Wile of the Fox [for BlackAkuma]

[HotWheels]

Dinah couldn't know if the camera would include her figure in the opening shot, but as soon as he set up to hit his cue, she was peering into it with her best made-for-TV grin, smile, grin, a little alternating to avoid sitting there looking like a statue. She hated it when people did that, so she didn't want to. She even bothered to mime out alongside his greeting, tugging at her jacket to show it was appropriate for the weather. She nodded along with much of the rest, only pausing when he mentioned a PS5 - was there another one already? - because of what she knew about that incident. With a tendency to too visibly wear her thoughts even after her practice and time in the public eye, she took the opportunity to scratch at her chin as if thinking to hide the knowing look on her face.

Thankfully he abandoned that train of thought as quickly as it had come, and she need only offer her greeting. She offered a coy wave to him that switched to the camera. "Hello hellooooo." Picking up the relaxed vibes all her own, she left it at that rather than do anything more showy. "Thank you for having me. Glad to be here."

She rested her hands where her boots stretched to reach her knee and nodded slowly along with his question. Time for her to feel a few seconds without putting it all back on him. Sounded like time for some Canadian appeal. "Oh yeah, yeah. Like you said, it's practically bikini weather here for this time of year - that's about, what, fifty degrees for you Americans - and we've got all sorts of Canadian warmth in here. This is how we survive the winter, we put two Canadians in the room together and our good manners and good looks keep the place heated." She made a sphere with her fingers to mime their coming together. "And the poutine does the rest of the work."

If that didn't win a few new fans over, nothing would.

[BlackAkuma]

Reading his guests was important, a skill Keith picked up through experience and constantly worked to improve. Every time he looked at a guest, he tried to get a feel for their vibe, see if he was hitting any problem areas, if he should pull back on a topic or go barreling forward. He wouldn’t claim to be one of those face readers - most of them were bunk, anyway - but there was some art to it, and he was better than most.

As such, he didn’t miss her movements when he mentioned the PS5. The little scratch. A thought was running through her mind, but she had the decency not to bring it up, something he greatly appreciated. It had a way of derailing things, and while he didn’t mind a tangent, he’d prefer to save that for later on.

So far, so good. Keith said his bit, let Roulette get to work, and she took his layup like a pro, seamlessly segueing into some national pander. Much appreciated, he didn’t get to do stuff with his countrymen - or women, in this case - nearly as much as he’d liked. Might as well indulge.

”See, you’ve said that, and about 70% of my audience is scratching their heads.” He gave his head a rueful shake and looked at the camera. ”Okay, for my American friends - love y’all - poutine? Think French Fries, but with gravy, and you actually want to eat it, instead of it just being something you get on the side when you don’t know what else to get.” He threw her a quick thumbs-up. "Also, nice math skills." He never could do the conversion in his head, always needed a calculator. She could've been wrong, he supposed, but he doubted she would say that without having some certainty, lest she tempt the wrath of the comment section.

A bit of flavor, keeping it funny, a well-meaning jab at the USA, now back to woman of the hour. ”So, Roulette - or Dinah?” He could’ve asked that before, but stuff like that was better on camera, could make for a good aside as they built up to the main topic. ”Where’d that name even come from, by the way. You’re big on gambling?” He tilted his head to the side, a curious affect, but the intrigue was real. He’d been wondering why for a while now.

[HotWheels]

Casual as she was capable of being in an interview if the vibes were right, the actual casual Dinah tended to be a little... manic at times. A little heavy-handed. She had found that out watching back some of her first few interviews, and she had tried to reel it in and present a bit more "cool but cutesy and flirty" rather than "hot-blooded and wild." The latter worked better for social media. It was a fine line, she had learned. And sometimes, she wished she could stomp on that line, tear it in half, and do whatever the heck she wanted in the public eye. She tried not to let that thought weasel its way in as she listened to him explain poutine.

She could go for some poutine, come to think of it. Stupid diet.

"It's made for Wisconsin because there's cheese curds too. And I want to swim in a bowl of it." That was true, and a little of the real her slipping through the cracks. She pointed a finger at him before she continued. "It's less math than it is having to look back and forth on my phone a million times when I'm in the States to figure out what I can get away with wearing to avoid looking frumpy instead of cute. I'm Google Translate for temperature measurements!" Again, true.

