Description: In the Fjords of Scandanaiva, where the Norse Gods called Home (a.k.a. the forest clearing in Southtown near the festival fairgrounds), a rather stoic Thor (Satsuki) found herself facing down one of the brutal beings called a Frost Giant (Brett) in a reinactment of the greater Norse mythos. But who will emerge victorious, the God(dess) of Thunder, or the Savage Iceman?
In the land of the frost giants, the only hope for peace is Thor.
Or at least, so the pitch goes; the Saturday Night Fight committee was so insistent on this costume-themed Saturday Night Fight setup that Satsuki really couldn't say no. She was a little displeased when she was told it would involve trading her sword for a hammer... but she's been told to go along with it, so she eventually accepted that this, too, would have to be the case.
Don't make waves, she'd been told. Simply accept the restrictions of the fight and move on; this is a test for the Doll Project. Treat it with respect.
And so, she does indeed, striding out in her Thor-inspired costume, taking up a fighting stance in the forest that has been designated as the location of the fight. She says nothing, her eyes coldly regarding each autumn tree. All for Master Vega, she thinks, holding her hammer at her side in the same way she would her blade. Her expression, at least, conveys exactly the sort of grim purpose the booking committee was probably hoping for when setting her up as Thor!
A chilly autumn wind blows through the forest, moving her hair just slightly; her stance, however, remains totally rigid.
Paying homage to his Norse ancestry was the intent behind dressing up as a Frost Giant. Knowing that no one around here would really understand the costume, even back home, didn't seem like too much of a problem. After all, it's all for fun, and it's not likely to bite him in the ass.
That was what Brett Neuer thought when he made this costume for Halloween. He didn't realize he'd be wearing it in a fight, considering he only registered as a fighter not too long ago, and because he didn't think they'd be running an event like this. So walking out, holding up a staff that replaces his usual hockey stick, into the forest clearing that the promoters directed him toward, he looks around, trying to get a sense of who is opponent actually was. It doesn't take long, seeing someone dressed up as... "...oh geez. They actually did it." They put Brett the Frost Giant against a Thor. A Girl Thor. He's not sure what to think about that, but that's more of the concept of the fight than fighting a female Thor. Rubbing the back of his neck, he looks every bit the opposite of Satsuki, fidgeting rather than rigid, openly fretting rather than stoic. "So....um....good luck?" he says to his opponent, offering her a quick gesture of good sportsmanship.
Satsuki is blissfully unaware of any actual connotations of the fight; she has no idea what a Thor or a Frost Giant is, merely that she has been dressed up as the former, and her opponent dressed up as the latter. It seems to make about as much sense as the other matches she got a glimpse of on the card; she doesn't let her thoughts linger on the particulars, though, instead watching her opponent. He seems nervous -- that's good, Satsuki thinks as her eyes rest on him.
"Understood," Satsuki says, without theatrics or even really genuine understanding; it takes her a second to process that this is a standard prefight ritual, but eventually she adds, blankly, "Good luck." She takes a moment to acquaint herself more fully with the balance of her hammer; it's not /that/ far off from her sword, she thinks, if she gets it in just the right grip... the /range/ is worse, but she can deal with that.
Deciding to waste no time in moving toward the significantly taller fighter, her helmet tilting down just slightly as she starts to move. Sweeping her hammer up into the air, she lets loose a wave of blue-purple energy just in front of the weapon -- far enough ahead that no actual weapon-to-person contact is possible, which might mean the energy itself catches the 'frost giant' a little off-guard.
The hammer, shortly thereafter, crackles with electricity; Satsuki seems baffled by this development.
COMBATSYS: Brett has started a fight here.
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Brett 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Satsuki has joined the fight here.
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Brett 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Satsuki
COMBATSYS: Brett blocks Satsuki's Psycho Slash.
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Brett 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Satsuki
Noticing the lack of actual emotion behind the reply given to him, Brett gives the strange girl a curious look. "...you ok there?" he asks a bit worriedly. Usually people who react that flatly aren't exactly much into what they're about to do. "If you don't really want to do this, you can...."
