Shards of a Broken Sun [Megaten/Shugo Chara/Exalted]

[Yu Narukaze]

[X] Plan 'Chaperoned Date'
-[X][Party] Amu, Utau and Midori
--[X] Let's not take the entire family, since well. Amu has been being chased by the media. Her family is going to be recognisable.
--[X] Utau is a 'better' psionic to have as back up for an emergency.
---[X] Utau is going to be very annoyed if Amu dives into another situation without her, and there's no reason not to bring her. Disguised, of course.
--[X] Ask Midori for permission to read just her emotions while investigating / during conversation with the Scavengers.
---[X] We don't want Amu having to avoid a certain 'area' or blocking her ears.
-[X] Miki, Ami and Tsumugu stay at home.
--[X] Let's not bring another psionic kid in range of the group that kidnaps psionic children. Ami is very capable, but Kana hasn't solo'd Manticore yet, so they've clearly figured out mental defences to some extent since the Scavengers escaped.
--[X] Miki is already passing out, she is not going to be useful for this, especially since we don't know what her actual psionic abilities are like this, or if she can still Chara Change with Amu.
---[X] Ask about this, if Miki is up to answering.
--[X] Tsumugu knows JPs the best, and they are our emergency button. Him being outside of active event range seems useful.
---[X] Give him Lulu's number if there isn't a better JPs number available.
-[X] Bring Hikaru's ward stone thingy - it might be useful.

 

[TheWoo]

[X] Plan 'Chaperoned Date'

 

[Quickshot0]

[X] Plan 'Chaperoned Date'

 

[PistachioCookies]

Regarding Ami's supposed minion control, I'm pretty sure this bit indicates that those were just mobile/autonomous Illusions that she made using her lego blocks and plushies as a skeleton. This bit:

"Real things are things that have an inside," Ami decided. "Like a box. When you're real, you have an inside. Your mind is an inside. My mind is an inside. But not this." She picked up a toy soldier, and shook it. "It's just a shell around a lego piece. It doesn't have an inside."

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Indicates that no part of the toys or movements were "real", it was all done by making a "shell" around the base object. Likely some kind of Illusory "wrapper" conjured by Ami, who does have 2 native dots in Illusion. Which is also more than Amu's current Illusion level (at least until her training completes).

Re: Reading Midori.
I'm pretty sure Amu would just read her if she needed to for other things, but lets start teaching Ami by example on the topic of psionic ethics. While showing Midori that Amu did listen on the point of privacy and making that something Amu is in-story paying attention to.

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Feel like this isn't going to help much - not just because Amu herself has already been reading/writing minds left and right with Utau, Kana and Ami herself, but because Amu isn't actually there to lead by example most of the time. Case in point, this very outing where even taking Ami along will result in her being a whole 0.5km away and not able to actually witness Amu using psionics, if any psionics need to get used.

Most of her time spent observing psionic usage is going to be at school. Where she is being influenced largely by the likes of her friend Micchan, her other friend Hikaru or the Seiyo Guardians. Also possibly by an unknown counselor she is now attending sessions with. In the past, she was also influenced by Miki, who she used to help her cheat - but Miki is now more inclined to be near Amu and may or may not actually be able to go small and invisible anymore.

I'm assuming that your presumption that Miki will not be useful for this outing is your personal thoughts and not meant to be something you intend Amu to actually think or voice to Miki as the reason for leaving her behind in the vote. Because I don't think that would be very encouraging to Miki.

 

[Baughn]

I do mostly agree, but to play Devil's Advocate for the moment: That's a two-way street. If Manticore put their own loyal psychics on-site, they'll be able to detect Amu just like Scavenger could if they were there.

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Correct, of course. It might be possible to hide, but it if is--that isn't something Amu has ever tried, and doing so for the first time when it really matters might not be the best of plans.

The locket gave the rest of the Guardians access to Chara Transformation just by Amu being in the same 'scene' as them.
If Utau is coming with and wearing the Humpty Key, can Amu tap the Key for a similar discount/boost as the Locket normally gives?

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The fairly obvious answer is 'yes'. Though Utau hasn't played around with it, and doesn't actually know, it's something they'd be able to guess.

Even though singing is more Dia's thing, Miki CAN actually music.

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Well. She can sing. Yes.

About as well as a typical preteen with an interest in singing. Miki's skills are calibrated relative to what Amu wanted, which was less "being good at artistic things" and more "willingly working on it". She's less a skill overlay than a personality overlay. Her drawings, too, are just 'good for a preteen'... though they're much better now than during canon, because she's been practicing!