She waved off his question about her name. Common one. "I answer to either." It was absolutely, positively, on the tip of her tongue to say she also answered to "kitten," but she would save that sort of talk once the conversation worked into more of a lather. As it was, she chewed her bottom lip to hold herself back for the time being. And there was the question she almost expected as a follow-up, but most interviewers were so busy trying to help her advertise her next show that they never got to anything more personal - or even a personal business decision. Good thing she had a real answer.

"So I do like it for the gambling theme. It makes it sound like someone's taking a big chance with me." She let the comment settle with a knowing smile and a bounce of her crossed leg, starting to work the aforementioned lather. "But actually, it comes from a roller derby queen who was, like, the coolest person in my neighborhood growing up. She kicked ahh- butt. What can I say on here?" She laughed.

[BlackAkuma]

Ugh, shouldn’t have mentioned the poutine. It had been too long since he had a good plate of the stuff. Used to eat it all the time when he was younger, but now that he actually had to care about his image and stay in shape? Off the menu. Nevermind how hard it was to find the stuff out of the provinces.

He quirked an eyebrow and gave a quick look over when she mentioned swimming in a bowl of cheese curds—that was a fun mental image—but he nodded along with her, sympathising with her on the temperature changes in the States. In his early days he’d had more than a few fashion emergences because the Americans didn’t like the metric system, and he was glad he could just pay someone to keep up with stuff like that these days.

”I’ll go with Dinah.” He had an aunt with that name, a fun one who used to sneak him candies during the Shabbat service. She reminded him a little of her. The memory brought a quick, soft smile to him as she went on, talking about the origins of her name.

”Roller derby?” He perked up and sat back, a touch surprised, not what he was expecting. Aside from the basics, he knew precious little about the sport - a bunch of women skating in a circle and trying to knock each other out. He’d also heard it was pretty popular with lesbians, for whatever reason. Maybe something he could look into for Pride Month.

Keith didn’t want to dive too hard into the kickboxing angle just yet, but that was too good of a setup for him not to dip his toes. ”Just don’t do any racial slurs or anything like that, you’re fine.” He held up his hands, quick to add on. ”Not that you would, of course. Just saying. No harm in being careful these days.”

He shook his head with a rueful glance, then returned to normal. He’d had a few experiences none of which he wanted to talk about right now. Or ever again, if he could get away with it. ”But that’s awesome, kicking ass in your hero’s name. Well, heroine, that’s the right word for it. Gotta be crazy flattering to her, you two keep in touch?”

[HotWheels]

"Nooooo. I'll just use 'hoser' since that's ours anyway." Dinah wasn't a hoser - she was too much of a city girl - and Keith didn't seem like much of a hoser, either. But it was also the only appropriate Canadian "slur" to keep the banter going. People when she had first started her career probably saw her as a hoser since she probably seemed like a clueless, lost country bumpkin. It was the downside of being someone relatively poor trying to enter a career arena where a lot of money was thrown around. She knew how to present herself more like them now so she could fit in - flighty, a little eccentric (she had always been a little eccentric), and ambitious.

She supposed that was why she had to answer in the negative to his most recent question. That wasn't the whole reason, but she... didn't have all the time she needed for people these days. "No, no. I was more of a fan than someone who knew her well. But she was so cool it made an impression on me." There was something to that, too. It wasn't as if a roller derby queen was the be-all, end-all of celebrity popularity - especially at a derby only attracting a couple hundred people in Toronto. Yet that Roulette probably hadn't known the names of more than a dozen of her fans. Dinah had so many more and probably knew fewer of their names.

She pushed the thought away. He probably needed a good segway to talk about the combat stuff, didn't he? She shifted her posture. "That's part of the reason why I wanted to get into that kickboxing tournament. I wanted to be seen as tough like her." She raised an arm, pulled the shoulder of her jacket back, and flashed the new muscles - still smaller and leaner, but there - that she had earned while training for the competition. "I think I made her proud."

