Win 50 HIVE! The Torundel competition with some extra clues
The Torundel competition yesterday had no winner, but a lot of fine guesses. So here is some more clues. But before that, just to sum up what it was all about.
There will be 50 Hive paid to the account of the person who can answer this question:
- In the story of Torundel the shitposter there is a character called Sang Hortuscany. Which real person is this fictive character based upon?
First person writing the name in the comments win. You can guess as many times you like!
There's a list in yesterday's post with all the episodes where Sang Hortyscany is mentioned.
the extra clues
The person is a man (EDIT: I had to put this in as many suddenly guessed at women)
The person in question is mainly known as a poet.
There is an important clue in the fictitious poem quoted in part VIII. The poem is a silly, shitpost parafrase of a real poem made by the person whose identity you are supposed to guess.
There is a subtle clue in the name of Sang Hortuscany's lover, the arrogant, recalcitrant, brown-skinned prostitute, Dykeia.
Another of his poems is hinted at in part XVII where it is mentioned that Torundel has gotten two messy birds because his housekeeper and future wife, Uranumsia, has asked to have them.
It should be possible to find the right answer by making the right Google/Bing/DuckGo search. There are some key words I have tried that lead to the right answer. So even if you haven't got any idea, and never heard of this bloke he can be found by being clever!
AND THANKS! for all the intelligent guesses. I enjoyed commenting yesterday
I think all of the guesses had merit and nuances that shone a light on my silly little story.
- @steevc said Sun Tzu, as he was a warrior philosopher, which is pretty much Sang warrior style, and also guessed on Cyrano De Bergerac who wrote about love and big noses in the libertine literary period.
- @crrdlx said Benjamin Franklin, as he was a shitposter that stirred up things under pseudonym.
- @prayzz said William Shakespeare, possibly from the association with the war torn and unruly renaissance. Not a bad guess.
- @themanualbot said André Breton because he had an affair with a prostitute, and I really liked that the high priest of surrealism was brought up even though it wasn't him. It sort of resonates with the story.
- @uwasco said Marcus Aurelius which was a really good guess, and she could add that ol'Marcus A was a true shitposter which I didn't know.
Please reshare so I can get even more great guesses, and knock yourself out guessing. You can guess as many times you like.
I don't know much poetry, but it looks like you did a bit more research on your story than I did on mine. Let's see if anyone else has a better idea.
I actually knew it by heart since I was a teenager so it is not really research. Lets see what people come up with.
Don Quixote/Don Miguel de Cervantes? He fell in love with a prostitute (in reality) but in his idealistic mind, saw a lady.
It is not, but I can definitely see the associations. The martial, the tragic, and the comic that Cervantes juggled. A good guess.
I would say that a Google detective could find it without actually knowing the man, just by going through the few data in just one of the two posts linked to above.
Suzanne Muzard
Nope, it is a man! But thank you for finding this girl. I will have to read about her. Breton's prostitute girlfriend.
Emily Dickinson?
It is a man! The clues are in the text. But still what a fascinating person to mention. I always wanted to read more of the early American poetry, but I never got to read more than a few of her and Walt Whitman. Some day I will :)
I figured she identified as a man... :)
Haha, yes that would be a bit of a tricky trick I would have played on you all then. That will be next time :)
Amy Lowell?
No, poet upon who I have built the fictitious character is a man, but thank you for guessing. I never read any Amy Lowell I have to admit, but as I wrote in another comment it would be a future project.
Marcus Aurelius?
No, sorry. @owasco already tried that and it isn't him. Could've been though as he is from the same culture and talked the same language! Thanks for participating :)
W. B. Yeats?
Another interesting guess! It isn't him, but he might actually be exactly the type. A dreamer that is destroyed by reality: "A terrible beauty is born." A good guess!
I think he is English king Henry VIII. He was a lustful man of letters. Ladies of the court he had affairs with were discrete high class hookers of their time.
Haha! I like that presentation. It isn't him and I guess I envisioned Sang Hortuscany a little less brutal. But a great guess :)
Catullus. I win.
You do! Congratulations!
I thought that you were close already with Marcus Aurelius, but I am very impressed. How did you find him?
I actually spent a couple hours on this, but my final search was for "I love her and hate her". Then I went to Catullus #85. When I saw his infatuation with Lesbia, I understood the subtle Dykeia clue, and then I was certain.
That his work is smutty prompted me to pursue him further, knowing yours.
It was a fun contest, I learned a lot.
Thank you for the prize!
You are more than welcome. I read Catullus in Gymnasium and he has stayed with me ever since. When I reached the episode where Torundel dreams of Sang Hortuscany (which had only been mentioned once) I suddenly found it fitting to include this poem of desire, love and powerlessness in the hand of a woman. It did fit Torundel quite a bit. So this couple suddenly became a subtle undertone and a mirror and a motor of Torundel and Uranumsia's relationship.
It was interesting to read through your stories again, or most of them anyway, and I can now see how central that little poem of yours is to the whole shebang.
I also searched for the number 211, which is an interesting number. Was that deliberately chosen?
What at first seemed like frivolous shitposting, now seems to be very rich shitposting. I am so glad I happened upon that first one.
211 was completely coincidental as many things in Torundel. I think I will write a post about the method I use because it is something I have been experimenting with. Often whan making stories with my brother actually so we have developed a sort of rulebook for how to go about it.
In truth it seldom works without rewrites etc. But Torundel just wrote itself.
I would love to hear the method.
I work very hard on mine! I love them when they are done though, my tiny masterpieces. I try to write them as freewrites, and I get shit. Which is strange, because I love to freewrite. Weaving in elements of the other stories complicates the free thought, but in a good way, obstacles I have to go around, so I lose control of my own story.
Congratulations @owasco. 💯💯💯