Breaking the Tension!™ Episode 11: Clyde T. Gastin

Patty O’ Malley had goosebumps. Literal, actual, real goosebumps, popping up all over her skin.

To the casual eye watching her, things wouldn’t have seemed that off. She was in her studio, like usual. Her crew was going about their business as always, setting up for the eleventh episode of Breaking the Tension!™ . She was, of course, a beacon of professionalism and poise, sitting upright in her chair, eyes towards the camera, a pleased smile on her face while she waited for the episode to begin.

But the more observant watcher would notice the slight shakes, the tiny tremors, the quiver in her chin. She was nervous. The unflappable Patty O’ Malley was nervous, and it all had to do with the gold glinting in the corner of her eye.

The Tension World Championship Belt. Hanging on the shoulders of the Tension World Champion: Clyde Gastin.

It wasn’t her first time interviewing Clyde - they’d briefly met before the battle royal, but Clyde had been a less interesting prospect then. Beaten around, continually screwed by the Roses, it seemed like he’d never even sniff the gold.

Oh, how things had changed.

Now, he was here, with the belt, a story to tell and an exclusive to give. Only on Patty’s show. Only on Breaking the Tension!™

In 3...2…

”Good evening, Breakers!” Patty blurted out with a wide, shining smile on her face, using a word to describe her fans that she’d literally just come up with. ”Wrestling is a hard business, and things often end in heartache. The AFW is filled with stories of wrestlers who made it to our vaunted halls, then found the cost to be too much and returned from whence they came.”

‘Whence’. Using the fancy words. Classy.

”But not today! Today, we have the story of a man who perservered, even when all odds were against him. A man who fought hard for what he believed in. A man who gave his 100% all the way, and finally made his way to the promised mountaintop!” Patty triumphantly thrust her finger high in the air.

”Ladies and gentleman, I give you the Three-Count Cowboy, the New Comeback Kid himself…”  She gestured to her side as the camera panned away from her, going for the slow reveal. ”...Clyde T. Gastin!”

The wait wouldn't be long before "Heavy Is The Head" by The Zac Brown Band and Chris Cornell began to suddenly blast through the stage speakers as the American born champion of AFW's Tension, stepped out onto the stage with a loose swagger in his step and his blonde hair slicked back. Clad in the tailored navy suit Eliza had gotten him, as well as his recently re-won, Cowboy hat, wearing matching cowboy boots as he waved to the fans with one hand, while the other cradled the Tension title he held over his shoulder.

He had never really been interviewed like this before and was intially shy about doing the show but eased up and agreed after Eliza told him it would be good PR. Having this interview after winning his first defense felt awesome. The cowboy was grinning ear to ear and feeling on top of the world as both a champion and a survivor of the trenches that he had crawled from. It felt good to be the man, to be the center of attention. He just hoped it wouldn't all go to his head!

Easier said than done. Patty's way with words was enough for Clyde to feel like he was a hero of legend more than a wrestler!

The cowboy looked to the lovely Patty and flashed her a wide grin, offering his freehand to her for a shake before going in for a big ol' hug. "Ma'am ya sure know how ta' make a guy feel special! Ahaha!" Clyde beamed with a hearty laugh, keeping his arm around Patty to pose for the cameras for a moment, because yes, he was going to milk his hard earned fame.

And there he was. Clyde T. Gastin. Patty’s meal ticket.

She felt a supreme sense of satisfaction as he made his way in, looking all proud and shiny with the belt on his shoulder. This was the sort of thing she’d strived for - real recognition. Real prestige. The sort of thing that would put her on the map with the AFW. All her hard work, all the craziness she’d gone through, and this was her reward - an interview with a world champion. It simply got no better than this.

She was going to make it count.

”Guh!” She croaked at the hug and stiffened up - close contant wasn’t exactly her thing - but she softened up fast enough and hugged him back. ”You’re a very special sort of guy.” She smiled as they pulled away and settled into her seat. ”Congratulations of your victory, Mr. Gastin. How’s it feel to finally hold the gold in your grasp?”

