Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2019 19:25:14 GMT -7
Off-Camera
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Laguna Beach, California
Home of Kate Bass and Eavan Maloney
9:45 PM PST
For nearly a week now, Seleana Zdunich had called this house her home away from home. Her “sisters,” Kate and Eavan, had invited her to stay here when they had found out about her rather spartan living conditions following her wife’s attack upon her at Climax Control some weeks back. The picture of her cot in her nearly empty office back at the Zdunich Zoological Gardens had almost gotten her yelled at, both Eavan and Kate staring at it in utter disbelief. How could she live like that?
Seleana had just shrugged and mumbled something quickly about the animals making her feel at home and, to an extent, that was the truth. Being amongst the animals at the zoo was soothing to her and did make her feel like she was at home in Christchurch again but it was not the whole truth. What she had not pointed out, what she had somehow managed to leave out when discussing the zoo and her office was the pair of photos sitting on her desk that had been visible in the picture she had shown Kate and Eavan. The photos that were the only real decoration in the entire office. The photos that were both sitting in cheap frames that read “Mi familia” on them.
On the right sat one that showed Seleana’s side of the family all together at her youngest sister’s wedding in December. It showed Seleana, her wife, Christina, her parents, Fredrik and Jannicke, her middle sister, Zenna, Zenna’s longtime fiancée, Linnéa Lacroix, Linnea’s younger sister, Alissa Lacroix, Alissa’s fiancée, Kelly Taylor, the bride, Katra, Katra’s wife, Adriana, Adriana’s father, Joey Nitro, her now late mother, Chloe Nitro, Seleana’s cousin, Maja Lindström, Maja’s boyfriend, Matthias Lindeman, another cousin, former wrestler Alexi Priest, Alexi’s husband, Robbie Priest, Alexi’s mother, Scarlett Zdunich, Robbie’s younger brother, Scotty Valentine and Scotty’s wife, Angelica Valentine. Down in front of the group are the children of the Priests and Valentines, seven-year-old Scarlett Priest, six-year-old Amber Priest, six-year-old Kaari Valentine and the three-year-old triplets, Jesse, Elias and Eric Priest.
On the left sat one that had only four people in it. Seleana and her wife Christina standing behind and hugging the younger couple, Christina’s daughter Brittany Williams, and Brittany’s girlfriend, Haylie Jo “Halo” Annis, Seleana with her arms around Halo, Christina’s around Brittany and all four wearing joyous smiles as if everything was perfect with the world.
The photo on the right was the only photo with everyone in it, and likely the last photo to include Chloe Nitro before her death a little over three weeks later and thus, held a special place in Seleana’s heart. The photo on the left had been from a random moment on a trip out the little family had gone out for a dinner where the original destination had been too crowded and they had ended up at Pizza Hut instead.
Now, Seleana stares at the photo of her office on her cell phone as she sits on the bed in the guestroom she had been set up in, her long black Ohana Park t-shirt covering the shorts she was sporting and nods slowly, a smile coming over her face.
Seleana Zdunich: Hemma…
Just as she starts to set the phone down, it chimes at ehr alerting her to a new message’s arrival. Moving the phone back up closer so she can better read the screen, she nods and taps for the message’s origin and sees the name of the sender staring back at her.
Christina Zdunich.
Seleana nods again and taps for the message.
“Hi hun.”
Seleana frowns. Was this going to be a random “hello” message or the start of another round of trying to get her to do something again? The phone chimes and Seleana sighs.
Seleana Zdunich: Skit också!
She nods to herself and taps for the new message.
“Its me Crystal I hate discussing feelings but I fucking love you so there I said it”
Seleana’s mouth falls open in surprise. What was this and what was her wife playing at now? Before she can ask herself another the question, the phone chimes again and Seleana taps for the new message.
“Big bad crystal loves you”
Looking down at her feet, Seleana inhales and closes her eyes. Why was this so confusing to her? Why did it seem like neither of them really understood what all was going on here? Opening her eyes, she stares at the message and finally taps out n answer.
“Jag älskar dig.”
She presses the send button and waits for the reaction. That was one phrase in Swedish that Christina should be familiar with by now given how often Seleana had said it at this point in their relationship. Almost like clockwork, the phone chimes again. Seleana nods and taps for the answer.
“I love everything about you”
The phone chimes almost immediately with yet another message and Seleana taps before she thinks better of doing so.
“And the reason i push you away is because whenever ppl get too close to me they end hurting me so i come out and push them away so they dont have a chance to do. So”
Seleana frown at the seeming cliffhanger ending only for the phoento chime again.
“Every reltaionship i have been in i have always been hurt in some shape or form”
Seleana frowns, almost glaring back at the phone as she taps back her answer.
“How you see me?”
She presses send and then glares at the phone, almost grinding her teeth as she waits for this answer, hoping beyond hope that Christina will not pick this as a time to run away without explanation. The phone chimes to assuage those fears.
“Someone im jealous of. Friends with everyone and ppl dont see me like that so it hurts and i get mad”
Seleana’s glare takes on an air of confusion as she taps back her own answer.
“How you see you?”
She presses end and the answer chimes back almost as if Christina had it ready to go before the question was even asked.
“Me im worthless”
Seleana almost wants to scream at the sight of the word “worthless.” She shakes her head and quickly types out an answer, sending it off as quickly as she can.
“Why you worthless?”
The answer comes back faster than Seleana was prepared for it to.
“I just am”
Seleana glares in stunned disbelief, shaking her head as she does so. What was this answer and what was Christina doing with it? Seleana quickly taps out her own answer and sends it off.
“That is not a reason.”
Shaking her head again, Seleana lets the phone lower to the bed. She knew the entire Crystal persona was a defense mechanism for Christina’s seemingly hardwired self-hatred but was it really that deeply ingrained in her?
And had it been passed on to Brittany as well?
Seleana closes her eyes, not really wanting to dwell on that second question even as the phone chimes at her again. She raises the phone up and looks at the new message.
“Because no matter what i do its never good enough”
Shaking her head, the phone chimes at ehr again and she taps to see the next one.
“Nobody will ever like me so i have to act tough to be something special”
Seleana snagrily types out her answer.
“You stop that! You were always good enough for me! All you ever had to do to make me happy was wake up in the morning!”
As her hands shake with anger, the phone chimes back at her.
“But this is me Crystal speaking so you know Christina is estactic about you”
Sighing heavily, sadness joining the anger, Seleana taps out her response.
“So, you hit me?”
Her eyes close, knowing no matter what the answer is, it will not stop the anger and hurt coursing through her body right now. Truth be told, she almost did not want Christina to answer this one. The chime that signals the answer’s arrival makes her shake just a little bit more. What would this answer be and how much was it going to make things worse? Opening her eyes, Seleana stares at the phone and accepts the new message.
“I...I told you when people get to close they usually betray me”
Before she can even fully take it in, the phone chimes again.
“Im sorry”
Seleana’s eyes almost bug clean out of her head. Was she seriously saying what it looked like she was saying? Resisting the urge to just throw the phone and scream, Seleana taps out an answer.
“I did not.”
She stares at the phone and looks away in anger.
Seleana Zdunich: För fan i helvete! Din jävla…
Her free hand balls into a fist and punches the mattress. The phone chimes nsd she looks at the new message.
“I know but its just a defense mechanism”
Seleana almost can’t believe her eyes.
