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Something nice.

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Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Faustus Blackwood/Zelda Spellman Characters: Faustus Blackwood, Zelda Spellman Additional Tags: Dom/sub, Daddy Kink, Rough Sex, an ode to subspace, Praise Kink Summary:

In the throes of passion, Zelda lets slip of something naughty she’s been keeping to herself.

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This. Thank you @know-the-way for sharing.

like, the most compelling ships for me always stem out of one thing: the characters have a profound, ongoing effect on each other’s senses of selves. when they are apart, the characters’ actions are still affected by each other. the way they approach the world changes because of the other. 

which is this deeply Austenian view of ideal romantic relationships as mechanisms by which we come to know ourselves better and become better versions of ourselves. good romance, for me, is always tied in with a sense of self-actualization, and the way in which a beloved partner allows a person to know themselves better.

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Ciarán Hinds and Kenneth Branagh photographed by Pedro Alvarez for The Observer → Feb 6, 2022 (x)

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Ciarán Hinds as Pop in Belfast (2021) dir. Kenneth Branagh

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Ciarán Hinds photographed by Misan Harriman, 2022 (x)

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Not wanting to take away from what they have to say about the awful time of the Troubles, but do check the photo of Ciarán Hinds as a cute kid 😍 Little Kenneth is a sweetie pie, too.

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Ann Todd-Claude Rains-Trevor Howard "Amigos apasionados" (The passionate friends) 1949, de David Lean.

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Watercolour drawings of HMS Erebus and Terror during the Antarctic Expedition of 1839–43 lead by Captain James Clark Ross and Commander Francis Rawdon Moira Croizer, by John Edward Davis (1815-1877), 1839-1843

Davis was Second Master on Commander Crozier’s Terror and a number of his drawings (the first ever of the Antarctic continent) were used by Ross to illustrate his A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions during the years 1839-43 published in two volumes in London in 1847.

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The time has come again! TERROR RAREPAIR WEEK III will take place February 7-13 2022!

Brought to you once more by @areyougonnabe and @radiojamming, this year our week of (purely optional!) prompts are themed after VICES & VIRTUES.

Thanks to the prodigious output of the fandom since the last event, our eligibility rules have changed, and now all pairings with under 100 fics in their tag are eligible. (Basically this just means that Hartving is eligible this year, but Armitozer is not.)

Beginning February 7, you can post your fills to the AO3 collection and/or on social media using the tag #TRPW22.

This year we also have a Twitter, so follow along there as well as here for fest updates!

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The naming of ships

The Royal Navy was quite creative and reasonably prudent when it came to naming its ships, although there were also some odd “ Pickles”.

The Lauching and naming of a new ship - The ‘St. Albans’ Floated out at Deptford, by  Willm Pratt Pinx, 1750 (x) 

When the fleet was still quite small, naming was not so much of a problem and the Royal Family was often used, such as Mary Rose or The Henry Grace à Dieu. This continued well into the 18th century, when ships were named in two ways: either after royalty or after an English town. Of the ships built in the 1700s, most were named after monarchs, their relatives or their palaces: Royal Sovereign, Royal Anne, Royal George, Prince George, Royal Oak, Royal William, Elizabeth, Restoration, Mary, Royal Katherine and Hampton Court. The remaining ships were almost always named after English cities, counties or rivers: London, Northumberland, Nottingham, York, Devonshire, Chichester, Cornwall, Kent, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridge, Oxford, Shrewsbury and the Humber.

HMS Royal William, by unknown (x)

The early 18th century saw a wave of patriotism, and so towns were added, especially Scottish ones, to welcome them into the Navy. A few years later, the Britannia became the most obvious national symbol, followed by the Union in 1726. In addition, ships were now increasingly given titles associated with features considered “British”: Dreadnought, Conqueror, Dragon, Superb, Albion, Hero, Illustrious, Valiant, Revenge, Defiance, Thunderer, and Defence.

