Post by Swarm on Jul 6, 2011 23:37:08 GMT -5
::: The Pothole :::
::: Indepence Day :::
July 4th, 2011. We emerge upon the waining hours of a hot Summer day, the air that was once thick with humidity now cooled by a faint breeze. The sun that beamed down on the city has now faded into the night. Somewhere in a place more distant, the stars would shine brightly in the darkness however the combination of city lights and bursts of fireworks obscure them. The irregular rhythm of the sound of fireworks is interspersed with the sounds of neighborhood residents igniting the charges, celebrating loudly on the streets of Baltimore. Surrounded by all of this is a large building, several stories tall made up primarily of brick. Various concrete stairwells leading to large double doors seem to infer this is, or was a school, however the nearby streetlights have all either dimmed to a faint orange or failed completely, obscuring the name. Still, from the vines crawling up the side of the brick, to the overgrown grass and bushes on the ground, to the abundance of windows closed with boards of plywood, it seems more likely than not that this place is long since abandoned. Seated at the nearest steps of this derelict academy, a glass bottle between his legs, is Alex Sean, who rests his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands.
Alex Sean: Truth be told, I never really understood the purpose of celebrating the anniversary of our country's indepence. Not that I'm against patriotism or have some sort of beef with this country of ours, but I just never really saw the sense in taking pride in the victory of a battle you didn't fight. To be honest, I've never felt free. I remember the first day I ever came to this building, my first day of Junior High. I remember my ma' dropping me off... Sean points at street directly ahead. ... Right there. Most of all, I remember walking up these steps and looking up at this building, and I remember how it seemed gigantic, overwhelmingly large.
Sean looks back momentarily, then turns forward.
Alex Sean: It's wild though, because... Maybe it's because I'm older, or maybe it's because in my lifetime I've filled stadiums, but this place seems so small to me now and yet, in a way I have a greater appreciation for it because it's almost a microcosm of this city for me. Every day I came here, I felt trapped. As I wandered it's halls I felt like I was suffocating, uncommonly claustrophic, wanting only to escape. I remember all the times I would get called into the principal's office. He'd sit me down and show me my grades, the classes I wasn't showing up to and failing. He'd tell me how I'd never amount to nothing, how I was too defiant for my own good. But you know... and maybe it's kind of petty, but I take a certain level of joy in the fact that I'm one of the most accomplished dudes to ever lace up a pair of boots, and this place is as dead as fried chicken.
Sean pauses, grabbing the bottle by it's neck and lifting, turning it slightly to pour just a slight amount of it's contents on the steps beneath him, then taking a small swig, and placing it back on the ground.
Alex Sean: After everything that's happened over the past few months, I decided to come back to Baltimore because, despite my life's attempt to escape it completely, this city has always felt like it was mine... Like it was home. But just as these windows are boarded and these doors are locked, I walk down these streets and all the places I used to know, the mom and pop shops, the spots we used to hang out at as kids, they're all gone, replaced with Wal*Marts, condominums, and liquor stores. All the people I knew, they're either gone, or so far-removed from when I know them that I probably wouldn't even recognize 'em if I saw 'em. I see these kids riding around on their bicycles, and they're as alien to me as the neighborhood kids of any other city would be. I guess it's sort of ironic... I had to come back here to realize that the city that was once my home is gone, that this place is... Something else now.
Sean breathes heavily, then slowly begins to subtley smiley.
Alex Sean: With that said though, I guess as much as this city has changed and grown... So have I. This past year, everything I held close, friends, my wife, they're all gone. And only a few months ago, I saw this as loss, like I had nothing left. But for the first time in my life, as I sit here on the anniversary of our country's indepence, I understand for the first time what it's all about. For the first time in my life, this day holds a purpose for me. Because for my whole life, I've felt tied down, from this city, this school, the weight of my aspirations, my wife, my friends... And, after all these years... The ties that bind have been severed. For the first time in my life, I truly know what it feels like to be free, and all that is left for me now is to complete my life's work.
Sean chuckles.
Alex Sean: Of course, when you're dealing with a guy like King Kraig, it's hard for things to be that simple. Here I am, set to face off against the toughest opponent of my career in EBR, looking down the road at a probably match with Phillip Schneider, and likely further down the road than that to matches with emerging talents like Hutton Brown and Ace Bennett. I see a murderer's row of future opponents... And I get Shawn Malakai. I suppose, much like High Horror's make-believe god, King Kraig works in mysterious ways.
