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As the hours and days pass between when Brandon Evans went down from an apparent anaphylactic reaction to shellfish to the present where he continues to fight for life, those close to him have been finally able to come to grips with the understanding that doctors are doing what is necessary for him to try and get through this battle. Jake has become more and more calm, as the days have progressed. This progression is something that has actually pleased Roeper, as Jake has slowly been allowing himself to be more functional as a member of the family, rather than just being a bump on a log, when he is at home.
Unfortunately, there is one member of the "inner circle" who is not having as easy of a time. Since the day Brandon went down, Thoren Holt has been deeply troubled by what he saw. Up until that point he had never seen anyone truly fall into such a serious medical state that has borderlined on death. He's seen people unconscious. He's seen people in the hospital. He knows what it feels like to be in a bed, knowing you're going to heal and ultimately be discharged. In this case, however, nothing is known, and the unknown and the real possibility of Brandon passing away has him at a mental impasse. That impasse has led him to becoming distant from everyone in this collective group who has been impacted by this traumatic event. Many have wondered where he has been, and what has been going through his mind, but have basically had no contact with him since the last time he appeared with Jake in one of his promos. For Thoren, unfortunately, since that fateful day his life has been comprised of trying to drown his sorrows with alcohol, and see if it helps him feel better. Up until this point, it has not helped. He currently sits alone in an empty bar, bellying up by himself. He sits, slumped over, in a very depressed pose. His look is borderline dirty, as his scruffy from not shaving, and dissheveled in appearance. This demeanor is something the bartender has seen many times. He stands there, staring at Thoren, but trying to not be obvious, cleaning glasses, and tidying up. After several minutes of watching Thoren staring into his glass, and obviously facing some difficult trials and tributlations, he decides to try and asertain what exactly is going on by shifting from bartender to "unofficial, resident, counselor." Bartender: So... Everything ok? Thoren stares at his glass and sighs before responding.
Thoren Holt: You know... I wish I knew... The barkeep takes a couple steps in Thoren's direction.
Bartender: Do you have any desire to talk about it? Thoren throws back the last of what was in his glass, and sets it down.
Thoren Holt: Maybe after another round... The bartender nods, and walks over to pick up Thoren's empty beer glass. He takes it over to the tap and pours another round for the, obviously upset, individual. He then sets it down in front of him. He then sees Thoren looking up at the television, which is currently showing the Olympics.
Bartender: You want anything in particular on TV? Thoren shrugs.
Thoren Holt: ... Nah... The Olympics are fine. It's basically just background noise for me anyway. Bartender: Alright... Just let me know if you need anything else, ok? Thoren Holt: Ok... Thanks... Thoren continues to stare at his glass, while letting everything continue to run through his head. The bartender steps back and, due to the lack of traffic, turns to watch the Olympics on TV. He realizes he's done most of the "chores" he has to do on a day to day basis, and for once enjoys a little bit of downtime. As he watches, he hears Thoren take a sip, and begin to talk to himself. This talking to himself makes the bartender begin to wonder if maybe Thoren has reached his "limit," and should be cutoff for a bit. He also sees Thoren rub his eyes and take a deep breath, as another patron walks in.
Bartender: You know... I think that's going to be good for you... Thoren Holt: What do you mean? Bartender: Honestly, I think it's time we get you a little water, instead... As the bartender suggests that Thoren is past the point of being served, Thoren feels a hand sit down on his shoulder, and looks up to see Jake Starr taking the barstool next to him. Jake overhears the bartender's assertion that Thoren should be cutoff, and interjects.
Jake Starr: Nah, I can promise you he's ok... He's got a hell of a lot on his mind... The bartender looks over at Jake.
Bartender: You know this guy? Jake Starr: Yeah... This is my nephew... Thoren feels like Jake has shown up to "rescue" him, and scoffs. He looks off to the side, slightly shaking his head in disbelief. Jake looks up at the bartender to order a drink of his own.
Jake Starr: ... I'll talk a Elijah Craig on the rocks... Bartender: Yes sir... The barkeep turns and pulls the bottle of whiskey off of the shelf, and pours it over the ice in Jake's glass. He lays a napkin down, and the drink down on top of it. Jake takes a sip, and looks up at the TV, but still directs his commentary toward his nephew.
Jake Starr: You've been pretty AWOL lately... Thoren Holt: Yeah, well I heard you pretty loud and clear, when you said you were doing things on your own now... I didn't figure my services were needed anymore. Jake smirks and drops his head briefly, before lifting it back up.
Jake Starr: ... Yeah, I did say that, didn't I? I only said that after constantly hearing people talk about how I needed someone or SOMETHING external to help me, so I wanted to go out there and do it clean. I never said it was something permanent. Thoren Holt: Well congratulations, and good for you... You did it, didn't you? Jake looks over at him, continuing to sense the animosity.
