(I'm not worried about Minami getting away if it comes down to it, because she does stealth much easier than we do.)
You do us a disservice. Malfean stealth is a prefectly valid approach!
(I'm not worried about Minami getting away if it comes down to it, because she does stealth much easier than we do.)
As I said, it's more important to give the impression that we're worried about traps. It probably won't come to a fight this time around, but if it does in the future, I'd rather be more durable than they think we are.
On the one hand, I can see where meeting these girls face-to-face and getting a better read on them would be useful. On the other, we already have way too much on our plate, plus Yumi knows her group well enough that between her inside knowledge and Maiko's spookybook, I'm not convinced that there's enough benefit there. If they insist on a face-to-face, then sure, we'll oblige them, but otherwise, that's time that would probably be better spent trying to find Calligraphy or helping Shinobu not be so... Shinobu-y.
You do us a disservice. Malfean stealth is a prefectly valid approach!
Alright, fixed it, I should have noticed the error...Your vote says to have both Yumi and Us hand them the seeds? That's a bit of a troublesome miscommunication.
I'm just bothered by how much we're imposing on Yumi because we can't find the time to hunt ourselves. We should be able to find time to hunt.
Not if we're losing. Malfean stealth relies on the ability to reliably and efficiently stop anyone from reporting back; this might be feasible in another situation, but probably not in this one, if it does turn out to be a trap.
...also, "prefectly"?
Well Yui, you did tell Chizuka that her attacking would hurt your feelings, treated her less suspiciously than you did her friends, specifically gave her instead of the group leader your phone number (on a heart shaped item), and then gave her a special brainmail as you were leaving.I, uh-- b-b-wha-- no! you reply, going red in the face. Did it really seem like that? Augh...
I forget the exact amount but it's been established Yui can tear through Witches much faster than other magical girls when she dedicates a night to it and that the town is currently at an all time Witch high, to the point where Yumi didn't believe her when she stated the kind of returns she was getting.How many grief seeds do we have available exactly? Yui seems to hand them out like candy. Which is good, because hearts and minds but devoting the limited-ish time Yui has to hunting witches feels erugh. That is, only if we don't have a bunch. Which we probably do.
Keep in mind that Yumi stole the seeds we're going to be giving her old group, and then ran off. Even if they're on reasonably good terms now, it sends the wrong message, and is a reminder of that theft. Maybe Yumi can do it in the future, but right now is pretty bad.
Yeah, okay. Sweet.I forget the exact amount but it's been established Yui can tear through Witches much faster than other magical girls when she dedicates a night to it and that the town is currently at an all time Witch high, to the point where Yumi didn't believe her when she stated the kind of returns she was getting.
This still bugs me though. I don't think we have this much time in the morning. Not without weirding out Natsuki. Can we do this after school and on the way to the meeting? Brainmail them for a meetup in the area around school? I'd just rather we save the wonderful time bomb that is Natsuki contracting.
I hadn't considered that. Where's the map again?This still bugs me though. I don't think we have this much time in the morning. Not without weirding out Natsuki. Can we do this after school and on the way to the meeting? Brainmail them for a meetup in the area around school? I'd just rather we save the wonderful time bomb that is Natsuki contracting.
Does calligraphy girl know about and hunt witches? I'm worried about her wasting her magic enchanting objects.
Of course, this all relies on them not having some form of patently unfair magic, so we definitely need to have Maiko do her spookybook magic on them. Consequently, I'm leaning towards not trying to fit a quick Witch hunt in.
I'm just bothered by how much we're imposing on Yumi because we can't find the time to hunt ourselves. We should be able to find time to hunt.
How many grief seeds do we have available exactly? Yui seems to hand them out like candy. Which is good, because hearts and minds but devoting the limited-ish time Yui has to hunting witches feels erugh. That is, only if we don't have a bunch. Which we probably do.
This still bugs me though. I don't think we have this much time in the morning. Not without weirding out Natsuki. Can we do this after school and on the way to the meeting? Brainmail them for a meetup in the area around school? I'd just rather we save the wonderful time bomb that is Natsuki contracting.
Also, and I can't remember in which chapter this happened, have we seen Asami since she had that incident with the jerk at her hobby thing? That kinda seemed like "OH YEAH HEY THIS IS A THING THAT WOULD PUSH HER INTO CONTRACTING" kind of thing.
Can anyone think of a good reason why it wouldn't have made sense to hand them the seeds when you met up at the cafe? If not, I'd be tempted to just retcon that on the basis of "if I'd remembered at the time I would have included it".
I'm glad you know what's going on.You have; you invited her to dinner at your house along with Natsuki and Maiko.
Actually, serious question. Can anyone think of a good reason why it wouldn't have made sense to hand them the seeds when you met up at the cafe? If not, I'd be tempted to just retcon that on the basis of "if I'd remembered at the time I would have included it".
...oh right, that is who those girls are.
No, I can think of no reason why we wouldn't have done so.
