Post by Gjenrei on Aug 10, 2013 21:32:49 GMT
{Continued from the Cable rp. Amber had just left, whispering an unknown message in the masked man's ear after her and Cable's intimate moment had been interrupted by him. Cable and Gjenrei stared at each other in an awkward silence a long moment.}
Gjenrei: So, about Keeton and Jones. I was thinking that we..
{Cable held up a hand.}
Cable: Before we get into the serious business, I just want to ask you something. And I want you to be completely honest with me.
Gjenrei: When I have given you an answer, I always have been.
Cable: Right. So.. what's the deal with you and Amber? I get that you two don't see eye to eye on things. Hell I'm not even sure that she and I do, but there's a serious tension between you two, and it seems to be mainly coming from you. I just want there to be no secrets, is all.
{Gjenrei exhaled slowly. He'd known the question was inevitable, but even for him that didn't make it easy to answer. He studied Cable for a moment, as the man waited. He wasn't angry, or suspicious, or rather he didn't seem that way.}
Gjenrei: First, let me dismiss the obvious. It isn't some kind of jealousy issue. Fact is you could leave us as the last two people alive and I might choose oblivion rather than procreate with her.
{Cable manage to contain a snicker.}
Cable: I figured that much.
Gjenrei: I... I don't trust her, is the simplest way to put it.
Cable: There was a time where you didn't trust me either.
Gjenrei: True. It did start out being the same way. But, some of the things she says, the way she tries to hold onto knowledge as power, the way she tries to insert herself into what we built. I don't buy into it, but if that is easy for her, think of what else could be.
Cable: Not sure I follow.
Gjenrei: Imagine if a dam blocking a river could think for itself. It knows that unleashing a torrent of water would hurt people, but what if something it wanted, became more important than holding back the flood?
Cable: You're saying she knows things she shouldn't? That she'd use them to achieve her goals regardless of who got hurt?
Gjenrei: Exactly.
Cable: Things like?
{Gjenrei sighed. He knew why Cable asked that, it was a gauge to see how damning the information could be. If Gjenrei couldn't tell him, someone he trusted as a brother, then that meant Cable's trust in him might be misplaced.}
Gjenrei: She knows who I was.
Cable: So? I thought it didn't matter.
Gjenrei: It doesn't. Who I was, is now irrelevant. It's that she's holding onto it like it's some big secret. She's using it like a weapon. Honorable people don't do that for self profit.
{Cable scratched the back of his head. This whole situation was just getting more serious by the day.}
Cable: Is that the root of it?
Gjenrei: Yes.
Cable: Ok. Thanks for being honest about it.
Gjenrei: Of course. Curiosity sated?
Cable: Yes.
Gjenrei: Good.
{Gjenrei and Cable watched each other in silence a long moment. The issue wasn't solved, both men knew that, just each was unsure how far to go with it right now. Amber was going to remain in their lives whether they wanted it to or not. Though it was more one wanted her too, and the other did not. But this wasn't the time to get into those details.}
Cable: So, when are you going to tell me.. who you were? Why hide it?
Gjenrei: I'm not hiding it. Not speaking about it is not the same as hiding the truth. I'll tell you.. when I find out how to say it. The things I tried to forget that give me nightmares, the things I want to remember that have slipped my mind. One day, when I have the words.. I'll share them with you.
Cable: Trust me that much, huh?
{Gjenrei's eyes behind the mask were stone serious.}
Gjenrei: Of course.
{Cable grinned, then clapped his tag partner on the shoulder.}
Cable: Good. Because so do I.
-------------------------------------------
"So, here we stand. The finals to crown the best tag team in IWF. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we find that on one side we have the only "team" here. I use that term like that, because unlike our opponents, we are a team, bonded through more than just the last few matches. Jake Keeton and Alex Jones have reached where they stand, because they are two talented individuals who have put aside their differences so far to come forward as a unit.
But the shorest strand, is always the frailest.
I take nothing away from either of them as wrestlers, for they each have histories of success and grandeur that is miles longer than either of ours. But in a business where ego is the ultimate form of currency and a sense of self rules over everything else with an iron fist, to be a team, in the purest sense of the word, you have to be willing to sacrifice things like personal glory and be willing to turn your back to someone who you can't be sure won't put a knife in it. Those cracks in the armor, those little distracting details are what allow men like us, to defeat men like you.
