#marshals and wives

[josefavomjaaga]

Napoleon visits Bessières' castle (1810)

Elie Baudus in the first volume of his "Études sur Napoléon" has a description of Napoleon, after he had divorced Josephine, visiting Bessières' home. That's interesting insofar as Elie argues that Bessières' close friendship with the Beauharnais family had before gotten him in trouble with his master:

For a long time Napoleon had been haunted by the distressing thought that he would leave no direct heir to succeed him in this colossal empire, the creation of his genius. The empress's age meant that it was no longer conceivable that she would bear him children, so ideas of divorce had been on his mind since 1807. Some rumours about this project were spread during the trip he made to Italy shortly after returning from Tilsitt.

This journey to Italy happened not quite that shortly after Tilsit, actually, but only in late 1807 (November/December). At the same time as the preparations for the coup in Spain, by the way.

Marshal Bessières, who would always accompany him on such occasions, had been left in Paris to await the return of the guard, to lead it when it made its triumphal entry, to receive the celebrations that the capital intended to offer to these elite legions, and to preside over those that the guard was to give. The Marshal was very attached to the Beauharnais family. General Bonaparte, doing justice to Bessières' perfect manners and the noble qualities that distinguished him, had given him as a mentor to Eugène during the Egyptian campaign. After 18 Brumaire, this young man, in his capacity as colonel of the Guides, who had become the chasseurs à cheval of the consuls' guard, again found himself under the command of Bessières. The Marshal therefore learned with chagrin of the rumours that were spreading. Having acquired the certainty that the police were not uninvolved, he committed the noble imprudence of listening only to his initial impulse, went straight to Fouché, and confronted him with a very heated argument on the subject. His intimate conviction was, first of all, that the divorce would be an impolitic act; after that, he believed that the Emperor's attachment to Josephine was such that no consideration could decide him to pronounce it, and that consequently this prince had nothing to do with these manoeuvres.

When Napoleon returned, the Marshal was quickly proven wrong; the Emperor welcomed him coldly and immediately removed him from court by sending him to take up a command in Spain. The almost constant disfavour with which he was treated for several years proved to him that if Fouché had taken it upon himself to spread such rumours, at least he had not been disagreed with. Marshal Bessières was in South Beveland when the dissolution of Josephine's marriage to the Emperor was announced. On arriving in Paris in January 1810, he hastened to Malmaison to court the repudiated empress, and continued to be a regular visitor. Far from resenting him, the emperor seemed, on the contrary, to return some of the favour he had once shown him; he even chose this moment to spend two days at the Château de Grignon, owned by the marshal.

We have only had this one opportunity to see the emperor in his private life; we are going to recount how these two days passed. The character he displayed during these two days is quite unusual; besides, isn't everything of interest in the life of such a man?

Napoleon arrived at Grignon in the morning; his entourage was numerous; the King of Bavaria accompanied him, as well as the Queens of Naples and Holland and the Grand Duchess of Baden; then came the Prince de Neufchâtel, Grand Marshal Duroc, Marshals Moncey and Davoust, General Lauriston, Prince and Princess Aldobrandini Borghese, an equerry, a chamberlain, some officers of the hunt, the Duchesses of Bassano and Cassano, Madame de Broc and Mademoiselle de Mackau. When he got out of the carriage he went hunting; the park was very large and contained a lot of game; there was even a very fine pheasantry.

The emperor killed a large number of pheasants and partridges, but missed almost as many. Every time he fired his rifle, a hunting officer, standing next to him, whether the game fell or not, would still say "Broken wing, dangling thigh". Napoleon, who had misfired several times in succession, became impatient with this eternal refrain, and said at the last mention of a broken wing: "Well, go and fetch it". This order would have been difficult to carry out, because the bird was flying away. The clumsy courtier complied willingly and replied: "That's right, Sire, I was mistaken". After hunting for a few hours, the emperor retired to the appartment that had been prepared for him, and did not reappear until a few moments before dinner.

We do not know what whim had passed through the imperial mind, but Napoleon was already at table when he realised that he had forgotten to invite to dinner with him la Maréchale Duchesse d'Istrie, who had the honour of receiving him at her home, and, far from compensating her later for this singular distraction, he showed himself to be in a detestable mood towards her. Wanting to play the little game known as "le furet du bois joli", a piece of ribbon was needed; this was requested from Madame la Maréchale, who unfortunately did not have one in her possession; she enquired of all the other ladies to obtain it: Princess Aldobrandini was the only one who could provide her with this service. All these enquiries had taken a long time; so the emperor said to the maréchale, who presented it to him: "Since the time you have kept me waiting, you should have cut up all your dresses." - "Sire," replied this excellent woman, "if I had done so, it still would not have given you a single piece of ribbon." - We have never been able to find out the reasons for this rude behaviour on his part towards a woman of admirable and well-deserved reputation, who, sharing the Marshal's noble feelings, had not waited for his return to Paris before going to bring consolation to the august banished woman of Malmaison.

In the evening, the Marshal presented his aides-de-camp to the Emperor, who said to him on seeing the youngest: "Isn't it that little chap, Bessières, who, on the road to Wels, came to give me an inaccurate report about the direction you had made the cavalry take?" Despite the Marshal's protests, assuring him that the officer he was referring to was not at Grignon, he persisted for a long time in blaming this young man for the unfortunate blunder which was so close to his heart. In any case, he was only mistaken about the face of the culprit, for the fact was correct.

Afterwards there was dancing; everyone took part, whether they liked it or not, in this kind of entertainment, even the King of Bavaria, to whom the emperor said rather brusquely: "King of Bavaria, dance". And this monarch, then aged fifty-five, with a roundness that must have made this exercise very painful for him, hastened to take a dancer and place himself at one of the quadrilles. However, Napoleon had no grudge to satisfy against this sovereign at the time, so it did not occur to him to imitate our good Henry IV, who quickly made the king of the League, the Duke of Mayenne, walk through his park of Monceaux in revenge for the embarrassments the latter had caused him. But that was how Napoleon treated his vassal kings. No one, moreover, escaped his singular fantasies in this regard; the hero of Auerstædt and Ekmülh, whose appearance and manners were not particularly suited to this kind of pleasure, was also obliged to take part.

