Post by Vodka Fizz on Mar 24, 2022 3:23:30 GMT -5
The scene opens in a fairly nice-looking park. There is various statuary about, adding a sort of elegance to the setting. What isn’t elegant, however, is the appearance of the Heart of Fireside in a slim-cut suit that’s studded almost entirely in rhinestones, along with his hat and glasses, cutting a figure that is still somehow dashing despite the audacity of the getup. He is clearly in the midst of a phone conversation when the camera cuts in.
Vodka: …I’m honestly not sure if I’m enough of an adult for this.
The eccentric rogue looks very nervous, his eyes flicking for routes of escape.
Murdock: You’ll do fine, bitch. Remember, homie, this shit is gonna help you move on. As long as you keep clinging to the past, motherfucker ain't never gonna move on.
Vodka takes a deep breath and nods, clenching his free hand into a fist.
Vodka: You’re right. Thanks, Murdock. I’m gonna go now, I’ll talk to you later.
Murdock: Go kill that shit, bitch!
Vodka puts his phone into his pocket, then makes his way down a pathway to where a rather severe-looking, dark haired woman is sitting on a bench. Vodka hangs back for a moment before he strides forward, taking a seat on the bench next to her.
Woman: It’s about time you turned up.
She looks anywhere but at the man next to her, and Vodka slumps slightly.
Vodka: …Hey mom. It’s, uh, it’s been a while.
Both of them are silent for a moment. The woman continues to resolutely avoid making eye contact, and the rogue kind of settles into looking at nothing,
Vodka: I know, it’s long overdue. You’re probably disappointed. But I couldn’t just keep pretending I was okay with how things went down between us.
Now the woman looks at Vodka, who appears to be the one who’s resolutely avoiding eye contact.
Mrs. Ficzkolowski: So what took you so long, then?
There’s a long moment of silence before Vodka speaks again.
Vodka: I guess I kind of hoped you’d be the one to reach out first. I guess we know how that turned out. And I think it goes without saying that I don’t forgive you. That’s not what I came here for.
The woman snorts, turning her attention to one of the statues.
Mrs. Ficzkolowski: Then what are you here for?
Vodka seems to consider that question for a long moment. He sniffs, lifting his glasses to wipe at his eyes.
Vodka: I’m just here because I wanted to tell you that I’m alright. Not that you ever really seemed to have much concern for how I was. But I’m trying to move on from this whole poor me bullshit, and a big part of that needed to be making peace with what happened with us.
The woman nods, and Vodka continues to look at nothing.
Vodka: I’m wrestling for the Fireside World Championship in a few days. That wrestling career you said was a joke? It’s going great. And I’m dating a great girl. I’m pretty sure you’d hate her. You never did like what I did.
The woman chuckles.
Mrs. Ficzkolowski: No, I never did.
Vodka’s phone goes off, and he glances at it.
Vodka: I know it wasn’t much of a visit, but I have to catch my flight. I’ll bring Nat the next time I come to visit.
Vodka stands, stepping closer to a simple tombstone. When the camera cuts to reveal the tombstone has the name ‘Marilyn Ficzkolowski’ etched in it, the bench is empty.
Vodka: I love you mom. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that.
Vodka takes a photo out of his pocket, showing a young Vodka with both of his parents, which he leaves on the tombstone as he walks away. The camera pans in on the picture before cutting to black.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Vodka: I’m honestly not sure if I’m enough of an adult for this.
The camera pans to show Vodka seated at the edge of a pond, staring out over the gently rippling water. He has a pensive look on his face as he considers the water, and he draws his knees up to his chest.
Vodka: That might kinda sound like it’s coming out of nowhere, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. I’m not talking about quitting, so don’t get that in your head. But I’m not sure I have the emotional maturity to keep fighting my girlfriend.
Vodka stands, collecting a handful of rocks and chucking one off into the pond where it lands with a ‘plunk.’
Vodka: Now don't get me wrong. That doesn’t mean that I’m not going to fight Natalie. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to fight Natalie. But it does mean that I’m not sure if this is good for us. I don;t think it’s good for me, because this is my first healthy relationship in ages. So we stop, we take a deep breath, and we think about what that means.
Vodka stops what he’s doing, taking a deep breath and letting it out before he continues. He tosses another rock, which lands in the pond with a ‘plonk.’
