Post by Kaelan Laughlin on Oct 3, 2020 21:58:39 GMT -5
There comes a time where you start wondering if all the sacrifices are worth it. If your goals and dreams are really worth dying for. Especially if you don’t have much to show for it. Now Kaelan had a lot to show for her career, but in those moments where she had nearly died for the prize at the end of the death trap? She had nothing.
Just a huge hospital bill and a small army of people upset with her for pushing herself to those limits, because to them her life had more value than any championship. To her? It was much different. A legacy built off the blood she shed in the ring was better than none at all. That’s what being the Warrior Queen meant to her. That no matter what battle she lost? She’d always get back up. She’d keep fighting until the war was won.
Her battle wounds had created some challenges for her. Being burned alive and having your flesh torn from various weapons all in the same week really had taken their toll on Kaelan but rather than take a break and give herself time to heal. She did the easiest thing. She put a bandaid on all of it with prescription pain killers and the occasional drink. It made her numb, but functional. Just enough to take off the edge and the Warrior Queen was back on her feet.
As she sat in her hotel room looking at the tiny pills in her hand, that’s when she started wondering if it really was all worth it. She wanted so bad to be on top. To keep uplifting the Laughlin name.. while creating her own legacy, because deep down she still felt she was a Price and a Price never backed down either. She just wanted to show everyone she was the best of two different worlds combined. She was good enough to stand tall.
To hold a World Championship belt high above her head.. to know she earned it and there was no one who could tarnish that for her… but at what cost? Was this the price she’d keep paying to be on top? Was she willing to keep paying it? She contemplated it as she moved her thumb across the tiny round pills. She faintly could make out the low hum of the hotel air conditioning unit in the background but it was nothing compared to the sound of her heart beating faster.. and her brain screaming she needed some relief from the pain but that voice of reason was trying so hard to pierce the veil. To really keep asking, Who are you? Is this what you want to become? Is this worth it?
She just wanted it all to stop. For the noise to just quit and so no more hesitation. She threw the pills back into her mouth and took a drink from the small glass she had next to her bed. The decision was made, and an answer called out.
Yes. It was worth everything.
——————————————————-
The camera comes alive to an empty theater. This seems like a pretty decent theater as the cushions of the chairs are made of bright red silk like fabric. The arms and legs of the chairs bolted into place have a gold filigree. A theater built to host some of the greatest theater performances you can imagine.
The lights were dimmed a bit and you saw the large dark red and gold curtains were firmly closed. The whole theater was quiet until you could hear the click of a spotlight flick on and go straight to the center of the curtains. They parted ever so slightly in the middle just enough for Kaelan Laughlin to come out from behind them and for her to blink a little from the sudden brightness of the spotlight. She adjusted quickly before clearing her throat to speak to the empty theater.
“Welcome everyone. This performance tonight is called the Guerilla Warfare Match of Utter Doom. I am your narrator and star this evening, Kaelan Laughlin. I think we are ready to begin.”
Kaelan beckons to someone a signal with the wave of her hand, and the curtains come open. The backdrop is a painted wrestling ring and from both sides of the stage various dancing actors appear. They all seem to be wearing masks and when their faces turn towards the camera it can be seen that each one wears the mask of a competitor in the Guerilla Warfare match and yes even some wear a big question mark mask as some entrants are still unknown at this time. Kaelan has a smile on her face as she watches them all punch and kick dramatically and fight each other through dance.
“I could stand here and talk about the history of this match and what it means in Union. I could stand here and pick apart each and every person that’s decided to enter this big match up, but let’s be honest. You’re going to have plenty of other people doing that for you. You’re going to hear from so many people why they are the best. Why they are going to win. That’s our job. To tell you that we are going to win, but the reality of the situation is this. Only one of us is going to be right.”
All the actors stop fighting and dancing to gasp for a moment for dramatic effect as Kaelan waves them to keep going. So they do so.
“I don’t need to sit here and follow that up with it’s going to be me. The implications were already there. This match has some of the biggest names in Wrestling. Some down right intimidating names and some names that I truly have a lot of love and respect for when it comes to the things they’ve accomplished, but I’ve surpassed the doe eyed little girl who fan girls and let’s herself be starstruck and dumbfounded by the spotlight of others, and you want to know why? Because I’ve got my own gleaming and sparkling spotlight.”
“One that rivals them all because you see although their spotlights are bright and powerful. They let them fade. They let them dull or they simply preform one act of sheer brilliance and when they stumble once they promptly walk off the stage.”