We are brothers, bathed in blood and bound by honor. And we shall fight as such until not a breath remains in either of us.
But there is something more here, isn't there? Each of us is bound by a past that we cannot escape, and even though we try to defend, justify or even ignore it, it finds a way to make it's presence known, even when it is unwelcomed.
Keeton's history of success is well documented, but with each high, there is a low that comes with it. Each good moment matched by a bad decision, a regret that plagues his mind. Even now, dubious things keep happening where he is concerned. I may not fault him for following his will, but it is not my opinion he should be concerned with.
It is his own.
We try to justify ourselves by believing other people deserve what they get. That evil men deserve evil things to happen to them. Perhaps it's the right way, a sort of kharmic vengeance dispensed by a mortal man. But ask a man if that fact helps him sleep any better at night. I'm sure you'll find the answer to be no.
Similarly, Alex Jones faces the slings and arrows of those who constantly remind him of what he's done. The things he's said, the actions he perpetuated, follow him around like a nagging puppy nipping forever at his heels. I stated once that I didn't believe that he was sincere about his honorable redemption. Since then, I've moved from disbelief into a state of allowing a man to be judged by his actions rather than be wary of the possible things he may do based upon his past.
For whatever small value that holds to him.
But it won't end with me. There will be those that hound everything you do, convinced you are merely playing the part. They will taunt and annoy, so certain that they will see your true colors again one day. The path of honor is not an easy one, whether starting from scratch, or trying to overcome a tragic history. But to have that courage and conviction to continue when the entire world doubts you speaks more volumes than simply stating your intentions.
One slip, and you crack. One crack and you stumble. One stumble and you fall. Then it starts all over again.
So, there the two of you stand. Will either of you be able to stand back to back without one eye looking over your shoulder? Will the sins of the past rear their ugly heads and force one of you to do something you may regret? Will the mere thought of that occuring start the chain reaction sooner?
Cable and I have our pasts as well. His of extreme brutal violence, and mine shrouded by mystery. They played their part, and we conquered them. And since then, we have forged ahead, link by link, until we stare down Infamous for the world tag team championship.
We wished to face the best, and here is the final test.
We will not falter.
Please see that you do not, as well."
Gjenrei: So, about Keeton and Jones. I was thinking that we..
{Cable held up a hand.}
Cable: Before we get into the serious business, I just want to ask you something. And I want you to be completely honest with me.
Gjenrei: When I have given you an answer, I always have been.
Cable: Right. So.. what's the deal with you and Amber? I get that you two don't see eye to eye on things. Hell I'm not even sure that she and I do, but there's a serious tension between you two, and it seems to be mainly coming from you. I just want there to be no secrets, is all.
{Gjenrei exhaled slowly. He'd known the question was inevitable, but even for him that didn't make it easy to answer. He studied Cable for a moment, as the man waited. He wasn't angry, or suspicious, or rather he didn't seem that way.}
Gjenrei: First, let me dismiss the obvious. It isn't some kind of jealousy issue. Fact is you could leave us as the last two people alive and I might choose oblivion rather than procreate with her.
{Cable manage to contain a snicker.}
Cable: I figured that much.
Gjenrei: I... I don't trust her, is the simplest way to put it.
Cable: There was a time where you didn't trust me either.
Gjenrei: True. It did start out being the same way. But, some of the things she says, the way she tries to hold onto knowledge as power, the way she tries to insert herself into what we built. I don't buy into it, but if that is easy for her, think of what else could be.
Cable: Not sure I follow.
Gjenrei: Imagine if a dam blocking a river could think for itself. It knows that unleashing a torrent of water would hurt people, but what if something it wanted, became more important than holding back the flood?
Cable: You're saying she knows things she shouldn't? That she'd use them to achieve her goals regardless of who got hurt?
Gjenrei: Exactly.
Cable: Things like?
{Gjenrei sighed. He knew why Cable asked that, it was a gauge to see how damning the information could be. If Gjenrei couldn't tell him, someone he trusted as a brother, then that meant Cable's trust in him might be misplaced.}
Gjenrei: She knows who I was.
Cable: So? I thought it didn't matter.
