Post by Kris on Feb 14, 2021 1:16:03 GMT -5
"Management's got to hate y'ins."
Eli's smirking as she looks down--and down, and then down some more--from her perch atop the higher portion of the uneven bars. She's about ten feet up, give or take a couple inches. More importantly? She looks right at home that high up.
"Yeah, I know. We're in a ladder match, not a Gymnastics Gore match--though that'd be fun, wouldn't it?--but there's not all that much separation between a ladder and my favorite tool of the trade, here. They're both metal, they're both meant to be mounted--"
Is that wink meant for Leon Chant, or is it just aimed at the world at large? The world may never know.
"--and they're also both gateways to what has been my second home. I started gymnastics when I was five years old, and it wasn't long after that when I discovered just how it felt to be up here, high in the air... and I loved it. Ever since then, I've spent as many of my waking moments as I could mastering the air up here, ultimately making it my bitch in much the same way as I am going to do the same to all three of my opponents. Unfortunately, this time round, it ain't gonna be the way they like."
A beckoning hand movement and the camera is tossed up to her, the blond leaning back a bit to catch it without so much as a single wobble.
"At this point, I don't think there's not a damn thing I can do that Takuma's gonna like, considering how he's said maybe ten words to me total. Or maybe the Big Tiger's got his own tongue? I mean, he had plenty to say for his debut, but since then, it's been radio silence--well, except for exactly one generic threat each to me, Al, and Leon before throwing the mic at the guy who doesn't wrestle like that's somehow meant to be intimidating. Then again, considerin' how you did the bare minimum to get into this match, leavin' the bulk of the work to me and Al.... well, I'd say I hate to be that asshole, but I don't. Do you even deserve to be here? Survey says... "
Dramatic pause!
"No. No, you don't--and that much is gonna be made all too clear at Masquerade. But speaking of things being made clear..."
Eli's eyes subtly narrow.
"I'm not gonna lie, Al. I'm still a teensy bit irritated at the box you tried to shove me into at the last episode of Ascendancy. You went from bein' someone I'd share some Swiss Miss with to the kind of guy who I think is probably buddy-buddy with Ghost--y'know, the guy who hasn't shown his face around these parts since I pulled back his Wizard of Oz curtains to reveal that he wasn't shit. Would I like to be, ah, friendly with Leon? Yeah, but I'd also like that with... oh, damn near everyone else in the business. I mean, hello, we're surrounded by gorgeous hes, shes, and theys here--and if you left it there, then we'd be cool. But no. No, you decided that the only way you could possibly make yourself into the everyman was to make yourself into the victim, turning me into one of your bullies because I'd be friends with Leon, the jock who would shove you into a locker. And what did I do to earn that distinction? I.. got a little bit of whipping cream on your shirt. Oh, and I also had the nerve, the absolute audacity to have spent the majority of my life working my ass off to be the best athlete I could possibly be, be it on these bars or in the ring. How dare I!"
If Eli rolls her eyes any harder, they're liable to roll right out of her head.
"You might've made it to the top of the ladder at the end of Ascendancy, but you won't make it there when it actually matters. I'll see to it myself--which brings me to the reigning champ."
Oh, the smirk--and she even adds a little flirty wave.
"Hey there, Leon. I'm gonna forgive you for not callin' me because, well, the whole me comin' for your title thing. But then again, after Masquerade... well, I don't like my chances of you wantin' to call me then, either. I know you've got the most to lose comin' into this ladder match, and I don't doubt for a second that you're gonna be willin' to do whatever you've got to in order to retain. That kinda' determination is somethin' I'm pretty sure Al and Takuma both don't quite understand--I mean, how can they? One won't say a Goddamn word and the other is tryin' to blame anyone and everyone that isn't himself for what's gonna happen at Masquerade. Me, though... I get it. I get the relentless drive to be better than I was the last time I went out in the ring, the compulsive need to punch above my station however long and however hard it takes to make my mark. I went from a virtual unknown to being the last woman standing at Supremacy and if you think that I'm gonna let you stop my meteoric rise to where I belong at the top of NLW's mountain? You're cute, but you ain't that cute."
A firm shake of her head.
"Hell, there's nobody that could convince me to do anything but go into the main event of Masquerade with the same head of fire that has seen me through every match I've wrestled since I came 'round here. I know I called the air my second home, but I feel the same way about the ring--and once the dust clears and I'm atop the ladder with my NLW Heavyweight Championship in my arms? Y'ins will have no choice but to admit that it was foolish for any of you to think you ever stood a chance."
