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Post by The BombTrax on Jun 10, 2016 19:52:26 GMT
One (1) Role Play Max
Final Role Play Deadline: Wednesday June 22nd, 2016 @ 10:59 PM CST
Segment Deadline: Tuesday, June 21st, 2016 @ 11:59 PM CST Singles Match
Roy Baker versus Annabel Lee |
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Post by Annabel Lee on Jun 22, 2016 6:38:40 GMT
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee
• • • Dear Diary,
We've been through a lot, haven't we? First you were purple and Mulan and I could barely write in you with my brand new colored pencils but boy could I sing “I'll Make a Man out of You” at the top of my lungs 50 times a day. Then you were Emperor's New Groove and I could never write in you with anything but a pink gel pen otherwise it would throw off my groove.
Then it was the big time, even if we were a few years behind the curve. You were THE Dear Diary in all your pink cased and purple buttoned glory. Your tiny little screen could barely hold the sentence it took me an entire minute to write because I didn't know how to type yet. Your password made sure that I was safe in the knowledge no one would ever know what I told you because no one was ever going to guess that Tobias was the magic word, after my favorite Animorph.
We went through Finding Nemo together. After that it was Ratatouille. I remember every night for a week after I got you I watched the movie while I poured out my thoughts to you. Then... somewhere around 16 I decided I was too old for Disney anymore and you became an appropriately mature purple paisley. (I missed you though. I wanted you to be Tangled and Brave and of course Frozen.) But we had to grow up so there you were, the same one over and over until they stopped making that cover.
Now here we are for the very first time today. Your spine is still crisp and your pages barely turn. I saw your little antique door lock at the bookstore and I couldn't resist. You're beautiful and sophisticated like someone who still writes a diary at 24 should have. I paid $40 for your leather and lines and it was probably too much but that's okay.
It's finally time.
After every night the various incarnations of you sat with me in a hotel while we traveled with Daddy, it's time. After innumerable dinners that came off of a catering table backstage at a show because the hotel room didn't have a kitchenette, it's time. After all the locker room uncles we had to say goodbye to and friends we never got to make, it's time. After all these years of watching and hoping and waiting my turn, it's time.
I don't have to watch anymore. I'm going to do it for myself.
I got my theater degree like Daddy wanted. We looked at schools until he promised we had found the very best and I worked hard every day until I finished. After a few months of looking... I signed a contract. I'm a professional wrestler now. We did it, you and me. We're about to start a brand new adventure together.Always,
A • • • Annabel steeled herself as she lifted the splatter screen and hurriedly pulled the bacon out of the pan. There was and never would be any escape from the wrath of popping grease, however, and she yipped and worked faster as she felt the hot little speckles land on her skin, “Ow, ow!” Upon sneaking the last piece out of the pan she quickly put the screen back in place and pushed the whole thing to the cold back burner. The toast popped up right on time.
“Breakfast is ready, Daddy!” she shouted over the TV playing in the other room. Scrambled eggs with cheese were scooped onto plates right next to the bacon and she placed the pieces of toast in the last available corners. The butter and jelly was already on the table.
“Can't you bring it to me in here, Princess?”
She made an exasperated sound before replying, “No, sir! We eat our meals at the table in this family.” The stern revolve was quick to break down into giggles after she gave him the same answer he had always given her when she had asked the question as a little girl. With a snap of her fingers she remembered one last thing, “Oops!”
She pulled the cup of black coffee out of the microwave and set it down next to her father's plate at the table. Her own lucky mug full of cocoa was already at her place where it had been cooling down because she had made it too hot before she started cooking. When she turned, she caught sight of her father. She beamed when he looked to the table and commented, “Looks amazing.”
“Daddy, it's just bacon and eggs,” she blushed, giving a dismissive little wave. Once he had shuffled his way to the table and took his seat, she sat down as well. “Age before beauty,” her father had always said when teaching her to be polite as a child.
