Fader, Black & Bell v Waechter, Arcane & Valiant

[UKWF]

Post your RPs for the match below. 3RP cap per side, max. 1 RP per character, max. 500 words per RP.

[CraigTheCylon]

(OOC this one's for Mags)

[Open to interior, office space, and Magdalena on a couch. Despite the normalcy around her - scatter cushions, sharing popcorn bowl, coffee table covered in glossy mags - she remains stiff-backed in her formal black robes. The illumination from the TV gives her pale skin an unhealthy glow as she acknowledges us.]

"This past week I was told that this thing you call 'teamwork' would be necessary for Showdown. I had only a passing familiarity with the concept, so Valiant's simpering minion gave me this...educational moving picture. It has been eye-opening."

[Sounds of explosions and punch impacts from the TV.]

"Apparently, it is custom that any alliance can only succeed after becoming galvanized by the sacrifice of a lesser link, like this balding fanboy the pretty man stabbed. Regrettably, since I have played this role before and cannot harm Valiant, that leaves Arcane to die. I would say it was nice to know him, but I do not know him so this would be a lie."

[She frowns.]

"Also I think I best embody the muscled man with the hammer, since he is the only one who talks sense. Valiant is definitely the idiot with the letter for a face."

[With a snort, the TV is set on standby.]

"As ever, I care not for the petty squabbles between my...backers...and whoever currently upsets them. That extends to the contest this week, with nothing on the line, yet we are meant to treat it like life and death? Hmph! As to the opposition, Juliet Black is now painfully aware that she cannot deal with me, and I can crush her. Were she wise, she would bow out of this match, but...we all know otherwise. No doubt she will offer everything she has, again. And it will not be enough, again. This Blaise Fader - ja, potentially a threat. She had to do some work to earn that trinket over her shoulder. Quite what she hopes to attain by assaulting the blacksmiths who forged it is a mystery, especially since she should be more occupied with guarding her own flanks. I have seen how the decadent fools that pass for warriors these days behave in the presence of gold; Blaise's partners will eat her corpse before it cools if it may give them the chance to lay hands on her laurels. And since I have arrived on the subject of craven scavengers, MJ Bell."

[Magdalena growls.]

"Again you prick my side, knowing full well the outcome. I do not know what sort of madness compels this behaviour, and I am long past caring. What matters is that you will finally be across the ring from me, and I will joyfully wade knee-deep through the entrails of your partners just so I can feel your throat crushed under my FINGERS!"

[One fist crashes down for emphasis, upturning the bowl and sending popcorn everywhere.]

"...what imbecile decided corn needed to make noises, anyway?"

[End.]

[CraigTheCylon]

(OOC: This one's VV)

[Interior, residence of - ]

"Honestly, Ronnie - you gotta be crazy."

[ - Veronica Valiant. The front room has been hastily remodelled as a gym, where 'Ronnie' now huffs and puffs her way through bench-press reps. How many she's done is unsaid, but from the way she's constantly blinking sweat out of her eyes, we can hazard a guess. When she talks it's a strained hiss between clenched teeth.]

"Don't...call me that."

[And Melanie Gutierrez - long-term, long-suffering Official Secretary of Valiant - throws up her hands in dismay.]

"Fine, whatever, just...I don't think you thought this through. You've been out of action for more than a year, made zero effort to keep in ring shape, and now you're jumping into the main event against some of the toughest competition in UKWF. That's loco."

"The hell - nnf - do you think I'm...doing here?"

"Torturing yourself? It's like cramming the night before your SATs, it won't help shit!"

[Veronica hikes the dumbbell up onto its rack and sits up, slowly. Melanie hands her a towel, which she drags across her face before replying in a more natural, but somber tone.]

"I'm not crazy, and I haven't developed a sudden need to be hurt. But this...it needs to happen, Melanie. Not because the teams need to be even and Stella couldn't convince anyone else to join in, either. It's deeper than that. Last time, at GPW, we tried - I tried my damndest to make that place great, but morons like Gaia and Harlequin put the place to the torch for the sake of their own egos. They couldn't be cogs in a machine so they made themselves into monkey wrenches. Now, here, we've got a second chance, and even with that old fart Kensington making a fuss it was starting to look workable..."

[She stares at her hands as they tremble.]

"But now...look, I've got no issue with these girls. MJ Bell's a little too rah-rah fair play for my liking but she's got the skills to succeed. Juliet Black threatened me personally, yes, but I somewhat admire the chutzpah necessary to do that. She knows what she wants and won't pussy-foot around getting it. That's worth my respect. And Blaise Fader as our champion is absolutely fine. What I take issue with is Blaise Fader as a figurehead for some ill-conceived revolution, attempting to unite the roster against a management wing that only wants the best for everyone under our employ."

[There's a gleam in her eyes - the passion of a fanatic - that makes Melanie back up a step.]

"This revolt ends this weekend in London. They won't turn this into a campaign. I - will not - let them."