Jake Starr: ... Seriously, man, what's up? You can't have this much pent up frustration and decided to go all reclusive over a fucking wrestling promo! Since everything has happened, you've been basically non-existent in this world. I mean, not once, have you even reached out to ask about Brandon, to see how he's doing or anything. Thoren Holt: Yeah, well, maybe it just is still a little too real for me? Maybe I just haven't been able to process everything that I saw? Deep down he wondered if the "real" nature of the event was too much for Thoren's young self to fully handle, and begins to look at his nephew in a more understanding manner.
Jake Starr: You're not alone, bro... None of us have fully had a chance to process anything. And yeah, it's very fucking real. But the fact is, something very bad happened, and the best thing we can do is rally around one another and figure out how to deal with it appropriately. Thoren Holt: Don't you think that's what I'm trying to do? I'm trying to deal with it in my way... Jake Starr: Well being a damn recluse isn't going to solve anything. Thoren snaps back.
Thoren Holt: Yeah, well you know what else isn't going to solve anything? The simple fact that you are HELL BENT on forgetting I exist! It all went down, and you folded up and didn't even acknowledge me, except to bark orders. And then before that, I kept trying to learn from you, and learn the ropes from you, and instead of DOING SO, you simply cast me to the back burner as some fucking lackey. That's all I am to you. I don't get brought in for anything. I mean, how long has it been since you reached out to me, too? You talk about me being reclusive, look at you! And when it all went down, I had to see something I didn't want to or need to see! Nobody has had TWO THOUGHTS about how it's impacted Thoren, no, they're only concerned with Jake. Brandon, I get, we should worry about him, but Jesus, what about those of us who aren't used to this shit? Then, magically today, you walk in and magically act like nothing's happened, and trying to be Superman? Jake silences Thoren's rant.
Jake Starr: Alright just cool it, Thoren... What happened to Brandon, and now being in the ICU isn't your opportunity to make this a referendum against me, and you not getting your chance to learn what you want to learn. But if you want an answer about that, let me be frank, this business is about learning from the ground up. You have to do so to appreciate every fucking piece of what this business has to offer. In my case, my last name alone would have gotten me a golden ticket into this business if I had wanted, simply because this industry wants more "Starrs" in it. Instead of that free ride, my dad made me do the same fucking thing he had to do, and make sure I saw the business for the reality of what it truly is. I had to see the good, the bad, and the ugly. The goods are winning championships... The bads are losing those championships... The uglies are like what we both saw, and that's seeing a friend or family member lying on the fucking floor flirting with death. I had to learn how the "big boys" actually have to be fucking adults about ALL situations. Thoren Holt: Well it sure as hell seems like you aren't really succeeding at knowing how to handle these situations... When it happened, you turned into an emotional wreck and shut the fuck down. So tell me how that helps me learn anything? Jake Starr: It's easy... You see that no matter how much you see, there are still things that you're not ready for, but you have to deal with. You see that you're never not learning, and you see that no matter how long you're around, there are some things you'll never be magically OK with or be able to prepare for. But this is a part of life, Thoren... This is part of real fucking life... Everything isn't glamorous, and the fact is, you need to see it. Yeah, you're right, I needed my time to process things, but I leaned on those around me to help me get through it. That's why I'm here. You deserve that same option, instead of being so isolated. The fact is, Brandon is trying to fight through this shit, and we need to fight through our pain so we can all stand by his side when he's ready to do the same. It's what friends do... It's what FAMILY does... And when I got my reality check from the doc, it changed my perspective... Thoren Holt: What reality check? Jake Starr: The one when he told me that it wasn't a drug overdose... Thoren looks shocked.
Thoren Holt: It wasn't? What was it, then? Jake Starr: He said it was a food allergy. Apparently Brandon somehow ate something that caused the severe reaction. Thoren Holt: Oh... Do you know what he ate? Jake Starr: They said it was some kind of shellfish. Thoren's eyes immediately go wide.
Thoren Holt: What?! Jake Starr: Yeah... I was shocked too... His face begins to go ghastly white.
Thoren Holt: No... No... NO! The scene ends with Thoren standing up, and repeating the words no, while slowly walking backward. He quickly turns and just runs out of the room, completely confusing Jake and the bartender. The bartender looks at Jake and mentions that Thoren still has a tab, and Jake pulls enough cash to more than cover the drinks and throws it down. He tells the bartender to keep the change, and gets up himself to go and try to find Thoren. He wishes he knew what caused the reaction, but figures when he can track him down, he may be able to get answers.
Jake Starr: People seemed... Stunned... Shocked... Upset... Dejected... Since my match ended at Rise to Greatness, everyone who brought my name up did so with malice and surprise. These people have been booing me even louder, since that night, and I'll be honest, I don't know why. I don't get it. I don't see why the anger and the frustration is so loud and so angry that it just boggles my mind. Why are these people trying to vilify me so much? Why are they trying to make me feel bad? I just don't get it... Jake smirks.