Towards the end of the century, however, this changed. Many of the larger naval ships continued to be named after royalty, notably Royal Sovereign (1786), Prince of Wales (1794) and Queen Charlotte (1810).

H.M.S. Royal Sovereign, 1786, emerging from her refit and lying in the Hamoaze, Plymouth Sound, by Stuart Bolton (x)

Increasingly at the beginning of the 19th century, however, ships were named after creatures, gods and protagonists of classical antiquity, to reflect society’s beleseness and antiquity trend. At the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, for example, the British fleet was named Neptune, Agamemnon, Ajax, Orion, Minotaur, Spartiat, Mars, Bellerophon, Colossus, Achille, Polyphemus, Euryalus, Naiad and Sirius. Well, and now there is also the aforementioned Pickle, someone must have been a fan of pickles.

HMS Pomone 1805 by T G Dutton circa 1820 (x)

By the middle of the century, the heroes of the navy themselves were appearing and soon there was a Nelson, Rodney, Howe, Barham, Duncan, Anson and Benbow in the fleet. Other ships were given names reminiscent of the Navy’s glorious history, such as Barfleur and Trafalgar. In this way, the naval ship became a reference point for the glorious institutional history of the navy as an act of self-expression brought into the public eye.

The 20th century then took more of a cue from the flora and fauna and there was then an abundance of flowers but insects were also very popular.

The navy also made sure that captured French ships with the same name, albeit often anglicised, were added to their own fleet ranks.  There was hardly a more disheartening sight for a French naval officer than to see a captured ship in the enemy battle line. Merchant ships, were often given the name of a patron or his wife who had financed that ship, but colonies were also welcome.

Of course, there were also quite amusing slips, such as the Pickle, Cockchafer, Black Joke, Mutiny (not necessarily a good name, what an uproar it caused when it was called Mutiny in Spithead) and Frolic and so on. 

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Tips for authenticity for HP fanfiction writers (mainly targeted at Snapedom but also other ship writers too)

I think so many people forget that Snape was British, from Cokeworth. Edit: Let it be said that Cokeworth is a fictional town, but according to the HP Wiki it’s located in the English Midlands, so it’s still useful information to know. Based on the fact that Cokeworth is in the Midlands, we can assume that Cokeworth was inspired by a town in Manchester. Manchester is technically in the region of the Midlands, and we can infer that Cokeworth is a fictional Manchester town because (fun fact) JK Rowling actually spent a lot of time in Manchester writing the books, and some of the descriptions of Cokeworth match areas of Manchester.

In terms of his mannerisms, Snape was surrounded by the Wizarding elite in Slytherin, who were essentially upperclass British citizens for the most part. Therefore the way he thinks, acts, and lives would be quintessentially British - part of him would be like the Malfoys, but the majority of who he is inside would be the bloke from Cokeworth. He’d have been influenced by his colleagues (*cough* McGonagall) and also his peers when he was a student. I don’t know how many Hogwarts students were born/raised in England/Ireland/Scotland/Wales and areas that speak using British English, but I’m guessing it was a lot, and even if they came from overseas as exchange students or something, they’d still adapt their language to the style they were hearing at school at Hogwarts. 

So it’s important to contextualize what you’re writing, understand where your character(s) are from and how it would affect the way they speak/think, and how you should write as a narrator in third person, if that’s your style.

It’s interesting to think about what’s going on in the Muggle world politically at the time Snape (and other characters) were growing up. What were the big hits in British Muggle music? What were the trends in fashion, and what was the latest update in British slang? 

If you’re not British yourself or haven’t lived in the UK, let me give you a run down of things that are widely considered British (or Irish/Scottish, depending) and are not really that stereotypical. I won’t really be addressing Wales for the moment but will be happy to cover that in a future post. I also won’t cover Australia or New Zealand, which are separate countries/issues entirely, and have a whole set of cultural references and slang as well. 

