#smth smth fear of the public kills acts of good or whatever

[bowan]

i feel like certain ppl don't understand that acts of kindness carry weight bc it involves risk. like risking safety or being scammed. the possibility of burdening somebody, being an intrusion or assuming too much of someone. some people want to feel like they're doing good but are like. cowardly abt it.

[nordleuchten]

Heyy,, gn (or gm), but I'd like to know if you've ever talked about Lafayette's death/funeral here? And if you've never, I'd love to read smth about it.

Tyvm <3

Thank you for the question, @msrandonstuff!

I think I wrote on occasions about La Fayette’s death but I never got into too great detail about his funeral - what is really quite a shame on my part, because his funeral was an event that enthralled all of Paris that day.

La Fayette’s health:

La Fayette was generally a person of robust health. He had a strong constitution that was able to withstand quite a lot, especially during his younger years. Something that seemed to trouble him however were fevers. In his 20 up until his 40, we see a number of letters where he either wrote that he had a fever in the past or that he was currently affected by a fever. There were also a number of times were he had to re-schedule a meeting or a different event because he was overwhelmed by a fever. Two of his three most serious ailments during the Revolutionary War, were fevers. First it was an “inflammatory fever” (very likely something like Typhus) in Fishkill in November 1778. In September of 1781 he was in Virginia and again ill with a fever (most likely malaria this time). With these two incidents as the exception, his fevers were always of a less serious nature, usually lasing only a day or two. It also seems as if he never had any serious re-lapses of malaria.

During his time in prison, La Fayette’s health took a drastic turn for the worse. He was constantly ill. His health was once or twice even so bad that he thought he would die in prison. His health was also bad enough to repeatedly convince his jailors to grant him some measures of relief; otherwise, they feared he would die under their watch. During this time we again see fevers but also diseases of the lungs.

After his release, La Fayette relatively quickly recovered his health but his lungs seemed to never be quite what they were before. The years in damp, cold and sometimes mouldy cells definitely took their toll.

Nevertheless, his health remained quite good up until shortly prior to his death. As he got older, La Fayette gained weight and was afflicted by gout, he fell and broke his femur and this incident left him lame for the rest of his life, add to that the “typical ailments of age” and you basically have La Fayette’s state of health in his later years. But again, he was still doing fairly well, his gout was quite mild and did not trouble him too often and after the initial scare of the incident had passed, he also could manage well enough with his leg.

La Fayette’s death:

Things went downhill in late 1833/early 1834. La Fayette had a number of largely unrelated complaints. His gout was acting up, he had a urinary tract infection, stomach problems - nothing pleasant but overall not too worrisome. On February 1, 1834 La Fayette attended the funeral of one of his dearest friends, François-Charles Dulong. He even was one of the pallbearers. Dulong had served alongside him in the National Assembly and had been killed in a duel with a political rival. The weather was bad, it was cold and rainy but La Fayette was insisted on attending and going on foot to the graveside. When he came home, he was already in a terrible condition. Most (modern) sources say he contracted pneumonia but it just as well could have been pleurisy or something of the sort. More contemporary sources described it as a “chest cold” - whatever it was, La Fayette had a high fever and his lungs and chest greatly troubled him. His doctors, family and the general public were greatly concerned (so concerned indeed that his doctors started to usher bulletins) but after about three weeks La Fayette was on the mend again. Not quite recovered yet but his life was not any longer in danger. On May 9, he took a stroll in his (open) carriage and was completely soaked as the weather took a turn for the worse. He again was treated but this time it seemed like the Marquis was fighting his last battle.

During this last illness, La Fayette was never alone. His children and grand-children, sometimes even his great-grand-children, very close friends, his trusted valet Bastien - somebody was always, always, at his bedside. Given the turbulent times and his turbulent life, it surely was a great blessing for La Fayette to die peacefully in his bed in France, surrounded by his family and loved ones.

