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Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie [Chat]

ThomamelasThomamelas Only one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered User regular
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Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie

Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie was born in Santa Domingo, which is now Hati. His father was Alexandre Antoine Davy, the Marquis de la Pailleterie. There is a bit of complicated family history. Antoine had gone to Santa Domingo to live with his brother Charles. There is a falling out, and Antoine flees with his slaves and three of Charles's. One of Antoine's slaves is Marie Cessette, with whom he has four children of mixed race. Now you might be thinking that Antoine is a progressive man, but he decides to go back to France. To pay for this, he sells Marie Cessette and three of her children (two of his, one from a different father) back into slavery. Taking Alex with him as his favorite child. Unfortunately Antoine finds himself a big short of money again. So he arranges a loan that sells Alex into slavery but with an option to buy him back to pay for Antoine's passage to France and bring Alex along.

Now when Alex sets foot on French soil, he becomes a free man. France had forbidden slavery within France proper since the 1300's. In their colonies they allowed it. But anyway, Alex is in France and is now the son of a nobleman who has claimed him as his son. So Alex becomes a bit of a dandy and playboy. Father and son have a falling out over the new stepmother apparently. So Thomas-Alexander decides to join the Army. Now normally someone who could prove four generations of nobility could get an officer's commission. But Thomas-Alexander is mixed race so that becomes harder and he joins as a private. At which point the falling out between father and son becomes estrangement. And Thomas-Alexander takes his mother's last name, Dumas.

Now he's joined the French Army at the very beginning of the French Revolution. His unit gets assigned to a rural area where he meets his wife and takes part in suppressing a riot that will later get him denounced unsuccessfully to the Committee of Public Safety for the first time. He gets promoted to Corporal, and while leading a group of horsemen, he manages to capture 12 Austrian raiders. It makes the newspapers and the combination of his bravery and the idea of a nobleman becoming a mere private strikes the right cord. And a bidding war for him to join various units occurs. He ends up in the Légion franche des Américains et du Midi, more commonly known as the Black Legion. It was commanded by his former fencing instructor. And in joining he jumps from Corporal to Lt. Colonel. He mostly ends up commanding it since the Colonel, Chevalier de Saint-Georges was often busy in Paris.

In 1793, there is a counter-coup attempt, and Thomas-Alexandre and Chevalier de Saint-Georges refuse to join it and defend Lille from counter-revolutionary forces. Unfortunately the Black Legion had money issues and there were accusations of mismanagement of funds by Chevalier de Saint-Georges so the Black Legion is disbanded. Thomas-Alexander gets promoted to brigadier general and is assigned to the Army of the North. Then a month later he makes Major General and is put in command of the Army of the Army of the Western Pyrenees and three months later he's given the command of the Army of the Alps. Now this is usually the indication of a political connected fuck up. This isn't the case here. Thomas-Alexandre is actually very good at his job, and he has something else going for him. The French Government sees him as politically reliable. Sure, he's a nobleman. But he helped put down the counter-coup and he came up through the ranks from being a private.

And this gives him command of the Army of the Alps. Here he breaks the Austrian forces holding the pass at Mont Cenis. The pass here was one of the primary ways into Italy for the French. And Mount Cenis was a formidable obstacle. Heavily defended on three sides with the fourth considered impossible to approach. With proper planning that turned out not to be true. Thomas-Alexander takes the position, captures 900 troops, a whole lot of artillery and in exchange has 8 deaths and 30 wounded. Huge glorious victory and a massive mistake. His subordinates loved him. His army loved him. He lead from the front, a big giant of a man. Personally pushing attacks forward. They had nothing but praise for him. He had stories told of his exploits as a solider. But this battle caused his exploits to be discussed by the public.

And that was his mistake. If you're a general in a revolutionary army, and you don't have political ambitions you want to make sure of three things. That your political bonafides are top notch. You want to be good at your job. But most importantly, you never, ever want to be too good at your job. And you certainly as hell don't want to break one of these rules during a period historians will refer to as the Reign of Terror. He was recalled by the Committee for Public Safety for an undisclosed discussions. Generally French Generals who had such discussions ended up being shorter. Then buried. It's likely the Committee feared he'd use his popularity to start some sort of counter-coup. Now Thomas-Alexander had a duty to do, but he wasn't an idiot. So he took the slow route to Paris. And before Robespierre could meet with him, Robespierre lost his head.

