Post by Andrew Jacobsen on Feb 2, 2013 21:52:26 GMT -6
Andrew stands in a darkened room, head down, in his ring gear, the National Championship slung over his shoulder. A spotlight shines down on him, and his voice echoes through the apparently empty room as he speaks with defiance and confidence resonating in every syllable.
”I don’t need your approval.”
“It’s as simple as that. I don’t need your approval, or your permission, or your anything, Jake. I don’t need you to vindicate me or who I am, rubber-stamping me as what you think is the true me. You think you have the right to lecture me on who I really am? I acknowledge my mistakes. I know that I’m hurting the ones I love. I wake up, I look in the mirror, I see what you have made me become…”
He raises his head, eyes narrowed and cold as a Minnesota winter.
”And I feel sick. I hate what I’ve become, because this isn’t who I am. This isn’t who I want to be and who I know I should be. You, however…you’re every bit the bastard I knew you were. We have a lot in common, I admit. But where we diverge is how we respond to things. If I was really as much like you as you say I am, I would have gone after your family. I wouldn’t have been there and grieved with you. I could have been so much more than I’ve been…but I’m not that man.”
“No matter how badly you want to position yourself as a martyr for the cause of making Andrew Jacobsen finally crack, I refuse to let you. Because while you try to chisel away at my self-confidence…I know that I can turn the Lights Out on you with a single move. That’s confidence enough to bear me through a dozen Dragon’s Dens. You want to be the big, bad dragon, Ace?”
”Call me St. George, because I’m ready to slay you.”
Andrew shakes his head, running his hand through his hair and suddenly looking much more sober. He shakes his head again, pulling the National Championship off of his shoulder and staring into it. He speaks with a tone of reflective contemplation, as if he regrets things he’s done.
”I’m not infallible. I will admit that. I pushed away Emma. I pushed away Callie. This business has made me paranoid and unable to take almost anything on face value. But for you to sneer down at me and lecture me on ‘if you had done this, if you had done that’ is nothing more than you reveling in the chaos that you HAVE sown. You can deny it all you want and try to make this entirely MY failing, but your actions were the catalyst. You laid the bait and I jumped. Well done.”
Andrew tucks the title under his arm and sarcastically applauds, an expression of disgust on his face…but for whom?
”Emma Danielson has been my friend for almost a decade now. She’s one of the most dedicated wrestlers I know, and she’s…well, I’ve talked up her athleticism every time I mention her. But that’s my problem according to you, isn’t it, Jake? I haven’t made her feel like a WOMAN. I haven’t put her up on a pedestal, worshipped her…hell, I don’t give her compliments, right? I’m pushing her away because I make her feel unwanted? Bull. ****.”
Andrew flatly snaps the last two words, pulse beginning to quicken as his face flushes with anger. He thrusts an accusatory finger in the camera’s direction, clearly having finally hit a nerve.
”She’s my best friend. Goddammit, I love her. But it’s never been more than that friendship. We thought about it, we talked about it, but we agreed it didn’t make sense. Not for her, not for me. We were better as friends…but maybe if I had taken a different path, I’d still be able to speak with her. Maybe if I’d taken a different path, I could still have my younger sister willing to associate herself with me. Instead, you dropped just enough hints for me to seize at straws…and it drove them right into your arms.”
He chuckles bitterly, patting the National Championship as he looks down at the title belt. Andrew’s hand tightens around the plate.
”I grew so hungry for gold I lost sight of the people that mattered most. And now they’re driven from me by my arrogance and your reassurance. You were right there to pick up the pieces where I failed. Such a nice guy, eh? Well, I know exactly how valuable this title is. I know what I lost to get it. And I want those things back. I lost sight of who I really am…the man that I am inside and out.”
“I started becoming who you claim I am: a bitter, cynical, jaded man who puts on a front for the fans. I started lying to myself and the world. But no more. I’m through with playing the recluse. I’m going to break through this prison of regret I’ve built myself, and the first step back down the road is the step that takes me into that ring with you. Because this is my moment of purification. This is a test of my faith and strength…and if I’m strong enough to admit when I’ve misstepped. I miss my friend. I miss my sister. And I miss myself. So for all that I am, all that I can be, and all that I should be…I will take. You. Down. My heart beats strong and true…”
The camera focuses on Andrew’s face once more, the determined glare on his face.
“And it’s beating out a victory march.”
Fade.
Andrew paces back and forth in his hotel room angrily, running a hand through his hair. He gets a knock at the door and walks over, peering through the hole. Andrew immediately opens the door, revealing Danielle Chase standing there. Andrew gestures for her to come in, clearly still agitated. She walks inside, sitting on the bed and cocking an eyebrow at his unsettled demeanor.
”I suppose it’d be a waste of breath to ask if you’d seen Conway’s comments, then?”
Andrew nods curtly at her. She nods back, setting her briefcase next to her and opening it up. Jacobsen sits in a chair across from her, staring holes in her as she pulls out various DVDs and files. Danielle ignores his glare, calmly speaking to him.