Seleana Zdunich: Och det ska göra det bättre?
She shakes her head incredulously wishing Christina could hear her right now as she screams at her inside her head.
Seleana Zdunich: Din jävla…
She looks away and pounds the bed with her fist again.
Seleana Zdunich: Skojar du med mig?
Almost as if she actually could hear her wife screaming in anger, the phone chimes with another message from Christina.
“sel?”
Glaring at the phone, Seleana swallows the bile she really wants to spew and answers.
“Ja?”
The phone chimes back at her.
“after super card win lose or draw we talk?”
Seleana gawks, gritting her teeth as the phone chimes again.
“i been alone, no one wants to be around me”
Seleana Zdunich: Och vars fel är det?
Seleana swallows her bile again and taps out an answer.
“Ja, okej.”
Not waiting for anything else, Seleana turns her phone off and sits it down. A second later, Eavan appears at the doorway.
Eavan Maloney: Whose fault is what?
Seleana looks over at the small blonde woman as she stands there in wearing a black American Murder Log t-shirt that’s so big on her that it extends to her knees.
Seleana Zdunich: I… sorry, did not mean to make noise.
Seleana bows her head in shame and Eavan nods to the phone.
Eavan Maloney: Crystal?
Seleana nods.
Seleana Zdunich: She was trying to give apology, explanation.
Eavan nods slowly.
Eavan Maloney: And since you screamed out, “Are you kidding me,” at one point, I’d assume it did not go well?
Knowing that Eavan had heard everything, Seleana looks up in a panic.
Seleana Zdunich: ävla fan… did I wake little one?
Eavan shakes her head with a reassuring smile.
Eavan Maloney: No, I only heard you because I was in the hallway.
Eavan makes her way over to Seleana and sits down next to her on the bed.
Eavan Maloney: How are you?
Seleana sighs heavily.
Seleana Zdunich: Why will she not just… let have time?
Eavan leans in, embracing Seleana. After a couple of minutes, Eavan manages an answer that will not just be her piling on Crystal no matter how much she really wants to knowing that will only make things worse.
Eavan Maloney: You’ll figure it out, Sarabi. I have faith in you.
Seleana smiles and embraces Eavan back.
Seleana Zdunich: Tack…
The two blonde women separate and nod to each other.
Seleana Zdunich: Systrar alltid.
Eavan smiles.
Eavan Maloney: Systrar alltid.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Los Angeles, California
Zdunich Zoological Gardens
9:41 AM PST
This was it, this was the day Seleana had been waiting for now since Christina had told her it would happen and she had confirmed it was not just some kind of hyperbolic story that her estranged wife was spinning to try and get back into her good graces again. Sarabi the lioness from Christchurch, the lioness Seleana had raised and bottle fed as a baby was coming to the Zdunich Zoological Gardens to live permanently and Seleana couldn’t be more excited for this. There had always been a special relationship between Seleana and this lioness going back to when the poor thing had been rejected as a cub by her mother in the wild. Sarabi had been rescued when she found by activists that were working against poachers in the area and Ohana Park had agreed to take her. Seleana had made her a personal project and by the time she had left Ohana Park, Sarabi had been a thriving juvenile with no real problems integrating into captivity. As she looks over the paperwork, her assistant from the quarantine area, Dr. Michelle Chavez, better known to everyone else in the zoo as “Chavy” arrives.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: Mufasa passed his check-up and is being taken to his habitat. We are ready for Sarabi in quarantine now.
Seleana nods happily. This was very good news as no one there ahd wanted Mufasa and sarabi to meet in the quarantine area simply because they could smell each other’s pheromones.
Seleana Zdunich: Is the area being washed thoroughly?
Dr. Chavez nods.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: It’s being given it’s second treatment now to make sure if we bring in Sarabi or the tigers we might get soon into there, Mufasa’s smell will not affect them at all.
Seleana smiles broadly again.
Seleana Zdunich: You are doing wonderful work, Chavy. Thank you for everything you do.
Dr. Chavez smiles even more brightly, her eyes moistening as she blushes.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: Is it true you met this lioness as a cub?
Seleana nods excitedly.
Seleana Zdunich: She was so small, Chavy, other places had said it was worth the time and resources to transport her from where she was found. They bring her to us at Ohana Park and others could not believe she was so small. I feed her with baby bottle.
Dr. Chavez’ hands pull in to her chest.
DMZ: Awwww, that’s adorable!
Seleana nods as the chief of security, a large black man that had played football in college and then become a police officer, comes to her office door.
Security Chief Clay Jones: Mrs. Zdunich?
Seleana and Dr. Chavez turn to face him, Seleana nodding in acknowledgement.
Seleana Zdunich: Yes, Clay?
She pauses and then frowns in momentary confusion.
Seleana Zdunich: Or, should I call you Officer Jones?
The man smiles.
Security Chief Clay Jones: You’re the boss, if you wanna call me Clay, you can call me Clay.
Seleana nods, visibly touched.
Seleana Zdunich: Thank you, Clay, what is it you need?
He nods behind him.
Security Chief Clay Jones: There’s two blonde women here, one pushing the other in a wheelchair and with a small child. They said they were here to see you and are family?
Seleana smiles.
Seleana Zdunich: is the woman in the wheelchair pregnant?
The officer nods.
Security Chief Clay Jones: Yes, Ma’am, she is.
Seleana nods happily.
Seleana Zdunich: Chavy, I’ll meet you in a few minutes in quarantine for the in-take for Sarabi.
Dr. Chavez nods.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: Yes, Ma’am.
Seleana turns to face the officer as Dr. Chavez takes her leave of the room.
Seleana Zdunich: Okej, Clay, take me to these women.
The officer nod and the two walk to the side entrance to find exactly who Seleana had been expecting, Eavan Maloney, Kate Bass and little Trinity.
Seleana Zdunich: They are family, Clay, please allow them inside.
The officer nods, smiling happily.
Security Chief Clay Jones: Yes, Ma’am.
He opens the door and Eavan pushes Kate through the entryway, Clay closing the door behind them. Seleana moves and hugs all three girls.
Seleana Zdunich: It is so good to see you! Clay, do we have someone available to walk with us in case there is a problem with Kate?
The officer nods.
Security Chief Clay Jones: Yes, Ma’am, I can do that myself.
Seleana’s smile somehow manages to brighten even more than it already was.
Seleana Zdunich: Tack, Clay.
Eavan and Kate both nod gratefully to the big man and he nods back in kind.
Seleana Zdunich: So, did you see much before you come here?
Eavan shrugs.
Eavan Maloney: We saw what you can see from the path to the door?
Seleana nods and leads them further into the catacombs as it were, leading them through to her office for a second as she steps inside to gather some paperwork. As she does so, Eavan and Kate glance inside and see the cot sitting against the wall and just shake their heads. They had hoped that was an exaggeration. Seleana finds the paper she is looking for and turns to face them, smiling like a giddy child.
Seleana Zdunich: I cannot believe the day is here!
Eavan and Kate both smile, little Trinity gurgling on Eavan’s back in her babybjorn. Seleana leads the group down the hallway and around a couple of turns before they find Dr. Chavez waiting with a small crew of five or six other people.
Seleana Zdunich: Are we ready, Chavy?
