Post by Jessica Reed on Nov 24, 2016 2:12:12 GMT
{ Our scene opens inside a large wooden cabin nestled deep inside the woods besides Roberto Verona’s secluded mansion. In one corner a fire crackles, spreading a warm orange glow around the building as shadow dances across the large open hallway and living room. A few moments pass before they are dispersed momentarily by a set of headlights and the sound of breaking squeaking to a halt on the gravel outside, followed be the sound of closing doors and encroaching footsteps. The tranquillity is soon further disrupted by the sound of a key as the door opens and Jessica Reed and Roberto Verona enter, the latter carrying a number of bags over his shoulder as he kicks the door closed behind them. }
Jessica Reed: Wow… you didn’t tell me it would be this big. Are you sure the security guard was ok about moving out?
Roberto Verona: He’s ok with whatever I tell him to be ok with, I am quite sure he’ll feel adequately compensated by the other cabin we passed earlier.
Jessica Reed: Just how many of these do you own exactly?
{ Roberto shrugs as Jess walks further into the room. }
Roberto Verona: I lost track, enough for all the staff at least.
{ Verona drops one of his shoulders, letting one of the bags slump carefully to the floor. }
Roberto Verona: You know, you still don’t have to do this.
{ Jess closes her eyes, shaking her head. }
Jessica Reed: No… I really do. I have to take responsibility, even if it is still on your door step.
{ She opens her eyes, turning to smile at Verona. }
Jessica Reed: You don’t need to worry.
Roberto Verona: Who said I was worried?
Jessica Reed: Oh, I don’t know, the fact that you insisted that you accompanied me here and checked every room to make sure nobody had broken in or tampered with the alarm system.
Roberto Verona: I was just making sure everything was in working order in case you break anything.
{ Jess laughs, the joy that had once seemed lost reverberating through her voice. }
Jessica Reed: It’s ok, you secret is safe with me, I wouldn’t dream to damaging your credibility as a careless smart ass.
Roberto Verona: You’ll call if you need anything, right?
Jessica Reed: Yes! Seriously, you can stop worrying. I’m only five minutes away.
Roberto Verona: That’s easy for you to say, if anything happens to you then I’ll have to listen to your sister saying “I told you so” for at least the next five years.
Jessica Reed: Touché.
{ Jess takes a few steps forward, taking a moment to spin around slowly, taking in the surroundings of the cabin as Verona places her backs down besides the door. }
Roberto Verona: In all seriousness, are you sure you’d rather not do this in a week’s time? You do have a big weekend coming up.
Jessica Reed: You mean the title match?
Roberto Verona: Yes. I’ve had to take measures to ensure the House of Howlett are contained, despite the fact that it means you’re going to be locked down with Eternity and Paige. It’s not going to be like anything you’ve faced before.
Jessica Reed: And that’s why I need to do this. All I’ve really known is my room at my parents, then in your mansion. If I am truly going to get over the fear of the unknown I need to embrace it, not just in the ring, but out of it too. Clinging to what I know may feel comfortable isn’t going to get me anywhere.
Roberto Verona: I am not sure moving into a luxury cabin is quite the same as a cell match.
Jessica Reed: Not to you, perhaps. But I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t keep clinging to bad habits, not matter how comforting they may be. I’ll gain more from this than just camping out in your basement going through the same old drills.
{ Verona nods his head. }
Roberto Verona: As long as you’re sure, just remember you’re going to be on your own out there.
Jessica Reed: I know. You’ve taught me enough to realise I can’t rely on Crystal to get through this, it me or nobody. Besides, having no friends seems to have worked out well for you.
Roberto Verona: Hey, I have friends.
Jessica Reed: You mean like Jake, who you spent three months hitting with inanimate objects?
Roberto Verona: That’s just how we show we care.
{ Roberto smiles as Jess giggles. He looks down at the luggage by his feet before reaching for the door handle beside him. }
Roberto Verona: Is this everything?
{ Jess nods. }
Jessica Reed: For now, we can bring the rest when I am settled in after the pay per view, if I am still able to walk that is.
Roberto Verona: I’ll leave you to unpack, let me know if you need anything.
{ Jess smiles. }
Jessica Reed: I will. I’ll see you soon.
