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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:25:23 GMT
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:26:09 GMT
Originally posted by dijo.
weaselperson aka Zachary Kazadi based on revelations at the Carnal Contendership, had been on an impressive run since their return, including a 2nd place finish in the Carnal Contendership, and a victory over the Contendership winner Cyrus Truth. However, at Fallout 029, his impressive run was cut short in a tough loss to former FWA World Champion Danny Toner who has been on an even more impressive streak with a win over the FWA World Champion themselves at 028.
Here's the quote that was passed on from weaselperson's representative:
"weaselperson will be taking an indefinite leave of absence from the FWA. We have no comment on how long that absence is going to last, nor are we willing to divulge the details on the reasons for the absence itself. weaselperson will return to the FWA when the time is right."
The FWA has confirmed that this absence is legitimate, and they will be respecting the request for the foreseeable future.
Kazadi had been infamous for their stop-start presence in the FWA during their previous tenures, vacating the X Championship belt shortly after winning it due to being dissatisfied with the methods of defenses, a brief absence from the FWA after a 2nd place finish in 2017's Carnal Contendership, and a longer departure in the midst of a North American Championship pursuit. They briefly returned in 2020 in a series of matches with the newly retired Devin Golden that ended with an I Quit match in their defeat. They had not wrestled since, up until, as far as we know, Carnal Contendership 2023. The recent defeat to Danny Toner could be a very likely reason for the absence, with some speculating that it's another case of an FWA wrestler reconsidering their position in the company after a tough loss, a not uncommon situation in professional wrestling, particularly in the FWA.
This leaves in jeopardy the challenge wp laid out for Alyster Black at Back in Business, and could very well mean that the Golden Opportunity match will be short it's most deserving contestant. The absence is curious given wp's own statements in the aftermath of the victory over Truth that their fellow competitors shouldn't bail at every sign of defeat, but it's much easier to stand proudly after a main event victory than it is after being struck by an Equalizer and pinned. If this is another lengthy absence from the FWA for Kazadi, it may be time for the company to cut ties with the should-have-been once and for all.
- Shake Meltzer
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:29:27 GMT
 XXX: “UNEASY ALLIANCES”
Live from the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas, USA.
Thursday 8th June, 2023.
 For the first time ever, Chris Peacock and Michelle von Horrowitz will go one-on-one in what could be MvH’s penultimate match on Meltdown if she is unable to overcome Jon Snowmantashi at Back in Business XVII. Peacock is reportedly looking for the toughest competition available as his preparations for defending his FWA World Championship against Cyrus Truth at the event in July, and MvH is third up after duels with Danny Toner and Shawn Summers. Michelle will be looking to get one back over Peacock after she was defeated by him at The Grand March, and Peacock will want to prove that the arguably biggest victory of his career was not a fluke.
 With it now being confirmed that Katsu will be facing off against Ground Zero Season Four winner and former ‘mentee’, El Vengador. Al Blizzard on the other hand rebuffed a Back in Business challenge from his brother, Jason Quinn, after a very highly charged and emotional confrontation between the two. With both El Vengador and Quinn showing that they have no qualms about taking a lower road, both Katsu and Al will have to have eyes in the back of their heads when they face off in El Paso as they advance towards their respective resolutions.
It is like all of Jeremy Best’s wishes have come true at once! Finally, after months, Best will be standing side-by-side with the man that he considers his greatest friend in the world as part of the newly-minted Friendship Wrestling Alliance. Their debut outing will be against Kung-Fu Boom, who are of course allies/underlings of The Undisputed Alliance and will be looking to get a measure of revenge on Jeremy after Best defeated Jackson Fenix in the memorable Sesame Street Fight on Meltdown XXIX.
Most people would not have had ‘Mike Parr and Shawn Summers agree to team up’ on their 2023 bingo cards, given the history between the two which culminated in their epic Three Strikes Match at Back in Business XVI, however both have acknowledged the need for some help with their respective rivals; Bryan Baxter and Tommy Bedlam. As Baxter and Parr prepare to collide for Baxter’s North American Championship at Back in Business, things seem to be getting more and more personal between Summers and Bedlam, and with the FWA remaining in Bedlam’s home state, it will be expected that Summers is in for yet another extremely hostile reception.
030: “SOUTH OF THE BORDER.”
Live from Estadio Olímpico Benito Juárez in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
Saturday 10th June, 2023. Quiet returns to singles action before Fallout 030's opening bell... After the complete miscommunications between Jason Randall, Death Walker and XYZ in their match on Fallout 029, two of that doomed trio will square off in singles action on Fallout 030. Both XYZ and Randall share something in common in that they are targets and adversaries to Death Walker, but with how things went down on Fallout 029, it would not be surprising if they were not on each other’s Christmas card lists. The x factor in this match will of course be Death Walker, and whether he can resist not getting involved.
After announcing their intentions to enter the Trios Battle Royal at Back in Business for the FWA Trios Championships, The Bad Boys Boy Band picked up a victory against the team of Ratin Mikichin, Steve the Techno Vampire and Greg on Meltdown XXIX. On Fallout 030, the devious singers look to build further momentum against equally questionable opposition…
In a match which could have big repercussions for the FWA tag team division going forward, three teams on the up collide in what promises to be a very chaotic match on Fallout. Aka Manto are undefeated in tag team action in the FWA - picking up a very personal victory over Reagan Cole and TYLER last time out - and the same can be said for the unusual pairing of Makima Snowmantashi and Zom Gippy, who fought the current FWA World Tag Team Champions The Connection to a draw on Meltdown XXIX. It is necessary to stress that point, as whilst The Connection are the champions at the time of writing, The Coven have the opportunity to capture the gold at the upcoming CDW show, which will take place prior to Fallout 030. This could mean that the stakes for this one could be even higher as all three teams look to prove their credentials.
Cyrus Truth returned to winning ways against Noriko Kaitomi on Fallout 029, and he will be competing on the navy show once again but this time against a very different kind of opponent in the shape of Death Walker. Death Walker was unsuccessful in trios action alongside Jason Randall and XYZ last time out, although his concerns were more on hurting his partners - both of whom he has long running issues with - than trying to win the match for his team. Cyrus has encountered many foes in his long and storied career, but none will be like the intimidating prospect facing him in Mexico, and he will need to hope that he will make it to Back in Business and his FWA World Championship match against Chris Peacock in one piece.
Since returning to the FWA following the injury which cost him the FWA World Championship last year, Danny Toner can (and will) boast about impressive victories over weaselperson and the current FWA World Champion, Chris Peacock. His next opponent will be the former FWA North American Champion, Lizzie Rose. There may be some common ground between the two due to them both calling New York City home, but that is unlikely to stop either doing everything in their power to walk out of Ciudad Juárez victorious. Toner will love another scalp to add to his collection, whilst Lizzie will have to ensure she is able to focus on the task at hand as the sisters of Eternal continue to woo her across to their way of thinking.
The main event of the FWA’s first stop in Mexico on the path to Back in Business will be a rematch from the Back in Town Pay-Per-View which took place earlier this year. Trixie Bordeaux had emerged as a target for Jeffry Mason and his Necessary Evil group and his tactics allowed Reagan Cole to pick up a victory at the aforementioned Back in Town event and also resulted in Mason himself defeating Bordeaux in a gruesome quarter final bout in the King of the Deathmatch tournament. Trixie will have the chance to show how much she has grown as a competitor as she faces Cole in an environment that she would likely have never dared entering just mere months ago. With The Coven seemingly having Trixie’s back as things currently stand, Cole should be aware that this is not the same competitor he bested at Back in Town.
The promo deadlines for both shows are:
Sunday 4th June, 2023 at 23:59 Pacific Time.
Monday 5th June, 2023 at 03:00(am) Eastern.
Monday 5th June, 2023 at 08:00(am) UK.
Monday 5th June, 2023 at 10:00(am) Turkey.
Monday 5th June, 2023 at 17:00 Melbourne.
There will be no extensions. Good luckl! |
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:37:15 GMT
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:37:55 GMT
Originally posted by Rosie. [ATTACH type="full" width="882px"]62480[/ATTACH]  The metal springs of the ring shake as two young wrestlers begin to spar. In a gym in Japan, we see a worn wrestling set up with black ropes and the common boxing style turnbuckle pads found in the country. It is in the corner of a room with concrete walls and some blue padding on the walls. Across some parts of the ceiling are banners, mostly branded relating to the group “MAYHEM” with black and neon colours. Against the wall on a table are two matching championship belts. Leaning on the edge of the ring, watching, we see a tall Japanese woman. With her red locks, yep, Ririko. She has a tank top and shorts on with wrestling shoes and knee pads. In the ring, we see her two friends. The silver-haired Cali Hayama is in the ring wearing a t-shirt branded with the Vancouver Canucks colours and branding with shorts, kickpads, and knee pads, and she gets in a collar and elbow tie-up. Her sparring partner, Katsu. With her signature mask on, she has a gray tank top branded with the FWA logo along with her own pair of shorts, knee pads, and kick pads.
“Come on, girls!” Ririko claps, shouting in Japanese.
The two girls, despite this being a training session, seem to be competitive enough to be putting their muster into the lock-up. Katsu slips out of Cali’s grip and transitions into an arm lock. Wrenching the arm, she has a bit of an extra bit of frustration in her eyes. Then again, with her busy schedule on the horizon, she has to be at the top of her game even in training. Cali Hayama, the ever cunning wrestler, cuts a little playful smack talk.
“Someone’s working on her technical game, eh?” She says in English. “Didn’t think you had it in y-”
Katsu slaps the back of Cali’s head with her free hand. Cali immediately transitions into a side-headlock and pulls her down to the canvas.
“Alright, you want to play it that way?” Cali has a smirk.
Katsu rolls to get back to her feet and slowly pushes against Cali. The two sparring partners end up near the ropes and Katsu pushes Cali Hayama off. The Canadian runs to the opposite side ropes and Katsu goes to meet her in the middle of the ring. Katsu leap frogs over Cali who runs back harder. She throws a clothesline, but Katsu ducks by falling backwards and kicking up! The masked Joshi leaps in the air and hits a vertical dropkick, catching Cali in the chin!
“Nice dropkick!” Ririko shouts encouragement.
Cali rolls to the corner, covering her mouth.
“Shit-”
She mutters as Katsu goes in the corner and immediately chops her chest! Ririko winces on the outside as Katsu throws several hard kicks to the chest and stomach. Ririko looks to see what is going on and she notices a bit extra red and shouts.
“Stop! Stop!”
Katsu looks and backs up. Cali wipes her mouth and there is some blood. A part of one of her teeth is missing. A chip. She mutters in Japanese.
“I guess Suzuki was right, maybe we need to hold back a bit in training.”
Katsu looks at Cali and glances towards the middle of the ring where, on the worn ring canvas, a small white speck of a tooth is seen.
“Sorry…” Katsu apologies in Japanese before grabbing the chipped tooth off the ground.
“It’s fine.” Cali mutters, grabbing her tooth back. “Nothing a small trip to the dentist won’t fix. I will take five then we’ll maybe do something… lighter.”
Katsu and Cali roll out of the ring and sit on the ring apron. Ririko grabs a towel for Cali to wipe off the blood from the dropkick gone wrong. Ririko looks and sees Katsu, looking to the side. She knows her friend enough to see something is on her mind.
“You okay, Katsu?” She asks.
“Yes.” Katsu snaps back to reality and nods. “Just feel bad about hurting her by accident.”
“I told you, it’s nothing.” She jokes. “Though Alexis might have a word with you, haha.”
“It is not that.” Ririko clarifies. “Since you have been home, you have had this extra… push.”
“Push?” Katsu asks.
“Well, when we went for dinner at our favourite spot, you cut back.” Ririko explains more. “You stopped drinking your favourite soda. In our matches you appear a bit more on edge. You have been here alone training every day we’re not here.”
“So? I am training hard-” Katsu defends herself.
“-I know…” Cali points to her mouth. “You worried about any matches?”
Cali snickers. “Wait, DON’T tell me you’re worried about Al Blizzard of all people?!”
Katsu shakes her head. “No. I’m not worried about him.”
“Must be one of those other matches after. You know, El Vengedor and that weird cage match.” Ririko corrects Cali. Katsu doesn’t answer, but they know.
“I just don’t want to mess up my opportunities, okay?” Katsu gets a little defensive.
“Still a bit traumatized after F1 then?” Cali teases and Katsu cuts a glare at her. “Kidding.”
“I think it might be a good thing you’re training really hard.” Ririko encourages Katsu. “Takes a lot of work to wrestle as much as you do.”
“But…” Cali puts her hand on her friend’s shoulder, “There’s such a thing as pushing too hard. You don’t want to burn yourself out super fast…”
“Which is why you two seem keen on going to FWA with me for those Trios titles too…” Katsu mutters.
“We can talk more about that after…” Ririko sits on the apron with her friends.
Looking at her friends, Katsu decides to just be honest. “Okay. Maybe the F1 Climaxxx still sits unwell with me. I was introduced to the ceiling of FWA right away and mocked for not breaking through on the first try. So being in the Golden Opportunity after doing well in the Carnal Contendership, I am excited. But part of me fears something like the F1 happening again.”
“Don’t be scared of failure.” Ririko encourages her. “It happens to everyone.”
“God knows your next opponent has had that happen way more often than anything GOOD and he’s still kicking, takes some guts.” Cali sees a chance for a dig and the gamer takes it, muttering it in English.
“Well, ‘geniuses,’ what do you think I should do?”
Cali sighs and looks at Katsu. She thinks and gives an honest answer. “Take things slowly."
Katsu lets those words sit with her. One at a time. Ririko chimes in.
“Yes! How can you try to do everything at once? Take it slow!”
“Like. You got what? El Vengedor creeping over your shoulder like a Skeletor wannabe. You got the Steel Roulette match AFTER Back in Business with a couple guys I’m familiar with, then Alyster ‘I suddenly hate FWA’ Black, the guy you just beat the other week, and a Weasel with an identity crisis. Don’t worry about the Golden Opportunity yet. Don’t overwhelm yourself.”
Cali gives a small smile, even with her busted mouth.
“You said she has another match in FWA before it?” Ririko asks. “Focus on that.”
“Yeah, if we’re looking at the match-up on paper. She doesn’t have too much to worry about. Even if the guy’s a powerhouse.” Cali scoffs.
“You… said you know him, Cali?” Katsu asks her. “What do you know?”
“I wrestled in the same company as him for a couple of months…” She scowls. “Until the world decided to stop because of COVID and that messed with everything. Never been in the ring with him, but I saw him wrestle live, and heard a lot about him from the others there.”
“All I know personally is that he had an injury scare and retired until it was a misdiagnosis. That and he has… brother issues.” Katsu sighs. “Part of me is fortunate that my brother and I always got along. We don’t have animosity and just support each other.”
“Brother issues?” Cali laughs. “You think THAT is his only issue? I’m going to be blunt. Up until a couple of years ago he was a reverse Michelle von Horrowitz. She wins about 80% of her matches? He probably lost around that or worse. He’s wrestled a bit longer than you, but you’ve done more in FWA alone than most places he’s been in. He struggled for a long time. He constantly flip flop, trying new things rather than focusing on fixing himself. Well, I’m not doing well being nice? I’m going to say ‘fuck you’ to the fans. Still doesn’t work? How about I wear a mask.”
Katsu points to her face.
“Now I take offense to that.” She makes a light-hearted comment.
“You think that’s funny? How about his Cowboy phase when he teamed with the ‘Bottleheads.’”
“A British Cowboy?” Ririko asks. “Something about that appears to be a paradox.”
All three of the girls laugh
“I don’t know.” Ririko chimes in. “He seems big, crazy and scary… and hairy.”
“I’m harsh on the guy, but of course an upset can happen.” Cali shrugs her shoulders back. “God knows not everyone expected Katsu here to make it as far as she did in the Carnal Contendership. Some probably didn’t expect us two to be tag champions here. With his power, size… and probably him being a hint off his rocker… He has potential and he’s taken some steps over the years. Whether or not he realizes it, we'll see with time.”
“Time changes us.” Katsu says. “Six months in FWA changed me more than a year here.”
“I think you should pull out his beard!” Ririko gives a suggestion. Katsu snickers, covering her mouth.
“I do not think the official will allow that. But I personally just want to get past him so I can turn my attention towards more pressing things-”
“Well, looks like we have the kids here?”
A familiar voice speaks up as the three ladies turn. Heading into the room we see two of the more veteran members of MAYHEM. First, Miho Watase. Her long brown hair has some blonde streaks in it, likely recently done. She has a perpetually unpleased look on her face. Behind her, perhaps one of the only women who can give Ririko a fight for tallest member, Miss Fuka with her great height.
“You don’t need to tease us.” Ririko sticks up slightly for her friends.
“I see you three here a lot.” Miss Fuka speaks. “Especially Vampyra.”
“Katsu.” She clarifies her new name and judging by the look on her face, the masked wrestler is far from pleased for someone using her old name on purpose.
“Yeah. We got some big matches soon, so we’re training, you know? Before Katsu heads back to North America for-”
“I know.” Miho looks at Katsu. “She’s abandoning us again.”
Through her tone, there is a hint of bitterness in her voice. It isn’t playful. Something is off.
“Excuse me?!” Cali gets up. “You didn’t have issue when I was balancing US commitments with here.”
“You’re Canadian. Makes sense.” Miss Fuka sticks up her nose. “But here she is in our dojo… Wearing… THAT shirt…”
She points to the FWA branded t-shirt she has on.
“It was a clean shirt…” Katsu gets off the apron.
Miho Watase looks at Cali’s mouth. “What happened there?”
“It was an accident!” Ririko raises her voice. “Stop changing the subject. What has gotten over you?”
“You should be asking that to your ‘friend.’” Miss Fuka points to Katsu. “She spends many months away from FWA. Comes back a sad girl, and has this ‘epiphany’ to change her whole look and comes back to the place that made her upset in the first place?”
The three young ladies look at each other. Their blood is beginning to boil. Miho Watase clears her throat.
“As acting leader of MAYHEM with Suzuki’s injury, I am just acting in our best interest. Clearly, one of our members doesn’t seem to have her priorities in the group… and if she does not get her priorities in order, it might be time to make subtractions to the group.”
“WHAT?!” Katsu shouts.
“REMOVE HER!?” Ririko looks shocked.
“That’s horseshit!” Cali shouts in English, but all the people in the room get the message. Then, one more outraged voice is her.
“Subtractions?!” There is a shout from the other side of the room in Japanese.
Walking in the room is the founder and leader of the group. Saori Suzuki. Her short hair is bleached blonde. She limps with a bulky knee brace on her leg, though making progress with her recovery, far from 100%. The younger members immediately perk up out of respect for their mentor. Miho and Miss Fuka both glance at each other.
“First of all…” Saori winces as she walks, getting close to the ladies in her group. “I am still the leader of this group, and as leader, if there is EVER anything in regards to adding or subtracting, I talk to EVERYONE in the group. It is why Ririko’s sister, REO, is not in MAYHEM right now. You two felt she was not ready and did not want nepotism.”
“She is ready!” Ririko defends her sister, but Saori turns to her.
“Not now, Ririko.”
Miss Fuka speaks up, defending Miho Watase. “She would not kick her out unilaterally. We are just concerned where he true interests lie.”
“First,” Miho Watase explains. “She wrestles more for FWA wrestling in America and elsewhere than here. She then gets upset because of comments from this… Seasonal asshole says on Twitter and brings that negative energy here. She is not focused on bettering MAYHEM.”
