Amelia Nevado vs. Gavin Taylor

[Konrad Raab]

2 RP Limit for singles

3500 Word Limit Per RP

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET Wednesday, July 9, 2025 (to ensure enough time for roleplaying; show will still act as if taking place on Thursday).

[Wisteria Waltz]

Amelia couldn't remember the last time she got to actually relax and enjoy a proper beach date with her wife.

Well, as close as she was going to get to one right now, anyway.

With the next Breakdown emanating from Miami, Florida and the heat starting to get unbearable, Luz had pitched the idea of a found family outing to one of the beaches to cool off and enjoy themselves. That had seen their friends and loved ones suddenly come up with convenient excuses on why they couldn't join them, clearly conspiring behind their backs to try and actually give them a chance to have a proper date without anything going wrong.

That said, the one wrench in this endeavor that Avery had to bring up was the fear of The Empire trying anything, especially now that they had a pretty solid idea on who had forged a splinter cell within the cult and what they were up against on that front, especially as Caleb and those still loyal to him had seemingly gone quiet for now. Whether they were plotting something big of their own or were trying to resolve this internal civil war first was unknown, but what Amelia knew for sure was that it certainly hadn't stopped those that apparently followed Stephen Crane from trying to just 'purge' this world of her and Luz's 'sinful existence.' That was why, despite the attempt being made at a private beach date with just the two of them, it wasn't quite as private and romantic as they would've liked... courtesy of the NCA agents that had now effectively become their own personal security detail closing off a section of the beach and forming a perimeter to make sure no one got in or out of the area until the couple were ready to head back to their hotel.

“This feels like overkill,” Luz groaned as she stretched out on her magical girl-themed beach towel and gazed out at the ocean... and the Coast Guard ship that had also agreed to join in on making sure no one tried anything from the water to hurt the two of them.

“You're not wrong,” Amelia sighed, “but we can't blame them, either. As long as we're stuck at the center of The Empire's scheming one way or another, it's hard to feel safe doing anything. If it's not Caleb's 4D chess schemes, it's this splinter cell going into business for themselves and literally putting us in their crosshairs.”

“God, I miss the days when it could just be you, me, the waves in front of us, the sun above us, and the sand beneath us,” Luz pouted as she did an overly dramatic flop back onto her towel, drawing an amused giggle from her wife.

“Hopefully we can figure out a way to bring The Empire down completely and have more days like that,” Amelia nodded before laying back on her own lavender-colored towel. “We haven't even chanced going on our honeymoon yet out of fear that we won't even be able to enjoy it without being in danger, and we're only a few months off from our very first anniversary as a married couple.”

That was a thought that weighed heavy on their minds, knowing that they were only about four months or so away from celebrating the one year anniversary of their marriage. It almost went unspoken that they had hoped to tie it into proper Día de Muertos celebrations, given they had gotten married on that blessed day, but everything was so up in the air right now because of dealing with The Empire that it was frustrating on so many levels trying to plan for major events in their lives that they were likely to cancel just for the safety of themselves and everyone around them. Amelia seriously doubted that very many other members of the SCW roster, or just people out there in the world in general, had to go about their business day-by-day and be ready to just scrap everything they'd hoped to do at a moment's notice just to make sure they could actually survive to see tomorrow.

At least Amelia knew that something was set in stone for her in the near future, and she was grateful to have it serve as an anchor to both keep her grounded and give her a reason to make sure it happened.

When Chris Cannon had sought her out for a little pep talk two weeks ago, she admittedly hadn't known what to make of it. On one hand, the fact that this was an SCW veteran and a former World Champion giving her some friendly advice and actually meaning it meant a lot to her, and for as much as she loved Luz and appreciated her wife's efforts to constantly keep her spirits high and head screwed on straight, hearing it from someone else who seemed to genuinely respect her had been the extra boost she needed after falling short against Glory several weeks back. On the other, she was understandably wary considering how quickly that respect she'd forged with others like Chris in the past, such as Xander and Selena (at least, when the cameras were on and she was intent on painting herself as a necessary villain), had evaporated when push came to shove and their own agendas began to consume them.

