Post by Lord Hastings on Dec 7, 2014 19:18:59 GMT -5
An image comes into focus of Donovan, up and close and apparently steadying the position of a camera. He steps back and takes a seat on his throne, a label from the Foshan Yichung Furniture Factory clearly visible on it.
Hastings: If the two of you are watching this, it is because I can not or will not tell you what I feel today that I have to. Obviously I sit here not know what that reason is, but the fact of the matter is that what I do is a matter of public record, broadcast weekly all over the internet to the entire world, and some day you’re going to see it. I can’t stop that, and I don’t know that I would really want to if I could. It’s going to leave you with questions, understandably, and in the case that I won’t give them to you, for whatever reason, here they are, on a video I hope you never have to watch.
Donovan picks up a can of Wild Cherry Pepsi off a side table and takes a sip.
Hastings: I don’t drink coffee. Never have. Your mother downs the stuff like nobody’s business. This is better. Trust me.
He sets the soda back down.
Hastings: A lot of people, when they think of me, this is image that they have. Me, sitting on a throne like this one, wearing a cloak like this one. I’m sure you’ll have seen plenty of it by the time you’re older. Right now, I want you to forget it.
Donovan stands and takes off his cloak, a Nike swoosh clearly visible as he does so. He lays the cloak over the throne, and then approaches the camera and turns it to the side, facing a bare portion of the room. The camera is clearly lowered closer to the floor, and when Donovan comes back into view he takes a seat on the floor, once again face to face with the camera.
Hastings: This is just me. That guy over there, the Immortal Lord of Pain? He has his problems and his enemies. That’s natural and to be expected. Me? I only have one at the moment, one I never wanted or expected to have. If you’re watching this, you’re older and you know what became of the Lord of Pain and the Blessed One. You know the resolution of the conflict between Donovan Hastings and Travis Roberts. For me, it’s hard to see one, not after everything that has happened. Now, if you’ve watched whatever historical records of this part of my career exist, I’m sure you know a story here. Hastings and Roberts joined together with Dirge and Vain to form the Puppet Masters, and with their support I once again dominated UGWC as the World Heavyweight Champion. The fly in the ointment came when Travis was no longer carrying his weight and the group exiled him with my stamp of approval. Of course, Travis, bitter and jealous as he often is, engineered my loss of the championship at his own expense, so horrid his need for an unrighteous vengeance had become. What followed may seem an overreaction on my part as well, as I cast other pursuits aside and demanded perhaps the most out of control match in the industry at Horizons for us to settle this. That’s what history will tell you.
Donovan opens one palm as he is talking, but now closes it and opens the other.
Hastings: I can tell you something else. This, all of this, is about you. Don’t take that the wrong way, I don’t blame you for any of it. It couldn’t possibly be less your fault. But one thing that always has and probably always will be true of Travis Roberts is that he is a self-center egoist who cannot see the world outside of the tiny bubble that exists within a few feet around him. We came together at a time when we were both looking for something, both unfulfilled in some way. My life changed. I found what I was missing, what I needed, and it was the two of you. Travis, he didn’t understand that. He couldn’t understand that. So when I was ready to move forward with a happy and contented life, he didn’t come along for the ride. Truth be told, I don’t know for certain if he even knows your names. I didn’t turn my back on him. I cut him loose, because that’s what was best for everybody. I freed both of us. It was Travis that chose to take it personally, chose to make it about an imagined need for revenge. But I know the truth.
Donovan leans forward a little, the volume of his voice dropping ever so slightly.
Hastings: He abandoned us.
Donovan resumes sitting upright.
Hastings: Even in his moments where he supposedly was thoughtful and giving, it’s still all about him. The first gift he ever gave the two of you, after months of ignoring your very existence? A tiny pair of aviators for each of you. Nevermind how asinine the damn things look, he gave you a gift that he would have preferred to have received, that’s how backwards the fool thinks. It’s like an eight year old girl that thinks her father would want to receive the American Girl doll that she wants herself for his birthday, or the four year old boy that wants to buy mommy a Thomas the Tank engine. It’s a selfish line of thinking reserved for children and Headliners.
Donovan shakes his head.
Hastings: You’re going to have a lot to learn in this life, a lot to experience. But there was something I told the both of you on the day you were born, something I’ve said to you on nights as I’ve put you to sleep, something that you must always remember.
He closes his eyes for a moment.
Hastings: Do unto others what you will, but always watch your back. Don’t cry over spilt blood. There are no such things as heroes, all heroes are villains, all villains are heroes, it’s just a matter of perspective. The Truth is always perverted by whoever reads it. Faith is belief based on hope, Trust is belief based on action. There are those that make things happen, those that watch things happen and those who don't know what's happening. In seeking wisdom thou art wise; in imagining that thou hast attained it, thou art a fool. Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something. None but ourselves can free our minds. It is not about the destination, the reward is in the journey.
He takes a deep breath.
Hastings: Ultimately, that’s all you need to understand. That’s why I’ve done what I’ve done. That’s why I’m about to do what I’m going to do, why I need to do it. This is where my journey is taking me. I hope yours takes you on a different path. I hope you never have to do what I have to do. I hope you are never betrayed like I have been betrayed. But one thing I don’t need to hope for, because I already know it to be true, is what you will do to someone if they do, and it is very simple. You will obliterate them.
