XV Olympic Winter Games - RP thread

by **Waisnor** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 9:20 am

First medal is won!

Fourth day of the Olympics bringed first medal to Waisnor and also we have some other nice results:

Polina Kosmina, who was performing in snowboarding slopestyle, has already shown that she can qualify for medals by finishing 2nd in her qualifying group. However, in order to get the medal, she had to give her 100 percent.
But on the first attempt it was not visible - there were some mistakes in performance, Polina did not take off especially high, and according to the results of the first attempt she was 3rd from the end with a score of 62.75 points. After the first attempt, Miroslava Kozel from Equestrian States of Poland took a fairly stable lead.
Since here the best result of the two becomes the final result, Kosmina still had chances of winning or medals.
And in the second attempt, Polina took advantage of it. She performed difficult tricks perfectly, had a very nice variety and did a great performance overall, which earned her 85.80 points. This allowed her to take second place and the first Waisnorian medal in NS Winter Olympics. Gold was taken by Kylie Renassler from the host nation of Kelssek, who had a truly outstanding performance and score 92.83 points, 7 points ahead of Kosmina.
Interestingly, the first medal of Waisnor in regular Winter Olympics was also silver - in 1994 games Alexander Izotov earned this medal in 1000m speed skating discipline.

Speaking about other results and speed skating, it is worth noting the performance of Alexander Karnitsky in 1500m discipline. He was considered pretty strong skater, although it will be extremely difficult for him to fight for medals, and the athlete himself did not count on medals.
The competition in this race was even stronger than in the women's race for the same distance - 115 people participated. However, Karnitskiy was immediately able to enter the leading group and tried to reach the top ten.
Alexander was able to overtake several rivals and towards the end the struggle began to get with Abdul Barzegar from Gragastavia and Kong An from Xuande-Xiphoi. All three wanted to get a higher places for their teams and those people who could interfere with their battle broke away or fell behind.
According to the results, Abdul became the leader among these three, and Alexander became the second and eventually took 19th place, which can be called a pretty good result.

OTHER WAISNORIAN RESULTS
Nikita Konstantinov and Nikolay Zinoviev placed 78th and 84th respectively in biathlon sprint

by **Siovanija and Teusland** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 11:24 am

TU Stelburg

Faculty of Arts - HIS 3305

Teus History Pre-1130AD
Professor Johann Richtenbach

Lecture 3: Religion, Part II

We have discussed the old Teus pagan religion, and its hold on Teus culture in the early medieval period. However, if you exit our classroom today and walk down the Universitatsring, you will not notice any shrines or symbols dedicated to the pagan gods - instead, you will see the Church of St. Gotthard, and if you head downtown to the Teuslandplatz for a visit to the cafe after class, you will not do so in the shadow of a shrine to Donar, it will instead be Sankt Georg’s Cathedral. Clearly, there was a change in Teusland at some point. Let’s examine that change.

By the year 1000, as mentioned, Teus pagan beliefs were deeply rooted in the Teus lands. However, there was no centralized organization for these beliefs, as mentioned. Different regions held varying beliefs as to which Gods were responsible for which categories, for example, and regions also differed on how important religion was. In the Duchy of Stelburg, for example, religion was directly tied with war, and priests often served as part of the advisory council to the dukes. In the southwest, in the Duchy of Pomen, priests had no relation whatsoever with everyday governance.

In what scholars estimate to be the year 1055, ships were sighted in the port of Donarsheim (modern St. Jakob). These ships were of foreign origin, and the Teus did not know what exactly to make of the foreigners approaching their shores. There was great panic in the city, as some feared it was a sign of the end of times, while others feared a foreign land was coming to conquer. The Teus at Donarsheim did not appear to be strong enough to repel any invasion, given the technology on display, so the Duke of the day, Sieger IV the Great, made a decision that would arguably have the most impact on Teus history of any decision ever taken: he chose to meet with the foreigners face to face as soon as they arrived.

Taking his life in his own hands, Sieger met with the foreigners, and learned that they were foreign traders exploring the seas in southwestern Atlantian Oceania. Much to the surprise of the Teus, they seemed able to understand the local language, claiming to have met groups speaking similar languages in the past. The Teus were quite upset at this suggestion, believing they were unique in the world, and in many cases believed the visitors were spies sent from Stelburg or one of the other duchies. Sieger, believing he could strengthen his position, attempted to make an alliance with these foreigners and use them to help him dominate Teusland. The traders agreed to return a year later with an ‘Army of God’ to help the Teus.

Imagine the surprise of Sieger and the others in Donarsheim, then, when one year later, the traders returned with an army armed with Bibles instead of swords. Despite the understanding between the groups, each had made a key mistake: those in Donarsheim wanted a powerful army to help them conquer the lands, the traders wanted an ‘army of God’ to convert the Teus population to the Catholic religion.

Sieger immediately kicked them out of the city, but the missionaries would not be turned away, and they arrived in various communities around Donarsheim, as well as travelling up the River Drai to the city of Stelburg. At first, the missionaries made little progress, and were met with mockery by most of the Teus. An event in Stelburg, however, would change the course of Teus history permanently.

In Stelburg, there was a tree located near the modern-day Teuslandplatz that had once been struck by lightning. The locals believed it to be a symbol of Donar’s support for the city, as it had remained standing, and it was seen as a sacred object. Hundreds would gather for ceremonies at the tree. In an attempt to mock the missionaries, a local priest invited them to attempt to cut down the tree, saying that it would be impossible, and Donar would surely strike any who tried down immediately. In front of a crowd of thousands, including the Duke of Stelburg at the time, the tree was felled, and no lightning struck to stop them.

Immediately, there were mass conversions, and that same day Duke Waldemar of Stelburg was baptized in the River Drai. Pagan symbols and statues were taken down, and plans were made immediately for Stelburg’s first Catholic church. Word of the events in Stelburg quickly spread amongst Teus populations in various cities, and in Donarsheim, Sieger agreed reluctantly to allow the missionaries back into the city.

Conversions happened quickly across northern and eastern Teusland during this time. The process was similar in most villages. Word spread of the events in major cities, and missionaries soon arrived, leading a process in which often shrines were destroyed and crosses erected, while plans to build a Church were constructed. It was often seen that little of the culture had changed - cities now wanted to pick various Saints to be their patron and be on their side in times of war.

Two of the most significant conversions, both for their status as major cities and also the effect these conversions have had on our understanding of Teus paganism, were in Felsenstadt and Donarsheim. In Felsenstadt, missionaries arrived to the city in the months after the Christianization of Stelburg. The city was named for the large rock in its bay, which it was believed had been placed there by Woden himself. After a rousing speech by missionaries, a violent mob made its way to the seashore, throwing rocks at Woden’s Rock, and noticing cracks starting to appear, made their way down to the sea to be baptized. It was on this spot that the Church of St. Peter at Pagan’s Rock was built, and the city renamed Felsenkirchen. In Donarsheim, a mob set fire to the temple of Donar, burning all inside, and St. Jakob’s Cathedral would soon be built on the spot.

The events in St. Jakob had one major consequence, however. The copy of Volkmar’s Saga was burned with the temple. Volkmar’s Saga had suffered various indignant fates in many cities. In Stelburg, it had been thrown into the River Drai, in Felsenkirchen, thrown into the ocean. Sometimes, some of the pages were able to be smuggled out into the villages in the countryside where conversions had not yet taken place. But soon, gangs from the cities were making their way out into the countryside and attacking those villages that had yet to convert.

Volkmar’s Saga contained 687 pages. Due to the various burnings, as well as the fact that usually only larger cities kept full copies of the book (the only complete version was said to be in Stelburg, with those in other cities missing a few pages), we have accounted today for only 206 of the pages, most of which deal with stories of the Gods, and tell the complete story of the eventual ending of the world, in which the Gods are said to come down and do battle on earth.

Not all places were so eager to give up on the old beliefs, however. In the city of Marlesee, for example, paganism retained a strong hold. Missionaries had not reached the city directly, and those in Marlesee were greatly dismayed by the events they heard about. Pagans fled areas like Stelburg and St. Jakob, arriving in Marlesee, and told stories of Christian brutality, the execution of pagans and the burning of temples. Marlesee were prepared to defend their pagan beliefs to the death, and the Christian duchies were happy to oblige. The resulting conflict would lead to major changes again within Teusland.

In the next lecture, we will discuss the conflict between the Teus duchies over the next years - dubbed its first civil war - as well as explore the situation in Teusland on the eve of the Siovanijan invasion in 1130.

by **Kriegiersien** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 1:27 pm

Today Today Today

Bringing you the important, hot NEWS from yesterday just now!!!

Olympic fever :oops:

Desmund Desnudo wins silver in Biathlon. You won’t believe what he said after that!

“I did as ordered. Winning silver. Could have easily gotten this Schwartzguy, too, but we should win silver, so I did. I also was the best Kriegiersien. Don’t want to brag or offend my teammates, who were slower. Just telling the truth.”

Maryden Aquan-Athlok wins Bronze in Women‘s Slopestyle. Then something unbelievable happened!!

Her father, whom she hadn’t seen for a month, came surprisingly out of the crowd of spectators and shoved her boyfriend on his knees in front of Mary, who made her a wedding proposal. She said Yes and they both cried.

The Kriegiersien bandy team of the men has arrived. What they had in their luggage will surprise you!

Captain Simon Grump had an adorable cat with him, which is the mascot of the team. It is just too cute to show it here. Danger for the teeth not only because of the playing style of the team, but also because the cat called “Sugar” is so sweet.

The Curlinghamsters are out!

