14th Winter Olympic Games :: RP Thread

[Mattijana]

Gold Rush Makes Day 6 most successful in Mattijanan Olympic History: Roundup

MFO SPORT



Mattijana made history on day 6 of the 14th Winter Games as a tie for gold between Mattias Burges and Dominik Hirser inspired a medal rush that pushed the nation into the top 3 of the medals table.

As well as the skiers, there was also a gold for the luge relay team a silver for Giorgio Mazaro in the men's 10,000m speed skating and bronzes for the mixed curling team and David Velezi in the men's snowboard cross.

Elsewhere, Mattijana's men's Ice Hockey team stunned group favourites Kriegiersien 5-1 to guarantee their progress to the round of 16, a massive result for the team on their return to international competition.

10:00 (14:00 MSZ): Men's Super-G

Neverend Ferrandieu Ski Resort

The men's Super-G had always been earmarked as a big race from a Mattijanan perspective. It would be the last race of Mattias Burges' legendary career and with Dominik Hirser also in good touch following his silver medal in the super-combined, it would be a real chance for more Mattijanan Alpine Skiing success. Adding an extra layer of interest were the history books - a medal for Burges would make him the most decorated Mattijanan Olympian of all-time.

The morning sun in Neverend would make for good conditions for those lucky enough to get an early start draw, but it looked like it could soften up for those running later. With both Burges and Hirser's good form putting them in the top 20 starters, they were both in a position to lay down competitive runs for what promised to be a thrilling event.

Savojarnan Kjetil Sandström, the super-combined winner, set the early pace with a 1.25:30, an impressive time given his usual reputation as a slalom specialist, but that was quickly overhauled by West Phoenicia's Ahmose Tao and 16 year-old Dion Brock from Kriegiersien, the first to go under the one minute-25 second mark. With home favourite Dylan Fisher ending up down the order, it was time for Dominik Hirser to arrive in the starting hut for his favoured event.

As was expected, the KarlaBerg-based athlete was quick over the technical top section, going a tenth and a half up on Brock over the first section. The bottom half was more glide-focused however, causing Hirser to leak some time. With just 5 hundredths in it through the final split, it looked like Brock might just claw his lead back, but Hirser held on by only 2 hundredths of a second.

Eude Pippery also went close for Tara and Cambray, but fell away towards the end of his run, finishing 4 tenths down. With that, it was time for Burges, fresh from his downhill gold on day 2 and in search of a run that would cement his position as a true legend of his sport.

The RadesBirjken would find his speed in the opposite places to his teammate, excelling at the gliding sections and aiming just to keep it tidy through the sharper turns, yet the 35 year-old started strongly, nearly matching Hirser through the first two splits. The last stretch looked like it would come down to the wire though. Burges put his head down for the line, lifting it to see a dead heat between himself and his countryman Hirser.

Savojarnans Jussi Urvalainen and Marcus Rynneberg both failed to trouble the scoreboard, but their teammate Sergey Ruvakov would be a different threat altogether. He managed a mistake-free top section that rivalled both the Mattijanans and momentarily put him into the lead through the third split.
Both Mattijanans had skied good bottom sections though and the conditions might just come to their rescue as more skiers went down the course. Ruvakov was never able to establish himself, but could still threaten to push the Mattijanans down to silver with the times level through the final split.
With palpable tension down by the line as both Mattijanan and Savojar supporters recognised the significance of the situation, it was finally the green and yellow cluster that celebrated as Ruvakov crossed the line one hundredth of a second behind the Mattijanan duo.

Timoth Lunis went close for the Gryphonian alliance, but fell away towards the end. He was the last athlete to really get close to the podium and with the course cutting up and out the usual field of rank outsiders left, an absolute classic came to a close with the top four athletes separated by just 2 hundredths of a second.

Burges will participate in the team event towards the end of the games, but payed tribute to his team after completing his final Olympic solo race.

"I don't think I could have dreamed of a better way to end my career. It was a really crazy race and I think the fans were feeling the same tension and nervousness we were in the finishing area. To come out with the win is amazing and to share the moment with Dom, who's been with me for most of my career...I couldn't have asked for anything more."

Hirser also took the opportunity to congratulate his countryman on his career, saying he had earnt his place as a "national hero".


11:00 (13:00 MSZ), Men's Ice Hockey, Mattijana vs Kriegiersien

Quirks of time zones meant that Mattijanan fans were able to catch an hour of their men's final group match against group favourites Kriegiersien. The professional opposition were taking on Mattijana's amateurs for the first time and it was maybe that unfamiliarity that saw Mattijana make early inroads.

The Marmots took the lead after just five minutes of play when Linus Christoffersonn deflected a loose puck past the Kriegiersien goalkeeper from close range, although some loose Mattijanan defending allowed their opponents straight back into the match, one of the Kriegiersien forwards burrowing into some space and flicking past Handanovic.

From there Mattijana asserted themselves however. Christoffersonn continued his goalscoring form to restore Mattijana's lead before Marko Pirson scrambled the puck home against some limp Kriegiersien defending to put Mattijana 3-1 up at the break.

Kriegiersien had clearly had a stiff talking to at the break, but weren't able to get back into the match and Mattijana nicked a couple of goals on the counter attack at the end of the match, including one where Kriegiersien had sacrificed their goaltender for an extra outfield player.

The result sends the marmots straight through to the round of 16 rather than having to face a playoff match, a massive result for a team who have never made an Olympic knockout match before.

11:30 (3:30 MSZ), Men's Snowboard Cross

Neverend Ferrandieu Ski Resort

As Burges and Hirser were celebrating their golds, David Velezi was easing through the preliminary rounds of the men's snowboard cross.

A solid run in qualifying had earned him a good draw and he backed it up with a safe second in his heat and by staying out of trouble in his quarter-final. The semis would be more of a test however and as Mattijanan attentions turned to the snowboard park, Velezi was in a huge fight to make the final.

His semi contained Taeshan's Flannery Gardenier, who finished ahead of Velezi in the heat, as well as the highly dangerous Darius Bellefeuille from Kelssek. As he and Francis Hatton from Ko-oren got a good launch, Velezi found himself boxed in and slipping to the back of the field. Some slipstreaming got him back into the action, but like in the Super-G and Super-combined, it would be a Mattijanan against a Savojarnan for a shot at glory.

The opponent on this occasion was Patrik Urjanen, who had scrapped his way to the semis and had fought his way into a good position out of the gates. With the two neck-and-neck going into the final couple of corners, Velezi saw his chance to send a move down the inside.

Urjanen saw the move coming, but a little too late and Velezi managed to get alongside his opponent, although only after the Savojar had closed the gate. The two clashed, with Velezi's momentum taking him through at the expense of Urjanen, but not without controversy.

The move was subject to an investigation after the race, but was found to be a racing incident, much to the protests of the Savojar fans lining the course. It meant that Velezi secured the final qualifying spot for the final whilst Urjanen went out.

Relative to the semi, the final was less of a spectacle with an early crash reducing the runners to 4. Once again, the front two, Bellefeuille and Naizir Lincoln from Taeshan, went off into the distance, but Velezi had enough to stay clear of fourth-placed Bhargyaraj Gupta to get the bronze.


14:30 (18:30 MSZ), Curling Mixed Doubles bronze final

Neverend Curling Club

Mattijana's curling teams have upped their game over the last couple of editions of the Winter Games, but the mixed team of Marika Sava and Matej Donilovic have especially stepped up this time round. The duo lost just once in the pool stage, albeit against the Valanoran team of Felix Nyberg and Neena Lundstrom they would now face in the bronze final.

This time there would only be one winner however. An overthrown stone in the first end won the Mattijanans a double against the hammer and their opponents were never able to get back into the game. Mattijana were able to consistently win singles on their own hammer whilst working hard to earn blanks or steals at the other end, racking up 8 points against just 3 from the Valanorans.


17:00 (19:00 MSZ), Men's Speed Skating 10,000m

Kolósaio Vóreios

The speed skating had taken a bit of a backseat with all the action elsewhere, but attentions suddenly turned to the Kolósaio Vóreios as news of Giorgio Mazaro's run filtered through. The 26 year-old had ground his way into the lead of the event with 10 skaters left to run, although they featured some of those fancied for the title.

One of those, Liventian Sebastian Cobb, blew away the rest of the field with a new Olympic record, but Mazaro's time was enough to see off the rest of the field, with Ed Reinhold getting closest and taking the bronze in the process.


8:00 (10:00 MSZ), Luge Relay

Parra Kala Sliding Complex

Despite the late start time, especially for Mattijanans, but there was still more drama left in the day. The luge relay represented Izara Alina's last chance to win an Olympic medal having been plagued by bad form and sheer bad luck over her four Olympic games. She would be joined in the Mattijanan line up by Halzo Razmov and the doubles team of Finja Kolinov and Sophia Hetzcot.

Despite some patchy performances in the singles event, Alina finally hit her form, placing an excellent sub 47-second run, the best of anyone on her leg. Razmov too followed her up, also going fastest and giving Mattijana a meaty lead going into the doubles.

That meant it was just down to the doubles to bring the team home. The run was patchier than the two preceding them, but the duo avoided major mistakes and despite failing to go under 49 seconds, they still came home around half a tenth clear of the West Phoenician team.

Alina was clearly emotional after the event when describing the victory.

