Reiko's booth - Today's guest: Anja the Raven

Reiko sat in her red, comfortable looking chair as she nervously clenched her fist so hard she almost ruined the notes she was holding in her left hand. What an opportunity had arisen, but also what a challenge! One thing was writing some stuff for the AFW blog or making some vlog from the comfort of her home, but for that day the AFW had decide to go all out and give her an interview in a full tv set with a decent live public, and that being a new section in the AFW media department, no less! As crewmen and women were bustling finishing their different duties, from sound testing to arranging all the materials needed for that day’s event, just minutes before the crowd would start gathering in the stands.

The blonde blogger went through her notes once more. Of course at that point she knew them by heart, but the woman couldn’t hide she was feeling a little nervous. And it wasn’t a strange thing since she was going to do her first interview in person, and her guest was nothing but an AFW veteran with lots of experience in different areas of wrestling. The woman known as the Raven had some reputation of being ruthless and giving her all in every match without conceding anything to her rival. She also had her good share of crowd’s attention. As she was getting her hair done and makeup ready by the crew Reiko had the feeling that this was going to be a really good interview, but she was still nervous.

When Reiko was completely ready as she went back to the stage she was surprise to see that people was already starting to sit on their sits as the final sound tests were done. The blonde decided to be a good host by welcoming the people as she tested her mic and walked towards her place. It was a small and simple but cozy looking stage, pretty proper for the kind of conversation she wanted to have with the Raven. Two simple, red chairs were placed one in front of another with some space between them and around them in a semicircle sat not more than 50 people. The crowd had been selected by a lottery in between AFW fans and it only had women among them, something the interviewee requested.

It looked like everything was ready. People had arrived and the staff gave Reiko green light to start. Cameras rolled and applause sign gave the signal to the people to make some noise as Reiko started talking.

“Hello AFW fans and thank you for joining us. Welcome! I’m Reiko Hanamura and today I’m more than glad to be here in this special presentation!” She let the public cheer with enthusiasm for some more seconds. “Today I have the pleasure of having with us a special guest who is not only a veteran in the AFW but a well renowed wrestler. Please give a good round of applause to Anja Mueller, the Raven!” As the crowd clapped and cheered for the day’s guest the lights went on to signal Anja to step on stage.

A waste of space, that was the general idea of Anja the Raven when she thought about most journalists. Especially paparazzi, people who were using her few creative energy to harass people who had even a shred of fame for a quick buck. Although she could not deny that she had a certain kind of respect for real journalists who were not afraid of asking tough questions or exposing liars. And then there was the fact that Reiko was a girl and probably far from being the top dog in her medium, and both traits made her the best possible interviewer for the quirkly Anja.

So usually, she would simply not have answered the request of AFW officials to appear for an interview, but this time they had make it hard for her to not appear as nearly all her requests had been fullfilled.

First and most important of all, it was an all woman audience not carefully picked from a band of yes sayers but real fans who had literally won the lottery. No vitrol, touchy men with the self control of a shacky champagne bottle that made her want to throw up internally. Not that she was much of a feminist either. She understood herself simply a human being.

Then there was no dress code. Anja hated it to dress formally and could only be actually forced into a kind of dress, so she was here with a red T-shirt with a black screeching Raven on it, some regular blue jeans with a raven belt buckle and some marine blue sneakers made for comfort. She also had angrily wunken away any make up artist and hair stylist after the basics which were absolutely necessary for an interview. Her hair was open and kempt back but kept it´s unruly, slightly curly frame at the end.

Giving her old stuffed crow a good luck kiss, she would then step out into the area, friendly winking with both hands for the cheering girls that had awaited her arrival, even bowing a litttle bit before she would greet her host with a bow too and a friendly smile, much unlike the cold and uncaring Anja that she was in the ring for a mixed audience.
"Hello, Miss Reiko. Hi you all!"
She took another round of winking for the audience before turning her attention back to her host, carefully leaving out the cameras who were also looking for some attention but getting none.

