Post by Pax Stormcrow on May 11, 2024 19:43:00 GMT
“So that is what I have set up as a treatment plan. If that works for you we can go forward with that. Also, as this is Therapy we will be focusing primarily on this treatment plan and dealing with those struggles that you have. If you want someone who you can speak to about day to day issues I can recommend some counselors that we have on staff.”
“Thanks Amber, that means a lot to me. It sounds good. I’ll think about if I want to do counseling too. I have a pretty busy schedule.”
“Of course, Pax. Whatever works best for you depending on where you are at in your life. That’s what is most important.”
Pax smiled at his webcam and nodded his head. He opened his mouth to respond until the phone sitting on his hotel room desk started to buzz. He glanced at the readout on the phone and sighed when he saw the caller ID.
“Is that something you have to take Pax? If so we are about at time and we have covered everything that I wanted too.”
“Ya, sorry Amber. I do gotta take this.”
“Well good luck this week. I look forward to speaking next week. Reach out if you need anything. Have a good day.”
The web meeting ended on his laptop and Pax checked to make sure that his webcam was off. Once convinced of that, he reached out and picked up his phone. He took a breath and pressed the call button and lifted it to his head.
“This is Pax.”
“Mr. Stormcrow! How pleasant it is to hear from you. It has been some time.”
“Hello Mr. Morris. How can I help you?”
“Perhaps you could start by explaining exactly why you have been neglecting your end of our bargain.”
Despite the man’s ever present cheerful tone there was a sharpness underlying his words. Pax stared at his phone for a moment with a frown.
“I’m not sure exactly what you mean, Mr. Morris.”
“Why it’s rather simple young man. We provide you payment and services and in exchange you represent our brand in that lovely sport of yours. Now, just how do you plan to represent our brand when you are not competing?”
“Look, I got no control over the booking here. I’ve been kicking up hell here trying to get a match. I’ve been making it on TV at least.”
“Oh yes you have. Not wearing our brand I might add.”
“Look, we are trying to show up as a singular unit. I know I ain’t had a match but I’m doing live events over here…”
“Yes, in a market that is dead to us. It does not matter to us how many people in Europe see you. We have provided you with a generous travel stipend for this tour of yours and the board is greatly displeased in the return provided.”
He licked his lips slightly as he shifted in his seat. He reached his free hand out to his computer and started to pull up his zoom.
“Well, then you ought to be happy that I have a match coming up. It’s a big hardcore match so it should get a lot of views.”
“Against a competitor who has not been in the ring in some time. Oh yes we know. Do impress them Mr. Stormcrow. There are discussions on the Board of seeking a Breach of Contract.”
“I will, sir.”
“Good. Oh and Mr. Stormcrow?”
“Ya?”
“See that you win.”
The line went dead. He frowned down at his phone and set it on the desk before running his hand through his hair. Bad enough that he was mad in his own right about not being booked. Now Prairie Fiber was starting to make threats about it too.
He scrolled through his Zoom contacts until he found his lawyer. He opened up a chat window and started typing away at it.
You free for a talk? Prairie Fiber is at it again and I’d like a check over on the contract.
He drummed his fingers impatiently on the desk while he waited for a response to pop up. He was getting awfully tired of them holding this contract over his head. He was doing what he could after all.
Well, despite the breakdown he had after losing the World Championship. Which of course was when a lot of this really started to heat up. At least they had finally broken ground on the project back on the Rez. That was something at least.
He was pulled from his thoughts when his zoom notification went off on his laptop. He looked at his computer, hoping to see a response from his lawyer. However, instead of his Lawyer it was Katie, his ‘assistant’ that PF had assigned to him after the last one spectacularly failed at their job. He sighed softly and opened to see what they wanted to pester him about now.
Thought you should see this: iwf2013.proboards.com/thread/18800/hokkaido-shimbun-press-letter-editor
He frowned slightly and clicked on the link. It looked like it was an article to some Japanese news site. He wasn’t sure why exactly she would have sent him such a link, but the further he read on the more he understood. His eyes raced across the screen, devouring the article before he snatched up his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he got to Charlotte. His finger hovered over the call button for a moment before he tapped to open up his messenger.
