I can hear what you're thinking
All your doubts and fears...
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How does one introduce themselves in this new, social media age of wrestling?
Do I just assume you know who I am? Do I play the egotistical veteran who thinks everyone has heard of his exploits? Or do I just start from the beginning and treat you like you're stupid? Either way is not a good look, because one thing's for sure. I'm introducing myself as your next CWF World Champion.
Is that arrogant? Is that overconfident? Do I lack the required humility? I don't care. I have decided that I don't have much longer in my career. I nearly lost it a few weeks ago when I took a fall no man my age or size should be taking. I'm not coming to this Modern Warfare tournament to play nice. I'm not coming here to shake hands. Don't get me wrong, I consider myself a decent enough guy. I'm not going to cheat and I'm not going to insult your hometown in some antiquated attempt to get you to boo me.
But if you think I'm not going to hurt everyone that's placed in my path you have no idea how badly I want this.
I'm no stranger to wartime. I know exactly what it means to wage war inside that ring and I still have the tools necessary to win. I know you're going to hear this a lot, possibly 32 times in the first round, but I'm still the best in the world. I've done more in this sport than most and I'm still in good enough physical condition to make each and every obstacle feel it. Either I eliminate the competition or I go out on my sword. And if the latter happens, you'd better fucking believe whoever beats me will know they've been in a fight.
I hear that call. The call of duty to use my skills and claim my sixth World title. I will go above and beyond that to ensure that it comes home with me.
How is it that I hear this call? Simple. My last match was a loss. At Ultimate Carnage 4, I fell God knows how many feet through a mountain of tables and other objects only to get pinned by someone that I still consider myself better than. It hurt. Not just physically, but it took a toll on me mentally. Then, I had a revelation. I don't have much longer in this business. I'm almost 43, I have a long history of injuries and guys my size just aren't meant to keep doing this for long.
So like that old gunslinger of yore, I'm giving every last bit of myself to this business to capture gold one last time. I don't have a lot of ammunition left, but I've certainly got enough bullets to get through this tournament. So instead of that loss breaking me, as it should have, it lit a fire under me. CWF gave me the opportunity and I'm not about to leave here without making an impact.
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And if you look in my eyes
In time, you'll find
The reason I'm here
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January 8, 2019
It had been weeks since JC moved out of his own home at his wife's request, and into one of Lucy Wylde's spare rooms in her New York apartment. It took some convincing, but now he was out of a motel room he was too good for and while not homeless (he still owned his childhood home if he really needed it), he at least had a comfortable place to lay his head.
He was glad the gossip sites that normally follow Lucy hadn't caught wind of this, for her sake. A married man staying with her would be enough to send TMZ-types into a frenzy for months. He didn't want Lucy to have to go through that, for no other reason than he loved her and genuinely wanted the best for her. She knew how he felt and of course, so did his wife, which is why they were currently separated.
All JC could think about these days was finding things to keep himself occupied. He didn't like the fact that he was essentially homeless. He hated the fact he was living with a woman he knew he loved but felt as though there was some invisible barrier preventing him from acting on it. He still cared for Stacy, still loved her, in fact, but this new wrinkle in his personal life had him reeling. He didn't want to lose his wife (or possibly his daughter, if it came to that), but he was pretty sure neither woman was into polygamy.
Lucy or Stacy? Stacy or Lucy? While the decision was seemingly already made, he was at Lucy's home after all, he still felt like he hadn't committed to it. Maybe Lucy felt that way too, which is why in spite of their near-constant flirting and teasing, neither one made a concrete move.
Okay, @Lucy_Wylde...what is going on with that Twitter handle?
As he had these conflicting thoughts and emotions, he was busy browsing Twitter. He honestly never had much use for it outside of testing out material before he talked trash to someone. Lucy used it far more than he did and seemed to be using it to taunt him, somehow. She was currently using the screen name "The Answer's Answer." Which raised more questions than one would think.
It didn't take her long to answer.
Well... first off, I knew you'd ask so yay me. Secondly, I thought it was clever.. but most importantly.. sometimes when you look at me, you look like you've figured something out.
Maybe not completely. He was still figuring a lot out on his head, but he had completely cut her out of that process. That didn't seem fair to her. Even Stacy had her say in his current love life, by telling him to figure it out somewhere else. She had no idea where he was, but it likely wouldn't surprise her if she found out.
The only thing he was completely sure of was how he felt about Lucy. So maybe she had a point.
Maybe I'm wrong but I hope I'm not.
She wasn't.
