A master of creation and a magical girl meet (For RedCosmicFox)

John was not one to simply sit idly, one could ascertain that from his wrestling career and his work as an artist. Indeed Mr Carnaby was carving out a very extensive career for himself. But in terms of the squared circle John had yet to get much going on lately, perhaps it was the trappings of fame as his boss Ryan once stated to him. Mr Carnaby would have assumed it was because of his status as a former title holder that people would seek him out to try and raise their own status, but then again it had the list of former. No matter, it would only be a matter of time till the UK Elite conquered the tag team division once again.

Dressed in his new wrestling attire of a pair of black leather trousers with brown shoes, an open black leather shirt with two belts crossing around the midriff. John's trademark custom blue leather trenchcoat was draped over his shoulders as he walked into the gym. No one around, likely enjoying the hot summer sun. Mr Carnaby was often one to partake in this, however the master of creation knew to keep up his training regime. If he was to live up to the name of UK Elite after all.

But it could wait, for now John wanted to sketch. The Brit walked into the gym with bag, sitting at a nearby bench Mr Carnaby would commence drawing in a book. Gently ripping out drawn pages, first he drew detailed backgrounds of the gym. And then going into facial portraits of those John knew, anyone walking by would see the pages on the floor as ample evidence of proof of John's moniker.....

https://www.deviantart.com/shiroehellscythe/art/Willard-H-Wright-Render-692969932

☆ Alice Starr  ☆:

Meanwhile, across the city on one of the local transit busses, Alice could hardly contain her excitement. She had just recently signed up with AFW, and she was on her way to the facilities to do a small self-tour. Finally, she had a great opportunity to live our her dream of being the cute magical girl she always wanted to be! She was probably creating a bit of a scene, bouncing around in her seat, but she was just so over the moon she just couldn't help it.

She was so in her own head that she almost missed her stop, but when she realized her mistake she shrieked out and pushed the button. The bus driver only barely slammed on the brakes, jerking all of the passengers forward.

"Sorry, sorry!! This is my stop!!!" She called out, jumping to her feet and running towards the front of the bus. She hopped out the door down to the sidewalk, turned around, and waved to the bus driver, who was already closing the door. "Thankyousomuch!!!" she cried out as the bus pulled away, with at least a couple of the patrons giving her stares or a dirty look from the window. Alice didn't seem to notice, however, she was still in her own little world.

After the bus pulled away, she turned around, her eyes lighting up when she saw the building. There it was, one of the AFW Gyms. She definitely was going to hang out there a lot -- she was going to train, she was going to practice, maybe she'd even make a new friend!

Ignoring the butterflies gathering in her stomach, she walked inside, taking in her surroundings. The equipment, the rings,  the air conditioning...this was a really nice facility!

As she scanned her surroundings, she saw what seemed to be the only other person around -- a potential new friend! She quietly watched him from the doorway and noticed he seemed to be...drawing?

Letting her curiosity get the best of her, she walked over to him. She didn't intend to sneak up on him, but she was relatively small and light on her feet, so it was pretty likely he didn't hear her coming.

"Hi!" She said, leaning in and looking over his shoulder at his sketchbook. "Whatcha drawin' there?"

John had to admit he was kinda drifting into a sort of nostalgia trip, going back to his college days where he'd sit on the garden outside and draw a tree. Write up homework and relish into being a British art student, course now Mr Carnaby was a successful young man intent on only ascending to greater heights. It was that ambition that led him to being brought into UK Elite in the first place, a desire to go above and beyond. However currently Mr Carnaby was content to simply draw, lose himself in the void of a plain sheet of paper. Bringing creations to life and then continuing again and again, the workouts could wait. It was just a time of drawing, to concentrate on the surroundings in front of him and place it to paper.....

Suddenly however this time of relaxation was suddenly cut short by a loud voice behind him, John's eyes widened and he let out a "Wahh!!!" the Brit jerked upright as if he'd sat on a thumbtack. Mr Carnaby only barely managed to catch his sketchbook in time thanks to his honed wrestling reflexes. Breathing a sigh of relief John would turn around to see who jumpscared him. It was a blonde haired girl that actually looked pretty cute with some kind of dress, the Brit readjusted his trenchcoat on his shoulders as he looked at her.

"Uh well I was just doodling stuff around me." John said, now that the momentary surprise was over Mr Carnaby quickly gained composure and smiled in spite of the suddenness. "I'm an artist when I'm not wrestling, name John Carnaby. Ain't seen you before, you new in Tension?" she looked like a little bundle of energy so John would likely have reckoned if he saw her before......