[BlackAkuma]

”Yeah, it’s our word.” Keith snickered, though he couldn't imagine anyone who knew what that word meant using it on her. Then again, he’d come across more than a few people who’d called him that, as if it was some catchall term for Canadians in general. Never could be quite sure whether they were being mean or ignorant. He didn't expect everyone everywhere to understand Canadian slang, but it was funny.

Keith would not have minded staying on the roller derby topic a wee bit longer - it was something he knew little about and his audience probably knew less of, and that was always a good well to draw from - but Dinah seemed good to press on to more present matters, and he didn’t fight the flow. He made a mental note to look into it later, might be something fun to explore during the slow months after every new year.

Keith leaned forward with genuine interest - and maybe a little more - as she flashed her muscles, looking impressed. He’d seen her in combat, but now that he was close, he could better appreciate her physique, see all the details. He was still new with LAW, but he’d been around enough muscular women already to have a good idea what a female fighting form looked like, and she was well on her way to achieving an impressive one. He always respected big gains, too, and she’d definitely made some.

”I would say you did, yeah.” He nodded emphatically. ”I could tell you put your all into it. Everyone else was just kind of there, not too serious, but you put in the work, it showed. You shut up a lot of haters; congrats on taking the whole thing.”

Keith stroked his chin, fingers sliding along the prickly beginnings of a beard, and leaned forward, almost conspiratorial, like they were about to share a little secret. ”So it’s true? You seriously hadn't fought before that? You went in clean, never stepped into a ring before?”

[HotWheels]

While she might have taken the compliment from most people in an interview as empty platitudes, Dinah could see enough genuine intrigue from Keith’s inspection of her muscles - though still relatively humble compared to someone of his size - that she thought he meant his words. If not for the jacket being part of her staple look (and totally practical for life in Canada), she would have been going around with her guns out all the time to show them off. Her new physique hadn’t been won lightly; she had wanted to murder her trainer no less than three or four times over the past year. But it was practical for the competition and practical for her career, both. A performer who danced and sang at the same time could never be in good enough shape.

“Thanks,” she retorted, leaning back and letting the jacket fall back into place. There was a touch of smugness on her face, less than she wanted to show. It was surprising how much credence a woman could win by kicking around fellow celebrities for a few weekends. Her popularity had hit a peak since winning, and she was more than happy to milk the glories of her success. “I really did. Put in a lot of work, I mean. I treated it like I would preparing for anything I do in my performing career. Though I will say, I do like the thought that there was natural talent there. I’m a born gladiator. Don’t I look it?” The lightness to her tone indicated she didn’t totally mean that, but it was part of the presentation now.

And he asked basically the best follow up question for that line of thinking. She shook her head, and the smugness amped up a touch more as she answered. “Nooope. Nope nope. I’ve never been in a single fight. I mean, I’ll never say I haven’t swung at anyone before. If you guys think I’m an angel, you haven’t been listening to my music closely enough.” She fixed the camera with a knowing look. “But I’ve never been in any fight that went beyond a shove and a tackle.” She raised a finger. “And let me remind that a few of them had. A few of them had done some boxing and things like to that to stay in shape.” Of course, saying that was like saying Dinah had “training” in dieting because she could read the number of sugars in sweets from off of a box; none of them boxed to do anything but give themselves nicer bodies. But it made her victory sound that much better.

[BlackAkuma]

Keith wouldn’t go as far as to say ‘gladiator’ - he wouldn’t label himself that way, either - but he nodded along, impressed nonetheless. ”No argument here, trust me.” He held up his hands in defense. ”If I ever had any kinds of doubts about female fighters, LAW knocked all that right out.”

That got a quick glance from his producer, a slight worry, but it wasn’t necessary. They were always antsy about him bringing up LAW stuff, knowing how that could be a risque topic with the American watchers, but Kieth figured it was warranted, here. They were both fighting celebrities, it would be unnatural if he didn’t pool into his own experiences. So long as he kept the focus on Dinah and her burgeoning career, it was all good.

Keith exaggerated his reaction - a widened stare, a slight gape in his mouth, almost incredulous - but he didn’t have to stretch it all that much from his genuine feelings. He’d assumed Dinah had some background in martial arts from her childhood, maybe dabbled it in here and there. While he himself had never wrestled before he got into the ring, he was used to getting physical from his time in hockey, and he’d gone deep into boxing training for a while. The idea of coming in mostly fresh and winning a tournament was wild, even at the low skill level.

