Post by Vivienne Daniels on Aug 22, 2018 17:47:40 GMT
The camera comes on to Vivienne sitting in a flower garden in a simple white dress.
“Legacy. This is the pay per view everything has been building up to for a while. We have the final of the Heir to the Throne competition. Good luck, guys! We have Hope defending against Maxine, she’s tough but I bet you can do it Hope. We have Dawn going against Alexis for the Luchadora title. I mean, this card is packed and I am so happy I am able to be a part of it.”
Viv smiles.
“I know I had personally hoped to be here defending the Open Weight Championship but it’s okay. I am proud of Hope for beating me. I bet she will do everything she can to defend it and give it all the glory it deserves. I have the record for second most defenses that belt has had. Sure, I didn’t break the record but that’s nothing to be ashamed of. I did my best and that’s all you can really ask of yourself, you know?”
Viv tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.
“Life isn’t always what you expect it to be. But you just have to move forward and make the best of it. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that.”
Viv beams.
“I know I’ve been kind of quiet since losing the Open Weight and a lot of that was me trying to figure out what I wanted to do now. I had a guaranteed shot at another belt given the defenses I had. I was trying to figure out which belt I was going to try for or if I should take a step out of the title scene for a little while. I decided that I’m not done yet.”
Viv was breathing hard as she lifted the weight up onto the bar and flopped on the bench with her eyes closed. Her arms stung, her muscles ached, she felt like a sweaty mess laying on the mat but she let herself catch her breath before moving. She hadn’t pushed herself like this in a while. Not that she’d been neglecting her gym time while holding the open weight belt but she hadn’t pushed like she was chasing something in what felt like ages. Maybe if she’d been pushing herself a little more maybe she could have kept the belt just a little longer, maybe she could have beaten the record. Really made herself feel worthy of the thing.
“That was a good rep, Viv.” Shea advised from above her.
“You’re going to kill yourself if you keep that pace up.”Cals remarked.
“She’s doing fine.” Shea corrected. “I’m making sure she’s not pushing herself too hard.”
Viv opened her eyes and turned to see Cals sitting on the bench with a smoothie in a clear plastic cup and her book set to the side. Shea was standing above her smiling.
“I’m fine.” Viv waved it off as she pushed herself into a sitting position. “I’ve done harder than this before.”
“Which you don’t need to do. You can push yourself without going overboard.” Shea handed her a towel.
“She’s a workaholic.” Cals frowned.
Viv rubbed her shoulder. “Promise we’ll go see a movie or something after my next rep.”
“Shower. Think we’re done for the day.”Shea shook her head.
Cals was quiet a moment. “Can I file another complaint about this being a bad idea?”
“It’s going to be fine.” Shea smiled. “Top shape. Been focused for this match up.”
“Thank you for helping.” Viv sat up. “I know it’s not as good as being in the ring.”
“Medical had some tests they wanted to do. I should be back in soon enough.” Shea waved it off.
“Do you have to go back to antagonizing The Pack?” Cals asked. “Can’t you go punch Ciara or Dawn in the face?”
“Dawn just lost her Dad. I’m not doing that to her.” Viv wiped her face.
“BFC could use a swift kick in the ass though.” Shea handed Viv a water bottle.
“I’ll get to them. Promise.” Viv took a gulp of water.
“I know.” Shea nodded.
“So why are you doing this?” Cals asked. “Xavier can’t be crazy about the idea.”
“He’s trying to get to Dean, not a whole lot of room to tell me to be careful.” Viv smiled.
“Sounds like you’re avoiding the topic.” Shea teased.
“We talked. I told him to trust me to do this.” Viv shrugged.
“And if she breaks you? Or one of the heavy hitters get involved? What are you going to do?” Cals asked.
Viv stood up, dropping the towel and the water bottle as she stretched. “Survive.”
“So one might ask out of the options between Brooklyn and Alexis why would I pick Brooklyn?”
Viv smooths her dress.
“It’s pretty simple.”
Viv smiles kindly.
“I have always made a point about how the women’s division needs to stand up for itself. How we need to protect ourselves from the darker elements we seem to get much more frequently than the men’s. My entire reign as Open Weight champion was to try and prove that. How could I look anyone in the eye if I didn’t try to take out one of The Pack who holds a belt?”
Viv nods to herself.
“I made a big point about that last year when I was trying to get into Survival of the Fittest. That we should be making a stand. Right now more than ever before. We have the Best Friends Club, Age of Gods, and The Pack. That’s three factions with women who all about tearing other women down to try and make themselves feel better. The men have The Age of God and The Pack, sure. And each of their top guys have a belt. But here? In our division? We can’t let things fall into evil hands. Not again. We have three belts and we need to do what we can to show that good people can still win.”
Viv takes a deep breath.