T/W: lots of colorful language, mostly in British English (I am educating the masses on the correct naughty words to use in fanfiction written in British English, apologies in advance.)

About tea (leaving coffee out of it for now):

1. Tea. In quite literally any socially awkward or tense situation, or even in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, usually the first offer your host will make is some variation of “Tea?” or “Shall/should I put the kettle on?”

2. They will have their favorite mug or cup for tea. 

3. They will have their favorite type of tea - whether it’s in a bag or in leaf format, and what brand. There’s Yorkshire tea, Lipton tea, loads of different types. 

4. They will have their favorite milk or creamer for their tea. Some will have lemon (for squeezing) as an option as well. 

5. And they will have a method for the actual preparation of the tea. It is the topic of major debate in most places in the UK. “What comes first, the milk or the tea?” / “How long do you leave the tea bag in for?” / “You MUST remove the tea bag before you put the milk in”. There’s loads of examples of how people’s views on making tea.

6. Digestive biscuits, or any type of “cookie” (generally called biscuits in British English) will often be offered along with your tea. 

About queueing and cars:

1. Queueing - or waiting in line - is a thing that people think of when they think of Britishness. British people are very good at it, even if they’re fuming inside.

2. Cars drive on the left side of the road. And that (usually) means that the steering wheel is on the right side, with passenger seat on the left. 

About social etiquette, and “softened” speech:

1. Generally speaking, British and UK people value manners very highly. More importantly, if someone you don’t really know asks “How are you?”, the correct response is “Alright, you?”. You do not elaborate. You do not say “My goldfish just died and I’m actually quite depressed.” No. You just say “I’m fine.” And that is acceptable. 

2. Similarly, if something awful’s happened to you, you soften the reality of it. You play it down, and don’t make it a big thing. Being “stoic” is another stereotypical (but honestly pretty true) characteristic of classic Britishness. 

3. A number of British, Irish and Scottish people I’ve met (especially middle, upper-middle and upper-class families) care a lot about table setting rules and table manners, so that’s worth investigating too and also incorporating into your characters. For example, Hermione as a character cares about table manners and oral hygiene, but she also was a single child from a family of two dentists. They had the time and patience to teach her that stuff. The Weasleys, on the other hand, may have been too stressed to deal with teaching their kids table manners after Charlie. (Bill, Percy and Charlie seem to handle themselves alright, and Ginny too. But Ron, as we know, is a mess, and it drives Hermione crazy even in the books). The Malfoys, comparatively, care about how they appear in public. These are things to think about. Where does Snape fall on the scale?

Vocabulary differences (colorful language coming up):

1. INSULTS: There are huge differences between USA English and British English when it comes to insults. For example, it’s really unlikely that you’ll hear a British person calling someone an “a**hat.” You’re more likely to hear them calling someone a “tosser/wanker/git/prat/pillock” (sorry British/UK folks, this is a teaching moment). Note: If you use an American English word in a story that’s set in the UK, it’s noticeable. If authenticity is your goal, then Google is your friend. I won’t list all the insults here, I don’t want people to get the wrong idea of what my page is about after all. (lol). 

2. Some other useful words (insults included): 

*******There are SOOOOO many of these. Google is, as always, your friend. But here are some handy ones:

Bugger all/f*ck all: “He’s doing bugger all.” = he’s doing nothing, he’s not doing anything

Bloke: A guy. “Saw a bloke down Diagon Alley.”

Bonkers: Crazy. “McGonagall’s gone bonkers.”

Daft: Stupid/ silly. “Don’t be daft, Seamus.”

To nick: To steal. “Did you nick that pudding from the kitchens?”

Pudding: dessert.

Cheers: What you say when you toast someone, but it can also be the way you sign of an email or a message, or a way to say thank you. Like: “Flitwick’s looking for you, Harry. Something about an assignment you missed.”/“Oh, right. Cheers.”

Chuffed: Happy. “I got nine OWLs, did I tell you? I’m chuffed.”

