[b]Isabelle[/b]

“Oh I got it backwards, didn’t I sweetheart?” Adriana hasn’t taken the bait yet. You’re still bantering, you’re moving up, she’s somewhere, comms still open. 

“I thought, y’know, girl like this, she wants to be a queen, I better get in on the ground floor of that. But you’re not in for that, huh?”

The cameras are on you, but this part of the match is a little boring, some of the feeds are cutting to different fights, just a couple are hanging on the banter. A downside of a slow approach, nobody setting up anything decisive or aggressive out of the gate. How were you supposed to know that Solarel was going to set up a bunch of hellfire missiles in spectacular fireworks. 

“Adriana’s not who you think she is. I’ve fought her. Listen girl, I’ll teach you something for your trouble here. If you want to be a lackey, you play the game other people set for you. You play it well, you could be Adriana’s right-hand girl, or go dance through the great wheel on her strings. Or somebody else’s. Your house, some other patron, some grand faction or other. Hells, if you just want the thrill of flying, come find me and I’ll give you work!” 

She snorts, laughing to herself about some image she’s got in her head over that. She’s stopped using your name, too. Something about your answer, lost some respect for you. There’s a pause while she gathers herself and you finish your climb.

“Adriana herself isn’t like that. She’s fire, girl. She’s passion. She’ll cut straight through your heart, no hesitation. She wants you to try and stop her, just so she can show you how dumb that is. You gotta have that. You can’t climb to the top on skill. You can’t break through all the crap people set just because you want to be rich and powerful and bring honor to your house. That stuff is horseshit, and if that’s all you got, I’m gonna crush you before she does!”

You feel it before you see it. There’s a rush of wind, like a sudden vacuum, and then the flicker of air as the stealth system cuts out. This isn’t a long-range fight, this isn’t her taking a free shot. She’s on the roof, right there in front of you, the Unseen Goose bulkier and heavier than the Emberlight. Her shield is held low in her left hand, blade’s in her right. That blade feels like it’s inches from your face, so close you felt the air sucked away as it sailed past you and through the decoy. This little trick saved you from an embarrassing one hit loss. Made her blow the opening move that would have taken your head off. 

She grunts in surprise, and this is your opening. Give it your best.

[You may, if you wish, also ask your playbook question for reading a person when crossing swords with them.]

***

[b]Dolly and Jade[/b]

Ksharta stabs with a triumphant shout, full of glee. Her plan worked! But then she’s tugging, trying to get her spear free. All that momentum, you’re all falling together, you’ve pulled it from her.

“Eep!” You can tell she’s blushing. “Oh I, um, I’m sorry, I mean, I’m not, I didn’t mean!” But her hands are on you, and the way she’s moving her leg, the metal sliding between you, this is good, this is special, she likes this. It feels good. To you too, the pain in your leg, and her weight pressing on it, it’s full of heat and sensation! Dolly, it makes you want to bite your tongue and moan. Has Jade ever pushed this hard, has she ever made it hurt like this?

“Get your head in the game, Ksharta!” whoops, she left her comms on, the silly girl. “You got this, you got this, they’re just throwing you, you know, like literally.” Don’t worry about it, she’s giving herself a pep talk that you and the cameras get to hear. But she’s also got her net ready, she’s still the one on top, and that shoulder-mounted cannon of hers is untouched. 

She’s fast too. The speed and reflexes of youth, always the biggest advantage of a new combatant on the scene. One you might have had too if you weren’t at odds about how to move. So fast, the net’s already out. You’re snared, Jade. You can feel it on you, the electricity coursing through it, pinning your arms, pressing on your chest. On Dolly’s chest. It’s not big enough to completely enwrap you, your legs can move, your head, the top of your shoulders. But your center of mass is pinned down, and Ksharta’s pulling up to bring that cannon of hers to bear properly. This is gonna be really bad really fast if you don’t do something. But honestly, would losing the match here even be so bad?

[Ksharta uses her fight to take a string, and sets up an opportunity from the stagger. [b]Also, she’ll offer a spend of that string right away. If you let her take this shot because you want to feel it, even though it will cost you the match, take an XP[/b]]

***

[b]Mirror and Solarel[/b]

You’re busy, but it might be notable to you either now or later that you’re on the main screen for a minute. Ada Smith vs. Isabelle Lozano was supposed to be the feature match, but they opened slowly with stealth and chatter, so the cameras cut away.

You, on the other hand, are putting on a show for the ages. People are going wild over the missile barrage out of nowhere, and they’re flipping out over how the Gods-Smiting whip responded. There’s already fan art! A bunch of the feeds have cut over to you for the moment, especially on the Zaldarian Akar II outpost and from all the Hybrasilian bars (though a few still have Dolly and Jade against Ksharta on too because of the home interest). 

Welcome to primetime!