“I’m not ignorant or overconfident about what entering the ring with Brooklyn might do. I’ve dealt with The Pack before. I’ll be honest. I’m scared. I’m not scared for myself. It’s my body and I enter that ring willingly to put it on the line to try to get a little light into this division that is so obsessed with Angel or Rowan or Charity Crowne. I want things to be better.”
Viv puts a hand to her heart.
“I consented to enter that ring. Everyone else, my family, my friends, those close to me? Can we agree to keep them out of this Brooklyn? Just you, whatever you are now and me? Just between us?”
Viv waits a beat.
“I know I should have been there more for you Brooklyn. You were struggling at the same time I was. I was too focused on trying to find my own footing I didn’t think to offer you a hand. And I’m sorry. I should have been there for you. I wasn’t. I hope you can forgive me for that.”
Viv bots her lip.
“But I understand if you can’t. Maybe you don’t want to. Maybe The Pack has been everything you could have ever wanted. I don’t know, but I hope it hasn’t been bad for you. I hope that despite how evil I see it that at least it hasn’t hurt you.”
Viv closes her eyes.
“I don’t begrudge you for finding a family. The Pack seems like monsters to me. I’m not going to deny that. But you all seem to care at least about each other. But you do bad things. You kidnap people. You torture them. It’s a cult. And I’m sorry Brooklyn but I need to try and take the Women’s Championship belt.”
Viv shrugs.
“I don’t hold any grudge against you. If things were different maybe we could have been friends. I hate Rowan. I hate Maxine for kidnapping … but you? No, I don’t hate you. I’m not even disappointed. You did what was best for your career. You did what was best for you. And look at the heights it’s gotten you.”
Viv opens her eyes.
“But I am going to fight you. You say no one is prepared to face you. You said that the little bad wolf needs prey. Well, here I am. There’s some good in this world, and I think it’s worth fighting for. If me stepping in the way keeps you from hurting more people than I am willing to do that. If me standing in the way keeps you from attacking people like Kate and Kimberly than okay. I’m willing to do that.”
Viv stands up.
“Because I’m not doing this to tread on your happiness. I’m not doing this because I disapprove of your friends. I’m not doing this because I think I’m better than you. I’m doing this because you hurt people. And I am not going to let that keep happening. You can do whatever the heck you want with your life but hurting people and using your power to belittle people is not okay.”
Viv smiles.
“So this is me. Standing in your way. I am going to try to take that title with everything I have. Because the division deserves not to live in fear of their champion.”
“Legacy. This is the pay per view everything has been building up to for a while. We have the final of the Heir to the Throne competition. Good luck, guys! We have Hope defending against Maxine, she’s tough but I bet you can do it Hope. We have Dawn going against Alexis for the Luchadora title. I mean, this card is packed and I am so happy I am able to be a part of it.”
Viv smiles.
“I know I had personally hoped to be here defending the Open Weight Championship but it’s okay. I am proud of Hope for beating me. I bet she will do everything she can to defend it and give it all the glory it deserves. I have the record for second most defenses that belt has had. Sure, I didn’t break the record but that’s nothing to be ashamed of. I did my best and that’s all you can really ask of yourself, you know?”
Viv tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.
“Life isn’t always what you expect it to be. But you just have to move forward and make the best of it. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that.”
Viv beams.
“I know I’ve been kind of quiet since losing the Open Weight and a lot of that was me trying to figure out what I wanted to do now. I had a guaranteed shot at another belt given the defenses I had. I was trying to figure out which belt I was going to try for or if I should take a step out of the title scene for a little while. I decided that I’m not done yet.”
Viv was breathing hard as she lifted the weight up onto the bar and flopped on the bench with her eyes closed. Her arms stung, her muscles ached, she felt like a sweaty mess laying on the mat but she let herself catch her breath before moving. She hadn’t pushed herself like this in a while. Not that she’d been neglecting her gym time while holding the open weight belt but she hadn’t pushed like she was chasing something in what felt like ages. Maybe if she’d been pushing herself a little more maybe she could have kept the belt just a little longer, maybe she could have beaten the record. Really made herself feel worthy of the thing.
“That was a good rep, Viv.” Shea advised from above her.
“You’re going to kill yourself if you keep that pace up.”Cals remarked.
“She’s doing fine.” Shea corrected. “I’m making sure she’s not pushing herself too hard.”
Viv opened her eyes and turned to see Cals sitting on the bench with a smoothie in a clear plastic cup and her book set to the side. Shea was standing above her smiling.
“I’m fine.” Viv waved it off as she pushed herself into a sitting position. “I’ve done harder than this before.”
“Which you don’t need to do. You can push yourself without going overboard.” Shea handed her a towel.
“She’s a workaholic.” Cals frowned.
Viv rubbed her shoulder. “Promise we’ll go see a movie or something after my next rep.”