And then the hammer gets swept up, and a wave of indigo energy ends up flying out toward him. Eyes widening, the timid seeming Frost Giant looks panicked as he brings up the staff in front of him and buckles down. The wave is met upon impact, a crackle crossing over the blue-painted form, the glue-on beard Brett wears shifting and curling from the static electricity as he stands still. It takes a bit before his head lifts up...
And narrowed eyes peek out from beneath the plastic viking-style helmet the young Mr. Neuer wears. A grunt can be heard from the boy as he gripped tighter on the staff he held in his hand. Whatever placidity or timidity he had before, it seemed to be gone, as if that wave triggered a switch inside of him. Reeling back his staff, the Frost Giant wound up, and as if mirroring Satsuki's own actions, he swiped out from the ground into the air, and a cresting wave of ice-blue energy seemed to erupt on the ground and sped across the clearing toward Satsuki, reciprocating her opening move.
COMBATSYS: Satsuki parries Brett's Shark Crest!!
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Brett 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Satsuki
"All operations within normal parameters," Satsuki replies coolly, as Brett comments on her blankness. If she were more capable of engaging emotionally, she might recognize him as a sweet kid; as she is, all she sees is hesitation. Weakness. And that weakness, she thinks, is something she can capitalize on in a big way. Still, his defensive posture is very good, she thinks, as she sees him bring that staff to meet the energy; it's not perfect, but what is outside of Master Vega?
Wasting no time, Satsuki decides to experiment with the unique properties of the hammer -- the things that separate it from her sword. One of them is the strap on the end; hooking her fingers into it, she begins to twirl the hammer just slightly -- and then, as she sees the wave of energy incoming, does so /much/ faster. There's a loud crack of thunder as she reaches a critical amount of speed with it, dispersing the energy with the might of Mjolnir.
She has no idea how much hype she just generated for a whole bunch of nerds, either; she just does things.
Wasting no time in advancing through the dispersed projectile, Satsuki decides to redirect that spinning momentum, launching herself up into the air slightly and then forward, heading feet-first toward Brett. She does not call out the name of her maneuver; the booking committee discouraged her from doing so beforehand, for 'authenticity's' sake.
COMBATSYS: Brett Toughs Out Satsuki's Spiral Arrow EX!
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Brett 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Satsuki
If the fact that his Shark Crest was simply blown through affected Brett in any way, he ddn't seem to show it. He's in that game face right now, and he hasn't had enough time to get discouraged or anything. Glowering underneath his helmet, he pushed himself forward toward Satsuki, especially as she advances behind it herself. As she launches herself into the air, he surges forward to meet her. The kick that slams into him and drills forward at him seems to push him back, but aside from damaging his Frost Giant tunic, he doesn't seem to let it stall his momentum aside from that minor push back. He's hurt for sure, but he seems to simply shrugging it off as best he can for now.
Instead, he spun himself into a frenzy, the staff held out as he spiraled toward the Thor-dressed girl, trying to smash her down before she can get her footing again.
COMBATSYS: Satsuki blocks Brett's Wild Spiral.
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Brett 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Satsuki
He's tougher than she expected, but not outside the range of acceptable parameters; Satsuki is pleasantly surprised. This should make a good test, she thinks, as she brings up her hammer again; him spiraling right back at her gets a smile. So, he's mirroring her, she thinks, as hammer meets staff, causing her to dig into the ground and reel a little but not /quite/ give any ground.
Rather than press in right away to punish him, Satsuki takes a second to regain her bearings with the crackling hammer. She doesn't want to use it, she thinks, the way she'd use a sword; this is primarily a blocking tool and occasional 'threat generator,' rather than a conventionally effective weapon like her blade, at least the way she'd wield it.
As such, she instead backs off for a second, considering her situation to the fullest extent... and decides to try to probe his technical defenses, as well as his already-proven toughness. Stepping up, she makes as though she's going to swing the hammer -- only to instead aim a kick for his legs, trying to send him off balance. Her legs are wreathed in that same indigo energy as before, the full might of her mental presence rolling off of her as she continues her early-battle probing.