Dr. Chavez nods as a truck starts to back into the slot that leads into the holding pens. The crew of six other people spring into action as Seleana, Dr. Chavez, Kate, Eavan and Clay watch through the big clear windows. The crate clearly carrying a live animal is pulled from the truck and placed so that it can only be opened into the holding pen area. Commands are called out, hands are placed on doors so they spring the animal loose into the pens and remove the crate before escape can be made.
Seleana Zdunich: They look ready.
Dr. Chavez nods in agreement.
DC: They will check to make sure this is the proper crate and everything is set…
The lead crewman nods back to Dr. Chavez.
DC: We have the everything is go signal.
Seleana nods and they all watch as the door to the crate is slid up and out of the way revealing the lioness inside. For a second, it looks like she won’t leave the crate, content to stay there and not be moved any further. Seleana walks over to the door into the holding pen and leans down to the lioness can see her.
Seleana Zdunich: Hej, Sarabi! Jag älskar dig, söt tjej!
The lioness looks up and springs from the crate, moving over and staring at Seleana in the doorway. Seleana stands up and waves to the lioness even as the crew men close the crate, slide it out of the way and close the door to the pen behind Sarabi.
Seleana Zdunich: Min vackra tjej!
Sarabi jumps up and paws at the door, looking like a child begging for its mother.
Eavan Maloney: Aw, she’s beautiful…
Kate nods her agreement as do both Clay and Dr. Chavez. Seleana nods to sarabi and places her hand against the glass of the door. Sarabi places her paw on her side directly opposite the hand.
Seleana Zdunich: Hej…
Eavan and Kate look at Seleana and both of them just star beaming.
Eavan Maloney: Look at that…
Clay and Dr. Chavez both smile at the sight as well.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: I’ve never seen her smile like that before.
Eavan nods to the big cat.
Eavan Maloney: It’s her baby…
Clay nods his agreement.
Security Chief Clay Jones: Sure looks like that to me too, Ma’am.
Dr. Chavez nods as well.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: It’s beautiful…
Sarabi paws at the glass for another second and then drops down to look at her surroundings some. Seleana takes the opportunity to step away from the door and come back around to her friends.
Seleana Zdunich: It is real… she is really here…
Eavan nods, Kate, Clay and Dr. Chavez joining.
Eavan Maloney: She’s beautiful!
Kate nods her agreement.
Kate Bass: She is…
Clay nods his own agreement.
Security Chief Clay Jones: You have a rather beautiful girl there, Mrs. Zdunich.
Seleana can’t stop smiling like a kid on Christmas morning.
Seleana Zdunich: Tack…
She turns from them and stares out at the lioness, watching her inspect her new temporary home from corner to corner.
Seleana Zdunich: I cannot believe she is here…
Dr. Chavez nods, almost crying herself.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: I promise, we will take special care with her, Mrs. Zdunich.
Seleana turns to face Dr. Chavez and hugs her.
Seleana Zdunich: Tack, Chavy. I trust you with my girl.
Separating herself from Dr. Chavez, Seleana turns back to watching Sarabi checking her place out. The lioness sens the next fifteen minutes looking around before finding what she decides is comfortable spot and laying down there. It i then that Trinity starts to register her restlessness. Seleana nods, still smiling and turn to her friends.
Seleana Zdunich: Come, I should show you more before the little one decides my zoo is the worst place on earth!
Dr. Chavez nods understandingly as Seleana leads her friends out to the zoo and spends the rest of the day showing them around.
On-Camera
Friday, March 8, 2019
Laguna Beach, California
Home of Kate Bass and Eavan Maloney
5:01 PM PST
The camera opens on Seleana Zdunich standing in a driveway, a black Italian sports car sitting not two feet away from her and a duffel bag sitting next to it with the SCW World Bombshell Championship belt peeking out of the bag. The car and bag both seem to match the long sleeved black leather mini dress she’s wearing as do her black heels and Seleana nods, allowing her blonde hair to cascade down her shoulders in the light. She nods to the bag and stares down at the shiny prize inside.
Seleana Zdunich: There it sits…
She walks over and gently nudges bag with ehr foot to try and show the big shiny belt sitting on top of the other stuff inside.
Seleana Zdunich: The Sin City Wrestling World Bombshell Championship…
Seleana gently opens the bag slightly more so the camera can get a good, full view of the championship belt in question even as it gleams in the light from the outside of the house behind her.
Seleana Zdunich: That belt has not left my bag since I came into possession of it. Others have looked at it, others have seen and even touched it but it was inside my bag as they did so.
Stepping back from the bag, Seleana looks into the camera and nods again.
Seleana Zdunich: And do you know why this is? Do you know why I have not taken the belt out and held aloft? Why I haven no held it above my head in triumph and screamed to the hills? Why I have not strapped it to the top of my car and driven around the streets of Los Angeles for all to see? Why, whether I’m at the Zdunich Zoological Gardens in Los Angeles, cruising by what I should call home in the Hollywood Hills, coming back here to Laguna Beach or anywhere else i might be lately, it has remained out of view unless I am asked about it?
She nods as the camera zooms in tightly.
Seleana Zdunich: Do you?
The camera pulls back out wide and gets a shot of Seleana, the car and the bag all at once.
Seleana Zdunich: Alicia Lukas should because she said it out loud. Dani Weston should because she said similar near two weeks ago when that belt came to me and changed the dynamic of the upcoming match. Crystal Hilton should because she is who made it so…
She nods, looking mildly upset and borderline angry.
Seleana Zdunich: Why is that belt in my bag and not parading around on my shoulder or around my waist or acting as a special glossy hood ornament or as a special way to bling my ride?
She bites her bottom lip and looks to the sky for a second before shaking her head and looking back into the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: I have had this conversation with several people already and I will have it again now even if I am the only one speaking! It is because this is when Christian Underwood gest to both laugh and cry at the same time! He will cry because he still has not broken and defeated me. In fact, I have not lost since I break his face and he made a point of trying to do my career harm. I should be singing that song from the hills as well. The man who runs this company and tried to terminate my contract and then took special interest in ending my career…
She ndos to the bag and the shiny gold belt now glistening in the light.
Seleana Zdunich: I stand before you, the Sin City Wrestling World Bombshell Champion and it is a place I worked a year to even get the opportunity to look at it here in SCW. I came in as Crystal Hilton’s Swedish Barbie Hood Ornament and now I am the one in possession of THE Championship, about to main event an event with a Roman numeral in the title and yet… still..
Both of her hands rise up, ball into fists and she throws her head back in exasperation.
Seleana Zdunich: I have been in the ring with the likes of Delia Darling, Cat Riley, Trinity Jones, Mercedes Vargas, Dani Weston, Aviana Faith, Portia Alexander, Apple Coren, Jessie Salco, Kate Steele, Evie Baang, Brittany Williams, Crystal Hilton, Alicia Lukas, Amy Marshal, Parand Ara and The Metal Maniacs and whether they said it or not, every one of them had that look in their eyes that I was not really invited to the party. I was not one of them…
Her head snaps back into position allowing ehr to glare into the camera, her left hand falling to her side while her right hand opens to point accusingly into the camera’s lens.
