Ten years is a long time.

In the first couple of years, it’s all about settling in. There’s no expectation. That year one is fresh and new. There’s bubbling excitement and belief. There’s desire. Passion. It’s about understanding what works and what doesn’t.

In the following years, in four and five, you’re expected to achieve something. Others begin to take notice of the strides you make and expect great things. The weight of expectation begins to weigh on you. You either sink or swim. You stand up or sit down.

When year six come along, you should be at the very apex of performance. You should be well respected, admired and even secretly loathed by those who wish to replicate your success. At the very least, you’ll be a part of the furniture.

Years seven through ten can feel as if you’re skating. You’re comfortable. You don’t need to step outside your comfort zone and try something new. You tread the same path, you show up, you sit down, you do what you’re supposed to do, and you leave. The passion is there, but you’ve allowed it to become formulaic and consistent. You’ve sunk into complacency.

Jasper, in the first couple of years, everything was fun and games, wasn’t it? You found victim after victim to torture; a muse in Jackson Cade that you could swallow whole whenever you wanted. That excitement you felt was raw and passionate. You quickly came to understand what works and what doesn’t. What you could get away with and what you couldn’t.

You achieved your ultimate goal of violence quickly. You became feared and hated. In those first few years, you did what often takes people up to five years to do.

And before you knew it, you’re already in years seven to ten. You’ve become complacent. You’re skating by and surviving. You’re no longer thriving, and even though the passion is still there, everything has become a matter of course. It’s become a formula, a pattern, a structure that you cannot break free from.

Everyone knows what to expect from Jasper Redgrave. Everyone knows how to combat his violence and be safe from his clutches. You’ve become an embarrassment, Mr. Redgrave. No-one fears you. You’ve lost that edge, that killer touch and even when you murdered CJ Thorpe, your message was not as intended.

I did not see that and fear you.

I saw a man desperate to recapture what he’d long left behind. I saw a man dangling on the precipice of normality with a sheer drop into oblivion below.

I have not suffered the same fate as you, Jasper.

Just this past week I made a statement that sent shockwaves through Arcadia.

Because I know that if you allow complacency to creep in, getting rid of it is no easy task.

And by the time I’m done, everyone in OSW and Arcadia will kneel before Doom.