Transition is hard.
Ask old Larry Harris.
There was a time when I hadn’t had a hit in a while. That’s when I was cast on a horse jockey flick with Larry on cast, playing some kind of mentor. And he tried to serve as one for me behind the scenes.
Tried.
See, Larry had been a big star back in the day before Technicolor, when it was all done in black and white. When movies started getting made in the oh-so-realistic color, he started rubbing his hands together.
He was going to make some fucking money.
Larry latched onto the first director that did color pictures, and they made a few minor hits. He was tight with that crew, but his loyalty ended up costing him.
Maybe he could have been a big star.
Maybe.
Instead, he watched as his co-stars fell by the wayside. His loyalty cost him his ability to be on top, which led him to me.
Just like you, Vigour.
Now you ain’t trying to mentor me, not that I’d listen, but there’s still a lesson to learn from you.
That world you came from? You were the big rebel in black and white, always wanting to break free from the Ashen and be something more. Be who you thought you should be.
When your ass ended up in this Technicolor world, I know you thought it was time to cash in and be the man you thought you should be.
But that ain’t how this works, is it?
You walked into OSW and latched onto Starboy and the Kid. Y’all had some minor success, didn’t you? But what has that loyalty cost you?
Starboy’s dead.
TGK’s going haywire.
Maybe a different choice would have made you a star.
Maybe.
But you’re riding your loyal horse into an early grave. Literally.
And that brings you to me. I’ve been down on my luck, haven’t had a hit in a while.
That’s the real lesson, isn’t it?
See, Larry’s advice to me was to remember that Hollywood ain’t about friends or loyalty. It’s about doing whatever it takes to be on top.
It’s a lesson that you should learn, but one that you won’t.
But me? I listened to Larry.
That picture was a hit, and it put my name back up in lights.
It led me to OSW. It led me to the Bad Mother Fuckers. Just like you were led to the Rainbow Party.
A tight unit, supposedly unbreakable.
But nothing’s unbreakable.
Whereas you let the world tear your unit apart, I took matters into my own hands. I plotted my betrayal of Zero perfectly.
It’s time for Hollywood Luke Storm to get back on top. It starts with you, Vig.
Your plot is perfect. A naïve jockey gets pulled into a giant party world, all the while riding the same horse every week until its wounded ass finally dies.
And you’ll go down with the ship, won’t you?
But me? I won’t keep riding a wounded horse.
I’ll put a bullet between its eyes.