Hope & Tyranny: Tae-Hyun Lee (D) vs Karolina Ray Reinhardt

[Misfit_Alien]

Tae-Hyun could only look at the woman in slight confusion and partial scorn, he merely shook his head as Maria continued to rationalize and talk down to the Korean man. Seems like even when it came to the acknowledgment of their own injuries, these people were the type to think of themselves so highly that they were above the pain they felt. It was honestly a little worrying, the whole blatant disregard for one's health and all, but the scarier thing was the fact that when Maria had looked over toward where her group was, a look of fear and hesitation seemed to grow in her eyes when her glance was not returned. Just what WAS this group's inner relationship? For someone fighting on behalf of the 'big boss' of the faction, Maria seemed frightfully scared of even the idea of looking weak in front of that Karolina woman. Which begged the question...if she was in danger, would they even come to help her?

The thought reverberated in the man's head...talk about a dog-eat-dog world. Even amongst family, it seems such nature couldn't be avoided. Tae-Hyun despised that. Given his awful familial background and a past filled with abuse and neglect, he could relate to what Maria was feeling...to an extent. That longing for approval and to be noticed instead of looked down upon and left behind.

However, he wouldn't have much longer to reflect on these things as Maria kicked the match back into high gear, rushing the man with a fury unlike before as she bolted in a straight line for Tae-Hyun, leaping toward him with a vigorous kick aimed at his knee. Upon contact, his eyes widen and he lets out a brief wince as Maria's boot slams into his leg. While tougher than most, the pain still lingers in Tae-Hyun's leg for a moment. This just goes to show how tough the people of this 'faction' were. Tae-Hyun skids back a bit, sliding against the canvas while remaining on his feet. He lets out a huff, sighing as he bolsters his stance. A few aches and pains wouldn't stop him but the atmosphere at that moment suddenly shifted...had he been less prepared his knee might've very well been taken out, and Maria would've picked him apart bit by bit like a spider tearing the limbs off of its prey.


How terrifying...There was a reason these people believed that they sat above most people, they had the force and tactics to back it up. Whether Tae-Hyun wanted to acknowledge it or not, they were a cut above the rest...Once he felt good to move, Tae-Hyun would return fire by dashing toward Maria, aiming to grab hold of her wrist and drag her into a Ripcord Lariat, aiming to smash his forearm upside her upper chest and neck area.

Spoiler

[Monsy]

This awful feeling of being put underneath a microscope. By giants, everywhere. She hated it. But she needed their eyes. Her eyes. How can anyone not? It was like being the centre of the universe. Without it, there’s just empty space. This man was the cause of it. He was the serpent. Snake, righteous -- all too ego to absorb as much attention as possible. It didn’t belong to him. Nothing did.

Still, chomping away at him was like scratching steel. Both feet only managed to take him back. Frustrating didn’t begin to describe it. She landed on her back, but was quick to kip-up and assert authority with her gaze alone. She can feel her strength. This man got smaller by the second. The longer she held the thought, the more she smiled and forced a grin. And when he ran, she ran. Her legs marked the swords of which to strike, and just when it was about to cleave again, her arm was snatched and her control was history.

“GEGGHH!!” Maria’s lower-half swung out, with her upper bearing the force of a car crash. She ended up violently crashing the canvas as though she were powerbombed. The first thing she did was heave in, sucking in a galloon of breath as her lungs felt deflated. Her arms went over her chest, her eyes were wide and she was biting her lip to hold in a scream. Above all -- Karolina can never see that.

Neither did she see much at all. She was more focused on her wine, with only thoughts of departure swimming around in that godly head.

[Misfit_Alien]

With Scarlaheart in his grasp, Tae-Hyun moved forward, bringing his arm up while pulling her in, building momentum on both ends until-

BOOM!!!

The resulting impact of the fiery hero's arm colliding with the chest of the bewitching and iniquitous Scarlaheart sent a thunderous sound rippling throughout the arena, another heavy thud sounding off shortly after as the woman's body made contact with the canvas below. In her eyes, Tae-Hyun could see the anger, the frustration, the fear...he could see that through the woman's eyes was quite the troubled mind, Scarlaheart's head plagued with the fear of failure. It partially tortured him to know that on his path to becoming victorious, he'd be casting her off to a fate seemingly worse than death: disappointing Karolina

For the first, and likely only, time the two had some common ground. While Scarlaheart's problem was dealing with Tae-Hyun, they had a mutual issue to deal with...that being the dreaded, red-headed, and ever-diabolical Matriarch of the Reinhardt's. Though his heart was a fiery blaze, the woman was able to send a few chills down the hero's spine. It was like feeling the effects of an increased level of gravity weighing down on one's body, you felt as if you would crumble under the pressure of her gaze and aura like she was stomping you down and reducing you to nothing but gravel beneath her feet. The woman's presence was a little intimidating, to say the least. That god-complex of hers was astonishingly large and firm, trying to break it down and take a stand against her would be like tackling a mountain and trying to move it, but Tae-Hyun would not lose heart. Where villainy and darkness crept, he'd come along to bring the light and cast such fiendish presences out. After taking down his opponent, Tae-Hyun would quickly hook Scarlaheart's leg and go for the pin, placing his weight on her body and holding her down, the referee sliding down to check that her shoulders were both against the canvas.


