Please Login or Register to get full access to the forums.

Lost Password?
Current time: 03-29-2024, 03:42 AM (time should display as Pacific time zone; please contact Admin if it appears to be wrong)                                                                


X-treme Wrestling Federation »   » Archives » "Savage Saturday Night" RP Board
The Day Had Just Begun
Author Message
Ned Kaye Offline
per cogitabat, per facis
TITLE - Tag Champion



XWF FanBase:
The IWC

(gets varying reactions in the arenas, but will be worshiped like a god and defended until the end by internet fans; literally has thousands of online dorks logging on to complain anytime they lose a match or don't get pushed right)


#1
03-08-2021, 11:39 PM




Ned took a breath, looking upwards.

The side of the mountain was steep, but certainly climbable, even by someone somewhat inexperienced at rock climbing like Ned. He placed a hand against it, feeling the stone pressed to his palm, every jagged crevice only an ounce or so of pressure away from digging deep into skin, even through his climbing gloves. He had considered grabbing some actual climbing gear for the occasion, but he wasn’t looking to get too far this time, simply to see how far he could get there alone. The solitude was a comfort, yet it felt somewhat… off. Ned couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He steadied himself, adjusting the backpack on him to be more secure, and grabbed onto the rocky cliff face, positioning his feet in spots with good leverage. He had made it about three yards up when he made a fairly large error.

He glanced down.

He’d never much liked heights, but he had been able to mostly move past the discomfort since his Leap of Faith victory. All of that had failed him in the incident at the last mountain he’d been at. When the avalanche happened, sweeping Ned and isolating him from his friends for what felt like the longest day in his life. But even that wasn’t what sparked his fear of falling.



January 15th, 2005


“It’s gotta be my turn, soon!” Ned pleaded. He had just turned eleven a few months prior and he wasn’t too pleased with having to share his new birthday present with his brother. Nate was fourteen and he usually didn’t care one bit about anything Ned had, but a trampoline was something to behold, a suburban status symbol and it was tucked a bit uncomfortably in their slim New York backyard.

“Well, you can have your turn when I’m done! I want to do some cool stuff and I can’t have you ruining it and crying to Mom and Dad because you got hurt!”

“But it’s my present!”

Nate bounced joyously as Ned stood on the firm, infinitely less fun in comparison, ground. He emulated several wrestling moves he had seen in passing. He didn’t watch XWF with Ned and their father as often, but it was hard not to get caught up in the excitement sometimes. As Nate bounced, he had to dodge a few branches from a nearby tree that sat snugly near the trampoline.

“Yeah, but I’m using it right now!”

Ned felt the closest thing a 11 year old had to righteous anger, shouting out at his brother, “If you don’t let me have my turn now, I’m telling mom and dad!” He held his arms to his sides with his fists clenched as he shouted. Nate sighed, hopping off the trampoline.

“FINE! You don’t have to be such a buttmunch about it!”

Ned finally got to enjoy his birthday present as Nate looked on, seemingly heading towards the back door. Each bounce brought Ned closer and closer to the sky. He loved looking up, seeing the clouds appear to get just a little bit nearer with the apex of each jump. He was so caught up that he didn’t notice when Nate had climbed the tree and gotten into position to jump.

“Moonsault!” Nate shouted.

Ned gasped as Nate leaped off, curling up and bracing for an impact. But Ned never felt one. Nate had missed.

He had missed the entire trampoline.

Ned peeked his head over the edge of the trampoline and that’s when he saw Nate’s leg bent back broken, his brother screaming from the pain. Ned couldn’t move for a few seconds. And he was unable to process it even as he ran inside and told his mother.



Ned thought to that moment. To Nate’s rejection of wrestling ever since outside of a bit of support of Ned recently. His brother had been in a cast for months and the experience had left Ned distrustful of anything higher than a trampoline bounce. He looked up at the rest of the distance he planned to clear. He could just hop back down and call it a day. There wasn’t a need to push forward, but Ned still did. He began to whisper to himself.

