Frederick the Great and Other 18th-C Characters, Discussion Post 31

[cahn]

And in this post:

-luzula is going to tell us about the Jacobites and the '45!

-I'm going to finish reading Nancy Goldstone's book about Maria Theresia and (some of) her children Maria Christina, Maria Carolina, and Marie Antoinette, In the Shadow of the Empress, and selenak is going to tell us all the things wrong with the last four chapters (spoiler: in the first twenty chapters there have been many, MANY things wrong)!

-mildred_of_midgard is going to tell us about Charles XII of Sweden and the Great Northern War

(seriously, how did I get so lucky to have all these people Telling Me Things, this is AWESOME)

-oh, and also there will be Yuletide signups :D

Comments

Re: Fandom DNWs vs. non-DNWs

[selenak]

See, that's another reason why I won't write Fritz/Katte happily ever after. It's odd, Fritz/Voltaire and Fritz/Fredersdorf, both of which I'm invested in, are entirely compatible for me, and you've even persuaded me to Fritz/Algarotti. Not to mention that Fritz & Heinrich and Fritz & Wilhelmine are where my heart lies, too. But somehow I can't see Fritz/Fredersdorf coexisting with Fritz/Katte, and I know which one I want to happen more. :)

(All of which doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy reading Fredersdorf-less Fritz/Katte, especially written by you, and I suspect the same is true of Cahn.

BTW, while you and I both see Peter haunted by Katte in various ways, oddly enough I've never seen Fredersdorf developing a Katte complex, possibly because their stations in life and relationships with Fritz were too different. However, now I wonder whether one day I'll write a ghost story in which a literal ghost!Katte, looking for Fritz, encounters Fredersdorf instead and the two, different as they are, find they get along.

Re: Fandom DNWs vs. non-DNWs

[mildred_of_midgard]

But somehow I can't see Fritz/Fredersdorf coexisting with Fritz/Katte, and I know which one I want to happen more. :)

Heee. I've always suspected that if Katte had lived, I'd have very little interest in him. It's just that a certain kind of tragedy always gives me an insatiable itch to scratch, and THAT DEATH SCENE.

oddly enough I've never seen Fredersdorf developing a Katte complex, possibly because their stations in life and relationships with Fritz were too different.

Yeah, I think Peter's complex (assuming he had one) was first of all being directly tied to the tragedy, being the one who lived while Katte died, and then to the fact that Fritz kept favoring the Kattes while basically ignoring him. Fredersdorf had no direct connection to the Katte tragedy, and a lot of favor from Fritz, so nothing to feel either guilty or insecure about.

However, now I wonder whether one day I'll write a ghost story in which a literal ghost!Katte, looking for Fritz, encounters Fredersdorf instead and the two, different as they are, find they get along.

Would read!

Re: Fandom DNWs vs. non-DNWs

[cahn]

[I wrote this yesterday but didn't apparently hit post comment, and in the meantime I see mildred replied with something similar]

well obviously the solution to this is OT3 Well, actually not, because I see what you mean about Fredersdorf not developing a Katte complex, which I also think -- I think for me it's also because the Fritz he knew was always one who didn't have Katte in his life (as opposed to Peter), and Fredersdorf isn't the type, in my headcanon, to be jealous of someone who's dead and who literally can't be a living rival. I mean... maybe, if Fritz were the type to be all "I can't pay attention to you because too busy obsessing over my tragically dead boyfriend," but... we have abundant evidence that's not Fritz.

(All of which doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy reading Fredersdorf-less Fritz/Katte, especially written by you, and I suspect the same is true of Cahn.

YUP. If he doesn't appear I am free to either not think about him at all (most likely) or to imagine him being happy doing something else (and maybe he doesn't do alchemy!!) even if maybe it's not quite as optimal and suited to him as being Fritz's guy! It's just, DON'T add an explicit line being like "...and because they never met, Fredersdorf ended up in bad straits and died in a ditch somewhere" and I'm good.

Re: Fandom DNWs vs. non-DNWs

[mildred_of_midgard]

YUP. If he doesn't appear I am free to either not think about him at all (most likely) or to imagine him being happy doing something else

Excellent! I mean, not that I'm optimistic about finishing this, but every other day I'm thinking about something I should add to it or change about it, so it's very much a living story in my head. ;)

maybe he doesn't do alchemy!!

Ooh, an excellent point! A minor fix-it for him too, in one respect.

even if maybe it's not quite as optimal and suited to him as being Fritz's guy!

Lol, I realized I typoed it "love his best life" above, and...that's a really great and accurate typo. <3

It's just, DON'T add an explicit line being like "...and because they never met, Fredersdorf ended up in bad straits and died in a ditch somewhere" and I'm good.

And I would NEVER!--*hugs Fredersdorf protectively*--so we're good.

Also, you guys, I gotta say...Fredersdorf got to live his best life IN REAL LIFE. Fiction is all Katte's got! :'-(