Seleana Zdunich: No, I was nothing but a tall zookeeper at best and at worst, I was nothing but Crystal Hilton’s blonde trophy, used to match the shiny belt she held last year. They all saw me as an accessory Crystal would eventually get tired of and toss aside like I was just another bracelet she had bought on some spree to make herself feel better this week when something else went badly for her. Even after we were married last June, the company we work for did not notice any changed and referred to me as her fiancée as if that was the whole of my identity in this world! I was known not as a wrestler, not as a competitor, not as a championship contender, not as a sister, wife, stepmother, cousin, daughter or even a zookeeper nicknamed Sarabi…
Her pointing hand swings out towards the car.
Seleana Zdunich: Nej, I was known only as Crystal Hilton’s armpiece and I was treated as such by everyone right up until I walked out of that building in Long Beach with that belt in MY bag!
She points down at the belt.
Seleana Zdunich: And instead of changing that perception, instead of making everyone finally look at me as my own person with actual abilities, all that did was make them look down upon me even more…
Seleana looks down at the ground, shaking her head in seeming shame.
Seleana Zdunich: Dani Weston and Alicia Lukas both looked at me as a usurper and all but called me a thief. They see me as a blight on their golden championship that needs to be cleaned off. Alicia says she likes me and thinks I worked to get here and yet, when she was done talking, I still had not earned anything! I am still nothing to her but something Crystal Hilton had imported in to make herself look good!
She looks up, her hands going to her hips as she looks off into the distance.
Seleana Zdunich: Dani Weston thinks so little of me, she cannot even bring herself to say anything towards me or much of anyone else. Alicia looked down on her for not coming off like a champion and yet she is still closer to one than I am and I am the one who has the belt!
Her hand raises up again to point into the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: They both understand why the belt stays in my bag but the one who should understand better than anyone is the reason it stays there, my wonderful… beautiful…
She claps her hands and looks away, almost laughing a cold, mirthless laugh.
Seleana Zdunich: Backstabber of a wife, Crystal Hilton, because she is the one who made sure with her interference that no one would come out of Long Beach talking about Dani Weston, no one would come out talking that much about Alicia Lukas and they would not really be talking about me either, they would all come out talking about you and even if it was not good…
She shrugs angrily.
Seleana Zdunich: Even bad publicity is good publicity, ja?
Seleana moves her glare back to the camera, seemingly trying to burn through it with her eyes.
Seleana Zdunich: You made sure that all eyes and more importantly, the spotlight, was all on you. Anaheim brings a four-way match for the Sin City Wrestling World Bombshell Championship between four women who have all held the championship in the last year and yet all anyone speaks of is which of us will be the one to knock the purple out of your hair so badly that the front row of fans looks as if they were extras in a remake of Purple Rain!
She turns and faces the car.
Seleana Zdunich: And as much as you claim otherwise behind closed doors, or in text messages or whatever else, the truth is you are loving every second of this because it is what you have always really wanted! You worked for a singular goal and unlike Alicia Lukas, who wants to make this championship mean more than anything else on the planet, unlike Dani Weston who wants to prove she is the best she can be and the best SCW has to offer and unlike me, where I want to prove I am capable and worthy of the respect everyone else freely gets, you want everyone to just look at you so that you can tell yourself that everyone is jealous and wishes they were you even if they say otherwise because, come on, you are Crystal Hilton and it has to be true, ja?
She turns and nods to the camera knowingly.
Seleana Zdunich: And look at where you were before I punched Christian Underwood…
Her gaze moves back to the car.
Seleana Zdunich: You were nowhere. No one was talking about you anymore. Brittany had suffered an injury and taken some time off. I was working to improve but we were all standing on the outside looking in when it came to championship standing. Alicia Lukas was coming in as a Champion of such standing none one questioned her abilities and Dani Weston was THE Champion with the spotlight on her here in SCW and you…
Seleana shrugs dismissively.
Seleana Zdunich: You were somebody who used to be that and it drove you crazy. I know because you talked about it often. Then I punch Christian Underwood and the spotlight comes to me because he fired me and Mark Ward bring me back. Christian decides he needs to give me his full attention and you…
Again, Seleana shrugs dismissively.
Seleana Zdunich: You were still nowhere. Alicia and Dani put on duels that will be talked about for years to come to prove who was the best and who should carry the banner into the future and thus rightfully claimed the spotlight and I had it thrust upon me and you could not stand it so you waited until an opportunity presented itself to get yourself back there and all you had to do was assault ME!
She turn and glares angrily into the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: I am your wife, the one you pledged to love and honor above all others last year and barely six months into our marriage, attack me and leave me laying for the promise of one more trip into the spotlight!
She waves her hand dismissively to the right.
Seleana Zdunich: Let’s not pretend this is really about a championship for you because it was never about that. The only reason you want that championship is because it means everyone has to pay homage to you as the ne sitting on the throne until somebody else comes and knocks you off of it! You want the attention that comes with the belt, not the belt itself. It is a useless trinket to you and that is why Alicia and Dani are so offended by your presence in this match and why they will do everything in their power to make sure Jessie Salco has not talked her way into never challenging for it ever again!
She pauses, shaking her right hand and index finger as she turns away from the camera and faces the car again.
Seleana Zdunich: But that was not good enough for you, was it?
She shakes her head some more, almost pointing accusingly at the car as if it was her wife made metal.
Seleana Zdunich: No, you are Crystal Hilton and the spotlight was not bright enough just being in the match that would main event Blaze of Glory VII, you needed more and that was why you came down and robbed me of something all over again at Climax Control!
She nods to herself and then turns to face the camera, her index finger still extended, still pointing in an accusatory manner.
Seleana Zdunich: And it is what that represents to me that hurts the most, Estrellita. It means you did not trust me to get us there on my own. You did not trust me to bring the championship home where you could walk around and act like one of those mothers with the “My child is an honor student at” bumper stickers as if their child’s achievement is really their achievement and claim my championship standing as yours because you trained and married me. You had no faith in me…
Her hand drops and then sweeps to the right as if brushing a load of peprs off a desk that isn’t there.
Seleana Zdunich: And that means that just like everyone else I mentioned earlier, you STILL do not see me as one of you yet!
She points angrily into the camera again.
Seleana Zdunich: YOU still do not see me as somebody worthy of respect! You, MY own wife, do not see me as somebody who is worthy of burning in your light even as you speak to me of things we were supposed to do like the Hollywood Angels!
Looking back down to the bag, she stares at the championship and then nods firmly.
Seleana Zdunich: On Sunday in Anaheim, that belt will finally leave my bag. It will walk to that ring at Blaze of Glory VII and it will then sit ringside as Alicia, Dani and I take turns playing let’s shatter the Crystal and, as you mentioned, this is the perfect place to do that because it is YOUR town. You claim Los Angeles as your town even though you are no more from here than the rest of us are. Dani is from Florida, Alicia is from Georgia and I am from another country and we all come to where this daughter of Detroit became just as plastic and overly shiny and calculated for attention as everything else that comes from the Hollywood area! On Sunday, Alicia, Dani and you all get your chance to take that away from me and get what you want…
She nods knowingly and then points to herself.
Seleana Zdunich: But I also get the chance at what I want and what I want is to knock you all off of your high horses, knock you out of the spotlight you so crave, and knock the respect out of Alicia and Dani and finally take my place as my own and prove I deserved to not just be in the ring with all of you, but I deserved my place on that poster, in this match and on that list of champions that my name is on now! I get my chance to prove that belt sitting down there is mine and I have the right to call myself Champion!
She nods and points to herself one more time.
Seleana Zdunich: This is my chance and none of you are taking that away from me!
