Toptomcat

My roll this time was 100% better- a natural 2. Reguardless of his All-Out Attack for 2, it's another bad whiff. AAAaarrgh.

My roll this time was 100% better- a natural 2. Reguardless of his All-Out Attack for 2, it's another bad whiff. AAAaarrgh.

My roll this time was 100% better- a natural 2. Reguardless of his All-Out Attack for 2, it's another bad whiff. AAAaarrgh.

"Whoof. I'm going to have to." Shinken draws himself up to seiza, smoothly sheathing his sword in the process- then comes out of it lightning-fast, sword going from sheath to full extension in a well-practiced iaido motion. Unfortunately, while he gets to his feet quickly, the blade doesn't quite come out fast enough... ---- "Excellent! What would be a good time for you?" The request completed, Benjiro makes small talk with Liam for a bit- talking about where he'd trained in the past, what sort of styles he usually uses, and telling an anecdote or two about martial-arts villians he'd encountered as Shinken. He gives no inkling that he knows about Liam's nightly outings as Nightrival, but some of his innocent questions skirt perilously close to secrets.

"Whoof. I'm going to have to." Shinken draws himself up to seiza, smoothly sheathing his sword in the process- then comes out of it lightning-fast, sword going from sheath to full extension in a well-practiced iaido motion. Unfortunately, while he gets to his feet quickly, the blade doesn't quite come out fast enough... ---- "Excellent! What would be a good time for you?" The request completed, Benjiro makes small talk with Liam for a bit- talking about where he'd trained in the past, what sort of styles he usually uses, and telling an anecdote or two about martial-arts villians he'd encountered as Shinken. He gives no inkling that he knows about Liam's nightly outings as Nightrival, but some of his innocent questions skirt perilously close to secrets.

"Whoof. I'm going to have to." Shinken draws himself up to seiza, smoothly sheathing his sword in the process- then comes out of it lightning-fast, sword going from sheath to full extension in a well-practiced iaido motion. Unfortunately, while he gets to his feet quickly, the blade doesn't quite come out fast enough... ---- "Excellent! What would be a good time for you?" The request completed, Benjiro makes small talk with Liam for a bit- talking about where he'd trained in the past, what sort of styles he usually uses, and telling an anecdote or two about martial-arts villians he'd encountered as Shinken. He gives no inkling that he knows about Liam's nightly outings as Nightrival, but some of his innocent questions skirt perilously close to secrets.

Your flight power is based on gravitics, correct? In most concievable implementations of gravitic-based flight, it would be fairly trivial to use the same tech that's directly moving you to move the air out of the way for reduced drag. The fact that you're being gravitically accellerated takes away any inertial problems that might stem from acceleration, too. No rubber physics required.

Your flight power is based on gravitics, correct? In most concievable implementations of gravitic-based flight, it would be fairly trivial to use the same tech that's directly moving you to move the air out of the way for reduced drag. The fact that you're being gravitically accellerated takes away any inertial problems that might stem from acceleration, too. No rubber physics required.

Your flight power is based on gravitics, correct? In most concievable implementations of gravitic-based flight, it would be fairly trivial to use the same tech that's directly moving you to move the air out of the way for reduced drag. The fact that you're being gravitically accellerated takes away any inertial problems that might stem from acceleration, too. No rubber physics required.

Since the whole purpose of this fight from Shinken's point of view is to iron out the bugs from an upgrade, it would make sense to Complicate things with a malfunction at some point. I'm making my own Complication, forfeiting this round's actions and opening him up to a hurtin' from Nightrival, and gaining a Hero Point. Are you cool with that? I can change it if you aren't.

Since the whole purpose of this fight from Shinken's point of view is to iron out the bugs from an upgrade, it would make sense to Complicate things with a malfunction at some point. I'm making my own Complication, forfeiting this round's actions and opening him up to a hurtin' from Nightrival, and gaining a Hero Point. Are you cool with that? I can change it if you aren't.

Since the whole purpose of this fight from Shinken's point of view is to iron out the bugs from an upgrade, it would make sense to Complicate things with a malfunction at some point. I'm making my own Complication, forfeiting this round's actions and opening him up to a hurtin' from Nightrival, and gaining a Hero Point. Are you cool with that? I can change it if you aren't.