... I mean, they really should have expected, right? This wasn't something that should have come as ANY kind of surprise to you because, simply, I DON'T LOSE AT RISE TO GREATNESS! I don't care what single blemish my record by APPEAR to show, but the fact is, I HAVE NEVER BEEN BEATEN! NOBODY in this HISTORY of Supreme Championship Wrestling has pinned me, submitted me, got me counted out, or disqualified, and yet, some IDIOTS out there have the AUDACITY to boo me when I won, again?! Do they not realize that they should be THANKING me? For fuck's sake, people... I went out there and I did you all a fucking FAVOR. I went out there and did something I've done on COUNTLESS occasions, and I've cut the DYING or DEAD weight, holding this place down. I have gone out there time and time again, and RID this company of its useless competitors, and KILLED legends and legacies. Rise to Greatness was just another addition to that list. I mean, think about it... James Exeter, where did he go after I took his World Championship? Christian Savior and Jason Zero... When I single-handedly embarrassed them both at the 2 for 1 Special, and became the SCW and IWC World Champions at the same time, where did they go? Silas Mason... Where is he? He had to bail on SCW to go to some other, less than stellar, promotion, to try and be relevant... Jake smirks again.
... And don't forget David Helms... He was on this victory parade, to be loved in every match, and handed victory after victory, but yet, he didn't get past me. After that, his little "zOMG LOOK AT ME" spree kind of lost its luster! So going out there, and FINALLY puting the final nail in the, let's be real, extremely large coffin that is Greg Cherry's career was just another hapless soul that I get to destroy, and diminish in its stature. It's something I will not hide my excitement from. I won't pretend like I'm not ecstatic that I went out there and I got to incinerate another piece of useless junk in SCW. But I don't get the fact that everyone is angry. I don't get why, for so long, everyone was pissing and moaning about Greg Cherry, saying he was a bad guy, then the MINUTE I expose him as completely useless and put him in his place, they magically love him again. It shows how completely retarded these fans have become. They only like what they are told to like, and let me be clear, they were told to like Greg because, "Jake was the big bad meanie person!" Well, yeah, I'm not nice. I'm REAL... And people don't like it. People don't appreciate it. They like being spoonfed, and told what they are supposed to do, and don't like thinking for themselves... So they boo! They get pissed! They get upset! The best part of it all is that I give NO shits about any of it! My job is simple, I go out there, I win, I prove that Rise to Greatness is MY NIGHT, and I leave. If people appreciate my work and dedication, ok, fine... If they don't, they can continue sucking on the SCW teat that tells them what they are and are not supposed to like, and that's fine! If they don't want to be individuals, it doesn't hurt my feelings. The fact is, if they can't look past the fact that I went out there to CONTINUE my dominance at that event, and CONTINUE to rebuild my career BACK to where I want it to be, they don't appreciate hard work. They don't appreciate my desire to do something GREAT. They just want the "feel good" moment... And to that, I say... FUCK YOU ALL! DON'T ANY OF YOU DARE TO TRY AND JUMP ON MY BANDWAGON WHEN I WIN GOLD AGAIN! So where do I go from here? What is next? How to I take the remaining part of 2016 and make it something worth a damn, and not something I want to forget again? That's a good question because I can promise you that the dumbfucks who run this place know, good and well, that I'm going for gold in some way, shape, or form. I can also promise that SOMEHOW I will end up being the first Supreme Champion to hold the Television Title. Right now, though, those douches will continue to overlook me. I'm not on their stupid radar. They have their boners for others, and I have to go out there and basically Lorena Bobitt those peckers and say, "get over it, fuckwads!" The slicing and dicing started at Rise to Greatness because they NEEDED Greg to win in order to protect themselves from me. They knew if I went out there and lost they would be able to basically write me out of everything. Jake Starr would be out of sight and out of mind. Greg Cherry would be the guy they would be able to start coddling, and moving back to where they would like him because, I'll be blunt, Greg Cherry, they see, as a better "fit" in the public eye than me. They know Greg Cherry would have been willing to play nice, and been their lap dog, but me, not so much. Jake cracks his neck to each side, pushing his jaw in each direction.