Though Davout apparently loved to waltz. It may just have been the wrong dance for him.

Not even the old duchess of Cassano, lady-in-waiting to the queen of Naples, who vainly objected to the dancer Napoleon sent her that she had given up dancing thirty years ago; she had to appear in a quadrille: the emperor wanted it that way. The public was not misled when it was said that the tune of Monaco was the one he preferred to any other, for it was repeated every time the emperor danced. The evening ended with the figure known as le grand-père.

Apparently Napoleon spent a good night because his attitude seems to have changed completely the next morning:

The day passed in much the same way as the day before, with the difference that Napoleon was constantly friendly to everyone and surprisingly cheerful for a man whose mind was always occupied with serious matters. The next day, at eight o'clock in the morning (it was winter at the time), it was unexpectedly announced that the emperor was leaving for Rambouillet; all the ladies who were travelling were obliged to throw themselves into the carriage, having barely had time to put on a dress. This sudden awakening, this lack of toiletries, did them no favours; there were only a few among them whose beauty, already tired by too many vigils, nevertheless triumphed over this harsh ordeal; we will mention the Queen of Naples, Madame de Broc and Princess Aldobrandini.

[flowwochair]

I cannot stop thinking about Must be Love by Laufey in an aimevout context specifically in Davout's perspective as he falls in love with Aimée, like just the line "You made a sappy stupid something out of me... The kind I swore I'd never be..." AGJSHHJFKJKDS CRYING AND SCREAMING AND THROWING FURNITURE YOU CANNOT TELL ME THIS ISN'T DAVOUT FALLING IN LOVE WITH AIMÉE PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS SONG AND THINK ABOUT WHAT I AM SAYING HERE

anyways, speaking of aimevout: I am planning to release the other chapters of my fic when I finish chapter 4, I didn't even realize till now but I received my ao3 invite finally, I'll post here when I upload the other chapters ^-^

[jksimmonscompletist]

The First Wives Club (1996)

Format: Live-action feature length movie.

Director: Hugh Wilson

Writer: Robert Harling

Is J.K. Simmons in this? Barely, but yes.

Who does he portray? A nameless federal marshall, acting (I believe) on behalf of the IRS.

What does he do? He announces himself and arrests a guy.

How bald is he? Reasonably bald. He's obviously not trying to hide it, but he's also kept a bit of a crown.

Is anybody else in this? Yes, it's mostly about women, so some of them are in this.

Is it worth seeing if I’m not a J.K. Simmons completist? It is. It's an uplifting and funny story about women finding comfort in each other's friendship and thriving in middle age after a divorce. Having watched it, it's a bit sad that I can't think of more movies in this mold, but this one is definitely worth checking out.

[ladykailolu]

Ok ragazzi, My Demon Slayer self-insert is married to Gyro, Jake, and Godot and had one kid with each of them.

But then they're never around because they're hunting down demons, and so the fathers raised the children.

[josefavomjaaga]

I have been thoroughly castigated by a couple of folks in the Naps community regarding my opinions/posts about the Lovely Louise.

Well, I can see how hard it is to accept that some people whom we were so fond of may have been quite the opposite of what we imagined. It's very much happened to me, and frankly, you ruined some wonderful story ideas I had had 😁. Thank you so much... 😥😉

But I feel it's so important to keep questioning the stuff we believe to know, and to look into how we came to acquire this knowledge. To look at events from new angles so we can see connections that so far have been overlooked. (And you feel about Louise Lannes very much like I feel about Hortense de Beauharnais.)

Louise Antoinette Scholastique Guéheneuc, Duchess of Montebello (1782-1856) by Pierre-Paul Prud’hon, 19th century

[moriaarts]

ARC Trooper Corporal Jaig

Blorbo the second, Jaig the ARC of the 343rd. In house mother and bleeding heart in disguise. With the text under the cut.

CT - 8407 “Jaig” has proven herself to be a survivor. Calm, collected and aloof, Jaig comes across as a cold and unapproachable soldier. But its a mask of a hunter observing the world for signs of danger.

The name “Jaig” was given to her early in the war when a B1 droid got in close and disarmed her. It’s not in Jaig nature to go down without a fight. It’s not in her nature to go down at all. All clones are trained in hand to hand combat, made stronger and more agile than base humans. But these are necessary against unyielding mechanical fists. Knocked off her feet by a metal backhand, she remember the raw of the wind across the sands, of the LAAT’s, of blaster fire.

She registers the B1s flooding in and going for her batchmates, her squadron, helmet forgotten she goes for the nearest one and shreds out the wires in its neck. It’s a valiant effort. It’s luck. The droid reaches back, grabbing her by the face to pull her off. It’s joints seize and all thats left as it turns on her is the command prompt to shoot and keep shooting. The fucker took her eye. Tore the skin off around it.

The scar that it left was triangular shaded, the skin too smooth for the rest of her face. A jaig eye, Jai’galaar’la sur’haii’se, a shreik-hawk eye, they said. Said her quick thinking took out a platoon of clankers when the droid she hardwired mindlessly shot a downed LAAT, blowing it, sending it crashing on top of the ones storming their trench. She just remembers being pissed because they knocked her bucket off and didn't finish the job. So she gets to trained as an ARC. It’s an honour. And she agrees but it doesn't feel real. Even assigned to the 21st Nova Corps, under the command of Commander Jet, Clone Marshal Commander Bacara, and General Ki Adi Mundi.

