18th-Century Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 36

[cahn]

Starting a couple of comments earlier than usual to mention there are a couple of new salon fics! These probably both need canon knowledge.

felis ficlets on siblings!

Siblings (541 words) by felisnocturna
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: 18th Century CE RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Friedrich II von Preußen | Frederick the Great, Michael Gabriel Fredersdorf, August Wilhelm von Preußen | Augustus William of Prussia (1722-1758), Wilhelmine von Preußen | Wilhelmine of Prussia (1709-1758)
Summary:

Three Fills for the 2022 Three Sentence Ficathon.

Chapter One: Protective Action / Babysitting at Rheinsberg (Frederick/Fredersdorf, William+Henry+Ferdinand)
Chapter Two: Here Be Lions (Wilhelmine)

Unsent Letters fic by me:

Letters for a Dead King (1981 words) by raspberryhunter
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 18th Century CE RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Friedrich II von Preußen | Frederick the Great & Friedrich Heinrich Ludwig von Preußen (1726-1802)
Characters: Friedrich Heinrich Ludwig von Preußen | Henry of Prussia (1726-1802)
Additional Tags: Epistolary, Love/Hate, Talking To Dead People, Canonical Character Death, Dysfunctional Family
Summary:

Just because one's king and brother is dead doesn't mean one has to stop writing to him.

Comments

Re: Lehndorff

[selenak]

Detective Mildred, I think you're building the wrong case. Because Old Lehndorff, who ought to know whether his Marschall von B. died or did a runner, still says he died 4 decades later. Therefore, and because if he's a cousin of Lehndorff and du Rosey, he's old nobility, I say the son of Samuel Marschall can't be identical with Marschall von Bieberstein.

Okay, Lehndorff, you've built up the suspense. What is your new grief?

At a guess, it's the dawning realisation that he and Heinrich will never be exclusive, Heinrich won't be monogamous, and not only that, but while he's Heinrich's friend, he's not even his Big Favourite/Best Friend. In short, that Heinrich doesn't and won't feel for him what Lehndorff feels for Heinrich. Now if Heinrich had simply rejected him, that realisation might have come sooner, but Heinrich being on board with friends with benefits with a nature such as Lehndorff's was bound to awaken unrealistic hopes.

(Also, I wouldn't be surprised if his unevenness of their respective emotions became blindingly obvious to Heinrich at this point, what with Lehndorff's adoration radiating to the skies, and if he didn't deliberately try some distance now and then to signal "so far and not further, I like you, especially in this rotten first year of my unwanted marriage, sex now and then is fine, but my Chevalier de Lorraine, you're not".)

Re: Lehndorff

[mildred_of_midgard]

By Jove, you're right! That does make more sense of the genealogy. But the only conclusion that I can draw is that Lehndorff's life does not adhere to Occam's Razor.

TWO cousins he's supposed to get a fortune from in the early 1750s but the fortune goes to a cousin of Hans Hermann instead.

TWO legation counselors from East Prussia named Friedrich von Marschall, one of whom dies in March 1753 and the other "dies" in March/April 1753.

At a guess, it's the dawning realisation that he and Heinrich will never be exclusive

*nod* That does make sense. Oh, Lehndorff.

Re: Lehndorff

[selenak]

Okay, now that I'm browsing through volume 2 as well, let me point out the start of the October 1752 entry which says:

"During the entire month, speculation abouts regarding the whereabouts of Herr v. Marschall, who last year married the young Countess Podewils. He asks for permission to move to Heidelberg where he's a Dean, and from there he leaves to nobody knows where. People assume he's gone to France. He was a big cad. His wife comforts herself easily, since she didn't love him at all. Gossip hounds name Prince Ludwig as her adorer - very much wrongly so. Her hsuband leaves 30 000 Taler debts, in addition to the 15 000 which his mother gave him on the occasion of his marriage."

That's clearly Marschall the son of Samuel Marschall and NOT the same Marschall who is "my cousin" etc., not to mention that the entry where Lehndorff talks about his lost hope for the inheritance is January 26th 1753, i.e. months after Marschall the runner has already left the country!

Re: Lehndorff

[mildred_of_midgard]

Excellent detective work!

Re: Lehndorff

[cahn]

At a guess, it's the dawning realisation that he and Heinrich will never be exclusive, Heinrich won't be monogamous, and not only that, but while he's Heinrich's friend, he's not even his Big Favourite/Best Friend. In short, that Heinrich doesn't and won't feel for him what Lehndorff feels for Heinrich. Now if Heinrich had simply rejected him, that realisation might have come sooner, but Heinrich being on board with friends with benefits with a nature such as Lehndorff's was bound to awaken unrealistic hopes.

<3 Like I said below, it's totally understandable from Heinrich's side! But sad for Lehndorff in any case.

(Also, I wouldn't be surprised if his unevenness of their respective emotions became blindingly obvious to Heinrich at this point, what with Lehndorff's adoration radiating to the skies, and if he didn't deliberately try some distance now and then to signal "so far and not further, I like you, especially in this rotten first year of my unwanted marriage, sex now and then is fine, but my Chevalier de Lorraine, you're not".)

That... makes a lot of sense. Ugh, unrequited love is hard.

Re: Lehndorff

[selenak]

Ugh, unrequited love is hard.

Marcus Cole & Lennier: You're telling us!

Re: Lehndorff

[cahn]

Aw, those two!