Post by Matt on Dec 3, 2022 21:26:44 GMT -5
Sometimes, your best is not enough. It could be due to any number of reasons.
Bad luck.
A lack of skill.
Someone else being better than you on that given day.
Regardless of the explanation, the outcome remains the same: you come up short.
Reconciling that isn’t always easy either, especially if it’s for an outcome you truly tried to pour your heart and soul into. The world is a cruel place, however, and for some things trying your hardest doesn’t amount to anything.
That is the situation Jack Sullivan finds herself in as she is traveling down the highway in her Prius that despite the best efforts of the reckless teen refuses to die. The failing AC isn’t a problem in the late Autumn chill, which has spared her complaints from her best friend Josu, who is driving this portion of the journey south towards an eventual destination of OCW’s weekly Massacre event.
While Jack isn’t signed to a contract, after her showing in the Rumble in the Bronx event she requested another match in order to salvage some of her dignity and try to leave OCW on a winning note. Luckily for her, management was willing to accommodate her, and she now finds herself looking at a match with “Throwback” Steve Black and Leviathan.
The young wrestler remains lost in her thoughts as they travel, much to the chagrin of the driver, who decides to get her attention by pelting her with popcorn, a stray kernel hitting her nose and drawing her focus to him.
“What the hell, Josu?”
“Oh hey, she’s returned to Earth. How was your journey, space case? Discover anything out there.”
Jack scoffs, shaking her head before running a hand through her blonde hair.
“Was nice, got to be away from you for a while. So what, is it my time to take over soon or something?”
“Better, we’re almost to our destination!”
“Dude, I know we’re nowhere close to Florida.”
“That’s not where we’re stopping. This is now Operation: Cheer Up The Sad Bitch.”
A roll of her eyes and a shake of her head is the offered retort from Jack, who glances out the window to try to get her bearings on where the hell Josu had taken them.
“This better not put us off our schedule.”
“Oh don’t you worry, I’m more than willing to drive longer to make up for it. I know how you’re wired Jack, this is exactly what you need.”
“You better—”
Jack’s response is cut off as she notices a road sign that advertises Josu’s plan, one that Jack couldn’t help but smile at:
The Mothman Museum.
“See? I knew that would cheer you up!”
“You’re just trying to butter me up so I won’t warn Diana Watts about you before you get the chance to try to get her number.”
“It would be really cool of you if you stopped trying to block my game.”
“If you had any game I wouldn’t be able to stop you.”
More popcorn gets launched in short order.
———
I really got ahead of myself, didn’t I? I made all these big plans and talked like I already had that Rumble in the bag and I let myself get jumped by a semi-retired actor. Pretty damn embarrassing, really.
And now here I am, booked in a match against a misogynistic Neanderthal whose mindset hasn’t been relevant since my dad was a kid and another one of those paint by numbers “crazy” dudes who just wants to “cause pain”.
Fucking yawn.
I bought and paid for this though. I was stupid and allowed myself to get caught up in my own hype and didn’t put in the work.
I was a slack-jawed tourist, thinking I could swoop in and just do whatever I wanted with zero potential consequence.
I deserved to slam into the wall and fall into the hole I now find myself in.
It’s time for me to climb out, and I’m going to use Steve Black and Leviathan to do it.
Really, it’s fitting that I get to face Steve Black here considering how much I fixated on the past before. The man is even more of a relic than guys like Big Bifford and Scott Syren. The perfect way to get that monkey off of my back and move forward in my own career.
You can keep it Steve, I know you can really relate to something that grunts incoherently and wants to throw poop at everything. Just operates on the same wavelength as you, it’s perfect!
That’s not to say you can’t go in the ring. Your brain might be overwhelmed by the modern world but that muscle memory doesn’t seem to be failing you at this point. That’s fine, I didn’t want to have some tomato can to knock around to try to boost my ego before I went about my business. I wanted a challenge.
I got you though, so it’ll have to do.
Unlike the Rumble though, I’m getting myself right so I can bring it like I know I can, like I’ve shown in other places that I’m capable of.
I’ll put it in terms even you can understand. My boot plus your head equals a real bad time for you, and redemption for me.
———
Like most people, Jack Sullivan feels herself constantly drawn to the strange and mysterious things in the world. Deep in her heart, she recognizes how silly these things can be, but that doesn’t stymie her enjoyment of the subject material.
In particular, the mythology around the Mothman has always kept her attention.
What’s not to enjoy? A terrifying cryptid. Government conspiracies. UFOs. A tragic event that the sightings supposedly prophesied.
It’s all total nonsense, but it’s nonsense with a real flair to it.