Brilliant: Amazing. “That was brilliant, Luna.”

Proper/right: really. “I’m right chuffed.” “I’m proper chuffed.”

Bugger(ed/ing) (it) up: to mess up. “I buggered up that first date completely.”

Go on: come on, then/you’re lying/alright dude, nice!. “I got nine OWLs!”/”Go on.”/ “No, I’m serious!”

Have a go: give it a try.

Dodgy/dodge: suspicious/off. “I think that avocado’s gone all rotten, it’s a bit dodgy.”

Mad: crazy.

Manky/mank/rank: dirty/gross. “Take off your shoes, they’re manky as hell!”

Minging: stinky/smelling. Pronounced ming(hard g, rhymes with sing)-ing. “God, you’re minging. Get a shower. Honestly.”

Plastered: drunk. “Forge and I got plastered Friday night. It was wicked.” “Right you are, Gred.”

Wicked: awesome.

Knackered: tired. “I didn’t sleep a wink last night. I’m knackered.”

Can’t be arsed: don’t feel like it. “I should study for Divination, but I really can’t be arsed.”

Bloody: an expletive with a Christian religious tie, I believe. Ronald Weasley said “Bloody hell!” pretty often. It’s not very polite for believers to hear someone say. It’s kind of like saying ‘Holy’ sh*t. Part of the reason why other characters would berate him or shush him all the time when he said it.

Bog/bog roll: bog = toilet. bog roll = toilet paper. 

Loo/loo roll: same thing. loo, toilet. Loo roll, toilet paper. 

Cheeky: cocky/bold/fresh. “Don’t be cheeky with me.” or “You’re a cheeky one!”

Cracking: great.

Crack on: carry on. “Crack on, you lot.”

You lot: you guys.  

Posh: fancy/high end. 

“You alright?/Alright/Alright there?” = a very common greeting. 

“Morning” = good morning

“Yeah/okay” = common response to “Morning/You alright?” for example if you’re walking your dog and you say hi to someone as you walk by them. It’s not like in the USA; generally people don’t talk much to strangers or really say hi to them as much as people do in the States.

Faffing around / faff: mess around/waste time/a waste of time. “Stop faffing with your robes and get a move on.” “I waited all day at Gringotts to speak to a consultant. I was late to dinner. What a faff.”

Muppet: incompetent person, a fool. In an AU I could imagine Draco saying “Goyle, you muppet!”

Gutted: Devastated. “I can’t believe Hufflepuff lost against Ravenclaw again. I’m absolutely gutted.”

Just now: right now, a few minutes ago, seconds ago, right then. “I don’t have time to do that just now.” or “Did you hear that noise just now?”

Do: party. “You going to Slughorn’s do or not?”

Whinging: whining. Pronounced winge (as in singe) -ing. “Oh, stop whinging, Ron.”

Draught: same meaning(s) and pronunciation as draft. So: “She downed the butterbeer in one draught.” “Lupin shut the windows to keep the draught out.”

Dunderhead(s): idiots. 

A tin: a can

Kettle: the thing you use to boil your tea.

Spend a penny: (to go) pee, polite. “Excuse me, I have to spend a penny.”

(To give) a ring: to call someone on the phone. “Give us a ring when you get home, yeah?”

Blockhead(s): also idiots.

Lout: rude way to refer to a guy. “Lazy lout.”

Sod: ditto. “Lazy sod.”

Blimey: wow. “Blimey, ‘Mione.”

Hang around: stay/wait. “Don’t hang around.”

Just a tick: I’ll be there in a minute/wait a minute. 

Taking the piss/mickey: pulling my leg/making fun of me/joking. “Are you taking the piss, mate?”

Mate: dude/bro/bud/buddy/pal.  

Trousers: pants. 

Green man: green light. “Wait for the green man!”

Elevator: lift.

Metro: the tube.

Fuck off: fuck off. 

Flat: apartment.

