Post by Dave D-Flipz on Jan 17, 2018 23:59:28 GMT -5
Okay so this is the first RP that I feel shows me learning and growing as a writer and starting to actually develop a real "personality" for DT. It would be a long time before I really found his voice... but it's a start. So thanks Harry for bringing it out of me. -DT 1/17/2018
*A camera opens up in a big city. Funaki is once again right beside it. They look around to reveal a beautiful scene. The sun is shining, birds are flying. They turn around and reveal their location. They head into the newest building in the greater Seattle area, Safeco Field. They pass multiple abandoned hot dog concession stands. They stroll past various gift shops. They head out to the stands. The roof is slid open letting rays of sun shine in. A train whistle is heard in the background. An Amtrak rides past the station and past the fence. The stands are completely empty. They look down at the field. It is beautiful, the grounds crew has just left after cleaning up after the day game. However something is out of place. The net used for batting practice is still standing behind home plate. A man in a uniform, number 14, is kneeling in the batter's box looking out at center field. In his batting glove covered hands there is a 36 ounce black Louisville Slugger. Upon closer inspection the man stands up and removes his Mariners cap.*
F: Death Trap, why are you here?
DT: Thinking, reflecting, and reminiscing. You know I heard Harry. And you know what, I'm not going to lie, some of what he said was true. But that just made me more determined. I've been looking back at things. Ever since I was a little boy, I wanted to do something massively great with my life. And when I couldn't cut it in the big leagues at age 18 I was heartbroken. I tried out, I sucked. Well not really, I played like what I was, a great second baseman. Unfortunately I wasn't Seattle Mariners good. I wasn't even minor league good. My life seemed to have ended. But dreams do not die. I kept myself going on sheer will. I finally seemed to have found my calling in wrestling. I was the best. I could do any move I saw on TV. I could beat people twice my size, twice my strength, twice my speed, twice my ability. What made me good? Heart. Heart and willpower. The will to become great and achieve my dream of superstardom drove me to be better than ordinary. And that concept, the trials and tribulations I faced are something Hardcore Harry could not understand. And I know he's thinking that he had the same problems in life, he didn't have my life. I understand things for him may have been bad, but not like me. I had no natural abilities, I drove myself so hard that one day everything about that ring suddenly became natural like I was born with a gift. But I wasn't. No. I have been thinking back to those days. And all I find there . . . is things to inspire me, things that make me want to be even better. I am no longer happy with my status. I need to achieve more. I need to reach for my dreams. Even if I don't do what I wanted to knowing I tried my damn hardest will be enough for me. So I will persist and move on. This is just another bump in the road that I must defeat. I learned you cant make things seem bigger than they are. Don't make mountains out of molehills. So I won't. I live life one day at a time because one day it WILL be my last. Until then I will continue to push myself beyond my natural limits. For every time I do I expand my range a little more. And then I expand my push. One day I won't be able to make myself any better. That day is the thing I work for, yet I know that right now I am not even half way up that mountain. So I take each step as if the next will put me over the top and it has paid off. Look at me. I have gone from a dull nobody from Seattle to a 3 time World Champ, a 2 time tag champ, a 5 time hardcore champ, a 3 time National Champion. And that is just one fed. I have done so much more in other feds. But it doesn't mean anything. Having belts means nothing to me. Winning is great but it isn't my only goal in life. I want to be the ABSOLUTE best I can be, meaning I CANNOT POSSIBLY get better. And that is something Harry doesn't understand. With all he's accomplished he has reached his goals. He has no reason to push himself harder every time. He has already proven himself and he's already reached the plateau I want to be at. But that does not make him invincible. It weakens him. You see for me to continue my path . . . I must best myself and that means I must win or at least go down in a fiery blaze of glory that no one will match for months or even years. I have to do my absolute best and be able to walk out head held high win or lose. If I can do that, I will be happy.
F: I understand.
