12-31-2020, 05:39 PM
01-05-2021, 06:51 PM
OK. So it wasn't easy to get back into the swing. CD... got a lot to get through to catch up with present day, but didn't want to force it through in all one go. Apologies if it feels like I'm going back in time, but it had to be done. But the shoot... even now I'm not sure how it comes across but I guess we shall see.
Enjoy, hopefully... and good luck to our opponents
Owen #82
Enjoy, hopefully... and good luck to our opponents
Owen #82
01-06-2021, 12:51 AM
Episode 4: Why Am I Not Surprised?!
![[Image: TLvB.gif]](https://i.gifer.com/TLvB.gif)
OOC: Polly says hi. Polly not happy. Polly about to play with a victim...
OOC: Polly says hi. Polly not happy. Polly about to play with a victim...
01-06-2021, 12:53 AM
The end of 2020 left a lot to be desired for Aaron Blackbourne, and he was starting to feel worn out by this song and dance if he could be perfectly honest.
The final Breakdown of the year certainly could have gone better, that much was for sure. Despite the chaos that was about to unfold regarding Sienna’s actions, Aaron still found himself being beaten by Syren clean, a loss that especially bothered him after he’d overcome the odds she tried to stack in her favor to prevail just one year prior. That loss felt like a massive step backward in the grand scheme of things. Add to it the fact that he’d thrown himself into the absolute carnage that ended the night and, like everyone else involved, got arrested because of it.
Maybe it’s no surprise that, for the first time since his SCW career began, Aaron was completely absent from the End of the Year Special, even in terms of waiting backstage in case he won an award.
He had a lot to wrap his head around as the year came to a close, both inside and out of the ring, so he made the decision to return home to Seattle and bask in a rare moment of solitude to try and straighten out his head. As terrible as it sounded, he couldn’t bring himself to visit his family for the holidays after what happened with Alec during his previous visit. He could have spent it with Liane and her family now that he’d heard they were slowly getting back to all being on good terms again, but he felt it was better for her recovery after the incident with Nancy Black and her brief period of being committed to work on rebuilding those burnt bridges. With the first Breakdown of 2021 being in Detroit and knowing he’d be in action since he and Owen still had some Tag League matches to tackle, he’d be able to reunite with her and see where his standing with the family was at that point.
Maybe it was counterproductive to what the denizens of his imagination would have preferred, but the wrestling issue was one he was, unfortunately, starting to believe was something only he could truly solve.
As the clock ticked down to bring 2020 to a close and the End of the Year Special was playing in the background, effectively being treated as static so he wasn’t in complete silence, Aaron found himself sitting on the couch and quietly sketching as he tried to make sense of where he stood and what needed to be done. It was always a task that was much easier said than done, and in this particular instance, it had him silently cursing the fact that he seemed destined to never have everything going his way even for just a little bit for a change.
Is it too much to ask for success in the ring and no drama or other bullshit outside of it?
Aaron bitterly chuckled to himself, knowing that it was, in fact, apparently too much to ask for. The roller coaster he’d been on regarding his wrestling career was starting to take its toll on him, and for the first time in years, he found himself questioning if this was the right choice for him. Not since a stint in Japan had opened his eyes to the idea of openly sharing what kind of beautiful chaos his mind was capable of in hopes that it would inspire other creative souls out there had he ever found himself this deep into the idea of just throwing in the towel and walking away from it all.
He knew he never would… even if it was his best option, so long as he had people that could use someone like him in their corner, helping to fight their fight, he would hate himself for abandoning them even if they completely understood his reasoning. It was a selfish idea, and even as he started to identify the difference between when he actually did need to be selfish for the sake of his own well-being and when it was a horrible idea he truly should feel bad about, this rationale fell into the latter category and he knew it.
He was considering walking away all because maybe, just maybe, some people were actually right about him being unable to break through that so-called glass ceiling, and the more he fought to prove them wrong the farther back he always seemed to slide.
Aaron slammed his head back against the cushion, hating that he was even considering the option. While it was true that, for better or worse, he held the record for most reigns as TV Champion, that was about it. Most of the big wins he’d managed to earn had been invalidated with either losses in rematches to those same people or simply falling short in whatever opportunity spawned from those victories. It had been two years now where most people would believe he had nothing to show for the work he put in, and for as much as he hated it, the cracks were starting to show.
Have you ever considered just changing course? Look at where ‘fighting the good fight’ has gotten you, especially as of late.
An involuntary growl escaped Aaron’s throat at the voice ringing in his head as his hands kept working. He’d gone back to being somewhat dormant as of late that it was easy to forget that Nemesis was still a lingering issue. The embodiment of stress was simply waiting for an opening where its host was vulnerable to exploit, and now was one of those times. While it had been a while, deep down he knew what kind of freedom Nemesis sought, and if he turned over those keys then he was never getting them back. The idea of that thing claiming control and doing God knows what in SCW on his name was terrifying enough.
There was no telling what would happen to everything he’d worked so hard to gain in his life beyond the ropes in that scenario, and that was a far greater concern.
Come on Aaron, surely the road to the success we both know you so desperately seek can’t be found by spending a night in jail. Though I have to admit, that’s a nice blemish on your otherwise spotless permanent record.
“Fuck off…”
Aaron had finally stopped drawing so he could close his eyes and take a deep breath, desperately trying to rid his mind of the voice that would continue to plague him if he allowed it to. There was no easy answer to the problem of where he stood in the company and how he could improve it, but as much as everything was trying to point in the direction of giving up, Aaron Blackbourne was never the kind of person who called it quits just because he encountered a problem that was just too much. There was always a solution, and he was nowhere close to exhausting every option his creativity could conjure in trying to answer this riddle and silence all those around him once and for all.
As he silently affirmed to himself that 2021 would finally be his year, ignoring the snarky comments rippling through the back of his mind about how he’d been trying to convince himself of that every year at this point, he finally decided to gaze upon what he’d allowed his hands to draw into existence while he occupied his brain, and almost immediately his lips curled back into a frown.
A painfully detailed sketch of him sitting in a prison cell with a familiar female figure that had become a plague all her own on his life mocking him from beyond the bars is what stared back at him.
For as much as he was letting himself be torn apart by his failures in the ring, he knew that eventually, that time would come to an end, whether he liked it or not. Life as a whole didn’t stop just because he decided to prioritize a small part of it for a little while, and it seemed like his creative consciousness was willing to bring his attention to a variable he hadn’t thought about in the wake of the chaos from the end of Breakdown.
Out there, somewhere, Nancy Black was still hunting for ways to try and ‘expose’ how dangerous someone like him was in society for no other reason than being able to put it in a book and promote it until she believed everyone knew her name. For whatever degrees she had to her name, she was no doctor, but she was smart enough to know that word of his brief arrest was blood in the water and this was a prime opportunity to strike from whatever shadows she’d been hiding in over the past several months.
