Post by Swindle Shelldrake on Mar 2, 2022 17:14:20 GMT -5
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---| P r o v i n g G r o u n d X X X I |---
---| L i k e a L i o n |---
∞
T h e K r a k e n
S w i n d l e S h e l l d r a k e
---| O v e r T h e S h o g u n's S h a d o w |---
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---| K i l l H i m H a r d e r |---
ROLAND RAITH: “This is exactly the situation we didn’t want to have. It was a foolish decision to begin with”.
The scene opens to see the office of Roland Raith. Desk and plush chairs in spotless pristine. Across from the Dojo manager was the figure of Swindle Shelldrake sat in one of the chairs. His tall frame is like a pencil compared to Roland’s compact grappler physique. Unusually for Shelldrake, especially compared to his previous outings to the cursed Tetran Kai Office, he was dressed in a suit. Refusing to wear anything more than a simple black jacket and white shirt, with a slim black tie. He looked more like he was going to a funeral than to see his boss. But then again, to The Kraken there wasn’t much difference between the two.
On the screen between them was the obscured voice call from both of their bosses. A mysterious figure that had met with Swindle privately in weeks prior. Their camera wasn’t on, only being represented by an avatar of a black eclipsed sun. It warbles and pulses as they speak.
?: “Going through with the action wasn’t the misstep, but the events after are not good to see, it must be said”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “.....”
?: “The more constructive and pertinent next step is what we’re going to do about it”
ROLAND RAITH: “He damn near broke a man’s neck. That alone is something too far-”
?: “And now that man is back, what else do you want to say, Mr. Raith? You’re not getting anywhere dwelling on what was done, because like it or not it has been done”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “You’re both talking like I’m not here in the room….”
Roland Raith looks from the screen to his client, a steely frown over his face, rubbing his fingers together in a contemplative motion.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “You’re talking like I meant to kill the man or something. All I wanted was to get him out of the way, and I did….I thought I did”.
?: “Apparently you didn’t try hard enough. And now, you’re poking your head into the main event scene which is good progress in my eyes. However, he is back and will be even more of an obstacle in your way as long as he is an active member of the roster. The brazen attempt before will only keep him on your back that much more”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “....Then what do you suggest?”
?: “It’s simple, Swindle dear. You drop him on his head again, end the parade and celebrations of seeing the Great Mark Hunter back from his whole three month absence. Everyone is eating it up, just as planned. It doesn’t take much for the audience to grab onto one’s zeitgeist. Everyone will play it off as some golden unicorn to chase and fail for, when the bar for entry is far lower than many care to admit”.
Roland’s grip in his fingers tighten ever so slightly, but still enough for The Kraken’s eyes to dart over and catch it. Seeing his manager sweat a little, and not just for being in the audible presence of their boss. But for what seemed like a vague snipe at his own training philosophy. Positioning that allusive brass ring as allusive to begin with.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “Getting their attention isn’t the problem. Anyone can do that with a little lashing out and folding back the page. It takes more to stick around. I’ve seen so many guys come and go, but I’m still here”.
?: “It takes balls to do what our superstar here did. You put the fate of one of the most popular talents on the line all for your own chance at glory. Do tell me Swindle, how many championship matches have you had since that day?”
There is a pause as it was Swindle’s time to scrunch his lips and stew in the words.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “...None”.
?: “Exactly. I don’t wish to blame any one party for this, but playing it safe simply isn’t an option anymore, Gentlemen. We don’t finance the careers of the next generation for a middling record and nothing to show for it. We don’t live for immortality in the solitary superfans that can only recall your name as a trivia question”.
“If we have your name, and your dojo falling to obscurity for the mere trap of settling into this pattern of mediocrity, then I’d speak for many executives when I say, I would find little interest in you. Either of you”.
ROLAND: “But-”
?: “But nothing. WarGames is over and now is time to move away from the smoke and mirrors, and to start seeing some results. More than six months have gone by, Gentlemen. Show me some confidence that I’ve backed the right horse this time”.
