Aaron Blackbourne vs. Sienna Swann

[Konrad Raab]

2 RP Limit for singles

Deadline: 11:59 pm ET Tuesday, July 2, 2019

[Sienna Swann]

OOC: A New Low for our Favorite Angel.



Anything with the “REC” on it is Viewable to the Public.

The Views Expressed By Sienna Swann Do Not Reflect Those of the Publisher. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

IN THE EYES OF AN ANGEL:
DEATH IN THE FAMILY

(Click Title)

[Ruppy]

OOC: It probably seems weird of me to say this, but I want to thank Omar for giving me permission to use Peyton for my CD, even though we're opponents this week. Since the two set up a meeting on Twitter, I figured it might be best to follow through with it. Hopefully I did her justice man, since being sick and groggy most of the day after work kept me from being able to double check with you without risking the deadline passing. For time reference, the CD takes place backstage immediately after Peyton's match last Breakdown (therefore meaning it happens before the CD for this week's Peyton RP) but before the segment that had Aaron and Owen in it. Not as massive as some previous efforts, but I'm happy with this and not only does it hopefully help for Peyton, but also sets Aaron up where I want him to be mentally going forward. Best of luck man!
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If you were in the same position as Aaron Blackbourne right now, chances are you might be questioning his decision to keep going as opposed to informing SCW of the issues in play and taking a sabbatical for your own potential safety and sanity.

Aaron wouldn’t argue with you on that front and would appreciate the concern, but like all human beings, the creative soul had his limits and knew full well the best way to deal with every situation at hand, from longstanding issues to new tasks he picked up because he always was and always would be the kind of guy willing to go out of his way to help others just for the sake of being that caring, compassionate individual he was born to be.

Even now, though, he was torn between asking for help in his own right or sticking with the plan he’s always executed in these scenarios in exchange for suffering in silence.

Perhaps one could contribute the poor guy’s mind being divided in virtually eight different directions to where he stood at the moment in regards to SCW. With his own little creative world seemingly being held together by duct tape these days as he struggled to restore order to a chaos he wasn’t in control of for a change and the seams further splitting from the stress of the unresolved issues surrounding his brother’s death months ago and the very real possibility that he was now in the crosshairs of the man responsible for more heartache and suffering than the Blackbourne family should’ve been putting up with by this point, it was hard enough to completely lock in his focus for matches. Add in the recent death of Ricky Octavius, a man Aaron may not have known but one whose circumstances he could, unfortunately, identify with right now, and you could practically feel the weight of the entire world beginning to take a page out of an old cartoon as it folded up his body like an accordion beneath it.

Last year on the road to Rise to Greatness, Aaron had been desperate in a sense to find a way onto the card somehow and ultimately ended up on the pre-show, although walking out of it as TV Champion certainly made his creative efforts worthwhile. This year’s path had started with him making it clear he would find a way onto the bigger stage to share his imagination with the masses, but the more time that’s passed the more it seemed like he was willing to put that on the backburner for another year to focus more on standing by the side of his best friend to both watch his back after he returned to the company from time off seemingly a changed man and do his part to help in dealing with an issue that was grating on the nerves of at least half of the SCW roster by this point and was only feeding the fires lingering from other messes plaguing the company at the moment. There was still some stress involved, but from an outsider’s perspective, it almost seemed like he was willing to sacrifice his hopes and dreams for the big show this year in favor of just playing his part while he got himself back in order.

It was never that simple with him, of course, but if his part was rightfully taking issue with the ‘good will’ of people like Chris Cannon and Sienna Swann, it was one he’d gladly pour his heart and soul into week after week.

That was a big part of why he was in Des Moines for Breakdown tonight despite not being booked to compete. Last week he was simply caught and pinned by Cannon in their match, something he’d fairly admit to no matter what kind of ill will he held towards the man who pulled it off. The frustrations that boiled over afterward and led to Owen being blindsided by Sienna just reaffirmed that the artist had made the right decision when he inserted himself into this equation to keep the promise he’d made to Owen last year. With him set to make up his match from a while back with Alistaire Allocco and knowing the kid’s emotions were at an all-time high, there was no way he planned on backing down if anything ended up happening, especially when he still felt he owed Chris a knee to the jaw for some of the previous week’s aftermath.

