Off-Camera
Friday, April 29, 2022
Zdunich Room
Luxury Hotel
Lesbos, Greece
11:45 AM Local Time
Trips like this were stressful as it was. Flying halfway around the world to fight in a country that is unsure of whether to welcome you or not always felt tricky but now adding in a domestic squabble was making it twice as bad.
Seleana Zdunich had sort of felt something coming when her wife, Christina Zdunich, was quieter than normal on the plane. Usually, Christina wanted to talk about everything going on at Rose Studios or other matches that were coming up between them, their other wife, Alexandra Caldwell-Zdunich, their adult children Brittany Williams and Brayden Hilton, or their children's spouses, Haylie Jo “Halo” Annis and Sofia Rojas-Hilton.
On this flight, Christina had barely said much of anything aside to sort of apologize for them not sitting next to each other on the plane. They were only separated by a row but it was enough to notice something was likely up. Upon arrival at the hotel it became apparent when they did start talking, that something was indeed up.
Now, as she sits in her own room, Seleana looks at the walls and waits for them to close in on her even as she hears a knock on the door. Standing up, she walks over and checks before opening the door to admit her daughter-in-law, SCU wrestler, Halo.
Halo: Hey, Mama Sel…
Seleana nods to her and Halo walks inside the room.
Halo: So what’s goin’ on with you and Mama Chrys? I just heard her tellin’ some hotel employee to make sure they bring stuff to Christina Hilton’s room…
Seleana nods again as she sits down on the bed.
Seleana Zdunich: We… had a discussion…
Halo’s mouth falls open in surprise.
Halo: Didn’t go well?
Gritting her teeth, Seleana spits out her next words.
Seleana Zdunich: She’s being a fitta!
Halo simply stares in astonishment at the last word that had come out of her mother-in-law’s mouth. She was used to hearing the English equivalent with others, especially street people or English or Australian types but to hear it here? She had been taught that if a Zdunich woman uttered it, it was a truly bad situation.
Halo: Mama Sel…
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: It’s the truth, ja? She wait until we arrive. We have discussion. She is angry with me about something I say to Aurora and then tell me she angry about Wildside.
She pauses and nods to the door.
Seleana Zdunich: And now you see what else she do…
Halo nods slowly.
Halo: Is that why y’all in here all by your lonesome?
Seleana looks down to the carpet, nodding all the while.
Seleana Zdunich: She tell me to get own room and make certain as many know as can be reached here. She is lashing out and it is partially my fault as well.
She trails off, shaking her head at her own stupidity.
Seleana Zdunich: She does not like to have big talks about feelings and I allow her to avoid them when I know I should not. We should have had thi discussion before the Splat! Gemini One Tournament started. We did not and I allowed Aurora to probe me and then made it worse by telling Aurora and not Christina.
Halo nods slowly.
Halo: And Aurora told Mama Chrys… that Mama Sel was unhappy…
Seleana nods.
Seleana Zdunich: I do not blame her. She is eleven and simply wanted her mothers to be happy. Christina was not pleased to hear about my feelings from someone other than me.
Seleana exhales exasperatedly.
Seleana Zdunich: Now she is hurt, angry and making a big show of how hurt and angry she is and we have to team against Ms. Jon and Meredes Vargas on Sunday. The entire discussion started over being a team and now…
Halo nods as comprehension washes over her.
Halo: The Hollywood Angels…
Seleana nods.
Seleana Zdunich: I could slap myself for mentioning it. Now we sit here in separate rooms not speaking to each other and I put our daughter in the middle of this by trying to explain why I was both proud and sad of how Christna and Alex were doing as a team.
Shaking her head again, Seleana looks up from the floor.
Seleana Zdunich: I am afraid I have put Alex in the same position of being between…
Halo takes this all in and looks her mother-in-law in the eye as much as she can with Seleana not really looking at her at the moment.
Halo: Y’all gonna be alright?
Seleana shrugs.
Seleana Zdunich: We have had troubles before, ja?
Halo nods.
Halo: You have…
This time it’s Halo’s turn to pause.
Halo: How bad is this gonna be, ya think?
Seleana shakes her head.
Seleana Zdunich: I do not know. I hope we can talk it out soon but I do not know when that will be possible. Christina is too angry with me at this moment to be able to.
Halo nods again.
Halo: What about this weekend? Y’all gotta be a team on Sunday…
Seleana looks at the door again.
Seleana Zdunich: We may yet fly.
Halo shakes her head in awe.
Halo: How do you do it, mama Sel?
Seleana turns to face Halo.
Seleana Zdunich: Do what?
Halo smiles just enough to give the impression that she’s impressed.
Halo: Stay positive…
Seleana blinks for a second as if the question makes no sense to her.
Seleana Zdunich: I…
Halo shrugs.
Halo: I just mean in the face of it all, how do you manage to stay so up? Like, you and Mama Chrys just had a big fight, it ain’t the first, y’all sposed to be a team on Sunday, a team you been wantin’ for years, and y’all are in separate hotel rooms and not speaking to each other forty-eight hours before the match… how can you be so… ?
