End of the Year Open Invitational

[Huddie]

Mitch Sanders Entry

Mitch: I'm in it to win it...

[The Matt]

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December 27th, 2021
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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It has been two weeks since Marie Jones had been confronted by her half-sister Jessica Lasiewicz. Her Polish half-sister does not trust Marie, at least not fully, because she is well aware of Marie’s tendency to act in her own selfish desires as opposed to the selfless desires of those around her. In this case, with The Phoenix seemingly wanting to involve herself in the life of her identical twin sister Kimberly Williams once more, Jessica Lasiewicz was not certain of Marie’s motivation. But what is it to Jessica? What does she care about Marie’s true motivations? Jessica Lasiewicz never truly trusted Kimberly in the first place. If Jessica had her way, Kimberly would still be in a sanitarium somewhere locked away in a padded cell. It was Marie who took a chance on Kimberly. It was Marie who risked it all to reach out and try and help guide Kimberly out of her madness. It was Marie who was the first to accept Kimberly as a member of the Jones family. As a matter of fact, Jessica was the last holdout, the last one to finally accept Kim into the family. And even to this day Marie has her doubts as to whether or not Jessica actually trusts and accepts their sister. But Marie, she was willing to trust Kimberly, to accept Kimberly, and to ultimately help Kimberly out of the darkness. Marie helped Williams when she needed it the most. And now Kimberly is at a point in her professional career when she needs help yet again. She feels as if she is being used and exploited by SCW, used and exploited by its fans, and the anger that comes from it has caused her to become even more unstable than before. Marie realizes that an unstable Kimberly Williams is no good for anyone. So Who else could possibly help Kim except Marie Jones?

As for Kimberly Williams, she trusts Marie with her life. She is also fiercely loyal to Marie Jones. She is certain that Marie, above and beyond anyone else, knows what is best for her. If anyone can help her, if anyone can guide her, it is Marie Jones. This is what brings Kimberly to the home of her twin sister Marie in Boston, Massachusetts. Kim is seated on the floor playing a video game…Mario Kart to be precise…with her nephew, Marie’s song Sean Connor Jones. Kim and Marie are dressed identical, in denim jeans, black boots, and black t-shirts. The only difference is that Kim’s shirt reads “I Am Not Marie” on the front in hot pink lettering. Williams thinks that this is a humorous way to help her nephew Sean tell the difference between Auntie Kim and Sean’s mother Marie. For her part, Jones is sitting on the sofa, watching the pair have a good time. The Phoenix has a glass of wine in her hand, which she sips on as she watches the proceedings.

“Hey! No fair!” Kimberly complains angrily. “You can’t use a turtle shell on me! I rolled immunity to charm and spell!”

“Uh, that’s Dungeons & Dragons. And we played that last night.”

“Yeah, but I have yet to use it so it carries over.”

“I don’t think it works like that.” Sean says with a chuckle in his voice.

“Who made these dumb rules anyway?” Kim says throwing her game controller to the side and folding her arms up over her chest like a pouting, spoiled brat. “Where is my Dalek? I’ll ask him if this is true.”

“You mean the drone? It’s off and it’s in the garage getting repaired, Auntie Kim.”

“What?!” Kim sounds shocked by this news. “No! They’ll break him!” Marie hops up and prepares to bolt away but before she can leave Marie reaches out and snatches her by the arm, stopping her.

“I think Dalek will be fine, sis.”

“Are you sure? The last time I spoke with it, it wanted to exterminate Kennedy Street. That is NOT normal!”

Marie rolls her eyes. “I don’t think anything about that machine is normal, but nevertheless, it is going to be fine. In fact, why don’t I send Sean out there to check on him?”

“Yeah! The robot is cool, Auntie Kim! Can I go play with it?”

Williams turns and looks into the pleading eyes of her nephew. Immediately her heart is warmed and The Woman Scorned nods her head. “Alright, go on kiddo. Me and your mom will be right here.”

“Awesome!” Sean gets up and then embraces Kim in a tight hug. “And I’m glad mom is taking care of you. I was really worried about you.”

The fact that this child cares this much about her, about Kim, warms her heart even more. It’s almost like The Grinch, her heart grows three sizes in that moment. Williams rubs her nephew’s hair. “Thanks, kiddo.” With that, Sean breaks the embrace and then makes a break for the door, exiting the living room area. As soon as he is gone Kimberly turns towards Maire and a genuine, sincere smile forms across her face.

“He cares about me. Doesn’t he?”

“Of course he does, Kim. And so do I. That’s why I decided to come back. That’s why I decided to help.” Marie motions to the sofa. Kim walks over and sits down next to Marie. “Now Kim, I understand that I haven’t spent that much time with you lately…”

“Two years.”

“Huh?”

“It’s been almost two years since you’ve done anything with me. In fact, I remember the last time; it was SCW Retribution 2020. You lost an SCW Adrenaline Championship Match against Jordan Majors and Asher Hayes. Had you won you would have been only one world championship win away from Supreme Champion. And I suppose that kind of disappointment hurts. I suppose you felt that there was nothing left for you so you just left SCW altogether. But there was something you could have done.”

“Kim…” Marie’s voice trails off as she tries to speak but her twin sister talks over her.

“You could have stayed and helped me. Because you weren’t the only one to lose something that night, Marie. I lost the United States Championship that night to Bree. But you left. You left and me? I didn’t know what to do next. But then Jessica came along. We had something, didn’t we? We had Vengeance. And we had a damn good time. No, we didn’t capture the tag team championships but we did find something else…a bond, a sisterly bond that I thought I would never ever have with Jessica. I also earned her trust, something I never thought I would earn. Now Jessica is gone and you’re back. And I just want to know one thing; why?”

The Phoenix sighs as she shakes her head. This was not the conversation she wanted to have with her twin sister. She had hoped Kimberly would just trust her and go along willingly with whatever she said. But Kimberly is infinitely too smart for that. Marie just smiles half-heartedly and places a hand on her shoulder.

“Look, Kim, I won’t lie to you. I was selfish back then. You’re right, I was only thinking about padding my own resume, trying to make myself look even better by adding the Adrenaline, World, and eventually Supreme Championship to my already impressive list of accomplishments. Failing to become Adrenaline Champion that night was painful. But what’s even more painful is right here and now because I see now that by abandoning you that night I had hurt you even more than losing had hurt me. But Kim, think about it like this, you have proven yourself since then to be capable of so much more than what anyone could possibly comprehend.”

“You think so?” Kim asks. Jones nods her head.

“I know so…think about it, when we split, when Twin Magic went its separate ways, you would branch out. In HKW Underground you became the Bloodlust Champion. In MWE you became the Chicago Way Champion. You forced SCW to resurrect the Underground Championship and declare you the new champion and you forced that by doing what?”

“Beating Jordan Majors.”

“That’s right.” Marie says with a wicked grin. “You did what I couldn’t. You kicked her ass literally all over the nation and then ultimately in a steel cage to become Underground Champion. You have proven that you are capable of so much in this business and that you are more than just some violent tool to be used by SCW whenever it wants. And the fans of SCW? They don’t deserve someone as supremely talented as you. You proved your superiority over that dumb freak show Konrad when you spared him. You could have caved his skull in but you didn’t. That sends a message that you can do that anytime, anywhere.”

“The fans sure as hell wanted it.” Kim chuckles. “They were cheering for it. I heard them.”

“That’s right but you didn’t give it to them. Which shows your power over them. You decide what happens, you decide who is spared and who gets maimed, not those bloodthirsty leeches. You are powerful, Kim.”

“I know that now.” Kim says nodding her head. “And that’s why I need to know why you are here? Do you want to use me like so many others have used me before?”

Jones reaches over and clasps her sister’s hand tightly. “I am here to help you. I was wrong to leave you high and dry nearly two years ago. And now I look at you here at the crossroads of your career. You won the Underground Championship, you beat Syren, and then suddenly the fans turn on you like venomous snakes. They could have proven their loyalty to you by giving the world title shot to you but they didn’t. They awarded it to Holly Adams. But I have always been loyal to you, Kim. And I will always be loyal to you.”

“Except for the one time you left me high and dry in the aftermath of Retribution. How do I know you won’t leave me again?”

“I get it. You have trust issues, Kim, and you have every reason to doubt my sincerity. But I am going to commit myself to you, to us, and one way I can and will prove it is at the End of the Year Open Invitational.”

Kim arches her brow out of curiosity. The End of the Year Open Invitational is coming up, and Marie had mentioned entering it. But she didn’t know how serious she was. “Wait, so you really are entering that thing?”

“Damn right I am.” Marie says with a smirk on her lovely face. “You aren’t the only one with something to prove around here. SCW has overlooked me and has not appreciated my hard work for a long time now, just as they never appreciated you. At the End of the Year Open Invitational, I make my grand return and I am going to do so in a spectacular fashion by proving to them all that I am one of the greatest wrestlers in the world today.” Jones points a finger at Kim. “And I’d like you to be by my side as I do this.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think you know exactly what I mean, Kim…” she winks playfully “...or is it Marie?”

Kim smirks devilishly. “I like how you think.”

“Then let’s do it. Twin Magic rides again.”

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December 28th, 2021
Boston, Massachusetts
On Camera
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In 2016 Supreme Championship Wrestling was graced with the greatest gift of them all, the biggest blessing any wrestling promotion could ask for, and that is the mere presence of yours truly, The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling, signing on the dotted line to appear as a contracted SCW competitor. From 2016 to 2020 I won the Television Championship twice, the United States Championship, and the World Tag Team Championship. My star was on the rise, I was on the fast track to becoming Supreme Champion before I left the company in 2020 after the Retribution pay per view. I was two championships shy of Supreme Champion. And I had already come damn close to winning both on numerous occasions. So why would I leave when I was so close, when I was so popular, when I was on the fast track to greatness?

The reason is simple: I was being overlooked. I was underappreciated by SCW management. People like me had to fight harder than everyone else to get an opportunity around here. I had to go that extra mile to open the eyes of the SCW front office. Otherwise they’d ignore me. Even the fans did their best to ignore me. It was ok if The Phoenix lost here and there, she can take it, she can handle it. But oh no, just think of the unimaginable horror on their puny little faces when their heroes like Selena Frost or Jordan Majors happened to lose.

