Post by Astrid Hall on Jan 26, 2018 21:05:23 GMT
The packed crowd of IWF fans explodes at the arena is filled with blue and green light as Immigrant Song begins to play, evoking colors of the sea or the forest. As the music intensifies, Lights shine down to reveal Astrid entering through the crowd, huge smile on her face as she descends towards the ring, carrying a viking-style shield as she approaches. She interacts with the crowd, laughing with them and allowing some of them to take selfies with her, giving high-fives and fist bumps all the way down. Before leaving the crowd, Astrid hands the shield to a young girl, leaning in close and smiling.
“Anyone can be a hero - welcome to the Shield Wall, Sister!”
She leaps into the ring, pumped up and beaming, jumping onto the ropes with a triumphant fist in the air taking in the crowd’s cheers, still brimming with energy. After giving some time for the roar of the crowd to die down, she holds up the microphone and begins to speak.
“HELLO OKLAHOMA CITY!”
The crowd cheers in response, and Astrid smiles back at them with a laugh.
“In TWO short days, sixteen of the most dedicated, tough-as-nails men and women in the Imperial Wrestling Federation – including yours truly - will gather just a few miles from where we are all sitting or standing right now and there, in the Chesapeake Energy Arena, will engage in one of the most anticipated IWF shows of the year – the big season premiere to the finest big events you’ll find in all of Professional Wrestling – METAMORPHOSIS! Did you all buy your tickets?”
The crowd responds with a mix of laughs and cheers of excitement.
“Everyone… LOVES… Metamorphosis. It’s our first big show of the year, and home to the Dragon’s Den – one of the most brutal matches that has ever been performed inside an IWF ring. Every Dragon’s Den is iconic and memorable. Just last year we had our very first Women’s Dragon’s Den – one of my favorite matches of the year where Helena Sawyer went toe to toe against the legendary Eternity over the IWF Shieldmaiden belt… the same belt that I’ll be challenging for a year later, almost to the day.”
Astrid grins. “Sunday will be the third time that the Shieldmaiden has been fought for at Metamorphosis. Twice have a pair of women fought over that belt, and twice has the challenger gone away empty-handed. Last Year Eternity walked away with it after the Dragon’s Den, and a year before that the very first Shieldmaiden Kayla Richards walked away with it in what would be her last successful defense of the title, losing it to my Shield-Sister Shea O’Hara for her first ever reign.”
She glances to the side and laughs towards someone in the front row. “I actually didn’t need to rehearse that ahead of time – I’m actually kind of a wrestling nerd. Shocking, I know.”
The crowd laughs with her. She turns back to the hard camera and cracks her neck.
“Some might say that that history means that I might have something of a disadvantage going into this match… but I’m here to tell you all, right here, right now, that I am going to be the FIRST woman to win that title at Metamorphosis, and that I WILL be your NEW IWF SHIELDMAIDEN! And the only thing standing in my way to make that happen is the woman who I pinned just two weeks ago… Rayne.”
“So the whole plan of ‘don’t use the Mjolnir or the Ragnarok’…”
Astrid winced at the comment. “I know, elskede, I know,” she replied bashfully. “I just lost myself in the moment. You know how it is. I felt the chance to win, to beat her, to going in to Metamorphosis with a victory over the Shieldmaiden already in hand before the glorious finale… and I took it. I am sorry that I have disappointed you, mitt hjerte.”
Pandora gave a wide smirk. “Okay, that whole flirting with me in Viking-Speak is absolutely cheating,” she giggled. “How am I supposed to pretend to be cross with you when you keep saying pretty things at me? I don’t even know what they mean and you’re getting me all… bah! Cheater!”
Astrid grinned. “Bare vent til jeg kommer deg i seng i kveld, elskede. Jeg tviler på at du vil klage på min juks da.”
“CHEATING!”
“Everything alright?”
