Archival Footage
Scene One | Off-Camera
It was a little surreal to be back in James’ bar. It was even more surreal to see it full of people again. To see people laughing, and talking. To see them experiencing life, and in turn experiencing another’s. Adrienne had deemed that James was purposefully keeping her from getting in the ring from beyond the grave, and that was a sign. A sign for her to pursue her more creative endeavours. To pursue her photography and be more true to the creative he saw.
Luna was less inclined, but she had to admit. Adrienne had an eye for it. Led strips were wrapped around fence trellis that had been slapped on the walls all around the bar, and out in the beer garden. Both inside and outside bars were flowing, people chatting, admiring the work. A fair few pieces had already sold, which meant they probably got paid rent this month from her. It was more a pay when you can style system with her. She’d uplifted her life to come over, the least they could do was try and make it a little more liveable for her.
It was just strange seeing this place so full of life again. Alex didn’t spend long. He’d done the niceties, even bought one of the prints, but she could see it on his face. This place was forever going to haunt him. Every time they’d come through, his eyes fixated on a part of the flooring that was a little discoloured. She knew that must have been where Alex had tried to stop the bleeding. Had done his best to keep her brother stable until the ambulances arrived.
But he was haunted, and this place he couldn’t be in. Not anymore. He said he was going to go for a few drinks elsewhere. To call him when she was finished and they could meet up and head home together. Which meant that she was getting drunk by herself as Adrienne was running around stressed about the whole exhibition. Sitting at a table by herself, she raised a beer to her mouth, knocking half of it back. A far too confident man decided he was going to shoot his shot. Ignoring the ring on her finger.
“Mind if I sit here? Can’t leave artwork as pretty as you all on their lonesome.” The guy said, met with a roll of the eyes from Luna. She waved a hand indicating the seat was free, but didn’t offer much beyond that.
“Not much of a talker? That’s okay. So what brought you here tonight?” The guy continued on, oblivious to her utter disdain.
“It’s my bar. It’s my friend’s show. That’s the short of it.” Luna said, taking another big mouthful of her beer, acutely aware of how low it was running. The guy cocked an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by her answer. To which part, she wasn’t quite sure.
“Well, I was going to offer to buy you a drink, but I guess that wouldn’t help you much would it? Adrienne’s got a great eye for this stuff, but now that I know she surrounds herself with such gorgeous people, I can understand why.” He said, shuffling over a little bit. Getting slightly too close for her comfort.
“Are you purposefully oblivious?” Luna asked incredulously, making a point to point at the band on her finger.
“Yeah, but I saw him leave earlier, and I can’t believe he’d simply leave someone like you on their own if things were going great.” The guy said, a twitch of frustration flickering across her features as he kept talking.
“Insecurity is not a flattering feature, nor is the possessiveness of women. Please leave me alone.” Luna said, downing the rest of her beer. She started to get up to move, before the guy's hand came down on her thigh. A terrible decision.
“Come on now, we can just talk can’t we? No need to run away.” He said, her eyes cutting straight into his soul. If he wasn’t so drunk, he might have actually noticed the visible anger in her eyes.
“Take your fucking hand off my leg, before I snap every fucking one of your fingers.” She went to lift and move his hand off her leg, but he in turn forced their fingers to be linked. She felt like she was going to be sick.
“I do like a feisty little minx.” He managed to say before there was the audible sound of flesh to flesh. Without thinking, she punched him straight in the nose with her other hand. He grunted for a moment before his nose started to gush with blood, pretty clearly having broken it. Her hand throbbed a little from the force of it, before the guy pulled himself away from her.
“We have a strict no bleeding policy, you’re going to have to leave.” Luna said, shaking out her hand. A few nearby patrons, friends of the guy she assumed came over. Dirty looks thrown her way as they moved him away. If she wasn’t so confident that the spindly baby soft arms that got thrown over shoulders and held her tightly were Adrienne’s, she’d probably have punched out a second person.
“Lulu, I love you, truly. But can we not punch out potential customers?” Adrienne said softly, resting her chin on Luna’s shoulder.
“Tell your potential customers not to get handsy with me then.” Luna said sharply in response. She really wasn’t in the mood.
“That was a good one though. I wish I had my camera. Maybe you can get me a media pass? Fly me around so I can take pretty pictures of you and Lexi. Plaster you up on the walls and sell your pretty mugs to everyone.” Adrienne said, her mind suddenly off and racing.
There was something sweet in her ability to see a positive in any scenario. Looking at the photos hanging on the walls, she wondered a little. What was it that Adrienne was trying to capture? What was it that she wanted the world to see in a way that she was able to through the lens of her camera?
“It feels weird, being here. Alex feels suffocated here. I don’t blame him.” Luna said softly, leaning her head to the side to rest gently against Adrienne.
