[Exalted/SMT] Shard of a Broken Sun
- Thread starter Baughn
- Start date
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Vote called.
[X] Focus on understanding Amu's soul
--[X] With an eye towards her motivations and personality. We may have picked her to give her a chance, and that requires power, but we're not a completely heartless hunter-seeker autonomous motonic construct. She's a bit young for the more traditional packages, and typical doctrine prefers mature hosts as they're more likely to adapt well to the influx of divine power. Some initial and long-term efficiency can be sacrificed in the interest of building a stronger rapport with the new Exalt, as such efforts are more likely to pay off over time, and increase the odds of her making effective use of the power.
[8] Dinner and evening with the Hinamori family.
- Mother, Father, and Little Sister (If I remember Mom and Dad are hilariously indulgent to Ami)
[4] School.
- Ikuto hanging out on the roof, check up on him see how he's doing?
[5] After-school tea with the Guardians.
- Last chance to see friends most likely
Hanging around from last time:
- [x] Just because you're waiting for a better opportunity doesn't mean you are incapable of driving you host into being more proactive, maybe messing a little with her bigger virtues or transmitting subconscious influences to act against injustice and suffering would help.
This may take some time.
[X] Focus on understanding Amu's soul
--[X] With an eye towards her motivations and personality. We may have picked her to give her a chance, and that requires power, but we're not a completely heartless hunter-seeker autonomous motonic construct. She's a bit young for the more traditional packages, and typical doctrine prefers mature hosts as they're more likely to adapt well to the influx of divine power. Some initial and long-term efficiency can be sacrificed in the interest of building a stronger rapport with the new Exalt, as such efforts are more likely to pay off over time, and increase the odds of her making effective use of the power.
[8] Dinner and evening with the Hinamori family.
- Mother, Father, and Little Sister (If I remember Mom and Dad are hilariously indulgent to Ami)
[4] School.
- Ikuto hanging out on the roof, check up on him see how he's doing?
[5] After-school tea with the Guardians.
- Last chance to see friends most likely
Hanging around from last time:
- [x] Just because you're waiting for a better opportunity doesn't mean you are incapable of driving you host into being more proactive, maybe messing a little with her bigger virtues or transmitting subconscious influences to act against injustice and suffering would help.
This may take some time.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Not very, sorry.Alectai said:
It's more about getting along with Amu, and it'll get you an extra virtue point during exaltation.
Conviction: 1Alectai said:
Temperance: 1
Valor: 2
Don't feel down. Amu needs virtue points badly.
... Wait a minute, were my comments taken as stunts?Baughn said:Not very, sorry.
It's more about getting along with Amu, and it'll get you an extra virtue point during exaltation.
Well, that'll teach me to leave things like that sitting around. And how does that "Last Chance to see friends" one work in that case anyway?
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Someone else commented that you should give her a sense of.. not impending doom, but a desire to be with them while she can. I'm going with that, basically.ShadowAngelBeta said:... Wait a minute, were my comments taken as stunts?
It'll be a while before I write that scene, so if this isn't what you want you have time to reconsider. Right now I'm working on the buildup to what will probably be her exaltation.
Compassion 5. Go go virtue channeling.pressea said:
Actually, that was me as well. I just wanted to make sure she wasn't going to have a feeling of Doom(tm) hanging over her head the entire time mainly.Baughn said:
veekie said:
Alright I have a good chunk of the Exalted mechanics down but I think I missed this one somewhere along the way. Explanation please?Alectai said:
Hyacinthium
Writing about sad cannibals as we speak.
- Location
- Bedroom
- Pronouns
- He/Him
yeah well Amu is already a friend to all things.Chronic said:
Her fights don't kill monsters, her fights make them pure and nice again. Her attack is legit friendship beams. Her teacher kidnapped Su. Su was more worried about her kidnapper and how messy his hide out was.
He was soon befriended.
Dark rival steals one of my chara and turns her evil? Get through to her and make her my friend after showing her why stealing the dreams of innocent children is wrong and that she shouldn't ignore her other chara which is an angel.
