Post by Coda on Oct 15, 2017 21:39:13 GMT -5
DATE: 10.10.15
CAMERA STATUS: ON
As soon as you click the thumbnail, the embedded YouTube video begins to play at a low 240p resolution. The noise is loud and hectic as the black gives way to the sight of the Moscone Center in San Francisco filled with a mass of humanity separated into disorderly lines as far as your eye could see. The resolution pops up to a modest 720p before flicking to 1080p less than a second later and as every face becomes crystal clear on your screen of choice, you notice a sign hanging from the rafters above — 'The Squared Circle Convention.'
Numerous NGW stars sit behind booths with their names above their heads such as Matthew Shields, Kayla Richards and your favorite wrestler of all time John Blade. Just as you start to ponder why John Blade's line is significantly shorter than every other line in the entire convention, the screen slowly pans to the left to see more of the exciting scenery. The lights and sounds made it tough to concentrate, even for you who prided yourself on your good concentration skills back when you needed to take tests back in school. Although it was a beautiful sight to behold, the fact that the entire screen appeared to be an elaborate 'Where's Waldo?' of wrestling talent and fans — one unfortunate man in line wearing a white and red striped shirt and a beanie inside appearing to be the man you were searching for all this time — was starting to give you a headache as your eyes darted back and forth.
Bathed in fluorescent lights and flanked by an NGW security official to make sure no one tried to attack anybody here with a weapon or otherwise, Coda slumped forward behind her own booth as her fingers drummed along the tabletop. Fans of all kinds came forward one by one and as the Young Lions Champion tried to force a smile to each and every one of them, she was handed a fake NGW Young Lions Championship to sign for her son. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of the plastic over the faux-leather, the exact same design as the real deal that rested on the other end of the table, folded as neatly as possible. Coda tried to open her mouth but the words wouldn't escape her. She shut her mouth again and reluctantly grabbed her marker, systematically signing the back of the toy championship with a curly cursive penmanship.
Before the next person could walk up and speak something inaudible in the midst of the sound pollution that filled the room, Coda gestured to the camera in the form of a T with both of her hands flat. The universal gesture for a timeout was clear and as the security guard kept tabs that nobody tried anything in her temporary absence, Coda grabs her championship and walks out of the room and steps outside to get some fresh air.
The light beams down as the camera operator follows her, bright yellow as it bends past the trees in a magnificent display. Spinning the smartphone around towards her face, it's revealed that the person recording the whole thing is a smiling Mara Moon — Coda's sister — but as she's just on screen for a little less than three seconds, you're left to watch Coda lean against a thin tree with her arms crossed cautiously as she tries to find her words again.
It took a while. The bottom of the YouTube video indicated that two minutes passed. With a deep breath, she used all her strength to say what she wanted to say.
"Can't—"
You could tell she was struggling to speak. The word sounded guttural, forced out of her with all her might.
Coda closed her eyes and took a deep breath, reaching down into her pockets to grab her red earplugs. Popping them into her ears, she tried to speak again.
"I... So many stimuli. We should not have come here."
Her words continued to sound like they were being forcibly torn from her essence like a band-aid slowly torn from an open wound.
"Mr. Scott would have understood, yes? I am incapable of being in a place like this for an extended period of time."
"You know, it's good to get out of your comfort zone every once in a while. And hey, look how long you lasted in there without taking a break!"
Mara's voice came from behind the camera.
"The Squared Circle Convention is a 5-day event. I could not last 3 hours in there with all those people."
"And yet you wrestle in the ring on a weekly basis.'
You could sense Mara chuckling in the way she said it.
"I do not wrestle for three hours, thankfully."
As you listened to the two sisters banter back and forth, you noticed there was a human side to Coda behind the tough exterior. You remembered her actions at the end of the Honey versus Coda match as well and how The Destroyer went out of her way to check on Honey when it was all over to make sure she was alright. Behind those dark eyes filled with an unseen calm anger hid someone you could relate to in a small ordinary way.
Waving her arm, she wordlessly ordered the conversation to stop and began to think to herself.
"The Squared Circle Convention is not the place for me."
The words were simple in delivery and etched in truth, her sweet yet systematically methodical voice dressed in a near monotone delivery as natural as ever now that Coda's been given the proper time away from all the people.
"While I am thankful for those who admire my abilities in the ring, thankful for the people who took their time to show up here in San Francisco in order to meet me... I am discouraged by the thought that I could not speak to the most of the fans who came to see me. I am worried those of you who took the time to show up will take my silence as a sign of disrespect when this is furthest from the truth."
"I am... not a socialite. I do not do well in crowded situations where stimuli flood the senses. I have acute hearing and a better awareness of the things around me than others. While this might benefit me in a wrestling match in predictable ways, the benefits do not carry over to a social setting such as this."
"When I get overwhelmed, I grow silent. It is involuntary. It is hard to explain in words you might comprehend so I will leave it at that."