Such a sweet couple of hamsters you think?
Wrong!!!!
After losing for the first time and with that every chance for a medal, Boo and Ingrid Hamster turned on each other. Thanks to their teammates both could be separated. Divorce incoming?

similar to illustration

Who are the hottest athletes? Who is doing it with whom? Why? And how often? Find out all secrets on the next page. :ugeek:

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(ooc:) Sera is still not totally safe for work

Sera had to admit that. It had been a nice night. When the pub or Tavern or whatever they called it closed, Solas went out with them, only the three. Him, Sara, Naomi. Solas vanished soon when they started a snowball fight. He was too serious for that. He had told Sera before to not drink too much to stay focused and fit for the next day and she really didn’t. Not as much as Naomi, who was totally wasted.
The two of them went on singing songs in the streets, throwing snow balls at windows, prank buzzing and running away laughing. That was fun time.
But however, even when they slipped and fell together in the snow, needing to help each other up, Sera saw that Naomi had no eyes for her. She had talked so much about Solas and was sorry that the boring prick was not with them. Even for Sera, who wasn’t best in decoding signals, it was clear that Naomis interest was only on one side.
Her loss.

The first jump of the day had been terrible. She had awoken with a headache and angry. She was angry on the way to the jumping hill, she was distracted at her jump. She was far behind after the first round.

The signal came. She took off for second time today, reached the end of the ramp and became a bird. An angry bird. So much beauty in flying, so much power. She flew and flew and landed in the snow. Perfect.

Naomi awaited her at the end of the run-off area, looking gorgeous as always.

“That was great. If you had done this the first time, you would have gotten a medal.”

Would have. Could have. A great night and great day. Could have been a greater night. But it hadn’t. Fuck this sport. Fuck Naomi. She wished.

“Don’t be too sad, we have further chances. We want to make a board game night with the men after training. Are you coming?”, asked Naomi her.
Sera took a deep breath.
“Sure”, she said.

by **Teremaran Olympics Delegation** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 3:19 pm

Athlete’s Village
Clayquot, Kelssek

“Two medals is an excellent start,” Andro mumbled, rapidly tapping in a few more numbers into his spreadsheet. “A gold and a silver… especially from two athletes who haven’t yet won one.”

He paused and leaned back, glancing out the window. The day was, loosely, overcast but not depressing. The cold air added a certain visual warmth, which was odd, considering it was literally freezing outside.

“Now the question… how do we push our usual suspects to start winning?”

Andro’s computer whizzed to life as he activated a calculator macro, with the intention being to perform a variety of Monte Carlo-style analyses of his data inputs. There was something off with his models. He knew it instinctively, and yet, he couldn’t quite place what it was.

“These numbers are sound… The formulas are tested…” he began to rattle off, performing a verbal and mental diagnostic of the system. “My r coefficient is always near 1.0.”

A thought crept into his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. He knew what he was doing. He was sure of it. It wasn’t the model, but something different. There was a variable he hadn’t accounted for.

Andro exhaled slowly, as if he were a vent releasing pent up air. “How does one measure that?”

There had to be a way. If it existed, it could be measured. Mathematics was the universal language. Infinite possibilities could be depicted by simple numbers. Therefore, there had to be some viable way to capture its impact. Any interaction within space and matter operated under the same universal set of principles and physics.

“Who could I ask for input?” He wondered aloud, into the darkness of his room.

Only then did he realize that the room was dark. It caught him off guard. Where was his laptop? The weight on his lap quickly clarified that point instantly. He fumbled for the start button, but received no response upon pressing it. He fumbled again for the power cord…

And quickly realized it wasn’t hooked up. He stood and began to search his room. With a hand outstretched for safety, he casually glided towards the bed and to his bag. Unzipping the top sleeve on instinct, he inserted his hand and fumbled around looking for his charger.

He found nothing. Andro’s breathing intensified. His hands darted to open and unzip the other compartments, one after another. Each yielded the same answer… no charger. If it wasn’t in his bag, and if it wasn’t connected to his laptop, then it meant he didn’t have it. Carefully, he rewound the tape in his mind trying to figure out where he could have left it.

Then it hit him. It was probably still on the airplane, somewhere halfway around the world. He exhaled heavily, again, and sank onto the bed.

“Shit…” he mumbled to himself.

by **Mytanija** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 3:53 pm

CURLING DUO SET-UP REMATCH WITH KELSSEK PAIR FOR GOLD
LAZAREVIC AND SAVICEVIC LOST TO DUBOIS AND GRÉGOIRE IN THE GROUPS - CAN THEY WIN THIS TIME?

by Ilya Zivalvyuk

Branko Lazarevic and Danika Savicevic moved into the finals of the Winter Olympics mixed doubles curling yesterday. Their 8-6 semi-final victory over Saint-Domingues’ pair Blaise Arcenaux and Nina Guillaume set-up a hotly anticipated rematch with their group-mates from Kelssek, Cholé Dubois and Destry Grégoire who won their own semi-final over one of the other favourites in the tournament in Liventian duo Barrett and Weekes. Many in Mytanija may have been hoping for an all-Rushmori match-up in the final but Lazarevic and Savicevic will face the Kelssekians looking to avenge their 7-5 defeat in the group stage.

It will be a doubly important game as the winner will be the Olympic champion and walk away with a gold medal. Even a silver in this event will be well received by the OKM, but as I pointed out in yesterday’s article there is a bit of disquiet among the commission’s ranks due to Mytanija’s current underperformance in some of the events we were expected to be strong in during this games – particularly in skiing events. Lazarevic and Savicevic’s success will be a salve on the disquiet and perhaps demonstrate that the investment the commission has put into winter sports is at least having some pay-off. Curling is an area which has gained a good level of investment and does seem to be having good results at the moment.

Lazarevic and Savicevic needed a brilliant final end to gain the upper-hand in their tightly fought semi-final. Arcenaux and Guillaume competed gamely and it made for an excellent fixture, the two teams were level at 6-6 heading into the final end of the match. Lazarevic took charge and his final stone shifted the encounter as he moved the Saint-Domingues’ pair’s stone out of the house to leave two Mytanar stones nearer to the button and get the all-important final two points which secured the victory and moved Mytanija into the gold medal match. The Saint-Domingues’ pair will compete in the bronze medal match against our friends from Liventia.

Many neutrals will be watching eagerly to see if the imperious Kelssekian duo can be stopped, Dubois and Grégoire haven’t lost a match so far at this Olympics and have seemed irresistible at times. It will be a huge challenge for Lazarevic and Savicevic to try to take the positives from the defeat during the group stage and find a way to beat them for the gold medal. They did have some joy in that match, managing to score 5 and limiting Kelssek’s pair to 7 points. That is the least Dubois and Grégoire have scored in any match at the Olympics and that may give our pair some confidence, their defensive performance was the best that any opponent has offered up against the Kelssekians.

It will be a tough game, but the least Lazarevic and Savicevic can come out with is a silver, so hopefully that will give them a bit of freedom to try and play in an aggressive way which could give the Dubois and Grégoire some questions to answer which they perhaps haven’t faced so far during the Olympics.

More disappointment in the alpine skiing

Slava Preobrazhensky was the best of a bad bunch for Mytanija in the men’s super-combined. He finished tied for 35th and well out of medal contention, nearly two full seconds down on the gold medal winner Elias Buhl from Siovanija and Teusland. It was a great day for them as they also locked-out the silver medal through Bastian Werner. All three of the other Mytanar entrants didn’t log a time, with Ilarion Rajkovic disqualified and Josif Tsonchev and Mirsad Causevic failing to finish their runs. Tsonchev has had a really disappointing Olympics following his poor showing in his best event, the downhill.

There are more events to come where there will hopefully be an upturn in fortunes but given what has occurred so far neither Ski Mytanija nor the OKM will be holding up much hope as Mytanar skiers seem to be a struggling against the top quality rivals from other nations. The Olympics is a level higher than even the Alpine Skiing World Tour where Mytanar skiers impressed, with many nations not entering the latter but coming into the former and fighting for medals. Slava Preobrazhensky has a couple more events to try and deliver on the hopes of a nation, but it may be a case of the expectation and pressure of Mytanar sports fans being misplaced. Hopefully this will at least be a springboard to better results next time if the poor results do continue.

by **Ioudaia** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 3:57 pm

Biathlon: Men's 10 km Sprint
Coronet Park, Clayquot
Day 4

With a sigh, Peneleos ben Chadad turned away from the leaderboard and to his teammates. "Not a good day, but not the worst. But by now, I ought to do better against stationary targets that don't shoot back."

Phaedo timidly said, "With all respect, this was a good day for me."

"Yes, right. Sorry. I was hopeful that three of us get into the pursuit. Getting all of us through took work on the other guys' parts. I always appreciate when the other guys do work for us." Peneleos looked over the group heading for the winners' podium, smiling and nodding as he did. "But none of us got especially close in this race, so we'll have a lot of work ahead of us. But it's better than nothing."

Amyris ben Hillel was visibly puzzled. "You wouldn't have rather won a medal?"

"Oh, sure, then I wouldn't keep having to drag my body all over the world, skiing and shooting for years on end." A bit of humor came to his face: he wasn't entirely serious. "But as a consolation prize, I'll take it. We'll start out behind, far behind, but there will be less than half the skiers. And few people have two good days in a row. Kyra's good, and she was also lucky last year. Given the number of opportunities the competition has already given us, we have a chance."

Cocking his head, Amyris asked, "A chance or a good chance?"

Peneleos stopped, turned, and looked squarely at Amyris. "In other situations with a similar chance, I'd try change the rules, but that's not considered... sporting here." Another flash of a smile. "So, we work with what we have.

"I need to practice with Hermine a bit later. Let's see if we can hold a joint practice with the women to get a better sense of how hard catching up from our deficits will be. Just a few laps should do. Hermine will probably return my favor; Kyra might offer one. And they might appreciate unusually hard competitors to train for their next race. Have to see."

Cross Country Skiing: Women's Individual Sprint
Coronet Park, Clayquot
Day 5

Peninah bat Alona couldn't help but noticing her teammates' unease at the approaching start. "Relax. It's just like skiing back home. Just think about how you'll ski your race, and everything will be just fine. Remember, I won a medal my first year at the olympics. You guys could too!"

