Post by Charlotte Shimizu on Oct 14, 2024 3:53:52 GMT
“Time, forty-five seconds!” Hannah called out, and Charlotte quickly released Nat from the hold with a grimace. She’d started with her sunset flip piledriver, then gone for the spinning inverted figure four leglock. It was hard to strike the balance of giving her partner (represented by Rini) time to possibly respond, but not enough time for her opponent (represented by Nat) to recover and get away.
Charlie was planning to use the less familiar jumping reverse bulldog to lead into the leglock. She had to get the timing right, or she’d leave herself open to being laid out. On the very long list of things she didn’t need, near the top was a loss to anyone from the Performance Center.
“Timer reset!” Hannah called from outside the practice ring.
“Why are you doing this, Char?” Nat asked as she got to her feet.
“She wants me to look like the unreasonable one? The one that won’t bow my head? Well, I’m not gonna let her.” Charlie responded calmly, rolling her neck around on her shoulders and moving back to her starting position.
“Well yeah…” Nat acknowledged even as she took up her own starting point. “But why this particular combo?”
Charlie sighed. April and May had been an insane time, with everything happening all at once; the lead-up to her title shot against Jennie Fenix, everything about Neo-Honshu and Rini, and slipping away to spend what time she could with Pax… and somewhere in there, The Birds of Prey had formed, crystalized out of four women telling The Murder “Enough”.
Shea had been one of those four… At least for a while. Sure Rini and Nat hadn’t gotten used to her before Rome, which meant that most of the in-ring chemistry for Shea had been with Charlie. There had been a fair amount of amusement on Charlie’s part that working with Shea was much like teaming with Rini, just with fewer aerial moves.
“Because these are the combos that were supposed to be for us,” Charlie finally answered, realizing she’d been silent too long.
In a flash, Rini was in the ring, leaving her post in the corner as a placeholder for Shea, but Charlie held up a hand to stall the affectionate girl. “I’m just giving her a chance. That’s why I want this combo. She can take the offer, or I’ll finish the job myself. That’s why I wanna get my time down to as little as possible while still giving her that chance.”
Rini nodded and retreated back to the corner. Nat flashed a smile at Rini, then nodded her own readiness to Charlie. Charlie glanced over to where Hannah had camped herself amid a barricade of tables and got a thumbs up.
Charlie raised her hand, and dropped it, cuing Hannah to sound the ‘bell’ and start the timer again.
The feed opens on a posh hotel room, a four-poster bed with sheer white curtains tied back and a championship belt on both the bedside tables shown clearly before Charlotte slides into view with her classic smirk and wearing a Baltimore Ravens #48 jersey.
“So who’s all surprised at this match this week?” Charlotte’s facetious question hangs in the air with silence as the only reply. “It was gonna happen sooner or later, even if I was hoping the bookers would forget about it this one time. The same thing multiple times gets boring after a while, y’know?
“There are a number of ways to handle this, but no real good way. I suppose we could flip a coin to determine who starts off, and - let’s be real here - probably finishes it too, because the best way through this is to end it as quickly as possible. I don’t trust you anymore - yah, I know, stating the obvious - so I’m tryin’ to parse out how you’ll play this, O’Hara… Ya wanna win, so maybe ya won’t be as bad as Ren Ren… But ya could go the passive route like Itami did with Machado, and just leave me out to dry. Even if it’s only Candy and Mimi, I ain’t the fool that gonna say I don’t need a partner for this.
“Maybe ya will, and spare me the trouble?” Charlotte snorts derisively. “I doubt it. You’re a lot of things, O’Hara, but you’re not an idiot. At the very least, there needs to be someone who’s gonna keep the outside opponent from breakin’ up whatever pin’s been managed. Even if ya were stupid enough to say such a thing, I’d still show up because that’s the job.
“I want to say forget the title shit and just fight the match we got… That’s just how I am, and I like to think it worked out well enough for all involved so far… But I ain’t so foolish to think that’ll happen this time. It was easy with April and Jennie. There was nothing to keep me from just doin’ the job, nothing to keep them from doing the same… But you and me, O’Hara? Not the same story.”
Charlotte leans forwards, steepling her fingers in front of her face as she stares into the camera like she were staring at her erstwhile teammate.