Astrid and Pandora looked over to see Spike Kane leaning against the doorframe. Pan’s face broke into a dazzling smile as she dashed forward to leap into her Husband’s chest in a running tackle-hug, kissing him happily before stepping back. Astrid grinned and vaulted over the ropes of the practice ring and approached them.
“We’re fine. Discussing strategy for the big match.”
Spike adopted an expression of mock offense. “And I was left out? You girls go to train and forget that I have a title match, too? You wound me. I am wounded.”
Pandora gently punched him in the shoulder. “Oh come on. This is, what, your billionth title reign? And it’s in the match that you designed. You’re going to dance on Jayson’s head. Astrid’s never had a title before, the poor thing’s probably overwhelmed with nerves!”
Astrid cocked her head slightly to the side. “Actually, I’m just fine, Pan.”
“SEE??! She’s an absolute nervous wreck!!”
Spike laughed and shook his head before making eye contact with Astrid and stepping forward, cracking his knuckles. “I suppose that makes sense. It’s only natural to be scared before a match like this. Rayne’s such a big name, and all, I’d understand entirely if you wanted to call it a day and hide under a blanket fort until Meta.”
Astrid huffed indignantly. “Spike Kane, I am NOT scared.”
Spike shook his head and clicked his tongue, taking an over-exaggerated expression of sympathy. “Poor thing. You know I could call Verona and have him cancel the match if you want-“
Astrid laughed. “Oh, don’t you dare. Just because you let me live in your house doesn’t mean I won’t punch you in the face.”
Pandora chuckled. “You shouldn’t keep all your feelings locked up like that. It’s not healthy.”
“She did get you off your game plan, after all, so she’s definitely in your head.”
“I beat her!”
“Poor, timid little Astrid Hall…”
“Oh, that is IT.”
Astrid lunged towards Spike Kane and plowed hard into his midsection – not hard enough to hurt, just enough to take him down to the floor. The three of them burst into laughter as the two of them laid there, simply enjoying one another’s company.
After a few moments, Astrid smirked down at Spike. “Back in the day, didn't you lose the Invictus belt if you got pinned anywhere? I think by those rules pinning you like this would have made ME Invictus Champion.”
Pandora laughed. “Damn, if that’s true then I prolly won it off him AGES ago. The night he won it, even.”
Astrid grinned at her. “And how long would it have taken for me to get it off of you?”
Spike chuckled as Astrid rolled away, letting them both move into a sitting position as Pandora joined them on the floor. “Well shit, if that all counts then we’re probably all at least ten-time Invictus Champions given how many times Pandora’s taken it off of us only for us to give it back.” He shook his head and took a few breaths, easing away his laughter before fixing Astrid with an appraising gaze and resting a hand on her shoulder. “But in seriousness. You don’t have anything to worry about. You’ve beaten her once already, which is more than she can say about you. You’ve been practicing hard, you’re strong, you’re fast, and you’re hungrier for this than you’ve ever been. You absolutely have what it takes to beat Rayne and be a Shieldmaiden not just because of who you are, but because you’ve earned the official title. You’ve got this. You’re Astrid Motherfucking Hall.”
“Damn right you are.”
Astrid smiled at the both of them. “Thank you. Both of you. I hope I don’t let you down.”
Spike shook his head and gave her perhaps the warmest smile he ever had. “You won’t. That much I know for sure.”
“You all know me. You know that while others might cut their promos on a special set in front of a camera – something I know I’ve done on more than one occasion – my favorite way to do these is here. Here in front of all of you, because when it all comes down to it – I love the IWF. I love the fans. I love the people. I love the competition. I love that nobody here holds back, I love that we have matches like the Dragon’s Den! I love that here, EVERYONE is taken seriously. Within this company we are allowed to be whoever we want to be, and are respected for who we are without having to hide behind the masks that society would put on us.”
