You've never really cared about anything in life. At least, that's what the popular consensus...
Ten Pounds of Gold: A Pro Wrestling Quest
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1. An End to Ennui
Vesvius
The Wicked God
You've never really cared about anything in life. At least, that's what the popular consensus is.
Your parents certainly agreed. They despaired at your lack of attention in school. They hated how you never seemed to be able to buckle down and apply yourself at anything. You can't count the number of times you sat through a speech about the importance of buckling down and focusing on Math and Social Studies.
Your friends definitely agreed. But in their case, it was good thing. That 'lack of caring' is all that really held your small circle together. None of you really wanted to do anything in particular in life. You were content just going along with the flow and seeing what came next.
That was what you did your entire life. You sat down and went with the flow. You earned straight B's in high school- which would certainly have been higher if you applied yourself, your mother said- and continued on with your inertia as you went to the community college your parents picked for you.
When you were there, you made more friends that didn't care. You dabbled around with a little bit of everything, never settling your feet on one path and moving forward. You came out of the school nothing more than a two-year degree in 'general studies' and an undying hatred for the registrar's office.
Finally though, you couldn't take it anymore. You couldn't take not caring for one moment more. So when you visited home, you sat down on the couch and told your parents the truth. The truth you'd been holding in for over half of your twenty-two year old life.
It's not that you didn't care. It's that you cared too much about one specific thing.
It's not that you never figured out what you wanted to be when you grew up. It's that that thing is so implausible and so unlikely that you might as well want to learn to fly.
You want to be a Professional Wrestler.
You've wanted it ever since you were old enough to turn on the TV and see 'Kingpin' Jasper Coinflip steal a title out from under the nose of 'Big Titan' Terry Tremendous. Ever since you saw The Sacrifice Kid launch himself from the top of a thirty-foot tall steel cage to the roar of the crowd.
Ever since you, the strange awkward kid in the superhero T-shirt and the too-large glasses, saw men and women bigger than life stand in the middle of a twenty-by-twenty square of canvas and command the adulation of thousands with nothing more than a simple gesture, you knew you wanted to be a Professional Wrestler. It all spills out of you as you talk to your parents, unload it off of your chest.
And fuck it. You're following your dream.
It's not like you're unprepared, you explain. Community College didn't do much, but it gave you access to some decent drama classes. You've never been a bodybuilder, but you've never really been not in shape. You can run for hours as long as you don't have to sprint, and you've got some muscle definition. And you've been putting aside money since you got your job watching the desk at a twenty-four hour storage place even if you never let yourself admit what it was for.
You're doing this. And you'll do this whether or not you have their blessing.
Silence rules the room for minutes after you finish. You're surprised to find that you're breathing heavily. That may be the longest you've ever talked about anything without interruption; for sure it's the most passionate you've ever been.
You've almost given up when your Dad rises to his feet and embraces you. Mom is only seconds behind him. Both of them have tears in their eyes, and to your surprise, so do you.
And then the three of you talk. For the first time maybe ever, you have a frank exchange of ideas without fear of judgement. You get the sense that they're not entirely pleased with what you've decided, but they respect your right to pick.
As Dad put it, "I don't want you to be one of those guys who look back at this moment in twenty years and wonder what could have happened."
From the wistful tone in his voice, you get the sense that he knows what he's talking about.
That's not going to be you.
Soon, you embark on your journey. The start of your mission, your quest, to be a professional wrestler.
But one key thing has to be decided first.
Where are you going to train?
[] Chamberlain's Court- A small school just created in the Pacific Northwest, Chamberlain's Court is headed up by Rex Chamberlain, a former WPW jobber known for his solid fundamentals and incredible mat-wrestling. His schools is fairly new, with only one graduating class and no real big names coming from it, but hell, it's cheap.
[] Horizon Academy- You almost wrote this one off when you were doing your research. Daybreak may have been a great women's wrestler, but do you really want to learn from her? But when you were going over the curriculum, you realized that no one else has had such a rich history of success in churning out great characters with phenomenal promo skills.
[] Jester's Keep- There are many better people you could learn from than Derek Jester. As a wrestler and trainer, you hear he's alright. As a promo, he's ok. He was never really a standout in any way, save one; he made friends with a lot of the right people. Jester's still got their ear, and the grapevine says that Jester still goes golfing with Kevin McCrusher, the current Head of Talent Acquisition at WPW.
[] The Junkyard- Years ago, there was a wrestling promotion that has faded into legend: Extreme Pro Combat. It was revolutionary at the time, with everyone raving about it's incredible shows and phenomenal wrestlers. But soon all of those wrestlers left, leaving only those who made a name by hurting themselves in dramatic fashion. EPC closed soon after, but their training school remains. While it might not be the most technical place, it's perhaps the best place to go if you want to learn how to get hit with a fire extinguisher and not go down.
[] The Lion's Den- While it looks like nothing more than a warehouse in suburban Austin, the Lion's Den is already getting a reputation for putting out great high-fliers who can do anything without fear. No surprise really; it's run by El Guerrero Dorada, a legendary luchadore revered throughout Mexico and the southwest United States.
[] The School of Hard Knocks- To no one's surprise, there are about twelve of these all over the USA, none with any connection to the others. The one you're interested in is over in Detroit, and is run by the Purgatory Punishers, an enormous musclebound tag-team who had a tremendous run in the Midwest. They're not the best when it comes to the very fine points, according to reviews, but they'll train your body up until it can take anything.
[] The Three-Count Enclave- There are no schools with a better pedigree than the Three-Count Enclave. Based in Minneapolis, it's the home of 'Shooter' Steven DuPoint, a legendary wrestler and trainer. At least, he was in his younger years. Now there are whispers about his unsettling training techniques, and some say he's retreated into the bottle in between stretching out his poor, helpless trainees. But could it be worth the risk?
And when you send in your application, what name is going on it? (No real names, please)
[] Write-In
Your parents certainly agreed. They despaired at your lack of attention in school. They hated how you never seemed to be able to buckle down and apply yourself at anything. You can't count the number of times you sat through a speech about the importance of buckling down and focusing on Math and Social Studies.
Your friends definitely agreed. But in their case, it was good thing. That 'lack of caring' is all that really held your small circle together. None of you really wanted to do anything in particular in life. You were content just going along with the flow and seeing what came next.
That was what you did your entire life. You sat down and went with the flow. You earned straight B's in high school- which would certainly have been higher if you applied yourself, your mother said- and continued on with your inertia as you went to the community college your parents picked for you.
When you were there, you made more friends that didn't care. You dabbled around with a little bit of everything, never settling your feet on one path and moving forward. You came out of the school nothing more than a two-year degree in 'general studies' and an undying hatred for the registrar's office.
Finally though, you couldn't take it anymore. You couldn't take not caring for one moment more. So when you visited home, you sat down on the couch and told your parents the truth. The truth you'd been holding in for over half of your twenty-two year old life.
It's not that you didn't care. It's that you cared too much about one specific thing.
It's not that you never figured out what you wanted to be when you grew up. It's that that thing is so implausible and so unlikely that you might as well want to learn to fly.
You want to be a Professional Wrestler.
You've wanted it ever since you were old enough to turn on the TV and see 'Kingpin' Jasper Coinflip steal a title out from under the nose of 'Big Titan' Terry Tremendous. Ever since you saw The Sacrifice Kid launch himself from the top of a thirty-foot tall steel cage to the roar of the crowd.
Ever since you, the strange awkward kid in the superhero T-shirt and the too-large glasses, saw men and women bigger than life stand in the middle of a twenty-by-twenty square of canvas and command the adulation of thousands with nothing more than a simple gesture, you knew you wanted to be a Professional Wrestler. It all spills out of you as you talk to your parents, unload it off of your chest.
And fuck it. You're following your dream.
It's not like you're unprepared, you explain. Community College didn't do much, but it gave you access to some decent drama classes. You've never been a bodybuilder, but you've never really been not in shape. You can run for hours as long as you don't have to sprint, and you've got some muscle definition. And you've been putting aside money since you got your job watching the desk at a twenty-four hour storage place even if you never let yourself admit what it was for.
You're doing this. And you'll do this whether or not you have their blessing.
Silence rules the room for minutes after you finish. You're surprised to find that you're breathing heavily. That may be the longest you've ever talked about anything without interruption; for sure it's the most passionate you've ever been.
You've almost given up when your Dad rises to his feet and embraces you. Mom is only seconds behind him. Both of them have tears in their eyes, and to your surprise, so do you.
And then the three of you talk. For the first time maybe ever, you have a frank exchange of ideas without fear of judgement. You get the sense that they're not entirely pleased with what you've decided, but they respect your right to pick.
As Dad put it, "I don't want you to be one of those guys who look back at this moment in twenty years and wonder what could have happened."
From the wistful tone in his voice, you get the sense that he knows what he's talking about.
That's not going to be you.
Soon, you embark on your journey. The start of your mission, your quest, to be a professional wrestler.
But one key thing has to be decided first.
Where are you going to train?
[] Chamberlain's Court- A small school just created in the Pacific Northwest, Chamberlain's Court is headed up by Rex Chamberlain, a former WPW jobber known for his solid fundamentals and incredible mat-wrestling. His schools is fairly new, with only one graduating class and no real big names coming from it, but hell, it's cheap.
[] Horizon Academy- You almost wrote this one off when you were doing your research. Daybreak may have been a great women's wrestler, but do you really want to learn from her? But when you were going over the curriculum, you realized that no one else has had such a rich history of success in churning out great characters with phenomenal promo skills.
[] Jester's Keep- There are many better people you could learn from than Derek Jester. As a wrestler and trainer, you hear he's alright. As a promo, he's ok. He was never really a standout in any way, save one; he made friends with a lot of the right people. Jester's still got their ear, and the grapevine says that Jester still goes golfing with Kevin McCrusher, the current Head of Talent Acquisition at WPW.
[] The Junkyard- Years ago, there was a wrestling promotion that has faded into legend: Extreme Pro Combat. It was revolutionary at the time, with everyone raving about it's incredible shows and phenomenal wrestlers. But soon all of those wrestlers left, leaving only those who made a name by hurting themselves in dramatic fashion. EPC closed soon after, but their training school remains. While it might not be the most technical place, it's perhaps the best place to go if you want to learn how to get hit with a fire extinguisher and not go down.
[] The Lion's Den- While it looks like nothing more than a warehouse in suburban Austin, the Lion's Den is already getting a reputation for putting out great high-fliers who can do anything without fear. No surprise really; it's run by El Guerrero Dorada, a legendary luchadore revered throughout Mexico and the southwest United States.
[] The School of Hard Knocks- To no one's surprise, there are about twelve of these all over the USA, none with any connection to the others. The one you're interested in is over in Detroit, and is run by the Purgatory Punishers, an enormous musclebound tag-team who had a tremendous run in the Midwest. They're not the best when it comes to the very fine points, according to reviews, but they'll train your body up until it can take anything.
[] The Three-Count Enclave- There are no schools with a better pedigree than the Three-Count Enclave. Based in Minneapolis, it's the home of 'Shooter' Steven DuPoint, a legendary wrestler and trainer. At least, he was in his younger years. Now there are whispers about his unsettling training techniques, and some say he's retreated into the bottle in between stretching out his poor, helpless trainees. But could it be worth the risk?
And when you send in your application, what name is going on it? (No real names, please)
[] Write-In
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I. What is this?
Vesvius
The Wicked God
What is this?!
Hello, all. For this particular quest I decided to go with something a little out of the ordinary. Perhaps I read and loved CampaignQuest too much. But this one will take place in a setting even more cutthroat and terrifying than presidential politics, more horrifying than the Blue Seas of One Piece and AMDND, something even more unbelievable than the Bhaalspawn-shaped Westeros in Murder and Iron.
That's right. We're going to have a quest in the big wide world of Pro Wrestling.
First thing's first: I can't do what other QMs do and use real life people as characters. Never quite saw the appeal, and honestly celebrity fan fiction squicks me out. So there will be no actual wrestlers or people you recognize in this quest. Will there be a shitton inspired by actual people? Yes. But the actual people themselves? No.
Second: Mechanics. They are in the post below.
Third: Sadly, this is not my priority. It's just something I'm doing because the bug hit me. Updates will be rather sporadic, as my other projects are my main focus.
Fourth: Really not sure what fourth is. But if there's anything else, any other big bulletins or updates, they will go here.
Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the ride!
II. Mechanics
Vesvius
The Wicked God
Ten Pounds of Gold
The Mechanics
Subject to frequent updates as needed
The Mechanics
Subject to frequent updates as needed
The primary rule is pretty straightforward: if a task's outcome is in doubt at all, whether it be from your actions or the actions of another character, a Difficulty Check (DC) will be set and a d100 will be rolled. The DC can be anything from 10 (obscenely easy) to 100 (nearly impossible) to even higher (cannot succeed without absurd luck and skill). If the d100 roll is higher than the DC, the action succeeds.
Pretty straightforward, right? But it's not that simple. It would be boring if everything were left to luck. No, the kind of character the PC develops into has a lot to do with it as well. The dice roll can be effected by the following:
Skills
A skill is something the PC has put effort into learning, or something they've picked up along the way. If a skill is applicable to the roll at hand, its bonus or penalty comes into play.
Skills are either consciously trained through actions, or developed in the ring. Each training session applies XP to a skill, with diminishing returns the more times a specific action is chosen. For best results, make sure to vary your routine!