“And do not get us started on the ‘YOKAI Death Squad thing.” Miss Fuka continues and ALL three girls from the YOKAI Death Squad trio are STEAMING mad right now. Ririko and Cali Hayama step forward.
“I mean, she was the one who boldly declared ‘We three of MAYHEM are part of this YOKAI Death Squad’ thing.”
“And what is wrong with giving their trio a name?” Saori Suzuki asks, defending the young wrestlers.
“They have MERCHANDISE.” Miho Watase stresses. “They wear it more than MAYHEM’s.”
“Excuse me if I’m a Twitch streamer and know the value of plugging your merch…” Cali says somewhat sarcastically.
“Enough… Enough…” Saori Suzuki groans. “I can’t believe I am seeing immaturity from the older members of MAYHEM… But there is nothing wrong with young Katsu wrestling in America too. She has contracts with both companies. They work together so she can honour both commitments. I see no issue with her carrying the MAYHEM name elsewhere…”
“But what about this YOKAI Death Squad thing they created?” Miss Fuka glares at them.
“They can have a name for their team and sell merchandise. So what?”
“I want MAYHEM to thrive!” Miho shouts.
“You know, I am pretty sick of this…” Cali steps forward. She is NOT letting these two besmirch her friend. “You want to talk about loyalty issues? Why have an issue with her just wearing a shirt?! We’re grateful for Saori giving us a home here in Japan. And if you think I am not loyal...” Pulling her shirt, the Sky Devil points to the Vancouver Canucks logo. “I’m still wearing this shirt despite the disastrous season these guys had!”
The last point doesn’t seem to resonate with the senior members of the group. Canadians and their hockey, am I right? Ririko takes her turn to stick up for Katsu.
“I have been in a wrestling ring with her more than anyone else here. Both as an opponent and a tag team partner. She is not just a great wrestler, she is a great friend! I trust her completely!”
Glancing over at the table near-by, Cali sees her tag team title belt. She looks at Miss Fuka and Miho. Katsu, Ririko, and Saori have a glance at her and they know what she’s going to do. She’s going to open her big mouth and say something that might get her in trouble. But there will be no convincing her otherwise.
“And let’s look at your words. You want MAYHEM to THRIVE, right? Let’s look at the past year…”
Katsu's eyes open wide. She shakes Cali’s arm to get her attention, but it is no use.
“What have we done for MAYHEM? At the beginning of June last year we were just concluding our CJW Trios Championship reign. We had a bump, but got back on the horse. Katsu debuted in FWA and despite only having two or three matches in the company, she was put in the F1 Climaxxx tournament with their best of the best after someone went down with an injury. Minimal experiencing wrestling men, let alone people twice her size. Yet she’s fighting former and current champions. That takes GUTS. She also won her first singles championship with their FWA Television Championship and she wasn’t even pinned to lose it. Okay?”
She points to the table.
“And look over there? Those belts familiar? You’ve held those before. The CJW Tag Team Championships! And look who the owners are of those? That’s right, Ririko and myself! We’re getting better and better and making sure, whether here or in America, we, YDS, MAYHEM, all are thriving. So, the point I’m getting at is…”
Cali Hayama steps forward, looking Miho in the eyes.
“We’ve been thriving! While you two have not done shit-”
Tired of Cali’s tirade, Miho pushes Cali Hayama!
She bumps into Katsu and she falls back, her head bumping hard into the edge of the ring! Katsu hears shouting as her bell is rung. There is pushing and shoving from the four ladies near-by, Saori, bless her, with one leg, tries her best to de-escalate the situation as Katsu’s eyes.
Close.
[ATTACH type="full" width="320px" height="178.824px"]62486[/ATTACH]
{"Ambiance"}[MEDIA=youtube]dfEEAl_9Y2c[/MEDIA]
Katsu hears a roaring winter storm and the gentle cracking of a fireplace. Her eyes slowly open to see a wooden log cabin ceiling. The world is unreal to her. Her fingers move and feel soft fleece. Looking down, she sees she’s covered by a soft black blanket on a couch. As her senses begin to come to, she gets a better look around. She is lying on a couch in a cozy looking winter cabin. Lovely wooden log walls with pictures of winter surrounding her. Two familiar faces sit across at a coffee table. Cali and Ririko. Both of them have comfy sweaters on and mugs of hot chocolate in front of them. Groggily, Katsu, still in her mask, sits up and sees she has a mug in front of her.
“Uhhg.” She rubs the back of her head. “How did I get here?” Katsu mutters in Japanese. She glances outside to see snow flying through the sky in the night sky.
“We found you knocked out.” Ririko explains. “We decided to bring you in for the storm.”
“Storm?” She blinks. “Winter storm? But, where am I? Northern Hokkaido? Canada?”
“That’s not important right now.” Cali reaches over and places her hand on her knee. “You’re safe here.”
Looking, she notices an old television set in front of them over the fireplace. It is tuned into the weather station.
“Folks, better hunker down for Blizzard Al coming through. Expect 25 cm of snow and strong winds tonight!”
“Only 25?” Cali chuckles. “Wimps. You should have seen it when I went to Halifax for the East Coast Gaming Convention in 2015.”
“You are used to this?” She asks and Cali nods.
“I’m no stranger to nasty storms. You can’t control it really.”
“But… It is dangerous outside!” Katsu, not used to harsh winters, gets slightly panicked.
“Do not worry.” Ririko holds up her hot chocolate. “We’re prepared!” before taking a sip.
Katsu picks up her hot chocolate, still slightly on edge. The television set catches her attention again.
“Yep, this is just the first of many storms to come. We got a storm from the south, rolling in like vengeance. It should be expected to hit shortly after we’re done cleaning up this mess. But then, a wave of snow rolling in like a steel curtain is expected before winter is up. But it’s like rolling a roulette wheel at times with this as this storm is going to be unpredictable.”
“I’m going to be stuck here forever…” Katsu slouches.
“Don’t say that. You will be fine.” Ririko reassures Katsu. “Even if you are here longer, you will make it out alright.”
“Maybe I can explain.” Cali sips her drink before continuing. “There’s a lot of things we can’t control. The storms we go through are one of them. They are rough and they vary in size. This storm in particular seems big and scary, but isn’t so bad.”
“But what about the next one? Or the one after that… Then-”
“I’m talking. Listen, please.” Cali interrupts Katsu.
“The next one may be worse. But there will be that moment of calm before the next. Because, for all we can’t control in life, there are so many things we can control. Our response. How we prepare. Be ready and be strong so that you may be able to charge head-first into that next storm.”
Katsu looks down, tapping her feet, folding her hands. She’s trying to digest those oddly wise words from her friend.
“What if I fail though?” She asks.
“That may happen. A storm, no matter how much you prepare, may knock you on your ass. But it will still fade. You may get beat up or roughed up from it. But you’ll get back up.” Cali gives a reassuring smile to Katsu.
“If you were not capable, you would not have made it this far in your life.” Ririko shows some support. “Just tackle these things one at a time. Work the problems as they come up.”
Katsu hums, looking at her two friends. She doesn’t know how she got here, or why. But no matter where she is, she knows she’ll have their support. She smiles, giving them a nod.
“Thank you.” She adds. “Always.”
“You’re welcome. Always.” Cali winks. Ririko looks at Katsu…
And her expression becomes blank. She shouts.
“KATSU!”
The masked wrestler blinks.
“What?”
“GET UP!”
She shouts.
“GET UP!!!”
Katsu’s eyes open and she finds herself on the gym floor. Cali Hayama, Ririko, and Saori Suzuki are all standing over her. Miho and Fuka are gone. There is a look of concern on all their faces.
“Are you okay, Katsu?” Cali asks. “You banged your head hard there.”
“Quick, where are you?” Saori asks, checking for any signs of a concussion.
“Uhh, our gym we usually train at…” She mutters a response. "'MAYHEM Dojo' we call it."
“Good start. But please lie down a little longer.”
“I will see if there is a doctor near-by to check on you. Better be safe.” Ririko nods before the powerhouse of the team rushes away.
“How long was I out for?” Katsu asks.
“A minute. Two maybe.” Cali answers.
“It felt longer…” Katsu rubs the back of her head. “Where is Fuka and Watase?”
Saori Suzuki has an uncomfortable look on her face. “They ran off shouting after you fell.”
“-They did?” Katsu lies down. Two girls who are meant to be more senior members of their group, lashing out against her, claiming she isn’t loyal with her travels in FWA, and the creation of YOKAI Death Squad as a sort of sub-group of MAYHEM.
She isn’t asking, but Cali and Saori exchange glances. Guess they need to be honest with her?
“There have been issues since you left for FWA for their European tour.” Saori explains. “Maybe it was because you were away for so long, had a lot of opportunities there, and maybe because of the YDS announcement… But these feelings have existed for some time.”
“And it honestly got worse since you got injured.” Cali clarifies. “Saori always played peacemaker and was the voice of reason-”
“As opposed to your big mouth.” Suzuki chuckles. Cali doesn’t even need to respond. Fair point.
“-So without her around as much, there’s no middle person to talk these things out.”
Katsu sighs. She has an overwhelming feeling of guilt. “-I caused this?”
“Don’t be mad at yourself.” Saori Suzuki tries to play the voice of reason again. “You had an amazing opportunity. You took it. Then you, Cali, and Ririko became close as friends, so you decided to create a trio to celebrate it.”
“You did nothing wrong. I'm sorry we didn't talk to you about it sooner. But we knew you were busy with your Television Championship match and the F1. We didn't want to distract you. But maybe when we cool off we can talk it out?” Cali asks.
Sitting up against the edge of the ring, Katsu, thankfully, doesn’t seem to have any signs of a concussion. She pulls her knees up to her chest.
“I’m going to handle things one at a time,” She mutters to herself. “First Al. Then Vengedor. Then… Then I’ll see.”
Cali leans down and pats her on the shoulder. “Things will work out.” She gives a grin with her busted open mouth.
“Though something tells me BOTH of you should take it easy the rest of the day.” Saori chuckles.
Ririko comes in with a medic and they walk over to Katsu. He goes through the process of testing her for a potential sign of a concussion. She answers the questions and everything seems to be the best news possible.
But really, her mind is not on it.
It’s on everything but this.
The first storm of many is coming.
And she’s bracing it head on. |
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:38:41 GMT
Originally posted by Blizz. [ATTACH type="full"]62673[/ATTACH]
___________________________________________________
Thursday, August 20th, 1998
Somewhere in London, England
10:11 am
___________________________________________________
[ATTACH type="full" width="584px"]62674[/ATTACH]
“I can’t seem to find it!” Clothes fly everywhere as we see a man rummaging through a set of drawers.
“Jess?” He jolts up and turns toward the doorway to his right.
“Yes, honey?” A quiet voice comes from somewhere not close to the man.
“Where’s my gear?” He asks kindly whilst standing with his hands on his hips.
“Oh, it’s in the wash my darling.”
“Jesus Christ, I told you not to wash it! I have a show in two days and must catch a flight this evening.” He paces toward the doorway and makes his way down the stairs.
“Fine, I’ll take it out.”
“Good.” The man says as he gets to the bottom of the stairs. He turns around the railing to see two children running around what looks like a living room. There are two sofas parallel to each other. One of the children is on top of one of the sofas whilst the other is standing on the ground next to it. The child jumps off the sofa onto the other child, and they laugh and jolt back up.
“What the heck are you two doing?” The man we’ve been observing says to the two children.
“We were pretending to be you, Daddy!” One of the children says in a cautious yet innocent manner.
“You were wrestling?” He asks as he crosses his arms.
“Yes…” They both say simultaneously, acknowledging they’re being told off.
“You were wrestling… without me?” The man says whilst chuckling. He then swiftly runs over and grabs the kids, dumping them into the sofa as they laugh and scream.
“I am the UNSTOPPABLE! UNBEATABLE! FATHERRRRRR” He yells out as the kids break free of his grasp and run around trying to avoid him yet giggling at the same time.
“Well too bad! We are the Cool Two!” One of the kids yells out. They proceed to run at their father and they jump onto him.
“One! Two! Three!!!” The two kids yell out as they jump off him and celebrate their little victory over their Father.
“Not again!!!” The Father says laughing to himself.
“What are you boys doing?!” The mother then enters the room, a little annoyed.
“Ask Dad.” The two boys turn to their father.
“The boys are helping me train.” He chuckles.
The mother shakes her head whilst smirking.
“Alright alright, I’ll let you off this one time.” She smiles as she turns away to go back to the room she came from.
The father sits up straight and beckons the boys to come to him.
“Listen, lads, one day you two will follow in my footsteps. I’ll make sure of it!” The father says proudly.
The two boys smile at him and jump up and down in an excited manner.
“As long as you two behave and listen, then you can be the best two to ever lace up boots. Alex and Jason, the Quinn Legacy.” He says proudly whilst ruffling their hair.
“Now, go clean your rooms please!” he asks them and without hesitation, they charge upstairs still giggling.
___________________________________________________
Saturday, August 22nd, 1998
East Newcastle Wrestling, Newcastle, England
5:36 pm
___________________________________________________
[ATTACH type="full" width="556px"]62675[/ATTACH]
We see a mostly empty locker room. However, we see a man in a suit, leaning against the open doorframe.
“Listen, David, I can’t slot you into the main event. I know I promised you last time but I just have to push these two guys, they’re the future of the business mate.”
“But I don’t understand this. I’m your biggest draw, factually. And you’re choosing these youngsters over me?” We see the father sitting on a bench taping his hands up.
“They know how to put on a show for the fans mate. No offence to you, but you’ve got what, five to ten years left in the tank?” The suited man says cautiously.
“Mate, I’m 34.” The father says, visibly pissed off.
“And most wrestlers in this day and age don’t get past 43 mate.” The suited man stands up from the doorframe, moving closer to the father,
“Just get me in a match yeah?” The father stands up, almost facing off with the suited man.
“Done and dusted mate. You’re out in 15, for the Harcore Title.” The suited man turns from the father and begins to walk out of the room.
“Before you leave Mike.” The father slides a t-shirt onto himself.
The suited gentleman turns to face the father. “Yes?”
“Just remember who carried this company. And who will bury it.” The father says as he walks up to the suited man and pushes past him.
The suited man stands there, bewildered.
[HEADING=1] [/HEADING]
We see a sea of fans surrounding a barricaded-off ring.
The crowd starts to cheer as we see our familiar family man exit the curtain. He is wearing black, red and white trunks. Black shoes and kneepads. He also has his hands taped up with white tape. He plays up to the crowd whilst making his way down the aisle toward the ring, he slides into the ring and awaits his opponent.
The crowd then start to boo as we see another person exit the curtain. This person is dressed in all black and white. He sports a myriad of tattoos. He has a championship belt around his waist. He removes it and holds onto it whilst he enters the ring.
“This bout is set for one fall and is for the East Newcastle Wrestling Hardcore Championship!”
The crowd cheer.
“Introducing first, he is the challenger. Hailing from London, England! He is the former East Newcastle Wrestling Global Champion. He weighed in today at 16 stone! He stands at 6 foot 2! He is the Pride of ENW! He is… David Quinn!”
The crowd cheer at David being introduced.
“And his opponent. Hailing from Sheffield, England. Weighing in at 14 stone. Standing at 6 feet tall. He is the East Newcastle Wrestling Hardcore Champion! Lucas Grimm!”
The crowd boo as Grimm flaunts off the championship belt.
The bell rings but before either could begin, the lights cut out. Rustling and scrapping can be heard before the lights turn back on and we see a group of 4 hooded men beating up David. They’re all piled on top of him. Grimm tries to get them off but is ultimately outmanned.
We see what looks to be security running down toward the ring. They manage to get these men off of David, but David is already bloody and bruised. They quickly get David out of the ring and help him get backstage to avoid any more harm. However, he passes out before he can say a word.___________________________________________________ Tuesday, May 30th, 2023
Somewhere in the Outskirts of London, England.
1:32 pm___________________________________________________  We see our familiar friend 'The Perfect Storm' Al Blizzard walking down a stoned pathway toward a door of a house. Al Blizzard holds a phone to his ear as he walks down the path.
“Yes… Yes. Will do. Alright. See you, mum. Love you too.” He puts the phone into his jacket pocket as he then unlocks and opens the front door of the house.
“Soph, I’m home.” He yells out to no response.
“Sophie? Matthew?” He yells again this time with a little more of a panicked tone behind his voice.
He charges into the empty living room. He runs into the kitchen which is also empty. He bolts up the staircase, his feet thudding as he runs up but to no avail he finds no sign of his partner and child.
“Where the fuck…” he enters Matthew’s room and sees a note on the floor that reads 'Hello Alex.' next to a videotape. He picks up the videotape and heads out of the room. He makes his way down his staircase. He enters the living room once again and he inserts the tape into his video player that he somehow still owns.
The TV flickers on and we see a video of Matthew playing in his room. Matthew is playing with some figurines of what looks to be FWA wrestlers.
“Take that!” He slams the Mike Parr figurine into the Bryan Baxter figurine.
“You win Mike!” Matthew chuckles as he picks up two more figurines. One of which is Chris Peacock and the other is Cyrus Truth. He slams them both down onto the floor.
“You both lose!!!” he stands up looking triumphant as if he beat them himself. He then runs over to his bed and grabs three figures one of which is Reagan Cole. However, the two other figures don’t look like FWA figures. One of them is a little figurine of Robert Steel and the other is of Al Blizzard but during his stint in the Perfected Playground.
Matthew props these three figures up and points his thumbs up at them.
“You are all good! You are the winners of the wrestling championships!” He says sort of nonsensical as he most likely doesn’t understand much about wrestling.
However, before he continues the camera in the video gets picked up and we hear a voice, the voice of Jason Quinn.
“How adorable. Ya know Alex. I love the idea of one day having a kid. A bet you love it don’t you? Well, unfortunately for you I’m taking him on a vacation.” Jason laughs.
“Oh and I’m taking your girlfriend too because I can’t exclude her can I?” He laughs harder this time.
“And would you like to know where we’re going?! Well, I thought you’d never ask! We’re going to Texas! And it’s rather funny that we’re going to Texas! Because you’re fighting on Meltdown… IN TEXAS! So guess what? We’re coming to watch you compete!” He laughs maniacally but before he can continue speaking Blizzard shuts off the video player. He sits back down, holding his head in his hands.
“I’m sorry Dad. But I might have to do what you never could. I’ll expel this piece of shit from our family.” Blizzard says as he stands up angrily.
“YOU KNEW WHAT HE WOULD BE LIKE! YOU SAW THE JEALOUSY! BUT YOU LET IT SIT AND BUILD UP AND UP UNTIL ONE DAY IT BLEW THE FUCK UP! I’M GOING TO FINISH THIS DAD. YOU COULDN’T STAND UP FOR OUR FAMILY. SO I WILL.” Blizzard grabs his car keys off of the table and storms out of his house, slamming the door behind him.___________________________________________________ Tuesday, May 30th, 2023
All Out Wrestling, London, England.
4:40 pm___________________________________________________ [ATTACH type="full" width="610px"]62676[/ATTACH] A wrestling ring mat crashes as we see two young wrestlers grappling inside the squared circle. A man is standing outside of the ring, his hands on the apron. We see the wrestling ring in the centre of a large almost empty small-scale arena. Lots of people in dark clothing run back and forth past the ring
“Guys, the fans are coming in at 6:30. We need to think about wrapping up whatever spot training you have left and getting you into the locker room.” The man outside the ring says to the two. They both nod and acknowledge what he said, they then lock back into a collar and elbow tie-up.
