Post by Coda on May 7, 2017 22:21:58 GMT -5
DATE: 05.06.17
LOCATION: Battle Creek
CAMERA STATUS: ON / OFF
With a monstrous grin, Yuri's visage is strictly pointed towards the television with her legs crossed underneath herself like a pretzel. As the warm glow of technicolor flicker over pale skin, she watches as two civilians stand behind podiums with a glint of greed in their eye. The man on the right excitedly watches as the announcer proclaims proudly that the contestant could spend a week in Venice, Italy complete with a paid breakfast as beautiful pictures of the scenery flicker throughout the explanation. Once the camera pans to the opposite side of the stage, a spotlight points directly towards a flashy sports car red in color with a silver trim.
Despite the fact that the prizes were drenched in everything the 20-something-year-old would have gladly accepted in any other circumstance, the game show host approached him. With a calm and arrogant smile, the man refused to bid on the showcase of his dreams with the hopes that a better showcase would come next.
"Yuri," a sweet voice suddenly chimed in as she walked into the room of the small apartment. "What's wrong?"
"People are stupid," Yuri answered her sister like it was something of a catchphrase for her at this point. "This man had the chance to receive a brand new car and a trip across the world yet he refuses? Why? Does he not understand that the likelihood of the second showcase being nearly as good is low?"
Yuri brushed a strand of brown hair out of her eyes as she glanced over at her sister who watched from a couch perched on the side of the room underneath the living room window. Mari just looked back at her professional wrestler sibling with a dismissive shrug.
"The Price Is Right isn't all about statistics and logic," Mari answered with confidence, an arm wrapped around the top of the couch as her sister sat directly in front of the television. "It's about the risk and reward, the fun of putting it all on the line in an attempt to earn something even bigger!"
"There is risk and then there is stupidity," Yuri responded flatly as the second contestant bid on the showcase instead. "You know the next showcase will begin with a lousy kitchen set with amenities he will never use and yet he refuses the chance to go to Italy, refuses the chance to drive home in a beautiful Chevrolet Cruze. He will regret this for the rest of his life."
"At least Susan will get a chance to win it," Mari smiled modestly, knowing that in all likelihood, her sister was probably correct.
As the second showcase was announced, Yuri scowled. She was right. The showcase started with a bedroom set, something awfully close to what she imagined it would be. Luckily, a large smart TV with 4K HD hung behind the bed as an incentive. It wasn't a trip to Italy but it seemed to make the man excited.
"Tony is an idiot," Yuri suddenly blurted out, something that caused Mari to snicker behind her hand at the mere abruptness of the insult to the man on TV. "He's fooling himself now. He knows this showcase is crap and now he has resigned himself to mediocrity. He is much like most of the Redemption Wrestling roster."
"Wait. What?"
"Take Honey and Alechs for example. The Young Cubs," Yuri explained to her sister in the middle of the month of April. "The two have the potential to be great, the potential to achieve great things — much like Tony had the chance to get the car. Yet... Something stops them."
"What's stopping them?" Of course, Mari didn't much like the fact that this conversation devolved into a conversation about Yuri's co-workers. She would have much liked to relax this morning.
"I do not know whether it is that the two refuse to take risks or the opposite is true. Maybe they put so much stake into the tag team — into the second showcase — that they dismiss the first and refuse to focus on themselves as singular entities. They rely on each other like crutches now and when faced with doing something on their own, the two end up falling short."
"You know... Relying on other people isn't always a weakness," Mari brought up as The Price Is Right announcer continued to excitedly proclaim the greatness of the second showcase. "Sometimes, it can be a strength. It's like the way you rely on me to remind you to take your pills." Mari chuckled.
"You insisted on making me stay here," Yuri responded in a serious tone.
"You don't have to stay here with me, Yuri. I know you hate labels but listen to me, alright? You're a high-functioning autistic. You did fine living in Japan during the tour on your own," Mari told her sister, her voice soft and precise.
"Stop calling me that," Yuri responded, turning her head towards her older sister with frustration in her eyes. "High-functioning autism. Low-functioning autism... It means nothing. Just because I do not constantly rock back and forth... Just because my IQ is higher than 70... This does not make things any easier for me."
"What I'm trying to say is... You don't need me." The words weren't laden in anger or sadness but instead patience and understanding. "Just like Honey doesn't need Alechs by your logic and Alechs doesn't need Honey, you don't need me. You're perfectly capable of living on your own but you don't."
Yuri was silent, looking down steadily.
"You might pretend to be this stoic monster who won't rely on anyone in public but in private? You know you need companionship just as much as anyone else. That doesn't make you weak. It makes you human."
As Susan celebrated the fact that she won the trip to Italy and the car Tony proudly passed to her, Yuri turned the television off before it could start to air a soap opera.
"You are right," Yuri finally admitted after a short pause. "As much as I do not want people to know it, it's true. I appreciate the time we spend together. It is much better than when I was stuck in Japan, reading books to help pass the time and exploring the city on my own. The country was beautiful but without someone to share the experience..."
