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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
Kazuhira Miller | Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
[Well, he did want to end up in a Parisian bed, but he'd had a certain woman in mind to share it with and he would have clearly recalled how he ended up without his clothes, if that had been the preferred scenario.]
[Kaz asks all the standard questions when it happens. Repeating words inquisitively, committing explanations to memory, and as much as time travel in itself is a dubious concept (oh how he wishes he could remember how this came about and then maybe he'd feel a little less up shit creek), the idea of a 'kingdom' of the future stamping out individuality in the name of peace is, well...]
[...completely predictable, considering his recent contacts. Nothing like reminders of what bad decisions and bad deals can possibly lead to, even if he has yet to fully grasp the scope.]
[Any doubts that he might have had are slowly quelled by one person after another too genuine to be a reenactor, streets that smell appalling and surfaces that feel of grime, and then the promised death of a king. A legendary event, something that he can remember as words in an aging book at his American university, thin paper with clinical, dispassionate language flipped carefully as he writes notes on narrow ruled paper for some report on the French Consulate and the relating coup de tats that led to it.]
[He can smell the actual blood of Louis XVI and so many others. This is achingly real.]
Oh my god... [Kaz says out loud, covering his mouth. It's not shock- he's seen worse. It's not offense, because sometimes a man's gotta go. It's just the startlement of being overwhelmed. Of realizing history being made in front of him, accurately, in ways that would be written and not lied away into obscurity.]
[Kaz wishes with every last fiber of his being that he could catch one moment to speak with Lafayette. Just one. The crude fanboy in him wants to know all the details from the mouth of the man himself. But it's going to be impossible to find an opportunity with a yowling shitstorm of people screaming for heads. Even the lives of children. And while Miller's morality stumbles, in that he feels ire. He can't help it.]
[If it were up to him, there'd be no debate in interfering with that.]
[He's watching out a shed window idly, keeping out of the way for the moment with someone. He pushes the period-appropriate tinted glasses he managed to find for himself higher up on his nose before segueing into smoothing his hair past the arm of them. To the person with him, he finally observes-]
Personally, I think people deciding to kill a kid are already well on their way to "greater gooding" matters into what they want. But that's just me. [As if he's not a chipper little warmonger back home who makes his own excuses for wanting peace. And money. But also peace.] Any idea what they're planning to do about this? Well, what we're supposed to do.
[He's new. He has to defer to someone.]
Bring in the troops
[Again.]
[The influx of newcomers, however, and the feel of the flow dragging him out have moved him to at least keep watch on the streets. Yoshitsugu's been hiding in shadows and watching from whatever boltholes he can, sometimes alone and sometimes with company, ready to pluck out anyone who looks like they don't belong. At least he can wear a facecloth again while he does so; after all, if he's hiding away, nobody can see him to accuse him of acting 'suspicious.']
The part we were supposed to play is done, as per the orders we were given.
[Yoshitsugu's own efforts worked; he and Takatora had convinced Danton to vote for a delay in the execution. But swaying one man wasn't enough, was it? Too many had failed to sway hearts, or account for slyness.]
[Right now he's no longer at the window, as Miller is, instead resting against the wall with one hand extended outwards. A small glowing cranefly dances around his fingers, the illusion one he had summoned merely for idle entertainment.]
Despite considerable effort we were unable to prevent the King's early execution; one way or another, history is changed. They'll call us back soon.
[Honestly, why had COST brought in new members of the unit at the end of the mission? The timing was strange.]
no subject
His kids, though. What about them? Think there's a chance?
[After all, they're more knowledgeable, more skilled than people of this time would have been when it came to infiltration and extraction. He's run more difficult missions with better people. They could absolutely get those kids out.]
[But he lacks the perspective yet to be more proactive about this. Hell of a lot to learn in a few days.]
Anything else they've screwed up? Or is this a special case?
[And then Miller's looking at the other man's fingertips again.]
no subject
History has been changed in one way. My knowledge of our unit, combined with that fact, tells me that the children will likely be safe.
[Because if that one change was made then, ha, why not save the innocents? Those young lives did not deserve this, even if their parents caused damage to the land. Yoshitsugu is pragmatic, a strategist who knows sacrifices must sometimes be made, but there are lines you just don't cross. He knows plenty of his companions feel the same way.]
[The cranefly flies up and above his head, weaving and bobbing with the motion of his hand.]
I have been with COST for three months. All previous efforts have been a success as long as I have been here. There have definitely been other failures, however.
[He goes quiet for a long moment, thoughtful, before adding:]
If failures they truly were.
no subject
I can appreciate that we're here for this.
