Post by Thaddeus Duke on Dec 24, 2018 1:09:25 GMT -8
The picture fades in to a dimly lit stone stairwell, one that resembles some medieval castle. The view is ascending, step by step with heavy feet, slowly. After a few seconds the camera ceases movement as a hooded man opens a heavy steel door in front. On the reverse side of the door the view empties onto what appears to be a rooftop. The camera pans around the surroundings at the well lit exterior. The grounds below the building are well manicured and sprawling as far as the lighting will allow. Ahead, Thaddeus Duke stands and stares up an illuminated flag pole with the flag waving in the light breeze. The banner flaps outward as the camera zooms in, capturing its details: a simple white field with a royal blue iron cross.
“I almost didn’t think this day would come,” Thaddeus states aloud as he turns his head facing the camera. “It was a long war, Jimmy,” he says, referring to the man holding the camera. Jimmy is actually James Heinrich, an English born German man of nearly 21. He’s also Thaddeus’ best friend.
“It wasn’t that long Thadly,” Jimmy replies in his thick London dialect. “A year. 18 months maybe,” he says matter of factly.
Thaddeus turns his attention toward the flag pole and starts lowering the Illuminatus banner. “1 year, 5 months, 19 days to be exact Jim.” With the flag lowered, Thaddeus unfastens the lanyards, removing the banner from its former home. “Even a month is a long time for those men sacrificing everything,” he states as he begins folding the banner.
“So what’s next for Thaddeus Duke?” Jim asks rhetorically. He’s fully aware of why they’re back at the old Illuminatus Compound. Fully aware of why the hell he’s holding a camera.
Several minutes later, Thaddeus and Jim have made their way back inside the building to the ground floor. The building is rich with lavish antique furninshings and décor collected through the decades by his grandfather Charles, nicknamed Asmodeus. Off to the right of the main entrance and roughly half way down the long main corridor is a set of large pocket doors. Attached to the doors in handcrafted ornate brass script are the words “Scientia Sit Potentia.” Latin for “Knowledge Is Power.” Thaddeus opens the doors revealing a large room decorated with more of the same lavish antique furnishings. On the wall immediately to the right of the doors is a large stone fireplace. Near which, a long sofa and matching chairs rest facing the fireplace. Thaddeus sits cross legged in a chair as the fire cracks and pops. Directly across from him stands a tripod. The camera loses focus as its jostled around and attached to the tripod. Jim zooms thet view out and back in to recalibrate its focus on Thaddeus.
“You ready for this?” Jim asks.
“I was born for this,” Thaddeus replies.
“YooHoo?” Jim asks as he retrieves a can of Thaddeus’ favorite drink from a mini fridge just out of camera view.
“Where would I be without it?” he asks with a smile as Jim tosses the can to him. Thaddeus shakes it vigorously for a few seconds and pops the top before taking a gulp.
“So, who is Thaddeus Duke?” Jim asks as he takes a seat in a chair just out of camera view.
“Today is Christmas Eve so at midnight tonight, I turn 20 years old,” he begins before being interrupted.
“Yeah that’s all well and good, but nobody cares,” Jim states. “No one at Elysium Pro gives a shit about whether you’re 20, or if you’re 40 years old. It doesn’t matter.”
Thaddeus sighs, taken aback slightly. “I’m rusty.”
“Indeed,” Jim concurs. “It’s to be expected. It’s been nearly 18 months since you’ve had a camera in your face.
“Where did you come from?”
“XWF, but does it matter?”
“I’m not sure it does, but it’s part of you. It’s part of why you’re here at Elysium Pro,” Jim answers. “Were you successful there?”
“Yeah man, you know this shit, so,” Thaddeus begins to explain before Jim cuts him off again.
“I do, yes. Elysium Pro doesn’t. Their fans don’t… probably.”
Thaddeus sighs.
“Okay, so tell us about your past, but don’t spend much time on it. Nobody cares where you were, or how good or bad you were there. Tell us why you’re not there now. Why you’re coming to Elysium Pro.”
“I never had any interest in pro wrestling until my faithful idiot friend here made me watch tapes of my father. It might sound stupid, but I didn’t have a good relationship with him so I kind of just disengaged entirely. His wrestling life wasn’t anything I was a part of so I kept it that way. Anyway, Jim makes me watch Dad’s tapes and I gravitated to the electricity of the live crowds and the fans cheering him on and I could see in their faces how they just get lost in what they’re seeing. I was hooked by the psychology of how you can turn a crowd, whether its 500 or 50,000 in a fuckin’ instant.
