Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Aug 9, 2016 19:59:03 GMT -5
Post by Emily Carter on Aug 9, 2016 19:59:03 GMT -5
“I was that close to achieving the dream that I’ve spent months on end training for,” Emily says as she sits on a bench outside the LDFC facility.
“A half a second. That was the difference between a Draw and me becoming your new APEX Champion. Talk about a tough break, huh?” She tries to crack a smile. But she’s still bitter about the outcome. “Now as my 'good buddy' Prince MacRear was soooooo eager to point out, almost doesn’t count. I also hear it’s true that coming close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Now I didn’t walk out with the title. My hand wasn’t raised. My name wasn’t announced at the end. But Nest, you and I both know what really happened that night. You expected me to be a pushover. Instead, you got pushed back harder than ever. You expected to dominate me. Instead, you threw out every move in your repertoire and I still got up. You expected to best me inside the ring. Instead, you got shown up.”
“Simply put, you lost that match.”
Emily cups her ear to the distance “Now I can hear you laughing from all the way up in your tree at the sound of that. In your mind, I failed. I failed to pin you. I failed to make you submit. I failed to get the job done within the allotted time of the match. Well you know what? If I were trying to save face, I would probably say something like that, too.”
“But at the end of Bound by Honor, the fans were chanting someone’s name and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t yours. At the end of the show, only one of us was walking out of that ring. I’m not trying to claim a moral victory. I’m not trying to pat myself on the back because I “hung in there” with you. What I’m doing, Nest, is stating the truth. I did more than just “hang” with you in that match. I rendered you unconscious. You had to be saved by the bell because you couldn’t save yourself. What was that you called me before? A damaged flower? Well this damaged flower bloomed right over you.”
“But it wasn’t just any flower.” She wags her finger. “It was a Gladiolus flower. A flower which represents strength of character, conviction and honor - three things you don’t know anything about if your actions after the match are any indication."
“Five more minutes.”
“That’s all these great fans asked for. After a match like that, why not? Why let a championship match like that end with more questions than answers? That match deserved a decisive winner and I’m confidant that if we had gone the extra five, we could’ve given the fans just that. But no, you said screw me and screw the fans. You were perfectly fine with keeping your title on a technicality. Your actions after the match are a total 180 of the image you put out there. Nest, the big bad of LDFC. The man that takes on all comers. The man that's not afraid to brawl all around the facility with Terrence Tillman. The guy that calls out the FGA World Champion. But let’s be honest. How are you going to survive a match with Johnny Cannon if you’re too afraid to go an extra five minutes with me?”
“The eyes, they never lie. When I looked into your eyes after the match, I saw a man that was defeated: mentally, physically, emotionally. I saw a man that was scared: for his championship, for his pride, for his legacy. I saw a man that knew good and well that if we ever stepped into the ring again and his title was on the line, he wouldn’t be leaving with it.”
“You can say that you decimated the Death Adder. You can say that you smacked around the Sultan of Selfies. You can even say that you trampled The Terrific one. But when you look yourself in the mirror, you can’t say that you ever beat me. That’s a fact that you’ve had to live with for the last four weeks.”
“That's a fact that you'll be living with well after Pride 30.”
“But go ahead. Keep brushing off my comments. Keep looking down on me like I'm someone whose name isn't worth remembering. After I walk into your nest, knock you out for the second time and pin you for your title? Emily Carter will be a name that you'll never forget.”
“Nest Assured.”
“A half a second. That was the difference between a Draw and me becoming your new APEX Champion. Talk about a tough break, huh?” She tries to crack a smile. But she’s still bitter about the outcome. “Now as my 'good buddy' Prince MacRear was soooooo eager to point out, almost doesn’t count. I also hear it’s true that coming close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Now I didn’t walk out with the title. My hand wasn’t raised. My name wasn’t announced at the end. But Nest, you and I both know what really happened that night. You expected me to be a pushover. Instead, you got pushed back harder than ever. You expected to dominate me. Instead, you threw out every move in your repertoire and I still got up. You expected to best me inside the ring. Instead, you got shown up.”
“Simply put, you lost that match.”
Emily cups her ear to the distance “Now I can hear you laughing from all the way up in your tree at the sound of that. In your mind, I failed. I failed to pin you. I failed to make you submit. I failed to get the job done within the allotted time of the match. Well you know what? If I were trying to save face, I would probably say something like that, too.”
“But at the end of Bound by Honor, the fans were chanting someone’s name and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t yours. At the end of the show, only one of us was walking out of that ring. I’m not trying to claim a moral victory. I’m not trying to pat myself on the back because I “hung in there” with you. What I’m doing, Nest, is stating the truth. I did more than just “hang” with you in that match. I rendered you unconscious. You had to be saved by the bell because you couldn’t save yourself. What was that you called me before? A damaged flower? Well this damaged flower bloomed right over you.”
“But it wasn’t just any flower.” She wags her finger. “It was a Gladiolus flower. A flower which represents strength of character, conviction and honor - three things you don’t know anything about if your actions after the match are any indication."
“Five more minutes.”
“That’s all these great fans asked for. After a match like that, why not? Why let a championship match like that end with more questions than answers? That match deserved a decisive winner and I’m confidant that if we had gone the extra five, we could’ve given the fans just that. But no, you said screw me and screw the fans. You were perfectly fine with keeping your title on a technicality. Your actions after the match are a total 180 of the image you put out there. Nest, the big bad of LDFC. The man that takes on all comers. The man that's not afraid to brawl all around the facility with Terrence Tillman. The guy that calls out the FGA World Champion. But let’s be honest. How are you going to survive a match with Johnny Cannon if you’re too afraid to go an extra five minutes with me?”
“The eyes, they never lie. When I looked into your eyes after the match, I saw a man that was defeated: mentally, physically, emotionally. I saw a man that was scared: for his championship, for his pride, for his legacy. I saw a man that knew good and well that if we ever stepped into the ring again and his title was on the line, he wouldn’t be leaving with it.”
“You can say that you decimated the Death Adder. You can say that you smacked around the Sultan of Selfies. You can even say that you trampled The Terrific one. But when you look yourself in the mirror, you can’t say that you ever beat me. That’s a fact that you’ve had to live with for the last four weeks.”
“That's a fact that you'll be living with well after Pride 30.”
“But go ahead. Keep brushing off my comments. Keep looking down on me like I'm someone whose name isn't worth remembering. After I walk into your nest, knock you out for the second time and pin you for your title? Emily Carter will be a name that you'll never forget.”
“Nest Assured.”