Match of the Millennium

Description: After having difficulties obtaining challengers after his open challenge on FightTube, Aranha sets up a pop up fight venue at Ipanema Beach in Brazil. American practitioner of an Afro-Brazilian martial art takes on a Brazilian practitioner of a Chinese martial art for Neo League points and promotion. (Winner: Aranha)

[ARANHA]
The Dancing Spider, not having much luck getting Neo League matches by way of match making decided to take the search out in the world by creating pop-up challenge locations where he would announce where he would be available for taking on challenges. At any location he set this up, there was an official for the fight as well as camera crew and barriers erected to set the fighting boundary. There were signs close by to draw in potential opponents or onlookers if an actual fight got started. If they were already registered with Neo League, no problem. They could fight right away and the results could be sent in afterwards. If a potential opponent wasn't registered, there was a table close by with a tablet that could be used to enter all the required information and fill out waivers before being allowed to fight.

This particular pop-up challenge venue was set up on Ipanema Beach. Aranha finds himself sitting on one of the metal barriers as he absently watches a game of beach soccer being played in the distance. At the moment, there aren't many people around since no one at this point has seemed all that interested in challenging the season 4 runner up in the Neo League tourney.

Meanwhile, the camera crew, production staff, and official are all looking bored as it seems as though Aranha's attempt to find a new challenger seems once again doomed to failure.

[OLIVIA]
"Ola!"

The cheerful, chirpy greeting immediately denotes the girl delivering it as local. It does not, on the other hand, give the listener any warning of what they should expect should they turn her way.

Running across the sand comes a bouncing Brazilian brunette dressed in a brightly coloured scarlet macaw carnival costume, the red, green and blue feathers on her skirt, bodice, headpiece plume and wings shimmering in the sunlight as she waves her arms - or is she flapping her wings? - frantically, with some slip of paper in her left hand.

Unfortunately, the high-heeled golden sandals that she's wearing aren't suited for sprinting through sand dunes, and as she's nearly arrived, the girl suddenly loses her balance, falling forward onto her face and sliding a foot along through the hot sand, tailfeathers sticking up in the air, the parrot face of her headpiece appearing to be resting its beak on the ground.

Her head pops up a moment later, slightly red but with a sunny smile unbroken and hopeful look in her brown eyes as grains of sand spill off of her cheeks.

"Hi, I'm Olivia! Is it too late for the Neo-League challenge?" she asks Aranha and the event staff, holding up her slip of paper and waving it.

Closer inspection would reveal that it's a ticket receipt for a bus ride from Salvador de Bahia to Rio.

==*== AN HOUR EARLIER ==*==

Olivia sat obliviously humming and staring out the window from the inside seat of a Greyhound rolling past the coast, dressed in her full costume with her parrot headdress sitting on her lap while the other passengers tried politely not to stare with varying degrees of success.

==*== PRESENTLY ==*==

"Oh, desculpa!"

Olivia hops up onto her feet, then stuffs the ticket into her bodice before rapidly patting herself down in a manner that could almost be mistaken for the macarena before locating what she was looking for - her Neo-League identification.

"Olivia Ribeiro! I represent the Restaurante Ribeiro, melhor de Salvador!"

As Olivia dusts the sand off the front of her costume, one can't help but get the impression of the macaw using its wings to clean itself.

[ARANHA]
The cheerful greeting snaps the capoeirista out of his daze when he fixes his gaze upon a woman in a macaw costume flying across the sand in a mad dash. As she gets closer his eyebrow rises upward considering he wasn't expecting to see someone fighting in something more suited for carnival than a fight. It's at that moment she takes a spill. He finds himself cringing.

The woman doesnt stay down on the ground for too long and eventually she pulls out a Neo League ID out. He takes it to mean she was already signed up which also meant the sign-up process an all the waivers can be skipped. He slides off of the barrier and begins to stretch while looking at the woman who would be his opponent.

With an actual opponent around the spectators are gradually getting drawn away from the beach soccer(futbol) game and a crowd begins to form.

"I'm Keith Mason, also known as Aranha. Nice to meet you."

On one hand, his would be opponent hasn't made the greatest of impressions in terms of apparent fighting ability just based on that spill from earlier but it could be deception and he wasn't going to dismiss her without seeing what she can do.

[OLIVIA]
"You, too! A spider, ha?"

Olivia leans her neck back and lefts one foot off the ground as she gives Aranha a good look up and down, holding her wings out to balance as she does so.

