06-09-2026, 11:30 PM
OOC: I said I was going to have another entry into this besides Luz, and this is it. I've been wanting to bring back my Seraphina Blaze character considering I had a lot more fun than I thought writing her for the KABLAMia show a while back, and I had just as much fun writing her here... a much-needed break as well from what I'm doing for LITD. Ideally, this is going to be another one-off appearance for her so I can keep my focus on my other two ladies, but I would be open to something more longer-term if the story is there or if someone wants to work with her in SCW. It's just a matter of making sure I can manage my time and not burn myself out while Amelia and Luz are still my top priority.
Just as a reminder for Olek, here was Seraphina's app: https://www.supremecw.com/forums/showthr...p?tid=4619
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It's been over half a year since Seraphina Blaze took a chance on trying to earn herself an SCW contract.
Long enough for SCW to probably forget about her, but nowhere near long enough for her to forget about SCW.
In that time, Seraphina had only made more of a name for herself in the indie promotion she'd been working for, finally overcoming the woman who had been a thorn in her side for the longest time and even going on to become the promotion's World Champion. She had, unfortunately, lost that title very recently, but she couldn't find it in herself to be upset about it when she had given her opponent everything that she had and he simply had more to give than her and wanted that win even more than she did, to the point where she ultimately passed out to his devastating submission hold after trying to fight out of it for a solid five minutes, a feat practically unheard of even among the best submission experts who loved to flaunt the belief that they could make anybody tap out.
The whole SCW endeavor, though? That felt like something she could be upset at, even if it was mostly directed at herself.
Back in November, she had gambled on what felt like a one-on-a-million chance. Derek Adonis, SCW wrestler and proprietor of the island resort of KABLAMia, had been given the green light to host a show he called the “Wholesome Family Event (19+)” on his beaches. One of the matches had been an open invitational battle royal, where the winner would receive a pair of prizes that had been unknown at the time, later revealed to be a year-long pass to visit KABLAMia whenever they wanted and an opportunity for the SCW United States Championship, and Seraphina had thrown her name into the mix to take a shot, not necessarily to win but to try and make a good enough impression that maybe, just maybe, an SCW contract would be in her near future.
Granted, the battle royal didn't have any names that would probably jump out at anybody who was an SCW fan, and only maybe one was actually currently a part of the roster, but the match was still hotly contested and Seraphina had fought her ass off to try and make her mark. She would end up helping with at least one elimination, but more importantly, she had ended up lasting until the very end only to fall just short as Damon Cage ended up managing to eliminate her.
Considering what she heard about the man after the match, she couldn't help but admit that he deserved to finally get his shot.
Unfortunately, coming that close to winning, to maybe guaranteeing that SCW would have to see her again... it left a bitter taste in her mouth, one that still lingered to this day.
Now, Seraphina could accept losing. Like it or not, it was a universally accepted part of every sport that every game, every fight, would always have to have a winner and a loser. She'd watched the Miami Heat lose plenty of games during her time as part of their dance troupe, she'd experienced her fair share of defeats during her high school sports days, and she'd lost matches before, such as the earlier mention of losing the World Title she'd fought so hard to earn and defend for the past several months.
It still hurt to lose, especially because she was a Cruz... she knew, deep down, she could have outlasted Damon Cage and won that battle royal, maybe even gone on to become United States Champion herself.
What hurt worse, though, was the fact that her efforts had seemingly amounted to nothing on that day. The only person who showed up that day and got to stick with SCW, aside from Chase Upshaw who was already contracted (and maybe WASLEY as another wrestler's favorite inanimate object/weapon? Seraphina didn't quite know how to properly address that one) was Damon for his win, though he wouldn't have very many matches after that show and she was pretty sure he'd ended up being let go again after he'd lost his U.S. Title bid. Despite the fight, the fire, the passion she had shown, even with a bit of flaunting as befitting of “Temptation Incarnate” that felt right at home in KABLAMia, she never heard from the company after she had shown up on that show to shoot her shot.