To learn last week that Chris had gone to CHBK and specifically requested to face her, out of everyone on the roster he could've gone after, at Rise to Greatness had stunned her in a good way. Maybe there were some people out there who would question why she would get so excited over a seemingly low stakes one-on-one match born of respect and genuine competition like this, especially on SCW's biggest stage of the year and her first time stepping onto it without Luz as a tag team partner. She'd heard the frequent whispers growing louder backstage when people thought she wasn't listening... believing that she was just holding Luz back, questioning what Amelia would even do while Luz would be spending Rise to Greatness fighting for the United States Championship, some even ridiculing her for not using her Trios contract to give herself something greater to do for such a significant show.

It was the same people who had been doubting her ever since she'd fallen short in the finals of that tournament for the then-vacant U.S. Title two years ago and watched as Luz not only had the more successful Television Title reign between the two of them but also went on to become the interim U.S. Champion for a period of time while most of Amelia's success had just come from teaming with her wife.

The last time those whispers had really gotten as loud as they had, she had found herself as part of the winning Trios team and in possession of a contract, though that hadn't satisfied everybody. After all, it was still success she found as part of a team even if it had been without Luz by her side, and that wasn't even getting into how tainted the victory had been that still had her doubting whether or not she even deserved to have the contract in the first place.

That, however, was why she was determined to make the most of this opportunity. Yeah, it wouldn't be for a title, but if she could give Chris the fight he was expecting considering he'd challenged her in the first place and maybe even prove she was good enough to score a win over a former World Champion who'd arguably returned better than ever, maybe it would erase that doubt, those whispers. Maybe there wouldn't be any question of whether or not she was good enough for whatever she chose to use her contract for, or whispers believing that Luz was the superior member of their tag team when they'd always striven to ascend as equals pushing each other to greater and greater heights together.

Amelia was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt her phone vibrate by her side. She reached down and plucked it from its place on the towel beside her, frowning when she saw the text message. It was from one of those burner numbers, but she had a pretty good who was behind it given the message:

Your 'wife' has a title match and you have a match against someone inferior for no gain? Can you be any more of a disgrace to the Blythe name?

Amelia exhaled audibly through her nose, trying to ignore the text message, but the moment she started putting her phone down, it buzzed again. Another text message, a different burner number, but definitely words from someone she knew and would've preferred not to hear from.

You were born and bred for better than this, Amelia, and you know it.

A low growl escaped Amelia's throat as she planted her phone facedown on her towel and closed her eyes, trying to just relax alongside her wife, but it continued to buzz. The same two numbers, the same text messages criticizing her for what awaited her at Rise to Greatness when she 'deserved better,' the same feeling of disappointment and inferiority and never being good enough ringing through her mind and bringing her back to when she was still a child, struggling to meet her parents' extremely high expectations as she struggled not to break no matter how much they bent her and put her back together to try again.

“You OK, hermosa?” Luz suddenly called over, sitting up as she saw that relaxed was the last thing her wife was feeling right now.

“It's just...” Amelia started to say before trailing off, her gaze flickering down to her phone which continued to be bombarded by disappointed and negative texts from who she knew were her parents. Luz leaned over Amelia to grab it and read some of them herself, and the deep down on Luz's face said all that Amelia needed to know.

“I'm sorry, Ames...” she said after a moment as Amelia plucked her phone from her wife's hands and hugged her.

“You've got nothing to be sorry for,” Amelia reassured her. “It's not your fault I ended up with parents like them, but you're the reason I even have the chance to be myself in the first place. Never forget that, mi estrella brillante.”