He bounces around from here. No one is quite sure what to do with him until they hit upon the bright idea of reforming the shithole that is the Army of the West. When you look at the death stats for the Reign of Terror, the Army of the West is responsible. The War in Vendée is bad in the way that only civil wars and revolutions can be bad. And it's one of those hotly debated topics in French history. Sometimes the word genocide is used. Thomas-Alexander manages enough serious reform until even pro-Royalists don't hate him. He bounces around a little bit more until he get to the Army of Italy where he serves under Napoleon.

And this is where his troubles begin. The two men don't like each other. At all. Dumas personally leads a series of small attacks on Austrian forces and earns the nickname der schwarze Teufel, or The Black Devil. He personally stops a squadron of attacking Austrians. Holding a bridge with a sword while being shot at least once, stabbed and slashed multiple times until reinforcements arrive. And earns the other nickname of the Horatius Cocles of the Tyrol. Napoleon didn't care for this at all. He doesn't report Dumas's actions in his battle reports. Dumas responds with,

"I have learned that the jack ass whose business it is to report to you upon the battle … stated that I stayed in observation throughout the battle. I don't wish any such observation on him, since he would have shit in his pants." Meaning the messenger, but more obliquely Napoleon.

And when Napoleon heads to Egypt, this only gets worse. Thomas-Alexander puts down an anti-French Revolt in Egypt by charging into the Al-Azhar Mosque on horseback. And Napoleon informs him it's a great event. And he shall have it immortalized in a painting. And he did a few years later. Now look at the figure on horseback. Then scroll all the way up. And see if you can spot the difference between the riders. Some might be charitably inclined to assume the artist simply did not know. The painting is titled "Bonaparte at the Great Mosque of Cairo".

P1FV9Mg.jpg

The two have further issues. Napoleon has someone spy on one of Dumas's bitching sessions. Things escalate. Napoleon threatens to have him shot for treason. And Thomas-Alexander decides to go back to France. He asks for leave and is granted it. But getting back is tricky because some Englishman has sunk all of the French ships in the area. But eventually he finds a boat and goes back to France. Well he tries to at least. The boat sinks and he comes ashore on the Kingdom of Naples and figured he'd be okay because last he heard, Naples had a revolution. He hadn't heard about the super Catholic counter-revolution.

He spends two years in jail. Napoleon seizes power. He reopens the slave trade. He passes laws restricting the rights of free blacks in France. Oh and he orders the killing of any black Saint-Dominguan who is caught wearing the military uniform of France. I suspect the last one could be taken as a personal insult. When Dumas gets out of jail he petitions for his pension. For his back pay. For a commission. He gets none of these. And he dies of stomach cancer years after. He leaves behind his wife, Marie-Louise Dumas, Marie-Alexandrine Dumas his daughter, and his son Alexandre Dumas, who is that Alexandre Dumas. Who would use his father as the basis for many things in his writing. Edmond Dantès is loosely based on him. The three duels in a day from The Three Musketeers was based on one of the senior Dumas's exploits.

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Posts

  • SarksusSarksus ATTACK AND DETHRONE GODRegistered User regular
    I appreciate it when a chat thread is posted without any fuss or wait.

  • skippydumptruckskippydumptruck Registered User regular
    @desc I don't take much persuading to get on board with an arcade racer

    make your pitch

    *slides suit sleeve up, looks at time on expensive watch*

  • BeNarwhalBeNarwhal The Work Left Unfinished Registered User regular
    desc I don't take much persuading to get on board with an arcade racer

    make your pitch

    *slides suit sleeve up, looks at time on expensive watch*

    Where did you get a suit

  • DelmainDelmain Registered User regular
    Dis preparation

  • japanjapan Registered User regular
    My principal beef with starbucks is that they insist on serving enormous cups of massively diluted coffee

    And all the other chains have basically inherited their cup sizes, and "americano, small, with a bit less than half the water you'd normally put in it" is a pain in the arse to order

  • SummaryJudgmentSummaryJudgment Grab the hottest iron you can find, stride in the Tower’s front door Registered User regular
    @Dark Raven X

    Did you watch that gif all the way through?

    There's a reason.

  • japanjapan Registered User regular
    BeNarwhal wrote: »
    desc I don't take much persuading to get on board with an arcade racer

    make your pitch

    *slides suit sleeve up, looks at time on expensive watch*

    Where did you get a suit

    is actually a onesie that zips up the back

  • OrphaneOrphane rivers of red that run to seaRegistered User regular
    Gr8 OP

  • Dark Raven XDark Raven X Laugh hard, run fast, be kindRegistered User regular
    @Dark Raven X

    Did you watch that gif all the way through?