That was the part that stung the most, and plagued her thoughts with the idea that maybe she shouldn't have even tried, especially considering it all seemed to ultimately not work out for anybody in that match.
The memory of that battle royal had Seraphina in a dangerous zone in the gym that doubled as the site of the wrestling school that had helped her learn and grow into the woman she was today. Dressed in her ring gear, she was currently unloading into a heavy bag with a devastating combination of strikes, mixing in her Fiery Kiss spinning back elbow for good measure. To anybody else, it might look at though she was simply preparing for whatever match she had next, maybe devising new combos to make it harder to see some of her bigger moves coming. Truthfully, though, Seraphina was simply using the excuse to stay in top form to blow off some steam.
“I gave them my best,” she muttered to herself as she unleashed another striking combo into the heavy bag. “Who cares if some people didn't like the idea of the show, to begin with? I didn't just go there to shake my hot ass and work on my tan, I showed up to kick ass and take names!”
She grabbed the bag and pulled it in close to bury a stiff knee into it, around the area where an opponent's ribs would be if she was doing this to another human being. The best she could figure, the more she thought about it, was that someone high up in the SCW chain of command had chosen to overlook her efforts simply because of everything else pertaining to that show. She'd kept tabs on the company and was keenly aware of the way the current CEO was trying to act like the mastermind seeking to purify the sport and craft it into his own vision of what a wrestling company should be, and she'd heard he hadn't been a big fan of the Wholesome Family Event happening at all. If there was any truth to that, then it infuriated her to feel like she was being written off just because another man was only judging her by her looks and body and not what she could do besides.
What also didn't help was the fact that, despite some confusion that seemed to revolve around them regarding whether or not they were actually valued by management or not, SCW already had a tag team known as the Glimmer Sisters who were probably perceived as way too similar to her, and if that played any role as well in why she hadn't been considered for any sort of offer at all, then she wanted to find whatever adult circus those twins claimed to be the stars of and knock their teeth down their throats. Yes, those twins were curvy and loved to flaunt it, just like Seraphina, but that's where she drew the line for comparisons. Seraphina had a mindset she just couldn't fully turn off, a potential drawback from all the time she'd spent dancing and cheerleading over the years, but she actually gave a damn about the business and wanted to fight to earn her keep. From everything she'd seen of those two in particular, though, they only cared about having all eyes on them and messing with everyone, treating wrestling like it was just so easy and they didn't have to put in much effort to try and take everything.
And yet, those two were going to be challenging for SCW's World Title here pretty soon, albeit in a match that even Seraphina would have taken issue with because none of it would be on her terms if she were in the position of The Light In The Darkness... and she was stuck here wondering what was even next for her, seeing as how she'd been given time off to recover after her recent loss just because of how long she'd tried to fight off that submission hold before passing out.
It was for her own safety, and she couldn't blame anybody for that, but all of it left her frustrated because she was clearly ready to go and all she wanted was to get in that ring and prove herself.
“You're going to overexert yourself again if you're not careful.”
Seraphina sighed as she hit the heavy bag with one more Fiery Kiss, turning her attention towards her trainer as she caught her breath. The sight of a woman like her, ample chest bouncing a bit with every deep breath she took and her sun-kissed skin slick with sweat, would probably drive anybody else crazy on-sight, but Wade was a true professional who'd dealt with his fair share of women as curvy as Seraphina given how long he'd lived in Miami and seen just about every temptation that could stuff itself into a tiny bikini. The look he gave her as he approached was more of concern as he handed her a water bottle, which she happily guzzled down like she hadn't had anything to drink in hours... which, knowing her, could very well be the case depending on how long she's been lost in this.
“I just want to be ready,” Seraphina claimed once she'd caught her breath and rehydrated, tossing the now-empty water bottle back to him before he redirected it into the nearest trash can.
