Fathers
Aug 3, 2016 22:10:33 GMT -5
Post by Danny Diamond on Aug 3, 2016 22:10:33 GMT -5
Number Three
The Diamond Mansion in Los Angeles, California
OFF CAMERA
The door to one of many bathrooms in the Diamond Mansion opens, Danny proceeding to walk inside. He flicks the light on and shuts the door behind him. After yet another long day of being Danny Diamond, the Englishman had just put his three year old son to bed and is getting ready for some business. He steps in front of the sink and turns the faucet. Diamond looks down at the running water, his mind racing. There have been a lot of thoughts crossing it lately, as usual with Danny, but some of those thoughts were different. Danny sighs and proceeds to cup some water into his hands and bend over, splashing it into his face. Sometimes a fresh slap of water hitting you in the face is all you really need to wake yourself up from a nightmare. Sometimes, it's not. Danny stands back upright and looks into the mirror. He notices something behind him that would alarm the normal man. Of course, Danny's not exactly normal anymore.
Danny Diamond: "Hello, Mirage."
Danny had come to terms with the fact that Mirage never existed, that he was just a character his mind had created in an effort to change him. Danny would feel helpless as Mirage would take control and do horrible things, but he knew that Mirage did not exist. Danny did every horrible thing that he blamed on Mirage, but his denial refused to let him see that until recently. It seemed as though Danny was finally cured of these mental atrocities, but the thoughts lingered. Mirage was no longer in control. Danny was free to do whatever he wanted to, but … what did he want to do? Once you get a taste of the maniacal things Mirage did, it's addicting. And even though Mirage was no longer in control, he did linger on to give his unique brand of advice.
Mirage: "You're just gonna look at me through the mirror?"
Danny Diamond: "You're not really there so it doesn't exactly matter where I look at you, now does it?"
Mirage: "True enough, I suppose. Hopefully we don't wake little Daniel with our discussion. Hearing his father talk to himself would be a bit worrisome."
Danny Diamond: "What do you want?"
Mirage: "What do - I - want? No, no, no, Daniel. What do - we - want? Two halves of a brain are still the same brain, no? But, that is a good question. What do we want? What does the great Danny Diamond want? Money, cars, clothes, all of the finer things, perhaps. But, wait, we have that, don't we? See, Daniel, we as humans want what we don't already have. What is it that we don't have?"
Confusion crosses Danny's face following that question. He's Danny Diamond, after all. He has everything.
Mirage: "Don't let the denial seep in, Daniel. We want the throne. We want success. We want to be the best."
Danny Diamond: "We already are the best."
Mirage: "What did I JUST say? Denial has always been your enemy, Daniel."
Danny Diamond: "What is there to deny? I'm the best. I have all of the accolades and talent to prove it."
Mirage: "You have accolades the world over … in companies that no longer exist. Right now, it's about FGA. That's where you are, right? That's where we are. What have we done there? One measly, little run as the Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion."
Danny Diamond: "I'm a king in FGA."
Mirage: "No, you're a part of a group who call themselves kings. There's a difference. Only one can truly rule. Who is the FGA World Champion?"
Danny Diamond: "Johnny Cannon, but--"
Mirage: "Johnny Cannon is the king of FGA. You aren't his partner, you're his servant."
Danny Diamond: "I am - nobody's - servant."
Mirage: "That denial's running deep, isn't it?"
Danny begins to clench his fists, but is this anger coming from being called a servant or the realization that he is a servant?
Mirage: "You were given the task of taking care of Chris Bond. Johnny doesn't want Chris coming for him so you're the lap dog that has to do his bidding and take out Chris. Servant."
Danny Diamond: "You're wrong."
Mirage: "Am I? We've seen Cannon's sit-down with Stephy. He said there are only two people worthy of holding the FGA World Championship, himself and Tony. You're a king though, right? You belong in that league, but according to Cannon, you're not even worthy of being mentioned. 'We're the only two who deserve to hold this. Nobody else.' You're not a king, Danny. We are not kings."
Danny stands in silence, unsure of how to respond right now.
