Illustrious House pt 2 – Piero

Part One

Here is part two. Only one more to go. I’m not sure I’ve much to say at this point other than the fact that I kept changing the spelling of Cromwell’s name (Cremuel, Cromuel etc.) but it’s all the same chap. Though truly, it’s not that important. He makes a suggestion for a title for Niccolo and that’s it.

I forget if I mentioned that there have been many liberties taken with history in this story. I don’t really have Cesare leave Imola during the capture of Vitellozo etc. I mean it’s not explicitely stated in the story that he stays in the city, but I don’t make it clear that he left either. Whatever. Doesn’t matter for the plot.

Illustrious House pt 1 – Marietta

I was roped in to doing a History Big Bang story (write something takes place in history over 20,000 words long) and this is the product. It’s about Machiavelli and his time spent with the court of Cesare Borgia. Inspired by the line from “Wolfe Hall” – “The summer of Cesare Borgia marked him. He stared at frescoes instead of fists and found an easier way to be”. I tole that line. By the by. You’ll see it in a letter Niccolo writes to Marietta (his wife).

Cast of Characters

Niccolo Machiavelli – a civil servant-turned-philosopher. Diplomat for the Florentine Republic.
Piero Soderini – defacto head of the Florentine Republic. Head of the Signoria.
Francesco Soderini – Bishop of Volterra, diplomat, brother of Piero Soderini.
Cesare Borgia – Former cardinal, turned general. Son of Pope Alexander VI. Attempting to carve out a Borgia state from the current Italian territories.
Leonardo da Vinci – Artist, inventor, dispenser of useful advise.
Marietta Machiavelli – Long suffering wife of Niccolo. Nee Mariette Corsini.
Lorenzo il Magnifico – (aka Lorenzo di Piero di Cosimo, Lorenzo de Medici, il Magnifico, the magnificent etc.) former head of the Florentine Republic. Grandson of Cosimo de Medici. Patron of the arts.
Piero de Medici (di Lorenzo) – Son of Lorenzo il Magnifico. Former head of the Florentine Republic. He was exiled when Savonarola came to power. His son, Lorenzo, is who the Prince is dedicated to in 1512.
Savonarola – Monk turned political leader. Lead a coup d’etat against the Medicis. Ruled Florence for four years before being declared a heritic by the Catholic Church and burned. Succeeded by Piero Soderini and a proper Florentine Republic.
Vitelli Vitellozo – General of Cesare Borgia. Eventually captures Urbino from his former master and forms a coalition against Borgia.
Angelo Polizianno -  Poet and close friend of Lorenzo il Magnifico.
Tommaso – Friend of Piero Soderini and Niccolo. Civil servant in the Republic.

Brief list of relevant de-facto rulers of  Florence: (in order from oldest to most “recent”)
Cosimo de Medici
Piero de Medici (the first)
Lorenzo de Medici (il Magnifico)
Piero de Medici (the second)
Savonarola
Piero Soderini
Lorenzo de Medici (the second)

Vertebrae

So I have decided to update this, for once. I know I went through a spree there for a while but I have found that school tends to regulate one a great deal more than summer does. Or, rather, the regulation allows for more free time than summer regulation and so more mindless posting on the interwebs happens.
To hop onto the Hollywood!Holmes bandiwagon is rather embarrassing for one such as myself. I could list my “I was in the fandom before the movie” credentials but don’t feel like it. Thus I shall simply say that brevity is the soul of wit and cut to the chase. Hollywood!Holmes verse, pairing would be Blackwood and Coward (Blackward). Enjoy?

Of What He’d Never Seen

Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think I’ve done a Salem Witch Trials story yet. Correction: I don’t think I’ve posted a SWT story yet as I’ve written many. Most of which are utter crap.
Those who know me know of my fascination with Rev. Samuel Parris. I think he’s an interesting, if spineless, chap. I have a habit of wondering what would happen if he ever really became friends with Joseph Putnam (one of the main leaders of the faction that eventually got rid of Parris a few years after the trials). Nothing, probably. Salem was far too divided to settle for a minister like Parris. And Parris himself, I don’t think he was ever really cut out to be a minister. Of course it wasn’t his first or second career choice, his first was a plantation owner (like his father in Barbardos), and second was as a merchant. Neither of those jobs really lends themselves to ministerial skill building I must say.
In any case, this little blurb was written for the same prompt as the previous Mercer/Beckett thing was written for. It’s not my favorite of them, and I may write a new one for the prompt (Coconut Milk), we shall see.