That's rather the point. Miki, if she'd been accepted the way Su and Ran were, would have given Amu the personality traits needed to spend time on this. It retroactively also included the skill of a nine-year-old who already had spent time on it, but... no more than that. Understand?

I wonder how much of this Ami learned herself (through Dreamwalking, etc.) and how much got uploaded directly into her brain by her perfectly nice friend Micchan.

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You're getting awfully paranoid about Micchan. I told you I modelled her on Misekai, not canon!Misaki.

@Baughn - Would Utau/Sanjou's agency have the equipment/vehicles necessary (or the capability to requisition such) to stage an impromptu concert at a playground the same day?

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Her "agency" is just Sanjou herself, representing herself. She's completely refusing to be part of the idol industry, in order to better isolate Utau from that life-- which also cuts down on what resources she can access. Nikaidou is the real bread-winner in that family.

They could burn a favor to achieve that, yes.

I'm assuming that your presumption that Miki will not be useful for this outing is your personal thoughts and not meant to be something you intend Amu to actually think or voice to Miki as the reason for leaving her behind in the vote. Because I don't think that would be very encouraging to Miki.

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Amu thinks Miki would be very useful... Amu is right.

Amu also does not want Miki in any danger. But well, we already spent a lot of words on that. And keeping her permanently out of danger doesn't seem likely anyway.

...a more applicable concern is that she might have trouble staying awake, though who knows; she did just have a nap.

 

[ShadowAngelBeta]

Alright, K.I.S.S. people.

Keep It Stupid Simple. Or Keep It Simple, Stupid depending on the exasperation levels.

I'm not at that level yet, but its close.

I would like to point out, with any complicated plan, Amu is a (minor) precog already expressing anxious worry. How many want to bet on us being able to afford the time for something overly complicated?

I need to abstain from voting, I know too many other details going on in the background and elsewhere, but I am perfectly willing to bap people for making a plan fifteen lines long. Or however many it is.

How you go about checking on it is fair game, just keep the details in mind when making plans.

edit: I would like to be clear, I only know a bit about the current situation, don't take my words as insider information, I try to be careful about that, but conspicuous silence is, well, conspicuous, too.

 

[PistachioCookies]

Well. She can sing. Yes.

About as well as a typical preteen with an interest in singing. Miki's skills are calibrated relative to what Amu wanted, which was less "being good at artistic things" and more "willingly working on it". She's less a skill overlay than a personality overlay. Her drawings, too, are just 'good for a preteen'... though they're much better now than during canon, because she's been practicing!

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I don't expect Miki to be able to SING well - but I'd expect that she'd be able to play instruments pretty well (which was why I specified Utau sings while Miki plays). Amulet Spade had Prism Music as an attack and it used a conductor's baton, which indicates to me that at least non-vocal music comes under her arts specialization.

Even if we assume that Miki would only have the same amount of skill as would Amu at that age, were she to take an interest in the subject and invest all her time into it...... canonically-speaking, Amu's favorite school subject is ALREADY music. And here in this quest, Amu herself gets supernatural learning speeds for things she's invested in.

I'd expect Miki would be pretty damn good at a keyboard, if she represented a 13 year old Amu who invested her time solely into the fine arts.

I would like to point out, with any complicated plan, Amu is a (minor) precog already expressing anxious worry. How many want to bet on us being able to afford the time for something overly complicated?

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So you're basically saying it's time-sensitive to the point where you don't even think Amu should even call Utau to invite her along?

You're basically suggesting that the best course of action is just to immediately pile into the family car and do a drive-by of their house and only think about the next step while we're sitting across the street.

 

[Yu Narukaze]

Correct, of course. It might be possible to hide, but it if is--that isn't something Amu has ever tried, and doing so for the first time when it really matters might not be the best of plans.

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... OK, my paranoia is going on overdrive now, so fuck it, new plan. We can probably contact Kana through the Dreamlands without ever going to her house; let's do that instead.

[X] Plan: Contactless Check-In
-[X][Party] Ami and Amu
--[X] Ami's the more experienced dreamwalker, and this shouldn't put either of you in direct physical danger
-[X][Approach] Use Dreamwalking in order to contact Kana to figure out why she stopped texting you, and whether she's in danger

 

[PistachioCookies]

If there's an impending emergency at that house, we don't want to Dreamwalk to Kana, we want to actually be there in person.

