November 16th, 2020
Off-Camera
Unknown Location

“Are you sure this is actually going to help me?” Betsy Granger asks as her friend and current sparring partner, Genevieve Tate, ties a blind fold over her eyes. Instead of words, Genie replies by tightening the silk black-out scarf tighter against Betsy’s skull. As soon as she’s positive that Betsy can’t see, she motions towards the back, and three figures emerge.

“Don’t question my methods, little cricket. You came to me for a reason.” Genie’s silky Greek accent came from behind her now. Betsy attempts a turn, but she stumbles slightly. As she gasps and throws her arms forward, Genie catches her easily around the waist and sets her back upright. “No trying to move until I say.”

Betsy rolls her eyes from under her blindfold, but keeps her mouth shut and her body still. She can hear Genie shuffling something around, as well as the footsteps of at least three new people entering the gym. “Genie…” Betsy begins, but decides to let it go.

“I trust you’ve seen more than one movie where our hero has to learn to fight for the big battle ahead. This is our mission here today, ladies and gentlemen. Betsy has decided that she’d like to try her hand at combat again and has asked me for help. It is in light of this that I have chosen the three of you specifically for today’s training.”

Betsy’s eyebrows narrow as she listens to Genie’s speech. She opens her mouth to ask who Genie was talking to, but a soft finger topped by a long red nail against her lips stops her. As Genie brushes past her, Betsy’s nose twitches with the familiar scent of sea water and hyacinth, smells of Genie’s home. Before her nose has a chance to fully process the aroma, Betsy feels the ring shift from three different corners as three new people enter the scene. She lifts her blindfold off and gapes at each of the new people surrounding her. All of them are dressed to fight.

“Betsy Granger, you find yourself in for one hell of a debut in the XWF. I have some experience with that, if not much else.” Genie smirks as Betsy snickers audibly. Genie turns serious again. “Having to face one opponent was going to be tough enough, but you find yourself facing three. And that’s to say nothing of the fact that it’s to be on pay-per view and for your first title.” With a sweep of her arm, she motions to the three people before her. “I suppose I have some introductions to make. This is Gregor, he’ll be handling power and technical attacks.” The man in the far left corner makes a small wave. Genie points to an attractive blonde in the right bottom corner. “That’s Selina. My Lucha extraordinaire with a flair for the cheap tricks.” Selina winks at Genie who blows her a flirty kiss. Finally, she gestures towards a surly looking young man, who is leaning casually against the top left corner. “And last but not least, this is Armond. He’s trained in just about every form of fighting you can imagine. He’s here to round out the numbers.”

As she finishes, Genie walks back over to Betsy and redoes her blindfold. A waving her hand in front of Betsy's face a couple of times, she finally hops off the ring post and takes a few steps back. “The point of this exercise is to prove that being able to see what’s coming isn’t always your best form of defense. And in a match where it’s three against one essentially, you have to be ready for attack from all sides.”

Betsy scrunches up her nose, now keenly aware of the bodies closing in. “Er… It doesn’t quite work like that, Genie. It’s a four corners match, only two opponents at a time.”

“Do you really believe your opponents will give a shit about that? That they will share your enthusiasm for a good, clean fight and sportsmanlike conduct?” Despite Betsy being blindfolded, Genie shakes her head vehemently and places her hands on her hips. “Don’t tell me the prodigal daughter, always so fastidious in her studies, hasn’t done the research on her opponents yet?!”

It all happens in a blur: Indignation takes over Betsy as her jaw drops. She reaches up to take off the blindfold, fumbling through her brain for the perfect retort. Genevieve, seeing that Betsy intends to back talk, suddenly screams in Greek. Betsy, who happens to be fluent, understands that Genie has just ordered her people to attack. Before she can remove the blindfold, a foot connects with her left arm. Gasping, Betsy attempts to compensate for her momentum, but is caught with a chop across the chest that leaves her gasping for breath. As she doubles over, out of breath and blinded with the pain, a pair of powerful arms scoop her up and powerslam her back down onto the mat.

“Enough” Through the haze of pain and confusion, Genie’s voice commands her minions to stop. Betsy lies on her back, spread-eagle in the middle of the mat, desperately sucking in air. Each breath comes with fresh pain as she feels her chest begin to bruise. A small moan escapes her lips involuntarily, a sound that doesn’t go unnoticed by her red-headed mentor. Genie’s own lips purse as she shakes her head sadly. “Pathetic, Granger. Get up, it’s time to start again.” Each of the other fighters once again takes their corner.