Aaron threw his sketchbook across the room, not even flinching when it hit the wall and fell to the floor. He massaged his temples as the reminder that she was still an issue flickered through his thoughts. It wasn’t over, he was certain of that and so were so many others in the loop on this situation. It wouldn’t be over until she was behind bars, where she truly belonged for every loophole she’d tried to abuse in the legal system just to get her ‘facts,’ and after playing a similar game with Dylan he knew better than to just accept that maybe things were done just because she’d been quiet for a while.
Maybe an outsider would consider him crazy for clinging to the thought that this was still something to be concerned over, but living through this exact same scenario was a hell of a mentor in knowing when someone with Nancy’s line of thinking was actually no longer worth worrying about.
Aaron’s attention was briefly diverted by the sounds emanating from outside his apartment window, and as he opened it and poked his head outside, he caught sight of the brilliantly colored fireworks that were ringing in the official start of a brand new year on the west coast. It was a welcome distraction that filled him with hope… hope that a new year meant a new chance to finally erase all of the doubt and despair and finally be able to prove that he is everything he and those around him have claimed he could be after all.
No matter what hell awaited him, he needed to keep pushing forward and standing strong against the forces both inside and out of his head that sought to destroy him, because those who believed deserved to have their faith and patience rewarded.
And this creative soul still had a lot of ideas to finally get to where he wanted to be.
Unfortunately, that didn’t seem like the case, and he felt like it wouldn’t bode well for him going into the first Breakdown of a brand new year.
As he drove his rental car through the streets of Royal Oak towards one location, in particular, his head was still swimming with all the things that felt like they hadn’t been resolved when he rang in the new year. From trying to decide how to approach SCW in an effort to turn his career around to keeping his eyes peeled for any sign that ‘Doctor’ Black was making a move, it almost felt like his life was no longer in his hands and he was desperately trying to regain some semblance of control. With Breakdown creeping closer, he knew he’d have to find some way to snap out of it if he and Owen were to add two more points to their Tag League total and maintain the pressure on the likes of Bree and Sienna as things began to wind down.
Forget whatever narrative Nemesis wants to try and weave within my mind. If Owen and I can convert this into something, then that’s a win for both of us.
He’s slowly started to discover since that night that Nemesis, for better or worse, had become a sort of motivator in a sense, as the desire to maintain the positivity that was key to keeping that part of himself under control became the light he latched onto and refused to let go of. Where one positive thought was found, more soon followed, and if that got him through this impending match with Holly and Polly with a win to start the year off on the right foot, then things could only go up from there. After all, even if things didn’t end up finishing the way he and Owen would like, a strong performance all the way through still spoke volumes about the kind of threat the two of them could be for Tag Title contention after the fact, regardless of who ultimately ended the tournament with the gold.
The fact that he was pulling into the driveway of the home where he’d find the core component in keeping himself happy and put together was all the more reason to shrug off the downward spiral he’d felt himself falling into just days prior, and he was grateful for it.
He quickly exited the car and made his way to the front door, legitimate joy slowly taking over him for the first time in what felt like weeks at the very least as he made sure to knock, mindful of what Liane had told him before about the Forte childhood home having a faulty doorbell that was liable to shock anyone who dared to ring it. He knew it wasn’t long that he was waiting out there for some kind of response, but the desire to see his future wife once again after his holiday plans had been railroaded for several reasons was a rock he would gladly cling to all day if it kept him feeling like this. Finally, the door cracked open, and artist and comedian found themselves locking eyes at long last.
“Hey Liane, how was your-”
He barely got the words out before Liane practically tackled him in a bone-crushing hug, a last-second shift in weight from the wrestler being the only thing that kept them from flying off the porch.
“I guess you really missed me, huh? Sorry I didn’t get a chance to swing by sooner, there was a bit of a mess due to SCW and-”
Aaron cut himself off when his ears picked up on the sound of sniffling, and a quick look down at the girl clinging to him as though her life depended on it revealed the tears rolling down her cheeks and the failed attempt to keep herself together. It would be easy to assume that she’d simply missed him that much after plans had been changed following his unplanned stint in jail after the restaurant brawl, but in his gut, he felt like there was more to this than he would’ve liked. No matter how much time they spent apart, this was never the kind of reaction he would’ve expected from her simply because she missed him a whole lot, and he could almost feel the fragile dam of positivity he’d been building on the entire trip here starting to crumble.
“Long time no see Aaron, though I think Liane and I both kind of wish it was under better circumstances at this point.”
Aaron looked up from where Liane was still wrapped around him to see Lucas, the only male child of the Forte siblings, standing in the open doorway, a frown clearly etched onto his face as he eyed the scene before him.
“Oh Aaron, it’s been a holiday catastrophe here! Liza’s in the hospital and we’ve all been worried since we found her in the state she was in and-”
“Wait, what!? What happened?”
“Maybe you should let him come inside Liane. It might be better to sit and talk about this.”
Aaron picked up on two things from Lucas’s tone of voice as Liane seemed to regain enough of her composure to let her fiancé go so they could head inside and take a seat in the living room: the first was a confirmation of something he remembered Liane telling him once before about how Lucas was typically regarded as the most emotionally put together of the Forte clan, despite being the middle child, as he seemed to be able to act as the voice of reason whenever his siblings started to fall apart or get unruly or anything that was typical of brother and sisters butting heads. The second was that something serious had certainly happened, and it left a suffocating aura in the air that was not helping the creative soul keep himself in order. The only solace he took away from whatever he was about to hear was that his entire train of thought had been routed away from what had plagued him up to this point, though whether or not that was a good thing and especially compared to whatever he was about to learn was certainly up for debate.
It took a few moments once everyone was settled in before anything was said, and it was clear that Lucas was willing to do the talking since whatever went down had Liane rattled to the point where it kind of felt like she’d taken a few steps backward in her post-commitment recovery. Aaron’s body instinctively held her close as he let a hand gently massage her back in an effort to try and comfort her trembling form.
“Alright, what’s this about Liza being in the hospital?”
Lucas needed to take a deep breath, exhaling it in a concerned sigh before he began to open up.
“Liza ended up missing our first Christmas as a full family again, as her band had a huge gig in Philadelphia two days before and her flight home got canceled because of the heavy snow that came in during that time. She was able to make it back before New Year’s at least, but something was… off when we saw her.”
“Off… how?”
Aaron bit his bottom lip, concern already beginning to form a haze in his mind that he tried desperately to shake off. He wanted to believe it wasn’t anything too significant, though all the signs seemed to be pointing in that direction at the moment. Liane was gripping him tighter as Lucas had to avert his gaze, almost like telling the next part of the story was too painful to want to make any sort of eye contact.
“She came stumbling in after she was dropped off, her band having decided to road trip back in their tour bus since their flight situation was such a mess because of all the holiday bookings. Somewhere along the way, one of her roadies got talked into trying something from some guys who were definitely dealing, and he ended up talking her into trying whatever it was too.”
