Post by Dave D-Flipz on Dec 7, 2022 10:48:08 GMT -5
“No no no, this is not what was supposed to happen. This can’t keep happening.”
*We open up after the last episode of TAPOUT has completed, as an angry Aiden Merric storms into the locker room and flops onto the bench.*
Merric: That ain’t the statement that needs to be made. Nobody gives a flying fuck what happens to that bastard … Rat … Bastard. All they are going to remember is another L in the record for this unlucky bloke. And the lingering taste of that bodgy performance by that Capone kid. No no, this ain’t how it’s going to go down.
*He shoots to his feet and slams his fist into a locker, which craters. Some poor schmuck just had their gear trapped and crushed in a broken locker. With any luck it was Capone. Or Rat.*
Merric: I need to fix this. I need to bloody make this right. Bloody oath! I cannot keep being bunched in with the dregs and castoffs of this business. I am a top tier talent. I have fists of iron and a resolve of steel. So WHAT THE BLOODY HELL AM I DOING WRONG?!
*He grabs his coat and bag and storms out of the locker room before any media can get in for post-show thoughts.*
*Aiden is seen sitting in the lounge chair in the living room of his mobile hunter’s lodge. He looks more sullen than we are used to seeing in the boisterous hunter. He has his fingers tented over his mouth and nose and he appears to be deep in self-reflection.*
Merric: The trophy I desire, the respect I crave, the success I want … is not within cooee. I refuse to believe my skills have fallen so far over one calendar year. Nah, I’ve come millions of clicks from AWF to REIGN to TAPOUT, I’ve given too much, I’ve bottled my blood’s worth. I am not going to stop until I get the recognition due a top talent like myself. Lord knows, I ain’t about to start doubting myself, not my style.
*Tucker Bernard slowly walks into the room, drinking one of Aiden’s XXX beers. We can assume Aiden only lets his friend drink Aussie beer since Aiden wouldn’t touch a XXX, too high quality, and otherwise why would Tucker have that instead of a good English ale? Tucker sits down on the couch across from the TV, to the side of the lounge chair Aiden currently occupies.*
Tucker: I think yer focused on the wrong things, Merric. Look at what drove you here in the first place. You came to REIGN to travel the world and be the head draw for a new company. Then when that failed, be it luck or Donzig-
Merric: FUCK that Dominicus guy. Thinking he can run the fucking place. If it were a fair lot, I’d have had his mask on my mantle.
Tucker: Ahem … Donzig. Then you found an out in your contract and you came here for two reasons.
Merric: Money … and respect.
Tucker: Three reasons.
*Merric cocks an eyebrow and turns his head to look at his friend, lowering his hands.*
Merric: One: Cross Recoba opened his purse to hire me, that is main reason number one. I don’t ply my trade for free, when yer good at something never give it away. And two: He showed me the proper respect. As someone who saw me rise to power in AWF before it folded on the backs of that Cochrane bloke and his flaky female friend, he knows what I am capable of. And as a man who went largely undefeated and has a reputation for success in business and fighting, that means something in this world. You listen when a successful man comes to you with work and a big purse, Tucker.
Tucker: And that Nintendo Switch and pokemon game you have sitting here, waiting to be given to a certain son of a certain female friend is for show then?
*Aiden lets out a large sigh.*
Merric: I dunno what people think there is between Erin and I, but she is out recuperating after the various assaults from that literature guy, Poem?
Tucker: Poena.
*Aiden waves his hand off dismissively*
Merric: Whatever, not like anyone cares. He’s unimportant to me in the short term. He’s got bigger things on his plate right now. Erin is out of his eyesight for now and he’s got his favored prey in Jack, Long, NOMAD, and Collins. What need is there for either of us to worry about the other right now. I need to focus on the here and now, and when I come for the title, if he is in the way, THEN he can worry about me. But until I am in that title picture, those guys at the top, even Jack who I saved from Rat Bastard, they don’t care what big bikkies it cost to get me in the door. I’m not on their radar. And I need to change that. I need to make a statement, Tuck. The point is, Erin isn’t here right now. It’s just me, only Aiden Merric can change the fortunes of this haggard old bloke.
*Aiden looks off into the distance, deep in thought again.*
Merric: I ain’t befitting her right now anyhow. I need to end this losing streak and strike the fear of God into the hearts of these blokes and Sheilas.