Seleana manages a small, sad smile.
Seleana Zdunich: What else can I do but remain hopeful? She is my wife and I did not say she was my wife only when it suited me or only when things go good. She is my wife always and I believe we will weather this challenge as we have weathered others. Hope keeps us alive and hope allows us to fly even when others say we do not even have wings.
She pauses and nods again.
Seleana Zdunich: I have hope the Angels will fly as we were always meant to despite the difficulties currently facing us.
Halo just shakes her head again.
Halo: I love you, Mama Sel.
Seleana smiles at the younger woman.
Seleana Zdunich: I love you as well, HayJo.
On-Camera
Friday, April 29, 2022
Zdunich Room
Luxury Hotel
Lesbos, Greece
5:57 PM Local Time
The camera opens upon Seleana Zdunich sitting on the edge of her hotel room’s bed looking almost annoyed to be there.
Seleana Zdunich: It is funny, ja?
She nods slightly.
Seleana Zdunich: The last time I sat before you, I was in Georgia for a tag team match with my sister, Zenna.
Leaning in, Seleana gives the camera a knowing, pointed look.
Seleana Zdunich: We won the match, bee tee dubs…
She leans back, looking vaguely irritated.
Seleana Zdunich: This time I sit here ready for a tag team match again only this time it is with my wife, Christina Zdunich and the last one I mentioned seems to have caused a bit of a stir with things. As many are no doubt aware, Christna and I had a disagreement when we arrived here in Greece and I am certain there are many laughing because of this.
She grits her teeth as if she wants to spit and glares harshly.
Seleana Zdunich: Mercedes Vargas and Ms. Jon perhaps, ja?
She nods pointedly, a snarl on her face.
Seleana Zdunich: Go ahead, laugh. You do anyway when there is no reason so now that there is, why should this be different?
Sitting abc on the bed, Seleana can barely contain her anger.
Seleana Zdunich: Mercedes has done so every time we have interacted since I arrived in SCW, even when I’ve defeated her! She cannot stop herself despite what accomplishments we can present to her. My wife alone has a list that can smack Mercedes in the face but it is never good enough. She always makes hens out of feathers and laughs because…
Seleana shrugs incredulously.
Seleana Zdunich: What else can she say or do, ja?
She points to herself.
Seleana Zdunich: She laughs at me despite me having beaten her multiple times. She hides behind the word “Legend” as if it means more than it really does. It is like saying someone new has potential.
Shaking her head, Seleana exhales exasperatedly
Seleana Zdunich: I have heard it many times before, “Potential is a four-letter word that means you are not worth a damn yet!” Legend works the same way, it means you used to be something special, something to behold and hold up before the world as a beacon to say, “Here is an example of what a wrestler should be…”
Her hand rises up and moves across the shot as she stares up like she’s reading the words in the sky before her gaze crashes back down to the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: But is now a shadow of what said wrestler used to be!
She shrugs, still looking ready to explode.
Seleana Zdunich: Ms. Jon is a woman, a force of nature, that should destroy us by herself but we have seen this movie before, ja?
She nods knowingly.
Seleana Zdunich: I stood in the ring with the Legend and the Monster and I am the one who emerged as the challenger for the World Championship! Laugh at that because you will be laughing at yourself! Godzilla and Kong came together and it was me, the ordinary tamer of beasts. NOw I come to the field looking that pairing in the eye again and this time, I bring my wife with me!
She pauses and extends her hand to stop the laughter coming.
Seleana Zdunich: Laugh some more. My wife and I have both been champions here and ja, we might be upset with each other at the moment but we are still keen to battle you! Christina and I have worked together before, we have done well together before now, you think because she has a point to prove to me, we will be less effective?
Shaking her head, Seleana glares into the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: You have never known of what you speak, Mercedes, and we will fly like the Angels we have always been meant to be! We live amongst them and we will rise up no matter what difficulties face us! We have both made careers out of facing down challenges and daring those challenges to come for us. We walk into the den and show who is the head of the pride!
She pauses and smirks knowingly.
Seleana Zdunich: Some would have chosen to say the lair and prove who is the alpha but those people are misinformed as to how wolves work. Alphas are a myth but making sure you are part of the pack is not!
Standing up, Seleana glares into the camera even more than she was already.
Seleana Zdunich: You can laugh all you want but you cannot put us down and you cannot end us. You can hope, you can pray, you can wish, you can do anything else! You can talk to whatever gods you wish and it still will not be enough to eclipse the simple truth that you cannot make us go away!
A low growl escapes her lips even as she tries to stifle it.
Seleana Zdunich: Sunday, the Hollywood Angels take flight and you cannot ground us!
She points into the camera accusingly.
Seleana Zdunich: You have tried before and you failed then and you will fail now! Keep beating the drum, making hens out of feathers, you will never make us quit!
Her hand falls out of the shot as she walks up to the camera in an extreme close-up.
Seleana Zdunich: See you soon!