I saw Rini’s article. Are you OK?
He pushed his current problems to one side. They weren’t anything that couldn’t be settled later. He would take care of business and remind them, Prairie Fiber and IWF, exactly why he belonged in that ring every week.”
~_~
Our vlog opens up with Pax filming from his cell phone as he walks down some street in Berlin. He offers a smile to the camera but it is obviously strained.
“What up Neechies, it’s ya boi! Finally coming to you with a match update. I know it’s been a long time since I dropped one of these. It’s messed up, I know. Trust. I been leaving messages with Verona, Haynes, hell I even been bothering Cliff to try and get myself a match. They finally did it though. Is it against the asshole twins though?”
He sighs and shakes his head.
“No, it ain’t. They aren’t gonna let me put hands on Cyrus and Tytus for some reason. Those cowardly fucks can sit around and cheat to win, jump us, and do any damn thing they want except for face me in the ring. Makes a fella wonder just how much these big bastards can pressure management. Cause I see that I’m scheduled for a hardcore match. Anything goes, no disqualification clusterfuck of violence. So obviously they gonna try and come out and get the drop on me. That’s fine, I ain’t worried. I got my bois to watch my back and you damn sure that I am ready to put hands to them when it’s allowed. Bet. So La Bosa, my dude. If they come down to fuck shit up? I’m gonna ask you to step aside and let me take care of my business cause I got receipts to hand out.”
He pauses his walk, waiting at a crossing and he shakes his head. Taking a deep breath, the former world champion continues.
“Which is to say that I am not looking past you, La Bosa. You are my opponent this week. Ya I got a hit list a mile long that I need to take care of but I ain’t about to look past you. I gotta keep my eyes open but trust that for this week, my gaze is on you. You are a legit competitor. I’m not taking that away from you. Hell you do shit in the ring that I couldn’t possibly dream of. But I gotta ask, do ya take this shit seriously?”
He glances up at the chime and starts to cross the street, gaze sweeping along to make sure that is is safe for him to keep walking. He keeps his eyes in front as he keeps talking.
“For real man, you out here wrestling with a bag on your head. You only show up from time to time. It kinda feels like you are just out here for laughs and to catch a paycheck. Maybe that’s so. Who am I to judge? Hell I don’t even care if that’s all so long as when you step into those ropes that you give it your all. Look, I been up and down social media for weeks now, talking about how I am here to compete and I mean that from the depths of my soul. I am a fighter and I want to go out there and wrestle to the best of my ability week in and week out. But in order to do that, my opponents gotta be on that same level. They gotta be out there trying to do their best too. Or else it don’t mean shit, ya dig?”
Lifting a hand to rub at his face, he shakes his head and lets out a breath.
“I get it, everyone has different goals and different ways to achieve them. I can understand that, even if I don’t agree. But so long as you are busting your ass you can have my respect. So that’s why I’m coming at you this way La Bosa. I don’t know if your heart is in it. I don’t know if you have the focus in the ring. Cause if you don’t then I’m going to run right over you. And ya, some folx out here might think that’s enough. That a win is a win. But I ain’t them. I want my opponents at their best. I’m trying to become the first person to win Joker in the Pack twice. But to make it in that match I gotta prove myself. And I ain’t about to do that unless I show that I can throw down with the best of them. Ya, I won Heir to the Throne. Ya, I’ve held a bunch of different championships. But in this business it’s about what have you done lately. You can’t just sit back. You gotta go every time you step into the ring. Do you think you are ready for that La Bosa? I hope so.”
He grins at the camera, and this time it is genuine with a beaming optimism.
“Cause you look fun as hell to wrestle against. Cause I’m about that too. I love this sport. I enjoy stepping through those ropes and competing with people at their best. I love the challenge, the way your body aches after you know you left everything behind, all of it. So let’s go put on a show for everyone. Let’s tear this fucking roof off. Couple a true American’s out to show all these European fans just what we can do, si?”
