Post by Zasshu II on Dec 31, 2023 3:27:40 GMT
”Isn’t it ironic…”
{ Zasshu mimics holding a microphone as says the next line of the song. }
”A little too ironic…”
{ She says with a little smirk. }
”Who would have thought three months ago when Jennie Fenix and I stood victorious over April Maddrox and Rowan we’d be looking at the two women who’d be in the finals of the Heiress to the Throne?”
{ She takes in a breath after that slightly run on sentence. }
”Honestly? Not me. The Heiress to the Throne was the furthest thing from my mind in that moment. But fast forward to now, to Odyssey, the finals and here we are. Former partners going head to head for a shot at the biggest prize in all of professional wrestling. The two women who apparently embarrassed Rowan and April so badly at Legacy that they haven’t shown their faces in a pro wrestling ring since.”
{ She shrugs. }
”It’s a little ironic, don’t ya think?”
{ She stifled a giggle. }
”Like, for starters. I’m still brand new here. I’ve had about a dozen matches, my win/loss record is slightly above 500 and somehow I have wins over three hall of fame wrestlers, three former world champions and I’m currently in the finals of the biggest tournament in the sport.”
{ She throws her hands up. }
”That’s insane!”
{ She shakes her head. }
”There’s no other word for it. I simply shouldn’t be where I am right now. I shouldn’t have been able to do what I’ve done. By rights my purpose in this tournament was to serve as essentially a buy for a more decorated athlete. I got past Atara but surely Vivienne should have defeated me with ease!? And yet, here I am. I didn’t expect this, I didn’t predict this and I certainly never could have dreamed I’d come this far.”
{ Her normally upbeat demeanor turns slightly stoic. }
”But I am here. I did those things. I won those matches. I beat those incredible competitors. I earned a place in the finals of the Heiress to the Throne, again, the biggest and most important tournament in all of professional wrestling and I’m standing across the ring from the very person I teamed with when my upward trajectory began.”
{ She hums a few bars of Ironic now. }
”And of all the possible options for who I could be facing at Odyssey? I’m happy it’s Jennie Fenix.”
{ She throws her hands up a little. }
”I know, I’m probably supposed to say I’m disappointed it isn’t someone who did something supposedly more impressive than Jennie Fenix. I should probably pretend she isn’t a former World Champion and an obvious shoe in for Heiress to the Throne. I should probably spend a whole bunch of time tearing Jennie down and insulting her for not being Tara.”
{ She feigns a yawn. }
”Yeah, that all sounds a bit boring to me if I’m being honest. I think at this stage we’d all be used to the fact I don’t make a living tossing insults like hand grenades. But some people still expect the sick one liner that will somehow carry me to the biggest win of my career while simultaneously crippling my opponent mentally for the rest of their lives.”
{ She points to the bottom of the screen. }
”I’m sure there’s a Rob Diamond promo cued up next right underneath me. Click that if you want to hear a bunch of childish insults that hold no bearing on the match. Me? I’m going to stand here and say I respect the hell out of Jennie Fenix. She’s done something a lot of people in her shoes don’t. She overachieved.”
{ She raises an eyebrow under her mask. }
”Jennie came into this company as the younger sister of an already established superstar and made a name for herself. That’s simply incredible. Jennie Fenix ascended the mountain, she won the World Title, she made her own name and still people want to stand around and say things like oh she’s not Tara…”
“Like any of them are as good as Tara?”
“They aren’t. It’s just a low hanging fruit they grab for because they can’t think of anything else to say. They know Jennie is awesome, they know she can rip it up in the ring, they know she’s every bit as good as Tara and in time? She may prove herself even better. They know that so they try to get inside of her head. They try to turn that lingering doubt every younger sibling has against them. They try to use it as a weapon. And at every single turn Jennie shut them the hell up.”
{ She stands firmly with her hands on her hips. }
”Jennie Fenix has more than proved herself as one of the elite competitors in the IWF. She’s a former World Champion, a claim some of the people hurling the insults can’t make themselves. She’s traveled the world, winning titles pretty much everywhere she has ever turned up. She’s a modern day gunslinger, going anywhere and everywhere just to prove she’s the best. How many of the trolls can say that?”
“None of them.”
