Tiki Lowell and Ivy Aster, the veteran and protégé duo that comprised the wrestling tag team Generations were backstage at a LAW show. Ivy was simply in street clothes, whereas Tiki had on something rather curious. Something which seemed to be the topic of their discussion, "So what do you think Ivy? Tiki Lowell, The Dark Oracle, foreseer of her opponent's downfalls through the power of her black magic and wrestling techniques alike."
Tiki
Ivy
"Oh please Ivy, it's a Halloween event! Why wouldn't I be in costume?" said Tiki, brushing aside Ivy's concerns. "In fact, you should join me! Your sister showed me that picture of you dressed as Soul Caliber's Ivy."
"SHE WHAT?!" Ivy nearly shouted as her face went from a light blush on her cheeks to completely beet red. "For your information, Hortensia foisted that facsimile of clothing onto me as a gag present because she knew full well how embarrassed it would make me," Ivy had fallen deeply into her more clipped tone of speech that she took on when she was flustered and fighting to not break down into a stammering mess. "Regardless, I am not wearing that in public."
Tiki chuckled as she gave Ivy a pat on the shoulder, "Don't worry, I won't try to force you."
Alice Rose had just finished her own match, a grueling test of her wrestling skills. Covered in sweat and breathing heavily, she headed back to the locker room, her mind still consumed by thoughts of the squared circle and the pursuit of wrestling's noble traditions. As she pushed open the locker room door, she expected to find a calm, quiet place to unwind and reflect on her match. However, what she walked into was a scene that left her visibly agitated.
Tiki Lowell, a wrestler she'd heard of but hadn't met in person until now, was standing before a mirror, clad in a Halloween costume that seemed to defy all the principles Alice held dear. The sheer black body suit left little to the imagination, and the high heels and cleavage-baring design were in stark contrast to her own conservative wrestling attire. Ivy Aster, Tiki's tag team partner, was also in the room, seemingly surprised by how Alice was reacting. Alice couldn't help herself. Her temper flared, and her dedication to preserving the dignity of female wrestling pushed her to speak out.
"What the hell is going on in here?" Alice's voice held an edge of frustration as she confronted the duo. She walked closer to Tiki, shoving her while pointing directly at each part of her costume with a firm pressure and shot a disapproving look. "This is a wrestling locker room, not a cosplay convention! Have you no respect for the tradition and honor of this sport?" screamed Alice as she was towering over Tiki who was still seated.
Alice's fiery determination to protect the sanctity of wrestling was on full display, and she couldn't hide her disapproval of the outfit. Her gaze shifted momentarily to Ivy, who stood her ground with Tiki. "Also don't think I haven't forgotten about you, Ivy! You wrestle in an outfit that have your boobs out and you're showing too much leg!" screamed Alice ignoring the irony of her own outfit.
Alice
"Oh for God's sake," Tiki muttered in a way that Alice shouldn't be able to hear once she realized what was going on. Then she would address the interloper properly, "If you must know, LAW is putting on a Halloween event; Nightmare on LAW Street. I'm participating, and as such, it's only natural for me to dress up in a special attire for the occasion. Frankly, if you're so considered about the tradition and honor of wrestling, I would consider a different promotion. As I understand it, LAW's entire philosophy is centered around finding the new and untested and pushing it to its limits."
Then when Alice began to go off on Ivy's ring attire, which the purplette wasn't even wearing, while standing before them in her own wrestling attire, that initial sense of confusion was restored to both of the Englishwomen. Unlike Alice, Tiki and Ivy did not miss the irony of the situation. The veteran shot a look to her protégé, as if to ask if she wanted to handle this herself. The cold, harsh look growing onto Ivy's face was enough to tell the older wrestler that she did. "I'm sorry, I'm confused. What is this? Some sort of prank?" Ivy said. "As I see it, your ring attire, which you are currently wearing, is the exact same style as my own ring attire. The only difference being that your boots don't go nearly as far up your thighs, and your leotard bares your navel. You show more skin than I do!" Ivy was fully aware that there was an added difference in their boots, in that Ivy's own were of a fishnet design while Alice's were solid. But the rookie neither cared to mention it nor expected Alice to realize that since Ivy wasn't wearing her ring attire right now for the pinkette to notice.
"Yeah, you should just relax Alice. Ivy's right," Tiki said. "You even both have those leotards at such a thin angle that you can see the crease where the inside of your hip and leg meets the outside of your torso and crotch." As a bit of a teasing payback for the shove, and to also try to calm Alice down by pointing out her lapse in self-awareness, Tiki ran one of her fingers down the crease on the pinkette's right side that she had just pointed out.
Alice's frustration was reaching its peak as she continued to argue with Tiki and Ivy. She had no intention of backing down, and her strong-willed nature led her to take a more physically confrontational approach. Her temper flared, and she took a step closer to Tiki, her eyes locked onto the Halloween outfit.
"If you insist on wearing that ridiculous outfit, Tiki, then you're not taking this sport seriously. You’re practically naked with how thin this fabric is," Alice said, her voice quivering with anger. She reached out and roughly grabbed the fabric of the costume, tugging at it to emphasize her point. "This is wrestling, not a masquerade! We should be focused on showcasing our skills, not parading around in Halloween costumes." She didn't care about the consequences; she was determined to make a statement.
