10-02-2020, 06:10 PM
10-06-2020, 03:36 PM
10-06-2020, 11:44 PM
10-06-2020, 11:55 PM
OOC: Kind of trying something a bit different here, and being honest... the main reason for it is a distinct lack of ideas for where I actually want to go from here. I'm honestly glad that I kind of shut my brain off and let my fingers just type this out so that I had something I'm happy with to post, because I'm kind of struggling to figure out what I want to do with Aaron now in the face of wrapping up the latest piece of his story for the most part, not for a lack of knowing what I want the endgame to this story arc to actually even be, but rather my desire to write some of the non-fedding ideas I've been working on instead only to kind of talk myself out of it because, as always, I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to judging the quality of my writing. Hopefully soon I'll sort this out and either convince myself to write that stuff so I don't feel like this is all I write for or let it go so I can re-motivate to trying to be more consistent with Blackbourne.
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It seemed to be a common theme in Aaron’s life that he was constantly trying to find the best in every situation, as for every time something actually went right, there’d be at least three instances of things going wrong that would leave him feeling like he was desperately clinging to the edge of a cliff, fighting to keep from plunging into the abyss below.
The creative soul would always be the first to admit that he felt like his life was going to be a constant struggle in ways that most would never see or acknowledge. For some reason, he seemed to have a knack for attraction problems with no probable cause as to why. People took issue with him out of fear for what he could do or a belief that what he had to offer held no place in this world. He’s become a target purely because of issues with his family, the only plausible link being the last name and blood that he shared. Picking a fight over an issue of morals was one thing if he started the fight for valid reasons or was caught in the crosshairs because he dared to speak up at best, but oftentimes it was starting to feel like a lot of his struggles came from people simply coming after him without any reason at all, like throwing a dart at a board and his picture coincidentally being a magnet that always attracted said darts.
He wasn’t going to ignore the fact that a lot of these problems came about in the squared circle, and even if it was the nature of the business to fight and start something with another human being, Aaron was often left with little rationale as to why he had to be the one that others tended to gravitate towards when they needed someone to try and turn into a punching bag for whatever reason. Opportunities earned were one thing, considering a prize was at stake to be defended, as were moments where he’d stepped in to fight either because he knew it was the right thing to do or because he was watching someone’s back who he knew deserved better than what was being thrown their way. And yet, as he reflected on his SCW career, he couldn’t help but think about all the times he’d become a target just… because.
He’d lost months of his career tied up with someone who had an unhealthy obsession with him when he wanted no part of such a relationship, virtually a full year off-and-on being the centerpiece of games being played at his expense by a Hall of Famer who seemingly didn’t even know for himself what he ultimately wanted out of it all at the end of the day, and on even lesser notes he’d been singled out by people either because they thought he’d be an easy win or they felt insulted that he was even on the same roster as them or even because they wanted to start something with somebody and he was the unfortunate soul to first catch their eye. And, quite frankly, he was just the tiniest bit sick of spending so much time fighting off someone who had a problem with him without any real reason behind it.
If it had just been limited to wrestling, then maybe it wouldn’t have been as bad. For as much as Aaron loved the sport, he knew it wouldn’t be something he could do forever, and if wrestling just so happened to be the cause of most of his problems then the simple solution would be to step away. Even if he knew there would be some people who would feel let down about it, if it was for the sake of his own sanity then surely they would understand, right? Even a break could be just what the doctor ordered to get his head sorted out and come back ready to fight whoever felt like starting something with him for whatever reason only made sense to them.
Unfortunately, Aaron Blackbourne the wrestler and Aaron Blackbourne the everyday person seemed to share that bizarre parallel of attracting unwanted trouble without rhyme or reason.
It’s true that a lot had happened since he’d started competing, which was one hell of a coincidence even if the sport had absolutely nothing to do with any of these issues. He’d lost one of his brothers to the afterlife, the same man who was the cause of that made an attempt on his life purely because he was tired of Aaron being the only Blackbourne that seemed to be able to keep pushing forward despite everything he did to rub it all in, he’s had to sort out some messes regarding a family that wasn’t his own at this exact moment in time but would be down the road, he’s found himself seeing a therapist to help make sense of the mess going on in his head and how it affected him at times, that being an entire problem in and of itself that didn’t even exist on the same plane as everything else… oh, and we can’t forget about the ongoing escapades of the renegade therapist seeking to use him and his future wife as the star characters for an attempted book that she believed was going to make her rich at the expense of their standing in society and their psychological well-being.
