[X] Nope. Nope nope. Not doing this. Enter closet, close closet, accept no visitors to your kingdom of nope.
"Wow. Maybe I should have talked with those cultists instead of just rushing where you were." Seyrun comments, but you aren't listening.
Milly has superpowers.
Milly has superpowers.
Someone put what is probably one of the most dangerous spiritual weapons ever created in the soul of Milly Ashford.
"Nope." You stand up and walk to your closet. "Not doing this." You open your closet, enter and close it.
This isn't happening. Nope. This is just a nightmare born from all of the crap you had to go through today and that visit to Oramus' mad realm.
"Ohohoh! Don't be silly Lulu. Come out, let's talk." The nightmare tries to open the door.
You pull back with all your strength. "Noooo!! Be gone! You're just an hallucination created by my mind! I will not be tempted!"
"Boss?! You're freaking out, and I don't like what it is doing to this place!"
"Fine. If you put it that way..." You breathe in relief as the nightmare relents.
Then your blood freezes when you hear what sounds suspiciously like clothes being removed. "Milly? What are you doing?"
"Getting naked of course." A part of your soul shrieks in terror. "Then I think I will take some selfies while leaning on your bed and post it on my profi-"
"STOP IT!!" You half-scream, half-plead as you storm outside, your mind conjuring horrible images of the upcoming social disaster.
And faceplant when you see Milly sitting on the bed with her clothes still on, a victorious grin on her lips and sheets crumpled from what was most likely her playing with it. "There. It wasn't so hard, was it?"
"Demon..." You whisper, forced to recognize the whole unbelievable situation as being, sadly, reality.
"No, no Lulu. They are demons." She pets one of the spiders, who just look confused, before raising on fist in the air. "I'm Green Sun Princess Milly Ashford of the Scourge Caste! What's yours?"
"...Fiend..." You reply dispassionately, dragging your sudden oh-so-tired self up and sit next to her.
"I knew it! Even if you don't quite fit the 'bad boy' type." She sizes you up and down with that look of her that didn't possess an ounce of shame ever since she hit puberty. "And am I seeing things or are you even more handsome than normal? The Exaltation did a very good job."
You glare at her.
She giggles before a bit of concern enters her expression. "But seriously Lelouch, what happened?"
It's best to go for truth or elaborate li-too troublesome. "Today I got caught up in a terrorist incident, drawn into a warzone, my best friend from childhood was killed for refusing an order to kill me and there was nothing I could do to stop it, I made a deal with the world-gods who created the universe in exchange for power, I've learned that everything I thought I knew about the universe is wrong and I've had to scrap my old plans for destroying Britannia..."
She blinks. "You were serious about those?"
You ignore the jab. "...and now I've learned you've got the same bullshit powers I do. It explains so much." You sigh. "I did think your parties got a little wilder in the last few months."
She preens. "Of course they were." Then she smiles sadly and put a hand over yours, squeezing it lightly. "I'm sorry to hear about your friend. But you're here and alive, so something good had happened today, right?"
"Well, I lead a cell of terrorists to a near victory over Britannia. I also convinced my brother Clovis that it was all the Pureblood's fault and that he needs to purge his government of 'traitors', so the Area Eleven government is going to be quite destabilized soon."
"...Your brother is that gullible?"
"It helped that he was drunk. Which was my doing." You roll your eyes. "I also created an alter-ego called 'Zero' to lead the terrorists."
Milly smiles widely. "Can I help design you a costume?"
"No, hell no, and absolutely no." You reply without hesitation. "I'd like to keep my dignity."
She pouts.
"But seriously Milly, how..." You gesture at her. "How did it happen? How did you become an Exalt?"
"Well, it happened two months ago-Oh! Let me present you someone." She claps her hands. "You can show yourself Zenész."
A figure materializes in the center of the room, and instantly your ears are assaulted by a haunting beautiful music. There are no words to it and yet it hit you on a deeply personal level, speaking of sorrow, lost innocence and self recrimination but also streaked through with subtle phrases that evoked a faint hope that the bad days would pass and fond memories of the good times in life.
The demon has the appearance of a stunningly beautiful woman wearing a black dress, long and flowing dark hair in a loose, messy style framing a shapely face with slightly too large green eyes. The defining feature are her hands, each with a dozen long many-jointed fingers constantly moving in time with the music, as though she is playing an invisible harp. She smiles softly before closing her eyes to concentrate on her music.
