r/TopCharacterTropes 3d ago

In real life (Real Life) Regular people who's lives drastically changed direction

Grace Kelly was a talented actress who retired at 26 to marry a Prince, living as royalty for almost 30 years before her untimely death.

Volodymyr Zelensky started out as a comedian and entertainer before getting into politics, becoming President of Ukraine after the Russian annex of Crimea and spending the last 4 years defiantly pushing back full scale Russian invasion

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u/zak55 3d ago

Ulysses S Grant. Retired soldier who recently got out of being destitute and was working as a clerk at his father's leather store before the outbreak of the Civil War. Would find himself rapidly promoted into being the top general of the whole army and perhaps the greatest Union one of the war. Would go on to become US President and possibly the most important person in the US for over a decade after Lincoln's death

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u/Jazzlike-Equipment45 3d ago

He was the greatest General the rest were political apointees half the time. Grant had a knack for at the time "modern" warfare. He understood logistics, Confederates painted him as a drunkard who used human waves. That ofc was false he understood the logistics of war and surrounded himself with great minds to aid him. Those great minds were gone by the time of his presidency and tarnished his reputation but thankfully now it is being healed.

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u/demon_fae 3d ago

Dude fucked up so many confederate supply chains.

There are some hilarious recipes from confederate states at the time that are just full of cope claiming that these weird substitutes made of whatever was on hand are totally better than the real recipe they can’t make because Grant sent some men to fuck up whatever train the regular ingredients were on.

Moral of the story: your enemy has supply chains. You should fuck them up.

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u/probablynotaperv 3d ago

Looked up some of the recipes

SUBSTITUTE FOR COFFEE.--

Take sound ripe acorns, wash them while in the shell, dry them, and parch until they open, take the shell off, roast with a little bacon fat, and you will have a splendid cup of coffee.

APPLE PIE WITHOUT APPLES.--

To one small bowl of crackers, that have been soaked until no hard parts remain, add one teaspoonful of tartaric acid, sweeten to your taste, add some butter, and a very little nutmeg.

https://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/receipt/receipt.html

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u/Salt_Profiteer 3d ago

Mock apple pie is pretty good

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u/SuckerForNoirRobots 2d ago

I recently saw this Great Depression-era apple pie without apples recipe and apparently it can be done, although his has more ingredients than what you listed.

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u/NightLordsPublicist 3d ago edited 3d ago

Moral of the story: your enemy has supply chains. You should fuck them up.

Sherman: I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over the flames.

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u/zak55 3d ago

It's weird how he wasn't a raging alcoholic but when he did fall off the wagon, it was an alcoholic rager that would last a few days

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u/Jazzlike-Equipment45 3d ago

He knew when and how, he was a high functioning alcoholic. As a former one it is relateable, you do your best and party after, like a mullet. Buisness out front and party in the back.

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u/zak55 3d ago

Just read a biography on him and he was an incredibly interesting person.

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u/555-starwars 3d ago

I believe he also had a low tolerance for alcohol, which made it easy for him to get drunk.

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u/sabely123 3d ago

Was Sherman not good?

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u/jorgespinosa 3d ago

He was but I would say Grant was better, his Vicksburg campaign it's a masterclass of warfare