Post by Jazmyn Rain on Jan 7, 2018 10:50:52 GMT -5
Prologue
Jazmyn Rain is walking in a space that is completely unfamiliar to her. It’s a cobblestone street, the architecture of the environment being described as something leaning toward Old English or Irish. But the setting doesn’t have a Middle Ages feel to it, it’s more of a “Buckingham Palace” sort of feel. Jazmyn is certainly dressed for the environment, sporting a white dress extending to her knees with a pair of high heels to match. Taking a stroll down the cobblestone street, she seems relaxed. But, she’s stopped by a teenage girl, appearing about sixteen, with a notepad and pen in her hand.
Teenage Girl: Are you Jazmyn Rain?
Jazmyn: Yes, I am…
Teenage Girl: Can I have your autograph?
Jazmyn: Sure!
Jazmyn takes the notepad and pen and doesn’t hesitate to give the girl her autograph. She hands back the notepad and pen when she’s done.
Teenage Girl: Thank you! You’re my biggest role model!
Jazmyn: Aw! You’re so sweet!
The two smile at each other before the girl turns and heads the other direction. Jazmyn continues to walk down the street not paying much mind to the fact that she’s mostly alone. Along the way, she’s encountered by two journalists, one man and one woman.
Male Journalist: Jazmyn…
Female Journalist: Hey Jaz…
Jazmyn is a little bit startled by their sudden presence.
Jazmyn: Hey! What can I do for you?
Male Journalist: You have a Five Lakes title match coming up!
Female Journalist: And you’re going into 2018 as the GCW Global Champion!
Male Journalist: How do you plan on being a double champ?
Female Journalist: What’s it like being the one so many look up to in GCW?
Jazmyn: Um… that’s a lot of questions at once…
Jazmyn winces with understandable nervousness.
Jazmyn: But… um… yeah, it’s a load to deal with at times. But it’s not something I haven’t dealt with before. I’m not sure how I can talk about being a double champion when I’ve never pulled off such a thing before. But, rest assured, I am going to give it my best against Jack Tillman.
Male Journalist: Thanks!
Jazmyn walks by the two journalists feeling awkward as she moves along.
Voice: HEY! Can I take a picture with you?
A female fan approaches with a camera.
Voice 2: ME TOO!
A male fan approaches with an iPhone
Voice 3: Jazmyn… I want a picture also!
Another female fan approaches with an Android phone.
Voice: Picture… PICTURE?!?!?!
Another male fan comes in with an old school Polaroid.
Jazmyn: Um… well..
iPhone fan: You always do so much for your fans.
Camera fan: Yeah! Take a picture with me!
Android fan: NO ME!
Polaroid fan: ME! IT SHOULD BE ME!
Jazmyn: How about all of you?
Camera fan: ME FIRST!
Polaroid fan: Screw you! I got a Polaroid!
Android fan: I should be first, Jazmyn!
Jazmyn stands there uncomfortable and awkward as the fans argue among themselves over who should take their picture with her first. This leads her to leave the four alone but she can’t breathe just yet as she’s surrounded by a circle of eight photographers.
Photographer: Oh my god! Great dress!
Photographer 2: Those shoes are gorgeous!
Photographer 3: Jazmyn, this way!
Photographer 4: No, over HERE
Jazmyn is suddenly blinded by flashes surrounding her and she becomes even more uncomfortable. But the photographers of 8 turn into a media of 16, a fan frenzy of 32, critics of 64, and so on and so forth as the number of people surrounding her constantly double by the second.
Photographer 5: Jazmyn… over here… *CLICK*
College Journalist: What if you lose to Jack Tillman?
Fan: Don’t let me down! Please? Hold onto the Global title as long as you can.
Critic: You’re overrated! You’re nobody! There’s a reason why you’re “just there” in NGW.
Collection of voices: Jazmyn…. Jazmyn… JAZMYN JAZMYN JAZMYN…..
The collection of voices of people calling out her name is overwhelming her and she’s completely losing her space in a scene that would be considered traumatic to a claustrophobic. With the circle closing in on her, Jazmyn tries to run, but she trips and falls, losing her shoes in the process. She grows worried as everyone closes in on her firing a question, praise, criticism, and so forth. Jazmyn covers her ears trying to make it stop.