A fuck-off [insert object]: a huge thing. “Ron, I wouldn’t go into the loos just now, I saw a fuck-off spider. Maybe wait five minutes?”

Boot (of a car): trunk.

Hood (of a car): bonnet

Braces: suspenders. 

Caretaker: janitor

Chemist’s: drugstore/pharmacy

Chips: french fries

Crisps: chips

The cinema: the movies

Constable: patrolman/police officer

Cot: crib

Motorway: highway/freeway

Rubbish/rubbish bin: trash/trashcan. Can also mean “bullshit.” = “That’s rubbish, Tonks.”

Tennis shoes: sneakers

Wellies/wellington boots: calf-height rubber boots for wet weather or gardening

Holiday: vacation/break

(to) Hoover (both a verb and a noun): vaccuum

(to feel/be) ill: sick. “I felt really ill yesterday.”

Lorry: truck

Hob: stovetop/stove.

Pram: Baby carriage

Pullover: sweater

Pavement: sidewalk

Nappy: diaper

(the) post: the mail/mail. “No post on Sundays!”

Pub: a bar. “Want to go down (to) the pub?” 

Petrol: gasoline

Railway: railroad

Sweets: candy. “I don’t like sweets.”

Tap: faucet

Tea-towel: dish towel

Term: semester

Torch: flashlight

Zip/fly: zipper

Windscreen: windshield

Pants/underpants: underwear. “Keep your pants on!”

Fanny: vulva. In the USA ‘fanny’ refers to the derrière. In British English it refers to the vulva. 

Bum: butt. 

Note: this difference ^ is why I think ‘bum bag’ is better than ‘fanny pack.’ The second one leaves way too much room for misinterpretation.

Arse: ass. (Although depending on the region in England/UK, some pronounce it ass. Just depends)

Quid: a pound. “Those trousers cost fifty quid? Are you mad?”

Okay, so those are some handy words for you. Next!

Irish slang:

Grand: great. “That’s grand, Harry.”

 Leg it: move fast. “We’re late to Herbology, leg it!”

Feck/fecker: f*ck/er

Gas: that’s funny. “That’s gas!”

Craic: fun, pronounced “crack”. (this is a difficult term to understand but here goes!) If something is minus craic, it’s the opposite of fun or entertaining. If you’re having the craic, you’re having fun. Someone is good craic if they’ve got a good sense of humor. If you say “What’s the craic?” you’re asking what’s up with something/someone/how they’re doing. 

The messages: the shopping/groceries.

Eejit: idiot. Also used in Scottish slang.

It’s rotten out: bad weather outside

It’s pissing (it) down: it’s raining (a lot!).

Sound: great. “I’m coming over later.” “Oh, sound. See you then.”

You’s: you (singular or plural). 

Scottish slang:

Dinnae: do not.

Ken:  to know. “Dinnae ken.”

Aye: yes. 

Wee: small. 

Bonnie: pretty. (mostly heard in songs.)

Braw: handsome. (mostly in songs). 

Scran: food

Dram: a bit/a shot, i.e., of whiskey. 

Mingin’/minging: not good/dirty/smelly/etc. 

Nippy: cold. “It’s nippy out.”

Scunnered: tired

Jobbie: the thing. (**WARNING: this also means sh*t, so use wisely and in a very particular context [thank you @ill-informed-donor for the reminder!]). Example of the first definition: “Pass me that jobbie, will you?”

Edit: I won’t go into the more stereotypical Scottish phrases (“mad wae it,” “dinna fash”) because there are a few that have mostly been made famous by Outlander, but they’re not really used that often by Scottish people (that I know of) and I live with a Scotsman who’d yell at me if I started saying that it’s a good idea to use those phrases in casual speech for your characters. Also there’s a huge difference between Glaswegian slang and other regions of Scottish slang. So… yeah. Just be careful of where the stereotypes are. 