The call abruptly ends, leaving the tension-filled room with just Roland Raith and Swindle Shelldrake looking at each other. They stare at the screen blankly for a moment before turning to face each other. Both with the restrained look of disappointment in the other.
ROLAND RAITH: “You won’t be breaking his neck again. Ok, Swindle? I’m not having a second serving of that PR nightmare you put me through”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “So what are you gonna do, huh? He’s back now, that means he’s willingly stepping into all the fucked up shit that goes on in the ring. Nevermind from me. If you don’t want me to have any agency then fucking hire me like that Barrick goon you have walking around. He’ll do whatever you want of him, like a good dog. Get yourself a cute Japanese idol wrestler, bump the PR back up with that”.
“You won’t get any that from me. I’m here to win for me, ok? You make that happen for me. At the very least be the other half of that future”.
ROLAND RAITH: “And what is it that I get from you, Swindle? What do you offer? Forgive me for asking, but it sometimes gets a little easy to forget”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “I bring you heads, Roland. Whether you want them or not. It’s like they said…..we’re not playing safe anymore”.
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---| S h a d o w s I n T h e R a i n |---
The scene blooms out in blinding light before it recedes back to a moody dark backstage area. The Kraken now much more comfortable in his black leather jacket. A colossal main event tag team match on the horizon, with a demon of his past resurfacing.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “I look around at everyone in this match, and I see myself as even more of the black sheep than I already am. Both sides hold tentpoles of not only this brand, but this whole promotion. It has my stomach in knots over the lofty company that I am suddenly around. As accustomed to the main event of Proving Ground I have become, I can’t help but get the feeling it isn’t because of my own merit. I’m not here because they want me here. The box office will be on Emmanuelle’s back, on the Grand Champion’s back….and most of all on the hyped up in-ring return of Mark Hunter”.
“The Championship over my tag partner’s shoulder as the name of all three people in its history. When that day passes, I like my history to stay as such. But, here it is coming to repeat itself once again. Make no mistake, they should be coming for the Grand Championship. Hunter and Emmanuelle both. But they have already seen the light of what that position brings. They can already fly….”
“None of you, and I mean NONE of you know what it’s like to see the world roll by, and see yourself stay the same. No matter what I do, it’s never enough to reach a fraction of what you can demand in an instant. Say that’s on me, I don’t care. You’re probably right in some cases. That doesn’t take away my frustration. I can watch as Mark Hunter’s light wanes, falling out of active wrestling for months, even so much as officially retiring....”
“But lo and behold, he comes back with a title over his shoulder. Be it ceremonial or not, that visual speaks to people. You know that, don’t you, Mark. Every moment that the Legacy title gets to sit around in its limbo over your shoulder under the guise of safekeeping…..that is what irks me”.
“There is nothing you have in that title other than a certain vanity. Parading around like you actually are the face of Proving Ground….”
“Even more sickening that you would be partially right about it….”
“Looking around. On either side we have a champion and challenger that went to war at The Crowning for the greatest prize this company can offer. We have me, the anomaly amongst the titans….but then, we have you. Mark Hunter. Towering over them all”.
“I’d like to see a tempered mind through this return. My respects paid to you in person no matter how much you believed them. But now, after seeing swaths of Project: Honor’s top talent fall to the wayside, ready for me to take their place, I am once again overlooked in place of your fool’s glory”.
“Your little legacy”.
“We’ll see how you fare in this second life, Mark. For your own benefit I hope you make full use of it while you can. The world will be watching. All of us. There’s nothing stopping me, or anyone else for that matter, from testing just how indestructible you really are. You will break again. Rebuild yourself all the times that you need, as long as the hunger for a sip of the honey is there….I’ll be here to pull you back down to earth. I will damage that Legacy you hold so dear, making each return as sad as the last”.
“I have an unholy zeal towards you, Mark. It doesn’t make sense, many would see it as unwarranted, even. Can’t be harming the precious face of Proving Ground. Especially not on their nostalgia comeback tour!”.
“You are the perfect one to face here. You and Emmanuelle both, funnily enough”.
