Galaxy_Bunny

So...Napoleon’s "immigrant plot". I swear it's not as bad as it sounds. Napoleon ( Napoléone ) originated from Corsican which used to be the Republic of Genoa - yay , England - and before that Italian Roman. The Bonaparte ( Buonaparte ) family has mixed roots from Tuscany - northern Italy - and Liguria meaning that from an ethnic point of view , Napoleon is everything but French.

That being said due to Genoa annexing the land if Corsica over to France in 1768 - before Napoleon's birth year of 1769[nice] - that makes the Buonaparte family officially French past that point. If you wanted to say that "well if they're born before 1768 they're still native Corsicans" yep sorry no. The only Napoléone who is a Corsican under that idea would be Napoléone's uncle from I believe his father's side [ edit : kinda right , it's actually Carlo's uncle meaning it's Napoléone's great-uncle who is the original Napoléone. Let's make a Napoléone/Napoleon counter ].

So , legally , the Buonaparte family is indeed French and come from the island of Corsica but that'd be no different for someone in Puerto Rica claiming to be an American citizen - i.e. territory of [country] = part of country - or someone from Gibraltar saying they're a U.K. citizen. However! No...because uprisings.

Corsica was...odd early on. Very odd. Although Carlo is known to be a French supporter ( something I'd argue is because he'd probably want to keep a noble status/wealth for his family but that's just my opinion ) the rest of his family seemed VERY pro-independence. Napoléone even speculated that his mama Leutizia had an affair with Pasquale Paoli - a Corsican statesman and patriot - which...okay Napoléone.

So all of this to say , Napoléone might have been tied to a French identity but he just seemed like a Corsican/Tuscan through and through.

Right , now with all the backstory shit out the way , what the hell do i mean by immigrant story line when I've just argued that it's impossible with Corsica UNDER French rule. Uhm...you guys know Hamilton?

I swear I'm going somewhere with this. Alexander Hamilton was born on the island of Nevis ( Now Saint Kitts and Nevis ) to a famously Scottish father on an island that was British. Does that mean he was british? ...well...yeah but nah. Ethnically , yes he'd be British but legally he became a fighter of the revolution - becoming an american. That does however also make him an immigrant ( moving from 1 colony to another ). Now I'm 100% certain someone else knows a million times better than me about what makes someone an immigrant and what makes another an inner-migrant but ( at least from what I see ) Napoleone and Hamilton could very well be 2 sides of the same coin , just flipped.

Rather than Napoleon changing to the ethnicity of his occupying country from his roots like Hamilton , I'd argue it's somewhat flipped. Napoleone originally wanted to BE Corsican then declared himself offically French via changing his name to Napoleon. Besides that , I'd also argue that Napoleon had a similar...oh boy let's see how many people hate me after this...Napoleone has a similar "immigrant upbring". ...yep , this is how people look at me like an idiot.

I'm gonna pull off the band aid right now , I'm not gonna say this is what all immigrant parents are like , nor will I say this is every immigrant upbringing. What I will say , it's very similar to most popularised immigrant/intergrating stories. Napoleone is mainly raised by his mother who had high expectations of him and all his siblings , gave him every opportunity possible in the military and upon him becoming the "famous general" suddenly Leutizia is making him the example to her other kids.

Stuck around? Welp you've sealed your fate. Good choice though because now you can hear my perspective.

When writing for Prideful Aftermath and directing a lot of what goes on , I have had my fair share of crossings to wait at. Things like the origins of realms/species and cultures within realms. But one of my biggest gripes I've had to deal with is : What are souls in double death?

In the series , a lot of souls are killed and come back as what I've been calling "hauntlings" for a while. Oskar and Aleksey are killed by Yillit and come back to haunt and give information to people like Bernadotte and Wellesley. Damas lives around the palace of Versailles to constantly scare Desaix after he gets the Flamel's stone. Bessières even remains as a cherished companion to Napoleon during the Spirit War as he leads him through passages and to luck.

With all this being said , there are 3 main key parts to all these apparitions :

- They stick around a person or place

- They give/lead to information of good/bad

- They are only seen by the few people with magic in their veins while others need rituals to merely talk

Hmm , an apparition that appears to specific people , shows fates or truths and exist in certain areas and people. Admittedly I was stumped for a bit , until I was chatting with my dad. He was talking with my about ancestry and we found an old story on my pop's notebook ( thats grandad ) about spirits of celtic folklore that hung around mainly bodies of water ( but could be anywhere ) and have been rare sightings

Ladies , Gentlemen and everyone in between ; if the spirits of Htrae are your ghosts , then your "hauntlings" are actually a little something in the Highlands called "will-o'-the-wisps" or just ( wisps ) if you want.

In celtic - and especially Scottish - legends , wisps are small lights that appear like mist but are more concentrated. In science , it is more likely that wisps are "micro-lighting" but...HA- why should science matter in a series about the afterlife...ahem.

Anyway , wisps are likened to fairies and ghosts as "wandering spirits" who throw off travellers from safe paths or guiding them to safe paths. But the major piece of evidence is the idea of "fate" with the wisps. They are said to be forces of possible good and bad , leading people to either their destiny or demise. So what actually supports this theory considering they are "tiny spirits" compared to the human sized ones in P.A.? Well...

Fate!

- Damas , a vengeful spirit from being murdered and covered by Desaix , brings him into situations and visions that cause madness and eventually death - a death that gives Kléber the chance to control France and own the Flamel stone.

- Aleksey and Oskar both follow Napoleon back to Herkos and give visions/lead characters to information that aids or occasionally harms them. Mainly - Aleksey sends threats and warnings to Alexander and Bagration whereas Oskar leads his father and mother ( Jean and Desirée ) to areas of grief and importance where they can solve issues and mysteries with the knowledge of him looking after them.

- Bessières , a loyal companion , is only seen by Napoleon to aid him in escapes. He also interacts with the environment ( loosely ) to aid Murat and other people he cares about , eventually remaining in Tartatus to keep Yillit in order.

So , with all this being said , there is one final nail on the coffin to figure out. If the wisps are such a celtic thing , what would they be doing with mostly Romanic and Slavic spirits? Well here's the great thing about mythology guys. THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF SIMILARITIES.

Slavic : In Polish and down , there are "błędne ogniki" that translate to "errant lights" that are believed to be the souls of murderers/sinners/...unbaptised...babies? And attempt to pull people into bogs and mud.

Romanic : 🇫🇷"Feu Follet" / 🇩🇪"Irrlicht" / 🇮🇹"Fuoco Fatuo" / etc. All these counties have the rough idea of wandering spirits who lead people to their fate - italian is especially funny because they think it could very well be the devil meaning Murat could be in the running as a will-o'-the-wisp. Also all of them have the idea of "foolishness" ...just gonna leave that here.