Post by Elliot Bowman IV on Aug 5, 2020 17:30:01 GMT -6
Tagged: House Hunters , Swango , PRIME
Title: WA-PA-POW!
THE STORY THUS FAR...
About three years ago, a man named Elliot Bowman IV was told to get a job; that he could no longer mooch off the family's wealth and he had to find a way to make his own fortune. Being a gigantic wrestling fan at heart, that's the path Elliot chose. He figured, "hey, I can exploit a few loopholes and strike it rich." But, as fate would have it, Elliot started seeing true potential in his genes. Maybe instead of betting money, and taking dives, Elliot could actually accomplish something remarkable. Except the risk was too great, and really all he's ever wanted is to have everything he's ever wanted... and that requires money... so he inevitably opted-in to go the dive route instead.
Elliot's first official match in the pros happened on August 2nd, 2020, and it was a triple threat match between himself, a man named Kuroiki, and the former EWC Tag Team Champion, Iggy Swango. The match took place in Taiwan, and the fans there were shocked--and a little peeved--that Elliot cheated at every turn, yet he still came up empty-handed in terms of victory.
We now take you to a little behind-the-scenes action...
3PM Monday - August 3rd, 2020
Bowman Gym - Greenfield, MA
OFF-Camera
"Okay, I HAVE to ask you something, and I don't want you taking offense to this, but why do we come here, like, every single day, if you're not even going to take shit seriously when you compete?"
"Who says I'm not taking it seriously? I doled out a lot of cash for last night's match. In fact, I actually spent more money than I made, Max. I'm literally operating at a loss right now. Even with the ten-thousand we made betting on Kuroiki to win the match, that barely covered the trip. I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty serious to me."
"Ah, but then you went and hired the stripper... and the DJ... I mean, yeah, it was an AWESOME flight, but--"
"Fly with me and you fly in style, Max. You know how I roll."
Elliot Bowman IV and Max have just entered the Bowman Gym carrying their duffel bags. Elliot plops his down on a bench next to where the punching bag is and removes his shirt.
"All I'm saying is that maybe we ought to be more... frugal... with our funding. Maybe leave out the stripper next time. Or at least the DJ. You have a million dollar entertainment center already installed on Apollo*, so why hire a DJ? Doesn't make any sense."
*FYI: Apollo is the name bestowed upon Elliot's jet.
"Maybe next time I won't take YOU with me," Elliot replies as he takes a pair of gloves out of his duffel bag. "You didn't exactly HELP last night."
Elliot begins duking it out with the punching bag as Max takes a seat on the bench.
"I did what I could. Iggy just... got the better of me."
"I don't wanna hear excuses, Max. We knew who the real threat was. Icky wasn't the main concern. I didn't spend two-thousand-dollars hiring those guys to beat up Kuroiki because I needed help against HER. I didn't need help against HIM either, but it was all part of the plan."
"You didn't even pay them! We left early, remember?"
"That's what I said. I didn't spend two-thousand-dollars hiring those guys. Do you know how to even PRETEND like you're listening to anything I say?"
Max rolls his eyes, but Elliot doesn't notice because he's got his back turned.
"Kuroiki was supposed to win. We agreed that made the most sense."
"So why send those goons after him?"
"I wanted him to sweat it out a little. I wasn't just gonna GIVE it to him. I want him to think he has the upperhand."
"The upperhand? Please, enlighten me..."
Elliot takes a break from pounding on the punching bag and he turns to face his compadre.
"Because next time I'm in the ring with Kuroiki he's going to be getting the real deal. He'll be all like, 'la-de-da, another walk in the park.' And I'LL be like, 'no way, ninja-boy. Wa-pa-pow!'"
Elliot strikes the air between him and Max three times in rapid succession, presumably trying to imitate a ninja. Or something.
"Dude."
"What?"
"You don't even know when you're going to face off against him again. Who knows who you're gonna face next."
"Prime 70."
"Huh? What about it?"
"That's when Kuroiki and I square off again. It's already been arranged."
"Says who?"
"I got an e-mail on the flight home, from the general manager of Prime, telling me the fans want to see a one-on-one rematch. And I agreed to do it."
"And when were you planning to tell me, your manager?"
"I just did. Please try to keep up."
Elliot goes back to work on the punching bag when suddenly the door to the gym bursts open and Annabelle walks in, her hands on her hips and a mix of anger and annoyance on her otherwise angelic face.
"Which one of you assholes blocked me in? You know what? I don't care. But one of you better come move your car or I'm gonna have it towed."