    There's a reason.

    Could I watch it in video format with sound, of has it gotta be a gif?

    Oh brilliant
  • ThomamelasThomamelas Only one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered User regular
    Also I didn't mention it, but there are stories of Thomas-Alexandre's strength. One in particular is that he could grab a ceiling beam, wrap his legs around his horse and lift it off the ground.

  • skippydumptruckskippydumptruck Registered User regular
    hmm the game is already set up for us to go head to head

    2eeXNka.png

  • SarksusSarksus ATTACK AND DETHRONE GODRegistered User regular
    My beef with Starbucks, and all coffee shops, is that the coffee is too fucking hot and I have to wait forever for it to cool down. I want coffee, and I want it now!

    Also drip coffee sitting in a carafe tastes average even if it's made with good beans in a legit third wave shop. Coffee at home is just better all around.

  • AbdhyiusAbdhyius Registered User regular
    missing halloween will be kind of a drag

    I mean, the boobs alone

    ftOqU21.png
  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    Heh, the rice container is marked "FOR TWO PEOPLE."

    Not today, Indian place. Not today.

  • 21stCentury21stCentury Call me Pixel, or Pix for short! [They/Them]Registered User regular
    Quid wrote: »
    Heh, the rice container is marked "FOR TWO PEOPLE."

    Not today, Indian place. Not today.

    Quid

    You're breaking the law!

  • ElendilElendil Registered User regular
    gibe me moar bloodborne

  • SummaryJudgmentSummaryJudgment Grab the hottest iron you can find, stride in the Tower’s front door Registered User regular
    edited October 2015
    @Dark Raven X

    Did you watch that gif all the way through?

    There's a reason.

    Could I watch it in video format with sound, of has it gotta be a gif?

    It is required to be a gif to work.

    SummaryJudgment on
  • japanjapan Registered User regular
    For those interested, the Rugby World Cup Final referee (Nigel Owens) is refereeing with a sterling silver Acme Thunderer from J Hudson & Co est. 1870.

  • bloodyroarxxbloodyroarxx Casa GrandeRegistered User regular
    We have a marathon here tomorrow, some of these guest are just rude.

    This one guy was very close to getting a piece of my mind. Dude seriously I dont make the rules go complain to the manager.

  • Dark Raven XDark Raven X Laugh hard, run fast, be kindRegistered User regular
    @Dark Raven X

    Did you watch that gif all the way through?

    There's a reason.

    Could I watch it in video format with sound, of has it gotta be a gif?

    It is required to be a gif to work.

    Dammit!

    Oh brilliant
  • wanderingwandering Russia state-affiliated media Registered User regular
    Delmain wrote: »
    Dis preparation
    tct1HQV.gif

  • cB557cB557 voOOP Registered User regular
    bBKF0h7.jpg

  • AbdhyiusAbdhyius Registered User regular
    We have a marathon here tomorrow, some of these guest are just rude.

    This one guy was very close to getting a piece of my mind. Dude seriously I dont make the rules go complain to the manager.

    the nice thing about being a bouncer is that there is no manager to complain to so you don't have to give people a single bit of the fiction that their complaint is in any way valid

    I just stand there going, essentially, "cool, I don't give a shit"

    ftOqU21.png
  • japanjapan Registered User regular
    Abdhyius wrote: »
    We have a marathon here tomorrow, some of these guest are just rude.

    This one guy was very close to getting a piece of my mind. Dude seriously I dont make the rules go complain to the manager.

    the nice thing about being a bouncer is that there is no manager to complain to so you don't have to give people a single bit of the fiction that their complaint is in any way valid

    I just stand there going, essentially, "cool, I don't give a shit"

    The nice thing about my job is that our managers are people managers, not technical people

    So in all likelihood a manager will simply defer to the decision made by the person you were just speaking to

  • Hahnsoo1Hahnsoo1 Make Ready. We Hunt.Registered User, Moderator, Administrator admin
    Delmain wrote: »
    Dis preparation
    Recycled from the Cool Stuff from History thread. *copy - pasta*

    8i1dt37buh2m.png
  • AbdhyiusAbdhyius Registered User regular
    I almost got sassy with an old alkie lady yesterday because she was rude towards the girls sitting at the table beside her and they were a sort of friend and her friends. Getting a rise out of me by insulting me is impossible but other people is a different matter.

