Post by Virgil Barrick on Mar 26, 2022 8:39:22 GMT -5
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---| Project: Underground IX |---
---| Pain & Suffering |---
---| The Smooth Operator |---
---| Virgil Barrick |---
---/ A Stage to Die On \---
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---| VIRGIL |---
---\ Blood Can Open Doors /---
VIRGIL BARRICK [V.O]: "You can tell yourself that you'll bounce back from adversity until the cows come home. As much as we want to learn from every setback that we endure, and we do endure. It is never any more the familiar or comforting feeling to find yourself down".
The black screen slowly fades in to footage of Barrick in the Tetran Kai Dojo gym. Delivering thunderous blows to the punching bag with precision form and execution. Despite that, his posture and demeanor doesn't display the same level of discipline. He is not content. Far from it.
A body block is inter cut with the rallying comeback of Tyler Cage from the previous edition of Project: Underground. His training gets more intense as the match footage picks up too, the punches growing in strength, before he suddenly stops. An exhale sees the drooping his shoulders as he relives the loss.
?: "The sandbag has seen enough punishment for one day, don't you think?"
Virgil unstraps his gloves and wipes the sweat from his brow, turning back to see the person that had been watching. Someone that Virgil had never seen before.
They were dressed in a stark white dress shirt with shimmers of grey jeweled cuff links, black pencil skirt, black tights, and a pair of bright monochrome stilettos that lightly clacked over the floor as they walked. The slender figure meandered around the gym equipment of the dojo, their blue-black bob hair and the thinnest line of eye-liner framing a focused gaze on the Smooth Operator. Their cigarette swirls a wisp of smoke around the barbell of the bench press as they walk by.
VIRGIL BARRICK: "Can I help you?"
?: "I'm sure that you can, Mr. Barrick. You're Raith's new pet project, or so they say".
VIRGIL BARRICK: "Of a sort, yes".
?: "Or, better yet, it might be me that could be of help to you. Has Raith sat you down since your last match yet?".
VIRGIL BARRICK: "No, he hasn't. I'm sorry, who are you?"
The mysterious figure goes to release a small chuckle, but instead holds back to a mere smile.
?: "One of his more influential partners. He wouldn't have been able to build this place and everything its become without people like myself in the background. I don't usually get involved in talent relations until I think a difference can be made".
"Here it's less of a difference, but an interest".
The southern drawl of their voice is offset with their retro artdeco 20s revival style takes Virgil back somewhat. He takes a towel from the bench and cleans his face for a moment, not sure what to make of this person. Virgil's silence draws out another comment from them, the Smooth Operator looking to gauge them more.
?: "I digress...Raith will at some point find a time to corner you and have a little chat about your performance, my dear. You'd do well to honour it when he asks".
VIRGIL BARRICK: "About losing to Cage, you mean".
?: "It doesn't particularly matter who it was, my dear. Doesn't matter at all. Have you ever wondered why Raith seems so hands on with the careers of his clients, but is never there in person. He doesn't tour the world with you. He doesn't make that presence known. But he will infringe on you as if he were".
"He will try to make it seen a bad thing to have lost. Now that....from an observer with a vested interest in everyone that he rounds up, you won't need to respect so much. For as involved as he can seem, it's all just numbers. A mighty resource for the statistics, and the board meetings, and the image. Not so much for anything more".
VIRGIL BARRICK: "Winning wasn't going to last forever anyway, no matter how well I take to this sport. With respect, I'll cross that bridge when Mr. Raith says it in person. Not that I don't believe you, but I like to believe what I see. Not what I hear".
They walk up closer to Barrick, the stiletto heels making their already tall frame to only be a few inches shorter than Virgil. They circle him, inspecting. They run a finger across the blades of his shoulders from right to left, with the ticking noise of the heels along the hard floor as they went.
?: "....As you wish. When you see it for yourself, then I won't be too far away. I never am. All I ask is to know your worth, Mr. Barrick. Not expecting you to fully grasp the diamond that you, or anyone in your position could be, but be aware of what you want to become".
"The landscape of your battleground is going to be changing fast, as any fertile ground should. We want you to be ready. One loss doesn't make the man, nor the manager".
