Post by Dave D-Flipz on Jan 25, 2024 23:56:19 GMT -5
Tucker: He really winds you up, doesn’t he?
Erin: That’s certainly one way to say it.
Tucker: So … why do you put up with him? I have to. You don’t.
*Erin goes silent as if in thought as Tucker works his magic on the massage table. He is really working out some knots in the neck and back. It’s as if she is super stressed for some reason … like a mobile hunter lodge on her property complete with arrogant, annoying, 46 year old man child. Still this is indeed a respite and the Oncoming Storm is coming around to the idea of this massage room.*
Erin: …He's grown on me. Y'know, like a fungus.
Tucker: I suppose he might have some redeeming qualities. Maybe. Ya know he’s head over heels over you. He just don’t know it.
*Erin lifts her head to look at him. Her face says – you think you idjit? – but Tucker isn’t great at social cues and thinks he’s shocked her into silence*
Tucker: Sorry! Shouldn’ta toldja that. That ornery bastard will kill me. Let me get some more oil, this knot in the right arm ain’t coming loose.
Erin: That’s the Nor’easter arm. Been using it more than I thought considering I haven’t been in the ring.
*Tucker prances off, his anime inspired professional masseuse outfit on full display. He slips on some oil on the floor.*
Tucker: OOP! BLOODY HELL! Gotta remember to clean that, I almost crashed and burned! And with the cameras in here, Funniest Home Videos fer sure…
*Erin again perks up trying to see behind her without the towel over her front falling off.*
Erin: Cameras? What the-
Tucker: Nah not yer room Miss Gordon, Aiden protects his trophies. He is many things, he ain’t a perv-WHOOOOPS!
*He slips and skids into a wall and a bunch of random DVDs and books crash on top of him. Erin can’t see behind her but seems worried … until she hears footsteps and the squirting of oil out of a bottle. She rests again … until the hands touch that knot.*
Erin: Tuck, didja get beard hair all over your hands when you fell? Why’s it so scratchy and uncomfortable all of a sud-
*Aiden Merric stands over her massaging her.*
Aiden: Tuck is out of commission. No worries my favorite Sheila. I watched him, I can handle it. Let me limber ya up!
*Erin springs up to her feet, in one fluid motion securing the towel over her torso and swinging the right hand back and crushing Aiden with a Nor’easter back fist. His jaw looks like it moves 5 inches to the left.*
Aiden: COR BLIMEY THAT BLOODY HURT I- oh hey … it’s finally aligned … ya fixed the damage from that last AWF show! I KNEW YOU CARED!
Erin: … … Jackass …
Aiden: And here I thought that was skipping the foreplay…
Erin: A backfist to the jaw … foreplay?
Aiden: How else was I supposed to take it?
*This does not compute. We open back up on Aiden and Erin together in the film study area of the Hunter Lodge. They are watching old matches. Right now Aiden is getting Nevermind Lariated right to the back of the skull.*
Aiden: See he gets it.
Erin: Violence is not a love language! And NOMAD sure as hell does NOT love you!
Aiden: I mean, everyone loves the champ. And really if he DID love me who could blame him? I’m a catch!
Erin: Maybe you should focus on not getting caught with those lariats.
*Aiden rubs the back of his neck.*
Aiden: Ain’t many folks can hit me with one of those as hard as I deal them out. Sawyer, Hyperion, and NOMAD. Nobody else ever rocked me as hard as them. He’s a damn impressive specimen. But I been studying his movements. Making little adjustments. If’n I can’t avoid those big hits, I need to know how to mitigate the damage. Take the hit and get back up. I ain’t getting complacent just cuz I’m the top dog around here.
Tucker: I’unno if I’d be willing to risk taking a hit from any of those you’re your lariats as the case may be, Aiden.
*Tucker Bernard emerges from the kitchen area with some VB cans, popping open three and handing one to each of the other two.*
Tucker: Not sure why we gotta drink this bilge when Erin has perfectly good local beers in the house just fifty meters that way…
Aiden: I am trying to get my body, mind and soul all aligned for this. If I beat him, I want him to know he took the best I got and he wasn’t good enough. And if he gets me? I need to know that I didn’t leave anything behind. That means drinking the hardiest amber fluid I can. It means getting my workouts and sparring in AND getting the massages and adjustments to be in top shape. This is a different kind of war than the kind I had with Poe. Or the kind I’d look out for from Jack or Jason.
*Aiden tanks the entire can in one go and crushes it on his forehead. Erin and Tucker sip theirs … and make sour faces. Aiden watches highlights from the number one contender’s match where NOMAD earned his spot.*
Erin: He’s a tough son of a gun. Why are you so excited for this?
