A Round Table Discussion

[CaptainL]

Listening to Jonathan and Ryan describe the accomplishments of both Astrid Ostberg and Molly Forster, Eiji had to nod his head. No one could deny that both of them had come a long way in their careers, with Astrid holding a high-profile championship, and Molly and Harmonia gaining traction as a tag team - not to mention the press that had been on them from the involvement of Harmonia Edelstein, who was a popular subject of coverage from her modeling days. They had even made it into an acting gig, something that made him rub at his chin in thought as he jotted down notes. "Well, I'll always be a sportswriter first and foremost," he clarified. "If I'm going to praise a wrestler, I'd like it to be for their accomplishments in the ring, first and foremost. But I will say that both Astrid and Molly have plenty of that going for them, too - Molly showed that in her last tag team match when she managed to bodyslam the heavyweight Lauren Fredericks, and Astrid needs no introduction."

Noticing that her boss looked to be on another one of his tirades, Haruka decided to speak up in the hopes of nipping that line of conversation in the bud. "Them appearing in other roles will help them raise their profile outside wrestling fans, too, and might bring some more eyes to their work in LAW - and beyond; I've heard that the Superstars have been booked for some shows outside of Japan, and we all know about Astrid's tour of Europe. Astrid has her family name to carry her, of course, but I'm really interested in what Molly has to offer. She and her sister are first-generation wrestlers, and it's up to them to establish their legacy - but I think they've already had their share of career-defining moments."

The tension rose, however, at the mention of two of the men's other associates, Cecilia Lombard and Marzia Servelli. At the mention of Ducky Williams, Eiji chuckled a little before looking down at his paper in disgust. "Hmph...of course that's what she's known for. Look, the girl can wrestle, but she certainly isn't doing her any favors if she wants to make that her defining feature...unless it's amongst the sorts of creeps who spam her inbox asking for her to sit on them..."

Even he fell silent when the topic of Marzia came up, though. It was clear that the Italian woman's shift in personality had hit them hard, and he could only imagine how much it must have weighed on her husband in particular to be cut off from someone they'd known for so long. For a moment, the two reporters stared blankly back at them, not knowing what to say, or if anything they might do might strike a nerve. But eventually, Haruka cleared her throat. She knew they needed to change the subject. Luckily, Jonathan had given her as good an out as any.

"I think that's an excellent idea," she said. "In your time scoping out LAW, does anyone stand out as a big prospect for the future? Or that you feel deserves their place right now? Going off what you've said about the Superstars, I'm curious as to your thoughts on the tag division. How do you feel about our champions, the SWAT Cats? Or, what about the Thundergirls or the Heartbreakers?"

[Pegasus]

“If Ducky wants to use that ass so much, I’d be happy to put a boot or two up it,” Jonathan remarked as he snickered to himself before noticing Ryan and Will giving him weird looks. “Get your minds out of the gutter. I meant in the ring! Gotta make headlines if we’re talking to reporters. Don’t take it out of context either, you two.”

“LAW has some great tag teams,” Ryan stated as he moves towards Haruka’s questions. “The SWAT Cats have pretty much established themselves the queens of that division and they are recognizable names in LAW. Probably the first women people think of when the promotion is mentioned.”

“I know Astrid is very fond of Alaina Sanders. I really like her. She loves wrestling even if she felt she needed to retire and take care of her family, but she’s also a mother that thinks the world of her children. It’s so heartwarming!” William added.

“But who are The Heartbreakers?” Jonathan asked with a raised eyebrow.

[CaptainL]

Eiji also had to stare back through Jonathan in abject horror at what he had described. He bit at his lip, and his pencil dangled in his hand as he tapped the tip idly to the page, but had no idea what to write on it. When Jonathan insisted that he not take it out of context, though, he blushed a bit, but cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I'm not, I'm not-!" he snapped. "I'm a veteran journalist, I don't do grocery store tabloids! What do you take me for? And...hey, knock it off!" He turned back around to Haruka, who was giggling underneath her mask, and not doing a very good job of hiding it. Still, the young woman took in a breath to collect her thoughts before sitting back up in her seat. "Sorry, sorry. But no matter how you write it, it's going to grab peoples' attention either way to see an incoming veteran call out one of LAW's best-known talent. That's one for our options!"

"As I was saying..." Eiji continued, "All good points, yes. The SWAT Cats have done a good job of staying on top of their division, both from their work in the ring and all they do reaching out to the fans and the community. Any one of them is a capable contender, let alone how they work as a team - Aurora's still proving herself, but she definitely has ambition, wanting to take on Rose Gold, and it'll be something to see where that goes. Alaina, too, has to be one of the highest-profile competitors here - she's got a long legacy behind her, and she's committed to still doing her best, even if she has to balance that with raising a family on the side. That's something that takes guts. I know that she's faced some frustration over not being able to keep up with the younger ladies, but she's still a force to be reckoned with one way or another."

