probe | Audience: Gu Yun

[ the way you just stepped right into one of the biggest conflicts in sha po lang was VERY funny

anyway!! he clearly is paying it no mind! so. ] Passion and Lust do go hand in hand, don't they? [ much lighter and teasing! ] I'll keep your expertise in mind.

[ he has no intentions of losing sight of that goal, anytime soon - especially because its always been his goal. as gu yun takes another sip, regarding their reaction, his smile warms up a bit, too, pleased to be delivering that particular bit of information and nothing at all about himself. ] It's the truth! I've heard there've even been playful [ ? ] threats that we all be nice to you. Not that I would dream of anything otherwise; I agree with their assessment that you're very sweet, indeed.

[cannot believe this.wow!]

I like to think so! You can't really be something people aspire to be without giving it your all in the first place.

[they finally take a sip of their tea, legs slowly swinging under the table.] That's sweet though...a lot of the others are really good friends, and I'd make threats for them, too. [this is so casual.] We've known each other for a long time, so I'm not that surprised either.

[ daddy issues but also (country) daddy issues ]

Oh? Are you something of a revered figure, Lust?

[ he can see it! no wonder everyone loves them so much. the casual threat makes him smile, amused, into his tea. ] It seems you all have quite the bond, so I thought as much. Time here is a bit odd, though, isn't it? How long has it been, as far as you can tell?

Hehe, something like that! I'm still working hard, but I'm getting there.

[that's vague, lust.] It's been...a while. I wish I knew but I think a lot of us stopped keeping track after some time. It didn't seem to matter anymore.

[ that is vague.... ]

I see. Has it always just been the eight of you?

Yeah. There's always been eight Avatars.

And outside of Avatars?

Bored with us already? That's disappointing...

[ that gets a laugh! ]

With an answer like that? Hardly! [ he sees you, diverting. ] I don't think there's a boring day around here, is there?

Not with you guys around. But before that, yeah. It's just been us for a long time. You can see why some of us were excited to meet you.

Only some?

[ well, he can see that. ] But, that makes sense. Life gets quite boring spent out on the border - it makes you truly appreciate the little things about home, when you get the chance to return to it.

Yup. Some of us are shy, or they just don't like talking to people very much. [shrug!] There's a lot still left to appreciate, I think. They just won't outright admit it.

[ looks at thread with pride from earlier in the week ]

About this place, you mean? [ gu yun tilts his head, thoughtful. ] Or about us?

About you guys. A few of them really don't like people prying into their business, but it's always been like that.

I can see what you mean. [ pride....

anyway, he offers them another grin, easygoing and silly as he lifts his cup. ] Well! You've done your research, haven't you, though? Some of the Avatars have, some haven't. I was something of a figure to be admired myself!

I don't mind telling a story or two - reports of my exploits have been occasionally exaggerated, and only sometimes by me. [ fufu! an exaggerated, playful wink. ] Though, I do reserve the right to keep a little mystery, hm?

It's more like I've heard about you, so I got curious and started looking up stuff myself. But you definitely seem like that kind of person.

[sir, your exploits.] I think people are allowed a secret or two if it's not really gonna hurt anybody. But I would love to hear any story you wanna share.

I wonder if that's fame or infamy.

[ ha! well, at home it's definitely both. depends on who you talk to. ] Let's see, let's see... anything in particular you're interested in? I've mostly got war stories, which are a bit more dull. I shot a tiger with an arrow while I was drunk from three stories or so in the air, once? I rescued a child from the maws of a wolf?

War stories aren't so bad...but why did you shoot a tiger? What'd it ever do to you?

It was attacking someone! It had gone completely feral in the midst of a performance, and was attacking an innocent civilian in the middle of New Years. I shot it off of the person before it could tear his throat out.

[ i had to tag this immediately to save his honor ] I can't believe you think I'd senselessly kill a tiger.

I think you would if there was something more important, so that's why I asked! [so THERE.] Was the person okay after that? Tiger claws are pretty big.

Fair enough, fair enough! [ gu yun laughs, waving his hand. ] They were alright, yes - sustained some injuries, but the chaos was calmed and he was able to get medical assistance quickly.

It turned out to be the plot of something quite larger, even - so much more than a poorly behaved tiger - and that something larger is even now only just starting to unravel.

Like a mystery? Or a conspiracy? [why do they sound so excited about that?] What is it? Is it something that you can fix?

[ he blinks, a little surprised. i had to go reread this goddammit ]

You like mysteries, hm? And... it's more of the latter, really.

[ a pause. he taps his fingers on the table. ] My nation is quite powerful, because of the amount of Ziliujin we have, among other things - connections, natural resources, infrastructure. When a nation has power, it must often defend itself from attacks from dragons - other nations intent to take us over.

Someone threw gold onto the platform where the circus performance was happening - it's not at all uncommon to do so to the sides, but someone threw it directly into the center of the performance. The tiger was already agitated from its performance, and the clatter and noise snapped it out of what was holding it back. The entire place fell to chaos.

It turned out that the person who threw the gold leaves was not a citizen of Great Liang, but rather, a foreigner from the Western nations. I located him immediately after shooting the tiger and fired again, shooting the hat clean off of his head to alert my men to his immediate location, and they captured him to bring him in for questioning.

He was seeded into our crowd by a Western delegation - what we believe to be the very same delegation that I was supposed to meet for a trade treaty signing at the border of our Silk Road in only a few days time.

Edited 2021-02-22 02:57 (UTC)

[they nod to the first part. they kind of live for this stuff, so they pause and listen as he explains everything in detail.]

Let me guess. You didn't actually sign that treaty after all of that was over? What were they trying to accomplish? Ruining your reputation as a country?

Mm. Rather, I think they were trying to suss us out. They knew that there would be representatives of the Black Iron Camp there - it was a celebration in the capital, so of course we would be. [ he pauses, here, tapping his fingers against his glass, thoughtfully. ] This is all conjecture, mind - the man we captured didn't want to talk much - but... I think they were trying to see how well the Black Iron Camp reacted to disaster.

They may well have even been testing me, specifically. [ that wouldn't surprise him, either. ] A test which I believe I passed perfectly fine. [ considering the chaos in the moment was silenced in seconds by the marquis of order's ringing voice and two shots. great liang's backbone wouldn't fall so easily. ]

As for the treaty... [ there's a brief moment where he pulls a face. remember that whole talk you guys had a few minutes ago about the emperor. ] ...The Emperor still wanted it to be signed, so I accompanied him to do so. The messenger the Western nations sent came with an apology and a dazzling plan for trade, and His Majesty is of the belief that as long as the Black Iron Camp is guarding the nation, then the nation is invulnerable.

[ gu yun snorts, and sips his tea, continuing, dryly: ] Even I wasn't aware I was so incredibly talented. What a kindness the Emperor has said to me.

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probe - 2021-02-23 01:17 (UTC) - Expand