“From one former Grand Champion to another, I finally get my chance to face someone who has been on her way to the top since I signed the dotted sign. She held the Warrior Rising Title when I debuted. Always had an air to them….destined for greatness. Someone that you see hardly does so little, and they’re viewed as a savant for it”.
“Now make no mistake, Emmanuelle was a worthy Grand Champion. My only qualm was that it took this long to be in the same circle as them. For months I felt cut off from the real talents here on Proving Ground. The exciting people I wanted to face, and defeat, were kept from me. Emmanuelle being one of them. I wasn’t granted a spot in the Memorial Tournament. I was not enough. And once again, just like Ozymandias, I am left to pick up the scraps of someone that is not at their peak. The Butcher wasn’t first slain by The Shogun, he wasn’t dethroned in this grand catharsis. That same warrior was not finally defeated by someone with the easiest path towards their title…..”
“I beat them both first. Before any of you…..But I guess it’s nice to forget what we want to hide….”
“In that same Scramble match where Emmanuelle fell short, Arata Asakura was nothing more than a shadow of their former self. I defeated them on the way to Clash For The Cup. Everything that is The Platinum Standard’s Grand Title efforts stand freely because I laid the foundations. Everything that is Asakura’s token first title is because I chipped away the armor of Ozymandias. I pinned him in that Scramble match, and saw no equalizer from the man now holding that title…..Not to speak of fumbling it to someone else before actually having your moment”.
“The Shogun is someone that I’ve had the displeasure of being chained to since the very beginning of my time in Project: Honor. And every time, it’s the same shallow self that gets by with natural, innate talent. Everything that someone with the book would so love to see at the top, even with all the xenophobia. On the posters, they all look like stars. A million bucks as they say. That is what the champion and challenger share in common, even Mark Hunter too. You’re all marketable”.
“You’re all safe”.
“Doesn’t really matter how much any of you can stumble and fall on your way. There is always a comforting arm over your shoulder ready to nurse you back to the fold with little a look at who might have knocked you down. All it will take is the next contender to rip the Grand Championship away from you, Arata. Then poof, your reign is gone. But everyone out there will still remember the two-out-of-three falls match, they will remember your win Ozymandias, they will remember you as the first two-time Grand Champion. Even as the biggest failure, you’ll have that shine to your name. That doesn’t sit right with me when every waking moment I am seen as little more than filling a spot in other people’s tales”.
“I was a good hand on the indies. That’s what they called me. A good hand. The guy who builds the monuments to the real stars”.
“I see two people who, apparently, had one of the greatest Grand Championship matches in this company’s history. I can be seen as so little, despite holding a claim over them both. Title matches after title matches, opportunities for all three of these worms. Gifted and granted. Signed away with reckless abandon WHILE I AM LEFT BEHIND IN ALL YOUR SHADOWS!”
“This match isn’t about any of you. Fuck your OWA memories, matches gone by pretending that you hold this place aloft on it. Fuck your nostalgia, and your cushy positions at the top of Proving Ground. I’m not here to sit pretty with you, because the next day, I could be replaced with someone who doesn’t belong”.
“The main event scene will become mine. And solely mine. Ruins of your grandeur will be the bedrock of my time in the sun. Be it Grand or Legacy, I want to take it from all of you. One piece at a time”.
DIRECTOR: “Aannnd cut! That’s a wrap!”
The camera stays rolling as the intense glare from Swindle’s eyes stays for a moment…before it withdraws, and Shelldrake’s eyes fall to the middle distance, his head drooping slightly. For all the confidence that can bubble up inside him, especially against tougher competition, there is a hesitance to his face now that the rush is dying down.
What is on Swindle’s mind?
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---| G r e a t e r G a i n |---
The studio light behind Swindle blooms into light and leaves a jet black silhouette of the Kraken’s head as the scene transitions. A low rumble of synth reverberates as the light envelops the silhouette. The hair dye over his fringe bleeding a bright pink into the white light as it begins to twinkle with little bursts of stars. The shape changes and warps into that of a complete circle.
A full moon.