Anais Tikva sputtered out, "Y-y-you're a lot better than we are!"

"Not that much better. We're all here in the olympics."

"But you are better." Flat, matter of fact, nothing more to see here.

"Don't worry about it. Just ski. You'll be OK."

Anais and Mehira glanced at each other. "Yeah." "Right."

Peninah turned to face down the course. That didn't work. Time to talk to soldier boy about how he does it.

Figure skating: Pairs - short program
Partisans Arena, Clayquot
Day 5

"Music fans! This is Eber ben Celeas Eyal. Music Beat is bringing you pairs figure skating live from the XV Winter Games in Clayquot, Kelssek! All the figure skating disciplines have music at their very centers. No music: no timing, and no routine. Ioudaia has three pairs entered, and all three of them made some excellent musical choices. We'll talk a little about the competition, but this show is going to be mostly about our athletes, with musical analysis during and after their routines."

* * *

"First up for Ioudaia are Lois Antoniadis and Deukalion Hatzis. They've chosen a selection from Alon Navid Yaunozhad's 1891 Third Symphony, stripping down each movement to just its initial theme, but keeping the work's overall fast-slow-fast tempo."

* * *

"We're just about at the middle of the adagio passage, and here they go into the centerpiece of their performance. Look at that! It's amazing the way they just flow into a side-by-side triple salchow followed by a throw triple Axel! They're making it look as easy as walking, but the skating pros tell me that's technically very difficult. If the judges think it looks as good as I do, they should be in great shape."

* * *

"Zakai Plades and Keidar Eudoias bat Zemmer and Zakai Plades won't waste any time here. Their instrumental choice starts out with a 130 beats per minute vivace pace and as soon as they finish crossing the ice with this step sequence, we're about to see-- There it is! Keidar did a Lutz take-off into a quadruple twist lift. Did you see how long see stayed airborne? That's Zakai's strength for you. And look at the way that leads directly into this move: a backward outside death spiral and... *boom* That's a hip lift! The pros say that's a difficult set of difficult moves, and they're aiming to really wow the judges as quickly as they can.

"The tempo's slowing down now, and it's going to keep slowing down, because that early climax takes a ton of work. Now, they're starting to set up a spin combination..."

* * *

"...and in just a few moments, we'll see why Hippon and Theano chose Gol-e Sorkh for their performance. Kabiruz vocal jazz altos do some amazing things, and Hippon and Theano are going to match them. This first part is a, uh... 'pair spin sit-camel-scratchspin without non-basic positions', and now-- Did you catch that?? They leapt smoothly from the spins, taking off just as the singer hits that extended high note! That was a side-by-side quadruple jump! They need all that air time to fill that lovely melisma. Oh, a 'quadruple toe jump'... Sorry about that, I'm a music person, not a skater!"

by **Aboveland** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 4:01 pm

Sami slurped the raspberry ice cream trickling down his thumb before it reached his wrist, giggling as Emi did the same with her vanilla. Despite their frozen treat, they were both wearing light coats, knit hats and rubbing their own knees together to stay relatively comfortable in the cold.

"Thank God for rest days," Sami said, happily and smacking his lips. Emi nodded. "So how'd you get into skating anyway?"

Emi turned to him, frowning with a half smile. "What else could I have done?" she asked incredulously. "There's literally nothing else apart from ice sports in Nykipiflugpuu. Maybe folkrace, but it's not very professional." She paused to bite the pointy tip of her soft serve ice cream. "How didn't you get into that?"

Sami shook his head, scrunching his nose. He inhaled, as if about to speak, but paused, indicating he'd changed what he was about to say. "I wasn't very good, actually," he muttered, chuckling regretfully, but not with sadness. "I don't really remember anything of note from that time... apart from how good Janne Laukkanen was." His eyes turned to melancholy, and his tone dropped off unexpectedly, but he finished with a warm smile.

"Who?" croaked Emi, her throat numb.

Sami frowned. "Janne Laukkanen? A grand prix driver." Emi, still not following, cocked her head. "You know Terho Talvela?"

Still no.

"Well, like that, never mind." They laughed together. "I thought you'd know, given..." He licked his lips, buying himself time to search for the right words to tread the line between inclusiveness and offensiveness. "Given how well you speak Abovian. How'd you learn, anyway?"

Emi uttered a throaty sound mid-swallow, then began. "All there is to do in Timantirkas is ice skate and watch Abovian soaps," she said. "But the old ones. The old, cheesy ones. And there aren't any dubs--" she stopped abruptly, as if interrupting herself, to assure, "--not that I'd ever watch a dubbed show."

Sami groaned and she agreed, bonding over their shared disdain for Abovian dubs and continuing. "But, well... I had to actually study Abovian at one point." Now, her tone drops, darker than Sami's had. She stammered, unsure whether to continue or not, but realized she'd gone too far already and had to finish. "During, and after, the war. We didn't have TV anymore. It's coming back now. Sort of."

Her sentences, turned short and jabbing, mellowed the mood they'd been carrying all day. Sami, awkwardly, took the last lump of raspberry from his cone with his tongue and grazed the mint chocolate chip at its base. Taking his time to swallow, he turned to face the park, silently, then looked back at Emi, attempting to salvage the conversation.

"Sorry," he said, apologizing on Aboveland's behalf. He winced.

"It's fine," dismissed Emi. "I was little, anyway. And it wasn't your fault either." She smiled, in a conciliatory way. "It'd be silly of me to hate Abovians or something." Her tone then became more cheerful, optimistic in nature. "I love Aboveland, or what I know of it at least." Her eyes turned calm and understanding.

Sami, however, wasn't entirely convinced; if Emi was so dismissive of the Sparkswoodian war and not hostile towards Abovians... then what was the deal with every other Nykipik?

"What's with the pins?" Sami inquired, rather bluntly, and somewhat hurting Emi's feelings after her heartfelt attempt at ending the conversation. Still, she was undeterred from replying.

She sighed. "Kuldar's idea. But everyone else went along with it." A pause ensued, Sami prodding her to elaborate with his inquisitive look. Shaking her head, she continued. "It's some... nationalist bullshit." Sami gasped lightly; Emi was the least cussy person he'd ever met. "But I don't want to talk about it." She closed her statement with a smile, half-kind, half-you're-getting-on-my-nerves,-okay?.

Still, Sami wouldn't back down. He'd been resisting the urge to ask about Kuldar, ask anything about Kuldar, but ultimately let his desire slip.

"Is that why Kuldar is so off?" he asked?

Emi frowned, puckering her mouth. She still had half her ice cream left.

"Let's go back," she said, the half of kindness in her smile now replaced by irony. "It's kinda late," she muttered through her teeth, knowing as she'd just glanced at her watch that it was 4 PM. Sami, though, understood he wasn't to try to keep it going. "Okay," he replied.

"Noora," says Noora dryly with a slight nod, greeting Noora.

Noora copies her, almost mockingly, down to the excessive cock of her head. "Noora."

Both Noora and Noora, Kukkula and Kuivala, are dressed in their deep blue leotards, adorned with an array of glittery crystals and fuzzy bright green accent lines with the texture of moss, already wearing their skates.

Noora sticks out her hand, her face not abandoning its telltale disgust. "Ready?" she asks.

Noora nods, slowly reaching out to meet Noora's, and giving it a single, short shake. "Sure."

Noora swallows some saliva, and with it, her pride. "We can do this."

From ÆLunder Nyttispalvelu

In Aboveland, the Kukkula/Kuivala rivalry, commonly referred to as the Battle of the Nooras, is what made the sport so popular in the Nordic country in the first place. The Ayarii girls made their skating starts in 2015 after moving to the then-newly inaugurated capital city of Vankkavalta following the Ayarii Bombings, and began their skating careers quite late at the age of 15. Initially, the two tended to compete together in pairs events: while Kuivala brought the poise and technique, it was Kukkula who was famed for adding a punch of spice and outlandishness to the duo's routines. As their careers progressed, however, a mutual desire to stand out led them both to seek individual success; frequently competing against each other, and with a tendency for their head to head record to err ever so slightly in favor of Kuivala, the teenage friends ripped their bond to shreds as their rivalry, and Kukkula's frustration at her more ambitious routines not quite getting the same recognition as her counterpart's with her flawlessly executed elements, grew more bitter. Much to both of their disdains, neither Kuivala or Kukkula managed to reach the same levels of success as they had while competing in pairs, going from dominating domestic events to struggling to stand on the podiums. Though in the media it's Kuivala whose image is the more polished of the two, Kukkula has never shied away from expressing her dislike for Kuivala, calling her squeaky-clean image "a farce" and swearing her rival is far more "nasty" than she portrays herself as.

And yet, the AOC decided pairing them together again, skating to the song that had brought them into the spotlight as teenagers, would be a good idea. It's an ambitious choice, the two having competed together for the last time in 2018, but it might just work: as rivals, the added pressure of defeating the other has proved to cause both of them, even Kuivala, to trip and falter. Perhaps, their mutual desire to excel will outweigh that of proving their self-worth against each other.

by **Kelssek** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 4:25 pm

RP cutoff. Day 5 results.

by **West Phoenicia** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 9:20 pm

It was to be a crowning moment for the West Phoenician women's hockey team.
Originally named the Ice Queens, the team received a facelift on the lead up to the Winter Olympics. The old name was dropped as "too boring" and instead they rebranded as The Glacier Maidens.

The XV Winter Olympics would be the first international appearance with the new branding. The publicity department spent months promoting the team to citizens, encouraging them to get behind and support the women.

Head coach Elizabeth Lost participated in several sports interviews, praising the team, signalling this would be their year to step away from the shadows.

When the groups were announced, many noticed the startled look upon the coaches faces.