Edit: if anyone knows Welsh slang or even Australian and New Zealand slang (the latter two are their own separate entities, I know, but still English and still handy to know the differences!), just reblog and add your list!

SPELLING!!!!!!!!!!

1. Hugely important: colour, not color. favour/flavour, not favor/flavor. Check the British/UK spellings of words. 

British Christmas traditions (for those of you who observe it or are writing about it in your fanfictions):

1. People often dress up on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

2. The 26th is Boxing Day. (Google it). 

3. Christmas crackers. They’re mentioned in the books. 

4. Going to Christmas Eve midnight mass, or watching the Christmas Eve mass broadcast. 

5. Listening to Christmas carols/songs. (King Wenceslas for example).

6. Panto/pantomime. 

7. Christmas pudding (usually covered with alcohol and then set on fire. It’s très dramatique) and mince pies. 

8. Watching the Queen’s broadcast/speech.

Scottish traditions (because McGonagall):

1. Burns Night. (Google it). 

2. New Years’ Eve in Scotland is called Hogmanay.

3. McGonagall was born in Caithness in 1935. She may have grown up around Scots Gaelic speakers. If you’re looking to use Gaelic in your fanfiction, I recommend doing your research first. Or just message me/send me an ask. :)

4. Céilidh(s). (Pronounced caylee/caylees). These exist in Ireland too. They’re like parties where everyone gets together to dance, or sing, or read poetry, but generally it’s like an assembly for Scottish/Irish jigs and dances. 

5. Bagpipes,  called ‘the pipes.’ A person who plays the bagpipes is a ‘piper.’ Also, they have pipes in Ireland, just not the same ones as in Scotland. 

6. Highland dancing. 

Not sure about Irish/Welsh Christmas traditions. Feel free to add/contribute.

Edit: I just remembered another three very important categories!

Cockney Rhyming Slang

This is too hard to explain, I’d recommend you Google it though, it’s everywhere in British vernacular. 

But as an example - "face” would be replaced by “boat,” because face rhymes with “boat race.” Similarly “feet” becomes “plates” (“plates of meat”), and “money” is “bread” (a very common usage, from “bread and honey”). Apples and pears = stairs, and so on and so forth. 

These are officially accepted rhymes in the slang vernacular by the way so you can’t just make these up. 

A “porkie pie” is a lie. I had a British person tell me the other day “You’re telling me a porkie/telling me porkies.” It’s a thing. Just google it before you use it and try to make sure you’re using it in the right context. 

“Old-School” British English

There are people who grow up in particular “upper” class families, or old fashioned families in the British-English UK, who have retained old ways of speaking, and a particular accent inspired by the Royal Family. If you watch The Crown and you hear the actors’ accents, there are some people today who still speak like that in the UK. 

Some classic phrases I’ve heard being said by an Old-School British (in his seventies) man:

Good grief: my goodness/can you believe that?/oh no!/look at that. “Good grief, look at that.” (He was looking at a huge fallen tree). 

Don’t you know: know what I mean. “I really don’t care all that much for Christmas, it’s all so very consumerist, don’t you know.”

Edit: There’s also a very particular way that these people say “Oh” and “Hello”, as well. It sounds more like “Ay” and “hellay.” It’s an old accent of British English probably passed down from their grandparent and great grandparent. Some people think it’s a stereotype but you genuinely do encounter people who might come across as though they’re uptight or putting on an act, but it’s literally just their voice. 

Regional English accents

There is not one single “British” accent. There are many many regions, and there are rivalries between regions. Emma Watson’s Hermione uses an RP accent (Received Pronunciation, also Google it), and so does Daniel’s Harry. Dame Smith does a solid Northern Scottish accent, but it’s also a pretty ‘posh’ accent - this mostly refers to the difference in Scottish city accents, and some regions are considered more ‘posh’ than others (it’s a rivalry between accents for sure). Edit: Alan Rickman’s Snape definitely leans towards RP english, parents were Welsh and Irish, so he was influenced by that, but I’d argue that his voice is largely RP/London, influenced by his time at RADA and growing up in London. 

