Post by Kris on May 25, 2021 18:05:54 GMT -5
"So it's time to change your moniker there, Tommy."
Yep, there's still no camera crew. Nope, that's not gonna change anytime soon. NLW's Heavyweight Champion has her phone propped up across from where she sits on the steps of a practice ring, the title itself on her shoulder looking like it belongs there.
(Hint: that's because it does.)
"Don't get me wrong. StormCrow sounds kinda cool in that mid-2000s album name for some metal band in Sweden kinda' way. If that nickname belonged to... well, just about anyone else, they could make it work. In your case, though, there's just--somethin' missin'. Yeah, you've got the look and the alcoholism to fit with the image you're tryin' to put across--but where's the conviction? Where's the standing firm in the certainty of who you are, Tommy? Where's that fuck you, I'm gonna do what is true to myself and if the world doesn't like it, then they can go to Hell? Nowhere to be found... not unless you're threatened by the presence of someone who actually is everything you wish you could be on that front, anyway. Maybe that's why I lost my cool the last time we were in the ring together--because watching you trying to pretend to be so many things at once made me wanna throw up in my mouth a little."
Funny, how one gets the feeling that 'a little' is the understatement of the century... probably because it is. Eli scoffs.
"I mean, come the fuck on, Tommy! You literally stood there and said that no one would've believed you capable of bein' the number one contender to my title while simultaneously braggin' your ass off about the championships you've held before--and all while actin' like you didn't mean a single Goddamn word that left your lips like no one would notice how your ass-kissin' didn't line up to how you actively tried to get the fans to boo me for standing up for myself insteada' bein' fooled into buyin' into your act. And that's what it was, Tommy--an act. You were tryin' to be everything to everyone, somethin' I've gathered is standard operatin' procedure for you. You play all the angles, hopin' that one sticks. The underdog no one believes in goin' up against a dominant champion, the experienced veteran who's a proven talent that's won all these big matches and titles in the past, the drunken rock star that doesn't give a fuck, the desperate bitch that'll say and do anything if it means that someone will listen to your pleas to love me, please just love me..."
Trailing off, the blond's brow furrows a bit.
"Y'know what? I think I hit the nail on the head with that last one. That's the only genuine thing I think I saw out of you last Ascendancy--when you only had BB Gunn for company in that ring. For a moment, a single gleaming moment, you were the center of attention. You had the fans cheering for you, showering you with praise. You were back in those glory days again... and then 'Untouchable' hit, and you realized that you were gonna have to share that attention. And as you tried so hard to upstage me, to put on the show of being everything to everyone all at once, you had an epiphany--one that explains why the Stupid Pen Tricks and the attempts to make the fans boo me were so blatantly desperate. You knew that if it came down to a war between you and me for the hearts of the people... "
Eli's eyes narrow.
"You'd lose, crushed beneath the weight of your pretenses just like your boy Hyperion was the night that I took the trident for my own. You;d get the brakes beat right off you by the woman who has never once denied who she is since she came to NLW, the one who has actually defied the odds to get to the top of the mountain--the one who, each and every time she walks down that ramp, is unapologetic about who and what she is. The woman who started as the underdog because of challenges you can never, ever even come close to being able to lay claim to... and who has, in the months she's been here, has become the dominant champion who backs up every single word she says no matter how anyone else might feel about them. I don't have to try to be something I'm not to succeed, not when the reality of who I am is more than enough. Am I perfect? Of course not. I know my mouth's gotten me in trouble numerous times in the past, but I wouldn't change any of that for the world since fightin' my way out of those situations only made me stronger and gave me the opportunities I needed to prove myself. But am I good enough to GDI your head into the canvas over and over and over again until you're unconscious before I leave the cage and remain the champion?"
A pause.
"Abso-fuckin'-lutely."
Eli firmly nods before she's holding up a finger.
"Oh yeah! I never did tell you what your new moniker was, did I? I explained why it should change, but I never actually said it. It's a good one, I promise. Ready? Instead of StormCrow, you should be called... TryHard."
And there's that Vorpal smirk Eli is known for.
"Go ahead, say it out loud for yourself. See how natural it sounds, how well it fits you? Now let's use it in a sentence."
Dresden clears her throat.
"No matter how much you TryHard to beat me fairly, no matter how you TryHard to cheat when you can't get the job done any other way... no matter what you do to walk out of Hostile Intent the champion? You're gonna fall short because no TryHard will ever, ever be able to measure up to the genuine article that is NLW's Heavyweight Champion... Eli Dresden."
