Post by BrainScratch on Dec 24, 2021 23:56:15 GMT -5
- Deeper -
Edward Zepp hasn't faced a loss like this before in his sporadic career. He's lost plenty of times, but many were battle royals or tag matches. Edward's always been the teammate of the loser, or the loss itself was indirect. As he fought against Apathy, he began to understand what his brother spoke about. The atmosphere inside a wrestling ring changes in high-pressure situations. The veteran did what she must to secure the victory, and Edward was left shaking his head.
One might expect the hulking behemoth to take this out on a wall or a locker. Ed himself thought of it, but as he stalked through the backstage he noticed a piece of paper, a rundown for the December 30th show. A Wildfire champion would be crowned between Kane, Valentine, and Zepp all in type, with Zolothach penciled in. (Or rather, smeared with a red ink of sorts, possibly in Tabitha's own writing...) Ed grimaced slightly. The competition in Fireside never slows down, and everyone is of championship caliber. No rest for the wicked or weary.
So Edward non-violently packs his bags instead and heads to the airport, but is disappointed that his new special someone, Emily, is not an attendant on this flight. Making the progress of a hundred Zepps before him*, he actually got her phone number and makes a video call.
(* It's actually a marvel that the Zepp Family Tree exists at all, as the males are stubbornly unable to start or maintain relationships just from being impossibly obtuse and/or hesitant. Maria, the mother of Edward, Isaiah, Ichabod, and Cecelia had to literally drag Abraham Zepp to the church on their wedding day while he complained he had to catch up on work. The first in their bloodline that can be traced in history, who was renamed Ezekiel Zepp by the Amish village that sheltered him after he escaped the south in the 1800s, could not believe that the renamed woman Ruth found him attractive. I guess he thought she ran all the way to Pennsylvania with him just for the colder weather. Anyway, I could go on and on, but sufficed to say, Zepps are clueless.)
She answers with a beaming smile that immediately breaks the stone face of Ed into a warm smirk.
"Hey! Did you win?!"
"Ehh..."
"Oh. You'll have to kick her ass next time then! Grr, grr!"
She makes weird punching motions. It's cute. Just trust me on this.
"I guess. You're not on the San Diego plane?"
"No... They stuck me on the Atlanta-Orlando loops for the holiday season."
"Jerks."
"Yeah, the jerks! So when will you be in Philly again?"
"30th."
"Oh. So nothing before Christmas?"
"Not quite..."
"Oh jeez, that sounded needy. I'm sorry, you've got family stuff to do at home..."
Edward scratches his head. Somewhere in his brain he knows these are loaded words, but his ancestry has not equipped him to navigate them. He gives it a try.
"I... can stay in town after this one, for New Years?"
"Really!? You mean it?! Oh that's awesome!"
Edward has scored a victory here for all Zepp-kind, but before he can bask in the good feeling, a nosy finger of a nosy reporter wags into his vision, nosily. Dig Deeper leans in and speaks at half volume, presumably to be polite. This attempt is unsuccessful.
"Mr. Zepp?"
Ed's annoyed face surprises Emily.
"Is someone there? Do you need to go?"
"No."
"I probably should, though. My shift starts in a bit. Talk to you later?"
"Definitely."
"Okay! Bye!"
The call ends and Edward scowls toward Deeper. Dig sits down in the seat across the aisle from Ed.
"I'm sorry about that Mr. Zepp, I didn't mean to interrupt."
"Yet here you are again."
Edward looks around the plane for any useful giant orange mascots, but no luck this time. Dig continues.
"I believe we've gotten off on the wrong foot. Perhaps a whole wrong leg."
"Up to the lungs, at least."
"Okay, that's fair, but you have to admit you don't make it easy for the media. When I started asking you questions in Canada I was only trying to speak your way. I thought maybe that was how to break the ice."
"I do my speaking in the ring."
