The camera fades inside of a Starbucks in Dublin, Ireland. The air smells of warm coffee tones with soft notes of creamy vanilla, pungent hazelnut, and a hint of chocolate shavings. It is a familiar spot for anyone around the world, no matter where you find yourself. For one person, it helps to ease the nerves to feel as if she is close to home, one venti at a time. That person is Fabiana Valentina Camila Isabella Lopez. However, for all intensive purposes, she has chosen for the name on her cup to read “Fabi”. She walks up to the counter as her name is called and she takes her cup, keeping her camera phone focused on her face as she pouts out her lips. She fixes her already perfect hair to remain humble in front of the camera before she lets on a soft chuckle and a bright smile.
“Hello wrestling fans, regardless of which promotion you watch.”
She takes her cup and offers a soft “Thank you” and a nice tip to the barista before running her tongue across the whipped topping, getting a bit of cream on her upper lip. Upon licking it off, she continues.
“It is your girl, Fabi, AKA your Spanish Fly, but better known as Valentina. Yes, that Valentina. The one who has been so quiet lately. Many people wonder why I have been so quiet. I was the greatest thing going in Sin City Underground, and Northern Lights Wrestling before the rebranding. I was your ‘It’ girl. The one whose name was always on everyone’s lips.”
Valentina sighs as she relives her moment in the spotlight. She taps at her chin as he doe eyes flutter over toward the camera again.
“What happened, Val?”
Valentina shrugs her shoulders. She continues walking through the Starbucks before leaving off into the beautifully mild Dublin afternoon. The camera adjusts to the lighting as Val’s eyes adjust as well. Her neatly manicured fingers shield her eyes in helping in the process. She gasps and continues speaking.
“It’s simple. I have been trying to keep a low profile. After Angel Kash bought me out of a title match. Yesssss, I’m that Valentina. I was Tad Ezra’s one and only hope for getting that belt off of Angel, and I had so much pressure on me. I played a game with the game player, and in that moment, I thought it was the best way to play it.”
Valentina walks along the street, finding the cute Irish men passing by, and the not so cute ones. She winks at one, who knows he doesn’t stand a chance with her, but she’s in a giving mood. She finds a spot to sit near a fountain where she spreads out comfortably, setting her Frappe down in the shot.
“Since then, I have received things in the mail. Nasty things. Hate mail, cut up Barbie dolls, underwear from inmates with blood stains that I am pretty sure are calling me filthy names, a dead squirrel once, a middle finger… like, literally a sawed off middle finger. It’s been hard.”
Valentina shrugs her shoulders and pouts she runs her fingers through her hair once more, batting her eyelashes.
“I don’t even know what to say to the fans. Lo siento bebe. I’m sorry. I outsmarted Angel Kash, but I looked like a fraud in doing it. I went on to face her again, and I lost. But at least I took a stand. At least I stood up for the rest of us instead of hiding in a boiler room like Le Coven, or hiding off the shows for months like The New Foundation, or just sucking it up like literally the rest of the roster. I took a stand, and I fell like an angel falling from grace. I was defeated.”
Valentina’s Latina temper is starting to show throughout her rant, but it quickly fades into sadness that is almost too cutesy to be taken serious, even though she is quite serious. She bites at her bottom lip in silence.
“I hate to be the cliche, talking about rising from the ashes like a phoenix, so I will not. Instead, I have chosen a new path for my career. My friends have left me on my own, but I will not let this define me. Instead, I will shoot higher than most, and I will be one of the few elite to step inside of an SCW ring for the Blast From the Past tournament.”
Valentina seems determined, but the doubt is hidden in the chocolate pools of her eyes. She looks from side to side and takes a deep breath as she notices people snapping pictures of her. She decides to pay attention to her video blog instead.
“I am teaming up, literally with “The Phoenix”, Travis LeVitt. How ironic is that? It is so ironic that we have got to win this week. Travis came within an inch of becoming the SCW World Heavyweight Champion. He flew up the ranks in SCW faster than anybody else short of the champion himself, Fenris. He is talented, and he deserves a talented partner. That is what I am hoping to bring to this match. Talent. Conviction. This match will be my redemption. I promise you of this, papi.”