Although La Fayette had readily accepted his fate he did not like to be falsely proclaimed dead. Jules Germain Cloquet, one of the doctors in attendance and also a personal friend of La Fayette wrote in his book [1]:

One morning, on my [Cloquet’s] arrival, Lafayette regarded me with a smile, and giving me his hand, exclaimed, “The Swiss Gazette has just killed me, and yet you knew nothing of the matter! Nay, more; -that I might die in due form, the celebrated Doctor ***, whom I hardly know, has been consulted.” He then handed me the paper which contained the false statement, adding, “After that, believe the public journals if you can!”

No, La Fayette was not happy about that. Dying was fine, being pronounced dead by a Swiss newspaper was however not fine. Another story goes that Cloquet and his colleague Doctor Guersent wanted to call in some more of their colleagues, maybe some of them had any better ideas how to treat La Fayette. La Fayette however declined and as Cloquet did not seem to yield, La Fayette asked why the doctors were so insisted. Guersent said [1]:

We wish to restore you as soon as possible to health, for we are responsible for your situation towards your family, your friends , and the French nation, of whom you are the father.

To which La Fayette replied smiling [1]:

Yes, (…) their father (…) on condition that they never follow a syllable of my advice.

La Fayette died on May 20, 1834, a little after four o’clock in the morning (some secondary books say it was four o’clock in the afternoon, but that is almost certainly wrong, because we have the report of Cloquet who contradicts this) surrounded by his family. I let his doctor and friend Cloquet describe La Fayette’s last moments [1]:

On the 20th of May, about one o’clock in the morning, the seriousness of the symptoms increased. Respiration, which for the last eight and forty hours had been much impeded, became still more difficult, and the danger of suffocation was more imminent. Drowsiness, delirium, and prostration of strength, became more decidedly pronounced, and at twenty minutes past four o’clock in the morning Lafayette expired in our arms!

A few moments before he breathed his last, Lafayette opened his eyes, and fixed them with a look of affection on his children, who surrounded his bed, as if to bless them and bid them an eternal adieu. He pressed my hand convulsively, experienced a slight degree of contraction in the forehead and eye-brows, and drew in a deep and lengthened breath, which was immediately followed by a last sigh. His pulse, which had not lost its force, suddenly ceased to beat. A murmuring noise was still heard about the region of the heart. To produce re-animation we employed stimulating frictions, in vain: ‑ the General had ceased to exist. His countenance resumed a calm expression, ‑ that of peaceful slumber His end was that of a good man, who abandons the world without fear or remorse (…)

His son send cards to all of his father’s friends, informing them of his passing:

General Lafayette was taken from his family and his country on May 20. In accordance with his last wishes, his coffin was placed in the Picpus Cemetery, where his lifelong partner already rests and where the same tomb will reunite them.

La Fayette’s funeral:

Now here is where things get quite interesting. La Fayette was a very prominent figure in France and at the time of his death once again beloved by many people. It was readily accepted that La Fayette would receive the honour of a great state-funeral. The French King at the time, Louis-Philippe I, saw himself confronted with a bid of a problem. First, his relationship with La Fayette had greatly deteriorated over the last years (to the point where La Fayette had supported a plot to overthrow him :-)) and he really did not feel like giving La Fayette a great funeral. The second problem was far more grave though. Only two years prior, in June of 1832, during the funeral of General Lamarque the people had ceased the opportunity and both Bonapartist as well as Republicans took to the street and rioted. The events of June 5 and 6 are today known as the June Rebellion and are immortalised in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. You can debate to what extend Lamarque’s funeral was the catalyst for the riots or simply provided the opportunity - anyhow, the government was fairly certain that La Fayette’s funeral would spark a similar uprising. Denying him a proper funeral on the other hand would also not sit well with the people. The King and the government settled therefore on a middle ground. La Fayette would receive a grand martial funeral with full military honours. Doesn’t sound too bad, or?