[At that, Veronica stands and moves over to start slugging the heavy bag. Melanie takes that as a cue to leave - and so misses Veronica whisper - ]

"...even if it kills me."

[ - before the video stops.]

[K I N G]

MJ paces left to right holding both hands behind her back. There is a look of agitation.



“There comes a time when a person has to think long and hard about future endeavors. If they are truly worth it or not? If their resolve is actually strong enough to accomplish it. Yada, yada, yada… So over these past two weeks I have done nothing but argue with myself over fighting against Stella and the peeps. Have I not dealt with this role before in my career where I take on the big bad guys? It is pretty cliche, isn’t it? Very hero V villain that always seems to happen at least once in a company. So, I always have to wonder ‘why me’? Should I really just squeeze into the same role I have always done? Have my losses not taught me anything? That sometimes the hero - doesn’t- win, you get a ligament torn, you get sent to the hospital, you lose friends, and you make more enemies you can handle!”



That pacing slows to a complete stop. Both of MJ’s hands disappear into her pockets as she sighs. Both of her hands brush through nearly white hair.



“I always come to the same conclusion, I do it because it is what’s right, and, honestly, no one else will. Besides, if someone doesn’t do anything then things will continue to tumble down hill at high speeds. I’m not going to be idle, or let Blaise, or even Juliet, fight these battles on their own. Yeah, I sound super cliche-- like you’ve heard it a thousand times. I’m sorry-- Only so many ways I can form the English language to make almost the same exact point!”



Another sigh but this one seems to send the woman back leaning on a wall.



“Everyone these types of people with their corrupt point of view and their leader’s hand shoved far up their asses. They will do just about anything at the snap of that bitch-in-charger’s fingers. So in order to get the ring leader-- we have to get rid of the clowns first. Can I just say how utterly tired I am of having people threaten my person? I know one of them is gonna do it because there always has to be one. They talk about ripping my limbs and killing me, which, ha ha. I get it. You’re monster. Despite me rolling my eyes at your words, I take those threats seriously. Let me just tell you, not happening!”



“After ‘the beast’ we have that ‘greater than thou’ person, then we have someone else just talking down to us. No selling or trying to intimidate us. Oh, and don’t forget that they are all secretly bad mouthing each other in the process. This recipe is suppose to beat us?”



MJ offers a smile.



“I’d like to see, New Management try!”

[Valkyrie and Hana]

The camera was running, and Juliet was in sight. Dublin Trouble was physically abusing the suspended punchbag with lefts, rights, slaps, elbows, whatever extremity Juliet could use to inflict pain and lay damage to the sand filled leather bag, it was thrown at full contact.

“Fuck the Queen. Fuck her asslicker, fuck her little minion and fuck the bloody Cannoness. Fuck New Management” It had become mantra, Juliet repeated it over and over as she continued to lash out at the bag, repeating the words as she battered the bag until the skin over her knuckles, elbows and knees were red raw from repeatedly punching. She eventually stopped as the Irish blonde lashed out with a hard headbutt.

“You motherfuckers couldn't get the job done with me, and Stella made the biggest fucking mistake by not letting her asslicker pull the trigger on careers of this team. Me and MJ and me and Blaise all have history with one another, none of it particularly nice as it involves fighting it out. But New Management, the biggest bunch of fucking cunts in pro wrestling right now, and I mean that literally. Seriously you could triple fist Veronica and not touch the sides!”

Low blow, but Dublin's Loudest wasn't smiling at her own crude joke. She was more pissed off than usual.

“I don't blame MJ and Blaise if they don't trust the viper that I am in this team, I wouldn't trust me as far as I could Suplex me, but they know that more than anything, I love to win more than anything. But they know that I'm willing to do what they aren't. New Management aren't going to play nice and by the rules, and if they want to fight fire with fire, then I'm going to chuck a whole fuckload of petrol onto the fire and watch the fuckers burn themselves. There won't be any gum spitting with Magdelena, Veronica or that retard Arcane who thinks that being a stripper means I'm easy. Be it bed or a fight, I'm not the least bit easy and as long as I'm part of the team, I'll be the Wildcard it needs.”

Then it appeared, a smile that was all teeth, cruel and sadistic, and would probably be expected on a serial killer torturing their victims.

“And all Stella will do is watch in horror as I crucify her asslickers pet Cannoness, split her asslicker in half and twist her shoulder out of place so it becomes slightly more useful than Veronica is right at this moment, and Arcane will eat so many groin kicks that he'll wish he'd been emasculated, and if Stella does enter that ring... she'll be eating a BlackOut and swallowing her teeth. I'm not going to 'behave for mammy' because mine would slap me for being a little bitch!”

And that was when Juliet lashed out, backhander with the knuckles striking the camera to the floor as the lens cracked...

[Arcane]

Heh, looks like I'm back on form - much to their disappointment.

Are they satisfied now?