Virgil's eyes watch theirs intently as they smoothly turn and start walking away, picking up a satin crimson smoker's jacket they had hung over the squat rack barbell and hoisting it over their shoulder.
VIRGIL BARRICK: "What's your name?"
?: "Call me Shroud, dear".
"I look forward to your progress, Mr. Barrick".
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---| VIRGIL |---
---\ A Future Behind The World's Curtain /---
VIRGIL BARRICK: "It's time for the real battle to begin".
"Cage's victory is his, and rightfully his. I made to illusions that I could hold a streak of dominance for so long. But it would be a lie to say I expected my first roadblock to be Tyler Cage. That's where I made the fatal mistake. The crime of underestimation".
"I've been able to dispatch as many big future names as anyone in Project: Underground, and just as much the loss is mine, that lightning in a bottle is also mine. That momentum. It won't haunt me to be punching upwards when the time comes, and Tyler Cage, it most certainly will. The very best will always converse at the summit of the mountain and I very much intent to meet you there".
"When the prize of Project: Underground is on the line, it will spur everyone else into motion and perhaps they can achieve what Cage did. I may not be the icon to be toppled in lieu of the greats of this sport, but a victory over me in this fledgling melting pot of a scene is significant".
"And it won't be happening again".
"He holds the prestige of besting me on his first attempt and that I can only be respectful of. However, my upcoming opponent does not share that luxury".
"Nathan O'Connor".
"I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt when we fought those weeks ago. To believe that you were of the similar ilk to me, as someone to be positioned as the future, and living up to all the expectation and potential that your presentation would suggest".
"I'd like to think that you could still be that man one day. Just as much as I can see my own future in this sport, I don't wish to deny you your chance. Only the best deserve the top spot, but everyone needs their chance to begin with. After your loss in our triangle match, I was on the brink of thinking that you perhaps weren't everything you were made out to be".
"That is, until you defeated Kurtis Slayne".#
"To have your name hoisted above the son of Clive Darling himself, with Slayne already being featured on the big time stage, beyond anything that would be within reach to the rookie likes of us. The very place where we aspire to be. Now that has my true attention. I can talk of professional courtesy and paying my dues to an opponent, but that brings the real, intangible energy. A fighter like me, we're drawn to that like moths to a flame".
"So I do apologise if in our last encounter you didn't get the full experience of what a fight with me would entail. We had Scar in the way for that. Whether Scar wants to dispute that or not, he was in the way now that I see the bigger picture".
"Your potential is far from lost and I wish to see it in full, because I will give you my all too. In that moment, when two opposing forces are on the peak of what is possible, that is where we are forged".
"We are created in that pressure cooker".
"But...."
"One victory does not make you, as big as it is. As one loss doesn't make me".
"We both have our points to prove. But will you be able to overcome me this time? I wonder. There won't be a third dancer in the ring this time to cloud the judgement. You meet me one on one. Man on man. To find your place to belong on Project: Underground, you'd best hope it isn't a second tragedy at the hands of the Doctor Bomb for you, Nathan".
"While me, I can accept a longer road for you, should you fall. But every time someone such as you, fails, to defeat me. Each time I can climbing higher and there will be a day when I hold nothing but clear air between me and everyone else under the purple banner".
"You'll want to do yourself a favour, and not make yourself one of them. As much as I want to see you succeed, I have a goal to fulfill for my own wants. To be the Underground Champion. It is a position that will be mine. Not only to become champion, but to be the very first. The inaugural. I want the clean slate to mould everyone on this brand into the very best combatants they can possibly be. I want to bring my expertise and knowledge to YOU. To all of you. The greatest position to do that, is as THE quintessential Underground Champion..."
"But we are not at that chapter yet. We're still in the prologue of what this brand can be...."
"And that means, unfortunately, until that time.....you, and everyone else that is put in front of me needs to have their legs cut from under you at any and all opportunities. That way, you are already chasing your own development by the time you are READY to challenge for that championship. The title that I already embody long before it is within our sights".
"The competition must rise to me. Tyler Cage has done that. He will be on the way to stardom that you reach for. I embrace my ability to gauge the talent of Underground, Nathan. And I will assess you for the second time...."
