2023-05-21: Ambition for Two
- Log: 2023-05-21: Ambition for Two
- Cast: Milly Ashford, Emilia Eschonbach
- Where: Ashford Manor, Nagoya, Area 11
- OOC - IC Date: 21 May 0097
- Summary: Milly invites Emmy for a study date, only for the two to immediately do anything else but study. Emilia proves a subpar Ambition player but bold enough to surprise Milly in another way.
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
The Ashford family home is a somewhat sprawling residence in the heart of Nagoya; it's not quite as ostentatious as a lot of the other noble, merchant, and former-noble homes, because so much of their wealth is tied up in Ashford Academy itself, but it still marks them as a little above the average. It does have a maid.
The atmosphere inside is... well, it's not that much different from the rest of Area 11? But it is a little oppressive. It's hard to feel genuinely good here. Milly finds herself desperately in need of stimulation.
So she's invited someone very dear to her.
Right now, she's set up waiting for Emilia to be escorted into the house; there are two cups of tea waiting, and a very familiar tea set.
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
For once, Emilia was grateful for the all too Britannian wardrobe her grandfather had forced upon her. It meant she didn't feel underdressed upon arriving at the Ashford Manor. The gulf between her and the nobility is large- or perhaps too small the other way depending on who you ask.
She arrives in an eggshell blue dress, with long, loose sleeves, and white ruffle embellishments, and a waterfall effect in the skirt. Her four inch heels give her some much needed height as well as matching the outfit. She's curled her hair ever so slightly, just enough to hide the mismatched earrings- one a gold moon, the other a white gold earring from the Sheryl Nome range. The Sheryl Nome one is visible. On her wrist is a silver bracelet, carefully handmade, set with two significantly sized green gems. Her bag
Hopefully it will make for a good wrong impression.
Emmy is polite as she is escorted through, but doesn't say much, with a quiet stammered thank you and an unnecessary curtsey to the maid as she opens the door.
"H-Hi, Milly," She says, relief in her voice as the maid closes the door behind her, and it takes all she has not to sprint to Milly, but there's a spring in her step as she makes her way to the table- only to see the tea set and nearly trip in surprise before easily steadying herself.
"Y-y-y-you... a-a-actually b-bought one?" She stares at the teapot, with it's image of a lavender haired maid with a certain blonde menace, smiling for the camera and the maid making a heart with her hands. This one may be unique in all the world, though, for this is the only of them where the smile reaches the maid's eyes.
Emmy stares at Milly in disbelief- for once the former Miss Prez has her girlfriend completely on the back foot. After a few stunned moments, her smile widens. "Y-y-you're. In-c-c-corrigible, you kn-know that?" There's playful joy in her voice. "A-a-and h-here I th-thought you were. S-subtle."
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
Milly herself is on the business end of her wardrobe -- a smart white blouse, a green jacket, and a green pencil skirt. It's not that she's developing a dislike for dresses -- far from it -- but it is a quiet form of rebellion against her circumstances. So far she hasn't even had to entertain any marriage interviews; her mother's been busy.
"Of course I bought one!" Milly enthuses, taking a sip and making absolutely certain the side with the print is facing Emilia the whole time. "How else would I have gotten that expression out of you?" ... though after a pause to reflect, Milly says, "Actually, I can think of lots of ways, but that's beside the point."
She gives something under the table a nudge, and out rolls... a Haro! This isn't a full-time Haro companion though. "Do you want to try learning Ambition today, or should we stick to studying?" she asks, a big smile on her face. "I'm flexible. Oh, and so are my plans." The urge to flirt always hangs off of her -- though she's keeping herself mostly in check for now.
... mostly.
"I love the dress, by the way. The color really suits you."
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
"I-I mean..." Emmy flusters a little, but only in good fun. "I don't think it's h-h-hard for y-you to get that expression o-out of me." She's practically doing it now, right now before blushing again when the pr.
When the Haro rolls out, Emmy is surprised again- perhaps a little jumpy, all things considered, but she settles again quickly. "Th-there are H-Haros... in A-Ambition?" This game might be more fun than she expected. Or at least cuter. Still, she nods. "Yeah, I w-would! I m-mean. We h-have the whole d-day." They'd have more if a sleepover weren't a risky proposition here. "M-maybe it will g-g-get me in the r-right p-place for th-the Aeneiad after." Emmy pokes down at the Haro with one finger, curiously. She's never had the chance to properly play with one, and the happy little orb seems to catch her interest.
