Post by Teo Blaze on Jan 20, 2019 23:58:42 GMT -5
As the scene opens the viewer, the camera is enveloped in darkness, practically blank save for the usual logos in the bottom right corner of the screen. What is visible to the viewer is faint at best...but yet it still can be seen with a moment’s concentration. There is a silhouetted figure, standing in the darkness, barely visible.
A moment’s silence passes, the scene immeasurably still, but the figure raises his hands slowly out to the left and right, lifting them slowly. One more moment’s silence...and then a peculiarity.
All arranged to form a circle around the figure. The sparkling lights clash with each other, their incandescence battling for center stage as they appear brighter and brighter, encircling the figure until all is consumed in a rainbow of color that convalesces!
...Into a bright white light.
Standing on a raised platform, with six glowing gemstones mounted behind him, is the Television Champion. He is wearing a white collared shirt, unbuttoned with a pair of blue jeans over bare feet. In the glowing light of the gemstones he looks positively radiant, his clothes reflecting the mixture of colors in a pure white light.
He turns towards the camera, his signature red glasses sparkling like rubies as he offers the camera a genuine smile.
Teo Blaze: Hello there WCF...welcome to the future.
The champion places a finger on the bridge of his glasses, pushing them up over his eyes and crosses his arms, his expression showing the confidence of a man who has walked through hell, and come back with a treasure.
Teo Blaze: I don’t have to tell you what happened at One. You’ve already seen it. In one of the most rewarding matches of my career, I not only retained my championship, but in one fell swoop I united the infinity stones, the first and to this date only man to manage such a feat and in doing so cemented my place in history even further as one of the most influential to ever hold the title.
King of all media...Television Champion of the Year, Internet too. Longest reigning People’s Champion, First ever infinity Champion, undefeated at One four years running…
It’s enough to make a man start to develop an ego.
Teo turns and looks at the stones, his face reflected in the polished gemstone surface.
Teo Blaze: But I’ve seen the place that path leads, WCF, I have looked down that dark road that pride takes you and I do not like what I see at the end of it, oh no.
I did not craft one of the most talked about Television Championship reigns in the history of this company by throwing down empty words and overlooking my challengers.
As Teo speaks, the camera zooms in slowly on his face, his expression intensifying with every word.
Teo Blaze: My ferocity, my passion, my fire will never give way to ego. I don’t care what I accomplish. The fact that I have a World Championship opportunity, that I literally carry the fate of this company in my hands…
Does not change my dedication to this Television Championship.
As far as I am concerned, this championship is my first and foremost priority. Its lineage, its prestige, its honor has been built on the backs of those men who were willing to put everything on the line on any given week. The stones may be mine and mine alone, but my fight is far from over.
As the camera finally pans in, the glimmer reappears in Teo’s eyes, the same look that has consumed his expression in countless matches previously. A look of focus, of drive…
Teo Blaze: Which brings me to my opponent this week. Jaice Wilds, a technically undefeated challenger who has seen his friendly challenge turn into a high profile title fight.
Teo’s lip curls as he speaks, as though he has smelled something rather foul.
Teo Blaze: That action, dear friends, is the definition of an act of ego.
Wilds, I know you have not been here long, but the simple fact of the matter is that after one match, after a single victory over Vincent Augustine, a man who I twice defeated for this championship, you had an inkling, an idea in your head.
“Well that was easy” you thought to yourself, as you were looking up at the crowd.
And that’s when you got the idea. You looked up at me standing in that ring, you saw me fell the great animal and thought, “Yeah, he’s the guy. He’s the guy I want to fight.”
It’s now that Teo’s face twists into a grin.
Teo Blaze: You know Jace, for someone who likes to throw around how long he’s been in this business, I’d think you know better.
As soon as Teo speaks, the camera zooms out to reveal that he is no longer standing in a pristine white room. He stands on the same raised platform, but he is now dressed in a dark red jacket, and where the stones once stood, there are now huge torches, roaring with flame and surrounding him in a ring of fire.