“So I gotta ask: wha’cha want more? To give me a black eye heading into Survival, but have that loss tied to ya against two women serving as cannon fodder? Maybe you’ll call it bein’ nice to ya boi’s rebound, just to keep the shade off ya.
“Or do ya wanna win, even if it helps me? Choke down some of that pride ya got in order to get the win. After all, ya don’t wanna tarnish your record, do ya? What little of that there is since you came back.
“Whatever you pick, I’m sure ya gonna do what’s the best for you, and damn anyone else.”
Charlotte lets that line hang in the air for a long moment, her dark eyes almost boring through the screen.
“So maybe I should do the same? Maybe I should leave the moment you try to swing at me. Maybe the moment you back away from getting tagged in, I take a disqualification.”
Charlotte pauses thoughtfully, seeming to give the idea serious consideration before shaking her head. “Nah… For one thing, that just ain’t me. For another, that’s what ya want me to do, ain’t it? Make ya look justified for all ya half-truths and cherry-picked sound bytes. Nah girlie. Imma play this straight, like I always do. So whatever ya do, I’ll stay focused on the important thing; a match against Mimi Simpson and Candy Kane.”
She sighs, waving her hand in her typical fashion of dismissing unpleasant thoughts. “SO! All that bs out of the way… Candy and Mimi… Both ya be strugglin’ to keep ya names up in the lights. Gotta give ya credit for showin’ up and doin’ the work though. And Mimi, hey… ya won a shot at De Luca! Ya probably think that’s a shot at’cha since ya lost to her, but really, truly, I like the drive to get up there. Both a’ya got a ground game that could leave me in a world of hurt if O’Hara decides that it’s worth the hit to her precious image to watch me try to beat both a’ya.”
Charlotte smirks, an amusing thought occurring to her before she shakes her head, and whatever idea, away. “Really though, you girls got too much to handle with even one of us against the pair a’ya… And if O’Hara decides to keep going with her ‘sacrificing herself for the good of the company’ act, y’all gonna get wrecked.”
Charlotte winks at the camera, her smirk broadening into a grin. “Don’t blink or you’ll miss it. The ride’s gettin’ good.”
She reaches out and covers the lens, and the feed cuts. It’s later released in Japanese and Cherokee languages.
Charlie was planning to use the less familiar jumping reverse bulldog to lead into the leglock. She had to get the timing right, or she’d leave herself open to being laid out. On the very long list of things she didn’t need, near the top was a loss to anyone from the Performance Center.
“Timer reset!” Hannah called from outside the practice ring.
“Why are you doing this, Char?” Nat asked as she got to her feet.
“She wants me to look like the unreasonable one? The one that won’t bow my head? Well, I’m not gonna let her.” Charlie responded calmly, rolling her neck around on her shoulders and moving back to her starting position.
“Well yeah…” Nat acknowledged even as she took up her own starting point. “But why this particular combo?”
Charlie sighed. April and May had been an insane time, with everything happening all at once; the lead-up to her title shot against Jennie Fenix, everything about Neo-Honshu and Rini, and slipping away to spend what time she could with Pax… and somewhere in there, The Birds of Prey had formed, crystalized out of four women telling The Murder “Enough”.
Shea had been one of those four… At least for a while. Sure Rini and Nat hadn’t gotten used to her before Rome, which meant that most of the in-ring chemistry for Shea had been with Charlie. There had been a fair amount of amusement on Charlie’s part that working with Shea was much like teaming with Rini, just with fewer aerial moves.
“Because these are the combos that were supposed to be for us,” Charlie finally answered, realizing she’d been silent too long.
In a flash, Rini was in the ring, leaving her post in the corner as a placeholder for Shea, but Charlie held up a hand to stall the affectionate girl. “I’m just giving her a chance. That’s why I want this combo. She can take the offer, or I’ll finish the job myself. That’s why I wanna get my time down to as little as possible while still giving her that chance.”
Rini nodded and retreated back to the corner. Nat flashed a smile at Rini, then nodded her own readiness to Charlie. Charlie glanced over to where Hannah had camped herself amid a barricade of tables and got a thumbs up.
