Post by Xion Zeros on Apr 15, 2018 18:18:42 GMT -5
OOC: Guest starring Zora Graysen and Emily Davis (NPC). Thanks Zora for your permission to use Zora in this. Then thanks from Bobbi Jackson for Bobbi’s IC text.
Part I
pbs.twimg.com/media/CzQ6gCHWEAEq_OO.jpg:large
We find Mariah and Zora Graysen enjoying the day off following the last Primetime taping. The duo were about to enjoy some sunbathing when Mariah hesitates at the bottom of the steps towards the pool.
Mariah: “Y’know it’s weird really. You would think that I would know better or become one of those people who always have my defenses up from everything that has happened to me, but I’m always optimistic, always giving people a second chance and the benefit of a doubt. I try to see the good in everyone I meet, no matter how they seem on the surface. At the end of the day, it seems like there’s always that one person who tries to use me as that pivotal stepping stone to kickstart their careers for their own selfish gain.”
Zora Graysen: “MiMi, I don’t want you to get caught up in another ordeal where someone who you thought was your friend stabs you in the back. I wasn’t here when it happened but I was watching the shows when Cheeka stabbed you in the back, not once but twice. After everything that you’ve done to help me out and pull me out of my slump, I’m not going to sit idly by and watch Crystal do the same.”
Mariah grips the railing tightly at the mention of Cheeka’s name, “Crystal told me in private that she deals with dissociative identity disorder. She’s not aware of what her ‘other’ half does when she’s in the ring.”
Zora: “That sounds like a load of bull and you know it. First we saw her have that blow up at Reinas when she lost to Danielle Bradley that leaked over into the finals. Then she even tried to one-up her own tag team partner to get one over you on Primetime. Not to mention that stunt she pulled on me to steal the win.”
Mariah: “But… what if she’s telling the truth? What if she’s suffering from some kind of duality?”
Zora: “Bless your heart, MiMi. Sometimes I dunno what I’m going to do with you. Look, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, but I’m going to follow your advice that you gave me. You always told me to give every match my all and not hold back, not even if I’m facing you, your siblings, or anyone else you called your friends or family. Crystal and I have unfinished business and I plan on dealing with her - whether she’s herself or some other person - in that ring. Simple as that.”
Mariah smiles, “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you. There’s still that matter of owing her lunch after losing that bet…”
Zora grins, “Didn’t you see my tweets? I’m joining you two, if you don’t mind. You shouldn’t have to suffer alone!”
Mariah: “It’s nothing like that. I’m just not too thrilled about the circumstances of how that came about. On a positive note, I get to face Talia on the next Primetime one on one.”
Zora: “Yeah, after your first encounter was rudely interrupted on the last episode…”
Mariah: “Be nice, Zo.”
Zora stuck out her tongue.
Mariah: “At least I’m getting something that I’m really looking forward to out of this. Talia’s someone who I have wanted to work with for quite some time since scouting her for the company.”
Zora: “Talia’s a badass. I’m sure you two are going to kill it out there.”
Mariah: “You and Crystal had me on the edge of my seat during those last few matches you both had too.”
Zora: “If she ends up hurting you, I just might have to kill her. You don’t deserve to go through another painful falling out with someone you called a friend like you did with Cheeka and Katie…”
Mariah’s heart sinks to the pit of her stomach at the mention of those names, especially the latter.
Zora continues, “I know that Cheeka’s a touchy subject for you, even more so with Katie, but as your friend, I’m not going to sit back and watch anyone drag you through the mud… even though I’m sure your friends Morgan Davis and Tia Brooks would hang me from a noose if I didn’t do anything.”
Mariah got her voice back, “I gave everything to those two - then lost them to the wind. It was like tearing off a limb when we parted ways. Men… women… Hmph, I seem to be a black cat when it comes to relationships…”
Zora walked over and led Mariah down the final step as she stood lost in her thoughts.
“MiMi, look at me. I’m not going to let anyone do that to you again. You hear me? You’re going to come with me and have a good time. It’s going to be awesome.
And for the record, I was like you before. I dunno where my head and heart would be at if I didn’t find Leifi. Let’s just hope you don’t have to search high and low for your Prince Charming to sweep you off your feet.”
