The Rusty Axe [PE #2]
Dec 25, 2020 6:15:14 GMT -5
Mongo the Destroyer, Dave D-Flipz, and 3 more like this
Post by radu on Dec 25, 2020 6:15:14 GMT -5
#THWAAACK#
(Air parts, the sharp noise of violent penetration immediately gives way to a dull thump.)
#THWACK#
(The second strike is slower, more deliberate, but as the object cutting through the air reaches its destination, an uglier thud precedes the thump.)
#THWACK#
(Striking the dead centre of a spruce scrap, an axe chops the wood in half.)
#THWACK#
(Broken fingers grip another sixteen-inch log, there is a forcefulness in the grasp that suggests these rough hands could tear the wood apart without the aid of tools. The mass of scar tissue that passes for skin indicates that the cutter wouldn’t even feel the splinters ripping into him. Seconds after the log has been placed upright, the noise comes again.)
#THWACK#
(...And again...)
#THWACK#
(Keeping a steady pace.)
#THWACK#
(It’s almost relaxing.)
#THWACK#
(Only there is something unpleasant in the brutality with which the spruce is hacked up. An aura of menace. The camera pans up the figure, coming to a rest on his arms. If the patchwork of flesh on his hands told an ugly story, the tapestry of pain draped across the rest of his frame is the thing of nightmares. The motion of swinging the axe uses muscles that no longer exist. Some have atrophied over the years, while others have been cut off. Deep scars are all that remain in areas of a human anatomy that now resembles a Picasso sketch. , With every follow through on the logs, muscles pulsate, skin is pulled tight, and it looks like old wounds will burst open; leaving our woodsman to bleed out in the snow. This is how he rehabs injuries. The only way he knows to heal is to embrace the pain. This is how he gets his killer edge.)
#THWACK#
(As pitiable a figure as Deathless makes, it is important to remember that in every one of those wars, he was the victor.)
#THWACK#
(This is what winning looks like.)
#THWACK#
(Radu Matei is cutting firewood.)
#THWACK#
(A small shed stands in the middle of a field. The stump of an elm tree provides the chopping block for the pieces Deathless has collected.)
#THWACK#
(Normally The Sacrificial Idol wrestles in full suits, so the amount of survivor spoils on display without his shirt on, is frankly terrifying.)
Radu Matei: Fireside.
#THWACK#
(Shifting body parts that would rather be left for dead sees blood appears around The Beast’s left ribs. Ignoring the trickle, Matei picks up another piece of spruce, setting it up for the Deathblow.)
Radu Matei: When I first won the XHF tag team annihilator, it felt like vindication. All the talk that Deathless was just a just a big fish in a small pond? Well, I finally found a partner that could pull his weight, and we shut the critics up – at that point, I could have happily called it a career. Probably should have.
#THWACK#
Radu Matei: The only problem is, I’m a company man.
(Kneeling down, The Sacrificial Idol picks a large grub out of the firewood. It seems annoyed that its home has been disturbed, but otherwise unharmed. Carefully prying it from the wood, The Beast places the large bug in his pocket.)
Radu Matei: Rather than just give us a trophy and let the accomplishment stand on its own, the Annihilator led to a title shot. This both diminished our victory over the great team of Death Trap and Mistress, itself a much greater accomplishment than the actual title win – and placed us in an uncomfortable situation.
I am a company man. Syndicate Wrestling And Tradition has been my main stomping ground for the vast majority of my career. Beyond that, even if many of its viewers are unfamiliar with my work, I consider the XHF Network to be my home. I could not allow Dodo-a-Gogo to continue spewing the verbal diarrhea they pass off as promos, taking toxic jabs at my home and disrespecting my peers. That would not stand. We couldn’t let them skate by with a non-finish, The Purple Emperors needed to RESCUE the tag titles from some genuinely undesirable scum.
#TWWWWWWWWWACKKKKKKKKKKK#
(Thinking about Dodo-a-Gogo, Deathless’ strike doesn’t just split the wood, but pulps it.)