The draw placed the Glacier Maidens in Group F, where they would compete against,
Krytenia
Banija
Kelssek
Xuande-Xiphoi
Siovanija & Teusland
West Phoenicia

Top two teams of each group would advance to the round of 16. Third-placed teams and two best fourth-place teams advance to play-in round.

While she wouldn't voice it to the public, a quiet meeting with her coaching staff when the grouping news broke, obviously raised questions, at best they could aim for the play-in round. They knew four of the other teams, none of which were mediocre. It would be a tough battle, especially Kelssek who had the home ground advantage by pulling in a larger fan base to cheer their players on.

The first game would set the trend for the remainder of the competition. Unfortunately, the first match was against Kelssek.
Their moment to shine, had an opposite effect as the Glacier Maidens succumbed to their opponents 0-2.
Leading to one fan stating it took the Titanic two hours to sink, while the Glacier Maidens succumbed in 60 minutes.

Felicia Syd and Pilar Orengo for defence.
Titania Russell, Tina Alvoni, Cleopatra Okabi playing forward. While seasoned player Mona Hobson acted as a goalkeeper.
They would be the first six Glacier Maidens to take to the rink at the Partisan Arena.

Geared up and ready to bring home a little glory for their debut match. The team had no issue being rough as long as it justifies a win.
The quick sizing up of the competition and their menacing looks as they took to the ice was not going to assist them in winning the day.

The game barely surpassed 10 minutes play, both teams engaged in equal play with no dominant leading. Number #05 Titania Russell was sent to the box for a two-minute minor penalty due to tripping an opposing player.

Normally the West Phoenician women's army of fans who would fill the arena during home matches would have booed the decision, unfortunately, were nowhere in sight, except for a handful of small West Phoenician flags being waved.

Down a man, Kelssek was able to take advantage of the penalty with their left-wing forward smacking the puck across the ice after performing a flawless Shoulder-checking of her opponent.

The puck swished across the ice, like a figure skater performing a set of eights on the ice and into the goal before Mona Hobson registered it was heading straight into her path like a homing missile.

Officials were called in to stop the verbal beating Mona Hobson suffered from her team.
Before the game resumed.

Cleopatra Okabi made a brave attempt to even the score before the end of the first period.
She danced around the opposing defensemen who attempted to check her. However when she fired off the puck with a massive blow from the stock. The opposition goalie was already laying in wait, stepping in to stop the puck heading down the centre of the goal.

By the end of the first-period buzzer, Kelssek were up 1-0.

The second period saw a flurry of action from both teams. Kelssek were playing a great defensive game.
The Kelssek defender checked their opposition any time they got near the goals, frustrating the forward Glacier Maiden.

During the second period, Tina Alvoni was twice unsuccessful in hitting the puck into the goal. Outmaneuvered by the Kelssek goalie.
With two minutes left in the second period Kelssek secured their second goal of the match by pulling a deke and faking out Mona Hobson, who was so focused on protecting the goal from the right-winger, she missed the lighting flash move that pushed the puck to the left-winger who seized their opportunity.
Mine's move was slow and sluggish, as she transitioned to react to the new threat.
The puck quickly passed back to the right-winger with an audible whoosh before it was shot the goal.

By the third period, Coach Elizabeth Lost considered pulling the goalie to bring another forward into the match, to break the strong barrier that Kelssek formed.

Assistant coach Salvador Chavez was fiercely against the decision, it was too much of a risky move. They could not allow the opposition an opportunity for an easy goal.
Other offensive tactics were contemplated, but it just was not West Phoenicia's match to win.
Their Forechecking was just sloppy throughout the second and third period. With the 1–2–2 being overused and considered too safe when they needed to focus on scoring goals Titania Russell was again sent to the penalty box for High-sticking.

As the minutes and seconds ticked down, it became more evident that West Phoenicia had lost their debut match. Causing them to become a little reckless in their checking and other defensive tactics.
While they are at the bottom of their pool the Glacier Maidens have vowed, it ain't over.

by **Augusticinia** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 9:49 pm

Bolshoi and Martens advance to free skate, new hope for Augusticinia

Olympic success so far for Augusticinia has been rare in Clayquot. Of course the occasional dark horse has broken into the top 10s, or had near dances with victory, but with a team full of young faces making their international debut and a vanguard that has cracked under pressure, the securing of a medal has become nearly impossible. In fact most news stations, have resorted to the winner's highlights, a modest showing of Augusticinian athletes, then the riveting topics of fishing and economic zone expansions or the middling stock market. However, some of Augusticinia's favorites, the pair of Leonid Bolshoi and Alissa Martens may lead the Augusticinian team out of the rut.

Bolshoi and Martens, an interesting pairing for the pairs event in figure skating, are noted for a stark contrast in style but a certain dynamism when placed together. Bolshoi also an accomplished ballet dancer has a uniquely refined and flamboyant elegance while Martens tends towards the tight, understated, yet simply impressive. The duo performed a classic routine on Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, focusing on style, execution, and first impression for the judges. The assured simplicity and confidence of the performance, while at a slightly lower score than their competitors, sent them to the finals. Unfortunately the pairing of Damian Su and Laura Wong a vibrant display of paired technique to My Favorite Things did not fare so well with some minor issues on the ice. While Augusticinians may have been wary of watching their team's first go for Olympic Gold, Bolshoi and Martens might be the first to secure a medal for the new Republic.

by **Teremaran Olympics Delegation** » Wed Jan 27, 2021 5:42 am

“Good evening, Neu Engollon and also to our international viewers as always! I’m Magda Wertauer here with your co-host, Karl Demais. This is the NETV 7 Special Coverage of the 15th Edition of the Winter Olympics and we have been covering it from the host city, Clayquot, Kelssek. We have lots to cover, so let’s get started, Karl...”

“Let’s begin, Magda! The big news is that Falkasians are exuberant right now, for good reason. While most of the Teremaran delegation has come up short, with mixed to, well...disappointing results, Falkasia has seen four medals so far. The first was in men’s luge. Yildirim Sezen locked the silver in on his 3rd run, beating out Emil Marcec of Mytania, but losing out on the gold to Gonzalo Fresno of Saint-Domingues.”

“Most recently, today, another Falkasian luger, Liljan Mogen, who’s sister Valka is also on the Teremaran delegation team as a ski jumper, clawed her way into the top qualifiers, eventually taking the bronze in women’s individual.”

“Then Yildirim hit the luge runs again, with teammate Liljan as they doubled up for the team luge. Again! Silver for Sezen and the first silver for Mogen in these Games, after some phenomenal runs today. It’s been quite the few days for Falkasian luge, really in the history of the sport in that Northern Tavlyrian nation.”

“But we’re not done...Freestyle skiing - men’s moguls. Willem Bakker comes busting out of the gates to take home Falkasia’s first gold for this Winter Olympics, to the surprise of many who were sure that honor would go to several time medalist Valerian Larashenko. Bakker celebrated a narrow win over West Phoenicia’s Tahoor Khan of just five points. I do believe that was Bakker’s first ever medal, and a gold at that. Just smashing!”

“Falkasia has more than reason to celebrate. That’s not even the biggest news tonight. Word has come back from the rinks that Lacetan skater Roger Maurel has earned a gold in the 1500 meter speed skating event...”

“For those wondering about early scheduling of the events, speeedskating with three ‘e’s was actually what the rest of the world refers to as speedskating with 2 ‘e’s, but for Kelssek…”

“Not the time, Magda. I do think this is a first medal for a Lacetan athlete in the Olympics, not just with a Teremaran delegation, or just in the Winter edition, but ever. That was a moment that we can cherish and we will replay it now for you…”

“The last lap there, you can see that Randolph Chandler, of Mapletish, and Roger are neck and neck. As they bullet over that line, you know the crowd is convinced that Chandler has taken it, but then…”

“That look on Roger’s face when he crosses that line. He’s also convinced he lost.That utter defeat and shoulder sagging, but then...He looks up to the boards. He realizes he has it. .01 seconds. A time difference that can’t even be registered by the human mind. A complete transformation as his body reinflates with vigor and excitement. A fist pump...It’s just got to be one of those most classic moments of this whole Olympics.”

“Yes, it was something we won’t forget for a long time. So much emotion, so hard to cover it all in this format. Let’s cut to our first sponsor break, then we’ll be back with more in depth coverage. We have an interview with a Glisandian member of the Teremaran delegation who says they have some shocking allegations to air. Stay tuned to NETV Sports 7 and our special coverage of the 15th Winter Olympics…”

by **Saint-Domingues** » Wed Jan 27, 2021 7:37 am

Gold Drought?
Day Five: In Review
Saint-Dominguan athletes may be about to enter their first barren spell of the games. After failing to record a medal in day four, the same thing has happened in day five. Will this barren run stretch further than two consecutive days?

Axel Moreau put up a solid performance in the biathlon (men's pursuit). The biathlete managed to secure a top fifteen placing, finishing exactly in 15th from 60 competitors. As one of the more unfancied competitors, Moreau's good placement will give him plenty of satisfaction. Moreau has already spoken of his immense pleasure at the performance and is looking forwards to competing in games XVI to try and improve on it.

Robin Stuart struggled in the Short track (Men's 1,000m) as he failed to make it out of the preliminaries. Stuart's time of 1:26.409 meant that he finished bottom of his pool of four competitors, almost 1.4 seconds behind the top result. Bizarrely, Alceste Deshaies managed to progress from the preliminary round with a much worse time than that recorded by Stuart. Deshaies benefited from two disqualifications for his fellow competitors to make it through despite a poor time of 1:33.079. However, in the following round Deshaies suffered the indignity of being disqualified himself and will not be competing in the finals.

The mixed doubles curling pair of Blaise Arceneaux and Nina Guillaume fell agonisingly short of a medal, narrowly losing in the bronze medal match 14-13 to James Barrett and Abigail Weekes from Liventia. Nevertheless, the duo had put in plenty of fine performances and played out some excellent games. Their performances have been very encouraging and the two will undoubtedly be back for games XVI, where they hope to win a medal.