Seyrun hums contently, the other spiders imitating him. "Malfeas, I missed this music."
"She is an Angyalkae. Just like my Unwoven Coadjutor, Nassozra." She points at her head. "She's pleased to meet you."
'Unwoven Coadjutor?'
"The term used for the demon that fused with a Green Sun Prince. Oh, and it's an honor too."
You resist the urge to shake your head in exasperation. "They're Anuhles. I hadn't time to get their names yet." You gesture to the spiders. "My Unwoven Coadjutor is called Seyrun. He said it's an honor too."
"Where I was? Oh, yes." Her mood suddenly turns somber. She bends her legs close to her chest and hugs them. "Do you know how my parents are trying to make me marry some noble so the Ashford could rise in status?"
"I know." You roll your eyes. "I also know you managed to make any suitor back off through a combination of blackmail, gossip and who knows what else."
"Usually. But I couldn't with the one they found two months ago." You are startled to see real, pure rage in Milly's eyes. "Baron Ramsley didn't have any weak spot I could use, and he was too well known for my usual methods." She snarls. "He also kept checking me out every time we met. I doubt that pig even remember my face. At one point I decided to talk with my parents, to make them change their minds. That was the first we yelled at each other." Her gaze turns melancholic. "I told them I wanted to be my own person, to be free to make my own decisions. They called me ungrateful, that this was their only chance to regain the prestige that was rightful ours, and how dare I be selfish instead of thinking of the good of the whole family..."
"Milly." You interrupt her. You put your hand under her chin and gently tilt her head until she is looking at you. "I am going to punch your parents in the face the next time I see them. Don't try to stop me."
"I wouldn't even try." She smiles gently, through her eyes are lucid. But it isn't tears, not quite. "At this point you probably expect me to say I kept refusing...but I didn't. I don't know why, maybe I was shocked that they weren't even considering my opinion, like I wasn't their daughter but just a useful pawn. So I gave up and told them I would marry the Baron. After that I ran into my room, lock me inside and cried until I fell asleep."
You don't know when you hugged Milly, but you don't have any intention of changing position.
"I was woken up in the middle of the night by the same beautiful music." She smiles at Zenész, who smiles back and keep playing. "It was Nassozra. I suppose your own recruitment speech was also short and vague?"
You nod. "We were in the middle of a warzone, so yes it was."
"Well, I accepted. Even if I had known everything I learned later I would have still accepted. I just wanted to keep my freedom." Her lips curve upward as she puts a finger over them, her usual mischievousness back in her eyes. "Admittedly waking up naked and with a smashed brass cocoon in my room made the clean-up difficult, but it was worth it because otherwise I would have never met Lady Hegra!"
"Hegra? She is a Chosen of Hegra?" Seyrun mutters. He sounds more surprised that fearful however.
'What kind of Yozi is Hegra?'
"Hegra, the Typhoon of Nightmares. She collects the dreams of Creation and then rains them down on Malfeas. When it happens all demons pour into the streets to dance and bask in the psychedelic weather."
'...Are you saying-' You mentally gulp. 'That Milly was chosen by what is basically a rain made of drugs?!'
"...Yes?"
This is definitely the work of Hell. Only Hell would have allowed such an unholy union.
"Milly." Your tone is totally emotionless. "Please tell me you can't make drugs with your powers."
"Don't be silly Lulu." She giggles. Thank goodness, that was one bullet dod- "I can't do that yet." Aaand, why is the world so cruel to hope? "But I can shoot my emotions in the form of meteorological phenomenon. Do you want to see it?"
"There is no need." You use all your willpower to avoid pleading. "Hegra is your Patron Yozi?" She nods. "Alright, so you came out of the..."
"Chrysalis Grotesque."
"Chrysalis Grotesque." You repeat before realizing just what you said. 'Seriously, seriously? Have you ever heard of bad PR?'
"Nope. What's that? Do you eat it?"
You ignore him. "And then?"
"Like I said I cleaned up. It wasn't easy, but some of the old maids like me more than my parents and didn't ask questions. After that I talked with Nassozra about my new powers and came up with a plan of action. I waited for Ramsley's next public appearance and went there slowly working up all the hate and disgust I felt towards that filthy pig." She grins savagely. "And then when I saw him I shoved all of my emotions into him."