Tucker: Ain’t like you to get so self-reflective, Merric. What’s the plan then?
Merric: Self-improvement …
Tucker: What a noble goal-
*Aiden pounds his right fist into his open left palm*
Merric: THROUGH VIOLENCE!
*Tucker lowers and shakes his head*
Tucker: There it is…
*Aiden launches to his feet and begins to pace around his shack, eyeing up his various trophies and eccentricities.*
Merric: My whole life it’s been just me against the world, Tuck. You know more than most that I don’t play well with others. Nor do I care for relying on the lesser people. Not a single ankle biter, blow-in, bogan, bludger, or cobber is worthy of my attention. And clearly this has not served me well here in XHF. Working with Erin, I started to find success. But I ain’t quick to trust people. For obvious reasons. People, like Capone, are unreliable, self-serving, and in the end worthless. SO what I need to do is really focus on upping my game. Steeling my resolve and focusing on the matches at hand.
Tucker: Right, and how do you plan to do that?
*Aiden stops pacing and puts a hand to his chin and strokes his stubble. He raises a finger like a Eureka moment but puts it down and shakes his head. He reaches into his mini-fridge and grabs a VB (no Bastard Brews while Ratty is around to rub it in his face…)*
Merric: It starts with my next match. No matter who I am up against I have to control the ring. Be physically dominant. Impose my will and pacing on the sorry drongo. Not to big note myself but, I may look slim and wiry, but I’m 220 pounds of hardened Outback Aussie Muscle. They don’t call me the Wonder from Down Under because I am lack luster in a fight ya know, Tuck.
Tucker: You invented that nickname for yourself on the dating services in the oughts, Merric.
Merric: AND IT WAS GIVEN TO ME BY THE VARIOUS CONQUESTS I HAD IN THE LATE NINETIES! Also Momma Merric. And ain’t nobody gonna argue or find fault with her less’n tey want a blade in their throat.
Tucker: You’d stab someone for yer mom?
Merric: Well yes but I meant from her, who you think I learned from. Not my absent dad.
*Tucker nods in rememberance. They’ve touched on Aiden’s family before in the run up to the Celebration Slam match. Ironic because…*
Tucker: You know who yer fighting, right? Spike Kane.
*Aiden’s eyes light up, he smirks that sick smirk and he begins to chuckle.*
Merric: The man from hell, himself. Well, all the bigger statement it’ll be when I bail him up and introduce him to the fury of these fighting fists. Oh this makes me happy. The two of us will put on a show of physical violence so epic that we’ll steal the show. The fans will have no choice but to barrack for us.
Tucker: You … are happy? To fight a man who calls himself the Blood God? A man who supposedly came back from hell itself? A pillar of violence?
*Tucker is genuinely confused. The two men have met once before in the Celebration Slam. In the match the two never really got one up on each other, but Spike managed to advance while Aiden did now. A sour, bitter lingering flavor in the mouth of the hunter.*
Merric: And why wouldn’t I be, Tuck? Spike is a man I can respect. And also a man who I can go all out on. The two of us will put on a clinic, a match straight out of Guns Fight Club, a rip snorting ace showing that will make everyone take notice. After all, I ain’t afraid to bleed. Blood for the Blood God and a true big game hunt for the patron saint of the hunt. Oh yes, Tuck. I intend to leave my mark on Mr. Kane. I need to prepare a message just for him. One to put him on notice. Oh this is the fair dinkum, Bernard. A man with no crazy baggage in this fed to interrupt us. No Poena interference, no Icons, just the two of us. This is the fight that I will use to impress upon everyone just who it is I am, and why Cross paid me the big money. A contract worthy of a prize I say!
*Aiden sits down in his lounge chair and begins to take notes as he smirks and seems in genuinely risen spirits … until …*
Tucker: Though, Merric, I ought ta tell ya … impressing the fans and consumers here at the Sands, and probably the bosses, isn’t likely when ya park yer goddamn driving house across 80 PARKING SLOTS YA DAFT CUNT!