Charlie raised her hand, and dropped it, cuing Hannah to sound the ‘bell’ and start the timer again.
The feed opens on a posh hotel room, a four-poster bed with sheer white curtains tied back and a championship belt on both the bedside tables shown clearly before Charlotte slides into view with her classic smirk and wearing a Baltimore Ravens #48 jersey.
“So who’s all surprised at this match this week?” Charlotte’s facetious question hangs in the air with silence as the only reply. “It was gonna happen sooner or later, even if I was hoping the bookers would forget about it this one time. The same thing multiple times gets boring after a while, y’know?
“There are a number of ways to handle this, but no real good way. I suppose we could flip a coin to determine who starts off, and - let’s be real here - probably finishes it too, because the best way through this is to end it as quickly as possible. I don’t trust you anymore - yah, I know, stating the obvious - so I’m tryin’ to parse out how you’ll play this, O’Hara… Ya wanna win, so maybe ya won’t be as bad as Ren Ren… But ya could go the passive route like Itami did with Machado, and just leave me out to dry. Even if it’s only Candy and Mimi, I ain’t the fool that gonna say I don’t need a partner for this.
“Maybe ya will, and spare me the trouble?” Charlotte snorts derisively. “I doubt it. You’re a lot of things, O’Hara, but you’re not an idiot. At the very least, there needs to be someone who’s gonna keep the outside opponent from breakin’ up whatever pin’s been managed. Even if ya were stupid enough to say such a thing, I’d still show up because that’s the job.
“I want to say forget the title shit and just fight the match we got… That’s just how I am, and I like to think it worked out well enough for all involved so far… But I ain’t so foolish to think that’ll happen this time. It was easy with April and Jennie. There was nothing to keep me from just doin’ the job, nothing to keep them from doing the same… But you and me, O’Hara? Not the same story.”
Charlotte leans forwards, steepling her fingers in front of her face as she stares into the camera like she were staring at her erstwhile teammate.
“So I gotta ask: wha’cha want more? To give me a black eye heading into Survival, but have that loss tied to ya against two women serving as cannon fodder? Maybe you’ll call it bein’ nice to ya boi’s rebound, just to keep the shade off ya.
“Or do ya wanna win, even if it helps me? Choke down some of that pride ya got in order to get the win. After all, ya don’t wanna tarnish your record, do ya? What little of that there is since you came back.
“Whatever you pick, I’m sure ya gonna do what’s the best for you, and damn anyone else.”
Charlotte lets that line hang in the air for a long moment, her dark eyes almost boring through the screen.
“So maybe I should do the same? Maybe I should leave the moment you try to swing at me. Maybe the moment you back away from getting tagged in, I take a disqualification.”
Charlotte pauses thoughtfully, seeming to give the idea serious consideration before shaking her head. “Nah… For one thing, that just ain’t me. For another, that’s what ya want me to do, ain’t it? Make ya look justified for all ya half-truths and cherry-picked sound bytes. Nah girlie. Imma play this straight, like I always do. So whatever ya do, I’ll stay focused on the important thing; a match against Mimi Simpson and Candy Kane.”
She sighs, waving her hand in her typical fashion of dismissing unpleasant thoughts. “SO! All that bs out of the way… Candy and Mimi… Both ya be strugglin’ to keep ya names up in the lights. Gotta give ya credit for showin’ up and doin’ the work though. And Mimi, hey… ya won a shot at De Luca! Ya probably think that’s a shot at’cha since ya lost to her, but really, truly, I like the drive to get up there. Both a’ya got a ground game that could leave me in a world of hurt if O’Hara decides that it’s worth the hit to her precious image to watch me try to beat both a’ya.”
Charlotte smirks, an amusing thought occurring to her before she shakes her head, and whatever idea, away. “Really though, you girls got too much to handle with even one of us against the pair a’ya… And if O’Hara decides to keep going with her ‘sacrificing herself for the good of the company’ act, y’all gonna get wrecked.”
Charlotte winks at the camera, her smirk broadening into a grin. “Don’t blink or you’ll miss it. The ride’s gettin’ good.”
She reaches out and covers the lens, and the feed cuts. It’s later released in Japanese and Cherokee languages.
Well howdy there pardner.