Post by Dave D-Flipz on Dec 7, 2023 23:55:32 GMT -5
NOVEMBER 23, 2023 – POST-DINNER COMA
*Erin sits on the couch, groaning in stomach ache and satisfaction over a meal well won. Benson is seen in the kitchen cleaning up the left overs into Tupperware while Tucker is stuck with a My Little Pony Apron, cleaning the dishes.*
Erin: Much obliged for the help, Tucker!
Tucker: Well ya fed me well, I figure if Aiden can cook, I can clean.
*Speaking of Merric, he strolls into the living room with a slice of thick toast, spreading on a very dark spread.*
Erin: Dessert?
*Aiden hands her a slice as well and she bites into it … her face contorts in pain and she struggles to swallow.*
Erin: OH MY- WHAT THE- BLECH! This is the saltiest most disgusting marmalade …
Merric: WHAT? This ain’t no marmite, goddamn colonizer knock off. No this is VEGEMITE! If it’s good enough to be mocked by Lucille Ball, it’s bloody good enough for us. Besides, that marmite shit is too goddamn sweet. This is the good stuff. Maybe make a seltzer out of this … surely the market is there.
*Erin cocks an eyebrow and tosses the bread back to Merric, who eats it with gusto and downs another beer from Voodoo Brewery.*
Erin: First of all you big oaf, I said marmalade. Second of all, just no … to all of that. Stick to that emu recipe, that was divine.
*Aiden laughs heartily and grabs a box from behind the couch. He sits down next to Erin and reclines back.*
Merric: Look, there’s a very high probability that once I finish dominating Tommy and showing NOMAD the bitter end of a bar room brawl … you know who is gonna be back in my sights again. And this time he’s gonna be treating me like the threat I am.
Erin: You can handle yourself.
*Aiden laughs*
Merric: Obviously, as can you. But… I wanna make sure we’re all prepared. No amount of guidance is ever gonna make Tucker a viable threat, so I’ll have to booby trap him.
Erin: I distinctly recall that working out poorly for us at the penitentiary at that AWF Call to Arms show …
*Aiden thinks back and snorts at the thought of his ghost hunt going awry and catching his best friend by the chest with a ghost hunting trap.*
Merric: Aye. But this time he’ll be the trap and the bait. Not the prey. The point is … I got something to help Benson. I don’t like the idea of some deranged dingofucker messing with a kid. Especially one who ain’t got his dad in his life. While I was out grabbing some CDs from Tommy’s band to torture myself with to learn about what makes him … tick … I found something the kid can use to learn some basic strategies. Hunting tricks really…
*Erin sits up with a jolt.*
Erin: Hold on now! I can teach my kid how to use a self defense weapon. He -
*Benson walks in.*
Benson: Food’s safe in the chill chest.
*Aiden takes advantage and hands him the package.*
Merric: Hey kid, I got ya something to show my uh … appreciation for putting up with me in yer house. Man of the house gotta know how to hunt properly, the right tactic, the right tools. Consider this a beginner’s guide.
Erin: Merric…
*Benson opens the package and reveals … a Nintendo Switch and Pokemon Legends Arceus. Erin is dumbfounded*
Benson: Hey cool! New video game system! And it’s portable!
Merric: You get everything set up and learn the basics of that game and I’ll evaluate your progress as a hunter after the next Tapout show.
*Benson runs off to set up his video game system*
Erin: Huh, that was … oddly well thought out.
Merric: It’s almost like I almost know how to nearly be a “good” guy, huh. Almost.
*Erin smirks as he laughs*
Now
*Aiden is sitting in the living room of his mobile hunter’s lodge in the parking lot of the Sands Casino. He is staring at the trophy wall … where his replica of the Tapout Openweight title sits as the centerpiece of his wall. He looks at his grizzled, scarred face in the reflection and smirks that smirk of his.*
Merric: She’s a right beaut, ain’t she Tommy? I know … I told you all the things to be thankful for … and maybe they were tongue in cheek insults. Probably. Definitely. Heh. … But maybe I don’t know your situation. Seems an awful lot like I’m over here with a small crew of trusted friends … and Tucker … and you keep alienating everyone who might even have a shred of care about ya. I want ya to know. I know where yer coming from.