A Once Upon a Time

Ah, so here we have yet another obligatory POTC fic wherein I am writing more about two men in London in 1720 than about POTC. There just happened to be shared names.
The fae. They are a fun lot to play with, though they do not make any sort of appearance in this short of a sly mentioning of them on the side. I figured that since the canon had undead skeleton armies and heartless walking seafood dishes, a little bit of old English folklore wouldn’t be too amiss. Or maybe it would, not fantastical enough, probably.
This is a product of two things, one being a line from ‘Smiley’s People’ which is “come on Connie, give us a once upon a time” and a 2×5 prompt of “how you remind me of the unknown”.

In other news, I want to write a Yes P/Minister fic but need some inspiration. Ideas?

Degas, c’est un Secteur tres Flou

You know what I mean? I believe that this is going to be near to the last of them for now. TTSS and SP that is. This one is a little…raunchier than the rest, though not really explicit.

I must say, if Peter and Toby were ever in any sort of relationship (which really, the run in they had on fifth floor in TTSS speaks of -something- happening) it would be very angry and bitter. I’m sure of it. They would have angry sex in several langauges over someone’s desk and Toby would complain about bruised hips. Saying something about Mara noticing and Peter would reply “since when have you cared about Mara noticing?” to which Toby would tsk and say something along the lines of “this is different, Peter, you know what I mean?”. And then they would vow to never let it happen again which means they’ll be meeting up next Tuesday at three.

The Love Song of George Smiley

At times, indeed, almost ridiculous – Almost, at times, the fool.

A short-short with Peter and Toby discussing George. May I just say, “give my love to Ann”.

Budapest, 1956

I’ve always been fascinated with Toby’s history. It fluxuates marvelously between the books and the show. He states in the show ‘Smiley’s People’ that he had worked for the circus for fifteen “trying to be an English gentlemen”. Being the fact that Toby is, let’s say, fifty when he says this that puts him at thirty five when he entered the circus. Yet, in the book, both SP and TTSS, it is stated that Smiley picked him up in Vienna as a student, a “stinking bum, I was a Liepzig”. Student denotes a younger age. In TTSS it is explained that only eight years prior to the novel he was a humdrum lamplighter, so his rise is relatively recent.

In any case, I’ve decided to play with the idea of Toby being in Budapest during the 1956 revolution (which is the revolution that Peter mention’s in the earlier story when he says that Toby reminds him of sitting in front of the radio and listening as he had been taught to listen). So, here goes nothing.

Idle Days

I really am putting out these Yes P/Minister stories, aren’t I? This one is somewhat of a sequel to “A Taste for Delicacies”, though it’s not mandatory for one to have read it to understand this.
Again, it’s more playing with the inevitable bitter-sweetness of any relationship between them. I have serious doubts about ever writing fluff for them. Beckett and Mercer are fluffier than this…lord I’m not sure what that says but I’m sure it means something. I suppose it has to do with the fact that Mercer is immoral and Beckett is amoral whereas Humphrey is immoral and Bernard actually has morals. Damn those morals.

To Measure Life with Coffee Spoons

And the women, come and go, talking of Michelangelo.

Yet another Yes P/Minister short. There will be potentially one to two more after this as I transfer things over. Or maybe not, depends on how I feel.
This one, I believe, focuses primarily on Sir Humphrey, his musings on life, love, and laundry detergent. But mainly Bernard. I’m not as pleased as I could be with it, I find it very hard to get Sir Humphrey’s voice. He’s a strange mix of Mercer, Beckett, Prince Humperdink, and William of Baskerville. Trust me, it’s a hard combination to write. Oh with some of Humbert’s flare. No one reads Classics at Oxford without some of Humbert’s flare.