CEO
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I bury hatchets, but I keep maps to where I put 'em.
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Post by Eden on Sept 3, 2020 14:55:08 GMT -5
Broadcasting through FXX and Netflix from The Sanatorium Arena in Serenity, CaliforniaRoleplay Deadlines: Friday, September 11th, 2020 at 9 PM PST, 12 AM EST, 11 PM CT(US) Saturday, September 12th, 2020 at 1 AM(UK)Roleplay Limit2 RPs, up to 1000 words apiece OR A single RP, up to 2000 words For tournament brackets updated as we progress, go here! Match Four: ShogunPhantom (RUS) versus Ace Michaels (USA)
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Professional
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Post by Phantom on Sept 9, 2020 23:27:35 GMT -5
As the scene comes slowly into view, a peculiar sight is what greets the viewer. Rather than a wide shot of an entire room, the camera instead focuses on a single, plain wall. But what is unique is not the wall itself, but what rests upon it. Hanging by a single nail sits an incredibly ornate mirror, with interwoven designs layered intricately to create a beautiful weave of golden chaos, with each strand diving in between each other in a glorious mane.
And in silence, the mirror sits, its reflection almost completely empty. No camera is reflected, nor the room behind. While it is clearly a mirror, the glass inside is completely and totally undisturbed. For in an instant, and almost without motion, the inside of the mirror is suddenly...
Inside of the mirror, appearing as if from out of nowhere, is "The Unstoppable Killing Machine" Phantom. In the darkness of the room, his eyes seem to flash with an unearthly light, reflecting as though he were standing in the noonday sun, even though everything else in the room is wreathed in relative darkness. And after a few moments, cocking his head to one side, the champion begins to speak.
"The Unstoppable Killing Machine" Phantom Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe that it is time for reflection.
As he speaks,He looks out to either side of the mirror, his face breaking into a smile as he considers either side of the mirror. He places his hands on the sides of the circle, resting upon it as if it represented an actual boundary.
I have always liked mirrors. They have a certain way about them, don’t they? You can do whatever you want, can change any aspect of yourself, can cut your hair, put on a new set of clothes, a new pair of shades...
But mirrors…
He lets out a small chuckle under his breath.
They always find a way to reflect the truth, don’t they? When a man looks in the mirror? They sees their true self. They can see their own flaws, faults, and imperfections. See, that’s the thing about mirrors. They’re honest.
He leans in slowly, and reaches his hand forward, where it comes to rest against an invisible surface, the mirror’s edge keeping him from reaching completely through.
I would guarantee that Ace Michaels does not have a mirror.
His face breaks into a crooked grin, revealing teeth slightly uneven, the scars of countless battles, giving his face a look that is unnatural.
How long has it been since people like us last locked horns?
His smile grows more devilish, as though he is remembering a particularly cruel joke at the expense of someone like Ace Michaels, but he holds it in.
I hope you can remember, Ace. How could someone like you forget, after all?
It was the night of the greatest triumph in the career of someone like me after all...
And your greatest failure. In front of the entire world, Ace, with all the momentum in the world, did we battle. And just like that, I took one more step into history, while people like you continued a slide into obscurity. I became the Unstoppable Killing Machine, and you..?
I will claim your scalp, you dumb son of a bitch, and the entire planet will see me do it.
He drops something with a very audible clatter, and begins laughing, but the laugh is not one of amusement, it carries with it an edge, an audible sound of viciousness, as though the thought of the memory, of Phantom's blood-soaked face pinning down someone who looks like Ace Michaels shoulders brings a pure and perverse joy to every syllable.
Oh Ace... Poor, poor Ace. Let me explain the reality of this situation... I have nothing left to prove when it comes to someone like you. I have taken the best shots from people like you, and I still walked out with everything that mattered in the world.There is nothing you can do to me that I cannot take, Ace!
As he speaks, he bangs his fist against the surface of the mirror, leading to a visible crack appearing in the glass. As his fist smacks against it, a small cut appears on the side of his hand, leading to a trickle of blood which curls its way along the glass. He watches the small red droplet and immediately the crooked smile returns.
I’ve taken the best shots people like you can give Ace... But you cannot say the same about me. I was beaten, battered, barely able to stand in the center of that ring, but I managed to dig deep into that well, and slam my thumb into that cinder block that people like you call a head... And that was it. The dream was dead and gone. You were just another name on my resume of victims.
He reaches with his bloody hand and taps his brow with his index finger, shooting a knowing expression over the rims of his red glasses, as though he is waiting to tell the punchline of a joke.
I will end you at Sanatorium in the Shogun Tourney in front of your pretty little wife.