Mirage: "But it's okay. We don't need to be kings. Kings want a kingdom, they want to rule over all others. We don't want that, do we? We don't want anyone to rule over. We don't want servants or worshippers. We want victims. We're the most talented man in professional wrestling. We are the best, but we're not treated like it. Hell, Cannon's a fool if he thinks anyone even looks at him like he's the best and the guy's got the damn World Championship. No one accepts that they aren't the best. We all want it, we all strive for it, we all claim it. Here's the thing, and you've even said it yourself, only one person to make that claim can be telling the truth. Are we liars?"
Danny Diamond: "… No."
Mirage: "Are we servants?"
Danny Diamond: "… No."
Mirage: "Are we kings?"
Danny Diamond: "… No."
Mirage: "Exactly. To Johnny and Tony, we're nothing more than their butler, but there's a reason for that, Daniel. They force us to believe we're one of them so we trust them. They want us to think we're equal, because they know they're not better than us. We can't just sit back and be disrespected anymore. We can't let them lie to our face and tell us we're a king. We're not the one fighting for that FGA World Championship because they don't want us to prove we're better than them, but we are, Daniel. We're better than them all. We'll never have their respect. They'll never acknowledge it, not the so-called kings and not anyone else. But that's okay. We don't need their respect. We need their fear. Fear is a very powerful thing, Daniel."
Danny continues staring into the mirror, his eyes changing focus from Mirage to his own face.
Mirage: "Right now, no one fears us. Why should they? But once we step out of the shadows, once we let everyone know we're not number three anymore …"
Diamond's green eyes stare into themselves as everything else begins to fade away for Danny. All these years he's spent trying to prove that he's the best, but it's true. No one respects him. No one looks at Danny as the best. He's just another pawn on the board to them, but he knows, deep down, he's so much more than that. He's associated himself with men who consider themselves the best as well, but somehow he's fallen off to the side. Somehow, he's become number three. And that simply won't do.
Mirage: "They'll learn to fear us. They'll learn to fear you, Danny Diamond. … What is it you always say, Daniel? Diamonds are forever. Let's prove it. Let's etch that name into the stones of history with a knife and then turn the blade onto them. We're not psychopaths, Daniel. They're not gonna fear death. This is wrestling. Every wrestlers biggest fear is that someone else is better than them. That is why they'll fear us. Let's show them what we truly are. Let's show the world what Danny Diamond is. The kings are dead."
As everything but Mirage and himself have faded off into the abyss for Danny, he finally does something he hasn't been able to do sincerely in a long time - smile.
Danny Diamond: "Long live me."
Fathers
Location: Unknown
ON CAMERA
The video begins in a narrow hallway, presumably backstage in a wrestling arena somewhere, though the actual location is unknown. Danny Diamond is seen standing in front of the camera with his usual smile that visualizes arrogance.
Danny Diamond: "There are two people who were so certain, so sure that they'd take home the cup this year, only to be thrown out of the equation before it even began. I took on Johnny Karma in my qualifier and told the world how I was so sure I'd end the dreams of Karma winning the cup for another year. That didn't go so well for me, did it? But, I wasn't the only one sure of my victory. 'When I win the Lion's Cup this year', Chris said - when. And, sure enough, he stepped into the ring with Chandler Scott and got beat. So, now, neither of us are going for the cup this year, but our paths cross regardless. Chris has a problem with my fellow king and I've been tasked with taking care of that problem."
Danny smirks ever-so-slightly as the thoughts of his earlier conversation with Mirage run through his head. Servants do as they're told, but is Danny a servant?
Danny Diamond: "I want to make one thing so perfectly clear right now, Chris. I don’t do what I'm told to do. I do what I want to do. Unfortunately for you, I want to win. I know you're looking for a fight with Johnny, but don't worry about him when you're in the ring with me. The only thing you have to fear when facing Danny Diamond is … Danny Diamond. And when I say fear, trust me, I know all about you. I know blood, broken bones, scars, pain, these aren't things you fear, no, no, no. … No, you're a wrestler. You're an athlete. You're a competitor. You fear what all other wrestlers fear. You fear the idea that somebody exists out there who is better than you. See, the thing is, Chris, I'm that somebody. I don't know how smart of a man you are, but I know there are a hell of a lot of people in this company, hell in this industry, who aren't smart enough to realize what I am. I hope, for your sake, you aren't one of them, because if you are …"
The Englishman inches a bit closer to the camera, looking deep into it as if he were staring at Chris Bond himself.