Teo Blaze: Do you realize what you have asked for, Jaice?
Because I don’t think that you have processed just what you are walking into.
For all your candied words about how impressed you are with my legacy, with my accomplishments, for as polite as you addressed your challenge, you seem to have forgotten one little detail.
And that is when people step into the ring with me? They get hurt.
That is what I do, you ignorant piece of filth. I take talent, I take potential, and I break. It. Down!
The flames explode behind Teo, emphasizing each syllable with a rush of flame.
Teo Blaze: This is not jumping in the deep end to force yourself to sink or swim, Jaice.
You’re jumping in front of a train.
To step between these ropes with me is to put your career on the line in the name of this championship!
And that, Jaice, that is what you have yet to realize.
This championship, this role I’ve chosen as Television Champion?
This is my everything.
Life. or. Death.
And you..? You see it as a friendly challenge. You see it as two athletes testing their mettle against each other.]
In your own words, “I want to test myself against the best of the best”.
Teo turns his face towards the camera, his mouth curling into a crooked grin, chipped teeth twisted into a ferocious smile, the orange light of the flames completely reflecting off the red lenses of his glasses.
Teo Blaze: Well guess what? I’m going to test you alright.
Because you, Jaice, despite all of your talk about your veteran status, despite the fact that you’ve thrown in with the Guardians to have your back, as much experience as you claim to have… You don’t have what I have.
You don’t have that challenge, week in and week out, you don’t have a pack of hungry wolves following your each and every move, hoping for a moment of weakness, an instant of failure.
You have never had to be what I am.
Have you seen the look, Mr. Veteran?
Have you seen that look when someone’s eyes fall upon this gold, when the glistening surface consumes their focus, when all they can see is that championship around their waist?
I have.
I’ve seen men who would push their best friend down a flight of stairs for this championship, I’ve seen people put their bodies on the line, risk their lives in pursuit of it.
And I’ve turned them all away. Each and every one of those hungry wolves.
And now here you are.
Asking for a friendly challenge.
Teo shakes his head, his expression caught somewhere between humor and pity, as though he is looking at a particularly pathetic sight.
Teo Blaze: I see through you, Jaice. I see your motives. You can try to hide it, but I see that look in your eyes. You think you’re different than all those other competitors, that you simply seek the thrill of athletic competition.
But I know that you want this championship, just like each and every person on the roster.
You say you hold me in high regard?
I say prove it.
I want to see that hunger, Jaice. I want you to have the goddamn decency to look me in the eyes and tell me what you really want. Tell me that you crave this championship, tell me that you’ve seen what I’ve accomplished under its banner and that you want a piece of the action.
Come on, cut loose.
Get pissed.
Get greedy.
You say you respect me? Then tell me fucking truth.
Teo reaches down and retrieves the Television Championship. He holds up the shining gold to the camera and looks directly into it as he does so.
Teo Blaze: I’ll tell you the truth, Jaice. Even if you acknowledge your hunger, even if you acknowledge that greed, that desire for fame, for glory, for gold…
Even if you can look at yourself in the mirror and admit that you are no different than anyone else who has come for me.
The truth is that it won’t help you.
It won’t help you because your passion, your flame? It’s corrupted.
It’s tarnished.
When you won that match at One, you got that little taste of glory?
Any flame you had was snuffed. In its place roared a desire, a desire to shape your own destiny.
To put your fate in your own hands.
You didn’t challenge me because you wanted to test yourself, James. You did it because I am the one holding this championship. That’s the only reason.
Teo spits on the ground as he speaks, looking once more into the camera.
Teo Blaze: I’m not going to stand here in front of these people and say that you don’t deserve a championship match.
I don’t give a damn what you deserve.
The only thing I give a damn about is the person standing across from me in that ring.
That’s how I got where I was. I’ve never called my shot, I’ve never requested a damn thing. I have faced whoever they put in front of me week in, and week out, and I have won.