She shakes her head. “That’s why I just… I just can’t understand where Rayne is coming from. Two weeks ago I told Rayne that I didn’t think she cared about the women in this division. She came back swinging, angry at me for DARING to accuse her of such a thing, saying that she wondered if people even listened to her when she spoke. When I heard those words, I thought that maybe… MAYBE she would show me that my frustration, my anger and my disappointment in her was unfounded. Maybe, just maybe, I was wrong about her. So I listened. I listened very carefully when she spoke, HOPING that I had been wrong about Rayne.”
She shakes her head. “'As far as I’m concerned, most women in this company are a joke.' Her words. Right from her mouth.”
Her eyes flash with anger. “And when it comes down to it, Rayne, no matter how else you might couch your words, no matter how much you might hide behind your claims of ‘oh I’m just cruel and honest to inspire’, the truth is that to you – they’re a JOKE. We aren’t your peers. We aren’t your comrades. We aren’t the future generation, we aren’t the product of all the hard work that you put in throughout your life to make careers like ours possible – we’re jokes. To you, worthy only to be laughed at – not to be taken seriously while you consider yourself to be so high above the rest of us.”
Astrid is getting angrier as she speaks, volume increasing. “You’re right about some things, Rayne. You’re right that we live in a society where the work we do often isn’t taken as seriously as that of our male peers. Too often, even in this company, women are seen not as legitimate athletes, but titillating attractions. I agree with you that that needs to change. I agreed with you when I was a kid, and I agree with you now… but you will NEVER ACCOMPLISH THAT BY TEARING US ALL DOWN.”
Astrid snarls with fury. “You’re in a position where you could inspire – and I mean REALLY inspire. I may not like all the women in this division – hell, I actively hate a few of them. But I respect each and every one of them, because ALL of them have dedicated their lives to this. They have all sacrificed and bled to live this life, and they are ALL warriors. Even the women who I’ve sworn to fight alongside the Watchdogs – however evil they may be, I respect them even grudgingly.
You might say that you were just trying to inspire Charity Helms with what you said to her, but where is she now? What GOOD did you do for her? Her best matches, the moments of her greatest growth, were the matches where her opponents took her seriously. You? You just insulted her to rip her down to make yourself look good, because no matter what you say, no matter how loud you try to argue, you are so blinded by arrogance, so consumed by the belief that you know better than anyone else, that all you do is HURT everyone around you!”
Astrid breathes hard, walking up to the ropes and leaning heavily against them. She looks at the ground for a few long moments before looking up at the crowd… her face no longer contorted with anger, but with sorrow as tears well in her eyes. “Damn it…”
She looks back at the hard camera, voice lightly shaking as she speaks – no longer shouting. “You were my hero, Rayne. I believed in you. I had your poster on my wall. Hell… knowing my parents’ refusal to change my room after I moved to the US, it’s probably still there. And you wanna know the ironic thing?”
She laughs bitterly. “After everything I’ve said… I still won’t tear it down. Because that Rayne, that woman… she still matters to me. Still inspires me. Not because she was cruel to me…
But because she cheered me on.”
Her knuckles whiten against the ropes as she cracks her neck. “And that’s the Rayne that I’m going to remember when I walk into the ring on Sunday Night. HER voice will join the thousands in the Shield Wall cheering me on and encouraging me to be always strive to be better, but not at the expense of hating who I am. It will be for HER, as well as EVERYONE ELSE who has ever believed in me, that I will come upon you in that ring like a storm. I will tear into you with the fury of a winter hurricane, batter you with every once of strength and conviction I have within these limbs, and I will leave you powerless to stand against it. I’ve already beaten you once, Rayne, and that wasn’t even with the best weapons in my arsenal. Come Sunday I won’t be holding anything back, and you’ve already shown that you can’t even handle my second best.”
