Post by Donzig on Jun 9, 2021 21:42:42 GMT -5
A flame flared to life and there was a small cloud of smoke, and then a candle was lit. The flickering flame revealed the masked face of Donzig, and he stared into nothing before his voice hissed.
'We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar...'
Donzig lifted his hand, passing it back and forth over the candle. The flame dancing around his fingers and palm, and he growled softly.
'Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death’s other Kingdom
Remember us—if at all—not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.'
He shook his masked head, and then he leaned back slowly as he steepled his fingers before him once more. The tips of his fingers tapping against the mask, and he tilted his head. Leather clad shoulders shrugged, and then the masked face glowered at the camera. And he then glanced back at the camera, a hand lifting with a flick of his fingers. 'There are many Hollow Men in Philadelphia this week. Men and women who claim to be great, who claim to be the best, who claim they have no equal!'
Donzig nodded, and he waved a hand before they steepled again before him. 'There are kings, monsters, and gods. And they all say they will walk into Philly, and they will claim the title of being the Best! The Best of the Best! But facts are? We're all equal, we're all dead men, and when the dust settles and the smoke clears? The only winner is the grave, it is the Void! It is the unending darkness, and we can all stand around and make our proclamations, eh? We can all say this or that, and hold our petty grudges! But in the end? None of that is going to matter.'
Donzig motioned at the candle, and he tilted his head slowly. 'You see all of our candles are going to go out. But-' A finger lifted, and he wagged it slowly. 'But, before you go down in the dust, into ruin? You can carve your name into immortality, you can make sure that your name burns bright in the great darkness! Which is what I itend to do, you see?'
Donzig's hand rose up, and then slammed down in a closed fist. The candle toppled, and smoke swirled as the flame danced and flickered. Then it guttered and died in the spreading puddle of wax, and Donzig's voice came from the shadows as it rose to a shriek. 'Gods! Kings! Monsters! Painted fucking Whores! Name it! They all fall down to the Scourge, they all go screaming down into the Hungry Dark! And that is where I am waiting, the Scourge! The Hand of Doom! The Lord of fucking Chaos! And I am going to carve my claim to immortality into your hides! None of you, have ever faced anything like me!'
Donzig voice panted, and the table was thrown aside as he started to pace in the darkness. And he was clearly working himself up into a rage in the darkness. 'By the way, Isabel Rios! You and I? We have business! You have a match against my disciple, Sinclair. A title match no less, and I see no harm in showing Fireside and the entire XHF how very serious I am in making sure I get a few shots in! And I know, I know that some people around here are very worried about who you are fucking? Or whether or not you're fucking? But frankly, Rios?'
The pacing paused, and there was the sound of something smacking against the table. Then the sound of wood scraping across the floor, and he snarled again. 'I don't care! Inside that ring? You and these other ladies? You're just one more unfortunate who happens to be in my way! And we all know what happens to people who get in my motherfucking way! They get mowed down!'
The darkness was quiet for a moment, and then Donzig's voice purred out again. 'I am going to be real honest here, I always try to be real honest. When a man lies, he murders some part of the world. And the fact is? The only one out of the 15 other people in this tournament I can stand is Keith Williams! There I said it! The rest of you? Yeah, you're legends. You're Gods, monsters, titans, and queens I get it. But all of those things? They die, they die. They go kicking and screaming into oblivion, and that is your fate. The Scourge is here, the Hand of Doom is here! All you will be purified before the Great Dark!'
Donzig paused, silence echoing in the shadows before he sniffed. 'By the way, if any of you make it to Night Two? Which might happen? The magic words are no DQ. No DQ, which means I can do whatever I want with you. Think about that, because I am going to be. We've all seen Call to Arms, right? I am a man, who likes his toys. And we are in Philly, eh? Death Match Country, eh? Yeah, someone needs to feed the Hungry Dark after all. Blood and hunger.'
The darkness fell quiet again, and Donzig shifted unseen on his chair as he brooded for a long moment. The room was silent, and then his voice echoed again. 'I am the storm, the inferno, the whirlwind. The purity of oblivion is here, darkness is here! And soon Fireside, and all of the XHF will tremble before me. I am inevitable.'
