notwantedonthemoon

[notwantedonthemoon]

It’s the last day of pride month so I must post this. Also included is a list of every single queer Not Wanted on the Voyage headcanon that I can think of off the top of my head right now. The headcanons listed in bold get a long rambly entry dedicated to them.

Mottyl: aro, trans 

Japeth: bi 

Doctor Noah Noyes: bi 

Mrs Noyes: ace. my english teacher said that she thought Mrs Noyes was ace and I was like sure why not. 

Michael Archangelis: ace. homophobic and gay, so deep in the closet he’s maybe two steps away from finding Narnia. Shoutout to my friend who said that she ships him with the NWOTV universe's version of Cain so that they can bond over wanting to kill their siblings.

Shem: aroace. See page 235. 

Hannah: so homophobic that she circles back around to being gay again. 

Lucy: trans (CANON), aroace 

Ham: aroace, whatever he is he’s probably not cis 

Crowe: lesbian. I’ve decided this for no reason but just trust me guys I’m correct

Mottyl

I like the idea of Mottyl being aromantic because of… vibes. And I like the idea of Mottyl being trans because there’s this one scene where Mottyl wonders why she has never seen a calico male, and Mrs Noyes responds: 

“‘There can’t be any calico males,’ Mrs Noyes had said. ‘Don’t ask me why; it simply isn’t possible. Doctor Noyes said his experiments have proved it- and furthermore, he says, if there were to be a calico male, it would be a miracle. And we all know how many ‘miracles’ there are. Real ones, at any rate’” (Findley 197). 

The funniest thing Mottyl could have done in response is go, “wanna bet” and come out as trans. I think this idea could also be really sweet, with Mrs Noyes saying that a calico male’s existence would be a miracle, since so far in the novel her associations with the concept of miracles is A) her husband’s poor attempts at fraud and B) Actual Literal God using magic God powers to drown everyone. Mottyl being a calico male would be a little reframing of miracles of sort; there is no trickery or magic or authority from Actual Literal God involved, it’s just a random cat who is trans. Sometimes just existing can be a miracle. Miracles can be found in the mundane. That’s already a theme in this book actually so it could work quite nicely. 

Also this book is severely lacking in good dads. I count one (1) good dad in this book, he’s Emma’s dad, he shows up for like, two minutes and then dies immediately. If Mottyl is trans he can be the obligatory One Good Dad. Mottyl would be such a good dad. She’s already a good mom but she would also be a good dad, she can be both. Whenever I picture her I picture some middle-aged balding man wearing a cap and khaki shorts and he’s standing over a grill and posing for photos holding fish larger than his head.

Japeth

Does Japeth like boys? Yes. I don’t need to come up with any original ideas I can just start citing things here. 

“Japeth had his mind on Michael Archangelis- a figure of glory unlike any he had ever dreamed could exist. The great angel’s height- his strength- his golden hair- and his armour presented the most dazzling images of manhood that Japeth had ever encountered” (Findley 71). -> From the book 

“Even more problematic are the implications of Japeth’s obviously homoerotic attraction to Michael Archangelis; Japeth’s infatuation leads him to emulate the most violent and life-denying traits of the warrior hero” (Lamont-Stewart 122, emphasis mine). -> Androgyny as Resistance to Authoritarianism in Two Postmodern Canadian Novels. https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA465696093&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00271276&p=LitRC&sw=w&cookieConsent=true&analyticsOptout=false&userGroupName=anon~6689fa2c&aty=open-web-entry

“This worship of Michael Archangelis is couched in erotic terms: ‘a figure of glory’ and a ‘dazzling image of manhood’- but this yearning is disguised…” (Martell 108). -> Unpacking the Baggage, “Camp” Humour in Timothy Findley’s Not Wanted on the Voyage. https://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/canlit/article/view/193376

Japeth’s infatuation with Michael Archangelis- who I will call Mikey-A from now on because I refuse to just call him Michael and I’m tired of typing out his full name- keeps cracking me up. On one hand it’s kind of cute, it brings to mind the image of some kid watching Mulan for the first time and immediately falling head over heels for General Shang. On the other hand this is the most inconvenient crush ever, imagine falling for the brother of your sister-in-law who is also your sworn enemy, and also you’re both boys and your crush is homophobic. 

“Does Japeth like girls” is a much harder question to answer because uhhhh. There is one scene which implies that Japeth has some interest in Hannah, he’s described as staring at her with “open longing” (Findley 233). So that’s it, right? Hannah is a girl, Japeth likes Hannah, case closed. 

