All That Glitters

[BlackAkuma]

Oh, this was good stuff. Give Madison an inch, and she’d go the whole mile.

Keith had to admit, he wasn’t expecting to get into a long discussion about fate and destiny on this podcast, but this was where they were, this was what they were doing, and he was here for it. It helped that Madison had a flair for describing things and breaking things down in an easy-to-understand way. She had one of those voices where everything she said just sort of sounded right.

Keith sat back as she explained and slid off his jacket in an attempt to get more comfortable. The thing was more for aesthetics than anything. He had a more flexible version that he wore for matches, but that one didn’t shine as well under the lights. With it set aside, he brought the focus back to her as he idly popped open the cap on his Nexus bottle and forced down a few sips.

Once she was finished, he gave her words a second to settle in before he piped in again. ”That is…” He searched for the right word, then settled. ”...profound. I think profound is the right word. Never thought about the whole fate/destiny thing like that, but it’s some heavy food to chew on. It sounds like you and Valley have a real special bond, that is amazing.”

And now for the real pitch. Keith leaned back in and scooted closer, narrowing the gap between them. Not aggressive, but he wasn’t about to hold back, either.

”But you’re not the only one on a path. Valley Doll is, too. And in a few weeks, that path is crossing in the ring. Which isn’t a new thing, friends have to wrestle sometimes, but you don’t usually see it so early in the careers, right?” He held up a hand and inched forward, hesitating with this next part - or, at least, giving the impression he was. ”Plus, and you know, I don’t like to go through rumors too much, but I’m sure you heard about the backstage camera footage. Don’t want to get personal, but I gotta ask - is everything okay?”

[Parker]

Madison’s eyes lit up at the word profound, she tucked a strand of hair neatly behind her ear, pretending she was hiding a blush that wasn’t there. “Profound? Oh, Keith, you’re far too kind.” She gave a soft laugh, shaking her head as though embarrassed by the compliment, though she didn’t let it slip away entirely. “I don’t know if I’d call myself that, but thank you.”

She straightened in her seat a little, leaning forward with her hands folded politely in her lap, cardigan sleeves brushing over her knuckles. “But yes, Valley and I…we’ve always had a bond, even before LAW, and it really does mean the world to me. That’s why this match feels…” She trailed off for a moment, considering, then smiled, bittersweet.

“Well… like another curve ball, honestly. My debut was already a mountain to climb, and now after she comes out in support of me we’re being booked against one another…” The words were gentle, not accusatory, but enough to feed into the narrative she was quietly weaving. She set the empty waterbottle side, underneath her crutch. giving herself a moment’s pause as Keith continued.

“Footage?” The word slipped from her lips before she could catch it, her brows lifting in surprise as her gaze flickered toward him. She blinked, trying to mask the sudden tightness in her chest with a small, puzzled smile. “I…no, I hadn’t heard anything about that.”

A touch of nervous laughter left her lips as she leaned back, feigning composure. “I mean, you know how rumors fly this business. One camera turns on at the wrong time and suddenly people think they’ve got a story, right?” Her tone was light, playful even, but there was a flicker of caution in her eyes, betraying how intently she was listening now.

She tilted her head, studying Keith, voice quieter. “What…exactly did they say was on that footage?”

[BlackAkuma]

Somewhere along the line, maybe after the whole diatribe about fate and destiny, Keith grew relaxed - not the fake put-on kind, but genuinely at ease. Not the most common thing in interviews like this, but Madison had that way about her. She was a natural at this - too good, almost. He didn’t think she had her own podcast, and the more she talked, the harder it was to believe.

Homegirl was leaving real money on the table if that wasn’t the case, and he made a mental note to bring it up when the cameras stopped rolling, maybe flick a few numbers her way.

Hm. A ‘bond’. Keith had to concede; he was a little jealous. Bonds weren’t the easiest thing to come by for people in their profession. It had been a long time since he’d had anyone he would call a friend. There were people he was friendly with, acquaintances, but a real connection was hard to afford when you had money. Even the genuine connections didn’t stay that way for long.

So, what Valley and Madison had - assuming it was gold as she made it sound - was a rare thing. Keith felt a pang of guilt for bringing this up then, especially from that inflection in her voice. Some real panic, there. She hadn't seen the footage. He didn’t like ambushing his guests, but they were already ankle deep, not going back now.

”Oh, sorry, wow. I thought you’d seen it.” He cast a quick glance to his producer, who really should’ve included this somewhere in the email exchange. ”It’s some CCTV footage, no voices, but it caught you and Valley arguing about something, looked like it got a little hot for a second.”

Keith snapped his fingers and motioned to a space behind the couch, where a roll-down screen was setup, just out of the camera’s view. ”I got a screen here, usually for movie trailers and stuff. If you want to take a quick watch, we can…”

Admittedly, this was slightly bait. Her reactions would be great content for TikTok.

[Parker]

Madison wrung out the cuff of her cardigan idly, but the rest of her body hardly moved. Her practiced smile softened, settling into something more neutral, the kind of expression that could play as calm or thoughtful depending on how you wanted to see it.

