moon. Some communities will host separate golem-building competitions where they will build them in rows and topple them over to see which one took the most stones to move per a lever-and-fulcrum system. It is this toppling method that would assist in scoring for the event, along with an artistic portion to showcase the golem characteristics. It isn't enough to make just one big pile of snow, of course.

Barley Harvesting
This sport is rather popular in both Vekaiyu and Listonia, especially since the grain grows aplenty in both lands. Barley harvesting is not a sport to be taken lightly, as the competitive spirit remains a small sample of how well one is able to provide for their family. Contestants begin with a scythe in hand and line up at the edge of a designated field (in most communities, this field typically belongs to the oldest working farmer). "Players" are then given thirty minutes to harvest all the stalks they can swipe at. They must then bundle up the barley and wait while the bundles turn to dried "stooks". After the stalks have dried, the real fun begins, as approximately three weeks later the same players are brought back. These players, now armed with a bat, place the recovered stalks in large bed sheets and have two hours to beat as much grain they can recover from their bundles. There is a particular method that seems to work best when it comes to barley grain harvesting, as a shallow angle tends to better separate the grain from the chaff. At the end of the two hours, the grain is weighed and penalties for uncleaned grain are dished out. The winner is then declared and all recovered grain are rendered back to the field owner. It's a mix of efficiency, hard labor, and charity that really brings out the best in the Vekaiyun spirit.

Events that stem from unique cultures such as ours only seek to enrich the international competition, just as we have been enriched by these once-foreign events such as fencing and canoeing. Despite this, these five events will likely remain as demonstration events at best. But that shouldn't be a cause for disappointment - in the case of underwater hockey, for instance, Vekaiyu has given the world a new take on a strange sport. There surely must be other strange sports out there, ready for the international stage.

[Diarcesia]

"Congratulations, Stana," Taliesyn Vavarys greeted her as she entered the barroom. The latest local sports news in the Free Republics is blaring from the mounted TV.

"Hey Tal, drowning in your sorrows again?"

"Damn it, damn it," Taliesyn answered slowly. "If I hadn't slipped, we would have a medal like yours." He gave her a joking smile.

"You did good though, mind if I sit beside you?"

"Be my guest."

Stana moved to take the empty stool to the right of Taliesyn. "A glass of your house special, please," she told the barkeep.

"I imagine the waters of Arcesius is a prime place for someone of your abilities."

"My brother and I took to canoeing trips back then. That's how I got sucked in to the sport. It gives me a measure of peace. Not today though!"

"How so?" Tal inquired.

"You serious, Tal? It's an Olympic medal round, for crying out loud. So much for your sharp mind. It takes a lot of effort not to buckle under the weight of anticipation and pressure!"

"To be fair, I haven't felt like that for a long time. I'm already an accomplished fencer even before you were born."

"Go on," she laughed, "regale me with tales of your longevity."

"Here's one: I've never been to Arcesius."

"Liar."

"You would have thought I would have toured the entire country several times over with my fencing stint. Most of my local competitions were in the north and the rest were international. Arcesius has fencing competitions too, but by some twist of fate I'm either too busy or all the slots are filled. End of tale."

"If you say so..." Stana teased. "Although you should drop by there sometime in the future. It's a far cry from the north's heat."

"I appreciate that. And oh, here's your drink. Bartender took her sweet time."

[Anollasia]

Mehmet Demirel and Sara Kozan won another match together. Mehmet covered the right side and Sara covered the left side, and they did their best to keep the ball from bouncing more than once on their side of the court. Their best was good enough to defeat the opponent, but there were no hard feelings. Each player shook each other's hands and went off to the changeroom.

But they weren't the only Anollasians on the court. There was also Kerem Yusufeli and Lauren Huntingdon, competing in mixed doubles as well. They, too, had won their match today. A few hours after the matches, many of the Anollasian tennis players met up for a casual get-together.

