Post by Charlotte Shimizu on Jan 15, 2024 2:00:02 GMT
“You are fucking insane.”
Charlotte started to chuckle at her sister’s declaration, but hissed in pain as her ribs protested. “Worth it though,” she responded with a smile that was more pain than amusement.
“How, exactly? You didn’t even get the contract!”
Charlotte watched Hannah pace back and forth in bemusement. They’d already arrived in Pittsburgh. Instead of a hotel, they’d found a small B&B that had been a turn-of-the-century Victorian style manor, and were doing some basic touristy things between Charlotte’s training and various meetings Hannah had to attend as her manager.
“Sure I didn’t get the goal but, I promise you, no one’s gonna forget that.”
“And if you break your neck making everyone remember you, what good does that do?”
Charlotte sighed, and winced again as her ribs protested. She shifted in her chair, trying to find a more comfortable position. “Hanners… Being memorable is just as important as anything else. No one’s gonna give a shit about merch if they don’t remember the person it’s for.”
Hannah threw her hands up. “For the love of God, Charlie… Vasco was right, you really have no damned brakes!” Suddenly, she stopped and stared at Charlotte as though a lightbulb had suddenly turned on.
Charlotte jerked slightly, sensing something she needed to protest, but groaned as her whole torso protested the sudden movement.
“No Damned Brakes! That’s it, Char! That’s your tagline!”
Charlotte sighed in resignation, wincing as her ribs again made their protests known. “Y’know what, Hanners… Fine. Okay. Do what you want with that. At least it’s not your original idea…”
“Yes!” Hannah celebrated with a fist pump and a little bounce on the balls of her feet. Charlotte restrained herself to only rolling her eyes.
The scene opens on Charlotte sitting in her white kosode and pale blue hakama, her hair in its usual style for her matches. She’s seemingly sitting in midair, whatever she’s resting on is hidden by the folds and pleats of her shinto priestess garb.
“Let’s address the two women I’m facing on Tuesday…” Charlotte begins, her tone cool and polite, her gaze focused somewhere off camera. “We’ll start with the Pink Puppy, Dawn Warren… Girl… I give you credit. You pinned Astrid Hall. I hope you don’t mind though that I say I softened her up for you. Pretty smart thinking to stay out of the way until that point… But it’s also a pretty lame way to win, don’t you think?”
Charlotte’s eyes shift to look directly at the camera, the piercing quality of her gaze leaving one with the sensation that she’s staring right out into the audience watching. “If you’re so scrappy, why weren’t you in there mixing it up with us? You didn’t beat us both. You could say you beat Astrid, but really, the most you can claim is that you pinned her. Don’t think that’ll work a second time, girlie. For one thing, I’m expecting it, and I think you and I both know that our third in this match isn’t gonna fall for that sort of trick either.”
Her gaze shifts again off to one side, her expression once again passively thoughtful. “And that brings us to Brooklyn Madrox, the reigning Women’s Champion… I’ll be honest. I don’t know how I’ll measure up against you, Madrox, but I have to wonder why you’d get yourself disqualified. I can understand a rivalry, I suppose, even if most of my experience with such has been heavily scripted. So you either wanted to win by any means possible and you just got caught, or you didn’t want Jennie Fenix to have the gold.” Charlotte shrugs one shoulder. “I don’t really understand it, but fine. I can imagine having that belt could go to your head. But let me make one thing clear…”
Charlotte rises from her seat and then calmly steps forward, only to start falling, revealing that her seat the whole time has been a ladder. The camera follows her descent, showing her easy landing into a crouch. She rises from the classic landing smoothly, her eyes fixed on the camera. “I’m not the one you got beef with, Brooklyn Madrox, and I don’t got beef with you yet. You can say you got a problem with me, but what everyone will hear is that you don’t respect your sister as a professional. You wanna call this payback or vengeance, fine. It don’t change my plans any. You try something like you did last week though? Then we might have a problem.”
Charlotte smoothes the front of her kosode, her tone casual as though she were commenting on the weather. “You both know my style… so buckle up, buttercups. All the stops have been pulled because this ride has no damned brakes.”