“She- she’s been having a bit of a creative block with new song lyrics lately for their next album, and even though she knows better than to let even her own bandmates talk her into ‘that’ part of the ‘rock and roll lifestyle,’ the roadie tempted her with all the wild and creative stuff he saw while he was tripped out and she was starting to feel desperate from all his guilt-tripping.”
Aaron’s eyes went wide as a solid block of ice seemed to form in his gut and spread it’s paralyzing chill throughout every nerve in the rest of his body. The idea of a drug that sent you on such a creative trip and ultimately leaving you in some horrific state after a while of it being in your system was bringing back some very painful memories of not that long ago, and saying that the similarities bothered him was an understatement. Now, he knew well enough that maybe it could’ve just been any hallucinogenic drug, but a nagging feeling burning hotly in the back of his mind had to know for sure, which is why he caught Lucas off guard from continuing with the question.
“What did this thing look like? Do either of you know?”
Liane’s eyes slowly went wide at Aaron’s interruption, almost as if she could pick up on the feeling that her husband-to-be was experiencing some sort of deja vu. Lucas took a minute to think as he carefully described what he remembered being fished out of Liza’s bag when she had collapsed trying to climb the stairs that night.
“It was some kind of pill… half-white and half-clear with what looked like some kind of powder inside of it-”
“Exestrel…”
As he confirmed what he feared, Aaron could practically feel some sort of terrifying thought ripple through his mind. It carried the same intensity as what he normally felt whenever Nemesis was attempting to make some sort of breakthrough to him, though he couldn’t pick up on any trace of the imaginary abomination despite his best efforts. He wasn’t buried too deep in trying to figure out what it was to miss Lucas slowly shaking his head, however.
“I don’t know what that’s supposed to be, but from what we heard when they got Liza stabilized, it’s some kind of new drug that’s going around called Chimera. According to what Louise found when she did some studying of it afterward, we assume it’s called that because it’s some kind of super drug made from combining several really strong hallucinogens into a small and easy to swallow capsule, ignoring the fact that some of those aren’t meant to be taken that way if you actually did want to do that kind of stuff.”
“Where… where did you get the name ‘Exestrel’ from?”
With one hand clenching into a fist that refused to remain steady as he felt his nerves fraying more and more with each passing second while the other gently stroked Liane’s hair in a desperate bid to try and calm himself somehow, Aaron told them about what had happened to Alec when he’d visited his family prior to the last Breakdown. He’d been taking the exact same capsules, except he’d gotten it from some therapist named Dr. Evergreen as a means to try and help him relax and focus better. It was only after he was stabilized that they’d learned that he’d consumed some powerful hallucinogen instead of any sort of actual medicine, on top of the fact that no doctor on staff had ever even heard of a medication called Exestrel before.
“My mom got in contact with the offices where Alec had been seeing this doctor, but apparently the day after she prescribed him this stuff she didn’t show up for work, and when they’d checked their system it had apparently been wiped of any trace that she’d ever been on staff there, to begin with.”
It was no surprise that this revelation brought about a whole new level of concern to the two Forte siblings present, and all three of them were in a tense silence pondering over the similarities between the two incidents. Lucas was the first to put a voice to what was slowly burning a hole in Aaron’s own head.
“I don’t know about you, but something about all of this seems fishy to me…”
“Have you tried seeing if Dr. Marsh-Asher knows anything?”
“I left him a message, but since I think he’s been busy working with his sister to do holiday stuff with the orphanage they took over, I don’t know when I might hear back from him. I’m sure he might have a hunch about who might be behind this.”
“I don’t know Aaron… I hate to disagree, but even if this feels like too much of a coincidence, Liza getting tempted by a now-fired roadie who bought from some dealers doesn’t fit, and I wouldn’t think she’d get away with a fake identity all just to do something like this with people she knows you’ve told about her.”
Silence returns to the room as the gears are turning in Aaron’s head again, but he can practically feel them starting to jam as what he knows so far is conflicting with the gut feeling he swore he’d start trusting again following his mental conversation with Dreambender some time back. The Fortes, understandably, aren’t fans of the tense atmosphere as nothing else seems to come to mind about what this all means, and decide to at least attempt to take everyone’s minds off of it.
“I’m going to go call and see if there’s been any change. I agreed to stay home for Liane’s sake after everything that’s happened lately, but hopefully, I’ll have some good news to share.”
“I think I’ll grab something to drink to see if that helps any. You want something, honey?”
“No thanks babe. I, um… think I need to use the bathroom actually.”
It was convincing enough as Liane released him from her grip so she could go hunt through the kitchen and he made his way upstairs towards the bathroom. Except… he found himself stopping right before that door and looking to his right, toward the door he knew from his last visit was the room Liza and Liane had shared growing up. It felt fitting, in a way, that the sisters who were destined to be performers would end up bunking together, and he could only imagine how much they’d helped one another with their respective material over the years.
For some reason, the attempt to try and sow some seeds of positive thought into the fertile soil of his mind was met with a harsh backlash courtesy of that seem thought from earlier tearing through his mental landscape, and he could feel himself breaking out into a cold sweat as he finally identified exactly what this thought was.
Paranoia
Deep down, he was certain that Nancy had to be behind this somehow, but thus far there was absolutely no proof to verify this. This ‘Dr. Evergreen’ and whatever possible connection she might have with these dealers roaming the streets and hocking the same ‘medication’ she was so willing to concoct a legitimate-sounding name for was the best lead they had, and that window already felt like it’d been slammed shut. It was easy to understand why even Liane would have reason to doubt him believing this, but there was too great a coincidence in the fact that the same pill had found its way into the system of people that were either in his immediate family or would soon be considered in-laws. He didn’t know what the purpose of it all was, and maybe there was reason to believe it was just one hell of a fluke that simply left behind more questions than answers.
And yet, he refused to let go of that nagging feeling that there was some greater scheme at work here, especially given how abnormally quiet Nancy had been since her attempt to commit Liane had blown up in her face. The woman was fairly clever, he couldn’t deny that, but had she really been holding back this whole time and had far greater connections than any of them truly realized?
He could only hope that when he heard back from James that the therapist was willing to believe the possibility was there because while he’d admit if he happened to be wrong, it was almost painful how much it all seemed to line up, at least to him. But until then, maybe he had no choice but to simply wait and see if more and more pieces found themselves slotted into this puzzle, because if he pulled the trigger and was way off the mark…
He could almost feel his imagination painting to life the kind of chaos that would ensure if he really was being paranoid over a false lead, and it was not a pretty picture in the slightest.
If I did that, however, then I feel like I’d sound like a broken record, because I’ve made this same declaration for the past two years and many of you out there are just chomping at the bit to jump down my throat for saying this year might finally be different.
Let’s go ahead and clear the table here: yes, Syren managed to defeat me, fair and square, to close out the year, something I know she’ll happily hide behind with those contracts of hers despite the fact that I believe a rubber match should be in order considering we both hold a win over one another. Yes, I ended the final Breakdown of the year in handcuffs, just as the rest of the Perfect Pack did right alongside Sienna and Gio and everyone joining them in this little parade of paranoia about how SCW needs to be destroyed or whatever narrative they want to weave this week. And, if I’m being honest here? Yes, I’m a little pissed off about all of it.