”Yeah, training’s nice, but it only gets you so far, right? You’ve got to have some drive, too. Hit all the bodybags you want, but when the bell rings…” He shook his head and straightened up, letting that sentence finish itself, or giving her a layup if she wanted to take it.

”Still, though,” He inched her way, just a little scoot, both to show interest and get more comfortable. ”Coming in raw like that? That’s insane. And I know it wasn’t all smooth sailing, you got your bell rung a couple times.” He put a finger to his lips, considering the best way to phrase his next question, before he settled.

”You said you’d never been in a fight before, so I’m guessing you’d never took a punch in the face. Like a serious punch, from someone who’s straight up trying to knock you out. I know, firsthand, that can be a crazy experience, so I’m curious - what was it like for you? First time in the ring, slugging it out, what’s going through your head?”

[HotWheels]

Dinah knew LAW better than she would have admitted to most close to her. While she had never been all that focused on wrestling itself, she did like good entertainment - and wrestling was a step away from being real-life anime, in a way. A lot of bluster and yelling and drama and fighting. But her primary interest had been in some of the less... straightforward matches, admittedly. It had a reputation, sure, but it had earned it. Some of those matches made for some hot late-night viewing. Hearing Keith say the women there had knocked doubts about female fighters out of his head, she almost allowed another knowing look cross her features, but she kept this one at bay and simply nodded her approval. "Good."

And she did pick up what he was putting down about the empty training that hadn't helped any of those other celebrities. She was enthusiastically nodding along until he trailed off. "When the bell rings, the bodybag's moving and kicking you in the face! And is a lot more attractive than a bodybag." She might have used her looks for a few small advantages, too. It had been subtle enough that the cameras wouldn't notice, but a couple of soft words and well-timed winks made the right guys and girls swing a little slower.

She hadn't decided if she liked hearing people mention she had gotten her bell rung a couple of times - and she had, complete with a slightly chipped tooth at one point - or if it made her sound tougher, so she let his words pass without comment. He had a follow-up, anyway, so she settled in with her temple resting against a fist. And he had a good question. With how hard she had been hit the first time someone had punched her squarely enough - she had been doing a lot of successful dodging until that strike in her second match - she could hardly remember what she had been thinking. Ow and nothing else all that sensible. Probably something about needing plastic surgery. But why should it stop her that she didn't have a complete view of the answer? That was what embellishment was for.

"Oh I was somewhere between wanting to run and wanting to hit them back and... I don't know. A lot of instincts took over, and none of it made a lot of sense. I don't know that I can put together exactly what came over me in the moment." That much, relatively straightforward and honest. "Buuut I also knew that I couldn't be a coward and let myself down or anyone else down, so I had to shake it off and get back in there." Hadn't been that simple, no, but it sure made her sound tough and cool.

[BlackAkuma]

Exactly. She got it.

Keith wasn’t so naive as to think he was a master fighter just because he’d had a couple of good wrestling matches under his belt, but he also felt like he was getting a good handle on what it really meant to be in that ring and struggle. It always looked so easy, and everyone thought being in LAW was just flirting and sexfights…which is was, in some small part. But he had a better eye on the whole picture, now.

It was part of why he’d been so into doing this interview. It was the chance to meet with someone going through something similar to his own thing - coming out of one world and dipping your toes into something entirely different. He knew it could be daunting, but she handled it well. Looks could deceive, though—time to press.

The last bit - the stuff about not being a coward and not letting people down - was nice, but a little on the fluffy side. Not that he blamed her or doubted it was true, it just wasn’t the meat he wanted to dig into. Better to bring the focus back to the first point.

”You definitely have great instincts, don’t think anyone could take that away from you. Especially in that last match, you were on point.” Keith gave out a quick chef’s kiss, one of his favorite emotes. ”It’s crazy that there’s this small - small and stupid - group out there who think you just bought your way to the top. Somehow.” He shook his head and scrunched up his face, trying to process the idea. Did not compute. ”Some people just like to hate. Probably mad you beat their favorite.”