COMBATSYS: Brett blocks Satsuki's Strong Kick.
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Brett 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Satsuki
Technical defenses is probably the wrong word to use for it. But far as reflexes can go, Brett's aren't too bad. Even as the feeling of his staff meeting the hammer resonates up his arms once he comes to a stop, he isn't daunted enough to be slowed down too much yet. As he comes to a stop, he spots the hammer coming to bear. He brings his staff around, ready to meet it. But as it turns to a feint for the kick to his legs, he's able to not only bring his staff down to stop the kick first and foremost, he manages to get his leg in behind the staff to brace it further, distributing the force of the shot better across his body.
Narrowing his eyes, he pushes forward to try and slam the length of the staff longways at Satsuki, trying to check straight into her bodily to bowl her over and hopefully get a leg up.
COMBATSYS: Satsuki dodges Brett's Random Strike.
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Brett 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Satsuki
Weaving back and bringing her hammer up again, Satsuki narrowly pushes the staff out of the way; it's by inches, and indeed it clips one of the 'plates' of her costume as she moves neatly to one side, but it's enough to keep her from getting hurt. "Opponent 'Frost Giant' uses distance, weapons to gain advantage..." she says quietly to herself; nodding once, she makes a note of it with her usual, "Understood," before reevaluating her offense yet again.
She's started to get a sense, at least, of how to approach the fight from /her/ end. Now it's just a question of putting that plan into action. Bobbing back and forth, she takes a moment to just breathe; it gives her time to work through the calculations.
Then, finally, she ducks low, realizing a situation she /can/ use this great, dark hammer in that seems familiar. Like before, she spins the hammer by the cord; this time, however, she just lets the momentum carry her more and more forward and low, trying to sweep the "Frost Giant's" feet out from under him.
"You fight well," she says to Brett, as she moves. "Posture and gait indicate sports training?" This is as close to 'small talk' as it gets for the Doll.
COMBATSYS: Brett blocks Satsuki's Spiral Slasher.
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Brett 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Satsuki
CLearly, frustration is setting in at this point from Brett, a gutteral sound coming him as the staff shot is pushed away by the hammer, leaving Satsuki uninjured at this point and leaving the 'Frost Giant' clearly taking the worst of things right now. He hasn't suffered a hard hit, but from the damage to his costume, and the feeling of his hands and arms growing more numb with every shot he stops, he's not making any forward progress.
Gritting his teeth, he's forced to plant his staff again, seeing the slow approach from the smaller fighter, and again barely managing to stop the hammer shot with his staff as it tries to clip at his legs. Pushing himself away just in case the reverb sends his staff into his own legs, he narrows down at Satsuki. Unlike most, he doesn't end up too chatty in the middle of a fight. He's too focused on the end goal of the game.
To whit, the response to the small talk is instead to flip forward, trying to slam the heavy skated feet down at the low profile of 'Thor', hoping to smash his heels down onto her.
COMBATSYS: Satsuki just-defends Brett's Falling Star EX!
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Brett 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Satsuki
Rolling her neck a little, Satsuki brings her gauntleted hands up to meet the skate; this, at least, is an article of battle clothing she's familiar with. Her arms meet the skate itself, allowing it to glide lightly against the material as she gets out of the way; Brett's momentum is redirected upward for just long enough to let Satsuki get completely out of the way.
Her winged helm shifts back slightly from the force -- even if she redirected it, there /was/ force there, the shock of it sent all through her body. She takes a moment to breathe and recover her focus entirely, considering her options -- her neat, clean defense buys her that much time, at least.
Of course, there's only that moment to spend; she has to aggress. 'Crush her,' Sagat had said to her during an earlier battle, and it seems the suggestion has stuck long after, gently nudging her offense to be all the more punishing. Weaving back and forth slightly as she moves forward, Satsuki ducks low; her hammer is struck by a bolt of lightning as she holds the stance for a second. As she springs up and forward toward Brett, she opens her mouth to cry out --
-- and then remembers she shouldn't, and just lets the standard Shadaloo special forces technique fly without so much as a peep, wreathed in energy like so many of her previous maneuvers. Her leg extends up into the air, aimed toward Brett's face and into the sky.