That was the *fastest* damned irimi nage I've ever seen. I've got to- A red tint flashes across Benjiro's machine-assisted vision, and error codes begin scrolling across the HUD at a worrying speed. He tries to move away from Nightrival and find some way to counterattack or escape, but the mechanized ankle and wrist muscles of the battlesuit lock up, making him stumble and transforming his counterattack from a sweeping slash to trivially avoided half-stab. Goddamn it, I thought I'd fixed the grapple escape code! Finish the kernel dump, finish the kernel dump, finish the- Oh, this is going to hurt. ---- Benjiro laughs softly. "You could say that. I'm one of those unusual people who goes out and helps to clean up the streets of Freedom City from time to time...so I never really know when my next 'big match' will be, and I have a considerable interest in keeping myself sharply honed. You might have heard about me by the name Shinken."

That was the *fastest* damned irimi nage I've ever seen. I've got to- A red tint flashes across Benjiro's machine-assisted vision, and error codes begin scrolling across the HUD at a worrying speed. He tries to move away from Nightrival and find some way to counterattack or escape, but the mechanized ankle and wrist muscles of the battlesuit lock up, making him stumble and transforming his counterattack from a sweeping slash to trivially avoided half-stab. Goddamn it, I thought I'd fixed the grapple escape code! Finish the kernel dump, finish the kernel dump, finish the- Oh, this is going to hurt. ---- Benjiro laughs softly. "You could say that. I'm one of those unusual people who goes out and helps to clean up the streets of Freedom City from time to time...so I never really know when my next 'big match' will be, and I have a considerable interest in keeping myself sharply honed. You might have heard about me by the name Shinken."

That was the *fastest* damned irimi nage I've ever seen. I've got to- A red tint flashes across Benjiro's machine-assisted vision, and error codes begin scrolling across the HUD at a worrying speed. He tries to move away from Nightrival and find some way to counterattack or escape, but the mechanized ankle and wrist muscles of the battlesuit lock up, making him stumble and transforming his counterattack from a sweeping slash to trivially avoided half-stab. Goddamn it, I thought I'd fixed the grapple escape code! Finish the kernel dump, finish the kernel dump, finish the- Oh, this is going to hurt. ---- Benjiro laughs softly. "You could say that. I'm one of those unusual people who goes out and helps to clean up the streets of Freedom City from time to time...so I never really know when my next 'big match' will be, and I have a considerable interest in keeping myself sharply honed. You might have heard about me by the name Shinken."

A second car pulls up behind the first, this one a sleek black limousine with oddly thick windows. A solid-looking man steps out of the driver's seat, then goes to the back, where he rolls out an elegant mahogany wheelchair. He then opens the passenger's side door and helps a frail-looking but extremely well-dressed young Japanese man out of his seat and into the chair. With a nod to the valet, the big man hands him the keys and begins wheeling the chair to the enterance. "Name?" The young man looks resigned, as if he expected a challenge at this point. "Beniro Fujisama." The greeter furrows his brow, then withdraws a notebook from his pocket and begins flipping through it, squinting at each page. It is a theatrical gesture; the membership of the Midnight Society is small enough for him to know the name of any member by heart. "I am afraid you are not on the list, sir." The man smiles thinly, nodding to his bodyguard- who produces a slip of card that he hands to the greeter. The card is cooly plucked from the man's hand, and it is examined a good deal longer and more closely than is strictly neccesary. Finally, a twitch passes across the greeter's face that makes it clear to everyone involved that his face would be wearing an expression of outright revulsion if he were not so polite. "You are aware that, coming as the guest of a full member, you are entitled to the services of the Society for one night only?" "And I am honored to have even that much." Benjiro gives the greeter a bland smile, then gestures to his escort, who wheels him inside, and he gravitates almost immediately to the Howells. "Thank you so much for inviting me here, Donald. The expression on the doorman's face alone was worth the trip- I think he expected me to try to hit him when he gave me a hard time at the door. They just don't know what to do when new money is polite at them." "But enough of such sordid business. Who is this vision? Could it be your daughter? You told me she was smart, but I didn't know you'd gotten this lucky with her."

Ouch. The best-laid plans of mice and men can be torpedoed by a natural 1. Benjiro is Accurate Attacking for 3 and Defensive Attacking for 1, making his Defense 21, 6 of which is a dodge bonus.

Ouch. The best-laid plans of mice and men can be torpedoed by a natural 1. Benjiro is Accurate Attacking for 3 and Defensive Attacking for 1, making his Defense 21, 6 of which is a dodge bonus.

