Post by Charlotte Shimizu on Sept 30, 2024 15:09:20 GMT
Charlie picked up her phone and swiped to answer the call. “Hey Chichi! What’s up?”
Her father’s reply was quick. “You want what in that house?”
Charlie had the grace to be chagrined. She knew she wanted a large remodel of the house, and many strange things, like a Japanese style bathroom, the home ring set-up in the back, expanding the office to allow her promo work to continue without having to make use of more than just Imperial’s editing, and making sure there were still three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
“Lemme guess… It’d be better to have bought something else, or just tear the whole thing down and build new, right?” Charlie asked, attempting to head off what appeared to be the one thing that could make Aiden Ryu Shimizu angry; poor planning in home design.
“To say the least. Do you even know how much square footage you’d need for all of that? You’ll be lucky if you have any space left within the property lines!”
Charlie sighed. “Look… Dad… Ya wanna tell me it’s not possible, tell me that. It’s really okay.”
Her father’s response was a heavy sigh. “Building up is an option, but given the hazards in this state, I don’t like the idea. Also, I thought you were trying to keep the house in line with the area.”
And Charlie had to concede that point. Though there’d been no more than straight-line winds that had hit Tahlequah in her lifetime, that didn’t mean that tornados weren’t a risk. And the last thing she wanted to do was have what amounted to a mansion amongst her neighbors’ more modest homes. “A basement that doubles as a storm shelter?” she offered, hoping that might work. She’d considered having the storm shelter be under the outbuilding for her home-ring, given that the only thing she had in the house proper was the basement utility room, but if she could turn the entire basement into the shelter-
“Only if you never want to sell the house again. You know how basements are viewed here.” And again, Charlie did know. She’d endured several rantings from her father over the dinner table on that subject. The fact was that the technology was there to make basements safe and dry from the high water table and the clay soil’s tendency to expand and contract, but the urban myth would not die even as people shelled out money to build storm shelters on their property. She knew her father had incurred no small amount of resistance when he’d planned their home with a proper basement, but as he never intended to move away, and it was a good safety net for any of the three children, those jibes had never bothered him.
Still. She wasn’t sure she wanted to keep the house, and doing too much would tie her to it indefinitely. “Can I at least get the garage conversion and the bathroom upgrade? Maybe a better porch?” she asked plaintively. The rest of everything she wanted could honestly wait, or be gotten around, but she wanted to have a home she could actually relax in… when she could be home.
Aiden chuckled at Charlie’s appeal. “Of course, Una-tan. I’ll run some numbers and let you know, ne?”
Charlie winced. “What’s with the nickname, Chichi? Feeling sentimental?” Her father hadn’t called her ‘Una-tan’ since she’d turned thirteen, when she had decided that she’d outgrown such a childish moniker and demanded he stick with chan or switch to Charlie like everyone else.
Aiden chuckled again. “Nothing so simple…” There was a long pause, which Charlie thought might be her father trying to organize his thoughts, or maybe just trying to find the right words. “I’m proud of you, Una-tan.”
There was a tone there that lurked under the pride that Charlie wasn’t sure about. It sounded almost like Hannah when she was fretting over one of Charlie’s stunts. Her father wasn’t actually worried about her, was he? Charlie shook her head, smiling softly. “Thanks, Chichi. I’ll be fine. Did you and Ma want to come to Survival of the Fittest? It’s in Dallas, but it’s the closest we get on tour for the foreseeable future.”
Aiden chuckled. “I’ll talk to Okaasan about it and let Tski know. Who knows? She may wish to get away from her workshop for a while after the work she’s been putting in this year.”
“Alright Chichi. I’ll warn Hanners. Daisuki da yo.”
“Boku mo, Una-chan.”
The feed starts with a view of a generic, if nice, hotel room, with Charlotte pacing across the frame and back in a clear state of agitation.
“So here it is… the cyclical ‘let’s not let our stars get rusty’ match… What’s gonna fuck it up this time? Probably O’Hara… It’s been her for the last month and it’ll be her until that contract is used up. Even when it’s not actually her, it’s because she decided to bite off more than she can chew. It’s clear she hasn’t paid any attention to me, even when we were supposedly friends, because then she’d know this is almost exactly what I did heading to Rome. Just instead of dealing with Jennie and the Murder, she’s decided to take on Dean Harper and me.”
