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

[eyedrop]

Wanna enlighten me?

[refashioned]

I think we have directions we can take. We somehow manage to build up our reputation enough with the aid of the princesses mentioned elsewhere here to begin diplomatic ties with the nobles here. The problem is, we'd have to join together. It'd be a group effort. And then we'd have to explain why our princesses are here. I'm not saying that we can't butter up the nobles without that. We might have to. I just think we're going to have to pull a little Aladdin-esque scheme to get on their sides, and the princesses will be the easiest sell.

[A beat.]

And then there's bypassing the nobles altogether. Per username Fiona, they're scared. They want to leave. No nobles means less pressure. It could also mean no influence for us if they're the only means to knocking on the Empress' door, but I'd like to think that taking them off the board is a safer bet than letting them stick around while scared.

Then again, you could argue that fear will keep them from pressuring for war. It depends.

[eyedrop]

[ Aizawa considers himself a man of logic. It doesn't mean he's always right--his conclusions have been flawed in the past, and he's had to correct for that--but trying to think things through rationally has always been his baseline. ]

Fear makes people do foolish things. We shouldn't do anything to encourage that, either way. Considering what we know of this world and its society, we have to proceed carefully.

[ Aizawa is no diplomat, as he's quick to affirm, and as anyone can likely tell at a glance. But he cleans up when he needs to. He plays the game if it's relevant, if it's necessary to do so. As it is here. ]

We can't ignore the culture of this land simply because we don't like it. Lives are at stake. The logical course of action is to proceed with your first idea. Endear ourselves to the nobles. Get access. Go from there.

[refashioned]

It's not a matter of not liking it. It's removing the influencing body from the board.

[Veronica hopes to make that clear.]

But since we're going to play to it: we need to make it so they want to gain our favor. If we put ourselves in the position of begging for attention, we'll always be subservient. We might have their ear, but they can always decide that whatever we say doesn't matter.

If we're not going to corner them, then we do it another way. They can corner themselves while looking for our attention.

[eyedrop]

[ He shakes his head. What? Hanabira reminds him of some historical setpiece based on his own country, and while he's not going to automatically assume everything is the same, he knows that kind of strategy wouldn't really work if this were actual medieval Japan. Submission is respect. ]

We're not vying for power. We just need to talk. Don't overthink it.

[refashioned]

I'm not. I am, however, seeing and hearing conflicting views of what the nobles actually want. Some of them just want to save themselves. Others, well, they're angry.

The angry ones need to be unable to exert their influence, but they're the ones more likely to bother.

[eyedrop]

It's good that you're trying to see every angle. But we have a good focus in mind as it stands. We should put our efforts there.

[ He lifts a hand, makes a 'go on' type of gesture. ]

They were talking about forming some sort of entourage for the little princess down there. You'd be a decent addition.

[refashioned]

Do you think we can sell the foreign diplomatic envoy idea?

[eyedrop]

I think it's our best bet. If we have royalty who can act like royalty, I'm willing to put my faith in that.

[refashioned]

You don't happen to know if we can put in a call to Hathaway for more supplies, do you? I just want to make sure that everyone is playing their part correctly.

[eyedrop]

[ He quirks an eyebrow. ]

What kind of supplies were you thinking of?

[refashioned]

Most of us have had to scrounge up wardrobe pieces to even fit in around here. But that's the thing: if we're foreign diplomats with status? We should look the part.

[eyedrop]

I mean ... maybe.

[ He's not the guy to know what Hathaway will or won't do. ]

On that note, though ... we don't want to get too wild with backstory, either. We should keep everything as simple as possible.

[refashioned]

I agree. Like I said: if we Aladdin it up, we'll sell it. That typically involves clothes making the woman. Per some recommendations from the grumpy woman, I do think we should make sure our princesses aren't actually princesses, unless they were afraid of being welcomed in tenuous times. Which—well, wild backstory, right? We should avoid it.

un: sharpshooter

[ceruleo]

I'm a little confused, if we're being honest. You seem good at politics.

[ He's not, in case that wasn't apparent. ]

If we do, somehow, get an audience with these people—with the Empress. What are we proposing? What's our angle? I mean, I get we're trying to stop a war! But just saying, 'hey, war sucks, don't do it' isn't gonna get rid of the underlying problem, which is that we've got two Empresses and both of them think they're the one.

[eyedrop]

Mostly I'd like to ensure that she's willing to negotiate with the other empire, despite the attack.

[ceruleo]

Negotiate, like, a treaty?

[eyedrop]

Well, we have a couple of objectives. First, we need to talk with her about the impact of the attack. How it's affected her and her people. We have to make sure we acknowledge her feelings, and the fear that her subjects have suffered.

[ He doesn't want to discount that at all. But, even so ... another sigh. ]

But then we have to come an accord. Explain that retaliation will only lead to retaliation, and that war won't help anyone. So, in other words: we want to encourage peace talks, yes. We already know that the attackers acted of their own accord and without approval from their Empress, so that should help.

[ceruleo]

Okay, okay. Got it. [ A beat. ] Is she gonna believe us? I mean didn't that guy [ this guy ] say he read someone's mind or something...?

[eyedrop]

That's where all the people with charm and charisma come in.

He did say that. Yes.

[ and then jumped to a totally irrational conclusion, but that's neither here nor there. ]

[ceruleo]

[ No comment on Kylo Ren's deduction skills, because, let's be real. Lance can't do better. ]

Charm and charisma, huh? Can I help?

[ Implying he has either of those things. ]

[eyedrop]

Sorry, I should have been more precise. That's where all the women with charm and charisma come in.

[ Well, Lance did talk down those goats. But they're not really part of this society. Less biases. ]

[refashioned]

You play the angle that comes with approaching them at a time like this: that you've been through something similar. Our princesses likely have. Offer help, guidance, and support. We can even say our princesses came over to help because they heard of the dire straits.

It goes from there.

[ceruleo]

Man, that's smooth.

How do you just know this stuff?

[refashioned]

[Veronica deliberates for a few seconds of silence—]

My father is a renowned business man. It's difficult not to learn, and then cross apply.