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

i, hey old timer

[dipolar]

(the trouble 76 spots is what it is.

someone's caught hei by the collar and by all intents and purposes is trying to throw him off-balance. hard to do, despite the difference in size, but it's hard to shake someone this large without activating his abilities. heavy-set with enough testosterone for three men and now that's coupled with the riot's contagious rush of adrenaline. this isn't new and this isn't life-threatening, so when the gruff voice cuts through the din and he's spoken to over a shoulder, he tips his head back.)

Busy. (a bit snide, albeit true.

he can't really move, clutching meaty wrists with bloody hands, trying to disengage the frenchman with a grit of teeth behind a firm pinch of lips. in a few seconds he's going to do something this cochon will regret, but it might be a necessary risk for COST he has to take or wind up trampled into the cobblestone street awash with red footprints and debris.

but alternately?)

You don't look it. Get this off me.

howdy friendo

[mylawn]

[Okay, fair enough. In his defense, it's difficult to get anything done in the chaos, but 76 catches on quickly enough. Hei can't move because Hei is currently being held by the collar by some random bystander--a random bystander who's just gone and made a terrible mistake, even if he doesn't know it yet. All it takes is the request on the kid's part for 76 to spring into action, ripples in the timeline be damned.

It's difficult to push through the crowd and close the distance, but as soon as he does, he's delivering a solid body-check to the man holding Hei's collar. From the outside, it might not look at all out of the ordinary, but there's a surprising strength behind the maneuver, to the point where the man is almost knocked off balance entirely. It's certainly enough for him to release his grip.]

Now we move.

[He isn't about to waste any more time.]

[dipolar]

(well, now another towering man's joined the fray. throwing a very considerable amount of muscle-bound weight in a heavy strike to the frenchman's side. one that jars the hold enough for hei to dip away with a sharp twist of his torso and a follow-up slam of his boot's heel into the staggered man's kneecap. looks petty, but is simply a bid for him to stay down before he regrets it.

one sweep of his hands down the front of his tunic, eyelids low, before hei leans into a quick stride ahead of 76.

the kinetic energy stored up in that body is impressive, as was the move that toppled an aggressor like they were some dummy made of burlap and packed cotton. inconsequential and in the way — can't say he doesn't appreciate that kind of mindset that keeps them gunning for the edge of the crowd. then figures that soldier: 76 should be leading... he'll leave bulldozing a path through the crowd to broader-shouldered beasts, halting for less than a second to lag behind and pick his pace back up just as smoothly.)

COST doesn't want the head?

(yeah, now it's petty.)

[mylawn]

[He makes quick work of it, trying not to think about how he might be body-checking the ancestor of someone who will eventually be very important. Luckily, the kid gets the hint, and they make swift work of it, bailing on the situation as quickly as possible. It's a fairly clean escape, all things considered, but 76 knows they might not be so lucky again.

So he tries to put as much distance between them and the crowd as he can, shoving their way through the throng of people until the mob starts to thin. He offers a cursory glance back to make sure that Hei has kept up.]

Wasn't part of the orders.

[Then again, their orders are to survive the night. Even if COST wanted the head, 76 is certain it wouldn't be worth the risk.]

[dipolar]

(he's kept up and sticking close enough to step on 76's heels — if he were any less confident in his footwork. it's with ease that he weaves through the crowd with the soldier, almost snorting at the response.

no, it wasn't.)

"Wait for evac" is broad. Know any place to lie low?

(doesn't want to get chased the whole night through, but knows that's likely inevitable if he doesn't find a secure area to rest in.)

[mylawn]

Yeah.

[He imagines by now that the inn he was staying at is compromised—bars and hotels seem ripe for discourse, and the last thing he wants to do is put himself in that kind of unnecessary danger. Still, his rented room is not the only place they can go, and he’s sure he can come up with something, as long as they keep heading away from the riots.]

We’ll want to get out of the city center. Stick with me.

[dipolar]

(it's logical, so hei follows and elbows anyone who gets too close to him.

out of the plazas and through narrowing streets, he feels far more at ease without the crowd. it enables him to pay attention to the cityscape and not the stragglers sizing up stores and homes to ransack.)

An American? (has to take a wild guess.) What'd they do about this Revolution?

[mylawn]

Not much, if I remember correctly.

[76 keeps glancing backward over his shoulder, ostensibly making sure they aren’t being followed. He’s more concerned with that than talking about his nationality, but perhaps the kid just wants something to focus on that isn’t ruined houses and looters.]

I’m not exactly a historian.