“I’ve had my share of stumbles in front of the live crowd. I’ve walked out and fallen flat on my face during the biggest shows but I didn’t walk off the stage. I didn’t take a leave and contemplate never walking onto the stage again. No. I got back up and I showed up every night. That’s what makes me different. That’s what makes me better than the other biggest names in this match. I’ve never given up. I’ve never thought I already did enough so I didn’t have to do more. My ego doesn’t rule me.”
In that moment a few of the masked dancers fall or get knocked out. They quickly act embarrassed and run off the stage while the other stage performers keep going. Kaelan shrugs her shoulders and scoffs at what’s left on the stage. A few of the dancers pull out phones and stop their fighting with the others to take selfies and what have you.. Kaelan shakes her head.
“This Guerilla Warfare Match is filled with talents who are fleeting. Throwing their name wherever they can in hopes for an ounce of attention or recognition. A bunch of souls who want to ride on the coattails of saying they were in a match in one of the biggest companies. They want to hopefully be able to tweet for a few hours how they might have thrown a couple people out of this match. So that makes them a somebody, but at the end of the day most of them are just meat sacks and a Warrior Queen Fox has got to eat.”
Kaelan walks over to the dancers and places a bloody fox mask over her face. The selfie mask wearing dancers get scared and quickly flee the stage. Leaving very few dancers on the stage. Honestly who really cares what masks they are wearing at this point because none of them are going to win but the dancers line up quickly and then start fighting as the ones in the back try to get to the front. Kaelan removes her fox mask and shakes out her long orange locks with a sigh and an annoyed glare at the dancers.
“I’m tired of this shite where everyone wants to skip to the front of the line. I’m tired of the entitlement they have because of past success. I’ve been one of the most consistent talents here in Union for well over a year now. I lost to Dakota and Kaven sure, but what the fuck has either of them done with it. All they’ve shown is to be someone else’s bitch and here I am. Still my own bitch. Still the Warrior Queen ready to go into battle, and for no one else but myself. So no. None of you half wits are going to come in here and get a free pass to the front of the line. Not on my watch. I’ll toss you on your head without a second thought about it.”
Kaelan made a point to start moving towards the dancers as the last words left her lips. They seemed terrified like she might actually hurt them as she kept speaking… fleeing the stage.
“You want your spotlight. You’ll get it. It won’t even be fifteen minutes of fame for you all. I’ll give you a good fifteen seconds though before I wrench and tear off a limb and send you packing, but hey at least you’ll have your Instagram selfie to post the next day and pretend like it didn’t happen. I’ve been fighting monsters, demons and badass mother fuckers for months. While the biggest monster some of you have faced is that Facetune app on your phone. You’re out of your depth. You’re out of your element, and you’re just gonna be good little foot soldiers for me to cut down on my way to winning another tough battle here at the Battleground. Line up like the good little soldiers you are. This won’t be a quick death, but I’ll make it an honorable one.”
At this point Kaelan looks around to find nobody left by her and the stage is dimmed but the spotlight still shines on her. She smiles brightly as she looks to the empty crowd/camera.
“The spotlight shines brightest on but a few souls in this cold and cruel world but I’m ready to snuff them all out. I’ve been trying to grind my way back to the top of this company. I’ve been working tirelessly for months to get another major title opportunity and here it is, and I’ll be damned if I let anyone take this away from me. Kaven Drell already tried to take my life once. There’s a chance he walks away as the top champion of this company tonight and I won’t stand for that. I won’t let him win. I won’t let him turn this place into a cheap haunted theme park attraction like so many people have done to this place in the past.”
Kaelan gritted her teeth and balled her hands into fists as she thought about why Kaven was allowed to get to where he was. It was her fault. She had let it get this bad. She had to fix it. The Guerilla warfare match was truly about her fixing all the wrongs.
She slowly started walking to the front of the stage as the lights further dimmed and the spotlight was about to be the only light shining in the theater directly on her.
“I’m the reason he’s where he is right now, because I couldn’t stop him. I wasn’t strong enough, but I’ve been building myself up. I went to Japan and have beaten foes that I never thought I’d beat. Hell I beat one half of the current Union Battalion Champions and when I win Guerilla Warfare that means I’ve single handedly beaten the tag champs. World Champion talents. If Kaven ends up winning? I know what I have to do. Losing this match isn’t an option. I have to fix the mess I made. Finish what was started, because Kaven thinks the war was over. I assure you it is not.”