The camera pans down to what is now a neon-peaked skyline in the midnight musings of a bustling Tokyo. The understated synth adds to the neo-noir vibe as two figures are standing on a rooftop. Around them is a speckled gallery of neon signs.
One is seated with their feet dangling over the edge of the building. Wearing a smart suit with the jacket unbuttoned, a tie pulls loose and a glass bottle in his hand. The other is standing next to him. Noticeably tall and stick-like. The bubbles of green, blue and yellow light fleck off the metal of his leather jacket. A trail of smoke being exhaled from his mouth.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “It’s kinda shit up here, not gonna lie”.
KENJI: “It’s my kind of shit, ok. Feel free to jump if you can’t take it anymore”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. You get to see how suffocating it is from up here”.
KENJI: “Jeez, you’re just as fun as the last time we met”.
KENJI smiles and takes a sip from the beer bottle, wincing at the not so good taste. Cheap stuff. He holds it with his right hand, holding his left arm close. Swindle goes quiet for a moment, looking over to a distant skyscraper and taking another inhale of his cigarette.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “....How is the arm, by the way?”
KENJI: “You know, the usual. Not much else to say. Kinda bored of all the Tokyo Sports interviewers asking about my time in the US. Like I haven’t started a new thing already”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “.....KENJI….How do you move on? You know…when that sorta stuff takes over, starts getting in the way of thoughts you need to succeed”.
KENJI: “Do you have an injury now? Hahaha, I’m just kidding…..You never really do, not in truth. Although I know what you’re asking about isn’t the same…..It’s difficult, man. I got some gold of my own but never the gold I really wanted. Could call it spoiled, but if the desire is there, it’s impossible to shake it, you know?”
Swindle doesn’t say anything, but the inhale from his cigarette and the sizzling dust scattering off to the wind leaves a moment of recognition between the two of them. Both cut from that cloth to be the best. Being denied being the best.
KENJI: “Listen. Your obstacles are your obstacles. Yours alone. Everyone around you will see those challenges differently, and you might not like that. But that’s ok. We’re not in the business of all being the same. We’re not in the business of being flashes in the pan”.
“I’ll always respect that you have that mindset too, you know”.
“Sure, others might be at the seats you want for the time being, and every urge you have will be to pull the chair from under them. I felt that a lot. We don’t live for that. We live for the moment we take when it finally comes”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “Shut up, I know you wanted to be as cutthroat as me”.
KENJI: “When I did, it didn’t go well. But, I learned a real lesson then. I knew that no matter how hard I worked for it, the world title wouldn’t be mine. But you know what? That was some of the best time I had, even if I was in a real dark place”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “I came for recognition of what I can do. Doesn’t matter what I think of it….”
KENJI: “It always matters. Being on cloud nine about yourself, or wallowing in your own self doubt….there is something to use there from both sides. Ese both at the same time, you might find some surprising results. Take what you want, and leave the rest”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “.....Will that make me a world champion?”
KENJI: “.....As someone who didn’t reach the summit, I can’t answer that. I chose a different mountain to climb, and being a promoter is doing pretty great for me now. If you hadn’t ended it for me, I wouldn’t be living this life”.
“It takes a great fall to rise again stronger, Swindle”.
Swindle looks off to a neon sign bearing the striking white light of angel’s wings, burning up in reds and oranges. They were plummeting to the ground head first. The sign takes his attention as KENJI’s words grow muffled in the background of the growing synth soundscape over the Tokyo night.
A Great Fall.
Pain to Overcome.
Barriers to Destroy.
A Return to The Skies.
Wings Stronger Than Ever Before.
He can’t help but think of Mark Hunter with the angel’s image in his mind. Seeing KENJI, a man he did permanently end the career of to get his position in Project: Honor in the first place, to be the tenuous ace of Tetran Kai Dojo, thrive in his own way even after such a tragedy. Was that something he could destroy in Mark Hunter? Seeing the redemption that could happen. And the snap that cause it. He mutters something under his breath for a moment before the scene is taken over with neon lights before falling to black.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “...History repeating itself…”
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---| P r o v i n g G r o u n d X X X I |---
---| L i k e a L i o n |---
∞
T h e K r a k e n
S w i n d l e S h e l l d r a k e
---| O v e r T h e S h o g u n's S h a d o w |---
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---| K i l l H i m H a r d e r |---
ROLAND RAITH: “This is exactly the situation we didn’t want to have. It was a foolish decision to begin with”.
