RECAP! Joachim Bright is the son of Universal Champion The Engineer, and pretty much despises him. Engy brought Joachim to the XWF with the hopes of bringing the boy into the fold, but instead Joachim has set out on his own path, hoping to find his own purpose and make some money to help his friends back home. Also, Engy's manager Madison has a huge lady boner for him. It's creepy.

Somewhere in Tampa, Florida

A pall descends over the outdoor cafe, a palpable evil that instinctively sends some of the patrons looking over their shoulder or suppressing a chill running down their spine. Because today, the heart of darkness is wearing a dark Burburry pantsuit and Versace cat eye sunglasses.

Madison Dyson slides into the chair across from Joachim Bright, who is dressed more casually in khaki shorts and a white tee. His face is buried in the menu, as thought he's trying to be inconspicuous but largely failing at it.

What the fuck are you doing?

Reading the menu. He doesn't even look up as he says it.

By smelling it? Madison snatches it from him. 'Lemme see that adorable mug.

Joachim looks around him trying to gauge how much attention they're drawing. I don't want to be seen with you. He hisses it out, slumping his shoulders.

Madison removes the sunglasses with a demure smirk. It's a pleasure to see you too, sunshine. But before you fall off that pedestal you've erected for yourself, you may want to recall that you AGREED to this meeting. Madison snaps at a nearby waitress, who makes her way over. I'll have a skinny mocha latte. What do you want?

Water.

He'll have a water with a side of self-righteous indignation. The waitress looks at her strangely but decides not to ask. At this point, Madison pulls five singles out of her purse and arrays them on the table. And sweetie? These are for you, but I'm going to take one away every time you fuck up, so let's remember that efficiency and accuracy count in equal measure, 'kay? The waitress scowls and Madison immediately rips a dollar away and makes a show of dropping it into her purse. Savvy? The waitress concludes that discretion is the better part of valor and turns about on her heels.

Madison returns her attention to Joachim, who cannot conceal his disgust. You are literally the worst person on the planet.

Madison gestures towards him. And yet here you are.

Joachim removes his phone and shows it to her. Only because you've been blowing up my phone all week promising you can help me. And frankly, I still don't believe you. And by the by, if this is some lame attempt by Engy to see me, you should probably know that I've filed for a restraining order. See that table over there? He nods behind Madison. That's no man's land.

Oh come ooooooooonnnn! Madison wails histrionically. Why you gotta make my life so hard? She sighs. But no, he's not here. It's just me.

Yeah, well you're looking pretty “stalky” yourself, flying all the way down here just to talk to me.

Look, it's not like it's a party for me either. I fucking HATE Florida. It's where my base goes to wither and die, pining for the grandkids who stopped giving a shit ages ago, all the while languishing in a wretched humid backdrop of paunchy tourists, greasy immigrants, overpriced theme parks and cheap Chinese made ephemera with a stupid mouse on it.

Joachim whistles sarcastically. You ever consider therapy?

Fuck therapy. I own stock in Xanax.

Well, as thoroughly unpleasant as this has been, why don't we cut to the chase and you tell me why you're here and what you want so I can get on with telling you “I'm still gay” and “I'm still not interested” in that order.

Madison scoffs. Catty little queen, aren't you? And NO, that's not why I'm here. She leans forward in her seat, holding two fingers up. I got two words for you: Seth Feder.

Joachim looks at her askance. Who is he and why is he relevant?

I've been doing some digging. Mostly because I needed something to do while I was ditching community service and plus I'm nosy as fuck. I wanted to see what kind of salaries everyone was making in the XWF. How I got access to these records is not important. Her hands instinctively go to the bruising on her knees. But the fact is I found out that Vinny Lane's supposed son, Seth Feder, was making quite a bit more than other talent with about his same tenure and level of accomplishment. So at first I'm like, this has got to be a clear case of nepotism, I'm going straight to the IWC to rake Lane over the coals. But, it turned out, much to my disappointment, Seth's pay had precedent. In fact, pretty much every performer who was the offspring of an accomplished former or current performer got one of these big bucks legacy contracts. I presume it's to serve as an incentive for the progeny of talented people to stay with the company and maintain strong family “brands” in the XWF.

The boy shrugs. So what's your point?

The point, my sweet racially ambiguous little angel, is that despite being the son of a current Universal champion, you do NOT currently possess one of these contracts. The good news for you is that with me at the bargaining table, I think I could get you one. Which would net you a substantial increase in pay.

And net you a sizable percentage.

I'll settle for 5% and I can sit on your face every few weeks.

Joachim recoils, looking repulsed. Yeah, I just cannot BELIEVE you got popped for sexual assault.

Seriously though, what do you think? She looks at him expectantly.

He looks about for a moment, lips pulled down in a contemplative frown. Finally, he speaks. I think I don't want to lose my soul by degrees.

What the fuck does that even mean?

He looks Madison dead in the eye now. It means if I budge on this, it'll probably start a chain reaction of incrementally worse moral decisions, each with their own stupid justification for making the wrong choice.

Oh gag me. Madison rolls her eyes out of her skull. You can use this money to help all your little homeless friends, right? So what's wrong with that?

