Post by AngelicaVaughn on Aug 25, 2017 18:09:38 GMT -5
In the week leading up to QOTR
Feat. Angelica Vaughn & Edith Seybold
[Camera: Off]
After a photoshoot with Sarah Lacklan to promote LAW’s upcoming Queen of the Ring event, Angelica was now standing in her dressing room, accompanied only by her agent, Edith Seybold. There was a large make-up chair in front of a large mirror mounted on the wall. The mirror was lined with lightbulbs, lighting up the room. There were dresses and gowns littering the place, most of which had been used just moments prior for the promotional photoshoot. It was a luxurious private dressing room, with a large sofa in the corner and a soft, fluffy red carpet on the floor. And to top it all off, a ‘mini’bar filled with almost anything imaginable. Yes, Angie’s agent had made sure her client was well taken care of, and LAW management had been eager to please and accommodate.
Still, Edith seemed once again rather annoyed by Angelica’s reluctance to do exactly as she told her to. The girl was improving greatly in the ring, but she still didn’t really understand how the business truly worked. Angie’s last little promo, which they had co-written, had been noticed by a lot of people, yet her actual opponent had remained mute. This in spite of the fact that Angie’s words had been carefully constructed to get Sam Tolson to respond.
Unfortunately, to no avail.
So Edith had prepared a little promo of her own. The last one had been too respectful. This one would be a little more scathing.
“Look, Angelica,” the agent said, “I get it. Sam Tolson, she’s good friends with one of your best buddies. You don’t want to antagonize her, but I’m afraid you’ll have to! She has been ignoring you, acting like you’re a ghost. This match was meant to increase your stock, but with the way she’s been treating you, it’s actually hurting your status in the company and the business as a whole. She makes it look like you’re not even worthy of consideration. Like you don’t deserve to be taken seriously! It’s the exact opposite of what this match was meant to achieve. You need to do something a bit more drastic here, Angelica, because the exposure that is to come from this match is simply too important. Not just for you, but for the entire #CoolKids faction! If she’s going to treat this as a throwaway bout, then we’ll have to raise the stakes ourselves and go all in. You got that?”
Angelica nodded. Rather hesitantly, but Edith had a point. All of her #CoolKids stablemates had some apparent beef with Sam Tolson, yet Angelica was the one facing her. Beating Sam would go long way to raising her stock within the stable. Then maybe finally Kenzi would like her a bit more, too…
“Fine,” the rookie said. “Let’s do this.”
“Good girl. Now, let’s get you in your ring gear so we can record your promo. Memorize those lines in the meantime, can’t have you going off auto prompt all the time. People notice it when your eyes stay focused on the same spot while you talk for five minutes straight. It looks dumb. So try and be as natural and spontaneous as possible, okay? I’ve got people in the studio down the hallway setting up the camera’s, lighting and green screen as we speak. Should even be a smoke machine. Let’s see if we can use that.”
Angelica nodded again. Her agent was right, of course, as always. She dressed down to her underwear and waited for the make-up artist to come in.
---
An hour later
[Camera: on]
Angelica, clad in her trademark LAW ring gear, stood in a dimly lit room. Her traditional makeup of pink lipstick and blush, glitter and braids was well-lit by an overhead spot. In the background, the LAW logo shimmered, giving off a pink glow that spread throughout the scene and bounced off the little clouds of smoke.
“Sam Tolson. This is the part where I’d have loved to say so we meet again’, but that would be a gross overstatement.”
Angelica takes a small pause, and raises an eyebrow. “Because as we both know, you’ve done your very best to duck and dodge me at every turn. It’s a shame, Sam, because I really didn’t want to believe the stories. I heard my friends talk about you like you’re the most cowardly piece of pretentious pootang pie that ever set foot in this ring, but I’ve heard the good stuff too. My friend Wulf Erikson considers you a good egg, and therefore I felt like I owed you the benefit of the doubt. But after weeks of total, utter silence, my debt is paid in full.
You see, Sam, contrary to you, I HAVE been paying attention to what you’ve been doing and saying. You called my friends Sarah, Kenzi, Mil and Roxy a bad crowd to hang with. But do you know what? Unlike you, they acknowledged me. They recognized my potential. They saw what I was worth. They accepted me, took me in, and made me one of their own. They took a risk, a leap of faith if you will, by letting this rookie sit at their table. They’ve been promoting me, legitimizing me, and my affiliation with them is turning me into a superstar. But you, Sam, instead of being the champion you’re supposed to be and elevating this match to greater heights as a result, you’re bringing me down.
