Phoebe

  "Hey Phoebe, what's up? I was surprised when you asked to call."

  "Just… needing someone to talk to, I guess. Someone who's outside all of this."

  "This?"

  "The IL."

  "Oh, the racing? But you love it, right?"

  "I do, Thessaly, I do, but it's a lot sometimes."

  "It's going well, though, right? Didn't you win last time?"

  "Not quite, I came second, but that's kind of it. Now they want to interview me for the preshow next weekend, I dunno what to do."

  "Shouldn't you take the interview? Like, it'll be good for your team, right?"

  "I don't know if I'll be any good at interviews, though, Thessaly, I don't think that's my strong suit, I don't know…"

  "Well, what is it you're worried about?"

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  "What if I say something dumb?"

  "Nah, you'll be fine, just be yourself. Laugh a lot, your laugh is really cute, they'll love that."

  "My laugh? I mean, you really think so?"

  "Yeah, most interviewers aren't there to make you look bad, they want something that their audience will love and, like, warm up to. I always try to just be as cute as possible and let them do all the work."

  "Wait, you've done interviews before?"

  "Yeah. Not for a while, but I have some coming up soon."

  "What for?"

  "Oh, my new song just came out and we finally managed to get some press arranged."

  "Song? You're a singer? I had no idea, Thessaly, how'd I miss that?"

  "Well, I'm not very big yet, but, um… maybe I shouldn't have said that, actually, I'm not really supposed to, like, mix work and personal life."

  "You can trust me, Thessaly, don't worry. I'll keep your secrets. So where can I hear this song?"

  "Oh, uh, I'll send it to you. You really wanna hear it?"

  "Of course! Why wouldn't I? Friends listen to their friends' music, Thessaly."

  "Um, I guess so."

  "Hey, you really think the interview will be fine?"

  "Yeah, I mean, like, your manager hasn't given you a list of talking points or anything, right?"

  "My team manager? Petunia?"

  "No, like, your media manager."

  "Do I seem like the kind of person who'd have a media manager, Thessaly? Is that really something that I seem like I can afford right now?"

  "Okay, yeah, you'll be fine then."

  "Wait, what do you mean?"

  "Like, for me, my manager always gives me these lists of things I should try to get into the interview, like trends and stuff. Because everything with idols is supposed to be super-fashionable, y'know?"

  "Oh fuck no, I'm not doing anything like that."

  "You shouldn't have to. Just talk about Soot, I really like it when you talk about him."

  Wednesday: Ian - major update (3006 words)

  Friday: Petunia - major update (1396 words)

  Saturday: Phoebe - major update (1532 words)

  Sunday: Race (282 words - sometimes the major drama isn't the racing...)

  articles from a sports website covering dragon racing, if you want a broader perspective on the lore, the world and the sport.

  Fourth race: Buildup starts June 26th, race day July 7th

  Fifth race: Buildup starts July 8th, race day July 20th

  Sixth race: Buildup starts July 22nd, race day 4th August

  Seventh race: Buildup starts 5th August, race day 12th August

  Eighth race: Buildup starts 13th August, race day 18th August

  Ninth race: Buildup starts 19th August, race day 25th August

  Tenth race: Buildup starts 26th August, race day 1st September

  Mid-season break: 4th-8th September

  Eleventh race: Buildup starts 9th September, race day 15th September

  Twelfth race: Buildup starts 16th September, race day 22nd September

  Thirteenth race: Buildup starts 23rd September, race day 6th October

  Fourteenth race: Buildup starts 7th October, race day 13th October

  Fifteenth race: Buildup starts 14th October, race day 20th October

  Sixteenth race: Buildup starts 23rd October, race day 27th October

  Seventeenth race: Buildup starts 30th October, race day 10th November

  Final race: Buildup starts 11th November, race day tbd (likely 1st week in December)