The problem with this scene is that it is narrated by Noah, who frequently lies, projects his own feelings onto literally everything, and is incorrect about most things. Every single time he narrates a part of the book I start doubting everything. I think my theory of Noah being incorrect gets more likely when you look at the scene that comes immediately after: 

“‘Take your eyes off that woman,’ Noah said. 

Japeth had not been aware that his father was staring at him and he sat bolt upright- his soup spilling down into his lap and bits of fish laid out along his lower lip. 

He drew his hand across his mouth: confused. ‘Sir?’ he said. 

‘Keep your eyes where they belong. In your head.’

‘I don’t understand you, father.’

‘You were feeding on that woman’s shape. I saw you.’ Japeth swallowed hard and started to choke. Noah ignored this- and turned to Shem. 

‘Haven’t you noticed your brother’s attentions to your wife? What sort of husband are you?’

Shem looked at Japeth and shrugged.

‘He’s a child, father.’ (Noah’s attentions to Hannah had by no means gone unnoticed- but Shem could not mention these.)” (Findley 234). 

I’m a big fan of how every time Noah says anything, everyone on the Upper Decks is like: 

Seeing as how no one but the famously unreliable Noah thinks that Japeth has any sort of interest in Hannah (not once in Japeth’s perspective do we ever get any hint of anything), I think it’s safe to say that Noah is wrong. Also in my mind Hannah is like… Japeth’s mean older sister figure. 

This has been a long and rambly way of saying that there is no textual evidence of Japeth liking girls- but headcanons don’t need textual evidence! I still think that he’s bi! …mostly because I looked at the colours on the bi flag and then I thought, yeah! Japeth would like those colours. I like those colours… I love this flag. That’s how I decide most headcanons actually I just stare at various flags and assign them to characters based on how well the colours fit.

Noah

“Yaweh said; ‘We have no truer friend on earth than Noah Noyes- and We thank him for his hospitality…’

Noah nodded and waved his hand as if to deprecate the compliment. 

‘…and We thank him for his friendship…’

More nodding; more waving. 

‘...We thank him for his loyalty…’

Again.

‘...We thank him for his love.’

Noah rose to his feet and touched his forehead and his lips in honour of his guest. 

‘Hear, hear,’ said Michael Archangelis. 

Sarah stared hard at Noah and Noah sat down” (Findley 82). 

Sarah: 

After the whole flood things happens Noah spends allllll his free time pining over his buddy God and misinterpreting random weather events as Yaweh speaking to him. And it’s like, no buddy, he’s not going to text you back. Because he's dead.

I believe that everyone in this book would be much happier if Noah and Yaweh simply started dating, it would be like this I think: 

If the whole flood ordeal didn’t exist, Lucy and Ham would not get married. Instead they would team up and orchestrate an elaborate Parent Trap plot to get their two horrible fathers to marry each other. I have never actually watched the Parent Trap, I don’t know what happens in it.

Hannah

Hannah and Lucy hardly ever interact but every time they mention each other it’s… bizarre… 

“IN THE MEANTIME, during all this hectic and furious activity, Ham and Lucy were married. Doctor Noyes rebelled against it- Hannah would not speak of it and Japeth was furiously jealous” (Findley 114). 

“‘It means we’re alone down here,’ said Lucy. ‘That’s what it means. Us and the animals. And if you want my opinion, frankly I don’t give a damn. Better alone down here than ‘together’ up there with Highfalutin’ Hannah’” (Findley 208). 

“Just about the time Lucy settled, another figure as white- though bloodied- appeared from the Castle and walked towards the side of the ark about ten paces from where Lucy sat. 

Nothing was said. Lucy evinced neither anger nor surprise that one of her prisoners was walking freely on the deck, and Hannah gave no sign that she was alarmed by the presence of so many bees. Neither woman greeted the other- both maintaining their long-established coolness. It was barely obvious that one existed for the other, so discreet were their reactions- a tilt of the head- a pause before movement: nothing more” (Findley 331). 