If it wasn’t for being bullied and somewhat of an outcast in school, his struggles to find employment because he didn’t ‘fit into a mold’ in the present state of the world and the longstanding issues he had with his family before his brother’s death effectively undid years worth of burnt bridges, it wouldn’t seem too crazy to think that this could all be linked back to not only the sport he prided himself on being a part of, but specifically SCW.
These were the thoughts that preoccupied Aaron’s mind as he sat at the top of the infamous stone steps leading up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, using the steps themselves as the focal point of a piece he was sketching as a means of trying to keep his hands busy as he mentally sorted through everything. Unsurprisingly, his attention would be briefly diverted to someone ascending the steps in their own take on the well-known Rocky scene, which itself was a huge theme of the art he was working on, but it was all a welcome distraction for his imagination to vent while the more rational and grounded side of his mind took priority in his thoughts.
The more you think about your problems, the more you realize there is no solution to any of them.
A quick shake of the head and he was past the pestering voice in his head, aiming to stir up trouble to continue trying to refuel. Ever since Aaron had become aware of its return, Nemesis had grown more and more persistent in trying to re-establish a foothold in the artist’s mind, almost to the point where they were far more aggressive now than they were prior to the significant setback they suffered back on Valentine’s Day. He couldn’t tell if it was desperation or if the abomination thought it had found something to latch onto that it was going to beat into the ground until its host relented, but that was at least one less problem that would be of any concern to him.
Until Nemesis actually made a real move of some kind, he’d become so used to this that ignoring that voice of doubt in the back of his mind had become second nature.
Besides, there was a significant lack of problems in his immediate future at the moment, so it was easy to know for sure that the stress-fueled snake was grasping at straws at best. ‘Doctor’ Nancy Black was still on the loose, but that was about it if he had to be honest right now, and even then her options for trying to gather any shred of proof she could use to back up whatever she was trying to write that would turn him into a stepping stone for the glory she did not deserve had become almost nonexistent. The hooks she had in Liane’s parents – her last avenue of being able to weaponize their families against them – had been released thanks to the intervention of Dr. Marsh-Asher, and with the law on her tail now as word began to spread among anyone wearing the badge of what she had done and the lack of respect she had for what they enforced so long as it fit her endgame if she wasn’t on the verge of being captured and imprisoned then she was never going to be able to show her face in public ever again.
Do you feel happy about how you destroyed her life, all because she was trying to help you? I guess you and Kelcey have that in common, now don’t you?
A low growl escaped his throat, but his eyes also rolled at the latest accusation being thrown at him from within the confines of his own thoughts. Nancy had taken the rope she intended to hang him and Liane with and ended up doing herself in, and she had no one to blame on that front. She didn’t care about helping people, she was only interested in the more vainglorious side of the medical profession, wanting to be one of those people that likely had their own TV talk shows or were brought onto news broadcasts for their expertise on certain topics, raking in the money and getting referrals for every big name under the sun that believed she was the doctor to go to if they had a problem that needed to be fixed… a case of the famous feeding into the egos of other famous entities if he ever saw one.
He couldn’t keep himself from letting out an exasperated sigh when his thoughts turned to the previous Breakdown, however. He wasn’t going to argue that it stung to lose out on two points, especially at the very start of his and Owen’s run in the Tag League, but he could hardly blame Kelcey for what happened that brought about that conclusion. He’d gotten only the essential information about the entire ordeal, which he assumed was because it wasn’t a matter he was directly involved with and he had enough on his own plate to deal with as it was and was just as likely Kelcey’s attempt to keep him focused on his own career more than getting him involved in her affairs like the good mentor she was, but he knew enough to know that Sienna’s slipping grasp on reality and her own emotions were her own fault and Kelcey had every right to defend herself and what Sienna had sought to take from her. A pang of guilt emanated from his heart that he had inadvertently put her in danger when instinct took hold and he backdropped Sienna out to the floor to protect himself from whatever she had planned, but that was a mistake any wrestler could make in the heat of the moment when rational thought was cast aside in favor of going with your gut when so little time existed to formulate a gameplan.
At least I’ll be able to attend Kelcey’s party with Liane again this year… that’s one situation I know is resolved now.