Radu Matei: So we have the straps now, and a few problems come with that. I was expecting a dizzying tour of defenses. Dylan Black makes it look fun. But the political maelstrom that my partnership with Caffrey has created limits the locations we can actually defend in, and without global events? It’s been a LONG two months. Constant action and abuse distracts me from a multitude of career ending injuries. The wait? I feel it. At the same time, it’s not long enough to properly rehab the damage that the Annihilator inflicted. Catch-22.
(Deathless continues to set up logs.)
Radu Matei: That might sound like a defeated attitude going into our first defense... but I don’t lose.
#THWACK#
Radu Matei: Fireside! The Purple Emperor’s first defense! And what a defense! If I had to name the two teams I was disappointed not to draw in the Annihilator, these would be them! It feels like unfinished business.
Sky Force! I can’t tell you how much I was looking forwards to taking on the best that J-ROK had to offer. Instead I got Primal and Flippin’ Kira. So this is a treat. Now, when everyone ignores you and just talks about the other opponents because they feel you’re a non-factor only included to save an epic two on two encounter between The Emperors and The ReVenants, I want you to know that I don’t feel that way. I know that J-ROK only underperforms at literally every global event because the workers are so jetlagged flying over from Japan. You’d have to be a cyborg to keep up with that schedule, and even then only if he was extremely underutilized by his home company. So Sky Force, I know you two have what it takes to win – you aren’t the 48th XHF tag champions for nothing. ...Oh wait, that was your manager. My mistake.
Well at least one of you was involved in dropping the straps, and that is where I have issue with you.
#THWACK#
Radu Matei: ...Rin. Shizuku. Nausicaa.
You are amongst the most entertaining performers in the XHF, and I could easily see any of you taking me down. The only problem is, you lost the belts to Dodo-a-Gogo, the wrestling equivalent of testicular cancer. You are so much better than them. How did you let that happen? How COULD you let that happen?
So while I like you as people, and enjoy you as performers, I don’t trust any version of Sky Force to do right by the belts. Who knows what trash you would hand it too? As a result, no matter how many bodies are climbing ladders, I will be that ceiling that protects the gold from your wildly inconsistent whims.
(Noticing how many wood chips have accumulated around his makeshift gym, Deathless uses his foot to drag them into a dirt patch. Perhaps Matei can attract some termites or carpenter ants to throw on the losers.)
Radu Matei: Neo James Carver. In a group of alpha males, I think we all saw you as the leader of that outfit. It’s clear Keith Williams did. He was so concerned about living in your shadow that he decided to loyally leave you the top prizes in the AWF, and set out to find his fortune elsewhere. In the two months since Williams’ pseudo sabbatical started, that has paid off handsomely for him. As federation after federation throws gold at him in an effort to entice some of that ReVenant glory away from the AWF, his stock has risen drastically. You at least had that top dog spot in the AWF version of the ReVenants. ...What a difference a week makes.
You lose the US strap just as he picks up the Prestige. Will this lead to trouble in bromance paradise? In which case, OUR tag titles would simply act as a PR stunt in your payday. “Watch as the XHF tag champions explode!” No thanks. OUR titles are better than that. Hell, you two are better than that. Of course, the paradigm shift is so fresh that you might not be in touch with your resentment yet.
In fact Neo, you might think that winning the XHF tag titles is an important step towards your career rehabilitation. I can see it now - you might have lost your singles strap to one time X*Crown champion, Subject 42; but you bounced back scoring tag gold over a two time X*Crown champion in Caffrey! Nah. Bodies flung from rooftops rarely bounce; and its far more likely that Sky Force brings the team member that can land on its feet.
No Neo. With Dillinger gone, you will be the AWF’s top dick. Winning the tag belts with the Prestige champion just turns you into a sidekick. Below Noon in the ReVenant pecking order. You’ll be hilarious managing Garcia, but its hard not to see it as a demotion. You’re no flunky. So for the sake of your career, Neo, I can’t let you become a tag specialist. See I can be the tag champ because I’m a winner, it’s not a consolation prize for me, but you’d just bring the stench of failure to the straps. Retaining these belts no matter the cost to my health, committing to another defence, dropping you on your neck SO HARD that your mother will think you have Peyronie’s disease – that is the SACRIFICE that I’m willing to make for your career.