Corey wants me to beat the bullshit out of you? So be it.
Because that’s what you are, Jaice.
You’re not special. You’re not unique.
The fires explode with heat, emphasizing each beat.
Teo Blaze: You’re fucking kindling.
Teo smiles, and as he does, the scene seems to change slightly, the ring of fire giving way to the previous scene, the infinity stones shining brightly through the flames, creating a beautiful yet haunting ring around the champion.
Teo Blaze: I carry with me two prizes... the Television Championship, and the Infinity Championship. One allows me to take my destiny in my own hands.
But I carry that honor only because I surrendered my destiny for so long. To be truly worthy to call myself the Infinity Man, I had to first be shaped by fate, and forged in the fires of combat.
You?
You’ve tried to take hold of your destiny after a single victory.
You’ve tried to control your fate without feeling the sting, the burden that comes with this prize.
Teo chuckles, his face contorting into an expression somewhere between joy and pity.
Teo Blaze: Do you understand yet? Do you see the way your actions betray your true intentions? Do you see how I have come by the strength that you praised me for?
Blaze looks directly into the camera as the light from the flames and gems burns brighter than it has the entire time, enveloping the screen in a blinding light that beams around Blaze.
Teo Blaze: The only way to gain strength is through failure.
The world we live in is a cruel, uncaring place, but for those who submit to its will, for those who are willing to face whatever challenge they are handed without flinching? Their reward is strength.
Your time may yet come, but that day is not today, Wilds.
Not until you have felt that sting of defeat, that bitter pain of failure.
And that..? That pain is my gift to you.
Remember it.
Let it burn inside you.
Let it ignite and burn away any remnant!
Any shred of ego!
Teo smiles and holds out his hand...as if by magic, the stones now sit in his outstretched palm.
Teo Blaze: Only then will we stand in the ring as equals.
Teo holds out his left hand slowly as he continues smiling. The camera holds on his familiar, twisted grin as his outstretched hand snaps its fingers.
In an instant, the flames are gone, and darkness floods the scene. Leaving only the colored glimmer of the gemstones shining beneath an equally bright pair of red crystal lenses.
A moment’s silence passes, the scene immeasurably still, but the figure raises his hands slowly out to the left and right, lifting them slowly. One more moment’s silence...and then a peculiarity.
A sparkling green light appears next to the figure.
Then a yellow one.
Orange.
Red.
Purple.
Blue.
All arranged to form a circle around the figure. The sparkling lights clash with each other, their incandescence battling for center stage as they appear brighter and brighter, encircling the figure until all is consumed in a rainbow of color that convalesces!
...Into a bright white light.
Standing on a raised platform, with six glowing gemstones mounted behind him, is the Television Champion. He is wearing a white collared shirt, unbuttoned with a pair of blue jeans over bare feet. In the glowing light of the gemstones he looks positively radiant, his clothes reflecting the mixture of colors in a pure white light.
He turns towards the camera, his signature red glasses sparkling like rubies as he offers the camera a genuine smile.
Teo Blaze: Hello there WCF...welcome to the future.
The champion places a finger on the bridge of his glasses, pushing them up over his eyes and crosses his arms, his expression showing the confidence of a man who has walked through hell, and come back with a treasure.
Teo Blaze: I don’t have to tell you what happened at One. You’ve already seen it. In one of the most rewarding matches of my career, I not only retained my championship, but in one fell swoop I united the infinity stones, the first and to this date only man to manage such a feat and in doing so cemented my place in history even further as one of the most influential to ever hold the title.
King of all media...Television Champion of the Year, Internet too. Longest reigning People’s Champion, First ever infinity Champion, undefeated at One four years running…
It’s enough to make a man start to develop an ego.
Teo turns and looks at the stones, his face reflected in the polished gemstone surface.
Teo Blaze: But I’ve seen the place that path leads, WCF, I have looked down that dark road that pride takes you and I do not like what I see at the end of it, oh no.