“Having a hard time?” We see Al Blizzard approach the man outside the ring.
“Coordination, you know the drill.” The man says as he stands upright to greet Al. “Alex.”
“Robert. Good to see ya buddy.”
Robert Steel and Al Blizzard firmly shake hands and then hug.
“How ya holding up?” Blizzard cheerfully asks.
“I’m doing good, AOW is doing great business-wise. We’ve made a few waves on Twitter recently.” Robert says proudly, whilst turning his attention back to the wrestlers in the ring.
“Who are these two?” Al asks as he also turns toward the ring to look at the two wrestlers.
“Oi, lads.” Robert requests the two young wrestlers' attention.
One of the guys turns, sprouting a long blonde mullet and red sparkly tights. “Oh uh, I’m Gabriel, Gabriel Luthor.” He smiles gleefully.
“Gabe is from the fresh batch. He’s had a fair few matches in Japan, clearly, he was inspired by their gear.” Robert chuckles as he signals for the other man to introduce himself.
The African American man waves a little at Blizzard and smiles at him. “So my name is Flynn Kavia, but most people call me Zero.”
“Zero... Zero... Dope nickname kid, keep it that way.” Blizzard gives a thumbs-up to Flynn.
"I like to envision these two as the Foundation of the New Era of AOW." Robert says proudly.
Robert and Blizzard turn their attention back to each and continue their conversation.
“So what do you need from me, A job?” Robert asks jokingly.
Blizzard chuckles. “Actually, no for once. So, Jason took Soph and Matthew.” Blizzard says looking toward the ground.
“Shit?! Let’s go get them then!” Robert says, riled up.
“No Rob. They’re coming to Meltdown. They’re coming to watch me.” Blizzard says reluctantly.
“Damn, he’s petty.” Robert places his left hand on Blizzard’s shoulder. “Why won’t you just give him that match?”
“Because it’s more than just a match. It’s a fight against my brother and myself. If he wins, I lose everything.”
“What was his stipulation?”
Blizzard pauses, not wanting to answer, however, he raises his head to look at Robert. “If I win, he’ll never show his face around me or my family again. If he wins, I have to become him. And you know what that means.”
“Become Him. He wants you to become Bl-“
“Don’t even say the name. We all know who he is referring to.” Blizzard shudders.
“Why does he... wait. He’s the only person who knows how to control him. He could make you into his own, personal killing machine.” Robert becomes erratic and seems on edge.
“Yeah I know, that’s what I’m worried about.” Blizzard hangs his head once again.
“Look, just. Face your fears, Blizzard. You can’t run from him forever.” Robert places both of his hands on Al’s shoulders.
“I’ve got a match I’ve got to get through first.”
“We all have obstacles. But you just have to plough through them and work toward the bigger goal. Your goal is to beat the shit out of Jason., but if you have to beat others before him, then that’s how it is.”
“Maybe you’re right. I don’t know what to do with Jason. But I just know I’ve got to beat his ass. Like Dad would.” Blizzard says, his spirits lifting.
“I know if your dad was here right now, he’d beat Jason’s fucking ass.” Robert chuckles as he speaks.
“He would. Good old Dad.” Blizzard looks up and smiles."You have to remember, you're the Quinn Legacy. You may not carry the name, but you carry the legacy." Robert pats Blizzard on the shoulder.
Blizzard looks back down and shakes Robert’s hand firmly. Blizzard then nods at Robert, releases the handshake and turns around.
“Oh and Blizzard.”
Blizzard turns around to face Robert. “Yes?”
“Jason wants to play rough? Then play rough back.” Robert smirks as he also turns away to direct the two youngsters to the locker room.
Blizzard begins to mutter to himself. “If Jason wants to play rough. I’ll play bloody rough.”
An evil grin grows on Blizzard’s face as he makes his way toward the arena’s exit.____________________________________________________________ |
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:39:08 GMT
Originally posted by Dubb. |
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:39:40 GMT
Originally posted by AON. ...And so she ventured into the dark forests of her mind at the behest of her own sanity, on a mission of murder. on a suicide mission-and really, there is no difference there. She sent herself in her own mind to kill what she could feel was growing inside her, what THEY planted in her, and here she was, unprepared and unarmed. The good and the light do not with weapons, but then again, that puts her at a massive disadvantage.
The woods were cold, and the path unsteady. The cleaning, the girl with flaming red hair, and an old Brooklyn Dodger shirt. The rubber ball she threw at the wall, over and over again...
Lizzie paused; she slowly she sits at the girl's side and said;
"It isn't you, is it?"
The girl smiles, as enigmatic as any old-time painting, and shakes her head with an almost wistful expression in her eyes as she adjusts a sunflower in her hair. So Lizzie nods, thanks her younger self and in a matter of hope and a moment of fear, ask if she wants to come with her down to help her strike the final blow. The girl shakes her head, turns away and picks up the ball again.
Lizzie stumbled further down the path, woods closing in on her close enough to scratch her skin, and into another clearing, and this time;
There she is, standing above a nephew in the middle of the ring (Which one? Lizzie forgot, but it didn't really matter; they were all the same in the end) with a dented steel chair in hand, and again, Lizzie could attack or help, or she could take the secret door number three and ask;
"It's not you either?"
"Of course not", her other self answered, not taking her eyes off the chair and who she had just knocked out with it.
Lizzie is not surprised but sighs anyways and does not look at the commotion in the forest. She does not comment on the inconsistencies in her reality. She walks on.
The next clearing is not a memory, and Lizzie is glad for it. She walks from the woods into a room at a long table. She thinks, at first, it is a table of everyone she knows, her mother, her siblings, Gabby, Daphne Shelly, Bryan Baxter, Johnny Johnson. and so many, many seats, many, many faces; there is an empty chair at the head of the table. As she enters the room, the voice at the head of the table speaks.
"Do you recognize us?"
A sick feeling enters her stomach, and she answers, "No"
"I think you do, Elizabeth."
She does not tell him he is not her father, just her mind's projection of him. She knows he knows because he knows he is just a voice of her head. She says instead, "Yes, I do."
"And who are we?" She asked, head tilted, warm smile, a mockery of fatherhood."
"You are everyone I've ever thought hurting, even for a brief moment, even for a second." She answers, never wavering her eyes from his.
"Very good, Elizabeth. Take your seat."
And she wants, she very much wants to. At that moment, her legs are leaded weights screaming out for rest, and her eyes flutter with fatigue, but she shakes her head and tells him,
"Sorry, but I'm looking for someone, and she isn't here."
She does not wait for this facsimile father to answer; she walks on.
The path gets steeper, rockier, and narrower until it is barely a path at all. Her foot catches a rock, and she tumbles head over foot overhead again into the final clearing.
And it is in a stark, plain room divided in half with Class. And behind that glass is another her, another Lizzie, identical down to the last detail, the clothes, the ponytail, the scars, sitting cross-legged on the floor, head down. Identical, except for her hands, bloodied from beating on her prison walls, Lizzie walks to the centre of the room, facing her shadow twin.
"Are you here to kill me?" The girl asked, and Lizzie was startled to hear her own voice from such a perfect recreation.
"If I have to" She replied, stripping of all but honestly now.
"But are you going to?"
"I don't know. I didn't know you even existed until...."
"Until the hug."
".....Until the hug."
"....."
"....."
"....What did they do to me?"
"I don't know; I'm as lost as you, but...I exist now. I'm here...and I think I'm a part of you."
The TORN Lizzie looked up.
"Come here" It was phrased like a demand, asked like a question.
"The glass-"
"-Is nothing to you. It is your own mind; you can pass through any barrier."
And so---she does. She walks through the glass, and it dissolves around her, and she walks right up to her darkest self.
Lizzie expected a hand around her throat, expecting a fist in her face, some sign of violence. What she gets instead?
"Let me make my case."
"Your case for what?"
"The case for my continued existence, the case for my freedom, the case of me being a crucial part of your soul, your self
"Fine. Make your case."
"You're scared. I'm scary. I get that; I understand why you'd feel that way. But I'm not what you think I am. When Keres hugged you, she blessed you. She didn't infect you; she gave you the cure. The key to freeing yourself."
"I swear, to God, if I have to hear that I'm weak one more time..."
"No, Lizzie, you're not weak; you never were; they know that they understand that; they understand you in a way that no one else does. That's why they created me; I wasn't made out of nothing. I was always here; they just gave me a voice, to your desires, to your want. I am every dark little craving you've refused to acknowledge. But I'm here now. Killing me won't kill that Lizzie. Not now. But it will kill your ability to name them, and you'll lose a part of your soul."
"-If that's true, what do I want?"
"Oh, so many things, my beautiful girl. So many wonderful terrible things. Sometimes you want to raze Brooklyn to the ground; sometimes, you want to save every soul you see. Sometimes you want to crush all those people who spit on you and used you into a fine powder. You want to see the look of horror on Gabby's self-satisfied face when you hold the FWA World Heavyweight title. Sometimes, you want to tear yourself limb from limb and remake the whole of your soul from scratch. Sometimes-"
"Alright. Alright. I believe you. I believe you. Why are you here?"
"I'm here because you want me to be here."
"...So why I'm I here?"
"I think you know that."
"....."
"I want to want. I'm too easy to control without it. Without you. and I'm so, so tired of being controlled"
"You want to be me, don't you?"
"....."
"We both know the answer, run from it, it'll chase you, hide and it'll find you, fight, and it will fight back; the only answer is to accept it...So do you accept me? As a part of your soul?"
...and it is here where Lizzie Rose woke up.
--------
Click; oh hey, look at that! It's a handy dandy FWA.Com exclusive, and judging by the minimalist setting, with the lowest production values known to man, it could only be a message from everyone's favourite doofus (That's right, I said it. Come at me, Trixie fans) Lizzie Rose. It's a typical set-up for her; here she sat in a rather comfortable-looking bean bag chair, no interviewer, no special set-up. Just Lizzie Rose and a camera. The only thing that seemed less than typical was Lizzie Rose's darker dyed hair and feminine clothing rather than her typical Brooklyn jersey. Her hair is done up, well-groomed and straightened. Her bright red hair is darker, almost black, with a healthy shine to it. Her face is smooth; foundation applied almost perfectly with some eye shadow that almost twinkles, bringing out the colour of her brown eyes. On her lips is a light shade of pink lipstick. She was wearing a short black dress with some gold trim. Its material is almost pleather-like. It has a belt with "ROSE" written on it in gold. On her legs are long boots matching her dress, going up to her knees. She's been wearing gear like this for the last few weeks, but it still seems bizarre to see the normally humble and causally dressed Lizzie Rose looking like a movie star. We all always knew Lizzie Rose had a strange yet powerful charisma to her, but absolutely no one knew she had any kind of star quality to her.
"....I know what everyone wants to talk about in terms of me; I know things have been..."
Lizzie paused just a little, wondering how to describe the events of the last few months, probably some of the most difficult of her life. And her face twisted just a little trying to come up with the words.
"....Weird with me lately, but I don't want to talk about that. I don't want to talk about magic powers, or princesses, or Eternal...or Steel chairs.....I don't want to give them the time of day...Not a lot of things make sense to me these days..and I'm thinking...that..."
Lizzie trails off, staring into space for quite frankly an uncomfortable amount of time, before she snaps out of it and continues like nothing odd ever happened.
"But I know one thing I've never had doubts about, never have, never will. My head has been confused, but my heart knows if you follow it just right, it will get you to New York city, and I know a lot of you are rolling your eyes when I say that, but I know one person isn't. I don't know if he's watching, probably isn't probably getting drunk at a bar somewhere or beating someone up, hell he's probably looking past me right now, that I'm not worth his time...trust me, it's a state of mind I'm used to, but even someone like Danny Toner knows exactly what I mean...maybe the only person who knows, that if New York City is a question? Brooklyn is the answer.
Lizzie Rose takes a beat and closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath. Clearly, she was not in a good state of mind, but the thought of her beloved hometown seemed to bring her some sense of peace and embodied her to keep going.
"No one else wants to hear this because...if you're not from new york, the last thing you want to hear is me talking about how great Brooklyn is, but I just want to bring it up because...Danny gets it. Danny understands...that...I mean..."
Lizzie doesn't seem to be able to put her thoughts into coherent terms. Instead, she just gestures frantically from herself to the camera.
"I mean...look at us...just look at us, two outcasts that would be shunned and mocked everywhere else....and just look at how beautiful we are. That's us. You and me, Danny. We don't get a lot in common, we've never met, and I don't think we've ever had a conversation...but you and me? We ARE Brooklyn. We're the beating heart of everything our little corner of the world can and should be. Two people no one thought would ever amount to anything, hitting the big time. That's Brooklyn. The last eight months of my life have been pretty terrible, which is something because I was coming off the biggest moment in my career. In winning, the FWA North American Championship, it was something of an adjustment to go from that to...well, I don't know even what to call what I've been doing for the last little while..."
Lizzie gestures idly around her as if saying, "If anyone can rationalize what the hell I've been through, be my guest" She left it unsaid, of course; she clearly didn't want to talk about that.
"But know what? That's ok. I've been knocked down before, and I'm going to be down again, but I'm never going to stay down... It's kinda my thing, right?"
She offered the camera an almost bashful smile as if embarrassed to admit that.
"Gotta be honest, I guess, I would have preferred for my thing to be....an unstoppable monster ...but I guess being able to take a beating is how my cards ended up panning out. Which is kind of weird, Right? See, people ask me all the time how I'm able to take the shots that I do and just keep going, and I could try and bullshit you and say, because I'm the greatest fighter in the world, or I trade every day, banging my head against the wall for five years, or I have that one thing, that James Bond villain guy had, where he can't feel pain...but that would be lying. Truth is? And I feel like the more I say this, the more people don't believe me- I'm nothing special. It's not like I don't feel pain. When someone three hundred pounds bigger than me punches me full force in the face, when I get dumped on my head, it hurts, when Dan Maskel dislocated my shoulder, and I had to pop it back in...That hurt."
WHAP-! In a very out-of-character moment, out of nowhere, and with no warning whatsoever, Lizzie revved back and slapped herself full force in the face! Her head whips back on impact due to the force behind it; she takes a moment to adjust before she quickly turns her head back to the camera, a strangely unhinged look in her eyes.
"YOU SEE THAT?! YOU THINK I DIDN'T FEEL THAT?! THAT HURT, THAT REALLY HURT. I FEEL EVERYTHING. THERE ARE SOME DAYS I CAN BARELY MOVE BECAUSE OF WHAT I'VE DONE TO MY BODY, AND YOU THINK I DON'T TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY?! I'VE BLED AND SUFFERED MORE THAN ANYONE ON THE ROSTER. I'VE THROWN MY LIFE AWAY FOR THIS-!"
...Wow, ok, that took a turn; Lizzie stared at the camera wide-eyed, a look on her face that looked quite frankly odd on the face of the normally all-together loveable Lizzie Rose. That came out of nowhere, and slowly Lizzie starts to realize that, as her usual softness returns to her eyes, she looks more than a little embarrassed and confused, above everyone else seems confused by where the hell that came from
"Ummmm...yeah...no, I'm sorry, I guess I haven't been sleeping well"
She coughs abruptly, shaking her head and readjusting herself in the hopes we can move past that mild freakout without passing attention to....whatever the hell it was. But not before winching slightly, the flash of pain settling in her cheek now that her adrenaline is wearing off somewhat, but as ever, she tries to push past it.
"The point is, I feel pain."
She winched a little again, her tongue poking the inside of her cheek, probing it, clearly demonstrating what she just said.
"But I don't fear it; it's very hard to be afraid of something you're used to. Have you guys ever seen a bat afraid of the dark? But you know what I AM afraid of? Do you want to know what does scare me? Danny Toner"
As is typical with Lizzie Rose, she has an interesting approach to building herself up, telling us she's afraid of stepping in the ring with the former World Heavyweight Champion Danny Toner.
"I guess I shouldn't really say that, but he does. After all, this guy is one of the true blue ACES of FWA. A ring vet, a former World Heavyweight Champion, and one of the most vicious brawlers to step foot in a wrestling ring. So, of course, I'm nervous about being one of his targets; this is someone that prides himself on ending careers; is mine next? Is he going to kick my head off my shoulders and send me on the retirement list? That's what I'm afraid of more than anything else. That someone can take all this away from me. Danny Toner can do that just because he can...and he will if he gets a chance."
Lizzie tilts her head, looking off to the side somewhat as she wrestles with that concept before continuing.
"I think people are going to think less of me by admitting that to you, but I feel like the deal I made with you guys when I started this weird journey is that I would always try to be as honest as I can. And admitting to you now that I'm afraid of Danny Toner, that's a show of weakness. That makes me less than Danny. But...I disagree. I think everyone has it twisted, and society as a whole has this weird habit of confusing a lack of fear with being brave. Those are two VERY different things; the absence of fear is just...I mean, kind of nothing. You walk to a bus; you get on the bus. You get off the bus. Odds are you never had any spike of fear during that unless you have a phobia of buses. Does that make you brave? No. It makes you a guy who just rode the bus. I don't know who needs to hear it, but someone, somewhere, does- Being brave means confronting the things that scare you. Acknowledging that fear, knowing it's ok...and pushing through it. That is courage in its purest sense. That's why I'm going beat Danny Toner because I fear him, but I don't fear the fear; I fear him. No, I have no idea what I just said either...but it SOUNDED profound, right?"
She shrugged and flashed that trademark unsure smile at the camera as if it was unnatural for her to speak so confidently, and it kind of was.
"See, the way I see this match, and this might be me reading too much into this, it's a battle of New York. The big battle of the big apple"
Lizzie cringed, just a little at having just spoken what is most likely the worst pun ever uttered on television and seemed to mutter off-screen, "Can we just pretend I didn't say that?" Before leaning back and resetting, framing an imaginary marquee out with her hands.
"On one hand, we have Danny Toner's New York. This eloquent, self-made millionaire, who drives a fast car, lives fast, and lives off the lap of luxury...and would do anything to make a fast buck. We see that kind of guy every single day where I come from; they infest that place like....like...ants climbing over each other to get at remains of a picnic, ruthlessly doing anything they can to climb over the other guy, and if they make a hundred dollars at the expense of ruining someone else's life? They'd have no issues sleeping at night. But me? My New York? We ain't about that life"
With her other hand, she makes the exact same motion of her hands that she did when she was describing what "Danny Toner's New York" is like
"My New York? The Brooklyn...The Yonkers. The Willisbergs, when they call New York the home of the brave? Those are the places they're talking about. We ain't swimming in money, Our houses are cramped together, and our buildings are slowly rotting, but we understand the value of the important things in life, family, friends, pride, and community. Hard Work. Those are the things that matter in this world. We're not rich, hell I didn't see a hundred dollar bill till I was in my mid-twenties, but if you gave me the choice between Danny Toner's new york? And Lizzie Rose's New York?"
Lizzie waved her arms around as if the suggestion that you could compare the two was laughable.
"I'd pick my sinking, dirty, rotting side of New York City every day of the week. Why? The same reason why I can stare into the camera and tell you, hand on heart, that I can beat Danny Toner. We've all seen it. Danny's great. There's no denying that. He's one of the best there is, but ever since he came back? It's like he's felt he can just waltz around and win just on his name value and his reputation alone, but Me? I know the value of working hard. I know that a hundred-dollar bill might seem like peanuts to a guy like Danny Toner, but I know that's a life-changing amount of money for so many families. I know what Danny Toner had forgotten, how to claw my way to victory, how to scratch and inch and take any opportunity that comes my way. Because that's what this is, an opportunity. A chance to make myself. This match? It's nothing to Danny Toner; his name is made. A victory for him? Means nothing to him? But me? Pinning Danny Toner's shoulders to the mat? That's star-making for Lizzie Rose. That's my chance to take things to the next level, and I got to take it. I need to!"