Well, the thing was, this type of funeral strictly excluded the public. His family as well as military and political dignitaries were allowed to attend. Three hundred members of “his” National Guard were also permitted to follow the casket, the were granted leave to wear their full-dress uniforms but they were not allowed to carry their weapons. The casket was brought from La Fayette’s residence in the rue d’Anjou to the Church of the Assumption and thence to La Fayette’s last resting place in the Picpus Cemetery where he was laid to rest beside his beloved wife Adrienne. His valet Bastien, who had cared for La Fayette during his last days with the patience of a saint, walked behind the casket with a velvet cushion bearing La Fayette’s sword and his epaulettes. There were nine pallbearers, carefully selected to represent the causes and groups that La Fayette was close to. His son Georges Washington, Marquis de La Fayette, sprinkled the soil collected from Bunker Hill onto his father’s coffin. There were no eulogies, partially because the rules of the (privately owned) cemetery prohibited them, partially because the government forbade any eulogies as well as any other form of recognition of La Fayette’s passing.

Cloquet described parts of the funeral in his book [1] :

The corners of the pall were borne by Messrs. Jacques, Laffitte, Salverte, and Odillon Barrot, for the Chamber of Deputies; M. Eugene Laffitte, for the National Guard; General Fabvier, for the army; Mr. Barton, Secretary of Legation, in the absence of his father-in-law, Mr. Livingston, for the United States of America; General Ostrowski, for Poland; and an Elector of Meaux, for the electoral colleges. Tricoloured standards, piled together, adorned each corner of the bier, which was immediately followed by Bastien, bearing on a black velvet cushion the sword and the epaulettes which had been worn by Lafayette as Commandant of the National Guards. The body was accompanied by an immense crowd from the Rue d'Anjou as far as the church of the Assumption. The National Guards, in full dress, and with mourning scarfs on their arms, formed , with the regular troops, a double line on each side of the cortège. The church porch was already filled with these old soldiers of Lafayette, who, on the arrival of the bier, rushed towards the coffin, and disputed with each other the honour of carrying it into the sanctuary. Every man wished to approach the mortal remains of the General, and to touch at least his shroud as a last testimony of respect and regret.

While there were no uprisings that day, the public had very mixed feelings about the funeral and how it took place. Some sources claim that around 200.000 people flogged the streets to have one last look at “their General” but La Fayette’s funeral was heavily guarded (I am not referring to the three hundred National Guardsmen, no, I am speaking about the great number of heavily armed soldiers who were tasked with keeping order that day). The public had been told prior, that they were not allowed to witness the funeral and one liberal newspaper, the National, wrote sarcastically on May 21:

Hide yourselves, Parisians! The funeral of an honest man and a true friend of liberty is passing by.

The American artist and author Nathaniel Parker Willis wrote in his book Pencillings by the Way:

They buried the old patriot like a criminal. Fixed bayonets before and behind his hearse. His own national guard disarmed, and troops enough to beleaguer a city, were the honors paid by the citizen king to the man who made him!

There were however also voices who said that the occasion paid La Fayette all the respect he deserved and even the people who disagreed witch such an evaluation did not much to protest. The American Isaiah Townsend (the same gentleman who urged Cloquet to write down his memoirs of La Fayette) lived in Paris at the time and witnessed La Fayette’s death and the following events first hand. On June 6, 1834, he wrote to his mother home in Albany:

A month has scarcely elapsed since the death of the General, yet in Paris his memory would seem almost forgotten. The name of Lafayette is not heard.

After La Fayette’s death, we again see a familiar pattern taking place. Whenever France disappointed La Fayette or failed to do something for him, America was often eager to step in. While La Fayette’s funeral in France was definitely honourable but also something of a farce, America went all out. President Jackson ordered full military honours, every army post and every American navy ship fired a 24-gun salute. The officers in the army and the navy wore black crepe brassards for six months and the members of both houses of Congress as well as the general public were encouraged to follow that example an dress in mourning for thirty days. Both chambers of Congress held a joint session where John Quincy Adams gave his famous eulogy, the chambers were draped in black, all flags were lowered to half-staff and countless memorial services were held all throughout the country. America mourned with an intensity that had not been seen since the passing of George Washington in 1799.