And then, with four words, Emmy's opinion on her dress does a hard 135 degree turn. "Y-y-you think so?" Emmy was right. It's not hard for Milly to get that expression out of her. "M-maybe... I might w-wear it. A bit more."
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
Milly smiles contentedly, taking another sip of her tea. "Hmm... I think you're underestimating how many different blushy expressions you've got in there." Milly remains incorrigible, even in this kind-of-gloomy home.
"At the same time, we only have the day, so we'd better make the most of it," Milly says, and she sounds ... honestly pretty excited, in a way that's been hard to manage for her since graduation. She's still getting her things in order for a mid-year pivot to attending college. ... or so she says, at any rate. Her mother is still insisting she ought to just gun through marriage interviews until something sticks.
"It's an AI-driven referee," Milly explains, with regards to the Haro. "Part of the game is good communication, so you have to be able to phrase your orders in a way that the natural language interpreter understands." She gives it a tap on the head, and it goes and begins dutifully pulling out a rather... less-than-classy card table. After that, it unfurls a map from a hidden compartment and sets to work setting up the board.
"Hm. I realize you're going to have to borrow an army -- does anything in particular strike you? My father and grandfather generally handed things down to me when they weren't relevant for work anymore, so I have a dozen of everything from every group that's been relevant up through the First Neo Zeon Conflict..."
She really ought to have donated this to Ashford, she reflects. A school games club would kill for this breadth of options for something like Ambition. ... she could still do that, actually.
After a little bit of consideration, she says, "It is gorgeous, but does it make you happy?"
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
Congratulations, Milly. You made Emmy nearly choke on her tea as she took a sip. She coughs a few times clearing her throat and just gives another of those expressions free.
Picking up a napkin to wipe her mouth, Emmy shoots Milly a look, and then nods. Still... the phrase good communication gives her pause. "W-W-Will it b-be okay with, u-um. H-h-how I t-talk?" She asks, slightly trepdiatious. Still... when asked what army she wants to play... There's only one choice, isn't there? One choice, that she'd been studying on the side.
"D-d-d-do you have. The One Year War Earth Attack Force?" There was no way she could choose anything but this opportunity to understand her father better.
Emmy pauses at Milly's question, then shakes her head. "N-not. On it's own." She says, a little hesitant. "B-B-but... you liking it d-does." She looks down at it. "It w-w-was the s-sort of thing... Mom w-wore in the old ph-photos." With the way her hair is styled, and the dress... Maybe she looks more like her mother's daughter than he father's today.
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
Ah, this is perfect. "It should be, yes. The parser is very effective, and it's capable of asking clarifying questions if you're inaudible or illegible." A pause, though, before she addresses the second half.
"Of course I do. Testing against Zakus still happens sometimes, but that doesn't mean I don't have them." Milly taps the Haro on the head, saying, "Set up for historical reenactment, North Britannia, One Year War. Start us in April. I'll be playing the Federation." It dutifully begins to do just that, with a pleasant, "Roger, Haro!" in response.
Emilia's answer gives her pause for a moment, and then she smiles. "Then I'll have to like it enough for two people!" she affirms brightly, before listening to her explain it. "Now that you say it, it does kind of remind me of what we see of her in the history books. ... But it's here and now, and I like that the best." She reaches out, giving Emilia's hand a little squeeze.
"Hmm... it does show your good fashion sense that you've managed to adapt it for your look, too," Milly points out. "Would you mind going shopping with me later this week? I'm about due for a wardrobe update."
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
"O-okay. I-I'll try, then." For all her emotional reasons for her choice, the North Britannian Campaign as Zeon is probably a good one for a beginner. She takes a seat across from Milly at the table. "Th-that's true... the amount of Z-Zaku scrap that c-c-comes through the shop even n-now..."
The squeeze of her hand is returned. Even this little could be interpreted... well, correctly. That doesn't mean Emmy lets go. "I... r-r-remember her... l-liking this c-colour too." It would be very easy for Emilia to linger here, but she chooses not to. Today is for her and Milly. Today is for today.
When Milly asks, Emilia's eyes brighten. "I'd l-l-l-love to!" It's been months since she and Milly could spend a day just diving through outfits in the club. She's missed it. "What did y-y-you have in mind?"
As the Haro sets up the holographic display, Emmy watches with wonder as a world she never knew is laid out. A Britannia with so many differences to the one she grew up in. "H-how do we... um, s-s-s-start?"
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
Milly's an exceptional commander, too; even starting a fair bit on the back foot, Milly expects to challenge Emmy. She has the numerical advantage, and the historical setup plays to her strengths.