"Make yourself useful, Max," Elliot says. He reaches into his duffel bag, pulls out the keys, and tosses them at Max who narrowly avoids catching them with his face.
"Whatever you say, boss. You call ALL the shots, apparently."
"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear sarcasm in your voice."
"Pretend I give a shit WHAT you hear," Max mutters under his breath as he heads toward the front door.
"I heard that."
"Of course you did. You have perfect hearing, my liege," Max calls out over his shoulder. As he approaches Annabelle, he adds, "Hi, Annabelle. You're looking lovely this afternoon. Did you do something different with your hair?"
"Yeah, it's called the Single Mom Who Doesn't Have Time To Do Anything With Her Hair. You like?"
"It looks good on you."
"Just move the car. I have to go pick Elizabeth up from soccer practice."
"Right. Sorry. Sometimes Elliot forgets it's not his own private parking lot."
"Good thing he's got you to pick up after him. You're such a good toby."
"Hey, I resemble that remark."
"Resemble, huh? I think you meant to say 'resent.'"
"Toe-may-toe/tom-at-toe."
Annabelle giggles and Max smirks as the two share a 'moment.'
"Uh, the car? You were gonna go move it?"
"Oh, right."
The 'moment' now over, Max holds open the door for Annabelle and looks over at Elliot, still punching away at the bag. He follows Annabelle out into the parking lot and hops into Elliot's Mercedes. After moving the car to a different parking space, Max jumps out and heads back over to Annabelle who has just gotten into her own car.
"You know, he's really not a bad guy once you get to know him," Max says, leaning in through her window. "Truly. He's just been wrapped up in this new venture of his."
"I do know him, Max. Hence I know he really IS a bad guy. He's complete slime. When are you gonna dump him and start living your own life?"
"It's not that easy. We've been friends our whole lives."
"Some friend he is. When's the last time you guys did something that YOU wanted to do, huh?"
"Well, uh... well, nothing's really coming to mind, but if you ask me again later I might come up with something."
"How about tomorrow night? Say, 7 o'clock at Archie's? I'll meet you there if you can take a night off from being his go-for boy..."
"I, uh... I'll call you later, okay?"
"You better."
Max leans in and gives Annabelle a peck on the cheek. She smiles.
"He doesn't deserve to have you for a friend, Max. I wish you'd see that already."
"Yeah, that's what I've been told once or thrice. Times a million."
"And I'll keep reminding you until it finally sinks in," Annabelle says with a wink. She puts the car in reverse and slowly starts backing away.
"Oh, I am in so much trouble," Max tells himself as he waves Annabelle goodbye.
6PM Tuesday - August 4th, 2020
Max's Residence - Greenfield, MA
OFF-Camera
Generally speaking, when your buddy's got a crush on a woman you aren't supposed to agree to see her behind said buddy's back. So why would Max start shitting where he eats, you ask? Well, he's asking himself that exact question now as he checks himself out in the--broken and filthy--mirror, in his broken and filthy studio apartment bathroom. He looks good in a suit, no problems there. Most-expensive thing he owns, in fact. However, betraying Elliot has Max feeling very much UNATTRACTIVE.
And yet, the heart wants what the heart wants; because for as long as Elliot's been interested in Annabelle, Max has harbored intense feelings of his own. Unlike Elliot's--which were mostly of perversion and lust--Max had a more... emotional connection.
"Okay, Max, it's just after 6," he says to himself out loud. "Not too late to call and cancel. We don't have to go through with this."
He blinks a few times, otherwise staring at his reflection in the mirror.
"Elliot would be PISSED if he knew I was taking Annabelle out to dinner."
There's a knock at his front door.
"Shit, I thought she said she was meeting me at the restaurant."
Max takes one last look at himself in the mirror before walking out of the bathroom. He peeks through the peephole and sees Elliot standing in the hallway. Uh-oh!
"Fuck! He's on to me," Max whispers to himself. Against his better judgement--against his desire to pretend like he isn't home--Max unbolts the lock and opens the door.
OOC Notes: I've never had this much fun, or this easy a time role-playing before now. Then again, this is my first Heel character, so maybe that's why. I just love how Elliot and Max basically do all the storytelling themselves. I'll come up with a single paragraph--or even just a sentence--and they'll pick right up on it and pretty much write the rest themselves. I joined Prime because I was worried I wouldn't be able to pump out more than 500 words an RP, but I've got so much to work with now that I'm definitely going to be pushing out more of these character development RPs. I enjoyed writing this one very much so, and I hope you enjoy reading it! Feedback is always welcome. Feel free to tell me what you liked and what you think I could do differently next time around to make my work more enjoyable to read. Take care, guys!