“I'm not going to deny that,” Wade responded. “But we both know you don't have a match coming up anytime soon, so there's no reason to push yourself this hard... not unless there's something bothering you.”
“And why would you think there's something bothering me?” Seraphina shot back at him. She turned and squared up, ready to start launching strikes at the bag again, but Wade hooked his arm around her elbow to stop her before she even thought of throwing one.
“Because I know you, Blaze,” he sternly replied. “I've watched you literally work yourself to the point of passing out from exhaustion, even when I've tried to get you to stop pushing yourself that hard. I've met your family and got the whole rundown of the Cruz work ethic. There's trying to stay in prime form, and then there's venting frustrations, and I can tell by the look of that bag which one you've been doing today.”
Seraphina shot Wade a look before she glanced back at the heavy bag, which, admittedly, was looking like it would be ready to tap out at any moment if it was sentient. Any argument she wanted to form died in her throat at the sight as she realized she'd been so lost in her head that if she kept going, if she didn't pass out from overexertion again first, then this poor thing was probably going to be in shambles on the floor before long.
“Damn it...” she huffed before she sat down on the floor, pushing some of her hair out of her face. She saw Wade kneel down next to her, close enough if she needed someone to literally lean on but far enough away that she had space.
“You want to talk about it?” he offered.
“I just...” she started before cutting herself off, trying to think of how to word it. “I just hate the thought of putting in the hard work only for it to go nowhere. Fighting to earn everything, doing things the right way... that's how my family's always pushed ourselves.”
As Wade listened, it didn't take him long to start catching on to how she was saying what was on her mind. “This isn't about your last match, is it?”
“No...” Seraphina admitted. “It's about SCW.”
“You're still bothered by that?” Wade sounded a little surprise. “Come on Blaze, you put in a great performance in that battle royal, and you kept your promise to me that you wouldn't go overboard.”
“But what if I had pushed myself harder?” she openly pondered. “Could I have overcome Damon Cage? Could I have gotten that title shot? Yeah, maybe the year-long pass to KABLAMia would've been nice too, but maybe I could've been an SCW wrestler above all else! But here we are, almost seven months since that show... and nothing. I wouldn't be surprised if that CEO wrote off the entire show, or if he did pay any attention, he took one look at me and thought I was all tits and ass, no kickass.”
Wade sighed as Seraphina groaned at the thought. “I'll be honest, Blaze... I don't know if he's just trying to act like an asshole for the cameras or if he'd actually be that shallow, but I'm pretty sure Frank Delatosso alone doesn't have the final say in who does and doesn't get an SCW contract. And if I'm wrong on that, then he'd be a hypocrite to all that talk about 'opportunities to all' he was preaching at their recent Breakdown. If anyone's earned the right to be on the SCW roster, it's you.”
“If that's true, then where's my contract to prove it?” Seraphina spat bitterly. “Why am I not getting in that ring week after week and setting the business aBlaze, if you'll pardon the unintentional pun?”
“I don't know,” Wade reluctantly admitted. “Wrestling politics were never my thing. I just kept my head down, did my thing in the ring, and then moved on to train the next generation. Truth be told, I think that's why I'm glad I never got my shot at the 'big time' during my career... too much nonsense, not enough putting money where mouths are. But I know some people have that dream, they want to aspire for the brighter lights, the bigger crowds, they see it as their way of being taken seriously if they can prove they made it on that stage.”
“And apparently I didn't,” Seraphina huffed again as she stood up, with Wade rising with her. “I can't even say it's because I got second place when the guy who won it doesn't even look like he's around anymore, and I heard he busted his ass for years in Japan just to try and make it back to SCW and earn his place.”
Wade turns his attention to the floor for a moment, as if thinking over something. For her part, Seraphina just sighs again before she starts to walk towards the locker rooms.