“No one makes bacon and eggs like you do, though. Your scrambled eggs are perfect.” As if to illustrate the point, he dug into them first.
Annabel had a test sip of her cocoa before taking a longer drink, savoring the sweet, chocolatey goodness. “It's just scrambled eggs with cheese, anyone can make 'em. You used to do it for me all the time.” She smiled at the memory of her father patiently serving her scrambled eggs on paper plates for weeks on end at her six-year-old insistence.
Her father gave a sage nod before continuing, “I did, but they got much better when you started making them. Must be some of that magic you picked up from all those princess movies.”
She giggled behind her lucky mug, nose scrunching up. When she answered, she tried to look refined and sophisticated, “Magic is not real, Daddy. Garlic and onion powder, however, are.” The giggles returned almost immediately. She wasn't very good at being refined and sophisticated.
After practically devouring his eggs, he cast a deceptively casual glance her direction. “So, how was Miami?”
Annabel could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as she struggled to find an answer to the question. “It was pretty! Very muggy though, my ponytail looked awful the whole time. The beach was super nice, and I didn't get bit by an alligator. It all went very well.” She crunched into a piece of bacon, hoping her answer would be sufficient. She was very grateful that her father did not use Twitter, or even know how.
He continued to look over at her as he kept questioning though, “How was your friend?”
“Az is... unique! He's very nice. He really liked the present I made him too so I was super happy about that.” She heaved a dramatic sigh and sagged in her chair with relief.
“Well of course he did. Everyone likes everything you make them, Princess, because you're so darn good.”
“I'm okayyy I guess. But he said he's going to wear it for his next match and I can't wait to see the show!”
He smiled at her enthusiasm, but she could see the fatherly concern in his eyes too. It was also there in his voice as he gave her his gentle warning, “Well, just be careful. It's hard to really know someone after such a short time. I don't want you to...”
“Daddy it's okay, I told him I would take the ring but it was just a promise ring right now,” Annabel cut him off to reassure him. Then she pressed her lips together when she saw the look on his face. She could feel the corners of her eyes scrunch up before she started to giggle, quickly covering her mouth.
“Princess, did you just fib to your old man?” he questioned with narrowed eyes.
She responded sheepishly, “I did. I fibbed a lot. That did not happen. We went to the beach and we had umbrella drinks and we went to some theme parks too. It was a nice time, but I was careful, like you always tell me.” A long paused passed as she tried to figure out the best way to express what she wanted to say next. “I know he's a little different, Daddy, but don't let it fool you. He's super nice.”
The look on his face told her everything he wanted to say but wouldn't, that he didn't want her to make the same mistake he had. That was a lesson he had been teaching her for her whole life. He quickly changed the topic as he stretched out one of his knees with a wince, “Are you sure that you want to be a wrestler, Princess? It has it's drawbacks.”
“Like stiff knees and a car that smells like old fast food bags?” she beamed.
It was gross, she knew that, but there was something about the smell of greasy old paper bags that would always be homey to her. It reminded her of the days on the road with her father as a child when he would go miles out of his way to find exactly the fast food restaurant that she wanted (sometimes twice if there was a kids meal toy that she really wanted) instead of making her settle for the first thing they passed. Sometimes she had fallen asleep with the smell of french fries wafting through the car and woken up to the smell of hashbrowns being passed through the driver's window.
“Not just stiff knee, Princess,” he replied, bringing her out of her reverie, “stiff everything. Loads of travel, lonely nights, lots of important dates missed because you are on the road. Injuries too, and plenty of disappointment.”
“But there's also the crowds. There's the cheering and the excitement. There's being in the ring and hearing people you've never met chant your name.”
“They might not chant your name at first. You have to be prepared for that. They don't know who you are yet. Fans' approval is something you have to earn. And it's okay if you don't win, remember that.”
“As long as I learn something, I know. Daddy, I know you'll always see your little girl when you look at me and I know that I have tons to learn still, but I'm twenty-four. I understand this stuff.