"I'm really grateful for the team for helping bring this home. It's no secret that I've had a really frustrating career when it comes to the Olympic Games, so it's great to finally get it right and come away with a gold medal. It's been a long time coming, but I couldn't have done it without the people standing beside me. They've been so supportive and they managed to put some fast runs together at just the right time as well. I think I can retire now, knowing that I've earned something for all the hard work I've put into my career and into these games."

The gold is Mattijana's second luge gold after Jasmina Tallinski won the women's singles yesterday, a huge moment for the sport as it seeks to gain the same kind of popularity as bobsled and skeleton across Mattiajana.

Flashback: Tallinski wins Mattijana's first luge gold

Despite having highly-rated Izara Alina on their team, Mattijana have never managed a Luge singles medal and have never won a gold in their Winter Olympic history. Ulina announced her intention to retire after these games two months ago, but Mattijana has clearly unearthed a very bright new talent in the form of Tallinski.

The North-Easterner, based an hour's drive from Snezn in LinaStad, made the perfect start to her campaign, comfortably breaking the 47 second barrier with a 46.79 run, one that wouldn't be beaten over the duration of the event.
She would need to back it up with consistent times though, something she managed with her second run, a time of bang-on 47 seconds keeping her at the top of the leaderboard after day one, nearly 3 tenths ahead of her nearest rival Cocoabo #W06.

That gave her a commanding margin to defend going into day 2. Her third run, a time of 47.15 was a little off the mark of her first two thanks to an early exit from one of the corners near the bottom of the course, but with the Cocoabo making only small inroads into her lead, she still had over 2 tenths to defend over the final leg.

Her rivals helped her out, with neither the Cocoabo or original 3rd-place slider Izcy Slidbaa setting particularly quick times on scruffy-looking runs. A major mistake would have still cost her the gold, but Tallinski showed no sign of nerves, once again coming in under 47 seconds on her final effort to wrap up the victory.

[Ioudaia]

Yeaddin Ice Centre, Yeaddin, Vilita
Day 7, Men's Figure Skating Short program.

Deukalion Hatzis became more and more concerned as the scores came in. I'm the only one left. As he left the Ice Centre with the team, he caught Zakai's attention. "Could I talk to you when we get back to the olympic village?"

"Sure."

When they got back to the Ioudaian lodgings, Zakai pulled his room door closed behind them. "What's on your mind?"

Deukalion glanced around and found a seat to slump into. "I'm the only one representing Ioudaia again. Yesterday, it was Lois and me – no offense – which was better. It's a big burden, representing the country.

"I'm sure people watching the livestreams at home will feel that I'm 'theirs'... that I'm their champion, rather than just one of several people competing for the country. Mistakes I'll make don't just reflect on me, they reflect on all of us Ioudaians. It's just the way people think about sports."

That's a toughie! Zakai nodded silently as Deukalion talked. He needs a pep talk, and I don't have one. "Yeah, I hear you. It's not the easiest situation. But focus on what you can. Your quad loop looks good. The routine is good, good use of the ice, and a solid choice of music.

"Think about that. Go over your routine in your mind. Go practice if you need to. Think about what you can do to be better."

Zakai got back a dubious expression with Deukalion's answer. "You're sure?"

"Nooo." Zakai cracked a smile. "But it's worth a shot."

Deukalion smiled weakly. "Maybe I'll give that a try. It doesn't really answer my problem, but it's something, I guess. Thanks."


Ferrandieu Ski Sports Centre, Neverend, Liventia
Day 8, Women's Freestyle Skiing Slopestyle Qualifiers and Finals

"Go, Chaya, go!"

Chaya bat Meiri, already walking towards the course, looked up to see who was calling to her. "Hey, Kedem! You're my cheering section?"

"Yeah, Raam decided to tag along with a bunch of other people going into town. And I don't think any of the older athletes take us seriously. But I thought I'd return your enthusiasm, uh, from yesterday, I mean."

"Oh, wow, thanks!" Chaya couldn't help but smile.

"Show 'em what you got!"

Chaya's step acquired a new spring as she returned to the course. I've never had anybody cheer me on before.

[Kriegiersien]

Olympics Noir


Name is Marlow, John Marlow. Job: Private Investigator. As it would say on my door, but only the letters P, I and e are left.


It was one of these lousy days in Scorpion City were it was cold, the radiator doesn’t work and you curse the government for their “mandatory nudity” policy.

And the day changed without much happening into one of these terrible nights. Dark, cold, grim, wet. Sad. Like the city. And it didn’t help that I hadn’t paid the bill for power a long time now. The lights in the city donated some light for the room through the window, so that I wouldn’t spill my booze.


But then the door opened and she came in.

Legs like a cat, hips like a hippo, eyes so big….

It was one these days I loved this nation for it’s ban of clothes.

Although her skin was wet from the sleet, she didn’t shiver. With grace she sat down unasked, lighting a cigarette, shadows hiding all but her pretty face.

“Do you take a job?”, she asked, inhaling smoke.

“Any you give”, I said, offering her a whiskey from a new, almost clean glass. She denied.

“I am looking for my spouse. Or better, you should look.”

I now had time to study her amazing face.
“I don’t think he could be as interesting as you”, I said.
“Charming. But I want to know if she is showing interest in someone else.”

“So, who is it and what should I do?”

She showed me a photo and a name.

“She is at the Winter Olympics.”

“As spectator or official?”

“She is one of the athletes.”

I tried to recover the name. I knew all the hockey players in the national teams, some of the Gold medal candidates...but nothing rang here.

“Don’t think you will recognize her from the media. She is one of the many that will never win everything outside Kriegiersien. I still lover her. But I don’t think she always remembers to love me”.
A bit of smoke in the form of a heart left her pretty mouth and dissolved.

“What exactly do you want from me?”

“I want you to watch her. If she has an affair. And if you find one, bring me proof. Bring me proof what she does and where she is anyway. I pay you double then.”

“And if I don’t find proof for her cheating?”

“Then I will be happier and you get the expenses for a nice trip to Neverend, the Olympics and your work paid. Others are charging sums for that experience.”

She showed me a number of shiny things on a paper. I needed the light from the window to read the numbers, it was also an excuse to see more of her. I smiled.



The next day I was standing in Neverend. Now clothed, I was already liking the trip. I clinched my trenchcoat and wandered to my first goal:
A bar.

I was sitting there some hours, watching the Olympics on a TV, looking for my ‘target’, thinking about a plan.
Yes, It may sound like wasting time, but a plan and strategy is important. And to feel the environment. Neverend is much nicer than Scorpion City.
After some hours I felt confident enough to put action to my plan and left the bar with some beverages.

I was just enjoying the booze outside, as some voices tried to catch my attention.

“Hey, friend, you know that it isn’t allowed to drink outside? Let us help you with that.”

Three men were closing up, grinning.

“I didn’t know that the police has such ugly plainclothesman.”

They laughed.
“Oh, we are not police. We are...helpful tourists.”
That explained the Kriegiersien accent from one of them, I couldn’t locate the others. One tried to drag the bottle out of my hand.
I pushed him. He tried to wrestle me down, so I knocked him down with a headbutt.
“Hey!”
Now his second friend got angry and stormed into my reach. I knocked him down with a jab on his nose and the first one, who had recovered and rushed at me again, got thrown at some trashcans.
I turned to number three. He was massive. A head taller, broad back, coming slowly closer.
The best chance to get this giants down his hitting their nuts, so I kicked between his legs.
Of course this trick only works if the attacked doesn’t grab your foot and smashes you to the ground. I moaned and when he came down laughing to finish me, I put both my arms around bis massive neck, pulled up and bit his ear. While he was crying out and let loose, I used the moment to jump up and hit him with both feet into the stomach, so that he fell on his back.

It was that moment, were everything looked fine, that one of the other two hit me from behind that hard, that I went down. When I awoke, I had lost my booze, my wallet (that was empty, as I had my ID, money and other important thinks in my shoe) and probably they had hit my chest a few times when I was on the ground.
All in all, it could have ended worse. The Olympics brought gangsters and bullies from all the world together.

I crawled to my small motel. It was just one of these days.





Olympic news


Zeus Freezerbot ending short program in Figure scating as first.

Is a real wonder in the air?

Zeus Freezerbot qualified as Kriegiersien champion, the only sport Kriegiersien gave away this time for ice dancing. That he would still qualify in his high age over 30, was a surprise to him. The team trophy showed bad results, as did his ice dancing and Figure skating performances with his ex wife.

“I don’t remember when I had the last time such a perfect performance, a perfect day, a perfect feeling. It is miraculous.”

The question remains if he can finish with such a show and write a story unheard of in Kriegiersien, maybe the worlds history.


**

Imoen wins silver in Freestyle skating—Women's aerials FINAL.
A magical show by the Kriegiersien, only beaten by Ankya Ekelvense in the final.
Imoen herself jubilated after the final, waving frantically and shouting into the crowd and cameras. And it got stranger at the award ceremony.

At the victory ceremony she pulled a bunny out of a hat and while the anthem played she cuddled the bunny, which had wrapped around her silver medal around its neck.


**

Hockey

Taeshan awaits for the women in the round of 16, the men need to beat Electrum in Pre Play-offs. It is do or die now.

“When I was young I listened to the Taeshan hockey games in the radio, now I can beat them firsthand”, said the Topscorer of the female team, Lana Lane.


Since the men had failed in the group stage against Mattijana, losing 1:5, criticism of the coaches decisions came forth again, for letting to many Top Players at home.
Dirk Nojokeski, Top Scorer of the Kriegiersien league from Champion Schoenwetter Anteaters, missing some of his teammates, commented:
“It would be easier if … some others had been allowed to join.”