Lizzie shouts into the camera, jabbing her forefinger into the lens as if doing everything she could to underline that point.
"I can't promise I'll beat Danny Toner, I would never disrespect someone so accomplished by having that kind of ego, but I promise to win or lose? He's going to know he had to FIGHT to beat me......and he's going to go to bed that night knowing what my knuckles feel like against his face....."
Lizzie Rose nods confidently before leaning forward and turning off the camera.
------
"You hear about Jane? I never thought she'd ever make it...Hated that chick."
"You hate everyone."
"I mean kinda, but she was super in your face, y'know? It's like yeah, we get it; you like cowboy stuff; you don't need to Yee-haw and Yippie whippie all the time"
Lizzie Rose nodded quietly as she looked across at the typically bored-looking face of her best friend and indy tag partner, Daphne Shelly; this was their normal coffee shop haunt. The Cafe was in the town square, a marquee overlooking the stone lions. Around the edges were food vendors, giving the middle of the town a sort of market atmosphere. This usually was a weekly hang-out, but this was the first time Lizzie had been invited by Daphne in months.
Well, "Invited" was more like a text that said, "I'm bored, usual place. Swing by before I take up smoking."
Even though Lizzie didn't do much entertaining, she just kind of let Daphne talk, swinging her trade mark favourite pair of scissors idly as Lizzie just stared at her cup of coffee.
"So Danny Toner, Eh? Big scalp for ya, Liz."
"A-ha"
"He was always a big-time douchebag."
"A-ha"
"You got this..."
"A-ha"
"....Anyway, the penguins have become awakened, and they're coming to take over humanity with their advanced penguin technology, and personally, I welcome our new penguin overlords."
"A-Ha"
Daphne rolled her eyes as she leaned forward in place her forearms on the table as she pushed aside Lizzie's cup of joe.
"Ok, what the fuck's with you?"
"Watta mean?"
"Oh, come on, don't bullshit me; you've been acting weird all week."
"Not really."
"Your mom called me and said you haven't spoken to her for weeks; I thought I was the only one... You're normally annoying social. It's super weird."
"No, it's super weird that my mom called you."
"I know, right? She hates me. That's how worried she is; she had to rope me into your emo bullshit."
"You're calling me emo? You?!"
"If it walks like a duck...Quacks like a duck..."
Awkward pause
"See, normally, you'd get super confused and ask me if there's any ducks around because of your intense phobia of ducks. You used to be fun...in an awkward, annoying kind of way...but now you're all moody"
Lizzie didn't answer; she just sighed to herself and shrugged, clearly not sure what to say.
"I mean, look at you!"
Daphne gestured wildly at the newly made-over Lizzie Rose's outfit.
"Since when do you care about dying your hair? And what's all this shit you're wearing? Are you starting a modelling agency? Since when do you ever wear lady clothes?"
Lizzie again doesn't speak. She thought she looked nice now.
"ETERNAL"
That got Lizzie's attention as her eyes snapped up towards her oldest friend.
"They got into your head, right?"
Lizzie's silence was all Daphne needed; she slammed her hand on the table in annoyance.
"Those psycho bitches. Just say the word, Liz, two on two. We can take the-"
"NO-!"
It was the most animated Liz had been ever since she sat down, the word exploding out of her mouth like it was a deadly poison she had to spit out; Daphne raised her eyebrow.
"You saw what happened to Joe. If they target you...if they hurt you..."
"I'm a big girl Lizzie, bigger than either of them. C'mon, you know I can handle them both."
"....Are you sure that this is just about backing me up?"
"Um, yeah? What else would there be?"
"Your big break. You're using me to get your foot in the door in FWA."
There rarely is ever a lot of emotion playing on the face of Daphne Shelly at the best of times, but at Lizzie's words, even she couldn't hide how stunned she was by the out-of-nowhere accusation and maybe even a little bit hurt.
"It's not my fault FWA wanted me and not you, Daphne. But that doesn't mean you get to use me as a crutch. "Oh yeah, Liz will do all the work for me." Sure, Daphne just climbs on board the Lizzie Rose gravy train; it's a bit crowded, though, because everyone in this goddamn town is on it too."
The only person who seemed more shocked than Daphne? Lizzie herself, like she had no idea any of that was going to spill out. It wasn't long before Daphne's eyes darkened.
"Everyone? What about your dad?"
Oh, snap. Daphne went THERE. She played THAT card. Lizzie looked up, almost stunned, by the question, like she was just asked when's the last time someone told you, you were part octopus? Like the concept was rather bizarre to her.
"You never talk about him."
"Um, why would I? Does it matter? I mean, no one ever asks about Cyrus Truth's dad. Or anyone else. Why would you even begin to care about that kind of thing? Like now, I'm just here to talk about Danny Toner, and if I think I can beat him and blah blah blah wrestling stuff, my dad doesn't really have anything to do with....anything."
"Oh, bullshit, and you know it. Maybe, no wrestler on the planet has let random strangers into their personal life as much as you have; Cyrus Truth doesn't really talk to us about his family because he clearly doesn't give a shit, but over the years, you've made it clear how important where you came from is to you. That you fight for your family and how you feel pressure to do so. You talk about your mom all the time. Your fears. Your vulnerabilities. but when it comes to your dad? Suddenly you're not so open"
Shrugging seemed to be a good muted response to the previous comment, so Lizzie fell back on it once more, shrugging, showing no emotion whatsoever.
"I can talk about my dad."
"When's the last time you even spoke to him?"
-------
"Last week, he rang me up to say good luck against Danny Toner and that he was proud of me."
"Bullshit"
"Like you wanting to help me out?"
Daphne blinked more than a little, bemused by how the normally good-hearted Lizzie Rose was being.
"...Who the fuck are you anymore?"
Lizzie didn't answer. Daphne scanned her face for a moment in the vein before leaning back in her chair.
"Ok, you know what? Fuck this shit; I'm bored. You're boring me, so I'mma bounce."
Daphne signalled a waitress and slammed ten dollars on the table. All the while, Lizzie didn't say a word, the sudden bitterness seemingly leaving her, and now all she felt was shame for the cutting words she spoke; she opened her mouth and hoped something soothing would come out.
"Daphne-"
"You don't have to say sorry to me; you never do."
Daphne goes to leave, but she stops herself, seemingly having a change of heart. Her face softens somewhat, and she leans down to Lizzie's level and speaks in a hushed tone.
"I don't know what's going on with you lately. I don't know why you've been acting like such a bitch...But you need to snap the hell out of it. Because if your head isn't in the game? Danny Toner will end you. Just do what you normally do. Try to remember who you are.....and try to remember your friends are your friends for a reason"
And with that, Daphne Shelly turned on her heel and walked away, Leaving Lizzie alone...and conflicted.
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:40:10 GMT
Originally posted by Jimmy. Space Bounty Hunter
Journal entry #1
I don’t know how to start a journal. Uncle suggested I use this to convey my thoughts during my Nephew training. I’ve never been one to write down my thoughts. I don’t like to speak about my thoughts, let alone write about them. The only person I’ll share my thoughts with is Penny. Speaking of which, I asked Penny if she’d want to join me on the Octopi while I’m training, and Uncle said it’s perfectly fine if she does join, but she’s still unsure, and she said she’d give it some thought. It would be nice to have her around. I would have someone to talk to. Technically, I guess I have people to speak to here, like Marcus, Uncle, Harry, SS_10,000, and Quiet. Besides Marcus, I’d say Quiet is my favorite to talk with. That guy has some interesting stories. I told him he should write a book someday.
My first space bounty hunt didn’t go as well as I had hoped. We didn’t catch who we were after and ran into some trouble along the way. Uncle wasn’t upset, though; he understood. Uncle wants me to go on the next hunt solo. I don’t know where or when I’m going, but I know it’s soon. I still have a match with XYZ to prepare for at Fallout in Mexico. I should expect that bastard Death Walker not to be too far away, so it’s best I keep my eyes in the back of my head.
Back in Business is on the horizon, and I still don’t have a match for it. I don’t know what’s happening with management, but at least I’m getting booked nowadays. I had to beg to get a match on the card practically. The things I’ve done for this company and this is the thanks I get. I don’t want to get into that now, though.
===============
Randall wakes up in his sleeping quarters and looks up at the SS_10,000 in his quarters to see that he has a video message from Uncle. He rubs the sleep from his eyes, sits up, and grabs the remote to play the message.
"Good morning, Nephew, or my NIT, because you haven’t quite earned to be called Nephew just yet, I’m afraid. I know your last bounty hunt was unsuccessful and to no fault of your own or the rest of the Nephews. I have good news, though, and it’s another bounty hunt for you, but like I told you before, I want you to go solo on this one. You’re used to working alone when you did jobs for your old bosses, so it should be no problem.”
“Remember that one strange character you encountered on Planet Hemmlock? Unfortunately, he doesn’t go by any specific aliases, so we don’t have a name, but Harry managed to track down his whereabouts on a planet called TGO. I don’t know the significance or meaning behind the name, but I know that’s where he’s hiding. I’ve sent you the coordinates, so you best be on your way soon, NIT!”
===============
Journal entry #2
I’m logging this now after landing on TGO. This planet seems relatively desolate. At one time, it looked like there was activity here, but now there’s no sign of life, at least from what I could see. I remained on the ship for some time until I saw the rambling man or anything else resembling a lifeform on this planet.
This is like those stakeouts I did for Angelo and the family. Angelo and the guys had to relocate again after the cops started sniffing around, so I haven’t had as much contact with them as of late. I liked those stakeouts because they gave me time to think. I would sit in the silence of my car and think about whatever. Once I had returned to FWA while I was still doing jobs, the quiet stakeouts gave me time to think about my next opponent. I started thinking about XYZ and how this rambling man shared some similarities with him. However, this confused man doesn’t seem as lost as XYZ does. The rambling does seem to be running from something or someone, though. It could be The Light Protector and The Deadly Traveler he’s running from.
Those two remind me a lot of Death Walker and his Dark Guardian. Walker has been a thorn in my side for months now. He’s like a gnat that won’t go away no matter how often I swat at him. That bastard is always up to no good, and now XYZ seems caught in the middle between us. I should try to convince XYZ that it would be better if we tried to work together to eliminate Walker from our lives. I know I usually wouldn’t say I like working alongside someone, especially someone I don’t know if I can trust, but I’d be willing to do so to eradicate Death Walker.
Eventually, I did see some activity outside of the ship. I exited the ship and carefully made my way through the desolate land. It feels like I have been walking for a lifetime, so I am logging this now after a much-needed break. Fortunately, this device that Uncle provided me can lead me back to the ship in case I get lost.
I just heard a noise nearby; I better go check it out.
===============
Randall carefully checks out what made that noise, and soon enough, he locates the rambling man. The man is in a teal suit with a green and black cloth-like cape and no shoes on. He’s sitting by himself, unaware of Randall’s presence, as he’s mumbling to himself.
”Rambling man?”
The man looks up at Randall, and his eyes light up at the sight of The Wildcard. He doesn’t move from his seat, though.
”Weary traveler! We meet again, but this time you come alone.”
"You remember me?”
"Why yes, of course, I do. The real question is, how did you find me?”
"That’s not important. What I want to know is, what are you doing here?”
"Where is this, exactly?”
"Oh, come on now, don’t start with the gibberish and the riddles again.”
"What are you doing here? Have you been following me like those other two?”
"Other two? What other two? Do you mean The Light Protector and The Deadly Traveler?”
"Those two have been causing me trouble for some time now. I don’t know what they want, but they’re not too far behind everywhere I go. All I know is that they’re bad news.”
"Listen to me; if you let me help you, I can get you out of here and in hiding where those two can never find you.”
"How do I know I can trust you? Who is there to trust?”
"You don’t have to trust me but just know that I can help you.”
"Why would you help me? You don’t know them.”
"They cost me that bounty back on that other planet.”
"How do I know you’re not just trying to collect another bounty on me? That’s probably how you tracked me down here. No, I don’t think I’ll take you up on that offer.”
"That makes me look like a pretty lousy bounty hunter if I can’t collect one guy.”
"Well, you won’t be collecting me today, but maybe another time. I don’t know for sure. For all you know, this could be a dream, and dreams can never end. Remember that.”
===============
Journal entry #3
It wasn’t a dream, but I didn’t catch that man. I don’t know why I bother to do this or why I’m bothering training to be a Nephew. Maybe this is part of the training; I don’t know. It may be one of those lessons to help me with my next match. Again, I don’t know. None of this makes sense.
I couldn’t convince that man to come with me, but maybe XYZ still has hope. He’s had his troubles with Death Walker, just like me. We work together, and we can solve our Death Walker problem.
If he doesn’t comply, then Death Walker won’t be the only one he'll have to worry about. |
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:40:30 GMT
Originally posted by Cyrus. Exile Chronicles (Volume 5)Chapter 22: Blood that Feeds the GrowthGrave DiggerDulcet, yet foreboding twangs of guitars and an ethereal voice greet us as we see the creaking wooden wheels of a cart being drawn by a swaybacked mule. Our scene is that of a dusty, barren plain as this cart is pulled along a gravel-strewn road.
There’s no one in the cart driving it, but the cart is not empty. Within it is a coffin…well, more of a roughly, hastily constructed pine box than a traditional casket. As we pan around, we see that the mule is being led by someone walking alongside it, wearing a long black coat with a hood drawn up to obscure his face. This mortician keeps his eyes focused on the road ahead.
Time passes. Eventually, the cart reaches a destination: a large hill that stands out like a sore thumb amongst the flat, rolling plains and tall grasses. The mortician leads his weary draft animal and its cargo up the hill, past the various wildflowers and bright green foliage that makes this mound stand out even more in this environment. The stark greenery gives this hill an otherworldly look as a gentle breeze makes the grass and flowers dance.
As we reach the end of the song, our mortician and his cargo reach the top of the hill. There, we see that there’s a massive oak tree that has grown from the hill’s peak. It’s immense, with deep green leaves and dark brown oak. The mortician pulls the cart up next to the tree and ties up the lead using an embedded iron ring. He then lowers his hood and looks up to the tree, the sun peaking through it.
With a sigh, Cyrus Truth rolls his head to loosen his neck and shoulder muscles and turns his attention to the cart. He rummages around the casket inside as he pulls out a simple, well-worn shovel. Without missing a beat, he finds a softer plot of earth a few feet away from the tree and begins to dig.“Death Walker...seriously? Out of all the sobriquets you could’ve chosen, you decided on…’Death Walker?’ And I’m supposed to take you seriously?”The sound of steel striking earth is rhythmic, almost melodic as a pile of dirt starts to grow as the hole grows wider and deeper. Cyrus doesn’t seem to struggle, doesn’t even so much as grunt at the work he’s undertaking. The way he’s moving, the way he persists…he’s done this before. Countless times in the past.“Back in Business is not too far away. The Road there has been…problematic. Still, I soldier on. Because I have to. Because the stakes are far too high to not let up. I’ve already stumbled far too much since winning Carnal Contendership…I can’t afford any other mistakes.“Though, the same could be said for Chris Peacock. There is a part of me that respects the fact that he’s trying to prove his mettle, facing off against Horrowitz. That being said…I wonder…”Cyrus stops digging for just a brief moment. He looks out to the plains from the hill’s majestic view. The pensiveness in his eyes betrays his contemplation of his opponent…a man who seeks to prove his might…but there seems to be more to it than that. His brazen act in hopping on commentary for Cyrus’s last match, based on Cyrus’s expression, has apparently not sat too well with The Exile.
Regardless, he shakes that thought out of his head as he resumes digging.“Regardless, Chris can do whatever he feels he needs to do in order to be ready for Back in Business. If he has any hope of living up to the ideal of being the champion to carry this company into the future, he damn sure better be aware of what’s awaiting him in the main event. As for me…I’ve decided that the only thing I have to prove is that I have the will to press forward, the resolve to smash any obstacle FWA or its wrestlers want to put in my path.
“I failed against that rodent-skin wearing try-hard, Kazadi. The indignity of tapping out, of ALLOWING myself to tap out still stings. But instead of wallowing in self-pity, instead of making excuses…I’ve chosen to use that. Let it heat and forge it into the dagger at my throat, threatening to slit it if I let something like that happen again. So far…I haven’t. Noriko learned that lesson the hard way. Another young prospect looking for validation. One more soul to the call…
“And thus, we come to the supposed man who walks through the valley of the shadow of death. Death Walker…no, screw that. I gave weaselperson the dignity of using his new moniker, but I can’t with Darius. It’s not that I don’t understand exactly what this man is going for. He wouldn’t be the first person in wrestling to go full on macabre to try and unsettle his opponents and get people talking about them. Hell, I did somewhat the same in my early career before I decided to fully devote myself to my own Truth. Fear can be a useful tool when trying to get to the heart of your opponent…but, seriously? Is there anybody in FWA that actually fears this man?”Steadily, Cyrus continues to dig the grave. Eventually, he has to pause in order to grab a rope ladder from the cart and fasten it to the side in order to continue digging and climb out. However, The Exile continues to speak, almost incredulously at the absurdity of it all.“I’ve been wrestling for longer than some of these newcomers and aspiring champions have been aware of wrestling’s existence. I’ve fought, beaten, and lost against just about every kind of wrestler that you could imagine. Tell me…do you know how many wrestlers I’ve had to face that professed that they were the embodiment of death? The reapers of souls and collectors of pain and suffering? It’s absurd, because not a single one of those wrestlers ever fully grasped what it means to walk with death and darkness.
“Darius…who am I? When you look at me, what do you see? Do you see the legendary champion whose legacy is laden in gold? The washed-up has-been who’s stumbled into the main event of FWA’s greatest show, like some other masked malcontent who’s not been able to rid himself of that massive chip on his shoulder? Or just another ‘soul’ to collect to help fuel this image you’re committing yourself to?
“Ultimately, you and everybody else in FWA still fail to recognize the Truth behind what and who I am.
“And you are blind to the stack of bodies I’ve had to put in the ground to get to where I am.”The grave is starting to take shape. Slowly, but surely, Cyrus has dug out enough dirt to hold the casket that he brought up to this vista. As he continues to carefully toss out the last piles of dirt, he wipes the sweat from his brow as a streak of dust and mud crosses his forehead.“I’ve won and lost matches all over the world. I’ve faced the very best and the very worst that wrestling has to offer. And the name Cyrus Truth has been synonymous with both excellence and forgotten valor, and cursed by those who’ve wanted to see me dead and buried. But they’re not here. I am. The list of those who’ve taken my mettle and gotten the best of me is vastly outnumbered by those who I’ve outlived.
“There’s a phrase used by people outside of wrestling…and a few within who like to troll our audience…that wrestlers bury one another. It’s a sentiment that comes up whenever someone looks at our business and thinks that everything is simply a stage production, that the suffering we endure isn’t real or legitimate. While such scuttlebutt is infuriating, especially for someone like me who’s had to suffer greatly for this sport? It doesn’t change the fact that in wrestling, only a handful of competitors will ever rise to the top as World Champions. Talent exists up and down FWA’s roster, but out of the hundreds have competed? Only a few dozen have laid claim to the greatest prize, and even amongst them? Only a few are considered true legends and standard bearers of the title of World Champion.