"Spiders are neat, but I prefer birds! My dad says that the spiders in the pantry keep the cockroaches down."

The comment is made matter-of-factly, but a moment later the girl's eyes widen and she covers her mouth with one wing.

"Nossa! You're not filming yet, are you?"

Her head turns quickly toward the camera crew to see the red light on - probably hoping to pick up pre-match banter for the broadcast.

"I'm joking, I promise! Te amo, papai!"

She waves a winged hand at the camera with a rushed smile on her face before hopping on her foot to face Aranha once more.

"So, are we going to fight here on the beach?" she asks, pointing her wings indicatively off to the side to indicate the sandy shore as the waves roll in.

[ARANHA]
Aranha waits for the staff to check Olivia's paperwork and then when she's cleared to fight, Aranha gestures to the makeshift fighting ring with the metal temporary barriers placed on the beach. Eager to get things started as well as doing a bit of showing off for the crowd, the light-skinned darkstalker of African descent hops up on the barrier before bringing himself into a one handed handstand before eventualy dropping into the ring.

"I'm not going to be cliche and say, 'Come into my parlor.' I just want to put on a good show. Hopefully, you're up to the task."

As he waits for her, he sways to and fro in ginga waiting for the official to get the fight started. As he waits, he's visually taking her measure so he can have a general idea of what ranges she could potentially operate from.

COMBATSYS: Aranha has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Aranha           0/-------/-======|

[OLIVIA]
The Brazilian girl's smile only brightens as Aranha mentions the desire to put on a good show. She skips over to the ring on the toes of her sandals, then steps daintily over the barricade one foot at a time, wings fluttering to keep her balance.

"There's just one thing that a good show needs!" she declares as she prances toward the space in the ring opposite where Aranha is standing, her eyes turning to sweep the crowd. She'd be a little shorter than Aranha normally, heels neutralizing the height advantage - but the headdress she's wearing adds another foot or so. She shifts her stance, moving through several positions before rising up on one leg, shifting so that the side of her body faces Aranha, her raised leg high and bent at the knee, exposing the warm skin of her outer thigh and the side of her hip as she poses like a crane - possibly hinting at her fighting style.

"Esta..."

She waits for a moment to build dramatic tension after shouting the word, before abruptly whipping her wings and head backward to point at the production crew.

"A MUSICA!"

As she delivers the cue, there's a moment where the crowd looks toward where she's pointing... and then, a good several seconds of awkward silence as the production team confer quietly.

Olivia's smile slowly starts to droop, before she raises her wing to her mouth and calls out, "Um samba, por favor?"

Another several seconds later, a carnival samba mix starts to play over the sound system.

"Obrigada!"

When it does, Olivia gives a satisfied smile and starts to bounce and sway in her fighting stance, returning her attention to Aranha just in time for the bell to announce the start of the fight.

Immediately, a more intense and serious expression (that contrasts somewhat comically with her outfit) crosses Olivia's features, and she starts to hop toward Aranha while still balancing on her single foot, a slight breeze picking up as her wings waver in the air. Despite the odd manner of approaching, she seems accustomed to it, and she twists as she gets close enough for striking distance, snapping her raised foot at the other fighter's stomach.

"Combo!"

The knee bends again, and another swift kick is aimed at Aranha's groin.

"Numero!"

A third kick snaps toward Aranha's shin.

"Um!"

COMBATSYS: Olivia has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Aranha           0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0           Olivia

COMBATSYS: Aranha blocks Olivia's Combo #1 - Tres Patadas.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Aranha           0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0           Olivia

[ARANHA]
Aranha is familiar-ish with samba. It was played after the open roda at batizados that he attended so he had a general idea of how to dance to it. However it wasn't one that he's fought to very often. That being said, he was sure he could work with it.

He observes the hops. He could see she had confidence in her balance on one leg, however there was only one point of contact with the ground which meant it could be attacked. The kick comes in before he can take advantage of the single point of contact.

Aranha rocks backward with a spin catching the initial kick on his shoulder, the next kick gets caught on his thigh as he spins once again, deflecting the groin shot before the final kick to the shin. In order to deal with that, he performs a powerful turn to pull his leg ahead of her kick and completely out of the way.

The momentum generated by the shin kick evasion gets reused to power the blue chi enhanced sweeping lateral palm strike to the jaw before swinging a kick of his own between her legs. After all, turnabout is fair play.

