The Team Thing
Feb 22, 2016 11:51:18 GMT -5
Post by The Mason on Feb 22, 2016 11:51:18 GMT -5
2.19.16
Ocean City, MD
“I should’ve been there...”
Mason rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms, groaning as he stood at the peak of the hill behind his cousin, Evan Harrison’s Ocean City property. The weather was warm, even if the breeze was steady. Mason had been enthralled to see him, truly-- but the weight of the recent past and the recent future had caught up to him. Evan’s question hadn’t even been that invasive or provoking-- he’d simply asked:
”Main event, huh?”
And Mason froze, clenching his jaw at the memory of Keegan, sliding his foot onto the ropes, killing Becky’s momentum… their momentum… embarrassing her before one of the most unique crowds she’d performed in front of. Mason poured it all out, relaying it to Evan, who stood next to him, hands shoved into his pockets, watching with narrowed eyes until Mason finally finished up with:
“...it made no fucking sense for me not to be. If I were in her position, she would’ve been, right? Keegan wouldn’t have been able to take advantage like that. I... gah.”
“Not used to the team thing?” Evan asked, arching a brow at Mason. “It isn’t for everyone. I always thought you and your ego were a better pair anyway.”
“It’s not a ‘team thing’,” Mason muttered, shaking his head. “It’s what we are. We are a team.” He sighed, kicking at one of the few remaining clumps of snow along the hillside with the toe of his boot. “On top of all this, she’s just getting over a cold. Or something. I think.”
Evan’s gaze wandered as did his thoughts. “She’s defffffinitely eighteen now, right?”
“I’m not gonna let it happen again,” Mason continued, folding his arms. “Time to start using what we learned.”
“Mmhm, that’s the spirit.” Evan nodded, though his attention had quickly been redirected to his phone as his thumb glided across the screen. His eyes lit up as he found, apparently, what he was searching for. “Yeah. She’s definitely eighteen.”
2.22.16
Atlanta, GA
”I think, like… if you’re really a team, then that extends beyond the matches, and even beyond the shows and the arenas or wherever the hell we’re wrestling that night. A team-- a real team-- is always a team, even when the rules say they don’t have to be. And I fucked that up in the Serengeti. I wasn’t even there. I was supporting my partner from a distance, but I was being selfish, taking care of my own shit in the U.S. while she was alone.
It should’ve really been obvious before but after watching Keegan Hightower out there, I get it… and we aren’t gonna let our guard down anymore.
EVEN IF one of our opponents is a guy that The Mason aaaaalready murked, Butch-man himself. And that’s not taking anything away from you, Butch, because you gave me a hell of a fight, and uh… to be honest, you were a scary first experience in the Lion’s Den. You made Othello, who came after you, seem easy in comparison. And like, you were in a rut or whatever, but you’ve bounced back from that. Errr… you kinda got assistance in the Serengeti, but hey, that’s fine! Teamwork!
You’ve got Hana Song and MacRear on your side… and Hana knows about teamwork, right? Hah, she spit in my eyes when I schooled Majima, then went and got a chair and brought that shit in, trying to help dude finish the job, I guess, and if Credo hadn’t jumped in, like, forget two weeks ago-- I wouldn’t be here now. Fuck Hana yo, she’s shifty. She’s shady and she’s probably the most unpredictable one of you three. I respect what Song can do. As a wrestler, she’s legit, but it’s why we won’t let up on her. Not gonna spit in my face again, especially venom. Not Becky’s, not Nest’s… done with that shit.
Only one of you we’ve really faced in tag team action is the Prince, who couldn't care less for you two, and we know how that went. #BruteCamp walked away with a victory over him and his normal partner, the Baroness. No one saw it coming. No one gave us much of a chance then, but now they do. Maybe because we have the APEX Champion in our corner. Maybe because they know what we can do as a unit too. MacRear won't buy into it. Butcher and Song might not. But we do.
Say what you will, play whatever games you have to, but we’re ready for a fight at Pride. We’re ready to prove what we, as a team, haven’t been able to before… something that Nest has already proved, for himself, to everybody:
Soon-- we’ll own the Den.”