...anyway, you decide the patrol routes are the best place to start, since that's most reliant on knowing Nagamioka itself, and the rest you'll look into if you have time. When Maiko texted you last night she also mentioned needing to sleep in today, which means it's time to contact your elusive-yet-adorable spymaster and intelligence coordinator. Hey, Minami!
Nghuh? she says. G'morningh Yui.
Um, you say. Sorry if I woke you up?
Nuh-uh, you d'nt, Minami replies. Already 'wake. Or still 'sleep. Dunno.
Well, definitely one of those two, you say. I wanna go over some stuff for planning patrol routes and such before I meet up with Rio and her friends. You've been working on that, right?
Yeah, Minami says. Meet at th' house 'n go over shtuff?
How about in... an hour and a half or so? you say. Need to talk to my parents about some other stuff before I leave.
'kay, Minami says. Seeya, Yui.
On your way to Momoko's house, you brainmail Rio to arrange a meeting. Rio? It's Yui. You guys up for meeting me somewhere this morning?
That can be arranged, she replies, sounding tired. I'll let the others know.
As you walk into Momoko's house you shoot a questioning glance at a chair currently occupied by a cocoon of blankets with a few clumps of dark green hair sticking out.
Minami shrugs. "We were chatting a bit yesterday after Maiko left to investigate the girl you mentioned," she says. "She stopped by after she got bored harrassing drunks and decided to sleep here instead of walk back to her hotel room."
"It was an exhausting day for everyone, I guess," you say. "What were you and Yumi chatting about?"
"Nothing much," Minami says, looking evasive. "She had some, uh... personal advice for me. About stuff."
You raise an eyebrow, but let the subject drop. "So, about all that data analysis you and Maiko were doing..."
You clear your throat. "Anyway, I had a few things I wanted to cover with you guys," you say. "I'm meeting someone else at one o'clock, so this won't be long. First of all, it sounds like you've found somewhere decent to stay?"
"Our current accommodations are... tolerable," Fuuka says, once you've all placed your orders.
"We're doing fine," Rio says.
"Well, if you need help finding a better place to stay or have any other questions about Nagamioka, feel free to ask!" you say. "This is my hometown and I have, like, all kinds of inside connections and stuff. Sort of." You tap your chin thoughtfully. "Also, the offer to take you out to eat stands, even if that was a joke? I mean, I guess this right here counts, but I mean a proper meal."
Fuuka stares at you intently for long enough that you start to feel nervous. "Very well," she says finally. "We'll consider it."
You pull out the papers Minami gave you and spread them out on the table. "My friends have been working on analyzing traffic accidents, criminal activity, and the like to estimate Witch activity in order to plot out effective patrol routes," you say. "Depending on where you've decided to stay, we'll assign the surrounding areas to you. I'm guessing you generally work together rather than hunt solo?"
You chat a little bit as you eat, mostly you telling them about Nagamioka. Afterwards, you say goodbye to the three girls.
"My companions and I thank you for the meal," Fuuka says. "You have been a most gracious host, Aikawa, all things considered."
"Hey, you live here too, now," you say. "We're allies, right?"
"...as you wish," Fuuka replies stiffly, then marches out the door in a flurry of ruffles and bouncing pigtails.
"She doesn't show it well," Rio says with a faint smile, "but Fuuka really does appreciate what you've done for us." She grimaces. "Especially the parts that mean I have more work to do," she finishes, then follows Fuuka out the door.
You're briefly surprised by Kiyomi when the much taller girl pulls you into a quick but enthusiastic hug on the way out. "Bye, Yui!"
Right, so I quickly re-read the post where you met Rio's group, here's a few bits from the lead-up and actual meeting:
Other than the fact that Maiko was asleep I don't see any reason why Yui wouldn't have handed over the seeds there; it would definitely have been an appropriate time, and Maiko would have already moved the main Grief Seed stockpile back to Momoko's house by that point, probably while Minami was around.
So yeah, I'm leaning toward retcon. If anyone objects to that, please speak up before the current voting period closes.
I object on the grounds that we're leaning towards a central administrative system and so they already have hypothetical access to our entire stockpile, meaning the only seeds they need are emergency seeds.
I object on the grounds that we're leaning towards a central administrative system and so they already have hypothetical access to our entire stockpile, meaning the only seeds they need are emergency seeds.
And in any case we promised them six seeds. They may not like it if we go all "You don't need the seeds since we've planning a central seed stockpile!" They might view it as us trying to make them join our group, and it would harm our relations with them.But we haven't integrated them into our core group yet. They don't have access to that stockpile.
The author liked this comment, which amuses me.Well Yui, you did tell Chizuka that her attacking would hurt your feelings, treated her less suspiciously than you did her friends, specifically gave her instead of the group leader your phone number (on a heart shaped item), and then gave her a special brainmail as you were leaving.
So yes, Yui, it did look like you were flirting with her to an outside observer. And possibly to Chizuka and her group.