let fury have the hour,

[agogemod]

WHO? Everybody!
WHAT? Agoge's third TDM! And the death of an important guy. And some very upset royalty.
WHEN? Late 1792, Paris.
ANYTHING ELSE? Violence, as always. Please warn in subject lines for anything beyond physical violence, and move to a personal journal if things go beyond PG-13.

IT'LL BE FINE;

Paris, 1792: revolutionary france.

read the France setting infopages

arrival for new recruits

(Note: If you were one of the people who used the previous TDM and want to use that as canon while still participating in this one, feel free! The following will still happen, though the guide will apologize for a malfunction in your BCE causing you to zap through the intervening month instead of joining your comrades like you should have. You'll be assured the glitch is fixed now, and it probably is. Probably.)

You wake up in a Parisian hotel room with a kind woman standing near the door, waiting for you to awaken. You have none of your clothing, just black military-issued underwear, and none of your previous possessions beyond the one you chose (if you remember choosing) to bring with you.

The woman by the door speaks French, and if you didn't understand the language before, you do now. If you have questions as to what's going on, she'll answer: you are a member of COST, a paramilitary organization of time travelers fighting against the Regency, a tyrannous kingdom of the future who are trying to stamp out freedom and individuality in the name of peace.

She will provide you with the clothing necessary to fit in at this time, and show you how to use your BCE implant to look up information on this time period and its social and political mores. She won't let you leave until you're properly dressed to fit in, but once you are, she'll wish you luck.

KILL THE KING

It doesn't matter if you're new, or if you've been here a while. You'll hear about the execution going on today. It's as though the barely restrained urban chaos of Paris has ground to a halt. Everything is about the king. Is it really going to happen? Are they really going to do it? Can they do it? Is it even possible?

Anyone out of the loop will be filled in, but with no small amount of ridicule: Today is the day of the king's execution. His trial has wrapped up, and the National Convention voted to execute him for treason and tyranny.

The crowd at the execution is enormous, a riotous mob of passion barely restrained. Everyone is jockeying for a better view, with children and adults climbing up on nearby statues, lampposts, the sides of houses, rooves, some even hang from windows. Everyone watches the scaffold.

The prison cart arrives with no fanfare save the yells of the crowd. Within it sits a small, fat little man, looking like he's doing his best to remain composed. He's brought to the scaffold, and his crimes are read out: colluding with foreign powers, and the crime of royalty, which is anathema to the republic of France.

When asked for his final words, Louis Capet, known to some as King Louis XVI, speaks in a quiet voice. "I forgive my enemies."

When the blade comes down, the crowd errupts into cheers. Many rush forward to touch the blood of a king, dipping bits of cloth in it in an attempt to save it.

I PREDICT A RIOT

It's as though all the built up tension in Paris exploded when the king was killed.

Who knows what started it. Rumors spread like wildfire, and it doesn't matter, does it? In the end, most of Paris is swarmed with chaos, especially in the areas nearest to where the king was executed. There's no doubt that the riot and the king's death are directly related; no peasant currently throwing stones and breaking windows will deny it.

Fights are happening with great frequency. It only takes a word, a half sentence, for someone to decide you're some kind of counter-revolutionary. There is a current of anxiety in Paris that hasn't gone away; after reaching a fever pitch, it has expressed itself with violence and chaos.

let's visit the tuileries

The Tuileries was the royal palace in Paris, the last residence of the king before his death. Of course the people of France end up clamoring at its gates, screaming profanities and attempting to scale them.

The majority of the guard let them do this, making only the most token of efforts to keep the peasantry back. But one guard, a man by the name of Antoine Colin, seems to become spooked and shoots repeatedly into the crowd before someone knocks him out.

By then, though, it's too late. The crowd was rambunctious, but not murderous. Now it's bloodthirsty, and the gates are stormed. It isn't long before the common people of France are trampling through the corridors of power. Inside, they'll mostly find servants running and hiding, and lots of valuables to steal.

Most are content with that, but not all. Some clamor for the deaths of the queen and the royal children-- per the laws of inheritance, Marie Capet's remaining son is now King of France. Should he not die as well?