She never really like red. Liked the long kama though. She also had not like General Mundi. The rumour was that he had ten wives. The number changed depending on the battalion they were bunking with. It was more like four. But knowing the jedi’s no string policy she's even less of a fan. Even less in the coming months before. Jaig would be with the nova corps for few campaigns. Used to smile when Block chased her around with hair shears. How Duke would always grumbled getting dirt off his armour, and asked how she kept hers so clean and not smelling of wet bantha. But besides that she hadn't known much about herself until they had met them. Two of General Mundi’s wives met them at a medical station one a doctor the other visiting from a relief mission. Pamania. She was lovely. Covered in simple jedi cream robes all except for her eyes. Eyes of deep pools of dark purple, nebulas set in russet skin. They creased when she smiled. Lashes fluttered when she cried. They visited the medical base often. Pamania was gentle with them. Patient and kind, and fierce as a forests fire when they came back in a state. Jaig thinks she liked her. The first one to call her sister. The first to run fingers through her hair rather than playfully pull it when she gave her some self sacrificing crap. The first person to kiss her on the cheek and tell her she had a right to live in this world. War or no war.

Jaig had been younger then, Naive and unsure what to do with such gentle treatment. Who knew an innocent kiss to a clothed cheek would do such damage? Jet had scolded her and within a week she was decommissioned for improper behaviour, officially. Unofficially reassigned in shiny armour to the 343rd.  

Bonus:

Jaig loves the twins like her own. Especially Lash, whose quiet sarcasm is a family brand of deflection. She wants more with Ro, but Ro has a whole host of issues to make up with before Jaig is next in line. Doesn’t stop her having the ARF troopers back though. They both got on best, both being recon troops and with her 3rd in command and Ro in 2nd, they often share looks of exasperation and concern at the expense of Kiss.  

Here is Captain Kiss x and the rest of the company.

WIP Playlist

[josefavomjaaga]

The marshals' wives: first or family name?

Title is deliberately misleading because I'll be adding some husbands who were not marshals, simply because I do not have enough data (yet, I hope). This is something I've been wondering for some time: Some wives adressed their husbands in letters or private conversation by their first names, while others used the family name - which at least to me seems rather weird but apparently was far from uncommon. 

Can we put together a list of who did what? I wonder if there is a pattern.

In the "first name" camp, we find:

Aimée Davout (calling her marshal "Louis")

Auguste von Bayern (though I'm not sure how much weight her testimony has because apparently everybody called Eugène de Beauharnais simply "Eugène")

Hortense de Beauharnais (calling her husband "Louis")

ADDED: Laure Junot (at least sometimes referred to her husband as “Andoche”, thanks @snowv88)

In the "family name" camp, we have:

Josephine Bonaparte (still calling her Napoleon "Bonaparte" even when the latter was emperor)

Caroline Murat (calling her Joachim "Murat" in letters, I believe?)

Louise Lannes (? I think? She writes something like "Lannes has killed two wolves, you bet he's enjoying himself" to her mother from Portugal.)

Louise Soult-Berg (in her diary/itinerary, much to the astonishment of Soult's biographer Nicole Gotteri)

Cathérine Lefèbvre-Hübscher (apparently, at least she says "this still smells of Lefèbvre" when sniffing at her late husband's hat after his death, according to d’Agoult’s memoirs)

ADDED: Eugénie Oudinot (calls her husband “Oudinot”; thanks again @snowv88)

Does anybody have something to add to this list? How about Laure Junot? Julie Bonaparte? Désirée Bernadotte? Aglaé Ney? The wives of Larrey, Oudinot, Macdonald etc.? Are there letters from Madame Visconti to Marshal Berthier? Or from Elisabeth Berthier? Any letters or quotes by the wives of famous generals or other personalities of the era?

I would love to list as many examples as possible to see if people in both camps have something in common. Thanks to everybody who can help me out!

[sapphicbookclub]

Pride Flag Book Recs #4 🌈

Another pride month is upon us and as per tradition, I bring you more books to make your shelves more rainbow-er than ever!

If you missed the previous posts, find them here: #1, #2, #3.

Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott, Cow Girl by Kirsty Eyre, Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson, Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers, The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard

Easy Nevada and the Pyramid's Curse by Georgette Kaplan, The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark, The Unbroken by C. L. Clark, Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh, Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield

Scorpica by G. R. Macallister, Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan, Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield, Read Between the Lines by Rachel Lacey,  For Her Consideration by Amy Spalding

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake, Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather, The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri, Laurel Everywhere by Erin Moynihan, The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores

Catch and Cradle by Katia Rose, Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn, These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall, Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki, The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick

Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake, One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan, Afterlove by Tanya Byrne, The Shattered Lands by Brenna Nation

Happy Pride Month Reading!  ❤️💛🧡💚💙💜

[senechalum]

I found a CSP brush I'm in love with (finally)

I decided to work on facial expressions, inspired by their statues on Rivoli's street 👉👈

Yes, you can suggest 1 Marshal, General, or even their wives (bc I don't draw enough women) + 1 emotion and I'll try to draw it

Sorry for only posting sketches, I'm busy with work recently :c

[napoleonic-sexyman-tournament]

Arthur Wellesley:

"So, I saw that you had no propaganda for the Iron Duke himself and thought that should be corrected, because I cannot let this man go unloved.

He is the ultimate sexyman. I don't really get that title or the requirements but I do know this man and he is the ultimate in Regency-era sexiness.

Field Marshal Sir Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, whose full list of titles merits its own Wikipedia page, he had so many (including Prince of Waterloo of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), was so well known for his debonairness that he was often called "the Beau" or Beau Wellesley.

Our dear Duke with his eyes of "a brilliant light blue," is quite the underdog made good. The fourth son of an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family, he was a bit of a loner as a child, whose star was eclipsed by the academic success of his older and younger brothers. Yet he had a remarkable talent for the violin, which as we know from Mrs. Jefferson is quite a good quality for a man to have. As a young man he was considered extremely good humored and drew "much attention" from female society. The Napiers of Celbridge thought he was a "saucy stripling" and he was also considered quite mischievous. Yet he also had a rich inner life, reading and contemplating the great philosophers of the day.

