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X-treme Wrestling Federation » Warfare Boards » Warfare RP Board
Imposing Order
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Joachim Bright Offline
Heart on his sleeve



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#1
08-11-2018, 06:50 PM


Scene opens on a hotel exercise room. You know the kind, usually pretty smallish but with a decent enough array of equipment that you should be able to get in a solid work out. This one's really no different, except for the fact that current Heavymetalweight (!!!!) champion Joachim Bright is presently busting his ass in said gym. Actually, “busting his ass” might be underselling it a bit. His sleeveless t-shirt is absolutely soaked through with sweat. He looks exhausted, with dark half moons cupping his eyes. He lifts up a bar weighted at both ends and tries to heave it over his head, but finds he cannot. So, gritting his teeth, he goes for it again, but this time he's interrupted by the door opening and Taye walking in.

Jo....honey....?

It takes Jo a solid 7 seconds to even realize his name was spoken. He seems seriously out of it. But finally he numbly places the bar back down and turns to Taye.

Oh....hi babe.

Taye approaches him, a concerned look on his face.

So I was enjoying a morning martini on the patio when the hotel staff expressed some concerns. How long have you been in here?

What time is it?

10:15 AM.

Oh. Well I....uhhhh....I started right after you went to bed.

Ya huh. That was 12:30 last night. So you have been working out for almost 10 hours?

Yeah. Well, no. I took some breaks.

Joachim wavers on his feet, but barely steadies himself.

Honey, why don't you sit down.

'Kay.

He doesn't move. Taye cocks his head. So are you gonna sit down?

Aren't I?

Take makes one of those “holy Jesus I think he's serious” faces and gently takes hold of Jo and leads up to a weight bench. Then, with equally as gentle pressure, he presses down on his shoulders to get him to sit.

Okay.

Yeah. Yeah. Why does it smell rancid in here?

Jo points to a nearby garbage can. That's full of my puke.

Taye let's his breath out in a whoosh of consternation. He half considers checking the garbage can for blood in the vomit and then decides against it. You're going to kill yourself if you keep this up. You're going to hurt yourself very badly. Do you understand what I'm saying?

Joachim grabs for a bottle of water on the floor, and actually misses it with the first swipe of his fingers but succeeds on the second shot. I may be overdoing it.

No “may be” about it. You need to stop. Give your body time to recoup.

Draining half the bottle, he goes to place it on the side of the weight bench but misses the edge and drops it on the floor, spilling it everywhere.

Don't worry about it, I'll get you a new one. Hey. Taye cups Joachim's chin with his fingers getting him to look up into his eyes. I know this means a lot to you....

It means everything. Chris....he's like every bully that ever fucked with us, you know? He's my mission here. Part of it anyway.

You're ascribing a lot of purpose to a guy who sucks.

Jo shakes his head. It's two different things Taye. His lack of success and who he is as a human being. Most bullies suck, deep down inside. It's why they have to drag others down under with them. But the casual cruelty, and then saying shit like “look how many rookies I put on the map.” Like his history with AX3, and how quickly he cut Peter Gilmour loose, isn't a testament to his selfishness. Like the fact that he made Erik Black an accessory to murder which only got him killed in the end is not an indicator of how he poisons everything and everyone around him.

Taye chuckles a bit. You dear heart. That's just what people like Chris do. They throw up a wall of bullshit in the hopes that nobody will notice. But you're too smart for that. And you're too smart for him. You have his number boo. It's why he was flailing so hard in that last promo. But don't kill yourself over Chris Chaos. You don't need to. Taye holds his hand out for Joachim to take.

Jo takes him up on his offer and stands up unsteadily. Okay, you're right. You're right. He looks down at his sweat stained shirt. I'm gross.

I won't hold it against you. He leads his boyfriend out of the gym and the scene gently fades to black.

/////A Little Bit Later////

We reopen on a new scene, a simple scene. Jo is sitting in a folding chair. But behind him, taped to the wall, are scores of pictures. Most of the people in those pictures skew young, some of them are even children, but there is a smattering of older representatives too. Jo's fingers are steepled, and he sits hunched over in his seat. Finally, he looks up at the camera.

