video; un: eraserhead

[eyedrop]

[ Aizawa's lolling against some tree somewhere. Terrible, slumped posture; hair wild about his face. His expression is neutral, bordering on irritable, and his voice is an exhausted monotone. He sits with one leg folded over the other, idly tossing a cat figurine from hand to hand. ]

Hey. Myself and a few others did some looking around. Apparently, both the sea clan and the mountain clan have their allies--but they're not within easy reach. In the case of the sea clan, the empress's brother is married to some far-off queen. The mountain clan's allies aren't too nearby, either.

[ He shifts minutely. His eyes flutter briefly shut, and he sighs. ]

Point being, war between these two would be irrational. The old man we spoke with said no one really wants to start anything, but I don't know how true that is. I haven't tried to approach the nobles.

[ He really doesn't look or act the part, and he knows it. Nor does he have an escort. ]

If you've spoken to any of them, what's the mood? What do they want?

[ He cards a hand through his hair, frowning slightly. ]

They're the key to this, I think. Certainly the key to actually meeting that empress of theirs. So if you've got info, or if you've made any connections, spill it.

Comments

[refashioned]

Okay, fair. Probably not.

But it might be seen as cowardly.

[cachemoney]

[She legitimately didn't know, it's not like nations exist to be treasonous of on Pandora.]

Well, the guy wasn't exactly buff. Fighting a war probably isn't in his wheelhouse. [Why is she defending a skinny, nervous coward..... oh, yeah.]

Anyway. He made it sound like he expected other people to follow suit.

[refashioned]

Just to double check: he was a noble? [A few wheels are turning in her head now.]

[cachemoney]

Yeah. Extremely.

[refashioned]

So—hypothetically—let's say the nobles are more interested in saving themselves than ushering in a civil war. Encouraging them to leave would only be the next natural step. Without someone to appease, the Empress will feel much less inclined to act. Like she is already.

[cachemoney]

Encouraged by...? So you're saying the empress has, what, goons threatening the noble class to leave?

[refashioned]

No, I'm saying it wouldn't hurt to have the most powerful class of this nation on vacation right about now.

[cachemoney]

I'm pretty sure someone would say something if an entire population was being gently blackmailed to leave all at once.

[refashioned]

You're not wrong, but I was hoping that that certain population would look particularly terrible for abandoning their Empress in a time of need.

That said, I've already been dissuaded from such a plan. We can put it on the backburner if we're really desperate.