Post by Duncan Ryder on Jun 5, 2021 16:51:23 GMT -5
“I first met Kasumi Goto on the Citadel while recruiting my team that would go on to end of the threat of the Collectors.”
“I didn't know whether to trust her at first. She was a thief. One chosen for me by the Illusive Man of all people. She stuck to the shadows or hidden beneath a tactical cloak and even when you could see her her face was hidden beneath that dark hood.”
“I never saw her without that hood. In the end it simply became a part of her, as much of her appearance as her jet black eyes or that deep pink stripe she would always paint on her lower lip.”
“I guess that's why I thought about her when I first saw you.”
During EXP 7
Sister Sin had known well when to make her exit. She had won the match, but Brandon Hendrix was still standing and seemed less than accepting of the result. There was no reason to hang around and give him a chance to vent his frustration.
She had still been backing up the ramp when the lights had gone out but she knew where she was going and kept walking until she felt the curtain brush against her hands. The lights came back up as she passed through it. She didn't look back at the roar of the crowd that followed.
“Discretion is the better part of valour,” someone said and she turned to identify the voice. Her eyes fell on a man in black, red and white trunks who was finishing wrapping his wrists with black tape as he approached the rear of the curtain.
“What?” Sister Sin asked. She had heard the man clearly and understood him. Her question was more about why he was talking to her at all.
“I was watching on the monitor,” the man said, gesturing behind himself with his right thumb over his shoulder, “I thought he was going to slaughter you. I'm deeply impressed. Sister Sin is it?” The man extended a hand.
Sister Sin looked at the outstretched appendage then up at the face of the man, “Yes, and you are?”
The man's face dropped a little as it was clear his attempted handshake would be left hanging and he allowed the arm to fall to his side, “Duncan Ry- Shepard. Duncan Shepard. I'm up next,” he said, gesturing towards the ring, “another skeleton key qualifier. Wish me luck.” As he said the last words Duncan walked by her and took his place to the side of the curtain, waiting to enter.
“Why?” Sister Sin asked.
Duncan shrugged, “You're new here, I'm new here and if all goes well a few weeks from now we'll be beating each other senseless. May as well start with some civility.”
From Omega to Mars,
From the Council to the seediest bars,
“That's my queue. Here goes,” said Duncan and took a step.
“Duncan,” said Sister Sin.
“Yeah?”
“Break a leg.”
“That was before I saw you fight though.”
“Kasumi was quiet, precise, calculating. Nothing about what you did out there was quiet. You stepped up to a man over twice your size and tore him down through sheer force of will.”
“I knew someone else like that. I once saw her bullrush a charging Reaper Brute and crush its skull with just her bare hands and all the rage and biotic power she could muster.”
“That's when I realised I had judged a book by it's cover. You're not the Kasumi of this story at all.”
“You're the Jack.”
You're looking at your computer screen. It is mostly filled by the image of Level Up interviewer Lenny Brasco, set against a background of the company logo. He's wearing a large pair of headphones and looking excited.
Brasco: This is awesome. We've got over two thousand of you on the stream right now and if you've got friends who aren't already here, tell them to get logged in here on the official Level Up Twitch channel because I've got something really exciting coming up in just a minute.
Brasco: Before we get to that though a reminder that right now you can get ten percent off anything on the Level Up merchandise store using the promo code, BRASCODBDL, that's Brasco, my name, D-B-D-L for Dead By Daylight, our pay-per-view show coming up on July 4th.
Brasco: Speaking of which, at EXP 7 several qualifiers for the Skeleton Key match at Dead By Daylight, were decided and I have one of them joining me here today. Making his first appearance on the stream, it's Duncan Shepard.
The screen splits from a single image into two with Brasco on the left and Duncan Shepard now appearing on the right. He too is backed by the Level Up logo but only has smaller ear buds in.
Brasco: Duncan, welcome to the stream.
Shepard: Thanks Lenny, I'm excited to be here.
Brasco: First of all, why don't you start by telling us a little about yourself for the sake of those that may not be familiar with your work.
Shepard: Well, what to tell. I've been wrestling professionally since 2009. That all started out in L.A. At Global Impact Wrestling, then when that merged became UGWC as we know it I was with them in Chicago until the end of 2011 in which time I was a two time Cooperative Champion.