*A cut to the security feed from the hotel shows the lodge parked in the middle of the VIP lot here at the hotel and casino. A loud sigh is heard as the engine revs up and the house/car peels out of the lot to find greener pastures. Clearly, getting out of the self-serving mindset is a work in progress…*
*We open up after the last episode of TAPOUT has completed, as an angry Aiden Merric storms into the locker room and flops onto the bench.*
Merric: That ain’t the statement that needs to be made. Nobody gives a flying fuck what happens to that bastard … Rat … Bastard. All they are going to remember is another L in the record for this unlucky bloke. And the lingering taste of that bodgy performance by that Capone kid. No no, this ain’t how it’s going to go down.
*He shoots to his feet and slams his fist into a locker, which craters. Some poor schmuck just had their gear trapped and crushed in a broken locker. With any luck it was Capone. Or Rat.*
Merric: I need to fix this. I need to bloody make this right. Bloody oath! I cannot keep being bunched in with the dregs and castoffs of this business. I am a top tier talent. I have fists of iron and a resolve of steel. So WHAT THE BLOODY HELL AM I DOING WRONG?!
*He grabs his coat and bag and storms out of the locker room before any media can get in for post-show thoughts.*
*Aiden is seen sitting in the lounge chair in the living room of his mobile hunter’s lodge. He looks more sullen than we are used to seeing in the boisterous hunter. He has his fingers tented over his mouth and nose and he appears to be deep in self-reflection.*
Merric: The trophy I desire, the respect I crave, the success I want … is not within cooee. I refuse to believe my skills have fallen so far over one calendar year. Nah, I’ve come millions of clicks from AWF to REIGN to TAPOUT, I’ve given too much, I’ve bottled my blood’s worth. I am not going to stop until I get the recognition due a top talent like myself. Lord knows, I ain’t about to start doubting myself, not my style.
*Tucker Bernard slowly walks into the room, drinking one of Aiden’s XXX beers. We can assume Aiden only lets his friend drink Aussie beer since Aiden wouldn’t touch a XXX, too high quality, and otherwise why would Tucker have that instead of a good English ale? Tucker sits down on the couch across from the TV, to the side of the lounge chair Aiden currently occupies.*
Tucker: I think yer focused on the wrong things, Merric. Look at what drove you here in the first place. You came to REIGN to travel the world and be the head draw for a new company. Then when that failed, be it luck or Donzig-
Merric: FUCK that Dominicus guy. Thinking he can run the fucking place. If it were a fair lot, I’d have had his mask on my mantle.
Tucker: Ahem … Donzig. Then you found an out in your contract and you came here for two reasons.
Merric: Money … and respect.
Tucker: Three reasons.
*Merric cocks an eyebrow and turns his head to look at his friend, lowering his hands.*
Merric: One: Cross Recoba opened his purse to hire me, that is main reason number one. I don’t ply my trade for free, when yer good at something never give it away. And two: He showed me the proper respect. As someone who saw me rise to power in AWF before it folded on the backs of that Cochrane bloke and his flaky female friend, he knows what I am capable of. And as a man who went largely undefeated and has a reputation for success in business and fighting, that means something in this world. You listen when a successful man comes to you with work and a big purse, Tucker.
Tucker: And that Nintendo Switch and pokemon game you have sitting here, waiting to be given to a certain son of a certain female friend is for show then?
*Aiden lets out a large sigh.*
Merric: I dunno what people think there is between Erin and I, but she is out recuperating after the various assaults from that literature guy, Poem?
Tucker: Poena.
*Aiden waves his hand off dismissively*
Merric: Whatever, not like anyone cares. He’s unimportant to me in the short term. He’s got bigger things on his plate right now. Erin is out of his eyesight for now and he’s got his favored prey in Jack, Long, NOMAD, and Collins. What need is there for either of us to worry about the other right now. I need to focus on the here and now, and when I come for the title, if he is in the way, THEN he can worry about me. But until I am in that title picture, those guys at the top, even Jack who I saved from Rat Bastard, they don’t care what big bikkies it cost to get me in the door. I’m not on their radar. And I need to change that. I need to make a statement, Tuck. The point is, Erin isn’t here right now. It’s just me, only Aiden Merric can change the fortunes of this haggard old bloke.
*Aiden looks off into the distance, deep in thought again.*
Merric: I ain’t befitting her right now anyhow. I need to end this losing streak and strike the fear of God into the hearts of these blokes and Sheilas.