DT: Harry, he made a good point. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was something back then. Maybe I showed potential and that is why he never faced me. I can understand that. But you see I don't understand him at the same time. Sure he was achieving things. He was doing then the same thing I just said I am doing now. He was climbing that mountain. He was bettering himself and making changes. He was reaching for goals. But somewhere along the line he forgot something. Never hold back no matter what you see. If I showed so much potential, why not challenge me. If I was what he thought I was wouldn't I have met the challenge and come up swinging? Even if he did beat me, wouldn't the fact that I kept going and kept coming back for more prove to him his suspicion? No instead he chose his other form of a test. Going easy on me in favor of having other established wrestlers fight me. Harry I have to ask you this. You are right . . . and I HAVE said this before, you must not have been listening. When I challenged you . . . YOU WERE THE BEST! That is why I did it. I didn't do it to dethrone you or embarrass you because if I was what you saw then it wouldn't have hurt you to lose because it would prove you right. It would mean you did your job. But if you were the best and wanted to test me, then wouldn't the TOUGHEST test of all be facing you one on one and surviving? Living to fight again and someday beat you. When you were ready to pass the torch, if you could pass it to someone who survived you in your prime, wouldn't that satisfy you? Instead you fed me to those weaker than you? What did you prove that night? Nothing. Because you didn't do your best, you didn't give me the toughest challenge. That is all I wanted. The toughest challenge I could possibly face. That is why I challenged you now. Because you deprived me earlier. You made me miss out on valuable experience. If I competed one on one with you, isn't it a big possibility I'd be better than I am now? I'd still be as good as I was? Instead now I have to start from the bottom. I have to once again regain my skills. As much as it may look like it, I am NOT facing you for revenge, only to finish something I started one year ago. Something you started. Something that MUST be put to rest. I can no longer let it eat at my soul that I never faced the one challenge I wanted in my career. So I must make amends, instead of dwelling in the past, better the future! However you did prove something that night. You went in as THE BEST. But you came out an average person. You came out without fulfilling your duty. You failed yourself. You proved you weren't up to the challenges. You showed fear AND GAVE IN TO IT! Isn't that the one thing the true best, a true legend would NEVER LET HIMSELF DO EVER!? You did it. You soiled your legacy that night Harry. So Harry, I do not hide in your shadow, for I have beaten the ultimate challenge and you did not. I faced my fear and beat it while you tapped out. You gave in. I respected you, I revered you, I LOOKED UP TO YOU! But that night you destroyed it all. You weren't the idol I looked up to. You were no better than myself. And so I made it a point to get you back to the idol I once worshipped so I could beat my challenges. And also, so YOU could look in the mirror and NOT see a coward. So you could see a man with unlimited dignity and a loyal fan base. SO I could have back my idol and be able to reach for that glory. That is the point of this. I needed you back to prove to BOTH OF US that 1) You are a hardcore legend and an idol, and 2) That I am the future, that I can be one of few who ACHIEVE their goals and receive glory. SO I could have the dignity of being able to look at myself in the mirror and keep my head high and smile. SO I COULD TELL MY KIDS I DID EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED IN LIFE! Harry can you not find that small shred of respect for yourself in that deep black void where your heart once was? Can you not DEFEAT THAT FEAR and regain that glory at least in your own and my eyes? Or will you do a repeat performance? I hope to God you choose right.
*He stares once again at the sky and gets up and starts swinging the bat.*
DT: Another point would be you are right. My Trapheads wouldn't care if I came out to "Shake Your Booty" as long as I kicked ass and stayed loyal to them and myself. My music and that announcement were more of a reassurance to myself. My philosophy. To keep being the master. To keep taking the shots and spitting them right back at you. To NEVER DIE! To keep coming back. But Harry, isn't it a truth? No one has ever shot and killed the master. No one has kept me down. I keep springing back up and getting stronger and eventually conquer that challenge. The mark of a real man is it not? I want to be able to put TRUTH behind what I said 2 nights ago, to be able to say Harry . . . you shot and connected but didn't keep me down so SHOOT ME AGAIN, I AIN'T DEAD YET! Something even you can both respect AND understand. And if not then you don't deserve your legacy. For it would all be in vain, because that should be EVERYONE'S goal, to keep coming back for more. TO keep surviving everything thrown at them by life. To be able to handle those twists, turns, bumps, dips, and cliffs. I realize I am in a whole new place, but what better way to prove to myself? What better way to earn that music that you so eloquently came back at with Whoop die Fucking Do. You shed blood for them well SO HAVE I! I have shed blood, sweat, and tears. All for them. All for them and myself.
F: You are not as experienced though, he said that.
