a fox among dragons

The internet is a funny place. I’ve met some great people on it.

This is a late birthday present to @crookedbajorans. I hope it’s what you hoped for. Thanks for everything, friend.

“We all change in front of each other,” she says of the cheek-by-jowl, modesty-free digs

“We take care of our own around here,” says Fliehr as her makeup artist pencils in her brows. “It’s an undying bond.”

Ask around and you discover that wrestling quickly transcends a job, serving for competitors as something of a Buddhist metaphor. You’re a player in a story whose outcome you have no control over; one day you’re the windshield, the next you’re the bug.

“My job is healing to me,” explains Fliehr, standing up from her chair, face painted, hair rolled. “Charlotte is the woman you want to become. A strong, groundbreaking, independent female in a male-dominated world.”

She pauses, a sly smile breaking across her face. “I’m embracing the power in it.”

“The minute I didn’t have sports I was like, ‘Who am I?’” Fliehr recalls, adding: “Unless you’ve been in a codependent relationship, you can’t understand. That person is your drug. … Maybe I was vulnerable because of my dad’s life on the road. I don’t know.”

“I knew my dad had one affair in middle school,” Fliehr says. “But I didn’t think he was ever going to leave. When he moved out in 2005, everything changed.”

“I wanted family because mine was so close, and then all of a sudden, we weren’t,” Fliehr says, swallowing hard. She begins to cry, her shame palpable, if misplaced. “I just have so many regrets,” she says of those turbulent, lost years, her voice trailing off. “I don’t recognize the person I was then.”

Mostly, she doesn’t recognize how she was able to disassociate from her body, from the source of her pride, her power. How she allowed an unhealthy relationship to replace every notion she’d ever held about herself, about who she was inside, about what she was capable of. (After six years together, the couple divorced in 2011.)

“People think Ashley had the world handed to her, that she had this wonderful life as the daughter of Ric Flair,” says Sara Amato, Fliehr’s first professional wrestling coach. “When, really, she’s got a sad story.”

“"With Charlotte, I forged a new identity,“ she says. “After a while, I’m like, ’Dang, why can’t I act like that in real life?’”

“I never viewed myself as glamorous. I didn’t ooze sex appeal. I was a tomboy, the girl next door.” She points at her scalp, indicates the blond extensions she’s currently wearing. “I’m learning.”

What’s your gender identity/sexuality?

If you’re out, how long have you been officially been out?

What’s your Hogwart’s house?

Did you have an “aha” moment where you figured out your identity? If so, what was it?

Favorite lgbt+ character/couple?

Favorite lgbt+ movie?

Favorite lgbt+ song?

How did you meet your best lgbt+ friend?

Who was your first crush? How do you feel about them now?

Favorite color of the rainbow flag? Why?

What’s your favorite reaction from someone when they learned you were lgbt+?

Favorite Pride memory? (If you haven’t been to pride, do you want to go?)

Do you have a place near you where lgbt+ people like to go and hang out?

If you could open up a hangout spot for lgbt+ people, what would it be and what would you call it?

Best gay joke you’ve successfully executed?

How stereotypically (insert identity here) are you?

What’s your favorite Pride item? If you don’t have one, what’s your dream Pride item?

What does Pride mean to you?

Who’s your adopted lgbt+ parent? Child?

Favorite Ally™️?

Would you consider yourself a supernatural gay or an extraterrestrial gay?

What’s something about you that you’re the most proud of?

What’s your favorite memory under a rainbow?

Your favorite lgbt+ music artist?

Are you dating anyone? If so, how long have you been together?

Best lgbt+ reaction gif?

Are you the driver or the passenger in your lgbt+ friend group?

Favorite lgbt+ book?

Unicorns, fairies, or witches?

What’s your favorite part of being in the lgbt+ community?

Favorite rainbow colored snack?

Are you THE “gay cousin” or does your family have more than one?

Favorite lgbt+ meme?

Most influential lgbt+ person (fictional or otherwise) in your life?

How do you make menial tasks more enjoyable?

Favorite daydream?

What’s the most interesting historical lgbt+ fact that you know?

Favorite cartoon growing up and what you think it says about your personality?

What’s your love language?

What was/is your favorite subject in school?

How accepting of an environment are you currently in?

What’s your favorite animal?

Who do you headcanon as lgbt+, but their sexuality/gender identity has not yet been confirmed?

Do you read the instructions or play through tutorials before doing something or do you just dive in headfirst?

Stars, moon, or the sun?

What’s your favorite outfit and where/when do you like to wear it?

Where do you want to be in ten years? Fifty?

Favorite example of an lgbt+ animal?

Coming out story? If you aren’t out, what’s your dream coming out story?