Brasco: Cooperative Champion?
Shepard: That's what they called tag team champions there, or I suppose I should get used to saying Multiplayer champions now. After that I spent a few years in Mexico, then a few more years on the road. Most recently I returned to UGWC as part of their tenth anniversary celebrations. I won the Chaos title, that's a hardcore title by the way, and well, now I'm proud to be here in Indianapolis competing for Level Up.
Brasco: And we're happy to have you here too. Now, there are plenty of wrestling promotions out there, what drew you to Level Up?
Shepard: I've always been a big gamer. I've not been able to keep up with that so much over recent years but I played a lot when I was a kid and a teenager and when I first came over to America in GIW, so being able to combine my two passions, games and wrestling into one new venture was a pretty irresistible offer.
Shepard: It also helped that The Developer was very accommodating when it came to helping me actually get here, and also that there was a clear goal laid out, that being to become the first Level Up Power Champion.
Brasco: Before we go on, let me take a second to say that design as already begun for our first Duncan Shepard t-shirt to be added to the extensive line of Level Up merchandise and I'll hope to have more news on that in about a week. Wow, the chat here is lighting up. A lot of people wanting to know why you would actively seek out the Level Up Power title, a hardcore championship after famously referring to UGWC's equivalent, the Chaos title as 'garbage.'
Duncan sighs a little and runs his hand down his face.
Shepard: I thought that might come up, and honestly I'm glad because it gives me a chance to finally provide some context.
Duncan pauses for a few long seconds, seemingly collecting his thoughts.
Shepard: When I was due to take my shot at the Chaos title I was extremely bitter. It had already cost me a friend before the match had even started, or at least in contributed. All for a title that I had never intended to make a play for. I don't mean that to discredit the Chaos title, it's just that I was trained in a certain school of wrestling that didn't really go into the whole chair shots and barbed wire aesthetic. So when the production team asked me what I wanted to do to promote the match, I took a lot of my frustration out on the title itself.
Shepard: I'm still not a hardcore specialist, but I've proven I can hold my own in that environment and I respect that it is a part of this business I love. I think a part of me saw that the Power Title would be on the line soon and thought that if I could win that and represent it to the best of my ability, maybe it would make up a little for how I treated the Chaos title last year.
Brasco: Well you've already taken your first step towards that goal by defeating Jennifer Williams at EXP 7. At EXP 8 you'll be facing fellow qualifier Sister Sin, who, I'll add, an official Level Up hoodie is already in production for. What do you think of that match up?
Shepard: It's very intriguing. Obviously I've never faced Sister Sin before and I was impressed by her performance at EXP 7. I'm excited to get out into that ring and show that I can do what Brandon Hendrix couldn't.
Brasco: We're almost out of time for this part of our show. Do you have any final words?
Shepard: I'd like to take these last few minutes to address Sister Sin directly.
Lenny Brasco disappears from your screen and now Duncan Shepard is front and centre.
Shepard: Sister Sin, when you went out to that match two weeks ago I thought you looked like a varren yapping at a thresher maw. I thought it would only be a few minutes before you were little more than a broken, acid melted carcass. I was dead wrong.
Shepard: You're no varren, you're a warrior, no doubt about that, but I'm no thresher maw. I'm Commander Shepard and I eat thresher maws for breakfast with a side order of anyone else in the galaxy that gets in my way.
Shepard: I may not be as big or look as intimidating as your last opponent, but I'm the Hero of the Citadel and I've taken down foes that'll give you nightmares while you've been sleeping soundly in your bed.
Shepard: Dead By Daylight isn't far away. I've booked my place in the Skeleton Key match. These next two weeks aren't about me earning my shot or proving to the fans that I belong there, but showing the rest of the field that I'm a threat. That starts with you, it'll continue at EXP 9 and when Dead By Daylight comes around, I'm going to be riding a wave of momentum like I was just shot through a mass relay. Then no-one will stop me from becoming the first ever Level Up Power Champion.
Duncan reaches for something and his feet shuts off, replaced once again with Lenny Brasco.
Brasco: Well, that was Duncan Shepard Level Up fans. We're going to take a quick break to get a word from our sponsor, the Level Up Merchandise store and after that, we'll be giving you an in depth look at the new Antonio Ricci string vest available on Monday ready for a Sun's Out, Gun's Out summer. We'll be right back.