The skill ranks are as follows:
Level/XP/Modifier
Untrained/0/-30
Horrendous/1/-20
Disappointing/50/-10
Mediocre/100/-5
Average/250/0
Impressive/500/+5
Elite/1500/+10
Legendary/2500/+20
Mythical/5000/+35
What each skill entails is explained in the Skill Glossary:
In-Ring Styles
Brawling: The ancient and complicated art of punching. Brawling is used in any spot that involves fisticuffs above all else.
Comedy: Any spot that is designed to make the crowd laugh. Comedy is used for any type of pratfall, hilarious accident, or flat out bizarre spot that wouldn't look out of place in a comic book.
Hardcore: Are you using a weapon of any sort? Yes? Then you're using the hardcore skill. Hardcore governs chair shots, weapons of any sort, or even blading (cutting yourself with a razor blade to make the match more dramatic).
Mat Wrestling: Technical grappling. Mat wrestling is all about positioning, leverage, and slick counters. If it looks like it belongs on an amateur wrestling mat, it uses the mat wrestling skill.
Submission Wrestling: Pain is the name of the game in submission wrestling. If the goal of the spot is to lock your opponent in a vicious hold then this is the skill.
Aerial: High flying in any of it's many varied forms. Moves that Aerial govern includes anything off the top rope, springboards, and most things that involve your feet leaving the mat.
Showmanship: The broadest of the in-ring styles, Showmanship includes anything that puts style above substance. An elbow drop with theatrics, a chop that has a dance move in front of it, a series of dramatic poses before a cutter. As long as the spot is more about the show then the move itself, it is Showmanship.
Performance
Basics: The things that make up the basic foundation of a wrestling match. Running the ropes, taking corners, knowing how far away from the side of the ring you are at any given time. All these things are the basics.
Psychology: One of the most important skills in wrestling, Psychology is the art of putting the match together. A guy with high aerial may know how to do a flip, but a guy with high psychology knows exactly when to do the flip to guarantee the best reaction.
Safety: Not hurting your opponent, and not getting hurt by your opponent. A key skill.
Selling: Selling is not just acting like you're hurt. Anyone can do that by clutching their ankle and screaming. Selling is about acting like you're hurt, broadcasting it to everyone watching, and making it look believable.
Physical
Athleticism: Body control, plain and simple. A worker with high Athleticism has control over their body and can make it go faster, jump higher, and contort in interesting fashions.
Power: Strength. The higher your power is, the more you can display it in the ring.
Cardio: Your endurance. The higher your cardio is, the faster you can wrestle, and the longer you can keep it up between rest spots.
Toughness: How well you can take a beating. Without toughness, it doesn't matter how high your safety is. You will get hurt.
Resilience: How fast you can bounce back from an injury.
Out of Ring
Microphone: Your skill on the stick. Microphone governs how well you can cut a promo and talk people into the building. The higher it is, the better you are at running your mouth.
Charisma: Your raw, physical presence. Anyone can talk, but not everyone can emote with their body. Charisma is an intangible that comes into play during promos and matches alike.
Acting: If you have a microphone, you use Microphone. But if the booker is calling for a backstage vignette with you doing something besides just cutting a promo, you use Acting.
Announcing: Calling a match as the play by play guy. It's much harder than it looks.
Color Commentary: Calling a match as the color guy. It's much harder than it looks.
Refereeing: This skill governs the art of being the third man in the ring. Referees are responsible for a lot of difficult things in the middle of a match; not only do they make the counts, they also convey spots between workers, keep time, and serve as a link between the booker and the worker in the middle of the match.
Gimmicks
Babyface: Working as a good guy in a match.
Heel: Working as a dastardly villain in a match.
Cool: A gimmick that is supposed to overwhelm the audience with how cool he is. Example gimmicks include Rock Stars, Surfers, Mysterious Badasses, and Rappers.
Cocky: A gimmick that is all about how arrogant the wrestler is. Example gimmicks include 'Chosen Ones', billionaires, raving prima donnas, and stuck up punks.
Crazy: A gimmick that overflows with pure insanity. Example gimmicks include psychotic killers, mad scientists, and uncivilized jungle savages.
Legitimate: A gimmick that is more realistic than most of the others. Example gimmicks include good amateur wrestler, MMA Bad Ass, and street brawler.
Weasel: A gimmick that is almost exclusively heel, and is specializes in avoiding fights. Example gimmicks include creepy guys, troublemakers, and internet trolls.
Brute: A gimmick that is made to display physical power, usually without a lot of talking. Example gimmicks include silent but deadly bodyguard, hired mercenary, and Man Monster.
Weird: A gimmick that's just plain bizarre. Example gimmicks include Cult Leader, Pyromaniac, and Split Personality.
Wholesome: A gimmick that is almost exclusively babyface, is fun for the whole family and as offensive as apple pie. Example gimmicks include Comic Book Hero, Beach Bunny, and Old School Babyface.
Brawling: The ancient and complicated art of punching. Brawling is used in any spot that involves fisticuffs above all else.
Comedy: Any spot that is designed to make the crowd laugh. Comedy is used for any type of pratfall, hilarious accident, or flat out bizarre spot that wouldn't look out of place in a comic book.
Hardcore: Are you using a weapon of any sort? Yes? Then you're using the hardcore skill. Hardcore governs chair shots, weapons of any sort, or even blading (cutting yourself with a razor blade to make the match more dramatic).
Mat Wrestling: Technical grappling. Mat wrestling is all about positioning, leverage, and slick counters. If it looks like it belongs on an amateur wrestling mat, it uses the mat wrestling skill.
Submission Wrestling: Pain is the name of the game in submission wrestling. If the goal of the spot is to lock your opponent in a vicious hold then this is the skill.
Aerial: High flying in any of it's many varied forms. Moves that Aerial govern includes anything off the top rope, springboards, and most things that involve your feet leaving the mat.
Showmanship: The broadest of the in-ring styles, Showmanship includes anything that puts style above substance. An elbow drop with theatrics, a chop that has a dance move in front of it, a series of dramatic poses before a cutter. As long as the spot is more about the show then the move itself, it is Showmanship.
Performance
Basics: The things that make up the basic foundation of a wrestling match. Running the ropes, taking corners, knowing how far away from the side of the ring you are at any given time. All these things are the basics.
Psychology: One of the most important skills in wrestling, Psychology is the art of putting the match together. A guy with high aerial may know how to do a flip, but a guy with high psychology knows exactly when to do the flip to guarantee the best reaction.
Safety: Not hurting your opponent, and not getting hurt by your opponent. A key skill.
Selling: Selling is not just acting like you're hurt. Anyone can do that by clutching their ankle and screaming. Selling is about acting like you're hurt, broadcasting it to everyone watching, and making it look believable.
Physical
Athleticism: Body control, plain and simple. A worker with high Athleticism has control over their body and can make it go faster, jump higher, and contort in interesting fashions.
Power: Strength. The higher your power is, the more you can display it in the ring.
Cardio: Your endurance. The higher your cardio is, the faster you can wrestle, and the longer you can keep it up between rest spots.
Toughness: How well you can take a beating. Without toughness, it doesn't matter how high your safety is. You will get hurt.
Resilience: How fast you can bounce back from an injury.
Out of Ring
Microphone: Your skill on the stick. Microphone governs how well you can cut a promo and talk people into the building. The higher it is, the better you are at running your mouth.
Charisma: Your raw, physical presence. Anyone can talk, but not everyone can emote with their body. Charisma is an intangible that comes into play during promos and matches alike.
Acting: If you have a microphone, you use Microphone. But if the booker is calling for a backstage vignette with you doing something besides just cutting a promo, you use Acting.
Announcing: Calling a match as the play by play guy. It's much harder than it looks.
Color Commentary: Calling a match as the color guy. It's much harder than it looks.
Refereeing: This skill governs the art of being the third man in the ring. Referees are responsible for a lot of difficult things in the middle of a match; not only do they make the counts, they also convey spots between workers, keep time, and serve as a link between the booker and the worker in the middle of the match.
Gimmicks
Babyface: Working as a good guy in a match.
Heel: Working as a dastardly villain in a match.
Cool: A gimmick that is supposed to overwhelm the audience with how cool he is. Example gimmicks include Rock Stars, Surfers, Mysterious Badasses, and Rappers.
Cocky: A gimmick that is all about how arrogant the wrestler is. Example gimmicks include 'Chosen Ones', billionaires, raving prima donnas, and stuck up punks.
Crazy: A gimmick that overflows with pure insanity. Example gimmicks include psychotic killers, mad scientists, and uncivilized jungle savages.
Legitimate: A gimmick that is more realistic than most of the others. Example gimmicks include good amateur wrestler, MMA Bad Ass, and street brawler.
Weasel: A gimmick that is almost exclusively heel, and is specializes in avoiding fights. Example gimmicks include creepy guys, troublemakers, and internet trolls.
Brute: A gimmick that is made to display physical power, usually without a lot of talking. Example gimmicks include silent but deadly bodyguard, hired mercenary, and Man Monster.
Weird: A gimmick that's just plain bizarre. Example gimmicks include Cult Leader, Pyromaniac, and Split Personality.
Wholesome: A gimmick that is almost exclusively babyface, is fun for the whole family and as offensive as apple pie. Example gimmicks include Comic Book Hero, Beach Bunny, and Old School Babyface.
Traits
Skills are not the only thing to effect your performances. There are also traits.
Where skills grow and are trainable, traits are not. Traits are the PCs character. They will occur over the course of the quest as choices are made and actions performed. To earn a trait, act consistently. To strengthen it, continue acting that way. To lose it, do the opposite.
Traits can be earned in a variety of ways. A character who goes to work out everyday might earn the trait Gym Rat, giving him a bonus in all future workout XP rolls. Or someone who wrestles under a mask could get the Body Language trait, making him more physically expressive, or the Under the Hood trait, making him more comfortable when he's restricted. There are as many traits are you can imagine!
But traits can be a double-edged sword. Go along with your trait and get a bonus. Go opposite the PC's nature and take a penalty instead.
There are three degrees of traits.
Minor Traits are little things to the PC. They give a +5 bonus when they go with it, and a -5 when going against it.
Major Traits are bigger deals to the PC, and are far more important. They give a +15 bonus and a -15 penalty.
Core Traits are the principles which the PC lives his life. Go against them at your own peril. They give a +25 Bonus and a -25 Penalty.
Match Mechanics
Match Mechanics
By far the most complex part of this quest
When you're in the ring, the person across the ring from you isn't your opponent. Your goal is not hurt them. Your goal is not to do anything as pedestrian as winning. If you wanted to do that, you'd have gone into boxing.
No, when you're in the ring your gal is to, together with your opponent, entertain the crowd. The two of you are there to put on a show and to make sure your audience gets their money's worth. It doesn't matter if you're wrestling in front of five people or fifty thousand- these people paid to see you put on a show and by god you're going to give it to them.
Together, you and all the other men and women in the ring will combine your skills and give the crowd the best show you possibly can. Succeed, and be the center of attention for a worshipful audience. Fail, and be prepared to dodge.
Pre-Match Info
When Tommy arrives to the arena for his show, he'll be given his pre-match information. This includes, but is not limited to, how long the match is supposed to go, who your opponent is, the finish, and any particular notes the booker wants you to hit. All of these things are important.
Length: The length of the match determines how many spots a match is made up of. See Spots, below.
Opponent: Your in-ring opponent, and your partner in the match coming up. It takes at least two wrestlers to put on a show after all. Tommy will receive a brief description of the opponent when it becomes time to plan his match, including what they think their greatest strengths and weaknesses are. Tommy can get more exact information by either scouting his opponent or having worked with them multiple times.
The Finish: How the booker wants the match to end. Usually this includes who is winning the match that night and how they're doing it, whether it be by cheating or by hitting a finishing move and getting the pin.
Other Notes: A match is usually more than an exchange of moves followed by a pinfall. If the show you're on is any good, and you have any goal other than to entertain the crowd, there is going to be a story to your match. The other notes talk about what kind of story it is. It could be the story of a babyface valiantly making a comeback against an overpowering foe, or of a hero beaten down and taking the easy way, or a couple having relationship problems, or a time-displaced pirate fascinated by modern technology; it all depends on the booker.
How're You Gonna Call It?
Once you have the pre-match info, Tommy'll go and meet up with his opponent, and sometimes a third party who's been assigned to help you put together the match. After some discussion, it will be time to actually plan the match out. There are three different ways to plot the match:
Script It: You and your opponent will sit down and plot the entire match out in excruciating detail, move for move. And then once you get into the ring, you will perform your script. The script give you confidence; it frees you up so that part of you doesn't always have to be thinking about what's coming next, and it gives you an addition dice bonus to all rolls in this match.
The other benefit of scripting is that you don't have to worry about missing any notes or leaving anything out. When you're in the heat of the moment you might not be able to work that story the booker wanted, and both you and your opponent will know exactly what to do. At least, until something goes wrong. If any roll is failed, you are now off script, and suffer a -1 dice penalty to all rolls instead of a bonus as you scramble to keep it together.
In gameplay, when you script a match, you will write a plan that covers every moment of the match.