I’ve been a part of the SCW roster for three years now, and while things have certainly not gotten any easier over time, it’s not like I’ve been resting on my laurels and trying to coast until I find something to complain about when things are no longer going my way. With each failure, as numerous as it feels like they’ve become lately, I’ve gritted my teeth and pressed forward. I know a ton of you are asking why; some perhaps begging me to just give up already because I’ll never reach the level they either are or like to believe they’re at. Those same people have proven, time and time again, that they do not understand me nor care to even make the attempt, content with speaking their piece and then just assuming whatever I could respond with is of no importance.
Maybe you should hear me out on this one because it might go a long way in painting a clear picture as to why I will continue to push forward and bust my ass to get better until I’ve made the statement you all believe will never come.
When you have an imagination like mine, you learn to become something of a creative problem solver. Every challenge, no matter how difficult, has some solution to it, and as long as I know that, I just need to figure out exactly what that solution is. Over the course of the past two years, I have tried answer after answer to put an end to the significant wall that has been in my way time and time again when what I’m after is just beyond it, and this is the point where many would, understandably, give up. If I did that now, however, then I would be admitting to myself that I couldn’t find the answer to this riddle… I’d be admitting to myself that my creativity does have limits, and I know for a fact how much of a lie that is. For everything I’ve tried, there are still thousands of things I haven’t considered yet, some perhaps far more convoluted than others. But whatever is still missing for me to clear this hurdle is somewhere in the vast landscape of my imagination, and I will figure it out no matter how long it takes.
In the meantime, go right ahead and keep trying to portray me as the weak link of the Perfect Pack based purely on accolades, because the more you underestimate me compared to Owen and Peyton just because I haven’t been as successful, the more you stoke the flames that are going to burn a giant gaping hole through that proverbial glass ceiling sooner or later.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the point where one Holly Adams decides she’s bored and takes to Twitter to come up with some snarky comment about me to placate her own fragile little ego because she needs something to remind her that for all her talk when she waltzed back into SCW, she has absolutely nothing to show for it. Naturally, that’s not going to stop the social media stream where she tries to put on a facade and convince you all that she’s got the whole world in her hands, and wrestlers like me are left begging for her to accept that she is our favorite. If years of dealing with internet trolls trying to knock my creative endeavors down a few pegs for no real reason has proven anything, it’s that it’s much easier to deal with a problem when you’re hiding behind something instead of having the guts to face it head-on.
For the record Holly, you’re not my favorite wrestler and you wouldn’t be anywhere close even if I wasn’t a part of this roster myself.
The sad thing is, I already know exactly how Holly’s going to paint this based solely on how she chooses to conduct her business. Two things that she’s going to latch onto immediately are the fact that I lost to her ‘bestie’ Syren, which I’ve already admitted to, and that she can claim to have pinned James Evans, a man I went to war with and unfortunately fell just short against with the World Title up for grabs early last year. Naturally, she’s going to forget about the little asterisk that points out how Christy and Ravyn purposely sacrificed themselves in a gauntlet to basically leave her a carcass to pick apart like the vulture she is, because it clashes with her tale of triumph at how she’s succeeded where I have once failed, and so long as she has Infamous by her side, she’s only going to ascend higher and higher.
At least, until we reach the point where what she wants conflicts with Syren, and the Blondetourage finds itself in conflict over whether the golden child of Infamous is willing to stand aside for her so-called bestie or not.
I can see a lot more of this scenario than you’re even bothering to Holly, and like it or not, the only reason Infamous is keeping you around is because you help to pad out their ranks just that tiny bit more. I’ve seen the way they conduct business over the years and even threw myself right into that line of fire once upon a time without hesitation, and I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty: at this stage of her career, Syren will listen to CHBK above all else. He’s the veteran who’s been here since the very beginning, he’s the one protecting her behind these contracts as he tries to build her back into the World Champion she believes she still should be, and if he believes you’re either getting in the way of that or becoming a liability, Syren and Infamous will drop you the second he gives the word. Your little security blanket is only as effective as your value to Syren’s aspirations, and once you lose that because you want your star to shine just that little bit brighter… then what?
I think the fact that they couldn’t ultimately save you from being eliminated fairly early on that battle royal at Last Laugh speaks far greater volumes than you’re open to listening to.
Of course, this match on Breakdown isn’t just about you and me Holly. Far from it, actually. After all, we’re still in the middle of the Tag League, and Owen and I are still in the hunt despite everything that’s happened. You, on the other hand, are effectively eliminated and hoping to play spoiler, but that requires you to actually cooperate with a partner that you’ve openly admitted time and time again you want nothing to do with, even if she’s intentionally blinded herself to your frustrations over standing by her side. It almost feels like Owen and I are facing Hodges and Subarashi all over again, except at least there was one person worth respecting on the opposite side of the ring in that fight.
You, Polly, have proven yourself to be nothing more than a proverbial carbon copy of Holly disguised behind this attempt at having the personality of a game show host instead of a self-absorbed Twitter troll.
I’m willing to give you credit for at least trying to make this work, but that’s about as far as I can go when it’s painfully clear that you’re just as liable to stab Holly in the back as she is to you if given the chance, all in the name of trying to put yourself ahead. After all, that’s how show business works, something I’m certain you know all too well if you’re hoping to bring those ideals into the world of wrestling expecting the same level of success and notoriety. Unfortunately, all you two really have to show for it are the points you effectively inherited from the work Jay Gold did before he couldn’t take putting up with Holly anymore, and for someone like you Polly, I can’t imagine how much that’s eating away at you behind that practiced smile meant to trick the cameras into thinking you’re happy and playful twenty-four/seven.
A smile that falters every time your team loses and Holly makes you the scapegoat in a desperate bid to protect her ‘unblemished’ record since returning.
You want to know why Owen and I are where we are right now? Despite the odds admittedly being against us, we’re still in this thing because we trust one another and know how to work together to make up for where the other might be lacking. This isn’t about who stands out more and gets the glory at the end of the day, as much as I’m sure you both would love to try and create a wedge by piggybacking on the same old tired comments I’ve been listening to for months now from far more creative talkers. This match, like every one we’ve done up to this point and every one that still remains ahead, is about the two of us proving why we are such an effective team and why, regardless of how this tournament ultimately ends, the idea of tag team gold being in our sights at some point in the near future might not be too farfetched of an idea given everything we have proven.
The two of you don’t have that, and I can promise you right now Holly that Infamous isn’t going to fix that given Owen and I both know pretty damn well by now how they operate. But please, go ahead and tweet or rattle off every reason why the Perfect Pack doesn’t have a hope in hell of winning this match and staying in the hunt as we approach the end. Fill in whoever is willing to listen about why Holly will walk away from this match without a loss on her record yet again or why Polly is on the verge of perhaps the biggest victory of her career regardless of how much of the credit her partner might try to take for it.