Amu is a Warrior Therapist.
Chronic said:
It makes it harder for you to finish off an enemy(unless you killed them during the fight by accident), but adding five dice to protecting others or fighting for justice is extremely good.
Hyacinthium
Writing about sad cannibals as we speak.
- Location
- Bedroom
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It's not like we knew who she was.Chronic said:
And I actually have issues with her being a 'Nobody'. She's Amu. Holy shit she's AMU.
Her chara allow instant mastery of
Domestic things, including waving a wand and making an item fix itself iirc. Instant food making too, damn good also.
Arts, which is more hax then it sounds. Because Sound attacks? Miki is best Chara tho.
And last but not least, holy shit Ran take a chill pill. Amulet Heart can probably go up against a professional runner now that we're Exalted!
And most of that isn't even with a complete chara change. Yeah. And this is hard mode how!? Wait oh, it's megaten. Most of our friends are gonna die and it will be terribad. We just need Ikuto, Utau, and most of the Guardians.
And Future Tadase. Then we have to get Dia, and then henshin into Amulet Fortune. Hopefully Ikuto can manage to go Pirate in time and maybe Utau can also dual chara change into an Angel Devil hybrid. After working out her issues of course. And Ikuto's. On the plus side, now that the world is ending Ikuto no longer needs to slowly kill himself because his step father is probably going to diiiieee! Thank god for that.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
A complete chara change with Ran adds one dot to your strength, dexterity and stamina, putting the two latter solidly in "olympian" territory. Not her strength, but strength is on an absolute scale; at two dots in strength she can lift as much as an adult with two dots would be able to, which means being able to jump more than her own height from a standing start.
Yes, it's a powerful ability.
This is still hard-mode SMT. You'll need it.
Yes, it's a powerful ability.
This is still hard-mode SMT. You'll need it.
Lilthium reminded me that Unleashed Humpty Lock also leads to Final Forms for both her and Ikuto.
Friday's Sunrise 3
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Friday's Sunrise, 15:30
[X] Focus on understanding Amu's soul
--[X] With an eye towards her motivations and personality. We may have picked her to give her a chance, and that requires power, but we're not a completely heartless hunter-seeker autonomous motonic construct. She's a bit young for the more traditional packages, and typical doctrine prefers mature hosts as they're more likely to adapt well to the influx of divine power. Some initial and long-term efficiency can be sacrificed in the interest of building a stronger rapport with the new Exalt, as such efforts are more likely to pay off over time, and increase the odds of her making effective use of the power.
[X] Give Amu a sense of urgency. (A/N: Discussion Distillation. Hope you don't mind.)
She opened the front door as quietly as possible. "Be home before dinner" was the rule, and she still had half an hour for that, but how was she supposed to explain being late at all? Tell them she'd gotten detention, or just claim she'd lost track of time in the tea garden? She just knew they'd disapprove if she mentioned Ikuto.
Well, she had gotten detention, but she'd still prefer to keep that a secret.
Daddy and Ami were working on a puzzle together in the living-room. The TV was also on, so they wouldn't be able to hear her. That probably meant Mommy was in the kitchen, on the far side of the living-room, so maybe she could sneak up to her room without anyone noticing? Then she could claim she'd been here all along, and if they'd shouted for her earlier she'd claim she'd been too busy reading to notice.
Miki gave her a thumbs-up, peeking around the corner, but didn't stop keeping an eye on Ami. Well, that went without saying; if she spotted them, no doubt they'd end up as playthings again.
Amu quietly shifted her grip and closed the door, then removed her shoes, but decided to bring everything else with her. They tip-toed down the corridor, dashing past the opening to the living room before she had to very carefully pick her way up the stairs to avoid all the creaky spots.
She opened the door to her room and slipped inside.
=======
Smack.
The moment she entered her room, a rolled-up piece of paper hit her gently on her head. Startled, she spun on her heel, only to get caught in a hug by Mom. Had she been standing behind the door all along? She couldn't have seen her coming, so how long had she been standing there?
