Post by Sabin / Madjinn on Jul 26, 2024 21:00:17 GMT
“Da-da!” Mikaela Jade calls out with shrill excitement, as her tiny feet scamper across the hardwood floor. She rushes toward the awaiting arms of her father with a beaming smile, and her father – Sabin – crouches down with his arms held out for her to run into him; he closes his arms around her, hugging her tight, and finally stands up with his daughter held securely.
“Micky!” Sabin answers, and taps a finger gently against the tip of her nose, “Have you been good for i léelk’w?”
Mikaela nods her head.
“Have you been having fun?” Sabin asks.
She nods her head again in response.
“What have you been doing?” He asks while carrying her forward, while Tara also walks toward them coming out of the dining room.
“We– we’ve been– been coloring.” Mikaela answers with some hesitation in her own voice, as she’s still quite new to speaking in sentences.
“What have you been drawing?” Sabin asks, and just as he does, he holds Mikaela with one arm and hugs Tara with his other.
“Amimals–” Mikaela answers with confidence despite not pronouncing the word correctly.
“Animals!” Sabin exclaims with sheer and utter excitement.
“I’m surprised you’re actually here,” Tara says, “You’ve been so focused… I didn’t think that you would want to distract yourself,” Tara says. She could easily recognize the change in his demeanor from how he was on camera, and to how he is with his daughter. People could claim many things about Sabin, but calling him a bad father was never one of them. “How has Japan been?” Tara asks with a smile of her own, and the three head toward the living room.
“Dada–” Mikaela says.
“It’s been…” Sabin begins to answer Tara at first, a glint in his eyes. He recalls every match that he has been in, thus far – every time limit draw that he and Brandy had fought for at the start of the tournament, every victory that Sabin has attained as he fought his way through the remaining combatants of Heir to the Throne, and he can’t keep the corner of his lips from curving into a smile…but one that he didn’t want to get too carried away with, one that he knew could be taken away from him if he were to take his foot off the gas now. He answers, “Amazing.” Sabin finally finishes, before turning his attention back to Mikaela, “Yes, my love?”
Tara, propping her elbow on the back of her seat and resting her head against the palm of her hand, stares in admiration of her son – she can easily see the excitement he feels, yet the nerves that are tensing him.
“Are– are you staying?” Mikaela asks in her innocent tone.
Just like that, Sabin’s eyes grew concerned as he bit down on his bottom lip. He lightly snorts out, and answers her, “I– can’t…” Sabin answers, his voice filled with disappointment. Mikaela pouts in response, and Sabin quickly resumes to try to calm her, “Baby– do you remember what I promised you?” He asks.
Mikaela nods.
“I promised– I promised you that I would bring the title home, and you would be able to carry it. You would be able to play with it. You would be able to see i éesh as the champion,” he says while flashing another smile, “And this tournament is how I get to do that. This tournament is how I get to let you finally see i éesh– your father– as the IWF Men’s World Champion.”
Mikaela sighs, “I go?” she answers.
Sabin and Tara exchange a glance with each other… Sabin had opted to leave Mikaela Jade home with Tara for much of the tour, while Tara awaited her own booking. A silence lingers between Sabin and Tara, while Mikaela anticipates an answer.
As the scenery fades into place, we find Madjinn sitting inside of a nursery… the entity known to the world as Madjinn sits on the rocking chair, gently rocking back and forth. His gaze fixates on a small object in his hand…a Grogu doll belonging to Mikaela Jade, as he traces his thumbs across the cloth material making the clothing of the doll. Without losing cadence, his eyes suddenly shoot upward to glare at the camera – his lips remain pursed for a couple more seconds before he finally breaks his silence.
“One year ago…” He mutters.
He shuts his eyes tightly, wincing and grimacing as his head contorts; he finally chatters his teeth together trying to bring a sense of normalcy back to himself, “I was on the brink of winning what has eluded me in previous years–” he hisses, and jolts his head the other way; he reopens his eyes, and fixes his gaze forward, “Each and every year, I have proven myself as the dominating force. Each and every year, I would bury the competition to earn my spot in the finals, but each and every year, someone would find a way to… stop me.” He says with a sigh.
“Last year… that was you…” Madjinn snorts out, flaring his nostrils; he clutches the Grogu tighter, his nails pressing hard against the inanimate object, “Last year–” his voice trails off. He loosens his grip a little bit, and the corner of his lips curl into a smirk as a low chuckle escapes before he continues, “But I’m not here to remind everybody what has happened. I’m here to tell everybody what will happen. Y’see, Pax–” he licks his lips, now hunching forward to stop the chair from rocking and rests his elbows on his knees, “–a lot can happen in a year, and I’m quite certain that you’re not going to disappoint…” Madjinn says with a grin.