DT: Funaki, Harry, if there's one thing I know it's that experience helps but heart is what REALLY makes a man. A man with ten years of experience but no heart is no match for a guy with 2 years and a whole shit load of it. Heart drives you. Heart keeps you going. Ability and experience can help but heart is what gives you those one in a million moves that JUST edge out your opponent. And no heart . . . that is the REAL deadliest trap of all. You are an empty shell. But I know Harry has heart, I've seen it. But I have more. and he can deny it all he wants, but heart is what made me so good in just 2 1/2 years. While it took him 8 or ten like he said. Although time doesn't take away from him. He can still kick my ass if I start doubting myself, and he WILL manhandle me. But he knows I will come back and manhandle him too. I will use everything. I will fight until I CANNOT move at all. I will keep coming. I won't stop. I will put my heart and soul into everything and come out head high. Win or lose. And while I DO intend to win and I intend to make it the best win ever, I know that I may not win. That keeps me from getting cocky and THAT Funaki is my greatest weapon, ally, and advantage. And while his heart may be magic, mine isn't what he thinks either. Heart has kept me ALIVE! I have heart, and him underestimating that and being too cocky with his own heart, talent, and skill will be his undoing. I have faith in my abilities but I have a reliance on my heart. And other wrestlers do the opposite. Maybe only Harry and maybe a few others actually understand, relying on skill is a 50/50. Relying on heart is a sure thing because heart doesn't give out like skill can. And maybe it's me, maybe I'm blind to a better thing, but I stick with what works don't you? But you know what Harry, you also made another miscalculation. Not once did I ever brag about winning, and not once did I celebrate. Because Reeshi DID all the work because I failed. And I WAS happy we won but I was disappointed that I could not do what comes natural because I made an error, I focused so much on me and you that your partner got the best of me. But I do not let that happen often and you above all should know that. After what you put me through in those weeks . . . after all the brutal fights I was in with GD and SSB and others after you should know I NEVER try to let someone else work. I try to do everything but be man enough to ask for help. But Sunday I WILL NOT ask for help and I intend to beat you by myself. And I will leave all that shit out of my focus Sunday, but you see right now that is what I NEED to think about to help me prepare and train. So when Sunday comes I CAN focus completely and be my best. Like you said, I will bring you competition, no blowouts here. And the fans know that I deliver on my promises. And Harry . . . I PROMISE YOU! I will be at my best. I will be more than competition. I will be your toughest opponent ever.
*He sits down again*
DT: Harry . . . your ECF title as greatest is on the line, but your legacy is not. We both know that no matter what everyone will remember your accomplishments not your losses. They will look back and say LOOK AT THOSE ACHIEVMENTS! Not what a loser, he lost to Death Trap. And you know that damn well. They know you are good. Losing to me would NOT make you a loser but it would make me your equal! They will say, WOW Death Trap was the real deal, he beat the legend Hardcore Harry. Our names will remain side by side as equals. And that would be enough for me. I want to look back and in 50 years say, I beat Hardcore Harry, the Fuc*ing LEGEND! The best in the biz! And no matter who wins, our legacies will live on. We will both be associated with the winners, the greats. We will be up there with names like Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, and Bret Hart! Don't you understand that? Can't you see this is NOT about pride or being better, it is my proving grounds. And if you can beat me or at least stay your best like you were back then for this match, then you should be happy. No damage will be done to your legacy, rep, or pride! And like you, I have old buddies cheering me on, I have my millions of Trapheads, and my bud Funaki. And no one will interfere but their support will strengthen me and make me live on. I can feed off of that Harry. As long as I remain true to myself I can always be my best. You should see this as the thing you love most Harry. We are two of the very few who do what they love and live life to the fullest. We are among the supernatural. We are what normal people want to be and that is why they look up to us. They can't live by doing what they love so they instead get their strength from watching us, the ones who can and do. Harry I know this will not be your last match, only a stopping point to which you will return. But I also know you will still be determined and I will be ready. I am counting the days. And you know what, you are right, this outcome is not in the stars, not in the dice, but within that will within us, and of course, the ONE TWO THREE. The trap is as always set, how long can you withstand it once it is sprung? Will you come back to me afterwards and tell me, Death Trap . . . shoot me again I ain't dead yet. Or will you end up the man in the box, the one who gets pushed on the shelf and forgotten except for a valiant past? We shall find out Sunday, at the day of Final Judgment . . . for one of us . . .