As Aaron flipped to a new page in his sketchbook, the pencil in his hand seemingly acting on its own to slowly bring to life a room full of ghouls and monsters in homage to his favorite time of the year approaching, he let out another sigh, this one of relief and contentment. After Apocalypse was in the books and the last of his issues with Shilo Valiant was scrubbed from his skin, he and Liane had gone out for a late dinner with her parents and had a proper re-do of their first meeting that went much better than the incident from weeks prior. Liane’s mom and dad got to know their future son-in-law a little better and he came to fully understand some of the rationale that led to why Mr. and Mrs. Forte believed their time had passed, only to understand that they’d never had a chance to put in the proper effort to make their dreams a reality in the first place. Such is the cruel twist of fate that becomes commonplace in the game of life sometimes, but if anyone had the skills necessary to reopen some of those closed doors, it was him.
One of the cornerstones of creativity was being able to breathe new life into ideas thought to have been lost to time, after all.
His lips curled into a frown at the reminder that Liane wasn’t with him right now, as he knew it was less dangerous for him to think some things through on his own as opposed to sharing them with her and getting that valuable outsider’s opinion, but he knew things weren’t fully resolved at this point in time and the blockades that remained were beyond his ability to be able to deal with. There was still some legal paperwork left behind from the mess Nancy created that James was pushing through as quickly as he could, and in that time Liane’s fate was still in the hands of her parents until the red tape had all been stripped away, but with the understanding they had reached as of this point in time, there was no reason to fear that she wasn’t going to be back by his side soon enough. They had their blessing, the final piece of the puzzle needed to put planning for their wedding into full gear, and with no sign of anyone with a voice that truly mattered who thought this couple was better off staying apart and not being joined in holy matrimony, they could soon nail down an actual date and finalize some of the plans they had been working on for what felt like an eternity.
Do you really think you’ll get a happy ending that easily?
Aaron chuckled to himself as he shrugged off Nemesis’ latest attempt to cast doubt, taking one last look at the sketches he’d done before tucking his sketchbook away in the bag he’d brought and standing tall to admire that same view anyone who comes to the ‘Rocky Steps’ gets to enjoy once they work their way to the very top. In retrospect, the journey had been one hell of a ride that had come with more than enough problems for any normal human being, but even if he knew he would likely never be out of those woods for the rest of his life, he only had one response to that notion.
I’ve more than earned my happy ending by now, and I dare ANYONE to try and stop me from finally having it, inside or outside of the ring.
Life wouldn’t be a rollercoaster if you had the ability to decide how everything went down to the very second.
Last week, Owen and I took our first stab at World Tag League action, and I’m not going to sugarcoat it: we lost. Obviously, you can make a case otherwise because of exactly how the match ended, but it doesn’t change the fact that the two of us are now out two points and have to work from behind the proverbial eight ball now to start turning things around. I’ll even be upfront with Bree, regardless of what she thinks of me: you deserve respect for the situation you were put in, battling the two of us while trying to keep Sienna from going so far off the rails it cost you both. Feel grateful that Sienna created enough provocation that Kelcey gave you two the win instead of the other way around, but let me offer an honest warning from someone who’s dealt with people like that before, and know that I’m being sincere about this considering we’re not on opposite sides of the ring this week…
Tread lightly going forward with trying to keep her focused on what needs to be done. I don’t care how close you two are as friends or how much you agree with her line of thinking for the way she is right now, because the more she loses herself to her emotions the harder it’s going to be to defend and justify what she does. She needs help Bree, and if you stand back and do nothing, know that the possibility exists she could lash out at you if she becomes too blinded to care about anything that she’s not hearing in her own head. Be careful going forward…
Maybe it seems weird that I’m trying to give such advice to someone who likely could care less about me, but even my worst enemy doesn’t deserve to be blindsided by someone close to them dragging them into the crossfire of their actions because they aren’t in a stable frame of mind. Family, friends… I’ve been there before, and I know firsthand that those are the last thing anyone in Sienna’s mindset thinks about, and they’re just as liable to be seriously hurt if they go in blind.
To that end, I also want to apologize to Kelcey. Sienna likely wouldn’t have even been in a position to cause all that chaos had I not sent her out to the floor near where you were. It was a case of acting on instinct to try and defend myself from whatever she had planned, and the end result ultimately speaks for itself. You didn’t deserve to have her breathing down her neck after an overzealous charge at me, and I promise that it will not happen again.
Though unlike Matt Hodges and his likely promise of yet another victory because no one can match him, I actually make promises I can keep.