Does this rhetoric sound familiar? I hope it does because it’s the same reason why you damn near lost another big star in the form of my twin sister Kimberly Williams. Yes, let’s keep giving Syren more and more main event opportunities and more world title opportunities, while ignoring the fact that Kim just beat her ass a few weeks ago. Let’s give Lucas Knight a shot at Kim’s SCW Underground Title, a shot he had never earned, just so long as we can continue to shine a great big spotlight on The OOC reunion! But what does Kim get for being the SCW Workhorse? What does Kim get for being the single hardest working wrestler in this company?

Konrad Raab.

That isn’t rhetoric, by the way. It is fact. Kim has gone unappreciated and overlooked for far too long. She has every right to give up on this company and its fans. But don’t worry, The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling has returned to save your ungrateful asses once more. Thanks to me, you get to continue basking in Kimberly’s greatness and you also get the bonus of yours truly returning. How is that for icing on the cake?

But don’t expect things to go the way they used to. The fact is that I am returning not to be someone who is just happy to be here, not to do my part and WAIT on the good things to come. I am here to TAKE what I rightfully deserve. No longer is The Phoenix going to sit idly by and wait for opportunities to fall into her lap, The Phoenix will TAKE the opportunities, and she will take them away from others if necessary. And you do not get a much bigger or better opportunity than The End of the Year Open Invitational.

I know what all of my legions upon legions of fans are thinking…what sort of opportunity is there in the Open Invitational? Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is good. But for me, it is a drop in bucket. And the car? I already have the finest cars. So if I don’t need the prize money or the vehicle, what is the purpose of entering this Open Invitational?

It is all about making a statement.

Did any of you ever stop to think about what I did during that time I took away from Supreme Championship Wrestling? Did any of you ever bother to keep up with my career after Retribution 2020? Retribution 2020 was an eye-opening experience for me. It was the night that I realized that I could not play nice any longer. I realized that if I wanted to get ahead in this business I had to start looking out for myself and I had to be ruthless. In other words, I had to start making my own opportunities.

So I went out looking for an opportunity. My mother, Angelica Jones, had long since held the mantle of Matriarch of the Jones Wrestling Family. It was her mantle to carry because she was the oldest and most successful of us. I boldly issued a challenge to her for a one on one match and not just once but TWICE I beat her clean in the center of the ring. After being beaten by me for the second time my mother realized that her time had ended and she retired from the sport. In other words, ladies and gentlemen, I took the torch and pried it from her hands. I wanted the mantle of Matriarch of the Jones Wrestling Family so I took it away from her.

I set my sights on what I wanted and then I just took it. Now I have my sights set on winning that End of the Year Open Invitational because by winning that match I make just as big and bold a statement as I made when I kicked my mother’s ass and ended her career. Just think, some big names have already made their intentions known to enter this match. And those big names will get dropped flat on their ass by me, The Phoenix, The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling. Big stars are entering this, thinking that they can get one last big cheer from the fans, but they will be humbled and brought to their knees by me. And when I bring some of SCW’s greats, hell when I bring some of WRESTLING’S greatest to their knees at the End of the Year Open Invitational, SCW management will be forced to give me what I am owed, to give me what I deserve.

Not the cash, not the car, but the OPPORTUNITIES that I deserve. Because on one single night I am going to prove how indispensable I am to this damn company and how lucky they are to have me back.

[Ducky]

OOC- Just a little thing to enter. Merp. Click below to witness the first and only TEAM SUP TROPHY!!!


https://docs.google.com/document/d/17Cjj...YdSFk/edit

[SnowQueenSCW]

OOC: And offhand remark on Breakdown inspired this...so, consider this my entry into the EOTY Royale for Deanna Frost. Takes place after Selena’s first roleplay. CD only.

Project: Black Ice

”Seeing Things in Red…”

Frost ‘Forever’ House
Manhattan, New York
December 23rd, 2021
2:31pm

I’m not going to try and get the title on Deanna…
Sorry…

That’s how it had started. An offhand comment. Something that had meant nothing to her when it was spoken was now something that Deanna couldn’t get out of her head.

She had been standing in the ring on the final episode of Breakdown before the End of the Year event – about a week ago – when she had heard Selena say it. And, even now, she believed that there was nothing wrong with what Selena had said, and Deanna sure as hell wasn’t going to believe that her wife had meant anything ill towards her. How many times had the platinum-blonde credited her victories to Deanna? Or celebrated in the ring with her? Hell, they had a framed photo of them kissing in the middle of the ring at Rise to Greatness – the greatest moment of my career… Selena had said.

So why is this bothering me so much?! The redhead asked in thought, driving her hands into her hair in frustration.

There was just so many other things to think about! More important things! Deanna tried to remind herself of that as she stuffed the folded shirts into her bag.

There was only two days left till Christmas, till her wife’s birthday and till their anniversary – the first of all three since her release from Frankfurt…

For a moment, Deanna’s eyes fluttered shut. Frankfurt, that prison where she had suffered two years of hell for a crime she never committed. Two years of not seeing her children beyond a few times a week. Two years of fearing she would be hurt or worse by Queenie and her goons – she felt a shiver grip her spine at that painful memory. Two years where she could only hold her wife’s hand whenever she visited. Two years of only having one day a month to do more than that with her beloved. All the tears she could not be there to remove from Selena’s sapphire eyes and vice versa. All the things of her children she had missed: David’s ‘babyhood’, Amiliah’s first words, Elsianna growing more and more into a look alike of Selena.

When she had been released from prison and deemed innocent, Deanna had quietly vowed to not only never miss a thing of her family’s ever again, but with all of this – all this pain and loss – having been orchestrated by Killjoy, she had vowed never to allow herself to feel that weak, that powerless ever again…

And yet here we are… came the teasing voice in the redhead’s mind, causing her to shake her head aggressively.

I’m not going to try and get the title on Deanna…
Sorry…

Biting her lower lip, she slammed her thoughts down onto that memory, just as she slammed her suitcase shut, trying to banish it away. She took a few slow breaths to clear her mind. Get over it. she told herself. Selena needs you.

There was no doubt of that – and it was the reason behind the entire packing. Malcolm’s memorial service was happening in two days in Nome, Alaska, the late, former mayor’s bitter son, Ryan, having arranged the service and ‘inviting’ Selena to attend. More like daring her not to… Deanna reasoned. Still, she had refused to let Selena face that nightmare alone, the children and herself opting to travel with Selena back to the winter-country Selena had called home. If there was going to be some kind of scheme played by Ryan and the other Scythes, Deanna refused to let Selena face it alone. They would overcome it together, just like they always had.

Except when she said-

“Chargers!” Deanna thought, pushing the thoughts out of her mind and rushing around the bedroom she and Selena shared to her nightstand. She had almost forgotten her phone charger. Despite the various roles she had played in SCW the past few months, from enforcer to valet, she was still Selena’s manager, and with the End of the Year drawing so close, which involved Selena finally getting her hands on Holly Adams, who had been chosen as the End of the Year World Title Shot recipient, the last thing Deanna wanted was to miss a call from SCW if something had changed or if Holly released some kind of statement. Selena had already done one promotional video – a Royal Letter – and was working on a second, this one her traditional ‘Frozen Central’, and if Holly was as much of a loudmouth as Deanna thought she was…

The redhead stopped herself. She was lying to herself a little. Yes, she was keeping an eye on Holly and The Brand’s activities in order to assist her wife… but there was another reason she wanted continuous access to the SCW media…

Biting her lower lip, she pulled out her phone from her blue-jeans pocket, unlocking it with her thumb print and opening up Google Chrome. Immediately, the page flashed as it was restored, before showing the list of media links to various videos posted on Youtube, Blogs and other websites, all with one thing in common.

These were the entries of wrestlers looking to enter into the End of the Year Invitational. People from all across the world entering into the free for all battle for money, a car, and bragging rights.

For Deanna, she merely stared at the page for a moment, her eyes taking in the list of superstars that had already made their entry clear. Some she recognized from her own time with Selena like Marie Jones and Mitch Sanders, and even Beard, while others, like the rest of the Braddock family whose name wasn’t Glory, she had only heard about. She had even laughed at the idea of the Dalek showing up again, as it had in the Underground title match between Lucas Knight and Kimberly Williams a few weeks ago.

The match just looked so…so… fun. When had she ever used that word to describe a match? Matches had always been brutal! Tests of abilities and will and sometimes bloody and scary – things that had made her fear for her beloved wife over and over again.

But this? This felt different! There were icons and legends outside of SCW! There were jobbers, there were non-wrestlers… just like her! Maybe it wasn’t just this match was different that it had caught her eye, maybe it was also because she was different…

I’m not going to try and get the title on Deanna…
Sorry…

Quickly, her small hands pulled open the nightstand drawer to pull out the white cord of her smartphone, but as she was about to close, her eyes spotted something that froze her in place. A folded up piece of paper that she recognized instantly.

Don’t look at it… she ordered herself, even as her hands moved closer to it. Don’t look at it!

Her fingertips felt the smooth, flat end and the sharp corner of the folded paper as she drew it out of its ‘hiding place’. Nimbly, her fingers moved, unfolding it to gaze at it. A simple sketch met her eyes. A sketch filled with lines and scribbles and hard-pressed marks.

The sketch was a simple ‘body drawing’ used to draw clothing designs. It ‘wore’ a vest marks on it that indicated some mind of design that ran along the vest and down the long pants. Underneath the vest was a dark-purple shirt that added a slight accent to the outfit. To the side, there were drawings of fall leaves, complete with a dark orange/red color, as well as a list written in Deanna’s handwriting about ‘alternate color schemes’ for the leaves and the undershirt.

A sad smile formed on Deanna’s lips as she traced the design with her index fingertip. She could identify what this feeling was. What it was that was bothering her ever since she had heard Selena’s offhand remark.