“I think I'm going to shower and head out for the day,” she said, though the reluctance was clear in her voice. “Beating a heavy bag to a pulp isn't going to fix anything, even if it felt good venting on it for a while.”
“Seraphina, wait,” Wade finally called out, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to face him, knowing that he only addressed her by her first name instead of her wrestling last name when he had something absolutely serious to day. “I wanted to surprise you with this in a few days, as a gift to celebrate the five year anniversary of when you started training to get to this point, but it's probably best if I share this with you now.”
“A gift?” Seraphina raised an eyebrow as she fully turned around now, putting a hand on her hip and cocking it to the side. “What kind of gift?”
“Truth be told,” Wade admitted, “I had a feeling you were still letting that KABLAMia battle royal result eat away at you. While you've done a great job keeping your focus on all the matches you've had since then, I've noticed you've been pushing yourself even harder in your efforts lately. I've been doing this long enough to know it wasn't just a 'I'm hellbent on keeping my World Title' push either, but more of a 'I need to prove myself' push, and you'd have no reason to test the limits of your body like that unless it was for someplace you were hoping to impress.”
Seraphina just blinked for a moment, almost taken aback by Wade's assessment, before she ultimately chuckled in disbelief. “Well damn Wade, at least take me out to dinner first if you're going to read me like that.”
Wade gave a playful scoff at that. “Like I said, I've been doing this long enough and gotten to know you well enough to put the pieces together. I can't say for sure if you're onto something about why you didn't get any sort of offer or if Delatosso and his purist attitude actually lumped you into the things he hates without seeing beyond your looks at what you can actually do, but if you do happen to be right, as screwed up as that is... well, I think you deserve another chance to step up and show him and everyone else in SCW that Seraphina Blaze is so much more than a pretty face.”
Now it was Seraphina's turn to give the playful scoff, though hers had a bit more self-deprecation to it.
“I'd kill to have another chance to show what I'm made of,” she said. “Sadly, I don't think I'm going to get that chance unless some talent scout randomly appears in the crowd whenever I can get back in the ring. Pretty sure SCW doesn't really do the whole 'open invitational' thing too often anymore.”
“Maybe not, but there are other avenues you can take,” Wade explained. “You're familiar with that next show, right? Taking Hold of the Flame?”
“Of course,” Seraphina laughed. “It's got that giant battle royal where the winner gets to headline their biggest show challenging for the-”
She slowly trailed off as something started to click in her brain, and Wade could only grin as he saw her seemingly start to figure it out.
“No...” she said after a moment. “You didn't...”
“I can, and I did,” Wade's grin widened as he pulled out his phone and navigated to something before showing her, and there was no denying what she saw on that screen. “It's not exactly 'open invitational,' but I know SCW is always willing to look outside the company to help fill a few spots and keep their current stars on their toes. I talked to somebody on their board and advocated for you, made note of your second place finish in that KABLAMia battle royal and sent over some footage of your recent World Title run to prove you aren't all talk and looks, and they agreed to give you a spot in the match.”
“You actually...” Seraphina mumbled for a moment before she pulled Wade into a hug, which caught him off guard. It wasn't long before he was laughing right along with her, though. “Holy shit, you actually got me a spot in the Taking Hold of the Flame battle royal!? I could actually earn a shot at the biggest match of my life in only my second appearance!?”
“With the same condition I gave you for that KABLAMia battle royal,” Wade warned as Seraphina let him go and he straighten out his tank top. “Don't push yourself too hard, and don't feel like you have to win. Be realistic about your expectations, because some of the people I know that are in this thing have been doing this for far longer than you and they're definitely not going to want some outsider trying to snipe them on a World Title match for Rise to Greatness. But if you make the most of this and really show what you can do without the excuse of KABLAMia for anybody to try and use to ignore you...”
“Then maybe SCW will get to see more of my fire and desire burning brightly,” Seraphina grinned, “and no one will be able to confuse me with some other trashy tramps who absolutely didn't earn shit.”