Reiko waited patiently as the crowd erupted in applause all directed at that night's guest. Some people even had raven banners they proudly showed. That was the best trait of deciding people by a lottery like they did: that way Anja was sure that everyone sitting in the stands was equally happy to be there and would respond consecuently. It was a really good move that said a lot about the woman she was just about to interview.

And that woman was just making her entrance. Reiko smiled at the guest making her entrance, taking mental notes on what she could notice about her. Concerning her clothing, it was almost impossible to miss the raven in her t shirt and on her buckle, and that indicated that Anja had some sort of pride in her trademark, in her wrestling persona. Also, the way she moved talked about confidence. As she made her appearance, the Raven made some generous greeting to her public before thanking for being here. For someone known for being ruthless in combat, Reiko was starting to feel quite confident in herself.

"Oh please, let's not be so formal. We are here to have a talk in confidence with these good people as witness, that's all." As she returned the greeting to Anja, Reiko made a gesture towards the chairs, inviting her guest to take a seat at any time. When both women had taken their seats and the crowd had completely settled the show could go on.

"So, now that we both are more comfortable let me say how lucky I feel to have someone like you being the inaugural guest for this section. It's not everyday that we get an AFW veteran as you so close, and the people is also happy to see you back, right?" As if responding to her words, the public clapped once more. "In fact, I wanted to ask you precisely about that: you are an all time veteran, but some time has passed since you were last seen in the ring. New talents had arisen and some of your fellow veterans aren't as present as they used to, how does that affect you? And could you give us some insight on what your plans are for your future Are you coming back strong with intentions of seizing some belt or are you after something else?"

"My pleasure, Reiko. Contrary to many other serious journalists, useful bloggers and the whole bunch of other professional time wasters whining for some undeserved attention you made it pretty hard to not appear in your premier show."
Anja replied calmly and with full confidence in her voice after sitting down and putting one leg over the other. That she also thought that Reiko deserved a chance to shine and rise through the ranks was of nobodies concern anyway.

"I am actually a second wave veteran so to say. So I missed the first wave of gorgeous wrestlers and the up to date probably wildest days of AFW. Speaking of people appearing less on the shows who were full time when I joined, life happens I guess. Cicilia Nortman is married but still not a real part timer I would say, Heather comes and goes, Marissa Evans is a successful model while my good friend Natalia the Dream made a career in movies. I sadly don´t know about Lady Lakota who I had a smoking hot photo shoot with some time ago. All in all, I think we now have a bunch of very promising new people and could savor the past instead of actually yearning to re-life it."
She mused, tapping a finger against one of her knees.
"Luckily, Natasha Loclear is still here in AFW. We are very close and I am glad that she endures hanging around with my quirky self. She is the fresh breeze that allows me to keep some hope with powerhungry and greedy humankind."
With her most honest impression available, she was taping on her hearth to send out the message to her best friend not with only words but a gesture too.

"My first and foremost goal in a ring is to dominate another girl. Make her an addict for my body. Enchant and subjugate her to make her mine. Take total control of her. If you step into the ring with me, show your best or be ready to be fucked into exhaustion or beaten up in public. Probably even both. I also wrestle naked for fun in clubs, no pay required. So watch out for me if you want to be challenged in that way, dear ladies…"
She slightly smiled at that sentence while the girls in the audience cheered and issued some challenges already. It had been deply ingrained into her being to be that way when she was young, enhancing her natural affinity for liking girls and being competetive.
"Regarding belts, I have not much interest. I don´t need a prop to show my superiority. If I should ever need the feel for gold around my wastes, I will follow the example of a very prominent AFW wrestler and win a championship from someone in a small promotion and then parade it around at my leisure. Or maybe invent the Raven belt."

