Post by Charlotte Shimizu on Jan 8, 2024 5:57:46 GMT
Charlotte scowled at the card announcement; Queen’s Gambit, with a title shot of her choice for the calendar year on the line. Doubt assailed her. She’d told herself she didn’t care about earning gold for so long. She had just wanted to be given a shot… And now she was in the run for another title for the second time in less than three months. After six years of being The One To Beat in Neo-Honshu, was it that she thought she didn’t deserve gold? She’d only won that one match against Virginia. She was rightfully pleased about that, but since then, she hadn’t done well individually or in the free-for-all. Zasshu II wasn’t a bad loss, if she were honest with herself.
But what did she want now? She was getting comfortable enough with IWF that she was even considering letting them film her for the promotions instead of doing it herself or with David’s help.
Her phone buzzed, the notification showing a text message with a picture from Hannah. Deciding which was the lesser of two frustrations at the moment, she pulled open the message… and her jaw dropped.
Part of her was amazed at the look of her name done in katakana and kanji with a gothic calligraphy style set on a red circle, but she was also annoyed because it was very clearly printed a teeshirt.
‘What do you think?’ was Hannah’s next message, making Charlotte groan. She tried to look at it critically, trying to find some reason to reject it. It didn’t use the medicine wheel itself, but it did use the colors in the letters, outlined so the red of the writing wouldn’t disappear into the red circle surrounding her name… But instead, she just got angrier.
‘What do you THINK I think?’ Charlotte quickly typed in reply and sent it before tossing the phone back down on her desk and turning back to contemplating the coming schedule. Diamonds Are Forever was in Chicago. Hannah probably already had transportation sorted out.
But what did she want? She was fighting to be recognized as more than a gaijin before… What is she fighting for now? The Joy of it wasn’t enough to win her anything. Add in a lack of experience with ladder matches, and Charlotte was even more uncertain. She knew she had skill, and she could be a good performer. She was certainly better than most of her old coworkers back at Neo-Honshu, and probably as good as the rest… But IWF was an entirely different caliber of competition.
But didn’t she still want to prove she was good?
She stared across the room at the two things that she used to represent her dual-heritage hanging on the wall. The beaded tapestry had been her mother’s work, the calligraphy scroll her father’s. She’d seen finer work in Japan, but none of those had meant as much to her. There was an ebb and flow to the ink on the parchment that was echoed in the simple message there. ‘Pure water cannot be trapped.’
Charlotte leaned against the desk, scrubbing at her face with her hands. These chances at titles were exactly what she wanted back in Japan, so why was she hesitating now? Did Neo-Honshu actually succeed in making her feel like she didn’t deserve a chance to shine?
She shook her head. She had quit being Neo-Honshu’s pet gaijin months ago, and she’d be damned if she let them continue to dictate her life.
She rose from her chair, resolved. She had to get her outfit on to record her promo.
The feed opens to show a series of stills showing Charlotte in action against a series of Japanese wrestlers, her voice floating over the frames.
“In Neo-Honshu, I was their villain… The one all the good guys had to defeat before they could truly shine and get their moments of glory. It took some longer than others.”
The pictures show Charlotte in a ridiculously stereotyped ring outfit styled after Hollywood’s representation of the indigenous people of North America, clearly victorious over her smaller opponents.
“They strung me along with platitudes, telling me it wasn’t a good time yet.”
The pictures then change to show her former opponents celebrating their defeat of the ‘Gaijin Priestess’.
“I was the darkness that made their stars shine brighter. And after being in the dark for so long, I apparently started to think that I couldn’t be what I wanted, even after I left.”
The pictures stop, leaving only a black frame for a long moment.
“That ends.”
Piercing the blackness of the screen, a sliver of red sun starts rising to illuminate the still dark ocean.
The screen flashes white with the glare of the sunrise, then suddenly Charlotte’s face looms large in the frame, the small beaded braids hanging down to frame her face.
“This is the second chance at a title shot I’ve gotten since October. Maybe I didn’t think I merited the shot back then, but now? I don’t have any other wins to my name since then, so I have to ask myself why I’d get another chance… The answer is surprisingly simple. Because I’m just that damned good.”
