un: French revolution ❦ video

[idealisme]

[It's a day or so since he's arrived in Wyver and you'd think Enjolras might have something to say about the advanced technology, the breath-taking scenery, the ravenous creatures all determined to eat everyone-]

The honor of nations consists in being free and virtuous, in striking down tyrants and avenging reviled humanity.

[-or not.

You might mistake the age of the fiery-eyed young blond, he looks so young, except there's a gravity in his voice as he speaks and a serious set to his brow.]

I do not know you, fellow citizens, nor you me. I will introduce myself. My family name is Enjolras. I have five and twenty years and before the Storm I was a student of law in Paris.

We are from different lands, have lived different lives, pursued different goals- but now we are all here. If this is to be our home now, so be it. The Natha in their Space Ship have saved us and brought us to live here. So we shall live; we must. There are some forces against which men cannot fight and this must be one of them.

But there are other matters against which we must stand. There are, in this land, two names that are an affront to anyone who would be free. Two names that, by their very existence, threaten the life we are to lead here. They are the very antithesis of everything towards which free people strive, as they stand in the way of free people ruling themselves.

These names are 'king' and 'empress'.

[He doesn't have time to go into why these things are terrible. It's disconcerting to speak to no-one, to have no response. But he expects others will respond and it is to them directly that he plans to make his arguments. He has seen other conversations on the network, approved of this free and open means of communication. He'll use it for himself.]

There are some of you who have been awake longer than I. It may be that I am wrong in my assumptions. The names king and empress may be different from the titles I was familiar with in my former life. I can only hope it is so. I welcome all details you have. If you fear speaking of such things publicly I am willing to meet in person to exchange information.

[He gives a formal nod and cuts the feed.]

[It's been less than a week someone tell him to chill out.]

Comments

video; un: eproghuefgdzptrrw

[vorrutyer]

[ Byerly's face is absolutely alight. He is delighted. He is thrilled. This is exactly what he hoped for in his heart of hearts. Exactly this. ]

Dear heavens, you're not joking.

video; un: flowerknight

[triplerose]

[ So maybe Loras plays this video back a couple of times. He finally figures he's not getting anything more from it, so he just replies. With a moderately hesitant but genuinely curious expression about him. ]

What is bad about kings?

[ Well. Loras knows a great deal about Kings and Would Be Kings and some of them are awful, but. That's not really the fault of the person wearing the crown and not the crown itself. Right? ]

[idealisme]

[You're a stranger so Enjolras will give you the benefit of the doubt.

Also what is that username. That tell him nothing about you! Please choose a better one!]

This is not something about which I'd joke, monsieur.

voice, un: flashgordon

[godwins]

[ This guy— no, he's going to say this out loud. ]

You talk like the friggin' Declaration of Independence.

video | un: colt.saa

[shashka]

[ all he can hear is Paris, and instinctively, he can't help but shudder. the French. somehow, them and their palace talk made it through the apocalypse and right onto his phone.

not only that, but Enlightenment Catherine the Great style French. the worst kind (ok maybe a little after that, given he was shouting against royals, but... the point still stands).

so, he does something incredibly petty. something that goes against what he normally does. but these are the French. so when he replies, he does so in French, with the most flawless grammar, but with the most heinous accent. ]

And so a Frenchman is going to tell the rest of us how to live. You think you'd have given that up with Napoleon.

[ the FRENCH. ]

[vorrutyer]

No? And why not, my little chou? [ By flutters his eyelashes at Enjolras, almost flirtatious. ] After all, democracy is a bit of a joke, isn't it?

voice; un: theEND

[winddaughter]

[She may actually agree with a lot of what he's saying. But she's just... stuck on one part, and there's a sickened, angry tone to her voice.]

Why are people like you always so dead-set on avenging humanity? Maybe humanity deserved whatever it had coming.

[idealisme]

[What an excellent question. It is just the one that Enjolras has been waiting for.]