{ Verona nods, turning the handle as he swivels round, stopping for a moment reluctantly before forcing himself through the door, closing it carefully behind him. Jess pauses for a moment as the silence begins to set in, growing daunting for a moment before calmly dissipating. Taking a deep breathe she leans down to pick up one of her bags, throwing it confidently over her shoulder as she smiles to herself reassuringly before disappearing into one of the side rooms as our scene slowly fades to black. }
Jessica Reed: Wow… you didn’t tell me it would be this big. Are you sure the security guard was ok about moving out?
Roberto Verona: He’s ok with whatever I tell him to be ok with, I am quite sure he’ll feel adequately compensated by the other cabin we passed earlier.
Jessica Reed: Just how many of these do you own exactly?
{ Roberto shrugs as Jess walks further into the room. }
Roberto Verona: I lost track, enough for all the staff at least.
{ Verona drops one of his shoulders, letting one of the bags slump carefully to the floor. }
Roberto Verona: You know, you still don’t have to do this.
{ Jess closes her eyes, shaking her head. }
Jessica Reed: No… I really do. I have to take responsibility, even if it is still on your door step.
{ She opens her eyes, turning to smile at Verona. }
Jessica Reed: You don’t need to worry.
Roberto Verona: Who said I was worried?
Jessica Reed: Oh, I don’t know, the fact that you insisted that you accompanied me here and checked every room to make sure nobody had broken in or tampered with the alarm system.
Roberto Verona: I was just making sure everything was in working order in case you break anything.
{ Jess laughs, the joy that had once seemed lost reverberating through her voice. }
Jessica Reed: It’s ok, you secret is safe with me, I wouldn’t dream to damaging your credibility as a careless smart ass.
Roberto Verona: You’ll call if you need anything, right?
Jessica Reed: Yes! Seriously, you can stop worrying. I’m only five minutes away.
Roberto Verona: That’s easy for you to say, if anything happens to you then I’ll have to listen to your sister saying “I told you so” for at least the next five years.
Jessica Reed: Touché.
{ Jess takes a few steps forward, taking a moment to spin around slowly, taking in the surroundings of the cabin as Verona places her backs down besides the door. }
Roberto Verona: In all seriousness, are you sure you’d rather not do this in a week’s time? You do have a big weekend coming up.
Jessica Reed: You mean the title match?
Roberto Verona: Yes. I’ve had to take measures to ensure the House of Howlett are contained, despite the fact that it means you’re going to be locked down with Eternity and Paige. It’s not going to be like anything you’ve faced before.
Jessica Reed: And that’s why I need to do this. All I’ve really known is my room at my parents, then in your mansion. If I am truly going to get over the fear of the unknown I need to embrace it, not just in the ring, but out of it too. Clinging to what I know may feel comfortable isn’t going to get me anywhere.
Roberto Verona: I am not sure moving into a luxury cabin is quite the same as a cell match.
Jessica Reed: Not to you, perhaps. But I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t keep clinging to bad habits, not matter how comforting they may be. I’ll gain more from this than just camping out in your basement going through the same old drills.
{ Verona nods his head. }
Roberto Verona: As long as you’re sure, just remember you’re going to be on your own out there.
Jessica Reed: I know. You’ve taught me enough to realise I can’t rely on Crystal to get through this, it me or nobody. Besides, having no friends seems to have worked out well for you.
Roberto Verona: Hey, I have friends.
Jessica Reed: You mean like Jake, who you spent three months hitting with inanimate objects?
Roberto Verona: That’s just how we show we care.
{ Roberto smiles as Jess giggles. He looks down at the luggage by his feet before reaching for the door handle beside him. }
Roberto Verona: Is this everything?
{ Jess nods. }
Jessica Reed: For now, we can bring the rest when I am settled in after the pay per view, if I am still able to walk that is.
Roberto Verona: I’ll leave you to unpack, let me know if you need anything.
{ Jess smiles. }
Jessica Reed: I will. I’ll see you soon.
{ Verona nods, turning the handle as he swivels round, stopping for a moment reluctantly before forcing himself through the door, closing it carefully behind him. Jess pauses for a moment as the silence begins to set in, growing daunting for a moment before calmly dissipating. Taking a deep breathe she leans down to pick up one of her bags, throwing it confidently over her shoulder as she smiles to herself reassuringly before disappearing into one of the side rooms as our scene slowly fades to black. }
So this is it.
