The Interview
Nor did he expect her to be the first to jump at the offer to be featured in the calendar, for that matter. He had billed his interviews as providing LAW fans with access to the inner thoughts of the promotion's biggest stars, but was Origa truly that confident that people would be interested in what she had to say? Perhaps this was her attempt at gauging interest to see if she could make a comeback. Perhaps she felt like her story was one that deserved to be heard, too. Perhaps she felt the fans needed to know she was more than a string of embarrassing defeats. Either way, though, Takeda watched the door with curiosity for when she would arrive at the studio. At the least, he wouldn't say no to seeing her bikini-clad body up close.
Unfortunately for Takeda however. The Amazon in question did not appear in the purple bikini she wore for the earlier photoshoot. Instead she came into the room wearing a more modest set of clothing rather than what she wore in the ring or on a beach. A loose purple turtleneck covered the top half of her body. Hanging slightly off of her shoulder and exposing the small bit of tanned skin that underneath. Her lower half was comprised of a pair of fitting grey gym shorts and white sneakers.
”Thank you for having me” Origa would finally speak. Having to bend her head down slightly to get inside of the room before making her way to the chair across from Takeda. Sitting down, the Amazon would once more think about what she was doing. When she had first heard of the calendar, Origa wasn’t all that interested. But the more she thought about it and after looking at a few issues, she eventually came around to the idea of clearing the air a bit on the many Rumors that had circulated around her ever since she joined LAW. Perhaps in doing so, she could alter the perceptions of those around her and possibly get better matches.
Most of the girls Takeda had interviewed for the calendar had been thrilled to be featured. They'd come through the door with smiles on their faces, eager to tell the world all about who they were and what they did, hoping that being featured in the calendar would help them establish themselves as rising stars. However, Origa...was quite different, in that regard. She definitely cut an imposing presence, her head all but scraping the ceiling when she ducked under the doorway. When Takeda saw her in the flesh, his eyes went wider; she looked even bigger in person, and she made him feel so much smaller by comparison! But despite her imposing presence, Origa was much more reserved and quiet as she took her seat in the chair compared to most of Takeda's prior interviewees. A frown crossed Takeda's face - he couldn't help but wonder what was on her mind, and if something was bothering her. Given her luck in the ring, that would hardly surprise him. And a gorgeous girl like her deserved to smile, no matter how down she was on her luck.
It was a moment before Takeda spoke - he was worried about upsetting Origa if he started things off on the wrong foot, and he didn't know what to say. Eventually, though, he cleared his throat, sitting up a little straighter. "Ah, erm...good afternoon, Miss Xenia," he said. "How are you today? Photoshoot go well? Anything, uh...on your mind?" He didn't want to pry, but he didn't want her to be uncomfortable, either.
The chair was smaller than she had thought, but after some small adjusting Origa was able to make herself comfortable. Lifting up one of her long, caramel colored legs and crossing it over the other. The Amazon would brush her hair out of her eyes before putting her hands on her lap and smiling kindly at the smaller man in front of her.
“I’m doing fine, thank you for having me on your calendar.” She replied sweetly. When asked about the photoshoot, a small blush would appear on her cheeks. Barely noticeable underneath her dark skin but there nonetheless. “I enjoyed the photoshoot immensely. It’s been a while since I put on a bikini for anything other than a surprise match the higher ups put on me hehe.” She giggled good naturedly.
Though if one were perceptive enough. They may notice the slight bitterness in her voice at the end of her words.
When Origa tried to settle into the chair, Takeda winced a little, drawing back in his seat. At first, he was worried she was going to break it under her weight - and almost immediately he asked himself if it was disrespectful to mind a woman's weight like that. "S-Sorry about the chair," he blurted out out of instinct. Then again, he reminded himself, the studio simply wasn't used to dealing with women of Origa's size. In fact, as his gaze wandered upward, he couldn't help but feel a little bit intimidated. It wasn't so often that he had women literally looming over him - but then again, Origa's reputation took the edge off a little.
"Oh, no, it's a pleasure, trust me!" Takeda smiled, breathing a little easier when he saw that Origa didn't seem too upset. He had been worried that her lack of success would have weighed on her, but she seemed willing to take things in stride. That was a relief - it was a shame, he thought, for a looker like her to be bogged down. "I'm glad everything went well..."