He decided talking in 280 characters or less was stupid, and left the guest room he was using to talk to her directly. She was in the first room by the door, a "living room" for lack of a better term, curled up on the couch and typing away as fast as her thumbs would allow her to. It was far past sunset, so the artificial light from her phone was the only thing shining, illuminating her pale features and giving them a haunting beauty.
"Hey Luce, you got a minute?"
She looked up and squinted her eyes to make out his figure in the sliver of light coming through from his room. The phone's screen went dull, then turned off, so she reached up and turned on a lamp. Joe came in and sat in a seat directly across from her. This was going to be awkward enough without sharing space.
“Too many lately. What’s up?”
“Okay, so, about that tweet of yours…”
He wasn’t sure about how to proceed. Everything else came natural to him, when it pertained to wrestling, cutting promos, general life events. But how do you broach the subject of a relationship when you’re still technically married? How do you even contemplate it? This was extremely new territory for him. He guessed for her as well.
She sat back on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest, smirking.
“Yeah…?”
That smirk irritated him, but in the way she intended. He discovered she enjoyed getting under his skin. Perhaps because she knew she could get away with it.
“Okay so, you were right. I did figure something out. I mean, it’s the reason I’m here after all.”
As much as she enjoyed messing with him, she also knew when to turn that off and by the look on his face, she knew one of those times was now.
“Okay.. And what might that be?”
“Um, well…”
He wasn’t sure how to continue, so he just got up and began to pace while he thought. This was something his wife was probably used to, but it might seem strange to Lucy. Or maybe not. He wasn’t sure how to read her yet.
“I swear this all sounded easy in my head before I came in here.”
Lucy chuckled softly.
“It always does. But it’s just me, Joe.. Whatever it is… It’s all good.”
She replied with a hint of nervousness in her voice. She didn’t know what he was going to say, but she knew whatever it was, he needed to say it.
“Okay, so…”
He stopped pacing.
“I told you what happened with Stacy. And I told you I needed a place to crash. That’s not entirely true. After all, I could have stayed with GI, or in my childhood home, or just continued paying for that airport motel. I chose to come here. Instead of, I don’t know, forgetting how I felt or just taking more time to think about it, I chose this.”
He now turned to look at her, as if to stress the importance of his next three words.
“I chose you.”
She let that statement hang in the air for a few moments as she stared up into his eyes, her heart caught in her throat and her hands shook as she placed them in her lap.
“Wow..”
She finally said, looking away as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Really, that’s all you got? ‘Wow’?”
She rolls her eyes and laughs as she brings herself to her feet.
“What do you want me to say? I’m glad you’re here? I am.. That having you here makes me happier than I’ve been in a long time? That’s true too.. That I’m glad you chose me? I am…”
“I feel like there’s a but in there somewhere.”
She shook her head.
“No. No ‘but’. It’s just.. When I’ve ever been an option, it’s always seemed like whoever it was chose anything but me, you know? That doesn’t make any sense, does it?”
She sighed and ran her hands through her hair, trying to sort out her own thoughts.
He wasn’t sure how to reply. Lucy Wylde went through a lot in her life. She had bad luck in family, relationships, mental illness. She was a lot like him in many respects, which is why he ended up falling for her. And here he was, willing to throw the life he had built away in favor of some new, unknown life that had her in it. Yet he couldn’t find the right words to tell her.
“I just.. Um.. Are you sure that I’m the right choice?”
JC was good with his words in many other respects. He could tell an opponent exactly how he would beat them. He could offer unsolicited criticism at the drop of a hat. But some things required action, and he was always better with letting actions speak for him.
He stepped forward, without thinking, and pulled Lucy to him. Before either of them knew what he was doing, he kissed her.
He decided talking in 280 characters or less was stupid, and left the guest room he was using to talk to her directly. She was in the first room by the door, a "living room" for lack of a better term, curled up on the couch and typing away as fast as her thumbs would allow her to. It was far past sunset, so the artificial light from her phone was the only thing shining, illuminating her pale features and giving them a haunting beauty.
"Hey Luce, you got a minute?"
She looked up and squinted her eyes to make out his figure in the sliver of light coming through from his room. The phone's screen went dull, then turned off, so she reached up and turned on a lamp. Joe came in and sat in a seat directly across from her. This was going to be awkward enough without sharing space.
“Too many lately. What’s up?”
“Okay, so, about that tweet of yours…”
He wasn’t sure about how to proceed. Everything else came natural to him, when it pertained to wrestling, cutting promos, general life events. But how do you broach the subject of a relationship when you’re still technically married? How do you even contemplate it? This was extremely new territory for him. He guessed for her as well.