“I’ve been a World Champion everywhere I’ve been. I’ve held gold in every promotion that I’ve competed in. I was considered a world-class talent before I ever stepped foot in CWA, let alone when I took FWA by storm. To do that? I’ve had to hurt a lot of people. I’ve had to crush the dreams and aspirations of both legends and upstarts alike. Compared to you, Darius? You’re just a creep in a skull mask pretending to be death facing off against professional wrestling’s Grim Reaper. Can you fathom the amount of bodies I’ve had to bury over the years?”Cyrus tosses the shovel out of the hole as the sun starts to set in the distance. He climbs out of the hole and walks over to the cart. Using a rope handle that’s been nailed into the side, he drags the casket out of the cart and starts pulling it towards the hole.“Darius…Death Walker…call yourself whatever you want. But between you and me? Death has always been my constant companion. I don’t take any great pleasure in having to build the mountain that is my legacy off the corpses of those wrestlers I’ve left battered and broken on the side of the Road, but that is the nature of the beast, isn’t it? And I’ve never needed a mask to make people afraid of me. You know, I’m not blind to the fact that you think this is your shot. My “soul” is a prize to be won and mounted on your wall as a testament that you should be feared and respected.
“Problem with that? You’re standing in my way. Stepping into my ring. Blocking me from the path towards the main event of Back in Business. And if you paid attention to anything in wrestling history? You would know that you’re walking into your own execution on Fallout. Because I’m not going to let anything stand between me and the FWA World Championship. I will continue to march towards Back in Business. And I will reclaim my throne over a thousand bodies and broken bones if I have to.
“I’m going to bury you, Darius. Because I can’t afford to let you survive against me.
“But if it’s any consolation?”Cyrus, having approached the hole, unceremoniously tosses the casket in. The rickety coffin doesn’t break, but as we see the lid for the first time? We see that there’s a placard on it written with the Japanese kanji for “Holy Warrior.”“You won’t be alone in your grave.”Cyrus says nothing else.
The Exile, instead, grabs his shovel, pulls up the rope ladder from the grave, and begins to start covering the casket with dirt.
But as he does, our focus zooms into the grave…past it into the depths of the hill below through the soil and earth and rock.
There, we see them.
Hundreds of them.
The coffins of countless fallen warriors. Legends and upstarts alike. Indiscriminate, unmarked, left in the earth to wither, rot, and be forgotten.
And we see the roots of the tree winding through them, feeding on what was left behind in The Exile wake. Victims and opposition laid low when they crossed Cyrus Truth’s warpath on becoming the wrestler he is.
The message is a clear one.
Cyrus Truth’s legacy is one that has been tended with care, but has been nourished by blood.
And Death Walker?
Just more fertilizer… |
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:40:53 GMT
Originally posted by Sully.
The Neck Romancers
[ATTACH type="full" width="432px"]63194[/ATTACH]
Blair and Celestia Ravenwood sit in a study, once used by King Sully, in a now abandoned and dark castle. Kleio De Santos is out doing who knows what, and their newest infatuation Trixie is probably with her. This leaves Blair and Celestia in the headquarters of The Coven unsupervised. A rare moment for Blair to really cause trouble, but trouble she has no time for as her and her sister are forced to prepare for a three way tag team match. Blair is sitting at the table tapping her black fingernails against the old wood, as Celestia is happily perusing an old potion book of hers not even noticing Blair's anguish.
Finally, Blair sits up and shouts at her sister.
"HEY...aren't you thinking about what we can do to win this match? It's in a few days, and so far...we have nothing" she tells Celestia.
Celestia snaps back at her sister. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm trying to find a potion that we can slip Aka and Keiko. They're our real threats. With those two disposed, we shouldn't have any issues dealing with Makima and...well..." Celestia says as she begins to drift off. Blair cuts her off anyway, knowing exactly where she's going.
"Yes, exactly sister. Say it...the zombie." Blair says coldly.
Celestia is a bit uncomfortable at the mention of it.
"Right...that...um...thing. Why did it have to be a zombie anyway? It could've been anything...like, it could've even been Santa Claus! For some reason that face looks like it'd have made a really good Santa Claus..." but Celestia is cut off again by Blair
"Enough sister. That doesn't matter. What matters is this is now the SECOND time that someone in this company has done what we have dreamed of doing for years! When Jeremy Best did what he did to Krash...I have to say it got my interest, and you know that I wanted to pursue that interest, you know it..."
Celestia responds "Yeah, but you know that you can't." but it only angers Blair.
"I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT.....Krash was one thing, but now Zombie Gip? We are the witches of the FWA Celestia. We should be raising the dead. Not these posers. They think they can watch one season of American Horror Story and suddenly can just go around raising the dead? No, Celestia. We are doing it." Blair says.
Celestia seems concerned at the suggestion. "But Blair, Kleio said no. Necromancy is dark magic. She doesn't want us to use it". Blair chuckles at the warning.
"Kleio isn't here, is she? Besides, you heard her the other day. She wants to look into opening up our doors...recruiting new members. She wants it to be Trixie, well I say...why don't we get someone with a little more...experience?" Blair says deviously.
And with that Blair's plan was in motion.
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Soon enough the sisters find themselves in a graveyard. The perfect place for practicing necromancy. Both of them are wearing black robes with the hoods up over their heads. With how dark it is they can perfectly sneak around without being seen. Celestia is carrying a small black bag, and Blair herself also has one.
Blair quietly points to a large stone tomb in the middle of the graveyard and gestures her sister toward it. Celestia gulps, not really wanting to explore the creepy tomb, but does so anyway.
The sisters creep inside the small tomb. There's a creepy stained glass Christian image in the background that gives Blair the creeps. But what's giving Celestia the creeps is the large stone coffin that's in the middle of the tomb they're standing in.
"This is it" Blair says.
Celestia gulps again.
"What we need is in that coffin" Blair says.
Celestia has her doubts. "This better not be like that time we tried to find Lillith, and all we found was that necklace that ended up doing NOTHING".
Blair giggles and then pulls something out of her pocket. "Oh you mean this necklace?" she says to her sister as she jiggles the necklace in her face, before putting it around her own neck.
Blair suddenly begins to take out some chalk, and she draws a pentagram on the floor in front of the stone coffin. She then places and lights a black candle around it. Celestia looks nervous as Blair continues setting up for the ritual, spreading a small vial of ashes around in the ring. With a quick snap of her fingers she starts a fire among the ashes in the circle, a fire that's perfectly contained from inside the pentagram. But it's no normal fire, as these flames are a mixture of blue and green. She then puts her hand out towards Celestia, and wiggles her fingers. Celestia responds by going into her bag and giving Celestia one of their spellbooks.
"You have all the other ingredients right?" she says to her sister.
"You mean...the sacrifices of our enemies? Uh...yeah, I got them" Celestia says as she pulls out a paper bag that looks like a fourth grader's bagged lunch.
"Now we can begin" Blair says as she opens up her spellbook.
"Mortuos cujus tempora transierunt da ei unum ultimum depraehendo hoc obiectum i largiri cum animo tuo Novit iter tuum et auxilio Dei ad hoc volo ut fiat mihi!
Spirit world...we awaken thee. For we request the presence of one of your own. And in return we give you the sacrifices of our enemies. First we offer you the blood of a victim. An innocent who is controlled and manipulated by someone she trusts. Her blood is ripe because it's blood that will go along with whatever needs you desire, and in return no resistance...
...Celestia, toss in Aka's blood."
With that, Celestia takes a vial out and hands it to Blair, who throws it into the fire. How Blair managed to get Aka's blood is unknown, but she has it never the less. It disappears among the flames.
"Next, we offer you the saliva of a manipulator. One who uses her tongue and quick with to charm others to working for them, to being loyal to them. Traits that would be handy to whatever services you may need.
Celestia, give me the salivia of Keiko".
And with that, Celestia hands over another vial to Blair who then tosses the vial into the flames just as she did the blood. It soon disappears also as the fire grows bigger.
"Now we offer you the hair of a virgin. A virgin to combat that is, one with little experience in our territory. It's a reminder of those who come in with naive hearts and empty-minded eyes. A power that surely will help you with fresh souls to your underworld".
Celestia gives Blair Makima's hair, and it too disappears into the large flames.
"And lastly, we offer you the flesh of one of your own. May you leave him where he stands or return him to your world at any time. The option is yours".
This time Celestia herself throws in a small piece of ripped of skin from Zombie Gip, barely touching it as she throws it into the fire...nearly gagging all while doing it.
The fire grows even bigger now as just one more thing remains.
"Now spirits...we request one of you. A woman wise among her years who deserves to fight along side us. A woman who knows evil like no other".
With that, Blair opens up the locket around her neck, and takes out a small black ring. She tosses that ring into the fire, and immediately the fire disappears. The candles all extinguish and the room goes dark. Celestia lights another candle, and suddenly the coffin in the room begins to rumble. Celestia looks alarmed as Blair looks excited, as the coffin begins to move. The lid slowly comes off as Blair cannot contain her excitement.
She rushes over to the coffin as it opens up.
And inside is...
Is...
A man. Who's fully alive.
"What the? Who the hell are you?" Blair shouts at him.
"I'm Paul" the man says.
"What? Paul. Who the hell is Paul?" Celestia says.
"I am." Paul says.
"Paul...what are you doing here...inside...a coffin?" Blair says.
"I like to sleep in there" he says.
Blair is so furious, while Celestia is confused.
"So we didn't awake you from the dead?" Celestia asks.
"No, but you girls were really loud. It woke me up." Paul says in return.
"Shut up Paul...just...Shut up." Blair says as she rubs her temples before storming out of the room. Celestia shrugs at Paul before running out to follow her. Paul shrugs back and then goes back into his coffin and closes the lid.
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Back at the castle, Celestia and Blair sit once again at the study table. Disappointed that the Necromancy ritual did not work. Blair isn't even talking. She's got her arms crossed and she's just sitting there pouting.
The rain is now pouring outside.
Celestia has gone back to looking through her potion book and trying to figure out another way to beat the two teams they're up against.
Suddenly, Blair begins to rant again.
"I just...I don't know what went wrong" she says depressingly.
Celestia doesn't respond to her.
"We did everything right. It's just...it's frustrating. Kleio's magic never fails. Everything works for her. I've been practicing this stuff for years, and I still can't figure it out" Blair vents. She rubs Lillith's necklace that's still around her neck, but then slams her head down on the table.
Suddenly from outside in the hallway...a scraping sound can be heard, followed be a loud thumb.
Scraaape.
Thump.
Scraape. Thump.
The noises are getting closer.
Thump.
Scraaaaaaape.
Thump. Thump.
The noises stop right at the door. Both Celestia and Blair stare at the study door. confused by the noises coming from right outside. Suddenly...
KNOCK.
KNOCK.
KNOCK.
Before Blair or Celestia can even get up to answer it, the door swings open.
A smile creeps onto Blair's face. A smile that says it did work after all.
Standing in front of them, with an old battered walker, tattered slippers, and a toothless gummy smile....is none other than the formerly deceased...Grandma Ethel.
"You ladies called for Grandma?" the zombie Ethel says...
...now officially as a member of The Coven.
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:41:09 GMT
Originally posted by TGO. XYZ's mind often wanders. This is par the course for anyone who spends the majority of their day behind the wheel of a school bus, even a magic one. XYZ is driving this yellow lug of lard through galaxy systems for 20 hours a day, turning and gliding this way and that way, either with intent or without aim. Currently, it's the aimless variety, which lends to even more daydreaming.
The latest set involves XYZ holding a championship -- any championship -- high in the air, victoriously. It's a historic moment. The crowd is shouting euphorically. It's pandemonium. It's a story for the ages. And XYZ is a symbol of freedom from the anxieties and nerves that grip the every man and woman. XYZ is a sign of overcoming the despairing thoughts that so often cut short people's dreams.
He has won. He has won something. He has won a thing. And it means others can win a thing in this world as well.
This is XYZ's daydream of choice, but with the intergalactic driving miles stacking up lately -- ever since the rescuing of a man from his ho-hum sales job with a superhero apparel company -- XYZ loses control of the daydream. He slowly fades into an actual dream, half in control and half at the whims of his subconscious.
And instead of the crowd cheering his accomplishment, they are laughing at him.
XYZ stands in the middle of the ring, not with a championship raised above his head, but with a toy figurine of a school bus, a toy he once played with as a young child. It reminds him of his condition, of being diagnosed with childhood schizophrenia, and of his relationship with Big Al. Now he is questioning the very existence of his space travels aboard the Magic School Bus. He won't go any further if he can prevent it, but as he looks at the toy school bus in his hand, looking out to the faceless crowd members laughing at him, he feels out of control entirely.
The laughter then shifts to boos. Relentless boos that make X want to hide in the corner of the ring. He wants to curl up, cover his ears, tuck his head down, and close his eyes. He wants to hope this experience to its conclusion. But everyone continues booing him.
He tries to speak, tries to tell them he is doing this for them. However, they want to hear none of it from him. They don't want whatever he is offering. They don't want him at all.
The boos grow louder and louder until finally, the boos shift to actual words.
"No! Not!"
"Stop!"
"Are you listening?!"
They seem hostile, directed at him, and nearly make him begin to cry, but eventually X snaps out of this intense daydream and realizes he has the Magic School Bus careening towards a meteor the size of a Rally's fast food restaurant building. X swiftly shifts the bus away from the oncoming meteor and towards Uranus, which helps him realize he has returned to the Milky Way galaxy.
Then he recognizes the loud voice that disrupted his fever daydream: Wild Jerry attempting to teach Frank how to play one of many card games, all of which are hand-picked by Wild Jerry in an attempt to win money.
"For the last time, you big black idiota, Ace can go high or low. But if it's high, it's worth fifteen points. Low is worth just five points. So stop counting your score wrong! Aye, you go to American schools and you can't even do simple math. I go to school in Mexico City and spend my childhood working drugs and I'm like a human calculator compared to you, eh?"
[/HR]
Per usual, the first image we get after the dark nothingness is the Magic School Bus sputtering along in the middle of the black void known as space. The twinkle of stars in the distance offers the only backdrop, but the primary object is the faded yellow bus chugging and churning, black smoke tarnishing from the exhaust pipe.
Then, a familiar voice welcomes us to this much-needed “catch-up” with our resident superhero and his merry band of misfits and outcasts.
“Well, there. Howdy. Glad y’all could stop in ‘n check on ‘ole XYZ and his … ‘Ménage’. Hehe. Well then … what’s the last thing y’all saw from X ‘n the gang? Must’ve been when they rescued that fella’ from the clothing business, eh? Nice, nice. Well, that was weeks ago, but this group has been mostly sittin’ in idle. Like a Nascar driver at a pitstop, just waitin’ for the green flag so they can get back to business, whatever business they may have.”
While the narrator with a country twang did a solid job, let’s put that into plain English.
In the weeks after XYZ and the superhero apparel company had their falling out, two things began to take shape. First, Christian Howard, the former employee of that superhero apparel company, joined The Ménage, making the group a proud seven strong now. Second, XYZ became embroiled in a brouhaha with two people within the FWA: Jason Randall and Death Walker.
“Ah, yes. There’s Jason Randall ‘n his floatin’ self. He floats this way and that way. Sometimes he’s turnin’ a new leaf, ‘n sometimes he’s flippin’ over the old leaf. Can never really nail him down too much, unless I just did. Hehe. And then Death Walker. Ya’ know, this wacko has been a dark, evil presence in XYZ’s quarters for weeks now. Maybe it’s time Jason Randall picked a side ‘n all. Then again, I don’t know if X would even accept the help. He might have enough allies in his bus for now. I mean, they did just add someone.”
Which leads to a zoom-in of the interior of the Magic School Bus, which has XYZ in the driver’s seat. Behind him are, in no order of seating arrangement: PacMan Bert, Frank, Wild Jerry, Sierra, the fast-growing toddler “Liz”, and Christian Howard.
“Nah, that ain’t how you plan rummy, gringo! RUMMY! You have to connect the cards, yo. It’s the numbers in a row, or you get a set of the same numbers.”
Wild Jerry holds a deck of cards in his hand while about 20 cards are on the table in the back of the bus – the area designated for card games.
“Now, Wild Jerry usually holds court here with the cards. It’s never anythin’ of high importance or rich blood. Nothin’ you’d see me get involved in, for instance. Heh. I’d bankrupt this bus in five minutes. But Wild Jerry does good, and he’s keepin’ the camaraderie up in desolate times. So … you gotta give him somethin’. He learned every card game imaginable in Mexico City when he was a kid.”
Wild Jerry sits in one spot, with Frank to his left and Sierra to his right. PacMan Bert is in front playing his handheld PacMan game, per usual, while “Liz” is doodling in her coloring book. The 4-year-old has no time for card games.
“You do understand the idea of a set of three of the same numbered card, right?” Wild Jerry says sarcastically to Frank, who is struggling to grasp the concept.
“Man, why can’t we play spades. That’s the good stuff.”
“‘Cause we don’t have four players, idiot. You need four players for spades! Estupido mucho, aye. Dumbass can’t even count!”
“Whatever, man. I don’t want to play rummy. I don't get it!”
Wild Jerry smashes the 40-something cards in a deck onto the table, causing a loud bang. Then he sighs and shakes his head.
“Shit, amigo. It ain’t hard! Quit being a muda. Just focus.”
“You just cheat. I put a seven, eight, and nine of clubs down and then you do a 10 of clubs. How? It’s not a set.”
“It’s an add-on, estupido! ADD-ON! Sierra, you know, right?”
“Some people play add-ons and some don’t.”
“Some play add-ons and some don’t,” Wild Jerry says, mockingly. “Damn gringos don’t play add-ons and they want to be all middle ground with this. Pick a side, muchaha!”
Suddenly, the trio stop their argument. Christian Howard, a nondescript caucasian male in his upper 30s in age and wearing a light blue collared shirt with khaki pants, walked from the front row of the bus to the card game.
“If you need a fourth for spades, I know how to play.”
Wild Jerry’s voice gets soft and he looks down to the floor. He tenses up as Sierra – shoulders slumping a bit – looks sheepishly at Christian and then at Wild Jerry. Frank looks off into the distance. Even PacMan Bert has lifted his eyes from his game to look off to the side, focusing on the upcoming interaction without making a scene by actually looking at them.
“Nah, gringo. We … we good.”
Christian nods his head and then looks to Frank, who refuses to make eye contact.
“It’s OK. I’ll try to learn Rummy.”
Christian accepts the answer with that and returns to the front of the bus. He can faintly hear Sierra say, “Give him a chance, guys,” but nothing else from the conversation.
Christian sits in the front row on the opposite end from the driver’s seat and leans forward into the aisle. His posture gets the attention of XYZ.
“Christian Howard … the man who chased rabbits for much of his life, and now wishes to be a rabbit with a magic hat. What can I do for you?”
“Can you tell me where we’re going? Or what we’re doing?”
“Well … we don’t always have to be going anywhere, or doing anything. We could just be … coasting through space.”
“I don’t know if I agreed to leave Virginia and my job and all stability I had on earth just to coast through space.”
“You don’t like the view? I mean, look at that view! I think that’s a white dwarf star over there. Do you want to touch it?”
“Not particularly. I’d rather just have … you know … a purpose. It’s why I came with you. It’s why I joined the … the … group.
“The Ménage.”
“Yeah, the group.”
“No, say the name. Say the ‘Ménage.’”
“I don’t particularly want to.”
“Well … I can’t tell you our purpose if you don’t say it.”