She didn’t want the world title that her wife possessed. She wasn’t Holly Adams, secretly coveting the accomplishments of her ‘clients’. But, everything Selena had – everything she had earned… yes, Deanna had been part of that, maybe even a driving force… but it was Selena’s that such things belonged to. It was Selena whose name deserved to be on that list of accolades.

But if that was the case… what could Deanna really be proud of?

Her one match in SCW had been an abysmal failure, with her being pinned by Holly Adams in an impromptu tag-match. Her only match in SCW had been letting her beloved wife. Other than that?

The sound of the doorknob turning sent a shock through her spine and made her heart jump a little, the paper slipping out of her hand and ‘gliding’ through air before slipping underneath the bed. Deanna barely had time to register the paper’s location before the door opened, allowing the platinum-blonde to slip into the room.

“Presents are all packed in the different suitcases.” Selena whispered as she moved further into the room. “The kids are finishing packing.” With a huff, the world champion reached to scratch her head, causing Deanna to be lost in her wife’s beautiful features – and trying desperately not to recall that blasted offhand remark again! “I’m still not sure about all of this.” Selena sighed, giving her head a shake. “The more I think about it, the more I think that Ryan has something up his sleeve and-“

She stopped mid-sentence as she settled her gaze on Deanna, her sapphire eyes suddenly growing wide with concern. Before Deanna could ask what was wrong, the Snow Queen had strode right to where she stood, standing only a few inches from her. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice laced with alarm.

“Wrong?” Deanna asked in surprise. “Nothing. I was just packing and – I forgot my charger-“ she held up the white cable that was still in her hands.

Selena’s eyes never moved from her wife’s face. Instead, she reached out a pale finger towards Deanna’s cheek, moving it slightly along the soft skin before withdrawing it. Deanna’s eyes closed at the contact but opened them again as she felt the hand remove itself from her. She saw Selena staring down at the finger that had touched the redhead’s cheek, and the single tear that was on said finger.

“What the-“ Deanna said aloud, her hand flying up to wipe aggressively at the cheek Selena had touched. “When was I-“

The older Frost remained silent for a moment. “Deanna…” she slowly spoke afterwards. “Are you…I mean, you don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to.”

Emerald eyes went wide. “What are you talking about?” she asked. “Of course I want to go with you! We’re going to put this whole thing behind us – the Scythe family, all of it. And…” she took a slow breath, not wanting to admit the next part but doing so anyway. “I want to be there in case something DOES happen.”

She was expecting Selena to suggest her staying ‘for her own safety’. Afterall, her beloved had done it before multiple times when it came the dangers of the Scythes and Killjoy. Selena could defend herself, she was a fighter…and Deanna wasn’t as far along as her. Yes, she had tackled Asher Hayes and punched him in the face. Yes, she had dealt with Konrad Raab when the situation had called for it… but compared to Selena?

“So…what’s wrong?”

Deanna turned back to her wife, surprised that the ‘suggestion’ hadn’t come. Although, by a mere observation, Deanna could see the struggle in her wife’s eyes – she WANTED to suggest it but was fighting that protective nature, keeping her promise to trust her wife to take care of herself, their children and even take care of Selena if necessary.

“Nothing.” Deanna smiled back with a shrug of her shoulders and a wave of her hand. “I must have been rubbing my eye a bit too hard or something.”

Lifting her eyebrows, Selena gave a slow, few nods of her head. Her expression said she didn’t entirely believe Deanna, but she wasn’t going to press the matter.

“Well, I confirmed all the bookings with the flights and the hotel. We’re going to be staying closer to the outskirts. Duke and George will be monitoring the plane all day we’re there, in case we need-“

“A quick getaway?” Deanna interjected, finishing her wife’s sentence. It sounded absurd, but it really wasn’t. With the whole family being in one place, and with no Malcolm around to keep Ryan in check – Deanna’s mind flashed back to what Selena had shared with her in regards to the eldest Scythe’s behaviour at Serpentine Springs. How he had swore to find ways to undermine his late father’s ruling about leaving his ‘biological children’, Elsianna and David, alone.

What if he tried to pin the blame of his father’s death on them? The Scythe family, for all that had happened, was still the most powerful family in Nome. And while Selena had some credibility as a sort of ‘celebrity’, the small town still saw her as ‘the crazy miner’s daughter’ in several aspects. Realistically, as both Frost wives knew, it would not take much for the Scythes to turn the town against the Frosts, especially over the death of Malcolm. They couldn’t arrest them on such groundless accusations, which both women were relieved over, but public opinion could be so easily swayed in such a small town, unlike the SCW universe, no matter how many people like The Brand tried.

A quick getaway was not just smart thinking on Selena’s part, it was necessary.

“Umm…Deanna…” Selena’s voice came in, surprising the redhead. When had the platinum-blonde moved towards her suitcase? When had she opened it? “Why do you only have three days of outfits?”

“Wha-“ Following behind her, Deanna cast a glance inside the bag, seeing three of everything she had packed. Underwear, socks, pants, shirts, nightgown- “Cause we arrive on the 24th, Christmas and funeral 25th, leave that day and-“

Selena’s expression was one of genuine surprise, almost as if she had been shocked. “And we’re supposed to go to Ottawa right after – De, we planned this.”

Emerald eyes went wide as Deanna’s jaw hung open. How the hell could she forget that?! The damn event was in Ottawa! Five days after the funeral! There wouldn’t be enough time to travel from Nome to New York and then back to Ottawa! They had discussed this in detail! It had made more sense to pack more and travel from Nome to Ottawa and spent the few days in Ottawa truly celebrating the holidays with the children.

“Right!” Deanna tried to laugh off the mistake. “Ditzy Deanna again…duh.” She playfully smacked the side of her head, earning an odd look from Deanna. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I’ll just grab some more-“ she made to walk past Selena, only for a pair of pale, strong hands to reach out and hold her in place.

“Deanna.” Selena pressed. “What is going on?”
“Nothing.” Deanna tried. “I made a mistake- I wasn’t thinking. I do that sometimes.”

“Not like this.” Selena insisted. “Ever since we got back from Miami, you’ve been acting weird. You’ve…you’ve drifted off more and more, you don’t want to talk about SCW or work and you’re all over the place like this. So, if it’s not the funeral, then what is it?”

I’m not going to try and get the title on Deanna…
Sorry…

I’m not going to try and get the title on Deanna…
Sorry…

I’m not going to try and get the title on Deanna…
Sorry…

“It’s nothing!” Deanna cried out, instinctively pushing Selena away. It wasn’t a forceful enough shove to knock her down, but it was enough to cause the Snow Queen to take a few steps back, her sapphire eyes growing wide, as did Deanna’s. “I…” the redhead stammered, her eyes turned down to glare at her hands. “I’m sorry – I didn’t…”

The two stood in silence, one staring at the other and the other staring at their hands.

“It’s not nothing.” Selena stated quietly. “But I’m hardly someone that can talk about keeping things to myself.” Deanna heard her take a deep breath. “Can you go check on the kids?” she finally asked. “I’ll finish packing for you.”

She was moving again, Deanna could hear her, the older woman walking around the room to get the drawers and closets to pick up more clothes for Deanna. She wanted to move her feet and got to her wife, rush into her arms and tell her everything.

Tell her how much those words spoken last week were bothering.
Tell her how she felt like she had nothing to be proud of of herself.
Tell her how she… how she wanted to compete in a match…

But she couldn’t say any of that – all her brain was doing was calling her ‘selfish’ and ‘pitiful’. Instead, she took a shaky breath, trying to force sound out of her throat.

“After the funeral…and we’re in Ottawa, I’ll tell you what’s bothering me.” She whispered, her eyes still on her hands. She didn’t want for a reply from Selena. Instead, she turned and left the room in search of her children, doing all she could to banish the memory and the feelings she didn’t want from her mind, at least for now.

The Frost family didn’t need a confused woman presently lacking in self-confidence.

They needed her to be strong. Needed her to be the woman that stood by Selena – defended Selena! That’s who Selena needed as well.

With a slow, shaky breath, Deanna put her lingering thoughts of the End of the Year and the battle royale to the side for now, making her way down the stairs to find her children and help them finish packing.

They had a funeral to attend to…

[Erica Eden]

OOC: Hopefully I didn't get any details wrong, if I did blame Josh for not being around to look this over first,  lol.
1 of 2. Also my old banner disappeared so I'll be looking to replace that soon.
----------------------

November 2021

The IFW was once again up and running, and their first show had been a huge success. Erica Eden couldn't have been more proud of her man, Josh Hudson. He had been so upset when he had to shut the company down on short notice. Following the suicide of his sister Josh wasn't able to focus on running a promotion. He lost every dollar he'd put into it, including money invested by Jordan Majors. Erica had never seen Josh so depressed, although she knew it had happened before. He'd told her a lot about his past – his family, his former relationships. Nothing had affected him like this. Just when it seemed to Erica like Josh was coming out of that darkness.... his father fell ill. Cancer. It really is a sonofabitch. Both Josh and Erica had expected the old man to linger for a while, but he'd passed unexpectedly one afternoon. Erica knew Josh and his father had a complicated relationship. But underneath the bad memories of Josh's childhood and bitterness as adults, Erica could tell they cared about each other, despite it all. She was proven correct when it was discovered Josh's father had a will, and had left him a sizable inheritance. That money partially funded the reopening of IFW, along with some investors. Erica didn't much care for Tonya Kesselring, but Alex was alright. The three of them got the IFW up and running, filled out a roster, and booked a show.

At the end of it, due to a man being injured and Josh needing to fill in at the last minute to make sure the crowd had a great main event.... Josh Hudson was the IFW World Champion. And that's what made Erica most proud of all. Josh was the type of man to always be harder on himself than he needed to be, than was deserved. She didn't think he really believed the things he said, he just felt them because he felt left behind by the wrestling world. His return to SCW earlier in the year hadn't gone the way he wanted, working with another veteran named Pat Evans, doing Mr. D's dirty work for him, taking care of problems. It worked for a bit, until Josh took a pipe to the head, then failed a TV Championship bout. Josh had already been down on the whole thing not going as planned.... and then his father died. It was easy to step away from SCW yet again to deal with the aftermath. Through it all, Erica did her best to support Josh, make sure he took care of himself, and didn't fall back into old bad habits. Not too hard, at least. She knew how he felt, she had a failed attempt at SCW too, looking back she knew she had tried far too soon in her training. She was in over her head and bowed out before she made herself look too bad.

