I looked at the votes and they're kind of wtfbbq for a friendly sparring match. So uh... yeah.
The chibis (or at least our chibi, we don't control Mami) should go. It's not about chibi hate. It's... Mainly
because people are being so vocal about keeping them. We need to nip this in the bud before Mami considers sending a chibi with us to Asunaro. Or to during-school-hours science sessions. We need some quantity of private time, and the way to maintain it is to
not have to say no when Mami accidentally considers it out loud.
... We need the private time so we don't witchbomb Mami. Otherwise I'd be totally fine without it.
That said, the narrative flow... it ended on a note where chibis = gone immediately would be
really really weird.
So, after.
During the
spar, I'd like to accomplish two things: I'd like to establish a competitive but friendly atmosphere, and I'd like Sayaka to
have fun. When I saw where the segment ended I went
and dropped out of thread for a few days, because I honestly thought we were basically getting into a nerf fight / paintball / laser tag equivalent and then apparently Sayaka is going to be firing swords at Mami and Homu.
And then I come back and there's
this.
[x] Get Sayaka behind cover. Use telepathy to lay out the plan. "Bet you wish you had a shield to go with that sword right now."
[x] "Okay, Sayaka, our only real advantages here are flight and speed. We're going to break in opposite directions to divide their attention."
-[x] "Fly low, move fast, keep cover between you and them as much as possible. We'll swing wide and try to hit Homura from both sides at once."
--[x] "They'll be trying to do the same thing to us, so don't get so focused on one that you lose track of the other. If they start to pen you in, use your speed and flight to escape. And don't just rush straight in, it gives them a clear shot at you."
---[x] "Fire near them to keep them off-balance. If you can block their visibility or throw out a decoy, do that too. If not, it's fine, just use speed, cover and suppressing fire."
[x] Do just that. As we run, try to throw warhammers at the ground with enough force to crater it and/or use our wings to blow air across the ground to produce dust clouds to reduce their visibility. If there's a stretch with no cover, use our warhammer to punt something out there to make cover.
[x] Use our senses to track the locations of all combatants. Use telepathy to keep Sayaka informed of where the other team is and warn her of potential ambushes.
[x] Find an opportune moment to come at Homura from both sides, preferably with a close range ambush from behind cover. If we can summon a hammer with no head or an extended handle, do that: we need speed and reach rather than smashing power. If we need to cover open ground to get to her, grab something big and solid to use as a shield, then throw it at her feet as a distraction, and try to get close enough to engage her without getting in Sayaka's way.
-[x] If Sayaka is doing just fine against Homura on her own, focus on keeping Mami from sniping her as they fight.
*line of picards deleted*
[x] Find an opportune moment to come at Homura from both sides, preferably with a close range ambush from behind cover. If we can summon a hammer with no head or an extended handle, do that: we need speed and reach rather than smashing power. If we need to cover open ground to get to her, grab something big and solid to use as a shield, then throw it at her feet as a distraction, and try to get close enough to engage her without getting in Sayaka's way.
... What is the
goal of all of this? What are we trying to train here? What the hell are we doing? What did we suggest this spar for...?
-[x] Sorry about that. Mami showed me how she can use ribbons to make a chibi of herself and it's the cutest thing. Anyway, consider coming anyhow? I'd like it if you and Sayaka got along better, and just being present at her training would help with that. You don't need to let her copy your power.
--[x] Speaking of which... how good are you with paintball guns? Or airsoft? Non-lethal projectile weaponry in general, really. She's in need of some experience for when an enemy doesn't just let her close to melee. Again, if you come relatively soonish, you could catch the tail end of me and Mami's testing. It's your call.
That's the vote portion where things originated, so far as I can tell.
Right here, right now, we're talking about planning how to close to melee range with Homura... with a fucking warhammer. For... for what reason? We're not talking about how to dodge gud or deal with incoming projectiles at all. We're just... trying to bash Homura with a warhammer
.
As unlikely as it is that we'll succeed, the other duo are specifically using nonlethal weapons and we should be too. But no, we're trying to bash Homura with a warhammer.