Charlotte smiles broadly, but there’s an almost feral glint in her eyes. “Sure… I might not be good enough to win… But I deserve to shine, just as much as any woman in that ring with me and Tuesday night? In Chicago… One of us will shine brighter than the others… and I fully intend for it to be me.”
Her hand comes up to cover the camera, and the feed cuts.
It’s later released in both Cherokee and Japanese.
But what did she want now? She was getting comfortable enough with IWF that she was even considering letting them film her for the promotions instead of doing it herself or with David’s help.
Her phone buzzed, the notification showing a text message with a picture from Hannah. Deciding which was the lesser of two frustrations at the moment, she pulled open the message… and her jaw dropped.
Part of her was amazed at the look of her name done in katakana and kanji with a gothic calligraphy style set on a red circle, but she was also annoyed because it was very clearly printed a teeshirt.
‘What do you think?’ was Hannah’s next message, making Charlotte groan. She tried to look at it critically, trying to find some reason to reject it. It didn’t use the medicine wheel itself, but it did use the colors in the letters, outlined so the red of the writing wouldn’t disappear into the red circle surrounding her name… But instead, she just got angrier.
‘What do you THINK I think?’ Charlotte quickly typed in reply and sent it before tossing the phone back down on her desk and turning back to contemplating the coming schedule. Diamonds Are Forever was in Chicago. Hannah probably already had transportation sorted out.
But what did she want? She was fighting to be recognized as more than a gaijin before… What is she fighting for now? The Joy of it wasn’t enough to win her anything. Add in a lack of experience with ladder matches, and Charlotte was even more uncertain. She knew she had skill, and she could be a good performer. She was certainly better than most of her old coworkers back at Neo-Honshu, and probably as good as the rest… But IWF was an entirely different caliber of competition.
But didn’t she still want to prove she was good?
She stared across the room at the two things that she used to represent her dual-heritage hanging on the wall. The beaded tapestry had been her mother’s work, the calligraphy scroll her father’s. She’d seen finer work in Japan, but none of those had meant as much to her. There was an ebb and flow to the ink on the parchment that was echoed in the simple message there. ‘Pure water cannot be trapped.’
Charlotte leaned against the desk, scrubbing at her face with her hands. These chances at titles were exactly what she wanted back in Japan, so why was she hesitating now? Did Neo-Honshu actually succeed in making her feel like she didn’t deserve a chance to shine?
She shook her head. She had quit being Neo-Honshu’s pet gaijin months ago, and she’d be damned if she let them continue to dictate her life.
She rose from her chair, resolved. She had to get her outfit on to record her promo.
The feed opens to show a series of stills showing Charlotte in action against a series of Japanese wrestlers, her voice floating over the frames.
“In Neo-Honshu, I was their villain… The one all the good guys had to defeat before they could truly shine and get their moments of glory. It took some longer than others.”
The pictures show Charlotte in a ridiculously stereotyped ring outfit styled after Hollywood’s representation of the indigenous people of North America, clearly victorious over her smaller opponents.
“They strung me along with platitudes, telling me it wasn’t a good time yet.”
The pictures then change to show her former opponents celebrating their defeat of the ‘Gaijin Priestess’.
“I was the darkness that made their stars shine brighter. And after being in the dark for so long, I apparently started to think that I couldn’t be what I wanted, even after I left.”
The pictures stop, leaving only a black frame for a long moment.
“That ends.”
Piercing the blackness of the screen, a sliver of red sun starts rising to illuminate the still dark ocean.
The screen flashes white with the glare of the sunrise, then suddenly Charlotte’s face looms large in the frame, the small beaded braids hanging down to frame her face.
“This is the second chance at a title shot I’ve gotten since October. Maybe I didn’t think I merited the shot back then, but now? I don’t have any other wins to my name since then, so I have to ask myself why I’d get another chance… The answer is surprisingly simple. Because I’m just that damned good.”
Charlotte smiles broadly, but there’s an almost feral glint in her eyes. “Sure… I might not be good enough to win… But I deserve to shine, just as much as any woman in that ring with me and Tuesday night? In Chicago… One of us will shine brighter than the others… and I fully intend for it to be me.”
Her hand comes up to cover the camera, and the feed cuts.
It’s later released in both Cherokee and Japanese.
Well howdy there pardner.