The board was set and the pieces were in place. As she sat and had the first taste of Anja's character left Reiko confused about if what the Raven said was actually a compliment or a venomous commentary, the interviewer had very clear who she was dealing with. As she understood the craft of interviewing, the relation between interviewer and interviewee had to be cordial, but it couldn't reach a place in which both parts would grow indulgent. They had to maintain some balance, pushing to their limit but without breaking rules of demeanor or courtesy. In some ways it could be seen somehow similar to wrestling, and that may be why Reiko liked it so much.

First of all, Anja made an incredible review at her past experiences and friends and where they all were. It was a powerful lesson in AFW history for anyone who wouldn't know those names. Of course Reiko knew about all those people Anja referenced, but that didn't mean it wasn't impressive having a true piece of the history of AFW in front of her reviewing her career.

Then, the Raven went over what she thought and felt about wrestling. It was as if Reiko was witnessing Anja writing her manifesto, and everyone would be able to feel how adamant her words were. It was as if every statement was sharp enough to cut the air in front of her. The Raven spoke ruthlessly, showing where her principles were, how she thought of her rivals and what the veteran wrestler thought that really mattered. When her interviewee was done, silence felt heavy and Reiko knew that she had to give a smart retort or she would look like a fool. With someone like Anja in front of her there was no room for middle-of-the-road questions.

"Well, it looks like you already have your Raven belt.", she decided to break the ice with a little joke as she pointed at Anja's raven buckled belt. The public giggled. "But jokes aside, I was going to comment on how you weren't shy about mixing your wrestling skills with others of a more sensual department, but your powerful statement did that for me. You almost sounded there as if you were making an open challenge to anyone who doesn't know you. Do you think you can use your experience in your advantage against some of these new names appearing on stage? Can we expect you to come back and dominate the scene as you used to?"

The words other professional time wasters in her opening sentence had probably been caused a ltitel bit confusion in her hoost, but the Blonde had not meant to lump her in the same category. Silently sighing a little bit about her slip up, she calmed herself with the fact that she usually did not get interviewed at all and so thanked for the little joke with a small giggle.

"Hm. That is a good question."
Moving her head from left to right until it returned to the middle where it belonged, the Raven seemed to finally find an answer.
"Indeed, any girl can challenge me at anytime. But I won´t take anyone serious as challengers. Because I believe that some people are not worth of my time. Not because I think they lack the physical skill to defeat me, but there is a group of girls I have no interest in defeating. That is not a heterogen group and has nothing to do with heigh, weight, race or whatever, mind you. If I find someone dull, rude just for the sake of being an asshole or being an outright sociopath just out to hurt people, I probably won´t bite for a match offer. So it is quite possible that I accept the offer of a more chubby girl with a nice or interesting personality over one of a super hot girl that looks as if she is chisseled out of stone but a total moron."

She paused to get some air.
"Wrestling and seduction are both arts. Any weirdo can hump another girl like an ape a watermelon after beating her to a bloody pulp, but that has nothing to do with seductive wrestling. Despite my more rural and natural appearance, I am probably more of a wild glamour girl than a tomboy in hearth. And in bed."
Several women in the audience giggled at this point.
"So to answer your question, yes. I would love to test my skills against some of the new girls and dominate them in the process. Experience in the ring and with seduction is surely a factor to win the type of matches I like to have."

Reiko could only thank that her interview was planned to air online out of the television, family friendly events the AFW holds, because if that had been the case the interview would have been boring and dull, but it turned out to be exactly the opposite as Anja was completely free to talk her mind. And what an interesting mind it was turning to be. Reiko was learning not to judge one wrestler for what they could say about her online (mostly her rivals’ fandom) or by how they looked in the ring. That made her learn much about her guest and how she saw things. Her discourse on wrestling and seduction had surely got some people in the crowds… more than interested in it, and Reiko’s attention was full as the Raven went into details on how seduction and wrestling intertwined for her. It was a curious and original way of viewing things and piqued Reiko’s interest.

