Blut und Eisen - Corrine DuPage [D] v. Lindsay Von Abel [D] - Double Debut Hardcore Match

[FreestylePoet]

Hardcore Match
Victory by pinfall, submission, or KO. Weapons will be scattered beneath the ring. No disqualification.

Corrine DuPage stood backstage, going through a brief stretching routine as she awaited the start of her debut match. She was nervous, of course -- who wouldn't be in this situation? It was Corrine's first professional fight ever, and her first public event for LAW. She'd done a lot of work to get here, only having been training with the Young Lionesses for two weeks. In that time, she'd gone to every lesson, sparring session, and seminar she could. She'd worked backstage at every match night she could as a ring girl, as a ringside assistant, as a backstage PA, that kind of thing. She'd even volunteered to clean the mats during a card with a lot of hentai matches! Living up to the promise of all that hard work was a daunting task.

But she could only allow herself to feel so much; after all, it was unlike a knight to fear a challenge from a worthy foe. Though her nerves were perfectly human, she aspired to live up to that ideal whenever she could. That meant steeling herself for the battle ahead.

Of course, the rules of the match were a great comfort to her. Many in LAW Booking and the Young Lioness program were shocked that she'd opt for a hardcore match as her first taste of the main roster. Yes, these matches could become brutal fast, and LAW's more villainous types typically frequented them. Still, Corrine felt that it would be closest to the European-style swordplay that she was well-versed in. In a pinch, she'd be able to draw upon those skills instead of being forced into using her nascent hand-to-hand combat knowledge.

Corrine DuPage, The Hedge Knight

So, as generic orchestral music filled the stadium, Corrine looked eagerly towards the bottom of the ring, hoping to peek at some of the weapons that she'd be able to use. Of course, none were visible past the apron; she'd have to rummage through the equipment later. Instead, she swung between the ropes, giving the audience a few happy, excited waves before moving to her assigned corner.

[Monsy]

The General seated herself backstage in a black steel chair, her forearms across a little wooden round table, fingers interlocked with thumbs twiddling. Another chair was right on the other side, and she waited for a woman with red hair and straight bangs. The door opened, and her stride was arrhythmic. She stopped behind the chair, set a hand on the backplate, and leaned over. “How do you feel?” And Lindsay replied, “Like magic.” and the snake known as Adelaide smiled, “Well, I didn’t expect you to make such a big deal out of this. Stand up. You’re the Soldier of Wrestling in a locker-room. Stand! Be tall, be strong!” Lindsay peered up, first dumbfounded, then she popped up from her chair. She took a deep breath, then glared, and Adelaide put hands on the table to lean down, making them face-to-face. “That’s it. That’s the look we need to see.” All those golden eye-rings made Lindsay nauseous, and her jaw flinched. Then she stuck her hands out, folded them behind her back and nodded firm. Adelaide straightened, “Have fun, Von Abel.” She chimed, then walked out.

Spoiler

Lindsay followed, and soldiers in black coats and masks that sheathed their entire heads lined the walls. There she gave the order, “Let’s begin.” And they went on to the ring. 

Spoiler

It started with a gong. The rhythmic drums, then the orchestra. Her soldiers poured from the back and onto the stage, then down the ramp, three feet apart to trudge the edge. And when the whole path was filled, Lindsay appeared, arms still folded behind her back, a hand on her wrist, tall postured and a flat expression. She looked left and right, then walked forward with deliberate steps. They all saluted when she passed and held it even as she strode by all of them and took those steel steps. She stopped, sharpened her hand, then saluted the ring. It fell behind her back again, and the other came forward to grab the top rope, then a leg swung betwixt the ropes, her body, then her other leg. Now she took the ring’s heart, adjusting her grey officer’s cap forward, peering at Corrine with laser-focused eyes. “Guten Tag.”

[FreestylePoet]

Lindsay Von Abel's entrance was, in a word, impressive. Corrine had heard that many of the women who made LAW their home had not only the creative and personal ambition to put together such extraordinary displays, but they also had the resources to back it up. Whether that meant money, connections, or pure wit, all enhanced by that which LAW itself had available.

More than that, the specific theme of Lindsay's entrance spoke to the Hedge Knight on a deeper level. Corrine watched as each black-clad soldier saluted with perfect solemnity and honor. Something about Lindsay had inspired these men and women to follow her into battle, shrugging off their individuality in favor of devotion to their leader. It was not quite how Corrine would go about service, but it was service nonetheless. And that meant that she'd made the right choice by joining LAW.

When Lindsay entered the ring, Corrine locked her eyes unmovingly on her. After all, she perceived no deception in her opponent's eyes, so she had little reason to believe that these soldiers were anything but a tour de force.

"Good evening, Miss Von Abel. Or, my apologies, perhaps General Von Abel...?" Corrine bowed to her opponent-to-be before meeting her with a polite smile. "I hope we have a spirited bout tonight."

