JUMP OF TRUST

---

The heroine of our tale supposedly took a week off of fighting crime to visit her parents for the week, as she does every year. Together, they had square pancakes, reminisced on days gone by, and whatever the future would bring at Leap of Faith.
Meanwhile, Ruby’s nightly escaped continued undisturbed. Having tracked down a crime ring selling illegal toilet paper, the banana-lime blur managed to nab one of the kingpin’s main dealers. Hoping to get more information out of him, our Super Dear’o seemed ready to get to the bottom of it all… with no corners cut!

Quote: Once again, we see Ruby sitting in a couch by herself in some sort of flashback moment.

Ruby: “You know something I’ve noticed? In general, there seem to be two categories of wrestlers these days. There’s those with a sad, or even hateful upbringing. They either don’t talk to their parents, outright hate them, or just see them as a rival. I can’t imagine those guys, or girls, must’ve had a very fun childhood. I can’t imagine the likes of Chris Chaos playing cuss-free Scrabble every Tuesday night, you know?
“Then there’s the second- or third-generation guys and gals. Wrestling’s in their blood, and it spoke to them. They can have good relationships with their parents, but most of it is based around trying to match or surpass legacies left behind by their old folks. They insist they were born and bred for this, and that that gives them an edge. Like good ole Loch Lann!
“But me? I don’t fall in either category, my guys. I. LOVE! My! Parents! And they didn’t even know what pro wrestling was when I first brought it up. Of course, my dad was on board straight away, because he has always believed that I can do anything I put my mind to. When I was fifteen he used to drive me to and fro my training gym and he’s always been my greatest supporter. My mom took some more convincing, but she’s the pragmatist. She just wanted me to be safe, her concern had nothing to do with the fact she didn’t want me to chase my dreams. When she saw my first match live, she hugged me and told me she was proud of me. She did insist I go to college, though, before I committed to a full-time wrestling career. And I did!
“Now, you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this? Because it seems to me like people revel in their hostile or competitive relationships with their parents. I cringe every time I hear someone talk about how they’ve had to overcome a lifetime of abuse. I pity them! I’ve always drawn great strength and confidence from the love and support of my parents. It’s a shame not many others seem to be able to do so in a similar fashion. Like, did Geri’s parents never give her any education on drugs? Did Gage’s parents never tell him it was okay to fail, if only you pick yourself back up again and learn from your mistakes? Did Sarah’s dad never teach her humility? Chris Chaos honestly sounds like he barely got a hug! And as for Greggo, well, it sounds like he was raised in a dark sewer by a Mutant Ninja Turtle reject that really let itself go. Lord only knows what went wrong there, exactly…

“We’re all a product of our environment, in some way, shape or form. Same goes for me. And if I turned out okay, it’s all because of my old folks. I mean, I did have competitions with my dad but that was mostly just to see who could make the biggest tower of whipped cream on our pancakes before it toppled. His record from 2007 still stands to this day, bless him.”

Quote:

We see Ruby’s parents sitting in the sofa. Nicolas is more laid back, while Olivia is leaning forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

Olivia: “Growing up, our Ruby was always a bit… well, I wouldn’t say she was a complete tomboy, but she certainly had way more boyish traits than most girls her age.”

Nicolas: “Which was awesome! It was like having a daughter AND a son at the same time! Win-win! I got to take her to girls’ soccer AND wrestling practice. Most parents need at least two kids to do that. GOOOO efficiency!”

Olivia: “Yes, but whenever she did bring a boy home, it was like the gender roles were reversed, you know? Like she wore the pants in the relationship.”

Nicolas: “Now that’s what I call successful progressive parenting!”

Olivia: “Her prom date wore a purse, Nicolas…”

Nicolas: “Hey, I wear a manbag! Doesn’t mean I can’t love the ladies!”

Olivia: “Well, you can love ‘A’ lady. Me! Now go, you’re supposed to do the dishes, and don’t forget to iron later, last time you left three creases in my pants!”

Nicolas: “… I can see where she gets it from…”

Quote:We meet Ruby back on the couch…

Ruby: “Yeaaah, the pickings on the XWF roster are rather slim, aren’t they? That’s probably a good thing, because working place relationships aren’t the best of ideas and very few people manage to make it work over a long period of time. Sarah’s a bit of an exception, oddly enough, considering how volatile she is. I may not always agree with what she says or does, but her loyalty towards Kenzi is certainly admirable. That was plain to see at Kenzi’s birthday party recently. Good thing it had me there to keep it PG! And yeah, the stuff she said about me? I can’t deny it. Magical moments happen when good finds its match in evil and vice versa. It’s what Hollywood is founded on! And every time we faced off, magic happened. Although I’ve come to realize Sarah isn’t really ‘evil’ per se, it’s quite a bit more nuanced than that. She’s more of a person you love to hate. Personally, I prefer to be someone you love to love, but whatever floats your boat. And when she says that she’s more used to being in deep waters, doing multiple shows a week and fighting multiple high stakes matches on a regular basis? She’s not wrong. She’s using facts to prove her point, and I respect that way more than those peeps who are going for the low-hanging fruit. Maybe that’s why she ticks people off so easily. It's easier to disprove a lie than admit you were caught in one. But the thing is, I’ve got a pretty good track record against Sarah. So why shouldn’t I be convinced I can’t beat her again? But Sarah focused on why THIS particular match will give her an advantage. Is she right? Time will tell.

