Post by Veronica Strader on Mar 25, 2022 18:02:59 GMT -5
Carrickgollogan Forest
County Dublin, Ireland
March 25th, 2002
“Well, Ronnie, it’s you and me now.”
It had been a crazy couple of weeks for Victoria and Veronica Strader. Revelations shocked them, not because of the information, but because they didn’t see it sooner. The cracks in Veronica’s armour had begun to show. She had revealed she had a heart when she helped Roxxie G and The HeadMistress buy Lord Allton a custom-built wheelchair with a Harley Davidson 1500cc V-Twin. She had become intimate with the OCW Champion, Outcast. She felt something she had never had the chance to feel before since she had been locked away being poisoned in Victoria’s psyche, that being a human connection.
“I know, Vee. I hope you know I love you.”
She has never hated Victoria. Most of what she did was for her. She gave her the things she had dreamed of as a teenager: a championship, impressive record, and fame. It was how she did it, though, that bothered Victoria and even Veronica. She went from having an iron grip on being in control to walls dropping quickly. Coincidence?
No, not in wrestling. Wrestling was about destiny. Fate. Whatever you want to call it. At least for every last Strader that has stepped foot inside the squared circle.
But it was the Affliction, Valerie, that been hiding behind Veronica, using her to break down Victoria, so she could absorb the both of them and be free. Free like The Raven or The Machine wished to be.
Veronica sits on a stump left behind by a fallen tree looking into the blue heart of the campfire. The heat had warmed her signature purple jeans, and her upper body was kept warm by an Outcast hoodie. The sounds of insects singing in the night fill the air. We see some high-quality filming work from JIM's graphics and video department as we pan out. He has put Veronica on our left with her long dirty-blonde hair being pulled back into a braided ponytail, so the wind sweeping through the Irish forest didn't wreak havoc and Victoria on our right with her trademark ponytail. The fire burns bright in between them. Way to go, JIM!
Having mommy and auntie around to float the production costs when they refuse to pay for Bob Grenier’s unrealistic contract must be nice.
“Love you, too.”
“The Lost Stranger has held a part of our mind for a long time. You were a big reason we fought so hard to get back into OCW after the Purge; did you know that? You intrigued both of us. We know everyone thinks we are nuts, and who wouldn’t? We would. But we are constantly watching, taking notes about everyone worth a piss in this great company, and seeing our rise to the top of this company regardless of that opinion.”
Vee blushes at Ronnie and lets out a soft and sweet chuckle.
“Well, maybe worth more than that, but Ronnie isn’t wrong. You are one of the more intriguing peeps either of us has ever seen, and we watched a lot of wrestling growing up. There is the ever-changing Rorshach face, a dark, mysterious trench coat and a 40s detective’s hat. Still, little is known about your true origin, or even what the original origin story was, what drives you… but one thing for sure is you are one talented wrestler. Like you turned a schoolboy/small-package roll up into one of the more feared finishers in the industry. Like, who does that?”
Ronnie looks over to Vee with a shrug.
“Who knows what the hell is going on behind that Rorschach mask of yours? What makes you tick…? We heard a rumour you helped throw a man off a building when you were preparing for Erin Gordon! You made such quick work of Eric, but surely you are smart enough not to think we’ll go down as quick as she did. One of us likes to superkick people off buildings, so we share that in common, at least. When we laid out that challenge months ago in the 24/7 experiment where Zybala lives in non-continuity, we wanted you one on one so badly because we wanted to show everyone that we stand with the best of the best. We know that’s exactly what you are.”
Ronnie stares into our souls or, more likely, The Lost Soul, The Lost Stranger, The Stranger’s soul.
“Our goal has always been to validate the Trans-Atlantic Championship as one of, if not the most, premier championship after the OCW title while being thought of as one of the best in the Strader Clan. In a matter of four months, it’s being billed under the OCW Championship. That’s progress, right?”
Vee holds her palms up paired with a shrug as she looks over at Ronnie, who nods back at her.
“Damn right it is and it shows just how good we are. No one has been able to beat us yet, but it would be a lie if it were said that was the most important thing to us. It isn’t. Sure, it is a nice stat, sure, it gets your ego blown, but it doesn’t mean anything at the end of the day. Even the absolute best lose from time to time. It’s going to happen. It's about beating the biggest names, winning championships and we belong in the same breath. But we aren't going to lose our belt when that gorgeous strap that was stolen from us by goddamn Leprechaun is on the line.”
Some of that fire Valerie had put in Ronnie shows frustration at not having their belt.
“It was an arduous journey to get here, Stranger. From where we started to where we are now is all on Ronnie. She got us here, and together we will keep climbing the ladder of who’s who until we reach the absolute top of the mountain.”
Ronnie looks over at Vee and tilts her head.
“Don’t cut yourself short, Vee. Like Smith said at ACCESS DENIED to Hood when Dylan brought the porch down on us. What if it was you that emerged from it? It wasn’t what if; it was. Hood laughed and said you were weak but feeling everything all at once that Dylan had put me through up to that point. You went, and you fought; you clawed your way to the ring to retain our Trans-Atlantic championship when I was out for the count. You are why we are here now. That’s what The Stranger will prove to lack, that kind of grit and love for the Trans-Atlantic championship, love for one another and the sport of wrestling. It’s what we are from head to toe, inside and out, travelling through our veins.”