Yes, we know about his military victories in the Peninsula (the position of Field Marshal of the British Army and the accompanying baton were created for him) and his success at Waterloo, but he was also both romantic and a ladies' man. (I could go on about the military success but that's not really what this is about, is it?)

Want the romantic side? He fell in love with Kitty Pakenham while a lowly aide-de-camp in Dublin but, with no real position or prospects, was laughed away by her brother when he sought to marry her. In a fit of pique he destroyed his violin and turned firmly toward progressing his career. Over a decade later, after he had made something of himself in India, he learned she hadn't married, supposedly because she was still pining for him. Reader, he married her, despite thinking she'd grown ugly, and got two children from her in less than two years. I'm not kidding, this man was virile. They married in April of 1806, their first son was born in February, 1807, and their second son was born in January 1808. Although he wasn't sexual faithful to her, Wellington wore an amulet she gave him for over twenty years, and was still wearing it when he sat with her on her deathbed. When she was surprised he still wore it, he told her if she'd just bothered to check in the last twenty years, she'd have found it. Despite surviving her by twenty years, the Duke never remarried.

Now, please don't think badly of him for the lack of sexual fidelity. It was the Georgian era. Sexual fidelity was not a part of marriage in high society. Men didn't sleep only with their wives and some wives could be quite happy with that (for one, it's much easier not to have one pregnancy after another when your husband is sleeping with someone else). Not that women weren't also sleeping around. Which brings me to one of Wellington's more… interesting conquests: Lady Caroline Lamb, wife of William Lamb (the future Second Viscount Melbourne and Prime Minister). Why do I know that name, you ask? The OG pixie manic dream girl, Caro's much more notably known for her affair with Lord Byron. After that particular bit of nonsense, she was in Brussels with the rest of the English aristocracy during the 100 Days/post Waterloo. She and the Duke supposedly slept together and she took his cloak away as a souvenir.

Who else did the Duke liaise with? Well, there were the usual flings with actresses and singers, such as La Grassini. As previously noted in another post on this tumblr, he was noted as a stronger, better lover than Napoleon by another of their mutual lovers. Wellington also was a client of Harriette Wilson. He visited her when she was in Paris after the Duke of Beaufort bought her off, though this was before Beaufort stopped paying her, prompting her to publish her memoirs. She canvassed her old lovers, including Wellington, to see if they'd pay her not to be in them. Wellington send her a note in return saying "Publish and be Damned." Something about his succinct dismissal of her is just so hot.

Oh, want a bit more of Wellington being a bad boy? In 1829, while Prime Minister, he got into a duel that still is commemorated almost two hundred years later. King's College, London, was set up while Wellington was also advocating for Catholic Emancipation and this led to Lord Winchilsea publicly insulting Wellington's honor to the point that the Duke (who'd never dueled before or supported dueling generally) called him out. They went to Battersea Fields and settled the matter with pistols. Wellington won and Winchelsea apologized. King's College celebrates "Duel Day" every March.

Even better, want to read about Elizabeth Bennet and the Duke being witty and falling in love? Complete with scenes of the Duke showing he knows what to do with his cannon? Then let me recommend the third variation of An Ever Fixed Mark, A Dalliance with the Duke. I dare you not to vote for him for all eternity with that portrayal in your head."

Emma, Lady Hamilton:

a. “Her boyfriend got bored with her and passed her onto his uncle. Reader, she married him, and started having threesomes with Lord Nelson. She basically bullied her way into social acceptance despite being a former courtesan. Also, she was hot as hell.”

[bones4thecats]

I see you have your requests open! :D

May I please request Loki, Shiva, Thor and Beelzebub from SNV with a S/O who's like Hastur/The King In Yellow from Lovecraftian mythos?

(They walk around in a tattered yellow cloak and a crown, maybe have more than 2 eyes?) Humans are terrified of them and are even scared to mention their name. How would they react to seeing their S/o in their cosmic horror/non-humanoid for for the first time?

(Sorry if it's a little long... Have a great day! 🥰)

A/N: This has to be one of my favorite requests ever! I love H.P. Lovecraft and other mythical writers, and Hastur has to be one of my favorite creations in these stories! Now, before I start rambling again, enjoy!!

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

Known as the God of Shepherds, you were feared by many, so feared that the mention of your name scared others to their core. 

You were set in a battle against a human known as William Marshal, the Most Loyal Knight in History. 

Your yellow cloak hung to your form as the man pulled out his sword and began his attack while Humanity and the Gods’ roars echoed throughout the arena.

The Gods had put up a barrier protecting the people inside, knowing if you got too mad, the ring would get destroyed very quickly. 

William was getting on your nerves as he sliced off six of your tentacles.

Ragged breathing filled the ears of everyone in the arena as you grew in size, your frame becoming unrecognizable as you began to fight with all the being you contained.

Everyone was shocked, but your husband was the most shocked…

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

🐍 Loki watched as you grew in size and his eyes widened, you had never gotten this mad while in battle

🐍 He yelled in anger as one of William’s sword’s hit your appendages, cheering as your threw him to the opposite side of the arena

🐍 The sound of colliding weapons echoed as the Valkyrie transformed into a sword and shield, protecting the former knight

🐍 But it was no match for your strength

“ You humans are pathetic, when you want something you get arrogant and expect more, yet when you don’t get it, you get mad and petty like nothing. “ “ You know nothing of Humanity… monster. “ “ Good riddance, worm. “

🐍 Loki was so proud as you slayed the human for his disrespect of his creators

🐍 Now he had to wait for his round and you to join him, or maybe he’d visit you? Who know~

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

🪩 Shiva watched with his wives, son, and pantheon as you grew in size and became your true form

🪩 He smirked as William’s valkyrie stepped back and became a sword and shield

“ Idiot humans. They think they can defeat Y/N. “

🪩 You glared at the human as he fought you, trying to hit you with any chance he could take, honestly it was quite pathetic

🪩 Though even Shiva had to admit, the human was quite smart with his hits

🪩 But his brain was no match for your anger

🪩 You grabbed him with a rogue tentacle and threw him against the wall before chocking out his valkyrie and snapping his neck

🪩 Shiva laughed as Humanity cried, they really believed that human had a chance against you? The Hindu God of Shepherds? The one everyone feared so much as to not mumble their name?