She leans forward, eyes hardening with fierce intensity. “And when I drive you to the ground, when I beat you like I beat you two weeks ago, when I end your reign as Shieldmaiden… I will look down on you, the woman that you have become, the woman who I have come to hold such anger for…”
She closes her eyes. “And I will lift you back up. I will raise your fist high. I will congratulate you and thank you for one hell of a match, and I will cheer for you. Because that’s how we become stronger.
Because that’s the Shieldmaiden I am going to be.”
“Anyone can be a hero - welcome to the Shield Wall, Sister!”
She leaps into the ring, pumped up and beaming, jumping onto the ropes with a triumphant fist in the air taking in the crowd’s cheers, still brimming with energy. After giving some time for the roar of the crowd to die down, she holds up the microphone and begins to speak.
“HELLO OKLAHOMA CITY!”
The crowd cheers in response, and Astrid smiles back at them with a laugh.
“In TWO short days, sixteen of the most dedicated, tough-as-nails men and women in the Imperial Wrestling Federation – including yours truly - will gather just a few miles from where we are all sitting or standing right now and there, in the Chesapeake Energy Arena, will engage in one of the most anticipated IWF shows of the year – the big season premiere to the finest big events you’ll find in all of Professional Wrestling – METAMORPHOSIS! Did you all buy your tickets?”
The crowd responds with a mix of laughs and cheers of excitement.
“Everyone… LOVES… Metamorphosis. It’s our first big show of the year, and home to the Dragon’s Den – one of the most brutal matches that has ever been performed inside an IWF ring. Every Dragon’s Den is iconic and memorable. Just last year we had our very first Women’s Dragon’s Den – one of my favorite matches of the year where Helena Sawyer went toe to toe against the legendary Eternity over the IWF Shieldmaiden belt… the same belt that I’ll be challenging for a year later, almost to the day.”
Astrid grins. “Sunday will be the third time that the Shieldmaiden has been fought for at Metamorphosis. Twice have a pair of women fought over that belt, and twice has the challenger gone away empty-handed. Last Year Eternity walked away with it after the Dragon’s Den, and a year before that the very first Shieldmaiden Kayla Richards walked away with it in what would be her last successful defense of the title, losing it to my Shield-Sister Shea O’Hara for her first ever reign.”
She glances to the side and laughs towards someone in the front row. “I actually didn’t need to rehearse that ahead of time – I’m actually kind of a wrestling nerd. Shocking, I know.”
The crowd laughs with her. She turns back to the hard camera and cracks her neck.
“Some might say that that history means that I might have something of a disadvantage going into this match… but I’m here to tell you all, right here, right now, that I am going to be the FIRST woman to win that title at Metamorphosis, and that I WILL be your NEW IWF SHIELDMAIDEN! And the only thing standing in my way to make that happen is the woman who I pinned just two weeks ago… Rayne.”
“So the whole plan of ‘don’t use the Mjolnir or the Ragnarok’…”
Astrid winced at the comment. “I know, elskede, I know,” she replied bashfully. “I just lost myself in the moment. You know how it is. I felt the chance to win, to beat her, to going in to Metamorphosis with a victory over the Shieldmaiden already in hand before the glorious finale… and I took it. I am sorry that I have disappointed you, mitt hjerte.”
Pandora gave a wide smirk. “Okay, that whole flirting with me in Viking-Speak is absolutely cheating,” she giggled. “How am I supposed to pretend to be cross with you when you keep saying pretty things at me? I don’t even know what they mean and you’re getting me all… bah! Cheater!”
Astrid grinned. “Bare vent til jeg kommer deg i seng i kveld, elskede. Jeg tviler på at du vil klage på min juks da.”
“CHEATING!”
“Everything alright?”
Astrid and Pandora looked over to see Spike Kane leaning against the doorframe. Pan’s face broke into a dazzling smile as she dashed forward to leap into her Husband’s chest in a running tackle-hug, kissing him happily before stepping back. Astrid grinned and vaulted over the ropes of the practice ring and approached them.
“We’re fine. Discussing strategy for the big match.”