Breakdown rolls into Philadelphia this week, and Owen and I immediately have a chance to put ourselves right back in the Tag League fight. I’m sure Matt’s scoffing at such a notion even as I speak, though it’s hard to really put much faith in the words of a man who has made it no secret that he thinks he’s above all of this. He’s mocked his partner and clearly didn’t even want to be part of their first match in the tournament so far, and beyond that, he’s solely fixated on this idea that he should be given a World Title match right this second for no other reason than he’s ‘World Class’ and therefore his word should be gospel. After all, there’s nobody that could be considered more deserving than Matt Hodges, right? Except…
Ichi: Owen and I managed to defeat David and Jason before Apocalypse, directly proving we can hang in there with the man at the top right now.
Ni: I’ve beaten you clean, one-on-one, in that ring back before Taking Hold of the Flame.
Knowing you Matt, I wouldn’t be surprised if you considered the first point irrelevant, even though it has a lot more to do with this match than you realize, and won’t acknowledge the second point due to whatever excuse you’ll concoct to preserve this belief that there is no one on this roster that is able to defeat you. But no amount of denial will change what people saw on that night months ago Matt: you are very much beatable, and I’ve got the win on my record to prove it.
Of course, time has passed since that night, and there’s no doubt that you’ve only gotten better while you’ll try and find anything you can desperately cling to that justifies a greater difference between us since that night. Like it or not, wins and losses aren’t concrete evidence of a person’s skill, and for each setback in the time between then and now I’ve only learned and developed from it, just as a proper student of the game does. The fact of the matter is that everyone has those moments of weakness and will end up falling short because of them, and in your case Matt?
Yours are always on display for me to see, and I’m not talking about the obvious.
We also can’t forget that this is a completely different environment as well, as a tag match offers more options to work with since there are more people to account for. And this… this is where I want to feel bad for Subarashi. I’ve paid enough attention to know that you asked for this, wanting to team with a Hall of Famer is certainly an admirable approach to trying to start something like this off on the right foot. I’m quite curious about the decision to team with Hodges of all people though… I won’t deny his ability in the ring, just as I didn’t when we last crossed paths despite how much he still feels the need to look down on someone who’s earned a win fair and square over him, but surely you could feel more comfortable teaming up with someone that not only actually wants to be a part of this, but also won’t treat you like you either have to do all the work and just carry him to victory or just stand on the apron and let him prove his ‘superiority’ single-handedly. You understand tag team wrestling well enough to know that what he wants out of this deal isn’t it, and I hate to say it, but that’s ultimately going to be your tandem’s downfall.
It’s true that Owen and I haven’t been an actual tag team for too many matches up to this point, but the fact of the matter is that we have a bond strong enough to translate into what makes an effective tandem, having been watching each others’ backs long before the idea of the Perfect Pack even began to take shape, long before Kelcey took us both under her wing… even when we were focused on advancing our own careers, we would always be there in a heartbeat to help one another if the situation called for it. In that respect, while we’ve proven our worth as singles competitors several times over, we have the foundation to be just as great a tag team as well in the grand scheme of things. Matt and Subarashi, however… they are great singles competitors, don’t get me wrong, but one person’s desire to team with another for a tournament isn’t enough to achieve the long term tag team success that I know at least one of you truly wants out of all of this.
Subarashi… a Japanese term that has many different interpretations, all of them being synonyms of ‘excellent.’ I’m familiar with what your chosen moniker represents, and I’m sure you caught the little bit of Japanese I sprinkled in while briefly addressing your partner earlier. I know the kind of style you employ in the ring because it’s the exact same style I spent time learning myself in Japan to form the foundation of how I compete today… consider it a little reminder I wanted to throw out there since Matt knows that all too well and even spent a fair amount of his breath criticizing me for it because it’s not the same ‘wrestling’ as what he does. I’ve already shown him once how effective it can be, and I’m actually excited to put what I know to the test against someone else who actually knows and respects what it has to offer.
Of course, there’s the lingering question of how exactly you’re going to view me Subarashi… you are a self-professed ‘demon slayer’ after all, and I’ve made it no secret that one of my favorite pastimes is designing and employing creatures of all different kinds to share with the world as merely a small expression of my creativity. You won’t be encountering any of that on Breakdown, because I have too much respect for Owen and trying to get our tandem on the board to indulge right now, but I’m going to warn you right now: if you come at me as someone who needs to be destroyed because you’re so blinded by what you claim to be that you mistake my imagination for anything truly demonic, then I will not hesitate to put my respect on the shelf and make sure you comprehend EXACTLY who you’re up against.
Just as I did to Matt months ago as proof that ‘World Class’ does not mean the same thing as ‘infallible.’
