Description: In Southtown's lovely amusement park, two distinctly non-Japanese blondes have a totally kickin' rad fight. (Winner: Tiffany)
Gertrude has been having a pretty mixed bag when it comes to fights lately. On the one hand, she won a spar against Benimaru - one of her fighting idols! - on the other... she failed to claim the Pro Belt, and she had quite a shameful display on the SNF circuit. Fighting in an amusement park seems like a bitter irony - a place with tons of ups and downs. More wild rides than you could shake a stick at!
Still, the league has drawn a crowd, and with the gauntlet thrown down, she doesn't want to disappoint them. She'd impressed Benimaru enough, so... at least she's not totally miserable as she performs her stretches, warming herself up. She's still wearing a bright blue bandana over her hair - tucked down low over her forehead, but the tall German woman is trying to convince herself she's in high spirits.
"Yes, I've slipped two places, so what? If I win this one, I'll be back in third. There's nothing WRONG with third place. Third place is very respectable, they might even give me a medal!"
Tiffany, meanwhile, is on the upswing; though at least one well-intentioned moment has turned into some potentially-televised fun at her expense, Tiffany has been drastically improving as a fighter in recent days. She's challenged herself and really taken herself to her limits and beyond -- so this looks to her like a fantastic opportunity to really strut her stuff!
Especially since she's had a really /bad/ fun of it in terms of the Neo League. So far, her appearances have been a flop -- which really just renders her all the more enthused about the idea of getting some redemption. The American blonde has already done all the warmups she intends to do -- indeed, she's skipped cheerleading practice to do them -- and takes up a position opposite the German as she gets ready.
"Hey!" she says, in her native tongue, eager for the opportunity to ditch the language she's shaky on but communicates in constantly lately. "Ready to get this thing on the road?" she asks, absently rolling her shoulder a little as she finishes putting on her gloves.
Gertrude smiles faintly, nodding her head to the girl, "Of course." She says, "You're Tiffany, yes? I'm Gertrude. Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance." If she hadn't already had two encounters with the school-aged residents of Southtown which had ended in defeat or, at best, no clear victor... she might be more tempted to give Tiffany a more skeptical reception. But these kids are clearly taught by some secret, ancient masters of the art or something - maybe Jack Dempsey himself has retired to become a teacher in these parts?! Gertrude would not be surprised.
Working her shoulder back, she steps around until she's six paces from Tiffany, and then gives a subtle nod to the fight referee. The bell is rung, and the fight is underway!
With confirmation given, and making eye contact with Tiffany so the girl knows she's coming, Gertrude darts forwards. The younger fighter is clearly a boxer, so Gertrude goes for the other end of the spectrum to open. Moving to grasp Tiffany by her shoulders, if successful, she'll brace the girl against her body with a knee, and then roll backwards, releasing her at the height of the roll to fling her towards - but hopefully not /into/ - the gathered crowd. Its always good to see how well your opponent is prepared to counter their traditional weaknesses, when their style is so obvious!
COMBATSYS: Gertrude has started a fight here.
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Gertrude 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tiffany has joined the fight here.
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Tiffany 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Gertrude
COMBATSYS: Tiffany dodges Gertrude's Tomoe Nage.
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Tiffany 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Gertrude
With a "Great to meet you, too!" Tiffany gets ready for the battle. Once they make eye contact with one another, Tiffany's ready to go -- her body locks into stance, and her fists clench inside her gloves. When Gertrude comes in toward her, she makes a snap judgment about what she's doing --
-- and is proven correct. Correctly spotting the throw, Tiffany opens her posture up entirely and whirls backward, giving Gertrude nothing to really get a solid grip on and then getting out of the way. It slows her offensive plans up a little more than she'd like, as she has to get back into stance before she can really consider her plans... but at the very least, it keeps her safe from harm.
Eager to show her opponent that she's more than just a pretty face, Tiffany ducks low and then launches herself high into the sky, hitting an inactive ferris wheel seat and pushing off of it. Her momentum redirected forward and down, she aims a high-speed kick squarely for Gertrude's face, asking, "Isn't this exciting?!" with a big smile.
COMBATSYS: Tiffany successfully hits Gertrude with Exciting Kick.
- Power hit! -
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Tiffany 0/-------/------<|===----\-------\0 Gertrude
Gertrude is impressed by the speed with which the younger woman reacts to her advance. She's so impressed, in fact, that she spends more time admiring the acrobatics on display than she does concentrating on her own guard. In the next instant, Tiffany is descending from above, and the girl's heel knocks her down into the ground. Her lip is split, and the bandana is knocked all askew.
