Datura

“I say this as a disclaimer.” Elizabeth’s voice seems more stable than usual, straightforward even. There is no hint of anxiety or anger. She looks up, her multicolored hair dangling over her half-closed eyes. “I do not mean to toot my own horn nor do I mean to say that I am somehow better than others. I’m sure you’ll misinterpret this like that regardless.” Datura sighs and leans back, crossing her right leg over her left. The bare, pale skin left by her black skirt was a strange sight. Perhaps she was more intoxicated than usual.

“There is something to be said about those who are inspired. A lot of people say that they are yet rarely act upon their feelings. I commend those who truly seek to partake in their desires because those people and those people alone are the ones who actually live. I cannot say I’ve done that throughout the entirety of my life. There are those who do not feel inspiration. They continue to do the same subpar acting day in and day out, giving the mediocre performance of life and calling it a day as they sleep. Their dreams are simply that. Dreams.

But there are those few who aspire for something greater, those who aspire to change their surroundings or their status or their predicament. There are those who take what they deserve because you only have one life, no matter what anyone wants you to believe in. This is where I come in.

I will admit that I have been feeling pangs of regret. For weeks I simply complained; I was one of those who were not inspired to change. I took my ability to do so for granted and gave you all a show unworthy of your time. I sincerely apologize.” Datura trails off and lets in a deep breath. The corners of her lips curl upward into a devious smile.

“Last week I decided that my time had come to escape the fog. Some may take that as a joke, considering my pastimes, but others will look back at the tape and realize that there is no humor in my antics. My decisions stem from a realization that I have the power to do things that I never assumed possible. My actions grow from an awareness that I am no longer inept. You would think by the way I spoke previously that I was very confident in how I performed here. That’s the thing. People like to talk.

I spoke on being human not too long ago and I didn’t exclude myself from our flaws. The choice to not take action is one I did not mention because I was in a crisis of my own. We, as humans, enjoy communicating our ideas without actually taking the necessary time to perform them. I am no longer that person and I will no longer fall victim to the predisposition I was assigned by biology.” Elizabeth allows herself to relax. She closes her eyes.

“Remy, Sophie, and I, we found this pinnacle of thought at the same time. Some people will say we’re crazy, Remy touched on that a bit… some people see him mutilating his arm and say “That man needs help.” That assessment is incorrect. We simply are no longer afraid of the judgment…the looks of disbelief and scorn no longer effect our psyche. We are far beyond that now.

See, these actions you deem crazy or insane or whatever other technical term you choose… they are not illnesses; they are not faults in our design. These words you use are simple labels attributed to those who are not bound by the laws of social norms. The normals, Erving Goffman calls them. That’s you…” Elizabeth opens her eyes, “Are all stigmatized but choose to attempt to adapt their lifestyle to fit pressures placed upon them. They choose to group people who are unlike them into broad categories that reaffirm their world view, but why? For the sake of ethics, morality, justice? These ideas… they’re entirely ambiguous and subjective. What is right in your mind or in the majority’s mind does not make it the correct answer. It makes it a bigger misconception.” Datura slouches her posture and takes a sip of water. Her face twitches a bit.

“Nietzsche asked so I decided I’ll ask again: What then is truth? I like to use that term, truth, as we all do; this… depiction of the cosmic nuance that we’ve come to use as a crutch in our faulty logic. By saying “the truth is” we’ve come to defend our assumptions not based on fact but by what we believe to be such. My personal belief in the matter? There is no truth. There is only opinion. Humans are unable to be objective once they develop the ability to understand.

When we are born screaming and kicking, we have no opinion of the world. We have no grand idea of what these abstract terms like love and hate and crazy are. We go by our instincts: we cry when we’re hungry or have shit ourselves and we sleep. It is when we begin to learn that our view is shifted from this innate innocence to the ideas of our parents, our community, and our environment. We are all products of these factors whether we like to admit it or not. These vague ideas you clutch onto were someone else’s and they instilled them into you. You are not special. You’re just good at being manipulated.” Datura lifts her right arm and twists her right wrist while rolling her eyes.

“But Elizabeth, you will argue, there is truth! There is! What about math? What about science?” Datura leans forward and shakes her head in disappointment.

