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

[dipolar]

(two steps are immediately taken away from akira at the sudden smash of a thrown crate, hei wound as tight as a drum and not in the mood for surprises. looks towards the brawl and the indignant snort of a mounted horse, both forcing hei into ducking his head and following akira's heels too closely. if they're seen, they'll no doubt be tailed, and he can't take that kind of unnecessary risk.

an inconvenienced click of his tongue behind straight teeth. damn it, there goes their path through this alley. do they risk getting drawn into something that'll no doubt end in three mens' death, or him and this kid thrown into a prison cell? the former is far more likely, but they could always duck into one of the businesses up ahead. hei tugs his collar up and flattens it high along his neck, angling for a door.)

Take a good look. (said dully, unimpressed by the ungoverned scum covering this city like a thin layer of film... they're entrenched in it, breathing it, and he deserves to be here living it.) One man's head can change the course of history.

[masque]

I know he did die, from what I remember in class, but... [what exactly was the mission then?

are they going to hear about the results and changes whenever they have to go back? how long are they supposed to wait? too many questions, no answers, and no doubt hei is in the same boat.]

Shit. Alright, maybe the alleys aren't a good idea. In these cases, we'd use the roof. [spoken like a true parkour artist.

especially when he uses a wall to hop from as leverage to grip onto a crate on the opposite wall, hands gripping the edge above him to hop onto the top of the building.]

[dipolar]

(supposes that he has to agree, but was ready to cut down every last man ahead of them. no sense in drawing more attention to himself, instead stilling to watch akira nimbly climb to the top of the roof before almost lazily following after him. wall, crate, ledge, roof.

he draws himself upright with a raise of a hatted head, expression unchanged.)

It's an expansive city for the time this is taking place in... I really did know nothing.

[masque]

And if the outcry wasn't any indication, the riots are only going to get worse. Probably should've stayed in the hotel...

[too late now, though. what did that lady expect them to do? survive? who does he have to go to get her fired?]

Well, guess we're both learning a lesson today. [because hei's right, it is.] I wonder if the churches will still be safe spots? They are sanctuaries.

[dipolar]

Even the inns will be ransacked. It's a common story. They take advantage of terror to pillage places and people.

(numb to it, having witnessed so much of it during the war. humans are disgusting.)

Fear of God, however... it'd be worth checking. Come.

(making his turn, aiming for the steeple of a distant church. might actually be the safest place to go.)

[masque]

[... this guy is a ray of sunshine. maybe there's a reason for it, who knows, but akira's not about to ask.]

Fear of God? Poetic. [as he swiftly follows him, finding no issue with hopping from one roof to another. even when one slide of brick collapses under a foot, he simply slides forward like nothing happened.

the metaverse made this incredibly easy.]

You sound like a friend like home. He talks like that. [is it weird to find that strangely comforting in this situation? yeah, no doubt.]

[dipolar]

It's fact. This era's filthy with religious freaks. That's about all I know of it and all I care to know.

(clearly not one of those god-fearing men.

loose tiles are something they'll simply have to deal with. these places may have been built by incredible masons, but the places aren't kept up the way they should be. there's no slip from hei that indicates he even notices, both him and the boy graceful in the steps taken across roofs, leading well. it's a gap between buildings that gives a moment's pause, sinking into a crouch at the edge.)

Can you make this?

(far from judgement, he's known contractors with no ability for this. a reasonable question to ask, given they're new to one another.)

[masque]

Yeah. [without missing a beat, though he does give himself leeway by running back a few feet.

it takes a running start before he leaps, not aiming for the roof but instead a ledge on the opposite building, hands catching it just in time— he does expect the creak of old metal, which is why he's instantly using the leverage to find another higher platform of brick to pull himself onto the roof.]

Not sure what COST wanted, but if they needed a sleuth, guess I'm their guy.

[dipolar]

(watches him take the leap (of faith) and then follows after, clearing the building's edge and hitting the opposite roof with both toes on the ledge, immediately balanced and starting off down the slope.)

You're a detective? (angling towards the church with only a brief glance back at his comrade.)

[masque]

No, never liked their attitude much. [looks like hei's taking the lead, which is fine. the church is visible anyway.]

And what do you do? [he's obviously experienced, and handles this situation like it's nothing. maybe he handles chaos back home, too.]

[dipolar]

Mercenary. I specialize in assassinations.

(a bit too honest, but they're teammates now. it's old news. finds a pipe down the side of the building and examines the drop before stepping off of the ledge to rappel down it. on solid ground, he turns his chin up to watch akira.

testing him.)

Why call yourself a sleuth?

[masque]

[... in a different situation, akira might've felt red flags raising at hei's occupation. but it takes one dodge of an arrow, blood splattering onto the brick below, and the sounds of screaming at every turn to convince him that it doesn't really matter.

but that does say a lot for how bad the city's gotten, and akira's surprised at himself for not being able to react to any of it. will this bite him later? can't think about it right now.

follows hei's example, hands on the pipe to keep him steady as he descends, dropping the last few feet onto the ground.]

Why are we playing twenty questions, suddenly? [stops behind a building, peering around the corner to the church. the doors are still up.]

I'm good at it, that's why. ... Maybe we should try one of the windows to be safe. [never enter the front door if you can help it, thievery 101]

[dipolar]

Because sleuthing is a profession; investigative work. You mean to say you're a spy? A thief? (a sniff, eyes narrowing.) I answered your question and was expecting a return, but I suppose that's what I deserve.

(no skin off his nose, lowering himself with a dart past akira and across the street. it's dotted with civilians milling around against their better judgements during the worst of the rioting, but a market stall provides decent enough cover until they reach the stone steps of the glorious church.

flattens himself to the side with a glance up and over each window, waiting for akira's verdict. he formulates his own in the meantime: stained glass, not the best approach. recalibrating their route.)

There may be a door in the back for funeral processions. I'd trust a back entry sooner than a broken window.

[masque]

[a weird response, but he'll take it. sharing time is practically over anyway.

his eyes scan the size of the building, it's even more magnificent up close. careful architecture, rich wood... gargoyles...

—why would you trust any door over a broken window, first off] I don't mind going to see. It might be boarded up, though.

[time to sneak around rioters who are barely paying attention, if at all.]

[dipolar]

(broken windows attract attention. doors have handles he can burn hands through. to each his own.

there is a door and it doesn't look stuck from the outside, but whether it's boarded by people hiding out on the insidehas yet to be determined. so he crouches and watches and analyzes, waiting for akira's signal.)