Simon Lyman vs. La Pequena Luz

[Konrad Raab]

SCW Television Championship

2 RP Limit for singles

3500 word max per RP

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET Friday, December 1, 2023 (Show takes place November 30)

**NOTE DEADLINE – this is because I am at a conference until Sunday. I should be able to do some judging while in travel, but realistically the show won’t be up early, so this becomes your benefit!**

[Wisteria Waltz]

The feeling of having a target on your back...

For the most part, Luz relished that knowledge, and she knew Amelia did too. When it came to wrestling, especially when you were a champion, you knew that everyone was gunning for you at all times so long as you had gold and they wanted it. Amelia had proudly worn a target on her back when she was TV Champion and felt disappointed when her reign came to an immediate end, and now Luz found herself in that same position. She'd already gotten through her first defense, which Amelia was proud of her for and already using it as motivation in their training sessions so that the next chance she got to hold singles gold she could do the same, almost in a way that playfully challenged Luz to see just how long she could run this gauntlet to provide a finite reign that the both of them would seek to break in the future.

That said, there was also the matter of the World Tag Team Titles, and while the couple had kept their main focus and involvement confined to Luz's TV Title match for the last Breakdown, they'd been paying attention to the rest of the show. They'd seen Ravyn's declaration of intent to ask for a rematch on behalf of Dark Fantasy, albeit in a way that felt uncomfortably familiar to them in regards to Syren. They didn't need to guess why Twisted & Sadistic approached CHBK to talk. They knew Statera would no doubt consider using their Under Attack win over the Alloccos to want in on the conversation of who should challenge them first, even if that match had been more about the situation regarding the Adrenaline Championship. They saw Matt Hodges debut a new tag team they had no doubt would want a piece of them at some point. The options were virtually endless, and it left them buzzing each and every night knowing that they were in the crosshairs of so many tandems all vying for their newly-won gold.

Though, that feeling of being targets started to turn sour once you left the borders of the wrestling business.

The issues with Caleb White and his fanatical group The Empire had been going on for most of the year by this point, and the couple had long since grown tired of it. What had started off as a wrestling group with a few past connections to them in places where they'd established themselves prior to SCW and seemed hellbent on getting their attention had now evolved into a veritable cult that demanded they be a part of it without any regard to if they truly wanted in or not. The issues with Amelia's parents that had been amplified from them being members of The Empire had been frustrating enough, but it had long since become painfully clear that the group's leader was a delusional sociopath who operated on his own warped logic that justified some of the most vile acts the women had ever known. So long as Caleb had his eyes on La Pequeña Luz and Amelia Blythe, it seemed as though they would never know peace.

Ever since the recent Breakdown, both girls had fallen back into the struggles of getting proper sleep as they were certain Caleb had not taken the news of the Blythe parents returning empty-handed very well. Wherever they and their found family had stopped on the trip from Chicago to Milwaukee for the next Breakdown, Luz and Amelia had been certain they'd seen people in white and gold attire bearing The Empire's symbol watching them while trying to stay out of sight. As much as everyone wanted to dismiss this as losing themselves to their worries and cracking from the stress of their newfound champion status in SCW, they all knew there was a precedent to believe Caleb may have very well ordered his goons to virtually haunt them like ghosts waiting to strike.

That thought alone had Luz fuming whenever she thought about it. El Hijo de la Muerte was a professional who gave every last bit of his heart and soul to lucha libre and everything that it represented, and while he was long known to be the hated villain to the hero her father had portrayed, the two were more than happy to paint that narrative and weave the stories of epic clashes in the ring. Beyond the eyes of the public, the two men had been very good friends who would gladly talk about their respective families and plan out where the story of their amazing rivalry should go next. The man was a monster only in the sense of the identity he embraced for the public... and Caleb had used every last bit of manipulation, deceit, and threats against his family to break him until he went through with the fateful incident that had taken her father from this world. Even then, the fact that Caleb refused to let that be the end of it as Muerte was considered a “loose end” that needed to be tied up... Luz had lost track of how many times in the past few days alone she'd furiously vented to Amelia about how wrong it had all been and how they shouldn't had to put up with the same vague threats from a man who insisted on creating an issue with them. Ever the loving and supportive partner, Amelia had let her get it out of her system, agreeing with her that this had all gotten way too out of hand and she was every bit as frustrated and just wanted to worry about competing for SCW.

