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let fury have the hour,
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.
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 KINGIt 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 RIOTIt'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 tuileriesThe 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 TROOPSThe 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.
AftermathThe 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
no subject
He didn't have enough information to make judgments on that, so he simply remained cautiously relieved he wouldn't be part of the decision-making process in that regard, even if he was complicit in whatever they decided upon.
When Ryuji answers, Ashitaka doesn't think it's weird to say. Sometimes your life perched on the knife's edge, as his had in the village where he had grown up. They had peace in name alone, training all able bodies to wield weapons in the inevitable day the emperor would find them and try to rout them for good.
It seemed that that was not the same as what Ryuji had faced in his own time, but there are thin threads of similarity that run between.
As his friend speaks he lies back against the roof of the building so he could look up to the stars, hands resting on his chest.
He's thinking on what Ryuji had said when he looks towards him, so he notices a moment later, glancing over to him quickly. He shakes his head.] No. I believe I understand you.
[It was just different. Ryuji lived in a world that was crowded with people, where interaction was commonplace but truly personal interaction where you saw a person for who they truly are was rare. If you were so often reduced to just a forgettable face in the background, he could see how it would foster the evils in those people's hearts.
Ashitaka's experience was simply from a time where people were fighting too much for their own lives and survival to worry so much about such things. But it seemed a similar struggle, an echo throughout ages, as the battles he had seen between men and gods had also been about the battlefields within their own hearts and minds.]
I have seen much of war since I left my village. [The words are measured as he speaks them.] But whether it is a battle for dominion of land and resources, or to simply be seen and acknowledged... I feel as though it is much the same, from a similar place. There is a hunger for something with no clear answer how to sate it. It becomes easy to let it rule you and to strike out for what you feel would ease it, using whichever justifications help your cause.
[Eboshi could wrap her purposes in the guise of simply wanting to protect and provide for the people in her care, but he had seen the fires of ambition burning in her eyes; she was serious in her desire to rule the world, and everything else were simply supporting factors. He had felt it as well, when the anger of his mark had nearly caused him to draw his sword and strike her down; he had only stopped himself, knowing killing her would not fix any of the larger issues.]
People do not change, then. [He couldn't tell if it was comforting or depressing.]
no subject
It hasn't been a thing so much, up until now, but he realizes that as he talks to Ashitaka, it's a weird tightness that starts to build up. Like he's slowly realizing how weird it's been not having people around him all the time. Ryuji's had too much time to be by himself, which was never a problem before he had met the friends he eventually became close with. And here he was now, months later, barely hanging on because of watching an execution in broad daylight. What type of person could he be to COST if he could barely handle his own ineptitude when given a little bit of independence? He had to do better.
But, first thing's first.]
Mn. Yeah. It's hunger. I guess that's the right word for it. Sometimes it's good though. Being a little hungry makes you work harder, y'know? Guess everything just comes down to a balancin' act.
[He illustrates it with his hands, as if he had a pole in his grasp and was walking a tight rope. Then, realizing that it's pretty weird, he takes a moment to laugh at himself and then turns his head to face Ashitaka, who was now admiring the sky just like he was. The smile on his face at the sight is simple, earnest.]
Y'know. Like walking on the ledge of the roof. Not that I've got a death wish or anything. [Maybe in better spirits, he'd be doing that, right now, but... there's still a lot on his mind.]
Hey, man. Thanks for chilling with me. I know I don't say it enough to the people that matter, so that's all on me. [But I wanna be a better person.] But... yeah. Thanks. It means a lot.
no subject
[He doesn't sound as assured as his words are, though. He continues to stare wistfully up into to the sky.
Perhaps that was a modern concept. It was a different world, a world where there were more people and less resources, where you were taught that you had to fight to make yourself seem more deserving, working more to earn more to be more. He had always learned to take only what you needed. Any more, and you threatened to offset the balance or anger the gods of the woods.
But perhaps Ryuji was right and it was just another balancing act. Enough impetus to keep mankind moving forward, looking to improve and grow stronger without taking away from what was around them. But to Ashitaka right now, surrounded with a city in revolt, it seemed like an impossibility.
He looks back to Ryuji at the sudden earnest admission. He looks a little taken aback for a moment, but he eventually gives him a slightly wan but gentle smile.] Thank you as well, Ryuji. [He shifts a little, one of his hands falling over the other.] I am used to facing things like this alone. [Even when being offered (temporarily) peaceful time with the people of Irontown and the beings of the wolf clan, he had felt alone, constantly stung with tiny reminders of otherness.] It is nice to be able to be like this for once. To be able to speak about things like this.
no subject
[He's not a stranger to that feeling of aloneness- he'd been branded an outcast by everyone he knew for years before Akira came along and showed him that there were other ways to reject society at large. There's a time in his life where everyone around him expected nothing out of him and got their assumptions paid back to them in spades. But knowing that he has to work harder, now, more than ever, he needs to keep on the right side of the track.