“I’m sorry sweet pea. I would’ve done it somewhere else, but… I don’t really have the options right now. I wish I could do something for you both.” Adrienne said, pressing a gentle kiss against Luna’s cheek. One of her friends brought over a couple beers for them, smiling at Luna as she left them. Guess the sleaze wasn’t on many people’s good books.
“I’m just tired, lover. Tired of pretending I’m not. Tired of people like that guy. Tired of wishing things could have been different. I just want to sleep.” Luna said softly, reaching forward to grab one of the beers. Adrienne shook her head a little.
“I get it, chickie. I really do, but I don’t want to see you go away. I don’t want to see Alex go away. I don’t want to see any of you go away, you know? Not to sleep forever, not to disappear. I don’t want my photos to be the only thing I got of you guys. Got enough ghosts haunting the polaroids already.” Adrienne said gently. She wasn’t one to normally get so sentimental. It was touching, in a strange way.
“Take me for a walk. Tell me the story you’re telling here. Tell me what’s next. I want to hear it all.” Luna said, wiggling Adrienne off her shoulders as she slowly stood up. The two of them met each other's eyes and smiled. She didn’t have many friends left, and Adrienne had proven to be a problematic one in the past, but. Maybe she really did just need someone to talk to, to be around, to goof off with. To take selfies and be happy for a minute.
It made her realise how much happier and carefree she’d felt when she and Sean had been becoming friends. How much happier and focused she was in that whole lead-up to the championship match. To have the ability to be happy in her own life, even if she was a vengeful, angry and ‘crazy’ bitch in the ring. Adrienne picked up her beer in one hand, and linked her fingers with Luna with her other. A big beaming smile.
The Marigold herself.
We’re Not The Same
Scene Two | On-Camera
“When I lost the Bombshell Internet Championship in my first defence. In my first defence against the woman who I had spent months uplifting, only for her to spit in my face and in turn ignore my existence ever after. I fell into this rut. I fell into this pit of self-loathing, self-hatred. Despair and disdain for myself. It took me a minute to come out of that fugue. Threw myself at the mercy of Tempest in an effort to feel something. Threw myself at the mousey little bitch Courtney Pierce, and like so many others. Lulled her into an understanding. I’m not sure what it is really.”
“I’m not a particularly likeable person. I’m foul-mouthed, I’m curt and aggressive. I call people snarky little things, and call them out on being the cunty little goblins that they are. Yet they still like me. Kayla, Tempest, Courtney, and even Alexandra Calaway. No matter how rude I am, they always find a way to like me. Be it respect for the tenacity, be it an understanding of the woman before them. I’m not sure, really. Whatever the reason, it reminds me that as much as people want to see me fail, they can’t help but root for me to win. So when I look at the state of things, I can only wonder.”
“What do they see in Victoria that makes them think we’re anything alike?”
“I think it comes down to visuals. The optics of it. They look at the delusional Victoria, prancing around calling herself queen. Attempting to get under people’s skin. Attempting to hurt others, and they think that makes us the same. They want to tar the ones that they see differently all with the same brush. Nothing exists on a spectrum when it doesn’t fit their rhetoric. I don’t agree, and I don’t like the accusation.”
“I don’t like that they want us to be seen the same, because the truth? We’re not even close to being the same. We’re not even close to resembling each other. I’m not fucking crazy, I’m just passionate. I’m not fucking delusional, I’m just confident. I’m not like Victoria Lyons, because the truth of it is she is nothing like me. Victoria is fucking batshit. She is what they think I am. She is what they think I have always been. But it’s not true, is it?”
“No, see I might be a little passionate. I might be a little ‘crazy’ when I need to be, but there’s a reason for the way that I am. There is a reason I talk about hurting and being hurt. See when I was in that fugue and wanting to feel alive, I learnt something about myself. I learnt that just because people love you, doesn’t mean that they like you. I learnt that just because I love someone, doesn’t mean I won’t call them out on being the cunty little cows that they are. I learnt that people will feign respect just in hopes that you will not succeed. So I’m not crazy for being angry. I’m not crazy for telling people I love them, and I am not fucking crazy for simply being me.”
“See, I know a thing or two about being called a Queen. I know a thing or two about prancing about calling oneself a Queen. I know, because that was me. I was the fucking Queen of Sin City. Or at least I thought I was. I thought I was the Queen of Vanity. I thought I was the Queen of the Conspiracy, because I had the One True King by my side, you know? I thought these things because I was delusional enough to think the words made it true. I was delusional enough to think that simply because I wished for something, that it had to come true.”
“I learnt the hard way that words just aren’t enough. I learnt that simply because I wanted to be Queen, didn’t make me one. That wearing a fake little crown wouldn’t change that. Simply pretending wouldn’t change that, no matter how much I tried to delude myself. That is something that you are going to learn, Victoria. You’re going to learn that simply wanting something to be true, doesn’t make it so. See I’ve earnt the right to be called The Idol of Sin City. I’ve fought, and bled, and beaten and broken everyone who wants to deny me that right. I have done my mileage because I deserve to be in this position. I deserved to be the one across the ring from Kayla Richards. I deserved to be in that Proving Grounds series. I deserved it, because I fucking worked for it.”