Fade.
Yep, there's still no camera crew. Nope, that's not gonna change anytime soon. NLW's Heavyweight Champion has her phone propped up across from where she sits on the steps of a practice ring, the title itself on her shoulder looking like it belongs there.
(Hint: that's because it does.)
"Don't get me wrong. StormCrow sounds kinda cool in that mid-2000s album name for some metal band in Sweden kinda' way. If that nickname belonged to... well, just about anyone else, they could make it work. In your case, though, there's just--somethin' missin'. Yeah, you've got the look and the alcoholism to fit with the image you're tryin' to put across--but where's the conviction? Where's the standing firm in the certainty of who you are, Tommy? Where's that fuck you, I'm gonna do what is true to myself and if the world doesn't like it, then they can go to Hell? Nowhere to be found... not unless you're threatened by the presence of someone who actually is everything you wish you could be on that front, anyway. Maybe that's why I lost my cool the last time we were in the ring together--because watching you trying to pretend to be so many things at once made me wanna throw up in my mouth a little."
Funny, how one gets the feeling that 'a little' is the understatement of the century... probably because it is. Eli scoffs.
"I mean, come the fuck on, Tommy! You literally stood there and said that no one would've believed you capable of bein' the number one contender to my title while simultaneously braggin' your ass off about the championships you've held before--and all while actin' like you didn't mean a single Goddamn word that left your lips like no one would notice how your ass-kissin' didn't line up to how you actively tried to get the fans to boo me for standing up for myself insteada' bein' fooled into buyin' into your act. And that's what it was, Tommy--an act. You were tryin' to be everything to everyone, somethin' I've gathered is standard operatin' procedure for you. You play all the angles, hopin' that one sticks. The underdog no one believes in goin' up against a dominant champion, the experienced veteran who's a proven talent that's won all these big matches and titles in the past, the drunken rock star that doesn't give a fuck, the desperate bitch that'll say and do anything if it means that someone will listen to your pleas to love me, please just love me..."
Trailing off, the blond's brow furrows a bit.
"Y'know what? I think I hit the nail on the head with that last one. That's the only genuine thing I think I saw out of you last Ascendancy--when you only had BB Gunn for company in that ring. For a moment, a single gleaming moment, you were the center of attention. You had the fans cheering for you, showering you with praise. You were back in those glory days again... and then 'Untouchable' hit, and you realized that you were gonna have to share that attention. And as you tried so hard to upstage me, to put on the show of being everything to everyone all at once, you had an epiphany--one that explains why the Stupid Pen Tricks and the attempts to make the fans boo me were so blatantly desperate. You knew that if it came down to a war between you and me for the hearts of the people... "
Eli's eyes narrow.
"You'd lose, crushed beneath the weight of your pretenses just like your boy Hyperion was the night that I took the trident for my own. You;d get the brakes beat right off you by the woman who has never once denied who she is since she came to NLW, the one who has actually defied the odds to get to the top of the mountain--the one who, each and every time she walks down that ramp, is unapologetic about who and what she is. The woman who started as the underdog because of challenges you can never, ever even come close to being able to lay claim to... and who has, in the months she's been here, has become the dominant champion who backs up every single word she says no matter how anyone else might feel about them. I don't have to try to be something I'm not to succeed, not when the reality of who I am is more than enough. Am I perfect? Of course not. I know my mouth's gotten me in trouble numerous times in the past, but I wouldn't change any of that for the world since fightin' my way out of those situations only made me stronger and gave me the opportunities I needed to prove myself. But am I good enough to GDI your head into the canvas over and over and over again until you're unconscious before I leave the cage and remain the champion?"
A pause.
"Abso-fuckin'-lutely."
Eli firmly nods before she's holding up a finger.
"Oh yeah! I never did tell you what your new moniker was, did I? I explained why it should change, but I never actually said it. It's a good one, I promise. Ready? Instead of StormCrow, you should be called... TryHard."
And there's that Vorpal smirk Eli is known for.
"Go ahead, say it out loud for yourself. See how natural it sounds, how well it fits you? Now let's use it in a sentence."
Dresden clears her throat.
"No matter how much you TryHard to beat me fairly, no matter how you TryHard to cheat when you can't get the job done any other way... no matter what you do to walk out of Hostile Intent the champion? You're gonna fall short because no TryHard will ever, ever be able to measure up to the genuine article that is NLW's Heavyweight Champion... Eli Dresden."
Fade.