🪩 After you were dragged to the infirmary, he visited with his wives and son

🪩 They checked your pale face and dark eyes and scolded you for letting your emotions get out of hand, in which Ganesha hugged you, asking how you were

🪩 Shiva just stood off to the side and waited for them all to leave, and when they did, he gave you the biggest hug and happiest smile you’d ever seen him give anyone

“ Good job, my dearest. “

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

🌩️ You and him were not ones to anger, as it lead to major destruction

🌩️ And anyone could tell this was one of the rare moments of your anger taking over

🌩️ Thor stood up and watched as the human’s valkyrie protected him, giving the most bloodthirsty smirk as the duo talked about how they would destroy you

🌩️ How pathetically arrogant

🌩️ You mopped the floor with them with so little energy

“ Remind me to never prank them anytime soon. “

🌩️ Odin looked at Loki and back at Thor, he could tell his son was admiring his S/O’s battle with so much love and dedication

🌩️ Now everyone knew why you guys got married

🌩️ You had the same amount of bloodthirstiness inside, hidden behind a dead and cold appearing front

🌩️ Once the battle ended, Thor met you at the entrance, assisting you to the infirmary, and when you were all healed, he hugged you from behind while resting

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

🪰 Beelzebub was getting bored of watching these battles, but seeing you walk onto the field made him perk up

🪰 He knew you were getting mad with the human’s attacks with the support of his valkyrie, but he didn’t know you were that mad

🪰 You stood tall and launched the biggest and most dangerous assault that you ever had before

🪰 Your husband watched with interest as you kept throwing and harming the human with bloodlust driving through your head

🪰 He was monitoring how plagued your mind was getting, and when he saw the human nearly dead, he messaged Zeus, telling him to wrap this up, saying you were about to the level of genocidal rage

🪰 Beelzebub watched you get dragged away while William shattered away, his smirk ever present as he looked over your sitting form

🪰 Your pale face still had some blood from the human, so he wiped it away and patted your head

“ My wilted rose, my heart fluttered as you fought. “

[josefavomjaaga]

Thank you for putting together this list! Davout may have had a bit more time with his family than Soult, but surely not as much as both spouses would have loved to have. 😥

How Long Was Davout Separated From His Family After 1805?

@josefavomjaaga reblogged your post:

When did Davout even get home to France after he had marched out for the Third Coalition War in autumn 1805? Does somebody know?

This is an interesting question that I am attempting to answer. I know that Marshal Soult after leaving camp in Boulogne in 1805 almost never returned to France until he was finally able to in 1813, and Marshal Davout was likely to have a similar situation.

According to Davout's biographer, he had not had leave since the army left camp in Boulogne and was set to stay with the III Corps even as it settled down in Southern Germany throughout 1806. However, in September 1806, Napoleon granted both Ney and Davout leave to go back to France as both their wives had given birth to children,

You may grant to Marshal Davout a leave of absence for twenty days for the same reasons [as Marshal Ney] and on the same conditions -- if he wishes to take advantage of it

In Davout's case, this child, named Josephine, would be his first to survive infancy after the sad deaths of the previous two.

Sadly Davout was not to stay with his family and new daughter for long as he was ordered to return to his Corps by the 28th of September for the 1806 Prussian campaign. Davout arrived in Paris on the 15th...

Davout was with the army the rest of 1806 and the whole of 1807. He was in Poland in 1807 where he was helping administer the Duchy of Warsaw alongside Prince Poniatowski. He had submitted another request for leave which was rejected as his presence in Poland was crucial. I think he wanted to go back as Aimée had given birth in July 1807 and probably wanted to be with her. However, in April of 1808, Aimée went to Poland to visit him, bringing their two infant daughters with her. It's not very clear but Aimée probably stayed in Poland until 1809 when Davout had to leave for the 1809 Austrian campaign in the middle of March that year. She also gave birth to another child, a son, during that time.

The best years of Davout's life during the Empire years were probably in 1810 as after the 1809 campaign, there was peace in central Europe for the first time in many years. This allowed Davout to leave his Corps stationed in Germany to return home to his family. He was able to spend a whole ten months with Aimée and the children. Sadly, the son that was born in 1809 died which plunged Aimée into inconsolable grief, similarly to the first two deaths.

In 1811, Davout was stationed in Hamburg but he managed to race back to be with his wife after the birth of another son. 1812, the Russian campaign, we know how that went. Davout took part in it and after the disastrous retreat was sent to Hamburg again and would remain there until Napoleon's first abdication in 1814. During that time, Aimée was able to visit him once in 1813 after the birth of their seventh child, a son, as Davout's leave had once again, been cancelled.

So as we can see, Davout was luckier than some of the Marshals were, especially Soult. He was able to go home and spend time with his wife and kids. Aimée himself too visited Davout at some of his various postings which were probably a source of strength and comfort for him.

Gallaher, John. The Iron Marshal: A Biography of Louis N. Davout. The United States of America: Southern Illinois University Press, 1976.