The scene opens to see the office of Roland Raith. Desk and plush chairs in spotless pristine. Across from the Dojo manager was the figure of Swindle Shelldrake sat in one of the chairs. His tall frame is like a pencil compared to Roland’s compact grappler physique. Unusually for Shelldrake, especially compared to his previous outings to the cursed Tetran Kai Office, he was dressed in a suit. Refusing to wear anything more than a simple black jacket and white shirt, with a slim black tie. He looked more like he was going to a funeral than to see his boss. But then again, to The Kraken there wasn’t much difference between the two.
On the screen between them was the obscured voice call from both of their bosses. A mysterious figure that had met with Swindle privately in weeks prior. Their camera wasn’t on, only being represented by an avatar of a black eclipsed sun. It warbles and pulses as they speak.
?: “Going through with the action wasn’t the misstep, but the events after are not good to see, it must be said”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “.....”
?: “The more constructive and pertinent next step is what we’re going to do about it”
ROLAND RAITH: “He damn near broke a man’s neck. That alone is something too far-”
?: “And now that man is back, what else do you want to say, Mr. Raith? You’re not getting anywhere dwelling on what was done, because like it or not it has been done”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “You’re both talking like I’m not here in the room….”
Roland Raith looks from the screen to his client, a steely frown over his face, rubbing his fingers together in a contemplative motion.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “You’re talking like I meant to kill the man or something. All I wanted was to get him out of the way, and I did….I thought I did”.
?: “Apparently you didn’t try hard enough. And now, you’re poking your head into the main event scene which is good progress in my eyes. However, he is back and will be even more of an obstacle in your way as long as he is an active member of the roster. The brazen attempt before will only keep him on your back that much more”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “....Then what do you suggest?”
?: “It’s simple, Swindle dear. You drop him on his head again, end the parade and celebrations of seeing the Great Mark Hunter back from his whole three month absence. Everyone is eating it up, just as planned. It doesn’t take much for the audience to grab onto one’s zeitgeist. Everyone will play it off as some golden unicorn to chase and fail for, when the bar for entry is far lower than many care to admit”.
Roland’s grip in his fingers tighten ever so slightly, but still enough for The Kraken’s eyes to dart over and catch it. Seeing his manager sweat a little, and not just for being in the audible presence of their boss. But for what seemed like a vague snipe at his own training philosophy. Positioning that allusive brass ring as allusive to begin with.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “Getting their attention isn’t the problem. Anyone can do that with a little lashing out and folding back the page. It takes more to stick around. I’ve seen so many guys come and go, but I’m still here”.
?: “It takes balls to do what our superstar here did. You put the fate of one of the most popular talents on the line all for your own chance at glory. Do tell me Swindle, how many championship matches have you had since that day?”
There is a pause as it was Swindle’s time to scrunch his lips and stew in the words.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “...None”.
?: “Exactly. I don’t wish to blame any one party for this, but playing it safe simply isn’t an option anymore, Gentlemen. We don’t finance the careers of the next generation for a middling record and nothing to show for it. We don’t live for immortality in the solitary superfans that can only recall your name as a trivia question”.
“If we have your name, and your dojo falling to obscurity for the mere trap of settling into this pattern of mediocrity, then I’d speak for many executives when I say, I would find little interest in you. Either of you”.
ROLAND: “But-”
?: “But nothing. WarGames is over and now is time to move away from the smoke and mirrors, and to start seeing some results. More than six months have gone by, Gentlemen. Show me some confidence that I’ve backed the right horse this time”.
The call abruptly ends, leaving the tension-filled room with just Roland Raith and Swindle Shelldrake looking at each other. They stare at the screen blankly for a moment before turning to face each other. Both with the restrained look of disappointment in the other.