I hope you have/had a lovely day!

[1] Jules Germain Cloquet, Recollections of the Private Life of General Lafayette, Baldwin and Cradock, London, 1835, p. 274-283.

[dottie-wan-kenobi]

I loveeee all the songs u chose for Tim!!! Can u maybe do a post or smth explaining why cus it’s so interesting seeing the choice behind these songs

Hi yes I can!! I’m not gonna do all of them here (I can def do the rest if you’d like!!) bc that’s just a Lot all at once lol. Also I might have typos and I apologize but dkjsfhakh I have bandaids on my fingers and it’s hard to type :^/

Disclaimer: some of these songs fit a lot better than other ones

Hard Times by Paramore

I chose this song bc it’s abbout being sad, but the tone is upbeat and happy. Something I’ve noticed abt Tim is that he is (usually) functionally depressed. Like, I read an article about high functioning depression, and it said that a lot of people who have it have a hole in their life – that they can have a job (and Tim does, being either CEO or Red Robin or both), a partner (who I like to think of as Kon), and be part of a family, maintaining this happy/upeat facade, but if you ask them what they do for fun…they usually can’t answer that. And I don’t think Tim can. When he was younger, he could, but what now? 

Fave Lyric: “Walking around / With my little rain cloud / Hanging over my head/ And it ain’t coming down / Where do I go? / Gimme some sort of sign / You hit me with lightning! / Maybe I’ll come alive”

Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons

I chose this bc I can picture Tim, during a low moment like when Kon or Bruce died, just falling apart and thinking he’s not going to survive it, isn’t strong enough, had something to do with their deaths happening,,, etc. Also there’s a line that references anxiety and like lmao that’s Tim!

Fave Lyric: “Tremble for yourself, my man, / You know that you have seen this all before / Tremble, little lion man, / You’ll never settle any of your scores / Your grace is wasted in your face, / Your boldness stands alone among the wreck / Now learn from your mother or else spend your days biting your own neck”

Heroes (we could be) by Alesso feat. Tove Lo

I chose this bc Tim needed a happy song and also because this has such Young Justice vibes !!!! This is Tim and his friends having fun, roaming around, kicking bad guy ass together!! Actually upon looking at the lyrics again, it’s both YJ and Batman & Robin. It just encompasses Tim’s early days of being a hero I think, the happy carefree nature and the bravery and the hope

Fave Lyric: “Everyday people do everyday things but I / Can’t be one of them / I know you hear me now, we are a different kind / We can do anything”

Burn The House Down by AJR

Tbh I mostly chose this bc its a bop and I think he would sing along to it. BUT I also think this kind of represents his life as a public figure/celeb??? And if I wanna go even further, I think it could represent him when he’s older and more confident, with a better self esteem and maybe a lil less depressed (which I hope is in the cards for his future). Also it talks about lying a lot???? I’m sorry, I don’t have a good analysis for this one lmao

Fave Lyric: “Way up way up we go / Been up and down that road / Way up way up, oh no / We gon’ burn the whole house down / Watch me stand in the line / You’re only serving lies / You’ve got something to hide / We gon’ burn the whole house down”

Don’t Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers feat. Daya

I chose this bc it reminded me of Tim and Dick. I’m of the opinion that Tim getting fired from Robin was the right choice and that Dick wasn’t being cruel or anything like that at all, but I also think that Tim probably saw it that way which is valid. So it’s like, to him, Dick was his big brother who was basically always there for him, and then suddenly… he’s not. And everything else going on in his life starts to suck dramatically, and not having his big brother makes it worse, and he feels betrayed. Meanwhile Dick really is on his side, life is just also terrible for him too so they can’t be as close as they were when Tim was Robin. It can also be about Bruce or Kon tbh – just, wanting one of them to be there and they’re not.