COMBATSYS: Brett endures Satsuki's Cannon Spike.
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Brett 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Satsuki
Just when he thinks he's about to make headway, Brett finds himself thwarted again. He feels the arms meet his skate, but rather than feel the feedback of a bodily hit of the kind like slamming into another player on the ice, he feels...nothing. Just slipping down the guard of the smaller girl and landing without anything to show for it. A growl of frustration is heard as the 'Frost Giant' grabs hold of his staff again, turning around to meet 'Thor' again.
It's definitely clear he's on the losing end here right now. His opponent is mostly untouched and despite looking on the surface as more sturdy, it's only going to take a good solid hit to crack that facade. And unfortunately, that hit comes as the strange flip kick strike comes, smashing into Brett's face. He leaned forward into the shot, knowing he couldn't avoid it and his arms too numb to bring his staff up to stop it. The shot rang his bell for sure, and his eyes look a bit empty, the rampaging beast turning human for a moment.
His consciousness returns for a bit, and while he's awake, he's not deep into his game face anymore. And that brings desperation. Not wanting to let himself fall down this easily, especially on his debut, he drives forward. Not quite with the presence of a real Frost Giant like before, but he's still a big boy, and with the kind of mass he carries, a punch wouldn't be easily shrugged off. SEveral punches? That might be a bit harder. Punches coming as he attempted to grab at the smaller Satsuki, followed by full swing elbow shots? That will hopefully be enough to overwhelm Satsuki long enough to finish it with a final smash of his staff.
COMBATSYS: Brett successfully hits Satsuki with Broad Street Barrage.
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Brett 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Satsuki
And just like that, Brett turns it around; his decision to stay in close with 'Thor' is rewarded with the sort of forceful, meaty strikes that would put many a fighter down cold. Satsuki, however, has the toughness of someone fighting in someone else's body; it doesn't make her /tougher/, but it means that once she's been opened up by that first strike, she doesn't do much to try to mitigate the full-on barrage. An elbow nearly breaks her nose, and /does/ bloody it.
Dazed, Satsuki takes a few seconds to even remember where she is; though she feels she's made an acceptable showing for the Doll Project already, part of her feels something almost like... pride? Something inside her wants to win. Even as blood drips from her nose and the quest for something resembling a human emotion continues in her mind, she does nothing to indicate it; her expression remains as dull as ever.
Striding evenly forward, 'Thor' raises her hammer high into the sky; it is struck by lightning dramatically, coursing through the weapon. As it continues to crackle, though, the lightning goes from blue-white to that same eerie indigo, and Satsuki's eyes narrow just slightly. Stepping forward, she swings the weapon three times lightning-fast, perhaps /too/ fast for the heft of the weapon on a girl her size. Normally, she'd go back into a defensive stance upon finishing such a rapid combination... but there's no /way/ she can pull it back up that quickly after something like that.
COMBATSYS: Brett interrupts Heavy Strike from Satsuki with Hurricane Check.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Brett 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Satsuki
Finally getting a decisive strike in, Brett doesn't stop, continuing the right hand strikes over and over and over until that final staff smash drives Satsuki away. Heaving once he has space, he feels his face with a hand, realizing that there's a trickle of blood going down from the bridge of his nose, as well as an already growing swelling in his cheek thanks to that spike in the face.
His arms still feel noodly at this point, and he's pretty sure he can't take many more hits at this point. Which is why when Satsuki comes forward with her hammer high, a little bit of panic sets in. It's that little thing in Brett's head that tells him, 'Strike First'. He can't do many more back and forth exchanges, so he needs to go at it now. And go for it he does, charging in as the hammer starts to swing down. He finds himself mindful of the energy surrounding the hammer, but he doesn't stop, the awareness only making him that much more desperate to go first. And as it comes down, his arms go high and an elbow smashes out, cutting off Satsuki's strike before it can come down. He doesn't stop there though, the momentum of his elbow strike sending him full around 360 degrees, something he uses to come high with his staff and body check Satsuki with his full body weight as his follow up. The force causes him to stumble a bit afterwards, but he can feel the feedback this time: he knows he finally got his hits in.