It will never be over. That’s all Kaelan could think about. He had ruined her and she would never forgive or forget it. Any chance she could ruin his existence she would take.
Guerilla Warfare could get her there, but Indi wasn’t one to sleep on. Maybe she would succeed where everyone else had failed to stop him.. but that didn’t mean that it would make the motivation to win the Guerilla Warfare match any less for her.
Kaelan reached center stage. The place she had started from the beginning. The lights were out and the spotlight was all that was left. It was bright and harsh against the darkness around her but Kaelan wasn’t going to flinch. In fact, right now the light was comforting. She felt she was thriving in it.
“Don’t think if Indi overthrows Kaven winning this match isn’t still just as important to me. Where Kaven wants it to be Halloween Horror Nights all the time. Indi is ready for Coachella Season all year long, and that’s equally not as fun. This is the battleground. That means a Warrior should be standing at the top. A Warrior Queen to be more precise. I need to win that World Championship title. That will mean a Laughlin has been the top champ of every major cornerstone company in this industry in the past year alone, and my husband is great but I’m looking forward to crushing all the obstacles. Even the ones he couldn’t conquer like Ana Hayden and making the Warrior Queen truly mean something here in Union.”
At that moment as the curtains started to close behind her a few of the masked dancers appeared. Ready for a fight. Small spotlights lit up their face as they fought against the curtain closing on them. They reached to pull Kaelan back but she fought each of them off as she kept speaking. She battled the mock opponents from pulling her away from that bright spotlight but Kaelan didn’t want to go into the dark. She wanted to stay in the light and she fought hard with her foes to stay there.
“I’ve been fighting for it for months. I haven’t forgotten or lost my way. I haven’t neglected this place for other spotlights. I haven’t walked out when the going got tough. No. I got back up. Every time you all thought the Warrior Queen was dead. I got back up. Every time you tried to push me down I dug my feet into the dirt and pushed back harder. I don’t die. I don’t give up, and I’ll never back down from anyone. Bring me everything you got. Try to push me out of the spotlight but I promise you when it’s the end of the show and the lights are going out? One spotlight will remain, and it will be me standing in it.”
With one final shove Kaelan pushed the last of the masked dancers behind the curtain. So that she was the only one left standing there. The theater was empty now but at Guerilla Warfare she knew that the seats would be filled and they would ring out in thunderous applause as she stood tall at the end of the night. In spite of all the setbacks here in Union. This was her moment. This was her time to shine the brightest.
Just a huge hospital bill and a small army of people upset with her for pushing herself to those limits, because to them her life had more value than any championship. To her? It was much different. A legacy built off the blood she shed in the ring was better than none at all. That’s what being the Warrior Queen meant to her. That no matter what battle she lost? She’d always get back up. She’d keep fighting until the war was won.
Her battle wounds had created some challenges for her. Being burned alive and having your flesh torn from various weapons all in the same week really had taken their toll on Kaelan but rather than take a break and give herself time to heal. She did the easiest thing. She put a bandaid on all of it with prescription pain killers and the occasional drink. It made her numb, but functional. Just enough to take off the edge and the Warrior Queen was back on her feet.
As she sat in her hotel room looking at the tiny pills in her hand, that’s when she started wondering if it really was all worth it. She wanted so bad to be on top. To keep uplifting the Laughlin name.. while creating her own legacy, because deep down she still felt she was a Price and a Price never backed down either. She just wanted to show everyone she was the best of two different worlds combined. She was good enough to stand tall.
To hold a World Championship belt high above her head.. to know she earned it and there was no one who could tarnish that for her… but at what cost? Was this the price she’d keep paying to be on top? Was she willing to keep paying it? She contemplated it as she moved her thumb across the tiny round pills. She faintly could make out the low hum of the hotel air conditioning unit in the background but it was nothing compared to the sound of her heart beating faster.. and her brain screaming she needed some relief from the pain but that voice of reason was trying so hard to pierce the veil. To really keep asking, Who are you? Is this what you want to become? Is this worth it?
She just wanted it all to stop. For the noise to just quit and so no more hesitation. She threw the pills back into her mouth and took a drink from the small glass she had next to her bed. The decision was made, and an answer called out.
Yes. It was worth everything.
——————————————————-
The camera comes alive to an empty theater. This seems like a pretty decent theater as the cushions of the chairs are made of bright red silk like fabric. The arms and legs of the chairs bolted into place have a gold filigree. A theater built to host some of the greatest theater performances you can imagine.