With that revelation, Seraphina threw herself back into her training, now knowing exactly what was next for her: a trip to Las Vegas and a chance to shock the world, all just to make it clear she belonged with the best, and SCW should get to see a lot more of Seraphina Blaze.
Just as a reminder for Olek, here was Seraphina's app: https://www.supremecw.com/forums/showthr...p?tid=4619
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It's been over half a year since Seraphina Blaze took a chance on trying to earn herself an SCW contract.
Long enough for SCW to probably forget about her, but nowhere near long enough for her to forget about SCW.
In that time, Seraphina had only made more of a name for herself in the indie promotion she'd been working for, finally overcoming the woman who had been a thorn in her side for the longest time and even going on to become the promotion's World Champion. She had, unfortunately, lost that title very recently, but she couldn't find it in herself to be upset about it when she had given her opponent everything that she had and he simply had more to give than her and wanted that win even more than she did, to the point where she ultimately passed out to his devastating submission hold after trying to fight out of it for a solid five minutes, a feat practically unheard of even among the best submission experts who loved to flaunt the belief that they could make anybody tap out.
The whole SCW endeavor, though? That felt like something she could be upset at, even if it was mostly directed at herself.
Back in November, she had gambled on what felt like a one-on-a-million chance. Derek Adonis, SCW wrestler and proprietor of the island resort of KABLAMia, had been given the green light to host a show he called the “Wholesome Family Event (19+)” on his beaches. One of the matches had been an open invitational battle royal, where the winner would receive a pair of prizes that had been unknown at the time, later revealed to be a year-long pass to visit KABLAMia whenever they wanted and an opportunity for the SCW United States Championship, and Seraphina had thrown her name into the mix to take a shot, not necessarily to win but to try and make a good enough impression that maybe, just maybe, an SCW contract would be in her near future.
Granted, the battle royal didn't have any names that would probably jump out at anybody who was an SCW fan, and only maybe one was actually currently a part of the roster, but the match was still hotly contested and Seraphina had fought her ass off to try and make her mark. She would end up helping with at least one elimination, but more importantly, she had ended up lasting until the very end only to fall just short as Damon Cage ended up managing to eliminate her.
Considering what she heard about the man after the match, she couldn't help but admit that he deserved to finally get his shot.
Unfortunately, coming that close to winning, to maybe guaranteeing that SCW would have to see her again... it left a bitter taste in her mouth, one that still lingered to this day.
Now, Seraphina could accept losing. Like it or not, it was a universally accepted part of every sport that every game, every fight, would always have to have a winner and a loser. She'd watched the Miami Heat lose plenty of games during her time as part of their dance troupe, she'd experienced her fair share of defeats during her high school sports days, and she'd lost matches before, such as the earlier mention of losing the World Title she'd fought so hard to earn and defend for the past several months.
It still hurt to lose, especially because she was a Cruz... she knew, deep down, she could have outlasted Damon Cage and won that battle royal, maybe even gone on to become United States Champion herself.
What hurt worse, though, was the fact that her efforts had seemingly amounted to nothing on that day. The only person who showed up that day and got to stick with SCW, aside from Chase Upshaw who was already contracted (and maybe WASLEY as another wrestler's favorite inanimate object/weapon? Seraphina didn't quite know how to properly address that one) was Damon for his win, though he wouldn't have very many matches after that show and she was pretty sure he'd ended up being let go again after he'd lost his U.S. Title bid. Despite the fight, the fire, the passion she had shown, even with a bit of flaunting as befitting of “Temptation Incarnate” that felt right at home in KABLAMia, she never heard from the company after she had shown up on that show to shoot her shot.
That was the part that stung the most, and plagued her thoughts with the idea that maybe she shouldn't have even tried, especially considering it all seemed to ultimately not work out for anybody in that match.