He laughs and pounds his fist against his chest before flashing his usual two fingers.
“Peace out, amigo. I’ll see you in the ring.”
He taps a button on his phone, causing the feed to end.
“Thanks Amber, that means a lot to me. It sounds good. I’ll think about if I want to do counseling too. I have a pretty busy schedule.”
“Of course, Pax. Whatever works best for you depending on where you are at in your life. That’s what is most important.”
Pax smiled at his webcam and nodded his head. He opened his mouth to respond until the phone sitting on his hotel room desk started to buzz. He glanced at the readout on the phone and sighed when he saw the caller ID.
“Is that something you have to take Pax? If so we are about at time and we have covered everything that I wanted too.”
“Ya, sorry Amber. I do gotta take this.”
“Well good luck this week. I look forward to speaking next week. Reach out if you need anything. Have a good day.”
The web meeting ended on his laptop and Pax checked to make sure that his webcam was off. Once convinced of that, he reached out and picked up his phone. He took a breath and pressed the call button and lifted it to his head.
“This is Pax.”
“Mr. Stormcrow! How pleasant it is to hear from you. It has been some time.”
“Hello Mr. Morris. How can I help you?”
“Perhaps you could start by explaining exactly why you have been neglecting your end of our bargain.”
Despite the man’s ever present cheerful tone there was a sharpness underlying his words. Pax stared at his phone for a moment with a frown.
“I’m not sure exactly what you mean, Mr. Morris.”
“Why it’s rather simple young man. We provide you payment and services and in exchange you represent our brand in that lovely sport of yours. Now, just how do you plan to represent our brand when you are not competing?”
“Look, I got no control over the booking here. I’ve been kicking up hell here trying to get a match. I’ve been making it on TV at least.”
“Oh yes you have. Not wearing our brand I might add.”
“Look, we are trying to show up as a singular unit. I know I ain’t had a match but I’m doing live events over here…”
“Yes, in a market that is dead to us. It does not matter to us how many people in Europe see you. We have provided you with a generous travel stipend for this tour of yours and the board is greatly displeased in the return provided.”
He licked his lips slightly as he shifted in his seat. He reached his free hand out to his computer and started to pull up his zoom.
“Well, then you ought to be happy that I have a match coming up. It’s a big hardcore match so it should get a lot of views.”
“Against a competitor who has not been in the ring in some time. Oh yes we know. Do impress them Mr. Stormcrow. There are discussions on the Board of seeking a Breach of Contract.”
“I will, sir.”
“Good. Oh and Mr. Stormcrow?”
“Ya?”
“See that you win.”
The line went dead. He frowned down at his phone and set it on the desk before running his hand through his hair. Bad enough that he was mad in his own right about not being booked. Now Prairie Fiber was starting to make threats about it too.
He scrolled through his Zoom contacts until he found his lawyer. He opened up a chat window and started typing away at it.
You free for a talk? Prairie Fiber is at it again and I’d like a check over on the contract.
He drummed his fingers impatiently on the desk while he waited for a response to pop up. He was getting awfully tired of them holding this contract over his head. He was doing what he could after all.
Well, despite the breakdown he had after losing the World Championship. Which of course was when a lot of this really started to heat up. At least they had finally broken ground on the project back on the Rez. That was something at least.
He was pulled from his thoughts when his zoom notification went off on his laptop. He looked at his computer, hoping to see a response from his lawyer. However, instead of his Lawyer it was Katie, his ‘assistant’ that PF had assigned to him after the last one spectacularly failed at their job. He sighed softly and opened to see what they wanted to pester him about now.
Thought you should see this: iwf2013.proboards.com/thread/18800/hokkaido-shimbun-press-letter-editor
He frowned slightly and clicked on the link. It looked like it was an article to some Japanese news site. He wasn’t sure why exactly she would have sent him such a link, but the further he read on the more he understood. His eyes raced across the screen, devouring the article before he snatched up his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he got to Charlotte. His finger hovered over the call button for a moment before he tapped to open up his messenger.
I saw Rini’s article. Are you OK?