"1...!!!"

"2-..."

[Monsy]

There wasn’t anything beyond if she failed.
Always coming up a little short, unbeknownst as to why. It was sickening. Why all the others mastered something, looked and did perfect was beyond understanding. It felt like mimicking. No matter what she did, no matter the hat she wore, it was still just second-hand.

But this pain was very well first-experienced. She was juiced for her wind, and came crashing. Her tattooed leg was hooked, lifted, the limb folded over his hand and brought into her chest so the boot pointed at the lights. The referee sighted, dropped and counted. The serpent Adelaide had her eyes glued and didn’t blink once. Karolina didn’t even bother. It was either disappointing or pathetic. Reaching two -- Maria jerked her shoulder and arm, “GET OFF, FOUL FOOL!” She barked with all her voice, pushing on him and trying to roll away. It got Karolina’s glance, but she resigned to a sigh, “Have we been housing a dog all this time or a Reinhardt?” Asked Adelaide, who shrugged, “Sometimes, I'm not sure. Our Miss Main Event is often much more agreeable to our standards. Perhaps she should is worth more attention.” -- Karolina laughed at that, “Second-born gets nothing from me. I’ll wait here until my doubts are worn down.”

Adelaide rolled her neck, “I’ll be ready to handle things myself, then. And clean up.”

Back in the ring, Maria only retreated, towards the ropes where she looked to cling and claw at them, slowly dragging herself up. She was far from recovered, rather, she rushed it. One can say she was pushing herself. But was it for better or worse?

[Misfit_Alien]

As Tae-Hyun secured the pin, locking Scarlaheart down and raising her leg against her chest as he hooked it into a Lateral Press, the bar-setting standard for all pin maneuvers. The referee moved in to start the count, Tae-Hyun had wanted to try and end this early and spare the woman from any more harm. This wasn't because he didn't think she could take it, but rather because he knew that she wouldn't stay down...even if it cost her own safety and wellbeing. To her credit, Maria was a ferocious fighter, the Korean man could tell. However, she was also a cog in the machine of pure, unadulterated diabolical villainy, and Tae-Hyun wouldn't stand for it. However, as if on cue, right when the referee counted to two, Scarlaheart jerked alive with the fury of a lion fighting on pure instinct and rage.

The level of scorn coming from her voice, the contempt...it made the tension in the ring that much thicker, all the while she was just proving Tae-Hyun's point correct. He spotted that she was still reeling from the blow, she was pushing too hard and too fast, not giving herself any time to breathe, trying to meet and match the expectations and conditions of something far beyond, something inhuman...the psychological pressure that Karolina forced upon her had to be inhumane, there was something about the relationship between the woman and Scarlaheart that seemed anything but positive. Still, there was nothing that the hero could do to remedy the current situation. Anything he said to his opponent would just be received by her as an attack on her character, her pride, and her strength. What's worse, he could feel this eery sensation down the back of his spine, it was different from the sensation he felt from Karolina. Somewhere, he felt like a target was being placed on his heart like a hit had been taken out on him and his life was in danger. It made him lose focus for just a moment, giving Scarlaheart a few seconds longer to enjoy this brief respite.

After he shook the feeling, Tae-Hyun moved forward to try and grapple Maria, aiming to drag her over to the corner and set her up, wrapping his arms around her waist and slowly lifting her up onto the top of the turnbuckle, seating her atop the uppermost level before climbing up the ropes himself, aiming to go for some kind of avalanche move as he secured himself and Scarlaheart.

[Monsy]

If this was all it took for Maria to be snubbed. Then they weren’t a Reinhardt at all.
Maria might as well join a class lower than second-born. A plain of irrelevance where that name they clung to can only be a weightless title. Hardly anything beyond a common man. Karolina needed the best. What Maria was giving is just the bare minimum, breaking her pin -- not to Karolina’s amusement, but for the Matriarch of Hate to simply hold her disgust in order.

Still. Some moves are no joke. Especially when it came from someone bigger, stronger and by the looks, far faster than she anticipated. Her lungs were still feeling like popped balloons and she was scratching and pawing to back to her feet with an unease in her legs. Most of it was just how her mind felt queasy. She just couldn’t ease weight properly without the flinch to immediately take it off. One -- two slaps was given to herself. She saddled a much more snake-like glare. Focus reinvigorated and settled with a deep huff. When Tae came from the grapple. She fought the way with pure stomps and push-back, but their size still commanded her to be back-pressed into the turnbuckles, lifted and placed like a child upon the top. But then. Maria grabbed his hair, twisted and yanked to reveal his face to her. She stood with her feet on the adjacent top ropes -- then went to bite him on the forehead. Her teeth marked something that drew Karolina’s eyes. It made Adelaide take a step back. Just which Reinhardt daughter did they just see?