The memory of that battle royal had Seraphina in a dangerous zone in the gym that doubled as the site of the wrestling school that had helped her learn and grow into the woman she was today. Dressed in her ring gear, she was currently unloading into a heavy bag with a devastating combination of strikes, mixing in her Fiery Kiss spinning back elbow for good measure. To anybody else, it might look at though she was simply preparing for whatever match she had next, maybe devising new combos to make it harder to see some of her bigger moves coming. Truthfully, though, Seraphina was simply using the excuse to stay in top form to blow off some steam.
“I gave them my best,” she muttered to herself as she unleashed another striking combo into the heavy bag. “Who cares if some people didn't like the idea of the show, to begin with? I didn't just go there to shake my hot ass and work on my tan, I showed up to kick ass and take names!”
She grabbed the bag and pulled it in close to bury a stiff knee into it, around the area where an opponent's ribs would be if she was doing this to another human being. The best she could figure, the more she thought about it, was that someone high up in the SCW chain of command had chosen to overlook her efforts simply because of everything else pertaining to that show. She'd kept tabs on the company and was keenly aware of the way the current CEO was trying to act like the mastermind seeking to purify the sport and craft it into his own vision of what a wrestling company should be, and she'd heard he hadn't been a big fan of the Wholesome Family Event happening at all. If there was any truth to that, then it infuriated her to feel like she was being written off just because another man was only judging her by her looks and body and not what she could do besides.
What also didn't help was the fact that, despite some confusion that seemed to revolve around them regarding whether or not they were actually valued by management or not, SCW already had a tag team known as the Glimmer Sisters who were probably perceived as way too similar to her, and if that played any role as well in why she hadn't been considered for any sort of offer at all, then she wanted to find whatever adult circus those twins claimed to be the stars of and knock their teeth down their throats. Yes, those twins were curvy and loved to flaunt it, just like Seraphina, but that's where she drew the line for comparisons. Seraphina had a mindset she just couldn't fully turn off, a potential drawback from all the time she'd spent dancing and cheerleading over the years, but she actually gave a damn about the business and wanted to fight to earn her keep. From everything she'd seen of those two in particular, though, they only cared about having all eyes on them and messing with everyone, treating wrestling like it was just so easy and they didn't have to put in much effort to try and take everything.
And yet, those two were going to be challenging for SCW's World Title here pretty soon, albeit in a match that even Seraphina would have taken issue with because none of it would be on her terms if she were in the position of The Light In The Darkness... and she was stuck here wondering what was even next for her, seeing as how she'd been given time off to recover after her recent loss just because of how long she'd tried to fight off that submission hold before passing out.
It was for her own safety, and she couldn't blame anybody for that, but all of it left her frustrated because she was clearly ready to go and all she wanted was to get in that ring and prove herself.
“You're going to overexert yourself again if you're not careful.”
Seraphina sighed as she hit the heavy bag with one more Fiery Kiss, turning her attention towards her trainer as she caught her breath. The sight of a woman like her, ample chest bouncing a bit with every deep breath she took and her sun-kissed skin slick with sweat, would probably drive anybody else crazy on-sight, but Wade was a true professional who'd dealt with his fair share of women as curvy as Seraphina given how long he'd lived in Miami and seen just about every temptation that could stuff itself into a tiny bikini. The look he gave her as he approached was more of concern as he handed her a water bottle, which she happily guzzled down like she hadn't had anything to drink in hours... which, knowing her, could very well be the case depending on how long she's been lost in this.
“I just want to be ready,” Seraphina claimed once she'd caught her breath and rehydrated, tossing the now-empty water bottle back to him before he redirected it into the nearest trash can.
“I'm not going to deny that,” Wade responded. “But we both know you don't have a match coming up anytime soon, so there's no reason to push yourself this hard... not unless there's something bothering you.”