Aiden: Why wouldn’t I be? As a champion, I expect my opponents to keep me sharp. Like a grindstone. Gotta keep improving to stay on top and feel alive. Gotta keep making progress to the next trophy, the next victory. Never settle. Mama didn’t raise me to accept “the top”. She raised me to build higher, make it that much harder and more rewarding for someone to take that top from me.
Tucker: Bah! You just love any excuse to bust out the fisticuffs and throw hands!
*Aiden laughs that hearty belly laugh and clicks the TV so it goes to some of his own matches instead.*
Aiden: Ya ain’t wrong, Tuck. I mean it’s why I loved every second of this one knocking my teeth down my throat.
Erin: You know I can still do that … and anyhow I expect you to bring me back some of NOMAD’s teeth while you’re at it. Calling me your “little girlfriend”. I have half a mind to kick his teeth in myself.
*Aiden laughs again and slaps his leg as he does. He is now watching his own match with Poena for the title.*
Aiden: Duly noted my fair lady. I’ll do my level best to remember that in the heat of war. *Sigh* No, but seriously, this match has me feeling something I ain’t felt in years. The thrill of going back to basics. A throwdown, knockdown, no holds barred brawl. I can sink my teeth into this kind of fight. Which one of us stops getting up first? You can’t predict. Neither one of us knows how to just go down and stay down. This isn’t a hunt, or a contract. This is amusement. This is sport. And sure … in this case I suppose I am the meat on the run.
Tucker: You certainly have gained some meat on him. Guy lost like 13 kilos. You lost 1.
Erin: How the hell has he lost weight eating all my food?
Aiden: The point I’m making is I can treat this like the match it is. Not a hunt. It’s much less preparation and more strategizing. Simpler. The raw meat and potatoes of wrestling. And not to mention … a first for TAPOUT. How many world title matches have been this violent and bloody? TAPOUT usually prioritizes skill and showmanship. Even the cage match with Poe and Jack was to keep them in. This … this is something entirely new, and beholden to NOMAD and myself. Mr. Sloane and I are unique among the entire roster, and Cross personally headhunted both of us to add that variety and element of violence.
*Aiden turns off the TV and settles into the couch.*
Tucker: Right, because praising violence is something an Aussie would say right?
*Aiden scoffs and shows a cavalier attitude to this line of inquisition. He expected it. Clearly not Spanish …*
Aiden: I’ve heard that so many bloody times. Stereotypes ain’t made out of whole cloth, somebody had to inspire it. I’m from the backwoods nowhere in the opal mines, so sue me. NOMAD ain’t gonna beat me cuz I ain’t a perfect talker. You’ll also notice that every single person who tried to call me out for my vernacular ended up face up on the mat for a three count. So I ain’t sweating that, Tuck. And neither should you. Sweat ruins your massaging hands…
*Aiden laughs and Tucker rolls his eyes and downs his own beer. He instead turns to the camera*
Aiden: Hey Sloane. I know yer watching this. Listen here. You and me are gonna tear the house down. One of us will be put down. Ain’t no question. For all your bravado and desire … know that I am just as resilient. Just as committed. I want you to think about something though. We both tangled with the best of this company. And we both went toe to toe with Poena. Poena has a certain track record … of violence and malice. People change when they fight him. Be it being forced to change their style and favor a limb, causing a loss and eventual hiatus …
*He looks at Erin who just looks away*
Aiden: Be it permanent scarring, relationships fractured, babies with PTSD, a bit of dissociative identity trauma … attitude shifts and retirement talks … or just fooling folks into following him or heaven forbid … copying him … Even you felt that affect. Poena took you out. But me? I beat the bastard. I overcame him. And I’m still strong enough to be the same bloody bastard I always been. But a funny thing happened. Poena isn’t the one who made you tighten up the ship. He’s not the one who influenced you to lose weight and be better. Nah … that was me. I was able to get inside you like nobody else. Sure, you could call this a POSITIVE change for you but still. It takes a true champ, a transformational character … to get someone to rebuild their entire outlook. I welcome the attention. But it’s something to keep in mind.
*Aiden relaxes back again.*
Aiden: Remember NOMAD, you wanted this from me. You wanted me at the very pinnacle of my power. You wanted the main event. This rodeo is my domain. My kind of sport. I’m gonna enjoy every bloody … well bloody second of it! And when it’s over … maybe … just maybe … I’ll shake yer hand. And collect some teeth off the ground for our trophies. And you can take solace in the fact that I am the most unstoppable champion … and there ain’t any shame in losing to someone like me. I intend to make myself, my lady, my family … and this company … proud. Ain’t nobody knocking me off this bull. I’m in fer the whole wild ride as the face of this place. Bank on that.