Something had to be done and soon, because the couple felt like their entire life outside the ring had virtually been put on hold at this point and they were certain that doing so was playing right into Caleb's hands.

That was part of the reason why, despite another rough night of sleep they were trying to fight through, they were spending this morning after finally arriving in Milwaukee trying to start getting some wedding plans set in stone. The mere thought that they had gotten engaged all the way back near the end of July at Rise to Greatness and now here they were, four months later, and not a single idea or plan had even been discussed regarding their wedding since then was a bad sign of just how much they'd put on the back burner all because of The Empire breathing down their necks at every turn. They'd planned to set aside time to start piecing something together, especially in the wake of learning that The Empire was rushing to set up a Christmas Day wedding that wouldn't happen between Amelia and Henry, but it had never materialized in the wake of whatever new issue popped up because of the group or needing to focus on the SCW opportunities they had earned. It hadn't even dawned on them how long they'd put it off until they met Deanna Frost for brunch the day after Under Attack and couldn't even offer anything that would put a 'save the date' option on the table for her and Selena to attend if they wanted to.

“OK, wedding ideas...” Ivy said as she joined Luz and Amelia for lunch at one of the local restaurants. “Remind me again why you guys are asking me for help? No offense, but it's not like I've gone through this before.”

“Well, mamá is looking to help as well but she had to go back home on doctor business,” Luz told her around bites of the fish fries she'd ordered. “And since Valentina agreed to go back with her and Gage and the twins are out doing some shopping for who knows what...”

“Traps,” Amelia chimed in after swallowing the cheese curd she'd been chewing. “They're combining Gage's brain and my siblings' love of jokes and pranks to devise some Home Alone style traps for if and when those Empire creeps are stalking us.”

“Yeah, that kind of leaves you as the only one free,” Luz finished with a nervous grin.

“That said, it makes total sense for you to be helping with the planning,” Amelia added, “since I was hoping you'd be my maid of honor and all.”

That got Ivy to pause before she popped her own cheese curd into her mouth as she dropped it back onto the plate. “You want me to be your maid of honor, Amelia!?”

“I can think of no one better,” Amelia firmly told her. “And before you suggest my sister as an option... I love Emily, I really do, but for the longest time she was never really there for me like you were growing up. You didn't even need to give me another chance after the way I ended our friendship, but you did it anyway and held firm to the belief that we needed to work to rebuild that bridge instead of just trying to go back to how things were. I think we're both stronger than ever now because of that process, and you being my maid of honor is the least I owe you after everything.”

Ivy jaw hung open in surprise at the reasoning, but she couldn't deny how much sense it made. She knew she'd teased Amelia fairly often about being her maid of honor whenever she and Luz finally tied the knot, but to actually be given the role... for perhaps the first time since they'd talked through the truth of why their friendship had ended all those years ago, Ivy was filled with a sense of hope that nearly overwhelmed her.

“Amelia... it would be my honor to stand by your side as you get married,” Ivy finally said with a soft smile.

“Being completely transparent here...” Luz jumped in. “You, out of everyone except for maybe my mom, helping with the planning is probably for the best anyway. As much as I've been known to do grand gestures and we both definitely made a huge spectacle out of our proposal... we were actually kind of hoping to do something a little more low key for the wedding proper.”

Ivy raised an eyebrow at this, almost as though she didn't believe what Luz had just said.