When Jonathan expressed that he didn't know of the Heartbreakers, however, Eiji stopped. He adjusted his glasses, trying to make sure that he wasn't imagining things. "You...don't know the Heartbreakers?" he began. "Then there may be hope for you yet. Just a bunch of talentless low-life delinquents trashing the reputation of professional wrestling, not to mention their 'leader' just has to embarrass us all by going around bragging about being Akira Koizumi's niece..."

"A-Ahem..!" Haruka cleared her throat, giggling nervously as she leaned over to try and divert the subject. "Haaah, sorry about that, he's just...on a tangent of his. Anyway! We've talked about Astrid; how do you feel about the other champions, like Lillian Byrne and Rose Gold? Or other notable singles stars like Alizeh Midori or Ichika Rei, or Cyber Widow? I'm sure that seeing some input from old hands in the business would be on all of our readers' minds..."

[Pegasus]

“Delinquents, huh? Send them our way and we’ll show you how rambunctious we can be. Cause it’s like you said, Mr. Matsumoto, you hope for change for the men who always get outlifted by the females in the intergender division. We want to give these “dominant” females a shot at real men. Those who won’t fawn over their looks and charms. You want to test us? Fuck around and find out,” Jonathan explained with a stern glare at the reporters.

William perked up at the mention of Rose Gold as he tapped his own chin in thought. “I actually want to meet this Rose Gold. I know Astrid has had some troubles with her, but maybe there could be a misunderstanding. People act out sometimes, because of different reasons.”

Ryan also perked up at a name that interested him and he smiled brightly. “I can definitely say that I’m a fan of Alizeh Midori. Marzia has had high praise for her and has told me much about her. I’ve watched her other matches and she has been doing pretty well for herself.”

[CaptainL]

Eiji had gotten lost in his ranting while Haruka tried to shepherd the conversation back on track to something productive, but it seemed that his words caught Jonathan's attention nonetheless. It seemed he was willing to stand up to the Heartbreakers and their troublemaking, and what was more, from the sounds of it he was well aware of Eiji's thoughts on LAW's growing intergender division. The veteran reporter stopped, clearing his throat and sitting up straighter before he continued. "Now, let me make one thing clear, I'm no caveman. The women who hold championships are just as worthy of them as the men - but what I want to see are more men in this company who give a damn! If this place is gonna have intergender matches at all, I would hope they'd have folks involved who can make them something other than a total snoozefest for those of us who aren't watching just to get off! And if I know the work you boys put in...I have high hopes that you just might do it."

William's mention of Rose Gold left a pause at the table. Eiji and Haruka looked at one another, neither knowing how to break the silence. Both were well aware of Rose Gold's ruthlessness, and they were sure that if William expected to come to a peaceful agreement with her he would be lucky to come away merely disappointed. To Haruka, who had witnessed her good friend Yuki Kazikura be brought near to the breaking point at Rose's hands some We Are LAWs ago, it was an especially awkward moment, and she tugged anxiously at her collar as the memories came bubbling up - but neither knew how they were going to break the news to William. Eventually, though, Eiji cleared his throat.

"Mm, yes, moving on...I'm sure Alizeh would jump at the chance to meet you, too, Ryan. I know she thinks highly of Marzia - or at least, she did, before the whole thing happened. Getting to meet someone so close to her would mean a lot to her, I'm sure."

Haruka folded some papers on the table. "We've talked a lot about your old acquaintances. There's one name I feel hasn't come up here thus far, though, and that's Chelsea Forster. In light of her feud with Finella Edelstein, and going off on her own from the British Bunnies...what are your thoughts?"

[Pegasus]

Jonathan rolled his eyes nodding along with Mr. Matsumoto on his rant and he could safely say this was the first time that he agreed with one of his massive rants. “Where’s the effort, anymore? They are basically saying that women are superior to men in regard. Any chump they put up against a strong, capable woman, he gets treated as the massive joke and becomes quite the laughing stock on the fucking Internet! If that’s the line to draw in the sand for intergender wrestling, no wonder it’s usually dead in the water. I’ve done my fair share of wrestling women in the past and let me tell ya…they like a good competitive man. I’ve done sparring with my wife, I’m doing it with Marzia next….what happened to real men? I feel like sometimes they are wrestling school rejects who happened to get themselves a dark match for a quick cash grab.”

Jonathan ranted himself as Ryan and William had to clear their throats in order for him to catch himself and compose his own anger. He felt his chest and put his hands together in order to think up a resolution to his words. “In a few words or less, it’s bullshit.”

“I would like to meet her, too. A fireball meeting a queen of the skies. Now, that would be interesting. I bet I could give her a run for her money.” Ryan added when Alizeh came up as well.

“I think that’s their way of telling you that you don’t know who you’re dealing with, bub,” Jonathan whispered to Will as the room would suddenly go quiet from the mention of Rose Gold alone.

