video. un: a_civil_serpent. [set before the Colosseum-attacks]

[inferus]

( Wrath has the device pointed toward himself, but over his shoulder, the rest of the crew who went after the news shouters are clearly in view. It is possibly an amusing village with Wrath being so entirely tall and broad, and the rest being much shorter, smaller: Kamala, America, Hermione, and Five walk behind him. Together, they enter Wrath's current residence (it's quite fancy, because the devil likes fancy things) to review what they have learned and make sure the coast is clear after breaking the shouters out from where they had been taken.

It's only when the door has closed on his magically warded residence that Wrath speaks: )

Kamala was right to worry about the veteran news shouters. We found them being held captive in the House of Scribes. According to these shouters, they had been beaten as a part of... conversations they were made to have over their 'poor civic spirit' - a direct quotation.

They were apparently detained for refusing to spread fearmongering about the supposed imminent resurrection and upcoming apocalypse of the Chained God. Their orders to do so were signed by Caius Justus himself. It is their belief that Caius Justus weaponizes this fear to stir the public in a particular direction - usually toward violence, bloodshed, fighting.

The shouters did appear to admire Messalina. They consider her message to be of one of... peace and liberation of the dead. As with all things, take that final particular information not as fact necessarily, but as their opinions to take into consideration.

( ooc: threadjack away, feel free to address any of the crew/threadjack, and also, replies could come from any of the crew )

Comments

[reparo]

To a vague extent - I don't think Messalina would offer up a peaceful offer in contrast. Maybe the senators are thinking she'll do the fighting for them, maybe that's what she's suggesting to them.

[somebadnews]

[ He's mostly been entrenched in Messalina's camp, so he's got a pretty clear idea of what she means by peace. And he's very aware of how that's going. ]

Everything's relative. [ And if he stands way way back... well, they don't have great options. ] What she's not doing is offering an apocalypse. You'd think that'd be the easier sell.

[reparo]

Are you going to start a Messalina campaign now? Because the bar sounds to be so low it's on the ground.

[somebadnews]

[ This is one of those times where he’d rather she wasn’t within eyesight to see how he looks away. ]

That has more or less been my job since we got here. I know all about our bad options.

[reparo]

I know - you've mentioned many times. I've also told you, time and again, that you're not the only one. So share what you're thinking of.

[somebadnews]

[ He gives her a look. Put away the pendant if she wants him to be less vague. ]

I think that the situation is going to escalate. She has her inside demon telling her exactly what’s going on.

/transmission, coming to action only

[reparo]

[Coffee. That's what Five receives, against her own better judgement. Grounds retrieved from her bag, carried with her since that sumptuous train. (Stolen.)

She's not a barbarian, she won't be trying to give him tea. But he has her attention now, and coffee.]

Inside what now?

/action

[somebadnews]

[ The coffee is unexpected, but accepted with an appreciative nod. He recognizes it once he takes a sip. She must be expecting something if she's breaking into her stash for him. ]

A shapeshifting demon in the Senate. We've kept him alive, and he's reported what he hears as he tries to sway them to her favor.

She's losing patience. Now it looks like they're siding with this Chained God and whoever is behind him. They're doing everything they can to provoke her.

[reparo]

[With that revelation, she plops down and lets out a little huff.]

I've honestly been quite convinced that she's about as dangerous as the Huntress, or the Brotherhood.

[somebadnews]

[ He sips the coffee and lets that hang there for a moment, then shrugs. ]

If she didn’t have a chance to challenge them, there wouldn’t be much of a point.