Charlotte sighs, her energy seemingly spent on that rant and flops gracelessly into the chair in front of the camera.
“But enough of that… I got Caroline Machado coming at me and I don’t look past the person in the ring with me. Never have and I don’t intend to start now, even if I know I got a certain Arsenic Papillion breathing down my neck.”
Charlotte pauses a moment, looking thoughtful before she decides on something. “Quick side note: Shea? Ask ya girl Viv what happens to that character.”
She waves her hand then, dismissing the whole matter. “So… Caroline… You and me get a proper dance finally. I’m pretty confident about my chances since I haven’t lost to a former champ since January. I actually pinned ya in that tag match for the Iron Maiden qualifiers at the beginnin’ of March, but I ain’t gonna count that against ya because your partner was more of a liability to ya than Nat’s was.”
Charlotte leans forward to rest her elbows on the desk, propping her chin up with her hands.
“You’re a former champion, so I know ya got a drive in ya somewheres. Ya never let your losses get’cha down… There are some that would say I’m insultin’ ya by saying this, but I’m hopin’ you’ll take it the way I mean it, Caroline… You remind me of Rini. The same irrepressible cheer that nothing short of the end of the world could dampen, and even then, it’d only be for like… a hot minute.
“And… This is the most important thing, to my thinkin’; ya keep coming back… Even with everything you’ve been through, you keep coming back. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy pill to swallow, losin’ on your first defense, but you and I both know what a nightmare the Genie is between the ropes. Ain’t no shame in that loss.
“So come at me, Caroline Machado. Come at me like it’s October of 2000 Plus 22 again and you’re gunnin’ to keep this belt.” As if the point needed further illustration, Charlotte reaches out of frame and hauls the Women’s World Championship belt in front of her. “Bring me that Caroline. Show me the Champion you were and could very well be again. Reset your clock and remember why you stepped into the ring in the first place.”
Charlotte reaches out and covers the lens. The feed cuts.
It’s later released in both Japanese and Cherokee.
Her father’s reply was quick. “You want what in that house?”
Charlie had the grace to be chagrined. She knew she wanted a large remodel of the house, and many strange things, like a Japanese style bathroom, the home ring set-up in the back, expanding the office to allow her promo work to continue without having to make use of more than just Imperial’s editing, and making sure there were still three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
“Lemme guess… It’d be better to have bought something else, or just tear the whole thing down and build new, right?” Charlie asked, attempting to head off what appeared to be the one thing that could make Aiden Ryu Shimizu angry; poor planning in home design.
“To say the least. Do you even know how much square footage you’d need for all of that? You’ll be lucky if you have any space left within the property lines!”
Charlie sighed. “Look… Dad… Ya wanna tell me it’s not possible, tell me that. It’s really okay.”
Her father’s response was a heavy sigh. “Building up is an option, but given the hazards in this state, I don’t like the idea. Also, I thought you were trying to keep the house in line with the area.”
And Charlie had to concede that point. Though there’d been no more than straight-line winds that had hit Tahlequah in her lifetime, that didn’t mean that tornados weren’t a risk. And the last thing she wanted to do was have what amounted to a mansion amongst her neighbors’ more modest homes. “A basement that doubles as a storm shelter?” she offered, hoping that might work. She’d considered having the storm shelter be under the outbuilding for her home-ring, given that the only thing she had in the house proper was the basement utility room, but if she could turn the entire basement into the shelter-
“Only if you never want to sell the house again. You know how basements are viewed here.” And again, Charlie did know. She’d endured several rantings from her father over the dinner table on that subject. The fact was that the technology was there to make basements safe and dry from the high water table and the clay soil’s tendency to expand and contract, but the urban myth would not die even as people shelled out money to build storm shelters on their property. She knew her father had incurred no small amount of resistance when he’d planned their home with a proper basement, but as he never intended to move away, and it was a good safety net for any of the three children, those jibes had never bothered him.