Here's hoping that Tiffany's kanji isn't very good, because at the moment, Gertrude has the kanji for 'shame' emblazoned on her forehead. Embarrassed, the elder fighter scrabbles back up to her feet, and tugs the bandana back down firmly. Her neck is cracked, and she eyes Tiffany as she backs off, trying to figure out how to compete with moves like /that/.
"Exciting. Yeah. Sure. That's, that's one word for it."
COMBATSYS: Gertrude calculates her next move.
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Tiffany 0/-------/------<|===----\-------\0 Gertrude
Tiffany's kanji is horrid. Japanese is far and away her worst subject.
Tiffany's not used to this sort of careful, calculated response; it's hard for her to really understand what's at play here when Gertrude takes a second to analyze her. She gnaws at her lower lip a little, saying, "It is! I think it's really cool how, like -- how people are /interested/ in this. In us!" Her smile remains as broad and sunny as ever.
She has a few different options at her disposal -- more than she usually does, since she's not wasting any extra time whirling back out of and into stance to try to deal with what Gertrude is throwing at her. Taking a deep breath in through her nose, she decides to test Gertrude's defenses in a big way.
Continuing her plan of keeping the German guessing, she hurls herself forward and plants her hands on the ground; legs at max extension, she comes in for a one-two cartwheeling kick, aiming each of her feet for Gertrude's chest as she rolls along, hammering her as hard as possible before -- /hopefully/ -- popping back up into a much more neutral stance.
COMBATSYS: Gertrude dodges Tiffany's Groovy Wheel.
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Tiffany 0/-------/------<|===----\-------\0 Gertrude
Gertrude is in no rush to feel the wrath of Tiffany's kicks a second time, though! With the girl wheeling in, Gertrude is starting to understand where she'd gone wrong. The gloves had thrown her off; she'd been concentrating too much on Tiffany's fists. The girl isn't so hidebound towards the traditional approach of her style, and as Tiffany plants her hands into the ground, Gertrude rolls to the side.
"It is, yeah." Gertrude admits, "So lets try and give them a good show!"
Jumping upwards, Gertrude intends to do just that. Hopefully, she'll be on top of Tiffany before the girl can complete the motion and recover from the failed hit. Either way, she's going to have to deal with a powerful swinging chop, aiming to plant the palm of her hand right where Tiffany's neck meets her shoulder with a loud-
"KIYAH!"
COMBATSYS: Gertrude successfully hits Tiffany with Utopian Crusher.
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Tiffany 0/-------/--<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 Gertrude
Gertrude gets the drop on Tiffany this time, in a big way; the chop hits her squarely in the neck, and it's like her whole body shuts off for a moment. The instant she completes her motion, she goes into a dead, full-body stop, as if someone entered a console command affecting only her; her eyes stay wide as saucers as she falls forward. She kips up in moments, to be sure -- but for an instant, she's both physically and mentally guardbroken.
A little dizzy as she pops back up, Tiffany asks, "So... uhh... where'd you learn to..." She tries to find the words, but she's still dazed; she's working more on adrenaline than sense now -- which, to be fair, is how she goes about most of her life.
Dizzily moving toward Gertrude, Tiffany seeks to plant her hands squarely on the other girl's shoulders; if she can get a good grip, she then slides them up to her fellow blonde's head, gripping it and moving it toward her chest. If she can hold her there tightly, she gives her a few good shakes before finally bringing her whole body into an upward-thrusting jump, ideally launching the other girl into the air in the process.
COMBATSYS: Gertrude fails to interrupt Chest Thrusting from Tiffany with Rising Knuckle.
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Tiffany 0/-------/--<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 Gertrude
Its a good question! Truth be told, Gertrude couldn't really remember where she'd first learned the basics of her technique. "I practice Shotokan Karate." She says, rolling her shoulder back and giving Tiffany the space she needs to recover - sportsmanship is, you know, an important quality! Especially when it comes to setting an example for the younger generation.
"But I've been all over the world. Its really my own style, now."
Then Tiffany is grasping at her, and Gertrude lets herself be grabbed. The intent is to demonstrate why this isn't a good idea, by punching her knuckles firmly into the girl's stomach and jaw... but it turns out, maybe, for Tiffany, this ISN'T such a dreadful tactic after all, as there follows several seconds of undignified grunting and jostling... and then Gertrude is flung backwards.
She does manage to land on her feet, at least, rubbing at her mouth with the back of her hand. Geez, this girl just keeps surprising her!
Perhaps it was that movement that encouraged Tiffany to thrust her chest up and out at Gertrude and get her away as quick as she did -- whatever the case, it's certainly gotten her the safety she was looking for. She hangs back for a few moments, thinking about the answer. "Shotokan, huh? Never heard of it! Seems pretty straightforward... but you look /super/ cool doing it!"