"What happened?" You ask, fascinated by the story.
"He started screaming and hitting the person he was talking with." She laughs. "Which was a duke."
You can't help but grin. "Stripped of his title?"
"Stripped of his title." She grins back. "I did the same a few more times, just to hammer down his new reputation, and then stopped."
"Good job." You hug her a little tightly before backing off. "Still, the ability to make other feel your same emotions is definitely use-!"
You stop, an horrendous suspicion crawling its way up from the back of your mind. "Milly?"
"Yes?"
"Did you use the same trick in your parties? Because I remember enjoying quite a few of them, even the one where we had to come to school in a swimsuit, and I couldn't understand why I was okay with that later..."
Her only answer is a coquettish smile.
"Y-You!" You point a finger full of indignation at her. "You raped my mind!"
"Don't be so melodramatic, I just inspired you and a few others. And even if I wanted to rape something, it definitely wouldn't be your mind." Her gaze slowly lowers.
For the sake of your sanity you ignore all possible implications and stubbornly stick to your point. "Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was? There were even photos of me circulating around!"
"I know: I made and sold them."
"WHAT?!"
"Oh come on Lulu. Relax. Look, I will even repay you." She grabs your hand-
And presses it on her left breast. "There. Pretty soft huh? Just say the word and I will remove all the pesky clothes between."
"§#@&%$£(!!"
"Lulu? Lulu I was joking don't jump out of the window please!"
{====}
A few minutes later you manage to regain your bearings, if only barely. It's clear that Exalting upgraded her teasing skills too, because they have never been so effective before. "So, you managed to avoid another arranged marriage. And then? Did you go to Malfeas?"
She shakes her head. "But I wanted too, so I went to meet the people that summoned Nassozra."
"The cultists?"
"Don't say it as if it is a bad thing." She chides you. "They're very sweet people. It's a community of Elevens and Britannian commoners that live just outside the settlement. I know it sounds strange, but apparently they all got bad deals with the government in favor of the usual privileged, so they sort of banded together before they met an unbound demon." She hums. "Now they summon demons that can help them with their special abilities, and in exchange they offer prayers and sacrifices, mostly things that can be found only on Earth."
'Why does it sound more like a business agreement than a matter of faith?'
"It works, does it not? A smart demon knows how to keep his cultists happy and willing, while those who don't aren't likely to stay in change for long. It's even more important for cults backed by a Second or Third Circle demon. You don't want to fail them."
"That's how I met Zenész." She gestures at the harpist. "She came bearing a message: it said that my presence wasn't required yet but to stay ready to answer when it is." She shrugs. "So with nothing else to do I continued to go to school while following my Urge."
"Ur...ge?"
"You don't know? It's a task we Infernals are given by our Patron through the connection with our Exaltation. It's the way we receive orders."
'Seyrun!'
"I was going to tell you about it!" He defends himself. "But then your friend pops up and-"
'Spare me and tell me what Oramus wants me to do. And from now on tell me immediately of any change.'
"Yes, yes understood. Blessed Oramus wants you...to create an empire."
'An...empire?'
"Yes, an empire. One that is greater and more unique than Britannia."
"An empire..." You repeat out loud, as if reaching an epiphany before chuckling. "Of course. Merely destroying Britannia would send the world into an even greater chaos. To avoid that, I must also create a government that fits my ideals."
You are really lucky to have such a wise Yozi as your patron.
"That fits you Lulu." Milly nods. "Lord Hegra instead wants me to disrupt the rigid hierarchy here in Area Eleven, to make people loosen up. I'm managing to do that, but I'm not making enough progress." She tilts her head, eyeing you, before breaking into a smile. "But if we join forces I am sure we can reach both of our goals way faster!"
"Milly...Are you sure? I am going to oppose the strongest superpower in the world, it will be dangero-"
She silences you by pressing a finger on your lips. "Lelouch vi Britannia." She says with utmost seriousness. "I may not have suffered as much as you, but I am too a victim of the callousness of Britannia. I held no love for my homeland. The only ones I care about is this school, its students, my freedom, my grandfather..." She grins. "And obviously my friends. Plus we're both Heroes of Hell now, we ought to play our parts."