Danny Diamond: "It's going to be very difficult explaining to your son why you lost to me, isn't it?"
As if a switch had been hit, Danny's demeanor makes a drastic change following this sentence. The calm and collected style of Diamond bursts into a fiery expression of rage.
Danny Diamond: "Don't you ever underestimate me, Chris! I'm the best bloody wrestler this whole fucking industry has seen and you will learn, one way or another, that I'm not to be fucked with! I'm done losing! I'm done telling my son why his father can't beat Johnny Karma! Blood isn't enough to be a good father, Chris! Your son has to look up to you! He has to know that his dad is the best! My father gave me that and I'm damn sure going to give my son that! My family is perfection and I'll be damned if you try to tell my son otherwise! WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"
With his face turning a bright red from the anger, Danny begins breathing heavily as he stares daggers through the camera. In his mind, everything he's saying makes sense and is perfectly justifiable. Chris did mock him and say it's going to be difficult to explain his loss to his son, after all. But the realization begins to set in for Danny, as he's breathing heavily and slowly calming down. Chris didn't say that. He did. Danny takes a step back as his mind races, unsure of what exactly is going on right now. The camera can only capture the look of confusion and anger gelling together in Danny. It can't pick up what he's seeing, what he's feeling. But even Danny can't piece together what, exactly, he's experiencing either. For weeks now, he's been living through hellish changes. The ideas planted into his head, the chats with Mirage. Danny thought he had experienced losing his mind long ago, but maybe that was just the warm up. Having been standing in silence for nearly a full minute, Diamond looks up into the camera, the anger and confusion fading from his face and being replaced with simple emptiness. What just happened, exactly? Realizing he has to say something, Danny tries to piece together a final statement for this video, although it's clear he's out of it by this point.
Danny Diamond: "I'm … I'm going to beat Chris Bond on Vertigo. … All hail the kings."
Without so much as a final glance into the camera, Danny walks away.
The Diamond Mansion in Los Angeles, California
OFF CAMERA
The door to one of many bathrooms in the Diamond Mansion opens, Danny proceeding to walk inside. He flicks the light on and shuts the door behind him. After yet another long day of being Danny Diamond, the Englishman had just put his three year old son to bed and is getting ready for some business. He steps in front of the sink and turns the faucet. Diamond looks down at the running water, his mind racing. There have been a lot of thoughts crossing it lately, as usual with Danny, but some of those thoughts were different. Danny sighs and proceeds to cup some water into his hands and bend over, splashing it into his face. Sometimes a fresh slap of water hitting you in the face is all you really need to wake yourself up from a nightmare. Sometimes, it's not. Danny stands back upright and looks into the mirror. He notices something behind him that would alarm the normal man. Of course, Danny's not exactly normal anymore.
Danny Diamond: "Hello, Mirage."
Danny had come to terms with the fact that Mirage never existed, that he was just a character his mind had created in an effort to change him. Danny would feel helpless as Mirage would take control and do horrible things, but he knew that Mirage did not exist. Danny did every horrible thing that he blamed on Mirage, but his denial refused to let him see that until recently. It seemed as though Danny was finally cured of these mental atrocities, but the thoughts lingered. Mirage was no longer in control. Danny was free to do whatever he wanted to, but … what did he want to do? Once you get a taste of the maniacal things Mirage did, it's addicting. And even though Mirage was no longer in control, he did linger on to give his unique brand of advice.
Mirage: "You're just gonna look at me through the mirror?"
Danny Diamond: "You're not really there so it doesn't exactly matter where I look at you, now does it?"
Mirage: "True enough, I suppose. Hopefully we don't wake little Daniel with our discussion. Hearing his father talk to himself would be a bit worrisome."
Danny Diamond: "What do you want?"