“I’m just a foot off the ground.”

He knew it wasn’t true. He knew there wasn’t any turning back after this, but he believed it enough to focus on the above, not below. With slow, deliberate movements, he steadily made progress up the mountain, shaking from the thought of looking below, but able to fight off the urge to do so. That’s when his left hand slipped.

Though he was able to stay clutched to the mountain’s side, the slip tore through his left glove, even scraping him enough to bleed. He freed his hand from the torn glove by ripping it off with his teeth and spitting it out, letting it drift a foot or so beneath him. After a short period of thinking, he realized the best way to safely handle the situation was to press on forward. It wasn’t his favorite strategy, but he hadn’t felt like much of a strategist lately to begin with.



December 1st, 2020


With a final glance of the chessboard, Ned knew he had been outplayed. He looked to his opponent, sighing with a level of resignation.

“I guess you got me.”

“Of course I did, Ned,” replied Ethan. “You’re pretty good at chess, but I could tell your heart just wasn’t really in it. With all the excitement of becoming a champion, talking about some weird indie probably doesn’t seem like too much fun.”

“Honestly, I’m just happy to hang out with you again. I know I kinda screwed up with shutting off the six or so months after March Madness, but I’m happy to hang out with you again. Same time next week?”

The excitement in Ned’s voice felt so somber next to Ethan’s face. They’d been friends for years. Ethan had lifted Ned out of countless marches towards self-destruction. But Ethan’s expression at this moment? There wasn’t a hint of joy in it, merely cautious regret.

“Ned… I really enjoyed seeing you again, but your life is a lot… busier than mine. Maybe… maybe it needs to stay that way for a while. I just… I can’t deal with some of the stuff that happens in your world. Especially after all the stuff Chaos did to your family. I want to be here for you, man, but… look-“

He cut himself off, frustrated with the thought.

“…But what?”

“It’s not important.”

“Yeah, it is. But what?”

Ethan puffed his chest out, trying to find the courage internally.

“But you weren’t exactly there for me this past year, when I needed a friend. Look, I get why you rushed off and isolated yourself, but it didn’t exactly make it easy for me. I need some time away from your world, Ned. Away from you.”

Kaye stared at the scar on Ethan’s face, the one placed there by The Engineer. The one placed by Ned’s inability to help his friend in so many ways.

“I... understand. Goodbye, then?”

“No… but see you later.” Ethan smiled softly as he packed his things and left Ned in the darkened room.



Ned pulled himself up, feeling himself become ever closer to the top, the feeling of regret pulling him downward, causing his fingers to become slicker. Suddenly, a small tone chimed from his pocket. Baffled, he quickly managed to grab the phone and place it up to his ear.

“H-hello?”

“Well, we might need to go to Netflix!”

“Urias?”

“They just couldn’t deal with a pitch as classy as mine! I painted you in a real good light, too!”

“Urias, right now is a very bad time. I’m in the middle of something.”

“Oh, really?! Well, I BELIEVE IN-“

Ned’s head recoiled in shock at the shout.

“YOOOOOOUUUUUuuuuuuu….” His phone plummeted below.

He turned his head downward, shooting it back up, pulling himself to the plateau with a final burst of strength.

They all believed in him.

Ned took a breath, looking out at the view of sunset from the mountain.

The climb had been perilous, even deeply frightening and he was going to use his emergency flip phone, but there was no panic on him as he sat on a patch of grass and stared outward. He'd been through so much to get to this one point and while there was certainly more to climb, it sure as hell wasn't here. There was a cleansing sensation as his memories and his present collided, tears welling in his eyes. He had faced so much anguish, so much pain, a single misplaced step away from the grave, but he was still here. And he still had people who cared for him. At that moment, everything everyone had ever told him about his potential and his strength made perfect sense.