She relaxed slightly.
"Nikaidou-sensei called to explain what happened. You can't do that, you know… shouting at your teacher…"
Oh. Ugh. "But Mom, that was…" She trailed off. Um. She couldn't say what had really happened, Mommy still didn't know about Ran and the others, let alone the business with Easter. Still, she bristled. Blaming it all on her was horribly unfair.
"He did explain it was partially his fault," Mom said soothingly. "I'm not going to punish you, so long as you don't do it again. You shouldn't have shouted at him where other people could see, that's why he had to do something about it." She started rubbing Amu's back in a circle, kneading her muscles. It felt really nice, even if she didn't want to let on, so she just stood there for a while.
"Do you want to help make dinner?" Mom eventually asked.
Cooking? It's not that she didn't want to, it just… wasn't what she did, and she worried she'd do badly. It would hardly be cool to ask for help, but at the same time, she wished she could. She wanted to hug Mommy without reservation, and to ask her about everything instead of pretending she already knew. She didn't want to act like this…
Held against her mother, who probably understood that, part of her broke under a sudden sense of urgency. She still couldn't make herself act that open, but that was okay.
Ran, please…
A moment of blankness, then her worries melted away and she leaned into Mommy's embrace, hugging her back with… a small fraction of her strength, now. She looked up at her favourite person in the world, who looked back with bemusement. "Sure, I'd love to help. You'll have to teach me how, though. What are we making?"
=======
"By the way, your teacher called just after letting you out, and that was almost an hour ago. What were you doing in the meantime?"
Amu froze mid-chop, flushing lightly. She couldn't claim to have been with the Guardians, that'd be too easy to check, and she definitely couldn't mention Ikuto. Maybe Utau-chan had been holding a street-side concert? No, that'd be even easier to check. Well. Um.
She glanced at Mom, who had smoothly expropriated the carrot she'd been working on and was reducing it to tiny little pieces.
"I was just wandering, looking at the neighbourhood?" Her tone of voice made it more of a question than an explanation.
"Oh?" A beat. "You'll have to introduce me to him sometime."
"That… there…" She'd turned beet red, and scrunched up to hide her face. "You're completely wrong, Mommy!" She said in a strangled voice.
Mom ruffled her hair, reducing her carefully arranged locks to tatters. "Just so long as you invite us to the wedding, dear," she said, sounding absurdly pleased with herself for someone who'd completely destroyed her daughter's composure.
"You're wrong, I said," Amu continued quietly. "It's not like that. He doesn't even -" She clamped a hand over her mouth. Right, that was the downside to being Ran; no skill at dissembling worth speaking about.
"One-sided, then?"
Nod.
She sighed, turning away from the food to focus on her daughter.
"I didn't think I'd need to worry about this for another few years, but here we go, I guess. You don't have to worry, Amu. I'm sure you'll find someone someday. I mean, I did, and look how that worked out." As if on cue, Ami's giggles echoed through the kitchen. "Ten is a bit early, though. I'm not going to pressure you, but if you want to talk…"
Amu shot her mother a grateful look, then drew in a breath and recovered her composure with a mighty effort of willpower. She didn't really want to, but if Mommy was offering… well, she did have a lot of questions. No real reason to wait, but she didn't want to talk about it here.
"Th… thanks, that sounds nice. Actually… can we go to the park tomorrow, after school?"
"Hm. You mean the one in Shibuya? Sure, the weather should be nice. Don't want Daddy to overhear?"
"It's not like that," she protested. "I just feel like going outside, that's all."
Mom smiled, and they settled down to a comfortable silence.
=======
19:00
"Ami, smile!"
"Schmiiile!" Ami agreed, grinning. Amu had spent a bit of time playing on the computer, hoping to give Tadase-kun a proper challenge the next time they played Complete Annihilation, but she couldn't even go an hour before she got too antsy to sit down and wandered off to play with Ami. Then…
"Amu, smile!"