Owen and I are perfectly content with proving that for every reason you want to count us out, we’ve got a thousand more as to why we’re not going to claim 2021 will be our year… we ARE going to make this our year, and you all WILL understand why we will prevail at the end of it all.
The final Breakdown of the year certainly could have gone better, that much was for sure. Despite the chaos that was about to unfold regarding Sienna’s actions, Aaron still found himself being beaten by Syren clean, a loss that especially bothered him after he’d overcome the odds she tried to stack in her favor to prevail just one year prior. That loss felt like a massive step backward in the grand scheme of things. Add to it the fact that he’d thrown himself into the absolute carnage that ended the night and, like everyone else involved, got arrested because of it.
Maybe it’s no surprise that, for the first time since his SCW career began, Aaron was completely absent from the End of the Year Special, even in terms of waiting backstage in case he won an award.
He had a lot to wrap his head around as the year came to a close, both inside and out of the ring, so he made the decision to return home to Seattle and bask in a rare moment of solitude to try and straighten out his head. As terrible as it sounded, he couldn’t bring himself to visit his family for the holidays after what happened with Alec during his previous visit. He could have spent it with Liane and her family now that he’d heard they were slowly getting back to all being on good terms again, but he felt it was better for her recovery after the incident with Nancy Black and her brief period of being committed to work on rebuilding those burnt bridges. With the first Breakdown of 2021 being in Detroit and knowing he’d be in action since he and Owen still had some Tag League matches to tackle, he’d be able to reunite with her and see where his standing with the family was at that point.
Maybe it was counterproductive to what the denizens of his imagination would have preferred, but the wrestling issue was one he was, unfortunately, starting to believe was something only he could truly solve.
As the clock ticked down to bring 2020 to a close and the End of the Year Special was playing in the background, effectively being treated as static so he wasn’t in complete silence, Aaron found himself sitting on the couch and quietly sketching as he tried to make sense of where he stood and what needed to be done. It was always a task that was much easier said than done, and in this particular instance, it had him silently cursing the fact that he seemed destined to never have everything going his way even for just a little bit for a change.
Is it too much to ask for success in the ring and no drama or other bullshit outside of it?
Aaron bitterly chuckled to himself, knowing that it was, in fact, apparently too much to ask for. The roller coaster he’d been on regarding his wrestling career was starting to take its toll on him, and for the first time in years, he found himself questioning if this was the right choice for him. Not since a stint in Japan had opened his eyes to the idea of openly sharing what kind of beautiful chaos his mind was capable of in hopes that it would inspire other creative souls out there had he ever found himself this deep into the idea of just throwing in the towel and walking away from it all.
He knew he never would… even if it was his best option, so long as he had people that could use someone like him in their corner, helping to fight their fight, he would hate himself for abandoning them even if they completely understood his reasoning. It was a selfish idea, and even as he started to identify the difference between when he actually did need to be selfish for the sake of his own well-being and when it was a horrible idea he truly should feel bad about, this rationale fell into the latter category and he knew it.
He was considering walking away all because maybe, just maybe, some people were actually right about him being unable to break through that so-called glass ceiling, and the more he fought to prove them wrong the farther back he always seemed to slide.
Aaron slammed his head back against the cushion, hating that he was even considering the option. While it was true that, for better or worse, he held the record for most reigns as TV Champion, that was about it. Most of the big wins he’d managed to earn had been invalidated with either losses in rematches to those same people or simply falling short in whatever opportunity spawned from those victories. It had been two years now where most people would believe he had nothing to show for the work he put in, and for as much as he hated it, the cracks were starting to show.
Have you ever considered just changing course? Look at where ‘fighting the good fight’ has gotten you, especially as of late.
An involuntary growl escaped Aaron’s throat at the voice ringing in his head as his hands kept working. He’d gone back to being somewhat dormant as of late that it was easy to forget that Nemesis was still a lingering issue. The embodiment of stress was simply waiting for an opening where its host was vulnerable to exploit, and now was one of those times. While it had been a while, deep down he knew what kind of freedom Nemesis sought, and if he turned over those keys then he was never getting them back. The idea of that thing claiming control and doing God knows what in SCW on his name was terrifying enough.
There was no telling what would happen to everything he’d worked so hard to gain in his life beyond the ropes in that scenario, and that was a far greater concern.
Come on Aaron, surely the road to the success we both know you so desperately seek can’t be found by spending a night in jail. Though I have to admit, that’s a nice blemish on your otherwise spotless permanent record.
“Fuck off…”
Aaron had finally stopped drawing so he could close his eyes and take a deep breath, desperately trying to rid his mind of the voice that would continue to plague him if he allowed it to. There was no easy answer to the problem of where he stood in the company and how he could improve it, but as much as everything was trying to point in the direction of giving up, Aaron Blackbourne was never the kind of person who called it quits just because he encountered a problem that was just too much. There was always a solution, and he was nowhere close to exhausting every option his creativity could conjure in trying to answer this riddle and silence all those around him once and for all.
As he silently affirmed to himself that 2021 would finally be his year, ignoring the snarky comments rippling through the back of his mind about how he’d been trying to convince himself of that every year at this point, he finally decided to gaze upon what he’d allowed his hands to draw into existence while he occupied his brain, and almost immediately his lips curled back into a frown.
A painfully detailed sketch of him sitting in a prison cell with a familiar female figure that had become a plague all her own on his life mocking him from beyond the bars is what stared back at him.
For as much as he was letting himself be torn apart by his failures in the ring, he knew that eventually, that time would come to an end, whether he liked it or not. Life as a whole didn’t stop just because he decided to prioritize a small part of it for a little while, and it seemed like his creative consciousness was willing to bring his attention to a variable he hadn’t thought about in the wake of the chaos from the end of Breakdown.
Out there, somewhere, Nancy Black was still hunting for ways to try and ‘expose’ how dangerous someone like him was in society for no other reason than being able to put it in a book and promote it until she believed everyone knew her name. For whatever degrees she had to her name, she was no doctor, but she was smart enough to know that word of his brief arrest was blood in the water and this was a prime opportunity to strike from whatever shadows she’d been hiding in over the past several months.
Aaron threw his sketchbook across the room, not even flinching when it hit the wall and fell to the floor. He massaged his temples as the reminder that she was still an issue flickered through his thoughts. It wasn’t over, he was certain of that and so were so many others in the loop on this situation. It wouldn’t be over until she was behind bars, where she truly belonged for every loophole she’d tried to abuse in the legal system just to get her ‘facts,’ and after playing a similar game with Dylan he knew better than to just accept that maybe things were done just because she’d been quiet for a while.
Maybe an outsider would consider him crazy for clinging to the thought that this was still something to be concerned over, but living through this exact same scenario was a hell of a mentor in knowing when someone with Nancy’s line of thinking was actually no longer worth worrying about.