“So, if you came into this promo hoping I’d stand here for ten minutes and tear Jennie Fenix down just like you’d do? You clicked the wrong promo. I have nothing bad to say about Jennie Fenix. I have no insults. I have almost no criticisms. She’s a world class wrestler if there ever was one. She’s exactly the person I want to face in the finals of the Heiress to the Throne. She deserves this spot, this opportunity. She’s more than earned another shot at Brooklyn Maddrox and the IWF World Championship. I’m almost sorry I’m the one standing in her way instead of watching from the back.”
{ She holds up her hand with her thumb and index fingers just millimeters apart. }
”Almost.”
{ She shrugs. }
”But as much as I’d love to see you and Brooklyn go one on one for the World Championship again, I want to be the one facing Brooklyn even more.”
{ She throws her hands up. }
”But that’s professional wrestling, right? Sometimes you’ve got to get in the ring with people you like and respect and pin their shoulders to the mat. Sometimes you’ve gotta be the spoiler of somebody else's dream because it happens to be the same as yours. Sometimes you go from being a fan of someone's work to having to dissect it. And that’s where I find myself right now, Jennie.”
“I don’t want to rob you of your moment. I don’t want to take away the feather in your cap that is the Heiress to the Throne. I don’t want to be the reason you have to go all the way to the back of the line again. But I have to be. I don’t have a choice. I have to step into that ring at Odyssey and take everything away from you or you’ll take everything away from me. That’s just how it is and yeah, I’ll admit to feeling some jitters, some butterflies in my stomach. I’ll admit I don’t know if I can beat you.”
{ She looks down with a frown. }
”But anyone who stands in front of a camera and says anything to the contrary is just talking a big game. I know you’re feeling the same way. I know you’re having the same thoughts. You’ve been watching me just like I’ve been watching you. You may be confident and even slightly arrogant but you know there’s a chance you don’t get to call yourself the Heiress to the Throne this year.”
{ She nods. }
”I’ve beaten a lot of people I shouldn’t have, Jennie, you know that. You know I shouldn’t be your opponent on Odyssey. You know it should literally be anyone else but me in the finals. And yet, I’m here. I’ve done the unthinkable before and I just may do it again. And I think that worries you just a little bit. I think you have been playing out this fantasy in your head the last three weeks where you redeem yourself against Brooklyn. I think you have convinced yourself that the Heiress to the Throne is the end of a chapter for you. I think you’ve been trying to look just a little bit past me to the ultimate prize.”
“And I think that’s a mistake.”
“I think you know it’s a mistake. I think you want to focus on me with everything you’ve got. But I think there’s just something inside of you that likes to jump to the ending of the book first. I think you like to skip the story, skip the meat and get right to where the hero overcomes the villain and of course you’re the hero of your own story.”
“You shouldn’t be looking at Brooklyn over my shoulder, Jennie or you may just find yourself looking at the lights.”
“I didn’t come this far, beat everyone I beat just to be your last battle before the final boss. I’m not a pushover. I’m not a placeholder. I’m not just a warm up match. I’ve proved it week after week as I’ve beaten name after name to stand in the finals of this tournament. I AM A LEGIT CONTENDER!”
{ She nods her head confidently. }
”And I want to be able to call myself the Heiress to the Throne, maybe even more than you do.”
{ She looks away before continuing. }
”You’ve spent your career proving to the world that you’re every bit as good as your sister. I’ve spent my whole life trying to find where I belong. I found it when I stepped into a ring as Zasshu but I’ll be honest. Sometimes I still don’t feel like I belong. Sometimes I still feel like the odd one out in a locker room full of freaks and weirdos. Sometimes I just can’t believe I get the honor of standing in an IWF ring.”
“You proved yourself to them. I need to prove myself to me.”
“The Heiress to the Throne is so much more than an accolade to me. It’s more than a trophy. To come from where I’ve come from and to be able to call myself the Heiress to the Throne? That would make everything I’ve been through, everything I’ve done worth it. The years of mockery, the struggling, the hard work, the straight up suffering I endured to get here?”
“It’ll have meant something.”
“And more than all that, it’ll bring a level of prestige to the moniker of Zasshu. It will bring honor and respect to my master who was under-appreciated during his time. It will make everyone who thought Zasshu II was just here to fill up the roster wake up and realize that I need to be taken seriously!”
{ She looks hard into the camera. }
”It’s credibility. It’s validation. The Heiress to the Throne is everything I have been fighting for my entire life! And as much as I’d love to see you get your happy ending? I can’t let you have it. I can’t step aside. I can’t slow down, hold back or give you even an inch! If you think you’ve seen everything I’m capable of? You haven’t seen anything yet, Jennie! I’m bringing everything, EVERY SINGLE THING I have!”