Survival of the Fittest.
Five champions go in, and nobody knows how many will come out. And this time they decided to host it inside a cell… because it wasn’t brutal enough, right?
But I have little time to contemplate the furore surrounding this match and the House of Howlett, the reality is I have had to focus all of my intention of the huge test that is awaiting me as I defend my IWF Diamond’s championship.
In fact, I’d go as far as saying this weekend is possibly my biggest test yet.
I know what you’re thinking, this is just the standard preamble we’re obliged to say before every fight, to get you all excited and thumping those credit card digits into the IWF Network and… to an extent that’s totally true.
Yet, it is also the God’s honest truth.
I’ve faced challenges before, I certainly wouldn’t deny that, but this weekend I am going to be locked inside a cage with not just one woman hell bent on my absolute destruction, but two, both of whom are more than capable of making sure that I have a weekend I’d much sooner forget. Paige Garcia and Eternity have both demonstrated they have the pedigree to stake serious claims to the IWF Diamond’s championship.
Who’d want to be me, huh?
You know, Eternity, there was a time where I would have dreaded stepping inside a ring with you, I’m not ashamed to admit that you terrified me. I can never claim to have lost my family, but I did lose my childhood, just like you, albeit in differing circumstances. Neither of us were granted the opportunity to enjoy a stable childhood, we were both forced to grow up much too quickly, to cope with the loss of our innocence.
Alone.
Forced to develop our own coping mechanisms to help us interpret the world around us and to perceive our place within it. We both got lost inside our own little worlds, where everything made sense, where nobody could hurt us anymore and most importantly… where we were in control. Yet, somewhere along the way one of us continued to endeavour to keep the demons in… whilst the other opened Pandora’s box and let them out.
Forcing everybody else to be absorbed into the games that were only ever meant to have one player.
Whilst I’ve dwelled within my own delusions as a means of coping with world around me, you’ve set them free, dragging others into a world that they can never understand, where all of the rules are broken and they have become unwilling partners to your pain. The only person my fantasies could and will ever hurt is me but you…
You’ve allowed others in so they too can feel your pain, yet they are playing a game to which they are not privy to the rules, where they are at your mercy as you act as judge, jury and executioner.
You have always represented the woman I could have been.
The young girl inside I could have lost.
There was a time when that horrified me, not only because I feared what you would do to me if you got your hands on me, but whether or not somewhere deep down inside me, I was capable of being exactly like you. Getting so lost in grieving my innocence that I would force other people to becoming isolated alongside me, to their detriment.
You were the face I never wanted to see staring back at me in the mirror.
I allowed that fear to consume me, to drive my decisions, and whilst I wouldn’t be so naïve as to attribute you that entirely to you, I got lost in a game of cat a mouse where I kept running, desperately trying to avoid losing control. It costs me months and years of my career, it kept me sitting at home whilst you and Alexis dominated this company.
Until I realised I was the mistress of my own fate, not just in the bubble I used to isolate myself from my pain, but outside it too.
I decided to stop being a victim, to stop fearing the darkness, to embrace the woman I not only wanted to be, but I realised I already was deep down inside. Three years ago I would have been afraid that if I got to close to you, if I allowed you to play your games, by your rules, in your world… that I may have gotten lost within.
I could have been consumed by the same darkness that continues to victimise those who get too close to you.
But not anymore.
I know who I am, and I know that I would never allow myself to hurt others to help process my own pain. That I would never allow myself to become blind to the control I exert not just in my delusions, but here, in reality too. Whilst you torture those unfortunate enough to get caught in your web, I realise that no matter how bleak my life may get, I will never force those around me to feel my pain.
To stare into that abyss which calls us both.
You and I? We have unfinished business, and I know you’re going to come at me with everything you’ve got, but I will no longer be ruled by the fear that I could become you. I know that the only way you can control me is if I allow myself to become a part of your menagerie, where you are the ring mistress and the game is played by your rules.
No matter what happens this weekend, I know that when we are inside that ring, it isn’t your circus, it isn’t the playground where you are in control.