Mariah laughed, “Maybe I should start answering those random DMs guys and girls keep shooting into my inbox…”
Zora laughed with her, “Now you’re just asking for trouble!”
The two ladies then left together towards the pool.
Part II
A few days later…
The Project X training facility… The students look on as their mentor has come in for training herself for the upcoming match on Primetime. Mariah’s been at it since 5AM this morning before the facility officially opened to the public for normal work hours, getting her Crossfit and weightlifting training in. She chronicled her training for the day with a series of selfies that she planned on sharing on social media.
pbs.twimg.com/media/CzhJu2-UcAExdTM.jpg:large
Emily walks up and smiles, “I haven’t seen you go at this hard since you were training to fight me back in the day… or a certain lady of the Asian persuasion who won’t be named that you were so dead set on impressing during Reinas Dos…”
Mariah glares at her for a second, “If you don’t make sure my students are getting the best in my absence, then I’ll be fighting YOU next.”
Both women stood in silence for a moment before sharing a laugh in unison.
“Seriously though, Em. I don’t want to give Talia anything but my best. When her sister Olivia got sidelined with an injury, she immediately stepped up to represent her family in GZWA. She could have just stayed where she was doing just fine, competing internationally as champion there and in the United States. No, she jumped into the challenge and opted to start from scratch here in GZWA. Win, lose, or draw - she’s given her all in just about every performance here. Much like many of the women that competed in Reina de Reinas Tres representing the current GZWA roster, she didn’t perform as well as she hoped, but to see her just dust herself off and get back on the saddle is admirable.”
Emily folded her arms and smirked, “Sounds like someone else I know… Careful, you might have found your Earth-2 counterpart.”
Mariah adds, “Leave the comic book analogies for the Mega Busters, that’s totally their thing. Besides, knowing my luck, my Earth-2 counterpart would be some freaky evil doppelganger or something.”
Emily jests, “You better stop before you start giving Crystal Hilton ideas for her movies. Besides, there’s already a few cheap imitations of you floating around… but that’s a story for another day I suppose...”
Mariah sighed, “Yeah, about her… Zora thinks she’s full of shit, but what if she’s not?”
“Just go with your gut instinct. Seems to be your best bet. It’s not going to be a problem now with your match with Talia coming up, but you never had much luck when it comes to people calling themselves your friend then ultimately stabbing you in the back.”
Emily then snaps her fingers, “Wait, I got a better idea. Didn’t your friend Bubbly…”
Mariah corrects her, “Bobbi…”
Emily: “Right, Bobbi… Doesn’t Bobbi know Crystal from way back from the Ring of Beauty days? Ask her about this mess.”
Mariah: “Good point.” Her manicure fingernails quickly type out a text to Bobbi and hit send.
Emily: “Finally you have a better use for your phone in here than snapping selfies. I swear you’re just as bad as Ashleigh when she comes in here to train for her matches.”
Mariah laughs, “No way. That girl has like 20-30 new selfies up on Instagram everyday. There’s no way I can keep up with her selfie game.”
It’s not long before Bobbi replies to Mariah’s text: “Crystal has had a split personality for as long as I've known her 
“
Mariah replies, “Thx 4 the 411. Good luck in your title match on Primetime xoxo”
She looks up back up at Emily, “So I guess she was telling the truth?”
Emily shrugs, “Don’t look like that. We’ve both seen crazier shit in this business and you know it. Just focus on your match and trust Zora to handle things her way like a big girl. If you have to step into the ring with her again, you’ll cross that bridge when you get to it. What you need to be channeling all of your energy on is this match with Talia. From the way she’s been talking about it on Twitter, she doesn’t want you distracted or any excuses. She wants you at your best.”
Mariah nods, “You’re right as always. Back to the grind, I suppose. I’m going to be feeling this for a week.”
Emily: “It’ll be worth every second of it if Talia’s the one who ends up feeling worse when you win! Just remember that.”
Mariah: “Ha, ha. Very funny. I’m not going out there to kill the poor girl!”
