Rock and Tempest, Fire and Foe

[idler_1814]

TITLE: Rock and Tempest, Fire and Foe

AUTHOR: Idler
CHARACTERS: Bush
RATING: G
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, not for profit
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've had this hanging around and gathering dust for a while now; given the day, I thought I'd go ahead and post it. It's actually the prologue for a much longer--and still largely unfinished--project.

Comments

[ashley_pitt]

I shall give you a rousing "huzzah" for this tale.

Truth be know, Bush was always more interesting to me than Hornblower

Must find a suitable icon for these replies.
Although the one I am using is sunrise on a 30foot sailboat on the Port Huron to Mackinac race July 2008

[idler_1814]

Thank you!! I have found Bush to be more interesting as well, even 'way back when I only knew him in book form. To me he was not so much a foil to Hornblower's brilliance as an intriguing character study in his own right.

And I love your icon--it seems plenty suitable to me!

[thehappyreturn]

OH! I forgot the date.

How great this is. I had always thought Bush had been on the Temeraire before he met Hornblower, but I hadn't tallied up the timing. God, and I love how you handle his native intelligence with the youngsters while still having him be able to be surprised by an unusual piece of reasoning. and I love, love, the idea of Bush thinking about Hornblower as his benchmark for cleverness, even as he waits for battle.

And the general tension and mood, so beautiful, I am in such admiration. :)

[idler_1814]

Thank you so much! It's difficult to think about the hours it took to bring the lines into position without getting caught up in the tension.

It always amused me that Bush served as an officer at Trafalgar while Hornblower missed it entirely (though, as Crisis suggests, he may have played a role in actually bringing the battle about).

I really enjoy trying to imagine Bush in a leadership role. It seemed to me, in CSF's writing, that Bush was an instinctive leader: he knew what had to be said or done at a gut level, without conscious analysis. So I easily see him knowing exactly what to do, without ever considering why. Hornblower's leadership style was vastly different, more complex, and certainly more calculated. I think this was the first time Bush was close enough to really see this kind of analytical leadership in action, and it deeply impressed him even as he was mystified by it.

[thehappyreturn]

I always imagine that CSF probably tried his best to shoehorn HH into the whole Trafalgr saga but couldn't find a suitably stylish/significant plotline for him so ended up having him conveniently out of the way. But just imagine finding his notes for that!

You are absolutely right about imagining Bush in a leadership role, it's easy to forget his abilities. Which in some sense, he's a more 'able' man than HH, in that he is more conventional; HH has flashes of brilliance at enormous cost to his body and soul, whereas managing people and things (I always think of Bush as an amazing administrator) just comes naturally to Bush. Probably it comes so naturally that he has no space for or interest in analysis, which like you say is quite mystifying to him. Does that make sense?

God, I could talk about Bush all day.

[idler_1814]

I would imagine it might be difficult to write a fictional captain into an action that's so well-known--you'd either have to displace a real captain or add a whole new ship, I think. Fortunately, shoehorning in a junior lieutenant isn't nearly so challenging!

You definitely make sense! I'd say that Bush is the perfect first lieutenant and later, flag captain, given his innate administrative abilities. His role as Hornblower's ubiquitous second-in-command never gave him the chance to learn independence in the captain's real proving ground--command of a frigate. Wonder how that would have turned out?

Oh, and.....me too. :-)

[pamdram]

*applauds loudly* I love your writing - I always have. You have the knack of capturing the moment. *hearts*

[idler_1814]

What a lovely thing to say!!! Thank you!

[black_hound]

<33333333333333333

Lord knows it is LONG PAST TIME that someone has written Bush ON Temeraire. I can think of no one better than you to do it. And the idea that this is potentially part of the bigger story? *cheers*

THE GREAT CLOUD OF SAIL.

THE NILE.

omg.

[idler_1814]

LOL You give me waaaay too much credit! But I have been doing some of the background research and writing bits and pieces of a larger story; it's daunting, though, because there's so much information out there to choose from. I'm finding it difficult to distill the tale from the large collection of facts.

Putting Bush at the Nile was mostly a coincidence. In an earlier story I had referred to the young Lt. Bush having served on Goliath; when I looked it up later, I found that Goliath had been at the Nile. So...it fit.

[black_hound]

There is this whole other theater of Bush adventures in the Mediterranean sans Hornblower. The Goliath, Superb, and Nonsuch.

*HINT HINT*

XD

[idler_1814]

It's seriously tempting, isn't it? And I do love writing Bush when he's on his own, away from Hornblower's shadow.

But there are a number of other HH writers out there who could have some fun with this too. You need to drop some hints in their direction--the more the merrier!

[hms_frigate]

Ah Bush! My man! Thank you so much for writing such a beautiful story for him to shine in the way that is special to him. He deserves a great writer and an interesting story and you've given him both!

Huzzah!

[idler_1814]

Thank *you*! I guess we both agree with Hornblower regarding Bush's 'sterling qualities'. He's a lot of fun to write--not necessarily the brightest penny in the Admiralty's pocket, but a good man nonetheless.