“Then and there I dragged Jim to my Dad’s gym and started practicing moves without so much as a clue what I was really doing. Dad caught a glimpse a few times and I’d ask him to train me. Which he always refused. Fast forward a few weeks and I dumped Jim on his head...”
“Thanks by the way. A concussion and a couple of fused discs later...”
“Jim we’re talking about me now.
“Anyway, my father finally relented after I just kept pushing him. Mostly I just pissed him off and he wanted to kick my ass. He pretty much beat my ass from post to post. He trained me for several months and without even really trying I got a contract offer from the Xtreme Wrestling Federation. My young naieve ass singed that shit and went to work.
“Nepotism by association.
“See, I didn’t realize it until after I left the company, but everything I got was basically handed to me. I’m not saying I didn’t earn my wins and the titles I’ve won, but in that company Duke is a famous name. I mean, my father was listed 11th all time on their stupid “let’s suck each other off” list. While I earned what I had, I didn’t have to earn the opportunity and now that I see that, it pisses me off.
“I’m a hardworking son of a bitch that night in or night out if Duke Nation saw my name on the card they knew that they were getting a show like they’ve never seen. Whether I was on first or on last I was always in the best match of the night. I prided myself on that more than all the wins and the titles and the unbeaten streak. That’s all secondary. When my name is on the card, I just want my legions of fans to say I was the best. Whether I won or I lost I was the best.”
Thaddeus finishes his YooHoo.
“But still. I don’t know what I earned on my own accord and what was handed to me because I had the machine behind me, because I had a famous name in their world. And that’s why I’m here.
“I don’t know the men and women on this roster. I have no enemies and I have no friends here. Some of the fans may remember me and that’s great if they do. At the end of the day all I want, is to earn my reputation. I want to earn my wins, earn my titles, earn new members of Duke Nation. I want to earn my spot in the history of this business and one day when I’m all shriveled up and can’t go in the ring anymore,” he pauses and stands. He closes in on the camera so that only his face can be seen.
“When the day comes that I’m no longer competing in the ring, I want to be able to run into some fan of mine somewhere and for them to say ‘you know what Thaddeus, no one was Better Than You.’
That’s why I’m here. It starts now. It starts at Elysium Pro.”
CLICK. Fade.
“I almost didn’t think this day would come,” Thaddeus states aloud as he turns his head facing the camera. “It was a long war, Jimmy,” he says, referring to the man holding the camera. Jimmy is actually James Heinrich, an English born German man of nearly 21. He’s also Thaddeus’ best friend.
“It wasn’t that long Thadly,” Jimmy replies in his thick London dialect. “A year. 18 months maybe,” he says matter of factly.
Thaddeus turns his attention toward the flag pole and starts lowering the Illuminatus banner. “1 year, 5 months, 19 days to be exact Jim.” With the flag lowered, Thaddeus unfastens the lanyards, removing the banner from its former home. “Even a month is a long time for those men sacrificing everything,” he states as he begins folding the banner.
“So what’s next for Thaddeus Duke?” Jim asks rhetorically. He’s fully aware of why they’re back at the old Illuminatus Compound. Fully aware of why the hell he’s holding a camera.
Several minutes later, Thaddeus and Jim have made their way back inside the building to the ground floor. The building is rich with lavish antique furninshings and décor collected through the decades by his grandfather Charles, nicknamed Asmodeus. Off to the right of the main entrance and roughly half way down the long main corridor is a set of large pocket doors. Attached to the doors in handcrafted ornate brass script are the words “Scientia Sit Potentia.” Latin for “Knowledge Is Power.” Thaddeus opens the doors revealing a large room decorated with more of the same lavish antique furnishings. On the wall immediately to the right of the doors is a large stone fireplace. Near which, a long sofa and matching chairs rest facing the fireplace. Thaddeus sits cross legged in a chair as the fire cracks and pops. Directly across from him stands a tripod. The camera loses focus as its jostled around and attached to the tripod. Jim zooms thet view out and back in to recalibrate its focus on Thaddeus.
“You ready for this?” Jim asks.