[Liventia]

Much like the number of goals Leicester scored past Southampton tonight, nein, there's no more time for your Day 8 RPs.

[Gryphonian Alliance]

XIV Winter Olympics Pick Up the Pace with Days 6 Through 8
--Sebba Ingle, reporting from Neverend

We kicked off Day 6 in Yeaddin with the GA team facing off against Savojarna in Men's Ice Hockey. Our team pretty clearly needed some work that round as ineptitude in team cohesion led to a 0-1 loss. In Skeleton, Culo Rebbulks placed 19th out of 60 competitors, with Griffins Juri Gren and Maxill Barato following at 22nd and 35th place respectively. Mahaju Ukstadron delivered an impressive 10th place finish for the Gryphonic delegation in Men's 10,000 km speed skating finals. Our other participant finished 24th, that being Bide Ojistan of Shivos.
Men's Bandy gave Griffins another good turnout, with the GA team triumphing 7-2 over Electrum.

In Neverend Day 7, the GA team in Women's Curling also caught a win, this time over Tara and Cambay, in a nerve-wracking game of 7-5 in which the GA team nearly lost its lead in the last ten minutes of the match. In the second draw for Women's Curling our team lost in a 9-7 game against Liventia. With 1 win and 1 loss the team was situated at 10th place after draw 2. Moving on to Women's Snow Volleyball, the GA team lost in a tough game against Amuaplye.
On the Yeaddin side for the day, the GA delegation participated in Men's singles short program figure skating, with Nesh Mishimiot finishing 26th and Mono Eie 27th, both narrowly missing the top 24 cutoff for the next round. Kurero Tsukoo finished 53rd.
In Playoffs for Women's Ice Hockey, the GA team tied against the Benjamin Mark team 1-1 but managed to snatch the win with a 2-1 score in overtime. Skeleton continued over from Day 6 with Juri Gren in 22nd place, Maxill Barato in 35th, and Rebbulks at 37th; unfortunately, they all missed the top 20 score needed to participate in finals.
In Rounds 1 and 2 of Women's Skeleton, Maythel Barato (actually Maxill Barato's niece) finished 25th. Iva Perduge landed 41st, Smia Liverword finishd in 46th, and Pasbeth Cerningad did not complete the race.
The GA team lost 5-1 in Women's Bandy against Kriegiersien.

The GA pushed off in Neverend for Day Eight of the XIV Winter Olympics with a 21st placement in Women's Super-G alpine skiing finals from Patta Richards. Timea Parkilissis finished with a time that was less than half of a second higher, ending up 29th. Kaga Neustch and Masse Killport were among the whopping 15 competitors who didn't finish; a rather strange streak of failures that started after an asteroid fragment struck Vilitia athlete Telii Mlakza in the head, according to Patta Richards. This could not be confirmed as my van was also struck by a breakoff chip of the meteor that exploded in the sky today, which left me stranded in the middle of the forest for 3 hours until a tow crew finally managed to get to my location.
Women's 12.5 km mass start biathlon finals saw Griffin athlete Avva Conte performing nicely, coming in at 8th place. Morgan Mulvich, on the other hand, who was predicted to do very well, did not see a similar level of success, finishing at 25th place. Daitze Sheltt finished 62nd and Norta Delfrieze finished 69th.
The Gryphonic team lost in Men's Curling to Taeshan, 2-8. In the following round, the men's team lost to Kriegiersien, 11-6. This led to the GA team placing last out of 26 teams for the overall score. In Women's slopestyle qualification for freestyle skiing Fllekpane Jujuggi finished 11th and got to advance to finals among the top 12 participants. Zaba Neityghu and Pola Ukerawater finished 41st and 45th respectively and did not move on. Fllekpane Jujuggi did nicely in finals, placing 6th.
Men's aerials qualification for freestyle skiing saw Kenny Richardson in 24th, Dormat Mistrurr tying for 36th, and Yeye Flextuu in 44th. In the next round Richardson finished 32nd, Mistrurr came in 30th, and Flextuu finished 42nd.
We wrapped up Day 8 in Neverend with the GA Men's snow volleyball team beating Main Nation Ministry. That's all for today!

[West Phoenicia]

Roselynd crossed the stone floor of her room and grabbed her phone, she giggled, Angel Lee was going to hear about what she had just seen.

The breeze drifted through the wooden shutters, as she settled down on her fur rug, the white rug picking up the colours of a nearby newly installed stained glass window.

She logged onto Vibr and found Angel Lee in favourites,

She brought up her live screen, "please TELL me you have been watching lol."

Angel Lee twirled her hair behind her ear and laughed, "Are you Kidding, what else would I be doing other than streaming as I watch-- and critiquing lol, it's what my fans love hehehe, hiiii alllll!!" Angel Lee blew a kiss to her followers, leaning in to read what has been written on the screen, "awwww love you too honey" she said to one of her fans, who complimented her sweater.

"of course it's new, it's Olympic week and i have to look special for you guys. Mwah mwaaah."

Roselynd tapped her manicured nails with a smirk on her face, "hey Miss Nova Texas, can we jump in a box?, I want to discuss that MAJOR faux pas by one Mr Lim lol"

Roselynd waited for the requisite gasp she knew would follow, and Angel Lee didn't disappoint, "noooooo you DID NOT just go there girl, Harry Lim is a genius, only he could pull off the Quintuple Loop!!"

"Ahhhh yes," Roselynd remarked with a laugh, "but one needs to successfully LAND said jump don't they lol?"

"Bitch please", Angel Lee complained, switching over to the box so they could talk face to face, "you don't know what you're talking about, you've had your head up the Princes butt so long, you can't see past the nose on your face lol. Harry is twice the skater Prince Glenton Soter is. Just because you've got your eyes on the Princess prize, doesn't mean you have to support everything he does lol. And I don't mind saying it where everyone can hear."

Angel Lee leaned in to read the screen again, she laughed, "sassy am I?, hey I have an opinion, so sue me"

Roselynd chuckled, "yes but my future husby wusby actually won and where did Harry Lim place?? Oh yeah that's right, ummmm nowhere, and I'll admit he had been doing well, placing third in the short program, but it all went downhill when he flubbed that landing in free skate. And I mean BEYOND flubbed, he looked like a goose out there" she chortled
.
Angel Lee pursed her lips, "Won??! I believe young Mr Prince got Silver, that's second place, and you know what they say about second place, hmmmm?, it's the first to lose. Yessss Darien of New England REALLLY deserved that win I say hehehe, I might add him on Speechstar, keep UP TO DATE on all happening in his go go go top of the game world, as they say, Cream always rises to the top lol."

Roselynd gagged, "OMG he is so overrated. Besides the Princes outfit was on point, he LOOKED like a gold medal out there."

Angel Lee chortled, flourishing her arms, "pleeeaaase, you just liked looking at his bulge in those tight gold stockings lol, and yessss FIRST PLACE is overrated you're right, I'll bet Allllll of Royal-loving Mace bay is ABUZZ with celebration of SILVER place, it'll be right up there with the celebration of BRONZE by one Princess Jocasta."

"Hey the princess is off-limits, she's a perfect lady" Roselynd fired back.

Angel Lee had been taking a sip of juice and it flew out of her mouth as she choked with laughter, "Perfect Lady?? Well, I hear your perfect lady likes a little sip of gin lol. I think she didn't so much ski down that women's freestyle slope, as roll down drunk and stumblebum lol, landing her arse-first in a bronze medal spot."

Roselynd recoiled like she had been slapped, "I'd like to see you try, you couldn't do better!!"
"Hey maybe you could suggest a battle at the next family reunion," Angel Lee suggested playfully "oh wait, you'd actually have to MEET the Prince first, btw does he know you're his future wife yet? Lolol just as well you favour the spare not the heir, that way you don't have to be blood to marry him lol."

"One day my dear, one-day" Roselynd responded agreeably, " and you can say you knew me when. Well I had better be off, someone is dying in a fiery wreck on Melrose Beach tonight, and I for one am NOT missing it, tootles", Roselynd waved and signed off.

Angel Lee returned to her fans on Vibr., "Who wants to jump in the box and discuss our good medal win today. "Jocelyn Ngoc-Deb? Wi she become the future face of Skeleton in West Phoenicia? And what was with he4 lavender eye shadow?"

[The Transmondian Commonwealth]

Darien Ogunquit's routine for the free skate was inspired by his experience of being introduced to modern technology after growing up without it. He'd worked with a producer from the Home States to cobble together a piece of music that started off with some somber classical orchestra music and evolved into a dance beat played on a synthesizer and a violin. (He thought a lot of modern music was just noise, but he was interested in pop music that used classical instruments like violins and cellos.) His costume had cleverly-hidden light-up elements so that his appearance could change along with the music -- starting very simple and dark, ending looking like some kind of cyborg shaman. The most dramatic jumps were toward the end, paired with the wilder music. When he originally thought of the idea for the program and explained it to his coach, Darien expected it to be shot down as impractical and too complicated. He was surprised and impressed at how well the people from the Home States had helped him bring it to life.

He was also very impressed by the quality of his competitors, the size of the arena, and all the fancy equipment being used -- everything from the machine that smoothed the ice to the cameras that recorded the performances. He still wasn't accustomed to anything like this. If anybody wanted an interview, all they had to do was show him a video camera and let him watch the footage they'd filmed earlier in the day. He was fascinated by video screens of any kind, whether it was a small one on someone's phone or the huge ones that they hung over the arena to show scores and help the people in the cheap seats get a better view of the action.