Jazmyn: Stop… please… I can’t…
Everyone: JAZMYN… please sign this for my dog! You’re no angel! Is your reputation at stake against Tillman?
Jazmyn: Stop… stop…. STOP!!!!!!!!!
The circle of people gets smaller and smaller.
Jazmyn: Leave me alone… please! Stop!!!
One of the photographers gets close enough to her face and completely blinds her with the flash of the camera.
Scene
Date: January 2, 2018
Jazmyn Rain is tossing and turning in the bed of her Hawaiian hotel room.
Jazmyn: Stop… stop… leave me alone… stop….
This wakes up Derek, her fiance who sees her struggle and immediately nudges her to wake her up.
Jazmyn: I can’t… it’s too much… oh… Derek???
After opening her eyes, Jazmyn sits up and takes a few deep breaths. She turns toward the clock and sees that it’s only 2:02 AM.
Derek: Jaz? What in the world?
Jazmyn: Oh GOD!
A distressed number one contender to the Five Lakes Championship covers her face with her hands almost as if she’s about to cry, however she’s able to stop herself from doing so with a few deep breaths.
Jazmyn: That was horrible!
Derek: Bad dream?
Jazmyn nods, her eyes glistening a bit.
Derek: You weren’t being tortured were you? It sure sounded like it. There weren’t any old GCW ghosts that came back to haunt you were there?
Jazmyn shakes her head without saying a word.
Derek: So, what was it then?
Jazmyn: It was… so much… I was walking down the street, kind of like I was in some royal neighborhood or something. So, a fan asks me for my autograph and I sign it, then these two journalists ask me questions out of nowhere… then these four fans are fighting over who gets to take a picture with me and then I have basically everyone and their mothers surrounding me and wanting a piece of me whether it was a fan wanting a photo, a photographer wanting to take a picture of me, some random hater shouting mean things and it was so OVERWHELMING!
Derek: You’re stressed.
Jazmyn: No… no I’m not!
Derek: Jazmyn, I’m a doctor, remember? I know stress when I see it.
Jazmyn: I’m FINE!
Derek: Let me test that theory…
Derek places his hands on both of Jazmyn’s shoulders, getting a bit of a feel for them before he takes a deep breath indicating his concern for her.
Derek: Your shoulders are hard as stone. Beautiful, how many times have I told you not to stress yourself out so much?
Jazmyn: What are you saying? That I had a bad dream just because I’m stressed and overwhelmed?
Derek: That’s exactly right. You’re putting so much pressure on yourself. I get that being GCW Global Champion and trying to crack NGW is a lot on your shoulders…
Jazmyn shakes her head.
Derek: Jaz…quit denying it!
Jazmyn: I’m not. You’re right. It IS a lot on my shoulders. I was shaking my head because you barely scratched the surface of it.
Derek: I can’t say I’m surprised. What’s wrong? What’s stressing you out? I know you have to go to Cleveland soon, but what is it?
Jazmyn: I love my fans, I love my family, I love my friends and everything I do in that wrestling ring whether it’s in NGW or GCW is for every single one of them. I know that I’m not capable of winning EVERY match. It’s impossible to go undefeated. But, I can’t help it. I feel like every time I lose a match or something bad happens to me, I’m letting everyone down and giving all these critics this fuel to come after me. I don’t want to let anyone down, Derek and I worry that if I do, I’m going to be seen as this big screw up!
Derek: So what you’re saying is that you’re overwhelmed by all the pressure, right?
Jazmyn nods.
Jazmyn: And on top of that… look, I can’t deny it. I know I’m a “star” in professional wrestling but I can’t even begin to estimate how many of my fans see me as something even MORE than that. It creates this… I guess this… THING I have to live up to and while I’m doing that in GCW, Global Champion and all, NGW, I feel like I’m falling short of that. I mean, it’s not like anyone other than the Guardians even notices me there, right?
Jazmyn sighs, calming herself down after letting out her concerns.
Jazmyn: I just don’t know what to do with it all. I didn’t become a wrestler to become a big star. I understand it comes with the territory of wanting to be a champion, wanting to be an inspiration, wanting to be a role model and all of that, but this whole “celebrity” that I am dealing with… it’s nothing I’ve EVER had to deal with before and I just… I don’t… I…
Jazmyn finally cracks a little, letting out her emotions as her eyes begin to well up with tears. Some of them stream down her face.