And to all this I say: what on earth happened offscreen? Why do these two girls have a “long-established coolness”? These two hardly ever interact and whenever they do they always have beef with each other! Normally when two female characters hate each other for no reason I get very annoyed but in my opinion the relationships between most of the female characters in this book are really interesting, so Lucy and Hannah’s weird baffling tension is so out of the norm that it’s baffling to the point where I can’t even be annoyed with it. And why is Hannah so invested in Lucy’s marriage? Noah and Japeth both have motives for getting upset about the whole marriage thing but I was under the assumption that Hannah was so far removed from the drama that she would be ambivalent at best to the whole situation. But for some reason, the concept of Lucy and Ham getting married is enough to upset Hannah to the point where she can't even bear to speak of it. 

In conclusion: Hannah is in love with Lucy and upset about it. This, alongside Hannah’s actions and general personality, makes her generally unpleasant to be around. 

In conclusion: Mr. Brightside

My headcanon for Hannah is that she is a lesbian who is adamant that straight people don’t exist. There has never been a single person in the history of the earth who is attracted to the opposite sex and every single married couple is only married to fulfill their duties of, like, having children or whatever. Hannah has also never had a single experience that might cast doubt into this worldview because during this book she never meets a single straight couple with any semblance of romantic chemistry. If you sat down with her and spent a good long while debating with her, you might be able to convince her that straight men exist. The concept of a straight woman would short-circuit her brain. 

[notwantedonthemoon]

My part of an art trade with @kbaestar. This is kbaestar’s OC, Luca Sun!

[notwantedonthemoon]

I drew a cat.

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The memes I included in this article about Hannah Noyes from Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley- the last of the autistic-coded characters I wrote about from this book- and Anne Shirley-Cuthbert from L.M Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables.

Here is a post where you can find all the links for the entire essay.

[notwantedonthemoon]

Drawings I made for an analysis (link: here) on Hannah Noyes (from Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley) and Anne Shirley-Cuthbert (from Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery) are both autistic-coded characters.

Here is a post where you can find all the links for the entire essay.

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My favourite parts of the article I wrote about examining Lucy (Not Wanted on the Voyage, Timothy Findley) and Emily Byrd Starr (the Emily of New Moon series, L.M. Montgomery) as autistic-coded characters.

Here is where you can find all the links for the entire essay.

[notwantedonthemoon]

Drawings I made for an analysis (link: here) on Lucy (from Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley) and Emily Byrd Starr (from Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery) are both autistic-coded characters.

Here is a post where you can find all the links for the entire essay.

[notwantedonthemoon]

My favourite parts of this article in which I analyze how Ham Noyes (Not Wanted on the Voyage, Timothy Findley) and Patricia Gardiner (Pat of Silver Bush, L.M. Montgomery) are autistic-coded characters. I had a fun time with this one.

Here's a post where all the links to the entire essay are put in one place.

[notwantedonthemoon]

Drawings I made for my analysis (link: here) on Ham Noyes (from Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley) and Patricia Gardiner (from Pat of Silver Bush by L.M. Montgomery) are both autistic-coded characters!

Here is a post where you can find all the links for the entire essay.

[notwantedonthemoon]

My favourite parts of the article I wrote about how Mrs Noyes, one of the two protagonists of Not Wanted on the Voyage of Timothy Findley, is an autistic-coded character!

Here is a post where you can find all the links for the entire essay.

[notwantedonthemoon]

I argue this point in this article about Mottyl, a fictional cat who is probably autistic.

Here is where you can find the links to the entire essay.

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Drawings I made for articles about how these two characters from Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley are autistic-coded. Here are the links to the specific articles: Mottyl

Mrs Noyes

And here's a post where the links to the entire essay are all in one place.

[notwantedonthemoon]

Wrote one big essay about autistic-coded characters in Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley, as well as various novels by L.M. Montgomery. I'm going to start posting the drawings I made for it, and also my favourite parts (they're mostly memes).

You can find the links to all the articles here.

[notwantedonthemoon]

Alright, so, I wrote something. I am remarkably proud of myself because I added drawings, and also memes. Please read my work solely for the memes. 

Here is an analysis on ASD (autism spectrum disorder) and how it presents in the novel, Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley, and it goes over stuff like how: 

Several characters in the novel are, to varying degrees of intensity, autistic-coded. 

Several recurring themes in the novel would resonate very strongly with an autistic audience (me. I am the autistic audience) 

The various environments presented in the novel and their cultural differences are very interesting when used in an autistic reading of the book. 

Other books that I wrote about in this analysis are the Pat of Silver Bush books, the Emily of New Moon books, and Anne of Green Gables, all by L.M. Montgomery! I talk about how all three series have very, very autistic-coded protagonists. I love them all. 