In his world, large structures like sports stadia were invariably in ruins, and they'd usually been stripped for materials to build other smaller structures. He'd once seen the ruins of a hockey rink in Portland that had been turned into a farmers' market with ramshackle stalls made from scrap wood, corrugated sheet metal, and pieces of the plexiglass wall that had once surrounded the rink.

LBC's camera crews were amused by Darien's fascination with their recording equipment. They weren't used to being admired for their tech savvy. Most of the Commonwealth thought the Liberated Reich was backward. It had been socially and techologically stunted by decades of Nazi rule, when research projects were often shut down for political reasons, and inventions were suppressed as "Jewish science" if the inventor offended the party brass. It felt strange to encounter someone from another world that was even more backward.

Darien found the big crowds and the bright lights overwhelming -- but also exhilarating. If his talent for skating could bring him to a place like this, was there anything he couldn't do?

It might have worked to his advantage that he spent so much time gawking at shiny things instead of listening to critics or worrying about how he might mess up. He didn't have the time to work himself up into as much of a nervous wreck as some Olympians did. He did get a little nervous watching some of the other skaters and wondering if he was really as good as them, but when his turn came to take the ice, everything went without a hitch. And when the scores were tallied, he came out on top.

It was one of three events on Day 8 that ended with a New Englander atop the podium and "Amazing Grace" playing over the PA.

[Diarcesia]

William smiled, thinking things wouldn't be so bad. It was too late to back out. He was stuck here until the end of the final heat.

His mind caught on something before he could stop it, and he felt a chill run up his spine as he realized an idea came to mind. He hasn't told anyone yet. And he isn't telling his coach...

The announcer began to call out the participants of the A-finals of the men's 1,000 m short track. "Starting from lane number one, from the Monarchy Diarcesian, William Tesla!"

Although the Diarcesians watching at the venue got their hopes up only to get dashed as several of the skaters just missed the podium at fourth, their enthusiasm didn't wane as they cheered loudly. Among those seated are William's close friends from university, where they put up a banner, "Go William!", to the skater's slight embarrassment.

William readied himself to his starting position while his competitors are introduced, and found himself at the rear after they started. This is his idea for this heat that his coach isn't aware. His plan is to let the others expend their energy trying to come at front while he pushes himself in the later laps. There's one issue, though. Kayne Mannes from the Main Nation Ministry is just ahead of him, and it proved to be difficult trying to perform the overtake.

And it looks like whatever Mannes was doing to impede William has worked. It's only on the eighth lap when William was able to pull ahead to third position when he found an opening while cornering. With an almighty effort, he propelled himself past Mannes and Porter Scarpino from Taeshan and maintained it to finish second and therefore the silver medal. One minute and 24 seconds.

Amid the cheers of the audience he went to his booth and hugged his coach tightly.

"How is it that you've grown so much? That is not part of the plan, but nice improvisation," said the coach.

"I thought that maybe I wouldn't have grown so much if I had done the same things I had done before. But… no. I have changed. We're in the same place, and the same path, and…" William contemplated his journey as a speed skater for a second, from his beginnings as a totally clueless amateur, to being picked to the national team, and then his first Olympic medal. "Yes, it's true. I am different."

The coach was in awe at the sight of this man before him. As if he had never seen others like William before. He seemed to smile with his eyes, the color he had on his face was brighter than before.

"Thank you, William. I am… amazed at what you have become. Congratulations."

[Kriegiersien]

Olympic Noir - 2


I liked this bar. It had possibilities to drink, what wasn’t that easy or better that harmless in this nation, as I had found out the hard way and you could watch sport and being at work the same time. The TV screens were really big and plenty.

The hockey team won. 5:0 against Electrum. Everyone praised the coach now and the style of play, what a lot of baloney. Next opponent Valanora.
I shoved some money to the Bartender. I bet the team would win this, too.

Silver in Skeleton for Kayden Vickers, Bronze in Short track Women's 1500m for Tulisa Hogan. Go Girls. Go Kriegiersien.

Zeus Freezerbot stumbled in the freestyle final in Figure skating. First the dream of gold for the old man crumbled, then hopes for a medal. 5th. Nice result. He smiles into the camera, but you can see the broken heart after being first after the short program.


Well, enough watching Olympics for now. On TV at least.


Time to make contact to my target. So I turned my head and looked at a table with four athletes. One of them was the girl on the photo. They were celebrating and they had all reason to. She had already won silver and some other good rankings. My client had been wrong in one thing: She was great. Not some average athlete without chances. She and all the other Freestyle Skier were Top.
But it was also true: Nobody had heard their names before. Hers was just Imoen. No further names. No history known. They just had showed up and rocked Kriegiersen in the last months. And now they were Top at the Olympics. 1 Gold, 1 Silver. Often being close. The winner of the Gold medal was sitting there too. Skull Dodgery. Calm fellow. But I couldn’t look at him for a longer time, he gave me the creeps. Couldn’t say why, but something was wrong with that guy.

Imoen on the other side was all the happy type. Short pink hair, always smiling, cheering. She had made contact to nearly every other of the winners here in Liventia, getting autographs with a charm few could resist. A few, like her teammates, who seemed to argue with her again. They didn’t seem to be so happy about her behaviour. Were they her secret chaperones, maybe working for my client, too? Or was this jealousy?

They left, leaving her behind. That was my chance.

I stood up and strolled to her table.

“Is this seat taken?”

She looked at it.

“No, seems to be empty. No one sitting on it. No reservation. No wedding ring. I think it is free. You can do with it what you want, as long as it is nothing naughty.”

I sat down.
“I am a huge fan. What you showed on the piste was magical.”
“Ah, now”, she waved with her hand “that was no magic.”
Of course that was silly. No, it was no magic.
“But it was great. You must be so happy. Beautiful, one of the greatest athletes in World. A goddess, some may say.”
“Aw, you are too sweet. But I am no god, maybe close, but no god. Yet.”
“Some of your colleagues seemed to be not that happy? I couldn’t overhear the arguments you just had.”

“Oh? Well, some think it is just about the job and not about having fun, too. Only winning medals and preparing for that, no contacts to other men..”
“Sounds unfair and boring.”
“Right? Where is the fun if you are only working for your goal? Tss.”
“No love, only training.”
“Yeah..”, she sighed, “speaking of which, I should go back to the training.”

She stood up.
“Could I join you? I would really like to see a coming Olympic champion work out.”
“Oh, you are optimistic. Well, Training is open, so why not? We are taking the next bus to the ski resort.”

I took a last sip of my drink and followed her. We had just left the bar, when one of her clique showed up.
“Who is that?”, he asked Imoen.
“Oh, just someone who wanted to join me, watching us train. We never introduced. What was your name?”
“John.”

I knew the face of this one. Shao. Freestyle skiing—Men's aerial. Won the qualification.

„No, friend, you want to go back into your...housing“, he said to me, waving his hand.

He was right. I felt the urge to go back and take a nap. I nodded and said goodbye.

When I was at my motel, I wondered what I was doing here. I didn’t feel sleepy. What was wrong with me? It was just one of these days.

[Ioudaia]

Yeaddin Ice Centre, Yeaddin, Vilita
Day 8, Men's Figure Skating Free Skate

There's no need to check the scores. Next to last to qualify, I needed perfect, and I didn't get it. Deukalion Hatzis didn't even look up from taking off his skates as his scores were announced. As he hustled to the changing room, he was intercepted by Zakai Plades, who said, "It wasn't so bad, actually."

With a grunt, Deukalion brushed past him, trying to ignore him. Zakai fell in beside him, pacing him but looking straight ahead. "I know what you're thinking, because I was thinking the same thing just two nights ago."

"Oh?"

"'I fucked up, and the whole world saw it. There's no hope for me. I should just quit skating and get a real job.' Or are you spicing that with blame?"

Deukalion stopped and stared at Zakai. "Almost. I don't want to quit skating, I just need to suck less."

Zakai met his gaze, and took a long second to reply. "Do you want analysis or encouragement?"

"Might as well be analysis, since I'm done for these olympics."

Zakai started walking again, not breaking stride to open the changing room door. "You had trouble with the quad loop landing because your take-off needs help. Not much help, but some. Watch the slo-mo. You'll see it, plain as day."

Deukalion nearly tripped as he tried to walk and suddenly turn his head to look at him. "I had no idea!"

"And you need to smooth out the moves between the triple Axel and the quad jump so they flow together. You telegraph that the big move is coming up. It ruins the surprise."

"Great, just great! Well, that's something to keep me busy. But what now? Just fly home and console myself? Go to town and drink?"

Zakai gave him a wry look. "I've never been a drinking man. So, I'm going to show you what I did. There's a gym in town with a punching bag, and you're gonna beat it up for a while.

"And did you know that Music Beat is here, shooting a show on Vilitan music and the music of the olympics?" Deukalion shook his head, and mumbled no. "Now you know. There's a Vilitan folk music performance for the games, and they're going to be there filming. So we're going there afterwards. Maybe they'll interview us about our musical selections."

"Wait, they were here?"

"They had a camera crew with the other sportscasters, and one of their sound women asked Keidar for a copy of our music, so they could broadcast a quality version.

"Sounds better than moping or drinking, right?" Deukalion agreed, and let himself be dragged off to the gym.