Emily: “That’s what you’re saying now, but just wait until you get into that ring, slugger.”
Mariah: “Oh hush! Don’t you have a class to teach?”
Emily: “Yeah, yeah. I’ll handle it before I give you any gray hairs.”
Mariah shook her head as Emily sprinted out of room, narrowly missing the tennis shoe that Mariah hurled in her general direction.
Part III
Earlier in the day before tonight’s Primetime taping is about to start, we find the Showstoppin’ Senorita lacing up her boots. Once she finishes that task, she scraps on her kickpads and looks up towards the camera.
scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/72ed9d13ea5fb1b5f53df3f3815854f2/5B6D36D6/t51.2885-15/e35/23164739_483522305381736_5226192450032238592_n.jpg?se=7&ig_cache_key=MTY0MjQwODA5Mjc2NjY0MzU5Nw%3D%3D.2
Mariah | Showstoppin’ Senorita: “Tonight, I face Talia Areano… someone who I’m surprised that I haven’t crossed paths with over our tenures in the business until now. She’s stated on social media that she wished that our match tonight could have been on PPV. Does it really matter when or where? Either way I’m going to treat this like a showstopper. We had a brief opportunity to sample each other’s skills on the last episode of Primetime until we were rudely interrupted…
I’m not going to sit here and talk about how nervous I am… It’s the opposite really. The nerves are always going to be there along with the anxiety stepping into the ring again as I always fear whether or not I’m going to perform as well as my last performance in that ring. Am I going to send those people who paid to see us compete home happy feeling that they got their money’s worth? Those are questions that are always going to trouble my mind when a match like this comes up. It’s the same song and dance.
Tonight, I have a different dilemma. Do I have what it takes to take on someone with the number of accolades and achievements that Talia Areano has in this industry? She’s held the VWF Cabo Wabo Middleweight Championship, SKYFIRE TWN Championship, VWF Intercontinental Championship, EW Primetime Championship, WWA Estrogen Championship for starters. She’s been an UWF Media Champion, an Estrel Medal winner, UWF Grand Prix Champion, and even the PWU International Champion to boot. I’m probably missing some more accolades, but that’s quite the feats she’s accomplished in quite a short time in the business.
Many women regard me as the ‘gatekeeper’ of the women’s division in GZWA. I’ve been here since the start and always stands as the voice of reason when it comes to speaking on behalf of the women here. I’ve been in this industry for a roughly a decade and a half, but haven’t seen that level of success in a short time that Talia has. Many people think that tenured women like myself should just step aside and let these new and younger generation of women take over the reigns and take the division and the sport as a whole to new heights. Talia’s different - she doesn’t have an ego. She doesn’t have an agenda - at least not on the surface from what I’ve experienced and seen first hand. She genuinely just wants to be the best. I would be crazy to think that she’s going to allow an opportunity to measure her abilities and skill set against my own lightly.
I was backstage in gorilla position when she stepped through the curtain after losing against Pearl Attlee during Reina de Reinas Tres. She won’t admit it, but I saw it on her face. She wanted that crown more than anything. She didn’t want it for selfish reasons like her sister did the year prior. No, Talia wanted to it to prove that she made at against the best of the best. One thing that I think the women coming out of Reinas who were already established talent on the GZWA roster will all agree on is that seeing another outsider come in and take what was theirs ignited a fire. Some will use that fire to ignite their passion for this business and towards elevating their careers to new heights. Others will use that fire and just us it force everyone spectating watch the world burn around them. These women in this division will be more dangerous than ever to step into the ring with. I doubt we’re going to see many of them - if any - take these opportunities lightly again.
As admirable that fire for competition is, it’s something that I don’t share with those women. I have had that fire burning within my soul since Day One. From the first time I hit that mat in training when I was in my late teens, I knew this is what I wanted. My fire may burn differently but I’m still here to compete with the best - that thrill of battle and drive to push yourself better than you was the day before and beyond your limits.”
Mariah smirked at the camera.
“I think this is a rare exception where the sky isn’t even going to be the limit. Talia, looks like we definitely have a quite the show on our hands to live up to.
I’m up to the challenge. Are you?”
