Post by Joseph Blaze on Jan 16, 2022 20:14:25 GMT -5
“Life cannot be lived backwards. But our memories make up for that by making some moments truly unforgettable!” - Avijeet Das
OFF CAMERA
THE COMPOUND
Having just finished brushing his teeth and getting ready to go to sleep, Joseph Blaze walks over to his bed and gets in. Once in bed and snuggled up under the pretty basic and plain duvet, it isn’t long before he drifts off to sleep. Five minutes into his sleep, Joseph starts to dream back to a happy memory of himself and Grace his wife.
The setting looks to be in a beautifully decorated garden. Archways decorated with various pretty colored flowers and a table set up for two. The very two people sitting at this table are none other than Joseph and his wife Grace.
“Happy Birthday.”
“Thank you, Joseph.”
As we’ve now established, the dream is back to a memory of Grace’s birthday. As the two finish their dessert from the meal, Joseph scratches his ear. Clearly, this was a signal as a man with a guitar turns up to the table and starts to quietly play Grace’s favorite song. The song is “I Swear” by All-4-One. As the man plays this on his guitar, Joseph gets up to his feet and takes a small box from his pocket, and kneels down in front of Grace.
“From the moment I met you Grace I knew you were the missing piece to my heart. We’ve been friends all through school and I was glad you said yes to going to prom with me. You’re my soul mate and have been from that night onwards and always will be. Getting to know you was the best thing I ever did even if it was me falling off my bike. As embarrassing as it might have been for me, it was made better by you coming to see if I was okay. Since that day we’ve shared so many good times together and made so many good memories too. The best memory was you not only agreeing to be my prom date but also the day you said yes to being my girlfriend. This is why I’m hoping this will be another good memory when you say yes to my next question.”
Opening the ring box, Joseph shows off a beautiful diamond ring that has Grace mesmerized by its beauty as she wipes tears of joy away from her eyes.
“Grace Marie Jones, will you marry me?”
“Ye… YES!!!”
Once again Grace is wiping more tears of joy from her eyes as Joseph slides the diamond engagement ring onto the relevant finger of Graces. Getting up from kneeling, Grace stands up and instantly throws her arms around Joseph who wraps his arms around her.
“Grace, I promise you that I’ll always protect you and keep you safe, always… ALWAYS!!!”
Suddenly without warning Grace is laying on a hospital bed in front of Joseph. Joseph is now the one crying. Only the tears coming from Joseph weren’t for happiness but more for sorrow. The tears were streaming down the face of Joseph as he just stood there looking down at his soon-to-be wife who died on the hospital bed. She’d been run down by a drunk driver and even with the best efforts of the staff at the hospital, there was, unfortunately, no saving her. As if things couldn’t get any worse, the doctor walks in as Joseph is now standing there holding Grace’s cold hand in his.
“Mr. Blaze I’m sorry but I really have to talk to you.”
“What is it?”
“I know it isn’t a very good time for you but did you know that your wife was pregnant?”
Not knowing how to react, Joseph stands there with the tears still streaming down his face and Grace’s cold hand still in his.
“Leave. Now! Just… LEAVE!!!”
The doctor is quick to back off and leave Joseph alone. It was bad enough that he’d lost his wife to be but it was made worse him having to find out that she was pregnant in this way. The realization was starting to hit Joseph who just lets go of Grace’s hand and falls to his knees on the floor. Just as his knees hit the floor, Joseph wakes up from the dream, well I’d say nightmare even. The sweat is pouring down his face as he kicks the duvet off and gets out of bed and turns the light on. Standing there, Joseph just looks into the mirror on the wall and is adamant that it's Grace he sees looking back at him.
“I’m sorry I failed to protect you and our child Grace.”
“It isn’t your fault, it never was and it never will be. Pull yourself together Joe, do it for me.”
That’s when Joseph disappears off into the bathroom.
“Memories are bullets. Some whiz by and only spook you. Others tear you open and leave you in pieces.” - Richard Kadrey, Kill the Dead
ON CAMERA
UNKNOWN LOCATION
As the camera finally focuses, you can see Joseph Blaze sitting down on a wooden chair in front of the camera. To the side of Joseph is “The Protector” Lurch and the other side of him is “The Savior” and both men have a hand on each of Joseph’s shoulders.
“Memories. Whether they’re good or bad, we all have them. Some of us choose to wallow in self-pity about bad memories, whereas some of us choose to use it to motivate us. The same goes for good memories too though. They can make people be so depressed they lay in their own pity of piss. I’ll give you an example of someone who’ll be doing that right now, that Pagan Princess who likes to play the Vile Viking and go around wanting to Blood Eagle people. May God strike you down to Hell as you lay in that piss puddle of yours. You see, this isn’t going to be a good memory for you Valkyrie The Vermin. Hmm, that should be your Viking name or Valkyrie The Racist or better yet Valkyrie The Mischievous Monkey.”