Gjenrei: It doesn't. Who I was, is now irrelevant. It's that she's holding onto it like it's some big secret. She's using it like a weapon. Honorable people don't do that for self profit.
{Cable scratched the back of his head. This whole situation was just getting more serious by the day.}
Cable: Is that the root of it?
Gjenrei: Yes.
Cable: Ok. Thanks for being honest about it.
Gjenrei: Of course. Curiosity sated?
Cable: Yes.
Gjenrei: Good.
{Gjenrei and Cable watched each other in silence a long moment. The issue wasn't solved, both men knew that, just each was unsure how far to go with it right now. Amber was going to remain in their lives whether they wanted it to or not. Though it was more one wanted her too, and the other did not. But this wasn't the time to get into those details.}
Cable: So, when are you going to tell me.. who you were? Why hide it?
Gjenrei: I'm not hiding it. Not speaking about it is not the same as hiding the truth. I'll tell you.. when I find out how to say it. The things I tried to forget that give me nightmares, the things I want to remember that have slipped my mind. One day, when I have the words.. I'll share them with you.
Cable: Trust me that much, huh?
{Gjenrei's eyes behind the mask were stone serious.}
Gjenrei: Of course.
{Cable grinned, then clapped his tag partner on the shoulder.}
Cable: Good. Because so do I.
-------------------------------------------
"So, here we stand. The finals to crown the best tag team in IWF. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we find that on one side we have the only "team" here. I use that term like that, because unlike our opponents, we are a team, bonded through more than just the last few matches. Jake Keeton and Alex Jones have reached where they stand, because they are two talented individuals who have put aside their differences so far to come forward as a unit.
But the shorest strand, is always the frailest.
I take nothing away from either of them as wrestlers, for they each have histories of success and grandeur that is miles longer than either of ours. But in a business where ego is the ultimate form of currency and a sense of self rules over everything else with an iron fist, to be a team, in the purest sense of the word, you have to be willing to sacrifice things like personal glory and be willing to turn your back to someone who you can't be sure won't put a knife in it. Those cracks in the armor, those little distracting details are what allow men like us, to defeat men like you.
We are brothers, bathed in blood and bound by honor. And we shall fight as such until not a breath remains in either of us.
But there is something more here, isn't there? Each of us is bound by a past that we cannot escape, and even though we try to defend, justify or even ignore it, it finds a way to make it's presence known, even when it is unwelcomed.
Keeton's history of success is well documented, but with each high, there is a low that comes with it. Each good moment matched by a bad decision, a regret that plagues his mind. Even now, dubious things keep happening where he is concerned. I may not fault him for following his will, but it is not my opinion he should be concerned with.
It is his own.
We try to justify ourselves by believing other people deserve what they get. That evil men deserve evil things to happen to them. Perhaps it's the right way, a sort of kharmic vengeance dispensed by a mortal man. But ask a man if that fact helps him sleep any better at night. I'm sure you'll find the answer to be no.
Similarly, Alex Jones faces the slings and arrows of those who constantly remind him of what he's done. The things he's said, the actions he perpetuated, follow him around like a nagging puppy nipping forever at his heels. I stated once that I didn't believe that he was sincere about his honorable redemption. Since then, I've moved from disbelief into a state of allowing a man to be judged by his actions rather than be wary of the possible things he may do based upon his past.
For whatever small value that holds to him.
But it won't end with me. There will be those that hound everything you do, convinced you are merely playing the part. They will taunt and annoy, so certain that they will see your true colors again one day. The path of honor is not an easy one, whether starting from scratch, or trying to overcome a tragic history. But to have that courage and conviction to continue when the entire world doubts you speaks more volumes than simply stating your intentions.
One slip, and you crack. One crack and you stumble. One stumble and you fall. Then it starts all over again.
So, there the two of you stand. Will either of you be able to stand back to back without one eye looking over your shoulder? Will the sins of the past rear their ugly heads and force one of you to do something you may regret? Will the mere thought of that occuring start the chain reaction sooner?
Cable and I have our pasts as well. His of extreme brutal violence, and mine shrouded by mystery. They played their part, and we conquered them. And since then, we have forged ahead, link by link, until we stare down Infamous for the world tag team championship.
We wished to face the best, and here is the final test.
We will not falter.
Please see that you do not, as well."
Well howdy there pardner.