As energetic as Alice was, she was also rather jumpy herself, and the Brit's sudden reaction caused her to let out a small shriek and a tiny jump of her own. When he turned around to look at her, she had a sheepish smile on her face, rubbing the back of her head in an almost cartoonish fashion.

"H-hey...sorry..." she quietly murmured. She was about to unleash a big bowl of word salad for an apology, but as soon as she saw his smile, she immediately calmed down. Her eyes lit up a bit, and she returned a warm smile of her own.

"Hi there! Is it okay if I call you John??" she asked him, but before he could respond, she immediately jumped into another excited ramble. "I'm Alice, Alice Starr! I just signed with the AFW the other day and I'm so excited to get started!"

She took a step back and spun around a few times, letting her dress twirl around before she showed him her best magical girl pose, mimicking one of her favourite childhood cartoons.

"How long have you been a wrestler?" she asked him, her eyes almost sparkling with excitement. "I love your drawings, by the way!!!"

Perhaps one day, Alice would be able to carry on a proper, one-track conversation when she was excited. Today was not that day.

John was trying to assess the situation, this girl just popped into the room took the Brit by complete surprise. Now she was blethering at a mile a minute. Mr Carnaby wasn't too surprised however, after all this girl looked and moved like a large bundle of energy in spite of her rather diminutive size. Still John attempted to get a word in, but this woman who introduced herself as Alice just after asking if she could ask if he could be referred to by his first name. The master of creation opened his mouth to speak but was essentially cut off, so he simply stood with a small smile. Oh jeez she was one of those, still John knew what to do. Let em get it out their system. She seemed cool enough.

So she was a newcomer then. Made sense, after all as a big name in Tension Carnaby was to keep track of the people to identify who would make for potential big names. Well it was probably for the best for her to meet a renowned gentleman like John. The artist was told by his boss to make sure newcomers felt welcome, to help combat the bad reputation it had. First day in Tension then? To be fair John hit the gym first day after he signed up.

John leaned back a bit after looking at Alice as she performed some spins before she struck a pose that was indeed quite flashy, prompting Mr Carnaby's eyes for beauty to activate and he clapped twice. "Nice pose there, you ever see Jojo's Bizarre Adventure?" he asked, she looked fabulous enough to be from there.

Mr Carnaby smirked and said "Well I've been around for over 2 years I reckon, I'm actually a former Tension tag champ." John always looked back on it fondly, people stated the UK Elite helped breathe new life in tag teaming in Tension in spite of how divided the fans of Tension were about them. He offered the sketchbook to Alice and said "Have a proper look through if you like, its mostly just normal doodles and people I know but thanks. Take it your here to workout?"

Alice giggled, her painted cheeks flushing a little bit as he complimented her pose. She had spent many more days in front of her full-body mirror at home practicing her magical girl mannerisms than she cared to admit, so she definitely enjoyed the kind words.

"Aww, thank you! I've heard good things about Jojo but I haven't seen it yet. I've always been much more of a Madoka Magica girl, myself"

As energetic and prone to rambling as Alice was when she went on one of her excitable tangents, she was definitely a good listener when she wanted to be. In almost a stark contrast to her actions just moments earlier, she stood there and listened to John tell her about himself, sparkles in her eyes the entire time.

"That's super cool!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up. "You must be pretty good at this if you were a champion! Between wrestling and art, save some talent for the rest of us, will ya?"

She playfully stuck her tongue out at him, then nodded and gently picked up the sketchbook he handed her.

"I'm actually just here to visit and see what the place is like! I guess I'm not against the idea of working out or sparring with someone, though. Mind if I sit?" she asked, patting an empty space beside him on the bench. Before he could answer, however, she plopped down beside him, then opened up his sketchbook and began to flip through the pages.

Madoka Magica huh? John had heard tales of it, the magical girl genre was one that was common in Japan. Mr Carnaby usually paid it no heed. Granted the characters were made to look good, but John just felt it could lack a certain something. Perhaps it was the trend of their skimpy attire being so common that it could render one accustomed to it, still John heard of it being a trend breaker in that regard. Jojo however was a fabulous creation, truly worthy of being displayed at the louvre.

Still the master of creation commended Alice for her commitment to her presentation, it was part of wrestling. John had this outfit personally commissioned for himself, tried of his rookie days attire. Now he looked the proper way. Mr Carnaby wasn't one to boast about his achievements, preferring to let them speak for themselves but John couldn't help but grin at Alice's words. Sometimes it was nice to be liked and claiming your fame, but his boss warned him of the trappings of it. In spite of his eccentric nature his boss did dole out some nice advice from time to time.

color=#0000ff]"Heh, well I give it my all Ms. Plus I had help, tag teaming takes two for a team after all~ I'm sure you've got plenty too."[/color] John stated, he could clearly sense her enthusiasm. John could always respect folks that had it, if you weren't eager to get involved in the industry why were you there? Alice explained her intentions behind arriving today, no doubt to check out the place of occupation.

