Sense of Hardcore (Storm/End of Days)
Sept 24, 2017 0:16:51 GMT -5
Mongo the Destroyer, ¥Ezriel¥, and 1 more like this
Post by ForeverKuroi on Sept 24, 2017 0:16:51 GMT -5
Fade in. Michael Storm is on the weightlifting bench in his basement. He is lying on his back with two fifty-pound free weights on each arm as he's lifting both of them over his chest. Sweat is sliding down his face. He is wearing cross-training sneakers and black shorts, with a yellow tripe along the side. Suddenly, his phone rings. Storm finishes his last couple of reps.
: "Twenty-Nine... Thirty."
Storm puts the weights down. He grabs a towel on the nearby Bowflex on his way to the couch, from where his phone is ringing.
: "This is Mike."
Al: "This is Al with Lifelock Security. There is an alert, but before we can move forward, I'd like to get your date of birth and last four digits of your social security number?"
: "Sure. It's [date of birth and last four digits of his social security number. You think I'm going to compromise the security of even a fake person? Go fuck yourself.]"
Al: "Wonderful. Thank you, Mr. [Storm's last name.] We've received word that someone may have stolen your identity."
: "Isn't that the reason I've bought the good stuff is so that people can't just easily steal my stuff? Why am I only learning about this after the fact?"
Al: "Well we actually have some information that might help pin point it. The person has sought out a loan in his name. He has rented an office for some sort of... operation. He has hired people and dressed him and himself in other people as our information suggests. He has even spent approximately ten thousand dollars on suits from Barney's New York. From our records, he even calls himself The Kingpin of Crime. We've cracked down hard on this. It's even on the paper."
: "The paper?"
Al: "We thought it was a little rough, but following the Equifax hack the other week, we decided being rough on identity thieves was not such a bad thing. Hopefully, this person knows that we're coming for him."
: "That's not even the big problem. I know who it is. My... associate, Michael Clarke Duncan, wants to act as the enforcer of the Storm name. He has called himself the Kingpin of Crime so that he can pin crime: 1 - 2 - 3, and then be the king of it. MCD knows that I'm in the XHF Network's End of Days Tournament, and he wants to be able to look throughout the city and protect me."
Al: "That... That sounds absolutely ridiculous."
: "...It is. I mean, who knows what this bumbling idiot is up to now?"
The camera fades to the next video.
After assaulting his crew, Michael Clarke Duncan hears his phone ringing. It's Big Booty Bitches by The Wiggles Playing ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z08fblDJ-BE ). MCD answers his phone.
: "Hey Storm. Don't worry. Everything is all set."
: "YOU'RE A FUCKING IDIOT."
: "I'm a fucking idiot that has kept your black fucking ass alive. Did you know that those two people placed bets that Ezriel would win?"
: "What two people?"
Michael Clarke Duncan had no idea that Michael Storm could watch the video and see him attacking those two people.
: "Look, that's not important. Hey, did you know that in ancient times, they would cut the tongues out of their bodyguards on their first day on the job?"
: "Who would cut the tongues? In which society? More importantly, why the hell am I asking you these questions? You're distracting me. Do you have any idea what you've done? You've stolen money from me, the guy who let you sleep in his house because no one wants to babysit an injured baby, even after you creeped on me having sex with my girlfriend."
: "Well, yous got to expect that when you do it in public."
: "I was in my house, you idiot!"
: "You were in my bedroom!"
: "IT WAS MY BASEMENT. YOU CAN'T SLEEP IN MY BASEMENT WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE AND CALL IT YOUR BEDROOM!"
: "Oh yeah. Can yous tell Erin that she should talk to her doctor? I saw a beauty mark on her ass that don't look no good."
: "You're still seeing us have sex? We only do it in my bed now!"
: "Yeah. I was in your bedroom closet. You don't do it in the basement anymore."
: "I fucking wonder why. Now you're banned from my house until you make me my money back. I don't care how you do it. I'm freezing my credit line, and I personally think you should apologize to whomever you just hurt. I don't care if they're Ezriel fans. They're not going to keep me from winning. There are only two people that decide who's winning - Ezriel and myself, and I was doing a pretty good job at exercising until your stupid shenanigans interrupted my workout."
: "Yeah... hurt"
: "Wait - what's that supposed to me-"
Storm was cut off as Michael Clarke Duncan hung up the phone on him. Storm shakes his head.
