Post by Addy A on Mar 16, 2024 5:00:21 GMT -5
“Jumping at shadows?”
“It’s the by-product of the personal nature of our business. We all have the dark little secrets we can’t keep tied up with the skeletons in the closet. Those shadows are the ones that haunt us, Isara. You and I, we are probably linked to each other just by being known as another’s shadow. Two competitors that can stop out into the spotlight and cast our own eclipse. At least it is the case for me, Isara. I’m not sure Roman would let you off the leash. But, me, me I'm forever tied to Lissie Hope. Even Gerry Angelo couldn’t help but bring it up last week in his infinite unobstructive rundown of my wrestling career. Can’t really understand why since it’s been well over twelve months since I shared a bag of blow with her and her little puppy, Johnny. He was probably upset that all I wanted him to do was enjoy fellating me.”
“For you, Keynan, your relationship with Roman, it seems, how do I say it - entwined. Either way, if people wanted to cast aspirations against us, then it would be that we are the shadows of my larger stars - that’s arguable in my case. In your case, it’s just a statement of truth. You’ve been running as the forcefield of protection for Roman Gunn from day one. You’ve been his wrecking ball tearing down buildings so he doesn’t have to kick in the door. You’ve been his tank across the battlefield so he can step over the corpses.”
“The corpses you leave behind.”
“And you’re the one living in his shadow?
“Where’s your heart?”
“Breathe and think, just for one minute. You do all the living. He claims the accolades. You break the bones and he claims the body.”
“You’re heavy hitting alone grants the right to be standing across the ring from Action Wrestling’s Cruiserweight Champion. But it begs the question, why haven’t you been here before - it’s because Roman hasn’t let you? Is it because you lack the heart to stand on your own two feet and fight for yourself.?”
“And that.”
“That is why, you won't have gathered the courage to step out of his shadow before I’ve blinded you with my own spot light. Like the Lion from Wizard of Oz, you need that push along the track to find the strength inside yourself to stand up for yourself. But I’m not Dorothy, I’m going to help you. I’m going to put you down in the ring.”
“Of that I’m certain.”
“The saving grace you’ve got in your back pocket is that a Samoan has closer ties to his family, than a white girl from the dirt side of town halfway across the world. I’ve got to keep my head on a swivel watching for something sneaky coming from my blind side. I’ve got to twist in angles I’ve never thought possible just in case Mercedes wants to steal some clout again.”
“Not that I'm complaining, Key. That’s the game we play. That’s the bed in which we lay. That’s the darkness of the shadow in which you hide. But, that’s not me. Not on Clash. Not this week. I'll be stepping forward on Clash. I’m rising back to the top of the division I made my own. After putting you down, and disposing of the Trailer Pack Princess, I’ll be walking out of Fool’s Gold with the belt hanging on both shoulders. For you, it’s just unfortunate, you’ll fall at my feet. It’s unfortunate.
“You’ll never see the sunshine.”
“It’s the by-product of the personal nature of our business. We all have the dark little secrets we can’t keep tied up with the skeletons in the closet. Those shadows are the ones that haunt us, Isara. You and I, we are probably linked to each other just by being known as another’s shadow. Two competitors that can stop out into the spotlight and cast our own eclipse. At least it is the case for me, Isara. I’m not sure Roman would let you off the leash. But, me, me I'm forever tied to Lissie Hope. Even Gerry Angelo couldn’t help but bring it up last week in his infinite unobstructive rundown of my wrestling career. Can’t really understand why since it’s been well over twelve months since I shared a bag of blow with her and her little puppy, Johnny. He was probably upset that all I wanted him to do was enjoy fellating me.”
“For you, Keynan, your relationship with Roman, it seems, how do I say it - entwined. Either way, if people wanted to cast aspirations against us, then it would be that we are the shadows of my larger stars - that’s arguable in my case. In your case, it’s just a statement of truth. You’ve been running as the forcefield of protection for Roman Gunn from day one. You’ve been his wrecking ball tearing down buildings so he doesn’t have to kick in the door. You’ve been his tank across the battlefield so he can step over the corpses.”
“The corpses you leave behind.”
“And you’re the one living in his shadow?
“Where’s your heart?”
“Breathe and think, just for one minute. You do all the living. He claims the accolades. You break the bones and he claims the body.”
“You’re heavy hitting alone grants the right to be standing across the ring from Action Wrestling’s Cruiserweight Champion. But it begs the question, why haven’t you been here before - it’s because Roman hasn’t let you? Is it because you lack the heart to stand on your own two feet and fight for yourself.?”
“And that.”
“That is why, you won't have gathered the courage to step out of his shadow before I’ve blinded you with my own spot light. Like the Lion from Wizard of Oz, you need that push along the track to find the strength inside yourself to stand up for yourself. But I’m not Dorothy, I’m going to help you. I’m going to put you down in the ring.”
“Of that I’m certain.”
“The saving grace you’ve got in your back pocket is that a Samoan has closer ties to his family, than a white girl from the dirt side of town halfway across the world. I’ve got to keep my head on a swivel watching for something sneaky coming from my blind side. I’ve got to twist in angles I’ve never thought possible just in case Mercedes wants to steal some clout again.”
“Not that I'm complaining, Key. That’s the game we play. That’s the bed in which we lay. That’s the darkness of the shadow in which you hide. But, that’s not me. Not on Clash. Not this week. I'll be stepping forward on Clash. I’m rising back to the top of the division I made my own. After putting you down, and disposing of the Trailer Pack Princess, I’ll be walking out of Fool’s Gold with the belt hanging on both shoulders. For you, it’s just unfortunate, you’ll fall at my feet. It’s unfortunate.
“You’ll never see the sunshine.”
Adelaide Ainsworth had returned from Mexico, having left her daughter in one of their more prestigious boarding schools. The Mexican sojourn had been an escape as she had come to learn that her witness protection agreement was being washed under the carpet. It was never official but that layer of protection and immunity that acted like a bubble around her actions was vanishing rapidly. But she couldn’t run from ever, she always knew that karma eventually collects her debt.
She couldn’t run from ever.
Upon her return to Venice, everything she had come to learn was confirmed to be true. There was no protection. She was alone. She isolated herself from the few friends that had accepted her well meaning intentions that lived behind her toxic exterior.
She was lonely.
She stood on her rooftop looking over the Venice Canals, the dying embers of a cigarette hanging limply between the fingers of her left hand. Her gaze was fixed on the flickering shadows as the trees danced in the swirling breeze.
She smiled.
If the monsters were coming on the orders of the goddess Karma. Then she was as ready as she could ever be.
She thought.
We reap what we sow.
“I am the monster at the end of your bed, Key. I am the scratching on the window in the dead of the night. I am the noises from the closet when you’re trying to get to sleep.”
“I am what keeps you up at night.”
“The shadow always whispers those secret sounds, the hushed tones that keep you jumping from side to side from the unknown.”
“The unknown is something you need to embrace, Key. I understand that trying to stand on your own two feet is something new to you.”
“Something scary.”
“Like escaping the shadow that keeps you comfortable.”
“While you keep yourself in the darkness, you’ll always be the one following directions but scared of the unknown - scared of that independent thought that just might make you more than a victim. You could think that Clash is that moment for you, but a woman’s intuition tells me that it won’t be that moment. A woman's intuition tells me that you’ll turn to water and bury your head under your covers the moment I shine above.”
“You’re afraid of the darkness.”
“You’re afraid of the spotlight.”
“You’re just afraid.”
”You’re right to be afraid of me."