Coda pauses, eyes glancing downward until she steps forward with an air of confidence.
"It does not matter. I am better now. I am free from the clutches of silence that plagued me for the time being. Since the camera is pointed at me, it is time to speak about the NGW, yes?"
With a deep breath, the Korean-born striker continued.
"I am ashamed of the way my match with Honey has ended last week. The match should not have ended in a count out victory. I found this hallow. I will do everything in my power to assure something like this never happens again."
"You see... Unlike Mason Moore, however, I do not make excuses after a count out finish."
Despite the words coming out of her mouth, she smiled briefly as she mentioned her rival, poking fun at the time Mason Moore taunted her tremendously after the first match of theirs ended in a double count out.
"I intend to give Honey a rightful rematch in the near future, however, now is not the time to be thinking so far ahead. Now is when we speak about the upcoming tag team match with Josh Kennedy on my side. This match is against a good friend of mine in Alechs Aurelio, however, much like me... He must attempt to drag his partner towards victory in Jonathan Drake who seems to be more motivated in video games than this match whatsoever. He is mindlessly speaking with the fans and other wrestlers at the convention that he has neglected to speak two words about Josh Kennedy and I and this... is unfortunate."
"Josh Kennedy might be a champion elsewhere but this does not make him different than Scotty Latimer — a man who held two championships elsewhere when I successfully pinned him to the mat. Josh Kennedy must prove himself in order to gain my respect and this... this is a chance for him to do just that."
"I hope Josh can prove to be a challenge or else I can assure you I will lose interest in ever letting him challenge me for the Young Lions Championship. I have made it too prestigious to ever make it look like the same piece of plastic a mother made me sign for her child back in the convention. I gladly did so but should anyone in this division believe they cannot defeat me, I believe now you have a second option in the NGW online shop, yes?"
"Jonathan Drake should invest in one of these toy NGW championships. It is the closest he will likely ever come to earning the Young Lions Championship so long as I have it in my possession. And as far as the upcoming match is concerned, it will be the closest he will ever come and it is not even a one-on-one bout."
"I urge you to prove me wrong, however. Show me you have what it takes to be a champion, Jonathan. This is the way to gain my respect."
"And to Alechs..."
"I wish you good luck. Please do not expect me to go easy on you. Do not let me down. I am sure you will show me everything you have within you and I want you to remember this: I am not the former champion. You will need to fight even harder if you ever want to beat me. I say this as a piece of advice and nothing more."
The YouTube video faded to black and came to an end. A couple more related videos popped up for you to click whenever you were ready.
CAMERA STATUS: ON
As soon as you click the thumbnail, the embedded YouTube video begins to play at a low 240p resolution. The noise is loud and hectic as the black gives way to the sight of the Moscone Center in San Francisco filled with a mass of humanity separated into disorderly lines as far as your eye could see. The resolution pops up to a modest 720p before flicking to 1080p less than a second later and as every face becomes crystal clear on your screen of choice, you notice a sign hanging from the rafters above — 'The Squared Circle Convention.'
Numerous NGW stars sit behind booths with their names above their heads such as Matthew Shields, Kayla Richards and your favorite wrestler of all time John Blade. Just as you start to ponder why John Blade's line is significantly shorter than every other line in the entire convention, the screen slowly pans to the left to see more of the exciting scenery. The lights and sounds made it tough to concentrate, even for you who prided yourself on your good concentration skills back when you needed to take tests back in school. Although it was a beautiful sight to behold, the fact that the entire screen appeared to be an elaborate 'Where's Waldo?' of wrestling talent and fans — one unfortunate man in line wearing a white and red striped shirt and a beanie inside appearing to be the man you were searching for all this time — was starting to give you a headache as your eyes darted back and forth.
Bathed in fluorescent lights and flanked by an NGW security official to make sure no one tried to attack anybody here with a weapon or otherwise, Coda slumped forward behind her own booth as her fingers drummed along the tabletop. Fans of all kinds came forward one by one and as the Young Lions Champion tried to force a smile to each and every one of them, she was handed a fake NGW Young Lions Championship to sign for her son. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of the plastic over the faux-leather, the exact same design as the real deal that rested on the other end of the table, folded as neatly as possible. Coda tried to open her mouth but the words wouldn't escape her. She shut her mouth again and reluctantly grabbed her marker, systematically signing the back of the toy championship with a curly cursive penmanship.
Before the next person could walk up and speak something inaudible in the midst of the sound pollution that filled the room, Coda gestured to the camera in the form of a T with both of her hands flat. The universal gesture for a timeout was clear and as the security guard kept tabs that nobody tried anything in her temporary absence, Coda grabs her championship and walks out of the room and steps outside to get some fresh air.
The light beams down as the camera operator follows her, bright yellow as it bends past the trees in a magnificent display. Spinning the smartphone around towards her face, it's revealed that the person recording the whole thing is a smiling Mara Moon — Coda's sister — but as she's just on screen for a little less than three seconds, you're left to watch Coda lean against a thin tree with her arms crossed cautiously as she tries to find her words again.
