Scars and Stripes Rp- All Scars, No Stripes

This was a perfect example of what can get accomplished by a RP that is almost solely just a monologue and was pretty impressive in it's simplicity. You have a very spoken word/lyrical style and it plays well into exploring Mason and his emotions, and done very differently than everyone else so that it stands out. You also blended it seamlessly into discussing Mesh and had several excellent lines in the process, and all in all just very good work and excellent close out for the Mason/Mesh program (unless it continues, in which case scratch that last part).

Logically it made sense that Tyson Watts would return to Mason's life at some point, and then finding out it's because of his connection with Ava and whatever part she's going to play going forward gives you a lot of stuff to work with. Poor Mason never gets a break () and having that scene immediately be followed with the oblivious "things are starting to look up" monologue was storytelling 101. Mason's face turn has been one of the standouts of the Ascension tour IMO.

So word, all in all an excellent follow up to your previous RP and you're really beginning to hit your groove. Nice job.

Favorite lines

With you being my opponent, I wanted to leave my thoughts on your RP first. I want to start out by saying how proud I am of you! You have come so far since debuting Mason what seems like forever ago. I knew from day one that you had the talent and ability to be a bigtime player in the WFWF, you just needed some polish and tighten some aspects of the character and also some consistency. Your first year or so as Mason wasn't exactly ideal as you went from opponent-to-opponent without having any meaningful feud or program. I was lucky enough to have writers like Rich and Shawn who wanted to work with me early on so I had that exposure and opportunity to work and collaborate with more experience writers. That was my main reason for wanting a long-term feud with you because I knew that having that structure and consistency would help you find your groove and rhythm in terms of character development and crafting a narrative. Hell, the whole "Mesh helped Mason win the belt" narrative which was the whole basis for our feud in the first place was YOUR idea! You have the mindset of a main event player, you just needed that right opponent to help you find it and I am so honored to have been a part of your metamorphosis!

Johnny Mason is a natural babyface. I know you prefer writing heel but the character just feels more natural and more like yourself when being presented as a babyface. You have this ability to write a strong, babyface monologue that doesn't come off as too clean. Mason still has an edge and it's his vulnerability that sets him apart. The whole basis of a promo or monologue is for a wrestler to say why he's the best and why he's going to win the match. Mason  doesn't do that. We, the reader know what he's feeling or thinking at any given moment because of how you write him. You'd think that being a world recognized champion would mean that Mason isn't anxious, right? Well, no he is and that's what makes him one, if not the most real babyface on the roster aside from Shuggy. It's funny that you made a point in this RP to say that Mason wears his heart on his sleeve because I feel like that's always been one of his strongest traits so you recognizing it here is further evidence of your growth as a writer.

I popped HUGE for the return of Watts! I was convinced that he was truly out of Mason's story for good and you tying Ava to Watts didn't feel forced or out-of-place. Considering how slimly Watts has been established to be, it makes sense. You have me hooked! The best part is how you immediately followed up the Watts return with "things are finally starting to look up for me" from Mason. Having Mason reflect on recent events in a positive light only to then tease the return of his arch nemesis was brilliant!

Seeing you get the positive feedback on your last two pieces tells me that all the hard work that went into creating our storyline paid off - you are where you need to be in order to call yourself a champion. That praise from EBR about Mason's face turn being one of the highlights of the tour is a pretttttty big deal. I'm actually rooting for you with this RP because you've stepped up. You've grown. If I had to pick an RP that showcased the beginning of someone blossoming and elevating themselves up the card, I would pick this one because you knocked it out of the park!

Tremendous job!

I had an overwhelming sense, as I read this RP, that you are a writer who has reached something of a crossroads. What was here was solid stuff. I think you did a good job laying out Mason's mindset, motivations, how he feels about his match, how he feels about his life, etc.. etc... It's all in there and it all feels very authentically Johnny Mason. I think the next step for you, as a writer, specifically in regard to the monologue aspect of your work, and expand upon the connective tissue between the ideas. Much of this is one idea/line followed by another, then another, and so on. Individual, isolated thoughts. But while this does give us an insight into the highlights of his thinking, it excludes us from the way he thinks about these things, the way he connects them, why he thinks of what he thinks of when he thinks it, and so on.

Further, while I understand the style here for some time has been these disembodied, setting-less monologues spoken to nobody in particular, I think placing Johnny in a space and having us able to see him think these thoughts would afford us an even greater depth of understanding of Johnny. Does he have any physical ticks as he thinks about certain things, certain people? In the new House of the Dragon series, one of the characters, when they're nervous, picks at their cuticles. It's a common nervous tick people have in real life and it gives us a clear insight to the unease this person is feeling in situations that bring them unease. I really think the combination of expanding upon the connective tissue between his thoughts and placing him in a context to be thinking/saying/writing/whatever them could be the difference right now between Johnny Mason: Vanguard Champion, and Johnny Mason: Potential contender for the WFWF Title sooner rather than later.

My last thoughts are regarding the Tyson Watts thing. I think, individually, the scene was well-written and it was legitimately surprising to me for him to be the one who walked out of the bathroom. That was well-executed. With that said, to me, it felt a little superfluous to the overall themes/ideas of the RP. I almost feel like it would have been interesting to spend some time in Ava's perspective and maybe what she is doing with Watts could thematically tie in to Mason's mindset toward Mesh or, perhaps, Mason's perception of what Mesh is doing to herself. So much of Mason's monologue was centered on Mesh's self destruction and loss of her moral compass, perhaps Ava hooking up with Watts could have represented that for her and, in that sense, tied in to a broader theme of self destruction? Tie that in to Mason's concerns that he is at the precipice of slipping back into the way he used to be, and boom. You have a theme that ties EVERYTHING here together. That's not to say you should have done it that specific way but just that every single monologue, conversation, scene, etc... should tie in to the broader objectives of the work and the writing that does that is the stuff that really transcends the sum of its parts.

Overall, well-written stuff and once again a solid glimpse into Johnny's perspective. There's a lot of room for improvement but I think your work is starting to read less like someone growing into finding their voice to someone who has found it and now has the space to do more interesting things with it.