*Fade*
Erin: That’s certainly one way to say it.
Tucker: So … why do you put up with him? I have to. You don’t.
*Erin goes silent as if in thought as Tucker works his magic on the massage table. He is really working out some knots in the neck and back. It’s as if she is super stressed for some reason … like a mobile hunter lodge on her property complete with arrogant, annoying, 46 year old man child. Still this is indeed a respite and the Oncoming Storm is coming around to the idea of this massage room.*
Erin: …He's grown on me. Y'know, like a fungus.
Tucker: I suppose he might have some redeeming qualities. Maybe. Ya know he’s head over heels over you. He just don’t know it.
*Erin lifts her head to look at him. Her face says – you think you idjit? – but Tucker isn’t great at social cues and thinks he’s shocked her into silence*
Tucker: Sorry! Shouldn’ta toldja that. That ornery bastard will kill me. Let me get some more oil, this knot in the right arm ain’t coming loose.
Erin: That’s the Nor’easter arm. Been using it more than I thought considering I haven’t been in the ring.
*Tucker prances off, his anime inspired professional masseuse outfit on full display. He slips on some oil on the floor.*
Tucker: OOP! BLOODY HELL! Gotta remember to clean that, I almost crashed and burned! And with the cameras in here, Funniest Home Videos fer sure…
*Erin again perks up trying to see behind her without the towel over her front falling off.*
Erin: Cameras? What the-
Tucker: Nah not yer room Miss Gordon, Aiden protects his trophies. He is many things, he ain’t a perv-WHOOOOPS!
*He slips and skids into a wall and a bunch of random DVDs and books crash on top of him. Erin can’t see behind her but seems worried … until she hears footsteps and the squirting of oil out of a bottle. She rests again … until the hands touch that knot.*
Erin: Tuck, didja get beard hair all over your hands when you fell? Why’s it so scratchy and uncomfortable all of a sud-
*Aiden Merric stands over her massaging her.*
Aiden: Tuck is out of commission. No worries my favorite Sheila. I watched him, I can handle it. Let me limber ya up!
*Erin springs up to her feet, in one fluid motion securing the towel over her torso and swinging the right hand back and crushing Aiden with a Nor’easter back fist. His jaw looks like it moves 5 inches to the left.*
Aiden: COR BLIMEY THAT BLOODY HURT I- oh hey … it’s finally aligned … ya fixed the damage from that last AWF show! I KNEW YOU CARED!
Erin: … … Jackass …
Aiden: And here I thought that was skipping the foreplay…
Erin: A backfist to the jaw … foreplay?
Aiden: How else was I supposed to take it?
*This does not compute. We open back up on Aiden and Erin together in the film study area of the Hunter Lodge. They are watching old matches. Right now Aiden is getting Nevermind Lariated right to the back of the skull.*
Aiden: See he gets it.
Erin: Violence is not a love language! And NOMAD sure as hell does NOT love you!
Aiden: I mean, everyone loves the champ. And really if he DID love me who could blame him? I’m a catch!
Erin: Maybe you should focus on not getting caught with those lariats.
*Aiden rubs the back of his neck.*
Aiden: Ain’t many folks can hit me with one of those as hard as I deal them out. Sawyer, Hyperion, and NOMAD. Nobody else ever rocked me as hard as them. He’s a damn impressive specimen. But I been studying his movements. Making little adjustments. If’n I can’t avoid those big hits, I need to know how to mitigate the damage. Take the hit and get back up. I ain’t getting complacent just cuz I’m the top dog around here.
Tucker: I’unno if I’d be willing to risk taking a hit from any of those you’re your lariats as the case may be, Aiden.
*Tucker Bernard emerges from the kitchen area with some VB cans, popping open three and handing one to each of the other two.*
Tucker: Not sure why we gotta drink this bilge when Erin has perfectly good local beers in the house just fifty meters that way…
Aiden: I am trying to get my body, mind and soul all aligned for this. If I beat him, I want him to know he took the best I got and he wasn’t good enough. And if he gets me? I need to know that I didn’t leave anything behind. That means drinking the hardiest amber fluid I can. It means getting my workouts and sparring in AND getting the massages and adjustments to be in top shape. This is a different kind of war than the kind I had with Poe. Or the kind I’d look out for from Jack or Jason.
*Aiden tanks the entire can in one go and crushes it on his forehead. Erin and Tucker sip theirs … and make sour faces. Aiden watches highlights from the number one contender’s match where NOMAD earned his spot.*
Erin: He’s a tough son of a gun. Why are you so excited for this?