Call It In The Ring: The exact opposite of scripting a match. You and your opponent will go out to the ring with nothing planned by who's winning, and you'll rely on your natural skills to put on a good show. Every single thing you do will be come up with on the fly, dictated by the way the crowd is feeling and what seems to be right thing at the time.
The drawback of that is that if you're calling a match in the ring, it's easy to forget some spots. You might have an idea and go for it, only to forget that you wanted to work in a certain move, or that the booker wanted you to lose a specific way.
Calling it in the ring frees you up to improvise and work the crowd. You gain a bonus dependant on the average psychology skill of all wrestlers involved in the match on all rolls, and that continues even if you fail any checks.
Psychology Bonuses:
Article: Untrained: -4 dice
Horrendous: -3 dice
Disappointing: -2 Dice
Mediocre: 1 Dice
Average: 0 Dice
Impressive: +1 Dice
Elite: +2 Dice
Legendary: +3 Dice
Mythical: +4 Dice
In game play, when you call a match in the ring, it's represented by the QM (That's me!) planning the match behind the scenes. If anything goes awry, the players rolling in the rolz room will have a chance to dictate how Tommy is going to act next.
Plan Some Spots: The usual way a match is planned for, planning some spots involves scripting out a few ideas in advance and calling the rest in the ring. It's a healthy middle between scripting the entire match and calling it in the ring. It gives the flexibility of Calling it in the Ring (CiitR), but without the risk of missing any spots.
The downside is that there is no bonus for this method, as it lacks the complete spontaneity of CiitR and the security of scripting the match.
In game play, when you choose to Plan Some Spots, you will plot out those spots in a plan, including when you'd like them to happen in a match. Those will be rolled by the DM. Everything else will be determined by the QM, as per Call it In the Ring.
The Crowd
You have your match planned out. You know how you're going to call it. Everything is well within your skills. What could possibly go wrong?
The crowd. The crowd can go wrong. Your entire goal is to entertain the crowd. They're both your best friend, your worst enemy, and your biggest opponent.
Before every show, the crowd is assigned a certain number of successes needed per star (referred from here on out as a Star Factor). The Star Factor will determine how a match is scored (see Scoring the Match, below)
Skills and Dice
10PG uses a success based system. To determine if Tommy succeeds at any given moment, he must roll a d10 (sometimes more). Whether he passes or fails depends entirely on his skill level. The following is a list of the levels of skill, what the XP bar is in order to attain it, how many dice tommy gets to roll, and what number counts as a success.
Article: Untrained/0/1 Dice, 10 Succeeds
Horrendous/1/1 Dice, 9-10 Succeeds
Disappointing/50/1 Dice, 8-10 Succeeds
Mediocre/100/2 Dice, 8-10 Succeeds
Average/250/2 Dice, 7-10 Succeeds
Impressive/500/3 Dice, 7-10 Succeeds
Elite/1500/3 Dice, 6-10 Succeeds
Legendary/2500/4 Dice, 6-10 Succeeds
Mythical/5000/5 Dice, 6-10 Succeeds
If Tommy rolls a natural 10, he may count that as a success and also roll that dice again. Please note that any passes, failures, or natural ones on this bonus dice still count as normal.
Tommy's skill rolls are also affected by his traits. Minor traits provide +/- 1 Dice, Major traits provide +/- 2 Dice, Core traits provide +/- 3 Dice.
Spots
If a match is a song, spots are the notes. A spot is any one moment in the match, and can be any single thing. Whether it be a scintillating aerial move, a series of mat based maneuvers, a pose off, or simply standing and staring at your opponent, these are all things a match is made of. When you're scripting a match, you make a number of spots equal to the number of minutes in a match.
To plan a spot, describe what you're going to do, and choose the skill you're using. A top rope move would require an Aerial skill, while taking your opponent's offense would be Selling, for example. Then, during the match, when it's time for a spot, a skill check is rolled for that skill, while your opponent rolls the relevant skill for his own check. If you were dealing offense, he would roll his selling for example.
If you roll a success, then congratulations! You've succeeded at that spot and can add a success to the match's total at the end. If you fail, don't worry- the spot's still pulled off, it just doesn't look very good. But if you roll a natural one, it's time to worry. You've botched the spot! Subtract one success from your total, and if the circumstances call for it, it might be time to roll a safety check to see if you're going to be hurt.
Scoring the Match
At the end of the match, tally up the number of successes you and your opponents have scored during this match and divide it by the crowd's Star Factor. Your result will determine how the match was received:
Article: A Negative Number: ...how? You've not only failed, you've failed hard. If you and your opponent can still walk, it's unlikely you'll ever work in this town again.
0: You've had a shitty match. A dud in every sense of the word. Slink to the back in shame and hope someone else screws up more than you.
1: You've had a barely tolerable match. The crowd will only remember it because of how mediocre it is.
2: The crowd remembers liking it, but doesn't remember anything about it.
3: The crowd likes the match! It was damn good!
4: The crowd loves this match! On most cards, it'll be the match of the night!
5: The crowd can barely speak from how much they loved this match! And when they do, it sounds like this: OhmygodwhatishappeningIcan'tevenbestthingallmylife
Injuries
If you botch a physical spot by rolling a natural one, you will immediately have to pass a safety check. Whoever is delivering the move must pass the check.
If the Safety check fails, the person taking the move must immediately pass a toughness check. If you pass, everything's fine. No one is seriously hurt. If you fail, then the person taking the move is hurt, and will receive an injury depending on the type of both and the level you fail at.
NOTE: The person giving and taking the move is the same when it comes to Aerial moves, though the opponent may choose to roll safety to attempt to catch them.
Alignment
Whether you're a face, a heel, or something in between, your alignment is vitally important to you in a match. It lets the crowd know who to cheer and who to boo, and helps tell the story of the match. Before a match, roll a skill check with your chosen alignment. Pass and everything goes well. Fail, and the crowd doesn't see you in your chosen roll. They either want to cheer the villain, hate the hero, or just don't want to see you. Treat every skill roll as if you were one level weaker than you actually are.
A crowd can be won over during the match. If at any time you roll multiple successes for anything, the crowd is too caught up in how cool your move was to notice alignment any more. They'll go along with your match.
Signature Moves and Finishers
It's a proven fact that fans like moves they've seen before and react larger to them. Signature Moves are the ultimate embodiment of that. If one is successfully pulled off during a match, it's results (both successes and failures) count double. Finishers are the same, only they count triple.
But before a signature or a finisher can be used, it must be established. To establish a signature move is simple: you just have to use the same move in most of your matches. A finisher is harder, but goes along the same principle- only you have to use it to finish a match.
Once a move is suitably established (up to GM's discretion), the restrictions are relaxed. Finishers will remain established for a long time, and signatures will no longer have to be used every match.
Note: It might be tempting to over rely on signature moves, build up a stable of them, and just use them every match to the exclusion of everything else. That might work for a match or two, but the crowds will swiftly catch on and quickly get bored. If a player uses signature spots for more than half of their match, then next match, the crowd's Star Factor will double from it's usual level.
Reputation
(To Come)
Injuries
In wrestling, injuries are just a fact of life. As long as you pursue this mad dream you are going to wind up hurt. Whether it's a minor sprain, a breakage, something career threatening, or even something life threatening, it's going to happen.
In a match, if there is a botch, you have one chance to save yourself: a toughness check against the botch's severity. If you fail, then you roll to see how bad, with a DC based on the type of move taken.
Injuries function essentially as traits. They are assigned the same categories, but provide only negatives. Minor Injuries will heal overtime with successful resilience checks, Major Injuries will require surgery or some kind of treatment to become Minor Injuries, and Core Injuries can cripple or permanently damage Tommy.
(More to Come as required)
Rewards
Like any good QM, I enjoy a good bout of bribery. And if people are excited enough for this quest that they want to take part in good old-fashioned bribery, then feel free. This can consist of fanwork (both omakes, art, and pretty much everything else), particularly insightful posts, solid discussion, or pretty much anything that deepens my enjoyment of this quest.
For everything that I deem worthy of a payout, I will be giving you a reward, and I'll keep track of them in one of the following posts. The payout comes in the following format:
Small Reward: Can get a +10 to any roll. Can only be redeemed before the roll itself takes place. Can also be used to take one of the QM's alternate rolls instead of the player's roll. Four small rewards can be traded in for one medium reward.
Medium Reward: Can get a +20 to any roll, or can be used to force one reroll. Alternatively, can be used to purchase one minor trait (Subject to QM's approval). Can also be used to take some of the QM's alternate rolls instead of the player's rolls. Can be redeemed at any time, including after a roll has taken place, as long as the next update has not yet been written. Three medium rewards can be traded in for one major reward.
Major Reward: Can get a +40 to any roll, or can be used to force rerolls for an entire session, picking and choosing what they want to reroll. Alternatively, can be used to purchase one major trait (Subject to QM's approval). Can also be used to take some of the QM's alternate rolls instead of the player's rolls. Can be redeemed at any time, including after a roll has taken place, as long as the next update has not yet been written.
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III. Character Sheet & Dramatis Personae
Vesvius
The Wicked God
Character Sheet
- Personal Information
-
Name: Thomas 'Tommy' Martin
Age: 23
Current Status: Independent Professional Wrestler signed to several small companies
- Gimmicks
- Moves
- Contracts and Working Agreements
- Traits
- Ambitions
- Skills
- Living Situation
- Match History
Dramatis Personae
- Allie Gray
-
Name: Allison 'Allie' Gray
Current Gimmick Name: Allie Sky
Age: 20
Gender: F
Description: Allie is five feet six inches tall on a good day, and looks shorter because of her shortly buzzed hair. One of her arms, part of her back, and a few parts of her front are covered in tattoos. Her hair, in addition to being buzzed, is dyed with purple tips. All of the alternative attire and punk sensibilities distracts from the fact that under all the frills, Allie is classically beautiful.
Status: Unemployed Independent Wrestler
Relationship: Ally
History: The second friend in wrestling Tommy made, the two of them first met at Horizon Academy. Allie excelled at the physical part of training but struggled at the character work. She and Tommy traded tips and became close. Their bond deepened when Tommy took to the aerial lessons she was giving with a will, becoming the second best flier in class.
In-Ring Styles
Brawling: Average
Comedy: Average
Hardcore: Horrendous
Mat Wrestling: Average
Submission Wrestling: Mediocre
Aerial: Elite
Showmanship: Elite
Performance
Basics: Impressive
Psychology: Average
Safety: Impressive
Selling: Impressive
Physical
Athleticism: Elite
Power: Mediocre
Cardio: Impressive
Toughness: Average
Resilience: Average
Out of Ring
Microphone: Mediocre
Charisma: Impressive
Acting: Disappointing
Announcing: Untrained
Color Commentary: Untrained
Refereeing: Untrained
Gimmicks
Babyface: Impressive
Heel: Impressive
Cool: Untrained
Cocky: Mediocre
Crazy: Impressive
Legitimate: Mediocre
Weasel: Untrained
Brute: Untrained
Weird: Disappointing
Wholesome: UntrainedCore Traits
Natural Aerialist: In addition to the standard bonuses (see mechanics) Allie gets an additional 75% XP every time she makes a gain in her Aerial Stat.
Inked Reality: The first thing anyone ever notices about Allie is her tattoos, and that's the way she likes it. What's the point in getting ink if people aren't going to notice it? Allie gains a core bonus to Cool gimmicks, but is incapable of using Wholesome gimmicks.
Major Traits
In The Face!: Allie has discovered a real talent for punching people in the face. What she's not discovered is how to pull her punches. She gets a major bonus to Brawling, but any 2s rolled count as 1s for the purpose of determining injury.
Iron Liver: Out of everyone she knows, Allie is by far the best drinker. She can hold her liquor like no one else and is usually able to keep going till the bar is closed and everyone else is curled up on the floor.
Minor Traits - Delilah McCarthy
- Lucy McCarthy
- Jack Silvia
-
Name: Jack Silvia
Current Gimmick Name: 'The Symptom of Decay' Jack Salvation
Age: 24
Gender: M
Description: Around Five Feet Nine Inches Tall, Jack has long blonde hair and dark brown eyes. Though he began with a physique close Tommy's, constant training has given him muscles that Tommy wasn't sure existed.
Status: Unemployed Independent Wrestler
Relationship: Ally
History: The first friend in wrestling Tommy ever made, the two met when getting on the bus to go to Horizon Academy. They stuck together and bonded through a love of the business and insane amounts of training.
In-Ring Styles
Brawling: Impressive
Comedy: Average
Hardcore: Disappointing
Mat Wrestling: Elite
Submission Wrestling: Average
Aerial: Mediocre
Showmanship: Impressive
Performance
Basics: Elite
Psychology: Elite
Safety: Averagfe
Selling: Impressive
Physical
Athleticism: Disappointing
Power: Elite
Cardio: Impressive
Toughness: Impressive
Resilience: Mediocre
Out of Ring
Microphone: Average
Charisma: Mediocre
Acting: Mediocre
Announcing: Untrained
Color Commentary: Untrained
Refereeing: Untrained
Gimmicks
Babyface: Mediocre
Heel: Impressive
Cool: Untrained
Cocky: Untrained
Crazy: Disappointing
Legitimate: Untrained
Weasel: Untrained
Brute: Mediocre
Weird: Impressive
Wholesome: UntrainedCore Traits
Needs More Power: From a young age, Jack has always known what it would take to be a wrestler; namely, a killer physique and the ability to bench press a dump truck.