“We have a purpose?”
“Do we? Ménage.”
“Fine … the … Ménage.”
XYZ smiles as he takes a random left turn in the middle of space, directing the Magic School Bus from going towards nothing to now going towards nowhere.
“Our purpose is to shine bright amid the darkness of the universe, to be a shelter of solitude for the weakest of the world. We want to be the chain-link fence holding people’s fortitude together. That’s our purpose.”
“And … what about the FWA?”
“The FWA is … part of everything. It is a single thread in the woven fabric of our existence. But it is a sturdy and important thread. It is the vehicle to share our message. It is the invisible hand guiding us towards a brighter future. It is the house we live in and must open up the windows to let more sun shine.”
“Jason Randall? Your next match? Do you not have anything to say about that? Isn't this how it works? Shouldn't you be thinking of this match?”
“I've been thinking of my match with Jason Randall since I knew it was happening. A crafty warrior. A brittle veteran. At times a desperate renegade. A wildcard. An unknown. A middle man who can swing a pendulum. In the long game, he is an important figure. Or, he can be. In the short term, in a singular wrestling contest, he is just a name.
It is just … a situation. In a silo, the situation is mild. But if … Death … Walker shows himself … the situation is spicier. It is boiling water at the top of the pot. But that situation is not interesting because of Jason Randall.
It’s interesting in spite of Jason Randall.”
Christian Howard accepts the answer. He agrees Jason Randall is probably not the highest of importance to XYZ and the Menage. Even among FWA rivals and personnel, Randall is not the most important. There are others Christian could name, and he has only been in this universe for a few weeks. So, he trusts XYZ's nonchalant attitude towards the match with Jason Randall. In the grand scheme, the winner and loser is diluted in importance. The value is in the margins, in the grit of words and spoken intent.
Christian leans forward a bit more as he prepares to bring up the topic at the front of his mind, even more so than the Ménage’s purpose.
“How do I get everyone else to accept me? I’m having problems fitting in. It has been a few weeks now and I’ve mostly just been here on my own, or talking with you. It’s getting lonely. I mean, that’s the main issue for me right now. I don’t feel like I am wanted here.”
“Well, Christian Howard, I want you here. Is that not enough?”
“Well, it’s a start. But there are five others on this bus. Do they want me here?”
“You have to prove yourself to them.”
“Really? So there’s an initiation process? Did everyone else go through it?”
“Not really. You’re sort of the first … new recruit.”
A pause as Christian Howard takes in the newness of the group. There's a youthfulness to it but also a disorganization. There's a lack of foundation or process.
“So … what should I do? How should I prove myself?”
“That opportunity will come. Like the sun rises, and sets, and like the moon glows in full once a month … your moment will come.”
“And then … maybe it’s time for your moment to come, X. I mean … you’ve been sitting and waiting and watching for a while now as everyone else gets and takes their moments. When will yours come?”
There’s a pause as XYZ digests everything the newest member of the Ménage says.
“Do you really want to be toiling with Jason Randall and a guy named ‘Death Walker’? Is that your purpose? Is that our purpose? You took Alyster Black to his absolute limit. I watched that match. Both matches! Where have you gone since?”
Another long pause.
“Sometimes … Christian … you have to appreciate what’s with you … instead of looking behind or way in front of you. Everything serves a purpose, even if you don’t see it in the moment of decision.”
Christian accepts the answer begrudgingly. He then sits back in his seat and looks out into the void of space once again, feeling alone amid a bus full of supposed friends.
“But,” X says under his breath, not loud enough for Christian to hear, “sometimes you have to make your own purpose.
Because the dream ... never dies.”
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:41:44 GMT
Originally posted by dijo. [HEADING=2] [/HEADING] [HEADING=2] [/HEADING] [HEADING=2] ft. Kaiju Repulsion Force [/HEADING] [HEADING=2] [/HEADING] [HEADING=2] [/HEADING] A solitary woman stood around several tall and narrow monitors, each of which held a shrouded member of the Council of United Organizations. One could argue the expenses paid for the monitors, and the necessity of this particular meeting location for the meeting were both rendered redundant when you could only see the silhouette of each of the on-lookers, but this wasn’t an argument anyone had been willing to bring up. Powerful people often brokered no room for rebellion, no matter how logical or minor.
The woman, who was currently subject to interrogation, was the head of the Kaiju Repulsion Force sub-organization. The topic of this interrogation was the recent death of the Lumberers.
“It’s unfortunate, the Lumberers showed a lot of promise. Their axe-wielding techniques seemed to be the sort of rugged straightforwardness we could have used, but as with the previous couplings that have fallen tragically in the war, they did not get enough time to mature. I implore you once again to reconsider rushing the education of our junior couplings.”
“Then what do you propose as an alternative.”
“Temporary substitutes. If we are going to risk losing the third coupling, then let us look outside the system.”
“It’s risky.”
“We don’t have much of a choice. They’re more expendable than our juniors. Once we’ve given them time to mature, they’ll be more appropriate long-term solutions.”
“Remember, Attica, if this gets out, it’ll be your head. Privacy is of the utmost priority.”
“Of course. I will ensure my people deal with this with the utmost diligence, and review all our security measures beforehand.”
“Very well, you have our permission to proceed.”
[HEADING=2] [/HEADING] The Kaiju Repulsion Force needed to seek out potential couplings without delay. As such, they had to quickly narrow down the scope of their search by prioritizing certain aspects:
[*]Recognizability: This was the easiest way of narrowing down recruitment prospects. They would focus solely on couplings that had some level of popularity, instead of getting bogged down in trying to find ideal candidates.
[*]Combat Ability: This would considerably narrow down the possibilities further. Combat ability wasn’t necessarily an absolute, and athletic ability could be considered as well. But it was without a doubt the most helpful trait a pairing could have.
[*]Adaptability: This would minimize the time it would take for the recruited to transition into the world of Kaiju Repulsion. Those who had traveled, or faced hardships, or demonstrated experience with the unusual would be worthy candidates for the assignment.
Considering these various traits needed for potential replacements for the Lumberers, it could not be entirely too surprising that a certain pairing had been sought after. What can be viewed as surprising, is that this pairing had only recently joined together, and this still unstable relationship was undoubtedly the greatest obstacle to their selection.
The agents from the KRF that had been dispatched were dressed in black suits, wearing shades, had their hair finely cut, and were clean-shaven as can be. They were staunchly dedicated to their desire to be viewed solely as straightforward, cold, and professional individuals.
Izaya Snowmantashi, the man in charge of the Unconspirators (his formerly two-member now three-member private investigation agency), was still dressed in his bathrobe and sipping iced chocolate milk when the other two members joined him.
“Boss!”
“Makima, iced coffee, latte, chocolate milk?”
“Yes! Iced coffee with mint chocolate shots for me!”
“Zom Gippy?”
Zom Gippy’s eyes held onto the agents, and as a woman whose existence could very much be the focal point of any governmental or organization’s designs of grotesque science fiction come to life, she felt a bout of nervousness freezing her awareness of anything else.
“Zom Gippy?” Izaya asked again.
“Ahhh, yes?” she said, momentarily startled, then remembering herself.
“Iced coffee?”
“Uh - No- I mean, yes.”
Izaya smiled and nodded, and left.
Makima folded her arms.
“You rejected the boss’s offer for iced coffee?”
“We’re here strictly on official business,” one of the agents said, who seemed to have been designated the leader but could not be considered to be any more unique than the other agents, at least not unless you were willing to uncover the robust events that have brought him to this most significant moment in his life (a meeting with Makima Snowmantashi, to be clear).
“And what business is that?”
“We are part of an undercover secret organization called the Kaiju Repulsion Force.”
“Ah, so one of you foolish idiots has finally realized how powerful I truly am. And this is all you’ve brought?”
“Pardon me?”
“Imbelice. You’re thirty thousand four hundred and ninety-four of you too few to have even a one percent chance of taking me on.”
“That’s not why they’re here, Makima.” Izaya entered the room again, handing over two glasses to his two assistants.
“Thank you,” Zom Gippy said.
“You’re getting better at not stuttering,” Makima said.
“These gentlemen are here to ask you to protect the planet Earth.”
“W-w-w-what?!” The zombie’s glass nearly slipped out of her hands.
“Not as foolish as I thought. You want me to protect the Earth? Well, that is sure to bring with it ample fame and wealth, isn’t it? You don’t have to convince me, I’ll do it.”
“Not just you, the both of you.”
Makima eyed Zom Gippy. “I did make a vow to bring you to glory alongside me, I suppose I can share a portion of the spotlight.”
“And there won’t be any fame and wealth. You forgot the part about this being an undercover organization.”
“I can understand fame, but what does that have to do with wealth?”
“You’d be doing this for the greater good,” an agent said.
“Pfffft! The greater good. Please, let’s be serious for a moment. If there is no fame, and there is no wealth, then you can find someone else to do it. Selflessness is the quality of the forgotten, and I am not one to be forgotten, you understand.”
“But what if the world gets destroyed after all?” Zom Gippy spoke up, having been mostly mum, but at greater ease knowing that she was not the subject (not for the reasons she thought of, at least) of this meeting.
“You want in on this Zom Gippy? Is being my partner, the Platinum to my Twinkle, not enough for you?”
“We can’t win championships if we don’t help.”
“My assistants, please, you haven’t even heard what it is exactly you’ll be doing. Haven’t you considered what would necessitate needing a pairing, to begin with?”
Makima shrugged, and Gippy shook her head.
“Or how exactly you’re meant to repulse kaiju?”
“We feed them Zom Gippy and they’ll be forever disgusted by the idea of eating humans?”
“Please, no.”
“Oh, an interesting idea. Did you all consider that?” Izaya asked the agents.
“Be serious. We’re talking about the fate of the world here.”
“It seemed your current tactics weren’t doing so well, I think my student’s suggestion wasn’t a bad one, and could be more of a permanent solution to these ails these kaiju have given you.”
“Perhaps they do not comprehend the notion of tactics and strategy, boss.”
“Not many do.”
“Enough,” one of the other agents finally spoke up, and given the distraught reactions of his other peers, this wasn’t a common outrage. “Is this the best we can do?”
“It’s not our decision to make. We simply follow orders. Do you understand that? Now, be quiet, and be grateful I won’t report you for insubordination.”
The other agent grunted but said nothing more.
“The KRF is an organization that uses experimental bio-mechs to fend off creatures from another dimension. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s my understanding that these mechs are sent off into gateways, where they stand guard and prevent any monster from coming through. So far, they haven’t failed… or you could say, any failure they’ve had has been efficiently erased, in some manner or another. These bio-mechs of theirs require two pilots, a coupling, to operate them, I won’t bore you with the scientific gibberish as to why they require this…” Everyone in the room knew that this was because he likely did not understand it, though none of the agents blamed him for it because they did not understand it either, and everyone was content with this abstract justification, leave the complexities of science to the scientist. “Simply know, that that is what is needed.”
“You’re more informed than we thought.”
“I’m an observer.”
The agents stepped back, hands almost gliding to their waist.
“No, no. Not that sort of observer. I just mean, I pay attention. To undercover organizations. It’s a hobby of mine.”
“But you’re also aware of them.”
“That goes without being said. I’m a professional wrestler, and one of our emblems happens to have his own connections.”
“Connections,” Makima repeated, sneering.
“What do you say, Makima, I think it could be some good training.”
“And as you always say, the best training is unorthodox.”
“Precisely.”
“We’re speaking of saving the world. This isn’t training,” an agent interrupted.
“And you, Zom Gippy.”
“If Makima says yes, and it’s about the world, then… we don’t have a choice, do we?”
“There’s your answer, gentlemen.”
Makima grinned. “You can all stop being so tense and scared now. Consider the world saved.”
003.
The moment of departure was immediate. Although Makima had ultimately agreed with little convincing, this was the only method by which they would’ve agreed to bring in the pair. Furthermore, if they had refused, their memory would have been wiped of the moment, or at least that would have been the plan, though who is to say if such plans would have gone as intended?
They were escorted in a black SUV, tinted bulletproof windows ensuring no one would be able to see or access anyone within. Izaya had not come along, and smiled dismissively at the threats imposed upon him should he tell anyone about what occurred this day. They assured him that they would be watching, and they would know. They certainly had their means, but Izaya was not an ordinary man.
The SUV escorted them into the middle of nowhere, and though Zom Gippy had been anxiously tracking their location on the journey to the KRF’s headquarters, the tracker and all wireless connections stopped working approximately thirty-two minutes before they finally arrived at a seemingly abandoned shack, though the windows and doors had been boarded so that you could not see anything within. This was a deception, as the door opened remotely. They entered an elevator that descended them countless feet underground.
When they arrived at the core of the headquarters, they were escorted off to another wing, before finally stopping at a closed door.
“What’s this?” Makima asked. “You haven’t given us anything since we left home.”
“Within that room are the two couplings that you will be working with. It would be good if you could get along.”
“Get along, hah. Should I get along with people that have allowed their partners to die over and over again? I think it’ll be best if I make them understand that I won’t abide letting them drag me down.”
The agent frowned. Makima smirked.
“Ah. Uh. Makima?” Zom Gippy said.
“What?”
“You can leave now, we’ll take it from here,” a new voice spoke over Makima's shoulder.
The agents nodded and left, resisting their desire to get another look at Makima's face when she turned to see the woman behind her. Makima turned undaunted by the knowledge that her remarks had been heard by their subjects.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t earth’s mightiest heroes.” She entered the room, walking past the Japanese women that had stood at the entrance. She found another within, and elsewhere in the room, two women who looked similar enough to be assumed sisters. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Last Twinkle in the Sky. Baby Kaiju. The Last Gift of the Second Millenium! Makima Snowmantashi!” She points to the sky, smiling proudly to herself. “And this,” she points to her partner anxiously standing by her, “is the Platinum One, the Decayed Platinum, the Zombie, ZOM. GIPPEEEEEEEHHH!” She does her best impression of Natalie Rosenberg but her audience isn’t all that impressed.
“Nice to meet you! I hope we can work well together,” Zom Gippy said.
“I think these two have been misled.”
“I think you’re right, sister.”
“They think the position is already theirs.”
“They certainly seem the arrogant sort.”
“Should we tell them?”
“Isn’t it funnier if they don’t know?”
Makima watched two sisters talk with increasing frustration. “Tell us what?!”
The Japanese woman who was already in the room grinned. “Tell you that you haven’t been picked yet. You’re just one of the many potential couplings. This is a chance for us to get to know you, to see if we could work well together.”
“You mean they’re testing us?”
“You thought all it would take is a conversation.”
“Of course, I told you who I am, didn’t I? They’re lucky I even accepted! They should have been the ones working to earn my approval, not the other way around. I will not TEST for anyone. Come on, Gippy, we’re leaving.”
The woman who'd opened the door to her laughed. “I could tell from the moment you walked in that you wouldn’t be the sort to put your pride at stake.”
“I shouldn’t have to.”
“This is probably for the best, Himeno," the sitting Japanese woman said, we probably wouldn’t have worked well together anyways. There are plenty of others who we got along with better.”
“But having a zombie here would have been fun,” one of the two sisters said.
“She’s not an actual zombie, it’s obviously just a name” Himeno retorted.
“Oh, but she is. I can tell.”
Gippy looked away nervously.
“Don’t be silly. I know the two of you are witches, but a zombie? She’s nothing like one. A bit… pale maybe. And lots of scars, but she’s a wrestler, so it makes sens-”
“Enough about her,” Makima interrupted. “This is about me.”
“It’s about both of you and all of us, really.”
“No. You dare insinuate that I would fail whatever flimsy test you’ve all organized, but that’s absurd. I am the most talented woman on earth, I will pass this test of yours, and save this world, and you’ll be both grateful I decided to make this decision and embarrassed that you did not grovel in my presence the moment you laid your eyes upon me.”
“There is no way we can pick her, Himeno.”
“Don’t worry, Miya, this’ll be fun, I’m sure.”
004.
Makima and Zom Gippy entered the laboratory in matching skintight predominantly white jumpsuits. Makima glared at the many scientists within.
“Anyone who stares at me for more than ten seconds straight must pay me one hundred dollars.” She glanced at one man whose eyes held firm on Zom Gippy. Undoubtedly, they’d never seen a woman built like that before, and they found it hard to look away. “And ANY who stares at Gippy for more than ten seconds straight must pay me fifty dollars, and her, twenty-five dollars. And remember, this is not a one-time fee.”
“Wait, why do you get fifty dollars.”
“No one should be able to disrespect me in such a manner, Gippy. You understand, don’t you?”
“Uhm, well-”
“Welcome to Laboratory 43C, Makima and Zom Gippy. My name is Doctor Attica Rain, I’m in charge of the Kaiju Repulsion Force, and will be your principal evaluator.”
“Thank you for the opportunity!”
“Don’t thank her for the opportunity, she’s the one that should be thanking us for our endurance of this charade.”
Attica glared, but said nothing. “I hope you’re not nervous about this, it’ll be completely harmless and requires nothing on your part but your presence.”
“What is it, exactly?”
“It’s rather simple. We will be evaluating the quality of your synchronicity.”
“What does that mean?”
“It will determine how compatible you two are as partners. We expect a range of 85 to 95, for anyone who is selected.”
“And what about above 95.”
“That is exceedingly rare. A one in a million chance. To get a 98 or 99, a one in a hundred million chance. And to get a 100, a one-in-a-billion chance. Virtually impossible.”
“Let us get on with it then.”
Makima and Zom Gippy were led to a pair of tanks connected by thick cords and wires, filled with translucid liquids. They walked up the ladders leading into both tanks. For Makima, this was largely effortless, for Zom Gippy…
“I’m afraid we’ve never had anyone of your size before. You may have to squeeze a bit, my apologies.”
“It’s alright. I’m used to it. It’s my fault for being so big.”
The tanks closed, and the pair had little to stare up at but the ceiling through the clear window on the face of the tank. There were small lights within it, though neither were all that frightened about the claustrophobic setting. Zom Gippy had actually spent a whole two weeks buried six feet under in a coffin and found the isolation to be weirdly comforting.
“You may feel a slight numbing sensation,” the voice of Attica was clear from the tank’s built-in speakers, “this isn’t anything to worry about. The tank will open up again when the process has been completed.”
The process in itself does not last more than five minutes. However, between reports by the agents that had escorted dayspring / nightfall, comments from Epsilon Coupling and Omega Coupling, and now Attica’s own first impression of Makima, they had intended on leaving them in there for half a day. They received few pleasures of such sort here, and this wasn’t an opportunity to pass up on. Though, they seriously considered sparring Zom Gippy, who had the ill fortune of having to be around Makima long term. Himeno, Miya, Estelle, and Wiccan had all gathered to enjoy a portion of the entertainment.
However, this prank of theirs would never come to pass. Specifically, it was Attica that would cancel these plans herself.
As the synchronicity meter began to go, it stalled at 22%. They had yet to see a measurement that low of anyone they had ever evaluated. The floor had tended to be in the 60%. Himeno could not help but to burst out laughing, and a few of the other scientists could not hold it in either. But the meter then shot up, through 30 - 40 - 50, “must’ve been a glitch,” Miya said, “if they were that capable they were probably good enough for a 60 at least,” 60 - 70 - 80… “doesn’t change she’d be impossible to work with,” Himeno retorted, no longer laughing, 90 - 95 “are we still refusing to consider her?” Estelle asked, 96 - 97, “oh… my…” Wiccan mouthed… 98 - 99……. “Please, no, please, no…” Himeno whispered, …….100. “Fuck!” she shouted.
