Roleplay — United Toughness Alliance

Selina and Vanessa are settled into a VIP suite in a San Juan hotel, conveniently close to the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum — the Choliseo — so neither of them has to travel far when the time comes.

Selina is out by the window, taking selfies against the gorgeous sunlit backdrop, while Vanessa sits on the bed, tablet in hand, methodically combing through the social media empire to make sure every corner of it remains exactly as it should be. After finishing her personal photo set, Selina bounds onto the bed to playfully harass her best friend, who is — as always — locked deep into her work.

"OMG, VANESSA! Come on — you are ALWAYS working! Like Jesus Christ ever heard of a vacation?!"

Vanessa rolls her eyes, playful.

"So that everything can just fall apart? Yeah — no thanks. Plus, I saw you taking those nice photos of yourself over there. I can already tell they're going to come out well."

"I mean — OF COURSE they come out well! I am the Queen of Clicks! Everything I do comes out well."

Vanessa lays the sarcasm on thick.

"Dios mío — why did I EVER assume the great Selina Santorino could ever do ANYTHING wrong?! OH, HEAVENS — please, forgive me, for I have SINNED, oh Heavenly Santorino!"

Selina shoves her playfully, and Vanessa cracks up laughing at her own theatrics.

"HEY — I'll have you know that I am an EXPERT at looking good for the cameras," Selina says. "But what is NOT good is my fucking contract! Yo — I thought this company was brilliant, and they gave me a contract that says I only earn SEVEN HUNDRED dollars per show, with a one-hundred-fifty-dollar win bonus?! Um — HELLO, Vanessa! Wanna fix that?!"

"Trust me, I tried," Vanessa says. "They needed to see what you were all about before handing you a max contract."

Selina pouts.

"Did my performance in the All or Nothing Rumble not say enough?! First they treat me all nice and kind — and THEN they give me a shit contract. On TOP of the fact that I had to face a bum version of a wrestler who had MY name! And first off — she spelled the correct version of SELINA WRONG!" She's gathering steam now. "And I looked ahead at the tour they're running — of ALL the countries they plan to visit, they couldn't be bothered to go to Santo Domingo AT ALL! This company chooses to put their show in a place I like to call the little bum of the Caribbean — instead of going fourteen hours to the right, to the most beautiful country in the world. A MUCH better version of this shithole."

Vanessa listens to the rant with the bottomless patience of someone who has heard a thousand of them.

"I mean — it WOULD be nice to have you wrestle in Santo Domingo. You could see your childhood things again. That would be so nice."

And there it is.

Selina flinches.

Just slightly — but it's real. The mention of childhood lands somewhere tender, a small hurt flickering across her face and settling into her body language before she can fully hide it.

Vanessa catches it instantly. Recognizes her mistake. And she reaches out, pulling Selina into a hug, already moving to steer them away from the wound.

"Sorry — sensitive topic. Let's, ummm… let's look at the film for your opponent, okay?"

Selina smiles and nods, the moment passing, and both women pull up the tablet to study the footage. Darren Valiant.

Five minutes in, Vanessa glances over — and finds Selina goofing off on her phone, not watching a single second. She smacks her in the stomach to reclaim her attention. Selina yelps.

"OWWWW — what was THAT for?!"

"Did you forget you're supposed to be STUDYING your opponent?! HELLO?!"

"I got bored!"

Vanessa can't help but laugh — and she's not the least bit shocked.

"What do you MEAN you got bored?! I pulled literally FIVE minutes of film on your opponent, and you're already bored?!"

Selina shrugs, still sprawled across the bed in full cocky repose.

"I mean — come on, Vanessa, relax! I know what I need to do. I only needed five minutes to figure out what to do with this bum."

Vanessa decides to test her — sarcastically, even though she already knows exactly how this is going to go.

"Oh, REALLY, my diamond? I can't WAIT to hear this. Please — enlighten me. How do you beat him?"

Selina, being a smartass:

"By pinning him. Duh!"

Vanessa facepalms.

"NO SHIT, SHERLOCK! I mean — what is he GOOD at?"

"Nothing."

"Okay… what is he BAD at?"

"Everything."

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT HIS NAME IS?!"

Selina grins, fully enjoying the ragebait she's putting her best friend through.

"IDK! 'Bum' sounds like a name he goes by."

"Why am I NOT shocked you said all of that," Vanessa sighs. "Anyway — you need to do a nice quick stream. Because I can tell you want to get back to relaxing and being on your phone, right?"

"OMG — it's like you READ MY MIND! Glad we're on the same page! Let's do this!"

Vanessa rolls her eyes, fond and playful, as both women take their positions.

The stream goes live.

"HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY INFLUENCIES!!! Behind me is the WORST country I have ever been in!"

She gestures at the gorgeous view with theatrical disdain.

"Esta isla es simplemente diminuta y no tiene ningún sabor. ¡Imagínate ser un país tan de mierda que un país más grande, como EE. UU., tiene que acogerte para que puedas ser relevante! SKILL ISSUE!!!!"

She flips her hair.

"So — apparently I'm having my debut match against some new bum, and I have NO clue what his name is. Like — chat, hold on. Vanessa, what the fuck is his name again?!"

Vanessa's voice can be heard from behind the camera, supplying the answer.

"YOU SAID WHO?! DARREN VALIANT! What TYPE of name is that?! What kind of bum names himself THAT?! Clearly the kind that LIKES being used as a prop for my obvious debut victory. Listen, Darren — you seem like a fan. So do yourself a favor: please tell management for me that I want to TALK to them. Because how the FUCK are you going to bring me in all nice and warm — and then give me a contract that is NOWHERE NEAR my actual value?! Like — HUH?! My STREAMS make me more money than this fuck-ass contract! Chat — go ahead and PROVE to UTA that management needs to pay up. Send me those donations. Because I need to drink this wine the hotel people left me on the balcony!"

The chat goes wild with donations. Selina takes a sip of the wine — and immediately spits it out, rudely, leaving the mess on the floor where it stains the room's flooring.

"HOLY FUCK. First, this company goes to a cheap-ass country, at a cheap-ass arena, for MY DEBUT MATCH — and now this fuck-ass hotel can't even give me a DECENT wine! Dios míos — get me OUT of this shithole! This management team needs to do itself a favor and go fourteen hours to the LEFT, to a REAL and much better country — Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. NOW THAT'S a proper country. Oye, boricua: ¡toma nota de una puta vez sobre cómo mejorar el país y así quizás no necesites que papá EE. UU. te haga sentir especial!"

She settles into the closing stretch.

"I cannot WAIT to walk into that dogshit arena and make you all watch what the Dominican Diamond is ALL about — because there is NO ONE who has supernova talent like me. And my bum-ass opponent is going to learn EXACTLY how much difference there is between me and everyone beneath him. Anyway, Influencies — do yourself a favor: do NOT come to San Juan. Just tune in to my debut match at UTA! Ciao!"

Both women wind down the stream, and Selina — already halfway back to her phone — tells Vanessa to look into getting better food and drinks lined up for Santo Domingo while they wait for her debut to arrive.