"I will ensure you fail as many times as you need".
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---| Project: Underground IX |---
---| Pain & Suffering |---
---| The Smooth Operator |---
---| Virgil Barrick |---
---/ A Stage to Die On \---
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---| VIRGIL |---
---\ Blood Can Open Doors /---
VIRGIL BARRICK [V.O]: "You can tell yourself that you'll bounce back from adversity until the cows come home. As much as we want to learn from every setback that we endure, and we do endure. It is never any more the familiar or comforting feeling to find yourself down".
The black screen slowly fades in to footage of Barrick in the Tetran Kai Dojo gym. Delivering thunderous blows to the punching bag with precision form and execution. Despite that, his posture and demeanor doesn't display the same level of discipline. He is not content. Far from it.
A body block is inter cut with the rallying comeback of Tyler Cage from the previous edition of Project: Underground. His training gets more intense as the match footage picks up too, the punches growing in strength, before he suddenly stops. An exhale sees the drooping his shoulders as he relives the loss.
?: "The sandbag has seen enough punishment for one day, don't you think?"
Virgil unstraps his gloves and wipes the sweat from his brow, turning back to see the person that had been watching. Someone that Virgil had never seen before.
They were dressed in a stark white dress shirt with shimmers of grey jeweled cuff links, black pencil skirt, black tights, and a pair of bright monochrome stilettos that lightly clacked over the floor as they walked. The slender figure meandered around the gym equipment of the dojo, their blue-black bob hair and the thinnest line of eye-liner framing a focused gaze on the Smooth Operator. Their cigarette swirls a wisp of smoke around the barbell of the bench press as they walk by.
VIRGIL BARRICK: "Can I help you?"
?: "I'm sure that you can, Mr. Barrick. You're Raith's new pet project, or so they say".
VIRGIL BARRICK: "Of a sort, yes".
?: "Or, better yet, it might be me that could be of help to you. Has Raith sat you down since your last match yet?".
VIRGIL BARRICK: "No, he hasn't. I'm sorry, who are you?"
The mysterious figure goes to release a small chuckle, but instead holds back to a mere smile.
?: "One of his more influential partners. He wouldn't have been able to build this place and everything its become without people like myself in the background. I don't usually get involved in talent relations until I think a difference can be made".
"Here it's less of a difference, but an interest".
The southern drawl of their voice is offset with their retro artdeco 20s revival style takes Virgil back somewhat. He takes a towel from the bench and cleans his face for a moment, not sure what to make of this person. Virgil's silence draws out another comment from them, the Smooth Operator looking to gauge them more.
?: "I digress...Raith will at some point find a time to corner you and have a little chat about your performance, my dear. You'd do well to honour it when he asks".
VIRGIL BARRICK: "About losing to Cage, you mean".
?: "It doesn't particularly matter who it was, my dear. Doesn't matter at all. Have you ever wondered why Raith seems so hands on with the careers of his clients, but is never there in person. He doesn't tour the world with you. He doesn't make that presence known. But he will infringe on you as if he were".
"He will try to make it seen a bad thing to have lost. Now that....from an observer with a vested interest in everyone that he rounds up, you won't need to respect so much. For as involved as he can seem, it's all just numbers. A mighty resource for the statistics, and the board meetings, and the image. Not so much for anything more".
VIRGIL BARRICK: "Winning wasn't going to last forever anyway, no matter how well I take to this sport. With respect, I'll cross that bridge when Mr. Raith says it in person. Not that I don't believe you, but I like to believe what I see. Not what I hear".
They walk up closer to Barrick, the stiletto heels making their already tall frame to only be a few inches shorter than Virgil. They circle him, inspecting. They run a finger across the blades of his shoulders from right to left, with the ticking noise of the heels along the hard floor as they went.
?: "....As you wish. When you see it for yourself, then I won't be too far away. I never am. All I ask is to know your worth, Mr. Barrick. Not expecting you to fully grasp the diamond that you, or anyone in your position could be, but be aware of what you want to become".
"The landscape of your battleground is going to be changing fast, as any fertile ground should. We want you to be ready. One loss doesn't make the man, nor the manager".