You gape at her before chuckling. "And here I used to think it was me against the world. What a fool I was."
"You totally were Lulu." She smiles before hugging you. You return the hug. For once her hands don't wander around, and for that you are grateful.
Gained Intimacy:
Intimacy: Milly (Fond Friendship)
Ally (Milly Ashford): O
"What do you intend to do now?" Milly asks you afterward.
You think about it. It's too late to go to class now, and in a few hours Nunnally will return and Sayoko will prepare dinner.
[] Rest and wait for Nunnally.
[] Tell the Anuhles to resume searching for Dragonblooded and wait for their report.
[] Talk with Milly, exchange knowledge and info about your respective abilities.
[] Write-in.
====
I got better, so I finished the chapter. I hope I characterized Milly well
I've been thinking of all sorts of ways to stunt the impossibility of Calculating Dho-Hna Angles. It's gonna be all kinds of bullshit. I think my best one is for when/if we run into Mao.
Usually. But I couldn't with the one they found two months ago." You are startled to see real, pure rage in Milly's eyes. "Baron Ramsley didn't have any weak spot I could use, and he was too well know for my usual methods." She snarls. "She also kept checking me out every time we met. I doubt that pig even remembered my face. At one point I decided to talk with my parents, to make them change idea. That was the first we yell at each other." Her gaze turns melancholic. "I told them I wanted to be my own person, to be free to make my own decisions. They called me ungrateful, that this was their only chance to regain the prestige that was rightful our, and how dare I be selfish instead of thinking of the good of the whole family..."
dmittedly waking up naked and with a smashed brass cocoon in my room made the clean-up difficult, but it was worth it because otherwise I would have never Lord Hegra!"
[X] Talk with Milly, exchange knowledge and info about your respective abilities.
-[X] Make sure you have a camera handy for when you mention your patron Yozi.
I think we should start by asking if Milly knows of any dragon blooded students or Staff. We still need to take precautions but Milly's shown us that our minions can be followed. Double check how she found us (saw the minions.,demons sensing other demons? Etc).
Basically get our paranoia dealt with, then chat with her after that's done.
If no one writes up something around that idea I'll give it a go tomorrow.
[X] Talk with Milly, exchange knowledge and info about your respective abilities.
-[X] Make sure you have a camera handy for when you mention your patron Yozi.
I'm expecting for Milly's demon and Coadjutor to have more of a reaction than her, she probably has no idea who Oramus is. However, she might be a little more concerned when she realizes we effectively sold our soul to the Eldritch God of Eldritchness
[X] Talk with Milly, exchange knowledge and info about your respective abilities.
Loved this update. Some mistakes I'll point out for fixing since there were a few bad ones, but the tone and characterization was just right. And of course Milly is better at teasing - Exalted get better at things.
[X] Talk with Milly, exchange knowledge and info about your respective abilities.
Best to get a handle on what she can do, and let her know what we can do. Working together with our Coven is important.
Well, I'm planning on raising our Essence to 3 next time we get enough experience for that and Dual Gaze Paradox, but I'm not sure how that's related. We already have the Charm regarding using it for physical attacks, and that's my intended use for it to kill Mao.
You know , shouldn't Milly have been affected by Beautifull in my own way ?
Also does anyone know how to capture and store exaltations ? Sounds like something we will need in the long term
And can someone explain why back in the begining the primordials didn't order the incarnae to slay the exalted ?
No. That knowledge is likely lost, and the entire thing took all the Sidereals and Dragonblooded working together, so it's not something that's likely to be easily repeated.
And can someone explain why back in the begining the primordials didn't order the incarnae to slay the exalted ?
The Incarnae couldn't raise a hand against the Primordials, but I don't think they were so tightly bound that they had to obey every order. Basically the chains that bound them made sure they couldn't rebel.
{slide=Beautiful In My Way}Cost: -
Mins: Essence 2
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Emotion, Obvious
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None
Oramus is alien - he is Other in a sense that none of the other Yozis can match. And yet he possesses an eerie, strange beauty that draws demons to his perpetually bound self like moths to a candle flame. On purchasing this Charm the Infernal's Appearance is increased to the highest rank allowed by his Essence - but it is an alien beauty, fascinating others as they are drawn unstoppably into its orbit. Every scene the Infernal spends with another character counts as Unnatural Mental Influence devoted to building an Intimacy of rapt fascination in that character.