ROLAND RAITH: “You won’t be breaking his neck again. Ok, Swindle? I’m not having a second serving of that PR nightmare you put me through”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “So what are you gonna do, huh? He’s back now, that means he’s willingly stepping into all the fucked up shit that goes on in the ring. Nevermind from me. If you don’t want me to have any agency then fucking hire me like that Barrick goon you have walking around. He’ll do whatever you want of him, like a good dog. Get yourself a cute Japanese idol wrestler, bump the PR back up with that”.
“You won’t get any that from me. I’m here to win for me, ok? You make that happen for me. At the very least be the other half of that future”.
ROLAND RAITH: “And what is it that I get from you, Swindle? What do you offer? Forgive me for asking, but it sometimes gets a little easy to forget”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “I bring you heads, Roland. Whether you want them or not. It’s like they said…..we’re not playing safe anymore”.
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---| S h a d o w s I n T h e R a i n |---
The scene blooms out in blinding light before it recedes back to a moody dark backstage area. The Kraken now much more comfortable in his black leather jacket. A colossal main event tag team match on the horizon, with a demon of his past resurfacing.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “I look around at everyone in this match, and I see myself as even more of the black sheep than I already am. Both sides hold tentpoles of not only this brand, but this whole promotion. It has my stomach in knots over the lofty company that I am suddenly around. As accustomed to the main event of Proving Ground I have become, I can’t help but get the feeling it isn’t because of my own merit. I’m not here because they want me here. The box office will be on Emmanuelle’s back, on the Grand Champion’s back….and most of all on the hyped up in-ring return of Mark Hunter”.
“The Championship over my tag partner’s shoulder as the name of all three people in its history. When that day passes, I like my history to stay as such. But, here it is coming to repeat itself once again. Make no mistake, they should be coming for the Grand Championship. Hunter and Emmanuelle both. But they have already seen the light of what that position brings. They can already fly….”
“None of you, and I mean NONE of you know what it’s like to see the world roll by, and see yourself stay the same. No matter what I do, it’s never enough to reach a fraction of what you can demand in an instant. Say that’s on me, I don’t care. You’re probably right in some cases. That doesn’t take away my frustration. I can watch as Mark Hunter’s light wanes, falling out of active wrestling for months, even so much as officially retiring....”
“But lo and behold, he comes back with a title over his shoulder. Be it ceremonial or not, that visual speaks to people. You know that, don’t you, Mark. Every moment that the Legacy title gets to sit around in its limbo over your shoulder under the guise of safekeeping…..that is what irks me”.
“There is nothing you have in that title other than a certain vanity. Parading around like you actually are the face of Proving Ground….”
“Even more sickening that you would be partially right about it….”
“Looking around. On either side we have a champion and challenger that went to war at The Crowning for the greatest prize this company can offer. We have me, the anomaly amongst the titans….but then, we have you. Mark Hunter. Towering over them all”.
“I’d like to see a tempered mind through this return. My respects paid to you in person no matter how much you believed them. But now, after seeing swaths of Project: Honor’s top talent fall to the wayside, ready for me to take their place, I am once again overlooked in place of your fool’s glory”.
“Your little legacy”.
“We’ll see how you fare in this second life, Mark. For your own benefit I hope you make full use of it while you can. The world will be watching. All of us. There’s nothing stopping me, or anyone else for that matter, from testing just how indestructible you really are. You will break again. Rebuild yourself all the times that you need, as long as the hunger for a sip of the honey is there….I’ll be here to pull you back down to earth. I will damage that Legacy you hold so dear, making each return as sad as the last”.
“I have an unholy zeal towards you, Mark. It doesn’t make sense, many would see it as unwarranted, even. Can’t be harming the precious face of Proving Ground. Especially not on their nostalgia comeback tour!”.
“You are the perfect one to face here. You and Emmanuelle both, funnily enough”.
