The Arena Riots ( open, gamewide )

[civilobedience]

Who: The Militia, the city, and you.
What: The Arena Riots.
Where: The Arena, Griss Twist.
When: Newdi, Eliaderen 1. (Monday Oct 1st)
Notes: Companion post for questions and plotting is here.
Warnings: Violence, police brutality, disturbing content and imagery, graphic death.

It's apparent even before dawn that something out of the ordinary is happening. Canton sheriffs are roused from their sleep or pulled away from their work to be told that on no uncertain terms, today will be a day that they do not leave their neat lines on the map. That their individual offices will be responsible for all crime and unrest within their jurisdictions, with no help; the powers that be offer no details, but the creeping feeling in their presence suggests no questions would be tolerated anyway – the implication that they'll all be watched is a strong one. In Mog Hill, Sheriff Norrington proceeds as he always does under such orders. In Mafaton, leadership is stoic but one deputy laughs, sharp and bitter, while the Emissary of the Council merely checks his watch, unseen underground. Sir Hellsing is pulled away from her dinner in the Guild Hall, a Sobek Croix deputy anxiously relaying the news. The sound of shattered glass disturbs the pre-dawn silence in Flyside, a brick hurled by some faceless figure into the front window of Thames – and nothing else.

From the Spire, hooded Militiamen move quietly and uniformly south, to Griss Twist. They are followed by wagons, full of prisoners.

Comments

[gramarye]

"Oh." Yeah, he understands what that means. Death in Baedal must be a relief against the uncertainty of people randomly coming and going, never sure how long they'll stay, if they should build a life here or if they might go back home and never come back, and just leave everything and everyone behind.

He's thought about it a lot.

"It's a nice house," he offers after a moment. "Sorry for bleeding on it." That's a joke, ha ha.

"Are you okay?" It occurs to him that prior to this she might have been out there, too. Or something else could have happened. He's been out a couple hours, probably, at least.

[rhinemaid]

“I'm fine,” she says, quickly - it's a rerun, it's the monsters falling all over again, people in danger and Ilde sitting safely indoors, wringing her hands and feeling sorry for herself. She hasn't got anything to complain about so she doesn't. “I'm fine, I've just been here to let people in and make sure everything's...I don't know, everything.”

Organized. Suitable. Readily at hand for people who are distracted and in no mood to dig around for what they need.

“Sonja's at the Arena, and I think Ivan might be, but I couldn't go, since-” a gesture at what is definitely not just a fold in the fabric of her dress from sitting, “-so I'm doing this. It was Lea's idea.” A good idea that she'd seized on.

[gramarye]

"Oh... right. How is the baby?"

If this sounds slightly (or a lot) awkward, well, it is. This is probably not the time for this, but right now he doesn't want to think too hard about what's going on out there. He'll have to later, but he might as well put it off until he feels less like hammered crap and can do more about it than worry and feel anxious and sad and angry.

[rhinemaid]

It does require a moment of mental recalibration, but if Wolfgang would rather think about her baby than the riots, then...well, it's not like it's not a subject she devotes a lot of daily thought to. She can make that conversation.

“Good, I think? I'm past the usual 'don't tell anyone in case you jinx yourself' cut-off date and nothing has gone terribly awry yet.” Besides the fact that this is innately ill-advised. “I've been really careful, I have to pay attention to- absolutely everything, I guess. Ivan bought me a sort of fae wine that I can still drink, though, I thought that was...sweet. I've been thinking about talking to this woman in the river, too, since she has...well, my baby's probably going to look similar to her, and it's not as though I have a set form, per se? I thought it'd be nice if I could be like that, so the baby would- have something like she is. Um, that's probably more than you were wondering.”