“There must be a mistake, Attica. Besides, 100 doesn’t make up for how awful she is, does it?”
“Unfortunately, Himeno, it does. We will be thorough in ensuring there has been no glitch in the system, but I’m afraid, that is almost unthinkable, and we are in no position to reject this miracle.”
005.
As far as any of their elite IT team could tell, there was no error in the result of the synchronicity that could be found. There was no way to be certain that there had not been an alteration, but that was only their personal feelings on Makima affecting them, if anything, they should have been ecstatic that they had found the singular two individuals in the world with 100% synchronicity.
They’d hesitated in telling Makima how well she did, but upon her incessant demanding, ultimately decided they had little choice in the matter. They had sent everyone else away, after a temporary waiting period where their memories of their ventures had been erased. They had never seen anyone reach 100% before, and they wanted to waste no time in seeing how they would perform in a simulation.
Makima, and even Zom Gippy re-entered the tanks with utmost confidence after the result of their evaluation… and yet-
“What… the hell… was that?” Attica, who had largely managed to maintain the utmost professionalism in her career, was dismayed at the pathetic sight. Some measure of grace could be extended due to the fact that it was their first time, but the artificial intelligence that connected dayspring / nightfall to the bio-mech was supposed to alleviate the bulk of that. The issue wasn’t their skill, because there was little skill to even be witnessed.
They could not pilot the bio-mech at all, they were completely out of sync. It did not make any sense, this should have been the very part they were supposed to have been doing effortlessly.
The tanks opened for the thirty-third time.
“Wait! Let’s go back in! I think I get it now.”
“No! Enough!”
“Don’t be that way, Miss Scientist, I think me and Zom Gippy finally got over the mental hurdle that’s been hindering us. One more chance!”
“We’ll try again later, for the moment, go and rest. Unfortunately, I can’t reasonably ask you to participate in a mission yet, despite our original plans requiring us to expedite the recruitment so you could be ready on time. Epsilon and Omega will simply have to go on their own. It would be a danger to not only you, but to them as well, to allow you to go on.”
007.
“It’s all your fault! You’re too big, clumsy, nervous, and shy! You’re running away from the spotlight while I’m trying to run after it. We’re going in two opposite directions!”
“I’m sorry, I was trying my best.”
“That was your best?!”
Epsilon composed of Himeno and Miya, as well as Omega, composed of the two sisters Wiccan and Estella, watched dayspring / nightfall argue from a distance with a great sense of pity.
“There must have been something wrong with the reader, how did they get 100?” Himeno asked
“You heard Dr. Attica, there was nothing wrong,” Estella said.
“Maybe, we need to offer them some words of wisdom?” Miya offered.
“Are you kidding me?”
“She’s not wrong,” Wiccan said. “Look, whatever we felt about them earlier, we’re officially a team now. We need them to succeed, and if they really do have 100% synchronicity, then they could be invaluable. Aren’t you all tired of seeing people die? It’s our duty as their seniors to offer them some advice, and steer them in the right direction.”
“Fine, but we get-”
“Dibs on the zombie!” Estelle shouted.
“Shit.”
“All three of you are Japanese, there’s some commonality there," Wiccan said.
“And presumably there’s a commonality between a pair of witches and a zombie?”
“Oh yeah, she is a zombie, isn’t she? What wonders what could do with a living… or unliving specimen like that.”
“We don’t experiment on our partners.”
“Unless they’re open to it,” Himeno said, a sly grin on her face. Miya blushed.
008.
“Twinkle toes.”
Makima was on edge upon seeing the pair of women approaching her, particularly the more abrasive Himeno. “Eat shit and leave me alone, I’m… I’m meditating!”
“Relax, we know you’re feeling pretty embarrassed after how disastrous your practice sessions have been-”
“Did you only come here to remind me? Go let Gippy know about it, she’s the one holding me back.”
“Makima,” Miya said, “if you only observe the flaws in others, you’ll never see where the room exists to improve within yourself.”
“That’s the sort of wisdom you give out to arrogant egomaniacs without any sense of self-awareness, hardly something to be said to me. After all, I am without flaws to improve upon.”
“Ha, are you kidding me?” Himeno chimed in.
“I said eat shit, and leave me alone!”
“Remember when we easily manipulated you into sticking around instead of leaving?”
“I did that of my own volition.”
“Right, sure you did.”
“I did! No one manipulates me!”
“Someone confident no one could manipulate them is precisely the easiest person to manipulate.”
“Makima, we’re only trying to help," Miya said, feeling she needed to wrest control of the tone of this conversation from Himeno's grasp. "We’re all in this together. I know we started off on the wrong foot, but you need to understand we just lost two good friends. We don’t have to be enemies, we’ve already got bigger enemies than any of us can handle. Makima, this is bigger than all of us. Let’s work together to ensure we can all get better and protect the world.”
Himeno had been dubious of the attempt at comforting Makima, but Miya had been insistent, and she’d always had a talent for managing to work with disagreeable people. It was that very same talent that had allowed the two of them to overcome the own strife that had been present at times in their partnership, and now, they were stronger together than ever before.
But even so, even with the world in jeopardy, Himeno despised having to help out Makima. She hadn’t dedicated her life to this like she had. Hadn’t worked as hard. Hadn’t sacrificed. Hadn’t done what needed to be done.
“Himeno,” Miya said, grabbing her wrist. “Remember, this is bigger than the two of us. Remember what you said to me?”
“As long as we’re alive, we can be together.”
“If we have them with us, we’ll survive a long time.”
Himeno smiled and forgot the envy that had been brewing within her. Her own ambition and her affection for Miya were sometimes at odds, and often, in those instances, she doubted which she valued more.
009.
“Zom Gippy, cheer up, it’s not every day you get to pilot a bio-mech and fight monsters, is it?” Estelle said, approaching from afar.
“But… the fate of the world is in our hands, and I’m totally screwing it up.”
“You’re not screwing it up.”
“I’m holding Makima back, and I’m holding you guys back. I put all of you in danger because I wasn’t good enough.”
“Gippy, usually the people chosen to pilot bio-mechs have been raised and educated here since they were kids. You two are an exception among exceptions. They might make you think your performance was out of the ordinary, but that’s only because they had high expectations. The truth is, no one really knew how well you would do. It’s the first time we’ve ever done anything like this.”
“Although, we really did think the 100% synchronicity would be a sight to witness. Between us, are you sure you didn’t cheat… somehow. They might feel confident in their tech nerds, but we both know there’s plenty of other ways to cheat without it being clear.”
“I don’t think so. I mean, I’m just a zombie, I don’t know any spells or magic or anything.”
“Oh, we were just curious. But if you say you didn’t do anything, then who are we to doubt you.”
“That’s because we trust you.”
“Trust you, like we trust each other.”
“With our lives.”
“That’s too much to expect from me! I couldn’t even take care of my own life!”
“Zom Gippy. You seem like you’re willing to listen, unlike your partner, so as your senior here, let us give you two words of advice.”
“Trust. Yourself.”
“That’s easier said than done, all I do is make mistakes. I wouldn’t trust myself if I were anyone else. Really, this is for the best. Dr. Attica was right, we would put you in danger if we participated in a mission. You need to find someone else to replace me with Makima. Honestly, she’s so talented, she could probably get 100% with anyone. She doesn’t need me.”
“But she chose you, didn’t she?”
“And I failed her once, already.”
“But she’s kept you around. She doesn’t seem like the sort to keep people around out of pity. And she holds such a high opinion of herself, it’s impossible to think she wouldn’t have pick you if she didn’t have faith in you. What if Makima was right, and the reason you’re struggling is not because you’re not good enough, but because you don’t believe in yourself the way she believes in you.”
“That’s… that’s not fair. Telling me we’re struggling because I don’t believe in myself.”
“All I’m telling you, is to give it a try, and see how it goes. Will you do that for me?”
“I… I’ll give it a try.”
010.
The alert had blared out across the facilities, bathing it in flashing red lights as scientists ran to and fro to prepare. dayspring / nightfall stood in the core, where Dr. Attica oversaw the fight against the kaiju, and where Epsilon and Omega would enter their tanks to be transferred into their bio-mechs.
Makima had overcome her ego momentarily to announce, “Miya, Himeno… witches, I’ll be watching closely, so you better show me properly how it’s done, okay.”
“I think that’s her way of showing support,” Miya whispered.
“Like we need it.”
“Good luck to you all, I hope you have a safe return.”
“You’re putting too much reliance on luck, and hope. You need to believe in their skill, Gippy.”
“Thanks, nonetheless.”
All four women, dressed in their skintight jumpsuits, entered the translucid liquid within their tanks and lay down as the top was covered, and their consciousness was transferred. They entered the gateway where their bio-mechs awaited, one for each pair.
Multiple monitors focused in on the two bio-mechs, both of the massive entities were unique, and it was obvious from the get-go which belonged to who. “The material we use assembles itself based on a particular code, and based on the essence of both members of the coupling. I was curious to see what would become of yours.”
The bio-mechs lumbered forward, the ground across the portal reverberating with each overbearing step.
“Kaijus cited at 6 o’clock.”
“What class?”
“Readings indicate a Class A Kaiju.”
“Class A?!”
“It took all they could muster just to beat the last one. And we lost the Lumberers in the process.”
“We’ll be fine. We’re even better than we were last time,” Himeno said through the comms.
The kaiju that was merely a dot on the radar came into view. The colossal figure was even taller than the two bio-mechs. The creature itself was bizarre, a gaping hold in it’s chest that one could see through, four arms, and three spikes protruding from either side of its body, a forked tail, needle-like teeth, and a many-eyed pyramid-shaped head.
When the kaiju came in sight, Epsilon charged forward. Omega covered, pulling out an oversized assault riffle, and unleashing hundreds of rounds into the creature. The initial aim had been poor owing to an instinctive chest-level barrage, but it was eventually adjusted to aim for the head. The kaiju eventually lost balance and fell to the ground, just in time for Epsilon to arrive, leaping up and diving down with her blade. All eight hands prevented the blade from severing the pyramid head from the rest of its corpse. And then, the spikes attempted to pierce Epsilon while she was on top of them.
They left their sword behind in a desperate retreat but did not see the blade hurling back towards them and piercing clean through armor, into the bio-mechs thigh and through. They heard Himeno and Miya screech in pain.
Omega began running towards the kaiju to provide cover fire. The kaiju stopped and began tracking the Omega bio-mech with its empty-holed chest, which suddenly glowed, before erupting in a ray of light that nearly struck them, if not for the quick-wittedness of Epsilon to launch a spare netting at their feet and trip them up. Omega turned around, horrified at the massive hole that had been left in the cliffside far past them.
“They don’t stand a chance.”
“They’re going to die.”
“What can we do?”
“Dr. Attica, please send us in,” Zom Gippy spoke. Makima was stunned to see her be so assertive.
“You would be obliterated. You understand that if you die there, you will not be coming back to life.”
“No, I’m a zombie. Makima might not though.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t die, so it’s nothing we need to worry about, is it?”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“They’re going to die if you don’t send us in, Doctor!”
“Dr. Attica, it looks like they’re trying to regroup. They’re seeking advice.”
“Tell them…” Dr. Attica bit her lips, “tell them we’re sending in back-up.”
011.
“Are you kidding me?”
“They’re not ready yet.”
“But we could use a miracle, couldn’t we. It’s too much for just the four of us to handle.”
“Don’t you have a spell or something you can pull out of your ass.”
“I could… but it’d be just as likely to destroy us as it would destroy it. Would you rather take a chance on that or see if those two have some hidden talent after all?”
“I’ll take the risk with your witchcraft.”
“We have to give them a chance, Himeno.”
“This isn’t going to be a storybook end where they surprise us.”
“And why can’t it be? After all, we’re the stars of the show, aren’t we?”
The bio-mech was unmistakable that of dayspring / nightfall. It was taller than any bio-mech they’d ever had, though that was likely owing to Zom Gippy’s absurd size, which had exceeded any past pairing before. Upon it’s back gleamed a massive star, while it’s platinum-colored body seemed somehow unliving.
“Makima!”
“I’m just kidding, of course. This is Squad Zeta, reporting for rescue duty. We’ll work together to take it down.”
“Can you even move to begin with?”
“Of course. Look at this!”
The Zeta bio-mech leapt up and landed a clean backflip. The ground rattled with the impact.
“Idiot, now it’ll know where we are.”
“I’m trying to be nice, but I don’t like being insulted.”
“Did Dr. Attica send you in here with a plan, at least?”
“Yes! She said she came up with the perfect plan. It’s guaranteed to succeed. But, whichever of us doesn’t react fast enough will die. On the upside, the only thing we need to worry about is taking care of ourselves.”
“Doesn’t this plan put you two at risk the most?”
“That’s fine,” Zom Gippy spoke, “as long as there’s no chance we can drag you down, that’s fine.”
After elaborating on the few intricacies of the simple yet perfect plan, the three bio-mechs sprung into action. They charged at the kaiju in a wedge formation, arriving within reach before it could think to activate the deadly beam from its hole in the chest. They then began running circles around the kaiju, prodding it with light attacks whenever its attention was on one or the other. The kaiju charged up its chest again, glowing, glowing, and erupting!
In that very singular moment, all three of the bio-mechs leaped up in the air, and as the kaiju had still been spinning to keep track of each target, it bisected itself in its attack.
All three bio-mechs landed at the same time. They turned around to face each other, and simultaneously jumped up in the air again, fists to the sky in victory.
“We did it!”
Though, upon landing a second time, the Omega bio-mech fell to the ground.
“Actually, we were a bit slower.” The left leg was missing below the knee.
“Let’s begin the disembarkation process. Well done, all six of you. I’m impressed.”
012.
“RED ALERT - RED ALERT!”
“What do you mean red alert?”
“Abort disembarkation process.”
“At least let Omega return, they’re badly damaged.”
“What class is it? How far?”
“It’s… an… I don’t believe this.”
“Spit it out!”
“It’s a Class SS!!!”
“SS?”
“What’s the meaning of this?”
“This is the first time we’ve succeeded without a single death in how many invasions, and then this happens. It can’t be a coincidence.”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a coincidence or not, we need to deal with this now.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s - it’s right on top of them!”
The three bio-mechs were half-frozen as the cephalopodic creature stood between them all.
“Wha-”
A tentacle lunged for the one remaining leg of Omega and swung it into Epsilon, sending it tumbling in the air, bouncing off the ground, and crash landing into a mountain. With Omega still in its hand, it raised it high and smacked it down. Omega no longer moved, blood pooling beneath it’s skull.
“Status on Omega?”
“22% and dropping…”
“What about Zeta?”
Zeta had taken advantage of the kaiju’s focus on the other and leapt up in the air, back flipped numerous times, then when it was vertically perpendicular to the ground, it drilled downwards at full speed.
“We’re going to hit it!”
“STAR KAIJU KILLER!”
The kaiju gazed upwards, and then it was gone. Zeta drilled deep into the ground, almost unendingly.
“Wait, Zeta! Reverse course. You’re burrowing into a volcano!”
Zeta managed to catch a handhold before they could fall into the magma-like depths below.
“You need to get out of there now. Omega and Epsilon are in trouble.”
“Yeah, yeah, just give us a second.”
As Zeta began climbing up, a tentacle reached down and wrapped itself around its waist and pulled the bio-mech up. It held the limp Omega, and Epsilon in other tentacles.
“Zeta, we only have one way out of this. We’ll give you an opening, just follow our lead, you understand.”
“Ours?”
Omega woke up suddenly, pulling out an energy sword and driving it into the tentacle, right as Epsilon did the same. They held firmly onto the tentacle themselves and ran towards the next set of tentacles, holding them tightly even as they increasingly squirmed for freedom. Zeta was released in the process.
For the second time, it leaped up in the air, and back flipped.
“STAR… KAIJU-”
“Makima, if we do this, we’ll take out both Epsilon and Omega….”
“You don’t think they know that?”
“Don’t hesitate,” Himeno shouted.
“The fate of the world matters more than anything,” Wiccan said.
“KILLLLLLEER!”
The bio-mech thunderclapped as it reversed course downwards. The kaiju was held firmly over the hole from earlier by Omega and Epsilon, but the timing had needed to be perfect to hold the kaiju just long enough for Zeta to spear through it, catching it in the center of his face as he gazed upwards to look into its killer’s eyes. The impact was such that the kaiju blasted away into the volcanic depths, and so would have Omega and Epsilon, had Zeta not held both with one hand each.
“THE KAIJU HAS FALLEN INTO THE LAVA! Life signals fading. 44%. 23%. 7%. CLASS SS KAIJU IS DEAD!”
“And survivors?”
It struggled to pull them both up, straining, and its decaying limbs seeming to tear apart further with the effort but ultimately they both fell onto the surface, breathing heavily.
“No casualties, Dr. Attica!”
“You saved us?” Miya asked, disbelieving.
“To catch us both in the tiny window after you struck the kaiju. The 100% result wasn’t a lie after all,” Estella observed.
013.
That night, Makima found Zom Gippy sitting outside, gazing at the stars. Her eyes were puffy, and it was obvious she had been crying.
“You know we won, right?”
“Yes. It’s just, I’ve never had everything go my way before. Usually, there’s always something that goes wrong. But everything went right this time. I can’t believe it.”
“You still have so much to learn, young Gippy. Of course everything went perfectly, it’s just the way I intended it to be.”
“Even the-”
“Everything, young Gippy. Would you like to know something? For every problem out there with a solution being presented to us, it’s often the ones who’ve created the solution that created the problem to begin with. The plan to begin with was for us to infiltrate the Kaiju Repulsion Force so we could learn how exactly they’re provoking the kaijus to invade us. To do that, we needed to make sure a spot was cleared up. Then, we had to steer them in our direction. Of course, the synchronicity test was always going to be a challenge, given how incredible I am, there was no way anyone in the world could actually have a good score with me-”
“You mean, it wasn’t real? How did you - but - they even tested it.”
“A good magician never reveals her secrets. Of course, I knew that I could easily do perfect on the simulations afterwards but if we did that then Miya, Himeno, Estella, and Wiccan might feel resentful towards us because of how talented we were. It was wiser to get them to feel pity for us for our long term relationship, and to make sure they didn’t feel threatened. It was a bit of a gamble whether or not they’d need us to prematurely enter the mission, but ultimately they struggled without us so we had to join in. Unsurprisingly, we were completely in sync by that point since I was being serious.”
“And you still saved them after all that?”
“That’s a no brainer, Gippy. If they died, then we’d have to do all the work while they went around recruiting new partners for us. You know how tedious that would be. This is volunteer work for us. We’re professional wrestlers. We should let them prioritize saving the world, we have a three-way tag match to get ready for against two Joshis and witch sisters. And have we learned anything from this experience.”
“Teamwork makes the dreamwork?”
“No! Let them do all the work, then come in at the last second and steal the glory. That’s what we’ve learned! Our key to victory!” [HEADING=2] [/HEADING] Of course, it was not mere chance that the Lumberers had been just one of countless couplings to have died leading up to the Kaiju Repulsion Force’s decision to recruit externally. Mael, the alien conqueror who sent the Kaiju to invade, had made a wager with an acquaintance that he could kill at least one of the couplings per invasion if he truly wanted to. This wager had been made precisely after the death of the first regular couplings. Specifically, this wager had been made precisely after the death of the first regular couplings when the Council of the United Organizations had declined Ms. Attica’s request to recruit externally and bid her to hastily promote one of the developing couplings.
This was not a coincidence.
