#jesse is a blend of jay's evasive distraction manuvers and zane's defensive support

[weekend-whip]

What’s everyone’s fighting style like exactly? I know Cole fights very sturdily, with some flexibility from dancing to balance it out, and I can imagine Kai doing a lot of kicking to accompany his sword swings, but what does everyone else do? Bonus points for realism.

I make no promises but *cracks neck* here we go!

"Cole leans more towards power, always stepping into his strikes to achieve the greatest amount of impact. Every hit is heavy, every swing is forceful. While some of his movements are on the slower side, sometimes he misses on purpose to unsettle his opponent and demonstrate just who they're messing with. But also, when his strikes do connect, it's pretty much a guarantee his foe's down for the count."

Cole when fighting at close range primarily relies on his fists, naturally. He first focuses on blocking to wear down the opponent, then can hit heavy and hard once an opening presents itself. His strikes are not that fast, however, and can be dodged enough for the blow to be lessened or missed entirely. However, while he might not be the fastest, his dancing background allows him to be not only graceful but nimble—so where people would expect him to be easy o hit (and he is, when he's letting you hit him), he is also a master of finding opportunities to counter attack, usually via his element. Above all else, Cole is an offensive fighter, even while on the defense.

When fighting at range, that's when he starts incorporating his legs + Vibration Tracing more. He likes to stomp and manipulate and/or shake the earth that way when his target is too far to strike directly, or kick out to deliver a strike with earth. Depending on the environment (and attunement with his element at the time) Cole can also manipulate the terrain into his advantage as well, which many opponents fail to account for when fighting him (and thus can and will be knocked around by Earth Pillars).

With his weapons, Cole's Scythe tends to be used to generate space between him and his opponent, whether by manipulating earth or just to make people run from a giant swinging blade. His hammer is used to either unsteady his opponents, or to deliver a finishing blow. If he leads with the hammer, he's trying to put you out of commission as soon as possible. If he leads with the Scythe, however, he's still trying to give you a chance to Not Get Obliterated (such as while training or, y'know, fighting a small child).

"Zane's style is reactionary, waiting for his opponents to fall into an unfavorable position before making his move. He lulls his opponent into a false sense of security before striking fiercely, blindsiding them completely. He makes it a point to study his foe in the few precious seconds he has, trying his best to match their style, all the while sticking to his own strengths."

Zane likes to be a ranged finger. He hates being in close range, because he has less time to anticipate/decipher a foe's movements (hence why he was at a disadvantage in fights like ones against Cryptor/Mr. E, etc.) He tries to avoid the front lines, providing backup by adapting the terrain (Ice Floor), straight up freezing the enemy, or slowing them down with arrows/shuriken so that someone else can go in close for the killing blow (metaphorically). This type of behavior also results in the enemy forgetting about Zane as they're too busy dealing with the others, allowing Zane to pick up slack when needed.

When he does have to fight at close range, he doesn't let the enemy wear themselves down so much as he works to disorient them. This is easily done when they're fighting on ice, as then half of the enemy's focus becomes relying on keeping their balance, and then Zane can easily offset them. But if not on ice, then Zane's the one having to put extra effort into focusing on dodging and deflecting, because with even one slip up in his defenses, his chances of recovery drop fast.

"Jay fights loosely, like he's not even fighting at all, but once he hones in on his opponent's weakness, he strikes with a dangerous amount of precision.  He's always on the move, knowing in his bones that a moving target is harder to hit, but already ready to fight back the moment the chance arrives. He is a fighter of opportunity."

Jay's strength lies in evasion—a moving target is harder to hit, and he can't tank hits like Zane nor Cole, nor can he counterattack as well as Cole. Therefore, when he fights, it's all about moving around until the perfect moment presents himself and he seizes upon it—like a lightning strike. This is also why he makes for a good distraction, leaving Cole open to focus on offense and Zane to provide defending support.