This read would be useful if you’re looking for character analysis and an examination of the social structures in the setting of Not Wanted on the Voyage. It is published on two platforms, both with their pros and cons. 

The academia.edu link is here.

The many Medium links are here: An introduction.

An overview of NWOTV's setting.

Mottyl.

Ham Noyes (and Patricia Gardiner).

Mrs Noyes.

Lucy (and Emily Byrd Starr).

Hannah Noyes (and Anne Shirley-Cuthbert).

Concluding notes and sources.

On academia.edu: 

If you need to cite this article for whatever reason, it’ll probably be easier to cite this link instead of Medium! 

It’s! Colour-coded! 

Unfortunately, I did not split up my essay at all so if you read on here prepare for a good deal of scrolling.

On Medium: 

I could not figure out how to do colour coding on Medium. :( And they didn’t let me upload my colour-coded pdf.

On the bright side, the essay is split up into more manageable sections so it’s easier to read on here.

[EDITED] I HAVE SOLVED THE PROBLEM OF THE PAYWALL. The links attached in this Tumblr post all work. HOWEVER, the links attached within the articles are not as likely to work. (I tested them). I do not know how to fix that yet.

There are content warnings at the beginning of each section. Have fun! 

[notwantedonthemoon]

Hi, I read not wanted on the voyage because I thought if a book had an entire blog for it it was probably a decent book. Anyways I read it and I enjoyed it and so thank you for giving me a good book recommendation.

I’m very happy to hear that! Glad you enjoyed the book.

[notwantedonthemoon]

An attempt at drawing Emma. I do not have a full design for her and I do not think I will have one for a good while; she is my favourite character and I love her, so I will put high standards on myself when drawing her.

Since the book never reveals her family's last name and I refuse to call her a Noyes, I've arbitrarily decided that her family name is Wright.

[notwantedonthemoon]

Apparently I have entered a phase in which I cannot draw anything except these two. I love Lucy and her funny best friend. Every time I think about them the chorus of The Boys Are Back from High School Musical 3 starts playing in my head.

Design stuff (and birds) below:

LUCY

Lucy is so tall. To this day I run into the issue of having no clue how to draw her next to any other character without having to imagine the other character standing on a stepstool just to be in frame. The solution to this, I gathered, is to get really used to drawing Lucy carrying people.

I very much intend for Lucy to have a frog vibe since she's thematically associated with transformation and being a part of two worlds at once- but at this point, the frog associations are running on pure vibes alone. I'm leaning more heavily on the extravagant bird associations.

Lucy decides to turn into a cormorant sometimes, so those were a pretty obvious place to turn for inspiration.

Because of their lighter feathers, I thought I'd give Lucy a lighter patch of hair, too. But then I stumbled upon this absolute majesty of a bird:

Look at these birds. I know nothing about them, except that they're called ruffs and they look fabulous, and I love them with my whole heart.

So I had to make that hair fluffy. I don't know how to adapt hair into a feathery neck-ruffle/mane but I will figure it out one day.

I don't know how to keep the ruffles for when Lucy eventually gets a Joan-of-Arc haircut, but I was thinking of picking another bird to accompany her wardrobe change: the loggerhead shrike! I'm considering somehow giving her that cool black mask patterning over their eyes that they have:

But then she might end up looking like a raccoon, or perhaps Batman. Further consideration is needed.

HAM

I had a brief phase in which my perception of Ham's appearance veered wildly off his canon description and I spent that entire phase squinting with increased agitation at Google images of medieval queen portraits.

I figured it would make sense for him to look rather intimidating and unapproachable; he's very intense, and lonely- he’s not good at making friends despite clearly wanting them. This eventually slid into me picturing him with a very regal, queenly vibe... that I absolutely failed to capture here lol he looks so friendly

He doesn't even look like a Ham, he looks more like a Penelope

Like how Hamlet was constantly pestered by his father's ghost badgering him for vengeance, I was badgered by my own thoughts constantly reminding me that Ham makes dad jokes, so my entire focus turned towards making sure that my Ham looks like a guy who makes dad jokes.

But my time spent scouring Google images has not gone completely to waste. It helped me come up with a new colour palette for him and I like it very much. Unfortunately implementing it does mean I have to give up on the walking Valentine's day card colour palette but alas. At least there are the shoes. The shoes can still look like a Valentine's day chocolate box.