Ferrandieu Ski Sports Centre, Neverend, Liventia
Day 8, Women's Freestyle Skiing Slopestyle Qualifiers and Finals

Chaya stormed off the course, angry with herself. "Idiot! You should have practiced more! You need to stop messing around and get down to business! The next--" She nearly crashed into Kedem, who was waiting for her. "You sound like you need some cheering up."

"Yeah." That sounds weak.

Kedem wrapped his arms around her in a short hug. "Good! Let's go into the city and get something to eat. Raam sent me some texts. The group he's with found some interesting places."

His smile was infectious, and Chaya started to grin. "That sounds like a, uh..." Am I blushing?

"A date, yeah." Kedem grinned like a maniac. "Why not? You're a fun person, and sight-seeing should be entertaining. We've got a day off, so why not?"

"I..." I should be practicing, buuut a date sounds better at this point. "Ok, let's go! Well, let me get changed first, then we'll go."


Phone Call, Ioudaian Olympic Village, Neverend, Liventia
About the same time

"Peneleos, Tamid. Did you see--?"

"Yeah. Clean sweep. I was with my women's team. A couple of them are crushed. I'll bet there are a lot of unhappy people out there. You calling all the team captains?"

"And all the coaches. Soliciting opinions. What's yours?"

"We need a morale booster, now. I saw texts go by earlier: a few people walked to some of the shopping districts. That sounds like a plan: dinner, drinks for people not competing tomorrow, find some entertainment. I know we've got people who want to go dancing, and a couple more looking for souvenirs. So: food, then shopping, drinking, and clubbing, depending."

"You're the third person to say something like that. How soon--?"

"I can get the biathletes and the X/C skiers ready in 15 minutes. Won't even have to raise my voice. They're already in street clothes, and as of a few minutes ago, all of them were still here."

"I'll meet you in 15, with everybody I can get. Bye."

[Liventia]

This is your Day 9 cutoff.

Neverend section results

While we're here, a few reminders:
Tomorrow is a scheduled off day; there is no scorination tomorrow.
Clocks go back tonight in Europe: from Monday's scorination, the cutoff will be at or around 22:00 UTC (around this time, give or take a couple of minutes). If you're in Europe, you won't notice a change in the cutoff times; everywhere else without a clock change will notice cutoff is an hour later than what I've been cutting off at mostly.

[Taeshan]

A Team and a Dream: The Story of the Taeshan National Team

Already twice as potent a haul as the last Winter Olympiad and the medals will hopefully keep on coming. Some big medal hopefuls in the last few days as Wanda Coello earned her second medal of the olympics a Bronze in the Relay with Prema Patel, Sarah Conrad, and Fiona Sharp setting her up for the last leg of the relay. The Men's Curling got underway with two big victories for the Purple and Gold defeating the Gryphonian Alliance 8-2 before 7-5 decision over Neu Engollon. The third match of the modified Casaran stage sees the Taeshan side led by Mathew Shusterman face the Royal Kingdom of Quebec. The men are hoping to earn the first medal for Taeshan in that event ever and have gotten off to a great start.

Much like Wanda Coello adding a Bronze to her Silver, Michale Shasterman made it 2-2 earning a Bronze in the Large Hill Ski Jumping to go with his Normal Hill silver. His first olympic games has been impressive, and is hopefully a sign for the future in an even the Taeshanis have often been strong in. The top seeded Men's Ice Hockey team now know their Round of Sixteen opponent is Saintland, whom defeated the People's Republic of Xabia 1-0 in a playoff game. The Knights hope to earn their second medal in the event adding to the masterfully won Gold in Sao Jorge in the 5th Olympiad. Porter Scarpino earned a Bronze in the Men's 1000 short track event, in what could be his last olympics continuing the strong olympics from many of the veteran members of the Taeshani squad.

The first Bobsleigh event of the olympics got underway with a strong first two runs from Ryan Carmike and Gerald Anderson putting them second. With the top sliders all very close the duo will have their work cut out for them to become only the second team to earn a medal in the sport, and first in the two-man event. In the Speed Skating Men's Pursuit Martin Salvetieri, Collin Desdander and Matt Walker were the final team to qualify for the knockouts and faced a Mattijana team who set an olympic record in qualifying and knocked them out of the tournament completely. Salvetieri will have a chance to add to his gold in the last olympics in the 5000, after a dismal follow up Olympiad so far.

[The Transmondian Commonwealth]

The women's hockey team were on their way back to their rooms after a very unsuccessful game against West Phoenicia. Neither the offense nor the defense had been in top form.

Rachel Edelmann, who had allowed two of the three West Phoenician goals, was taking it especially hard. She wanted to smash something, and she wanted to cry, all at the same time. Helen Sullivan, who had allowed the other goal, was trying to comfort her, pointing out that even if Edelmann hadn't let the West Phoenicians score against her, New England still would have lost. As they made their way through the athlete lodgings in Yeaddin, they noticed a large collection of fruit baskets with tropical fruits like pineapples, papayas, and mangos. Helen Sullivan trailed off in the middle of what she was saying to stare at the fruit baskets. Who the hell needed that many pineapples and why had they left them here, she wondered.

Darien Ogunquit was sitting nearby, talking to someone that Sullivan thought she recognized as one of the figure skaters from another delegation, but she couldn't quite match the face to a name. He reached over to grab a fruit basket and offered it to Sullivan. "Would you like one? There's more than I can eat."

"What is all this?" Sullivan asked.

Ogunquit smiled. "I told someone how much I like tropical fruit, and how hard it is to find in the Rubble States, and a lot of skating fans gave me fruit baskets. They're really nice, but it's more than I can eat by myself. Take one."

Helen Sullivan didn't especially want a basket of tropical fruit, but then she remembered one of her teammates, Kate Casco, was also from the Rubble States. "Hey, Kate, you're from the Rubble States, too. Do you want a fruit basket?"

Casco shook her head. "That stuff tastes weird."

"About what art thou talking?" Lila Bale, one of their other teammates, asked indignantly. "Vilitan fruit is delicious!"

"Take some," Ogunquit encouraged her.

"'Tis kind of thee," Bale said. They exchanged a smile, and she picked up a nice cheery-looking fruit basket.

Ogunquit shrugged and blushed a little. "I have more than I need."

(OOC: If someone wants to have one of their skaters be the person Ogunquit is talking to before the hockey team arrives, go ahead.)

[West Phoenicia]

The city-states of Deception Bay, Acapella and Fort Blackfoot in West Phoenicia were aglow with beautiful colours and elegant lights. It's the time of the Diwali celebrations, and the three city-states boast the highest numbers of Hindu and Sikh followers.

The cities, homes and places of business had been decorated up for the honour of the festival.
Happy people milled about, enjoying the night, carefully stepping around artistically detailed patterns of coloured sand on the ground that were ringed with white for contrast and marigold petals.

Flower garlands hung in doorways and old fashioned paper lanterns all about the streets. Casting a warm glow that made you feel so peaceful.
And carefully placed in
rows along the darker evening streets were decorative and ornamental oil lamps, so beautifully created one stopped in awe to take it all in, each one been lit with a special love and respect, with a deep spiritual expression you could almost feel just watching it happen.

Smiling children waving sparklers, and a few joyful adults too. And in Deception Bay where environmentalism wasn't quite high on the to-do list, firecracker smoke permeated the air. As citizens of all faiths milled around preparing for the parade and free food and beverages that would follow.
A giant golden statue of goddess Lakshmi stood prominent in each of the capitals of the city-states that celebrated the event. Flowers, sweets and candles as far as they eye could see, placed to honour the goddess. Gifts to attain her good luck for the following year.


Jewellery stores did great business during this period, people were buying up nearly all the gold they could find. Women walked around looking like regal princesses, beautifully intricate bracelets adorning their wrists, necklaces of great elegance framed their glowing faces, with matching large earrings weighing down their lobes.
Some even drew focus by wearing gold beaded headdresses, carefully placed over their richly embroidered head scarves. Pairing the outfit with traditional shalwar kameez or saris and some women with flower gajras in their hair, looking like forest sprites.
The men didn't skimp either, matching the women look for look dressed in their colourful silk Kurtas.
It was a colourful armada of beautiful peacocks on display for all to notice.

The celebration was the most joyful time on the Hindi and Sikh calendar and the streets milled with people eating sweets and exchanging gifts, full of love and togetherness. In this period all petty problems of the year were put aside.

The Ministry of Faith went all out to broadcast these events around West Phoenicia. The True Path may have been the state faith But the nation was accepting and tolerant of most faiths. The Festival of Lights was a beautiful event to showcase just how loving and accepting the nation was.

As not to miss out on international sporting events, huge television screens had been out up in the main festival areas, allowing fans to glimpse the latest day at the Winter Olympics.

The latest news was the silver medal win by
Mary- Louise Gellar in the Nordic Combined—Women's individual large hill/10 km. Highlights showed the event and her podium moment. The win had even a more unified moment with the festival of lights as Mary-Louise Gellar was married into one of the more prominent Sikh families in Blackfoot Territory.

The win had pushed the medal tally up to 13 medals, out doing the previous games tally. The win gave the people an even bigger mood to celebrate. Which they would be doing to the early hours of the morning.

[Ko-oren]

Plans, plans, plans

With the announcement that the first possible sponsors for the Ko-orenite Olympic effort, all of a sudden, many organisations, public and private, have unleashed their plans on the media. These all cannot have been writen in the span of about 72 hours, so a lot of them must have been on the shelf for a while, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Together with the sponsor announcement, the Ko-orenite delegation has also finally taken its first gold, in one of a handful of winter sports that have been identified as 'very good opportunities to win medals in', among more awkward wording by the Chef de Mission: Cross-Country Skiing. Hopefully there's more metal coming our way, the Olympics well on their way but far from finished either.