Smashing clean through her offense with his elbow, Brett puts Satsuki down for the count. Not out -- the spinning staff and subsequent body check make that a very real possibility, but not just yet -- but definitely down. Satsuki takes a while to get back up... and when she stands up, her stance is uneasy. It looks like she might fall right back over, for an instant...
... but she doesn't. She draws back up, and there's an instinctive feeling of... gloom, perhaps, or even pressure, around her, as she does so. Even with how weakened she looks by the frost giant's blows -- she's not frightened, or really any emotion at all, and has every intention of throwing herself right back into the game.
Raising her weapon high with shaking limbs, Satsuki dashes in for a first forceful thrust with the impossibly heavy hammer, hoping to knock the wind out of her opponent with the thickest, broadest segment. It's a risky move, and if she can't get that first hit, she stops herself there, clearly winded... but if it works, Satsuki takes her whole body into a spin, and from there, just lets her momentum with each successive swing carry her neatly into the next one, becoming a whirling dervish of blow after blow. It's a lot harder to bring forth the hallmark of (her family's style) Shadaloo special forces training with the hammer than with her blade... but she does her best to adapt the assault to the weapon in hand, compensating for weight with active use of the momentum.
Like Brett, Satsuki feels instinct telling her, 'strike first' -- but what that means for /her/ is very different indeed.
COMBATSYS: Satsuki successfully hits Brett with GW.
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Brett 1/-------/=======|>>>>---\-------\0 Satsuki
Heaving as he tries to catch his breath, Brett can feel things evening up again suddenly, having plowed 'Thor' over after his Hurricane Check, years of practice and training as a winger coalesced into that one technique. His arms are only just recovering however, as he tries to keep himself upright. HIs head is swimming, and his face feels swollen enough to make it hard to focus. But as he watches Satsuki start to get back up, he knows he can't let up yet.
However, as she surges forward, his reflexes can't quite keep up, and he gets slammed in the gut, and by the time he realizes what's happening, the rapid spinning comes, battering him repeatedly with that hammer, and the weight is enough that by the time the final hit comes, he ends up flung away with a brutal impact, landing about 20 feet away from Satsuki. His head swimming, and vision blacking out, the 'Frost Giant' tries to find his staff, and the general direction of 'Thor'....and with a final growl, he flings his staff up and across the ground, the arc sending out a final surge of energy forward toward Satsuki in the form of a giant ice blue crest. But as it flies forward across the ground at 'Thor', regardless of what happens, it's the last thing he can do before he flops face forward, unconscious.
COMBATSYS: Brett can no longer fight.
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Satsuki 0/-------/---<<<<|
COMBATSYS: Satsuki blocks Brett's Blue Line Special.
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Satsuki 0/-------/-<<<<<<|
Though Brett makes a valiant showing, Satsuki manages -- by inches -- to lay the 'frost giant' low; that arcing blue crest catches her a /little/ off guard -- she'd thought he'd be finished for sure, based on her internal calculations. It doesn't /quite/ manage to render her helpless, though; she brings up that hammer one last time, letting it slide her across the battlefield. When she stops, she's panting for breath -- not because she's emotionally exhausted, but because Brett has managed to rally so thoroughly that it's the best way she can regain her energy, at this point. Her vision swims a little -- and that's when directives from on high come from within one of the ear-wings of her giant helmet.
Something inaudible comes from what appears to be a hidden earpiece; she mumbles something the cameras don't catch, and then, again, gets a response. It takes her a moment to finish catching her breath.
Then, with zero inflection whatsoever, she declares, "Midgard shall now be rid of your stench, foul creature." She's /loud/, at least -- loud enough to project it for the cameras and microphones -- but her read of the line is perfectly flat, and her walk away thereafter much too halting and wounded to add any credibility /there/, either.
COMBATSYS: Satsuki has ended the fight here.
Log created on 19:03:04 11/03/2014 by Brett, and last modified on 21:52:52 11/04/2014.