“You’re going to remind everybody how you’ve already defeated me. You’re probably going to go on a little bit with that selective memory of yours–” he raises a hand up and taps his fingernail against the side of his head, “–and tell them how you were the better TV champion…” he says with a roll of his eyes.
“You’ll probably try to convince yourself that I shouldn’t be the one standing across the ring from you… You’ll probably try to convince yourself and others that the only reason I’m the one standing across from you for the second year in a row is because of who my mother is!” He rolls his eyes again and scoffs, “Y’see, Pax, we’ve been in the ring enough times that I already know what you’re thinking. I already know what you’re going to say! Because– truth be told…”
Sitting back in the rocking chair and beginning the motion again, he secures Grogu against himself with one hand while tapping a finger against his chin with the other. The smirk remains on his face as silence ensues for a couple of seconds, but the words are already set inside of his head.
“It’s never anything new with you.” He says with a subtle shrug of his shoulders.
“It’s always the same old, same old, ‘What up, Neechies?! It’s ya boi!’” Madjinn says in a mocking tone, “Annnnnd then you’re gone… Until the next golden opportunity comes your way! Y’see, Pax, I have…so much to say about you! So many things that I’d like to get off my chest about you, and I’m going to pull a little page out of your book… You’re good!” He fires a finger pistol at the camera.
“You’re arguably one of the– best– one of the absolute toughest people to be in the ring with, ‘cause there’s something just… different… about you. There’s just some kind of– aura– surrounding you, and it just makes you an absolute wildcard! You have days where you get into the ring, and you– are– just–”
A shiver runs throughout his body, and he sucks in air between his teeth, before exhaling heavily and continuing, “Whew! You become a machine! You become– difficult to read. You just seem to do everything right. You have an answer for everything. And so, there’s no denying, Pax, that when it comes to getting inside of the ring– you’re good. You’re damn good.” He cocks his head to the side with an arrogant smirk, “But I’m better.”
He takes a momentary pause to allow the simple statement to recur inside of the minds of the viewers several times over…he chuckles under his breath before continuing, “Y’see, Pax, there’s a distinct difference between us, a distinct difference between what you fought last year, to what you are fighting this year– I adapt. I change. I evolve. I become– just– better… In every single way imaginable, but you rely on the same old, same old, and what difference have you had to really switch it up? I mean, seriously, isn’t that what carried you throughout last year’s tournament? Isn’t that what carried you to be– almost– undefeated throughout this year’s tournament? Let’s be real about it, Pax, it was eating away at you that you couldn’t walk in truly undefeated… there’s that little–” he clicks his tongue, “–asterisk that says… draw… That asterisk that should be next to your title reign. Anyways, it’s that old you that failed! It’s that old you that won the championship, and lost… it's the old you that crawled away… And were forgotten…” He snickers.
“But these people, Pax–” Madjinn waves a hand into the air as if he were greeting an audience, “They remember me. They remember that it has never mattered how many times I’ve gotten knocked down– I’m still here. I’m still fighting. I’m still bringing every ounce of chaos with me! And I’m still fighting to take back what is mine. I lose the Roulette– I’m still here. I lose the Joker in the Pack– I’m still here. I lose Heir to the Throne– I’m still here. Hell, I lost the IWF World Television Championship– I’m still here. But you, Pax, you crumble– you crumble underneath all of the pressure… You climbed all the way to the top, and then you fell all the way back to the pits! And then– you stayed there… YOU LEFT. These people– they believed in you! And you…left…”
There’s another momentary pause from The Mad Prince, as he places his hand on top of Grogu’s head. He narrows his eyes, as if a predator, “Y’see, Pax, there’s no denying that you’re good… There’s no denying that you’re one of the best, and when you’re on your game– there’s few people that can stop you. And– I want you to bring that part of you out to play this week… I want to see that fire inside of you that broke Cyrus! The fire that just– elevates you– I want that fire in your soul, Pax, so that when we do get into the ring with each other this week: I can put it out. I can remind you– I can remind these people– who you are…what you are… A quitter. At the end of the day, Pax, I’m going to finally have redemption– true redemption– for the fluke from last year… And when that bell sounds? I suppose we’ll see you when the Roulette rolls around.”
Madjinn leans forward, finally standing up from the chair… He tucks Grogu under his arm, and then plants a kiss on the camera lens before it finally fades to black.
The lingering silence ensues for just a couple more seconds… He’s uncertain of how to answer the question immediately, but Tara is the one to finally break the silence with her decision, “Of course you can, Micky.”
Mikaela’s expression immediately shifts to one of excitement as she wriggles her way from Sabin’s lap, to the couch, and carefully to the floor – she tugs at Sabin’s pant legs, “We pack!”
“Go tell paw-paw!” Tara says, and Mikaela Jade releases Sabin’s pants as she continues forward.
“I go tell paw-paw!” she says.