[nesiacha]

Camille Desmoulins and Antoine-François Momoro

Antoine-François Momoro Camille Desmoulins

I couldn't say exactly how, but I have the impression that the printer-bookseller Antoine-François Momoro and the pamphleteer Camille Desmoulins had very opposite paths and were very different despite having similarities, if you know what I mean. Camille Desmoulins was a republican from the start, while Momoro was cautious on the matter and hesitated to publish Desmoulins' pamphlet "La France Libre" in June 1789, only releasing it on July 17, 1789. However, Momoro increasingly engaged in the revolution, eventually becoming one of its key figures and a regular at the Cordeliers Club. He was arrested after the Flight to Varennes, having signed the Champ de Mars petition. Desmoulins, on the other hand, had to go into exile. In this regard, they shared the common ground of being among the harshest critics of the monarchy, although Desmoulins had been vocal much earlier, opposing the property-based suffrage in 1789 and circulating 3,000 copies of his journal "Les Révolutions de France et de Brabant." During the Varennes episode, Momoro ensured that many issues of the Cordeliers Club Journal, which became virulent towards the king due to his escape, were distributed.

Both Camille Desmoulins and Momoro participated in the events of August 10, 1792. While Desmoulins left his mark as a key figure of July 14, 1789, Momoro, alongside Mayor Pache, inscribed the words "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" on public buildings in the summer of 1793. Both played roles in the expulsion of the Girondins. Desmoulins was elected to the Convention, whereas Momoro, though not elected, played a significant role in the Paris Commune, overseeing supplies and soldier morale, among other tasks. He recruited volunteers from various departments and regions and was sent to Vendée alongside Charles Philippe Ronsin. Both men remained actively involved in what was considered a faction until the end, in contrast to their leaders Danton and Hébert, who were less ardent or coherent (although there were no real leaders, if you understand my point).

Their wives played more significant political roles alongside their companions than often portrayed in films. Lucile Desmoulins' journal shows her as a fervent critic of the monarchy, writing dark texts about Marie-Antoinette, approving the King's execution, and defending Camille when the future Marshal Brune asked him to temper his critiques in "Le Vieux Cordelier." Sophie Fournier, Momoro's wife, played a crucial role in her husband's dechristianization campaign, representing the Goddess of Reason armed with a pike at each ceremony (when you consider the struggle of the women of the Revolution to bear arms, in my opinion, it only demonstrates her great determination ). Both Momoro and Desmoulins had only one son from their marriages, and their wives were subject to sexist attacks, similar to Manon Roland, Louise Gély, Marie Françoise Goupil, and even Marie-Antoinette.

However, their paths diverged significantly. Initially cautious, Momoro became increasingly revolutionary, ultimately considered an ultra-revolutionary, while Desmoulins became more moderate. Momoro began to advocate for property rights redistribution, a stance not shared by Desmoulins or many Montagnards, who were moderate on this issue. Momoro supported de-Christianization, while Desmoulins opposed it. Momoro called for harsher measures against counter-revolutionary suspects, whereas Desmoulins, in "Le Vieux Cordelier," called for leniency (except for approve the mock trial of the Hébertists) and advocated for the mass release of counter-revolutionary suspects, many of whom were innocent. During the harsh winter of 1793-1794, Momoro prioritized the suffering of the Parisian masses, a concern Desmoulins did not share.

Despite this, Momoro and many considered Hébertists were sent to the guillotine. It is said that Momoro died bravely, like most of his colleagues except Hébert (his bravery was remarkable given that his wife Sophie was arrested ten days after him, and he knew she could die, yet he refused to show fear in public). Desmoulins, calm when preparing for death, panicked when Lucile was arrested (as unjustly as the arrests of the Hébert and Momoro wives) and expressed his despair all the way to the scaffold. The most horrifying part is that Desmoulins and Momoro learned of their wives' arrests the day before their execution.

My personal reflections: Honestly, I believe there is a golden legend about Camille Desmoulins, which he does not deserve, and a black legend about Momoro's faction, which is also undeserved . As I mentioned in this post https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/744960791081631744/the-difference-in-treatment-between-the-indulgents?source=share, in my eyes, Camille Desmoulins is highly overrated. While I do not deny his talents, I do not think he was fit for great responsibilities, unlike men he mocked, like Ronsin, Saint-Just, or Momoro, who worked tirelessly during the revolution's most challenging period. I must say in my eyes that once Desmoulins became a Convention deputy, he seemed to rest more than other revolutionaries. Consider Sonthonax, labeled a Girondin, who accepted a mission to Saint Domingue to better fight against colonizers who denied equal rights between people of color and whites, or Condorcet, who worked with Carnot on women's education with Pastoret and Guilloud, or Charles Philippe Ronsin. Many members of the Committee of Public Safety had grueling schedules in addition to their missions. Other Convention deputies, unlike Desmoulins, were sent on missions, such as Charles Gilbert Romme (and many others). While Desmoulins advocated leniency in "Le Vieux Cordelier," he approves the mock trial that led to the Hébertists' guillotining and said nothing about their wives' arrests (perhaps he planned to call for their release to be fair, but I don't know). Besides being partly responsible for the fall of the Brissotins, he remained silent on the illegal harassment Jacques Roux faced, leading to his suicide, and once said he understood the need to curb liberty for the people's salvation. Nonetheless, Camille Desmoulins should never have been arrested, let alone executed, as he only wrote articles.

In comparison, Momoro, a victim of a black legend, was clearly more honest about following a consistent line. Initially more cautious than Desmoulins in 1789, he ultimately advocated for more social rights. Despite not being elected to the Convention, he played a significant role in the Paris Commune, carrying out various missions during the revolution's most challenging period, from late 1792 to early 1794. During the Convention's invasions, he was among those who demanded vital laws for the revolution, such as the maximum or the revolutionary army's levy. His attempted insurrection was mainly due to the severe suffering of the Parisian masses in the winter of 1793-1794 and the frequent attacks on the Hébertists by the Convention (the arrests of Ronsin and Vincent in 1793), while dubious characters like Danton were free. Momoro was never rehabilitated, unlike Desmoulins, who was falsely accused of sabotaging supplies and destroying his reputation by accumulating 190,000 livres in cash, although he always refused to elevate himself, leaving behind only 26 livres and 400 livres in assignats. As Mathiez Albert, a historian harsh on Robespierre's opponents, said, "One of the main leaders of this Hébertist party, who first tried to translate and represent the popular aspirations against the wealthy bourgeois of the Convention [...] He died poor, as he had lived."