Fave Lyric: “Crashing, hit a wall / Right now I need a miracle / Hurry up now, I need a miracle / Stranded, reaching out / I call your name but you’re not around”

More under the cut!!

Don’t Play by Halsey

This…. I chose this bc I really love the celebrity versions of the Bats, and also how competent Tim can be, and this song brings both of those together. Lol this could also be like…what other people think the Bats/Tim think like?? “Don’t play with me, I’m rich and will fuck you up” kinda thing. This is one of the ones that fits less well than the others but I still get Tim vibes from it so I’m keeping it

Fave Lyric: “Tryna take back what you say to me / I don’t give a damn what you say to me / There ain’t no time for games with me”

Over My Head (Cable Car) by The Fray

I get the feeling that after bad shit happens to Tim, he feels the way this song shows. I haven’t read much YJ so I can’t be sure, but I get the feeling that Tim, no matter what the truth is, feels like he’s alone and there’s no one who will help him. Obviously that can be tied back to his childhood and how he had to take care of himself, and so when there are people who actually do wanna help him he doesn’t see it?? And he’s down on himself so he’s probably thinking “they don’t want to help me, and I can’t blame them”

Fave Lyric: “But that’s how it’s got to be / It’s coming down to nothing more than apathy / I’d rather run the other way than stay and see / The smoke and who’s still standing when it clears” 

Icarus by Bastille

Okay not so much the drinking aspect of this song but EVERYTHING ELSE. I even used one of the lyrics for a fic title. Basically my thoughts here are: 1) everyone looks to the Robins and sees how much they do and it’s just A Lot, 2) Tim knows Jason died and so he probably thinks that’s in his future too even if Dick survived, and 3) Tim is doing a lot and feeling a lot and trying to protect himself and his feelings, which is hard work especially for someone so young

Fave Lyric: “Living beyond your years / Acting out all their fears / You feel it in your chest”

Needed Me by Rihanna

Again,,,, the Competence. I love that shit. I love BAMF!Bats, and tbh I think this could apply to more than just Tim, but I picked it for him bc of the first lyric!! This is also one of those ones that doesn’t fit super well but djkhfjkdshah I think this could really fit an AU Tim where he’s like. More morally gray. Not necessarily a bad guy but just more confident, more arrogant maybe, and more jaded from the hero-ing life

Fave Lyric: “I was good on my own, that’s the way it was, that’s the way it was / You was good on the low for a faded fuck, on some faded love / Shit, what the fuck you complaining for? / Feeling jaded, huh?”

What I’ve Done by Linkin Park

Okay I think this fits a lot of different things: his actions after Kon’s death, his and Damian’s relationship, the lies he’s told (to ppl like Steph, his dad, Tam?), his relationship with Bruce maybe?? I can also see it as him thinking on who he was as a kid – a stalker basically lmao, but ultimately harmless – versus who he is now – a skilled vigilante who’s definitely not harmless. Stark difference there. Also he’s forgiving himself, which is something I think is important for somebody with a low self view

Fave Lyric: “In this farewell / There’s no blood / There’s no alibi / ‘Cause I’ve drawn regret / From the truth / Of a thousand lies”

Tell Me You Love Me by Demi Lovato

I chose this because I think Tim is fucked up by the neglect he suffered in his childhood. I think parts of this song can be directed at his parents, the Batfam, his partner(s). He’s afraid that they’ll leave him and he needs the reassurance. Whether or not he gets it is another matter but kdsjfjkdsah. Really, I think this is all just what he’s thinking, and NOT what he’s saying. He needs the reassurance, yes, but he’s not actually asking for it because he doesn’t know how

Fave Lyric: “Bad at love, no, I’m not good at this”

bellyache by Billie Eilish

When I first added this to his playlist I somehow didn’t realize it was about a murderer but dkjfhkjshjkah whatever I’m keeping it. Let’s just go with this is a song about being fucked up (in whatever sense u wanna take that as) and it’s not happy? But like the first one, it’s upbeat and positive. I think the happy sound hiding the less pretty truth is something that explains Tim a lot. Also its a bop and he might sing along to it