Vee smiles, and her cheeks blush. This new, honest relationship they have developed has been a positive for both of them. Working together towards a common goal was a much more productive way to be. Vee’s body language shifts as she closes her eyes for a few seconds. She looks into the fire.
“Stranger, the past week or so, we have no clue where we have been or what we did in the real world during that time. We realized how much alike we were with one another through all of this,” she says, looking up from the fire and over to Ronnie before her gaze lands with us, or rather, The Stranger. “Long story short, we learned something about Vee, Ronnie and the Affliction. She took us to a place she built, trying to break both of us because we decided we needed to work together to survive, and we were doing precisely that. It took a minute to comprehend, but Ronnie, she isn’t the Affliction. Even after all we went through, you never left our thoughts.”
Ronnie laughs and shakes her head.
“It was a shock to us but wasn't a shock to us, either. After Luck of the Violent, we promise to try and explain everything, to give you the “true” origin story and not the “original.” It goes like this: When looking for the truth, it turns out the craziest explanation is the correct one. Most of the time. Like “True” and “Original” background stories. There is no doubt in our minds the actual truth probably falls somewhere in the middle.”
The Strader ladies look at one another and shrug.
“We are all probably the “craziest” people on the roster, and we don’t shy away from it. Why should we? We need to embrace it. It adds mystique; it adds allure. You and everyone else can make fun of us for how many V names live in our minds, but it’s only three. Although we promise you, you don’t want the actual Affliction, Valerie, out and about. Everyone was lucky she decided to roam around instead of being a part of the show. Outside of the sheer size and aura of energy that is Plethora the Perilous and Mike Zyballa’s matching willpower, we are your biggest competition in OCW.”
Ronnie holds her index finger ut to interject.
“Vee, it’s possible that The Stranger thinks he means something more to us than he does. We want you to understand this, Stranger. On a wrestling level? You are one of the legends in OCW we want to beat to show why we are on the way to becoming the greatest Trans-Atlantic Champion since Mack O’Connor. What Betsy Granger could’ve been. You aren’t the one that’s meant to set us free, to bury the Affliction, and to become harmonious… their name is—”
They look at one another before returning their gaze to The Stranger watching, speaking together.
“Supreme Machine.”
The fire in front grows hotter and more intense as the flames rage upwards, coming dangerously close to kissing the leaves of the trees. They wait for it to settle before continuing on.
“But that’s for another time. The reason we have wanted you is simple, and we have said it before: you are on the ladder to our success in OCW. When we beat The Lost Soul… The Lost Stranger… Maybe even Stranger Danger one day in some mythical realm… we will be genuinely solidified in the annals of the history of OCW and Trans-Atlantic Championship matches.”
“You are our test. You don’t mean anything more to us than one hell of a wrestling match and showing our worth. That’s not an insult to you either; it’s just the truth. We do wish we had gotten to you before mom did, though,” she says with a small, barely audible snort. “We guess it would be safe to say that all of us, Stranger, all have mother connections to this game we play, don’t we? Couldn’t help but be surprised that with having the chance to face Meghan Strader, our mom, you didn’t project Marie Danger in her spot and absolutely destroy her. Using you to make Harvey Danger a champion and famous off of your back? Some might even say we are looking to do the same when we successfully retain our championship against you. Although you ARE under the impression, that mom raised us. Still, sadly we were given up for adoption but were lucky enough to find out the people we had been cheering for on TV as kids watching this great sport was our family. Our flesh and blood.”
“We are fourth-generation, Stranger. From the second of conception by two professional wrestlers, it was already what was driving us. Our future, in one sense already carved in stone, while the rest like love, soulmates, being the things that aren’t guaranteed… that’s why we do what we do. Being fourth-generation on your mom’s side and third-generation of on your “dad’s” side,” disgust slides off Ronnie’s tongue.
“Even without Valerie, that still bothers you?”
“Is what it is. Anyway, with those circumstances, it’s a lot of pressure. Under the microscope of the industry constantly comparing us to our parents in Meghan Strader, Matthew Knox, our siblings in Helena Handbasket(cubed), Cara Strader and our cousins in Queen Machine Jenny and the OCW Savage Champion Supreme Machine, we need to be different, we need to be better. There is zero doubt of the talent that runs through us at a record of 28-1 between our family and us here in OCW, but it would be wise to remember we take up the majority of that record. We will use what we have learned and taken from our opponents while also watching you since first becoming champion and taking it to the next level. We don’t underestimate you, Stranger. You will do something grand this year. While dethroning us would fit that description, it isn’t that because one of the grandest things we will do this year is defeating the mysterious TLS.”
“We know you like to bury people's reigns and hold those emotional victories over their heads to troll them, but we should warn you… if you underestimate us in any way… well, it’s like we say to everyone who steps into the ring with us. Whether we are dead by daylight, mutilated by morning, left for dead by lunch or dismembered by dinner… .”
They look at one another as the Strader Sneer mirrors itself between them.
“God forgives.”
“We don’t.”
One last gaze into the fire before our fade to black.
(2232)