However, Momoro also had his faults, and Desmoulins was right on some points. Nothing is entirely black or white, especially among revolutionaries. The dechristianization campaigns often caused problems for the French Revolution. I understand the anger of incorruptible revolutionaries like Momoro, given the religious intolerance of that time, but intolerance cannot be fought with more intolerance. These campaigns also alienated many French people.

Moreover, if Desmoulins had dubious political allies in Danton, Momoro could be worst. He counted as an ally the horrible Nantes drowner, Carrier (Momoro didn't drown people by the way, but still a bad point for him...). Many French Revolution characters made alliances with dubious figures (like Robespierre, who knew the criticisms against Danton were well-founded but largely allied with him until a certain point), but it's still a big no for me for the alliance with Carrier. Not with one of the most hateful characters of the French Revolution. His last insurrection attempt, which led to his guillotining, was understandable, but the Convention was at a critical point and could not afford a new insurrection. Unlike Hanriot and Chaumette, he was not lucid enough on this point. He should have been more lenient with the suspect laws. Plus let's not forget that the faction call hebertist who after denunce the faction call enragés took them petition.

Even if I am harsh on Camille Desmoulins, I must acknowledge his great courage and contributions to the French Revolution, and like Momoro, he never betrayed his principles. Moreover, I fully agree with him on press freedom and often highlight his reasoning on freedom of expression. It's worth noting that Camille Desmoulins' father died shortly after his son's execution, heartbroken by his loss, just as Momoro's mother, a servant in Besançon, died a week or two after her son's death. Regardless of what one might say, both revolutionaries earned the right to be considered important figures in the 1789-1794 period.

I would like to end with two phrases these two revolutionaries reportedly said shortly before their deaths:

Momoro, during his condemnation: "I am accused, I who gave everything for the Revolution!"

Camille Desmoulins in jail : "I had dreamed of a republic that everyone would have adored."

P.S.: I have searched everywhere for a biography of Sophie Fournier, Momoro's wife. I found it in PDF and French, but I don't know its value.

Here is the link : https://www.sh6e.com/images/publications/Lettre_d_information/2023_05_Lettre_info_Sh6.pdf

[nerdsbianhokie]

Reading the World

In 2023, I challenged myself to watch a movie from every country in the world during the year, which I more or less succeeded. At the start of this year I decided to read a book from every country in the world (without the time restraint) and got a map to track my progress along with a challenge on Story Graph.

List of countries and books below the cut

Current count: 41

Afghanistan:

Albania:

Algeria:

American Samoa:

Andorra: Andorra: a play in twelve scenes by Max Frisch

Angola: The Whistler by Ondjaki

Anguilla:

Antigua and Barbuda:

Argentina: Our Share of the Night by Mariana Enríquez

Armenia:

Aruba:

Australia: Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia edited by Alexis West

Austria:

Azerbaijan:

Bahamas:

Bahrain:

Bangladesh:

Barbados:

Belarus:

Belgium:

Belize:

Benin:

Bermuda:

Bhutan: Folktales of Bhutan by Kunzang Choden

Bolivia:

Bosnia and Herzegovina:

Botswana:

Brazil:

British Virgin Islands:

Brunei:

Bulgaria:

Burkina Faso:

Burundi:

Cambodia:

Cameroon: The Impatient by Djaïli Amadou Amal

Canada: The Gift is in the making: Anishinaabeg Stories retold by Amanda Strong and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Canary Islands: Dogs of Summer by Andrea Abreu

Cape Verde:

Cayman Islands:

Central African Republic: Co-wives, Co-widows by Adrienne Yabouza

Chad:

Chile: The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernández

China: The Secret Talker by Geling Yan

Christmas Islands:

Cocos Islands:

Colombia:

Comoros:

Cook Islands:

Costa Rica:

Croatia:

Cuba:

Curacao:

Cyprus:

Czech Republic:

Dem. Rep. of Congo:

Denmark:

Djibouti:

Dominica:

Dominican Republic:

Ecuador:

Egypt:

El Salvador:

Equatorial Guinea:

Eritrea:

Estonia:

Eswatini:

Ethiopia:

Falkland Islands:

Faroe Islands:

Fiji:

Finland:

France: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

French Guiana:

French Polynesia:

Gabon:

Gambia:

Georgia:

Germany: At the Edge of the Night by Friedo Lampe

Ghana: Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey

Gibraltar:

Greece:

Greenland:

Grenada:

Guam:

Guatemala:

Guernsey:

Guinea:

Guinea-Bissau:

Guyana:

Haiti:

Honduras:

Hong Kong:

Hungary:

Iceland:

India: Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir Of Surviving India's Caste System by Yashica Dutt

Indonesia:

Iran: Darius the Great is Not Okay by Abid Khorram

Iraq: Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

Ireland:

Isle of Man:

Israel:

Italy:

Ivory Coast:

Jamaica: When Life Gives You Mangos by Kereen Getten

Japan:

Jordan:

Kazakhstan:

Kenya:

Kiribati:

Kosovo:

Kuwait:

Kyrgyzstan:

Laos:

Latvia:

Lebanon: Beirut Hellfire Society by Rawi Hage

Lesotho:

Liberia:

Libya: Zodiac of Echoes by Khaled Mattawa

Liechtenstein:

Lithuania:

Luxembourg:

Macedonia:

Madagascar:

Malawi:

Malaysia:

Maldives:

Mali:

Malta:

Marshall Islands:

Mauritania:

Mauritius:

Mexico: Silver Nitrate by Silvia Morena-Garcia

Micronesia:

Moldova:

Monaco:

Mongolia:

Montenegro:

Montserrat:

Morocco:

Mozambique:

Myanmar: Smile as They Bow by Nu Nu Yi

Namibia:

Nauru:

Nepal:

Netherlands: We Had to Remove this Post by Hanna Bervoets

New Caledonia:

New Zealand:

Nicaragua:

Niger:

Nigeria: Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

Niue:

Norfolk Island:

North Korea: A Thousand Miles to Freedom: My Escape from North Korea by Eunsun Kim

Northern Mariana Islands:

Norway: Blind Goddess by Anne Holt

Oman:

Pakistan: Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H

Palau:

Palestine: The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher

Panama:

Papua New Guinea:

Paraguay:

Peru:

Philippines:

Pitcairn Islands:

Poland: Return from the Stars by Stanisław Lem

Portugal:

Puerto Rico:

Qatar:

Rep. of the Congo:

Romania:

Russia:

Rwanda: Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin

Saint Barthelemy:

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha:

Saint Kitts and Nevis:

Saint Lucia:

Saint Martin:

Saint Pierre and Miquelon:

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines:

Samoa: Where We Once Belonged by Sia Figiel

San Marino:

Sao Tome and Principe:

Saudi Arabia:

Senegal:

Serbia:

Seychelles:

Sierra Leone:

Singapore:

Sint Maarten:

Slovakia:

Slovenia:

Solomon Islands:

Somalia:

South Africa:

South Korea: The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong -Mo

South Sudan:

Spain:

Sri Lanka: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

Sudan: The Translator: A Memoir by Daoud Hari

Suriname:

Sweden: Fire from the Sky by Moa Backe Åstot

Switzerland:

Syria: The Book Collectors: A Band of Syrian Rebels and the Stories That Carried Them Through a War by Delphine Minoui

Taiwan:

Tajikistan: The Sandalwood Box: Folk Tales from Tadzhikistan by Hans Baltzer

Tanzania:

Thailand:

Togo:

Tokelau:

Tonga:

Trinidad and Tobago:

Tunisia:

Turkey:

Turkmenistan:

Turks and Caicos Islands:

Tuvalu:

Uganda:

Ukraine:

United Arab Emirates:

United Kingdom: Poyums by Len Pennie

United States of America: Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal & Sovereignty in Native America by Gregory D. Smithers

United States Virgin Islands:

Uruguay:

Uzbekistan:

Venezuela: Doña Barbara by Rómulo Gallegos

Vietnam:

Wallis and Futuna:

Western Sahara:

Yemen:

Zambia:

Zimbabwe: We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

[probablyasocialecologist]

While home interiors depicted a blissful atomic future, their occupants lived in an age of revanchist conservatism. American society had become increasingly atomized and patriarchal during this time. Women were important contributors to wartime atomic science: Maria Goeppert-Mayer worked on the Manhattan project, and was awarded a Nobel Prize for her contributions to science by 1963; Leona Woods Marshall Libby worked in Enrico Fermi’s lab at the University of Chicago, where she demonstrated the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. When men returned from war, many women were discouraged from continuing their careers as scientists, technologists, and academics. As mainly white working women became wives in picket-fenced suburbia, they turned to the domestic affairs of the home to regain some control. As such, the demand for Atomic Age style was created by these women’s purchasing decisions. Atomic aesthetics in the home eventually served to “feminize” the atom, further domesticating its image.

[...]

Beauty queens and pin-up girls proliferated after World War II. The new vogue for radioactivity reached pageantry, with new beauty contests celebrating all things nuclear. From Miss Atomic Blast to Miss Atomic Bomb, this cheerful embodiment of lethal nukes has been described variously as commercializing, feminizing, and disarming the atom. By 1955, atomic pageantry had diversified to celebrate and normalize uranium mining and nuclear energy, as Colorado and Utah became home to expansive uranium mining programs. In a contest sponsored by the Uranium Ore Producers Association and the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce to celebrate Colorado’s uranium mining boom, the winning Miss Atomic Energy was rewarded with a truckload of uranium ore worth approximately $5000 in today’s money — and a trophy in the shape of Rutherford’s iconic atomic model. The bikini bathing suit debuted in 1946, taking its name from Bikini Atoll, where the U.S. undertook its first nuclear weapon detonations since Hiroshima. Louis Réard’sdesignwas itself derived from a less revealing French design created by Jacques Heim, known as “L’atome.” Both garments played with the semiotics of nuclear warfare. Models were initially scandalized by the bikini’s skimpiness and refused to wear it. By 1951, however, a bikini round had been integrated into the annual Miss World competition, further linking the atom with ideals of feminine beauty. 

[josefavomjaaga]

That's really amusing. Especially the part about the "pompous proclamations" - is he trying to imply there were proclamations at the time that were not? If so, I have yet to find them

As to the singer in Turin whom he was allegedly "besotted" about - considering that Soult had his wife with him at the time, I would love to learn more details! 😋 Must have been quite the situation in Turin.

Amusing (to me) Description of Soult

"A curious type of man, this Soult; a soldier with the temperament of a politician. The son of a notary, he had a very sketchy classical education, but had acquired a taste for pompous proclamations. He had a haughty manner which went with his severe mien - although he did not look people in the face. As with many senior officers raised under the Revolution, money did not displease him. His contemporaries spoke with admiration, or with snigger of envy, of the magnificent balls followed by suppers which he gave in 1800 at the Duke of Aosta's palace at Turin in honour of a singer about whom he was besotted.

Later, his immense fortune, which Napoleon was not alone in regarding with reservations, allowed him to fulfil his obligations opulently. People did not visit him solely to dine or sup, but also to admire - with murmured observations - his superb picture gallery."

Georges Blond. La Grande Armée. 1997.