All of that said, though, there was a specific reason why he’d wandered over to the gorilla position instead of being by Owen’s side right now, and it was because of one of the competitors currently out in the ring.

As Aaron watched the TV Title match between Peyton Rice and Casterillo from one of the production monitors, he couldn’t help but think back to months ago when he’d gotten the tragic news of Andrew’s passing. Just like her, he’d made the decision to keep wrestling even when it was far from being at the forefront of his mind, and while he’d started off the aftermath of all of that on a fairly rocky road he managed to eventually channel his focus and desire to push forward in memory of his fallen brother and started creating the necessary positive counterbalance to the stress of the tragedy with his exploits in the ring. Say what you will about how wise such a decision is, but often times an active distraction is the best possible cure to help in moving forward no matter how much you feel like your entire world just fell apart. He couldn’t resist letting a smile form on his lips as he watched Peyton hit the Bear Down and score the pinfall that added a successful title defense to her reign, especially when she no doubt was giving thanks to the angel that was now watching her from above. As members of the production staff began shuffling around to shift gears towards whatever was next on the show, he stayed put and waited for a few moments as Peyton finally came through the curtain, letting her face fall a bit now that she was away from the cameras only to quickly put it back on when she nearly walked into the man waiting for her.

“Oh, Aaron! Sorry, I wasn’t expecting to run into you here.”

“It’s alright. I know you said on Twitter we’d chat after Breakdown, but I have a feeling it’d be better if we talked sooner. Something tells me Owen’s a little volatile right now after last week.”

Peyton just nodded and Aaron dropped the matter, knowing just from the look on her face that was a subject that was best ignored for the time being. Given everything he’d heard from Owen and others about what was going on with Kelcey Wallace and Chris and Sienna’s role in that on top of what happened to Ricky, the last thing he needed to do was inadvertently cross any lines right now. This was about providing support to someone who needed it after all, not trying to create any more rifts than what already existed on those matters.

“You did great out there, by the way. I know this couldn’t have been the easiest thing in the world to do…”

“Well, it’s like you said earlier… I needed to prove how strong I truly was, and I’d like to think I did just that against a man who might fall in more with the description he loves painting everyone else with.”

“You can be the most poetic talker in the world, but the words still have to have meaning and purpose if they’re going to leave any sort of lasting impression.”

Peyton nods again, clearly taking a moment to think and Aaron didn’t need to hazard a guess as to what was on her mind. He wasn’t going to press the issue though, considering it was none of his business unless she was willing to open up to him about it. Her gaze briefly turns to the ceiling before she speaks again.

“Do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Fire away.”

“When you made your tweet reacting to the news, you mentioned knowing something about losing a person to shady circumstances. I know the police are suspecting foul play, but… what did you mean by that?”

It was a question that caught him off guard, mostly because he wasn’t expecting the topic to be turned around on him like this. Then again, maybe he shouldn’t be as surprised considering it was no secret at this point that what happened to Ricky was the second instance of a passing that had hit a little close to home. Even if the two had never met, just hearing about the circumstances surrounding the discovery of his body was enough to induce some flashbacks of what ran through the artist’s mind when he first got the news about Andrew. Peyton watched him carefully, her face a mix of concern that she might’ve hit a sore spot and determination to hear what he had to say regardless. He took a deep breath before answering.

“I know I made it no secret at this point that I lost one of my brothers earlier this year. At first, it was ruled a suicide and even now that’s still the official cause of death, but a lot of evidence has been surfacing lately that says otherwise. It’s been tough, going from the initial news to seeing that even after we held the funeral there are still a few doors wide open to all of this… I had a feeling something was off from the very beginning about the whole thing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some suspicions were proven true with how quickly the people he ended up being around most recently in his life were willing to turn their backs on him when things didn’t go exactly their way.”

Aaron slowly raises his hands, though, in response to the stern but contemplative look Peyton gives him in response.