“From one former Grand Champion to another, I finally get my chance to face someone who has been on her way to the top since I signed the dotted sign. She held the Warrior Rising Title when I debuted. Always had an air to them….destined for greatness. Someone that you see hardly does so little, and they’re viewed as a savant for it”.
“Now make no mistake, Emmanuelle was a worthy Grand Champion. My only qualm was that it took this long to be in the same circle as them. For months I felt cut off from the real talents here on Proving Ground. The exciting people I wanted to face, and defeat, were kept from me. Emmanuelle being one of them. I wasn’t granted a spot in the Memorial Tournament. I was not enough. And once again, just like Ozymandias, I am left to pick up the scraps of someone that is not at their peak. The Butcher wasn’t first slain by The Shogun, he wasn’t dethroned in this grand catharsis. That same warrior was not finally defeated by someone with the easiest path towards their title…..”
“I beat them both first. Before any of you…..But I guess it’s nice to forget what we want to hide….”
“In that same Scramble match where Emmanuelle fell short, Arata Asakura was nothing more than a shadow of their former self. I defeated them on the way to Clash For The Cup. Everything that is The Platinum Standard’s Grand Title efforts stand freely because I laid the foundations. Everything that is Asakura’s token first title is because I chipped away the armor of Ozymandias. I pinned him in that Scramble match, and saw no equalizer from the man now holding that title…..Not to speak of fumbling it to someone else before actually having your moment”.
“The Shogun is someone that I’ve had the displeasure of being chained to since the very beginning of my time in Project: Honor. And every time, it’s the same shallow self that gets by with natural, innate talent. Everything that someone with the book would so love to see at the top, even with all the xenophobia. On the posters, they all look like stars. A million bucks as they say. That is what the champion and challenger share in common, even Mark Hunter too. You’re all marketable”.
“You’re all safe”.
“Doesn’t really matter how much any of you can stumble and fall on your way. There is always a comforting arm over your shoulder ready to nurse you back to the fold with little a look at who might have knocked you down. All it will take is the next contender to rip the Grand Championship away from you, Arata. Then poof, your reign is gone. But everyone out there will still remember the two-out-of-three falls match, they will remember your win Ozymandias, they will remember you as the first two-time Grand Champion. Even as the biggest failure, you’ll have that shine to your name. That doesn’t sit right with me when every waking moment I am seen as little more than filling a spot in other people’s tales”.
“I was a good hand on the indies. That’s what they called me. A good hand. The guy who builds the monuments to the real stars”.
“I see two people who, apparently, had one of the greatest Grand Championship matches in this company’s history. I can be seen as so little, despite holding a claim over them both. Title matches after title matches, opportunities for all three of these worms. Gifted and granted. Signed away with reckless abandon WHILE I AM LEFT BEHIND IN ALL YOUR SHADOWS!”
“This match isn’t about any of you. Fuck your OWA memories, matches gone by pretending that you hold this place aloft on it. Fuck your nostalgia, and your cushy positions at the top of Proving Ground. I’m not here to sit pretty with you, because the next day, I could be replaced with someone who doesn’t belong”.
“The main event scene will become mine. And solely mine. Ruins of your grandeur will be the bedrock of my time in the sun. Be it Grand or Legacy, I want to take it from all of you. One piece at a time”.
DIRECTOR: “Aannnd cut! That’s a wrap!”
The camera stays rolling as the intense glare from Swindle’s eyes stays for a moment…before it withdraws, and Shelldrake’s eyes fall to the middle distance, his head drooping slightly. For all the confidence that can bubble up inside him, especially against tougher competition, there is a hesitance to his face now that the rush is dying down.
What is on Swindle’s mind?
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---| G r e a t e r G a i n |---
Unaired Footage
Tokyo, Japan
The studio light behind Swindle blooms into light and leaves a jet black silhouette of the Kraken’s head as the scene transitions. A low rumble of synth reverberates as the light envelops the silhouette. The hair dye over his fringe bleeding a bright pink into the white light as it begins to twinkle with little bursts of stars. The shape changes and warps into that of a complete circle.
A full moon.