“What about them? When it comes to numbers, it turns into a matter of language which is one of the worst creations we have. An example? What is two? Who decided there was a number “two?” Two doesn’t look like two, it’s actually three letters and one syllable. There is nothing “two” about the word. So we have this idea of “two” which is one thing added another thing, and that gives us two. Why isn’t it three? Why not four?” Datura holds up her hands.

“Enough linguistics, let me approach this in a different way. Another reason there is no truth is the fact that we are able to see that formulas and ideas about things such as physics may be upended. Take Newton for example. For a long period of time humans believed that Newton was the end-all be-all of physics. Then this guy named Einstein came around and said, “You didn’t consider time.” What happens when the next genius comes around and points out what Einstein didn’t consider?

Your argument may then align with some Greek philosophers that said, “Truth is what is useful at the time.” Which doesn’t need much of an in depth argument but I’ll give you an example. The Pirahă people of the Amazon do not use numbers. Instead, they only have words for small and large amounts, yet they function at a level fit for survival. Is there then a need for exact numbers? Are they really that useful? Do we actually need exactitudes? Something to ponder…” Datura trails off again and bites her lip

“So I must ask again, what then is truth? Knowledge is ever changing and if that is the case can we then say with certainty that these things are true?” Datura heaves her shoulders with another heavy breath.

“The answer is a simple no. The only concept that truly matters is belief. Belief is something interesting in and of itself because of the implications it has on our everyday lives. If there is no truth, then everything must be believed in. With such a strange paradigm, there are those beliefs that people are willing to die over. Let me tell you what I believe.

I believe that at Salvation, I fell into myself completely. I’d like to take you back to that night if I may. To open the show, Sophie and I worked as a unit to make everyone believe we were an isolated occurrence. Even Carl and Madison believed we were making a statement of entry into the Tag Team division. Assumptions, my dear, get people nowhere and it’s what got David and Syren laid out on the stage. By focusing our attack as we did we allowed this assumption to flourish before Remy showed up and assisted us in our mission. There was no statement of entry by Sophie and myself, only a statement of just order.” Datura’s eyes slam shut and she twists her neck into an uncomfortable positions.

“But then what does Clark do? He takes our action as one of resentment and vile intent. He does the same things that the fans and doctors do, He based his assessment of the situation on past experience. We did not take out Notorious just to be bad guys, like Air Raid had done. We attacked Notorious to prove a point. We are no longer going to be walked over, we are no longer going to be unjustly swept under the rug. But Richard Clark, being Richard Clark, decided yet again to put the superstars of his company in harm’s way and disregard their safety. Sophie’s request was denied. Then, my favorite part of the night came to be.” Datura evens herself out and cracks her knuckles.

There’s something I don’t take kindly to, Majestic fans. I want to make it perfectly clear that I demand to be taken seriously. I am not going to demand that you like me, respect me, or any of those silly terms. Ashley Isaacs made the mistake of disregarding my issued warning and thought I wasn’t going to keep my promise. I am honest, Ashley, let’s cement that into the books. If I say that I’m going to put you in a predicament, you would be wise to believe it. I believe the tech crews and medical crews would now tell you the same. As would Daniel Telmah and Jen Ryette. I won’t waste too much time on “The Dragonfly” but I would like to talk a little bit about my match.” Datura leans back and lifts up her shirt, showing her tattooed abdomen covered with heavy tape. She reaches over to her stand and pops open a bottle of prescribed Oxycodone. She throws several down her throat and washes them down. She takes a heavy breath.

“No one expected that the match between Jen and Iwould be a main event worth watching. I’m sure when people heard about it thy simply rolled their eyes and decided to watch just for the sake that two women were going to beat each other up. Perhaps, one would even come undressed.” Datura cracks her neck.

“Here’s something some of you and my fellow competitors will be able to understand. At Salvation I sacrificed by body, my wellbeing, and most of all the ability to continue doing what I love.. I stood fifteen feet in the air and I flipped through the air and I won that match. We sacrifice our bodies all the time to win matches and prove to the fans we’re worth of their time, but that’s not why I did it, no offense. That match was my mission statement. …” Datura cringes.