"Hey, Mehmet, how's it going, my man?" Kerem said as he walked up to him to greet him. The two were good friends ever since the two played against each other for the first time in 2012. Kerem was really excited that he was played against the great Mehmet Demirel, and he often claimed that's why he lost the match. When Mehmet went up to shake his hand after the match, Kerem started a chat with him, as he was a huge fan. After that he became a friend instead of a fan, seeing Mehmet as more of a person and less of a tennis legend. Still, he rarely won in matches against him. This wasn't a knock against Kerem's tennis skills though, he was often in the top 3 but he just couldn't top Mehmet's skills most of the time. There was one time, however, that Mehmet lost to Kerem really badly. Mehmet joked to him, "I pitied you, so I let you win." The two laughed it off, but Kerem still reminds him of it sometimes.

"It's going great at the moment." Mehmet replied.

"Hey girl! How are you doing?" Lauren asked Sara with shrill enthusiasm. Lauren and Sara weren't friends before these Olympics. Not that they hated each other, they just didn't know each other that well, though they also played against each other before. Ever since the Olympics, they got to know each other much better.

"I'm great, how are you?" Sara replied with a smile.

"I'm doing well, thank you!" Lauren smiled back.

As the four tennis players had a lovely chat, Lauren's brother Nigel, who played in men's singles tennis (and pathetically got eliminated fairly quickly), showed up.

"Hi guys!" Nigel said in his annoying, nasally voice.

The previous friendly mood in the room disappeared and was replaced with the pungent smell of irritation. "Hi, Nigel." The rest of the players said in monotone voices, except Lauren, who spoke in her normal voice.

"Nice job out there, Mehmet, you aren't so bad for a self-professed tennis legend."

"Thanks, Nigel." Mehmet said, pretending to ignore his thinly veiled insult.

"You too, Sara, you're a pretty good sidekick."

Sara, visibly upset, started yammering at Nigel, "Okay, I'll have you know this is an equal team effort, it's not like only an assistan-" She was heading toward Nigel, waving her fist at him. It took an intervention from Mehmet to stop a gory mess. He pulled her back and told her, "Alright darling, calm down, it's not worth it..."

"Ooh, darling? What a bunch of lovebirds we have here!" Nigel mocked, creating a frame with his hands. Lauren buried her face in her hand and Kerem cringed at Nigel's immature behaviour.

"Hey, Mehmet! How good is she in bed?" Nigel winked and nudged his elbow into him. Sara exploded. "Let me at him!" She yelled, trying to escape Mehmet's arms tightly hugging her from behind. Lauren snapped at her brother, "Nigel!" His silly face suddenly turned dead serious as he was about receive a mouthful from his sister.

"Nigel! Why must you be like this? It's not nice at all, and not funny either. You were always a bit immature, yes, but you were a kid back then! It's time to grow up. Take a look at yourself. You're a 20 year old man, for God's sake! Have some respect!"

Nigel hung his head, not sure of what to say.

Lauren sighed. "Apologize to Sara and Mehmet for what you said so we can forget about this whole thing."

Nigel appeared as if he was starting to have feelings of guilt and shame. He opened his mouth to say something, and it might have been an apology, if it weren't for Kerem interrupting.

"I bet he's just jealous of that we've been much more successful than him. He was pathetically eliminated as soon as the men's singles began. And he was never really that good to begin with. The only reason he's here is because Lauren's really good at tennis and she's also kind-hearted. She couldn't let his brother down so she carried him all the way here like the baby he is."

Though Nigel wasn't the nicest person, those words were hurtful. And they were also uncharacteristically mean coming from Kerem, no matter how true they may be. It was also the fact that Kerem didn't tell it straight to his face but said it as if he wasn't even in the room that upset him. Nigel closed his mouth, not delivering any apology, and stormed out of the room.

Everyone felt relived that the threat was gone but also shocked by what Kerem had just said. Lauren was mad at his rude interjection, so she punched him in the arm. "Nice going, hotshot."