Charlotte started to chuckle at her sister’s declaration, but hissed in pain as her ribs protested. “Worth it though,” she responded with a smile that was more pain than amusement.
“How, exactly? You didn’t even get the contract!”
Charlotte watched Hannah pace back and forth in bemusement. They’d already arrived in Pittsburgh. Instead of a hotel, they’d found a small B&B that had been a turn-of-the-century Victorian style manor, and were doing some basic touristy things between Charlotte’s training and various meetings Hannah had to attend as her manager.
“Sure I didn’t get the goal but, I promise you, no one’s gonna forget that.”
“And if you break your neck making everyone remember you, what good does that do?”
Charlotte sighed, and winced again as her ribs protested. She shifted in her chair, trying to find a more comfortable position. “Hanners… Being memorable is just as important as anything else. No one’s gonna give a shit about merch if they don’t remember the person it’s for.”
Hannah threw her hands up. “For the love of God, Charlie… Vasco was right, you really have no damned brakes!” Suddenly, she stopped and stared at Charlotte as though a lightbulb had suddenly turned on.
Charlotte jerked slightly, sensing something she needed to protest, but groaned as her whole torso protested the sudden movement.
“No Damned Brakes! That’s it, Char! That’s your tagline!”
Charlotte sighed in resignation, wincing as her ribs again made their protests known. “Y’know what, Hanners… Fine. Okay. Do what you want with that. At least it’s not your original idea…”
“Yes!” Hannah celebrated with a fist pump and a little bounce on the balls of her feet. Charlotte restrained herself to only rolling her eyes.
The scene opens on Charlotte sitting in her white kosode and pale blue hakama, her hair in its usual style for her matches. She’s seemingly sitting in midair, whatever she’s resting on is hidden by the folds and pleats of her shinto priestess garb.
“Let’s address the two women I’m facing on Tuesday…” Charlotte begins, her tone cool and polite, her gaze focused somewhere off camera. “We’ll start with the Pink Puppy, Dawn Warren… Girl… I give you credit. You pinned Astrid Hall. I hope you don’t mind though that I say I softened her up for you. Pretty smart thinking to stay out of the way until that point… But it’s also a pretty lame way to win, don’t you think?”
Charlotte’s eyes shift to look directly at the camera, the piercing quality of her gaze leaving one with the sensation that she’s staring right out into the audience watching. “If you’re so scrappy, why weren’t you in there mixing it up with us? You didn’t beat us both. You could say you beat Astrid, but really, the most you can claim is that you pinned her. Don’t think that’ll work a second time, girlie. For one thing, I’m expecting it, and I think you and I both know that our third in this match isn’t gonna fall for that sort of trick either.”
Her gaze shifts again off to one side, her expression once again passively thoughtful. “And that brings us to Brooklyn Madrox, the reigning Women’s Champion… I’ll be honest. I don’t know how I’ll measure up against you, Madrox, but I have to wonder why you’d get yourself disqualified. I can understand a rivalry, I suppose, even if most of my experience with such has been heavily scripted. So you either wanted to win by any means possible and you just got caught, or you didn’t want Jennie Fenix to have the gold.” Charlotte shrugs one shoulder. “I don’t really understand it, but fine. I can imagine having that belt could go to your head. But let me make one thing clear…”
Charlotte rises from her seat and then calmly steps forward, only to start falling, revealing that her seat the whole time has been a ladder. The camera follows her descent, showing her easy landing into a crouch. She rises from the classic landing smoothly, her eyes fixed on the camera. “I’m not the one you got beef with, Brooklyn Madrox, and I don’t got beef with you yet. You can say you got a problem with me, but what everyone will hear is that you don’t respect your sister as a professional. You wanna call this payback or vengeance, fine. It don’t change my plans any. You try something like you did last week though? Then we might have a problem.”
Charlotte smoothes the front of her kosode, her tone casual as though she were commenting on the weather. “You both know my style… so buckle up, buttercups. All the stops have been pulled because this ride has no damned brakes.”
Well howdy there pardner.