On the one hand, there are political parties that are all in on the Olympics, stressing how Ko-oren should increase its international role, and that these events are perfect for showing anything from our 'national spirit' (as per the Nationalist Party of Ko-oren), to stating our intent, be present, and be on the agenda (as per the Parti International). This last notion is the most popular one, echoed by the Parti pour Libertés Économiques as well. In fact, international participation is one of several major issues that are heavily debated ahead of next year's election. Ko-oren is involved in several international treaties for environmental protection, and just one that could be considered an economic treaty. There is a growing list of initiatives that would do our economy well, and they are listed just about every time the Parti International gets screen time: the Council of Free Market Economies, the Reichsburg FTA, Universal Assembly of Workers, among several initiatives of our own.

On the other hand, there are organisations and companies queueing up to provide some services to the next Olympians. Plans to open up new winter sport towns in the Northern mountains, better access to existing places in the Western mountains, and making individual sports an option for children over playing for well-established team sports - it's all there. A lot hinges on the distribution of money by the Ministry of Science, Culture and Sports.

The current Ministry is not against sports at all, and not against individual sports either. Some bills have been denied by the Parliament - which is pretty much the only right the Parliament have - in a Parliament piloted by the regular large parties, but with considerable influence by fringe parties that have been instrumental in denying these bills: the Parti des Régions, the Conservatives, and various austerity-friendly nationalist and conservative forces. The conservative voting block is at risk of losing its parliament majority if they lose a few seats to Parti International and the like. There is one key party that could swing both ways in a lot of these issues: Vert&Bleu favour a green economy, but one that is very free market compared to what we now have. They could be FOR the opening of new areas given economic merit and Olympic success - but also be AGAINST them on the basis of protecting these rare and fragile biomes.

[Kelssek]

GNARnia's ski artwork draws eyeballs at Olympics
Gnarnia Skis has always had some of the gnarliest topsheet graphics in the business, but their factory looks set for some overtime. Sean Rossland-Gleaner’s victory in the men’s halfpipe at the Olympics brought global mainstream attention to his sponsor, an outfit based in the town of Portia in Konoha’s Bartery Range.

Sean’s skis on his first run featured an eye-catching motif of a giant squid attacking a heat-seeking missile. As snow conditions changed during the course of the event he went for a slightly thicker pair of skis for his second and third runs which featured a graphic of a melting coyote apparently drowning in a sea of avocados.

As it turned out the first run was good enough for gold but both sets of artwork certainly captured worldwide attention.

“are those avocados what the hell is that i want it,” summed up one comment on Readit.

Gnarnia is already a well-known brand within Kelssek and presumably to the hordes of snow hounds who travel there to shred. The company’s marketing guy Harry Lekhiwitz did say their website was burning up in the aftermath but the shipping costs might have put some overseas punters off.

“If they really want some, they’re just gonna have to come over here to buy them, which I reckon is a bit more expensive than posting them abroad, but you also get to go skiing in Kelssek. So, I leave them to work out their own marginal utility function,” he said.

“We’re very present in our communities and there are lots of talented artists in this region, so it’s really just a matter of us taking the effort to work with them to do these designs. And of course these are top quality skis, that we spend the winter running demos throughout all the big ski resorts in this country. But I can tell you I get strangers sitting next to me on the chairlift commenting on the artwork so many times, it definitely helped get our name out there.”

[Main Nation Ministry]

Ioudaian Olympic Village, Neverend, Liventia

Jessica and Charlie took another day to go outside of the hotel, since Charlie was getting curious with what the other athletes were doing. The band weren't happy that the nation wasn't getting medal fever, but the Leader didn't complain, since he was busy planning photo shoots with the two athletes who did get a medal. Several days from a bit of a shopping spree, Charlie wanted to check out more of Neverend, since there were other places to check. And as long, she didn't cause trouble with Jessica being involved, she didn't have to worry about any extra security from her nation spying on her. Though, they were still monitoring the athletes that were demons.

"You want to do this, Charlie?" Jessica asked, as they left their hotel. "I just want to see what everyone else is doing. We aren't going to go towards where Free Republics is staying, I just want to check out the other nations." Charlie reassured Jessica, as they started walking down the street. "Maybe we can find a fancy place to eat. Still have tons of cash on me to find us a place to eat."
"How about a nightclub?"
"I'm for dancing, but I don't want to get caught up with what goes down there."

As Jessica and Charlie walked, they soon found themselves at the Ioudaian Olympic Village. As they were to see a storefront, Jessica heard a click from a camera to see a man walk away from their direction, doing a quick glance, before continuing on. "Well, they know." Jessica said to Charlie, recognizing it as a security agent from Main Nation Ministry. "They already spying on us?" Charlie said, trying to see what Jessica was looking at. "For their safety they are claiming. Bullshit." Jessica said. "Well, they aren't going to ruin our fun. Maybe there are some nice stores here. I can get you some nice clothes or a dress or..you know." Charlie said, blushing where Jessica knew what she meant. "Let's not talk about that stuff here. Maybe at the hotel. I heard they got a jacuzzi."

[Kriegiersien]

The coming summary is cut and editet so that it looks like as it was live for dramatic purposes, even it doesn’t match the real time table.


Welcome to the Olympic studio. A big day, Bandy, hockey, different ski and ice racing events. We begin with Bandy in the Eels Park in Turori.

And the women’s bandy team is leading 2:1 against Amuaplye, they can lose with 1 goal and are still first and through, but that should be no option against the last of the group who have no points until now. Because this is a group of only 5 teams and not 6 as in the others, a first place is now needed to advance, but we are very optimistic. To the Alpines.

Live from the Men’s giant slalom.
Gus Kaufman is leading after his second run. Only Sonnie Myers from Winter City and Alphonse Lafeuille from Reçueçn left. So Silver is secured for Kriegiersien. Myers ist the Kriegiersien champion and better of the two, great technique, that could be two medals for Kriegiersien today. His start was excellent, the upper part of the piste was taken with best time, he is leading.

And Myers is coming down fast, taking the poles fluently, gliding, perfect style, not the hacking and bashing like the brutish Kaufman. He is has taken the dangerous patch perfectly, that has to be the new best time…. oh… fourth...he is fourth.
...
Well, we are coming back if Lafeuille falls. To the Biathlon course with Bulma Bouvier.
Goal in Bandy

Bulma Bouvier: And Nathan Nackt has won the sprint in the mass start. We needed a photo finish after 15 km as he, Simon Hallberg and Jorn Hun-Ho came in nearly with the same time. We have him here, he is still dancing with the Kriegiersien flag and pointing into the ranks. Mr. Nackt, the first Gold in Biathlon. When did you realize you could win a medal?

Nathan Nackt: When I started without missing a shot from the last shooting, I felt great. I had reserves. It was really close, but I knew I would win it. That is for you Kriegiersien. We are the best at 15 km and our family the best in Kriegiersien. Au.
Bulma Bouvier: You just got hit by a snowball from one of your teammates…
Nackt: Yeah, that is the only time this losers hit something. Wait you little...
Bulma Bouvier: While the two sort that out, back to Alpine Skiing.

Goals in Bandy!!!

And it is now 4:2 for Amuaplye. Unbelievable. It was a slugfest. Every shot a goal and now the Kriegiersien team has to open up to score the one goal that would let them get through with an embarrassing loss. Or better still win the game. It is still time.
Now to Alpine Skiing.

Thank you ... Sadly Lafeuille made a very good second run and won. Silver for Kaufman, a surprise and a fifth place for Myers.
To Curling.

Hannah Honey here in the Neverend Curling Club.
The women’s Curling team has won their games 7-4 against Quebec and 8-6 against Mattijana.
The title defenders controlled both games and literally blocked all attacks of their opponents with perfect stones, placing their own close to the middle.

Now it comes to the duel with the first of the table and host, Liventia, who haven’t lost a game either. The winner should have a good shot to qualify for the semis.
And good news from the Freestyle skiing—Men's slopestyle…

Yes, another gold here. Kraven won Gold for the Freestylers, a magical performance. That word is mentioned often for the Kriegiersien freestyle skiers, even though there were some mistakes, in the end his show convinced everyone with the most points..

Goal in Yeaddin We are going to the ice hockey match between Kriegiersien and Taeshan.

The Kriegiersien ladies scored the first goal. They are now leading 1:0 in the last third. A great counter attack, pass back to Lana Lane who scores. Looks good now, if the defense stays as impenetrable as always.

Back to the Ski Freestyle.

Thank you. We tried to get an interview with Kraven, but the good locking youngster is gone. Maybe we can get an interview after the medal ceremony.

Goal in Eels Park in Bandy.

That seems to be it. Amuaplye scores goal number five. 2-5 for the last of the group, Amuaplye, now. And with this goal the Kriegiersien girls would need 2 more goals to advance. We are coming back later, but it doesn’t look good.

Speed skating—Women's 500m FINAL
Harpreet Ventura wins silver with 37.12 behind Kristina Shannonhouse, that is a great result for the 30 year old Kriegiersien champion. A medal was her great dream, she now has made her dream come true. And a Statue for her in Schoenwetter, I don’t know if she has realized it yet, she looks a bit baffled. Maybe we can get an interview later.
Back to ice hockey.