Even if Origa seemed to be in good enough spirits, Takeda stopped when he thought about what he was going to open the interview with. He usually asked what his subjects thought their greatest achievement in LAW was - but Origa didn't really have anything she could boast of, and even if she seemed unperturbed now, he still felt asking such a question could come across as insensitive. He didn't want to risk it. After a moment's thought, he had an idea. "Er...to start us off. What would you say was the most memorable moment in your LAW career?" he began. He hoped that would be more neutral - but the moment it had left his lips, he froze, realizing that that might be even worse, as many of Origa's memorable moments didn't go in her favor. He could only hope she wouldn't take it too hard...
After adjusting herself for the second time, Origa placed her full attention on the man interviewing her. One thing that she noticed right off the bat with him was that he didn’t leer or look at her like she was a piece of meet. Sure his eyes wandered a little bit, but the Amazon was willing to chalk that up to amazement at her sheer size rather than lust. He was also polite, immediately apologizing for the small chair before telling her how much of a pleasure it was for her to be here.
Though it was after they joked a little bit about the photoshoot that her interviewer got the meat of this whole thing. Though Origa noticed that he seemed a little hesitant to ask a question. And it was here that Origa began to feel a familiar pit starting to grow inside of her stomach. Clearly Takeda was a nice guy. And like all nice guys, he was trying to avoid things that might make her uncomfortable.
Like her disaster of a wrestling career here at LAW.
Origa didn’t fault him for it and instead smiled good naturedly as she waited for him to speak. Letting off no indication that she knew the subject he was trying to dance around. Eventually, he managed to get a question out and Origa had to think for a moment. “My most memorable moment in my career?” She pondered. There were absolutely memorable moments throughout her career, though most were embarrassing or things she didn’t want to think about.
But rather quickly, a certain moment popped up in her head. “I would have to say it was my match against Rachel Stanley back in the Fight The Law PPV. If simply for the strangeness of it all. It was my first time I had ever been in a ring that was floating in the middle of an open pool! And let me tell you, that water was cold!” She laughed!
Takeda was a dirty-minded pervert, no one could deny that...but he did this out of a genuine respect for the women he featured, and for the hard work they put into their craft. He knew that pretty much everyone in LAW had a thriving fanbase, and he was sure those fans wanted to know more about the people who were behind their favorite matches - what their thoughts were, their hopes and dreams, their greatest pride and their greatest regrets. He felt the calendar would give them an inside look into the minds of the greatest wrestlers in LAW, and that it would help them understand how these incredible athletes ticked. And, yes, he liked getting to see them posing in bikinis. But those gorgeous bodies had people inside them, and he didn't want those people to feel unwelcome; he wanted them to share what they wanted to share and say what they wanted to say, so that it could be enjoyable for everyone. And when his next interviewee was far from proud of her accomplishments in the promotion, he needed to take care to not dampen the mood.
It was a pleasant surprise, then, that Origa didn't seem to be upset by the question. In fact, she was happy to share a moment that, whether she won or lost, still wouldn't be forgotten by anyone any time soon! Takeda chuckled. "Well, that's a good one, all right! We've certainly seen some innovative matches in LAW. But it's all the better that you ladies get out there and apply yourselves no matter what! And I must say...you did great out there."
After flashing Origa a smile, he looked back at his notebook. "Alright...next up, is there, uh, any accomplishment you hope to achieve while you're here in LAW?" Immediately after the words had left his mouth, Takeda took a pause, biting his lip. He hoped that also wouldn't make Origa reflect on her successes, or lack thereof. But he was curious how she'd answer all the same.
Origa would try to ignore the look of pity that came across her interviewers face when he asked his next question. The Amazon knew that he was trying to be polite and not bring up the fact that Origa’s statistics in Law were abysmal to saw the least. But some questions needed to be asked so.
The Amazons head tilted slightly as she thought about the question. What did she hope to achieve in Law. While most in her position would most likely say something along the lines of getting their first win or something like that. The caramel Giant didn’t believe in that sort of thing. Instead she thought of a goal she would like to achieve in the long run.
“Well. I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but I’m a pretty big girl. So it there was a big achievement I would gladly set my sights on, it would have to be either the heavy or openweight championships. Many great fighters are in those areas. And plus, it would finally convince upper management that I’m better as a main eventer than…
The other matches they keep putting me in.” She mutter out the last sentence more to herself. Though it was up in the air if Takeda had heard her words or not.
The mood in the air was pervasive. No one wanted to address the elephant in the room - Origa simply wasn't the most glamorous and illustrious of wrestlers, looking purely at her career. But no one wanted to come out and say that. Origa didn't want to acknowledge it herself, and Takeda was afraid of bringing it up, lest it reopen any old wounds. But even still, both knew it was there, and that both of them were doing their best to dance around it. Takeda looked back up at Origa with a nervous grin, but he heard her out nonetheless, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.