I came to LAW to be recognized. Legitimized. Validated. But you and your apparent disinterest isn’t just hurting every opponent you step into the ring with, it is hurting the company as a whole. I want to be a LAW Champion, Sam. One way or another. But people like you devalue these precious championships, and it is disrespectful to your colleagues! Quite frankly, I don’t know why you aren’t spat out by management while you’re resting on your laurels. There are people waiting in the wings, hard workers eager to elevate this company to greater heights while you seem to cower in the shadows. How disappointing. I honestly thought more of you.”
Angelica paused and took a deep breath, tearing her eyes away from the lens for a moment. Her eyes flashed to the side, before refocusing on the lens, as If she was looking at the viewer directly.
“Granted, maybe it’s partially my own fault. I refused this match to be for the title. Stupid. Dumb. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. Maybe I am too loyal for my own good to certain people. Maybe I was naïve to think you would welcome my friendly competition. Because one thing is certain: to you, I seem to be nothing but a fart in a storm. But Tolson, I swear to the Heavenly Lord above, I am a goddamn hurricane, and I am blowing your house down! So feel my breeze, bitch, because I’ve got my eye on you; on Sunday, you’ll be inside a perfect storm. I was trained by some of the best in the business, and the world has only seen the tip of the iceberg. Your time is coming to an end, and the defeat you suffer at my hand… yes, singular… will signal the great, loud, thunderous bells that ring in the end of an era. The era of hapless, complacent champions sitting on their throne eating strawberries and cream, but doing fuck all else as they talk down to what they perceive to be common rabble. A new era is beginning, Sam. The era of the #CoolKids. And whether you think I’m in a good girl who fell in with a bad crowd or not, one thing is for certain: your time is up. We’re coming for you. Be afraid, because your world is going to come crumbling down. At Queen of the Ring, I will knock you off your pedestal. After that, you’ll be ripe for the picking. I’ll let someone else take your title from you. Roxy seems eager… we’ll see.”
Angelica grins. She comes a bit closer to the camera, never cutting eye contact with the lens.
“It’s time for the real lady all-stars to stand up. Well, I’m standing tall… But where are you, Sam…
…Where are you?”
Angelica frowned, and the scene faded to black.
---
Seconds later
[Camera: Off]
“Cut!” Edith shouted, as the cameraman obliged and the cameramen stopped recording. Angelica’s agent was over the moon. She clapped as the lights in the studio went back on and Angelica walked over to her.
“Nice! That was great, Angelica! In one take, too! And you read the script almost perfectly! Some slight improvisation here and there, but that’s good, it made it feel more real. I only saw your eyes flashing at the teleprompter once. You’re a natural!”
Angelica smiled, but she wasn’t quite as ecstatic as Edith was. In fact, she felt pretty bad.
“You sure? I mean, maybe I shouldn’t have called her a bitch and that… Or be quite so mean to her. Like, she’s not a big a coward as I just made her out to be. I mean, I don’t think she is. Not really…”
“Oh, Angelica…” Edith draped her arm around Angelica’s shoulder. “Who cares? You put out a message. A significant one. You and the #CoolKids are not to be messed with! Now when you beat Tolson, the world will remember it! This match just got a whole damn lot more interesting, and the future of LAW is looking brighter than ever, especially for you, your stable, and the fans.”
“If you say so…”
“I do! Seriously, Angelica, you’re a natural actress. Trust me, okay? This is going to help you more than you could ever imagine.”
Angelica nodded. She knew Edith was probably right; not a single move her agent had made had been disadvantageous in the slightest. On the contrary. Edith was propelling her career to greater heights in spite of Angelica’s poor decision making and occasional fits of pure idiocy.
“I won’t let you down, Edith. Not you, not Ash or any of the #CoolKids. Not Emkay. Not Wülf. Not anyone who believes in me or supports me. I’ll beat Tolson. For me. For them. For the fans. For LAW. This company is going to become… #Vaughnemous!” Angelica giggled. She couldn’t wait until Sunday!