Eventually letting go of Emilia's hand, she says, "I'm looking for something a little sharper? More professional, but still kind of flashy... imagine I'm expecting to get mobbed by Hi-TV the instant I leave wherever I'm going, but I still need to look like someone you need to take a little seriously." Taking a little while to think that over, she adds, "I definitely need new sunglasses. As much as I hate to say it, the southern belle look needs to kinda go..." She looks legitimately annoyed as she says, "I'm a modern girl! I really don't need to be wearing traditional dresses to impress 40-year-olds."
... Living at home hasn't worn her out, at least. "Anyway -- for you... I'm actually inclined to break out the keyboard. I forget that's an option." Milly rummages in her drawers for a little while for a tablet computer, saying, "Don't worry about the extra bumps on the keys. Nunnally couldn't touch-type when we first met, so most of the devices I have for group activities are like this." She eventually produces one, setting it down. "Type in your orders for your troops; it takes natural language, so don't worry about needing it to 'read correctly' or anything. You can be as broad or as narrow as you want; it'll do its best to interpret."
The Haro has finished setting up; there's a holographic display of the terrain, as well as... physical minis! They're fun and cute. ... and boy, there's a lot of them. Each one represents 9 mobile suits.
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
Emmy blinks a few times at Milly's desired fashion fashion sense. "Th-this sounds l-like... a l-lot for sch-school administration, she muses out loud, but she comes around when Milly hits on her reasoning. "Y-you're right. Th-th-there's no reason n-not to be y-you."
So says the girl dressed in traditional clothes to make a good impression on a 40-something year old woman in the odd chance she meets her.
"Hmmm... I th-think I h-have some ideas. Th-there's some b-b-boutiques in the r-r-rich part of town that m--ight be just r-right." Boutiques Emmy has only ever window shopped at, but...
"B-Braille, r-right?" Emmy says, feeling the lumps on the keys. She's not unfamiliar, even if she doesn't know it. She test types a few phrases into the parser, to make sure it works.
After a few more questions ("Why n-n-nine?"), the game begins, and some things become quickly apparent about Emmy's playstyle. The first and most obvious is that Emmy is a rather mediocre player. She's very good at balancing her deployments numerically and keeping track of her forces, but her head for strategy is weak. When she knows the moves Zeon made during the war, she tends to follow them without understanding the reasoning. When she doesn't her moves are based around the parts of the Britannian content she is aware of- and possibly wants to hold more desperately than others. New Yark State is definitely the heart of her operation.
When pressed, however, she tends to retreat and hold down, rather than take advantage of the Zeon forces superior armaments to take risks. There are a few bold moves in there, though, but they are on impulse rather than full and thought out. At least once she leaves her Midnight Fenrir Corps hanging to her own accidental advantage, given their effectiveness, but it's not something that will last against a player of Milly's strength.
It's also taking *lots* of her focus... she barely talks during the game, except to ask questions of rules.
Maybe she'd be more suited to a squad based tactics game, like Side Six Squadrons or even KMF Battle Band.
Or maybe she should stick to Radi-Robo. If she even knows what that is.
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
It is a lot for school administration -- but then, that's not entirely what Milly needs it for. As Emmy sorts out her fashion knowledge and comes to some conclusions about where she can find clothing that fits Milly's new vibe, Milly smiles.
"Yes, that's right," Milly enthuses. "They're just stickers, and I should really take them off, but..." There's part of her that's nostalgic for that time of her life, when things were just a little simpler -- when her life was less about her family's needs and more about, well, being herself.
("It's because full-sized MS squadrons were usually three groups of three," Milly answers, pleasantly.)
Milly identifies Emmy's tendencies in short order, but doesn't immediately start exploiting them. Since Emmy plays as if it's a historical reenactment, Milly acts like she doesn't know what Zeon MS are capable of in combined arms warfare... at first. She's mentally subdivided the continent and, once she does lose an engagement, starts reallocating specifically to punish combined arms warfare.
Milly is happy to walk Emmy through everything, too -- she steadily escalates in how seriously she takes Emmy's counterplay, as Emmy gets to the stage where she's making bold moves. She does win, but she's a perfectly acceptable teacher, all told.
"Hmm -- you're not bad, but I think you don't play confidently enough," she concludes, as they're wrapping up. "Still, for a beginner, this isn't bad. If I didn't know better I'd think you had a little background in mechanized warfare yourself," comes a little follow-up musing.