“Oh.” She gave a light laugh, almost self-deprecating, shaking her head as though the idea of being caught off guard by this was sillier than the video itself. “I’m not very dialed in on social media so I didn’t know something like this was causing a stir.” She shrugged lightly, settling her hands back into her lap, straightening up.

“Well, if it’s already out there…” Her emerald eyes lifted back to Keith’s, warm but unwavering, as if daring him to try and dig deeper. “Since you’ve got the video here, then sure, let’s take a look. That way, people can see for themselves without diving into the gossip mill.”

She leaned back just enough to cross one leg over the other, deliberately casual, her smile returning as she gave the faintest lift of her brow. She needed to know what was on that tape before she could spin a story. It wouldn’t do her any favors if she were caught in an outright lie against what the cameras caught.

[BlackAkuma]

Good, she was rolling with the punches, that was a small relief. The absolute last thing he wanted was for this to get more awkward than it had to be by default.

”Yeah, I’m with you. Personally wouldn’t mind going cold turkey on social media for a few months, but it’s in my contract to use it.” He thumbed towards his producer, who looked up just long enough to nod his agree. ”Like. Literally. In. My Contract.”

Not even close to joking. There was a legit posting quota he had to meet per week. Still tripped him out.

”Anyway, sure, let’s roll it.” He snapped his fingers - totally unnecessary, but cool - and the screen descended, cranking down with a slight whine in the machinery. After a few seconds to screw around with the hook up, they linked to a YouTube video with the footage, on the account of some guy named ‘LAWGiver123’. Original.

It was black and white, no sound, but the quality was decent enough to make out Valley’s face as she waited for Madison to appear - grumbling, pacing, none too pleased. Soon enough, Madison herself came out, and the two of them talked, with Valley clearly holding something back. More talking, with the Golden Girl keeping up her smile while the Doll seemed to grow more anxious with each passing second.

Then something changed, a shift in Knox’s demeanor that anyone would recognize. The cusp of something about to elevate, a moment of tension, until Valley stepped forward with pleading eyes and clasped hands, almost like she was begging. Madison seemed to soften again, reverting back to her cooler self, and the two of them were back to laughs and smiles. They parted with a hug, one that went on a shade longer than casual, and then they parted ways. Madison slumped in the crutches, then hobbled off soon after, all alone.

End scene.

”There you go.” He slumped back as the screen started to rise. ”No voice, but that’s honestly kind of made it worse, let some people fill in the gaps with dumb stuff. ‘Lovers spat’ comes up a lot.” He waved that off with a roll of the eyes. ”And look, I’m all about privacy, so if you don’t want to speak on it, fine, no harm. But if you want to do some rumor killing, this is the place for it.”

Keith spread his arms wide and gave her the floor, eager to see which way she’d go.

[Parker]

Madison sat through the video in silence, her usual smile muted into something much harder to read. For once, she wasn’t performing, at least, not the way she usually did. Her green eyes were locked on the grainy footage, her shoulders tightening the longer it played. The hug, the hobble, the way she’d looked when she thought nobody was watching.

Watching it now, with the candid lens and no sound, somehow felt worse than the actual moment. Back then, it had been lived, fleeting, over in an instant. On screen, it lingered, stretched out like a wound being reopened for everyone to gawk at. She reached down instinctively for her phone, only to brush against the hem of her skirt and remember it wasn’t there. Her hands folded neatly in her lap instead, fingers interlaced, thumbs pressing together to give her something to fidget with.

When the screen rolled back up and Keith’s voice filled the air again, she let the silence breathe. She twisted her lips, as if she might laugh it off, but no sound came. A long moment passed before she answered.

“…We were supposed to have dinner that night.” Madison finally said, her tone gentle, apologetic, as though she felt silly for explaining. She glanced up at Keith, then down again, her lashes lowering as if she were confessing something private. “Val wanted me to go home, get proper rest after my debut... Doctor's orders.She said I’d pushed too hard with the injury, and maybe she was right, but I thought I was fine. I wanted to celebrate. We…didn’t agree on that.”

Her shoulders gave a little shrug, cardigan slipping down to bare more of her wrist before she adjusted it back into place. “That’s all it was. Just two people caring about each other, pulling in different directions.” A small laugh, soft and almost embarrassed, escaped her then. “Sorry to disappoint..."

Madison looked back up at Keith with a small, disarming smile. “But I suppose in a company like LAW, even a hug can get turned into a headline.”

[BlackAkuma]

The video played, but Keith didn’t watch it. He might’ve seemed to, that was what he wanted it to look like to the audience, but the truth was that he was far more focused on Madison herself, and not just her pretty looks - though that was a small part. No, he made note of her movements: the nervous fidgeting, the slight movements, the small signs of concern. Slight, but for someone who had done such a good job of keeping everything under control, they stood out.

So he was intrigued - very intrigued - by the simple explanation she gave. He was no detective, but he knew people, well enough to guess that while she was giving out the truth, she likely wasn’t giving out the whole truth. Maybe something close enough to fit the facts, while leaving out a few details.