The girl plopped herself down on the bench, John simply gave a little chuckle. She was certainly not one to sit idly, the master of creation freely let Alice browse through his simple sketches. Mr Carnaby's works of the gym here was placed and was indeed quite detailed, to the little crisscrosses of the ring ropes. "Well if you want I could give you a hand with some sparring, if your here in Tension your gonna be fighting dudes eventually. So you could get some help in dealing with it when it comes around. John figured he could offer it, after all as a former title holder he probably knew what he was doing. Course John felt it best to offer it after Alice was done reading, one thing at a time after all.....

As Alice was flipping through his sketchbook, John could likely notice that her hands were rather jittery, to the point where he couldn't necessarily be sure if she was still working with an excess of energy, or if she was actually relatively nervous. In spite of this, she made sure to be extra gentle with his sketch book, taking care not to damage or ruin it or any of its contents.

"I really like these..." she mused, gently running a finger over one of the pages. "You have a really great eye for detail! I especially like how you can see the little wrinkles in the ring apron, and all of your little smudgies are in the right places!"

When he made his offer to her, Alice looked up at him, her already upbeat and happy face seeming to light up even more. Suddenly, without even realizing what she was doing, she gently placed his sketchbook down and leaned in, clinging to his arm.

"Really?? That would be super cool!! You've already been successful here, so it would be great to be able to pick your brain and learn from a champion!"

John was a pretty well known artist in Kyoto, when he wasn't busy wrestling one could expect him to be doodling and working on proper pieces. Many a person tried to approach John and ask him if he'd do commissions, very often however Mr Carnaby declined. The Brit knew of those who simply did art for the money, John however wanted it to be personal. He did it with heart, either that or not at all. If it was people Carnaby knew however they'd get his assistance, wanting to immortalise those who made a difference to him. Still, it's nice to get a bit of praise now and then for the simpler stuff. The master of creation gave a little chuckle at Alice's words "Thanks there Alice, its a lot of practise but eventually it can become second nature to someone. John stated with a smile, her enthusiasm was infectious it seemed.

With an eye for detail John noted Alice's hands, no doubt struggling to contain the seemingly boundless energy within her. Mr Carnaby raised an eyebrow at this, but decided not to vocalise anything. That was until Alice responded to the offer given by the artist. She was certainly surprising, the magical girl leaning inwards and holding the arm of the Brit. In response John now lifted both eyebrows in response, it wasn't unwelcome to be sure. John wasn't going to complain, he'd pat Alice's shoulder with his other arm in response.

"Heh well that's the plan, one thing that's true is we all start somewhere. I'd be glad to help someone who's keen to get stuck in. Tell you what, let's hit the ring here. So what would say is your skill level? Just overall, so I can get a basis of how to help you." John said as he'd stand up and motion towards the nearby squared circle so that he could start helping out the magical girl.

She would never explicitly come out and admit it, but on the inside, Alice was actually a very anxious girl. The jitters in her hands were actually a side effect of pure nerves rather than unbridled energy, but when one was as much of a spark plug as she was, it was quite easy to hide the true reasoning.

She had quite a hard time making friends for a multitude of reasons growing up -- she was bullied at a young age, and she actively tried to avoid social situations as a result, prefering to stay inside and watch various magical girl cartoons as a child. If she ever did find friends, she would often overcompensate by being extra kind, energetic, or affectionate toward them, and a lot of the time she ended up "scaring them off".

When she moved to Japan, she treated it as a fresh start of sorts. She put herself out more, she made an effort to step outside of her comfort zone more often, but most importantly, she tried to spend her days spreading kindness, happiness, and joy. Being a real-life magical girl wasn't just some sort of childhood fantasy she was trying to live out. To Alice, it was more of a life goal -- to help others and spread joy across the world, these were things that she truly wanted to accomplish. She still had the occasional bout of anxiety to deal with, but in her quest to shine some light in the lives of others, she was finding that she was slowly finding the light in hers, as well.

As John patted her shoulder, Alice smiled warmly, and appeared to calm down a little bit. She didn't necessarily have any intention behind her actions, but he certainly seemed nice. Calming, in a way.

Once he stood up and motioned toward the ring, however, Alice was back in full force. She hopped up to her feet and began to bounce around a little bit from side to side. "Yeah! That sounds like a lot of fun!!! I'm actually pretty fresh out of wrestling school, I've been doing this for just under a year or so now. My trainer said that I was pretty feisty if not a liiiiiiiiitle bit reckless." She giggled a bit, flashing John a small wink. "Shall we begin?"