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
"W-well, we'll make a d-day of it. I-it would be r-r-really good if we could m-make it an overnight t-trip to Nouvelle, or even Shinjuku..." But such a trip is a hard thing to justify, and both of them are being watched by their families.
(Emmy saves the fact about MS Squadrons for later.)
Milly at least plays fairly for Emmy's first try, but it's clear and clean victory. Zeon are pushed off the Britannian continent well before October- whether that's a relief or a concern it's hard to say. But as a learning experience, it definitely gives Emmy a full look at the game, and against an opponent closer to her level, she could definitely play a decent game. The mention that she doesn't play confidently enough stings a little, but it's not wrong. "I-I th-think I got... too c-c-caught up in not l-losing." She admits, and it's a fair assessment even if Milly still would have trounced her.
And then she makes a sound like a fish that has suddenly realized that it ran out of water five minutes ago and didn't notice. A second after she rallies herself. "M-m-maybe it runs in the family?" It's more of a joke than a question, but there's some real rising inflection there.
r
Joseph Eschonbach was a known Ambition player at his local Gentlemen's Club, surely she just means that, Ashford Manor Staff.
Still, with the game over Emmy, helps clear the table for the next part of their day, and looks to her book bag. "M-Maybe we should h-have another b-break before we. Start. St-studying." She could use a breather for her brain. And maybe some more subtle hand holding. She really likes that part.
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
A day trip with Emmy... that does sound good. It does raise the possibility that one or both of them will get monitored by their families, which could be a liability for buying science crime clothing, but... frankly, Milly's willing to take on a little risk for the sake of a fun day out with Emilia. "I still have a good relationship with the visa office... we could do an overnight trip," Milly notes, before her thoughts drift back to the game.
"That's a common problem for strategy game players at first. It's not the only way someone can fail, but it is one of the most common," Milly says to Emmy, on that topic. She takes a brief breather to mentally push the pieces around the board in a few different ways. "Hmm... I'm noticing you also get overwhelmed the more pieces you have on the board. Your strategies got better the more you had to think in terms of specific units..."
Scooting forward in her seat a little as Emmy requests another break before they start studying, Milly says wryly, "If we don't, we'll never get to it -- but I'm not opposed." She reaches out to take Emilia's hand again. "Any favorites?"
(She's still turning over Emilia's performance in her head, even as her thumb gently glides over the back of her hand. Unusual to be able to make good use of special operations units without a general understanding of warfare -- talent for guerrilla operations...? Very strange, but not unheard of.)
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
"R-r-really!?" Emmy looks happily surprised at the idea. "I'd l-love to. If... If w-we could." It had barely been two months since their last 'slumber party' in the Student Council Room, but that was still far too long. Without Milly at school, they barely got to see each other at all. "Th-that m-might be better than... h-how I've been g-getting to concerts." One Ozma Lee has been *very* generous on that front.
As Milly takes her hand, Emmy scoots in closer, washing Milly take stock. Sometimes the best way to learn is from someone showing you what you did wrong. "Th-there's a l-lot to keep t-track off. And it's not l-like handling the school accounts. W-w-with those, if something's n-n-not right you trace it back, f-find the error." She takes a deep breath in. "In th-this... you know wh-what happened, but it's t-t-t-too late to go back and. F-find what you d-d-did wrong." She leans against Milly, maybe a little close for where she is, as Milly runs her thumb against the back of her hand. It's so little, but it feels like a lot in this moment.
"Uhm," She thinks. Her range in tea is actually quite small, and when she made it for herself she was a 'teabag in mug' sort of girl, rather than making a full pot. That sort of effort was for doing for other people. "...B-Britannian Breakfast?" She admits, a little sheepishly. It's a very basic flavour, but as with many of Emmy's tastes- it's the memories that add the most to the flavour.
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
"I'll reach out. It's getting a little difficult now that we don't have GUTS as an excuse, but you still do have that excuse, so..." She tables that for now, though. They can talk about fine details later.
Milly pulls out her phone with her other hand, texting the maid; she doesn't want to raise her voice too much around Emmy, even just for functional reasons.) Then she loops back to Ambition. "That sort of judgment is part of what the game's supposed to train," Milly explains. "Just like in the real world, you can't turn back the clock in a normal game of Ambition. Troops that die die, and unless you're playing a very long game variant, they're not replaced."
... a real gloom enters her voice. "I think some people forget that once they're in a position where soldiers can just get replaced..." That's way too moody a thought for a date, though.