She sat back on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest, smirking.
“Yeah…?”
That smirk irritated him, but in the way she intended. He discovered she enjoyed getting under his skin. Perhaps because she knew she could get away with it.
“Okay so, you were right. I did figure something out. I mean, it’s the reason I’m here after all.”
As much as she enjoyed messing with him, she also knew when to turn that off and by the look on his face, she knew one of those times was now.
“Okay.. And what might that be?”
“Um, well…”
He wasn’t sure how to continue, so he just got up and began to pace while he thought. This was something his wife was probably used to, but it might seem strange to Lucy. Or maybe not. He wasn’t sure how to read her yet.
“I swear this all sounded easy in my head before I came in here.”
Lucy chuckled softly.
“It always does. But it’s just me, Joe.. Whatever it is… It’s all good.”
She replied with a hint of nervousness in her voice. She didn’t know what he was going to say, but she knew whatever it was, he needed to say it.
“Okay, so…”
He stopped pacing.
“I told you what happened with Stacy. And I told you I needed a place to crash. That’s not entirely true. After all, I could have stayed with GI, or in my childhood home, or just continued paying for that airport motel. I chose to come here. Instead of, I don’t know, forgetting how I felt or just taking more time to think about it, I chose this.”
He now turned to look at her, as if to stress the importance of his next three words.
“I chose you.”
She let that statement hang in the air for a few moments as she stared up into his eyes, her heart caught in her throat and her hands shook as she placed them in her lap.
“Wow..”
She finally said, looking away as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Really, that’s all you got? ‘Wow’?”
She rolls her eyes and laughs as she brings herself to her feet.
“What do you want me to say? I’m glad you’re here? I am.. That having you here makes me happier than I’ve been in a long time? That’s true too.. That I’m glad you chose me? I am…”
“I feel like there’s a but in there somewhere.”
She shook her head.
“No. No ‘but’. It’s just.. When I’ve ever been an option, it’s always seemed like whoever it was chose anything but me, you know? That doesn’t make any sense, does it?”
She sighed and ran her hands through her hair, trying to sort out her own thoughts.
He wasn’t sure how to reply. Lucy Wylde went through a lot in her life. She had bad luck in family, relationships, mental illness. She was a lot like him in many respects, which is why he ended up falling for her. And here he was, willing to throw the life he had built away in favor of some new, unknown life that had her in it. Yet he couldn’t find the right words to tell her.
“I just.. Um.. Are you sure that I’m the right choice?”
JC was good with his words in many other respects. He could tell an opponent exactly how he would beat them. He could offer unsolicited criticism at the drop of a hat. But some things required action, and he was always better with letting actions speak for him.
He stepped forward, without thinking, and pulled Lucy to him. Before either of them knew what he was doing, he kissed her.
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I can hear what you're thinking...
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Allow me to introduce myself to you, Jimmy Allen. I'm the man that will be kicking you in the face and moving to round two. Presumptuous of me, I know. How dare I come into your promotion and tell you that I'm going to jump ahead of you in the pecking order for your company's most prestigious title?
Spare me.
I come into your promotion and tell you these things because they are the fucking truth. They are truer than anything you've been told by anyone else in this place. I deal in two things: truth and pain. How much you believe the former will decide how much of the latter you receive. I don't say this because I'm some arrogant asshole who doesn't know his place. I've been in this business for nearly two decades and I've seen enough bullshit to know not to sell it.
I also know exactly how good I am and how much trouble that's going to bring to your doorstep.
I'm not going to blow smoke up your ass and say I met your dad. I'm not going to sit here and lie and say I've seen your matches and "shit, kid. I think you have potential." That doesn't do anyone any favors. I'm man enough to admit that I've been in my own little bubble and haven't really paid much attention to other promotions. My best friend is a member of your roster and I still don't pay attention to this place.
But I know what I can do and I know that in time, you will learn that when I say I'll do something, I mean it.
I'm not coming in to CWF to make friends, and the fans will cheer me when they see what I can bring to the table. I'm coming here to beat you and whoever else gets put in front of me so that I can once again cement my place in history. I'm the best in the world, and I will continue to prove it wherever I go.
That's really the only thing you need to know. I'm not bringing catchphrases. I don't have a flashy costume, Allen. I've got my ability and my will, and there's no chance of you overcoming either one.
So with that out of the way, how about a proper introduction?
Hello, CWF. I'm JC. I am the answer to everything wrong with this business and I am your next World champion.
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OOC: Lucy Wylde used with permission.