The shaking of Joseph Blaze’s head says it all as “The Protector” and “The Savior” stand motionless still with their hand on each of Joseph’s shoulders.
“Not even “The Savior” himself is willing to save that one and my God definitely isn’t going to mind me not offering forgiveness to her. She’ll always be a bad memory to Project Honor and all that have crossed her paths, unfortunately. Enough about someone who isn’t relevant anymore. Let me get on to the point about memories. I do have a memory that impacted me. There was the one when my wife was killed by a drunk driver.”
Pausing for a moment to compose himself, it’s the first time you see movement from someone other than Joseph as “The Savior” just gives a reassuring squeeze to Joseph’s shoulder.
“Forgive me. It’s still a very touchy subject talking about that memory. Especially when there were so many more good memories between my wife and me. Some may see weakness in what I’m sharing whereas I hope the smart people see the strength in me sharing it. I know that some might see it as foolish because it gives ammo to others to attack me. Feel free to take the low road because it’ll only end up with me sending you to the same place Blood Eagle The Monkey has gone, HELL!!!”
It’s a really creepy atmosphere now as a sickening smirk appears on the face of Joseph just along with “The Protector” and “The Savior” staring right into the camera too.
“Standing in my way this week is Virgil van Dijk, the Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team.”
Before Joseph can say anything else, the masked person only referred to as “The Savior” leans in and whispers something to Joseph.
“Please forgive me, everyone. Once again I have been saved by ‘The Savior’ who tells me it isn’t that Virgil I’m facing. That in fact, I’ll be facing Virgil Barrick. Wait, I know who he is. He is that handsome-looking guy with what looks like a slug above his top lip right?”
Leaning in again, “The Savior” once again whispers something into the ear of Joseph Blaze.
“Awesome. I’m right on the money with who my opponent is. Virgil is a very well-trained man it seems but what he doesn’t know is that I’m trained by one of the best. A man that has held a couple of Titles in wrestling and has made a big name for himself. No disrespect to any of the other trainers but the training methods of ‘The Savior’ are going to be the advantage I have that no one else does you see. ‘The Savior’ himself has shared a lot of memories of his in the wrestling business with me. Telling me of the things he has done that others wouldn’t even dream of doing. Unfortunately for you Virgil, the memories you take away from this match won’t be as good for you as they will be for me. This match isn’t one where I go out and send a message for anyone else but myself. I can tell that you’re a well-trained man like I mentioned earlier Virgil and this is why the message I am going to send is one that all need to pay attention to. One that says it doesn’t matter how well-trained you are, doesn’t matter what you’ve done before and that it doesn’t matter what you bring to the match. I, Joseph Blaze, will be stepping into that ring and proving to everyone that the only memory they need to remember is the one where I delivered a message showing that I am on my way. That I am going to be on my path to being remembered as one of the best. Project Underground needs a Champion that is worthy of leading by example. Project Underground needs to have memories of a Champion who brings prestige and most of all HONOR to the Title. There is only one person capable of doing that… ‘The Messenger’ Joseph Blaze!!!”
There is a little grin from Joseph as ‘The Savior’ now takes his hand from Joseph’s shoulder and signals for the cameraman to focus on him.
“Virgil Barrick. Joseph Blaze is going to be a man you remember for a long time. I trained this man to be ruthless. Joseph may well be a man of God and religion but his God is very forgiven for the messages that Joseph sends. Joseph does what he thinks is right and in a crazy kind of way when I was in the ring I thought I was doing the right thing. I did some very sickening things, sickening things that I know Joseph will be willing to do if the need arises. Just know Virgil that Joseph isn’t just any man, he has the backing of a God and the backing of The Devil too. Yes, I’m referred to as ‘The Savior’ but when I was wrestling, I was considered to be The Devil. So Joseph is a very powerful man indeed. It’s not every day that you get the backing of God and The Devil. Joseph is a very clever and strong man too. He knows how to harness all that knowledge, backing, and power that he has. The only good memory there will be after the Project Underground show, is that Joseph will be basking in a BLAZE of GLORY!!!”
‘The Messenger’, ‘The Protector’ and ‘The Savior’ are all now in the shot as they stand there just staring creepily into the camera as the cameraman starts to back away slowly. Without any warning, the sound of lightning can be heard and the last thing you hear is “Joseph is a powerful man indeed.” before the camera dies.