The maid comes and takes the teapot, heading away after exchanging a few pleasantries. Once she's gone... "I'm already missing Ashford," she admits, a little embarrassed. "I knew that was coming, but this fast?"
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
Emmy nods. It's something to look forward to after midterms. And she needed something to look forward. Something pleasant in the future, beyond classes and work...and her revenge.
She pushed the last thought to the back of her head right now. She didn't want to sour her time with Milly with thoughts of what she must do.
The heaviness in Milly's voice is heavy enough. Emmy's silent for a moment. What can she say here, other than 'You're right'.
Milly's gloom could very will be contagious, especially when she talks about missing Ashford. Quickly, quietly, Emmy cans the room. A place like this would have security cameras, but with the right angle...
She slides a hand fan from under her sleeve. French make, vintage. Fifty years old if it's a day. But it was a gift. "...I've.. been missing 'A-A-Ashford' too." With a sudden movement she flicks the fan out, and moves like she's going to whisper a secret into Milly's ear-
But behind the fan, where the cameras can't see, she slips a momentary kiss on Milly's cheek, before continuing the whisper charade. "B-But the Ashford that matters m-m-most to m-me. Is the one here." She smiles a smile just for Milly. "N-now l-l-laugh, l-like I just told y-you an off c-c-colour joke 'not b-befitting'."
Emmy giggles too, before making a show of closing the fan, but hers isn't remotely forced. If there's one skill a certain student council president taught, it's the power in the refuge of audacity. And she looks so very proud of herself.
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
Leaning in close to Emilia as she pulls out that hand fan, Milly glances down at it -- and then Emilia says something thoughtful. Then she leans in, flicks that fan out, and --
-- says something really thoughtful, and kisses her on the cheek. It's Milly's turn to turn a genuine, bright red; whatever moody thoughts she was having at the time evaporate. Even Milly Ashford has her limits when it comes to looking cool.
Bringing her hand up to where she still feels a bit of the warmth of Emilia's lips, Milly stammers out an, "E-emilia, really --" just as directed... though honestly, there's not much need to feign the fluster. As much as she's in control in Ashford, she's less in control here -- and that feels good, at the moment.
After taking a little time to straighten her head out a bit, she considers bringing something else up to Emilia, but... Emilia's a good girl, she reasons. It's not that she couldn't take it, but -- why get her involved?
<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
The more genuinesly flustered Milly gets, the more lighthearted and joyous Emmy's giggle gets. "L-l-looks like... I'm n-not the only one w-with some c-cute faces to see." Oh no, has Emmy awoken to mischief? How will Milly survive?
After a moments of silence, she wonders if Milly's about to say something- but nothing comes out. ...Maybe now's a good time to get back into study.
Well, mostly into study. She places her copy of the Aeneid- fresh and new, marked with little coloured tabs, and filled with Emmy's notes in the margins.
She's really struggling to wrap her head around it, by the looks of things. "I-I-I'm not s-s-sure... wh-what parts we'll be focusing on. In. The test." She admits, a little embarrassed. "I j-just know it w-w-will be before th-the Underworld part. Th-there'll be an essay section t-too.
She sighs a little. "I th-th-think... Grandfather is m-making me st-study classics b-b-because he th-thinks I'll fail." She admits, a little sadly. "Th-that's why I h-h-have to make sure I get a-a-at least a B." She looks to Milly. "As long as I d-d-don't tank here, I should be o-o-okay." She looks to Milly. "S-s-so, um, I'm c-c-counting on your h-h-help."
She hasn't gone into her usual low mood after mentioing her Grandfather. Her entreaty to Milly is earnest, but so is her belief in the woman she's so in love with
So together, there's no way they can lose to a wicked old man or some old poem, right?
<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.
<poem> "Oh, that makes perfect sense," Milly agrees. "Let me try to remember what we did with this at this time of year... it's been a couple years, but it's not like I've forgotten everything."
Milly absolutely crushed Classics, of course. It was a favorite.
Her expression darkens a little at the idea of being set up to fail. "Well, we can't permit that, so we'll have to keep you here as long as it takes," Milly adds, picking up Emmy's copy and looking through the annotations. It's as much to jog her own memory as anything else -- it really has been a while.
"I'm really glad you came over," she says. "It's been a boring ronin year so far, and this is a big improvement."
Once she settles in, she seems to have a solidly okay grasp on tutoring -- indeed, she seems to be having as good of a time with this as she was with Ambition. ... maybe more, as she really digs in. (She certainly can't stomach the idea of Emilia losing to that old man.)