Bobbing back and forth on her heels, Tiffany tries to keep herself warm and ready to fight in the chill of winter; this cheerleader's outfit presents some... challenges, on that front. If only her signature style were a cute winter coat instead! ... but this is her look -- people expect it, and that's enough to keep her warm inside, at least.
Finally going to the style she was taught rather than the tricks she made up herself, Tiffany ducks low and starts to move in, arms up in a boxer's block. As she closes with Gertrude, she snaps her fists out one after another for a quick one-two punch. There's not a lot special about this bit of offense -- but it keeps her body and face under guard, and that's what counts... right?
COMBATSYS: Gertrude blocks Tiffany's Medium Punch.
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Tiffany 0/-------/--<<<<<|======-\-------\0 Gertrude
"You've... never heard of Shotokan..."
It isn't so much a question as an expression of shock. But as Tiffany comes in for her, whatever Gertrude might think of that, she doesn't say anything about it! Instead, she meets the one two punch with a firm guard of her own, raising her arms to turn the punches to the side. Gertrude has to admit, Tiffany's guard IS very impressive...
But she's not going to be outfought by someone who hasn't even heard of Shotokan before!! Even the compliment isn't really enough to dull the punch of the dumbfounding revelation.
"KIYAH!"
Gertrude's hand comes swinging around in a firm downwards strike. Its similar to the chop she's just given - but without the leap to accompany it. Rather than aiming for the head or body, Gertrude's palm comes slashing down, aiming to smash into the girl's shoulder instead, hoping she can literally break the guard and force Tiffany back onto the defensive.
COMBATSYS: Gertrude successfully hits Tiffany with Sublime Comet EX.
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Tiffany 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Gertrude
That palm swings down and totally blows through Tiffany's guard; whatever she'd been planning to do to mitigate it totally fails to even start, and she practically flies down into the ground. Her expression contorts into something vaguely horrified; even if she hadn't known about Shotokan beforehand, she sure does know now!
Drawing back up to her full height in short order, Tiffany weaves back and forth, trying to keep herself on guard -- and more importantly, keep the other blonde off-guard. "You're... /really/ good," she murmurs, reaching up and pinching the bridge of her nose with a glove-clad hand for a few seconds, trying to get herself some stability back.
Rearing back, Tiffany stops weaving and starts whirling her arm around and around, building up an inner light that expresses itself as sparkles shooting off of her body. "Guru, guru, guru, guru..." she murmurs to herself, as the energy builds around her fist. Swinging it forward at full speed, she aims the fist for Gertrude's gut, crying out, "Groovy PUNCH!" as sparkles wreath her gloved hand!
COMBATSYS: Tiffany successfully hits Gertrude with Groovy Punch.
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Tiffany 1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1 Gertrude
The punch connects solidly, and Gertrude is sent rolling back through the dirt, where she connects with a hotdog cart, and knocks that over. Thankfully, the thing wasn't in use, or that could have been an even more embarrassing sequence! Even as it is, though, the elder fighter doesn't look too convinced as she rises back up to her feet. Its... nice, that the girl keeps complimenting her; but she's losing! And she's good enough to know that beyond a shadow of a doubt.
"You've got a lot of talent yourself." She says, adjusting her glasses on the bridge of her nose, and taking a deep breath. That's really putting it very mildly. Tiffany is hitting like a truck, and if Gertrude doesn't pull something out soon, she's going to eat another loss!
Lunging back onto the offensive, the German woman decides to just throw herself into it. Thinking too hard hadn't worked; maybe she can pull it out with GUTS instead! Driving forwards, her eyes flash dangerously behind her glasses as she brings her foot swinging around, aiming to connect with the side of the girl's head!
COMBATSYS: Gertrude successfully hits Tiffany with Spin Heel.
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Tiffany 1/---====/=======|======-\-------\0 Gertrude
It seems like that's put the fire in Gertrude to succeed -- that gutsy offense sends her spinning, though she doesn't /quite/ hit the ground from it. Eyes screwing shut mid-spin, Tiffany tries desperately to stabilize herself. She'd /like/ to go back on the offense immediately, but her whole world feels like it's spinning in circles.
"O -- owww," she mumbles, once she has the presence of mind to make any noises with her mouth. Taking a breather, she leans back slightly again; on the one hand, she feels like she should be pressing the offense faster, but... how is she supposed to complete with the raw stiffness and strength of Gertrude's style? Even if she's managed to gain a slight lead, she's losing her groove...
... well, there's nothing for that but to keep on keeping on, is there? Dashing forward, Tiffany looks like she's going to go for another quick series of punches -- but the true attack comes from below, as she aims three swift kicks at her opponent's shins. Individually, they're not too much -- but as a group, well... at least they'll sting! And more importantly, keeping something out there gives Tiffany the chance to reassess her offense...
COMBATSYS: Gertrude interrupts Light Kick from Tiffany with Rising Knuckle.
