10-23-2024, 03:53 PM
The following DVD was delivered to SCW headquarters via mail, courtesy of Dexter Grant. Despite Dexter’s demands not to do so, the following video was extracted from the disc and uploaded for general viewing.
Perhaps it is surprising after what he provided last time that this time we get something that looks much clearer, a major step up in quality. Maybe it’s due to the limitations of being on the road and away from what he normally uses. Regardless, we find ourselves somewhere in the wilderness of Ottawa, the sun having long since set and the crickets chirping away late at night. The crackling of a fire is the only other sound that greets our ears as we, oddly, find ourselves focused on the ground beneath our feet. This doesn’t last too long, however, as our vision is soon filled by a large picture. Said picture shows the scene of Gavin Taylor being pinned by Simon Lyman at some point last year. Which of their two matches is it from? Hard to tell from the angle, but what isn’t hard to tell at all is how clear it is that Gavin lost. After a moment, the camera pulls back as we find ourselves looking over the familiar shoulder of the Digital Detoxer, who’s sitting on a log beside the fire we could hear as he just sneers down at this picture.
“The need for validation…some would say it’s a trait ingrained deeply into every human being. A psychological need for others to praise us and tell us that we’re doing a good job so we can feel good about ourselves, get that nice hit of dopamine to get through the day believing we can conquer the world. Ask yourselves something for a moment: how do you feed that addiction when things aren’t going your way? You really think mommy, daddy, your friends and so on are always going to tell you that everything’s alright, to keep your chin up and if you believe hard enough then everything will magically turn around? No, even those kinds of compliments grow stale after a while, because hearing it over and over again from the same few people is never enough. That’s the kind of thing social media as we know it today preys upon. Nobody’s really interested in what you did today or what your future plans are, but if you sugarcoat it enough then maybe you can grab some attention, get total strangers to give you some positive reinforcement that comes off entirely different than what you’ve heard before, and now you’ve got your motor running again.
Maybe you think I’m just making this up, but the facts speak for themselves. Just look at Gavin Taylor. Clearly he’s entering the twilight of his career, struggling to cobble together any semblance of victory, but if he accepts that then it’s all over. How dare the run of this supposed all-star end before he’s even truly accomplished anything of value that fans will be able to talk about years from now? That’s why he took so much offense to my attempts to help him, why he opted to attack me from behind after I showed him how it’s done. And yet, when he came up short yet again, did he finally decide to open himself up to the detoxing I know can help him? Of course not, he seized an opportunity to step back in time and try to right a wrong from his past, knowing that the hype from a third match between himself and Simon Lyman would get social media buzzing, wondering if he can finally beat this man if he tries again a year after their last encounter.
He knows he can’t get that kind of hype from a match with me. The influencers in his ear know that I am the vaccine for the cancer that is digitally infecting the minds of each and every one of you more and more by the day. To Gavin’s career, they see me as poison. In reality, I am the antidote to what’s already killing him, and sooner or later, he’ll come to terms with it once his career finds itself on life support, the last vestiges of his relevance slipping from his grasp.”
With a flick of his hand, the photo Dexter was holding is tossed into the fire. We zoom in enough to see the image being reduced to cinders, the crackle of the embers dancing into the air punctuating Dexter’s statement. Slowly, we move to almost take a seat adjacent to him, watching as Dexter leans forward, gazing into the flames in contemplation.
“I bet some of you are confused. After all, Gavin dared to attack me in retaliation for what I had to say. He was in the perfect position for me to strike back, a match where he couldn’t even benefit from a free win if I did so. And yet, I hung back, spoke my piece, and left him to fail once more all on his own. Shouldn’t I have at least thrown a temper tantrum at a prospective pay-per-view match slipping through my fingers?
At the end of the day…what does that truly accomplish?
