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

[masque]

[looks up, a gruff looking man walking towards him in a way akira has quickly learned is nonthreatening. that's enough for him to quietly hand over the wine bottle when prompted, watching him tiredly, crossed arms resting on his knees. hears the cork pop out, a little amazed that that the man makes it look so easy, but he takes it back with a quiet thanks.

leans in to sniff and— god, this smells terrible. winces back, visibly hyping himself up before finally taking a sip.

...]

Oh my god. [holds it out, YOU CAN HAVE IT]

Today I kept thinking "a drink wouldn't hurt", but... what can you expect from the old days, right?

[mylawn]

[76 watches this closely, just to make sure he isn't making a mistake, and gives a sort of derisive snort when Akira decides that the contents of the bottle is, well. Less-than-adequate. He has no doubt that it's bad, but there's something funny about this, and he'll take what he can get, given the state of things.

The good thing is that the phrase 'the old days' marks him as a fellow agent--he hopes, anyway. 76 decides not to say anything about it one way or another, taking the bottle and inspecting the label.]

Might take some getting used to.

[Seeing as this is, of course, a kid. 76 tries to take a swig of his own, and his eyebrows immediately furrow.]

Or maybe it's just bad.

[masque]

[doesn't fight the smile that comes to his face, a touch of normlacy helps a miserable first experience. it's probably better with an old man who looks as tired as he does, and he'd never expected to have a thought like that in his life.

... moves to the side, a silent invitation for him to sit as he leans forward onto his knees again]

You look like you've done a few of these chaotic riot days before. Bad day? [haha]

[mylawn]

[76 raises his eyebrow, but otherwise doesn't match Akira's smile. Still, he doesn't seem hostile, and takes no offense to the implication that this is not his first rodeo. Akira offers a seat and he obliges, unable to bite back the exhalation of air that accompanies his taking a seat.]

I've had worse.

[Very few things can top the robot war, even the French Revolution.]

Holding up okay?

[masque]

More or less. [quietly, as he starts rummaging through his bag— he's been stealing food here and there while he had the opportunity, usually after breaking up a fight or two, and he pulls out one of the pears to quietly offer to 76 as well.]

Not something I've ever been through at home. At least I know COST likes to stick together.

[and it's obvious this man's part of it, just by the way he talks. it's strange meeting new people from all walks of life.]

... You look exhausted.

[mylawn]

[For a moment, it seems like he doesn't know what to do with someone offering him food, but he quickly realizes that it's probably going to be rude to refuse. He reaches out and takes the fruit, though he doesn't make a move to eat it right away.]

Just old.

[But he sounds good-natured--or at least, not insulted. Possibly this is his way of making a joke?]

Easy mistake.

[masque]

Hmm... [quietly, idly tossing a pear with his hand before he finally takes a bite. even the fruit tastes a little different— less sweet.]

I wouldn't mistake a comrade at this point, at least. It's starting to become pretty obvious. ... How long've you been working for these guys?

[mylawn]

I don't remember.

[76 says that very casually--he sees no reason not to lie about the circumstances of his recruitment, namely that he has no idea how it actually happened. He's still confident he never would have left Ana back home, and though COST seems to be on the right side of things, from what he can tell, it doesn't change the fact that he can't recall signing up for this of his own free will, and he isn't the only one.]

Commander says I was here about six months before we started this mission.

[masque]

[...]

You don't remember...? [it sends a red flag, immediately; this is the first he's heard of it. why this guy, specifically? is it a condition]

Well, what do you remember? Is it just you?

[mylawn]

You can talk to the Commander about it. She says there was a cyber attack by the Regency on some of our BCEs.

[76 sounds fairly detached, recounting the explanation, but there's an undercurrent of skepticism in his voice, like he doesn't buy it and recommends that Akira doesn't buy it, either.]

Guess I got unlucky. Wiped my memory of joining COST.

[masque]

[...............lmao wait.

hold up.]

The BCE was used to attack your brain? That's possible?

[he can activate them on will, sure, so maybe that's an indicator in itself but can they seriously scramble someone's head? why wasn't this mentioned? was about to eat the next pear, but his appetite's gone. obviously.]

[mylawn]

I'm just telling you what they told me.

[The implication, of course, is that Akira should process this information however he likes. He's not telling anyone they need to be as paranoid as he is, but he can't help but offer the suggestion.]

You remember joining up?

[masque]

Yeah, I do. [quietly, still trying to sort out the new information. there's no reason to lie, and that type of explanation would freak anyone out. to him, it sounds honest.

he'll have to ask about it.]

That's fucking awful, I'm sorry. Did they at least offer to help you out? Getting your memories back...

[mylawn]

It's not really a priority.

[Which he knows sounds SUPER WEIRD, but 76 has had worse things happen to him. If he has to focus on COST's mission for a while to better get to the bottom of things, well. That's what he's going to do.]

I'll save it for when we get out of this mess.