All of that said... not only did Josh's IFW win make Erica proud... it also inspired her. She had over a year more of training under her belt, and the way she fell on her face had left a bad taste in her mouth. After that first show, when she ad Josh went home with him carrying the IFW belt, Erica got the feeling that maybe it was time for her to try again. Not necessarily SCW, but just in a real ring, in a real company. Yet the more he continued on, working weekly with IFW and defending that belt, the more she was sure she wanted to do it. There was one problem though. She was hesitant to bring it up to Josh. He had blamed himself for her failed run. Before they were a couple, he was her trainer – she'd walked into House of Hudson looking to learn, needing something else other than what she had been doing. He took her in, saw she had natural talent, and oversaw her training himself. Her failure was his, or so he said. Erica didn't believe that. She blamed herself for insisting on giving it a shot so soon. Josh claimed he should have known better, forced her to wait, he let his love for her cloud his judgment, he didn't want to deny her something she wanted. Erica thought about this a lot, even more so after everything with IFW kicked off, and looking back? Maybe they were both to blame.

But that was then. This was now. She had better control of her skills. She was far less nervous in the ring. The only thing really stopping her from going forward, was Josh. Not in the way that sounds, but in the way she was afraid to being it up. She wasn't sure how Josh would feel about it. If he would support her, if he would say she wasn't ready yet, or something else completely. It had been a long time since he even mentioned her getting work in a promotion. But the urge was there, she heard the crowd when Josh won the IFW belt. She was backstage, watching from gorilla. She loved seeing him succeed, but she wanted to succeed, too. For her, success would be just going out there and getting a win. Not falling on her face. Not making herself, and Josh, look foolish.

Erica was at the gym, not Josh's school's gym though. One she went to with a friend from the high school she worked at before getting deeply involved with wrestling – Nina Ellis. Erica was a coach for the wrestling team, Nina coached volleyball. They became friends only a few weeks after Erica started working at the school, and are still close even though Erica left the school. They met at this gym, which was closer to Nina's neighborhood, once a week to catch up and keep on track while doing so. Erica walked into the gym and saw Nina, a tall and thick brunette, on a treadmill fiddling with the settings. She waved at her friend, then hurried to stuff her bag into a cubbyhole before taking the treadmill next to her.
“Hey chick, you're late.”
“I know, I'm sorry. I really didn't feel like getting out of bed this morning.”
“I'll just blame that man of yours for that.”
Erica laughed, Nina wasn't wrong. It's completely Josh's fault. This time.”
“Are you sure you need to be here, sounds like you got your cardio for the day.”
“Of course I do! I need to spend time with my best friend.”
Nina put her hand over her chest. “Awww. I'm touched. You tell that man though that he needs to control himself, his lust is eating into my bestie time.”
Erica laughed as she set the controls on her machine. “You'll just get me for longer today. Lets get lunch after.”
“Deal.”

The friends caught up during their treadmill run. Erica told Nina about the recent IFW show, Nina told Erica about one of students who was injured in a recent game. After their run was over, they went to the sauna for a session. Wrapped in just towels, the women sat back and relaxed.
“Okay, you told me all about Josh and his wrestling, what about yours? I thought you would be working together.”
Erica shrugged. “I don't know. He hasn't asked me to work with them. The last time I tried didn't work out so well.”
“So, what? You don't want to?” Erica shrugged again. “Don't give me that shit, if you didn't want to do it, you wouldn't still be training five days a week. You'd have come back to work with me. Coach Harris is an idiot, the school could really use you.”
“I can't go back to school. I'd never hear the end of how I failed.”
“So you do want to try again?”
Erica let out a slow breath. She'd never said this out loud. “Yeah.... yeah, I think I do.”
“You think?”
“No. I do.”
“Talk to Josh, he'll help you.”
Erica shook her head, brushing her hair back. “I don't know. IFW doesn't even have a women's division, I'd be the only woman on the roster.”
“There are other companies you know.”
“Yeah, I know. But are any of them gonna take a chance on me after I fucked up SCW?”
“Won't know unless you try.” Nina smirked. Erica shook her head again, but couldn't hide a grin. “Talk to him. Seriously. You'll go mental just watching him and wanting to be out there, too. You don't want to start to resent him, do you?”
Erica hadn't considered that. But Nina's words made sense. “No, I don't. You're right, I should say something.”
Nina smiled big. “Good! Now let me know the good news after you talk.”
“You're quite the optimist.”
“Always!”

The friends wrapped up their sauna session, and as discussed earlier, headed out for lunch. They discussed other things, but Erica kept Nina's encouragement in the back of her mind.

* * * * *

Later that night, it was dinner time. Erica and Josh had discussed their days to each other over their meal, yet Erica hadn't brought the topic on her mind up yet. She decided though that it was either now or never, while she had the encouragement from Nina on her mind.
“I want to ask your opinion on something, and I want a completely honest answer.”
“Am I not always honest with you?”
“You are, but it's important.”
“Alright, I'm listening.”
“What would you think about me... getting back into the ring?”
Josh's eyes widened just a bit. “I didn't know you wanted to do that.”
“I didn't either... until I saw you do it. Watching the way you play to the crowd, hearing their reactions. I want to try again.”
“What, in SCW?” Josh seemed skeptical. Erica couldn't blame him.
“No. Not now. I meant with you. In IFW.” Josh sat back in his chair, something of a slight cringe on his face. “What? Don't want to work with me?”
“Its not that. I'd love to work with you, you know that. It's just... you know that IFW doesn't have any women on the roster. Alex and Tonya didn't want to run a women's division.”
“So don't run one. I can fight men, you know that.”
Josh nodded, the look on his face changing from pained to almost apologetic. “I know you can. But they're not interested in women wrestlers at all. No women's division, no intergender. They're very old school, you've seen that.”
“I'm sorry, I thought you were part owner, not to mention IFW Champion. Don't you get a say in things?”
“I do, to a degree. I am part owner, because IFW is my intellectual property. But they're most of the money. I have to pick my battles, and this one? Isn't one I can't win. We've discussed it, they won't budge. I'm sorry.”
Erica sighed, leaning her face into her hands. After a few seconds she looked up. “So that's it? No return for me?”
“I didn't say that. There are a dozen places you could go.”
“So you don't think it's a bad idea? Even though I totally fucked up before?”
“Not at all. And you didn't fuck up, I did. You clearly weren't ready and I didn't see that. But that was over a year ago, you've grown, improved. I think you'd do well anywhere you went.”
Erica grinned. “Really? You're not just saying that cause you love me?”
“Not this time, no. Maybe before... I wanted you to succeed as much as you wanted it, I overlooked the fact it was too soon. Now, it's not. Now? You're absolutely ready.”
Erica's smile got bigger, until she remembered that it couldn't be in IFW. “I just wish I could work with you.”
“Maybe you will, somewhere else. Who knows what the future holds. For now, I can start putting out inquiries if you want.”
“I'd love that. But... what if I talked to Alex? To convince them-”
Josh started shaking his head, and Erica stopped herself mid-sentence. “I really think that would be a waste of your time.”
“Are you telling me no, don't try?” Josh rarely told Erica no over anything.
“If you really want to try, I won't stop you. I just don't think you'll get anywhere.”
Erica got up from her chair and walked around the table behind Josh, resting her hands on his shoulders as she leaned over near his ear. “Don't act like you don't know how persuasive I can be.”
Josh turned his head to kiss her. “Oh, I'm fully aware. I'm just not sure you know how hardheaded those two are.”
“I guess I'll find out, won't I? Cause I'm gonna try. If I get nowhere, like you say, then I'll look around. Deal?” Erica punctuated her question by sliding her hands down Josh's shoulders, to his chest, then hugging him from behind.
“It's pretty hard to disagree when you're groping me...”
“That's not groping...” Erica leans forward and reaches down, rubbing her hand down his stomach and over his crotch. “This... is groping.”
Josh grabbed her and pulled her around, making her sit on his lap sideways, like a kid sits on Santa.
“You don't have to bribe me for my support you know.” He smirked. Erica kissed him before replying.
“I know. But it's still fun.”
“I'll show you fun.”
Josh stood up, picking Erica up as he did, then carried her from the dining room to their bedroom. The dishes would just have to wait.

* * * * *

December 18, 2021

The IFW show following Erica's talk with Josh, Alex and Tonya Kesselring weren't in attendance. Erica wasn't sure why, she didn't ask questions. It didn't matter, all that mattered to her was that she didn't have a chance to speak with Alex. She wanted to talk to him alone. She felt Tonya was a bitch, she was always condescending to Erica when she was at shows with Josh. Maybe she resented not being the only woman backstage, maybe she had a thing for Josh and was jealous of Erica... who knew. But Erica knew if she had any chance whatsoever of getting what she wanted, she had to talk to Alex instead. But she would have to wait at least another week. It was annoying, yet relieving. She wanted to get it over with, but the wait also gave her more time to work out exactly what she was going to say, to find the best words to convince the businessman that adding women, or just one woman to start, to the roster was a good business decision.

In the meantime, there was a celebration to be had, that being Erica's birthday. It's a week before Christmas, which growing up she hated. Too many adults would ask her if she wanted two small gifts or one large one. It didn't seem fair, all the other kids in the family got two large gifts for their birthday and Christmas; it wasn't her fault she was born when she was born. Why should she get cheated? Her mom though always did her best to make sure her birthday was separate from Christmas, as did her uncle. Now that she was an adult, Josh did the same. This year, Erica's birthday happened to fall on Saturday, which was the day IFW ran their shows. This weeks show would be the last before a short holiday break.