“Remember I wrote you an entire essay on why I wanted to be a wrestler? I studied hard to get good grades I school and I went to college and got my degree to show you that I wanted it. I was so happy in wrestling school. I know it's not going to be easy, but it's still what I want.”
After her impassioned argument, he smiled. “As long as you know, Princess. You can have whatever you want...”
“As long as I work for it,” Annabel nodded as she finished the thought for him.
• • • The video opened with a bit of dizzying camera shaking before the scene settled into place. The plain walls, curtains, and glimpse of bedcovers in view suggested a hotel room. After a few moments Annabel appeared as she flopped onto the bed. She grabbed a pillow to tuck under her shoulders and chin, fluffing and folding it until she had just the right level of comfort.
“There sure are a lot of ways people do this, huh? I listened to that YouTube video from the nice cheesecake man Mr. Lex Collins and I went back and watched some of the ones from Heat Stroke and I even held the phone to record for my good friend Az for his last match...” Annabel paused as she seemed to realize she was rambling a bit, taking a deep breath before she continued, “So I guess there's not really a right way and a wrong way to do this. Everyone's got their thing, see.
“Everyone but me. I haven't found my thing yet. I tried, promise I did. I spent so long thinking about it that I ran out of time and I had to fly down here to Louisiana before I found it. So this time, as my Dad would say, I'm just gonna have to wing it.” She gave a sage nod and a bright smile.
“Before I left Dad gave me one of these thingers,” she trailed off as she leaned half way out of the shot for a moment or two, holding up an empty Go Pro box to the camera, presumably the one that had come out of the container. “He says lots of people use them now. I remember a long time ago when I just knee high to everybody that it all used to be done at the arena or wherever before or after a show. Things sure have changed a lot over the years. Guess I never really noticed it while it was happening.
“But I'm getting side tracked again, huh? Where was I? Oh, right. I didn't find my thing, so this time I gotta do it this way.” Annabel's barely contained excitement had her practically vibrating where she was laid out on the bed. “I can hardly believe it! I'm so close to my very first match as a professional wrestler. I could hardly sleep these last few days, and it's not just because of the cocoa. But I won't fib, I've had lots of that too.”
Annabel squirmed a little closer to the camera and adjusted the pillow again. “I can't wait to know what it feels like y'know? I mean of course I was in the ring lots at wrestling school and of course we had little shows, but this is gonna be totally different! I never thought I'd be all the way down here in Louisiana wrestling at an amusement park, but life does funny things to you. Dad always said so.
“But anyway, before I get side-tracked again... I have a match! Did I mention I'm super excited? Because I really really am. My very first opponent as a professional is Roy Baker. That sounds like the name of a nice old neighbor, huh? But Roy Baker isn't a nice old neighbor. Not that I'm saying he isn't nice, that's not what I meant. I don't know him, he could be a very nice man.
“I'm not judging him 'cause he's got tattoos and stuff. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover and all. I just meant that he's not old and neighborly. He's not Mr. Rogers.” Annabel made a face, more at herself than anything, as she reigned in her nervous rambling again. “Roy was in that great big sixteen person battle royal at Heat Stroke. He didn't win of course, but he did really good. He made it about half way through and he should be really proud of himself.
“I know he's probably pretty bummed instead, but he shouldn't be. That whole thing was just plain crazy! I can't imagine how hard it was to be in the ring with that many people. You'd have to have eyes in the back of your head... and on all the sides too! I think my ponytail would get in the way of that.”
She pushed up off of the pillow a bit and propped herself up on her elbows instead. The aforementioned ponytail bounced a little bit as her head swayed from side to side. “In the end Miss Nova Wonder won the battle royal and Roy Baker didn't. I bet that Roy is probably kicking himself now thinking about all the things he could have done different. Dad calls it the curse of hindsight.
“I bet that Roy Baker really wants to win this time too. I'd want to if I were him. Heck, I'm me and I still want to. That's the problem, isn't it? Roy wants to win, and I want to win, but we can't both win.” She made a grave face at the thought before scrunching up her lips and nose in a 'you know what I mean,' kind of way.