For Jack, Mothman in specific was the draw. Dark and ominous, just like her favorite wrestlers. Just like how her father was when he competed.
She came by it honestly.
Naturally, this means that she’s being a kid in a candy shop as she makes her way through the museum. She might have been upset at Josu when she found out about the detour, but you wouldn’t be able to tell based on how she was dragging him between the various exhibits and Mothman statues to take photos with.
Enjoy the newly found role of cameraman, Josu.
He doesn’t seem to mind, however, pleased that his friend is in better spirits than before.
“I gotta make sure I send these pictures to your dad, I don’t think he’d believe me otherwise when I claim you didn’t simply mope the whole damn time.”
The gesture Jack offers up to Josu isn’t suitable for young children and people who never grew out of being overly childish. Avert your eyes, Steve and Leviathan.
“Har har. I think I’m allowed to be disappointed in myself. I was so close and yet so far away from getting what I wanted.”
“Oh no, you weren’t a world champion in the first year of your career. How will you ever recover? Grow up, Jack.”
“My dad was.”
“Your dad was also in his late twenties and had been a professional athlete for years before he even got into a ring. Maybe if you had spent a couple of years in the NFL messing up world-class athletes before your rookie year you could bump up your expectations a bit.”
Jack lets out a sigh, knowing full well that Josu was right, but not particularly interested in hearing it regardless, giving a dismissive wave that causes Josu to furrow his brow.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“You’re such a drama queen sometimes. There’s lots of people who would kill to have the rookie year you’ve had. You’ve beaten multiple former world champions, after all, including a former OCW Champion. Sure, you didn’t win a world championship but you’ve shown you could hang with those types of competitors. Take the wins, you earned them.”
“Fiiiiiiiiiine.”
“God, you’re like a toddler. I should’ve stopped and gotten one of those kiddie harnesses to make sure I didn’t lose you here in the museum.”
“Maybe I should just throw a temper tantrum then.”
“I mean, if you want to fit right in with what I imagine everyone else who lost the Rumble is likely doing right now, be my guest. Personally, I want to check more stuff out here before they kick us out. That’s just me, though. I’m sure if we go up front they’ll rent us some space for your pity party.”
After that Jack goes quiet for a while, allowing herself to stew in her own thoughts in silence as the pair continue their tour of the museum. Josu was one hundred percent correct, of course, it was beyond silly for a rookie in the business who is still in their teens to be upset because they didn’t win a major event, but that didn’t make the pill any less bitter.
The tense atmosphere remains in place until they reach the exhibit on Mary Hyre, a local reporter who tirelessly investigated the sightings and other strange happenings in the area despite reports that federal agents (the infamous men in black) showed up at her office on multiple occasions to demand she stop.
And yet she didn’t. She pressed on until the day she died.
Jack nods to herself as she reads the documentation on the columnist and her efforts to spread the word of what was going on in Point Pleasant in the sixties. If you believe in something, you have to keep moving forward.
Jack believes in herself.
“I hate to say it Josu, but you’re right.”
“I know I am, but please do go on.”
“I shouldn’t be getting in my head. I have a lot to accomplish yet, and lots of time to get it done.”
“Definitely true. Since you’re having epiphanies, maybe you can have one about how you should help your friend out and talk to Diana for me?”
“Don’t push your luck.”
———
Luck is an important part of this business, isn’t it? Being in the right place at the right time. Knowing the right people to get your foot in the door. That kind of thing.
The best in the industry make their own luck. When my dad started he was stuck with this awful gimmick where he was called “The Redeemer”. Still, he made his own luck and overcame that to have all sorts of success, both in the ring and as a promoter.
I need to tap into that, moving forward. I need to create my own opportunities.
Speaking of opportunities, sorry yours wasn’t better, Leviathan.
Drawing Steve Black and I for your first match. They could’ve given you some random pushover they have lying around, allowing you to really showcase what you can do, but instead you’re going to get smacked around day one.
That’s rough, dude. Of course, from what I can tell you’re a big tough guy who’s planning on going out there and putting the hurt on us and making a statement that way. Show us what kind of a monster you are.
I know the folly of being that full of yourself.
It sucks when that backfires, it really does. You might get old Steve with that, but I’ll let you in on a little secret: violence and toughness runs in my blood too. I’m not going to back down because someone acts a little nutty and says a bunch of stuff to try to intimidate me.
I’m sure that’s what you got waiting for me, right? A bunch of bark threatening a really painful bite? As if the wrestling world isn’t filled with exactly that.
You and Steve, you’re both launching off points. I have much bigger fish to fry, and the two of you are my warmup for that.
Sorry I let you down at the Rumble OCW, my apology comes with my victory at Massacre, and then after that the next time you see me, I’ll be truly ready to be the competitor I know I can be.