Amelia kissed the corner of Luz's lips, which led to the two of them getting a little passionate in making out. They restrained themselves considering they were still technically at a public beach, even if they had a security escort that sectioned it off to protect them, and the fact that they knew there were eyes on them just to make sure they were still safe and sound in this area went a long way in cooling things off before they got too hot.

“So... um... ice cream?” Luz offered in a breathless fluster.

“I'd be delighted,” Amelia giggled, especially considering Luz was looking at her like a lovesick fool. She knew she wasn't faring too much better herself, though.

“Alright!” Luz hopped up to her feet. “You stay here and just relax... no need to worry your pretty little head anymore over the garbage those two keep trying to dump into it to make you feel awful. I'll be right back!”

Leaning down for one last kiss, Luz grinned and jogged off before Amelia could protest. All she could do in response was smile and shake her head in amusement.

“God, I love her,” she giggled, though her phone buzzing once more soured her mood a tiny bit. “Ugh... she's right, though. Those two are not helping, and I'd like to actually have a focused and clear head before I step into the ring for Breakdown this week.”

Amelia picked up her phone, ignoring the previews she could see of the various messages her parents had hoped would bury her under an avalanche of self-doubt just to claim they were right all along. Her finger moved to completely silence her phone so she wouldn't have to deal with it, figuring if any of her friends needed to urgently get a hold of her they would also know to try and contact Luz as well.

Before she could toggle the option, however, her phone began buzzing again, though this time it wasn't because of a text message. The screen was clear: someone was trying to call her from what was likely a burner number, though it wasn't the same as the two that obviously had to be her parents trying to get to her. The temptation to just ignore it or even outright decline the call was right there... but she was tired and frustrated of having a rare moment to finally relax like a normal person interrupted over and over again. With a huff, she accepted the call and brought the phone to her ear.

“What?” she answered, making it very clear she really wasn't in the mood to talk.

“Ah, my apologies, Miss Blythe. By the tone of your voice, it sounds like I caught you at a bad time.”

Amelia grit her teeth as her nostrils flared in response to the familiar raspy, downright creepy voice that could only belong to Empire elite Vladimir Basmat. The fact that he was calling now after having seemingly backed off on trying to contact either her or Luz to coerce them into meeting with Caleb and hearing him out in any capacity did seem a bit odd, but they'd been grateful for the silence before now, especially with the other fragment of The Empire still posing major problems.

“You could say that,” Amelia spat. “Also, you know full well it's Mrs. Nevado now.”

“The day anyone in The Empire properly acknowledges your accursed union is the day God descends from Heaven itself and proclaims that his most loyal followers have been wrong all along,” Vladimir boasted. “Sadly, I think we both know that day will never come.”

“Let me rephrase what I said a moment ago then,” Amelia sighed. “What do you want, Vladimir?”

She heard Vladimir huff in what sounded like amusement from the other end of the line before he spoke again. “Word through the holy grapevine is that The Empire's wayward flock took it upon themselves to make an attempt on your life. I wanted to offer my sincerest apologies and assure you that Lord Caleb still believes you and Luz can be saved, hence why he is furious about-”

“So he's 'Lord Caleb' now?” Amelia interrupted. “Doesn't that kind of mock the one true lord and savior above even him?”

“That is a pointless debate I'm not interested in starting right now,” Vladimir replied. “Perhaps I should cut to the chase: Caleb has heard about how one of the members of this little splinter cell was arrested and interrogated, and I'm willing to wager that you have the information I'm looking for to pass along to him. Information that I recall asking Luz to help gather for us as well, as we do share a common enemy here. We know that your parents have foolishly thrown their lot in with this faction, despite everything that Caleb has given them, nay, your family in general over the years. But they are not the ones calling the shots like they'd wish to believe... you know it, Luz knows it, I know it, and most importantly, Caleb knows it.”

“So you think I know the identity of the real traitor among your ranks and want me to tell you who it is, correct?” Amelia responded.

