Post by Niobe Martin on Nov 12, 2023 14:59:43 GMT -5
Things slowly fade into the shot of a clean looking office with certificates hanging on the wall and some books sitting on a small shelf nearby. There’s some new age type music playing from a wireless speaker sitting on the desk at the other side of the room, adding to the otherwise peaceful atmosphere. Niobe is back on the couch again, lying with her ankles crossed and her hands behind her head, staring up at the ceiling quietly. She was alone, waiting for the therapist to arrive and begin the session.
The last one ended rather suddenly due to stupid reasons, and she wanted to get through this one without any interruptions.
A few minutes later the door opened, and a red-haired woman stepped through the door with a smile as she saw Niobe lying there, enjoying the comfy couch for the time being.
”Sorry to make you wait, Niobe. Had to check on a few things.
”It’s okay, I made myself comfortable after I took a look at the books you had lying around here. Before you ask, I didn’t decide to read any of them. Not my cup of tea, lady.”
The lady laughed, reaching to her desk and grabbing the notebook sitting there with the pen then went and sat back in the chair to get comfortable for this session.
”It’s alright. What kinds of things do you like to read anyway? A girl like you has to find something out there interesting to read.”[/font
”Mystery, horror, some manga if I’m in the mood for it. Printed books are becoming a thing of the past, sadly. Everything is online and people are glued to their phones like crazy. I slammed my arm against the wall in the hotel yesterday because I was SO focused on my phone. That shit really hurt.”
A few notes were scribbled down in the notebook, before the session continued.
”Let’s go back to what we were talking about the last time, yes? Your worries about not performing well in that match we were talking about. You’ve been on a slump, and don’t know how to work your way out of it. The frustration must be painful.”
”Well everything was fine in that one, but fell apart like a freakin’ house of cards at the very end. Little ol’ me doesn’t get what she wants, again. No wonder people couldn’t give a shit about me. Right now, I don’t.”
Niobe’s arms came from behind her head and rested over her face, as if blocking out the world at large would make everything go away.
”Sometimes we look too far ahead on things, and think that events have to play themselves out exactly as they are pictured. When it doesn’t happen, we fall into despair, thinking that we did something wrong for the dream to not come into reality. We strive for perfection, which is something I see in you a little bit. You want to achieve this, and think that if you plan ahead, it will happen.
Yet time after time, you have fallen to your own desires of perfection, and lost out on monumental steps.”
”Wow, way to hit the nail on the head and make me feel terrible. I think I’m going to curl up on the couch here and hope it swallows me into a sweet dark oblivion. Right now it’s a better option then wandering out into the ring and getting my ass handed to me again.”
Notes were scribbled, as she watched Niobe try and sink further into the plush couch she was on.
”Maybe, Niobe, taking a different approach to things is in your best interest? You are a talented person, as we’ve discussed before, but you need to let this desire of perfection go. Live in the moment, not on what is planned in the mind. If you go out there with the mindset of failure, then that is what plate you will be served with.
Think positive, and not about being perfect. No one is. If we were a perfect society, it’d be really boring. Don’t you think?”
Niobe turned back and removed her arms from her face, staring at the therapist.
”I’d prefer imperfection, because if we were all the same, striving for perfection, it’d be a really boring fucking world. Doc is expecting the same thing from me, the same thing that has happened time and time again between us.
I need to present something new, something that he won’t expect. An imperfect disaster. That sounds like a good idea.
I must seem like a nut. A professional like me coming to see you over this stuff.”
”Heavens no. I’ve had patients from all walks of life, and you are by far an interesting person. You must have some interesting stories from the road.”
”Way too many. Maybe next time I can tell you about them. Or about my Halloween this year. Totally got into the haunted house get up. It was sweet.”
The two laughed as things faded out.
===========
The camera fades into a shot of Niobe leaning up against a brick wall, the hood of her jacket drawn up over her head to cover her face. She’s looking away from the camera for the moment as silence falls over the shot. After another minute she finally turns her face towards the camera slightly and you catch sight of a four pointed star painted over her left eye.
”Another week, another failure and I’m nowhere near what exactly I want. I perform out there, and do what I must but lately that hasn’t been enough. Some are saying that it’s exactly where I belong, stuck at the bottom of the barrel with the rest of the bottom feeders. That I’ll never crawl out of it and stand on the top. It’s kind of bullshit, because I know I’m capable of more, but I’m expecting everything to fall into place when I get out there. My records as of late would immediately point to me never getting another title shot for the rest of the year and you’d be right.
I don’t deserve it. Not the way I’ve been going. I need to take people out, take them to the limits then shove them off the edge when I’m through. No more dancing around and acting the fool. It’s time to start stepping up and stepping on people, so I can be worthy of getting that shot in the future. This I vow.”
She shifts her right arm though the camera can’t see, you can hear the slight scrape of metal against the brick wall.”
”Doc, Doc, Doc. Here we are again. Except this time it isn’t for a title. You don’t have it anymore. Draugr does. I have to hand it to you though. You put up quite a fight against him, against Odin, and Downfall. Each and every time. Living up to what you set yourself to.
But, you got too close to the sun and got your wings burnt the fuck off and fell like a lead rock back to earth. It sucks doesn’t it. To once be at the top of things and now having to grovel and scrap with the rest of us unworthy mortals. I believe you’ll get back there, someday, but today is not the day.
You see, I’ve come to realize a few things. You and I are never going to get along, and you’ll never see me as anything more than a nobody and a simpleton who does nothing of value around here. That’s fine. I’m okay with that. The problem with that is, sometimes the simpleton can realize that playing by the stupid rules isn’t going to get anywhere and….
she lifts her right arm up to her face, bringing the steel chair into view
….sometimes you’re going to have to take the hard way and the painful way to the top. If I want to get there, I’m going to have to end the war and make sure you stay down for good.