*The camera fades out.*
*A camera opens up in a big city. Funaki is once again right beside it. They look around to reveal a beautiful scene. The sun is shining, birds are flying. They turn around and reveal their location. They head into the newest building in the greater Seattle area, Safeco Field. They pass multiple abandoned hot dog concession stands. They stroll past various gift shops. They head out to the stands. The roof is slid open letting rays of sun shine in. A train whistle is heard in the background. An Amtrak rides past the station and past the fence. The stands are completely empty. They look down at the field. It is beautiful, the grounds crew has just left after cleaning up after the day game. However something is out of place. The net used for batting practice is still standing behind home plate. A man in a uniform, number 14, is kneeling in the batter's box looking out at center field. In his batting glove covered hands there is a 36 ounce black Louisville Slugger. Upon closer inspection the man stands up and removes his Mariners cap.*
F: Death Trap, why are you here?
DT: Thinking, reflecting, and reminiscing. You know I heard Harry. And you know what, I'm not going to lie, some of what he said was true. But that just made me more determined. I've been looking back at things. Ever since I was a little boy, I wanted to do something massively great with my life. And when I couldn't cut it in the big leagues at age 18 I was heartbroken. I tried out, I sucked. Well not really, I played like what I was, a great second baseman. Unfortunately I wasn't Seattle Mariners good. I wasn't even minor league good. My life seemed to have ended. But dreams do not die. I kept myself going on sheer will. I finally seemed to have found my calling in wrestling. I was the best. I could do any move I saw on TV. I could beat people twice my size, twice my strength, twice my speed, twice my ability. What made me good? Heart. Heart and willpower. The will to become great and achieve my dream of superstardom drove me to be better than ordinary. And that concept, the trials and tribulations I faced are something Hardcore Harry could not understand. And I know he's thinking that he had the same problems in life, he didn't have my life. I understand things for him may have been bad, but not like me. I had no natural abilities, I drove myself so hard that one day everything about that ring suddenly became natural like I was born with a gift. But I wasn't. No. I have been thinking back to those days. And all I find there . . . is things to inspire me, things that make me want to be even better. I am no longer happy with my status. I need to achieve more. I need to reach for my dreams. Even if I don't do what I wanted to knowing I tried my damn hardest will be enough for me. So I will persist and move on. This is just another bump in the road that I must defeat. I learned you cant make things seem bigger than they are. Don't make mountains out of molehills. So I won't. I live life one day at a time because one day it WILL be my last. Until then I will continue to push myself beyond my natural limits. For every time I do I expand my range a little more. And then I expand my push. One day I won't be able to make myself any better. That day is the thing I work for, yet I know that right now I am not even half way up that mountain. So I take each step as if the next will put me over the top and it has paid off. Look at me. I have gone from a dull nobody from Seattle to a 3 time World Champ, a 2 time tag champ, a 5 time hardcore champ, a 3 time National Champion. And that is just one fed. I have done so much more in other feds. But it doesn't mean anything. Having belts means nothing to me. Winning is great but it isn't my only goal in life. I want to be the ABSOLUTE best I can be, meaning I CANNOT POSSIBLY get better. And that is something Harry doesn't understand. With all he's accomplished he has reached his goals. He has no reason to push himself harder every time. He has already proven himself and he's already reached the plateau I want to be at. But that does not make him invincible. It weakens him. You see for me to continue my path . . . I must best myself and that means I must win or at least go down in a fiery blaze of glory that no one will match for months or even years. I have to do my absolute best and be able to walk out head held high win or lose. If I can do that, I will be happy.
F: I understand.