"Humph." No, she wouldn't do that. Instead she readjusted her grip on Ami and turned her head, staring at a random spot on the wall. If her mouth jerked a little, at least she could make sure it was the part they couldn't see.
Daddy took the picture anyway, as he was wont to do.
"Big sis, schmiiiile!" She yelped, feeling two cold hands slip under her shirt. Ami had twisted around while she wasn't paying attention, and now she was about to -
"Schmiile," Ami argued persuasively, tickling her for all she was worth. She fell onto her back, laughing hysterically; Ami immediately took advantage by climbing onto her chest, and started tickling everywhere she could reach. She looked at Dad through tear-blurred eyes; he was adjusting the camera, probably about to take another photo. "No, stop, don't-!"
Flash.
"Daaad! Ami, sto-ho-stop it!" But Ami just strengthened her assault, until she was drumming her feet on the floor and could barely breathe or think for laughing. Ran? Miki? Anyone? "Help!"
All three of them were hiding in her room. Traitors.
=======
The evening is a virtual treasure trove of emotions, and you gain a great deal of insight into Amu's way of thinking. This is crucial data: It will allow you to strengthen her mind without twisting her personality, something you will not do on your own, and which you have come to believe Amu would not ask for. You have also gathered valuable data on Chara interactions, after she spent half the evening in an altered state of mind.
Understand Amu's emotions and personality: Plateau reached.
- You may now buy up to 2 points of virtue during or after exaltation. Further study is possible, but will take longer with each additional point.
- New research option: Motivation and Chara interactions.
It will take you most of the night to digest what you have already learned, and her sleeping mind is at any rate largely inaccessible. Will you continue on your current path in the morning, or pick a different option? You also attempt to poll the past-life gestalts you are carrying around in order to discover any options you may have overlooked.
[ ] Focus on understanding Amu's soul
- [ ] With an eye towards optimising the initial exaltation
- [ ] With an eye towards long-term efficiency
- [ ] Concerning Chara and motivation interactions.
- [ ] Write-in
[ ] Take an up-close look at the world around you
A/N: Stunts can also speed up research, who knew!
[X] Focus on understanding Amu's soul
--[X] With an eye towards her motivations and personality. We may have picked her to give her a chance, and that requires power, but we're not a completely heartless hunter-seeker autonomous motonic construct. She's a bit young for the more traditional packages, and typical doctrine prefers mature hosts as they're more likely to adapt well to the influx of divine power. Some initial and long-term efficiency can be sacrificed in the interest of building a stronger rapport with the new Exalt, as such efforts are more likely to pay off over time, and increase the odds of her making effective use of the power.
[X] Give Amu a sense of urgency. (A/N: Discussion Distillation. Hope you don't mind.)
She opened the front door as quietly as possible. "Be home before dinner" was the rule, and she still had half an hour for that, but how was she supposed to explain being late at all? Tell them she'd gotten detention, or just claim she'd lost track of time in the tea garden? She just knew they'd disapprove if she mentioned Ikuto.
Well, she had gotten detention, but she'd still prefer to keep that a secret.
Daddy and Ami were working on a puzzle together in the living-room. The TV was also on, so they wouldn't be able to hear her. That probably meant Mommy was in the kitchen, on the far side of the living-room, so maybe she could sneak up to her room without anyone noticing? Then she could claim she'd been here all along, and if they'd shouted for her earlier she'd claim she'd been too busy reading to notice.
Miki gave her a thumbs-up, peeking around the corner, but didn't stop keeping an eye on Ami. Well, that went without saying; if she spotted them, no doubt they'd end up as playthings again.
Amu quietly shifted her grip and closed the door, then removed her shoes, but decided to bring everything else with her. They tip-toed down the corridor, dashing past the opening to the living room before she had to very carefully pick her way up the stairs to avoid all the creaky spots.
She opened the door to her room and slipped inside.
=======
Smack.
