French Revolution Mafia [Concluded]

[GeneralHankerchief]

Tally unchanged.

Csargo: 3 | Manasi (1330), Zack (1345), Choxorn (1347)
Manasi: 1 | Csargo (1316)

Round ends:

[GeneralHankerchief]

Voting closed.

[GeneralHankerchief]

"A man should be mourned at his birth, not at his death."
~ Montesquieu

Day 6

It was a long, lonely walk to the guillotine for Csargo.

Oh, sure, he was in the company of other people - some drumming, most jeering, a few praying to the various aspects of Reason or the Supreme Being or some even the old Christian God that this was the last of it, that Csargo was who they were looking for - but he let all of that noise was over him. "In the company of other people" was not the same as "with others". And despite the crowd of hundreds outside the Place de la Revolution in Paris, Csargo was well and truly alone.

He had been for most of the day, he realized. Ever since he and Manasi, the last of the Militarists, the only faction with more than one member remaining, had dissolved their partnership out of paranoia and turned on each other. They had plotted together, voted together, shed blood together - most notably in their coordinated effort to get Montmorency killed out of a desire to fulfill Renata's last wishes - but that did not stop them accusing each other of engaging in nefarious, traitorous deeds.

Hard, brutal math had dictated to each other that their longtime comrade was most likely the enemy. After all, the only two other choices were Zack and Choxorn, and both of them trusted Zack and Choxorn more than they did each other, apparently. And though Choxorn got a vote early in the day from Manasi, soon it became pretty clear that Zack and Choxorn were the swing votes. The two sides made their arguments, Zack and Choxorn thought about it, Csargo and Manasi kept fighting, and Zack and Choxorn decided in favor of Manasi over Csargo. Thus began his long, lonely walk.

It had been a hard road for the Militarists, first realizing that they had been infiltrated by Monstrdude, then losing their most trusted member Fenn, then coming under suspicion for mis-ordering a brazen attack right in the middle of Convention deliberations, then being unable to stop the lynch of Dp101 in what had been the biggest display of factionalism to that point, then finally losing their spiritual leader in Renata. And now this. Elsewhere, Manasi hoped that this was the last of it, and that she could form a coalition government with the Girondins and Populists afterwards, but for Csargo, it didn't matter. He was about to die. What was next for him was an entirely different animal.

He ascended the steps, ruminating over his life's accomplishments as well as his life's regrets, both political and private. Memories flashed by: his upbringing, his favorite old tree in the field outside the town he grew up in, his first kiss, his entry into politics, his first vote, getting that critical piece of legislation passed. Others. None of these memories and thoughts of actions matched the list of crimes that the Convention official was reading off on for the crowd.

He knelt down, taking it all in one last time. Despite all of the violence of the past week (and few years), Paris had never been more beautiful. The people attending his execution were so many, so full of life. If only they knew what it meant to be breaths away from death, perhaps they would treasure their time more. Only now, with the end approaching, did Csargo truly understand this, like the millions of others before him throughout history.

The blade dropped, and Csargo's final ruminations ended. All over, the people of Paris held their breaths.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 6 tally:

Csargo: 3 | Manasi (1330), Zack (1345), Choxorn (1347)
Manasi: 1 | Csargo (1316)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Still alive (3):
Choxorn
Manasi
Zack

Killed:
Fenn
Monstrdude
Logic
Kagemusha
Arakhor
BSmith
Askthepizzaguy
Renata
autolycus
Al Sipsclar
Snerk
Winston Hughes
seireikhaan
Montmorency
NotACop

Guillotined:
Jabbz
atheotes
Dp101
El Barto
Lewwyn
Csargo

TO BE CONCLUDED

[GeneralHankerchief]

The dead may now post in this thread.

However, if they know the result, I ask them not to spoil it.

[Renata]

Thanks for the game, GH. :)

[Montmorency]

I'm sorry Monty for vigging you, I can kinda see why you acted the way you did

What is this referring to, given that you haven't seen QTs yet?

[Csargo]

What is this referring to, given that you haven't seen QTs yet?

Just referring to dealing with Zack/Choxorn.

[Winston Hughes]

Ce jeu était dur comme la baise, mais je l'ai trouvé assez agréable tout de même.

[Dp101]

How dare you make us wait. This unresolved tension is going to murder me, how will I survive without the writeup and reveal.

[Winston Hughes]

Special game.

Great concept, ingenious set-up, immaculate hosting, brilliant storytelling, and it went the distance.