It’s just a canvas, a set of ropes and four posts.
An equaliser.
As for you Paige, it is clear that you and I have just as much unfinished business as myself and Eternity. Last month you deprived me of my opportunity to demonstrate that I wasn’t just a fluke, to truly re-establish myself and take control of my destiny.
All things considered, you really screwed the pooch.
Or should I say, your sister did.
Once again I became yet another victim of the infamous twin magic, although I imagine I should count myself lucky that the only thing I lost that night was a little bit of my credibility. So many others would have been calling themselves former IWF Diamond’s champions in the same situation. We both know many others have seen their golden opportunities turn to dust in their hands as a result.
Watching as their hard work came to naught as your villainy continued to bear fruit.
I guess I should congratulate you, it was quite the insurance policy. Either you’d pick up a win you didn’t deserve or, as has transpired, you’ve created enough controversy surrounding my victory to ensure a re-match and this time, you’ve gained it in the chaos of an Extinction Event, where my focus is by definition not entirely on yourself.
It was brilliant really and if it wasn’t so dastardly perhaps I could even applaud your tenacity, your absolute desire to do anything it takes to win.
Yet, you took something from me that I promised myself I would never allow anybody to do again.
Control of my destiny.
When I walked down to that ring I was determined to prove to everybody that my victory wasn’t just a fluke, that whilst I was in the right place, at the right time, atop that ladder I still deserved to call myself the IWF Diamond’s champion. You were meant to be my opportunity to demonstrate that I was the same Jessica Reed who helped define this company, who proved to everybody that you could pursue your dreams and accomplish everything you wanted in life whilst maintaining your principles.
In the end, you merely poured further doubt over my ability, leaving that question hanging.
Had this been a few months ago, this could have been the final nail in my coffin as the pressure surrounding my “worth” as the champion of this division was brought into question day in, day out, but I am not the same fragile girl ruled by the uncertainty my long term departure created. The only thing your deception has accomplished is the growth of my desire to prove myself and prove to all the young girls at home that cheats do not always prosper, that there are consequences to stepping over everybody else to accomplish your aims.
Your escape last month, as far as I am concerned, was merely a postponement.
Whilst I know you will everything and anything you can, no matter how low it may be, to prize this title from my grasp this weekend, more importantly I know that I have everything it takes to deny you of your wicked intent.
I know that I can be the one woman who can defy you without needing to betray who I am.
I know that I can reassert the control you so ruthlessly attempted to undermine.
You may scoff, you may roll your eyes and you may dismiss my remarks as the pandering of an empty headed stepping stone in your glorious golden brick road to glory, but dismissing me as a mere hurdle in your inevitable coronation is something you must do at your own risk.
Contrary to my reputation as the ditsy air-headed blonde, I know what I am facing this week.
The Extinction Event is as much a lottery as the match which has spawned my latest title reign, I will be stepping inside that structure alongside a woman who has little interest in protecting my tush whilst standing opposite two others who will do anything it takes to ensure that I am left flat on my back, writhing in agony with my title reign in tatters.
A distant memory, brief and intangible.
To many, an extinction event is seen as the end, the cataclysmic conclusion to everything we know and for some of us this week, that will prove to be the case, be they champion or challenger. Yet, as Dr Malcom said, life finds a way, no matter how much carnage we will experience this weekend, there is always hope.
The sun will still rise even following the bleakest of nights.
When I said that I saw myself as the custodian of this championship, I meant it. It wasn’t a cutsey catchphrase, a vague distraction from a hidden ego or an empty gesture.
I take my role as the representative of all the women in IWF incredibly seriously, so much so that I am willing to put my body on the line to do everything it takes to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. Both Paige and Eternity represent a regression, regardless of whether or not I respect them as competitors.
I can’t promise you that I am perfect, because that would be disingenuous of me, but I can promise you that I will always do my best to represent the IWF Diamond’s the best of my ability.
That I will always stay true to myself, even when all the odds are stacked against me.
That I will be the IWF Diamond’s champion you deserve.
Not the one you’re forced to endure.
For all my flaws, I will always be genuine, I will always do everything I can to inspire each and every one of you, even if you cannot stand the sight of me. I will defend this championship with honour, from my first day as champion until the inevitable curtain call and if this weekend is truly to be my final hour.