The camera pans down to what is now a neon-peaked skyline in the midnight musings of a bustling Tokyo. The understated synth adds to the neo-noir vibe as two figures are standing on a rooftop. Around them is a speckled gallery of neon signs.
One is seated with their feet dangling over the edge of the building. Wearing a smart suit with the jacket unbuttoned, a tie pulls loose and a glass bottle in his hand. The other is standing next to him. Noticeably tall and stick-like. The bubbles of green, blue and yellow light fleck off the metal of his leather jacket. A trail of smoke being exhaled from his mouth.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “It’s kinda shit up here, not gonna lie”.
KENJI: “It’s my kind of shit, ok. Feel free to jump if you can’t take it anymore”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. You get to see how suffocating it is from up here”.
KENJI: “Jeez, you’re just as fun as the last time we met”.
KENJI smiles and takes a sip from the beer bottle, wincing at the not so good taste. Cheap stuff. He holds it with his right hand, holding his left arm close. Swindle goes quiet for a moment, looking over to a distant skyscraper and taking another inhale of his cigarette.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “....How is the arm, by the way?”
KENJI: “You know, the usual. Not much else to say. Kinda bored of all the Tokyo Sports interviewers asking about my time in the US. Like I haven’t started a new thing already”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “.....KENJI….How do you move on? You know…when that sorta stuff takes over, starts getting in the way of thoughts you need to succeed”.
KENJI: “Do you have an injury now? Hahaha, I’m just kidding…..You never really do, not in truth. Although I know what you’re asking about isn’t the same…..It’s difficult, man. I got some gold of my own but never the gold I really wanted. Could call it spoiled, but if the desire is there, it’s impossible to shake it, you know?”
Swindle doesn’t say anything, but the inhale from his cigarette and the sizzling dust scattering off to the wind leaves a moment of recognition between the two of them. Both cut from that cloth to be the best. Being denied being the best.
KENJI: “Listen. Your obstacles are your obstacles. Yours alone. Everyone around you will see those challenges differently, and you might not like that. But that’s ok. We’re not in the business of all being the same. We’re not in the business of being flashes in the pan”.
“I’ll always respect that you have that mindset too, you know”.
“Sure, others might be at the seats you want for the time being, and every urge you have will be to pull the chair from under them. I felt that a lot. We don’t live for that. We live for the moment we take when it finally comes”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “Shut up, I know you wanted to be as cutthroat as me”.
KENJI: “When I did, it didn’t go well. But, I learned a real lesson then. I knew that no matter how hard I worked for it, the world title wouldn’t be mine. But you know what? That was some of the best time I had, even if I was in a real dark place”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “I came for recognition of what I can do. Doesn’t matter what I think of it….”
KENJI: “It always matters. Being on cloud nine about yourself, or wallowing in your own self doubt….there is something to use there from both sides. Ese both at the same time, you might find some surprising results. Take what you want, and leave the rest”.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “.....Will that make me a world champion?”
KENJI: “.....As someone who didn’t reach the summit, I can’t answer that. I chose a different mountain to climb, and being a promoter is doing pretty great for me now. If you hadn’t ended it for me, I wouldn’t be living this life”.
“It takes a great fall to rise again stronger, Swindle”.
Swindle looks off to a neon sign bearing the striking white light of angel’s wings, burning up in reds and oranges. They were plummeting to the ground head first. The sign takes his attention as KENJI’s words grow muffled in the background of the growing synth soundscape over the Tokyo night.
A Great Fall.
Pain to Overcome.
Barriers to Destroy.
A Return to The Skies.
Wings Stronger Than Ever Before.
He can’t help but think of Mark Hunter with the angel’s image in his mind. Seeing KENJI, a man he did permanently end the career of to get his position in Project: Honor in the first place, to be the tenuous ace of Tetran Kai Dojo, thrive in his own way even after such a tragedy. Was that something he could destroy in Mark Hunter? Seeing the redemption that could happen. And the snap that cause it. He mutters something under his breath for a moment before the scene is taken over with neon lights before falling to black.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: “...History repeating itself…”
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