DT: Harry, he made a good point. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was something back then. Maybe I showed potential and that is why he never faced me. I can understand that. But you see I don't understand him at the same time. Sure he was achieving things. He was doing then the same thing I just said I am doing now. He was climbing that mountain. He was bettering himself and making changes. He was reaching for goals. But somewhere along the line he forgot something. Never hold back no matter what you see. If I showed so much potential, why not challenge me. If I was what he thought I was wouldn't I have met the challenge and come up swinging? Even if he did beat me, wouldn't the fact that I kept going and kept coming back for more prove to him his suspicion? No instead he chose his other form of a test. Going easy on me in favor of having other established wrestlers fight me. Harry I have to ask you this. You are right . . . and I HAVE said this before, you must not have been listening. When I challenged you . . . YOU WERE THE BEST! That is why I did it. I didn't do it to dethrone you or embarrass you because if I was what you saw then it wouldn't have hurt you to lose because it would prove you right. It would mean you did your job. But if you were the best and wanted to test me, then wouldn't the TOUGHEST test of all be facing you one on one and surviving? Living to fight again and someday beat you. When you were ready to pass the torch, if you could pass it to someone who survived you in your prime, wouldn't that satisfy you? Instead you fed me to those weaker than you? What did you prove that night? Nothing. Because you didn't do your best, you didn't give me the toughest challenge. That is all I wanted. The toughest challenge I could possibly face. That is why I challenged you now. Because you deprived me earlier. You made me miss out on valuable experience. If I competed one on one with you, isn't it a big possibility I'd be better than I am now? I'd still be as good as I was? Instead now I have to start from the bottom. I have to once again regain my skills. As much as it may look like it, I am NOT facing you for revenge, only to finish something I started one year ago. Something you started. Something that MUST be put to rest. I can no longer let it eat at my soul that I never faced the one challenge I wanted in my career. So I must make amends, instead of dwelling in the past, better the future! However you did prove something that night. You went in as THE BEST. But you came out an average person. You came out without fulfilling your duty. You failed yourself. You proved you weren't up to the challenges. You showed fear AND GAVE IN TO IT! Isn't that the one thing the true best, a true legend would NEVER LET HIMSELF DO EVER!? You did it. You soiled your legacy that night Harry. So Harry, I do not hide in your shadow, for I have beaten the ultimate challenge and you did not. I faced my fear and beat it while you tapped out. You gave in. I respected you, I revered you, I LOOKED UP TO YOU! But that night you destroyed it all. You weren't the idol I looked up to. You were no better than myself. And so I made it a point to get you back to the idol I once worshipped so I could beat my challenges. And also, so YOU could look in the mirror and NOT see a coward. So you could see a man with unlimited dignity and a loyal fan base. SO I could have back my idol and be able to reach for that glory. That is the point of this. I needed you back to prove to BOTH OF US that 1) You are a hardcore legend and an idol, and 2) That I am the future, that I can be one of few who ACHIEVE their goals and receive glory. SO I could have the dignity of being able to look at myself in the mirror and keep my head high and smile. SO I COULD TELL MY KIDS I DID EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED IN LIFE! Harry can you not find that small shred of respect for yourself in that deep black void where your heart once was? Can you not DEFEAT THAT FEAR and regain that glory at least in your own and my eyes? Or will you do a repeat performance? I hope to God you choose right.
*He stares once again at the sky and gets up and starts swinging the bat.*
DT: Another point would be you are right. My Trapheads wouldn't care if I came out to "Shake Your Booty" as long as I kicked ass and stayed loyal to them and myself. My music and that announcement were more of a reassurance to myself. My philosophy. To keep being the master. To keep taking the shots and spitting them right back at you. To NEVER DIE! To keep coming back. But Harry, isn't it a truth? No one has ever shot and killed the master. No one has kept me down. I keep springing back up and getting stronger and eventually conquer that challenge. The mark of a real man is it not? I want to be able to put TRUTH behind what I said 2 nights ago, to be able to say Harry . . . you shot and connected but didn't keep me down so SHOOT ME AGAIN, I AIN'T DEAD YET! Something even you can both respect AND understand. And if not then you don't deserve your legacy. For it would all be in vain, because that should be EVERYONE'S goal, to keep coming back for more. TO keep surviving everything thrown at them by life. To be able to handle those twists, turns, bumps, dips, and cliffs. I realize I am in a whole new place, but what better way to prove to myself? What better way to earn that music that you so eloquently came back at with Whoop die Fucking Do. You shed blood for them well SO HAVE I! I have shed blood, sweat, and tears. All for them. All for them and myself.
F: You are not as experienced though, he said that.