    Well I say a sort of friend. I mean sort of acquaintance. She said "oh, hi! do you work here too?" when she got to the door and I didn't recognize her until I glanced down and went ah, it's you. So.

    ftOqU21.png
  • AlazullAlazull Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.Registered User regular
    So I'm debating asking my co-worker who's staying with me to find somewhere else to stay tonight.

    On top of issues with his fiancee I mentioned before, they are both some of the worst house guests I've ever had.

    Like it's 3 a.m., I've mentioned that I'm feeling exhausted and would appreciate being able to sleep and they're coming up and down the creaky stairs, slamming my front door shut to go out on the porch and talk loudly and smoke. When they came in the last time I swear to god I just had to stop him and be like okay you guys this is the fourth time tonight I've been woken up by you guys fucking around in my house you need to stop.

    Fucking fifteen minutes later I hear loud thumps from my room, where they are staying. I can only imagine something was thrown, or dropped? I dunno but I feel exhausted from lack of sleep. I gave them until tomorrow but considering everything I'm starting to get pretty angry.

    User name Alazull on Steam, PSN, Nintenders, Epic, etc.
  • ThomamelasThomamelas Only one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered User regular
    Hahnsoo1 wrote: »
    Delmain wrote: »
    Dis preparation
    Recycled from the Cool Stuff from History thread. *copy - pasta*

    Generally my OPs come from that thread, or the Instant Watch Film Society. They are however things I wrote.

  • SummaryJudgmentSummaryJudgment Grab the hottest iron you can find, stride in the Tower’s front door Registered User regular
    edited October 2015
    cB557 wrote: »
    bBKF0h7.jpg

    I wear Old Spice, and typically I just use the old, unnamed formula that just smells like Old Spice.

    I've purchased their Aspen one before, or pine, or whatever, and it was decent. They had an "Amber" scent that purported to smell like currants, and it was on sale, so I picked it up. I had assumed it was going to be like a woody/spicy thing with a currant undernote.

    It's been a running joke between my wife and I that I smell like straight raspberries now, and I'm committed to using the thing up rather than throw it away.

    SummaryJudgment on
  • OnTheLastCastleOnTheLastCastle let's keep it haimish for the peripatetic Registered User regular
    Alazull wrote: »
    So I'm debating asking my co-worker who's staying with me to find somewhere else to stay tonight.

    On top of issues with his fiancee I mentioned before, they are both some of the worst house guests I've ever had.

    Like it's 3 a.m., I've mentioned that I'm feeling exhausted and would appreciate being able to sleep and they're coming up and down the creaky stairs, slamming my front door shut to go out on the porch and talk loudly and smoke. When they came in the last time I swear to god I just had to stop him and be like okay you guys this is the fourth time tonight I've been woken up by you guys fucking around in my house you need to stop.

    Fucking fifteen minutes later I hear loud thumps from my room, where they are staying. I can only imagine something was thrown, or dropped? I dunno but I feel exhausted from lack of sleep. I gave them until tomorrow but considering everything I'm starting to get pretty angry.

    loud thumps eh

    yeah they were.. they were dropping stuff......

    <.<

  • wanderingwandering Russia state-affiliated media Registered User regular
    a dragonfly is flying around the office and I'm not really sure how to help him outside. hang in there lil guy

  • SummaryJudgmentSummaryJudgment Grab the hottest iron you can find, stride in the Tower’s front door Registered User regular
    edited October 2015
    Abdhyius wrote: »
    I almost got sassy with an old alkie lady yesterday because she was rude towards the girls sitting at the table beside her and they were a sort of friend and her friends. Getting a rise out of me by insulting me is impossible but other people is a different matter.

    Well I say a sort of friend. I mean sort of acquaintance. She said "oh, hi! do you work here too?" when she got to the door and I didn't recognize her until I glanced down and went ah, it's you. So.

    This seems true, in the sense that from your posting you're in like a perpetually-aggravated state, and so you cannot get a rise out of someone already there

    SummaryJudgment on
  • Hahnsoo1Hahnsoo1 Make Ready. We Hunt.Registered User, Moderator, Administrator admin
    Thomamelas wrote: »
    Hahnsoo1 wrote: »
    Delmain wrote: »
    Dis preparation
    Recycled from the Cool Stuff from History thread. *copy - pasta*

    Generally my OPs come from that thread, or the Instant Watch Film Society. They are however things I wrote.
    I'm not saying it's a bad thing! More people should visit the Cool Stuff from History thread! :D

    8i1dt37buh2m.png
  • descdesc Goretexing to death Registered User regular
    @desc I don't take much persuading to get on board with an arcade racer

    make your pitch

    *slides suit sleeve up, looks at time on expensive watch*

    It's a return to the classic ingredients of NFS that everyone loves:

    Driving through a vaguely southern Californian open world city at night. The streets are all damp and shiny because NFS.