The moment she entered her room, a rolled-up piece of paper hit her gently on her head. Startled, she spun on her heel, only to get caught in a hug by Mom. Had she been standing behind the door all along? She couldn't have seen her coming, so how long had she been standing there?
She relaxed slightly.
"Nikaidou-sensei called to explain what happened. You can't do that, you know… shouting at your teacher…"
Oh. Ugh. "But Mom, that was…" She trailed off. Um. She couldn't say what had really happened, Mommy still didn't know about Ran and the others, let alone the business with Easter. Still, she bristled. Blaming it all on her was horribly unfair.
"He did explain it was partially his fault," Mom said soothingly. "I'm not going to punish you, so long as you don't do it again. You shouldn't have shouted at him where other people could see, that's why he had to do something about it." She started rubbing Amu's back in a circle, kneading her muscles. It felt really nice, even if she didn't want to let on, so she just stood there for a while.
"Do you want to help make dinner?" Mom eventually asked.
Cooking? It's not that she didn't want to, it just… wasn't what she did, and she worried she'd do badly. It would hardly be cool to ask for help, but at the same time, she wished she could. She wanted to hug Mommy without reservation, and to ask her about everything instead of pretending she already knew. She didn't want to act like this…
Held against her mother, who probably understood that, part of her broke under a sudden sense of urgency. She still couldn't make herself act that open, but that was okay.
Ran, please…
A moment of blankness, then her worries melted away and she leaned into Mommy's embrace, hugging her back with… a small fraction of her strength, now. She looked up at her favourite person in the world, who looked back with bemusement. "Sure, I'd love to help. You'll have to teach me how, though. What are we making?"
=======
"By the way, your teacher called just after letting you out, and that was almost an hour ago. What were you doing in the meantime?"
Amu froze mid-chop, flushing lightly. She couldn't claim to have been with the Guardians, that'd be too easy to check, and she definitely couldn't mention Ikuto. Maybe Utau-chan had been holding a street-side concert? No, that'd be even easier to check. Well. Um.
She glanced at Mom, who had smoothly expropriated the carrot she'd been working on and was reducing it to tiny little pieces.
"I was just wandering, looking at the neighbourhood?" Her tone of voice made it more of a question than an explanation.
"Oh?" A beat. "You'll have to introduce me to him sometime."
"That… there…" She'd turned beet red, and scrunched up to hide her face. "You're completely wrong, Mommy!" She said in a strangled voice.
Mom ruffled her hair, reducing her carefully arranged locks to tatters. "Just so long as you invite us to the wedding, dear," she said, sounding absurdly pleased with herself for someone who'd completely destroyed her daughter's composure.
"You're wrong, I said," Amu continued quietly. "It's not like that. He doesn't even -" She clamped a hand over her mouth. Right, that was the downside to being Ran; no skill at dissembling worth speaking about.
"One-sided, then?"
Nod.
She sighed, turning away from the food to focus on her daughter.
"I didn't think I'd need to worry about this for another few years, but here we go, I guess. You don't have to worry, Amu. I'm sure you'll find someone someday. I mean, I did, and look how that worked out." As if on cue, Ami's giggles echoed through the kitchen. "Ten is a bit early, though. I'm not going to pressure you, but if you want to talk…"
Amu shot her mother a grateful look, then drew in a breath and recovered her composure with a mighty effort of willpower. She didn't really want to, but if Mommy was offering… well, she did have a lot of questions. No real reason to wait, but she didn't want to talk about it here.
"Th… thanks, that sounds nice. Actually… can we go to the park tomorrow, after school?"
"Hm. You mean the one in Shibuya? Sure, the weather should be nice. Don't want Daddy to overhear?"
"It's not like that," she protested. "I just feel like going outside, that's all."
Mom smiled, and they settled down to a comfortable silence.
=======
19:00
"Ami, smile!"