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Familiar Stranger: Tracking

"She's currently at the 66th floor of Broadcasting. The last time I saw her, she entered the main set of the news channel. Both of them should be up there, but something is causing the walkie-talkie to not respond." Truman explained, as he was checking monitors all over the Plaza. "We need to get up there immediately. If we can catch up with them, we could get rid of this demiurge once and for all. Any reports on anyone else?" The Leader asked Truman. "I did see Jones.." Truman said, but held back something. "And? Come on, spit it out!" The Leader demanded. "He's alive, but Steinberg must have send a squad to kill him. He's the only survivor and I did see him going upstairs in the mid-floors. Around the 30th floors was when I last saw him." "So we have to make sure our men don't get too trigger happy. We can't risk them shooting them both."

"Leader, sir! We gotten word of a Blackhawk heading towards the Catharsis Plaza helipad!" a soldier rushed in the security room, where several others were guarding the floor. "A Blackhawk? From where?" The Leader asked. "No word, sir! But it's one of our own!" "Well...I think I know who that could possibly be. Send me some troops to escort me." The Leader said. "Wait, sir! Are you actually heading up there?!" Truman said, as the Leader left. "The weather might be chaotic, but if we don't hurry we will be screwed. I'm having them take me to a helicopter to drop me and some men off at the helipad. You make sure no one dies, Truman. Or your job will be on the line." The Leader said, before heading back to the airstrip to get a helicopter ready.

Agent Dragon: Trial of Trust

Keller looked around the next room to see a large bomb with two wires on the front and a video screen in the middle of an office boardroom. "This looks armed. Is there a way to defuse it?" Keller asked the parasite. "Let me see that. That looks we need to cut one of the wires near the front of it. Looks at how they are laid out. It's a game of luck, we choose one of the colored wires and we basically hope that we don't die." the parasite explained, as Keller got her knife ready. "There are only two wires.. I'm guessing that if I cut one of them, the floor will be in flames, including us.." Keller said, examining the wires. After a moment of thinking, Keller got her knife ready. "I going with the wire on the right. You think you can try to possess me quick, a split second before it blows up?" Keller asked.

"I shouldn't be in your body to do near-death experiences. You're lucky that blunt force trauma to the head didn't kill you." the parasite said. "Alright. Here goes." Keller used her knife to cut the right wire. Then, the video screen on the bomb lit up showing a countdown of half a minute. "The fuck?!" the parasite yelled in Keller's mind as it was counting down. "How?! The bomb was armed!"
"That bitch! She knew that the bomb would be defused! We gotta get out of this floor now, Keller!"
"No! This bomb might blow up the whole building!"
"I can't guarantee you that! It's going to possibly blow up the floor, so we need to leave now!"
"I'm not leaving until this bomb gets defused!"
"The other wire could be a trap! We need to get out of here!"
"I need to cut the wire, so we don't die!" Keller argued with the parasite.

The situation was slim. The bomb was already nearing 10 seconds, but the parasite suddenly had an idea. "Hold still!" the parasite yelled, as Keller suddenly felt a wave of pain overwhelmed her body. "What are you doing?!" Keller said, as she was forced in her mind. "I'm defusing it my way!" the parasite said in Keller's voice, as the parasite took control of her body. Grabbing the bomb, the parasite with it's strength chucked the bomb straight out of the window. As a hole was formed from the throw, the bomb ticked down it's last seconds until...

BOOM!

An explosion rocked the edge of the building, which looked like it would be large enough to demolish the upper floors. Several windows shattered from the blast radius, as the parasite let Keller have control of her body again. "Well! That nearly got us killed!" the parasite said. "You were probably right about the other wire. But why do you have to give me pain when getting my brain?" Keller asked the parasite. "It's complicated. Let's just get that bitch!"
"Alright. She better not have another bomb.."
"Yeah.. I do got to admit. Being in your shoes felt actually good. Not that I'm implying it in a-"
"Don't."