Post by Maggie Lockheart on Jun 14, 2021 22:57:20 GMT -5
::: 6/10 Studios Presents :::
The Interstate Love Song Chronicles - IV
Ed and Tommy were at it again, except this time they had a familiar face with them.
The girl had shiny silver hair as unmistakable as the tattoos on her hands and around her neck, even from a distance. The way she walked was one part swagger, two parts pure confidence and about five-or-so parts "every cell in my body hurts right now", because of course, they kind of did.
Somewhere, perhaps in the trunk of a beautiful White Ford Mustang with orange and gray stripes, sat a gym bag and in it was the Level Up Final Boss championship belt and its new compadre - the Revolution1 Horrorcore title. But it wasn't with them.
The three of them stood out front of the beautiful MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas dressed like three Revolution1 workers, each with their credentials hung from their necks with lanyards. Ed and Tommy stood off to the side as Magdalena looked up at the "grand" entrance with a mixed sense of amazement and bewilderment. Vegas was absolutely stunning, even during the daytime - and she could only imagine what this view would look like along with all of the lights of the famous Vegas strip at night...
"Now who is this motherfuker?" Ed asked as he motioned directly toward the camera in front of them. "Miss Horrorcore fuckin' Indianapolis, is this gonna be a regular thing now that we're stuck with ya?"
Maggie barely took her eyes off of the building as she hummed a soft, nonreassuring tone of 'perhaps' but without the words to express it directly.
"Me?" The nervous cameraman replied. You can't really see him, but you can tell by the inflection of his voice that he at least sounds no more than a kid straight out of high school. "I'm Steve-"
"Well let me ask you something, Steeeevvveee," Ed barked back, "Did she put you up to this?"
Tommy decided to intervene but only after Eddie had already started to approach the camera.
"Hey man, chill out, okay?" Tommy grabbed Ed by the arm. "He works for Revo. Just like you and me... oh and her too, of course."
"Yeah, but this asshole is the reason I saw myself on TV... which I never signed up for by the way."
Maggie let out a half-hearted chuckle. It wasn't exactly what Ed wanted to hear. He turned towards her.
"You got a problem?" He growled at her.
"It's not his fault and you damn well know it," She stated matter-of-factly. "You and I both know it's me. If you 'got a problem' maybe I can work with some other crew then?"
"Yeah, maybe you-"
Tommy stepped in front of Eddie. "N-n-no, hold up. I don't think that that's really necessary, now, is it? Come on, it's not even that big of a deal."
Eddie sighed because he knew where Tommy was going with this. He liked Maggie. Ed knew Tommy well enough to see that his friend more than just tolerated her company.
"So what if we're on TV from time to time?" Tommy continued. "We all signed up to work for a wrestling company, right? Who really cares if we get shown in the background in a few shots? It's not like we're doing anything wrong."
Ed grunted and folded his arms across his chest.
"I don't like it," He murmured. "I looked fat on the screen."
Maggie smirked as she walked past Ed and patted him on the shoulder.
"Well, you better get used to it then, Ed." She smiled at him. "Cause if it were up to me, I'd have you guys travel along the road with me, too."
"Really?" Tommy asked as Ed's eyes shot wide at the thought.
"And who knows? If I keep winning or whatnot, it soon might be."
You see? There's nothing wrong with being a passenger. Especially since we're all supposedly headed in the same place.
I'd like to start this thing out by saying that it's an honor to be involved in the Revo-1-year-anniversary show. If I said that I knew beforehand that I'd be invited to this show as the Horrorcore champion, well, that would be a lie. Jessie Lee is the real deal. Not only is she tough as nails, she fights like a person whose actions back up the words that they're saying. When she talked about defending her title tooth and nail... I felt it. Physically... mentally... There wasn't a moment in that fight where I didn't feel like Jessie wasn't one shot away from being where I'm at now. But that shot never came.
That doesn't mean that I'm not watching my back... not constantly looking over my shoulder. I predict that Jessie Lee will be back to reclaim the Horrorcore championship and I'd love to stand here and tell you that I'm fully prepared. But the truth is, Jessie, if you're watching this... I wasn't. I'm not prepared to be the Horrorcore champion and to defend it in horrific ways. But I mean that in the way that ultraviolence is inherently unpredictable in nature. I'm not going to stand here and say that I'm ready to weather the Leethality of the next storm. All I'm going to say is that I don't fear it.