Jazmyn: I don’t know if I can handle it all, especially all by myself. If I lose in Cleveland… I don’t… I don’t know if I’ll ever be seen as anything more than “just there” or “the least important Guardian”. I wish people in NGW actually… you know.... Oh, this is stupid! I’m sorry!
Jazmyn cries for a bit as Derek puts an arm around her.
Derek: No, it’s okay. I understand how you’re feeling. You’re quite new to this. Let’s break this down one at a time, alright? First off, as they always say, the cream always rises to the top. In your career, you’ve been in this situation how many times? When you were a rookie, you were a tag team champion completely overshadowed by your partner, but when you got a singles opportunity, you took the ball and ran with it. When you started in GCW, nobody thought much of you there at first, did they? Look what happened! Secondly, you might want to listen to yourself. You’re doing this for the right reasons, but doubting yourself? You’re better than that.
Jazmyn: I know…
Jazmyn pauses to wipe away a tear.
Jazmyn: I’m just overwhelmed, that’s all. I said that from a place of stress really. I guess my dreams were trying to tell me something.
Derek: You and I both know what happens when you doubt yourself too much. The last thing you and I both want is a repeat of what happened when you lost the Global title.
Jazmyn takes a sigh of relief.
Jazmyn: Thanks for reminding me.
Jazmyn finally smiles through her tears as she wipes them away.
Jazmyn: It’s just too much sometimes, feeling like you have the whole weight of the world on your shoulders.
Derek: It doesn’t have to be, Jazmyn. Don’t take this as a burden. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to make yourself happy. Want me to help you relax?
Jazmyn: Derek, I’m not exactly in the mood for that.
Derek: ...I wasn’t referring to sex…
Jazmyn: Oh…
Jazmyn blushes and chuckles for a bit. She swings around a bit, leaving herself seated on the edge of the bed. Derek ends up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
Derek: Just relax, alright?
Jazmyn closes her eyes and takes a deep breath as Derek begins to massage her shoulders. Jazmyn does her best to relax, knowing that having the weight of the world on her shoulders is going to do nothing but harm her in the long run.
Jazmyn: Thank you… I needed that.
Jazmyn continues to relax, releasing all the tension that was going on in her head, at least for the moment.
Jazmyn Rain is walking in a space that is completely unfamiliar to her. It’s a cobblestone street, the architecture of the environment being described as something leaning toward Old English or Irish. But the setting doesn’t have a Middle Ages feel to it, it’s more of a “Buckingham Palace” sort of feel. Jazmyn is certainly dressed for the environment, sporting a white dress extending to her knees with a pair of high heels to match. Taking a stroll down the cobblestone street, she seems relaxed. But, she’s stopped by a teenage girl, appearing about sixteen, with a notepad and pen in her hand.
Teenage Girl: Are you Jazmyn Rain?
Jazmyn: Yes, I am…
Teenage Girl: Can I have your autograph?
Jazmyn: Sure!
Jazmyn takes the notepad and pen and doesn’t hesitate to give the girl her autograph. She hands back the notepad and pen when she’s done.
Teenage Girl: Thank you! You’re my biggest role model!
Jazmyn: Aw! You’re so sweet!
The two smile at each other before the girl turns and heads the other direction. Jazmyn continues to walk down the street not paying much mind to the fact that she’s mostly alone. Along the way, she’s encountered by two journalists, one man and one woman.
Male Journalist: Jazmyn…
Female Journalist: Hey Jaz…
Jazmyn is a little bit startled by their sudden presence.
Jazmyn: Hey! What can I do for you?
Male Journalist: You have a Five Lakes title match coming up!
Female Journalist: And you’re going into 2018 as the GCW Global Champion!
Male Journalist: How do you plan on being a double champ?
Female Journalist: What’s it like being the one so many look up to in GCW?
Jazmyn: Um… that’s a lot of questions at once…
Jazmyn winces with understandable nervousness.
Jazmyn: But… um… yeah, it’s a load to deal with at times. But it’s not something I haven’t dealt with before. I’m not sure how I can talk about being a double champion when I’ve never pulled off such a thing before. But, rest assured, I am going to give it my best against Jack Tillman.
Male Journalist: Thanks!
Jazmyn walks by the two journalists feeling awkward as she moves along.
Voice: HEY! Can I take a picture with you?
A female fan approaches with a camera.