However, he certainly didn't see it coming when she offered her aspiration for the future of her career - to be the Heavyweight Champion, or even the Openweight one! At first, he gasped, whipping his glasses off his face to get a closer look. That would really be a sight to see, and no one could ever have seen it coming, for better or worse! A moment later he blushed and looked aside, realizing how rude he had been in letting on how surprising such a prospect would be. "Sorry..." he muttered under his breath - but he still sat up a little straighter, turning to face Origa.
"Still, uh...you really think you have what it takes to be a champion?" Takeda cleared his throat and straightened his tie. As soon as he'd said those words, though, he sucked in a breath, and a shudder went down his spine as he realized how rude that probably sounded, too. He only wanted Origa to feel comfortable here and to have a space to speak her mind, and at every turn he felt like he was failing miserably. His teeth clenched in a nervous grimace. This clearly wasn't working. Perhaps, he thought, it was best to just change the subject and move on.
"W-Well, Miss Xenia...just one more question I had to add before we're ready to go, if you don't mind. Is there anything else about you you would like the fans to know?"
“Well I like to imagine so. Sure my current record isn’t anything really pretty to look at.” Origa muttered slightly as she felt a slight heat growing in her cheeks. “But I like to imagine that not everyone, especially the heavyweight champion is willing to deviate down to using less honorable means of beating me.”
“So yes. If given the opportunity to contend for the world title. I’m willing to bet that the LAW universe would be incredibly surprised at just how much I’m able to bring to the table.” Origa finished as she sat up straighter and her eyes became more determined. When Takeda asked his final question of the day. That being if there was anything else the fans might want to know. Origa had to think for a little bit before a small smile grew on her face.
“Yes actually. After seeing so many of my coworkers doing it. I figured I’d throw my own hat into the ring.” She said before letting a small giggle rumble up her throat. “I will now be streaming the newest Games out this weekend on twitch! I will be playing Callisto Protocol all day Saturday and God of War Sunday. So be sure to catch me when I do on my main account #DarkTower78!
Takeda could see how much Origa's losing streak was weighing on her, and it was no easy sight to see. When she glanced off with a blush, he couldn't help but sigh a little as well - it just wasn't right, he thought, that a beautiful woman like her, with the passion she had for the sport, had to feel ashamed of her performance. But it gave Takeda hope to see that in spite of it all, Origa wouldn't let it keep her down. She still had hope! As far as the Amazon could see it, she had only had a streak of bad luck, thanks to unscrupulous foes. Takeda could definitely see it. Origa had, after all, lost a few of her matches to opponents that used dirty tricks or exploited her weaknesses in order to get ahead. But were it not for such tactics, Origa may well have stood a chance. She was, after all, a heavyweight, and she was capable of carving out a place for herself through her brute strength alone. She just hadn't had the chance to shine. If she really applied herself to it, on even ground, perhaps she really could give Astrid a good fight. "Honestly? That's the spirit, I'd say!" He chuckled, sitting up straighter as the smile grew across his face. "In that case, more power to you! I think this could be just the chance you need to prove that you can succeed after all. And if it goes that far...well, I'll be rooting for you every step of the way!
Then came the time for Origa to reveal a fact about herself, and it was something that Takeda didn't see coming! "Oh! I had no idea you were a streamer," he said. "But I'm sure your fans are happy to know they have another place to tune in and see you." He did, however, pause a little; he couldn't help but wonder how big a fanbase Origa really had with her record. But he knew better than to bring that up. "I'll certainly have to give it a watch. I, uh, imagine it must be fun to see!" Totally not just there to simp, he told himself. It was all in the name of giving Origa the encouragement she needed to succeed. Obviously.
With that, Takeda sat back in his seat, closing his notebook. "Well then, Miss Xenia...that's all I had on my agenda to ask you. I don't want to keep you held up, if there's anywhere better you need to be. But believe me...it was a pleasure." He smiled to Origa with a nod of his head. Perhaps now, LAW's fans would come to have a greater appreciation for the real Origa - to know that the so-called Crushable Amazon really did have hopes and aspirations all her own!
- Age: 25
- Height: 7’2
- Weight: 210 lbs.
- Finishing Move: The Eclipse (Kudo Driver)
- Career Highlight: Facing Rachel Stanley in a poolside match at Fight the LAW.
- Career Aspirations: To win the Heavyweight or World Openweight Championship.
- Streams video games under the account #DarkTower78.