concrete

[STORM]

apologies on quality;
rough two weeks.
enjoy anyway.
- d

...

But this is exactly what you want, isn't it!? That's what you crave! Self destruction. 

Whispers is all he could hear at night. 

One simple pill could stop them all. 

But no, on this night he decided against the prescription pills and relapsed into his old ways, indulging himself with his inner monsters. This wasn't such a smart idea but it had been far too long since he had heard the sadistic chuckles, which had slowly become an addiction, the torment, the laughter, the excessive voices which would build up and up and up, leading him to a state of self destruction. But that was exactly what he wanted, it's exactly what he craved - through self destruction, he felt invincible.. no one, but himself could take him down. 

You've missed me, haven't you Mark?

You miss the thrill of having me around, don't you? 

Together, no one could beat us. No one was strong enough!

I was your John Watson. 

I was your Alice Morgan. 

I was your Robin. 

And without me, you feel lost.. don't you?

Glaring at a bottle of vodka in the middle of the night, dressed in only his boxer shorts - sitting on his armchair facing the window, the moonlight managing to creep through the miniblinds; his eyes blinding for a mere moment before he adapted and continued to glare at the bottle of vodka. 

But look at what you've become. You're a father now, aren't you? That must be a pretty sweet deal, hmm? Everything you've ever wanted. That beautiful baby girl of yours, is now your world.. you and Gretchen happen to be in a good place.. everything seems to be falling into place in the wonderful world of Mark Storm! How fantastic! Good for you! So it seems anyway.. shame to say that your wrestling career hasn't exactly correlated has it, Mark? 

His chuckle made his heart hurt.     

I mean.. once upon a time you were on top of the world?

No one could stop you.

Undisputed, unquenchable, unstoppable, undefeated. 

But then it all changed.. you stopped, listening to me... 

Losses after losses.. disappointment after disappointment.. and you wonder why people are beginning to take you less seriously. You've become soft like a cuddly bear. People walk over you like you're a welcome mat and where you stand right now, it's no where near the heights of where you were last year, Mark. You're just in a rut, aren't you? But it's okay. You're listening now and as long as you're listening now, then you know - I can get you back to the promise land.. to where you want to be, and to where you need to be. The top of the wrestling industry is where you belong Mark.. you know that as well as I do.. all you have to do is let me in, that's it. Let me in Mark.. let me in. 

---

This is my canvas Valero. And I will paint it how I want it. 

Dapper as ever. 

A black suit and tie with $500 dollars Italian smart shoes, the only way he knew how to present himself a day before a match. With a single camera fixated on him; the location undisclosed, but from you could see from the camera view, the scene was light and vibrant with Storm seated on a stool and behind him was a white wall with paintings hung next to each other, perfectly aligned. 

I've always considered what we do to be an art Valero and I've always considered us, the wrestlers - the performers, I've always referred to us as the artist. We create art that is unparalleled, this genre, this creation, this magic; it's what wakes me up in the morning Valero. It's my shot of cappuccino if you will. And every time I step inside that four sided ring, I look to put on my best work, every single time, without failure.   

You wanna know why I showed such excitement Valero? It isn't because I overjoyed by defeat, god no.. it's because never before inside the four sided ring has Ricky Valero met Mark Storm. An artist meeting another for the first time. That's why I was excited. That's why I was overjoyed because trust me Valero, I've been wanting to face you for a very long time. But it seems like you've got a change of attitude nowadays, which I'm not against, it's fine by me because you've got to do what you've got to do Valero! To make it to the top, you've gotta be willing to play dirty, and mean and that's exactly what you're doing. You've called me inferior to the majority of this roster, but you've stated that soon enough, I will leave my mark and it's great to have some recognition, because as of late, I haven't been getting any of that. But hey, that win a fortnight ago against Yun Goeun; it's got me a lot of confidence leading into this encounter, the Valero Storm encounter. And I know that everyone will have Ricky Valero down to win this one because if you compare the track record, he blows me away during our stints here. In the short matter of time he's been here, he's already acquired the tag team championship belts, he's already gone on to win numerous high profile matches and whether you wanna believe it or not, he's going to go far here in Frontier Grappling Arts. The future, begins with the two of us Valero and this match on Vertigo, I promise you.. it's just the beginning of a classic here in Frontier Grappling Arts. 

What I don't appreciate, is how you said that I'm playing out of my league..
because honest to God, I'm right where I belong and I proved that a fortnight ago.
I proved that at the Rumble when I suplexed every son of a bitch that came in view, and I'm going to prove that Saturday night when we step foot inside that four sided ring. 

He pauses, allowing himself some time to take a breather as he drifts his eyes away from the camera for a moment, looking down at the cold concrete floor. 

We've gotta do what we've gotta do man. 

And we've gotta go to the lengths that no one else would.

We've gotta break the rules, push the boundaries to get to where we wanna be. 

Because my current circumstances, do not match where I want to be right now.

And does that frustrate me? 

HELL YEAH! Every single day! 

But the difference between me and everybody else is that I'm prepared to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, but you already know that Valero. I work harder than any other professional in our craft, I work twice as hard because of the doubt, because of the beliefs, because of the critics who wanna say that I shouldn't be in the ring because I'm some crazy person. And being a crazy person, it isn't a gimmick.. it's a reality, that I've embraced. 

Much like my fears. 

And I'm not afraid of losing. I'm not afraid of Ricky Valero. I'm up for the challenge, I'm ready for the challenge.

He pauses, and looks deeply into the lense. 

ITS GAME TIME BITCHES. 

With a smirk and a wink, the scene ends.