U R Free

The story I usually call You Are Free for ease of reading, U R Free is a story about a dystopia falling apart

a fictional map of a world with four main continets and one archipelago

The island nation Tevus is an archipelago set between the continets Reiam (to the north) and Feicei (to the south). Originally a collection of independent islands, they underwent unification and became a single country.

a fictional flag composed of a mostly black background with a stripe of purple at the bottom, a teal egg in the center with black outlines inside it that vaguely resemble a map

Up until over a century before the story is set, Tevus went through several different styles of government, all of them ending in instability. Until a military coup led by a popular leader who would later be known to history as Leader#0 took over and installed a new system - one where the military would control the central government through the figures of the Leader and the Senate, positions occupied by elite members of the military. The positions of Leader and Second in Command control the Executive function. The Leader spends ten years in power before being replaced by a candidate chosen by the Senate. The Second in Command is chosen by the Leader to be its right hand and substitute, and is often a candidate to succeed it.

a drawing of a black mask with hollow eyes and a white smile, with lines resembling tear trails coming down from the eyes to the chin, the letters U and R over each eye, and the word FREE over the smile, the tears and writing are in rgb red, green and blue. Visible through the eye holes and around the lower half of the mask is a vague pool of blood that matches where the drawn tear trails end, as if the mask had cried that blood.

Through a century of this system the country has stabilized, its economy is thriving, and its citizens enjoy many benefits. However, there are still dissident groups that oppose the government - militias and rebel cells. The most active rebel organization in the capital Fovus is known as URF, and wears black masks with white smiles as a way to hinder identification. In recent years their activities have become more and more violent, culminating in the event that starts the story - the murder of Leader#41