Spike adopted an expression of mock offense. “And I was left out? You girls go to train and forget that I have a title match, too? You wound me. I am wounded.”
Pandora gently punched him in the shoulder. “Oh come on. This is, what, your billionth title reign? And it’s in the match that you designed. You’re going to dance on Jayson’s head. Astrid’s never had a title before, the poor thing’s probably overwhelmed with nerves!”
Astrid cocked her head slightly to the side. “Actually, I’m just fine, Pan.”
“SEE??! She’s an absolute nervous wreck!!”
Spike laughed and shook his head before making eye contact with Astrid and stepping forward, cracking his knuckles. “I suppose that makes sense. It’s only natural to be scared before a match like this. Rayne’s such a big name, and all, I’d understand entirely if you wanted to call it a day and hide under a blanket fort until Meta.”
Astrid huffed indignantly. “Spike Kane, I am NOT scared.”
Spike shook his head and clicked his tongue, taking an over-exaggerated expression of sympathy. “Poor thing. You know I could call Verona and have him cancel the match if you want-“
Astrid laughed. “Oh, don’t you dare. Just because you let me live in your house doesn’t mean I won’t punch you in the face.”
Pandora chuckled. “You shouldn’t keep all your feelings locked up like that. It’s not healthy.”
“She did get you off your game plan, after all, so she’s definitely in your head.”
“I beat her!”
“Poor, timid little Astrid Hall…”
“Oh, that is IT.”
Astrid lunged towards Spike Kane and plowed hard into his midsection – not hard enough to hurt, just enough to take him down to the floor. The three of them burst into laughter as the two of them laid there, simply enjoying one another’s company.
After a few moments, Astrid smirked down at Spike. “Back in the day, didn't you lose the Invictus belt if you got pinned anywhere? I think by those rules pinning you like this would have made ME Invictus Champion.”
Pandora laughed. “Damn, if that’s true then I prolly won it off him AGES ago. The night he won it, even.”
Astrid grinned at her. “And how long would it have taken for me to get it off of you?”
Spike chuckled as Astrid rolled away, letting them both move into a sitting position as Pandora joined them on the floor. “Well shit, if that all counts then we’re probably all at least ten-time Invictus Champions given how many times Pandora’s taken it off of us only for us to give it back.” He shook his head and took a few breaths, easing away his laughter before fixing Astrid with an appraising gaze and resting a hand on her shoulder. “But in seriousness. You don’t have anything to worry about. You’ve beaten her once already, which is more than she can say about you. You’ve been practicing hard, you’re strong, you’re fast, and you’re hungrier for this than you’ve ever been. You absolutely have what it takes to beat Rayne and be a Shieldmaiden not just because of who you are, but because you’ve earned the official title. You’ve got this. You’re Astrid Motherfucking Hall.”
“Damn right you are.”
Astrid smiled at the both of them. “Thank you. Both of you. I hope I don’t let you down.”
Spike shook his head and gave her perhaps the warmest smile he ever had. “You won’t. That much I know for sure.”
“You all know me. You know that while others might cut their promos on a special set in front of a camera – something I know I’ve done on more than one occasion – my favorite way to do these is here. Here in front of all of you, because when it all comes down to it – I love the IWF. I love the fans. I love the people. I love the competition. I love that nobody here holds back, I love that we have matches like the Dragon’s Den! I love that here, EVERYONE is taken seriously. Within this company we are allowed to be whoever we want to be, and are respected for who we are without having to hide behind the masks that society would put on us.”
She shakes her head. “That’s why I just… I just can’t understand where Rayne is coming from. Two weeks ago I told Rayne that I didn’t think she cared about the women in this division. She came back swinging, angry at me for DARING to accuse her of such a thing, saying that she wondered if people even listened to her when she spoke. When I heard those words, I thought that maybe… MAYBE she would show me that my frustration, my anger and my disappointment in her was unfounded. Maybe, just maybe, I was wrong about her. So I listened. I listened very carefully when she spoke, HOPING that I had been wrong about Rayne.”