DT: Funaki, Harry, if there's one thing I know it's that experience helps but heart is what REALLY makes a man. A man with ten years of experience but no heart is no match for a guy with 2 years and a whole shit load of it. Heart drives you. Heart keeps you going. Ability and experience can help but heart is what gives you those one in a million moves that JUST edge out your opponent. And no heart . . . that is the REAL deadliest trap of all. You are an empty shell. But I know Harry has heart, I've seen it. But I have more. and he can deny it all he wants, but heart is what made me so good in just 2 1/2 years. While it took him 8 or ten like he said. Although time doesn't take away from him. He can still kick my ass if I start doubting myself, and he WILL manhandle me. But he knows I will come back and manhandle him too. I will use everything. I will fight until I CANNOT move at all. I will keep coming. I won't stop. I will put my heart and soul into everything and come out head high. Win or lose. And while I DO intend to win and I intend to make it the best win ever, I know that I may not win. That keeps me from getting cocky and THAT Funaki is my greatest weapon, ally, and advantage. And while his heart may be magic, mine isn't what he thinks either. Heart has kept me ALIVE! I have heart, and him underestimating that and being too cocky with his own heart, talent, and skill will be his undoing. I have faith in my abilities but I have a reliance on my heart. And other wrestlers do the opposite. Maybe only Harry and maybe a few others actually understand, relying on skill is a 50/50. Relying on heart is a sure thing because heart doesn't give out like skill can. And maybe it's me, maybe I'm blind to a better thing, but I stick with what works don't you? But you know what Harry, you also made another miscalculation. Not once did I ever brag about winning, and not once did I celebrate. Because Reeshi DID all the work because I failed. And I WAS happy we won but I was disappointed that I could not do what comes natural because I made an error, I focused so much on me and you that your partner got the best of me. But I do not let that happen often and you above all should know that. After what you put me through in those weeks . . . after all the brutal fights I was in with GD and SSB and others after you should know I NEVER try to let someone else work. I try to do everything but be man enough to ask for help. But Sunday I WILL NOT ask for help and I intend to beat you by myself. And I will leave all that shit out of my focus Sunday, but you see right now that is what I NEED to think about to help me prepare and train. So when Sunday comes I CAN focus completely and be my best. Like you said, I will bring you competition, no blowouts here. And the fans know that I deliver on my promises. And Harry . . . I PROMISE YOU! I will be at my best. I will be more than competition. I will be your toughest opponent ever.
*He sits down again*
DT: Harry . . . your ECF title as greatest is on the line, but your legacy is not. We both know that no matter what everyone will remember your accomplishments not your losses. They will look back and say LOOK AT THOSE ACHIEVMENTS! Not what a loser, he lost to Death Trap. And you know that damn well. They know you are good. Losing to me would NOT make you a loser but it would make me your equal! They will say, WOW Death Trap was the real deal, he beat the legend Hardcore Harry. Our names will remain side by side as equals. And that would be enough for me. I want to look back and in 50 years say, I beat Hardcore Harry, the Fuc*ing LEGEND! The best in the biz! And no matter who wins, our legacies will live on. We will both be associated with the winners, the greats. We will be up there with names like Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, and Bret Hart! Don't you understand that? Can't you see this is NOT about pride or being better, it is my proving grounds. And if you can beat me or at least stay your best like you were back then for this match, then you should be happy. No damage will be done to your legacy, rep, or pride! And like you, I have old buddies cheering me on, I have my millions of Trapheads, and my bud Funaki. And no one will interfere but their support will strengthen me and make me live on. I can feed off of that Harry. As long as I remain true to myself I can always be my best. You should see this as the thing you love most Harry. We are two of the very few who do what they love and live life to the fullest. We are among the supernatural. We are what normal people want to be and that is why they look up to us. They can't live by doing what they love so they instead get their strength from watching us, the ones who can and do. Harry I know this will not be your last match, only a stopping point to which you will return. But I also know you will still be determined and I will be ready. I am counting the days. And you know what, you are right, this outcome is not in the stars, not in the dice, but within that will within us, and of course, the ONE TWO THREE. The trap is as always set, how long can you withstand it once it is sprung? Will you come back to me afterwards and tell me, Death Trap . . . shoot me again I ain't dead yet. Or will you end up the man in the box, the one who gets pushed on the shelf and forgotten except for a valiant past? We shall find out Sunday, at the day of Final Judgment . . . for one of us . . .
*The camera fades out.*