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Laguna Beach, California
Home of Kate Bass and Eavan Maloney
9:45 PM PST
For nearly a week now, Seleana Zdunich had called this house her home away from home. Her “sisters,” Kate and Eavan, had invited her to stay here when they had found out about her rather spartan living conditions following her wife’s attack upon her at Climax Control some weeks back. The picture of her cot in her nearly empty office back at the Zdunich Zoological Gardens had almost gotten her yelled at, both Eavan and Kate staring at it in utter disbelief. How could she live like that?
Seleana had just shrugged and mumbled something quickly about the animals making her feel at home and, to an extent, that was the truth. Being amongst the animals at the zoo was soothing to her and did make her feel like she was at home in Christchurch again but it was not the whole truth. What she had not pointed out, what she had somehow managed to leave out when discussing the zoo and her office was the pair of photos sitting on her desk that had been visible in the picture she had shown Kate and Eavan. The photos that were the only real decoration in the entire office. The photos that were both sitting in cheap frames that read “Mi familia” on them.
On the right sat one that showed Seleana’s side of the family all together at her youngest sister’s wedding in December. It showed Seleana, her wife, Christina, her parents, Fredrik and Jannicke, her middle sister, Zenna, Zenna’s longtime fiancée, Linnéa Lacroix, Linnea’s younger sister, Alissa Lacroix, Alissa’s fiancée, Kelly Taylor, the bride, Katra, Katra’s wife, Adriana, Adriana’s father, Joey Nitro, her now late mother, Chloe Nitro, Seleana’s cousin, Maja Lindström, Maja’s boyfriend, Matthias Lindeman, another cousin, former wrestler Alexi Priest, Alexi’s husband, Robbie Priest, Alexi’s mother, Scarlett Zdunich, Robbie’s younger brother, Scotty Valentine and Scotty’s wife, Angelica Valentine. Down in front of the group are the children of the Priests and Valentines, seven-year-old Scarlett Priest, six-year-old Amber Priest, six-year-old Kaari Valentine and the three-year-old triplets, Jesse, Elias and Eric Priest.
On the left sat one that had only four people in it. Seleana and her wife Christina standing behind and hugging the younger couple, Christina’s daughter Brittany Williams, and Brittany’s girlfriend, Haylie Jo “Halo” Annis, Seleana with her arms around Halo, Christina’s around Brittany and all four wearing joyous smiles as if everything was perfect with the world.
The photo on the right was the only photo with everyone in it, and likely the last photo to include Chloe Nitro before her death a little over three weeks later and thus, held a special place in Seleana’s heart. The photo on the left had been from a random moment on a trip out the little family had gone out for a dinner where the original destination had been too crowded and they had ended up at Pizza Hut instead.
Now, Seleana stares at the photo of her office on her cell phone as she sits on the bed in the guestroom she had been set up in, her long black Ohana Park t-shirt covering the shorts she was sporting and nods slowly, a smile coming over her face.
Seleana Zdunich: Hemma…
Just as she starts to set the phone down, it chimes at ehr alerting her to a new message’s arrival. Moving the phone back up closer so she can better read the screen, she nods and taps for the message’s origin and sees the name of the sender staring back at her.
Christina Zdunich.
Seleana nods again and taps for the message.
“Hi hun.”
Seleana frowns. Was this going to be a random “hello” message or the start of another round of trying to get her to do something again? The phone chimes and Seleana sighs.
Seleana Zdunich: Skit också!
She nods to herself and taps for the new message.
“Its me Crystal I hate discussing feelings but I fucking love you so there I said it”
Seleana’s mouth falls open in surprise. What was this and what was her wife playing at now? Before she can ask herself another the question, the phone chimes again and Seleana taps for the new message.
“Big bad crystal loves you”
Looking down at her feet, Seleana inhales and closes her eyes. Why was this so confusing to her? Why did it seem like neither of them really understood what all was going on here? Opening her eyes, she stares at the message and finally taps out n answer.
“Jag älskar dig.”
She presses the send button and waits for the reaction. That was one phrase in Swedish that Christina should be familiar with by now given how often Seleana had said it at this point in their relationship. Almost like clockwork, the phone chimes again. Seleana nods and taps for the answer.
“I love everything about you”
The phone chimes almost immediately with yet another message and Seleana taps before she thinks better of doing so.
“And the reason i push you away is because whenever ppl get too close to me they end hurting me so i come out and push them away so they dont have a chance to do. So”
Seleana frown at the seeming cliffhanger ending only for the phoento chime again.
“Every reltaionship i have been in i have always been hurt in some shape or form”
Seleana frowns, almost glaring back at the phone as she taps back her answer.
“How you see me?”
She presses send and then glares at the phone, almost grinding her teeth as she waits for this answer, hoping beyond hope that Christina will not pick this as a time to run away without explanation. The phone chimes to assuage those fears.
“Someone im jealous of. Friends with everyone and ppl dont see me like that so it hurts and i get mad”
Seleana’s glare takes on an air of confusion as she taps back her own answer.
“How you see you?”
She presses end and the answer chimes back almost as if Christina had it ready to go before the question was even asked.
“Me im worthless”
Seleana almost wants to scream at the sight of the word “worthless.” She shakes her head and quickly types out an answer, sending it off as quickly as she can.
“Why you worthless?”
The answer comes back faster than Seleana was prepared for it to.
“I just am”
Seleana glares in stunned disbelief, shaking her head as she does so. What was this answer and what was Christina doing with it? Seleana quickly taps out her own answer and sends it off.
“That is not a reason.”
Shaking her head again, Seleana lets the phone lower to the bed. She knew the entire Crystal persona was a defense mechanism for Christina’s seemingly hardwired self-hatred but was it really that deeply ingrained in her?
And had it been passed on to Brittany as well?
Seleana closes her eyes, not really wanting to dwell on that second question even as the phone chimes at her again. She raises the phone up and looks at the new message.
“Because no matter what i do its never good enough”
Shaking her head, the phone chimes at ehr again and she taps to see the next one.
“Nobody will ever like me so i have to act tough to be something special”
Seleana snagrily types out her answer.
“You stop that! You were always good enough for me! All you ever had to do to make me happy was wake up in the morning!”
As her hands shake with anger, the phone chimes back at her.
“But this is me Crystal speaking so you know Christina is estactic about you”
Sighing heavily, sadness joining the anger, Seleana taps out her response.
“So, you hit me?”
Her eyes close, knowing no matter what the answer is, it will not stop the anger and hurt coursing through her body right now. Truth be told, she almost did not want Christina to answer this one. The chime that signals the answer’s arrival makes her shake just a little bit more. What would this answer be and how much was it going to make things worse? Opening her eyes, Seleana stares at the phone and accepts the new message.
“I...I told you when people get to close they usually betray me”
Before she can even fully take it in, the phone chimes again.
“Im sorry”
Seleana’s eyes almost bug clean out of her head. Was she seriously saying what it looked like she was saying? Resisting the urge to just throw the phone and scream, Seleana taps out an answer.
“I did not.”
She stares at the phone and looks away in anger.
Seleana Zdunich: För fan i helvete! Din jävla…
Her free hand balls into a fist and punches the mattress. The phone chimes nsd she looks at the new message.
“I know but its just a defense mechanism”
Seleana almost can’t believe her eyes.