Then you’ll see I’m not just a nobody…
I’m a Living Nightmare.”
The last one ended rather suddenly due to stupid reasons, and she wanted to get through this one without any interruptions.
A few minutes later the door opened, and a red-haired woman stepped through the door with a smile as she saw Niobe lying there, enjoying the comfy couch for the time being.
”Sorry to make you wait, Niobe. Had to check on a few things.
”It’s okay, I made myself comfortable after I took a look at the books you had lying around here. Before you ask, I didn’t decide to read any of them. Not my cup of tea, lady.”
The lady laughed, reaching to her desk and grabbing the notebook sitting there with the pen then went and sat back in the chair to get comfortable for this session.
”It’s alright. What kinds of things do you like to read anyway? A girl like you has to find something out there interesting to read.”[/font
”Mystery, horror, some manga if I’m in the mood for it. Printed books are becoming a thing of the past, sadly. Everything is online and people are glued to their phones like crazy. I slammed my arm against the wall in the hotel yesterday because I was SO focused on my phone. That shit really hurt.”
A few notes were scribbled down in the notebook, before the session continued.
”Let’s go back to what we were talking about the last time, yes? Your worries about not performing well in that match we were talking about. You’ve been on a slump, and don’t know how to work your way out of it. The frustration must be painful.”
”Well everything was fine in that one, but fell apart like a freakin’ house of cards at the very end. Little ol’ me doesn’t get what she wants, again. No wonder people couldn’t give a shit about me. Right now, I don’t.”
Niobe’s arms came from behind her head and rested over her face, as if blocking out the world at large would make everything go away.
”Sometimes we look too far ahead on things, and think that events have to play themselves out exactly as they are pictured. When it doesn’t happen, we fall into despair, thinking that we did something wrong for the dream to not come into reality. We strive for perfection, which is something I see in you a little bit. You want to achieve this, and think that if you plan ahead, it will happen.
Yet time after time, you have fallen to your own desires of perfection, and lost out on monumental steps.”
”Wow, way to hit the nail on the head and make me feel terrible. I think I’m going to curl up on the couch here and hope it swallows me into a sweet dark oblivion. Right now it’s a better option then wandering out into the ring and getting my ass handed to me again.”
Notes were scribbled, as she watched Niobe try and sink further into the plush couch she was on.
”Maybe, Niobe, taking a different approach to things is in your best interest? You are a talented person, as we’ve discussed before, but you need to let this desire of perfection go. Live in the moment, not on what is planned in the mind. If you go out there with the mindset of failure, then that is what plate you will be served with.
Think positive, and not about being perfect. No one is. If we were a perfect society, it’d be really boring. Don’t you think?”
Niobe turned back and removed her arms from her face, staring at the therapist.
”I’d prefer imperfection, because if we were all the same, striving for perfection, it’d be a really boring fucking world. Doc is expecting the same thing from me, the same thing that has happened time and time again between us.
I need to present something new, something that he won’t expect. An imperfect disaster. That sounds like a good idea.
I must seem like a nut. A professional like me coming to see you over this stuff.”
”Heavens no. I’ve had patients from all walks of life, and you are by far an interesting person. You must have some interesting stories from the road.”
”Way too many. Maybe next time I can tell you about them. Or about my Halloween this year. Totally got into the haunted house get up. It was sweet.”
The two laughed as things faded out.
===========
The camera fades into a shot of Niobe leaning up against a brick wall, the hood of her jacket drawn up over her head to cover her face. She’s looking away from the camera for the moment as silence falls over the shot. After another minute she finally turns her face towards the camera slightly and you catch sight of a four pointed star painted over her left eye.
”Another week, another failure and I’m nowhere near what exactly I want. I perform out there, and do what I must but lately that hasn’t been enough. Some are saying that it’s exactly where I belong, stuck at the bottom of the barrel with the rest of the bottom feeders. That I’ll never crawl out of it and stand on the top. It’s kind of bullshit, because I know I’m capable of more, but I’m expecting everything to fall into place when I get out there. My records as of late would immediately point to me never getting another title shot for the rest of the year and you’d be right.
I don’t deserve it. Not the way I’ve been going. I need to take people out, take them to the limits then shove them off the edge when I’m through. No more dancing around and acting the fool. It’s time to start stepping up and stepping on people, so I can be worthy of getting that shot in the future. This I vow.”
She shifts her right arm though the camera can’t see, you can hear the slight scrape of metal against the brick wall.”
”Doc, Doc, Doc. Here we are again. Except this time it isn’t for a title. You don’t have it anymore. Draugr does. I have to hand it to you though. You put up quite a fight against him, against Odin, and Downfall. Each and every time. Living up to what you set yourself to.
But, you got too close to the sun and got your wings burnt the fuck off and fell like a lead rock back to earth. It sucks doesn’t it. To once be at the top of things and now having to grovel and scrap with the rest of us unworthy mortals. I believe you’ll get back there, someday, but today is not the day.
You see, I’ve come to realize a few things. You and I are never going to get along, and you’ll never see me as anything more than a nobody and a simpleton who does nothing of value around here. That’s fine. I’m okay with that. The problem with that is, sometimes the simpleton can realize that playing by the stupid rules isn’t going to get anywhere and….
she lifts her right arm up to her face, bringing the steel chair into view
….sometimes you’re going to have to take the hard way and the painful way to the top. If I want to get there, I’m going to have to end the war and make sure you stay down for good.
Then you’ll see I’m not just a nobody…
I’m a Living Nightmare.”