You’re welcome, Neo.
If you’re looking to pick me up a gift in thanks, I like insects.
(Picking up pieces of wood, Deathless starts to place them next to a shed.)
Radu Matei: Mixing it up with AWF and J-ROK talents of our opponents calibre makes me regret not moving away from my self-imposed isolation sooner. These lamentations become all the more apparent when I look at just how much Keith Williams has accomplished in his short time outside of his bubble. Of course, if he adds the X*Crown and the XHF tag titles to his AWF Prestige championship, perpetually renamed SWAT secondary championship, and FWA Anarchy title... he may render the last two months some sort of dream sequence. Was it all just a dream? Personally, I have too many fond recent memories to risk waking up the dreamer, so I’m going to have to throw a monkey wrench into Keith's quintet championship winning New Year.
Titles are like federations; there is something to be said for focusing on one.
Can you be the best XHF Global Tag Champion you can be while focusing on the Prestige strap, Keith? Dylan Black is having what many consider the best run in the history of the X*Crown... but does his working nights trading the FWA Anarchy title with you, Keith, diminish that legacy? Not that there is any shame in losing to a wrestler of your skill, Keith, clearly every federation on the Network is lining up for the honour. I still have to wonder if the part of Dylan’s current run, where he’s been pinned 50 times in the FWA, will end up making it into the official record, or wind up in some alternate universe. ...Not that I’m one to talk. There is a freedom that comes with being beaten and the loss not effecting you... a freedom I have never known.
Point is you’re reaching a point where federations are going to start demanding loyalty from you as champion, Keith. You have some tough decisions moving forwards, and all I can do to make your life a little bit easier is keeping MY belt off your waist.
(The logs start to form a neat stack.)
Radu Matei: SWAT and Fireside. To suggest that they are fond of each other would be a lie. It’s safe to say I am getting a lot of flack from Syndicate management for my guest appearance here. ...And that is just with me making appearances in TWO federations with one Global championship. Not even in your ballpark. The contract negotiations you’ll be dealing with in 2021, I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, Keith.
In the volatile world of federation exclusivity and promoters signing off on freelancing, it's hard to say how many opportunities the two of us will have to be able to trade blows. We have already tested the waters at the Helloween Cup. You have made your presence known in SWAT; hurt a number of my friends. Yet it is unlikely that our paths will cross there, Keith, potentially making this title match in Fireside our only meeting. I am looking to test myself against the XHF’s best and brightest. Keith, you have made yourself that measuring stick. That you have also made yourself a menace in Syndicate just adds fuel to the fire.
Now we see if the flame takes... or burns out.
(Placing the last of the logs down, Deathless has formed a nice pyramid out of the wood. Kneeling next to it, The Beast rests one of his paws on the load.)
Radu Matei: Since forming our team at All That Glitters, Anthony Caffrey and myself have proved to be the most dominant tag team in XHF’s recent memory. For all the uncertainties in life, I don’t know if the year 2021 will be any better than 2020... but one thing you can count on is our commitment to excellence.
Sky Force. ReVenants.
I’m looking forwards to the Emperors climbing on top of your broken bodies as we reach up to reclaim our gold. More than that, I look forwards to ringing in a New Year with you. Perhaps when the clock strikes midnight you can all set your sights on more realistic singles goals, because when it comes to the tag division...
You’re just feeding the flames.
(Striking a match on his cheek, The Sacrificial Idol lights a cigarette. Before the fire dims, Deathless drops the match on the wooden pile. It takes a few moments, but between the dry bark, and triangular stack – smoke starts to rise. Grimacing as he puts his shirt on, Radu Matei limps away from his gym.)
Radu Matei (nod): Fireside.