“You? You won a pretty little crown and in turn lost sight of yourself. Prancing about calling yourself the Queen, when in reality? You’re just a fucking lunatic wearing a piece of plastic and thinking that changes anything. I can respect you in some ways Victoria. You’re doing some tremendous things. You’re on a tear that most people wish for. You’re on a streak that puts you in the company of Kayla Richards, Juliana DiMaria, Amber Ryan and hell Masque if you really want to go back to it. You know what I’ve come to learn about streaks? They’re even more painful to bounce back from. They’re even harder to pull yourself back from. They’re not great for those of us who are just a little bit more akin to the divergence of our minds. Do I think you can beat me? Sure. I don’t think there is anyone that couldn’t if they tried.”
“Just like, I don’t think you’re untouchable. I don’t think you’re crazy enough to keep up what you’re doing. I don’t think you quite understand that looking at me like I’m Bella Madison, is the dumbest fucking thing you could do. You might be hating her right now. She may be the target of your ire, but let me tell you just a little bit of truth. Song thought she was stronger, faster and better, and I told her I’d punch my way through her fucking chest if I needed to. She fell. You might think it’s a benefit to you to see me through the lens of your disdain, but I promise you this. If you aren’t ready for Luna Pasilno, you’re going to get your pretty little nose punched through your fucking face.”
“If you aren’t ready to step into the ring with me, Victoria. I’m going to show you the difference between a false Queen and a fucking true one. If you don’t think about who you’re actually stepping into that ring with, you’re going to learn why I am the Idol and you are just the pixie little bitch that people can’t wait to see get her comeuppance. If that falls to me, so be it. I don’t care to be part of your little war with Bella Madison. I don’t give a fuck about what you have going on, but I do care that I’ve been sucked into it. You picked Kayla Richards and then Bella felt obligated to pick me. At least give me a little something to do before Violent Conduct.”
“But maybe, just maybe, you get a fucking taste of what is to come. Maybe, just maybe, you get a little bit of a taste of what true Violence is all about. See, I look across at my husband and I see the freedom in hurt and pain that comes with the Roulette Championship. I didn’t get to experience enough of it. A wet behind the ears, green as grass starter, I had a flash in the pan reign with the Bombshell Roulette Championship, but now. Now maybe when I leave you a whimpering little mess in the middle of that ring, they’ll think about what could be if they just give me the chance. Maybe my sweet surrogate fathers of abuse and disparity will see that the two women who walked into Violent Conduct to contest for the Bombshell Roulette Championship, couldn’t stand up against two of the best that this company has to offer.”
“Maybe, they’ll look at you and think that the gold would look so much better on me. A true power couple of violence. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll hope that you aren’t in any state to keep on defending that championship. Maybe Kayla breaks Bella’s body so badly that they just have to put the woman who left their champion a bloodied fucking mess in the ring in a position to win the big one. Maybe I get the fucking recognition I should be getting. Your stupid little battle cost me my chance to be in that number one contendership match, and I do not fucking appreciate it. I was denied the Proving Grounds, match-ups against Raine and Juliana. Matches people want to see. Instead, I have to deal with the delusional plastic crowned Queen of Sin City.”
“So whilst you might be seeing Bella Madison in me, I’m seeing everything fucking wrong in this place, with you. I’m seeing what The Conspiracy is actively working against, in my own treatment because of you and because of Bella. I’m seeing things I hate and I hate that I have to deal with them. So I’m going to have to punish you for it, because I am sick of people using me as a stepping stool. I’m sick of people using me, period. I’m sick of people thinking that simply because I exist, that I am a tool at their mercy. I am not anyone’s fucking tool. I am not anyone’s stepping stone. I am not anyone’s to do with what they want, because I am my own fucking person. I am Luna Pasilno, I am the Idol of Sin City, and at Climax Control?”
“You’re going to be calling me mother, as I walk you like a fucking dog all over that ring, and then? You’re going to thank me for it, Victoria. You’re going to thank me for making you see the difference between you and me. You’re going to thank me for showing you that being a snippy little cow isn’t enough to step toe to toe with an angry fucking bitch like me. You’re going to thank me for taking your win streak away, and then you’re going to thank me for the reality check. For putting you back in the box, and making you understand. You’re no fucking Queen. You’re just a crazy little bitch playing dress-up.”
“I’m not bitter by any means. I’m just tired. I’m tired of working my way up, just to be spat down to the dregs again and made to wonder why they simply use and abuse. I hate that I lose opportunities because of the fickle and hateful nature of cunty little fucks like you and Bella Madison. I’m just tired of it. So I’m going to punch your face in. I’m going to kick your throat shut, and I’m going to slice your calves so much you’ll be begging to never step into that ring again. Why? Because I fucking want to. I’ll see you at Climax Control.”
“The Conspiracy is here.”