“Shower. Think we’re done for the day.”Shea shook her head.
Cals was quiet a moment. “Can I file another complaint about this being a bad idea?”
“It’s going to be fine.” Shea smiled. “Top shape. Been focused for this match up.”
“Thank you for helping.” Viv sat up. “I know it’s not as good as being in the ring.”
“Medical had some tests they wanted to do. I should be back in soon enough.” Shea waved it off.
“Do you have to go back to antagonizing The Pack?” Cals asked. “Can’t you go punch Ciara or Dawn in the face?”
“Dawn just lost her Dad. I’m not doing that to her.” Viv wiped her face.
“BFC could use a swift kick in the ass though.” Shea handed Viv a water bottle.
“I’ll get to them. Promise.” Viv took a gulp of water.
“I know.” Shea nodded.
“So why are you doing this?” Cals asked. “Xavier can’t be crazy about the idea.”
“He’s trying to get to Dean, not a whole lot of room to tell me to be careful.” Viv smiled.
“Sounds like you’re avoiding the topic.” Shea teased.
“We talked. I told him to trust me to do this.” Viv shrugged.
“And if she breaks you? Or one of the heavy hitters get involved? What are you going to do?” Cals asked.
Viv stood up, dropping the towel and the water bottle as she stretched. “Survive.”
“So one might ask out of the options between Brooklyn and Alexis why would I pick Brooklyn?”
Viv smooths her dress.
“It’s pretty simple.”
Viv smiles kindly.
“I have always made a point about how the women’s division needs to stand up for itself. How we need to protect ourselves from the darker elements we seem to get much more frequently than the men’s. My entire reign as Open Weight champion was to try and prove that. How could I look anyone in the eye if I didn’t try to take out one of The Pack who holds a belt?”
Viv nods to herself.
“I made a big point about that last year when I was trying to get into Survival of the Fittest. That we should be making a stand. Right now more than ever before. We have the Best Friends Club, Age of Gods, and The Pack. That’s three factions with women who all about tearing other women down to try and make themselves feel better. The men have The Age of God and The Pack, sure. And each of their top guys have a belt. But here? In our division? We can’t let things fall into evil hands. Not again. We have three belts and we need to do what we can to show that good people can still win.”
Viv takes a deep breath.
“I’m not ignorant or overconfident about what entering the ring with Brooklyn might do. I’ve dealt with The Pack before. I’ll be honest. I’m scared. I’m not scared for myself. It’s my body and I enter that ring willingly to put it on the line to try to get a little light into this division that is so obsessed with Angel or Rowan or Charity Crowne. I want things to be better.”
Viv puts a hand to her heart.
“I consented to enter that ring. Everyone else, my family, my friends, those close to me? Can we agree to keep them out of this Brooklyn? Just you, whatever you are now and me? Just between us?”
Viv waits a beat.
“I know I should have been there more for you Brooklyn. You were struggling at the same time I was. I was too focused on trying to find my own footing I didn’t think to offer you a hand. And I’m sorry. I should have been there for you. I wasn’t. I hope you can forgive me for that.”
Viv bots her lip.
“But I understand if you can’t. Maybe you don’t want to. Maybe The Pack has been everything you could have ever wanted. I don’t know, but I hope it hasn’t been bad for you. I hope that despite how evil I see it that at least it hasn’t hurt you.”
Viv closes her eyes.
“I don’t begrudge you for finding a family. The Pack seems like monsters to me. I’m not going to deny that. But you all seem to care at least about each other. But you do bad things. You kidnap people. You torture them. It’s a cult. And I’m sorry Brooklyn but I need to try and take the Women’s Championship belt.”
Viv shrugs.
“I don’t hold any grudge against you. If things were different maybe we could have been friends. I hate Rowan. I hate Maxine for kidnapping … but you? No, I don’t hate you. I’m not even disappointed. You did what was best for your career. You did what was best for you. And look at the heights it’s gotten you.”
Viv opens her eyes.
“But I am going to fight you. You say no one is prepared to face you. You said that the little bad wolf needs prey. Well, here I am. There’s some good in this world, and I think it’s worth fighting for. If me stepping in the way keeps you from hurting more people than I am willing to do that. If me standing in the way keeps you from attacking people like Kate and Kimberly than okay. I’m willing to do that.”
Viv stands up.
“Because I’m not doing this to tread on your happiness. I’m not doing this because I disapprove of your friends. I’m not doing this because I think I’m better than you. I’m doing this because you hurt people. And I am not going to let that keep happening. You can do whatever the heck you want with your life but hurting people and using your power to belittle people is not okay.”
Viv smiles.
“So this is me. Standing in your way. I am going to try to take that title with everything I have. Because the division deserves not to live in fear of their champion.”
Well howdy there pardner.