"But that doesn't have to be the only way. You had a hard-fought loss tonight, and people love to watch you, but they really want to know how you FEEL about it."
"I don't care."
"Well you should act like you do."
"Why?"
"Well... I don't know. Money?"
Edward actually perks up a bit.
"Elaborate."
"I mean, if more people are invested in you, they'd be more likely to buy tickets and merchandise, which means more money."
Edward mulls this over. He's not your classic greedy trope of a man, but he's mainly a wrestler for the funds to keep his house in order, and his skillset and size have been thus far lucrative to use inside a wrestling ring.
"And fans care about what you report?"
"Hey now, I should really take that as an insult... but I'll let you have it. Let's put it this way, many customers you find here in Philadelphia love my opinions."
"Hmm. Seems risky. What are we talking about?"
"Oh we'll keep it simple. What are your thoughts on losing to Apathy?"
"It sucked."
"Maybe not that simple... What's the next step for you, where do you go after that loss?"
"There's a match made for a new belt already."
"Oh yeah? What's the match?"
"I'm against Spike, Evan, and Tabitha."
Dig pulls out a phone with a small keyboard attachment and begins to type furiously.
"Ooh now we're talking, that's a great scoop. So how do you prepare for such a match?"
"I'm better in these moments. I like picking apart the chaos and striking when the time is right."
"Plus you've beaten some of these people before."
"Yeah, but this will be different. They'll be fighting harder. And Kane I've never fought at all. There's a lot of factors to calculate, but I'll be ready."
"You say you calculate it? How so?"
He's never gotten that question before, so Edward pauses for a moment.
"Most others are fast or slippery, they feel like mosquitoes or insects, buzzing around. Trying their best to dodge and attack. I can't hit them every time, but once I line them up..."
He claps his hands, and the sound echoes throughout the aircraft.
"They fall."
"Very interesting insight. My seat is over that way, so I'll leave you go. Thank you, Mr. Zepp, and happy holidays."
Dig Deeper extends a hand. Edward still eyes him suspiciously, but eventually shakes it.
"Same to you."
Edward Zepp hasn't faced a loss like this before in his sporadic career. He's lost plenty of times, but many were battle royals or tag matches. Edward's always been the teammate of the loser, or the loss itself was indirect. As he fought against Apathy, he began to understand what his brother spoke about. The atmosphere inside a wrestling ring changes in high-pressure situations. The veteran did what she must to secure the victory, and Edward was left shaking his head.
One might expect the hulking behemoth to take this out on a wall or a locker. Ed himself thought of it, but as he stalked through the backstage he noticed a piece of paper, a rundown for the December 30th show. A Wildfire champion would be crowned between Kane, Valentine, and Zepp all in type, with Zolothach penciled in. (Or rather, smeared with a red ink of sorts, possibly in Tabitha's own writing...) Ed grimaced slightly. The competition in Fireside never slows down, and everyone is of championship caliber. No rest for the wicked or weary.
So Edward non-violently packs his bags instead and heads to the airport, but is disappointed that his new special someone, Emily, is not an attendant on this flight. Making the progress of a hundred Zepps before him*, he actually got her phone number and makes a video call.
(* It's actually a marvel that the Zepp Family Tree exists at all, as the males are stubbornly unable to start or maintain relationships just from being impossibly obtuse and/or hesitant. Maria, the mother of Edward, Isaiah, Ichabod, and Cecelia had to literally drag Abraham Zepp to the church on their wedding day while he complained he had to catch up on work. The first in their bloodline that can be traced in history, who was renamed Ezekiel Zepp by the Amish village that sheltered him after he escaped the south in the 1800s, could not believe that the renamed woman Ruth found him attractive. I guess he thought she ran all the way to Pennsylvania with him just for the colder weather. Anyway, I could go on and on, but sufficed to say, Zepps are clueless.)
She answers with a beaming smile that immediately breaks the stone face of Ed into a warm smirk.
"Hey! Did you win?!"