P.s. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should read The Get A Job, You Bum! Trilogy. I combined parts 1 and 1.5 with a final scene (Part 2), so y'all can read all three parts at once. I introduced a side character named Annabelle, and she'll be playing a bigger role moving forward.
P.s. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should read The Get A Job, You Bum! Trilogy. I combined parts 1 and 1.5 with a final scene (Part 2), so y'all can read all three parts at once. I introduced a side character named Annabelle, and she'll be playing a bigger role moving forward.
Title: WA-PA-POW!
THE STORY THUS FAR...
About three years ago, a man named Elliot Bowman IV was told to get a job; that he could no longer mooch off the family's wealth and he had to find a way to make his own fortune. Being a gigantic wrestling fan at heart, that's the path Elliot chose. He figured, "hey, I can exploit a few loopholes and strike it rich." But, as fate would have it, Elliot started seeing true potential in his genes. Maybe instead of betting money, and taking dives, Elliot could actually accomplish something remarkable. Except the risk was too great, and really all he's ever wanted is to have everything he's ever wanted... and that requires money... so he inevitably opted-in to go the dive route instead.
Elliot's first official match in the pros happened on August 2nd, 2020, and it was a triple threat match between himself, a man named Kuroiki, and the former EWC Tag Team Champion, Iggy Swango. The match took place in Taiwan, and the fans there were shocked--and a little peeved--that Elliot cheated at every turn, yet he still came up empty-handed in terms of victory.
We now take you to a little behind-the-scenes action...
3PM Monday - August 3rd, 2020
Bowman Gym - Greenfield, MA
OFF-Camera
"Okay, I HAVE to ask you something, and I don't want you taking offense to this, but why do we come here, like, every single day, if you're not even going to take shit seriously when you compete?"
"Who says I'm not taking it seriously? I doled out a lot of cash for last night's match. In fact, I actually spent more money than I made, Max. I'm literally operating at a loss right now. Even with the ten-thousand we made betting on Kuroiki to win the match, that barely covered the trip. I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty serious to me."
"Ah, but then you went and hired the stripper... and the DJ... I mean, yeah, it was an AWESOME flight, but--"
"Fly with me and you fly in style, Max. You know how I roll."
Elliot Bowman IV and Max have just entered the Bowman Gym carrying their duffel bags. Elliot plops his down on a bench next to where the punching bag is and removes his shirt.
"All I'm saying is that maybe we ought to be more... frugal... with our funding. Maybe leave out the stripper next time. Or at least the DJ. You have a million dollar entertainment center already installed on Apollo*, so why hire a DJ? Doesn't make any sense."
*FYI: Apollo is the name bestowed upon Elliot's jet.
"Maybe next time I won't take YOU with me," Elliot replies as he takes a pair of gloves out of his duffel bag. "You didn't exactly HELP last night."
Elliot begins duking it out with the punching bag as Max takes a seat on the bench.
"I did what I could. Iggy just... got the better of me."
"I don't wanna hear excuses, Max. We knew who the real threat was. Icky wasn't the main concern. I didn't spend two-thousand-dollars hiring those guys to beat up Kuroiki because I needed help against HER. I didn't need help against HIM either, but it was all part of the plan."
"You didn't even pay them! We left early, remember?"
"That's what I said. I didn't spend two-thousand-dollars hiring those guys. Do you know how to even PRETEND like you're listening to anything I say?"
Max rolls his eyes, but Elliot doesn't notice because he's got his back turned.
"Kuroiki was supposed to win. We agreed that made the most sense."
"So why send those goons after him?"
"I wanted him to sweat it out a little. I wasn't just gonna GIVE it to him. I want him to think he has the upperhand."
"The upperhand? Please, enlighten me..."
Elliot takes a break from pounding on the punching bag and he turns to face his compadre.
"Because next time I'm in the ring with Kuroiki he's going to be getting the real deal. He'll be all like, 'la-de-da, another walk in the park.' And I'LL be like, 'no way, ninja-boy. Wa-pa-pow!'"
Elliot strikes the air between him and Max three times in rapid succession, presumably trying to imitate a ninja. Or something.
"Dude."
"What?"
"You don't even know when you're going to face off against him again. Who knows who you're gonna face next."
"Prime 70."
"Huh? What about it?"
"That's when Kuroiki and I square off again. It's already been arranged."
"Says who?"