The only question was whether or not he’d press on it, or leave that sleeping dog alone?

”That’s true, internet culture at its finest. ‘Hey, these two people made faces at each other, let’s make a half-dozen videos about it.” He mirrored her shrug, though, being honest, he wasn’t too much better. ”All hail the algorithm.”

With that topic aside, Keith brought the temperature down for the rest of the conversation, sticking to softballs for the most part - the difference between American and Japanese wrestling, her culture shock, how well she was dealing with the language barrier, stuff like that. Innocent fluff, padding the runtime, with the occasional break to please the sponsors. Everything went smooth as silk, with Madison being easy to engage with.

[color=#8000000]”...and that’s about all the time we’ve got for today, guys.”[/color] Keith threw a quick wave at the audience as he prepared to wrap up. ”Come back next week, we’ll be talking AI with Jason Vogal, one of the biggest names in the field right now, going over the future, dealing with the naysayers. Big episode, I know you guys’ve wanted that for a while, I’m happy to provide. If you’re on YouTube, like, share, subscribe, you know the drill.” He threw up the peace sign, his trademark, and smirked at the camera. ”I’ll see y’all next time. Peace.”

Another one bit the dust. Keith flopped back in the couch and let out a long sigh, as if he truly breathing for the first time in hours. Everyone thought that stuff was easy, but talking for so long could be more physically draining than they knew. He swore, wrestling matches took less out of him.

”Phew, that was good. You are good.” He ran a hand over his face and sat back up to look her way. ”That’s your first time doing a podcast? Tell me that’s not true, it can’t be.”

[Parker]

As the red recording light on the camera finally dimmed, Madison leaned back into the couch with a small sigh, her shoulders loosening as if someone had just taken a heavy weight off them. For the first time since she’d hobbled into the studio, she wasn’t carrying the “Golden Girl” polish quite so tightly. Her smile was still there, but it was warmer now, less practiced, more… her.

She tipped her head toward Keith with a little chuckle. “You’re sweet to say that. Thank you,for the kind words, and for the coverage. I really appreciate it.” Her voice was softer, not pitched for the audience, and her eyes flicked down briefly toward her lap before finding his again. “You are quite the charmer. I see why people like talking with you.”

At his disbelief, she shook her head with a rueful grin. “No, really. I haven’t done anything like this before. Not podcasts, not streams, nothing like that. I’ve always kind of…stayed away from social media, like I mentioned earlier.” She lifted her hands, palms up, as if it was a small confession. “It just never felt like the healthiest space for me to be in. I’d rather focus on the work than the chatter, you know?”

Her expression softened into something closer to shy honesty. “So, yeah. This really was my first time. Guess you made it feel easier than I expected. I feel like we crushed it.

[BlackAkuma]

This was actually Keith’s favorite part of the interview - the cool down. After the cameras faded and the commercials were done and the promotions were finished, that was when some of the most interesting things came out. Putting on the mask for so long could be exhausting, like holding your breath for a while underwater and coming up for air.

Keith could see the change in Madison, immediate and stark. ”Thank you for the views. My wrestling episode’s usually kill, but this one? I’m thinking it’ll break a million, first week.” He nodded as he ran some numbers through his head, then nodded even more emphatically. ”Easy.”

Keith stood up and rolled his shoulders, stretched, and kicked his legs as Madison spoke. His body was really not made for sitting still that long, always gave him cramps. One of the few drawbacks to an active lifestyle. ”Yeah, I know. Everybody thinks it’s this glamorous lifestyle, being your own boss. It can be, sometimes, but it’s a grind. A constant grind. And you’re always one bad sentence away from total disaster.”

He contemplated for a moment, tapping his chin, before he came to consensus. ”Let me just…” Keith fished around in his pocket, pulled out his wallet - a sleek, black, metallic design, one he got from a sponsor - and sifted through a multitude of cards before he found the one he was looking for. He whipped it out and let it dance between his fingers.

”Not in my best interest to make competition, but…” ”Here, take this - my agent, Aika Sumeragi. She’s sort of my go-between with the wrestling world and everything else. If you ever want to dip more than a pinky-toe in this sort of thing, she’s your Huckleberry.”

Keith tapped his chest and picked up his jacket, slinging it over his shoulder as he turned back her way. ”And if you want to collab again…maybe in the ring…just call.”

[Parker]

Madison accepted the card with a delicate pinch, turning it over between her fingers before slipping it neatly into the pocket of her cardigan. “I’ll…look into it,” she said with a polite nod, her tone even but her eyes glinting with the faintest hint of mischief.

She leaned back on the couch a little more, one leg crossing over the other as she watched him sling his jacket. “Though I have to ask…” She tilted her head, lips curving into a sly, almost conspiratorial smile. “Am I really supposed to call your agent if I want to talk to you? Or are you going to be brave enough to give me the real number?”

Her brows lifted, feigning innocence even as her playful tone made it clear she was testing the waters, just enough to keep Keith on his toes.