You. The pointedness of the comment even makes Madison flinch. You are what's wrong with it. I want nothing to do with you or The Engineer. But thanks for the hot tip about the legacy contracts. I'll be sure to look into that.

Madison pushes herself up to her feet, slamming her palms down on the table as she does so. This does start to draw attention from some of the other patrons. You little TURD! You never would have known about that if it wasn't for me!

Joachim gets up out of his seat, gaze never pulling away from Madison's. You're right. He turns from her and starts walking away.

Madison, eyes practically bugging out from fury, calls out after him. You can't negotiate that contract on your own, you have no idea what the fuck you're doing! What are you gonna do, try to barter with that halo of yours?! Well maybe you should just consider... Madison suddenly becomes acutely aware of all the prying eyes on her now, and she grumbles in a lower tone of voice. ...sticking it up your ass instead. She sits back down, pulling a smoke from her purse and waiting for her order, releasing one final huff as she sees Joachim flag down a bus down the block and climb aboard. Lighting the cig, she takes a deep drag and releases a plume from her mouth. It IS a cute little ass though.

Later.....



We see Joachim sitting at the end of a dock now, twilight just starting to bleed out into the lightly cloudy sky, casting a beautiful reflection on the gently lapping waves. He's holding a fishing pole out over the water. A small tackle box sits next to him. Joachim addresses the camera's all seeing eye without looking away from the little red and white bobber he has in the water.

One of my foster parents taught me to fish. They weren't all that bad. Most people would assume that I ran away from state care because all my placements were just one unceasing abusive nightmare. But that wasn't true. I mean, there were a couple who clearly just wanted money but they never hit me or anything they were just...ambivalent. The other two placements I had were actually pretty cool. But even when the families were ok and things were stable, I could never shake that notion of not belonging. Like, things just never felt natural. There was always this static in the back of my mind, this subtle unease like at some point I had been shunted from what my life SHOULD have been onto the wrong track.

Deja-fucking-vu.

Jo places his fishing pole up against the tackle box, holding it it place while he reaches behind him and grabs a joint. He lights it up and pops it in his mouth, smirking at the camera.

It's tobacco, I swear. He chuckles, takes a drag, and then places it carefully on top of the tackle box. As I was saying...didn't feel like I belong, right? Took me a long time to get rid of that feeling, a long time to find a place, which was ironic because it ended up not being so much a place as it was people. I found people I belonged with. People who were hurt. And lost. And confused. And I felt like I had something to offer those people. Which makes it DOUBLY ironic that I've found a way to help those people, but it involves jumping right back into a place that brings back aaaaaallllll that bad static again. Joachim mimics that static feeling in his brain by shaking his hands next to his temples. He grabs the joint, takes another drag to do away with the bad vibes, and replaces it.

I don't like the XWF. It's miserable, and full of bad people and it smells. And that last one isn't just some juvenile jab, the main offices really do smell like potatoes and shit. I've heard rumors. But I'm gonna stick it out as long as I can so I can attain some degree of stability for me and my friends. And eventually seeing The Engineer and Madison Dyson fall on their faces and lose everything they've built here wouldn't be so bad either.

Which leads me to Nathan Kennedy, and his curious silence before our match. Now look, I'm not one of those guys that thinks cutting a scathing promo before a match attributes some magical quality that will guarantee you a win. Personally, I feel like if somebody is that easy to shake they probably weren't going to win to begin with. But perhaps Nathan's been quiet because he's taken a walk around the asylum and decided he didn't like what he sees. Hey man, I feel ya. It's tough to just be an average joe around here and get somebody's attention. I mean, if you're not a homicidal maniac, or a doctor who might be Satan, or an alien, or a supernatural clown, or a random alien, or another supernatural clown...well then just who are you?

But ya know what, Nathan? I think that just makes guys like us more important. XWF has a lot of things, but one thing it lacks is humanity. The people who aren't actually monsters are usually tripping over themselves to convince the world that they are. And because of that, those simple, human stories of struggle, survival, growth and change are pushed to the wayside.

I feel those stories deserve to be told. By you. By me. By everyone. Or maybe it's just the....definitely NOT weed talking....

He smirks again before taking another drag. Finishing the blunt, he takes hold of the fishing pole.

Nathan, if you decide not to stick around, I won't judge you. But I will say this. I want to see your story. I want to know what makes you tick. And I want you here to serve as a counterpoint to all that inhumanity. Now, I'm not saying you're perfect or that you're some sinless angel. We've all done stuff that we regret. But you're a far cry from being The Engineer or any one of these other soulless assholes.

And to anyone else who feels a compulsion to take offense to what I'm saying, holler at me. We can square up in the ring. I'm not gonna say I'll beat you, but I'll damn sure learn from you.

Joachim looks over at the setting sun, breaking through the horizon and ushering in a darkened sky. The bobber in the water dips below the waves just then. Feeling the tension on the line, Joachim starts to reel and pull, finally pulling a large bass out of the water. He brings it up into his hands, removing the hook from it's mouth gingerly before holding it out before him, getting eye level with it. He whispers to the fish with some mirth, You will remember this day. Then, reaching out before him, Joachim lets the fish slip out from his hands back into the water just as the sun completes it's plunge below the horizon.

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