Betsy is slow to her feet. She’s barely made it up, and extremely wobbling about the knees, when Genie screams the same word in Greek again. Bracing herself, Betsy assumes a defensive position facing the original attacker, only to receive a hard blow from behind. She falls to her shriek with a cry of pain, and is met with a boot to the face. She falls over and curls up into a fetal position. “I can’t… please, this is too much…”

Genie re-enters the ring and squats down next to Betsy, pulling her into a sitting position and taking off the blind-fold. “Is this what you want to be remembered for? The girl who couldn’t?” Tears streaming down her face, Betsy shakes her head no. “Do you think Ash Quinn, Geri Vaydon, or Jenny Myst are going to give a fuck if you can continue or not?” Again, a tearful shake of the head. “Then get to your feet and get back to your training. You came to me to make you stronger and that’s exactly what I intend to do. I’m not giving up on you Granger, and you aren’t going to give up on yourself. Not this time. You’ve got one hell of a chip on your shoulder, it’s time for you to do something about it.”

Though she wants to speak, the lump in her throat and trembling lips don’t allow Betsy to reply. It’s just as well, as she didn’t really have anything constructive to say at that particular moment. Looking around, she meets the eyes of those who had assailed her. Each of them studied her in return, but said nothing. Taking a deep breath and calming herself at last, Betsy wipes her eyes and nods up to Genevieve. “You’re right… I know it. I’m ready to try again.”

Satisfied, Genie once again exits the ring and stands back to watch. Betsy slips her blindfold back on and tightens it once more as a show of determination. She’s still trembling, but she licks her lips, determined to improve. For many moments, there is nothing. In these moments, Betsy takes advantage using the senses available to her. She can feel each of her opponents in their corners, ready for battle. Her body tenses, readying her for the oncoming attack. Genie screams the go-word once again, and this time, Betsy feels a shift to her lower left. She dodges, feeling the breeze of the kick that just missed her. Her victory is only momentary, as the next second, she falls victim to a clothesline from the right. Genie calls them off.

“Better… Use any moment, even the smallest fraction of a second, to focus and target. Honing your other senses will make you a tougher, deadlier fighter.”

“Genie… I don’t want to kill them.”

“Figuratively, of course. But of the four, you are the least prepared, which makes you seem like an easy target. It means they are going to try to pick you off first, and you need to be ready for that.” Betsy gets to her feet and takes her place at the center of the ring again. “Being everyone’s friend is no longer an option, kiddo. You either fight for what you want, or get out of their way.”

Genie goes silent and Betsy allows her mind to focus on her opponents once again. Falling into herself, everything feels heightened. Her breathing sound like waves in her head. Some instinct from deep inside of her makes her sniff the air. This time, she can smell Armond’s sweat and Old Spice to her bottom left. Selina’s location to her top right betrays her because of the rose shampoo in her hair. Gregor, to her bottom right, smelled of cigarettes and pent-up rage. The word rings once more through the air. Armond attacks quickly, but Betsy, feeling the shift of the weight, dodges his attack. Her heart beats wildly in her chest as she twirls around, maintaining her balance. This allows her to feel just the slightest tap from Selina from behind her and she’s able to twist her body and deliver an elbow to Selina’s back. Gregor grabs her arm while it’s still in the air and wrenches her down to the ground in a crippling armbar. Betsy taps immediately and rolls away, groaning and clutching her arm. Gregor chuckles and gives her a gentle pat on the head. “Not bad, kid” he says in a gruff voice.

Genie hops into the ring once more and pulls off Betsy’s blindfold. She’s beaming and getting to her feet, helps pull Betsy back up to hers. “I think that display deserves a water break.” She says. Betsy grins and allows Genie and Gregor to help her out of the ring. As Betsy takes eager sips, Genie grins down at her. “Don’t get too comfortable just yet- that was only the beginning.”

______

November 17th, 2020
On-Camera

I suppose I don’t really know exactly where to start. I haven’t attempted one of these in quite some time, so it’ll be interesting to see how well I hold up under the lights and the camera.

*Betsy chuckles as she fidgets in her chair. The camera crew for XWF surround her as she attempts to put out her first promo.*

An introduction would be the best place to start, I suppose. So uh… Hi, I’m Betsy Granger. I’ve been known as Danger Granger, QuarterBetsy, Brainy Betsy… Il Viadante, as of late. Most people just call me Bets, though.

*She shifts her green eyes around nervously. She licks her dry lips and giggles nervously again.*

I have to be honest, all of this is a bit overwhelming. I mean, it’s not my first time in the ring, but it’s been a long time. And for a title.. That’s crazy!