Voice 2: ME TOO!
A male fan approaches with an iPhone
Voice 3: Jazmyn… I want a picture also!
Another female fan approaches with an Android phone.
Voice: Picture… PICTURE?!?!?!
Another male fan comes in with an old school Polaroid.
Jazmyn: Um… well..
iPhone fan: You always do so much for your fans.
Camera fan: Yeah! Take a picture with me!
Android fan: NO ME!
Polaroid fan: ME! IT SHOULD BE ME!
Jazmyn: How about all of you?
Camera fan: ME FIRST!
Polaroid fan: Screw you! I got a Polaroid!
Android fan: I should be first, Jazmyn!
Jazmyn stands there uncomfortable and awkward as the fans argue among themselves over who should take their picture with her first. This leads her to leave the four alone but she can’t breathe just yet as she’s surrounded by a circle of eight photographers.
Photographer: Oh my god! Great dress!
Photographer 2: Those shoes are gorgeous!
Photographer 3: Jazmyn, this way!
Photographer 4: No, over HERE
Jazmyn is suddenly blinded by flashes surrounding her and she becomes even more uncomfortable. But the photographers of 8 turn into a media of 16, a fan frenzy of 32, critics of 64, and so on and so forth as the number of people surrounding her constantly double by the second.
Photographer 5: Jazmyn… over here… *CLICK*
College Journalist: What if you lose to Jack Tillman?
Fan: Don’t let me down! Please? Hold onto the Global title as long as you can.
Critic: You’re overrated! You’re nobody! There’s a reason why you’re “just there” in NGW.
Collection of voices: Jazmyn…. Jazmyn… JAZMYN JAZMYN JAZMYN…..
The collection of voices of people calling out her name is overwhelming her and she’s completely losing her space in a scene that would be considered traumatic to a claustrophobic. With the circle closing in on her, Jazmyn tries to run, but she trips and falls, losing her shoes in the process. She grows worried as everyone closes in on her firing a question, praise, criticism, and so forth. Jazmyn covers her ears trying to make it stop.
Jazmyn: Stop… please… I can’t…
Everyone: JAZMYN… please sign this for my dog! You’re no angel! Is your reputation at stake against Tillman?
Jazmyn: Stop… stop…. STOP!!!!!!!!!
The circle of people gets smaller and smaller.
Jazmyn: Leave me alone… please! Stop!!!
One of the photographers gets close enough to her face and completely blinds her with the flash of the camera.
Scene
Date: January 2, 2018
Jazmyn Rain is tossing and turning in the bed of her Hawaiian hotel room.
Jazmyn: Stop… stop… leave me alone… stop….
This wakes up Derek, her fiance who sees her struggle and immediately nudges her to wake her up.
Jazmyn: I can’t… it’s too much… oh… Derek???
After opening her eyes, Jazmyn sits up and takes a few deep breaths. She turns toward the clock and sees that it’s only 2:02 AM.
Derek: Jaz? What in the world?
Jazmyn: Oh GOD!
A distressed number one contender to the Five Lakes Championship covers her face with her hands almost as if she’s about to cry, however she’s able to stop herself from doing so with a few deep breaths.
Jazmyn: That was horrible!
Derek: Bad dream?
Jazmyn nods, her eyes glistening a bit.
Derek: You weren’t being tortured were you? It sure sounded like it. There weren’t any old GCW ghosts that came back to haunt you were there?
Jazmyn shakes her head without saying a word.
Derek: So, what was it then?
Jazmyn: It was… so much… I was walking down the street, kind of like I was in some royal neighborhood or something. So, a fan asks me for my autograph and I sign it, then these two journalists ask me questions out of nowhere… then these four fans are fighting over who gets to take a picture with me and then I have basically everyone and their mothers surrounding me and wanting a piece of me whether it was a fan wanting a photo, a photographer wanting to take a picture of me, some random hater shouting mean things and it was so OVERWHELMING!
Derek: You’re stressed.
Jazmyn: No… no I’m not!
Derek: Jazmyn, I’m a doctor, remember? I know stress when I see it.
Jazmyn: I’m FINE!
Derek: Let me test that theory…
Derek places his hands on both of Jazmyn’s shoulders, getting a bit of a feel for them before he takes a deep breath indicating his concern for her.