The queen is hidden in a safe room, a hollow wall inside her apartments. Do you try to find her? Try to save her? Try to kill her yourself?

...And what about those kids hiding in there with her?

BRING IN THE TROOPS

The riot in the Tuileries lasts several hours, well past nightfall. It's beginning to peter off, people loosing their energy or vigor, when the sound of gunfire echoes from the front courtyard.

General Lafayette has arrived to save the queen, and brought with him a retinue of personal soldiers. All on horseback, brandishing firearms and sabers, they stream through the expansive halls of the Tuileries and attack anyone who looks out of place. They're here to clean up this mess with no concern for more filthy peasants getting in the way.

Aftermath

The night is a long one. Several fires break out in various parts of Paris, shops are looted, and several die in the Tuileries. The queen has disappeared, along with Lafayette. Some say she and Lafayette died, and they'll show you the bodies for a couple sou. Others claim they saw them riding off into safety just before sunrise. There are already talks of hunting them down, trying to find the traitors.

Only one thing is known for sure: It may be advisable to stay inside for the foreseeable future.

read the France setting infopages

NAV NETWORK LOGS OOC PLURK DISCORD

Comments

[ryuji]

[Ryuji just steps aside at the right moment and watches as Achilles body goes flying. Thoroughly satisfied, he smiles at Noctis.]

Worked great, thanks for testing that.

[fessus]

[ That's... this was... what just happened? ]

Hey! You can't be for real... [ There's a familiar pain blossoming into heat in his knuckles, the ache of a powerful impact that had come far sooner than expected and one that had thus not been fully prepared for, but goddamn does that "Charge" ability ever work. Too bad he's unable to take what he might later realize is a sweet moment to appreciate its effects, actually reaching out to sweep Ryuji aside with a sudden shove as he sprints to the edge of the roof. ]

Oi! [ And he's shouting down into the alleyway where he saw that body fall, now ignoring the lingering people he was formerly so conscious of. ] Are you okay?!

[chariotry]

[ Well, then.

That... was something. He hadn't been aware that anyone in COST could have been divine, least of all Noctis, who failed to mention it the first time they met. But now that he knows what he's up against and witnessed him attack a fellow comrade.

There's only one thing to do. And that's beat his ass.

Once the initial shock is over with, Achilles is righting himself, springing up back on his legs and launching himself vertical-wise over the length of the wall. With the momentum of his inhuman strength, the force will be that of a torpedo, and his head is going to be the bludgeon he uses to smash Noctis' face in.

Better step back. ]

[fessus]

[ The second he senses even a fraction of tension in Achilles's body he's on guard, conscious decision-making processes muddled by confusion but even through that -- and his genuine concern for the well-being of someone he just accidentally punched off of a rooftop -- he remains aware that he just attacked this person. And one good turn could very well deserve another. So if-- wait, is that Rider?

The widening of Noctis's eyes precedes an immediate phase step backward as the counterattack comes, shimmery trails of light marking his hyper fast movement as he narrowly avoids the hit. Fuck-- ]

Calm down, I'm trying to talk to you! [ And should that not be enough he has his hands up, perfectly ready to dodge again but it seems as if there's no further offensive strike coming from Noctis's side, at least. ] Rider, knock it off!

[ryuji]

[Pushed to the side rather quickly, everything just seems to blur past in hyper-time. Ryuji looks as Achilles regains composition and tries to strike back at Noct, and, really, it's in his every right to do so, but... shit, he wasn't expecting an all out brawl on the roof. His eyes flicker toward Noctis.

Just exactly what type of guy could do that to Achilles to begin with? Ah, shit. This is getting heated up, he should probably step in and try to mitigate, or something. At least before all of Paris is destroyed in the wake of this exchange.

He steps forward, making the split decision between needing to summon his persona or trying to reason. Opting for a combination of both, he fires out a warning shot between them, lightning striking down the roof in the space between Noctis and Achilles, warning the Heroic Spirit and alerting him that yes, he's okay, and no, he's not angry at Noctis, and yes PLEASE DON'T KILL HIS NEW AND ONLY FRIEND IN COST, OKAY?]