“And why would you think there's something bothering me?” Seraphina shot back at him. She turned and squared up, ready to start launching strikes at the bag again, but Wade hooked his arm around her elbow to stop her before she even thought of throwing one.
“Because I know you, Blaze,” he sternly replied. “I've watched you literally work yourself to the point of passing out from exhaustion, even when I've tried to get you to stop pushing yourself that hard. I've met your family and got the whole rundown of the Cruz work ethic. There's trying to stay in prime form, and then there's venting frustrations, and I can tell by the look of that bag which one you've been doing today.”
Seraphina shot Wade a look before she glanced back at the heavy bag, which, admittedly, was looking like it would be ready to tap out at any moment if it was sentient. Any argument she wanted to form died in her throat at the sight as she realized she'd been so lost in her head that if she kept going, if she didn't pass out from overexertion again first, then this poor thing was probably going to be in shambles on the floor before long.
“Damn it...” she huffed before she sat down on the floor, pushing some of her hair out of her face. She saw Wade kneel down next to her, close enough if she needed someone to literally lean on but far enough away that she had space.
“You want to talk about it?” he offered.
“I just...” she started before cutting herself off, trying to think of how to word it. “I just hate the thought of putting in the hard work only for it to go nowhere. Fighting to earn everything, doing things the right way... that's how my family's always pushed ourselves.”
As Wade listened, it didn't take him long to start catching on to how she was saying what was on her mind. “This isn't about your last match, is it?”
“No...” Seraphina admitted. “It's about SCW.”
“You're still bothered by that?” Wade sounded a little surprise. “Come on Blaze, you put in a great performance in that battle royal, and you kept your promise to me that you wouldn't go overboard.”
“But what if I had pushed myself harder?” she openly pondered. “Could I have overcome Damon Cage? Could I have gotten that title shot? Yeah, maybe the year-long pass to KABLAMia would've been nice too, but maybe I could've been an SCW wrestler above all else! But here we are, almost seven months since that show... and nothing. I wouldn't be surprised if that CEO wrote off the entire show, or if he did pay any attention, he took one look at me and thought I was all tits and ass, no kickass.”
Wade sighed as Seraphina groaned at the thought. “I'll be honest, Blaze... I don't know if he's just trying to act like an asshole for the cameras or if he'd actually be that shallow, but I'm pretty sure Frank Delatosso alone doesn't have the final say in who does and doesn't get an SCW contract. And if I'm wrong on that, then he'd be a hypocrite to all that talk about 'opportunities to all' he was preaching at their recent Breakdown. If anyone's earned the right to be on the SCW roster, it's you.”
“If that's true, then where's my contract to prove it?” Seraphina spat bitterly. “Why am I not getting in that ring week after week and setting the business aBlaze, if you'll pardon the unintentional pun?”
“I don't know,” Wade reluctantly admitted. “Wrestling politics were never my thing. I just kept my head down, did my thing in the ring, and then moved on to train the next generation. Truth be told, I think that's why I'm glad I never got my shot at the 'big time' during my career... too much nonsense, not enough putting money where mouths are. But I know some people have that dream, they want to aspire for the brighter lights, the bigger crowds, they see it as their way of being taken seriously if they can prove they made it on that stage.”
“And apparently I didn't,” Seraphina huffed again as she stood up, with Wade rising with her. “I can't even say it's because I got second place when the guy who won it doesn't even look like he's around anymore, and I heard he busted his ass for years in Japan just to try and make it back to SCW and earn his place.”
Wade turns his attention to the floor for a moment, as if thinking over something. For her part, Seraphina just sighs again before she starts to walk towards the locker rooms.
“I think I'm going to shower and head out for the day,” she said, though the reluctance was clear in her voice. “Beating a heavy bag to a pulp isn't going to fix anything, even if it felt good venting on it for a while.”