Fave Lyric: “Everything I do / The way I wear my noose / Like a necklace / I wanna make ‘em scared / Like I could be anywhere / Like I’m reckless”

Migraine by Twenty One Pilots

Just Another Song About Tim’s Abysmal Mental Health

Fave Lyric: “Behind my eyelids are islands of violence / My mind ship-wrecked / This is the only land my mind could find / I did not know it was such a violent island / Full of tidal waves, suicidal crazed lions / They’re trying to eat me, blood running down their chin / And I know that I can fight or I can let the lion win / I begin to assemble what weapons I can find / 'Cause sometimes to stay alive you gotta kill your mind”

Fake Love by Drake

I hate Drake but kjdsfkjdsfhajh this goes back to a few things. His celebrity and how he’s seen/treated differently by others because of it, his low self view and the paranoia that people aren’t really there for him no matter what the truth might be, how he sees things others wouldn’t, his relationships with people like Damian and Bruce. I think he’s more forgiving than this song would imply, so maybe this is also for that AU Tim I mentioned above???

Fave Lyric: “I’ve been down so long it look like up to me / They look up to me / I got fake people showin’ fake love to me / Straight up to my face, straight up to my face”

Six Feet Under by Billie Eilish

TIMKON TIMKON TIMKON. Post Kon’s death TimKon and Tim is grieving and trying to forget bc it’s so painful!!!!!!

Fave Lyric: “Our love is six feet under / I can’t help but wonder / If our grave was watered by the rain / Would roses bloom? / Could roses bloom / Again?”

Flaws by Bastille

Idek, I feel like this could be how he could view his relationship with Steph, Cass, Damian, Bart, Dick??? Anyone? Just feeling like he hides his flaws and how he feels, and they don’t really (or at least, he thinks they don’t), and he likes that.

Fave Lyric: “There’s a hole in my soul / I can’t fill it, I can’t fill it / There’s a hole in my soul / Can you fill it? Can you fill it?”

do re mi by blackbear

I’m mostly joking when I say this but this is how he feels about Ra’s al Ghul. It doesn’t fit exactly, bc Tim and Ra’s were NOT together ever at any point, but this song is about being annoyed by someone you have a history with and wishing you’d never known them. Which is how I feel Tim should feel about Ra’s. lol

Fave Lyric: “If I could go back to that day we met / I probably would’ve stayed in bed / You wake up everyday and make me feel like I’m incompetent”

Bored by Billie Eilish

I really think this is Tim talking to his parents. Like, when he’s a kid, or when he’s older and looking back, he’s thinking “I did everything I could, it wasn’t enough, and I know it’s not fair but I can’t do anything about it.” I think this song is supposed to be romantic but I’ve never heard it that way skdjfkjsdhakjh I just always think about Tim, home alone and thinking about his parents.

Fave Lyric: “I’m not afraid anymore / What makes you sure you’re all I need? / Forget about it / When you walk out the door and leave me torn / You’re teaching me to live without it / Bored, I’m so bored, I’m so bored, so bored”

Rose-Colored Boy by Paramore

This one is like… everyone else seems to have an easier time being optimistic and positive than Tim does, in his mind. Idk I don’t have much to say kdsjfhsdjkah

Fave Lyric: “Hearts are breaking, wars are raging on / And I have taken my glasses off / You got me nervous / I’m right at the end of my rope / A half-empty girl / Don’t make me laugh, I’ll choke”

King of the Clouds by Panic! At The Disco

This is mostly because it’s a bop and Tim would like it. But also…this is a song about dimensional travel (apparently) and having ambitions that seem lofty, both of which I think Tim can definitely understand!! 

Fave Lyric: “And when I fall to rise with stardust in my eyes / In the backbone of night, I’m combustible / Dust in the fire when I can’t sleep a wink, I’m too tired / This old world, this old world”