“So, what you are implying is that even if seduction and wrestling come together in play for you, it looks like you see that from an outsider’s perspective. I have witnessed several hentai wrestlers stating that what they enjoy the most isn’t the competition but sharing themselves with some rival, and here you are with another point of view in which it almost looks as a matter of dominance. You claim you are coming back to the rings to show that kind of spirit and I’m sure some wrestlers would take your challenge, but I want to dwell on this idea: when in the ring, when things get heated and steamy, do you indulge in your desires, or just have domination in mind? What I’m trying to ask is that is there some part of Anja who gets lost in pleasure or enjoys the pleasures of the flesh besides owning an opponent.” Reiko wanted to press Anja to the limits of comfort zone, see how far she was willing to go in the interview.

"Sharing themselves? I guess you can indeed do that. But I don´t. In a ring, I can be playful and can realize when I am defeated, but ultimately, I want to be the girl coming out on top. It was my only goal when I grew up, so I guess you could say that I even mellowed a bit over the last years."
Suddenly the mood of the Raven got a little bit darker. Only a little bit, but it was quite visible.
"I am young, even for AFW standards. But I have been a regular worker and wrestled in places ordinary people would not guess they exist, probably do not want to exist and deny they exist even when the well packed truth stares them right in the face. That truth is often in the form of a young, barely clad girl with a disarming smile you can have for the price of a cheap hotel room. And if you like that, her house probably has a similarly cheap girl to wrestle around in your room for your amusement. So I am actually not very experienced in romance I guess. Yes, I can also enjoy being on the receiving end and giving in to my kinks of course. In fact, that often served me well when I needed a bed for a few days as a full time tramp."

Her hands had moved a lot in the meanwhile and had been looking for a place to lay on, showing that she had been quite excited and in a little bit of mental turmoil.
"I am not a machine, you know. Sometimes I wish I were, but I somehow realized that I am not. So there are a few people that can really calm me down and relax me. I have always considered my fellow wrestler girls my family and sisterhood, despite all my failings. Something akin to a twisted half- or stepsister maybe that means really well but has matters taken out of her hand sometimes."

With each passing second Reiko was even more satisfied with how the interview was going. There were lots of layers to Anja's personality and the blonde blogger was having lots of fun trying to peel them and show the public just how that woman was. But for the last instants, for that last answer, Reiko could feel how the Raven's mood had gone a little bit darker. Reiko was new in the interviewing business but she wasn't stupid and knew really well that it was her time to relax the atmosphere once more, and she could only do tjat redirecting their conversation to lighter yet still interesting matters.

"Well, I'm sure a couple of people present here would love to know about your kinks, but I cannot make you admit a weakness in a show any of your rivals could watch..." Reiko cracked a chuckle before continuing. "Instead, I would like to dwell on another topic. So your talk about sensuality and domination painted a picture about a fierce competitor and a ruthless fighter and your background just confirms that, but a look at your circles shows that you aren't short on friends. How do you balance that dominant presence with the fact that some of your rivals get to be good friends? What is it that you see in another wrestler and say 'this person is worth of my time'?"

"Thanks for that. But I think even if I would tatoo my kinks on my face, few would notice them. People are unattentive and lazy, even a significant number of wrestlers are operating their own twitter or whatever account and tell everyone and their dog how they have spend the night or if their morning toilet was a big hit. If it is not blinking and revealing, most people fail to realize things."
She expressed her opinion, getting calmer again.
"As I said, I think of the wrestling community as a sisterhood. I may be a sister that shows up in the middle of the night to seduce you or tie you to your bed to then seduce you. Or a sister that vanishes in the middle of the night and returns a few months later, hungry for the company of my sisters. Or one that stalks you because she thinks the company of people you seek is not good for you. Or your sister that beats the asshole you find so attractive despite being an asshole into a bloody pulp with a baseball bat to teach some general manners to the object of your desire. Still I try to be a good, supporting sister. A sister on which you can totally rely on when the going gets rough. Therefore I guess that my friendly sisters know that and welcome me into their lives, no matter if we had a fight or bickered for some reason."