Yes, he had to climb by himself, but he never did it alone.

His hands stung from the climb, but the small singeing pain was nearly nothing compared to the joy he was feeling right now. He couldn't wait to head back down so he could see his friends and family again. Hell, even to see the Doc again. But for a moment, a brief, fleeting moment, he would just enjoy this understanding.

The birds chirped. The wind whistled a soft lullaby. The creatures upon the mountain and below it filled the in-between space with sound. Ned looked up towards the mountain's peak and back to his hands, scraped and bleeding in spots of sore skin.

They were the hands that would bring him to the top.






Speed up to the precipice and then slam on the brakes
Some people crash two or three times and then learn from their mistakes

But we are the ones who don't slow down at all


"There's an old saying about how perception equals reality. How your view of a situation or yourself determines your actions and success. Nothing could be truer about the career of Shawn Warstein."

"Shawn has been wrestling for years and even if you look back into the past you can see him holding a tight grip on his image. Be it feigning injury for months to gain an advantage or by literally labeling himself as "The Afterthought." Shawn understands how much perception influences action and reaction and he's used it as an important tool in his belt, dare I say his favorite. Because it's not just how he's controlled the view of himself that has made him so effective, it's how he controls the view of his opponents. And as I much as I hate to admit it, I fell to the very same strategy that many before and since had in our only ever singles match at the show he earned the right to hold. I let Shawn convince me of his narrative and I failed an opportunity to dethrone him of the X-Treme Title on a show dedicated to him and his shithead of a surrogate son. I didn't recognize the strategy initially, but time helped me get the crux of his plan."

"See, Shawn will never put any more effort into a victory than he absolutely has to. So, why use your words to take one win, when you can try to dismantle an opponent for life? His words did a lot of damage to me as I fell deeper down a spiral of losses and a lack of self-confidence. He planted a seed that dug deep: one that wanted me to know that I was never going to be at his level or at the level I thought myself at. And it almost worked, Shawn. Almost. There was a problem with your scheme, as there so often are. That problem was me."

"Because no matter how battered my spirit felt, I didn't break. Sure, I wasn't on top of the world, but I didn't crumble. Meanwhile, you went on to ever greater heights. A respected Universal Title Reign of a proud veteran that began with your historic defeat of The Second Engineer after another one of your classic misdirects where you feigned retirement for a better chance at surprise. That's the perception. That's what they probably have up on your Wikipedia page, but you and I both remember the other key part in that match. Remember, Shawn, almost a year ago? We both had 24/7 Briefcases. We both cashed in at March Madness. But how did we cash-in? I challenged The Engineer to a fair match, one that I suffered through a hell of a lot in the lead in and I was handed the most devastating loss of my career, even leaving the XWF as I had promised to. And you, who had extended so much breath about how little I was worth and how much better you were did a surprise cash-in. You could've waited longer if you thought I was incapable of softening up Engy, you could've added yourself to the match. You didn't. Hell, playing retired vet for a month or two longer would have  made your ploy so much more convincing. You weren't hurting for time. You chose my challenge to pull the trigger, Shawn. No matter how much you might want to internally color perception, the reality is that without me, you don't win the Universal Championship at March Madness. And while your path led to immediate recognition, to immediate glory, my road plunged deeper into hell. That loss to you was the catalyst that would push me into putting myself in danger for the match against Engy and nearly freezing to death before showing up for the pay-per-view. It all led to a fall into addiction and isolation and inner inadequacy that I only just began to chip away at. But that's a glimpse of the greater image, Shawn."