I did not craft one of the most talked about Television Championship reigns in the history of this company by throwing down empty words and overlooking my challengers.
As Teo speaks, the camera zooms in slowly on his face, his expression intensifying with every word.
Teo Blaze: My ferocity, my passion, my fire will never give way to ego. I don’t care what I accomplish. The fact that I have a World Championship opportunity, that I literally carry the fate of this company in my hands…
Does not change my dedication to this Television Championship.
As far as I am concerned, this championship is my first and foremost priority. Its lineage, its prestige, its honor has been built on the backs of those men who were willing to put everything on the line on any given week. The stones may be mine and mine alone, but my fight is far from over.
As the camera finally pans in, the glimmer reappears in Teo’s eyes, the same look that has consumed his expression in countless matches previously. A look of focus, of drive…
Teo Blaze: Which brings me to my opponent this week. Jaice Wilds, a technically undefeated challenger who has seen his friendly challenge turn into a high profile title fight.
Teo’s lip curls as he speaks, as though he has smelled something rather foul.
Teo Blaze: That action, dear friends, is the definition of an act of ego.
Wilds, I know you have not been here long, but the simple fact of the matter is that after one match, after a single victory over Vincent Augustine, a man who I twice defeated for this championship, you had an inkling, an idea in your head.
“Well that was easy” you thought to yourself, as you were looking up at the crowd.
And that’s when you got the idea. You looked up at me standing in that ring, you saw me fell the great animal and thought, “Yeah, he’s the guy. He’s the guy I want to fight.”
It’s now that Teo’s face twists into a grin.
Teo Blaze: You know Jace, for someone who likes to throw around how long he’s been in this business, I’d think you know better.
As soon as Teo speaks, the camera zooms out to reveal that he is no longer standing in a pristine white room. He stands on the same raised platform, but he is now dressed in a dark red jacket, and where the stones once stood, there are now huge torches, roaring with flame and surrounding him in a ring of fire.
Teo Blaze: Do you realize what you have asked for, Jaice?
Because I don’t think that you have processed just what you are walking into.
For all your candied words about how impressed you are with my legacy, with my accomplishments, for as polite as you addressed your challenge, you seem to have forgotten one little detail.
And that is when people step into the ring with me? They get hurt.
That is what I do, you ignorant piece of filth. I take talent, I take potential, and I break. It. Down!
The flames explode behind Teo, emphasizing each syllable with a rush of flame.
Teo Blaze: This is not jumping in the deep end to force yourself to sink or swim, Jaice.
You’re jumping in front of a train.
To step between these ropes with me is to put your career on the line in the name of this championship!
And that, Jaice, that is what you have yet to realize.
This championship, this role I’ve chosen as Television Champion?
This is my everything.
Life. or. Death.
And you..? You see it as a friendly challenge. You see it as two athletes testing their mettle against each other.]
In your own words, “I want to test myself against the best of the best”.
Teo turns his face towards the camera, his mouth curling into a crooked grin, chipped teeth twisted into a ferocious smile, the orange light of the flames completely reflecting off the red lenses of his glasses.
Teo Blaze: Well guess what? I’m going to test you alright.
Because you, Jaice, despite all of your talk about your veteran status, despite the fact that you’ve thrown in with the Guardians to have your back, as much experience as you claim to have… You don’t have what I have.
You don’t have that challenge, week in and week out, you don’t have a pack of hungry wolves following your each and every move, hoping for a moment of weakness, an instant of failure.
You have never had to be what I am.
Have you seen the look, Mr. Veteran?
Have you seen that look when someone’s eyes fall upon this gold, when the glistening surface consumes their focus, when all they can see is that championship around their waist?
I have.
I’ve seen men who would push their best friend down a flight of stairs for this championship, I’ve seen people put their bodies on the line, risk their lives in pursuit of it.
And I’ve turned them all away. Each and every one of those hungry wolves.
And now here you are.
Asking for a friendly challenge.
Teo shakes his head, his expression caught somewhere between humor and pity, as though he is looking at a particularly pathetic sight.