Then, Haruka mentioned Chelsea and how her feud with Finella was in top gear following their extreme clash in nothing, but their undergarments and all three men looked at each other as blushes cross their faces thinking of that weird predicament to be placed in especially when Chelsea had more to prove than Finella did.

“It’s safe to say we aren’t particular fans of this feud. Finella had pretty much broke every mental lock of Chelsea’s mind,” William stated as he held his hands over his mouth and leaned his head back.

“ Personalmente, creo que ambos están demasiado locos para el bien del otro. Aye cramba!” Ryan added as both reporters did not need a direct translation to decipher Ryan’s feelings on the matter.

“Poor fucking kid….,” Jonathan muttered as he looked off at another corner of the room.

[CaptainL]

It was as though Jonathan had given Eiji exactly what he wanted to hear. The moment he heard those last few words out of his mouth, the veteran reporter's face lit up with a grin, and he slapped a hand on the table. "There it is! See, took the words right out of my mouth! Nobody cares any more in this business, and that goes for the men and the women. The competition doesn't even matter, they just want their fifteen minutes of fame-"

Haruka buried her face in her hands. The last thing she needed was two Eijis in the same room, let alone for her boss to feel vindicated in his opinions - and now they had got him going. But, luckily for her, it seemed that Jonathan's companions felt the same way, and they tried to steer the conversation away from anyone's issues with modern-day wrestling. So too did Haruka, thinking back to how they had mentioned dealing with the other half of the British Bunnies in the past, and remembering the feud-defining match that was on the horizon. She was curious to know what they thought about it, and she was sure it would help spark attention to the much-publicized bout.

But it came to her surprise when the three men took Chelsea's feud with Finella far more personally than she had anticipated. It was no secret that Finella had done whatever she could to provoke Chelsea, and it had only fermented the Englishwoman's anger more and more. It had become clear that Chelsea wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than Finella's complete destruction, and she would go to any lengths to achieve it - and that left the three new arrivals concerned for what the two might end up doing to each other. Their response left the reporter in an awkward silence as she stared on ahead, wondering if she had stepped on any nerve she shouldn't have. But, eventually, she cleared her throat, speaking again.

"I...I see. I imagine that when you have such a closer relationship with Chelsea, it must be hard to see her this way. I know that many of the fans boo her, but they don't know her quite like you do." After another pause, she spoke up with what had been on her mind, but that she'd been afraid to say. "Are you afraid of...another Marzia..?" At the same time, her eyelid twitched nervously, hoping she wouldn't cause further upset.

[Pegasus]

“I think we need to have a chat with Chelsea and Finella each. Hopefully, put it in their mind that it’s time to end things. It hurts their sisters. Everyone around them. Themselves. If they don’t want to end this feud, we’ll do it for them,” William mentioned as he looked at both reporters.

“ Since they’ll be tended to with their wounds, it’s not like they won’t be in a position to not listen to us,” Jonathan added.

“Yo, Jonathan….where did we go wrong?”

“I don’t think it’s our fault.”

“Then why the hell did this happen? It seems like everyone we knew went off the rails.”

“It’s because they cross lines they were never suppose to cross! The people that were suppose to be there for them never stood in to help them! Nobody knows the burdens that Chelsea has to carry! Nobody knows the insecurities Marzia has to deal with! But I’ll be damn if I’ll let them give up on themselves! If nobody else wants to help them, I fucking will! We fucking will!”

[CaptainL]

If Haruka wasn't worried that she had touched a nerve before, she definitely knew she had now. Her lips pursed under her mask, and she scooted back in her seat, away from where the tension was brewing. The strength in Jonathan's voice told her that he was passionate about these things - he had seen something in Chelsea that few others had, and he wasn't afraid to look at her as a friend, even if no one else would. To that regard, the fact that she was willing to put her body on the line just to prove she was worthy of people's attention could only leave him worried about what she'd end up doing to herself. And it seemed, too, that the three men were worried that it was through their inaction that Chelsea felt the need to do so. That if they had been around to encourage her - and Marzia, for that matter - this wouldn't have happened.

Sensing the anxieties rising in the room, she rose from her seat. "Well, uh, I..." she began, unsure where to begin, but soon she cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...upset you. Is everyone all right? Maybe we should take a five-minute break; does anyone need a drink of water?"

At the same time, though, Haruka couldn't help but admire something in how strongly Jonathan felt. If he was truly this concerned, it spoke to how important his friends were to him, and what he was willing to do for them. It was noble of him - and she was sure that if Chelsea knew, she'd appreciate it.

[Pegasus]

“You didn’t do anything wrong, kid. It’s my fault. I wasn’t there to stop anything,” Jonathan muttered.

“I’d say a break is more then welcomed. He needs some time,” Ryan added as he patted Jonathan on the back, but the older man got up and strolled over to the broken door opening it to slam it shut.