Vodka: The way I see it is, if things keep going the way things are going, we’re going to keep ending up in this position, where Natalie is someone that I’m looking up at, and she’s always going to feel like she’s going to be that pinnacle that I’m striving toward. And I know. I know, that’s kinda stupid that my brain has created some kind of power dynamic that makes me feel like I have to win a goddamn title so I can move on from this burning, seething, infuriating need to get the better of Natalie.
Vodka throws another stone, harder this time. It lands in the water with a ‘plink.’
Vodka: It’s no great secret that as long as I’ve been here I’ve been struggling. In the beginning, I struggled because I wasn’t immediately king of turd mountain. Then I struggled with the fact that I started to succeed, I started to struggle with the fact that I didn’t feel like I deserved it. Sure, I tried to pretend that I wasn’t fuckin’ freaking out when I got an opportunity because I didn’t feel like I deserved it. But then I kept winning. I won the Spark championship. I did some of the best work of my career. I came within a fingernail’s width of beating Spike Kane to become the X-Crown champion. I even beat Natalie Burrows, the Fireside world champion, the woman who did what I couldn’t, clean. But that wasn’t good enough for my stupid, broken-ass brain, was it?
Vodka laughs, firing off another stone that lands in the water with a ‘plop.’
Vodka: Nope. No sir. Naw, my stupid brain decided that now that everything was going in my favor that now I needed to resent the success of others! Joy of fucking joys, right? My girlfriend is the Fireside World Championship, and the only thing I can think about is how she must think less of me because she’s the world champion and I’m not. Isn’t it great? I resent the woman I love because of some invented power dynamic my stupid brain cooked up so I could be miserable. Gotta tell you, sometimes it’s exhausting pretending I’m not as fucked up as I really am.
Vodka is silent for a moment, his hands clenching into fists as he closes his eyes and takes another deep breath, letting it out slowly. He rolls a rock in his hand, preparing to toss it but stopping short of doing so, rubbing his thumb on the flat stone.
Vodka: I’ve been running this through my head for days. Ever since Inferno, really. Cause I can;t help but think that if I hadn’t somehow evaded up so singularly focused on Natalie then I might have had a better showing than what I did. And you know, no matter how many times I run through this scenario in my head, I can only land on one way to move on.
Vodka fires off the flat stone, and this time it skips a couple of times across the water before landing with a ‘plish.’ Vodka turns his attention to the camera, smiling enigmatically.
Vodka: I hate that it has to come to this. I truly do. I would much rather be able to be happy the way things are. Unfortunately, there’s some part of me that won’t let that be the case. And even though I know that it’s not going to fix my problems, or take away the imposter syndrome, or make me a happier more well-adjusted person, maybe winning the Fireside World Champion from Natalie will let me move on from Natalie Burrows the World Champion to Natalie Burrows, the woman I love.
Vodka turns his attention to the camera now, casting aside any of the pebbles he has left.
Vodka: So Natalie, that’s where I’m at right now. I respect what you’ve achieved. I do. I respect that you’ve done things I haven’t. I respect that you had the juice to beat MAJESTY to win that title when I didn’t. I threw everything I had at MAJESTY and you made it look easy in comparison. And I gotta give you a lot of kudos for that, honestly. I think that match probably started me down the road to falling in love with you. But that’s not what we’re here to talk about that.
Vodka shakes his head.
Vodka: I know you have a reason to hold on to that belt. You have a lot of baggage tied up in how your whole story with MAJESTY played out. You owe the Dragon a rematch, right? Admirable that you want to live up to that. Really. But with all due respect, that doesn’t change the fact that I need to win that title from you. I love you, Natalie. And because I love you, at Fuel for the Fire, I’m going to do everything I can to be the one to leave with that championship.
Vodka’s expression darkens slightly as he stares at the camera, strolling forward. Until his face takes up most of the camera.
Vodka: You got to be the dragon slayer, Nat. You got to conquer the monster and win the title. You got to be the hero. And at every chance you got to prove why you were the hero. Right up until you and I faced off. That’s not a knock against you, either, because you took everything I had to throw at you. But in the end, I felled the mighty hero, and you and I… Well, you know how that turned out.
Vodka averts his eyes, sighing. He walks away from the camera again, before turning back.
Vodka: You could beat me. You might beat me. But I can’t let that happen. If I have to be the bad guy to do that, then I’ll be the bad guy. I honestly, truly hope that you understand why I’m going to subvert your expectations, and why I’m going to be the one to leave with your title. More than anything, I just hope when it’s all said and done that you can forgive me for what it took to get there.