[GeneralHankerchief]

"There have been violent revolutions in the world before; but the immoderate, violent, radical, desperate, bold, almost crazed and yet powerful and effective character of these [French] Revolutionaries has no precedents. Where did this new race come from? What produced it? What made it so effective? What perpetuates it? Independently of all that can be explained about the French Revolution, there is something unexplained in its spirit and in its acts. I can sense the presence of this unknown object, but despite all my efforts, I cannot lift the veil that covers it."
~ Alexis de Tocqueville

Conclusion

The Committee of Public Safety had been very active during the past week. Commissioned as a sort of executive body in contrast with the National Convention's legislative characteristics, it had been formed to precisely direct France's efforts against her enemies, both external and - especially during the past week - internal. Due to various political sea changes, retirements, and deaths, the Committee's membership had changed quite a bit since its inception, but its overall mission had not. Even now, during the great whittling down of the Convention members, the Committee still continued its work.

With the execution of Csargo, for all intents and purposes the National Convention now was the Committee, as they each had the same three - and three only - members: Zack, Choxorn, and Manasi. As the splendor of the Tuileries Palace was much too overly-grand to house three people doing mostly clerical work, the three of them decided to meet in Zack's office (as he was the seniormost member of the Committee).

"Okay," Zack said, starting things off, "First order of business is continuity of government. With the Convention basically gutted, we need to decide whether to simply refresh the member base or start entirely anew. If we do decide to maintain the Convention structure, the next thing we need to decide is whether the emergency measures will remain in place or whether we will finally adapt Saint-Just's Constitution of 1793."

"Are you joking?" said Choxorn. "Nearly the entire legislative body of France has just been killed off. Of course we need to maintain the emergency measures!"

"Right, but our continued presence here and not in a shallow grave somewhere suggests that Csargo was the final Royalist and that the danger has passed," Manasi said.

"Just so," said Zack, nodding. "Now, Manasi, second order of business?"

"There's been heavy National Guard activity all day," she replied, reading off a report. "While not unusual in of itself considering the present circumstances, this particular activity is of note because, to my knowledge, it has not been cleared with any of us beforehand and we have no idea as to its purpose. I've sent a clarification request to the Commandant, hopefully we'll get his response shortly."

"Does he know we're at this address?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. Choxorn, what news of the war effort?"

Choxorn coughed and adjusted his papers. "There's been a stabilization of fronts the past few days. The British have been as annoying as ever, but the rebellion in the Vendée has seen a startling lack of activity lately, and there are reports of little movement on the Eastern front as well. All in all I'd say it's been a rather pleasant surprise and a fairly solid balancing of the scales considering what's been happening in Paris."

"The drawing-down has made that much of an effect?" Manasi asked.

"It would seem so."

"That's... really stange," said Zack. "Almost a bit too fortuitous, if you ask me. I wonder if there's been any coordination going on..."

At that moment, there was a loud pounding on the door. "Open up, it's the Commandant!" came a voice from outside.

"I'll go see what he wants," Choxorn said, getting up to go outside. Zack and Manasi made idle chatter for a little while, until about two minutes later Choxorn poked his head back in. "There's been some more violence in this part of the city," he said. "They want to move us to a safer location."

"Sacre bleu, when will this ever end?" Manasi muttered, but she got out to join Choxorn just as Zack did - though at the very moment she stepped outside, a rough set of hands grabbed her and pulled her off to the side. "I am a member of the National Convention and of the Committee of Public Safety, a delegate elected and entrusted with maintaining the direction of the Revolution! What is the meaning of this?"

"In the name of the King, you're under arrest!"

"Wait, what?" She looked around for Zack, also grabbed and under control, and saw that he looked just as puzzled as he was.

Then they both looked to Choxorn. He looked unconcerned, even smiling. He was also completely free.

"At the very end, you almost figured it out," he said, a look of vindication on his face. "I looked bad there for a while, what with Jabbz, Monstrdude, and Kagemusha going down before I could blink. But then you all grew complacent. You put petty political rivalries ahead of hunting for the true enemy, not realizing that the absence of the Royalists was what allowed you the freedom to form these factions and rivalries in the first place. Once I survived the violence of 22 Prarial, I knew I was in the clear, so I started coordinating with my allies in the Vendée and the other governments of Europe. I'd say that France has been destroyed enough in your frittering around since 1789 and especially since last year, it would be a shame to destroy any more of the country when order was about to right itself. Luckily, my allies agreed."

Zack looked angry, Manasi crestfallen. But aside from fruitlessly struggling to get free, it was obvious that there was nothing they could do. The violence of the past week had cowed the citizens of Paris, the Guard had swung over back in favor of the Royalists, and the Convention... well, the Convention was about to become extinct.

"Don't worry, it won't be all bad," Choxorn said. "I've arranged for Louis XVII and the incoming government to label you all as misguided patriots, not the traitors that you really are. One of you might even get a burial in the Panthéon."

"History will remember us," Zack said. "Nobody will ever forget what has happened over the past few years. Nothing you do will stop will."