"I got an e-mail on the flight home, from the general manager of Prime, telling me the fans want to see a one-on-one rematch. And I agreed to do it."
"And when were you planning to tell me, your manager?"
"I just did. Please try to keep up."
Elliot goes back to work on the punching bag when suddenly the door to the gym bursts open and Annabelle walks in, her hands on her hips and a mix of anger and annoyance on her otherwise angelic face.
"Which one of you assholes blocked me in? You know what? I don't care. But one of you better come move your car or I'm gonna have it towed."
"Make yourself useful, Max," Elliot says. He reaches into his duffel bag, pulls out the keys, and tosses them at Max who narrowly avoids catching them with his face.
"Whatever you say, boss. You call ALL the shots, apparently."
"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear sarcasm in your voice."
"Pretend I give a shit WHAT you hear," Max mutters under his breath as he heads toward the front door.
"I heard that."
"Of course you did. You have perfect hearing, my liege," Max calls out over his shoulder. As he approaches Annabelle, he adds, "Hi, Annabelle. You're looking lovely this afternoon. Did you do something different with your hair?"
"Yeah, it's called the Single Mom Who Doesn't Have Time To Do Anything With Her Hair. You like?"
"It looks good on you."
"Just move the car. I have to go pick Elizabeth up from soccer practice."
"Right. Sorry. Sometimes Elliot forgets it's not his own private parking lot."
"Good thing he's got you to pick up after him. You're such a good toby."
"Hey, I resemble that remark."
"Resemble, huh? I think you meant to say 'resent.'"
"Toe-may-toe/tom-at-toe."
Annabelle giggles and Max smirks as the two share a 'moment.'
"Uh, the car? You were gonna go move it?"
"Oh, right."
The 'moment' now over, Max holds open the door for Annabelle and looks over at Elliot, still punching away at the bag. He follows Annabelle out into the parking lot and hops into Elliot's Mercedes. After moving the car to a different parking space, Max jumps out and heads back over to Annabelle who has just gotten into her own car.
"You know, he's really not a bad guy once you get to know him," Max says, leaning in through her window. "Truly. He's just been wrapped up in this new venture of his."
"I do know him, Max. Hence I know he really IS a bad guy. He's complete slime. When are you gonna dump him and start living your own life?"
"It's not that easy. We've been friends our whole lives."
"Some friend he is. When's the last time you guys did something that YOU wanted to do, huh?"
"Well, uh... well, nothing's really coming to mind, but if you ask me again later I might come up with something."
"How about tomorrow night? Say, 7 o'clock at Archie's? I'll meet you there if you can take a night off from being his go-for boy..."
"I, uh... I'll call you later, okay?"
"You better."
Max leans in and gives Annabelle a peck on the cheek. She smiles.
"He doesn't deserve to have you for a friend, Max. I wish you'd see that already."
"Yeah, that's what I've been told once or thrice. Times a million."
"And I'll keep reminding you until it finally sinks in," Annabelle says with a wink. She puts the car in reverse and slowly starts backing away.
"Oh, I am in so much trouble," Max tells himself as he waves Annabelle goodbye.
6PM Tuesday - August 4th, 2020
Max's Residence - Greenfield, MA
OFF-Camera
Generally speaking, when your buddy's got a crush on a woman you aren't supposed to agree to see her behind said buddy's back. So why would Max start shitting where he eats, you ask? Well, he's asking himself that exact question now as he checks himself out in the--broken and filthy--mirror, in his broken and filthy studio apartment bathroom. He looks good in a suit, no problems there. Most-expensive thing he owns, in fact. However, betraying Elliot has Max feeling very much UNATTRACTIVE.
And yet, the heart wants what the heart wants; because for as long as Elliot's been interested in Annabelle, Max has harbored intense feelings of his own. Unlike Elliot's--which were mostly of perversion and lust--Max had a more... emotional connection.
"Okay, Max, it's just after 6," he says to himself out loud. "Not too late to call and cancel. We don't have to go through with this."
He blinks a few times, otherwise staring at his reflection in the mirror.
"Elliot would be PISSED if he knew I was taking Annabelle out to dinner."
There's a knock at his front door.
"Shit, I thought she said she was meeting me at the restaurant."
Max takes one last look at himself in the mirror before walking out of the bathroom. He peeks through the peephole and sees Elliot standing in the hallway. Uh-oh!
"Fuck! He's on to me," Max whispers to himself. Against his better judgement--against his desire to pretend like he isn't home--Max unbolts the lock and opens the door.
To Be Continued
