Promo: Lessons

[Guest Listen2Reason]

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A scene of a peaceful town fills the screen. A well-developed suburban area in the middle of the day, the sky a uniform cloudy white. Cars move carefully along the roads, a train chugs over its track...

 

...and near a bustling train station, near a congregation of buses, near the milling, waiting people...is a stairway.

 

And on the stairway sits a man.

 

He is clad in a long coat that hangs open, but also a thick sweater and heavy jeans. He pulls a scarf down from his face with a gloved hand to reveal a scruffy beard and a secretive grin.

 

"Welcome once again, fans," says Fugue, his words fogging the air. "Welcome to beautiful downtown Chelsea, Mass., one of the most interesting spots I know." He spreads his arms, then rubs his hands together. "But time enough for that later. Right now..."

 

Fugue's eyes gleam.

 

"Right now I want to talk about..." Fugue takes a very small tape recorder out of his pocket. He presses a button and a tinny female voice says, 'johnny dangerous!'. The man known as the Mad Musician laughs. "Oh, I can't get enough of that..."

 

After wiping his eyes, Fugue peers into the camera again. "Recently Johnny said something I found rather interesting." A smile slowly spreads across Fugue's face. "He said that, along with his SJL title, I had taken something from him...his 'dignity'." Fugue's grin is quite wide. "Well, I happen to agree. I did take his dignity...what was left of it!" The musician suddenly stands, almost spitting the words as he begins to pace back and forth on the stair.

 

"From the moment you arrived in the SJL, Johnny," Fugue snaps, "There was something about you I didn't like. Something that dug under my skin. At first I thought it was your vanity...how you thought so highly of yourself, and manipulated women so well."

 

Fugue tosses a glance at the camera as he continues to pace. "But then I realized that wasn't it," he muses. "It wasn't vanity--it was stupidity. You came to this fed, you fairly leaped into this cesspit of crazed degenerates, with your serene, formal themes, with your little 'spy mission'..." Fugue trails off into a chuckle. "Such an outdated, baroque figure..."

 

Suddenly Fugue jumps down several steps to stare at the camera, the cameraman almost stumbling backward as he avoids the lunge. "And soon you realized, didn't you," Fugue hisses. "That you couldn't survive in this chaotic, real world. We didn't strap you down and explain all our plans to you. No, we just hit you in the face as hard as we could..."

 

Fugue's eyes glint in the chilly light. He sheds his gloves and coat, stalking back and forth in the confines of the stairway. "Or did you learn?" he asks. "I wonder if you ever learn anything. And that was what really bothered me." Fugue blinks and stands still for a moment, gazing off into the distance.

 

"You remind me of Mak Francis."

 

A short, barking laugh and Fugue grins at the camera. "Strange, isn't it?" he asks. "You and Mak are nothing alike. And yet..." His eyes glitter. "And yet...you, like he, have much to learn. And learn he did. You wouldn't remember Mak Francis, though, would you?" The musician sneers. "He moved up to the SWF before you even started your little mission."

 

Fugue flexes his fingers together in the winter air, cracking his knuckles. "But that's all right," he says softly. "There was much about music that I could teach to Francis--and much I learned from him as well. Yes, I learned..." The expression on Fugue's face is feral. "And finally I realized that that was what truly bothered me about you, Johnny. That was the key--your potential." Fugue squats down on a step and the camera zooms in close on his earnest expression. "You have so much untapped potential, Johnny. I can't stand to see it wasted. Maybe only I can see it, but see it I do--such a limited theme, so lacking in depth...the bittersweet chords of experience..."

 

He shakes his head. "But I've tried to teach you. I've tried so hard to teach you the subtle Harmony of this sport." Fugue sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "I've tried again and again to show you the melodies of pain--but you turn a deaf ear."

 

Then Fugue stands.

 

"But I'm through being easy on you," he intones. "When we're together, in the steel cage...there will be no escape. Nowhere to run." The musician stares down at the camera. "And I will not let you leave until you understand my music, my Harmony. Understand it in your very bones. I will help you unlock your potential. I will give you back your dignity--new dignity. I will teach you."

 

Fugue turns his back to the camera, then begins to climb the stairs. The view tilts up slightly to follow him. He reaches the top, and stands there, still.

 

And then the scene is shown from another angle. Fugue is shown, from the front, framed by the railings of the stairway...right before it ends in broken concrete and rebar. Fugue stands calmly on the edge, presiding over nothing. He reaches down, takes hold of his sweater, and pulls it up over his head. Beneath he is wearing one of his perennial black T-shirts. Chaotic white lettering spells out the simple legend, 'START THE MUSIC'.

 

"I will teach you. And you will learn."

 

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[Guest realitycheck]

Fugue is so awesome. His character is so awesome. And when he overacts, it's all just so awesome.

 

I've always loved simple, 'delivery' style promos. One on one, just the camera and the speaker... Fugue delivering his message between his cool allusions to music, his deranged demanour, and his itallics... Very cool. An excellent hard sell for your match as well.

 

-Z

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

A slightly out-there character comes back to earth for a raving, intense promo. This PPV is gonna be rock-solid, kiddies. The blow-offs couldn't come at a better time.

 

Something else that I've forgotten, but...hmm. When Johnny first showed up, his mission was to get to the WF to take down someone there. Was this person ever revealed, or this still possibly out there for the taking?

 

Phiggity phat promo, Fuguester.

[Secret Agent 0]

Damn that was good. It's not very often we get a board promo from Fugue, but when you do... damn. Excellent work, Fugue.

 

Edwin: No, the person has never been revealed. The only fact even known is that they work/ed for the WF.