Still. She wasn’t sure she wanted to keep the house, and doing too much would tie her to it indefinitely. “Can I at least get the garage conversion and the bathroom upgrade? Maybe a better porch?” she asked plaintively. The rest of everything she wanted could honestly wait, or be gotten around, but she wanted to have a home she could actually relax in… when she could be home.
Aiden chuckled at Charlie’s appeal. “Of course, Una-tan. I’ll run some numbers and let you know, ne?”
Charlie winced. “What’s with the nickname, Chichi? Feeling sentimental?” Her father hadn’t called her ‘Una-tan’ since she’d turned thirteen, when she had decided that she’d outgrown such a childish moniker and demanded he stick with chan or switch to Charlie like everyone else.
Aiden chuckled again. “Nothing so simple…” There was a long pause, which Charlie thought might be her father trying to organize his thoughts, or maybe just trying to find the right words. “I’m proud of you, Una-tan.”
There was a tone there that lurked under the pride that Charlie wasn’t sure about. It sounded almost like Hannah when she was fretting over one of Charlie’s stunts. Her father wasn’t actually worried about her, was he? Charlie shook her head, smiling softly. “Thanks, Chichi. I’ll be fine. Did you and Ma want to come to Survival of the Fittest? It’s in Dallas, but it’s the closest we get on tour for the foreseeable future.”
Aiden chuckled. “I’ll talk to Okaasan about it and let Tski know. Who knows? She may wish to get away from her workshop for a while after the work she’s been putting in this year.”
“Alright Chichi. I’ll warn Hanners. Daisuki da yo.”
“Boku mo, Una-chan.”
The feed starts with a view of a generic, if nice, hotel room, with Charlotte pacing across the frame and back in a clear state of agitation.
“So here it is… the cyclical ‘let’s not let our stars get rusty’ match… What’s gonna fuck it up this time? Probably O’Hara… It’s been her for the last month and it’ll be her until that contract is used up. Even when it’s not actually her, it’s because she decided to bite off more than she can chew. It’s clear she hasn’t paid any attention to me, even when we were supposedly friends, because then she’d know this is almost exactly what I did heading to Rome. Just instead of dealing with Jennie and the Murder, she’s decided to take on Dean Harper and me.”
Charlotte sighs, her energy seemingly spent on that rant and flops gracelessly into the chair in front of the camera.
“But enough of that… I got Caroline Machado coming at me and I don’t look past the person in the ring with me. Never have and I don’t intend to start now, even if I know I got a certain Arsenic Papillion breathing down my neck.”
Charlotte pauses a moment, looking thoughtful before she decides on something. “Quick side note: Shea? Ask ya girl Viv what happens to that character.”
She waves her hand then, dismissing the whole matter. “So… Caroline… You and me get a proper dance finally. I’m pretty confident about my chances since I haven’t lost to a former champ since January. I actually pinned ya in that tag match for the Iron Maiden qualifiers at the beginnin’ of March, but I ain’t gonna count that against ya because your partner was more of a liability to ya than Nat’s was.”
Charlotte leans forward to rest her elbows on the desk, propping her chin up with her hands.
“You’re a former champion, so I know ya got a drive in ya somewheres. Ya never let your losses get’cha down… There are some that would say I’m insultin’ ya by saying this, but I’m hopin’ you’ll take it the way I mean it, Caroline… You remind me of Rini. The same irrepressible cheer that nothing short of the end of the world could dampen, and even then, it’d only be for like… a hot minute.
“And… This is the most important thing, to my thinkin’; ya keep coming back… Even with everything you’ve been through, you keep coming back. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy pill to swallow, losin’ on your first defense, but you and I both know what a nightmare the Genie is between the ropes. Ain’t no shame in that loss.
“So come at me, Caroline Machado. Come at me like it’s October of 2000 Plus 22 again and you’re gunnin’ to keep this belt.” As if the point needed further illustration, Charlotte reaches out of frame and hauls the Women’s World Championship belt in front of her. “Bring me that Caroline. Show me the Champion you were and could very well be again. Reset your clock and remember why you stepped into the ring in the first place.”
Charlotte reaches out and covers the lens. The feed cuts.
It’s later released in both Japanese and Cherokee.
Well howdy there pardner.