Derek: Your shoulders are hard as stone. Beautiful, how many times have I told you not to stress yourself out so much?
Jazmyn: What are you saying? That I had a bad dream just because I’m stressed and overwhelmed?
Derek: That’s exactly right. You’re putting so much pressure on yourself. I get that being GCW Global Champion and trying to crack NGW is a lot on your shoulders…
Jazmyn shakes her head.
Derek: Jaz…quit denying it!
Jazmyn: I’m not. You’re right. It IS a lot on my shoulders. I was shaking my head because you barely scratched the surface of it.
Derek: I can’t say I’m surprised. What’s wrong? What’s stressing you out? I know you have to go to Cleveland soon, but what is it?
Jazmyn: I love my fans, I love my family, I love my friends and everything I do in that wrestling ring whether it’s in NGW or GCW is for every single one of them. I know that I’m not capable of winning EVERY match. It’s impossible to go undefeated. But, I can’t help it. I feel like every time I lose a match or something bad happens to me, I’m letting everyone down and giving all these critics this fuel to come after me. I don’t want to let anyone down, Derek and I worry that if I do, I’m going to be seen as this big screw up!
Derek: So what you’re saying is that you’re overwhelmed by all the pressure, right?
Jazmyn nods.
Jazmyn: And on top of that… look, I can’t deny it. I know I’m a “star” in professional wrestling but I can’t even begin to estimate how many of my fans see me as something even MORE than that. It creates this… I guess this… THING I have to live up to and while I’m doing that in GCW, Global Champion and all, NGW, I feel like I’m falling short of that. I mean, it’s not like anyone other than the Guardians even notices me there, right?
Jazmyn sighs, calming herself down after letting out her concerns.
Jazmyn: I just don’t know what to do with it all. I didn’t become a wrestler to become a big star. I understand it comes with the territory of wanting to be a champion, wanting to be an inspiration, wanting to be a role model and all of that, but this whole “celebrity” that I am dealing with… it’s nothing I’ve EVER had to deal with before and I just… I don’t… I…
Jazmyn finally cracks a little, letting out her emotions as her eyes begin to well up with tears. Some of them stream down her face.
Jazmyn: I don’t know if I can handle it all, especially all by myself. If I lose in Cleveland… I don’t… I don’t know if I’ll ever be seen as anything more than “just there” or “the least important Guardian”. I wish people in NGW actually… you know.... Oh, this is stupid! I’m sorry!
Jazmyn cries for a bit as Derek puts an arm around her.
Derek: No, it’s okay. I understand how you’re feeling. You’re quite new to this. Let’s break this down one at a time, alright? First off, as they always say, the cream always rises to the top. In your career, you’ve been in this situation how many times? When you were a rookie, you were a tag team champion completely overshadowed by your partner, but when you got a singles opportunity, you took the ball and ran with it. When you started in GCW, nobody thought much of you there at first, did they? Look what happened! Secondly, you might want to listen to yourself. You’re doing this for the right reasons, but doubting yourself? You’re better than that.
Jazmyn: I know…
Jazmyn pauses to wipe away a tear.
Jazmyn: I’m just overwhelmed, that’s all. I said that from a place of stress really. I guess my dreams were trying to tell me something.
Derek: You and I both know what happens when you doubt yourself too much. The last thing you and I both want is a repeat of what happened when you lost the Global title.
Jazmyn takes a sigh of relief.
Jazmyn: Thanks for reminding me.
Jazmyn finally smiles through her tears as she wipes them away.
Jazmyn: It’s just too much sometimes, feeling like you have the whole weight of the world on your shoulders.
Derek: It doesn’t have to be, Jazmyn. Don’t take this as a burden. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to make yourself happy. Want me to help you relax?
Jazmyn: Derek, I’m not exactly in the mood for that.
Derek: ...I wasn’t referring to sex…
Jazmyn: Oh…
Jazmyn blushes and chuckles for a bit. She swings around a bit, leaving herself seated on the edge of the bed. Derek ends up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
Derek: Just relax, alright?
Jazmyn closes her eyes and takes a deep breath as Derek begins to massage her shoulders. Jazmyn does her best to relax, knowing that having the weight of the world on her shoulders is going to do nothing but harm her in the long run.
Jazmyn: Thank you… I needed that.
Jazmyn continues to relax, releasing all the tension that was going on in her head, at least for the moment.