Virgil's eyes watch theirs intently as they smoothly turn and start walking away, picking up a satin crimson smoker's jacket they had hung over the squat rack barbell and hoisting it over their shoulder.
VIRGIL BARRICK: "What's your name?"
?: "Call me Shroud, dear".
"I look forward to your progress, Mr. Barrick".
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---| VIRGIL |---
---\ A Future Behind The World's Curtain /---
VIRGIL BARRICK: "It's time for the real battle to begin".
"Cage's victory is his, and rightfully his. I made to illusions that I could hold a streak of dominance for so long. But it would be a lie to say I expected my first roadblock to be Tyler Cage. That's where I made the fatal mistake. The crime of underestimation".
"I've been able to dispatch as many big future names as anyone in Project: Underground, and just as much the loss is mine, that lightning in a bottle is also mine. That momentum. It won't haunt me to be punching upwards when the time comes, and Tyler Cage, it most certainly will. The very best will always converse at the summit of the mountain and I very much intent to meet you there".
"When the prize of Project: Underground is on the line, it will spur everyone else into motion and perhaps they can achieve what Cage did. I may not be the icon to be toppled in lieu of the greats of this sport, but a victory over me in this fledgling melting pot of a scene is significant".
"And it won't be happening again".
"He holds the prestige of besting me on his first attempt and that I can only be respectful of. However, my upcoming opponent does not share that luxury".
"Nathan O'Connor".
"I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt when we fought those weeks ago. To believe that you were of the similar ilk to me, as someone to be positioned as the future, and living up to all the expectation and potential that your presentation would suggest".
"I'd like to think that you could still be that man one day. Just as much as I can see my own future in this sport, I don't wish to deny you your chance. Only the best deserve the top spot, but everyone needs their chance to begin with. After your loss in our triangle match, I was on the brink of thinking that you perhaps weren't everything you were made out to be".
"That is, until you defeated Kurtis Slayne".#
"To have your name hoisted above the son of Clive Darling himself, with Slayne already being featured on the big time stage, beyond anything that would be within reach to the rookie likes of us. The very place where we aspire to be. Now that has my true attention. I can talk of professional courtesy and paying my dues to an opponent, but that brings the real, intangible energy. A fighter like me, we're drawn to that like moths to a flame".
"So I do apologise if in our last encounter you didn't get the full experience of what a fight with me would entail. We had Scar in the way for that. Whether Scar wants to dispute that or not, he was in the way now that I see the bigger picture".
"Your potential is far from lost and I wish to see it in full, because I will give you my all too. In that moment, when two opposing forces are on the peak of what is possible, that is where we are forged".
"We are created in that pressure cooker".
"But...."
"One victory does not make you, as big as it is. As one loss doesn't make me".
"We both have our points to prove. But will you be able to overcome me this time? I wonder. There won't be a third dancer in the ring this time to cloud the judgement. You meet me one on one. Man on man. To find your place to belong on Project: Underground, you'd best hope it isn't a second tragedy at the hands of the Doctor Bomb for you, Nathan".
"While me, I can accept a longer road for you, should you fall. But every time someone such as you, fails, to defeat me. Each time I can climbing higher and there will be a day when I hold nothing but clear air between me and everyone else under the purple banner".
"You'll want to do yourself a favour, and not make yourself one of them. As much as I want to see you succeed, I have a goal to fulfill for my own wants. To be the Underground Champion. It is a position that will be mine. Not only to become champion, but to be the very first. The inaugural. I want the clean slate to mould everyone on this brand into the very best combatants they can possibly be. I want to bring my expertise and knowledge to YOU. To all of you. The greatest position to do that, is as THE quintessential Underground Champion..."
"But we are not at that chapter yet. We're still in the prologue of what this brand can be...."
"And that means, unfortunately, until that time.....you, and everyone else that is put in front of me needs to have their legs cut from under you at any and all opportunities. That way, you are already chasing your own development by the time you are READY to challenge for that championship. The title that I already embody long before it is within our sights".
"The competition must rise to me. Tyler Cage has done that. He will be on the way to stardom that you reach for. I embrace my ability to gauge the talent of Underground, Nathan. And I will assess you for the second time...."
"I will ensure you fail as many times as you need".
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------