“I know, it sounds very much not like us,” Luz continued once she saw Ivy's reaction. “But being legally bound to one another for the rest of our lives... we want that moment to truly mean something for the both of us. Sure, maybe we can make a huge party out of the reception afterward, but for the ceremony itself we just want to stand at the altar, say our vows... the works. Maybe a small guest list too, like my mom and sister and Amelia's siblings plus our little found family... maybe some of our SCW friends if they're willing and have the time to spare...”

“You know what?” Ivy finally responded. “I think that might actually be perfect for the two of you. Something small and meaningful that doesn't feel like some sort of publicity stunt like those weddings I've seen actually held on TV in some wrestling companies that's just begging to be crashed. Plus, assuming we haven't brought the bastard down yet, something low key will hopefully mean no unwanted guests hoping to ruin it.”

“That was one of our hopes,” Amelia confirmed with a sigh. “We don't want this to come off as being done just to spite Caleb and my parents, but we're just getting so sick of having to put our lives on pause because they won't stop trying to get involved.”

“Especially since the wrestling business isn't going to stop and wait for us to cut that cancer out of our lives,” Luz growled. “I mean... me being TV Champion, us finally making our SCW Tag Champion dreams a reality, and that's not counting any other huge opportunities that may be waiting for us on the horizon. We finally fought our way to a position we're proud to be in and we can't afford to let it all just slip through our fingers because Caleb is a narcissistic monster who needs to have our attention at all times.”

“And I always thought your parents were a piece of work Amelia,” Ivy huffed. “Heck, considering how much I remember them flipping out when they're kind of getting scammed out of a deal, I'd have thought learning how Caleb was trying to provide an heir for this awful arranged marriage bullshit would have soured them on this partnership.”

“As far as my parents are concerned,” Amelia replied, “if Henry was raised and molded into what Caleb wanted him to be, much like they tried and ultimately failed to do with me, then I don't think they care about the 'how' so long as it happens and they get that new family connection to throw in people's faces.”

Ivy and Amelia continued to converse about the situation with Henry as Luz found herself tuning out, not because she wasn't interested because it was an important topic, but because her mind kept going back to the truth of what had ultimately happened to her father and his rival, how their legendary feud that had entranced an entire culture had been ripped away because of Caleb's selfish actions and the very real possibility that he was aiming to repeat some of them with her and Amelia. She couldn't help but think back to the wife and two children of El Hijo de la Muerte that had been both tormented and then left behind to grieve by a man who simply didn't care so long as he was painted as some sort of hero in the history books despite the destruction he'd caused. She'd never gotten the chance to even see them since everything had happened, primarily because she'd gotten too busy with wrestling herself. It still didn't stop her from feeling guilty, and ultimately led to her sending off a quick text to her mom to see if she still had that number or knew where dad might've stashed it.

“Everything alright, querida?” Amelia suddenly asked which recaptured Luz's attention. “You've been quiet for a few minutes now and barely touched any more of your food.”

“I...” Luz started before taking a deep breath. “I'm not, Ames. I know I've vented to you way too much about it lately, but I'm still struggling with the thought of what truly happened to my dad... and to the man who did take his life because he was given no choice and still lost his own shortly after. I just texted my mom to see if, maybe, she still had their number, because I feel like I owe them a chance to talk through this after all this time.”

“No need to feel sorry, Lulu,” Amelia replied before gently taking Luz's hand with her own. “We're all still trying to come to terms with everything... heck, I'm still in disbelief that my own parents set up an arranged marriage before I was even born. I know they always viewed me as a tool to further the family name, but this new twist... somehow it just makes it hurt that much more that I never meant to be anything to them as an actual human being, just some porcelain doll meant to do whatever they asked of me.”

“And that's to say nothing of what happened to Henry,” Ivy added. “I know he's antagonized us just as much as the rest of those clowns, but it's hard to hold it against him knowing what we know now. How could he have known better when Caleb was the only one whispering in his ear the whole time? It's just like what happened with Amelia... except Henry didn't have you to save him like she did, Luz.”

“Maybe it's not too late,” Luz hoped.

“This whole situation is an absolute mess, but we'll fight our way through it no matter what it takes,” Ivy suddenly grinned. “Trust me when I say The Empire is getting their way over my dead body.”