Aiden: Why wouldn’t I be? As a champion, I expect my opponents to keep me sharp. Like a grindstone. Gotta keep improving to stay on top and feel alive. Gotta keep making progress to the next trophy, the next victory. Never settle. Mama didn’t raise me to accept “the top”. She raised me to build higher, make it that much harder and more rewarding for someone to take that top from me.
Tucker: Bah! You just love any excuse to bust out the fisticuffs and throw hands!
*Aiden laughs that hearty belly laugh and clicks the TV so it goes to some of his own matches instead.*
Aiden: Ya ain’t wrong, Tuck. I mean it’s why I loved every second of this one knocking my teeth down my throat.
Erin: You know I can still do that … and anyhow I expect you to bring me back some of NOMAD’s teeth while you’re at it. Calling me your “little girlfriend”. I have half a mind to kick his teeth in myself.
*Aiden laughs again and slaps his leg as he does. He is now watching his own match with Poena for the title.*
Aiden: Duly noted my fair lady. I’ll do my level best to remember that in the heat of war. *Sigh* No, but seriously, this match has me feeling something I ain’t felt in years. The thrill of going back to basics. A throwdown, knockdown, no holds barred brawl. I can sink my teeth into this kind of fight. Which one of us stops getting up first? You can’t predict. Neither one of us knows how to just go down and stay down. This isn’t a hunt, or a contract. This is amusement. This is sport. And sure … in this case I suppose I am the meat on the run.
Tucker: You certainly have gained some meat on him. Guy lost like 13 kilos. You lost 1.
Erin: How the hell has he lost weight eating all my food?
Aiden: The point I’m making is I can treat this like the match it is. Not a hunt. It’s much less preparation and more strategizing. Simpler. The raw meat and potatoes of wrestling. And not to mention … a first for TAPOUT. How many world title matches have been this violent and bloody? TAPOUT usually prioritizes skill and showmanship. Even the cage match with Poe and Jack was to keep them in. This … this is something entirely new, and beholden to NOMAD and myself. Mr. Sloane and I are unique among the entire roster, and Cross personally headhunted both of us to add that variety and element of violence.
*Aiden turns off the TV and settles into the couch.*
Tucker: Right, because praising violence is something an Aussie would say right?
*Aiden scoffs and shows a cavalier attitude to this line of inquisition. He expected it. Clearly not Spanish …*
Aiden: I’ve heard that so many bloody times. Stereotypes ain’t made out of whole cloth, somebody had to inspire it. I’m from the backwoods nowhere in the opal mines, so sue me. NOMAD ain’t gonna beat me cuz I ain’t a perfect talker. You’ll also notice that every single person who tried to call me out for my vernacular ended up face up on the mat for a three count. So I ain’t sweating that, Tuck. And neither should you. Sweat ruins your massaging hands…
*Aiden laughs and Tucker rolls his eyes and downs his own beer. He instead turns to the camera*
Aiden: Hey Sloane. I know yer watching this. Listen here. You and me are gonna tear the house down. One of us will be put down. Ain’t no question. For all your bravado and desire … know that I am just as resilient. Just as committed. I want you to think about something though. We both tangled with the best of this company. And we both went toe to toe with Poena. Poena has a certain track record … of violence and malice. People change when they fight him. Be it being forced to change their style and favor a limb, causing a loss and eventual hiatus …
*He looks at Erin who just looks away*
Aiden: Be it permanent scarring, relationships fractured, babies with PTSD, a bit of dissociative identity trauma … attitude shifts and retirement talks … or just fooling folks into following him or heaven forbid … copying him … Even you felt that affect. Poena took you out. But me? I beat the bastard. I overcame him. And I’m still strong enough to be the same bloody bastard I always been. But a funny thing happened. Poena isn’t the one who made you tighten up the ship. He’s not the one who influenced you to lose weight and be better. Nah … that was me. I was able to get inside you like nobody else. Sure, you could call this a POSITIVE change for you but still. It takes a true champ, a transformational character … to get someone to rebuild their entire outlook. I welcome the attention. But it’s something to keep in mind.
*Aiden relaxes back again.*
Aiden: Remember NOMAD, you wanted this from me. You wanted me at the very pinnacle of my power. You wanted the main event. This rodeo is my domain. My kind of sport. I’m gonna enjoy every bloody … well bloody second of it! And when it’s over … maybe … just maybe … I’ll shake yer hand. And collect some teeth off the ground for our trophies. And you can take solace in the fact that I am the most unstoppable champion … and there ain’t any shame in losing to someone like me. I intend to make myself, my lady, my family … and this company … proud. Ain’t nobody knocking me off this bull. I’m in fer the whole wild ride as the face of this place. Bank on that.
*Fade*