“I didn't know whether to trust her at first. She was a thief. One chosen for me by the Illusive Man of all people. She stuck to the shadows or hidden beneath a tactical cloak and even when you could see her her face was hidden beneath that dark hood.”
“I never saw her without that hood. In the end it simply became a part of her, as much of her appearance as her jet black eyes or that deep pink stripe she would always paint on her lower lip.”
“I guess that's why I thought about her when I first saw you.”
During EXP 7
Sister Sin had known well when to make her exit. She had won the match, but Brandon Hendrix was still standing and seemed less than accepting of the result. There was no reason to hang around and give him a chance to vent his frustration.
She had still been backing up the ramp when the lights had gone out but she knew where she was going and kept walking until she felt the curtain brush against her hands. The lights came back up as she passed through it. She didn't look back at the roar of the crowd that followed.
“Discretion is the better part of valour,” someone said and she turned to identify the voice. Her eyes fell on a man in black, red and white trunks who was finishing wrapping his wrists with black tape as he approached the rear of the curtain.
“What?” Sister Sin asked. She had heard the man clearly and understood him. Her question was more about why he was talking to her at all.
“I was watching on the monitor,” the man said, gesturing behind himself with his right thumb over his shoulder, “I thought he was going to slaughter you. I'm deeply impressed. Sister Sin is it?” The man extended a hand.
Sister Sin looked at the outstretched appendage then up at the face of the man, “Yes, and you are?”
The man's face dropped a little as it was clear his attempted handshake would be left hanging and he allowed the arm to fall to his side, “Duncan Ry- Shepard. Duncan Shepard. I'm up next,” he said, gesturing towards the ring, “another skeleton key qualifier. Wish me luck.” As he said the last words Duncan walked by her and took his place to the side of the curtain, waiting to enter.
“Why?” Sister Sin asked.
Duncan shrugged, “You're new here, I'm new here and if all goes well a few weeks from now we'll be beating each other senseless. May as well start with some civility.”
From Omega to Mars,
From the Council to the seediest bars,
“That's my queue. Here goes,” said Duncan and took a step.
“Duncan,” said Sister Sin.
“Yeah?”
“Break a leg.”
“That was before I saw you fight though.”
“Kasumi was quiet, precise, calculating. Nothing about what you did out there was quiet. You stepped up to a man over twice your size and tore him down through sheer force of will.”
“I knew someone else like that. I once saw her bullrush a charging Reaper Brute and crush its skull with just her bare hands and all the rage and biotic power she could muster.”
“That's when I realised I had judged a book by it's cover. You're not the Kasumi of this story at all.”
“You're the Jack.”
You're looking at your computer screen. It is mostly filled by the image of Level Up interviewer Lenny Brasco, set against a background of the company logo. He's wearing a large pair of headphones and looking excited.
Brasco: This is awesome. We've got over two thousand of you on the stream right now and if you've got friends who aren't already here, tell them to get logged in here on the official Level Up Twitch channel because I've got something really exciting coming up in just a minute.
Brasco: Before we get to that though a reminder that right now you can get ten percent off anything on the Level Up merchandise store using the promo code, BRASCODBDL, that's Brasco, my name, D-B-D-L for Dead By Daylight, our pay-per-view show coming up on July 4th.
Brasco: Speaking of which, at EXP 7 several qualifiers for the Skeleton Key match at Dead By Daylight, were decided and I have one of them joining me here today. Making his first appearance on the stream, it's Duncan Shepard.
The screen splits from a single image into two with Brasco on the left and Duncan Shepard now appearing on the right. He too is backed by the Level Up logo but only has smaller ear buds in.
Brasco: Duncan, welcome to the stream.
Shepard: Thanks Lenny, I'm excited to be here.
Brasco: First of all, why don't you start by telling us a little about yourself for the sake of those that may not be familiar with your work.
Shepard: Well, what to tell. I've been wrestling professionally since 2009. That all started out in L.A. At Global Impact Wrestling, then when that merged became UGWC as we know it I was with them in Chicago until the end of 2011 in which time I was a two time Cooperative Champion.
Brasco: Cooperative Champion?