... Which is why they have me going against Casey Holliday at Breakdown. They know I've run my mouth on this BITCH since the day she walked into this organization, and was the lucky, third wheel, in the Trios Tournament, just like that nobody was with Zoe and I a couple years back. She is someone who they put in that wheelhouse of "potential Women's Championship contenders," and one of those aforementioned individuals who are like a walking Cialis pill for the suits who run this place. So going into a match with her, yeah, I see some real opportunity for myself. I mean, did you hear all the hype they put around it? "Lord knows he's looking at entering title contention again." Really? How nice of them to demean me from the start. How NICE of them to simply imply how annoyed they are at my desire to be great. Well fuck them too! I don't care if they think that it is annoying that I am going out there trying to capture gold. I don't care if they are tired of hearing me call for opportunities. Hell, I'm not ashamed to even demand my chances, anymore. A lot of people used to mock me about it, well who gives a fuck? I'm out to get what I want! So watching Casey Holliday being sent to the "Lion's Den" in her hometown, I welcome her! I welcome the opportunity to walk into Seattle, and have EVERYONE there sucking on here titties, trying to make her feel the love. I welcome the boos! I welcome the hate. I welcome those same people who were stunned to see me beat Greg, to walk in with the same hopes and dreams they had for him, and put them in their little hometown hottie. I want them to be like Leslie Jones, for Team USA. I want them to be giving the love to her, WILLING HER TO VICTORY, only to have reality sink in when they see that refs hand come down for that third count. It'll be something I just revel in. I'll smile, and when I stand up, the crowd will be HOT! Jake chuckles.
Seriously, think about it... Think about how a hometown crowd will feel seeing their beloved Casey Holliday lying there, unconscious, and a LOSER... It will be disheartening. Their night will be ruined! The only downside will be that those money hungry Seattle prosecutors may try and find me, somehow, culpable for the sheer amount of suicides that will happen. I mean, Seattle is already the most depressing city in the world. The amount of suicides there are already astronomical, and after this bitch of theirs is completely destroyed on her home turf, showing her friends and family she's a complete and utter failure, the number will just grow. So for the record, I am flat out denying any and all responsibility for the deaths of these sad rejects! I am, in no way, the reason these people realized their lives were lame... Ok? We good? Jake nods.
Good! I love no longer being liable! So Casey, I want you to take your pretty, little, face, and pony it right up as close to this screen you're watching me on, and pay VERY close attention. I don't want ANYTHING I say to be lost in translation. You're going to walk out into that arena in Seattle, and you're going to feel invincable. You're going to feel like you are channeling the energy of however many thousands that are in that arena, and the millions who are in that state believing in you as well. You're going to feel that energy surging through your veins like something you have never felt, and you're going to KNOW that when all is said and done, you will have beaten Jake Starr. The problem is, however, that isn't what is going to happen. When you walk into that ring, I'll know how you're feeling because I've been there. I'll know what you'll feel like you're capable of accomplishing. And because I know all of this, I'll know what it takes to even the playing field because it just takes ONE MOMENT to silence them. It just takes ONE MOMENT to plant a seed of doubt in their walnut-sized brains that suggests things aren't as peachy keen as they seem. That's when I'll exploit you! See you'll begin to see and feel those shreds of doubt grow. You'll begin to see that you're losing that confidence that you thought would be endless. You'll begin to try and overdo things in order to capture that raw emotion again. You'll be, basically, like Donald Trump, trying to figure out what he has to say to get his blind followers to begin going nuts again. The unfortunate thing is, you won't be able to capture that feeling. Your followers will realize that disappointment is forthcoming, and begin to feel their exhuberance turn to dispair as they watch you dwindle. And as you get pummeled and embarrassed more and more, you'll catch fleeting glimpses of those you're disappointing, and you'll join in their sadness because you will know that it's YOUR FAULT they are upset. You'll realize it's because YOU FAILED, that this is all occurring. From there the blame will turn to me, and the crowd will boo, as they always are programmed to do, and I'll simply smile! The fact is, Casey, you're hoping to show the world, in front of your home crowd, that you're bigger than life. You're hoping to knock off a Supreme Champion and prove that you're amongst the elite in SCW. You want everyone to see you as a real contender! You want people to believe your Television Title run wasn't a fluke. Well someday you may be as good as you want to and hope to be. This won't be the beginning of it, however. This will be the day you are made privy to the fact that I am EVERY BIT as dangerous as I have always been. You will learn that beating down Greg Cherry was a moment where I turned the corner, and began the process of dominating every single person who crosses my path. He wasn't a springboard, and neither are you, but the fact is, I have turned a corner, and I've done so with ZERO FUCKS BEING GIVEN! You may think I'll do it by hook or crook, and yeah, you're right, but the fact is, I OWNED Greg on my own. I OWNED Rise to Greatness ON MY OWN! So I can do it that way just as good as everyone, and at Breakdown, I prove it to your dumbass. I prove it to the room full of dumbasses who will witness REALITY for what it REALLY is. You can't stop me... The 12th Man can't stop me... Hell, Chris Pratt as Star Lord wouldn't stop me! So don't even think for ONE FUCKING MINUTE that you will. Face it, bitch, Jake Starr is going to be OWNING you in front of the world, and there is not a fucking thing you'll be able to do about it! Fin |
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