*Betsy does the mindblown pantomime.*

Okay, I think I need to back things up a bit. I tend to ramble when I get edgy. It’s just the damndest thing… A week ago, I was just signing a contract to the XWF on a complete whim, and them BAM! I find myself completely skipping being a curtain jerker and crash landing in a title match I may have no business being in.”

*She pulls a scrunched face.*

Well that didn’t come off very well, did it? The point of these things is to make me sound tough and ready for action. I must sound like a complete ass by now.

*She bites her lip, then looks up, her green eyes full of determination.*

Look, ladies… I don’t know as much about any of you as I should. Most of what I do know I’ve seen from clips and intel my friend managed to dig up for me. And I’ll be forward with this, I’m feeling a bit skittish entering this match. I’m as green as green gets. You can call me a leprechaun, I’m so green… But you know what else leprechauns happen to be? Sneaky. And incredibly lucky. I can totally be those things.

*She beams into the camera now, leaning forward as the words begin to spill from her lips.*

Not that I’m trying to depend on luck, not with all the training I’ve been putting myself through. And… Well, I’d rather not try anything sneaky to win this match. But from what I understand, I can’t expect much of the same from other opponents… Isn’t that right, Jenny Myst? The champ, the woman with the target quite literally resting on her hips. My poking around on you shows me that I’m going to have to watch my back with you in the match. Always got an ace up your sleeve, even if it isn’t a totally legal one, that’s how you play. Or did, I do believe people can change. But I think I’ll be keeping an eye on you all the same. And we have Ash Quinn to deal with as well. I can appreciate the way you try to do business. I’ve known people like you before; you know how to lure them in with a kind word and a smile, but it’s always those types you have to watch your ass for. What you do must be sweet, look how many people have fallen to your poisons. Mind games at their finest, break their psyche before you break the rest of them. It’s methodical and twisted. It’s also something you’ll find I won’t be so easily prey to. I’ve known too many snakes, and dear lady, you have one hell of a set of fangs. I could hope that Geri Vaydon could be counted on to help, but I find that highly unlikely as well. I must admit, I couldn’t quite get as much of a drop on Geri as I could the other two. But I can appreciate that. It makes you my personal dark horse, and you definitely don’t want me that interested in you. I’m a woman of study and research. Come hell or high water, I’ll find a way to understand you before this match. It could just be me, I tend to overthink these things. Hell, you’ll probably get a good laugh over this when you watch. I’m sure you all will. I must sound raving mad by now. Good god, I'm rambling like an idiot.

*Betsy clamps her mouth shut and leans back in her chair once again. She puts her hands together and rests them under her chin. Giving herself a few moments to collect her thoughts, she tries again.*

Here’s the thing, ladies… I’m not new to the industry itself. I know how this works, I know how I have to go about my business. And I refuse to compromise my scruples to achieve my goals. I’m not some holier-than-thou pain in the ass, I promise. I just know my strengths and I’ve learned to embrace my weaknesses. I may be the new kid on the block with the most to prove, but don’t you think that makes me the most dangerous player in this match?

*Tipping her head to the side, Betsy gives a playful wink and a thumbs up.*

Listen, I’m not the best at trash-talk. One of my biggest strengths is spouting out facts and speaking over twenty languages fluently. So let me lay down some facts for you. Whether I actually deserve to be in this title match or not, I’ve found myself here, practically unprepared, to face four very worthy adversaries. I’ve never been one to pass up the opportunity to look good, especially at the expense of others. You can blame that on realizing early on in life how much smarter I am than the average adult. And how awesome would it be if I could turn my debut in the XWF into a title win? Well, awesome for me. I can’t imagine that would leave the three of you feeling very good about things. Not that I’m saying you girls wouldn’t bounce back from it… Of course you would. Hell, I’m sure some sort of rematch would be demanded pretty much immediately, am I right?

*Betsy shrugs and makes an “I don’t know” face*

I’m admittedly ignorant to most of what goes on here for the moment, but I intend to change that quickly as possible. I appreciate the opportunity to get my feet wet by jumping right into the deep end of the pool.

*Suddenly, Betsy gets serious. Her face hardens and she balls up her fists.*

I’d be stupid to assume any of you would underestimate me… Though, I’m guessing… And hoping… That you’re all smart enough not to. All of you brag of being intelligent, strong women; I’m looking forward to finding out firsthand whether these claims are true or not. Yes, I’m nervous, but I’m also determined. Eager, even. This is a huge shot for me, and every ounce of me is determined to grab it and run. Like a shooting star... I can go the distance! Get it? Anyway,I hope you’re ready, because ladies… For the time is near.

Bereite dich auf deinen schlimmsten Tag vor.