“And here we are, working towards another Salvation and I’m booked in a hardcore match against another former Team Anderson pawn. Richard Clark has decided to make us suffer for our transgressions against him. Yet, in doing so he made a dangerous miscalculation. Clark believes that somehow, I will not take offense to my time being wasted. Clark, my time here is not infinite. I am bound by the years my heart continues to beat. I am bound by the ability of my bones. I will no longer submit to these misgivings. I thought I had made a point; I thought my message rang loud and clear. I suppose I was wrong.” Datura shakes her head and slaps the glass of water off her table. The glass shatters on the ground.

“These missteps you are taking no longer involve the well being of myself. You must take into consideration the grave danger you are putting your roster in. You may continue to place these “obstacles” in my way but you are risking the livelihood of those who stand before me.” Datura attempts to compose herself. I will be damned if my career is counted by the matches I shouldn’t have been placed in. I will be damned if my Majestic Wrestling legacy turns into a list of mediocre talent I have beaten. You have instituted a new fate into me.

But to the guaranteed matter at hand. At Salvation I will be facing Comatose. As I said, he is a former partner of mine. The key word in that phrase is former. See, just because I have teamed with someone before does not mean that I will be forever in their favor. They will not indefinitely have mine. Comatose has been placed onto the chopping board by our glorious leader and the final hour draws near.

I had assumed at Legacy that a man who lived only by the rules of currency would be better suited. It appears to me that this man is not a professional. He is simply a man who tries to intimidate with his fancy weaponry and cold words and silly costume. Let me take you back to something Comatose said last time we heard from him.Comatose said and I quote, “People seem unable to forget my previous life as a human being. No longer! I have transcended them all by God.” End quote.” Elizabeth bursts into a fit of laughter.

“So, Comatose, let me ask: what did your God give you? What did you God decide you must do? Scare and attack janitors? I will be very clear in stating that this God that you so often spoke of has placed your future in my hands. That does not sound like a favor to me.

Since you believe in this God, allow me to pull out a little bit of religious context for this match. Do you know who else God chose? He chose Jesus Christ to go down to Earth and show us human folk how to live. Do you know what happened to his “chosen one” Calvin.” Datura pauses “Do you mind if I call you Calvin? No matter… Jesus Christ was crucified and then made into a spectacle by lower minded individuals. Perhaps this is all part of His plan. Perhaps you were chosen to come down to Majestic Wrestling and we were all meant to be ninjas. Perhaps then, you were predestined to be crucified at our hands. Perhaps we’ll write a book about you one day. The great Calvin “Ninja” Comatose whatever you call yourself. You’ll be a hero to sheeple everywhere.” Datura rolls her eyes

“Some people may say that Comatose and myself are alike. In that, the both of us are working towards an end goal. To that, I would say, you are somewhat correct. The difference between Mr. Calvin and myself is the mere fact that I am capable of reaching mine no matter what unjust situations I am placed in. As for him, we saw the very depth of his skill at Legacy and look where that’s gotten us. It has gotten us here, in this match, at Salvation. I would also argue that our destinations are very dissimilar. He has nothing but material gain to motivate him. I have my very existence being threatened.

Calvin, I would’ve never guessed Clark would have such little motivation to keep you around. Regardless, we shall be seeing the last of God’s “Chosen One” at Salvation.” Datura taps her chin.

If I may add more religious context into the grand scheme of things here in a Majestic… There is a passage in America’s favorite book. I believe it’s called the Bible. I would like to refer you to book, the Gospel of Matthew, namely Matthew 5:5. It states: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” I believe this passage is quite relevant when it comes to the going ons of this company. You see, Comatose is one of the meek. Ashley Isaacs and Daniel Telmah are the meek. In as such, the Bible has called for them to inherit Majestic Wrestling and they have. The problem is that no such God is guiding my journey. I am not shackled in the chains of “the word.” I am here, upon the freedom of my will, to take back what belongs to those who deserve praise. Another step shall be taken Sunday. Prepare yourselves for The Fall.” Datura stands from her seat, lights a cigarette, and makes her way off camera.