There were plenty of potential candidates within the world of professional wrestling who might be viewed as appropriate contenders for the role of substitutes. Chief among them was undoubtedly the Connection who stood head and toes above all others owing to the titles they currently held… all others except for the sole pairing that had pushed them to their limit, and forced them into a draw where no others had. This, on it’s own, would not have been the only reason to opt for dayspring/nightfall over the Connection, the other significant reason, was their ties to the Nephews. The United Organizations were well aware of the rogue company known as the Nephews, and had come into conflict with the ‘family’ countless times before, owing to conflicting interests, relying on them was simply not an option. As a result, d/n’s awfully timely success, could be said to have been the most significant factor in their being chosen above any other potential pairing within the wrestling business, even in spite of their recently established partnership.
But to ascribe this timeliness to coincidence, well, that might be wise, if one were ignoring the many other curious coincidences.
The result of the synchronicity test remains quite dubious. It was not, however, as she’d asserted, a magician’s trick, but instead, it could be said to have been a wizard’s trick. A repaid favor after a heinous action. One she need not know about.
The failure in the simulation had been purely an exposure of the fact that Gippy and Makima really had no synchronization. The truth was, Makima had very little synchronization with anyone, even her past tag team partners such as Liyah Monroe or her uncle Izaya Snowmantashi. She was too full of herself and unable to view herself as an equal in a partnership.
But, you may wonder, how does that explain the outstanding performance during the livetest. This is precisely what makes Makima dangerous. She thrives on the moment. And as she infamously was once quoted saying, “practice, I don’t need practice.” When it came time for the real moment, she did what had to be done, in her own particular way. And so, when she was sent to assist Epsilon and Omega alongside Zom Gippy, her need to be at 100% synchronicity with Zom Gippy for these life or death purposes was activated.
One thing that Makima had been truthful about was that she was here to investigate the inner workings of the Kaiju Repulsion Force. And as Dr. Attica watched the two exit the facility, she too, feared that these heaven-sent soldiers may not be as blessed as they wished. |
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:42:32 GMT
Originally posted by Death Walker. New Beginnings
“I think that's everything, the guys loaded up the truck for this last load. Can they hit the road or did you have anything else that you wanted to have them do?”
“Nah, we'll head out together. I'm ready to move on and have a fresh start, you know?”
The silhouettes of two men leaving a dark home as one of them closes the door. In pitch black, the men can still be heard getting into their vehicles as doors slam shut. The engines start up and even without squeaky brakes or auto parts gone bad, the vehicles can be heard pulling off. Remaining in darkness, the story continues with more conversation and music playing in the background.
[MEDIA=youtube]AZlXyuEn7r4[/MEDIA]
“You know I think it's good that we're heading out of town. I know how much you love it but let's try somewhere you feel… more comfortable.”
“Somewhere more comfortable? If it ain't LA then I don't wanna be comfortable.”
“Come on, man just… just try and make the best of it. It could be much worse.”
“Much worse? Like what?”
“Like being made to move in a place that you're obligated to live in. Or like, having to move back and live up on your mom- … Ay, man I’m sorry, D.”
“Sorry about what you obviously had something to say. Finish what the fuck you were gonna say. Live up on MY?! My what?!? Huh, my… my… my mom?”
“Ay dog, you know I ain't even mean to bring up about your dead mom.”
“Just shut the fuck up and listen to the music.”
The sounds from someone's fingers adjusting a cassette player or CD player on a car’s stereo is the noise being made.
[MEDIA=youtube]n4BrvHbxyuc[/MEDIA]
After the chorus kicks off and the voice of one of these men mimics the lyrics, he starts up another conversation with the other voice.
“Ay fool, remember Tamika back in the day?”
“What Tamika?”
“Tamika from Fairfax, she got that sister, Courtney.”
“Oh yeaaaah! What about her?”
“Man, we used to kick it tough back then.”
“What you mean by that?”
“Like I said we used to kick it tough especially when her moms was gone, she'd have me drop by and pick her up. Then we would go down to the Marina.”
“Get the fuck outta here!”
Both men laugh for a bit before continuing their discussion.
“I’m serious, fool. I had her all into me and shit, she was always hitting me up every Thursday after school.”
“Ah hell nah, I ain't believing that one. Her fine ass wasn't checkin’ for your ugly Tyrone Biggums ass.”
“Man, fuck you!”
The guys carry on joking and laughing as they ride down the streets and highways leading to the freeway.
“Shit and her sister, Courtney was scoping me too.”
“You a lyin’ ass muthafucka, you know that?”
“Nah but for real… remember… what's her name?”
“Huh? Who?”
“Uhh uh, Monica… the girl that we met when you first moved over here.”
“Oh… she um… we just… never really talked that much. And when we did, we just… just…”
“Just what, dog? Y'all didn't go out? Hook up? Kicked it?”
“It wasn't like that with her… She… She was special, we would talk all night long on the phone. We listened to our radios, talked about our favorite snacks and fast food spots, our favorite TV shows, our dream homes.”
“Ah shit, Darius Wright was IN LOVE!!!! Awww so sweet, when were y’all getting married?”
“Ay man, cut it out. We were just really good friends. She knew how to figure me out. That girl… it was like she was another part of me, we could just sense each other's moods and how we would think.”
“Had a muthafucka’s nose wide open, I see.”
[MEDIA=youtube]uo0wCdGmBE0[/MEDIA]
“Somethin’ like that. I really cared deeply about her.”
“So… what happened to her?”
“I'm not sure, one day I tried to call her and her phone went straight to voicemail.”
“Well maybe she was busy, did you text her or call her back?”
“A few times and I even went over to her place but no one was there. Even her car was gone, it's like she just vanished.”
“That's crazy. Did you keep checking or just gave up?”
“Both. Just seemed strange, she wouldn't leave without saying something. No goodbye. No note. No call or text.”
“It might've been for the best, you can easily find someone else.”
“But not like her, she was different, JP. Anyways, I'm more concerned with this move.”
“Yeah so you were saying that your… mentor died?”
“Yeah, this trainer of mine up and passed away. And I had to get away, far away from Los Angeles. Away from California, you know?”
“Uh huh, I get it. But far across the country, somewhere you’ve never been before?”
“Who said I haven't been to the south?”
“Okay, you got a point, bruh. Just wake me up at the first pit stop and I'll take over driving the rest of the way.”
“Oh you thought you had a choice. Your ass was gonna drive as soon as I got tired enough. So get your nap in now and expect to switch with me after a couple of states.”
“Alright, big homie.”
**********************************************************
THE PRESENT
The Dark Guardian: “My Lord, we’ve got everything loaded up and ready to go. Shall we proceed as planned?”
At a quiet and dark hour, The Death Walker nods then turns around from facing his former home at the end of this cul-de-sac. He looks at the moving trucks as well as his own truck then he walks over to his followers who await their next orders. Patting one or two of them on their shoulder before getting into his black F-150 truck.
TDG: “ALRIGHT, LET’S HEAD OUT!”
The Dark Guardian joins Death Walker inside his truck as he starts it up and they lead the charge amongst the roads. The trucks pull off one by one, following right behind The Dark Traveler’s truck.
TDG: “You know for what it's worth, My Lord… I think this is an excellent idea, I mean we have these other spacious bases in undisclosed locations. Not to mention some bunkers that can contain our whole flock. The Terrors of Darkness are becoming the new biggest threat, one mission at a time.”
Death drives carefully and silently at the appropriate speeds as he guides his convoy to their new “promise land”. In his favorite dark travels, he’s calm as he could ever be.
TDG: “The company has assigned you a match, one on one with a brand new opponent. This… Cyrus Truth, the winner of the Carnal Contendership and the next FWA World Championship challenger at Back in Business.”
Death simply listens to his devious advisor as he focuses on the road, hardly blinking at all.
TDG: “Sounds interesting enough? I mean you may have come up short at The Carnal Contendership but you get a shot at the guy who wants to be the new world champion. Damn nearly evenly matched in size, age and fighting styles… a crowd favorite but a bit of a smug son of a gun. So not your typical babyface, I think you remember your days of catering to the masses… and now look at you, you’d rather corrupt the world instead these days. Engulf this already terrible humanity in darkness and tyranny. With all of us creating disturbances, we can finally mold this world into a TRUE… REALITY OF TRAGEDY! And a man living by “truth” won't be able to slow down the sludge upon the lost souls. Because that's where our work comes into play as we set up stronger foundations. I know you can sense the potential dark souls surrounding us, my Soul Collector.”
Death Walker does one of his infamous growls as he enjoys when The Dark Guardian gets riled up with dark thoughts.
TDG: “And as far as building new homes goes, it's almost time for us to make one in FWA. No rush, just reminding you of the objectives we have lined up for picture perfect darkness. So this fixation with ruining Randall and XYZ… are you sure it's worth addressing at Meltdown XXX?
Walker then sarcastically looks over at his mentor with a tilted expression as if to say, “are you kidding me?”. But goes back to watching the dark (almost lightless) roads in front of them.
TDG: “Okay, okay, I’m just saying that you're still taking a risky chance that I don't see working out in our favor. Neither Jason Randall or XYZ can be trusted as much as you can't. They’ll probably end up teaming up against you and we cannot have that happen at any cost. You have your spot for The Golden Opportunity coming up soon enough and nothing on the docket for Back in Business yet.”
It gets silent for a brief moment then The Dark Guardian goes back to talking as usual.
TDG: “But one thing is for certain, right now with The California Criminal Council overseeing the neighborhoods of Los Angeles and under the assumption that they are controlling us… we’ve got some time to wreak havoc these next few weeks. We’ll sit back and watch what becomes of this match of your newly sworn enemies and later that night… we will find out if the truth is dark enough to overcome our reality.”
Death Walker cranks up the song that mysteriously plays on his loud sound system and goes lead foot on the accelerator. And they go speeding down the open lanes on the seemingly empty freeway… as their other trucks keep up behind them in a V formation like birds that migrate.
[MEDIA=youtube]XhodOzhJLMg[/MEDIA]
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Post by supinesnake on May 29, 2024 8:43:01 GMT
Originally posted by Gip.
Reagan has been surrounded by criticism his entire life. His father had never really been... well, paternal? I guess that’s the word. The instinct was never something he had possessed (a trait that was severely lacking in all members of his side of the dear family). Light that may have once burned with life in his eyes had dulled under the toil and labour of the Thatcher reign; a smile which once may have curved with the subtle grace of human kindness had grown harsh and cynical upon exposure to the nefariousness nature of people in power. Expressions- no matter how sweet or beautiful they may once have been- were as cold as the heart within and trust me it only got worse when his brother died. Reagan doesn’t remember being shown any love or real affection by his father despite him being the guy’s only child. Only shouts of criticism. Stuff a child should never hear, actions a child should never see or be apart of but he has no choice. He just has the screaming voice telling him to be better.
Then when he couldn’t get better, he ran. Still remembers the pain in his feet as they pounded against the sidewalk as he ran, the brutal winds tearing at their jacket. His lungs burning with exertion, all that just to get to…nowhere really. But the criticism stayed with Reagan, whether it was his own head chastising him about how this was a terrible idea and that he was gonna die out here. Or just the bellends walking past, yelling cusses out at him, letting their own issues out in their anger. Don’t know if the worse were the suits with their disgust, knowing that they were in a better position that Reagan ever would be or the fellow kids that looked so hopeful and eager to help only to get their eyes covered and turned away like Reagan Cole was roadkill with his guts hanging out in front of him.
The Gibson Gym was obviously more accepting, Criticism became less with hatred and disdain, more with encouragement and pity….see that’s the thing about being one of the young ones in a gym. Yeah Reagan loved it, of course he did. But it takes a while to catch up, let’s just say. People almost take it easy on you because of that pity, Roy never liked that. Gave them an earful everytime. So what you’re left is with having to adapt so quickly, push your body so hard so fast that it really fucking hurts when you took your next loss. But it’s okay. Because you get back up and you learn. Every match you learn from the opponent and you learn a strategy and that fails so you try another one. People try to give ya tricks but they only go so far because those tricks only suit those people and not you. But eventually you find that rhythm and you fight the right guys and eventually you do start winning and you start winning a lot and the doubt and the criticism starts to go down and it’s replaced with something you’ve never expected, praise and celebration. People start bringing their all against you and still ain’t enough. You’re happy. So happy in fact that you try out a new hobby to really showcase your ability. Wrestling.
The scenery finally lights up as we finally see our protagonist, well the back of him. He’s surrounded by nothing but different shades of white and grey. Cabinets and even more cabinets stand proudly attached to the wall as multiple household tools hang down below. Reagan just sits in a chair watching. The chair reminds Reagan of the stereotypical director's chair but he assumes the ones used on movie sets are more comfortable than this but what chair did he expect in a garage of all places? Hell the garage owned by Jeffry Mason of all people? Doesn’t matter. What matters is what Reagan is watching on the old grey plasma television that has just a layer of dust resting lightly on top.
Straight away you can point out the obvious. It’s a wrestling match, a tag match to make it more obvious. A extremely young wrestler is shown being legitimately thrown about against his will, the guy gets up and tries to amount some offense but he is struggling before getting a lucky dropkick! The crowd comes alive as the man opposite the wrestler crumbles momentarily as the wrestler desperately tries to tag his partner but…
Reagan: “And here comes Bryant.”
He stops himself when he sees his tag partner being dragged off the apron! Bryant as Reagan calls it, drags the person off before connecting with a massive superkick to the head!
Reagan: “Yup. Realization…Eduardo.”
And again as predicted the wrestler looks on with a look of clear shock fills the face of the young wrestler and it’s only with the zoom in we finally notice the face we’ve been following is the face of an extremely young Reagan Cole as he suddenly gets lifted off his feet by the named Eduardo! Bryant jumps up onto the apron where Reagan’s teammate once was and just like magic jumping off the top rope to connect Reagan with a clothesline as Eduardo slams Reagan down for a clothesline/spinebuster combo! At the almost exact time the watching experience is interrupted by the noise of metal clashing together like thunder! Reagan’s head whips around to see….TYLER.
TYLER: “Fuck! God fucking dammit it got my toe!”
The expressive outburst is enough to throw Reagan off guard before TYLER meets Reagan’s eyeline.
TYLER: “What?”
Reagan: “Nothing.”
TYLER rolls his eyes as he finally manages to grab two spanners and is on his way out when he gets distracted by the television. At this point the 3 count has been counted and the opponents Bryant & Eduardo are on the outside celebrating their win. It cuts back to young Reagan in obvious pain, holding his lower back as Reagan’s tag partner for the match comes to check if Reagan is okay.
TYLER: “Who the fucks that?”
Reagan takes notice of TYLER’s interest and looks at him for a second as TYLER’s face does have a sense of recognition to the situation but it’s almost too lost in a fog like state to really connect properly so Reagan continues.
Reagan: “Edward Coleman.”
There’s a slight flinch to Reagan as Reagan says that name with almost slight venom to it. He watches intently despite there now being a sudden hit of nausea in his system as he sees Reagan brush Edward off and roll out the ring.
Reagan: “Don’t do it. Please….don’t do it.”
TYLER: “What are you about to do?”
The camera switches focus to just Edward Coleman in the ring, gesturing and thanking the fans for coming.
[HEADING=3] And that’s when the first hit happens. [/HEADING]
TYLER: “HOLY SHIT!”
[HEADING=3] [/HEADING] [HEADING=2] [/HEADING]
All happen swiftly after each other, fourth, fifth and sixth follow pursuit.
TYLER: “Dude! You just keep going.”
Reagan feels like he is ten feet underwater and TYLER was trying to speak to him from the surface. He can’t feel his limbs, the nausea getting worse, as was the spinning. But his eyes keep focused on the image, forcing Reagan to keep going as the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and finally twelfth hits all to the spine. And all that is left standing in the middle of the ring is a young Reagan Cole being swarmed by doctors, officials, producers, authority figures all trying to get attention to Edward Coleman as Reagan Cole just raises his now blood soaked steel baseball bat to the sky.
TYLER: “Well shit.”
The video ends with that scenery as Reagan just stares blankly forward feeling the ramifications of what he’s just witnessed.
TYLER: “So that’s the real you, huh?”
Reagan: “No. no it isn’t. That’s a kid who didn’t know what to do.”
TYLER: “Yet he found out didn’t he? God damn, now I get why Jeffry wanted you in here.”
Reagan: “Stop.”
TYLER: “Or what? you’re gonna hit me with the bat as well?”
Reagan glares directly at TYLER with eyes of fiery brimstone but TYLER has nothing but a smirk. He knows Reagan isn’t gonna hurt him. And he’s right, Reagan just buries himself in his hands out of frustration.
TYLER: “So…why did you do it?”
Reagan: “…..Frustration mostly. Anger.”
TYLER: “Uh huh. Explain.”
There’s a small sigh that comes from Reagan as he desperately comes up with a way to get out of this but he can’t. Plus it’s not like he hasn’t told British Kid once before only…this isn’t British Kid right now.
Reagan: “Frustration over a certain losing streak I was having at the time.”
TYLER: “…That was real young though.”
Reagan: “Yup my first year in.”
TYLER: “huh….wait fucking hell. Ugh. I’m guessing there’s similarities between that one and you’re on currently?”
Reagan: “Hmmm.”
TYLER: “So that’s why you’re watching it? To remind yourself to not go to that place?”
Reagan reluctantly and slowly nods.
TYLER: “That’s fucking dumb and I don’t think I believe it to be honest with ya.”
Reagan glares over one more time but before he can say anything, TYLER stops him.
TYLER: “Hear me out. I don’t think someone willingly punishes themselves just because of a losing streak, shit happens, it’s wrestling. But what does that losing streak bring? Well back then probably would be something stupid like you don’t let the people who believed in you down? But here’s the thing, we actually don’t give a fuck because you’ve already let everyone in your life down so many times including me that we’re used to it so tell me buddy. What are you frustrated about now?”
Reagan stays silent.
TYLER: “Oh now we staying silent? After all this time of you trying to get my attention, now you be silent, of cour-“
Reagan can’t take it anymore, he jumps out of the seat and punches TYLER straight into the jaw!
Reagan: “I’m frustrated with everyone okay?! Is this what you want!? I’m annoyed with you because you got us into this fucking mess! If you just stayed back like I asked, you wouldn’t be here acting like Jeffrys fucking puppet who can’t even climb a fucking ladder properly, I’m annoyed that FWA has decided that instead of doing anything, they’ve just decided to put me in matches week in week out weirdly designed just to remind me of the people I fucking failed! But hey wouldn’t be the first time they stopped caring, Gabrielle’s getting a Hall of Fame induction and what the fuck did they do for her when she was at her lowest huh? Still nothing. Every fucking week, WHY AM I IN A DEATHMATCH WITH TRIXIE? You wanna tell me that? I haven’t fully recovered from the deathmatch tournament and here we go again! Didn’t kill me with the explosion but might as well try again! Oh God….And despite all that, fucking assholes still come at me with bullshit all over the Internet because I’m not their favourites. Nah fuck this, I’m tired. I’m tired of having to feel sorry for myself. Im tired of being used just because I have been holding myself accountable for years. If FWA wants to cash in my guilt…may-maybe you have a point. Maybe it’s about time I stop apologizing for what’s in the past and I start apologizing for what’s gonna happen in the future.”
TYLER holds his cheeks in pain but there’s also a shit eating grin there.
TYLER: “Now that’s more like it.”
Night falls behind them like a safety curtain in a theatre: thick, heavy and sometimes just the start of something very sinister.
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