"Aww shucks, missy." Clyde smiled and pulled his hat over his face a bit in response to Patty's words that were quite flattering. He knew he was the big man on campus, but it always felt surreal to be told by others that he was great. To him, it never fit and yet it was all he ever wanted.

"Thank ya! It uh.. It feels mighty good ta' finally have the gold around my waist. Like all the drama, the beatings and struggles weren't all for nuthin." Said Clyde as he remembered getting screwed over and over by the GM, Melissa Sellers and a slew of other characters.

"Holdin' the Tension World Title doesn't make me wanna just take it easy and relax. I tell myself all the time, I can't stop going. But ta' finally be champion... I feel like I climbed to the top of a mountain I was never supposed ta' even step on."

Heartwarming stuff. Inspiring. It made her think of all the possibilities lying before the young man, where his career could be going. Movies? She could definitely see a feature film based off his life. Though they’d have to cut out a few parts of the story to keep that coveted PG-13 rating.

Maybe one of the Hemsworths could do a decent Texas accent...

”I certainly know the feeling!” She nodded his way. ”It wasn’t easy getting to the position I am with the AFW, but I kept moving forward. In my hardest times, I looked to your struggles and drew on you for inspiration.”

Not even remotely true. But it made for good television.

”There were certainly no shortage of people trying to keep you from reaching the summit, not the least of whom are the Roses, Melissa’s illustrious group. Can you tell us a little bit of your history with them, how you came to blows and why they seemed so hellbent of stifling your career?”

Clyde's eyes immediately widened with genuine surprise. "R-Really?" Clyde asked excitedly, honestly touched that his life hurdles inspired Patty. That was really cool.

"That sure means a lot, Ms. Patty." Clyde said with a wide grin before leaning back in his chair upon catching his question about The Thorns.

"My history with Melissa's group? Ugh..." Clyde repeated with disgust. "Well it's not so much The Thorns I have a problem with. Well I obviously don't like the Roses but its Melissa Sellers Our lovely general manager, that has all my love and affection." Clyde said with a roll of his eyes.

"Melissa was the one who pulled all the strings arranged my three on one handicap match against Thorns of a Rose just to make sure I was too tired and beaten up to compete in the Tension Battle Royal. And it worked. I entered at number one right after the handicap match." Clyde muttered dryly. "Melissa started stiffing my career after I lost the 24/7 title and I decided I wanted to join the main event picture for Tension. Melissa... Really didn't like that. Next thing I know, she's putting me in a match for the Hentai Title against Cheerleader Lilly, a batshit crazy stalker who just wanted ta' have her with me ta' spite my girlfriend... At the time."


"Then, Melissa blackmailed my girl ta' break up with me ta' get me OUT of the Hentai Title scene.... That fuckin' sucked. That was the worst.  Uh, The breakup I mean! Couldn't handle it, So I started seein' her again and Melissa put me in another Hentai Title match." Ranted the champion, clearly annoyed by everything Melissa had done to try and ruin his career and his love life. Honestly as he thought about it again, he wondered if she was satisfied knowing he didn't get to win and keep everything he wanted.

But refused to sulk as the champion. He wasn't allowed to show weakness.

"I could keep goin' but there ain't much need. Everytime I tried to gun for the World Title, Melissa was there ta' try and ruin my career and personal life at every corner." Clyde said dryly as he leaned his head on his elbow propped hand.

"...Honestly, all this just started because my ex-girlfriend tried to request a push from Melissa when I was just gettin' started. Then she started fuckin' with us..." Clyde muttered with offhanded honesty before his eyes suddenly widened and he scrambled in his chair to sit up straight frantically before turning his head to the cameras. Nevermind his foul language on air!  "But it wasn't her fault!" He said quickly before looking to Patty.

Some might not have considered having a guest on your show who’s sure to antagonize your boss to be the brightest ideas. To their credit, they might have a point.