Let everyone remember it as my finest.
Survival of the Fittest.
Five champions go in, and nobody knows how many will come out. And this time they decided to host it inside a cell… because it wasn’t brutal enough, right?
But I have little time to contemplate the furore surrounding this match and the House of Howlett, the reality is I have had to focus all of my intention of the huge test that is awaiting me as I defend my IWF Diamond’s championship.
In fact, I’d go as far as saying this weekend is possibly my biggest test yet.
I know what you’re thinking, this is just the standard preamble we’re obliged to say before every fight, to get you all excited and thumping those credit card digits into the IWF Network and… to an extent that’s totally true.
Yet, it is also the God’s honest truth.
I’ve faced challenges before, I certainly wouldn’t deny that, but this weekend I am going to be locked inside a cage with not just one woman hell bent on my absolute destruction, but two, both of whom are more than capable of making sure that I have a weekend I’d much sooner forget. Paige Garcia and Eternity have both demonstrated they have the pedigree to stake serious claims to the IWF Diamond’s championship.
Who’d want to be me, huh?
You know, Eternity, there was a time where I would have dreaded stepping inside a ring with you, I’m not ashamed to admit that you terrified me. I can never claim to have lost my family, but I did lose my childhood, just like you, albeit in differing circumstances. Neither of us were granted the opportunity to enjoy a stable childhood, we were both forced to grow up much too quickly, to cope with the loss of our innocence.
Alone.
Forced to develop our own coping mechanisms to help us interpret the world around us and to perceive our place within it. We both got lost inside our own little worlds, where everything made sense, where nobody could hurt us anymore and most importantly… where we were in control. Yet, somewhere along the way one of us continued to endeavour to keep the demons in… whilst the other opened Pandora’s box and let them out.
Forcing everybody else to be absorbed into the games that were only ever meant to have one player.
Whilst I’ve dwelled within my own delusions as a means of coping with world around me, you’ve set them free, dragging others into a world that they can never understand, where all of the rules are broken and they have become unwilling partners to your pain. The only person my fantasies could and will ever hurt is me but you…
You’ve allowed others in so they too can feel your pain, yet they are playing a game to which they are not privy to the rules, where they are at your mercy as you act as judge, jury and executioner.
You have always represented the woman I could have been.
The young girl inside I could have lost.
There was a time when that horrified me, not only because I feared what you would do to me if you got your hands on me, but whether or not somewhere deep down inside me, I was capable of being exactly like you. Getting so lost in grieving my innocence that I would force other people to becoming isolated alongside me, to their detriment.
You were the face I never wanted to see staring back at me in the mirror.
I allowed that fear to consume me, to drive my decisions, and whilst I wouldn’t be so naïve as to attribute you that entirely to you, I got lost in a game of cat a mouse where I kept running, desperately trying to avoid losing control. It costs me months and years of my career, it kept me sitting at home whilst you and Alexis dominated this company.
Until I realised I was the mistress of my own fate, not just in the bubble I used to isolate myself from my pain, but outside it too.
I decided to stop being a victim, to stop fearing the darkness, to embrace the woman I not only wanted to be, but I realised I already was deep down inside. Three years ago I would have been afraid that if I got to close to you, if I allowed you to play your games, by your rules, in your world… that I may have gotten lost within.
I could have been consumed by the same darkness that continues to victimise those who get too close to you.
But not anymore.
I know who I am, and I know that I would never allow myself to hurt others to help process my own pain. That I would never allow myself to become blind to the control I exert not just in my delusions, but here, in reality too. Whilst you torture those unfortunate enough to get caught in your web, I realise that no matter how bleak my life may get, I will never force those around me to feel my pain.
To stare into that abyss which calls us both.
You and I? We have unfinished business, and I know you’re going to come at me with everything you’ve got, but I will no longer be ruled by the fear that I could become you. I know that the only way you can control me is if I allow myself to become a part of your menagerie, where you are the ring mistress and the game is played by your rules.
No matter what happens this weekend, I know that when we are inside that ring, it isn’t your circus, it isn’t the playground where you are in control.
It’s just a canvas, a set of ropes and four posts.
An equaliser.