Erica was woken up by Josh kissing her forehead, and handing her a large mug of coffee. Fifteen minutes later, he brought her a small breakfast in bed. He wasn't the greatest cook, but eggs and bacon wasn't hard. After eating, Erica got up and dressed and Josh led her to the living room. A large flat box was sitting on the coffee table, gift wrapped in blue paper with silver ribbon. Decidedly non-Christmas colors, which Erica appreciated. Josh sat next to her.
“Since we'll be at the show tonight, you get your gift early. Go ahead.”
“You mean I get breakfast and a gift, too?”
“I'd threaten to take it back for that smart remark, but I can't. It's custom. Open it.”
Erica laughed at his joking, and grabbed the box. It wasn't especially heavy, but not feather-light either. She pulled the ribbon and then carefully untaped the paper on the side. Erica had never been a paper-ripper. Underneath the paper was a garment box. She gave Josh a questioning glance, he'd never bought her clothes without her trying it on before. He just nodded at her to keep going. Erica grinned, then pulled open the box. On seeing the contents, she gasped. It was a gear top, shiny blue lycra with silver sequins as the trim, her intials in a stylized logo on the chest – two E's but back to back – also in silver.
“Josh... you didn't...” He didn't reply, just grinned, as she pulled the top out, to find matching trunks underneath. Under that, were elbow and knee pads.
“Couldn't have you getting back in the ring with year-old gear. You need to have a fresh look.”
Looking up at him, Erica dropped the top back into the box, quickly tossed it back on the table, and leaned forward, throwing herself at Josh to hug him. He chuckled as he caught her.
“You are the fucking best baby, I love it! And I love you.”
“I'm glad you like it. Now please go make sure it fits. I gave them your old set to go by.”
Erica backed away, trying to remember if she had gained (or lost) any weight since she last wore real ring gear. “You know... I really should. I have no idea if my size changed.”
Erica got up and grabbed the box, then ran to the bedroom to change.

Five minutes later, she walked back out into the living room, wearing the perfectly fitting gear. Josh eyed her as she spun around, showing off.
“Definitely fits. Your ass looks fantastic.”
Erica turned to face him, laughing. “Is that the only part that matters?”
“To me? Yes.”
“Not even these?” Erica pushed her tits up, squeezing them together.
“Those look great too, but you know I'm an ass man.”
Erica smirked, then turned again, shaking her ass. Josh got up and smacked it. Erica yelped in surprise, she hadn't heard him get up.
“Babe!”
“Couldn't help myself.” He spun her around and kissed her, reaching around to grab her ass. She kissed back for a few seconds, a small moan coming from deep in her throat... but then she pulled away.
“You'd better let me get this gear off first before we ruin it.”
“Getting you out of it is kinda the idea...” He kissed her again, and she pulled away again.
“Follow me back to the bedroom and you can take it off yourself.”
In reply, Josh grabbed her hand and pulled her to the bedroom, instead of following her.

An hour later, gear off and unspoiled, the lovers lay in bed, fully satisfied.
“It's only noon and this is already the best birthday I've ever had.”
“I'll really have to step up my game next year in that case.”
Erica smiled at him as she sat up a bit and leaned on her elbow to face Josh. “You really will, especially if my plan tonight goes in mu favor.”
“Still planning to talk to Alex about hiring you, then?” Erica nodded. “I wish you the best of luck.”
“Why does that sound like sarcasm?” Erica raised an eyebrow. Josh shook his head.
“It's not. I'm completely behind you. I hope you get what you want, I truly do. I'm just skeptical it will go your way, and I really hate to see you disappointed.”
“If I get denied, fine. At least I tried. This is my first choice, because I want to be where you are. If I can't... well, I'll figure that out if I need to. Does Alex know I want to talk to him?”
“I've said nothing. Thought it was best to fully come from you.”
“Keep your hands clean, huh?” Erica smirked, letting him know it wasn't an accusation, but more of an amused observation.
“Something like that. I told you, I need to pick my battles.” He kissed her, to soften the blow of his words. Erica didn't mind.
“I understand. Thanks for not trying to talk me down from this, and being behind me. It really means a lot to me, after I wasn't sure how you'd feel about me wanting to do this. You've not said anything about me getting back in for a while.”
“I wanted the interest, the desire, to come from you. Not anything I said. I'm glad you want to. I'd love to see it.”
“Then pray I get through to Alex.”
“As I said... I wish you the best of luck.” Erica knew Josh wasn't much of a praying man, she'd take the luck.

Knowing exactly how steep of a hill she was battling, Erica could use all the luck she could get.

[DeeSizzle]

Dec 27th – Canadian Tire Centre

There was still a few days ago before the end of the year show for SCW but they were still doing signups for anyone who wanted to enter the invitational battle royal. Seemed like it would be a long shot for Jamison to try and win this but given his size and stature, he felt that it wouldn’t hurt to try and go in and see what could happen. It wasn’t a glamourous sign-up station or anything, just a standard registration to be eligible to enter. Jamison walked into the arena and looked around, he had been here a few times already because he was an avid Sens fan and had made it out to a few games when he could afford to. This felt different though, it had a different vibe knowing he was about to get himself into. This went beyond his little backyard fighting matches he was having for little cash, the idea of having a shot at winning two hundred and fifty thousand was something he couldn’t pass up.

Don’t kid yourself though, he knew there was most likely going to be a lot of veterans in this trying to earn some extra cash and a car for fun, but this was important not only to himself but to his mother as well, a chance to finally get ahead of the game after everything they had been going through. Jamison didn’t think his odds were that good of being able to survive to the end but perhaps simply putting up a good showing on a free audition wouldn’t hurt if something good were to happen. He looked a little nervous coming up to the desk, there was a sensation of going through with this that was rushing through his mind almost telling him to turn back but his strong will was keeping him there. He knew once he signed up there would be no turning back. He wasn’t in a place where he could afford to not go through with it once he signed up. The lady who was sitting there at the desk sort of looked up at Jamison as he walked up to her, he was getting his ID out and she had a chance to look him over. With a solid build on him she enjoyed the fact that he looked like someone who was going into this battle royal to compete.

Lady: You looking to sign up for the battle royal invitational?

Jamison: Yeah, actually, I wasn’t sure if they were still any spots available or not.

Lady: You don’t have to worry about that, there was unlimited spots for anyone who wants to prove themselves and try and win some cash and a car. You like your chances?

Jamison looked confident but felt a slight bit nervous still. Understanding that there were probably people way older and more experienced in this contest, his odds weren’t going to be the greatest, but he wanted to do well anyways.

Jamison: Who knows? I mean I am sure there are a lot of good people here trying to win the money as well! Just going to hope for the best and not fall on my face in front of everyone.

Lady: Let’s hope not, SCW is one of the biggest promotions out there and this is a highly watched event. You have any wrestling experience?

Jamison: No, just some minor fighting skills and my strength and speed. Just done a few cage fights here and there for some cash but that’s it.

Lady: Ok, sign this.

She hands Jamison the sign-up form and he begins quickly filling everything out, no turning back now. He took a deep breath as he finished everything up and handed it back to the lady.

Lady: Thank you, now before you go, I need to give you a quick disclaimer. BY entering this battle royal, you are by no means affiliated with SCW or considered working for them. Competing in this does not guarantee you a contract and after 30 minutes following the conclusion of the battle royal you are to leave the arena, unless specified by any of the staff otherwise. Prior to entering the battle royal, you are also to supply us with an optional promotional video that showcases why you think you have a chance of winning this. Although it is not necessary, it would give the chance for the management staff to evaluate you from that perspective and could possibly increase your favour with them moving forward. We highly encourage all free agent sign ups or walk ins to do so as it gives us a chance to see who you really are and what you are bringing to this match. You are to report to the arena no later than 5pm otherwise you will not be able to enter and therefore not compete inside the battle royal. Do you have any other questions?

Jamison just gave her a smile and didn’t say much else.

Jamison: No, this has been great, thank you for all your help.

The lady just smiles at him seeing his potential to gain something from this.

Lady: MY pleasure, good luck, I think you have a chance of going far in this even with your lack of experience, just keep your head up and hit them when it counts.

Jamison just smiled and he walked away, he felt good after handing everything in and given how she was talking to him made him feel that he had a decent shot of being able to outlast people and open some eyes. As the local talent going into the battle royal, it might help generate some interest if someone from Ottawa was able to put on a decent performance and get everyone fired up. It made him feel like he had a chance to really turn things around for himself and his mother and hopefully this was going to be the true first step forward for him.


========

Dec 28- Home

Jamison was nervous, even though he had told his mother about it she was a little apprehensive about her little boy getting in the ring with people much more experienced than he was but after he had explained everything to her, she knew that he was going to do what was best for the family to get things back on track. No mother would approve of their sons going and getting violent, but she knew that Jamison had the body to go and inflict punishment just as well and she liked the fact that he was feeling good about doing something potentially special for the first time. All the middling he had been doing with the small backyard fighting matches weren’t going to help him get any closer to helping his situation.

It was time for him to get ready for his promotional video, he had no idea what he was going to do for it for it. He had no idea what he was going to say to people who didn’t know who he was or what he was thinking trying to win two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in a match he probably has no business competing in, in the first place. His mother was happy to help, the fact that he asked her to go a long way regarding their relationship. Jamison knew he couldn’t hide this kind of thing from her and wanted her to be on board with what he was doing because things were going to get nasty for him inside the ring and wanted to make sure she knew what was going on. His mother being the type to support him no matter what, loved the idea that he wanted her to help him shoot the video and get him prepared for it, it would also allow her the opportunity to watch him perform as well since he obviously never took her to watch his cage fights because it was all backwater stuff for cash and nothing else. It meant a lot for Jamison to have his mother’s support.

They were in the garage, a small back drop but nothing special. They didn’t want to make it too flashy or anything as a way of humbly introducing Jamison to everyone in the SCW universe. He was nervous, he had been packing around the garage for several minutes while still trying to figure out everything he needed to say to people listening, if anyone even bothered to listen to him.

Jamison: Is this setup too basic?

Mom: No, I don’t think you need it to be anything special because you’re just getting your name out there. If you go too over the top right off the bat, then people might be to put off by you. If you come in with the simple, local boy approach, you would be someone that the crowd could get behind easily.