“Correct,” Vladimir affirmed. “See? You are the brilliant mind your parents always dreamed of... it's truly sad that they can't seem to see that, anymore.”

“Don't even start trying to pretend that you truly know anything about me,” Amelia fired back as she stood up, almost as if the act of standing tall in defiance helped give her extra motivation even though she knew that wouldn't really convey itself the way she'd like over the phone. “Say I do have an answer to give you... why should I?”

“As I told Luz not that long ago,” Vladimir stated, maintaining his eerie composure, “we have a common enemy, and right now, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Even if you have your issues with Caleb and those who follow him, at least we've refrained from causing you any harm, unlike this misguided flock of lost little lambs. With your help, we can resolve this issue, and you and her can rest easy knowing that your lives aren't in danger anymore.”

Amelia trembled a bit, her mind working overtime as Vladimir laid out a rather compelling argument. He wasn't wrong when he said that knowing which elite had turned traitor on Caleb would allow him and those still fully loyal to his methods to take care of this problem from within, and the thought of finally being able to relax without having to look over her shoulder sounded too tempting to pass up right now.

Except... deep down, she knew that wasn't true.

“Do you really think I would buy that lie, Vladimir?” she finally responded.

“Excuse me?” Vladimir gasped.

“Luz and I wouldn't be in danger anymore?” she spat. “Don't make me laugh... the two of us, and everyone around us, including people who were misled and abused by Caleb for years to serve his twisted design, have been in danger the moment he decided to make us the centerpiece of his whole scheme to redeem himself, and only himself before trying to incite armageddon and leave behind a ruined world purged of everything he believes is wrong in the eyes of God. I honestly cannot recall the last time I truly felt safe so long as I've been under his gaze, and I know that even if you get your proverbial house in order, it's not going to change the threat bearing down on my wife and I... it's only going to resolve the more immediate problem.”

“I-” Vladimir tried to speak before Amelia cut him off.

“You think if you play nice, act like you're looking out for us, that Luz and I will owe Caleb our lives and just bend over backwards to give him exactly what he wants. And yet, if you actually did care even a little bit, like you claim, you would know that before and during this whole call, my parents have been relentlessly texting me, trying to get into my head and break me like they always used to do because they're that desperate for their 'perfect little legacy carrier' to fall back in line, regardless of whatever Caleb may want with me. So give Caleb a message for me, Vladimir... tell him to go to hell, because that's where all of The Empire will end up when we finally resolve this once and for all, no matter what it takes or how we have to make it happen.”

Before Vladimir could even attempt to respond, Amelia hung up and proceeded to just turn her phone off. She stared down at the blank screen, breathing heavily and wiping the sweat from her brow, feeling the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

Thankfully, the scent of dairy-free ice cream snapped her out of the zone she'd entered, and she glanced over to see Luz offering her a cone.

“That got pretty intense there,” Luz admitted. Amelia wasn't sure how much she'd overheard, but it was clear by the concerned look on her face that her wife had heard enough to put the pieces together. “You alright?”

“...yeah,” Amelia nodded, taking the offered cone and licking up some ice cream. “Yeah, I think I am.”

And for maybe the first time in a good while, she truly believed it, too.

[Wisteria Waltz]

The first thing we see is an absolutely beautiful view of one of the beaches Miami is famous for, a place where anyone can go to just relax and enjoy the sand and waves without a care in the world. Miami is a top tier vacation destination for a reason, after all, especially with places like this where you can go to truly get away from it all. That said, it's hard not to notice that we seem to have a bit of an overhead view of this beach, and it starts to become clear as we pan back to reveal that we're not quite on the beach proper. Instead, we're actually on the balcony of one of the beachfront hotels, given the kind of view that makes one excited to wake up to the rising sun and take in the view of a beach you likely hope to find yourself on shortly.