Yo! Cut it out, Achilles.

[So much for titular discretion. Oh well.]

I just wanted to test out how strong this guy was, don't take it the wrong way!

[chariotry]

[ Achilles lands on top of the roof after missing his target, summoning his spear with a surge of lightning-like mana rushing out from his hand. He'd just been about to pounce when a sudden burst of magic crackles through the air between himself and his opponent, stalling him from lunging forward to try and thrust his spear into his chest.

They're both pleading with him to stop, making the situation now clear to him. He sighs.

He'd just been worked up in a frenzy and you're going to let him down like this?

Getting up to his feet, he sets the butt of his spear down against the roof that now lay in debris. ]

Tch... [ He's grabbing onto his own jaw and shifting it around, bone popping as he lodges it back into place. There's blood all over his lower lip, dripping over his chin. But his attention it entirely focused on Noctis. ] What the hell were you two trying to do?

[fessus]

[ His heartbeat is already accelerated, thudding a fast steady rhythm against his ribcage as a familiar adrenaline rush washes over him at the expectation of a fight. Damn he wishes he could summon his weapons. As it is he's limited, possessing a dagger he can certainly do some damage with but his true skill lies in switching up his attacks.

Strategy falls by the wayside when a sudden crack of lightning puts him even further on edge, needing a moment to ascertain that that hadn't come from Achilles's spear but instead from the teen behind him. His hand outstretches, suddenly, one or two remaining sparks seeming drawn towards him but he's too late to steal any actual energy from such a quick attack. Damn... But at least there's some common thread in the magic across worlds. Somehow that's good to know.

Ah.

He gestures at Ryuji immediately, still defensively crouched. ] This was him and if that's his explanation then that's the only one I've got... Do not come at me again. Seriously, are you okay? [ He just set his own jaw, christ. ]

[ryuji]

This is definitely my fault... I'll own up to it. Sorry, guys.

[He just scratches the back of his head. It's not exactly a minor miscalculation that Ryuji assumed that nothing would happen to either of them- fuck, even Noctis had warned him. Several times, to make sure if he was going to be okay with this. Achilles was the strongest guy he knew, which was why he texted him to begin with- and now this just unfolds, and it gets worse.

This is why nobody lets him make the strategic decisions.

Wait, they know each other?]

You two... uh. Already met?

[He looks over at Achilles and sees his bloody lip. If Noctis had known him, did he know how much of a pompous asshole he could be? Like, he didn't deserve a dislocated jaw.

But a good punch to the face, maybe?

>Apologize and offer to help Achilles
>Check on Noctis
>Rappel down the side of the roof and get out of this situation entirely
>Be a good person and try to diffuse the situation

Ryuji sighs out a breath.]

Hey, man. Your fist okay? Oi! You, c'mere and make up. You both can blame me for being the idiot.

[chariotry]

[ He looks between the two, looking so exasperated. But he does resent and makes his way over to Ryuji in particular. He’s just going to ignore both of their questions, since they’ve both been bad and don’t deserve his patience. ]

Heal me. [ it’s a demand, but there’s no heat evident in his tone. ]

Or maybe it should be you doing it. [ He places his spear over his shoulder, hand on hip as he cranes his neck and looks over at Noctis. ]

[fessus]

[ Having his questions ignored again doesn't feel great, especially when the situation itself is still baffling to him. Sure, he has the details of what's just happened but... why... And why is he the one that had to get dragged into whatever test is happening here or whatever their weird friendship is? So much for getting to have a more relaxed and normal conversation with someone today. ]

My fist's fine. [ At least he'll answer. ] Told you I didn't want to do this... but at least he seems like he's in decent shape.

Listen, Rider-- or Akillee, I guess, if that's your actual name... I didn't mean to do that. And I'd fix it up but I'm not exactly a doctor or whatever.