”He’s right about one thing. Your obsession with me and mine with you cost you that World Title. If you’d focused instead of doing everything short of curling up with a pint of ice cream and watching a Lifetime Original Movie, maybe you’d be the one in the main event instead of Verona. Food for thought. As a matter of fact, he seems to be rather adept at upstaging you. First achieving what you couldn’t with the National Title, then with the World Title. That sort of thing must really get a man angry.”
Andrew tersely snaps back at her, the usual easygoing demeanor absent from him and replaced with a bitter chill.
”Yes, it does. It gets rather old having every single mistake you made and continue to make dredged up as ammunition. But then, if I didn’t face up to the facts I wouldn’t get anywhere in life. You came back because you wanted to help me, right? So let’s stop skulking around in the dark, acting like you’re some super-secret recruiter for the Avengers Initiative. You’re my manager. You’re not even that. You’re a business consultant. And because of the nature of our relationship, Ms. Chase, I’m not going to humor you or coddle you in any way. I have zero patience for Jake Conway right now…but I suppose…”
He trails off, a look crossing his face. Danielle looks over at him, curious. Andrew stands, walking over to her, and gestures for her to stand. She does, confused, and Andrew looks her in the eyes. He remains completely stone-faced as he speaks to her, emotion flooding out of him like someone tripped his relief valve.
”I used you. I abused you. I was a horrible friend, client, human being, all of it. I tossed you around like a rag doll and didn’t care about your emotions. That was a mistake. And I’m not going to make that mistake again. Danielle, I don’t want to push you away. I don’t want this to have to become a cold and clinical relationship again…you were my friend. I missed you. And if we just keep sniping back and forth like this, it’s never going to do anything for either of us. I guess what I’m saying is…I’m sorry. I’m…oh God, I’m sorry doesn’t begin to cover it, but it’s all I can say. I’m not asking for absolution. I’m just asking for a chance at redemption.”
Andrew looks her in the eyes, expression softening and a moment of vulnerability shining through the cracks in his armor. Danielle looks back at him, calm and collected, and replies in the same tone of voice she’s used throughout the entire evening.
”If you want to work back to where we were, you can start by buckling down and doing your homework…and after that, you can kick Jake Conway in the face for the third time and keep that title of yours around your waist. Sound like a plan?”
Andrew nods, grinning in relief. Danielle looks back at him for a few seconds before a small smile blossoms on her face. Andrew’s grin grows even wider, and he looks down, grabbing the first DVD he sees: an NCW “Best of The Ace” DVD. We fade to black on a wry proclamation from Andrew.
”I love it when a plan comes together.”
FTB.
”I don’t need your approval.”
“It’s as simple as that. I don’t need your approval, or your permission, or your anything, Jake. I don’t need you to vindicate me or who I am, rubber-stamping me as what you think is the true me. You think you have the right to lecture me on who I really am? I acknowledge my mistakes. I know that I’m hurting the ones I love. I wake up, I look in the mirror, I see what you have made me become…”
He raises his head, eyes narrowed and cold as a Minnesota winter.
”And I feel sick. I hate what I’ve become, because this isn’t who I am. This isn’t who I want to be and who I know I should be. You, however…you’re every bit the bastard I knew you were. We have a lot in common, I admit. But where we diverge is how we respond to things. If I was really as much like you as you say I am, I would have gone after your family. I wouldn’t have been there and grieved with you. I could have been so much more than I’ve been…but I’m not that man.”
“No matter how badly you want to position yourself as a martyr for the cause of making Andrew Jacobsen finally crack, I refuse to let you. Because while you try to chisel away at my self-confidence…I know that I can turn the Lights Out on you with a single move. That’s confidence enough to bear me through a dozen Dragon’s Dens. You want to be the big, bad dragon, Ace?”
”Call me St. George, because I’m ready to slay you.”
Andrew shakes his head, running his hand through his hair and suddenly looking much more sober. He shakes his head again, pulling the National Championship off of his shoulder and staring into it. He speaks with a tone of reflective contemplation, as if he regrets things he’s done.
”I’m not infallible. I will admit that. I pushed away Emma. I pushed away Callie. This business has made me paranoid and unable to take almost anything on face value. But for you to sneer down at me and lecture me on ‘if you had done this, if you had done that’ is nothing more than you reveling in the chaos that you HAVE sown. You can deny it all you want and try to make this entirely MY failing, but your actions were the catalyst. You laid the bait and I jumped. Well done.”
Andrew tucks the title under his arm and sarcastically applauds, an expression of disgust on his face…but for whom?
”Emma Danielson has been my friend for almost a decade now. She’s one of the most dedicated wrestlers I know, and she’s…well, I’ve talked up her athleticism every time I mention her. But that’s my problem according to you, isn’t it, Jake? I haven’t made her feel like a WOMAN. I haven’t put her up on a pedestal, worshipped her…hell, I don’t give her compliments, right? I’m pushing her away because I make her feel unwanted? Bull. ****.”