COMBATSYS: Olivia blocks Aranha's Dead Man's Hand.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Aranha           1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0           Olivia

[OLIVIA]
By the time that Aranha starts to swing back around with the momentum of his evasive maneuver, Olivia's leg is back lifted and crooked into her fighting stance once more. She seems almost caught off-guard by the speed with which he replies to her combination.

"Ah!"

A wing comes up as if to block the energy-laced palm thrust directly as Olivia nearly forgets her training, but at the last moment, she stiffens her arm and uses it to forcefully divert the palm away from her face. When the follow-up kick is aimed between her legs, she twists so that the blow smacks against her hip instead. Nevertheless, she grimaces - even dampened thus, the blow seems intense enough to have had an effect on her.

"Hnngh!"

She shifts her stance, raising her arms above her head and thrusting her upper leg into a high straight kick aimed at Aranha's upper body with a burst of effort. As she brings the leg down, she spins around, shifting to the opposite foot and twisting at the waist to aim the back heel of her other foot at Aranha's knee, her arms swaying as her body arches into the strike. She continues to spin, completing the three-sixty with a back-hand (back-wing?) blow to the chest before snapping a third, even higher snap kick toward Aranha's chin, potentially launching him into the air if she succeeds, all the while shouting:

"Combo numero sete, Extra Spicy!"

She salutes with her wing briefly and winks as she finishes speaking.

COMBATSYS: Olivia successfully hits Aranha with Combo #7 - Golpes de Pe e Pulso ES.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Aranha           1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0           Olivia

[ARANHA]
The speed of Olivia's recovery catches the capoeirista by surprise. While he knows he didn't land the attack solidly, he knows that even the blunted force was painful for her. The high straight kick forces the capoeirista off balance leaving him vulnerable to the rest of the combo. The kick to the knee further compromises his balance leaving him at her mercy for the back-wing and then the kick to the chin flipping up and over and landing him face down in the sand.

He rises back to his feet, dusts himself off and wipes a bit of blood off of his lip from getting wing slapped. He nods and begins to dance once more as he edges back into his kicking range. He then hops slightly forward delivering a round kick with one leg and as it returns to the ground the other leg goes up to deliver one of it's own. Other martial arts might call it a switch kick.

COMBATSYS: Olivia fails to counter Change-Up Kick from Aranha with Combo #6 - Prato de Asas.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Aranha           1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1           Olivia

[OLIVIA]
Olivia's face shines with a smile, a little wave of her wings given for the crowd as she poses. One of her wings moves to her mouth when she notices that the other fighter is bleeding, the smile quickly vanishing.

"Todo bem?"

The other fighter's nod satisfies her inquiry, and she hops back toward Aranha, hips swaying and body bouncing to the music as he dances back into kick's reach of her. Seeing his foot rounding toward her, she lifts a wing, readying to capture the leg.

"Combo numero - ai!"

Too slow to actually trap the leg, she instead catches it in her side, causing her body to bend and threaten to topple - only to fully do so when the second kick follows through, knocking her off her balance to land on her back, wings akimbo. She groans and sits up, reaching over to pick up her macaw headpiece and shake the sand from it before perching it back on her head.

[ARANHA]
A subtle detail that may not be picked up on until the highlights are shown and the footage can be reviewed in fight commentary after the fight. The moment Olivia looked like she was going to commit to trapping his foot he just slightly adjusts the speed on the kick so he can just barely slip it in. It was one of those blink and you'll miss it and you could possibly /still/ miss it if you were staring right at it moments.

A few moments after he lands he can see her hit the ground which is his cue to continue dancing as she picks up the macaw headpiece and replaces it on her head. Meanwhile, the bloody lip has stopped bleeding and looking like it might close soon thanks to his unwanted prize.

The capoeirista does allow her to return the headpiece to her head but that's the only bit of kindness he is willing to extend to her before he goes back to attempting to apply pressure once again. They were here to fight and not continuing to do so was an insult to those who would watch here and at home.

He drops low to balance on one hand while he delivers a snap kick to her shoulder and then ideally tilting back to his feet.

COMBATSYS: Olivia just-defends Aranha's Light Kick!

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Aranha           1/=======/=======|=======\-------\1           Olivia

[OLIVIA]
Olivia has just managed to get the headpiece back neatly into place, the black beak settling above her dark brows, when Aranha drops down to snap a kick at her shoulder. Both wings come together in an instant, and one quickly pushes the kick off-course, the counter-momentum pushing her backward, legs in the air as she hits her back again - and then carries on, rolling backward and losing her headpiece again by the time that she rolls up onto one foot - somehow managing to make the maneuver look intentional as her loose leg comes up, parrot headpiece hooked on the toe as she lifts it up, flaunting the flexibility of her leg as it goes nearly vertical with a swift motion - and the headwear manages to land lopsided back on her crown.