Owen and I are hungry for this win, and while Subarashi may share that same hunger, Matt’s desires clearly rest somewhere else, and just like the last time he was more concerned with something that wasn’t exactly what’s right in front of him… well, he knows, no matter how much he won’t admit to it. I apologize that you haven’t been able to change his mind Subarashi, but like it or not, Owen and I have what you guys lack, and since we won’t have to worry about someone being unhinged and trying to pick a fight they’re better off letting go for the sake of their own sanity this week?
I think it’s about time we start turning the tables on this thing and get to work making up that lost ground.
----------------------------------------------------
It seemed to be a common theme in Aaron’s life that he was constantly trying to find the best in every situation, as for every time something actually went right, there’d be at least three instances of things going wrong that would leave him feeling like he was desperately clinging to the edge of a cliff, fighting to keep from plunging into the abyss below.
The creative soul would always be the first to admit that he felt like his life was going to be a constant struggle in ways that most would never see or acknowledge. For some reason, he seemed to have a knack for attraction problems with no probable cause as to why. People took issue with him out of fear for what he could do or a belief that what he had to offer held no place in this world. He’s become a target purely because of issues with his family, the only plausible link being the last name and blood that he shared. Picking a fight over an issue of morals was one thing if he started the fight for valid reasons or was caught in the crosshairs because he dared to speak up at best, but oftentimes it was starting to feel like a lot of his struggles came from people simply coming after him without any reason at all, like throwing a dart at a board and his picture coincidentally being a magnet that always attracted said darts.
He wasn’t going to ignore the fact that a lot of these problems came about in the squared circle, and even if it was the nature of the business to fight and start something with another human being, Aaron was often left with little rationale as to why he had to be the one that others tended to gravitate towards when they needed someone to try and turn into a punching bag for whatever reason. Opportunities earned were one thing, considering a prize was at stake to be defended, as were moments where he’d stepped in to fight either because he knew it was the right thing to do or because he was watching someone’s back who he knew deserved better than what was being thrown their way. And yet, as he reflected on his SCW career, he couldn’t help but think about all the times he’d become a target just… because.
He’d lost months of his career tied up with someone who had an unhealthy obsession with him when he wanted no part of such a relationship, virtually a full year off-and-on being the centerpiece of games being played at his expense by a Hall of Famer who seemingly didn’t even know for himself what he ultimately wanted out of it all at the end of the day, and on even lesser notes he’d been singled out by people either because they thought he’d be an easy win or they felt insulted that he was even on the same roster as them or even because they wanted to start something with somebody and he was the unfortunate soul to first catch their eye. And, quite frankly, he was just the tiniest bit sick of spending so much time fighting off someone who had a problem with him without any real reason behind it.
If it had just been limited to wrestling, then maybe it wouldn’t have been as bad. For as much as Aaron loved the sport, he knew it wouldn’t be something he could do forever, and if wrestling just so happened to be the cause of most of his problems then the simple solution would be to step away. Even if he knew there would be some people who would feel let down about it, if it was for the sake of his own sanity then surely they would understand, right? Even a break could be just what the doctor ordered to get his head sorted out and come back ready to fight whoever felt like starting something with him for whatever reason only made sense to them.
Unfortunately, Aaron Blackbourne the wrestler and Aaron Blackbourne the everyday person seemed to share that bizarre parallel of attracting unwanted trouble without rhyme or reason.
It’s true that a lot had happened since he’d started competing, which was one hell of a coincidence even if the sport had absolutely nothing to do with any of these issues. He’d lost one of his brothers to the afterlife, the same man who was the cause of that made an attempt on his life purely because he was tired of Aaron being the only Blackbourne that seemed to be able to keep pushing forward despite everything he did to rub it all in, he’s had to sort out some messes regarding a family that wasn’t his own at this exact moment in time but would be down the road, he’s found himself seeing a therapist to help make sense of the mess going on in his head and how it affected him at times, that being an entire problem in and of itself that didn’t even exist on the same plane as everything else… oh, and we can’t forget about the ongoing escapades of the renegade therapist seeking to use him and his future wife as the star characters for an attempted book that she believed was going to make her rich at the expense of their standing in society and their psychological well-being.
If it wasn’t for being bullied and somewhat of an outcast in school, his struggles to find employment because he didn’t ‘fit into a mold’ in the present state of the world and the longstanding issues he had with his family before his brother’s death effectively undid years worth of burnt bridges, it wouldn’t seem too crazy to think that this could all be linked back to not only the sport he prided himself on being a part of, but specifically SCW.