The Exalt may spend 2 points of temporary willpower (reduced to 1 point for positive Intimacies) to not cause this effect in a given character for a scene.{/slide}
[X] Talk with Milly, exchange knowledge and info about your respective abilities.
-[X] Make sure you have a camera handy for when you mention your patron Yozi.
And faceplant when you see Milly sitting on the bed with her clothes still on, a victorious grin on her lips and sheets crumpled from what was more likely her playing with it. "There. It wasn't so, was it?"
"I knew it! Even if you don't quite fit the 'bad boy' type." She sizes you up and down with that look of her that doesn't possess an ounce of shame since she hit puberty. "And I am seeing things or you're even more handsome than normal? The Exaltation did a very good job."
"Were I was? Oh, yes." Her mood suddenly turns somber. She bends her legs close to her chest and hug them. "Do you know how my parents are trying to make me marry some noble so the Ashford could rise in status?"
"Usually. But I couldn't with the one they found two months ago." You are startled to see real, pure rage in Milly's eyes. "Baron Ramsley didn't have any weak spot I could use, and he was too well know for my usual methods." She snarls. "She also kept checking me out every time we met. I doubt that pig even remembered my face. At one point I decided to talk with my parents, to make them change idea. That was the first we yell at each other." Her gaze turns melancholic. "I told them I wanted to be my own person, to be free to make my own decisions. They called me ungrateful, that this was their only chance to regain the prestige that was rightful our, and how dare I be selfish instead of thinking of the good of the whole family..."
"known", "He", "their minds", "the first time we yelled", "ours"
"I wouldn't even try." She smiles gently, through her eyes are lucid. But it isn't tears, not quite. "At this point you probably expect me to say I kept refusing...but I didn't. I don't know why, maybe I was shocked that they weren't even considering my opinion, like I wasn't their daughters but just an useful pawn. So I gave up and told them I would marry the Baron. After that I ran into my room, lock me inside and cried until I fell asleep."
"Well, I accepted. Even if I had know everything I learned later I would have still accepted. I just wanted to keep my freedom." Her lips curves upward as she puts a finger over them, her usual mischievousness back in her eyes. "Admittedly waking up naked and with a smashed brass cocoon in my room made the clean-up difficult, but it was worth it because otherwise I would have never Lord Hegra!"
"Hegra, the Typhoon of Nightmares. She collects the dreams of Creation and then rain them down on Malfeas. When it happens all demons pour into the streets to dance and bask in the psychedelic weather."
"Don't be silly Lulu." She giggles. Thank goodness, that was one bullet dod- "I can't do that yet." Aaand, why is the world so cruel to hope? "But I can shoot my emotions in the form of a meteorological phenomenon. Do you want to see it?"
"Did you use the same trick in your parties? Because I remember enjoying quite a few of them, even the one where we had to come to school in swimsuit, and couldn't understand why later..."
"a swimsuit", I'm not sure how to fix the rest of the sentence, I only can say it's wrong.
For the sake of your sanity you ignore all possible implications and stubbornly stand your point. "Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was? There were even photos of me circulating around!"
A few minutes later you manage to regain your bearings, if only barely. It's clear that Exalting upgraded her teasing skills too, because they have never been so effective before. "So, you managed to avoid another arranged marriage. And then? Did you went to Malfeas?"
"Don't say it as if it is a bad thing." She chides you. "They're very sweet people. It's a community of Elevens and Britannian commoners that live just outside the settlement. I know it sounds strange, but apparently they all got bad deals with the government in favor of the usual privileged, so they sort of band together. Until they meet an unbound demon." She hums. "Now they summon demons that can help them with their special abilities, and in exchange they offer prayers and sacrifices, mostly things that can be found only on Earth."
"An empire..." You repeat out loud, as if reaching an epiphany before chuckling. "Of course. Merely destroying Britannia would send the world into an even greater chaos. To avoid that, I must also create a government that fit my ideals."
"That fits you Lulu." Milly nods. "Lord Hegra instead wants me to disrupt the rigid hierarchy here in Area Eleven, to make people loose up. Imanage to do that, but my progresses aren't very fast." She tilts her head, eying you, before breaking into a smile. "But if we join force I am sure we can reach both of our goals way faster!"