Shepard: That's what they called tag team champions there, or I suppose I should get used to saying Multiplayer champions now. After that I spent a few years in Mexico, then a few more years on the road. Most recently I returned to UGWC as part of their tenth anniversary celebrations. I won the Chaos title, that's a hardcore title by the way, and well, now I'm proud to be here in Indianapolis competing for Level Up.
Brasco: And we're happy to have you here too. Now, there are plenty of wrestling promotions out there, what drew you to Level Up?
Shepard: I've always been a big gamer. I've not been able to keep up with that so much over recent years but I played a lot when I was a kid and a teenager and when I first came over to America in GIW, so being able to combine my two passions, games and wrestling into one new venture was a pretty irresistible offer.
Shepard: It also helped that The Developer was very accommodating when it came to helping me actually get here, and also that there was a clear goal laid out, that being to become the first Level Up Power Champion.
Brasco: Before we go on, let me take a second to say that design as already begun for our first Duncan Shepard t-shirt to be added to the extensive line of Level Up merchandise and I'll hope to have more news on that in about a week. Wow, the chat here is lighting up. A lot of people wanting to know why you would actively seek out the Level Up Power title, a hardcore championship after famously referring to UGWC's equivalent, the Chaos title as 'garbage.'
Duncan sighs a little and runs his hand down his face.
Shepard: I thought that might come up, and honestly I'm glad because it gives me a chance to finally provide some context.
Duncan pauses for a few long seconds, seemingly collecting his thoughts.
Shepard: When I was due to take my shot at the Chaos title I was extremely bitter. It had already cost me a friend before the match had even started, or at least in contributed. All for a title that I had never intended to make a play for. I don't mean that to discredit the Chaos title, it's just that I was trained in a certain school of wrestling that didn't really go into the whole chair shots and barbed wire aesthetic. So when the production team asked me what I wanted to do to promote the match, I took a lot of my frustration out on the title itself.
Shepard: I'm still not a hardcore specialist, but I've proven I can hold my own in that environment and I respect that it is a part of this business I love. I think a part of me saw that the Power Title would be on the line soon and thought that if I could win that and represent it to the best of my ability, maybe it would make up a little for how I treated the Chaos title last year.
Brasco: Well you've already taken your first step towards that goal by defeating Jennifer Williams at EXP 7. At EXP 8 you'll be facing fellow qualifier Sister Sin, who, I'll add, an official Level Up hoodie is already in production for. What do you think of that match up?
Shepard: It's very intriguing. Obviously I've never faced Sister Sin before and I was impressed by her performance at EXP 7. I'm excited to get out into that ring and show that I can do what Brandon Hendrix couldn't.
Brasco: We're almost out of time for this part of our show. Do you have any final words?
Shepard: I'd like to take these last few minutes to address Sister Sin directly.
Lenny Brasco disappears from your screen and now Duncan Shepard is front and centre.
Shepard: Sister Sin, when you went out to that match two weeks ago I thought you looked like a varren yapping at a thresher maw. I thought it would only be a few minutes before you were little more than a broken, acid melted carcass. I was dead wrong.
Shepard: You're no varren, you're a warrior, no doubt about that, but I'm no thresher maw. I'm Commander Shepard and I eat thresher maws for breakfast with a side order of anyone else in the galaxy that gets in my way.
Shepard: I may not be as big or look as intimidating as your last opponent, but I'm the Hero of the Citadel and I've taken down foes that'll give you nightmares while you've been sleeping soundly in your bed.
Shepard: Dead By Daylight isn't far away. I've booked my place in the Skeleton Key match. These next two weeks aren't about me earning my shot or proving to the fans that I belong there, but showing the rest of the field that I'm a threat. That starts with you, it'll continue at EXP 9 and when Dead By Daylight comes around, I'm going to be riding a wave of momentum like I was just shot through a mass relay. Then no-one will stop me from becoming the first ever Level Up Power Champion.
Duncan reaches for something and his feet shuts off, replaced once again with Lenny Brasco.
Brasco: Well, that was Duncan Shepard Level Up fans. We're going to take a quick break to get a word from our sponsor, the Level Up Merchandise store and after that, we'll be giving you an in depth look at the new Antonio Ricci string vest available on Monday ready for a Sun's Out, Gun's Out summer. We'll be right back.
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