More on regional differences: There is a huge difference, for example, between London British and Manchester British. The accent in the Yorskhire Dales is absolutely fantastic. It’s beautiful. Some of these accents have remained the same for hundreds of years. There’s so much diversity in accents alone - Google it and have a listen. 

Right, that’s all I’ve got for now. More to come at a later date, might update as I think of these! Feel free to contribute to the list. 

So if you’re writing Snape fiction, or any HP fiction in any ship, and it’s set in Scotland/England/UK, bear in mind that the words you use will give away where you’re from as an author. If you’re a stickler for authenticity, then this might help you. If you don’t care about this sort of thing, then carry on. 

Edit: you can always Google “British vs American English” if you want a better list of key differences. 

Cheers ;)

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“There’s a lot of very, very faithful actors who put themselves quite out there and had to do some quite odd things in the show, there’s been a lot of bravery.

And to get to work with a great friend, James Purefoy, to play my father was endlessly amusing and to have Lindsay Duncan play my mum has been utterly sensational.”

- Matthew GoodE on BFF Teresa Palmer, and the incredible A Discovery of Witches cast members

‘Matthew Goode “very proud” as he says goodbye to A Discovery of Witches

Goode and co-star Teresa Palmer say the final season will be "bittersweet".’ (Radio Times Interview published Dec 23, 2021)

💙 🌟 💙 🌟 💙 🌟 💙

[milotzi]

Dumbass Admirals

That blue uniforms and grey cells do not always go together demonstrated some gentlemen regularly. So you might think that they were just stupid decisions but these gentlemen in this short and funny list proved the complete opposite.

Admiral Jean d’ Estrée knew as much about navigation as a fish knew about frying. He couldn’t read a compass or charts and therefore couldn’t navigate, but insisted on setting the course of his fleet himself. In 1678 his ships ended up on the cliffs of Curacao where he lost the half of them.

Estrée’s doomed fleet 1678

Number two was also an admiral, a maximum hypochondriac named Nicolò Canale, who was afflicted by plague and cholera as well as by drunkenness, although he neither drank nor had a mind to lose, as can be seen from the way he led the battle of Negroponte in 1470. He dipped his big toe into the Mediterranean Sea and ended the battle because he felt it was too cold to win.

Admiral James Plumridge also seemed to have gone mad when he attacked Russian-occupied Finland in May 1854, attacking one port city after another. His explanation: He had been unable to carry out his order to shield the Baltic Sea from Russian ships because of bad view and had therefore looked for a more interesting target; incidentally, he could not stand the Finns.

The Russian Vice Admiral Popow on the other hand tried to be a constructor and invented his gunboats in 1860. These were round and turned around like carousels - all those on board who were not thrown off the boat, puked their souls out of their bodies.

Popow’s round gunboat, 1860

The last of this small list is again a French Admiral. Morad de Galles, who sailed from Brest in 1796 to the invasion of Ireland, sailed in the wrong direction, because his signaling was so confused that his fleet set off for Ireland. He sailed in the opposite direction and spent weeks looking for his fleet in the Atlantic Ocean. His fleet waited well-behaved for him, that would come sometime and so they lost many ships through various storms.

There are many more that caused such nonsense, and in places it was so bad that the Royal Navy operated a lunatic asylum for their Sailors that they knew exactly that one 1000 had a soft bulb. This was not only due to the booze and the syphillis, but as internal researchers of the Admiralty in the early 19th century, found out about the dangerously constructed stairways and quarters on their ships. Because every time it had to go fast, everyone regularly bumped their heads, and that probably so badly that it led to permanent damage. Maybe that was a reason but maybe these men were not made for the sea and a command.

[milotzi]

This. Survival comes at a cost but maybe you can find or give some peace. So very much what I love reading in fanfiction. With my favourite Terror couple.