He smiles.
Hastings: It is inevitable.
Hastings: If the two of you are watching this, it is because I can not or will not tell you what I feel today that I have to. Obviously I sit here not know what that reason is, but the fact of the matter is that what I do is a matter of public record, broadcast weekly all over the internet to the entire world, and some day you’re going to see it. I can’t stop that, and I don’t know that I would really want to if I could. It’s going to leave you with questions, understandably, and in the case that I won’t give them to you, for whatever reason, here they are, on a video I hope you never have to watch.
Donovan picks up a can of Wild Cherry Pepsi off a side table and takes a sip.
Hastings: I don’t drink coffee. Never have. Your mother downs the stuff like nobody’s business. This is better. Trust me.
He sets the soda back down.
Hastings: A lot of people, when they think of me, this is image that they have. Me, sitting on a throne like this one, wearing a cloak like this one. I’m sure you’ll have seen plenty of it by the time you’re older. Right now, I want you to forget it.
Donovan stands and takes off his cloak, a Nike swoosh clearly visible as he does so. He lays the cloak over the throne, and then approaches the camera and turns it to the side, facing a bare portion of the room. The camera is clearly lowered closer to the floor, and when Donovan comes back into view he takes a seat on the floor, once again face to face with the camera.
Hastings: This is just me. That guy over there, the Immortal Lord of Pain? He has his problems and his enemies. That’s natural and to be expected. Me? I only have one at the moment, one I never wanted or expected to have. If you’re watching this, you’re older and you know what became of the Lord of Pain and the Blessed One. You know the resolution of the conflict between Donovan Hastings and Travis Roberts. For me, it’s hard to see one, not after everything that has happened. Now, if you’ve watched whatever historical records of this part of my career exist, I’m sure you know a story here. Hastings and Roberts joined together with Dirge and Vain to form the Puppet Masters, and with their support I once again dominated UGWC as the World Heavyweight Champion. The fly in the ointment came when Travis was no longer carrying his weight and the group exiled him with my stamp of approval. Of course, Travis, bitter and jealous as he often is, engineered my loss of the championship at his own expense, so horrid his need for an unrighteous vengeance had become. What followed may seem an overreaction on my part as well, as I cast other pursuits aside and demanded perhaps the most out of control match in the industry at Horizons for us to settle this. That’s what history will tell you.
Donovan opens one palm as he is talking, but now closes it and opens the other.
Hastings: I can tell you something else. This, all of this, is about you. Don’t take that the wrong way, I don’t blame you for any of it. It couldn’t possibly be less your fault. But one thing that always has and probably always will be true of Travis Roberts is that he is a self-center egoist who cannot see the world outside of the tiny bubble that exists within a few feet around him. We came together at a time when we were both looking for something, both unfulfilled in some way. My life changed. I found what I was missing, what I needed, and it was the two of you. Travis, he didn’t understand that. He couldn’t understand that. So when I was ready to move forward with a happy and contented life, he didn’t come along for the ride. Truth be told, I don’t know for certain if he even knows your names. I didn’t turn my back on him. I cut him loose, because that’s what was best for everybody. I freed both of us. It was Travis that chose to take it personally, chose to make it about an imagined need for revenge. But I know the truth.
Donovan leans forward a little, the volume of his voice dropping ever so slightly.
Hastings: He abandoned us.
Donovan resumes sitting upright.
Hastings: Even in his moments where he supposedly was thoughtful and giving, it’s still all about him. The first gift he ever gave the two of you, after months of ignoring your very existence? A tiny pair of aviators for each of you. Nevermind how asinine the damn things look, he gave you a gift that he would have preferred to have received, that’s how backwards the fool thinks. It’s like an eight year old girl that thinks her father would want to receive the American Girl doll that she wants herself for his birthday, or the four year old boy that wants to buy mommy a Thomas the Tank engine. It’s a selfish line of thinking reserved for children and Headliners.
Donovan shakes his head.
Hastings: You’re going to have a lot to learn in this life, a lot to experience. But there was something I told the both of you on the day you were born, something I’ve said to you on nights as I’ve put you to sleep, something that you must always remember.
He closes his eyes for a moment.
Hastings: Do unto others what you will, but always watch your back. Don’t cry over spilt blood. There are no such things as heroes, all heroes are villains, all villains are heroes, it’s just a matter of perspective. The Truth is always perverted by whoever reads it. Faith is belief based on hope, Trust is belief based on action. There are those that make things happen, those that watch things happen and those who don't know what's happening. In seeking wisdom thou art wise; in imagining that thou hast attained it, thou art a fool. Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something. None but ourselves can free our minds. It is not about the destination, the reward is in the journey.
He takes a deep breath.
Hastings: Ultimately, that’s all you need to understand. That’s why I’ve done what I’ve done. That’s why I’m about to do what I’m going to do, why I need to do it. This is where my journey is taking me. I hope yours takes you on a different path. I hope you never have to do what I have to do. I hope you are never betrayed like I have been betrayed. But one thing I don’t need to hope for, because I already know it to be true, is what you will do to someone if they do, and it is very simple. You will obliterate them.
He smiles.
Hastings: It is inevitable.