He bangs his fists against the glass again, causing both the cracks in the glass as well as the small streams of blood to grow larger.
News flash, motherfucker, Shogun is all about opportunity! It is about turning away all comers to be the best! In allowing nobody to truly defeat you! No matter how small, no matter what their record, no matter if they have had a thousand matches or just one, to test themselves in the forge of combat! To stand in the fire of a determined man and let their weakness be burned away!
He turns his face to the side with noticeable effort, his expression visibly straining, but after a few moments of labored breathing, his normal speaking register resumes. His expression turns noticeably softer. While his expression retains a serious demeanor, there is less contempt in his eyes.
How have you been, Ace? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t glad to see you start to realize some of that potential. Just like I said when we met in interviews, you have talent, you have ability, but you need to yet refine it.
As soon as he says the words, the devilish expression returns to his visage, his smiling teeth forming a vicious crescent as the shining red lenses almost glow in the darkness.
But Ace, you should not take my respect as a good thing. Oh no, when people like us met before, you should have been scared that I might hurt you in that ring.
His head cocks eerily to the side, at an angle that doesn’t seem quite possible.
But this time, you should know I’m going to hurt you, Ace. You have done everything that I knew you were capable of, you can now stand proudly in that ring not only as a interviewer, but as a decent competitor. Quite a far cry from the man who was primarily known as a reliable interviewer, eh?
Because now I know just what you’re capable of. I know that you have it in you to give a good fight to people most would consider out of your league. And that means that I know just how little I can hold back this week. With every bit you think you are improving, with every inch you think you are pushing yourself beyond that threshold of tolerance, every time you think you are showing the world that you are capable of things that nobody would have considered from you…
He smiles devilishly.
People like you drive me to push myself much harder. You drive me to make myself that much better. I know that there are wolves out there, Ace. Hell, I know you have it in you to be an Alpha. But here’s the thing Ace, I’m a wolf too. But I’m no Alpha, Ace...
Suddenly and without warning, he slams his face into the glass, leading to a tremendous crack in the surface. He presses his forehead against the glass, leading to deep cuts along his face, causing long streaks of red to flow down across it, but the smile remains. Despite the crimson mask that quickly forms, he remains unflinching, the steely eyes constant above the crooked smile.
I’m a motherfucking outcast and a monster. I walk into that ring alone and I carry everything about myself right here.
He points to himself.
Because you see Ace, you’re not quite there yet. As much as I will applaud the way you have elevated yourself, at the end of it all, despite your improvements, despite the praises I could heap...you have not done it alone. You have combined your abilities with another, and you have turned it into something truly special. And are now attempting to light a spark that has gone cold for too long. But you cannot claim to have done what I have done. You still falter when you try and walk on your own, especially against killers like myself and so many others in here…
And Ace, even you aren’t dense enough to think of me as anything but a killer.
His crooked smile has seemed to grow, to change into something wicked, white chipped ivory shining behind rivulets of red.
You see, Ace Michaels and everyone else in the Shogun... My ghosts of victories past... I have always liked mirrors.
You can hide anything from those around you, with a change of clothes or a change of posture, you can decorate yourself like a store mannequin in finery and prestige, can tell the world that you are something greater than you are…
But when you look in the mirror...
The mirror can see through the facade. Ace Michaels, you are still the same entitled, arrogant asshole who I have embarrassed in the past. You are so fucking obsessed with your own personal glory, so convinced that you are god’s gift to wrestling that you take your natural gifts and you squander them. In one moment you underestimate the likes of so many before you, and in the next you bitch and moan about people getting opportunities they don’t deserve. Your brain is incapable of processing the simple fact that it does not matter who “deserves” opportunity. Opportunity is what you make of it.
And you Ace... At best you’re a work in progress. You think you have accomplished more than anyone thought you could...
But you have yet to truly walk on your own and force yourself to eliminate your weaknesses, And also push yourself to the fantastic heights that you dream of simply because you still rely on others like your wife.
His eyes are red-hot behind his bloody face, his pupils shining with an unearthly fire..
You and everyone else in the Shogun are two halves of a coin, opposite in stature... But none of you are ready to face me. I am a man who has let himself be broken in the fire of combat, who has fought and bled for it having been made into a warrior…
So this week, I do everyone a favor. I will allow to keep going on this path, whether to redemption or obscurity, and I will do it with the whole world watching.
Take a look in a mirror, Ace…
You might learn something.
With that, Phantom leans back and slams his forehead once more into the glass of the mirror. With that shatter, the shards of glass fall to the floor as barely visible flecks of blood appear on the broken glass. The frame now sits completely empty as it starts to fade to black, leaving only the image of a blank white wall.
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