Ouch. The best-laid plans of mice and men can be torpedoed by a natural 1. Benjiro is Accurate Attacking for 3 and Defensive Attacking for 1, making his Defense 21, 6 of which is a dodge bonus.

Jujutsu? No, aikido. Smart: there's a good deal of emphasis on defeating kenjutsu in their techniques. But its mobility is limited, and they don't do well in dealing with attacks not directed at their core. Footwork is the name of the game. Benjiro takes just a moment to analyze Nightrival's stance, then nods thoughtfully and moves in. He approaches Nightrival with the time-honored shuffling advance of traditional Japanese swordplay, raising his weapon high over his head for the traditional cut... Then, his footwork dissolves into apparant chaos, beating out an erratic tattoo on the ground and putting Shinken to Nightrival's right side very quickly in a move that catches him slightly off guard. The blunted sword lashes out, speeding toward Nightrival in a strike aimed at his wrist- but while the plan is good, the execution is too conservative, and the attack whiffs fully three inches from its intended target. ------- "My name is Benjiro Fujisama. I am a man with considerable interest in the martial arts, and I have gone to considerable effort to find talented sparring partners in the Freedom City area. I got in touch with Sifu Lee, who had nothing but praise for your athleticism and skill. Would you be interested in a friendly sparring match or two?"

Jujutsu? No, aikido. Smart: there's a good deal of emphasis on defeating kenjutsu in their techniques. But its mobility is limited, and they don't do well in dealing with attacks not directed at their core. Footwork is the name of the game. Benjiro takes just a moment to analyze Nightrival's stance, then nods thoughtfully and moves in. He approaches Nightrival with the time-honored shuffling advance of traditional Japanese swordplay, raising his weapon high over his head for the traditional cut... Then, his footwork dissolves into apparant chaos, beating out an erratic tattoo on the ground and putting Shinken to Nightrival's right side very quickly in a move that catches him slightly off guard. The blunted sword lashes out, speeding toward Nightrival in a strike aimed at his wrist- but while the plan is good, the execution is too conservative, and the attack whiffs fully three inches from its intended target. ------- "My name is Benjiro Fujisama. I am a man with considerable interest in the martial arts, and I have gone to considerable effort to find talented sparring partners in the Freedom City area. I got in touch with Sifu Lee, who had nothing but praise for your athleticism and skill. Would you be interested in a friendly sparring match or two?"

Jujutsu? No, aikido. Smart: there's a good deal of emphasis on defeating kenjutsu in their techniques. But its mobility is limited, and they don't do well in dealing with attacks not directed at their core. Footwork is the name of the game. Benjiro takes just a moment to analyze Nightrival's stance, then nods thoughtfully and moves in. He approaches Nightrival with the time-honored shuffling advance of traditional Japanese swordplay, raising his weapon high over his head for the traditional cut... Then, his footwork dissolves into apparant chaos, beating out an erratic tattoo on the ground and putting Shinken to Nightrival's right side very quickly in a move that catches him slightly off guard. The blunted sword lashes out, speeding toward Nightrival in a strike aimed at his wrist- but while the plan is good, the execution is too conservative, and the attack whiffs fully three inches from its intended target. ------- "My name is Benjiro Fujisama. I am a man with considerable interest in the martial arts, and I have gone to considerable effort to find talented sparring partners in the Freedom City area. I got in touch with Sifu Lee, who had nothing but praise for your athleticism and skill. Would you be interested in a friendly sparring match or two?"

Init 18. Let's do this. I have taken some liberty with the character of your master, giving him a full name and a style. The name is, by the way, one of Bruce Lee's early stage names, and the style is sort of the mixed school of China- a little Northern, a little Southern, a little external, a little internal, with plenty of variations and subtypes, including Five Animals techniques.

Init 18. Let's do this. I have taken some liberty with the character of your master, giving him a full name and a style. The name is, by the way, one of Bruce Lee's early stage names, and the style is sort of the mixed school of China- a little Northern, a little Southern, a little external, a little internal, with plenty of variations and subtypes, including Five Animals techniques.

Init 18. Let's do this. I have taken some liberty with the character of your master, giving him a full name and a style. The name is, by the way, one of Bruce Lee's early stage names, and the style is sort of the mixed school of China- a little Northern, a little Southern, a little external, a little internal, with plenty of variations and subtypes, including Five Animals techniques.