Andrew flatly snaps the last two words, pulse beginning to quicken as his face flushes with anger. He thrusts an accusatory finger in the camera’s direction, clearly having finally hit a nerve.
”She’s my best friend. Goddammit, I love her. But it’s never been more than that friendship. We thought about it, we talked about it, but we agreed it didn’t make sense. Not for her, not for me. We were better as friends…but maybe if I had taken a different path, I’d still be able to speak with her. Maybe if I’d taken a different path, I could still have my younger sister willing to associate herself with me. Instead, you dropped just enough hints for me to seize at straws…and it drove them right into your arms.”
He chuckles bitterly, patting the National Championship as he looks down at the title belt. Andrew’s hand tightens around the plate.
”I grew so hungry for gold I lost sight of the people that mattered most. And now they’re driven from me by my arrogance and your reassurance. You were right there to pick up the pieces where I failed. Such a nice guy, eh? Well, I know exactly how valuable this title is. I know what I lost to get it. And I want those things back. I lost sight of who I really am…the man that I am inside and out.”
“I started becoming who you claim I am: a bitter, cynical, jaded man who puts on a front for the fans. I started lying to myself and the world. But no more. I’m through with playing the recluse. I’m going to break through this prison of regret I’ve built myself, and the first step back down the road is the step that takes me into that ring with you. Because this is my moment of purification. This is a test of my faith and strength…and if I’m strong enough to admit when I’ve misstepped. I miss my friend. I miss my sister. And I miss myself. So for all that I am, all that I can be, and all that I should be…I will take. You. Down. My heart beats strong and true…”
The camera focuses on Andrew’s face once more, the determined glare on his face.
“And it’s beating out a victory march.”
Fade.
Andrew paces back and forth in his hotel room angrily, running a hand through his hair. He gets a knock at the door and walks over, peering through the hole. Andrew immediately opens the door, revealing Danielle Chase standing there. Andrew gestures for her to come in, clearly still agitated. She walks inside, sitting on the bed and cocking an eyebrow at his unsettled demeanor.
”I suppose it’d be a waste of breath to ask if you’d seen Conway’s comments, then?”
Andrew nods curtly at her. She nods back, setting her briefcase next to her and opening it up. Jacobsen sits in a chair across from her, staring holes in her as she pulls out various DVDs and files. Danielle ignores his glare, calmly speaking to him.
”He’s right about one thing. Your obsession with me and mine with you cost you that World Title. If you’d focused instead of doing everything short of curling up with a pint of ice cream and watching a Lifetime Original Movie, maybe you’d be the one in the main event instead of Verona. Food for thought. As a matter of fact, he seems to be rather adept at upstaging you. First achieving what you couldn’t with the National Title, then with the World Title. That sort of thing must really get a man angry.”
Andrew tersely snaps back at her, the usual easygoing demeanor absent from him and replaced with a bitter chill.
”Yes, it does. It gets rather old having every single mistake you made and continue to make dredged up as ammunition. But then, if I didn’t face up to the facts I wouldn’t get anywhere in life. You came back because you wanted to help me, right? So let’s stop skulking around in the dark, acting like you’re some super-secret recruiter for the Avengers Initiative. You’re my manager. You’re not even that. You’re a business consultant. And because of the nature of our relationship, Ms. Chase, I’m not going to humor you or coddle you in any way. I have zero patience for Jake Conway right now…but I suppose…”
He trails off, a look crossing his face. Danielle looks over at him, curious. Andrew stands, walking over to her, and gestures for her to stand. She does, confused, and Andrew looks her in the eyes. He remains completely stone-faced as he speaks to her, emotion flooding out of him like someone tripped his relief valve.
”I used you. I abused you. I was a horrible friend, client, human being, all of it. I tossed you around like a rag doll and didn’t care about your emotions. That was a mistake. And I’m not going to make that mistake again. Danielle, I don’t want to push you away. I don’t want this to have to become a cold and clinical relationship again…you were my friend. I missed you. And if we just keep sniping back and forth like this, it’s never going to do anything for either of us. I guess what I’m saying is…I’m sorry. I’m…oh God, I’m sorry doesn’t begin to cover it, but it’s all I can say. I’m not asking for absolution. I’m just asking for a chance at redemption.”
Andrew looks her in the eyes, expression softening and a moment of vulnerability shining through the cracks in his armor. Danielle looks back at him, calm and collected, and replies in the same tone of voice she’s used throughout the entire evening.
”If you want to work back to where we were, you can start by buckling down and doing your homework…and after that, you can kick Jake Conway in the face for the third time and keep that title of yours around your waist. Sound like a plan?”
Andrew nods, grinning in relief. Danielle looks back at him for a few seconds before a small smile blossoms on her face. Andrew’s grin grows even wider, and he looks down, grabbing the first DVD he sees: an NCW “Best of The Ace” DVD. We fade to black on a wry proclamation from Andrew.
”I love it when a plan comes together.”
FTB.