Valentina nods, but her words seem to draw a slightly larger crowd. She doesn’t even notice as her ponytail is flipped over her shoulder. She leans up a bit, getting the fountain in the shot as she continues.
“My opponents are different. I haven’t seen a lot from them. I’ve seen Otaki play football in her underwear. She is tough. Nobody knows how tough it is to do this unless they tried out for an LFL team and did not make the cut. So little protection from tackles and punts and… Okay, I’m totally kidding. I would never try out for something so ridiculous. Who do I look like, Queen of Apathy?”
Within a second of this, Sadie Spears herself comes from the corner of the screen slowly. She appears to be glaring at Valentina for a second until her eyes begin to turn toward the camera as well. She shrugs her shoulders.
“Meh…”
“Dios knows I love a cheap plug from another brand. Get. It. Bay. Bay!”
Valentina snaps her fingers with each syllable as Apathy just stares uncomfortably at the camera. Valentina then chuckles nervously and pushes Apathy out of the view ever so slowly.
“Anyway, I literally have not seen Otaki anywhere. Not long enough to study up on her. For all I know, she could have unrivaled skills inside of the ring, but that is not something I have seen. At the very least, I hope that this is true, because I look forward to proving myself, and I can only look as good as my opponent lets me look. Well, in this case, that might not be as true. Purple hair is in, but eyeliner as thick as Chanelle Martinez’ thighs went out of style when Delia Darling did. Sorry bout it. And just like that, Otaki will find herself as a passing trend in this tournament. I have far too much to prove to fall to someone such as her, with the commitment level of a frat boy with steel blue eyes.”
Valentina winks at the camera and then she dips her hand into the fountain. Something about this fountain was so much more pure than what she had become accustomed to in the United States. It just felt cleaner. She waves her fingers through the water as she glances up into the camera.
“I have heard nothing since Blaze of Glory from my supposed partner. Despite his achievements, I am starting to wonder if I can count on him at all. Unlike Otaki, I am prepared to carry my team on my back. It is a new age, girl, and we are capable of doing it for ourselves. Are you ready to do that, Meagan? Because your partner surely isn’t going to be of any assistance to you.”
A fluttering of the eyelashes and Valentina brings her hand from the fountain. She watches the crowd growing around her, and her eyes begin to light up in hope. She giggles before returning to her rant.
“Much like I am doing right now, I can be a great distraction. I know how to flaunt what I have. I can walk the walk, and I can talk the talk. Let’s face it, I am a woman, and therefore I naturally possess a special talent in tapping into the primal urges of a man, and manipulating it to my own benefit with nothing more than a fluttering lash and a smile. And, let’s be honest here. Your partner is not known for being a tough nut to crack. Rather than paying any attention to his match against Austin James Mercer, he was posting thirsty tweets on Twitter.”
Valentina holds up a finger as if telling all of the fans to pause as she looks something up on her phone. She taps away at the screen as if she were a pro. She then giggles and brings her finger back, snapping as she bobs her head and ponytail back and forth.
“Single or not, put this as your status inbox only! Heart for relationship, Double heart for falling for you, just friends, hug you and kiss you, I like you a lot…’ so on, and so on until the ending of ‘I want you.’ Would it not hurt to at least act interested in your job? Because… it kind of is your job. The one source of income you have to offer a lady. Thirsty bitches aren’t going to fall for a broke ass Cabrón, mijo. You gotta have dinero, papi. And by the looks of things, you do not have it. Nor do you have wrestling skills, or anything redeeming about yourself. I will not have to try hard to distract you while Travis takes you out, and then I will do what Otaki isn’t able to do for you, and that is carry my partner to the finish line.”
Valentina looks up to the crowd of gawking men. She stands up from the fountain and finishes taking a lap of cream with her tongue, and then sucks on the straw. She seems to enjoy her drink heavily.
“Mmmm… Blast From the Past is to honor wrestlers of the past by showing what they have paved the way for. Therefore, it is very much about the future. But, that doesn’t mean that we won’t have a blast doing it. String up the boots and tape those wrists. Let’s go out there and make them proud.”
Valentina smiles and takes a bow as the crowd around her continues to watch silently, doing only god knows what with their eyes. She waves to them as she smiles, finding them to be adoring fans. She walks off before blowing a kiss to the camera and waving to it before shutting the camera off.