Taye was right about me pushing myself too hard. But my reasons for bringing myself so close to the breaking point are valid as ever. This match matters. What this match stands for MATTERS. Just because Chris Chaos is largely ineffective at picking up the pieces of his dumpster fire of a career doesn't mean that he's incapable of hurting people and being an asshole. What I said before, about you being like every other bully who tried to beat me down and make me hurt because they COULD? That's from the heart.

One thing I've come to realize during my short tenure on this Earth is that people's capacity for cruelty is truly boundless. I know that sounds dark and contrary to what I'm about, but it's a fact, borne out for me personally and vicariously time and again. It's seeped into the very fabric of American culture. It's a cancer.

Chris, you look at me when I say this. I want you to ingrain this in your memory, drink in every cadence and nuance of what I'm about to say. And not because I think you'll believe me, but because I want these words to HAUNT you.

There are no throw away people.

None. Not ever. Now like I said, I don't expect the man who killed Jim Caedus for fun and profit, who cut Peter Gilmour lose at the drop of a hat, who couldn't be bothered to spare a mention for Erik Black after he was killed by The Engineer, and who has a history of backstabbing his own team mates...no, I don't reckon that's gonna SINK IN for you Chris. But I want that mantra to serve as a point of demarcation for you, the point you will remember for the rest of your life in which your career truly bottomed out, and that the vanity and rot you stood for finally felt more like a burden rather than a boon.


He casts a look back at the pictures on the wall and stands up abruptly, gesturing at them.

See these? Each and every single one of these people represents someone who took their own lives. People who buckled under the relentless cruelty of people like you. Taunted for being heavy, for being gay, for being trans, or just for that oh so Godawful crime of being DIFFERENT. Look at all this waste, fucking look at it! He stabs a finger at the pictures. And I already know what you're thinking Chris, you look at a wall like this and you see weakness. You think it's pathetic.

Well, fuck you very much. Because you know what I see? I see wasted potential. I see a void of lives unlived and moments lost because somebody, given the choice to be kind or cruel, chose cruelty.


He pauses again, taking a moment to recollect.

I'm not perfect either. I've made mistakes. I've opted for selfishness. I may have even went a bit too far in my last promo at times. Peter Gilmour made his own choices and is often on the wrong side of history, but he was a victim of yours too and maybe he didn't deserve me punching down on him. I don't know.

But I try, Chris. I try. It costs very little to do what's right. Sometimes nothing at all. And time after time it's a cost you have shown that you are unwilling to pay.

But I did say that there are no throw away people, and damn it I meant it! So here's the million dollar question....

Does that apply to you too?


Jo shrugs with a matter of fact expression on his face.

Well yeah, it has to. Or it makes me a huge goddamn hypocrite now doesn't it? I shouldn't completely write you off. And while everything inside me is screaming that you don't have it in you to change, for me to presume that and consign you to the dustbin of XWF history as just another egomaniac, well....that doesn't exactly jive with who I strive to be either. So I'm gonna be better than that. And I'm gonna make you an offer. But the offer involves you giving me the same chance I'm giving you.

The tag team championships. I know you want them back right? So how about this. If I win at Warfare, you team up with me to try and take them back. Yes, that's right. I'm offering to team with you to go after the tag team titles. And I'm going to lay all my cards right out on the table. This isn't some mind game. It's not a trick. It's a chance for you to get to know me and see that playing things my way can earn you the same results as being a prick can. I hope you appreciate the risk I'm taking here, your reputation isn't exactly golden and your history of being difficult to work with doesn't bode well for me. But at least I can go forward knowing I tried to work with you and get you to see the light.

And if you think this is just some lame attempt to use you and do to you what you've done to so many others, oh HONEY if you knew the names I had in my cell phone right now. And I'm not talking about Engy. If I wanted those belts that much, there are much easier ways I could go about it, with partners holding considerably less baggage than you, you feel me?


He quirks an eye brow at the camera.

So what do you say Chris? I prove my worth and we go after the gold. I'm even booked against Dyke next week. I could get some recon in. And hopefully not an STD.

Your move.


Jo walks away from the camera, but it follows him as he goes. Taye is standing off camera, his jaw hanging open. Clearly they didn't discuss this proposal before hand.

What the hell are you doing?

Jo playfully slaps Taye on the chest. Relax. I know what I'm doing.

He continues walking off scene as we fade to black one final time.


[Image: barbed_wire_through_my_heart_by_tripwire_d.jpg]pin
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