“I’m not trying to imply anything regarding certain roster members I already have a bit of professional beef with right now, of course. It’s just that these days, with how fickle people can be, it’s hard not to consider any loose ends connected to people who may have something to gain out of it… even if it’s something as horrendous as being able to claim you completely used and abused someone until they had no further purpose.”

The scowl that formed on his own face after that last line gave Peyton a clear understanding that while she had just enough details about his own experiences to understand where he was coming from about wanting to have this little meeting in the first place, he was still giving sound advice while venting a bit about circumstances that even made her want to throw up a bit in her mouth at the mere thought that a human being could- no, would be willing to do such a thing without a second thought. They both could only hope that wasn’t ultimately the case with Ricky’s death.

“I don’t understand why people even need to be that way. Even in this business, it doesn’t need to be any more complicated than go out to the ring and settle your differences, and that’s it. But you’ve got people that say all these things and go out of their way to try and make lives miserable just because they’ll take any edge they can get. I just don’t get why any of this even needs to be a possibility.”

Aaron starts to respond, but it’s drowned out by a mostly negative reaction from the crowd just beyond the curtain at whatever they just saw happen on the Tron, reminding them both that the show was still going on and time hasn’t simply frozen just so they could talk. Aaron slowly starts walking away from the gorilla position as Peyton follows behind, the two of them passing by Donovan Kayl who watches them carefully and gives a nod of understanding before his music gives him his cue to hit the stage for whatever he needs to address out in front of the fans. Once they’ve gotten a bit of distance to avoid being interrupted again, Aaron takes another stab at his response.

“I wish I could answer that for you Peyton… believe me, I’ve been asking myself that same question for years. I’ll say this, though: as easy as it sounds to just give up on humanity and cave in to just being like everybody else, it takes someone truly strong to be able to rise above it all and just be themselves. Even if you aren’t always right or successful at the end of the day, if you’re willing to pursue what you believe in and feel happy with what you see when you look in the mirror, then you’ll never have anything to worry about, no matter what happens in this crazy world we live in.”

“Is that why you wanted to make sure you talked with me?”

Aaron takes a second to contemplate this, feeling a little awkward about being questioned about doing this. The more he runs it through his head, though, the more he realizes it’s simply been a long time since he was really asked about why he’s going out of his way to do something like this, especially if he has his own issues to worry about.

“…maybe, in a sense. Honestly, I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright, especially since you did what I did and decided to keep fighting instead of taking a step back to mourn. It wasn’t the easiest thing in the world for me months ago when my brother passed, but now I can’t imagine a better way of dealing with what happened to him that gave me a chance to both honor his memory and keep pushing forward. I can’t say for certain since I never knew him as well as you did, but I bet Ricky was the kind of guy who would’ve preferred this for you as well if this situation did have to happen at all. My brother’s passing for me… whatever happened with Owen that he doesn’t feel comfortable telling me right now… it’s easy to see it’s changed us both, but we’re weathering the storm the best we can and trying to use it as fuel to try and get the change we feel is necessary. Maybe you’ll feel the same, maybe not… I just didn’t want you to be consumed by all the sorrow and negativity that tends to accompany situations like these. You’re someone who doesn’t deserve that… and if you ever do believe it’s going to get the best of you, don’t hesitate to talk with someone you trust about it. Believe me, if nothing else it feels much better getting it all off your chest no matter how much it hurts to do so. Nobody should ever feel like they have to shoulder a burden like this all on their own…”

He starts to walk again but stops when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns to look Peyton in the eyes, seeing a fire there that he hadn’t noticed before. He wanted to say that it looked a little shaky, but even he couldn’t say that with absolute certainty, especially when her voice carried a very clear tone of confidence behind it when she finally spoke.

“Thanks for talking to me Aaron. If it helps… I know now, without a doubt, that if there’s at least one person I can say for sure is a truly honest-to-god good guy I know, it’s you. Don’t worry about me, because as long as I know people like you and Owen exist and Ricky’s up there watching over me, I’ll be able to keep going without any problems. Just promise me you’ll keep being you and keep your own advice in mind.”