“Oh, speaking of fighting,” Luz's eyes suddenly lit up. “SCW's End of the Year Special is coming up! Pretty sure they still have that open invitational match they do... you should totally sign up for it Ivy!”

“What?” Ivy's grin faded, replaced with confusion for the second time today.

“Luz, that's a great idea!” Amelia said enthusiastically. “Think about it Ivy: it's a chance for you to take a shot on SCW's stage, just like we've been doing, to show the world just how far you've truly come.”

“Plus, a little extra money and a new car certainly doesn't sound like a bad idea,” Luz beamed.

“I'll think about it...” Ivy said after a moment, sounding a bit unsure but finding it hard to argue against the idea especially since her friends raised some very good points about it. “By the way, any chance we're going to actually discuss wedding plans while we're here?”

“...dios mío, we really got off track, didn't we?” Luz nervously admitted as she rubbed the back of her head.

“We did,” Amelia mimicked her wife-to-be, “but maybe that's not a bad thing? I don't know about you, Luz, but I feel like my mind is a little more at ease now.”

“You know something? Mine too!” Luz laughed. “Talking really is the answer to most of our problems, isn't it?”

“If nothing else, it's good for at least lightening the load on our minds and reminding us that this Empire nonsense isn't the only thing we need to think about,” Ivy admitted with a sigh of relief as she also felt a little better after the past several minutes of just talking things out. “Anyway, maybe we should start with actually figuring out a date for the ceremony? Is there any date that maybe means more to you guys than any other?”

Amelia opened her mouth to answer, but all she ended up getting out was a scream as someone suddenly ran over to their table and grabbed her from behind, trying to yank her out of her seat. Instinct kicked in and she managed to trip them up before rolling with them into an armbar as Luz and Ivy went on guard. This ended up working to Luz's benefit as she felt someone try to grab at her head from behind, looking to rip her mask off in public, but she managed to grab their wrists before they could get a good grip and used the table to backflip over them before shoving them away. The assailant turned to try and reengage her, but Ivy kicked a spare chair out that blocked his path and gave Luz the perfect opportunity to use it as a stepping stool to catch the man with a hurricanrana!

By now, the scuffle had attracted the attention of everyone in the restaurant as Luz, Amelia and Ivy found themselves trying to fight off the two men, both of whom were decked out in white and gold and bearing the ever-familiar sigil of The Empire. The two men were persistent, but they were outmatched in the numbers department and definitely underestimated Ivy's strength as she especially did everything in her power to keep these goons away from her friends. After what felt like an eternity, a pair of officers burst into the restaurant and, after having a waitress fill them in on what was happening, intervened and took the men to the ground. As they worked to cuff the assailants, who was thrashing and screaming about how the police had no idea what they were doing and needed to let them complete their 'mission,' another pair of officers arrived to get statements, particularly making sure the trio was OK since they were the targets.

If this made anything clear to them, it was that Caleb seemed to be getting more desperate to reestablish his control of this mess. They truly were being stalked by members of The Empire now, and something would have to be done as a measure of safety going forward because they didn't know how long safety in numbers was going to work.

[Wisteria Waltz]

We open up to the sight of what appears to be a highlight reel of La Pequeña Luz playing on a TV, showcasing some of the luchadora's spectacular moves and biggest moments throughout 2023. And yet, every now and then, we also see glimpses of moments that maybe shouldn't be in this highlight reel, moments where Luz didn't score the victory or found her offense being countered. Sure, with a little extra thought you could pick up on the fact that those particular instances were from moments like her shot at the Underground Title or her and Amelia's failed first attempt to become World Tag Team Champions or even the leg of tag team turmoil where they were eliminated, but it still feels a little out of place when you think about the point of a montage of your highlights throughout the given year.

“What a difference a year makes, huh?”