I ask instead what is good about them! How can one man hold power over the lives of all his 'subjects'? He is no better than they are, he deserves no more rights or privileges than any other, he's just a man!

[triplerose]

[ Okay but sometimes a king can be the best person in an entire land of awful people. Right?? ]

But without a king, there's no order.

video | un: princess.mipha

[fisherwife]

[Her username is probably not going to do her any favors here, but she looks sympathetic as she listens.]

I think the thing to consider is that we are strangers here to this land. Right now, we are not much more than guests. It would be rather rude to be taken into someone's home when yours' has been destroyed, only to immediately repay that kindness with hostility.

Perhaps it would be best to observe how they run things first, rather than declaring them... [How had he put it?] 'an affront to anyone who would be free'? [Her tone is gentle throughout this though, almost a little meek.]

[idealisme]

The self-evident truths of the Americans are also those of the French.

[Even if he can feel bitter than Lafayette helped America towards independence and then put a Bourbon back on the throne.] Speak rather of the declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. That is our national document of independence.

text; un umenosuke

[shikomizue]

What should be done about this king and empress, do you think?

[He has a pretty damn good idea what Enjolras is getting at, but Takasugi is glad to humor this sort of fervor.]

[idealisme]

[Enjolras can be polite, when it is called for. His friends have often pulled him up no his lack of manners in conversations where his political convictions get the better of him.

His tone is icy, his glare intense. It's not even the accent that gets him.]

It is all given up, monsieur. France is gone, and unless Buonaparte awakens here as well there's no point holding grudges for his empire. If you have nothing else to say, consider your piece said.

[idealisme]

[His shoulders rise, almost like the hackles on a cat. His words become clipped and precise.] You'd prefer the king? The tyrant wielding power and privilege over his helpless subjects?

[Has he ignored the endearment? Is he blind to those eyelashes? Who knows.]

[godwins]

I might've learned that at some point. [ Does he understand the difference between 1789, 1830, and 1848? Nope, he dropped out of high school and never paid much attention anyways. But he thinks he agrees with what Enjolras is saying. Democracy is good, tyranny is bad. ] Don't worry, pal, I'm as staunch an ally of the Free French as you're gonna find.

[idealisme]

[There's a furrow creasing his forehead. This is an argument he hadn't expected.]

Does the baker and his wife, who spend every day baking and selling bread to feed and clothe themselves, deserve to pay most of what they earn to a king who could not bake his own bread to feed himself?

[vorrutyer]

[ Guilelessly: ] Well - yes, of course. It's grand to be a tyrant, after all. Have you ever given it a try?

[idealisme]

Just as with a king, there may be disorder.

It is power that keeps order. It is food in the belly of the hungry that keeps them from stealing. It is education which gives a man a use for his hands. A king is needed for none of these.

[spread the news: kings are the worst]

[idealisme]

[Her username has him scowling before he even hears what she has to say.]

A man with a rotten leg must have it cut off, otherwise he will die. It is unpleasant, but it must be done.

[idealisme]

Will they see reason? They may be content to live in exile, with all the power and privilege they deserve. That is none.

The danger is that their supporters will want them back on the throne.

[He will not be goaded to saying more.]

[idealisme]

[Despite himself, Enjolras almost laughs at the claim. His expression lightens all the same.]

I am pleased to hear it. I'll hope to find you as much an ally of the people of Wyver and Olympia.

[shashka]

[ there is something deeply satisfying about seeing an angry Frenchman. but Ocelot tries to remind himself he isn't twenty years old anymore.

(but he just really really hates the French) ]

Is a country gone if its people are still there? So long as a person is still alive, their ideas, their will will go on existing. [ a pause. ]

So, as long as you're here, the idea of France still exists. [ unfortunately. ]

[triplerose]

And the king is the power that keeps the order.

[idealisme]

If you've nothing of worth to share, go revel in your lack of empathy elsewhere.

[Whoever you are, you're a worm.]

[idealisme]

Are the ideals of liberty, equality, and brotherhood claimed by France alone? They are the ideals of humanity, monsieur.