[That they can see it as how it happened. That what he's witnessing- it's not some angry British man's retelling.]
But I still gotta worry about those kids.
[They probably never expected their lives to be on the line at so young an age.]
no subject
[The cranefly dips again and this time Yoshitsugu raises his hands and 'grabs' it, the light vanishing immediately.]
...we had several members undercover in the palace for the span of the month; some as attendants, others as guards. It is my belief from some scattered evidence they uncovered that our enemy sought to save the entire royal family.
[Finally giving Kaz his full attention, Yoshitsugu straightens up and takes a few slow steps towards the window. Does he sound as tired as he feels? Probably close. Physically and mentally it's been a long three months and he really needs a chance to sleep without having to consider his fake identity, the possibility of getting sick or an enemy spy tracking him down.]
So they 'failed' too. The children surviving alongside their mother will change the flow of the times in unexpected ways... and I am interested to see the results. [He smiles, just a little.] It wouldn't be too hard, if you have any talent at stealth or war, to check on them yourself. But there will be at least two of our comrades helping them as we speak.
no subject
[But that there's a chance they'll live.]
Most monarchies were drained of power during the various revolutions, giving rise to an age of theoretical democracies and republics. I say theoretical, because there were a lot of them that were taken over by military leaders. Sometimes it worked out, you know? A good military leader- [like him, he can confidently say] -knows how to make sure his people receive adequate care and the capacity to defend one's self.
Some just ruled their people like tyrannies. Kept them scared and angry. The French consulate was...
Well, who the hell knows how it'll turn out. If they make it out, then it depends on whether or not their existence is used to continue ire among the people, or if it gives them an opening to question their leaders.
....I'd like to check on them, though.
[He tacks on after the historical rambling, peering out the window again, adding with a mutter-] and I am good at stealth. [Allow him his moments of cockiness.] You up for taking a walk?
no subject
[Yoshitsugu closes his eyes for one long moment, thinking about all the books he's read here; plenty painted a rather vicious picture, a rage towards the King and Queen fuelled by neglect, and many demonstrated a bloodthirst long before the actual riots started. That Marat in particular... he might not know too much about this country but he can make educated guesses, bolstered by his feel for the flow.]
[The violence is not going to stop after they've left and there will likely be plenty of poor leaders, or unsure leaders, or disagreements that spiral out of control. France has a long way to go yet. The food problem alone has no easy fix.]
But I know plenty about what makes a good military leader. And what doesn't. [Yoshitsugu moves to a corner of the room and kneels to retrieve his weapon, which had been hiding beneath ragged cloth; an oversized command baton.] I can manage a walk in the shadows.
[All cockiness allowed. Better to know what you're good at, as far as Yoshitsugu is concerned.]
Bring in the troops
Of course sitting in a shed and watching matters take place was equally unappealing to him as apparently it was to the young man across from him. Really they shouldn't get involved, but Dorian is not, or never was a soldier taking orders, not even as a member of the Inquisition. With an appraising look at Kazuhira and another toward the window he proposed an idea.]
Well, technically we are not supposed to get involved, but nothing says we can't wander a bit for wandering's sake. [Maybe wander their way into accidentally helping the queen and her children if that was a better alternative.] Never been a fan of technicalities anyway.
no subject
As long as we don't get killed.
We don't look fancy enough to be taken for aristocrats, do we?
[It's a joke. As if Kaz would ever let himself look too badly. He guesses they can play it safe, though. Stealth is a thing that he's... well... at least B ranked at.]
no subject
And I like a man who knows what he likes. [One flirtatious remark deserves another in Dorian's book, especially when it comes from the lips of handsome men.]
I'm here and I will protect you, as long as these fools are as terrified of the unknown as their books have led me to believe. [Magic should be enough to send them running, yes?]
I only wish that we did, but given what we have to work with I say we're not bad, not fancy, but certainly not tacky. [Dorian wouldn't be caught dead in something distasteful, so at least they have something in common.]
no subject
Lets hope it won't come to that. [Appearances are everything, after all. But one wouldn't want to be caught as a nobleman right now. "Pretty good" will have to do.]
[Kaz ducks down by the door and cracks it open, peering through at some activity further down the street, but it looks like they might just be distracted enough with each other that they can creep their way through.]
Party's probably worse closer to the palace.
Bring in the Troops
Nope. No clue. What I do know is when power changes like this, the whole family's gotta go. It's either for the best or the worst, whoever is the one pulling the strings decides. But any of them left alive is unfinished business.
[It's cold, but true. He'll admit he's paraphrasing but the important parts are there. If this mob doesn't kill them here, they'll be running until they die and the unrest will go on until then. Probably.]