Natural Technician: In addition to the standard bonuses (see mechanics) Jack gets an additional 75% XP every time he makes a gain in his Mat Wrestling Stat.
Major Traits
The Bizarre Faithful: From a young age, Jack dreamed of being the Symptom of Decay. Now that he's living out his fantasy, he won't let anything stop him from being the best diseased preacher he can be!
The Smartest Artist: Jack has a gift with a pencil and paper, and an eye for design. If there was ever some born to make wrestling merchandise, it's him.
Minor Traits - Selina Tyler
- Leah Wolfe
-
Name: Leah Wolfe
Current Gimmick: Leah Red Riding Hood
Age: 18
Gender: F
Description: Petite beyond what one would expect from a wrestler, Leah is five foot two inches tall, five four if you measure her when her hair is up. She tends to wear her neck length black hair up in a ponytail, with one lock left hanging free to draw attention to her eyes.
Status: Unemployed Independent Wrestler
Relationship: Ally
History: Originally one of Tommy's classmates at Horizon Academy, Leah and Tommy never really saw that much of each other. Tommy fell in with Allie and Jack very quickly, while Leah latched onto Caleb, and the two formed a relationship. It was only on the Baltimore Indies that Tommy and Leah would click. A chance meeting at a show would turn into another, and then them hanging out with and without other people. Now Leah is Tommy's personal trainer, manager, and chief supplier of adorable cat pictures- much the annoyance of Leah's boyfriend.
In-Ring Styles
Brawling: Mediocre
Comedy: Impressive
Hardcore: Horrendous
Mat Wrestling: Disappointing
Submission Wrestling: Disappointing
Aerial: Mediocre
Showmanship: Impressive
Performance
Basics: Average
Psychology: Impressive
Safety: Average
Selling: Mediocre
Physical
Athleticism: Mediocre
Power: Elite
Cardio: Impressive
Toughness: Disappointing
Resilience: Average
Out of Ring
Microphone: Average
Charisma: Impressive
Acting: Mediocre
Announcing: Disappointing
Color Commentary: Untrained
Refereeing: Untrained
Gimmicks
Babyface: Mediocre
Heel: Mediocre
Cool: Untrained
Cocky: Mediocre
Crazy: Untrained
Legitimate: Untrained
Weasel: Untrained
Brute: Untrained
Weird: Average
Wholesome: AverageCore Traits
Creative Mind: Leah has a brain that was made for wild ideas that somehow work. Whether it be brainstorming merch design, coming up with the perfect entrance music, or working out the perfect silly spot mid match, Leah can do it. Leah gets a Core bonus to all non-performing parts of wrestling.
Natural Showman: In addition to the standard bonuses (see mechanics) Leah gets an additional 75% XP every time she makes a gain in her Showmanship Stat.
Major Traits
Never Been Kissed: Leah is just out of high school, and while she's inhumanly mature in some ways, in others, she's very naive.
50% Pain: From a young age, Leah learned never to put off till tomorrow what you can get done today. Leah gets 2 bonus action points every month.
Push It Real Good: Leah's never had any problems putting mind over matter and forcing herself through strenuous physical activity, and she doesn't see why other people should either.
Minor Traits - Minor Players and Their Relationships to the Protagonist
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The World of 10PG
IV. Generic Matches
Vesvius
The Wicked God
Generic Matches
Over his career, Tommy will wrestle dozens, maybe hundreds of matches, and they can't all be completely unique. So as he goes on, he'll construct a repertoire of generic matches that can be altered to fit whatever situation he needs. Below are a list of the matches he's come up with so far.
To add new matches to this list, you will have to do one of two things. Either Tommy can let his opponent call the match, which will allow him to sit down and take notes, or he can experiment and try new things himself. To do the former, vote 'Let <Opponent's Name> Call It' on match planning choices. To do the later, plan your own match, either through scripting or calling it in the ring.
Generic Matches count as scripted for statistical purposes.
Generic Matches So Far
Basic Match
Overview: A match that could not possibly be more simple. It begins with some basic wrestling. The babyface proves himself the better wrestler, but the heel cheats to cut him off. The heel gets some heat, the babyface makes his comeback, and then the finish happens.
Breakdown: 30% Basic, 30% Selling (Babyface)/Brawling or Submission (Heel), 30% Best Skill (Babyface)/Selling (Heel), 10% Other.
Cardio: Minimal
Overview: A match that could not possibly be more simple. It begins with some basic wrestling. The babyface proves himself the better wrestler, but the heel cheats to cut him off. The heel gets some heat, the babyface makes his comeback, and then the finish happens.
Breakdown: 30% Basic, 30% Selling (Babyface)/Brawling or Submission (Heel), 30% Best Skill (Babyface)/Selling (Heel), 10% Other.
Cardio: Minimal
Spotfest
Overview: A match that is nothing but action-action-action! This match doesn't care for pacing or for telling a slow story. It's all about doing the best moves you can as quickly as you can so you can leave the crowd gasping in awe.
Breakdown: 95% Best In-Ring Skill, 5% Other. No selling under any circumstances.
Cardio: Intensive
Overview: A match that is nothing but action-action-action! This match doesn't care for pacing or for telling a slow story. It's all about doing the best moves you can as quickly as you can so you can leave the crowd gasping in awe.
Breakdown: 95% Best In-Ring Skill, 5% Other. No selling under any circumstances.
Cardio: Intensive
Comedy Match
Overview: Why make them cheer when you can make them laugh and cheer. Though a comedy match may start as a basic match, it quickly evolves into something full of pratfalls, pranks, and jokes.
Breakdown: 15% Basics, 60% Comedy, 10% Selling (Babyface)/Brawling or Submission (Heel), 10% Best In-Ring Skill (Babyface)/10% Selling (Heel), 5% Other.
Cardio: Minimal
Overview: Why make them cheer when you can make them laugh and cheer. Though a comedy match may start as a basic match, it quickly evolves into something full of pratfalls, pranks, and jokes.
Breakdown: 15% Basics, 60% Comedy, 10% Selling (Babyface)/Brawling or Submission (Heel), 10% Best In-Ring Skill (Babyface)/10% Selling (Heel), 5% Other.
Cardio: Minimal
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2. An Auspicious Start
Vesvius
The Wicked God
You've never felt so much pain before. It's like your back is rebelling against you for everything you've ever done to it. Knives shoot up and down your spine, and it takes every ounce of willpower you've got to stop from moaning in pain. You stop in the middle of the hall you're walking through to smash your fist into your protesting back muscles.
Maybe you should've sprang for business seating.
But no. No. You didn't have the money for it. Not if you wanted to have any savings left. Mom and Dad had offered to pay for the upgrade; hell, they offered to pay for the flight to Maryland in full. They hadn't finished the offer before you'd declined, forcefully.
You don't have much in this world, but you've got your pride.
Besides, taking their money for the flight, for Horizon Academy, or even for these shiny new wrestling boots you've got slung over your shoulder would have felt just wrong. This is your decision, your dream. Mom and Dad have helped you for twenty-two years. You want to do this on your own.
Even if it means you've got to knuckle your back after flying coach. At least you're away from the terrible mother and her screaming child. Would it have killed her to stop the brat from sprinting up and down the aisles?
No matter. The ordeal is over now. Once you have your back in some semblance of order, you head towards the sliding glass doors that lead out of the Baltimore International Airport. No need to got to baggage claim; all you need is in the bag over your shoulder.
It takes longer than it should for you to find the right bus stop. You check the directions on your phone twelve times as you sprint from place to place, and you still almost get it wrong. But the 54 is just coming into view as you skid up to the crowd of people waiting for it.
Wait. Is this the right 54? Shit.
"Hey," you pant out. "Is this the 54 south?"
No one seems to hear your words over your breath, so you take a deep lungful to try again. But as you open your mouth your eyes lite on another guy standing in the crowd. He's peering at the bus, standing on his tiptoes to look over the shoulders of the crowd in front of him. But that's not what gets your attention.
The important part is what he's carrying; a backpack, almost identical to yours, and a pair of shiny black boots tied together and swung over his other shoulder. And… you squint slightly through the midday glare- yes. A wrestling shirt.
You elbow your way through the crowd until you're next to the guy. From your new position you can see the front; a man being stretched over what looks like a medieval torture rack. You were right.
A tap to the guy's shoulder gets his attention. He's a small guy with shoulder-length hair and a small goatee. He can't be more than two years older than you. You jerk your head at the bus. "Horizon?"
He seems to sag. "Oh thank god. I wasn't sure this was the right bus."
You both chuckle. He looks you up and down, and you can almost feel him going through the same checklist that you did. Boots. Backpack. T-Shirt. Though yours isn't for 'Memphis Stretcher' Drake Croft like his, it's still a recognizable logo; the twisted S of the Sacrifice Kid.
Wait. Is it a bad move to wear a wrestling shirt to wrestling school? Is that like wearing a band's shirt to it's concert? Fuck. You don't want to make a bad impression on the teacher and-
"Hey." The other guy says. "You in there?" You come out of your worry to notice he's sticking a hand out. You shake your head and chuckle.
"Sorry. Mind was a million miles away for a sec." you answer, taking the handshake. "Tommy Martin."
"Jack Silvia." He replies before his gaze focuses again on your shirt. "Freaking out about wearing a wrestling shirt?"
You laugh again. "Was it that obvious?"
"Nah," he answers. "I just had that one a few minutes ago. Then you showed up. One guy doing it's a bad move. Two is the start of a trend, you know?"
You think you could get to like Jack.
The seats on the bus are even less comfortable than the seats on the plane, and you don't get any little peanuts either. But you barely notice. You're so happy to be on your way and have someone else to talk to that the miles and the two-hour bus ride fly by.
You and Jack trade fan stories the entire way. He was in the crowd at the last XPC show; Jerry Blackwell actually landed on him after a splash. You don't have anything that good, but you can at least talk about how you met both Patriots of Pain when they were stopping by the bar your Dad owned. Nice guys! Signed your PoP shirt, and didn't even threaten to make you eat the constitution once!
Before you know it, you're getting off the bus and walking through suburban Baltimore. It's only a few blocks from the stop that you find your destination. At least, you hope it's your destination. The address matches, but this place doesn't look anything like any wrestling school you've ever heard of.
You've always pictured wrestling school as one of two, very different things. It would either be some grungy hole in the wall where hardened veterans would bark orders and yell things about 'Pain is just weakness leaving the body!', or it would be some kind of next-level sports training facility, all gleaming metal with banners of past trainees on the wall. Neither of those two is what's in front of you.
Instead, you and Jack stand in front of what looks like a very nice, well-apportioned, two-story home. The red paint on the walls isn't even chipping or flaking. It has an honest-to-god white picket fence with dog toys strewn all over the yard.
You trade a look with Jack. "This is the place?" you ask incredulously.
He glances down at the address he has scribbled on a piece of paper. "Yeah. 1134 60th Street. This is the place."
Neither of you takes a step forward. "Are you sure this is the place?" he asks.
You check the address on your phone. "Yeah. 1134 60th Street. This is the place."
You might continue in a loop for few more times, but a shrill voice interrupts you. A little girl is standing in the now open doorway. She can't be out of elementary school, but her voice carries and pierces as well as anyone's you've ever heard. "Hey! You Martin and Silvia?!" she bellows.
Jack hesitantly nods. The girl snorts in irritation. "Then get in here before you're late!"
You do as you're told and walk through the gate and into the house, narrowly avoiding a chew toy that some dog left in the middle of the walk. The inside of the house is just as nice as the outside. Hardwood floors, tasteful furnishings. A TV plays an episode of Spongebob in the background. The girl heads back to it after she shuts the door behind you.
A few things stand out as you look around. The walls don't have paintings on them, or art like you would expect. Instead there are framed wrestling posters, all WPW shows. Some are local cards. Here and there are various pieces of memorabilia. A signed poster there. A commemorative chair here. Over the mantle you see a trophy. You're not close enough to make it out, but you're pretty sure from the shape that it's the Femme Fatale Cup. Makes sense; Daybreak won that back in 1999.
The girl speaks up again from the living room. "Don't just stand there! You want the basement!" Obediently, you find the stairs and head down.
Now this is more like what you expected!
The basement is a large one, easily as big as the entire floor above. It's dominated by the full-sized ring set up in the middle of it, illuminated by industrial grade metal lamps. More posters hang on the wall, and various pieces of gym equipment decorate the far side opposite the stairs.
You're not alone. A quick headcount reveals at least another two-dozen people. Most of them are dressed like you and Jack. Some are wearing nice shirts and ties. One guy looks like he just threw on whatever shirt was on the floor. One of the girls is dressed in what looks like a legitimate Catholic Schoolgirl outfit.
All of them are in line outside a closed door. You and Jack take your places at the end. No one is speaking. Whatever's going on, the nerves everyone else is feeling are infectious. You don't say a word. Slowly, the line creeps forward. Eventually it's your turn.
The room is a doctor's office of all things. Not a very well equipped one, but a doctor's office nonetheless, complete with bench, a computer, some anatomy charts, and those bottles that are filled with tongue depressors and cotton balls that you've never seen a doctor actually use.
It also is complete with a doctor. He looks you up and down. "You Silvia or Martin?" he asks. After you answer, he nods and makes a note on his clipboard. "You missed the earlier speech so I'll give you the highlights."