With that display, the crowd starts to clap, and Olivia doffs her parrot-head to them, posing with wings outstretched.

"Obrigada a todos! Remember, try Restaurante Ribeiro and you'll lose your head, too!"

Shifting to both feet, she shimmies back and forth, putting on a proper mini-display of samba before lifting her leg back into her crane-style stance and settling her headgear back into place as she turns to face Aranha.

"Desculpa! Where were we?"

COMBATSYS: Olivia takes a moment to appeal to the audience!

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Aranha           1/=======/=======|=======\====---\1           Olivia

[ARANHA]
A few thoughts run through the capoeirista's head. First. That was impressive defense even from a less than ideal positioning for her. Upon landing on his feet once more, he can see that she has moved far enough away that he can't pursue quickly enough to prevent her from getting back to her feet let alone the display of placing the headpiece back on her head with her foot which was impressive in its own right. That leads to the final thought. Did she just stop to plug a restaurant in the middle of a fight?

He lets a slight grunt of annoyance out before he decides to resume his campaign of harrying his opponent with kicks. If she can stop to advertise in the middle of a fight, he isn't applying enough pressure.

He darts right at Olivia delivering a blue glowing roundhouse kick to the body, followed by a jumping roundhouse kick likewise engulfed in energy before letting the momentum of the kick turn him around for just a moment before he slams a blue chi enhanced back flip kick down upon her head as the crowd pleasing finale to his combo.

COMBATSYS: Olivia instinctively blocks Aranha's Aggressive Dance.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Aranha           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\=======\1           Olivia

[OLIVIA]
Despite the audacious display of questionable marketing moxie, Olivia's expression is focused and intent as Aranha darts back in. She hops up at the last moment before the initial roundhouse can connect with her middle, deflecting it with the fleshier part of her outer thigh and allowing the impact to push her back. A wing reflexively pushes the follow-up roundhouse over her head as she ducks slightly, and she catches the last overhead kick with a raised wing, spinning to push it away from its course.

As she spins, a breeze starts to quickly gather under her, kicking up sand from the beach. She continues the rotation, the movement rapidly accelerating as she kicks off the ground, attempting to crash into Aranha with her rapidly rotating wings.

"Especial de Papagaia Voadora!"

As she shouts out, she starts to take off like a helicopter - carrying the capoeirista with her into the air if he doesn't manage to arrest or avoid her momentum. The spinning would finish with her snapping her left wing into an aerial salute and swinging her right leg high - "Extra Spicy!" - before swinging it right back down in an attempt to follow up with an axe kick to Aranha's head.

COMBATSYS: Aranha interrupts Especial de Papagaia Voadora ES from Olivia with Quick Throw.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Aranha           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2           Olivia

[ARANHA]
Olivia's guard aborts the momentum of the flip kick forcing the capoeirista to flip forward in order to land back on his feet. The capoeirista can feel the breeze kick up and that's about when he sees Olivia spinning towards him in rapid fashion. He attempts to time his response to buckle her leg from behind with his legs while he braces his elbow against her torso and lean backwards to drop her on her back with a takedown that in capoeira would be called Vingativa. It is only partially successful.

What Aranha had failed to account for was the fact that she was being lifted by the wind itself and so he goes along for the ride but also trapping her against him so that she couldn't batter him with her wings either. They separate just as she brings her foot high into the air as he shifts slightly to the side while his arms held in a T-pose forming a cross. The axe kick lands on his shoulder just as he sweeps her foot from under her.

He then takes a step backward as he takes a moment to process what just happened.

[OLIVIA]
It becomes unclear as Aranha takes a flight on Olivia Airlines who is the pilot and who is the passenger, with Olivia's wing-battering assault averted by the capoeirista's clutch. Eventually, they part violently, the buoying current of air that was aiding Olivia's ascent sending her scattering as she loses control of it and flips head over heels a couple of times before landing face-down tailfeathers-up in the sand.

She, too, requires a moment to take stock as she lifts her head up, pulling a face as she shakes her hair out, then pushes back up onto her feet - or foot, as it were. She quickly dusts the grit from her cheeks and forehead, where a fresh bruise is already joining the community of the ones on her hip, thigh, arms and side.