“I’m capable of more than you know.”
“This is it, Jennie. The finals of the Heiress to the Throne. You and me. It’s ironic but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Goodnight and goodluck.”
{ Date number two had finally come and the two courting lovers found themselves at a cozy brewery/restaurant enjoying a pint over a brick oven pizza. Maria smiled coyly as she nibbled on her slice, trying to look cute without spilling any of the toppings. Zasshu smiled back as she folded her slice into a pizza taco and ate without fear. }
”So, I’ve got to ask, why professional wrestling?”
{ Zasshu takes another large bite of her pizza taco before answering. }
”What do you mean?”
{ She tried to prolong answering the question. }
”I just mean how did wrestling become your passion?”
{ Zasshu avoided answering the question a little longer by taking another large bite. She didn’t like to talk about her past, something her therapist knew all too well. Zasshu chewed slowly but Maria wasn’t budging on waiting for the answer. Finally she swallowed and let out a deep sigh. }
”It was an escape.”
”An escape from what?”
{ Zasshu looked away, clearly uncomfortable. }
”I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”
{ Maria adjusted herself and picked at her pizza, clearly put off by Zasshu’s response. }
”No, it’s fine, don’t be sorry. It’s just, I’m not super used to opening up to people.”
”I get it.”
{ Maria said as she leaned a bit closer. }
”Ugh…”
{ Zasshu grunted as she tried to get comfortable. }
”So my childhood sucked… I know that isn’t unique or anything but, you know, it was my childhood.”
{ Maria nods her head, understanding. }
”And wrestling was an escape from everything going on around me. You know, kids today have their marvel movies and Harry Potter and all that stuff, well I had wrestling. 52 weeks a year I could tune in for two hours and watch real life superheroes fight super villains and everything just sort of made sense.”
{ Zasshu looks across the table to see Maria hanging on every word. }
”And when I got to high school I wanted to become one of those superheroes I saw on tv.”
”Looks like it’s working out pretty well.”
{ Zasshu laughs. }
”Yeah, it’s getting there but I wasn’t always Zasshu.”
”Who were you before?”
”Someone burdened with my past.”
”And now?”
”Someone looking forward to the future.”
{ She says as she reaches across the table to clasp the hand of Maria who smiles. }
”You want to take this to go?”
{ Zasshu could feel her cheeks blush. }
”I’d love to.”
{ Maria throws her free hand up. }
”Check please!”
”So, I’ve got to ask, why professional wrestling?”
{ Zasshu takes another large bite of her pizza taco before answering. }
”What do you mean?”
{ She tried to prolong answering the question. }
”I just mean how did wrestling become your passion?”
{ Zasshu avoided answering the question a little longer by taking another large bite. She didn’t like to talk about her past, something her therapist knew all too well. Zasshu chewed slowly but Maria wasn’t budging on waiting for the answer. Finally she swallowed and let out a deep sigh. }
”It was an escape.”
”An escape from what?”
{ Zasshu looked away, clearly uncomfortable. }
”I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”
{ Maria adjusted herself and picked at her pizza, clearly put off by Zasshu’s response. }
”No, it’s fine, don’t be sorry. It’s just, I’m not super used to opening up to people.”
”I get it.”
{ Maria said as she leaned a bit closer. }
”Ugh…”
{ Zasshu grunted as she tried to get comfortable. }
”So my childhood sucked… I know that isn’t unique or anything but, you know, it was my childhood.”
{ Maria nods her head, understanding. }
”And wrestling was an escape from everything going on around me. You know, kids today have their marvel movies and Harry Potter and all that stuff, well I had wrestling. 52 weeks a year I could tune in for two hours and watch real life superheroes fight super villains and everything just sort of made sense.”
{ Zasshu looks across the table to see Maria hanging on every word. }
”And when I got to high school I wanted to become one of those superheroes I saw on tv.”
”Looks like it’s working out pretty well.”
{ Zasshu laughs. }
”Yeah, it’s getting there but I wasn’t always Zasshu.”
”Who were you before?”
”Someone burdened with my past.”
”And now?”
”Someone looking forward to the future.”
{ She says as she reaches across the table to clasp the hand of Maria who smiles. }
”You want to take this to go?”
{ Zasshu could feel her cheeks blush. }
”I’d love to.”
{ Maria throws her free hand up. }
”Check please!”
Well howdy there pardner.