A coarse laugh emanates from Sean's vocal chords as he continues.
Alex Sean: My whole career, people have tried to define my success in buzz words; Simplifying me as arrogant, or a cheater, or a politician, or the ever-present "once great but now past his prime" diatribe. It's appropriate in it's way that these people who have lived by simple-minded cliches have never grasped that my success has come from my ability to out-think my opponents. To understand them more than they understand themself. It's what I'm best at, it's the only thing I've ever had a passion to do. So I guess I kind of have to give King Kraig his credit; I love a challenge and have complete apathy for sure-thing victories, and it's kind of hard to drum up the sort of fiery hot passion, to truly peak my analytical mind in breaking down an opponent who if you put him in a room with half a dozen people would probably understand himself the least out of all of them.
Sean nods, obviously agreeing with himself.
Alex Sean: Truth be told, I don't know what to make of Shawn Malakai. In three years he's gone from David Williams' life partner to following Emperor Palpatine to being a self-proclaimed warrior of god to now being, of all people, Yukio Blaze's lackey. For all of his delusions of grandeur and significance, the dude chases title belts and success like a high schooler chases p*ssy; He's so obsessed over it that he's willing to adopt whatever identity it takes to get it.
His tone turns more solemn, his voice a deeper, more gravelly resonance to it.
Alex Sean: But I have no pity for Shawn Malakai. No sympathy whatsoever. You see, my sympathies are reserved for the kind of people who give things their best effort, and just by the unfairness of the world are unable to get that which they seek. I sympathize with Jason Jadoa, because for all of our differences, he earned his chance to beat me and now has to live with the fact that he wasn't good enough to do it. But Jason Jadoa and I, we're the type of people who possess the ability to make our dreams a reality through hard work and perserverance. Shawn Malakai's the type of guy who makes his dreams come true by handshakes with shady office managers who hand him belts for temporary loyalty. And sh*t, you know, I could say a lot about what EBR did to me but at least in betraying me he stole the biggest prize in the sport and stole it in an admittedly pretty excellently crafted and executed plan, put together by a king no less. Shawn Malakai betrayed the biggest joke in the sport so he could win the lesser of two secondary titles in a clunky, shotty plan put together by Yukio Blaze. What a way to win your first title, champ.
Sean laughs, because that's pretty goddamn pathetic, bro.
Alex Sean: Dude wants to run around talking about how he's going to rid this company of people like ZMaster and myself under the guise of saving the WFWF from a poison, when in reality all he seeks is to rid the WFWF of people who win titles by actually winning matches. And hey, I guess I can't really hold it against him, I mean, I've always been able to actually beat people in the ring. If I couldn't do that, who knows. Maybe I would grow my hair out long and quote scripture. Maybe I would overcompensate and ignore advice, maybe I would be bitter against people who have actually accomplished things in the sport. I really can't say, being, you know, successful and all. I won't judge Shawn Malakai, I'll leave that to the magical space ghost in the sky he prays to for that. And honestly, I'm not even going to promise pain or making a statement because, I've faced people like him before, Thunder something like five times by now; I know the drill. Regardless of how badly I beat him up, he'll continue making his excuses and walk around with his little paper championship, proudly declaring that while he had a minor setback due to him not performing up to his own level, he will still blah blah blah and so on and so on. I've heard it all before, it's not original, it's not interesting, I don't care. Shawn Malakai was intended to be a distraction. He's not. He's not a distraction, he's not a stepping stone, I'm not using him to make a statement, he's not even a speed bump. He's a pothole. A small gap in the concrete that could potentially do a very minor, minimal level of damage to the tires but could easily be swerved to the side of.
Sean stands up, taking one more swig of his bottle.
Alex Sean: So, Shawn Malakai, I hope you enjoy this, and hey; While you'll never be like me or compete at my level, at least you can say you got to face me. Which, hey, it's something, right?
The soon-to-be champion shrugs his shoulders, and begins to walk away, stopping after a few steps.
Alex Sean: Oh, and by the way; Happy fourth of July. I hope you got as much out of as I did.
And with that, Sean walks off into the streets of Baltimore, fireworks bursting in the night sky.
