Post by amyjosmyth on Jul 15, 2017 19:54:22 GMT -5
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“Duunn dunnn…”
A cloth grey shark puppet moves across the screen.
“Duuuunnnn duun…”
The same shark returns, this time coming from the left side and moving at a much quicker pace.
“Duuunnnnnnnn dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun…”
Again the shark swims by.
“Dunnnnnnnnnnn dunnnn…”
The shark comes up from above and grabs the camera, chomping down on the lens with its felt teeth, and starts shaking the camera violently.
"We're gonna need a bigger boat!"
Laughter erupts as the puppet is removed from the camera and Smyth comes into focus. The blonde haired competitor starts slamming the jaws of the puppet up and down at something. That something being a person just off screen.
Richard Kelly moves into the scene as the camera zooms out to take in more. “For those of you who don’t know or just don’t care, Amy Jo has joined us here tonight. She takes on Merlot Ayano in the AFI Tournament… Feeling good?” He abruptly moves the microphone toward her.
“I feel good. I like Merlot,” she says. “Pairs perfectly with a nice steak. Hamburger, too, even, for those of us a budget. A bottle of Two Buck Chuck and a fat hamburger…”
“Um,” Kelly says softly, looking her over. “That’s not…”
“Yeah, yeah,” she interrupts. “I know what you’re talking about. Gawh, you’re no fun.”
“You seem to be having enough fun for both of us,” he says, looking at the shark puppet on her left hand.
“Nothing wrong with having a little fun, Mr. Kelly,” she answers.
“Appears that you aren’t taking Merlot Ayano seriously,” he says.
“There is a time for fun and a time for work,” she says, “and sometimes you get to do both at the same time. I get to do that with Ms. Ayano… Can I say Ms. Ayano? There’s something like twenty of them - hell, there are so many of them they’re filling up a rumble. I mean, I wouldn’t want to confuse one for the other… Um, I digress. Does anyone else wonder why they’re all named after alcohol?”
“That should be something right up your alley, considering you’re a lush,” he says.
Smyth mocks a gasp and offense at the comment. “How dare you!” she says, pressing her hand against her chest in horror. That all quickly falls away and she chuckles. “Yeah, you got me there. But, hey, that just means I’m gonna have no problem handling all of the Merlot that Ms. Ayano can offer. Gonna destroy that whole bottle.”
Kelly just stares at her.
“Yeah, that wasn’t so good,” she admits, nodding. “Anyway…”
“Merlot has made it clear that she is not afraid of you, even if you are a big shark,” he says.
“I got that memo, thanks,” she says, holding up the shark puppet. “She’s not wrong, Mr. Kelly. I am a big shark. In a big pond. With lots of other sharks. Ms. Masumi Ayano is a shark. She’s just a little, baby shark. She’s so tiny. The lovely little lady will be a lovely snack when I eat her alive. Nom!”
“Fish are friends, not food,” Kelly interjects.
Smyth tilts her head back and looks at him. “Um, sure, cool, right on,” she says and blinks it away. “Listen, there’s a reason a big shark and I’ve got all I got…”
“By gobbling up all the other little sharks,” he says.
“Ha!” she says. “In a sense, yes. I became a big shark by working hard and putting the hours. Winning matches and giving beatings, taking losses and beatings. There’s a reason people know my name, either love me or hate me… There’s a reason why fellow competitors, male and female, consider me one of the top in this game… For you, Ms. Ayano, you called me a shark. Call it what you will. Like me, hate me, tolerate me, I ain’t going anywhere and I ain’t stopping now. That reason is because I’ve got the talent, skill-set, and unwillingness to give up. Redemption’s All Female Invitational is just another chance to display this talent and skill and another opportunity to prove what I am and who I am.”
“Yes, we’re all aware of your accolades,” he says.
“Even before I amassed these things - remember, I won a lot of these things and became as popular as I have in just the past year or so…” she says. “I took the opportunities and I did not let them get away. This will not be much different. This opportunity won’t get away, either. There are some of the best women wrestlers - no, some of the best female wrestlers in the world in this tournament and to come out on top, amongst this field… That will be - that will be the ultimate proof of what this shark can do and how hungry this shark is.”
Smyth moves the puppet and chomps down on the microphone, pulling off the soft cover. She simulates chewing it for a few seconds and then spits it out onto the floor. Kelly stares at it.
“Ms. Ayano wants to call me a shark, well, I’ll embrace my inner shark. I’m going to eat her up in one bite. For all that she is, the clan she comes from, and things she has done - there can be no contesting the young lady has held her own in this but she’s met the end of the road in this. This shark bites and once she’s locked on, she doesn’t let go. She will rip bone from flesh. I’m going to sharpen up these teeth and dig in. I’ll twist you up, Ms. Ayano, and trap you with the triangle choke…”
“Aptly named, Eat Me Out,” Kelly adds.
“Except, I’ll be doing the eating and there will be no pleasure in it for Ms. Ayano,” Smyth says, smirking. “This whole thing took a slide into the gutter, didn’t it?”
“Hey, it’s your finisher, you named it,” he says. “What did you expect?”
“...Do you know that there are people out there who won’t even say it?” she says. “And you know what, that’s exactly how I wanted it to be.”
Kelly chuckles.
Smyth starts moving the shark around, having it move its jaws up and down rapidly. “Momma Shark is hungry and Merlot will make some good eatin’.”
“Where did you even get that?” he asks.
“Good question,” she says, nodding. “Barnes and Noble.” Smyth throws her head back and kicks up her right leg with a squeal. She returns to a normal standing position suddenly and tilts her head to side while looking directly into the camera. “Barnes and Noble… Read a fucking book. You might learn something.” She follows that up with a fake, overly large smile.
“That’s - that’s um,” he sputters. “Important information.”
“Duunn dunn,” Smyth sings, moving the puppet toward Kelly.
“Don’t do it,” he says, taking a quick step backward and holding up his hand.
Smyth grins and keeps moving the shark puppet forward, stalking him.
“Don’t!” he cries. Before he can react, Smyth has grabbed, or in this case, bitten down on his arm. She growls lightly and shakes his arm. “Stop!”
“Nom, nom, nom, nom,” Smyth says. She starts hysterically laughing as he finally breaks free and scurries away. “No, come back. You were yummy.” Smyth, with her shark puppet raised up high and leading the way, chases after him, all the while chomping down on the air and making the snapping sound that a shark might make.