(For all the polite discussion points about respect, and calming effect of the woodcutting... a fire is raging.)
#CRACKLE#
(Air parts, the sharp noise of violent penetration immediately gives way to a dull thump.)
#THWACK#
(The second strike is slower, more deliberate, but as the object cutting through the air reaches its destination, an uglier thud precedes the thump.)
#THWACK#
(Striking the dead centre of a spruce scrap, an axe chops the wood in half.)
#THWACK#
(Broken fingers grip another sixteen-inch log, there is a forcefulness in the grasp that suggests these rough hands could tear the wood apart without the aid of tools. The mass of scar tissue that passes for skin indicates that the cutter wouldn’t even feel the splinters ripping into him. Seconds after the log has been placed upright, the noise comes again.)
#THWACK#
(...And again...)
#THWACK#
(Keeping a steady pace.)
#THWACK#
(It’s almost relaxing.)
#THWACK#
(Only there is something unpleasant in the brutality with which the spruce is hacked up. An aura of menace. The camera pans up the figure, coming to a rest on his arms. If the patchwork of flesh on his hands told an ugly story, the tapestry of pain draped across the rest of his frame is the thing of nightmares. The motion of swinging the axe uses muscles that no longer exist. Some have atrophied over the years, while others have been cut off. Deep scars are all that remain in areas of a human anatomy that now resembles a Picasso sketch. , With every follow through on the logs, muscles pulsate, skin is pulled tight, and it looks like old wounds will burst open; leaving our woodsman to bleed out in the snow. This is how he rehabs injuries. The only way he knows to heal is to embrace the pain. This is how he gets his killer edge.)
#THWACK#
(As pitiable a figure as Deathless makes, it is important to remember that in every one of those wars, he was the victor.)
#THWACK#
(This is what winning looks like.)
#THWACK#
(Radu Matei is cutting firewood.)
#THWACK#
(A small shed stands in the middle of a field. The stump of an elm tree provides the chopping block for the pieces Deathless has collected.)
#THWACK#
(Normally The Sacrificial Idol wrestles in full suits, so the amount of survivor spoils on display without his shirt on, is frankly terrifying.)
Radu Matei: Fireside.
#THWACK#
(Shifting body parts that would rather be left for dead sees blood appears around The Beast’s left ribs. Ignoring the trickle, Matei picks up another piece of spruce, setting it up for the Deathblow.)
Radu Matei: When I first won the XHF tag team annihilator, it felt like vindication. All the talk that Deathless was just a just a big fish in a small pond? Well, I finally found a partner that could pull his weight, and we shut the critics up – at that point, I could have happily called it a career. Probably should have.
#THWACK#
Radu Matei: The only problem is, I’m a company man.
(Kneeling down, The Sacrificial Idol picks a large grub out of the firewood. It seems annoyed that its home has been disturbed, but otherwise unharmed. Carefully prying it from the wood, The Beast places the large bug in his pocket.)
Radu Matei: Rather than just give us a trophy and let the accomplishment stand on its own, the Annihilator led to a title shot. This both diminished our victory over the great team of Death Trap and Mistress, itself a much greater accomplishment than the actual title win – and placed us in an uncomfortable situation.
I am a company man. Syndicate Wrestling And Tradition has been my main stomping ground for the vast majority of my career. Beyond that, even if many of its viewers are unfamiliar with my work, I consider the XHF Network to be my home. I could not allow Dodo-a-Gogo to continue spewing the verbal diarrhea they pass off as promos, taking toxic jabs at my home and disrespecting my peers. That would not stand. We couldn’t let them skate by with a non-finish, The Purple Emperors needed to RESCUE the tag titles from some genuinely undesirable scum.
#TWWWWWWWWWACKKKKKKKKKKK#
(Thinking about Dodo-a-Gogo, Deathless’ strike doesn’t just split the wood, but pulps it.)