Jamison: You think so?

Mom: Of course, people don’t like rooting for the exaggerators, they want to see that humble kid come up and really get the people behind him. Besides, if they see you throw a few people around and hold your own they could really take notice.

Jamison smiled.

Jamison: Thanks mom, I appreciate that, I mean I could go out there and last about 5 seconds too and be laughed right out of the arena, but I would hope that I could at least keep my head above water for a little bit while they focus on other people, unless I come in early then I might have to fend for my life.

His mother just kept him relaxed and offered him some advice.

Mom: Listen, son, you just do this video to the best of your abilities and then you go into that battle royal, and you do the very best you can. The fact that you are willing to take that risk and go out there not knowing anything about it says a lot about who you are as a person and im so proud of you. I don’t care how well you do in this, just know that I love you and I want you to be happy and make yourself and myself proud at the same time. We will figure everything out; everything happens for a reason and that was why we are in this situation right now.

Jamison just looked at her and smile, the words really resonated with him, and he felt much better. He walked over to the backdrop and stood in front of it. His tight shirt and his pants defined his physique and gave him a look that hopefully instilled some confidence, even if the words may not come out that way.

============

On-camera


Jamison: Well, here goes.

Hey everyone, my name is Jamison, and I am here to enter the SCW battle royal invitational. I just wanted to say thanks ahead of time for the opportunity and the chance to be able to do my best.

Im not sure if I honestly have a chance to really win this thing, I know that theres a lot of taltend people who are trying to earn some extra cash after Christmas probably ravaged you, but not really. The idea of winning two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is something that I couldn’t pass up because having that would go a long way in helping my family out.

IM not saying its more important or more motivational than your stories, but I know that I am here to give it everything I have.

I’ll honestly tell you that I am not that talented a wrestler, I have done a few fights here and there while I was self teaching myself. I wanted to become more since things fell apart for my mom and I a few years ago but everything that has happened has led me up to this moment. I don’t know if I will be able to beat any of you in this, but I know for a fact that it will be a challenge to put me down.

I’m six four and roughly just under three hundred pounds. I have the speed and the strength to be able to survive if I need to. I might not be able to technically wrestle, but I can certainly throw a punch and land a kick that can knock you right out. I have explosive speed and can be quick when the time comes.


I’m nervous, I have no idea what I am getting myself into when it comes to this match and I have no idea who any of you really are. I cant say that I am someone familiar with the business or anyone in it but I sure as hell wont mind introducing myself to you. I could easily be eliminated before I get a chance to do anything or I could turna few heads and really get the people on my side. I have no idea, I know that I am going to go out there and do the best I can and give it everything I have as I fight to survive and fight to try and win money that most of you don’t probably need.

I have never had an opportunity like this before I am going to make the most of it as much as possible. This might not mean much to most of you and you’re doing it for a paycheck or for shits and giggles but I am doing this because I am willing to take the risk and really put myself out there if it means coming away with more money than I can fathom. Its all im trying to do, all I am trying to go for when it comes to being the winner out there. If I can put on a good performance then we’ll see what happens but otherwise, I am just gonna enjoy being able to punch and kick a few people around and have some fun.

So good luck to everyone competing in this, I wish you the best. I am just a local boy from Ottawa trying to win some money and take care of his family. You don’t know me yet, I am Jamison Logan, and I am here to compete in the battle royal invitational.

Thank you

END

[Lt. Erect]

-----> Click Me! <-----

[Huddie]

Reluctant King, II

[SnowQueenSCW]

OOC: Deanna Frost roleplay 2. Takes place after the other three roleplays (Selena 1, Deanna 1, Selena 2 in that order). Best of luck everyone. 

Project: Black Ice

”Parting Gift”

Canadian Tire Center
Ottawa, Canada
December 30th, 2021
6:21pm

Deanna’s hands continued to wring together as she paced the room. Her nerves were beyond shot. She was beyond scared. She could feel her hands shaking and she couldn’t stop them, not matter how hard she gripped them together. Her legs shook, adding to her wobbly steps and every time her eyes flew to the clock that hang on the changeroom wall, she felt like she was going to throw up.

What had she been thinking? She asked herself. In her hands, linked together, she could see and feel the small paper that she had been given from management. It was a small piece, folded neatly and could fit in her hand. 

She had done it. She had signed the paper, waived her right to sue if something went wrong… on a night where her wife was set to defend the title she had spent four years trying to regain. What if she couldn’t be there for Selena? What if she got hurt by someone? She had passed a six-foot-four beast of a man, maybe three hundred pounds backstage – not an SCW superstar which meant he was in royale… what if he got his hands on her? She wasn’t her wife, she couldn’t just take beatings like Selena had over the course of eight years against the likes of Matt Auclair and Xander Valentine.

I’m not Selena… her mind mocked and cried. I’m not Selena…

She looked up at the clock again. Only two minutes had passed, but it was two minutes closer to the start time. 

How could she be so selfish? She was supposed to be Selena’s manager and protector. And against The Brand where interference was all but guaranteed, she was choosing to risk being hurt and incapacitated – what if she cost Selena the title by being unable to be there for her? What if Selena got hurt by The Brand before, during or after without Deanna there to help her?

The tears came from her eyes and she couldn’t stop them anymore than she could stop the shaking as she fell to her knees. She needed to get up off the floor! She needed to cancel this batshit crazy idea before it was too late-

As if history was repeating itself, the door to the ‘World Champion’s changeroom’ opened, allowing that very champion to walk in.

“Gods, that felt good.” She heard Selena reply, though she couldn’t open her eyes to see her. She heard a heavy object be placed on the table. “I can’t wait for tonight. Gods…we’re going to-“

The voice stopped suddenly and immediately, Deanna heard movement and, a second later, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, drawing her close to a warm body.

“De…” she heard Selena’s voice in her ear. “Are you alright?”

She couldn’t answer right away, the shaking was too strong, even in her beloved’s arms.

“For the love of Odin…” Selena cried in alarm. “You’re shaking – I’ll get the medic and on-site doctor.” She made to move up, when Deanna’s arms, of their own accord, reached out to grab her, the paper in her hand stuck between two fingers. With all the strength she could muster, the redhead gripped her love close.

“Deanna?” Selena whispered, opting to run her hands gently up and down Deanna’s back. “What is it? Is it about what happened in Nome?”

Deanna shook her head. Yes, she had been terrified when Selena had told her about the Snow Queen’s latest confrontation with the monster they had named Killjoy, but she had refused long ago to give that creature any power by resorting to fear when his name was mentioned. Whatever he was planning – whatever he was trying to orchestrate in her wife’s destruction, Deanna had swore up and down on the plane ride to Ottawa that she would be protect and guard her Selena.

Yes… my Selena… her mind defended loudly. She’s mine first! My love. My wife. My queen.

Gently, she felt Selena’s hands move up to her face and gentle thumbs press into her cheeks to rub the tears out of her eyes. “Can you open your eyes for me?” came the soft, loving request from Selena.

Taking a shaky breath, Deanna commanded her eyes to open. The lids felt heavy from the shaking and the tears, but they slowly lifted. The first thing she saw where the most beautiful sapphire orbs staring into her eyes. Sapphire orbs connected to the most gentle of expressions as Selena gazed at her.

“My love.” Selena whispered as she continued to caress Deanna’s face with her thumbs. 

“I’m…” Deanna choked out. “I’m sorry. I did something so…so stupid.”

She watched Selena tilt her head before a slow smile crossed her features. “Marrying me?”

A laugh escaped Deanna of its own accord. “Much more recent…” she sniffled.
“Used regular Rice Krispies for the Rice Krispies Squares instead of the seasonal red and green ones?”
“It’s the same!”
“It’s not!” Selena countered, though she kept her hands on Deanna’s face. “The children could tell!”
“And no….” Deanna’s voice fell. “More recent…”

There was a moment of silence, except for Deanna’s shaky breath.

“You signed up for the End of the Year Invitational.”

The declaration didn’t come from her. No, the statement, filled with certainty had come from…

Deanna’s head shot up, her eyes wide as she saw Selena gazing back at her. “You knew?”

A slow smile grew across Selena’s features as she gently opened up Deanna’s hands, allowing her to take the small piece of folded paper in Deanna’s hands. “I’ve known since before we left Manhattan.”

It was like a punch to the gut for Deanna, her mouth hanging open. “Why…How?”

Her smile shifting, Selena gently removed herself from her wife to push herself to her feet, allowing Deanna to see dark purple wrestling outfit Selena was wearing. She had chosen dark purple for the body of her attire, with white snowflakes on the shoulders that stretched in all directions. A purple sash with a snowflake with matching pants and boots filled out the attire. Selena, meanwhile, made her way to her long-coat that hung on a hook in a corner of the room and removed a different folded piece of paper from one of the side pockets before returning to her wife’s side. Carefully, she handed the paper to Deanna.

Confused, Deanna gazed at the paper and unfolded it, her eyes growing wide as she recognized the wardrobe drawings she had made – the one she had kept in her nightstand back in their house in Manhattan.

“I found that under the bed.” Selena answered gently. “It didn’t take much to figure out what you were planning.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Deanna asked without thinking – the answer coming to her a second later, before Selena answered.
“Because you weren’t ready to tell me about it.”

“I was about to go cancel it.” Deanna admitted, looking down at her hands, which still shook. “I’m not ready for this. I’m endangering you and the world title – I can’t…I can’t even think about Holly being the world champion. What that would do for this place…”

A smile came to Selena’s face. “Even if that happens – we survived the Bree Lancaster and Sienna Swann year… we’ll get through that if it happens.”
“But I…” Deanna’s voice hitched. “I don’t want that to happen because of me. Just because I got my feelings hurt.”

“Deanna…” pale hands reached out to take Deanna’s shaky hands into her own. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.
“It’s…” she started before releasing a sigh, her shoulders dropping. “It’s when you told everyone that you weren’t going to give me the world title.”