@Baughn - Is it actually possible for Amu to keep a visual illusion up on a moving vehicle to change its numberplate and color the whole time while she rides inside it? Is it possible for Ami to do the same?

 

[Baughn]

If there's an impending emergency at that house, we don't want to Dreamwalk to Kana, we want to actually be there in person.

@Baughn - Is it actually possible for Amu to keep a visual illusion up on a moving vehicle to change its numberplate and color the whole time while she rides inside it? Is it possible for Ami to do the same?

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Amu, no, I doubt she could manage it. Ami could with a few minutes' practice.

Amu would need to roll the dice.

 

[Quine]

[X] Plan 'Chaperoned Date'

If there's an impending emergency at that house, we don't want to Dreamwalk to Kana, we want to actually be there in person.

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Also we may not even be able to make contact through a dreamwalk at all. They'd probably have to be dreaming.

 

[PistachioCookies]

OK...... Well if we're going for the super-time-sensitive course of action that doesn't even give us leeway to invite Utau along....

[ ] Plan: Wardriving, Psychic-Style
-[ ][Party]: Amu, Ami, Miki, Midori, Tsumugu
--[ ] Ami's recent play-session with your dad has given you an idea of how you might approach this. This plan will need the whole family to pull off.
--[ ] Bring Hikaru's ward stone, it might be useful.
-[ ][Approach]: Drive-By Psychic Radar
--[ ] Have Ami try to hold an illusion over the family car while Tsumugu drives, to visually change the numberplate and color, maybe even the shape of the chassis, if it's possible for her.
--[ ] Drive to the Scavengers' house as fast as you can, then slow down while you drive down the street so that Amu can feel around the house and its surroundings for the Scavengers... or anybody who may be hostile to them.
--[ ] If the Scavengers are there and it doesn't look like they are immediately in trouble, have Tsumugu drop you and Midori off and drive home. You can walk back with your mother.
--[ ] If you can tell there's trouble there, find somewhere discreet to park until you can work out what you're going to do about it.
--[ ] Unless the trouble is imminent and the Scavengers need a ride. Then you should give them one.

 

[Baughn]

To clarify here, taking Utau along wouldn't appreciably increase the setup time. And anyway, Amu is somewhat of a nervous wreck right now. I did actually roll for precog, but you might as easily be seeing a failure as a success.

(That is one die roll that can't happen in the tread, sorry ~)

 

[ShadowAngelBeta]

Wasn't done in the discord beta channel either, I thought Baughn was being just straight with it since she is a minor precog, welp.

 

[PistachioCookies]

And anyway, Amu is somewhat of a nervous wreck right now. I did actually roll for precog, but you might as easily be seeing a failure as a success.

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Yeah, uh. That would be more believable if you hadn't also previously suggested that Amu taking a day to cry and get it out of her system (or call Utau to do the house call for her) would be unproductive. I suspected it might have been a hint at things being time-sensitive back then, but there wasn't much else to support the possibility, so I just shelved it.

This precog gut feel? It's no longer just on the shelf anymore.

 

[Baughn]

Yeah, uh. That would be more believable if you hadn't also previously suggested that Amu taking a day to cry and get it out of her system (or call Utau to do the house call for her) would be unproductive. I suspected it might have been a hint at things being time-sensitive back then, but there wasn't much else to support the possibility, so I just shelved it.

This precog gut feel? It's no longer just on the shelf anymore.

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Uh.

There's a difference between five minutes and one day, believe it or not?

Wasn't done in the discord beta channel either, I thought Baughn was being just straight with it since she is a minor precog, welp.

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GANBot doesn't have a dice-rolling function. I really should add one.

 

[PistachioCookies]

To clarify here, taking Utau along wouldn't appreciably increase the setup time. And anyway, Amu is somewhat of a nervous wreck right now. I did actually roll for precog, but you might as easily be seeing a failure as a success.

(That is one die roll that can't happen in the tread, sorry ~)

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How much would it increase the setup time, for Utau to bring a boombox and vehicle big enough to fit about 8-10 people with her?

Uh.

There's a difference between five minutes and one day, believe it or not?

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I meant in regards to the success/failure of the precog roll, not the setup time for Utau. If the precog roll was a success, it means things are time-sensitive to the hour and that a day is too long. That falls in line with the previous statement on 1 day spent recovering from a breakdown being too wasteful.

If it was a failure, it means things aren't really time-sensitive to the hour, meaning that waiting an extra day wouldn't change much. Which, going by what @ShadowAngelBeta suggests about being able to "afford the time", does not seem to be the case.