Aaron’s attention was briefly diverted by the sounds emanating from outside his apartment window, and as he opened it and poked his head outside, he caught sight of the brilliantly colored fireworks that were ringing in the official start of a brand new year on the west coast. It was a welcome distraction that filled him with hope… hope that a new year meant a new chance to finally erase all of the doubt and despair and finally be able to prove that he is everything he and those around him have claimed he could be after all.
No matter what hell awaited him, he needed to keep pushing forward and standing strong against the forces both inside and out of his head that sought to destroy him, because those who believed deserved to have their faith and patience rewarded.
And this creative soul still had a lot of ideas to finally get to where he wanted to be.
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He would’ve thought that by the time he’d arrived in the state of Michigan, his head would at least seem a little clearer.Unfortunately, that didn’t seem like the case, and he felt like it wouldn’t bode well for him going into the first Breakdown of a brand new year.
As he drove his rental car through the streets of Royal Oak towards one location, in particular, his head was still swimming with all the things that felt like they hadn’t been resolved when he rang in the new year. From trying to decide how to approach SCW in an effort to turn his career around to keeping his eyes peeled for any sign that ‘Doctor’ Black was making a move, it almost felt like his life was no longer in his hands and he was desperately trying to regain some semblance of control. With Breakdown creeping closer, he knew he’d have to find some way to snap out of it if he and Owen were to add two more points to their Tag League total and maintain the pressure on the likes of Bree and Sienna as things began to wind down.
Forget whatever narrative Nemesis wants to try and weave within my mind. If Owen and I can convert this into something, then that’s a win for both of us.
He’s slowly started to discover since that night that Nemesis, for better or worse, had become a sort of motivator in a sense, as the desire to maintain the positivity that was key to keeping that part of himself under control became the light he latched onto and refused to let go of. Where one positive thought was found, more soon followed, and if that got him through this impending match with Holly and Polly with a win to start the year off on the right foot, then things could only go up from there. After all, even if things didn’t end up finishing the way he and Owen would like, a strong performance all the way through still spoke volumes about the kind of threat the two of them could be for Tag Title contention after the fact, regardless of who ultimately ended the tournament with the gold.
The fact that he was pulling into the driveway of the home where he’d find the core component in keeping himself happy and put together was all the more reason to shrug off the downward spiral he’d felt himself falling into just days prior, and he was grateful for it.
He quickly exited the car and made his way to the front door, legitimate joy slowly taking over him for the first time in what felt like weeks at the very least as he made sure to knock, mindful of what Liane had told him before about the Forte childhood home having a faulty doorbell that was liable to shock anyone who dared to ring it. He knew it wasn’t long that he was waiting out there for some kind of response, but the desire to see his future wife once again after his holiday plans had been railroaded for several reasons was a rock he would gladly cling to all day if it kept him feeling like this. Finally, the door cracked open, and artist and comedian found themselves locking eyes at long last.
“Hey Liane, how was your-”
He barely got the words out before Liane practically tackled him in a bone-crushing hug, a last-second shift in weight from the wrestler being the only thing that kept them from flying off the porch.
“I guess you really missed me, huh? Sorry I didn’t get a chance to swing by sooner, there was a bit of a mess due to SCW and-”
Aaron cut himself off when his ears picked up on the sound of sniffling, and a quick look down at the girl clinging to him as though her life depended on it revealed the tears rolling down her cheeks and the failed attempt to keep herself together. It would be easy to assume that she’d simply missed him that much after plans had been changed following his unplanned stint in jail after the restaurant brawl, but in his gut, he felt like there was more to this than he would’ve liked. No matter how much time they spent apart, this was never the kind of reaction he would’ve expected from her simply because she missed him a whole lot, and he could almost feel the fragile dam of positivity he’d been building on the entire trip here starting to crumble.
“Long time no see Aaron, though I think Liane and I both kind of wish it was under better circumstances at this point.”
Aaron looked up from where Liane was still wrapped around him to see Lucas, the only male child of the Forte siblings, standing in the open doorway, a frown clearly etched onto his face as he eyed the scene before him.
“Oh Aaron, it’s been a holiday catastrophe here! Liza’s in the hospital and we’ve all been worried since we found her in the state she was in and-”
“Wait, what!? What happened?”
“Maybe you should let him come inside Liane. It might be better to sit and talk about this.”
Aaron picked up on two things from Lucas’s tone of voice as Liane seemed to regain enough of her composure to let her fiancé go so they could head inside and take a seat in the living room: the first was a confirmation of something he remembered Liane telling him once before about how Lucas was typically regarded as the most emotionally put together of the Forte clan, despite being the middle child, as he seemed to be able to act as the voice of reason whenever his siblings started to fall apart or get unruly or anything that was typical of brother and sisters butting heads. The second was that something serious had certainly happened, and it left a suffocating aura in the air that was not helping the creative soul keep himself in order. The only solace he took away from whatever he was about to hear was that his entire train of thought had been routed away from what had plagued him up to this point, though whether or not that was a good thing and especially compared to whatever he was about to learn was certainly up for debate.
It took a few moments once everyone was settled in before anything was said, and it was clear that Lucas was willing to do the talking since whatever went down had Liane rattled to the point where it kind of felt like she’d taken a few steps backward in her post-commitment recovery. Aaron’s body instinctively held her close as he let a hand gently massage her back in an effort to try and comfort her trembling form.
“Alright, what’s this about Liza being in the hospital?”
Lucas needed to take a deep breath, exhaling it in a concerned sigh before he began to open up.
“Liza ended up missing our first Christmas as a full family again, as her band had a huge gig in Philadelphia two days before and her flight home got canceled because of the heavy snow that came in during that time. She was able to make it back before New Year’s at least, but something was… off when we saw her.”
“Off… how?”
Aaron bit his bottom lip, concern already beginning to form a haze in his mind that he tried desperately to shake off. He wanted to believe it wasn’t anything too significant, though all the signs seemed to be pointing in that direction at the moment. Liane was gripping him tighter as Lucas had to avert his gaze, almost like telling the next part of the story was too painful to want to make any sort of eye contact.
“She came stumbling in after she was dropped off, her band having decided to road trip back in their tour bus since their flight situation was such a mess because of all the holiday bookings. Somewhere along the way, one of her roadies got talked into trying something from some guys who were definitely dealing, and he ended up talking her into trying whatever it was too.”
“She- she’s been having a bit of a creative block with new song lyrics lately for their next album, and even though she knows better than to let even her own bandmates talk her into ‘that’ part of the ‘rock and roll lifestyle,’ the roadie tempted her with all the wild and creative stuff he saw while he was tripped out and she was starting to feel desperate from all his guilt-tripping.”