Mirage: "What do - I - want? No, no, no, Daniel. What do - we - want? Two halves of a brain are still the same brain, no? But, that is a good question. What do we want? What does the great Danny Diamond want? Money, cars, clothes, all of the finer things, perhaps. But, wait, we have that, don't we? See, Daniel, we as humans want what we don't already have. What is it that we don't have?"
Confusion crosses Danny's face following that question. He's Danny Diamond, after all. He has everything.
Mirage: "Don't let the denial seep in, Daniel. We want the throne. We want success. We want to be the best."
Danny Diamond: "We already are the best."
Mirage: "What did I JUST say? Denial has always been your enemy, Daniel."
Danny Diamond: "What is there to deny? I'm the best. I have all of the accolades and talent to prove it."
Mirage: "You have accolades the world over … in companies that no longer exist. Right now, it's about FGA. That's where you are, right? That's where we are. What have we done there? One measly, little run as the Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion."
Danny Diamond: "I'm a king in FGA."
Mirage: "No, you're a part of a group who call themselves kings. There's a difference. Only one can truly rule. Who is the FGA World Champion?"
Danny Diamond: "Johnny Cannon, but--"
Mirage: "Johnny Cannon is the king of FGA. You aren't his partner, you're his servant."
Danny Diamond: "I am - nobody's - servant."
Mirage: "That denial's running deep, isn't it?"
Danny begins to clench his fists, but is this anger coming from being called a servant or the realization that he is a servant?
Mirage: "You were given the task of taking care of Chris Bond. Johnny doesn't want Chris coming for him so you're the lap dog that has to do his bidding and take out Chris. Servant."
Danny Diamond: "You're wrong."
Mirage: "Am I? We've seen Cannon's sit-down with Stephy. He said there are only two people worthy of holding the FGA World Championship, himself and Tony. You're a king though, right? You belong in that league, but according to Cannon, you're not even worthy of being mentioned. 'We're the only two who deserve to hold this. Nobody else.' You're not a king, Danny. We are not kings."
Danny stands in silence, unsure of how to respond right now.
Mirage: "But it's okay. We don't need to be kings. Kings want a kingdom, they want to rule over all others. We don't want that, do we? We don't want anyone to rule over. We don't want servants or worshippers. We want victims. We're the most talented man in professional wrestling. We are the best, but we're not treated like it. Hell, Cannon's a fool if he thinks anyone even looks at him like he's the best and the guy's got the damn World Championship. No one accepts that they aren't the best. We all want it, we all strive for it, we all claim it. Here's the thing, and you've even said it yourself, only one person to make that claim can be telling the truth. Are we liars?"
Danny Diamond: "… No."
Mirage: "Are we servants?"
Danny Diamond: "… No."
Mirage: "Are we kings?"
Danny Diamond: "… No."
Mirage: "Exactly. To Johnny and Tony, we're nothing more than their butler, but there's a reason for that, Daniel. They force us to believe we're one of them so we trust them. They want us to think we're equal, because they know they're not better than us. We can't just sit back and be disrespected anymore. We can't let them lie to our face and tell us we're a king. We're not the one fighting for that FGA World Championship because they don't want us to prove we're better than them, but we are, Daniel. We're better than them all. We'll never have their respect. They'll never acknowledge it, not the so-called kings and not anyone else. But that's okay. We don't need their respect. We need their fear. Fear is a very powerful thing, Daniel."
Danny continues staring into the mirror, his eyes changing focus from Mirage to his own face.
Mirage: "Right now, no one fears us. Why should they? But once we step out of the shadows, once we let everyone know we're not number three anymore …"
Diamond's green eyes stare into themselves as everything else begins to fade away for Danny. All these years he's spent trying to prove that he's the best, but it's true. No one respects him. No one looks at Danny as the best. He's just another pawn on the board to them, but he knows, deep down, he's so much more than that. He's associated himself with men who consider themselves the best as well, but somehow he's fallen off to the side. Somehow, he's become number three. And that simply won't do.
Mirage: "They'll learn to fear us. They'll learn to fear you, Danny Diamond. … What is it you always say, Daniel? Diamonds are forever. Let's prove it. Let's etch that name into the stones of history with a knife and then turn the blade onto them. We're not psychopaths, Daniel. They're not gonna fear death. This is wrestling. Every wrestlers biggest fear is that someone else is better than them. That is why they'll fear us. Let's show them what we truly are. Let's show the world what Danny Diamond is. The kings are dead."