"Before any training is done, Lucy wants to know that you all can take it. So she's hired me to give you all a physical. Nothing in depth, just a general workup. If your body can take training, you're good. If not, half of your tuition will be refunded and out the door you go. Am I forgetting anything?" He pauses. "Oh, right. I'm Doctor Smalley. You ready to do this?"
Your mind buzzes with a thousand questions. Why only half your tuition? What would you have to do to fail a physical? And who's Lucy? Wait, that's gotta be Daybreak.
The rest of the questions don't matter. You're not failing, so you don't need to worry about them. You give Doctor Smalley a nod. "Yeah. Let's do this."
What does the physical reveal?
Choose your body type!
[] You are small by anyone's standards. If you were any shorter, you wouldn't have to worry about wrestling training, because you'd get in as a mini. (Athleticism and Cardio start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Power is capped at Impressive.)
[] You aren't quite a little person, but you're smaller than the average person. You look up to meet most people's eyes. (Athleticism and Resilience start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Toughness is capped at Impressive.)
[] You're a normal-sized guy. Nothing really special about your body either way. (Toughness and Resilience start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. No skills are capped.)
[] You're bigger than average. Most people are a head shorter than you, and you've gotten accustomed to being the guy people call when they need help moving. (Toughness and Cardio start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Resilience is capped at Impressive.)
[] You're huge. No way around it. You tower over nine out of every ten people you meet. The few times you've had to fight, you've been able to literally hold them at arm's reach, like an old Three Stooges show. (Power and Toughness start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Athleticism is capped at Impressive)
Maybe you should've sprang for business seating.
But no. No. You didn't have the money for it. Not if you wanted to have any savings left. Mom and Dad had offered to pay for the upgrade; hell, they offered to pay for the flight to Maryland in full. They hadn't finished the offer before you'd declined, forcefully.
You don't have much in this world, but you've got your pride.
Besides, taking their money for the flight, for Horizon Academy, or even for these shiny new wrestling boots you've got slung over your shoulder would have felt just wrong. This is your decision, your dream. Mom and Dad have helped you for twenty-two years. You want to do this on your own.
Even if it means you've got to knuckle your back after flying coach. At least you're away from the terrible mother and her screaming child. Would it have killed her to stop the brat from sprinting up and down the aisles?
No matter. The ordeal is over now. Once you have your back in some semblance of order, you head towards the sliding glass doors that lead out of the Baltimore International Airport. No need to got to baggage claim; all you need is in the bag over your shoulder.
It takes longer than it should for you to find the right bus stop. You check the directions on your phone twelve times as you sprint from place to place, and you still almost get it wrong. But the 54 is just coming into view as you skid up to the crowd of people waiting for it.
Wait. Is this the right 54? Shit.
"Hey," you pant out. "Is this the 54 south?"
No one seems to hear your words over your breath, so you take a deep lungful to try again. But as you open your mouth your eyes lite on another guy standing in the crowd. He's peering at the bus, standing on his tiptoes to look over the shoulders of the crowd in front of him. But that's not what gets your attention.
The important part is what he's carrying; a backpack, almost identical to yours, and a pair of shiny black boots tied together and swung over his other shoulder. And… you squint slightly through the midday glare- yes. A wrestling shirt.
You elbow your way through the crowd until you're next to the guy. From your new position you can see the front; a man being stretched over what looks like a medieval torture rack. You were right.
A tap to the guy's shoulder gets his attention. He's a small guy with shoulder-length hair and a small goatee. He can't be more than two years older than you. You jerk your head at the bus. "Horizon?"
He seems to sag. "Oh thank god. I wasn't sure this was the right bus."
You both chuckle. He looks you up and down, and you can almost feel him going through the same checklist that you did. Boots. Backpack. T-Shirt. Though yours isn't for 'Memphis Stretcher' Drake Croft like his, it's still a recognizable logo; the twisted S of the Sacrifice Kid.
Wait. Is it a bad move to wear a wrestling shirt to wrestling school? Is that like wearing a band's shirt to it's concert? Fuck. You don't want to make a bad impression on the teacher and-
"Hey." The other guy says. "You in there?" You come out of your worry to notice he's sticking a hand out. You shake your head and chuckle.
"Sorry. Mind was a million miles away for a sec." you answer, taking the handshake. "Tommy Martin."
"Jack Silvia." He replies before his gaze focuses again on your shirt. "Freaking out about wearing a wrestling shirt?"
You laugh again. "Was it that obvious?"
"Nah," he answers. "I just had that one a few minutes ago. Then you showed up. One guy doing it's a bad move. Two is the start of a trend, you know?"
You think you could get to like Jack.
The seats on the bus are even less comfortable than the seats on the plane, and you don't get any little peanuts either. But you barely notice. You're so happy to be on your way and have someone else to talk to that the miles and the two-hour bus ride fly by.
You and Jack trade fan stories the entire way. He was in the crowd at the last XPC show; Jerry Blackwell actually landed on him after a splash. You don't have anything that good, but you can at least talk about how you met both Patriots of Pain when they were stopping by the bar your Dad owned. Nice guys! Signed your PoP shirt, and didn't even threaten to make you eat the constitution once!
Before you know it, you're getting off the bus and walking through suburban Baltimore. It's only a few blocks from the stop that you find your destination. At least, you hope it's your destination. The address matches, but this place doesn't look anything like any wrestling school you've ever heard of.
You've always pictured wrestling school as one of two, very different things. It would either be some grungy hole in the wall where hardened veterans would bark orders and yell things about 'Pain is just weakness leaving the body!', or it would be some kind of next-level sports training facility, all gleaming metal with banners of past trainees on the wall. Neither of those two is what's in front of you.
Instead, you and Jack stand in front of what looks like a very nice, well-apportioned, two-story home. The red paint on the walls isn't even chipping or flaking. It has an honest-to-god white picket fence with dog toys strewn all over the yard.
You trade a look with Jack. "This is the place?" you ask incredulously.
He glances down at the address he has scribbled on a piece of paper. "Yeah. 1134 60th Street. This is the place."
Neither of you takes a step forward. "Are you sure this is the place?" he asks.
You check the address on your phone. "Yeah. 1134 60th Street. This is the place."
You might continue in a loop for few more times, but a shrill voice interrupts you. A little girl is standing in the now open doorway. She can't be out of elementary school, but her voice carries and pierces as well as anyone's you've ever heard. "Hey! You Martin and Silvia?!" she bellows.
Jack hesitantly nods. The girl snorts in irritation. "Then get in here before you're late!"
You do as you're told and walk through the gate and into the house, narrowly avoiding a chew toy that some dog left in the middle of the walk. The inside of the house is just as nice as the outside. Hardwood floors, tasteful furnishings. A TV plays an episode of Spongebob in the background. The girl heads back to it after she shuts the door behind you.
A few things stand out as you look around. The walls don't have paintings on them, or art like you would expect. Instead there are framed wrestling posters, all WPW shows. Some are local cards. Here and there are various pieces of memorabilia. A signed poster there. A commemorative chair here. Over the mantle you see a trophy. You're not close enough to make it out, but you're pretty sure from the shape that it's the Femme Fatale Cup. Makes sense; Daybreak won that back in 1999.
The girl speaks up again from the living room. "Don't just stand there! You want the basement!" Obediently, you find the stairs and head down.
Now this is more like what you expected!
The basement is a large one, easily as big as the entire floor above. It's dominated by the full-sized ring set up in the middle of it, illuminated by industrial grade metal lamps. More posters hang on the wall, and various pieces of gym equipment decorate the far side opposite the stairs.
You're not alone. A quick headcount reveals at least another two-dozen people. Most of them are dressed like you and Jack. Some are wearing nice shirts and ties. One guy looks like he just threw on whatever shirt was on the floor. One of the girls is dressed in what looks like a legitimate Catholic Schoolgirl outfit.
All of them are in line outside a closed door. You and Jack take your places at the end. No one is speaking. Whatever's going on, the nerves everyone else is feeling are infectious. You don't say a word. Slowly, the line creeps forward. Eventually it's your turn.
The room is a doctor's office of all things. Not a very well equipped one, but a doctor's office nonetheless, complete with bench, a computer, some anatomy charts, and those bottles that are filled with tongue depressors and cotton balls that you've never seen a doctor actually use.
It also is complete with a doctor. He looks you up and down. "You Silvia or Martin?" he asks. After you answer, he nods and makes a note on his clipboard. "You missed the earlier speech so I'll give you the highlights."
"Before any training is done, Lucy wants to know that you all can take it. So she's hired me to give you all a physical. Nothing in depth, just a general workup. If your body can take training, you're good. If not, half of your tuition will be refunded and out the door you go. Am I forgetting anything?" He pauses. "Oh, right. I'm Doctor Smalley. You ready to do this?"
Your mind buzzes with a thousand questions. Why only half your tuition? What would you have to do to fail a physical? And who's Lucy? Wait, that's gotta be Daybreak.
The rest of the questions don't matter. You're not failing, so you don't need to worry about them. You give Doctor Smalley a nod. "Yeah. Let's do this."
What does the physical reveal?
Choose your body type!
[] You are small by anyone's standards. If you were any shorter, you wouldn't have to worry about wrestling training, because you'd get in as a mini. (Athleticism and Cardio start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Power is capped at Impressive.)
[] You aren't quite a little person, but you're smaller than the average person. You look up to meet most people's eyes. (Athleticism and Resilience start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Toughness is capped at Impressive.)
[] You're a normal-sized guy. Nothing really special about your body either way. (Toughness and Resilience start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. No skills are capped.)
[] You're bigger than average. Most people are a head shorter than you, and you've gotten accustomed to being the guy people call when they need help moving. (Toughness and Cardio start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Resilience is capped at Impressive.)
[] You're huge. No way around it. You tower over nine out of every ten people you meet. The few times you've had to fight, you've been able to literally hold them at arm's reach, like an old Three Stooges show. (Power and Toughness start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Athleticism is capped at Impressive)
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3. Learning the Ropes
Vesvius
The Wicked God
[X] You're a normal-sized guy. Nothing really special about your body either way. (Toughness and Resilience start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. No skills are capped.)
No. of Votes: 10
[X] You're bigger than average. Most people are a head shorter than you, and you've gotten accustomed to being the guy people call when they need help moving. (Toughness and Cardio start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Resilience is capped at Impressive.)
No. of Votes: 9
[X] You're huge. No way around it. You tower over nine out of every ten people you meet. The few times you've had to fight, you've been able to literally hold them at arm's reach, like an old Three Stooges show. (Power and Toughness start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Athleticism is capped at Impressive)
No. of Votes: 2
[X] You aren't quite a little person, but you're smaller than the average person. You look up to meet most people's eyes. (Athleticism and Resilience start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Toughness is capped at Impressive.)
No. of Votes: 1
Total No. of Voters: 22
No. of Votes: 10
[X] You're bigger than average. Most people are a head shorter than you, and you've gotten accustomed to being the guy people call when they need help moving. (Toughness and Cardio start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Resilience is capped at Impressive.)
No. of Votes: 9
[X] You're huge. No way around it. You tower over nine out of every ten people you meet. The few times you've had to fight, you've been able to literally hold them at arm's reach, like an old Three Stooges show. (Power and Toughness start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Athleticism is capped at Impressive)
No. of Votes: 2
[X] You aren't quite a little person, but you're smaller than the average person. You look up to meet most people's eyes. (Athleticism and Resilience start at Impressive. All other Physical Stats start at Disappointing. Toughness is capped at Impressive.)
No. of Votes: 1
Total No. of Voters: 22
Let no one say you aren't willing to make sacrifices for your dreams.
You leave Doctor Smalley's office already sore. The doctor poked and prodded you in every way possible. But you also leave it with a clean bill of health. There's nothing stopping you from taking part in training. You leave with a smile on your face; one that Jack wears as well, when he leaves the Doctor's office fifteen minutes later.
The two of you join the rest of your class without further delay. It doesn't like like you've missed anything; they're all still standing in a loose clump, milling around and waiting. Some small conversations have popped up here and there.
"-the kids thought this would just be the best present-"
"-waiting for me after training and-"
"-long is she going to keep us waiting here anyway-"
Nothing really important. But as you take a look at the crowd you're joining, you make a quick headcount. With you and Jack, there's seventeen people here. Not many failed the physical. But still, it's a smaller crowd than was waiting outside Doctor Smalley's office.
But while the crowd has definitely shrunk, it hasn't lost any of it's diversity. You guess it's true that wrestling attracts all kinds. You see an older man with a comb-over, a young girl in a schoolgirl's outfit, one woman in what looks like military-issued workout clothes, a huge man who's wider then he is tall and is wearing an eye patch of all things, an angry looking guy who looks barely old enough to shave punching the keys on his blackberry with entirely too much force… and that's just on first glance.
You don't have more time for observation though. The door upstairs slams open and footsteps begin to come down the steps. The conversations die down like they've been smothered in their sleep. All of you watch the stairs eagerly.
What comes down is… a perfectly normal woman.
At least, she looks normal. Not unlike any dozen soccer moms you rang up when you worked at Acme. No huge scars, no dramatic outfit, no ostentatious jewelry- well, except for an enormous wedding band.
She looks up from the stairs, meeting your gaze for the first time- and you realize you're very wrong. This woman is not normal. No one whose normal has a look in their eye quite like that.