Selena’s eyes went wide. “When did I…”
“Breakdown.” Deanna answered. “It was an offhand remark, which is probably why you don’t remember it very well…”
“But…” Selena tried. “I meant that I wasn’t going to do what Cid and Asher did – disrespecting the world title.”

“I know that!” Deanna cried in frustration, her eyes shutting closed. “I’ve thought that so many times and rationalized it over and over again in my head, but it’s not worked. Because all I can think about is how proud I am of you – how proud our children are of you! New York called you the ‘hometown hero’. And I’m…what am I? I’m not you. I’m not Selena Frost, just her…”

“You’re my wife.” Selena whispered firmly. “And I’m yours. Everything I’ve done has been because of you. You must know that.”
“I…I do.” A sniffle escaped Deanna’s nose. “But it’s your name to those accolades. It’s you that’s done it all. What do I have to make our children proud of me? What have I done that’s just…me? Lose one match?”

She heard Selena exhale through her nose. “If I can…” the redhead tried. “I thought if I could go out there tonight and do…something… maybe I could…” she stopped, giving her head a shake as she freed one hand from Selena’s to rub her eyes with her palm. “I don’t even know anymore.”

They stood there in silence, the only sound being the ticking of the clock on the wall.

“Is that…that how you truly feel?” the question came from Selena, earning a nod from Deanna. “Then…you can’t go to management and cancel.”

“What? Why not?” Deanna asked.
“Because Deanna Frost isn’t a quitter.” Selena answered sharply, pushing herself back to her feet. “Deanna Frost is the reason I have a heart in the first place. When mine was obliterated by Dawn, you picked up the pieces and made it beat again, okay?”

She felt her jaw tingle at her wife’s words, as Selena pressed herself back to her feet, marching around the room towards the Snow Queen’s duffle bag.

“Deanna Frost, the one I love more than anything, survived two years in prison – the darkest hole in Germany! And never once lost her heart or her smile. Never lost her faith in her innocence or in me or our family! Never quit on any of us when she had every reason to!”

Pulling a medium-sized box out of her bag, Selena turned back to return to Deanna, kneeling down before her. “The Deanna Frost I know…wouldn’t let something like fear take hold of her now. Not when she has so much to prove.”

“What’s…” Deanna gestured to the box, earning a smile from Selena, who offered her the box.
“Look inside.” She gently whispered as Deanna took it. “Consider it a late anniversary present.”

For a moment, Deann regarded her wife’s eyes before she carefully opened the box…and immediately almost dropped it as she spied the contents.

Carefully, she placed the box on the ground and placed her hands inside, pulling out the fabric. Before her eyes was a maroon undershirt, the same color as Selena’s outfit. Reaching further in, out came a black vest and pants.

However, it was the designs that made Deanna gasp. For on the pants, running up the leg were her autumn leaves – the leaves she had drawn in her sketch on that piece of paper! They lifted upwards, as if blown by the end, up the left leg, dancing around a large white snowflake…

Emerald eyes lifted up to look at Selena. “Is this?”

Selena smiled, holding up the vest, looking at it fondly. Like the pants, it had leaves flowing around it and surrounding a large snowflake at the back of the vest. To answer her, the platinum-blonde nodded.

“This is the outfit I wore eight years ago.” She whispered. “When I found your sketches, I called her and asked her to make the alterations. It’s been tailored to your size…” her hands glided over the leaves and the snowflake, the images intermixing… much as she and Deanna had through their love and marriage.

“Selena…” Deanna half-cried, earning Selena’s attention.

“You have to do this.” Selena pressed gently, pressing the vest into her wife’s hands. “Not for me. Not for SCW. For you. Otherwise, this will haunt you for the rest of your life.”
“But what if-“

A knowing smile came to Selena’s face. “What if you don’t.” she countered, the same words Deanna had thrown at the Snow Queen over and over again in such conversations.

Biting her lower lip, Deanna pushed herself to her feet and began pulling aggressively at her clothes, pulling her shirt off, followed by her pants. Just as quickly, she slid into the wrestling pants, the matching maroon boots, the maroon shirt and, lastly, the vest.

Stepping back, Selena observed her wife as she stood there, the amalgamation of her past and Deanna’s future. It was enough for a few tears to drop from Selena’s eyes.

“No matter what.” She whispered, reaching out to take Deanna’s hands into hers. “I will always be so proud of you!”

Biting her lower lip, Deanna held back her tears as her hands, steady at last, reached out to cup her wife’s face, bringing it to her lips to kiss gently. Breaking apart slowly, she locked eyes with the world champion. “No matter what, I will be there when it’s your turn to fight – to watch you retain the world championship!”

A smile came to Selena as she booped her wife’s nose with her finger. “It’s a date.” She smiled. “But you better get going.”
“For what?” Deanna asked confused.
“It’s an hour and plus before the show…” Selena teased. “Don’t you think the True Believers will want to hear something from you?”

Deanna’s eyes were wide as she gazed towards the door. Could…could she really do this?
“Yes you can.” Whispered Selena as she gently nudged her wife with her shoulder. “You’re Deanna Frost, remember?”

Hearing that, the redhead took a deep breath before opening the door and heading out to the filming section.

“You’re not Selena Frost…” she didn’t hear Selena whisper. “You’re someone so much better.”

******************************************

My name is Deanna Frost. My name is Deanna Frost.

Yes, I had to say that twice to remind myself of it. Because there are bigger names than that coming here. I've seen some of them and heard so many rumors. Last names like Braddock…Hudson… Kinneck…Jones.

It is so easy to be so overwhelmed by such names... be overwhelmed by all of this. So easy to fall into the blanket statement of ‘fighting for impact’, ‘fighting for prize money’, ‘fighting for fame’…

And unlike them, I don’t have a gimmick or a catchphrase or accolades to fall back on. I don’t even have an entrance theme song. All I have is my name: My name is Deanna Frost. 

And I am not here to fight for any of that. 

Most of those names, so many of them, are fighting for one night only. A passing fancy in the night where, win or lose, they will return to their world outside of SCW. Like Cinderella at the ball, you are gone at midnight. Will you be here the day after, Hudson? Marie? Will you, Braddocks? Or will you hop on your chariot and rush back before the twelfth stroke of midnight, taking the prize and fame of ‘beating SCW’ with you?

That isn’t possible for me. I don’t have that ‘nothing to lose’ mentality. That ‘devil may care’ attitude. Because tomorrow… after this night, I’m still going to be part of this place. Next Breakdown in the new year of 2022? I’ll be back here. I don’t have the option to simply ‘disappear’ back into the world as if a loss never happened.

I’ll have to live with it. If I fail to achieve something worthwhile, I’ll have to walk these arena halls and stand in front of the camera with my world champion wife knowing that I came up short…

Or… I can be Deanna Frost.

A woman that has learned from the best in SCW today. A woman that has learned to fight with all her heart and soul. A woman that wishes to, like her wife did, carve a place for herself in this business at long last. 

The one thing my wife has not brought to the Frost family, despite years of coming so close – I could do that for her and our family and for me. I could bring this royale and etch the name ‘Frost’ into its history. I could carve my niche here, much like Cassidy Carter, Ace Marshall, Trinity Street and so many others have! Not only the Frost name but my name... Deanna Frost.

That’s what I am fighting for tonight. Because what else is there? Money comes and goes. Cars break down… but the bragging rights? The right to say you were, for one night, something incredible? Isn’t that what is truly drawing out a legend like Josh Hudson? And former stars like Beard or Mitch? That feeling of…not immortality… but of feeling… more? That you are worth something? That you are something special and worthy of SCW?

I have… I have begun to want that for myself. To have a space, however small, that is mine here in Supreme Championship Wrestling. Something that says “Deanna Frost belongs here with the rest of us”. Something for me. Not just because of who I am married to but because I am worthy of being part of SCW…

Is it selfish… yes. 

I am being selfish. I am choosing to be a wrestler tonight - to be more than just a 0-1 failure in this federation. I am choosing to believe that I can be strong enough to be it all: a wrestler and a manager and a wife and a mother for one night. 

One night to show not just the True Believers, but myself, what Deanna Frost can achieve. What wars with Asher Hayes and Cid Turner and Infamous have hinted at… what Deanna Frost is capable of.

One night to make my wife proud, my children proud, the believers proud…and make myself proud.

Because…

Because my name is Deanna Frost. And I belong in SCW… 

B…Believe it.

[Erica Eden]

December 18, 2021

The IFW show was set to start in about an hour. Erica had made sure that Alex Kesselring was in attendance. Tonya was as well, it might be tricky to catch Alex alone. Erica knew Josh still thought she was wasting her time, trying to convince them not only to give her a chance, but to allow intergender fighting, since there were no other women on the roster. As Erica prepared in her mind what she would say, she wondered if it might be an easier task to convince Alex to just hire five or six other women as well, and create a women's division, than to talk him into intergender. Josh was certain the Kesselrings were adamantly against that sort of thing. Maybe she should suggest both options? It didn't matter to her one way or the other, Erica just wanted to compete, and she wanted to do it where her man also worked.

Sure, the man from SCW had come and spoken to Josh recently, about either making a return or being cut loose, but Erica was unsure about returning there if Josh did so. That was where she failed. Nina had told her it wasn't as bad as she thought, her record was fifty percent, two wins and two losses. But in Erica's mind she should have won all four, especially the Rise to Greatness weekend one. That's what embarrassed her more than the other loss. It was a triple threat against two other women, both who had been in the business a long time. Rationally Erica knew there should be no shame in getting beat out, but she felt that she should have been the one to make a statement, show the next generation was coming up and that the old guard were just that – old. Instead she was the one pinned and any thoughts of being part of some new guard movement went out the window. Erica didn't return after SCW's annual post-Rise break. Even though she knew she was ready to return to a ring, she wasn't sure it should be an SCW ring.