A pause, and then he whispered again.
'Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom....'
'We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar...'
Donzig lifted his hand, passing it back and forth over the candle. The flame dancing around his fingers and palm, and he growled softly.
'Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death’s other Kingdom
Remember us—if at all—not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.'
He shook his masked head, and then he leaned back slowly as he steepled his fingers before him once more. The tips of his fingers tapping against the mask, and he tilted his head. Leather clad shoulders shrugged, and then the masked face glowered at the camera. And he then glanced back at the camera, a hand lifting with a flick of his fingers. 'There are many Hollow Men in Philadelphia this week. Men and women who claim to be great, who claim to be the best, who claim they have no equal!'
Donzig nodded, and he waved a hand before they steepled again before him. 'There are kings, monsters, and gods. And they all say they will walk into Philly, and they will claim the title of being the Best! The Best of the Best! But facts are? We're all equal, we're all dead men, and when the dust settles and the smoke clears? The only winner is the grave, it is the Void! It is the unending darkness, and we can all stand around and make our proclamations, eh? We can all say this or that, and hold our petty grudges! But in the end? None of that is going to matter.'
Donzig motioned at the candle, and he tilted his head slowly. 'You see all of our candles are going to go out. But-' A finger lifted, and he wagged it slowly. 'But, before you go down in the dust, into ruin? You can carve your name into immortality, you can make sure that your name burns bright in the great darkness! Which is what I itend to do, you see?'
Donzig's hand rose up, and then slammed down in a closed fist. The candle toppled, and smoke swirled as the flame danced and flickered. Then it guttered and died in the spreading puddle of wax, and Donzig's voice came from the shadows as it rose to a shriek. 'Gods! Kings! Monsters! Painted fucking Whores! Name it! They all fall down to the Scourge, they all go screaming down into the Hungry Dark! And that is where I am waiting, the Scourge! The Hand of Doom! The Lord of fucking Chaos! And I am going to carve my claim to immortality into your hides! None of you, have ever faced anything like me!'
Donzig voice panted, and the table was thrown aside as he started to pace in the darkness. And he was clearly working himself up into a rage in the darkness. 'By the way, Isabel Rios! You and I? We have business! You have a match against my disciple, Sinclair. A title match no less, and I see no harm in showing Fireside and the entire XHF how very serious I am in making sure I get a few shots in! And I know, I know that some people around here are very worried about who you are fucking? Or whether or not you're fucking? But frankly, Rios?'
The pacing paused, and there was the sound of something smacking against the table. Then the sound of wood scraping across the floor, and he snarled again. 'I don't care! Inside that ring? You and these other ladies? You're just one more unfortunate who happens to be in my way! And we all know what happens to people who get in my motherfucking way! They get mowed down!'
The darkness was quiet for a moment, and then Donzig's voice purred out again. 'I am going to be real honest here, I always try to be real honest. When a man lies, he murders some part of the world. And the fact is? The only one out of the 15 other people in this tournament I can stand is Keith Williams! There I said it! The rest of you? Yeah, you're legends. You're Gods, monsters, titans, and queens I get it. But all of those things? They die, they die. They go kicking and screaming into oblivion, and that is your fate. The Scourge is here, the Hand of Doom is here! All you will be purified before the Great Dark!'
Donzig paused, silence echoing in the shadows before he sniffed. 'By the way, if any of you make it to Night Two? Which might happen? The magic words are no DQ. No DQ, which means I can do whatever I want with you. Think about that, because I am going to be. We've all seen Call to Arms, right? I am a man, who likes his toys. And we are in Philly, eh? Death Match Country, eh? Yeah, someone needs to feed the Hungry Dark after all. Blood and hunger.'
The darkness fell quiet again, and Donzig shifted unseen on his chair as he brooded for a long moment. The room was silent, and then his voice echoed again. 'I am the storm, the inferno, the whirlwind. The purity of oblivion is here, darkness is here! And soon Fireside, and all of the XHF will tremble before me. I am inevitable.'
A pause, and then he whispered again.
'Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom....'