    It uses cutscenes where Fast and Furious knockoff characters talk to you about racing and your street reputation by speaking directly to the camera and fist bumping the camera man.

    It embodies the silliest possible conception of "tuner culture" with cameos by real world drivers and stickers for real world parts companies and race teams and such.

    In a few hours of racing I have tried the different race types thus far. They are generally split between speed and grip oriented sprints where you want to come in first and drift events where you want the highest score.

    I am not super into drifting but I gave it a shot and did this drift event down a mountain road where it gave me score multipliers any time I managed to hold a drift in my little white Honda Civic generally proximal to another racer. It was so shamelessly Akina Mountain that it won me over and now I want MORE DORIFTO.

    I just drove back to the garage and realized I had unlocked Stance options so now my Honda is lower and the wheels are spaced out so they're Hella Flush, Brah.

    The only weird thing is I'm getting occasional hiccups in sound and frame rate and I'm not sure what's causing it.

    Other than that I rate it a Monster Energy Drink on an Empty a Stomach out of Ten

    @skippydumptruck

  • OnTheLastCastleOnTheLastCastle let's keep it haimish for the peripatetic Registered User regular
    desc i did not no u were drift racer

    respec

  • descdesc Goretexing to death Registered User regular
    Also I demand a romance option with mechanic-chan in this game

    It would be way better than the romances in Mass Effect

  • AlazullAlazull Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.Registered User regular
    edited October 2015
    Alazull wrote: »
    So I'm debating asking my co-worker who's staying with me to find somewhere else to stay tonight.

    On top of issues with his fiancee I mentioned before, they are both some of the worst house guests I've ever had.

    Like it's 3 a.m., I've mentioned that I'm feeling exhausted and would appreciate being able to sleep and they're coming up and down the creaky stairs, slamming my front door shut to go out on the porch and talk loudly and smoke. When they came in the last time I swear to god I just had to stop him and be like okay you guys this is the fourth time tonight I've been woken up by you guys fucking around in my house you need to stop.

    Fucking fifteen minutes later I hear loud thumps from my room, where they are staying. I can only imagine something was thrown, or dropped? I dunno but I feel exhausted from lack of sleep. I gave them until tomorrow but considering everything I'm starting to get pretty angry.

    loud thumps eh

    yeah they were.. they were dropping stuff......

    <.<

    Well, it was two loud thumps, spaced a few seconds apart.

    So if that's what they call fucking all I'm saying is I'm embarrassed for both of them.

    Alazull on
    User name Alazull on Steam, PSN, Nintenders, Epic, etc.
  • bloodyroarxxbloodyroarxx Casa GrandeRegistered User regular
    Abdhyius wrote: »
    We have a marathon here tomorrow, some of these guest are just rude.

    This one guy was very close to getting a piece of my mind. Dude seriously I dont make the rules go complain to the manager.

    the nice thing about being a bouncer is that there is no manager to complain to so you don't have to give people a single bit of the fiction that their complaint is in any way valid

    I just stand there going, essentially, "cool, I don't give a shit"

    We are offering a complimentary 12 moon checkout and like Im sorry if you want to relax or take a shower or whatever after you finish but like we have rooms to clean we gladly offer a 3pm checkout for $25 more but like sorry dude.

  • OrphaneOrphane rivers of red that run to seaRegistered User regular
    Alazull wrote: »
    So I'm debating asking my co-worker who's staying with me to find somewhere else to stay tonight.

    On top of issues with his fiancee I mentioned before, they are both some of the worst house guests I've ever had.

    Like it's 3 a.m., I've mentioned that I'm feeling exhausted and would appreciate being able to sleep and they're coming up and down the creaky stairs, slamming my front door shut to go out on the porch and talk loudly and smoke. When they came in the last time I swear to god I just had to stop him and be like okay you guys this is the fourth time tonight I've been woken up by you guys fucking around in my house you need to stop.

    Fucking fifteen minutes later I hear loud thumps from my room, where they are staying. I can only imagine something was thrown, or dropped? I dunno but I feel exhausted from lack of sleep. I gave them until tomorrow but considering everything I'm starting to get pretty angry.

    No sane jury would convict

This discussion has been closed.