But Patty wasn’t too worried about Melissa coming down on her because of the interview. She was fairly certain the decadent debutante wouldn’t even watch this show, let alone give her any sort of consequence for allowing a guest to speak openly. Even if she did, there was hardly any point. Clyde was the champion. The fox was in the henhouse, now.

”Quite a story.” She rested her elbows on the desk and leaned forward. ”But you came through it all - it took a while, yes, but you rose to the challenge. Although…” Patty brought a finger to her chin and tapped. ”It would seem you have some hurdles to overcome, still. Your relationship with Mercy’s been one that’s led to a lot of speculation throughout the AFW Universe - some say you’re still together on the sly, others say you’ve split up, and others still say you have something going on with a new wrestler - Belle B. Barker, I believe is her name. And we can't forget your partnership with Eliza, the so-called 'Dancing Passion' - something we'll be talking more about later.”

A wry smile crossed Patty’s lips - this was the sort of thing her fans craved. Exclusive information.

”Care to set the record straight?”

Despite Melissa being a sour subject, Clyde was calm, cool, relaxed and mostly all smiles... Until Mercy and their 'relationship' along with the other ladies in his life were brought up. He felt himself sort of slump in his chair with a nervous smile that hid some regret. He didn't know how he felt about putting his social life on blast, he wasn't shy about being a showman but this? This was different.

"Man... People talk, huh? Heh." Clyde asked with nervous laughter as he pulled on his collar.

He took a deep breath and sat up in his chair. "Well first off, me and Belle B. Barker are not a thing. Especially after she hit Ninjette with her finisher when we were supposed to save her from Reira Kirishima." Muttered Clyde.  "But she ain't all bad I guess." Clyde said giving the camera a sheepish look, knowing what he was going to announce.

"My partner, Eliza and me are just friends too! A big shout out ta' her for bein' in my corner!" He added quickly as he waved to the camera before turning to the lovely Patty, seeing that wry smile that made him a little bashful as he cleared this throat.

"Anyway I'm uh... Single."

”You hear that ladies?” Patty turned tot he camera and gave it a scandalous wink. ”This bachelor is On. The. Market.”

Patty took a moment to look at the camera and the let the viewers sink in her statement. A little ‘Ooooh’ moment, like the laughtrack on a sitcom. Many of her viewers were female, and while a good chunk of them were gay - this was the AFW, after all - Clyde was certain to draw in the horny schoolgirls. A key demographic.

”But you forgot one: Mercy. The relationship between you two is a long and complex one, as we all know, and it’s taken some interesting turns in the past year. Mercy in particular has found herself in an odd spot.”

Patty tented her fingers and leaned forward, getting into some intense thought. ”Tell me - what you’re opinion on the current company Mery is keeping? On top of that, I’m curious if there might be a champion vs. champion match in your future.”

World exclusive, world exclusive, world exclusive....

Clyde slumped in his chair with a bashful smile on his face as Patty re-announced his status with that flirty smile. Single he was but he couldn't say he was exactly looking to start dating again. If ever.

He had purposely skipped Mercy but Patty didn't let her go so easily and Clyde simply nodded at the woman's words that were very true.

The cowboy visibly frowned as he was reminded of Mercy working for Brittany Luuve. He had no problems being honest about the tension.

"Oh that's easy." Said the cowboy. "I think Brittany Luuve is violent psychopath and a skanky bitch." Clyde said firmly with a careless shrug. "She aint nowhere near the Champion that Taylor Parker, Akashi Tanikaze, Kirin Sumomo or..." Clyde froze suddenly and hesitated to speak but eventually swallowed his pride. "...Angel, were." He admitted, almost begrudgingly.

"And uh... As far as a crossover match goes. I honestly ain't got a clue. Right now there are plenty of contenders in Tension that I'd love ta' compete against and I have no plans to fight anyone from Friction. But all the same, I wouldn't turn down a match against Brittany either if she wanted one. I'll fight anybody. Be it any man or woman bigger or smaller than me, I don't turn down a good fight." He said as before leaning back in his chair and cracking a sly smile.

"I could take her easy though."