Post by Emily Regal on Dec 28, 2022 18:55:53 GMT
[ Introduction ]
There is a curse to being the youngest sibling of so many. The first are allotted plenty of growing room, fuck up room, that each new child is robbed of. Not to the child’s own fault but that of the parents. They have seen it all before thus losing the shock value and becoming an annoyance. Plenty say being the baby is a blessing, a spoilt one, but those suffered the syndrome of the first. To be the practice trial of each stage of life and stumbling through it alongside the parent. They envy the other foot to which they know so little of.
Emily’s life thus far was a constant barrage of the word ‘no’. Most doors already sealed off due to her siblings figuratively destroying them. She closely inspected the chaotic twisting of their lives, mangling and bleeding them dry. A chrysalis of speeding tickets, failed love letters, empty bottles, injuries, and mistakes bundled them. From each one they emerged fully formed. Emily felt robbed.
She’d watched the door to wrestling quietly, efficiently slam in her face as a young child. It was too dangerous. Prove correct by watching the shows her sister precipitated in. Death was an outcome if one misstep was taken. A line wire that her parents didn’t even allow to be strung in her presence. All of her siblings had trained for wrestling and dismissed the idea later in life when their own callings came; all but one that is. Wrestling was a nervous subject despite the smiles both parents played with. They figured with what Emily had planned for her life that the urge to wrestle had vanished. Smashed beneath the textbooks she piled on top. Medical school. Her parents were thrilled she wanted to go into sports medicine, and accepted her decision for autopsy tech later on down the road. Hey, it was better than wrestling.
Emily binged her sister’s matches, her sister-in-law’s, her friend’s, and at the end of it all? She felt a gnawing sensation in her gut. She heard the warnings before: it was dangerous. Wrestling had the tendency to twist a person up into the worst version of themselves. So she merely took the warnings as God and carried on. In truth, Melissa was happier being away from the ring. She looked healthier, in a way, and seemed to find some true footing with being a mother. Wasn’t that proof enough?
When you’re the youngest, life has already been lived for you. All one needs to do is merely follow the yellow brick road.
[ Promo ]
“Thrown in the deep end of the pool. Literally. My very first official match will end bloody. There is an eerie adrenaline nipping at my heels, urging me forward into this vast unknown. I never thought I, or my opponent, would have to reach this far down into the grime so quickly. Baptized in violence and blood. This is standing on the very edge of a cliff and without hesitation plunging straight down. A true test of how badly we really want this career and how far one is willing to go. There is a strange beauty in it all. On being the first for someone in the same breath that they are for you. I wouldn’t have had the same experience fighting a veteran who has had to face things like this before. It would almost be tainted, in a way. Right now, I feel pressure against my back to keep going forward. To push and prove that this is where I belong.”
“I keep thinking about blood under my fingernails by the end of this. It makes my skin crawl and I can’t help but wash my hands. Even if they might be clean. Has it been bothering Valerie as much? It’s a strange motivation for me to not end up in that bloody pool. To be completely submerged in the thick, metallic stank that’ll wriggle its way up into the nostrils. Infecting the sense of smell for days to come. Every deep breath in will result in just the smallest whiff of it. I refuse, do you hear me? I refuse for that to be me. Over the holidays, one of my nephews knocked my face with a skateboard which resulted in a bloody lip and nose. That was when I was reminded of my match. About how I’ll probably suffer worse than an accidental hit.”
“I dragged myself to the gym shortly afterward just to work off the sudden burst of adrenaline. Going against advisement from my mentor to train over the holidays. I pushed myself until I was stretched out on the mat. Breathing in that deep-rooted scent of old blood, sweat, and dirt clinging to that mat. Do you know what I found laying there? Excitement. I wanted to blink my eyes and be inside of the Coca-Cola Coliseum with the roar of the coward deafening everything else, even my own heartbeat. I wanted to be across from Valerie moments before I toss her ass into that pool.”