Aaron felt a bit stunned when it seemed like she was reading him and his own doubts pretty clearly, but even he would have to admit he wasn’t the most confident right now about how good he could truly say he is. In-ring accomplishments and failures aside, he’d been feeling incredibly shaky since he realized he was slowly losing control of his greatest asset and the potential of someone involved in his brother’s demise now stalking him had only exacerbated those feelings. But even if he was trying to put up a front to keep the feelings of others ahead of his own without concern, it felt comforting to know he’d at least impacted one person’s opinion about him just by being the man he was born to be.

Before the two parted ways, Peyton made sure to follow through on her promise to give him the details for Ricky’s funeral so he could attend. He may have felt uncomfortable about needing to attend a second funeral in the span of a few months, but Peyton and those who knew Ricky personally deserved all the support they could get. It wasn’t very long after they went their separate ways that Aaron met up with Owen and the two struck up a conversation regarding the issues at hand before a camera crew found them, followed by Zero interrupting them and everything that followed from there. Owen would waste little time making sure he left Breakdown with what he wanted, even if someone with the same opinions about Chris and Sienna wasn’t fully on board with what he’d asked for.

As for Aaron? While his Rise to Greatness picture still wasn’t too clear yet, he wasn’t that concerned about it at the moment. He’d fill his dance card soon enough, but there were more important matters to sort out first. And if some figures either around him or within his own head thought they were going to spoil that?

They’d better give him their best shot and pray that it doesn’t miss.

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Do you want to know a very simple way to use a publicity stunt to try and change the opinions of the masses?

Do something charitable or make a big production out of a random act of kindness in the hopes that one supposed good deed completely erases everything that gives people a reason to hate you.

This is one of those things I see all the time that just makes me sick to my stomach. It’s not uncommon in today’s world that when you have some morally corrupt entity out there that deserves every last bit of flak they get, they fall back on things like donations and big public events trying to promote this or that to play damage control. Don’t get me wrong… I’m not arguing against contributing to truly great causes, but when you start making a big deal out of it so long as you can either open your mouth or type it into a social media post, that’s when it becomes painfully clear to those willing to look how half-hearted the effort really is. If you truly wanted to prove your intentions are pure, then why go through the trouble of broadcasting the fact that you made a million-something dollar donation to this charity/ What’s wrong with just doing it and continuing to go about your day with the knowledge that you truly did something good?

The fact of the matter is that these days, more and more people out there are making efforts to try and blur the lines regarding what it truly means to be a good person. I’m not talking having to go out of your way to do something heroic every chance you get, but simply doing something because it’s just the right thing to do. It almost feels like these days if you want to do something that truly would be for the people or anything along those lines, you’re expecting something in return, whether it be a reward or validation or just the belief that you’ve found a way to cover every action beforehand that proves you are far from the picture you’re trying to paint for the perception of the public. Businesses use it as an excuse all the time to try and explain why profits are conveniently missing, politicians do it in hopes that you’ll buy into it and blindly give them your vote… sadly, even everyday people won’t think twice about making a big deal out of even the smallest of good deeds so long as they can get something out of it.

Don’t even try to convince me otherwise that you don’t fall into this category Sienna, because I’ve experienced this world a little differently than you have and know how to see straight through misguided publicity stunts.

Answer me honestly Sienna… if you’re truly all about being ‘for the people’ as you frequently claim, then why feel the need to shove that fact down everybody’s throats every time you do something that represents those words? I’m not going to argue the validity of any charitable donation you claim to have made because for all I know they’re more legit than the stunt a certain someone who’s been infatuated with the way people like you and Bree carry yourselves, but does that truly require not only you, but practically anyone else bearing association with the Beauty Factory to start throwing it around like it’s a big enough deal that it’ll change the world as we know it? If anything, it comes off as a shallow attempt to get some attention because somewhere, deep down in your soul, you know you desperately need to maintain this fragile facade that you’re the angel everyone needs to look up to no matter how many times you’ve already proven ‘angel’ is the last word anyone should be using to describe you.

Would a true angel need to take a cheap shot just to try and silence someone who’s not afraid to expose them?