"Ehh..."
"Oh. You'll have to kick her ass next time then! Grr, grr!"
She makes weird punching motions. It's cute. Just trust me on this.
"I guess. You're not on the San Diego plane?"
"No... They stuck me on the Atlanta-Orlando loops for the holiday season."
"Jerks."
"Yeah, the jerks! So when will you be in Philly again?"
"30th."
"Oh. So nothing before Christmas?"
"Not quite..."
"Oh jeez, that sounded needy. I'm sorry, you've got family stuff to do at home..."
Edward scratches his head. Somewhere in his brain he knows these are loaded words, but his ancestry has not equipped him to navigate them. He gives it a try.
"I... can stay in town after this one, for New Years?"
"Really!? You mean it?! Oh that's awesome!"
Edward has scored a victory here for all Zepp-kind, but before he can bask in the good feeling, a nosy finger of a nosy reporter wags into his vision, nosily. Dig Deeper leans in and speaks at half volume, presumably to be polite. This attempt is unsuccessful.
"Mr. Zepp?"
Ed's annoyed face surprises Emily.
"Is someone there? Do you need to go?"
"No."
"I probably should, though. My shift starts in a bit. Talk to you later?"
"Definitely."
"Okay! Bye!"
The call ends and Edward scowls toward Deeper. Dig sits down in the seat across the aisle from Ed.
"I'm sorry about that Mr. Zepp, I didn't mean to interrupt."
"Yet here you are again."
Edward looks around the plane for any useful giant orange mascots, but no luck this time. Dig continues.
"I believe we've gotten off on the wrong foot. Perhaps a whole wrong leg."
"Up to the lungs, at least."
"Okay, that's fair, but you have to admit you don't make it easy for the media. When I started asking you questions in Canada I was only trying to speak your way. I thought maybe that was how to break the ice."
"I do my speaking in the ring."
"But that doesn't have to be the only way. You had a hard-fought loss tonight, and people love to watch you, but they really want to know how you FEEL about it."
"I don't care."
"Well you should act like you do."
"Why?"
"Well... I don't know. Money?"
Edward actually perks up a bit.
"Elaborate."
"I mean, if more people are invested in you, they'd be more likely to buy tickets and merchandise, which means more money."
Edward mulls this over. He's not your classic greedy trope of a man, but he's mainly a wrestler for the funds to keep his house in order, and his skillset and size have been thus far lucrative to use inside a wrestling ring.
"And fans care about what you report?"
"Hey now, I should really take that as an insult... but I'll let you have it. Let's put it this way, many customers you find here in Philadelphia love my opinions."
"Hmm. Seems risky. What are we talking about?"
"Oh we'll keep it simple. What are your thoughts on losing to Apathy?"
"It sucked."
"Maybe not that simple... What's the next step for you, where do you go after that loss?"
"There's a match made for a new belt already."
"Oh yeah? What's the match?"
"I'm against Spike, Evan, and Tabitha."
Dig pulls out a phone with a small keyboard attachment and begins to type furiously.
"Ooh now we're talking, that's a great scoop. So how do you prepare for such a match?"
"I'm better in these moments. I like picking apart the chaos and striking when the time is right."
"Plus you've beaten some of these people before."
"Yeah, but this will be different. They'll be fighting harder. And Kane I've never fought at all. There's a lot of factors to calculate, but I'll be ready."
"You say you calculate it? How so?"
He's never gotten that question before, so Edward pauses for a moment.
"Most others are fast or slippery, they feel like mosquitoes or insects, buzzing around. Trying their best to dodge and attack. I can't hit them every time, but once I line them up..."
He claps his hands, and the sound echoes throughout the aircraft.
"They fall."
"Very interesting insight. My seat is over that way, so I'll leave you go. Thank you, Mr. Zepp, and happy holidays."
Dig Deeper extends a hand. Edward still eyes him suspiciously, but eventually shakes it.
"Same to you."