“We’ve found ourselves in an interesting predicament… Neither one of us has any ground to stand on. It is the wobbly, freshly laid, bricks that haven’t quite settled for our own weight. Do you feel how uneasy that is, Valerie? I’m sure you’ll explain that even though we are both new, you are somehow superior in comparison. How your zero matches somehow exceed my own. If we are comparing things like that then I’m already ahead. That isn’t even boasting about myself but the man who has been training me. You won’t find a man quite like Devin Brando. It’s almost scary how well he can read a person. How he knows exactly what I need to hear, and what I need to do to be at my best…”
“A few weeks back I had slowly begun to plant seeds of doubt. I hadn’t even caught that I was doing it until Devin brought it to my attention. I had mentioned that if I can’t defeat you then I’d be joining the very exclusive club of being tossed in a blood pool. It was such a fleeting statement. Brando caught it though. Such a minuscule comment, I thought… He explained that the second I put defeat in my head then I’d already given my opponent the advantage. It was when I stopped cold turkey about giving anyone that. It was when I even stopped giving a voice to my own family. They have always been an amazing support system but their doubts about my choice to become a wrestler like my sister? It was killing my morale. I know they are trying to look out for my best interests but the result was poor. Giving even the smallest shred of doubt a morsel of strength has been revoked with great prejudice. Cause damnit! I haven’t been killing myself for the last few months just to lose this match. I haven’t been scraping against the very edges of my limits, just to throw them away. I sure as Hell haven’t been wasting Devin’s or my own time. That’s a sin I’d never commit. There’s absolutely no reason to begin something with the intention of allowing others to dictate the outcome.”
“So there is no longer a doubt in my mind of the outcome of this match. We are going to beat each other with whatever wacky weapons are thrown in the ring, we are going to be sore for days afterward, but only one of us is going to be haunted by the smell, the sensation of blood, and that’s Valerie. I’ll be sure to send you a whole basket of Bath & Body works. I’ll be sure to take a few minutes every day, thankful that it isn’t me. Cocky, isn’t it?”
“Confidence is the foundation of walking into this industry. I believe that’s why there are so many people walking around with similar titles of the king, queen, being ‘the best’, and so on. It offers a glimpse into the psyche of the person. However, it also makes most of us roll our eyes. Heard it all before. The very definition of a cliche. Confidence is a razor-thin line, I think. There is an elegant way to shoot ourselves in the foot. Queens and Kings are faulty, don’t you think? They are often overthrown, beheaded, known for laziness, and often dwindle down to nothing but figureheads. It often gives a poor first impression these days of being too average to ever stand out. Just another person claiming to be royalty. To be above and better. Born with a silver spoon in their mouth and just waiting to be drowned out by all the other people who claim the same things. It’s why I actually focused on another title for you, Val.”
“The Aphrodite. That is what drew my eye. That is where I began building up on just who I was facing off against. Someone who oozes confidence from every pore of their body with purpose and resolve. Not just another person in the crowd but someone who knows exactly who they are stepping into the ring. It’s admirable. It made me nervous, and giddy with excitement because I knew that you’d give me a challenge. You’d be the very first standard I’d ever have walking into wrestling. A hand against my back to press me further against my own limitations and help me shatter them. You… Are going to give me a fight. You are going to make my victory feel like a brilliant achievement. When breathing hurts just a little bit and getting out of bed makes my muscles groan, I know it is going to be because I won against someone incredible.”
“This is the very first match we will ever have. The very first time we get to feel this way. I want the crowd to experience it too. I want it to be on par with what our owner is going to be giving in the ring. I want our match to be just as much a focus as the championships. On par with JD, Alice, and Serenity. On par with JJ and Jenni. On par with the best, this company has to offer so far! Besides, if we aren’t striving to be the match of the night, then what are we even doing here? I want our match to linger on everyone’s mind so we can climb our ascension. I want to be a rookie that people are excited to watch, to fight, and we’re going to achieve that.”
“I don’t do anything half-assed, Valerie. I know you don’t either. I’m ready to show CULT what their new rookies are bringing to the table.”
“Be sure to pack your nose plugs, hon, you’re gonna need them.”