He also prefers ranged combat like Zane, as demonstrated with his weapons. His nunchucks, while useful for if he does find himself with an annoyingly clingy opponent, can also serve to put distance b/w himself and the foe, similar to Cole with his Scythe. His kusarigama, however, he prefers to use to either get himself out of range, especially when unable to teleport, or to manipulate an enemy's position from afar. Being as distant with his opponent as possible is very important for Jay's more spontaneous battle strategies, as getting the drop on his foes is an important aspect of how he fights.

But when he does find himself in close quarters (and too low on energy to teleport), Jay still has evasion and speed in spades. He's very good at winding around an enemy's strikes without being touched, and will attempt to work his way behind them before delivering a strike. Otherwise, if he just tries to do a full frontal assault (something Cole can get away with), he's open to being deflected or counterattacked, and like Zane would struggle to recover. As soon as someone gets their hands on him he's a sitting duck (unless, of course, he just shocks them...but he can't always control the amount of voltage he uses either. Especially if he's fighting while agitated.)

"Kai is…something else. He dishes out hits like Cole, but with Jay’s speed. He’s receptive in his defense like Zane, but steadfast in his movements like Cole. And he’s hard to hit like Jay, but sometimes lets himself be hit like Zane. And what he lacks in ninja experience he more than makes up for in his sword skills."

Kai is, perhaps, the most basic yet most integral component. He primarily relies on his own sword skills and what hand-to-hand he's managed to learn prior to being a ninja, and yet his fighting style has similar traits to the previous three: with Cole's focus on offense, Zane's skill at defending, and Jay's penchant for evasion...but he doesn't specialize in any of them, just uses them in tandem to achieve his own agile style, and to give a tea a boost in the area they need it most on the field.

This is why when one of the others is down for the count, Kai's the one stepping in to fill the gap. Need a quick distraction but Jay wore himself out? Kai. Need someone right on the frontlines but Cole is injured? Kai. Need someone to watch your back but Zane's busted? Kai. His simplicity is what makes him malleable to any situation, and he doesn't have to be perfect either; just enough to keep the momentum of battle going.

As for more concrete battle tendencies, unlike the others he prefers to fight with a weapon, even if he is at a disadvantage when fighting at range. His swords are always his go-to, even after getting his fire powers, just because it's so ingrained into him after all this time. His fire powers do help to make up any distance he finds himself in, especially with his ability to Pyroport, but as fire can get out of control quickly there's not many opportunities to go straight up wild with it. Which, again, leads him to relying on his swords. And yeah, he likes to do fancy flips and twirls and sneak a kick or two in when he can.

"Nya is flexible enough to meld all her friends' strengths together as one. Steady as rock, unrelenting as ice, quick as lightning, and enduring as a flame…she can adapt as needed; she can change between them whenever she wants to. Her form is not one that goes stagnant easily."

Nya's agility is similar to Kai's except...inverted? And therefore becomes more of adaptability than anything, as water can be just a solid as earth and ice, fluid as fire, and be as devastating as lightning. She doesn't directly mimic how the others fight; just manifests their traits into something more suitable for her to use (which comes from her spending months watching them train and fight, and what she learns as first is directly taken from them).

Has no problem switching from ranged to close-ranged, as her weapons more than accommodate that. Her fans she uses for close-range, and similar to Kai's katanas, she treats as an extension of herself. Gets in a lot of arm and leg movement when using these. Her spear in the ranged weapon; she can throw it, but she also likes to use it as a defensive cover when closing distance with her and her opponent. Lots of spins and ducking while using this technique. However, she...does prefer to use a mech while fighting, especially while she still doesn't have her powers.

Lloyd is the jack-of-all-trades but master of none, and then ramped to the eleven. He has very basic fundamentals of hand-to-hand plus a few weapons courtesy of his mother, but otherwise he's a maniac that fights chaotically with little rhyme or reason (yet), doing whatever to end the fight as quick (or explosive) as possible. Obviously relies a lot on his Master Building before his fully comes into his own as a ninja, and as a Spinjitzu Master, during which his style will mature...somewhat. (It's all a metaphor for finding identity y'know). Does many backflips. Also doesn't even realize he's doing it.