Ocean City, MD
“I should’ve been there...”
Mason rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms, groaning as he stood at the peak of the hill behind his cousin, Evan Harrison’s Ocean City property. The weather was warm, even if the breeze was steady. Mason had been enthralled to see him, truly-- but the weight of the recent past and the recent future had caught up to him. Evan’s question hadn’t even been that invasive or provoking-- he’d simply asked:
”Main event, huh?”
And Mason froze, clenching his jaw at the memory of Keegan, sliding his foot onto the ropes, killing Becky’s momentum… their momentum… embarrassing her before one of the most unique crowds she’d performed in front of. Mason poured it all out, relaying it to Evan, who stood next to him, hands shoved into his pockets, watching with narrowed eyes until Mason finally finished up with:
“...it made no fucking sense for me not to be. If I were in her position, she would’ve been, right? Keegan wouldn’t have been able to take advantage like that. I... gah.”
“Not used to the team thing?” Evan asked, arching a brow at Mason. “It isn’t for everyone. I always thought you and your ego were a better pair anyway.”
“It’s not a ‘team thing’,” Mason muttered, shaking his head. “It’s what we are. We are a team.” He sighed, kicking at one of the few remaining clumps of snow along the hillside with the toe of his boot. “On top of all this, she’s just getting over a cold. Or something. I think.”
Evan’s gaze wandered as did his thoughts. “She’s defffffinitely eighteen now, right?”
“I’m not gonna let it happen again,” Mason continued, folding his arms. “Time to start using what we learned.”
“Mmhm, that’s the spirit.” Evan nodded, though his attention had quickly been redirected to his phone as his thumb glided across the screen. His eyes lit up as he found, apparently, what he was searching for. “Yeah. She’s definitely eighteen.”
2.22.16
Atlanta, GA
”I think, like… if you’re really a team, then that extends beyond the matches, and even beyond the shows and the arenas or wherever the hell we’re wrestling that night. A team-- a real team-- is always a team, even when the rules say they don’t have to be. And I fucked that up in the Serengeti. I wasn’t even there. I was supporting my partner from a distance, but I was being selfish, taking care of my own shit in the U.S. while she was alone.
It should’ve really been obvious before but after watching Keegan Hightower out there, I get it… and we aren’t gonna let our guard down anymore.
EVEN IF one of our opponents is a guy that The Mason aaaaalready murked, Butch-man himself. And that’s not taking anything away from you, Butch, because you gave me a hell of a fight, and uh… to be honest, you were a scary first experience in the Lion’s Den. You made Othello, who came after you, seem easy in comparison. And like, you were in a rut or whatever, but you’ve bounced back from that. Errr… you kinda got assistance in the Serengeti, but hey, that’s fine! Teamwork!
You’ve got Hana Song and MacRear on your side… and Hana knows about teamwork, right? Hah, she spit in my eyes when I schooled Majima, then went and got a chair and brought that shit in, trying to help dude finish the job, I guess, and if Credo hadn’t jumped in, like, forget two weeks ago-- I wouldn’t be here now. Fuck Hana yo, she’s shifty. She’s shady and she’s probably the most unpredictable one of you three. I respect what Song can do. As a wrestler, she’s legit, but it’s why we won’t let up on her. Not gonna spit in my face again, especially venom. Not Becky’s, not Nest’s… done with that shit.
Only one of you we’ve really faced in tag team action is the Prince, who couldn't care less for you two, and we know how that went. #BruteCamp walked away with a victory over him and his normal partner, the Baroness. No one saw it coming. No one gave us much of a chance then, but now they do. Maybe because we have the APEX Champion in our corner. Maybe because they know what we can do as a unit too. MacRear won't buy into it. Butcher and Song might not. But we do.
Say what you will, play whatever games you have to, but we’re ready for a fight at Pride. We’re ready to prove what we, as a team, haven’t been able to before… something that Nest has already proved, for himself, to everybody:
Soon-- we’ll own the Den.”