: "I swear to god - the karma I did in my past life to deserve the bullshit I get on a daily basis... But what I have right now at this very second is a camera in front of me and an audience. I'll start off with no fancy faux pas or any sort of message other than the one man I know is in front of me. Ezriel, you're a face I've never seen in person. You're new to the AWF, yet in this time, you've yet to walk out with a loss. Hell, in the AWF, I've already had a loss. So for you, I say congratulations. And I know I don't have a lot of time in matches - not nearly as much as you have. I've been treating this buffoon of an associate, nursing him to health. And last week, I have a vacation. I went to Iceland. I saw the geysers and the... you know, I'm getting off track."
Storm puts the phone into his pocket as he continues talking.
: "I'm not going to assume that you're just some young guy, like the guy I used to be. I'm not going to assume you to be arrogant. But I already know enough about you that even if you are arrogant, you can back it up with skill. I mean, you've gone toe to toe with Alex Jones. Back then, I've known him as AJ Phoenix. You've gone up against him, and you couldn't beat him, but you could step into the ring with that steamroller, and keep yourself from getting run over. It's worthy of respect. It's worthy of admiration, but I should tell you a little something about me so you don't get the wrong impression about me, thinking that I'm kissing your ass or anything like that."
Storm points to a portrait behind him, him holding the XHF Hardcore Championship. Storm looked different back then; he looked a little more youthful, sure. But he wasn't smiling. He looked angry and miserable as a person.
: "A long time ago, I was a bit like you - at least, from what I've seen of you in your promos. I've been a monster. Sure, I haven't brought it to the outside - I haven't painted myself to look like a skeleton. I was a monster on the inside, and there was a time in which I looked into the eyes of people, and they expected terror. Why? Because that's what they got. I've held Alex Jones back and injured his pride and humiliated him as a bunch of guys went where no one in business should go, the personal lives of people. We scarred his daughter by turning her dream of a wonderful birthday party into a nightmare. The thoughts that a father must have - what were we going to do? Injure his daughter? Injure him in front of his daughter? What we did was close enough to feel that real. I'm proud to say I'm no longer this man. I'm not like that man that you see behind me. I'm different, and I hope you can reflect on that and let that thought linger as you live your life from day to day."
Storm walks up to the portrait and taps on the glass.
: "Hell, I'm not even sure I can move the way I used to be able to. But you must understand, there is one thing that separates me from the man I used to be. Do you know what that might be?"
Storm only waits for a solid five seconds or so. There's no way he could possibly expect someone to answer from over the television.
: "The difference is hardcore. It's a lifestyle, all about living to the maximum. Back then, it was about destruction. It's about tearing down others and in making yourself to appear to be the biggest in comparison. Back then, I thought that's the only way of being hardcore. But I was a kid."
Storm smiles as he walks away from the portrait.
: "I'm not a kid anymore, and neither are you, are you? I did a little research to learn how you wrestle. After all, what kind of wrestler would I be if I didn't do my homework? They didn't even list your age. That's silly. Surely the AWF should know, but I doubt they got that from you. They don't seem to be on the up and up. Anyway, you don't look to be a child. What matters most is that we put on a good match. I'm going to win. A lot of it's going to be based on logic. You see, you couldn't beat Alex Jones. I mean, sure - you didn't lose, but you didn't win, either. If you saw Fired Up, which I'm sure you did. After all, that was your first match. But anyway, if you saw my match with M.G.K., you would have seen that I beat him. It was an extremely difficult match. I shouldn't have beaten him, but I did. And I came out a better man from the experience. What you may not have known is that Alex Jones and M.G.K. have both had their moments. They've had moments where they have teamed up and crossed paths. And when they have wrestled, about three out of four times, M.G.K. would win. Statistically, I should be able to beat you."
Storm tries to hide a smirk. He's feeling a bit confident, but doesn't want to come across as cocky either.
: "This isn't an exact science and wouldn't bet my bottom dollar, but I should win. I'd probably guess my chances of victory to hover at about 80%. At the very least, you should find that I am one of your more difficult opponents - possibly your toughest opponent in the AWF. I'm not nearly as decorated as Alex Jones, but I have the heart and I've seen the trouble that both Copycat and Curtis Kanyon gave you. Guess what? I've beaten them both. I've even taken the Hardcore Championship from Curtis Kanyon before. You're an accomplished wrestler, Ezriel. I'm not walking in and expecting this win to just fall onto my lap and I'm not discounting the possibility that I'll be walking away from this a loser, but I also don't want you to walk into this match with anything short of your A-Game. My sense of hardcore is still here. I'm not here to tear you down, but I'm willing to suffer it means that I'll walk out a winner."
