Post by Charlotte Shimizu on Oct 30, 2023 0:25:57 GMT
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
The question came at the end of a long call with Rini. Charlotte sighed wearily. It was late, but Charlotte had needed her friend after the card for Odyssey was announced. Of course, it involved telling Rini that her match had not ended in her favor because of the delay in availability of the broadcast in Japan, which then led to the minor altercation backstage.
“I don’t even know if I want a spot at Extinction, Rini,” she admitted. “It’s like I’m sinking in the deep end and I’ve forgotten how to swim.”
The easy laughter at the other end was a balm to Charlotte’s nerves. “What are you doing swimming when you’re supposed to be flying, Maasu?”
Charlotte allowed herself to chuckle as well at the very well placed jest. “It’d be easier to fly if they weren’t always trying to ground me.”
“Well… Not all birds need to fly to be a terror,” Rini replied, sounding thoughtful. “Do you remember when we were tagging against Jiro and Shiori?”
That had been one of their last matches before Neo Honshu. Due to the small size of the dojo that the shrine hosted matches for, intergender wrestling was a given, even if there were unspoken rules to those matches. Charlotte cast her mind back, trying to recall more than just how many times they’d tagged each other in and Rini getting the pin. She’d only gotten the pin after -
“The Tsunami, you mean?” Charlotte asked.
“Well… If you can’t win by being a bird, perhaps you should win by being the ocean, Una,” Rini retorted. Charlotte could almost hear the wicked smile on her friend’s face through her emphasis on Charlotte’s name. On all her Japanese paperwork, her middle name used the kanji for ‘ocean’. And it wasn’t that she couldn’t win using her ground game. She’d simply taken to aerial moves so hard because it was an area where Rini wasn’t good… And most of the wrestlers in Neo Honshu had no defense against it, so she’d simply stuck with it until it became a habit. She liked it too, but she hadn’t started that way.
“You know, Rini… You’re right,” Charlotte finally agreed after a long moment of silence.
“Of course I’m right,” Rini said, and again, Charlotte could hear her smirking. “So you go to Toronto, and show them that even a flightless bird can be a terror, and you show all of IWF that you deserve the spotlight.”
“As long as you don’t start calling me an emu or an ostrich.”
“Bah! You’re only ever Maasu to me. Now go get some rest and call me afterwards to tell me how much ass you kicked.”
“You know I will, Muun.” Charlotte agreed. “I’ll talk to you soon. Have a good day.”
“Good night, Maasu.”
The feed opens again on a panoramic view of a shoreline, waves lapping at a rocky shore where Charlotte, again in her kosode and blue hakama, stands, staring out over the water. Her hair is back in its braids, small red feathers attached to the small braids around the crown of her head.
“Some of you may think all I do is fly… And that’s fair,” she starts, still not looking at the camera. “I love it and I’m good at it. It’s a risk, but with no risk, there’s no reward. It may not have paid off since coming back home, but that’s a gamble we all make at some point.”
“Some of you may even think that if you clip this bird’s wings, if you pluck me out of the air and keep me grounded, you’ll beat me…”
Charlotte turns finally to face the camera, her face set in hard lines of determination. “But you’re wrong. I am not just a bird… I am an ocean, just as fickle and just as impossible to hold. You may be able to keep me back for a time, but it will not last. Nothing lasts against the beating of the sea and I will show all of you in Toronto what that means.”
She smirks slightly, but her eyes are cold. “The Tsunami is coming. Are you ready?”
The question came at the end of a long call with Rini. Charlotte sighed wearily. It was late, but Charlotte had needed her friend after the card for Odyssey was announced. Of course, it involved telling Rini that her match had not ended in her favor because of the delay in availability of the broadcast in Japan, which then led to the minor altercation backstage.
“I don’t even know if I want a spot at Extinction, Rini,” she admitted. “It’s like I’m sinking in the deep end and I’ve forgotten how to swim.”
The easy laughter at the other end was a balm to Charlotte’s nerves. “What are you doing swimming when you’re supposed to be flying, Maasu?”
Charlotte allowed herself to chuckle as well at the very well placed jest. “It’d be easier to fly if they weren’t always trying to ground me.”
“Well… Not all birds need to fly to be a terror,” Rini replied, sounding thoughtful. “Do you remember when we were tagging against Jiro and Shiori?”
That had been one of their last matches before Neo Honshu. Due to the small size of the dojo that the shrine hosted matches for, intergender wrestling was a given, even if there were unspoken rules to those matches. Charlotte cast her mind back, trying to recall more than just how many times they’d tagged each other in and Rini getting the pin. She’d only gotten the pin after -
“The Tsunami, you mean?” Charlotte asked.
“Well… If you can’t win by being a bird, perhaps you should win by being the ocean, Una,” Rini retorted. Charlotte could almost hear the wicked smile on her friend’s face through her emphasis on Charlotte’s name. On all her Japanese paperwork, her middle name used the kanji for ‘ocean’. And it wasn’t that she couldn’t win using her ground game. She’d simply taken to aerial moves so hard because it was an area where Rini wasn’t good… And most of the wrestlers in Neo Honshu had no defense against it, so she’d simply stuck with it until it became a habit. She liked it too, but she hadn’t started that way.
“You know, Rini… You’re right,” Charlotte finally agreed after a long moment of silence.
“Of course I’m right,” Rini said, and again, Charlotte could hear her smirking. “So you go to Toronto, and show them that even a flightless bird can be a terror, and you show all of IWF that you deserve the spotlight.”
“As long as you don’t start calling me an emu or an ostrich.”
“Bah! You’re only ever Maasu to me. Now go get some rest and call me afterwards to tell me how much ass you kicked.”
“You know I will, Muun.” Charlotte agreed. “I’ll talk to you soon. Have a good day.”
“Good night, Maasu.”
The feed opens again on a panoramic view of a shoreline, waves lapping at a rocky shore where Charlotte, again in her kosode and blue hakama, stands, staring out over the water. Her hair is back in its braids, small red feathers attached to the small braids around the crown of her head.
“Some of you may think all I do is fly… And that’s fair,” she starts, still not looking at the camera. “I love it and I’m good at it. It’s a risk, but with no risk, there’s no reward. It may not have paid off since coming back home, but that’s a gamble we all make at some point.”
“Some of you may even think that if you clip this bird’s wings, if you pluck me out of the air and keep me grounded, you’ll beat me…”
Charlotte turns finally to face the camera, her face set in hard lines of determination. “But you’re wrong. I am not just a bird… I am an ocean, just as fickle and just as impossible to hold. You may be able to keep me back for a time, but it will not last. Nothing lasts against the beating of the sea and I will show all of you in Toronto what that means.”
She smirks slightly, but her eyes are cold. “The Tsunami is coming. Are you ready?”
Well howdy there pardner.