Seleana Zdunich: Och det ska göra det bättre?
She shakes her head incredulously wishing Christina could hear her right now as she screams at her inside her head.
Seleana Zdunich: Din jävla…
She looks away and pounds the bed with her fist again.
Seleana Zdunich: Skojar du med mig?
Almost as if she actually could hear her wife screaming in anger, the phone chimes with another message from Christina.
“sel?”
Glaring at the phone, Seleana swallows the bile she really wants to spew and answers.
“Ja?”
The phone chimes back at her.
“after super card win lose or draw we talk?”
Seleana gawks, gritting her teeth as the phone chimes again.
“i been alone, no one wants to be around me”
Seleana Zdunich: Och vars fel är det?
Seleana swallows her bile again and taps out an answer.
“Ja, okej.”
Not waiting for anything else, Seleana turns her phone off and sits it down. A second later, Eavan appears at the doorway.
Eavan Maloney: Whose fault is what?
Seleana looks over at the small blonde woman as she stands there in wearing a black American Murder Log t-shirt that’s so big on her that it extends to her knees.
Seleana Zdunich: I… sorry, did not mean to make noise.
Seleana bows her head in shame and Eavan nods to the phone.
Eavan Maloney: Crystal?
Seleana nods.
Seleana Zdunich: She was trying to give apology, explanation.
Eavan nods slowly.
Eavan Maloney: And since you screamed out, “Are you kidding me,” at one point, I’d assume it did not go well?
Knowing that Eavan had heard everything, Seleana looks up in a panic.
Seleana Zdunich: ävla fan… did I wake little one?
Eavan shakes her head with a reassuring smile.
Eavan Maloney: No, I only heard you because I was in the hallway.
Eavan makes her way over to Seleana and sits down next to her on the bed.
Eavan Maloney: How are you?
Seleana sighs heavily.
Seleana Zdunich: Why will she not just… let have time?
Eavan leans in, embracing Seleana. After a couple of minutes, Eavan manages an answer that will not just be her piling on Crystal no matter how much she really wants to knowing that will only make things worse.
Eavan Maloney: You’ll figure it out, Sarabi. I have faith in you.
Seleana smiles and embraces Eavan back.
Seleana Zdunich: Tack…
The two blonde women separate and nod to each other.
Seleana Zdunich: Systrar alltid.
Eavan smiles.
Eavan Maloney: Systrar alltid.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Los Angeles, California
Zdunich Zoological Gardens
9:41 AM PST
This was it, this was the day Seleana had been waiting for now since Christina had told her it would happen and she had confirmed it was not just some kind of hyperbolic story that her estranged wife was spinning to try and get back into her good graces again. Sarabi the lioness from Christchurch, the lioness Seleana had raised and bottle fed as a baby was coming to the Zdunich Zoological Gardens to live permanently and Seleana couldn’t be more excited for this. There had always been a special relationship between Seleana and this lioness going back to when the poor thing had been rejected as a cub by her mother in the wild. Sarabi had been rescued when she found by activists that were working against poachers in the area and Ohana Park had agreed to take her. Seleana had made her a personal project and by the time she had left Ohana Park, Sarabi had been a thriving juvenile with no real problems integrating into captivity. As she looks over the paperwork, her assistant from the quarantine area, Dr. Michelle Chavez, better known to everyone else in the zoo as “Chavy” arrives.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: Mufasa passed his check-up and is being taken to his habitat. We are ready for Sarabi in quarantine now.
Seleana nods happily. This was very good news as no one there ahd wanted Mufasa and sarabi to meet in the quarantine area simply because they could smell each other’s pheromones.
Seleana Zdunich: Is the area being washed thoroughly?
Dr. Chavez nods.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: It’s being given it’s second treatment now to make sure if we bring in Sarabi or the tigers we might get soon into there, Mufasa’s smell will not affect them at all.
Seleana smiles broadly again.
Seleana Zdunich: You are doing wonderful work, Chavy. Thank you for everything you do.
Dr. Chavez smiles even more brightly, her eyes moistening as she blushes.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: Is it true you met this lioness as a cub?
Seleana nods excitedly.
Seleana Zdunich: She was so small, Chavy, other places had said it was worth the time and resources to transport her from where she was found. They bring her to us at Ohana Park and others could not believe she was so small. I feed her with baby bottle.
Dr. Chavez’ hands pull in to her chest.
DMZ: Awwww, that’s adorable!
Seleana nods as the chief of security, a large black man that had played football in college and then become a police officer, comes to her office door.
Security Chief Clay Jones: Mrs. Zdunich?
Seleana and Dr. Chavez turn to face him, Seleana nodding in acknowledgement.
Seleana Zdunich: Yes, Clay?
She pauses and then frowns in momentary confusion.
Seleana Zdunich: Or, should I call you Officer Jones?
The man smiles.
Security Chief Clay Jones: You’re the boss, if you wanna call me Clay, you can call me Clay.
Seleana nods, visibly touched.
Seleana Zdunich: Thank you, Clay, what is it you need?
He nods behind him.
Security Chief Clay Jones: There’s two blonde women here, one pushing the other in a wheelchair and with a small child. They said they were here to see you and are family?
Seleana smiles.
Seleana Zdunich: is the woman in the wheelchair pregnant?
The officer nods.
Security Chief Clay Jones: Yes, Ma’am, she is.
Seleana nods happily.
Seleana Zdunich: Chavy, I’ll meet you in a few minutes in quarantine for the in-take for Sarabi.
Dr. Chavez nods.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: Yes, Ma’am.
Seleana turns to face the officer as Dr. Chavez takes her leave of the room.
Seleana Zdunich: Okej, Clay, take me to these women.
The officer nod and the two walk to the side entrance to find exactly who Seleana had been expecting, Eavan Maloney, Kate Bass and little Trinity.
Seleana Zdunich: They are family, Clay, please allow them inside.
The officer nods, smiling happily.
Security Chief Clay Jones: Yes, Ma’am.
He opens the door and Eavan pushes Kate through the entryway, Clay closing the door behind them. Seleana moves and hugs all three girls.
Seleana Zdunich: It is so good to see you! Clay, do we have someone available to walk with us in case there is a problem with Kate?
The officer nods.
Security Chief Clay Jones: Yes, Ma’am, I can do that myself.
Seleana’s smile somehow manages to brighten even more than it already was.
Seleana Zdunich: Tack, Clay.
Eavan and Kate both nod gratefully to the big man and he nods back in kind.
Seleana Zdunich: So, did you see much before you come here?
Eavan shrugs.
Eavan Maloney: We saw what you can see from the path to the door?
Seleana nods and leads them further into the catacombs as it were, leading them through to her office for a second as she steps inside to gather some paperwork. As she does so, Eavan and Kate glance inside and see the cot sitting against the wall and just shake their heads. They had hoped that was an exaggeration. Seleana finds the paper she is looking for and turns to face them, smiling like a giddy child.
Seleana Zdunich: I cannot believe the day is here!
Eavan and Kate both smile, little Trinity gurgling on Eavan’s back in her babybjorn. Seleana leads the group down the hallway and around a couple of turns before they find Dr. Chavez waiting with a small crew of five or six other people.
Seleana Zdunich: Are we ready, Chavy?