“Are you sure she should come?” Sabin asks.
“I’m perfectly capable of watching her,” Tara answers, “Don’t ever forget the reason for why you’re fighting as hard as you have been.”
“Micky!” Sabin answers, and taps a finger gently against the tip of her nose, “Have you been good for i léelk’w?”
Mikaela nods her head.
“Have you been having fun?” Sabin asks.
She nods her head again in response.
“What have you been doing?” He asks while carrying her forward, while Tara also walks toward them coming out of the dining room.
“We– we’ve been– been coloring.” Mikaela answers with some hesitation in her own voice, as she’s still quite new to speaking in sentences.
“What have you been drawing?” Sabin asks, and just as he does, he holds Mikaela with one arm and hugs Tara with his other.
“Amimals–” Mikaela answers with confidence despite not pronouncing the word correctly.
“Animals!” Sabin exclaims with sheer and utter excitement.
“I’m surprised you’re actually here,” Tara says, “You’ve been so focused… I didn’t think that you would want to distract yourself,” Tara says. She could easily recognize the change in his demeanor from how he was on camera, and to how he is with his daughter. People could claim many things about Sabin, but calling him a bad father was never one of them. “How has Japan been?” Tara asks with a smile of her own, and the three head toward the living room.
“Dada–” Mikaela says.
“It’s been…” Sabin begins to answer Tara at first, a glint in his eyes. He recalls every match that he has been in, thus far – every time limit draw that he and Brandy had fought for at the start of the tournament, every victory that Sabin has attained as he fought his way through the remaining combatants of Heir to the Throne, and he can’t keep the corner of his lips from curving into a smile…but one that he didn’t want to get too carried away with, one that he knew could be taken away from him if he were to take his foot off the gas now. He answers, “Amazing.” Sabin finally finishes, before turning his attention back to Mikaela, “Yes, my love?”
Tara, propping her elbow on the back of her seat and resting her head against the palm of her hand, stares in admiration of her son – she can easily see the excitement he feels, yet the nerves that are tensing him.
“Are– are you staying?” Mikaela asks in her innocent tone.
Just like that, Sabin’s eyes grew concerned as he bit down on his bottom lip. He lightly snorts out, and answers her, “I– can’t…” Sabin answers, his voice filled with disappointment. Mikaela pouts in response, and Sabin quickly resumes to try to calm her, “Baby– do you remember what I promised you?” He asks.
Mikaela nods.
“I promised– I promised you that I would bring the title home, and you would be able to carry it. You would be able to play with it. You would be able to see i éesh as the champion,” he says while flashing another smile, “And this tournament is how I get to do that. This tournament is how I get to let you finally see i éesh– your father– as the IWF Men’s World Champion.”
Mikaela sighs, “I go?” she answers.
Sabin and Tara exchange a glance with each other… Sabin had opted to leave Mikaela Jade home with Tara for much of the tour, while Tara awaited her own booking. A silence lingers between Sabin and Tara, while Mikaela anticipates an answer.
As the scenery fades into place, we find Madjinn sitting inside of a nursery… the entity known to the world as Madjinn sits on the rocking chair, gently rocking back and forth. His gaze fixates on a small object in his hand…a Grogu doll belonging to Mikaela Jade, as he traces his thumbs across the cloth material making the clothing of the doll. Without losing cadence, his eyes suddenly shoot upward to glare at the camera – his lips remain pursed for a couple more seconds before he finally breaks his silence.
“One year ago…” He mutters.
He shuts his eyes tightly, wincing and grimacing as his head contorts; he finally chatters his teeth together trying to bring a sense of normalcy back to himself, “I was on the brink of winning what has eluded me in previous years–” he hisses, and jolts his head the other way; he reopens his eyes, and fixes his gaze forward, “Each and every year, I have proven myself as the dominating force. Each and every year, I would bury the competition to earn my spot in the finals, but each and every year, someone would find a way to… stop me.” He says with a sigh.
“Last year… that was you…” Madjinn snorts out, flaring his nostrils; he clutches the Grogu tighter, his nails pressing hard against the inanimate object, “Last year–” his voice trails off. He loosens his grip a little bit, and the corner of his lips curl into a smirk as a low chuckle escapes before he continues, “But I’m not here to remind everybody what has happened. I’m here to tell everybody what will happen. Y’see, Pax–” he licks his lips, now hunching forward to stop the chair from rocking and rests his elbows on his knees, “–a lot can happen in a year, and I’m quite certain that you’re not going to disappoint…” Madjinn says with a grin.
“You’re going to remind everybody how you’ve already defeated me. You’re probably going to go on a little bit with that selective memory of yours–” he raises a hand up and taps his fingernail against the side of his head, “–and tell them how you were the better TV champion…” he says with a roll of his eyes.
