Post by Kris on Feb 18, 2021 16:00:57 GMT -5
"For a long time, I felt like I was on the outside lookin' in when it came to professional wrestling."
A serious tone? From Eli Dresden? One has to wonder if they've somehow stumbled their way into the Twilight Zone--but nope.
"I mean, all you have to do is take a look around the companies that fall under the XHF umbrella and you can see why. The majority of'em are sausage fests that only want women around if they can jerk off to'em and make'em do bikini matches. Not that I'm not worth strokin' off to whatever naughty bits you've got because look at me--"
Ah, that's more like it--but the flash of mischief doesn't last.
It can't.
Not this time.
"But that's not all I deserve to be known for, y'know? If I just wanted to be spank bank material, there's far easier ways to do it than to get thrown around like a crash test dummy in the middle of the ring. No, I'm here because I want the same thing anyone else does; I want to be known..I want to be in the Hall of Fame, at the top of the wrestling critics' annual lists of who's who. I want people to go 'Oh fuck, not her.' when they get the news that I'm their opponent. I want to be at the top of the mountain and, above all else... I want to make history. And in case you boys haven't noticed yet, when I set my mind to something?"
A subtle lean forward.
"I move Heaven and Earth to make damn sure I succeed. For all that Al's got to figure out how to stop getting in his own way so he'll stop burnin' bridges, Leon's got to take a moment to realize how dumb he sounds when he talks about not feeling like he belongs when he's the one holdin' the brass ring the entirety of NLW's roster is tryin' to reach for. And Takuma, well, he can't go one sentence without condescendingly mentionin' his irrelevant to this match past after he finally remembered where his tongue went. Maybe he was quiet for so long cuz he didn't do shit to get here beyond being on the right team at the right time since he was curiously absent when Al got the pin and I ran interference to keep it from bein' broken up. Bet his ol' Yakuza pals loved that representation of their tough guy image, mm?"
The wink the blond drops is Vorpal-blade sharp, Eli clearly not remotely intimidated by her opponent's colorful past. Par for the course, really.
"Anyway, for all that my opponents have their own shit going on, none of that holds a candle to the fire that's been under my ass... and in case you haven't caught on, I'm also the one that's set the Goddamn thing in the first place. I don't have an experienced mentor holdin' my hand and backin' me up every step of the way--the woman who trained me kicked my ass out of the nest the moment I decided to go pro, leaving me to fly or fall on my own. I don't have a manager that sticks with me no matter what dumb ideas I come up with, either, though I'm sure a lot of the people I know wish I did since maybe then I wouldn't do half the stupid shit I come up with. I also don't have a shadowy group of criminals to gesture vaguely toward to try to make myself intimidating, so I've got to stand here in front of Christ Nonexistent and everybody else to prove that I'm worth taking seriously. Ultimately, I don't have anyone else's reputation to bolster mine via association."
A pause; Hyperion's trident, pointy end(s) first, is raised into the shot as Eli smirks grimly.
'...well, not without havin' to endure Hell and high water to earn it the hard way."
The trident descends back out of sight, that smirk going with it.
"As a matter of fact, there's not a single solitary thing in my life that hasn't been earned the hard way, be it all of my gymnastics trophies and ribbons or everything I've done in my short time here in NLW. I've always been too loud, too in-your-face, too unflinchingly me in the face of a society that'd much rather I be meek and mild--to just be seen and not heard. My refusal to bend to the idea of not deserving to take up the same amount of space as any of the men that surround me has erased the possibility of the path of least resistance even existing much less giving me the chance to take it. I have spent the majority of my life beating the Hell out of my own body to become faster, stronger... better than I was the day before, and I did it with a smile on my face and my middle finger thrust in the face of the people who told me I couldn't do it. So you know what?"
Both hands raise into view, each flipping the bird.
"Fuck you, Al, for tryin' to turn me into a mean girl trope because you felt threatened by me. Fuck you, Takuma, for tryin' to reduce me to a one trick pony because I've accomplished more in my brief time in this neck of the woods than you ever will. Fuck you, Leon, for tryin' to claim that your passion burns brighter than mine because you can't stomach the idea of it not being the truth. And fuck the idea of anyone else coming out of Masquerade as NLW Heavyweight Champion. I have fought too Goddamn hard to be denied now. A man may have once derailed my Olympic dreams, but no man will ever, ever get in the way of my dreams of championship gold. I will be the victor at all cost..."