Feel free to say what you want about this match and my place in all of this being because of Owen’s ongoing issues with you if it helps you sleep at night, but the real truth of the matter is that I’ve seen you as nothing more than a caricature of everything you claim to be since the moment I first heard you speak, and for every action that’s had #ForThePeople attached to it on Twitter I’ve seen it be counterbalanced by actions that any sane human being would be questioning the morality of. Take last week for instance… yeah, the news of Kelcey doing better is certainly good news to hear, but aside from feeling like I have to question it because of who it came from, do you think Kelcey would want her health issues being broadcast publicly to the whole world virtually every single time you and Chris are standing in front of a camera? Or how about the fact that you couldn’t just wait until after Owen was done with his match to ‘share the good news’ with everyone if it did need to be shared? There was no point to any of that other than you saw an opening to take something that had nothing to do with you and made it all about what a ‘saint’ you think you are, knowing full well you were going to piss Owen off in the process.

If what you have staring you down at Rise to Greatness now proves anything, it’s that pretending to be something you’re not will never get you what you think you deserve.

Just like you can forget about thinking there’s any way out of San Jose on Wednesday night without having to contend with me.

Go ahead and gloat if it helps about the fact that Chris managed to prevail over me two weeks ago. I’m man enough to put my feelings about him aside and admit he got one over on me. But you both need to understand the reality that, just like with Kennedy’s pursuit of your ‘Superman,’ as long as we all share space on this roster you will always have a chance to cross paths with me again whether you like it or not. After all, this time it’s your turn to see if you can follow in his footsteps Sienna. Don’t get me wrong… I’m not blind to the fact that you are very talented in the ring and there’s a reason you’ve been World Champion several times before. But the more you want to buy into this mindset that you’ll succeed just because of that, or because the man who claims he’s doing this to step out of Kelcey’s shadow while ignoring the fact that he simply traded who’s casting it over him already succeeded once, the easier it’ll be for you to walk away from this match knowing exactly what Aaron Blackbourne is all about for yourself.

Now that I think about it, I wouldn’t be surprised if you tried to just phone this one in by piggybacking off everything Chris accused me of two weeks ago. After all, just because I got involved I’m now finding myself against someone who believes they’re one of the absolute best SCW has to offer two matches in a row, so surely the reason I risked my own well-being to make sure Owen didn’t fall victim to an ‘intimidation tactic’ you were more than happy to applaud over despite all your claims of caring about him is just because I’m desperate for the spotlight. Let’s just ignore the fact that at this very moment, I have nothing to truly gain for myself beyond a win over a former World Champion because no matter what the outcome of this match is, you two have a place on the card for the biggest show of the year and not once have I made any effort thus far to concern myself with what I’ll be doing on that night. Even if I beat you Sienna, that fact doesn’t change.

As much as I know this concept sounds foreign to your ears, I’m willing to forego any grand hopes for Rise to Greatness this year if it means I get to help a close friend of mine see to it that things actually start changing around here and the people who have been dodging bullets all year long are finally held accountable for the monsters that truly lurk beneath the ‘perfect’ disguise.

This is the kind of man I am Sienna. I’m not going to stand here and try to paint a self-portrait of who I wish I could be, or add in anything outrageous to design an illusion hoping you’ll buy it. One thing I will always have over you is the knowledge that I’m content with who I am. I’m not a hero, I’m far from perfect and as much as I wish I could accomplish more at this stage of my career I’m always willing to wait if it means proving I’m actually someone dependable and trustworthy in the direst of situations. I don’t need to beg or pay others to help me ascend the ranks or try to spin stories to hide any shame about the man I am. And most importantly, I’m going to walk into Breakdown and make it crystal clear to you that any hope you have of a quick and easy night that makes your road to SCW’s biggest stage easier and lets you enjoy Chris’s company in peace for the rest of the show is just as delusional as every last claim you’ve built the image of ‘The Real Perfect 10’ upon.

When you go through life acting as though nothing is ever truly good enough to satisfy you, sooner or later you learn the lesson that boundless greed and vanity are designed to be the undoing for people like you.

Keep that in mind when you’re left questioning how in the hell your delusions of grandeur shattered to pieces against the determination of one creative soul on your way out of San Jose.