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Tiffany 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0 Gertrude
Gertrude's style is very stiff - in contrast to many flashier fighters, she usually delivers only a single blow at a time, focusing on making sure that each attack is as good as it can possibly be. Oh, there's exceptions in her style - there's exceptions in every style, aren't there? - but by and large, she goes for doing what she does well, as well as she possibly can.
Tiffany has read that in her very well, but it CAN be very tough to deal with. Especially now that Gertrude's resolve is redoubled. The girl comes dashing in, and Gertrude's right hand clenches into a fist. She IS expecting punches, but, it doesn't matter. One kick lands, and Gertrude's jaw clenches. The second hits...
And then Gertrude's fist comes hammering upwards at an incredible rate. Slamming home into Tiffany's jaw, the twisting uppercut doesn't have to contend with her opponent's whole body getting in the way and messing up the technique, this time, and is coupled with a shout --
"RISING! KNUCKLE!"
And immediately after it has been delivered, the older woman is walking forwards, shaking her head lightly. "I don't know what they feed you kids!" She exclaims, "I've been training practically since I could walk, and you guys ALWAYS push me to my limit. And you don't even know what the big styles are called! I don't know if I should be terrified or admire you!"
Thrown off her feet by that rising fist, Tiffany practically flies into the air; when she lands in front of the advancing Gertrude feet-first, she starts to back off a little. "Well -- I just kinda... do my own thing! Plus I'm not... I don't really study this stuff. I just... decided I wanted to learn when I was like, ten, and then I got really good at it!"
The fact that Tiffany doesn't think of that as 'study' is probably telling in and of itself.
After very briefly thinking about her remaining options, the Lords heiress goes into a low duck... and starts to spin. She whirls completely on her heel, moving toward Gertrude with each successive spin -- and after the third, starts popping up into high-speed spinning back knuckles with each whirl.
Her fists, as she spins, once again surround themselves with bright, energetic sparkles, dancing around the whole width of her glove; she settles into a rhythm after a bit -- duck low, spin, pop up, swing -- repeating it over and over again, trying to hammer through Gertrude's guard.
COMBATSYS: Tiffany successfully hits Gertrude with Groovy Special.
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Tiffany 1/-------/<<<<<<<|=======\====---\1 Gertrude
It's after the fourth swing that Tiffany once again leans back, whirling her arm around and around, once again building up sparkles. There's no cute chanting or murmuring this time, though -- just a big, vicious haymaker wreathed in sparkles and potentially forceful enough to hurl Gertrude into one of the rides at the end of it.
"Just do your own thing, huh?" Gertrude repeats. "Well, it seems to be working out for you!"
With gritted teeth, Gertrude tries to solidify her guard as she sees Tiffany coming in for her. The woman's guard is solid, but it can't stand up against the energy-enhanced fists. They hammer into, and through, her attempt to mitigate it, and when she's flung backwards, to break a pony from a carousel, the woman really shouldn't be getting up again.
But she's determined not to go down before she's given it her all!
Compared to the flashy sparkles that Tiffany wields, Gertrude's subtle blue glow seems almost... laughable. But she throws herself back forwards, running as fast as she can to cover the ground before her body gives out, and leaving a streak of light blue in her wake.
At the last, she rolls forwards, and what she goes for is a STARK contrast to her usual, careful, rigidly defined pattern. Skidding on her knees, the German woman aims to grab Tiffany by the legs, and scoop her up. If she succeeds, the rest is pretty much muscle memory; her roll suffusing the girl with ferocious, burning DETERMINATION!
And then flinging her at the log flume with the last of her strength, her face collapsed into the muddy ground either way.
COMBATSYS: Gertrude can no longer fight.
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Tiffany 1/-------/<<<<<<<|
COMBATSYS: Tiffany blocks Gertrude's EX Tomoe Nagi EX.
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Tiffany 1/-----<</<<<<<<<|
Gertrude does indeed snag Tiffany this time -- her legs get pulled out from under her, and the roll carries her a good, hearty distance. It's when it comes time to hurl her at the log flume that things start to go pear-shaped; evidently, Tiffany kept a little more of her wits about herself than Gertrude may have expected from the apparently-ditzy blonde, narrowly pulling herself into a whirling flip and forcing herself to a stop well before she actually lands in it.
With a few hops, she manages to work off the last of her momentum; blinking a few times at her opponent, she jogs over, eyes a little wide. "Oh -- wow, I really thought you had me there," she stammers out, a little surprised. "Good fight!"
She offers her opponent a hand up, even; it wouldn't do to have a failure of sportsmanship at the moment of her victory, would it? It's just good sense to be as nice about this as possible.
Log created on 05:53:31 12/22/2014 by Tiffany, and last modified on 01:20:47 12/23/2014.