Storm offers the camera a smile.
: "Don't worry, Ezriel. You're a winner too, but you won't win this time. It's about high time we've met and for me to give you the fight of your life. See you in the ring."
Fade out.
: "Twenty-Nine... Thirty."Storm puts the weights down. He grabs a towel on the nearby Bowflex on his way to the couch, from where his phone is ringing.
: "This is Mike."Al: "This is Al with Lifelock Security. There is an alert, but before we can move forward, I'd like to get your date of birth and last four digits of your social security number?"
: "Sure. It's [date of birth and last four digits of his social security number. You think I'm going to compromise the security of even a fake person? Go fuck yourself.]"Al: "Wonderful. Thank you, Mr. [Storm's last name.] We've received word that someone may have stolen your identity."
: "Isn't that the reason I've bought the good stuff is so that people can't just easily steal my stuff? Why am I only learning about this after the fact?"Al: "Well we actually have some information that might help pin point it. The person has sought out a loan in his name. He has rented an office for some sort of... operation. He has hired people and dressed him and himself in other people as our information suggests. He has even spent approximately ten thousand dollars on suits from Barney's New York. From our records, he even calls himself The Kingpin of Crime. We've cracked down hard on this. It's even on the paper."
: "The paper?"Al: "We thought it was a little rough, but following the Equifax hack the other week, we decided being rough on identity thieves was not such a bad thing. Hopefully, this person knows that we're coming for him."
: "That's not even the big problem. I know who it is. My... associate, Michael Clarke Duncan, wants to act as the enforcer of the Storm name. He has called himself the Kingpin of Crime so that he can pin crime: 1 - 2 - 3, and then be the king of it. MCD knows that I'm in the XHF Network's End of Days Tournament, and he wants to be able to look throughout the city and protect me."Al: "That... That sounds absolutely ridiculous."
: "...It is. I mean, who knows what this bumbling idiot is up to now?"The camera fades to the next video.
After assaulting his crew, Michael Clarke Duncan hears his phone ringing. It's Big Booty Bitches by The Wiggles Playing ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z08fblDJ-BE ). MCD answers his phone.
: "Hey Storm. Don't worry. Everything is all set.": "YOU'RE A FUCKING IDIOT.": "I'm a fucking idiot that has kept your black fucking ass alive. Did you know that those two people placed bets that Ezriel would win?": "What two people?"Michael Clarke Duncan had no idea that Michael Storm could watch the video and see him attacking those two people.
: "Look, that's not important. Hey, did you know that in ancient times, they would cut the tongues out of their bodyguards on their first day on the job?": "Who would cut the tongues? In which society? More importantly, why the hell am I asking you these questions? You're distracting me. Do you have any idea what you've done? You've stolen money from me, the guy who let you sleep in his house because no one wants to babysit an injured baby, even after you creeped on me having sex with my girlfriend." : "Well, yous got to expect that when you do it in public.": "I was in my house, you idiot!": "You were in my bedroom!": "IT WAS MY BASEMENT. YOU CAN'T SLEEP IN MY BASEMENT WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE AND CALL IT YOUR BEDROOM!": "Oh yeah. Can yous tell Erin that she should talk to her doctor? I saw a beauty mark on her ass that don't look no good.": "You're still seeing us have sex? We only do it in my bed now!": "Yeah. I was in your bedroom closet. You don't do it in the basement anymore.": "I fucking wonder why. Now you're banned from my house until you make me my money back. I don't care how you do it. I'm freezing my credit line, and I personally think you should apologize to whomever you just hurt. I don't care if they're Ezriel fans. They're not going to keep me from winning. There are only two people that decide who's winning - Ezriel and myself, and I was doing a pretty good job at exercising until your stupid shenanigans interrupted my workout.": "Yeah... hurt": "Wait - what's that supposed to me-"Storm was cut off as Michael Clarke Duncan hung up the phone on him. Storm shakes his head.
: "I swear to god - the karma I did in my past life to deserve the bullshit I get on a daily basis... But what I have right now at this very second is a camera in front of me and an audience. I'll start off with no fancy faux pas or any sort of message other than the one man I know is in front of me. Ezriel, you're a face I've never seen in person. You're new to the AWF, yet in this time, you've yet to walk out with a loss. Hell, in the AWF, I've already had a loss. So for you, I say congratulations. And I know I don't have a lot of time in matches - not nearly as much as you have. I've been treating this buffoon of an associate, nursing him to health. And last week, I have a vacation. I went to Iceland. I saw the geysers and the... you know, I'm getting off track."Storm puts the phone into his pocket as he continues talking.