"Furthermore," Alice continued, her gaze now shifting to Ivy, "the Halloween event can be done outside of professional wrestling. We're here to compete, not play dress-up." She was fully aware that her own attire was similar to what she criticized, but she was quick to defend herself, adding, "This attire was designed by my master for performance, not for some frivolous Halloween event or to be provocative. It's a reflection of my commitment to the art of wrestling, and I won't let anyone undermine it with these foolish costumes or revealing attire."
When Ivy chimed in and pointed out the apparent irony of the situation, Alice's temper flared even more. She wasn't one to back down from a confrontation. "Ivy, you may not be wearing it now, but I've seen the kind of ring attire you and Tiki usually wear. It's hardly a shining example of what wrestling attire should be!" She practically spat out the last word.
Tiki's teasing touch on her attire only added to Alice's irritation as she was told to calm down. She grabbed Tiki's hand, her voice raising in frustration. "Don't touch me! This is what a wrestler should look like. It's practical, it's dignified, and it respects the sport! I don’t want to hear anything from you both about relaxing! You look like you're ready to open your legs for the next guy that passes by!" Alice was practically seething now, her face flushed with anger as she gave her a slap across the face. “Don’t test me!”
Alice's stance was unyielding, and her anger showed no signs of going away. She was determined to stand up for what she believed was the right path for professional wrestling, even if it meant resorting to physical actions to get her point across.
Tiki was quick to brush Alice's hand aside once the wrestling elitist grabbed onto her outfit. At this point, both her and Ivy stood up, reversing the height dynamic as both Englishwoman stood well over their aggressor. Ivy was a half-foot taller than Alice, and Tiki was almost a full foot higher. "The event can be outside of professional wrestling, but it isn't. So I'm afraid you just have to deal with that," Tiki said. "Like I said, with your opinions, I think you would be better suited in a more traditional wrestling promotion."
"I truly cannot see what your problem with my attire is," Ivy said, genuinely trying to understand Alice's point. "Both of our outfits are incredibly similar, in both design and bodily exposure, so what does your attire have that mine doesn't that make you believe that yours is so much better?"
Tiki began to take offense when Alice yelled at the veteran not to touch her, considering that the pinkette had already shoved and grabbed her during this short confrontation. Then Ivy felt her own anger begin to flare once Alice implied that the both of them were sluts. While it already looked unlikely that this would end amicably, any hope left of that was thrown out the window when Alice swung on Tiki.
Tiki deftly leaned away from Alice's open palm and tilted her head back to evade it. "Hey!" Ivy exclaimed as she pulled Alice off of Tiki and brought her down to the floor. "We had asked you to calm down, now I'm going to make you," the rookie said as she began to lock Alice into one of her signature submission holds: Grasping Void. Ivy wouldn't truly implement it, only holding onto Alice's right leg in her hand to control it rather than pulling it all the way back behind her head, but the threat was certainly there. "Now you may either quit with all the screaming, shoving, and slapping, or I can show you why no opponent I've ever use this hold on in a match has ever escaped without submitting," said Ivy.
Grasping Void
Alice's fiery temper had been effectively extinguished as Ivy skillfully restrained her. Struggling against Ivy's control, she attempted to break free, her determination evident in every strained muscle and furrowed brow. However, Ivy's expertise in submission holds was evident, and Alice's efforts to escape were in vain. Her breaths came in rapid succession, and her face twisted with frustration as she grappled with Ivy's unyielding grip. She strained against the hold, her muscles aching from the effort, but Ivy's strength was formidable, and Alice couldn't free herself. "Let me go!" as she attempts to use her left hand to push her head.
As she felt her legs being forced apart, a sense of humiliation washed over her. Alice had always been the one to stand her ground, the one who fought for the honor and dignity of wrestling, and yet here she was, rendered powerless in the face of Ivy's submission technique. With a reluctant acceptance, her voice now tinged with panic that she tried to conceal, Alice finally admitted, "Fine, I... I accept your challenge, Tiki Lowell." Her words quivered slightly as the weight of the situation settled in. "I'll show you what real wrestling is about, and I'm going to win. You'll see. But if I win.. I'm not going to stoop to your level. When I win, I get to choose your attire for the next year!" Her words were meant to exude confidence, but the fear of the upcoming match and the undeniable reality of her current predicament were evident in her eyes. Alice had no choice but to participate in this match to defend her beliefs, even if it meant facing her fears head-on.
Ivy's Grasping Void succeeded in subduing Alice, but the pinkette refused to calm down as fought and struggled against the hold. But Tiki deciding to issue a challenge to her seemed to finally get Alice to calm down as she focused on what was being presented to her. Ivy was curious as to how Tiki would respond when Alice tried to push for different terms, but the veteran seemed unbothered. Seeing that the situation should be defused enough for the wrestling elitist to not lash out again, the rookie decided to let her go and get up.
"That's fine by me," Tiki said in response to Alice's terms. "So to be sure that we're on the same page; the match will be decided by verbal submission, by way of admitting to being incorrect in our argument, along with a wager of you being stripped nude upon defeat against me being forced to wear attire of your choosing in my matches for a year should I lose. So if we are in agreement," Tiki gestured to Ivy before turning to leave. "I do believe that our business here is settled, so we shall be leaving. I'll see you on the 31st, Alice. Best of luck."