"O que aconteceu?"

As she looks across to where Aranha is processing, a cool breeze rolls off of the ocean, and the mock-macaw kung fu fighter draws a deep breath through her nostrils. She raises her arms up and closes her eyes as the wind rushes under her wings. A second later, they snap back open.

"Todo mundo!"

She sets her arms into position horizontally, leaning forward.

"E hora do especial da casa!"

She shifts from one foot to the other as she breaks the single-foot stance to take a couple of rapid steps forward, then leaps - using what one might sense as a forceful, if subtle, manipulation of wind chi to launch herself up toward the sky, creating a large shadow in the shape of a bird-person - perhaps an angel - across the beach, quickly moving toward the capoeirista.

"Cuidado abaixo! Cometa Vermelho!!"

From the tremendous height, Olivia descends rapidly - and rather gracelessly, plummeting with great force in what amounts to nothing more technical than a simple belly-flop (a splash, if one is feeling generous) that, for her own sake, one would hope might be broken by the Spider.

COMBATSYS: Olivia successfully hits Aranha with Especial da Casa - Cometa Vermelho.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Aranha           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>---\-------\0           Olivia

[ARANHA]
The capoeirista can only watch in stunned silence as Olivia takes to the air. It's beautiful. It's majestic. It's fricking dangerous! Aranha attempts to scramble away and ends up getting pancaked by the bird fighter which, if Aranha was being honest is at least slightly embarrassing.

"Ugh... That didn't feel good... At all."

He takes a moment to get himself together before he rushes for the metal barrier while glowing blue. It's then he departs from the capoeira that he had been leaning on for most of the fight to more of the parkour aspects of his style. He bounces from the barrier to Olivia and back to the barrier over and over with chi enhanced kicks from every imaginable angle while leaving afterimages in his wake.

When it is over, Aranha rolls backwards away from Olivia and takes a deep breath.

COMBATSYS: Olivia fails to counter Joker's Wild from Aranha with Combo #3 - Rolo e Panqueca ES.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Aranha           1/------</<<<<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Olivia can no longer fight.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Aranha           1/------</<<<<<<<|

[OLIVIA]
After landing on top of Aranha from her mad dive to the applause of the crowd, Olivia bounces away, rolling across the ring until she manages to push her wings out and stop her tumble. She's still a bit dazed as she staggers backward with a winged hand against the side of her head, looking for the spider.

"Legal," she says breathlessly, before locking eyes on her opponent. Her eyes narrow as she focuses intently on Aranha, watching him leap off of the barrier as she lifts her leg back into her bent-kneed crane stance and starts to sway. She brings her wings up, preparing to thrust them outward to shield against the capoeirista's kick.

"Combo numero - oof!"

She flubs the timing, accidentally leaving her chest open to take the stinging kick full force, her bosom providing a platform for him to return to the barricade. She teeters, wings flapping helplessly, as Aranha kicks off the barricade again and manages to kick her in the back of the head. The headpiece is knocked loose, falling to the sand, and she stumbles forward onto both feet, then gets drilled by another kick into her side. Kick after kick continues to land, and she's soon tottering back and forth even after the kicks have stopped before her eyes roll back and she keels over, spread-winged and spent.

[ARANHA]
The Dancing Spider stands up once more. As he looks at the bird fighter, he gives a nod of respect. She gave him a tough fight and made him earn the win. His body can finally rest and because of that, the wounds and bruises he had accumulated during the fight were starting to fade away now that his body didn't have to divert energy from repairing itself in order to fight.

He raises a hand in victory and then he hops over the barrier to go get some food while medical staff check on Olivia.

COMBATSYS: Aranha decides that discretion is the better part of valor.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Aranha           1/------=/=======|

COMBATSYS: Aranha has ended the fight here.


[OLIVIA]
The medical team revive Olivia easily enough - she's dazed, but fortunately seems to be in good health - and good spirits - beyond that. Sitting up urgently, she tries to get up, ignoring their insistence that she allow them to finish their check-up.

"I can't wait! E uma emergencia!"

She staggers up to her feet and reaches into a secret pocket on the inside of her left wing, pulling out a strip of small multi-coloured cards with the words 'Restaurante Ribeiro' on the front. She stumbles toward the members of the dispersing crowd.

"Espere! Wait! Don't go yet!"

She waves the strip of cards frantically in the air.

"I have coupons!!"

Log created on 12:09:21 01/22/2021 by Aranha, and last modified on 22:04:12 01/23/2021.