Tucker: Ain’t like you to get so self-reflective, Merric. What’s the plan then?
Merric: Self-improvement …
Tucker: What a noble goal-
*Aiden pounds his right fist into his open left palm*
Merric: THROUGH VIOLENCE!
*Tucker lowers and shakes his head*
Tucker: There it is…
*Aiden launches to his feet and begins to pace around his shack, eyeing up his various trophies and eccentricities.*
Merric: My whole life it’s been just me against the world, Tuck. You know more than most that I don’t play well with others. Nor do I care for relying on the lesser people. Not a single ankle biter, blow-in, bogan, bludger, or cobber is worthy of my attention. And clearly this has not served me well here in XHF. Working with Erin, I started to find success. But I ain’t quick to trust people. For obvious reasons. People, like Capone, are unreliable, self-serving, and in the end worthless. SO what I need to do is really focus on upping my game. Steeling my resolve and focusing on the matches at hand.
Tucker: Right, and how do you plan to do that?
*Aiden stops pacing and puts a hand to his chin and strokes his stubble. He raises a finger like a Eureka moment but puts it down and shakes his head. He reaches into his mini-fridge and grabs a VB (no Bastard Brews while Ratty is around to rub it in his face…)*
Merric: It starts with my next match. No matter who I am up against I have to control the ring. Be physically dominant. Impose my will and pacing on the sorry drongo. Not to big note myself but, I may look slim and wiry, but I’m 220 pounds of hardened Outback Aussie Muscle. They don’t call me the Wonder from Down Under because I am lack luster in a fight ya know, Tuck.
Tucker: You invented that nickname for yourself on the dating services in the oughts, Merric.
Merric: AND IT WAS GIVEN TO ME BY THE VARIOUS CONQUESTS I HAD IN THE LATE NINETIES! Also Momma Merric. And ain’t nobody gonna argue or find fault with her less’n tey want a blade in their throat.
Tucker: You’d stab someone for yer mom?
Merric: Well yes but I meant from her, who you think I learned from. Not my absent dad.
*Tucker nods in rememberance. They’ve touched on Aiden’s family before in the run up to the Celebration Slam match. Ironic because…*
Tucker: You know who yer fighting, right? Spike Kane.
*Aiden’s eyes light up, he smirks that sick smirk and he begins to chuckle.*
Merric: The man from hell, himself. Well, all the bigger statement it’ll be when I bail him up and introduce him to the fury of these fighting fists. Oh this makes me happy. The two of us will put on a show of physical violence so epic that we’ll steal the show. The fans will have no choice but to barrack for us.
Tucker: You … are happy? To fight a man who calls himself the Blood God? A man who supposedly came back from hell itself? A pillar of violence?
*Tucker is genuinely confused. The two men have met once before in the Celebration Slam. In the match the two never really got one up on each other, but Spike managed to advance while Aiden did now. A sour, bitter lingering flavor in the mouth of the hunter.*
Merric: And why wouldn’t I be, Tuck? Spike is a man I can respect. And also a man who I can go all out on. The two of us will put on a clinic, a match straight out of Guns Fight Club, a rip snorting ace showing that will make everyone take notice. After all, I ain’t afraid to bleed. Blood for the Blood God and a true big game hunt for the patron saint of the hunt. Oh yes, Tuck. I intend to leave my mark on Mr. Kane. I need to prepare a message just for him. One to put him on notice. Oh this is the fair dinkum, Bernard. A man with no crazy baggage in this fed to interrupt us. No Poena interference, no Icons, just the two of us. This is the fight that I will use to impress upon everyone just who it is I am, and why Cross paid me the big money. A contract worthy of a prize I say!
*Aiden sits down in his lounge chair and begins to take notes as he smirks and seems in genuinely risen spirits … until …*
Tucker: Though, Merric, I ought ta tell ya … impressing the fans and consumers here at the Sands, and probably the bosses, isn’t likely when ya park yer goddamn driving house across 80 PARKING SLOTS YA DAFT CUNT!
*A cut to the security feed from the hotel shows the lodge parked in the middle of the VIP lot here at the hotel and casino. A loud sigh is heard as the engine revs up and the house/car peels out of the lot to find greener pastures. Clearly, getting out of the self-serving mindset is a work in progress…*