It’s been real.
Bad luck.
A lack of skill.
Someone else being better than you on that given day.
Regardless of the explanation, the outcome remains the same: you come up short.
Reconciling that isn’t always easy either, especially if it’s for an outcome you truly tried to pour your heart and soul into. The world is a cruel place, however, and for some things trying your hardest doesn’t amount to anything.
That is the situation Jack Sullivan finds herself in as she is traveling down the highway in her Prius that despite the best efforts of the reckless teen refuses to die. The failing AC isn’t a problem in the late Autumn chill, which has spared her complaints from her best friend Josu, who is driving this portion of the journey south towards an eventual destination of OCW’s weekly Massacre event.
While Jack isn’t signed to a contract, after her showing in the Rumble in the Bronx event she requested another match in order to salvage some of her dignity and try to leave OCW on a winning note. Luckily for her, management was willing to accommodate her, and she now finds herself looking at a match with “Throwback” Steve Black and Leviathan.
The young wrestler remains lost in her thoughts as they travel, much to the chagrin of the driver, who decides to get her attention by pelting her with popcorn, a stray kernel hitting her nose and drawing her focus to him.
“What the hell, Josu?”
“Oh hey, she’s returned to Earth. How was your journey, space case? Discover anything out there.”
Jack scoffs, shaking her head before running a hand through her blonde hair.
“Was nice, got to be away from you for a while. So what, is it my time to take over soon or something?”
“Better, we’re almost to our destination!”
“Dude, I know we’re nowhere close to Florida.”
“That’s not where we’re stopping. This is now Operation: Cheer Up The Sad Bitch.”
A roll of her eyes and a shake of her head is the offered retort from Jack, who glances out the window to try to get her bearings on where the hell Josu had taken them.
“This better not put us off our schedule.”
“Oh don’t you worry, I’m more than willing to drive longer to make up for it. I know how you’re wired Jack, this is exactly what you need.”
“You better—”
Jack’s response is cut off as she notices a road sign that advertises Josu’s plan, one that Jack couldn’t help but smile at:
The Mothman Museum.
“See? I knew that would cheer you up!”
“You’re just trying to butter me up so I won’t warn Diana Watts about you before you get the chance to try to get her number.”
“It would be really cool of you if you stopped trying to block my game.”
“If you had any game I wouldn’t be able to stop you.”
More popcorn gets launched in short order.
———
I really got ahead of myself, didn’t I? I made all these big plans and talked like I already had that Rumble in the bag and I let myself get jumped by a semi-retired actor. Pretty damn embarrassing, really.
And now here I am, booked in a match against a misogynistic Neanderthal whose mindset hasn’t been relevant since my dad was a kid and another one of those paint by numbers “crazy” dudes who just wants to “cause pain”.
Fucking yawn.
I bought and paid for this though. I was stupid and allowed myself to get caught up in my own hype and didn’t put in the work.
I was a slack-jawed tourist, thinking I could swoop in and just do whatever I wanted with zero potential consequence.
I deserved to slam into the wall and fall into the hole I now find myself in.
It’s time for me to climb out, and I’m going to use Steve Black and Leviathan to do it.
Really, it’s fitting that I get to face Steve Black here considering how much I fixated on the past before. The man is even more of a relic than guys like Big Bifford and Scott Syren. The perfect way to get that monkey off of my back and move forward in my own career.
You can keep it Steve, I know you can really relate to something that grunts incoherently and wants to throw poop at everything. Just operates on the same wavelength as you, it’s perfect!
That’s not to say you can’t go in the ring. Your brain might be overwhelmed by the modern world but that muscle memory doesn’t seem to be failing you at this point. That’s fine, I didn’t want to have some tomato can to knock around to try to boost my ego before I went about my business. I wanted a challenge.
I got you though, so it’ll have to do.
Unlike the Rumble though, I’m getting myself right so I can bring it like I know I can, like I’ve shown in other places that I’m capable of.
I’ll put it in terms even you can understand. My boot plus your head equals a real bad time for you, and redemption for me.
———
Like most people, Jack Sullivan feels herself constantly drawn to the strange and mysterious things in the world. Deep in her heart, she recognizes how silly these things can be, but that doesn’t stymie her enjoyment of the subject material.
In particular, the mythology around the Mothman has always kept her attention.
What’s not to enjoy? A terrifying cryptid. Government conspiracies. UFOs. A tragic event that the sightings supposedly prophesied.
It’s all total nonsense, but it’s nonsense with a real flair to it.
For Jack, Mothman in specific was the draw. Dark and ominous, just like her favorite wrestlers. Just like how her father was when he competed.
