"Okay, good. You are listening."

Iris giggled and let herself sink into the couch, keeping both eyes on Achterberg the whole time. Achterberg tried to avert his eyes at every opportunity, however no matter where he looked he couldn't escape her insatiable gaze. She kept her lips curled into a perpetual grin and tilted her head to follow his every movement until finally he threw himself into the back of his chair and put his feet up on the desk, appearing to be defeated in the little game of cat and mouse that had been going on.

"Did you think I wasn't?"

"It's just that it's always easy to act like you're listening. I learned that from my high school's counselor."

"Right."

"But, that's a thought."

Her head fell over onto her left shoulder, and her eyes veered from Achterberg to instead look up at the stucco ceiling. Achterberg made a half confused face before shaking his head and resting his hands in his lap and sighing.

"What's a thought?" he asked before immediately regretting doing so.

"Me being a cannibalistic serial killer. Anyone being a cannibalistic serial killer, if you want to widen the parameters a little. Or a lot, I suppose, seeing as there are more than seven billion people on planet Earth. Are we all cannibalistic serial killers? No, of course not! An entire race of serial killers wouldn't be able to sustain itself for very long, would it? But all of us could be. We all have that same capacity because in some weird way, it's a part of us. That capacity to be so, err, such an outlier from what humanity considers decent. It's kind of fun to think about. To live without fear that every action you make being scrutinized by people who don't the half of the person you are. I'm rambling, I apologize."

Achterberg grabbed a pencil off the desk along with his notepad. Flipping to an empty page, he let the pad rest in his lap as he tapped the eraser of the pencil against his lower lip, struggling to come up with both the words to write, and the words to say.

"You emphasize with cannibalistic serial killers, then?"

"I guess. I don't excuse or defend or justify their actions or anything, just that mentality. I almost kind of envy it. That ability to be so different and yet, so indifferent about it. They don't do anything for anyone else other than themselves and here I am, thinking way too hard about how to please everyone I meet. I wish, I didn't care like that. That I could just do anything and not have to worry about it. Though, I guess they have their own set of things to worry about. Like their habit getting discovered and going to jail, which makes getting judged seem about as mortifying as, as, well something that isn't very mortifying at all, I suppose. I really need to work on my similes."

"Alright. I think I get what you're talking about. Do you think about this a lot? I have to ask, because normally when patients open up like that, it's not a spur of the moment impulse."

"Define a lot? Like, more than once before right now? Yes, I've thought about it once or twice, rather recently if you're curious for a time frame but as a whole? No. I've had more pressing thoughts weighing on my mind as of late."

"Such as?"

Iris closed her eyes and let head roll over onto the back of the couch, her face pointed completely upwards to the ceiling. She let out a long sigh and kept herself still as a statue in this position before saying in a whisper reminiscent of her confession to being a killer.

"I'm planning on becoming a professional wrestler."

Achterberg forced out a chuckle. "Another test to make sure I'm paying attention?"

"No, I'm being serious."

"And what made you decide you wanted to become a professional wrestler?"

"I don't know. I figured, why not? Right? It's the first step towards not looking for everyone's approval all the time. Who'd expect me to be any good at it? It's the perfect step to take because of how unlikely it is. You look at me, and you don't think wrestler, and that's exactly what I'm looking for. You know? I've always been one to think along the lines of having to risk destruction in order to build yourself in the image you want. That kind of reckless philosophy being one of the reasons my mom 'asked me nicely' to start seeing a therapist, and why she drove me to this appointment instead of trusting me to take the bus. That and the fact that I don't have a driver's license because reasons that are completely out of my control. Mainly a tree. Ugh! I'm off track, aren't I? Jeez, what was I talking about oh right! I figure if this doesn't kill me, it'll make me at least a little bit stronger."

"And if it does kill you?"

"I don't know. I'll be dead before I see the aftermath."

---

Hello, Jack! I know I know, it's been a little while since I said anything to you about our little discussion and that's totally not your fault, that's a me problem. I've been trying to adjust to a new sleep schedule and have been really losing that battle, at least in the early parts of the week. But that's not important. See, I caught your last two promos-- that's the right word, right? Yeah, that's it. I was going to say interview but it really wasn't an interview because, yeah you know why it isn't an interview, I don't need to explain everything. Anywho, if I may, I'd like to give a counterpoint or two, just so you don't pull at straws and present weak approximations of what I said as if they are my beliefs because, you know, that's just kind of a rude thing to do and is really unbecoming of someone who likes to put themselves on a moral high ground over others who'd use the same tactics, if you don't mind me saying.

First and foremost, I think you might have misheard me. I didn't say psychological. I asked how wrestling was different from any other industry on a philosophical level. As in, how does the philosophy of the wrestling business contradict the philosophy of any other business? Because, at least from where I sit, there aren't many, if any. So, a lot of the things you say about how it affects the minds of wrestlers is really kind of irrelevant to what I asked, especially because those instead go back on the individual and not the business. How the business affects the individual falls on the individual because people react differently to the same stimuli. No two people react to the same situation the same way. It's part of what makes us unique! So, saying that the psychological triggers put in place by the wrestling business affect its differences in philosophy is kind of odd. Especially considering that other industries have different combinations of the same triggers.

Wrestling isn't the only business that requires extensive travel and I doubt every business that requires it pays for every trip.

Being able to get away with more isn't an argument that can really be backed up. Can it? By "getting away" with something it's almost directly stated that you can't measure it because once more, they got away with it. You can't really measure stuff that you can't prove happened in the first place, can you? No, I'm curious.

But I'm getting off topic. Continuing to go over things that are really irrelevant as answers to the question I asked. Though there was something else I found interesting from that promo. He says that the darker parts of human nature are always the ones highlighted by everyone else. Which, I find kind of odd. It's a level of cynicality that goes past unhealthy. If that were true, and the darker parts were the only things highlighted then how could we commend people for being remarkable human beings? Even if, and I acknowledge that in some cases this is true, it is manufactured, it's still highlighted. For acceptance, people still appeal to the good parts of human nature.

So, how are the darker aspects any more highlighted than the good?

However, moving away from that and shifting focus to our match itself.

You're right. We fight tomorrow and my reputation does seem to hang in the balance. First impressions and such. Which I wish I could say I didn't care about but the truth is, I do. It's my curse. I try and please everyone and it rarely works out. Should I be keeping that secret? Probably. Am I taking a risk by disclosing that right now? Yes. Yes I am.

Though, the black and white mentality you exhibit is very much what you accuse me of having, albeit for myself it being more of a white and white mentality. Treating the "fighting against the stereotypes" option like it's a fluke third option and not something that's always there. Treating the other two as mutually exclusive, as if the only way to success is selling your soul and by not doing so you've purchased a one way ticket to failure? Again, cynical. Unhealthy! Please, promise me you'll start looking on the brightside a little more. You'll be a much happier person if you do. The world isn't all horrible. There's good! You just have to know where to look.

I'm glad I could shake off your pre-existing stigmas about who I am, though I think you're confused on something.

On one hand, you say it's rare to find someone who thinks like me, completely and honestly. And then you say time will tell when I reveal my true colors.

These are my true colors. The blues and greens and pinks and yellows and all the colors inbetween. They are my true colors. They are me. I don't feel the need to hide behind disguises, no offense of course, because I don't see the need in faking things. And don't get it twisted. I may care what others think, but that doesn't stop me from being myself. It shouldn't stop anyone.

And you shouldn't make assumptions.

See you, Jack.

May the better competitor win.