While the sun is high enough in the sky that we're certain it's early afternoon at the very least, one thing we quickly deduce is that we're not here just to enjoy the ocean view. Standing out on this balcony, breathing in the air to keep herself grounded, is Amelia Nevado, wearing a rather elegant sundress whose skirt flutters in the breeze but is long enough to avoid any violations of modesty. It's the kind of beautiful look at her that we don't get to see very often, and makes it hard to argue how La Pequeña Luz fell for her. Despite dressing herself up a bit today to enjoy this beautiful day in Miami, there's a focus in Amelia's eyes as she turns to face us, and it's not hard to guess why.

“You all know by now how I was raised and what was expected of me coming into this business, I haven't been shy about sharing any of it. One thing that I think keeps slipping under the radar, though, is just how much my mindset was truly impacted growing up. My parents expected a lot out of me... perfection was the bare minimum. Every time I set foot into that ring, it was expected that I would win, that I would outwrestle whoever was put in front of me and dominate, because according to them, I was put on this Earth to be that good, end of discussion. I didn't need to earn anybody's respect, you all were supposed to just owe it to me, acknowledge that I was your superior and hope you never saw your name across from mine on the card. I didn't need to Rise to Greatness... I was expected to be greatness itself with everything that I did.

If any of that sounds insane to you, then you now understand exactly what Luz did when she saw me having a full scale meltdown backstage the night she handed me my very first pro wrestling loss after a year of perfection. None of that pressure was anything I put upon myself, it's what my parents buried me under, expecting me to just hide the cracks it left upon me because I would become the diamond of the Blythe family name and carry it to heights beyond even their abilities. It's also why this perception people keep trying to have of me bothers me so much... this belief that Luz has proven herself the superior half of The Light In The Darkness and she's destined for huge things while I'm just struggling behind her, hoping that maybe one day I can catch up. It's why the loss to Glory a few weeks ago got to me more than it probably should have, not because of who I lost to because I do respect her, even if I disagreed with how she went about things and Luz called her out on it, but because what she had to say going into the match combined with the lengths she went to in order to beat me perpetuated that belief. After all, my wife has the chance to walk out of Rise to Greatness as the undisputed United States Champion... while I, up until last week, had no idea whether or not I would even have a place on the biggest show of the year, just standing in the background helping my wife and our friend Deanna and otherwise being a supportive figure in the spotlight Luz is going to have.

Glory wasn't wrong when she said the sky was the limit on what I could do for Rise to Greatness, especially since I still possess my Trios contract, and that was why she needed that win more... but in the process, she inadvertently reopened the old wounds of feeling like I should've already had a plan for Rise to Greatness, perhaps even something involving championship gold just like Luz. Those doubts pounding in my head, telling me I'm a failure and I should be so much more already than I am around here... just because I cut my parents out of my life a long time ago doesn't mean I don't still hear their criticisms plaguing my thoughts, grinding me down and pushing me into unhealthy territory that's ultimately going to get me hurt instead of getting me the results they would've wanted to see from me. The scars they left run deep into my very psyche, and I wouldn't be surprised if I'll be plagued by the thoughts of their disappointment for the rest of my life.”

Amelia closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. We see a familiar tanned hand reach into the shot at this point, taking one of hers and threading their fingers together as the thumb gently runs along her knuckles. Amelia opens her eyes and smiles in thanks to Luz standing just outside the shot, taking a moment to ground herself once more. Another deep breath later, and that determined look is back in her eyes as she turns her gaze back to us.

“I'm not bringing this up to try and create some dumb narrative believing that being challenged to a match at Rise to Greatness by someone the caliber of Chris Cannon isn't good enough, though my parents would certainly think so if I still let them dictate who I am and why I do this. I'm doing this to be honest and upfront with all of you about why I am the way I am, why I sometimes struggle with setbacks even when I've long since learned that, contrary to my parents' beliefs, I'm not some unstoppable wrestling machine who can't ever be defeated.