: "I'm not going to assume that you're just some young guy, like the guy I used to be. I'm not going to assume you to be arrogant. But I already know enough about you that even if you are arrogant, you can back it up with skill. I mean, you've gone toe to toe with Alex Jones. Back then, I've known him as AJ Phoenix. You've gone up against him, and you couldn't beat him, but you could step into the ring with that steamroller, and keep yourself from getting run over. It's worthy of respect. It's worthy of admiration, but I should tell you a little something about me so you don't get the wrong impression about me, thinking that I'm kissing your ass or anything like that."Storm points to a portrait behind him, him holding the XHF Hardcore Championship. Storm looked different back then; he looked a little more youthful, sure. But he wasn't smiling. He looked angry and miserable as a person.
: "A long time ago, I was a bit like you - at least, from what I've seen of you in your promos. I've been a monster. Sure, I haven't brought it to the outside - I haven't painted myself to look like a skeleton. I was a monster on the inside, and there was a time in which I looked into the eyes of people, and they expected terror. Why? Because that's what they got. I've held Alex Jones back and injured his pride and humiliated him as a bunch of guys went where no one in business should go, the personal lives of people. We scarred his daughter by turning her dream of a wonderful birthday party into a nightmare. The thoughts that a father must have - what were we going to do? Injure his daughter? Injure him in front of his daughter? What we did was close enough to feel that real. I'm proud to say I'm no longer this man. I'm not like that man that you see behind me. I'm different, and I hope you can reflect on that and let that thought linger as you live your life from day to day."Storm walks up to the portrait and taps on the glass.
: "Hell, I'm not even sure I can move the way I used to be able to. But you must understand, there is one thing that separates me from the man I used to be. Do you know what that might be?"Storm only waits for a solid five seconds or so. There's no way he could possibly expect someone to answer from over the television.
: "The difference is hardcore. It's a lifestyle, all about living to the maximum. Back then, it was about destruction. It's about tearing down others and in making yourself to appear to be the biggest in comparison. Back then, I thought that's the only way of being hardcore. But I was a kid."Storm smiles as he walks away from the portrait.
: "I'm not a kid anymore, and neither are you, are you? I did a little research to learn how you wrestle. After all, what kind of wrestler would I be if I didn't do my homework? They didn't even list your age. That's silly. Surely the AWF should know, but I doubt they got that from you. They don't seem to be on the up and up. Anyway, you don't look to be a child. What matters most is that we put on a good match. I'm going to win. A lot of it's going to be based on logic. You see, you couldn't beat Alex Jones. I mean, sure - you didn't lose, but you didn't win, either. If you saw Fired Up, which I'm sure you did. After all, that was your first match. But anyway, if you saw my match with M.G.K., you would have seen that I beat him. It was an extremely difficult match. I shouldn't have beaten him, but I did. And I came out a better man from the experience. What you may not have known is that Alex Jones and M.G.K. have both had their moments. They've had moments where they have teamed up and crossed paths. And when they have wrestled, about three out of four times, M.G.K. would win. Statistically, I should be able to beat you."Storm tries to hide a smirk. He's feeling a bit confident, but doesn't want to come across as cocky either.
: "This isn't an exact science and wouldn't bet my bottom dollar, but I should win. I'd probably guess my chances of victory to hover at about 80%. At the very least, you should find that I am one of your more difficult opponents - possibly your toughest opponent in the AWF. I'm not nearly as decorated as Alex Jones, but I have the heart and I've seen the trouble that both Copycat and Curtis Kanyon gave you. Guess what? I've beaten them both. I've even taken the Hardcore Championship from Curtis Kanyon before. You're an accomplished wrestler, Ezriel. I'm not walking in and expecting this win to just fall onto my lap and I'm not discounting the possibility that I'll be walking away from this a loser, but I also don't want you to walk into this match with anything short of your A-Game. My sense of hardcore is still here. I'm not here to tear you down, but I'm willing to suffer it means that I'll walk out a winner."Storm offers the camera a smile.
: "Don't worry, Ezriel. You're a winner too, but you won't win this time. It's about high time we've met and for me to give you the fight of your life. See you in the ring."Fade out.