[ryuji]

[Just... feels guilty over the entire thing now, having dragged the both of them through what had seemed like a good idea at the moment his impulses had led him straight into, but. On second thought, probably not the best idea. His eyes just point down toward the ground, feeling like he's being scolding for something and he rubs the side of his cheek anxiously.]

Heh, yeah. I mean. Don't listen to my suggestions anymore.

[He wanted to impress Noctis with his magic, not cause a crybaby to start demanding healing magic be devoted to him. Critical mission failure.]

I... don't have any cure abilities, either...

[chariotry]

[ Hearing Noctis call out a butchered version of his name makes him pause. Ryuji .... you called out his true name. He grimaces a little. ]

You two, from now on, call me Rider. My true name isn’t something people here should know, yet. [ He sighs. ]

I’ll need mana so I can heal myself, then. [ Looking between them, he knows this isn’t going be a successful request. He braces his jaw again with a hand, rubbing his fingers against the joints.

He’s a bit confused as to why this all happened. Should he even bother asking? He will just be PA to get his point across. ] Satisfied?

[fessus]

[ He's so tempted to purse his lips and write them both off but they're also two people that have offered him aid so far, genuinely having a good time with Ryuji up until this exact moment. And really, he could let this go too if not for Ryuji's obvious guilt and Achilles's demands that're keeping this situation quietly awkward. His shoulders raise and then fall in a defeated shrug, unable to hold onto his agitation for as long as he wants. ]

I said I wasn't trying to punch you and he already said this was his bad... So if you need to go somewhere to get mana then we'll back you up. Right? [ With a pointed look over at Ryuji. Lord help him, he knows not what he does. ]

... it was a pretty awesome hit, though... Guess we know to team up if something big comes to bug us.

[ryuji]

[Just... turns to Noctis, eyes wide and shaking his head back and forth

ex-nay on the mana-ay]

[chariotry]

[ awesome hit..... it was, wasn’t it? he’s just smirking, crossing his arms expectantly. ]

How do you think you can give me mana?

[fessus]

[ Well... really, he's more interested in talking about that "Charge" spell, but apparently this issue's not settled yet. And Ryuji's just giving him a weird look which isn't helping. ]

... I just said. Wherever you go to get it, we'll go with you. Unless you can just leech some from somebody but maybe that's a bad idea.

[ryuji]

[Ryuji sidles up next to Noct and throws a defensive arm around his shoulder. Hello, personal space? Where did that go???]

Yeah, we'll help you find it. From elsewhere.

[He's trying to save you, really. Even if you don't know it.]

[chariotry]

[ no that’s not gonna cut it.

He just stares at them both. ]

It’s more convenient for me if you two just give me some of yours.

And you owe it to me to do that.

[fessus]

Oi-- [ Well, even this is oddly familiar. He's hung off of as he stares at Achilles, only giving the briefest of warning looks to Ryuji with a partnered shrug before he allows it to sink in that something is definitely up. ]

Why do I feel like I'm missing something here? Can you guys just give me a straight answer about what we're doing? I have no idea how to just give you my magic...

[ryuji]

[Eyes fixate on Achilles as he leans in to whisper something to Noctis, and then, as if a hand would be a better barrier to stop the Greek from lip reading (lol), he tries to convey---]

Dude, he gets mana back by having sex or from blood. Careful with your phrasing.

1/3

[fessus]

[ ................ ]

2/3

[fessus]

3/3

[fessus]

How much blood do you need? [ Asked a little more loudly and quickly than intended. ]

[chariotry]

[ Achilles waits for this response, or something along the lines of “hell no” - so Noctis’ initial reaction comes as a complete but pleasant surprise.

He bursts out laughing. ]

From you? Not a whole lot. You could probably give me a simple kiss and that’d be enough.

[fessus]

[ Here he is, the king of Lucis, withdrawing his dagger. ]

Can I just sprinkle it on you or something? How does this work? [ nO ]

I'm not doing the-- I'm engaged. [ Like that'll just cover everything. And honestly it's not something he wanted to admit to and it's an arrangement that's more than a little tenuous now, but... it's the first good excuse he thought of other than a solid no. ]