Aaron’s eyes went wide as a solid block of ice seemed to form in his gut and spread it’s paralyzing chill throughout every nerve in the rest of his body. The idea of a drug that sent you on such a creative trip and ultimately leaving you in some horrific state after a while of it being in your system was bringing back some very painful memories of not that long ago, and saying that the similarities bothered him was an understatement. Now, he knew well enough that maybe it could’ve just been any hallucinogenic drug, but a nagging feeling burning hotly in the back of his mind had to know for sure, which is why he caught Lucas off guard from continuing with the question.
“What did this thing look like? Do either of you know?”
Liane’s eyes slowly went wide at Aaron’s interruption, almost as if she could pick up on the feeling that her husband-to-be was experiencing some sort of deja vu. Lucas took a minute to think as he carefully described what he remembered being fished out of Liza’s bag when she had collapsed trying to climb the stairs that night.
“It was some kind of pill… half-white and half-clear with what looked like some kind of powder inside of it-”
“Exestrel…”
As he confirmed what he feared, Aaron could practically feel some sort of terrifying thought ripple through his mind. It carried the same intensity as what he normally felt whenever Nemesis was attempting to make some sort of breakthrough to him, though he couldn’t pick up on any trace of the imaginary abomination despite his best efforts. He wasn’t buried too deep in trying to figure out what it was to miss Lucas slowly shaking his head, however.
“I don’t know what that’s supposed to be, but from what we heard when they got Liza stabilized, it’s some kind of new drug that’s going around called Chimera. According to what Louise found when she did some studying of it afterward, we assume it’s called that because it’s some kind of super drug made from combining several really strong hallucinogens into a small and easy to swallow capsule, ignoring the fact that some of those aren’t meant to be taken that way if you actually did want to do that kind of stuff.”
“Where… where did you get the name ‘Exestrel’ from?”
With one hand clenching into a fist that refused to remain steady as he felt his nerves fraying more and more with each passing second while the other gently stroked Liane’s hair in a desperate bid to try and calm himself somehow, Aaron told them about what had happened to Alec when he’d visited his family prior to the last Breakdown. He’d been taking the exact same capsules, except he’d gotten it from some therapist named Dr. Evergreen as a means to try and help him relax and focus better. It was only after he was stabilized that they’d learned that he’d consumed some powerful hallucinogen instead of any sort of actual medicine, on top of the fact that no doctor on staff had ever even heard of a medication called Exestrel before.
“My mom got in contact with the offices where Alec had been seeing this doctor, but apparently the day after she prescribed him this stuff she didn’t show up for work, and when they’d checked their system it had apparently been wiped of any trace that she’d ever been on staff there, to begin with.”
It was no surprise that this revelation brought about a whole new level of concern to the two Forte siblings present, and all three of them were in a tense silence pondering over the similarities between the two incidents. Lucas was the first to put a voice to what was slowly burning a hole in Aaron’s own head.
“I don’t know about you, but something about all of this seems fishy to me…”
“Have you tried seeing if Dr. Marsh-Asher knows anything?”
“I left him a message, but since I think he’s been busy working with his sister to do holiday stuff with the orphanage they took over, I don’t know when I might hear back from him. I’m sure he might have a hunch about who might be behind this.”
“I don’t know Aaron… I hate to disagree, but even if this feels like too much of a coincidence, Liza getting tempted by a now-fired roadie who bought from some dealers doesn’t fit, and I wouldn’t think she’d get away with a fake identity all just to do something like this with people she knows you’ve told about her.”
Silence returns to the room as the gears are turning in Aaron’s head again, but he can practically feel them starting to jam as what he knows so far is conflicting with the gut feeling he swore he’d start trusting again following his mental conversation with Dreambender some time back. The Fortes, understandably, aren’t fans of the tense atmosphere as nothing else seems to come to mind about what this all means, and decide to at least attempt to take everyone’s minds off of it.
“I’m going to go call and see if there’s been any change. I agreed to stay home for Liane’s sake after everything that’s happened lately, but hopefully, I’ll have some good news to share.”
“I think I’ll grab something to drink to see if that helps any. You want something, honey?”
“No thanks babe. I, um… think I need to use the bathroom actually.”
It was convincing enough as Liane released him from her grip so she could go hunt through the kitchen and he made his way upstairs towards the bathroom. Except… he found himself stopping right before that door and looking to his right, toward the door he knew from his last visit was the room Liza and Liane had shared growing up. It felt fitting, in a way, that the sisters who were destined to be performers would end up bunking together, and he could only imagine how much they’d helped one another with their respective material over the years.
For some reason, the attempt to try and sow some seeds of positive thought into the fertile soil of his mind was met with a harsh backlash courtesy of that seem thought from earlier tearing through his mental landscape, and he could feel himself breaking out into a cold sweat as he finally identified exactly what this thought was.
Paranoia
Deep down, he was certain that Nancy had to be behind this somehow, but thus far there was absolutely no proof to verify this. This ‘Dr. Evergreen’ and whatever possible connection she might have with these dealers roaming the streets and hocking the same ‘medication’ she was so willing to concoct a legitimate-sounding name for was the best lead they had, and that window already felt like it’d been slammed shut. It was easy to understand why even Liane would have reason to doubt him believing this, but there was too great a coincidence in the fact that the same pill had found its way into the system of people that were either in his immediate family or would soon be considered in-laws. He didn’t know what the purpose of it all was, and maybe there was reason to believe it was just one hell of a fluke that simply left behind more questions than answers.
And yet, he refused to let go of that nagging feeling that there was some greater scheme at work here, especially given how abnormally quiet Nancy had been since her attempt to commit Liane had blown up in her face. The woman was fairly clever, he couldn’t deny that, but had she really been holding back this whole time and had far greater connections than any of them truly realized?
He could only hope that when he heard back from James that the therapist was willing to believe the possibility was there because while he’d admit if he happened to be wrong, it was almost painful how much it all seemed to line up, at least to him. But until then, maybe he had no choice but to simply wait and see if more and more pieces found themselves slotted into this puzzle, because if he pulled the trigger and was way off the mark…
He could almost feel his imagination painting to life the kind of chaos that would ensure if he really was being paranoid over a false lead, and it was not a pretty picture in the slightest.
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You know, I could start this off by saying that 2020 didn’t exactly end the way I would have liked it to, as much of an understatement as that is, and 2021 is going to be a much better year.If I did that, however, then I feel like I’d sound like a broken record, because I’ve made this same declaration for the past two years and many of you out there are just chomping at the bit to jump down my throat for saying this year might finally be different.
Let’s go ahead and clear the table here: yes, Syren managed to defeat me, fair and square, to close out the year, something I know she’ll happily hide behind with those contracts of hers despite the fact that I believe a rubber match should be in order considering we both hold a win over one another. Yes, I ended the final Breakdown of the year in handcuffs, just as the rest of the Perfect Pack did right alongside Sienna and Gio and everyone joining them in this little parade of paranoia about how SCW needs to be destroyed or whatever narrative they want to weave this week. And, if I’m being honest here? Yes, I’m a little pissed off about all of it.