“It's certainly a better way to go about it than what Gannon did. I was slightly disappointed he went the ‘iTsOnLyAnArChY~!’ and ‘iDoNtEvEnKnOwWhOyOuArE~!’ routes, you ain’t Thanos bro, but what probably impressed me the least about him was the way he tried to cover up his losses by claiming he wasn’t pinned in them? I mean, my guy, an L is an L. Take it, learn from it, move on. By following that train of thought, you will never ‘lose’ this Leap of Faith match because there are four other competitors, right? Well, no, you’re wrong. One winner. Five losers. That’s how that ish work, dude. And as a white person I won’t sit here and claim to know what it’s like to live the daily struggle, but from a personality standpoint you come across as a guy who’s not prepared to take responsibility for his own actions and face the consequences. I’d much rather pull out another bad pun than start crying after a loss. I mean, I don’t have a perfect track record in that category, it would be hypocritical of me to say that, but there is no second place in multi-person matches. There’s first and last. Unless you embrace that, you’ll end up on the crybaby spectrum of professional wrestling, and that’s not where you wanna be. Don’t try and embellish your record with straight up lies. I mean, if I lose the Leap of Faith match I will be thoroughly disappointed, but I will move on. I COULD be using the fact that I was already in a grueling Anarchy bout before as the perfect excuse, but I can already tell you I’m not going to do that. Because Geri’s in the same position. Speaking of which, Geri my girl, if you’re listening, you better not do that! Don’t Gannon your way out of accepting personal responsibility.

“I mean dude, even Chris Chaos acknowledged he… Well, he admitted that he somehow, kinda, hated me a little bit less than everyone else in this match? I guess? And hey, Chris? How’d that feel? Don’t you dare tell me that didn’t feel good! Positivity is the best! Keep up the great wor, and soon they’ll be calling you Chris Orderly! But I’m kidding of course. You are who you are, loud-mouthed, occasionally foul-mouthed, but always competent, not to say excellent. Here’s the thing though, bud. You’ve done it all haven’t you? Are you really still as hungry as you claim to be? I’m sure you think so, but every day I have to keep hearing about how my own accomplishments mean nothing, in spite of all the adversity I’ve faced. If you were to retire tomorrow, you could look back on a great career and people would recognize you as elite. Meanwhile, they call me a C-show participant, which really bugs me in case you couldn’t already tell, and that’s not going to change unless I open their eyes. This Leap of Faith match is the perfect gateway to shut all of those doubters up, and get the recognition I’ve worked so hard for over the past decade of pro wrestling. You, Chris Chaos, I recognize. You have my professional respect. Which means I will probably kick you harder than everyone else in this match.

“Okay, so this little interlude segment has gone a bit differently than I’d expected, but since we’re running the gauntlet here, how about the other two peeps? Geri’s been quiet regarding this Leap of Faith match. I don’t mind, I want her focused for our Anarchy title bout, but come on girl! I was so full of praise for you because you made it sound like the Anarchy title mattered! But when it comes to the Leap of Faith match? Crickets! That’s not a champion’s attitude, and it honestly sort of makes me worry about you disappearing into thin air again should you pull out a win in either of these matches. I don’t want to accuse you of being a quitter, but come on! Show us something. A bit of passion! Maybe you just got all blazed up and forgot all about it? Which, again, that stuff’ll kill you unless you’re careful! In any case, we’ll be facing off twice, so let’s hear it!

“Can’t say the same for Greggo’s silence. What a welcome reprieve. Professional courtesy means you sort of play into your opponent’s promotional material to show you that you care right? But even I, as a consummate pro, was NOT looking forward to having to acknowledge what was almost certainly bound to be another heaped up pile of inane drivel that nobody’s interested in. And please, keep it that way. Do everybody a favor. I don’t think I’m out of line saying this, either. I know I’m supposed to be all nice and kind, and I really am, more often than not. But there’s nothing wrong with calling people out if it’s warranted. Kindness doesn’t mean weakness. It doesn’t mean you just have to take and sell whatever stupidity gets flung at your head.

“Anyway, best get ready for this date. Ugh. I’ll never hear the end of this if I go or DON’T go…”

Quote:We see Ruby back in the couch.

Ruby: “I don’t know if straight people are supposed to have a gaydar, but mine was going off like crazy! He was a nice dude, but he’s clearly afraid to come out of the closet because of his mom. A bit sad, to be honest. I wasn’t going to say anything, obviously, because it’s not a door for me to open, but I just wanted to slam my fists on that table, sign that dud up to Grindr and find him a nice boy, you know?”

Quote:We see Jerry, sitting by himself on a beanbag at one of the café’s reading corners.

Jerry: “It was then that I realized I stood no chance with her… Definitely a lesbian! 99% of all female wrestlers are! Shame, because I was finally getting over my anxiety and she seemed nice enough, but she was clearly being forced to date a man because of her mother, and I didn’t want to push her to do something she wouldn’t want to. It’s sad that in this day and age people still have to hide behind a façade, rather than being themselves…”

Quote:Cut to Jerry on the bean bag.

Jerry: “If I wasn’t so sure she was a lesbian, I’d have probably tried to kiss her right then and there. But obviously, that was a horrible idea.

//Cut to Ruby in her sofa//

Ruby: “I’ve had worse dates! If he wasn’t gay I’d have probably dropped a hint about the nearby motel, but… After what happened at prom I vowed to never unwittingly pressure a gay person into doing something they didn’t want to do. That was… awkward. But oh well, onward and upward.”