We should be wielding a warhammer replica. If we make one out of grief it'll be, well, rather obvious (WITCH WITCH). But we don't have the skill to make a much lighter (think foam) warhammer with magic...? And Sayaka a fucking sword should also be doing the same thing but almost certainly can't.
She, though,
has copied Mami's power, and should probably be able to make a rigid ribbon that would be an effective nonlethal weapon. If she can detatch ribbons we could wield something similar, which would be ideal.
Now, maybe I'm overplaying the safety angle. Firn probably won't let anything too crazy happen and Mami + Homu are fucking badassess. We cut pretty loose against Kyoko earlier and everything was peachy-keen then. So, let's ignore safety for a moment and focus on how to help Sayaka, melee-focused without Kyoko's crazy reach, deal with projectile users. There's two or three ways a sword can fight a gun starting from range. Ambush, superior movement speed, and
cut them bullets in half woot woot. The former is probably awkward as all hell in barriers, because you (you being a non-crazy-op guca, e.g. seikyu)
can't have knowledge of the terrain while the familiars and witch... do. Superior movement speed ain't happening in this spar. And so here I am
actually suggesting that Sayaka should try to intercept bullets with swords. She
is a meguca, and she
probably actually does have an instinct package for projectile defense. It would actually
surprise me if, trying to block paintballs / etc with a sword, she
didn't stop a least a few.
The other rule of attacking ranged enemies is to not move in a straight line, and that's probably worth mentioning to Sayaka as well.
We could try for the same angle, but I think we'd be better served trying to improve our awareness. Mami has showcased an ability to see out of the back of her head without bothering to look behind her; if we could do with having any "normal" meguca skill for combat, that would be it.
All of that said,
Plan Kaizuki (AKA Catgirl 2016)
[X] Honestly? We're not going to win, but there's some
really cool shit that we should try, which is actually the purpose. (louder) Besides, they'll be using airsoft, so we're not going to be terribly hurt anyways. For that matter, do you think you can make a sword-ribbon thing that wouldn't actually cut somebody? It's probably unnecessary, but common courtesy and whatnot.
-[X] I've seen Mami fight, she can tell when attacks are coming without even looking. It's
really cool, and I have no idea if I can emulate it or not, but I want to see if I can. So, I'm volunteering as bait.
--[X] On your side, Sayaka, there
should be some sort of instinct for ranged defense that came with the magical girl contract, and the only thing I can think of is that you can
probably learn to cut bullets in half with your sword if you put your mind to it. You might not get it immediately, or I might be completely wrong, but...
magic. That said, see if you can get the drop on them while they're after me -- not getting seen until you're in close quarters is the best way to deal with guns or really any ranged weapon.
[X] If Sayaka notes that we'll make crappy bait, smile and tell her that it'll be pretty hard for them to pass us up if they'll know where we are the whole time.
[X] Make a grief warhammer, same as your normal one, but made of foam or some similar material, so that it won't be terribly painful if it hits somebody. Added benefit that it broadcasts our position.
[X] During the spar, focus on trying to sense incoming attacks. Secondary focus on trying to
dodge make yourself a harder target, use your wings to throw your momentum around with the same technique you use to hang in the air without flapping them, e.g.. Tertiary focus on closing with your opponent while doing those things.
[X] If/when the teams change up, try to avoid engaging Sayaka -- this is about dealing with ranged opponents. In actual combat situations it's unlikely that any melee-based meguca besides Kirika is going to pose a threat to you.
[X] After the spar, while everyone is cooling down, dissolve the chibi -- it's really not accomplishing anything except to make people feel witchy noises at this point, and you certainly won't be taking something like that to the picnic where Nagisa would see it -- and hug Mami. Thank her for helping you practice. Thank Homura too, and Sayaka. Ask how Sayaka feels/felt about what she accomplished/did in the spar, try to give feedback (especially praise wherever possible).
-[X] If Mami asks if she should dissolve her chibi too, tell her it's up to her. Hers is the superior version, after all. It would be good if it wasn't at the picnic, though -- Nagisa would find it mighty strange.