“You’ll probably try to convince yourself that I shouldn’t be the one standing across the ring from you… You’ll probably try to convince yourself and others that the only reason I’m the one standing across from you for the second year in a row is because of who my mother is!” He rolls his eyes again and scoffs, “Y’see, Pax, we’ve been in the ring enough times that I already know what you’re thinking. I already know what you’re going to say! Because– truth be told…”
Sitting back in the rocking chair and beginning the motion again, he secures Grogu against himself with one hand while tapping a finger against his chin with the other. The smirk remains on his face as silence ensues for a couple of seconds, but the words are already set inside of his head.
“It’s never anything new with you.” He says with a subtle shrug of his shoulders.
“It’s always the same old, same old, ‘What up, Neechies?! It’s ya boi!’” Madjinn says in a mocking tone, “Annnnnd then you’re gone… Until the next golden opportunity comes your way! Y’see, Pax, I have…so much to say about you! So many things that I’d like to get off my chest about you, and I’m going to pull a little page out of your book… You’re good!” He fires a finger pistol at the camera.
“You’re arguably one of the– best– one of the absolute toughest people to be in the ring with, ‘cause there’s something just… different… about you. There’s just some kind of– aura– surrounding you, and it just makes you an absolute wildcard! You have days where you get into the ring, and you– are– just–”
A shiver runs throughout his body, and he sucks in air between his teeth, before exhaling heavily and continuing, “Whew! You become a machine! You become– difficult to read. You just seem to do everything right. You have an answer for everything. And so, there’s no denying, Pax, that when it comes to getting inside of the ring– you’re good. You’re damn good.” He cocks his head to the side with an arrogant smirk, “But I’m better.”
He takes a momentary pause to allow the simple statement to recur inside of the minds of the viewers several times over…he chuckles under his breath before continuing, “Y’see, Pax, there’s a distinct difference between us, a distinct difference between what you fought last year, to what you are fighting this year– I adapt. I change. I evolve. I become– just– better… In every single way imaginable, but you rely on the same old, same old, and what difference have you had to really switch it up? I mean, seriously, isn’t that what carried you throughout last year’s tournament? Isn’t that what carried you to be– almost– undefeated throughout this year’s tournament? Let’s be real about it, Pax, it was eating away at you that you couldn’t walk in truly undefeated… there’s that little–” he clicks his tongue, “–asterisk that says… draw… That asterisk that should be next to your title reign. Anyways, it’s that old you that failed! It’s that old you that won the championship, and lost… it's the old you that crawled away… And were forgotten…” He snickers.
“But these people, Pax–” Madjinn waves a hand into the air as if he were greeting an audience, “They remember me. They remember that it has never mattered how many times I’ve gotten knocked down– I’m still here. I’m still fighting. I’m still bringing every ounce of chaos with me! And I’m still fighting to take back what is mine. I lose the Roulette– I’m still here. I lose the Joker in the Pack– I’m still here. I lose Heir to the Throne– I’m still here. Hell, I lost the IWF World Television Championship– I’m still here. But you, Pax, you crumble– you crumble underneath all of the pressure… You climbed all the way to the top, and then you fell all the way back to the pits! And then– you stayed there… YOU LEFT. These people– they believed in you! And you…left…”
There’s another momentary pause from The Mad Prince, as he places his hand on top of Grogu’s head. He narrows his eyes, as if a predator, “Y’see, Pax, there’s no denying that you’re good… There’s no denying that you’re one of the best, and when you’re on your game– there’s few people that can stop you. And– I want you to bring that part of you out to play this week… I want to see that fire inside of you that broke Cyrus! The fire that just– elevates you– I want that fire in your soul, Pax, so that when we do get into the ring with each other this week: I can put it out. I can remind you– I can remind these people– who you are…what you are… A quitter. At the end of the day, Pax, I’m going to finally have redemption– true redemption– for the fluke from last year… And when that bell sounds? I suppose we’ll see you when the Roulette rolls around.”
Madjinn leans forward, finally standing up from the chair… He tucks Grogu under his arm, and then plants a kiss on the camera lens before it finally fades to black.
The lingering silence ensues for just a couple more seconds… He’s uncertain of how to answer the question immediately, but Tara is the one to finally break the silence with her decision, “Of course you can, Micky.”
Mikaela’s expression immediately shifts to one of excitement as she wriggles her way from Sabin’s lap, to the couch, and carefully to the floor – she tugs at Sabin’s pant legs, “We pack!”
“Go tell paw-paw!” Tara says, and Mikaela Jade releases Sabin’s pants as she continues forward.
“I go tell paw-paw!” she says.
“Are you sure she should come?” Sabin asks.
“I’m perfectly capable of watching her,” Tara answers, “Don’t ever forget the reason for why you’re fighting as hard as you have been.”
Well howdy there pardner.