The lights were dimmed a bit and you saw the large dark red and gold curtains were firmly closed. The whole theater was quiet until you could hear the click of a spotlight flick on and go straight to the center of the curtains. They parted ever so slightly in the middle just enough for Kaelan Laughlin to come out from behind them and for her to blink a little from the sudden brightness of the spotlight. She adjusted quickly before clearing her throat to speak to the empty theater.
“Welcome everyone. This performance tonight is called the Guerilla Warfare Match of Utter Doom. I am your narrator and star this evening, Kaelan Laughlin. I think we are ready to begin.”
Kaelan beckons to someone a signal with the wave of her hand, and the curtains come open. The backdrop is a painted wrestling ring and from both sides of the stage various dancing actors appear. They all seem to be wearing masks and when their faces turn towards the camera it can be seen that each one wears the mask of a competitor in the Guerilla Warfare match and yes even some wear a big question mark mask as some entrants are still unknown at this time. Kaelan has a smile on her face as she watches them all punch and kick dramatically and fight each other through dance.
“I could stand here and talk about the history of this match and what it means in Union. I could stand here and pick apart each and every person that’s decided to enter this big match up, but let’s be honest. You’re going to have plenty of other people doing that for you. You’re going to hear from so many people why they are the best. Why they are going to win. That’s our job. To tell you that we are going to win, but the reality of the situation is this. Only one of us is going to be right.”
All the actors stop fighting and dancing to gasp for a moment for dramatic effect as Kaelan waves them to keep going. So they do so.
“I don’t need to sit here and follow that up with it’s going to be me. The implications were already there. This match has some of the biggest names in Wrestling. Some down right intimidating names and some names that I truly have a lot of love and respect for when it comes to the things they’ve accomplished, but I’ve surpassed the doe eyed little girl who fan girls and let’s herself be starstruck and dumbfounded by the spotlight of others, and you want to know why? Because I’ve got my own gleaming and sparkling spotlight.”
“One that rivals them all because you see although their spotlights are bright and powerful. They let them fade. They let them dull or they simply preform one act of sheer brilliance and when they stumble once they promptly walk off the stage.”
“I’ve had my share of stumbles in front of the live crowd. I’ve walked out and fallen flat on my face during the biggest shows but I didn’t walk off the stage. I didn’t take a leave and contemplate never walking onto the stage again. No. I got back up and I showed up every night. That’s what makes me different. That’s what makes me better than the other biggest names in this match. I’ve never given up. I’ve never thought I already did enough so I didn’t have to do more. My ego doesn’t rule me.”
In that moment a few of the masked dancers fall or get knocked out. They quickly act embarrassed and run off the stage while the other stage performers keep going. Kaelan shrugs her shoulders and scoffs at what’s left on the stage. A few of the dancers pull out phones and stop their fighting with the others to take selfies and what have you.. Kaelan shakes her head.
“This Guerilla Warfare Match is filled with talents who are fleeting. Throwing their name wherever they can in hopes for an ounce of attention or recognition. A bunch of souls who want to ride on the coattails of saying they were in a match in one of the biggest companies. They want to hopefully be able to tweet for a few hours how they might have thrown a couple people out of this match. So that makes them a somebody, but at the end of the day most of them are just meat sacks and a Warrior Queen Fox has got to eat.”
Kaelan walks over to the dancers and places a bloody fox mask over her face. The selfie mask wearing dancers get scared and quickly flee the stage. Leaving very few dancers on the stage. Honestly who really cares what masks they are wearing at this point because none of them are going to win but the dancers line up quickly and then start fighting as the ones in the back try to get to the front. Kaelan removes her fox mask and shakes out her long orange locks with a sigh and an annoyed glare at the dancers.
“I’m tired of this shite where everyone wants to skip to the front of the line. I’m tired of the entitlement they have because of past success. I’ve been one of the most consistent talents here in Union for well over a year now. I lost to Dakota and Kaven sure, but what the fuck has either of them done with it. All they’ve shown is to be someone else’s bitch and here I am. Still my own bitch. Still the Warrior Queen ready to go into battle, and for no one else but myself. So no. None of you half wits are going to come in here and get a free pass to the front of the line. Not on my watch. I’ll toss you on your head without a second thought about it.”
Kaelan made a point to start moving towards the dancers as the last words left her lips. They seemed terrified like she might actually hurt them as she kept speaking… fleeing the stage.