 

[Baughn]

How much would it increase the setup time, for Utau to bring a boombox and vehicle big enough to fit about 8-10 people with her?

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Hmm. One sec.

EDIT: Three hours.

Baughn threw 1 6-faced dice. Reason: Equipment availability Total: 1

 

[PistachioCookies]

Huh. Shame. How big are the vehicles that Amu's family owns? Do they own a boombox?

 

[Simon. Andersen]

for Utau to bring a boombox and vehicle big enough to fit about 8-10 people with her?

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Really. Why can,'t we just pick one of the options and go with it.
But no, people had to turn every options into a fifteen lines long plan. And it all because of those stupid Stunts rules.
Now it's feel like even for a option to win, it's must be turn into a very long overly complicated plan, for people to pick it.
It's starting to feel really discouraged to vote because of that.

 

[Baughn]

If it was a failure, it means things aren't really time-sensitive to the hour, meaning that waiting an extra day wouldn't change much. Which, going by what @ShadowAngelBeta suggests about being able to "afford the time", does not seem to be the case.

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To clarify that line, Shadow has seen a previous version of what would now be chapter... 2.5? It was chapter 2.3 at the time, which blew through the last two chapters in about one third the time and was not well received by my betas. For good reason.

Thing is, I don't delete text until I'm absolutely sure it won't be needed. So Shadow has, in principle, seen what's going to happen when you get to the Scavengers. Problem is...

Well, problem is the setup has changed. Also I've had two weeks to think about it, and to make a more interesting scenario. So the reality is that... well... he doesn't know.

Really. Why can,'t we just pick one of the options and go with it.

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Shrug.

Um, the stunting rules are only relevant if there's a dice roll, which none of these options involve. They also aren't trying to encourage this sort of vote, and none of the recent ones would have gotten a bonus anyhow.

Huh. Shame. How big are the vehicles that Amu's family owns? Do they own a boombox?

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They live in Tokyo. Admittedly in the suburbs, but it's still Tokyo, so...

Considering that Amu's family is affluent, what with their house having a yard with trees in it—and still has a large interior with a living room, large bedroom for Amu, even a guest room...

They own a car. It's a small one, mostly used by Tsumugu for his wildlife photography work, but it's certainly a car and you could definitely squeeze all five of them into it. If you add Utau to that, then she probably has to sit on Amu's lap.

 

[PistachioCookies]

Really. Why can,'t we just pick one of the options and go with it.
But no, people had to turn every options into a fifteen lines long plan. And it all because of those stupid Stunts rules.

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Being fair the Stunt rules are mainly just for dice - though then again, I guess there's no real way to tell whether or not a given vote will need a dice roll, given what happened when we tried to foist Saaya onto Tsumugu and then most recently with the vote on 2.1 to try and keep our promise (which turned out to need dice and failed).

Well, problem is the setup has changed. Also I've had two weeks to think about it, and to make a more interesting scenario. So the reality is that... well... he doesn't know.

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My takeaway from that is... you probably added in stuff that would result in us getting waylaid before we actually get to step through the door, or maybe even before we get within range to scan remotely, given that was among the options for default votes on 2.3.

.....That boombox would really be nice.

Like others mentioned, I expect psionic attacks to be of limited effectiveness given who we're dealing with. But with a boombox, even if Prism Music or Angel's Cradle mightn't be able to incapacitate via their mental effects, we'd be able to use it as a sound cannon and incapacitate people the old fashioned way - by blowing out their eardrums.

 

[Baughn]

I guess there's no real way to tell whether or not a given vote will need a dice roll

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Oh, you'll know in advance. Most of the time. If I don't realise it in advance then- well, then I don't realise it, and you'll get an extra chance at changing course if you want it.

 

[ShadowAngelBeta]

If it was a failure, it means things aren't really time-sensitive to the hour, meaning that waiting an extra day wouldn't change much. Which, going by what @ShadowAngelBeta suggests about being able to "afford the time", does not seem to be the case.

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Like I noted, I didn't know there was a roll, I just listened to the character when they note their anxiety is going wild despite only having minor precog

 

[Baughn]

Like I noted, I didn't know there was a roll, I just listened to the character when they note their anxiety is going wild despite only having minor precog

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If I told you literally everything then you wouldn't be able to vote, so... yeah. Don't worry that you might have too much foreknowledge; it's more likely to be the other way around, to be frank. Even when I do try to plan ahead, I'm not the most... consistent.

I think you've noticed that.