These were the thoughts that preoccupied Aaron’s mind as he sat at the top of the infamous stone steps leading up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, using the steps themselves as the focal point of a piece he was sketching as a means of trying to keep his hands busy as he mentally sorted through everything. Unsurprisingly, his attention would be briefly diverted to someone ascending the steps in their own take on the well-known Rocky scene, which itself was a huge theme of the art he was working on, but it was all a welcome distraction for his imagination to vent while the more rational and grounded side of his mind took priority in his thoughts.
The more you think about your problems, the more you realize there is no solution to any of them.
A quick shake of the head and he was past the pestering voice in his head, aiming to stir up trouble to continue trying to refuel. Ever since Aaron had become aware of its return, Nemesis had grown more and more persistent in trying to re-establish a foothold in the artist’s mind, almost to the point where they were far more aggressive now than they were prior to the significant setback they suffered back on Valentine’s Day. He couldn’t tell if it was desperation or if the abomination thought it had found something to latch onto that it was going to beat into the ground until its host relented, but that was at least one less problem that would be of any concern to him.
Until Nemesis actually made a real move of some kind, he’d become so used to this that ignoring that voice of doubt in the back of his mind had become second nature.
Besides, there was a significant lack of problems in his immediate future at the moment, so it was easy to know for sure that the stress-fueled snake was grasping at straws at best. ‘Doctor’ Nancy Black was still on the loose, but that was about it if he had to be honest right now, and even then her options for trying to gather any shred of proof she could use to back up whatever she was trying to write that would turn him into a stepping stone for the glory she did not deserve had become almost nonexistent. The hooks she had in Liane’s parents – her last avenue of being able to weaponize their families against them – had been released thanks to the intervention of Dr. Marsh-Asher, and with the law on her tail now as word began to spread among anyone wearing the badge of what she had done and the lack of respect she had for what they enforced so long as it fit her endgame if she wasn’t on the verge of being captured and imprisoned then she was never going to be able to show her face in public ever again.
Do you feel happy about how you destroyed her life, all because she was trying to help you? I guess you and Kelcey have that in common, now don’t you?
A low growl escaped his throat, but his eyes also rolled at the latest accusation being thrown at him from within the confines of his own thoughts. Nancy had taken the rope she intended to hang him and Liane with and ended up doing herself in, and she had no one to blame on that front. She didn’t care about helping people, she was only interested in the more vainglorious side of the medical profession, wanting to be one of those people that likely had their own TV talk shows or were brought onto news broadcasts for their expertise on certain topics, raking in the money and getting referrals for every big name under the sun that believed she was the doctor to go to if they had a problem that needed to be fixed… a case of the famous feeding into the egos of other famous entities if he ever saw one.
He couldn’t keep himself from letting out an exasperated sigh when his thoughts turned to the previous Breakdown, however. He wasn’t going to argue that it stung to lose out on two points, especially at the very start of his and Owen’s run in the Tag League, but he could hardly blame Kelcey for what happened that brought about that conclusion. He’d gotten only the essential information about the entire ordeal, which he assumed was because it wasn’t a matter he was directly involved with and he had enough on his own plate to deal with as it was and was just as likely Kelcey’s attempt to keep him focused on his own career more than getting him involved in her affairs like the good mentor she was, but he knew enough to know that Sienna’s slipping grasp on reality and her own emotions were her own fault and Kelcey had every right to defend herself and what Sienna had sought to take from her. A pang of guilt emanated from his heart that he had inadvertently put her in danger when instinct took hold and he backdropped Sienna out to the floor to protect himself from whatever she had planned, but that was a mistake any wrestler could make in the heat of the moment when rational thought was cast aside in favor of going with your gut when so little time existed to formulate a gameplan.
At least I’ll be able to attend Kelcey’s party with Liane again this year… that’s one situation I know is resolved now.
As Aaron flipped to a new page in his sketchbook, the pencil in his hand seemingly acting on its own to slowly bring to life a room full of ghouls and monsters in homage to his favorite time of the year approaching, he let out another sigh, this one of relief and contentment. After Apocalypse was in the books and the last of his issues with Shilo Valiant was scrubbed from his skin, he and Liane had gone out for a late dinner with her parents and had a proper re-do of their first meeting that went much better than the incident from weeks prior. Liane’s mom and dad got to know their future son-in-law a little better and he came to fully understand some of the rationale that led to why Mr. and Mrs. Forte believed their time had passed, only to understand that they’d never had a chance to put in the proper effort to make their dreams a reality in the first place. Such is the cruel twist of fate that becomes commonplace in the game of life sometimes, but if anyone had the skills necessary to reopen some of those closed doors, it was him.