Dr. Chavez nods as a truck starts to back into the slot that leads into the holding pens. The crew of six other people spring into action as Seleana, Dr. Chavez, Kate, Eavan and Clay watch through the big clear windows. The crate clearly carrying a live animal is pulled from the truck and placed so that it can only be opened into the holding pen area. Commands are called out, hands are placed on doors so they spring the animal loose into the pens and remove the crate before escape can be made.
Seleana Zdunich: They look ready.
Dr. Chavez nods in agreement.
DC: They will check to make sure this is the proper crate and everything is set…
The lead crewman nods back to Dr. Chavez.
DC: We have the everything is go signal.
Seleana nods and they all watch as the door to the crate is slid up and out of the way revealing the lioness inside. For a second, it looks like she won’t leave the crate, content to stay there and not be moved any further. Seleana walks over to the door into the holding pen and leans down to the lioness can see her.
Seleana Zdunich: Hej, Sarabi! Jag älskar dig, söt tjej!
The lioness looks up and springs from the crate, moving over and staring at Seleana in the doorway. Seleana stands up and waves to the lioness even as the crew men close the crate, slide it out of the way and close the door to the pen behind Sarabi.
Seleana Zdunich: Min vackra tjej!
Sarabi jumps up and paws at the door, looking like a child begging for its mother.
Eavan Maloney: Aw, she’s beautiful…
Kate nods her agreement as do both Clay and Dr. Chavez. Seleana nods to sarabi and places her hand against the glass of the door. Sarabi places her paw on her side directly opposite the hand.
Seleana Zdunich: Hej…
Eavan and Kate look at Seleana and both of them just star beaming.
Eavan Maloney: Look at that…
Clay and Dr. Chavez both smile at the sight as well.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: I’ve never seen her smile like that before.
Eavan nods to the big cat.
Eavan Maloney: It’s her baby…
Clay nods his agreement.
Security Chief Clay Jones: Sure looks like that to me too, Ma’am.
Dr. Chavez nods as well.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: It’s beautiful…
Sarabi paws at the glass for another second and then drops down to look at her surroundings some. Seleana takes the opportunity to step away from the door and come back around to her friends.
Seleana Zdunich: It is real… she is really here…
Eavan nods, Kate, Clay and Dr. Chavez joining.
Eavan Maloney: She’s beautiful!
Kate nods her agreement.
Kate Bass: She is…
Clay nods his own agreement.
Security Chief Clay Jones: You have a rather beautiful girl there, Mrs. Zdunich.
Seleana can’t stop smiling like a kid on Christmas morning.
Seleana Zdunich: Tack…
She turns from them and stares out at the lioness, watching her inspect her new temporary home from corner to corner.
Seleana Zdunich: I cannot believe she is here…
Dr. Chavez nods, almost crying herself.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: I promise, we will take special care with her, Mrs. Zdunich.
Seleana turns to face Dr. Chavez and hugs her.
Seleana Zdunich: Tack, Chavy. I trust you with my girl.
Separating herself from Dr. Chavez, Seleana turns back to watching Sarabi checking her place out. The lioness sens the next fifteen minutes looking around before finding what she decides is comfortable spot and laying down there. It i then that Trinity starts to register her restlessness. Seleana nods, still smiling and turn to her friends.
Seleana Zdunich: Come, I should show you more before the little one decides my zoo is the worst place on earth!
Dr. Chavez nods understandingly as Seleana leads her friends out to the zoo and spends the rest of the day showing them around.
On-Camera
Friday, March 8, 2019
Laguna Beach, California
Home of Kate Bass and Eavan Maloney
5:01 PM PST
The camera opens on Seleana Zdunich standing in a driveway, a black Italian sports car sitting not two feet away from her and a duffel bag sitting next to it with the SCW World Bombshell Championship belt peeking out of the bag. The car and bag both seem to match the long sleeved black leather mini dress she’s wearing as do her black heels and Seleana nods, allowing her blonde hair to cascade down her shoulders in the light. She nods to the bag and stares down at the shiny prize inside.
Seleana Zdunich: There it sits…
She walks over and gently nudges bag with ehr foot to try and show the big shiny belt sitting on top of the other stuff inside.
Seleana Zdunich: The Sin City Wrestling World Bombshell Championship…
Seleana gently opens the bag slightly more so the camera can get a good, full view of the championship belt in question even as it gleams in the light from the outside of the house behind her.
Seleana Zdunich: That belt has not left my bag since I came into possession of it. Others have looked at it, others have seen and even touched it but it was inside my bag as they did so.
Stepping back from the bag, Seleana looks into the camera and nods again.
Seleana Zdunich: And do you know why this is? Do you know why I have not taken the belt out and held aloft? Why I haven no held it above my head in triumph and screamed to the hills? Why I have not strapped it to the top of my car and driven around the streets of Los Angeles for all to see? Why, whether I’m at the Zdunich Zoological Gardens in Los Angeles, cruising by what I should call home in the Hollywood Hills, coming back here to Laguna Beach or anywhere else i might be lately, it has remained out of view unless I am asked about it?
She nods as the camera zooms in tightly.
Seleana Zdunich: Do you?
The camera pulls back out wide and gets a shot of Seleana, the car and the bag all at once.
Seleana Zdunich: Alicia Lukas should because she said it out loud. Dani Weston should because she said similar near two weeks ago when that belt came to me and changed the dynamic of the upcoming match. Crystal Hilton should because she is who made it so…
She nods, looking mildly upset and borderline angry.
Seleana Zdunich: Why is that belt in my bag and not parading around on my shoulder or around my waist or acting as a special glossy hood ornament or as a special way to bling my ride?
She bites her bottom lip and looks to the sky for a second before shaking her head and looking back into the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: I have had this conversation with several people already and I will have it again now even if I am the only one speaking! It is because this is when Christian Underwood gest to both laugh and cry at the same time! He will cry because he still has not broken and defeated me. In fact, I have not lost since I break his face and he made a point of trying to do my career harm. I should be singing that song from the hills as well. The man who runs this company and tried to terminate my contract and then took special interest in ending my career…
She ndos to the bag and the shiny gold belt now glistening in the light.
Seleana Zdunich: I stand before you, the Sin City Wrestling World Bombshell Champion and it is a place I worked a year to even get the opportunity to look at it here in SCW. I came in as Crystal Hilton’s Swedish Barbie Hood Ornament and now I am the one in possession of THE Championship, about to main event an event with a Roman numeral in the title and yet… still..
Both of her hands rise up, ball into fists and she throws her head back in exasperation.
Seleana Zdunich: I have been in the ring with the likes of Delia Darling, Cat Riley, Trinity Jones, Mercedes Vargas, Dani Weston, Aviana Faith, Portia Alexander, Apple Coren, Jessie Salco, Kate Steele, Evie Baang, Brittany Williams, Crystal Hilton, Alicia Lukas, Amy Marshal, Parand Ara and The Metal Maniacs and whether they said it or not, every one of them had that look in their eyes that I was not really invited to the party. I was not one of them…
Her head snaps back into position allowing ehr to glare into the camera, her left hand falling to her side while her right hand opens to point accusingly into the camera’s lens.