I’m not surprised that none of you seem to fully grasp why I am here and how I choose to operate. As I’ve told my faithful follower Wendell, senseless destruction is not my endgame. Sure, it would put people into a physical state where getting on social media will be the least of their concerns, but how does that actually help anybody? I need to show people how much better off they can be if they simply listen to me, and at the end of the day, Gavin is merely one sick soul slowly dying to this digital disease. If he wants to refuse my attempts to save him, then I will simply let him destroy himself as his failures begin to mount and that dopamine high fails to keep him believing that his career in its current state is salvageable. Then, maybe then, he will understand what I’ve been telling him all along and open himself up to the help he needs, and despite his actions against me, I will still purge him of this corruptive cyber cancer.
That’s the thing, isn’t it? I’m not this psychotic monster you think I am, I’m not the bad guy at the end of the day…that’s merely the image that’s been painted of me by the big tech overlords to dissuade you from buying into what I have to say, distorting the truth because it would cost them billions of dollars and put them out of business before they continue to hurt and sell you all to further line their pockets. In that respect, my SCW record may be flawless thus far, but in terms of my actual mission I have been seemingly fighting a losing battle for many years now, making little headway in trying to get through to any of you.
Is it frustrating? Absolutely.
Am I going to cry about it in hopes that someone will pick me back up and tell me I can do it if I believe hard enough? Fuck no, I know full well that aside from Wendell at the moment, I’m practically alone in this endeavor.
But, as they say, when one door closes, another opens. And if Gavin is going to continue digging his own grave in a desperate attempt to avoid the truth I’ve laid out before him, then perhaps I can save another dopamine junkie before she crashes and burns. How does that sound, Marie?”
Dexter can’t help but laugh a bit, shaking his head as he keeps looking into the burning flames before him.
“The phoenix…the mythical bird made of fire who burned itself out on a funeral pyre before rising from its own ashes to try again anew. How many wrestlers over the years have built themselves around such an idea, painting this picture for the fans of somebody who will never stay down for long when things aren’t going their way because they can just pick themselves back up and try, try again until it all goes right? I think it’s safe to say you’re a dime a dozen in that regard Marie, but who cares because you’re of the belief that social media is pointless despite building yourself up in a way that allows for the proverbial phoenix to feed off of the attention of hashtags and trends to keep your flame burning bright, right?
Tell me something Marie: if it’s so pointless and you don’t spend too much time on it, then why do you even have an account at all? Why not cut it out of your life entirely and reap the benefits of no longer having that toxic presence downloading itself into your veins?
You said it yourself, it’s the tool of the modern age to expand and promote your brand, because how else would anybody be able to connect with Marie Jones and tell her how special she truly is so she has that fire to get back in the ring and prove she can bounce back after getting her ass kicked? Spin it however you want Marie, because I’ve heard all this trash before. None of it changes the reality that you, just like Gavin, by your own admission, are desperate for that feeling of validation in this business no matter how you get it. All that talk about how close you came to beating this champion or that one, reflecting on the wins you have gotten among the sea of defeats you’re drowning in, it’s a common tactic for people who are trying to generate sympathy so the mindless masses can take to their keyboards and their phones and send you endless messages of support, saying how much they believe in you and you can turn it all around with a win over me. Maybe even get a hashtag trending that demands SCW give you a title opportunity or else they’ll threaten to boycott the product, because they’ll never actually do it but no company would ever actually take that risk and you’ll reap the rewards from your little sob story.
‘Woe is me, I am Marie, and I don’t know what to do because I had my chance to make a name for myself and failed again. Oh, whatever will I do now, Phoenix fans?’
Boo. Fucking. Hoo.”
Dexter huffs as he stands up, reaching off to the side to grab a bucket. From the sloshing we can hear, it’s clear that this bucket is him practicing good fire safety in a forest by having water nearby to put it out once he’s done with it.
“This isn’t the so-called ‘wild west’ Marie. Those are just fancy buzzwords generated by the likes of Selena Frost and Josh Hudson to create a hashtag that will keep interest in their little pissing contest with each other until the former finally has her rematch and everyone can put their feud behind us and move on to the next big money match. The reality of Breakdown here in Ottawa this week is that regardless of the outcome, my mission doesn’t change. I don’t have to beat you to make you comprehend that I’m not your enemy, but rather your savior from the digital drivel that has clearly infected your way of thinking. If I lose, then I simply roll with the punches and find another target, just as I’ve always done with every setback I’ve faced in this desperate war I wage for the fate of the human race.