I'm also bring it up because, while the causes for this mindset may be different between us, I do know exactly where my opponent come Breakdown this week has his head at.

Gavin Taylor is a man who had a lot of hype behind him when he came to SCW, and who could blame him? He made a name for himself in an old developmental promotion that used to be under SCW's umbrella, he's provided one heck of a challenge against every champion he's ever challenged for their title, he was the runner-up in the Taking Hold of the Flame battle royal a few years ago and followed that up by stunning Syren in a 30 minute Ironman Match on the Rise to Greatness stage. He's christened himself The All-Star, among several other nicknames and monikers, and for the most part, he's backed it up in the ring.

There's the key words... 'for the most part.' I'm no stranger to them... I hear it all the time when people say I've accomplished so much 'for the most part' before the 'but' has to come in. It always ignites the doubts and negative thoughts about how I should be more, according to them... and you know that feeling too, don't you, Gavin? Whether it's your own voice or the voice of the fans you've tried so hard to earn the respect and admiration of, you hear the doubts plaguing your thoughts, weighing you down like a stone anchored to your legs and pulling you into the depths no matter how hard you try to fight it. You believe, deep down, that you should've been more by now, that The All-Star should've been more than a nickname, but a declaration of who you are and why you matter to SCW and its fans. It's hard... I know it's hard, because I'm right there with you, fighting that same fight. We've both been consumed by our setbacks, fighting to earn everything that we want to achieve.

The only real difference is that your doubt comes from the pressure you put on yourself the moment you gave yourself all those labels and had to live up to them. Mine is lingering trauma from a life I left behind and try to forget about in favor of the brighter future I want to earn, because I've accepted that I'm not perfect... far from it! I know I'm mortal, I know I can be beaten, and I try my best to learn and grow from every single match regardless of the result.”

Amelia sighs, but before she potentially starts to spiral, she feels Luz squeezing her hand in encouragement, which goes a long way in helping her to keep going.

“That's the tricky part about a match like this... we both need this win, and while the reasons may appear different on the surface, the truth is that those reasons are more similar than many might think. Yes, I now have a match waiting for me at Rise to Greatness while your path is still open Gavin... yes, I do still have my Trios contract which, as Glory pointed out weeks ago, circumvents the need to actually 'prove myself,' but that's not how I want to do this. I want to be able to walk into Breakdown this Thursday night and put on the kind of classic I know we're both capable of, I want to push you above and beyond your limits while you return the favor Gavin. I want to know that if I win this match, I truly did earn it... I want to prove that whatever I ultimately use that contract on, I deserve it not because of a piece of paper I can fill in the blanks on, but because I know in my mind and my heart that I've earned whatever challenge I put in front of myself.

You've been there before, Gavin... you held this contract once, you cashed it in for a World Title match when you felt you had enough momentum behind you that you'd truly earned it, that you were ready to be a World Champion.

I don't want you to look at this match as a chance for another setback should I be the one to win, Gavin. I want you to join me in that ring, let go of all those doubts and fears, and let's help each other show the world that we are exactly who we say we are: you as The All-Star, and me as someone with the talent to shine as brightly as my wife to inspire her as she inspires me. I want to prove that the words of Chris Cannon from two weeks ago were true and worthy of his attention, and you want to prove that you deserve to have someone step up to the plate and give you a challenge for Rise to Greatness because you deserve to be able to stand on that stage and shine Gavin. Let's walk into Breakdown and steal the show together, and regardless of who wins, we both show why we belong here in SCW.

I'm looking forward to a great match Gavin, and may the better wrestler on this night win.”

Amelia bows her head in a show of respect to Gavin, a smile on her lips and tears beginning to form in her eyes from the raw passion for this business that began to lace her voice. As we begin to fade out, we catch a hint of Luz stepping into the shot to kiss Amelia on the cheek and offer words of encouragement, this sweet moment after such a sincere request being the last thing we see.