In fact, I welcome it.
Don't let me stand in the way of your rise to greatness. Don't let one loss, or any loss, define you. Sure, I helped the ring crew out the last few and maaayyybbbeee there was a camera there. But please don't assume that I did that for the camera or that I'm just putting on a show. If I was just doing it to put on a show, I don't know who I'd be trying to convince. The fans? Not quite sure that they'd give a damn... but even if they did I'd hope it would serve as an example.
The road to the top is full of twists and turns, pitfalls and unexpected obstacles. Plus, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Let's forget about the metaphors though. Let's talk about what it's really like... not just to struggle to reach the peak of this industry... but the biggest pitfall I've encountered in my own experience. Let's talk about Jin Min-Jun and about how the worst thing that happens to some people is the experience of success. Let's talk about how everyone who gets into this industry with the expectation of "making it" ends up drowning in a sea of their own hubris. Let us talk, Jessie, about how the most important lesson any of us could learn is that there's nothing that we could possibly accomplish that makes us "better than".
I'm a world champion, a horrorcore champion, and I still help set up the freaking seats.
It's not a fucking show of anything other than respect.
We're all just one bad fall away from never being able to do this again... *ahem* Jun. We all need to get accustomed to the reality that shit in this industry can change in a fucking second. *AHEM* ...Jun!
Oh, by the way, Mr. Min-Jun... Hi. I'm willing to bet that you weren't expecting to see me here but that just proves my point now, doesn't it? You liked to talk real high down to the rest of us who didn't win the tournament, but hey, more power to you... you should be congratulated for your accomplishment. And really, I do want to congratulate you, even if you do feel like you're one step closer along your own journey of personal validation. But it is pretty telling to me how quickly some attitudes change with success. I feel like I know you a bit better now even though we haven't shared a ring yet. I'm glad that I get the opportunity to change that.
I'll admit right now that I don't know Sora Weaver or Aphrodite IX like, at all, but when I look at the list of names that are in this match and I notice that I'm on the team of current champions, that leads me to believe that the three of you, along with Jessie Lee, could very well be on the opposite side of this card and perhaps the four of us would be looking across at you at what we collectively desire. And I realize that that craving is a dangerous thing to try to defend. On the surface, it seems as though the four of you, collectively, have more to prove than the four of us.
...and I can't... won't speak for the other three champions. But I can tell you that I didn't come to Revolution1 to chase gold and collect belts. I'm here for the fight. I'm here to work to be the best. Not just the best fighter in Revolution1 but to work to be the best version of myself that I possibly can be. I'll defend the Horrorcore championship in much the same way that I'd fight any other champion... and that's with the intention to win. And when I fight like this... when I fight for these reasons... it doesn't seem to matter much anymore how hungry the competition thinks they are. In fact, the hungrier the better. I don't want to waste my time with anyone not ready to bring it.
Even if that means I get my ass kicked. Even if that means I lose in the first round of a tournament or potentially lose this match for my team. I'm not ashamed. I know what I'm capable of, and with every fight I take on, what I'm capable of grows. I didn't come to Revolution1 with the expectation of being a champion but that expectation never helped anyone anyway. I stand before the four of you as the new Horrorcore champion just the same way I stand before the other three champions. If any of you step up to me, you're going to get my best... and you might not like it when it comes.
That's my job. That's what I came here to do. If anyone is to gather anything about my time here that would somehow be passed on as some sort of legacy... I would want it to be this:
I've had accolades in my career. But I've never been so successful since the moment I've stopped chasing them.
I've had key victories in my career. But I've never been able to defend a championship until I learned how to not defend it.
I've had years of my career where I claimed to be the second coming of professional wrestling, much like most of the superstars I see around me here in Revolution1.
But I never felt closer to being the best goddamn fighter in professional wrestling until I stopped talking about it and started... just... doing it.
So please, Jessie, Jun, Sora and Aphrodite... I'm awfully curious to hear what you have to say.
But understand, when we meet in the main event of the one-year anniversary...
You're going to find out firsthand what all that talking makes me do.