And time is up, Kriegiersien wins 1:0. Now there is some punching going on again, after the rude playing style of the Kriegiersiens the whole game over.
Well, they are in the quarter finals against Mattijana, the nation that has beaten the men’s team in the group stage, maybe the ladies can avenge them.
Ah, interviews could be problematic here again, they are still fighting, to Bandy…

They think it is all over .. and it is. The game is over, the tournament is over for the favourite. The first loss of the Kriegiersien team and it is against the last of the group and with that they miss the final four. The team is down, nearly all players are crying or are in shock. Interviews here later, too. Maybe. Back to the studio.

Thanks. And that’s it. 2 Gold, 2 Silver, a great day, the best until now, beside the sad loss of the Bandy team. Some last news, the Snow Volleyball team of the women wins 15:12, 17:15 against Amuaplye and have two wins now after two games. Maybe they should have told the Bandy team how you do that, beating Amuaplye. More in the evening news, good bye for now.

[Diarcesia]

Somewhere in Yeaddin

"Now go with me, Barbara. We'll talk for a bit... Okay. Here's what you get to do. I'm going to give you the keys to my room."

"Good. I have found your place, Bila, but I don't know how to get inside."

"Very funny. Of course you do. Key card. Put in front of the sensor. You're good to go."

---

Olympic Village: Amber Anderson and Bila Ó Maol Dhomhnaigh's Room

"Barbara! How did you get in?"

"Sorry for the intrusion, Amber. Bila needs to buy something and... she allowed me to borrow her keys"

"You think this is safe?"

"There is always a risk to doing this thing, but we know each other. Here's your hat, you forgot them and Bila just found it."

"Oh thank you."

"Don't worry about it."

"This is my first time I worried for real that I've been trespassed, Barbara."

"I'm sorry."

"At least you could have knocked. This is our room, Bila and I, and here you are, the girl who barges in like it's your own house. So..."

"I should have curbed my enthusiasm."

"That's hard to say."

"You know, I used to make a living running on the streets by the city, going door to door. I'm supposed to be more than aware that I should knock or ring the bell. Having the key card with me made me forget all that"

[Ioudaia]

Ioudaian Olympic Village, Neverend, Liventia
Day 8
A large group, more than a dozen people, was gathered outside the collection of buildings making up the Ioudaian olympic village, many talking among themselves, most quietly, but some boisterously. Two men, though, stood quietly among the group, watching the street: one tall and youthful, the other starting to go grey.

As Jessica and Charlie walked, they soon found themselves at the Ioudaian Olympic Village. As they were to see a storefront, Jessica heard a click from a camera to see a man walk away from their direction, doing a quick glance, before continuing on. "Well, they know."

As if on cue, the taller man, Sela Xantippe, started to saunter towards the older one, Peneleos ben Chadad, almost immediately after the picture was taken. He leaned over to whisper to Peneleos. "Sir, did you see?"

"Mmm. Clumsy," came the equally low reply. "Unless it was meant to intimidate."

"Intimidate us?"

"Them." Peneleos' eyes flickered in Jessica and Charlie's direction. He started to say something else, but was interrupted by a shout from another group piling out from another part of the Ioudaian lodgings.

"Hey! You guys figure out the club scene here?" The speaker was Sarit Carras, a woman in her early 20s with auburn hair. She pulled into the lead of the second group, and was approaching Charlie, Jessica, Peneleos, and Sela at a fast walk, though it wasn't clear who she'd shouted to.

"Lots of people here." Charlie said, as a dozen people were gathering outside some buildings.

"Someone is getting an autograph or we might have company." Jessica figured, until Peneleos noticed the two away from the group and Sarit asked them about the club scene. "Club scene? We're just arrived here. I don't even know how the clubs are in this place." Jessica said to Sarit..

"Come on, Jessica. It could be fun. We can just dance."

"I don't even know what club music is like here, Charlie."

Sarit, now within easy chatting distance, looked embarrassed. "Oh, I didn't mean to put the two of your on the spot. I didn't know we had visitors. But if you're heading out for a night on the town, you could come with us, since we're looking for dinner, dancing, and shopping.

She held out a hand in greeting. "I'm Sarit Carris, a skier."

"Jessica Madden, celebrity I would say from Main Nation Ministry." Jessica said, where she shook her hand.

"My name is Charlie Huxley. I work with Jessica in her band." Charlie introduced herself, though she was nervous and she stepped more towards Jessica. "We checked out all the shops near our hotel. Found some stuff, but figured there were more things around here."

"We can hang with them for a while, Jessica. They seem nice." Charlie told Jessica, where she rubbed her chin, a bit in thought. "Depends on if this city has a nightclub that's friendly. Not much of a party girl, but we can see what interests people." Jessica said.

"We can check the online review sites, and see which clubs offer what we want." Sarit added a smile to her reply.

"Main Nation Ministry?" Peneleos looked thoughtful. "I've met a few people from there before." He thought for a moment, then looked over the group. "It looks like we have nearly everybody. Let's get moving." He waved his arm for attention, then shouted over the chatter. "We're moving out. Stragglers will have to catch up. Start checking your phones for places you want to get dinner at. Tamid, if you could bring up the rear... Thanks!"

And to Sela, he added a barely audible. "Take the middle please, and keep your eyes open for other bogies." With that, the now very large group set off down the street.

[OOC: Collab with Main Nation Ministry, to be continued...]

[Liventia]

Day 10 cutoff.

Neverend results: viewtopic.php?p=36380001#p36380001

[Gryphonian Alliance]

New Heights and Slopes for the Gryphonian Alliance at the XIV Winter Olympics
--Sebba Ingle, reporting from Neverend

Starting off with Day 8 in Yeaddin, West Phoenicia won over our nation's team in ice hockey quals 5-0. In Women's 1500m Short track speed skating, Gryphonian athlete Salynth Yireite placed 6th in her grouping and did not advance further, the same going for Misuka Aberua and Nicea Morrthe.
Maythel Barato finished 31st in Women's Skeleton Finals out of 54 competitors. In Men's Bandy Kriegiersien swept the GA team 12-2, leaving our team at 4th place in its grouping.

Day 9 in Neverend end started off bright, however, with Dye Bran-Daniellus finishing 4th in Men's 15 km mass start biathlon finals, coming just 3 seconds short of catching up to the third place competitor. While he was our most proficient entry to the event, he was far from being well-known or consistently high-performing. Now the Olympics have brought him all the way into the spotlight. Wilhelm Chepur did very nicely also, coming in 11th. Jon Daniellus followed in 25th place and Spito Watcho in 33rd.
Moving on to Women's curling, the GA team lost in an intense match against Darmen, losing 7-11. This was followed up by Amuaplye getting another win against the GA in the next round of curling, 11-5, succeeding the country's win against us Griffins in Snow Volleyball. Men's slopestyle saw Griffin athlete Birhn Shogalong placing 8th, qualifying her for the Final round. Unfortunately, the other two other Griffins in this event, Uguwu Odinson (37th) and Jonberds Longpantaloin (38th) did not move up. Finals saw Birhn Shogalong tying for 5th. Another great result for the Gryphonic delegation!
Gryphonian athletes in women's snow volleyball faced off against Fujai, giving our team a second loss.

Swooping over to Yeaddin's side of Day 9, our Two-Man Bobsleigh competitors finished gracefully, with our talented duo of Scobius Maxbert and John Mackthorn landing 4th in the initial 2 runs. Mishou Ouxia and Bigge Stolthen finished 12th. Cubolo Elasmi and Shiervartu Forretsuchi came 19th. All three of our teams in bobsleigh did well and we look forward to some more impressive performances from them coming up.
In Ice Hockey Valanora beat the GA 2-1, while the final round of Women's 500m speed skating saw 3 of our athletes- Beas Leary, Centrare Suddin, and Muestee Spring- getting disqualified for failing anti-doping tests. Rhea Mifaers was our sole athlete to actually participate, finishing 36th.
In Women's Bandy our delegation saw more success, with the Gryphonic team winning 7-3 over Ko-oren, giving us 2 wins and 2 losses.

Finally, let's look at Day 10 in Neverend. In Women's Curling, Kelssek won over the Gryphonian Alliance 6-3, but our team won against Taeshan in the following round, 4-2. Men's Curling saw similar results, with the GA winning 6-4 against Fujai but losing 6-7 against Darmen, meaning our delegation's now lost to Darmen in both women and men curling events.
The final round of Men's team large hill ski jumping saw our team of Yae Amertet, Goeint Culase, Reito Noweir, and Ucci Ban falling into 19th place out of 20.
As for qualifications for Women's big air snowboarding, none of our athletes were able to breach the top 4 to qualify. Holia Toniorgi placed 12th, Digenero Bautsu came in 9th, Ki Tumbudes in 6th, and Mirla Lungathai for 16th. The day in Neverend did end on a bright note, however, with the Gryphonian Alliance team winning over Free Republics in Men's snow volleyball, putting us in first place in Group C as of that round with 2 wins and 1 loss.

[Diarcesia]

Olympic Committee President Resigns

In a surprise press conference, Tom Cole, co-founder and the president of Chiyginia City-based Diarcesian Olympic Committe, has announced his resignation. He has overseen the participation of the Monarchy in the 13^th Summer and the ongoing 14^th Winter Games.

"It is with deep regret that I no longer find myself fit to be at the helm of this esteemed organization. I feel I have let many people down with my decisions," he said in his written apology.