Your spine stiffens instinctively as the entire way she moves changes. She doesn't so much walk towards you all as stalk, like a great hunting cat. As she gets closer you can pick out details you couldn't see- small gashes around her hairline, a heavily damaged ear almost perfectly hidden by her trendy haircut, a hitch in her step from-
You bite your tongue before you can blurt out the question. It'd be a damn stupid move to start asking about old injuries. Besides, you think you know where that came from. WPW Living Hell 2003- Daybreak vs. SisTaur. The lady under the bull gimmick had been green and had fallen the wrong way, right onto Daybreak's leg at just the wrong angle.
Later on it came out that Daybreak needed surgery to fix a broken ankle. Which was news to you- she finished the match.
Her slight injury doesn't hobbler her any as she walks up the steps at the side of the ring and vaults over the top rope. Daybreak turns around and puts her fingers to her lips, letting out a piercing whistle. The last echoes of the shrill noise haven't faded before she's ordering everyone to form a line.
Once you have, she hops up on the top rope, sitting on the middle of it as easily as you say on that bus seat. "Good afternoon, everyone." She greets you all. And then she waits. You're one of the only ones with manners, because you're one of the only ones to answer her in kind. Daybreak favors you with a nod.
"Welcome," she continues, "To my nineteenth training class. You've chosen to come to me to learn the art that is Professional Wrestling. For that, I'm humbled and honored." Despite her words, her tone sounds just a little bored. As if she's said this so many times that the words have lost their meaning.
"Training will be your full time job for the next twelve weeks. Every morning you will come here at eight o'clock sharp. We will do in-ring work and drills until noon. Lunch is next, and after that some of you will go back to it with my assistant. You'll meet him tomorrow. The rest of you will be with me, and we'll go over character work until five. This'll be your schedule six days a week, with Sunday off. Skip any other day, and you'd better have a damn good reason. If you've got the sniffles, I don't care. Suck it up and get in here. You're paying for my time- use it or lose it."
"From five on, your time is your own. You can spend it here, working, as long as you keep it quiet." She leans forward, staring at you all intently one by one. "If you disturb my daughter in any way, your extra training privileges will be revoked."
Whatever she sees in your eyes must satisfy her. She leans back and stretches. "Other then that, I don't care what you do. Hang out at the motel- I'll give you your keys at the end of training today. Go see the sights of our scenic town." The last is delivered with a wry twist to her lips. "There's a new Zoo downtown. Go see the Giraffes. They're great."
"But one more thing- I'm under no illusions how successful you all will be here, so I won't let you be under any either. Most of you? Not gonna make it."
You could hear a pin drop in the silence. "Some of you aren't going to have the will for the physical part of the business. You'll go first." Daybreak continues. "Some are here because they just want to be rich and famous- there's always a couple. You'll be the next to go when you figure out how hard this all is. I'd say maybe half of you will pass, at best. And of those half, one, maybe two'll be able to make a living at it."
"If you want out, fine. No refunds though." Daybreak hops down, landing in the ring. "Now. With the formalities out of the way, is everyone changed? Good."
"Time for lesson one: the ropes."
***
Running the ropes is the hardest thing you've ever had to do in your life.
You've seen in so many times you didn't even register it anymore. A guy runs across the ring, pivots, bounces off the ring ropes and runs back the other way. Usually there's a guy in the middle of his path on his way back, and so there's some kind of exchange there. That's the part that always got your attention, not the goddamn ropes.
As it turns out, you were ignoring a very key part to this whole thing. Running the ropes is hard as fuck. You've got to cross the ring in the smallest number of steps possible, which makes you raise your legs higher than you're used to and changes absolutely everything about how you move. The pivot point has to be picked just so- if you choose wrong, you can't lean and hit the ropes and make it look natural.
And the ropes themselves? You're not sure why you ever thought hitting a braided steel cord covered in rubber might be simple. You've only been at this for a couple hours and already your back is covered with crisscrossing bruises and welts. There's got to be a trick to it or every wrestler's back would look like it was pressed against a chain link fence after every match. Maybe something about how you're shifting your weight. Whatever it is, it's beyond you right now.
Your only consolation is that you're not the worst in the class. Not by a long shot. You're probably in the top five actually. You're at least making contact with the ropes most of the time. Half the people pivot far too soon and have to stretch their back to make the barest contact with the cables. Only you, Jack, two of the girls, and surprisingly a man who has to be in his mid forties are as far along as you.
But the others have plenty of time to pick it up. You run the ropes for hours, stopping only for water. You manage to keep the drink down- one of the girls isn't that lucky. By the time Daybreak calls for a stop you want to drop into a puddle of your own sweat and fall asleep right there in the ring. Your hurt in strange new ways, your lungs burn and your heart feels like it's going to beat out of your chest.
You've never been happier.
So after lunch- sandwiches Daybreak provided in a brown paper bag- when she calls for you all to gather behind the ring, you spring to your feet. You wobble a bit once you're there, but you spring, eager to get back to it.
Daybreak has a TV set up behind the ring with twenty folding chairs. You sit down right in front of the monitor as you fight to keep the enormous grin off of your face. Your teacher studies you with an appraising look, one eyebrow raised.
She snorts out a chuckle. "Heh. A fanatic. Been a while."
You look up at her, uncomprehending. Other people aren't as fucking psyched for this?! What's wrong with them?
"Alright then." She says, a note of actual humor in her voice. But she doesn't say anything else until the rest of the class drags themselves over and drops into the provided chairs.
"You've worked your body for the day." She begins. "Not enough, and you'll work twice as hard tomorrow, but enough for right now. So now we work the mind."
Daybreak pulls out a laptop and connects it to the monitor. "How many of you have studied tape before?"
Everyone mutters a positive but she shakes her head, scowling. "Not watched matches. Not seen cool moves. How many of you have studied something over and over again, dissecting it move by move, until you dream about it? How many of you watch one move one hundred times trying to figure out exactly how they did it?"
You've never gone that far in depth. There're some matches you've seen so many times you can describe them move by move, but you've never dissected one before like she's describing. To do that would ruin the magic somehow. It's a thing you've consciously avoided- something you'll have to get used to now.
Almost everyone is as silent as you are. Only one girl, who's sitting back and to the right of you, speaks up. "I have." You glance over at her. That's one you wouldn't have picked as the studying kind. She looks more like she'd be at home in a rave or in a tattoo parlor, not intently watching tape. Just goes to show that you can never judge by appearances.
Daybreak doesn't look surprised, but she doesn't really address it either. "Well, then for the rest of you, this is going to be a learning experience. We're going to watch a match. After that, you're going to tell me what you see. I'll tell you what I see. If you have any questions, you'll ask them. Then we'll watch the same match again. And again. And again. Rinse. Repeat."
The room is silent as the students digest what she says. The older man speaks up, raising his hand like he's back in grade school. "What matches will we watch?"
Your teacher shrugs. "A little of everything. I've got every WPW show here, every EPC show, every UWC show ever televised. I've got some of the old carney stuff, Lucha from down south, Japanese matches- both serious and really fucked up comedy. Pretty much whatever you can think of, I've got it."
"I'll pick most of what we watch- but not all of it. You guys can pick your favorites too." She rubs her hands together eagerly. "I can't wait to ruin your enjoyment of them."
Daybreak points at you. "Alright. Eager. You're up."
Huh?
"Early bird get the worm." She says, not unkindly. "And you're the first one over here today. You get first pick."
Hm. What match do you want to dissect with Daybreak first?
[] Manmonster vs. Slick Willy from UWC: Rumble in the Rio. It was nothing more than a brawl; you saw dozens of just like it. But no two men punching each other in the face have gotten quite as huge a reaction as these two did. (Gain trait Brawling Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Brute Gimmicks)
[] Tim 'Tack' Sharp vs. Jaeger Master from EPC: Unfortunate. It was one of the bloodiest hardcore matches you've ever seen, and you've always been curious how they managed to get away from it with no lasting injuries. (Gain trait 'Hardcore Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Crazy Gimmicks)
[] Rex Chamberlain vs. Donny Brooke from old Sporting World tapes. Some people might find it boring, but watching these two technical master's trade holds speaks to something deep down inside of you. (Gain trait Mat Wrestling Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Legitimate Gimmicks)
[] Kalyan 'Canyon' Evans vs. 'The Persian Punisher' Xerxes Attar from SKYLINE. It's rare, but it's great; these two swapped submissions and chained them together like nothing you've ever seen. (Gain trait 'Submission Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Cocky Gimmicks)
[] Arya London vs. Ruth 'Less' Ferrari from NLW: Only One. Not only one of the best women's matches you've ever seen, one of the best matches period you've ever seen. These two took to the air in ways you never thought possible and made it look amazing. (Gain trait 'Aerial Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Cool Gimmicks)
[] 'The Sundance Angel' Magnus Serafin vs. Daybreak from SUP: Speeding Bullet. Why not pick out one of your new teachers? Not just because she's here and can give you indepth analysis on this like nothing else, but because it stands out in your mind like few things have done. Not only was it one of the great intergender matches, it was also just… just unique. (Gain trait 'Showmanship Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Weird Gimmicks)
4. The Daily Grind
Vesvius
The Wicked God
Vote Tally : Original - Ten Pounds of Gold: A Pro Wrestling Quest | Page 4 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.7.5
[X] Arya London vs. Ruth 'Less' Ferrari from NLW: Only One. Not only one of the best women's matches you've ever seen, one of the best matches period you've ever seen. These two took to the air in ways you never thought possible and made it look amazing. (Gain trait 'Aerial Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Cool Gimmicks)
No. of Votes: 11
[X] 'The Sundance Angel' Magnus Serafin vs. Daybreak from SUP: Speeding Bullet. Why not pick out one of your new teachers? Not just because she's here and can give you indepth analysis on this like nothing else, but because it stands out in your mind like few things have done. Not only was it one of the great intergender matches, it was also just… just unique. (Gain trait 'Showmanship Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Weird Gimmicks)
No. of Votes: 10
[X] Manmonster vs. Slick Willy from UWC: Rumble in the Rio. It was nothing more than a brawl; you saw dozens of just like it. But no two men punching each other in the face have gotten quite as huge a reaction as these two did. (Gain trait Brawling Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Brute Gimmicks)
No. of Votes: 2
[X] Tim 'Tack' Sharp vs. Jaeger Master from EPC: Unfortunate. It was one of the bloodiest hardcore matches you've ever seen, and you've always been curious how they managed to get away from it with no lasting injuries. (Gain trait 'Hardcore Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Crazy Gimmicks)
No. of Votes: 2
[X] Kalyan 'Canyon' Evans vs. 'The Persian Punisher' Xerxes Attar from SKYLINE. It's rare, but it's great; these two swapped submissions and chained them together like nothing you've ever seen. (Gain trait 'Submission Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Cocky Gimmicks)
No. of Votes: 2
Total No. of Voters: 27
##### NetTally 1.7.5
[X] Arya London vs. Ruth 'Less' Ferrari from NLW: Only One. Not only one of the best women's matches you've ever seen, one of the best matches period you've ever seen. These two took to the air in ways you never thought possible and made it look amazing. (Gain trait 'Aerial Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Cool Gimmicks)
No. of Votes: 11
[X] 'The Sundance Angel' Magnus Serafin vs. Daybreak from SUP: Speeding Bullet. Why not pick out one of your new teachers? Not just because she's here and can give you indepth analysis on this like nothing else, but because it stands out in your mind like few things have done. Not only was it one of the great intergender matches, it was also just… just unique. (Gain trait 'Showmanship Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Weird Gimmicks)
No. of Votes: 10
[X] Manmonster vs. Slick Willy from UWC: Rumble in the Rio. It was nothing more than a brawl; you saw dozens of just like it. But no two men punching each other in the face have gotten quite as huge a reaction as these two did. (Gain trait Brawling Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Brute Gimmicks)
No. of Votes: 2
[X] Tim 'Tack' Sharp vs. Jaeger Master from EPC: Unfortunate. It was one of the bloodiest hardcore matches you've ever seen, and you've always been curious how they managed to get away from it with no lasting injuries. (Gain trait 'Hardcore Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Crazy Gimmicks)
No. of Votes: 2
[X] Kalyan 'Canyon' Evans vs. 'The Persian Punisher' Xerxes Attar from SKYLINE. It's rare, but it's great; these two swapped submissions and chained them together like nothing you've ever seen. (Gain trait 'Submission Enthusiast', 1d50XP for Cocky Gimmicks)
No. of Votes: 2
Total No. of Voters: 27
"Do you have NLW?" you ask.
"What part of 'I've got everything' do you have trouble understanding?"
You let her tone roll off your back; if you flinch every time she sounded annoyed you'll probably never stop. Instead you nod once in acceptance. "The December '06 show," you say, wracking your memory. "The semi-main event. London vs. Ferrari."
Daybreak quirks one eyebrow but doesn't comment on your choice. She just goes over to the computer and pulls up the match in question. With a few clicks it's on the screen.
You know you're supposed to be studying this. Probably taking notes. But you can't help it. As the opening strains of Arya London's music blast out over the speakers, you're absorbed in the match. You've seen this one seventeen minute match so many times that you know every flip, every kick, every counter, every false finish by heart. It doesn't matter; you still watch it with wide eyes and eager anticipation, just like the first time.