Luger Bladine De Villepin could not cause another upset like Gonzalo Fresno had in the men's luge, falling far outside of the top 20 to do a fourth and final run. On the positive side, her third (and last) run formed a personal best time of 47.65, a time which De Villepin will hopefully kick on from in the future. This disappointment was followed up with further misery for her, as she and partner Fresno failed to finish their first run in the doubles and were knocked out.

Flag bearer Lucille Berger brought Saint-Domingue one of the brightest moments of the day. She and her figure skating partner Jonathan Beaufils - which whom she infamously shares a fractious relationship on the ice - recorded a good score of 81.95 in the short program. This placed the pair in 4th, easily inside the top 20 to progress. The other Dominguan pairing of Yseult Halphen/Tobie Bouthiller could only score 73.00 and 25th spot, 1.06 points off of 20th.

Despite having two gold medallists on the ice, Saint-Domingue was not able to add to the tally in the 1,000m women's speed skate. Margot Hardanger was half a second beyond a winning score, and could only make it to 12th. Virgine Blanchard was shortly behind in 15th, and Alizée Clérico, the shock winner of the 1,500, was in 35th.

Flore Marais qualified again to round off the day. After making it through to te finals of the normal hill, she will now also have a shot at a medal in the large hill. Her score of 112.1 was easily within the top 50 to move on to the following round.

by **Waisnor** » Wed Jan 27, 2021 10:14 am

The end of one is the beginning of another

After getting a silver medal in snowboarding discipline, Waisnorian fans again raised their eyes to short-track again and some fans decided to chesk what hockey team could show.

Yakov Ignatov was considered as one of the strongest, if not the strongest, Waisnorian athletes in this Olympics. After he was entrusted with the honor of carrying the flag at the opening ceremony, Waisnorian waited for him to show an incredible result and for the preliminaries he definitely showed it. In his race, he almost instantly became the leader and held these positions until the end of the race, overtaking his closest pursuer, Theatu Ghuctki from Diarcesia, by 1.3 seconds.
In the second preliminary round Yakov still had to try to win the race, because at first Ignatov started second and he spent the first half of the race trying to overtake Sølve Aulie from Valanora. Somewhere in the middle of the race, he managed to do it, and then Yakov increased the advantage, finishing first, overtaking Sølve by 0.25 seconds.
But in the heats Ignatov met with a rather serious competition and passing to the next round was no longer guaranteed for him. Deng Wuying from Xuande-Xiphoi immediately took the first place in this race and Yakov battled for the second place and place in the next round with An Cho-Jin from Krytenia. From time to time, the leaders in this confrontation were one or the other, but in the end Cho-Jin went further, overtaking Ignatov by 0.32 seconds.

When Yakov already ended his performance in the Games, men's hockey team, who was considered pretty strong contender, only started theirs with the match with Central Shaneville. The team immediately began to play aggressively, opening an score already in the 3rd minute of the 1st period - Ignat Tarlikovsky quickly broke through to the enemy goal and threw the puck into the goal.
Then both teams made attempts to score a goal, but they did not succeed either in the rest of the 1st period, or in most of the 2nd. On the 16th minute of the 2nd period, David Blokha was able to perfectly manage the moment that fell to him and threw the puck into the corner of the goal, making the score 2-0.
There was one more period left to play, and the game was going quite calmly, but among this Central Shaneville managed to score their only goal in this match - on the 11th minute of the 3rd period forward of this team was able to shoot from a distance at the goal of Vladimir Kharatyan and score the last goal in this meeting. And this match could be summed up as a nice start for Waisnorian hockey players.

OTHER WAISNORIAN RESULTS
Another Waisnorian in short track 1000m discipline, Arkady Davidovich, got relegated in the first preliminaries, placing 3rd in his group
Elizaveta Bylitskaya and Lyubov Alekseeva finished 57th and 63rd respectively in 1000m speed skating

by **Kriegiersien** » Wed Jan 27, 2021 1:04 pm

The Schoenwetter Joker

Sport

The XV Winter Olympics.

Four athletes in the Top 21, a fourth place for Norbert Nude, but the head of mission, Atlanta Johnson wasn’t happy after the Men's pursuit in Biathlon.
“We don’t need good results and stable performance from everyone in the single competition. We need medals. And before someone mentions it, I don’t care who won the team intern championship. They should more look at this Alfred Schwartz instead of watching and fighting each other. Two gold medals from one man is better then four honourable mentions.”

Luge

J van H won the first Gold for Kriegiersien at this Olympics in Luge. The daughter of an aristocratic family struck a heroic pose while holding her gold medal.
“In difference to other former friends of mine, I know how to handle my equipment. The triumph was just consequential”, she bragged, while having a Kriegiersien flag around her shoulders.

With bronze in Cross-country skiing - Women's Individual Sprint Cel Silverdragon got what she worked for so hard over the last years. Even though missing silver in the photofinish against Eidelia Eidemo, the medal was a huge success after being only 23rd after the first qualification round.
Born as a man, Cel had multiple exhausting years with operations and then further operations after an accident when a car hit her.
“That doesn’t make up for all what happenend, but it shows how far resilience can bring you if you work hard long enough towards your goal”, she said.

Ice hockey - Men's

Renzynistan 1–1 Kriegiersien (1–2 OT)

The Kriegiersien team needed the Overtime to finally win the first match. Renzynistan was able to resist and withhold the Kriegiersien passing game and only two goals were scored after 60 Minutes, before Dirk Nojokeski scored the decisive goal.

Comic

by **Diarcesia** » Wed Jan 27, 2021 10:02 pm

THEATU GHUCKTI - QUALIFIED

Grit and fortune favored the Diarcesian from Odrioya as he went through a gauntlet of qualifying rounds in the men's 1,000 m short track.

Ghuckti had some issues with maintaining momentum throughout the day; it could be his stamina, but in the races, he sometimes get so wobbly that taking the lead was impossible. At one point, he was only saved because of the dual disqualification of Jérôme Gauthier and Sancho Mayes: both were ahead of him at the time.

The good news for Ghuckti was that he successfully effected last-minute adjustments in the heats. In spite of clocking a time of 1:27.514, his form had improved and there is hope that it would carry on in the medal round.

The bad news is that he could fail to medal without timing his launches better. He said after the rounds that he had a terrible qualifying run and managed to stay on by sheer luck. In all of the races today, he finished second. He acknowledged that this is no easy feat.

"It's not a good sign," he said to the Arcesius Teleorasi media outfit after the final race. "I still have a lot of work to do."

Ghuckti said he promised to do better in the finals and prepare to up the level of practice he is undergoing. He does, after all, have a chance to earn a medal.

"My country has faith in me and believe in me and my ability enough to make this achievement reachable, as long as I don't get complacent."

The words of the former Diarcesian WGP3 driver were as sweet and gentle as a man who is now well known around Diarcesia could muster. During his talk the media outside Portage Centre, the wind stopped blowing, having failed to ruin his hair style. His mustache was spiky, yet he didn't give off the vibe that he has an angry streak. He had a friendly, if somewhat strained, smile.

Figure skating - Pairs
Short program

23 Alexander Lee/Évelyne Schmitt (DCS)                             73.27

The pair of Alexander Lee and Évelyne Schmitt is the only Diarcesian entry to fail to qualify in their figure skating short program category. Their routine was considered a mixed bag. They began with a clean series of jumps, but they fumbled on their death spiral element, resulting in docked potential points that mattered in the bigger scheme of things. The show went on even after this development. The final jump was a heavy, yet smooth throw triple loop that was concluded with a flourish and applause from the Diarcesian spectators. It was not their most technical move in their arsenal, but it was serviceable. In the end, they earned 73.27 points and could have joined Karl Ziemniak, Cas Miller, and the Eliot siblings in the free skate if not for their death spiral mistake.

"It was great to be offered this opportunity", said Lee. "Mistakes are made, but this is a learning experience." He paused, looking over to the crowd. "I'm really happy for the work we've put into this. We've only just begun."

"Hopefully we've helped and inspired aspiring skaters," Schmitt added. "We're fortunate to have had the chance to train under such a talented teacher."

For Lee, the most impressive part of the event was the reaction and outpouring of support that he saw from the audience. It reminded him of the reactions of his parents the first time he entered a figure skating competition, the way they clapped as he finished his routine. It was an event that he would remember for the rest of his life. "I'll definitely be back for the next Olympics," he continued.

He and Schmitt approached some of their fans and signed autographs to those who requested. "Wait, I recognize you. I saw your reaction video, by the way," Lee told one of the men nearby. "You must be glad to see your son again. He's a hero."

The man smiled. "You watched it? I appreciate it, Mr. Lee. My son made it through despite everything."

by **Hannasea** » Thu Jan 28, 2021 6:51 am

Article posted on the SuperSport Olympic page.

Generic Athlete Profile Bandwagon: Rebecca Wright and Jason Watt

* Association football is called hateball in the Federation, because of how much we HATE it.

by **Krytenia** » Thu Jan 28, 2021 7:27 am

SHORT TRACK: Trio advance in kilo

Finally, a bit of good news from the Portage Centre. All three skaters in the men's kilometre manage to not get themselves disqualified, and all three have made it through to the quarter-finals of the event. Indeed, Morton Auswald and James Abrams even put on a display that would have impressed our Olympic cyclists, taking turns making the pace at the front of their third-round race to ensure both men went through ahead of Team Sonnel skater Seth-Seven Seven. The pair - and fellow qualifier An Cho-Jin - also helped the relay team to the semifinals of the 5km event, and will enjoy their rest before the medal rounds of both events later in the week.