“You want your spotlight. You’ll get it. It won’t even be fifteen minutes of fame for you all. I’ll give you a good fifteen seconds though before I wrench and tear off a limb and send you packing, but hey at least you’ll have your Instagram selfie to post the next day and pretend like it didn’t happen. I’ve been fighting monsters, demons and badass mother fuckers for months. While the biggest monster some of you have faced is that Facetune app on your phone. You’re out of your depth. You’re out of your element, and you’re just gonna be good little foot soldiers for me to cut down on my way to winning another tough battle here at the Battleground. Line up like the good little soldiers you are. This won’t be a quick death, but I’ll make it an honorable one.”
At this point Kaelan looks around to find nobody left by her and the stage is dimmed but the spotlight still shines on her. She smiles brightly as she looks to the empty crowd/camera.
“The spotlight shines brightest on but a few souls in this cold and cruel world but I’m ready to snuff them all out. I’ve been trying to grind my way back to the top of this company. I’ve been working tirelessly for months to get another major title opportunity and here it is, and I’ll be damned if I let anyone take this away from me. Kaven Drell already tried to take my life once. There’s a chance he walks away as the top champion of this company tonight and I won’t stand for that. I won’t let him win. I won’t let him turn this place into a cheap haunted theme park attraction like so many people have done to this place in the past.”
Kaelan gritted her teeth and balled her hands into fists as she thought about why Kaven was allowed to get to where he was. It was her fault. She had let it get this bad. She had to fix it. The Guerilla warfare match was truly about her fixing all the wrongs.
She slowly started walking to the front of the stage as the lights further dimmed and the spotlight was about to be the only light shining in the theater directly on her.
“I’m the reason he’s where he is right now, because I couldn’t stop him. I wasn’t strong enough, but I’ve been building myself up. I went to Japan and have beaten foes that I never thought I’d beat. Hell I beat one half of the current Union Battalion Champions and when I win Guerilla Warfare that means I’ve single handedly beaten the tag champs. World Champion talents. If Kaven ends up winning? I know what I have to do. Losing this match isn’t an option. I have to fix the mess I made. Finish what was started, because Kaven thinks the war was over. I assure you it is not.”
It will never be over. That’s all Kaelan could think about. He had ruined her and she would never forgive or forget it. Any chance she could ruin his existence she would take.
Guerilla Warfare could get her there, but Indi wasn’t one to sleep on. Maybe she would succeed where everyone else had failed to stop him.. but that didn’t mean that it would make the motivation to win the Guerilla Warfare match any less for her.
Kaelan reached center stage. The place she had started from the beginning. The lights were out and the spotlight was all that was left. It was bright and harsh against the darkness around her but Kaelan wasn’t going to flinch. In fact, right now the light was comforting. She felt she was thriving in it.
“Don’t think if Indi overthrows Kaven winning this match isn’t still just as important to me. Where Kaven wants it to be Halloween Horror Nights all the time. Indi is ready for Coachella Season all year long, and that’s equally not as fun. This is the battleground. That means a Warrior should be standing at the top. A Warrior Queen to be more precise. I need to win that World Championship title. That will mean a Laughlin has been the top champ of every major cornerstone company in this industry in the past year alone, and my husband is great but I’m looking forward to crushing all the obstacles. Even the ones he couldn’t conquer like Ana Hayden and making the Warrior Queen truly mean something here in Union.”
At that moment as the curtains started to close behind her a few of the masked dancers appeared. Ready for a fight. Small spotlights lit up their face as they fought against the curtain closing on them. They reached to pull Kaelan back but she fought each of them off as she kept speaking. She battled the mock opponents from pulling her away from that bright spotlight but Kaelan didn’t want to go into the dark. She wanted to stay in the light and she fought hard with her foes to stay there.
“I’ve been fighting for it for months. I haven’t forgotten or lost my way. I haven’t neglected this place for other spotlights. I haven’t walked out when the going got tough. No. I got back up. Every time you all thought the Warrior Queen was dead. I got back up. Every time you tried to push me down I dug my feet into the dirt and pushed back harder. I don’t die. I don’t give up, and I’ll never back down from anyone. Bring me everything you got. Try to push me out of the spotlight but I promise you when it’s the end of the show and the lights are going out? One spotlight will remain, and it will be me standing in it.”
With one final shove Kaelan pushed the last of the masked dancers behind the curtain. So that she was the only one left standing there. The theater was empty now but at Guerilla Warfare she knew that the seats would be filled and they would ring out in thunderous applause as she stood tall at the end of the night. In spite of all the setbacks here in Union. This was her moment. This was her time to shine the brightest.