Vodka walks over to the camera, his expression unreadable as he clicks the camera off.
Vodka: …I’m honestly not sure if I’m enough of an adult for this.
The eccentric rogue looks very nervous, his eyes flicking for routes of escape.
Murdock: You’ll do fine, bitch. Remember, homie, this shit is gonna help you move on. As long as you keep clinging to the past, motherfucker ain't never gonna move on.
Vodka takes a deep breath and nods, clenching his free hand into a fist.
Vodka: You’re right. Thanks, Murdock. I’m gonna go now, I’ll talk to you later.
Murdock: Go kill that shit, bitch!
Vodka puts his phone into his pocket, then makes his way down a pathway to where a rather severe-looking, dark haired woman is sitting on a bench. Vodka hangs back for a moment before he strides forward, taking a seat on the bench next to her.
Woman: It’s about time you turned up.
She looks anywhere but at the man next to her, and Vodka slumps slightly.
Vodka: …Hey mom. It’s, uh, it’s been a while.
Both of them are silent for a moment. The woman continues to resolutely avoid making eye contact, and the rogue kind of settles into looking at nothing,
Vodka: I know, it’s long overdue. You’re probably disappointed. But I couldn’t just keep pretending I was okay with how things went down between us.
Now the woman looks at Vodka, who appears to be the one who’s resolutely avoiding eye contact.
Mrs. Ficzkolowski: So what took you so long, then?
There’s a long moment of silence before Vodka speaks again.
Vodka: I guess I kind of hoped you’d be the one to reach out first. I guess we know how that turned out. And I think it goes without saying that I don’t forgive you. That’s not what I came here for.
The woman snorts, turning her attention to one of the statues.
Mrs. Ficzkolowski: Then what are you here for?
Vodka seems to consider that question for a long moment. He sniffs, lifting his glasses to wipe at his eyes.
Vodka: I’m just here because I wanted to tell you that I’m alright. Not that you ever really seemed to have much concern for how I was. But I’m trying to move on from this whole poor me bullshit, and a big part of that needed to be making peace with what happened with us.
The woman nods, and Vodka continues to look at nothing.
Vodka: I’m wrestling for the Fireside World Championship in a few days. That wrestling career you said was a joke? It’s going great. And I’m dating a great girl. I’m pretty sure you’d hate her. You never did like what I did.
The woman chuckles.
Mrs. Ficzkolowski: No, I never did.
Vodka’s phone goes off, and he glances at it.
Vodka: I know it wasn’t much of a visit, but I have to catch my flight. I’ll bring Nat the next time I come to visit.
Vodka stands, stepping closer to a simple tombstone. When the camera cuts to reveal the tombstone has the name ‘Marilyn Ficzkolowski’ etched in it, the bench is empty.
Vodka: I love you mom. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that.
Vodka takes a photo out of his pocket, showing a young Vodka with both of his parents, which he leaves on the tombstone as he walks away. The camera pans in on the picture before cutting to black.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Vodka: I’m honestly not sure if I’m enough of an adult for this.
The camera pans to show Vodka seated at the edge of a pond, staring out over the gently rippling water. He has a pensive look on his face as he considers the water, and he draws his knees up to his chest.
Vodka: That might kinda sound like it’s coming out of nowhere, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. I’m not talking about quitting, so don’t get that in your head. But I’m not sure I have the emotional maturity to keep fighting my girlfriend.
Vodka stands, collecting a handful of rocks and chucking one off into the pond where it lands with a ‘plunk.’
Vodka: Now don't get me wrong. That doesn’t mean that I’m not going to fight Natalie. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to fight Natalie. But it does mean that I’m not sure if this is good for us. I don;t think it’s good for me, because this is my first healthy relationship in ages. So we stop, we take a deep breath, and we think about what that means.
Vodka stops what he’s doing, taking a deep breath and letting it out before he continues. He tosses another rock, which lands in the pond with a ‘plonk.’
Vodka: The way I see it is, if things keep going the way things are going, we’re going to keep ending up in this position, where Natalie is someone that I’m looking up at, and she’s always going to feel like she’s going to be that pinnacle that I’m striving toward. And I know. I know, that’s kinda stupid that my brain has created some kind of power dynamic that makes me feel like I have to win a goddamn title so I can move on from this burning, seething, infuriating need to get the better of Natalie.