It took a while. The bottom of the YouTube video indicated that two minutes passed. With a deep breath, she used all her strength to say what she wanted to say.
"Can't—"
You could tell she was struggling to speak. The word sounded guttural, forced out of her with all her might.
Coda closed her eyes and took a deep breath, reaching down into her pockets to grab her red earplugs. Popping them into her ears, she tried to speak again.
"I... So many stimuli. We should not have come here."
Her words continued to sound like they were being forcibly torn from her essence like a band-aid slowly torn from an open wound.
"Mr. Scott would have understood, yes? I am incapable of being in a place like this for an extended period of time."
"You know, it's good to get out of your comfort zone every once in a while. And hey, look how long you lasted in there without taking a break!"
Mara's voice came from behind the camera.
"The Squared Circle Convention is a 5-day event. I could not last 3 hours in there with all those people."
"And yet you wrestle in the ring on a weekly basis.'
You could sense Mara chuckling in the way she said it.
"I do not wrestle for three hours, thankfully."
As you listened to the two sisters banter back and forth, you noticed there was a human side to Coda behind the tough exterior. You remembered her actions at the end of the Honey versus Coda match as well and how The Destroyer went out of her way to check on Honey when it was all over to make sure she was alright. Behind those dark eyes filled with an unseen calm anger hid someone you could relate to in a small ordinary way.
Waving her arm, she wordlessly ordered the conversation to stop and began to think to herself.
"The Squared Circle Convention is not the place for me."
The words were simple in delivery and etched in truth, her sweet yet systematically methodical voice dressed in a near monotone delivery as natural as ever now that Coda's been given the proper time away from all the people.
"While I am thankful for those who admire my abilities in the ring, thankful for the people who took their time to show up here in San Francisco in order to meet me... I am discouraged by the thought that I could not speak to the most of the fans who came to see me. I am worried those of you who took the time to show up will take my silence as a sign of disrespect when this is furthest from the truth."
"I am... not a socialite. I do not do well in crowded situations where stimuli flood the senses. I have acute hearing and a better awareness of the things around me than others. While this might benefit me in a wrestling match in predictable ways, the benefits do not carry over to a social setting such as this."
"When I get overwhelmed, I grow silent. It is involuntary. It is hard to explain in words you might comprehend so I will leave it at that."
Coda pauses, eyes glancing downward until she steps forward with an air of confidence.
"It does not matter. I am better now. I am free from the clutches of silence that plagued me for the time being. Since the camera is pointed at me, it is time to speak about the NGW, yes?"
With a deep breath, the Korean-born striker continued.
"I am ashamed of the way my match with Honey has ended last week. The match should not have ended in a count out victory. I found this hallow. I will do everything in my power to assure something like this never happens again."
"You see... Unlike Mason Moore, however, I do not make excuses after a count out finish."
Despite the words coming out of her mouth, she smiled briefly as she mentioned her rival, poking fun at the time Mason Moore taunted her tremendously after the first match of theirs ended in a double count out.
"I intend to give Honey a rightful rematch in the near future, however, now is not the time to be thinking so far ahead. Now is when we speak about the upcoming tag team match with Josh Kennedy on my side. This match is against a good friend of mine in Alechs Aurelio, however, much like me... He must attempt to drag his partner towards victory in Jonathan Drake who seems to be more motivated in video games than this match whatsoever. He is mindlessly speaking with the fans and other wrestlers at the convention that he has neglected to speak two words about Josh Kennedy and I and this... is unfortunate."
"Josh Kennedy might be a champion elsewhere but this does not make him different than Scotty Latimer — a man who held two championships elsewhere when I successfully pinned him to the mat. Josh Kennedy must prove himself in order to gain my respect and this... this is a chance for him to do just that."
"I hope Josh can prove to be a challenge or else I can assure you I will lose interest in ever letting him challenge me for the Young Lions Championship. I have made it too prestigious to ever make it look like the same piece of plastic a mother made me sign for her child back in the convention. I gladly did so but should anyone in this division believe they cannot defeat me, I believe now you have a second option in the NGW online shop, yes?"
"Jonathan Drake should invest in one of these toy NGW championships. It is the closest he will likely ever come to earning the Young Lions Championship so long as I have it in my possession. And as far as the upcoming match is concerned, it will be the closest he will ever come and it is not even a one-on-one bout."
"I urge you to prove me wrong, however. Show me you have what it takes to be a champion, Jonathan. This is the way to gain my respect."
"And to Alechs..."
"I wish you good luck. Please do not expect me to go easy on you. Do not let me down. I am sure you will show me everything you have within you and I want you to remember this: I am not the former champion. You will need to fight even harder if you ever want to beat me. I say this as a piece of advice and nothing more."
The YouTube video faded to black and came to an end. A couple more related videos popped up for you to click whenever you were ready.