The match is over before too long. Ferrari dodges London's finish, the top-rope somersault leg drop, and hooks Arya in a tight stretch muffler, bending the already weakened leg over her head. You're not the only one who winces as the bigger, stronger woman begins to stomp on the back of Arya's head. How can you possibly pull stomps like that? You really hope they were faked- otherwise you're not sure how London didn't wind up with an enormous concussion.
The image pauses right as the referee raises Ferrari's hand. Silence rules the basement for a few moments as you calm back down, as everyone who hasn't seen this match digests it for the first time. Daybreak breaks the lull by clearing her throat. "Alrighty then kiddies. Talk to me."
Conversation breaks out. You pull yourself from your haze and start chiming in. Daybreak answers all the questions you have and then rewinds the match. This time, as it goes, she pauses it every few moments, pointing something out that you should take note of. It's things you've never really paid attention to; where London's hands are when Ferrari powerbombs her, how she's carrying herself at all times, the way her body language lets the crowd know what's coming next even if they don't fully know it.
More questions are asked, but the voices chiming in are fewer. You're speaking up regularly, as often as you have questions. Jack has a whole bunch to ask as well; no real surprise there. And one of the girls is very curious about how Ferrari managed to train her flexibility- the one who's studied tape before. The three of you are the most vocal.
A few others speak up. The older man with the comb over. A woman with a hard, flat face and corded muscles. A younger kid with scars on his arms and shiny burn marks on his shoulders. But aside from them, the rest of your sixteen-strong class sits in utter silence as the discussion gets more and more detailed.
You sneak a look at the guy next to you. He's a tall, powerfully built man who looks like his 'save the whales' T-Shirt was literally painted on. He definitely looks like a more natural fit for the ring then you do- except his face is almost completely glazed over. You mentally shrug. His loss.
Discussion about the London/Ferrari match wraps up and Daybreak picks someone else to choose the next match, a redhead in combat fatigues. After a moment's pause, she picks the 'Sensational Struggle' between Bull Wrecker and 'The Irish Curse' Riley Flanagan. A famous match that- one of the best big brawls that the UWC ever put on.
You watch, discuss, and repeat, this time with the punk rock Barbie behind you picking out Oscar Meyer vs. Dreadnought Dayne from last year's SKYLINE season finale. You've never seen this one, but you've heard of it. Hot Dog Vendor vs. Old Timey Sea Captain isn't a kind of match you see every day. Daybreak has a lot more to talk about with this one, mostly focusing on comedic timing.
Over and over, the cycle repeats itself. Some of the silent students come out of their shell enough to ask for favorite matches. Jack gets to pick towards the end and rambles on for a few minutes about the glory of Sergeant Franklin vs. Kyle Wilkinson from an old PWA show. You watch it with a keen eye, but can't really find what he's gushing about. The moves aren't as crisp as you're used to, and they don't appear to be putting any emotion into anything they do. The crowd liked it though, so you guess that's what matters.
Finally Daybreak calls an end to the tape watching for the day. You're sent on your way with keys to a motel that a friend of hers owns and a stern warning to be on time tomorrow or don't show up at all. The class staggers from the nice suburban home like a horde of zombies, walking the couple miles to the rooms in a daze.
You don't remember making it to the motel, picking out a room, or finding the bed. But when your phone wakes you up the next morning with a blaring alarm, you're in a bed in the motel, so you must have made it.
It feels like you got absolutely no rest. If you thought your back hurt yesterday, you had no idea how it'd feel after your muscles had tightened up again. Every motion sends a fresh wave of pain flowing through your body.
You can't rest anymore though. There's no time. You pull yourself from the strong grip of the motel mattress and force yourself into the shower. After a quick meal of old cereal and a few hard boiled eggs and a few curses about how you need to go to the grocery store, you're ready to go. You hobble out of your room and begin the job back to Daybreak's house.
It's half past seven when you get there. Should you just head in? Or did she want you to be there at eight on the dot? Fuck. You don't want to stand around and look like a jackass, so you head up to the door and ring the bell.
The little girl open the door again. She looks you up and down with a judging look just like her mother's. "Awww." She groans out.
Huh? Did you do something wrong?
She turns around and yells in the house. "It's Martin!"
Daybreak's laugh cuts through the morning stillness. "Told you!"
The girl glares at you. "Thanks." she spits out before she runs out the front door. You watch her go, nonplussed. You feel like you're missing something.
Daybreak is still chuckling as you walk down to the ring. "Good stuff, Eager." she laughs. "I knew you had it in you."
"Umm…" is your answer. "I'm… glad to help?"
That just sets off another wave of chuckles. "She bet me that Gray'd be the first one here. You just won me a month of her getting the trash without whining!"
"Oh." is all you can say. Daybreak doesn't reply to that. She just jerks her head at the ring. You hop up into the squared circle and obligingly start running the ropes again. The rest of the class files in over the next half hour and they all join you in hitting the cables.
The second the clock strikes eight, Daybreak lets out a whistle. "Everyone here? Good! Because we're starting something new!"
A hesitant voice interrupts her. "Excuse me, ma'am? We're not all here." Sure enough, another headcount shows that you're one man down; the bald guy with the eye patch.
Daybreak shakes her head. "Yes, you all are here." she stresses. The message sinks in loud and clear. You've already had your first drop out.
You don't have long to linger on it- Daybreak works you too hard to give you spare time for thinking. After an hour on the ropes, she introduces you all to headgear and then to flat-back bumping. After you've all fallen enough for her satisfaction, it's back to the ropes. And then more bumping. And then running until she whistles, on which you immediately drop and bump before getting back to wrestling.
By the lunch break you feel like you've been in an actual fight with two small cars. The pain you feel makes yesterday's bruises feel like nothing. You eat by yourself, too focused on eating the sandwich in front of you without letting it fall from your hands to worry about talking.
The day goes on, only with more tape watching thrown into the mix. Daybreak stays with the TV, dissecting matches with half the class. The rest stay in the ring with her assistant, a stringy local wrestler who just introduces himself as Brad, and keep bumping and running. And finally, finally, 5 o'clock rolls around.
You stay seated as Daybreak calls an end to the day's session, gathering yourself. A tap on your shoulder breaks you out of your tired haze. "Hey." a voice says. "You in there?"
You look up to see one of your fellow students standing next to you. She's a taller woman with darker skin and Native American features. You've noticed her before- mainly because she fell out of the ring early in today's rope running and had to be caught by Brad. "Hey," you greet her. "Sorry. Just… just tired."
She lets out a snort of amusement. "Yeah. I know the feeling. I'm Naomi by the way."
"Tommy."
Naomi doesn't beat around the bush. "We're getting a group together to hit the bar. You want in?"
"We?"
She jerks her head back to the stairs where a small group has formed up. "Just a few of us students. Brad told us about this place a few blocks from the motel. I figure it might be a good idea to just relax away from all this for a couple hours. You interested?"
You could definitely go for some relaxation. Then again, you could also just go for some sleep about now. You were planning on heading back to the motel and crashing after studying a few more matches. But you don't want to just completely ignore your fellow students; hell, you don't even know most of their names.
And that's if you want to leave. Daybreak said you could work more here as long as you were quiet. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Jack getting back to the ropes and Punk Rock Barbie is settling in in front of the TV. Your body will pay for it, but you could spend more time training.
What do you do?
[] Take Naomi up on her offer. You could use a night out, and you don't want to be a ghost to your fellow students. (Benefits: Tommy gets a bit of a social life. XP rolls at the end of training are a flat d50. Tommy spends some time with Naomi, Chloe, Arthur, and Nick.)
[] Thanks but no thanks. Head on back to the hotel. You'll do some more studying and then go to sleep so you can get a fresh start tomorrow. (Benefits: Tommy's life at Horizon is work and sleep. XP rolls at the end of training are d50+25. Tommy is refreshed, but doesn't spend time with any of his fellows.)
[] You're not ready to leave just yet. You're going to spend some more time here. (Benefits: Tommy's life at Horizon is work, work, and more work, spending time with only those who do the same. XP rolls at the end of training are d50+10. Tommy spends some time with Jack and Allison. ???? other benefits.)
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Trait Gained!
Major Trait- Aerial Enthusiast: In addition to the standard bonuses (see mechanics), Tommy gets an additional 50% XP every time he works on his Aerial Skills!
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5. The Three Amigos
Vesvius
The Wicked God
Vote Tally : Original - Ten Pounds of Gold: A Pro Wrestling Quest | Page 7 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.7.5
[X] You're not ready to leave just yet. You're going to spend some more time here. (Benefits: Tommy's life at Horizon is work, work, and more work, spending time with only those who do the same. XP rolls at the end of training are d50+10. Tommy spends some time with Jack and Allison. ???? other benefits.)
No. of Votes: 15
[X] Take Naomi up on her offer. You could use a night out, and you don't want to be a ghost to your fellow students. (Benefits: Tommy gets a bit of a social life. XP rolls at the end of training are a flat d50. Tommy spends some time with Naomi, Chloe, Arthur, and Nick.)
No. of Votes: 6
[X] Thanks but no thanks. Head on back to the hotel. You'll do some more studying and then go to sleep so you can get a fresh start tomorrow. (Benefits: Tommy's life at Horizon is work and sleep. XP rolls at the end of training are d50+25. Tommy is refreshed, but doesn't spend time with any of his fellows.)
No. of Votes: 1
Total No. of Voters: 22
##### NetTally 1.7.5
[X] You're not ready to leave just yet. You're going to spend some more time here. (Benefits: Tommy's life at Horizon is work, work, and more work, spending time with only those who do the same. XP rolls at the end of training are d50+10. Tommy spends some time with Jack and Allison. ???? other benefits.)
No. of Votes: 15
[X] Take Naomi up on her offer. You could use a night out, and you don't want to be a ghost to your fellow students. (Benefits: Tommy gets a bit of a social life. XP rolls at the end of training are a flat d50. Tommy spends some time with Naomi, Chloe, Arthur, and Nick.)
No. of Votes: 6
[X] Thanks but no thanks. Head on back to the hotel. You'll do some more studying and then go to sleep so you can get a fresh start tomorrow. (Benefits: Tommy's life at Horizon is work and sleep. XP rolls at the end of training are d50+25. Tommy is refreshed, but doesn't spend time with any of his fellows.)
No. of Votes: 1
Total No. of Voters: 22
But you regretfully shake your head. You're not here to make friends. You're here to be a professional wrestler. And you need all the practice you can get; you're not a natural athlete like some of the others and you doubt you've got the incredible charisma it takes to make up for that. So you've got to work harder, be better then everyone else if you want half a chance.
"Thanks," you say, "But no thanks. I'm going to hang around here for a little while longer. Practice my bumps."
Naomi nods agreeably. "Gotcha! Well, if you change your mind, we're gonna be at Stricklands, over on 54th. See you later!" She gives you a little wave and turns around to rejoin her own group. The four of them head up the stairs without looking back.
You sigh as you watch them go. What a shame.
But you've got work to do, and you've rested for long enough.
You force yourself back to your feet and into the ring, hopping up and sliding under the lower rope. Jack offers you a hand up which you take with a grateful grin. Without a word, the two of you line up on one side of the ring, lean back against the ropes and start running.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine- Pivot! Damn. Too many steps. You need to lift your feet higher, run with a broader stride. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten- Pivot! How did you do worse that time?!
Over and over again you run back and forth from rope to rope. At least you're getting better at actually hitting the things. You may still be a bit hesitant and not be going full force at them after the pivot, but they're not smacking into your hips and kidneys anymore. So there's that. The welts and bruises on your back whine in mute complaint as you add a bit more power but you ignore them. Welts heal. You need to learn how to do this right. Got to lose that hesitation.
After another few laps, you manage to shorten your stride by one step, getting back to nine steps consistently. Not enough. You stop for a water break and watch Jack go. He's down to seven. And he's definitely running better than you are. There's a looseness to his steps that you just don't have.
Jack takes his next break after one more bounce and grabs his own water bottle. The two of you stand in companionable silence, interrupted only by the sound of whatever match Punk Rock Barbie is watching and an episode of Invader Zim drifting down the stairs from the house. You take another gulp of water and dump a little bit over your drenched face, washing away the salt and sweat.
"So where're you from?" you ask Jack. Just because you're not in a bar doesn't mean you can't get to know other students.
He points to the logo on his shirt as he drinks; three line crossed into an X divided in half. On each side are two slitted eyes. You know that one- the Cali Dragon. A big name independant guy who works up and down the western seaboard. "Los Angeles?" You guess.
Jack nods as he finishes the bottle and wipes his mouth. "Winnetka. It's a little suburb in LA. Not a bad place to be from. You?"
"Springfield." You answer before laughing at the look you get. "The one in Maine. Well- one of the ones in Maine. It's nice, out of the way, but… have you ever read a Stephen King book?"
He raises one eyebrow at that. "Does Maine have that many killer clowns?"
"Whatever number you're thinking of? It's not even close to the actual one."
You both chuckle at that. Once he stops, you have to ask a question. "Just gotta ask though. LA's a whole country away from Baltimore. There have to have been some schools closer to home than Daybreak's. Why'd you come all the way out here?"
Jack pauses in place right where he was about to start running the ropes again. "It's… well, it's a long story." He hesitates again. "Actually no, it's pretty damn straightforward."