[He knows more about the subject than he might let on, given the nature of his career, but he still imagines that most academics would run circles around him.]

[dipolar]

(hei's too aware of the things happening around him. his focus deviates greatly, spreads to many different things that converge after he's had seconds of silence — their backs will be fine. can't convey this and, even if he did it's likely 76 wouldn't buy into it.

dubbed a waste of time, he says nothing on the matter.

at the very least it's not long before they find an abandoned storefront, leather goods, and hei's quick to point it out.)

Door's ajar, still intact. Windows are broken, though. Someone's been in and out...

[mylawn]

We’ll just have to hope they don’t come back.

[76 is already pushing his way into the store, making sure to go first so that he can case the room. He proceeds carefully, looking for any sign of movement and wishing that he had his environment scanner—but after a long moment he seems satisfied, and waves Hei in. The whole place is dark—shelves and drawers upended, but there might be a few things to scavenge if they look.]

It’s clear.

[For now.]

[dipolar]

(pushing through on the go-ahead, performing his own cursory check. can't beat the habit out of him and it's saved his life countless times before.

hums a short affirmative before allowing the tension to eke from his shoulders, busying himself instead with finding provisions. manages a candle, its stick, and a patchwork quilt for the window to block out their light. they're not out of the water yet, but this is as good as it's going to get until evac.)

You're tall. Hang this. (flapping the dust from the blanket with a low exhale, narrowing his eyes at the too-high window frame.) I'll take care of the light.

...

I'm Hei. It seems we'll be working together.

[mylawn]

[76’s attention is mostly on making sure they’re really alone, but the way Hei conducts his own scan of the room doesn't go unnoticed. It speaks to some kind of training, though 76 wouldn't be able to say just what, exactly, until he sees a little more. Perhaps the kid is just cautious, which of course he can appreciate, too.

He takes the blanket without complaint, certainly not arguing with the assessment that he's tall. 76 hangs it fairly effortlessly, adjusting it a little to make sure that the whole window is blocked. Better safe than sorry.]

76.

[He's not exactly one for introductions, as Hei might realize. If he finds the fact that he goes by a number kind of weird, he doesn't show it at all.]

We should check upstairs.

[dipolar]

(the number's just another codename, though he does wonder at what the digits represent because a man like this screams military down to the taciturnity, posture, scars. not too fond of the type, but he's never been any different. take orders, carry out those orders, throw yourself back together for the next round.

76's suggestion means the candle that's lit by no real presence of a match or flint is left by the wayside, on the centre of a table carefully turned back onto its legs.)

Understood.

(more than willing to appraoch with a silent stalk towards the stairs, but he doesn't have a ranged weapon suitable for clearing rooms. a billhook sits snugly in his sash against his hip and that's all he has to offer, but there's nothing worried in the bland stare aimed at 76.

says nothing more, taking the stairs with a quick stride. no sound but a creak comes from the light-footed rush to the top of the bannister, eyes darting into open space and confirming: nothing. a great many places to hide, however, the first thing he notices with a flap of a hand gesture to 76. clear enough to search, despite the couple of wardrobes and bed curtains yanked shut.

if there's someone in here, they're innocuously civilian. hiding from pillagers, or hiding from the rioters? both understandable.)

[mylawn]

[76 is about to insist that he go first, of course, but Hei beats him there. He can only hope the kid knows how to clear a room, but it seems like they've gotten lucky. There's no noise from the upper floor, so he's willing to bet they're either in the clear, or the person who is hypothetically here is a very good hider.

Hei seems to have the same idea by the time 76 reaches him. Again, he finds himself wishing for his environment scanner, but he'll have to make do with his blunderbuss instead.

He nods to indicate that he understands, then he starts uncovering hiding spaces. They all come up empty, but he still moves through the room with his gun first. It's only after a few long, quiet minutes that 76 feels confident to give an assessment.]

I think we're alone.

[dipolar]

(paranoia is as paranoia does, forced in the long silence to creep around the room alongside his senior, upending anything that could hide a person.

hei pauses to consider their situation after tying off a bed curtain to one of its posts, satisfied.)

Seems that way. For now this place'll do.

[mylawn]

I'll keep watch. You take a breather.

[That's 76's first instinct when it comes to most operations--he'll keep an eye out while the younger or (presumably) less-experienced subordinate gets some rest. Not that Hei is necessarily his subordinate, here, but being the one to put himself in the position to take potential falls is a habit he's never quite broken.]

Might be some food if you look.

[If people haven't made off with it already.]