I’ve been a part of the SCW roster for three years now, and while things have certainly not gotten any easier over time, it’s not like I’ve been resting on my laurels and trying to coast until I find something to complain about when things are no longer going my way. With each failure, as numerous as it feels like they’ve become lately, I’ve gritted my teeth and pressed forward. I know a ton of you are asking why; some perhaps begging me to just give up already because I’ll never reach the level they either are or like to believe they’re at. Those same people have proven, time and time again, that they do not understand me nor care to even make the attempt, content with speaking their piece and then just assuming whatever I could respond with is of no importance.
Maybe you should hear me out on this one because it might go a long way in painting a clear picture as to why I will continue to push forward and bust my ass to get better until I’ve made the statement you all believe will never come.
When you have an imagination like mine, you learn to become something of a creative problem solver. Every challenge, no matter how difficult, has some solution to it, and as long as I know that, I just need to figure out exactly what that solution is. Over the course of the past two years, I have tried answer after answer to put an end to the significant wall that has been in my way time and time again when what I’m after is just beyond it, and this is the point where many would, understandably, give up. If I did that now, however, then I would be admitting to myself that I couldn’t find the answer to this riddle… I’d be admitting to myself that my creativity does have limits, and I know for a fact how much of a lie that is. For everything I’ve tried, there are still thousands of things I haven’t considered yet, some perhaps far more convoluted than others. But whatever is still missing for me to clear this hurdle is somewhere in the vast landscape of my imagination, and I will figure it out no matter how long it takes.
In the meantime, go right ahead and keep trying to portray me as the weak link of the Perfect Pack based purely on accolades, because the more you underestimate me compared to Owen and Peyton just because I haven’t been as successful, the more you stoke the flames that are going to burn a giant gaping hole through that proverbial glass ceiling sooner or later.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the point where one Holly Adams decides she’s bored and takes to Twitter to come up with some snarky comment about me to placate her own fragile little ego because she needs something to remind her that for all her talk when she waltzed back into SCW, she has absolutely nothing to show for it. Naturally, that’s not going to stop the social media stream where she tries to put on a facade and convince you all that she’s got the whole world in her hands, and wrestlers like me are left begging for her to accept that she is our favorite. If years of dealing with internet trolls trying to knock my creative endeavors down a few pegs for no real reason has proven anything, it’s that it’s much easier to deal with a problem when you’re hiding behind something instead of having the guts to face it head-on.
For the record Holly, you’re not my favorite wrestler and you wouldn’t be anywhere close even if I wasn’t a part of this roster myself.
The sad thing is, I already know exactly how Holly’s going to paint this based solely on how she chooses to conduct her business. Two things that she’s going to latch onto immediately are the fact that I lost to her ‘bestie’ Syren, which I’ve already admitted to, and that she can claim to have pinned James Evans, a man I went to war with and unfortunately fell just short against with the World Title up for grabs early last year. Naturally, she’s going to forget about the little asterisk that points out how Christy and Ravyn purposely sacrificed themselves in a gauntlet to basically leave her a carcass to pick apart like the vulture she is, because it clashes with her tale of triumph at how she’s succeeded where I have once failed, and so long as she has Infamous by her side, she’s only going to ascend higher and higher.
At least, until we reach the point where what she wants conflicts with Syren, and the Blondetourage finds itself in conflict over whether the golden child of Infamous is willing to stand aside for her so-called bestie or not.
I can see a lot more of this scenario than you’re even bothering to Holly, and like it or not, the only reason Infamous is keeping you around is because you help to pad out their ranks just that tiny bit more. I’ve seen the way they conduct business over the years and even threw myself right into that line of fire once upon a time without hesitation, and I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty: at this stage of her career, Syren will listen to CHBK above all else. He’s the veteran who’s been here since the very beginning, he’s the one protecting her behind these contracts as he tries to build her back into the World Champion she believes she still should be, and if he believes you’re either getting in the way of that or becoming a liability, Syren and Infamous will drop you the second he gives the word. Your little security blanket is only as effective as your value to Syren’s aspirations, and once you lose that because you want your star to shine just that little bit brighter… then what?
I think the fact that they couldn’t ultimately save you from being eliminated fairly early on that battle royal at Last Laugh speaks far greater volumes than you’re open to listening to.
Of course, this match on Breakdown isn’t just about you and me Holly. Far from it, actually. After all, we’re still in the middle of the Tag League, and Owen and I are still in the hunt despite everything that’s happened. You, on the other hand, are effectively eliminated and hoping to play spoiler, but that requires you to actually cooperate with a partner that you’ve openly admitted time and time again you want nothing to do with, even if she’s intentionally blinded herself to your frustrations over standing by her side. It almost feels like Owen and I are facing Hodges and Subarashi all over again, except at least there was one person worth respecting on the opposite side of the ring in that fight.
You, Polly, have proven yourself to be nothing more than a proverbial carbon copy of Holly disguised behind this attempt at having the personality of a game show host instead of a self-absorbed Twitter troll.
I’m willing to give you credit for at least trying to make this work, but that’s about as far as I can go when it’s painfully clear that you’re just as liable to stab Holly in the back as she is to you if given the chance, all in the name of trying to put yourself ahead. After all, that’s how show business works, something I’m certain you know all too well if you’re hoping to bring those ideals into the world of wrestling expecting the same level of success and notoriety. Unfortunately, all you two really have to show for it are the points you effectively inherited from the work Jay Gold did before he couldn’t take putting up with Holly anymore, and for someone like you Polly, I can’t imagine how much that’s eating away at you behind that practiced smile meant to trick the cameras into thinking you’re happy and playful twenty-four/seven.
A smile that falters every time your team loses and Holly makes you the scapegoat in a desperate bid to protect her ‘unblemished’ record since returning.
You want to know why Owen and I are where we are right now? Despite the odds admittedly being against us, we’re still in this thing because we trust one another and know how to work together to make up for where the other might be lacking. This isn’t about who stands out more and gets the glory at the end of the day, as much as I’m sure you both would love to try and create a wedge by piggybacking on the same old tired comments I’ve been listening to for months now from far more creative talkers. This match, like every one we’ve done up to this point and every one that still remains ahead, is about the two of us proving why we are such an effective team and why, regardless of how this tournament ultimately ends, the idea of tag team gold being in our sights at some point in the near future might not be too farfetched of an idea given everything we have proven.
The two of you don’t have that, and I can promise you right now Holly that Infamous isn’t going to fix that given Owen and I both know pretty damn well by now how they operate. But please, go ahead and tweet or rattle off every reason why the Perfect Pack doesn’t have a hope in hell of winning this match and staying in the hunt as we approach the end. Fill in whoever is willing to listen about why Holly will walk away from this match without a loss on her record yet again or why Polly is on the verge of perhaps the biggest victory of her career regardless of how much of the credit her partner might try to take for it.
Owen and I are perfectly content with proving that for every reason you want to count us out, we’ve got a thousand more as to why we’re not going to claim 2021 will be our year… we ARE going to make this our year, and you all WILL understand why we will prevail at the end of it all.