“Maybe Roy looks at me and he sees an easy target. I'm young and I have a lot to learn. This is going to be my very first match. On paper I know that Roy looks like the clear winner here. I can't blame anyone for thinking so.” Annabel took a deep breath and a determined look crossed her face as she went on, “I promise you though, I'm not an easy target.
“I may not have had my first match yet, but that doesn't mean I'm a stranger to the ring. I've spent my entire life around the wrestling business. My Dad was a wrestler all the way until I was in high school. So on top of going to the best wrestling school I could find, my Dad also taught me everything he knows. And he didn't just teach me moves either. No, he taught me stuff that is way more important than that.”
She leaned toward the camera without realizing it as she grew impassioned. She absently lifted a finger each time she recounted the many lessons. “He taught me to stand back up when you get knocked down. He taught me to learn from every mistake and never make the same one twice. He taught me to never give up. He taught me make every hit really, really hard.”
Annabel giggled a little bit at the last one. “So Roy Baker, you know that if you knock me on my booty I'm going to get right back up again. If you slip one by me and catch me with a move, you know you're not going to have the chance to do the same thing again. And if you think you can just wear me down and outlast me, well you're wrong Mister.
“I know you want this win just like I do. I hope you're coming ready to work for it, because I'm going to make you give everything you have if you want to get past me. If you want to get one over on Annabel Lee, that's me, you'd better be ready for determination like you've never seen before. You'd best be able to adapt and evolve on the spot because you're not going to take me down with the same old tricks.”
As she paused a sentimental look came over her face. She had to think for a moment about what she wanted to say next, “See Roy, I got my Dad to make proud. For years and years he sacrificed everything so that I wanted for nothing. When this became my dream he didn't try to change my mind, he just made sure that I really wanted it and then made sure that I worked my butt off to get it.
“So I gotta do this for him. I've gotta show him that I appreciated everything he did for all those years. I'm going to make sure that he sees that I really did learn from all those things he taught me, not just in the ring but outside of it as well. I want him to watch my very first match and know that he did everything right as my role model, my coach, and most importantly, my Dad.” She tried to hide the little blush that crossed her face by burying her head in the pillow for a few moments.
When she lifted her head and shook her ponytail out of her face, Annabel smiled again. “My Dad also taught me another thing. It's not about whether you win or lose, it's about how you win or lose. So I'm gonna go out there and give it my absolute best. I'm going to use every lesson that my Dad and my wrestling school taught me. If I win I'll probably be so happy I cry a little, but I'll still shake your hand Roy.
“And y'know what? If you win, I'll shake your hand then too. I won't be a bad sport. If you're not a big cheater and don't do something naughty to win, I won't say otherwise either. You can bet that if you win, I'll say it's because you were the better wrestler that night. No matter what, I'm gonna make my Dad proud.”
Rolling up into a sitting position on the bed, she picked up the camera and held it in her lap, looking down into the lens. “Whether I win or lose, I'm going stay true to myself. After this match, I'm going to go on to the next, and the next after that. I'm going to keep learning and keep working until I'm the best damn wrestler I can be.”
Annabel's eyes went wide and she pressed her lips together. She leaned to one side so that she could squeeze her hand into the pocket of her jeans and fished out a quarter. Looking sheepish, she leaned over to the nightstand and dropped it into the lidded glass container labeled, “Swear Jar.”
“I guess that's it. Soon it'll be time to show everyone what I can do. At the Wicked DVD taping I'm gonna prove that I belong in Pure Amusement Wrestling and I won't take the opportunity they've given me for granted. Thanks for listening to me ramble guys, and I hope to see whole bunches of people I don't even know there to cheer at the show.”
With a big “mwuah” she blew a kiss to the camera. A softly muttered, “Now how do I shut this off again...” accompanied the jostling before the video ended.• • •
For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee |
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