FIGURE SKATING: Short and sweet for A & Z

Alfie Werner and Zoe Madison will be fighting for a medal on the ice of the Partisans Arena tomorrow, with an excellent performance in the pairs short programme. Performing to a flowing jazz number, the pair executed their required moves well, with a score of 80.80 leaving them just two points off bronze ahead of the free skate. Werner and Madison will be looking to break some figure skating tradition in winning a medal here, with both of Krytenia's medals in the sport coming in the ice dance competition.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING: Oh so close for O'Neill

Lindsay O'Neill almost broke Krytenia's medal duck in the cross-country sprint, following an exciting day's racing at the Coronet Park course. Both O'Neill and Davina Poussin came through the qualifying round comfortably - Poussin even setting the fourth-fastest time - before the elimination rounds began. Here, Poussin began to struggle, getting through the quarter-finals only as fastest loser before finishing last in her semi. O'Neill, though, had other ideas. The younger sister of footballer Cormac, 22, powered through her quarter-final - the same one Poussin was a lucky loser in - then did the same in the semi. The final, however, proved a race too far, and she couldn't quite keep pace, finishing last. The gold was won by Mytanar skier Ifeta Avdic, who O'Neill had ironically beaten into second in her semi-final.

Want to try cross-country skiing? Find details of local organisations for this and other Winter Olympic sports and get active at www.kbs.kt/sportforall

Watch all the action from Clayquot at www.kbs.kt/smartview

by **Srednjaci** » Thu Jan 28, 2021 8:34 am

WORLD ARENA SPORT- CHANEL 2

REPORTER DANIJEL IVIĆ

Dear viewers, good day to you.

The exciting fourth round of the Handball Master League is behind us and the Kalranian Basketball League will soon begin, in which we have a representative, Zvijezda Katanija.
More excitement awaits us this year but the most exciting is still at the XV Winter Olympics. Host Kelsek, the city of Clayquot organized the games brilliantly and DR Srednjaci performed for the first time and we won a medal.
As you all know, Ivana Ivanović was silver in the giant slalom.
Today's program is very exciting so stay tuned to our programs and here's today's schedule.

Day 6 - 28 Jan
Snowboarding - Men's Halfpipe - qualification -CHANEL 4
Biathlon - Women's 15 km Individual [medal] -CHANEL 2
Alpine skiing - Women's Slalom [medal] - CHANEL 1
Ski jumping - Women's Individual Large Hill [medal] - CHANEL 1
Skeleton - Men's - Runs 1 and 2 -CHANEL 2
Curling - Men's - MD1-2 - CHANEL 4
Curling - Women's - MD1-2 -CHANEL 4
Ice hockey Women's MD2 - CHANEL 2
Luge - Team Relay [medal] - CHANEL 3
Figure skating - Pairs - free skate [medal] CHANEL 1
Speed skating - Men's 10 000 m [medal] CHANEL 1
Freestyle skiing - Women's Aerials - qualification CHANEL 3

We have our representatives and favorites and we hope for a successful day for us.

In slalom, Ivana Ivanović is in the hunt for the second medal and the young [color=#FF0000]Zrinka Ljutić will try to get her first medal.

In ski jumping, Ana Turkulja, Ana Tea Lozančić and Iona Londrescu have a make-up exam after jumping on a normal hill.

In biathlon, the Mandarić sisters are looking for a medal, and Julija Tirimotić is also in that race, 15 km is her specialty.
But as you can see, Ice Hockey for women is also on the program today, there will certainly be interesting meetings.

by **Ioudaia** » Thu Jan 28, 2021 11:19 am

Figure skating: Pairs - short program
Partisans Arena, Clayquot
Day 5

Hippon Zer slunk from the ice, shoulders hunched, looking at nothing but his skates. "I'm sorry."

Theano Latona gave him another gentle squeeze with the arm she had around his shoulders. "It happens."

"It shouldn't happen during a death spiral. Come on, it's not that hard an element."

They reached the rest of the team, where Theano let Zakai try reason on Hippon. Zakai began by patting him on the back. "Do you want comfort or discussion?"

"I want a do-over." Hippon growled, mostly at himself. "Let's try comfort."

"You have another shot in three days. Solo. You're just as good by yourself, and the individual is a lot easier on the body than the pairs. Good thing I'm not competing again this Games; I can barely lift my arms now."

"Oh?" Hippon looked up at him.

"Starting our routine with a bang worked great, but I just faded out towards the end. It was easier in practice, let me tell you! It's not even tuning out the pressure, or keeping my mind on the routine, it's simply that it's a demanding sequence and today wan't my day for perfection."

"So you're fine with it?"

"No, don't be silly! I'm going to go beat up a punching bag and have a drink, not necessarily in that order. No, not in that order. Drink first. After that, I might be able to hit something."

One corner of Hippon's mouth turned up. "I still screwed up, but... maybe I won't sulk. As much. But boy! Doing that in front of millions of people..." He looked away from everybody else, avoiding their gaze.

"At least your scoring wasn't bullshit!" Deukalion wore an angry frown. "We had a good routine, done well. A 71 is not what that deserves!"

Hippon turned to watch the pair currently on the ice. Theano tossed her head. Keidar's pinched face said as much as her tone. "Are you still going on about that?"

"Yes!"

"Something looks odd about our score," Lois added. "We're not newbies, and we're not full of ourselves. We've got a good sense of how scoring should work, and this was not it."

"Then I'm going to repeat my advice: file a formal complaint." Keidar looked cross.

Hippon was adamant: "Those never go anywhere!"

"Then spare us your whining. It's one or the other: complain formally or shut up. Both of you have individual short programs coming up, and I need to get ready for mine. I don't want to hear it any more. It's a distraction from taking care of business."

Zakai got to his feet. "I'm going to head for a bar... or a restaurant. Restaurant, yup: I'm gonna get a snack, and then I'm going to work out my frustrations. Hippon, you in? Deukalion? Ladies?"

Lois nodded and rose. "I'll join you." She tugged on Deukalion's arm to get him up, but he stayed rock-like. Hippon turned around, and nodded wordlessly, eyes returning Zakai's look. "Me too. Hopefully, nobody will recognize me."

Cross Country Skiing: Women's Individual Sprint
Coronet Park, Clayquot
Day 5

Anais Tikva and Mehira bat Leda skied up to Peninah bat Alona together as she was checking her rank. "Hey!" started Anais, "That didn't suck so bad. I mean, we still suck: we weren't even in the top half, but it wasn't as much of a wreck as I thought it would be."

Mehira started bouncing up and down in her skis. "Yeah! I was worried we'd come in last, or not finish, or something like that. This wasn't great, but it wasn't a hot mess either."

Peninah did her best to plaster on a happy, smiling face. "See? I told you it would work out."

"Yeah! Better than we thought!"

"Great!" Peninah gave them a final set of smiles as they set off, and returned to looking at the leaderboard. She chewed her lip. And I was two seconds ahead of them. I didn't have the heart to say that I should have done much better than that.

But what the hell happened to me? It felt right, just a little slow. Video. Got to check the video. She skied off at a snail's pace, trying to figure out where her race went wrong.

by **Liventia** » Thu Jan 28, 2021 12:56 pm

(OOC: This RP report is obviously set before the Olympics takes place. Also, for clarification, this RP makes use of some text from a real life report I have previously written for my professional job.)

Sydney Austin blows competition away by 30 points to win Liventian Olympic trials; Coombes takes men's singles title
DOVER— Figure skater Sydney Austin is headed back to the Winter Olympics after winning the ladies' event at the Skating Liventia Figure Skating Singles Open, the federation's designated Olympic selection event, by some 30 points in Dover.

Austin, who finished a disappointing 23rd in Yeaddin, was simply flawless in the free skate to claim her second consecutive victory in the event after also triumphing two years ago.

The 26-year-old, who is also a four-time national champion, received positive execution scores from the judges on all of her elements, and was the only skater of 12 to receive a program component score – judging artistry and performance rather than technical ability – above 70.

Skating to the soundtrack from Liventian action film The Impossible Solution, the defending Singles Open champion was unstoppable on the day both technically and artistically, scoring over nine points for four of the five program components (and an 8.95 for her other).

Of particular note were Austin's triple flip, triple toe-loop combination and her triple loop. Not a single jumping element was marked down, and the skater from Jesner knew she had done something special when she ended her routine.

Taking in a standing ovation from the crowd, Austin had a giant grin on her face which continued into the kiss and cry. Upon seeing her scores, she let out a big squeal of joy and fist-pumped the air.

Her free skate score of 150.91 gave her an overall total of 226.51 points.

Despite a number of errors in her free skate, Lucy Winfield finished second overall thanks to her short program score. Winfield's performance was also enough to earn her selection for another Olympic Games.

While Winfield's routine was pleasing on the eye artistically, she struggled on her jumps, popping two triples – a Salchow and a Lutz – down to doubles, while also getting called for a quarter under-rotation on a triple toe-loop and an unclear edge on a triple flip.

She also attempted a triple Axel to open her program, the first time she had attempted the difficult jump in competition. However, it was called for a quarter under-rotation and received a negative execution grade from the judges.

Her final score was 121.27 – good for only fifth in the free skate – for a total of 196.98.

Third place went to national junior champion Eve Labecque, who was passed over for Olympic selection due to her age. Instead, fourth placed Susanna Davidson – who also has previous Olympic experience – won selection.

In the men's category, national champion Declan Collins and defending Singles Open champ Chris Coombes were neck-and-neck after the short program before Coombes just edged victory in the free skate.

A clean quadruple toe-loop, double toe-loop combination was the highlight of Coombes' routine, and an unfortunate trip and fall from Collins on his step sequence – a mistake rarely seen at the top level – cost the latter a penalty point, with the difference between the two just 0.96 points in the end.