Vodka throws another stone, harder this time. It lands in the water with a ‘plink.’
Vodka: It’s no great secret that as long as I’ve been here I’ve been struggling. In the beginning, I struggled because I wasn’t immediately king of turd mountain. Then I struggled with the fact that I started to succeed, I started to struggle with the fact that I didn’t feel like I deserved it. Sure, I tried to pretend that I wasn’t fuckin’ freaking out when I got an opportunity because I didn’t feel like I deserved it. But then I kept winning. I won the Spark championship. I did some of the best work of my career. I came within a fingernail’s width of beating Spike Kane to become the X-Crown champion. I even beat Natalie Burrows, the Fireside world champion, the woman who did what I couldn’t, clean. But that wasn’t good enough for my stupid, broken-ass brain, was it?
Vodka laughs, firing off another stone that lands in the water with a ‘plop.’
Vodka: Nope. No sir. Naw, my stupid brain decided that now that everything was going in my favor that now I needed to resent the success of others! Joy of fucking joys, right? My girlfriend is the Fireside World Championship, and the only thing I can think about is how she must think less of me because she’s the world champion and I’m not. Isn’t it great? I resent the woman I love because of some invented power dynamic my stupid brain cooked up so I could be miserable. Gotta tell you, sometimes it’s exhausting pretending I’m not as fucked up as I really am.
Vodka is silent for a moment, his hands clenching into fists as he closes his eyes and takes another deep breath, letting it out slowly. He rolls a rock in his hand, preparing to toss it but stopping short of doing so, rubbing his thumb on the flat stone.
Vodka: I’ve been running this through my head for days. Ever since Inferno, really. Cause I can;t help but think that if I hadn’t somehow evaded up so singularly focused on Natalie then I might have had a better showing than what I did. And you know, no matter how many times I run through this scenario in my head, I can only land on one way to move on.
Vodka fires off the flat stone, and this time it skips a couple of times across the water before landing with a ‘plish.’ Vodka turns his attention to the camera, smiling enigmatically.
Vodka: I hate that it has to come to this. I truly do. I would much rather be able to be happy the way things are. Unfortunately, there’s some part of me that won’t let that be the case. And even though I know that it’s not going to fix my problems, or take away the imposter syndrome, or make me a happier more well-adjusted person, maybe winning the Fireside World Champion from Natalie will let me move on from Natalie Burrows the World Champion to Natalie Burrows, the woman I love.
Vodka turns his attention to the camera now, casting aside any of the pebbles he has left.
Vodka: So Natalie, that’s where I’m at right now. I respect what you’ve achieved. I do. I respect that you’ve done things I haven’t. I respect that you had the juice to beat MAJESTY to win that title when I didn’t. I threw everything I had at MAJESTY and you made it look easy in comparison. And I gotta give you a lot of kudos for that, honestly. I think that match probably started me down the road to falling in love with you. But that’s not what we’re here to talk about that.
Vodka shakes his head.
Vodka: I know you have a reason to hold on to that belt. You have a lot of baggage tied up in how your whole story with MAJESTY played out. You owe the Dragon a rematch, right? Admirable that you want to live up to that. Really. But with all due respect, that doesn’t change the fact that I need to win that title from you. I love you, Natalie. And because I love you, at Fuel for the Fire, I’m going to do everything I can to be the one to leave with that championship.
Vodka’s expression darkens slightly as he stares at the camera, strolling forward. Until his face takes up most of the camera.
Vodka: You got to be the dragon slayer, Nat. You got to conquer the monster and win the title. You got to be the hero. And at every chance you got to prove why you were the hero. Right up until you and I faced off. That’s not a knock against you, either, because you took everything I had to throw at you. But in the end, I felled the mighty hero, and you and I… Well, you know how that turned out.
Vodka averts his eyes, sighing. He walks away from the camera again, before turning back.
Vodka: You could beat me. You might beat me. But I can’t let that happen. If I have to be the bad guy to do that, then I’ll be the bad guy. I honestly, truly hope that you understand why I’m going to subvert your expectations, and why I’m going to be the one to leave with your title. More than anything, I just hope when it’s all said and done that you can forgive me for what it took to get there.
Vodka walks over to the camera, his expression unreadable as he clicks the camera off.