Seleana Zdunich: No, I was nothing but a tall zookeeper at best and at worst, I was nothing but Crystal Hilton’s blonde trophy, used to match the shiny belt she held last year. They all saw me as an accessory Crystal would eventually get tired of and toss aside like I was just another bracelet she had bought on some spree to make herself feel better this week when something else went badly for her. Even after we were married last June, the company we work for did not notice any changed and referred to me as her fiancée as if that was the whole of my identity in this world! I was known not as a wrestler, not as a competitor, not as a championship contender, not as a sister, wife, stepmother, cousin, daughter or even a zookeeper nicknamed Sarabi…
Her pointing hand swings out towards the car.
Seleana Zdunich: Nej, I was known only as Crystal Hilton’s armpiece and I was treated as such by everyone right up until I walked out of that building in Long Beach with that belt in MY bag!
She points down at the belt.
Seleana Zdunich: And instead of changing that perception, instead of making everyone finally look at me as my own person with actual abilities, all that did was make them look down upon me even more…
Seleana looks down at the ground, shaking her head in seeming shame.
Seleana Zdunich: Dani Weston and Alicia Lukas both looked at me as a usurper and all but called me a thief. They see me as a blight on their golden championship that needs to be cleaned off. Alicia says she likes me and thinks I worked to get here and yet, when she was done talking, I still had not earned anything! I am still nothing to her but something Crystal Hilton had imported in to make herself look good!
She looks up, her hands going to her hips as she looks off into the distance.
Seleana Zdunich: Dani Weston thinks so little of me, she cannot even bring herself to say anything towards me or much of anyone else. Alicia looked down on her for not coming off like a champion and yet she is still closer to one than I am and I am the one who has the belt!
Her hand raises up again to point into the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: They both understand why the belt stays in my bag but the one who should understand better than anyone is the reason it stays there, my wonderful… beautiful…
She claps her hands and looks away, almost laughing a cold, mirthless laugh.
Seleana Zdunich: Backstabber of a wife, Crystal Hilton, because she is the one who made sure with her interference that no one would come out of Long Beach talking about Dani Weston, no one would come out talking that much about Alicia Lukas and they would not really be talking about me either, they would all come out talking about you and even if it was not good…
She shrugs angrily.
Seleana Zdunich: Even bad publicity is good publicity, ja?
Seleana moves her glare back to the camera, seemingly trying to burn through it with her eyes.
Seleana Zdunich: You made sure that all eyes and more importantly, the spotlight, was all on you. Anaheim brings a four-way match for the Sin City Wrestling World Bombshell Championship between four women who have all held the championship in the last year and yet all anyone speaks of is which of us will be the one to knock the purple out of your hair so badly that the front row of fans looks as if they were extras in a remake of Purple Rain!
She turns and faces the car.
Seleana Zdunich: And as much as you claim otherwise behind closed doors, or in text messages or whatever else, the truth is you are loving every second of this because it is what you have always really wanted! You worked for a singular goal and unlike Alicia Lukas, who wants to make this championship mean more than anything else on the planet, unlike Dani Weston who wants to prove she is the best she can be and the best SCW has to offer and unlike me, where I want to prove I am capable and worthy of the respect everyone else freely gets, you want everyone to just look at you so that you can tell yourself that everyone is jealous and wishes they were you even if they say otherwise because, come on, you are Crystal Hilton and it has to be true, ja?
She turns and nods to the camera knowingly.
Seleana Zdunich: And look at where you were before I punched Christian Underwood…
Her gaze moves back to the car.
Seleana Zdunich: You were nowhere. No one was talking about you anymore. Brittany had suffered an injury and taken some time off. I was working to improve but we were all standing on the outside looking in when it came to championship standing. Alicia Lukas was coming in as a Champion of such standing none one questioned her abilities and Dani Weston was THE Champion with the spotlight on her here in SCW and you…
Seleana shrugs dismissively.
Seleana Zdunich: You were somebody who used to be that and it drove you crazy. I know because you talked about it often. Then I punch Christian Underwood and the spotlight comes to me because he fired me and Mark Ward bring me back. Christian decides he needs to give me his full attention and you…
Again, Seleana shrugs dismissively.
Seleana Zdunich: You were still nowhere. Alicia and Dani put on duels that will be talked about for years to come to prove who was the best and who should carry the banner into the future and thus rightfully claimed the spotlight and I had it thrust upon me and you could not stand it so you waited until an opportunity presented itself to get yourself back there and all you had to do was assault ME!
She turn and glares angrily into the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: I am your wife, the one you pledged to love and honor above all others last year and barely six months into our marriage, attack me and leave me laying for the promise of one more trip into the spotlight!
She waves her hand dismissively to the right.
Seleana Zdunich: Let’s not pretend this is really about a championship for you because it was never about that. The only reason you want that championship is because it means everyone has to pay homage to you as the ne sitting on the throne until somebody else comes and knocks you off of it! You want the attention that comes with the belt, not the belt itself. It is a useless trinket to you and that is why Alicia and Dani are so offended by your presence in this match and why they will do everything in their power to make sure Jessie Salco has not talked her way into never challenging for it ever again!
She pauses, shaking her right hand and index finger as she turns away from the camera and faces the car again.
Seleana Zdunich: But that was not good enough for you, was it?
She shakes her head some more, almost pointing accusingly at the car as if it was her wife made metal.
Seleana Zdunich: No, you are Crystal Hilton and the spotlight was not bright enough just being in the match that would main event Blaze of Glory VII, you needed more and that was why you came down and robbed me of something all over again at Climax Control!
She nods to herself and then turns to face the camera, her index finger still extended, still pointing in an accusatory manner.
Seleana Zdunich: And it is what that represents to me that hurts the most, Estrellita. It means you did not trust me to get us there on my own. You did not trust me to bring the championship home where you could walk around and act like one of those mothers with the “My child is an honor student at” bumper stickers as if their child’s achievement is really their achievement and claim my championship standing as yours because you trained and married me. You had no faith in me…
Her hand drops and then sweeps to the right as if brushing a load of peprs off a desk that isn’t there.
Seleana Zdunich: And that means that just like everyone else I mentioned earlier, you STILL do not see me as one of you yet!
She points angrily into the camera again.
Seleana Zdunich: YOU still do not see me as somebody worthy of respect! You, MY own wife, do not see me as somebody who is worthy of burning in your light even as you speak to me of things we were supposed to do like the Hollywood Angels!
Looking back down to the bag, she stares at the championship and then nods firmly.
Seleana Zdunich: On Sunday in Anaheim, that belt will finally leave my bag. It will walk to that ring at Blaze of Glory VII and it will then sit ringside as Alicia, Dani and I take turns playing let’s shatter the Crystal and, as you mentioned, this is the perfect place to do that because it is YOUR town. You claim Los Angeles as your town even though you are no more from here than the rest of us are. Dani is from Florida, Alicia is from Georgia and I am from another country and we all come to where this daughter of Detroit became just as plastic and overly shiny and calculated for attention as everything else that comes from the Hollywood area! On Sunday, Alicia, Dani and you all get your chance to take that away from me and get what you want…
She nods knowingly and then points to herself.
Seleana Zdunich: But I also get the chance at what I want and what I want is to knock you all off of your high horses, knock you out of the spotlight you so crave, and knock the respect out of Alicia and Dani and finally take my place as my own and prove I deserved to not just be in the ring with all of you, but I deserved my place on that poster, in this match and on that list of champions that my name is on now! I get my chance to prove that belt sitting down there is mine and I have the right to call myself Champion!
She nods and points to herself one more time.
Seleana Zdunich: This is my chance and none of you are taking that away from me!