Mari could tell the words were almost painful for her sister to say.
"I know. You don't need to say anymore," Mari smiled softly, patting the couch beside her. Yuri climbed up off the floor and joined her older sister on the couch. "I know things aren't easy for you. I know you're not great in social situations. That's okay. Just... Remember to try and put yourself out there every once in a while. Try to meet new people. Try to open up a little."
"What would you have me do? Tell Jeremy Starling my deepest secrets so he may use them against me once we find ourselves going against each other? Give him the ammo necessary to take me down and make a mockery out of me?"
"You don't have to tell anyone anything you don't want him to know but making friends won't be the end of the world, Yuri. Have more faith in people! Not everybody is going to use what you tell them against you."
Yuri paused, thinking about it for a couple extended seconds.
"I will try."
"That's the spirit!" Mari smiled wide. "Now c'mon. Enough of this serious crap. You wanna eat ice cream for breakfast again? There's no one who says we can't anymore."
DATE: 05.06.17
LOCATION: Battle Creek
CAMERA STATUS: ON / OFF
As the YouTube video began, you spotted an unfamiliar sight. Coda sat at the dining table of her apartment with a spoon elegantly between two fingers with a grin firmly planted on her face. In front of her sat a bowl full of strawberry ice cream topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup.
"The Young Cubs versus Jeremy Starling and I."
Without a hint of emotion on her face, she poked her silver spoon into the ice cream and swallowed down some whipped cream.
"I have gained the attention of Devlin Scott and this is the response? No new challenges. No new competitors. No. He would rather see a rehash of the match Jeremy and I have already won the last time the four of us were in the same ring together. The only difference is... Jeremy and I are much stronger now while The Young Cubs have remained stagnant."
"I have been kicked out of the Rags 2 Riches match in favor of being in a No-DQ match against Mason Moore at WrestleForce. I have sacrificed a chance to become a champion early on in my professional career in order to stand face to face with a boy who would rather worry about the secret admirer sending him gifts than worry about the woman who would rather send him to the ICU. I will desecrate every ounce of the legacy he hopes to achieve and if that means giving up a chance at wearing a gold plated belt around my waist, so be it. I have all the time in the world. Unfortunately for Alechs and Honey, however..."
Coda took another scoop of strawberry ice cream.
"I have a lot of time to kill until then. It looks like I will have to unleash some of my anger on them, hm? It should be easy. I've done it before."
On the side of the bowl of ice cream sat a small package of strawberry KitKat's. Slowly opening it up as she spoke, Coda was doing all of this for a reason.
"When we have fought the first time, I was weak. I was fresh. I had not gotten used to the larger crowd. Still, I prevailed. Still, I proved I was a force of nature inside the wrestling ring and I will prove it again at the next Redemption Wrestling Glory."
"Jeremy Starling and I were #BornBetter. This is the truth."
As she takes another bite of her ice cream, leaving the strawberry KitKat's opened on the side, she continues her speech.
"Do you believe Alechs sees the worth in Honey as I do or do you think he still sees her as a child needing protection? Do you think Alechs will refuse to tag in his tag team partner or do you believe he has learned since the last time? If I were Honey, I would make Alechs understand. I would tell him without any frills and without any hesitation that he needs to see that I am a valuable member of the team. I would tell him to swallow his pride and fall in line so I could actually help or else I would quit the tag team division altogether. This would be the smart choice to make."
Reaching for the KitKat's, she snapped them apart into the strawberry ice cream so they essentially became strawberry sprinkles.
"Do you think Honey made the smart choice? Probably not. She probably kept her mouth shut. She probably warned Alechs to watch out for me and Jeremy. She probably had an aneurysm when she realized this match was happening again. It is pathetic. Honey has all the potential in the world, as does Alechs I suppose, and yet they waste it by acting like children."
"The Young Cubs have achieved nothing — together or alone — ever since they started wrestling professionally. The two have failed to make a splash. The two are insignificant blips on the tag team radar as it stands today and even now when a team of two people without a tag team name face up against The Young Cubs? We're still the favorites to win."
"I have The Young Lions Champion on my side, The Global Cup runner-up who defeated just about anyone standing in the way. I am the one who dismantled 'The Wrestling God' Anton Chase, the one who sent Mason Moore crashing to the floor of Devlin Scott's office bleeding like a stuffed pig. I am the one who took two glass shards to the leg and walked away. Do you think either of us needs protecting? Do you think we will act like children? No."
Right on queue, Coda takes another bite of the strawberry ice cream.
"Honey told me winners eat Strawberry KitKats. I suppose her ridiculous superstition was correct for once — the winner is right here."
She gave a monstrous grin as she took yet another bite.
"I am the most dangerous person in Redemption Wrestling right now without a doubt and I have no qualms in sending the two of you to the hospital. Alechs does not deserve The Young Lions Championship without confidence and Honey does not need protecting."
"Let Honey fall on her own against me, Alechs. Let us see if she will ever get back up."
With that, the YouTube video came to a satisfying close.