Maybe it was a bit of a forward pass, but Ryuji is most at ease when he's able to speak his mind. It's been weeks, kept hostage by a job he hated in a role he wasn't very well suited for, and he had to keep his mouth shut for the entirety of it. To just have someone there by him, tonight, of all nights? He didn't know how deeply he could express his gratitude at that feeling of just... not being alone.
Something tells him that Ashitaka isn't very different in sentiment.]
Hm... yeah, it's hard to face the entire world by yourself. You just get shot down every step along the way as you swim upstream. [He watches the sky above them, too.] But you don't gotta do it all alone. Call on me when you need some help.
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[Keep you in balance, at the very least.
He knows more than most the truth of that statement, that it was nearly impossible to stand as one against many, a single stone wishing to withstand an unrelenting tide. Even people who had begun to hold him in high regards had turned upon him when his different standpoints became obvious. Had the woman that had shot him the chest been one of the women working the bellows that evening he had gone to speak with them? He couldn't remember.]
I will.
[It's strange to have such an offer. He had only had himself to rely on for so long.]
It seems as though they will not call us to retreat tonight.
[Which meant they were spending the night in a town descending into war.]
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[He gets the sentiment though, and he appreciates it. Ryuji holds it close to his heart, and feels comforted by it. It's hard t find people out in the world that share some of your own aesthetics, but he thinks that, out of everyone he's met in COST so far, talking with Ashitaka makes him feel more calmed and at ease. He closes his eyes, imagines a time when the other might've been thrust into modern Tokyo. How funny would it be to see him and Futaba bicker?
He's getting ahead of himself, though, and he has to remind himself that this isn't home. He can't keep referring to a time or place that has never technically happened yet, or else he won't be able to move forward himself. This was just the beginning of a new chapter in life, and he'd have to accept the newness to it all without judging everything against the standards of his old life. It's rough.]
It's pretty safe up here. I've barricaded the door so no one can get up unless they climb.
[He holds a bit of hesitation inward, towards his chest and- since he can't ever hold a thought in for very long] Stay here with me? At least I can sleep better knowin' the both of us ain't in danger.
[He knows the phrasing is selfish, but... it's easier to say that than to stick with the other, more obvious reality of the situation. That he doesn't want to be alone tonight.]
HE IS SO SWEET...
[From what he can tell... let's just say the winds of humor in Japan changed quite a bit from the Muromachi Period to modern day. But still, he can sense Ryuji's joviality about it, and that was just as well.
He is actually very relieved at the offer. The palace was a picture of perfect devastation, which included the housing which had functioned as the barracks for the guards. Ryuji had just saved him having to ask, which was fine by him. He knew the truth of what he said, having gone through the efforts of having to climb up here himself. He can't imagine COST leaving them behind in this city for too long, so they could just wait it out until the call to retreat sounded.]
Of course. [It's said as easy as breathing; if he caught any of Ryuji's hesitation and inner conflict at the question, he surely doesn't show it.] It would ease my nerves as well.
[He had felt a strange impetus to spurn companionship on his quest, growing momentarily close to the lives of those he met to understand them but keeping them at arm's length so attachment didn't cloud his judgment. San had been something of an exception to that, though she was an exception to everything — but he had known she would act along her own imperatives and those alone.
Regardless, there was much of being with COST he found troubling, but the fact that he could begin to rely on people and grow close to them was one thing he found a comfort. That he could feel more secure, knowing both that he was with his friend and that he was not in danger.]
THIS THREAD IS GIVING ME CAVITIES. also, to tidy up, the end?
It's good enough. He couldn't ask for anything better.
Although he doesn't know enough about COST to have an opinion, all he can go by is whether or not he still feels like he's working towards a goal that he finds agreeable. Ryuji's never been one to accept authority blindly, so there's bound to be areas where he's going to disagree with their motives, but learning some discipline in his otherwise unruly state of life is going to do him some good. Even if it's not martial discipline, like how to take orders, but more along the lines of what it takes to find the inner strength to stand on your own, he's happy here. It gives him purpose and something to march forward into.
Back home- there was nothing for him anyway. College dreams weren't possible with his already abysmal grades, track scholarship was tossed down the drain ages ago, and he'd otherwise be in a position where he watched all his friends move on to bigger and greater things than he could ever accomplish. It's a reality that he's come to accept. But when he's laying down on a roof in Revolutionary France, and Ashitaka is by his side, the limits of his own inner strength and the future both seem as blurry as the operative capabilities to throw them through the throes of time and space itself. There's possibilities here; he's learned it. You can be a soldier guarding the palace or an art thief bent on changing the way society felt towards something. The combinatorics of routes and paths are innumerable.
For once in his life, he doesn't see an end point when he looks within. He sees an infinity. And whether or not that path is strewn together with death, well, that'll be something he'll need to come to terms with. But, whatever. It'll come with time. One step, and another, and another.
He looks over at Ashitaka and gives a thumbs up.]
If you snore, I'm throwin' you over the edge.