Then she stepped back, waiting for the bell to ring. Once it did, she crouched at a sidelong angle and raised her fisticuffs. A pose that mimicked both boxing and more defensive varieties of karate. Unorthodox for a wrestler, but Corrine was hardly an orthodox fighter herself, especially for an environment such as this.

Just as that stance would suggest, Corrine stood at the ready, carefully watching her opponent's movements and preparing to block or dodge whatever may come her way!

"Best of luck!"

[Monsy]

She bore a nigh-constant light smirk; her eyes relaxed, but her posture, sturdy, tall and true. After her cap was fixed, she folded her arms behind her back, grabbed opposite elbows, then turned her head slightly to quirk a brow. “General will suffice.” Said with a closed-eyed nod. And when her opponent bowed, her chin tipped up, and she took a deep breath. “I plan to.”

The General didn’t move from her post, now focusing on Corrine with furrowed brows. Then the bell rang, and something donned Lindsay the moment it did. This girl is a weirdo. Their stance made her lip purse, shutting the gates on any immediate chuckle. But she did soften her demeanour, taking three exaggerated steps forward, one to the diagonal-left, diagonal-right, then forward, trying to remain just out of range and finish each advance with stomps. And at the third, if Corrine didn’t make a move, she’d lean forward, just smiling. “Let me guess. You want me to attack you first? Hmm… Sorry! But I’m not about to be made the fool! On second thought… ” She pointed a finger to her face, just beneath her own eye and said, “Could I do you the courtesy of telling you that you got a little… umm… something, it’s right…”

Her right foot slid back meanwhile, then whipped in a horizontal arch, her ankle twisting along with, aiming to pound Corrine right in her stomach. “HERE!”

[FreestylePoet]

The bow had brought her prostrate to the General, but even as Corrine rose, her stance was attentive and rigid in a subservient way. Respectful nods came to each of Lindsay's requests: to call her General, to accept Corrine's offer for the tone of their match, and, even after the bell, her implicit demand for the Knight's eyes and ears.

Though at the third, the Hedge Knight cocked her head and furrowed her brow. Truly, there was no trap laid in her stance, no malice in her strategy. Given the match type, Corrine supposed, her opponent could be forgiven for assuming duplicitous intent. Still, the accusation stung.

And then there was the issue of whatever Lindsay was pointing at. "Oh?" She brought her hand up to her upper cheek, drawing it away to find nothing. Still, surely there was something there, and her hand returned for a a harder rub. "Apologies, I am not quite used to fighting with makeup on. Perhaps I should -- OOF!"

With her guard lowered, Lindsay's foot had free reign to jab at her gut! Air was forced from her lungs, and her diaphragm spasmed with shock. Her hands scrabbled limply at Lindsay's thigh-high stocking, unsure whether to grab onto the marauding leg for support or to shove it away for relief.

[Monsy]

The woman’s demeanour was amiable for such a place that’s rife with indecency. And that in of itself was a weakness. Everything was a weakness if prodded the right way. For young Corrine, it took only a sincere tone and a statement to occupy their mind. And one jab to this woman’s gut, and she smelled blood. It couldn’t help that they appetized themselves with such a weak response. Not that she found her opponent’s prey, but as a ring commander, she’d press any opening. “It seems you were made the fool.”

The leg drew back, and Lindsay’s hands struck like vipers to try and clutch a ponderous hand with two. She took a step back and jerked her body back to pull them into the ring’s heart. The valley of the battlefield. An open terrain with freedom to maneuver, which she’d plot her next move with that very clutch. She ducked underneath Corrine’s arm, then stood on their flank, twisting their limb clockwise until the palm was face-up. Her second hand piled on their wrist to crank it further. “Don’t get distracted unless you want your debut to be a short one. I am your enemy.”

[FreestylePoet]

As the seconds ticked by, the suffocating pain radiating from her core was replaced by anguish in her mind. How dare this "General" -- more Machiavelli than Adolphus -- employ such underhanded deception? Theirs was meant to be honorable combat, and but a simple kick besmirched that good name.

"Hahh..." She was urged into the open plains of the center of the ring, no doubt strategic ground for whoever was abreast of the tides of battle. "NGYUH!" Her opponent took advantage of the position, flanking her to weaken her shoulder with an arm crank! If Corrine hoped to have a chance at defending the valor of battle, then she would need to steal that momentum back!

"That you are, fiend..."

To do so, she tugged at the spot where the two of them were linked. Given Lindsay's two-arm-to-one advantage, she had no delusions of freeing herself. Instead, she simply tried to roll her shoulder towards its natural position, using the resulting momentum to twist her whole body! Then, she swung one leg up for a high, karate-style kick to Lindsay's head, assisted by a modified ripcord!