Eli's face grows solemn.
"And that's true no matter what it costs any of you."
Fade.
A serious tone? From Eli Dresden? One has to wonder if they've somehow stumbled their way into the Twilight Zone--but nope.
"I mean, all you have to do is take a look around the companies that fall under the XHF umbrella and you can see why. The majority of'em are sausage fests that only want women around if they can jerk off to'em and make'em do bikini matches. Not that I'm not worth strokin' off to whatever naughty bits you've got because look at me--"
Ah, that's more like it--but the flash of mischief doesn't last.
It can't.
Not this time.
"But that's not all I deserve to be known for, y'know? If I just wanted to be spank bank material, there's far easier ways to do it than to get thrown around like a crash test dummy in the middle of the ring. No, I'm here because I want the same thing anyone else does; I want to be known..I want to be in the Hall of Fame, at the top of the wrestling critics' annual lists of who's who. I want people to go 'Oh fuck, not her.' when they get the news that I'm their opponent. I want to be at the top of the mountain and, above all else... I want to make history. And in case you boys haven't noticed yet, when I set my mind to something?"
A subtle lean forward.
"I move Heaven and Earth to make damn sure I succeed. For all that Al's got to figure out how to stop getting in his own way so he'll stop burnin' bridges, Leon's got to take a moment to realize how dumb he sounds when he talks about not feeling like he belongs when he's the one holdin' the brass ring the entirety of NLW's roster is tryin' to reach for. And Takuma, well, he can't go one sentence without condescendingly mentionin' his irrelevant to this match past after he finally remembered where his tongue went. Maybe he was quiet for so long cuz he didn't do shit to get here beyond being on the right team at the right time since he was curiously absent when Al got the pin and I ran interference to keep it from bein' broken up. Bet his ol' Yakuza pals loved that representation of their tough guy image, mm?"
The wink the blond drops is Vorpal-blade sharp, Eli clearly not remotely intimidated by her opponent's colorful past. Par for the course, really.
"Anyway, for all that my opponents have their own shit going on, none of that holds a candle to the fire that's been under my ass... and in case you haven't caught on, I'm also the one that's set the Goddamn thing in the first place. I don't have an experienced mentor holdin' my hand and backin' me up every step of the way--the woman who trained me kicked my ass out of the nest the moment I decided to go pro, leaving me to fly or fall on my own. I don't have a manager that sticks with me no matter what dumb ideas I come up with, either, though I'm sure a lot of the people I know wish I did since maybe then I wouldn't do half the stupid shit I come up with. I also don't have a shadowy group of criminals to gesture vaguely toward to try to make myself intimidating, so I've got to stand here in front of Christ Nonexistent and everybody else to prove that I'm worth taking seriously. Ultimately, I don't have anyone else's reputation to bolster mine via association."
A pause; Hyperion's trident, pointy end(s) first, is raised into the shot as Eli smirks grimly.
'...well, not without havin' to endure Hell and high water to earn it the hard way."
The trident descends back out of sight, that smirk going with it.
"As a matter of fact, there's not a single solitary thing in my life that hasn't been earned the hard way, be it all of my gymnastics trophies and ribbons or everything I've done in my short time here in NLW. I've always been too loud, too in-your-face, too unflinchingly me in the face of a society that'd much rather I be meek and mild--to just be seen and not heard. My refusal to bend to the idea of not deserving to take up the same amount of space as any of the men that surround me has erased the possibility of the path of least resistance even existing much less giving me the chance to take it. I have spent the majority of my life beating the Hell out of my own body to become faster, stronger... better than I was the day before, and I did it with a smile on my face and my middle finger thrust in the face of the people who told me I couldn't do it. So you know what?"
Both hands raise into view, each flipping the bird.
"Fuck you, Al, for tryin' to turn me into a mean girl trope because you felt threatened by me. Fuck you, Takuma, for tryin' to reduce me to a one trick pony because I've accomplished more in my brief time in this neck of the woods than you ever will. Fuck you, Leon, for tryin' to claim that your passion burns brighter than mine because you can't stomach the idea of it not being the truth. And fuck the idea of anyone else coming out of Masquerade as NLW Heavyweight Champion. I have fought too Goddamn hard to be denied now. A man may have once derailed my Olympic dreams, but no man will ever, ever get in the way of my dreams of championship gold. I will be the victor at all cost..."
Eli's face grows solemn.
"And that's true no matter what it costs any of you."
Fade.