“Seraphina, wait,” Wade finally called out, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to face him, knowing that he only addressed her by her first name instead of her wrestling last name when he had something absolutely serious to day. “I wanted to surprise you with this in a few days, as a gift to celebrate the five year anniversary of when you started training to get to this point, but it's probably best if I share this with you now.”
“A gift?” Seraphina raised an eyebrow as she fully turned around now, putting a hand on her hip and cocking it to the side. “What kind of gift?”
“Truth be told,” Wade admitted, “I had a feeling you were still letting that KABLAMia battle royal result eat away at you. While you've done a great job keeping your focus on all the matches you've had since then, I've noticed you've been pushing yourself even harder in your efforts lately. I've been doing this long enough to know it wasn't just a 'I'm hellbent on keeping my World Title' push either, but more of a 'I need to prove myself' push, and you'd have no reason to test the limits of your body like that unless it was for someplace you were hoping to impress.”
Seraphina just blinked for a moment, almost taken aback by Wade's assessment, before she ultimately chuckled in disbelief. “Well damn Wade, at least take me out to dinner first if you're going to read me like that.”
Wade gave a playful scoff at that. “Like I said, I've been doing this long enough and gotten to know you well enough to put the pieces together. I can't say for sure if you're onto something about why you didn't get any sort of offer or if Delatosso and his purist attitude actually lumped you into the things he hates without seeing beyond your looks at what you can actually do, but if you do happen to be right, as screwed up as that is... well, I think you deserve another chance to step up and show him and everyone else in SCW that Seraphina Blaze is so much more than a pretty face.”
Now it was Seraphina's turn to give the playful scoff, though hers had a bit more self-deprecation to it.
“I'd kill to have another chance to show what I'm made of,” she said. “Sadly, I don't think I'm going to get that chance unless some talent scout randomly appears in the crowd whenever I can get back in the ring. Pretty sure SCW doesn't really do the whole 'open invitational' thing too often anymore.”
“Maybe not, but there are other avenues you can take,” Wade explained. “You're familiar with that next show, right? Taking Hold of the Flame?”
“Of course,” Seraphina laughed. “It's got that giant battle royal where the winner gets to headline their biggest show challenging for the-”
She slowly trailed off as something started to click in her brain, and Wade could only grin as he saw her seemingly start to figure it out.
“No...” she said after a moment. “You didn't...”
“I can, and I did,” Wade's grin widened as he pulled out his phone and navigated to something before showing her, and there was no denying what she saw on that screen. “It's not exactly 'open invitational,' but I know SCW is always willing to look outside the company to help fill a few spots and keep their current stars on their toes. I talked to somebody on their board and advocated for you, made note of your second place finish in that KABLAMia battle royal and sent over some footage of your recent World Title run to prove you aren't all talk and looks, and they agreed to give you a spot in the match.”
“You actually...” Seraphina mumbled for a moment before she pulled Wade into a hug, which caught him off guard. It wasn't long before he was laughing right along with her, though. “Holy shit, you actually got me a spot in the Taking Hold of the Flame battle royal!? I could actually earn a shot at the biggest match of my life in only my second appearance!?”
“With the same condition I gave you for that KABLAMia battle royal,” Wade warned as Seraphina let him go and he straighten out his tank top. “Don't push yourself too hard, and don't feel like you have to win. Be realistic about your expectations, because some of the people I know that are in this thing have been doing this for far longer than you and they're definitely not going to want some outsider trying to snipe them on a World Title match for Rise to Greatness. But if you make the most of this and really show what you can do without the excuse of KABLAMia for anybody to try and use to ignore you...”
“Then maybe SCW will get to see more of my fire and desire burning brightly,” Seraphina grinned, “and no one will be able to confuse me with some other trashy tramps who absolutely didn't earn shit.”
With that revelation, Seraphina threw herself back into her training, now knowing exactly what was next for her: a trip to Las Vegas and a chance to shock the world, all just to make it clear she belonged with the best, and SCW should get to see a lot more of Seraphina Blaze.
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