One of the cornerstones of creativity was being able to breathe new life into ideas thought to have been lost to time, after all.
His lips curled into a frown at the reminder that Liane wasn’t with him right now, as he knew it was less dangerous for him to think some things through on his own as opposed to sharing them with her and getting that valuable outsider’s opinion, but he knew things weren’t fully resolved at this point in time and the blockades that remained were beyond his ability to be able to deal with. There was still some legal paperwork left behind from the mess Nancy created that James was pushing through as quickly as he could, and in that time Liane’s fate was still in the hands of her parents until the red tape had all been stripped away, but with the understanding they had reached as of this point in time, there was no reason to fear that she wasn’t going to be back by his side soon enough. They had their blessing, the final piece of the puzzle needed to put planning for their wedding into full gear, and with no sign of anyone with a voice that truly mattered who thought this couple was better off staying apart and not being joined in holy matrimony, they could soon nail down an actual date and finalize some of the plans they had been working on for what felt like an eternity.
Do you really think you’ll get a happy ending that easily?
Aaron chuckled to himself as he shrugged off Nemesis’ latest attempt to cast doubt, taking one last look at the sketches he’d done before tucking his sketchbook away in the bag he’d brought and standing tall to admire that same view anyone who comes to the ‘Rocky Steps’ gets to enjoy once they work their way to the very top. In retrospect, the journey had been one hell of a ride that had come with more than enough problems for any normal human being, but even if he knew he would likely never be out of those woods for the rest of his life, he only had one response to that notion.
I’ve more than earned my happy ending by now, and I dare ANYONE to try and stop me from finally having it, inside or outside of the ring.
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Sometimes, things just happen that are beyond your control.Life wouldn’t be a rollercoaster if you had the ability to decide how everything went down to the very second.
Last week, Owen and I took our first stab at World Tag League action, and I’m not going to sugarcoat it: we lost. Obviously, you can make a case otherwise because of exactly how the match ended, but it doesn’t change the fact that the two of us are now out two points and have to work from behind the proverbial eight ball now to start turning things around. I’ll even be upfront with Bree, regardless of what she thinks of me: you deserve respect for the situation you were put in, battling the two of us while trying to keep Sienna from going so far off the rails it cost you both. Feel grateful that Sienna created enough provocation that Kelcey gave you two the win instead of the other way around, but let me offer an honest warning from someone who’s dealt with people like that before, and know that I’m being sincere about this considering we’re not on opposite sides of the ring this week…
Tread lightly going forward with trying to keep her focused on what needs to be done. I don’t care how close you two are as friends or how much you agree with her line of thinking for the way she is right now, because the more she loses herself to her emotions the harder it’s going to be to defend and justify what she does. She needs help Bree, and if you stand back and do nothing, know that the possibility exists she could lash out at you if she becomes too blinded to care about anything that she’s not hearing in her own head. Be careful going forward…
Maybe it seems weird that I’m trying to give such advice to someone who likely could care less about me, but even my worst enemy doesn’t deserve to be blindsided by someone close to them dragging them into the crossfire of their actions because they aren’t in a stable frame of mind. Family, friends… I’ve been there before, and I know firsthand that those are the last thing anyone in Sienna’s mindset thinks about, and they’re just as liable to be seriously hurt if they go in blind.
To that end, I also want to apologize to Kelcey. Sienna likely wouldn’t have even been in a position to cause all that chaos had I not sent her out to the floor near where you were. It was a case of acting on instinct to try and defend myself from whatever she had planned, and the end result ultimately speaks for itself. You didn’t deserve to have her breathing down her neck after an overzealous charge at me, and I promise that it will not happen again.
Though unlike Matt Hodges and his likely promise of yet another victory because no one can match him, I actually make promises I can keep.
Breakdown rolls into Philadelphia this week, and Owen and I immediately have a chance to put ourselves right back in the Tag League fight. I’m sure Matt’s scoffing at such a notion even as I speak, though it’s hard to really put much faith in the words of a man who has made it no secret that he thinks he’s above all of this. He’s mocked his partner and clearly didn’t even want to be part of their first match in the tournament so far, and beyond that, he’s solely fixated on this idea that he should be given a World Title match right this second for no other reason than he’s ‘World Class’ and therefore his word should be gospel. After all, there’s nobody that could be considered more deserving than Matt Hodges, right? Except…
Ichi: Owen and I managed to defeat David and Jason before Apocalypse, directly proving we can hang in there with the man at the top right now.