Radu Matei: So we have the straps now, and a few problems come with that. I was expecting a dizzying tour of defenses. Dylan Black makes it look fun. But the political maelstrom that my partnership with Caffrey has created limits the locations we can actually defend in, and without global events? It’s been a LONG two months. Constant action and abuse distracts me from a multitude of career ending injuries. The wait? I feel it. At the same time, it’s not long enough to properly rehab the damage that the Annihilator inflicted. Catch-22.
(Deathless continues to set up logs.)
Radu Matei: That might sound like a defeated attitude going into our first defense... but I don’t lose.
#THWACK#
Radu Matei: Fireside! The Purple Emperor’s first defense! And what a defense! If I had to name the two teams I was disappointed not to draw in the Annihilator, these would be them! It feels like unfinished business.
Sky Force! I can’t tell you how much I was looking forwards to taking on the best that J-ROK had to offer. Instead I got Primal and Flippin’ Kira. So this is a treat. Now, when everyone ignores you and just talks about the other opponents because they feel you’re a non-factor only included to save an epic two on two encounter between The Emperors and The ReVenants, I want you to know that I don’t feel that way. I know that J-ROK only underperforms at literally every global event because the workers are so jetlagged flying over from Japan. You’d have to be a cyborg to keep up with that schedule, and even then only if he was extremely underutilized by his home company. So Sky Force, I know you two have what it takes to win – you aren’t the 48th XHF tag champions for nothing. ...Oh wait, that was your manager. My mistake.
Well at least one of you was involved in dropping the straps, and that is where I have issue with you.
#THWACK#
Radu Matei: ...Rin. Shizuku. Nausicaa.
You are amongst the most entertaining performers in the XHF, and I could easily see any of you taking me down. The only problem is, you lost the belts to Dodo-a-Gogo, the wrestling equivalent of testicular cancer. You are so much better than them. How did you let that happen? How COULD you let that happen?
So while I like you as people, and enjoy you as performers, I don’t trust any version of Sky Force to do right by the belts. Who knows what trash you would hand it too? As a result, no matter how many bodies are climbing ladders, I will be that ceiling that protects the gold from your wildly inconsistent whims.
(Noticing how many wood chips have accumulated around his makeshift gym, Deathless uses his foot to drag them into a dirt patch. Perhaps Matei can attract some termites or carpenter ants to throw on the losers.)
Radu Matei: Neo James Carver. In a group of alpha males, I think we all saw you as the leader of that outfit. It’s clear Keith Williams did. He was so concerned about living in your shadow that he decided to loyally leave you the top prizes in the AWF, and set out to find his fortune elsewhere. In the two months since Williams’ pseudo sabbatical started, that has paid off handsomely for him. As federation after federation throws gold at him in an effort to entice some of that ReVenant glory away from the AWF, his stock has risen drastically. You at least had that top dog spot in the AWF version of the ReVenants. ...What a difference a week makes.
You lose the US strap just as he picks up the Prestige. Will this lead to trouble in bromance paradise? In which case, OUR tag titles would simply act as a PR stunt in your payday. “Watch as the XHF tag champions explode!” No thanks. OUR titles are better than that. Hell, you two are better than that. Of course, the paradigm shift is so fresh that you might not be in touch with your resentment yet.
In fact Neo, you might think that winning the XHF tag titles is an important step towards your career rehabilitation. I can see it now - you might have lost your singles strap to one time X*Crown champion, Subject 42; but you bounced back scoring tag gold over a two time X*Crown champion in Caffrey! Nah. Bodies flung from rooftops rarely bounce; and its far more likely that Sky Force brings the team member that can land on its feet.
No Neo. With Dillinger gone, you will be the AWF’s top dick. Winning the tag belts with the Prestige champion just turns you into a sidekick. Below Noon in the ReVenant pecking order. You’ll be hilarious managing Garcia, but its hard not to see it as a demotion. You’re no flunky. So for the sake of your career, Neo, I can’t let you become a tag specialist. See I can be the tag champ because I’m a winner, it’s not a consolation prize for me, but you’d just bring the stench of failure to the straps. Retaining these belts no matter the cost to my health, committing to another defence, dropping you on your neck SO HARD that your mother will think you have Peyronie’s disease – that is the SACRIFICE that I’m willing to make for your career.