As everything but Mirage and himself have faded off into the abyss for Danny, he finally does something he hasn't been able to do sincerely in a long time - smile.
Danny Diamond: "Long live me."
Fathers
Location: Unknown
ON CAMERA
The video begins in a narrow hallway, presumably backstage in a wrestling arena somewhere, though the actual location is unknown. Danny Diamond is seen standing in front of the camera with his usual smile that visualizes arrogance.
Danny Diamond: "There are two people who were so certain, so sure that they'd take home the cup this year, only to be thrown out of the equation before it even began. I took on Johnny Karma in my qualifier and told the world how I was so sure I'd end the dreams of Karma winning the cup for another year. That didn't go so well for me, did it? But, I wasn't the only one sure of my victory. 'When I win the Lion's Cup this year', Chris said - when. And, sure enough, he stepped into the ring with Chandler Scott and got beat. So, now, neither of us are going for the cup this year, but our paths cross regardless. Chris has a problem with my fellow king and I've been tasked with taking care of that problem."
Danny smirks ever-so-slightly as the thoughts of his earlier conversation with Mirage run through his head. Servants do as they're told, but is Danny a servant?
Danny Diamond: "I want to make one thing so perfectly clear right now, Chris. I don’t do what I'm told to do. I do what I want to do. Unfortunately for you, I want to win. I know you're looking for a fight with Johnny, but don't worry about him when you're in the ring with me. The only thing you have to fear when facing Danny Diamond is … Danny Diamond. And when I say fear, trust me, I know all about you. I know blood, broken bones, scars, pain, these aren't things you fear, no, no, no. … No, you're a wrestler. You're an athlete. You're a competitor. You fear what all other wrestlers fear. You fear the idea that somebody exists out there who is better than you. See, the thing is, Chris, I'm that somebody. I don't know how smart of a man you are, but I know there are a hell of a lot of people in this company, hell in this industry, who aren't smart enough to realize what I am. I hope, for your sake, you aren't one of them, because if you are …"
The Englishman inches a bit closer to the camera, looking deep into it as if he were staring at Chris Bond himself.
Danny Diamond: "It's going to be very difficult explaining to your son why you lost to me, isn't it?"
As if a switch had been hit, Danny's demeanor makes a drastic change following this sentence. The calm and collected style of Diamond bursts into a fiery expression of rage.
Danny Diamond: "Don't you ever underestimate me, Chris! I'm the best bloody wrestler this whole fucking industry has seen and you will learn, one way or another, that I'm not to be fucked with! I'm done losing! I'm done telling my son why his father can't beat Johnny Karma! Blood isn't enough to be a good father, Chris! Your son has to look up to you! He has to know that his dad is the best! My father gave me that and I'm damn sure going to give my son that! My family is perfection and I'll be damned if you try to tell my son otherwise! WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"
With his face turning a bright red from the anger, Danny begins breathing heavily as he stares daggers through the camera. In his mind, everything he's saying makes sense and is perfectly justifiable. Chris did mock him and say it's going to be difficult to explain his loss to his son, after all. But the realization begins to set in for Danny, as he's breathing heavily and slowly calming down. Chris didn't say that. He did. Danny takes a step back as his mind races, unsure of what exactly is going on right now. The camera can only capture the look of confusion and anger gelling together in Danny. It can't pick up what he's seeing, what he's feeling. But even Danny can't piece together what, exactly, he's experiencing either. For weeks now, he's been living through hellish changes. The ideas planted into his head, the chats with Mirage. Danny thought he had experienced losing his mind long ago, but maybe that was just the warm up. Having been standing in silence for nearly a full minute, Diamond looks up into the camera, the anger and confusion fading from his face and being replaced with simple emptiness. What just happened, exactly? Realizing he has to say something, Danny tries to piece together a final statement for this video, although it's clear he's out of it by this point.
Danny Diamond: "I'm … I'm going to beat Chris Bond on Vertigo. … All hail the kings."
Without so much as a final glance into the camera, Danny walks away.