"Oh, I have no doubt that you're right," Choxorn replied. "However, the thing about history is that it judges you far along in the future... in the present, though, where we live and operate, the Revolution is over. And it will not rise again for quite some time, I think."

Zack and Manasi continued to defiantly deliver their last words, but when it came down to it, that was all they were: last words. Surely one of the guards would be recording them for posterity - but he would also be writing down what happened next: Zack and Manasi were summarily shot, the Convention was dissolved, and a few days later the son of the last king would be crowned Louis XVII, de facto inheriting the title that had been de jure his ever since his father had been guillotined.

History would decide whether the brief French Revolution of 1789 to 1793 was the harbinger of a later wave of events to sweep across Europe and the world, or whether it was simply a flash in the pan. In the more immediate moment, though, nobody could deny the main truth: After four-plus years of upheaval and uncertainty, France remained Royalist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The game has ended with a Royalist victory!

The factions:

Montagnards:
Montmorency
Jabbz
Lewwyn
seireikhaan
Snerk
BSmith

Populists:
autolycus
Logic
Zack
El Barto
Sooh/Winston Hughes
Arakhor

Girondins:
Askthepizzaguy
atheotes
Choxorn - last survivor
NotACop
Al Sipsclar
Kagemusha

Militarists:
Monstrdude
Manasi
Renata
Dp101
Fenn
Csargo

[Montmorency]

UNBELIEVABLE

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

UNBELIEVABLE

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Good game, people. Powerful.

[GeneralHankerchief]

So first of all a huge congratulations to Choxorn and the rest of the Royalists for pulling it out, and commiserations to the town for a great effort. This game was designed to be very hard to achieve victory, and you should all be commended for giving it your best.

I'll be detailing much more about this game and my thought process over the next couple of days, but first I have to eat dinner and do some other, non-mafia things. In the meantime, here are all of the quicktopics to tide you over:

Montagnards:
https://www.quicktopic.com/52/H/MZdmL4CVGPR

Populists:
https://www.quicktopic.com/52/H/bZfCCR5wiA3

Girondins:
https://www.quicktopic.com/52/H/tk4rKjPFjVhgU

Militarists:
https://www.quicktopic.com/52/H/dfJ6Q3t2MbDi

Committee of Public Safety:
https://www.quicktopic.com/52/H/dZR85fDGZnE5

Panthéon de Paris (dead chat):
https://www.quicktopic.com/52/H/T86snsEhc6Egv

Royalists:
https://www.quicktopic.com/52/H/GQTWd5EbDRud

[Manasi]

o.o

O.

Hm.

[Montmorency]

Possibly Choxorn's best play. No one could have stopped this.
@Zack, we should still discuss the game between us but for the moment I'm still reeling.

Forever enshrine the glory of the N1 heroes, Fenn and Pizza! Special mention to Renata! Vive la France!

[Dp101]

WTF CHOX THIS IS INSANE.

[Renata]

Wow, excellent game, choxorn. The only thing that made me doubt you at all was atheotes reporting in the dead thread that you had had a final watch, but you ever said anything about it publicly. The living players couldn't have known. Brilliant.

I have no regrets about the Montmorency vig. I wanted to take out the Committee's vig numbers if I died because I knew our faction was never getting another rep there and would naturally get the short end of the stick even absent Monty's regrettable biases :p -- choxorn would have been my third choice, there, lol. Oh well.

Once again, really well done. Kudos to Manasi for being the only person to have her vote on the last Royalist on the final day.

Thanks to my teammates for a fun time. :)

[Manasi]

Omg csargo I'm so sorry, the second you started pushing on me and then Zack being like ARE YOU SURE ABOUT HIM

oh man

I should have just played for the faction :(

I don't think there was any way we were going to get a lynch on Chox though so maybe it was going to end up being you or I anyway that last day.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Wow, excellent game, choxorn. The only thing that made me doubt you at all was atheotes reporting in the dead thread that you had had a final watch, but you ever said anything about it publicly. The living players couldn't have known. Brilliant.

Hindsight is 20/20, but I think not saying anything publicly was the correct play by Choxorn. As soon as he definitively claims a watch result implicating one of the other players, that day immediately becomes a binary "Choxorn vs. [player implicated]" choice. Granted, he was still likely to prevail in that scenario, but the alternative was him not being on anyone's radar and the day playing out the way it did: Csargo vs. Manasi, with Chox just eating popcorn on the sidelines and coasting to victory.

[Zack]

gg choxorn. Didn't bother considering you because I couldn't have won unless one of csargo/manasi is scum, but I doubt I would have voted you anyways.

Possibly Choxorn's best play. No one could have stopped this.
@Zack, we should still discuss the game between us but for the moment I'm still reeling.

Forever enshrine the glory of the N1 heroes, Fenn and Pizza! Special mention to Renata! Vive la France!

Leave me alone dude.

[Winston Hughes]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: