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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
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[She chews on how to explain the more, ah, esoteric parts of her goals -]
And open communication. [Technically correct, though this is less freedom from censorship and access to an open forum and more 'literally, we want there to be a universal language again, like we had before the whole Tower of Babel story.'] That's a little less common, in these times. [What with the guillotine, and the hunting down of 'anti-revolutionaries.']
She's a very inspiring person. She took a clown like me and gave me a goal. But she runs a little too hot. Basically, she wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut if she saw an injustice, even if it'd ruin the timeline.
no subject
The philosophy described does feel as if it might have a place in some of these revolutionaries' hearts and in their actions. But the articulation is far better, far more concise. Reactionary to something else beyond what set off the nation against the king.]
She seems like someone worthy of being emulated. [And as for ruining timelines, he can only manage a thin, amused smile.]
And like someone whose own passions would fit well here, all things considered.
no subject
She enjoys having what she believed in so strongly listened to, and there's a sort of pride in her tired eyes, when she realizes how intently Chiron's listening. She's proud to know Saint-Germain, proud to serve her, despite everything.]
She is. She's my friend and my savior. -- And if she does come here, we'll all be better off for it. [Saint-Germain's made some mistakes, ones that Prelati is reluctant to admit but Saint-Germain seemed almost eager to own up to, but one thing that she's certain of is that those mistakes won't be repeated. And that her goals are genuine, true.]
But it's easier to say those things than it is to actually do them. Even with this revolution, there'll be people on top and people suffering below before too long.
no subject
[It was oddly enough something that didn't eat at Chiron the way it might others. True enough, the Holy Grail War was built on withholding information, and perhaps that was why. Or else it was because there was a luxury in experiencing a host of time periods.
Regardless, it's funny how savoirs always seem to come back into the equation in Chiron's afterlife. Jeanne with the Grail, this young lady here.]
I believe that at the very least, life would become more interesting with her presence.
[As if it isn't already.]
Hierarchy is seemingly built into everything that humans produce. I'm not sure it's inevitable every time, but...patterns like to repeat even if we don't wish for them to.
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Patterns are the basis of the universe, if you think about it. Even our DNA is a pattern. Nothing is inescapable, but some things will force themselves into being. If you're thinking about it, trying to fight it...
[Then you might be able to stop it. But if you get lazy...]
Basically, vigilance is essential. But few people want to put that much effort in.
no subject
[Chiron then stops, listening to someone yelling in the distance. His arms still at the pumps, and he then looks back over to Prelati.]
They're claiming that this is the end of pump work, and everything has been extinguished.
no subject
[At the sound of someone yelling, though, Prelati perks up too, stands up a little straighter to try and see. She's not incredibly short, but she's maybe five foot nothing.
She hmphs a little, glances over her shoulder. There's still some embers, nothing's actively on fire. The wind will do the rest of the work.]
Well, I never imagined I'd be a firefighter. Good work, though. Do you feel satisfied with a job well done?
no subject
[And Chiron goes quiet, straining his ears. As if at this distance, that's something he can actually divine.=
no subject
[It's harsh, but true. She quiets herself as well, though, glancing out at the wreckage. She's done this much, she might as well help with the rest.]
no subject
There's other fires too that I may move onto then.