The Heptarch and Chiyginian king Adrast is expected to be its acting head while officials are working to select Cole's replacement.

"We are aware of reports that athletes from certain diereses are not given ample opportunities to be selected to the Monarchic Team. We are working with the dieretic representatives to resolve the issue," spokesperson Maria Brown said. "We are constantly reviewing solutions and measures for these and will continue to provide assistance as required."

Cole is scheduled to step down on November 7.

[Fujai]

OOC note: For an in-time recap of some of these events, refer to these posts: #1, #2

DU-UKH, UUK – Keiserholde, Fujai — Hej folks, Berit here coming to you from DU-UKH, Den Blå Duken, UiKeiserholde's officially unofficial student radio. Den Blå Duken's Olympic Games coverage has been a bit lacking of late, but in place of today's Idrottsminutt [Sports Minute], we have a report on recent Olympic news and their relation to the current political situation.

For our international listeners, Fujai is a nation that prides itself on integrity, equity, and political involvement—this is the largest scandal to rock the nation in many years. Now, here's a brief recap of recent political events in Fujai.

Six days ago, amid nationwide celebrations for Fujai's first Olympic gold medalist, Huanna Genso (nordic combined), an exposé was published in the Keiserholde Arbeiderblad, which revealed a vote-rigging operation within the Fujansk government Implicated in the operation were three of the seven Rådgafer [members of Fujai's executive council], one of Moderigpartiet's leaders, 21 Velktingsrepresentants, and numerous bureaucrats and other party officials. The Rådgafer implicated were Fradovpartiet members Infrastruktursrådgaferen Geiri Tangen, Sosialrådgaferen Birgit Jonar, and Sentrum member Finansrådgaferen Myrk Vinje. FP and S are currently the first and fourth largest parties in the Velkting, respectively. The 21 implicated VRs came from the four historically largest parties in the country: Fradov, Grønner, Sentrum, and Moderig.

The nationwide celebrations for Huanna Genso quickly turned into mass protests—millions woke in the morning to a nation on the streets. By noon that day, protesters had swelled to over 1.4 million across the country, with 500,000 in Keiserholde alone (though it is unknown how many were in the streets for the earlier celebrations). The protesters, without central organization, began calling for new elections, the resignation of all upper officials from the four parties involved, and in-depth investigations into how deep the conspiracy went and how it could have possibly happened. By the end of the day, all three implicated Rådgafer had resigned, along with Moderig's co-leader, and many of the VRs involved, causing protest numbers to drop somewhat.

As the next day dawned, all Fujansk government representatives were recalled from both the Olympics and the Independents' Cup. The Monarch, Edvard 2., in an unusual stroke, flew out of Liventia to return to Solrunsborg [the building housing the Statsråd, Velkting, and Monarch's office] to try to restore order to the government and help oversee the assumedly coming election. That morning, Rød and Piratar, the two parties other than Fradov and Grønner in the governing Folksgruppe, announced that they would be leaving the coalition. After this point, there was no majority in the Velkting, and protests had swelled to a high point of 2.3 million people—nearly 40% of the country's population—800,000 of which were in Keiserholde alone, causing massive train delays the nation over as people rushed to the capital.

Protests have ebbed and flowed in the four days since then, bottoming out at an estimated 1.2 million yesterday after Fradov and Grønner, the nation's largest parties, acquiesced to demands with the resignation of all top party leaders. Moderig and Sentrum are each scheduled to host press conferences later today where it is expected their leaders will also resign. It is currently unknown how much, if any knowledge party leaders had about the vote-rigging operation, causing some to claim the protesters' demands go too far and the parties should not accept them. That being said, the operation cut across all major party lines and penetrated from the Statsråd to the bureaucracy—it seems unlikely that anyone could hide something that scale directly under the nose of party leaders.

Bringing things back to the present, early this morning the Monarch called a new election for six weeks from now—all members of the Statsråd and Velkting will be up for reelection. We expect Piratar, Syndik, and Rød to pick up seats from Fradov and Grønner, and Bondis and Koalisjon to take from Sentrum and Moderig. Nomination papers are due in two weeks, followed by a month of campaigning, so if you're interested in running, you had better decide quick!

There are still nearly 450,000 protesters in the streets of Keiserholde, with hundreds of thousands more across the country, but now that the elction has been called and most party leaders have resigned, we don't think they'll continue much longer as focus shifts to campaigning, debates, and getting out the vote. We'll be following the political situation very closely from here on out.

Whew, that was entirely too much monologuing for my tastes. On a lighter and much more surreal note, Fujai has won EIGHT medals so far?!!?? That's one for every seven hundred thousand people in this country, that's ridiculous, what is happening. Now to get to it, four medals, including two gold, came from, of course, our national sport of ski jumping. Fujai is tied with host Vilita in ski jumping medals, though we lead the Vilitans by one gold medal. There's only one ski jumping even left, so we're hoping our star women's competitors will be on top form.

The other four medals are two golds in nordic combined and bronze in biathlon and cross-country relay. Overall, the Fujansk team is performing far, far better than we ever could have hoped. Eight medals and numerous top ten finishes, and the games are only just after halfway finished! Granted some of Fujai's best sports are wrapping up their medal-giving portions, but there are still many nordic combined, biathlon, and cross-country events to come, so there are plenty of opportunities to make us proud, and by golly we sure are.

That's it for today's broadcast, I'll talk to you folks later!

[West Phoenicia]

Yeaddin, Vilita

Yeaddin Ice Centre:

"34th? 34th???" West Phoenician Tiffani Day stammered as soon as the door to the change room closed.
Her Ice dancing partner Baron Thomas Boelyn stepped as far back as possible, wanting to fade into the dull surroundings. His partner was going to explode...again.
If they didn't make such an amazing fairytale couple on the ice, he would have opted for a new partner a few years ago. But would he have? He did love her drive, her desire to win, had her pushing herself to greater levels and challenges. A less motivated skater, may have given up after a few attempts.

Small red welts flickered on her cheek, a sign her anger was boiling. Their coach was nowhere to be seen and if they didn't return soon he would be in the firing line of Hurricane Tiffani. Their coach was good like that, suddenly making themselves busy when Tiffani had one of her creative meltdowns. It wasn't healthy, the tragic life of a competitive perfectionist.


"We place 34th? Nova Blaine and Thaddeus Blaine 31st and the newcomers
Scarlett Blair and Ivan Johan place 7th. We won't even get an opportunity now in the free dance. And we have the golden winning routine. This sucks, we fucking helped secure a gold medal in the team trophy, and the judges pull this shit!" Tiffani felt the verbal flowing from her mouth. "They are called twizzles, and some of these teams think they must be called fizzles, as they fizzled on the ice,"

Thomas smirked at her comment, he loved twizzles and the dance spins, he thought they had performed those techniques spot on. Their dance lift and other elements had surely cost them points today, especially with timing. In eagerness to perform today, he had to admit they were ahead and moving too fast through some of their routine. The final pose had been slow to get to, and sloppy. They did not give their best performance today, but he at least thought the technique they did show would have landed them in the top 20. From there, the free dance would have leapts them higher on final rankings.

Tiffani had sat down on one of the benches, as she began removing her skates.
He wondered if they had also been penalised for clothing choice. It was rare at this level to make such a blunder, however West Phoenician coaches were always wanting to put on a show, be risky and step out of the box. Costumes deemed to garish or theatrical could see a judge clucking their tongue in displeasure.
He wouldn't tell Tiffani as she would rip his head off and use off as a bowling ball but her outfit was questionable. It was short with the traditional West Phoenician colours of purple and gold in cut diamonds, which left little to the imagination of the non gay men who had shown up to watch the event.

"How on earth did we even lose against Nova Blaine and Thaddeus Blaine? Nova has thighs for days. I don't like sounding mean, but I don't have an inch of fat on my slender frame, while her thighs have Thaddeus orbiting around her as if she is this huge planet and he is the moon."

"We will do better next time,"Thomas said, "Can't change the results now. Just have to practise more, and focus on timing. We did go a tad fast today. You have to admit that. And it was not our best we have done. I didn't even feel the step sequence was out best, I don't know I felt sluggish today."

"Tis true, but Ivan lifting Scarlett for their dance lift was shaky, I'm positive she didn't wear panties for that reason. She knew the lift would suck, so she had to give them another show. Yeah, I'm probably jealous but they don't have a great free dance number. They won't break the top 10 Overall. Which is a shame, figure skating events are where we shine. Would be nice for ice dancing to hit a home run. It would definitely boost the portfolio of the event back home."

"Win or lose we gotta be in the audience, Would be nice if a West Phoenician took home a medal in the event."

"Yeah but should be us not them," Tiffani laughed.

The door to the change room opened and closed Nova Blaine and her dance partner Thaddeus strolled in, nodding to the two.

"Can you believe those judges?" Nova whined, "both of our teams were robbed. All because Scarlett didn't wear panties or so I heard, or so I'm telling everyone," Nova said with an evil laugh.

Tiffani burst into fits of laughter, "We were just discussing that. They give a shitty dance lift and it's saved them because she showed extra spirit." Both girls hi-fived.

"Post event interviews in 15 minutes ladies and gentlemen," a voice shouted out from the door.

"Oh I hate this part,"Nova whispered. "Gotta keep the face happy, and saying how much better we will do next time, while we wish our team mate success moving forward to the free dance."

"True,"Tiffani nodded in agreement. She fiddled with one of her fake eyelashes. "But better a West Phoenician right.."