"My Mom's always been a touch overprotective. Nothing too bad; she just wants what's best for me." he says with a shrug, leaning back against the cables. "It's just that what she thinks is best for me and what I think is best for me are two different things."
You feel yourself starting to cool down. Can't wait any more. You lean back and start running. "Not a fan of you being a wrestler?"
Your classmate leans back in the corner and watches you go. "You could say that. Wanted me to go to after a doctorate. Really wanted me to be a dentist for some reason. I was never all that clear on why."
"But no matter what I wanted to do, she was pretty set on it not being this. So she called all the decent schools in the area and paid them the cost of my tuition to not train me."
You skid to a halt in the middle of the ring. "What? Really?"
He nods. "Yeah. I got rejected from seventeen schools before one of them let it slip." He shrugs. "What're you going to do?"
From off to the side, you hear Punk Rock Barbie snort in laughter. You can't really blame her. "Wow." is all you say. "That… that's kinda… I mean, I don't think she was doing the right thing, but you've got to admire her persistence."
Jack rolls his eyes, but grins. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. But after that, I decided that I'd better get away before she decided to call all the decent schools. I could probably have found some guy and paid him fifty bucks a day for the basics, but I wanted to start somewhere with a track record. And after I bought the plane ticket, Horizon was the best one I could afford."
There's really nothing you can say to that. So you just shake your head in amazement and get back to running. Jack joins you a moment later, easily falling into step with you. "What about you? You run away from home too?"
"Nah," you puff out. The break revitalized you a bit but you've still been through over eight hours of training. It'll take more than a five minute break for you to fully recover. But still, it'd be rude not to answer him. "The parents were actually pretty understanding about this whole thing. Wanted to pay for it even, but I said no. I want to do this on my own, you know?"
Jack nods and you go on. "I'm pretty sure they think I'm going to fail; they're too nice to say it out right though. They were pretty clear that my room would still be open when I came back and they kept making sure to tell me that there's no shame in giving up." Your jaw sets as you remember the almost pitying look in Mom's eyes as they saw you off. "But that's not happening."
"Hell yeah." Jack replies. The two of you bump fists as you run. You two run the ropes for another half hour, stopping only to take bumps. After that you can't take any more physical training- your mind is willing but your body is threatening to fall apart if you hit the mat one more time. You're on your way out of the ring when Jack stops you.
"You're still taking too many steps, right?"
You nod, holding in a growl. No matter how many times you go back and forth, you can't seem to get it below nine! Jack chuckles. "It's because you're thinking about the number of steps and not your actual stride. It's making you walk with this little hopping thing that you feel should work, but just holds you back. Keep an eye on where you're placing your feet tomorrow instead of just counting steps and you should do better."
Hm. Makes sense. You nod in thanks. "You run a lot before?" You ask. It would make sense; Jack's starting to strike you as a guy with a lifestyle which can only be described as 'preppy'. It would perfectly fit him to run track in school.
Jack rubs the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorta." he says sheepishly. "Marching band."
You laugh as you hop out of the ring. Jack gets back to running as you start to cool down. Another bottle is drained- good thing Daybreak stores dozens of cases of water bottles down here. As the soreness starts to settle into your muscles you start debating what you should do next.
You could head back to the motel and catch some sleep. You're definitely tired enough to go to bed early. Or you might still be able to catch up with Naomi and them at the bar. But as you're deciding, your eyes fall on the TV, and the girl sitting in front of it.
With no real distractions coming from Daybreak or from your fellow classmates, you can take a good look at the girl you've dubbed Punk Rock Barbie for the first time since training started. You started calling her that because what stuck in your mind were her tattoos, an enormous sleeve of them running down her right arm. Now that you can make a full examination you decide that your nickname was way more accurate than you thought.
It's not just the tattoos. Almost everything about her general look and clothing is punk. Her training clothes are black with band logos covering them. Her hair is almost completely buzzed, and what little is left is topped off with purple tips. There's a small row of holes in her ear, no doubt where her earrings would go when she's not in the ring. You see another small stud in her nose, and the shapes of another tattoo curling down her back and disappearing beneath her shirt which-
And that's where the Barbie part comes in. Under the tats, the piercings, the hair, she looks incredible; honestly, she looks incredible with all that factored in too. But she- her- no. You're training to be a wrestler. You're learning from a female wrestler. You'll just admit to yourself that she's kept in very, very good shape and move on.
She's staring at the screen with the laptop on her legs, a new document opened. But she's not typing anything. Instead she's studying the screen intently. You glance at the monitor and grin. She's watching Chaos Theory vs. Kendrick Endtime and Mister Finale; one of your favorite tag matches you've ever seen on a WPW show.
But Punk Rock Barbie doesn't seem to be enjoying it all that much. Instead her face is screwing up in frustration as if she doesn't fully comprehend what she's seeing. You can't help yourself- you move over to the screens.
"Something wrong?" you ask. She glances up at you in surprise; she was so deep in thought that she didn't hear you coming.
She shakes her head. "No, no. I'll get it. Don't worry about it."
"Alright." You say with a shrug. No skin off your nose if she doesn't want help. But you sit down next to her regardless and watch the match. You've only watched singles matches with Daybreak so far. Maybe you'll get something different watching a tag match.
The tape only plays for another two or three minutes before you hear the grinding of teeth. You glance over at Punk Rock Barbie. "Seriously. Can I help?"
She groans loud enough that it causes Jack to stutter in his steps in the ring. She gestures at the screen. "It's the match! I'm just not getting it!"
"Getting it?"
She gestures at the screen impotently. "Getting it!" She repeats. "Any of it! Reviews say this is one of the highest ranked tag matches of all time! And I hear the crowd going apeshit for it, so I know people like it! But I can't figure it out!"
Punk Rock Barbie pauses it and gestures. "Like right here." The match is paused at one of the climatic moments. Sigma, the bruiser of Chaos Theory, has Mister Finale up on his shoulders and is twirling him around with an airplane spin. In a second you know that he'll release him, causing Finale to fly off of his shoulders. Finale will land on his feet and come back with a pump kick to the gut that doubles Sigma over, leaving him wide open for Endtime to nail him with a facebuster.
But Barbie doesn't know that. "I've seen this sequence a dozen times, and similar things in other matches. But here it gets so much of a better reaction than it does in other matches, or in other matches with a similar sequence! Why! What makes this particular move different from the others?!"
You look from the screen to the girl next to you and back to the screen. The answer's so obvious to you that you're not sure that there isn't something you're missing. But no. It's pretty clear. And then it hits you. "You haven't watched much wrestling before have you?"
Her answer is a frustrated growl that lets you know you've hit the mark. "Your problem is that you're just watching the one match trying to figure out what's making the crowd pop like that. But wrestling is way more than just individual matches. It's all about long-form storytelling."
Punk Rock Barbie looks at you for the first time since you say down. She pauses for a moment before gesturing for you to go on. You do so gladly. "Take this spot here. It's one of Chaos Theories signatures. Sigma spins the opponent around in an airplane spin and lets go. As the guy's flying through the air, Gamma grabs him out of the sky and hits him with a backbreaker. Always a big thing."
"I know that! I've seen them before and-"
You hold up a hand to silence her. "No, no. You're not letting me finish." Hm. That might have been rude. You'll apologize later. "Lemme guess, you skipped the pre-match video, right?"
She nods hesitantly and you nod. "There you go. I know you wanted to get straight to the match; I've seen people do that before. But they, and you, are missing that the video's like a primer for the match. It recaps the feud that's gone on before and gives the context for these guys fighting. Like this one. Chaos Theory and the Apocalypse Cult have wrestled before and done the same spots before. But last time they went for the Airplane Spin into the backbreaker, Gamma slipped and was out of position. Finale smashed into the ring post and got all tangled up. Head smacked the buckle hard. Live, it looked pretty messed up."
"But he was fine?" Punk Rock Barbie asks.
You nod. "Yeah. Got his bell rung but he was fine. But it looked like he was nearly crippled. So when they went for the Spin-Backbreaker combo, the crowd had just seen the video of that and were freaking out. It worked out perfectly this time, and even got countered, which makes em pop. What you were missing was-"
"- the context." She says thoughtfully. "Yeah. I get it. That would explain it."
She presses play and the two of you lapse into a comfortable silence as you watch the match. After the finish- Endtime hitting his Inferno Buster and pinning Sigma- you turn to her. "Hey. Didn't mean to be rude there. Sorry if I came across as pushy."
But she shakes her head. "Nah, you're good. I'm sorry too. When I get frustrated about something I just freak out over and over again. I probably would've pulled my hair out if I hadn't gotten that soon."
You look at her buzz cut appreciatively. "That'd be quite a trick."
She snorts out another laugh. "And I'm still being rude." She sticks out her hand. "I'm Allie- Allie Grey. And don't call me Allison; only my family does that."
You take the hand. "Good to meetcha. I'm Tommy Martin. And yes, Tommy. Never got used to Tom and Thomas just sound stuffy."
Allie shakes her head, but there's a grin on her face. "I've got no room to judge here. But yeah. Good to know at least one other person here."
The two of you turn back to the screen and pick out another match. But this time you two chat a little about training, about the motel, about Fuck Baltimore, and everything else. After you watch the Swamp Monster get destroyed by Blackula Laguna, you ask the question that's been on your mind. "So since you haven't watched all that much wrestling, why're you here?"
She keeps her focus on the laptop while she picks out another match. "Career move? Can I say a lateral career move? Yeah, I'm going to go with that."
You cock your head to the side. Now you're really curious. "What could you have been doing before that makes Pro Wrestling a 'lateral career move'?"
Her eyes cut at you. "If you guess stripper then I'm gonna-"
You raise your hands defensively. "Never even thought it!" And honestly, you hadn't.
She studies you closely and seems to find the confirmation she was after. She huffs in satisfaction. "Good. Been a few things, but never a stripper. But when I say lateral career, I'm talking about my gymnastics."
"You were a gymnast?" You ask. Not that it's hard to believe. Every gymnast you've ever seen has been small and lithe. Allie definitely fits the small part of the description, and you can believe she was lithe at some point in her life. Probably before puberty- no way you'd describe her that way right now.
Allie chuckles as if she's reading your mind. "Yeah. Pretty high level too. Won some state competitions and was doing real well in the nationals. Scouts were starting to sniff around. There was talk about an olympic team spot."
You've heard stories like this before. They never end well. "What happened?" you ask, a note of gentleness creeping into your voice.
She waves it aside with a careless gesture, but not without a thankful smile that makes her face seem to glow. "Nothing too bad if that's what you're thinking. I slipped in a place I shouldn't have and made a rookie mistake. I was already on thin ice after-" she gestures down at herself and her curves. "this happened."
There's really no safe answer to that. "Ah." you reply instead. Perfect!
Allie goes on. "No more scouts after that, no more invitations to the big leagues. Just me left, with a bullshit degree and no real idea what to do. A friend of mine said she thought I'd do well in wrestling, because I could already do-" she giggles, "-and this is a direct quote here, 'all that flippy shit'."
The two of you laugh for a moment. "I can't really argue with that." You finally answer. "And they're right. Plenty of good wrestlers have come from a gymnastics background."
She leans forward, eyes alight with interest. "Any recommendations?"
You don't make it out of the basement before sundown. You and Allie sit at the screen for hours, the two of you picking out matches and dissecting them. It's a lot easier with her there; she doesn't seem to be judging your almost encyclopedic knowledge of the sport, and she's great at pointing out the fine details of some of the high flying moves. After a bit, Jack finally finishes up in the ring and joins you.
You've enjoyed the training so far, at least as much as anyone can enjoy hellish physical training. But those hours you sat there with the two of them were the most fun you've had in a long time. Studying and bullshitting about something you love with two people that are as interested in it as you are. Amazing.
At one point you swear you hear the door crack and feel eyes on you. But no one comes down to say that you're being too loud; you must've been imagining it. But still, the idea that you might be disturbing your teacher and her family is enough to get you on your feet and out the door for the night.
That night you fall asleep the moment your head hits the pillow and you wake up the next day to do it again. Training. Break. Videos. Extra Training. Extra Videos. Repeat.
You fall into a routine over the next while, as your days at Horizon Academy blend into your weeks at Horizon Academy. Jack and Allie become the closest thing you've had to actual friends in a long time; and it's a good thing it's them. Around the three of you, people are dropping like flies.
You started with sixteen. By the end of the second week, right when you've gotten down to six steps and are practicing basic tackle-drop down- hip toss spots, your class is down to nine. Not everyone is cut out for this.
But at the end of the second week, you're also moving on to a new part of Daybreak's curriculum- the part you've been looking forward to the most. The reason you picked Daybreak over all the others. The character work.
Picking a character isn't a life changing event, Daybreak stresses. You're probably going to wind up going through a bunch of gimmicks before settling on the one that really clicks. There's no shame in trying out a bunch of different things.
But she's got to start you somewhere.
Do you want to start with Face or Heel? (This does not lock anything in. It will, however, determine how some basic training XP is distributed)
[] You want to start off as a Babyface. Everyone wants to be a hero and you're no exception. You want to be the hero that the crowds can rally around.
[] You want to start off as a Heel. Fuck popularity, notoriety is where it's at. You want to be the villain that the hero always has to come up against.
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Relationships Gained!
Jack Silvia: Acquaintance
Allison Grey: Acquaintance
Rolls Gained!
+1 Training Roll- for extra training. To be rolled later.
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