You’re welcome, Neo.
If you’re looking to pick me up a gift in thanks, I like insects.
(Picking up pieces of wood, Deathless starts to place them next to a shed.)
Radu Matei: Mixing it up with AWF and J-ROK talents of our opponents calibre makes me regret not moving away from my self-imposed isolation sooner. These lamentations become all the more apparent when I look at just how much Keith Williams has accomplished in his short time outside of his bubble. Of course, if he adds the X*Crown and the XHF tag titles to his AWF Prestige championship, perpetually renamed SWAT secondary championship, and FWA Anarchy title... he may render the last two months some sort of dream sequence. Was it all just a dream? Personally, I have too many fond recent memories to risk waking up the dreamer, so I’m going to have to throw a monkey wrench into Keith's quintet championship winning New Year.
Titles are like federations; there is something to be said for focusing on one.
Can you be the best XHF Global Tag Champion you can be while focusing on the Prestige strap, Keith? Dylan Black is having what many consider the best run in the history of the X*Crown... but does his working nights trading the FWA Anarchy title with you, Keith, diminish that legacy? Not that there is any shame in losing to a wrestler of your skill, Keith, clearly every federation on the Network is lining up for the honour. I still have to wonder if the part of Dylan’s current run, where he’s been pinned 50 times in the FWA, will end up making it into the official record, or wind up in some alternate universe. ...Not that I’m one to talk. There is a freedom that comes with being beaten and the loss not effecting you... a freedom I have never known.
Point is you’re reaching a point where federations are going to start demanding loyalty from you as champion, Keith. You have some tough decisions moving forwards, and all I can do to make your life a little bit easier is keeping MY belt off your waist.
(The logs start to form a neat stack.)
Radu Matei: SWAT and Fireside. To suggest that they are fond of each other would be a lie. It’s safe to say I am getting a lot of flack from Syndicate management for my guest appearance here. ...And that is just with me making appearances in TWO federations with one Global championship. Not even in your ballpark. The contract negotiations you’ll be dealing with in 2021, I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, Keith.
In the volatile world of federation exclusivity and promoters signing off on freelancing, it's hard to say how many opportunities the two of us will have to be able to trade blows. We have already tested the waters at the Helloween Cup. You have made your presence known in SWAT; hurt a number of my friends. Yet it is unlikely that our paths will cross there, Keith, potentially making this title match in Fireside our only meeting. I am looking to test myself against the XHF’s best and brightest. Keith, you have made yourself that measuring stick. That you have also made yourself a menace in Syndicate just adds fuel to the fire.
Now we see if the flame takes... or burns out.
(Placing the last of the logs down, Deathless has formed a nice pyramid out of the wood. Kneeling next to it, The Beast rests one of his paws on the load.)
Radu Matei: Since forming our team at All That Glitters, Anthony Caffrey and myself have proved to be the most dominant tag team in XHF’s recent memory. For all the uncertainties in life, I don’t know if the year 2021 will be any better than 2020... but one thing you can count on is our commitment to excellence.
Sky Force. ReVenants.
I’m looking forwards to the Emperors climbing on top of your broken bodies as we reach up to reclaim our gold. More than that, I look forwards to ringing in a New Year with you. Perhaps when the clock strikes midnight you can all set your sights on more realistic singles goals, because when it comes to the tag division...
You’re just feeding the flames.
(Striking a match on his cheek, The Sacrificial Idol lights a cigarette. Before the fire dims, Deathless drops the match on the wooden pile. It takes a few moments, but between the dry bark, and triangular stack – smoke starts to rise. Grimacing as he puts his shirt on, Radu Matei limps away from his gym.)
Radu Matei (nod): Fireside.
(For all the polite discussion points about respect, and calming effect of the woodcutting... a fire is raging.)
#CRACKLE#