He pushed his current problems to one side. They weren’t anything that couldn’t be settled later. He would take care of business and remind them, Prairie Fiber and IWF, exactly why he belonged in that ring every week.”
~_~
Our vlog opens up with Pax filming from his cell phone as he walks down some street in Berlin. He offers a smile to the camera but it is obviously strained.
“What up Neechies, it’s ya boi! Finally coming to you with a match update. I know it’s been a long time since I dropped one of these. It’s messed up, I know. Trust. I been leaving messages with Verona, Haynes, hell I even been bothering Cliff to try and get myself a match. They finally did it though. Is it against the asshole twins though?”
He sighs and shakes his head.
“No, it ain’t. They aren’t gonna let me put hands on Cyrus and Tytus for some reason. Those cowardly fucks can sit around and cheat to win, jump us, and do any damn thing they want except for face me in the ring. Makes a fella wonder just how much these big bastards can pressure management. Cause I see that I’m scheduled for a hardcore match. Anything goes, no disqualification clusterfuck of violence. So obviously they gonna try and come out and get the drop on me. That’s fine, I ain’t worried. I got my bois to watch my back and you damn sure that I am ready to put hands to them when it’s allowed. Bet. So La Bosa, my dude. If they come down to fuck shit up? I’m gonna ask you to step aside and let me take care of my business cause I got receipts to hand out.”
He pauses his walk, waiting at a crossing and he shakes his head. Taking a deep breath, the former world champion continues.
“Which is to say that I am not looking past you, La Bosa. You are my opponent this week. Ya I got a hit list a mile long that I need to take care of but I ain’t about to look past you. I gotta keep my eyes open but trust that for this week, my gaze is on you. You are a legit competitor. I’m not taking that away from you. Hell you do shit in the ring that I couldn’t possibly dream of. But I gotta ask, do ya take this shit seriously?”
He glances up at the chime and starts to cross the street, gaze sweeping along to make sure that is is safe for him to keep walking. He keeps his eyes in front as he keeps talking.
“For real man, you out here wrestling with a bag on your head. You only show up from time to time. It kinda feels like you are just out here for laughs and to catch a paycheck. Maybe that’s so. Who am I to judge? Hell I don’t even care if that’s all so long as when you step into those ropes that you give it your all. Look, I been up and down social media for weeks now, talking about how I am here to compete and I mean that from the depths of my soul. I am a fighter and I want to go out there and wrestle to the best of my ability week in and week out. But in order to do that, my opponents gotta be on that same level. They gotta be out there trying to do their best too. Or else it don’t mean shit, ya dig?”
Lifting a hand to rub at his face, he shakes his head and lets out a breath.
“I get it, everyone has different goals and different ways to achieve them. I can understand that, even if I don’t agree. But so long as you are busting your ass you can have my respect. So that’s why I’m coming at you this way La Bosa. I don’t know if your heart is in it. I don’t know if you have the focus in the ring. Cause if you don’t then I’m going to run right over you. And ya, some folx out here might think that’s enough. That a win is a win. But I ain’t them. I want my opponents at their best. I’m trying to become the first person to win Joker in the Pack twice. But to make it in that match I gotta prove myself. And I ain’t about to do that unless I show that I can throw down with the best of them. Ya, I won Heir to the Throne. Ya, I’ve held a bunch of different championships. But in this business it’s about what have you done lately. You can’t just sit back. You gotta go every time you step into the ring. Do you think you are ready for that La Bosa? I hope so.”
He grins at the camera, and this time it is genuine with a beaming optimism.
“Cause you look fun as hell to wrestle against. Cause I’m about that too. I love this sport. I enjoy stepping through those ropes and competing with people at their best. I love the challenge, the way your body aches after you know you left everything behind, all of it. So let’s go put on a show for everyone. Let’s tear this fucking roof off. Couple a true American’s out to show all these European fans just what we can do, si?”
He laughs and pounds his fist against his chest before flashing his usual two fingers.
“Peace out, amigo. I’ll see you in the ring.”
He taps a button on his phone, causing the feed to end.
Well howdy there pardner.