"While you were defending your Universal Title that you so shamelessly grabbed over my exhausted body, I was building up the courage to face the best from every federation, XWF included, at Wrestlestock's Open Tournament. And I lost Round One. But again, I had lost on my own terms while you celebrated in the XWF with a title you could only win on the terms of others. And once Chris Chaos tormented me and clawed me back to the XWF, you lost the title to Lacklan and sulked back to other companies. You and I both know the competitiveness and ferocity of the X-Treme Wrestling Federation, which is why I imagine you left the second your throne showed cracks. Once again, our histories parallel, myself leaving out of obligation and to challenge myself and you leaving so you wouldn't have to try very hard. You didn't even use your rematch clause, Shawn. Was losing to Lacklan so bad that you needed to go get some tag titles elsewhere to feel better?"

"But as you walked through the out door, I stepped back into the XWF to fight for my family's honor. For my parents. I dismantled Chaotic Inc. so badly that Chris Chaos hasn't popped his head up for months. B.O.B. hasn't beaten me once, even with all the strange match interference and beatdowns I've suffered lately. I earned the Hart Title and beat two Anarchy Heavyweight Champions. The fact is, as painful as the loss to you was, your long term goal failed, Warstein. The seeds you planted did nothing but strengthen me for a match I know you were hoping to skate on by without breaking a sweat. Well, you've come to harvest rotten fruit, Shawn. I've climbed up this mountain with bloody hands and for nearly two years I believed that when people said I was the future of this company that they meant that climbing the summit should be easy for me on the first try! And I tormented myself over not being able to, thinking that my friends and fans were placing platitudes in my ears when it was NEVER about the ease and always about the will!"

"It's not that I would be the fastest to reach the peak, but that I can survive the many plummets on the way up! And I have! While you were off signing autographs in other companies, I clawed my way back up through every ounce of pain, every aggravating loss, and I improved. All you've done for years, Shawn, is control perception, weaseling your way to victory under any and all circumstances instead of letting yourself lose. Your incessant need for glory has weakened you more than you'll ever realize. Yeah, I lost to you, Shawn, but you didn't beat me. Being beaten is a mindset and as fractured as mine became, I never truly gave up. I returned stronger than ever not to come to this rematch, but to win the March Madness tournament! I pinned Ruby clean in the middle of the ring under rules that aren't too beneficial for me without saying a word. And I want to beat you, Shawn. Not just win. Not just challenge. I want to beat you. To prove that your methods have softened you. To prove my way works when you and people like you have tried for so long to proclaim otherwise."

"Your method of blurring perception and reality is going to backfire massively. You've always underestimated me, Shawn. Why would you stop now? The elaborate illusion that brings you respect is about to come crashing down. Because even with the name change, most still view you as Fuzz, the great and powerful. But that curtain is just one match away from being lifted, Shawn, and no amount of levers you pull will ever bring it back over you."

"Perception is reality. What you see is what you get. Get ready to see the Second Chance Battle Royal."


TO BE CONTINUED




"You can't run from yourself."
[Image: riNkNZw.png]
XWF
Wins | Losses | Draws
52 | 37 | 4


Indie Darling Eternal

#33 on The XWF Top 50(2021)
1x Tag Team Champion[with Isaiah King](Current)
2x [Image: CbviDqC.png] (Former)
1x X-Treme Champion(Former)
The Final Supercontinental Champion
1x Television Champion(Former)
Star of the Month - April 2019 | March 2021 | December 2022
RP of the Month - March 2021 (Void of the Mind)
Winner - Leap Of Faith Rafter Match 2019
1x 24/7 Briefcase Holder
Winner - War Games 2023(With Mark Flynn, Isaiah King, & Crash Rodriguez as G00D-B01)


All Time Career(Interfed)
Wins | Losses | Draws
52 | 38 | 4
Edit Hate Post Like Post
[-] The following 8 users Like Ned Kaye's post:
ALIAS (03-09-2021), Andre Dixon (03-08-2021), Atara Raven (03-08-2021), B.O.B. D (03-10-2021), Doctor Louis D'Ville (03-09-2021), R.L. Edgar (03-09-2021), Theo Pryce (03-13-2021), Thunder Knuckles™ (03-08-2021)




Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)