Fade.
Eli's smirking as she looks down--and down, and then down some more--from her perch atop the higher portion of the uneven bars. She's about ten feet up, give or take a couple inches. More importantly? She looks right at home that high up.
"Yeah, I know. We're in a ladder match, not a Gymnastics Gore match--though that'd be fun, wouldn't it?--but there's not all that much separation between a ladder and my favorite tool of the trade, here. They're both metal, they're both meant to be mounted--"
Is that wink meant for Leon Chant, or is it just aimed at the world at large? The world may never know.
"--and they're also both gateways to what has been my second home. I started gymnastics when I was five years old, and it wasn't long after that when I discovered just how it felt to be up here, high in the air... and I loved it. Ever since then, I've spent as many of my waking moments as I could mastering the air up here, ultimately making it my bitch in much the same way as I am going to do the same to all three of my opponents. Unfortunately, this time round, it ain't gonna be the way they like."
A beckoning hand movement and the camera is tossed up to her, the blond leaning back a bit to catch it without so much as a single wobble.
"At this point, I don't think there's not a damn thing I can do that Takuma's gonna like, considering how he's said maybe ten words to me total. Or maybe the Big Tiger's got his own tongue? I mean, he had plenty to say for his debut, but since then, it's been radio silence--well, except for exactly one generic threat each to me, Al, and Leon before throwing the mic at the guy who doesn't wrestle like that's somehow meant to be intimidating. Then again, considerin' how you did the bare minimum to get into this match, leavin' the bulk of the work to me and Al.... well, I'd say I hate to be that asshole, but I don't. Do you even deserve to be here? Survey says... "
Dramatic pause!
"No. No, you don't--and that much is gonna be made all too clear at Masquerade. But speaking of things being made clear..."
Eli's eyes subtly narrow.
"I'm not gonna lie, Al. I'm still a teensy bit irritated at the box you tried to shove me into at the last episode of Ascendancy. You went from bein' someone I'd share some Swiss Miss with to the kind of guy who I think is probably buddy-buddy with Ghost--y'know, the guy who hasn't shown his face around these parts since I pulled back his Wizard of Oz curtains to reveal that he wasn't shit. Would I like to be, ah, friendly with Leon? Yeah, but I'd also like that with... oh, damn near everyone else in the business. I mean, hello, we're surrounded by gorgeous hes, shes, and theys here--and if you left it there, then we'd be cool. But no. No, you decided that the only way you could possibly make yourself into the everyman was to make yourself into the victim, turning me into one of your bullies because I'd be friends with Leon, the jock who would shove you into a locker. And what did I do to earn that distinction? I.. got a little bit of whipping cream on your shirt. Oh, and I also had the nerve, the absolute audacity to have spent the majority of my life working my ass off to be the best athlete I could possibly be, be it on these bars or in the ring. How dare I!"
If Eli rolls her eyes any harder, they're liable to roll right out of her head.
"You might've made it to the top of the ladder at the end of Ascendancy, but you won't make it there when it actually matters. I'll see to it myself--which brings me to the reigning champ."
Oh, the smirk--and she even adds a little flirty wave.
"Hey there, Leon. I'm gonna forgive you for not callin' me because, well, the whole me comin' for your title thing. But then again, after Masquerade... well, I don't like my chances of you wantin' to call me then, either. I know you've got the most to lose comin' into this ladder match, and I don't doubt for a second that you're gonna be willin' to do whatever you've got to in order to retain. That kinda' determination is somethin' I'm pretty sure Al and Takuma both don't quite understand--I mean, how can they? One won't say a Goddamn word and the other is tryin' to blame anyone and everyone that isn't himself for what's gonna happen at Masquerade. Me, though... I get it. I get the relentless drive to be better than I was the last time I went out in the ring, the compulsive need to punch above my station however long and however hard it takes to make my mark. I went from a virtual unknown to being the last woman standing at Supremacy and if you think that I'm gonna let you stop my meteoric rise to where I belong at the top of NLW's mountain? You're cute, but you ain't that cute."
A firm shake of her head.
"Hell, there's nobody that could convince me to do anything but go into the main event of Masquerade with the same head of fire that has seen me through every match I've wrestled since I came 'round here. I know I called the air my second home, but I feel the same way about the ring--and once the dust clears and I'm atop the ladder with my NLW Heavyweight Championship in my arms? Y'ins will have no choice but to admit that it was foolish for any of you to think you ever stood a chance."
Fade.