We pan back to find the TV as the centerpiece of a table, and at this table sits none other than Luz herself. Off to the side we can catch glimpses of Amelia Blythe as well as she seems to be holding the remote to this TV, but aside from that and watching as she rests the World Tag Team Title belts behind the TV, she's trying her best to not be the focal point as this is her fiancée's time to shine. Luz proceeds to rest her TV Title belt right beside the screen before giving us a modest smile.

“I'm sure many of you out there may have noticed that there were a few clips in this little montage that portrayed me in... well, in not as much of a positive light. I get it, the whole point of these kinds of things is meant to help prop up all that you've accomplished, but I've always been someone willing to take the good with the bad. Truth be told, for as much success as Ames and I have had as a whole and what she's accomplished in the first half of this year, I couldn't seem to put the pieces together until the past couple of weeks. Heck, it still feels like my TV Title shot came about more as a result of someone up top wanting to rest the claims Ravyn had been making leading up to Under Attack and our Tag Title match with her and Syren. But I made the most of it, pushing myself beyond my limits to win this title from Kirsten Scott, just as we both did the same to prevail against Dark Fantasy to finally become World Tag Team Champions. That said, I can't help but ask the question... could I, could we, have gotten to this point earlier in the year?

Being painfully honest... no, I don't think we could have.

While it's always great to win a match and feel like you're one step closer to whatever goal you're striving for, the failures are equally important. Every one that you've seen in this little highlight reel of the past year for me in SCW is a moment where I was given the chance to reflect on how I approached that match, wondering if I was truly ready for those opportunities or what could have been done different so I know how to approach a similar scenario should it arise down the road. This is the kind of wrestling philosophy I learned from my father while he was training me before his passing, and it's a philosophy I helped Amelia to embrace as well. The fact of the matter is... there's no such thing as a perfect wrestler. We all make mistakes, we all have moments where we can grow and evolve, but only those who are willing to acknowledge those setbacks and actually learn from them become the ones who truly get better the longer they do this. There's no denying what The Light In The Darkness has accomplished both individually and as a tandem in the one year that's passed since returning to this company, but we wouldn't be where we are right now if we hadn't been willing to learn from our shortcomings to strengthen both our bond and our skills and strategies in the ring.

As wrestlers, we are not the same tag team who came back to this company a year ago, nor are we the same tag team who first set foot in this company a few years ago. As people, though... we have held firm to who we truly are and what this all means to us, no matter what has been thrown our way to challenge that and try to force us to give up on who we are just to prove a point or find the success that eluded us time and time again.

Sadly, the same cannot be said of the man I'll be defending this TV Title against here in Milwaukee on Thursday night... and it's a damn shame to see what's become of someone I once held so much respect for.”

With a nod from Luz, we see Amelia's hands work the remote to pause the Luz montage before rewinding back through it until she pauses on one particular frame. Luz looks at this frame with her smile slowly fading into a look of disappointment, and it's hard not to guess why considering the frame depicts Amy Chastaine and Simon Lyman shaking hands with her and Amelia after The Light In The Darkness had managed to prevail over the legends all the way back at Playing the Wildcard near the end of April. Simon and Amy had challenged the couple to be their first official opponents as a tag team and, as requested, they hadn't held back and gave them everything they had. How they obtained the victory was admittedly a bit of a sore spot for them even still, but they had earned the genuine respect of two of SCW's absolute best... something that they were pretty sure no longer applied as far as one of them was concerned.

“Simon Lyman... once upon a time, you were a man who both Amelia and I could look up to in this business. An undisputed legend who had practically done it all in wrestling and your mark on SCW in particular had long been left. Heck, one of the teams we studied when talking with SCW in the first place about signing was you and Donovan Kayl... true, you weren't an active team anymore at the time, but what you guys could do together in the ring was just a hint of the competition we were hoping to find here. Over the years you'd earned your status as a hero to those fans and a man who would always fight the good fight no matter what was thrown his way, the very same challenge that we now endure today. You survived a serious stroke and you didn't let that keep you away from the sport you loved so much, lending your experience and expertise to commentary. Truth be told, it was an honor to have you calling some of our matches and recognizing what we could do, and getting the chance to actually share the ring with you for a match? Playing the Wildcard was a night that would always be a highlight of our SCW careers just because of that opportunity alone, testing ourselves against one of the very best to ever set foot in a ring.