*Aiden rocks forward and slightly turns so he is now looking into the camera instead of at his own triumph*
Merric: Yer feeling dejected. You feel betrayed. Abandoned. All you can rely on is yerself! But here’s the difference … I can actually rely on meself. I am a born winner. I am a survivor. I am the Openweight champion. Took me one opportunity to cash in and do what everyone told me was impossible. Hell, Tony Caffrey basically barred me from his show because he thought I wasn’t quality. And here I stand, making big bucks, getting the girl, and sticking it to everyone who doubted me. I made a bet on myself and I cashed it in. But you? You are stuck on almosts and maybes.
*Aiden stands up and pulls the actual title from the couch next to him and pops it over his shoulder to make sure the camera can get all of it in frame. It is polished, shiny, and looks every bit like the trophy Aiden claimed it to be.*
Merric: You didn’t succeed from the word go. Ya had some ace fights, some big nights, and some marquee victories. But yer always just short of the big one. But it ain’t hard to see why. Yer a degenerate. You could never truly trust yourself so you go and let yourself down. I come close to winning the X*Crown … I try again … I try again … I learn. I tell myself I’m close. I’m improving. I’m GETTING somewhere. You get close and wallow in the piss. Crying and whinging about how you deserve more. You ALMOST get to the top … and then instead of planting yer krampons in the mountain and holding your spot, you let go and parachute to the bottom to cry and tell everyone how you were so close! Look how close I was daddy! Love me daddy! Hahahaha.
*Aiden walks up to his wall and admires all the many trophies. Trophies from fights, trophies from matches, trophies from hunts, trophies from surviving the world.*
Merric: Tommy, you got talent. You throw a mean punch. You do some things in the ring I wouldn’t dream of trying. Half because I ain’t young and spry and flexible, and half cuz I ain’t a gosh darned idjit! But you got no idea who you really are. You know who you wanna be, and who you think you should be and who you can try to be, but you got know trust in Tommy Strychnine to get over the hump. Talent takes you NEARLY there. ALMOST to the top. And then you place a ceiling over yer head and ram into it a few times while others go around it and surpass you.
*Aiden turns back to the camera and holds up the real title again.*
Merric: I didn’t get here by being nearly the best, or almost ready. I got here by pushing past anyone who would be in my way. Because I am a superior specimen of humanity. And now I am the face of this company you work in. And I am the one you need to get through. You wanna give me my receipts for embarrassing you? I ain’t hiding. I ain’t running. You think you can almost make it past me? Think you can nearly dodge my lariat?
*Aiden puts the belt around his waist and shakes his head, clicking his tongue*
Merric: Tommy. Give thanks. You are once again nearly to glory. You are once again ALMOST relevant. But … that’s all you are. All you’ll ever be! I am the best fighter in this company. I am the top of the ranks. I am the five point buck in all yer sights. And not a one of you has the ability to take that kill shot. You’ve just STARTED to see my rise to the top. I am no stereotype. I am no stock character. I am Aiden bloody Merric. The wonder from down under. The main event in these here parts. And you are ALMOST worthy of my time. NEARLY the main event we all want to see. Still, kinda hard to feel satisfied watching you when NOMAD is right around the corner.
*Aiden approaches the camera*
Merric: Tapout is my world now Tommy. And you are not even NEARLY the threat you wish you were to me. That expanded ballroom … is my home base. And I intend to hold court. But hey! You can be thankful … everyone will be talking about you for one night in the end. And then you can go watch the replay to get back the memory of how I knocked yer bloody head NEARLY off your bloody shoulders!
*Fade*