Dressed in jeans, a maroon sweater, and biker boots, Erica thought she looked as professional as she possibly could for a wrestling show when she saw Alex and Tonya backstage. Josh was in his locker room getting ready. Erica had been walking around, looking for her moment. She stood near a catering table, nursing a bottle of water as she watched the investor couple talk. After a few minutes, they smiled and nodded at each other, and Tonya walked away down the hall, while Alex started walking in her direction. This is my chance, Erica thought. She set the water bottle down, smoothed out her sweater, and stepped up as Alex passed her by.
“Hey Alex... can I talk to you for a minute?”
Alex gave Erica a smile, to her it looked fake. “Sure, Erica. I'll even give two minutes to the other half of my champion.” He chuckled. Erica fought the urge to roll her eyes.
“Thanks. So... as I'm sure you know, I've been training with Josh for a few years. I-”
“Yeah, yeah. He's told me you've got skills.”
“Good. I mean, that he's told you, so you know I'm not just blowing smoke.” Alex smiled that fake smile again. Get to the point, Erica. “With that in mind, I was wondering what you would think about adding the first female wrestler to the IFW roster?” Erica smiled, making it clear she meant herself. Alex made a face. Not a positive one. It was like a grimace, as he sucked air in through his teeth. “I'm not so sure about that, hon. I don't know if you know this, but we never really envisioned a women's division for IFW. If we hired you on, we'd have to hire a handful more women just so you could work... and we're barely breaking even so far as it is. I'm not sure we can afford a roster expansion like that.”
Undaunted, Erica smiled. “I thought you might say that, and there's a simple solution. Forget a women's division. I can fight men.”
Alex shook his head. “I never got behind the whole, everything is equal, thing in wrestling. Men are just bigger and stronger than women. Now now, don't get me wrong, I'm not some misogynistic asshole, I'm not gonna start talking about women having a place and all that. I just get real uncomfortable watching a man throw a woman around the ring. It's almost like... like abuse.”
“It's not abuse if we're willing to fight, Alex. We train just as hard, maybe even harder, than the guys, just to keep up. The truth is that the number of companies these days that keep men and women separate on the roster is shrinking. You're in the minority.”
“I know we are. That means we offer something different. If we went with this intergender thing, we'd be the same as a dozen other companies. This is Iron Fist, Erica. Tough, brutal, hard hitting. I'm sure you could hang with some of these guys, I've seen you working out. But there aren't many women who can. And honestly, I don't think much of this roster would be comfortable fighting you. I'd love to help you out, I really would. But... it just doesn't fit our business model. I'm sorry.”
Erica took a step back, trying her best to keep her coo. “So it's fine for other companies but not good enough for you?”
“It's just not who we are. You'd do great things in any one of those places that cater to that sort of thing. We just don't.” Alex shrugged, giving the impression he is done with the conversation. Erica sighed hard.
“Okay. Well. Thank you for your time.”
Alex gave her a nod with that same fake smile and walked away.

Erica stepped back, leaning against the wall. She balled up her fist and smashed it backwards against the wall. Josh had been right. Deep down she knew he probably would be, but she had to try. And it didn't make her any less angry. Hanging her head down, trying to keep her composure, Erica dreaded going into Josh's locker room to tell him what happened. He wasn't the 'told you so' type but he hated seeing her upset. The sound of a throat clearing made Erica snap her head up. One of the younger roster members, Ronin, was in front of her.
“I heard about half of that. I think he's full of shit.”
“Which part? That he wishes he could help me, or that he thinks I'd do well but just somewhere else?”
“The part about most of the roster not wanting to mix it up with women. A lot of us have worked in mixed roster promotions. As far as I know, only maybe one or two guys here don't like it. Older guys, old school pricks. Most of us? Really kinda hate the idea that being female means you can't fight a male. Like you said, you train just as hard. Especially you. I know, we've worked together. You'd probably kick my ass in a real match.” Ronin grinned. Erica liked him. He was a few years younger than her, but had skills on par with her, or even Josh. He was a fast learner and she enjoyed training with him.
“Thanks. Guess we won't get the chance to find out. Not here, anyway.”
“Never know. Stranger things than Alex changing his mind have happened. I think if enough of us really pressed him, he might give in. I can talk to the guys.”
“I appreciate that Ronin, I really do. But I don't really want to be seen as a charity case, begging for work. I'll just do what he said and go somewhere else.”
“Are you sure? Some of us have already discussed it a bit, but with a real reason-”
Erica held her hand up, stopping him. “I'm sure. But thank you.” Ronin seemed upset about her refusal. “Don't you have a match to get ready for?”
“That I do. Just... know that I at least have your back.”
Erica could only smile her reply as Ronin patted her shoulder before heading off.

With a deep breath, Erica walked down the hallway, towards Josh's locker room. She knocked, then walked in. Josh was sitting on a bench, getting his boots on.
“Hey babe.”
“I'd ask how it went, but I can tell by the look on your face. I'm sorry.”
Erica closed the door behind her then leaned against it. “I hate it when you're right. He was so condescending!”
“Some people are so set in their ways that they'll never change. If I had known this ahead of time I'd have found other investors.”
“There were no other investors, I have a memory.” Josh nodded. “I'll just... look around, you know? You could put out inquiries, like you said.”
Josh finished with his boots and stood up, walking over to Erica. He took her hands.
“I do have a suggestion. I've decided to enter the SCW invitational at their end of the year show. You could come with me. Enter as well.”
“SCW? I don't know...” Erica looked away. The place left a bad taste in her mouth.
“It's just an invitational, not a commitment.”
“It's a commitment for you. This means you've decided to honor your contract rather than let them release you.”
“Yes, it does. If they'll have me past the invitational. There is always the possibility they'll decide to cut bait anyway.”
“That would be a mistake, they need you.”
“We'll see. The invitational could determine more than a few things. And that's why I think you should enter, too. See how you feel being there.”
“You really think that's a good idea? It's a battle royal where we have no idea how many people are entering until the match starts. You think I can handle that, after not being in any real match in over a year?”
“I think you can handle anything you want to handle. Forget whatever it was Alex said to you. I'm sure it wasn't anything encouraging or nice. Listen to me, I'm behind anything you want to do. Listen to yourself. What do you really want? To be back in the ring, right?” Erica nodded. “This is literally an open door for you to do so. If it doesn't feel right, no harm. If it does... it could be a huge chance for you.”
Erica took a deep breath, looking down at her hands, that Josh was still holding. She gave his hands a squeeze, then looked back up. He was right, and this time she didn't hate it.
“You're right. If this is what I want, this is my chance. I'll do it.”
Josh kissed her, hard. “That's my woman.”

The hardest part about making the decision had been saying it. Now that it was out there, Erica was ready.

===================

I bet the SCW Universe never thought they'd see me again, other than maybe in Josh Hudson's corner. To be perfectly honest, I didn't think I'd ever show my face back here, either.

I thought I was ready over a year ago. I thought I had enough training, I thought I had enough attitude, I thought I was gonna make something of myself. And all I feel like I did was fall on my face and make myself – and Josh – look like a fool. I should have kicked every ass put in front of me, right? I wasn't expecting to be faced with ring veterans right away. I wasn't expecting to be given such high expectations right away. Maybe I should have, I came in with a pedigree behind me, I was trained by living legend and Hall of Famer Josh Hudson. I should have been better than I was.

But I wasn't.

So, knowing I was in over my head, I just... didn't come back after that Rise to Greatness weekend, a year and a half ago. Some might say I tucked tail and ran. And maybe that's not wrong. All I knew is I didn't want to continue to disappoint Josh, disappoint myself.

I went back to training. I dove into it, working harder than ever before. Just when it seemed like I was really ready to be here... a few personal issues came up and took precedence. Josh had to step away. I couldn't go on the road on my own and leave him to sort out the things he was dealing with. They weren't his issues, they were ours. To face and work on together. So, I stayed by his side. He won't like me telling you this but he needed me, and I knew my place was with him.

We battled what needed battling. We handled what needed handling.

Life carried on, and now? We're both in a better place. That's obvious by the fact we're both turning out for this Invitational. Josh has his reasons, but I have my own.

I don't want my memory in SCW to be that of a woman who tried, failed, and gave up. That's not who I am. I stepped back for a while, I worked hard to improve. It's been too long since I've been inside a real ring rather than a practice ring. I'm in the best shape of my life, I've sharpened the skills I had and picked up some new ones. I tried to make an in-ring return on a smaller scale, I wanted to join Josh in IFW. They weren't interested. I was upset for about five minutes, then I realized that passing me up over antiquated and misogynistic ideas about what wrestling should be is really their loss.... not mine.

I know there's prizes to be won with this thing. Money, a car. Those would be nice, I'm not gonna turn them down if I somehow miraculously am the last one standing. But those things are not what I'm doing this for. The biggest prize for me? Is pride.

I admit I'm ashamed of the way I left here. I should have stuck things out, let experience in the ring be my extra training, learn in front of you all instead of hiding in New York in practice rings. It's far past time for me to get over it, walk out there full of confidence and show the world what I can do. I had skills back then, what I didn't have was the confidence to really put it on display.

I'm not walking in blind this time. I know what to expect in SCW. The highest level of competition in the business. A roster full of seasoned veterans, highly skilled talent, and newcomers who have already proven themselves at a high level. Each and every one of them can handle the pressure, the expectations that come along with working in a place like SCW. This time.... I'm out to prove that I can handle it, too.

We already know some of the competitors who are entering this match, some with tons of experience, at least one with almost none. There's no way to know how many more will be on the card before Friday night. Maybe to some people it matters, to me it doesn't. Yeah, I may have to fight Josh, we're prepared for that. I'm fully expecting to be targeted immediately as an easy elimination. To those who think that way and walk in with that strategy? I would tell them not to count on knocking me out being as easy as they assume.

Am I going to stick around past the Invitational? I don't know. We'll see how it goes. For me, just stepping out there in the place where I felt I embarrassed myself is a victory enough. Anything after that would be extra. One thing I can tell you though... no matter what I do after New Year's Eve, stick around in SCW, try my skills somewhere else, one thing I promise you is that you won't hear me talk about that false start again. It's in the past, and I'm not that person anymore. I've grown and learned so much about myself and this craft in the last year and a half and there is no reason to focus on what no longer exists.

Forget the past. It's time to create my own future.