She shakes her head. “'As far as I’m concerned, most women in this company are a joke.' Her words. Right from her mouth.”
Her eyes flash with anger. “And when it comes down to it, Rayne, no matter how else you might couch your words, no matter how much you might hide behind your claims of ‘oh I’m just cruel and honest to inspire’, the truth is that to you – they’re a JOKE. We aren’t your peers. We aren’t your comrades. We aren’t the future generation, we aren’t the product of all the hard work that you put in throughout your life to make careers like ours possible – we’re jokes. To you, worthy only to be laughed at – not to be taken seriously while you consider yourself to be so high above the rest of us.”
Astrid is getting angrier as she speaks, volume increasing. “You’re right about some things, Rayne. You’re right that we live in a society where the work we do often isn’t taken as seriously as that of our male peers. Too often, even in this company, women are seen not as legitimate athletes, but titillating attractions. I agree with you that that needs to change. I agreed with you when I was a kid, and I agree with you now… but you will NEVER ACCOMPLISH THAT BY TEARING US ALL DOWN.”
Astrid snarls with fury. “You’re in a position where you could inspire – and I mean REALLY inspire. I may not like all the women in this division – hell, I actively hate a few of them. But I respect each and every one of them, because ALL of them have dedicated their lives to this. They have all sacrificed and bled to live this life, and they are ALL warriors. Even the women who I’ve sworn to fight alongside the Watchdogs – however evil they may be, I respect them even grudgingly.
You might say that you were just trying to inspire Charity Helms with what you said to her, but where is she now? What GOOD did you do for her? Her best matches, the moments of her greatest growth, were the matches where her opponents took her seriously. You? You just insulted her to rip her down to make yourself look good, because no matter what you say, no matter how loud you try to argue, you are so blinded by arrogance, so consumed by the belief that you know better than anyone else, that all you do is HURT everyone around you!”
Astrid breathes hard, walking up to the ropes and leaning heavily against them. She looks at the ground for a few long moments before looking up at the crowd… her face no longer contorted with anger, but with sorrow as tears well in her eyes. “Damn it…”
She looks back at the hard camera, voice lightly shaking as she speaks – no longer shouting. “You were my hero, Rayne. I believed in you. I had your poster on my wall. Hell… knowing my parents’ refusal to change my room after I moved to the US, it’s probably still there. And you wanna know the ironic thing?”
She laughs bitterly. “After everything I’ve said… I still won’t tear it down. Because that Rayne, that woman… she still matters to me. Still inspires me. Not because she was cruel to me…
But because she cheered me on.”
Her knuckles whiten against the ropes as she cracks her neck. “And that’s the Rayne that I’m going to remember when I walk into the ring on Sunday Night. HER voice will join the thousands in the Shield Wall cheering me on and encouraging me to be always strive to be better, but not at the expense of hating who I am. It will be for HER, as well as EVERYONE ELSE who has ever believed in me, that I will come upon you in that ring like a storm. I will tear into you with the fury of a winter hurricane, batter you with every once of strength and conviction I have within these limbs, and I will leave you powerless to stand against it. I’ve already beaten you once, Rayne, and that wasn’t even with the best weapons in my arsenal. Come Sunday I won’t be holding anything back, and you’ve already shown that you can’t even handle my second best.”
She leans forward, eyes hardening with fierce intensity. “And when I drive you to the ground, when I beat you like I beat you two weeks ago, when I end your reign as Shieldmaiden… I will look down on you, the woman that you have become, the woman who I have come to hold such anger for…”
She closes her eyes. “And I will lift you back up. I will raise your fist high. I will congratulate you and thank you for one hell of a match, and I will cheer for you. Because that’s how we become stronger.
Because that’s the Shieldmaiden I am going to be.”
Well howdy there pardner.