NOT that it lasted long, as Maria shoved him back, in hopes to cause a stumble and shock him through a new torrent of boos. She wiped her mouth -- then jumped, flinging her body at him in a horizontal fashion!

[Misfit_Alien]

Tae-Hyun was too busy ensuring that Maria was settled atop the turnbuckle to spot that she was slowly coming back to life. Just as he was about to shift positions and prepare her for a powerful slam from the top of the corner, he felt his hair being tussled and yanked, sending a wave of shock through his head as he was caught off guard. He looked up only to be greeted with the sight of Scarlaheart's jaw in motion, coming down on top of his exposed forehead. All of sudden, he felt this rush of pain shooting through his skull as the redhead demon viciously bit down on the hero's head, further surprising him and dealing the first real bit of damage to Tae-Hyun in the entire match. When backed into a corner, it appeared that the struggling Maria was like a caged animal, ready to pounce and fight and do whatever it takes to win...were the other Reinhardts this beastly and treacherous? Tae-Hyun couldn't focus on that, he couldn't focus on a lot of things as the pain in his head was a little too much to handle.

Due to their positions, the hair pulling into quite an illegal bite was unspotted by the referee, as all they bore witness to was Tae-Hyun clutching his head in pain with no explanation. Soon after, he was harshly shoved back to give the Reinhardt some breathing room, the crowd all showing their disdain for the woman with a chorus of boos, but it likely did nothing to deter Maria...if anything, it might've even boosted her resolve in order to continue to use this newfound 'opportunity' to further crush the hero while she had him reeling. Scarlaheart steadied herself and leaped forward, hitting Tae-Hyun with a Diving Crossbody from the top of the corner, crashing into him and toppling him over with enough force to make him fall over onto the canvas on his back, leaving the cruel redhead laying on top of the hero horizontally.

Spoiler

[Monsy]

Didn’t think much about it. These things are never stuff you contemplate. Just happens, right? It started less feeling like a match and more like a fight. It happens. And having come around, netting her that moment -- precious seconds to go high and jump. She felt her gut sink when she did that, thinking she might break something. Came down easy enough. Laid over his hard chest. Her eyes had screwed shut until she was stable. They opened and she flipped her hair back. Then she stood, spread her arms out, looked down and stomped once on his chest. “This.” STOMP. “Is.” STOMP. “My.” STOMP. “MATCH!” It left her breathy, enough to deliver that last boot, and pace around him with her arms still spread, basking, stoic. That signature Reinhardt flair, with spotlight grabbing and downward punching. She tried to work up a smile, but ended up stone-faced, looking slightly to the lights, high above the jeering crowd. Something inside still called. Barely beneath the surface. Watch me. Was she? For the moment. The one she wanted more than anyone to see was indeed watching closely.

[Misfit_Alien]

Tae-Hyun was crushed beneath the woman's body upon her landing. It hurt, but it wouldn't be enough to keep him down. However, Scarlaheart didn't seem like she was finished using the man as a sort of stress toy, raising one leg and hovering her boot over his recoiling body, stomping down on it with such vitriol and disdain, attempting to crush him like a cockroach, yelling at him with this seething level of animosity...not just because of the fact that it was a bug, but due to the fact that it invaded her home. Tae-Hyun's mere existence was seen as a problem to the Reinhardt family, and his performance thus far showed that he could be a real threat if not taken care of sooner rather than later, this was made evident by how he was dismantling Maria not too long ago. It was an attack on her family, and Maria's lack of dominance was causing her to potentially lose some stock in said family. She was held to high standards, she NEEDED approval, HER approval, and this 'hero' was getting in the way of that, he was making her look bad, making her look WEAK. Tae-Hyun would be thoroughly punished for the heartache and toil that the redhead was being put through. After she was finished, the stalwart hero only felt emboldened, not allowing himself to be snuffed out so easily as he would not just stand, but RISE, performing a kip up right to his feet and staring down the dreaded Scarlaheart like a knight facing a dragon, eyes alight with this sense of hope, passion, and courage.

[Monsy]

There’s no welcome place for a hero here. He’s only a fake. One that needed no cue to see her eyes twitch. But even she felt trapped in a vat, watched on by the two on the stage. She wasn’t sure where to swing her weight, so she swung it at anything that would hurt. At least, that’s what it seemed. Rising to his feet, the shadow soon swallowed Maria. She froze, looked up, half a foot shorter and nearly sixty pounds lighter. It’s easy to feel swallowed. It’s nothing new. Look around.

But would she still take it, faced with who’s supposed to be a lesser, looking down at her and meeting her upwards glare? It stiffens her. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. But to those eyes, looking more combative by the moment, she said. “You should just stay down.” Then spat at his boot. She took a bladed stance, then threw her leg true -- aimed for the inside of his knee. If that hit, she'd take a fist, pull it back and thrust for his gut.