No, I thought not... some never will be. It's too late, I'm already tainted by association. Once they have their narrative, further evidence to the contrary is regardless. It's how society manages to peddle concepts like religion or socialism to the masses.

I see you, Frau Waechter, propagating this baseless nonsense under the guise of insight. I'm no fall guy for the regime. There doesn't even need to be a sacrifice; switch off your television, darling, you know it rots the brain, right? Again, the evidence speaks for itself, but I guess you have it all figured out already...

But look, I'm a team player. For my Stella, I'll bite the bullet. If it means smiling awkwardly at your... unusual perspective on your surroundings, I'll do it - for the greater good. Fortunately, you and I have a common goal, something to unite such disparate personalities under the same banner: the desolation of Juliet Black.

Note the choice of wording there; this goes beyond a simple contest, she must be wiped out. She must be incapacitated before her rebelliousness spreads further throughout UKWF like some insidious sexually transmitted disease - which I'm sure she is well accustomed to. Black and her mongrel friends are like a herpes cluster, a stark blemish on the landscape of this great company.

I'll continue; Black is a well-worn cum-receptacle, hiding behind a thin veneer of slut walk fourth-wave feminism, the absolute lowest of its forms. As with cinema, each sequel is sadly worse than its predecessor. Black shares intimate pictures all over social media, exposing herself for likes, then questions our perception of her exclusivity. We've already seen all she has to offer; scratch below the surface and the content of her character leaves you reaching for some cyanide.

I have no personal vendetta against Blaise or MJ, but if they seek to make my Stella's life a misery, I shall respond in turn. Some may dismiss my loyalty as cronyism, but these pissants are clearly too ill-disciplined, unprincipled and incapable of gratitude. Stella provides each and every UKWF employee a healthy wage, a roof over their head, and this mindless childlike insolence is how they repay her?

She rescued me from the prison system; out of the goodness of her heart, she gave some punk waster a second chance at life. It would be utterly repugnant for me to throw all that back in her face and refuse to help the lady in her time of need. What man would I be to dismiss the cries of a damsel in distress? I owe Stella my clean slate, my new beginning. If I'm kissing ass, it's only literally. 

You know... the last time I spent an evening with 5 women, I wasn't wearing any pants.

But I might just enjoy this one even more...

[Blaise Fader]

"I never wanted to be a rebel."

We open on a camera phone, a consistent part of Blaise's promo-cutting wheelhouse, pointed down at a pair of shoes on a plain, linoleum tiled floor. The space is confined, but not necessarily cramped, and pieces of conversation and shuffling feet can be heard here and there on the outside.

"I don’t wanna harp on the same point I’ve been makin’ since I got ‘ere, y’know? All my life, I wanted to be a professional wrestler. I wanted to stand in the ring as a real contender, give my all, give everythin’ I have and ever will have to be the best I can be. I wanted to be a champion… and it’s… it’s everything I dreamed of. If I could take the UKWF Championship belt with me everywhere, I totally would, you have no idea, mate… I usually do! Just keep gettin’ weird looks on the tube…

"… but for all that, I never could have dreamed up this righ’ mess. The company I work for, the company I represent as Champion, they’ve gone proper mental! My own bosses seem to want my ‘ead on a silver platter, and for what? An’ now they wanna play by their own rules, an’ go against everythin’ that made us so unique in the first place, an’ they’re throwin’ ‘round words like threat, an’ figurehead—"

The camera phone quickly pans up, revealing Blaise’s reflection in a long mirror; she’s in a dressing room at a department store, and given the time of year, in her chosen Halloween costume: a Pokemon trainer! An egregiously yellow Pikachu T-shirt and similarly loud hat are the most apparent, and in her opposite hand is a stuffed animal version of the franchise’s flagship pocket monster.

"—I’m no revolutionary! I’m evolutionary!"

A pained pause ensues. Blaise realizes what she’s said, and how she’s said it. 

"… that was shithouse. I ‘pologize."

The stuffed Pikachu drops out of her grip to her feet.

"What isn’t shithouse, though, is puttin’ together this match for Showdown. If Stella an’ her goons wanna throw down, they couldn’t ‘ave picked a better team. You take the reigning UKWF Champion, you take a hard-hitta thrilla-killa like MJ Bell, an’ you take… Juliet Black, an’ you’re lookin’ at the present an’ future of UKWF – of the wrestlin’ business! They’re two future UKWF Champs… not anytime soon, I mean. Don’t get any ideas!

"They’ve put us against the best they ‘ave to offer. They’ve got Arcane, the cheeky sneaky bloke. They’ve got Magdalena, who’s probly the scariest lady I ever met… they even convinced Veronica V to step into the ring with us! They’ll do anythin’ to turn the tables their way. They’ll cheat an’ they’ll backstab, if that’s what it takes to break us down. The last thing we should do is underestimate who we’re up against… but even they gotta know, for once, the odds aren’t stacked in their favor. The house doesn’t always win."