Both men, along with Bruno Mann, will return to the Games in Clayquot.

by **Banija** » Thu Jan 28, 2021 2:41 pm

[quote="Banija";p="38256847"]

Introduction to the Banijan Royal Family- Part II

Are you, aspiring learner, trying to learn exactly about what makes Banija, well, Banija? You may have visited Istria and seen and learned so much- about our faith, our history, our differences and similarities. What makes Banija, Banija. Here in Clayquot, Banija's Olympic house will have an exhibit mostly focusing on Banijan history. We encourage you to go out and enjoy Clayquot, take this Olympic city for all it has to offer!

Different days at the Olympic House, we'll focus on different aspects of Banijan culture and history. The first thing we'll focus on, is the most well known symbol of the country- the crown. Held by, of course, the Kabaka. You've seen and read Part I, which is about the rules of marriage and the line of succession. You've read Part 2, which is about who today's Royals are.

Now for Part 3! What is the Royal of the Royal Family in Government? There are two major roles- the roles of the Kabaka(and relatedly, his heir the Isebantu), and the role of the Guardian Council, which is how those who will not rule influence politics and the power of the state.

And without further ado...

The role of the Kabaka- Head of State

Now, of course, we'll start with the center of any Royal Family- it's head. What is the constitutional role of His Majesty Kabaka Mwanga? Well, of course, his primary role is that he is the head of state. He has all the functions and trappings of a head of state. HE is not really involved in domestic politics. He signs all legislation passed by the Lukiiko. He is not given the power of veto- he simply must sign any legislation passed by the Lukiiko as soon as it gets past the Guardian Council and gets to his desk. Any attempt to veto legislation by the Kabaka would cause a constitutional crisis, but it has never been tried in the independence era for this country. Banija's Constitution explicitly states that there is no option for the Kabaka to refuse legislation from the people's representatives in the Lukiiko.

Domestically, he provides ceremonial roles. He does not appoint the Katikkiro- the Katikkiro is elected directly by the Lukiiko. He does attend cabinet meetings at his discretion. The Katikkiro makes the formal cabinet appointments as well.

The area of Banijan law where the Kabaka does have power is foreign policy. All power in foreign policy, "both responsibility and the power to execute", is vested in the Monarch. Furthermore, once the Isebantu reaches age 25, they automatically become Foreign Minister, and remain as such until the Kabaka themselves pass(or if they are ever forced to be Regent). Banija's founders have said this is to ensure consistency in Banijan foreign policy. The principle that politics stop's at water's edge- and instead of foreign policy swinging wildly between parties, this allows for long-term planning and consistency. The Isebantu being part of this process fits in that too, so when they become Monarch they have more of an incentive to keep previous decisions around.

There are checks on his authority here, however. First- the Lukiiko must give its affirmative consent to deploy troops anywhere outside of Banija's borders. So he cannot just launch a war on his own, or even a quasi-war- the people's representatives must be given a chance to weigh in. And Banijan history shows they do not simply defer to the Monarch- the Lukiiko will say no whenever they deem necessary. Secondly, the Isebantu has question time in front of the Lukiiko every week they are in session. The Kabaka very rarely enters the Lukiiko himself for separation of powers purposes. But the Isebantu's question time provides accountability. And lastly, any treaty signed by the Kabaka must be approved by the Lukiiko. And, of course, the Lukiiko has the power of the purse.

Checks on his power? Yes. But the constitutional arrangement has remained strong- the Kabaka controls foreign policy, the people control domestic policy. It has worked for Banija.

The Guardian Council

And now, the Guardian Council! This is something that is probably the most unique feature of the Banijan Consitutional system. IT is something that is guarded with "Protecting the Mormon Character of the nation" and "being the guardrails to the country's constitution." It takes a lot for the Guardian Council to act, but it can act with immense authority.

FIrst- who is on the Guardian Council? The Guardian Council is made up of 6 appointees, who serve either until they reach age 75, or upon the death(or resignation, abdication, or otherwise removal) of the person who appointed them. Now, who appoints? The 6 appointees are appointed by two men- the Patriarch of Herzegovina, who is the worldwide head of the Puritan Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the Kabaka.

Each of these two men appoint three members. The Patriarch of Herzegovina is restricted to appointing members of the clergy who are a minimum of 35 years old. Of course, as Patriarch of Herzegovina is a lifetime thing, his appointments last as long as his lifetime- once a successor Patriarch is proclaimed, all three clergy members will resign. All three clergy members who are appointed are granted the courtesy title of Archbishop, even though they do not have any sort of region they are in charge of.

The other three members, including the chair, are appointed by the Kabaka. Any member of the Royal Family, who is not the primary heir, or the primary heir to the Isebantu(or their primary heir), can be appointed. Aka, you can appoint somebody who will not expect to be the Kabaka themselves in their lives. So right now, neither Isebantu Mutungi nor his oldest son, Omugabe Ssekamanya, can be appointed to the Guardian Council. The age minimum on this side is 25 years old. Kabaka Mwanga appointed his oldest child, his daughter, Omugaba Immaculate, as the Chairwoman of the Guardian Council. These appointments are generally, although not necessarily, female dominated. Kabakas have been known to appoint their spouses, although the late Albert III disavowed that practice. At the demise of the crown, these three members must resign and the Kabaka appoints their replacements.

Now, we know how to get onto the Guardian Council. But what can the Guardian Council do? Well, they have a right to veto by qualified majority(explained momentarily). A qualified majority on the Guardian Council is at minimum 5 votes in favor of something. The Council cannot act unless they have a minimum of 5 of 6 of their members voting in favor of something. So they have the right to veto any legislation passed by the Lukiiko, although they must do it within 7 days of a bill's passage. They may ascend to a constitutional amendment with at least 5 votes in favor. They will generally veto legislation that "reduces the Mormon character of the nation."

They also act as the Court of last resort. They can take any case in the Banijan court system, at any time, as long as it has been decided at least at one level. One cannot appeal to them directly. The bar is extremely high for them to take a court case directly- since you would need at least 5 members to agree to overturn a ruling of a lower court judge, they rarely agree to do this unless the case is, generally speaking, a massive case.

And there you have it! You're an expert on the Banijan Royal Family now! Pay attention to the women's ice hockey team, as well as the men's 10,000 meter speed skating competition. Looking forward to big wins coming here in Clayquot for the Banijan delegation!

by **Siovanija and Teusland** » Thu Jan 28, 2021 3:24 pm

RBC Sports

Olympic Mornings Live with Ronald Mensing

Women’s Luge Star Marlena Aiger Joins the Show

Ronald Mensing: Good morning Siovanija & Teusland, and welcome back to RBC Sports Olympic Morning. I’m joined today by Marlena Aiger, one of our nation’s competitors in the women’s luge competition, and Marlena, I have to say, I think my heart hasn’t come back to normal still since yesterday!

Marlena Aiger: Same here, Ron. Good morning everybody, it’s a pleasure to be here. But yeah… not much I can say, haha.

RM: Just to recap - and Marlena, cover your ears if you’d like - in the final runs of the luge competition yesterday, Marlena missed out on a bronze medal by 0.01 seconds, despite posting the second-best time of the entire competition in her second run. Still, it was an excellent performance, and one we’re all proud of.

MA: I really thought I was secure after that third run, but honestly… I’m speechless, honestly. The other girls gave a hell of a performance, and it’s just a lesson that I’ve learned now, unfortunately on the biggest stage of all.

RM: Without wanting to make you think about it too much, what is the feeling like in the immediate aftermath of something like that compared to, say, what you’re feeling now.

MA: Well, in the immediate aftermath, you have to smile for the camera and congratulate everyone, but it sucks, it really sucks. I couldn’t wait to get back to my hotel and just… cry, honestly. But now that I’m sitting here, it doesn’t feel as bad - I finished 4th in the Olympics, 4th best in the world! Medal or no medal, that’s an amazing achievement.

RM: We’re all proud of you, Marlena. You can hold your head up high. Your Games may be over now, but certainly there’s motivation to come back for more?

MA: How could I not be? The motivation is just even more than anything I’ve ever dreamed of, haha. I just know that 4 years from now I want to be standing on top of the podium, not looking off to the side with an awkward smile beside it.

RM: YouY’ll have to sit by and watch your teammates competing today in the luge team relay event. After a day like yesterday, will you even be able to watch?

MA: Of course, I have to support my teammates, especially Anestazie, she’s such a good friend and deserves this so much. I think everyone is going to be fired up, honestly - we came 4th in every single luge event. So there’s a bit of hope for revenge, I can feel it haha.

RM: And you’ll be staying in Clayquot for a while then?

MA: Oh definitely. You don’t get this opportunity often, haha! I didn’t really have time to explore the city or anything before, I was so focused on my event, but now that the pressure is off I’m going to have a good time, haha. Anestazie and I want to go see some of the sights, and definitely see a few other events. I have tickets to one of the men’s hockey games, so that should be fun.

RM: Oh, that will definitely be a good time then! You mention your friend Anestazie Hofmanova a lot - a fellow Olympian here. Maybe shed some light on that, how did you two become friends?

MA: Well, luge is one of those events that’s super high-priority for the STOC, because we have plenty of facilities for it. So there’s a lot of youth training camps and that, and Anestazie and I actually attended one together when we were about 11. We actually didn’t get along at first, haha, mostly because of how competitive we were!

RM: That quickly changed then?

MA: Not quickly! I’d say it wasn’t until we were about 15 or so that we actually became friends, we both realized that we each respected each other and that we could both have success. So since then, we’ve been pretty inseparable at events and things like that - and always training together, too.

RM: It’s safe to say she’ll have her biggest supporter watching on today then?

MA: I don’t know, her sister flew in the other day, and she can get pretty intense, haha. Her sister is the most mild-mannered person you could meet, haha, but when Anestazie is on track she talks like an old Teus sailor!

RM: Haha, well, I’m sure the team will be glad to have you there.

MA: For sure, it’s always nice to see other people on the team supporting each other. On my first day a few of the women’s hockey players actually watched us for a bit, and I’ve been chatting with plenty of people in the Village who I’ve never actually met before. So it’s been a great experience.