As for you Paige, it is clear that you and I have just as much unfinished business as myself and Eternity. Last month you deprived me of my opportunity to demonstrate that I wasn’t just a fluke, to truly re-establish myself and take control of my destiny.
All things considered, you really screwed the pooch.
Or should I say, your sister did.
Once again I became yet another victim of the infamous twin magic, although I imagine I should count myself lucky that the only thing I lost that night was a little bit of my credibility. So many others would have been calling themselves former IWF Diamond’s champions in the same situation. We both know many others have seen their golden opportunities turn to dust in their hands as a result.
Watching as their hard work came to naught as your villainy continued to bear fruit.
I guess I should congratulate you, it was quite the insurance policy. Either you’d pick up a win you didn’t deserve or, as has transpired, you’ve created enough controversy surrounding my victory to ensure a re-match and this time, you’ve gained it in the chaos of an Extinction Event, where my focus is by definition not entirely on yourself.
It was brilliant really and if it wasn’t so dastardly perhaps I could even applaud your tenacity, your absolute desire to do anything it takes to win.
Yet, you took something from me that I promised myself I would never allow anybody to do again.
Control of my destiny.
When I walked down to that ring I was determined to prove to everybody that my victory wasn’t just a fluke, that whilst I was in the right place, at the right time, atop that ladder I still deserved to call myself the IWF Diamond’s champion. You were meant to be my opportunity to demonstrate that I was the same Jessica Reed who helped define this company, who proved to everybody that you could pursue your dreams and accomplish everything you wanted in life whilst maintaining your principles.
In the end, you merely poured further doubt over my ability, leaving that question hanging.
Had this been a few months ago, this could have been the final nail in my coffin as the pressure surrounding my “worth” as the champion of this division was brought into question day in, day out, but I am not the same fragile girl ruled by the uncertainty my long term departure created. The only thing your deception has accomplished is the growth of my desire to prove myself and prove to all the young girls at home that cheats do not always prosper, that there are consequences to stepping over everybody else to accomplish your aims.
Your escape last month, as far as I am concerned, was merely a postponement.
Whilst I know you will everything and anything you can, no matter how low it may be, to prize this title from my grasp this weekend, more importantly I know that I have everything it takes to deny you of your wicked intent.
I know that I can be the one woman who can defy you without needing to betray who I am.
I know that I can reassert the control you so ruthlessly attempted to undermine.
You may scoff, you may roll your eyes and you may dismiss my remarks as the pandering of an empty headed stepping stone in your glorious golden brick road to glory, but dismissing me as a mere hurdle in your inevitable coronation is something you must do at your own risk.
Contrary to my reputation as the ditsy air-headed blonde, I know what I am facing this week.
The Extinction Event is as much a lottery as the match which has spawned my latest title reign, I will be stepping inside that structure alongside a woman who has little interest in protecting my tush whilst standing opposite two others who will do anything it takes to ensure that I am left flat on my back, writhing in agony with my title reign in tatters.
A distant memory, brief and intangible.
To many, an extinction event is seen as the end, the cataclysmic conclusion to everything we know and for some of us this week, that will prove to be the case, be they champion or challenger. Yet, as Dr Malcom said, life finds a way, no matter how much carnage we will experience this weekend, there is always hope.
The sun will still rise even following the bleakest of nights.
When I said that I saw myself as the custodian of this championship, I meant it. It wasn’t a cutsey catchphrase, a vague distraction from a hidden ego or an empty gesture.
I take my role as the representative of all the women in IWF incredibly seriously, so much so that I am willing to put my body on the line to do everything it takes to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. Both Paige and Eternity represent a regression, regardless of whether or not I respect them as competitors.
I can’t promise you that I am perfect, because that would be disingenuous of me, but I can promise you that I will always do my best to represent the IWF Diamond’s the best of my ability.
That I will always stay true to myself, even when all the odds are stacked against me.
That I will be the IWF Diamond’s champion you deserve.
Not the one you’re forced to endure.
For all my flaws, I will always be genuine, I will always do everything I can to inspire each and every one of you, even if you cannot stand the sight of me. I will defend this championship with honour, from my first day as champion until the inevitable curtain call and if this weekend is truly to be my final hour.
Let everyone remember it as my finest.
Well howdy there pardner.