"Schmiiile!" Ami agreed, grinning. Amu had spent a bit of time playing on the computer, hoping to give Tadase-kun a proper challenge the next time they played Complete Annihilation, but she couldn't even go an hour before she got too antsy to sit down and wandered off to play with Ami. Then…
"Amu, smile!"
"Humph." No, she wouldn't do that. Instead she readjusted her grip on Ami and turned her head, staring at a random spot on the wall. If her mouth jerked a little, at least she could make sure it was the part they couldn't see.
Daddy took the picture anyway, as he was wont to do.
"Big sis, schmiiiile!" She yelped, feeling two cold hands slip under her shirt. Ami had twisted around while she wasn't paying attention, and now she was about to -
"Schmiile," Ami argued persuasively, tickling her for all she was worth. She fell onto her back, laughing hysterically; Ami immediately took advantage by climbing onto her chest, and started tickling everywhere she could reach. She looked at Dad through tear-blurred eyes; he was adjusting the camera, probably about to take another photo. "No, stop, don't-!"
Flash.
"Daaad! Ami, sto-ho-stop it!" But Ami just strengthened her assault, until she was drumming her feet on the floor and could barely breathe or think for laughing. Ran? Miki? Anyone? "Help!"
All three of them were hiding in her room. Traitors.
=======
The evening is a virtual treasure trove of emotions, and you gain a great deal of insight into Amu's way of thinking. This is crucial data: It will allow you to strengthen her mind without twisting her personality, something you will not do on your own, and which you have come to believe Amu would not ask for. You have also gathered valuable data on Chara interactions, after she spent half the evening in an altered state of mind.
Understand Amu's emotions and personality: Plateau reached.
- You may now buy up to 2 points of virtue during or after exaltation. Further study is possible, but will take longer with each additional point.
- New research option: Motivation and Chara interactions.
It will take you most of the night to digest what you have already learned, and her sleeping mind is at any rate largely inaccessible. Will you continue on your current path in the morning, or pick a different option? You also attempt to poll the past-life gestalts you are carrying around in order to discover any options you may have overlooked.
[ ] Focus on understanding Amu's soul
- [ ] With an eye towards optimising the initial exaltation
- [ ] With an eye towards long-term efficiency
- [ ] Concerning Chara and motivation interactions.
- [ ] Write-in
[ ] Take an up-close look at the world around you
A/N: Stunts can also speed up research, who knew!
Hyacinthium
Writing about sad cannibals as we speak.
- Location
- Bedroom
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Hmmm.
Well I'd definitely not want to fuck up the Chara, but has Dia been made or started yet? Could we somewhat take her place or alter her part in Amu's Quartet? Instead of being the part of Amu that wants to shine, would Dia hatch as the part of Amu that whats to protect her friends be a strong warrior?
Well I'd definitely not want to fuck up the Chara, but has Dia been made or started yet? Could we somewhat take her place or alter her part in Amu's Quartet? Instead of being the part of Amu that wants to shine, would Dia hatch as the part of Amu that whats to protect her friends be a strong warrior?
staplesdex2
CLASSFIED
[x] Focus on understanding Amu's soul
- [x] With an eye towards optimising the initial exaltation
- [x] With an eye towards optimising the initial exaltation
Hyacinthium
Writing about sad cannibals as we speak.
- Location
- Bedroom
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Focus on understanding Amu's soul
- [X] Concerning Chara and motivation interactions.
never mind I have to do some stuff so I probably won't be able to write a stunt
- [X] Concerning Chara and motivation interactions.
never mind I have to do some stuff so I probably won't be able to write a stunt
al103
Grumpy Russian Bear (SV edition)
- Location
- Russia, Krasnoyarsk
OOC: Subpar choice with additional options to compensate... let's not fuck up that options.
IC: There were quite enough fucking up users with Great Curse... NO MORE!!!
EDIT: changed vote to write in version
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Note: There will be no calling of votes this time, since ~90% of the contents of the next update is already decided (and 60% is written). You can still expect 24 hours of voting time.
Dia's egg originally showed up in chapter 15. Chapter 14 just ended.Lilithium said: