stravagatefaster

[stravagatefaster]

1588, Classe

Graziella ran her hand along the cool edge of the marble fountain. She allowed one finger to dip down into the water. It was cold, but that didn’t surprise her. The past couple weeks had been unusually cloudy and chilly. At least her flowers were safe. Last year they had died from the heat, leaving her garden bare for her own birthday dinner.

Her dinner.

Her garden.

Her flowers.

Her fountain.

What a strange feeling it was to own things.

From a young age, Graziella Nucci had learned that nothing in life was truly hers. Her room was shared with her sisters. The same was true for dresses, jewellery and other beautiful things. Her friends were not her friends, they were children of her parent’s friends.

Even Graziella herself belonged to her father, and later to her husband. Her virtue was not her own, she was just meant to keep it safe until her husband claimed it. And when she married, she became a Nucci, another reminder that even her name was not her own.

She had been like a bird in a cage; Something to be owned, not someone who can own things. But the cage she was kept in was comfortable, so living in it was worth it for never lacking anything.

At least her husband had been a kind man. She might have been his bird in a cage, but sometimes he left the cage door open. Matteo let Graziella rule over two things in their life: Their home and their children.

Perhaps that was why the home and children she’d lost were the only things she’d ever mourned. Nothing else had ever been truly hers to lose.

Graziella missed the home they’d had in Giglia. The garden had been bigger. The city had been more familiar. And they had just finished their new palace, one that had her designs and decisions all over it, before being forced out of the city. She often thought bitterly about the life she had been forced to leave behind.

Yet the home was not the most loved thing she had lost.

Losing her children was a pain that had never left Graziella’s heart. As a young woman, she had lost babies. She had mourned them. But losing her children that were too big to be held was so much worse.

Her daughters had already left Classe. They wrote to her often, but visited rarely. They belonged to someone else now.

Filippo was alive and lived not too far away in his palace, but he was so busy with being a duke that Graziella was lucky to eat dinner with him every once in a while. She was not sure when exactly he had stopped being hers. Maybe when he became the Duke. Or perhaps when he married Beatrice. Or maybe she had lost him long before they even arrived in Classe.

The grandchildren she had brought her comfort, but they were not Graziella’s. They were Beatrice’s, and one day even Beatrice would have to give them up. Graziella could only hope that when that day came, her daughter-in-law would not be left with this same empty loneliness that plagued her.

The worst way of losing her children had been when Death stole two of them in the most violent of ways.

Camillo and Davide were never far from Graziella’s thoughts. She often wondered what might have become of them if they were still alive. Would they be married? Would they have children of their own? She would never get a chance to find out, because their bodies grew cold in their graves.

Graves which she was not allowed to visit.

That was the most cruel part of it all. How was she meant to mourn her sons if she could not even visit their graves? Pride kept her from begging for permission to visit Giglia. It also forced her to say no to Beatrice’s offer to beg in her stead.

Perhaps that was why Filippo had commissioned this fountain for her. There were two birds in the middle. One for Camillo and another for Davide. It was the closest thing Graziella had to having their graves right here for her to visit.

The fountain was hers, but her children were not.

Graziella continued to run her hand along the edge of the fountain. There was a little bit of dirt there. She would have to tell the maid to clean it before the guests arrived.

As a widow, Graziella was allowed to have things for the first time in her life: Dinners, a garden, even friends that were her friends and not people she had to know to keep her position in society. Yet she would trade all of this away to go back to her comfortable cage where her heart was whole.

[stravagatefaster]

finished city of secrets! think it's interesting how matt is the only stravaganti so far to get involved with some of the more magical aspects of the position... man was out here cursing his enemies and casting spells in the hospital and running around under a glamour and telekinetically lifting a swamp with the boys to put out fires

[stravagatefaster]

1580-1600 fanfic roundup

1580, Volana

1581, Bellezza

1582, Remora

1583, Classe

1584, Padavia

1585, Giglia

1586, Fortezza

1587, Giglia

[stravagatefaster]

1587, Giglia

“Hand her to me.”

Caterina’s voice was hoarse, barely louder than a whisper. Her lips were dry and her body was desperate for rest, but she wouldn’t allow herself a moment of weakness right now. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair, trying to make herself look at least somewhat presentable.

The maids exchanged worried looks with each other. They made no move to hand over the small princess that had only just stopped fussing.

“I can handle it,” Caterina said sternly. She reached out with her arms, which proved more difficult than she had expected.

The hesitant maid carefully laid the newborn in Caterina’s arms before moving to adjust the pillows to allow for the Duchessa to sit better.

The baby let out a whine, but Caterina shushed her, running a single finger down her daughter’s soft forehead. She’d forgotten just how tiny newborns could be. So tiny and helpless, yet the most perfect thing in the world. Caterina kept petting the baby’s face with her fingertip. Bino had looked just like this when he was born. Looking down at this little angel made her realize just how fast time had flown by. She hoped this one would stay small for longer.

As the door flew open, Caterina forced a smile on her face. Smiling took more energy than what she had, but she wasn’t about to let her husband worry about her right now. Not in this perfect moment.

“Leave us,” Fabrizio commanded without even glancing at the maids. His hair was tousled in a way that told Caterina he had been sleeping. She hid her envy. This was no time to complain about spending the past two, almost three days in labour.

The maids closed the door behind them and Fabrizio leaned down to kiss Caterina.

“Are you all right?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I’m fine, my love,” Caterina lied. “Hold your daughter, Fabrizio.”

Fabrizio did not need to be told twice. He scooped the baby from her arms, careful to support her gentle neck.

“Oh, you are beautiful,” Fabrizio whispered to the baby. “Just like your mother.”

Caterina could barely keep her eyes open, but she forced herself to keep looking at her husband and their daughter. Joy and happiness filled her heart as she watched him gently whisper praise at the tiny bundle sleeping in his arms.

Caterina had missed this. It seemed more and more rare these days to see this softer side of Fabrizio. Just like she had hoped, this new baby had brought it out of him. Suddenly the three days of labour and the years of grief over all the babies she had lost seemed worth the pain. She had finally gotten back the soft and kind Fabrizio she loved so much.

“We should announce her birth,” Fabrizio said, breaking the spell of the moment. He tried to hand the baby back over to Caterina, but she pushed him to sit back down on the bed. A sharp jolt of pain ran through her, but she didn’t allow herself to show it.

“No, stay with us, please,” Caterina begged. She needed this moment to continue forever. She needed her husband to forget about all the hate he held in his heart and focus on this perfect little being they had brought to this world. “Besides, it is the middle of the night, the world can wait until the morning.”

Fabrizio smiled down at the baby.

“You are right, my love. The world can wait.”

[stravagatefaster]

if you think about it luciano's foster mother is arianna's aunt so in a way we got one last cousin marriage for the road

[stravagatefaster]

daydreaming vaguely abt post-canon stravaganza (or like a potential sequel series) mostly because i want someone to accidentally stravagate with their cell phone on their person and freak luciano the fuck out

[stravagatefaster]

updated the chart btw

[stravagatefaster]

AU where Luciano works in customer service and Niccoló is the worst customer ever

[stravagatefaster]

luciano is just a boy and hes also a ghost and a man and a magician and a time traveler and a cavaliere and a fiance and a murderer and a student and a cancer patient . all before the age of 18

[stravagatefaster]

luciano reunion with his parents that he ditches with the excuse that he has to do his homework (hes emotionally overwhelmed) and his homework is a speech on when its justified to kill people and he uses the duel as an example in front of a member of his dead opponents family thereby unintentionally boasting about it. luciano crinamorte man that you are. never! stop! pissing! people! off!

[stravagatefaster]

"Well, I have no idea who you are," said the Pope.

[stravagatefaster]

im so compelled by luciano and arianna. my god they're stupid teenagers and they keep talking past each other but they like each other so much

luciano: falco has this crazy scheme and i might be able to go home..... thoughts? (PLEASEEE beg me to stay)

arianna: oh that's scary... u might get cancer again... maybe talk to ur mentors about that

luciano: ok well what did You want to say

arianna: i turned the evil duke down for the sake of my city #mycity and for no other reason in particular (PLEASEEEEE DONT LEAVE ME PLEASEEEE)

[stravagatefaster]

so much is happening right now (the only thing happening is a potential luciano execution but it's a Lot)

[stravagatefaster]

inside me there are two wolves. one wants to continue the stravaganza post-canon one-shots. the other can't remember for shit what my notes for the planned parts mean.

[stravagatefaster]

@ ludo

[stravagatefaster]

author can NOT stop calling poor gaetano ugly it's like the only word she uses to describe his appearance

[stravagatefaster]

i always forget the stravaganti are like. magicians also. and then they have zoom calls via magic mirror and zap people with forgetting spells when its convenient for them