“I was born for this,” Thaddeus replies.
“YooHoo?” Jim asks as he retrieves a can of Thaddeus’ favorite drink from a mini fridge just out of camera view.
“Where would I be without it?” he asks with a smile as Jim tosses the can to him. Thaddeus shakes it vigorously for a few seconds and pops the top before taking a gulp.
“So, who is Thaddeus Duke?” Jim asks as he takes a seat in a chair just out of camera view.
“Today is Christmas Eve so at midnight tonight, I turn 20 years old,” he begins before being interrupted.
“Yeah that’s all well and good, but nobody cares,” Jim states. “No one at Elysium Pro gives a shit about whether you’re 20, or if you’re 40 years old. It doesn’t matter.”
Thaddeus sighs, taken aback slightly. “I’m rusty.”
“Indeed,” Jim concurs. “It’s to be expected. It’s been nearly 18 months since you’ve had a camera in your face.
“Where did you come from?”
“XWF, but does it matter?”
“I’m not sure it does, but it’s part of you. It’s part of why you’re here at Elysium Pro,” Jim answers. “Were you successful there?”
“Yeah man, you know this shit, so,” Thaddeus begins to explain before Jim cuts him off again.
“I do, yes. Elysium Pro doesn’t. Their fans don’t… probably.”
Thaddeus sighs.
“Okay, so tell us about your past, but don’t spend much time on it. Nobody cares where you were, or how good or bad you were there. Tell us why you’re not there now. Why you’re coming to Elysium Pro.”
“I never had any interest in pro wrestling until my faithful idiot friend here made me watch tapes of my father. It might sound stupid, but I didn’t have a good relationship with him so I kind of just disengaged entirely. His wrestling life wasn’t anything I was a part of so I kept it that way. Anyway, Jim makes me watch Dad’s tapes and I gravitated to the electricity of the live crowds and the fans cheering him on and I could see in their faces how they just get lost in what they’re seeing. I was hooked by the psychology of how you can turn a crowd, whether its 500 or 50,000 in a fuckin’ instant.
“Then and there I dragged Jim to my Dad’s gym and started practicing moves without so much as a clue what I was really doing. Dad caught a glimpse a few times and I’d ask him to train me. Which he always refused. Fast forward a few weeks and I dumped Jim on his head...”
“Thanks by the way. A concussion and a couple of fused discs later...”
“Jim we’re talking about me now.
“Anyway, my father finally relented after I just kept pushing him. Mostly I just pissed him off and he wanted to kick my ass. He pretty much beat my ass from post to post. He trained me for several months and without even really trying I got a contract offer from the Xtreme Wrestling Federation. My young naieve ass singed that shit and went to work.
“Nepotism by association.
“See, I didn’t realize it until after I left the company, but everything I got was basically handed to me. I’m not saying I didn’t earn my wins and the titles I’ve won, but in that company Duke is a famous name. I mean, my father was listed 11th all time on their stupid “let’s suck each other off” list. While I earned what I had, I didn’t have to earn the opportunity and now that I see that, it pisses me off.
“I’m a hardworking son of a bitch that night in or night out if Duke Nation saw my name on the card they knew that they were getting a show like they’ve never seen. Whether I was on first or on last I was always in the best match of the night. I prided myself on that more than all the wins and the titles and the unbeaten streak. That’s all secondary. When my name is on the card, I just want my legions of fans to say I was the best. Whether I won or I lost I was the best.”
Thaddeus finishes his YooHoo.
“But still. I don’t know what I earned on my own accord and what was handed to me because I had the machine behind me, because I had a famous name in their world. And that’s why I’m here.
“I don’t know the men and women on this roster. I have no enemies and I have no friends here. Some of the fans may remember me and that’s great if they do. At the end of the day all I want, is to earn my reputation. I want to earn my wins, earn my titles, earn new members of Duke Nation. I want to earn my spot in the history of this business and one day when I’m all shriveled up and can’t go in the ring anymore,” he pauses and stands. He closes in on the camera so that only his face can be seen.
“When the day comes that I’m no longer competing in the ring, I want to be able to run into some fan of mine somewhere and for them to say ‘you know what Thaddeus, no one was Better Than You.’
That’s why I’m here. It starts now. It starts at Elysium Pro.”
CLICK. Fade.