She came by it honestly.
Naturally, this means that she’s being a kid in a candy shop as she makes her way through the museum. She might have been upset at Josu when she found out about the detour, but you wouldn’t be able to tell based on how she was dragging him between the various exhibits and Mothman statues to take photos with.
Enjoy the newly found role of cameraman, Josu.
He doesn’t seem to mind, however, pleased that his friend is in better spirits than before.
“I gotta make sure I send these pictures to your dad, I don’t think he’d believe me otherwise when I claim you didn’t simply mope the whole damn time.”
The gesture Jack offers up to Josu isn’t suitable for young children and people who never grew out of being overly childish. Avert your eyes, Steve and Leviathan.
“Har har. I think I’m allowed to be disappointed in myself. I was so close and yet so far away from getting what I wanted.”
“Oh no, you weren’t a world champion in the first year of your career. How will you ever recover? Grow up, Jack.”
“My dad was.”
“Your dad was also in his late twenties and had been a professional athlete for years before he even got into a ring. Maybe if you had spent a couple of years in the NFL messing up world-class athletes before your rookie year you could bump up your expectations a bit.”
Jack lets out a sigh, knowing full well that Josu was right, but not particularly interested in hearing it regardless, giving a dismissive wave that causes Josu to furrow his brow.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“You’re such a drama queen sometimes. There’s lots of people who would kill to have the rookie year you’ve had. You’ve beaten multiple former world champions, after all, including a former OCW Champion. Sure, you didn’t win a world championship but you’ve shown you could hang with those types of competitors. Take the wins, you earned them.”
“Fiiiiiiiiiine.”
“God, you’re like a toddler. I should’ve stopped and gotten one of those kiddie harnesses to make sure I didn’t lose you here in the museum.”
“Maybe I should just throw a temper tantrum then.”
“I mean, if you want to fit right in with what I imagine everyone else who lost the Rumble is likely doing right now, be my guest. Personally, I want to check more stuff out here before they kick us out. That’s just me, though. I’m sure if we go up front they’ll rent us some space for your pity party.”
After that Jack goes quiet for a while, allowing herself to stew in her own thoughts in silence as the pair continue their tour of the museum. Josu was one hundred percent correct, of course, it was beyond silly for a rookie in the business who is still in their teens to be upset because they didn’t win a major event, but that didn’t make the pill any less bitter.
The tense atmosphere remains in place until they reach the exhibit on Mary Hyre, a local reporter who tirelessly investigated the sightings and other strange happenings in the area despite reports that federal agents (the infamous men in black) showed up at her office on multiple occasions to demand she stop.
And yet she didn’t. She pressed on until the day she died.
Jack nods to herself as she reads the documentation on the columnist and her efforts to spread the word of what was going on in Point Pleasant in the sixties. If you believe in something, you have to keep moving forward.
Jack believes in herself.
“I hate to say it Josu, but you’re right.”
“I know I am, but please do go on.”
“I shouldn’t be getting in my head. I have a lot to accomplish yet, and lots of time to get it done.”
“Definitely true. Since you’re having epiphanies, maybe you can have one about how you should help your friend out and talk to Diana for me?”
“Don’t push your luck.”
———
Luck is an important part of this business, isn’t it? Being in the right place at the right time. Knowing the right people to get your foot in the door. That kind of thing.
The best in the industry make their own luck. When my dad started he was stuck with this awful gimmick where he was called “The Redeemer”. Still, he made his own luck and overcame that to have all sorts of success, both in the ring and as a promoter.
I need to tap into that, moving forward. I need to create my own opportunities.
Speaking of opportunities, sorry yours wasn’t better, Leviathan.
Drawing Steve Black and I for your first match. They could’ve given you some random pushover they have lying around, allowing you to really showcase what you can do, but instead you’re going to get smacked around day one.
That’s rough, dude. Of course, from what I can tell you’re a big tough guy who’s planning on going out there and putting the hurt on us and making a statement that way. Show us what kind of a monster you are.
I know the folly of being that full of yourself.
It sucks when that backfires, it really does. You might get old Steve with that, but I’ll let you in on a little secret: violence and toughness runs in my blood too. I’m not going to back down because someone acts a little nutty and says a bunch of stuff to try to intimidate me.
I’m sure that’s what you got waiting for me, right? A bunch of bark threatening a really painful bite? As if the wrestling world isn’t filled with exactly that.
You and Steve, you’re both launching off points. I have much bigger fish to fry, and the two of you are my warmup for that.
Sorry I let you down at the Rumble OCW, my apology comes with my victory at Massacre, and then after that the next time you see me, I’ll be truly ready to be the competitor I know I can be.
It’s been real.