RM: If you couldn’t compete in luge, what event would you pick?

MA: Skeleton or bobsleigh. But I assume you mean not sliding, haha, so I’d say… maybe figure skating. It’s not as popular back home, because everyone thinks of skating and immediately goes to hockey, haha, but I’ve always loved figure skating and watching it. I’m hoping someone from our team can put in a good performance, I’m missing the pairs competition today obviously but I’m hoping to go to the women’s event later in the Games.

RM: When you get home to Felsenkirchen, and all is said and done, what’s the most important thing you will take with you?

MA: When I get home, my focus will turn right away to being back four years from now, wherever it is. That drive and motivation, this experience has just amplified it.

RM: Marlena, thank you so much for joining us this morning, and best of luck to you. Enjoy the rest of your time here!

MA: I will Ron, thanks!

RM: When we get back, we’ll have a full breakdown of tonight’s women’s ski jumping event, as well as Oskar Kirsche live from Stelburg to break down tonight’s women’s hockey game. Thank you for watching RBC Sports Olympic Mornings.

by **Mytanija** » Thu Jan 28, 2021 3:57 pm

IFETA AVDIC SPRINTS FOR GOLD!
SUCCESSFUL DAY FOR MYTANIJA BRINGS THREE MEDALS AND QUELLS DISQUIET

by Ilya Zivalvyuk

Ifeta Avdic’s times gradually got better and better throughout the rounds of cross-country skiing’s individual sprint before finally skiing into the gold medal position with a sensational performance in the final, obliterating the competition with a 3:35.2 time which was nearly four whole seconds quicker than her nearest rival. The 22 year old was not thought of as a major medal hopeful but has impressed throughout the games with her maturity around the Olympic Village. Both Ifeta and her twin sister Almasa have been noted as having intense levels of focus and this fantastic result only serves to reinforce that idea. Almasa Avdic was eliminated at the quarter final stage, but was understandably ecstatic with her twin’s brilliant result.

Ifeta improved throughout the competition, starting in the 3:43 ballpark in the preliminary round where she finished 21st. This improved to a 3:42.2 in the quarter finals and then an even quicker 3:39.6 in the semi-final. She seemed to have planned her day perfectly however, pacing her times so that she still had enough for the final where she put out the best time of the whole day by a long way with that 3:35.2 which left her rivals in her wake on the way to gold. It seemed like Ifeta had left plenty in the tank – a risky thing to do in an individual sprint given the nature of the competition – as others had tired which left her able to improve on her semi-final time by over four seconds. Five of the six finalists did log their best time of the day, but Avdic’s improvement was noticeably better than all the rest. Krytenian Lindsay O’Neill will be disappointed that her final performance was actually worse than her semi-final time, which had been enough to beat Avdic at that stage.

It is a result which has quelled the emerging disquiet over the lack of success Mytanar athletes have experienced in skiing events, some media outlets had started to question how well Ski Mytanija had spent the large amount of investment the OKM had put into the governing body over the past few years to try and improve the standing of Mytanar athletes in skiing events. This success will act as a tonic to those complaints, Ifeta Avdic is only 22 and this gold medal will be well ahead of the schedule Ski Mytanija had for her to be competing for the top honours. It appears that they have got her on the right track and she could become a force in the sport at the top level for a long time given her age and early success. Complaints about how the investment has been spent have been extremely premature, hopefully this success is something to build on for our other athletes in skiing events to demonstrate that Ski Mytanija and the OKM are getting things right.

Curling silver, speed skating bronze

Branko Lazarevic and Danika Savicevic couldn’t avenge their group stage defeat in the gold medal tie against Kelssek’s Cholé Dubois and Destry Grégoire as they fell to a 9-6 defeat in front of a packed University of Etnier Sports Centre crowd. The home nation’s pair have been truly irresistible throughout this competition, Dubois and Grégoire have gone through the entire tournament unbeaten, their 100% record demonstrative of their quality. Lazarevic and Savicevic were fully appreciative of their rivals’ quality as they won a well-deserved gold medal.

Agnija Grueva skated into bronze in the women’s 1,000m speed skating. The 30 year old is a long-term team mate of Nea Vogrin’s and Vogrin was raucous in celebration once they realised that Grueva had won the bronze medal. Her 1:16.64 time was comfortable in third place and only six-hundredths of a second off the gold medal, but Grueva was understandably delighted with finishing on the podium. She still has the 500m to look forward to in the coming days too which will provide another opportunity for her to surprise the multiverse.

by **Kelssek** » Thu Jan 28, 2021 4:05 pm

RP cutoff. Day 6 results.

by **Teremaran Olympics Delegation** » Thu Jan 28, 2021 6:19 pm

“...Welcome back, Neu Engollon and the international viewers. I’m Karl Demais, here with my co-host, Magda Wertauer and bringing you NETV 7 Special Coverage of the 15th Edition of the Winter Olympics in Clayquot. As promised, we have a special guest on tonight. Maríam Kársdottir, a much decorated, veteran Glisandian speed and short track skater and member of the Teremaran Olympics delegation. Maríam, welcome back to the program, I know we have interviewed you before…”

“Yes, thank you, Karl. You have. It’s good to be back and able to represent to the fans and nation back home again, both in Tavlyria and all over the region.”

“Maríam, this is Magda... You skate in several events, don’t you? How do you manage all that and stay fresh and able to give each event your best?”

“Magda, it’s difficult sometimes, especially when there are several events scheduled on the same day. I really have to tap deep into a reservoir there of energy. I feel that I’ve done a decent job of that this go round of keeping on top of it. I haven’t landed a medal yet, but I’m not giving up.”

“For female Glisandian speed skaters, it’s just you, correct?”

“On the delegation? Yes, just me. For all Glisandian speed skaters, it’s me and Stan Østergård...and Niklas Henrikssen, if you count short track. But, we don’t look at it like that. Especially when it comes to representing the region. More than some other event disciplines, Teremaran speed and short track skaters are tight with each other. We are very supportive of each other.”

“Speaking of, you had to be very happy to hear about Roger Maurel, the Lacetan skater that won the gold medal the other day.”

“Well, yes, of course. Roger and some of the other Lacetans, San Rositans, Gragastavians, and Arkyatanis are newer editions to the team. We haven’t gotten to train with and know them as long as others who have been out to multiple editions with us, but they have fit in well, and like I said, us Teremaran skaters are quite welcoming and supportive, even to the other athletes here from other non-Teremaran delegations. Roger...Roger is so genuine. He’s quiet, and honest, and very earnest. He’s so modest too, like he was embarrassed to win or stealing our thunder or something...Which is not the case at all. No one feels like that. We were so happy for him and those of us who weren’t competing elsewhere, we went mad in the stands when we saw the win. He didn’t believe it. Nobody did. I think everyone expected that Mapletish skater to take it, Chandolph?...”

“Randolph Chandler.”

“Yeah. Him. The clock, just...you know, it was so close. But it was a really fun moment for all of us. Even with the Austrakians, we have a new Austrak minister along, he’s not all about that medals just for Austraks BS like the guy last year. Everyone is on board with sharing the glory...and the pain, too. We’re all in it for the whole show.”

“Excellent! Sounds like the Teremarans have really come together as a team. Maríam, I’m going to get serious now. There is a bit of a scandal brewing and I think you mentioned something…”

“Yeah, the holds on retirement thing…”

“What? No, that Per Majkowski has ties to the Holy Domain, the fanatical Christian group that has been attacking your nation and declared a terrorist group universally across Teremara. What is this other thing now?”

“Oh, that again? No, that’s a non-issue. Let me put this to bed. First of all, it was Per’s uncle.
Having a relative that fought for the Holy Domain isn’t that big a deal in Glisandia, okay? It happened more than you know. The Holy Domain had the thrandee, which were their fanatic, psycho soldiers...They kidnapped kids and old villagers to blackmail people into fighting for them and supporting them. They killed kids! We lost a lot to those evil people. Per’s cousins got held hostage.
Second, those that were not Thrandee, but fought for the Holy Domain against the government, were able to get pardons. They are being rehabilitated into society. We call it the ‘Endurhæfing’ or the ‘Endurtaka’. The redo. Per’s uncle went through it. He’s fine now. So...I think that NETV is supposed to be a reputable network. Not trash sensationalism, right?”

“That’s right…”

“Right, then if you all do your research you know that Per’s not a terrorist and neither is any of his family. You need to get the story straight...”

“Yeah, okay. Point taken. What was the retirement thing again?”

“That’s what I told you about off the air, not any of this other crap, Karl. The big story! Our veteran athletes, especially the medalists from past Olympics, were told that they couldn’t retire, even though they were ready to be done.”

“Glisandians?”

“Everyone! Falkasians, Neu Engollians, Gauls, Yellowsians...us, everybody!”

“Well, I mean...So what? Why do you have to do what they say? What can they do, put you in jail? You want to retire, just...Retire. Quit.”

“Yeah, um...not so simple, Magda. They have leverage. They can do a lot depending on what government it’s coming from. Benefits cut, Ejection from sports associations, pensions on hold, blacklisted for advertising gigs, relatives shut out of jobs...Sometimes pretty nasty.”

“I mean...it seems like they just want some vets to stick around a while longer to bring up the next generation. Is that really so bad?…”

“What will they do to you for talking?”

“I don’t care. Let them do their worst. It needs to be out in the open.”

“Who is this originating from, then?”

“Karl, I know that one of the main guys is your Minister Koepller.”

“Jean-Marc Koepller, of the Neu Engollian Athletics Ministry? I...Hnh...Hang on, Maríam. I’m getting a signal...oh. Okay. We’re cutting to a sponsor break here. We’ll be back in just a few right here on NETV Sports Sev...”

[The audio cuts out abruptly.]

XV Olympic Winter Games - RP thread

OLYMPICS DA 6 PREVIEW

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