You, on the other hand…how much will Marie Jones spiral this time if she loses yet another match? How quickly will she beat herself up over a loss to the big, bad Dexter Grant so that her legions of followers can pick her back up and tell her to just try again?
I am not your enemy Marie. I am not walking into Breakdown looking to treat you like some stepping stone to further my own career. If you wish to buy into the monster I’ve been AI generated to be by the social media sycophants who want to see you put me out of my misery…then you will have no one but yourself to blame when I forcibly open your eyes and make you understand that there’s only one simple way for your phoenix to ever truly rise again and burn brighter than ever.
You, Marie, need to Disconnect…to Reconnect.”
With that, Dexter tips the bucket and douses the fire he’s been sitting at, putting it out for good and leaving us barely able to see a thing in the dark. Given that there’s nothing more to see anyway, perhaps it’s expected that we don’t linger for much longer before the video abruptly cuts.
~ ~ ~
Dexter can’t help but take a deep breath as he heads back to his truck with all that out of his system, Wendell following close behind as he reviews the footage they’ve just recorded to be sent in.
“Betting odds that SCW’s not going to listen to me and put this online just so they can make sure everyone has access to it?” he spits as he tosses the bucket into the truck bed.
“I’d say it’s a guarantee, no matter what format I put this in,” Wendell replies as he closes up the camera.
“Of course they wouldn’t listen to me,” Dexter almost laughed. “I tell them to do something and they refuse. I’m guessing it’s bad for business, or maybe they want to try and turn me and my crusade into some fancy trend to make me out like a hypocrite.”
“Maybe they just want to give your opponents a chance to actually see what you say about them so they have a chance to respond?” Wendell offered, which Dexter scoffed at.
“That’s their problem if they’re so desperate to hear someone say anything about them that they demand a chance to chase the dopamine high and it leads them into the dark belly of the digital beast.”
Dexter doesn’t waste any more time as he climbs into his truck, with Wendell scrambling into the passenger seat. The engine roars to life as the truck rumbles, ready to go, but Dexter just sits there for a moment. Wendell glances over at him, wondering if Dexter’s thinking about the chance encounter with his father from a few days ago. Truthfully, he’s noticed his savior ending up like this, staring blankly off into space and diving deeper into his own head, more frequently since that encounter, but he’s always been hesitant to reach out and offer him a chance.
But no more, he tells himself. He opens his mouth, ready to offer Dexter the chance to get it off his chest to a trusted friend.
“I know what you want to do Wendell, and I’m not talking about it with you.”
Wendell practically deflates in the passenger seat.
“Are you sure?” he still asks. “You look like you could use someone to talk to about it…”
“Wendell…” Dexter sighs. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. Lord knows you’ve been more devoted and trustworthy to me these past few years than probably anyone else I’ve ever met. Still…I don’t think you’d fully understand, and I’d rather keep my old family problems dead and buried where they belong. That Dexter Grant is dead, and if my past is going to insist on popping back up, then I’ll deal with it on MY terms if and when they agree to it.”
Wendell nods, knowing that’s probably all he’s going to get from Dexter as the Digital Detoxer begins driving the truck through the woods and back into town. Dexter doesn’t blame Wendell for wanting to help, and he truly wishes the kid could, but…if he were to be honest? Even he’s still trying to make sense of everything, and the only way he’s ever going to truly figure it all out is if he gets to open up to his family and they actually hear him out, something he doubts will ever truly happen since for as much as they love him, they’ve proven unwilling to believe that there was ever anything more to this transformation that made him the warrior he is today.
Until the impossible happens, his past is better off in the ditch he left it in…right next to what remains of Marie’s relevance if she truly wants to pick this fight with him come Breakdown.