Teo Blaze: I see through you, Jaice. I see your motives. You can try to hide it, but I see that look in your eyes. You think you’re different than all those other competitors, that you simply seek the thrill of athletic competition.
But I know that you want this championship, just like each and every person on the roster.
You say you hold me in high regard?
I say prove it.
I want to see that hunger, Jaice. I want you to have the goddamn decency to look me in the eyes and tell me what you really want. Tell me that you crave this championship, tell me that you’ve seen what I’ve accomplished under its banner and that you want a piece of the action.
Come on, cut loose.
Get pissed.
Get greedy.
You say you respect me? Then tell me fucking truth.
Teo reaches down and retrieves the Television Championship. He holds up the shining gold to the camera and looks directly into it as he does so.
Teo Blaze: I’ll tell you the truth, Jaice. Even if you acknowledge your hunger, even if you acknowledge that greed, that desire for fame, for glory, for gold…
Even if you can look at yourself in the mirror and admit that you are no different than anyone else who has come for me.
The truth is that it won’t help you.
It won’t help you because your passion, your flame? It’s corrupted.
It’s tarnished.
When you won that match at One, you got that little taste of glory?
Any flame you had was snuffed. In its place roared a desire, a desire to shape your own destiny.
To put your fate in your own hands.
You didn’t challenge me because you wanted to test yourself, James. You did it because I am the one holding this championship. That’s the only reason.
Teo spits on the ground as he speaks, looking once more into the camera.
Teo Blaze: I’m not going to stand here in front of these people and say that you don’t deserve a championship match.
I don’t give a damn what you deserve.
The only thing I give a damn about is the person standing across from me in that ring.
That’s how I got where I was. I’ve never called my shot, I’ve never requested a damn thing. I have faced whoever they put in front of me week in, and week out, and I have won.
Corey wants me to beat the bullshit out of you? So be it.
Because that’s what you are, Jaice.
You’re not special. You’re not unique.
The fires explode with heat, emphasizing each beat.
Teo Blaze: You’re fucking kindling.
Teo smiles, and as he does, the scene seems to change slightly, the ring of fire giving way to the previous scene, the infinity stones shining brightly through the flames, creating a beautiful yet haunting ring around the champion.
Teo Blaze: I carry with me two prizes... the Television Championship, and the Infinity Championship. One allows me to take my destiny in my own hands.
But I carry that honor only because I surrendered my destiny for so long. To be truly worthy to call myself the Infinity Man, I had to first be shaped by fate, and forged in the fires of combat.
You?
You’ve tried to take hold of your destiny after a single victory.
You’ve tried to control your fate without feeling the sting, the burden that comes with this prize.
Teo chuckles, his face contorting into an expression somewhere between joy and pity.
Teo Blaze: Do you understand yet? Do you see the way your actions betray your true intentions? Do you see how I have come by the strength that you praised me for?
Blaze looks directly into the camera as the light from the flames and gems burns brighter than it has the entire time, enveloping the screen in a blinding light that beams around Blaze.
Teo Blaze: The only way to gain strength is through failure.
The world we live in is a cruel, uncaring place, but for those who submit to its will, for those who are willing to face whatever challenge they are handed without flinching? Their reward is strength.
Your time may yet come, but that day is not today, Wilds.
Not until you have felt that sting of defeat, that bitter pain of failure.
And that..? That pain is my gift to you.
Remember it.
Let it burn inside you.
Let it ignite and burn away any remnant!
Any shred of ego!
Teo smiles and holds out his hand...as if by magic, the stones now sit in his outstretched palm.
Teo Blaze: Only then will we stand in the ring as equals.
Teo holds out his left hand slowly as he continues smiling. The camera holds on his familiar, twisted grin as his outstretched hand snaps its fingers.
In an instant, the flames are gone, and darkness floods the scene. Leaving only the colored glimmer of the gemstones shining beneath an equally bright pair of red crystal lenses.