Which only raises the question... was becoming World Champion in this new run you never thought you'd get the chance to have at one point truly worth selling out the way you did?

It was hard enough watching the 'accidents' you had during your matches with Gavin Taylor, but as much as it hurt to watch you turn your back on everything you were in a vain pursuit of glory, at least those were incidents confined to wrestling matches. I may not have condoned it, but ultimately something like that is relatively harmless and I could at least somewhat understand why you'd start doing whatever it took to get to where you wanted to be. But that's not where it ended, is it Simon? For the past several weeks you've been spewing all this vitriol about Amy that crossed any lines of professionalism, were fully on board with Kandis being seriously maimed if it meant a better chance of you becoming World Champion—which, I'm not her biggest fan either but, again, there's such a thing as going too far—and just last week you were arrested for breaking into the home of Asher Hayes, to which what I said about Kandis also applies there as well.

It's to the point where I know that I'm scheduled to defend this TV Title against you on Breakdown, but I'm not sure if you'll even be present for that match or if you're still sitting in jail right now.”

Luz lets out a frustrated sigh before she glances over at Amelia and the two of them have a somewhat hushed conversation in Spanish for a moment, the only English word we can recognize being “jail.” Whatever it's about though doesn't seem to be a pleasant conversation, but at the very least it concludes with Luz grabbing the TV Title belt and holding it up to us with a more determined look on her face than before.

“I don't know what happened to you Simon, but whatever it was, I sincerely hope that if you're able to actually do this match, you don't simply assume that I'm the same woman you met in that ring several months ago. We've both made mistakes and tasted defeat between then and now... the only difference is that I actually learned and grew since our last encounter and I got to where I stand now without selling my soul to get here. You still call yourself a hero and claim you're the same role model that people like Amelia and myself once looked up to, but no hero would ever compromise their morals just to fabricate a situation where they feel justified in what they've done. You're far from the first person I've had to contend with who's had hero syndrome and truly thinks he's in the right for everything he's done no matter how deplorable those actions have been.

As for me? People in SCW, people back in Mexico... they look up to me, they respect me, and not once did I ever lose sight of who I am and what makes me that in the process. I earned this championship, I earned my chance to call myself a tag team champion here alongside someone I love and someone who will always have my back just as I will always have hers... and I'm still the same happy, positive and energetic luchadora that SCW has known since day one. To fight your way to the top without sacrificing who you are to get there... that's what real strength is, that's what real champions are made of, and that's why I will fight with everything I have to walk out of Milwaukee the same way I'm walking in: as your SCW Television Champion.

At least when I say that, you know I'm being honest... can you say the same thing Simon? Or are you more than willing to risk permanently burning another bridge because you're that desperate for glory that you've completely forgotten who you are?”

Luz just glares into the camera, feeling she already knows the answer but hoping deep down that she's wrong. We watch as Amelia's hand reaches over to gently take Luz's, her thumb running over her love's knuckles as we pan back just enough to fully get her into the shot, and she's shaking her own head at how far Simon has fallen just to get to the top. There's some remorse to be found in their eyes as we fade out, but also a confirmation that as long as they have each other, they will never forget who they truly are or compromise themselves all for the sake of those proverbial 15 minutes of fame.

They will never allow themselves or each other to fall as far as Simon Lyman has allowed himself to... not so long as they live and breathe.

[Simple77]

#ooc: Just a few quick notes before reading. The pic base for Lisa Archer is Melissa McCarthy and the pic base for Elijah Smith is Simon Helberg. Also, this is a disclaimer for adult themes. Best of luck, Ruppy. I always love facing you. I still think fondly of Thirteen. I hope everyone enjoys as this is that start of a new story arc.

Honor, Dignity, and Respect