Ni: I’ve beaten you clean, one-on-one, in that ring back before Taking Hold of the Flame.
Knowing you Matt, I wouldn’t be surprised if you considered the first point irrelevant, even though it has a lot more to do with this match than you realize, and won’t acknowledge the second point due to whatever excuse you’ll concoct to preserve this belief that there is no one on this roster that is able to defeat you. But no amount of denial will change what people saw on that night months ago Matt: you are very much beatable, and I’ve got the win on my record to prove it.
Of course, time has passed since that night, and there’s no doubt that you’ve only gotten better while you’ll try and find anything you can desperately cling to that justifies a greater difference between us since that night. Like it or not, wins and losses aren’t concrete evidence of a person’s skill, and for each setback in the time between then and now I’ve only learned and developed from it, just as a proper student of the game does. The fact of the matter is that everyone has those moments of weakness and will end up falling short because of them, and in your case Matt?
Yours are always on display for me to see, and I’m not talking about the obvious.
We also can’t forget that this is a completely different environment as well, as a tag match offers more options to work with since there are more people to account for. And this… this is where I want to feel bad for Subarashi. I’ve paid enough attention to know that you asked for this, wanting to team with a Hall of Famer is certainly an admirable approach to trying to start something like this off on the right foot. I’m quite curious about the decision to team with Hodges of all people though… I won’t deny his ability in the ring, just as I didn’t when we last crossed paths despite how much he still feels the need to look down on someone who’s earned a win fair and square over him, but surely you could feel more comfortable teaming up with someone that not only actually wants to be a part of this, but also won’t treat you like you either have to do all the work and just carry him to victory or just stand on the apron and let him prove his ‘superiority’ single-handedly. You understand tag team wrestling well enough to know that what he wants out of this deal isn’t it, and I hate to say it, but that’s ultimately going to be your tandem’s downfall.
It’s true that Owen and I haven’t been an actual tag team for too many matches up to this point, but the fact of the matter is that we have a bond strong enough to translate into what makes an effective tandem, having been watching each others’ backs long before the idea of the Perfect Pack even began to take shape, long before Kelcey took us both under her wing… even when we were focused on advancing our own careers, we would always be there in a heartbeat to help one another if the situation called for it. In that respect, while we’ve proven our worth as singles competitors several times over, we have the foundation to be just as great a tag team as well in the grand scheme of things. Matt and Subarashi, however… they are great singles competitors, don’t get me wrong, but one person’s desire to team with another for a tournament isn’t enough to achieve the long term tag team success that I know at least one of you truly wants out of all of this.
Subarashi… a Japanese term that has many different interpretations, all of them being synonyms of ‘excellent.’ I’m familiar with what your chosen moniker represents, and I’m sure you caught the little bit of Japanese I sprinkled in while briefly addressing your partner earlier. I know the kind of style you employ in the ring because it’s the exact same style I spent time learning myself in Japan to form the foundation of how I compete today… consider it a little reminder I wanted to throw out there since Matt knows that all too well and even spent a fair amount of his breath criticizing me for it because it’s not the same ‘wrestling’ as what he does. I’ve already shown him once how effective it can be, and I’m actually excited to put what I know to the test against someone else who actually knows and respects what it has to offer.
Of course, there’s the lingering question of how exactly you’re going to view me Subarashi… you are a self-professed ‘demon slayer’ after all, and I’ve made it no secret that one of my favorite pastimes is designing and employing creatures of all different kinds to share with the world as merely a small expression of my creativity. You won’t be encountering any of that on Breakdown, because I have too much respect for Owen and trying to get our tandem on the board to indulge right now, but I’m going to warn you right now: if you come at me as someone who needs to be destroyed because you’re so blinded by what you claim to be that you mistake my imagination for anything truly demonic, then I will not hesitate to put my respect on the shelf and make sure you comprehend EXACTLY who you’re up against.
Just as I did to Matt months ago as proof that ‘World Class’ does not mean the same thing as ‘infallible.’
Owen and I are hungry for this win, and while Subarashi may share that same hunger, Matt’s desires clearly rest somewhere else, and just like the last time he was more concerned with something that wasn’t exactly what’s right in front of him… well, he knows, no matter how much he won’t admit to it. I apologize that you haven’t been able to change his mind Subarashi, but like it or not, Owen and I have what you guys lack, and since we won’t have to worry about someone being unhinged and trying to pick a fight they’re better off letting go for the sake of their own sanity this week?
I think it’s about time we start turning the tables on this thing and get to work making up that lost ground.