An older man speaks up, who wears a few shiny accoutrements, and whose toga is a brilliant, chalk-colored white -- the toga candida, as it is known, for Publius Flavius Lepidus was almost always on campaign for some minor position or another. Lepidus nearly never won these elections (and one time he had been a quaestor he hadn't looked too happy about it), but he also never seemed to really try to. In fact, it often seemed like he was trying NOT to get elected. Those who knew him almost universally had begun to suspect that he did not have much interest in actually holding office, but rather simply wanted justification to wear the toga candida, and look better. Yes, Publius Flavius Lepidus was a man singularly obsessed with style, fashionability, and public appearance -- to the point that he was rightly considered something of a fop. Though the son of the youngest son of Sophos, it was the oldest son, Gaius Flavius Immodesta, that Lepidus was closest with in his young days, and it is Immodesta that he learned the most from. He's a senator because of that quaestor election he won because his rivals for it were, unfortunately, even more terrible than him. He really isn't all that pleased with the actual responsibility, but it's earned him Marcus Flavius Ebrius' eternal jealousy anyway.
"Kitus, dear cousin, the objection that I have with your plan is twofold. Firstly, to simply attempt to meet the pity of one leatherworker is not enough, even if it would grant us these items faster. We ought to attempt to make a large number of connections with people, to call upon later. Secondly, we cannot portray this family as weak, and begging. No, instead we should be portrayed as glorious and majestic! So we shall go and create a small play to perform, and this play shall portray us as a family of men of great political ancestry, and I am a senator, you know, unfortunately, so it will portray us as grand and looking for upcoming tailors and leatherworkers to give patronage, and show our unique fashion skills. If Fate plays a hand there, it will be to grant us many of these people, impressionable ones, in our audience."